Internal Darkness

by Silver Sorcerer

Chapter 35

Disclaimer: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and all associated characters, settings and stories are the rightful subjects of Hasbro, the HUB, Studio B, and Lauren Faust.

Chapter 35

With his new look and power Magicon knew what he had to do. His own apprentice had betrayed him and it stung harder than anything. He had never felt any disloyalty like this and he was determined to make her pay. There would be no mercy with her; there would be no forgiveness; there would be no love.

Regardless if he or anypony knew it, Twilight had changed him. She removed the last of his kindness and warmth; replaced by his cruelty and malice.

"Twilight never had the dark mark. Why did I bother trying to teach her? What would I have gained? Nothing. I would have gained and learned nothing. So instead of just ignoring her I turned her against me. Well, no matter. She is not a threat. One word about Celestia will throw her over the edge and cause a mental breakdown. She will not harm me. But I need to get back to Red-Blood's plan. As long as Cadance lives the plan is unfulfilled."

He had teleported back to his room with his new power and new look. He grabbed his ancient spell book, opened it, and began loudly conjuring the tracing spell.

"This will find my apprentice. He or she is out there somewhere."

A dark haze surrounded him, filling the room, as he finished the spell. It felt electrified and full of dark energy, much like the lightning that had recently passed through him.

The haze moved slowly but Magicon could tell it was settling on the floor, like a large carpet. As it set various peaks rose from and depressions caved in it. A variety of greens, blues, and browns colored the haze and Magicon soon realized that this haze was creating a large map of Equestria. It folded around the furniture, covering it with various colors, names, and landmarks.

Magicon, however, was not covered by the haze as it silently passed around him onto the floor beneath his hooves, becoming clearer and more detailed every second.

He could make out the gray and purple mountains surrounding Canterlot, its small golden spires glowing against its spectacular backdrop. He could see the vast green plains dotted with small towns and villages. The Mild West with its wind sculpted rocks lay beyond with a shining blue sea beyond. In the cities, small columns of smoke rose from the factories and Magicon realized that this wasn't an ordinary map; it was a gods-eye present-day view of Equestria.

Everything he was seeing was live and occurring right this minute. If a robbery was occurring in a city Magicon could see it and describe the thief in record time. If a forest fire was to start Magicon could direct the necessary resources to put it out before it spread.

"So this is how they did it," he said as he gazed over the map. He couldn't see ponies at this range but he knew they were there. Millions of ponies under his control. This was his Equestria and he smiled as he examined it.

"I wonder why they never used this more. Oh wait, none of them were ruling Equestria. They thought that this was only needed to keep an eye on the princesses and their masters and apprentices."

As his eyes scanned the map a sparkle in the right corner demanded his attention. Turning towards it, Magicon watched in careful observation as the sparkle shone above the growing city of Tramplevania on the Eastern edge of Equestria. The city began expanded as the rest of the map began shrinking. It occurred to Magicon that he was zooming in on the city. Its buildings became more detailed and he could see the streets in this new birds-eye view of the city.

But the zooming didn't stop with the city; it hovered over it for a few brief seconds before expanding to a small townhouse just outside the center of the city. A three-story brick structure appeared but it was neither impressive nor remarkable. It was just a simple building that a family called home. The walls on the outside dissolved and Magicon saw four ponies inside: a earth pony stallion reading a newspaper, a female pegasus, presumably his wife, in the kitchen alongside a maid. On the second floor Magicon saw a small foal staring at the ceiling. From her looks, she couldn't be older than ten but something was special about her.

Magicon could see it in her golden eyes. She seemed to be thinking, though what she thought about was only known to her. Her eyes were lost in concentration but behind that concentration Magicon could see something very dark lay inside her. She would be the next one. She would complete Mission 21.

"Well, that's most helpful," he said as the map slowly dissolved around him and returned to its mist that dissipated. His room was untouched by the spell as he looked around making sure that the spell ad not left any permanent damages.

Satisfied that it didn't Magicon closed his book, took extra time to lock it multiple times, and threw it behind his pillow.

"I know it's not the best place, but it'll have to do. So what if somepony discovers it? They know not to go through my stuff and if they do well…well, let's just say I hope they enjoyed what they saw," he said with a smirk.

He rose from his bed and exited his room. It was time for Equestria to see the new him. It was time for his throne to truly carry the pony it was meant to hold.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Time was lost in those dungeons. But for Twilight and Shining Armor it didn't matter. She guessed that she had been down there a day, maybe two. With no sunlight she had nothing to gauge the time against. It was so dark down there and Twilight often felt like it was hopeless. But it couldn't be. She had found her brother, though beaten, hurt, and bitter, yet very much alive. She had discovered the truth about Magicon and she needed to tell her friends. The longer they associated with him, the more dangerous it became.

"Shining?"

"Yes, Twilly?"

"We have to get out of here."

"I know. But as you know, I am chained and can't conjure magic."

"But I'm not."

"Then you must get out and go find your friends. Don't bother with me. I'll just be a liability."

"No, Shining. I'm not leaving you. We're going together. You have an interest in this too."

"I know but it's just too risky."

"We're both in maximum security cells. We'll be treated the same if either one of us escapes alone. We need to escape together. When was the last time we really did something as brother and sister?"

Shining fell silent, pondering the question. "Too long ago," he mourned.

"Exactly! We need to get out! My friends, your wife are in danger. Magicon must be stopped before he does anymore harm to anypony!"

"I guess you're right, Twilight. But what exactly can we do? You're magic can't break through these walls and that door."

"It might, if we work together." Her horn began glowing brighter and Shining covered his eyes from the growing illumination.

"What are you doing?"

"Just…hold…on." He did and, in less then a minute, blocks of stone were falling from the wall separating the two siblings. Mortar liquefied and slipped down the stones. Surprisingly, the only sound that could be heard was the slow descent of the stones which gently fell to the floor, quietly and slowly collapsing on top of one another.

As the wall fell, more light was let in between the two ponies, illuminating the truth filth of the cells. Shining kept his eyes covered while Twilight closed hers to concentrate on her spell. With a last effort the last block gave way allowing the remaining wall to crumble on to itself. As her light faded Shining observed that a large hole now existed where the wall had once been.

Twilight slowly stepped through, carefully avoiding the slippery mortar and uneven surfaces of the stones. These were centuries old, and had not been moved since the day they had been laid. Evidently these were not designed to impress anypony, but to contain the worst criminals in Equestria. Twilight could only guess how many ponies had languished in these cells before her and her brother.

Her horn still cast a light, like an unwavering flame as she stepped into Shining's cell. She turned and gazed over her brother, unfazed by his disgusting appearance. Tears immediately filled her eyes and she rushed toward him, jumping into his hoofs. She ignored the dirt and grime that was now covering her. She ignored the putrid smell as he hugged her brother.

Shining shed his tears as well.

"I missed you so much, Twilly," he consoled.

"I missed you too. You're so cold."

"I know. But you're all the warmth I need."

They continued hugging for a few minutes, savoring each others presence and their strong sibling bond. Nothing could tear them apart. Magicon had failed to end their relationship. His plans would fail, they would see to that.

After hugging Twilight rose and began working on Shining's iron chains. She worked quickly, trying not to hurt him. The chains were large and ancient but they were not magically sealed, a major advantage for her.

As she broke them Shining rubbed his hooves and stretched them out. It had been so long since he was free. He was no longer bound to any wall or to anypony. He was now an escaped criminal, which meant he was beholden to nopony. He could make Magicon pay for his crimes and he would. But there was one problem: his horn was still encased in iron.

Twilight went to work trying to break it but found that her magic was having no effect on it.

"This is strange. It won't respond to my magic."

"I think that's the point. After all, it's meant to keep unicorns from using their magic."

"You can't use yours, right?"

"Correct. I feel my horn there but I can't activate it. It feels like dead weight."

"Hmm…well if I can't get that off you than we're going to have a real problem."

"I know. But there has to be someway. Everything has a weakness. Keep trying."

"I will." She continued examining the iron, noting that it was much more elaborate than the simple chains. It was clearly made of expensive metals, though Twilight had no idea what kind and what percentage. She did notice a keyhole and examined it carefully. Much like the rest of the chains, it had rusted, meaning that it probably could be broken.

Taking in its measurements, Twilight began conjuring a key in her mind. It was a simple design and easy to replicate. She only hoped that would be enough. Finishing her conjuring the key appeared right before her and she telekinetically inserted it into the whole. Although it fit, it wouldn't turn. She tried turning it, both with hooves and magic, yet it would not respond. Shining tried as well, but found he didn't have anymore strength than Twilight. Months of anguishing had sapped his strength. His once large and athletic muscles had deflated. He was weaker and couldn't do it.

"Twillly, I…can't. Look at me; I'm half the pony I was before."

"It's nothing food and exercise can't fix. Right?"

"Yeah…"

"Come on, Shining. You need to be brave. Be strong. Do it for Cadance. She loves you. Regardless of what happened between you and Magicon your love for her will never extinguish. It's what's been driving you to continue living. You haven't given up. You're not a quitter."

Though Twilight had encouraged him like this in the past, something about it now had more of an impact. Maybe it was their condition. Maybe it was her desire to do justice. Maybe it was their love.

"Keep trying," he encouraged.

"I will. Maybe if I try this approach." She began pushing on the key, trying to force it to turn. Shining winced at the pressure and the pain on his horn, but did not yell. He knew that there would have to be pain and struggles to succeed. He could withstand it. Cadance would want him to and his sister was doing the right thing. He would do it for them.

As Twilight pushed on the key she swore she could feel something giving way. Deciding to give it an extra push she charged up her magic and, with her pushing, put more pressure on the key and the lock. The rust began chipping away revealing the smooth metal underneath. The key responded to the smooth metal and slowly began turning under the magical and physical pressure.

Finally it clicked and Twilight, with everything she had, pulled the chain off of Shining Armor. He fell backwards and put a hoof to his horn. It was still there, unlike the unicorns from long ago, and he tested it with a simple levitation spell. His magenta magic flowed perfectly.

"We did it, Shining!"

"No, you did it, Twilight. Thank you."

They hugged once again as Shining began cleaning himself. Twilight gazed over at the door now holding them.

"We have to break it. It won't be easy."

"When did I tell you it would be?" he teased giving her a small noogie.

"Well, what should we do?"

"You need to stand back. I don't want you to get hurt."

"You know what you're doing?"

He nodded and Twilight stepped aside, allowing Shining full access to the door. His horn began glowing and he slowly began working at the doors massive hinges. It quickly occurred to Twilight that he wasn't going to blast the door open, he was going to simply take it off his hinges and bang it open.

The screws and nails were massive and ancient, but Shining continued to work with it. He started with the top hinges and felt them loosen and fall to the floor. The mid-level ones were tough, as they bore the most pressure. They were misshaped, but they were still susceptible to magic. They fell as well. The final ones were just as easy as the first and fell only a few inches to the floor.

Once the door had been loosened, Shining turned back to his sister, a satisfied look on his face. Twilight beamed at his success.

"Now, here comes the fun part," he spoke in hushed tones, knowing that with an unhinged door sound was easier to escape.

"When I open that door I want you to run and knock as many guards out as you can. I don't know how many are on the other side but I won't be able to do it on my own in this weak condition."

"I got it, BBBFF. I can do it."

"Don't hesitate. Even if you delay an attack by a second, it's a second they can use against you. Though we have the element of surprise they'll be stronger and more trained than us. We have to be smart and fast. Once you stopped the guard, find the way out."

"What about Cadance?"

"I have no idea where she is. As much as it pains me, I'm not getting thrown back in here looking for her. We'll be back for her. I promise."

"Alright."

He put his hoof on her shoulder. "I know it's hard. But you have to think of the circumstances. If you continually worry about others, you won't be able to worry about yourself. These guards will be trying to kill you. We have to save ourselves before we can save others. What good would we be to Cadance if we died?"

She sighed. "You're right, Shining, I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Now come on, we've got a country to save."

They both approached the door and Shining gestured Twilight to the side.

"Just be ready to run," he said as he put his back to the door.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Angling himself with the middle of the door he did a few slow air-bucks just to make sure his aim was good. When he was satisfied he took a deep breath and, with everything he had, bucked the door.

Though being weaker, Shining still had considerable strength and the door responded by flying into the hall with a loud crash and smoke. The guards jumped at the doors removal and fell backwards.

"Go!" Shining yelled as they fell over. Twilight wasted no time and ran out the door, her horn ready for any guards. She didn't look back but hoped that her brother was right behind her. As she ran down the hallway she could hear guards yelling and scrambling to make sense of what as going on. But they faded as she continued running.

'Let's see, how did I get down here?" she thought as her mind tried to retrace her steps from earlier. Magicon had dragged her down through these corridors, corridors that she never had seen before. She was too emotional at the time to remember the way she came, but this was Twilight. She was always good at solving puzzles and mazes. When she came to a corner, she took a moment to glance behind her.

Although the halls were dimly lit she could see Shining running up behind her. Behind him was completely dark. She guessed he must've taken some extra measures to surprise the guards at their cells.

"You alright?" she asked.

"Yup. You?"

"Fine."

"Which way?"

"I…don't know."

Shining looked at her in shock. "You've got to be kidding me?"

"I'm…not. I'm sorry, Shining. I was too emotional to remember how I got down here."

"Great. Now we're lost and will probably be captured."

"Don't give up so easily."

"Well, how do you propose we get out of here?"

"I'll figure something out."

"Halt!" a guard shouted grabbing the sibling's attention. He was directly behind them. Probably emerging from some other corridor and immediately charged at them.

"Well, you better figure something out quick!" ordered Shining as he and Twilight took off down a corridor with the guard in pursuit.

Spells suddenly started flying but Shining was quick to cast a shield to block them. He cast his own spells at the guard who dodged them as they ran down the hallway. As they ran Twilight figured the worst possible thing would be for them to reach a dead end. Even going in circles would be better than being cornered by the guards. Deciding that it was the best move Twilight pulled Shining Armor down another hallway with the guard in pursuit.

They galloped past empty cells and dimly lit torches that flickered s they rushed past. Twilight managed to glimpse that these weren't maximum security cells. They were doors, but had large barred windows in the front.

"Shining, these are cells for less dangerous criminals!"

"Great! So, what does that mean?"

"We're getting closer to the exit!"

She ran ahead of Shining and looked down the corridors, trying to find cells that looked less secure than these. When she found the opened bar ones, she ran down it with Shining and the guard in pursuit.

"Hold on, Twi!" he yelled as she stopped and turned around.

"Shining, what are you-" she was cut-off by Shining's direct charge at the guard, tackling him to the ground and knocking him out with a quick bash of his skull.

Turning back to his sister, he ran past her, giving her the cue to follow him. With no guards pursing them at the moment, they slowed down to a quick jog, catching their breaths.

"We…could be close," staggered Twilight. She looked down a few more hallways to see them either be dead-ends or filled with cells.

The looked down one and saw that the torches were newer than the rest of them. Agreeing to walk down it the two kept their eyes peeled for any guards. But this corridor had no cells and a large door at the end.

"Hopefully, this is it" said Shining as he put his hoof to the doorknob and opened it.

Instead of seeing the entrance they had hoped for the two came face-to-face with their worst nightmare. Inside the room were the Night Guards, at least twenty of them. They were all awake and when they saw the two prisoners they scrambled to action, grabbing their weapons and helmets and throwing spells at them.

Shining rapidly shut the door and the two ran back up the corridor as the guards chased after them.

"Wrong door!" he yelled as they ran down more corridors desperately trying to escape the guards. They were fast and Shining and Twilight were quickly losing energy. His shield was beginning to fade and Twilight was forced to create her own shield to protect herself. The speed of the guards was either increasing or theirs was decreasing. Twilight couldn't tell, she just had to get out.

"This way!" she yelled as the rounded another corner and down more hallways. They kept making quick turns to confuse and potentially stop the guards but nothing could shake them. They knew this labyrinth too well.

Turning another corner the two saw that it was like the one that led to the guard's chamber except it was shorter and much older. She could tell that these stones were not the ones like the rest in the dungeons. What made it more convincing was the two guards charging at them with a large wooden door behind them.

"This is it!" Twilight yelled as they both ran towards the oncoming guards.

"You take those two and I'll take this group!" Shining yelled as he turned around and began blasting at the guards behind them. Loud bangs and cracks filled the air as stones shook and chips of stone fell from the walls and ceilings.

Twilight charged directly at the two guards but teleported right behind them and bucked them before they could lay a hoof on her. She had used this trick many times and it never failed. She hit them a few more times before one of them tackled her to the ground. She quickly blasted him off of her and sent a paralysis spell directly at him. The other was already unconscious and Twilight quickly ran to the door.

Blasting it open with her magic she yelled for Shining who responded with a loud avalanche of stones crashing on the guards. He quickly followed her through the entrance blasting the guards at the entrance and charging up the stairs.

Twilight didn't slow down as she ran up the stairs. She could hear her brother's loud hoofsteps behind her as they ran. When they reached the top, she waited only a few seconds for her brother before bucking the door.

It took three bucks but it fell to her hooves and they ran into the glittering halls of the palace. The sun shone off the polished marble, causing them to close their eyes for a moment. Despite the sun's presence, there was nopony in the hallway. They allowed themselves a moments rest to catch their breath.

"It won't be long before the Royal Guard knows of our escape," Twilight panted.

"I know. So, where do we go?"

"I…I…know!" she screamed and ran down another hallway as a baffled Shining scrambled to catch up with her.

"Where are we going?"

"To the one pony who will help us," she yelled as she ran down the hallways past astonished servants and surprised guards, none of which made a move against them. Twilight remembered that Rarity had offered her services to Twilight. Even if she wasn't in her room, Twilight knew she could count on Rarity to help her.

They ran down more hallways and up a tower until they reached the door to Rarity's room. The two Royal Guards were shocked to see them but their reaction gave Twilight and Shining the necessary time to take them out before they could lay a hoof on either one of them.

With the guards subdued they banged on her door, hoping that she was inside or at least somepony was. They needed their help and fast.

Comments

[Kazigami]

Watch it be Magicon inside or something