Luster Dawn reviewed her plans within her dreamscape, safe from prying eyes. The Nightmare demon hovered nearby, peering over her shoulder at the magical hologram she’d created of the vaults. It would be difficult, but with the spell she’d learned from the demon, she’d be able to bypass the vaults’ security and acquire the Alicorn Amulet. The filly felt a smirk grace her lips as the idea she could fool her mentor and pull off such a heist beneath the Princess of Friendship’s muzzle crossed her mind.
And all without friendship, Luster thought.
“This is certainly ambitious,” the Nightmare hissed.
“But necessary,” Luster replied. “I need the power of the Amulet in order to summon my new mentor, don’t I?”
“Not necessarily,” the demon grinned – an ugly expression, filled with broken obsidian teeth. “If you would but let me guide you…”
“Let me correct myself,” Luster sighed in exasperation. “I require the Amulet in order to summon my new mentor without being possessed by a parasite.”
The demon let out a low snarl but stayed quiet. The filly smirked to herself in satisfaction as she reviewed her plan one more time. Committing it to memory, the filly allowed herself to wake up, unceremoniously leaving the Nightmare entity behind. She awoke in her bed, same time as always, and carried out her usual morning ritual. It was the weekend, which meant no class. Normally she’d study all day while her roommate was out and about, and today she would pretend to do the same as if nothing had changed.
Flurry Heart eventually woke up and went through her usual morning routine, which was mostly her attempting to go back to sleep. When the alicorn finally did leave to entertain herself with various adventures, as she was want to do, Luster made sure to politely refuse the offers to join, then waited until she was absolutely sure her roommate was gone before immediately teleporting to Canterlot.
The filly felt only the slightest taxation of her powers at such a feat of magic. She had perfected channeling her magical energies, allowing her to perform spells that should have been impossible for one so young, and left even unicorns as powerful as her mother exhausted. Trotting through warrens and back-alleys, Luster worked her way to towards the castle, stopping just shy of where the city ended and the castle grounds began. She took a moment to watch the Royal Guard’s patrol patterning, though it wouldn’t matter. It was more from personal interest, enjoying the clockwork movements of the iron-discipline guardsponies.
Luster snorted to herself. She’d been spending too much time with Flurry Heart.
The filly briefly reached inwards, into her personally dreamscape for one final conference with the demon.
“You pick now to hesitate?” the demon’s voice grated on her psyche.
“Of course not!” Luster snapped, but she felt her reservations surface now that she was facing the decision. Whether or not she was right – which she totally was, she was sure – her course of action was not only illegal, but a blatant betrayal of Princess Twilight’s trust in her. Like it or not, she needed reassurance. “Is there an alternative, however?”
“Aside from allowing me to give you power?” the Nightmare hissed. “No. Only the power of an alicorn will give your magic the boost it needs, and only the Alicorn Amulet can do that. Unless Princess Twilight has shown you the path to ascend…?”
“No.”
“I didn’t think so,” the Nightmare sneered. “If she trusted you with that kind of information, we wouldn’t be here.”
Luster felt her anger flare, her reservations burning up in its flames. She forced a sneer of her own onto her face.
“Try not to lose composure when I become everything you’ll never be,” Luster’s voice had a cruel cut to it that made the demon seethe. The filly retreated from her mind and double-checked that there were no witnesses in her secluded alley before she began working the spell that would help her sneak into the Canterlot Vaults.
As the weaves of magic flowed around her, she felt cold and sick. It felt as if ice were replacing her marrow, and filth replacing her blood. Nausea and painful migraines overtook her as the weaving of magic helped her fade from the material plane and to the next. When she opened her eyes, the filly was in a realm that only resembled Canterlot at the basest level. Where once there were buildings of beauteous architecture, now there were floating blocks and sheets of non-reflective obsidian, so dark that even the deepest cave would seem bright by comparison. Looking down, Luster saw the streets were glassy and reflective, in contrast to the floating ruins, but her reflection was a warped parody, her colors dim, her eyes flickering between malice and terror. Her face shifted in horrifying ways.
Luster looked up, eager to avoid the reflective ground. The sky was colorful, like the Northern Lights that Princess Cadance conjured, but they gave off no warmth or light, and the colors seemed sick and broken. Looking too closely, the filly could make out expressions of faces in the light that disturbed as much as her twisted reflection. Everything was silence and ruin, save for the occasional skittering or distant howls that no animal could ever make.
Despite all her bravado, Luster felt like a scared filly who was in over her head, frozen in fear. She forced herself onwards, knowing every second she stayed in this hellscape risked her soul being devoured. She could feel herself burning away, a torch with limited fuel, bright and inviting whatever foul entities called this realm home. A shattered tower of dark rock, floating in splinters, was where the castle stood in the material plane. She made her way there, dimly aware that she was followed. Turning suddenly, Luster screamed.
A tall pony was behind her, long and lithe, chimeric in its qualities. Its wings were like those of bats, and its hooves were lined with razor edges. Reptilian eyes blazed with midnight blue fire. Its mane was a similar flame, flowing like Twilight’s, but instead of starlight glimmering in the weave, it was the death of stars. The face was horrifying, a disturbing amalgamation of skull and flesh, as if it were flayed, onyx muscle. When the creature smiled, showing its jagged obsidian fangs, Luster realized who it was.
“Y-you?!” she demanded of the Nightmare entity.
“Do not act so surprised, little one,” the demon chuckled, its voice powerful and resonant. In truth, the creature radiated power here, outshining the filly’s talents dramatically. For once, Luster felt genuinely threatened by its power. “This is my home, and here I am at my strongest. I know the student in you has many questions and longs for answers, but time is short; you’re of no use to me if your soul is devoured.”
Luster only nodded, realizing that the demon was what was keeping whatever other creatures were around at bay. Without this apex predator to protect her, her essence would have been consumed by whatever scavengers were lurking about. They made their way to the castle swiftly and in silence, following the paths through its corridors and halls, going deeper into the complex. Luster noted that, despite everything, this realm was a perfect reflection of her own. The layout of buildings was the same, even if they were only represented with floating ruins. One hall, in the real world, had beautiful tapestries depicting the virtues put forth by the alicorn sisters, but in this realm they were wispy banners of thin flame and shadow, parodies depicting vices.
The filly slowed as one caught her eye. A pink alicorn with a fiery mane, sitting upon a throne of purple-veined obsidian, the arms of which were carved into the shape of equine skulls. A crown of cruel barbs sat upon her head, and she wore a demonic visage. At the foot of her throne were kneeling supplicants, mewling and begging for mercy or aid – she could not tell which. At the bottom was the name of the vice:
Hubris
Luster shivered as she moved on, the shifting matter of the banner turning its clarity into obscure shade and smoke once more. She wondered if she had even seen what she had thought she’d seen.
They entered the lower levels. Where there should have been massive doors of iron-hard, ancient wood carved with magical runes and sigils, protected by the most complicated locks, in this shadow realm there were nothing – nothing barred their passage deeper into the warehouse of Equestria’s most closely-guarded artifacts. Even though most items were not reflected in this plane of existence, Luster could make out the Alicorn Amulet, such was its power. It glowed red hot upon a pedestal, as if freshly forged, looking infernal in its heat.
Luster approached the amulet, cautiously, hesitant to reenter the material plane despite ever second she delayed tearing her soul apart. She could feel the will of the Nightmare behind her, its power radiating off of the amulet and back again, the two feeding each other with her caught in between the tides of energy. It was like being caught between two volcanoes: incredibly heat and pressure, titanic forces of the same nature.
“Do not waste any time, child,” the Nightmare’s voice rang like a bell dragged up from the darkest depths, resonating in her ethereal form. Before the filly was even aware of it, she had obeyed.
Luster’s eyes opened and she was back in the waking world, the pain and horror she had experienced in the shadow realm sticking to her like a retinal burn sticking to the eye that stared at the sun too long. It was at once real and faded memory, coming back in snatches she’d sooner forget. The filly looked around the vault room she was in, its size the equal of the one she’d entered in the shadow realm, but built of heavy, cold stone. A thick, barred and locked door set in an iron doorframe was the only way in or out, and the only light that shone was torchlight from the hall slipping through the thin crack beneath the entrance, and the glow of warding runes set along the doorframe.
Luster allowed her eyes to adjust, knowing using magic would be a dead giveaway in a place so heavily guarded. The pedestal was etched with sigils as well, clearly enchanted with some sort of alarm. The amulet sat atop it, dark and foreboding, simple as it was. It was far less intimidating in the true world, but Luster found she had an increasing sense for darker powers, as if she could better gauge their strength. The scholar in her made a mental note of that, but the majority of her mind was consciously aware of the sheer power radiating from the amulet, like a miasma of corruption. It was the equal of an alicorn, but a darker cast, a reflection in a mirror warped by age and heat.
The filly licked her lips. She’d have to hurry once she grabbed the Alicorn Amulet, which would prove difficult considering the shadowalker spell took several seconds to perform. It was untraceable, however, and would allow her to slip away as easily as she had snuck in. Steadying herself with calming breaths, Luster snatched the amulet with her forehooves and placed it in her saddlebag before immediately beginning the weaves of dark magic. She had barely begun when the magical alarm screeched its warning, the sound of approaching hooves sounding up the hall along with orders for the intruder to stop. The unicorn worked faster, keeping her nerves steady despite the sound of enchanted locks being undone. She disappeared into the world of shadows moments before the door was unbarred, the Royal Guard galloping into an empty room with no sign of forced entry or escape.
Luster almost cheered as she reentered the horrifying realm for her escape, but focused on fleeing.
“Not bad, eh?” she asked, waiting for the Nightmare’s inevitable retort. Instead there was only silence. The filly looked around, realizing she was alone. Abandoned. “Where are you?”
Silence answered her.
Silence and… a whooping noise that grew closer.
The filly decided it’d be better to get out of the eerie realm sooner than later, focusing on escape. Working her way out of the castle, she ignored the hall of ghostly banners and all but galloped as she noticed loping, vulpine forms pursuing her. She spared a look over her shoulder and saw the ethereal specters giving chase: quadrupedal, with a canine cast, made of ice and fog, the ender of all things, the creeping chill of death.
Only one thing she’d heard of matched their appearance, a myth she had always been taught but largely ignored. The Windigos. Luster let out a stream of expletives at the fact the demon had conveniently forgotten to mention that this realm was the plane those frigid frights came from. She had been foolish to trust the demon, and she felt despair and fatigue fill her as the Windigos drew closer, and the realm of shadows siphoned her life. She was almost free, she just needed…
She just needed…
The filly used her magic to levitate the Alicorn Amulet out of her saddlebag. She had wanted to study it in detail first. Simply jumping into using it was foolhardy, risky, and exactly what the Nightmare wanted, but she was growing weaker and dying here would serve no one but the demons wanting her soul. Reluctantly and desperately, Luster slipped the amulet on, accepting its power.
She felt like a god.
Power funneled into her like a tornado of black flame, driving into her heart. Where she had been a smoky shadow of herself, she was now solid in this realm, with a crown of terrifying glory radiating from her head, onyx wings of magic flaring at her sides. The Windigos paused in their hunt, hesitant at this sudden reversal. Luster did not allow them time to retreat, feeling an uncontrollable need to conquer, to dominate, to subjugate. She let loose with a single magical blast, a beam of screaming purple and white that struck the first Windigo and evaporated it in a shriek of light and sound. The others fled, but not before Luster destroyed three of the fleeing demons.
The shadow realm was no longer terrifying to her, but she sensed it was still feeding on her soul. Regardless of her powers, it would still destroy her if she stayed. Returning to where she had begun the journey, the filly returned to the material realm.
She blinked in surprise at the night sky before looking at her body. Contrary to what she had thought, the amulet had not given her true wings; only the powers of an alicorn. She reluctantly removed it, feeling somehow weaker and infinitely healthier in that instant, and hid the artifact in her saddlebag. A familiar presence entered her mind.
“Where were you?” she asked within. “And why is it night?”
“Time works differently in the world of shades and darkness,” the demon’s voice was the sinister hiss she remembered, no longer redolent and powerful. “Did I forget to mention that?”
“You conniving little…” Luster muttered. “No matter, it’s done. I have the artifact and no one can trace it to me.” The filly paused for a moment, thoughtful. “You still haven’t told me where you went.”
“To talk to a friend,” the demon chuckled, “she’s a very special lady.”
“Gross,” Luster cringed. “I’ll drop the amulet off at my house. The presence of so many magical items should mask it, just in case Princess Twilight goes searching.”
“Are you so confident you can part with such power?”
“You should know by now that I’m not so weak-willed,” the unicorn retorted. In reality, she could feel a dread at the idea of removing the amulet, of losing the unholy power surging through her. There was no need for her annoying companion to know they were right, however. Celestia forbid the demon get an even larger ego.
The filly teleported to her home, directly into her room. She lifted the amulet with her hoof without removing it, looking at it, trying to determine if she really could simply remove it. The sound of the door opening downstairs made Luster tense up. She had assumed everyone was home already, and likely in bed. She cast a quick seer spell to peer through the walls of her abode and found her adopted older sister, Cozy Glow, returning home at such a late hour.
“Why is she back so late?” Luster whispered to herself.
“Didn’t you know?” the demon hissed in her mind, voice dripping with mock surprise. “As Twilight’s prized pupil, I assumed you knew she’d become fast friends with Cozy Glow.”
“What?” Luster winced at the volume of her voice but Cozy didn’t notice. Cozy also didn’t check on her, heading straight to bed. The unicorn dismissed her seer spell. “What are you talking about?”
“Cozy was delayed because she was having a personal chat with one Princess Twilight Sparkle. Your mentor.”
Luster scoffed, trying to brush off the demon’s words. Twilight would never lower herself to talk to a formal felon on such personal terms. Would she? Even if she did, why didn’t she talk to her protégé first?
“How would you know?” she demanded.
“Who do you think I was visiting?” the Nightmare chuckled as it sank in for the unicorn. “Your sister is a special lady, wouldn’t you say?”
“She’s a felon. I shouldn’t be surprised she consorts with demons, like you.”
“I assure you, the only one who consorts with me in any capacity, is you,” the demon’s snarl held a malicious snicker behind it. “Felon she may be, but she has resisted every enticement and trick I’ve thrown her way. She is… inoculated to the darkness.”
“More the fool her,” Luster sneered, “forsaking powers she has every right to accept.”
“Ironic, coming from you.”
“I do not need nor deserve your foul power,” Luster ground out. “I am one of the most powerful unicorns in Equestria, one of the greatest magical users in all history! I have no need for your paltry shadow magicks, only what you and your master can teach me.”
The unicorn flinched as she felt the demon smile in her mind, like a wound splitting open in her thoughts.
“Then, tomorrow, you shall meet him.”