//------------------------------// // Discoveries // Story: Dark Cloud // by D5ky //------------------------------// Mental Control Dark Magic users have an uncanny ability to hide their true thoughts and emotions from those around them. This allows them to fool other mind readers, or even hide their dark aura completely from those around them. In fact, usually the only dark magic users who are discovered are the most careless or weakest ones, because they haven’t learned the mental discipline required to hide properly. If you are even slightly weaker or more inexperienced than the pony you’re searching for, then you will never be able to sense them unless they want you to. The most experienced Dark Magic users can operate, true to their name, completely in the dark. -A History of Dark Magic (=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=) Dear Princess Celestia, I am very pleased to report that I have finished all 40 books. I’ve learned a lot, and I’m ready to return them. They’re all in the same box you delivered them in, and the box is sitting in my basement windowsill. Your ever faithful student, Twilight Sparkle Twilight re-read the short letter, feeling confident. She rolled up the scroll, sealing it with magic. She concentrated on it, and as her horn glowed, so did the letter. It dissolved into the air, and vanished into oblivion. It was a few hours before her allotted time slot with the dark magic books would end. She had finished the final book, one containing the darkest and most complicated spells ever documented by ponykind. While reading this book, Twilight had unwillingly found herself wishing for some dark blood. Some of the spells she had read about would have been extremely useful. The most powerful forms of Shadow Magic would’ve allowed her to hide in plain sight, completely invisible. She could’ve flown without wings, and the mental discipline would be incredibly useful. This must be why Celestia forbade this magic, Twilight thought to herself. If somepony was powerful enough, they’d be able to hide for years without being caught. Her head hurt, and her eyes were bloodshot. She hadn’t slept for three days, and her mind was pounding with all of the knowledge she had taken in such a short space of time. For the first time in her life, Twilight was sick of studying. Immediately after sending Celestia her letter, Twilight went upstairs to her bed. She was going to set a spell to awaken her after a few hours, but she didn’t have the chance. The moment she had laid down on the bed, she fell asleep. She slept the whole day and whole night through, not waking up for a full 24 hours. In fact, she would’ve slept even longer if somepony hadn’t come and hammered on the library door at 9:00. “I’m coming,” Twilight mumbled, not noticing what time it was as she descended the staircase into the library. When she opened the door, she was surprised to see Rainbow Dash standing there. “Hey Twi,” Rainbow said, brightly. “Sorry about this.” “About what?” Twilight asked, rubbing her eye with a hoof. Next moment, she had poked herself in the eye as she was lifted off the ground. “OW! Rainbow, what’re you--” “We’re going to Sugarcube Corner,” Rainbow Dash informed her, as she held her in the air by her front two legs. Before Twilight could say another word, they had landed back on the street, right next to Rarity. “Oh, we just can’t take her into public like this," Rarity said, looking Twilight up and down. She obviously hadn’t been taking care of herself during this assignment; her mane was disheveled and greasy, and It had been a while since she’d showered. “Get her to my place, stat! I’ll meet you there.” Once again, Rainbow Dash lifted Twilight into the air, and flew the short distance to the Carousel Boutique. Moments after they had arrived, Rarity appeared next to them, rushing them over the threshold into the boutique. Twilight allowed herself to be lowered into a bath, as she knew it would be pointless to try resisting Rarity's pampering. After almost half an hour, when Rarity was trying to decide on a dress for Twilight to wear, Rainbow Dash put her hoof down. “We’re going to Sugarcube Corner,” she yelled, “not the Grand Galloping Gala! She doesn’t need a dress!” Rarity put away the next dress she was going to try with a huff, and they walked the short distance to Sugarcube Corner, finding Applejack and Fluttershy already in a booth waiting for them. “What the hay took you so darn long?” Applejack asked. “We’ve been here for forty-five minutes!” “We got a bit sidetracked,” Rainbow informed her, glaring at Rarity. They all sat down, as Pinkie Pie appeared holding a pink (go figure) cardboard box. She didn’t say a word, which is highly unusual for her, as she placed the box in front of Twilight. “Well, open it up,” Rainbow Dash said, “before Pinkie explodes.” Indeed, Pinkie looked as though she was bursting with excitement, eyes shining, her hair almost floating as she held her breath. Twilight levitated the lid off the pink box. Inside, she beheld a simple chocolate cake, with words written across in pink icing. GOOᗡ JOB, TWILIGHT “I made it myself!” Pinkie finally burst, screeching for the whole world to hear. “I wanted to throw you a super-duper-huge congratulations party, but Fluttershy and the Cakes wouldn’t let me - they said you wouldn’t like all the noise after reading books alone all week! So I asked--” Her OCD senses triggered, Twilight was staring at one of the words on the cake, barely hearing Pinkie Pie’s rant. “The ‘D’ is backwards…” she muttered. “--and they decided we could have a nice, quiet party with just our friends!!” “Thanks guys,” Twilight said, looking around at them all with a small smile on her face. Her gaze lasted slightly longer as she looked at Fluttershy, silently thanking her for saving her life by stopping Pinkie from throwing a full-Ponyville-attendance party. They cut the cake, and spent a good thirty minutes talking. Twilight made up some stuff about how difficult the books had been, and they seemed to believe her. She asked them what they had done in their weeks, and they each shared. Finally, it was Rarity’s turn. “I fell further behind in my work,“ she said, with a small pout. “You must’ve had Spike helping you; He didn’t come to help me all week!” “Spike’s been in Canterlot on royal business,” she said, frowning slightly as she remembered something odd. “But he was supposed to get back yesterday.” “Well, you should write to Celestia and ask,” Rarity said, but Twilight had already pulled quill, ink, and parchment from her magical storage, and had began to write. Princess, When you summoned Spike to Canterlot, you said he would be back today. Were the courts delayed? When will he be back? I’m just worried about him; he hasn’t written me any letters like he said he would. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle She reread it one time as Rarity watched over her shoulder, before it disappeared from the table as it was sent. “When did you learn that??” Rarity asked, eyes wide. “I’ve never heard of anypony but Spike being able to send letters straight to the Princess.” “It was a chapter in one of the books I read this week,” Twilight improvised swiftly. It was a lie, of course; it wasn’t even dark magic, and she had learned it before the assignment. But she wasn’t supposed to let anypony know that she could talk directly to Celestia. “It’s really complicated.” The reply letter came a few minutes later, just as they all finished off the cake. Twilight pulled it out of her magic storage, as everypony in the vicinity gasped. “She already replied?” Rarity asked. Twilight didn’t respond. She merely stared down at the reply, her eyes wide, mouth open in shock. “What is it?” Rarity asked, reading the reply over Twilight’s shoulder. Twilight, I need you to come to Canterlot immediately. I will explain further upon your arrival. -Celestia They sat in silence for another few moments. “What… what the hay does that mean?” Rarity asked. The reply hadn’t answered anything, and now Twilight, the only pony who could directly converse with the Princess, was leaving. “...I don’t know,” Twilight said, standing up. “But I’d better go find out, shouldn’t I?” (=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=) The Everfree Forest looked the same as it usually did, the tall trees swaying in the wind, the grey storm clouds moving themselves across the sky, the unnaturally dark lighting level beneath the trees. The only thing out of place was the black cloud of shadow, which rose suddenly out of an abandoned wooden hut. The shadow cloud moved in a northern direction at a speed unmatched by even the fabled "Sonic Rainboom." Over the course of an hour, It moved over the entire Everfree Forest, over mountain ranges and fields, even over the arctic cold of the north and past the Crystal Empire. Dark storm clouds loomed overhead, and were dumping buckets of snow into the air. The shadow cloud, seemingly unaffected, kept moving. Its course seemed as though it were set for the mountains beyond the Empire, outside of Equestria’s boundaries. It moved into the shadow of the tallest peak, and slid into a cave situated almost halfway up it. The shadow cloud converged in on itself, and reformed into his true form; a dark cyan, black maned, scarlet-eyed unicorn. Lighting his horn, the unicorn moved along the rocky passage until he came across a large silver door that almost looked like the entrance to a vault. He unlocked the door with his magic, and it swung inwards, revealing the unicorn’s own high-quality living area. He had recently remodeled it to look like a room that he had snuck into in the Canterlot Royal Palace. Conjuring a plate of food from thin air, the Dark Unicorn sat down in a soft-looking chair. He sighed in relief. It's good to finally be back home… However, his relief was short-lived. He pulled out quill, ink, and parchment, and began writing. Once finished, he rolled it up, and put it in his magic storage. After the dark unicorn ate the whole plate of food he had conjured, he walked back out of the door, sealing it behind him. He transformed back into the dark cloud, resetting his dark shielding and concealment spells, and setting out into the blizzard in the direction of another peak. Once he drew close to the mountain, he entered another small, nearly undetectable cave. Inside, he transformed back into his pony form, his horn lighting up the darkness around him once again. He walked further down the short, narrow entrance hall, and emerged into a small cavern. He saw a curled-up figure at the other end of the cavern, and approached it cautiously. The figure was evidently asleep, for his chest was slowly rising and falling. The dark unicorn retrieved a sack from his storage, setting it before the sleeping prisoner. Retreating a short distance, he cast a spell that jolted the prisoner awake, and immediately turned away from him. There was a slight yelp, and then a snarl. The prisoner turned and saw the dark unicorn sitting there, facing away from him. "Dinner," the unicorn said, still not looking at the prisoner, who looked down to see the sack at his feet, and opened it. "I don't understand how you find all of these," the prisoner said, beginning to eat hungrily. "They're not hard to find," the unicorn replied, now contemplating the stalactites high above him, while the prisoner ate noisily behind him. Neither spoke for a few minutes. After the prisoner had finished eating, the dark unicorn broke the silence. "She'll be coming for you soon," he said, without emotion. The prisoner snarled again. "Why do you need her? Why not get another unicorn to do it?" "Nopony else can," the unicorn replied harshly. The prisoner scoffed at that. "You're more powerful than she is," he said, his anger boiling. "Why don’t you fix this yourself?" The dark unicorn scowled, even though the prisoner could not see him. "First, I’m not stronger than she is. Once this happens, she’ll be the most powerful being in history. Second, My ancestors weren’t exactly the most respectable of ponies. They were banished from Equestria after some... Incidents... involving dark magic. I’m the last remaining member of the bloodline, and even though Celestia wasn’t the one who banished my ancestors, she has still outlawed dark magic. She still wouldn't like to see me." The prisoner felt no sympathy for the dark unicorn. "What you're doing is still despicable." The unicorn was becoming angry now. "This is the only way!" He said, his volume rising. "I might be an outlaw there, but I don't want to see Equestria fall any more than you do!" They sat there in silence for another minute, before the prisoner asked another question. "Why don't you ever look at me?" The dark unicorn smiled. He retrieved the scroll he had written on earlier from his magical storage, and looked at the time. Twilight Sparkle should be meeting with the Princess in a few minutes. He had set a spell in Canterlot that would block any letters from him from arriving, until it was deactivated by the two mares being in contact with each other. He sent the letter, then addressed the prisoner again. "I don't look at you because you have a weak mind." "What the hay does that mean?" The prisoner asked, confused. The unicorn stood up. "Having dark blood means that I can control the minds of anything that has a weak mind, or in other words, any non-equine creature and most non-unicorns." He smiled evilly. "But it comes with a slight side effect." The unicorn turned and, finally, made eye contact with his prisoner. His scarlet eyes instantly pierced through the emerald eyes of the prisoner, and into his mind. Before he took over, however, he said: "It takes effect as soon as eye contact is made." The prisoner felt his free will dissipate, and the emerald eyes suddenly had a glazed look, but was still somehow alert as he listened wraptly to the dark unicorn's instructions, determined to follow them exactly. You will go to the base of this mountain. Once there, you will fall asleep. You won't wake up until Twilight Sparkle comes to find you. You will remember nothing of where you've been ever since you disappeared from Ponyville, and you won't remember me or retain any knowledge you gained from me. But if you see me again, you will have an unnatural urge to trust me, despite anything Twilight Sparkle or anypony else might say. Do you understand? "Yes," the prisoner said. The prisoner stood up and began walking towards the exit. The dark unicorn, thinking ahead, cast a spell on the prisoner that would prevent him from freezing to death in the cold. He watched as the prisoner exited the cave and disappeared into the horrible blizzard, undoubtedly beginning to descend the mountain. The unicorn still watched the exit as he said, "Goodbye..." And good luck to you. After another few moments, the dark unicorn accessed his magic storage, retrieving a small, green crystal from within it. He then contacted the dark spirit again. She will be leaving Canterlot soon. Everything is set in motion. Are you ready? (=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=) We will be arriving at the Canterlot North Station in a few minutes. Please prepare to disembark. Twilight looked up from her book suddenly, taken aback. To her, it seemed like she had only boarded the train a few minutes ago, but here she was, almost done with the several hour trip. She put away her book, and watched as the large city of Canterlot rolled beneath her. Before she knew it, the train was grinding to a halt in the station, and the doors were opening to reveal the late-afternoon sunlight. She took to the streets, galloping hard as she moved quickly towards the large palace. She wasn't even paying attention to the route she took, and she didn't have to worry about dodging ponies much. The northern city was much more costly to live in, and was therefore much more empty. She quickly approached the palace gates, the two guards letting her pass once they saw who she was. She ran up the hall, up several flights of stairs, and through the doors to the throne room. Celestia was sitting on her throne, looking unusually grim. Twilight bowed to her mentor before speaking. "I came as fast as I could, Princess." The princess motioned for her protege to stand before speaking. "Thank you, Twilight. I apologize for making you come so quickly. You must have been looking forward to a nice rest after that last assignment, but this cannot wait." "It's alright, Princess," the lavender mare replied. "What's the problem?" "Well..." The royal alicorn hesitated, before finishing her sentence. "It's actually concerning your letter." "Really?" Twilight was shocked. What could her letter have said that was concerning? "You asked me why Spike was late, but... He's not here, Twilight." "What do you mean?" Twilight asked, a feeling of dread creeping inside her. "You summoned him here on royal business again!" "I didn't, Twilight. He hasn't been here in months." Twilight was in shock. She sank to the floor, eyes unseeing. First, she had imagined a visit from the princess, and now she had apparently imagined Spike being summoned… She put her hooves to her temples. What’s wrong with me? Princess Celestia turned to one of the guards beside her. "Find Shining Armor. Tell him to set up a search party to find Spike." The guard immediately galloped out of the room, and Celestia looked back at Twilight. "He might not be here, but he has to be somewhere. We'll find--" She was cut off by a roll of parchment appearing in front of her. She opened it, and her eyes instantly grew wide in alarm. "Princess? What's wrong?" Twilight asked. The white mare didn't respond, instead levitating the scroll over for the unicorn to read. Hello, Twilight Sparkle. Yes, I know you, but you don't know me. I've been observing you for a while now. Now you're going to do something for me. Go up to the Crystal Empire, alone, then keep heading north. There's something up there you need to see. If you bring anypony else, well... they won't come back. It can get very dangerous up here, after all. Now, I know you're thinking, "Why should I take orders from some guy I don't know, who is threatening me?" Well, I think you'll find the trip worth your efforts. You might even find something you've lost. If you don't come up here, well... lets just say that Equestria will suffer. Hurry, Twilight. Remember, the fate of Equestria is hanging in the balance. She looked up at the Princess, contemplating the strange letter's contents. It had disturbed her. Undetected by her, someone had been secretly watching her movements... But who was it? "What do I do, Princess?" She asked, almost scared to hear the answer. The princess looked at her with a grim face. "I'm afraid there's no choice. You'll have to go." "I'll leave immediately," Twilight said, before turning to go. "Wait," Celestia said. Twilight paused, and turned back to look at her. "You'll need to take the VIP train," Celestia said. "It's faster, safer, and driven by somepony I trust." "Who's that?" Twilight asked. "My chief of security," Celestia said, with a small smile. "It's safe to show yourself, Ventus." No response. Then, without warning, something tan appeared next to one of the stain-glass windows. It was a unicorn stallion, who looked no older than Twilight was. His hair was two different shades of teal and blue. He looked over at Celestia. “Shall I take her down now, Princess?” he asked. He had a strong voice, but it was somewhat calming still the same. Celestia nodded, but then silently thought to him, Remember what we discussed. I will, Princess, Ventus thought back, before he beckoned for Twilight to follow him as he left the throne room. Twilight hurried to catch up with him. “So, chief of security,” Twilight said, as they descended the spiral staircase, “how were you hiding like that?” “A spell Celestia invented not too long ago,” Ventus said, opening the palace doors for her. “It’s not amazing, but it works fairly well. Although, if you really wanted to, you could’ve sensed me there.” They remained silent for another minute, before Twilight asked another question. “So why are you, the chief of security, also a train driver?” Ventus smiled. “All of us are train drivers, Twilight Sparkle. Or, in other words, every single VIP train driver is a member of my task force. The driving job is just a cover.” “Task force?” Twilight was confused. “I thought you were involved with the police force.” “No,” Ventus shook his head, “no. You’re thinking of Iron Hooves.” Twilight thought she saw a flash of malice in Ventus’ eyes, but next moment, she decided she had imagined it as he continued, “I’m the chief of Celestia’s personal task force.” “What do you do?” Twilight asked, awed. This was something she knew nothing of. “Although she says she doesn’t need them, the law states that Celestia must have bodyguards. That’s one of the things we do. We drive the VIP train both as a cover, so we can guard Celestia more easily while she’s on it. That’s why I’m coming on this trip,” he confessed, looking at her. “Celestia wanted one of the best train technicians and agents running it.” “And that’s you?” Twilight asked. “Yup,” Ventus said, looking forward again. “That’s why I’m the chief.” “That’s amazing,” Twilight said, as they approached the train station. “It’s also classified,” Ventus said, glancing sideways at her so only a sliver of his blue eyes made contact with hers. “Celestia trusts you to not tell anyone else anything about it.” “Of course,” Twilight said promptly. The VIP train was easily distinguishable from the others; the only electric train on operation thus far, it was enormous, sleek, and silver. It looked absolutely nothing like the rest of the steam trains in the place. As they approached it, the doors slid sideways as they automatically opened. The first car was lined on both sides with comfortable-looking individual seats. She assumed there were bunks in other cars. “When are we leaving?” she asked. “As soon as the other passengers show up,” Ventus said, looking out at the station. “This is a regularly scheduled run. We’ll actually be stopping in Manehattan and Baltimare before getting to the Crystal Empire. Princess Celestia didn’t want to arouse any suspicion.” Twilight moved along the row of seats, picking one about halfway down the train. She summoned quill and ink from her magic storage, and wrote a short letter to her friends. Met with Celestia. She told me she never summoned Spike to Canterlot. Then we got this letter from some guy. He told me to come up north, or "Equestria will suffer." I don’t know what that means, but he also told me I’d find something I’d lost. Act like nothing’s wrong. Pretend I just got summoned to help with royal business if anyone asks; Princess Celestia doesn’t want pandemonium, which is what would happen if everyone knew about this. I should be back in a couple of days, and hopefully, we’ll have a lead on Spike by then. -Twilight Satisfied, she rolled the scroll up and sealed it, then, after some careful thinking, cast a spell on it that would allow only Rarity (the only other unicorn in her group of friends) to open it. She sent it, hoping that Rarity could figure out how to receive it and open it. By this time, others had begun piling onto the VIP train, and she could hear Ventus greet each of them. She stood up to talk to him again after a few moments. Ventus opened his mouth to greet the next passenger, but then he stopped. His look of welcome immediately turned into a scowl, and he glared at the next pony in the doorway. “What’re you looking at?” he snarled, uncharacteristically. The old, wrinkled, crimson unicorn in the doorway didn’t say a word, but merely stared at Ventus for a bit before taking his seat. “What was that??” Twilight asked, looking at Ventus again. “That was Chief Iron Hooves’ grandfather,” Ventus said, still glowering at the old crimson stallion. “His name is also Iron Hooves.” “And you’ve met before?” Twilight asked. “It was a long time ago,” Ventus said, shaking his head. “It’s not important anymore. I think that’s everyone now,” he added, looking out at the platform. “I’d better go get the train ready.” He moved through a door ahead of her, and disappeared from sight. Twilight walked back to her seat, just before Ventus’ voice came on over the speakers. ”Good evening, mares and gentlecoats. My name’s Ventus, and I’m your driver for today. We will be making three stops this trip; Manehattan, Baltimare, and the Crystal Empire. Due to recent safety concerns, the maximum speed I’m allowed to drive you has been decreased slightly. It’s now 180 miles per hour, so we should reach Manehattan at roughly 11:30 tonight. Thank you for choosing the VIP train, and enjoy your ride. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to come and ask.” “You’re friends with this Ventus guy, right?” A voice asked. Twilight jumped, as she looked to her right. It was Iron Hooves, and he was looking at her. He didn’t sound nearly as old as he looked, and now that she had heard his voice, she could’ve guessed that he was related to Chief Iron Hooves. “Um, yeah, I guess?” Twilight shrugged. She honestly didn’t know what to think of Ventus yet. “Why?” “Because,” the old stallion said darkly, as he looked up towards the driver’s door. “He’s not as great as you might think.” “What does that mean?” Twilight asked. “I’m sure you’ll find out,” Iron Hooves said, dismissively, as he stood up surprisingly fast. “I need to have a word with him.” Iron Hooves trotted over to the driver’s door, and it automatically opened. He stepped through to find Ventus on a raised platform, surrounded by controls. He waited for the doors to close behind him before he spoke. “So, the devil returns,” Iron Hooves said. “I don’t know what I am,” Ventus said, glaring out the front windshield, “but I’m no devil. They don’t even look like ponies.” He glanced over at Iron Hooves. “The years haven’t been good to you, have they?” “They’ve obviously been pretty good for you. Here we are, a hundred and ten years after that, and you still look like you’re five.” “Give me some credit,” Ventus said, staring out of the windshield again. “I’m one of the most powerful unicorns alive nowadays.” “Is it safe for you to be driving us?” Iron Hooves asked, legitimate fear in his voice. “Yes, it is,” Ventus replied, flipping the autopilot switch to turn and face him. “I’ve gained control over that side of me.” “We’ll see about that,” Iron Hooves replied before turning to leave. The doors wouldn’t open. “You know, you’re still under strict orders to not breathe a word of that to anyone,” Ventus said, calmly. “You're still being watched. But hey, we could just wipe your memory now and make it easier.” “You know you still can’t wipe my memory,” Iron Hooves sneered. “My family would still be able to break it. I taught them everything.” “Well, hate to break it to you,” Ventus said, with a half-smile, “but we’ve developed a new type of memory modification. Now we actually alter the blood flow in the brain slightly, and it physically erases the memory instead of just blocking it out." Iron Hooves' eyes widened. "That doesn't really sound legal..." he trailed off, feebly. Ventus smiled. "There's no way to counteract it. But we've only used it so far on ponies who would've been banished for their crimes. Now, you should really go back and sit in the train where you belong." Ventus turned forward again, flipping the auto-pilot back off. "If I sense one little bit of dark aura..." Iron Hooves mumbled, before crossing back into the passenger's car. (=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=) The train ride to the Crystal Empire was a long one, even with the speed of the VIP train. Twilight spent the remaining few hours of the day thinking about who was watching her, and was making her come up North in the first place. By midnight, after they had stopped in Manehattan and a few ponies got off, Twilight had fallen asleep on her seat. Her dreams were twisted and disturbing. A faceless figure popped in and out of them, and a voice kept whispering in her head; Remember; the fate of Equestria is hanging in the balance. Spike came in and out of focus, always beaten, starved, or dead in some fashion. But her nightmares were nothing compared to what woke her up. As she saw Spike falling off a cliff, she had been wishing she could save him. She wanted dark blood, so she could just use dark magic to fly up and save him. But as she thought this, she heard a voice. A voice that wasn't invented by her subconscious. A deep voice with a dark, unearthly, incredibly terrifying feel behind it. Yes... dark blood would be nice, wouldn't it, Twilight Sparkle? She jumped in fright and cried out as she awoke, instantly readying her magic. But there was nopony there aside from the few remaining passengers, several of which had jerked awake from her scream. She stood there, rooted to the spot in fear. Was it just her imagination, or had the temperature in the cabin dropped several degrees? She shivered, as chills ran up and down her body. She faintly sensed a distinct, unfamiliar, but incredibly powerful aura in the cabin. She cast a spell of revealing, which instantly scanned the entirety of the train. The spell revealed that there was nopony else on board, aside from all of the passengers and Ventus. Ventus, She thought, glancing over at the driver's door. Maybe he's still awake. She began walking towards the door, still cold and frightened. But as she made to open it, she shivered violently again. It was as though she had passed through a cloud, but instead of a cloud made of water, it caused chills to run through her body. "Who's there?!" Twilight shouted in fear and hysteria. "What's your problem?!" a nearby mare yelled back, obviously annoyed at being awoken. "Shut up and sit back down!" Twilight paid the mare no heed, as the doors to the driver's room slid open. She burst inside, and Ventus looked around, surprised. "Sorry to bother you," she said awkwardly, "but... do you mind if I stay here for awhile?" He shrugged. "Sure. I could use the company." She sat down in one of the chairs at the back of the room, which were on either side of the doors she had entered through. "So," Ventus said, looking back out the large windshield in front. "How come you're still awake? You've got a lot to deal with tomorrow." Twilight didn't know whether or not to tell him the full truth. It might be important, but it was kind of embarrassing to admit you were hearing voices. "Had nightmares. Couldn't sleep," she replied. She looked at the clock, and saw that it was 3:41 AM. "Why are you still awake? Doesn't this train have autopilot?" He shrugged. "I've never really been able to sleep well at night. I've been almost nocturnal ever since I left school. I do this long night run more than anyone else on the task force." He looked into Twilight's eyes. "But come on, I know you didn't just come here because of a few dumb nightmares." She could tell that he saw it in her. Something in those blue eyes could see the fear she was experiencing beneath the surface. Ventus suddenly flipped on the autopilot switch, and went to sit across from her. He looked at her expectantly. She sighed, before asking him a question that she hadn't wanted to. "How much do you know about dark magic?" she asked. "Oh, I know a lot more than you'd think," Ventus said. "I'm one of the few who Celestia has allowed to study it. But she wouldn't let me do any practical application, so I can't actually use it." I should've known that, Twilight thought, inwardly facehoofing herself. He's the chief of security. "Well, The nightmares aren't actually what woke me up," she continued. "While I was dreaming, I saw Spike falling off of a cliff. I wanted to have dark blood, so that I could just fly up and go save him. Then..." she hesitated. The tan unicorn just kept looking into her eyes expectantly. There was something in his gaze... they hadn't broken eye contact since Ventus had activated autopilot, and Twilight knew she wouldn't be the first to look away. Encouraged by the confidence that his eyes evoked, she continued. "Then I heard a voice. It told me that dark blood would be convenient. That's when I woke up. I could feel some kind of aura, I can't describe it. It's almost like it was there, but not there at the same time..." "Did you cast a spell of revealing?" the stallion asked. "Yeah," she replied. "There's nopony here but you, me, and the other passengers." They spent another half hour talking. The whole time, Twilight never broke eye contact with Ventus, and found him easy to talk to. He preferred to listen instead of talking, so Twilight did most of that. After a while, Ventus said, "You should go get some sleep. I know what that letter said, and you should probably be awake for whatever this guy has in store." He walked her back to her seat, but then they stopped. "Tell you what. I'll let you use the Princess' private cabin." "Really?" Twilight asked, surprised. "But isn't it her private cabin?" "I'm sure she'd be fine with it," Ventus said, indifferently. "If it makes you feel better, I'll write her and tell her I'm doing it, but I'm not taking no for an answer. Come on." He led her past the rest of the seats, and into the next car, which had even more seats. The train was obviously built to accommodate more ponies than were there. Ventus cast another revealing spell along the way. "It couldn't hurt to double check," he said. "There's still nopony else here." They walked a bit further, now approaching the door of the Princess' cabin. "You're sure the Princess will be fine with--" "Shh," the stallion said suddenly, holding out a hoof to stop her. His magical senses sharpened, as he was now putting all of his mental focus into them. His eyes widened. "Who's there?" There was no reply, but the stallion could feel it. There was definitely somepony near them. Twilight sensed the same aura she had felt beforehand. The stallion opened the door, and both of them instantly felt the chilling sensation pass through them. But then it was gone. "It went back up the train!" Ventus cried, before tearing after it back the way they had come, Twilight barely keeping pace with him. They came bursting through the door to the passenger car. Some of the passengers had obviously also sensed the thing. Iron Hooves was in hysterics. "It's happening again! I knew I couldn't trust him! Him, with all of his talk about how he's 'mastered that side of him,' I knew it was all lies!" He then looked straight at Ventus. "You're still a--" "SILENCE!" Ventus roared, and Iron Hooves immediately shut his mouth. Twilight, horrified, looked at the pair of them, as did everypony else on the train. Ventus looked scary. His eyes alight with fury, his teeth bared as he glared at Iron Hooves. His anger had completely changed his aura, and suddenly Twilight wasn't sure who to be more afraid of- Ventus, or the unknown entity they were chasing. His voice had changed; it had sounded slightly distorted, and much deeper. Ventus shook his head slightly, coming back to reality as he felt the eyes of everypony on the back of his head. "It's. Not. Me," he said, trying to suppress the century-old hate he still felt for that stallion who had provoked him that day. "I swear to you, it's not me. There's something else on this train, and I need to figure out what it is." He then galloped forward through the doors to the driver's room, Twilight following close behind him. As they beheld the empty room, the temperature in the train rose back up the few degrees it had fallen. Ventus swore under his breath. “It’s gone,” he said. “We lost it.” “What... what was that?” Twilight asked, trembling slightly. “I don’t know," Ventus said, “but I’ve never sensed dark aura that strong before. Whatever it was, it was evil.” “So, that’s what dark aura feels like?” Twilight asked. She hadn't been trying to sense her own aura while she was studying Celestia’s books, so she hadn't had any firsthand experience with what it felt like. “Yup,” Ventus said. “Although, something’s weird.” He frowned slightly. “Either that thing was weaker than us - which I seriously doubt, judging by how strong the aura was - or it wanted us to sense it. But why would it want to be discovered? It should know we’re going to hunt it down now. Why would it do that to itself?” He stood there in thought for a moment longer, before looking over at Twilight. His small frown changed immediately to an expression of concern as he looked upon her. “You OK?” He asked. “You look really pale…” “I’m fine,” Twilight said, even as she struggled to hold in the contents of her stomach. She looked into his eyes, and immediately realized it was a mistake. “Liar,” Ventus said. He helped her over to one of the chairs beside the door, as she was swaying on the spot and was unable to walk properly. Once she was in the chair, he conjured a bucket from thin air, and levitated it in front of her. “No need to stop it now,” he said, turning away. “Don’t try to move until its all out.” Twilight then proceeded to hurl the entire contents of her stomach into the bucket. Ventus walked calmly back to the train controls, ignoring the retching sounds and the splatter of vomit hitting the bottom of the bucket. He flipped the autopilot switch to off again, and took his position at the controls. Focusing his magical energy into his horn, he did what only a few ponies alive had ever been allowed to do, and sent his thoughts straight to Celestia. He didn’t actually say anything the first time - it was standard to send an empty thought, and then for the other to send an empty thought of their own, so each could verify they were receiving the other’s messages. Soon, the empty reply came from Celestia, and Ventus began sending words to her. ”You were right, Princess. Something evil was here. I’ve never sensed more powerful dark aura.” Due to the distance between them, there was about a half-second of time lag between the time Ventus talked, and the time his thoughts reached her. So, he had to wait for a bit to receive her reply. ”What did it do?” “As far as I can tell, it spoke to Twilight in her sleep. I don’t know exactly what it said, but she could sense it as soon as she woke up.” “I believe that was her first encounter with true dark aura. How is she?” “Not good. She’s reacting basically the same way everyone else does...” “Well, I hope you’ve become smart enough over the years to have a bucket nearby.” “Believe me, I have.” There was silence for a few seconds, before Ventus remembered something else. ”Princess, I have some other rather unfortunate news.” “Oh?” “Yeah. It’s… Iron Hooves.” “You mean the Iron Hooves of your childhood, right? Not Police Chief Iron Hooves?” “Yes. We had an… exciting conversation before the trip. I gave him the warning. But when he sensed the dark aura tonight, he assumed it was me, and lost it. He almost let the secret out, and I had to resort to… drastic measures.” “But he didn’t say anything?” “...Well, no, but he came pretty damn close.” “He has one more chance. He’s still under heavy observation. If he says another word, we’ll know, and we’ll be there.” More silence. Then, “Princess, what’s happening? Why, after all these years, are the dark ones getting so aggressive?” “I’m not sure, Ventus. The dark activity has really picked up in the last thirty years. I don’t know what they’re planning, but I think we need to be ready for anything.” “All right. I’m letting Twilight into the cabin for the rest of the trip, though. She needs the rest.” “Good idea. Actually…” “Yes, your highness?” “After you stop in Baltimare, I want you to stand guard outside the cabin, in case something comes back.” “Yes, your majesty.” “One more thing, Ventus. You are not, under any circumstances, to accompany Twilight on this task. You’ll be endangering her life as well as your own.” “How did you know I was--” “I know you better than you think I do, Ventus. You spend forty years with somepony, you learn how they think, even if they try to hide everything from you.” “...Yes, Princess. I’ll come right back after I drop her off.” “Good. Keep me advised.” The connection died, and the large city of Baltimare came into view. Ventus’ voice filled the train, as everypony but Twilight would be getting off at this stop. We will be arriving in the Baltimare train station in a couple of minutes. Prepare to disembark. Also, would Iron Hooves kindly report to the driver’s room for a moment? As they came to a halt in the Baltimare train station, the doors into the driver's cabin opened, and Iron Hooves crossed the threshold, looking apprehensive, but aggressive. “I just thought I’d tell you,” Ventus said, before Iron Hooves could even begin. “You have one more chance. Another word about what happened that day, and I've been given authorization to personally remove every. single. memory you have. Are we clear?” Iron Hooves’ eyes had widened, but he understood perfectly. Before he turned to leave, his eyes filled with malice, and he spat one word at Ventus. "Demon." He galloped out of the room and off of the train before Ventus could stop him. The word had stopped Ventus dead, eyes wide, as he stared at the spot Iron Hooves had just vacated. He had only heard the word once, and it had been decades before, but it was a word that still haunted him. "What's wrong?" Twilight asked, feebly. Ventus looked around. She seemed to have finished throwing up, and was looking up at him curiously. "It's nothing," Ventus said, before moving back over to her. "You done?" "I think so," Twilight said, staring down into the bucket. "I've... never felt like that before." "Most ponies react that way the first time they sense true dark aura like that," Ventus told her, casting a spell on the bucket that caused both the bucket and the vomit to vanish. "As you now know, it's pretty horrifying. Before I learned how to just make it disappear, I was used to cleaning the vomit of new recruits off the floor." Ventus moved back to the control station, leaving Twilight looking slightly disgusted. He waited a few moments, looking at a red dot on one of the displays. As soon as the dot turned green, he started the train forward again, and flipped the auto-pilot switch on. He trotted back over to Twilight. "Well, let's get you back to the private cabin," he said. "Can you stand?" Twilight slowly got to her hooves. She was still slightly shaky, but she looked overall way better than she had a few minutes before. "I guess so," she said. Ventus escorted her back down the two cars to the doors of the private cabin. "Well, Celestia's orders were, if anything happened, to stand guard outside here. I think she expected something like this to happen, and I think she expects it to come back. So I guess I'll be here all night if you need anything." Twilight felt slightly bad, knowing she was causing him to stay there all night. "Sorry," she muttered, not looking at him. "It's fine," Ventus said, waving a hoof indifferently. "I pull all-nighters all the time." "...Thank you," Twilight said, smiling warmly now, "for everything." "It's nothing," Ventus replied, scratching the back of his head and looking at the floor. "Anypony would've done the same." Twilight slowly closed the door behind her, and turned to see the cabin. It looked a lot like the spare bedrooms that Princess Celestia would loan to ponies in the Canterlot Palace, except that it was rectangular shaped. It had the same type of four-poster bed in the corner, though. She made straight for it, and slumped down gratefully. It was much more comfortable than the seats had been, but as she lay down to rest, she felt better than she had all night. She couldn't quite figure out why when she thought about it, but in her heart, she knew what it was. She knew she wouldn't be having any nightmares, at least not for tonight. The thought of Ventus being out there, standing guard through the night for her, gave her great comfort. She smiled into her pillow. For the first time since she had departed Ponyville, she felt truly... Safe. (=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=) Twilight awoke after several hours' peaceful sleep. She looked out the window and, to her surprise, saw the Crystal Empire drawing nearer. She walked outside the private cabin, and saw Ventus sitting against the wall, still awake. He looked up from his book, and saw Twilight standing there. "Sleep well?" he asked, eyebrows raised. "Yep," Twilight replied with a smile. "No nightmares. I feel great!" "Well that's good," Ventus said, his face growing more serious, "but you'd better get ready; we'll be through the empire in a couple of minutes, and I'm letting you out right after that." Twilight hadn't brought anything on the trip, so she had no need to go back into her cabin. She went with Ventus back up to the driver's car. On the way, she asked; "Did that... thing come back?" "Nope," he said. "Nothing exciting happened." They reached the cabin, and Ventus began to slow the train down. They were approaching the final station on the railroad; The Crystal Empire Northern Border Station. "This is as far north as I can bring you," Ventus said, with a grim face. "I would go with you on foot, but I'm under direct orders not to." "Really?" Twilight asked, looking into his eyes. "You'd do that?" "Yeah. Celestia knows me too well, and figured I'd want to. But you saw the letter; she won't let me risk it." He brought the train to a complete stop, opening the doors. "Be careful," he said with concern. "This guy could have anything in store." "I will," Twilight said. Then, surprising even herself, she threw her arms around the stallion. "Thanks for everything," she said into his shoulder. "Uh, yeah..." Ventus replied awkwardly, shocked at what was happening. "No problem..." The mare broke off from him, and went through the doors. Before she got out of sight, Ventus called out to her. "If you ever need anything, send me a letter. I'll be there to help." "I will," she called back, waving. Then, she turned and began heading north towards the snow-covered mountains in the distance. Ventus watched her go until she was out of sight, thinking. Somehow, in his one-hundred-twenty year lifespan, he had never found the time for mares. He was being raised to become the head of Celestia's task force, and didn't think about much else in his youth. But judging by what he did know, he wished he could've spent more time with her... He shook his head a bit, coming back to reality. He closed the train doors, and reversed a bit onto the giant turntable behind the station platform. One he had fully turned around, he began heading back south to Canterlot. Now free of the legal limitations regarding the train's speed, he worked the engine like only he could. He pushed the engine harder than he ever had before, and was going a ripe 750 mph the whole way, barely avoiding shattering the sound barrier. With this new speed, the return trip only took a couple of hours. He pulled into the emergency station hidden in the mountain beside the palace, and he immediately galloped to the Princess' throne room. Upon entering, he knew that there was something wrong. Princess Celestia looked more anxious and scared than Ventus had seen her in the last twenty years. "I'm back, your majesty," he said bowing. Celestia nodded, "And?" "Whatever that thing was, it didn't come back," he reported. "Good," Celestia said, breathing a sigh of relief, "because we have much worse and more pressing matters to deal with now." The stallion was shocked. "Much worse matters?" he asked, a sense of dread creeping into his chest. "What could be worse than what's already happening?" Celestia held out a letter. Ventus took it and read it quickly. His eyes widened, and his mouth fell agape in horror. "No..." he said under his breath. "It can't be..." (=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=) The pristine white snow reflected the overhead sun as Twilight trudged her way across it, having to drag her hooves with the effort. There had obviously been a blizzard recently; the snow was powder, but it was so deep that she sank almost completely into it. Her horn was alight, shooting a constant blast of hot air at the ground in front of her. Just as she was thinking about trying to send a letter to the mystery pony, asking what to do, she felt another note enter her magical storage. She retrieved it, and hurriedly tore it open. Good. You came alone like I asked. Congratulations. You're doing good so far, so I've decided to give you a little reward. If you go to the base of the tallest mountain, you'll see what I mean. She changed direction slightly, but she wasn't far from the mountains now. They rose brilliantly into the sky, obscuring even the sun in their height. It took her about ten minutes to reach the base of the peak. As she drew nearer, she saw something laying on the ground not far from her. A small, purple something, with green scales. "SPIKE!/u]" Twilight ran up to the dragon, who appeared to be unconscious. She turned him over. He appeared to be physically unharmed, and was dead asleep. Hurriedly, she used a spell to check that he was still alive, breathing tiny sigh of relief when he still had a pulse. She shook him until he began stirring. His eyes slowly opened, and focused on the lavender mare looming over him. "...Twilight?" he said, groggily. "What's goin on?" "Spike!" She hugged the dragon tightly. "You're all right..." "Twilight," Spike gasped pleadingly, "that's painful!" She ignored him, continuing to crush him in her iron vice-like grip for another several moments before relinquishing him. "Where are we?" he asked, looking around. He doesn't know? she thought. She knew it wasn't a good sign. "We're north of the Crystal Empire. Do you remember anything? How did you get here? What happened when you left Ponyville?" Spike closed his eyes, straining to remember. "Well... I was making you some food," he began, putting one of his hands on his temple, "I was about to bring it down..." "Yes?" Twilight prompted. "Then... pain. My head hurt..." Twilight waited, holding her breath. "...That's all," Spike said, looking back up at her. "Everything after that is a big blank." Twilight sighed, "You've been gone for a week. You brought me a note from the royal courts, saying you'd been summoned to Canterlot on royal business, but I guess it'd been forged. You never came back home, and--" She stopped when yet another note entered her magical storage. She opened it as well. I told you it would be worth it, right? Well, that's not the only reason you're up here. Believe it or not, I actually care about Equestria. If you do too, climb that mountain and look into the valley behind it. There's something you need to see. Spike had read over her shoulder. "Who's this guy?" "I don't know," Twilight replied. "He's the one who brought me up here to find you." "Well, are we climbing the mountain?" Spike asked. Twilight nodded shortly, and began walking to the mountain. She began climbing, Spike coming behind her. It took almost two hours to reach the peak, and both Twilight and Spike were exhausted. But finally, they could see over the rest of the surrounding mountains. Twilight looked at the valley beyond with an expression of horror. "No..." (=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=) A unicorn sat on a throne-like chair, lost deep in meditation. He was contemplating all of the magic he had learned in preparation for this day. His meditation was interrupted by a voice, which came in from outside the tent. "My lord, the preparations are complete. We are ready to take action at your command. The unicorn thought of the Crystal Empire just south of them, then smiled evilly. "Time for this wretched kingdom to fall, once and for all..." He walked outside, immediately flying up to a raised wooden platform, which overlooked the valley, which was completely covered with the thousands and thousands of assorted monsters and dark creatures. He magically magnified his voice, and said only two words; "It's time." His voice echoed all the way up to where Twilight and Spike were standing. Immediately, Twilight turned to Spike. "Quick, take a letter to the princess." She turned to see Spike immediately ready, having already guessed her reaction to this problem. Princess, I found Spike up north. He doesn't even remember leaving Ponyville, but I've discovered something else that's much, much more urgent. King Sombra has returned. I don't know how he survived, but he's back. And... He has an army. Ventus looked up from the letter at Princess Celestia. "What are we going to do?" he asked. "The Crystal Heart is still in place," Celestia began, "but he will find some way to get around that. We need Shining Armor, along with a division of our soldies to return there immediately; he was here on a bit of royal business." "I'll take him back up," Ventus immediately volunteered. "I can drive the train a lot faster than anypony else. I can have them all up there in a couple of hours, and you know how good my combat skills are." Celestia smiled. "Is that the only reason you want to go back? Is there not... somepony else that you already took up there you want to see again?" Ventus' eyes widened. "What? You mean-- no! Well, sure, I'll look for her to make sure she gets through the battle okay, but--" Celestia laughed. "Just joking," she said. "This isn't really the time to be joking!" Ventus said, indignantly. "There's a horrible situation building here!" "Exactly," Celestia said, suddenly dead serious again. "I fear these are the last times we'll even be able to joke around. If we're going to war, I want to keep morale up." Feeling slightly guilty at telling her off, Ventus stood there for a second longer before nodding. "My apologies, Princess. I'll go collect Shining Armor." He turned, and began galloping towards the doors. "Be careful," Celestia warned. "If Sombra re-conquers the Crystal Empire, it will mean trouble for Equestria as well." "We'll do everything in our power to stop him," Ventus said, as he exited the throne room and descended the staircase at a gallop, determined to find Shining Armor. Current Equestria Population: 1,634,940