Chapter 22 E: Lost Souls
*Chink*...*chink*...*chink*...*chink*...*FWOOM*
The logs of wood were finally ignited as Night Shadow took a sigh of relief. He looked outside again, seeing the blizzard only get worse as time progressed. There was nothing to do but wait in the cave Night Shadow found.
"No matter how much I try, I always end up in a cave one way or another." Night Shadow said to himself. "I might as well grow a beard."
Hearing the blizzards harsh winds calmed him as he tried to forget the situation he was put in. Then again, it was almost impossible when the cause of it was only a few inches away to his right.
"You just don't know when to quit, do you." Night Shadow said, looking at the cause.
The "cause" was a large potato sack tied up with metal wire. The sack itself would occasionally squirm in place, but not to the point of alarm.
"There's always something…..there's just always something in the way…." Night Shadow whispered.
He sighed softly, seeing his own breath as it grew colder and colder. Luckily, the fire he made would last the entire night, preventing any threat of freezing to death. But as he waited in silence, he couldn't help but think.
"Fire….the element that has not only saved lives from the cold….but also takes them without mercy….just like the one it's named after…." Night Shadow whispered. "I swear….I will make you pay for each one you've killed, Death Fire."
Night Shadow, overcome with weariness, slowly shut his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
Two days before...
The airship hummed softly as everyone got situated after the recent battle and turn of events. Luna eased up on her paranoia after witnessing the elements of harmony reunited before her eyes, giving her a sense of happiness she hadn't felt in years. Imago was being treated for his wounds in the medical bay while Summers tried her best to shake off the pain of the recent scuffle with Ntwi despite being told otherwise. The elements themselves continued to cling on to Rainbow like she was lost a puppy, but who could blame them after being separated for so long. For once after what seemed like centuries, hope had returned.
"Are you just going to keep looking out to horizon or are you going to join the others?" Fireball asked curiously.
Night Shadow couldn't stop looking at the scenery before him. It wasn't to special, but the simple mountains with the moon in the background still made him pause to think. Taking more time then he should've, he turned his head to look at the little filly with a soft smile.
"I just can't believe we actually did it." Night Shadow admitted. "I knew they were out there, but at the same time it just felt...fake."
"You mean unreal?" Fireball asked.
"More like unbelievable." He said, turning his body to face her. "Yet here they are, practically all united again with the tools to put an end to this nightmare. We helped unite them, put our lives on the line to save the lives of five ponies we didn't even know still existed.. I can see them with my eyes, hear them with my ears, and feel them with my hooves….so why is it so hard to believe that we can actually win."
"This isn't something you should be asking a filly." Fireball said with a smirk. "It's not like I know what goes on in that mind of yours. But if I had to guess, it's because you don't know what winning feels like."
"Maybe….just maybe…."
"Come on, this is not time to be sad or to be alone. Go hug someone or someth-"
Night Shadow quickly grabbed her and hugged the small mare softly, closing his eyes.
"I didn't mean me!" Fireball shouted, surprised.
"You're the closest though."
"Ok, fine."
She hugged back as well, but due to her position and size she could barely hug Night Shadow's chest. After the brief moment, Night Shadow put her down and stood up from the ground to meet up with the others.
"Are we ready to leave this place behind?" Summers asked joyfully and full of energy again.
"Yeah...let's get out of here."
Everyone began to board the ship while Night Shadow helped Fireball climb inside. Once Night Shadow made sure everything was tightly secured in, he made his way to the door and put one hoof inside. He paused briefly as his ears pointed up suddenly, taking on a more stern look.
"Something wrong, tough guy." Rainbow asked curiously.
"...I guess it was nothing." Night Shadow eventually said.
However, right as he got inside, he heard the faint sound of a high pitched magic blast heading right towards them. Acting on pure training alone, he appeared on top of the ship and smashed it away with his hoof, sending it flying into a safe direction. The moment he landed, the area around them started to become clouded and slowly fill up with black smog.
"Leaving so soon." Ntwi stated, emerging from the trees around them.
"You don't know when to quit do you." Night Shadow retorted.
"Night Shadow, what's going….oh…." Imago said, slowly retreating back inside the ship.
"Go home, Ntwi, you know you don't have enough power to face me head on."
"Well if you would stop running away like a coward, we could end this right now." Ntwi said, frustrated.
"Coward?" Night Shadow asked, humored.
"Night Shadow, she's baiting you. Ignore her." Foxx stated.
"No, no, no….excuse me! How can you call me a coward when your idea of a fight is cheating!" Night Shadow yelled.
"What you call cheating is what I call a tactic." Ntwi corrected.
"A tactic! It's more like bull*#& !"
"What would you know about it anyways, it's not like honor has gotten you this far to begin with!"
"That would be called skill and purpose! Something you don't seem to have!"
"I do have skill and I do have purpose! I want you dead and I have the intelligence to do so with my abilities."
"All you did was dodge and avoid me because you knew you would get your sorry flank handed to you if you tried a hoof to hoof fight!"
"And so what! You were so happy to swing at images and clones you would've tired yourself out within minutes! I would of been able to beat you but oohhh woe as me, something always has to happen to save you every time!"
"You mean save you? Because I was winning that fight if I recall!"
"Your brain needs to be replaced if you thought you were winning that fight!"
"And your eggo needs to be checked or I will eat it for you!"
"...what….WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! IF YOU MEAN EGO THOSE ARE TWO DIFFRENT THINGS!"
"WHY ARE YOU SCREAMING?!"
"BECAUSE YOU DRIVE ME TO DRINK!"
"SILENCE!" A massive voice shouted, causing an echo.
Both unicorns turned to see Luna fully angered and with her wings flared out, ready to strike the unfortunate pony to get in her way.
"You, inside!" Luna yelled, pointing at Night Shadow.
"But she-
"NOW!" Luna boomed again.
Night Shadow's fur stood up as he quickly got inside the airship, wanting nothing to do with the angry princess.
"And you…" Luna whispered, looking at Ntwi with a dark look. "I've had enough of you."
"...but we technically just met." Ntwi said causally.
"Leave now...or i'll show you what a real nightmare is." Luna threatened.
Ntwi tried to hold back her laughter as she tried to keep a straight face. Unfortunately for her, she was failing epically.
"You...show me what a nightmare is?" Ntwi repeated, snickering as she looked her dead in the eyes.
She couldn't hold back anymore as she burst out laughing and collapsed on the floor before Luna.
"You think this is a joke?" Luna whispered softly.
"I knew the princess of the night was a joke, but I never thought she was that bad!" She stated, unable to control herself. "Show me what a nightmare is! THAT'S HILARIOUS!"
Luna's gaze turned black as she continued to stare the mare down and glow softly with magic.
"NO SERIOUSLY, THAT'S THE CHEESIEST THING I'VE HEARD ALL YEAR! I CAN'T TAKE IT!"
Ntwi eventually got up and wiped a tear from her eyes, still chuckling slightly and smirking widely.
"Best joke of the century right there…." Ntwi said, confidently. "Seriously, if you have any more jokes to say, go right ahead!"
"Fine then….what's dark purple, clueless, and has trouble breathing?" Luna asked.
"Oh I don't know, tell me."
Luna grabbed Ntwi's neck and completely cut off her air supply with a two ton torgue grip.
"You….
Somewhere on the other side of the world
"You didn't get anything for your daughter's birthday!" A concerned mother asked.
"I told you it's shipping!" The husband yelled.
"Shipping from where!"
"From where ever I bought the darn thing!"
"You don't even know where?!"
"I was drunk at the time, ok!"
"So what, you just expect something to just appear from thin air!"
They then heard a huge crash from inside their daughter's room. They quickly dropped the subject and ran in to investigate.
"YAY, A UNICORN, YOU'RE THE BEST DAD EVER!" The little filly stated joyfully, hugging Ntwi tightly.
The husband looked at his wife and simply smiled.
"Yes."
"Holy *# #!" Night Shadow said in amazement.
Luna stood over the pony sized hole she created after releasing her anger in one big burst, taking a deep breath to calm down.
"Now we can leave." She stated, putting a smile on her face.
Everyone was still in shock from what they saw, unable to move until Pinkie broke it like she normally would.
"WOOOO, GO LUNA!" She cheered, joyfully.
"Mighty nice arm you got there." Applejack complimented.
"You gotta teach me that one day!" Rainbow stated.
"Woo hoo." Fluttershy softly cheered.
"Handled like a true lady." Rarity said with admiration.
Night Shadow sighed softly in relief, thankful his job was done for him. With a smile, he looked at Luna.
"Now if there's going to be no more interruptions, we can actually get-
Night Shadow was then grabbed by what seemed to be black vines from the ground. Before he could even comprehend what was going on, much less those that were watching in fright, he was pulled out from the airship and being dragged away deep into the shadow mists that surround them. Luna, still pumped with adrenaline, appeared before Night Shadow and grabbed his hoof, holding on as tightly as she could. She pulled with everything she had, but the vines were simply too strong, dragging her with them in the process.
"What are you ponies doing just standing there, help him!" Luna cried out.
The elements of harmony sprung to action along with the crew members, forming a single file line and grabbing hold of each other's waist.
"Pull!"
They heaved with everything they had, making significant ground against the dark vines. However, the harder they pulled and the more ground they covered, the more vines would show, attaching to any part of Night Shadow they could find, including his horn.
"This isn't working, cut the vines with your magic!" Night Shadow yelled.
"You think I haven't tried that already?!" Luna shouted. "You have magic yourself, why don't you try it!"
Night Shadow tried to summon up his arcane power through his horns and even through his hooves, but sadly, the vines had already taken care of that possibility.
"The damn vines are cutting it off from me!" Night Shadow panicked.
"Use your energy then!" Luna commanded.
"I can't get a good shot with my hooves binded!"
"Then use an explosive wave!"
"But you will be caught in the blast radius!"
"I can shield myself and the others at the last second!"
"But you're still weak from being tortured!" Night Shadow reminded.
"I can shield everyone from the explosion, you have to trust me!" Luna pleaded.
"And how are you going to do that when your hooves get blown off from the explosion!"
Luna looking into Night Shadow's eyes in defeat, knowing he was right.
"Your hoof is the only thing keeping me from disappearing forever….and yet it's also keeping me from being free…." Night Shadow said, closing his eyes softly.
Luna wondered what he was blabbering about until her eyes widened.
"Don't you dare think about it, Night Shadow." Luna shouted. "We can still get you out of this."
"I'm afraid you don't have a choice in the matter….." Night Shadow whispered softly.
As Night Shadow loosened his grip, he felt magic grab hold of his waist and upper body, holding him in place.
"Oh I don't think so." Rarity declared.
"We're not losing you again." Applejack said with confidence.
"Not now, not ever again." Fluttershy added
"We're your friends, if not best friends." Rainbow said with motivation .
"And best friend don't let their friends go!" Pinkie finished.
Night Shadow reopened his eyes in shock as he felt a wave of love and compassion fill his soul for the first time in years.
"And frankly, you don't have my permission." Luna said with courage.
"But that's where I come in." Ntwi said, appearing in the corner of Luna's eye.
Other than the sound of her voice, there was no warning when a highly condensed ball of magic collided against Luna's side and exploded, blasting her across the ground while scattering everyone around her in random directions.
"GET OUT OF HERE, NOW!" Night Shadow screamed as his hold was broken.
The last thing they saw of Night Shadow was him struggling in vain to break free before being dragged into the dark mists of miasma without a trace.
"Don't worry….at least he'll die knowing some ponies cared for him." Ntwi said with a wicked smirk. "Ta-ta."
Once she was completely gone from sight, the fog grew darker and was beginning to close in around them. Summers snapped out of her shock and quickly ran over to the princess, grabbing her and attempting to bring her back into the ship.
"Get the others inside now!" Summers commanded to the others.
Imago and the other crewmember snapped out of their trance and raced over to grab the element bearers. Summers quickly tried to snap Luna out of her shock and standing before her and looking into her eyes.
"We need to leave!"
Luna continued to stare into the distance, completely ignoring what was happening around her.
"It's not fair….it's not fair…." Luna whispered softly over and over again.
"Luna, we need to leave now!" Summers ordered, desperately trying to snap her out of it.
"It's not fair…."
"ANGEL, I NEED HELP HERE!" Summered yelled.
The white gryphon practically appeared next to her and picked up Luna off her hooves, placing her onto his back.
"It's not fair…"
Everyone quickly boarded and the jet engines went into overdrive to get the jet into the air, burning the ground it sat on into ash.
"GET THIS THING IN THE AIR NOW!" Summer's screamed as the mists moved in.
"SOMETHING'S HOLDING US DOWN!" Foxx yelled back.
Summers looked outside of the ship to see black tendrils wrapped around the wings and landing gear, slowly pulling the ship down.
"It would seem the forest wishes to claim another soul..." Zealot whispered softly.
"I'm not letting that happen." Summers said with determination.
Summers ran over to Luna and held her head, forcing her to looking into her purple eyes again.
"Luna, we need you right now, snap out of this." Summers whispered, never breaking eye contact.
"It's not fair...it's...not fair…." Luna continued to whisper as tears formed in her eyes.
"Luna...look at me…." Summers whispered, becoming more commanding.
Luna closed her eyes, letting her tears fall.
"Look at me!" Summers shouted.
"We're losing altitude!" Imago yelled.
"Mist is closing in!" Fireball panicked.
"LUNA, LOOK AT ME NOW!" Summers screamed.
When Luna refused, Summers did what no pony would have ever dared to do. She reeled back and smacked Luna across the face as hard as she could, forcing her to open her eyes.
"Ponies die every day, Luna! But what good does it do to give up every time we fail! What good does it do to give up hope when all seems lost! This isn't what he would've wanted! He didn't give up his life just for us to die in the end! NOW BE THE PRINCESS YOU WERE MEANT TO BE!"
Luna's horn glowed dark blue before the ship took on it's color. After several moments, the ship burst and released a wave of magic that blasted away the mists and tendrils around the ship, setting it free.
"PUNCH IT!" Summers ordered.
The ship went into full throttle and launched off into the sky, leaving behind both the darkness of the mists….and a dear friend. It finally hit everyone hard after several minutes of silence, realising he wasn't going to come back.
"Just like that….gone..." Rainbow said with sadness.
"He didn't even have time to say goodbye." Pinkie added.
"He must of been so scared…" Fluttershy whispered, shedding tears of her own.
"We tried our best, but it just….it just…." Rarity tired to say.
"It just wasn't enough." Applejack finished.
Silence overtook the ship again until Summers looked down at the group and sighed deeply.
"Then let's not have his death be in vain…"
"I finally have you…all to myself…." Ntwi whispered, looking over Night Shadow's body.
Ntwi had laid out Night Shadow in a field of roses with the sun beaming over their heads and a gentle creek flowing downstream. Clouds loomed overhead and the smell of lavender filled the air with a pleasant scent. Ntwi seemed intent on making this as peaceful as possible.
"You didn't have to play hard to get you know. All I wanted was your love." Ntwi said, happily. "By love, I mean kill you, but that's besides the point."
Ntwi summoned a knife that was coated in poison, practically still dripping like a wet paintbrush.
"Or is it the point? Hmm, I can never decide." She said with a smirk.
Ntwi rolled Night Shadow over onto his back and got on top of him, practically riding his form. Ntwi sighed softly as she gently caressed Night Shadow's head, looking at him with half lidded eyes.
"I'm not all bad you know, I'm actually trying to save the world. But sometimes saving the world comes at a cost, and that cost means taking your life…"
Ntwi soon started to have remorse despite everything in her body telling her otherwise.
"Look….I'm sorry ok….I'm sorry your life had to be the way it was...I'm sorry it has to end like this...but Death Fire has to be stopped...Desolent has to be stopped….I can't change that…."
Ntwi began to rub Night Shadow's chest softly as she marked the area she would stab with her magic.
"I laced the poison with a formula that will make make your death as painless as possible….but it will also make it very pleasurable for you..."
Ntwi blushed as she said those words.
"I figured….if i'm going to take your life, I should at least give you something in return. It's the least I can do...I'm sorry…."
Ntwi leaned in and kissed Night Shadow on the lips, gently positioning the knife to stab his heart. Right before the deed was done, Night Shadow's hoof grabbed Ntwi's horn, cutting off her power. Ntwi panicked and stabbed the knife into Night Shadow's neck with all her might, attempting to sedate the stallion, only invoking hidden rage and adrenaline. With one burst of energy, Night Shadow broke the illusion Ntwi casted and sent her flying several feet away from the stallion.
The world Ntwi had casted faded away and was replaced by a harsh reality. They were now in the middle of a winter storm in the dead of night miles away from civilization and life. Ntwi stood up and looked up at Night Shadow with a horrified expression as he removed the knife from his neck, spilling out a pint of blood.
"How….How are you still able to move! That was enough poison to incapacitate a dragon!" Ntwi yelled in panic.
Night Shadow opened his eyes, revealing their bright blue color.
"Because you poisoned the wrong stallion." Light Shade declared with a smirk.
Ntwi tried to power up but didn't even have time to blink before Light Shade appeared behind her and placed his hoof on her head. Ntwi's body blinked bright white before her body lost consciousness and she fell into the snow with a thump. Light Shade closed his eyes and sighed softly, letting his energy settle to normal levels.
"What would you do without me, Night Shadow..." Light Shade whispered.
He took one step and collapsed into the snow next to Ntwi. Realising Night Shadow's body was still plagued by the poison and had lost a lot of blood, Light Shade decided to cast a bubble around the two to shield them from the cold and the storm itself.
"Alright Night Shadow...let's see if your immunity system has gotten better." Light Shade said to himself, covering his body with a gentle blue glow. "First 'date' with a mare in what seems like years and she already tried to kill you. You might need to work on your strategy." Light Shade joked. "Let's just hope the cold helps with your….other problem…."
Night Shadow awoke from his dream after a rush of cold wind breezed past his body. He opened his eyes reluctantly, releasing the fire had gone out probably hours before. Another gust of wind passed by, forcing him to shiver slightly and remind him of his lack of hair protecting his back. Sighing softly, he saw his breath fog up the enclosed space of the cave, a sight he was all to used to.
"Time to leave..." Night Shadow whispered to himself as he grabbed the bag that contained the prisoner.
It didn't take long for Night Shadow to realised the lack of weight when he heaved the bag onto his back, letting him know the obvious.
"Great...should've guessed."
Night Shadow dropped the bag on the floor and removed the spell he casted onto it. With a flash of dark purple light, the potato sac reverted back to his battle worn trench coat. Night Shadow put it on and walked to the edge of the cave, noting the storm had passed and a trail of hoofprints that lead out into the unknown.
"Whatever Light Shade did must of sapped everything she had. She didn't even attempt to hid her trail in the snow or even kill me in my sleep."
Night Shadow looked at the sky, noting the blood red moon and the cloud floating calmly overhead.
"There's no sign of the storm anywhere, she could be miles away by now…."
The red pony closed his eyes to think, weighing his options.
"Without the sun I have no idea what direction I will be going...I could be wondering for weeks and more than likely die of starvation. I could follow the trail, which could either be an elaborate ruse to make me wonder to death or turn out to be a trap. Then again, it could lead me to civilization…."
Night Shadow opened his eyes again and looked down at the trail.
"Either way I am taking a risk that could lead me to death, so might as well face it with courage."
With that Night Shadow made up his mind and decided to follow the trail for better or for worse.
Several hours pass...
"Message repeats in three seconds…...Lightning Dust, this is second lieutenant Summers reporting in as requested. The mission was a success...we retrieved the bearers of harmony as planned and sabotaged key structures and factories along the way. We also discovered the princess of the night stowed away in a nuclear warhead and are bringing both home as we speak." Pause followed by a sigh. "I guess it's time for the bad news…." Long pause. "Night Shadow….he….he didn't make it….we did everything we could but we just couldn't….we just couldn't save him. I will give the full report on our arrival….and take full responsibility for his death as I have for others in the past. Once again...I can't help but blame myself...i'm sorry…...Message repeats in three seconds….Lightning Dust, this is Captain Summers reporting…"
Lightning Dust couldn't believe her ears as the message replayed over and over through the radio transmitter. She sat there in the dark, desperately hoping this was just all a joke. The bittersweet taste of victory never hit her as hard as it did now. A successful mission, but at a great cost that could never be repaid.
"I knew this would happen….and I sent you to do it anyways…." Lightning Dust whispered softly with regret. "How could I have been so stupid…."
The message played for what seemed like hours before Lighting turned the radio off and laid her head on the table it sat on.
"I only knew him for a short time….yet why does it hurt so much..."
The pegasus sighed as she shut her eyes shamefully, trying to hold back tears. She eventually built up the strength to lift her head off of the table and forced herself to walk to a safe in her room. After wiping her eyes to see clearly, she imputed a six digit combination and opened the safe, reaching in to grab a recording. She slowly walked to the radio, put the recording inside and pressed play.
"...Lighting Dust, if you are playing this message right now, then I am sure you already heard the news of my death. I need you to be my voice and stay strong for me, know that I am in a better place. The first thing I need you to do is tell Trixie about this mission and give her the second audio recording I gave to you along with this one, I will take care of the rest. Secondly, I want you to search my room and find a shoe box underneath the bed. Inside will be the schematics of a new rifle, grenade, and armor I was designing before you assigned me to this mission. I need you to understand the schematics and create a prototype so you can demonstrate it to your superiors. Lastly...there is the matter of Twilight. Take good care of here….make sure she sees the end of this war and is reunited with her friends if we find them. Help her start a family and find her a new home...for Celestia's sake...and for my sake...help her know what happiness is again. With that I bid good luck to your cause and hope for the best….may you someday find peace and joy in your life where I could not...and learn to live in harmony….without me…."
Night Shadow eventually stood on a hill overlooking a city in the distance. From what he could tell it was abandoned and devoid of life entirely. This was confirmed when he realised the fields were covered in strange, broken down objects and potholes the size of houses. However, from what he could tell, it is where the trail came to an end. The red stallion began to walk again, but ended up bumping his hoof into what seemed like a metallic object, almost forcing him to trip. Night Shadow picked up the object and wiped away the snow from the surface, revealing the symbol of Death Fire's dreaded empire.
As he continued to proceed, he noticed plenty of broken weapons, torn clothing, and ammunition across the ground that were left as a result of what seemed to be a battle. Ignoring the sight, he approached the entrance of the city and realised it's doors were completely blown down by what appeared to be an explosion of massive proportions. He slowly entered the city through the main entrance to follow the trail, discovering the mass amounts of furniture and rubble along the city streets. Yet despite all the evidence of a battle, there were no bodies or even skeletons that marked their graves, only the echoes of the wind that rushed past his ears.
Reaching the heart of the city, he gazed upon what looked to be a final stand of the inhabitants of the city and their torn flag, noting the broken down structures and barricades that were once set up as a final act of desperation. It was enough to cause Night Shadow to look away in remorse.
"Is nowhere safe from this war…." Night Shadow whispered in grief.
"It's a sad sight...isn't it, Night Shadow?"
Night Shadow turned around to see Ntwi standing in the middle of the street the he came from. What came to a surprise to him was that she wasn't wearing her usual cocky smirk, but rather a look of regret and sadness.
"Welcome to Wolfshire….greatest mistake of my life. Death Fire slaughtered everyone here because of their decision to help Celestia and her friends. I was here when it happened...I was here when this act was done….and yet I watched from a distance as families were torn apart and lives were burned away. Do you see why you must die? It is so he can never do this again..."
Night Shadow remained silent for several more moments before speaking.
"You act as if you actually care for the lives that were taken away by war...now you use it to guilt me into death's embrace."
"So you still don't understand then?" Ntwi asked angrily.
"Oh I understand completely what you mean. But you would be foolish to think I didn't know this before."
"And yet you continue to let yourself live despite the pain of millions."
"No...I continue to live because I still have a job to do. We have been over this before."
"What more must I tell you to convince you that your death will end this war?!"
"And how many times must I tell you that you are wasting your time."
Ntwi paused and took on a darker tone.
"Fine then...if you refuse to give your life to me...then perhaps you will give your life to them..."
As Ntwi said these words, hundreds upon hundreds of shadow like creatures emerged from the buildings and streets, slowly surround Night Shadow and cutting off his way of escape. The red pony looked around calmly before gazing back at Ntwi with a disappointed look.
"And yet you enslave their souls like the others…."
They all dashed at Night Shadow viciously, piling onto his body to pin him down onto the ground. Once the pile reached at least twenty feet tall, a flash of purple light shined through the army of shadow wolves and blasted all of them all high into the air. Night Shadow was seen standing on his hind legs, stretching his forelegs before his hair began to spike up with energy and magic. He spat onto the floor and gestured for the shadow warriors to attack with his hoof, bearing a grim look. With that, the spirits of the wolves engaged again with another full assault, attacking with their claws, teeth, and weapons if they happened to be holding one.
Night Shadow began to punch, kick, and blast the shadows and shades as they came, vanishing them back into the void with each blow. Ntwi stood at a safe distance as she watched her conjured army vanish one by one. Some were sent flying into the sky, others launching towards buildings only to fade through at the last second. The dark queen summoned up a small amount of five-thousand more wolves and ponies with a quick, but exhausting spell, only to find that Night Shadow was gaining ground towards her. Ntwi jumped back, putting herself back thirty feet and summoned fighters before her as a buffer zone.
Night Shadow might of had the strength of a thousand stallions, but even gods get tired. He could last for hours, maybe even days, but eventually he would give in to exhaustion. He knew this and Ntwi knew this as she continued to replace the lost souls with her magic. Night Shadow had to close the distance to Ntwi before it was too late. What he didn't think about, however, was that Ntwi was using a massive amount of magic to replenish the army he was fighting and needed complete concentration for it to be the most effective. In short, the dark enchantress was losing power faster than he was.
'These guys haven't even scratched him once and he keeps getting freaking closer.' Ntwi thought before she juked out of the way of a random energy blast. 'There's has to be someone more powerful here, something to even the odds somehow. Something….'
Ntwi's eyes dilated as her look of despair slowly turned into a sinister smile of wickedness. She quickly dashed off towards the courtyard, causing Night Shadow to blast a path through the army of darkness and pursue as quickly as possible.
"It's to late to stop me now!" Ntwi yelled, casting a massive wall of magic before him.
Night Shadow smashed his muzzle straight into the wall, forcing him into a sudden stop as the army pursued behind him. He turned to the army and then at the buildings before leaping onto a balcony and started to climb as quickly as possible to the ceiling. Right before he reached the top, a wolf managed to chomp down on his hind leg, causing him to lose his grip and fall back down the the ground with a massive thud. The wolf continued to tear through his leg before he blasted it off with magic and quickly stood up on his hooves. He almost collapsed from the pain as weight was forced onto his wounded leg, but there was no time to rest as the mob closed in on him quicker than before.
"Light Shade, how good is your protection spell?" Night Shadow asked, forcing a blast of energy out of his hooves down the road.
"How do you know about my protection spell?" Light Shade asked, surprised.
"When you're inside someone long enough, you tend to know these things."
"...That….this...this is sounding so wrong."
"CAN YOU USE PROTECTION OR NOT!"
"Oh my god, Night Shadow, word it better!"
"PROTECTION, NOW!"
"THAT'S EVEN WORSE!"
"#& # IT!"
Night Shadow summoned a massive amount of energy to his right hoof and pointed it towards the ground. With one flash of light, Night Shadow blasted the floor and propelled himself over the wall like a flaming ball launched from a catapult. He crashed into a pile of snow, breaking his fall and dousing the fire that enveloped him with a loud sizzle.
"Remind me again why you did that?" Light Shade asked.
"Only option I had." Night Shadow whispered.
"...Did you forget you could teleport?"
Night Shadow lightly blushed
"Well...not exactly."
"Or that you can levitate with magic?"
"Maybe I was trying-"
"Or perhaps blast the wall down with your abilities?"
"That would take-"
"Or dig underground."
"Why would-"
"Or do literally anything else then rocketjump!"
"I WAS RUSHED, OK!"
"Screaming at the voices in your head again, Night Shadow?" Ntwi taunted.
Night Shadow burst from the pile of snow and slowly slide down on his back, looking back at Ntwi.
"You would to if they constantly talked to you."
Ntwi chucked softly.
"Good...it will be the only thing to comfort you as your life fades away."
Night Shadow rolled onto his stomach and stood back up to his hooves, feeling Light Shade slowly healing his wounds.
"I feel like you've said this before." Night Shadow said, popping his shoulder in place. "Then you just run away, crying."
"Not this time."
Night Shadow walked up to Ntwi and grabbed her by the neck, forcing her hind legs to dangle helplessly off the ground.
"Enough of your tricks...there's nowhere else to go and nothing else to try, it's over."
"Then i'll just use my trump card." Ntwi said as her horn glowed brightly.
Night Shadow was then punched on the side of the cheek, launching him into the city walls and leaving a pony sized hole before the wall collapsed on top of him. Eventually, Night Shadow dug out of the rubble and coughed several times before looking back at Ntwi with a surprised look.
"That wasn't a normal punch..." Night Shadow whispered before looking next to Ntwi.
He noticed a dark gray pony in armor and red royal robes, glowing with dark purple, green, and black magic.
"Who the heck is that!"
He was then hit by a dark blue blast of magic, blasting him hundreds of feet outside of the city. As he skid to a stop on the ice while several chunks of flaming rubble landed all around him, another figure appeared wielding what appeared to be two, black swords. Night Shadow quickly teleported into the air before the figure stabbed into the ice he was just laying on, sending ripples throughout the ground. Before he could comprehend what was happening, a massive paw grabbed his muzzle and slammed him back down into the ice with explosive results. Night Shadow floated in the icy cold water, lifelessly as a result. Not because he was dead or wounded, but because he had no clue what just happened.
Taking longer than he should, he charged up his energy and propelled himself back to the surface, bursting through the ice and landing on his hooves after flipping a ridiculous number of times.
"Ok, I don't know who any of you guys are, but you are fighting the wrong guy here." Night Shadow said as his hair covered his eyes.
He flipped his hair back with his hoof, closing his eyes so he wouldn't hit them on accident.
"But everyone makes mistakes." He said with a smirk as he opened his eyes to gaze upon them. "So I'm willing….to…."
Night Shadow's smirk turned into shock like he just witness a cat get run over by a tank. Before him where four of the strongest beings that ever walked on the earth: Discord, Nightmare Moon, Chrysalis, and Sombra. All of which stared him down with bright purple eyes and were ready to fight him to the death.
"Like my new pets, Night Shadow?" Ntwi said happily, appearing in the middle of all four of them.
"That's….impossible...no one has been able to control Discord before. He's immune to mind control!"
Ntwi softly began to chuckle.
"And Nightmare Moon….the darkness that was contained within Luna….controlled just like that…."
Night Shadow began to shake, attempting to not lose to will to fight.
"I refuse to believe it….I refuse to believe this lie!"
Ntwi started to laugh.
"You don't even know who the other two are do you?" Ntwi said with amusement. "Say hello to Chrysalis and Sombra. Both beings that were created by miasma just like Nightmare Moon."
"You're wrong! Miasma can't be controlled!"
Ntwi laughed again, this time in a darker tone.
"Did you forget Night Shadow…" Ntwi said as he horn took on a black color.
Ntwi's eyes started to glow purple as body began to lose all forms of color, taking on a smoke like appearance.
"I AM MIASMA!"
They all dashed towards Night Shadow in a savage like manner, intending to end his life as quickly as possible. Night Shadow's eyes took on a bright purple color as he dashed back to gain some distance but they closed the distance faster than he intended. He had to duck under two hooves and jump over a magic blast before he got into a proper position to fight. He dashed in between the crowd to attack Ntwi head on only for her to vanish away and leave him surrounded again. Night Shadow retaliated by using his momentum to propel him over Discord's head and kick him across the face, knocking him to the floor.
He rolled onto the floor and quickly dashed to the left with a burst of purple energy, propelling himself around the four figures for an opening. Sombra was going to have none of this as he appeared in front of Night Shadow and attempted to tackle him into the ground. Night Shadow quickly slide under him and dashed off again, or at least he wanted to. Nightmare Moon stopped him dead in his tracks and grabbed him, holding him in a bear hug as she tried to squeeze the life out of him. Night Shadow attempted to break free from her grasp but Nightmare was a lot stronger then she looked….a lot stronger.
The more Night Shadow struggled the harder Nightmare Moon crushed the life out of the poor pony. The dark alicorn eventually got fed up with her captive's struggle and slammed her head into Night Shadow's muzzle, forcing him to stop as he entered a daze. Meanwhile, Chrysalis was quickly approaching towards Nightmare, ready to impale her swords into Night Shadow's back while he was immobilized. The red unicorn heard the loud gallop of the figure approaching and fired a blast of energy from his hind legs, breaking away from Nightmare moon like a launched rocket just before Chrysalis impaled him. The changeling queen stopped herself just before she stabbed her ally but still rammed into her none the less, forcing the two to slide along the ice.
Night Shadow landed on the ground a good distance away, taking a deep breath just before Sombra jumped out of nowhere and threw a punch. He missed as Night Shadow quickly leaped backwards, which caused Sombra to slam his hoof into the ground and send waves of freezing water and ice in all directions. After a good pause, Sombra broke his hoof out from the ice and teleported before Night Shadow, closing the gap in mere moments to engage relentlessly. The two fighters exchanged scores of punches fairly quickly before Night Shadow broke off and flipped onto fairly solid ground, or ice in this case. Sombra dashed forward and engaged again in a frenzy like pattern that took Night Shadow off guard, taking several punches to the face and chest before countering with a power punch that was supposed to knock back Sombra several feet.
Instead, Sombra was only pushed back several inches and Night Shadow's hoof stung painfully, almost as if he punched a wall of solid steel. Sombra gave a cold look as he reeled back and threw his own super punch, but Night Shadow was able to sidestep out of the way and grab his hoof. With the build up momentum, Night Shadow flipped Sombra onto his back, cracking the ice beneath and leaving a massive dent. While Night Shadow had Sombra's hoof in his grasp, he conjured up a deadly spell and launched it right into the red stallion's chest, blasting him several feet into the air before he crashed into the ice with a loud thud. Sombra leaped to his hooves and charged up a stronger version of the previous spell and fired it from his horn dead at Night Shadow.
Night Shadow quickly rolled out of the way just before the blast hit, melting the ice it touched and leaving a large cloud of mist and fog from the heat alone. He got to his hooves and teleported on a stray piece of floating ice, attempting to catch his breath.
'Where did Ntwi go?' He suddenly thought, looking around frantically.
He found her observing from a good distance away, sitting with a soft smirk as she enjoyed watching his struggles. Night Shadow took on a yellow aura as he stood onto his hind hooves. With focus and concentration, he slowly moved his hooves around in a circular, but organized pattern. Multiple, arcanic letter appeared around the caster as a runic circle formed before his eyes as he thrusted his hooves forward.
'Stealing one of Celestia's moves?' Light Shade asked.
'Borrowing.' Night Shadow corrected.
With a loud bang, Night Shadow fired the massive beam of light magic directly at Ntwi, vaporizing everything in it's path. As the beam dissipated in the distance, Discord was seen holding a smoldering shield and standing before Ntwi, who was perfectly intact.
'Discord's using weapons now?' Night Shadow thought.
'As long as Ntwi continue to control them, they will.' Light Shade informed.
'That means Ntwi might actually use his full power….this may get bad.'
Ntwi simply sat there with a shocked look on her face as discord vanished to rejoin the fight before her.
"He just….just replicated one of the royal sisters attacks just on a whim…." Ntwi whispered to herself.
She stood up slowly, watching the fight rage on in the distance as the four fighters she controlled battled against the red stallion.
"He probably has no idea either...no idea what that even means. Just casted it like a simple spell for fillies."
Ntwi started to think, attempting to search for answers within her head.
"Only those of royal blood can cast those kinds of spells unless they trained for decades. Desolent has tried….I even tried….many have tried...yet you just made it seem like child's play...which...doesn't make sense..."
The fighting picked up the pace dramatically as the sounds of hooves clashing against each other could be heard in the distance, sending tremors throughout the ice.
"If Twilight's memories serve her right, Night Shadow was around sixteen when he casted his first spell. He had no contact with Celestia or Luna until he was sent forward in time. After several events, the war started on his twenty-fifth birthday, meaning he has had less than ten years to master such a spell. There has to be something missing then. No pony is capable of doing such a thing...unless…he's…."
Ntwi shook her head, refusing to believe what she thought.
"It doesn't matter who he is, I will bring him down."
"I don't believe it..." Trixie started, tossing the audio tape onto the table with a thud. "We can't be talking about the same Night Shadow here."
"Ma'am...my squad witnessed it first hand, why would they lie about such a thing?" Lightning Dust asked.
"Because it's Night Shadow."
Trixie got up from her chair and slowly walked over to the window that revealed the hidden base. From there she remained silent and sighed deeply, viewing the faint reflection of herself from the window.
"You've read the records Celestia made, haven't you, Captain?" Trixie asked before reciting it herself. "Over eight hundred gunshot wounds, three hundred stabs and impales, two hundred magic attacks, one hundred and fifty explosions, seventy burns and twenty cases of almost drowning." Trixie finished before turning back to look at Lightning. "This pony has cheated death so many times and has gotten back up stronger. You can't sit here and tell me he's dead."
"You think I want to believe this? That I want to wake up to the fact that Night Shadow is gone forever?!" Lightning said with emotion.
"Then why do you chose so!" Trixie yelled before closing her eyes apologetically.
Trixie turned to face the window again, letting silence fill the room for over a minute before speaking again as she opened her eyes.
"What are the whereabouts of the elements of harmony?"
"Eight hours tops...currently refueling at Mare's Farewell. There has been an increased number of military activity though. A mass assembly of naval ships."
"Is that all?" Trixie asked, seeming to not care.
Lightning searched through her head for anything else.
"No, ma'am."
"Then leave me to my chambers…." Trixie said softly.
Lightning nodded and headed to the door before pausing.
"Actually, there is one more thing..."
she turned back around and placed an object on the table.
"Night Shadow wanted you to listen to this, your ears only."
She slide it across the table until it stopped just before it fell off the other end. Lighting quietly let herself out of the room and then closed the door. Trixie sighed softly again in disbelief as she picked up the tape with her magic and brought it close to her.
"Now what am I supposed to tell Twilight…." Trixie whispered, placing the audio log into the nearby tape player.
Trixie closed her eyes again as the tape started up, unsure as to what she would hear from the message.
"Trixie? *Pause* H-hey...listen...I understand if this hard for you to take...I don't know what you must be going through...and honestly...I don't know how you do it. But from what I am told now is that you shared many intimate moments with my dark counterpart...so I should be the one to speak on his behalf..."
There is a long pause as Trixie continued to hide her eyes from the world.
"I'm...so sorry….I truly am….*pause*...I failed to come back….despite how much I tried….It just….wasn't enough. But I don't want you to give up...I want you to make it through this. This is your time to strike, to put everything you have worked toward to action. Death Fire surely must of felt my life leave this world...along with those that were connected to me. If he isn't dead by now, he would at least be severely weakened. This...is your one chance….to make things right."
Trixie shut her eyes tighter and shook softly as a tear flowed down her cheek.
"Dark Fire loved you so much...don't let our sacrifice be in vain...do it for him...for your mother...and for those that died in this war….do it...so no one has to cry anymore…."
Night Shadow was pushed back as several magic attacks hit him while he was blocking, forcing him to slide back across the ice as smoke, magic, and fire flowed around him. With a burst of energy, Night Shadow blasted back all that was thrown at him with a huge display of purple colors. When the smoke cleared, the red unicorn could be seen with a torn coat, large burns and cuts on his body and smoking hair that smelled like sulfur. Nightmare Moon and the other three slowly approached as Ntwi continued to find the fight amusing.
"It's been over an hour and you're still going at it...impressive." Ntwi said with her stereotypical smirk. "But we both know it won't be much longer now. Why don't you just give up already, I'll make it quick."
Night Shadow was breathing heavily, but he still found the strength to shake his head in resistance.
"Slow and drawn out it is then." Ntwi said with annoyance.
Her horn glowed and the eyes of the four fighters glowed with it, giving them her final commands.
"Light Shade….please...help me." Night Shadow pleaded softly.
'If I take control now, I won't be able to heal your fatal wounds and fight them off at the same time.' Light Shade informed, working as fast as he could. 'Not as long as we share the same energy and body.'
"Then do it quickly..." Night Shadow pleaded again, panting harder. "It...it hurts to keep fighting..."
'Night Shadow, you've lost to much blood and energy. If I even stop for a moment you will die!'
"I can't….let them….win..."
'You don't have any energy or strength left to keep going! I beg of you, please! You need to escape now!'
"There's no...point…" Night Shadow whispered, taking a deep breath. "….I have...no other option..."
The red stallion started to glow in a pure, purple light as he tapped into the only available energy he had left...his life.
"Kill him." Ntwi commanded.
Nightmare Moon and the others attacked in sync again, using their number to try to overwhelm Night Shadow as quickly as possible. Right when they got close, Night Shadow screamed out in pain shooting out energy from his right hind leg and jumped into the air. With insane speed, he performed a three-sixty rocket kick that smashed into the four beings faces and dashed right to Ntwi. She was so surprised that she couldn't dodge in time as Night Shadow smashed his hoof directly into her horn, shattering it into pieces with a huge explosion of magic and power.
The dark witch screeched loudly before she quickly vanished into smoke.
Night Shadow's eyes became bloodshot and his veins threatened to pop out from his head and body as he turned around to see the four fighters gripping their heads as they screeched as well, attempting to break free. Ntwi quickly appeared behind them, supporting a now shattered horn she quickly attempted to regenerate. However, because of the blow and lack of time, she was quickly losing control of her fighters and her horn was spewing out magic like a defective disco ball.
'NIGHT SHADOW! YOU'RE KILLING YOURSELF!' Light Shade screamed.
Night Shadow took a deep breath as energy erupted out from his body like a volcano, turning his mane and tail bright purple with energy and power
"FOR TWILIGHT!"
Night Shadow flashed forward faster than the naked eye and punched Ntwi right in the face as hard as he could. There was a second of silence before a massive explosion erupted from his hoof, literally blowing away everything in it's path with an energy attack so powerful that it shot through the atmosphere and into space. Everything, and i mean everything, that was hit by the attack was completely gone and vaporized by energy, leaving only a massive skid mark of smoldering rock. When the smoke cleared, Night Shadow's mane and tail turned gray and his red fur lost most of its saturation. He looked around to see if Nightmare or the others would try to attack again, but they had fallen to the floor and remained motionless.
With a small smile, he coughed loudly before falling to the ground, panting hard as his heart started to go out.
'Night Shadow…..why….?' Light Shade asked weakly and with sadness. 'I was….trying to save you….'
A soft gust of wind passed over his body and silence fell onto the battlefield. He eventually built up the strength to roll onto his back and gaze into the night sky for what he believed would be his last time.
"Because...I'm not worth….saving…" Night Shadow whispered.
'No….no that's not true….' Light Shade stated with a voice that sounded ready to cry. 'Everyone is worth saving….no matter what they've done.'
"It's….too late for that..."
'NO IT'S NOT!' Light Shade yelled. 'I WAS SUPPOSE TO PROTECT YOU! CELESTIA MADE ME TO PROTECT YOU!'
"Then it's not your fault…."
'But you're leaving everyone that loves you behind….you're not taking away the pain, you're just giving it to someone else. Twilight loved you….you're going to break her heart….'
There was another long pause before Night Shadow could speak again.
"Then I hope….she will one day….understand…."
The stars seemed to look down apon Night Shadow, as if the sky itself was crying from sorrow. With Ntwi out of the picture and with his death, only Desolent would remain. He thought this would be enough for win the war for the resistance and finally bring peace to a broken world. This...is why Night Shadow didn't care about the dangers of war or the risks he took during the mission to retrieve the bearers of harmony. In his mind, if he could accomplish this, dying would come to no consequence.
His death meant the end of Death Fire, the darkness that accumulated from years of torture and hatred, the darkness that started the war. It also represented a past he thought he could never erase until now. Destroying it would not only benefit the world, but also, in his mind, redeem his past. That was his greatest desire...redemption...no matter what cost…
The life in Night Shadow's eyes began to fade away as he continued to look into the sky, whispering his last goodbyes before his heart finally gave out.
"It's...over..." He whispered with his last breath.
A gust of wind passed over the battlefield again, signalling the loss of life. Moments passed before a cloud of smoke eventually formed near the body and burst into a malleable, pony form. It walked over to Night Shadow and placed it's hoof on his chest, feeling no heart beat.
"He...he's actually dead…" Ntwi whispered as if muffled by liquid. "He's actually dead."
Ntwi simply stared, unable to believe what she was seeing.
"I guess that means the war is over….to think he almost killed me to..." She said, feeling her magic return to her misshapen form.
She continued to stare for several moments before she decided to form a magical ball into her hoof.
"Sorry….but I can't afford to take chances. Desolent wouldn't like that."
Before she could even point her hoof at Night Shadow, a blast of silver magic blasted her across the ground before exploding into hundreds of sparkles. A large figure in dark robes then appeared, followed by another which softly enveloped Night Shadow in soft orange magic.
"How is he?" The dark figure asked without looking at his counterpart.
"...He's dead cold….no heartbeat...no brain activity." The other figure said, in a voice that represented Luna's.
"Take him back to shelter….I'll deal with this imposter…."
The figure vanished in orange magic while the other continued to walk towards where Ntwi was launched. Ntwi angrily exploded from the water and landed on the ice near the figure with an almost reformed body.
"You….dare... ATTACK ME!" Ntwi screamed, charging up her magic.
The figure grabbed his robes and threw them to the side, revealing his form. An alicorn with dragon wings and a tail, silver mane, and eyes that shined purple.
"And you….dare challenge Luna's son…." Enderpearl said with a serious tone.
Ntwi was completely taken by surprise and shock.
"You're alive! I thought Death Fire killed you! How did you survive?" Ntwi asked.
"Wouldn't you like to know." Enderpearl said with a smirk.
Ntwi continued to remain shocked until she replaced it with a smile.
"Oh now I remember. You're just a small fry. A weakling." Ntwi laughed. "Even now I bet you're just bluffing. How about I just punch you through the stomach and get this over with." She said with an evil smile.
Enderpearl softly smiled.
"Then come try it." He said boldly.
Ntwi appeared in front of him and smashed Enderpearls stomach with a fully charged magic attack she prepared during the conversation. Ntwi, having a cocky smirk as she attacked, was once again replaced with shock as the blast literally dissipated without a trace, completely canceled out. Enderpearl chuckled gently as if he was playing with a small filly.
"That's what I thought..." He whispered.
"H-h-how…." Ntwi whispered.
Enderpearl grabbed her hoof and held her in the air.
"Wouldn't you like to know..."
With a sudden burst of light, he forced his magic into Ntwi's regenerating form and caused it to explode with a violent burst. The dark queen reformed behind the alicorn and attempted to fire a stronger magical attack, but right as she fired the alicorn vanished. He reappeared before Ntwi and punched her across the muzzle with his glowing hoof, making sure the hit would make contact before igniting his entire form in silver magic. Without another moment, he unleashed a barrage of punches that slowly started to disintegrate her form. After what seemed like a thousand punches, Ntwi exploded in a burst of what seemed like oil, splattering all over the ice and ground.
After a moment, Ntwi reformed again, but in a less solid form and more of a distorted blob of black tar.
"I'M GOING TO RIP OFF YOUR HEAD!"
Ntwi started to charge up a massive attack with her hooves, pointing them forward and summoning up all the miasma she could gather. Enderpearl backed up slightly and charged up an attack of his own with his right hoof, except something seemed off as a blue and white fog surrounded his hoof rather than magic. Right when Ntwi was about to fire, Enderpearl launched the fog at Ntwi's hooves, instantly freezing her them solid. Ntwi looked at Enderpearl with fear as the ice advanced further up her hooves, reaching her neck and chest.
"What are you doing to me?!" Ntwi asked in panic, not being able to think clearly.
She then saw Enderpearl charge up an attack similar to the last one, causing her to panic.
"No, wait! DON'T-"
She was hit with another blast, this time freezing her hind legs and lower waist. She attempted to break free from the ice, but was instead hit with more blasts of the freezing magic, cutting off her body movement completely. It wasn't long before the entire queen was completely turned into a solid block of ice. Enderpearl took a moment to admire his work before his horn ignited with silver, causing the solid ice sculpture to suddenly explode into a million, tiny pieces. Enderpearl sighed as the magic glow diminished, taking a deep sigh of relief.
"Time for a family reunion…"