//------------------------------//
// 20~...Goes the spoils 
// Story: Hellfire Dash 
// by Centurion Pike-Wall 
//------------------------------//

Umbra awoke on the couch, attempting to raise herself up on atrophied muscles. The mix of exhaustion and power drain from the battle left her weak, and she fell back to the couch, hissing slightly after she hit the side of it. Before she could even open her eyes again, she heard a voice say, "Oh, look. She's awake!"

When she opened them again, she was greeted with her friends coming over towards her. "How ya feelin', Dash?", AJ asked. 

Umbra tried to raise himself up, only to once again fall down. She said, "O-ok? Where am I?"

"My cottage", Fluttershy said. She looked normal again, wearing a clean blouse and skirt. "After, you know..."

The thoughts returned to her. Finally managed to sit up, leaning against the backrest of the couch. She said, "Right."

"I'll go get something sweet. I think we could use it", Pinkie said, heading into Fluttershy's kitchen. 

"Agreed, darling", Rarity said. "Meanwhile, perhaps we could talk."

"Ok. What do you want to talk about?", Umbra asked. 

"Well. Everything", Fluttershy said. "It's been, what, six years? A lot's happened, and we want to find out about it."

"No kidding a lot's happened. Since when were you a vamp?", Umbra asked her old friend. 

Fluttershy almost seemed to blush a little bit, before looking into her lap. "It's a long story. But, to make it shorter, I was affected by a spell going wrong from Twilight to drive away a swarm of Vampire Fruit Bats. They tried to help me, but the spell didn't work. Fortunately, I met Octavia, who's also one, and-."

"Wait, Octavia's a Vampony!?", Rarity exclaimed, evidently alarmed. 

"And her roommate, Vinyl, is a Daemon. And it turns out that Big Mac and the mayor are lycans. What's your point?", Fluttershy countered.

"I, I, I... I honestly don't know what I was expecting when I got into this conversation", Rarity said. 

Applejack said, "Well, yeah. Guess I'll be havin' quite the talk with mah brother when I get back to the farm. Now, how 'bout we start with you and Twi. When'd that happen?"

"About six years ago. We planned on going on a date after we dealt with Starlight", Umbra said, beginning to tear up. "S-she said she knew a place we could go to in Canterlot. I, I gave her a necklace of my cutie mark, and had one of her's for me. It, it w-would've been perfect!" By that point, both Pinkie had returned to the room and Umbra had broken down in tears.

The others looked at her and lowered their heads. Pinkie pressed a mug of hot chocolate in her hand, and said, "Here. You need it."

"Thanks, Pinks", Umbra said, grasping the mug in both hands. She leaned back, sighing. "I had made a deal, to help her not, ya know, not die. When Starlight hit me with that spell, my 'contractor', if you will, chose THAT moment, to collect my end of the bargain. You saw the result. I was sent to Hell, the Boss took pity on me, and the rest is history." She took a sip, relaxing as the warm, sweet liquid rolled down her throat. "I spent the next six years focussing on what I was still there to do. I wanted to forget, and at the same time was desperate to get back to you all. Then, Abaddon, the daemon I made the contract with and the Bosses second, sent me here. Again, the rest is history."

Fluttershy put a hand on her shoulder, and Umbra seemed to relax even further. "Rainbow. I know you're sad, and you're hurt. But, we're here for you now. We'll support you, and while I know nothing will ever replace Twilight, we'll be there for you if you ever need anything."

"Yeah, thanks girls. I, I honestly don't know why I was dreading this", She said, wiping away her tears. "You'd never turn your back on me unless I, you know, became a supervillain or something." 

That earned a round of giggles from the assembled mares, which was interrupted by a loud knocking on Fluttershy's front door. Fluttershy said, "I'll go get it." She stood up and walked down over to the door, opening it and almost immediately freezing. "Oh, um. Hi."

"Hello, ma'am", said a scratchy voice, laced with annoyance. "I'm looking for a mare named Umbra Venandi. Her employer, as well as my own, wants to see her."

"I'm here!", she yelled, standing up and setting down her mug and limping over. Standing in the door frame was a female hippogryph with dull silver fur, lighter silver mane, and a dark red and black lace dress. Of course, she was still easily identifiable as a daemon for Umbra; sharper claws and teeth than were normal for her species, along with a faint red glow behind a pair of wide sunglasses. "Vento, right?"

"Yeah, that's me", she said, tapping her finger against her arm. "Now, as I'm sure you heard, the boss wants you to come with me. I suggest you come with me."

"Right", Umbra said. "Just, give me a minute." She almost shut the door, just enough to leave a small amount of the outside visible. She turned to the others, and said, "So, I need to go. Duty calls. I'll come back later. Maybe I can stay with one of you for a while afterward?"

"Oh, of course", Fluttershy said. 

"'Course, Dash", AJ said. 

"Okie Dokie Lokie!", Pinkie added. 

Rarity said, "Of course, dear."

"Thanks, girls", Umbra said, opening the door and following Vento. "Lead the way, birdie." The two of them walked down the path from Fluttershy's cottage for a little bit, before coming to the typical daemonic circle. The two stepped into it, with Vento pulling off her glasses and pulling out a small black necklace. "What's that?"

"We normally can't enter Heaven just like Celestials normally can't enter Hell. This bypasses that ward, thing. Anyway, just give me a minute." After a few seconds, she seemed to get it to work, and the two of them vanished into thin air.


++++


Umbra and Vento materialized in front of Faust's palace. Immediately in front of them were a pair of celestials, wearing golden breastplates and wielding golden halberds. "Man, your boss has an obsession with gold, doesn't she?"

"Doesn't yours have an obsession with black iron, spikes, and a fire?", one of them says. 

"Well, you're not wrong", Umbra says. "Let's just not question it."

"Works for me. Now, if you'll kindly follow us", the second one says, turning and heading down the cloud path. The two Daemons followed them, who led them into the palace and down a hallway. After a few more turns, they arrived into what Umbra could only assume was some sort of heavenly courtroom. 

A large desk sat along the wall on the far side of the room, with Faust sitting in it. Her brother stood next to him, who motioned for the two Daemons to come over to him. In the center of the room knelt Pillar, wrapped in glowing chains and surrounded by fifteen Celestials in breastplates with halberds leveled at him.

As the two of them reached their boss, Faust finished reading off of a piece of paper, "...And, as a result of your crimes against both the realms of Heaven and Hell, you have been... Ah, buck this. I've had enough of you and I'm pawning you off on my brother. Have fun in Hell."

Umbra was waiting for Pillar to issue some sort of retort. However, she noticed that he had on a gag, and could only let out muffled protests and snarls. Lucifer rubbed his hands together, saying, "Alright! A new plaything."

"Hmph. My brother is a bucking sociopath. Just get him out of here. I need to take a nap", she said, standing up and heading out the door.

"Alright, Vento. Grab him and bring him over here. Umbra I'll let you do one thing to him for all the pain he caused you. Sound good, eh?", Lucifer said. 

"Yeah. Hey, boss", Umbra said. "Can I ask you a favor?"

"Depends. What is it?"

Umbra rubbed the back of her head, almost muttering, "Well, can I take some time off? Just, you know, spend a week or so with my friends?"

"Normally, no", Lucifer said. He lifted up his hand as she opened her mouth to reply, adding, "I said, normally. However, due to your past actions and the circumstances, I'll allow it. You get two weeks, but I expect you back after that time. Clear?"

"Crystal, boss. Now, about that pain-causing thing...?", she said, a smile forming on her face. 

"Take your pick", Lucifer said, pulling out a piece of black cloth. He unfolded it on his sister's desk, revealing a set of plyers, a few screwdrivers, a piece of razor wire, and large iron nails. 

"Boss, do you carry this on you at all times?", she asked. 

"Yep", he said. 

Umbra looked at him, then back to the tools, then to him. Finally just ignoring the oddity, she grabbed the plyers. She walked over to Pillar, who Vento was holding with a knife to the back of his throat. She opened up the plyers, placing them around his left eyeball. She closed it, before yanking back and ripping it out of the socket. "Enjoy Hell", she said over his yells of agony. 

The two of them disappeared in a flash of black fire, and she used the rune Vento tossed to her to teleport back down to outside Fluttershy's cottage.