Nightwing walked the halls to find the one responsible for signing the paperwork that ruined his day...and hopefully that's all it will do is what the captain kept thinking, hoping that by some small chance it was just a prank and he was ready to blast somepony for a good hour before he would even begin to think about not dismissing who ever it was from service.
"Captain, sir!"
Nightwing stopped and looked behind him, a grey stallion rushing to meet him. Victorious made sure his uniform was perfect and he even brushed up a little on the commanding officer to make sure he was ready to present his argument. The marine stopped a few feet away and stood at attention.
"Sir, I'm glad to see you made it here so quickly."
"Parade rest."
Victorious tensed up..relaxing only a little to make sure he didn't lock his knees and end up passing out. The captain pulled the file from the tight messenger bag on his side and dropped it between the two.
"I'm to assume that you are Gunnery Sergeant Victorious Assault?"
"Yes sir, I-"
"Do you mind telling me why on Celestia's green earth why you're calling wolf?"
Victorious did his best to keep a blank expression, any sign of contempt, anger, or even joy might off set his chance of the night guard to believe him.
"Sir, Over Forty-Eight hours ago a surge of dark magic was witnessed by the civilians of Ponyville and a handful of guards. When we responded we found the princess in distress and prince with minor injuries. I couldn't get a perfect look at the prince due to the rain and princess dismissing me before I got the chance but i'm certain there was evidence of the dark magic coming from him. I have also heard without a doubt, the prince admitting to using said dark magic, Senior Chief Heart will attest to the validity."
Nightwing glared down at Victorious, trying to get a read on him for any lies but his stance did not falter nor his voice crack. No sign of falsehood was visible...
"Go get HMCS and meet me in the throne hall, I want to get the princess to hear this story; you better not lie, for you sake.."
Victorious returned to attention for a moment before turning around and rushing to find Sentinel, this time he would tell the truth and the traitor would see judgment while Dusty is taken for safe observation; to ensure the princesses safety...
_ _
Dusty was reading though the third book on dark magic when he heard noise outside the door, in the short time he managed to find out more history on this magic...the fact that it had such a bloody history put his mind at ease, his mothers reaction was a little more acceptable if it was only in a small way. The door opened and he heard his mothers voice.
"Dusty, can you step out for a moment."
He was too deep in a paragraph to respond, mumbling out the information to make it sink in faster; hoping that he could get in one last page...
"Dusty?"
"Yea, I'll go in a sec. just got to finish this page..."
Dusty heard a second set of hoofsteps echo in the hall, the voice much deeper but not fear inspiring enough for him to notice.
"What is he studying?"
Twilight was an excellent lair, the problem was she couldn't lie when the truth was in plain view...
"Dusty, go to your room, i'll come get you when the meeting is over."
"...That book is very old."
Dusty finished the page and flipped it, marking it with the string tab on the spine and shutting it, turning around and nearly jumping when he saw the dark figure of the commanding officer staring over his shoulder...
"Yea..its uh...old..."
The books were wrapped in a purple magic and warped in a blink, Nightwing walked past Dusty and looked up at the glass windows, admiring the art.
"You should listen to your mother."
Dusty nodded and left the room in a blink; leaving behind nothing but a dust trail hanging in the air. Nightwing watched the door shut with a echoing bang, leaving the princess to stare at the officer with the best poker face he had ever seen...
"Your majesty, I have been told you might be in danger?"
"Am I? I have not received letters of threats or actions to suggest such a thing."
He could almost hear the suppressed emotions wanting to burst out; Twilight was good at keeping secrets but she was too close to this one...her fear bubbling to the surface. Twilight couldn't stand the silence anymore, she walked past Nightwing looking at the ground.
"What have you heard, captain?"
"Princess, you know there was dark magic used and if you refuse to admit the truth then i'll have no choice but to enact protocol and remove you from the throne until you are seen by a medical adviser and Princess Celestia."
Twilight turned around, knowing she was backed into a corner, there was one card she had left but didn't want to play it...it seems she has no choice. Twilight glared down at the guard and put on her best stone face, letting only offended rage break though the facade...
"Protocol? There is a protocol for a captain usurping my rule? Captain, allow me to remind you that I permit the royal guard in my castle on my teaches recommendation. Should I reconsider my choice due to your lack of foresight and allowing a obvious breach of the chain of command, leading to a gross misinformation and being dim enough to believe that dark magic is a possibility in my home?!
"Your Majes-"
"Unless you have solid proof against me, commander..."
Nightwing broke a sweat...
"I suggest you turn around and find who ever sent you on this timberwolf hunt."
On cue Victorious Assault threw open the door with Sentinel Heart following behind; Twilight knew her leverage shook but the power was still in her hoof...for now...
"Princess Twilight Sparkle! I have the proof you seek."
The door is shutting...need to act fast!
"Did you miss that part of the structured procedures? Nopony is allowed in the throne room unless authorized on watch or under my escort. Turn around and leave, this is between myself and the captain."
The grey marine stopped in his tracks, kicking himself for forgetting such a simple thing, now she had something to use against him no matter how thin...
"Princess, I believe if he has evidence then he should-"
"There is no evidence because there is no crime, now my patience is wearing thin so unless you all want demotions and transfers to the middle of the arctic then I suggest you leave!"
Nightwing stomped the ground, glaring over at the princess and making the two behind him wince; bat wings flared and stare boring though Twilight's wavering resolve. Victorious looked back and scowled, yanking Sentinel back to his side to make sure the traitor couldn't get away.
"I am second in command, the rules state that I am allowed to admit select guardsman to the throne room if I believe them to be trusted. I admit one Gunnery Sergeant Victorious Assault and Senior Chief Sentinel Heart."
Twilight was able to keep it up for a few more moments; hoping that she could stare down the three like Fluttershy...a blind hope but all the same...it failed...Twilight walked back to the group and sighed, nodding to the two new guards to present their evidence. Victorious shoved Sentinel forward; the shame mixed with a thousand apologies made her feel more sorry for him than she did herself...
"I...As of fifteen-twenty Tuesday, dark magic was witnessed by myself and the citizens of ponyville...I later had a conversation with the prince and he confessed that it was his doing..."
Victorious nodded and walked off, Twilight realized just what he was doing...
"No no wait!"
Nightwing held the princess back when she tried to stop him, Sentinel had no choice but to continue...
"Per Article eighty one this means that the prince is afflicted with the voice of darkness or...the influence of King Sombra."
"No he's just a colt still! Please Captain!"
"And he will be placed in the custody of Princess Celestia for further study and your safety...I'm sorry..I'm so so sorry, Twilight..."
Twilight knew what that meant; she would never see her son again for years and this isolation might make things worse before they get better...she trusted Celestia to the end of equestria, but this was her son...nopony was going to take him away from her. Nightwing yelled in shock when he was blasted back by a powerful force of magic, hitting the wall and falling to the ground unconscious. The door shut again and Dusty was standing there at the entryway doing his best to hold to door with grey magic, bangs and shouts coming from the other side but he never heard a single one; the smoldering officer and cracked wall was enough to leave him speechless...
"I...I don't..."
Twilight heard the choked words, turning to look with her heart plummeting...
"Dusty, we need to leave. I need to get you somewhere safe while I take care of this."
"You killed him..."
She wont save you...
Sentinel ran to brace the door, Dusty was only holding it on instinct now; still processing everything that's happening...
She blames you...
"Dusty, there isn't time to argue, I need you to come with me!"
"Go kid!" Sentinel added strained from the army trying to break down the door...
"...you killed him..."
She'll kill you!
Dusty's eyes turned pure green, tears streaming down and sealing the door behind black crystals jetting from the ground in a sharp explosion. The sudden appearance sent sentinel flying back, a deep cut on his neck...
"Why is everypony trying to hurt me?!"
Twilight backed up slowly...jaw hanging slack and no words strong enough to describe her depression; she failed her son...she failed her teacher and she failed her love...even if he would've used Dusty, she failed the part of him only she knew...
"Dusty..."
"No more talking, no more words or books or pain. Just make it all go away!"
A bright black ball formed on his horn, gritting his teeth in the effort as the power grew rapidly, air around him kicking up dust. Dusty looked over and saw Sentinel bleeding on the floor, so much pain in such a short time...it was all he could handle; so it was simple...Dusty cut himself off from the world...the pain felt numb and depression was just a moment that was almost over...the door and crystals shattered, sending splinters of crystal flying. Dusty let go of the dark magic, the black ball flew straight at Twilight and she simply stood there...not bothering to put up any defense, letting the world go white and the ringing in her ears to be the last thing that fades in her life....
Dusty turned around and lowered his head, sending a wave of lightning through the ground and stopping every guard in their tracks, holding the spell a lot longer than he needed and only feeling satisfied when only a handful of guards were twitching on the ground from the electricity while the rest were motionless...
Panting alone, the throne and where his mother once stood was a crater still covered in smoke. Sentinel was still bleeding out, doing his best to stand up but Dusty was too occupied with thinking of a way out, a way to escape this life so he could live alone..never looking back.
"Dusty Armor; Please listen to me..."
Dusty turned around in a blink ready to attack but he hesitated when he realized who it was...
Princess Luna stood with no armor, no royal attire and no crown...just her. Dusty felt a pang of guilt but it was snuffed out before it had time to take root, tears stained his face but he felt no emotion behind the pain...
"You must stop, this is not you doing this, you need not fear judgment."
"You don't know...anything..."
Dusty backed up, eyes still washed green and purple mist pouring from them.
"This is all your fault. Yours and Celestias."
Dusty backed up until his leg bumped into Sentinel, the guard was almost unconscious and at deaths door. Dusty glanced back and glared down at who he thought was his friend...
"Just let me be."
He faded like a dense cloud of grey mist, hanging the air before crashing through the window of King Sombra. Luna knew what it was like to feel alone in the world, the pain was powerful but she heard it in his voice; the same distance she had when she first started calling herself Nightmare Moon in secret...
The guard that was in the room was gone, blood stain on the ground left behind. Celestia walked out of the crater with Twilight in tow, wrapped in a soft yellow orb. burns and scrapes covering her body but otherwise alive. The situation had gone so far out of control so fast that the princesses were silent for a moment, more guards rushing in to assist the injured in the hallway.
"He is right, this was my fault..."
Luna looked up at her sister, doing her best to comfort her after such a hard revelation..
"No, you did what you thought was right, for his sake...Sombra is responsible for this."
"...I just don't know how." Celestia confessed, lowering her head and setting Twilight down gently, bright magic staying over her burns to heal slowly.
Luna looked up at the broken window, wondering just where the prince might go or why he took that guard with him...So many questions and not enough answers. A dark laugh echoed though the halls of the castle; confirming both the princesses thoughts. Somehow someway...King Sombra had returned once again...
Black mist gathered from the ground and soon enough Sombra stood behind the two, no armor and eyes still free of the green color...
"Surprised, Princess?"
Celestia turned around sharply, Luna couldn't bring herself to look at the king...
"I see your other is still feeling discontent...The moon will rise again, Princess Luna?"
Luna glanced back, memories of Nightmare Moon rising to the surface again, losing herself in thought...
"Do not bring my sister into this, you have done enough damage letting this grudge consume you."
"I know...I've had a long time and a lot of fun pursuing my own ends...but this time I'm just feeling tired. Tired of losing and working so hard just to fall. Frankly I'm glad your guards didn't hurt my son..."
Sombra laughed again, grinning confidently at the sun goddess; Celestia felt a strange peace from his words, truth in his concern but the blackness of his heart wouldn't let him show it directly. Sombra walked away from the two, dismissing them with a uncaring smirk, a few spare guards clad in gold rushing in and getting between him and the princesses.
"Oh don't worry, I can't do anything to harm you besides talk. I feel like Discord trapped in stone...powerless..."
Celestia glared at Sombra, the reminder meant to goad a reaction but she remained silent, not taking the bait; resisting smiling when he scoffed at her lack of retort.
"Still, talking is fun when stuck in stone, or steel for a good few years.You were good, Celestia, but I will always be better..."
"I can't wait to end you again..." Luna said quietly...
Sombra raised a brow and glanced back, shivering when he heard the coldness in the princesses voice...
"You will fall so hard that the ground will quake when I bury you under your own sins."
Sombra turned around and grinned, stalking like a predator...
"Princess...tisk tisk, you should watch that temper-"
Luna turned around, eyes bright with growing power and voice booming in the hall, shaking the glass and causing Sombra to retreat a few steps in base fear.
"You are nothing but a ghost clinging to your hope of revenge! We have beaten you around every turn and this will not be any different, leave you cur!"
A blast of shadows and magic tore the visage apart, leaving scattered dust to settle on the ground. The room felt heavy and Celestia didn't want to give her sister a lecture on anger anytime soon due to the circumstances. Still, the power of shadows was something the princess of the night did her best to refrain from using...
"No matter what, we can still fix this once we help Twilight recover; just one step at a time..." Celestia said,Twilight's burns were almost fully healed. Soon she would wake up to a nightmare...
_ _
Sentinel woke up slowly, head pounding and body too heavy to move, his vision was fuzzy but he saw a short dark coated colt staring down at him, bright green obscuring any features to help the near dead guard. Cursing Victorious for causing this mess and drowning in guilt for the forced confession. Pain shot though his body and made him roll to the side, trying to kick his assailant in blind defense, pain making him scream out until blank unconsciousness taking him once again...
"I'm sorry."