Chapter 21 E: Train ride.
Twilight awoke to the sound of soft humming emitting from the train and the rattling of the car she slept in. She found the humming to be relaxing and calming in a strange way, almost as if they were enticing her to fall into slumber once again. Letting her curiosity get to her, she sat up on the bunk and looked around. The room was small but snug, having a small table, two cotton filled, couch like chairs against the wooden walls, and a small window to the right. She softly hopped off of the bunk and looked out the window, taking in the scene of beautiful Equestrian mountains and trees in the distance. She was so focused on the view that she jumped when Night Shadow opened the cabin door behind her.
"Oh it's you." Twilight said with a sigh of relief. "Don't scare me like that."
"You almost scared me." Night Shadow replied with a smile as he closed the door behind him. "Brought you some food."
"I'm starving, thanks." Twilight said as she sat down.
Night Shadow levitated the plate off of his back and placed it onto the table. On it was a double hay burger with horseshoe fries, a slice of toast, sliced oranges, rice, and some green beans.
"Oh wow, this is a lot." Twilight said with surprise.
"It was a buffet type thing, I grabbed what I thought you would like." Night Shadow said, placing five bottles of water into his bag and handing a spare one to Twilight. "Eat what you can, who knows when we will be able to find food again."
Twilight chowed down onto the food like a pig at feeding time, surprising even Night Shadow who watched in amazement.
"I thought I was the only one that ate like that…."
"Hey, I haven't eaten anything for almost two day, give a girl a break." Twilight replied with her mouth full.
"I'm not criticizing, it's just…it's…amusing to see a mare eat like a stallion."
"I'm going to forget you said that."
"I don't blame you…hey, pass me that mug will you."
Twilight levitated the mug to Night Shadow.
"Thanks."
Night Shadow levitated the mug before him as he conjured water and brown powder. He poured both ingredients into the mug and quickly heated it up with a spell, making hot chocolate.
"I hear this stuff is suppose to be really good, never had it before though."
"Wait if you could just conjure water why do you need to collect bottles of water?" Twilight asked.
"No real reason. They're mainly for you though, and besides, I like the taste better." Night Shadow replied.
"Just remember hot chocolate called hot for a reason, you should let it…cool…"
Night Shadow had already gulped down the steaming hot liquid before Twilight could even finish her sentence.
"What?" Night Shadow asked, noticing her stunned expression.
"Give me that." Twilight said, grabbing the mug from Night Shadow.
She examined the mug, noticing there was still steam emitting from the bottom of the cup. She then looked back at Night Shadow, noticing he was completely fine.
"How did you…."
"Magic."
"..."
"...yeah…"
Twilight resumed eating her meal in an attempt to not overstress from the stallions randomness. She would occasionally look up, noticing Night Shadow avoid eye contact or simply look away, occasionally playing with his hooves or shifting around in his seat.
"Are you nervous, Night Shadow."
"What?" Night Shadow asked, as if awoken from a daydream.
"You keep looking away when I look at you."
"Well, don't look at me then."
"That's not the answer to my question."
"Ummm….hey, look at the bathroom, I have to time!" Night Shadow said, running out the door.
"Was he…blushing?" Twilight asked herself.
Night Shadow looked into the bathroom mirror after splashing water into his face.
"What the #& ^, Night Shadow. Did you seriously just do that?"
He continued to look into the mirror, ashamed of himself.
"You can't run away from your emotions or fears…eventually we all have to face them and accept them. I should know this by now, but I can't help but be afraid. I'm still a normal stallion...yet everyone thinks otherwise and relies on me to protect them…and that's something I can't guarantee when I'm always the one that causes their demise. I want to give in to my heart…but it will send us down a destructive path like before. I want to fall in love with you…but if I do…it will lead to your death. If I refuse to love you then you will be safe…and that's all I want for you…my little Sapphirine…"
As Night Shadow looked into the mirror he shed a single tear before his eyes flashed red, forcing him to forget the last five minutes and become dazed.
"What….why am I in a bathroom?"
Night Shadow eventually made his way to the cabin and opened the door. Right when he did he managed to witness Twilight's eyes flash red before she went into a daze.
"Night Shadow, have you always been standing there. I think i'm starting to see things."
Night Shadow stood in complete shock and silence as a similar scene played in his head.
"Herus did this to you…" Night Shadow asked.
The mare nodded, continuing to cry. Night Shadow ducked his head in remorse as he loosened his grip.
"Herus has done many things to me to…forgive me for what I've done…I'll let you go."
"Thank you…"
Just before Night Shadow put her down, the mare's eyes glowed dark purple. She then took out a switch blade and stabbed Night Shadow in the neck. The red pony screamed out in pain as he dropped the mare and fell to the floor. The snow below the stallion turned from white to red as he continued to scream out in pain.
It couldn't be a coincidence, the side effects where to similar to be anything else. Twilight had been put under a type of reprogramming spell and chances are he was placed under the same spell as well. Just when his thoughts and theories were coming together he felt the spell attempting to erase his memories once again.
"Twilight, get me something to write on quick!" Night Shadow panicked.
"What, what's going-
"There's no time, please hurry!"
Night Shadow's energy sparked as he struggled to remain in control. Meanwhile, Twilight looked around frantically for some paper, only finding the Black Book within her bag. With no other options, she opened the book to a random page and handed him a pen.
"You're still not telling me-
"I can't, just trust me!"
Night Shadow grabbed the pen and frantically started writing.
"Herus…Death Fire…memory….reprogramming…spell…simi-
Night Shadow's eyes flashed red, forcing him to forget once again. Except this time, Twilight was the one that witnessed it first hand.
"My head...it feels like it's going to burst."
"But you just-"
"I think I just need to…"
Night Shadow fell to the floor unconscious, leaving Twilight wondering what had just happened. Her mind recalled the words he wrote down, thinking it might have something with the strange event. However, when she looked down she saw the words were completely gone and replaced with a page similar to that from a spell book.
"Amniasmia…" Twilight said to herself as she read further. "Known to others as the control spell or simply the follow and forget spell, Amniasmia was created by Herus, the first master of the virus, Miasma. Combining both the properties of Miasma, having the ability to control, and Amnesia, known for causing forgetfulness, a user could potentially reprogram and control a victim indefinitely. The user, if influenced by miasma, would simply inflict the spell onto a victim and shout out his/her command, cursing the victim to carry out the users wishes until fulfilled.
Anything that threatens to break the spell would result in reprograming and purging of the victims mind and memories, forcing them to forget what could have broken the spell and resuming their new commands. Purging of their memories could be between a simple second to over a whole year. Any attempt to erase more would weaken its power and could potentially break the spell on it's own. Thus, if the cursed victim avoids the user for a full year without the spell being replied, the spell will be lifted. Strong emotion and will has been proven to weaken the spells effects but none have successfully broken free of it's control. The only one that have come close to breaking it's control are Night Shadow and….Twilight Sparkle…."
The lavender unicorn was at a loss of words as she read her name over and over on the page, not able to believe her eyes. It wasn't the fact that she was under a spell, but that the book had recorded information that literally happened seconds before. She was so caught up by this that she forgot the very reason why she had even researched the spell in the first place.
"This book…this could change everything we know about history and science. I….I could rewrite the very laws of reality and bend nature to my…."
Twilight couldn't believe what she was saying. All she saw was her name in the magical book before her and here she was talking about how she could change everything to her liking. It made her sick, feeling like had the right to change what had already been set before her as if she was superior to everyone else, but it also made her afraid. Twilight of all ponies knew what could become of those that received absolute power. Her mind recalled Chrysalis, Sombra and Discord, how to at one point tried to force their rule over those that refused. She remembered how Luna became jealous to her sister to the point of rebellion all for the ideal of power and control. She remembered Desolent and his quest to become the strongest unicorn, destroying everything that stood in his way. And then she recalled the one that put her in this situation to begin with.
Death Fire's pursuit for absolute control blinds him to the point of sacrificing everything around him for his own selfish desires. He would punish the innocent to gain hatred to fuel his strength, purge towns and countries just to receive more power. That was why she was afraid. She needed to prepare herself, train her mind to resist the lust of power, or she would become what she promised to destroy.
"I have to put others before myself when I use the book's power. Remember the suffering Equestria and the world has went through to keep my heart and mind pure. I can't save the world when I'm exactly like the ones the rule it."
She looked in the book and took a deep breath.
"You have answered my questions before, will you do so now?" Twilight asked.
The books text moved around until a simple sentence was formed, baffling Twilight.
'Well, it's not like I have a choice.'
"Strange…a book with a sense of humor." Twilight said to herself.
'I'm a book! It's kinda boring being serious all the time.'
"Hey, books aren't boring."
'Yeah, well try BEING a book. It's not fun being closed. When was the last time you were talking to someone and they literally just slam your mouth shut.'
"You do have a point."
'OF COURSE I DO, I'M A BOOK!'
"Ok, ok….wow….I'm I seriously having an argument with a book."
'Just tell me what you want already.'
"You don't have to be rude." Twilight whispered. "Tell me where we are right now."
Twilight waited over a minute, noticing nothing had happened.
"Did you hear me?" Twilight asked.
'You have to write it out.' The book wrote out.
"Why, I just asked you to do it."
'Commands must be written out or they will not be fulfilled.'
"Then how can you talk...I mean write to me?"
'Those were either questions or comments. By rules of my creator I am allowed to answer questions without the use of writing. Comments, or smart remarks, can be commented on by my discretion.'
Twilight picked up the pen and wrote out her command into the book. Within seconds, a live map was formed onto the page that tracked her location with a small purple dot.
"We're only fifty miles away from the border of Equestria. Judging by how fast the train is passing by the nearby trees, we should be there in about forty minutes."
Twilight observed the map closer, noticing a black outline around the border of Equestria. Intrigued by this, she placed the tip of her pen onto the outline and spoke.
"What is this outline and why is it here."
The unused page to her left formed words.
'It is known to some as a symbol safety and protection, to most it is a display of power to strike fear into Death Fire's enemies.'
"What is it?" Twilight asked.
'It is known as Terror Wall. It is how Death Fire keeps his enemies out and prevents his slaves from escaping.'
"By slaves you mean everyone in Equestria?"
'If that is how you view it, then yes. It is a way to prevent his own from escaping and finding out the truth.'
"If only they knew…"
The train slowly came to a stop at the last train station on the track heading west, meaning they had to get off or the train would take them back eastward.
"Night Shadow, this is our stop, get your flank up an-
"OK!" Night Shadow shouted, getting back up to his hooves.
"You were awake the whole time?"
"Nope."
"Did you hear what I said."
"Eeyup."
"Good, I'll wait for you outside then." Twilight said, grabbing her bag.
She walked out of the cabin and continued down four separate train cars before coming to the exit. The moment she looked outside she saw about one-hundred soldiers and the elements of disharmony waiting for them to come out. She quickly hide herself and ducked under the windows to avoid them from seeing her. Slowly but surely, she made it back to her cabin and opened the door.
"Night Shadow, they found us and they…OH COME ON!"
Night Shadow was on the ceiling, attempting to eat the light bulb.
"What."
"Bad guys! Outside! Very mean!" Twilight said as she pointed at the door.
"Ohhhh…so we're in France."
"What, no, there's guards and….what the hay is France?!" Twilight practically yelled.
"Twilight, just chill out, there's nothing to worry about."
"CHILL OUT?! A giant army of killer stallions is outside along with the elements of disharmony and you want me to chill out?!"
"Shhhh…get high ok."
Twiligh's mind almost broke in two until she suddenly hit the ceiling abruptly and became invisible. Night Shadow did the same and brought Twilight close to him, placing his hoof over her mouth.
"Ok, real talk. You're going to feel really cold in a couple of seconds, don't worry and don't freak out. Panicking will increase your heart rate and could potentially make you warmer. I'm positive they are going to scan the train with thermal scanners so stay quiet. All the bags and that weird book are up here to, remember what I said and we will be fine."
Meanwhile, outside of the train.
"You sure this is even the right train?" Castigate asked.
"Of course it is, it's the only train that was heading west." Eccentric replied harshly.
"And what if they jumped off or escaped out the back?" Maneful asked.
"We have guards surrounding the entire train, teleporting monitors, magic finders, radar and thermal scanners searching as we speak. If they bailed we would have know.
"Not if they jumped."
"If they jumped they will come through here eventually. We will get them, we just need to play their little game."
"You were just done telling us that the stallion deflected your hoof cannon away like a fly. You really think a hundred guards or your other tiny toys will stop him?" Stritin asked. "Death Fire placed a whopping two billion bits on both of their heads. That's a lot of money and Death Fire wouldn't put that kind of money on a common thug. These two ponies must be extremely powerful."
"Why have they only revealed themselves now?" Ammisive asked.
"It doesn't matter, all we know is that one of us is going to be filthy rich after this." Castigate said with a dark tone. "The one that knocks the ponies out first gets to claim the bounty, no exceptions."
"What if I get an assist?" Stritin asked.
The other four elements gave Stritin a dumb look before Castigate pointed at the train.
"Search the train and make sure nothing is left unchecked!"
"Who gave you command over my guards?!" Eccentric yelled.
"Just shut up and search the damn train!"
"Why don't you just blow up the train?" Maneful asked.
"If you want to pay for an entire train later then go ahead, blow up the train." Castigate said. "We will all be waiting when your house gets foreclosed."
"Ok, ok, we'll do it the boring way."
"I personally liked her idea." Ammisive said.
"JUST SEARCH THE #&( *# TRAIN ALREADY!" Castigate screamed.
Night Shadow faintly heard the conversation outside, slightly chuckling to himself.
"They sound just like my old squad members. Brave, cunning….and stupid."
"Well what's that say about you?" Twilight asked with a smirk.
"...shutup…."
Ten minutes later.
"We searched the entire train and found nothing. No heat signatures, no magic radiance, nothing." One of the soldiers said.
"I told you they jumped off." Maneful said coldly.
"Search it again." Eccentric ordered.
"We have searched three times already, there's nothing on the train." The guard informed him.
"I said search it again!" Eccentric yelled.
"Sounds like someone is a bit rusty at his job." Ammisive teased.
"Coming from a pegasus who had his head stuck in the clouds." Eccentric replied.
"Yeah, at least I can do the job right the first time!" Ammisive yelled with anger.
"You #& *#$ up just as bad as I did! You have no right to talk down to me!"
"If you would rely on your brain rather than your stupid gadgets maybe you would catch them."
"If you weren't so slow the first time around, we wouldn't be in this mess in the first place."
"DON'T YOU DARE CALL ME SLOW AGAIN!"
"THEN WHY DON'T YOU SHUT THE #&* UP FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE!"
The two were at each others throats until Maneful stepped in and pushed them away.
"Boys, boys…you both messed up, no one is blaming you for that. After all, you are just stallions…" Maneful remarked.
"WHY YOU TWO FACED &# *#!"
"WHY YOU TWO FACED &# *#!"
The three jumped at each other and rolled around on the dirt, punching and kicking each other in a huge uncivilized mess.
"Hey Castigate, my money is on Ammisive, how about you." Strtitin asked, turning to look at Castigate.
It was then he noticed the silver unicorn was gone. He looked around confused until he spotted him talking to the conductor of the train. By the time Stritin had walked over to talk to him the conductor had walked away, leaving Castigate by himself.
"Castigate, what were you two talking about?" Stritin asked.
"I asked him if he could take us back to Canterlot, it would be pointless to not go back in luxury."
"But we failed our mission."
"I know." Castigate said, walking past him.
"Aren't you a bit mad or even afraid of what Death Fire might do to us?"
"Why worry about things you can't avoid or prevent. A buisness pony like me knows better, now tell the others and the soldiers to get on the train." Castigate said, stepping onto the train.
"Alright, but the others are sort of…" Stritin said, looking back at the three fighting before looking back at him. "In a disagreement."
"You're a big pony, you figure it out." Castigate said, closing the door in Stritins face.
As Castigate walked down the train car he couldn't help but laugh softly to himself.
"Now it's my turn."
Several minutes later.
Night Shadow and Twilight were startled when the train began to move again. The red unicorn eased Twilight down to the ground as he did the same to himself, removing the spells he had placed on themselves minutes before.
"The train is leaving the station." Night Shadow said, grabbing a blanket from the bunk bed and wrapping it around Twilight. "And from what I heard, I think they all boarded the train with us."
"Then we need to get out now." Twilight said with concern.
"Not yet, it might be a trap. If we run out there now they might see us."
"But this is the only stop left."
"I know that, but we will also give them the assumption that we really aren't on the train. Besides, you must be freezing after that spell, warm yourself up and be ready to jump when I come back."
"Wait, jump?!"
"Shhh…yes, be ready to jump. So make sure all your belongings are strapped on."
"Ok, but we're about fifty miles out from the border of Equestria. I hope you know what you're doing."
"I do to…"
Night Shadow opened the cabin door and looked out, noticing no one was in the car. He closed the door behind him and slowly made his way to the front of the train car. He opened the door slowly, carefully walking in and closing the door as carefully as before. He now stood outside in between two train cars, looking through the window of the train car before him. There were at least twenty soldiers, easy for him to take care of but he would run the risk of being wounded and sounding an alarm at the same time.
With such a confined space as that he would surely be shot somewhere around the hoof or upper body, something no one could afford. He needed to protect Twilight, not be living target practice.
"I could walk on the top of the car, but that might make to much noise, especially with hooves." Night Shadow said as he looked around. "I could try going under…it would be less predictable and quiet."
He looked at his hooves and shook his head softly.
"Will I even be able to fit under there and would I even be able to hang on?" He asked himself as he grabbed his long mane with his hoof. "The hair doesn't help either, it would get caught and that would be the end."
He looked to the side of the train, watching the trees fly by him.
"Teleporting will cause too much light and I don't know if they are still monitoring the train for any sudden increase in magic usage." He said to himself before making up his mind. "Standing here isn't going to help, I just have to go for it."
Night Shadow used his magic to tie his mane around his forelegs and tied his tail around his hindlegs, making feel extremely uncomfortable.
"If I die like this I could never live with myself….wait, what."
Night Shadow jumped off the side of the train and latched onto the side of the train car, launching himself under the train car. He quickly grabbed the large pole under the car and held on for dear life as he hung upside down.
"Never do that again." He said to himself.
With that out of the way he slowly slid himself up the train car, taking a good several minutes to make it to the other side. It was then he realized he was stuck. He wasn't able to get enough momentum to launch himself back onto the car safely without eating a mouth full of track first. There wasn't any option left for him as he charged his horn and launched forward in a bright ray of magical light, reaching the locomotive within a split second. He reformed right in front of the door to the conductors room and opened the door.
Right as he did, the entire room changed to what looked like an open field with the sun shining on his face.
"What the…"
He walked around the field, feeling the flowers and the sun on his back. It all felt so real to him. He was so overtaken by this that he didn't even notice Twilight walk up behind him and nuzzle him on the cheek.
"You fell asleep on the grass again, I was wondering when you would wake up." She said with a smile.
"This…doesn't make sense. I was just-
"It was all a dream, Night Shadow. It was all a silly dream."
"No, that can't be right. It's to-
Twilight walked up to him and gripped his hoof with her own.
"You had a dream about the war again, didn't you?" She asked.
"I…I did…I guess."
Twilight looked right into his eyes with a worried look.
"It's over now, you don't have to worry. You're safe now." She said softly. "You're safe now…"
Twilight wrapped her hooves around his head.
"Look at me, Night Shadow. Everything is going to be fine. Now, I want you to say it."
"Say what?"
"Say everything is going to be fine…for me."
Night Shadow struggled to take in what was happening around him, not wanting to believe it. But the sun's warmth, the cool breeze that flowed through his hair, the birds chirping in the background, it was all too convincing for him.
"Everything…is going to be fine." Night Shadow whispered.
"And it always will, never forget that." Twilight whispered back.
As Twilight slowly leaned in, Night Shadow couldn't help but do the same. Just before their lips meet, Night Shadow heard a faint cry in the distance.
"What was that?" Night Shadow asked.
"It's nothing, Night Shadow. Please…I ask nothing more of you, just relax."
Night Shadow eased his mind and tried to relax until he heard the cry again, this time louder than before as the voice called out his name.
"Someone is out there, I need to-
As Night Shadow looked towards the sound, Twilight realed Night Shadow closer to her and held him tightly.
"What could be more important than me…you sacrificed everything to protect me."
"Twilight…I…."
The voice grew louder and louder, crying out his name and sending a chill down his spine when he recognized the voice to be Twilight's.
"Twilight is in trouble."
"But I am Twilight."
"There's something wrong…there's something terribly wrong…"
Twilight abruptly pinned Night Shadow to the ground and laid over him, holding his hooves in place.
"It's all in your head, Night Shadow." She said as the sun cast a dark shadow onto the stallion, making Twilight looked darker. "Just let it go…"
Meanwhile, the real Twilight could only watch as Castigate took out a knife coated in paralysis poison and prepared to stab Night Shadow's neck. Three soldiers held her in place with anti-magic while she struggled to break free of their grip, crying out to Night Shadow in hopes he would see through the illusion.
"Castigate, stop this!" Twilight yelled.
The silver unicorn simply gave her a smirk as he continued his charade.
"Make me." He whispered.
Twilight, losing her self control, angrily stomped on both of the soldiers hooves to her right and left, breaking their grip. When she did, Twilight jumped up and bucked the soldier behind her into the door. With their hold on her broken, she pinned the three guards to the walls and looked right at Castigate.
"I SAID STOP THIS!" She yelled.
Castigate chuckled softly to himself before abruptly taking out a golden flintlock and firing it right past Twilight's face.
"I could have killed you right there, but I want you alive. So…be a good little mare and stay put."
Twilight dropped her anger and almost smiled.
"So…you want me alive so you won't shoot me, but the only thing that was preventing me from moving was your gun…which you seemed to have already used."
"...What…."
"You're out of ammo aren't you."
"..."
Twilight blasted Castigate into the conductors room, accidentally forcing the train controls on high. The train abruptly launched forward at full speed, throwing everyone onto the floor or wall. During the distraction, Twilight knocked out the guards with magic and ran to Night Shadow, shaking him around violently.
"Night Shadow, it's me, wake up!" She yelled.
As Twilight shook Night Shadow, a poker card wizzed by Twilight, slicing off a bit of her hair. She looked to the right just in time so see Castigate holding two black aces and two black eight's in his hoof.
"It's called dead man's hand for a reason Twilight, I hope you're taking notes!"
Twilight hit the floor right when Castigate threw the cards. Angered by this, Castigate levitated his entire deck of cards before him and started throwing them at Twilight with his magic. If Twilight couldn't dance before she certainly learned quick. She dodge, ducked, jumped and weaved passed every card Castigate like a champion. When the last card was thrown, Twilight looked around and saw all fifty-two cards impaled into the wall and door behind her.
"You show ponies are all the same, I've seen this trick plenty of times." Twilight stated, looking back at Castigate. "Maybe you should be more…original…."
Twilight saw Castigate drop a bag full of bits before him and take out a stack of what appeared to be paper money.
"They say Diamonds are a mare's best friend….I beg to differ."
"Uh oh."
Twilight shut her eyes, summoning a strong shield to repel everything that was thrown at her. For at least thirty seconds, Twilight was bombarded with tons and tons of coin, almost like a horrible nightmare was coming true. When the assault stopped, she opened her eyes to the sight of Castigate pointing his gun right between her eyes.
"This time I won't miss." Castigate said, cocking his flintlock back.
Twilight blasted Castigate into the wall again, this time binding him to the chair with magical restraints.
"Should've shot me when you had the chance." Twilight said, walking to Night Shadow.
She waved her hoof in front of his face several times before slapping him right in the cheek.
"OWWW, WHAT THE HELL!" Night Shadow yelled.
"Don't curse in front of me."
"But it's not a bad word."
"It's not a kind word either, now let's get out of here." Twilight said, opening the door to the train car.
As the two left, Castigate continued to struggle in his bindings until he broke free, picking up all the money and cards with his magic
"This isn't over!" Castigate yelled.
"Why didn't you listen to me and stay in your cabin?" Night Shadow asked, running next to Twilight down the train.
"Once again, I save you and this is how you treat me?"
"I could have handled it."
"You were drooling over a stallion. You needed help badly.
"Actually, it illusion was about you."
"So…you were drooling over me?"
"Talk about it later, Twi. As you said, we need to get out of here."
When the two finally made it to their cabin, Twilight practically kicked the door open and grabbed her belongings. Night Shadow did the same and strapped them onto his back.
"You still haven't told me why you even went to the front of the train in the first place."
"I was going to force the train to stop, in the confusion we were going to jump. Didn't work though."
"Clearly if I had to save you."
"I know, I KNOW!"
"Everything is secure." Twilight said, looking to Night Shadow.
"Let's go then."
They both ran out the room and took a sharp left, heading down the back of the train.
Why does this have to be a huge train?!" Night Shadow asked.
"It's about forty cars big, but as long as we don't run into anything we can make it." Twilight stated.
The moment they opened the door to the next car, they saw Eccentric, Stritin, Maneful, and Ammisive playing cards at a table accompanied by several guards watching the game intently. They abruptly looked up at Night Shadow and Twilight with surprised looks.
"Uhhhh…hi." Night Shadow said.
"HA, IN YOUR FACE!" Eccentric yelled in victory.
"GET THEM!" Stritin ordered.
Night Shadow launched a burst of energy that pushed everyone in front of him to the floor. He quickly bolted for the door as Twilight quickly followed. Maneful was the first to get up and lunge at them violently. Just when Twilight made it through the door, Night Shadow slide the door shut in her face, forcing her to crash into the door and leave a dent the size of a bowling ball.
"Keep going, I'll distract them." Night Shadow ordered.
Twilight nodded and continued down the back of the train while Night Shadow stayed behind. Night Shadow flipped onto the top of the train car and ran to the other side, magically cealling the other door to buy some time.
"Get the darn door open!" Ammisive yelled, trying to open the door Maneful tried to fly through.
"I can't, her thick skull jammed the door shut!" Eccentric shouted.
"He slammed the door on me, what was I suppose to do?!" Maneful yelled.
"Stritin, try the other door." Eccentric said, trying to pry the door open.
Stritin ran over to the other door and tried to open it, but it was fruitless, the door was sealed tight.
"One of the two must have placed a spell on the door." Stritin said.
"Those idiots locked us in here!" Maneful yelled.
"You're the one that #*#& up the door." Ammisive shouted.
"At least I tried to get them while you guys just sat there."
"Both of you shut up and help with the door!" Eccentric ordered.
"Here, let me try." Stritin said, grabbing both Ammisive and Eccentric and slamming them through the door along with Maneful.
The door, along with the three unfortunate ponies, were launched into the next train car and were forced into unconsciousness. Stritin smirked as he grabbed the broken door and sealed the three ponies in the train car.
"All three of you have had your fun, I want a try." Stritin said as he turned around and jumped onto the top of the train car.
Night Shadow stared right at Stritin unamused. Stritin started to laugh softly as he walked right up to Night Shadow, completely towering over him by a full two feet.
"look at you down there, so small and harmless." Stritin mocked. "How in the world did you give my friends such a hard time."
"By making the same mistake you are making now." Night Shadow stated. "You have one chance…turn around and forget you even saw me or I will fight."
"You may look like Lord Fire, but your heart is too soft, to weak to belong to a true fighter."
"You'll be surprised."
Night Shadow lunged forward and punched Stritin in the stomach, forcing him to spit out saliva before Night Shadow flipped kicked him in the jaw, shutting him up. Once the unicorn landed, he teleported behind the large earth pony and delivered a tornado kick to his back, forcing Stritin to slide across the train car and stop just before he fell off.
"That was fast." Night Shadow said to himself.
Just before the unicorn left, Stritin casually got back up to his hooves and wiped off the spit from his mouth.
"You're way stronger then you look, I'll give you that. You still don't have a chance against me." Stritin stated.
"If I had a candy bar for everytime someone said that….look, can we just call this a draw?" Night Shadow asked.
"Yeah, no." Stritin said, cracking his neck. "Come on, I'll show you how hard a real stallion can hit."
"You know, strength isn't everything." Night Shadow said, taking a stance.
Stritin continued to softly laugh until he gave Night Shadow a crooked smile.
"I'll make you eat those words…"
Night Shadow suddenly felt a huge increase of energy emit off of Stritin before he lunged forward as a blur and punched Night Shadow right in the face, launching him back five train cars. Night Shadow quickly got up to his hooves with a huge pain in his jaw before swaying to the right, barely avoiding Stritin's punch that slammed clean through the train car. Night Shadow was still in shock when Stritin dragged his hoof through the solid metal like melted butter and punched Night Shadow in the chest.
The moment Night Shadow hit the train car he quickly vanished and appeared behind Stritin, flipping onto his back and grabbing his neck. Using all of his body weight, Night Shadow dropped to the floor and threw Stritin onto his back and slamming his elbow into his stomach while he was on the ground. Stritin retaliated by grabbing Night Shadow by his mane and hoisting him up. Just before he could throw him, Night Shadow wrapped his hind legs around Stritin and tossed him behind him with a flip. Night Shadow was able to break his hold, but the earth pony was far from finished.
Stritin flipped up onto his hooves and stretched, acting like Night Shadow's attacks were nothing.
"You are one tough stallion aren't you?" Night Shadow asked rhetorically.
"It's only the beginning."
Stritin dashed forward and increased his speed, throwing punches and kicks at Night Shadow to the point that he struggled to follow his movements. Night Shadow returned his attacks, sometimes being successful and sometimes failing epically. As the fight went on, Stritin's stamina began to fade, allowing Night Shadow to dodge and counter easier as time went on.
"I admit you are stronger than me in physical strength, that much is clear." Night Shadow complimented. "But you have little stamina and your abnormal strength makes you slow."
"Then maybe I should increase the odds to my favor." Stritin said.
Night Shadow's ears twitched when he heard Castigate and Eccentric walking slowly behind him. He also heard the flapping of wings coming from Maneful and Ammisive not to far above him, ready to attack all at once.
"Then go for it." Night Shadow said.
Just before they all attacked at once, Night Shadow increased his power, letting both his magic and energy flow within his body as once daily combination. When they collided into the red stallion the fight was on. Punch after punch was thrown, kick after kick was delivered, and the use of both magic and weapons were used like nothing before. The scuffle lasted for a good minutes before the five ponies broke off and repositioned themselves around Night Shadow.
"You all fight in such perfect synchronization and work as one rather than separate." Night Shadow said in admiration. "You fight like no one has fought before with skills never before seen by ponies, yet your personalities, your looks, the way you act around each other….it's…it's almost as if…"
Night Shadow went into shock as memories of his squad members flashed before his eyes. It was them. After over 5,000 years Night Shadow was able to see their faces once more, but It brought tears to his eyes knowing that Death Fire had corrupted them and formed them into his own image.
"He used my own allies against me…" Night Shadow whispered in tears.
Heavy rain started to fall before lightning began to crash violently around them, making the floor slippery and easy to slide on. As rain continued to pour down, Night Shadow continued to talk to himself.
"I'll make him pay for the suffering he's given you guys….you're ancestors were my closest friends and I promise to protect their legacy." Night Shadow said, looking up to the five ponies before him. "I'll find a way…I'll find a way to free you even if I die trying."
"He's just rambling to himself." Ammisive said.
"Put him out of his misery!" Maneful yelled.
When they charged again, the outcome was completely different. The five ponies couldn't even land a single blow on the red unicorn no matter how hard they tried. It was as if he knew their exact moves, fighting styles and exactly how they would attack every time.
"Dodge, dodge, kick, punch, dodge." Night Shadow whispered to himself as he avoided and countered every attack that was thrown at him.
Night Shadow flipped to the slide and ducked under Ammisive's triple kick and jumped over Castigate's card throws. Night Shadow landed on the train car, taking another position.
"Filia charges in while Callidus follows up with a side kick to the back."
Night Shadow ducked under Maneful just before Eccentric kicked Maneful in the face by accident, forcing her to slid along the surface of the train car.
"When that failed, Mico and Tremor join in and distract target while Legio threw exactly six knives to incapacitate target.
Ammisive flew in behind Night Shadow, only for him to be back hoofed and thrown into Stritin right before he even made his move. Even more frightening was that Night Shadow appeared before Castigate and slammed his knee into his stomach, forcing him to drop the cards he had just pulled out of his bag. Night Shadow continued to predict their exact moves correctly until enough time was bought to make their escape.
Night Shadow charged up his horn and created a blinding flash of light that blinded the five ponies while he made his move. Night Shadow dashed past the five ponies and made it to the back of the train with little effort.
"What in the world took so long?!" Twilight asked.
"Sorry, I was just catching up with some old friends." Night Shadow said, charging a ball of energy into his hoof. "Hold on to me."
Twilight grabbed Night Shadow tightly before the stallion blew off the only connecting the car to the train. Night Shadow then used his magic to force the car to suddenly break, creating a screeching sound that could deafen the ears of anyone close by. Several minutes went by until the car came to a complete stood in the middle of nowhere.
"A bit anticlimactic, but I can't really complain. Escapes aren't always meant to be epic." Night Shadow said.
"Well what now?" Twilight asked.
"Do you always have to end the chapter with like a question or something?"
"You just did."