“Get off of me, you genocidal fucks!” screamed the earth pony as he thrashed desperately in the grip of his attacker.
Who growled and readjusted his hold before swinging his knife down towards the other stallion’s throat. The militia pony wasn't about to go down without a fight, however, and he twisted out of the way at the last second. As the assassin attempted to switch his grip, the volunteer bit down on his hoof with all the force he could muster.
The pegasus’ armor was durable, but made for absorbing the glancing blow of a bladed weapon or even a projectile. The studded leather was not constructed for the purpose of resisting someone trying to chomp straight through it. With a yell, the pegasus dropped his enemy, flying back and flipping his dagger around.
“I’ll teach you to fight dirty, you pathetic little--What the?” he murmured, leaping to the side just in time to dodge what looked like a metal meteorite.
The crater it left behind was easily three times the size of a normal pony, and from its depth emerged a plate mail-covered demon. Wielding no weapons, save for the spikes adorning her metal shell, the hell-born mare leapt eagerly into the fight. Hooves extended and flames billowing from the gaps in her armor, she seemed intent on grappling the assassin.
Who was quick to backpedal, pumping his wings in an attempt to put some distance between him and her. Only for those attempts to do nothing but seemingly spur the creature on, as she not only kept up, but actually managed to close in.
“Impossible,” he muttered in shock.
Forced to stop nearly a dozen meters above the road, the assassin ducked a sweep of a hoof and prepared a counterattack. That was until he realized that the demon was about to headbut him directly in the face. Twisting to the side, he dropped down slightly, angling his knife back up in an attempt to stab the creature in the back.
The demon’s glowing red eyes followed him without pause, however, once more making the assassin change things up. Rolling away for a second time, the stallion went into a short dive, catching a glimpse of an ally banking in from above. All it took was for their eyes to meet for a plan to pass between them, and the assassin twisted back and up into a hover. Knowing the routine well, he splayed his wings wide, dagger raised in his hoof in an attempt to be the most obvious target possible.
The move seemed to have worked, as the demon was barrelling towards him, seemingly unaware of the other pegasus flying over her. The assassin counted the seconds until his friend was on top of the creature, his entire body tensed and waiting. The moment his ally struck, he would be there to land the second blow.
Just when the dagger had begun to descend towards the demon’s back, she twisted around in the air and grabbed her attacker. The second pegasus released a terrified squawk, completely convinced that he was about to be engulfed in flames or pierced with spikes. Instead of dying horribly, however, he found himself plummeting towards the ground at a truly incredible speed.
“What the hell?” muttered the first assassin, who pulled down his black bandana and stared on in confusion.
His attention was quickly grabbed by a sudden flash of purple and the disappearance of another of his allies. Where there had once loomed an assassin of the old houses with decades of experience, there now stood an armored duck wielding a knife. Not even a particularly large duck either, but one just big enough to bite a pony’s leg, though obviously not very hard.
Following the flash back to its source, the assassin’s stomach immediately plummeted at what he saw. For not only was he fighting a vengant of all things, but there was also a keeper of secrets striding into view. With eyes like twin lavender suns, the demon waved a hoof and nearly caught one of his soldiers in an undulating wave of some kind.
Immediately, his already confused pawns were starting to lose morale, and the assassin knew it wouldn't be long before things went sideways. Training, oaths, and experience meant little when facing down some of the most powerful extraplanar foes in existence, after all. With that grim thought in mind, he dug a stark white dagger from a hidden pouch and prepared for what needed to be done.
Kanathara, meanwhile, used a wave of concussive force to knock aside a swooping pegasus, sending him off course. Though she had put enough power into the spell to knock the pony out, they had somehow managed to avoid the brunt of it. Now slightly irritated, she prepared to use a lightning bolt to knock the offending flier straight out of the sky. She never managed to do so, however, as an earth pony swung a sword at her head, forcing her to step out of the way.
“What the heck are you doing? Can't you see I’m on your side!” Kanathara shouted.
“I, uh. Oh… sorry,” muttered the stallion.
Kanathara rolled her eyes and was about to prepare her spell, when she noticed that one of the assassins had stopped moving. His face looked drawn, and in his hooves was gripped an odd, faintly glowing dagger the color of bleached bone. Seemingly carved from remains of a dead animal, his weapon was oddly plain, emblazoned with a pair of what looked like horns above the hilt of the blade.
“Hey, don't do that!” Kanathara shouted, magic reaching for the dagger.
Quicker than either demon could react, the assassin plunged the blade into his own chest, releasing a cry of agony as he did so. Immediately both Kanathara and Rainbow Dash backpedalled, confusing the two groups of ponies who seemed ready to fight again. That was until the pegasus released a horrified scream, his entire body beginning to convulse in mid air. Then both parties took a collective step back, walking away from one another while also eying the pegasus.
“Demon blade?” Rainbow Dash whispered.
“Seems like it,” Kanathara answered.
“Plan?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Beat the snot out of him,” Kanathara stated.
“Ooh, hard mode. I like it,” Rainbow Dash eagerly exclaimed.
“Uh, Top Speed, what's going on with the dagger in your…” the pegasus’ question died on his lips.
The pony in question suddenly jerked to the side, his neck snapping audibly. Before anyone had a chance to recover from that first bout of weirdness, the assassin’s legs suddenly extended. While his limbs grew exponentially, the skin covering them did not, revealing a deep red, almost black mass of muscle beneath.
When his legs reached a new and more impressive length, they continued to twist, fingers and feet growing from the writhing flesh. The ends of which sported long white claws bigger than the dagger which was still sticking out of the pony’s chest. It didn't stop there though, as the pegasus’ torso expanded, skin tearing to reveal the contracting mass of muscle just beneath.
Like a thousand squirming red maggots, his body knitted itself back together, only this time much larger than before. His wings had shed their feathers and grown three times as large before closing tight against his body. A second later, they opened once more to reveal that a thick leathery membrane was now bound between them.
Now easily ten or eleven feet tall, the bizarre creature still sported the head of a pony, though that changed a moment later. His skull expanded, tearing through the muscle and skin, twisting into an altogether unequine shape. Horns grew from the side before twisting backwards and extending back over two feet, creating what looked like a crown.
With a clack, his skeletal jaw snapped shut, and his eyes lit up with baleful red maleficence. He then flexed his new body, causing a wave of black bony plating to burst from his flesh, covering his exposed muscle almost completely.
“Kill two demons and get both a body as well as a soul. A fair trade,” he boomed, glancing down expectantly at Rainbow Dash and Kanathara. “And worthy foes too. This will be interesting.”
“What the fuck, Top Speed? You didn't tell us you were a demon!” shouted one of the pegasi.
“Your buddy ain't here, dude. And though he was a pony, he's a hell knight now,” Rainbow Dash interrupted.
“He knew what invoking me entailed and gave himself willingly,” boomed the newly formed demon. “Now then. Let us engage in honorable combat.”
Before Kanathara had the chance to offer a word in edgewise, the larger demon was already lunging towards her. His arms were pulled back, a sword appearing from the cloud of smoke emanating from his hands. By the time he reached her, the hell knight had conjured a long, midnight black blade with a crossguard made of white bone.
Dodging to the side, Kanathara yelped as the blade followed her with remarkable dexterity. Such a move would have put very little strength behind the attack, though that clearly didn't matter to the knight. Who finally recoiled his blade and spun around, bringing it up in front of himself in order to block a flying Rainbow Dash.
With a shove, he threw the vengant back and turned on his heel, bringing his sword down on Kanathara before she had a chance to cast a spell. Forced to turn to mist, Kanathara swiftly flew away, trying and failing to put as much distance between herself and the knight. Unfortunately the larger demon swiftly followed after her, his blade mere millimeters away from the keeper of secrets.
Kanathara’s soul began to burn, and she knew it wouldn't be long before she would be forced to apparate. So she slipped through the crack of a door and reformed on its other side. She only managed a second of quiet before a sword sliced through the front of the abandoned house.
Weaving through the rubble, Kanathara snapped off a quick teleport, hoping to put the entirety of the home between them. The second she landed, the keeper heard the whoosh of wings and found that the moon had been blotted out of the sky.
“This guy just doesn't quit,” Kanathara muttered as she dimension-doored across the street.
The keeper of secrets saw the hell knight slam into the ground with enough force to send ponies tumbling to the ground. Cracks ran across the cloudcrete street, and Kanathara couldn't help but consider dialing down the collateral damage. That thought was quickly brushed aside though, washed away by the dawning realization that she was still being pursued.
Leaping over the shattered home and flying towards her at speeds which should not be possible was the hell knight. Kanathara stood her ground this time, conjuring a beam of unfocused magic and launching it at the approaching demon. Who swatted it aside with his blade, leaving himself open to a red blur that hit him square in the side and knocked him to the street.
With a growl, the hell knight leapt up and grabbed his attacker with the intent of throwing Rainbow Dash, only for spikes to grow from the vengant’s armor. His low snarl of rage became a yelp of pain, and he tossed aside the other demon as quickly as possible. An act made difficult by the fact that several spikes had pierced through his palm or fingers.
Rainbow Dash rolled with the much more desperate fling however, and the second she was airborne, banked to the right. As she flew in for another hit, a ball of lightning slammed into the hell knight’s face, staggering him for a few seconds. It gave Rainbow Dash time to plow into the right side of his body with all the force she could muster, her head spike rammed deep into the demon’s torso.
“Begone!” bellowed the hell knight.
His form rippled, and the muscle Rainbow Dash had been stuck into turned black before becoming solid. The vengant avoided the strike in time, dodging the swipe of the hell knight’s blade and landing back on the ground. She didn't remain still for long, as she soon leapt into the air, and was hit by a swirling mass of interlocking green squares.
The second the spell hit her, Rainbow Dash grew to three times her normal size, allowing her to stop the hell knight’s charge far before he would have hit Kanathara. Hands gripped by Rainbow Dash’s hooves, the bipedal demon attempted to throw off his foe by pumping his wings and jumping back. He didn't make it far before Rainbow Dash was on him once more, spiked hooves swinging for his face.
A twist of his blade blocked one punch, and he dipped out of the way of the second before slamming his knee into the vengant’s gut. Rainbow Dash wasn't phased, as her body was covered in a thin bubble shield which took the brunt of the blow. Allowing her to strike back with a headbutt that sent the hell knight reeling, a hand going to his now cracked skull.
The move was a feint however, as the large demon spread his fingers wide and conjured a strange sigil. A second after being drawn, the array shot out a jet of white hot fire that was canceled out by an eruption of water. Rainbow Dash didn't even slow her punch to make sure the flame was dealt with, hitting the knight a second after his sigil faded.
Jaw now missing several teeth, the hell knight swung his blade down, forcing Rainbow Dash to abandon her follow-up strike. Instead, she reached out and, using her incredible speed, grabbed the weapon with both hooves, stopping it in place. The hell knight’s confusion didn't last long, as a whole torrent of acid began to rain down upon him.
Forced to choose between keeping his weapon or keeping his body, the knight released his grip and leapt back. Pumping his wings in order to better avoid the downpour, he had but moments to summon the weapon back before Rainbow Dash was upon him. A strike to the stomach drove the wind from his lungs, while an uppercut left him dazed and confused.
In his desperation, he swung his blade wildly, but his foe was simply too close to him at this point. Every swing either went wide or was avoided with ease, all while the vengant continued to pummel him relentlessly. It was at this point that the hell knight noticed the thin lines connecting the points he had been hit back to Rainbow Dash’s armor.
The question half formed on his lips vanished as his strength started to fade. Now with the dawning realization that he was firmly on the back foot, the hell knight burst into motion with renewed desperation.
A kick to Rainbow Dash’s midsection sent her flying backwards, relatively unhurt but a good distance away. A flurry of strikes caused her protective bubble to vanish, and a blast of purified white fire made the vengant growl bitterly in pain. The hell knight tried to follow this up by driving his weapon through the other demon’s gut, but found his legs swept out from under him.
The male never got the chance to rise back up, however, as Rainbow Dash stomped down hard on his back. Strength now flowed out of the hell knight like a torrent, his ability to fight back was lessened even more when his legs were chained together. Seeing the writing on the wall, the hell knight released a sigh and lay completely still, prompting Rainbow Dash to stop battering him with her hooves.
“You have bested me and both proven your strength as well as taught me a valuable lesson,” he muttered.
“Oh, and what's that?” Rainbow Dash taunted.
“Humility,” he replied before releasing a sigh.
His eyes lost their flaming glow as his sword vanished, and his flesh became dull gray. Kanathara appeared a moment later and, after sharing a look with Rainbow Dash, gave the vengant a nod.
“I’m curious,” she exclaimed.
Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Good enough for me.”
“What are they talking about?” whispered the terrified group of ponies huddled near the collapsed home.
Their question was answered a moment later when Rainbow Dash drove a sharpened hoof through the dead demon’s chest. Then a second hoof joined the first, before pulling apart his rib cage like it was a rather bizarre fruit, revealing the gray and white flesh beneath. A chorus of retching and confused muttering was ignored by the vengant who continued to dig into the corpse.
Bone was shattered, muscle was cut apart, and viscera was tossed aside in great forehoof loads. Until at long last she retrieved a pegasus stallion with what looked like a bone white dagger sticking from his chest. The blade had fused with his body however, leaving behind no wound and seemingly causing him little discomfort.
Kanathara and Rainbow Dash couldn't be certain of that last part however, as Top Speed was asleep right up until he was roughly dropped on the ground.
Gasping like a fish, the stallion scrambled around wildly, his eyes flicking this way and that. “Who, what, where am I?” he shouted.
“You barely even traveled down the street,” Kanathara replied, gesturing to the trail of destruction left by their brief but intense fight.
“Damn,” he muttered and noticed the weapon sticking out of him. “Well, this is new.”
“Yeah, I wouldn't mess with that. You’re probably stuck with it,” Kanathara exclaimed, gently patting him on the back, her horn glowing faintly.
“Oh, err, yeah. I think I’m going to go now,” he murmured.
“Have a fun flight!” Rainbow Dash shouted.
The assassin gave his saviors one last look before leaping into the air and flying off with all the speed he could muster. In seconds he was gone, joining the squad of soldiers who had retreated just far enough to watch the fight but not get involved, leaving Kanathara and Rainbow Dash alone with the squad they had saved a few minutes earlier.
“I’d thank you, but I hesitate to ask what manner of payment you are going to demand for such an intervention,” the unicorn offered weakly.
“That won't be required,” Kanathara answered. “We were just bored and wanted to get on your boss' good side.”
“Speaking of which…” Rainbow Dash added, turning down the street.
Where a whole host of fully armed and armored paladins were sprinting towards them, a familiar stallion leading the pack. Upon getting closer, he signaled for the rest of his followers to hang back, allowing Dawn Hammer to walk out in front.
“Well, it seems like you dealt with that mess in an orderly manner,” he exclaimed, flipping the grille of his helmet up. “Nice work.”
“We didn't do it for you,” Rainbow Dash spat.
“Regardless of why, you still did it, and you still have my thanks,” Dawn Hammer replied.
“Your saboteurs were dealt with,” Kanathara interrupted, stepping forward and extending a hoof. “You can start by telling me where Fluttershy is while I sift through that file you promised.”
“Well, that's where things get difficult,” he replied. “I don't know exactly where she is, but I do have a strong inkling of her location.”
“This better be more than a hunch, or pony meat might be back on the menu,” Rainbow Dash growled.
“It ain't a stretch, if that's what you mean,” Dawn Hammer retorted, using his magic to conjure the file and hand it over to the keeper of secrets.
“Well, go on,” Kanathara encouraged, flipping through the manilla envelope idly.
“It's simple. Nearly every pegasus in the city has either joined a gang, gone underground, or fallen in with House Ebon Wind,” Dawn Hammer explained.
“A house which Fluttershy’s parents were a part of,” Kanathara reasoned.
“So it stands to reason they are at the Citadel of Ash, though you may know it better as that complex you two nearly burnt to the ground,” Dawn Hammer continued.
Rainbow Dash’s grim facade shattered, and she erupted with laughter. “Are you serious? They are really just squatting in the half incinerated remains of that place?”
Dawn Hammer chuckled. “Indeed they are. The only reason we haven't raided the place is the fact that it's disconnected from the rest of the city. Hard to invade it with a bunch of folk who can't fly.”
“Well, damn. Guess we’re going to have to do this the hard way and just go scope things out ourselves,” Rainbow Dash muttered.
“Nah,” Kanathara replied, closing the envelope and dumping it into a pocket dimension. “I’ve already thought of that.”
“And then what happened?” inquired the elderly pegasus stallion crouched low over his injured subordinate.
The other male coughed and spat a wad of phlegm onto the floor. “Sorry about that. This whole getting possessed thing has left me kinda messed up.”
“Take your time, son,” offered an older mare sitting patiently nearby.
The dark room was quiet for several seconds as the assassin gathered his bearings and stood back up again. After he did so, the male trotted awkwardly over to the table and sat down, only to bump the dagger sticking out of his chest, causing him to wince.
“Do you need some more light?” offered the older pegasus stallion who wore an eyepatch over one eye.
The assassin looked around, his eyes struggling to adjust to the low level of illumination in the slightly cramped room. The small overhead lamp was enough to see most of the space relatively easily, though he couldn't make out anything past the lone window. Just the table, the two other people sitting around it, and the exit which was flanked by two armed pegasus guards.
Despite their presence, the assassin felt no worry, as they were visibly relaxed and seemed more concerned than anything. A sentiment shared by the two older staff who were supposed to be interviewing him, though were mostly just trying to get him comfortable.
“No, this is fine,” exclaimed the formerly possessed male. “I just needed a moment. It feels like my stomach is trying to escape out of my mouth sometimes.”
“Would you like me to fetch the healer again?” offered the mare sitting across from him at the table.
The assassin once more shook his head. “No, I’m honestly okay now. What were we talking about again?”
“What happened after you somehow survived getting possessed,” offered the other stallion.
“Right,” Top Speed began. “The keeper of secrets just patted me on the back and let me go. The rest of my squad was quick to pick me up after the adrenaline faded away and I nearly fell out of the sky.”
“Well, that's good. Did you get harried on your way back here?” asked the older mare.
Top Speed shook his head. “No. They gave us a wide berth, if they saw us at all.”
“Wait a second,” interrupted the elderly pegasus. “She patted you on the back? Did you get dispelled after you returned to base?”
“Dispelled? Why would…” Top Speed’s eyes sprung open, and he quickly glanced over his shoulder, wings splayed wide.
A hoof parted his fur to reveal a small glowing rune hidden beneath the hair. Immediately after spotting it, Top Speed wiped it away, but he had a feeling that it didn't matter and that the damage had been done.
The older stallion rose from the table, pointing from one guard to the other. “You, stay here and lock down this room. You, go alert base command, we have a potential breach and-”
He never managed to finish his sentence as the sole window in the room exploded in a shower of glass, revealing a pair of demons who now stood amidst the shattered remains of their table.
“Was someone talking about us?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Because my ears were burning.”
“Actually, I think you’re just always flaming,” Kanathara replied.
Rainbow Dash chuckled. “Very true. Now then, what to do with you lot?”