//------------------------------// // Chapter 33 // 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 33 The shock was unbelievable for her. A few minutes ago she would never believed that Magicon could be so cruel and so quick to rage. She knew he had his faults and difficulties, but she didn't expect such a reaction from him and such a quick action against her. Her, of all ponies. Twilight had always been a good and faithful student to Princess Celestia and she would've been the same to Magicon. Now, that would never be the case thanks to that book. Reading a book? Sure, it was dark; but it didn't seem real. It was all too disturbing to be real. A select group of ponies plotting to kill Princesses Celestia and Luna, it was ludicrous. Everypony, then and now, past and present, loved and loves the princesses. Nopony would dare raise a hoof against them. Yet something about the book told her otherwise. The different types of cursive showcased different hoof-writing. The elaborate plans for those so-called "missions" were highly suspicious. The fact that Magicon had asked how far she had gotten into the book was also very encouraging. Piece by piece Twilight began suspecting that those plans and the history within those pages were not works of fiction, but real acts committed by real ponies to try and hurt and kill the princesses. But why did Magicon have it? What part did he play in the book? He wasn't mentioned anywhere. Could he have read it for pure entertainment? Highly unlikely. Why was he hiding the book in the first place and in a terrible location to boot? Perhaps he kept in near him at all times to prevent it from falling into the wrong hoofs. Perhaps it was just another example of his service to Equestria. Then why such the harsh reaction? Twilight knew that Magicon had respected her and knew she was one of the smartest and most skilled unicorns in all of Equestria. He had offered an apprenticeship with her. But, that was it! The apprenticeship! Suddenly, it clicked in Twilight's mind. Magicon knew about dark magic, despite Celestia's attempt to forbid it, because Celestia never knew that book existed. Magicon learned all his dark magic from that book and kept it secret. He had power that few ponies knew existed yet everypony feared. Suddenly, Magicon was no longer a wise and fair prince but a scary and emotional spell-caster. Twilight didn't know how much power he had but she had already experienced a taste of it when she was dragged down to these dungeons. Yes, these dungeons. Looking around for the first time, Twilight could barely make anything out. She made a small glow with her horn, and she saw that the entire cell was old, damp, and slimy. The walls were made of stone and bricks and she saw a steel door with some sort of sliding window at the other end of the cell. There were chains scattered about her hooves but she found that she could move about her cell freely. Deciding to piece together the mystery of the book, Celestia, and Magicon, Twilight rose and began pacing the cell. "Now let's see, Magicon obviously hid the book from Celestia, just like the other ponies in that book. But what task was he charged with, if one at all? I only got halfway through those missions. I can't believe it; someponies would hate Celestia that much that they were willing to do everything to kill her. "And this wasn't a recent thing. The dates went back even before Luna's banishment, more than a hundred years before that time. Yet in all of my history reading there was nothing about some group of ponies that tried to kill the princesses. Equestria was at peace during this time. Celestia and Luna ruled side-by-side and everypony was happy. It just doesn't make sense." She continued to rack her brain for answers, but found few. She just didn't know enough. Her learned history was in direct contradiction with the book and its history. She knew that ponies could lie, especially in books, but it would be very difficult to continue to lie for centuries, even a millennium, possibly to the present day. The book was obviously written before the modern history books, and was never mentioned in them. Not even a small phrase in the most detailed history books mentioned this or events surrounding it. They writers of that ancient text would've worked in secret but Twilight doubted that the secret could've been kept so secretive for so long. Somepony would've cracked and news would have escaped. Yet, every mission she had read, with one exception, had been deemed a success by the pony tasked with carrying it out. She didn't recognize the names or signatures of the ponies who had left their mark in those pages. Who was this Red-Blood? Who were his followers? Was Magicon one? The questions returned to her and seemed to never end. When she thought she had an answer for one, a new piece of evidence arose mooting her assumed answer. She needed to know what was behind those words and the ponies behind them in that book. But she would never get those answers as long as she remained in this cell. Magicon had caught her red-hoofed and had thrown her in here without mercy. He had slapped her and she was sure he would be back to do more. So, she had found his dark and secret book? Was it really worth throwing her in jail for it? Was that all she really was to Magicon, just another prisoner? He had seemed so kind, so understanding, and so wise. She, along with most of Equestria, had convinced herself that Celestia and Luna had made the right decision in putting him in charge of Equestria. He just had…personal problems; that was it. "It'll all be fine, I'm sure. Magicon is a good pony. I'm sure…it's just some misunderstanding. Once he sees that I was just being curious and trying to educate myself…he'll see the error of his ways. He'll release me…I'm sure of it. After all, it's not like he wouldn't show the book to me eventually. He had said he knew dark magic and would share that magic with me. If he learned his magic from that book, he would've had had to show it to me…to make sure I understood what he was teaching. "I was just getting…a little…overexcited. I mean, he kind of just rushed off and left me in his room. I didn't know what to, so I just did what I do best: read. I didn't know he had a secret book there. Why in Celestia's name would a pony hide a secret book on a bookshelf? That's completely illogical." She continued trying to convince herself that this was just a mistake; a big misunderstanding. Magicon didn't mean the words he said and his actions were probably just an automatic reaction to something. "I probably just pushed his buttons the wrong way. I was never going to harm him. I just wanted tot talk to him and see my friends and…I didn't even get to see all of them. They didn't even see me get thrown down here. I bet only Magicon knows I'm down here. I'm sure when he calms down and has the free time he'll have me out of here. I don't belong down here; I just don't." But she wasn't convincing herself. In the back of her mind she couldn't get the malice and wickedness that spewed from Magicon's mouth and hooves. Something told her that she would never get out of here; never see her friends again, and never know the truth about anything. She wouldn't know the truth about that book, about Magicon, and about…her brother. In her desire to find her friends, Twilight realized that she had completely forgotten to ask about her brother. She had missed the opportunity and now would never know where he was or what happened to him. It was that thought that scared her. Her tears hit the damp floor hard as she wept for herself, for her friends, for Cadance, and for her brother. What had she done? "I…should've…never come here. I should've…just stayed…home. Now, who knows…how long…I'll be down here. Why, Magicon? Why?!" She wailed her last statements before she heard a large slam on the door and a guard yelling, "Hush up!" She only slightly jumped, not surprised that guards were outside her door. But another sound worried her; the sound of moving chains. They were quiet, but Twilight swore they were nearby. "Who…who's there?" asked Twilight expanding her magical light bathing the cell in full magenta. She saw nopony, but heard a hoarse voice from nearby. "Ah, that light! Make…it stop!" cried the voice. "Who said that?" "I did." "Where are you?" "Wait…I know your voice," he coughed. "Who are you?" Twilight asked more nervously as she traced the source of the voice to a wall. "I…missed you, Twilly." _________________________________________________________________________________________________ For Fluttershy, the abruptness and temper of Magicon were reasons enough to worry about him. Twilight's arrival was also surprising and needed looking into. Telling an aide that she wasn't going to be able to make it to work today, (a first that she was surprisingly happy about) she quickly flew down the hall to Rarity. She would know what to do. She didn't even knock before Rarity opened the door and brought her inside. Pinkie was already seated; Applejack right next to her, but Rainbow Dash was not present. Fluttershy assumed that she was busy and would arrive later. As for the other two mares, Fluttershy assumed they were missing a day of work too. Something was wrong and they and to figure it out. "Umm…hi, Pinkie. Hi, Applejack" "Hi, Fluttershy," Pinkie responded with a small smile. "Howdy," Applejack replied. "Rarity tells me something's up and it's about time too! My Pinkie sense has been going crazy for the past day!" "Oh…umm…I'm sorry to hear that." "There's nothing to be sorry about, Fluttershy," said Rarity as they sat down. "Now, I think we can all agree that there have been some strange events occurring recently." "Absolutely positively," interjected Pinkie while Fluttershy simply nodded. "Yes'm, but the question is what in the hay is goin' on exactly." "Oh, oh, oh, I know!" Pinkie responded excitedly. "You do?" asked Fluttershy. "Well, it's obvious, sillies. It's that something really important is going on right now." "Yes, well, thanks for that, Pinkie," remarked Rarity. "No problem. After all, what are friends for?" "Friends, yeah…speakin' of which, does anypony know where mah Dashie is?" The girls exchanged glances and Pinkie lowered her head, the smile instantly disappearing from her face. "I do," she mumbled. "I was supposed to announce it to the press today. Rainbow Dash has been stripped of her title as Lieutenant of the Royal Guard." The news hit all of the girls hard, but it hit Applejack the hardest. She didn't say anything for a while; only her audible breaths could be heard, obviously trying to contain her shock and anger. "Any reason why?" asked Fluttershy. "I'd…rather not say." "Pinkie darling, I know it's hard, but if we are to figure out what's going on we need to know the whole truth. Even if it does hurt us, we need to know," advised Rarity. Pinkie sighed and looking over sympathetically at Applejack said, "She attacked Magicon and is now on the run from the Royal Guard and the Police. She is now considered a criminal." None of the girls hid their shock as their jaws dropped to the floor. Applejack removed her hat and simply curled up into herself, obviously trying to be strong and failing at the same time. The girls looked at her with concerned faces, unsure whether or nor to aid her. Fluttershy extended her hoof but Applejack just swatted it away. All they could hear her say was, "Mah Dashie," as she tuned herself out of the conversation. "Is there anything we can do for her?" Rarity asked. "Unless you have Rainbow hidden in your trunks, I doubt it," answered Pinkie. "Let's just move on to some better news," said Fluttershy trying to change the subject. "Yes listen girls, Twilight is back." Pinkie shot right up and Applejack raised her head, suddenly retuning to the conversation. "I can umm…vouch for Rarity. She's actually talking with Magicon right now." "Well, that is mighty good news," mumbled Applejack. "We didn't get much time to talk to her but I told her about how little we see each other, how busy we are, and Cadance's strange habits," Rarity said. "What strange habits?" asked Applejack. "She's been robotic and automatic for the past few months and, until recently, spent most of her time with the nobility. After she attacked Magicon, I'm sure you all heard about that, she's been in the dungeons." "That's terrible," lamented Pinkie. "There's more," added Fluttershy. "From what I gathered about the night Cadance supposedly attacked Magicon I realized that Cadance was under some sort of magical spell. She would not attack Magicon unless she was controlled by somepony." "You're sayin' that somepony possessed Cadance?" suggested Applejack. "I'm not making any definitives, but it's possible." "Anything else about Cadance?" Pinkie asked. "All I know is that she's still in the dungeons," answered Rarity. "That's a real shame. Cadance was a good pony," remarked Applejack. "Applejack! You're saying like there's nothing we can do for her!" scolded Pinkie. "Well, what can we do?" asked Fluttershy. "We don't know what happened and we don't know why it happened. There could be hundreds of reasons and any one of them could be right." "Well, there's only one way to find out," said Pinkie cheerily and rose to leave the room. "Pinkie, where do you think you're going?" asked Rarity. "To the dungeons, duh. We need to talk to Cadance." "Pinkie, we can't just walk inta the dungeons. Only the guards and Magicon can get in there," stated Applejack. "Oh," she responded lowering her ears and returning the group. "There's…umm…also this," said Fluttershy tossing Shining Armor's note to the center of the group. Each one of them read it over, becoming more shocked and scared as the read through it. "Such sacrifice," commented Rarity. "Why didn't he tell me about this?" Pinkie asked. "Maybe he wasn't ready ta tell Equestria," suggested Applejack. "I wonder if Cadance knows," said Rarity. "I don't think so. Magiocn told me not to tell anypony about it," Fluttershy stated. "Now why in the hay would he say that?" "Maybe to prevent ponies from getting emotionally hurt," suggested Rarity. "Imagine how Cadance or Twilight would react to this news." "Speaking of Twilight, what's going on with her?" Pinkie asked. "She said she missed us and wanted to come see us," Fluttershy said. "She definitely looked better than when we last saw her but I honestly think she's still worried about her brother," added Rarity. "Ah think she's worried 'bout all of us too," added Applejack. "She was. She told us that nopony has written to her recently. I can't believe that's true. Neither of you two wrote anything?" They exchanged embarrassing glances and regrettably shook their heads. "Ah've written ta mah family but that's all. Ah didn't wanna upset Twilight by writin' ta her." "And I thought we would be writing them as a group so I never wrote one myself," Pinkie explained. "Whatever the reason, we've all hurt Twilight," said Fluttershy. "Right, and now we have to fix it," Rarity stated. "But how? How can we help Twilight if we don't know what's goin'-" Applejack was cut off by a heavy and rushed knock on the window. Rarity rose and proceeded to answer it. Opening it, she felt a rush of air and a saw Rainbow colored tail fly into the room followed by a much more elegant pink and purple one. Rainbow Dash landed swiftly in the middle of the room, surprising all the girls, and was quickly followed by Princess Cadance. She looked absolutely filthy, her mane ragged, dirt all over her body, and burses obviously from some fight. Rainbow looked the same, only with more burses. "Lieutenant, what are you doing?" asked Rarity as she closed the window. "Rescuing Cadance," she answered. "And the name's Dash, Rainbow Dash." _________________________________________________________________________________________________ For Magicon the betrayal was just too much. "How could she? I trusted her, trusted her and she goes and does something like this! Just goes to show a pony, you can't trust anypony! I've been a fool too many times! I'm letting my mind get ahead of me. Well no more! I've been too focused on ruling Equestria! It's time to focus in the book and Red-Blood! The old Magicon needs to go and never return! It's time for the new one to rise!" He had been pacing in his locked room, blindly raging and talking to himself. He approached his mirror and looked over himself. He saw his standard reflection, the tiredness and paranoia showing. But Magicon saw something else: the false personality. "For too long I've had this physical appearance to hide behind! For too long I've played the nice pony card! Times are changing and I must change with them! Time for a real make-over!" He immediately rushed to the bathroom and prepared for a cleaning of his mane. His old look had been his old self: kind, smart, and a little nervous. But now he had destroyed that pony and that look. He was now cruel, compassionless, and arrogant and he liked it. He controlled Equestria and everypony in it. As he washed his mane he debated what should be done about his enemies. "Shining Armor is already planned; only time is the essential element there. Cadance will be pardoned in exchange for her silence and if not, well banishment or a prison transfer would keep her under my control until I need her. Rainbow Dash will be captured, I'm sure of it. But I won't show mercy with her next time. She will be tortured and killed. And Miss Sparkle, oh Miss Twilight Sparkle, whatever am I going to do with you?" A number of ideas ran through his mind but he denied all of them. None of them were unique. None of them were legendary. None of them would send the right message. Twilight would need to suffer but what new ways can a pony suffer? "I know it will be mental. Twilight would be a pathetic physical subject. Mental torture is much more suitable for her. But what can I do that will destroy her? There has to be something that makes her tick, something that can be bent and subjected to my will. Something…" While he spoke he began applying the cosmetics to his mane and coat. The red dye fell right into his black mane, slowly producing a blood red color. His mane and tail were naturally divided into three equal parts, each running the length of the hair. The red dye was applied to the center length of hair. It would be that red stripe that would fly down the center of his mane and his tail. His lower hooves, whose natural beige had always complemented his coat, were now being painted black, producing a much darker and sinister tone. As the changes took effect Magicon realized that simple cosmetics weren't enough: he needed something magical to complete it. Searching his mind and the objects around him, Magicon tried to find something that would make him stand out and make everypony respect, even fear him. Unfortunately, he found nothing to his liking. He didn't have to hide anything; he didn't care what other ponies thought of him. He could do whatever he wanted so long as no charges were brought against him. Even if they did Magicon knew he had the resources and the capacity to dispel them and their pursuers. "Dispel…that's it!" he cried and ran out of the bathroom. Grabbing the ancient book and another spell book, Magicon began searching both of them for a unique quality that he had always envied from the Princess of the Night: her ability to travel as a mist. Magicon had always loved that about her and felt she wasn't using it to her full advantage. He could, if he knew how to conjure it. He could spy on his enemies, keep taps on them, and check on his work all over Equestria in a matter of minutes. Such a power was meant to be his, he knew it. Finding similar spells, Magicon's horn began glowing and he began focusing on creating the charm that would allow him to transform faster than the blink of an eye. He knew it was possible and here was the proof. All that remained was just figuring out how to do it. Ignoring any hesitations and cautions he might have had in previous years, Magicon began combining multiple spells and incantations from the book, trying to find the right combination. Most of them just dissipated as haze or failed to encircle him; they weren't strong enough to penetrate him. He put in more power and his horn grew brighter and that only helped somewhat. He could feel the spell working a little bit on him, but not enough. "I need more power. Where can I-" he cut himself off as he glanced over at a small metallic rod standing on a wooden pedestal on a table near the window. A golden plaque was on the front. It read: Lightning Rod of Benji Flankin: Scientist and Inventor. Picking it up, Magicon removed the metallic rod from its stand and examined it. It wasn't large, a few feet in length, but its gleam made it ideal for electrical energy. A copper wire extended from its base. Smiling with his new item and idea Magicon teleported to the tallest tower and rushed out to the balcony. Conjuring a small, but powerful lightning storm, Magicon attached the copper wire to his horn and telekinetically raised the rod above him. Lightning flashed all around him, thunder boomed, and the wind brushed against him, but Magicon did not flinch. This was what he wanted and needed. Slowly he began combining his magical skills that he had been trying earlier. He had to get the energy and what better way than from a direct lightning storm? As he focused more of his energy into the spell, Magicon felt the electrical energy around him. It tingled and tensed with the magic, a perfect combination to increase the power of any spell. As the spell reached its climax a blinding flash of lightning touched the end of the rod and shot through the wire directly impaling Magicon's horn. He screamed in pain and fell backwards as electricity surged through his body. He felt his heart accelerate to uncontrollable levels and the world spun faster than he could comprehend. He swore he had just done something terribly wrong. His body was twitching uncontrollably but as quickly as the lightning had struck him, it faded away. His heart returned to normal and his breathing resumed. Magicon opened his eyes, but only saw a white light. He heard nothing. As he shook his head he could feel his senses returning to him. He started to hear the wind and the blinding light was slowly fading to the darkness of the storm, which was now dying down. He could feel feeling return to his hooves and body and he waited a few minutes before doing anything else. He didn't know if the spell had worked or if he had just come close to suicide. There was only one way to find out. Slowly rising, Magicon tried the spell and was met by instant success. It felt like he was swimming in air. He could go anywhere at speeds even the Wonderbolts couldn't compete with. 'I can't believe it worked,' he thought as he grew more comfortable with the mist. He tried picking up the rod which smoldered from the heat of the lightning but couldn't. 'Hmm…must just be for observation purposes only. Well, it worked and that's what matters. Now it's time to get to work.'