Rise of the Night/Run of Night

Lyla struggled viciously against the ropes that still held her. Pierce had only released her hands and she was still trapped by the legs and waist. The train had long since disappeared into the distance, taking Shadow and that horrid Jon Pierce with it.

"Aahh!" she shouted angrily at the tracks. She couldn't reach the ties to unbind herself. She rocked the chair as hard as she could, hoping she could break it. But instead it toppled over, leaving her seething on her side on the train station deck, still stuck to the bloody chair.

"Are you alright?" someone asked, footsteps moving towards her.

"No!" Lyla shouted, trying not to cry in her anger. "Bloody stupid arrogant magi!" she snarled, thrashing anew.

"Excuse me?" A girl's face came into view. She had light skin and dark purple hair. She seemed honestly concerned at Lyla's predicament. "What happened?" she asked, starting to work on Lyla's bonds.

"The train! I have to catch the train! Shadow's on it!"

The girl frowned at her in confusion, getting the rope around her waist free and straightening the chair back up. "You won't catch the train now, it's on its way to Appleloosa already. Who's Shadow?"

"Pierce has him and I swear to Luna above, if he hurts him..." Lyla growled, finally managing to pull her legs away from the chair. She stood and immediately dropped to her knees. She was still weak from the drugs.

"Slow down, dear," the girl said, helping Lyla back to her feet. "I'm Rarity, by the way."

"Lyla," she said. "Thanks."

"Of course," she said, smiling warmly. She helped Lyla sit down on one of the station benches. Lyla paused to get a good look at her. She wasn't a girl, now that she really looked. They were probably about the same age but Rarity was gorgeous to the point that her age was difficult to discern. "Now, what is this all about? And why were you tied to a chair?"

"It's probably best you don't know," Lyla said, rubbing her legs.

"Well a lady doesn't pry. Maybe there's something I can do to help?"

Lyla started to shake her head. "Not unless you can get me to that train."

"Is it an emergency?"

"Yes," she said, barely thinking.

"Life and death?"

"Possibly."

"Then I may know just the person," Rarity said with a smile. "Spike!"

A young man came from inside the train station, a huge half eaten sandwich in his hands. His short hair was vivid green and his eyes almost shone. Lyla frowned slightly. He wasn't a lupus. Or a magi, or earthen, or even a seraph. He was something...different. But he smiled happily at Rarity nonetheless.

"What's up?" he asked, taking another huge bite of the sandwich.

"Give Twilight a call and ask her to come down here. This young lady needs our help."

"Sure thing!" He pulled out a phone and wandered off talking into it.

"Now, you're in no condition to go chasing after this gentleman of yours, Lyla. It seems to me that you need to get your legs back before we can let you go gallivanting off," Rarity said, a perfectly manicured hand on her hip. "Let's get you fed. We'll have some time before Twilight is able to get here."

Lyla hated to agree, but Rarity was right. Pierce hadn't fed her and the drugs left her feeling so weak she hadn't noticed how hungry she was.

"The lupus have quite the appetite, do they not?" Rarity asked, helping Lyla into the train station. "I don't mean to be rude, of course, I've just had my fair share of dealings with them."

"We can, yeah," Lyla admitted, her stomach growling in agreement.

"Nothing like dragons, though," Spike said, suddenly beside them and relieving Rarity.

"Dragon?" Lyla gaped. Now that he was holding her up, she did notice how incredibly warm he was. Like he'd been sitting next to a fire for hours.

"Yup!" Spike said proudly, chest puffing out. "And don't worry, I don't eat folks."

Lyla stared. She didn't know dragons even existed anymore. Rarity smiled warmly at Spike and patted his arm as she sauntered over to the cafe counter to order food.

"Wow," was all Lyla could manage.

Spike laughed. "Twi'll be here soon."

When the food arrived, Lyla scarfed it down. She suspected it wouldn't have mattered how good the food actually was, it was worth its weight in gold. When she was done, she did feel a little better. She walked a little, testing her legs. They were still shaky but at least she didn't fall over.

"Again, thank you," she said to her temporary hosts. "I don't know how to repay you."

"Got any jewelry?" Spike said with a lazy grin.

"Spike," Rarity chided, patting his wrist. "It's nothing, really."

"Still, I'll make sure I come back and pay you back for your generosity."

"What's going on?"

Lyla turned to see another purple haired girl approaching the small group. She was dark skinned and modestly dressed, a book tucked under her arm.

"Ah, Twilight," Rarity said, standing to embrace the girl. "Punctual, as usual."

"Spike said you needed my help?" Twilight noticed Lyla and smiled. "Hi, I'm Twilight!" Another magi, Lyla noted. Like Rarity and Shadow.

"Hi, I'm Lyla."

"And Miss Lyla needs your assistance, Twilight," Rarity said, squeezing the other girl's shoulder gently. "She needs to catch up to the train to Appleloosa. There's a gentleman who needs her help."

"Are you thinking teleportation?" Twilight asked.

"Of course, dear. Do you think you can manage it?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Lyla interrupted. "You can't teleport that far. And it's a moving train."

"Fear not," Rarity said with a proud smile. "Our Twilight is very talented in magic. You'll find that if anyone can get you there, she can."

Twilight blushed furiously. "You're too kind, Rarity."

"She's also humble to a fault," Spike muttered into Lyla's ear.

"Spike!" Twilight said, still red. "Are you ready then, Lyla?"

Lyla couldn't help but make a face of disbelief. "I guess."

Twilight took her hand her closed her eyes. There was a sudden flash of light and Lyla felt like she was being jerked suddenly and violently by her belly button. The world snapped back and they dropped hard a couple of inches to the ground. Lyla crouched over for a moment, fighting the urge to heave.

"Oh no..." Twilight murmured.

Lyla looked up, expecting to be in completely the wrong place. But instead she was met by the burning wreckage of a train derailment. It looked like the train had run into explosives and scattered across the desert like a child's toy. She stared in horror. Shadow had been on the train, how the hell could he have survived this?

"I... I should go back and get help out here," Twilight said, looking pale. Lyla nodded blankly. The magi disappeared with a flash.

Lyla found herself starting to walk through the wreckage. When she spotted the shape of a body up ahead, she felt like she was in a daze. As she moved closer, she could tell there was a huge jagged piece of metal jutting from the body's chest. The distance, setting sun, and blood made it difficult to judge the identity from here.

The body, she reminded herself. Not Shadow, please not Shadow...

Once she was upon it, she froze. It felt like the world froze with her until she drew a slow shaky breath. It shuddered through her and things began to be normal again.

Jon Pierce lay before her. The metal spear through his chest would have surely killed him, but his throat had been crushed. The boot marks in the dirt nearby were easy to recognize. She stared down at the body, the emotions inside her battling hard.

Shadow was still alive. Pierce was dead.

With a snarl of rage and panic and relief and a hundred other feelings, she kicked the body. And kept kicking until her foot hurt. She backed off, noticing suddenly that she was sobbing. She raked her hair back, her breath coming in ragged snarls and gasps.

Focus, she thought. Focus. Shadow. Have to find him.

She followed the boot tracks until they dissolved into scraps in the dirt, as if he fallen. There were more footsteps here. Lots more. She looked into the distance where they led, following them until she found hoof prints.

Sighing, she started following the tracks.