so along the tracks we went. we rode the train for three days and today was the fourth. it was taking a while but i can't argue since it's much faster than us walking. the train raid is incredibly boring and i often just sleep in my bed even though i'm not tired. i always catch myself thinking about celestia whenever i keep getting distracted and stare off into space. i also continued to wonder what happened to me that one day in that small town. i seemed to just blank out and lose control of my body. i hasn't happened again since then and that makes me wonder even more what it was.
the usual day of living on the train going to manehattan was usually very boring for me. black hoof did have a deck of cards with him which we would play poker with... i always won. after having beaten everypony i decided i was too good and stopped playing a day ago. whenever we got hungry on the trip we would go to the concessions cart which was only three carts ahead of us. the food here wasn't so bad and i didn't mind eating it, even though i didn't eat often. my diet seems to have restricted itself to only one meal a day. it is a bit of a larger meal than most ponies but i don't mind. i haven't noticed any difference in weight or hunger. i just feel the same, same thing with sleep.
i didn't sleep at all last night. i stayed up to see the other fall asleep and then wake up after a while when the sun came up. i just stared out the window next to my bunk and watched all the world pass by me. it put me in some sort of trance and it seemed to help make time go by faster. i couldn't help think about my journey and hope that rainbow dash was alright. and like i said before, celestia continued to enter my thoughts and almost seemed to taunt me. she herself didn't enter my thoughts but her memory did. thoughts of rainbow dash also constantly flooded my head. i always had mixed emotions during that night.
so it was just past noon on the fourth day of riding on this train and i was just laying in my bed, head resting on my hooves, one hoof over the other, and i stared out the window at the passing farmland a few barns, or herds of cattle every now and then. the others had gone to the catering cart to go eat lunch and i stayed behind in the cabin. it had been a little more than 24 hours since i had last eaten, and i felt no need to. i usually just ate because i could and not because i need to. i would just be with my friends and we would be in the dinning cart so they put food out in front of us and i ate it. i never seem to get hungry but i don't fill up either. i'm pretty sure i could eat tons of food... literal tons, of food. but i'm not going to do that because i don't need to.
my stomach would growl at me every couple of hours and i would often ignore it. it usually just growls once and stops then growls again maybe like 4 or 5 hours later. if it keeps growling consistently then i would eat a little bit of food to shut it up. so i laid there in the box car bunk staring out the window at the passing farms. before the others left to go eat the conductor came on the loudspeaker and announced that we would be arriving at manehattan in two hours. that brought some excitement to me as i knew we would be getting off the train, but that excitement was quickly washed over with more boredom, but it wasn't gone.
i kept looking out the window and stared at the sky and the sun. it was almost mesmerizing to look at, it put me in some kind of trance. though after a few more minutes i decided to pull myself out of the trance when i noticed something strange. as the farms passed by and the barns and cattle the world seemed to grow darker and darker. until outside there was nothing but pure darkness. it was probably my mind playing tricks on me again. i just ignored it and got off the bed and walked around. i thought it was my mind playing tricks on me... until i heard a mare scream in the next cart. her scream caused me to fly out into action as part of a reflex.
i didn't even bother with the cart doors and just phased right through it like a ghost. i got into the next cart to see black shadow like tentacles breaking through the windows and grabbing the ponies on board. i looked around in awe but didn't act slowly after. i quickly fired off blasts of light destroying the darkness but there was just more and more running through the cart. this definitely wasn't my mind playing tricks on me. my attacks weren't enough to keep them at bay however since more just seemed to slip in through the windows... however i did diverge all there attention to me instead of the other ponies.
they attacked me and went right for me. the tentacles of darkness were much like my own so i summoned up some of mine and protected myself with tentacles of light. i managed to repel most of the attack but some still slipped by and got me. it didn't hurt much and i quickly cut those tentacles away. i let out a fierce shout and soon the whole cabin was filled with blinding light. there seemed to be an evil sort of shriek and when the light faded all darkness was gone... well for this cart anyway. i soon teleported quickly to the other cart and the flash of light from my teleportation spell caught the attention of this shadow monster.
i need to keep the train safe... so. i started glowing brightly and it seemed to burn the shadows away. i started running through the carts filling them with light and passing through one cart after another. soon i got to the concessions cart were my friends were fighting the shadows too at their own will... but it wasn't looking good for them. i quickly ram through yelling and burned all the shadows out of the room. without thinking i rammed through the side of the cart and out of the train. i spread my wings and started flying by the side of the train now. there was some kind of black fog following the train.
i fired of a few small beams of light and they cut right through the fog and it seemed to shout. i watched as the train slowly started to slip out of the fog. until it was completely out of it. the train kept going to manehattan while me and the black fog kept still in the middle of a field. it seemed to rise up and take a blob like form. soon two gleams of red shot up from inside the fog and seemed to take the place of eyes. then a red tear in the fog made a mouth. then it seemed to take a greater shape.
now it was forming a tail, and legs... even wings. soon it took the form of a large dragon. it seemed to be completely made of smoke and darkness and only was defined by red glowing cracks coursing through its body. with a mighty gust of wind it flapped its large wings and took flight quickly, now coming after me. i turned tail and flew away as it chased me through the fields. i looked back at it and it opened it's gaping maw of a mouth. i could see darkness and fire combine within its throat and a jet of black smoke and fire shot from it's mouth and engulfed me. i could feel it start to burn so i shot straight up into the air and out of its torrent of fire and darkness... oh, how suddenly the mood can change.
i flew right up and the dragon seemed to follow me trailing darkness and smoke behind it. to me this thing was huge and to it i was the size of a kitten. i kept flying up and up into the sky as the beast chased me. i looked back at it and saw it was getting close now... and it was ready to spew more fire at me, can't let that happen. i quickly turned and stopped as the beast grew ever more closer to me. it opened it's mouth to eat me alive when i shouted and fired a bright beam of blinding light right into the throat of the beast. it let out a cry of pain and soon the black smoke seemed to burst and spread.
the beast was no doubt dead. i looked at the large cloud of black smoke it left behind and smiled. i smiled because it was about time that i did something interesting and also i smiled at myself. that was without a doubt no ordinary dragon and was most likely some sort of demon or or something. it was unquestionably powerful and i had just easily destroyed it. so yes, i smiled, at the excitement and at the realization of my own power. but that smile quickly started to fade as the fog below me glowed with red fire and started to pull itself together and thicken. i watched and to my dismay the beast soon rose from the ash like darkness and lunged at me with it's gaping maw wide open to engulf me.
instead of closing its jaw down on me and eating me it instead fired up a torrent of fire which swirled around me and burnt like the fires of hell themselves. i let out a cry of pain as the flames surrounded me and soon started to burn away at my skin and feathers. i let out a deep shout as i radiated with blue energy now. a burst of cold and snow. spikes of ice fired from all directions and pierced the great beast as well as cooled my burns and my feathers on my wings seemed to grow back instantly. but i was still in much pain and damaged greatly.
i quickly flew backwards away from the dragon and as i cleared from the cold and black smoke near its mouth i could see now that the beast was no more closer to defeat than it was before. everything i tried only seemed to make it angrier instead of hurt it. i once again turned tail and flew away as the beast chased me. the beast let out a spiteful roar and heat and cinders flew from its mouth. the roar echoed through the countryside and it seemed to call black clouds over the top. they swirled in from everywhere and seemed to blacken out the sky. i watched and the beast seemed to grow stronger in the darkness.
i flew around and the beast chased me. i fire of blasts of light and energy every chance i got. the beast would roar every time it was hurt but seemed to take no physical damage and just kept flying right at me. it would fire blasts of smoke and fire from its maw whenever it got close and i would often get caught in them for a few seconds before flying out of the fire. we both flew down close to the ground and skimmed the surface of the grass. i shot off spikes of light from the ground. the they cut through the dragon like a knife through butter and the dragon seemed injured. it even let out a roar of pain.
it crashed to the ground as i flew away and like before burst into a cloud of darkness. but also like before the darkness roared with fire and energy and it thickened. then the beast emerged from the black fog right after me and spewing fire which flickered right up against me but didn't consume me. there was no killing this thing. but that doesn't mean i can't try. i kept flying and flying as i soon started to move upward towards the sky. and i noticed that the black clouds soon began lighting up and thundering. and soon... there was rain. a light peck against my face soon turned into a violent downpour. it was dark, the sun was being shunned by the clouds and the rain cut like knives on my burnt hide. i could only keep track of the beast through its red glowing spines and eyes, its beaming eyes and fiery wings also helped.
soon the thundering in the clouds turned to flashes and bolts of lightning that tore through the sky only to light it up for a second. i kept flying and shooting large blasts of light at the beast. but there was no hope for any of it to work. i kept flying up and up trying to keep the beast away from any actual ponies or the city itself for that matter. so i flew up knowing nopony would be up there. soon we were at the top of the sky right below the clouds. but i can't cut through these clouds. they would easily kill i flew around and the great dragon rose up to my level and released another torent of flames.
it chased and chased me and no matter how hard i tried to destroy it nothing would work. so i kept flying weaving through the air but there was no hope of outflying or even losing this dragon in the wide open sky. so all i could do was fly and fly. there was a large flash followed by a deafening boom. and i felt pain wash over every inch and piece of my body. i had been struck by lightning and i could feel the electricity surge through me and paralyzed me. i was, as the term comes to meaning, shocked by this, both emotionally and physically. i soon slowed down and i couldn't move and sure enough i began to plummet to the ground. the dragon however didn't give up.
it flew right after me and opened its gaping maw once more. but instead of eating me or covering me in fire it seemed to break apart back into fog and cover me as i fell. and so i fell with the dragons darkness all around me. it seeped into my body and penetrated my soul. it ripped me apart and tore me up from the inside. i wanted to yell out in pain but i was far beyond that point. how i was still conscious was a mystery. and soon and to my surprise i saw a figure in the darkness. not the dragon itself, but something much worse. it was that shadow demon with the white glowing eyes... shal-grahkan. that would explain things much more clearly now. i just looked at him with the expressions of fear and shock frozen over my face. but he looked back at me and smiled.
and soon enough we hit the ground. well, i hit the ground he was gone and the drakness that had tore me apart left me with one final blast of fire and darkness that burned me and caused me more pain before just becoming a cloud of regular smoke. the rain hit my face like needles and i laid there in a crater with only pain and suffering to keep me company. and i just laid there, and laid there. still somehow alive but i know that would not last for long. and almost as a mockery to the end of my battle the black clouds up above equestria seemed to fade and light shone through, reminding me that it was infact day.
but soon my own darkness faded in as my eyes began to close and i fell to sleep. i sat there in darkness still completely aware and in pain. i was not yet dead however since i had not been sent to purgatory just yet. i was still alive for what it was worth. soon a sound distracted me from my other feeling s and the pain seemed to subside for only a second to make out a few mumbles and familiar voices that grew closer and closer. i could feel myself being pulled out of the darkness and back to reality to see what would happen now. and i opened my eyes.
"i think he's over this way." said a familiar voice. it was nightflame.
"can you see him?" asked another familiar voice... black hoof. and soon those voices became picture as i could see my friends at the top of the crater where i lay, they could not see me through the smoke but i could see them just fine. black hoof was carrying applejack and mystee while nightflame carried ezekiel on his back. and soon twilight and thunder rush appeared in a flash at the tope of the crater. they all set down and stood there. i looked at them and wanted to call out but i couldn't bring myself to do so. i couldn't even bring myself to look down at the moment to see how badly i was hurt. i couldn't tell whether or not i could feel my hooves or ;egs to see if they weren't broken or if my spine had snapped, i could only feel pain.
"i think he's down there." said twilight.
"i can't see past the smoke." said mystee. "i hope he's alright."
"i'm sure he's fine..." said thunder. "afterall he is immortal. he probably just blacked out or something, that was quite a fight as far as i could see."
"that was ridiculous, are you kidding me?" said ezekiel. "where the hell did that thing even come from."
"ahm gettin' tired a waitin'..." said applejack, "can't y'all cast a spell or somethin' to clear the smoke and see if ee's okay."
"i can try to conjure up some kind of wind." said twilight.
"or me and nightflame can just blow the smoke away." said black hoof.
"that sounds like a better idea." said twilight. so black hoof and nightflame got to it and flew up into the air and started flapping their wings to start blowing the smoke away. and luckily it started working as the smoke began leaving and thinning out and soon enough it was gone. there was still a bit left behind in the crater that covered my body. they soon started sliding down the side of the crater and black hoof and nightflame quickly swooped down. they used their wings to fan away the rest of the smoke and when it was gone they got a clear view of me. i just looked up at the sky in pain as they all looked at me with horrified faces.
"oh god no..." said mystee looking away looking rather green. that can't be good. i used what energy i had left to turn a bit to asses the damage... and there was much damage.
first of all i was now in pieces. the lower half of my body was severed off and my organs and intestines spilled out onto the ground along with gallons of my own blood. my wings were clipped and almost broken off and my right hoof was severed off. on top of this i was covered with huge gashed and chunks of my body that were torn open or ripped off. i had the feeling earlier that i couldn't feel my legs anymore and this might be why. at the end of my torso there was a length of my spine still sticking out and standing out against the organs and blood. applejack turned and threw up into her hat.
"oh god crimson no..." said derek. "c'mon buddy, say something." he said trotting over and walking past my blood which the others were afraid to walk over in and knelt beside me and propped my head up. "damnit crimson say something." i managed to gather more strength in the light of my friends.
"i..." i stopped to spit up a bit of blood before continuing. "i would say i can't feel my legs *cough* *hack*... but that's kinda obvious isn't it."
"god dammit crimson you son of a bitch." said derek. not in a concerned or hateful kind of way. but more of a friendly disappointment. there's no hiding the fact that this isn't going to keep me down. i soon saw as my other friends soon came over to my body.
"crimson... oh god are you alright." asked twilight. i just smiled at her with a bloody smile.
"i'll be fine." i said. "well not right now... i'm probably going to be dead for a little while... but i'll be back." i said lifting my left hoof up to her cheek and making her smile.
"what are we supposed to do without you?" she asked.
"yeah... you are the leader of the group." said black hoof walking over with the others. they made sure to steer clear of any organs or body parts lying around.
"i'll be back... there should be a map in my bags... just take it and use it." i said.
"you want us to keep going then." asked mystee.
"please... keep going, yes." i said. " don't stop just because of me... promise me you'll keep going and try to help dash." i said. "take my crown too... so i can watch over you." i said grabbing my crown and handing it to twilight who grabbed it and smiled.
"alright... we will." said twilight. there were no tears or crying mainly since i wasn't really dead. they all knew i would be back soon enough and we could keep going. i could slowly feel all feeling start to subside even the pain. i couldn't force myself to speak anymore and i was starting to fade away.
"hey crimson." said thunder. i shifted my eyes over to him. "i'll see you later." he said smiling. i just smiled back as long as i could before the muscles in my face died and so did i. my whole body fell limp and soon i was in darkness again. it was a comforting darkness, like it was home. i fell down into the darkness and i could feel my soul leaving my body and heading off into purgatory to wait on my new body to be built from the old one. i wasn't sad though. i wasn't even dead.
this wasn't death... merely just a setback.
-Authors Note: twist twist twist twist twist... i had fun writing this chapter. some good ol' fashioned aerial combat if i do say so myself. so yeah crimsons dead now... or at least as dead as he'll get. he'll be back though... he cant die... he's immortal. so after a death like this i would imagine it would take a while for him to fully revive. so yeah that happened. and sorry for not posting yesterday... i was really feeling like shit and i couldn't even leave my bed. and for some reason of which i cannot explain i cannot post new chapters from my Ipad. i was able to read and reply to you're PM's and stuff but it wouldn't let me post chapters. so yeah sorry guys... i'm feeling much better today as you can see... i was able to make it to my computer without grappling over in intense chest pain.
so i hope that you guys who are in school are enjoying the vacation... i sure as hell know i am. i haven't really done much but it is nice to just lay back and just relax. ive been watching movies non stop since vacation. when i wasn't watching movies i've been writing this story. and also guys make sure you send me ideas and OC's... especially idea's. where going to different dimensions so they can litteraly be anything guys... i can tell you that one dimension is a dream world... so that litteraly gives you infinite possibilities. so stay safe, stay sober... and stay shady.-End of Note-