Shining Armor continued trudging through the desolate halls, dimly lit by flickering overhead chandeliers that swayed ever so gently as he passed under them. He gripped his sword in hand, which seemed to twitch every so often, causing his thumb to fidget. He had not been walking very far, but he was breathing quite heavily, and a bead of cold sweat rolled down the side of his head. The sense of unease that had followed him all the way from town hall had made its home, at that moment, within Shining's mind.
The long hallways were silent, and narrow, but high, somewhat reminding Shining Armor of the inside of an airplane. He loosened and regripped his blade, his palm glistening in sweat. The hallway stretched onwards, to the point where every step he took seemed to add two more feet to the length of the hallway.
He did finally reach the end of the hallway, and stepped into a large, round room with a spherical glass ceiling that allowed the sun to illuminate a majority of the room. The room was about 120 feet in radius, with at the center, a large series of semi-circular desks, holding abandoned monitors and papers. Along the edge of the room were marble pillars, white and shiny, matching with the floor. They reached high up towards the roof, past the small indoor balconies periodically placed about the walls on the floor above. Shining continued walking further into the room, and looked to his left, then to his right. On both sides of him were a set of gilded stairs that curved outwards as they led to the higher floor. Above the stairs were two engraved figures staring upwards and outwards in opposite directions. The engravement on the left was silver, and portrayed a woman Shining immediately recognized as Luna, holding her hands to her chest in hopeful prayer. On the other side, Celestia was carved in gold, standing firmly and staring defiantly towards the ceiling, with a hopeful gaze in her eyes.
Shining suddenly felt more at ease, as if the hallways had been suffocating him, and this was the first sense of fresh air in hours. He walked towards the ring of desks at the center of the room. The room echoed with every step, and he delicately used his free hand to brush aside a few of the scattered papers lying on and about the desks, until he found a latch with a handle pointed upwards. He grabbed it and pressed down on the lock, pulling it up. The hinge creaked as it opened up, allowing Shining to enter the circle. He stepped in, looking at the monitors, and placing his sword back in the giant sheath on his back. Half of the screens on the computer were black, and the other half of them had nothing but static fizzing on the screen. He went over briskly to one with a black screen, running the mouse back and forth to see if it still worked. The screen flickered for a moment, then immediately went black once more.
"Come on..." he hummed, moving to the next screen with static clustering its entirety. He put his hand on the mouse, moving it rapidly back and forth, to no avail. He cursed under his breath, and turned to the next computer. The same thing happened. It then occurred to him that whoever broke in and stole the jewel obviously would prefer if they could stay unknown and hidden away.
He clicked his tongue, and turned to leave the circle, when something caught his eye. It was a silver bell, the kind people would press on to ring for service. Next to it was a small folded piece of paper, folded to stand up, with thin, elegant, red ink strokes on the side facing Shining. The bell and the folded card sat neatly on top of the scattered pieces of paper, the ones he shifted when he lifted the latch to walk through.
Someone had placed them there just now. Shining turned his head, scanning every crevice of the walls and room. An empty silence stayed in the air, but now the air began to feel heavy once more. He picked up the card, reading the words silently.
Ring me.
Scrawled next to these words was a heart, with a little loop at the valley at the top. Shining crumpled the card in his hand, and unsheathed his sword. The sound of the blade exiting the sheath rang out. He closed his eyes, gripping the handle tightly, and breathed deeply.
This is a very bad idea, he thought to himself. After a short pause, he reached out his finger, and tapped the button on the bell.
The sound seemed to hover in the air for a moment, then spread out throughout the room. It bounced off the round walls, echoing back and forth. The moment his finger made contact, Shining leapt away from the bell, still within the circle of desks, with both hands on gripping the hilt. He held the hilt next to his head, feet spaced apart, and the tip of the sword pointed in the direction he face. His eyes darted around, as the bell's chime continued to echo through the room and ringing through the hallways.
The chime finally went silent after a few seconds. Shining slowly made his past the desks and into the open space of the room. He peered into the hallway from where he entered, then began ascending the stairs to glimpse through the doors on the upper floor. The hallways remained silent. Shining shifted his position, keeping sword steady, but now lower and in front of him. He slowly began making his way back down the stairs, keeping an eye on the rest of the room.
He caught notice of a single desk chair that was spinning, but had just now reached the end of its spin. Shining gripped his sword until his knuckles were white. He approached the hallways on the opposite end of the room, hoping to see his stalker. He was halfway through when the overhead lights began to flicker.
Shining steadily glance upwards to see the lightbulbs and hanging lamps flickering in unison. The frequency of the flickering hastened, until several of the lightbulbs burst from the inside. Glass and hot filament showered around the room. The entire room went dark, and the monitors with static suddenly went black. Shining blinked, trying to adjust his eyes to the sudden darkness.
He froze, suddenly feeling as if he was under the watchful gaze of someone who had no intention of being friends. He felt a bead of sweat roll down his neck. In an instant, he spun around with his sword, now faced the opposite direction of which he was facing a second prior, and in one swift motion, slashed his sword through the air. His hand cackled with blue energy once more, and blue and orange energy pulsed through his arm like lightning. His sword surged with the same energy, and from the slash came a thin wave of blue energy that sparked through the air and on the ground. The wave shot across the room, blitzing through the hallways and briefly illuminating the air around it.
For a single brief moment, Shining caught sight of two pair of glowing emerald eyes. The first pair owned by a figure of immense stature. It was hunched over as to avoid hitting it's head against the roof, and pressed against the wall to dodge the wave. The second stood across from it, standing elegantly with a feminine figure, making no effort to dodge the attack. Upon contact with the second, the wave flashed brightly, then dissipated like mist. The eyes shifted out of sight, and Shining could hear rushing footsteps approaching him.
"Shoot," he whispered angrily. He began dashing towards the hallway on the other end of the room, sword now in a reverse grip in one hand. The approaching footsteps were now drowned out by the sound of his own, but getting louder with every passing second. Shining could now see the end of the hallway, illuminated by a faint light. A quiet giggle echoed through the air. The sound of the giggle came from a woman, but the voice was unlike anything Shining had ever heard. He dared not to look back, and burst through the exit. His eyes widened after they adjusted to the new light shining through the ceiling.
It was daylight. The stone and plaster of the upper floors were eradicated, smashed into rubble that now lay at the ground floor where Shining was. The midday sun beamed through where the roof would be, down onto the floor surrounded by piles of broken glass and rubble that reached the second floor. Shining glance behind him. There was no sign of his pursuers.
"What in Tartarus happened here?" he mumbled to himself, looking at the ruin around him. The door to the next room was blocked by giant chunks of stonework that lay broken in a pile. Digging his way through would take half an hour, and much longer if he wanted to try to be quiet about it. He considered returning the way he came from to find a detour, but he would rather leap into a pool of sharks blindfolded than walk through the darkness again. Blasting his way through would definitely be loud enough to give away his position. He carefully considered his options, keeping his eyes on the dark hallway.
He groaned in frustration, and pointed his sword at the pile. The energy swirled around his hand, flowing into the metal of his blade. A ball of energy began forming at the tip of his blade.
________________________________________________________________________
"Woah," Sonata stopped in her tracks. The other three turned their helmets, and shined the lights on the side of their visors at her.
"What is it now?" Aria asked angrily, clearly impatient, and already continuing her path forward.
"I'm picking up on some some energy readings. Big ones," Sonata read the numbers flashing on her visors.
Sunset and Adagio tapped their own visors, causing them to beep rapidly. Sunset scanned the information, then furrowed her brow.
"These readings look familiar..." Sunset declared, hesitantly. Adagio remained silent, then swiped off the visor. It retracted and retreated into the black shoulders of her jumpsuit.
"Its coming from up ahead," said Adagio calmly. She reached to her side, unbuckling the sword strapped to her hip, and hoisted the heavy slab of metal over her shoulder. Brushing past Aria, she stopped at a corner, peering into the hallway. At the end of it, she could a faint light, dimly illuminating parts of the hallway.
Sonata and Aria gripped their weapons, while Sunset had hers out and unsheathed. The three looked at Adagio, who after a brief pause, signaled with her hand to follow her. The four of them slowly made their through the dark hallway, keeping close to the side of the wall. Sonata was hunched over, hands in front of her like a mouse, and tiptoeing as she went.
"Sneak, sneak, sneak, sneak, sneak, sneak, sneak, sneak," she chanted in a soft voice. She was only stopped when Aria and the others glared at her. Aria could hear her own blood vessel pop as she clenched her teeth, trying not to knock her sister out right then and there.
Sunset rolled her eyes, following Adagio to the end of the hallway. They were greeted with a bright light, shining down from a giant gaping hole in the roof. Looking in front of them, they saw another large hole leading them down to the first floor, surrounded by rubble. Sunset gazed upwards. The holes grew slightly larger the further she looked, and the sun was now fading past the edge of the top hole.
"What the heck?" She slowly made her way to one of the big piles of rubble that teetered on the edge of what remained of the floor, held up only by larger piles of rubble underneath. Peering over around the edge, she caught sight of a man clad in white, with blue hair, charging his sword with energy swirling around his hand, and pointing it at a giant pile of rubble in front of him.
"Hey, that's-" Sunset began. She was cut off when the man fired the ball of energy at the tip, blasting it into the pile and sending rubble flying in almost every direction. A giant boom resonated throughout the entire castle. The floor shook with the impact, and dust floated upwards all the way to the fourth floor.
Sonata yelped as a small chunk of stone fell down on her head and bounced off her hair.
"Ow!" She rubbed her head gently, as Adagio pulled her by the collar and lead her behind Sunset. Aria stepped back, pressing her back against the wall.
The man turned his head and sword in Sunset's direction. "Who's there?" he demanded.
Sunset breathed heavily, then recognizing the man's voice, she widened her eyes, and began standing up from her hiding spot slowly.
"Sunset Shimmer! Leading Captain! Squadron E-1A!" she called out to him, now standing within view and upright. The man lowered his sword slightly upon seeing her.
"Sunset?" he asked.
Sunset gave a small, short chuckle, then hopped down from the floor, sliding down on the rubble. She bounced off the debris at the bottom, and smoothly strode over to Shining.
"Hey! Sunset!" he opened his arms, and the two hugged each other. Shining held Sunset's shoulders.
"Wow! Look at you! Gosh," said Shining, taking a step back, "last time I saw you in that suit was about two years ago!"
Sunset looked down on the ground, slightly bashful, and rubbed her neck. "I know. Where did you run off to after you and Cadence tied the knot?"
Shining chuckled slightly, then leaned in slightly. "Well," he began, "to make a long story short, I'm gonna be a..." he paused again for dramatic effect. "A father," he concluded.
Sunset's eyes and smile widened greatly, and she gasped. "Oh my gosh!" she squealed. She began to congratulate him when Aria raised her voice.
"Oi!" she yelled, catching the attention of the two on the first floor. "You wanna explain some stuff?"
Sunset looked at Shining, then looked back at her friends. "Oh right," she said, as the the other three slide down the rubble. "This is Shining Armor. My old mentor."
Shining waved at the girls. The three sisters looked at each other, then back at the new face. Adagio smile slowly appeared on her face, and she reached out her hand.
"Pleasure to meet you, sir," she said, as Shining reached out his own hand to shake hers.
"The pleasures mine," he replied simply, then straightened himself and looked at the trio. He pointed at them loosely, and asked, "So, have you all been taking care of my pupil?"
Sunset rolled her eyes, and Sonata raised her hand and hopped up and down like a student in kindergarten raising her hand.
"Yessir!" said Sonata, giving a flamboyant salute. "We are the bestest of all friends, and watch each other's backs, ain't that right?" She vigorously glanced at her team, smiling nonchalantly.
Aria was not amused, and crossed her arms. She narrowed her eyes at the pale man before her. "If you're Sunset's teacher, how come she has never mentioned you before?"
Shining smirked, and eyed Sunset with a gleam in his eye. Sunset blushed, and laughed awkwardly.
"I.... might have caused some trouble for him last time we spoke," she said sheepishly. Aria raised her eyebrow in suspicion, then widened.
"Is this about 'the incident' with Flash you mentioned before?" she asked, with a serious look on her face. Sunset's blush grew even redder.
"N-no, of course not," she laughed awkwardly.
"I'm gonna say probably yes," said Shining, enjoying the misery of his student more than even he would like. Sunset's eye twitched, but the smile remained on her face. She glared at Shining Armor somewhat playfully, and gave a defeated sigh.
"So, what are you doing here?"
Shining cleared his throat, and his face became serious again.
"Well," he began, "to make a long story short, I came here to find clues as to what happened, but more importantly, I'm here to find my men. That includes Flash." He looked at Sunset with that final comment.
"Your men?" Adagio now had her arms crossed, and leaned on one leg.
"A pair of squadrons, actually. I don't suppose you've seen them? They got visors that go over their eyes? Red uniform? White armor?"
"Sorry," Sunset shook her head. "If we had found Flash, we wouldn't be here right now."
Shining puffed in frustration, then said, "Alright, then. This works out. We can search the area together. I've already been through there." He pointed to the hallway he emerged from, still dark and unlit.
Sunset swept her fingers across her visor, and a series of flickering lights and signs appeared in front of her. Shining grimaced as he watched her analyze the information and swiping across the visor.
"Please tell me those are standard model visors..." he said out loud.
"Mmm-hm. Why do you ask?" Sunset scanned the blinking symbols forming in front of her. She analyzed every reading that came across her eyes, checking over every tiny detail that popped up. If Shining said that his squadron was here, that meant Flash was here too. A new wave of hope washed over her as she listened intently for the beep that would confirm her hopes. Her hopes were dashed when the visor blinked red, and gave a different sound.
The group turned around at the sound. "What's that? Did you find them?" Shining asked, with hesitation in his voice.
Sunset's face held a look of confusion that dissolved into fear, as her eyes widened. "There's someone else behind us," she said, almost whispering. The visor beeped rapidly, as the numbers on the screen went higher and higher. "Their magic...it's absurd..."
From the third floor, a figure emerged into their view as they looked up, his shadow looming over them, and his blade gleaming in the sun. Shining took a step back and grabbed his weapon, and Aria thrust her palm in the figure's direction. A loud hum droned as a dense sphere of violet magic generated an inch away from her skin, before erupting into a beam that shot upwards, kicking up the dust around her. The beam made contact with the edge of the floor, detonating it and reducing it to a cloud of dust and raining rubble. The figure, dressed in a white cloak, burst from the dusty cloud, descending and landing in the middle of the group with a shockwave that violently pushed each of them into the wall.
The dust settled, and the five of them could now see clearly the figure rising from his landing position. A young man, with white, long, spiky hair, with piercing red irises in a gold and white overcoat that drifted barely above the ground. His sword had giant blades sticking out of both ends of the handle. He raised his head, his red irises gleaming like fire.
Sunset made a small "tch" sound as she stumbled up from the rubble she was sent flying into. "Your friend?" she asked Shining, drawing her katana from her sheath.
"Oh, what, you mean he isn't with you?" Shining retorted sarcastically, flipping off his back and landing on his feet, weapon drawn.
The figure pointed his blade at Sunset, and tilted his head. His lips curled into a unsettling smile.
"Finally," he said in his low, gruff voice. "Let's see if you lot are as good as he said, and challenge me more than the last 50 people I ran through today."