//------------------------------// // Chapter 31 // Story: Internal Darkness // by Silver Sorcerer //------------------------------// Disclaimer: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and all associated characters, settings and stories are the rightful subjects of Hasbro, the HUB, Studio B, and Lauren Faust. Chapter 31 Her train pulled into Canterlot with a hiss of steam and smoke and the piercing squeal of brakes. Other trains were already in the station, some from far off destinations, and others from close towns and villages. Just like Ponyville Station, the Canterlot Terminal had grown significantly. More tracks, more trains, and more ponies now occupied the steel, marble, and limestone building. Twilight hadn't been in Canterlot ever since she left with her friends some months ago and was nervous to see them. She didn't know what to expect when she saw them and she wondered how they changed. She knew they had, their decreasing communication confirmed it; she just didn't know how. Climbing out of the train Twilight joined the throng of ponies making their way through the terminal. Most of them were in Canterlot for business, but a few were carrying saddlebags and suitcases for a long visit to relatives or friends in the city. Twilight was amongst them as she exited the station and stood on the sidewalk. The cold air brushed against her and she pulled the scarf tighter around her. She gazed out onto the street to see that, despite all the innovation in Equestria, Canterlot had remained relatively unchanged. Most of the buildings were the same, the trees and lamps still lined the cobblestoned streets that ponies still thronged about. The only changes that Twilight saw were the increased number of ponies and the railroad tracks embedded in the center of the street that carried pony-drawn and steam-powered trolleys, clanging their way through the streets. Deciding to walk to the Palace Twilight descended to the sidewalk and made her way towards the government plaza. When she had last been there only the Palace, a few small buildings, the Supreme Court, and a central courtyard had existed. Now she saw that the Palace was equally matched by the Parliament Building whose towers and columns evoked the grandeur and magnificence of Equestria and its new democracy. In addition, larger and newer buildings had been constructed near the Palace, housing the various governmental departments. Twilight could only assume that Fluttershy worked in the Department of Health and Safety's pale yellow building and Applejack worked in the Patent Office housed in the caramel-colored building across the plaza. The courtyard, with its large bronze and marble fountain, which had once looked too large, for the plaza now fit in perfectly with the new construction. Everything was clean, refined, and fresh; something definitely evoking awe and wonder to the average visiting pony who had never seen anything like this before. But average ponies weren't in the courtyard yet. The day was still early and the only ponies Twilight saw were the hundreds of bureaucratic ponies scurrying into their respective buildings and offices. For them it was just another day at the office; implementing laws and policies, trying to help the ponies of Equestria, and earning their pay. They seemed focused on their own work and their own thoughts as they walked past Twilight into buildings and courtyards, escaping the cold on the outside. 'Maybe I came too early?' she thought as she moved towards the center of the courtyard, approaching the fountain. The water had been emptied for the winter but that still didn't diminish the beautiful sculptures of ponies. They were so detailed; almost lifelike. Reading the small plaque below it Twilight saw that it was called The Triumph of Democracy and sculpted earlier that year. Examining it Twilight saw a group of ponies rising from the center, all looking forward toward the sky. One pony held a scroll, another, a gavel, and still another, a pen. Unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies rose behind them but what Twilight noticed was the pony just slightly above the rest of the crowd. It was Magicon, with his hoof outstretched either pointing towards something or gesturing the group towards the idea of democracy, Twilight wasn't sure which. Either way, Twilight admired the unicorn. He had faced the toughest of obstacles and had overcome many of them, almost singlehoofedly. Raising the sun and moon and making them independent, introducing democracy to Equestria, creating a constitution, restructuring the government, allowing technological advancements, and moving forward with social progress were all under his saddle. These were all on his list of accomplishments and he had only been in office for nine months. He had come far but Twilight was sure that there was still much more to be done. But right now, she wasn't here on business, she was here because of her friends. Thinking of them, Twilight looked around, unsure exactly where to start with them. She doubted she'd be able to walk in and see any of them except…Rarity! She would be the first. Rarity was now in charge of socializing with the nobility. Twilight could easily get into the Throne Room and meet with her there. Rarity would be understanding and sympathetic and know the taps on how to reach the rest of the group. Turning towards the palace Twilight walked through its opened gates and into the gardens. Though barren, Twilight could still see that they were meticulously cared for the enjoyment of everypony. She saw a few Royal Guards on duty but paid them no mind as she walked into the entrance hall of the palace. It looked the same as when she left it, with its large windows, some made of stained glass, and vaulted ceilings. Though not as large as the throne room, it was still beautifully designed and pleasing to the eye. Making her way towards the end of the throne room she saw the same secretary still seated behind her large wooden desk, checking papers. "Can I help you?" she asked as Twilight approached, not raising her head. "Yes. I'd like to see Miss Rarity Belle as soon as possible." "Name." "Twilight Sparkle." The secretary looked up and stared at Twilight for a moment, unsure if it was actually her. "Twilight, my dear, is that really you?" "Yes, it is." "Oh my, my, my, I do apologize. I didn't even recognize your voice. Welcome back! What brings you here?" "My friends." "Oh? Well, that's wonderful to hear! Come with me, I'll escort you to Rarity myself. She'll be so happy to see you." "Let's hope so," Twilight mumbled as she followed the secretary out of the entrance hall towards the heart of the palace. It wouldn't be long now. She would see her friends and solve her mystery. _________________________________________________________________________________________________ Rainbow dash woke up drearily and hazily. Her vision slowly returned to her but she wasn't sure if she was awake or not. She couldn't tell if her eyes were open or closed. The darkness was the same either way and her senses were blurred. Her head was also sore, but she couldn't move her hooves to test the sensitivity. She realized that her hooves were stretched and clamped above and below her frame. Something cold was also set against her back. It suddenly dawned on Rainbow that she was clamped to some kind of metal table, unable to move. From the way her head and body were being pulled towards the floor meant that she wasn't laying down. She was upright, as if she was standing on her two hind hooves, some distance above the floor or hanging from the ceiling. Her uniform was still on her, but was pulling downwards, an obvious sign of her upright position. She slowly tried to move but only found a few centimeters of wiggle room. She realized her mouth hadn't been taped shut and she called out for help and to see if anypony was there. All she heard was her voice echo around the room. 'I must be in some large room, but where? Where am I? What did Magicon do to me? Why did he do this to me? I have to get out of here! I have to help Cadance and Shining Armor!' She slowly tried to inch her wings and managed to move them between her body and the steel before the sound of hooves made her stop. She didn't fold them back against her body, just slid them back behind her, trying to cover them. The hooves moved slowly but steadily growing louder towards her. Rainbow fell silent, trying to listen to the hooves. One of the many things she learned in the military was how to listen and observe. Soon she saw a light accompanying those hooves. But it was soon joined by other lights that grew brighter as the hooves approached. Then Rainbow saw a pony turn the corner, a lantern hanging from its mouth and a cape dragging behind him. She knew who that pony was and judging by the light reflecting off the crystal and rocks it suddenly dawned on her that she was in the caves beneath Canterlot that Twilight and Cadance had been prisoners in nearly three years ago! "Hello Rainbow," greeted Magicon with his deeper and darker voice. "Welcome to your new home." Rainbow was silent and glared at him as he approached and set the gas lantern on a wooden table nearby. "What? No 'hello', no 'let me go', no nothing?" he asked teasingly as he approached her. "I have nothing to say to you. You are violating your oath." "Do I look like I care?" "My guard will overthrow you." "Not going to happen once you and your ex-captain are out of the picture. The guard will fear me." "You're a sick pony, you know that?" "That is a matter of perspective." "That's the word: perspective and mine has certainly changed thanks to you. What happened to you?" "I could ask you the same thing. But, I'll spare you the hardship; you'll have it soon enough anyway. I've always been like this. I've just always hid it. One my greatest feats is my ability to wear masks. Everypony has been fooled, including you." "I won't make that mistake again." "You're right, Rainbow, you won't. In fact, you won't be making any more mistakes much longer." "If you think you're going to hex me, you've got another thing coming." "Hex? Oh, please, Rainbow, that's too funny," Magicon chuckled. "Why would I hex you? What purpose would that serve me?" Rainbow remained silent, deciding not to afford Magicon the enjoyment of her answering questions. "It would serve no purpose," Magicon continued. "You don't even deserve a hex anyway. You're sentence will be much more…gruesome and deadly." Despite Rainbow's military defiance and resilience a small chill went down her spine with those words. Magicon didn't notice Rainbow's fear as he went over to the table and went into the drawer and pulled out something that would scare anypony to death. He put the handle in its mouth and the silver blade reflected against the light as he slowly approached Rainbow. Her military toughness completely collapsed as fear and pure terror overcame her face. She squirmed to get free as Magicon approached her. "What? Are you sacred? You were the Lieutenant of the Royal Guard. You should be able to handle this kind of pain." "Don't do it, Magicon. It's torture." "I know that and it's going to be agonizingly painful for you. Where should I start? That, beautiful mane of yours? Your hooves? Your cute little nose? Or what about that cutie mark you probably worked so hard to earn?" He gingerly put the knife in his hooves as he pointed to each location, Rainbow becoming more scared with each part. "No, Magicon! Please, don't do this," she begged. "I have no choice." "Just kill me; it'll be a lot easier!" "Now is that the Rainbow I know? What happened to the confident, do-whatever-you-want-to-me type of pony?" She couldn't even make eye-contact with him; she was just too scared. "Tell you what, Rainbow. We'll start easy with your own uniform. You won't need it anymore." He tossed the hat off her mane and, with a strong pull, tore the uniform off her exposing her chest and the rest of her body. "Magicon…please. You're a good pony. Don't do this!" "You leave me no choice. You attacked me and you know too much." "I can know nothing! I can pretend nothing happened!" "Now, what good would that do for you? Face it, Rainbow, you're finished. You not only discovered the truth about Shining Armor, but also a dark secret about me. I can't allow you to live." "Then, why torture me? You told me a while back that you didn't like blood and gore." "Yes, well, I've changed. I can do it when the circumstances are necessary." "You're lying! You don't want to do this! You know you don't!" "You don't know anything about me." "I know enough. If I must die, allow me to die with honor and in proper military fashion. Don't resort to this!" "I said I can't do that, Rainbow." "But you'll torture me? Why?" "For…for…" his eyes darted to the ground. In truth Magicon still cringed at the thought of him torturing Rainbow. She was right; he didn't like torture and he would be breaking his oath and the constitution. He already bore so much on his consciousness and the disappearance of Rainbow Dash along with Shining Armor's false capture would raise many questions about Equestria's military and their competence. Rainbow was right about something else: the guard. If he tortured and killed her, the guard would hate him. They would find out; they always did and plot to overthrow him. They would break their loyalty and he knew he couldn't fight than many ponies. He sighed and lowered the knife from Rainbow's body. He let it fall to the ground as he looked back at the cyan pony, with the slightest remorse in his eyes. "I'm…I'm sorry, Rainbow. I overreacted. I should've been honest with you." "Well, now is not a bad time to start. Please, unlock me and tell me what's wrong. I'll do what I can to help." Magicon didn't know why but he found comfort in her voice as he gazed into her magenta eyes. They were full of compassion but he didn't know if he could trust her. "If I unlock you, can we just forget about this whole mess?" "Absolutely. And I won't do anything to harm you so long as you release Shining Armor and Cadance." "I already was going to release Cadance. As for Shining, I can never release him. He's just too dangerous of a pony." "Have a heart, forgive him and release him." "I…can't." "Then at least talk to him. Get an understanding between you two. I'm sure you two can figure something out." "Yeah…maybe." "Come on, Magicon. Just let me go of these chains and bolts." She slowly began prepping her wings silently behind her back, ready for her moment. "I must be insane for trusting you," he mumbled to himself as he unlocked the clamps around Rainbow's hooves. As soon as he opened the last one Rainbow tore out of the cave throwing Magicon back, leaving a faint rainbow trail behind her. She just had to get out and help her friends, too much was at stake. She realized that her loyalties had never lied with Magicon or his Equestria but with the real Equestria; the one built on love and friendship. The one Princesses Celestia and Luna created. She dashed through the tunnels as fast as she could, trying to find a way out, anyway. For Magicon, Rainbow's betrayal was not surprising. Yet, he smacked himself for being so foolish. "Dammit! How can I be so foolish? How can I trust her!? Why do I try? Why do I strive for ponies to understand me? They will never understand me! They can't understand me! Rainbow Dash will be dead if I ever lay my hooves on her again!" He rose, picked up the knife and lantern and left the tunnels back towards the Palace. He didn't know what to do about Rainbow or the Royal Guard but her friends might know what to do. He decided to visit them and see what he could learn from them. _________________________________________________________________________________________________ For Fluttershy the wait was becoming intolerable. Neither of them had emerged and the guards remained outside the door, like statues. Her duties were also worrying her. She should be in her office right now, checking on the latest reports from her agents and inspecting factories. She couldn't just sit around and do nothing; that was useless. She sighed as she realized she had to give up her own desires for the betterment of Equestria. Rising and leaving the room Fluttershy walked down the halls of the palace towards the exit. She was sure Rainbow and Magicon were just having a long and complicated talk. She didn't want to ruin that, so she let them have their privacy. It was disappointing but a new sight replaced that disappointment. Rounding a corner Fluttershy came face to face with the pony she least expected: Twilight. They both froze and looked at each other with curiosity. Another older mare was with Twilight but she was silent as the two "friends" examined each other. "Fluttershy?" "Twilight?" They approached each other, just to make sure the other was real and not some figment of their imaginations. When they realized the truth they embraced each other warmly. "How've you been?" asked Fluttershy. "Alright, and you?" "Alright. Why are you here in Canterlot?" "I came to see you all. None of you have written ever since the end of summer. I was worried." "Oh, well, we've just been so busy." "That's what I figured, but have you talked with the other girls recently?" Fluttershy looked down at the floor, somewhat ashamed. "In truth, no. We haven't really talked or even seen each other. We've really become disconnected." To Twilight those words stung harshly. "How…how is that possible?" "We've been so busy with our own things. I'm sorry, Twilight." "No, no, it's not your fault Fluttershy. You're doing your duty for Equestria and that's what matters, even if it does mean sacrificing some of our friendship." "Twilight, I do hope you can forgive us. We're all really sorry." "I do, but I still want to see the rest of the gang." "Of course. I'll join you. Who are we seeing?" "Rarity Belle," the secretary chimed in and began leading the two girls towards her chamber. As they walked Twilight asked, "So what's it like in your job?" "Really busy. I have to make sure that ponies aren't getting killed or sick when they're working in the factories. Some of the stories I've read are shocking. Nopony can believe them." "I trust you can." "I do and I do what I can to stop it. Most times I'm successful while other times I make little progress." "But you're still doing the right thing, Fluttershy. Equestria is probably so thankful for you and your service." "Oh, well, I do my duty. That's all." They quickly arrived at Rarity's room and the secretary knocked asking, "Miss Rarity, I know it's a little early but you have some very special guests who wish to see you." "Tell them to wait. I haven't done my hair," she answered from behind the door. "Miss Rarity, does the name Twilight Sparkle ring a bell?" There was silence and the sound of the door being unlocked and opened. Once opened Rarity emerged with a look of surprise at seeing her friend before her. She looked prim, proper, and elegant, as always, but that didn't disguise her surprise. "Tw…Twilight?" "Hello, Rarity." "Oh my Celestia! What are you doing here?" "I came to see you and the rest of the group. None of you have written to me in the past months. I was afraid something was wrong. May we come in?" "Of course," she said, gesturing aside allowing the girls to enter. "I will leave you three alone," said the secretary and left the girls. Once inside Rarity's sparkling and elegant room Twilight and Fluttershy sat down on plush chairs as Rarity warmed some tea for them. "I see you already found Fluttershy," stated Rarity. "Yes. She tells me she's been very busy. I assume the same for you." "Oh yes. Pleasing the nobility is extremely difficult. I do my best but still sometimes it just goes wrong. I do hate it when it does that." "Do you work with Princess Cadance?" "Yes and she was a delight, though lately she hasn't been herself." "What do you mean?" asked Fluttershy. "I mean, she's been robotic and extremely obedient of Magicon. I've never seen her like this and I swear I could sense some magic on her." "She's an alicorn, Rarity; she always has magic on her," stated Fluttershy. "No, not like that. It's like she's under a hex or curse or something." "You think somepony put a curse on Cadance?" asked Twilight. "It's very possible though I can't imagine what pony would do that." "Do you think Magicon might know more about this?" asked Fluttershy. "He might indeed. That's actually a brilliant idea, Fluttershy. Let's go talk to him right away. Twilight you can also ask him to be your new teacher, I mean if that's alright with you." "Let's first worry about Cadance before me," reminded Twilight. "Oh, and Twilight?" "Yes, Rarity?" "When we get the chance you must tell me all about Ponyville." "Of course, Rarity." So the three mares rose and left Rarity's room on their way towards Magicon's. Twilight was unsure if she would happy to see him. She wasn't excited by any means to see him but she was curious to know what was going on with Cadance and possibly her brother. Magicon would have the answers, Twilight was sure of that. _________________________________________________________________________________________________ He emerged from his chamber and beckoned the two guards to follow him. As they made their way through the palace Magicon ordered any passing guards to meet him in the barracks in five minutes. He had something very important to discuss with all of the guards. Once he arrived at the base just outside the palace, the guards immediately ceased their activities and rose, waiting for instructions from their prince. They dare not speak or gossip about him or his appearance, which was tired extremely tired. They wondered how he was functioning with some obvious signs of no sleep. Magicon spoke quickly and clearly, attempting to hide his exhaustion. "Good morning, my loyal guardsponies. I have some news that I wish to discuss with you. Earlier this morning, Lieutenant Dash confronted me and told me that she recently spoke with Princess Cadance and Shining Armor. Now, I only know one group of ponies could give her their whereabouts and that's all of you. While you're allowed to discuss information amongst yourselves and your commanders, I do not appreciate them confronting me about it. "Our confrontation led to a heated argument and resulted in her attacking me. She then fled and her crime is now evident. Rainbow Dash has been stripped of her rank as Lieutenant of the Royal Guard and is now an enemy of the state. I will be informing the police and state guards across Equestria about her. If you are to come across her, I demand that you capture her and bring her to me, alive. Is that understood?" "Yes, sir," they replied. "Good and another thing. My sources tell me that in your discussions with Rainbow Dash the idea of a coup as tossed around. I will not tolerant dissent from the guard on any level! Your two commanders have already done it and you know the consequences for their actions. I will allow this to slide once, but if I catch any whiff of dissent the consequences will be immediate: death. Since you are all military I am allowed to deny you a trial and detain you indefinitely and your deaths will come soon, if you betray me. Don't make the mistake of turning against me. Is that understood?" "Sir, yes sir," they responded, a twinge of fear in their voices. Magicon turned away from the guard allowing them to contemplate his words and the consequences of any action they might take against him. He would keep the guard under his control. He had all of Equestria under his control.