//------------------------------// // What Lies Below the New Moon // Story: A Demon In Ponyville // by Terciel1249 //------------------------------// A Demon in Ponyville Ch. 19: What Lies Below the New Moon Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to MLP or any subsidiaries. All other characters are mine. Dark Matthew looked onto the ponies, his previous expression of happiness fading. Instead it was replaced with one of neutrality. None of the ponies could read what was going through his mind. In a swirl of crimson colors, Twilight and her friends saw a city burn. Twisting columns of bright flames engulf the concrete landscape in reds, yellows and blues. The symphony of colors could only be matched by a choir of the highest caliber. The screams where countless, all of those voices joining into the burning night that sent chills down the spines of each of the ponies. Fluttershy felt the fur shift from the base of her tail and lead all the way to the base of her skull. The continuously shifting air made it difficult to see anything other than the solid foundation slowly becoming liquid. A dark figure slowly made his way through the central street. Dark energy shrouded his features into a twisting veil making it difficult for the ponies to make out his features. Matthew pushed his way through the raging inferno. Holding his arms in front of him, Matthew struggled against the force. Twilight watched Matthew’s snarling features, sweat and grim covering his body. Using every ounce of focus, Matthew was unable to block the blistering blaze. Twilight watched the bright burning marks across Matthew’s skin. His arms, legs, and chest where covered in sizzling, bubbling black marks. “Shannon!” Matthew loud cries where barely addible over the screaming air in his ears. Dark Matthew continued to stare with no emotional reaction, his voice hollow. “Only now we started to understand the danger.” The human Matthew trudged towards the source of this unstoppable inferno. Rainbow Dash squinted into the blaze trying to discern where Matthew was going. Something was writing deep in the flames. A light silhouette could be made out, thin. “Oh no,” Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened in shock. She could not even hear Fluttershy’s scream. Deep inside the bright flames was a screaming woman. Her clothing melted against her boiling skin with an acrid hiss. Thick, bulbous bubbles burst from the once clean cells. Tearing slowly stretched across her body, bright bubbling fluid fueling the fires even brighter. Her eyes where horrifying, only smoldering remains enhancing the visage of pure pain etched across her face as it slowly tore apart. “This is what happens when we lose control,” Dark Matthew scratchy whisper reached the ponies’ ears, “If our bodies aren’t ready for that level of power, we break or we are consumed.” The young woman’s skin continued to tear apart, flaking into dust. Her very being was being reduced by the power she tried to wield. Twilight and her friends couldn’t see the bodies that were once living breathing humans and the demonic abominations plaguing them. All were turned to ash before these shear unstoppable force. “I had to watch to many of us die,” Dark Matthew eyes where far away, remembering the fires that burned him that day. So many died just like Shannon. Too many died like her, screaming in utter agony. “We died in pain, we suffered, and yet I stilled lived.” All eyes turned towards the dark apparition of Matthew. For the first time, they began to see something else in him. Instead of the imposing, pale demonic hellspawn of a pony; Twilight and the rest could only see the tiredness in his face. His shoulder’s sagging as he sat on the cold ground. The burning, angry eyes grew cold as Dark Matthew experienced something else. “You see, I traveled across the world, fought on so many foreign soils. I saw people, so many people live in fear,” Dark Matthew motioned with his hoof, “of them and of me.” Taking a deep breath, he continued, “You ever fight before, fight for survival. Even though the next day you could die of starvation or a demon or just the common cold; you’d think you’d be scared.” Shaking his head, “Nah. That part was easy. Killing and fighting were just something you did. They were gonna kill me, why should I be merciful when they would continue to kill. If I let them live, they’d kill again.” Twilight opened her mouth to speak along with the rest of her friends, ready to rebuke Dark Matthew’s claim. “I tried that,” Dark Matthew’s voice cracked for the first time, “I tried that with some of my kind. Ya see, they wanted to create a society in their image. One they could be free. I could have informed my superiors about their operations.” With a shake of his head, Dark Matthew snorted, “They actually saved a few of our kind, but to the rest… they were just meat and nothing more. I saw their work. The dead they left in their wake when a town or community couldn’t give them what they wanted.” Dark Matthew looked to Twilight, “You ever walk in front of those kinds of eyes? Eyes only filled with death and destruction? Unwilling to compromise?” Twilight shook her head, “I have. And I use to be afraid of it, but then, after a while, it means nothing.” “Watching people die, my friends die, I stopped being scared. I just felt cold,” Dark Matthew said softly. “Shannon was the first one. Her death hit all of us.” Dark Matthew sat silently in contemplation. None of the ponies dared break the silence, fearing what the repercussion would be. “What scared me was how fast it happened. All that crazy shit just didn’t faze me anymore,” Dark Matthew closed his eyes. “She was always there. No matter how busy she was, Beatrice would look up from whatever she was doing. She was so beautiful. I can’t understand it. How-how could something so beautiful could come from this world? I would sometimes wake up at night and just look at her, afraid that she might not be real. How could someone be so perfect?” Dark Matthew looked up into the burning sky of his long ago memory, “My god that’s real… that’s real ponies. She race to me, wrap her arms around me and we’d just stand there, together. No matter what happened she’d be there. There’d be people cheering, yelling and some crying. I remember when I did that. I was the worst of all. I was a rubber face clown in her arms, ya know, crying so hard.” “But not my baby, not my girl, she’s not crying, she’s holding me up,” and for a second Twilight could almost make out a tear at the corner of Dark Matthew’s eye. “My girl’s keeping me on my feet. She’d never say a word. Beatrice would lead me to a room and put me in bed.” Dark Matthew turned to the ponies, “You ever been tired? Just tired? I couldn’t do nothing. I couldn’t even drink a god damn beer. But not my Beatrice, she’d keep working, taking care of the sick.” Running a hoof through his mane, Dark Matthew took a shuttering breath, “She’d always see me. No matter what. If you where in Beatrice’s way, you’d be just another step.” “It’s funny,” Dark Matthew chuckled, “I thought I was tough, but she was something else. She was my… my everything. I swear I would give anything for her. I wanted to… I-I really did.” Before anyone could ask, “But I couldn’t. I couldn’t do it.” All eyes turned to the scenery around them. Rainbow Dash could only stare in utter confusion. High in the atmosphere, atop a precariously mountain top stood a rough sphere of intertwining material of shifting stone and crystal. Several chunks of the structure were missing, a flurry of dark energy and green energy arches flew out of the sphere. Inside the structure was a twisting tangle of solid vine like materials made of the same rock that surrounded the two combatants. Matthew jumped from one rock vine to the next, avoiding the bright green blades. Matthew braced himself against the side of the rock wall and pushed with all of his strength towards his opponent. Oh god, it’s the alien rip-off again, Matthew yelled, “Oh you are going to get it now!” The shiny black chitin of the demonic bug-person glistened, his sharp teeth shining bright against his black exoskeleton. The demon’s tail was held high, its deadly point slashing through the air to send another bright green blade of pure energy directly towards Matthew. Matthew cocked back his right hand, dark energy flowing freely as he punched the energy blast. Matthew angry scream reverberated through the strange structure as he was engulfed in the resulting explosion. Advena sighed in relief, a dark cloud occupying the air where Matthew once stood. Before he could get to comfortable, a screaming Matthew flew out of the cloud and straight at the demon. Matthew’s fist collided painfully with the elongated face of Advena. Advena flew through the air along with Matthew before being driven into the wall with his fist planted firmly into the alien face. The entire structure shook violently, sending sharp shards of rock from the ceiling. A single figure slowly made her way down the side of the sphere. Beatrice’s hands held tightly against the intertwining material, trying desperately not to lose her grip as the precarious structure shook violently. “Better be careful Matthew,” Advena advised with a grin, wrapping his hands around Matthew’s shoulders and tossing him to the side. “You’re girlfriends in trouble. Maybe I should help her?” The xenomorphic demon tore down one of the intersecting bridges of stone and crystal. A quick tug on his tale stopped the ragging demon from advancing on Beatrice. Looking back, Advena caught sight of Matthew gripping his sleek tail tight between his fingers. With a mighty roar, Matthew swung the beast around and releasing him as far away from Beatrice as he could. The continuous shaking was taking its toll on Beatrice’s patience, “Matthew! What in the name of Are You There, God? It’s Me Margaret, are you doing?” “Trying to save you and not die,” Matthew shouted, claws racking across the skin on his chest. Advena dug violently into Matthew, trying to rip out the younger man’s heart. Kalima! Matthew’s forehead smashed into the dark demon. Dazed by the strike, Advena was not prepared for Matthew pushing off the ground with his all of his strength. Any cross-section of rock unfortunate enough to be in the way where obliterated as the pair made their way into the room. Beatrice cursed under her breath, slowly making her way down the vibrating building precariously placed on top of a high mountain. “Hey Beatrice don’t worry,” Beatrice performed her famous Matthew impersonation, “You won’t get kidnapped again. I got you covered. We’ve got ballistic missiles at the ready. You’re completely safe. Now I know you’ve been kidnapped like eight times but there won’t be a number nine.” A violent shaking caused Beatrice to scream, holding herself tightly against the cold stone. “Damn it Matthew!” “Sorry,” Matthew’s muffled voice crossed the gap, his head currently being slammed into the rocks. Beatrice continued, each movement plagued by the two dueling entities raging over her head. She was so close, her feet were aching and her hands were slick with sweat. The slim woman jumped when her feet found flat footing. The tight knot in her chest almost chocked the sob she suddenly felt rising in her chest. Beatrice turned away from the unassuming wall, looking for an exit. Unfortunately, Advena caught sight of the pale Beatrice making her way across the floor. Advena was not ready to allow his prize to leave just yet, even as Matthew’s fist found its way into his gut. With a flick of his tail, Advena sent a wide band of green energy towards the ground Beatrice occupied. Matthew caught sight of the blast, turning with a sinking heart towards its intended destination. Beatrice screamed, the blast throwing her off her feet. Matthew made to move towards her. The iron like claws caught the youth before he could go to Beatrice’s aid and threw him back into the wall. Beatrice’s screams continued as the ground beneath her began to collapse. Shards cut into her skin as she scrambled away from the growing hole revealing the open air beneath it. Matthew’s elbow caught Advena’s elongated head, providing him the second he needed to leap towards his beloved. He had to move fast. Beatrice was falling into the open air. Thousands of feet of open air embraced the flailing Beatrice. Matthew flew through the opening, reaching out with his left hand towards Beatrice. He was getting closer to her. “AH!” Matthew screamed, black claws digging into his back and legs. Matthew grabbed the black glossy tail wrapping around his neck. Beatrice’s screams where lost in the rushing torrent of air, her lungs could barely function under the great pressure surrounding her. Her watering eyes looked towards the sky, the black chitin demon and her man struggling. Dark claws racked across Matthew’s face as the human fingers dug into the gap between the black armor. Green and red blood polluted the air as the pair plummeted further to meet the Earth’s embrace. Matthew felt every moment passing, each moment was too long to be real and every one of those moments leading to something truly horrifying. Matthew heart desperately tore at his rib cage. Kicking Advena away, Matthew flew across the space between him and Beatrice. The high pitched screeching drew Matthew’s attention to the raging demon flying towards him. Matthew quickly threw his right hand towards Advena, firing a massive blast of pure black energy. The resulting explosion rocketed Matthew faster towards Beatrice’s flailing body. Matthew wrapped his left arm around Beatrice. Her soft, frail body pressed against his skin. She felt like a rose against his hardened body. Her skin and weight were as gentle as a soft breeze. The ground was approaching fast, far too fast for even him to survive. Throwing his right hand forward and began throwing volleys of energy towards the earth. The shockwaves ran through Matthew, the sharp jerking almost dislodging Beatrice from his arm. The battle raged against the forces of gravity. With so much height and so much speed acquired, Matthew’s jaw clenched at the stress of this improvised deceleration. Have to slow down more! Matthew pushed further, pouring more and more energy into the Earth. Beatrice didn’t look down; she couldn’t look at her approaching doom. Her only vision was the scowling man, the veins bulging against his forehead as if ready to burst from the amount of sheer power he was expelling. This singular image was too emotion filled to forget. It was only a second when Matthew felt the burning earth beneath his feet. Pain flooded Matthew’s nervous system as his knees exploded in a shower of bloody bits. The rock beneath him cracked under this exertion of force. Twilight watched in shocked fascination as Matthew remained on his knees, his face emotionless. Regardless of the pain, Matthew could only look ahead. Something was wrong with the image before her. A silence filled the air. Matthew’s own breathing could barely be heard. Matthew’s vision was far away as if in deep contemplation. All it took was a second. It felt as if a set of branches or twigs had snapped in his arm and against his chest. Something so minute it could hardly be felt. Twilight eyes wondered down to the woman in his arms. Her form was slumped against Matthew. One arm was lying limp away from her body. Every pair of eyes widened at the sight. Beatrice’s pale white form appeared to glow against the burnt black earth and Matthew’s dirty appearance. His soiled clothing of dirt, sweat and blood seemed to sully the perfection of Beatrice’s appearance. The corner of Matthew’s eyes began to burn, turning red. His breathing was becoming erratic, the fire in his chest blistering to his bruised body. Some part of his mind didn’t want to believe it. The heat slowly leaching from her body, warm liquid slowly flowing around his hand; this could not be reality. Something inside him wanted to reject it and replace it with a new reality. But nothing could change this single moment. No one had that kind of power. The ponies looked to Dark Matthew. The pale pony looked to the body of Beatrice. She was always there, broken and unable to speak. She was just there, in his arms. So small. So frail. “You ever realize something too late?” Dark Matthew continued to stare at the broken body, “That no matter how powerful you get, how hard you fight, you can’t save everyone.” Dark Matthew took a deep breath, “I spent years developing my body, pushing it to the highest physicality. I broke bones time and time again, trying to strengthen them to handle the pressure of Power.” Twilight felt something heavy on her chest. Invisible bands wrapped around her chest, catching her breath and making it difficult to breath. A quick glance revealed her friends standing uneasily on their hooves. Applejack ran an absentminded hoof along her barrel, trying to lessen the pressure. Turning back to Dark Matthew, Twilight found his burning gold eyes on her. “Tell me Twilight, what have you had to sacrifice?” “What do you mean?” Twilight took a cautious step back, not liking this personification’s eyes. “Have you ever had to sacrifice anything for your crown? Have you ever lost anything?” Dark Matthew continued this line of questioning. “Princess Celestia took me as her personal student. I worked hard for years, made friends, saved the world a couple of times, and then she made me into an alicorn,” Twilight felt a cold chill crawl up her spine. “It was given to you. I would say you studied hard, worked hard and you were rewarded,” Dark Matthew tilted his head to the side. “You have not felt pain or suffering. How can one be blessed by a god if they have not been burned? Only through pain do you realize who you really are. The cowardice and the capacity of heroism can only be found when you’re pushed to the brink. That is how I grew, how I became one. Purity is not an asset, it is a weakness. Pure sodium and chloride are poison. Pure metals are weak, unless tampered by outside forces.” Dark Matthew’s eyes took in the sight of the ponies’ fear, “Those who are asleep do not understand the nature of the world, survival of the fittest and only the strong will survive. The broken are the more evolved. That is why we had to fight.” Fluttershy, for the briefest moment, thought she saw something at the corner of Dark Matthew’s eyes. From her perspective, it looked like a small speck of liquid that reflected the poor lighting. “This is why I am afraid,” Dark Matthew motioned to the lifeless body, “my fear isn’t that I am weak. My deepest fear is not being inadequate, it that I may be powerful beyond measure. It isn’t my darkness, but my light that drives me to do what I do. I have done so many horrible things in the name of humanity. And yet I am not allowed this one thing.” He looked to Beatrice, “There is nothing in pushing beyond my limits, because my heart is the only thing that kept me alive it shines in this dark twisted body. Inevitably it would drive other towards me and most away from me. I was never meant to shine, but she brought it out of me. My light. My heart. That’s what I shared with my friends. It’s all I had to share with them.” Without any warning, Dark Matthew was right in front of her as his muzzle almost touched hers. Twilight let out a strangle gasp, her horn igniting and sparking in sudden fright. “Your magic is of little consequence. It cannot hold me for long. I will obtain my full power again,” Dark Matthew’s voice was soft, trying to be gentle. “You don’t have to be afraid. I won’t hurt any of you.” “Who’s saying I’m afraid?” Twilight’s voice failed to convey her conviction. “You’re trembling,” Dark Matthew quietly pointed at her shaking knees. The pressure around her was unbearable. It was an immaterial force that acted as a solid. Her knees buckled under the pressure, causing her to plummet to the ground. A white hoof caught Twilight before she would meet the stone floor. Dark Matthew slowly shifted Twilight, allowing her to lean against his chest. Twilight saw that each of her friends where sprawled out on the cold ground, their shaking limbs unable to move. Before her thoughts could continue, Dark Matthew’s voice said, “You live in such a beautiful world, Twilight Sparkle. A world filled with magic and fantasy full of love and kindness. I can’t live in that world. I live in a world of cardboard, always taking constant care to not break someone. I couldn’t allow myself to lose control. With my power, they would die. Just like Beatrice did.” Twilight noticed something towards the edge of her vision, something dark. When she focused on it her eyes went wide with utter shock. “Don’t be afraid Twilight. Our time together is almost over,” Matthew’s words where but a whisper in her ear. “I got the mark on my chest when I realized just how powerless I was to save the people I loved. In the end they would die, no matter how hard I fought.” Twilight could still her Matthew, but her eyes were on the entity at the edge of her vision. “The last mark, I received the gift to push beyond my limits. I now understand what those words mean, the ones on my face. They are my full name, all my strengths and weakness.” Twilight felt the next words burn their way into her memory. “I am Matthew William O’Connor The Fallen Man Humanity’s Mistake Shadow of Great Azathoth Pilgrim to the far Daemon-Sultan Throne Reaper Death Dealer Oath Breaker Flickering Candle Shadow in the Noonday Sun Corrupted Blood and Mind The Lone Light in the Night.” Twilight could not speak. She felt herself being lifted into the air by some unseen force. A sense of bliss crossed her mind as the doctors pulled her from the depths of this haunted and broken mind. Dark Matthew watched as the ponies began to fade, leaving him alone again. “That is my secret, take care of it Twilight,” Dark Matthew called after her, knowing that what she remember would make its way to the goddesses of Equestria. She would tell of the trials and tribulations along with the sins Matthew had committed. Even if she had only witness a fraction of his life, But that is how it should be. She deserves to know some of what I had done. “What I did, I did without choice.” “I know,” Dark Matthew said, not turning to face it. “In the name of peace and sanity..”