SUPRISE MOTHER FU*#ER
Chapter 22 D (Part 2 of 2)
"Don't listen to him, Night Shadow!" Applejack screamed. "Get out of here before-
Flash smashed his gun into her head, forcing her to shut her mouth as he grabbed her by her mane once again. Silence overtook the room as Night Shadow remained frozen in place, overwhelmed with emotions. It continued for what seemed like hours until Flash stomped his hoof in rage.
"I don't have all day, Night Shadow, and neither do your friends. Make up your mind before I do it for you."
Night Shadow reopened his eyes in tears as he set Foxx onto the floor slowly and shook with emotional distress, raising his hoof above Foxx's head.
'Don't do it…' Light Shade said to him in his head.
'What choice do I have... he's betrayed us...gave away everything we tried to defend and put my friends in danger.'
'Flash is lying to you! Don't let your emotions cloud your judgement, Night Shadow!'
'I have no choice!'
'You always have a choice!' Light Shade yelled.
"If you don't kill him now, I'll blast this mares brains all over the walls!" Flash screamed. "IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT!"
'Death Fire has always deceived you in the past to do what he wanted, and he's deceiving you now!' Light Shadow shouted again.
'What if he's telling the truth.'
'And what if he is! You just expect him to just hand over the key of his downfall! Do you really expect him to hold up his end of the bargain! IF YOU KILL HIM YOU WILL DO EXACTLY WHAT HE WANTS!'
'He has Applejack hostage!'
'THAT'S NOT APPLEJACK!'
Night Shadow mind was in total chaos and torn between two sides. Save Applejack….a potential imposter….or save the life of a traitor….and risk the downfall of Equestria forever.
'Look into her eyes, Night Shadow. Look into them and tell me the truth.' Light Shade said with emotion. 'Don't let your anger blind you like it's done for before. Don't let Death Fire control you as he's done in the past. I beg of you….trust me….'
'I can't do this….' Night Shadow thought, losing his mind to anger.
'Then give me control while you still can.'
'But what about….'
'It's going to be ok...I promise.'
"Fine….you had your chance..." Flash said in a dark tone. "Kill them."
Night Shadow closed his eyes as the android threw grenades all around him. The bombs exploded in a strange, blue light that neutralized his magic before the machines charged up their weapons and fired, lighting up the entire room in a bright light of fire and energy. They continued to fire for over thirty seconds until Flash pressed a button on his wrist for them to stop, ceasing all fire in the room.
"There's no way he could have survived or escaped. I made sure of that…" Flash said with a smirk.
As if to prove him wrong, the smoke in the room instantly turned to harmless fog as Night Shadow stood to his hooves, holding Foxx on his back, perfectly healed of his wounds. The red pony reopened his eyes, revealing not it's normal purple color, but a pure, bright blue.
"No….I made sure you were dead! YOU SHOULD BE DEAD!" Flash screamed. "KILL HIM, I WANT HIM DESTROYED!"
As the machines fired again, they witness their shot suddenly freeze in place around the red pony as if time had stopped around them. At this realisation, their weapons abruptly glowed violently white before vanishing before their eyes, leaving them defenseless. Light Shade then took the frozen shots around him and spun them in a circle slowly for several seconds before suddenly forming it into a blue ball and launching it through the ceiling above him, allowing moon light into the room.
"One day….it will be you who is cornered and asked to make a choice." Light Shade said to Flash. "And there will no escape from judgement."
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Flash screamed in rage, pointing his gun right at Light Shade.
Right as he fired, Light Shade vanished along with Foxx and all other life within the facility. Because of Flash's outrage, the bullet missed and hit the bomb placed by Foxx. Right as he realised this, a loud click was heard.
"...This isn't over….."
Light Shade appeared near the ship right before the factory exploded in the distance, sending up a massive cloud of smoke that broke through the cloud layer. Light Shade set Foxx inside the ship, making sure he was secure before hearing footsteps behind him.
"I see you're awake now…." Light Shade said without turning around.
"Who are you and why am I here?" The confused pony asked.
"That is not important right now, what is important is that you are safe now."
"Don't lie to me, you savage. Death Fire has done nothing but torture me for sport, and now you say I'm safe after being under his hoof for years. What more do you want from me? You have stolen everything from me….just end it already..."
"I am not your enemy, believe me when I say you are safe now."
"No one is safe, no one will ever be safe! He's killed everyone I have ever loved…I have nothing left….just end my life already!"
"LUNA!" Light Shade shouted, turning around to face her.
Light Shade was shocked to see her on her knees, crying and pleading for him to end her life. The only one he had ever known to be this broken was Night Shadow. Now he watched the broken princess, someone who once had the courage to face Death Fire alone, begging for it all to end. It always pained him to see Night Shadow suffer as he did, now he had to watch others endure the same.
"Please….it don't want to suffer anymore…." Luna begged.
Light Shade walked to her and lifted her chin up before hugging her tightly
"Neither do I…." He whispered, casting a spell onto her.
Luna's tears ceased as a soft, bluish glow enveloped her body, forcing her to calm down and relax.
"Night Shadow…..?" Luna whispered softly in surprise.
"Watch over Foxx while I'm gone...it won't take long."
Light Shade backed away from Luna before vanishing in a blue flash of light.
"How did they know we were here!" Imago shouted, taking cover behind a large tractor.
Slowly approaching their location was a massive battalion of hundreds of troops, firing upon them without signs of stopping.
"It's like they knew the whole time." Zenith whispered to himself.
"Night Shadow, you better hurry up and get here!" Summers shouted, firing back at whoever she could see.
"What about the target?!" Fireball asked, ducking just before a laser blast hit her head.
"She wasn't at the map's location!" Imago shouted. "We were set up!"
"That's impossible, who would betray us like this?" Summers asked with concern.
"It doesn't matter now. We just need to get out of here before we're outnumbered."
"We're already surrounded!" Fireball yelled.
Rockets flew right over their heads before clashing right into the building behind them, exploding and setting it in a blaze of fire. One of the pieces of the building was just about to hit Summers until Archangel quickly flew in and tackled her out of the way. Several more explosions occurred just before massive airships appeared from the sky and started to fire themselves, quickly chipping away at any cover they could find.
"We're going to have to surrender, there's to many of them!" Imago advised.
"I would rather die!" Fireball yelled.
Seconds later, tanks started to roll in across the fields, making Summer's eyes pop out of her head.
"You might just get your wish!" She shouted.
They slowly aimed at their targets and fired, ripping away the rest of their cover and tossing them across the ground and into a ditch. It wasn't long afterwards that they were completely surrounded, forced to fight in a last stand.
"So this is how it ends..." Summers said softly and with a sigh. "Typical."
Just as the soldiers fired, Light Shade appeared in the middle of his friends and casted a massive energy shield, absorbing everything that went through it.
"Oh now you show up!" Summers shouted.
"Grab onto me." Light Shade softly said.
"You don't even apologize for being late! I'm wondering who the real bad guy is?"
"Just grab him!" Fireball yelled.
"Fine….it beats dying anyways." Summers said, placing her hoof on the stallion's back.
With a blinding flash, the entire squad vanished and reappeared at the ship, completely unharmed.
"Did you find Applejack?" Light Shade said calmly.
"She wasn't there." Summers said.
"We were set up, they knew we were coming." Imago added.
"Then get the others, we're going after her."
Several hours later.
Foxx and Luna were both resting in the small medical bay on the ship during its flight. While Foxx suffered from physical injuries, Luna was still mentally broken despite seeing Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Rarity. She refused to believe what her eyes saw and went through another mental breakdown before Night Shadow had to sedate her with a spell. The bearers of harmony did their best to take care of their princess with little success. However, this was the least of their problems.
"What do you mean, a spy?" Fireball asked.
"He's been working for the Flash Sentry the whole time, right under our nose." Night Shadow stated.
"And you actually believe this?" Imago asked.
"How else would Flash know about our mission, how else would he know where to be, who to clone, who to set up. It was a trap from the start….and we walked right into it."
Summers quickly stood up in anger and pointed her gun at the unconscious fox.
"HE ALMOST GOT US KILLED!" She yelled.
"WAIT!" Night Shadow shouted, using his body to keep Summers away. "We can't afford to just kill without knowing both sides."
"That's easy for you to say. You didn't almost have your head blown off!"
"Summers is right on this one." Imago said suddenly. "We're as normal as they come, we would have died if you hadn't shown up at the last second."
"So you're just going to kill him without even giving him a chance to speak!" Fireball yelled. "We've been friends ever since the war started, he took care of me when my family died. He's even saved our lives before, and you just want to forget all of that?"
"He only saved us to gain our trust, only to stab us in the back when we least expected it." Summers accused.
"He turned on us despite everything we've done for him! It explains why he wanted to abandon the mission days before. Who knows what he's told to his commanders, but we can't let him continue to put everyone in danger!" Imago stated.
"Then why does Flash want him dead if he's so closely connected to us!" Night Shadow asked.
"He already gave the information he needed, he was no use to him and he's no use to us now!" Summers shouted.
"Then explain the trials I endured to become one of you, explain how he could have gotten through the system and still be an enemy!"
"He's been in the resistance longer than most of us, you have no right to end his life or anyone else's!" Fireball yelled.
"He betrayed us!" Summers reminded.
"And what if he did! Do you think he had a choice!" Night Shadow shouted.
"Everyone has a chance, we were all given a second chance….AND HE CHOSE TO HELP THEM AGAIN!"
"STOP IT!" A voice screamed from behind them.
The group suddenly stopped arguing and turned, seeing Fluttershy in tears and holding Foxx's paw in her hoof.
"Hasn't this war taken enough….haven't we gone through enough….why do you want to take the life of someone who can't even defend himself…."
"You should ask that to Death Fire every time he cooks a filly alive in an oven!" Imago yelled.
"You're missing the point." Rarity finally spoke. "Night Shadow went out of his way to save your friend, even if he did betray all of us. Now you just want to kill him without even hearing a testimony? We're suppose to be the good ponies here."
"We are, but what happens when he goes after you three or Luna?" Summers asked. "We can't afford-
"Can't afford what, Summers?" Sparing the life of someone innocent, someone that didn't have a choice?"
"We can't afford to lose the last hope of Equestria, even you said it yourself."
"I used to be in his same situation….you know that?" Night Shadow asked. "I used to be controlled by something I couldn't even see. Do you know how that feels? To be controlled….forced to do things against your will….commanded to take the lives of those you loved?"
"We go thought that every day, Night Shadow. That's why we're fighting in this war."
"Do you want to know how the hatred wave works from a personal perspective…"
Everyone suddenly paused.
"What….what are you talking about, we were all-
"You think you know, but the way you are acting tells me otherwise." Night Shadow said, looking to the side. "Do you really want to know what it's like to be under it's control….."
After fighting for what seemed like hours, a feeling of calmness came over the room. Summers nodded along with everyone else, wanting to know more.
"Imagine a nightmare that throws everything you ever worked for away, a nightmare where you have no control of your own actions as death approaches you. No matter how hard you try, no matter how hard you scream, you can't wake up….you can't break free. Imagine waking up from that Nightmare in complete terror. You look around as your heartbeat races, you tell yourself it was just a dream, that everything is alright.
Suddenly the lights come on in your room, a rifle thrown onto your bed. Get up, they say….you have a job to do. In confusion you wonder where you are, who they were and why you were here. Yet your voice is never heard….it is silenced by a voice emanating from your body that is not your own words, not your own thoughts. Your body picks up the rifle and starts to move against your will as you desperately try to figure out what's going on. You are forced outside by your own four hooves and the first thing you see are ponies lined up before you, hooves tied behind their heads.
You see several colts and fillies pushed out into the open, forced to watch against their will as they cry to their parents. 'You know what to do,' they tell you as they sit back to watch with heartless smiles. You begin to scream inside, desperately trying to regain control as your body simply nods and points it's rifle at the defenseless parents of the crying fillies and colts behind you. Wake up….Wake up….I don't want to do this….DON'T LET ME DO THIS, WAKE ME UP!"
Night Shadow eyes slowly teared up as he painfully recalled his memories.
"No matter how hard you cry out, no matter how hard you try, you are powerless as every ounce of your strength is cast aside to the being that has stolen your soul. Terror and sadness fills your heart as you stare right into the faces of those before you. They begin to cry, they beg for their lives to be spared but it falls on deaf ears. Not because you don't want to listen, but because you are incapable of stopping yourself. 'Why are doing this to us?!' They ask.
They never receive an answer, they never hear your true voice, they never even get a small gesture of pity until you finally…..finally…."
Night Shadow almost broke down in tears before Pinkie walked over to hung him tightly, quickly followed by Rarity and Fluttershy. At this point, Night Shadow had made everyone speechless in the room, yet for some reason he felt compelled to continue.
"One by one….you, with your own hooves, take the lives of innocent ponies without a single sound. The colts and fillies are then taken away in chains to become soldiers….to become just like you…..soulless….and heartless without control. They continue to live the rest of their lives like this until they either die in combat without a word…..or give in with no hope of turning back…..
The lucky few that we're freed from this curse continued to follow their orders out of fear of being discovered. In the end, there was no escape until it was too late…."
"So you do understand…."
Everyone turned to see Foxx, sitting up in his bed with a look of sorrow.
"I never wanted to put you in danger….they never gave me a choice….I was afraid of what would happen..."
"But why did you do it…." Summers asked.
"Because they threatened to kill the last thing that kept me from giving up."
Everyone was slightly confused.
"And who would that be?" Fireball asked.
"...My daughter…."
Everyone was in shock.
"But I thought they killed off your family." Imago said.
"I wanted her to be a secret so that no one would ever find her. I was a fool to believe they wouldn't find out after they corrupted me with that damn hatred spell. They drug her out and corrupted her to...forced her to become a soldier. They sent us out to spy on potential threats to their empire, demanding reports every three to five days. They knew the spell would wear off within time, so they reminded us of one simple fact. If either of us tried to help the enemies, they would kill the other."
"And that's when you came to us." Summers whispered.
"I heard about the resistance though my travels. Once I arrived I blended in, became an agent in disguise and gave my story. Yet something was off about them, like they knew I was a spy but they didn't care. They just smirked and allowed me to board. They even showed me love and compassion, told me you would be freed and reborn."
"The trials." Night Shadow told himself.
"But that's not all. Once the storm hit and I had hit the freezing cold water….I felt something change. The hatred I had within me just vanished out of thin air. It wasn't long before I was in a warm bed with Trixie herself standing before me. She told me everything. How the system worked, how the trials prevented espionage. It was all based on one simple fact."
"The cold breaks the hatred spell!" Summers suddenly realised.
"This makes too much sense now!" Night Shadow practically yelled. "No one would be foolish enough to go out into the cold willingly, much less jump into the freezing ocean. It explains why there are no corrupted ponies outside the border of Equestria, the spell would of worn off from the eternal winter and night."
"Then why wouldn't Death Fire just bring back the sun if it breaks his control over ponies." Imago asked.
"His hatred for Celestia overshadows reason. He's too stubborn to go back on his word of eternal night, plus it wouldn't be enough to stop the windigos. As long as he can maintain Equestria temperature within that shield, he can control the other nations with his androids."
"So take out the capital and the entire nation collapses!" Fireball shouted with joy.
"You forgot the problem here." Foxx reminded. "They don't know the cold breaks the spell, they still think I'm on their side. If I stop feeding them information they will kill my daughter."
"Then we will use it to our advantage." Night Shadow stated.
"How? Anything I give will inevitably help their efforts."
"That's why we give them exactly what they want…."
Several days later…
"What are you talking about?" Desolent asked abruptly.
Ntwi sighed in annoyance as she took in another breath of air to explain again.
"There's a huge power level heading from the east at a fast rate, along with a platoon of at least twenty thousand."
"That's what I don't get. Surely I would have sensed this power if you could from hundreds of miles away."
"Probably because I'm actively doing my job and scouting the area. You've been getting really lazy lately."
"Because we're suppose to be waiting for a slip up in Death Fire's forces."
"Or maybe it's because you're almost forty years old!" Ntwi said stated. "You are aware that ponies don't live very long, right?"
"What are you implying…."
"Well...I'm pretty young…you're quite old…I'm immortal….yeah…."
"So you're just waiting for me to kill over one day from old age."
"Pretty much." Ntwi said with a smirk.
"You are also aware I'm a unicorn right?"
"Hmmm, what gave that away."
"You're applying an age demographic….to a unicorn….that can summon the dead."
"Yeah, so."
"I can cheat death..."
"Since when?"
"Since I got miasma in the first place!"
"Still going to die though."
"Fine…..I guess I'll just absorb you and take that from you." Desolent said with a hungered look.
"Cause that worked great last time you did it." Ntwi said with sarcasm.
Desolent sighed softly, turning his back on her to look out the window from his castle.
"How strong is this power?"
"It's quite significant but nothing we can't handle."
"Then I'll take care of it along with the army, it seems Death Fire hasn't gotten the message yet."
"Actually, I would like to take care of it." Ntwi stated.
Desolent was slightly surprised, but remained silent.
"You want to handle this?"
"It gets quite boring waiting around for our enemies to make the first move. It will give me a chance to try out some new abilities I learned."
"Fine, but on one condition."
"Which is?"
"We cannot give the impression that we are working together. If you see any of my minions around the area, destroy them. I can always revive them later."
"So I get to kill Death Fire's puppets and your creations at the same time? Cool, I should do this more often."
"Just get out of here already."
"Fine, fine….geez."
Ntwi quickly teleported to Desolent and kissed him on the lips before vanishing from the room, leaving Desolent alone by himself….or was he.
"I know you're hiding back there!" The necromancer announced as he turned to look.
A light pink unicorn emerged from the shadows before leaning up against one of the massive pillars in the room.
"Amethyst Star? What are you doing here? How did you even find me?" Desolent asked.
"I'm not clueless, dad. You build a giant castle a couple of miles away from our hideout, you think I wouldn't notice? The real question is why?"
"What are you talking about…." Desolent said, slightly nervous.
"Don't play dumb with me again, I'm a grown mare and you still act like I'm an innocent filly like my sister. Why are you cheating on my mom?" She asked in a more serious tone.
"You shouldn't get involved with affairs that don't matter to you."
"That don't matter?! I think it matters when my dad is having AN affair with my own mother right under her nose!"
"I told you to wait back at the oasis where you're safe, you shouldn't have come here."
"Safe from what, exactly? The thousands of stallions your minions slaughter daily, the giant dragon that literally defends our "home", or maybe it's from that evil necromancer that happens to be my own father."
"Amythiest…."
"You're a murderer and yet you continue to lie about it to me and Dinky! The sad thing is, she has no clue what actually happens outside of her little bubble of safety. She still wondering why school is closed for Celestia's sake!"
"Don't mention Celestia's around me, Amethyst!" Desolent said with a tone of anger but also concern for her safety.
"Why, because she was one of the only ponies that actually cared for you? Because she stopped you when you almost destroyed an entire city?! How do you think I felt when mom told me you were never coming back!" Amethyst said with rising tension.
"You know it wasn't my fault."
"Yes it is! You keep pushing away everyone that tries to help you and work for those that want to destroy you! Every time mom tells you to stop you just shove her aside like she's nothing to you. And now you're cheating on her with this….#* #& you call an ally!"
"Don't use that language….please…."
"Don't try to change the subject! You stabbed us in the back even after everything we did to help you!"
"I'm trying my best to fix it."
"You're not trying at all!" Amethyst yelled. "If anything you have only gotten worse since your banishment. Do you not understand what you're doing! You're destroying our world and tearing our family apart!"
"I KNOW!" Desolent screamed in rage before looking away in shame. "I know…."
Rather than being overcome with fear, Amethyst stepped forward and approached her father, standing mere inches away from him.
"You keep blaming everything on this virus you have, yet here you are admitting your wrongs. Why do you let it control you?"
"I have told you before, love suppresses it's power. Around those I love, I regain sanity and consciousness."
"Then why leave our sight, why leave our presence? Use our love for you to find a cure."
"It's not that easy."
"Sometimes it is and you're just too afraid to try."
"If it was I would have already found a cure, I would have found a solution before it overtook my mind."
"That doesn't mean you should give it what it wants! I hate seeing you like this, mom hates seeing you like this…"
"You think I enjoy this, that I enjoy watching my family fall apart?!"
"I ask myself that question everyday, and yet it gets harder and harder for me to say no."
Desolent remained silent.
"Why are you cheating on the one mare that actually loves you for who you are?"
The green unicorn thought about the question before answering.
"Because it lusts after Twilight's power, it craves for her essence. Ntwi knows this and she has been trying her best to suppress this lust with herself."
"So you're saying mom isn't good enough for you anymore."
Desolent's heart practically shatter from her statement, knowing it was true.
"I'm sorry…." He whispered.
"I can't believe I'm hearing this from you, from my own dad!"
"I can't do anything to stop it anymore. It's grown too powerful."
"So what happens when mom finds out, what happens when Dinky finds out. Please, I beg of you...don't wait until it's too late."
"And what am I suppose to do then, just let it take over me and put my loved ones in danger!"
"You need to tell the truth! Admit what you have done is wrong and mom will forgive you, she will love you more than ever. If you wait for her to find out you will break her heart….she might not come back to you..."
"And what if she leaves anyways."
"You know better than to think that."
Amethyst hugged Desolent softly, nuzzling him to comfort him.
"I don't want to lose you again…"
The concerned mare eventually left the room without a sound. Desolent returned to looking out the window, conflicted with decisions. He slowly walked over to his loyal falcon and gently pet it's head.
"Once life is removed from this world, there will be no need for a cure..."
Several miles away from the border of Equestria.
"How can you be sure they are down there." Summers asked, hoving the ship above the massive army.
"Foxx said they were moved into this group, plus I have a spell that can track down ponies based on personality and features. Trust me, they are down there." Night Shadow said.
"You mean that trick you used back in chapter three?" Pinkie asked.
"Oh man, that was ages ago, wasn't it." He recalled.
"But their disguises changed that, how does that even factor anymore?" Imago asked.
"Deep within them is the mares we know and love. If that doesn't work, their elements should be able to seek them out."
"How so?"
"It should glow when we get closer and closer to them. Hopefully they aren't in any danger yet."
"Since when have they not?" Summers asked.
Night Shadow grabbed two tranquilizers for the bearers of harmony, figuring there would be no time to explain the situation to them.
"There's no point in a disguise anymore so I might as well use my powers, but we shouldn't give the enemy a shot at the ship or the elements. Keep it above the clouds as long as you can."
"How did Flash know about our mission, that's what I want to know?" Zenith asked.
"He's known the entire time." Foxx stated. "I didn't even have to tell him."
"It won't matter once we secure the last two elements." Night Shadow encouraged "I'm sure Rainbow and Applejack will be more than happy to see us."
"I can't wait, it's been far too long." Rarity commented.
"They're going to get the biggest hug I can give them!" Pinkie announced.
The red unicorn put on a trench coat, thinking the extra pockets would come in handy for other equipment. However, the main reason was because he thought it looked cool.
"Once I grab one I will teleport back here and drop them off. Oh, and by the way Luna." Night Shadow said, turning to her. "Don't do anything stupid."
"Like jumping out of a plane without a parachute?" She remarked.
"Oh trust me….I'm an expert."
"Do you even know what a parachute is?"
"...bye!"
Night Shadow jumped out of the ship, leaving everyone speechless.
"Does he normally do that?" Fluttershy asked.
"Hey, I would too if I had freaking super powers." Summers said, slightly jealous.
"How high are we anyways?" Imago asked.
"Oh, you know….twenty thousand feet. Nothing too ridiculous or anything…."
After freefalling for several minutes, Night Shadow landed on a cloud using magic to keep him afloat. He took out a pair of binoculars and observed the army closer, trying to see if he could spot them just out of the blue. Upon further observation, he realised that this so called army was a mix of all races and diversity, something he hadn't seen in Death Fire's endless battalions. That was when he realised that they were completely unarmed.
"What in the world are they thinking…." Night Shadow asked.
'Do you not sense it yet.' Light Shade asked.
"Sense what?"
'They're being controlled.'
"But that's normal isn't it?"
'This is different than what we're used to. Feel it out rather than trying to see it.'
Night Shadow focused on the "army" below, feeling something off.
"Yeah, you're right….it's some type of tranquility spell but...different..."
'Be on your guard.'
"Not this time." Night Shadow said boldly. "We're just going to find out ourselves."
'Night Shadow, think about what you're doing. What if it's a trap.'
"We'll just spring it then."
'Wait! I'm sensing three-'
Night Shadow teleported before the "army" and stuck his hoof out towards them.
'Alright, lets see how they react to this.' He thought.
He charged up a magic based attack in his hoof, making it look as deadly as possible.
"Stop where you are and I won't blast you into oblivion!" Night Shadow ordered.
He watched at the crowd continued to walk towards him like mindless zombies, acting as if he was not there to begin with. They eventually started to pass him, ignoring his order in the face of danger.
'This is something else entirely isn't it?' Night Shadow thought.
He reappeared before the crowd again and stomped his hoof into the floor, forcing the ground shatter before them. Just like before, they passed him as if nothing was wrong to begin with.
"Having fun down there?" A seductive voice asked from above.
Night Shadow looked up just in time to see a changeling swoop down and land right before him with a thud. Recovering from the landing, she flipped her hair to the side and stared right into Night Shadow's eyes.
"Don't bother, they're under my spell and it can't be…..broken…
The changeling's eyes widened as she recalled the stallion standing before her, forcing her to remember the memories of her mistakes.
"You…...I remember you….." She whispered in an angered voice.
"I'm sorry, do I know you?" Night Shadow asked.
"I wouldn't expect you to remember after you destroyed my home, you mindless savage."
"Look who's talking….."
The angered changeling removed a sword from her back that resembled her horn before gripping it tightly with her hooves.
"My name is Sila….it will be the last name you ever hear!" She screamed, dashing right at him.
"WAIT, YOU'RE SILA!" Night Shadow yelled, suddenly remembering.
'Night Shadow, she's a lot stronger than before!' Light Shade informed.
He quickly ducked under Sila's horizontal slash, flipping back to gain some distance. Sila quickly closed the gap with another dash, trying her best to slash the pony it two. With every slash she missed, the angrier and faster she became as she feed off the endless hatred around her, putting her at a level he didn't think was possible for her. If Night Shadow didn't start trying he was going to lose right here and now. The deciding factor was when Sila's blade took on a sinister red glow before she slashed the air, sending out a massive blast of fire and deadly magic.
Night Shadow's hair spiked up right as he put his hooves forward, using shear concentration to block the blast.
"So you learned a few tricks." Sila admitted. "But do you really think you can get out of here alive."
"...Yes." Night Shadow said with a smirk.
"We'll see about that."
She lunged again at terrifying speeds only to be stopped by a massive explosion of magic that sent the two flying across the field. Night Shadow shook the dirt and rubble off his coat before looking up, seeing a mare standing on a black cloud.
"I was wondering when things would heat up. Look like I'm late to the party though." Ntwi announced.
"Stay out of this you witch, this fight is between me and Night Shadow!" Sila screamed.
"Night Shadow is here!" Ntwi said with surprise as she looked towards him. "So you have returned….this should be good."
"I SAID HE'S MINE!" Sila screamed once again, flaring out her wings.
She launched toward Ntwi in a blink of an eye and slashed her blade, slicing the air itself. Sila then realised Ntwi was nowhere in sight and looked around frantically, finally finding her standing before Night Shadow.
"Don't mind her, she just can't stand the sight of ponies clearly above her level." Ntwi said with a smirk.
"You're not Twilight….what….what are you?" Night Shadow said in surprise.
"I'm what your kind call, 'Miasma', specifically from Twilight herself. Oh but enough about me, I want to know about you…." She said in a seductive tone.
'Night Shadow….she's….almost as strong as Herus...' Light Shade said in shock.
"If you think you can seduce me with your looks you are mistaken." Night Shadow said boldly.
Ntwi smirked as she walked next to him, rubbing her tail underneath his chin as she traced his muscles with her hoof. Needless to say, Night Shadow was blushing furiously.
"My you are are cutie….I can see why Twilight want's your body so badly."
"You can't fool me with your…..SHE WANTS WHAT NOW?!"
"FINE, I'LL JUST KILL YOU BOTH!" Sila shouted, charging up her horn.
She fired a massive blast of red magic directly towards the two ponies without holding anything back. Ntwi's smirk quickly turned to a look of anger as she turned to face the blast.
"I WAS HAVING A CONVERSATION!"
She took her hoof and smashed it into the blast, firing her own attack that easily overpowered Sila's attack. Sila quickly jumped out of the way and lunged at Ntwi, only to be paralysed by a spell from the witches horn.
"You can wait your turn like everyone else!" Ntwi yelled before turning back to Night Shadow. "Now where were we? Oh yeah…."
Ntwi pushed Night Shadow onto his back and stood over him with a lustful smile.
"Of course she want's you, who wouldn't want you? You have the potential to make any mare faint just by looking at them and you chose her out of everyone else." She said, getting right up to his face.
'Night Shadow, don't let her get to you.' Light Shade warned.
"Isn't it obvious. The way she acts around you, the way she laughs at your jokes, how concerned she is when you're hurt. She loves you….she hungers and lusts for you….how can you blame her…."
Night Shadow couldn't explain it, but he was locked in by her gaze. He was too paralyzed to move, to even think rationally. She didn't even have to put a spell on him and he was already doing exactly what she wanted.
'Snap out of it, Night Shadow!' Light Shade pleaded.
Ntwi nibbled Night Shadow's neck as she continued to trace lines across his chest.
"You're strong….brave….handsome….a hero among many…." Ntwi said, moving her hoof closer to Night Shadow's inner thighs.
Night Shadow's face was completely flushed red as he remained paralysed.
"But most important of all….." Ntwi whispered, quickly summoning magic to her hoof. "COMPLETELY CLUELESS!"
A quick flash was all it took to completely demolish everything before her eyes with a massive purple explosion of smoke and magic. Everything went silent as rubble fell around the dark queen as she held her posture for several more seconds. She slowly put her hoof back down to the ground and sighed in annoyance.
"You had to make this hard for me, don't you…." Ntwi asked.
The smoke cleared to reveal Night Shadow pointing his glowing hoof directly behind her.
"You think I was just going to let you kill me?" Night Shadow asked, truly getting serious.
"You almost did….which shows me you are easily fooled."
"It won't happen again!"
"Really? Do tell." Ntwi said, not even bothering to turn around.
"By trying to kill me with a trick you show intelligence, but also weakness. You can't fight me head on can you..."
Ntwi smirked to herself, finding amusement in his words.
"You might be right….but looks can be deceiving, Night Shadow. Something you will soon learn the hard way."
"Then by all means, try to educate me."
"Well for starters." Ntwi said, suddenly fading away from view. "You're eyes deceive you..."
Night Shadow's ears perked up to hear a high pitch scream rapidly approaching and quickly leaped into the air, dodging a massive ball of magic just before it made contact. Just as he landed, several more magical spheres were launched at him at rapid speeds. Night Shadow evaded each one before looking around for Ntwi, trying to get a lock on her. She was nowhere in sight yet more spheres were being formed and thrown at his direction. Each time he dodge and evaded, more took their place, doubling their number each time they appeared.
"I can't track her, it's like she's everywhere at once." Night Shadow said to himself.
He abruptly slammed his hindhoof into the ground, rooting himself in place to start deflecting the blasts. However, right before the first one hit, it curved around his body as well as the other spheres, forming a massive tornado. His entire vision was blurred by dark purple and black magic, forcing his eyes to look around sporadically. He was then hid hard in the back by what felt like a hoof, causing him to grunt out in pain as he turned around and punched. However, to his shock, there was nothing there but the vortex of sinister colors. He was hit again, this time across the side of the head. He turned and attacked again, once again seeing nothing but colors.
"What is this…?" Night Shadow whispered.
"The end of the road…." Ntwi declared.
With that said, Night Shadow was suddenly bombarded by hundreds of punches and kicks that knocked him around the inside of the vortex. Everytime he hit the edge of the tornado he was hit with a face full of magic. Everytime he tried to punch back he would miss, everytime he evaded two more attacks would take it's place.
"What good is all that strength if you can't even hit anything!" Ntwi mocked.
Night Shadow shot an energy blast where he heard the voice, only missing once again. However, when he shot the blast, the vortex quickly opened and sealed back up to prevent escape, spawning an idea. Night Shadow quickly charged up his energy into his hindhooves and into his forehooves, ignoring the hundreds of attack to his body. He pointed forward and fired, causing the vortex to open. Before it could even close, Night Shadow fired the energy stored in his hindhooves, propelling him out of the vortex and back into the outside world.
As he stood up, the vortex reverted back into spheres and followed him to his location within seconds. Night Shadow ran up to destroy the first blast with his hoof, but it curved around his body again and started to rapidly spin around him. Not wanting to be caught in the same predicament, he teleported several hundred feet away and started to run. The spheres continued to follow him, never letting up the chase as Night Shadow tried to think of a plan.
"She's pure miasma, isn't she?" Night Shadow asked.
'You can't fight her like the others. You're going to have to approach this situation differently rather than head on.' Light Shade said.
"But how!"
'Use your head.'
"Like that helps!"
Not before long Night Shadow was engulfed in the vortex once again. He quickly summoned a shield around his body to protect him as he desperately tried to think of a solution.
"Miasma….darkness….smoke….what counters her?"
Night Shadow's shield threatened to break as the onslaught continued around him. Thinking of anything he could try, he resorted to a spell he hadn't used in years.
"Here it goes…." He whispered as his horn glow bright blue.
The moment the shield broke, Night Shadow casted a frost spell that turned everything around him into solid ice before thrusting his hooves out to create a sonic blast, shattering the vortex into pieces across the field. The ice shards abruptly glowed black before traveling across the ground and binding Night Shadow hooves to the floor. Ntwi appeared before him and swung her hoof to punch him across the jaw. The red unicorn broke out of his binding in the nick of time, ducking under the attack and punching Ntwi in the stomach. To his surprise, his attack punched clean through her stomach effortlessly, yet there was no blood or even a reaction from the dark queen as she burst into black smoke and disappeared into the ground.
"What the hell…." Night Shadow whispered in shock.
"Let me kill you already!" Ntwi screamed, reforming behind him and firing a massive purple blast of magic.
Night Shadow redirected the blast as he turned around with a defensive shield from his hoof. With his spare hoof he lunged forward and punched the mare right between the eyes, only for the same result to occur. The dark unicorn repositioned herself and ambushed Night Shadow with another attack, this time sending out multiple balls of magic instead of a single blast. Night Shadow evaded each one and attempted to close the distance on her, but she continued to vanish and reappear hundreds of feet away. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't close the distance. Even if he got a hit in it would of been pointless, nothing seemed to damage her.
It wasn't until Ntwi miscalculated an evasion and ended up putting her to close to Night Shadow, a mistake Night Shadow took full advantage off. Ntwi had no time to teleport or fade away as she dodged the attacks one by one. Once she was backed up against a tree like a dog in the corner, she threw a punch of her own and made contact with Night Shadow's muzzle. Not wasting a second, she unleashed a barrage of attacks across the stallion's face, neck, and chest before charging magic into her hindhoof and kicking Night Shadow across with field with an explosive spin kick. Night Shadow slowly stood up and rubbed his cheek, smiling softly as he popped his neck and jaw.
"Look who finally decided to fight with her hooves." Night Shadow remarked.
"I can do it again if you would like." Ntwi said with a smile of her own. "Or are you ready to give up."
"Funny…it's that the question I should be asking you?"
"HA! You're dusting yourself off while you have yet to even hit me once. But please, go ahead and ask. Go right ahead."
"Is that why you have been running the whole time...why you refused to fight without your magic or your tricks…..?" Night Shadow asked. "You've been trying to trick and deceive me this entire time because of one crucial factor….you're nothing without out it." He stated with a dark tone.
"Such a bold claim from someone so insignificant as yourself. First you claim I'm weaker than you and now you challenge my power?!" Ntwi yelled.
"Than prove it….." Night Shadow said with smirk.
Ntwi grit her teeth until she suddenly took on a calm expression as her eyes narrowed, spawning an idea.
"Alright then…." She said, holding out her hoof. "I'll show you my real power."
"I'm waiting." Night Shadow taunted.
Ntwi turned her back on him, quickly casting a spell on her hoof that would vaporize everything it touched.
"Let's see how confident you are after this!" Ntwi said, quickly turning around to punch Night Shadow's horn.
The red unicorn quickly caught on the the act and blasted Ntwi's hoof with a blast of magic, forcing her to cry out in pain as she was pinned to the tree behind her. In one last effort, she punched Night Shadow across the face, only for it to be shrugged off as Night Shadow stared her right in the eyes.
"A unicorn without magic is like a sword without a blade. Give it up." Night Shadow demanded.
"You'll have to catch me first." Ntwi declared with a wicked grin.
"Nwi" abruptly exploded, sending Night Shadow flying across the field and into the middle of the ice shards left behind earlier. Ntwi appeared on top of Night Shadow, teasing him once again as she levitated the ice shards above him.
"I wasn't lying when I said you were cute by the way." Ntwi said with a soft smile. "It's a shame I have to kill you though."
Her attention was then drawn by a bright red light shining behind her. She turned around to see Sila, glowing bright red and gaining power at an alarming rate.
"I….SAID…..HE'S MIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Sila screamed out at the top of her lungs.
A huge red explosion erupted from her body, breaking the paralyzing spell and shattering the earth beneath her as she angrily charged at the two ponies on the floor.
"You're that desperate for a stallion, huh." Ntwi asked.
"I don't think that's desperation….." Night Shadow commented in nervousness.
She was before the two in seconds, reeling back her sword as red lighting and fire rushed out from behind. Night Shadow and Ntwi teleported away just as her blade collided with the ground, practically opening a gate to hell as a massive explosion of magic and fire erupted into the sky that could be seen for miles.
'Her hatred has made so powerful…..' Light Shade commented softly.
'We can't allow her to continue then.' Night Shadow thought.
He landed in the crowd of mind controlled ponies, still focusing on the explosion Sila created. It wasn't long before he noticed a faint glow emitting from his coat. He looked inside and pulled out the Element of Honesty, glowing faintly but bright enough to be noticed from a distance.
"She's close by."
'I'm tracking her now, just worry about those two.'
He dashed to the left, desperately looking around and scanning for what looked like Applejack. Looking side to side, left to right, he couldn't find her in the crowd of mindless ponies. Each second was another possibility of losing the trail, there was just too many ponies to single out one until the element began to shine like the sun. With one look to the side, he spotted her and lunged out to grab her, only to be stopped as Ntwi appeared before him.
"And what do you expect to do with those?!" She yelled, firing a wave of black magic and blocking his path.
Night Shadow flew back before skidding himself to a stop with his hooves, crashing into several ponies in the process.
"Saving my best friends..." He said heroically.
He dashed forward and lunged at Ntwi with his hoof glowing brightly with magic. Ntwi smirked as she simply faded into smoke and walked right through him before reforming to fire another blast of magic. Unfortunately for her, that was exactly what Night Shadow wanted. He quickly grabbed Applejack and used the magic stored in his hoof to teleport both of them safely in the airship waiting above.
"You found her!" Summers proclaimed. "But what the heck is going on down there."
"Nothing good, that's for sure." Night Shadow said, tossing her the element of honesty. "Sila placed her so called "army" under a sedation spell so they would walk blindly into danger. Now I'm fighting her along with this twisted version of Twilight."
"Twisted version of Twilight?" Rarity asked.
"Her name is Nightmare Twilight." Foxx imputed. "Very dangerous as you could imagine. But why on earth is she way out here?"
"Well, for whatever reason, you still need to find the last bearer of harmony, and quickly. There's a huge force coming from the east. Desolent's forces will be upon you in a matter of minutes." Imago warned."
"How much time do I have?" Night Shadow asked.
"Four minutes….maybe five…but they're close and we are running out of time."
Night Shadow turned and looked out the door of the ship.
"Fly the ship low so we can make a fast getaway home but stay out of sight…I'm getting Dashie back…."
Night Shadow jumped out of the ship as the elements of harmony crowded around Applejack, doing everything they could to break the spell off of her. Meanwhile, Ntwi wasn't to happy about what just happened.
"You damn &$&$!" NTwi yelled out, looking everywhere to find Night Shadow again.
The red stallion reappeared next to her, acting as if he was ready to fight her again. Ntwi turned to face him, returning to her cocky grin.
"Pretty smart of you to do, but I bet you can't do anything like that again." She said mockingly. NTwi vanished into smoke and appeared behind him to resume her attack, firing several blasts of magic towards him. Night Shadow deflected the blast and vanished with a flash of light, disappearing within the crowd.
"You got to be kidding me…" Ntwi whispered.
It was then she noticed a huge spike of hatred suddenly appear near her.
"You are really feisty today huh?" She said, turning to face Sila. "let me guess, he did something to ya and you want him all to yourself…..get in line." She said with a dark tone.
Sila took on an aura of fire and she stood before her, full of endless hatred within her heart.
"I wouldn't expect the likes of you to understand what he's done! Stand aside or die like those before me!"
This forced Ntwi to giggle slightly.
"Oh you are adorable, if only Death Fire was here to see this. Go ahead, try to kill me." She stated boldly, fading from view.
Sila slowly started to ascended into the air, looking down at the prisoners she controlled.
"If you expect me to hold back just because you disappeared, you have another thing coming."
She started to fire huge spheres of magic into the crowd, attempting to either draw Ntwi out or hit Night Shadow without concern of who she killed. Night Shadow saw the genocide she was about to commit and decided to act, however, someone beat him to the punch. Ntwi appeared before the magic spheres and deflected them away from the crowd, successfully saving everyone that was in danger.
"Did she just…..save everyone?!" Night Shadow asked as he stood still in shock.
'It appears that way.' Light Shade said, not believing it himself.
"But why…."
'...I don't know…...but she bought us time. Rainbow is not to far from us. Move!'
Meanwhile, Ntwi had confronted Sila directly, firing her own blasts of magic to destroy the ones Sila launched.
"You're not even trying to hit me, are you!" Ntwi shouted.
"GET OUT OF THE WAY YOU ARROGANT #^* &#!" Sila screamed.
"Your hatred might have given you a lot of power, but you can't even control yourself."
"I DON'T NEED CONTROL TO BEAT YOU! BUT IF YOU REFUSE TO GET OUT OF THE WAY….
Sila threw her hooves to the sky and summoned a huge ball of magic the size of a mountain within several seconds. Ntwi watched as the ball started to absorb the hatred contained within the prisoners, turning their emotions into a super weapon as the sky blackened in fear.
"I WILL JUST OBLITERATE EVERYTHING IN SIGHT!" Sila shouted with a wicked laugh.
As she continued to laugh and lose herself to her power, she threw the massive ball down to the surface without a second thought.
"DIE LITTLE PONY! DIIIEEE!" She screamed with insanity.
Ntwi dashed to the ball of hatred and stuck her hooves out, catching the ball before it hit the surface. The force of the impact created a mile wide crater to form beneath her, kicking up all the dirt and soil within a second. The ball continued to force Ntwi deeper into the ground as she struggled to gain control of the massive ball, putting all of her power into her hooves to push it back. Sila only laughed maniacally as she summed another huge ball of hatred to throw.
"IS SHE TRYING TO BLOW UP THE ENTIRE PLANET!" Night Shadow yelled in terror.
'That's….impossible…...no one has that kind of power.'
"Alright, i've had enough of this…." Night Shadow whispered.
Night Shadow summoned up as much power as he could, forcing his hair and tail to spike up from the energy and power. His eyes took on a bright purple color as his body glowed with purple light before standing up to his hind hooves and screaming to the top of his lungs.
"YOU WANT TO FIGHT ME SO BADLY, WELL HERE I AM! COME FACE ME!" Night Shadow screamed.
Sila's eyes widened as she looked towards the red stallion, drooling slightly in insanity.
"So the coward has finally revealed himself….
Sila reeled back and threw her ball towards Night Shadow, but what he didn't expect was for her to regain command of the other ball she threw at Ntwi and throw it at Night Shadow as well. The two balls of monstrous size fused together, doubling in size and power as it hurtled towards him, dragging itself on the ground as it did. Night Shadow stood his ground and focused all his energy into his right hoof, focusing it to glow brightly with bright purple light. Just before the ball hit, Night Shadow dashed forward and blasted the ball with a huge wave of energy that blinded everything that witnessed it, pushing it back at double the speed. Sila quickly dodged the attack and landed on the ground with a roll, getting even more angered.
"YOU THINK THAT WILL BE ENOUGH TO STOP ME!" She screamed.
"No….." Night Shadow said, appearing behind her. "BUT THIS WILL!"
Sila turned to slash with her sword, only for Night Shadow to duck under it and uppercut Sila right under the jaw with all his power, forcing a massive explosion to occur around them. Night Shadow backflipped and landed several feet away, holding his breath. Several seconds later, Sila crashed down to the ground along with her sword, barely hitting her as it impaled the ground next to her body. Sila tried to get up as she twitched in pain, but Night Shadow could tell her bones were ready to crack.
But Sila had more than just broken bones to deal with…...
"Still alive I see….." Night Shadow whispered darkly, walking to her.
'Night Shadow….' Light Shade said with concern. 'Don't let it get to you.'
"You just didn't know when to quit…..when to give up…."
'It's easy to let your anger get to you, but you can't let it control you like it once has.'
"You wanted to fight me with your hatred…...with your anger…..yet you have no idea what real hatred is!" Night Shadow yelled, picking up her sword and angling it to her head.
'Let it go Night Shadow, you are better than this'
"LET'S SEE HOW YOU FARE WHEN YOU ARE THE ONE THREATENED WITH A BLADE!"
Just before he could end it, a huge red light shot down from the sky, shielding her from the outside world as it pushed him away several feet.
"I'M NOT LETTING YOU GET AWAY!" Night Shadow yelled, pointing his hoof at Sila and charging up a massive about of energy.
Night Shadow's eyes took on a blue color before he could fire, forcing him to calm down and put his hoof back down to the floor.
'You've already won…let her go…...'
'She will come back stronger, Light Shade! I have to end her before that happens!' Night Shadow declared.
'She's suffering on the inside, can't you feel it?' Light Shade asked. 'Let the fact that her most hated rival spared her life…..let her go...'
'What if she can't be forgiven?'
'That is not our decision to make...'
As Sila slowly ascended into the air, she couldn't help but chuckle to herself.
"You might have spared me today, Night Shadow….but it will be your downfall…." Sila whispered with malice. "Soon….not even you will be able to hide from the raging fire…...hahaha…..HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Sila quickly ascended above the clouds in a red light before turning into a bright red sphere, propelling towards the west to Canterlot like a comet. Night Shadow dropped the blade to the ground, resulting in it to ascend and vanish just like Sila did moments before.
"Now it's just you and me…." Ntwi said, standing behind him.
Night Shadow sighed softly as he regained control of his body.
"Ntwi….you didn't come here to kill me...so why are you here?"
"Personal reasons….at least until I felt your presence. Why bother asking or even talking to your enemies? Talk is not meant for your opponent's." Ntwi declared.
"Because I don't want to fight you….I don't have time to fight you, and frankly, you're not here to fight me either."
"You don't get it do you…" Ntwi asked.
"Get what? That you're just another bad guy wanting to take over the world for some made up cause?"
"You don't get what Death Fire is really trying to do…"
"Then explain yourself now!"
Ntwi continued to glare at Night Shadow as she started to circle him.
"Just like me, Death Fire is the virus called miasma that has taken a physical form. We are powerful, agile, intelligent, and independent thinkers that crave for control and destruction. However…..there is a setback that we all try to ignore…...we cannot survive without our original host….."
Night Shadow continued to listen, but kept up his guard.
"When you were still connected with Death Fire, you resisted his control and influence. You suppressed his power for years, making it a struggle for him to gain the upperhand. The elements of harmony came in, removing his limited control yet again. So on the day you became Dark Fire, he found a loophole in what you created...a scapegoat that was willing to comply with his motives.
However, what he didn't expect was for you to rebel even when you didn't have control of your body, much less turn Dark Fire to your side. He was losing power faster than ever, so he hatched a new plan. If he couldn't control you, he would control the next best thing….Twilight Sparkle."
"So that's how you were born…"
"In a sense….but nevertheless, true. When Twilight entered your mind, Death Fire infected her body with miasma before attempting to make the switch, but yet again miscalculated the possibilities. I was already manifested within Twilight's heart, waiting for the right time to emerge after her battle with Nightmare Moon. Within that short time I adopted her memories, knowledge, and skill as my own. With Discord, Chrysalis, Sombra passing on their miasma to Twilight in one way or another, I gained even more strength. So when the fool, Death Fire tried to invade her body, I was there forcing him back in.
Then it happened…..just like that I was forced out of Twilight's body. Without my host i was vulnerable and thus made my escape to the north. Death Fire, on the other hand, went back to plan B and used Dark Fire as the primary host."
"But how was he not able to resist his control like I had before." Night Shadow asked.
"Define resist, Night Shadow." Ntwi asked. "From what I recall, you never had control of your actions. Even now you are controlled by those that claim to be your friends."
Night Shadow froze up in realization.
"You might have build a resistance to control, but you have been controlled your entire life. Dark Fire had no way to resist Death Fire's influence when you separated, thus, he was consumed and taken over in a blink of an eye. However….it was flawed…"
"You better start making sense, witch!" Night Shadow demanded.
"Death Fire took over Dark Fire, a third of who you are. It is a false synchronization because he is not united with the main host. In short, the power you've witnessed from him is literally only a third of what he is capable of."
"That's…..you're lying…...you have to be lying…." Night Shadow whispered.
"You possess the remaining two-thirds of his potential power. Once united under his control his power will increase beyond comprehension. He will have enough power to exterminate all life on the planet. Do you get it now….you are the key to the end of the world…..the extinction of all life...but also the key to hope…"
Ntwi's horn began to glow brightly as she readied to attack.
"If I kill you, here and now, not only will it prevent him from destroying the world, but also end the threat permanently. With the host dead, Death Fire's connection with the living world will fade away…...I will be able to put an end to this war once and for all and bring the world back to the way it was!"
"A world under the influence of a tyrant is not the way it used to be!"
"That's where you're wrong. You think Celestia wasn't a tyrant, that she didn't commit crimes behind closed doors? I have the power to free this world, give the people what they truly desire."
"The only thing I see is a power hungry unicorn trying to stop the only pony getting in her way."
"Night Shadow, open your eyes. You caused this war, you caused all this suffering and pain. You're death is the only way to stop this war and the end of the world. Isn't that what you always wanted? A death that would redeem yourself?"
Night Shadow closed his eyes and took a deep breath, contemplating his decisions. Ultimately, his choice was without question.
"You're right on somethings. My life might have caused the death of millions, cost the world it's freedom and started a never ending war….but right now the world needs me alive...and as long as the world is still in chaos I still have a job to do."
"As powerful as you are….I won't let you leave here alive…." Ntwi said with malice.
"I'm not your enemy…."
"War makes us all enemies…."
Before any of them could throw out the first attack, the ground shook softly but with enough force to get their attention. Every three seconds, they felt the ground shake with ever increasing force and power until it abruptly stopped.
"What was that?" Night Shadow asked.
Ntwi remained silent as she looked toward the east, noticing the sky turning amorously green along with the scent of rotten flesh.
"You had to send Malicor didn't you…." Ntwi whispered.
"Malicor?" Night Shadow asked.
As if on cue, a massive creature slowly appeared on the hill to the east. It resembled that of a giant komodo dragon, but biologically modified for horror. It had huge, black spikes on it's back, legs and tail. The lizard itself was at least a third of a mile long, standing tall and proud yet terrifying and hideous to compensate. It had a massive jaw and teeth that could slice through metal within seconds and eyes that glowed yellow with corruption. Lastly, to no ones surprise, it was undead, risen back to life by that green unicorn I'm sure you forgot the backstory to.
"Where does Desolent get all these zombies from?" Night Shadow asked aloud.
The beast roared to the sky, sending echos and shockwaves throughout the field. The prisoners, still walking forward as if nothing was happening, didn't even flinch at the danger hundreds of feet before them. After the monster's presence was known, thousands upon thousands of undead took their place next to the beast before charging straight towards the prisoners. In short, they were sitting ducks.
"No no no no no no no no NO NO NO!" Night Shadow said, running towards the front of the crowd.
As he continued to run, he noticed the beast's mouth begin to glow sickly green. Feeling a massive increase of power, he only assumed the worst as he ran even faster. What little light was in the area dimmed just before the beast fired a black and green ray of radiated energy towards the crowd. Night Shadow's fur stood up on the back of his neck as he quickly positioned himself between the undead and the prisoners as the blast approached. With a bright flash of his horn and quick movements with his hooves, he summoned a massive, transparent wall of wind and magic that blocked the blast with explosive results.
Night Shadow watched as the debris of the radiated blast landed on the ground before the shield, practically melting through the ground in an acid like effect. A painful fate for anything unfortunate enough to be in it's path. This became the least of his worries as the undead finally made contact with the wall and rammed into it with all their might. Thousands upon thousands of undead began to hammer away at the conjured wall as Night Shadow held it up with everything he had. As if things couldn't get worse, the prisoners, still brainwashed, walked right up to the wall and pushed up against it with their bodies, creating tension from both sides.
Only a thin line of magic kept the starving undead from reaching their meals, a thin line that was threatening to break at any moment. Could it get worse you ask? Well, considering Ntwi decided to appear behind Night Shadow to attack and with the undead abomination sprinting straight at the wall…...yeah….it got worse.
"Can we please do this another time, I'm kind of busy here!" Night Shadow asked, creating a shield around him to block Ntwi's magical attack.
"How about I kill you first, then I can leave you alone." Ntwi suggested, bombarding his shield with more magic.
"Not happening, Treelight."
"I'll even make it quick, Night Shadow. Please…i promise it won't hurt that much." Ntwi begged.
"NO!"
"Oh for *#& sakes!"
Ntwi turned to the crowd and raised her hoof, summoning a blinding white light that broke the spell over the crowd of prisoners. The newly freed slaves looked around in confusion as their minds quickly returned to them. They soon caught on to what was happening when they saw the massive hoard of undead before them.
"If you value your lives you will run for them!" Ntwi ordered.
Without a second thought, the prisoners turned tailed and ran for their lives in panic. Ntwi looked to Night Shadow with a wicked smirk.
"Now you have nothing to worry about."
Night Shadow kept the shield and wall up for as long as he could before abruptly flinging the wall forward and causing the shield around him to form in his hoof for a surprise attack. He flung the energy he formed to the ground, launching up smoke and dirt to blind everything watching him as he vanished.
"You can't escape your fate….." Ntwi whispered, fading into darkness.
It took no time for the undead to rip through the wall as soon as the giant abomination crashed through it with all it's might. Now it was just a race to see who would get to who first.
'With the spell broken, it will be easier to find Rainbow Dash, but you still need to close the distance.' Light Shade informed.
"Do your job and I will do mine." Night Shadow stated, blending in with the panicking crowd.
Ntwi faded back into her physical form to blast Night Shadow with her magic, forcing the red unicorn to take a hard right turn to dodge. Night Shadow dashed forward again, only to take another detour when Ntwi appeared again to attack.
"The crowd is camouflaging her surprise attacks." Night Shadow whispered.
'Keep avoiding her, we're getting closer.'
This time, Night Shadow leaped over Ntwi as she appeared, kneeing her in the muzzle before she vanished with a bloody nose. As a result, she started to become more aggressive with attacks and tactics. She began firing spread shots, heat seaking magic rockets, creating walls, distortion portals, and even controlling nearby prisoners to try to stop him. All the while with the undead closing in and the abomination firing off his deadly radiation wave.
"Wait...Rainbow can't stand the ground, wouldn't she be flying away rather than running?" Night Shadow asked.
'They would of bound their wings, wouldn't they?' Light Shade wondered.
"It would of been pointless if they were just going to sedate them anyways."
'Then what is preventing the gryphons and pegasi from just flying away?'
Almost all at once, everything that had wings took off into the sky like their memories of flight had returned to them that instant. Magic returned to those that possessed it while everyone else began to run faster. Night Shadow was so caught up by this that he failed to notice several undead catch up to him and grapple onto him with their hooves. Just before they bit down into his flesh they were shot off from above as the familiar gunship came into view.
"I'd reckon you'd need help." Applejack said with a grin, adjusting her hat.
"Aj, tell the pilot to keep the undead away from the prisoners and to stay away from-
"OOOO, and who would you guys be?" Ntwi asked as she appeared on the ship.
Night Shadow's eyes dilated as shivers went down his spin.
"Wow, you have been busy haven't you?" The dark queen asked, being humored by his efforts. "Well then…..I guess if you won't fight me, I'll just fight your-
Summers quickly tackled her to the floor and stabbed Ntwi's horn with a glowing syringe.
"FOXX!" Summers yelled in panic.
Foxx quickly ran to the cockpit and began to pilot the ship as Summers grabbed Ntwi by the neck and jumped off the jet with her.
"WHAT THE HELL IS SHE DOING?!" Imago yelled.
"Buying us time." Foxx said, kicking the jet into overdrive.
Ntwi's magic failed her as the poison took effect, severely cutting off many of her abilities but not enough to leave her defenseless as she summoned up as much as she could. The two mares were falling quickly to the ground as Summers continued to hold her grip around Ntwi's neck. Ntwi eventually regained control, breaking Summers grip and attempting to grab her so she would hit the ground first. The struggle between these two mares lasted for a few moments before Summers pinned Ntwi's hooves behind her back and forced her to crash into the dirt face first. She rolled onto the ground and removed a shotgun from her back, cocking it with her hooves as she pointed it right at Ntwi's face.
"Not so talkative with your face full of *#* now are we?" Summers said with mixed bravery and doubt.
Ntwi quickly got up and shook the dirt from her hair and muzzle, clearly enraged by what happened.
"You are a fool if you think you can fight me." Ntwi said with anger.
"Maybe I am, but I know without your magic your just another pony with a big mouth...and i've delt with big mouthed ponies before…." Summers said with confidence.
"Why you arrogant little brat!" Ntwi screamed, lunging at her with her hoof.
Despite the poison, Ntwi was still way faster than a normal pony and easily connected the punch with Summer's muzzle. What Ntwi didn't expect was for Summers to take the blow to her face like a brick wall.
"I'm…...a lot stronger then I look…"Summers whispered, bleeding from her nose.
Ntwi was speechless as Summers grabbed Ntwi's head and slammed her head against hers, knocking the dark queen to the floor. As she was distorted, Summers picked her to her hooves and kneed her in the stomach, causing Ntwi to gasp in pain. Ntwi grit her teeth as she grabbed Summers hair and yanked it with all her might before punching her in the chest, creating a gap. Just as Ntwi was about to fire magic out of her hoof, Summers recovered and blasted Ntwi with the shotgun, knocking Ntwi onto her flank with a loud thud.
Ntwi stood up abruptly, even more angered then before, but that was when she noticed the extreme pain emiting from her body. With confusion, she reached down and felt the areas where she was shot, realising she was bleeding immensely. With sudden terror, she looked up to Summers for answers, only to realise she was gone.
"Having trouble regenerating you *# $&." Summers said, cocking the shotgun behind her.
"What did you do to me!" Ntwi screamed, spinning around only to be shot again in the chest.
"Made you vulnerable….."
Ntwi used what magic she had to summon a pillar that knocked the shotgun out of Summers hooves. Using the sudden shock to her advantage, Ntwi kicked the pillar onto Summers and dashed to the shotgun. Once she grabbed it, she tried to shoot Summers but realised the shotgun wasn't pumped, causing it to harmlessly click. Summers tackled Ntwi to the floor and ruthlessly tried to punch her face in. Ntwi desperately tried to regain control, resulting in the two mare to roll around on the floor and still try to beat each others face in.
Several more moments passed before Ntwi blasted Summers off of her, launching her ten feet into the air before she crashed down on the floor. Ntwi realised her mistake when she realised she had launched Summers right next to the shotgun. As the dark mare lunged to attack the mare, Summers reached over and grabbed the gun, quickly pumping in the next shot to fire. She missed when Ntwi tackled her through a portal that put them back on the jet. This time, however, they were on top of the plane rather than in it.
Summers flipped Ntwi over her head and rolled forward to get distance, cocking the shotgun to fire yet again. When she turned to shoot, Ntwi kicked Summers ribs on the side, forcing the poor mare to grunt out in agony as she grabbed the shotgun from her hooves and slammed it against the side of her head. Summers rolled onto her back and looked up, realising the shotgun was pointed right at her head.
"Even without my magic, you are still powerless to stop me." Ntwi said with a grin.
"That's when I come in." Night Shadow said behind her.
Ntwi spun around and shot the gun, blasting Night Shadow in the chest and knocking him onto the floor. Ntwi became confused as to how she took down the stallion so easily, allowing Summers to leap behind her and punch the side of her horn. The dark unicorn screamed in pain as Summers snatched the Shotgun from her grasp and slammed the butt of the gun across her muzzle, making her wobble back. Summers delivered several more blows with Ntwi's face as well as her body before finally pumping the shotgun and firing into the queen's body.
Without any hesitation or second thoughts, she unloaded the rest of her ammo into Ntwi until she had wobbled to the nose of the jet, threatening to fall on her own account. Summers watched as both blood and miasma poured out of her wounds before giving the final blow, knocking her off of the jet with a blast of her gun. Summers sighed deeply as she turned to "Night Shadow", extending her hoof to pick him back onto his feet.
"You owe me big time…." Imago said before his body reverted back to his normal changeling form.
He looked off the edge of the plane, looking for any sign of Ntwi's body.
"You think she's gone?" He asked, hopefully.
Summers continued to stare at the ground below for several moments before turning to Imago and tossing him the shotgun.
"She'll be back."
Several moments before…
"She's going to get herself killed!" Night Shadow yelled in panic.
"Don't worry about her, find Rainbow Dash! She can take care of herself!" Fireball stated with confidence.
Night Shadow was hesitant but nodded in agreement nethertheless. He dashed back into the massive crowd followed by the ship above him providing cover from the undead.
'We're getting closer, much closer.' Light Shade commented. 'Get that element out.'
Night Shadow levitated the Element of Loyalty to his line of sight, noticing it's brightening glow. Hope was right before his grasp.
"Where to?" Night Shadow asked, ducking under several undead attacks.
'Just over this hill, but hurry.'
"Keep an eye out for a fast and flying pegasus!" Night Shadow yelled to the ship.
Once he made it over the hill, his vision was filled with a massive hoard of undead minions surrounding a group of ponies that were cut off from the rest.
"I think I see her!" Imago yelled with excitement.
"Zelot, Angel, help me clear the area!" Night Shadow ordered.
The Zebra and Gryphon quickly jumped out of the ship and got to work in a snap. While arrows and limbs flew across the sky, Night Shadow inspected the crowd of at least thirty ponies with the Element of Loyalty. One by one he checked and dismissed everypony he saw that was a pegasus, but still no luck.
"Imago, see if you can get a bird's eye view from the sky." Night Shadow said, rapidly searching.
"Foxx, get us higher in the sky." Imago ordered.
It was then they heard a massive thump come from the ceiling of the plane, forcing the group to pause.
"What was that?" Fireball asked.
"I guess I better find out…."
Meanwhile, Night Shadow was starting to panic.
"I can't find her!" He yelled.
"Keep searching and you will find her." Zelot reinsured, slicing an undead with his spear. "But do it quick or we too will be one with the dead."
Night Shadow continued to check, still not able to find the elusive pegasus until it hit him like a truck.
"Wait, what are we checking the ground for!" Night Shadow realised.
The red stallion looked up to confirm his suspicions as he saw a pegasus high above the clouds with speed that could only match the one he had been searching for.
"Today…...we reunite harmony….."
Night Shadow teleported just above the pegasus and grabbed her around the waist. Naturally, the pegasus started to panic and squirm in place, screaming out insults and names that would've made any sailor jealous. But this was no place for name calling. Night Shadow summoned a cloud below the two and practically slammed her into it as softly as he could all the while with the pegasus punching Night Shadow's face.
"Let go of me you pervert!" The pegasus shouted, pounding his chest.
"Just as stubborn as always, Rainbow Dash…." Night Shadow said with relief.
The stallion placed the element around Rainbow's neck and held her in place as the transformation took effect. Rainbows fur and mane were slowly but surely restored back to the way it was meant to be. There was but one final test...
"So I accidentally burned your collection of Daring Doo comics…..you're not made, right?" Night Shadow asked.
The next thing he knew he was being held by the neck by a very angry cyan blue pegasus.
"You…..did…...what…." Rainbow whispered angrily.
"YAY…..you're back…...I missed you so….much…." Night Shadow said, losing oxygen.
Rainbow blinked several times before her memory finally kicked in and she realised what she was doing.
"No….way…." Rainbow said with shock.
She quickly brought Night Shadow into a tight hug, allowing Night Shadow to not only catch his breath but to also hug back with emotion.
"I can't believe it's actually you…" Rainbow whispered warmly.
As they broke the hug, Night Shadow couldn't help but notice something odd.
"Rainbow….are you crying?" Night Shadow asked.
"...What…." She replied with teary eyes. "No, of course not, what are you talking about." She said, quickly wiping the tears away.
Night Shadow couldn't help but smirk.
"Your hair got in my eyes, don't act like you didn't plan this you jerk." Rainbow defended.
"Sure, whatever…..you big cry baby."
Rainbow quickly kicked Night Shadow in the family jews, making the stallion shed tears of his own.
"You were saying?" Rainbow said with a victorious smile.
"...You're lucky you're a girl…"
"Oh whatever you big wuss."
The jet came into view as it rises up above the clouds and hovered in place. Rainbow quickly flew to the jet as soon as she saw her friends, practically dive bombing into the place like a harpoon. Night Shadow could only smile as Rainbow was finally reunited with her friends, knowing he was the reason they were back together. The stallion looked to the top of the jet, noticing Summers and Imago wounded from a recent battle.
"What are you two doing up there?" Night Shadow asked, confused.
"Ntwi….we were able fend her off, but we don't know when she will be back." Summers said, panting for breath.
"Then it would be best to not be here when she returns."
"Then climb aboard…."