The bunker door slammed shut behind them, sealing the danger safely outside. The medic busied himself with the rescued civilians, checking for any injuries. Fortunately, the most serious wounds were nothing more than some bruises and headaches.

"Any luck with the radio?" Shining asked the Guard sitting at the radio, receiving a head shake in response. "Keep trying," he ordered, turning away to face his new charges. With the addition of nine doctors and nurses and two Guards, he now had twenty-three civilians and twelve Guards, plus himself and Phillip. The odds were increasing in his favor, and the priority now was keeping them alive until help could come.

That's when he heard Phillip talking quietly. "Warden, I need to speak to you."

"Can it wait, Mister Finder?" Lockup asked, sitting up against the wall. Closed File was limping around in a circle behind him.

"No," Phil replied, lifting the Warden up by his shoulder and guiding him away from the others into a more secluded corner of the bunker. Shining watched them.

"Warden, you've been hiding something from me," Phillip said quietly, but with the harshness of a razor wire fence. "And you're going to come clean right now. What is hidden here that Zugzwang wants?"

Lockup looked slightly taken aback. "I...don't know what you're talking about."

"You're lying to me," Phillip said, stepping forward and looming over the older stallion. "And in doing so, you're allowing more ponies to die." He paused for a moment. "I know Dr. Healspark was involved in it. A mass breakout occurs and his first thought is to go to his office and burn all his notes? What's he hiding?"

Lockup remained silent, but his lips quivered and he could no longer meet Phillip's harsh gaze. Shining approached. "Warden, if there's something here that's endangering ponies, you need to tell us."

"But there's..." Lockup's argument petered out when he realized that neither of his companions believed him. Slowly, he let out a long sigh, sitting down on the floor.

"One year ago, a head pony from the Equestrian Intelligence Division brought an artifact to us," he said, glancing up at the others to ensure that nopony else was listening. "They assigned Dr. Healspark to study it in secret. They wanted to find out how it worked, find a defense against it...and if necessary, destroy it. Only Healspark and I knew about it."

"What was the artifact?" Shining asked.

Lockup stared at the Prince's hooves for several seconds, seemingly unable to meet his eyes. Finally, he answered in a voice so soft that he could barely be heard. "King Sombra's horn, recovered by an expedition to the Crystal Mountains, still carrying his dark magic inside it."

"What?!" Shining shouted, causing every head to turn towards him. "That should have been reported to me the moment it was found! Why was it brought here?"

"It made sense, they said!" Lockup defended, quailing beneath the Prince's fury. "If we kept its discovery a secret, our enemies wouldn't be looking for it, and the ponies of Equestria would be better off not knowing! And this was the most secure facility in Equestria!" He swallowed, blinking underneath the stern gazes, then added, "And they wanted to test the effect of the negative energies on the horn...th-the point is, it should have been safe here!"

"Well, it's obviously not!" Shining shouted. "And now some of my Guards have died! Guards that were protecting something that they didn't even know about!"

"Your Highness, please..." Lockup whimpered, collapsing to the ground at Shining's knees. "I beg your forgiveness..."

Shining stared down at him coldly for several seconds before finally letting out a breath. "We will discuss this later," he told the Warden with an ominous finality. "Right now, we need to make sure that Zugzwang doesn't get his hooves on the horn. We'll ask Dr. Healspark if...hey...where's Dr. Healspark?!"

"He was right behind us," Dr. Patella said, looking around the bunker. Sure enough, Healspark was nowhere to be seen.

Phillip growled. "That idiot. He went after the horn himself!"

"Then we have to go after him," Shining said.

"Wait a second," Phillip said. "We should contact Twilight in Ponyville, tell her to look for Healspark's daughter."

"How do you know she lives in Ponyville?" Shining asked.

"Sugarcube Corner was in the background of the photo," Phil replied. "Zugzwang will probably go after her to put leverage on Healspark. It's what I'd do."

"Good point," Shining said. "I know the spell to send letters to Spike."

Grabbing some scroll from a shelf, Phillip tore out a length and began to write quickly, clutching his pen in his teeth so tightly that the cap almost broke. When he was done, he rolled it up and handed it to Shining, who lifted it up in his magic. The scroll spun quickly in midair, then disappeared.

"There. Now, let's get after him before he kills himself," Phillip said, heading for the bunker door.

"The horn's beneath the lighthouse," Lockup explained. "In a secret corridor in the basement. You have to press the discolored bricks counterclockwise to open it, starting from the north wall."

"Sir, let some of us go with you," Sergeant Stormdust offered, blocking Shining's path, determined to fight for his commander.

"No, Sergeant," Shining replied, laying a hoof on his shoulder. "Your job is to keep these civilians safe. I won't risk anypony else. We can handle this." Stormdust hesitated for a moment, but slowly stepped aside.

"You all, stay here and keep each other safe," Shining said, following Phillip out. "We'll be back."

He exited the bunker, slamming the door behind him, aware of the concerned, fearful eyes that still bored into him through the steel.

Back in the Rainbow Castle, Twilight paced endlessly in a circle, hoofsteps clicking against the crystal floor. Spike watched her from the bed, nervously twiddling his claws. Flash sat, staring at the now-silent radio, glaring at it as if it was knowingly, willingly withholding information. They say that no news is good news. They were so wrong: no news was worse than bad news, because it allowed the mind to wander into the realm of unknowing, into dark worlds where the voices whispered hints of nightmares.

Suddenly, Spike jumped with a loud hiccup that made his companions' heads turn so fast they almost got whiplash. With a loud burp, Spike belched out a cloud of green smoke that formed a scroll. Twilight snatched the letter almost before it appeared and rolled it open to read it out loud.

Flash and Twilight,

I'm here on Clovenworth with Shining. I'm pretty sure you heard over the radio what's going on. We're both okay, but we have a problem. Zugzwang has taken over the island because he's looking for something hidden here: King Sombra's horn, which was brought here to be studied in secret. The doctor who was studying it has been taken hostage. He has a daughter living in Ponyville, and Zugzwang will probably be after her to try to put leverage on him. The doctor's name is Healspark. The daughter's name is unknown, but she lives near Sugarcube Corner. Unicorn, gold coat, pink mane, green eyes, cutie mark of pink, green and white tulips. You should check on her and make sure that she's all right.

Don't worry about us; we'll be fine.

Phillip.

"Sombra's horn?!" Twilight shouted out loud in disbelief. "How...why was that put in a prison?!"

"Probably one of Intelligence's lame-brained schemes," Flash growled. "If Captain Armor doesn't give those idiots hell for this, I will."

"We can worry about that later," Twilight said, putting her fears for her brother aside for the moment. "Right now, we should check on this mare and make sure that she's all right." She didn't need to add that at the very least, it would give them something to do, a momentary cure for the suffocating feeling of helplessness that had gripped them ever since Zugzwang's radio message.

"What should I do now?" Spike asked from the bed.

"Send a letter to Princess Celestia," Twilight instructed as Flash put his armor back on. "Tell her what's going on. If this gets out of hoof, we could have a serious problem."

Spike shivered, recalling their encounter with the wicked king. "You're telling me," he said, grabbing a scroll and quill and quickly scribbling a letter.

"Come on, Twilight," Flash said, adjusting his belt as he headed for the door. "We'll start at Sugarcube Corner and work our way from there."

Twilight hurried out after him into the Ponyville night.

The slowly spinning light guided Shining and Phillip forward through the rainy darkness. There was nopony out on the grounds, making their path to the lighthouse clear. Nopony was guarding the lighthouse door, allowing them easy access.

"Maybe he hasn't gotten here yet," Shining suggested as he picked the lock on the door with his magic. "Or maybe he wasn't after the horn at all."

"We still need to check," Phillip said, watching the empty fields. The door squeaked open and the two entered cautiously.

Aside from warning oncoming ships of the island's presence, the lighthouse served as a spare storeroom for the staff. The dark center room was cluttered with junk, cardboard boxes stacked up on top of one another and spilling over a center table. A set of winding circular steps led upwards towards the light. A small doorway to the right led down to the basement.

"Come on," Phillip said, taking out his flashlight and turning it on as Shining lit up his horn. The two turned and headed down the basement stairs, hoofs scuffing against the stone stairs. Almost immediately, Phillip raised a hoof and stopped Shining, pointing at the stairs. A paint can had been knocked over earlier, and a green stain was spread across the stairs. A set of hoofprints led down the steps away from it. "Dry," he muttered, bending over the track and sweeping his flashlight over the prints, frowning slightly. There was something odd about this trail...

"Come on, let's go," Shining said, continuing down the stairs. The two continued to follow the prints down the dark steps into the basement. The circular stone room was mostly bare, save for some locked and chained crates. The green prints led in a counterclockwise circle around the room, then disappeared into the wall.

"Healspark must have gotten here before us," Shining said.

Phillip didn't answer, instead following the tracks around the room, pressing each of the discolored bricks in the wall in order. When he touched the last one, the wall behind him trembled, then slowly slid downwards, revealing a passageway behind it.

"This must lead into the caves beneath the island," Shining commented, peering into it with the light from his horn. "Ponies had been trying to escape through those for years until they blocked them all off. Let's go." He led the way down the silent stone tunnel, going deeper and deeper beneath the surface of the island, where stalactites and stalagmites grew from the uneven stone and water dripped from the dark ceiling.

I'm glad Flash isn't here. This place would give him nightmares, Phillip thought to himself, skirting a thick stalagmite. Up ahead, he heard a faint humming of machinery and saw a flickering of lights. Shining saw it as well: dousing their lights, the two silently hurried forward and turned a corner to find themselves looking into a large cavern, the floor smoothed over and covered in a silvery metal. Machines of all sizes and descriptions were spread across the room, a number of multicolored lights blinking on them providing the only faint illumination. Doctor Healspark was in the center of the room, hurriedly moving from one machine to the next, pressing buttons and flipping switches like a pony possessed.

"Doctor!" Shining said, hurrying to his side. "Where's the horn?"

"How did you..." Healspark stammered in surprise, then recollected himself. "I have to purge all the data on the horn. Here's the horn itself." He pulled out an object that was all too familiar to Shining's eyes: a large, blood red horn, curved and sharp as a saber. Just looking at Sombra's horn made Shining feel cold, as if he could feel the ancient evil contained inside it. Zugzwang could not be allowed to get his hooves on it.

"No, Doctor, we have to get you out of here right now," Phillip said, taking Healspark's shoulder. "Come with us—"

All of a sudden, all of the lights snapped on, momentarily blinding all three ponies. "Surprise, motherbuckers!" a familiar voice shouted. The huge gorilla-like pony from the medical wing moved into the light, leading a swarm of dozens of other inmates who had been hiding in the darkness of the cave.

"What?!" Healspark stammered, dropping the horn and cowering before the appearance of the multiple enemies. "How did you—?"

One of the inmates charged, but was immediately dropped when Shining fired a stunning spell right into his face. "Let's get out of here!" Shining said, lifting up Healspark in his magic and pushing him back towards the door. Knocking down another three charging thugs with a boomerang toss, Phillip followed them back into the dark caves. The three hurried through the cave systems, weaving in between the rock formations. The inmates were right behind, stumbling over the stones, but never more than a few steps behind them.

The stairs were just ahead, almost within reach. Panting heavily, Healspark looked behind him to see an inmate with a shank in his crooked teeth leering at him. He gave a terrified cry and tried to run faster, but stumbled and fell to the ground. Shining fell back to help him.

"Ah, piss," Phillip muttered, and stopped suddenly, bucking backwards into the thug's face. "Take him and go!" he shouted to Shining, drawing his baton and settling into a combat stance.

"What about you?" Shining said, lifting Healspark onto his back.

"Just go! NOW!" Phillip shouted, parrying a blow and kicking his attacker back into his friends. Realizing he had no choice, Shining turned and ran towards the stairs, carrying the civilian up to safety. Phillip stood in the center of the stairway, forming a living barricade to buy them time to get to safety.

"Come on, you wankers," he snarled, holding his baton out. "Come and have a go if you're pony enough!" With a roar that rocked the cave's ceiling, the unstoppable tide of inmates surged forward.

Sprinting out of the lighthouse, Shining Armor hurried across the open fields back towards the administrative building. Dr. Healspark clung tightly to his neck with both of his hooves. Every instinct screamed at Shining to go back for Phillip: he might not have worn armor anymore, but he was still one of his soldiers, under his responsibility. And he'd just left him behind to die. Nopony should have to sacrifice themselves for him.

But he had no choice.

"Over there! Get him!" a voice shouted. Turning over his shoulder, Shining saw at least a dozen more inmates charging at him from out of the cellblock. Sprinting the last few meters, Shining pulled the door open into the administrative building and dashed inside, slamming and locking it behind him, knowing it would buy him a second at most. With a loud crashing, the door was bashed in and the inmates swarmed in after him, stumbling over themselves.

Hurrying down the stairs, Shining charged at the steel bunker door, his enemies right on his tail. "Open the door!" he shouted. The door swung open invitingly at his cry. Shining dived across the threshold, inches ahead of the inmates, and the door slammed shut behind just in time.

"You slippery little whore!" one of the inmates snarled, slamming against the metal in a futile attempt to break it down.

"Captain, are you all right?" the pegasus private asked as Shining collapsed against the wall, panting.

"I'm...fine," he said. "Help...him." The medic bustled over, prying the shivering Dr. Healspark off of Shining's back.

"We didn't get the horn," Shining reported. As soon as he said it, the cold reality suddenly struck home: they'd had to leave the horn behind. And that meant now Zugzwang had quite possibly the most dangerous source of dark magic in the world.

The bunker door rang with solid thuds as the enemy outside attempted to bash their way in. The civilians scrambled to crowd against the back wall as Sergeant Stormdust peered through the peephole. "I count at least twenty, maybe more," he reported. "I don't think they can break down the door, but we're stuck in here. What do we do now?"

Shining didn't answer, staring at the door, listening to the heavy thuds against the metal. "Sir? What are our orders?" Stormdust asked, sweat beginning to trickle down his brow.

Shining just sat and stared. Zugzwang had the horn, Phillip was dead or about to die, and they were stuck in here, outnumbered and outarmed. He had no idea what to do.

Phillip backed slowly up the stairs, panting in exhaustion. The narrow confines forced his enemies to face him one at a time, but every time he took one of them down, another two took their place. With every attack, he became a touch weaker, a split second slower.

Maybe if he could just reach the top of the stairs, he'd be able to get away. Find something to put in their path and give him time to turn and run...

He ducked underneath a haymaker, only to realize too late that he'd fallen for a feint. A hoof knocked his baton out of his grip and a blow struck him in the face, blinding him. He stumbled, trying to throw up his guard, but it was too late. He was seized and thrown down the stairs, hitting every stone step on the way down. As soon as he landed at the bottom, dazed and aching, the inmates swarmed on him, kicking him mercilessly from every angle, their curses and taunts echoing through the cave. Phillip curled into a ball, covering himself with his legs, but he knew he was only delaying the inevitable.

"Stop!"

At the order, the surrounding inmates retreated with the hesitancy of a pride of lions forced to back away from a fresh kill. Phillip tried to get up, but the pain overwhelmed him. He was forced to lie on the ground, watching through one good eye as Zugzwang slowly approached and stood over him, smiling down at him with superiority.

"You look exhausted, Phillip," he said softly, as if speaking to an old friend. "All this running around, it's not good for you. Why don't you take a little break?" He looked around at the inmates. "Bind him and bring him with us."

One of the thugs roughly grabbed Phillip and forced his hooves behind his back, tying them tightly together. Taking him by the legs, the victorious inmates dragged their captive away into the darkness.

Author's Notes:

And everything has officially gone to hell.

Both in terms of plot and the actual story.

Anyway, if you are enjoying this, I appreciate your support, and we'll be finishing up this little number pretty soon.