Chapter 21 F: Beyond the Walls of Terror.
Twilight and Night Shadow quickly slide down a small hill and took cover in the thick underbrush while gunfire rained down upon them. The two continued to run, using anything to their advantage until they witnessed it with their own eyes. What was laid before them, only about a mile away, was the hundred foot wall of pure steel that separated Equestria from the rest of the world.
"How fast can you run, Twilight?" Night Shadow asked as he loaded a submachine gun with his magic.
"I don't know, I never timed myself." Twilight said, ducking under a large tree branch while running.
"How fast can a pony gallop then, on average?"
"Around sixty kilometers-
"Use standard, I don't know all that scientific stuff."
"Around forty miles per hour."
"Good." Night Shadow said, sliding to a hault.
Twilight did the same but Night Shadow pointed to the wall before she could even ask.
"You should be able to get there in under five minutes then, I'll hold them off until you reach the wall." Night Shadow stated.
"Why do you always try to be a hero?! Why can't you just come with me?!" Twilight asked.
"I'm trying to protect you."
"Did you ever think that maybe I can protect myself?"
"I'm not taking that chance."
"Then I'm not going anywhere until you decide to move."
"Twilight, this isn't the time to argue with me, just-
"I'm not an innocent child, did you forget I'm the element of magic?!"
"Which is why they will try to capture or kill you first!" Night Shadow yelled with rising concern. "You need all the time you can get to climb that wall, so go!"
"And how am I suppose to climb a hundred foot wall with no rope, ladder or anything of the sort?"
"How am I suppose to know?!"
"Because this is what you're good at!"
"Oh so just because I can run fast and climb walls suddenly deems it as my profession. What, are you going to ask me for a green card now?"
"Why would I ask you for a green card, that has nothing to do with anything!"
"Don't question-
Several lasers flew past both Night Shadow and Twilight, ending their pointless argument.
"We don't have time for this Twilight, use the opportunity I have given you." Night Shadow said.
"Are you always this stubborn?!" Twilight asked.
"Yes, and for good reason."
"Well maybe it's time for a mare to take charge!"
Twilight picked up Night Shadow with her magic, encasing him in a transparent lavender bubble before making a break for the wall.
"What are you doing?!" Night Shadow yelled.
"Saving you again."
"#& *# Twilight, it's you who needs saving!"
"There's a fine line between heroic and stupidity. Then there's you."
Night Shadow folded his hooves as more and more bullets and lasers wizzed past their bodies.
"Why do you ruin everything?" Night Shadow asked.
"Again, this is the thanks I get for saving you?"
"Just let me do my think."
"The last thing I need is for you to be shot multiple times and then whine about how you need to protect me or order me around."
"I don't whine about that."
"Yes you do, almost all the time. Twilight, stay here, Twilight, don't move, Twilight this, Twilight that, I do it to protect you. It's annoying."
"Well sorry for caring!" Night Shadow said in aggravation, giving a grumpy look.
"You know what…I think you're just in denial."
"Denial of what may I ask."
"Denial of the fact that a mare is saving your hid now instead of the other way around."
"It's a stallions job to protect a mare."
"You act like we're helpless."
"They are unless they are trained."
"Everyone has to be trained, Night Shadow, nobody is just born to fight."
"The point is a mare shouldn't have to save a stallion."
"So you admit it then."
"No, I…it's just….mares shouldn't be….better…."
"I don't know where you were born or how you were raised, but here in Equestria mares can be just as good as stallions."
"Fighting is our thing though!"
"And look at where that has got you."
Night Shadow sighed heavily as he continued to float in his bubble while more lazers flew by.
"They shoot everything but us…what does that remind me of?" Night Shadow asked.
"Do you complain about everything?" Twilight asked.
"I wasn't complaining!"
The two continued to argue with each other, ignoring the fact that they were being shot at by hundreds of ponies until Twilight abruptly hit the large wall with her face.
"Oh wow, we're already here." Night Shadow said surprised.
"How do we climb the walls?! It's way too steep and we have no tools to use." Twilight said, looking back to make sure nopony was right on top of them.
"How about those conveniently made staircases to your right." Night Shadow pointed out.
Twilight looked and noticed a huge stairway in the shape of a Z that lead right up the the top of the wall.
"Why didn't we notice that before?" Twilight asked.
"You were too busy arguing."
"But I wasn't argu-
Twilight hit the floor when several lasers and bullets crashed into the ground around her. Because of this, the spell on Night Shadow was broken and the poor stallion abruptly fell on his back. He casted a force field around them the second he could, rappelling off any stray shots that came their way.
"There's aim is getting better at least." Night Shadow pointed out as he sat up. "Considering they are blind firing from inside the forest."
"Cover me while I get up the stairs, Night Shadow!" Twilight pleaded.
"Oh now you want my protection! What happened to you being able to-
Twilight grabbed Night Shadow by his neck and started to strangle him.
"I KNOW WHAT I SAID, JUST HELP ME!"
"Fine, I'll help you." Night Shadow choked.
Twilight released her grip and looked into his eyes.
"I'm going to try to get to the stairs. You know what to do right."
"No, I want to see you try this." Night Shadow said.
"Are you crazy, there are lasers and bullets flying everywhere around us!"
"I know, but I want to see a mare do this…you know, because you say you can handle yourself." Night Shadow said with a smirk.
"Fine, I don't need your help them."
"Go then." Night Shadow said, shoving her out of the field.
Twilight quickly dashed towards the stairs, almost losing her head when a stray bullets flew right in front of her. Surprised, she fell on her back, accidentally dodging another stray bullet. She crawled backwards in a hurry, completely frightened as lasers and bullets flew by and crashed all around her. The moment she started screaming for help, Night Shadow stood next to her, letting his field protect her again.
"I almost died….I almost died…" Twilight repeated to herself.
"Well not really. When I shoved you out of the field I made sure to put a magnetic barrier around you so bullets would be redirected around you. You were never in any real danger."
"What about the lasers."
"I gave the barrier some anti-radiation properties considering that's what a laser is." Night Shadow said.
"Why are you only smart when you want to be…" Twilight asked.
"Because it annoys you and it's funny to see you freak out." Night Shadow said with a smile.
"I dislike you in a very friendly way." Twilight said, standing up. "How long can you keep that shield on me."
"You need to be close, I never learned how to apply it perfectly to others. My guess is the moment you make it to the stairs is when the spell fades."
"What about this force field then?"
"That…might be a bit difficult."
"Why?"
"It's energy based, meaning you can't do it at all. There is a magic based form of it, but it drains your power really quickly."
"Then tell me how to do it."
"Twilight, this is literally the worst time for a magic lesson and performing a spell like this takes time to master."
"Hello, element of magic here, I think I can handle it."
"I highly doubt you can-
Twilight looked at Night Shadow right in the eyes.
"Try me." Twilight said with a grin.
"Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you." Night Shadow said as he folded his hooves. "All you gotta do is force the magic within you to come out and form a-
"Ok, got it!" Twilight said, dashing out of the field.
Right when she reached the stairs, Twilight's horn exploded in a bright purple light until she was suddenly encased in a transparent shield that was reflecting everything that was shot at her. Night Shadow, completely shocked at what he just saw, had his mouth open in amazement and jealousy.
"THAT'S BULL#& $!" Night Shadow screamed in sudden anger. "THAT TOOK ME THREE YEARS TO GET AND YOU DO IT IN JUST….AHHHHHHHH!"
Night Shadow grabbed the submachine gun from his bag and turned to the ominous forest behind him. It wasn't long before several soldiers finally emerged from the cover of the trees and began to fire more accurately. The frustrated pony returned fire, mumbling under his breath.
"My name's Twilight, I'm the element of magic, I can do everything better then you." Night Shadow whined as casually walked to the side, continuing to fire. "I read books all day and get good grades on my report card because I'm Celestia's prized student! Mare's are so great, we can do EVERYTHING!"
Night Shadow dropped the gun once it ran out of ammo and resorted to energy blasts from his hooves.
"Stupid magic, stupid girls, stupid war! Why do mare's have ruin everything?! All they do is cry and talk about their dresses or hair! It's so darn annoying!"
So….why did you fall in love with three of them then?
"SHUTUP!"
"And who exactly are you talking to now?" Ammisive asked as he landed before him.
"Probably his imaginary coltfriend." Maneful said as she appeared from the forest.
"You do know he's a guy, right?" Stritin asked.
"The hair does make it hard to tell." Castigate pointed out.
"Hi." Stritin said abruptly.
"Great…it's the traveling comedic group here to brighten my day." Night Shadow said with a sigh. "Do we really have to fight?"
"Come now, did you really expect to escape from us?" Ammisive asked.
"Yes…that's kinda why were running." Night Shadow stated.
"Well you're wrong."
"Thanks, Captain Tenneal, but I'm not in the mood for an extreme challenge." Night Shadow bluntly stated.
"Wha…..what?" Ammisive asked with confusion.
"Do you know what he's talking about?" Maneful asked.
"I, for one, have nothing to say." Castigate stated.
"How about goodbye." Night Shadow declared.
He fired a large energy blast that forced the ponies in front of him to quickly jump out of the way. The ball quickly vanished into the forest, leaving behind a burning trail of purple fire.
"Since when could he do that?!" Stritin yelled in panic.
"It doesn't matter now, lets capture this idiot!" Maneful ordered.
Ammisive took out his railgun while Stritin held two automatic shotguns in his hooves. Eccentric's blade sprung to action and Castigate simply pointed his flintlock at the pony. Lastly, Maneful took out two nightsticks from her sides, spinning them around to show off.
"What's it going to be?" Maneful asked.
Night Shadow waved his hoof calmly, forcing the weapons to suddenly become bound the the dirt.
"You were saying?" Night Shadow asked.
Maneful fired two balls of magic towards Night Shadow, taking him a bit off guard. The moment he deflected the balls, Ammisive rushed in and punched Night Shadow across the face before spinning around and thrusting his shin into Night Shadows chest. The red pony was forced into a backflip, landing on his face just as Stritin came in to buck him into the steel wall.
"So they know some new tricks." Night Shadow whispered as he slide down the wall. "That's still not enough to-
"TERROR CANNON!"
"Terror what-
Night Shadow was then pinned to the wall as a dark blue and black vortex surrounded his field of view.
"Is that seriously the name of your move! This doesn't even do anythin-
Night Shadow turned to see Stritin staring down at him with soulless black eyes, giving an ominous look.
"Ok, it's creepy…but all you did was put on a fancy light show for goths and simply changed your eyes to look darker."
"It's suppose to scare you." Stritin said.
"Oh….oh…well, this is embarrassing." Night Shadow stated.
"Why does this never work…" Stritin asked himself.
"How many times have you used it?"
"About….four times I think. Once on Dark Fire, then on Pinkie, then you…..well there was that time in Stalliongrad."
"Has it ever worked?"
"Not really….the idea was for it to scare opponents into submission."
"Use something else then, no point in using a move that doesn't work."
"It's all I got though."
"You'll figure it out."
Night Shadow dashed and uppercut Stritin in the jaw, breaking the spell abruptly.
"Didn't work?" Castigate asked.
"Didn't work…."Stritin sighed while he laid on the ground.
Stritin quickly got back up to his hooves, rubbing his jaw in pain.
"All at once?" Stritin asked.
"All at once." Ammisive said, sending volts through his wings.
"Sorry, I'm just trying to get through." Twilight would say everytime she knocked out several guard with her magic.
"Arrest her!" Some of the guards would say before joining the number of unconscious soldiers.
Twilight had been on top of the wall for about five minutes, trying to find a safe way down to the bottom. She found nothing and a hundred foot drop wasn't something she wasn't about to try. She was in between two massive watch towers, constantly under fire from all directions. Fortunately for her, the shield was still up, but it was quickly draining her magic as each projectile crashed into her field.
"Where are you, Night Shadow? I can't wait for you forever." Twilight said to herself.
In truth, Twilight had enough power to teleport far away to safety. There were only two problems with this. One, she knew she couldn't survive out there on her own, that much was clear. And two, what would be the chance of Night Shadow finding her again if she left and continued to run. It was just too risky and she couldn't take that chance, but if she stayed she would eventually be captured or worse.
'I can only keep this up for a minute, please hurry up.' Twilight thought.
After blasting several more guard, Twilight was backed up into the wall of one of the watchtowers. Focusing her magic forward, she concentrated all power to her front, insuring nothing would get through. While this strategy worked for at least twenty second, the guards soon became aware of the situation and focused fire into one specific spot. With the shield just about to break, Twilight turned the shield into a magical projectile and shot it forward, blasting everyone in front of it to the ground or the tower behind them. Hoping to buy time, she sealed the tower door's, cutting off any possible way of reaching her unless they jumped down from the tower or climbed the stairs. Twilight looked down the stairs in slight panic, desperately trying to find Night Shadow so they could escape.
She found him fighting off the diselements on the stairs, slowly but surely making his way up to her. Just when she was about to cry out to him, a guard sprung out from nowhere holding a live grenade and tossed it right at her. Fortunately, the grenade was poorly timed out of desperation, resulting in the bomb to bounce off of Twilight's head before rolling down the stairs.
"What in Celestia's name was that?!" Twilight asked as her eyes teared up. "Why did you do that?!" She asked, looking at the guard.
"I'm trying to kill you, what do you think I'm doing?" The guard stated.
"So throwing a rock at me is going to-
The grenade abruptly exploded, making Twilight's hair and fur jump in surprise. Still being clueless as to what was happening, she turned her back on the guard to attempt to figure out what happened. That's when the guard pulled a knife and ran to her to finish the job himself. Twilight heard his footsteps and turned back to look, seeing the guard only a few feet away from stabbing her. In complete panic, Twilight ducked, accidentally forcing the guard to trip over her body and fall down the stairs.
As Night Shadow came to the base of the last stair way, the guard slammed into him, knocking him off of the stairway. He grabbed the ledge, preventing himself from falling painfully down to the ground. Maneful and the others were confused until they looked up and saw Twilight quickly duck her head to hid.
"Forget the stallion, the mare is more important." Maneful ordered.
Ammisive quickly took flight while Eccentric dashed up the stairs. Before the other three followed, Night Shadow flipped over the ledge and kicked Maneful into the railing, stunning her for a few seconds. He blocked Castigate and Stritin, but the remaining two had already reached the top.
'Hold out for a few more second, I'm almost there.' Night Shadow thought.
Meanwhile, Twilight was being backed into a corner by Eccentric and Ammisive.
"She's so cute, don't you think Ammisive?" Eccentric asked.
"I don't do egghead, unicorn types." Ammisive stated.
"But look at her, she can't even defend herself." Eccentric said, petting Twilight's head.
Twilight bit Eccentric hoof abruptly, causing Eccentric to cry out like a mare and shake around as if she was a ragdoll.
"GET IT OFF, GET IT OFF!"
"Hold still!" Ammisive yelled.
He kept on shaking around, screaming and shouting even louder.
"JUST SHOCK HER OFF!"
"And make you scream even louder….sure, I'll go with that."
'I hope this works.' Twilight thought, recalling a science experiment years back.
Just when Ammisive grabbed Twilight, the clever unicorn levitated off of the ground so the current of electricity would pass safely through her and flow right into Eccentric. As an added bonus, she redirected the lighting back into Ammisive, resulting in a spectacular light show and screaming. Right when Ammisive let go of her, she released her grip on Eccentric, falling to the floor with a thud. The ponies were now a crisp black as their hair fumed with smoke.
"You….&#* #..." Ammisive whispered before he fell to the floor along with Eccentric.
It wasn't long before Night Shadow finally made it up the stairs, still fending off the other three attacks. He looked over to Twilight in worry, then in confusion as he saw Ammisive and Eccentric smoking on the floor.
"Oh…you didn't need my help then." Night Shadow said, elbowing Stritin in the neck.
"I need your help now." Twilight declared, blasting Maneful off of Night Shadow's back.
Both Twilight and Night Shadow fended off the last three attackers for another several moments before at least five gunships appeared from the sky, pointing their guns right at the two. The doors to the watch towers were then kicked open as guards flooded in to surround the two, cornering them on the ledge of the wall.
"Hold your fire, we need them alive after all." Maneful ordered.
Ammisive and Eccentric eventually got up, wobbling over to the other three in pain.
"And so your adventure ends here. You're surrounded and the only way out is through us." Castigate stated.
Night Shadow backed up with Twilight, readying himself to jump.
"You're insane aren't you?" Maneful commented. "You're finished, you can't survive a hundred foot fall. Even if you did, you wouldn't get past the hatred wave."
Night Shadow froze in place while Twilight's eyes widened.
"Hatred wave? What in the world is that?" Night Shadow asked.
"It's the ability Dark Fire used to control everyone." Twilight informed. "But there's no way it could reach this far out."
"And not about it's range, but for the simple fact that it surround all of Equestria." Maneful said, feeling confident that they couldn't escape. "Outside of these wall there is a barrier that all the new citizens of Equestria must pass through. The hatred way as this purple pony put it. Right as you enter through the field, your mind is reprogrammed to be completely submissive to Death Fire and him alone. Thoughts of rebellion are snuffed out and only loyalty takes it's place. If you try to leave….you will become one of us. You have no choice in the matter."
"You're bluffing. If I couldn't do that what makes you think he could?" Night Shadow asked.
"We have advanced in technology far beyond the comprehension of your barbaric, pony minds. If you don't believe me, take a look for yourself."
Maneful shot a magic blast above Night Shadow's head. Both Twilight and Night Shadow turned around just in time to see the blast repulsed and dispersed over a faint red field.
"Now, are you coming quietly or are we going to have to beat you to an inch of your life?" Maneful asked.
"Night Shadow, do something." Twilight whispered.
"Hold on, I'm thinking." Night Shadow whispered.
"That's what I'm worried about."
"They're taking to long, sease them."
As the guards walked up to them slowly, Night Shadow continued to think out loud.
"Ok, that purple mare used a weak spell to demonstrate the shield thing, right?" Night Shadow asked.
"Night Shadow, they're closing in." Twilight panicked.
"So what if I use a powerful energy wave."
"Night Shadow…."
"That should put a hole in the field and then we can teleport out."
"NIGHT SHADOW!" Twilight yelled.
"HEY EVERYONE, CHECK THIS OUT!" Night Shadow shouted with joy, holding an orange in his hoof.
The guards froze in place, confused.
"HE'S DISTRACTING YOU, SEIZE HIM NOW!" Castigate ordered.
Night Shadow levitated the orange and it turned into a bowl of milk. The red pony quickly ate the milk and drank the bowl, swallowing the contents in front of them. He suddenly started to vibrate violently before abruptly stopping, standing completely still.
"Oh that was a bad idea…." Night Shadow said, grasping his stomach.
As he did this, he reached into his bag and pulled the pin on a small canister before "accidentally" dropping it. It rolled towards the ponies before calmly releasing smoke, making everyone laugh hysterically.
"Night Shadow, what in the world are you doing?!" Twilight demanded.
"I will admit, your friend here is hysterical." Stritin said, continuing to laugh. "What did he expect to do with smoke."
"Nothing much." Night Shadow said before cracking a smile. "I was more interested in the hydrogen in the bottle."
"Hydrogen?" Stritin asked.
"YOU IDIOT, YOU LET HIM-
Castigate was cut off when Night Shadow abruptly belched out fire from his mouth, igniting the entire area in flames within seconds. Five energy balls were then launched into the air, dispatching the gunships floating above before he shot a sixth one right at the field. Without effort, the huge hole was shot through the field, giving the two ponies an exit.
"Hold on to me." Night Shadow said, extending his hoof to Twilight as he stood on the railing.
"Awww, look at you being all heroic. It's so cute." Twilight commented.
"What...no, I'm….I'm not cute…." Night Shadow said in a grumpy tone.
Twilight grabbed his hoof and pulled herself up to him.
"Don't deny it."
"No, I'm just….shutup and help me teleport."
"Whatever you say, hero." Twilight teased.
Night Shadow rolled his eyes as he charged up his magic. Twilight did the same and within a second they had vanished in a bright purple light. Seconds later the smoke cleared and the fire was put out, leaving everyone's fur completely black and scorched with burns.
"They got away…." Eccentric said, looking over the ledge.
"Great, we failed again. What now?!" Stritin asked in frustration.
"There's nothing to do now but wait." Maneful said, making the others look back at her in surprise.
"What do you mean?" Ammisive asked.
"Gather a search party to look for bodies. We're going to pick us up some ice sculptures."