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 32
The girls arrived at Magicon's room to find no guards on the outside.
"Strange," remarked Rarity. "When there are no guards it means Magicon is not here."
"I wonder where his is," pondered Fluttershy.
"Probably at a meeting or something."
"Should we still check to see if he hasn't overslept or something?" asked Twilight.
"The guards would still be here if that was the case," replied Rarity.
"There's still no harm in trying, right?" asked Fluttershy.
"No, I suppose not," said Twilight and tried the knob, surprised to find it unlocked. Opening the door the girls walked into Magicon's room to find it empty other than the furniture. A patch of sunlight was escaping from the gray clouds and shining onto the rug in the room.
"Well, he's not here," observed Rarity. "I suggest we better get going before we get in trouble."
"How would we get in trouble?" asked Twilight.
"For entering his private room without his permission. Magicon just doesn't let anypony in here."
"As much as I hate to disagree with you, Rarity, I must disagree. I can be in here under health reasons. This would actually be the perfect time to see if there is anything that could be problematic to Magicon," stated Fluttershy.
"Problematic to Magicon? Why? What's wrong with him?" asked Twilight.
'Well, he's been having very bad nightmares lately. I suspect he's also been having hallucinations."
"Oh my," remarked Rarity.
"And you want to find a possible cause for it?" asked Twilight.
"Exactly."
"Well, if it's for the health and betterment of Magicon then I suppose there's nothing wrong with it," pondered Rarity.
"So, what should we be looking for?" asked Twilight as they began searching under the bed, his closest, and drawers to his dressers and armoires.
"I really don't know, Twilight. I thought you might know."
"I'm not a doctor, Fluttershy. You're the expert. I'm sure you read up all about this."
"I did, but since you're a powerful unicorn and he is a powerful unicorn, I figured that his nightmares might be a magical side effect from stress or a traumatic event."
"Hmm…," pondered Twilight rubbing her chin, trying to make sense of that explanation. "It's possible, but I really don't know. I never had any traumatic experiences when I was a foal."
"None of us have," stated Rarity.
"So, aren't we just wasting our time?"
"I believe you are," said a voice behind them that made them all them jump. Standing in the doorway was Magicon, alone, but looking very annoyed.
"Your…highness…I do so terrible apologize for any inconvenience that this may have caused you," scrambled Rarity rushing to the stallion and lowering her head.
"You are forgiven, Rarity. But I'm not sure if the nobility will forgive you for being late."
"Oh absolutely sir. I'll be on my way right away." Looking back at Twilight and Fluttershy, Rarity said, "I'll be back later to talk to both of you, I promise. If you need anything at all, go to my room," and swiftly, but elegantly dashed off to prepare herself for her courtly duties.
Once her hoofsteps were no longer audible, Magicon turned his attention to the two mares still in his room.
"Fluttershy, you're going to be late for work. You better scurry on down to your department. There are ponies that will need your assistance."
"But…umm…sir, what about your health?"
"Never mind about my heath. Just get your flank in gear and get out!" he yelled harshly. Fluttershy jumped, spread her wings and soared out of the roof, rushing to get away from the unicorn yelling at her.
Once she left Magicon turned his attention toward the purple unicorn.
"Ah, my dearest Twilight, so good of you to return to Canterlot." He extended his hoof for a shake but Twilight made no attempt to grab it.
Noticing this Magicon said, "Oh, I'm sorry about your friends. They have jobs to do for Equestria and I can't afford to have them dilly-dallying on my own health and personal problems."
"You could've gone about it nicer," Twilight said.
"Alas, I am tired and I am irritable when I'm tired. So much has already happened this morning and it hasn't put me in the greatest of moods. But, you've returned to Canterlot which brightens my day considerably."
"I'm…err…happy to hear that."
"And now, tell me, what brings you back to me and Canterlot?"
"Well…to be honest…my friends."
"Oh? Did they invite you?"
"No, they didn't. I came here looking for them."
"Why?"
"Because they haven't written or spoken to me in months. I was worried they forgot about me."
"Well, judging by the display I saw before it looks like they were just busy with work."
"They always appear to be busy with work."
"I'm sorry, Twilight, but the needs of Equestria have grown significantly since my reforms."
"Yes, I've seen what your reforms have done first-hoof in Ponyville."
"And how have they turned out?"
"I…find them difficult at times. It seems like everypony is busier and more focused on their business and not about enjoying life."
"Since when were you the type of pony to care about life? Last time I recall, you were a very diligent study who would had trouble making friends or would ignore them to read and practice magic."
"Please…Magicon, this is hardly the time or place for this."
"Actually, it is. You may not realize it, Twilight Sparkle but you and I have much in common."
"Like what?"
"Like how we struggled to make friends, how skilled we are in the magical arts, how Princess Celestia took both of us under her wings, and how we both strive for greater knowledge and power."
Twilight thought for a moment about those comparisons. They seemed deathly real. Magicon was interested in her, she knew that, but for what purpose.
"Magicon, what are you suggesting?"
"The same thing I suggested when you returned to Canterlot after the princess's death."
Twilight fell to silence, her ears falling to their sides, knowing exactly what Magicon was talking about and proposing.
"I can still see you are undecided on the issue."
She simply nodded.
"Come, sit down," he said warmly gesturing her over a chair and offering her some refreshments that she turned down.
"I'm not rushing you to make a decision. That would be unprofessional of me, but I would like a decision from you soon."
"It's just…"
"Just what?"
"What can you teach me?"
"Many things. Princess Celestia taught you the applications and basic skills for using magic. But she neglected one all important side of magic: the dark side."
"The dark side?" Twilight questioned ominously. "But, Celestia expressly forbid study of that area of magic. She said it was not healthy for a pony to study that area of magic."
"Oh, not true, Twilight. Celestia did forbid it but she never gave you the real reason why a pony should never study it."
"And what reason is that?"
"For a deeper understanding of the magical arts. Magic must be balanced between light and dark magic. Dark Magic does not mean the same as evil magic. Light Magic can be used in evil ways just like dark magic can be used in good ways. Princess Luna is the perfect example. She used dark magic but never harmed anypony with it, except when she became Nightmare Moon."
"So, you're saying that dark magic is a good thing?"
"Precisely. If one is to gain a full understanding of the magical arts, a pony must study and embrace every aspect of it. If you want to become a truly knowledgeable and powerful unicorn, Twilight, you must know both the light and dark side of magic."
"And you can teach me about dark magic?"
"Absolutely. We will not use the magic for evil purposes; that's just immoral. I will teach you the powers and skills associated with dark magic. The skills will finish your training and allow you to become one of the most powerful unicorns in all of Equestria. What do you say?"
"I…I'm flattered, really, but I don't know."
"Twilight…I know its hard letting go. I had the hardest time letting go when my mother died."
"Oh, I'm so sorry for your loss." She gestured a hoof to hug him but he brushed it away.
"No, no, Twilight. It had nothing to do with you. It was…a long time ago."
"Why don't you tell her?" asked a voice behind Magicon. Turning around he saw a figure that vaguely reminded him of his mother. He couldn't tell what color her mane or coat was, even in the daylight, but her voice was clues enough of a clue.
"I…can't."
"What was that, Magicon?" Twilight asked, surprised by Magicon suddenly turning around and looking at some empty space in the middle of the room.
"You really should," said the pony.
"Why?"
"Why what?" asked Twilight growing a little nervous.
"Because she needs to know," stated the pony,
"No, she doesn't need to know."
"What don't I need to know?" asked Twilight.
"She's asking, you should tell," said the pony.
"I already told you, I can't."
"You can't what?" asked Twilight.
"Just let her know. It'll ease the burden," reassured the pony.
"I can handle it."
"What are you handling, Magicon?" asked Twilight.
"Yes, what are you handling, Magicon, your mind, or your Equestria?" asked the pony.
"Both!" he yelled.
"Umm…what?" asked Twilight.
The other pony simply chuckled. "You truly are my son, always thinking you can do everything and it will all go perfectly."
"And why shouldn't it? You've seen what I've done and you see what I can do, what's stopping me?"
"Yourself."
"Excuse me?"
"You know who I am and where I truly lie. This is all in your head and you'll never be able to remove it. You'll never be able to kick me out. You'll never be able to destroy me."
"You're sounding just like Celestia."
"Me?" asked Twilight, now officially freaked out by Magicon's apparent conversation with himself.
"Well then, you probably shouldn't have made the decision to kill her. Then you wouldn't be seeing visions from me," said the pony.
"That's it! I've had enough!" roared Magicon and with his horn glowing charged right at the pony. Twilight shrieked and jumped behind her chair while Magicon charged at the pony. However he saw her disappear right before his eyes and stopped where she had stood just a second ago. There was no trace of her. It was like she wasn't even there to begin with.
"No, no, that's not possible!" cried Magicon, searching the carpet for any trace of that pony.
"Magicon, what's going on?" asked Twilight terrified.
Suddenly the realization hit Magicon and he turned around, took a few deep breaths, and walked over to the unicorn.
"I'm…I'm…so sorry you had to witness that. That never happens." He stretched his hoof to help her up and as she straightened her hairs, Twilight asked,
"What did happen?"
"I honestly can't say…I'm sorry, Twilight, but I…I…have to go," he stammered and rushed out of his room, leaving a curious and confused Twilight alone.
She slowly sat herself back down in her chair and tried to calm herself. Noticing the bookshelf she decided that reading would be the best way to calm herself.
Glancing over the books, Twilight saw some that she had read herself or had read summaries of. He had a small, but selective section and Twilight wasn't impressed by his collection. Telekinetically pulling out one of the books near the end of the shelf, Twilight noticed that its size should've been equal with the rest of the books. Oddly, it wasn't while on the shelf. Something was propping certain books forward, ones that Twilight had already read.
Reaching behind the books, Twilight felt a large book and slid it out behind the other books. It was heavy, worn, and unique. Twilight had seen ancient texts in her lifetime but nothing like this. It also had a lock, but either do to forgetfulness or oversight, it was unlocked.
Checking to make sure nopony was watching her, Twilight brought the book over to a small chair and table in the corner of Magicon's room and began reading, slowly following the cursive inscribed in the yellow pages.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Magicon didn't care where he was going or why he was running. Tears were welling up in his eyes as he darted into the nearest available room and locked the door, trying to keep those images, conversations, and ponies out of his head.
He clutched his chest as he slid down against the back of the door, trying to understand what was happening to him.
He gazed at his hooves before him and swore he could see lightning flash against them and his whole body. As it did flash blood appeared on his hooves. But once sunlight resumed, his hooves were their normal dry selves.
Getting up and rushing over to the mirror Magicon looked and saw his normal reflection. Other than the tears in his eyes, the bags under them, and the sweat on his brow he appeared to look normal.
Then a flash of lightning changed that image drastically. Instead of seeing his normal self Magicon saw a much more demented version. Suddenly, his mane was uncut, rough, and even ripped in parts. His dark blue cape was torn and tattered, all four of his hooves were soaked with blood, and his body was covered in scars. Some were still dripping blood while others were deep and only just beginning to heal. And he was smiling, with carnivorous, sharp, and blood-soaked teeth.
He saw all of that in one flash of lighting and jumped backwards knocking over a table and breaking a vase in the process. He collapsed as he tripped and sat amongst the remains of the broken vase and upturned table.
"What…is the meaning of this?" he asked, looking over his hooves, body, and cape to make sure that what he saw in the mirror wasn't real.
"You know what it means," answered a voice in front of him, catching him by surprise. Looking up, Magicon was blinded by the golden and white light of the pony before him, but he quickly adjusted and met Celestia's stern gaze.
"You're…not real, go away," he hissed.
"Unfortunately, I'm real to you and I can't go away as long as you do damage to yourself."
"What am I doing to myself?"
"Destroying yourself."
"That's rubbish."
"I'm not the one talking to figments of my imagination."
"Why can't you just leave me alone? The rest of them leave me alone."
"On the contrary, were you not just visited earlier by that special pony from your past? And have you not had trouble sleeping due to my sister's nightmares? And now my constant visits, thanks to the arrival of my faithful student."
"She isn't yours," Magicon hissed, glaring at her.
"And she won't be yours. She won't be seduced by your dark magic. I trained her well."
"Not well enough."
"You're a fool."
"And you're dead. So go back to your tomb and stay there. I don't want to ever see you again!"
"What are you going to do to stop me? You can't stop me."
"I can make everypony forget about you, reveal your secrets, expose you."
"And they'll never believe you."
Magicon glared at Celestia, knowing full well that she was right and she knew it too.
"Just go," he mumbled.
"Perhaps you'd like to talk to another pony," said a second voice. Looking up Magicon saw Celestia's body quickly fade and replaced by the dark blue hue of Princess Luna.
"Hello, Magicon," she said.
"Hi, Luna," he responded.
"You know you can't go on like this."
"I can do whatever I want. I am the Prince of Equestria and the Lord the Darkness, a title-"
"That you bestowed on yourself," said Luna cutting him off.
"I deserve it. I've been ruling Equestria fairly. Everypony likes what I'm doing."
"Except the pony you want as your student."
"Well, yes, but I'll change that."
"You've changed many things, Magicon, and do you know what happens when everything around you changes?"
"I'm not interested in hearing lectures from you."
"You either change or become extinct. You've become the embodiment of this new Equestria that you love so much that you forgot about your real purpose."
"My real purpose?"
"Why you killed me and my sister in the first place."
"Red-Blood."
"That's correct."
Magicon rubbed the back of his neck, thinking over what he had truly accomplished in terms of that plan. Had he followed it? Had he succeeded? Or had he gotten away from it all? Had he lost sight of his goal? He still didn't have an apprentice to teach and kill Cadance. Being the Prince of Equestria would also make having a dark apprentice extremely difficult.
"What do I do?" he said more-or-less to himself.
"Abdicate and confess what you did," said Luna.
"That would mean death for me."
"It might, but you'd have a free conscience and be a good pony."
"I am a good pony!" he rebutted automatically.
"You've convinced yourself that you are and created this whole mindset where everything you do is for the good of Equestria. In your mind, you are perfect and liberating Equestria from backwards policies and broken traditions."
"I don't need you to tell me how my mind works."
"Actually, you do, you just don't realize it. You see, we're all you have left."
"What are you talking about?"
"What I'm talking about is you. Look at yourself: you have no friends, definitely no close allies, and numerous enemies. Since you don't have anypony to talk to you've resorted to talking to yourself."
"I'm talking to you though."
"According to you, I'm no real. So if that logic is correct, you are here alone, sitting amongst broken objects, talking to yourself."
"…Stop….just stop."
"I wish it were just that easy, Magicon, but you and I both know that it isn't."
"Just leave me alone…please. Seeing you was alright, your sister worse, but seeing…" he shuddered at the thought.
"Her. You saw her and you talked with her."
"But I swear it wasn't her."
"Well, only you can tell for sure and I'll let you figure that out. Good-bye, Magicon. I'll see you again soon."
She faded into a dark mist that quickly dissipated leaving Magicon alone in the room once again. Taking deep breaths he slowly rose and nervously proceeded to the mirror. Despite fearing what he saw earlier he let out a long sigh of relief when he saw his normal reflection. No lightning appeared to change his him. He was looking at his real self again.
It was all in his head and that might just be the problem. He didn't like seeing them. He knew all three of them were dead, yet they kept coming back to him. Why? What was the reason? What did it mean?
He didn't know, but an idea popped into his head that might give him a clue.
"Red-Blood's mission. Luna's right. I haven't been focused on the mission at hoof. I've been so busy worrying about ruling Equestria that I've never looked at the big picture: completing his plan. One alicorn still lives and although she is in prison, I cannot be the one to destroy her. I must find and train an apprentice. He or she will be the one to kill her and close out the final pages in the book.
"Speaking of the book, there's a spell in there that every master used to locate their apprentice. It was how my master located me and the master before him and so on. I'll be able to find my new apprentice with that book."
He rose, dusted himself off, took a deep breath, and left the room. As he headed back to his chamber he felt calmer, reassured, and in control. Princess Luna had given him essential advice and he would use it. He could still fix it. He could have his apprentice, train him, and rule Equestria all at the same time.
Everypony in the government was doing their job, allowing Magicon his own personal time to find his apprentice and train him. He didn't know where he would find him or her but he was sure the student was out there; somewhere in Equestria with the dark mark already branded on their soul.
As he walked down the hallway back to his room Magicon noticed that he was missing important meetings and agendas, but one day would not hurt anypony. He had made Equestria independent and able to carry itself on its own hooves without him for some time. They would manage; they always did.
Arriving at his room, Magicon opened the door and saw a sight that sent a chill through every portion of his body. Seated in the corner with her head draped over the ancient spell book was Twilight; intently reading its pages.
He slammed the door shut, causing her to jump which in turn, caused the book to fly through the air and land on the floor with a loud and heavy thud.
"Ma…Magicon…I didn't know…" she stumbled over her words.
"Cease with your excuses, Twilight Sparkle," he chided. "I see you made yourself quite comfortable here, quite."
"I…don't understand."
He chuckled and his darker voice emerged, "I see you found my old spell book. Tell me, how far did you get into it."
"Umm…well…I…"
"Tell me!" he commanded as he quickly approached her, backing her against the wall.
"Umm…I got up to the missions."
"What mission did you last read?"
"Mission ten, I think."
Magicon paused for a moment. She had managed to get through nearly halfway through the book. Either she skipped parts or opened to a random page and began reading. Whichever the case, the consequences were now highly severe.
"Twilight Sparkle, you went through my own personal library. Found a book I personally want nopony to see and have read it. You have now gravely endangered yourself and for that you're coming with me."
"What?" she said half-horrified and half-surprised.
"Now!" he ordered and wasted no time in clamping down on her tail with his teeth, pushing her to the floor and began dragging her towards the door to the room.
"Mag…Magicon…what are you doing?!"
"Teaching you a lesson," he hissed through his mouth as he telekinetically opened the door and began dragging her out into the hallway. He didn't care who saw them, nor did he care what they thought. It didn't matter. What mattered was that Twilight had discovered some of his darkest secrets and could no longer wander free.
She was not his apprentice, he was sure of that. She was now his prisoner. Twilight scrambled to get up and grab onto something but the halls were too wide and the floor too even to get up. She also felt a magical energy pinning her to the ground. She tried to overcome it but, with her stomach on the ground and her back towards the unicorn casting the spell, she couldn't.
She began screaming for help but suddenly felt her voice fall silent, yet another dark energy working its magic on her. The only thing that she could do was silently whimper to herself as Magicon dragged her through the palace towards the dungeons.
He wasted no time in unlocking the door and throwing her down the stairs where she tumbled down until landing unevenly and roughly on the cold stone floor.
The Night Guard looked up, surprised by her sudden appearance. He rose and was about to help her up when a blast of lavender magic crashed against him, sending him flying in air and smacking the wall with a loud thud and a crack.
"You're coming with me, my oh-so-faithful, student," he hissed as he opened the door to the cells and dragged her down the hall to her prison.
This time she was on her back looking directly at Magicon and was able to cast a charm to break the silence spell on her.
"Help! Please! Somepony help me!"
"Shut up!" Magicon yelled, smacking her across the cheek. "You might be a very powerful unicorn, Twilight Sparkle, but that doesn't mean you're invulnerable! You've committed a terrible and personal crime against me and now you must pay the consequences!"
He opened a large steel door behind him and, telekinetically lifting her, threw her inside and slammed the door shut.
"Enjoy your new life, Twilight Sparkle. You'll be here for a very long time."