Chapter 21 G: An Unexpected Reunion.

"How long has it been?" Twilight asked, sitting next to a warm fire.

Night Shadow looked outside of the cave they found, seeing that the violent blizzard had not ceased. As he looked at the blood red moon, he summoned his magic and sealed off the entrance with a large boulder, ensuring no one would be able to find them during the storm.

"Two weeks, three at most." He estimated.

Twilight looked back at the fire, extending her hooves towards it to absorb more warmth. She sighed as she shut her eyes, wishing things could be different.

"Do we even know where we're going?" Twilight asked.

"Does it even matter anymore?" Night Shadow asked in response.

"You and I both know we can't run forever."

"And I hope you know we can't fight them either."

"You act like it's impossible."

"But you make it seem like it's inevitable."

"So you're giving up?"

"I've given up long ago." Night Shadow said, laying down next to Twilight.

"Is that what you really think?" Twilight asked.

"Why do you ask so many questions?"
"What else am I suppose to do?"

"Now you're taunting me."

"Literally or metaphorically?"

Night Shadow groaned as he rolled on his side, closing his eyes.

"Hey Twilight, can you tell me the history of Equestria again." He said with a smirk.

"Sure, but listen closely, I don't want to have to repeat myself again." Twilight said, recalling information. "It all started on a cold winter night….

"And that's how Equestria was made. Did you get that?"

Night Shadow was out cold and sleeping like a rock. This made Twilight almost furious until she realised something.

'This is the first time I've been this close to a stallion.' Twilight thought. 'I wonder how different they really are.'

To many, such thoughts would suggest that of perversity, that Twilight was about to take advantage of a sleeping stallion and commit some naughty unmentionables if that is even the proper term for it. However, this is Twilight Sparkle we're talking about. Despite what others would have believed, Twilight was more on the innocent side of this matter. I would be lying if I said she was completely innocent or oblivious on how mares and stallions work, but Twilight simply wasn't that type of mare. If she wanted to know what made stallions different from mare, it meant she LITTERALLY wanted to know what made them different. That's still not going to keep you from thinking about it though…...you pervs.

The very first thing Twilight did was take out a notepad from seemingly nowhere and started to write.

"I'll call this the study of stallion from a mare's perspective." Twilight wrote. "Now, what to inspect first?"

Twilight was having a hard time containing her excitement, but her research has to come first. She picked up Night Shadow's hoof and held it in place.

"From this specimen, it appears stallions don't maintain proper hoof care like mares do. In fact, it appears as if the specimen has never had his hooves filed at all, much less cleaned."

She slide her hoof down his foreleg fur further examination.

"Subject seems to maintain a clean coat of fur, however, it would appear as if a stallions fur is slightly rougher than a mares. This is only an assumption, more tests would have to be conducted. Subject also appears to have toned forelegs after further inspection. This was unnoticed before due to the subjects large coat."

She continued on until she reached a problem. Night Shadow was laying on his side. If she was going to finish her research, she was going to have to gently place the stallion on his back. It took her a complete minute to finally finish the task even with the help of magic, but she was determined. She began feeling out Night Shadow's chest, taking notes as she did.

"Subjects chest feels strong and durable, contrary to mares. Just like the forehoof, it's toned shape is hidden under the vast amounts of fur."

She went lower as she felt Night Shadow's stomach, getting a small chuckle from the stallion as she traced over it with her hoof.

"Subject seems to be ticklish. It's aside the point but still amusing. It feels soft, malleable in a way. There's reasons to believe the subject has been overeating in sweets. Perhaps there's…..oh my…."

Twilight was blushing deep red at the sight, not able to believe her eyes.

"How did I not notice this sooner, how has this elluded my sight for so long?" Twilight asked herself. "How could I have been so blind….just look at it….it's….it's…."

Twilight flipped her pencil around and started erasing.

"It's unacceptable, how could I have misspelled such a simple word."

Twilight quickly made the correction and started her inspection again…just like any normal mare…..what am I doing with my life….

Shhhhhhh….just let it take you….

…

"Subjects tail is longer than normal by about a foot and a half. When the subjects tail is fully stretched it reaches a length of two feet. When the tail is released it reverts back into it's messy state as if it was intended to be that way."

After more examinations, Twilight fully inspected Night Shadow to the best of her abilities. Only one thing was left to examine. Twilight reached up to touch Night Shadow hair, taken aback by how soft it was.

"Subject has never been seen to care for his hair...hey that rhymed." Twilight said to herself. "Yet it seems to be so soft that it feels like it was made from silk. I'll try to get a close look."

The moment Twilight reached up to touch Night Shadow's hair again, her hoof was grabbed, almost giving her a hard attack on the spot.

"NIGHT SHADOW, YOU SCARED ME HALF TO DEATH!" Twilight screamed.

"Twilight….what have I told you…..about…." Night Shadow whispered before dozing off.

Twilight quickly realized the stallion was still asleep by some stroke of luck. When her heart calmed down she let out a soft sigh.

"What am I doing?" Twilight asked herself. "It's not right for me to study Night Shadow like he's some sort of lab rat. I better get some rest before-

And that's when Twilight accidentally stepped on Night Shadow's apples.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Night Shadow screamed, causing Twilight to turn white and fall on her back.

"I'm so sorry, I was just walking around and I, ummmmm…are you ok?"

"Do I look ok?" Night Shadow said in a high pitched voice. "I just wanted to sleep…..and you just sit there, knowing I was asleep, and reenact the nutcracker!"

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to-

"I've heard enough!" Night Shadow pouted as tears flowed down his face. "Now if you don't mind, I'm going to lay down and cry."

"Look, is there anyway I can help?" Twilight said with concern.

"Yeah….stay over there." Night Shadow said, flopping to the ground. "Stupid mares…" He whispered to himself in pain.

Twilight waited several more moments before her notepad floated next to her casually.

"Subject appears to have a weak spot…."

One week passes…..

"The clouds are starting to clear up." Night Shadow stated as he walked beside Twilight. "So the storm is far behind us now."

"It's about time, I don't know how much I could take anymore." Twilight said, tired from traveling.

"Should we find a place to stay for the night?"

Twilight looked around, noticing the massive field they had stumbled in. Not a tree or rock was in sight besides a small village just over the horizon.

"We should stop there." Twilight said, pointing to the town. "I feel like I'm about to pass out from walking."

"How far do you think it is?" Night Shadow asked.

"It's right at the horizon. Considering our hight, it should be about a mile or two out."

"Can you walk that far?"

"Why can't we just teleport?"

"I've been using this heat spell all day to keep the cold out. I want to conserve my energy incase we need to escape."

"You can never be too careful I guess." Twilight said, yawning. "Alright, but when we get there I don't want any funny business. I just want to go straight to-

Twilight suddenly tripped and rolled down what seemed like a hill. Night Shadow couldn't help but chuckle as Twilight eventually came to a stop, covered completely in snow.

"Here, let me help." Night Shadow said, jumping down to her and throwing the snow off of her with magic.

"What did I trip on?"

"You sort of fell down a hill." Night Shadow said with a smile.

Twilight turned to look curiously at the location she apparently tripped on. It was then she noticed the "hill" wasn't a hill at all. It was curved inwards like a circle rather than at an angle. Looking around in confusion, she realized she hadn't tumbled down the bottom of a hill, but into a massive crater.

"Night Shadow, do you have any idea what could have made this."

"The hill….frankly I don't know what makes hill. Maybe the hillbilly?"

"No, look around you. We're in a giant crator. This doesn't just happen naturally.

"Looks more like a bowl."

"Bowl, crater, whatever you want to call it. Do you know what could have made this."

Night Shadow started to look around, practically imitating a dog before laying down on a bed. When he was done looking around he looked right at Twilight, raising his hoof and opening his mouth.

"I…...have no #& # * idea."

"Do you have to curse?" Twilight asked.

"Maybe….maybe not." Night Shadow said, having the most goofiest grin on his face. "What's so bad about it anyways. It's just a word."

"Oh yeah, then why is it censored?" Twilight asked.

"...Did…..did you just…." Night Shadow said, holding back from screaming in excitement.

"Do what?" Twilight asked.

"You totally just did. You did that thing I do!" Night Shadow said with joy.

The red pony hugged Twilight and spun her around in absolute happiness.

"You finally learned to break the walls! I'm so happy I could kiss you!"

"But I have no idea what I…..wait what?!" Twilight asked in shock.

"What?" Night Shadow asked, putting Twilight down.

"You said you were so happy you could kiss me."

"No I didn't." Night Shadow bluntly stated.

"Yes you did! You just said it!"

"What are you talking about?"

"You just said…..AHHHHHH!" Twilight yelled in frustration.

"Twilight, I don't know what you think I said, but you might be hearing things. Maybe the cold has gotten to your head."

Twilight slowly leaned down and picked up some snow, forming it into a ball.

"Oh Night Shadow…I have a present for you…."

"Oh boy, what is it."

Before Twilight could throw it, three Vtol helicopter and two harrier jets flew over them, making the fur on her back jump.

"I didn't like that present." Night Shadow said, cowering in the snow.

Twilight quickly made it to the other side of the crater, watching to see if the warmachines would come back.

"It doesn't seem like they were looking for us." Twilight pointed out.

"Then why else would they be out here?" Night Shadow asked, walking next to her.

"Isn't this suppose to fall under your category?"

"They didn't have that when I was a kid, ok. The guy making all of these things must be a genius."

"Would that still be you, since Death Fire is part of you?"

"Oh wow, no wonder why he's smart."

"..."

Night Shadow would later be on the front cover of genius magazin, out ranking Twilight with a higher I.Q of ten simply because he said please and gave them candy….and because he bet all his cheesecake that he would win. Cheesecake is good, don't judge him.

"Well whatever the reason we need to take shelter in that town until they move on." Twilight said, pulling herself out of the crater.

"Sound like a plan."

Slowly but surely they made their way into the town that looked like it came right out of a western film. The only thing off was that there was no one there whatsoever. There where, as creepy as it was, pony sized rag dolls standing around in random locations.

"Ok, what the heck is going on?" Night Shadow asked.

Twilight walked up to one of the manikins and touched it gently, accidentally knocking it over.

"You know, I suddenly feel like running. Running away really, really fast. Do you understand me, Night Shadow." Twilight said with rising fear.

"Relax Twilight, it's creepy yes, but at least we can use these homes for shelter.

"Wait, do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"THAT!"

Twilight pointed behind Night Shadow in panic. Night Shadow turned around to see a bright light heading down the road towards them, quickly rushing Twilight inside a building before they were spotted. Moments later, a larger armored transport, floating gently off the ground, stopped in the middle of the town. It's back doors opened and four large guards with black coats and orange hair hopped out. One of the guards turned around and dragged out a light green pegasus bound in cuffs and threw her onto the ground. The guards took out their rifles and pointed them at the pegasus, commanding her to move to the center of the town.

She slowly made her way to the center before commanded to get on her knees. Once she did, her forehooves were bound behind her back and her hindlegs were cuffed together. As she sat there, the guards remained motionless, soulless even, as if they weren't alive at all. Second later, a hologram of a pony appeared before her.

"Do you have anything left to say, Lightning Dust?" Flash Sentry asked with the help of the hologram. "This is your last chance to beg for your life."

"You're a coward, Flash. Why don't you stop hiding behind your toys and fight me like the little pansy you are."

"Aww, you disappoint me. I was expecting at least something more offensive."

"Well why don't you get the stick out of your flank and get over it."

"Hahahahaha….I'll tell you what. Give me the location of the rebel base along with the stolen plans and you will be allowed to grovel at my feet for forgiveness."

"How stupid do you think I am? Why would I tell you if you're going to kill me anyways."

"Why do you ponies continue to resist. Why do you fight a battle you have already lost seven years ago. It's pointless, give up while you still have dignity."

As the conversation went on, Night Shadow and Twilight continued to watch in silence, waiting for the right moment.

"I can't belive Lighting Dust has survived this long. She's matured so much."

"You know this mare?" Night Shadow asked.

"She helped us during the start of the war. She's a really good friend and ally." Twilight said. "Still, seven years of war must have been hard on her."

"Then I'm not going to sit here and watch her die." Night Shadow said, charging up his energy.

"Wait, if we attack we won't know what's going on."

"Would you rather have information or an ally?" Night Shadow asked.

As this went on, Flash was just finishing up his last words.

"Be proud of yourself. You will be the first live subject to experience our new weapon first hand. A sight never before seen by scum like you. It will be the beginning of the end for all that oppose us."

"There are plenty more out there, plenty more that would gladly take my place." Lightning stated.

"Trust me, we know...and we plan to fix that."

Night Shadow coughed loudly as he stood outside of the building, drawing everyone's attention to him.

"Oh I'm sorry, am I interrupting something." Night Shadow asked, stepping out into the open.

"Who the #^#* are you?" Flash asked in annoyance.

"Name doesn't matter. I'll be taking your hostage now."

"Wait, hold on. You're not even going to ask me to free her. Isn't that what all you idiots do?" Flash asked.

"Yeah, well not this idiot…..wait….whatever! I'm taking your prisoner, so don't bother fighting me."

Flash started laughing hysterically, forcing Night Shadow to roll his eyes.

"Who are you to command me what to do?!" Flash asked.

"Yeah, I'd figured you would say that so I will give you two options. Walk away and don't look back, or fight me and regret it."

Flash started to laugh again, shedding a tear.

"I've seen many things in my life, but never have I seen a complete stranger command me to do anything, much less threaten me. I almost feel sorry for you…..almost…." Flash said, suddenly having malice in his voice. "It's bad enough I have to deal with morons such as the mare before you, but you...you are the epitome of stupidity!"

"Kid, get out of here!" Lightning shouted. "You have no idea what you're getting into!"

"Unfortunately for you, she's right." Flash said, turning to his guards. "And it's a mistake you will pay dearly for."

The guards eyes glowed orange before they pointed their guns right at Night Shadow.

"Turn him to dust."

Night Shadow vanished right as they fired, sending confusion throughout all that watched it with their own eyes. He reappeared behind the guard in the back, casually kicking him across the face and forcing him to slide across the dirt road. The guards quickly turned around and fired back only for Night Shadow to hit the floor, spin around and side buck the next guard into the air. He pushed off of the ground, flipping before landing on the ground and vanishing once again. Being bold this time around, he appeared in front of one of the remaining guards and punched right through his rifle right when he was about to fire.

The last guard took the opportunity to fire while the unicorns back was turned, clearly having an advantage. Somehow predicting this, Night Shadow flipped kicked the guard in front of him, launching him through a building before smashing the last guard into the ground with his hind legs. Night Shadow calmly landed next to the bound hostage and seconds later, the guard that was sent into the air came crashing down through the roof of a building.

"I admit I underestimated you, but you're still outmatched." Flash stated.

"Your guards lie unconscious on the ground, defeated. How could I possibly be outmatched?" Night Shadow asked.

"Why don't you check again."

Night Shadow turned around to see the guards walking towards him, perfectly intact.

"How...those blows could knock out an enraged hydra. How are they still..."

"You mean you don't know?" Flashed asked out of amusement. "This should be fun then."

"What are you-

"Initiate protocol 9472, Nightfall."

The guards hair and eyes slowly turned bright red before dashing right at Night Shadow. The red pony quickly launched into the air, avoiding their attack. To his surprise however, they jumped up after him and engaged him in mid-air. The attacks Night Shadow used to dispatch the guards before were now being shrugged off effortlessly.

"What the heck are you ponies made of!" Night Shadow yelled.

During this, Lightning Dust was struggling with the cuffs on her hooves. She extended her right wing to her mouth and plucked a feather off of it, spitting it onto the ground. She slowly turned around and struggled to grab the feather with her bound hooves. Once she picked it up, she desperately tried to pick the lock on her binding, attempting a self escape.

"It's useless to resist. Those cuffs are bound by magic and only they would be able to free you." Flash stated.

"Well, isn't that good to know." Twilight said, walking out from her hiding stop.

"Twilight Sparkle?!" Flash shouted in absolute shock. "You should be dead! How are you still alive?!"

"I have my ways."

Twilight walked over to Lightning Dust, who was still looking at her in disbelief.

"You...you can't be real….Twilight died years ago."

"Do I look dead to you?" She asked, using her magic to destroy the binding on the pegasus.

She extended her hoof out to Lightning.

"You don't have to fight them alone."

Lightning grabbed her hood and pulled herself up, popping her forelegs and neck. Flash decided to remain silent for the duration, taking mental notes as the fight went on with Night Shadow.

"So how do we beat these guys?" Twilight asked.

"They're machines." Lightning bluntly stated.

"Come again?"

"They're killer cyborgs with pony fur and skin. Shooting them isn't going to work, much less punching them like your friend is doing. They might look like actual ponies but they're nothing but metal and wires on the inside. If you're going to kill these things you're going to have to hit them in their joint or use raw firepower."

"Oh, Night Shadow can do more then just punch." Twilight said with confidence.

"Then he must be holding back." Lightning said with worry. "He needs to realise what he's fighting or they will overpower him."

"And how are we going to do that?"

"Visual aid." Lightning said with a smirk. "If you have a gun, now is the time to give it to me."

"I do, but I have no idea what you would even need."

"Just give me something long and thick."

"..."

"You know what I mean!" Lightning shouted.

Twilight searched her bag quickly, pulling out a random weapon and handing it to Lightning. She examined it, noticed it was a rhino revolver and spun the cylinder.

"This will work." She said, turning to one of the "guards." "Hey metal brain, look who freed herself."

The machines were too busy fighting Night Shadow to even acknowledge her presence. She pointed the gun towards them, waiting for the right moment. When one was presented to her, she fired but missed as the gun flew out of her hoof.

"Did you mean to do that?" Twilight asked.

Lightning picked up the gun and aimed it again.

"Yeah, funny story. I've never actually shot a gun before." Lightning said in embarrassment.

Twilight stood frozen in surprise.

"Then how do you defend yourself?"

"Dodging."

"No wonder you got caught…."

"Hey, I don't question your methods. Why don't you pick one up and try then."

"I have a better idea."

Twilight charged up her magic and blasted on of the machines into a building, causing Night Shadow and the other three to look back at her in surprise.

"Oh now you help me!" Night Shadow yelled.

"You're fighting machines, Night Shadow. Stop holding back on them."

"How do you know?!" Night Shadow asked, dodging more attacks. "If I use my abilities it's going to kill them."

"You can't kill something that was never alive to begin with. Just trust me, hit them with everything you got!"

Night Shadow slammed one of the guards down to the ground and charged an energy attack. When he tried to go through with it he simply couldn't, they looked too real and he feared he would be taking the life of a pony who was unwillingly under the control of Death Fire. Because of this he was left open and the machines exploited his weakness, knocking him to the ground and ruthlessly beating him to death.

"NIGHT SHADOW, YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE ME!" Twilight screamed. "DON'T LET THESE THINGS DO THIS TO YOU!"

"I….can't…."

Just before Night Shadow gave in to their attacks, a bullet flew straight through on of the guards heads. Night Shadow froze in fear as blood seeped out of the ponies' skull, but black oil and electric sparks soon followed, making him finally see the truth before him. The cyborg that was shot abruptly turned around to face Lightning Dust, who was still holding the gun before him. The machine dashed at her with a fury of rage, but Night Shadow quickly appeared before it, blocking its path.

"Leaver her alone…."

Night Shadow's hair and body shinned with bright purple aura before he punched his hoof right through the machines chest. He ripped it out slowly, calmly walking past the broken machine before it fell to the floor. The cyborg that was previously thrown through the building finally emerged, noting their advantage had been lost. Unable to feel fear or any emotion at all they simply dashed at Night Shadow and fought him again.

The fight seemed even and balanced until Night Shadow knocked one of the guards over and smashed his hoof through his stomach, ripping out the machines spine brutally. Any normal pony would have ran off in fear, but these things didn't know the meaning of surrender and simply continued to attack. Night Shadow eventually decapitated the head off of the third machine, causing it to short circuit and explode in a fireball. The remains burned softly next to Night Shadow as the scent of oil filled the air, casting a dim light on the abandoned town. The last machine dragged his hoof into the ground several times before charging like an angered bull.

Night Shadow stood his ground and put his hooves forward, stopping the machine in it's tracks.

It started to screech loudly and painfully, as if someone was scratching a chalkboard and dragging a knife on rusted metal at the same time. He shoved the machine forward and punched it's jaw, shattering it to pieces. Without wasting a second, he spun around and kicked the it directly in it's chest and forced it flying down the the road. Night Shadow appeared behind the cyborg and punched both of his hooves through it's back. He rose it into the air and with one final move, ripped the machine in half.

Night Shadow, covered in oil and blood, slowly walked back to Twilight and Lightning. The purple aura on his body faded away and he suddenly seemed confused.

"What's with all the serious looks?" He asked.

The two ponies didn't know how to answer and were going to just shrug it off until a loud bomb siren suddenly went off.

"What is that?!" Twilight asked in surprise.

"It's about time..." Flash said with a dark tone.

"What is that sound?!"

"I can see that you are confused so allow me to fill you in." Flash said, chuckling to himself. "In a less than a minute all three of you will be nothing but a shadow on the ground, forgotten by time. You were pronounced dead seven years ago, Twilight, so it's only fair for you to die here."

"You think a simple bomb is going to kill us?" Lightning asked in anger.

"Unlike the ones you're used to, this one will….well….let's just say it's going to get really hot in a flash." The arrogant pegasus stated.

The intercom soon started to speak.

"It's now one minute till zero time. Put on safety goggles or look away from the blast. Do not look directly into the blast until ten seconds after detonation."

At this point Lightning had figured out what was going on and froze up in complete fear as her eyes dilated. Night Shadow, on the other hand, was walking around calmly and looking up into the sky.

"What do you mean, explain yourself!" Twilight yelled.

"Your death is only the beginning….oh….and I hope you like mushrooms….hahahahahaha!"

The hologram faded, leaving Twilight scrambling for answers. She looked at Lightning with panic.

"Lightning, what is going on?!" Twilight asked yet again.

She shook in place and rambled to herself.

"It's over…we're going to die…we're going to die…." Lightning whispered as she breathed heavily.

Twilight ran over to Night Shadow in hopes for answers.

"Night Shadow, help me out here, what are we goi-

Night Shadow placed his hoof on Twilight's mouth, silencing her. When she was about to speak again Night Shadow simply pointed to Lightning and signalled her to bring her to him. Twilight nodded and ran over to Lightning, grabbing her hoof and pulling her to Night Shadow. The red unicorn then placed his horn on Lightning's head and suddenly casted a spell on himself and Twilight.

"Thirty seconds till detonation." The intercom announced.

Night Shadow continued to look around until he spotted a large object in the distance. Noting that in his head turned around and looked up again before closing his eyes.

"Please, Night Shadow. I need your help." Twilight pleaded.

The red pony remained silent.

"Twenty seconds till detonation."

"Night Shadow, do something!" Twilight yelled.

The red pony suddenly grabbed Twilight and held her close, looking right into her eyes. His horn slowly lit with purple magic and he placed it onto Twilight's head.

"Ten seconds till detonation."

As the countdown went on in the background, Night Shadow simply smiled as he gazed at Twilight.

"You worry too much…" Night Shadow whispered.

"Three….two….one…."

A huge light shined behind Night Shadow that forced Twilight to shut her eyes. After what felt like several minutes she reopened her eyes to find that she was floating on a cloud along with Lightning Dust, who was sound asleep. She saw Night Shadow standing on the edge of the cloud and decided to get up. Once she walked up to him she noticed a huge light in the distance that had formed what she could only describe as a huge mushroom cloud.

"How did you know?" Twilight asked in a whisper.

"I remembered what you said back in the town. Sometimes it is better to wait and listen then to strike at your first opportunity. You're a smart mare, Twilight…..and you might just be the one I've been searching for…." Night Shadow said, turning around to walk away.

"The one for what?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Night Shadow asked with a smile. "The one to succeed me…"