The Legend of a Shadowmare

by JasontheDemon

Do or Die

Desdemona awoke at sunrise, knowing that this day was going to be momentous. She let out a deep sigh as she got out of bed and made her way towards Daemon’s room. Upon entering she was surprised. The bed was made, the floor was clear of any clutter and zap apple cores, and Daemon was nowhere to be found. It took a few moments for Desdemona to realize that Daemon must have been more reliable than she once thought. She decided to look for Daemon outside, but as soon as she opened the door she saw him. He was watching the sun rise in a pose that seemed focused... determined... heroic. Desdemona walked up next to him and sat, gazing at the sunrise as he did.

“How long have you been up?”.

“I never went to sleep.”.

This was a whole new side of Daemon that Desdemona had never seen... he was actually acting the way he should have considering the situation. She was beginning to feel a newfound respect for her counterpart, but also a strange sense of fear. Daemon had always been his normal goofy self. Even the time he caused a pack of manticores to chase him, he just laughed. Seeing how serious he was now meant that even he knew that the chances of success were slim. From what they had heard from Flara there were about 50,000 Lightmares in bases all around the known world... so it was going to be one Shadowmare against 50,000 Lightmares. Knowing that this could be their last day, Desdemona shared a few of her deepest secrets.

“Daemon, I know I tend to call you ‘stupid’ every now and then...”.

“Every now and then?! Are you serious?!”, Daemon responded.

“Okay, I call you stupid a lot, but that doesn’t mean I don’t care. You are wonderful, kind, and caring. You see things I can’t even comprehend... and you can do the impossible.” Daemons jaw hit the ground from hearing the mares eulogy.

“Oh my Celestia! It’s happened hasn’t it?! Hell has officially frozen over! I never thought I’d see the day where Desdemona, the mare without a heart, the queen of mean, would be sentimental! Give me a moment, I need to compose myself... don’t cry Daemon, don’t cry.” Daemon said, faking his reaction at Desdemona's expense.

Desdemona gave him a light punch in the arm and chuckled. “Shut up you knucklehead.”.

The next couple of hours were spent boarding up houses and making sure all the animals were far away from Ponyville. Twilights house was going to be the stronghold. Everypony made sure it was modified to be secure as possible. The windows were replaced by steel bars and the door was reinforced with an alteration spell (making it as hard as stone). By the time they had finished all the preparations were complete, it was dusk. Fear was setting in among the herd of friends. Twilight kept pacing the room until Flara tapped her on the shoulder and told her that everything was going to be fine. The blonde mare didn’t really know that for sure but she had to say something to calm everypony down. As soon as the sun began to set, the three Lightmares started casting a huge spell. The pressure in the room was so intense that the windows would have been blown out... that is if they hadn’t removed them first. At a moments notice, the spell died down.

“What in Equestria was that?!” Rainbow Dash asked, holding her hoof over her heart because of the crushing power the spell had caused.

“It’s the beacon...”, Aura said softly.

“It’s like this huge burst of magical energy that two or more Lightmares cast when they’re in trouble! It’s only supposed to be used when you are going to die or if you see a threat like a Shadowmare... no offense.” Ezreal said, turning to Daemon.

“So they should be arriving shortly, if you have anything you want to do before this starts you should do it quickly.” Flara said, looking at each of the ponies in the room.

There was only one thing that they could think of at the moment. Each of the Mane Six moved in, surrounding Daemon and then giving him a group hug. However, it didn’t feel the same. It felt like they were saying goodbye to him all over again. The Lightmares even joined in, but Desdemona was too concerned with the darkening sky outside. Black clouds were rolling in but it didn’t feel natural... it felt like something very powerful was spawning them. Thunder crashed and caused Rainbow Dash to break the hug. She flew over to the barred window.

“What the hay?! There wasn’t supposed to be a storm until next week! Why are there rain clouds?!” Rainbow Dash shouted. Flara sighed as she walked in between Desdemona and Rainbow.

“He always did like making an entrance...”.

Daemon started walking, but it wasn’t to the front door like he was supposed to. “Daemon? The door is that way.” Twilight said pointing to the front entrance.

“Oh, I know... I just thought I would spring my surprise now.” Daemon responded, opening a black case. From the case he pulled out a guitar. It was extravagantly decorated with red tribal markings on a black body. The rest of it was just as impressive... except it was missing one small detail. There weren’t any strings!

“What are you planning to do with that? Serenade them into giving up?!”, Desdemona hollered as he made his way to the balcony door. “Something like that, yeah. Of course this is only part one of my surprise.”. Desdemonas eye started to twitch from the sheer stupidity she was faced with.

“ARE YOU INSANE?! DO YOU HAVE A DEATH WISH OR SOMETHING?! RIGHT NOW IS THE WORST POSSIBLE TIME YOU COULD-”.

Daemon cut her off, “Do you trust me?”. Desdemona was taken back by his question.

She thought about it a moment and replied, “I... I guess so.”.

Daemon gave her a hug and gently said, “Okay, believe me when I tell you, everything is going to be alright.”. Daemon walked out onto the wooden planked balcony, shutting the small door behind him.

Desdemona turned around with a look of worry on her face. She noticed that everypony in the room was looking at her. “And what the buck are you all looking at?!” she snapped, causing them to turn away and whistle nonchalantly.

As Daemon stood outside, the dark foreboding clouds over head started to spiral around. The speed increased and a small cone formed. the cone suddenly started to release Lightmares... a lot of them. It looked like the sky was pouring out the foul beings like water from a faucet. After about two thousand had emerged and taken place in mid air around ponyville, there was a thunderous boom followed by a bright light that lit up the entirety of the ‘soon-to-be battle arena’. An orb of intense golden energy split the clouds and hovered right in the center of town. When the light dispersed, he was revealed... General Lux, he was smiling.

“Thank you Flara for leading me straight to the last two abominations... I don’t know if I should kill you for going AWOL and taking three other rookies with you or give you a medal!” the general laughed. Daemon started to laugh along with him, causing the Lightmare leader to stop and question the Shadowmare. “What are you laughing at you accursed thing?”. Daemon acted like he was wiping a tear from his eye.

“It’s just so funny, you know? You really thought that ‘Nova Brighthoof’ was a real Lightmare!”.

“Do you think you know him better than I? He was a nuisance, a failure, a burden that weighed us down. He was...”.

“HE WAS ME YOU DUMBASS! I went undercover and infiltrated your base right under your nose! Also, I learned a thing or two while I was there.”.

“Oh, do tell... I can’t wait to hear this before I wipe out your damnable race once and for all.” Lux scoffed.

Daemon cleared his throat and spoke, “I learned that everything is run by you. You are behind the training, the missions, the belief that Shadowmares are evil... and the brainwashing that causes your underlings to be obedient. They aren’t really bad... they just have a bad teacher! That’s where I come in. I am going to show them the true light. I am going to free their minds and their souls!”. General Lux looked at him with a doubtful stare.

“Oh please, do go on...”, the cocky leader said with deep seeded sarcasm in his voice.

“Well if you insist!” Daemon shouted, flipping the odd guitar around to his front.

‘I wonder if he knows that it is missing the most important part?’ Lux thought as Daemon got ready.

“Lightmares! Hear my voice and decide for yourself who the truly evil one is!”, Daemon called out with his arms raised out to his sides. That’s when the most surprising thing happened. Daemon pressed a glowing button near the bridge and caused six bullet sized cylinders that made the truss, to shoot out bright cyan beams of light. It was like he had made strings out of laser pointers! The craziness didn’t end there though. Daemon then stomped on a floorboard and it pressed down like a button. All of Ponyville started to rumble and out of the roofs of the homes surrounding the treehouse came gigantic amplifiers!

“That must be what he was working on with that lunatic DJ...” Rarity said.

“Couldn’t have said it any better myself.” Desdemona retorted, gawking at the display of ingenuity and planning. Daemons song began as he started to strum the strings created of light. The rhythm made a radical riff that he used to sing a tale of his innermost thoughts. He was actually catching the attention of the evil stallion above. The lyrics were amazingly insightful.

Daemon made it sound like the Lightmares were committing heinous acts, but he was still inspiring them to give up their nefarious ways. He was telling them that their decisions in life were what made them who they were, not their beliefs, their sorrow, or how much they had been hurt. They were responsible for how their life played out and how moral they were. Daemon also sang of his life since freeing himself from the concerns of the idiotic feud. The best thing that had happened to him was losing his memory. Like the Shadowmare said in the song... ‘he had never felt so great’. All in all, Daemon was trying to make them all see that they weren’t so different.

After the song ended, silence enshrouded the town until one lone Lightmare asked the general, “Sir? What did he mean when he said ‘he never felt so great’? And I believe he said something about being happy at one point? I thought Shadowmares were unable to feel?”.

Lux put on an perfidious grin and said, “My child, that was a lie...”.

Another recruit spoke up, “what was a lie? The thing about Shadowmares not being able to feel?”.

“No, the part about-”. General Lux was interrupted by yet another Lightmare.

“Hey if he infiltrated the base, why didn’t he kill us? I thought you said they kill everything that moves?”. The huge Lightmare leader started to sweat as he was hit by more and more questions. It seemed as though for each one he answered, two more would take its place.

After about fourty seconds it became too much for him and he shouted in rage, “SILENCE!”. His voice shook the sky like thunder. “YOU WANT TO KNOW THE TRUTH?! THE TRUTH IS I MADE IT ALL UP! THESE THINGS ARE NO THREAT! THEY NEVER WERE!”. A chorus of gasps and chatter followed the declaration.

“The only reason why I decided to attack them in the first place was because their species was weak and vulnerable! Only the strong should survive! These lesser beings were the first on my list because they started out as an easy target. They had no wings, no horns... they didn’t even have the ‘cutie marks’ that other ponies possessed! It wasn’t until they allied themselves with some powerful unicorns and gained their wretched powers and that blasted ‘ritual’ that I made the tale Legend of the Shadowmare! And once I’m done erasing them, I shall target the unicorns next... I can’t have their magic get in the way again.”. The Lightmares didn’t know what to think. Their leader, that had taught them all they knew, had only taught them lies. How could they know what was true or not now? Even though their world basically got pulled out from under them, they knew that one thing was true... the Shadowmare was no longer their enemy. A few Lightmares flew by Daemon, then a few more... this continued until the entire squadron was at his back. Lux was outraged.

“Very well! Go ahead and side with him! Just know that as long as you fight for his cause, you will die like him as well!”.

“They won’t be fighting, you psycho! This is between you and me!”, Daemon said, setting down the guitar. Daemon looked back at the Lightmares and told them to clear the area and spread the word of Shadowmares being good after they left, because things were going to get 'messy’.

After the Lightmares cleared the area, Daemon grinned. “You know that song was only phase one. I found out that Lightmares aren’t the only ones making high-tech weapons.”. Lux’s eyes slowly narrowed as he put two and two together.

After figuring out what Daemon had meant, he gasped and looked around at the twenty or more over-sized speakers surrounding him. Daemon chuckled sinisterly and pressed down the hidden panel again, causing the speakers to open up and start glowing with a light blue light.

“SAY HELLO TO THE BASS CANNON BARRAGE!” Daemon shouted, stomping on the floorboard a third time. Lasers fired from each cannon, colliding on the generals position. The clashing beams produced a growing ball of energy that imploded after reaching the size of an average house. The concentrated energy ball bursted shortly after and made a rather large shockwave from the intense light explosion. Everypony had to shield their eyes from the blast and wait for it to subside. When the dust finally cleared Daemon saw that Lux had just barely avoided the surprise onslaught by flying up to a safe height.

“I admit that was clever Shadowmare. If that had hit me I might have had a problem on my hooves. I hope that wasn’t the only thing you came up with to try and defeat me... I think I might in reality enjoy this little sparring match you have set up!” the large Lightmare laughed.

“I was really hoping that it would have at least nicked you... oh well, I guess I'll just have to pull out all the stops then.” Daemon said, shrugging as he pulled out the small vile of purple liquid from his pocket. It was finally time to use the ‘Bane of the Sun’ potion and end this.

Daemon popped the cork out and put the glass bottle to his lips. He slowly tilted back the vile, drinking every last drop of the foul tasting elixir. After he was finished, he put the bottle back in his pocket. Desdemona had informed him that it would take about thirty seconds to kick in so in that time he had to be in full force combat with Lux. Daemon wasted no time and shot himself at the high flying general. Lux was not afraid. The moment when Daemon was in range, Lux swung his hoof and batted Daemon away like a fly, sending the Shadowmare hurtling towards the ground. Daemons eyes shot open and he flapped his wings once before hitting the earth, stopping him in midair inches above the soil. Daemons rage had been unleashed. This time he teleported in front of the Lightmare, striking him before he could react. As Lux was sent flying, Daemon flew after him and upon reaching his stunned enemy he grasped his head in between his hooves and headbutted him with outstanding force. The general flipped in the air to land firmly on all four hooves and charged up a spell. Several boulders were flung at Daemon, one managed to hit him and Lux took advantage of it. While Daemon was dazed by the stone, General Lux was flying full force at the Shadowmare. The hulking stallion rammed into Daemons gut, knocking the wind out of him. While Daemon held his stomach in pain, Lux had started to applaud the dusky stallions ability.

“I must say, you are the most fun I’ve had in a long time. You have a fire in you that I’m dying to extinguish! It’s actually quite a laugh... you think that you can hurt me! Let me just say that each one of those little punches you threw were no more bothersome than a bug bite. Unless you can pull an ace out of you sleeve right now, you are finished!”.

As soon as General Lux finished his sentence, Daemon started to feel an odd sensation course through his body. It was like his heart rate was increasing in speed and heating his blood. His veins started to feel as though they had fire coursing through them. Everypony watched as the transformation went underway. Daemon started to glow and pulsate with red energy. His movements were twitchy and erratic. Desdemona smiled as his eyes started to shine with a white light... but suddenly it faded and left Daemon staring at his hooves in confusion and fear.

“Uh... was that supposed ta happen?”, Applejack asked the slack jawed Shadowmare beside her. Desdemona just shook her head slowly, eyes wide in disbelief.

“WHAT HAPPENED?! WHY DIDN’T IT WORK?!”, Desdemona yelled.

“That would have been my doing.”.

Everypony turned around to see a chestnut colored earth pony with a brown mane.

“Excuse me but who are you?” Flara asked.

“I’m the Doctor, hello! As I was saying, I changed the potion. It’s fascinating how adding one little ingredient can change the effect so much. Just put in one little dash of ‘Heart’s Desire’ and you have something completely new!”. Desdemona couldn’t help but be shocked at what this ‘doctor’ was saying.

“When did you...? How did...?” Desdemona stammered.

“Eh, wibbly wobbly, timey wimey... that’s not the point though! You see now Daemon is free of his flaw and will be able to beat that behemoth!”, The Doctor said, excitedly looking out of the window.

“But how will he be able to do that without his flaw?!” Desdemona shouted.

The Doctor shrugged, “I don’t know... isn’t that exciting?! I love not knowing stuff! Keeps you on your toes, er... hooves.”. Desdemona levitated the eccentric earth pony and slammed him against the wall, gazing at him furiously.

“Now, now miss Blackheart. There is no reason for all that. I was simply doing what history told me to do. I assure you it will all be alright in the end, you’ll see... now if you would please place me back on the ground I would greatly appreciate it, thank you.”. Desdemona released her hold on The Doctor, causing him to fall to the floor with a thud. “Note to self; don’t forget to add gently next time.” the stallion said, rubbing his hindquarters.

Back outside, Daemon was still coming to terms that not only had the potion failed to work, but he also seemed to be unable to use his rage. As he floated in midair trembling, Lux started to catch on.

“What’s the matter, Shadowmare? Were you expecting something to happen? Did it not work? That’s too bad... I guess I’ll just have to kill you now!”. The general rushed into Daemon, causing him to fly back a little before being caught by the tail. Lux then proceeded to spin daemon around, laughing maniacally the whole time. When the Lightmare finally let go, Daemon was propelled upward, only to be cut off and the punched hard by Lux. Daemon tumbled through the air and landed near Twilights front door. The Shadowmare was breathing raggedly with a determined look on his face. Daemon flew at General Lux time after time, only to be knocked back to the ground.

“This is growing tiresome... I believe I have had enough fun for one day.”, Lux said, pressing a button on the silver band around his wrist. The metallic ring transformed and converted into a rather large gauntlet like the other Lightmares had used. The Lightmare general pointed the blaster at Daemon. Before he fired however, something had caught his eye. When nopony was looking Fluttershy had left the safety of the treehouse. Witnessing Daemon being beaten to a bloody pulp sent her into a state of shock. She didn’t know why, but for some reason she had to be with him. She felt like it was all a bad dream and when she woke up, she would be in her bed, Daemon would be trying to make her breakfast again and Desdemona would be yelling at him, calling him an idiot... but this was no dream. Lux saw her and his blond coat went pale.

“No... NO! YOU! YOU CAN’T BE HERE! THE PROPHECY FORETOLD OF YOU! I WILL NOT LET YOU RUIN EVERYTHING NOW!”, he shouted, turning the gun on her.

‘No! Fluttershy! I can’t let you die! I WON’T let you die!’ Daemon thought as he teleported in between the two as Lux fired. {Link 3} Daemon made it just in time and intercepted the blast. It hit him dead center in the chest and sent him to the ground, sliding into a tree from the force. Fluttershys heart snapped in two at the scene. As if on cue, thunder rumbled through the sky and it started to rain. It was as though even the heavens themselves were crying at the Shadowmares selfless sacrifice to save the yellow pegasus. The others watched on in dismay from the safety of the library. In an instant Fluttershy dashed to Daemons side. There was a huge burn mark on his chest as blood continued to run out of his nose and mouth. His clothes were scorched and his mane was less spiky from the rain soaking it. He gave a pained cough and stared up at Fluttershy above him.

“Daemon... why would you do something so crazy?!”. Daemon chuckled lightly and strained himself to speak.

“They say you always do crazy things... when you’re in love... *cough* but... I know it only looks crazy to everypony else cause they don’t know what it’s like.”. Daemon smiled and laughed a little. {Link 4} It was hard to tell where the rain ended and the tears began. Daemon slowly fell into unconsciousness... and he was dying. {Link 5}