Shining in the Darkness

After the party was over a couple hours after Shining Armor’s announcement, Twilight Sparkle and the other Element bearers (as well as Spike) met with her brother at the Ponyville library to discuss the situation.

“So what you’re saying,” Spike asked the guard Captain, “is that three hours ago, this strange unicorn just waltzed right into the palace, got past almost all the security, and kicked the Vault Guard’s flank. He was this close to stealing Discord’s statue when you arrived on the scene, knocked him out, and locked him in the castle dungeon?”

Shining Armor sighed. Yes, that’s what I just finished explaining, he was thinking. What he actually said was, “Yes, Spike. At first, I wasn’t sure, but…”

“WAIT!” Pinkie Pie interrupted. “Why would he ‘waltz’ into the palace? Personally, I think he’d have been a lot sneakier if he had, I dunno, done the foxtrot or salsa or something.”

“I… er… what?” Shining Armor was flabbergasted. “Is she always like this?” he whispered to Twilight, who was standing next to him as he was explaining the situation.

“Just roll with it,” Twilight whispered back. Then she spoke up. “From what my brother tells me, this mysterious unicorn may have been using chaos magic in an attempt to break Discord from his stone prison.”

“Chaos… magic? Oh, my… that sounds… scary…” Fluttershy whispered.

“It should,” Shining Armor said, “because a draconequus like Discord is supposed to be the only type of creature capable of using chaos magic.”

“Well, obviously there’s somepony else who can, and we need to teach this guy a lesson!” Rainbow Dash got into her “put ‘em up” gesture, eager for a fight as she began heading for the door to fly straight to Canterlot.

“Hold on there, pardner,” Applejack pulled on Dash’s tail to stop her. “We don’t even know what chaos magic is.”

“Actually, I’ve been doing some research,” Shining Armor explained, which surprised Twilight, who didn’t figure her brother had as much time for studying as she did. “It seems that chaos magic is used by manipulating chaos energy, which is itself created by feelings of, well, chaos and disharmony. Canterlot scientists believe that the seal on Discord’s prison had been weakening over time. When the three fillies whom I believe call themselves the ‘Cutie Mark Crusaders’ began fighting in front of Discord’s statue approximately nine months ago, it created just enough chaos energy for him to break free.”

“Hang on!” Rarity exclaimed. “Those three are responsible for Discord’s initial escape? Oh, of all the worst possible things, this is THE. WORST. POSSIBLE. THING!” She then did her usual fainting thing, naturally pulling a fainting couch from out of sight.

“Um… okay, then,” Shining Armor said, thinking, Man, Twily has some weird friends. He continued his explanation. “Anyway, as I was saying, if three little fillies getting into a petty squabble could generate enough chaos energy after the seal had been weakening, imagine how much chaos energy could be created during, say, a full-scale invasion of Canterlot in order to break a freshly strengthened seal.”

Twilight gasped. “Shining, are you saying…”

“Yes,” her brother said, “there was more to the Changeling invasion then simply impersonating the pony I love, using my feelings as little more than nourishment, and feeding off the love of all of Canterlot…” he trembled at the memory of how the Changeling queen Chrysalis had tricked him into shunning his little sister. “We now have reason to believe that somepony may have told Chrysalis that Canterlot was the best source of love she could find, with the intent of creating enough chaos energy to free Discord once again. Fortunately, it doesn’t seem to have worked. After I captured the intruder, I had one of the guards cast a spell that allowed me to see how strong the seal was. It’s a little weaker, but it would take a lot more chaos energy to completely break it.”

“Which brings me to the reason I’m here. The six of you need to come with me to Canterlot and use the Elements to re-strengthen the seal on Discord, just in case that unicorn tries anything.”

“So what are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, dashing off to head to the Friendship Express.

“Wait, Pinkie Pie,” Twilight stopped her. “If the intruder can really use chaos magic, then he can probably escape any time he wants to. We need a faster way to get to Canterlot… Shining Armor. How exactly did you get here so quickly?”

“Easy, I used my special Captain’s Chariot,” Shining Armor replied. “It can take us a distance of up to 1,000 miles in about an hour. We’ll just take it right back to Canterlot so I can question the intruder some more and you girls can make sure the seal’s still strong.”

“Okay, girls, let’s go!” Twilight exclaimed.

“Hey! What about me?” Spike asked, not wanting to be left out.

“Spike, you’re staying here,” Twilight said to the baby dragon. “If this unicorn can really use chaos magic, I don’t want you getting hurt.”

Spike huffed. “Fine…” he grumbled. “But pick up some donuts at Joe’s shop before you come back, okay?”

“I’ll be sure to remember that,” Twilight replied, smiling. Then she turned to her brother. “So where’s this Captain’s Chariot of yours?”

“Oh, I parked it outside,” Shining Armor replied. “I should warn you, though, it can get pretty rough.”

“…Huh?”

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Twilight had seen her brother’s chariot once before, shortly after his wedding. Shining had told her then that it didn’t need a team of pegasi to pull it, but he hadn’t elaborated beyond that. Now that she and her friends were riding it themselves, she knew exactly why.

The Voyager class chariot, code-named Crystallux, had been built by the Equestrian Military Science Division. It could change size to seat from eight to twenty-four ponies, and was equipped with two twin engines protruding out the back, which ran on pure rainbow water.

“Very fuel-efficient,” Shining explained before they got on.

And fast, Twilight thought, her face turning a light shade of green. If she didn’t know that it was physically impossible for ponies to vomit, she would’ve done so. She turned to look in the seats around her and noticed that most of her friends were having a similar experience. Fluttershy was shivering in the back seat, as if afraid that it would crash at any moment. Applejack had a death grip on her hat, and Rarity was fainting repeatedly. Rainbow Dash, on the other hand, had donned a pair of sunglasses and was now bobbing her head to the loud rock music blaring from the chariot’s stereo, and Pinkie Pie cheered with her usual enthusiasm.

“Hey, Shining!” Twilight yelled over the roar of the engines. “Before today, when was the last time you flew this thing?”

“Actually, this is a prototype!” Shining replied, grinning like a foal on Hearth’s Warming Eve. “It’s never been flown before today!”

“WHAT?!”

“All right, we should be there in about… five minutes!” Shining yelled as Canterlot Castle came into view.

“W-w-w-wow!” Pinkie exclaimed. “Usually, the Friendship Express takes about…” She paused, frowning. “Actually, it’s kind of inconsistent. I mean, usually, when we need to get to Canterlot quickly, it only takes about an hour, but when we were what the episode requires…” She started smiling again. “Gee, I sure hope that this thing doesn’t get damaged to the point where we can’t use it when we need to go someplace far away!”

“What was that?” Shining yelled. “Oh, look, we’re here! Hold on tight!” He began shifting gears to bring the chariot in for landing.