//------------------------------// // In Shadows we Unite // Story: Necessary Evil // by Wing Dancer //------------------------------// A shadow crept along the walls of the Canterlot Palace, avoiding the guards who roamed the grounds. The intruder was a very agile pony, darting between cover, her black suit turning her invisible in the pitch black night. The mare approached her objective around midnight – the royal gardens were peaceful and not a soul was in sight. Amongst the statues of heroes, virtues and just plain art there was one stone image like no other – a twisted pony/dragon mash up, a creature who’s each body part belonged to a different beast. The draconequus, known as Discord, still had horror on his face, his legs and hands outstretched in a defensive pose, eyes full of horror and disbelief. That was the target. The intruder dug in her slim saddlebags and procured a black, mat gem. As she brought it closer to the trapped spirit, it turned even darker, as if syphoning all the available light in the area. It took a while for the magical contraption to charge up, slowly turning to a dark shade of red. A barely audible sound notified the mare that it was ready to be used. Not a moment was wasted. The gem was thrown at Discord’s statue, causing the item to sink into the cold stone. A silent cackling was heard… And the shadow was gone. * * * Meanwhile, in the Everfree forest, another shadowy figure crept through the abandoned halls of an old pony castle. It came to be known as the place where Nightmare Moon was defeated. The agent diligently searched every corner of the large throne room in which, according to the information she gathered, the Mistress of Eternal Night was defeated. As she roamed about, she swept her muzzle left and right, holding a black gem in her teeth. On occasion, the thing would hum gently and the mysterious pony would pick up something that looked like a piece of a shell or shard of a broken vase. The moon was nearing the end of its journey when the black mare finished, making sure the elements in her bag were all there. Smiling, she left the castle silently, disappearing in the Everfree. * * * In a different part of the forest, a similar pony wearing dark colors roamed the jungle. She felt she was being traced for some time now, but continued on her way regardless. A low sound was coming from one of her bags, getting louder and louder as the pony closed in on her target. Without much warning, she had to evade a creature that lunged at her with abnormal speed. As black as her suit, the beast hissed, bearing its sharp teeth. Others came into view, rustling their leathery wings and firing up their twisted horns with green magics. The mare slowly reached to her saddle and held up high a dark red gem that was pulsating with some kind of inner power. The humming noise the item made caused the changelings to back away, still hissing and eyeing the stranger. “Interesting…” murmured a voice from behind. A mighty changeling, wearing a crown on her long, greasy sea-colored mane came out of the dark, her eyes on the gem held in the air. * * * Somewhere in the southern lands of Equestria, concealed by uncharted mountains and powerful spells, there was an academy like none other. Etched into the heart of a giant volcano, the college was a private institution, each of its students hoof picked by the board of headmasters which now assembled, first time in over a millennium. The room had a giant round table at the center, around which were three highly decorative chairs. Gargoyles, devils and other mythical creatures stared at the scene with their dead, stone eyes, witnessing the arrival of the headmasters. Clad in her armor, accompanied by two colts with bat wings, came in Nightmare Moon – her night sky mane flowed in the still air of the chamber. The large candles providing light flickered as an elongated body darted past them. Discord flew down gently onto his chair, making himself comfortable. He snapped his fingers, summoning a glass with his favorite drink – chocolate milk. “Discord, we already talked about this. No snacking during meetings!” hissed a voice, its reverb making it sound heavy with threat. Queen Chrysalis, flanked by two changelings, entered the room, taking the last seat and eyeing the others. “Oh, boo hoo hoo. What are you gonna… Hey.” That is all the draconequus managed to say before his precious drink was spilled to the floor by a changeling minion. The glass lay shattered in a brown puddle. The Queen snickered, oblivious to Discord’s deadpan expression. “Enough,” intoned Nightmare Moon, squinting at the two. “We all know why we are gathered here.” “Oh, do we now?” snickered Discord, laying back and kicking his legs up and onto the table. “This is no time for fooling around, Discord. This is a serious meeting; you are free to leave if you cannot take it seriously.” “Oh, for the love of… Fine!” spat the draconequus, squinting at Chrysalis who was trying to conceal a chuckle. “Good. Let us begin our board meeting, then. As you all know, Equestria has suffered peace for far too long. Despite our most vigorous attempts, the Elements of Harmony remain the most potent weapon against us.” “I tried spiriting them away,” snorted Discord, amused at his own pun. “But that didn’t turn out to be as effective as I planned it to be.” “I almost succeeded in denying them that power,” said Chrysalis, rustling her wings uneasily. “But I admit it was my own fault that I got defeated. I underestimated one colt and… Well, you know the story.” “Yes, we all know the stories of our failures,” groaned Nightmare Moon, blowing away the mane that got in her eyes. “We need a totally different approach to rid this world of these blasted gems. They are the only thing stopping us from achieving our goal.” “But how?” asked Discord. “We shall think of something. There has to be a way to render them useless.” “I already said I tried. I have no idea why it backfired, though. They were all totally disconnected from their elements… And then just poof, they’re back, giant rainbow in the face and I’m stoned” Chrysalis couldn’t help but giggle; even Nightmare Moon allowed herself a smirk at the joke. “Yes, yes, of course you did. So a direct approach doesn’t work as it used to. These are different times. We need to get into the spirit of things. My agents have been gathering information for a very long time now, and slowly we’re beginning to develop new ways to cause evil. What we need is more stealth and cunning.” “Tried that. It took me a whole month to get into the role of that blasted Cadance. It was all perfect, until Twilight and her friends showed up and freed that little witch.” “I know, I know… So the main problems are those six ponies. For some reason they are connected to the Elements. It’s impossible to separate them, you can’t turn them… We need to counter them with our own. We need the essences of Disharmony. Our very own main six, ponies capable of nullifying the power of those cursed gems.” “Do you think any of the students here could do it?” “They have to. Time is running short – our individual failures caused a great slip in the master plan, and we cannot afford loosing another millennium or so… We will have to work strictly together” “Now, now! I don’t want to hear any growling, snickering or stupid comments!” yelled Nightmare Moon, bashing a hoof against the table. The two other major evils were hushed, displeasure plain on their faces. They had their differences, quarrels and issues. Chrysalis hated how the prankster kept making fun of her minions, launching buckets of water on their heads or slipping them on banana peels. Discord didn’t like the uptight attitude of the Mare in the Moon, while she herself was envious of the dedication the Queen of changelings had from her subjects. It was a hate triangle that had to be somehow broken, for the good of their plan. Actually, for the good of Equestria.