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// Black As The Pit 
// Story: Nox Invictus 
// by Darkwing Dash 
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Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. She was running, but that was not news. She had always been running. Her life had been filled with running and escape was a dream that had died, decayed, eroded into dust and fertilized the food of the reality that was her life. 

It was night, but it was always night here, and not a normal night either. She looked up again at the night, but this night, this black, starless void, with its discolored moon filled her with disgust and loathing. Its black depths were filled with nothing but death, and no light shined there. 

She heard the tortured howls and twisted screams of the demons running behind her. She felt the obligatory pang of fear that always shot through her when she heard their malevolent voices. She didn't know why. She'd heard them countless times, knew those baleful eyes so well that she'd long ago given them names, and long ago forgotten them. Yet every time she heard their howls, fear struck her, if only for a second. The demons had never actually gotten close enough for her to make out any definite features, she was always too fast for that. But she could tell that they would rip her apart in a second if they were given the chance. She knew what fate awaited behind those terrible, sadistic teeth. 

She wondered if it was worth it to run any more. And yet she ran on. Always she ran down the same trails, always the same obstacles, all well worn by her hooves. But she could find no comfort in her repetition, for as well as she knew the escape routes, she also knew that a serious blunder could lead to her demise. Thus she walked a tightrope of constant fear and gnawing panic, and she was tired of it. But she would keep going, at least for today, because today was different. 

She ran through the forest, dodging branches and fallen logs, using her horn to light the way, casting a dim glow over the path so that she could see. As she came to a fork in the road, she found a massive boulder blocking the leftmost path, and sighed inwardly. It was going to be this route today. The worst, most terrifying, most nerve wracking route. So be it. She had to keep going. She came to a patch of thick brambles that blocked her way and she knew that she had to push through them, slow going as it was. 

As she made her way through the thicket, she looked up at the moon. The sight of it always made her shudder. It stayed in the same place, always watching, never moving. Yet that wasn't its most unsettling feature. Its normally calm, pearly face was marred and twisted by a huge pitch black splotch that took up most of its face, turning it sinister and gruesome. Whenever she looked at it, she was filled with fear, dread, and a profound, inexplicable sense of deep shame. She heard the howling of the demons closing in behind her and she pressed forward. 

As she ran through the forest, she planned her next move. There would be a gorge up ahead, a wide gorge that she would have to fly over. It would take the demons a while to circle around it, and that would give her the time she needed to reach her safehouse, a hidden cave, and hide from them long enough for her to rest for a day or two. The demons still baffled her. She only ever had a few hiding spots, only a few ways to shake the demons. But they never learned. She had been doing this for years upon countless years, but always the demons ran on the same track. Why didn’t they learn? But they could sniff her out. They always did. So she would have to leave by the back exit and run on. On and on. 

How she longed to leave this world, but she couldn't. There was an impenetrable magic forcefield Its boundaries were ever shifting, and she charted them every year. It was one of the things that kept her sane. That, and her memories. Memories of a life she was determined to return to. She ran on, seeing the gorge growing closer up ahead. The feeling of foreboding grew as she neared the gorge. She unfurled her wings, ready to make the jump, when she slammed into an invisible wall. The forcefield? But how!? It was supposed to be three miles further back! This wasn’t right. It had never shifted so drastically before. Something was messing with its magic. And it was only an indication of a bigger upheaval. Something was wrong. 

As the shrieking of the demons grew louder, the true nature of the situation sank in. The fiends were closing in. For the first time in a thousand years, her fear rose in her like a tidal wave. Her magic was nowhere nearly strong enough to defeat these monsters, and there was nowhere to run. The demons were upon her now, and they were too close for her to evade. Even if she ran to the right or left, the demons would still catch her. Luna, Princess of the Night, turned to face the demons that pursued her. If she was to perish, she would do so in a manner befitting a royal Princess. 

The demons entered the clearing, their infernal, shadowy forms flickering in the sinister light from the twisted moon. Their leader, a being of shadow and flame in the form of a manticore, approached slowly, his eyes burning with triumph. A low growl emanated from him. The rest of the pack circled in, savoring their victory. The manticore crouched low, preparing to spring. Luna stared him down, determined to look her death in the eye. The manticore's low growl turned into a thunderous roar. He launched himself at Luna. The world splintered, and broke.