A/N: I originally planned for the DLC to be longer, but I decided to cut back as I have other ideas that I would like to move on to. There are only three chapters left to write as well as an epilogue or in the case a grand finale.

I know some are wondering: "Nekron, this story is going to be ten years old really soon. Are there any plans to celebrate that?" The truth is, well no, not really anything is planned. It's not really much of my focus anymore, as stated before - I would like to work on new material. More likely original.

If you are wondering, yes, I have played Starfield. No, I haven't finished it, but I'm taking it really slow because of work and going to concerts and musical theatre. Yes, I'll be watching the FNAF movie when it comes out, as I'll be watching it on Halloween.

Anyway, the chapter.

"It doesn't make any sense... how could I have not thought clearly enough before I tried to get that memory?"

I can hear Pinkie asking herself, as I am pacing back-and-forth in my thoughts as I usually did when trying to problem-solve a situation me or my friends were in when trouble came in. But with what had happened and the Timeline going wild, I think we are in a bigger amount of trouble.

"It was a stray down a path too far Pinkie," I trotted up to her, placing my left front hoof onto her right shoulder. "I didn't think that it would get this bad. It is my own fault that this happened..."

"Tried to tell you that something was off, Twilight," Spike says to me, looking out the window to my right at the tangled mess of the Timeline above all of Equestria. "There are some forbidden magic that none should get their hooves on, for even the right or wrong reasons. It's why it was sealed in the first place."

I turn my head to glance at Spike, lowering my head for a moment and exhaling a sigh from my mouth when I had closed my eyes for a moment and opened them again. "I was the one who was too blind with wanting to see Brayden again."

"Don't blame yourself Twilight," Fluttershy stepped in, trotting towards me. "We all wanted to see him again, even if it was for one day."

I raised my head, my eyes focused outside the window at the tall mountain where Blueblood was more than likely waiting for us. "Blueblood wants us to play his little game. I suspect that he was expecting this and planned it out," I said to all of my friends. "I'd say we play it."

"Twilight darling, I don't mean to interrupt," Rarity commented. "But are we really going to have to face him, when he has all that power?"

I turn around to look at Rarity. "Not much of a choice if we don't, as it may be the only way to get Equestria back to normal from the tangles of the Timeline. If not, he may end up using it to his own advantage to change time forever, kind of like how Starlight Glimmer tried to before she became my student."

"Hmmm..." Rarity thought for a moment with a hoof on her chin before releasing it down onto the crystalline floor and responding to me. "Fair enough a point there."

"Ah wouldn't mind another adventure," Applejack says to us. "We're with ya all the way through."

"Yeah!" Rainbow Dash exclaims, "Even out of our prime, I still have that need for another journey to save Equestria once again - even if it is for the final time."

I took a glance around the room... everything looked to be normal in the ballroom. All the crystalline material was kept in its place as if nothing was wrong. It was outside the windows that I have seen of the damage done. I wasn't willing to stand by and stick in this new Equestria we've accidentally made - so I remain as ever, desperate to get everything back to normal, get the scroll back from Blueblood and seal it away to not ever be used again.

Trotting over towards the door, I place my right front hoof on the knob, peeking it open to see a different appearance to the crystal castle that I did not expect to see in such a different tone on the color of the crystals, walls and other doors in the hallway closest to the main hall.

The crystals were toned in red, with only a bit of sunlight from outside reaching into the hallway from the windows of the other rooms that had views of the outside as well. I can hear hooves behind me, it's my friends joining me as I exit the ballroom, trotting slowly on the crystal floor and down the hallway with a nervous tension surrounding us.

"Well, the hallways aren't that well-lit," I can hear Rarity commenting behind me on the environment around us as we head in the direction towards the main hall. "You'd think the sun would be able to shine a little bit more light into the room... I don't think the crystals in here should have a reddish color to them..."

"Yeah..." I responded quietly to her. "I don't get it either, it was only the ballroom that hadn't changed. The Timeline being broken must have done something that we're not aware of."

I can hear Spike shuddering a bit as we continued to trot, a scene of light at the end of the hallway displaying where the main hall exactly was. "I hope there's no spider webs like the older hallways and basement have had."

A distant sound of laughter that was coming from the main hall caught my attention, and my friends as well as we stop in our tracks and stand still and listen. That laughter sounded like it was female... definitely not close to sounding like Queen Chrysalis. This one was a different laugh...

"Foolish little filly... you should have galloped faster..."

More laughter was heard after I could hear the voice of a female talking to what I can assume is what I believe she is talking to: a filly in the castle. I continue down until I have reached the doors to the main hall, in which the view is blocked off by what looks to be a solid wall.

Peeking my head out of the door, I can see that we all haven't been blocked off from the castle doors as the wall reached to the end of the staircase. I slip from behind the door with my friends following behind me. Trotting towards the steps, I began to move more slowly as I go down towards the main floor, having to be quiet. I did not want to take any risks in whoever else was here, hearing any of us coming down.

The laughter came again, but was much more clear this time... nope, that definitely is not Queen Chrysalis. But it does sound like somepony else... somepony that I have never heard before. I shift towards the edge of the stairwell near the wall, going down slowly until I could get a little bit of glimpse from around the corner, trying not to get ourselves exposed.

I just didn't expect to suddenly see a green coated filly with a blonde curly mane galloping for her life to get away while a scale-like tail that was colored in brown, which grabs her like a snake. As she is being dragged further into the main hall, I am too frozen by the sight of that scaled tail to even react as the filly was screaming with the sound of strange feet heard.

"Fantastic job my lizard servant!" The voice is head down the main hall, as I peek further to get a full glimpse of who was speaking.

It came off to me as a complete surprise. It was a feline... though she did not seem to be a genuine Pantherian from Abyssinia like Capper is. Her appearance was much more different, though shared the similarities to Capper, with a more elegant appearance to her orange hair. She also wore a robe of red with jewelry around her neck, with green colored eyes that would represent envy at best... no, this cat weren't from this Equestria...

...Who exactly was this feline?

I watch as the lizard drops the filly that he was dragging towards the feline, placing her in front of the robed being. A clever smile remains crossed onto the mouth of the cat as she comes forward and picks up the filly by the scruff, similar to a dog picking up its young puppies.

"Trying to escape from my grasp, little filly?" The cat questioned, as the filly was struggling to get out from the feline's claws that gripped tight as the cat brought the scared, lonely filly closer to her face with disappointment now filling the voice of the cat. "You really should have learned how to gallop faster than you were back there."

"Please let me go! I won't come back!" The filly begged. "I don't want to be your slave!"

Slave..? The feline forces others to work for her...?

"It is far too late, and your excuse is not good enough. You will serve me, to help work on my witchweed potions," The cat's voice lowered in its tone, sounding like she was tired of having to deal with the filly in her claws. "Truly disappointing. Had you galloped far, far away... you would have finally found that key in Ponyville to go through those doors to safety."

"B-But..."

"ENOUGH!" The cat's voice was raised to a yell, scaring the poor filly as she threw her across the room into what looked like some sort of portal. "Some work on the potions should take this off your mind." Her angry voice finally concluded the discussion with her and the filly as my eyes were looking around to see the doors past her.

That's it! Those are the doors that can get me and my friends out of here and one step closer towards stopping Blueblood from doing whatever he is planning. She said that the key was in Ponyville, but I haven't seen if it has changed or not based on everything we've seen so far.

BUMP!

I was knocked forward from the bottom of the stairs, as Pinkie has tried to keep her balance as we did our best to listen to the conversation, although I had the eyes on what was going on and could see who this feline was. All of us tumbling from down the stairs on the side was enough to grab the attention of the sorceress, whose cat ears perked up at the sound of all of us hitting the crystalline floor with her green eyes turning onto all of us with quite a surprise.

A gasp emerged from her mouth as she saw all of us in her sight, and as we are all getting up, she spoke to us which sounded like she was talking to herself. "Who are all these ponies here in my castle?" I stood back up on all four of my hooves as she lets out a laugh, Rarity beside me getting on in my sight as me and the feline exchanged glances after she was done with any form of cruel laughter she let out.

"Your castle?" I asked her, before I stated out the obvious. "This is obviously what I had earned!"

"Oooh, it's yours? That explains why I have seen all of the pictures around the castle of who you and your little friends are," The sorceress examined us, staying exactly where she was while the lizard that brought her the lone filly entered into our sight from behind her. "Well, perhaps you are all up for the challenge? To go past those doors?"

"Yes! So you might as well give us a break and let us through!" I said to her, a mild glare expressed on my face.

"I would, but the key is in Ponyville... and I am not going to let you all through without a fight."

Rainbow Dash flew and landed in front of me. "If it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get!" She taunted, standing up on her back hooves and using her front hooves to threaten.

"Rainbow Dash, Ah ain't sure it's a great idea to taunt the kitty." Applejack commented.

Another laugh came from the cat and she pointed at the doors behind us to Ponyville, using her magic to open the doors for us. "Fighting's not my game, but a good ol' game of cat-and-mouse will do... with the help of my lizard servant of course!"

The lizard slowly began moving forward, its eyes exactly round like ours as it listens to the commands of its feline master. Like a snake, its tongue sticks out for a brief moment as it is focused towards us, its tail slithering behind as it then stopped a couple of steps away from us.

"This cat-and-mouse game is different... you go into Ponyville and find the key. You'll be able to leave the castle and be your way through the doors behind. You lose... you all get to be my slaves to work on my Witchweed machine for many potions." The feline with a chuckle, turns to look at her lizard friend as we trot backwards slowly - knowing what could happen next. "...Rep."

[Play Resident Evil 2 Remake OST - Mr. X Theme]

The brown lizard named Rep had their attention set to hearing the next command, while its eyes were kept focused on us.

"Chase these ponies! And if they hide, find them and hunt them down. Bring them to me!" She commanded.

The command was heeded to the lizard itself, and like a snake, it briefly brought out its tongue for smelling. My eyes were focused on him as the doors behind us opened up from the magic emitting out of the feline's paws, making way for all of us to make haste. There, his eyes were focused on us, and they were locked onto all of us as Rep's eyes turned into slits - putting the hunt on.

"By Celestia..." I said quietly to myself at first, and then yelling to all my friends. "...Everypony run!"

I was able to quickly turn towards the open door that led a few steps out into Ponyville. Down the path, I can hear the sound of the hooves of my friends galloping away with Spike alongside us as I can hear what almost sounded quiet - the steps that the lizard Rep was taking towards us with its four legs.

"Hurry!" I can hear Fluttershy shouting to us as she turned to look behind her to see if Rep was getting closer towards us.

Passing by other homes and buildings in Ponyville, I kept my eyes out as we galloped faster, looking to find where we could temporarily hide from Rep, though I was aware that the doors and buildings won't keep us safe forever. Faster we galloped, the more tired my hooves started to become, and I was losing breath from all of the galloping as I haven't done any of that for a long time since the athletic marathon of Canterlot a few years after I was set to rule Equestria.

My eyes peeked on around, until I saw the Sugarcube Corner, which looked completely different since the renovations it had a few years back from the amount of wealth that the Cakes had gained from the number of visitors from the other nations around Equestria who wanted to pay tribute to us or Brayden.

"The Sugarcube Corner!" I shouted to my friends, peeking behind to see Rep approaching towards us as his speed starts to pick up. "There! Let's go in!"

Pinkie zipped ahead of us to open up the door inside of the sweets shop itself while me and the others followed behind, with myself entering last as I was keeping tabs on how much closer Rep was getting to us. I leapt forward, narrowly turning when I hit the wooden floor and landed on my side while Pinkie closed the door.

Catching her breath, Rarity galloped over to me even as I was panting too. "Are- are you alright, Twilight?" She asked.

Before an answer can slip from my lips, I can hear the sound of Rep banging at the door, trying to force himself into the shop. The bangs sound very heavy when hitting the wood, and even I can see Fluttershy looking very startled and afraid as she lets out quiet but audible scared peeps from her.

A voice in the dark... it's the feline herself. She communicates with us through my head, and I was certain my friends could hear it as well.

"My, my, my... I certainly didn't expect all of you to escape and hide from my lizard servant Rep - let alone to see the Mane Six that I've been reading here in this crystal tree castle. You all are truly something... but you cannot hide forever."

I stood up on all four of my hooves and look around as she spoke to find the source of her voice at first, but knowing I was hearing it in my head, I decided that the best action was to respond. My tone of voice sounded quite firm, as I knew I wasn't going to tolerate this. "Stop this at once! Tell us where to find the key so we can leave!"

"Why would you want to leave?" The voice of the feline continued to pester us. "To go to that strange mountain across? Why do that when you could stay here as my own slaves..."

"We need to fix the timeline!"

A laugh came from the feline herself which reduced to a chuckle. "I really could care less about some ridiculous time travel nonsense," She continued. "But if you really are that eager to find the key out - perhaps a riddle as a clue?"

"Just tell us already!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "No riddles! Discord already gave us enough to deal with, so we don't need these games!"

"Are you sure?" The voice holds back, knowing that she was trying her best to play us for fools. "It really is the only way you all are going to be able to leave this place."

I thought deeply for a moment, asking myself what Brayden would do if he was here with us. Knowing him, he would probably try to look for clues on what to find to get out of this place or just press on the issue in order to get some things out of a conversation... perhaps... maybe. I'm not sure. If this feline insists that her riddle is the only way to find a key out of here, we'll have to take it - even should it be a trap.

"We'll take the riddle in." I affirmed to the feline sorceress' voice.

"Twilight, no!" Spike says to me, unsure if I was making the right decision. My eyes look at him, knowing that either of us didn't have a choice in the matter for this.

"Her riddle might be the only way out of here to stop Blueblood from further damaging the timeline, as risky as it sounds, we need to find out - riddle or not," I said to him, then turning to look at all of my friends. "Even so, we've dealt with Discord's riddles before, so this should be a piece of cake."

"Yeah!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "No pun intended, Pinkie."

The pink earth pony shrugs with a smile on her face and then giggles. Fluttershy still looks tense, but does not look to express much fear as she did when we were running from Rep.

"Perfect, then listen carefully..." The feline's voice is heard as she began a short, but patterned riddle for us to solve. "...In the center of this very town, high above on the gilded crown, atop and perched for all to see, it's the last place where you'll expect the key."

The voice faded out as the sorceress stopped communicating with us, which I assumed was telepathic. My mind began to study the words that the feline had told us. From the look on my friends' faces, they were trying their best to figure out that riddle as well.

"The center of this very town..." I repeated to myself a few times, letting my mind paint a picture of where the middle of Ponyville was.

Rarity was positioned at the window when she spoke up. "Wouldn't the center of town be where the grand fountain and the town are?" She guesses, but does a little bit of a scared whimper when the lizard Rep comes stalking around the window, waiting for us to come outside to further his pursuit of us.

His eyes focus inside of the Sugarcube Corner, looking at us with its slit eyes remaining as it did. A tongue comes out from him like a snake, licking its lips and swallowing as a way to tell us that he will catch us eventually. Fluttershy who saw him in that brief moment, jumps behind me to hide - as this was nothing she's had to deal with before. She's helped many animals that were terrible, but this lizard was quite different.

When Rep lowered from outside of the window and continued waiting, my mind was brought back towards the riddle that was told to us. What Rarity said was right... it connects the dots that the center of town would definitely be where the grand fountain which was built shortly after the War of Mortem and the town hall would be.

"High above on the gilded crown..." Rainbow Dash asked herself, pacing back-and-forth. "What in the world is that supposed to mean? The town hall has never had a crown or jewelry on display."

"That's a good a question as mine, Rainbow Dash," Applejack said to her, placing a hoof onto the bottom of her chin as she thought about the riddle. "Now that Ah think of it, the top of the town hall after its renovations do look a bit like a crown..."

"Atop and perched for all to see..." I said to myself, repeating it a few times until I can hear the memory of her voice telling us the rest of the riddle.

"Atop and perched for all to see, it's the last place where you'll expect the key..."

"Wait, that's it!" I said, as if I had personally discovered the meaning of life. "The top of the town hall, that must be where the key is!"

"That's great!" Pinkie exclaimed excitedly, knowing we were one step closer to getting past the feline and her lizard pet.

I turn to look at the pink earth pony who is hopping up and down, smiling with joy. "Pinkie, do you have a telescope upstairs? We might need to see if it is at the top of the town hall outside." I asked her.

"Of course, silly!" Pinkie says. "You've known me for a long time, and I always keep a telescope around in case of a telescope emergency. It's on the second floor in the twins old bedroom! You'll be able to see the town hall from there!"

I began to gallop around the corner and up the stairs with the rest of my friends following behind. After going up the set of stairs which were dimmed from the limited amount of light from outside, I turn to my right, followed by another short right into the old room where Pound and Pumpkin Cake used to sleep in when they were both newborns.

The telescope! I gallop quickly towards it, my left front hoof gripping onto it as I place my eye into the eyepiece, and move the device around to place my focus on the town hall. There it was, except there was not a single pony in sight - probably enslaved by the feline herself.

Slowly rolling up the telescope's view, a shine above had caught my attention in the eyepiece, and I move the telescope up to observe the top of the town hall, where the shine originated from. From the moment I looked at that top where Mayor Mare usually oversaw everything, I could see that shape that the riddle had told.

It was the key, our way out of this nightmare version of Ponyville - and another step closer to stopping whatever Blueblood was up to.

"There it is..." I said to both myself and for all of my friends to hear. I took my eye out from the eyepiece, turning to look at my friends. "The key is outside, just as I thought it would be. It seems easy enough."

"Almost too easy..." Applejack says to me. "But Twilight, what 'bout that lizard? It's huntin' us down."

"You could always try and set up a trap to rope up its leg so it can't pursue us further after we get the key!" Pinkie exclaims, jumping up-and-down like it is a guessing game.

Rarity trots forward to Pinkie, speaking with her. "It could be possible, Pinkie..."

"That lizard named Rep could give us trouble if we're not careful," I said to my friends. "Pinkie's right. We'd have to find some rope to at least get him by the legs. He'll eventually get out of them... that's why we'd have to rally him and give chase to at least one of us while one of us gets the key."

Rainbow Dash looks proud as she places a hoof forward. "Leave that to me Twilight!" She said with confidence in her voice. "We have aged, yes, but I still have the chops to fly fast enough to get the key!"

A giggle came from my mouth, and I spoke with her. "That I'll leave you in charge with. Everypony else will have to help me rally him around town and trap him while Rainbow gets the key."

Pinkie began to twitch a little bit. "Uh-oh... my Pinkie Sense is going off... it doesn't sound good." She said with worry in both her expression and her tone of voice.

"Wh-what's going on Pinkie?" I asked her, now a bit concerned as when it twitched - it didn't mean good news. "Please tell us-"

CRASH!

From the window that looked out towards the center of town, the lizard Rep came smashing through, knocking over the telescope and catching itself on its landing. He lifts up his head and turns to look at us, still focused on capturing all of us, his mouth now gaping wide open.

"Run!" I called out to my friends as we scramble towards the door to get out of there as the pursuit continued.

I galloped behind as five of my friends went ahead of me. The only other one behind me is Fluttershy, who is doing her best to catch up like I was. Never have I felt this much panic inside for a long time, for that while... it was... the Mortem war and the many times I thought I was going to lose Brayden.

Going as fast as I could on my hooves, I turn down the hallway, turning a corner to head right back down the stairs. Because of Rep finding his way in, which I didn't expect, my heart was pounding faster with intense fear filling the emotion of the heart - not wanting to become a slave to this feline sorceress and her pet. It reminded me too much of how Grogar almost attempted to use the Vuurtongo disguise with the intent of wanting us dead, but really wanted to see all of us enslaved to bring about the Tambelon reborn, which had failed.

A scream behind me had halted me as I recognized that it was Fluttershy's, and I turn around with a gasp exhaling at what I saw. Rep's tail had taken ahold of Fluttershy and was dragging her towards him. Channeling magic into my horn, I fired out a bolt of magic at the lizard's tail, bringing him some harm and causing him to drop the yellow pegasus from his grasp as his mouth opens, letting out a roar of aggression towards us.

"You let her go! Stay away from me and my friends!" I shouted at the lizard while Fluttershy got behind me, galloping off ahead to catch up with everypony else.

Using what was channeled in my magic, I formed a temporary barrier that would be able to hold back Rep for at least a few seconds in front of him. He crawls quickly up to the barrier and begins to pound onto it, with cracks quickly beginning to appear. I turn and galloped around, down the stairs to get outside, catching up with the rest of my friends who were going in the direction towards Ponyville.

"Now that puts more stress on our case, so now's as good a chance to get our plan in motion, Twilight!" Rainbow Dash said to me as we are galloping, she is the only one who is flying alongside us, a few feet off of the ground.

"Exactly what I am thinking, Rainbow! You're going to get the key!" I said to her, knowing she could fly up to the top of the building and snatch the key. I turn to look left and right at the rest of my friends. "Spike, Rarity, Applejack-" I pant out some breath before continuing. "-You'll be setting up that trap for Rep! Me, Fluttershy and Pinkie will distract him while you get ready and while Rainbow is getting the key!"

"Alright!" Pinkie exclaims, keeping her happy tone as the pink earth pony usually did. "We're definitely going to have some fun with him chasing us!"

I made no response to what Pinkie had said, as I knew that she knew that this wasn't any sort of game. She definitely had a hint of excitement but understood all of what was at stake. I continued galloping forward, turning around to see Rep behind us as our other friends separated to get the trap ready and for Rainbow to go and get the key out of here.

"Hey, we're over here, you brown slimy lizard!" I can hear Pinkie taunting Rep as he lets out a distinctive, terrifying roar from his mouth. "Come on and get us!"

I kept galloping along with my two friends as we pass more empty buildings in the town. I turn my head around, channeling magic directly into my horn and firing another burst of magic which hits below on the ground. The blast launches Rep a few feet upwards, landing him on his side which would give a short but good timing to get a good distance from him in the pursuit.

I turn my head back around, continuing to gallop alongside Fluttershy and Pinkie. The yellow pegasus looks really worried and a little scared as she turned her head to look behind her, checking up on Rep and if he was already starting to get closer or having started moving to pursuit us once again. Ahead of us, I can see the grand fountain... we're in the main square of town, and closer than expected at the town hall.

"Twilight!"

I can hear Rainbow's voice call me from above. I turn my head, looking up at the cyan colored pegasus, wings flapping as she floated in the air above the top of town hall. There she was, carrying the key to the way out of this twisted version of the town where I grew in first as a student, then a princess long ago. The key shone itself in a bronze color, a reflection of light emerging from it as if sunlight shone directly onto it.

"I got it!" I can hear her call out to me. "I got the key!"

"Excellent, Rainbow!" I called out to her, a smile on my face knowing that was hope to get out of here after all. "Now we just have to-"

"RAINBOW! LOOK OUT!"

Before I heard Fluttershy scream in fear, she had gasped and I could see just in time that Rep had leapt into the air towards the pegasus with the key, his mouth gaping right open and ready to snatch her into his grasp to return to the feline herself as a slave.

With a quick instinct, I watch as Rainbow swiftly moves to the side, Rep failing to catch her as he falls onto the fountain, now seemingly enraged from his failure to catch my friend. He rises from the shallow waters of the fountain, gaping open its mouth to roar at us as Rainbow flies down to join alongside me, Pinkie and Fluttershy.

"We should probably head to the trap!" Rainbow suggested.

I turn around, galloping with my friends, although Rainbow Dash kept afloat with the flapping of her wings. "That is the best suggestion I have heard!" I commented, heading in the direction to where the trap lies for our lizard friend.

Rainbow held the big key in her mouth as we galloped away, Rep starting to move faster than he did before almost as if it was in a charge. He kept his emotionless face as he hunted us, but I could tell that he was really tired of having to deal with us running for our lives. His mouth gapes open, desperate than ever to grab onto us with it as I had turned to look and see how far he was.

Turning my head back, to my surprise, I didn't expect to see myself trip forward, landing onto the dirt ground that I had caught myself onto. As I quickly set myself to get right back up, I can feel something slimy grab onto my right back hoof. I screamed briefly as I saw myself being dragged by Rep himself, who now has a hold of me.

"TWILIGHT!" I can hear both Pinkie and Fluttershy call out.

"Oh no, you don't! Let her go!" The voice of bravery is heard, as the rainbow-maned pegasus slams into the brown lizard, knocking him upside-down temporarily, but with him directly snapping right back with him grabbing onto my hoof with his mouth.

Feeling how hard Rep was gripping with his mouth, it was enough for me to yelp from the pain it delivered. Raising my left back hoof, I kicked at his face a few times, though he would not budge. With one more kick in the eye, he screeched out in reaction, letting go of my leg. It hurt, but I knew I could manage still.

Getting up, I was quick to get over back with Rainbow to the rest of our friends, who wave over to follow them. Making suit with it, I can hear another angered roar from Rep himself, his feet getting louder with each step as he moves faster and faster... now more eager than ever to catch us.

Turning the corner down to the next street, my eyes could see Applejack, Spike and Rarity. They already have the trap in place and ready. I gallop faster towards my friends, taking notice that I had to be careful not to touch the rope for the trap. With all of us joined up together, we hopped over the rope, and all of us went on our way, with Spike running alongside us.

I wanted to see how the trap turns out as I could hear Rep roar angrily once again, so I turn my head, with my eyes looking at the brown lizard who is approaching towards us as we ran, his foot getting caught onto the rope which had allowed it to spring into action on him.

The rope reacted to his feet touching it, and the rope releases, swirling around his feet and tying around them, knocking him to the ground, and then throwing him upside-down and left hanging there for the feline to clean up afterwards. I felt more confident when I saw this, knowing that a lot of stress was now off of our hooves.

"REP, YOU FOOL!" I could hear the sound of the feline sorceress in my head as I ran. As I already knew, my friends heard her as well. By hearing the tone of her voice, she sounded both angered and disappointed in her lizard pet. "SUCH A DISAPPOINTMENT!"

As we left the lizard hanging there upside down, we head back towards the castle. Galloping to the front doors, we push it open, seeing the other large doors on the opposite side of the altered main hall, the lock remaining in place, waiting for us to insert the key and get out of here, one step closer to stopping whatever Blueblood was planning.

"There!" I pointed at the key hole with my left front hoof and then gallop towards it. "Rainbow, can you put the key in?"

"Will do!" She acknowledges, flying quickly over towards the door and inserting the key into the hole, using her hooves to push down and turn it to unlock it for us.

At the sound of the door's lock unlatching, I grip onto the stone felt handle, which was slightly larger than the ones in the original realm. I push open the door, mistakenly what I thought was light and another pathway ahead... instead there was nothing but darkness ahead and below... an unknown knowledge of where this would go or if it would go on infinitely.

There was the sound of laughter, and turn around, seeing the feline sorceress above on the balcony who watches and mocks us for thinking it was a way out.

"Did you really think that I would let you little ponies go and leave?" She said, her claws gripping onto the railing. "You all are really what I need for my witchweed potion machine."

"We'll never be your slaves!" Rarity shouts at her.

"Yeah!" Rainbow taunts the sorceress. "You'll have to come and get your lizard pet to drag us there if you have to!"

"Duly noted..." The feline says, snapping her finger with her right paw, as we could see Rep - now untied and free... having us backed by the door.

There was nowhere to go. Behind us was a jump that seemed like it would be an endless fall, or to go somewhere. But me, nor any of my friends knew which of those was true. In front of us, Rep was approaching, and would make us slaves for the feline's witchweed machine yet. I think really hard and carefully, knowing that I had to make the right decision...

...We'll have to take our chances with jumping.

"We need to jump!" I yelled to my friends, turning my back on the lizard as he slowly approaches.

"WHAT?!" Spike was in surprise to hear me say this. "But we don't know where it goes, and if something will happen to us!"

"I know all of you are scared, but I need you all to trust me on this!" I said to them, with my voice sounding very commanding. "I know it's a hard decision I've made, but we have no other choice!"

"Oh... I can't look!" Fluttershy says, using her right front hoof to cover her eyes.

I go over to Fluttershy quickly, wrapping my left wing around to keep my friend close and safe. "Whatever you do, Fluttershy. Do not uncover them!" I turn my head around to see Rep for the last time. He was approaching, his mouth gaping open and ready to snatch us the hard way. "Don't think twice about staying! Now... JUMP!"

Pushing my back hooves forward, I felt myself launch into the darkness, gripping onto Fluttershy as we began our descent downwards into the shadowed time abyss. The gravity within our fall began to go heavy, just like how the spell held us all down when the Timeline was damaged. I felt as if I could not move a single part of my body.

Keeping my eyes open, I could see the loose strands of the timeline floating around us, untied from the single strand that kept the Timeline together, as well as our original timeline. The damage looked pretty bad, with the sound of time's magic becoming louder, knowing that it had grated our ears like last time.

I grunted for a moment, knowing that it was barely audible as the magic got louder and louder, to the point where I thought it was going to make me deaf. The pressure was building up once again, almost like I was getting squeezed. The further down I went, the more strands and noise had picked up.

I couldn't even look up to see how my friends were doing. All I knew was that me and Fluttershy were headed downwards. My eyes could barely turn to see Fluttershy who continued to have her eyes covered, but I could tell that the magic emission noises... just like me, she couldn't stand it... now that it was much louder than us that we couldn't even hear ourselves.

With the pressure tightening up on me, I could feel myself silently scream once more again, this time it felt longer than the first one. Ahead, there was then a flash of white light that covered me and Fluttershy.

The white color then faded to black.

"Twilight? Twilight!"

That voice sounded quite blurred and distant at first, but the second time I could hear my name being called out, it began to clear up, and I was soon able to recognize that voice.

[Play Resident Evil Code Veronica OST - A Moment of Relief]

It was Pinkie, who stands there above, offering me her hoof to help me get up off of the ground, which was covered with dead grass, as if it were the autumn season. Reading the expression on her face as I had opened my eyes, I could tell that she was only a little bit concerned about me. I grip onto her hoof with my left front hoof, letting her help me up as I can see the rest of my friends getting up as well after all of the commotion.

Fluttershy who was with me during the experience, is underneath me, slowly getting up as well. She lets out a bit of a groan, placing a hoof onto her forehead, assuming that the noise had given her a bit of a headache. Looking around at all my friends, they looked like it wasn't easy to go through as well.

Still, I must have made a good judgement call, did I?

"How long were we out for?" I asked, observing the area around us to get a sense of familiarity with where we were. In the distance, I could see the Ponyville Castle that stood there alone, with the rest of the town still seen.

"I'm not sure," Rarity says. "But at least we are a good distance away from the feline, or whatever she planned to do to us. Make us slaves..."

"Ah'd rather not turn out that way," Applejack commented. "There'd be no tellin' if she'd let us go."

"Hey, what matters most is that we're safe now," Rainbow flew over to them, afloat a few feet above the two. She points out a hoof towards the tallest mountain where Blueblood was waiting. "And look, we're practically a few steps- no, not even that. Ten steps closer towards getting to Blueblood and stopping whatever he has in mind!"

"But how are we going to get up there?" Rarity asked, looking at the mountain in observation. "It is unusual for a mountain to look like that, and that kind of design to it has never existed in all of Equestria's times."

"If you know who can find a way, Twilight can!" Pinkie shows an excited, yet confident expression on her voice, just like the excitement in the tone of her voice. "She's found ways before, so I'm sure she can figure out this mountain!"

"Ah absolutely agree!" Applejack says. "Twilight, surely ya can figure out how y'all of us can get to the top? Lookin' at its height, it's lookin' too tall fer us ta take a balloon there."

Now being surrounded with questions to a solution that I haven't figured out yet, I stood there, pondering what to say to my friends as they all turn to look at me as the leader I have always been before and again. "I... I..." I stammered a bit, pausing to myself when I look past my wavy, ethereal mane my mentor and her sister had, looking to see what was on my right that had caught my attention.

It was a graveyard in the short distance, a bit of snow covering on its ground with the familiar gravestones that I have seen. I recognized it from being in Canterlot... and I started to get memories of that rainy day being there after the Mortem War. Having to see my love being buried into the ground... the sobbing of his mother, my mentor and previous princess of Equestria...

The graveyard where my love was buried... Brayden...

A sad expression crosses onto my face, and I turn my head to look back at my friends who now look concerned about if I was going to give them an answer or not. "I... I need to have some time to think for myself." I told them, turning around to go down that misted foggy path to get to the graveyard.

"But Twilight..." Spike says, trying to reach out for me.

"Spike... please." I said to him. I didn't once raise my voice to get them to stop. They knew by the sad tone of my voice that I wanted to be left alone for now. "I just need some time alone..."

I galloped off down that path, my hooves touching down onto the hard path of stones with every step I took to get to the graveyard. I kept my head up high, but the sad expression remained on my face as previous memories with Brayden crossed onto my mind.

...I just wanted to see his grave, and where he was buried again...