//------------------------------//
// Midnight vs. Justice (Part 1) 
// Story: Fight Club 
// by xTSGx 
//------------------------------//


For copyright/disclaimer information, see the prologue.

 

Chapter Ten: Midnight vs. Justice (Part I)



Midnight stared out the train window and into the fields and farms that made up the outskirts of Ponyville. She didn't have a very comfortable seat—and it wasn't just thanks to the hard, wooden bench she was sitting on or the two Royal Guards that sat on either side of her. She was sitting in a Royal Guard prisoner transport. The windows had iron bars on them, the doors had several locks fastened to their heavy oak edges, and nearly a dozen Royal Guard—from pegasi to unicorn—sat strategically around the train car.
 
She shifted slightly in her seat and looked at the various guards that prevented her escape, “You know, I can understand the shackles,” The shackles around her legs were just as chaffing and restricting as all the novels and plays had made them out to be.
 
“And the wing bands are an obvious must for restraining any flying pony.” She had been shackled before—some attempts to earn some bits were weirder than others—but she'd never had wing bands on her. The tight leather straps resembled, and she had the sinking suspicion were, belts. They prevented her from flapping or even moving her wings and, given how delicate and sensitive wings could be, were orders of magnitude more uncomfortable than the ankle shackles.
 
“I even get the mouthguard,” she licked her fangs, which were now securely covered by a plastic mouthguard. There'd be no fruit sucking or new pony capes for her.
 
Midnight warily looked up above at the object that was casting a shadow on and around her, “But I'm really failing to understand why you guys need that.” Hoisted precariously above her via pulley was a large trapezoid-shaped weight. On it's side, printed in bold white letters were the words “1 Ton.” Where on Luna's planet did they get something like that? What purpose did a one ton weight even have? It was something you'd only see in a foal's comic or a weird story.
 
One of the guards looked over at her with a smirk, “Do you like it?” Midnight glared at him in response, “It was suggested by the Arcane Magic Council as an 'Emergency Protocol for the Containment and Successful Capture of Ponies Trained in the Art of Transmogrification.'” The guard took a deep breath, “Archmage Morning Star just loves naming his procedures,” he said flatly.
 
“If you try to move—even a little—Corporal Corporeal over there—” The guard motioned to a very eager earth pony guard who sat next to the rope that held up the weight from squashing Midnight flat. The rope was tied to a metal loop bolted to the train car's floor, “—will cut the rope and we'll get to see just how flexible you can be. So I'd advise not trying one of your fighting routines or we'll be delivering a bat pony-themed doormat to Her Majesty.”
 
Midnight gulped, “Right. Don't try to escape. Got it.”
 
“Good.”
 
The train continued to chug along on it's way toward Midnight's fated meeting with the Princess of “Friendship”. What had she done to deserve this? Okay, the technical answer was turn the Element of Loyalty's trap against her and then cash in the tightly compressed mare for a sack of bits she used to pay off her cottage for a few years. A few years of stress free bills. A few years of being a bat pony throw rug.
 
She gulped. Why did she deserve that? She couldn't help but think back to that Sports Weekly interview. Maybe karmatic field theory really was a thing and she had cashed in the last of her karma with the Dash fight? She did have a great deal of good fortune so far. It seemed she had been able to just win every fight. All that karma had finally been used up. She gulped. Knowing her luck, she now had a karma debt. One only an incredibly powerful, angry alicorn could pay off.
 
The train suddenly jerked and the squealing screech of the wheels filled the cabin. Midnight's eyes nervously focused on the weight that now swayed back and forth above her. That rope was certified to hold that much, wasn't it? It really didn't look like it was. And it wasn't as though the Royal Guard were terribly concerned about keeping her safe. They'd probably prefer it if they had to peel her off the floor and carry her folded form to Princess Twilight.
 
The guard peeked out the window before turning to Midnight, “Looks like we're here. Time for you to pay the piper.”
 
Several of the guards prodded her. She glared at them as she stood up and was led out of the train car. At least she wouldn't have to deal with any one ton weights. Until Twilight hypnotized her, that is. Her wings fidgeted in their tight leather bonds. She had to find a way out of this.
 
The bright Ponyville sun caused her to squint when they stepped onto the train platform. Several gasps and excited chatter filled the platform. Off to her left, a large group of ponies had gathered and gawked at the fanged prisoner from behind a line of caution tape that was being guarded by a white pegasus.
 
“I-Is that really her!?”
 
“I've never seen a bat pony before!”
 
“Yes, you have. Remember Princess Luna's visit?”
 
“I can't believe somepony like that could take out Rainbow.”
 
“The horror! The horror!”
 
Midnight couldn't really blame them. Not much happens in a small town like Ponyville, so this was probably a really big—wait, didn't Nightmare Moon return here? And Discord? And Tirek? She looked to the excited ponies, two of whom had apparently fainted from the amazing spectacle of a pony being escorted off a train.
 
Maybe the ponies in this town had been driven mad from all the craziness over the years. Or there was yet another monster lurking in the town that was secretly controlling everypony. It would certainly explain Princess Twilight's behavior.
 
The guards that flanked her led her into the train station proper. Midnight looked around. It was no Fifth Street Station, but it definitely fit the small town that was home to it. It was just an administrative office with a ticket window. There weren't any benches, or bathrooms, or atriums full of exotic plants. There were just a few desks, filing cabinets and a wall safe. Several chairs lined the wall opposite the desks, in the event a lost foal or hooligan from a train happened to show up at the station.
 
Sitting on one of the lightly cushioned chairs was a dark blue pegasus mare. Her face was obscured by a special midweek edition of Sports Weekly which had the silhouette of a bat pony in crosshairs as its cover. Midnight scrunched up her nose. No doubt Justified Text would be skimping out on paying her for that particular cover.
 
One of the guards cleared his throat and the mare peeked her head out from behind the magazine, “Ah, so this is her?”
 
“That it is, Miss Glider.”
 
“Excellent.” the mare tossed the magazine down onto a chair next to her's and jumped into the air. She flew over to Midnight and hovered above her. Midnight shifted uncomfortably from one pair of hooves to the the other as the mare looked her over. Ever since Night Terror, she just didn't like it when ponies stared at her. Especially when they were this close.
 
The mare smirked after a moment of staring, “So, you took out Rainbow Dash, did you?”
 
Midnight stared flatly, “What do you think?” she struggled against her bonds for emphasis.
 
“Since you asked. I think your greed's finally caught up with you,” the mare landed and walked around Midnight as she continued, “And now it's time to cash in all that karma just as you cashed in all the suffering of the ponies you beat.”
 
Midnight groaned, “Don't tell me you're buying into that? I get it. She's mad I defeated a friend of hers and wants a little payback.” She looked back over the wing bands and shackles that were tightly strapped to her body, “But abusing her princess authority? Possibly flattening me as some sort of twisted punishment? That's way beyond payback.”
 
“So you think this is all about you, huh? I should have figured. What about Dry Linen and Chief Justice Number—you know he's still got a bruise from that punch? What about the crew of the Dreamscape—do you know how scared the families were when they first heard about the crash? What about Doppler Radar and Tropical Cyclone and the hundred thousand bits of property damage you did to their Cloudsdale home? And what about little Dawn, who cried for weeks while her big sister Echo recovered?”
 
Midnight winced. Ouch. That might have hurt more than being flattened would. But still, it wasn't her fault. Well, not all her fault, “It takes two to have a fight. Who do you think was right there along side me, hmm? Some goons rubber stamped by the Vanguard. The Night Guard's very own forces. The Captain of the Wonderbolts. Luna above, Echo herself! So don't you dare pin all the blame on me.”
 
“I'm only pinning the blame you deserve. Even you admit you're at least half responsible. All of your opponents have already paid the price for their participation. Now, it's your turn. Speaking of,” Night Glider pushed Midnight forward, causing her to stumble, “You have a meeting at the castle to get to and you don't want to be late. Princess Twilight's got a thing about being tardy.”
 

-----

 
Ponyville was a very pleasant village. Midnight had always thought Hollow Shades was small, but the forested town was just that—a town. Ponyville was just a small village, very much like those she saw on her trek to Canterlot that dotted the landscape and hugged the railroads. Thatched roofs, dirt streets, and little to no infrastructure defined the locale.
 
Of course, she'd find the setting much more pleasant—especially that huge apple orchard nearby that would make Mr. Tree envious—if it weren't for the guards. She glanced back at the two armored pegasi that flanked her before shifting her gaze back in front to the dark blue pegasus that was leading the way toward that really out of place looking castle.
 
Seriously, all those cottages and thatched roofs, and you drop a piece of the Crystal Empire right in the middle. Princess Twilight really needed to fire her architect. Or at least repaint the thing so it didn't look so hideous. But she was a gardener, not a designer. Maybe purple crystals were all the rage these days and were the new “in” thing.
 
The tree-shaped castle grew ever closer. Off to her side, a small group of townsfolk that were busy examining a cart full of what had to be yams paused and stared at the bat pony prisoner as she was led away. At least they didn't scream in terror or faint.
 
Night Glider looked back at her greedy captive, “Not very talkative, are we?”
 
“As I'm sure the wing bands and fetters can indicate, I'm not in a particularly pleasant mood. So there's not much to talk about.”
 
There wasn't much around the tree castle. It was like it had been plucked right in the middle of town without a thought. There was no courtyard, or grass—or any foliage of any kind for that matter. Midnight snorted in annoyance. What might be the last time she'd see the outside world before being hypnotized and squashed flat for months or maybe even years, and there wasn't a plant to be found.
 
Night fumbled with the front door for a moment before it opened. She gestured at one of the guards, who very kindly escorted Midnight in by kicking her in the flank. She glared at the guard as she walked in. Night walked in behind her and closed the door, leaving the guards outside, “Princess Twilight prefers security to remain outside.”
 
Midnight suppressed a smile. Works for her. Two less pains the flank she'd have to deal with if she escaped. And she really should start plotting her escape. All she had to do was somehow get out of her restraints, make her way through a totally unfamiliar castle, and fly hundreds of miles out of Equestria. Of course, there was also the dark blue pegasus to worry about.
 
It was times like this she missed Bill and his manila envelopes full of information. She knew nothing about the mare. Judging from her slender build, she'd have to guess she was pretty athletic. Yet again, she couldn't be faced with a morbidly obese foe. Perhaps that wasn't such a bad thing. With the way things had gone, if the mare had been fat, she'd probably end up squashed into a cushion under her.
 
The two slowly walked down the main hall of the castle. It was eerie. The whole place was empty. There wasn't a table or pictures or anything. It was like it was brand new and everything was still packed away in boxes, “So... who are you exactly?” With no Bill, she'd have to get her information the old fashioned way, “I know about the Elements of Harmony, but last I heard, there were only six and there wasn't a dark blue pegasus among them.”
 
Night walked her over to a really uncomfortable looking crystal bench that sat next one of the walls and sat down, “I'm surprised you care.” Something was up. That bat pony only cared about bits. She was probably just trying to get her to lower her guard so she could pull out a mallet from behind her back.
 
She'd play Midnight's game, if only to stall until Twilight was ready to dish out her punishment, “You know about Starlight Glimmer?”
 
Glimmer? It sounded familiar. She thought she remembered Tower and some of the other Night Guard talking about it a while ago. It suddenly struck her, “Oh yeah, the one with the crazy cult town,” It had been all over the news back when it first happened, but like with any news story, it had faded from view once bigger, juicier stories hit the front pages.
 
Night glared at her for a moment, “Yes. That one. Well, I'm Night Glider. One of the ponies Princess Twilight and her friends helped when they happened across the town.”
 
Great. Just great. She was being guarded by a literal cultist. At this rate, she wouldn't be surprised if Princess Luna herself teleported in to deliver her punishment, “But that was way up by Manehattan. What are you doing in Ponyville?”
 
“Princess Twilight requested that I assist with Ponyville's weather patrol while those crazy Canterlot unicorns try to figure out a way to reverse what you did to Rainbow Dash. After everything they did to help us, how could I say no?”
 
What she did? She wasn't the one who put the enchantments on the bottle in the first place. It's not her fault Equestria's newest princess is apparently apt at forbidden unicorn magic. It's always unicorns with the forbidden magic. You never see a “forbidden weather system” or “forbidden plant” or “forbidden blood suck”—okay, never mind about that last one.
 
Midnight looked around the really empty looking corridor, “So, ah, when's the princess going to be executing her—” she gulped, “—judgment.” It was going to be enchanted wringers. She just knew it. It was that kind of gut feeling you get. Wringers or rolling pins. Some sort of cylindrical compression device. Enchanted with more of those forbidden spells only unicorns, and by association alicorns, had. At least she'd be hypnotized into enjoying it. As if that was a decent consolation prize.
 
Night Glider smirked at Midnight's apprehension. It was good to see the evil bat pony squirm a little after everything she had done, “Oh, Princess Twilight's currently assembling the Star Chamber. Once they're ready, you'll be taken in to face justice.”
 
The Star Chamber? The secret royal court that had absolute authority over any subject it wished to have authority over? The court that had no appellate feature? The court that made powerful ponies who'd normally escape justice disappear—or so the rumors went? The one that didn't really have trials so much as summary hearings? That Star Chamber?
 
Maybe she'd be forced into a bottle. Karmatic punishments were all the rage these days and it would be pretty easy to whip up a glass bottle and put another enchantment on it. She'd be trapped like Dash was, only she wouldn't have a dozen unicorns trying to find a way to get her out. She'd be lucky if anypony ever found out about the Star Chamber's ruling or her fate.
 
She had to get out of here. But that pegasus was like a hawk. She wouldn't let Midnight out of her sight. Must be that cult training or something. Midnight tried to casually look around the barren castle. It really wasn't a good design. Gaudy crystal, really bad coloring, and of course, no plants anywhere to be found. Not even some roots hanging from the ceiling—although that would probably be worse than having no plants.
 
There were also no obvious exits. The hallway she was in had many rooms connected to it but she hadn't memorized Equestria's castles' layouts. It was a crapshot. She could find the backdoor exit past one of those doors or the Star Chamber itself. There was just no telling what lay beyond their wooden frames. There was also the problem of the guards outside. She glanced down briefly at herself. And the shackles and restraints.
 
Night Glider looked at her lean prisoner. Just what was that bat pony up to? Probably plotting something devious. Who was she kidding? Of course she was. Midnight Dream always plotted, whether it was ways to make her opponents suffer or greedy schemes to get as many bits as possible. At least that greed had been her undoing—as it usually was for most villains. Trying to get your own bounty. There probably wasn't a thing greedier than that.
 
Midnight glanced over her shoulders at her wings. The wing bands wouldn't be an issue. They were just leather straps, after all. But the iron shackles are what really kept her trapped. She needed to get them off. Night Glider seemed to be in charge here, so she likely had the keys. Midnight gulped. She better have the keys. Otherwise, she had no hope of getting out of this.
 
She tried to eye the pegasus sitting next to her as nonchalantly and non-creepily as possible. The dark blue mare was totally naked. There wasn't a bag or pocket to be found on her. If she actually had the key, it must be in that white mane of hers or tucked under one of her wings. She just couldn't risk tackling Night and not getting the key. It was too risky.
 
“What are you up to?” Night stared at her with narrowed eyes.
 
Midnight hastily shifted her gaze to the crystal bench, “Uh, nothing. Just admiring the... crystals while we wait.”
 
“I'm sure,” She was definitely plotting to escape. It was a good thing Twilight had the only key to those shackles in the entire town. Still, Midnight had been able to slip out right from under the Night Guard's hooves. She didn't want to repeat the same mistake. It was always best to err on the side of caution.
 
“Alright, up you go,” Night grabbed one of Midnight's forelegs and pulled her off the bench.
 
Midnight's eyes widened in fear, “What!? No! It can't be time already?!” She still needed to find a bobby pin to pick the locks of her shackles.
 
“Oh no, the Star Chamber's not ready yet,” she wished. Knowing Twilight, she would probably take the next five hours arranging the stationary, “You're acting very suspicious. So I'm taking you to the castle dungeon. That way, I can rest assured knowing there's no way you can escape.”
 
The castle had a dungeon? She didn't know why she thought it didn't. It was a castle. Either way, this severely complicated her plan. Which, admittedly, wasn't much of a plan to begin with. But it was still better than just getting locked up until the crazy alicorn was ready to run her through a steam press.
 
Night grabbed hold and yanked her forward, “C'mon, Midnight. Don't make me get those stallion guards from outside.” Midnight numbly walked forward, toward a very stereotypical dungeon looking oak door, which had iron bars in place of its tiny window and several bands of reinforcing iron running across it.
 
“Thank Celestia we were near it,” Night mumbled as she opened the door. She had not been looking forward to trying to get the stubborn bat pony to walk halfway through the castle, “Welcome to the, uh, Ponyville Castle Dungeon,” Now that she thought about it, Princess Twilight never did tell her what the castle was actually called.
 
It was very quaint. The small room reminded Midnight of one of those western sheriff offices. On one side was a desk and chair with several lockers hugging the wall, and on the other, two jail cells, complete with iron bars, were carved into the wall like two little crystal caves. Midnight's eyes nearly popped out of her head and made her permanently blind when she looked at the cork board that hung behind the desk—or more specifically, the dozen or so keychains that hung on the corkboard.
 
Now was her chance, even if one of those keys wasn't the right one. She still had to take it. She was seconds away from being doomed to a flat fate. Night walked over to one of the unlocked cells and opened it with a clang, “In ya go.”
 
“Sorry, but I think I'll have take a rain check,” Midnight jumped over the desk. She landed on the chair and used it knock the cork and the key chains off the wall and to the ground. She hastily bend down, picked up the first one she saw and started to fumble with it to get it into the keyhole on her forehooves.
 
“What?!” Night stared slack jawed for a second before she grit her teeth in anger, “Oh no you don't!” She jumped toward Midnight, using her dark blue wings to give her a boost, “You're not slipping your way out of this!” Midnight had finished checking the first set of keys, threw it aside and picked up the next when Night slammed into her and sent the two into one of the lockers.
 
Midnight kicked the pegasus of her, sending Night stumbling back, before she grabbed another set of keys and tried to jam them into her fetters. It was impossible. Not only did she have to check where Night was at every few seconds, but just like with her front door, she just couldn't feed the key into the keyhole right. Then she had to flip it upside down—and what if it really was the right key and in her haste she botched unlocking it and tossed the key aside?
 
Night growled as she steadied herself. How could this happen? How could Midnight even be in a position where she could unlock her shackles? It was impossible. She glanced down at the corkboard and the “In Case of Emergency, Use Spare.” that was written on it. Damn Princess Twilight and her anal retentiveness. No doubt she had a third set of keys somewhere around here just in case somepony lost the spare.
 
She dove back at the bat pony. She needed to force her into that cell as fast as possible, before this really got out of hand. Midnight gasped and raised her shackled forelegs to brace herself for the impact. Night hit so hard, the metal locker broke open, but just like the rest of the castle, there wasn't a thing inside it.
 
“I'm not letting you get out of this, Midnight,” she raised a hoof over the dazed gray mare. “You're this close to finally getting your just desserts and I'm not about to let you slip away again,” she brought the hoof down and punched Midnight in her chest, “You've hurt too many ponies.”
 
Midnight once more used her hindlegs to kick Night off herself, “Keep telling yourself that. I'm sure it'll eventually justify all this.” She reached down and grabbed another set of keys. It wasn't ideal, and her panicked attempts to free herself might result in her tossing away the key that meant freedom, but what choice did she really have? With the restraints, actually defeating Night Glider was a near impossibility.
 
She jammed the metal key into the hole on her forelegs and twisted. The shackle popped off with a click. She quickly removed the key but just as she was going to undo her other hoof, Night once more tackled her to the ground, and forcefully batted the keychain away. Midnight watched it bounce and clatter over to the oak door before she looked up at the pegasus that loomed over her. She winced a little. That was not the face of a happy pony. Not at all.
 
“Somehow... somehow you still manage to get lucky. Even after all this—even after all you've done, you—heh—you still can somehow slither away,” Midnight responded to the comment by punching at the mare with her now free hoof.
 
Night cautiously backpedaled. No point in getting kicked in the chest for a third time. Besides, Midnight's key was on the other side of the room. So long as the bat pony stayed behind that desk, and the key stayed in front of the door, she'd be fine.
 
Midnight glanced over at the door. She'd gotten this far. No point in stopping now. She grunted as she leapt from off the ground and over the desk. Despite her athleticism, she was unable to fully clear it, especially with her wings bound and unable to give a much needed boost. Her hindlegs clipped it and sent her tumbling end over end. She grunted when she hit the hard stone floor.
 
“Horseapples!” Night followed Midnight over the desk, using her wings to easily clear it, and landed right on top of the sprawled out and wincing bat pony before she had a chance to reorient herself. The two rolled around on the stone floor, jabbing and grappling each other in an attempt to gain the upper hand.
 
Night was able to wrestle Midnight and pin the mare down underneath her. Midnight, having a lifetime's worth of experience with pinning, struggled to slip out from under the pegasus. Night punched Midnight in her soft underbelly several times in an effort to stop the squirming, but it had no effect.
 
This wasn't going well at all. She wasn't a fighter. She didn't have months of experience fighting Night Guard and Wonderbolts. Midnight slipped a hoof free and started to punch her in her ribs. Night looked up at the door, “Guys! I need a little help here!” She knew it was a futile gesture. This was the castle's dungeon. The walls and door were designed to absorb the rowdy yells of prisoners.
 
Midnight was finally able to knock the pegasus off her. As she stood up, she quickly grabbed the keychain from off the ground and jammed the key into the other lock. Her forelegs now free, she turned her attention to her still shackled hindlegs. Hopefully she was lucky enough for the key to work with both sets of shackles.
 
The key wouldn't even give her the false hope of fitting into the keyhole. She sighed, “Of course not. I could only be so lu—oaf!”
 
Night slammed an elbow into her chest, knocking her back into the solid oak door. Midnight slumped to the ground in a daze. Night looked down, “Finally. Now to get you into that cell before you manage any more slippery tricks.”
 
The dark blue pegasus squatted down and hoisted the heavy bat pony onto her back, “Yeesh. You weigh a ton, Midnight.” After making sure the still disoriented bat pony was secure, she started walking over to one of the jail cells, “You should lay off the mangoes.”
 
“I'm more a watermelon fan, myself,” Night gasped as Midnight wrapped a foreleg around her neck and started to apply pressure. She was finally going to be able to choke out an opponent. No wringers. No presses. No mallets. Just real fighting techniques. It was about time.
 
Night rolled to her right, right into the pointed corner of the desk. Midnight yelped in pain and let go, allowing the pegasus to crawl away, gasping for breath. Midnight wobbled to her hooves and hobbled around the desk, picking up the first set of keys she could. Back to hunting for keys. This time, with a sore back to show for her progress.
 
Night stood back up, “I'm getting you into that jail cell, Midnight. You're only leaving this room suspended in Princess Twilight's telekinesis,” She once again tackled the mare and the two once again slide into the dented and broken locker.
 
Midnight kicked at the mare that was grabbing onto her, “Yeah, ask Major Shadow and Night Terror how well their demands went,” she'd been able to try another set of keys before Night attempted round four—or maybe it was five? She wasn't exactly keeping count—of her wrestling, but made no progress with her rearhooves.
 
The two twisted and grabbed at each other, occasionally slamming a hoof or belly against the desk or wall in the tight space. Midnight knocked Night against the wall and before the mare could recover, landed several good blows to her stomach and muzzle. Night stumbled back several feet to regroup. Fighting a mare like Midnight was a huge mistake. She needed help. If only that damn dungeon door actually locked. So much for a dungeon.
 
Midnight took the temporary fighting reprieve to grab the next set of keys she laid her amber eyes on. She tried several times to fit it into the shackle on her rearhoof, but her shaking hoof caused it to miss each time. Each attempt became more panicked and faster as the threat of Night attacking once more increased.
 
“Luna above,” she muttered before it finally slipped in. With a twist and a gasp of horror from Night, the shackle slide off of her chafed ankle. She quickly undid the other hoof while Night was busy picking her jaw up off the floor. Hooves now free, she kicked the shackles and chains away from her legs and looked up with a smile. Now she could finally get out of there.
 

-----

 
“So, do you know any good coffee places around here? Didn't get the best sleep last night and then this whole bat pony escort mission was thrown at us at the last minute.”
 
The white armored pegusas looked up from notebook he was doodling in, “Nah, this is my first time in Ponyville. Princess Twilight's never been one to have actual guards. All that modestly, you know?”
 
The other guard snorted, “Yeah, nothing screams modestly like a giant tree shaped castle made out of sparkling crystals.”
 
“Well, modest, militarily,” he looked side to side, as if there were ponies about on the dirt streets in the midday heat who could hear him, “And between you and me, I want to get out of here as soon as possible.”
 
The first guard stared with shocked, wide blue eyes, “Why? This town's great. It's so quaint and rustic. I'd love to retire here, maybe buy a cottage next to that lake we saw when we flew in. Taxes would be pennies compared to Canterlot.”
 
“And do you know why the taxes are so cheap?”
 
“Well, just look,” the guard gestured to the town center, “It's a small town. The roads are so primitive, you have to go miles outside of Canterlot to even find anything close. And have you seen a school? Because I haven't.”
 
The other guard shook his head, “No. It's none of that. Nightmare Moon, Discord, Tirek, the Everfree Forest—it's a nightmare cloaked in thatched roofs and farms. You couldn't pay me to live here. It's bad enough having to work here—but live here?” he emphatically shook his head, “I'd rather be that bat pony right now.”
 
The first guard shuttered, “Really? I wouldn't. Did you see that wringer they brought in earlier? I never thought they made those things with dozens of rollers on 'em. Can you imagine getting forced through one of those? I'd rather face Nightmare Moon any day.”
 
The thought of getting squashed ever flatter by a series of rollers made the other guard pause in thought, “Yeah, maybe you're ri—”
 
The golden front door of the castle burst open. The two guards jumped in shock and turned around, “What!?”
 
“Huh?”
 
Midnight jumped over the steps and landed in between them, “'Scuse me,” she ran down the path toward the still deserted town center.
 
The two guards looked at each other in confusion for a second before Night Glider charged out of the castle and stopped, “We've got a problem. Go tell the princess the prisoner's escaped.”
 
“Yes, ma'am,” the guard ran into the castle, leaving his notebook on the step.
 
The other guard looked at Night, “Do you want me to assist in capturing the bat pony?”
 
“No. It's my fault she escaped. I'll get her myself,” she flapped her wings and hovered off the ground, “Besides, Princess Twilight will likely want some kind of a perimeter established and there's only a few guards in the town.”
 
He nodded as she flew off in pursuit of the bat pony.
 

-----

 
Midnight raced into the heart of Ponyville. She glanced back at the castle to see Night flying after her in pursuit. She needed to lose the pegasus and get out of there. The cottages and shops shot past her as she raced by them. This town was small. Really small. She turned down an alley tucked between some kind of furniture and feather store and a house.
 
Unlike the tightly packed buildings of Canterlot or the structured suburban layout of Hollow Shades, Ponyville's builders just seemed to have constructed their buildings wherever they could plop them down. The alley—okay, it wasn't much of an alley. More like a gap between two buildings—spit her out into another wide open street. One which had dozens of stands and carts.
 
The dozens of ponies in the market froze the instant they saw the wanted fugitive. Midnight sheepishly grinned and chuckled, “Eh, heh, heh. Does anypony need a gardener? It's my special talent,” Several screams of terror resounded followed shortly by some of the ponies fainting. Okay. If she ever got out of this, she could cross Ponyville off her list of possible employment locations.
 
She leapt over a cart full of carrots and ran through the street. Many of the ponies shrunk down in fear or outright fled. Those that didn't only glared at her, “This must be that 'tight knit community' everypony raves about,” she muttered to herself as she ran through the market. She glanced behind her and up in the sky to see Night's dark blue form streak toward her.
 
Great. With all these ponies panicking the second they saw her, there was no chance she could slip away through the back streets undetected. Time for a new plan. She looked back at her now unbound wings. Thank goodness those leather straps hadn't been locked and where as easy as a belt to remove. She slowly peeled her wings from off her back.
 
She flared her wings wide open and winced as the bones cracked and popped from stiffness. Bat wings were sensitive things and were never designed to be restrained like that. She slowed to a stop and carefully rose into the air. A few days without flying and having your wings bound against your back will make a pony a tad more cautious on that initial takeoff. She smiled and glanced at her leathery wings. Just as good as they'd always been. She could only hope they wouldn't cramp up.
 
Midnight flapped her now free wings hard. She needed to get as far away from Ponyville as possible. First, she needed to lose Twilight's lackey. She scanned the area for some way to shake the blue pegasus. Why would a princess choose to live here? There was nothing but farms and trees for miles. She might be able to shake the mare in the woods, but no doubt the Royal Guard was being mobilized. If Night Glider didn't find her, a Guard patrol surely would.
 
She needed some other way to escape. A sudden thought entered her head—Ponyville. That was one of the towns that bordered the Everfree Forest. Everypony was scared of the forest, but she could see its joys. So many plants. So many uncontrolled plants. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't a little envious of earth ponies' abilities. They could do things she'd never be able to. They'd always have an advantage over her.
 
But the Everfree Forest was different. No pony had been able to master it. No pegasus control its weather. No unicorn tame its magic. And no earth pony uproot its plants. There, she'd be on equal footing with the earth ponies. It reminded her of Night Glider and that cult she had been in. Why hadn't that leader put their compound in the forest?
 
Oh yeah. The same reason Midnight had never actually made any effort to move to the Forest—it was a death trap. Well, near death trap. With the number of times Princess Twilight and the Elements had visited the place and returned unharmed and traumatized, it was definitely losing that “going to kill everypony” edge it had previously.
 
She heard the strained flapping of wings and turned her head abruptly to see Night Glider slowly gaining on her as they zipped through the sky. Several pegasi who were apparently managing the puffy clouds she forgot the name of—she was a gardener, not a meteorologist—made sure to steer clear of the pursuit. No doubt they had heard about what had happened to Rainbow Dash and wanted to stay as far enough away as possible from the mare responsible.
 
Midnight banked hard to the right and set her sights on the admittedly creepy looking forest. She'd slip away from the dark blue pegasus, hide under one of the big trees, not get herself killed by a monster, then sneak back to her cottage, grab what she could, and learn to enjoy the multicultural Griffo-Minotaurian Empire.
 
She glanced back again. After Spitfire and Rainbow Dash, it was strange not having a pursuer right on her tail ready to ram her to the ground. Night Glider may be athletic, but she was no Wonderbolt. She was just as slow as Midnight was. For once, she wouldn't have to strain her wings to the breaking point to get away.
 
The second—and that's not an exaggeration—the literal second Midnight flew from the grassy meadow into the dark and dreary forest, she felt a change. It was so subtle and yet so incredibly disturbing. Just a little tweak in the air. A little change in the density and temperature. Maybe not even something a unicorn or earth pony would notice.
 
But it felt wrong. So, so very wrong. Like an unnatural thing that slowly wormed its way into you and settled into your core. She nearly stopped in shock from it all. How could something so minor feel so bad? Unless it wasn't so minor. Far below, the gnarled trees and twisted vines could be hiding anything in their shadows. And if she didn't know any better, she could have sworn that some of those shadows were moving—even following after her.
 
No wonder Ponyville and Princess Twilight were nuts. They were living next to this place. Doubt quickly evicted fear and moved in. She could turn around. Right now. Just turn around and never look back at the creepy forest. Night Glider was right there. She'd be more than happy to take Midnight back. Then she could be flattened into a pancake and never deal with that tree over there that definitely didn't have the screaming face of a pony knotted into its trunk.
 
Night Glider seemed to have been just as affected by the Everfree Forest as she was, because the mare slowed to a crawl soon after entering. After a few moments, she shook herself and carried on after the evil and quite possibly insane bat pony that was now traveling into the heart of the Everfree Forest.
 
Midnight looked back at Night Glider and then down to the forest floor below her. She couldn't land now. Night Glider would surely see her. And, to be honest, there was no way she was about to land even if Night Glider wasn't right behind her. This forest just wasn't right and coming here had been a huge mistake. One in a long line she had made.
 
In the distance, the decaying ruins of what was once the shining capital of Equestria rose up from the leaves and branches. Even now, with it's broken windows, cracked and mossy stone, and rotted wood beams, it still shined as a refuge in the midst of the chaos that surrounded it. She could lose Night Glider there. She didn't really have a choice. It was that, or the forest.
 
She altered her course and flapped her wings harder to try and get some distance between her and Night Glider. All the while, the Castle of the Two Sisters steadily approached.
 

End of Chapter Ten