//------------------------------//
// Stepping Up and Stepping Forward 
// Story: Dark Matter 
// by moguera 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 12: Stepping Up and Stepping Forward

Twilight Sparkle could scarcely believe her ears as Coco relayed her story, the two of them once again conversing quietly behind Twilight's privacy spell in the bathroom while the listening spells were artfully drowned out by the sound of running bathwater.  Coco had come bursting in first thing in the morning, clearly badly worried about something.  "Perlin really did that?" she asked dubiously.
Coco nodded.  "At least, that's what he said he did.  He led that mare away and came back a little bit later."
Frowning, Twilight stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, pondering what Coco had told her.  Part of her was silently elated, though a bit annoyed.  She'd been hoping and planning to take care of things herself.  Though now it seemed that her brother might handle things before it got to that point.  She'd been amazed to hear that Shade Steel of all ponies had come at the behest of Shining Armor.  As far as she knew, Shade's sentence wasn't up.  But it did make sense.  With the Royal Guard, including the SES, out dealing with the Cult Solar, Shade would probably be the only pony with the requisite skills for that kind of mission in Canterlot.  She could only hope that Shade hadn't been lying about working for Shining Armor.
Though, it might have been a moot point anyway.  Perlin had said that he would help Shade escape.  But then he'd led the mare away from Coco and taken her off someplace and come back alone.  While that could have meant he'd stayed true to his word, it was just as possible that he'd lured Shade someplace where he could dispose of her quietly.  It would probably be a simple task for a pony with Perlin's level of skill.
However, the question of whether or not Shade had actually been allowed to escape did not seem to be what was bothering Coco.  She was more worried by Perlin's strange behavior when he'd talked with her after that.  Twilight wished there was something she could say.  But she knew too little about what was happening and didn't really have the time to articulate her feelings about it.
Once the tub had filled up again, Twilight was forced to call an end to their conversation, once again cursing the fact she hadn't studied illusion magic more thoroughly.  Once again, they were forced to imitate a relatively normal conversation for the benefit of the listening spells dotting the bathroom.  However, Twilight still did her best to sooth Coco's worries as the younger mare ran a brush through her mane.
"Are you meeting the Baron for breakfast?" asked Coco nervously as she set aside the brush.
To  her surprise, Twilight ushered Coco to into a sitting position in front of the mirror and took up the brush in her own hooves.  Twilight's movements were slightly shakier and more uncertain, thanks to a lack of practice at using her hooves rather than her horn for basic grooming.  However, Coco's much shorter mane made for easier work.
"He hasn't issued an invitation yet," said Twilight, "But I wouldn't be surprised if he asked me to brunch, seeing as you were locked out of the kitchen this morning."
Coco nodded.  She'd brought Twilight her breakfast the previous day, after requesting a meal from the kitchens.  However, this morning, Coco found that she was being barred from the kitchen and her requests for something for Twilight to eat were being refused on the basis that it was being "seen to."
"What will you do?" asked Coco.
"I'll accept, of course," said Twilight, her mouth drawn in a tight line as she met the gaze of Coco's reflection in the mirror.  She would need to speak with Baron Elderflower more, however unpleasant the experience might be, if she was to find out the particulars of his plan and put a stop to it before more ponies got hurt.  Of course, if the Royal Guard or Arkenstone came storming in sooner than that, it would be a pointless effort.  But Twilight couldn't afford to simply rely on them.
They exited the bathroom, Coco seeming much more calm after being on the receiving end of a good (or at least semi-good but well meaning) grooming.
"Do you want to wait with me for a bit?" asked Twilight, "I'm sure nopony will mind."
"If you're sure..." said Coco, her eyes darting in an uneasy glance towards the bedroom mirror.  To her credit, the motion was so subtle that even Twilight, who'd been looking Coco right in the face, barely noticed it, so there was practically no way that whatever hidden observers were on the other side of the mirror had actually seen the gesture.
They had just settled down at the table by the window when there was a crash and clang of metal, followed by a shuddering tremor that made everything in the room jump nearly an inch off the floor.
"Wha-what was that?" gasped Coco, glancing around frantically.
Twilight sighed and suppressed the urge to groan.  "That was probably Arkenstone," she said, "I figured he'd find us sooner or later."  Darn.  And I was really hoping to take care of things myself.  Well, there was no use in crying over an upset trough now.  She would just have to make the best of the situation.  Arkenstone had probably come to rescue her.  Twilight felt obligated to make sure that the Baron was taken down first.
"It's time for us to go," she said, giving Coco an encouraging smile, "Are you ready?"
"N-not r-really..." stammered Coco, beginning to shake in place.  She knew that Twilight had some sort of plan, but hadn't expected to have to go through with it so soon.
"Well...I didn't really have everything planned out yet, but we'll play it by ear," said Twilight with a giggle, gently brushing a hoof against Coco's face, "Just stay with me and we'll get through everything just fine."
"I-if you're sure..." said Coco, her eyes darting from side to side.
Twilight nodded and stepped around the bed so that she was standing right in front of the dresser and the mirror hanging above it.  She smiled brightly at the mirror, probably confusing the hay out of whoever was behind it.  With a flash, a band of dark-gold with silvery inlays appeared beneath the black of the inhibitor ring around her horn.  Silvery fire steamed out of the arcanasteel ring and coalesced into an orb the size of a large apple, suspended in the air just above her horn.  A second later, Twilight ducked her head to level her horn at the dresser and launched the sphere of eldritch power straight into the piece of furniture.
The telekinetic bolt transformed the dresser into a battering ram, smashing it through the wall and shattering the mirror in the process.  Over the sounds of crumbling wood and breaking glass, Twilight heard a pair of pained gasps as the dresser and the remains of the wall it pushed ahead of it slammed into the pair of ponies who had been watching the room from the other side of the one-way mirror.  The dresser's momentum carried it and the ponies caught behind it, all the way to the other side of the hidden room and slammed them hard against the back wall.
Looking through the hole in the wall, Twilight could see the details of the room on the other side.  It was mostly unfurnished, bare walls and an uncarpeted floor.  One either side of the hole she'd just opened, Twilight could see the remains of a wall-mounted desk that ran the length of the wall, probably just underneath the disguised window into her room.  The dresser, the remains of the wall and the mirror, and the ponies behind it had been shoved into a pile of debris on the opposite side of the room.  Neither of the ponies pinned behind the desk were moving.
Twilight had a brief flash of nerves.  Had she killed them?  However, she quickly forced those worries back down.  One way or another, getting Coco out of the mansion and then thwarting Elderflower's plans came first.
First things first, now that pretend time was over, it was now time to get rid of that annoying inhibitor.  Using the power stored in the arcanasteel band, Twilight forged her magic into a thin blade, which she then used to begin splitting the inhibitor ring from the outside.  She had to be careful with how she managed the spell.  Power was absorbed through the inhibitor ring's interior surface.  However, as her spell cut through the ring's outer layers, it would begin to lose power as that power was absorbed by the ring itself.  The only way to effectively cut through the ring with magic would be to focus as much power into as narrow a line as possible to exceed the material's capacity along that thin line before it could be dispersed through the rest of the ring.  It took incredible precision and focus, which only got harder as the ring's material still continued to absorb her magic, even as the material itself quickly melted away, and the ring gradually grew heavier and heavier.
Finally, with a loud crack, the ring split, loosening its hold on her horn.  Twilight dipped her head an allowed it to slide of the end and fall to the floor.  It hit just as the door to her room slammed open and a pair of Elderflower's guards came barreling into the room.
One of them opened his mouth, clearly about to begin barking orders at her and Coco.  However, he froze and stared in shock when he saw that Twilight was no longer wearing the inhibitor ring.  Favoring the unfortunate stallion with a taunting smile, Twilight blasted him with a crackling burst of power that exploded in a flurry of arcs across his body.  The stallion barely managed to let out a strangled scream before the stunning spell brought him down, leaving him twitching spasmodically on the floor.
His companion, a pegasus mare, whirled to face Twilight, her eyes flicking back and forth between Twilight and Coco as she apparently tried to figure out what to do.  "H-how...?" she gasped.
"Elderflower isn't nearly as smart as he thinks he is," said Twilight simply, "I'd suggest surrendering...before I have to hurt you."
As she spoke, Twilight's ring lit up, sending waves of white fire washing over her body.  When the flames dissipated, Twilight now stood clad in silvery barding, plates of armor polished to a mirror-like shine with amethyst-colored decoration at the edges.  Both Twilight's champron and peytral sported a magenta gem in the shape of the six-pointed star at the center of her cutie mark.  The segmented plates of the criniere ran down the length of her neck, parting along the center to allow her mane to stream out.  Both the flanchard and the croupiere were relatively plain and unadorned by comparison, but practically shined beneath the room's lights.  Everything was smooth and rounded, looking practically artistic in its design.  In fact, Twilight imagined that if Rarity were ever to design a suit of armor for her, it would look something like this.  She certainly hoped her imagination was doing her friend justice.
Twilight's ears picked out the faint sound of Coco's gasp.  Glancing over at Coco, Twilight could see that she was staring at Twilight in wide-eyed awe, clearly having no idea that Twilight was capable of something like this.  Twilight kept her glance fleeting, wanting to keep her eye on the guard, just in case she tried something.
"Wha-what is this?" demanded the pegasus mare, backing her rump into the open door, bumping it against the wall with enough force that it rebounded and smacked her back in the rear, making her jump with a yelp.
"This is me and Coco getting out of here," said Twilight coldly, glaring at the guard, practically daring her to try something, "If you have any sense, you'll let us and turn yourself in."
The mare swallowed, clearly uncomfortable with the situation.  Twilight could understand, the pegasus mare and her companion had clearly thought they were guarding a pair of helpless prisoners.  Elderflower had Twilight restrained and monitored, while Coco was far too timid and helpless to be a threat.  If there was going to be any trouble, it would come from the outside, not from the very ponies they were monitoring.
For a moment, it looked as though the guard was going to heed Twilight's words.  Her eyes darted back and forth between Twilight and Coco.  Twilight made a mental note to be on guard, in case this pegasus tried to do something to Coco.  However, the nervousness in the mare's eyes betrayed her lack of confidence in her ability to deal with the situation.  She hesitated before focusing all of her attention on Twilight.  "I...I have to..."  Her limbs began to shiver and Twilight felt a pang of sympathy for the mare.  She was clearly badly worried about the consequences for failing Baron Elderflower.
"Please...let us past," pleaded Twilight.
"I can't do that," said the mare, her gaze hardening.  She reached around to one side of her flank and pulled out a broad-bladed knife.  Lunging forward, she thrust the knife, its tip trying to locate a gap in Twilight's armor.
Twilight let her.  One of the benefits of having armor composed of actualized magic was that it wasn't constrained by its appearance.  Just because two plates did not join seamlessly didn't mean they were an opening, unlike how things worked for mundane armor.  The mare's thrust looked like it was heading straight for the center of Twilight's peytral, when it instead changed direction and darted towards the joint between two plates of her criniere.  The instant the knife reached its target, a jolting bolt of violet lightning crackled from the point of contact, running back down the blade of the knife and up into the wielder's fetlock.
The guard let out a cry of surprised pain, trying to pull back or let go of her knife, maybe both.  However, she was unable to get away as the lightning crawled up her leg and into the rest of her body.  A second later, she no longer needed to pull away as she was physically launched back with enough force to break through the door before crashing into the wall behind it.
Twilight sighed.  "You should have let us go."  Turning to look at Coco, Twilight gave her a smile.  "All right.  Let's get out of here."
Swallowing hard, Coco nodded hesitantly and fell in behind Twilight as they headed out the door.  As they went through the door, Twilight looked to one side, seeing what she had noted before when she'd left the room to join Elderflower for dinner.  Her room was situated at the end of the hallway.  A few feet beyond the door, the hallway terminated in what looked like an ordinary wall, leaving just enough room for a pony to stand next to her door on that side so that the guards could have the portal flanked from both sides.  However, Twilight was willing to bet that the end of the hallway was actually a concealed door that led to the room behind her mirror.
"Wh-where are we going?" asked Coco as she cringed behind Twilight, looking down the hall for any signs that the guards or Elderflower's hired mercenaries might be coming.
"First we're getting you out of here," said Twilight sternly, "I'm guessing that tremor was Arkenstone.  If we meet up, I can have you stay with him while he gets you to safety.  But I need to go after the Elements and get them back."
"Okay," said Coco.  The two of them set off as another set of tremors, accompanied by loud crashes, rocked the estate.



"Somepony tell me what that was!" yelled Elderflower as he emerged into the main entryway, looking down towards the doors.  On either side of him, stairs ran down along the walls, flanking the doors that led to his manor's ballroom.  He'd addressed guests and assemblies of his servants on many occasions from this perch, looking down upon them with quiet confidence.  None of that confidence was to be found now.
"There's an intruder, My Lord!" yelled a guard, who'd taken a moment to actually look out the front door before reporting.
"Is it the Royal Guard?" demanded Elderflower, glaring down at the unfortunate pony.
The guard shook his head.  "The pony isn't wearing any uniform.  I think it's some earth pony."
"Some earth pony..."  Eldeflower had to let that sink in.  Suddenly he remembered.  Twilight's coltfriend, the same stallion who had dispatched Earl Steel Flint, was an earth pony.  Could that stallion...that Arkenstone...have somehow learned where Twilight was being kept and come for her?
It seemed impossible, but Elderflower wouldn't have been surprised if that was the case.  Luckily, I have the Banehammers.  Earl Flint might have been a fairly formidable battle mage in one-on-one duels, but he had no experience with real combat.  The Banehammers are much more dangerous.  Even if this stallion managed to best Flint, there's no way he'd be able to handle so many hardened warriors.
"Get Greenblight and his ponies here immediately," said Elderflower.
"That won't be necessary," said Greenblight, actually emerging behind Elderflower to stand at the top of the stairs.  Down below, Inkwell emerged from the doors to the ballroom.  Behind her, Elderflower could hear the clicking of numerous hooves against the ballroom's polished floors.  The Banehammers hadn't wasted time waiting for orders and had already assembled to greet the threat.
"You'd best leave things to us, My Lord," said Greenblight, watching the front doors with a savage grin, "We'll make short work of this fool."
"Do not underestimate him," said Elderflower, "He's probably much more dangerous than he first seems."
Before Greenblight could say anything in response to that, there was a whistling noise coming from the door.  A beat later, the sturdy wooden constructs fell to pieces, having been sliced cleanly by some sort of set of invisible blades.  They tumbled to the floor with a clatter, revealing a beige stallion, who strode through as though the house belonged to him.  Stepping into the entryway, Arkenstone sniffed the air for a few seconds before his muzzle pointed in Elderflower's direction.
"Am I correct in assuming that you are the lord of the house?" asked Arkenstone calmly.
"You are," said Elderflower, trying to keep a tremor of fear from his voice.  Arkenstone seemed like an ordinary earth pony, albeit a blind one.  However, for a pony who had strode into the center of enemy territory, he was remarkably calm and composed, the tone of his voice betraying no sign of fear or excitement.
"I see...in a manner of speaking," said Arkenstone, "Then this is quite fortunate, seeing as it will save us both time and unnecessary bloodshed.  You will release Twilight Sparkle, surrender the Elements of Harmony, and submit yourself to the custody of the Guard to be tried for the crimes of foalnapping, unlawful imprisonment, theft, murder by proxy, high treason...and any other crimes that the Princesses can think to accuse you of.  If you do that, then I will not be obligated to chop you into tiny pieces, just like that door I just walked through."
Elderflower's lips curled back, baring his teeth as he glared down at the earth pony below him.  "Filthy scum!  You dare to force yourself onto my property and address me in such a manner...How dare you level such foalish accusations without one wit of proof."
"Perhaps I haven't made your situation clear," said Arkenstone, "The fact that I am here is proof enough.  I am also very interested in that stallion standing beside you, along with the mare down here.  They certainly match the description of the ringleaders of that bunch of mercenaries who raided the Royal Palace.  Are you seriously trying to pretend that you aren't responsible at this juncture?"
From beside him, Elderflower could hear a sharp intake of breath.  He heard Greenblight beginning to breathe faster and faster, almost sounding as though he were hyperventilating.  Elderflower was not unfamiliar with Greenblight's "trick."  He decided to stall to give the scarred stallion time.
"Fine," said Elderflower, returning his attention to Arkenstone, "You are correct.  I am indeed responsible for the attack on the Palace.  I have indeed taken the Elements of Harmony as Princess Celestia has simply proven that she can no longer be trusted with their stewardship.  I cannot, in good conscience, return them to her and allow them to be misused again."
"Misused?"  Arkenstone raised an eyebrow.  "Saving Equestria twice over is misusing them?"
"She placed the fate of the nation-No!-the world, in the hooves of commoners...earth ponies and pegasi!" yelled Elderflower, his blood rising at the amused tone in Arkenstone's voice, "The Elements of Harmony are the most powerful magical devices ever conceived and she would dare to allow those whose trade is not magic itself to wield them!  It was only blind luck that they've worked thus far.  I shall not allow the Elements to be sullied any further.
"I shall place them in the hooves of ponies who truly deserve to bear them.  I will bring true order and true harmony to Equestria.  I shall end our long slide into anarchy and restore things to the way they were meant to be!"  Elderflower was panting after his tirade.  He no longer cared about buying time, unable to stand the disrespect this common earth pony was showing him.  "Twilight Sparkle is mine as well.  Her power shall become the foundation of a new Equestria.  If you have any true respect for her and her station, you will turn back and not interfere any longer."
"I shall not, nor do I need to," replied Arkenstone, "Your ignorance is truly mind-boggling in that you fail so utterly to understand what the Elements truly are.  We know all about your plans for them.  I must admit, we were sorely tempted to let you try to carry those plans out so that you could find out for yourself just how addlebrained your little schemes are.  However, good ponies have died as a result of your actions and your decisions.  It is because of them and Twilight that we are here now."  Arkenstone's eyes opened, revealing orbs of featureless white that glared upwards at Elderflower.  "I give you one last warning.  Surrender or I will kill you."
Elderflower suddenly felt as though a weight of several tons had dropped down on his back.  His legs quivered in fear and, despite his best efforts, he let out a strangled whimper at the intensity of the killing intent being directed at him.  He now understood all too well just how Steel Flint had died at the hooves of this stallion.  He could feel that intent to kill honed into the finest of blades now being leveled at him.  This was a pony who truly knew how to kill other ponies.
A low snarl off to Elderflower's side reminded him that he had ponies who knew how to kill too.  Regardless of how competent this Arkenstone might be, in the end, Elderflower had the advantage of numbers.  Besides, the Banehammers were mercenaries experienced in the ways of real war.  That was exactly why Wight Shade had recommended them to him in the first place.
"Kill him!" snapped Elderflower, turning about and striding toward the upper doors, resisting the urge to break into a gallop the moment his back was turned.
Down below, Inkwell's eyes narrowed and her horn flared with ebony power.  Wisps of smoke curled upwards from the cracks that ran along the length as several small spheres of energy formed in the air around her.  Arkenstone's eyes closed again and he turned his muzzle towards her.  He took a step forward...
That was all the provocation Inkwell needed.  At her will, the little black spheres darted out at Arkenstone, swarming through the air around him like bees to come from all directions.  Arkenstone hid a grimace and whipped his blades into action.  Had he been at his best, he would have easily been able to cut them all down with his swords.  However, his reflexes were dulled and his senses still slightly muddled as a consequence of his convalescence.  To complicate matters, he'd never found himself regretting walking into a place with such a dedicated cleaning staff as much as he did today.  The maids had clearly been busy, as not a speck of dust lingered on any surface that he could use to build his armor.
Fortunately, even homes with the most devoted of caretakers had places that no maid could hope to clean.  The gaps between walls, where pipes and wiring ran were spaces that nopony would ever really think to clean on a regular basis.  Instead of trying to intercept Shade's incoming bolts, Arkenstone slashed at the walls to either side of him, cutting them open and releasing billowing clouds of dust, the accumulation of years, into the air around him.  His power joined those tiny particles together into black, scale-like pieces that quickly merged together to form larger, smoother pieces, forming plates of armor that built themselves around his body.  In a matter of a few seconds, he would be completely enclosed and protected.
Sadly, Inkwell had no intention of giving him those few seconds.  Her bolts surged at him in a constant barrage, pounding at him like a deluge of hailstones from nearly every conceivable angle.  His armor, not fully manifested, broke apart under the onslaught, barely blocking the blasts.  Arkenstone desperately tried to rebuild his armor, but Shade's bolts shattered the pieces he assembled as fast as he could replace them.  In his current state, Arkenstone was forced to abandon any thought of offense in order to maintain his defense and keep rebuilding his armor quickly enough to keep Inkwell's bolts from reaching his vulnerable flesh.  Though Arkenstone had a certain amount of skill at hardening his body, it was far below the level of a true practitioner of the Mountain Root.  Inkwell's magical bolts were far too fierce in their intensity to be held back by the limited reinforcement Arkenstone could achieve.  Right now, they stood at a total stalemate.
A loud, bellowing roar from above signaled that the stalemate was at an end.  From the balcony above, Greenblight hurtled himself into the air so that he dropped towards Arkenstone like a plummeting stone, already swinging his massive scythe about wildly.  Arkenstone could sense his approach easily, but was unable to take any action, as Inkwell's barrage had him fixed solely on the defensive.  From the ballroom doors behind Inkwell, Arkenstone could her the rumbling sound of numerous hooves as the rest of the Banehammers charged forward to follow Greenblight's lead.  I certainly can't fault their experience, thought Arkenstone wryly, seeing as they don't seem to have any issues with using all of their strength against me despite their numerical advantage.
However, Arkenstone found himself supremely grateful that he hadn't come alone.  From behind him, emerging from either side of the wall where the front doors had once stood, a pair of blurs, one orange and one gray, shot into the air.  The gray blur angled up over Arkenstone's head, rushing right in front of Greenblight's face, only narrowly missing a strike from that deadly-looking scythe.  Greenblight barely even noticed, his single functioning eye not even tracking the blur, instead remaining fixed on the target of his berserk ire as he continued to dive at Arkenstone, foam trailing from his mouth.
However, Greenblight definitely took notice when something, a cord of some sort, wrapped around his neck.  With a mighty yank, the burly, scarred pegasus suddenly felt himself being pulled to one side.  In his current state, he hadn't given a single thought to maintaining his balance, so he was taken completely off-guard as the cord whipped his body around just in time for a Greenblight's own wings to launch him in the direction he was being pulled.
As a consequence, Greenblight went sailing over the heads of his underlings and went flying to the ballroom that they had previously assembled in.  Another yank on the cord changed the path of his flight yet again and Greenblight slammed down into the polished stone tiles that made up the ballroom floor.  Luckily, his own lack of balance saved him and he hit shoulder-first instead of headfirst.  Even as he hit the floor, Greenblight was already scrambling to get upright, not even seeming to notice the pain of his impact as he snarled savagely at his antagonist.  The cord around his neck went slack and then withdrew completely as Greenblight faced the gray pegasus colt in front of him.
Rumble swallowed nervously as he faced the scythe-wielding pegasus in front of him, who growled and snarled in a manner more akin to a wild animal than a trained fighter, his single eye rolling wildly as more foam began to gather at his lips.  "I'm your opponent," said Rumble, hoping that his first real fight wasn't about to be his last.



At the same time Rumble had managed to redirect Greenblight's dive, Scootaloo charged straight in at Inkwell, zipping just above the heads of the armored ponies surging out from behind her.  Inkwell's eyes zeroed in on her immediately and the shooter-marble sized bolts she'd been bombarding Arkenstone with all immediately changed course to converge on Scootaloo instead.  Scootaloo ignored them, instead focusing all her strength and speed on her forward charge.  Inkwell's reflexes and responses were quick, but she was still a beat too slow to catch up with the charging filly.
As Scootaloo closed in on Inkwell, she could see the mare charging another attack spell just above her horn.  Scootaloo kicked out with her hind legs.  At the same moment, she executed a lunging motion and swept both of her wings forward so that the outermost primaries extended past her head.  A concentrated blast of air roared out at Inkwell, whose eyes widened.  She immediately changed strategies, abandoning the attack spell she'd been building in favor of spreading a shield of telekinetic energy in a curving wall between her and Scootaloo.
It barely slowed down the barreling cannon blast of air resulting from the Forward Wing Strike, as the impact smashed through Inkwell's shield and pounded into the mare, knocking her completely off her hooves and sending her flying back through the doors, across the ballroom and crashing out through the massive, floor-to-ceiling windows on the opposite side.  Inkwell was barely able to raise another shield as she slammed into the ground outside, plowing a furrow through one of Elderflower's flowerbeds and scattering countless red and yellow petals into the air.  As she followed her opponent out through the window, Scootaloo was struck by the notion that the scene would have looked somewhat beautiful (if a little like one of Pinkie Pie's parties) if it weren't for the blotchy-coated mare getting to her hooves in the center of it all.
Inkwell's eyes narrowed dangerously as she glared at Scootaloo, who shivered as those soulless black orbs raked over her body.  Inkwell's horn once again began to shimmer with ebony power, more smoke climbing out from the cracks.  Four black orbs the size of grapefruit scattered out from the tip of Inkwell's horn, each one picking its own path to come at Scootaloo from a different direction.
Realizing that her first true battle had really begun, Scootaloo narrowed her eyes and set herself.  This is it!



As Scootaloo and Rumble managed to seize and deflect the ringleaders of the Banehammers away from Arkenstone, the blind stallion was still left with a few dozen rank and file members of the mercenary company.  The moment Greenblight and Inkwell had been knocked back through the ballroom doors, the group's charge had ground to a halt, the armored ponies milling uncertainly in the absence of their leaders.
At the rear of their formation, a group of them stepped back and turned around, prepared to follow Greenblight and Inkwell into battle against the foals that had knocked them away from Arkenstone.  However, before they could take so much as a single step in the direction of the ballroom, a pair of black swords crossed through the air in front of them, moving so quickly that they were nearly invisible.  The whirling blades carved a line in the floor between them and the ballroom doors, bringing the armored ponies to an abrupt halt.
"I won't be allowing any of you to leave," said Arkenstone cooly, having not moved an inch from where he had been standing when the battle had started, "We will finish this here, one way or another.  If any of you have even a fleeting attachment to your lives, you will set down your weapons now and surrender.  If you do not...then you shall receive no quarter."  Arkenstone's eyes opened once again, the sight of the menacing white orbs sending chills down the spines of the ponies now facing him.
However, none of them dropped their weapons.  The pegasi spread to the air above, flying as high as the chandeliers and the arched roof of the entryway.  Down below, earth ponies moved to spread out and encircle Arkenstone.  Unicorns lit their horns, ready to let fly with bolts of eldritch power at a moment's notice.
The Banehammers were no mere collection of thugs.  They had charged griffon armies, faced down minotaur warbands, outmaneuvered famously nimble Saddle Arabian bandit clans, and even earned the respect of the most terrifying and bloodthirsty zebra tribes.  They'd fought and subdued monsters and had been called monsters by their foes.  These were ponies who had faced true war and conflict, something that even the Royal Guard almost never had to deal with.  They were hardened and experienced fighters, each and every one of them.  That collective experience warned them now that this particular stallion was even more dangerous than an entire army.  They realized that, even though he was a single adversary, they could not afford to take him lightly.
Arkenstone braced himself as the Banehammers came storming in.



Elderflower immediately turned down the hall as he left the entryway, looking to take the nearest set of stairs up to the third floor.  He would need to retrieve Twilight Sparkle and take her with him.  No doubt she would be resistant to the idea, particularly if she learned that her coltfriend was leading the charge to get her back.  However, so long as the inhibitor ring was in place, there was nothing Twilight could do to keep him from doing what was necessary.
It's unfortunate to have to abandon my home like this, thought Elderflower, But it isn't the end of the world.  As long as I have the support of my compatriots, we can continue the plan.
He'd just reached the stairs when he nearly smacked his head against that of one of his own guards descending down from above.  The guard's eyes, already looking quite panicked, went wide when he realized that he'd nearly bowled his employer over.  "My Lord!"
"What is going on?" snapped Elderflower, in no mood for dealing with panicking guards.
"Twilight Sparkle has escaped," he said, "She's advancing across the third floor now.  We've been trying to stop her, but nopony's been able to do anything."
"How?" demanded Elderflower, "The inhibitor ring prohibits any form of magic.  Don't tell me she spontaneously became another kind of pony!"
"I don't know how, My Lord, but she managed to remove the inhibitor ring.  She's wearing some sort of armor now.  None of our spells or weapons can break through it."
"Armor?"  Elderflower blinked at that, trying to figure out just what was going on.  "This is ridiculous!  Get out of my way!"
"My Lord!  It isn't safe!"  The guard tried futilely to dissuade Elderflower, but the Baron pressed on, ignoring his guard's complaints.
"Twilight Sparkle escaping confinement...ludicrous!  I already have enough on my plate right now.  I can't afford to have my own servants losing their heads over something so obviously impossible."  Elderflower continued to mutter and grumble as he climbed the stairs, emerging onto the third floor just in time to see the body of one of his guards go sailing right past his face, the unfortunate pegasus letting out a terrified scream as he smashed into another guard further down the hallway.
Eyes wide with shock, Elderflower looked down the hall in the direction the poor guard had come from.  Still a fair distance down was a cluster of several of his mares-at-arms, their armored forms arranged to block the hallway as best as they possibly could.  With the low ceiling, the pegasi couldn't hope to take to the air, so the earth ponies had moved to the fore, using their own bodies to barricade the hallway while, behind them, unicorns primed their horns to fire spells at the pony heading towards them.
It can't be, thought Elderflower incredulously, feeling as though he were moving in slow motion coming up the stairs.  The complete absurdity of the situation lent everything a strange, dreamlike quality that made Elderflower wonder if this was a passing nightmare, that he would wake up to find that everything was as it should be.  Coming up behind his guards, Elderflower looked past their heads to get a look at who was coming towards them.
Twilight Sparkle made her way down the hallway, her horn glowing as she unleashed a lance blazing violet energy that crashed into the earth ponies in the front ranks.  The beam exploded in a burst of concussive force that scattered the front line and the ponies behind them like tenpins.  Walls crumbled as ponies went crashing through them.  A pegasus was bounced up by the force of the attack to slam into the ceiling before falling senseless to the floor.  Two of the unicorns went flying past Elderflower on either side.  One of them passed close enough that her armor actually scraped against Elderflower's cheek, drawing a small amount of blood.  The sensation of pain and the jolting shock as everything seemed to speed up to normal again to his eyes cemented it for Elderflower that he most certainly wasn't dreaming.
Now that the view was no longer obstructed by his guards, Elderflower had a clear view of Twilight.  His eyes took in the gleaming silver of her armor, as well as the glimmering band around her horn, just below where the inhibitor ring she was supposed to have been shackled with had previously rested.  Following behind her was a nervous, cringing Coco Pommel, who shrank back with a terrified squeak as the younger mare's eyes met Elderflower's.  Behind the two mares was a shimmering wall of violet energy, completely barricading the hallway behind them.  Behind that wall, Elderflower could see more of his guards milling about as they fought to break or circumvent the barrier to get at Twilight from the rear.
Twilight came to a stop when she saw Elderflower standing there, taking great satisfaction in the flabbergasted expression on his face.  "Lord Baron," she said cheerily, "I would like to thank you for your hospitality.  But I'm afraid that I have to inform you that I've decided to refuse your generous offer.  So Coco and I shall be going now...Oh!  And I'll be taking the Elements with me as well."
Elderflower's mouth opened, closed, then opened again as he fought to find the words to express himself.  Rage, fear, and confusion rushed through him in equal measure, throwing his thoughts into total chaos as he tried to make sense of what was going on.  Months of preparation, years of planning and scheming, all of it was coming undone right before his eyes.  Twilight Sparkle had been helpless, imprisoned, and restrained.  The Royal Guard, much less Twilight's coltfriend, should have had no idea he was involved in her foalnapping or the theft of the Elements.  Everything had been coming together perfectly.
Twilight's smile was cheerful, almost giddy, but that only served to make it all the more menacing as she continued to advance sedately down the corridor.  In spite of himself, Elderflower found himself taking nervous, halting steps back as he tried to keep the armored mare in front of him from closing the distance.  "You can't...!  You couldn't...!  Your magic...it was..."
"You really thought you had me helpless," said Twilight, raising an eyebrow, her smile fading as she continued to move forward, "I admit, you did catch me off guard by using Coco to knock me out before kidnapping me.  That's probably one of the cleverest tricks I've seen one of your ilk pull.  Sorry to break it to you, but I could've broken out at any time.  You don't know nearly enough about what I'm capable of to keep me here.
"You fool!" snapped Elderflower, "I thought you understood what Equestria needs."
"I do," Twilight replied, "I know better than you do what Equestria needs.  More importantly, I know exactly what it doesn't need, a batch of petty tyrants in positions of power to affect the lives of ponies everywhere simply because you have the blind luck to be born into the right family.  I also know that the last place that the Elements of Harmony need to be is in the hooves of you or the ponies you've chosen."
"So you would have the Elements be trifled with by ponies who have no business meddling in the affairs of magic," snapped Elderflower, "There's no way pegasi or earth ponies could understand their power."
"That's where you're wrong," said Twilight, "And I know because I'm one of the ponies who wielded the Elements.  All those things Princess Celestia has said over and over again, all those things you dismissed as platitudes.  They're all true.  I know that because I've felt the Elements' power.  I know that what's needed isn't mastery of spellcraft or arcane power.  It's something much deeper, something you dismiss and scorn because you think it's beneath your position."  She smiled grimly.  "But the truth is, those sentiments you look down on are a lot more powerful than you are."
"Enough!" yelled Elderflower.  Behind him, he could hear the pounding of hooves as more of his guards came galloping down the hallway.  "I thought that you could be made to see reason, Dame Sparkle.  Clearly, I was wrong."  Turning around, he strode back towards his guards as they came.  "Bring her down," he told them, "Alive, if you can.  If you can't then..."  He shrugged indifferently.
"What about the other one?" asked the mare in the lead.
Elderflower glanced over his shoulder at Coco, who was still cowering behind Twilight.  "Kill her."
With that, he set off as the guards charged past him.  As soon as he was clear of them, Elderflower broke into a gallop, heading for the stairs once again.  Retrieving Twilight Sparkle was out of the question now.  The only things he had left with which to salvage his plans were the Elements.  I'll get them out through the caverns.  If I can get them to the meeting area, the remainder of our forces will be able to take care of the rest.  I will save this nation if I have to burn this city to the ground.
He failed to notice the tiny spark that leapt off the tip of Twilight's horn and struck his rump, right at the base of his tail as he retreated.  Twilight watched the Baron's departure, a warm feeling of satisfaction welling her stomach even as she turned her attention back to the guards filing into line in the Baron's wake.