Dusk felt weary after what felt like hours of walking, even though it had only been half an hour since he had departed from Rarity's boutique. His soul gem still had a lot of color left, but with each grip to prolong his life it would grow ever so darker. His soul gem seemed to be screaming at him, warning him that he was growing dangerously close to the presence of the corrupted. He found himself on a grassy hill, where a strange treehouse stood before him.

Dusk found himself unsure of whether or not he should approach the tree. He had indeed found the presence of a witch, but it could have just as well been any witch. He had considered enlisting aid from other wishers, but he knew that this was a battle he had to do himself. He slowly made his way closer to the tree, keeping a weary eye out for his surroundings.

Though the tree-fort seems to be rather quiet, and unaffected, there's what sounds like faint humming, in Rarity's all too familiar voice. "...and that's the Art Of The Dress!"

Satisfied that the knight found the right place, he took a deep breath before approaching the tree, expecting reality to shift all around him. (Dusk)

As the knight moves closer to the fort, there's an unusual rippling of the air, punctuated by Rarity's voice growing louder, and less cheerful. "Why, oh WHY, did my so-called friends take advantage of my generosity, and what did it get me aside from pain?!"

The knight grabbed his cyan soul gem tightly, summoning a series of magical cyan plates around his armor. Dusk then closed his eyes as he felt reality shift and change around him. He could never get used to the feeling of entering a witch's lair. As he opened his eyes, the manner of the lair came as a shock to him. He gazed slowly around at the mess, shaking his head at an equal pace.

Through one of the broken windows, there's a brisk gust of wind, and a swirl of dust off one of the rusted shelves. Rather ominously, there's a wail sounding eerily similar to Rarity's voice coming from the fog-blanketed ruins.

'This evil knows no mercy. I saw the beauty in this place the last time I crossed its path. Before Florence and the Heartless tore it up..such was a sight far soothing in the shadow of this.' Dusk thought to himself as gradually stepped forward with a hand on his hilt.

Even though the stairs are broken, and collapsed, the dark-furred Rarity seems to materialize at the top of them, sneering hatefully at Dusk with her pitch-black horn sparking menacingly. "What are you here for? If you're expecting to see me roll over and just die generously for you, like some sick canine, you're gravely mistaken! What did I ever get for all the generosity I showed my friends and my younger sister, that bitch Sweetie Belle?! You're going to know the pain that comes from being so generous, and having others take advantage of it!"

For a few moments, rather oddly... Rarity's expression turns from menacing to frightened, as she stares at Dusk imploringly from her place on the second floor. "Dusk, dear... I'm scared.."

Dusk shook his head sadly. "Is this all that remains of you? You, who opened my eyes in the deepest of darknesses? Such a sorrowful fate. I..cared for you, underneath Florence's ambitions. To see you in this manner is enough to make me give in myself." The knight then drew his sword, gripping it tightly while causing a beam of light to extend out from it.

"But I shall not. For Ajora has promised redemption to all beings." said Dusk as he changed his stance, weary of whatever the corrupted unicorn would do next. "You need not be scared. I have come to deliver you..as well as myself."

With a bloodthirsty yell, Rarity charges, cloaking as she jumps the entirety of the broken stairs to give herself an advantage in the fight. "Oh, please. Are you just trying to soften my heart, and make me fall for a simple trick like that? See how long you last with that sentiment, when you can't even see me! Love, and friendship? PATHETIC!"

Dusk grit his teeth and put his arms together vertically. His soul gem flickered slightly as a transparent field of light faced off towards the left and right of him as he stood his ground, awaiting for the invisible witch to strike. "If there is some shred of that which you used to be inside of you, monster..know that I did not come out of faith or duty, but for myself!"

Even though she's invisible, Dusk's statement is enough to make the corrupted unicorn hesitate. She seems to be thinking intensely to herself.

Dusk braced for the Rarity's impact, but felt none. At the same time, he could feel his soul gem pulsing. He didn't have time to play defensively; he had to get aggressive or risk losing the rune to Rarity, and in turn, to the man who saved him from his own monster. The knight then parted his arms, causing the shield of light to dissipate, as he swung his soul blade widely and blindly in front of him twice, using the momentum to spin around once with a third slash.

Dusk could only hope for a hit to land, yet he dreaded the idea of hearing Rarity screaming in pain.

Being invisible isn't enough to keep Rarity from getting cut into by the blade, and this is enough to disrupt her focus on the cloaking-spell, as well as making the corrupt unicorn scream in pain. "ARGH! That HURT! No more GAMES!"

Dusk winced in reaction to Rarity's scream. Sure, he was trying to kill her. Yet despite that he wished no harm on her. Could he be blamed? Though he never got the chance to share it with her, he loved her. That alone was the only thing giving him the strength to do what he had to do. "Enough have suffered because of us! It may not be our fault, but we are the cause of it!" shouted Dusk as he rose his sword up, casting a glare towards the wounded Rarity.

"Let this sorrow die with us, for we can spare them that pain!" shouted Dusk again as he approached slightly and forcefully swung his sword downwards towards the black unicorn.

"I'm not... entirely down yet!" Rarity, despite her severe injury, still manages to pull a large diamond-spear up out of the ruined floor and drive it point-first towards Dusk, even as she braces herself for the final blow.

The diamond-spear rising from the floor caught Dusk off guard as it penetrated his right arm, dragging his body backwards slightly until the spear flew into the rear wall. The knight shouted out in pain and dropped his blade in front of him as he struggled to free his arm, but to no avail. He then quickly took his gaze off of the wounded Rarity and placed it on his left hand, where the cursed rune rested. "I guess I don't have much of a choice.."

Dusk then held his left hand out towards Rarity, attempting to focus but again to no avail. He had never used the rune before personally, yet Florence made it seem so easy. What was he missing? In the mean time, he used his feet to fumble with the fallen blade in an attempt to life it closer to his left hand.

Watching impassively, even with her blood rushing from her wound, Rarity moves closer, levitating a silver-magenta revolver from the termite-eaten table near her with her magic, and loading six rounds into it with surprising calmness, even in spite of the single tear falling from one eye. "You don't get it, do you? Don't you see now? This is what generosity gets you! I want you to die, believing that and suffering the way I did!"

It was no use, Dusk had no idea how to work the rune's power. The pain in his arm was overwhelming, and fear began to fill his heart as he witnessed the dark unicorn preparing her weapon. He tried to struggle once more against the spear, but was unable to get his arm out of it. At that point, Dusk had managed to grab his sword with his feet and moved his left hand to pick it up.

"Let not another soul face tragedy because of our existances!" said Dusk as he took a couple of deep breaths before closing his eyes and bringing his sword down on his right arm.

Removing the soul plates on his right arm before the sword could land, the blade easily cuts through Dusk's right arm, resulting in a flood of blood. The knight screamed in agony as he moved his body away from the detatched limb, gritting his teeth and charging towards Rarity while gripping his blade tightly to form the soul blade once again.

Once close enough, he rose his left hand up. "Not. One. More!" shouted Dusk as brought his soul blade down towards the corrupted creature.

As she watches - then feels - the sword cut into her skull to one side of her horn, Rarity's expression turns oddly peaceful as she discharges the revolver into Dusk's chest, closing her eyes and sighing.
With blood pouring from the cuts on her head and forelegs, Rarity slowly moves closer, extending one red-tinted forehoof towards Dusk before falling silent and hitting the ruined floor with a dull thud as it fades away.

"I..I'm sorry.." said Dusk, dropping his sword as he fell to his knees over Rarity's lifeless body. At the same time, the labrynth had begun to fade away, as well as her remains. "N-no..don't leave me.." cried the knight as he fell foward on top of where her body once was, where all that remained was a black stone. The sudden flood of light from the setting sun had blinded him as he laid still in the plains outside of the treehouse.

"Y-you don't have to..go alone..I..if this love must be a sin..then I'll not seek forgiveness..I care not where we go..just so long as we.." muttered Dusk in between coughs, bleeding profusely. The cyan plates of armor around him then disappeared, causing his soul gem to fall from the armor underneath and landing a ways away from his body. "D-don't go yet..w-wait..I-I'm.." coughed Dusk one last time as he buried his face into the grass, lying still.

For a moment, Dusk's left hand flares to life as an eerie red light shines brightly before dying down. Lucky for Finn and Jake, no one was home. As the Rune of Punishment sensed no nearby hosts to latch onto, it went into a state of dormancy. Some time passed, and the sun had set completely, bringing nightfall around the hill. A boy and a man could be seen approaching the knight's body. (Dusk)

"Think he did what he wanted to do?" asked the boy. "Yeah..I've never seen such a satisfied look on a dead man's face." said the man as he squatted to his feet, picking up the grief seed and the soul gem. (Dusk)

"What do you plan to do with those?" asked the boy as he reached for Dusk's hand, preparing a magical cage to keep the rune in. "Take them to where they can rest, away from all this nonsense of duty and punishment. They certainly deserve it after the things they've been through." said the man, placing the gems in the pockets of his trenchcoat. (Dusk)

"This spell could take a while. Maybe you should go meet up with the others." said the boy as he began to focus his concentration onto a spell. "We'll stick around Guardia for a bit before we head back..there's a critter I need to see before we go home." said the man as he began to head back in the direction from where he came. "Don't catch a cold, now." commented the man as he disappeared into the south. (Dusk)

The boy shook his head at the snide comment before returning to his spell, "It was never about what you did or didn't do, Sir Dusk. It was about what you did in spite of what fate had in store for you. That's what the Rune of Punishment is all about." (Dusk)

After removing the rune from Dusk's body, the boy stood up and raced after the man. He stopped and looked at the tree one last time, "May your souls rest together in peace." before disappearing from sight as well.