//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2 
// Story: Dark Mistakes 
// by NakedSpaceMan 
//------------------------------//

        Armon awoke with a start, his head pounding in pain. Usually he had his usual dreams about home, Luz or about his adventure with her. Where those creatures came from is a mystery.

“Wait, this isn’t my home.” thought Armon. Armon took a look around, his normal home was just made out of rock and hellfire. This was a nicely furnished room. Was a demon trying to trick him?

Armon stepped out of bed to check the floor. Not yet believing that this wasn’t some illusion, he was careful to touch the floor. When nothing happened he carefully got out of bed and walked around. The curtains were drawn darkening the room. Armon walked over to them to remove them and end this charade. He took a grip on the curtains and pulled them off the wall, enveloping the room in bright light.

For a moment he was expecting to see the usual magma and hellfire and brimstone that he’s been seeing for a thousand years. After being blinded by the light for a minute he looked out the window. Instead he saw a garden with little creatures playing around. In the center of the garden was a statue of a strange looking creature. It looked like it was a bunch of other creatures combined into some weird super one.

“Where am I? Either Kalmite is trying to kill me again, or........no it’s impossible.” said Armon.

At the end of his sentence a knock came to the door to the room he was in. Armon’s instincts kicked in and looked for something, anything to use as a weapon. Deciding the metal bar that was once the curtain holder as the best thing, he picked it up ready to use it as a spear.

When no answer came to the door a creature opened it and stepped inside. It was tall with a white color. At the top of it’s head was a set of flowing hair of different colors. Whatever it was, he wasn’t going to be swayed by something that looked pretty. He made that mistake once before and that wasn’t going to happen again. Standing ready to strike, he was standing in his ready stance to go for one of its legs.

“Hello Armon.” said the Creature.

That voice. It was the same as the one from his dream. It belonged to an old friend of his, from before his time as a prisoner. No it was impossible, she was in her own world and he was stuck in hell. But she seemed so real. Kalmite has to be behind this, he’s the only one in Tartarus that has used illusion spells to try to kill him.

“While I understand why you’re so ready to fight, there’s no need Armon. Your safe.” said the creature. After finishing it’s sentence it started to walk towards Armon. Armon didn’t care what words it said, he wasn’t going to die. Or if he was, he wasn’t going to go down as a fool. When the white creature was close enough, Armon was ready to strike.

But he was unable to move. A purple aura surrounded him, making him still except for his head. “Well played, you got Nelsim to help you as well.” thought Armon. The white creature walked up to Armon and stared at him. Armon closed his eyes waiting for the end. After a few seconds nothing happened. He refused to open his eyes though, he wanted to see the mental image of his home before he died and he wasn’t going to give Kalmite and Nelsim the satisfaction.

Celestia stared at Armon for a few minutes. He was completely different from the last time she saw him. He acted to feral, but his refusal to look at her made him seem as he’s given up. Was he wanting to die?

Celestia kneeled down to Armon’s level and stared at his face. He seemed so at peace. He was ready to die. Celestia came closer and wrapped a leg around Armon, pulling him into a hug.

Armon’s eyes shot open. He wasn’t dead? And he was getting a hug? He almost forgot what it was like to be hugged, it hasn’t happened for nine-hundred years. Why was he being hugged though? Everything has been wanting to kill him since he got to Tartarus. Unless this was real.

The purple aura around Armon faded and he collapsed on the ground, still in Celestia’s hug. Tears started to well up in his eyes. He reached out and returned the hug. If this was a trick, just for this few seconds of happiness would be well worth the price of death. But death never came, so he just held as hard as he could and cried. 

Celestia smiled knowing that she had her friend back. When he started to cry she knew that he accepted that this was real. She looked to Twilight standing in the corner in an invisibility field and nodded to her. Understanding what she meant, Twilight teleported out of the room. Leaving the two ponies in their reunion.