//------------------------------//
// Trial Four: Assault on the Obsidian Spire 
// Story: Born In Light, Forged In Darkness 
// by Jest 
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Both mistress and familiar lay in a tangle of limbs, one snoring loudly, the other breathing silently, her mouth wedged into the crook of her familiar’s neck. Their increased size had made the normally unproblematic sleeping arrangements awkward at first. But since personal space wasn't exactly a concern of either demon, that particular problem was solved quite quickly.

Rainbow Dash continued to snore as she squeezed the long pillow that she clutched tightly against her chest. An action that the demon currently squeezing her like said pillow did as well, Kanathara’s legs wrapped around the now only slightly larger demon. Their sleep had been turbulent, as evidenced by the fact that the blanket had been torn to shreds and only one normal sized pillow had survived, though that was only partially, as it was currently impaled on Kanathara’s horn. Not like either cared, as they had gotten used to sleeping on the cold hard ground, and at least now they still had a bed to sleep on. 

In the end their sheer exhaustion had won out and both mistress and familiar had fallen into a deep slumber. One that brought forth dreams, both mundane and nightmarish, the shared mindscape of the two demons ultimately turning their slumber into such a wild event. Anxiety over the seer’s cryptic words and exhaustion from the change and subsequent training session warring in their shared mental space.

That was until a deep rumble knocked Rainbow Dash from the bed, and accidentally brought Kanathara with her. Though Rainbow Dash didn't wake when she landed face first into the ground, the ensuing smack of her mistress landing firmly on her back did just that. 

“Who, what, where?” muttered the vengant as she stumbled into a standing position and began to look around in confusion. 

“What was that?” murmured Kanathara from atop her familiar’s back.

Rainbow Dash shrugged. “I don't know.”

“Bring me back to bed, I’m still tired,” Kanathara commanded, resting her head on the back of Rainbow’s neck and sighing contentedly. 

“R-right,” muttered the winged demon, who began to crawl carefully back into bed only for another tremor to knock her to the ground and dislodge the keeper from her back.

“Augh great, something serious is going on and I wake up with a headache. Typical.” Kanathara groaned as she pulled herself from the floor.

“Do you think it's the thing that Pythias was talking about?” Rainbow Dash inquired.

Kanathara gave her head a shake, dislodging the morning cobwebs which clung to her mind. “Maybe. Store all the spears and weapons while I scry the immediate area around the tower.”

Rainbow Dash snapped a quick salute. “Yes, ma’am.”

With the vengant now digging through their weapons cache and tucking away any useful items she found, Kanathara turned her attention inward, and focused on summoning her magic once more. The well of power residing deep inside the demon eagerly gave the keeper all she needed to perform the scrying spell, the vast supply of power now coming easier to the keeper’s call. Thankfully Kanathara had practiced with her magic a few times the previous day otherwise she was certain she would have accidentally pulled too much and made her spell fizzle by accident. 

With a fizz pop, the spell was completed and a small square of deep purple magic coalesced before her, showing the demon her own room from a slightly higher perspective. With the first step completed, she pushed the scrying spell further outwards, toward the exterior of the tower where she presumed the enemy lay.

Her spell glided easily through the wards and defences of Tirek’s tower, and though Kanathara initially considered this to feel normal, after a while it began to feel a little too easy for her liking. Filing away that bit of information for now, Kanathara pushed onwards and was rewarded with an exterior shot of the tower from high above even the tallest spire. 

The entire structure was a single massive obsidian spike that rose up from the base of a cliff, splitting off at several points into secondary spires Kanathara knew were used as lookout towers and vaults which contained the defensive matrices and offensive spell cannons. Of the four important ones Kanathara knew of, three were smoking, and one was entirely missing, the exposed row of stairs now visible after the top had been sheared off by some unknown force.

Her eyes going wide and her mind reeling, the keeper of secrets angled her scrying spell and glanced out over the great expanse of wasteland that stretched beyond the tower’s walls. The fields below, Kanathara knew, should contain numerous rebouts, defences and other minor structures the fear demon had ordered built over the years. Though there were indeed many of said structures, some were either destroyed, smoking, or were being besieged by forces that had somehow gotten inside without having to pierce the outer walls.

Pulling back from the spell, Kanathara stepped back. “He's already attacking, they’ve taken the first set of castles and managed to push well beyond. They’ve even destroyed all four spires.”

Rainbow Dash paused as she was placing a black spear into her dimensional pocket. “Give it to me straight, boss, how fucked are we?”

“Father has a few tricks beneath the tower, but I doubt he’ll even have a chance to use them before they are upon us. Furthermore I didn't see any armies massing outside, they are likely gating in from somewhere,” Kanathara explained before turning to the door. “Either way we need to reconvene with father immediately.”

“Right,” Rainbow Dash replied, as she tucked the last of her spears into their personal pocket dimension. “We are loaded to bear, boss.”

“Good, because something tells me we are going to need every last weapon we have before the day is over,” Kanathara replied grimly before pulling open the door. “Let's get moving, before shit really starts to hit the fan.”

Both demons trotted out into the hallway and began to sprint in the direction of the command centre, knowing that Tirek would be there by now. The second they made it a few feet from their room, they were inundated with demons sprinting this way and that, each one trying to reach either safety, or the fray, depending on their orders. Though most gave the two quadrupeds a wide berth, the two demons had to dodge around various appendages of the many demons who were either too wide to move quickly, or simply didn't care about their master’s progeny and her familiar.

Not like the two Equestrian demons truly cared either way, as they were more than capable of slipping around a few of the slow demons and maneuvering through the ever present mess of demons running this way and that. Fire demons carrying boxes of weapons, pain demons shouting orders, greed demons stowing their meagre possessions before joining their squad, the tower was alive with movement and noise filled the air to the point that Kanathara and Rainbow Dash were forced to use telepathy to communicate. 

Thankfully their mad dash to the command centre didn't take long, and both demons were able to quickly bypass what miniscule security had assembled by then without issue, enabling them both to slip past the large double doors and into the massive dark room with ease. Inside they found that the normally dark room was brightly lit, the large black chairs and enormous stone table illuminated by numerous torches that lined the walls. The veritable flood of magical energy from the various light sources and the enormous holographic display nearly overwhelmed Kanathara’s new senses, but the demon held firm and resisted the urge to shirk away from the sight before her.

“What's going on?” Rainbow Dash asked the second the door was closed behind her.

Blinking through the stars in her eyes, Kanathara looked around the room and found that most of the usual members of Tirek’s inner circle were here. Sisyphus was off to the side having a hushed, yet frantic discussion with a small holographic display of a fellow trickster demon who was currently missing an arm. Pythias was clutching her head and mumbling to herself, evidently in great pain as her eyes flickered this way and that, no doubt viewing the many possible futures that awaited them. 

Pear Butter and Tirek sat on the far side of the table, both demons gesturing to a different point at the massive display floating before them while conversing on an unknown topic. A few other minor generals and demons Kanathara hardly cared about sat at various spots around the table. Some were in heated discussions with each other, or unseen minions while a few simply sat there dumbfounded, glancing worriedly at the display of Tirek’s holdings, which were rapidly shrinking. 

“I don't think anyone heard you, Rainbow Dash,” Kanathara remarked.

“I figured as much,” grumbled the vengant.

Together the duo trotted the length of the table, picking up random bits of conversation as they went. Though they tried to ignore the chatter of the other demons, it was hard to block out the dire reports they were receiving and the frantic, expletive-riddled sentences many demons spat. By the time they had walked across the room and approached Tirek, they had already gained a significant understanding on just how far the enemy had pushed. In addition to a greater understanding of the general confusion that surrounded everything, including the fact that the enemy was seemingly coming out of nowhere.

“Father,” Kanathara announced, bowing slightly to the fear demon.

Tirek nodded slowly without looking away from Pear Butter. “Have the squad regroup and make their way back to rally point zeta. I’ll have the mages meet them there in order to assess the damage to the wards in that area. Getting our defences back online is our number one priority.”

“Yes, sir,” Pear Butter replied, before turning back to the table and waving away the display and conjuring forth a much different image, one of a disheveled group of demons who had evidently taken part in a minor battle already.

“Ahh, my daughter, it is good to see that you are well,” Tirek began. “As you can see we are having a small issue with that wretch Starswirl.”

“Respectfully, I wouldn't call this just a small issue,” Rainbow Dash interjected.

Tirek sighed. “It looks worse than it is. Our forces are largely undamaged and if we can bring our wards back up their reinforcements will be cut off. This issue will be sorted in a matter of hours, of that, I am confident.”

Kanathara glanced back to Pythias, who stood closer to the wall, her clawed fingers clutched so tightly together that she could see a thin trail of blackened blood dribbling down her hands. “I must agree with Rainbow Dash on this one, father, this must be part of a larger plan. One I fear begins with the wards being brought down and ends with our demise,” Kanathara added, turning back to her father.

“Your opinion is noted, child,” Tirek declared. “Balam is personally heading up the defence of the tower itself, and nearly two thousand years of preparation have gone into this tower’s defences. Though I admit the loss of the spires is considerable, I have precautions in place to ensure that such an attack will not be a death blow.”

“Fine, where do you need us?” Kanathara capitulated.

“I require someone to go and assist with the reconstruction of the wards but that can wait for now as I’d like your opinion on something first,” Tirek remarked, waving his hand over his own personal display and conjuring an image of some kind of black blur nearly completely hidden at the corner of a room. “What do you make of this?”

Rainbow Dash and Kanathara both leaned forward with identical looks of concentration. Looks like that shadow prick whose butt we kicked a few days ago, Rainbow Dash thought.

Indeed. I’m surprised he was able to heal so quickly, he must have a gift for getting the crap beat out of him, Kanathara thought back, a small smirk on her face.

Totally, Rainbow Dash agreed, smirking right back.

“It's likely the shadow demon we fought before, Stygian I think his name was,” Kanathara remarked, pointing to the distinctly pony-like muzzle evident on the creature’s face. “You can tell that he was once a pony, and even see a bit of his horn here.”

“Would you look at that,” Tirek muttered, whilst scratching his chin. “I knew he survived your fight with him, but to be back so soon… he must have a knack for getting the shit beat out of him.”

Kanathara chuckled. “I was thinking the same exact thing.”

“Well, that answers how they were able to get into the outposts and the first line of defence, but the wards in the tower itself should be enough to resist any incursion by a shadow demon,” Tirek explained as he waved his hand over the display and dismissed it. “I’ll assemble a second team to inspect the primary warding room and-”

The doors to the room flew open, admitting a crazed looking succubus who was clutching her shoulder in an effort to stop the blood that even now spurted from her stump of an arm. The red skinned female sprinted over to Tirek, clutching her stump with increased desperation as blood soaked her leather armor and dripped down her body. “Master, the wards, they've been compromised!” she screeched.

The succubus stumbled near the end of her sprint and was only caught by the swift and gentle hooves of Rainbow Dash who made sure to place the demon back on her feet once more. Tirek frowned and eyed the demon carefully before nodding. “Which wards? And what do you mean by compromised?” he asked.

“All of them, everything is compromised!” shouted the succubus.

“But that's impossible,” Pear Butter interjected. “We should be made aware the second they go down, it's part of the failsafes.”

“That's just it, they aren't down, they’ve been altered to allow foreign creatures to enter the base unimpeded but haven't been destroyed outright,” the succubus explained, jerking her head towards the heart of the tower. “The mage group you sent tried to kill me as soon as I found them messing with the wards, they are trying to ensure no one is able to teleport away.”

“Do you know if they were able to block planar gating as well?” Tirek pressed, the centaur surprisingly calm after being told that nearly all of his defences were down.

“No sir. They didn't seem to know that was a possibility given that you need an outside source to summon a demon to another plane,” the succubus explained, her face becoming lighter by the second, her legs beginning to shake as blood continued to pulse from her stump arm.

Beside her, Kanathara frowned, the dull ache she had felt at the back of her mind since the moment of waking suddenly increasing to become a painful itch which she could not dismiss. Though her wince of pain was enough to grab Rainbow Dash’s attention, who shared in a small degree of that pain, it wasn't enough for Tirek to turn to the keeper as he was busy scratching his chin and looking down on a new display. 

“Seek a healer, we will need every fighter we have,” Tirek murmured, waving away the succubus who dutifully nodded before limping away, her steps becoming larger and more uncoordinated the further away she got.

“What's going on?” Kanathara muttered, the keeper shaking her head vigorously in an attempt to dismiss the strange itching sensation that continued to plague her.

“We are likely minutes away from a full scale assault on the tower,” he murmured, before turning to Pear Butter. “Notify all stations, have them brace for incursion, lock down everything,” the centaur commanded before spinning and turning to Sisyphus and jabbed a finger at the trickster. “Have your best squads sent to the central warding room and wipe out the mages already there, we have traitors in our midst.”

Sisyphus nodded dutifully, even the ever sarcastic trickster demon not able to muster a witty response to his master’s command. 

“We are as ready as we are going to get, boss,” Pear Butter remarked as she pulled her hoof from her ear.

By then the rest of the room had devolved into frantic shouting as the subcommanders and lower members of Tirek’s inner circle were all barking their commands and getting ready for the eventual assault. Meanwhile Kanathara’s strange itching sensation was growing increasingly painful by the second, the keeper now feeling as though part of her very being was getting tugged at.

“Father, something is wrong,” Kanathara interrupted, the keeper swaying on her hooves for a moment, only to be steadied by a vigilant Rainbow Dash.

“Hmm what…” Tirek muttered before glancing down at the keeper and lurching forward suddenly. “How long has this been going on?” he asked, one hand glowing while he waved it over the demon’s head.

Kanathara winced and gripped her head in both forehooves, prompting Rainbow Dash to step up and wrap a hoof around her mistress’ shoulder, steadying her. “It started just after we woke up, but it's been getting worse over the past few minutes. The boss thought it was a headache at first, something not worth mentioning,” Rainbow Dash explained.

“You are being summoned,” Tirek remarked grimly, his hand glowing brighter still. “By two separate sources no less. The anti-summoning arrays are undamaged, most likely due to the fact that they are in a different area of the tower and are low on the list of priorities for our enemies.” 

“Wait, you are being summoned?” Pear Butter asked, the wrath demon growing an inch or two as she stomped over to the keeper. “Where are they summoning you to? Can you tell the location yet?”

Kanathara winced again, the splitting pain in her head subsiding enough that she was able to shrug off Rainbow Dash’s hoof and stand on her own. “I can't quite tell, but it feels like Equestria. I don't know how they would summon me, noone should know my true name.”

Tirek sighed and shook his head. “It might be one of Starswirl’s minions, though why they would try and summon you away while also not taking down the array is… confusing.”

“Maybe it's just a fluke?” Rainbow Dash offered. “Someone just happened to figure out her true name at the same time the attack began?”

A loud crash, followed by a deep rumbling made the demons stop for a moment before Tirek shook his head and broke the silence. “Regardless, we have no time to ruminate on the many possibilities and neither can I use our backup on you while you are being summoned already. Kanathara, do you remember how to obstuficate the summoning location?”

The keeper nodded weakly, still standing on uncertain footing. “It's been a while, but I remember the lesson.” 

“Good,” Tirek declared, the centaur gripping his daughter’s shoulder tightly. “If things go poorly I want you to not resist the summoning, and also to use that lesson I mentioned to arrive far from either summoning location.”

“But then we’ll be stuck on that other plane though,” Rainbow Dash pointed out.

“True, but there is a good chance you’ll end up in the Everfree and- wait, do you remember your lessons about Equestria?” Tirek pressed, squeezing the keeper’s shoulder and keeping her wavering gaze on him.

“I remember that the Everfree is a locus for mana which is why it's likely that I’ll end up there,” Kanathara replied weakly. 

“From there, north of that is Ponyville as you likely remember, and south of the Everfree is the Ghastly Gorge, where I have established a safe house,” Tirek began, only to be cut off when Rainbow Dash snorted irritably and stomped her hoof.

“You say that like we’re gonna lose!” growled the vengant. “They haven't even begun their assault on the tower yet!”

“They have, and they are doing a damn fine job,” countered Pear Butter, who shook her head grimly. “Their forces are already regrouping around the base of the tower, while reinforcements spill in from our lost outposts.”

“Goddammit,” Rainbow Dash yelled, the vengant’s fiery mane billowing on an unseen, raging wind. “We need to get out there already!” 

“I have a more important job for you,” Tirek replied sternly, releasing his grip on the keeper’s shoulder. “I doubt that Sisyphus’ forces will be able to retake and manage to fix the wards, I need my best demoness on that task, do you think you two can handle that?”

“Hell yeah!” Rainbow Dash declared. “Just point us at ‘em!”

“I think we can manage that, father,” Kanathara added in a much calmer tone.

“Good, it's in floor six, subsection three, north of the library,” Tirek continued, flashing the pair a brief smile. “Think you girls can make it there without teleportation?”

Kanathara wanted to declare that she was on it, but something made her stop and stare up at her father, a suspicion niggling at the back of her mind. Confused, but curious, the keeper of secrets sent her thoughts back to memories of that particular area, only to realize that wasn't where the ward room was. Sure it was a spell room, one that officially Kanathara shouldn't know about, but it contained the planar summoning array, not the defensive wards.

The keeper looked up into her father’s steely gaze and noticed that he flinched slightly when their eyes met, the centaur unable to meet the other demon’s gaze for a split second. Suddenly Pythias’ words came unbidden to Kanathara’s mind, reminding the demon of what they had spoken about not long ago. You must follow him, even when he is no longer able to look you in the eye.

Nodding slowly, the keeper of secrets gritted her teeth and stuffed down her doubt. “Yes father, I am confident that we can take back the ward room and repair it without the use of teleportation.” 

Rainbow Dash eyed her mistress carefully but said nothing, the familiar able to tell enough from the link they shared to alleviate most of her worries. “Yeah, we got this, boss man,” she added in a slightly less confident tone.

The centaur sighed for a second before catching himself, his features stern and unreadable once more. “Good, Pear Butter and I will remain here. Remember to keep an eye on this room once your are at the ward room for if it were to fall into enemy hands, I will enact my backup plan to bring down the tower and escape to Equestria.” 

“Be safe, my dear,” Pear Butter added, squeezing both of the smaller demons in a bear hug before gently setting them back down. “Remember, don't go looking for fights, you’ll find more than enough without having to go out of your way.”

Rainbow Dash stretched briefly, causing her spine to crack as her body healed the light damage the worried wrath demon had accidentally done. “Don't worry, Pear Butter, I’ll take care of her.”

Kanathara snorted as she popped a vertebra back into place. “You say that like you won't need rescuing again.”

“Yeah yeah,” Rainbow Dash muttered before turning and stretching her wings. “So how are we doing this? We ghosting down there?”

Kanathara shook her head. “We’re vulnerable to magic in that form, we need to move quickly and stealthily, don't get bogged down in fights we don't need to get tangled in.”

“You got it, boss,” Rainbow Dash replied dutifully, shooting the keeper a quick salute.

“Good, remember what I told you and we’ll all make it out of this alive and hopefully with all our limbs and organs this time,” Tirek remarked with surprising levity, winking at the keeper.

Kanathara blinked, only to chuckle unexpectedly. “You got it, dad. See you soon.”

Tirek nodded, while Pear Butter flashed the pair a wide smile and a salute of her own. “Kick some ass for me out there, little lady.” 

With a smile, the two younger demons turned and sprinted away, leaving the elder demons standing there awkwardly, fake smiles plastered on their faces. That was until their younger counterparts had left the room and made it obvious that they weren't about to return, then their expressions fell away and left behind grim looks of fear and worry. Another explosion rocked the tower, sending an eruption of dust across the table and causing a few of the less battle-hardened of Tirek’s inner circle to flinch from their duties.

Turning to the side, Tirek turned to Pear Butter and tapped the side of his head, prompting the wrath demon to nod knowingly. Contact the Equestrian summoners and ensure they are ready to summon you, me and Pythias the second the array comes down, he commanded.

Pear Butter busied herself, pretending to study a map of the tower while she contemplated her master’s command. Are you sure? We will lose nearly every one of our forces here, she thought back.

Tirek barked an order at one of his underlings and began to pace behind his row of sub commanders all while his attention was elsewhere. If we bring any more with us than that they will be able to trace us, we will need time to rebuild, my reserve forces will merely have to do for now. He replied while simultaneously commanding a group of demons to attack a fortified position at the entrance of the tower, knowing full well they would fail and that the opening they would create would be miniscule at best.

Yes, my master, Pear Butter thought back. Is it wrong that I am almost looking forward to losing?

Tirek nearly chuckled aloud as he glanced over the shoulder of a pain demon and back to Pear Butter who was busying herself by micromanaging the defence of the library floor. No, I must admit I am almost looking forward to it as well, maybe this is for the best. 

Don't say that, you might make an old mare want to settle down again! Pear Butter shot back, shooting the centaur a heated look. 

Ha, yeah right, Tirek scoffed. Let's focus on making this fool bleed first.

That wasn't a no, Pear Butter pointed out.

Tirek grumbled to himself but said nothing, a small, almost invisible blush spreading across his face while witnessing a group of hateborn tear apart his soldiers. Kill enough of them and I might just think about it. 

Pear Butter’s grin grew to encompass nearly her entire face, the wrath demon positively beaming. Your will is my command!