//------------------------------// // Chapter XXVI: Manehattan Down // Story: A Lost Soul in a Dark World // by TasteTheSun //------------------------------// All three ponies were trotting across the great Equestrian plains. Black Iron took the lead as Maxspell and Longspear followed behind. None of them said a word to each other since they left the blacksmith's shop. They continued on until they the Manehattan skyline come up on the horizon. "Black Iron, go on ahead and scout the city from above. Oh, and make sure you use that cloaking spell I taught you a while ago," Maxspell ordered. "Yes Maxspell," was Black Iron's reply as she took off into the blue skies above. Once he was sure Black Iron was out of ear shot, Maxspell once again confronted Maxspell. "Maxspell, I know you've heard me say stuff like this a thousand times, but just answer me this, what did you do to her!?" Longspear said in an aggravated tone. Maxspell simply smiled and chuckled to herself. "I told you, I made her see the truth," "Would you stop it with the riddles or whatever and be specific, what did you do to her!?" Longspear repeated. "I shared my gift with her. Something much more powerful than your average unicorn magic." Longspear stood there for a while thinking to himself. He was trying to connect the pieces to the puzzle until he finally put two and two together. "Did you give her dark magic!?" He asked shocked and worried at the same time. Maxspell only gave an evil grin at him. Longspear got his answer from that grin alone. "Maxspell! You fucking brainwashed her! What the hell!?" "It was just a little bit of insurance Longspear. We don't want our princess to choke when she confronts Celestia now do we?" Maxspell said in a coo voice. Longspear simply rolled his eyes at that. "Well whatever. How did you get dark magic anyway?" He asked, but Maxspell didn't reply. To her relief, Black Iron came back and landed right in front of them. "Ah, Black Iron, anything to report?" Maxspell asked, changing the subject from the previous conversation. "Nothing major to report. All the ponies in that city over there are simply going on with their day," Black Iron reported. "Excellent. Now, just do what we planned before left and we should have Manehattan in our grasp in no time," Maxspell instructed. Black Iron nodded and flew back up into the air. "I'm know I'm not going to like this," said Longspear worriedly. "You might not, but I'm going to love every second of it," Maxspell replied excitedly as she took off towards the city with Longspear desperately trying to catch up with her. ••• Manehattan was probably one of the most busiest cities in all of Equestria. Every hour, ponies moved from one area to another, simply carrying on with their day. They did not know that today, would be one they wouldn't forget. High above in the sky, Black Iron observed the ponies below. With a flash of her horn, she teleported from the sky to the streets. All the surrounding ponies fell back at what had just appeared right in front of them. Black Iron quickly recovered herself from the motion sickness and took in her surroundings. She saw the ponies around her backing away, cowering in fear. The sight of that filled her with pleasure. She looked up over the crowd of ponies and found her destination. She began to move forward. The crowd of ponies cleared a path for her, either out of respect or fear. Either way was fine for Black Iron. She continued trotting on until she made it to her destination, which was in fact Manehattan City Hall. Standing in front of the steps, she planted her metal plated hooves firmly in place while she charged up her horn with her gems in her armor and her eyes aglow. In a split second, a blast of black glowing magic blasted through the front doors of the building, creating a giant, gaping hole in the wall. All the ponies in the surrounding area galloped away screaming in fear. This filled Black Iron with joy on the inside. She trotted up the stairs, and into City Hall, passing through the crowd of cowering ponies running for their lives. In an instant the lobby of the place had been cleared out. In the distance, Black Iron could hear sirens getting louder and louder. Using her quick wits, she gripped all of the furniture in the lobby with her magic and stacked them in front of the gaping hole in the wall. In no time, the front exit had been sealed off. No one could get in nor out now. "That should hold them off long enough," Black Iron told to herself as she trotted across the enormous room. As she crossed the front desk that seemed to have belonged to a secretary, she could have sworn she heard somepony cough. Activating her horn again, she wrapped the desk in her magic, tore it out of the ground and tossed it across the lobby, revealing a scared pony in a cradle position. Black Iron wrapped her in her magic and lifted the pony off the ground and held her up at eye level. "Excuse me, but where's the mayor's office?" Black Iron asked. "D-do you h-have an a-appointment with w-with h-him?" the Secretary asked. "Why yes! It's important for me to see him. We have certain matters to discuss," Black Iron replied. "W-well, I-I would t-tell h-him that y-you're c-coming, b-b-but you k-kinda threw my d-desk over t-there." Black Iron brought her in closer til they met eye to eye. "Just tell me where the office is," Black Iron said through gritted teeth, with her furocious red eyes starring straight into the secretary's eyes. She felt as if those red eyes were burning her soul. "ITSONTHETOPFLOORATTHEENDOFTHEHALL!!!!!!" she said rapidly from pure fright. Black Iron smiled, gave her a 'thank you', and threw her at the wall across the room. She fell to the ground unconscious after leaving a pony shaped hole of her body on the wall. Black Iron turned her attention towards the barracade she made and heard constant banging on the other side. She turned and headed towards the long stairsway. Once there, she looked up, lit up her horn, and in a flash, she went from the bottom floor to the top. Opening the door, she steped into the hall. Turning to her left, she found a door at the end of the hall, just as how the secretary claimed. As Black Iron walked down the hall, she noticed that the hall was a mess. Possibly because of all the chaos she's been causing. She also notced several ponies cringed in fear as she walked by, and why wouldn't they. Her appearance alone striked fear into anyone foolish enough to challenge her. And that someone, just happened to be a chief police officer who was already on the scene before the attack. "HEY YOU, FREEZE!!!" he called out as he ran up to tackle her. Black Iron, however, only stayed on coarse towards the office. Right as the police officer was a few inches away from tackling her, Black Iron bucked him in the face with her right foreleg, without tearing away her straight gaze. The cop was sent flying across the hall and into the wall. He too left an imprint of his body on the wall before falling towards the ground unconscious. Black Iron came up to the double doors of the mayor's office and knocked on the door. "Come in," somepony said on the other side of the door. With that, the two doors opened by themselves, revealing a bit of an elegant, large, circular room. It was even enough to impress Black Iron. There were elegant wooden furniture, wine glass case, and even a miniature bar. On one side of the large room was a fire place with a portrait of an elder, light brown, grey maned, wrinkly stallion wearing a suit and tie hanging above it, but at the end of the room, across from the doors, was a desk with a wheel chair facing the large, glass windows. "Are you my 2 o'clock appointment?" the same pony from before asked. "Uhm, yea. I'm hear to discuss about a business proposal with you Mayor," Black Iron replied. "What kind of business proposal?" "One that involves the future of your city Mayor." That last comment Black Iron gave was enough to make the pony swivel around to face who he was talking to. What he saw made his eyes widen in shock. When Black Iron saw who it was, she was surprised to see that the stallion from the painting was the same one as the one she was speaking with. While she was analyzing him, the stallion opened a drawer and took out two cigars from it. "Do you smoke?" he asked while lighting up the one he put in his mouth. Black Iron didn't reply. Instead, she took it in her magic. Without removing her gaze from the mayor, she engulfed the cigar in a miniature ball of flames until they fell on his desk in a pile of ashes. The mayor was actually impressed by what she done while he smoked his cigar. "My, aren't you quite the magic user. By the way, I believe we haven't introduced ourselves. The name's Pennysacks, Mayor Pennysacks, and you are?" "Princess Black Iron." "Princess eh? well nice to know that those other two princesses aren't the only princesses around here." "Yes, they will see who Equestria's true leader is," Black Iron replied, agreeing with Mayor Pennysacks logic. "I apologize. I'm getting off topic here. I mean when your'e old, you tend to forget things and... there I go again. Anyway, that was quite the ruckus you caused down there. Care to explain?" Pennysacks asked. "I just needed to make sure I got your attention. Also, I needed to clear out most of the ponies here, but lets not worry about that now and lets talk more on my business proposal," said Black Iron. "Alright then, I'm all ears!" Pennysacks replied. "It's quite simple really, all you have to do is resign your position as mayor over to me, and well, lets just say I might let you see your beloved city another day!" Black Iron said. This made Pennysacks' jaw drop, as well as his cigar. He was simply dumbstruck from what he had just heard. "Are you serious?! I can't just handover the city to some pony who claims to be princess, even if you do have wings and a horn, as well as some weird, menacing looking armor. Now if you don't get out of my office this instant, then I'll have no choice but to call security!" Pennysacks said. This really aggravated Black Iron. She then used her magic to wrap around Pennysacks' throat to lift him up off his chair. "I think you might want reconsider that thought," Black Iron said as she tighten her magical grip around her victim's throat. "I'll... let... you... have the... city... over my... dead... body," replied Pennysacks, struggling for air. This only made Black Iron advance in her approach. "Very well then," she said as she threw Pennysacks out crashing through the window and down several stories towards the city streets. Just then, the doors to the office opened with Maxspell and Longspear coming in from the other side. "Maxspell, Longspear, what took you two so long, and where have you two been?" Black Iron asked noticing that they were covered in sludge. She also noticed the stentch emminating from them. "We needed an alternate route into the city," Maxspell replied. "And that alternate route would be?" "The stinkin' sewers!" Longspear answered annoyedly. Shocked, Black Iron covered her muzzle with her hooves ad ran for the smashed window, desperately gasping for fresh air. "Well, now that we've gotten that covered, how'd it go? Did the mayor come to agree on our little proposal?" asked Maxspell "You could say that, you could say that he sort of "dropped out," but don't worry, he said that I could have the city, so yea! Manehattan is ours!" Black Iron cheered along with Maxspell as she was getting her head back inside. Longspear however simply rolled his until he thought of what Black Iron had just said. "Whoa wait, what do you mean by "dropped out" and why is that window broken?" he asked. It didn't take him long until he figured out what she meant. "Black Iron, did you-" Black Iron cut him off with a nod. "Oh my sweet Celestia!" he said as he ran towards the window. Looking down, he saw several ambulances at the foot of the building. Turning his attention back to the two mares. "Why you little-" he said before tackling Maxspell and pinning her to the floor. "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU'VE MADE HER DO!!! he exclaimed until he felt his body being gripped by something. Looking down upon himself, he saw his body was being wrapped in a black glow. In an instant, he was then thrown towards the other side of the room. Black Iron then went to assist Maxspell. "Thank you Black Iron, I have no idea what has gotten into Longspear," Maxspell said as Black Iron helped her up. Longspear got himself up while trying to wok through the pain that Black Iron caused. Just then, banging was heard from the front two doors. "Aw crap, the cops!" Exclaimed Longspear. "Maxspell, you and Longspear head towards the roof while I deal with the police." Black Iron ordered. "Are you sure you can handle them on your own?" Maxspell asks worriedly. "Trust me, I have an idea." "Well alright then, come on Longspear," Maxspell said as she motioned for Longspear to follow. They both quickly golloped towards a door at the far right with a picture of stairs in it. "I hope this works," Black Iron nervously thought. Once the two were gone, Black Iron stood her ground as the ponies on the other side of the door continued trying to break it down. It wasn't until they actually managed to break it down. All the police officers swarmed inside. The police officer in front of the pack happened to be the police chief Black Iron knocked out a while ago. "You?!" he exclaimed. "Me?" Black Iron replied. "You're going to pay for what you've done, and this time, we outnumber you ten to one. What do you say about that?" "I'd say, you've just made my job a whole lot easier. Now bow to your true ruler!" With that, Black Iron lowered her head and shot a beam of dark magic at the police chief. It was to fast for him to dodge, so instead, it shot into his head, and then it split and went into two, then four, then eight, and so on. Eventually, all the ponies in the room were under Black Iron's control. Their irises in their eyes all turned red. The police chief knelt down before his ruler and said "My League," to her. The rest of the ponies their followed his example. This made Black Iron very giddy, even though she was trying not to express it. "Ok troops, you're apart of my Royal Guard, which means you must protect me at all costs. So, for now I want one of you to escort me to the roof while the rest of you follow me towards the roof. Now let's see, you," Black Iron said pointing at the police chief. "What's your name?" she asked. "Police Chief Ironhoof your majesty," he replied. "Well congratulations, you are now captain my new guard, and my escort." "Thank you your highness. You won't be disappointed." "You better hope I won't be. Ok troops, lets move out," Black Iron commanded. Iroonhoof came to attention and stood near to where Black Iron was as they both went towards the stairs. The rest of the ponies quickly got up and followed the two. ••• "What's taking her so long? Do you think she's ok?" Maxspell frantically asked Longspear. He didn't reply. They both head behind an air duct so that they wouldn't be spotted by the hovering news chariots flying above city hall. Just then, the door to the roof opened. Longspear peeked over to see who it was. To his relief, he saw that it was just Black Iron. Maxspell jumped and and galloped up towards the pony. She then gave her a tight hug. "Thank goodness you're alright," she said, but was interrupted when something tackled her and pinned her to the ground. "AAAAAHHHH!!! Get him off me!" Maxspell exclaimed. Black Iron wrapped Ironhoof in her magic and lifted him off of Maxspell. She went to help Maxspell up while she lowered Iroonhoof to the ground. "It's ok Captain, she's a friend," Black Iron said. "Sorry Princess, I thought she was posing a threat to you," he replied. "Honest mistake, just don't let it happen again," Black Iron said threateningly. Iroonhoof nodded at that nervously. "Uhm, Black Iron, who's this?" Longspear nervously asked. "Everypony, I'd like for you to meet Iroonhoof, captain of my royal guard," Both ponies exchanged confused looks at what Black Iron said. Suddenly, the rest of her royal guard came marching out of the stair well and formed a perimeter around the roof. Maxspell was amazed at what her little protege had done. "Black Iron, you have no idea how proud this makes me!" she said as she hugged her once again. "Thank you, now if you'll excuse me, I have some import things in need to discuss with my subjects," Black Iron replied as she moved away from Maxspell and trotted towards the front side of the roof. Several news chariots and pegasus reporters saw her and flew up right in her. Standing on the ledge, she adjusted her crown and used her magic to amplify her voice. "Citizens of Manehattan. I am hear to tell you that your former mayor has officially resigned and has left me the city. So now, you are all my royal subjects who will be loyal to me. If you are, then you will be treated fairly, and if not, well, you will just have to answer to me or to anyone in my Royal Guard. Also, no one is allowed to enter, nor leave the city. Otherwise, you'll be punished severely. But don't think of me as an evil dictator. I'm just here to improve Equestria help it move forward, making it a better place than it ever was. Let this be the day that I, Princess Black Iron, will rule FOREVER!!!!" "Oh boy, this won't end well," Longspear whispered to himself. Black Iron got off the ledge and went to give out commands to Iroonhoof. "Captain, I want you to send out the pegasi to get air superiority in the skies above the city while the unicorns share my gift with the rest of the Manehatten police force," Black Iron commanded. Iroonhoof nodded and went to give out the orders. Black Iron then went back to the ledge and saw the news cameras flying above her. She smiled and let out a menacing laugh. ••• Celestia was just about finished with the afternoon court when a guard came and approached her. "Princess we have a problem. Is it ok if we discuss in private?" he asked whispering in her ear. The princess nodded and turned her attention to the crowd of ponies. "Thank you everypony for coming and feel free to return for evening court later, and have a good afternoon." All the ponies began exiting the throne room. Once it was finally empty, the princess returned her attention to the guard. "Alright, what's the problem?" she asked. "Manehattan has been over thrown!" the guard exclaimed. Celestia was very confused by what he said. "What do you mean over thrown?" "I mean somepony went in, killed Mayor Pennysacks and claimed that she's taken over the city! She's even taken over the entire Manehattan Police Department!" "Well who is it?" "She calls herself Princess Black Iron." "I better head over there and see this for my self," Celestia said as she got up from her throne. "Actually, she's on the news right now," said the guard as he pressed a button on her throne. A large glass like screen arose from the floor and switched on to the locall news. What Celestia saw on the screen was something she could not beleive. "Is that Princess..." She imidiatly fainted when she saw who it was. Just then, Luna entered the throne room and saw her sister passed out on the ground. "CELESTIA!!!!" she exclaimed as she ran up to help her sister. She cradled her sister's head and fanned it with her hoof. She then turned her attention to the guard. "Get the paramedics in here NOW!!!" she commanded forcefully. The guard nodded and galloped out of the throne room in a flash. Luna continued trying to wake her sister when her gaze fell upon the large screen. What she saw was something she neither could believe. "Is that Princess..." Just like her sister, she too fainted when she saw who it was. ••• Questions, Comments, Complements. Any errors... are done on purpose. Happy April Fool's Day!!! ;) Be sure to like and follow both here and twitter.(username: @Pony3T)