Wrapping some strings around the crystal, Darq secured it to the end of a stick. He took it in his mouth, carrying it carefully. “This might just save your town by the end of the week.”

Twilight frowned slightly. This pony is nothing but confusion.

“Yes, Twilight Sparkle. Ponyville is in grave danger,” he whispered.

“Oi! Black unicorn! We need to ask you a few questions,” a low voice called from the alley entrance.

“Then why not just come up and ask, like my friend, here?” Darq called back, placing the crystal-on-a-stick between himself and his saddlebags.

“Formalities,” came the detective’s voice. The red-coated unicorn pony walked leisurely down the alley, towards the two unicorns. His yellow mane was spiked up, and his glasses were pressed upon his face. “Darq, is it?”

“Aye,” Darq replied, nonchalantly. “That would be me.”

“We have to ask you a few questions as part of an investigation. And as much as I’d like to ask them here and save myself twenty minutes, formalities and protocols prevent me from doing so. Might I ask you to come with us, so we can get this over with?” the detective sighed.

“Well, I would love to answer your questions, detective,” Darq answered, “but I’m rather pressed for time. I have somewhere that I need to go, and somepony that I need to visit.”

“Oh?” the detective mocked. “That’s just adorable. I was really hoping not to have to use this.” He reached into his saddlebag, pulling a document from it. “This is an arrest warrant, Mr. Darq. I wouldn’t want an arrest going on your record. Especially for a felony like assault.” He put the paper back in his saddlebag. Twilight grimaced. Darq smirked.

“So. It’s either come quietly, or be arrested, eh?” Darq chuckled. His smirk revealed the glimmer of a golden fang. “By the way, you spelled my name wrong. It’s spelled with a ‘Q’ not a ‘K.’”

Without a second’s notice, Darq teleported behind the guards. However, he failed to account for the armored ponies actually being on the ball. One tackled him within two seconds, bringing Darq to the ground. Summoning a strength unknown to the Guards, he stood, lifting the heavy Guard with him, as if the pony was a school-colt and his armor was made of tin foil. The second Guard tackled Darq a second time, bringing him to his knees. His smirk only grew, as his horn began glowing. The two Guards that were now clinging to him like leeches were picked up as if they were nothing. Seeing the investigator walking towards him, Darq threw the two Guards at the red-coated pony, sprinting off before he could admire his handiwork.

A loud whistle echoed throughout Ponyville, Guards at all stations now on high alert from the signal. Darq ‘looked’ around the crowded market-place he was now in. He saw three Guards at the north entrance, which made him scowl. He ‘looked’ at the other four entrances, seeing three Guards at each one. “Curses,” he growled under his breath. He looked at the skyline. There was a lookout Guard on the rooftops above each entrance to the market-place. In the air, three pegasus Guards flew circles around the place.

He ‘looked’ around, through the crowd of ponies. While he was looking at the skyline, one had recognized him, and was now approaching at an uncomfortable rate. He turned and ran, bringing forth a sharp whistle from the Guard, and much unwelcome attention. With about seven Guards on his tail, and two in the air tracking him from above, he knew he was screwed, but he enjoyed the chase. He sprinted straight through the north entrance, jumping over the two remaining posted Guards. They soon joined the others in the chase, bringing his Guard total to nine. The Guards on his tail were inching closer, and Darq knew it. He passed another intersection, jumping over a group of ponies that were in his way. The Guards however, went around the group that had stopped in their tracks when Darq jumped over them.

“Ten seconds, maybe,” Darq huffed to himself. He turned sharply, skidding on the loose dirt on the road. The turn had gained him a little time, as the Guards couldn’t turn as sharply as he could. However, what they lacked in mobility, they made up for in overall speed. They quickly closed their gap, now a mere meter behind Darq. “Aw, hay.”

One particular Guard sped out of the pack of Guards, closing the already shrinking gap within a few seconds. Now directly next to Darq and keeping pace, he slammed into Darq’s side, causing Darq to veer a good two meters off course. However, the Guard was coming again, this time with more momentum. “Buck me,” Darq sighed, knowing that this was the end of the line. He stopped dead in his tracks, skidding forward only a little bit before coming to a halt. The Guard that was about to land a firm hit missed, crashing into a pole. The other eight Guards behind him, however, skidded to a halt, surrounding him.

The investigator grinned, another Guard with him pulling a jail-cart. “I had a feeling you were going to do something like that.”

“Then why give me the option in the first place?” Darq asked with a smirk.

“Mr. Darq, I am now placing you under arrest. You have the right to remain silent,” the investigator chuckled, reading Darq his rights. A Guard took Darq’s saddlebags and the Light Crystal, placing them in a chest at the front of the cart. “I hope you don’t mind, but we can’t have you teleporting like you did that last time…”

“Did you spell my name correctly this time?” Darq asked, laughing like Rainbow Dash after pulling a prank. A Guard placed a metal ring over his horn. Darq smirked and chuckled, “Well, Detective. Who’s my unlucky cell-mate?”

*

Fog drifted in from Darq’s horn, unbeknownst to him. The Guard across the hall was sitting back, reading the newspaper article about the new prisoner he was guarding. As the fog expanded, the Guard noticed, looking up from his paper. The fog was now everywhere in the small stone dungeon, and was leaking out the windows. The Guard shook his head, with a muttered comment about not being paid enough.

As the fog expanded through Ponyville, a certain gray pegasus mare was returning from her final delivery of the day. She sighed, walking through the fog that had so quickly rolled in. She turned off the road to her place of work and residence. She opened the door, entering the small post office, closing the door behind her. She removed the hat that was her uniform, and hung it on a rack that stood by her door. She sighed with fatigue, walking upstairs to her room, promptly falling asleep.

Similar to the previous night, barely audible footsteps rolled from the Everfree Forest. This time, there were two. The two silhouettes ran together, communicating silently. However, they were visible before they reached the fog. Both were pitch black, their eyes simply white shapes. One was lupine in nature, looking not unlike a wolf, but with strange spikes protruding from its back and tail. Its eyes were narrowed, as if it were glaring at something. The other was much more equine in nature. It had hooves, and a mane, and a tail. But what made it distinct was the fact that like its partner, it had spikes protruding from its back, and legs. Its mane flowed like fire, and could have been mistaken for black fire, but it was clear that it wasn’t fire. Had it been fire, the entire creature would be on fire.

When the two reached the fog, they seemed to disappear from the visible space, becoming nothing but silhouettes. They split up, the wolf sprinting onwards, while the pony stopped short. It looked at the stone building before it, seeing an opportunity to feast upon a delicacy: The fear of the brave.

The equine slowly melted into a puddle, intangible as a shadow. It slowly moved forward, up the wall, slipping in through the window. Once inside, it flowed forward, approaching the unsuspecting Guard. The Guard, who was now asleep, snored loudly. The shadow rematerialized, taking its original shape, which, when compared to a certain prisoner, could easily be mistaken.

Author's Note

Okay. Here's Chapter 6. I had a really fun time writing the chase, as I had a very good song to write it to. For thos of you who actually give a buck, I wrote this to a song called 'The Psycho Science of Doctor Slime' by YouTuber 0northkakalaka0. The link is below. You're welcome.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqkwWKK_8_A