Dusk was approaching very quickly. It was as though Celestia had forgotten that the clocks had sprung ahead, and she was late bringing the sun down, though that was not the case. Twilight admired their handiwork from the air, held aloft by none other than Rainbow Dash. The cyan mare was making a large circle above the town, Twilight carefully calculating the placements of each Light Crystal. As the sun approached the horizon, the Light Crystals’ glow began to become more visible, and off in the distance, fog was rolling in from the Everfree. We should be safe, Twilight thought, her nerves eating at her. That, and the subtle effects of the fog that she had inhaled, before her knowledge of its true nature, was starting to bubble to the surface.

The town clock tower struck a deep, metallic tone. Twice. Thrice...

Four… Five… Five o’clock… Only an hour till dark. Time to make one last run of the checklist… She silently motioned to Rainbow Dash that she wanted to go down. The pegasus slowly descended to the town square, where many ponies were gathering. At the north entrance to the square, a large stage had been set up, wires running its length like a mane. Celestia-sized amps were set up all around, connected to the stage by the mane of wires. Center-stage, a DJ’s turntable was being assembled and fine tuned by what appeared to be a white earth pony with a dual-eight-note cutie mark. Pinkie was nearby, every so often handing this pony a screwdriver or wrench. Twilight smiled, already knowing that this impromptu concert was going to be incredibly loud. Perfect.

“Everything good here, Pinkie?” Twilight asked abruptly. Pinkie looked over, nodded, and turned back to continue watching. Twilight giggled to herself, chalking it up to Pinkie being Pinkie. There must be a better word to describe Pinkie…

She trotted off through the crowd, making her way back to the library. Along the way, she passed virtually everypony that wasn’t in the square already. She grinned with satisfaction.

*

The fog rolled in, swallowing the small town like an amoeba. The only way to see the town was from above, and even that was only possible because of the Light Crystals. Howling and baying echoed through the dark. Growls and hisses spoke to each other, unseen, like robbers in the night. A thunderous tremor rolled from the Everfree through the ground. All of the nocturnal birds took to the sky, fleeing the accursed place. The Shadows sprinted from the Everfree towards Ponyville in droves. Most took the form of large insects, each averaging the size of a pony’s leg. Groups of the insectoids latched onto the wolf-like warriors of the horde, adding their mass and spikes to the warrior’s. Rarer still were those that took the form of ponies. Those that took a pony form looked almost like changelings, save the fact that changelings had visible eyes and insect wings, and the Shadows did not. And every so often, one could see a Shadow in the form of a serpent. They slithered their massive bodies on the ground, the grass beneath them seeming to freeze solid in fear.

A deafening roar pierced the calls of the smaller shadows, silencing them with a force that nopony could comprehend. Well… Nopony but Darq. The black unicorn heard the roar echo through the night. His once grinning face had faltered to naught but a deeply inset scowl of pure, distilled hatred. That thought about possibly not needing You? Yeah… I’m probably going to need You. Darq thought to himself. He used his magic to slip the deactivated ring off his horn, tossing it out the window of his tiny cell.

Just let me know when you need me. I’ll try to not wreck you too much. A separate mental voice replied. After all. It wouldn’t be very beneficial to me to wreck your body like I did that one time…

Aye. I remember. Great to see You still have your humor.

Great to see you still have your magic at full strength.

The two inner voices stopped bickering. Darq chuckled, knowing full well that it was highly probable that he’d have to break out of prison to save everypony’s sorry flanks. Those Light Crystals won’t help if what I think is out there is out there. They’d need the sun for that…

*

Twilight and Rainbow Dash patrolled the rooftops of Ponyville, their horseshoes enchanted to help them grip the slanted roofs. Shadows were lined up just outside the visible range of the Light Crystals. So far, none had attempted to enter, though the two ponies were still very much afraid of the thousands of Shadows lurking just beyond the light. Rainbow Dash shivered slightly, seeing a few insects move along the line. Twilight’s teeth gritted, her night-vision spell allowing her to see just how many there were out there. The numbers did not favor them, and she knew it.

“Did you manage to get the clouds?” Twilight whispered nervously.

“Yeah. I have three storm clouds all charged and ready,” Rainbow Dash replied quietly. “I have three shots on each one before they poof.”

“Good. I see a group of the pony-shaped ones about three out, and two-by-twenty degrees left,” Twilight huffed. “Put a bolt right between them. I want to see if the light and sound will do anything to them.”

The pegasus nodded with an affirmative grunt. She took off, grabbing a cloud just above the fog, and flew forwards for three seconds, making a twenty-degree left turn, and continuing for two seconds. Positioning it just above the group, she stood on the cloud, feeling the built-up charge repel her coat and mane. She grinned devilishly before stomping with all her might on the dark cumulonimbus cloud. A loud crack and bright flash cut through the foggy night air like Celestia’s sun through curtains. The sudden flash of bright, pure light exposed thousands upon thousands of Shadows waiting for a hole to be found. The five pony-shaped Shadows at the center of the strike were nearly blown apart by the bright light and subsequent sonic boom. The five disintegrated into the windless air, the orange glow of embers eating their forms away rapidly. Twilight’s eyes focused in, watching as the Shadows burnt away, but did not burst into flames. Rainbow Dash flew back with the cloud, which was slightly lighter gray than it had been before the strike.

A particularly loud gargle-hiss-growl sounded from behind Twilight. The lavender unicorn turned just in time to see the detective with a total of four insect-form Shadows on his back. His glasses were stained red with blood, and his normally spiky yellow mane was dripping with blood. The detective took one look at the unicorn, crumbling like gravel to the rooftop. The pony’s form was eaten away by a green flame, his once red coat replaced with the black carapace of changeling hide. The teal eyes of the changeling looked up, its deformed horn using a spell, setting itself alight. The four insects on its back burst into flames, now appearing as demons from Tartarus itself. The fog’s toxins, combined with the hellish scene before them snapped Rainbow Dash and Twilight like twigs. They screamed at the top of their lungs, turning and bucking the flaming insects with their iron horseshoes.

The flames died immediately, and the sound of fizzing could be heard from the insects. The two that had been hit were now solidifying in place, starting from the point of contact. The other two watched in rage as their partners had been de-capacitated in front of them. The fizzing stopped, having solidified the head and front legs of the insects. The two that could still freely move were quickly put into a similar state by a double-hooved double-stomp from Rainbow Dash. The two insects were crushed beneath the force of the cyan pegasus dropping from twenty meters above them. The insects she landed on dried up, and crumbled to rubble beneath her horseshoes.

“How did they get in?!” Twilight panted, hysteria prevalent in her voice. “They shouldn’t have been able to slip past the Light Crystals!”

“I think that changeling detective is behind this,” Rainbow Dash coughed. “Either way, that was TOTALLY FREAKY!”

“We have to assume that they’ve found a way in. We have to warn the others!” Twilight huffed, hyperventilating more fog into her lungs.

Rainbow Dash pursed her lips. Dang it, Twilight. I didn’t want to do this to you… Her right wing extended, as if she was about to take off. She brought it down, bending its course to intersect with Twilight’s panicking face. The slap nearly knocked Twilight off the roof, having enough force to actually take off. “Twilight. Calm down. Breathe slowly. Remember what Darq said about the fog.”

“I know, Rainbow…” she sighed, bringing her lungs back into conscious thought. “Let’s get moving.”

Author's Note

Well, everypony. It's been quite a while since last chapter. I do believe that this sudden twist was quite worth it. After all. Who actually liked the Detective in the first place? I sure didn't. I created him for the sole purpose of being this story's douchebag.

Anywho, I'm working on Chapter 11 as we speak, so it shouldn't be long before Chapter 11 comes too. There will be exactly 13 chapters, and an epilogue if I so feel like it.

Thank you all for the kind reviews and comments and for tolerating my noobishness! I love each and every one of you. For that, I'll give you the ending of the Century. :3

-DarqFox

SPOILER ALERT
(P.S: For those of you who love Vinyl; she gets some screen-time in the next chapter, and she's completely BosS-tastic. You're welcome.)