Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Rainbow Dash appeared in a flash of light in another section of the Crystal Tower, the rain pounding against the glass of the windows nearby. She looked around frantically and saw that none of her friends had appeared along with her. She realized she was in a part of the tower she was not familiar with. Despite this, she was determined to find her friends and rescue Princess Cadance and Shining Armor.

"Alright, time to kick this into overdrive. Gotta find the others first," she said aloud.

She heard a voice say. "That will not be necessary."

"You!" She turned quickly to the source, her hackles standing on end. Tyranny stood nearby, his expression passive. "You finally decided to stop hiding, huh?"

"An impudent lass," he said dryly. "Still, one with its uses. You are Rainbow Dash, the bearer of the Element of Loyalty, are you not?"

"That's right. What's it to you?"

"If there is one amongst the Elements I can respect, it's the Element of Loyalty. Little is more important than dedication to the one you serve. Rather that loyalty is born of dedication, delusion or fear." A flash of lightning illuminated the hallway.

"There's no way anypony would ever be loyal to a creep like you. I saw what you did to those ponies at the outpost and you're going to pay for it." She stood on her hind legs and jabbed at the air a few times.

"Then I cannot persuade you to be loyal to me?" He was unperturbed at her stance.

She laughed. "You've got to be kidding me? I would never serve somepony like you."

"Hear my offer. Once I take control of all of Equestria. I will need one to oversee the pegasi and lead my minions when I turn to other lands. I can think of none better than the Element of Loyalty herself." He narrowed his eyes at her. "Think of it, you will be the leader of all the pegasi of Equestria and the commander of my airborne minions."

She looked at him defiantly, though her determination was slipping a little. His tone and manner made it all sound so real and so plausible.

"The Wonderbolts will be at your beck and call. You would be subservient to only me. A far greater destiny than anything Celestia can offer you. All you need to do is accept my gift and swear loyalty to me, and all of this shall come to pass." He held out his hoof and a flight suit appeared, hovering in the air. It was similar to the Wonderbolt's uniform, yet was colored like Tyranny's cutie mark, which was emblazoned across the breast.

Rainbow Dash stared at the outfit. She could see herself as Tyranny explained: all the pegasi and even the Wonder bolts would be hers to lead. Rainbow always dreamed of rising through the ranks of the Wonderbolts, but she had never dared to dream that she could be their leader. All she had to do was swear loyalty to him, and he could make that dream come true.

She slowly approached him, her eyes mesmerized by the suit. She stood before him and lifted a hoof towards it.

There was a gleam in her eye just before she lurched forward and drove her shoulder into his chest. He grunted and hopped back, the conjured suit vanishing in a puff of smoke.

"You honestly thought I was going to serve you? Ha! You don't know the first thing about loyalty." She expected an angered retaliation but was caught off guard by his approving smile.

"You truly represent your element well. Had you taken my offer, you would have been proven disloyal, and I would have no need of you." He stood straighter. "Enough of the games then, time to deal with you." He leveled his scepter at her.

She took off like a shot, determined to not let him get a spell off. She did not get far before a glowing sigil appeared in front of him. It had a diameter as wide as he was tall, and numerous runes swirled within.

"Wha—" She tried to stop, flapping her wings frantically, but her momentum carried her into it. As soon as she touched it, she and the sigil both vanished.

Tyranny snorted dismissively, brushing off his armor before moving on to the next bearer.

-0-

Rarity galloped down the hallway she had found herself in. She was not familiar with this particular hallway, but it did not concern her. She knew the general layout of the Crystal Tower, and if one floor was similar to the others, she could find her way. Only now, she needed to find her friends first before rescuing Princess Cadance and Shining Armor.

A metallic gleam caught her eye as she passed a door that was slightly ajar. Turning her head curiously, she could see the light was being reflected by something made of gold. She paused and looked back down the hallway. There was nopony nearby, and she rationalized a small exploratory side trip couldn't possibly hurt.

Upon a daid rested a golden tiara with a fabulous black diamond, one of the rarest gems in the world, set in its center. Black was not her color, she privately admitted, but such a rare gem could easily overlook that. She could fashion a regal dress to compliment the jewel and create a gorgeous ensemble. She found it curious, however, that Princess Cadance had never worn nor put it out on display for visitors to marvel at.

She levitated the tiara with her magic and set it upon her head. The tiara seemed to fit naturally, as if it was custom-tailored for her. She turned to view herself in a nearby mirror, and smiled at the sight; the tiara was simply stunning on her.

She imagined herself wearing it and an equally stunning dress, while being adored by all the ponies of Ponyville. They all looked upon her with adoring and envious eyes as she basked in her glory. Mayor Mare gladly surrendered her office to her, for only one as regal as she deserved such an honor. The ponies brought her gifts in an effort to show their appreciation and adoration for the regal unicorn. She saw herself giving a tithe to her overseer. The one whose rule brought about true peace and order. For only he was fit to—

She shook her head violently, the tiara falling from her head with a metallic clank. Her eyes widened in shock she looked at her reflection in the mirror.

"Why would I imagine something so horrid?" she asked aloud.

"Is it not your true desire?" asked Tyranny.

She spun around and saw the dark stallion standing in the doorway. He glared fiercely at her, and she took an involuntary step backwards.

"To be adored by your peers and have them shower you with praise and worship," he continued. "Is that not what you truly wish for?"

"No, well, yes. But I wish to earn their respect and adoration from my own hard work. Not through the brute force that you so easily employ, Sir Tyranny." She turned her nose upwards. "It is unseemly, not to mention rude. Did you not learn it is very impolite to sneak up on a lady?"

His expression went flat. "I should imprison you as I have your friends. However, I could make use of somepony with your talents."

"Oh? Do you wish me to fashion a suit for you that is actually up to date with today's fashion?" she asked sweetly, giving his gold-plate armor and bracers a look of distaste. "Armor is so last millennium's fashion."

He glared at her. "Insolent foal." He growled, leveling his scepter at her. A sigil similar to the one that had taken Rainbow Dash appeared and rushed at her.

The unicorn gasped and jumped aside, dodging the sigil by inches. She fired back with a magical attack of her own. Rarity didn't have the magical ability of Twilight or the royal sisters, but that did not keep her from trying.

Tyranny held out his hoof and her blast was halted without any apparent effect. "You don't stand a chance," he said matter-of-factly.

Thinking quickly, Rarity used her magic to pick up everything she could and flung it at him. With a startled curse, he was forced to cover his head as furniture and other things bombarded him from all directions. Rarity did not remain idle; as soon as he was distracted, she bolted past him and into the hallway. She ran as fast as her hooves would carry her, not daring to see if he pursued her or not.

She turned down another hallway, still running as fast as she could. She shrieked as the sigil appeared on floor in front of her and she was unable to avoid it.

"No!" she screamed before falling into the sigil and vanishing.

-0-

Pinkie Pie happily bounded down the hallway. Unlike her friends, Pinkie had wandered off on her own after they had gotten inside. She knew where the stairs down to the lower levels were and intended to lead them there, but they had all disappeared on her when she went back to get them. Since she knew where they would all be going, she figured she would wait for them there.

She turned down a hallway and stopped. In the middle of the hallway stood Tyranny, looking at her in distaste.

She smiled friendly to him, despite his scowl. "Hello there Tyranny, have you come to say hello or maybe even throw us a welcoming party? It's awful kind of you to do that for us," she said in her usual cheerful tone.

He narrowed his eyes. "You are perhaps the one I despise the most. Embodied within you is chaos immeasurable. Only the Spirit of Chaos himself dares exceed it. Your frivolity and chaotic mannerisms would disrupt the order I would bring to this world."

"The world ain't so bad. Even if things do go wrong, it's not anything a good laugh or song can't fix. I bet if we throw you a big ol' party you wouldn't be nearly as cranky. I mean, a thousand years without a single birthday party? I can't imagine anything worse, well except for running out of candy for that whole time. But look at it this way; you have a thousand birthday parties to catch up on." She smiled wide at the thought.

He scowled at her. "I'll not waste words on you. Imprisonment is the punishment for your friends; for you however, the Realm of Shadow awaits!" He lifted his hoof and the ebon ray shot out.

Pinkie closed her eyes tight as the ray struck her, however, the ray did not have the effect Tyranny intended. Instead, she fell over in a fit of uncontrollable giggles. She rolled around holding her stomach laughing, the ray not having any other apparent effect on her.

"What?!" Tyranny shouted. He fired a second beam her way and the giggling started all over again.

"Stop it, stop it!" she said between giggles, trying to catch her breath. "It tickles so much."

He looked to the breathless mare, and his eyes fell upon the amulet she wore. The gold choker and balloon shaped gemstone had a faint glow about it.

"Hey!" Pinkie shouted as she was levitated towards Tyranny, pulled along by her element. He studied the jewel for a moment before his eyes lit up in recognition.

"I see now," he said, unceremoniously dropping her to the floor.

Pinkie rubbed at her sore behind. "Well that was just mean. Why can't you try being nice to ponies for a change instead of being a big'ol meanie pants?"

He scowled at her. "You should consider yourself fortunate. Your Element of Harmony is what keeps you grounded to this realm. Even if I were to remove it from you physically, your connection to it serves as an anchor."

"So it weighs me down? Funny, it doesn't feel heavy." She looked at her element curiously.

"Indeed." He rolled his eyes at her, turning away. "Now be gone." The sigil appeared under her and rose to the ceiling, taking her with it.

He rubbed at the side of his head, a small headache beginning to form.

Applejack charged down the hallway, making for the tower's center. She knew the central stairs would lead down to the holding chambers. She figured if she kept moving, she'd find her friends and keep Tyranny from finding her. That hope vanished as the Spirit of Order appeared before her, stopping her in her tracks.

"Just where do you think you are going?"

She set herself, ready for a fight. "Ya know exactly where Ah'm goin', ya swindler. Now, get outta the way before things get ugly."

"Charming," he muttered dryly. "Have you, in your haste, a moment to speak?"

"Ya got nothin' Ah wanna hear. Now move!" She glared fiercely at him.

"Hear me out. A hard working mare, such as yourself, deserves the respect that she has earned. You and I need not fight, for I hold no hostility towards you."

"Only mah friends."

He snorted. "When this world is under my control, I will have need of strong work horses such as you. If you swear your loyalty to me, I shall see to it that your farm and lands shall always remain within your family. Nothing shall change in your life, save for the tithes that will be owed to me."

"Ah don't need somepony like you tellin' me who owns mah farm and who doesn't. Princess Celestia gave the land ta mah family and it's goin' ta stay that way."

"Then I will find one willing to do as I command, and you and your family will become nothing more than rootless vagabonds." His glare hardened at the defiant mare.

"Ain't happening." she said determinedly.

"So be it."

He shot a ray of energy at her, which she ducked under as she charged at him. She swerved to avoid two more blasts and pivoted to buck at him. Tyranny crossed his forehooves in a block, similar to how he had against Luna. This time, however he was caught by surprise as the workhorse's kick nearly sent him stumbling backwards.

"Impressive." He gave her a look of new respect.

"Comes from many hard days a work; not that you'd know anythin' about that," she said, kicking at him again. This time, he side stepped the attack and lashed out with a band of shadow that pinned her against the wall. Try as she might, she could not escape from its grasp.

"No fair," She struggled to free herself.

He gave her an incredulous look. "What made you think I would fight fair?"

-0-

In yet another section of the tower, all was quiet and nothing stirred, or so it seemed. A potted plant slowly, furtively moved from one part of the wall to another before stopping, silently making its way down the hall. At one point the plant lifted out of its pot to reveal a nervous-looking Fluttershy. She glanced around before hiding and moving down the hallway some more.

The pegasus had found herself alone after disappearing from the entrance of the tower. At first, she had hidden and remained still in hopes that one of her friends would find her. When they didn't appear, she grudgingly decided she had to go find them, thus she used the potted plant to move around so that Tyranny or his scary shadow guards couldn't find her.

As she moved about, she paused again to check to see if the coast was clear. Finding the hallway was empty, she hid again and made her way down the hall along the wall. She stopped abruptly as she bumped into something solid.

"Funny," she thought, there was nothing along the hallway for her have bumped into. She slowly took a peek from her hiding place and saw a golden chestplate with an amethyst set in its center. It was an odd thing to run into. If that was what she had bumped into that meant…

"Eeep!" She hid fully into her disguise.

"Come out."

She made no move to comply.

"As you wish."

She blinked in surprise as the potted plant disappeared. She found herself before Tyranny, his scary eyes glaring down at her in annoyance.

"The Element of Kindness, as useful as she is brave. Tell me, how did your friends plan to stop me?"

"We-we were not here for you," she said in a whisper of a voice.

He raised one eyebrow at her, and a slow smirk crossed his face. "I see… " He turned away from her almost contemptuously. The sigil appeared in the hall, but it made no move for her.

"Your friends are through that sigil," he said before starting away.

He had meant for her to walk through the sigil on her own accord, she realized. She looked to it then back at him; did he truly think of her as so weak as to merely follow his orders? By his own words he had already found her friends and had done something to them. Fluttershy found herself growing angry, how could anypony be so mean? So heartless? She remembered a few of the lessons she had learned from Iron Will and planted her hooves down.

"No," she said firmly, for Fluttershy anyway.

He stopped at her denial. "No?"

"That's right. I said no."

He turned to look at her incredulously. "You would dare defy me?"

"That's right, mister; I won't let you bully me or anypony else. You should be ashamed of yourself. Stop what you are doing right now, and apologize to everypony for being so mean." She lowered her gaze. "If you would, please."

Tyranny looked at her, for once at a loss for words. This cowardly pegasus not only defied him, but also demanded that he apologize of all things. After a minute he began to laugh, not his usual mocking laughter, but one of actual humor.

Fluttershy cringed. Even that sounded menacing to her.

"It is always the quiet ones who house the hidden strength," he said. His eyes flashed and the sigil swooped over the stunned pegasus. Tyranny actually considered the entire encounter and laughed at the absurdity of it all.

"Only one remains," he said to himself.

-0-

Twilight rounded the last corner of the hall; the passage down to the lower levels was just ahead. She hoped her friends had found it as well. Not knowing where they were or if they were unharmed made her pace for the stairs even more frantic. Up ahead were the stairs. She saw a pony standing there and her heart leaped at the thought that her friends were waiting for her. She skidded to a stop as the pony turned out to be the Spirit of Order himself.

"Princess Twilight, we meet again." The stallion blocked the entrance to the lower chambers. "Did you come to surrender or plea for the release of your friends?"

Her heart sank but she kept up her determination. "Sorry, Tyranny, but I don't have time to deal with you." She ran towards him.

He scowled. "In too much of a haste even for conversation!" He brought his hoof back and shot out a bolt of energy at her. She dove under the blast and rolled behind him. The butt of his scepter hit the floor behind her as she rolled past. She didn't hesitate and kept running down the stairs away from him.

She could hear him pursuing. If she could release her friends and family, they would be able to defeat him using the Elements of Harmony. The holding chambers were just ahead, and she was confident she would make it.

Her eyes widened as a wall of amethyst sprang up from the ground in front of her, blocking her path. Thinking quickly, she gathered her magic and teleported. She smacked into the wall hard, rubbing at her head in a daze from the failed teleportation.

"That will be one barrier you will not be able to pass." She turned to find Tyranny at the other end of the short hallway. A similar barrier appeared behind him, blocking the other way out of the chamber, effectively trapping them both inside.

"What have you done with my friends, Tyranny?" Her horn glowed brightly as she glared at him.

"They are with the princess and prince as my guests."

"As prisoners! Release them!"

He snorted at her demand, and a quintet of shadow creatures appeared between them. "It is time I see what Equestria's newest princess is capable of. Take her."

Soundlessly, all five charged her. Twilight gritted her teeth and lashed out at the creatures with a blast of magic. Three of them vanished in puffs of smoke, their armor clattering to the stone floor. The other two charged in. She dodged the tackle of the first but grunted as the second crashed into her. She rolled with the tackle and used her hind legs to heave the creature off of her. Her strength surprised her as the creature hit the wall hard and dissipated.

The first charged in again, its hooves lashing out in punches. She kept away from its offensive, casting a quick look towards Tyranny, who just stood by watching impassively. She cringed as the armor of the defeated shadows began to stir again.

Twilight hopped above the attacking shadow and stomped on its head. She quickly turned and launched a blast of energy at the idle stallion. He didn't even flinch as a shadow intercepted the blast for its master.

She was breathing hard from her exertion. "How long do you plan to just stand there?" she demanded.

"Until my shadows are extinguished or you can no longer fight," he said bluntly, gazing at her with a hint of annoyance.

"Fantastic," she muttered as the shadows attacked again. After defeating them, Twilight realized she was beginning to tire out. No matter how many times she beat them, they would just keep coming back. At this rate, she would not have the energy to use the Elements of Harmony at all. The five creatures surrounded her, and Tyranny appeared to be growing bored.

"Disappointing," he muttered.

The five creatures lunged at her simultaneously. She gathered her magic and a sphere of energy radiated outward. All of the creatures vanished as they were struck; even their armor faded away into nothing. Tyranny put up his own magical field to counter her spell. Her magic nearly spent, she slumped to her knees, panting heavily.

"Is that all?" he asked.

"All!? No…" She stood up and gathered her magic again, meaning to battle him with all she had. "As long as you endanger my friends and family, I will stand against you!"

He smirked. "You have strength, child, I will give you that. I see why Celestia keeps such a valuable tool such as you."

She sputtered in outrage. "How dare you?! Princess Celestia is not like you! She never uses ponies with no regard to their feelings. She is no monster like you."

He grinned sardonically. "If there is anything more useful than a tool, it is a disillusioned tool. It is beyond comprehension that one as intelligent as you so easily believe her lies."

Remembering the words of Princess Celestia, she looked to him defiantly. "All you speak are lies, Tyranny, the lies of a despot."

He narrowed his eyes, but did not lash out at her impudence. "Have you never once questioned anything your beloved princess has asked of you? Were you not the one she chose to deal with her rogue sister? When she was more than capable doing it herself? " He spoke above her protests. "What of the dragon who threatened Ponyville with its smog? Or the changelings, or Sombra, or Discord?" He growled the last name. "No, she let her most beloved and faithful tool do the work for her. You dare insinuate that she is no different than I? You are a foolish disillusioned child."

"She trusted me to do all of that!"

"She trusted the tool to do its job."

Despite her best efforts to stop them, tears formed around her eyes but she shook them away. "Let's finish this," she said as she mustered the remainder of her magic.

"Indeed." Before she could react, the sigil appeared from above and swooped downward, sending her to join her friends at last.

"We will speak again, and soon, princess," he said to the now empty hallway. The amethyst barriers faded away, and he walked back towards the stairs.