Darkness Abound

by thefulkboy1

7-Twilight Sparkle

“Twilight dear, you really need to relax and go out tonight,” Rarity said as Twilight lifted the massive stack of books. “It isn’t good to work all day and night like you do.”

Twilight chuckled sheepishly. “No, I really have to finish this research for Equilarsous. But thanks for the offer. Maybe tomorrow.”

“You always say that. ‘Thanks for the offer. Maybe tomorrow.’ It’s almost as tiring as watching you work.” Twilight nodded, but she hadn’t really heard her. Rarity was right about one thing, though: Twilight Sparkle was tired, and she really needed her rest. But Twilight knew she needed to get the work done. She needed the money, and Equilarsous always needed something read, or something organized. He was terrible at those things.

“Well, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow,” Twilight sighed, opening the door with her magic. “Same time, right?”

“Yes, same time…” Rarity’s voice trailed off as she stared out the window. “On second thought, maybe you should stay here. Just for a few minutes, please?”

“Why?” Twilight asked, glancing outside. There wasn’t anything out of the normal. Just the normal rabble of life in Canterlot.

“Those… goons are back,” Rarity snarled, pointing a hoof at a group of large, tough-looking ponies. There were five of them, all equipped with some type of weapon. Their manes were all dyed blood red, with streaks of black through them. One of them, the largest and most menacing of the five, had a metallic leg and glowing red eyes. A cyborg.

Twilight stared quizzically at them, and Rarity said, “They call themselves the ‘True Royal Guard’. They cause so much mischief around here, I have to close my shop just to keep them away!” Rarity snorted and shook her head. “Their bad for business, I tell you. Oh… if only there was somepony who could stop them…” Twilight watched the five ponies for a few seconds and said, “I could talk to them if you want me to.”

“What?!?!” Rarity screeched. “Why would you do such a thing? Do you want to get killed? Or worse…” She shuddered.

“Don’t worry about me, Rarity, I’ll be fine.” Twilight set the books down and told Rarity to watch them for her.

“Watch them? Why don’t I just keep them?!” she cried, shooting away from the door. “Just keep them away from my store, Twilight!”

Twilight shook her head and stepped outside. The loud sounds of Canterlot filled her ears, almost deafening compared to the silence in Rarity’s shop. She began towards the five thuggish ponies when one of them noticed her and nudged the cyborg. He glanced at her and chuckled. As he began toward her, the other four followed behind him. He was obviously the leader.

“Well, well, well” the cyborg growled, stopping a few inches away from Twilight. “What do we have here? Some sexy pony lookin’ for a good time?”

“No, not at all,” Twilight said, smiling slightly. “I’ve just come to tell you that you aren’t welcome on this street.”

“Eh?” the cyborg glared at Twilight with his red eyes. “Says who? Some small, bitchy pony like you? ‘Cause I tell you, we ain’t gonna listen. Now get lost.”

“I don’t think so,” Twilight responded. “And I am not some small, bitchy pony. I am Twilight Sparkle, the royal librarian and personal friend of King Equilarsous.”

The cyborg snorted. “Equilarsous, eh? That bastard turned me into what you see standing before you.” Twilight stared at his leg. Had Equilarsous really done that? …No, the King wouldn’t do such a thing. He was a good pony, a brave pony. He wouldn’t do that.

He continued. “Tell me… how can you work for such a wretched creature?” He spat on the ground beside him and stared at Twilight. “Did he brainwash you like he did the entire land?” Twilight stared at the cyborg and shook her head. How could these ponies hate Equilarsous so much?

“Why… why are you talking about our king like that?”

The cyborg let out a roaring laugh. “Our king? Have you seen Ponyville recently? Have you seen how terrible it is compared to this place? Do you even remember what it was like?!” Twilight stared at the cyborg, a terrified expression on her face. Who was this pony? He pulled back and snorted. “No, of course you don’t, Twilight. You left before anything happened. So did Rainbow Dash and Rarity. They’re just like you, I would guess. Stupid. Brainwashed.”

“Who… who are you?” Twilight questioned. “How do you know me and my friends?”

The cyborg sighed but said nothing. One of his buddies nudged him and said, “Just kill her, dude. She isn’t worth shit.” He glanced at the others, then bent down and whispered in Twilight’s ear, “Do you really want to know why I hate Equilarsous? He killed Cadence.” He turned to face his comrades.

“Brothers, this is my sister, Twilight Sparkle. She is the one who saved our empire, and she can save it again.”

“What are you talking about?” one of the others piped up. “This bitch is your sister? The one with the baby dragon who saved the Crystal Empire from Sombra?”

The cyborg nodded. “She can help us, but we need to get her-“ His speech was cut short by the shouts of guards. There was a whistling noise, and two of the ponies fell to the ground, dead. The cyborg glanced to his left, saw a mass of guards flying toward them, and yelled, “No good! You two, get out of here! Twilight, follow me. You’ve been seen with us, so you’re dead to them.” The two remaining ponies surged away from the scene, and the cyborg galloped away. “Come with me, Twilight, or you’ll get killed!”

Twilight was deciding on not going with him, until a silver bullet whizzed past her, nearly hitting her face. They were shooting at her.

Twilight ran to catch up with the cyborg, who grinned and nodded when he saw her. “That’s good, Twi! You’re not a total loss!”

“Who are you!?” Twilight yelled.

“Isn’t it obvious?” the cyborg responded. “I’m your brother!” He jumped into the air, and something rose from his back. He wrapped his forelegs around Twilight’s body and she was lifted into the air. He was flying.

As they sped away from Canterlot, bullets flew past them, and a few Pegasus tried to grab them and pull them out of the air. But the cyborg managed to shake them, and they finally escaped their pursuers.

The cyborg lowered Twilight to the ground, and he landed gracefully. Twilight watched at the bronze jets folded neatly into his back.

“Shining Armor?” Twilight questioned him. He nodded, saying, “I know I don’t look the way I did, but that’s just what happens when you’re the enemy of a powerful ruler.”

Twilight noticed that his accent had changed. When she asked him about it, he said, “That was my street accent. I know I wasn’t exactly… nice to you, Twi, but that’s just how ponies treat each other these days.” Twilight nodded. She understood that. Lately, everypony was acting strange, treating each other wrong… she felt it had to do something with the sudden disappearance of Celestia and Luna, but Equilarsous had told her nothing was wrong, and she believed him.

He had been wrong, it seemed.

Shining Armor glanced to the north, toward the Crystal Empire. “We should get going, before Equilarsous learns of our presence.”

“Doesn’t he already know?”

Shining Armor grinned. “Twilight, there are a lot of things Equilarsous doesn’t know. Now let’s go.”

Comments

[Rainbow87dash]

YEAH!! badass Shining Armor