Darkness everywhere—the newly christened Twilight Sparkle couldn’t see any torches, lamps or other sources of light. It appeared that her demonic powers had granted her improved eyesight, because she had no trouble seeing through the gloom.
Right, where next?
She stood at the end of a corridor, the rotten, wood door swinging uselessly behind her. With new and amplified eyesight, she could just make out the outline of the passage, including the fork at the opposite end.
Her ears twitched in the still, eerie silence. Her body felt tense. For all of Dr. Dark’s talk about how demons like her were roaming the castle this very moment, she couldn’t see any sign of them. The fact that she knew of their existence, yet they were conspicuously absent in her field of her vision, only made things even more unnerving. Small pockets of blood on the floor didn’t help matters.
A nearby window attracted her attention. She trotted over it, curious, looked out and came face-to-face with a shining, silver moon.
An unbelievable sight—that was what it was. She stared at it for several long minutes, despite the brightness hurting her eyes. It fluctuated as she gazed at it, pulsating as though it were a giant heartbeat, its changes in light almost rhythmic. Strangely though, the light was more soothing than disturbing, again like a heartbeat, that it took several minutes to Twilight to regain control of herself and tear her eyes away.
My heart. She thought to herself, placing a hoof on her chest, Why does it beat so fast?
She tried to move on, go down the corridor, but the moon attracted her. She wanted it. She lusted for its bright embrace.
Before she knew it, she had climbed up the windowsill. Her rational equine side screamed at her to stop. She ignored it. Then she tried to jump out of the window…
…and a force-field activated, shocking her and sending her flying back into the opposite wall. Smoke trailed from where the electricity had burnt her made. The yellow barrier, tinged with blue pulses, shimmered for a moment before disappearing.
Behind it, the moon shifted from full to waning, and Twilight Sparkle’s sense rushed back into her.
What had she been thinking, jumping from god-knows how many storeys high? She might’ve been killed! The image of her dead body, splattered across the hard ground like a jam stain, eyeballs rolling out of their sockets flashed in her head. She shuddered.
Good thing that barrier protected me. And now she knew that leaving through jumping out of the windows was impossible.
My head hurts. The moon made her go mad. Perhaps she shouldn’t try to look at it anymore.
She galloped down the corridor and opened a door, leading into what appeared to be a kitchen.
XXX
The castle was vast and immersive, as Twilight quickly found out. She had absolutely no idea where she was going. All she could do was move on.
As she climbed down the stairs towards the lobby, two things became apparent. The place had been badly damaged, almost as if an earthquake had hit it. A buckled roof, pieces of stone littering the floor, damaged statues nearby—it was a disaster, or rather it would be had Twilight actually lived here. Unfortunately, she only desired to leave as quickly as possible, and had no sympathy for the ruined structures.
The second feature made her angry. A mass of stone and rubble, thick as a glacier, obscured the front entrance. Escape was impossible, at least from this side it was.
“A dead end...huh…” she muttered to herself, annoyed. First the windows, now this. It seemed that whoever was toying with her destiny was determined to make sure she exited the castle the proper way: by defeating the guardian and then passing through.
If she killed said guardian, would the stone disappear?
She snorted violently and paced the ground. The world outside, just a few metres away, and she couldn’t reach it because of a wall of rock. Fate taunted her. It laughed and mocked her futile attempts to escape.
Well, there was no use standing here, wallowing in her own rage. She turned around and was just about to leave the room when a voice came from the pile of rock.
“Heeee-ho!”
The voice was faint, but definitely real. It made Twilight stop and walk back towards the rubble.
“Whose there?” she asked.
“Under here! I’m stuck.” The voice replied, frantic in tone, “Help me-ho!”
Twilight trotted over and gave the pile of rock a little push. Bits of gravel fell out and fell from the ground. Nothing else happened. “How?”
“I don’t know-ho, lift up the rocks somehow-hee.”
“Lift up this lot? I can’t.” Twilight said, frowning. “And why should I? Just who are you?”
“That doesn’t matter-ho.” The voice snapped, “I’m dying here, and I need your help-hee. Please get me out of here, hee-ho.”
Twilight took another look at the pile of rock and decided against it. She didn’t have time to waste with this strange, frosty voice. She needed to find the alicorn who had her memories and get her real self back. Without remorse, she turned around and started heading for the staircase, like she intended to.
“Wait, here are you going? Come back!”
“I’m sorry,” Twilight replied, “I’ve got my own problems to worry about. You’ll have to dig yourself out.”
“Huh, hang on, no! Get back here-ho! I’ll reward you if you dig me out! I’ll give you a house! I’ll give you a hundred thousand Macca. I’ll give you a hot Succubus you can impregnate with!”
“I’m a girl.” Twilight said flatly.
A brief pause. “Oh, um…”
“Bye.”
“Noooo! Come back! I don’t wanna be stuck down here! It smells of coal mines!”
XXX
“Well, look who’s in a hurry to die!”
“Damn, what a racket you’re making! This is supposed to be a quiet castle!”
“What—ANOTHER demon? You’re probably like the rest of them, hungry for Magatsuhi! Piss off!”
After that rather odd conversation, Twilight Sparkle found herself sprinting through the corridors, trying to find the exit. Ghosts popped up around her, most of which jeered and shouted at her. She ignored them, sometimes dashing through their bodies. The feeling was similar to jumping into an ice-cold lake.
Up, down, left, right…with no map, her hoofsteps directed her through random nooks and crannies. She still was unsure of where she was. Why couldn’t Dr. Dark have given her some directions?
A sound pricked her ears. Yells and snarls and cries—a battle on the floor above her! Blood-lust rose up inside her head. Her teeth bared themselves instinctively and she ran up a nearby staircase towards the distant sounds. But even with her strong muscles and enhanced speed, she was too slow—the battle was already over by the time she arrived.
She stood in a yet another hallway. Windows lined the sides, all of which she presumed were protected by barriers.
The aftermath was visible, but her attention to it was diverted by something else behind the destruction. Through a window, she saw a gigantic wall of magic, yellow sparks shimmering up, down and around it, standing in what appeared to be an annexe. It fizzled and shone, and Twilight felt the raw power emanating from it. If she tried to touch it, she already knew this, she would be flung back, injured. The thing was similar to the window barriers she had encountered earlier.
On the floor was blood. Black blood, unlike her red blood. More than that, there were corpses—eight of them, and none of them were like anything she had ever seen before. She saw purple, small beings, with bloated tummies and enormous canine fangs hanging from their mouths. Their eyes, white soulless holes, stared back up at her.
Their bodies smoked. Some looked as if a flamethrower had charred them. Others appeared to be cooked from the inside. Others, completely rigid, had more blue parts than purple.
A foul stench hung in the air. Half of her hated it, the other relished it.
There was a noise up ahead, near the gently pulsating barrier. It sounded like sparks of electricity accompanied by a high shriek. Someone was up ahead.
What was that?
She followed the noise, came up to its source, just in time to see a small figure face-plant onto the floor. As she came closer, she had no doubt but to conclude that this was certainly not another pony, nor was it a human.
It had a humanoid body; that was a fact. The creature in question had tufts of brown hair growing out of her scalp and wore a purple leotard, with similar colored gloves and stocking. The problem was that she was tiny, way too small, height ending at around thirty centimetres. None of this mattered, Twilight thought, as she noticed that the minuscule creature was hurt—perhaps even badly injured. Covered in burns and bruises and in a state of unconscious…Twilight felt an strange urge to help the little thing. She bent down to pick the humanoid off the floor.
No reaction.
From the depths of her subconscious, her rational unicorn side activated her innate magic, and she forced the tiny humanoid into a sitting position. She was so light Twilight had no trouble levitating her; it was as if she was made of air. Twilight had no comprehension of first aid nor medical treatment, so she did the first thing she thought of: poke the creature in the side and speak to her.
“Hey, are you okay?”
The creature’s eyes snapped open, and Twilight found herself staring into blood-red eyes of pure evil. The shock momentarily stunned her.
“You’re…you’re a…”
The humanoid scowled, noticed that she had been touched while unconscious, and immediately drew her own conclusion. She kicked herself out of the grip of Twilight’s hand, pointed her finger at the half-equine and shouted.
“YOU BIG PERVERT!”
A flash of light from her finger, and Twilight yelped in pain. An electrical shock had passed through her, almost as if she had grabbed a live wire. She staggered back, and the next instant the girl was hovering in front of her face, and they stared into each other’s eyes…before the girl scowled and swiftly punched Twilight in the nose.
“Ow!”
She just electrocuted me and punched me in the face. Now she’s floating in the air. How…how did she…
“Take that, pervert!” The girl shouted, “You’re not getting my Magatsuhi!” Twilight could now see she was flying, two tiny wings beating like a hummingbird’s, almost invisible; red eyes of rage boring into her skull, pointed ears laid back as though they were on a beast. She scowled as Twilight continued to stare at her, “What, you want more of this? I’ve got plenty of Zio where that came from!”
A monster! It’s a demon! Twilight’s feral half yelled.
“You’re a demon!” The words escaped from her mouth before she knew it; the phrase was almost stupid.
A flicker of stunned belief crossed the girl’s face but was quickly gone. “That’s right, pervert. I’ve never seen a demon like you before but you better run back to your clan before I shock you to pieces. Fear my lightning!”
She snapped her fingers, and blue sparks appeared at her fingertips. “Prepare to die!”
She’s going to shock me! Second thought: Kill her!
“No!” Twilight snarled, and charged forward and slammed the girl into a nearby wall. Before she could recover, Twilight had grabbed the girl with magic and held her tight. The girl struggled and Twilight tightened her grip.
“Let go, pervert! It hurts!” The demon yelled, staring up at Twilight with those red eyes. But the anger and violence had gone, replaced by fear and tension and pain, pain that Twilight had caused and which surprised her greatly. She didn’t seem like a stereotypical demon anymore, more like an eight or nine year old child who had just lost her parents. She was trying to hide her fear, shaking in her leotard as she defiantly glared up at Twilight.
Twilight saw how insignificant the demon was compared to her, how weak and small, how her life was completely in the half-demon’s hooves—one powerful squeeze, and the small girl would be crushed into a mess of bones and blood, fully dead. The demon was scared of her because Twilight could kill her, the mare realized. It would be very easy to do so.
No. the rational side of Twilight spoke up. Let her go.
So she lowered her magic, enough for the demon to break free. She fell to her knees, coughing.
“You bitch…I’m gonna kick your ass so hard. You’d be so dead if I was fully healed…just wait until I’ve used my Dia spell.”
“I’m sorry!” Twilight protested, “I just wanted to see if you were alright. You’re badly hurt.”
“Yes I am.” The girl said between her wheezes, “Thanks to you and your magical grip.”
“I’m really sorry for hurting you.” Twilight told her, making the demon stop and look up in surprise. “What happened? Why are you hurt?”
“Why do you care?” the girl snarled. “Bah, fine. Anything to make you quiet.” Actually, she was stalling for time—it would take a while before the Dia spell worked properly.
So the demon and the half-equine talked. The demon had come to the nearby area, having heard that a powerful source of energy had been placed in village of Tipereth. Foolishly, she had let Jack Frost create the portal. As a result, it shouldn’t have been much of a surprise when they found themselves in the basement of the castle, off course, although it was closer than what Jack usually got. The two of them had then travelled through the castle, eating a bunch of other demons that had gotten in their way. They had been very yummy.
The girl was then amused when that little snippet of information caused a sliver drool to fall from Twilight’s mouth, before it was replaced by a look of disgust.
Continuing the story, they’d tried to get out of the castle but found the doors locked shut, so they went around hunting for keys, only to find that none of them worked. Out of options, they’d tried to open another portal to the garden. Sixteen attempts later, they had been teleported to anywhere EXCEPT the garden. On the seventeenth try, they had teleported back into the castle, only to find themselves in the midst of a mob of Pretas.
A big battle had followed; in which she had defeated the demons while Jack did nothing, except for three that ran off.
“The Pretas dropped a golden key that Jack said would allow us to get through the barrier, but he said that it would take too much time and tried to teleport the two of us to the garden, but then we somehow got separated. I still had the key, but then a random Preta stole it and hurled me into the barrier, electrocuting me. Then you came along, started touching me and now we’re here, you big pervert!”
“But I’m a girl.” Twilight replied, unsure of what exactly to say in this situation.
“Oh…so you’re a lesbian.” The demon said, “Yeah, I’ve heard that half-demons like you get side-effects like that.”
“I’m not a lesbian!” Twilight protested, “I touched you because I wanted to see if you were okay. And how did you know I’m a half-demon?”
The girl rolled her eyes, “Duh? Don’t you know? You’re not the only pony who willingly absorbed a demon’s essence into your body out there.”
“I have amnesia. I wouldn’t know.” Twilight Sparkle said evenly, “I don’t know what’s out there.” She paused. “What is out there, by the way?” she asked.
“A lot of weird crap.” The girl replied, “What, are you desperate to know or something?”
“You could say that.”
The demon thought for a moment, then grinned. “Alright, then listen. I’ve just got an idea. Let’s team up to get out of this dingy castle. We’ll beat up those Pretas, take the key and go through the barrier. You get to go outside, I can meet up with Jack Frost again. Simple as that!”
“You want us…to work together?” Twilight said, swallowing a little. This felt odd, and she couldn’t tell why.
“Yeah, why not? You look kind of flabby and weak,” Twilight glanced down at her legs and found herself silently disagreeing, “But at least you should be able to take a few hits before you drop. You keep those demons off me, and I’ll electrocute their asses. Whaddya say?”
Twilight blinked. Teaming up with a demon was new, and she felt rather apprehensive about it. But the image of the mysterious alicorn was still fresh in her mind, and she yearned to escape from the castle and see the world outside. She was also alone, and needed whatever help she could get to escape.
There was just one problem and the conscience of her rational equine side ordered her to bring it up. “But you’re still wounded. If you get injured—further”
“Injured? Who, me?” The girl flew up in the air, grinned and zoomed around Twilight, showing off her speed and agility. Her burns and bruises had disappeared, just like magic. “My Dia restored me to full health! How about this—I’ll fix you up when those Pretas cave in your skull, okay?”
She had no intention of healing the mare at all. Anything to make this idiot help me. I’m missing the party in Tipereth. Thanks for nothing, Jack! Unknown to her, her best friend was currently lying under a ton of rock, and couldn’t go any parties even if he wanted to.
There seemed to be no other option. Twilight nodded. “Okay, we’re partners. My name is Twilight Sparkle. What’s yours?”
“Pixie,” she replied, “Pixie of the Fairy Clan, and we don’t do no stupid equine rituals. Name and clan, just like me.”
“Oh, sorry.” Twilight mumbled, “Uh…Twilight of the Sparkle clan, then.”
Pixie gaped. “What the hell are you, a commoner?” she yelled, failing to notice the look of confusion on Twilight’s face. “I wasn’t born yesterday! Tell me your clan! Your real one!”
Twilight shrugged, “Is it really that important?”
“Yes! I refuse to team up with you until you introduce yourself the proper way: your name followed by your clan affiliation. So hurry the hell up and tell me!”
Seeing the pure murder inside the tiny demon’s eyes, Twilight paled a little and desperately racked her brains for an answer. Back in Amala, the mysterious voice had told her she was a Demi-Fiend. This obviously meant that she was half-demon, half-equine, but she had never really paid attention to the ‘Fiend’ part.
As she shifted through her memories, the familiar, harsh voice rang through her head.
…You are not a true demon, but what is known a half-demon known as a Demi-Fiend. Obviously, your clan is the Fiends…
Yes, that was it. Her clan was the Fiends.
“I’m, uh, part of the Fiend clan. My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I’m of the Fiend clan.” She said, the words somewhat unnatural on her tongue.
Pixie mulled this over. “Fiend, huh? You don’t look like a living skeleton,” And then Twilight was reminded how little she knew about demons…or anything in general, “But I know there are Fiends who are more than just bones. Okay, you’re a Fiend. Nice to meet you, Twilight Sparkle of the Fiends. Let’s be friends!”
What have I gotten myself into? Twilight thought.
XXX
“Magatsuhi! Magatsuhi! Eat! Eat!”
“What are they doing?” Pixie asked.
Twilight grunted and continued to look through the peephole. “I…I really don’t know. There are three purple things, and they’re standing over a corpse of…something. One of them has got a key around its neck.” The two of them stood outside the room Pixie had indicated, getting ready for battle. “They’re chanting about eating Magatsuhi…whatever that is.”
Pixie shrugged, “That’s them, alright. Only two goals in life: eating Magatsuhi and killing. Not that’s exclusive to them alone, mind you. They’re just a little rabid about it.”
“How did you know the key was in here, anyway?” Twilight asked, to which her companion stared at her with a blank look on her small face.
“Can’t you feel it? The key radiates Magatsuhi. I know you’ve got amnesia, but you can’t be this stupid.”
“Uh, yeah…of course.” Twilight said. She did not appreciate the idea of her being an idiot. “So, what’s the plan?”
“I already told you,” Pixie replied, sitting on top of Twilight’s head, “Charge in, beat the crap out of those icky Pretas, and then revel in their victory. I’ll hang behind and support you with electricity. Why—something wrong?”
Twilight nudged the stone door. “Yes, this is locked.”
Pixie frowned, and hovered down towards the lock. “Huh, so it is.”
If she had arms, Twilight would’ve crossed them. “Well, now what?” They couldn’t break down the door; it was made of stone. Now, if it was made out of wood, that would be a different story altogether. She had beaten up those corpses back in Amala, and she could definitely beat some Pretas. If the door was made out of wood, she would break it down and face the Pretas all by herself. They would scream as she crushed their bones, howl as she smashed them against the walls, cry as they…
She shook her head. What is happening to me?
“Hey—hey! Pervert!” Pixie gave Twilight a clout on her ear, “Stop spacing out, will ya?”
“Sorry!” Twilight said, near automatically, “What now?”
“I’m gonna lure them out with their snappy native tongue. They come out, we crush them, and then we go and look for the key. Sounds good?”
“If you say so.” And Twilight nodded.
“Alright, give me a moment.” Pixie cleared her throat, then spoke in a much deeper tone. “Gruuuuuuuuuah.” Her speech was not so much coherent words as it was an animalistic grunt.
Demonic shrieks and grunts could be heard from inside the room. “Gruahhh…who there?”
“Gruuuuuh…” Pixie moaned, “We….bring…Maaaagaaatsuuuhi…lots…”
“…Gah! Lots Magatsuhi!”
Pixie pointed to Twilight, signalling her to get ready. The mare blinked and got into a crouching position.
“Yeeeesss…lots…Magatsuhii….”
I’m actually doing this. I’m actually going to kill some demons. The half-demon couldn’t help but tremble with fear…or was it anticipation?
The door suddenly unlocked, and was thrown open as the Pretas inside rushed out, with gleeful shouts of, “WANT MAGATSUHI!” They were the same monsters she had seen dead on the ground before, purple beasts with bloated tummies and spindly arms. Twilight briefly wondered what it felt like to break their bones. Similar to snapping toothpicks, perhaps?
Wait, why am I thinking about this?
She waited until all three Pretas had bounded out of the room and looked around the corridor in confusion. “Gah, where Magatsuhi?”
“RIGHT HERE, HAUNT SCUM!”
The Pretas whirled around, saw Twilight and charged directly at her. But before they could attack, she jumped upon them, crushing them, with Pixie whooping from her vantage point upon the half-demon’s head. “Yaah! Take that, you icky things! CHAARGE!”
And Twilight obeyed—she ploughed straight through the Pretas, snapping bones and sending them flying into walls. Things broke, and they weren’t the walls. They crumpled onto the floor.
“Magatsuhi…” one of the Pretas moaned.
The fight ended in a flash—Pretas almost dead, covering and whimpering on the floor, while Twilight stood where she was, not even sweating. It had been so one-sided she hardly exerted herself.
Unholy hell. Pixie thought from the position on the mare’s head, That demon’s stronger than I thought.
“Alright!” she cheered, leaping off her head and doing a few laps around the place, “You kicked their asses, Twilight of the Fiends! Let’s finish them off, quick!”
No response, for the mare had pulled a magic trick and disappeared from the dusty hallway. The stone door swung on its hinges, creaking as it did so. Pixie saw the scene, shook her head in exasperation and snarled.
“Hey—Pervert, what are you doing?” She already knew the answer to that question: Twilight had already dashed into the recently vacated room in search for the golden key.
Such a freakin’ busybody! Bah, no way am I healing her, then.
She flew in after the mare, took in the sight with disinterest, then began to search for the missing chunk of metal.
Comments and criticism are warmly accepted; they are a great source of motivation.