//------------------------------// // Hellfire. Dark Fire, Pt. 1 // Story: A Demon In Ponyville // by Terciel1249 //------------------------------// A Demon in Ponyville Ch. 12: Hellfire. Dark Fire. Pt. 1 Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to MLP or any affiliated properties. Everypony remained silent. All of their eyes where focused on the single door standing ominous above their heads. “What was that?” Rarity asked in a hush voice. “I don’t know,” Applejack cleared her throat. Twilight tried to move, but a very clingy Fluttershy stopped her movements, “Fluttershy?” Fluttershy turned to look at Twilight with wide fearful eyes, murmuring her acknowledgement. “Would you mind loosening up a bit?” Fluttershy slowly complied, pealing her forelegs from Twilight’s frame. With care, Twilight approached the marble door, making sure not to touch any of the phantoms. The door in front of her loomed over her head. A monolith of white marble laced with black and gray mineral deposits to upset the pure white rock. Unlike the first gate, the split door was cold. Twilight gently prodded the gate. It was solid, feeling almost like ice. Twilight turned back to her friends. She felt torn. Something wanted to delve further, to unlock the secrets within. But that pony. No words could describe what she felt. It was unnatural and wrong. “What do you want to do now?” “We could always go back,” Fluttershy offered. “That Matthew seemed like he was lonely. We could spend some time with him.” “Ah think that would be a good idea,” Applejack jumped for the opportunity to leave this place. Each pony moved through the field of memories with great caution. No pony wanted to touch these cold, soulless entities. There was one problem to their plan. Where was the exit? The six mares circled the edges of the plain. Twilight turned to her friends, seeing the shock in their eyes. The path had disappeared from sight. Rainbow stood next to Fluttershy. The yellow Pegasus quivered in fear. The cold and desolation was getting to her. The spectral entities plagued their minds. Each one was a story of loss. Each one was a story of pain. Pinkie Pie wasn’t doing better. She had stopped crying, but her mane was less bouncy than normal. Applejack and Rarity stood close to Pinkie. “What do we do now?” Applejack felt her throat clench. Twilight’s violet eyes turned to the monolith standing in the center of the field. She felt torn between their two choices: to stay here or move farther inside Matthew’s mind. At least here, they could stay away from Matthew’s memories. Twilight wouldn’t have to see any more of Matthew’s violent past. But something inside her was shaken. She wanted to know what was deeper. To better understand the pony Matthew was. “We have two choices. We can either stay here or go through that door.” Every pony stood still, fidgeting in the cold air. No one wanted to, but the alternative was to stay in this cold lifeless limbo. Slowly, Fluttershy said, “I think we should go.” “Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash said, “Are you sure?” “I don’t like it here. It’s so cold and silent here. I don’t want to stay another moment with these things,” Fluttershy motioned towards the apparitions. “But we could be going into something much worse than this,” Rarity said. Even with her pure white coat, her skin paled to an almost luminescence in the still environment. “Maybe, but we won’t know until we go.” Fluttershy decided to take the lead, heading towards the tall marble door. Rainbow Dash followed close behind. She didn’t want Fluttershy to get into anything over her head. The rest followed silently. With a shaking hoof, Fluttershy gently pushed open the double doors. The marble slid open with barely a sound. Fluttershy peered down at a set of winding stairs made of dull grey metal grating. The scared Pegasus took a very slow, tentative step. She flinched when her hoof made contact. The metal groaned under her weight. The sound reverberated through the silent field like a hungry beast lying in wait for them to enter. Raibow Dash gave Fluttershy a quick pat on the back for confidence before she made her trek down the metal steps. The ponies moved carefully down this flight of stairs. The metal swayed slightly, its loud voice slowly being drowned out by a low rumbling. The further the ponies delved deeper, the louder the rumbling grew. When they reached the ground, the mares where assaulted by a howling typhoon of wind Fluttershy stepped out onto the hard black asphalt, having to squint through her flailing mane. Ahead of her, a square structure of worn grey concrete sat in the center of a swirling storm. Grey and black clouds swirled above the building’s roof. Flashes of bright light broke through the gloomy sky. Fluttershy looked back at her friends, yelling to them. Rainbow Dash yelled something in return. All their words where lost in the constant screaming of the wind. Applejack held a hoof to her hat. Her green eyes watered from the wind’s intensity. Pinkie Pie held a hoof to her mane, the cotton candy hair flying in every direction. Rarity’s anger grew. This stallions mind was destroying her luxurious mane. He would have to pay dearly for this insult. The six drew closer together to brace themselves against the raging storm before trudging towards the tall concrete structure. The strong winds and flashing of light would never cease. The dark rolling clouds moved fluidly through the air, in constant motion. There would be no break. No eye of the story to find sanctuary here. Applejack and Rainbow Dash pulled open the heavy metal door standing twenty feet tall. The old wheels released a high pitch . The rest of the group was ushered quickly through before the door was slammed shut. “That was different,” Rainbow Dash commented. Inside the structure was bare and grey. The metal walls and support structures faded and showing signs of rust. Sitting in the center of the room was the bone Dark Matthew. His face held no expression. “I never liked this circle.” “Then why did you bring us here?” Rarity snapped in annoyance, trying desperately to tame her mane. “The only way to advance is to go through each level. One by one.” “What does that mean, level?” Twilight asked, she approached Dark Matthew with her ears pulled back. She could feel some dark essence pouring from Dark Matthew. “Where ‘mid gust, the whirlwind, and the flaw Of rain and hail-stones, life will continue to tell Their sorrows on pale lips. I saw it Upon the blood soaked earth, life’s pain.” The ponies couldn’t make heads or tails of this. “What does that mean?” Fluttershy asked. Dark Matthew raised a single hoof, motioning towards the area around him, “All of this started here.” The area dimmed, in the center of the room each mare could see the horror stricken face of a small child. He looked upon the crushed body of his sisters. Matthew had only left for a minute to use the restroom before all hell broke loose. A high pitched screamed woke the young boy out of his stupor. His mother, thin and standing at 5’4” ran to her daughters. Tears fell from her eyes. She ran towards the large rock. She would never make it. A tall winged, scaly beast slammed her into the ground, pining her with its talons. Before Matthew could even move another beasts landed next to the boy. Its lips pulled back into a twisted smile, revealing a row of jagged sharp teeth. He grabbed the boy by the arms, lowering its head. It could smell the fear from the child. A soul of pure light. Something so sweet made the monster’s mouth fill with saliva. With great relish, the demon sank its teeth into Matthew’s soft neck. The blood was so sweet. Matthew screamed in agony. A burning fire drove through Matthew’s blood. The pain was too great to bear. His very body and soul became consumed by the raging inferno inside him. Matthew’s body could only shut down, leaving him limp in the demon’s claws. The demon tossed him aside like a ragdoll and leaving Matthew to convulse on the destroyed pavement. The scene faded, the area growing into a bright white. The light was warm, comforting. Until the seeds of darkness were planted. A single drop of nothingness plagued this peaceful space. Soon it sprouted roots. Twisting black vines coiled through the light, consuming it. With each passing second the darkness covered more of the light until it consumed everything. Only the smallest of candle flames remained. A single source of light flickered in the dark. It was all the light that could survive. Too weak and insignificant to conquer the darkness consuming his soul, this last ounce of Matthew’s soul could exist. The leaching darkness could not smother it. The light may not be able to move against the darkness holding onto Matthew’s being, but it could exist. Its lone existence would show there is some life in him. Matthew was still alive. Matthew still existed. The vision cleared. All eyes turned to Dark Matthew’s bone white face. Matthew remained silent, only watching the six faces in front of him. “What just happened?” Rainbow Dash asked. She felt the confidence leave her. “You have just witnessed my ‘birth,’ for lack of a better word,” the ashen white lips lifted in slight amusement. “I was the darkness trying to consume Matthew’s soul.” Dark Matthew released a high pitched, cold laugh. The ponies shivered at the harsh echoing from all sides. “Yet I could not. Matthew refused to die. That little sh** would not give in so easily. Even if he couldn’t win, Matthew still wanted to exist.” The area was plunged into a dark grey ground of twilight. Standing in rows of five, stood over fifty children of varying ages. The youngest appeared to the age of eight, while the oldest was around fourteen. Each one wore strained expressions, their skin pale under the dreary light. Matthew stood towards the center. He was short compared to the boy next to him, dark skin with short black curling hair. To him, Matthew looked like a wreck in the loose fitting blue shirt and slacks loaned to him. His pale skin made him look almost transparent. Dark bags shone under his eyes. Barely visible from the end of his short sleeved shirt, Twilight could see the black markings of a circle and pentagram. This was Matthew’s first mark, or to the common tongues the Mark of the Damned. Matthew’s reformation was not easy. Being bed ridden for two weeks wasn’t the worse part. Matthew’s body went through constant, uncontrolled pain. The doctor’s where forced to place the ten year old into a chemically induced coma. But this did not stop the pain. It only numbed the body’s pain. The soul’s pain was an entirely different matter. A sharp voice broke the silence. A stern female voice, “Alright listen up the snot-nose bastards!” Two adults stood in front of the makeshift assembly line. The female was thin, slender with straight hair and blond highlights in contrast to her natural brown. She wore a sharp camouflage uniform with tan boots to match. Her glasses reflected the worn faces in front of her. “I am Captain Lara Moore and to my right is the commander of this military base, Lucas Hunterman. You are here because you have been marked. We do not know as to why you have survived, but right now that doesn’t matter. What matters is that each and every one of you shows signs of unusual abilities. Some have great strength, other speed and so on. Here, you will be kept under our supervision. I will train you sorry excuses for children into soldiers.” With a deep breath, Lara continued, “As we speak, every military in the world is working towards pushing back the threat. The U.S. has been able to keep several areas free of infection. But we have already lost the West coast. Parts of the Mid-west and the East coast are under constant strain of enemy attack.” “You are here because you are a potential threat to our national security. From the creatures we’ve managed to capture, we have acquired some interesting information. They are demons, pure and simple people. And since it was these beings that infected you, you are now considered connected to them. Therefore each and every one of you are a liability. You have no rights until myself or the Commander find you either a threat that needs to be eliminated or an asset to aid our fight,” the captain said. “Inside this compound you will be tested to the greatest degree. We will break you and we will re-forge you into something that resembles fighters.” Twilight blinked several times, her eyes brought back to the grey warehouse. Dark Matthew eyes were somewhat lively at Lara, “She got better later on.” The small group was assaulted by images, memories of constant strain and suffering. Children forced to work under the constant gaze of disgust. There was no time for rest. No time to find peace under the hard boot grounding them further into the concrete. Whether on the training field of rough dirt or on their hands and knees working to clean the facilities for their betters, Matthew was kept in a constant state of motion alongside his peers. They had no choice. Here, in this world, they where merely bodies to be used by the army and nothing more. The training was vigorous, leaving Matthew exhausted by day’s end. They trained them to fight. Even pit child against child. If there was any sign of disobedience, severe punishment was used. Some used their fists, loud yelling or depriving them of sleep. Others were creative, starving their charges under the sweltering heat or frozen nights. There where no parents, no relatives and no mercy for them. They were to become fighters. The ponies watched these children forced to fight, to bleed for another’s will. Fluttershy covered her eyes, witnessing Matthew limp away from the training grounds composed of a shallow sand pit. His partner, a taller and much stronger dark skinned boy shook his head in disappointment. Even though they were considered roommates, there accommodations where cramped to say the least. Matthew being one of four boys shoved into a cold barren room that could barely contain two metal bunk beds. Under constant watch, there was no privacy for anyone in this base. “Why?” asked Fluttershy. Each pony became disgusted at the brutality. The scene in front of their eyes of Matthew being thrown against the wall after having failed to scrub the plush white carpet of Lara’s office. Blood poured out of his nose, blotting the clean floor. “Hmmm, I almost forgot how much of a bitch Lara can be,” Dark Matthew scratched his chin absentmindedly, “To answer your question, these harsh methods where to make us more obedient.” “T-t-that’s horrible!” Dark Matthew shrugged, “Oh you have no idea.” Dark Matthew looked to the scene seeing his younger self thrown twenty feet through the air. Man that guy’s a jerk. Matthew picked himself from the rough sand, spitting out a mouthful of blood. “Getting tired already?” his sparring partner called to him. “Not yet Derek,” Matthew answer, rubbing his stinging cheek. Rarity’s horror filled expression became mimicked by the rest of her group. Her white hoof held up to her mouth. Matthew’s face was bruised severely, his left eye barely able to open. This was the consequences he had to face, for being weak. On a physical level, few could match Derek strength and survive. Matthew was one of three and he drew the short stick when he got pared with Derek. Matthew’s life had lost much of its meaning. To be constantly pushed into the earth, to be looked down upon, to be spat upon by others day in and day out. He was nothing to them and would always be nothing. To feel less than dirt was a sad, lonely existence. To fall into silence and never be allowed to live. How long could he last in this despair? Weeks? Months? One day Matthew would snap. Young Matthew removed himself from the dirt, looking to Derek with hate in his eyes. The darker skin boy watched Matthew with a smirk. He too looked down on Matthew. Derek’s expression faltered slightly. There was something more in Matthew’s eye, a hunger. Who where they to judge him? The soldier that protected the base beat him without remorse. Fellow hybrids would often turn against each other to gain favors from up top, isolating them from each other. When you can’t trust the man next to you, who can you trust? Derek’s eyes widened, Matthew’s left arm started smoking. The skin began to burn, dark lines beginning to form. They saw him as nonhuman, when he never had a choice. Matthew did not choice this nor did any of the other children forcibly detained here. Matthew may have once been human, but this would be his first lesson in power. Matthew was no longer human and will never be. That is what these humans feared. Derek readied his hands. A bead of sweat sliding down the side of his face as Matthew slowly approached him. All other combatants stopped what they were doing, the smell of burning flesh filling the air. They turned to Matthew, the dark marks spreading down his left arm. “To gain something, something of equal value must be given-“ Derek didn’t know what was happening, but he knew he had to act. With a powerful right hook, Derek thought he would incapacitate Matthew with one blow. To his horror, Matthew barely moved from the hit. Derek’s fist colliding with Matthew cheek and Matthew still stood. As if Derek’s punch was nothing more than a breeze on the wind. “To ascend to a higher power, we had to sacrifice a piece of ourselves-“ Matthew’s right fist darkened. All this time his brown eyes, full of hate and spite, were fixed on Derek. With a single motion, Matthew’s fist made contact with Derek’s cheek. In an explosion of dark energy, Derek flew through the air before coming to rest twenty feet away in a heep. “To gain the first taste of our power, I had to strip myself of the illusion that I could continue to be human.” Lara could not believe her eyes. Lara could not keep her eyes off of Matthew. The young boy turned his gaze to her and she could feel all the anger and rage. The memory ended. “What was that all about?” Applejack asked, turned to look to Dark Matthew. The stallion was nowhere to be found. In his place was another descending stair case of light brown wooden steps. Applejack turned to Twilight. Twilight looked to her friends. Each of them only offered her worried looks. “What should we do Twilight?” Pinkie Pie asked, her pink hooves trembling slightly. There were no smiles in these memories, no laughs to shine through. Twilight turned to the staircase, “I think we should go further.” “Why?” Twilight turned to Applejack, trying to think of an answer. The answer however came from Fluttershy, “I think we need to look further.” “But why?” Applejack stressed again. “We don’t need to push further! Matthew may have a messed up past, but he hasn’t done anything bad to us or anypony. Why do we need to pry further into his life?” “Because we have no idea who or what he truly is. Matthew could very well be playing us or his allegiance could be to something detrimental to Equistria’s security. His story is legit so far, but that does not mean all of it is true. Matthew has power and he may be a threat to us. It is our responsibility as the Elements of Harmony to ensure the safety of Equestria.” Twilight felt the weight of her words bare down on her shoulders. My role as a princess means I have to protect more than just my friends and family. The needs of the many outweigh Matthew’s right to privacy. 0 0 0 Luna strolled through the bustling corridors of Canterlot Castle, her mind wondering. After meeting with several of the city contractors, the estimate of the damage was rising along with her headache. Buildings had to be repaired and compensations for the property damage have yet to be fully totaled. And let us not forget the giant hole in the throne room boring through the pantry, dungeon, basement, sub-basement and the sub-sub-basement. We didn’t even know we had one of those. Luna’s eyes wandered over one of her sister’s guards, his gold armor sparkling in the light. Luna moved towards her sister’s location in the hospital wing. The Princess of the Sun had been very quiet for the past hour. After giving her orders, Celestia had chosen to go to the hospital wing and check on Twilight. Pushing the heavy door open, Luna was caught off guard by the sight of her sister’s horn over Matthew. Waves of gold radiance spilled over Matthew. Celestia’s eyes were focused on Matthew, not paying attention to the approaching Luna. “Tia, for what reason art though in here?” Celestia turned to Luna, a troubled look in her eye. “Hello Luna. Is something the matter?” “Why thoust is not with our citizens? Instead, thee have taken to scanning Matthew. Why?” Celestia took a deep breath, “I wanted to test a theory I had.” “And that would be?” “I don’t think Matthew is a true alicorn.” Luna’s eyes stayed on her sister for several seconds, her jaw working to try and think of a response. “Thee have lost me, dear sister.” “Lulu, remember what mom and dad said about alicorns?” Celestia asked, giggling at Luna’s confused expression. “Alicorns are a representation of order. Our lives are long because we draw upon the natural forces around us. This is why we have the strongest magic out of any of the races.” “But what doest this have to do with Matthew?” “When Matthew first attempted magic, it felt wrong,” Celestia turned to Matthew’s horn. (No! Not THAT horn! Get your minds out of the gutter!) “Matthew’s connection with magic is a fluke. Even if he were to try and discipline himself in the arts, he would not be stronger than an average unicorn.” “Why is that?” “I wanted to know too,” Celestia said, turning to Luna. “While scanning him, I realized a disturbing truth.” “Please stop with the suspense and tell me.” “Scan him yourself, it would be much easier for you to feel it,” Celestia stepped aside for Luna to approach Matthew’s sleep form. Luna’s horn glowed with a deep blue aura before sending waves of azure light over Matthew. What she felt was so strange. Matthew’s form was radiating. Luna felt herself become overwhelmed with the feeling of power wash over her mind. It felt like she was being suffocated under an ocean wave. Matthew’s body poured out energy, reacting to the magic in this world. This was the difference between Matthew’s power and magic. Matthew would never hold a candle to a large portion of the pony population. Power was metaphysical, created by Matthew virtue, thoughts and being in his true mind. Magic was its opposite, a readily available energy in the very fabric of Equestria. “I don’t understand,” Luna whispered, halting the spell. “It seems that Matthew is a false alicorn,” Celestia said, trying to study everything she could about him. “I theorize that while obtaining these marks on his body, Matthew’s physical body had to adapt due to the strain of his own power. While traveling between worlds, Matthew’s level of endurance required a body that had similar physical abilities. An alicorn would be one of few that could meet these criteria.” “That’s why he is like this,” Luna muttered. “Do you believe he will remain like this? If his power is reacting with magic, will he loose his horn and change?” Celestia hummed to herself, “I believe so. One way or another, Matthew’s magic is limited and will leave him.”