“Think we should call for backup?” Rainbow Dash whispered hesitantly. “This entire thing feels a bit above our pay grade.”
“Oh, come on, Rainbow Dash, where is your sense of adventure?” Kanathara retorted, gesturing around the elevator they were in the midst of riding. “Plus where would we even receive said backup from anyway?”
“I know. I know,” Rainbow Dash replied. “This whole thing is just turning into the classic mission where we inevitably get drawn into something bigger than expected.”
“And how do those missions always end?” Twilight pressed.
“With a tough victory squeaked out at the end,” Rainbow Dash answered.
“Exactly,” Twilight declared. “Now let's try not to ruminate so much on the obstacles before us. We need a plan.”
“It just feels like the longer we go, the higher the possibility we have to use her,” Rainbow Dash remarked.
Twilight nodded slowly. “It might be necessary to use her, but it will be worth it to save some of our own power for the real fight we know is coming.”
“If you say so,” Rainbow Dash murmured.
The vengant sighed, her gaze going up to the indicator above the entrance to the elevator. A soft ding filled the rather tight white cabin each time they passed another floor, irritating the demon for some reason. This unpleasant feeling only grew with each second that passed in silence until she was nearly fit to be tied.
“I think we should pull out,” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
Twilight blinked. “Why do you say that?”
“Doesn't this whole thing just feel too perfect?” Rainbow Dash replied, gesturing around her. “The hole in the wall. The low number of patrols. The sudden chaos. It all stinks like one of Celestia’s plans.”
“Oh, come on. Not everything is Celestia,” Kanathara retorted.
“And not everything is not not Celestia,” Rainbow Dash stated.
Kanathara sighed. “Yes, I admit this does seem rather convenient, but you must remember what's going on around us. They are at war with a hidden army of cultists, Rainbow. War tends to breed chaos and carrion by the truckload.”
“I know that, but come on, even you have to admit this feels like a trap of some kind,” Rainbow Dash continued.
“Of course it's a trap,” Kanathara dismissively remarked. “It's always a trap, or an ambush, or a double-cross. It wouldn't be a mission of ours if there wasn't at least one of those things.”
Rainbow Dash stomped her hoof and growled. “This is different.”
Kanathara leaned against Rainbow Dash’s enormous bulk. “I know this is different. The stakes are higher, more is on the line, and we are close to my brother of all people. This is going to be hard, and it is going to suck for a while, but we can't turn back now that we are so close.”
Rainbow Dash’s shoulders slumped, and she extended a flaming wing across Kanathara’s back. “Yeah yeah. I guess all this constant fighting is finally getting to me. We shouldn't have taken such a nice break.”
“Glimpsing the good life kinda makes this feel rather unpleasant, doesn't it?” Kanathara whispered.
Rainbow Dash sighed. “Yeah, it kind of does.”
“After this is all said and done, I say we take a year off. How does that sound?” Kanathara gently inquired.
Rainbow Dash hummed to herself. “I guess that sounds pretty good, but I wanna travel and time off means that you can't study, research or do anything that even resembles work.”
“Fine, but where would you want to go?” Kanathara replied.
“I wanna see Neighgra Falls and Las Pegasus,” Rainbow Dash whispered back.
“The former sounds nice, though something tells me you might end up in vengeance-induced haze for the majority of our visit to the latter,” Twilight pointed out.
“Think of all the sinners we could eat,” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, licking her lips excitedly. “It would be like an all you can eat buffet.”
“Maybe we could even make it really fun and work undercover as a pair of hitmen in order to scope out the place,” Kanathara offered.
“That sounds wicked, though why do they call them hitmen? I thought that was a minotaur thing,” Rainbow Dash asked.
“It is a minotaur thing. Apparently dying in the colosseum or a duel is honorable, but perishing outside of that is frowned upon, so there are a select few minotaurs who train-” Kanathara began, only for the elevator to stop with a ding. “I’ll tell ya later.”
Rainbow Dash sighed and gently pushed Kanathara away. “Right, we better get back to work before someone notices us just sitting in this stupid elevator.”
“Ready to get back into it?” Kanathara asked, her horn glowing brightly.
“Hell yeah. I was starting to get bored,” Rainbow Dash replied with a smirk.
“They won’t know what hit them,” Kanathara declared.
Kanathara and Rainbow Dash both pressed their bodies firmly against the side of a desk, glancing occasionally at the trio of guards that stood nearby. Between them were several small mountains of test tubes and other alchemical supplies which mostly hid the pair from sight. That didn't mean they could relax, as the soldiers moved slowly across the room, scanning their surroundings intently all the while.
After reaching the midway point of the room, the ponies collectively released a sigh of relief and as one discarded their helmets. With the anonymity spell broken, the uniform white of their coats were replaced by either blue, red or green. One even pulled out a pipe which he hastily packed and lit up while his fellows pulled several chairs into a small circle.
“Hurry up. We only got five minutes before the next squad comes through,” whispered the lone female of the group.
“Yeah yeah, I’m getting it,” replied the guard with the pipe.
The last member cast a spell, which Kanathara quickly identified as one that would ensure they didn't leave any smell behind. Now a little amused as well as curious, the keeper signalled for her familiar to remain low to the ground as they moved forward. Together they creeped under the desk and then a table, getting a little closer so they could hear what the trio was talking about.
“Can you believe what Commander Green said?” whispered the smaller of the two males.
“I can't believe she would say something so mean,” replied the other stallion before passing the pipe.
The mare blew a ring of smoke into the first guard’s face, causing him to sputter.
“Hey what was that for?” he cursed, waving a hoof in front of his face.
“You’re being oversensitive again. You know she didn't mean to insinuate that all stallions were lazy. Besides, can you blame her for being so short? She’s been running double duty as the overseer of the upper and lower areas,” she explained.
The larger stallion hummed thoughtfully while he rolled the pipe smoke around in his mouth. “I suppose you’re right, but it still stings, ya know? Plus she's good at her job, and I don't want her to get demoted over a slip of the tongue.”
“It will be fine,” exclaimed the mare, who handed the pipe to the smaller male. “Shining Armor knows the stress we are under and isn't about to start punishing people for something so small as that.”
“I just wish he got rid of that nasty blood demon,” added the smaller stallion before breathing out a lungful of smoke. “That thing gives me the heebie jeebies.”
“Then who's going to work the teleportarium and maintain all the wards in this place?” questioned the other stallion. “Because I don't know if you know this, but that shit takes more magic than even a dozen unicorn masters have available to them.”
“Then I say we bring on another dozen unicorn masters,” exclaimed the mare between coughs. “It's about time we gave a job to a real Equestrian citizen and not another goddamn demon.”
“Ahh, here we go again,” muttered one of the stallions.
“What do you have against giving our people jobs, hmm?” the mare retorted.
“That's all well and good, but we don't have enough trained unicorns to begin with. It's not a matter of choosing one over the other,” explained the larger male.
“Well, I say we train more,” replied the female.
“And until we can do so, we have to deal with this guy,” whined the smaller stallion.
The mare grunted irritably and plunked her helmet back on her head. “This whole thing sucks. Let's just get this patrol over with so I can whoop you two in poker again.”
“Count me out,” remarked the smaller male.
“Same here. You already got my entire paycheck last month,” muttered the other.
The female chuckled. “But think about it, Rapid Strikes, this is your chance to get it all back.”
“Yeah, right.”
“Let's just get outta here before the next patrol shows up.”
The mare nodded. “We can talk about this later. And remember. This never happened.”
“We know the deal.”
“This ain't our first rodeo.”
Together the trio departed through the door on the opposite side of the room, trotting out into a formerly empty hallway. Leaving Kanathara to ruminate on the surprise bit of information given to her, and how best to utilize said tidbit of info. Unfortunately, she didn't have long to consider things, as she could hear the clang of hoofsteps coming from the next patrol.
Giving a nod to her familiar, Kanathara hastily slunk after the retreating forms of the first three guards. After falling in behind them, the two demons began the arduous process of locating and getting to their next target. Who was held up in one of the most secure areas in the entire complex, yet was guarded only by a single heavily warded door.
Both demons squeezed themselves into the narrow alcove that disconnected the large entrance from the stale hallway beyond. Like the rest of the facility, these blank hallways were a plain white, with the only difference being the darkening of the ceiling. Unlike the rest of the place, this one had a constantly rotating shift of patrolling soldiers stalking the halls.
With a much more ordered defensive strategy, Kanathara and her familiar had been forced to spend more time evading their enemies. Though not overly difficult for the pair, it took nearly an hour for the duo to reach their target. An hour which was spent ducking, dodging, and crawling through cramped spaces which sapped their endurance as well as patience.
“How long is this going to take?” Rainbow Dash whispered as she peered out into the hallway.
“Just a second,” Kanathara whispered back, levitating a stone block she had removed from the wall as she inspected the space behind it. “Their wards are easy enough to bypass, but I need to be careful not to trip an alarm.”
“This entire place seems to be designed the same way,” Rainbow Dash remarked. “Not difficult, but a drain.”
Kanathara grunted as she carefully disconnected the glowing lines of power etched into the wall that had been hidden behind the block. “Tell me about it. If they put the budget allocated to white paint towards denser ward matrices, this would be nearly impossible.”
Rainbow Dash snickered under her breath. “Plus this whole place is just so dull. At least toss in some different colors on the walls.”
“It's almost hard on the eyes,” Kanathara murmured. “Aha, there we go.”
The glowing golden lines of magic inscribed upon the hidden inner wall fluctuated briefly before turning green. A second after this happened the door next to them clicked audibly, the force field covering its exterior dying suddenly. Kanathara hastily replaced the block she had extracted from the wall, and, after determining there was no one around, pulled open the door.
Peeking within the room beyond revealed not another square room devoid of light, but a brightly lit throne room with two rows of pillars. Directly in front of them on the floor lay a dense web of magical runes that covered a good third of the space. This web shifted from one moment to the next, revealing dozens of masterfully placed glyphs capable of a great many things. Even such an immensely powerful web of masterfully placed enchantment magic was not enough to keep Kanathara’s attention for long, however.
As the throne which stood across the room from them demanded her gaze in a way a ruler may demand supplication. It, like most of the room, was predominantly white, with golden trim which had what looked like roots crawling up its legs. This tree motif was visible all over the place, especially around the windows, and behind the throne itself where two large trees, one silver, and the other gold were depicted joining their branches together to create one enormous canopy.
Beneath which sat an empty chair, as well as an empty room devoid of guards and seemingly any defences at all. Lighting her horn, Kanathara quickly scanned the room, searching for any sign of enemies or traps. When her spell came back negative, she was even more confused as this was no doubt the place they wanted to be. The only thing out of place was the staircase behind the throne which went up and into the darkness.
“What's the hold up?” Rainbow Dash whispered. “We got a patrol coming, and they don't look like they are going to stop for a smoke break.”
“This place gives off a weird feeling, and I’m pretty sure…” Kanathara stepped over the threshold and almost immediately fell over. “Yeah, it's displaced.”
Rainbow Dash followed her mistress a second later, opening her wings to steady herself after stepping across the threshold. “You weren’t kidding. We must be way higher up then we were a second ago,” Rainbow Dash remarked.
Kanathara quickly closed and sealed the door behind them, using a series of spells to erect several barriers over it. She also made sure to add a few privacy wards as well in order to make certain that no one would come running should a fight break out. A possibility that felt less and less likely by the second.
“This place gives me the creeps,” Rainbow Dash muttered as she trotted over to one of the stained glass windows. “Damn, of course these windows are useless.”
Kanathara trotted up next to her familiar and noted that Rainbow Dash was right, for although light flowed in, Kanathara could not see out. A quick scan told the keeper that other than the privacy enchantment placed on the windows, they were also well protected against damage. Like most of the room, including the floors, ceilings, Roaman-inspired support pillars, and even the elevated platform which the throne sat on.
Seemingly every available surface had been layered with enough defensive magic to make them nearly indestructible. It was as if whoever had constructed this room had expected a serious battle to take place within, Kanathara thought to herself. Though all that effort may have been expended simply to protect the wards, the keeper couldn't shake the feeling like there was more to it than that.
“Spooky or not, we need to set up our distraction,” Kanathara exclaimed, trotting over to the shifting magical circles in the center of the room. “We won't be able to make it out of here unless their defences are down and their forces scattered.”
“I know, but come on, boss, you have to admit it feels like we are being watched,” Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she idly trotted across the room, her gaze never leaving the empty throne.
Kanathara hummed as she began to construct the magical bomb she would plant atop the wards. Be ready, she mentally commanded.
Before her spell reached its conclusion, the demon altered the matrix, spun towards the throne, and unleashed a blast of concentrated magic. The twisting bolt of chaotic, half-formed energy shot across the room, and was about to slam into the empty chair when a blood red shield sprung into existence. The barrier surrounded the entire raised platform upon which the seat rested and caused the mana bolt to dissipate harmlessly across it.
A familiar blood demon rose out of the throne, clapping his hands in a slow, methodical manner. “Congratulations. You found me, and before I was forced to act no less,” he exclaimed in a strange, echoing tone.
“It's not like it was hard,” Kanathara scoffed. “The whole hiding in plain sight thing is about as cliche as you can get.”
“We’ve seen it more than a few times,” Rainbow Dash added with a smirk.
“I should have known better than to underestimate a pair of accomplished demons like yourselves.” The demon paused and raised a crooked finger. “You two don't happen to know infernal by chance, do you? This tongue feels uncomfortable in my mouth.”
“Yes, but I refuse to speak it so let's just skip to the part where you tell us why you’re talking and not slinging spells,” Kanathara demanded.
“Or we can skip to the part where we kill you,” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, her helm forming around her head with a distinct clack.
“It's simple. I’m here against my will, and you simply haven't forced my hand to fight you. Yet, anyway,” he replied, gliding forward inside his bubble of magic. “Though harming those wards would change that very quickly.”
“How are you here unwillingly? I thought demonic contracts don't work that way,” Rainbow Dash inquired while she stalked back and forth in front of the blood demon.
“The mage, Shining Armor, is as brilliant as he is unscrupulous, and I was very nearly forced to join his band of empty suits he keeps with him at all times,” continued the blood demon.
“But how can he even do that? To break or force a demonic contract would take a nearly infinite amount of magic,” Kanathara continued.
“Kind of like a certain Element had,” Rainbow Dash answered.
“Got it in one,” exclaimed the blood demon with a smirk. “At least now I know who the brains of this operation is.”
Kanathara chuckled. “We are both the brains, but back to my questions. How can he do this exactly?”
“Do you think he would let me tell you this?” the taller demon replied.
“I didn't think so, but I had to try,” Kanathara admitted.
“Oh oh, I got one,” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “Is it real you were born from some fallen god?”
“The father is not fallen, but rather displaced,” retorted the blood demon. “The blood god as you know him was born when one of his avatars was banished from a dimension that knows only war. Imprisoned within the void between realities, he managed to escape through a hole in the planes and ended up within your version of hell.”
“That opens up so many questions as to the nature of the multiverse,” Kanathara excitedly remarked, only to cough. “But we shan't get into that now.”
“We got ass to kick,” Rainbow Dash added.
“A pity,” murmured the blood demon. “I would have rather we enjoyed a little light conversation before we rushed to the inevitable confrontation.”
“Hold on a sec. Do you want to lose?” Rainbow Dash asked while scratching her armored head.
“Of course I wish to fight to the best of my ability, though if I happen to perish and can no longer maintain my physical presence in this plane, that would be quite… agreeable,” the blood demon exclaimed.
“I don't suppose you could go easy on us, eh? We got a lot more enemies to fight, and I’d rather not waste my magic on you,” Kanathara exclaimed.
The blood demon growled, the sound coming out more like the crackle of a barely contained inferno.
“Though weakened by this nauseating plane of existence, I am still more than a match for two ponies pretending to be demons,” he spat.
“You had best watch that wagging tongue before someone cuts it out of your mouth,” Rainbow Dash declared.
“I’d like to see you two halfbloods try. Maybe I could even drain your pathetic husks of life before my master arrives,” the blood demon continued.
“Let's get this over with then,” Kanathara retorted. Let’s overwhelm him quickly. I don't want to be out of magic when we inevitably face off against Shining Armor.
Does that mean we can finally use the nova blast attack? Rainbow Dash replied.
It does, Kanathara replied.
Their conversation had taken a mere moment, but that was more than enough time for the blood demon to launch his first attack. Summoning power into his hand, the demon thrust it against his shield, conjuring forth dozens of red shards measuring over a foot. These concentrated masses of demonic energy shot up into the air where they exploded, raining dozens of smaller crystals down.
Though she had expected something more direct, Kanathara was ready for such an assault and quickly turned to mist. Though even as she avoided being turned into a pin cushion, the keeper could feel the red shards injuring her as if she were still solid. Weaving out of the way, Kanathara was left confused and more than a little startled by the surprising effectiveness of her enemy’s attack.
Rainbow Dash, meanwhile, willed her armor to cover her as best as possible, causing nearly all of the shards to bounce harmlessly off her. That didn't mean she came out unscathed though, as the pieces of crystal shrapnel which passed through her fiery wings left behind a stinging sensation. Not only that, but both Kanathara and her familiar felt slightly winded, as if they had just run a significant distance.
Now a little more wary of the strange rain, the two moved to go through with their plan anyway, with Kanathara rapidly casting spells that targeted her familiar. Each one caused the vengant to glow a different color, her body becoming encased in dozens of enchantments. While this happened, Rainbow Dash was taking deep breath after deep breath, filling her body with hellfire.
Neither stopped moving while this happened, both running, jumping, and doing their best to dodge the continued assault launched by the blood demon. Over and over the pair were forced to take a few hits, or put their plan on hiatus for a moment while they avoided another shower. The blood demon had more than one spell up his sleeve though, and while he continued to rain death on the pair, he also launched several ballista bolt sized shards at them.
This made the demons have to move a little faster and expend a little more magic, but ultimately wasn't enough to change their plan. Which came to fruition a minute later when Kanathara had placed an anti-magic ward on her familiar’s right forehoof. The vengant needed no prompting and spun towards the blood demon the second she felt the familiar tingle of magic.
Barrelling directly towards the blood demon, Rainbow Dash charged through a hail of attacks, almost all of which were deflected aside by her protections. A few slipped through, but weren’t nearly enough to stop or even slow the determined demon from reaching her target. Then, just when she had reached the base of the raised platform, she pumped her wings and released all the stored fire she had been accumulating into the twin appendages.
A deafening boom filled the room a millisecond before the vengant became a red blur of motion. In an instant the blood demon’s shield was gone, as was the entire top half of his body in addition to the majority of the throne. Rainbow Dash herself was partially stuck in the wall above the chair, her armored hoof elbow-deep in the stone.
With a hearty pull, Rainbow Dash removed her limb from the hole she had just created, and glided back to the ground. Where a slightly confused-looking Kanathara was already standing next to their defeated foe. Whose bottom half remained upright for a few more seconds before falling forward with a wet, unpleasant thud.
“That was easy,” Rainbow Dash remarked, giving the body a firm kick. “Thought he’d at least have one more trick up his sleeve.”
“Don't count him out yet. I can still feel a demonic presence in this room,” Kanathara replied, slowly inspecting her surroundings.
“It’s probably just all of his stupid shards,” Rainbow Dash pointed out, gesturing about the room. “They’re everywhere.”
“Which worries me, as they should have faded away to nothing at this point,” Kanathara explained.
“Maybe we should-” Rainbow Dash began, only to be interrupted when the body near her hooves bubbled briefly before turning into a thick red slurry.
Thinking quickly, Kanathara hopped on her familiar’s back before the vengeant leapt into the air and deftly avoided the spreading mass. Which now covered nearly the entire floor, as the shards had begun to turn into the same disgusting soupy mass. The two demons didn't have long to come up with a plan, for the reddish paste had begun to concentrate itself in dozens of small pools.
Blasting one of these pools with magic did nothing to stop it from slowly forming into a slightly shorter replica of the blood demon. Dozens upon dozens of the flame-headed demons now stood staring at the duo, an uncomfortable and identical smirk on their many faces.
“Did you really think it would be that easy?” asked one directly under the pair.
“I have spent thousands of years slaughtering demons,” added another.
“You are nothing, but a pair of buzzing gnats,” stated a third.
“And I will be the one to crush you,” finished a fourth.
We can't land. Can't split up, and can't leave, Kanathara thought.
Don't tell me we have to use the alicorn after all? Rainbow Dash asked.
It does. Though I am not happy about it either, Kanathara grimly answered.
“Right, let's get this over with,” Rainbow Dash murmured.