//------------------------------//
// Invitation Only 
// Story: Equestria's Dark Shadow 
// by InTheStands 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 20: Invitation Only


The train let out a bellowing whistle as it sped down its predetermined track. Those on board did what they could to pass the time until the locomotive arrived at its destination. What most of the passengers (save for six certain ponies) didn't know was the secret that was kept in a dark, shaded passenger car near the end of the train.
"Is everything okay in here?" Twilight asked as someone from within unlocked the door.
"Bored out of our skulls," was Bill's answer. "But fine otherwise."
Twilight nodded. "We should be reaching Canterlot soon. He's not...thirsty, is he?"
Bill looked back into the car, whispering. He turned back. "He's down to one pack. I hope your Princesses have more for him."
Twilight was about to close the door until the train could be felt slowing down. After the long trip, the passengers could see the terminal that was Canterlot's train station.
A commotion began, however, as they saw something else: Several white stallions, adorned in gold armor, looking to board the train as soon as it fully stopped.
"Those guys...look kind of important," Bill told Twilight. "And threatening."
"It's okay," Twilight raised a hoof. "The Princesses must have sent them. Just close the door and we'll take care of it."
Bill did as he was told, retreating back into the almost ink-black darkness of the passenger car.
"Who looks threatening?" Barnabas' voice asked.
"Guards," Was Bill's answer. "The others are taking care of it, but I'm not too sure they were sent as a welcome party." Bill then leaned towards the car door, pressing his ear against it. "Shh..."
"Twilight?"
"Yes?" She asked the masculine voice.
"It's our understanding you've brought Barnabas Collins with you. Him and three others like him."	
"Not exactly like him. The same species, yes, but not vampires."
"Regardless," The stallion stated. "We've been sent for them. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna wish to speak to them immediately."
"Not without us," Twilight retorted.
"No, of course not."
Bill backed away as he heard the hoofsteps coming closer to the door. A second later, they could see light bleed through as the door opened. Barnabas hid away, hugging against the car as he tried to remain in the shadows.
Quickly, though, the door closed as soon as it opened, followed by a small burst of purple light. The four humans could immediately see the light emanated from a purple horn. A particular horn attached to the head of a particular unicorn, whose face could be seen below the glow. Next to her was a white-coated stallion, apparently older than her. He sported gold and purple armor, and wore a similarly-plated helmet with a blue plume in the middle of it.
"Everypony...er, everyone," Twilight announced. "I want you to meet my brother, Shining Armor, Captain of the Canterlot Royal Guard."
"Ah," Barnabas bowed slightly. "We meet again, Captain."
"We can follow the guards to the castle," Twilight explained. "There you can talk with the Princesses about whatever you need to talk about."
"What..." Bill began. "What are you doing?"
"What, this?" Twilight looked up at her horn. "It's something I could always do."
"So...we DIDN'T have to sit in the dark the whole time."
"Won't we be noticed?" Willie asked. "Especially with guards around us?"
"Such things are inevitable," Shining Armor shook his head. "We can do no more than conceal you in one of our covered wagons."
"We could've had her light up the cabin," Bill added onto his complaints.
"That and get you off the train without anypony seeing your face," Shining continued. "A robe should do."
"A robe?" Rick raised an eyebrow. "Your idea is to use a robe?"
"We had no idea how the lights worked, you know!" Bill still ranted.
"Like they said," Twilight grew exasperated, "They'll all notice something eventually. Besides, Barnabas has a reason to be covered - the sunlight. Just stay close and walk as fast as you can."
"There was a newspaper in here I could've read!" Bill held up the paper in question as his tirade grew louder.
"Bill, enough," Rick shushed his brother. He turned to Shining. "Alright. It's obvious we'll draw some sort of attention no matter what, so...lead the way, Captain."


§§§


The carriage touched down gently, landing on the ground along with the guards pulling it. It was larger than normal, and as such, was able to hold several more ponies. Or at the very least, seven ponies, a young dragon, and four humans.
The humans in question sported dark, hooded robes, their faces hidden in the shadow of the cloth. From the train to the carriage, they watched from their cloaks as onlooking ponies glanced at them, not with fear, but intrigue.
Now the group stepped out of their transportation and stood before the towering castle up ahead.
Following Shining Armor, the team stepped past the guards, through an enormous pair of doors, and walked through the building.
Before long, Shining finally led them to their destination: The throne room. It was a long, ornate, shining room, illuminated by several stained glass windows, each one depicting a different scene or story. A long rug ran the length of the room, stopping at the end, where two thrones stood - and in those thrones, the ruling Princesses of Equestria.
Traversing the room, the group now stood before the two alicorn princesses before bowing.
"Rise," Celestia stated simply. They did as such. The humans removed their hoods, with Barnabas quickly putting on his hat and sunglasses. The white alicorn looked to the vampire. "It's been a while, Barnabas. I trust you were treated well?"
"More than I could have expected, Your Highness," Barnabas nodded.
Luna looked to the other humans. "And who would you three be?"
Rick stepped forward. "My name is Richard Lilian. This is my brother William, and this is Barnabas' servant, Willie Loomis. We've been sent for Barnabas. To try and get him home."
"At first," Bill added. "But then something's come up. That particular something may be dangerous as all Hell to everything in this world."
"What is this 'Hell' he speaks of?" Luna whispered to her sister, who simply shook her head slightly.
"And if we could," Rick outstretched his hand as he spoke, "We would take the time to explain everything to you. But somewhere away from people who would listen."
"People?" Luna again questioned the human's words, putting emphasis on the consonants. "That simply sounds vulgar."
"Vulgar," Celestia agreed as she stood up, letting her everflowing mane move in the air. "But correct. We shall prepare a meeting room for this discussion. But if this is as vital to Equestria's safety as you claim, the Element Bearers must be there with us."
The agreement was immediate and unanimous. Within moments, they were silently walking down the corridors of the castle, coming up to a large door opened by the guard standing beside it. They were ushered inside by the two princesses, finding themselves in an ornate meeting hall, decorated with banners, paintings, and a large table in the center.
"Here is where we discuss matters not meant for the public ear," Luna elaborated. "No dialogue escapes these chambers unless we deem it so."
"Good, good," Rick nodded as he looked around at the room. He moved to the table, as did everyone else. Pulling up his sleeve, he undid the bands that attached his wrist device, placing it on the table as the group gathered around him.
"What we're going to tell you," Rick began, "might sound insane at first. But it's true. As you may know, we're from alternate realities. We're with an agency designed not only to monitor such universes, but to ensure we get to them first before our enemy does. And one member of the enemy is somewhere in this world."
"And who is it?" Shining asked. "Another...human...like you?"
"You could say that," Rick replied, "but after the things he's done, I'd say that term was used pretty loosely." He pressed a few buttons on his device, letting an image pop up, along with several lines of text. The image was of a young man, near his late twenties, with short brown hair combed to the side. It looked like a picture one would use for criminal records, or a wanted poster.
Making sure everyone (including Barnabas and Willie) was looking, Rick continued. "This is David Leskov. He's second-in-command behind a man named Alistair Lessard, Chancellor of their own little 'Ideal Empire'. On the surface, they pass off as an empire for equality, peace, and justice. The problem comes with how they reach those goals: Mass murder of known criminals and anyone they deem unworthy of the world.
"The Idealists have the same access to parallel worlds as we do, and as such, it's our main goal to stop them from spreading their idea of justice and from taking various known items of power. Other times, they just try to send out several pockets of themselves, hoping we don't find them. David may be part of one of those pockets. Our intelligence indicates he's been away from our world for some time - there's no telling what he's up to until we find him."
A moment passed as the residents of Equestria absorbed this information. Celestia spoke up. "How do they recruit others to their cause?"
"They just make sure they get there first," Bill shrugged. "Make it look like they're the best choice for leadership, and everything else falls into place."
"And what if they realize your group is in another world with them?" Celestia asked. Rick answered.
"Then they either do one of two things: They stay and see if they can finish what they're doing without us catching up to them...or they get out as fast as they can, either back home or in another universe. David, in his travels, has switched between the two several times. But he stays more often than not."
"Hm," Celestia vocalized. She paced slightly. "What if...we could get our citizens on your side? Have them support those who would help a vampire instead of one who would kill so wantonly in the name of peace?"
The twins looked at each other in confusion before Bill responded. "Well...that would be great, Princess, but...that would mean letting them see us. Letting them see us would mean letting possible Idealist agents see us. Letting those folks see us means David knowing we're after him."
"And if he does have agents," Luna argued, "It would stand to reason that he would find out about your presence in our world sooner or later."
She was right, the twins thought. Already ponies had seen them. They were hidden of course, but the fact of the matter remained that there were four tall beings, not of their world, wandering around what was basically the capital of their empire. After a moment of thought, they conceded.
"I hate having plans unravel like this," Rick muttered aloud. "But it doesn't look like we have a choice anymore. Very well, Princesses. We'll accept your offer. But if I can ask, what do you have in mind to get your citizens to side with us?"


§§§


"This has to be a joke."
"We're already near the music hall. She's been serious for a while, Rick."
It had been at least two days since discussing the Idealist problem with the Princesses. It was ultimately decided by Celestia that the four humans would attend a social event or two in Canterlot, warming up to some of the more high-ranking members of society.
Luna's moon hung in the air as the carriage rolled down the lamp-lit streets of the city. Inside sat Rick and Bill, opposite Barnabas and Willie. Barnabas, at last, held his cane in his hands, and all four of them wore clean, elegant suits, with a dark blue flower in each of their lapels (and a gold 'R' and 'B' to tell the twins apart).
"I just can't wrap my head around it," Rick sighed. "We've gone over everything with them. Weve shown that the Idealists are some of the most dangerous criminal minds in any world. And here we are doing what basically amounts to P.R.!"
"Twilight Sparkle has confided in me," Barnabas interjected, "That this is similair to how Princess Celestia sent her to Ponyville. If not for that, there would be no bearers of these Elements of Harmony."
"Why couldn't they come again?" Willie asked. "Just seems weird the white one would spend so much time on these suits..."
"They're staying in the castle," Bill replied. "Seems Twilight wants to grab every book on alternate universes she can. Let's just hope she learns responsibly - we've seen folks just as smart as her drive themselves crazy over it all."
"We've arrived," the voice of one of the ponies pulling the carriage announced. A second pony pulled the door open, letting the four men out onto the sidewalk.
Bill whistled as they looked up at the ornate building that served as Canterlot's most revered music hall. Several important-looking ponies, mostly unicorns, stood outside, with some entering the building. "This actually looks like it might be good," Bill said to Rick. "Who's performing again?"
Barnabas had Willie pull out a flyer. "Several performances it seems, Mr. Lilian. But opening with one Octavia Melody and a D...J...did no one proofread this?" The vampire held out the paper. "Someone's confused numbers with letters!"
"Oh, that's supposed to read 'pony'," Bill explained. "DJ PON-3, huh? Well what are we waiting for?" The men pulled out their invitations and walked towards the front doors.
Nearby, a fearful-looking unicorn looked around, checking to make sure no one followed him into the hall. He failed to notice, however, the two ponies from afar who hid their faces, watching him step inside before turning to each other.
"We've got him. We actually got him."
"Well? Let's go! If he wants him, he's getting-"
A forehoof to the face stopped him mid-sentence. He recoiled from his partner. "You're stupid, aren't you? We have to wait. Crowd's going to make it hard for him to get away. He's gonna learn the hard way not to mess with us...or him."