Feather ran through the wide streets, trying to ignore the harsh wind and the snow that hit her back. Her heart was beating so fast that gallopping to the Guard was easier than she had thought. Only slightly out of breath, she arrived at the precinct's station. The building was massive, made of light green crystal and sat on top of a small elevation. She had to climb a few steps to reach the door. Feather pushed it open and entered.
A swift turn to the right and she stood at the counter. A slightly puffy officer without armour sat behind it and greeted her with a friendly, though tired, smile.
"Oh, hey, Rush, I didn't know you were on the clock today," he said, slightly surprised. "Thought the other secretary was on duty."
Feather shook her head. "Hey, Print. I'm not. He is. Er, I need to report an emergency."
Deep Print frowned. "You're kidding, right?" He pointed at the room behind him.
Feather's ears went down. She had not noticed it before but the station was packed with ponies, panicking, shivering ponies and guards that tried to calm them down. The other secretary was also there, hoofing a cup of coffee to the Captain who had just taken off his helmet.
"Oh," said Feather. She cleared her throat. "Well. It's still important."
"You know the Princesses?" Sombra gaped at Darren.
The knight frowned, angry that he had slipped. He was way out of practice. Maybe that was a good thing, though. Ignoring Sombra's question, Darren looked around the basement and found a wooden crate that went up to his knees. He pulled it across the room so that it faced the couch about two yards away, then sat down on it. He rested his elbows on his knees and watched Sombra with folded hands.
He had a prisoner who was much weaker than anticipated. Darren doubted that Sombra was faking it. The way Twilight had described him, the pony was arrogant and impulsive. If he had the power to take down Darren he would have used it. But why would Sombra try to make conversation? Did he not care that he was going to get arrested? Was his objective not to return to his full power and rule the Empire? Darren took a deep breath through the nose.
"What do you want?" he asked.
Sombra did not answer and looked away.
"Hey, you two. Can I come in?" White knocked on the children's bedroom door.
"Yeah." That was Peridot.
White entered the bedroom and quietly shut the door. Both ponies were sitting on Eclipse's bed, wrapped into a blanket.
"How are you doing?" asked White, a worried frown on his face.
Eclipse sniffled.
"What are they gonna do to Darren?"
White sat down next to him an put a foreleg around him.
"You see, even if he isn't a bad guy, he still wasn't invited. And the Guard need to ask him what he knows about Sombra."
"But he helped Eclipse," said Peridot.
"Actually, I want to talk to you about that," sighed White. "What happened while we were gone, buddy? Did you really get sick?"
Eclipse nodded, fear creeping into his eyes. "Darren says it was dark magic. He took it away. It was so scary."
"Darren?"
"No, the magic. And it hurt so much." Eclipse shivered a little. White pulled him closer.
Peridot joined the hug and added, "It looked really scary, too. Eclipse was, like, floating in the air and there was this dark smoke and his eyes glowed..."
"My eyes glowed?" cried Eclipse.
Peridot nodded. "Like Sombra's," she whispered. "I didn't know what to do and Eclipse was hurting so I called for help. And suddenly Darren comes out of the basement and wants to help."
"So we let him," said Eclipse. "He just put his claw on my head and said, 'I will take the dark magic from you.' I'm better now. And he was really careful, Dad. And he found Sombra."
"And he knocked him out," said Peridot, emphasizing the statement with a swing of her hoof. "Though," she muttered, "I didn't really see that."
"Darren didn't want us to see what he'd do with Sombra," said Eclipse, worry creeping into his voice. "He isn't gonna hurt Sombra, is he? I mean, I know he's an evil guy but bad guys go to jail, right? ...Dad?"
White was shocked. He tried to keep his ears up and kissed his children.
"Yes, they do. I'm glad you're okay," said White. "I'm gonna talk to Darren when your Mom comes back. You stay here, alright?"
Both nodded meekly.
"Alright," muttered White. He stood up and left, closing the door behind himself. There was a ton of new questions in his head and there was only one able to answer them.
"But I'm telling you, it's actually King Sombra!" Feather cried desperately.
"Look," said the Captain calmly, "Sombra was killed when the Heart was returned by Spike the Brave and Glorious. Even if a pony looks like Sombra it can't be him. Most likely, it's some lunatic trying to imitate him. I'm sorry, Rush, but we have neither the time nor capacity for this right now. Princess Cadance ordered that everyone go home until further notice. You should, too."
"There are two strangers in my house, Captain," said Feather angrily, "and I won't let them stay there. Isn't there anypony you can spare?"
The Captain rubbed his forehead.
"Take Blaze. Two hours max. Now get outta here."
"Thank you, Sir!" Feather beamed, relieved.
Feather had not worked with Indigo Blaze before. The stallion was a detective in his thirties, a bright yellow unicorn with a mane shaved so short that it was hard to tell the colour. He was wearing a coat to protect him from the cold. Maybe he had been outside the Barrier a few times; the coat looked worn. The way that Blaze carried himself suggested a bit of experience in the field.
"Thank you for doing this," said Feather as they cantered back to her home.
"Captain's orders," said Blaze nonchalantly. "So what can I expect?"
"There's Sombra," began Feather nervously, "but he's bound and gagged and his horn foiled. I think he's weaker than before. His eyes didn't glow and he has a sort of normal body, without all the shadows. And then there's this two-legged creature who calls himself Darren. He... he looks like a knight of some kind, he is armed with a sword and about six feet tall - "
"You sure about that?"
"Yes."
"Damn. Alright, what's the deal with that Darren guy?"
"I think he caught Sombra. Who else would have bound him? He looks very dangerous but he was actually the one who asked us to call the Guard. We barely exchanged two sentences, I have no idea what he is and what he wants aside from getting Sombra arrested."
They stopped at the house and Feather knocked.
"White, it's me!"
Her husband opened the door by a fraction and peered outside.
"Feather," he sighed, relieved, and let them inside. Indigo Blaze bumped hooves with White and introduced himself. Feather kissed White on the cheek to greet him.
"Are the kids still upstairs?"
"Yes."
"Good. I'm gonna bring them something for dinner... and keep them occupied."
White frowned and took her hoof as she turned.
"You sure?"
"Why, do you want to have me downstairs with you?"
"Alright, I see your point. See you later."
"I thought so," said Feather and smiled wryly.
"We're getting company," said Sombra as he heard some muffled voiced through the kitchen door.
"Shit." Darren stood up and took the tape roll.
"Oh, come on!"
He muzzled Sombra again, just in time for the door to open.
White Alloy came downstairs, along with a pony that wore a coat over his... coat. Darren faced the two of them. The pony's eyes widened, then, he tried to keep a straight face.
"Are you Darren?" asked the new guy.
"Yes."
"I'm Detective Indigo Blaze, Crystal Guard. Did you bind and foil this stallion?"
"Yes, Sir. He is King Sombra so I figured it the appropriate thing to do."
Blaze frowned as his eyes taxed the bound grey pony.
"He does look slightly similar. Grey coat, curved horn. But the Neighponese have those, too. You know," Blaze snorted, "the eye colour is all wrong, plus, where's the smoke and fear magic?"
Darren cleared his throat. "Apparently, he has not regained his powers after his resurrection."
"Yeah, apparently." Blaze shook his head. "Let's see what he's got to say to that." He pulled the tape from Sombra's mouth.
"You do know that ponies can't be raised from the dead, right? This is just messed up... I mean, I'm just walking down the street, minding my own business, when this guy turns up and knocks me out. Next thing I know, I'm in some star-damn basement. What is this? Some kind of sick joke?"
Speechless, Darren stared at Sombra. Would Blaze see through the lie?
"Who are you, then?" asked Blaze, his eyes narrowed.
"Not Sombra, that's for sure," snorted Sombra. "My name's Crimson Shard. I came here two days ago with the Crystal Express."
"He's lying," said Darren angrily. "He claimed to be Sombra a few minutes ago. He drained energy from my weapon to return to this form."
"Uh, actually, we never heard him say that," said White reluctantly. "Just you... Did you tell the children that story, too?"
"Then why is he missing his Mark?" countered Darren.
"I'd rather not talk about it," mumbled Shard. He was actually blushing! "It's rare but it happens, getting your Mark late."
"Sir," said Blaze, "I need you to come with me. The way I see it, you've been breaking and entering, the only thing that nopony doubts right now."
Darren groaned, the echo in his deep voice startling Blaze for a second. Trying hard to stay calm, Darren sighed curtly.
"I realize... how this looks. Strange creature appears in a basement with a pony taken prisoner. If you'll let me explain -"
"You can do that at the precinct," said Blaze. "Turn around."
"Light dammit, you're letting him go?"
"King Sombra is dead. There is no way in Tartarus that this pony is him. It's Mr Shard's word against yours... Why is it so cold in here?" Blaze turned to White, who pointed at the back door.
"I think I know why," said White. "Look, the door. The lock's broken."
Darren used the momentary distraction to run for said door and remove the bar.
"Halt!" called Blaze, lighting up his horn. Darren drew his sword and turned around. He pointed it at Blaze and cast a spell. Blue mist formed around Blaze's head and the water in the air froze, turning into tiny snowflakes. The pony held his head, bending over in pain as the cold numbed his thoughts.
"Detective!" White shouted, shocked. He ran to his side, trying to catch the guard who looked as if he was going to faint.
"I'm okay, I'm okay." Blaze panted, blinking rapidly. "I got this." He shook his head and tried to do magic again, but too late; Darren had already left.
"Horseapples!" cursed Blaze. He ran after Darren, through the door, up the stairs - he looked around - the creature was gone. He had not thought a biped could be this fast, in plate armour no less.
Frustrated, Blaze returned to the basement and cut the Sombra-lookalike loose.
"You sure about this?" asked White nervously, his eyes on Crimson Shard.
"Yeah. King Sombra is dead, Sir. I saw him explode, you can take my word for it."
Crimson Shard smiled innocently.
Darren pressed his back against the wall. He waited for a few seconds and listened. It seemed that Blaze had already given up. He must be under a lot of pressure if he even forgot to just look around the corner.
Next to the house was a small garden, seamed by an enormous hedge. It was already covered by a significant amount of snow from the freak storm. Darren hid behind it and peered around the leaves. The door opened and Blaze left the building, along with Sombra. They parted ways; while Blaze turned to walk roughly in the direction of the castle, Sombra looked left and right. He galloped away in the opposite direction.
Darren grimaced angrily. Ponies were simply too gullible. His honesty had so easily been wiped away by Sombra's lie. Apparently, glowing eyes were a big minus for credibility. There was only one option left; he had to find Twilight. It was clear that he was not welcome at White's anymore. Twilight was a princess and Darren knew that she had been to the Crystal Empire before. That meant that she was familiar with the royals here. His best chances were to return to the castle.
He snuck back to the basement and listened at the door. As he could not hear anybody inside, he slowly pushed against the door. There was some resistance; the door had been barred again. He sheathed his sword. This was a case for blunt force.
Darren shifted his weight and kicked the door in. The wooden beam splintered loudly under his heavy boot. He heard a surprised shout from upstairs and hurried inside. Stepping over the remains of the improvised lock, Darren snatched his backpack from the floor and, after a moment of consideration, the roll of duct tape.
The kitchen door opened. Without looking back, Darren ran outside. He had high hopes that the snow storm would cover him on his way to the castle.