The Great Conspiracy

by YoungQuillMaster

Chapter 5

Twilight and Dusk walked up to the holding cell in a slow trot, the ever present threat of annihilation on their heels, constantly spurring them onwards. The guards standing by the cell nodded at their approach and released the heavy-duty lock that was attached to the cells only entrance, a solid metal door with no window on it. The two ponies entered the room, face to face with another door of the same description, and a guard who stayed stationary while they waited for the first door to close behind them. The door shut firmly, the lock sliding into place once more before the guard ahead of them opened the lock on this end and allowed the two ponies to enter.

Twilight and Dusk walked in cautiously as the second door slid shut and the dull thud of the lock falling into place echoed through the small chamber. The three ponies in the center had their heads hung low, unwilling to look at the two new arrivals, knowing full well who was to be the next visitor on the schedule.

“Your majesty,” a voice sounded out from the small port in the wall beside the one way mirror, “As you can see we have detained two new ponies that are allegedly part of this group called ‘The Alliance’. Mr. Dragnet you’ve already met before,” The sailor pony lifted his head to look at the two newcomers, “Then we have Morning Gloria,” The pony lifted her head in response to her name, “And finally we have Amethyst.” The final pony lifted her head. Twilight walked up closer to the earth pony and two pegasi, eyeing each closely.

“What exactly is this ‘alliance’?” She asked, looking from pony to pony carefully, attempting to notice every shift in body language. “If you are compliant and help us, your sentence shall be made lighter for helping peacekeeping forces.” Dragnet looked up at her with a plain expression.

“Merely your end,” He replied simply, “The Alliance is the end for all royals for the ponies of the Equestrias shall come and join together and rule themselves. You can still live in these lands, but you will no longer have any power to your name.”

“I’m not sure if I’m supposed to be angry or relieved.” Dusk admitted, still concealed under his hood. The three ponies looked at him curiously. “One thing you seem to not know about Twilight is that she cares not for power.”

“That is true,” Twilight confirmed, “I don’t care if you take away my throne. You’ll just take away my position and give me back my old life.” She stated. “Not an entirely bad trade if you ask me.” The three ponies looked at each other in confusion, not understanding how a royal could despise their own power.

“Small tip for future reference,” Dusk chimed in, “Maybe try and research your target before assuming you know who they are and what will make them fear you, because loss o power isn’t what she fears.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Amethyst snorted, “Whether the rulers of Equestria fear us or not, their power shall crumble, soon followed by the Crystal Empire, then the Zebras, and then the Gryphons.” She spat. “The rulers of these lands are weak and petty and have no earthly right to rule such great nations. The power belongs to their people, whom know what their lands need better than any pony or otherwise that sit on high on a throne of gold, attended by servants day and night without a care save for what their peoples might think of them.”

“So,” Twilight thought, “Basically you lot are a bunch of utopians that see anarchy as the best possible route for peace and tranquility because it cuts the necessity for a supreme ruler that oversees the affairs of their countries?”

“The rulers of the lands do not know what best fits the needs of their countries. If they lived as peasants and understood the common pony as a common pony, then they might actually begin to see what their countries really need.” Morning Gloria stated firmly. “You of all the leaders are suited the best to lead, being raised from a status of lower quality that allowed you to mingle with the commoners before becoming a leader, but even you fall short for your pampered life in Canterlot.”

“You may be the Princess of Friendship,” Dragnet interjected, “But you are no friend to the ponies of Equestria; huddled up in your crystal castle, looking down upon the world with a mere group of six friends, if one may even call them that.”

“What do you mean by ‘if they can even be called my friends’?” Twilight asked pointedly. The three ponies smiled darkly as they looked at the now infuriated alicorn.

“Simply this,” Amethyst replied, “Think of why they became your friends over the course of one evening’s adventures? They knew you were Celestia’s pupil, and so latched onto you in the hope of hitching their wagons on a rising star that they would rise to, and now you are a princess. They see that you really have climbed, and because of their relations to you, they now are parts of a high ruling council.”

“No pony would ever really wish to be friends with a stuck up pony such as you.” Morning Gloria added. “They only stay near you as friends in the hope that one day, they too shall be crowned princesses of Equestria and given their own thrones and castles and kingdoms.”

“They were opportunists,” Dragnet continued,”Nothing more, nothing less. They guessed you, being the princess’ star pupil would lift them up as you rose, and they were ultimately right. But when you lose your throne, your status in the upper echelons of society, you’ll lose them too as they go off to find another star to hitch their wagons to.”

“They are the truest friends a pony could ever have, and they’ll never abandon me, not now, not ever.”Twilight proclaimed while glaring daggers at them. The three ponies shrugged in almost perfect sync.

“No matter what you think, princess, they are mortals.” Amethyst replied, “And mortals have a high tendency to attempt to rise in the world and leave a mark for the entirety of society to see for at least a few decades.”

“Besides, you have already seen them leave you before. It has already happened once, why not again?” Dragnet commented. “Discord’s power was not to corrupt, but to show the true side of ponies, no matter how dark or hateful. Your ‘friends’ are merely holding onto you for as long as you continue to rise or keep them at a high enough level.”

“That isn’t true; they were corrupted by Discord, which was nothing but him flipping their personalities to the reverse.” Twilight refuted.

“Really? Then explain why the reverse of magic is despair?” Morning Gloria asked. “You know as well as any that that assertion doesn’t seem to make much sense. How does magic turn to such a feeling as despair? No, it was him showing the truth behind each pony, giving the world around them a truer look at the pony they thought they knew.”

“Laughter is not but a guise with which to hide anger until the appointed time, kindness is but a wall that can divert eyes from cruelty, loyalty is temporal, while as abandon is permanent, generosity is but a the highest form of greed, a set of motions to make others think higher of you, and honesty is but a method of selecting which points are easier to lie about.” Dragnet stated with a cruel smile. “Magic… well magic is but a façade to block out the despair with commitment to a task that removes the time to truly think about the situation that one is in.”

“If you believe in your ‘friends’,” Amethyst continued, “Then you believe in lies and falsehoods that cover up their true personalities.”

“You try too hard to make me hate you.” Twilight stated, holding back her anger. “If you truly wished to make me hate you, then you are on the right track.” She said while approaching them, taking each step carefully. “But remember this: you are attempting to take away a throne from me I could care less about, but until you succeed I have full power to judge you traitors to Equestria.” She said, stopping mere inches from Dragnet’s muzzle. “And on charges as high treason and attempted usurping of Equestrian royalty you can be hanged and much worse.” The three ponies returned Twilight intense for a few second before Twilight broke off and turned towards the door. “So remember who you are dealing with.”

“I find it all so funny,” Amethyst commented to her comrades with a devilish smile as she made no attempt to hide her voice, “Imagine, we have just been threatened within an inch of our very lives by the embodiment of friendship. Now that is a combination that I can’t but help find ironic.”

“Aye,” Dragnet agreed, “I suppose that it’s as it would be called ‘friendship that kills’.” The three ponies joined together in a laugh that resembled more a chorus of devilish cackling. Twilight knocked on the thick prison door, Dusk walking up behind her as a barrier between her and the prisoners. The dull sound of the lock opening on the other end greeted them before the door finally slid open, revealing a guard that looked nothing like the Royal Guard, which instead had an entirely different set of armor and a white coat and red mane.

“What is the meaning of this, who are you?” Twilight demanded. The pony drew his spear from his side and shot it towards the ponies, but Twilight simply caught the spear in her magic.

“I’m sorry your majesty, but you’ll soon be unable to fight against me.” The guard said sympathetically. “The reflection shall break and you’ll fall to my attacks as the first casualty of this bloody conflict that is simply beginning.” Twilight cracked a wiry smile at him.

“Dusk, did you hear that? I’ll succumb to the broken reflection and be unable to fight back and then he’ll kill me.” She said almost too cheerily. “What do you make of it?” Dusk lowered his cowl, giving the guard the same smile as Twilight.

“You lot really need to do research before attempting to attack somepony in those high echelons of society you were talking about.” He said in a cocky tone. “I suppose I can throw him into this cell with the others?” He asked Twilight.

“Yes, please do, I can’t stand imposters of the guard.” Twilight replied. “Also you might just want to make a one way shield spell; I’m guessing there are more ponies on the other side of this door much like this one.” Dusk nodded and lit his horn, wrapping his magic around the fake guard and lifted him up off the ground and unlatched all the pony’s armor, several daggers, lock picks, and other utensils falling out of certain pieces of the armor.

“Nice try, I’ll give you bonus points for being prepared for situations like what we are in now, but I think you ultimately fail the exam on how to capture an alicorn.” Dusk stated as he levitated the guard across the room and set him down next to the rest of the prisoners. The two alicorns stepped into the passage between the two doors while Dusk put up a shield over the still open door. Twilight looked at the next door and knocked on it. Dusk cleared his throat in anticipation of what would happen next.

“Did you get the job done?” The pony o the other side asked. Dusk smiled as he ushered Twilight to the side and walked up to the door.

“Yeah,” Dusk said in his best impression of the attacker, “As soon as the reflection hit her it got real easy, that other pony with her too.”

“Other pony? You’re telling me that two ponies walked in there and we didn’t know it?” The pony on the other side asked in an exasperated tone. “Who were they?”

“One of the princess’s advisors he said, but he still acted a bit more like a guard than an advisor with that sword of his.” Dusk replied, still imitating their assailant. “Our ponies are fine though, not a scratch from the whole ordeal.” There was silence on the other side for a few seconds, though it was well long enough to make Dusk begin to sweat bullets.

“Alright, I’ll get the door open, hold up.” Dusk finally let out a sigh of relief as the sound of the lock sliding out of its place. The door opened and a flurry of arrows shot at them as the twang of bow string returning to their natural position filled the air. Dusk brought up a second shield and blocked most of the arrows, though some of them made it past, though they thankfully missed.

“Hey what’s the big idea?” Dusk shouted as more and more arrows struck the surface of his shield. “I thought we were chums.”

“Ordeal isn’t a word that my pal would use.” The other guard replied. Dusk looked at him with a curious expression.

“Really? Do you happen to have a dictionary of words to use and to not use when imitating you guys? I’m completely in the dark when it comes to all of this.” Dusk asked as the arrows continued striking against his shield.

“Dusk, would you mind if I could take care of them?” Twilight asked politely. Dusk looked at her with a raised eyebrow, and then shrugged.

“Sure, why not, be my guest.” He said. Twilight nodded before lighting her horn and using her magic to snip the bowstring on each of the archer’s bows. She then enveloped each one in a magic field and took off their armor, finding each as well equipped as the last. Twilight sighed before finally tossing them into the cell with the others. She closed the cell the door behind them, the lock shutting with a resounding thud. Both alicorn walked out of the small passage and locked the second door behind them quickly.

“Well, now we know they have the ability to infiltrate even the highest security area.” Twilight commented while looking at the knocked out guard ponies around them.

“We also know that those ponies in there were in all likelihood not actually believing what they were saying but were just trying to buy time for their comrades to get in and overtake the complex.” Dusk observed. Twilight nodded before making for the door.

“We best leave; the guards will wake up soon enough and be able to take care of the situation in the correct manner.” Twilight said while opening the front door.

“Wait, Twilight,” Dusk shouted after her, trotting up beside her, “I just wanted to make sure of something with you.” Twilight looked at him curiously.

“Yes, what is it, Dusk?” Twilight asked, not knowing what might be bothering him, even with the same mind that had a tendency to think along the same lines.

“It’s about what those ponies said,” Dusk began, “You know that it isn’t the truth right? You know your friends… our friends aren’t like that at all.”

“Of course it wasn’t true, Dusk. Coming from the mouths of delusional ponies I can’t really take it seriously in any way at all.” Twilight replied.

“Good, I just wanted to make sure because you were looking quite upset when we were getting ready to leave.” Dusk explained. “I was worried you might have taken them too seriously. After all, when the lies strike at a chink in our armor they might start making sense and we start thinking that they might be truth.”

“Right, don’t worry. I was only angry because they doubted my friends, and I’m not very fond of ponies bad mouthing other ponies without basis.” Twilight explained. “Now we need to get going. If we are going to stop these ponies we’ll need to understand them better, but at the current moment we know nothing but that they are called the Alliance and are basically utopians that believe anarchy is the way to go to achieve peace in our time.”

“Right, we should head on out.” Dusk agreed. “How about we head over to the docks, see if the guards have anything to report.” He explained. Dusk motioned to the door with a hoof. “You first?”

“Thank you.” Twilight said before walking past and into the fast fading daylight. “We have two days left before refreshers, which now that we have no reflection isn’t a problem, but the time is still ticking for when Equestria begins to… die out.”

“Then we better hurry.” Dusk said as he came out of the door behind Twilight. “If there is no time to waste than we better start making some up on a dead… I mean… a… no good lead.” He corrected himself.

“Very well, the sky chariots might be out, but we still have our wings if it comes to that.” Twilight commented while the two ponies galloped around the side of the building where their chariots had been left before. Sure enough, the pegasi were knocked out and the chariots were broken in several places.

“We should leave them a note explaining what happened and where we are.” Dusk stated. “We don’t need the ponies thinking their missing two princesses now.”

“Yes, that would be no good.” Twilight confirmed. “I’ll write out a quick letter, you start heading towards the port, I’ll catch up.” Dusk nodded and quickly took to the air, though his takeoff was rather unsteady, much like Twilight new her takeoff was. Twilight scratched down a quick note on one of the parchments that was in the chariot and set it in front of one of the ponies’ snout before taking flight herself.