//------------------------------// // Where Demons Lie // Story: To Calm a Tempest // by Broman //------------------------------// That night, I couldn’t sleep.  And how could I? Hours ago the Storm King murdered a elderly pony. The army is assembling to march to the Equestrian capital within a matter of days. The mad king had a powerful artifact of sorts that was capable of turning others to stone, and whatever else one could imagine or not. To top that off, I went to bed with no dinner! Guess it's what I get for trying to pull a fast one on the Storm King. I was in a situation that was steadily and progressively getting worse as each day went by. The Storm King would use whatever was in his disposal to get what he wanted. Either through intimidation, murder, the extinction of an entire village, or killing an unborn child that had no voice. I think that was one that unsettled me the most. It was late in the night when Tempest eventually returned to the tent. I watched as she dragged herself to bed, not even bothering to take off her gear and armor, and collapsed onto the sheets. She outright ignored me or didn’t bother to talk to me. She looked like death came in and plastered depression and fatigue onto her.  I think it was for the best anyway. I didn’t want to say anything to her at the moment. I itched my broken arm while my eyes traced circles around the roof of the tent. I wanted to get some sleep, and to hope that somehow I can explain all that I saw to Princess Luna. I turned my head onto the pillow to get a better sleep on the floor, although I felt certain I was sitting under a rock underneath the tent.  Finally, I slowly drifted off to sleep. It wasn't long until my mind was aware that I was in the dream world as everything around me was dark. “Spencer?” a voice broke through the darkness. I blinked, unsure of what I had heard. I looked around the area, but everything remained in total darkness. I shook my head, trying to get my bearings, and hoping that I was just hearing things. “You’re such a goof, Spencer.” a cheery voice came at my left.  I turned and saw the light begin to fade. Auburn hair. Green eyes. And the sweetest smile that would melt any hardened man’s heart. “Sorry, Ava. Was just out of it I guess.” I smiled back to her.  She chuckled again, taking a sip of her orange soda in front of her. “You oughta get out more. It’ll be good for your health.” she explained.  I smirked and gestured to the orange fanta soda. “You’re one to talk, drinking those sodas like they’re part of a water fountain. You might as well be addicted to them,” I mentioned. She took a quick look at her drink and rolled her eyes. “I don’t drink them all like a water fountain. These are just delicious drinks for my enjoyment.” “You had six of them in the last thirty minutes,” I replied, gesturing to the neat pyramid style of fanta drinks.  She eyed them and blew a raspberry at me. “Your point?” she asked in a curious fashion, chuckling while having another go at her fizzy drink. “You’re hopeless.” I said, laughing with her. Soon the two of us quieted down to observe the surroundings. We were in a park, with many trees dotting the grounds. We were situated on a hill where the pavilion provided the chairs and tables. Below was a beautiful lake that glimmered in the noon sun, and a family of ducks were swimming across the surface. A path was next to the lake, where skaters, bicyclists, and the occasional rollerblader would go down. To the right was a large playground where kids ran rampant on the makeshift bars, swings, and slides down the hill. Laughter filled the air from the joyous and imaginative play that it made me wonder what I had done in my own youth. To our right was a balloon salesman, along with some drinks that were priced at a reasonable fifty cents a piece. It’s no wonder she needed my three bucks for it. All in all, today was a smooth day, and life was beautiful. “I wish things were always like this,” She said, looking out to the scenery around us.  I followed her gaze, taking in the fresh air around us. “I wish so too, Ava.” I said. The last thing I said was something that I didn’t think she heard. She kept staring out to the distance, casually sipping on her fanta drink like it was the most important thing in the world. I followed where she was looking, watching a young couple looking into each other’s eyes, exchanging a quick peck on the cheek and giggling over it. Ava sighed over the sight and I felt a little flutter in my chest. I looked back at Ava, wondering why she was so enticed by the sight. Only, I saw something black and ominous a few yards behind her. The figure was tall and lanky, it’s body covered with what looked like loose rags and leather. It had no color adorning its body, and the skin looked pale white under the sun. It’s head looked like it was behind a cover, a thin veil that hung over its face, where the only thing visible through the slit was it’s vibrant green eyes. It stared at us, namely me from the way it’s head was tilted, and it seemed like all sounds around me were muffled by its presence. I shivered from an unnatural cold that clung around me like a blanket, suffocating me in an icy prison to drain me of any warmth. I turned my head away, facing towards where Ava was looking at the couple. But they were no longer there. The only things in their place were two lone statues in an embrace, while some limbs were taken off and strewn upon the ground.  The landscape changed drastically as well, the park around me, where mere moments ago was green and filled with life, was suddenly only gray and lifeless. The trees were dead and hollowed, the lake itself was parched of any water, and remnants of fish bones and ducks scattered about the floor of the lake.  What was more disturbing was that I saw many more statues scattered about the park. All of them were people. Many families, men, women, and children were all as solid as stone, their bodies twisted and turned as if they were trying to run away from something but had frozen in place. Some were crawling on the ground, others accepting fate and holding onto their loved ones. I felt a revulsion creep inside my body, and I wanted nothing more than to escape. I tried to speak to Ava but found no words forming out of my mouth. I turned to her and she was still staring out to the distance, her fanta drink now rusted with age and shekels of dust dropping from the metal and resembling old tin.  The ominous figure was now much closer, standing just behind Ava. I swear the creature made me think that if Five Nights At Freddies and the Babadook had a kid, this would be it. The figure was watching me, its fierce green eyes never leaving me. A few fingers popped and cracked, pressing its hands onto the surface of the table, right next to Ava, who was oblivious to the whole thing. It’s veil slipped from its face, turning to dust in the wind around us, while I could see the woman’s face and hair.  My heart leapt in my chest when I saw that same sneer. Those same green eyes, the same sneer, and the Auburn hair now in full display before me. “Why…” I muttered, seeing the woman before me, the girl resembling my friend Ava.  I looked at the real Ava, who had turned to see me as if for the first time. Her hair was now pale and gray, her face sagged and was lifeless and her face melted into dust, crumbling onto the table. My heartbeat was thumping in my chest, and my eyes were fixated on the women before me. “You’re pathetic.” she said, crawling up onto the table, her eyes never leaving my sight. “You’re weak…” she said, crouching down in an unnatural way. Her eyes were glowing, ready to snuff me out in a moments notice. “Ava… why…” I uttered, before I felt her fingers clutching my throat, her face mere inches from mine. “I always hated men like you! You should all disappear and die!” she screamed. And with that, she threw me forward like a rag doll, so fast that one would barely comprehend.  And then, I suddenly landed on the ground, my head hurting because I hit it on the ground, causing me to rub it.  It was then that I felt something rough slither on my left arm with a slight raddle following it, and so I looked to see what it was. It was a large rope, and it was slithering on me like it was a snake. As if it noticed me looking at it, it slithered fast like lightning on me until it was tied around my frame. Realizing what was happening, I tried to break the rope off of me since it was just one. But then more ropes followed, and they started around the upper half of my arms, all the way until they were around my body, stopping below my shoulders and above my feet. It felt like I was in some kind of cocoon. I struggled to get free, but the ropes were too tight! “HEL-MMMPPH!” I called out, but was suddenly gagged by a white piece of cloth that tied itself around me, keeping me from making a sound even as I shouted. A chorus of women suddenly appeared in front of me by the blink of a light. And after just one look at me, they began shouting out in some grand deluded joy, shouting, cursing, laughing, and beating me by throwing tomatoes and other rotten vegetables at me. The impact of the tomatoes hurt so much, but I couldn’t scream because I was muffled by the gag. All I could do was wriggle and constantly give pained grunts. The weight of this began to feel unbearable to me, and I suddenly felt the ground beneath me begin to give way.  I looked down to see that the ground was all falling apart, and no sooner did I fall into the abyss while still tied up, the weight still pressing me even as I fell. I cried out and screamed, alone and afraid, with the gag muffling me.  Just as I thought I was going to be falling for an eternity, I found myself landing into something, the impact being a splash. I was in water! And I was drowning in it! Scared beyond belief, I vainly struggled and twisted, which sadly only made me sink faster. Now I know how Aladdin felt when the villainous Jafar threw him off a cliff and into the water. The only difference between me and him being that there was no magic lamp to help me out of this. I felt like I could barely breathe or see anything in the blackness surrounding me. But, before I comprehend my situation, a white hole came out of nowhere in the blink of an eye, and it pulled me right into it. I didn’t even struggle considering that there was no point in it. I fell through the hole, the gravity causing me to constantly spin and twirl as I was falling, until I fell onto a hard and white floor, the impact causing me to grunt with pain.  I was in the middle of a pitch black room. All alone, and hyperventilating through my nose. Then, another spotlight activated itself, and I saw that the demoness was in it. Her auburn hair came alive, flying in the air and resembling vipers. I felt my mind quickly getting clouded with fear and anxiety, that same sneer the demoness had on her countenance burning into my mind. I struggled and fought, trying to use my arms to push the ropes off of me, but they wouldn’t break.  And then, the spotlight turned off, and the demoness disappeared with it. “You really are a unique specimen, Spencer.” I heard a cold and haunting voice say to me. The voice did nothing but send chills down my spine, and with all the strength I had, I managed to get myself, albeit in a rather awkward pose, and to move away from the noise, which was where I thought the voice was coming from. But then, I felt myself gently bump against something. I couldn’t feel what I was sitting against with my body, but with the back of my head...I found that I was up against a leg. The leg of something living. My worst fears were confirmed when I saw a viper inch its way to my face level from up above, hissing at me upon making eye contact and causing me to yelp with a jolt. As if my fear of it made it content, it went back to where it was before. The whole scene was followed by a malicious chuckle. “You poor unfortunate soul,” the voice said, before sliding her fingers down my cheek, the feel of her touch giving me a cold sweat, “So pathetic. Yet so interesting.” I was then lifted up from my sitting position on the ground, two hands grabbing the top rope that was around me. I was lifted to where it looked like I was standing up, all the way to the eye level of a person, before being turned around to face the demoness torturing me. Her eyes were yellow with black reptilian-like slits, and her sneer was still plastered on her. “An amazing creature indeed. And your fears and insecurities are so delicious to feed on.” She said to me, bringing her face closer to mine. Having had enough of this, I decided to fight back by headbutting her. But, instead of hurting her, my head merely phased through her. A shadowy blackness, like smoke, was what my head passed through, before her head returned to her body. I was afraid she would get mad at me for that, but instead, she gave another sinister chuckle. “You can’t touch me,” she told me in a mocking tone, before twirling me in a spin and putting a claw-like hand behind my back before I could fall to the ground. It was like she was leading me in a dance, yet she was the one pulling the strings of where I was to be lead. “Mortals such as yourself are unable to hurt me.” She brought me right back to her eye level again. “You know. When I found you interfering with my feeding off of Tempest, I literally couldn’t help but think you were an insignificant welp, but now…” she put one of her hands to my cheeks, squishing and playing with them as she said, “I find you to be such a wonderful, and might I add, handsome victim.” I struggled again because of this, wanting to be free of her grip. “MMP! MMP PMP!!!” I muffled as I struggled, trying to say I wanted her to stop. As if I said the magic words, she stopped playing with my cheeks and held me out in the air in front of her like I was a precious toy to her. “Oh, but I can’t stop, Darling,” she said wickedly, before bringing me close to her again using her right arm, wrapping it around me, and putting my cheek against hers, while putting her left hand on my other cheek, and using it and her own cheek to squish them again, “I find this to be too much fun.” “PMMP!” I shouted again, as if I thought she could understand me despite the gag. Cold shivers ran down my body as she rubbed her cheek against mine, feeling ice prick along my cheek. It felt worse then dropping your pants and sliding on thin ice in winter. “Not even saying the magic word twice will save you now,” She told me, before using her hand to boop me on the nose, causing me to blink before she put her hand back on my cheek and squished it again, “Think of it as your reward, Spencer-Wencer. You wanted to help Tempest, so this is your prize for it.” “You want to know what the prize is for helping her?” she asked while moving my head from side to side with hers, before leaning herself away and whispering in my ear, “For helping Tempest, you’re now my newest pet.” She cackled to herself and put her cheek back against mine, once again squishing it. At the words she said before doing that again, my heart burned with hatred and rage because I could not do anything but suffer and struggle in a grip that I couldn’t get free of. All because I wanted to help Tempest. I couldn’t hurt this demon, tell her off, or say anything that would deter her. As much as I wanted to get away, I just couldn’t escape her.  Hate festered in my heart not just toward this monster, but towards the old flame I once had. And how I can not forgive her? “Enough!” A soothing but stern voice broke through the barrier of shadow. The spectral figure before me loosened its grip on my neck and hissed, baring its teeth at the approaching light.  I turned my gaze, trying to find the source, but the light was already on me and swiping away the darkness. I closed my eyes, but they burned my sight even while I had my pupils shut. The weight and hold on my body was lifted from the creature retreating, and I found myself falling onto the ground again, only this time it was on a soft surface, like a giant pillow was underneath me. I sat in a motionless state on my back. I carefully opened my eyes halfway and although it may be blurred, I could at least tell that I was in clear and spacious room of the dreamscape. “Spencer,” I heard Princess Luna speak, already at my side. I felt a hand pull me up from lying on the ground, carefully lifting me up from the floor. All of a sudden, I even felt the gag coming off of my mouth, finally being free to speak and move my tongue outside of it. My vision clearing, I saw the lunar princess herself in front of me, a smile and expression of compassion on her face. “Luna!” I shouted, before tears welled in my eyes, “Th-thank you, I-” “Shhh,” she shushed, putting a finger to my mouth, silencing me before giving me a motherly hug by wrapping her arms around my neck, “It’s alright. You’re safe now.” As I leaned into her embrace, all I could do was cry. I gave saddened sounds. Tears streamed down from my eyes, staining my cheeks and the princess’s shoulders. “Shhh,” she shushed again, before petting me on the head and whispering softly in my ear, “It’s alright. It’s alright.” And with the soft lighting of her horn, she undid the ropes that were on me, the objects dropping to the ground with a smack and disappearing from my sight. I was free. And with that freedom, I hugged her back and leaned into her more, and she moved her arms down my body. She was like a caring mother, always looking after you when you fall and get hurt. Mothers would always be there to pick you back up when you needed it the most. I sat upright, my vision still foggy and my head spinning. I tried to speak but my words were slurred, and so I leaned my head into her chest, which was as warm as ever. “Awe, look at that. He’s like a wee baby, all tuckered out and no bottle to feed it,” a new feminine voice spoke, one that had a thick and heavy accent.  It was then that Luna let go from embracing me and her body left mine. Suddenly, I saw a pair of wings appear in my view, and they felt awfully leathery. They pressed into my eyes, and I was suddenly enveloped in another warm embrace that was strangely comfortable. A rough hand brushed my hair and the back of my head was against something that was cold. The female being embraced me tighter with her arms, and I could hear and feel a soft chuckle emanating from said cold being too. I managed to get my vision cleared and looked to see Luna standing in front of me, her smile ever present, but she also seemed to be stifling herself from chuckling.  I managed to turn myself around somehow, to where my cheeks were now against the cold being instead of my head. Out of the corner of my eye, I found my face to be next to a metal chest plate that had the symbol of the Royal Lunar Guard dead center on the mare’s chest. “Keep the Heid,” She said in her scottish accent. “Ya like what ya see whelp? Other stallions would sell their wives to be enamored in this position.” she replied, patting me on the head like I was some boy. Wait a sec. Lunar Guard armor, which is the most Bad to the Ass armor around. Leathery wings, which is a far different texture to the feathers of other ponies. An accent that is all too familiar and belonging to the great men of Scotland. That could only mean Luna and I were with one person I met since I came to this world. “Sean Connery, is that you?” I asked, albeit a little mockingly.  Lifting my head, I stared right into the yellow slitted eyes of the female guard Luna and I were with, where she flashed a toothy grin. “You betcha ya sweet arse ya doaty princess! The one and only sexiest Lunar Guard, Stelle Sabre, is here!” she said, her hug pressing me tighter against her chest plate. Lord help us all.