//------------------------------// // Chapter 16: The Revolution Begins // Story: The Dark Knight Triumphs // by TheClownPrinceofCrime //------------------------------// IN CANTERLOT Princesses Celestia and Luna were having their lunch within their dining room of the castle. As they were about to finish their meals, a letter appeared in a white flash and landed on the table. “A letter? Hmm, I wonder whom it’s from.” Celestia said, setting her plate aside. She levitated the scroll with her magic and opened it up. Once she opened it, she read the letter in her mind: “Dear Princesses Celestia and Luna, this is an emergency letter I am sending to you. The Crystal Empire has mysteriously been attacked by an unseen entity and all of the crystal ponies have somehow been corrupted! They are devouring and killing each other as we speak!” “I escaped the destruction of the crystal castle, but unfortunately the Crystal Heart itself...has been destroyed. I don’t know who it was, but something is destroying the empire! Please notify Twilight and her friends about this!” Yours truly, Shining Armor.” Celestia gasped in shocking horror as she finished reading. “What is it, sister? Who is it?” asked Luna, concerned. “It’s Shining Armor. The Crystal Empire...is under attack by an unknown foe according to him. The crystal ponies have now turned on each other by killing and devouring the other! Plus, the Crystal Heart is destroyed completely!” Celestia alerted. “WHAT?! How is that possible?! Has Sombra returned? Who did this?” Luna demanded. “It’s not Sombra. However, we have no clue of who the perpetrator is. Not even Shining Armor has an idea of who it is.” Celestia replied. “This...this is terrifying...I never thought that this day would come. I remember when the crystal ponies were spreading anarchy after Cadence was assassinated. Who would’ve thought that would be a foreshadow of what would happen later on...even today?” Luna grimly recalled. “Indeed, Luna. We must alert Twilight and her friends immediately to have them discover who was behind this appalling crime.” Celestia said. She brought another scroll and wrote her letter. “Should we alert all of Canterlot and Ponyville about this?” Luna asked. “No.” Celestia firmly ordered. “I do not want to spread mass panic to our ponies. As long as we keep this between us, Shining Armor, Twilight, and her friends, it will be better for us.” ON THE MOUNTAINS Tirek, Clavicle, the new rebels, and the gargoyles gathered together on top of the mountains where they had a panoramic view of all Equestria. The evil centaur wickedly grinned to himself as he had been waiting almost all his life to exact revenge and terror to all the ponies and steal their magic for his own power. With all his allies by his side, he realized that none would stand in his path of conquest. Suddenly, Bane—stripped of his raggedy coat and hood—ran up behind them and reunited with Tirek and the rest of the crew. “Thank you all for your patience, my wonderful allies. I truly did not want to miss out on this glorious day of our triumph.” Bane said. “Of course, I appreciate your commitment and timely arrival myself.” Tirek replied. “I assume that your private business of some sort went well?” “Indeed, it did.” Bane said. Clavicle, however, was still suspicious of Bane’s true intentions. “What exactly were you doing, Bane?” Clavicle demanded, raising an eyebrow. “That doesn’t concern you, comrade. What’s important is our utmost cooperation to make our revolution a strong and robust reality.” Bane reminded. “Indeed.” Tirek agreed before turning to all of his army. “Attention, ye faithful bearers of true justice and vengeance! Today is the day of judgment for ALL of Equestria! United as one, we march against these pathetic ponies, take their magic, destroy their lives, and rule this land FOREVER!!” he passionately declared. The army shouted in eager agreement and uttered battle cries. “We take back what is rightfully ours and crush all those who stand between us and Equestria! I am saddened that Clawbreak could not be here with us to assist us in our inevitable victory. May the Magic of Friendship perish both now and forever once we eliminate everything that will both ruin us and dethrone us! GO FORTH!!” Tirek commanded. They then marched down the mountains while some of them such as Lightning Dust and Garble flew in the air to provide necessary air support. Bane marched next to Tirek as the second-in-command. Clavicle, however, was still angry over his comrade’s demise, and he still felt uncomfortable with having Bane around them. He lowered his head sullenly. “The next time I encounter that hooded creature from that dimensional city, I will discover his identity then kill him and Thorax.” Clavicle plotted. BACK TO CANTERLOT The Mane Five and Spike rushed to the throne room where the Royal Sisters were facing them. They all kneeled in reverence before the rulers. “We came here as fast as we could, princesses! What’s the emergency? Is something wrong?” Twilight anxiously asked. Celestia solemnly nodded her head. “Twilight, I regret to inform you that the Crystal Empire is under self-genocide. The Crystal Heart has been destroyed along with the entire castle.” The ponies and dragon gasped in horror and shock. “WHAT?! How can that be?! Is Shining Armor okay?!” shrieked Twilight. “He is fine, Twilight; however, I cannot say the same for the crystal ponies who have killed and eaten each other.” Celestia answered. Twilight signed in relief until she gagged at the last part of her sentence. “EATEN EACH OTHER?!” Rarity yelled, fully disgusted. “Sweet Celestia, these ponies became cannibals?! I cannot image having to eat the flesh of another pony!!” “Yeah, that is really disgusting! I bet they taste like rotten and mushy cupcakes!” Pinkie added. The others looked at her with raised eyebrows. “What? I’m just guessing!” “Who do you think caused all this?” Rainbow asked. “It is yet unknown who did this. But we do know that somepony or something corrupted them all and motivated them to destroy each other which will result in the Crystal Empire’s demise.” Luna replied. Celestia nodded. “That can’t be good! What do we do now?” Applejack asked. “We need you ponies to activate the elements of harmony to restore friendship, love, and peace in the Crystal Empire and help Shining Armor find a new energy to repair the Crystal Heart to save the kingdom from the upcoming winter storm.” Celestia commanded. “No problem, princesses! You can count on us to restore love and harmony in the Crystal Empire, right girls?” Twilight said before turning to them. “Mmm-Hmm!” the four ponies said in unison. Spike, however, noticed something wrong. “Umm, girls? Have any of you seen Fluttershy? She isn't here with us.” observed Spike. The Mane Five looked around confused until they too noticed the same thing. “You’re right, Spike! What happened to Fluttershy? I haven’t seen her around lately either!” Rainbow said. “Don’t worry, everypony. Once we get the elements, we’ll reach out to Fluttershy together! Come on, guys!” Twilight replied. She and her friends huddled together until they teleported with Twilight’s magic. They teleported right at the entrance of the Tree of Harmony. “Come on, everypony let’s save the Crystal Empire!” said Twilight. However, the moment they all ran to the Tree, they shuddered in deep, heartbreaking shock at what they beheld with their very eyes—the shattered remains of the Tree of Harmony and the Elements. Twilight picked up her broken element with her magic and tried to piece it together. It didn’t magically connect. “What. Just. HAPPENED?!” Rainbow yelled. “It...it can’t be!! This can’t be real!” Rarity shouted. “The Elements are destroyed! First, the Crystal Heart and now THE TREE?! Can things get any worse?!?” Pinkie exclaimed. At that moment, the ground shook mightily with rocks and pebbles flying everywhere. “You probably shouldn’t have said that, Pinkie!” Spike scolded. Suddenly, the Lurking Phantom arose from the ground with his bright, scarlet eyes and evil smile. The Mane Five and Spike trembled exceedingly before the feared spirit. “Well, well, well, if it isn’t the mighty Element Bearers with their precious dragon. Good to see you again!” sneered the Phantom. “What in Celestia’s name are you?!” Rarity cowered. “You may address me as the Lurking Phantom, a mighty and powerful spirit of the ancient times and the ultimate monarch of every darkness and shadow of this world. Too bad your adorable pegasus couldn’t be with you today...” the Phantom grinned. The ponies gasped. “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO FLUTTERSHY?! Where is our friend?!” Rainbow demanded, trying to attack him. She was restrained by Applejack to prevent her from foolishly fighting the dark spirit. “Oh, don’t worry, she is fine. She has done a wonderful job in handling the Crystal Empire all by herself. But, of course, you didn’t think that her gradual change of heart affected the state of this tree and your elements, did you?” he taunted. Twilight took a moment to realize what he meant. Then she gasped in terrifying shock. “You corrupted her?! She was the one who caused all the catastrophes in the Crystal Empire?!” Twilight accused. Tears started to fall from her eyes. The Phantom mockingly laughed. “Hahahahaha!!! I didn’t do that. She brought this on herself—that singeing pang of guilt because of her primary involvement of that poor draconequus’s execution. How pitiful really...how brilliant that clown was.” “Wait a darn minute, how do ya know all that?! And what did ya mean by ‘good to see ya again’ earlier? We’ve never seen ya before!” Applejack asked. Suddenly, the Mane Five and Spike got zapped by a magic beam. Then they were sealed in a cage of light purple energy. They weakly opened their eyes to see a blue unicorn with a white mane and a black cloak. She was accompanied by two gargoyles. Twilight instantly recognized the unicorn. “What? No...TRIXIE?!” she yelled. “Wrong! It’s the great and powerful Trixie to you! Your time of self-glory is over, and your hour of great humiliation is come!” Trixie wickedly grinned. “No! Why are you doing this?! I thought we were friends! I thought we put our grudges behind us!!” Twilight cried. “Sometimes, looks can be deceiving, Twilight. A simple hoof-shake will never make me forget the times when you humiliated me and shamed me before everypony!! Now it’s your turn! Trixie will be superior again!” Trixie declared. “Hahahahaha! Splendid work, Trixie! Take them away and let them watch everypony in Equestria suffer...and DIE!!” the Phantom commanded. The gargoyles took away the ponies and dragon and carried them to Ponyville. The Phantom smirked to himself. “My true self will be revealed. My victory...is inevitable.” he muttered. Tirek marched throughout the Equestrian borders and saw Ponyville in a distance. The ponies that were in front of him ran for their lives, but they were blocked by Garble and Gilda. “Where do you think you’re going, ponies?!” Garble said, showcasing his sharp teeth and claws. The terrified ponies backed away until Tirek stood behind them. Grinning malevolently, he opened his mouth and drained their magic. They fell down slowly as their life force was slipping away. The energy strengthened the centaur while he proudly flexed his biceps. Gilda grabbed the five ponies and threw them to Garble. “Get ready for the heat!” Garble said. He opened his mouth and spewed fire at the weakened equines. They screamed in agonizing pain as they burned alive. Flim and Flam had a large cannon pointing right at the Sweet Apple Acres farm and field. The Apple Family—Big Mac, Apple Bloom, and Granny Smith with their dog Winona—fled the area from the pursuing gargoyles. The FlimFlam brothers fired their cannon; the projectile struck the whole farm, exploding it on impact. Lightning Dust flew across the sky near the Wonderbolt Academy and flew in a circle repeatedly until she produced a tornado. The tornado went to the Academy and demolished the whole building along with half of Cloudsdale. “Ha, take that challenge, Spitfire.” she smirked smugly. In Ponyville, Bane walked over to Tirek who just finished draining three more ponies of their magic. He beheld every gargoyle in the town either slaughtering, capturing, or attacking the pony residents. For some reason, he felt some compassion for the ones who got brutally mutilated or murdered. He didn’t know why he felt that, but he felt sorry for them. Thorax came into his mind as he was thinking about this. “This is a dream come true, Bane. I thank you for your help in inspiring us to carry this out.” Tirek said. Then he grabbed another pony who was a grey pegasus with a yellow mane and drained her magic. “You’re quite welcome, Tirek.” Bane said, shaking off his true feelings. “Here, I have something I want to give you. This was given by someone very close to me. I offer it to you as a sign of my gratitude and loyalty.” Tirek said, taking his triangle-shaped necklace off and wrapping them around Bane. The guardian gargoyles carried the Mane Five and Spike in the cage and brought them to Tirek. Bane saw these mares and dragon with a curious look on his face. “Ahhh, what do we have here? A dragon, a pegasus, two earth ponies, a unicorn, and—what? Another alicorn? Interesting!” Tirek observed as he beheld them for the first time. “Wait...you must be Lord Tirek! I’ve heard about you!” Twilight said. “Indeed! I have returned to take back what is rightfully mine!! And you are all next in line!” Tirek grinned. “NO!!” Twilight cried. Tirek opened his mouth again and drained them all of their magic slowly. They screamed in pain as it happened. Once he absorbed their magic, Tirek grew to his third form where his horns and beard grew larger. “Bring me the princesses along with the current ruler of the Crystal Empire! I will savor their powerful magic!” Tirek commanded. Three gargoyles nodded before flying off. Twilight looked helplessly on as all her friends were being killed or captured. All of Equestria was now being taken by the arisen evil, yet neither she nor her friends had their elements with them to stand up against the new threat as they were destroyed. All hope seemed lost. “No...we...we failed.” Twilight wept.