26: Peril
After countless days had passed, Specter finally returned to the hidden camp. As he entered the hidden area Thunderlane's face broke out in a smile, relieved that he would hopefully be able to leave the cave soon.
His time locked up with the five other stallions had been unpleasant at best. After growing bored hanging around by himself, he tried to leave the cave to go exploring around the area outside but found that he couldn't leave; the wall was once again solid. The other ponies broke out in laughter as he crashed face-first into the wall, his face turning red more from embarrassment than injury. The rest of the time the stallions went out of their way to harass Thunderlane as much as possible; from tripping him as he would walk past to 'accidentally' throwing one of their bladed weapons at him, always just barely missing his head. The other ponies found a lot of fun in torturing their unwanted visitor, but Specter's return set them back into business mode almost immediately.
"The guards have finally lowered their guard and accepted that Thunderlane has fled town, so now we make our move. You all know what to do. I'll be watching and covering your tracks, but don't make any mistakes or I will leave you for dead." Specter said once the six stallions had assembled in front of him. They all nodded, and Specter cast the spell to allow all of them to leave. "Once you have the target and get to the train, you'll be brought to the meeting place. Wait there until I return. Alright, lead the way Thunderlane." he said.
The gray pegasus nodded, and in silence he led the equally quiet stallions out of the cave. As soon as they were under the dark night sky, Thunderlane turned back to see if everypony was following him and stopped when he saw that Specter was nowhere to be seen. However, the pony directly behind him gave him a rough shove, making Thunderlane continue forward. "He ain't here." the pony said roughly. "Don't bother lookin' for him, but he IS watching us. So don't buck up."
Thunderlane wanted to lash out at the stallion behind him but was 'convinced' not to thanks to a glimpse of a familiar set of knives. Grumbling to himself, Thunderlane led the line of ponies back to Ponyville, the group headed for the ambush site they had planned to use to get their target and finally head home.
"I said, how did you enjoy the concert?" Starshadow asked her sister again slightly louder.
The small pegasus mare couldn't help but giggle as Starsong rubbed her ear again, trying to readjust to the quiet of the night as the two sisters walked back to Sweet Apple Acres with Applejack. "Well, it certainly was... loud..." Starsong commented, her ears still ringing.
"Sure gets rough in the audience, too." Applejack snorted.
"I did warn you that there would be some pushing in the audience, Applejack. You didn't need to buck that stallion clean across the room." said Starshadow with a bemused grin, remembering how the rowdy crowd had parted after the family pony had sent the fool stallion flying.
Applejack snorted again. "He still deserved it. Bumpin' into me is one thing, pawin' at mah flanks like a darn cat is another."
"Well, at least it was much calmer once you came backstage with me." Starsong said. "But Starshadow, did you really have to shake your hips like that so much? You know you'd give mom a heart attack if she saw you doing that."
"The audience seemed to like it. And why didn't you join me? I've seen you dancing in your room when you were a filly." Starshadow replied teasingly.
As the three mares continued home still joking and laughing, Applejack spotted three figures standing on the road in front of them. As they got closer she saw that it wasn't anypony she knew, and since the road they were on only lead to Sweet Apple Acres it was clear that these three mysterious stallions were waiting for them. As Applejack expected, the stallions blocked the road as the three mares came closer, and before they could turn around to flee back to town three more stallions emerged from the brush and blocked the path behind them.
"Ya'll lost or somethin'?" Applejack asked as the three stallions in front of her slowly walked forward. She lowered her stance in anticipation of a fight, hoping that she could at least buy Starshadow and Starsong enough time to run for help, but her hopes of that happening dwindled as she saw that the stallions seemed to be armed as well.
One of the stallions put on a sly smile. "Nope, we found exactly who we were looking for." he said, his eyes dead set on Starshadow.
Applejack looked around and noticed that all of the stallions closing in on them were looking straight at Starshadow, and as the ponies behind them got closer she saw that one of them was a certain pegasus that was wanted by the Royal Guards...
"Starshadow, Starsong, run! Ah'll hold 'em off, go get Big Mac!" Applejack yelled, charging headfirst at the three stallions blocking their way to Sweet Apple Acres. Caught off guard, the stallion unfortunate enough to be picked off by AJ found himself on the ground as the wind was knocked forcefully from his body. Pausing only momentarily from the shock, one of the stallions off to the side moved in to attack Applejack, but the mare saw the attack coming and bucked the pony right in the mouth, resulting in him losing three teeth and a substantial amount of blood.
"Get them!" Thunderlane yelled, but his cry was a few seconds too late as the two stallions flanking him had already run forward to join in the fray.
With four of the stallions now sizing up Applejack and trying to figure out how to take down the pissed off mare, one of the remaining unicorns caught up to the two Star sisters and attempted to grab Starshadow's tail in his mouth. Spotting the attempt just in time, Starshadow spread her wings and took off into the sky just as Starsong slammed her body against the other unicorn. Both unicorns tumbled to the ground, but as the stallion tried to climb back onto his hooves Starsong once again pounced on him, grabbing a nearby rock in her magic and hitting him in the back of the head. More annoyed than actually injured by the attack, the stallion hit Starsong in her stomach and caused her to gasp for breath, quickly rolling into a fetal position as she tried her best to fight off the pain.
"Starsong!" Starshadow cried out, anger and rage building up inside her. Changing direction midair, she rocketed as fast as she could at her sister's attacker and smashed into him just as he was about to strike Starsong's face. The dive-bomb run knocked the stallion off his hooves, but it also dazed Starshadow, and with her ears ringing and head spinning she was unsteadily helped back to her own hooves by Starsong.
"You have to get out of here, they're after you!" Starsong said once Starshadow confirmed she was okay. "Get Big Mac, we'll keep them occupied."
Starsong was looking no better than her sister at that point, neither of the mare's had any real experience with fighting; even so she was clearly ready and willing to do whatever she could to see her sister to safety. Starshadow quickly glanced over at Applejack and saw the orange mare was still somehow holding her own against her four attackers, but it was very clear she couldn't last much longer. The unicorn Starshadow had attacked was getting up, and Thunderlane was finally moving forward to join in the fray.
"Sister, go! Hurry!" Starsong pleaded.
Still feeling sick in her stomach about abandoning her sister and Applejack, Starshadow nodded and spread her wings to take off, but just as she was about to take off the unicorn stallion shot a spell at her, and with horror Starshadow realized she had been hit with a numbing spell which now rendered her wings useless.
"Starshadow, run!" Starsong yelled out, trying again to push over the larger male unicorn, but this time her target was ready and easily turned the tables on Starsong. With one swift move, he tripped her and sent her sprawling to the ground, quickly pouncing on her back and pressed his hoof against the back of her head. Starsong let out a scream as she felt her head being crushed into the ground, her strength nowhere near high enough to wriggle free from her tormentor.
"No! Starsong!" Starshadow yelled out. Forgetting about her own safety, she rushed to her sister's aid but was intercepted by Thunderlane. Tackling her to the ground, he managed to pin her wings painfully to the ground with his hooves, a triumphant smile on his face.
Bruised and sore from her fighting, Applejack heard both sisters crying out in pain for help. Looking at the four stallions blocking her path, she gritted her teeth and charged at the one she thought was the weakest, hoping that her attack would buy enough time for Starsong and Starshadow to escape and get her brother. Slamming into the first stallion, she then roughly shoved aside the second one and locked her eyes on the stallion holding Starshadow down.
Unfortunately for AJ, the second pony she had hit didn't fall to the ground like she had expected. Instead, the stallion used the momentum to help spin him around, and with savage force he let his hind legs kick out at her, his two rear hooves connecting with the side of Applejack's head with a sickening 'CRACK'. Her head felt like it had just been hit by the Ponyville Express going full speed, and without a sound the orange earth pony fell to the ground in a crumpled heap.
"Applejack!" Starsong cried out. Looking back over to her sister, she saw that Starshadow was struggling in vain while Thunderlane was pressing a rag against her muzzle. After a few seconds, Starshadow's movements began to slow and then ceased, and after a few extra seconds to make sure the knock-out potion had taken effect Thunderlane finally released his hold against the unconscious mare.
Looking quite proud of himself, Thunderlane looked around and awaited some sort of congratulations for subduing their target, but most of the other stallions were too busy licking the wounds they sustained fighting Applejack.
The stallion holding down Starsong looked down at his captive before looking over to the group's leader. "What do we do with these two? There weren't supposed to be any witnesses." he asked.
"Let's take them with us." Thunderlane suggested, but his remark quickly earned him a swat on the head from the leader of the group.
"You foal, there's no reward for bringing back those two. It's just more liability." he snapped. "Our orders were to get that one as quietly as possible."
Thunderlane thought for a moment before speaking up. "So... we kill them?"
The comment earned Thunderlane another cuff on the head. "Idiot, what part of 'quietly' don't you understand? Are you trying to get the entire Royal Guard after us? All we have to do is stall them long enough for us to get out of town. Give me those pills you're hiding on you."
Thnderlane was stunned for a moment that the stallion somehow knew about the drugs he was carrying, but experience had taught him not to argue with these ponies when they asked something of him. With an annoyed grumble he reached into a small pouch tucked under his wing and tossed a bottle over to the leader who opened it and took out four white pills. Walking over to the still unconscious Applejack, he forced her mouth open and tossed two of the pills into the back of her throat before clamping her muzzle shut and swiftly kicking her in the chest, causing her to swallow the pills as she coughed for air. Satisfied that the hoofies would take effect, the stallion approached Starsong next with the other two pills.
Renewing her efforts to break free, Starsong clamped her mouth shut to stop the stallions from drugging her, but a swift kick to her stomach caused her to open her mouth as she gasped in pain. Taking advantage of the opening, the unicorn holding her down took control of the pills with his magic and shoved them into her mouth and down her throat as another pony quickly moved in to hold her mouth closed.
Despite her best efforts to cough up the drug, Starsong felt the two pills make their way down her throat and into her body. Almost immediately she started feeling lightheaded and dizzy, and despite the unicorn holding her down finally moving off of her, she was unable to stand up and collapsed on the ground while the six stallions standing around her laughed at her feeble attempts. Her eyelids feeling heavier and heavier by the moment, the last thing she saw was Starshadow's limp body being thrown on one of the earth pony's back and the group heading off back toward town.
"S-Star..shado-" Starsong whispered with a hoof stretched out, but she was unable to finish her sentence as the drug finally overpowered the poor unicorn, and with a soft thump her head hit the ground, leaving her and Applejack at the mercy of the drug that now flowed through their bodies.
"Hurry up, we have to get out of here as quickly as possible."
The six stallions moved throughout town as quickly and quietly as possible. Despite being weighed down by his unconscious load, the pony carrying Starshadow was able to move surprisingly quickly from shadow to shadow as they all tried their best to keep out of sight.
The stallion leader was also beginning to lose his patience with their guide. Despite the majority of the town being asleep, the routes Thunderlane kept on choosing to get to the Ponyville train station seemed to be the exact same routes that the local guards took for their night patrols. Finally getting fed up with Thunderlane's poor luck, the leader ordered the other pegasus in the group to take to the skies and find a more isolated route. It didn't take long for a more secluded route to be found that was free of guards, and an hour later the small group finally made it to their destination.
"Give her another hit of that potion before we get on the train." the lead stallion commanded, pointing to a train on one of the side tracks that had a single car attached to it. Once his order had been carried out, the group quickly piled into the train car, and once the carriage door was shut the single pony crewmember started up the locomotive and the small train began to pull out of Ponyville.
From the rooftop of the Town Hall, Specter watched in silence as the darkened train pulled out of the station, relieved that Thunderlane hadn't messed up the entire operation. Specter had planned to kill Thunderlane and leave his body somewhere partially hidden to help throw off the guards on Starshadow's true fate, but now Specter figured that he'd kill the pegasus rapist along with the other stallions once he met up at the rendezvous point.
Preparing to teleport himself back to the ground, Specter's ears perked up, and with his reflexes barely saving his life he jumped to the side and rolled off the roof to one side, landing lightly on the deck that went around the top of the town hall. Where Specter had been standing just seconds ago now had three knives sticking out from the roof. Specter rolled to the side again, avoiding another three knives that seemed to appear from nowhere. Sensing that the sharp instruments of death had been thrown at him using magic, Specter followed the barely noticeable magical aura trail to one of the nearby rooftops and teleported himself to where his attacker was hiding.
Nightshade cursed herself for missing her target twice. She had hoped that using her metal knives, while less accurate, would catch her target off guard as they would be harder to detect. However, her target had managed to somehow detect her almost untraceable magic, and with honed reflexes she quickly rolled over and jumped to her hooves, avoiding a sword made of magic. Seeing the black stallion on the rooftop just feet away from her, Nightshade sneered as she summoned an aura sword of her own. "I'm impressed that you managed to detect my magic earlier, but you may as well announce your sneak attack to everypony in town with that aura sword of yours." she teased.
"Even a newborn earth pony could have sensed your initial attack." Specter said dryly before lunging forward for another attack.
Nightshade disappeared, teleporting behind her foe to land a surprise attack, but Specter had the same strategy and the two found themselves battling for the optimum position. The two would meet, hooves and aura blades clashing against one another before they each teleported away again. Their constant teleportation quickly drained their magical reserves however, and with the threat of the mysterious second pony Specter had seen on Nightmare Night he was forced to stop teleporting first. With one last spell he sent himself back to the roof of the town hall, hoping that the small upper roof would give him the high ground, but in a display of determination Nightshade teleported herself just above the roof, dropping a short distance to where Specter stood and lashed out with a powerful kick.
The attack hit Specter on the side of his torso and he went sliding off of the roof and back onto the small top deck. Seizing the opportunity, Nightshade pounced on Specter and brought her pitch-black aura blade to his throat.
Specter remained calm despite losing the battle. "I'm surprised you didn't have to resort to calling on your better half to help you beat me." he said, thinking of that second black clad pony he had seen.
Nightshade, however, thought he was speaking of Twilight. "I don't need any help taking down an amateur like you." she replied. "Remember, you're the one two seconds away from losing his head. I may be lenient and only have you sentenced to life in prison after having your horn cut off if you tell me why you're trying to assassinate Princess Twilight Sparkle and who hired you."
Specter couldn't help but let out a chuckle. "After Princess... where did you get that idea?" he said. "I'm here to bring a runaway pony back to her parents. I have no interest in any princess or killing anypony."
His hard, stern gaze strengthened his explanation, but Nightshade still had her doubts. "I still don't believe you. You're coming with me until Princess Sparkle can test your claims with a seed of truth." she said, lowering her sword as she prepared a binding spell to seal the other unicorn's magic while she escorted her prisoner away.
However, Specter wasn't out of tricks just yet. The instant Nightshade lowered her guard to seal his magic, he flicked his tail towards his face and let loose a small pack he had hidden there. With a spark of his magic the bag burst, sending the powder inside right into the mare's face. Nightshade cried out in surprise as the mustard powder mix burned her eyes, causing her to stumble back a pace and lose concentration on her spell and the aura sword dissolved into thin air. Taking advantage of the confusion, Specter grabbed several tiny pieces of rubble in his magic, teleporting them at random before casting one last teleportation spell on himself, sending him as far away as he could and ran off into the night.
Ignoring the burning still in her eyes, Nightshade yelled out in frustration and cursed herself again for falling for such a simple trick and losing her prey. She teleported herself down to the small stream that ran through town and submerged her head to wash away the powder in her eyes while she let her adrenaline fade. Once free from the powder she returned to the scene of the battle. The other unicorn had been crafty though, casting several teleportation spells at once. Even if his magic wasn't as difficult to trace as her own, it would have taken too long to determine which trail led to the unicorn.
The battle over for now, she quickly ran back to the library, noting that her perimeter spell remained intact and that nopony had tried to force their way inside during her absence. Everything in front of her told her that the stallion she had just fought was indeed telling the truth, that he wasn't after Princess Twilight Sparkle. But if he was simply tasked with bringing a runaway pony home, who would hire a pony as powerful and dangerous as a Blackguard to bring back their child? And most importantly, who was the runaway pony?
It didn't take long for Nightshade to guess who the runaway pony was, and with an uneasy feeling still in her gut Nightshade went inside and walked over to where Twilight was fast asleep. Telling herself again that this was important enough to do what she was about to do, Nightshade gently nudged the slumbering princess until she woke up.
"Hnn... ugh. Who the... Nightshade, what time is..." Twilight said, rubbing her eyes sleepily before she noticed the multiple bruises and bloodshot eyes her bodyguard now had. "Nightshade! What happened to you?"
"A thousand apologies, Princess." Nightshade said, bowing with her head down. "I'm sorry to have to wake you, but there is an urgent matter that needs your attention."
Now wide awake, Twilight rushed downstairs and brought back a first aid kit, tending to Nightshade's wounds. "Who attacked you? Is it Discord again? Are you alright?" she asked frantically.
Nightshade brushed off Twilight's help, a bit embarrassed at having her charge having to take care of her. "I'm fine, Princess." she said. "You were right, there is nopony out to attack you. But there is something going on. We need to go speak to Starshadow. Now."