"All right. I'm heading off. Cheerilee will be here in the hour. I don't know when I'll get back, but I promise you, I'll be back."

"Okay."

"I mean it. I'll return…no, we'll return."

My name is Twilight Sparkle. Student of the Princess Celestia.

This is my journey into a dark future.

About…oh, I think…there's been so much going on…ah, five years after I settled down in Ponyville, something terrible happened.

Crime went up. The Equestrian Royal Guard couldn't keep up with the rise. All of the sudden, Equestria became a very dark, scary place to live. I had a book that I spent three months looking for, and in one hour, it was gone. It took six months to find it, and it cost me more to get it back.

It got burned, with my library.

Eventually, the two Princesses got involved…and nothing. Crime still happened. Like a hydra, they cut off a head, two more heads grew from the wounds. No amount of bleeding slowed down the mobs, the rings, the mercenaries, and the runners. Celestia and Luna worn themselves thin to protect their ponies. Eventually, they stopped. The sun and the moon slowed down.

They tried…

In the end, a new police force came into power. They called themselves the Defenders. Dressed in black, light grey and red, (Just in case you didn't get the hint.) they carved their way into the underworld, doing what two real goddesses couldn't do. Pretty much everypony in Ponyville came to the conclusion that the Defenders had a part in the rise of crime, but there was no proof. We had no choice but to live with them, and celebrate their successes. Eventually, it was safe to walk into the streets.

Of course things got worse.

They created a prison for the criminals, due to the rising amount. They called it 'Tomorrow City'. Pictures and brochures showed it to be a real modern-day city, where the criminals had free reign, yet the place had sections to keep the more insane and dangerous away from the others. Guards were on duty 24/7, and the necessaries were plentiful. The name was given by the Defenders' leader and founder, Waylon Lance, a pony of at least fifty years, light brown coat with a white mane, and a white beard. His cutie mark showed two spears crossed in the front of a white shield. He called that because he though that was how crime should be punished. Keep a firm, steel grip.

Ponies objected. Like the Princesses, nothing happened. The so-called 'scum' of society still got sent to Tomorrow City.

And my friends and family.

Rarity and Sweetie Belle went first. We never got a reason why.

Pinkie went next. She went to visit her family, and they all got sent to Tomorrow City.

Then Rainbow Dash.

Then Scootaloo.

Then Fluttershy.

And finally, the entire Apple family.

I can remember Applebloom's face. Fear is an understatement.

I haven't seen Rarity in two years. The Apple family has been gone for three months. That's how long I've been planning to break into Tomorrow City to free my friends, and find any truth that was out there. I'm alone. No Royal Guard still working is willing to go against the Defenders. My teacher and her sister are being watched 24-7, only getting out to raise the sun and the moon. And any other residents still remaining in town are too scared or too weak to help.

Got that all down? Good, it's going to get more complicated from here.

With my saddlebag filled with books, food, and other supplies, I headed out.

My first impression of seeing Tomorrow City?

Disgust.

Outside of the pictures, no one has ever seen the actual, in-real-life Tomorrow City. (Well, save for the residents.) The location of the place had been kept a secret, and when I uncovered it, it was out there, located about fifty miles from any sort of life. And the weather was pretty bad; an almost permanent brown and black sky hung over the place. A pegasus would have never made it.

The place was old, rusty, but large, so at least the brochures got one fact right. It looked like a death trap. Perhaps the only thing worth a damn was the statue of the alicorn on top of the front gate, as a invitation to the future. The Defenders didn't build this. They found it. They went out into the desert, perhaps chasing a criminal, and found it. So they decided to turn it into a prison. That has my friends and the worst of the worst.

I needed to get in. Now.

There were no guards watching the outside. Good. I recalled in my head the spell to make wings and enchanted myself, and over the wall I flew.

And then fell.

There might not be a guard watching the outside, but there was someone who just shot off my magic wings. I couldn't see who shot me, but I had a feeling that it was someone with the words 'DF' on his back.

I didn't scream. I didn't want to draw more attention. I quickly cast a spell to break my fall, and landed onto a statue of a eagle jutting out. After taking a few short breaths, I looked around, to see if the sniper wanted to finish the job.

And my stomach churned.

All around in my sight I could see hell. Ponies in yellow suits were beating up each other, and plainclothes ponies. The plainclothes were fleeing for their lives, with some trying to fight back, only to find themselves facing the ground, drinking their own blood. There were no ponies wearing the cloth of the Defenders. Small fires raged on the street, fueled by waste. Buildings were trashed; windows smashed and entire parts were missing. Debris decorated the street. The only colors were red, black, brown, yellow, and grey.

Order was a forgotten word.

I jumped down, ignoring the sniper from before. I charged into a burly green pony, knocking him away from a fallen mare, who's face I couldn't see. I turned around, sharp, at the same time creating a magic flail to attack the other two prisoners. The green one jumped up, and raised his two hooves to stomp on me. My heart beating fast, I grabbed one of the other criminals with telekinesis and threw him into the green one, knocking both into a trio of garbage cans, overflowing with dirty, spoiled food. The last prisoner took one good look, and ran away. It probably helped that I just picked up the green one.

After dropping my projectile, I walked over to the fallen mare, sniffling from what looked like a broken nose. As soon as I came close, she backed away, with light blue hove out, in protection.

"Rainbow Dash?" I said.

"Twilight?"

That was fast.

We embraced. For the first time in three months, I felt…elevated.

"Wait! You got caught?" R.D. asked, breaking the hold.

"No. I came to get you and the girls out!" I said, still smiling. That stopped, when I saw R.D.'s face. Depression and fear. "What happened?"

"I haven't see any of the girls in at least a month." She got up, knees shaking. "We stayed together for a long time…time is forgettable here. Nothing works. We got separated from each other from the raving bands."

"Raving bands?"

"You used that word to describe the punks before the Defenders showed up. Listen, remember how they described in the brochures that the place was in sections for the more dangerous? That's bullshit. It's free roam. The only place that is walled off is where the Defenders live, and they, of course, get only the best."

"That bad?"

"Horrible. Come on, I'll take you to my place."

So we walked through the black and brown streets, avoiding fires, garbage and other ponies. Some criminals gave ugly looks, but R.D.'s glare kept them from attacking. The prisoners (The plain-clothes ponies.) continued to run, running away from something.

"Why aren't we flying?" I asked, after three minutes of walking.

"Snipers. The Defenders can't place a magic barrier around the place, so they keep ponies from leaving by shooting them. Either hitting the wings, or a place more important. I had some scraps with them. They hired some damn fine shots."

"Can't you at least fly close to the ground?"

"It depends on your sniper's mood."

So we continued to walk. On the way, we passed a collapsed courthouse, with debris going as far as the bottom of the stairs. It looked like a bomb went off.

"It did." R.D. said when I asked.

"Why?"

"Boredom."

We reached a apartment building, half-coated in silver. Most of the buildings were coated in futuristic colors, but it was mostly red and brown that made the city. R.D. and I went up four floors (Thankfully, the elevator shaft was empty, so R.D. could carry me up.) to go into the third room on the right. Room 506. I had a feeling I was going to be living here for a while.

"Welcome to my home." R.D. said, with the obvious topping of sarcasm. It was a mess, but that was R.D. for you. At least there was a sense of order in this mess. R.D. pounced on the bed, throwing me a pillow to sit on. "You don't want to sit on the floor. Trust me."

After getting as comfy as I could and ever would in this place, I asked R.D. several questions.

"What exactly is this place?"

"Some sort of a carnival that existed a hundred years ago. It was going to show THE WORLD OF TOMORROW!...sorry, after hearing that every single day over the intercoms, I can't say it without screaming it. The Defenders play it to break us. And so far, it's working…"

"Focus. What about the carnival?"

"Like I said, it's was going to show…you know…but it failed due to the money running out, and all the benefactors pulling out, and suing the pony who wasted their money. All anyone knows is that pony, whose name is Steam Engine, disappeared. This place was left to rot, until Lance found it, and turned it into this hellhole. And somehow, he kept anyone else from finding out about the truth of this place when he made those brochures."

"So the map in this…" I pulled the brochure from my saddlebag. "…is useless."

"You're not actually considering go against the Defenders? I mean, yes, you're the Element of Magic, but these guys have back-up plans for their back-up plans. Trust me, I've seen stuff like that happen every day. We try to escape, but regardless of preparation, we're tossed back in."

"I spent my time creating back-up plans for back-up plans. I'm ready."

"Well then…" She pointed her wing to a drawer. "In there is a old attraction map. It's accurate; I made changes." I opened the door and retrieved the map. Though weathered, I could still see the tacky and very dated 'future' style. Robots, pegaless carts, and teleporters. In a world of common magic, it was hard to believe that science would overtake and become the main thing.

"Open it up. I need to tell about the main six attractions of Tomorrow City." I did so, and noticed six buildings outlined in red.

"The one in the center is the Mansion of the Gods. 'It's designed to be as comfy as a cloud! This elegant model is merely a prototype of what every house shall be like, as it will be cheap to make, and the house builds itself!' But it never got finished. I don't what exactly what is inside, as the Defenders took it as their base. Lance lives like a king in there, from what I know. The obvious thing I do know is that place is fort. You even come close to the wall, and you'll never walk again. Or live."

"I'll save it for later then."

"The one up north is the Museum of Yesteryear. 'Take a look at what we have now, and compare it to the rest of the park, folks!' Yeah, all it is what they had back then. Much more of a joke thing than an actual attraction. Nothing is there. No criminals, no Defenders, nothing. Probably a good place to hide."

"Is it safe, though?"

"I don't know. Moving on. Go to the building in between the Museum and the Mansion, a little to the east side. That's the Robo Factory. 'We ponies hurt ourselves working and toiling in factories. No more!"

"Enough."

"Just getting you ready to hear that…and more. Basically, a robot-run factory that produces everything. Or it would, if the robots weren't being controlled by a mad scientist. I heard that the guy is working on an army to take over. If you meet him, don't tell him that the Defenders are ready for him."

"So much for getting new allies."

"The last pony that did that was found without a skeleton. You see that forest in the west area? Tech Forest. Bland name, bland area. All it is the Everfree Forest, mechanized. It didn't get far. When I visited, the sprinkler system tried to water me at random intervals. Don't bother."

"You trying to make me leave?"

"Twilight, you're spared. You didn't need to come here…at least alone. Where's Celestia? Where's Luna? Where's anyone would could help?"

"The Princesses are under house arrest. Please, tell me about this huge building in the north west."

"The Hands-Free Maximum Security Prison. When they said about keeping the dangerous criminals away from the normal, they told a white lie. They don't have sections, like we just talked about, but they do keep the insane and life sentences in that prison. Like the Mansion, self-operated. Only this one works. The Defenders actually got it to work, and I spent a day in there. Please, don't go there. I nearly died."

"…okay. But if someone we know is in there…"

"I got sent there for beating up a Defender. All our friends watched. They ain't going there. Stay away."

"Is this place safe for me, then?" I pointed to the last red-marked place. It was close to where the courthouse was, just about south of where I was now.

"That's the Academy for the Gifted. Yes, you should start there. I know one thing…that's where the kids are."

"What?"

"Most of the fillies are shuffled off to that…that…place. I don't know what goes on, the fillies don't talk…and that's enough to convince me that the place needs to be shut down."

"I'm going then." I got up and placed my saddlebag back on. "Come on!"

"I can't go."

"Why not? You're Rainbow Dash! The most awesome pony in Equestria! You enter danger as the common pony would eat a slice of bread! Come on, we need to work together!"

"I can't." She rolled under the covers. "I'm sick. And no, I'm not covering for my laziness. Didn't you notice that I didn't put up any sort of fight back there? I feel…weak." She drew some short breaths. "I can't do much in a day without crashing. But it helps me from getting into trouble. And I'm not the only one."

"Are you implying…"

"I wish I could. Please, let me have some sleep. Here, you need all the sleep you can get. I'm sorry, Twilight…." She fell asleep the minute she finished the sentence. I felt her forehead. It was hot all right. I was at least immune to diseases due to my magic powers, but I should be bit more careful around ponies showing the same symptoms. I grabbed a clean towel from the bathroom, and ran some water. It didn't get hot, so I used some fire magic to heat it up and dunked the towel. After placing it on R.D.'s forehead, I went to the door.

"Thank you, Twilight." Whispered R.D.

I didn't look back. I don't why I didn't.

The travel to the Academy was rough. I was attacked by at least ten ponies, all of them criminals carrying wooden planks, iron pipes, and one with a empty, yet messy garbage can. The road itself was tried to stop me. What I mean is that the road was full of holes, debris, trashed cars, and even one road wasn't even there. A large group of criminals dressed in brown trench coats watched me take a side road. I had a feeling that I was going to meet them closer some time soon.

The Academy looked like a large university. Though…more ugly. No shade of paint even touched this building. Two Defenders stood guard at the front door.

Time to take the direct approach.

"Hold it, punk." Said the one on the right. His gun pointed right at me. The one at the left smirked. They were wearing black goggles with green lens, so I couldn't tell if he was interested in me. "The Academy is for students and teachers wearing a White Badge only. You don't have one. Please leave, or I'll more than happy to move you."

"Let me in." I said with a stern and serious tone.

"Hehehe!" The left Defender said. "Tough guy, huh? Come on, then! Put up…" He didn't get that far, as I pressed him against his friend on the right. The two collapsed like a tower of sticks.

I considered taking his gun. I reached for it, but I backed off. I didn't want to be like the Defenders, cold killers. If blood is going to be on my hooves, it's going to be a little amount. Plus, I don't know how to fire a gun that goes on my back.

The doors was open.

I pushed on.

My first attempt to do an Arkham City story. I don't think it's that good, but you guys may have different opinions.