from past shadows

by Nyt Ving

Escape

Author's Note:

**story has been edited**

I returned to the club as the sun was setting. Normally that would be pretty late but today the club and bar was closed. The day off. Elusive was waiting for me, watching me enter and lock the front entrance, for the last time, from the second story balcony.
"It is eerie. The club I mean. You come to one for the noise and party. But there is not one now." I turned as he spoke, watching the way he moved around as he spoke. It was apparent he was nervous, and probably a little frustrated by my tardiness. I looked around at the desolate building.
"Yes, it is a little unnerving, being here in the silence." I flew up to him landing gently and deposited the two saddle bags I was carrying at his hooves. "Preparations have been made", I continued. He looked at the bags, then back to me, a look of concern on his face. It was getting worse.
"What is all of this?" Elusive asked, opening the first saddle bag. I smiled as he gently lifted a silk cloak out of it. "A shadow cloak?"
"No. A nightmare cloak actually." His eyes widened in shock.
"How did you get one?" Elusive looked at me with distrust, "the only ponies who have access to these are Celestia's guards, and the most expert of alchemists who make them." I stayed silent, a larger smile now on my face. "I ask again. WHERE DID YOU GET THE CLOAK?" He practically was yelling at me at this point.
"I made it." I replied, gently removing the cloak from his hooves an depositing it on the floor beside the saddle bags. A look of utter shock graced the guard's face,
"you made this? How? Never mind. We do not have time to discuss this right now. Night falls fast and we must soon depart. Is there a rear door here?" He looked around for another entrance.
" Yes there is. In the office, there is a false wall that opens up into a enclosed courtyard."
"Excellent. Let us depart then." He lifted both sets of saddlebags with his magic an deposited one on either of our backs. I led the way through the empty club, reminiscing about all the fun times I had there, knowing I was never coming back. Elusive bumped into me, knocking me out of my trance, pulling me back to reality. "Are thou alright? You... Don't plan to come back do you. Leaving it all behind?"
"... Yes." We remained silent until we were outside. "What now?" I asked. " do we catch a train? Or hire a private carriage? Wait, where are we going exactly?"
He chuckled, looking at me. " I was thinking we head back to canterlot."
"Canterlot is a no go." I replied not missing a step. "How do you plan to hide in plain sight? I doubt your magic, as impressive as it might be, can keep you concealed for that long. I suggest Manehattan, just up the coast." Elusive pondered my suggestion for a moment and agreed.
"Yes. That will work. As for how... you are a Pegasus are you not?" I stretched my wings, nodding. "Then you should be able to carry us there. I will enchant you with my magic, giving you some of my strength and endurance in addition to your own." He lowered his head, pointing his horn in my direction. It started to glow, at the same time I felt an immense amount of strength flow into me. The raw power leaching into me was unforgettable, and desirable. I stretched my wings in ecstasy, the shared power pumping through my limber body. I flapped them twice, lifting myself up into the sky.
"Do you plan on leaving me here?" Elusive called softly up to me. I looked down upon him, where he sat upon the cracked patio of the small courtyard. I didn't reply, just coasted down to hover just above his body. I lowered myself more, almost sitting on his back. I reached down and grabbed his body just behind his front legs, and pumped my wings hard. Within moments we were truly airborne, soaring just above the clouds. Our combined shadows danced far below on the passing landscape with aide from the moonlight. I heard elusive sigh in contempt. I can only assume that it was from the beautiful sights beneath us. We had escaped, or so we thought.

We flew the first few hour in a peaceful silence. The only sounds to be heard was the wind slipping through the openings and seams of Elusive's armor, making a slight whistling noise. I was getting tired. Even with the magical strength, it was getting hard to fly. My mind started to drift, trying to calculate how far we went. How much farther we still had to go. I couldn't get a grip. Something was blocking my mind.
"S-something's wrong" I gasped out, as my chest filled with darkness, wrapping around my heart. My vision blurred as shadows wrapped around us, closing out the night sky that was just now seeing the first graces of the Sun rise. I heard elusive call out to me, but I couldn't answer back. We were falling. I tried to regain lift, but my wings were now numb, completely engulfed by the shadows. Wisps and tendrils of the shadows snaked all about me, slowly creeping towards my face. Another shout from elusive. He had slipped out of my grip! I was crashing. A terrible pain wracked my semi-numb body as I hit the ground. I was slipping in an out of consciousness. A far away sounding yell was the last thing I heard before even my mind was smothered by the shadow entity.