//------------------------------//
// Chapter 6 - Darkness 
// Story: Kingdom of Friendship 
// by SkyFlare 
//------------------------------//

	Twilight followed King Sombra into a dark portal that he had created and they came out in a large, dimly lit corridor.  It looked similar to what Twilight would have thought about King Sombra’s castle back when it was his and not Cadence’s.
“So, these will be your chambers.” Sombra directed her attention to a door.  “I was thinking about your interests when I chose it for you, and made it right next to the library.”
Twilight nodded quietly and continued down the corridor, following Sombra.
“I know that you think that it will be hard, but trust me my dear, it really isn’t.” Sombra said, in a strangely comforting way.
Twilight stopped by a large metal door.  Sombra looked back and nodded, giving her permission to enter to room.  Twilight opened the door up with her magic and saw six pairs of shackles on the walls.  One for each of her friends that had been held there.  She would probably not be seeing any of them for a while, if ever again, but at least they had a chance to survive.  If she hadn’t made that choice, then they would have been killed on the spot, followed by her.
“You won’t hurt them?” Twilight asked, seeking to confirm her hopes.
“Not unless they get in my way.  All I want is Celestia’s throne, and one more thing that I will reveal when the time is right and you have proven your loyalty to me.  Until then though, you are free to do as you wish.”
“As long as it is practicing dark magic, right?” Twilight elaborated.
“You are a quick learner.  Yes, you can do anything you want, as long as it is dark magic.  It will make you stronger.  Light magic has some combat uses, but dark magic’s combat uses are endless.” Sombra turned and walked away from the unicorn, leaving her just outside the cell.
“♪ What am I going to do?  What is my purpose? ♪” Twilight sang.  “♪ Now that my friends are safe, what will happen to us? ♪  I want to-”
“Stop that noise.” a vicious voice growled.
It was a small dragon, older than Spike was and much more intimidating.  This was one baby dragon that Fluttershy would be less than thrilled to be meeting.
“Name’s Blade.  I fixed the library up for you under Vim’s request.”  Each “s” that the dragon spoke came out as a prolonged hiss.
“I’m-” Twilight started.
“Sparkle, yes I know you.  I just said that I had fixed the library up for you.  What would the point in that be if I didn’t know who you were?  I wasn’t told that you would be this stupid.” the dragon snarled back.
Twilight looked down, she wasn’t in high spirits and that was uncalled for in her opinion.  It was an attempt to be polite, and instead, it turned into a one-sided shouting match where she was on the receiving end.
“Stop it.” Twilight looked up at the dragon.
“And who is going to make me?” the dragon ran its long tongue over is sharp fangs.
Dark magic gripped the dragon and pressed him against the ceiling hard enough to take away his breath.  As the dragon choked, Twilight could hear another set of hoofsteps approaching so she dropped him.
“Master Vim!  Did you just see what she did to me?” Blade whined to the pony.
“Yes, and I say that it is about time that you are dealt with.  You curse me under your breath and think that it is unbeknownst to me.  You left an opening that allowed that draconequus to get in here.  Be glad that it is not me doing this to you.” Vim said, passing the pair by.
“But…”
“I don’t think that King Sombra will mind having one less mouth to feed.  I hatched you, bringing you into this world, and it wouldn’t hurt my feelings in the slightest to take you from it.” Vim smiled back at them.
“How can you say that?” Twilight gasped in shock.  “If you did all that for him how can you not care?”
“Oh, I forget, Spike.  You did the same for him.  It’s simple really, I didn’t raise him, I threw him away but he survived in the dungeon and came back to me, proving his worth.  He means nothing to me; he is only a tool, a means to an end.  That end is you and he has outlived his usefulness, thank you for reminding me of that.”
Without another word, vim’s magic gripped the young dragon and began to crush him.  Twilight winced as she could hear the bones in his body snap.  It was too much for her, she didn’t know what to do.  Should she do something, should she run away, should she learn how to do it herself?  A short blast of dark magic hitting Vim and breaking her concentration freed Blade from her grasp.  Before hitting the ground, Blade vanished into a purple flash.
“Why save him from me?  Were you not just crushing him yourself?” Vim asked.
Twilight froze up, “I was… wasn’t I?” she whispered shakily.  “Why would I even do something like that?”
“It’s the magic.  It does things to your mind, it opens your eyes.” Vim whispered in a thought evoking way.
“I saved him…” Twilight thought, “I saved him because… because nopony deserves to die.” Twilight decided.
“How sweet?  You won’t be thinking that way for long though.  The more you use the magic, the more like me you will become.”

“All right!  I’m sick of waiting!  I say that we charge head on at the castle and take down anypony who gets in our way an save Twilight!” shouted the rainbow maned pegasus.
“Normally, I’d be sayin’ something along the lines o’ us needing some strategy, but screw that, we don’t have time.” Applejack added.
“But if we don’t have some sort of plan, then we could just get caught again, didn’t you see the pony that was hiding in the shadows as we were escorted out?” Rarity asked.
“No, I was too busy being blindfolded.” Rainbow Dash snapped back.
“Darling, it was Sombra.” Rarity responded quickly and quietly, not wanting to alert a group of foals that were passing by.
“But I thought that he was dead?” Applejack replied.
“Is he a… a ghost?” Fluttershy asked, startled by the fact.
“He didn’t look like any ghost that I’ve ever seen.  Not that I’ve ever seen any ghosts.” Rarity replied, backing into her thoughts.
“I have a plan!” a fifth voice shouted from the air.  “Party Cannon!” there was a loud blast and confetti fell from the sky.
“Sugarcube, these aren’t changelings and they sure as hay aren’t parties.  I don’t think that the cannon will work this time.” Applejack explained.
“Two Party Cannons? Pinkie replied, her mane deflating slightly.
Rarity shook her head.
“Three?” Pinkie’s mane fell flat and tears welled up in her eyes.
“I don’t even think that three is enough.” Applejack answered.
“Spike, are you with me?  Let’s charge in there and demand Twilight back!” Rainbow shouted.
Spike had been standing still and not speaking since they’d arrived in Ponyville.  “You didn’t see her.  Her eyes…” Spike mumbled.
“What are you talking about, Spike?” Rainbow Dash snapped.  “Let’s go and save her!”
“Green… they were green…” Spike continued his rambling.
“Spike darling, what are you talking about?” Rarity asked.
“Twilight’s eyes.  They were turning green.  They almost looked like Sombra’s did.”
“What do you m-” Fluttershy started but was interrupted by a bright purple flash.
“Please let me…” started the dragon who appeared from the flash, “go?”
“Blade?” Spike stumbled backwards, knowing what that other dragon was like.  “Stay back.” 
“Where… am I?” Blade asked.
“You’re in Ponyville.” Fluttershy answered, floating toward the second baby dragon.
“Ponyville?  Did she… did she save me?”
“What are you talking about?” Spike interrogated the weakened dragon.
“Master Vim was going to kill me.  She said that I’d outlived my usefulness, that all I’d been needed for was to help prepare for Sparkle’s arrival.” Blade answered.
“She sounds like a loyal friend.” Spike said sarcastically.
“She wasn’t my friend.  She was the closest thing to a mother that I had.” Blade was almost in tears.  “Sparkle… she saved me.”
“Of course Twilight saved you.  She’s a good pony.” Fluttershy said.
“That you would say something like that is surprising to me.  She took to the darkness like a fish takes to water.  Only seconds before, she had been doing the exact same thing to me as Vim was.” Blade explained.
“And what was that?” Applejack asked, almost in an uncaring way.
“Crushing the life out of me with dark magic.” Blade answered.
“I don’t believe you!” Rainbow shouted.  “Twi would never do something like that!  She’s always fought to protect everypony and… and…”
“I believe you.” Spike stated.  “Her eyes were turning green when she went with Sombra.  I’m not even sure anymore if she did it to save us, or to learn what he was offering.”
“Don’t talk like that!”  Pinkie shouted, still in her depressed state.  “She’d never want to go with him for that reason!”
“Take this.” Blade handed Spike a small metal object.  “Between the two of them, I think that I have a rib broken just the right way to pierce a lung.  I want you to keep the same from happening to Sparkle as what happened to Vim.”
“Oh my goodness!” Fluttershy shouted, trying to lift him up to take him to the hospital as soon as she heard the bit about his lung.
“And Spike one more thing.  Midnight Vim wasn’t always her name.  It used to be…” Blade trailed off, losing consciousness.
“What?  It used to be what?” Spike ran up to Blade and got close so that Blade could tell him the name.

“Sister, are you sure that you are all right?” Luna asked as she looked upon her bedridden sister.
“Yes Luna, I am fine.  Although the doctor says that I probably shouldn’t be getting out of bed anytime soon.”
“I still do not understand Celestia, how was that unicorn capable of defeating you?” Luna asked.
“She caught me off guard; she was wearing the face of a student.  The only one to pass the test.” Celestia answered.
“Do you mean…”
“Yes.  Before I knew what was going on, she hit me with a very powerful disorientation spell.  From there, it was simply a matter of finding a weak spot before any guards could arrive.  What surprises me is her restraint to kill me.  She had the opportunity and she spoke about it, but said ‘another time, dear Princess’.” Celestia explained.
Luna stepped out onto the balcony for her sister’s room and stared into the night sky.  She’d been blaming herself for so long, but if this pony could change their face, than they could be anypony, meaning that she had to keep any eye out for any suspicious behavior.
“Luna, I want you to seek out Twilight’s dreams tonight.  We need to find her and bring her here.  Send out a guard to get her friends.  I’m sure that they will all be targeted.” Celestia said from inside the room.
“I am afraid that it may be too late, Sister.  Twilight came to me while you were still asleep.  She sought help, claiming that her friends were in danger.  I tried to keep her safe, but the only way that I could do that at the time was a cell.” Luna spoke with a regretful tone.  “She had shown me kindness in ridding me of that Nightmare and on that first Nightmare Night and that is how I repaid her.”
“You did your best in these dire circumstances.  Do you know where she went?”
“No, I fear that we may be too late though.  Later that day, some of the guards saw flashing lights farther up on the mountainside.  I fear that it may have been her and your assailant.”
“If she has been taken, then we are all doomed.  Our only hope was to use the Elements to defeat our foe.”
“What if we tried again to use them?  Just like Discord again.” Luna suggested, hoping filling in her eyes and a smile forming for the first time in days.
“That may be a possibility.  Send a squad of pegasus guards to Ponyville to retrieve the Elements of Harmony from Twilight’s home.”
“Right away Sister.” Luna nodded before leaving the room.

“Where do you think the guards are leading us?” asked a young colt.
“Note, the answer hasn’t changed in the last five minutes.  I do not know.” the older stallion walking beside him answered.
“The pony beside me said that maybe we’re being taken to-”
“If I don’t know where we are going, do you really think that some four year old filly knows anything?” Valley stated.
It was a decent sized group of ponies, with only one guard for every six civilians by Valley’s count.  About half of the civilians were no older than Eighth Note, most of them either orphaned by the terrible events of late or separated from their families.
The skies were bright over Canterlot finally.  Valley felt that it was safe to thank his youthful fan for that.
“If we ever see that mare again, Note, I want you to be sure to say thank you for giving us this day.”
“Isn’t Princess Celestia the one who make the sun rise?” Note asked, cocking his head to the side inquisitively.
“Yes, but during that little light show on the mountain, one of the lights hit that big ball in the sky.  The ball shrunk afterwards, and the clouds with it, bringing back the day.  I have a feeling that the mare, Twilight Sparkle had something to do with that.”
“Really?” Note asked excitedly.
“Yes, I think so.”
“Thank you Twilight!” Note shouted into the sky, hoping that his message would be heard.
One of the guards glanced over at the pair of ponies and approached them.  His expression was straight and strong, as was the standard for the royal guard.  He nodded his head to the side, signaling for the two to step away from the crowd.
“Are you talking about Twilight Sparkle?” the guard asked them.
“Yes.  What of it?” Valley asked.
“Do you think that she would go out of her way to protect you?” the guard asked.  “How close are you, in other words?”
“She saved us from a very large Heartless, so she has proven that she would protect us.  However, from what I’ve seen of her, she would probably protect anypony who needed it.”
“The difference is, she knows who you are.  I’m going to need you to come with me.  I’m taking you to the Princesses by request of Princess Celestia herself.”
“Do you mean that we’re going to get to see the Princess?” Note asked excitedly.
“Yes, but you’ll have to come with me.  There isn’t a great deal of time.  She feels that anypony that Twilight Sparkle cares about is in danger of being targeted by the same pony that attacked her.”
“If it will help to protect her, I feel that it is the least that we can after she saved us.” Valley stated.
The guard started to lead the pair of ponies toward the castle which had been reclaimed about an hour earlier.  With the sun shining over Canterlot, it was finally safe to be outside, and the ponies who stepped outside were led away by the guards.  Valley was just happy to see that the city was finally in the light again, and the Heartless didn’t seem to want to be out in that light.
When they arrived at the castle, Valley was surprised to see so many guards there.  With as many guards out on the streets as there were, he didn’t think that there would be very many guards out.
“Ah.” Luna nodded toward the guard and the two ponies.  “I take it that these two know Twilight Sparkle?”
“Yes, Princess Luna.  I brought them here as you wished.” the guard explained.
“What are your names?” Luna asked.
“I am Mist Valley, author by profession, and this young colt here is Eighth Note.” Valley answered, trying not to stutter before the Princess.
“I am sure that you are aware of the situation.” Luna stated.
“The Heartless came in the night, taking specific ponies.  Twilight’s friends were some of the targets, leading her into a potential trap.  Princess Celestia was attacked during the initial invasion, allowing for the Heartless to maintain a night like environment that they could thrive in.” Valley explained.
“I was not aware that you knew that much.  How do you know all of that?” Luna asked.
“Safe estimations from what I’d witnessed, what Twilight told me, and common knowledge.” Valley stated.
“I see.  That connection with Twilight is something that my sister and I feel is putting you in a dangerous place.  We would like it if you could stay here, where you are safer.”
“I am afraid that I cannot sit idly by while that mare is in trouble.  After what she had done for Note and me, no, I can’t.”
“If you do not, then you may be putting yourself into danger and by connection, the Twilight Sparkle, whom you want to protect.” Luna argued.
“Dear Sister, sometimes, you feel the need to repay a kindness that was done to you.” A fourth pony joined in the conversation.  “If your mind is set, Mist Valley, then there is nothing that we can do to stop you.  I wish you the best of luck, I would however, prefer it if you were to take one of my guards with you.”
“Princess Celestia?” Valley gasped, surprised to see the Princess able to move about so easily.
Princess Celestia stood as tall as ever, despite the surprising extent of her injuries.  Both of her wings were bandaged at her sides.  A deep scar went from the right side of her neck down to the top of her front left leg, wrapping around her slightly.  A dark purple bruise was left on her face, giving her a slightly depressed appearance.  Her front right leg was lifted off of the ground and she limped to avoid using it; the leg had a thick bandaging on it to protect a wound and probably conceal its severity from the general population.
“You’re sending one of your guards with us?  Are you sure that they wouldn’t be better left here to help protect Canterlot?” Valley asked.
“Yes, I am sure.  Do you know who Twilight Sparkle is?” Celestia asked the stallion.
“Not really, only what she told me.  I do however feel that it is safe to say that she is important considering the interest that you are showing in her.”
“Very important.  She is my private student, learning about friendship from the ponies in her new home of Ponyville.  I think that going to Ponyville is a good start, maybe her friends that live there could help you.” Celestia suggested.  “Silver Veil, I want you to go with these two ponies, wherever they choose to go.  Protect them.”
A unicorn member of the royal guard nodded and took a few steps toward Valley and Note.  His armor had black smoke stains on it and he had a scar inches under his left eye.
“He doesn’t talk much anymore, but he is very capable of protecting you two.” Celestia explained.
“Why doesn’t he talk?” Note asked.
“He comes from a small village down by a mountain near the boundary between Equestria and the Griffon Kingdom.  One day, a dragon came to his home… to put it simply, he was one of only a hoof full to escape.” Celestia answered with remorse in her voice.
Mist Valley nodded and turned toward the door.  Princess Celestia was doing so much for them, Twilight must’ve been important if the Princess was willing to go through all of that.

Spike waited with Rarity and Fluttershy outside of the Ponyville General Hospital Emergency Room.  Rainbow, Pinkie, and Applejack were with the fillies and trying to come up with some sort of plan.  Spike wasn’t able to relax, trying to process the last thing that Blade had told him before he passed out.  No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t wrap his head around it.  Vim wasn’t always Vim…
“Fluttershy…” The doctor stepped from the Emergency Room, shutting the door quietly behind him.
“Yes?” Fluttershy asked.  “How is he?”
“I’m sorry.  We got to him too late.  His lung had been impaled by a broken rib causing internal bleeding.  He drowned in his own blood only moments after entering the ER.  We did everything that we could.” the doctor explained.
“No…” Fluttershy’s eyes filled up with tears as she learned of Blade’s fate.  She was the Element of Kindness, and as such she showed that kindness to the warped dragon named Blade.  For him it was too late, his choices were to either live without the one pony that he had considered his family, or pass on a message that could save her.  The latter was his choice; he wanted to remember her as she was at first, not what she had become.  He knew her as a young filly who spent her nights crying for her lost family, wanting to take back everything that she had done for King Sombra.  Blade had changed with her in an attempt to keep her safe; he went into the darkness head first to fight for the one he loved.
Spike looked down into his claw at the item that Blade had given to him.  It was a keychain.  The shape of the keychain was that of a small green fire.  He wasn’t sure what to make of it.
“What’s this mean, Blade?  Why give it to me?” Spike asked himself.

Vim sat alone in her room, looking at a small book that she had read as a filly.  It had a picture of a meadow, adorned with numerous flowers.  In her first few days with King Sombra, she had counted them; there were three hundred and seventy-two flowers on the cover.
There were only four residents left in King Sombra’s castle.  The King himself, Vim, Twilight, and Discord.
“She’s here to replace me.” Vim told herself.  “That Twilight was always his goal from the start.  I was a tool, and like any tool that is no longer needed, I’m in danger of being thrown away.”
Vim stepped out onto her balcony and looked up into the perpetually sunny sky.  It was clear that the two Princesses had made the decision that allowing for night to occur was a bad idea.  A simple plan that would delay the Heartless, but it wouldn’t last long.  The world needs its heating and cooling cycles, night would have to come soon.
“I’m going to have to prove that I’m not useless.  If one of us has to die, it will be her.”