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Chapter 22 A: Where the world ends.
Night Shadow wondered around in an open field under the bright sunlight of day. The wind blew through his hair and the birds chirped in the background. Sapphirine suddenly appeared before him, dressed in white but with no emotion on her face.
"I thought you had changed."
The clouds overhead shifted around within a blink of an eye as a darkened sun and red moon rose and from the horizon. The stars then fell from the sky and burned in the orbit of the atmosphere. Night Shadow was stunned by the scene before him and tried to speak, but his mouth was sealed shut. Without another moment, the scene changed and was replaced with a forest.
"You were suppose to protect me…."
Nocturn, lifeless and without emotion, stood before him. Her eyes suddenly vanished and were replaced by black voids as blood seeped out from it's sockets. Night Shadow tried to back up in fear but couldn't move. He looked down to see Mico, Tremor, and the others holding him in place with the same wounds they died with. Fire and smoke quickly emerged from the ground as Nocturn suddenly sunk to the ground.
"You we're the one that killed me."
Twilight stood in her home, surrounded by her friends as the room slowly melted away in the increasing fire. Night Shadow, once again, tried to back up in fear, but only bumped into something else. He turned around to Dark Fire, who beared a look of terror.
"It's too late now…."
The scene changed to Canterlot in flames. The citizens were all in chains and crying in pain as soldiers beat and killed them ruthlessly. In what appeared to be a timelapse, the entire land changed from Canterlot to a super city full of factories and skyscrapers that reached the clouds. The smoke completely blocked out the sky until the sun and the moon allied and formed an eclipse with a sinister, dark red color. He turned around again to see Death Fire with a wicked grin on his face.
He started to laugh evilly as Night Shadow witnessed the deaths of Celestia, Luna, and countless others before his eyes. He tried to scream, he wanted to wake up from this nightmare, but nothing he did worked until he ended up right back in a field of roses, gazing right at Twilight in chains. Before he could even do anything, Twilight was ignited in flames and screamed in agony as Death Fire's laughter was heard in the distance. Twilight burned until there was nothing but ash remaining on the ground, forcing Night Shadow to silently shed tears as he shook with terror.
As he looked up one last time, he saw himself on a throne with Death Fire dead before him along with all his friends and enemies. The pony on the throne looked at him and smiled wickedly.
"Was there ever a doubt…."
At that moment, hundreds of nukes exploded in the background and vaporized the entire land in front of his eyes. Night Shadow screamed in horror as he felt his entire body burn away from the intense heat until he himself had completely disintegrated from the blasts. All that was left was a world without peace, without hope, and without life….a world of nothing….
Night Shadow finally awoke from his dream, screaming and thrashing in the bed in pain. When Twilight finally returned to the room, she panicked and casted a calming spell on the stallion.
"What happened?!" Twilight asked.
Night Shadow breathed heavily to try to calm down further, but it only proved to make it worse.
"I saw what I caused….what my failure created….what I would become…."
Twilight sighed softly before placing her hoof on Night Shadow's head.
"It was only a dream, you're safe now."
"Where are we, and what happened?" Night Shadow asked.
"After you….well...you know….you fell to the floor and lost conscious. You were shivering and you had lost all of your body heat, i'm surprised you recovered so fast." Twilight said, clearly relieved to see him awake. "Me and some other stallions and mares carried you to the ship before more soldiers arrived, some even recognized who you were even without the hair."
"Are they a problem?"
"No, they seemed….proud. They appreciated what you were doing to stop Death Fire. Although, they might have some mixed feelings after what you did on the docks."
"I don't blame them. How long have we been on the ship?"
"At least four days. You can do the math on how long you were out."
"Do I have to?"
Twilight smiled and shook her head.
"There's food in the lobby and lots of it to. This ship is huge, but there's a lot of ponies on it. So I suggest you-
Night Shadow vanished right before her eyes.
"...get….some…."
Twilight sighed again and started to walk of the room.
"I'm just glad he's ok."
Elsewhere, miles north of Equestria.
A dark purple mare, looking outside of a frozen castle, observed the night sky silently as the winter wind howled across the land.
"So...they've finally returned." She whispered to herself. "Well, it took them long enough."
With magic, she summoned five stallions to her throne room. They bowed silently and patiently awaited their orders.
"You summoned us, my queen?" Shrill Shot asked.
"What have I told you about calling me that." The mare said, turning to the five commanders.
"I'm sorry, my queen, I-I mean mistress."
The mare sighed in annoyance.
"My name is Nightmare Twilight….so just call me Twilight, or Ntwi, I honestly don't care for titles. You should know this, you have been with me for almost seven years."
"As you wish, my queen."
"We'll work on it."
"We also thank you for saving us." Vivum announced.
"And empowering us with your will." Animum finished.
"Yes, I know. You told me one-hundred and fifty times already." Ntwi said with a rising tone.
"Actually, considering the time frame and summonings, it's more like one-thousand and eighty se-
"I KNOW!" Ntwi yelled before taking a deep breath. "I know, you don't have to be so technical, Bluster Cloud."
"Apologies, Mistress."
"..."
"I mean sorry…."
Ntwi continued to give a deadpan expression, smothering her face with her hoof.
"So why have you summoned us?" Silent Wind asked.
"Watch over the land while I'm gone, it shouldn't take too long."
"What if there's an attack?"
"Page me." She stated, grabbing her cape and stolen element of magic.
"What if the citizens ask questions?"
"Give them a cookie."
"And what of the filly?"
Ntwi paused in her tracks.
"Tell her...I'm off to visit a friend."
"Will do, my queen."
"God #&( #"
Ntwi stepped onto a glowing, dark purple, rune circle in the middle of the throne room. With a flash of her horn, the rune glowed brightly before Ntwi quickly vanished in a burst of black smog. She reappeared in the middle of an open grassland covered in bodies and rusting metal from recent battles. She looked up at the sky, noticing it's glowing green sky and gray clouds looming above until at last she glared forward and noticed a large, black, castle made up of what seemed like spikes and dark magic.
Wind blew through her cape before she decided to move forward towards the large symbol of hopelessness. Moments turned to minutes as she made it to the castles steps, only to be blocked off by undead guards and other abominations. Seconds later, the undead dragon, Durrarnco, landed before her and caused the ground the crack from his landing.
"Why...have you come here…." The dragon asked deeply.
"I'm here to discuss with your master, so move aside." Ntwi replied.
"He has not called for your presence..."
"This is urgent."
"No….you are foolish…."
The dragon breathed green fire onto Ntwi, lighting up the entire courtyard with it's glow. Not a moment later, Ntwi stepped forward from the smoke with a transparent shield surrounding her.
"I thought dragons were suppose to be smart." Ntwi said with a cocky grin.
Her eyes flashed and the dragon was flung into the entrance of the castle, bashing open the doors. Durrarnco roughly rolled down the stairs until coming to a stop before Ntwi. Before he could get up, the purple unicorn placed her hoof on his neck and held him in place.
"Don't make me ask again." She said with a more serious tone. "Or do we need to play rough again?"
The dragon hissed in anger before giving up without much more trouble. Ntwi smiled playfully as she stepped over the dragon and walked through the now gaping doors of the castle. She wandered around the corridors and rooms, getting lost several times until she reached the last possible room. She took a deep breath and faded through the entrance, appearing on the other end. The room was completely filled with candles, necromantic symbols, and skulls that still reeked with the scent of decay. In the very center was none other than the stallion that caused it all, surrounded by spell tomes and other books dealing with magic.
"You know Nightmare night was like, a week ago, right?" Ntwi asked.
The book was slammed shut with magic.
"What do you want?" Desolent asked.
"A simple hello would have been nice."
Desolent sighed deeply, refusing to look at her.
"What...do you want….?" He asked again, growing in frustration.
"Fine, be like that, it's not like Twilight's returned or anything."
Desolent's eyes widened.
"But since you're so busy reading playcolt magazines I guess I will just-
"Will you shut the #* # up! What do you mean Twilight's returned?"
"Oh now you want to talk, did I hit a nerve?"
"You stupid witch, you better not be messing with me or so help me I'll-
"You'll what, kill me? Oh how sweet, I haven't heard that before."
Desolent remained silent.
"At least look at me will you?" Ntwi said, approaching him.
The stallion remained silent until Ntwi started to rub his shoulders.
"Come now, tell ol Twilight what's wrong." She joked.
With a quick spell, Desolent separated Ntwi from his body, pushing her away ten feet.
"I told you to not do that." Desolent growled.
"Oh what, this?"
Desolent felt magic creep up his body and start to slowly tickle him.
"Nooooo…..I said to not-
Ntwi increased the power of her spell, forcing a gasp from the necromancer.
"I think you need to relax." Ntwi stated.
"And you need to….take this….seriously!" Desolent struggled to say.
"Oh, is that a smile I see on your face, dusty?" Ntwi said with a grin.
"My name...is…."
Desolent gasped again, trying to use magic to shield himself.
"You know that's not going to work on me." Ntwi stated.
After several more moments, Desolent burst into a fit of laughter, rolling on the floor in an attempt to shield his body.
"Stop please! It's too much!" Desolent begged, shedding tears of laughter.
"Finding out you were ticklish was the best thing since the creation of Nutella. I'm not going to pass up this amusement because of your grouchiness."
Ntwi pinned Desolent on his back and focused the spell on his stomach, increasing it's power to it's maximum potential. She eventually stopped the spell when she was standing right above him, practically straddling him on the floor.
"Looks like I win." Ntwi announced.
"...I hate you…." Desolent whispered.
"I know…."
Ntwi abruptly leaned down and kissed Desolent on the lips, forcing him to sigh softly and close his eyes. The kiss lasted at least five minutes before Desolent broke it, bearing a look of shame.
"What's wrong?" Ntwi asked.
"You know what's wrong."
"Oh…."
"I'm cheating on her….I'm betraying the one I fell in love with because of my lust for power. I hate it….you're suppose to be my mortal enemy."
"Derpy, right."
"Ditzy."
"Derpy, Ditzy, same thing. You love her right?"
"Yes?"
"And you would never harm her, right?"
"Never."
"Then what's the problem?"
"It's wrong."
"Oh I'm sorry, I thought I was talking to Desolent. You know, selfish, arrogant, violent, messenger of the dead."
Desolent glared at her, unamused.
"Sorry…."
"It's this damn miasma, it craves for power and is never satisfied with what I already posses."
"You're being too hard on yourself."
"And I have a right to be. Ditzy is the only one that can calm my rage and control my violent nature. Without her, I would be reduced to a heartless beast."
"Because you had a heart to begin with….yeah, cool story."
Desolent rolled his eyes.
"You, of all ponies, should know what I mean."
"Of course..."
The stallion sighed in frustration, shifting around under Ntwi.
"Can you get off?" Desolent ordered.
"Why, I like being on top of you. I feel accomplished."
"You're about to feel your femur snapped in half."
Ntwi released Desolent, allowing him to stand back up on his hooves.
"Now tell me about Twilight."
"Well, Twilight I'm not entirly sure." Ntwi admitted.
"What?!"
"Here me out. The reason I said Twilight had returned is because I recently visited a dream of someone you might find interesting."
"Oh really, and who would that be?" Desolent asked with curiosity.
"Discords pupal."
"Night Shadow?! I thought he was still trapped in that idiot, Death Fire."
"Apparently we were wrong, but he matters not. Knowing that Night Shadow is alive, who do you think he would be guarding?"
"...Twilight." Desolent concluded.
"Exactly. However, I haven't been able to infiltrate her mind through the dream realm. I have, though, tracked down their exact location."
"Which is?"
"Miles out from the western shores, somewhere in the ocean."
"How did they get out there so quickly?"
"I don't know, honestly." Ntwi admitted. "But they must have been back for a while, which doesn't explain why I couldn't find them until now."
"It doesn't matter, as long as they are out there and not here we should not have a problem."
"But what do we do until then?"
"I will keep up the illusion that we are still at war, I do not want Death Fire being alert to our small alliance. You, on the other hand, will continue to spy on Night Shadow and inform me of any changes. We will not let her slip from our grasp."
The nightmares consisted within Night Shadow as a result of Ntwi's interference and spying. As a result, the stallion began to lose sleep, hallucinate, and whisper to himself as he shook in a corner. Twilight assumed it was just a large string of nightmares, instructing him that it was all in his head. However, when they persisted for over two and a half weeks, Twilight suspected that this was more than just nightmares. After the fifteenth day, she had had enough. She was going to get to the bottom of this.
"Just rest your head and go to sleep, Night Shadow." Twilight whispered.
"I….can't…." Night Shadow whispered.
"I'm right here if anything goes wrong, trust me."
"I just can't…..the nightmares….they get longer and longer each day. And everytime I see myself….the pain only gets worse…."
"It's going to be ok….I'll get to the bottom of this."
Night Shadow closed his eyes in tears.
"You don't know what it's like to see yourself outside of your body. To witness you killing so many innocents through the eyes you murdered….to see yourself destroy the ones you love and fought for…."
"Just relax….it will be all over soon." Twilight whispered.
Night Shadow opened his eyes once again and looked right into her eyes.
"You don't get it do you Twilight….I'm the one that caused their deaths….the one who ended the lives of those who cared for me. It was all my fault." He said as more tears formed. "I'm so afraid, not because I fear for my own life, but for the lives of those that I loved."
"What do you mean?"
"Twilight…" Night Shadow whispered, grasping her hoof tightly. "I love y-
His eyes abruptly glowed red as he shook in place. Then, almost all at once, Night Shadow closed his eyes and lost conscious. Twilight quickly remembered the spell placed over them and felt it's power quickly trying to control her mind.
"No….not now…." Twilight whispered.
Her horn glowed brightly as she repressed the spell within her. She placed her hoof on Night Shadow's chest and focused.
"This is going to be a lot harder than I previously thought. I need to eliminate whatever is plaguing him with nightmares and keep this spell from taking over. With any luck, I can find out more about this spell before I completely forget about it again."
With a bit of struggle, Twilight's conscious was transferred into Night Shadow head. Several moments passed before Twilight had entered the dream realm Night Shadow was forced into. It was the scene Night Shadow would describe to her where he was wandering in an open field. Except this time, Night Shadow was surrounded by the faces of those he killed. They attacked him as a portal to what seemed like hell opened before her eyes.
"Night Shadow! It's just a dream! Don't let it-
"So I was right after all."
Twilight's eyes widened in shock.
"It can't be…."
Twilight slowly turned around to see herself smirking right at her evilly.
"Oh but it is." Ntwi remarked. "And you are looking as beautiful as ever."
"Who are you?"
"Wow, I would have thought I would have been smarter than that. I'm you….isn't it obvious."
"No you're not….you're an illusion, you have to be."
"Taking the role of denial I see….thats fine, you will soon accept the facts before your eyes."
Twilight kept silent as Ntwi circled around her slowly, as if she was stalking her prey.
"It's such a shame you turned out as such a disappointment. You just simply wouldn't give in." Ntwi said, absorbing the artificial sunlight of the dream realm. "It matter not now….what matters is that you're here, in my realm, in my domain….and I have full control."
"That's what you think." Twilight stated boldly.
"Oh you have so much to learn, little Twilight….a long time has passed since you were gone….enough time to prepare for your return. You see, unlike the others, I have patiently awaited for you, calculated every possible outcome of our encounter. Never did I think you would be this oblivious to our power and abilities."
"Explain!" Twilight demanded.
"I am part of you….but more...much, much more than you could possibly even comprehend. Desolent might have the same strenght and Death Fire might have the resources, but I have the experience they never had. I have learned everything you have learned simply from watching you and studied everyone you have encountered. Nightmare Moon, Discord, Chrysalis, Sombra, Trixie, and even Night Shadow and Dark Fire. I was there when you visited his past, watched through the eyes of Night Shadow as he endured his greatest defeats and triumphs. Best of all, you don't even remember a thing Light Shade even showed you, giving me the edge you will never have."
"Why are you telling me this….?" Twilight asked.
"Because I know you can't stop me. Not you, not Night Shadow, not anyone. I am what Celestia could only dream of….the ultimate unicorn." Ntwi boldly proclaimed.
"The why seek me out if you are so powerful?"
"The same reason Death Fire needs to find Night Shadow. We are connected…..if you were to die then I would perish along with you. Ironically, you are the reason I exist….because of that, I need you alive so I can break the bonds between us."
"And then what?"
"You will have no further use to me. I would just hand you over to Desolent and let him have his way with you. However, the real question is why Night Shadow still lives..."
"No….you can't…."
"If Night Shadow died, right here and now, Death Fire would perish. His empire would collapse and his hold over Equestria and the world would crumple by the days end. His spell over his country would be revoked, giving everyone their will back. The war would come to an end….and it would have fixed your mistake you made all those years ago."
"I'm not going to kill Night Shadow! You will never convince me to take his life or anyone else!"
"You really have forgotten haven't you…."
The scene around Twilight changed, putting her inside of her tree house. She was confused until she heard her voice from inside of her home. She turned to see herself, surrounded by her friends and staring right at Night Shadow.
"Get out of my house… AND NEVER COME BACK!" Twilight shouted in anger.
The scene froze and Ntwi stepped out from the shadows.
"Ten words was all it took to break his heart….ten words was all it took to start a war that would end millions of Equestian lives. Ten words to take the lives of Celestia and the royals, ten words to erase the elements of harmony from existence….ten words was all it took….to start it all. And it's all because of you…."
Twilight's mouth gaped open in disbelief and fear and she backed up, not wanting to believe her eyes.
"I….I don't believe it….I….I would never…."
Ntwi smirked and she closed her eyes, shaking her head left to right.
"We are all born with a dark side, Twilight. Yours just happened to get the best of you. Now look at what you have created…"
Ntwi extended her hoof, casting image after image before Twilight's eyes. She watched the images, witnessing thousands of ponies marching down streets of cities she recognized, burning down their homes and exterminating everything within sight. She saw the weapons that were created, the countless lives that were lost in the years that she had vanished and the terror that was inflicted from their leaders. From Death Fire's rule to Desolents cruelty, she watched it all and began to cry as she collapsed to the floor.
"Nooo…..NOOOOO!" Twilight screamed as she continued to weep on the ground.
"IT'S YOUR FAULT TWILIGHT! YOU WERE THE CAUSE OF ALL THEIR DEATHS AND PAIN! YOU HAVE NOONE TO BLAME BUT YOURSELF AND YOU KNOW IT! SOAK IT IN, TWILIGHT, HEAR THEIR SCREAMS, THEIR CRIES FOR HELP! KNOW THAT IT WAS YOU THAT CAUSED IT ALL!"
As Twilight endured the pain within her heart and continued to cry, wishing for it to end, something clicked within her. She felt something surge through her body and soul that empowered her to do the right thing. To bring justice to those that truly cause their suffering and redeem those that gave their lives to defend their homes and loves ones. She remember the times with her friends, the moment she shared with her loved ones...and if empowered her to fight back and finally stand up to the injustice the war had caused. To put an end to what she had created.
She slowly stood up and wiped away the tears from her eyes, glowing with what seemed like purple aura as she finally remembered everything the spell had erased.
"It was you….you were the one that said those things….you were the one that broke Night Shadow's heart…." Twilight whispered, suddenly surging with bright light and breaking Death Fire's spell like glass.
"Wha….what! How are you…." Ntwi said, completely shocked.
"It was you this entire time wasn't it….it was you that made me break his heart!" Twilight yelled, turning to face her opposite.
This time, it was Ntwi's turn to back up in fear.
"You were suppose to be under my control! How are you still resisting!" Ntwi asked as the world around her began to crumble.
"You made the mistake of hurting my friends and taking away the ones I loved. With your words you took away everything I loved….now….
Twilight stood up on her hind hooves and suddenly exploded with purple light that could only be described as one thing.
"NOW IT'S TIME TO TAKE IT BAAAAAAAACCCCCCKKKKKKK!"
With one burst of energy, Twilight shattered the entire dimension Ntwi had held her captive within. The dark mare flew back and skid across the ground, coming to a stop as she crashed into the outer walls of the realm. Twilight walked forward until she stood right before the dark mare.
Ntwi screamed as she quickly stood up and tried to blast Twilight with her magic. To her surprise, Twilight simply blocked and pushed her hoof away, causing her to fire in a different direction.
"That's….impossible…." Ntwi whispered in fear.
"Well maybe you're not as strong as you think you were." Twilight said, charging up a spell with her magic.
She pointed her hoof right at Ntwi's face, smiling in triumph.
"Bye, bye."
"YOU LITTLE-
Ntwi was blasted and forced out of the dream world, sending her conscious flying back into Ntwi's body and forcing her to crash into the wall behind her.
"Ok…I deserved that….big time..." Ntwi admitted to herself, getting up to her hooves. "No more being a jerk…."
Ntwi fell to the floor, losing conscious and started to dream of cake and shopping. Meanwhile, Twilight was recovering from what she had just experienced. Her energy faded as she fell to the floor, panting softly.
"How did I…..do that?" Twilight said, looking at her hooves.
"You possess the trait…"
Twilight turned to see Light Shade standing behind her with a smile on his face. The confused mare stood to her hooves with slight confusion.
"What do you mean?"
"You have the potential to control energy just like Night Shadow, but I don't understand why." Light Shade said, walking towards her.
"I still don't understand."
"It's…..complicated…." Light Shade admitted, standing beside her and using his magic to repair the damage caused by Ntwi. "Night Shadow was the only one that was able to unlock the potential to use such a gift. He was the first and only one to use it in recorded history….at least he was until recently."
"You mean Trixie?"
"Her, Dark Fire, Death Fire….even Desolent have somehow acquired this ability. I understand how Death Fire and Dark Fire might have acquired it, but Trixe and Desolent seemed to have slipped my mind. How were they able to unlock it's gift if none could do it before?" Light Shade asked. "There has to be a connection…."
Twilight thought long and hard about the subject, grabbing Light Shade's attention.
"Something on your mind?"
"You remember how Night Shadow unlocked his abilities." Twilight asked rhetorically.
Light Shade nodded.
"He lost his friends in one single moment, witnesses his best friend give his final goodbye as he passed right before his eyes. It forced him into a whirlwind of emotions of sadness and anger that eventually pushed him over the edge."
"What are you saying?"
"Night Shadow lost his friends to Herus. Desolent lost his mother and everything he worked to achieve. Trixie lost her mother as well and felt the worst pain she ever could endure. They are all completely different ponies with different personalities, but they shared one thing in common."
"They all shared the same pain of loss."
"That's it….the pain of loss…." Twilight announced suddenly. "The lives they lives, the pain they endured, it all lead up to their final breaking point!"
"That can't be the only factor." Light Shade objected. "Otherwise, more than just these three would have unlocked this ability."
"That's because they didn't lose everything at one single moment."
"There are still loopholes in this theory of yours. Why didn't Trixie suddenly unlock her ability when her mother passed, and why can't the elements of disharmony use energy if they to lost everything. Why didn't you unlock your ability until just now? There has to be more factors to this….but that doesn't answer why none have unlocked it until now."
"Even if it makes no sense, does it really matter at this point?" Twilight asked. "I have this power now. I don't know how but I can use it to put an end to this war."
"That's…..not exactly true…."
"What are you talking about? Didn't you see what just happened?"
"Yes….but that's the problem. You showed you can use the ability and that you have the gift, but you were still in Night Shadow's mind when you did it."
"Why does that matter?"
"It matters because everything you did in here was fake. The battle you had with your former self was nothing more than pictures in Night Shadow's mind, meaning what you just did never actually happened."
"That doesn't make any sense! Why can't you ever make any sense!" Twilight yelled.
"It will if you would just listen to me." Light Shade said with a rising tone. "You are here because you have used a spell to transport your mind into Night Shadow's dreams, correct?"
"In a way, yes."
"Then there lies the problem. Your mind and body need to be in sync with one another or else what you have learned in here will only remain in your mind as a memory. Your body will have no idea what to do with the knowledge you have acquired, thus, rendering what you have learned useless."
"Ok….." Twilight said, still confused.
"Imagine watching someone performing a spell that you have never seen before. You watched and paid attention the entire time, noting their every movements, however, when you try it for yourself, you quickly find out there is more to it than meets the eye. Think of it as walking, you have to practice what you have watched and learn how to do it. Does that make sense."
Twilight sat down again, putting her head in her hooves.
"So everything I just did was pointless. Great."
"You came here with the intentions of helping Night Shadow, which you did. What you did was far from pointless."
Twilight remained silent for several more moments, thinking about the events that transpired.
"Why didn't you do anything to help….why did you let Night Shadow suffer through out all those nightmares?" Twilight finally asked, looking up to him.
"I wanted to give Night Shadow a chance. He has been under the influence of others for as long as he can remember. Up until recently he has finally been free to make his own decisions for his own purposes. If I was to step in every time a problem arose, Night Shadow would never learn how to solve it by himself. I am not here to control Night Shadow as Death Fire once did, I simply want him to be free, for him to shape his own path."
"Then why do you stay here hidden away from the world? Why won't you help us?"
"Twilight, I never said I wouldn't help, but it's just not my time to get involved. I want to make sure Night Shadow can take care of himself before I let him go and try to fix the damage Death Fire left. I am here for you whenever you need advice, Twilight, but remember that I was created for a reason."
"But what about my energy problem? How am I going to learn if I have no idea what to do?"
Light Shade chuckled softly, as if he heard a joke.
"Who better to learn then from the one that mastered it first."
"Night Shadow?" Twilight said in disbelief. "Would he actually teach me?"
"It would make him the happiest stallion alive if you asked. You just need to be willing to learn."
Light Shade finished up his repairs and finally used his magic to teleport a sleeping Night Shadow before him. He conjured up a bed and placed him gently onto it, making sure everything was in order.
"He will be asleep for a while, but rest assured he will be back to normal by tomorrow….no pun intended." Light Shade said.
"Well I guess it's goodbye." Twilight said, shaking his hoof.
"Goodbye Twilight….we will see each again." Light Shade said before fading away
The next thing Twilight knew, she was back in the bedroom overlooking Night Shadow who was sound asleep. She had all of her memories back and the capability to control energy, yet she couldn't help but stare at the red stallion longer than needed. She felt her heart race slightly and her cheeks blush, not knowing why she felt that way. As she leaned down, she kissed Night Shadow on the forehead.
"Sweet dreams." She whispered softly.
She caught herself staring once again and blushed lightly, deciding it was best to leave the room. As she opened the door it hit her like a ton of bricks. The reason the spell was placed on her, the reason Death Fire did everything in his power to erase her memories, it was all an attempt to keep her from the undeniable truth. She was in love….with Night Shadow….
Several weeks pass
"It's hard to go on now, knowing everything you fought for is gone." Night Shadow said, looking off the bow of the ship. "My friends, loved ones….heck, I never even knew who my parents where. I have no one to turn to when I need help. I've relied on myself and that's what's made me strong…..but it's also made me helpless."
Twilight laid down in the background, hearing Night Shadow narrate his life and talk to himself. Of course, Night Shadow knew she was listening, in fact, she asked if she could listen to his ramblings. He didn't understand why she would, thinking of the other things she could be doing, but it did make him feel better to have someone he cared about nearby.
"Everyone I put my trust in either betrayed me or died because of my weakness. It's like I was destined to be alone….to be unloved by everyone you met. For twenty-five years I have been at war with both the world and myself, constantly fighting for survival. It's all I know….that's all my life has been, a constant battle. I just want to be happy for once….I want to know what it's like to wake up to someone who doesn't want to take your life. To wake up to someone you who loves you despite everything you did…."
Twilight desperately wanted to tell him how she felt, tell him how much she loved him. Everytime she did she would see tears of joy, his pain lift from his eyes only for that damn spell to kick in and ruin everything. She hated it….she hated the fact she couldn't do anything to stop it. Even if she told him what was happening the spell would just erase his memories in just a blink of an eye. She knew deep inside he felt the same way for her, remembered how much he wanted to be with her, yet the spell separated them and she had no way of breaking it.
"And then there was Celestia….someone I despised for so long, the one I blamed for all my problems and failures. Yet she never hated me….she cared for me. She cared about a murderer, a failure….she cared about me, ME of all ponies. But why? Why after everything I did to ruin her life, she showed love instead of hate. She forgave me when I tried to take away everything she loved when other would have gladly hunted me down."
Night Shadow closed his eyes, sighing deeply.
"It's like she was disciplining her own child, teaching me the difference between right and wrong right under my nose. Everytime she sent me forward in time, I would hear her say she was sorry. I would see her pain in her eyes, see her tears of sorrow….but why?"
Night Shadow reopened his eyes and turned to face Twilight.
"Ponies don't act like that, Twilight. It's been a question I have never been able to answer. So please….tell me why she would ever love a failure like me."
Twilight stood up slowly and walked over to him, placing her hoof on his chest.
"You….are not a failure." Twilight said with all her heart. "I know you have lost so much and gained so little, but believe me when I tell you this. You are not a failure, you're a hero."
"To whom, Twilight! I have failed and let down everyone that trusted me! They all died, Twilight! They died because of me! So how can you stand there and tell me I'm a hero when I deserve to die for what I did!"
"Because we all deserve a second chance. A chance to turn around and fix our mistakes."
"My mistakes can't be fixed! You must live in a fantasy world where everything just fixes itself! Well guess what, Twilight?! My mistakes got ponies killed and I can't bring them back!"
"That doesn't mean you should-
"THEY'RE ALL DEAD, DON'T YOU GET IT! MY FRIENDS, MY LOVED ONES! THEY'RE ALL DEAD BECAUSE OF MY MISTAKES! SO WHY DON'T YOU SHUTUP AND ACCEPT IT ALREADY!"
Night Shadow calmed down from his rage and stared Twilight in the eyes, seeing her starts to tear up. It was the final straw that pushed Night Shadow over the edge.
"I'm….sorry…." Twilight said in tears.
"No...don't be…."
Night Shadow reached into his coat and pulled out a gun, cocking it back slowly.
"What are you…." Twilight whispered.
"What I should have done from the very beginning…."
He placed the gun under his chin and shut his eyes.
"Goodbye…"
Twilight leaped forward and slapped the gun out of Night Shadow's hooves right as he pulled the trigger. Before he could even react, Twilight grabbed him and kissed Night Shadow right on the lips. Time practically froze for the two of them as the kiss went on, lasting for more than a lifetime. Twilight gentle eased Night Shadow the the ground, holding the kiss for a long as she could before she finally broke it and stared into his eyes.
"I don't care who you are or what you did, Night Shadow….I love you….and that will never change."
Night Shadow eyes watered as he bore a look of complete joy, reaching up and hugging her tightly.
"I love you to…." Night Shadow whispered.
His eyes flashed red before Twilight's eyes, forcing her to sigh softly and closed her eyes in sadness.
"One day….you will find a way." Twilight whispered.
"Twilight….why are you on top of me?" Night Shadow asked, being confused.
The saddened mare reopened her eyes and looked down at the stallion under her and smiled softly.
"You were trying to show me a dance...but you kinda tripped." She said with a small chuckle.
"Oh….silly me. If only I could remember what I was doing."
"Yeah….if only…."
The day came and went just like Night Shadow's memories. The spell continued to control every aspect of his mind, forcing him into deeper and deeper depression. It got to the point that Twilight would have to convince him to even get out of bed and just flat out talk to her. Twilight trusted what Light Shade said, that Night Shadow had to be the one to find his way on his own, but when would enough be enough. She watching him suffer to no end, knowing Light Shade was more than capable of breaking Death Fire's hold on him, but when was enough, enough.
Twilight finally decided to take matters into her own hands. She had seen enough.
"Do you know why I brought you in here?" Twilight asked, closing the door behind her.
Night Shadow looked to the side, refusing to look at her.
"Why do you still bother with me?" He asked softly.
Twilight placed the black book before her and opened it with her magic.
"The spell Death Fire has placed over you has taken it's toll for far too long. If it continues to manifests inside of you not even the strongest of unicorns will be able to break it."
"What are talking about….?"
"You wouldn't understand. Everytime I try to explain your memories are simply erased. It has caused damage to you physically and mentally. It has to go, I don't care what he says, I can't watch you suffer like this."
"You are fighting against a current, Twilight. I'm a lost cause. You are just wasting your time."
"I respect what Light Shade told me and I want to trust his wisdom, but there are just some problems you cannot overcome on your own. What good are friends if you just shut them out."
Twilight picked up a pen and placed it on the paper of the book.
"I'm here to help you, Night Shadow. Trust me."
"I have trusted many in the past….all of which have betrayed me or perished before me." Night Shadow whispered. "What makes you so different?
"What makes me different…." Twilight said, gazing up at Night Shadow. "Is that I haven't given up."
Night Shadow sat down before her with the same hopeless look he wore since he boarded the ship.
"Then I won't stop you." He said calmly.
Twilight looked back down at the pages of the book, attempting to recall what the name of the spell was called. She struggled for several moments before she realized the name wasn't going to come to her. With that fact in mind, she began to write out and remove all the spells effects she could think of.
"Remove depression from Night Shadow." She wrote out first, seeing if it would yield results.
Night Shadow's facial expression changed for a half second before the spell kicked in and forced his eyes to glow red. The only think Twilight had done was waste time.
'You need to be more specific.' The book wrote out.
Twilight took that to mind.
"Remove the effect of depression from the spell that plagues Night Shadow." She wrote
This time, the book was able to perform it the job without any further problems. Night Shadow's depression was removed.
'You do realise that the spell feed off of his emotions and memories in the past. His depression is erased for now, but it will return naturally overtime.' The book wrote out.
"Can I just get rid of that to?" Twilight asked.
'To do so would mean the deletion of his memories of the past, almost all of them to be exact. It wouldn't be a wise choice.'
"Anyway around it?"
'Nothing magic could really do. Close friends or loved ones would be the best bet.'
"Sounds reasonable. Restore lost memories erased by the spell that plagues Night Shadow." She wrote as she read aloud.
The book did as it was told, but Night Shadow's eyes glowed red once again.
"What happened now?"
'You brought back his memories, but the spell still has the ability to take them away.'
"Remove the spells ability to erase memories of the past." She wrote out.
She waited several moments before Night Shadow seemed to jolt slightly.
'Done.' The book wrote out.
"Now we're getting somewhere."
Before she could write out anything else, the ship shook abruptly and violently, knocking the pen out of her grip.
"What was that?!" Night Shadow asked. "Did we run over a dear!"
'At least the book works.' Twilight thought, ignoring Night Shadow's randomness. "Whatever it was, it didn't sound good."
The ship shook again, this time with more force.
"I swear, if we ran into an iceberg….you better make room on the raft."
Night Shadow and Twilight ran out the door and onto the deck of the ship. There, along with hundreds of other ponies, stared in shock at the massive storm forming up ahead. A large wave then crashed into the ship, knocking many ponies onto the floor.
"We're heading right towards the storm! Turn this ship around!" One of the ponies cried.
"The tide is pulling us in, we can't regain control!"
The ship was rocked again when another wave violently crashed into the other side of the ship.
"No offense, but who was the idiot that drove right into a freaking hurricane!" Night Shadow yelled.
"It doesn't matter now." Twilight said abruptly. "Get to the control room of the ship and turn this thing around."
"What about you?" Night Shadow asked.
"Worry about yourself, I'll be fine." She said, disappearing in the crowd of panicking ponies.
Night Shadow dashed across the deck of the ship towards the stern of the ship. As he reached the stair, heavy rain began to fall and the wind started to increase in strength, making it harder to not slip. He quickly reached the bridge of the ship, encountering several ponies attempting to open the door to the controls.
"What's taking so long, get the door open!" One of the ponies yelled.
"It's jammed, we can't get it open!"
"Then keep trying!"
"My magic can't even get this thing open!"
"They locked it from the inside!"
Night Shadow watched at least ten ponies attempting to bash open the door, but to no avail. Lightning started to crash around the ship as the waves got stronger and stronger; he didn't have time to waste.
"Get out of the way." Night Shadow ordered.
The ponies looked back at him as if he was insane.
"If we can't get it open what makes you think you can?"
"I said, get out of the way!" Night Shadow ordered again, pointing his hoof at the door.
The moment they saw purple light appear from his hoof the ponies scattered in all directions. Night Shadow fired a compressed burst of energy at the door, blasting it open with a loud bang. While the others stared in amazement and shock, Night Shadow ran in and soon the others did as well. What they were greeted to was the captain of ship calmly sitting at his desk and drinking hot tea, completely ignoring the situation at hand.
"Well….that's a first." The captain admitted. "I didn't think anyone could break through an anti breach spell."
"What are you doing just sitting there?! Are you deaf or blind?! Get us out of this mess!" One of the ponies yelled.
"Well….I can't really do that now, kind of too late for that." The captain informed, still remaining calm.
"So you brought us out here just to kill us then!" Night Shadow shouted.
"When you boarded this ship you told me you wanted to go to where the world ends, you were told of the dangers, the possibilities, and you accepted. This is what you wanted, fellow passengers. You wanted to see where the world ends….well you're staring right at it…."
As the others started to panic, Night Shadow walked forward and grabbed the captain by the throat, slamming him into the desk.
"DO YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU'VE DONE!" Night Shadow screamed. "YOU'VE KILLED US ALL!"
"On the contrary, Night Shadow. I've simply lead you to the gate. The others will do the rest."
Night Shadow was suddenly confused, not having a clue what he meant or what he was even talking about.
"See you on the other side." The captain said with a smirk.
At that moment he was suddenly teleported in a flash of light blue magic, leaving the others to their inevitable demise. Night Shadow's eyes dilated in disbelief as the undeniable truth set in, but he wasn't about to give up without a fight.
"You guys do what you can up here, I'll see what I can do on the deck and get everyone to safely."
Night Shadow ran out the door just when another wave slammed itself into the ship, knocking him to the floor. When he stood up, he realized that it was almost pitch black. He couldn't see twenty feet out from the ship, meaning they wouldn't be able to see the waves coming. As he ran down the stairs, another wave hit, this time with more force and power. Night Shadow caught himself on the railing as rain hammered down across his face like razors. He regained his footing and stood back up on his hooves before running across the deck again.
With a burst of energy, Night Shadow threw a ball into the sky, casting light in the darkness of the storm. He continued to run until he reached the bow of the ship, spotting Twilight parting larger waves with her magic that were about to crash into the ship. Twilight turned to Night Shadow right after she blasted a wave with magic.
"Night Shadow, I need you to divert as many waves as possible with any means necessary."
"No, I need to get you to safety!" He shouted as more lightning flashed around them.
"Why do you always have to worry about me, I can take care of myself! If you must save someone, save the ponies that can't protect themselves."
"Why do you think i'm here then!"
"Don't argue with me, this is clearly not the time! Do what I saw or both of us are going to die anyways."
More waves crashed and slammed themselves into the ship sides, threatening to topside and tear it apart.
"The longer you stand there, the less of a chance we have! Now go!"
"But Twilight-
"GO!"
Night Shadow was hesitant but nodded in agreement. He ran back to the deck and escorted everyone he could inside of the ship. Once everyone was out of sight and safely secure in the ship he allowed his energy to flow freely through his body. His eyes glowed bright purple as his fur and hair shined with purple light. As a wave approached the ship from the right, Night Shadow pointed his hoof to it and blasted it with energy, vaporizing the entire wave. When one came from the left, he spun around and launched a blue ball at it with his foot, freezing the wave in place and shattering it to pieces.
With his horn he launched another flair into the sky and formed a compressed ball of air into his hoof while the other glowed with bright energy. Another wave approached the ship at an angle, this time being twice the size of the ship itself. Night Shadow ran to the side of the ship where the wave approached, combining the ball of wind with fire, infusing the two together. With a burst, he fired a vortex of wind and fire from his hoof, vaporizing the middle of the wave. With his other hoof he fired several energy balls into the wave. When they made contact, several hundred explosions occurred, turning the wave into harmless gas.
As time went on, the waves got larger and larger, the wind continued to pick up in power and the rain started to stink, forcing them to shield their eyes as he fought off the ruthless storm. The wind got so powerful that it eventually broke the mast of the ship and started to fall right where Night Shadow was. He didn't notice it until the last second right when it was caught by magic. Twilight then came into view, completely drenched in water.
"I had a feeling you would need help." Twilight said causally.
"Just in time to." Night Shadow remarked.
The two went back to back, blasting away wave after wave that approached the ship. They fought for what felt like hours, but the storm only continued to gain strength. It wasn't long before hail and water spouts came into the picture. The hail started to rip holes through the ship like paper while the spouts formed into one massive super tornado before their eyes.
"What kind of nightmare is this?!" Night Shadow yelled.
"We're going to have to work together to stop it. Night Shadow, use your freezing spell on it, I'll try to reverse the direction of the spout so it loses power. Even if we can't freeze it, the cold air will be enough to stop the reaction." Twilight said, charging her magic. "Ready!"
Night Shadow put his hooves together and pointed them at the spout.
"Hit it with all you got!" Night Shadow yelled.
They both fired at the super spout, fusing their spells together in an effort to stop it's approach. The spout continued to gain more power as it inched closer and closer to the ship, quickly pulling them toward it. With one final push and shout, Twilight and Night Shadow released all their energy and power into the spout. Within several moments, the spout dispersed and vanished from view. As both ponies panted for air, they witness several more spouts form in the distance, robbing them of their hopes. Night Shadow slowly turned to look at Twilight, noticing a massive killer wave seconds before it crashed into the ship. Just before it did, he tackled Twilight to the floor and hugged her tightly, shielding her the best he could.
Moments later, the wave crashed into the ship, ripping it apart and into hundreds of pieces. The next thing Night Shadow knew was that he was sinking in the water along with hundreds of others that were in the ship. He saw Twilight in the distance, unconscious and sinking faster than anyone else as his vision slowly went black. As he swam to her his body started shut down due to the freezing temperatures of the ocean. He tried to cry out to her but water filled his mouth as he felt his body screaming for air. Just when he was about to reach her his lungs forced him to breath in water and at that instant it was over.
Memories flashed before his eyes of his past, his friends, and his loved ones. All of which he though he failed as he slipped into unconsciousness. There was nothing more he could do….and he accepted his fate….
"Wait, wait...is this the ending? This ending sucks!"
"No it's not the ending!"
"Then why did he die!"
"He's not dead, shutup!"
"He just died, dude."
"He's not dead, nobodies dead! Calm down!"
"I waited two years for this?!"
"IT'S NOT THE #&* #&# ENDING!"
"Well, it had to end sometime."
"IT'S NOT THE ENDING GOD &#( *#!"
….Seriously….it's not the ending….that would be stupid….seriously….