Twilight felt her jaw hit the floor. Her eyes remained fixed on Night. Night Glider stared back at the Shadow as he prepared himself and charged. The creature swung at him with its wing. Night brought back out his Keyblade as the wing neared him. He waited until the wing was just about to hit him before jumping high into the air. The wing passed right below him for a ways before he landed right on the edge of the wing. The creature stretched out its wing in confusion as Night ran across it. He swung his head and pointed the tip of the blade toward the Shadows face. He then yelled, “Blizzara.” A massive chunk of ice appeared and shot towards the Thestral.
The Shadow had no time to react as the chunk of ice immediately spread on contact. The Thestral roared as it seemed to have cause major damage to his face. Night quickly jumped off, as the Thestral began to wildly swing his head in hopes of shaking off the pain. Night Glider quickly glanced back at Twilight who was having trouble keeping her mouth shut as she continued to watch him. He rolled his eyes and dismissed his Keyblade.
“Twilight, I know this must be very fun to watch and all but, do you mind giving me a hoof?”
Twilight blinked as if she was in a trance before realizing she was being addressed. She shook her head, “I am still not sure how to summon my Keyblade, Sorry. I will keep trying though, I promise!”
Night let out a heavy sigh. “When this is all over, we have a lot we need to discuss.” Night turned to face the creature again. The creature had just gotten over its attack and was now charging up another ball of energy. Night laughed, “Ah c'mon, now you’re just making this too easy.” Night glanced over at the wall where the hooks could be seen. He then glanced up at one of the chandeliers nearest to the creature.
Night took a few steps back before charging right at the wall. He leaped into the air as high as he could. He summoned his Keyblade and swung his head so the top of the blade would catch one of the hooks. As soon as it latched on he then pushed hard against the wall. He turned his head again as he pushed himself off and flew a few feet. He could just make out the chandelier before his Keyblade caught it. He hung there for a few seconds as he searched for his target. Once Night had a good bead on the Thestral’s head; he began to swing the chandelier back and forth.
Then with one last big swing, he let go of his Keyblade and flew towards the Thestral’s head. Just as he was about to land, he quickly summoned his blade again and brought it down, hard as he could on the things muzzle. The Thestral’s mouth was forced shut as the ball of energy now became trapped inside him. He pointed his Keyblade down and shouted “Blizzara!” Ice soon coated the creature’s mouth making it almost impossible for the creature to open it again. Night then quickly jumped off as the Thestral’s body began to inflate like a balloon. He ran towards Twilight as he shouted, “Run!”
Twilight turned as Night ran past her. Twilight glanced back at the slowly expanding Shadow. Twilight’s eyes grew wide as she realized what was happening. Night had just made it to the window when Twilight turned towards him again and ran to meet up with him. He waited until Twilight was right next to him before they both jumped out the open window.
It turned out the throne room was a little higher up than they had thought as they both stumbled when they hit the ground. Though, the bushes at the bottom still helped to cushion their fall. Night quickly helped Twilight up as they both glanced back and could see that the Shadow was reaching his size limit; the roof was starting to give.
Both Night and Twilight then ran as fast as their hooves could carry them. Twilight glanced ahead and could see a forest filled with thick large trees. As soon as they found themselves amongst the trees, Night stopped them both. He grasped Twilight around her neck and hurled both of them against a fairly large tree. No sooner had they done this, a large explosion rushed past them. It sounded like the loudest thunder Twilight had ever heard. She closed her eyes as dark energy rushed past them. The wind from the blast hurled debris all over the place. Luckily, the tree appeared to be strong as it continued to protect them from the blast. Though Twilight still felt a piece of wood bounce off of her, she continued to cling to the tree as the shockwave continued. It continued on for at least a minute but to Twilight it felt like hours.
But when the blast did stop, Twilight was still afraid to open her eyes. She was afraid of what she might see. Curiosities got the better of her as she opened them and look around toward the ruins. She assumed that there would be body parts of the Thestral all over the place, but instead, all that was left was a thin haze of black smoke that sizzled out of existence in a few moments. There were however, pieces of the throne room all over the place.
The throne room had been completely obliterated. However the rest of the castle somehow remained standing. Twilight winced as she looked over to see what Night’s expression would be. After all, it seemed like he cared a lot for this place. But she was shocked to see that he was laughing, “Oh wow, looks like I over did it just a bit didn’t I?”
Twilight stared at him in confusion. Night caught the look and shrugged. Twilight shook her head, “I don’t understand, I thought you liked this place or something. Didn’t you call it a sanctuary?”
Night smiled, “Yes I did. But it isn’t about the place. It is about the ponies. The Thestrals, coming together where they can have a sense of peace. But there is still plenty of the castle left. Besides, I think they can live without the throne room.” He looked down at the piece of wood at Twilight’s hooves, “Hey, what’s that anyways?”
Twilight looked at what he was staring at. She picked it up with her hoof, “Judging from the design, I would say it looks like a piece of that door I saw get smashed to pieces just before I ended up here.” Twilight shot up randomly as her eyes grew wide, “Bah, Ponyville! My friends. My home. It’s all gone!” Twilight's mane immediately grew frazzled. Her eyes appeared desperate. She looked like she was ready to have a breakdown at any moment.
Night quickly put up his hooves in defense, “Hey, just out of curiosity, did they happen to disappear in a big ball of dark energy?”
Twilight gasped in surprise and nearly fell over, “Uh, yeah, how did you know?”
Night put his hoof on Twilights shoulder, “Then they are fine. Just like you I am sure they were sent across Equestria. They may even be looking for you.” Twilight let out a sigh of relief. She felt herself fall and Night quickly try to catch her. Night gave her a look of concern, “Hey, are you alright?”
Twilight took a deep breath, “Yeah, I am just so relieved. I thought they might be gone forever. But I didn’t think about the fact that if I went through that thing and survived, then so too did my friends.”
Night nodded his head, “Look, perhaps it is best if we make our way to Canterlot. There is a chance we may find your friends there. Also the princesses might have a better idea of what is going on.”
Twilight nodded in agreement. She then glanced back down at the piece of wood. She handed it to Night, “Would you mind holding on to this? For some reason, I feel like it might be important.” Night nodded his head in agreement as he took the piece of wood with his hoof. He lifted up his cloak and revealed a backpack underneath. He quickly stowed it away. He then brought out a map.
He showed it to Twilight, “Ok from where we are, we are just beyond the Everfree Forest. If we cut through it, we should reach Ponyville in three days time. From there, we just follow the train tracks and be there in a day’s walk from Ponyville. All in all, should only take us about a week to get there.”
Twilight stared back at Night in confusion, “Um, I think you mean 4 days time?”
Night shook his head, “Before we even step into the Everfree Forest, I want to be prepared.” He stowed away the map before turning back to Twilight, “I want to teach you how to summon your Keyblade and how to use the spell you already know properly along with a new one if there is time. I can’t face every fight alone Twilight. I need another Keyblade master.”
Twilight grinned in a sheepish way, “Oh, right. Sorry.” Night turned around and started to head back towards the ruins. “The court yard should still be intact. It will be the perfect place to train.”
Twilight stumbled as she ran to catch up with him. “Don’t you think we should rest first?”
Night shook his head as he entered through a small hole the wall. Twilight followed in after him. She was surprised to find herself right back in the courtyard. Night walked over to one side of the court yard and signaled Twilight to go unto the other. Once she was standing on the other side opposite to him, he decided to answer her.
“Best way to start training is to have your blood pumping and battle stress still fresh in your mind. While I am all for rest after a big battle, I think it is important we have you ready before the next attack. And don’t worry, one thing I have learned about these creatures is that after a big attack, they regroup and become quiet again, for at least a little while. Better for you to be able to face them, when they do decide to show up again.”
Twilight nodded. She understood she would only be a burden if she could defend herself from here on out. Her friends are out there somewhere. If she was going to find them, she would need to be alive to do so. “Alright, she said after a few moments. What shall we do first?”
***