//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: Bioshock Equestria // by Dawn Flower //------------------------------// Chapter 2 Shining Armor was now in the alicorn museum. Inside it was very dark; the surroundings looked almost dark blue. The windows were all boarded up and only a few rays of light shone through the small spaces between the pieces of wood. There wasn’t a sound. The whole building sounded deserted. The museum was seldom visited as most ponies had little interest in such things. The museum had gained a bit more popularity in the last six months because of the new princess; but overall, it was still rarely used. Shining Armor looked to the right and saw the entrance desk. There was nopony there. He then looked to the left and walked in that direction. Just in front of him, he saw some sort of display: There was a statue of a white unicorn with a pink mane behind a glass box. In front of the display there was a button to activate it. Shining Armor pressed the button to activate it. Two wings suddenly folded out from the statues body and the unicorn became an alicorn. There was then a voice recording to go along with it. It said, “Alicorns are ponies that have transcended the boundaries between unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies and become something new. An alicorn is the most regale sight in all of Equestria and so, anypony who becomes an alicorn, becomes Equestrian royalty. In Equestria, all alicorns are royalty, but not all royalty are alicorns.” The recording stopped. Shining Armor then turned to the right and continued walking along. Shining Armor walked quietly and carefully down the corridor, in case there were any guards hiding around here to catch him off guard. He looked around as he walked. As a museum, it had a rather posh atmosphere about it. There were large oil paintings of alicorns on the walls. They didn’t seem to be of anypony in particular; they were apparently just painted from imagination. Not exactly the type of thing you would expect to see in a museum. There were also poufy benches for sitting on and some small drawers next to them. On one of the drawers, Shining Armor saw a recording crystal. Its faint glow made it immediately noticeable in the dark corridor. Shining Armor picked it up and played it as he continued to move forward. Colgate Alicorns, A History Most of what’s known about alicorns has been lost to time. The Royal Sister’s origins go back almost before recorded history. Yes, there’s also the Crystal Princess; but strangely there seems to be even less known about her. There is almost no record of her before she became an alicorn. It’s almost as if she came out of nowhere. If you can trust the legends, it is said that alicorns are chosen by the world itself in times of great need. If everything that has happened lately really is all because of divine providence; then I am left asking just one question: Why now? Shining Armor turned a corner as the recording finished. Directly in front of him was a stallion. He wasn’t a royal guard. He was a big, grey unicorn with a short, brown mane and a white cloak covering his body. Not wanting to jump directly into a fight, Shining Armor approached the pony and simply said, “Hey.” Upon hearing this, the pony immediately turned around. He took one look at Shining Armor and he shouted out, “For the glory of the princess!” and then he suddenly disappeared in a flash of what appeared to be bats. The swarm of bats started flying towards Shining Armor. He reacted just in time and jumped out of the way. He quickly got back to his feet and turned around. The swarm of bats turned back into the unicorn and he then shot at Shining Armor with a magical blast. Shining Armor was still trying to take in what was happening and he took a direct hit. He took some damage but he was still standing. He then readied his horn and shot a magical blast of his own at the unicorn, but he disappeared into a swarm of bats again before it made contact. The bats again started flying towards Shining Armor. However, he had learned his lesson from the last time and he was now prepared. He quickly moved out of the way and turned around ready for the unicorn to turn back. Indeed this is exactly what happened and before he could attack again, Shining Armor’s horn began to crackle with electricity and he shot a bolt of electricity at the unicorn. The unicorn was stunned by the blast. Shining Armor then quickly shot at him again with his unicorn magic and after a few shots, the unicorn fell over dead. Shining Armor went over to investigate the body. The white cloak the unicorn was wearing had a symbol of a pair of black, demonic wings on it; with ‘The Brotherhood of the Wings’, written underneath it. Shining Armor then looked down and saw a bottle clutched in his hooves. The bottle was undoubtedly a Quartz; however, unlike the first one; this one was filled with a black liquid with a bat on the cover. Shining Armor picked it up with his hoof, took the cork out and chugged it down. Shining Armor felt a sudden pain in his head; however, it was nowhere near as painful as the first time. His vision turned black. He suddenly felt really weird. He then raised his hoof up in front of his face and suddenly it had turned into a couple of bats. They started flying around him for about five seconds, then they came back to him and his hoof returned to normal. His vision started to return to normal as well and the pain stopped. Shining Armor then continued on his way. As he was walking, one thought came to him. “I don’t think that that was a sample.” Shining Armor moved cautiously in case there were any more of those ‘Brotherhood’ ponies around. He opened the door in front of him and he was now in what appeared to be a foyer. There was a big staircase right in front of him and two rooms to either side that seemed to connect at the back. Shining Armor decided to investigate before moving on and he walked over to the room on the right. As soon as Shining Armor walked into the room, he noticed a truly disgusting smell in the air. The long table in the middle of the room was covered in rotten food and there were dozens of bats flying around the place. Shining Armor placed his hoof on his nose and let out a snort of disgust. However, there were more ponies in white cloaks in the area and they heard this. They rushed into the room from the opposite side, completely unfazed by the smell and they attacked Shining Armor on sight. These ponies weren’t turning into swarms of bats; they were simply shooting magical blasts at him from their horns. Shining Armor quickly jumped behind the table to dodge. He then jumped back out and hit them all with a blast of electricity. The other ponies were all standing next to each other and they were all caught in the blast radius. When they were stunned, he then shot at them with his own magical blasts and killed them. Shining Armor was feeling weak after two intense fights like that with no rest. He needed to eat something to get his strength back, but there was absolutely no way he was going to eat the food in here. He walked to the back of the room to investigate the rest of the area. He then saw one more unicorn in front of him. He prepared to shoot him with a blast of electricity, but he wasn’t able to. “Looks like I’m out of geodes. I’m gonna have to find some more.” As he said this, he was hit by several magical blasts from the unicorn and he took some serious damage. Shining Armor mustered all of his remaining energy and shot at the unicorn in front of him as many times as he could. When he ran out of energy and stopped shooting, the unicorn was dead. Shining Armor was now feeling very weak. He moved along slowly, investigating the area. When he didn’t find anything, he returned to the foyer and walked up the stairs. As he opened the door at the top of the stairs to leave the area, he was feeling very upset and he grunted, “I should’ve just moved forward.” Shining Armor was surprised at how weak he felt after just a few battles. He was the captain of the royal guard because he was one of the strongest ponies in Equestria. He shouldn’t have tired so quickly. It’s something that he didn’t notice until now but he felt weaker ever since he entered the city. It wouldn’t be good for him to lose his strength now when he needs it the most; but if he stays stocked up on food and geodes, then he should be just fine. His magic is still strong enough to defeat enemies quickly; he just needs to be careful when taking damage. Shining Armor opened the door and he was now in a big room with a large, circular table at the centre and several chairs placed around it. On the wall to the left, there were two huge murals about twenty feet tall that stretched from the ceiling to the floor. The first was of Twilight as an alicorn. She was simply facing forward with her wings stretched out. She was wearing her new royal attire with her Element of Harmony as her crown. Her mane was also styled differently, ending in a curl. The second mural was of a large, white alicorn. She looked a bit like Celestia, but noticeably different. She was a bit taller than Celestia; an impressive feat considering Celestia was the tallest pony in Equestria. She also had a long, red mane with a tail to match. Her cutie mark was a quill dipped in a phial of ink. Shining Armor recognised this alicorn as Lauren Faust; the pony that someponies worshipped as God. There was also a projector situated at the centre of the table projecting the same symbol from the ponies cloaks onto the wall, just to the right of the murals. Shining Armor was walking around the table to the door on the other side, when he noticed a recording crystal on one of the chairs. Shining Armor picked it up and played it as he made his way out of the room and walked down the next corridor. Diamond Flash The Princess Twilight Cometh “For lo and God said that she would send her daughter upon us and guide the chosen ponies to paradise.” Ponies all over Equestria know this prophecy well; however, sadly there are many ponies who are confused as to whom this prophecy refers. Many ponies ignorantly believe that this daughter is Celestia; however, we few brothers know the truth. It is not Celestia, Luna or the Crystal Princess. The true daughter of our Lord is unmistakably Princess Twilight Sparkle. For over a thousand years of Celestia’s rule, Equestria has faced such calamities as, the fall of a great Empire, a rampage of chaos being unleashed and even the corruption of the royal blood. And how has Celestia responded to these events? She either made everything worse or just postponed our suffering for another time. Yet it was our Princess Twilight Sparkle that saved us all time and time again, even without her glorious wings; the symbol of our devotion to her. Even more, in just six months of her new rule, she has fixed all of Celestia’s many mistakes and truly she has guided the faithful to paradise. Equestria is now in a golden age of new rule; and yet all is not right. The False Princess, Celestia, keeps our beloved princess locked up in that infernal palace like a dog on a leash. She wishes to use our princess to serve her own selfish ends. However; we, ‘The Brotherhood of the Wings’, shall not let this go on much longer. We have established a base in the alicorn museum; the shrine to our princess and all that she is, was and will become, right on the doorstep of that damnable prison of a palace. Our numbers continue to grow and soon we shall descend on the palace and take our princess back. Celestia’s puppets will not stop us. Soon we will take our destined place at her side as the shepherds that will guard her on her way to her destiny. Also, there is word amongst the guards that the Apocryphal is on his way here to take our princess away. Normally I wouldn’t believe one more of the False Princess’ lies after the countless catastrophes that she has allowed to befall us time and time again. Regardless, anypony who attempts to stand between our princess and her destiny shall all share the same fate. If the Apocryphal truly is coming here; then he will die by own hoof. I swear this on the wings. For the glory of the princess. As the recording crystal was playing, Shining Armor made his way down the next corridor. It was deserted and silent, just like the rest of the museum. As he was walking along, he found a lot of food on the benches and drawers, like hay, apples, cupcakes, cotton candy and some soda. He also found some geodes. He ate everything that he could find to get his strength back. By the time the recording crystal had finished, he had reached the end of the corridor and his strength and his Quartz supply had been restored. Feeling much better, he opened the door in front of him. He opened the door slowly and peaked into the next room before going in. The room was very big and open. It was also much brighter than the rest of the museum. There were windows on the walls, not boarded up and the light was shining through. Shining Armor opened the door a bit more and he saw two more of those cloaked unicorns standing with their backs to him facing the door like they were expecting something. Shining Armor opened the door a bit more and quietly entered the room. The two unicorns hadn’t noticed him come in and he decided to use that to his advantage to launch a sneak attack. Shining Armor summoned power into his horn and shot at one of the unicorns in the back of the neck and killed him instantly. The other unicorn noticed this and turned his head to the side to see his ‘Brother’ lying there dead; however, before he could turn around to see what had caused it, Shining Armor shot another blast at him, killing him instantly. Shining Armor had decided not to use his Quartz and instead save his supply for when he really needs it. Shining Armor looked around the room. Nothing immediately caught his eye and he decided not to spend time investigating, remembering what happened last time. He simply walked over to the door and opened it. He was now outside. --- As soon as Shining Armor stepped outside, he suddenly took in a lot of light. He closed his eyes shut and raised his hoof up between his eyes and the Sun. His eyes hurt a bit, but he was still glad to be outside again. After his eyes had readjusted to the light, he took a look around. The palace loomed over him, just over the line of buildings to his right. It was huge; and he could tell that it was nearby. He turned his gaze forward again. Ahead of him was a short, empty, straight stretch of road between two rows of small buildings. The road turned at a forty five degree angle up ahead. Shining Armor started walking ahead, knowing that the palace would be right in front of him when he turned the corner. He slowed down a bit and decided to use the time to come up with a plan for how he was going to get inside. The palace would no doubt have high security; especially since they knew that he was coming. He didn’t know exactly how many guards would be waiting for him, but he knew that he had to get passed them to rescue his sister. The odds were going to be against him; however, his resolve didn’t waver. He vowed to rescue Twilight and get her away from here and that’s exactly what he was going to do. He didn’t care how many ponies stood in his way or who they were. He would go through them all. Shining Armor turned the corner and his eyes widened a bit at what he saw. Since the cities expansion, the palace was now located at the centre of the city. The already huge structure was sitting on top of a raised platform. The stairs that lead up the platform were on every side. The platform was shaped like a jagged cone where the stairs were, with the top cut off where the palace stood. The platform was about sixty feet high. There was an entire battalion of guards waiting for him there; all stationed in rows along the steps. There were easily at least one hundred guards there and there were no openings that he could slip through. However, Shining Armor’s expression didn’t change at all. He had a look of determination on his face. He came to rescue his sister no matter what and he didn’t care how many guards he had to fight against. Somehow, someway he would find a way through, even if he had to fight them all. His gaze rose up slowly as he surveyed all the guards that stood between him and his sister. At the top of the platform, he saw one guard standing alone, above all the others. He looked almost the same as all the other guards but he was slightly bigger. Despite the similarities, Shining Armor recognised him immediately; Biggs: one of Celestia’s personal bodyguards that accompanied her at all times. For him to be here, Shining Armor knew now that Celestia was hell bent on making sure that he didn’t reach Twilight. His stern expression began to slip a bit. He knew that one hundred guards would be a tough challenge, but deep down he was still sure that he could do it; however, with Biggs here, it was another story altogether. Only the strongest guards became Celestia’s personal bodyguards; Shining Armor was even at one time expected to become one and Biggs and Wedge have both held that position for years; meaning that no guards in all that time were stronger than them. If it was just the two of them, then he might be able to take him, but with another hundred guards covering him it would be absolutely impossible. Suddenly, the long silence was broken and Biggs began to address the other guards. “Men. We make our stand here. We must stop the Apocryphal before he reaches our princess. These orders come directly from Her Majesty, Princess Celestia herself. All units shoot to kill.” On cue, every pegasus guard in the area began charging up a Quartz. The entire area in front of Shining Armor looked like a canvas of orange and red from all the fireballs forming in their mouths. Shining Armor began looking all around him. “Think. Think. There’s got to be something I can do to get passed all of them.” As he surveyed the area, his eyes immediately widened at what he saw. Just then, all of the fireballs were released and shot right towards Shining Armor. He quickly turned back to see this. With the fireballs fast approaching, Shining Armor quickly did the only thing he could do to survive this attack. BOOM!!! There was an enormous explosion. As the smoke cleared, all of the guards watched closely to make sure that he was really dead. When the smoke had finally cleared, exactly where Shining Armor was standing, they all saw a swarm of bats. Many of the guards suddenly broke their usual stoic expressions and were legitimately confused at what they saw. Then suddenly, the swarm of bats disappeared and Shining Armor reappeared. Everything fell quiet again and the only thing that could be heard was Shining Armor muttering under his breath, “There is absolutely no way I’m using that Quartz ever again.” “What are you men waiting for; an invitation?! Start shooting again!” Biggs yelled, with a clear look of frustration on his face. A very rare occurrence for him. He almost never showed any signs of emotion; even more so than the other guards. All of the guards quickly regained themselves and began charging their Quartz's again. As soon as they did, Shining Armor’s horn became enveloped in a pink aura. However, he didn’t shoot a magical blast or use a Quartz. Instead he suddenly rose into the air and darted face first to the right. All of the guards cancelled their attacks and tried to follow where Shining Armor was going and then they all noticed that he was using the transport line. Since Canterlot was now so much bigger, it was more difficult to send deliveries around the city; especially with the way they were treating the pegasi. So scientists invented the transport line: a long steel line that went all over the city. The lines were strong enough to hold up dozens of large crates which were attached to them with magic, like magnets. Since it was attracted to magic, that meant that some unicorn ponies were able to ride them too if they knew the right spell and Shining Armor was one such pony. The line rose up and Shining Armor felt himself being raised high above the guards below and he was sailing towards the palace. “What are you men waiting for?! Attack him!” Biggs screamed at the top of his lungs. By this point, he had lost all of his regular composure. The guards suddenly snapped back and began hurling their attacks at Shining Armor. However, he was moving too quickly and they couldn’t hit him. Shining Armor looked down at Biggs who had a look of pure anger in his eyes and his teeth were snarling at him. Shining Armor then turned around to face the palace. The transport line had drifted very close to it, lucky for him. Shining Armor then saw an open window beneath him. “Perfect.” As he was passing above the open window, his horn stopped glowing and he threw himself towards the open window. He fell quite a distance down but he still landed on his feet. He was now inside the palace. --- Shining Armor looked around at where he was. He was currently in the palace stairwell. To his left was a blank wall with the window he had fallen through right above it. To his right, there were two flights of stairs: one going up and one going down. Shining Armor decided to go up since they were most likely holding Twilight on the upper floors. Also, Biggs and his guards were most likely coming through the front entrance right now and Shining Armor had to stay away from them. Shining Armor made his way over to the stairs going up and he noticed a recording crystal on a small surface between the two flights of stairs. He picked it up and played it as he walked up the stairs. Time Turner Science and Magic Ever since I was a young colt, I was fascinated with learning why things were the way that they were and not some other way altogether. We live in a world where everything is dictated by magic; a force that can supposedly make anything happen; and yet, it is science that is the supreme force in our world. It is the one absolute force and magic serves as a tangent to that force. We cannot break the laws of the universe, but we can bend them to our liking from time to time. Indeed, this is exactly what magic is. Simply a tool for expressing our will upon creation and altering what we perceive to be possible. However, even magic cannot do the impossible: something that goes against science. However, the earliest rule of the universe that I learned in my life is that there are exceptions to every rule. The answer of how to do so simply lies elsewhere; in science, not magic. My parents always thought that I was a very odd child; for an earth pony to be interested in magic, or for a scientist to link science with magic. I however, saw it as a perfect opportunity to begin a career in physics. With this one theory that I created as a young colt, I pursued a career in physics in order to unravel these mysteries. In time I had become the most renowned physicist in Equestria. I had made numerous contributions to the field and unravelled many mysteries of our world; but I was still searching for the answer to that one theory I created as a young colt. Then one day, Princess Celestia herself comes to me personally saying that she needs my assistance with a project of hers. Now I’m not entirely sure what this project could be, or what she hopes to accomplish with it; but I could tell from the expression on her face when she spoke, that it is something big. I’m still not entirely sure what this project is, but my scientific curiosity will not allow me to walk away from this opportunity; however there is another reason: I cannot explain it but something tells me that this very project may just hold the answers that I have been searching for. Perhaps this force guiding me along… is magic. As Shining Armor walked up the stairs, he noticed that there were no guards around. Normally, there were royal guards patrolling every inch of the palace. All of the guards were probably stationed outside. Celestia most likely didn’t expect somepony to get in with the transport line. This would make it easier to get through and look for Twilight, however, Shining Armor still decided to play things safe and move quietly just in case. He still had to move quickly however, since the guards from outside were coming for him and they knew exactly where Twilight was. Shining Armor reached the top floor that these stairs went to. He opened the door and entered the palace hallway. The hallway was lined with a beautiful, red carpet all the way along. The walls were painted white, with gold candelabras built into the walls. There were also red banners hanging from the ceiling with two yellow stripes running straight down at either side. As Shining Armor was walking along, he noticed a recording crystal strewn on the floor. He picked it up and started playing it. Princess Celestia Day, Night and Twilight While I try to do the best for MY country, my dear sister Luna appears to be less… interested in the greater good of the nation. Considering how we share legislative power, Luna can easily veto all of my rulings. If only it wasn’t just the two of us, then maybe… if I had another alicorn under my influence in this power struggle, all of my decisions would go through. Luna may very well be planning the same against me! If there is anything I’ve learned about conflict, whether it by combat or by a battle wits, is that those slow to act will never act at all. Perhaps it is time for a certain faithful student to join her mentor… As Shining Armor was walking along the hallway, he noticed that the door to one of the adjoining rooms was open. He peeked his head in. It was a very small room, completely empty except for some sort of console at the back. The console had several screens on it which seemed to be displaying feedback from cameras somewhere. Shining Armor moved closer to investigate. One screen seemed to be showing the inside of a library and another one was showing the edge of a forest. There was also the inside of a bakery, a town square, a train station, a town hall and a farm of some sorts. Shining Armor didn’t recognise any of these places, but if he had to guess, it was probably Ponyville. His suspicions would be confirmed when he turned to look at the last screen. His eyes widened at what he saw. It was a big, colourful bedroom. The architecture matched that of the palace. There was a table mounted mirror with a star shape around it. There were what appeared to be mannequins all over the room, each wearing a beautiful outfit. There was a huge four poster bed next to the window where light was shining in. On the bed, there was a young, purple alicorn wearing a beautifully crafted yellow, white and pink outfit. She had golden hoof shoes with purple stars on them. Her mane ended in a stylish curl and she was wearing a tiara on her head. The alicorn was lying on the bed, reading a book, occasionally lifting her head and looking around. Shining Armor fell silent and his mind went blank except for a single thought. “Twilight. I finally found you.” Shining Armor was overcome with joy seeing his sister, even if it was just through a monitor. He recognised the room she was in and he knew exactly how to get there from here. He proceeded to turn around to make his way out of the room when he noticed a recording crystal on the console. He picked it up and played it as he made his way out of the room. Time Turner The Leash The girl seems to be displaying remarkable growth. In just three months since the transformation, her powers have increased by over two thousand per cent. It seems that the princesses weren’t joking when they said that she had the potential to become the most powerful alicorn in history. Now her powers have surpassed even Celestia. However, this also presents a bit of a problem. Should the girl have enough of all this and want to leave, I’m not sure that we can stop her; and I can tell that Celestia worries about this as well. She really should work on keeping a straight face when we speak. What we need right now is a way to keep the girls powers under control until we can be sure that it’s safe; like keeping a dog on a leash until it’s trained. Hmmm, I believe I may have an idea of how to do just that; and perhaps also a way to keep the rest of the ponyfolk happy at the same time. Shining Armor made his way through the palace hallways. Everything was completely silent. This meant that the guards from outside weren’t close to catching up with him yet, since he knew exactly where they were heading now. However, there could still be other guards stationed inside, so he made his way around quietly and carefully. While the city of Canterlot had changed a lot in the last six months, the palace had remained relatively unchanged. This was a stroke of good luck for Shining Armor. He knew his way around the palace perfectly from when he was captain of the royal guard and he knew that Twilight’s room was close by. As he walked along, he noticed another recording crystal just lying on the floor. He picked it up and played it. Princess Mi Amore Cadenza Grieving Well, Shining Armor is gone. I’m all alone now. I knew that I would have to deal with this eventually. After all I’m an alicorn and he’s a unicorn; but I never imagined that it would be this soon. (Sigh) I wasn’t prepared for this. Unlike previous recording crystals that he had listened to and then just forgotten about; after hearing this one, Shining Armor was in serious thought. “Cadance. I am so sorry that I left. You will always be the most important thing in the world to me; but so is my sister. I promise you that I’ll find Twilight and get her out of her. Then we’ll head back to the Crystal Empire together. I swear this on my life. I swear it.” Shining Armor lifted his head from his thoughts as he turned a corner and looked ahead. At the end of the empty hallway, was the room that he had seen Twilight in. What puzzled him was that right in front of the door, there was some sort of glass chamber with an iron door in front of it. Shining Armor galloped over to the iron door as quickly as he could. On the walls on both sides of the hallway, Shining Armor saw what seemed to be warning signs. They read: ‘Contact with the subject is absolutely prohibited without level five clearance’, and ‘Everypony must be decontaminated before and after contact with the subject’. Shining Armor approached the iron gate. It had a wheel lock. He opened it and stepped inside. He tried to open the door into the room but it wouldn’t budge. Shining Armor then remembered what it said on the warning signs. Shining Armor turned around and closed the iron door. As soon as he did this, a thin green mist entered the glass box and a voice recording said, “Decontamination commencing.” Shining Armor didn’t like it that his little sister was being referred to as a subject and that everypony has to be decontaminated before seeing her; if they were even allowed to see her. Before Shining Armor could think further about this, he noticed a small monitor above the door. It seemed to be transmitting a close up of Celestia’s face. She seemed to be sending him a message. “Shining Armor. I knew that you would come here. My sight proves out yet again. But tell me; why exactly have you come here? To take your sister away from here? Do you even know why you’re here? To rescue your baby sister from the terrible danger that this city is wrought with? The only danger in this city is that which you have brought here yourself.” Shining Armor barked back at the screen, “You can’t fool me Celestia! I know you too well!” Celestia just continued with what she was saying. “Tell me, Shining Armor: Do you really know me as well as you think you do? Tell me, what are you going to do if you can actually get Twilight out of the city? Do you really think that my guards and I are the only ones who need Twilight to stay here? No! Everypony in Equestria needs their new princess to stay here. It’s how they have always been; and they are all willing to lay down their lives if it means preserving their way of life. It’s the only life they know. So tell me now, Shining Armor; what are you going to do? Will you take on everypony? I promise you that this will all end in blood. It always ends in blood for you, doesn’t it?” Shining Armor suddenly got an intense pain in his head; his vision became blurry and began to shake for a second. He raised his hoof to his face and he noticed that his nose was bleeding. “What the Hell?” He then looked back at the monitor and the light above it turned from red to green. The voice then said, “Decontamination complete.” Shining Armor then tried to open the door again and it worked. He opened the door and stepped inside. There, standing directly in front of him with her head looking towards the window was his little sister, Twilight Sparkle. Upon hearing the door open, Twilight turned her head around to face the door. She had a look of absolute relief on her face. “Shining Armor.” “Twily.” Shining Armor then reached out and embraced his sister with a big hug. After about five seconds, he pulled away. “I’ve come to get you out of her, okay?” “Of course. I knew you’d come. You’re always there for me when I need you.” Twilight and Shining Armor both just stood there smiling at each other, but then, all of a sudden, they heard an alarm of some kind. It was different from the one Shining Armor had heard before he reached the alicorn museum. The lighting in the room suddenly got darker as well. “Oh no, she found us,” Twilight said as she quickly looked around the room. She then turned back to face Shining Armor. “She knows you’re here.” Shining Armor then heard the sound of galloping hooves. He turned around to see what it was and as he feared; through the door and the glass box, he could see that Biggs and the guards had finally managed to catch up. His eyes widened as he saw this. He quickly went back to the door and closed it again. The decontamination would slow them down, but they didn’t have much time. “Shining Armor, what are we going to do? They’ll be here any minute.” “Don’t worry. I know a secret way out of here.” Shining Armor then galloped over to a bookshelf in the far corner of the room. “What are you doing?” Twilight asked inquisitively. “This used to be Cadance’s room. I remember… I used to visit her here when we were younger. There should still be a secret passage behind this bookshelf.” Shining Armor began pushing the bookshelf to the side and just as he had said, there was a secret passage behind it. “Come on Twilight. I’m getting you out of here.” Shining Armor gave Twilight his hoof and helped her through. The bookshelf was very heavy and he could only open it out a bit. When Twilight was through, Shining Armor climbed through as well. They were now in a narrow passageway of stairs that led straight down. “Come on Twilight. Follow me. I know the way.” Shining Armor and Twilight ran down the stairs as fast as they could. The bookshelf couldn’t close from their side and the guards would be there soon and come after them. The stairs they were running down just kept going straight. Shining Armor could hear that the guards were in the room now and had no doubt already seen the open bookshelf; however, he didn’t want to say it out loud in case Twilight might worry. The stairs in the passageway stopped and they were now on the floor. They probably went down about twenty floors. Shining Armor saw a turn up ahead. “Twilight, the exit’s just up ahead,” Shining Armor said as he pointed his hoof forward. Shining Armor and Twilight ran ahead and turned the corner, but then the worst possible thing happened: a dead end. Shining Armor walked up to the wall. “Dammit. Dammit. Dammit. Dammit,” he said as he repeatedly pounded his hoof against the wall. He then slumped down in front of it. Twilight had a worried expression on her face; however, this quickly turned to fear as they heard the guards approaching. Twilight regained her composure and stepped forward. “Shining Armor; stand back.” Shining Armor raised his head in confusion. “Huh.” “Just do it.” Shining Armor could hear the guards getting closer, but he complied with his sister’s request. He stood up and walked back. Twilight walked closer to the wall and bowed her head down. Her horn started glowing in a magnificent purple aura. Her facial expression showed that she was concentrating really hard. Shining Armor tried his best not to disturb her, but he couldn’t take his mind off all the guards that were now right behind them. There is no way that he could take them all on, especially when he was in this cramped space and protecting Twilight. Suddenly there was a flash of light from Twilight’s horn. Shining Armor looked at the wall and there was now a giant hole covering most of the wall. The other side looked just like the side they were on now, however, it looked completely grey on the other side. The hole itself looked more like it was a hole in the fabric of space more than just a hole in the wall. Twilight quickly jumped through the hole and she was perfectly fine. “We don’t have much time. Come on.” Shining Armor did as she said and jumped through the hole. When he landed on the other side, he turned around and saw the guards on the other side. Now it was this side of the hole that looked normal and the other side that looked grey. Just as it looked like the guards were about to jump through the hole too; Twilight activated her horn again and the hole suddenly disappeared and the wall was back to normal. He couldn’t even hear the guards on the other side. The only thing that Shining Armor could say to what just happened was, “What just happened?” “I’ll explain later, but right now we really have to go.” Shining Armor agreed and the two of them continued running along. Shining Armor edged out ahead of Twilight just as they turned a corner. Shining Armor suddenly felt the ground disappear beneath him. He looked down and he saw that he had run right into a hole in the floor. He tried to back up but he had already fallen too far in and started falling down the hole. Everything was black and he couldn’t see the bottom. After about seven seconds of falling, Shining Armor finally hit the ground. He lost consciousness immediately. To be continued…