//------------------------------// // An Angel in Demon's Wings // Story: Pieces of Eight // by GhostQuill //------------------------------// “Alright everypony, now if you could please rise, we are going to sing ‘The Heart Carol’.” The entire room rose to their hooves, it was exciting hearing all those ponies stand up at once just to sing. Singing was so powerful, so important, so.. incredible, that it could make hundreds of ponies stand to their feet. They respected it so much that sitting was an insult. Aria was hiding in the shadows of the ceiling upon some rafters. This was her favourite part of the sermon; where the choir and everyone in the room would stand up and sing together. She readied herself, staring down at the huge gathering and room below her. The piano started playing, and everyone sang. The fire of friendship lives in our hearts As long as it burns we cannot drift apart Though quarrels arise, their numbers are few Laughter and singing will see us through (will see us through) We are a circle of pony friends A circle of friends we'll be to the very end And like that, it was over; done for another week. There would be times when the choir practiced their songs through the week, but only when the church was full and crowded with ponies could she join in with them. She laid down on the wooden beam that held up the roof, her head falling to its side as she listen to the rest of the sermon. *** Everyone was leaving the church for another week, but just the same as all the times before, the same conversation was going on with many different ponies. “Did you guys hear it?” “Of course we did.” “I wonder which of the choir ponies has that beautiful voice.” “Dude, it was from someone in the crowd, I was standing near the front, and I could hear the voice was coming from behind me.” “Dude, I was right next to you, it was coming from the front.” “No it wasn’t.” “Guys, I’ve heard all the girls in the choir sing, it was completely different to their voices.” “How would you know what all the choir girls sound like?” His only reply; a playful smirk. Every week all the ponies who went to church would hear this heavenly voice singing with the choir, but no one could place the voice of who was singing. It was like a ghost, or an Angel; as the Priest would put it, came just to sing with the choir. The strange thing was it was only heard when everyone was there for church. Never had the choir heard it during practice, or outside of that time. It was the mystery that had everyone curious. The voice would echo above and all around the church, so no one could place exactly where it was coming from. It had everyone stumped. This had been happening for years now, at the beginning, those who could remember say that it originally sounded like a young child singing, and as the years aged, so did the voice. Some thought it was an Angel; coming to sing and aging with how often it visited from heaven. Some thought it was just one of the pony’s in the crowd, who had a secret talent for singing and kept it to themselves until the choir sang. Whatever it was, everyone came to church just to hear the beautiful voice, even for just a moment. If a wedding was in the church, and they heard the Angel singing, it was believed the joining was blessed by the Gods. Ponies even from out of the town would go there just for their wedding due to this belief. Aria; more commonly known as ‘The Singing Angel’, lived a secluded life, hidden away in the forgotten parts of the huge church. She had been there for as long as she could remember; her earliest memory being from when she was very little and was listening to the choir. She knew no mother or father, no friends or family. She didn’t even know her own name, so she chose one from the titles of scattered music pages. What she did know, came from what she heard during the church sermons, and (tried to) read from ‘The Equestrian Epitome’. She only just barely knew how to read, (she wasn’t sure how she knew, and someone had to have taught her she guessed). But from what she could tell, it detailed all about Equestrian beliefs; such as the Gods who inhabited the Sun and Moon, who watched over the Earth, and Spirits which controlled or embodied aspects of Pony life. All of it was fascinating, but sadly the information only strengthened the fact that she was different. In all its chapters she read, there was one creature that shared her appearance; a Demon. A foul wicked creature with fangs and wings like claws; fated to bring only ruin to the living world. Aria didn’t want this; but it’s what she was, how could she escape it? To keep herself from ruining the lives of all the wonderful ponies she saw around her, she never revealed herself to any of them, and stayed at the church; the holiest of places, hoping that its purity could keep her wretched heart from becoming the Demon she knew herself to be. It was difficult living like this growing up; having to stay hidden and steal food from the church. She didn’t like to steal, so she would always leave something in return. Any old object that she found and had interest to her. They would find a pendant where some bread was supposed to be. Drawings on paper, stone or wood where there used to be fruit. Or freshly picked flowers where there was meant to be milk. It was a usual thing in the church, the Priest decided to let it continue because he felt whoever was taking the food, needed it far more than he did. (Sometimes he would “accidentally” leave food around the place). Aria longed to stand on that stage and sing with the choir, to stand before the rows of ponies and let them see her and hear her music. But she never did, ever since she was a foal, she had known she was different. Her appearance proved that. None of the ponies who came to the church had fangs, or leathery wings, or strange slit eyes. They called her an Angel, but what she read of Angels said that they were beautiful creatures, with light radiating off them like the sun. She had spent enough time in the shadows to know that she didn’t radiate light, nor did she think she was beautiful. She saw beauty in the ponies around her, but not in herself. She hoped that one day… just maybe… but it scared her to reveal it to any of them. So her solitude continued. *** Everypony was gone for another week, and so, Aria made her way down to the cellar beneath the church. It was the resting place of Saints and fine sacred wines. She didn’t like wine. Once when she was little, she found a bottle and tasted it. The taste was strange and she didn’t like it, what made her hate it the most was when she pulled the bottle away from her lips quickly, it all poured out onto her face and she breathed it up through her nose. It was horrible! What’s worse is she had to deal with the smell for a couple days before she managed to borrow some water to clean herself. She kept her gaze straight ahead, and her ears up as they searched for any pony who might be here, she headed to the very end of the cellar and squeezed behind a statue. Behind said statue was a hole in the wall that lead to an empty burial place. A stone slate was where the body would rest, and cobwebs covered in spiders to keep it company. Luckily for Aria there was no body in here when she found it, and she had kept the place clear of spiders for many years. There were only a few candles scattered around the room; unlit. She didn’t have the luxury of having as many candles as she wanted. She tried to take only what she needed, and only when she absolutely needed it. Since she could see in the dark, candles weren’t a necessity, but they helped for a little warmth. Speaking of warmth; Aria climbed on the stone slate; now covered in straw, and wrapped herself in an old and moth eaten blanket. She then pulled off the old leather saddlebag from her back and opened it. Taking out a copy of ‘The Equestrian Epitome’ and went to reading. Its pages worn and bent with constant turning. She always carried her bag with her. It held her only possessions, and odd items she found would go in there. If she ever needed to take something, she always had her bag so she could replace something with another item. *** Hours passed and still she was secluded away in her hidden room, reading through a book she had memorized since she was 10. Her stomach beckoned her for food though. Getting up, she wandered to her corner where she stored food, but remembered that she had already eaten the last of it this morning. She’d have to go find some. With her saddlebag again over her back, she wandered down the tunnel to the cellar’s exit, keeping an ear out for anyone coming the other way. Her long and tangled mane dragged across the dust covered floor with her tail trailing behind. The dirt and dust hid its deep rich purple shine for many years now. Her grey coat was more cobwebs than fur. But her golden eyes glowed in the darkness; vibrant as a full moon on the horizon. Reaching the cellar door, she crawled through and slunk around corners making her way to a back room of the huge church where the priest and other ponies of worship would share meals together. The cupboard was where she searched first; finding the end of some bread, and leaving a simple chain necklace that was left beneath the seats of the church one day. Another cupboard revealed a bag of apples. She took three and left three flowers from the garden in the cemetery outside. She was gleeful over the amount of food she had found and was trying to open a cupboard whose door was a little squeaky, when she heard a small gasp behind her. Jumping around to see who’d caught her, she was shocked to see a colt; one who looked as shabby as she did. It appeared she wasn’t the only one looking for food tonight. Instantly her wings snapped closed against her body, her hooves paced backwards away from the colt and she trembled trying to hide in the shadows. “What?...” He breathed, his own legs taking him away from the scene. “A Demon!” He shouted scampering from the room, his eyes wide with pin-prick pupils. “No! She called, her voice so loud and unfamiliar in her ears. She’d never shouted before. “C-come back!” Aria raced after him and took to the air. She saw him running down the side aisle to the front door and landed in front of him. Her wings outstretched casting shadows in the candle light. He yelled in fear and skidded to the ground onto his back. “Please stop!” She pleaded, her eyes staring at his. He only stared at the huge fangs he saw coming from her mouth. “You’re a Demon! A nightmare! Don’t hurt me!” His shouts echoed through the church, Aria heard many more distant shouts throughout the church all trying to find the source of the trouble. The colt turned and ran while tripping on his tatted scarf. She tried to grab him, stop him from leaving. Hoping that if she could somehow make him trust her, he wouldn’t call her Demon again and could talk to the other ponies about this. That’s what was rushing through her mind as she suddenly tackled him in the centre of the church aisles. “No, no I-I’m not! Please!” She said, “Don’t run from me!” Tears formed in her eyes. The colt was kicking and pawing at the ground to pull himself away from this monster, this thing that was attacking him. His blood ran cold at the thought she might try to eat him. Through the fighting and trying to pin him down, he twisted onto his back and lashed out his hooves at her face. Aria lifted her head trying to avoid the punches while trying to hold him still, but he kicked her throat in the flurry, and she went tumbling backwards. She tried to speak, but it came out as a hoarse gasp; sounding more like a freakish hiss to the colt. Like she was growling at him in anger. Soon the bells of the church were tolling and she span around to see many of the ponies who stayed at the church standing in the passageways. The priest at the front of the line staring at her in shock. She tried to call out for help, but her voice hurt. It hurt to talk. She didn’t know what to do. She ran crying to the entrance of the church, pulling open the heavy doors. She was greeted with many of the townsfolk all running towards the church, and gasping to a stop once they saw her. She heard words like ‘Demon’, ‘monster’, and ‘freak’ all being shouted at the sight of her. She couldn’t take it, she didn’t want to be a Demon, she wanted to be ‘The Singing Angel’ again. She tried to sing, show them that she was their Angel, but her voice still hurt, it came out in gasps and wheezes. The towns ponies were coming towards her. Anger and fear covered their faces, she spread her Demonic wings and took flight. She flew away from there as fast as she could and never looked back. It had been a long flight when she finally stopped and landed down in a clearing. No one was following her, and she could no longer see any sign of the town or church behind her. Her entire life had been that church, and now it was gone. What was she to do? The land of ponies was no place for a Demon, she knew that now. She had hoped over the years that if they ever found out, they might be willing to accept her, but how could they? Who could ask that much of someone? A river near her helped sooth her throat. She could talk again, but only a little. It’d be a while longer before her throat felt alright to sing again. What purpose did she have to sing now though? The church’s sermons had been the only time she ever sang. It seemed so pointless now. *** The moon was high and the night air clear as five bat ponies streaked through the sky, though one of them was still getting used to sleeping during the day and was dragging behind. Little Piper was young, and small, and couldn’t fly for as long or fast as the other ponies in their group could. He also was extremely tired, more used to being active during the day than at the present time. “Alto! Can… we.. rest for.. a minute?” He asked between breaths. “Alright Piper.” The young stallion looked around trying to find a good place to rest. He couldn’t see any towns nearby so they should be safe. They landed between the trees and roosted in the branches. Calypso and Alto were content to sleep above the ground in its branches, but Bardley, Lullaby and Piper chose to rest on the ground. Bardley’s frame too large for the branches, and Piper was not accustomed to sleeping in a tree. Lullaby joined them to look over Piper. Piper instantly fell against her frame and slept. Bardley laid down next to her other side. His wing gently rested over her back to keep her warm. Calypso was asleep just as quickly as Piper had been, her snores reached everyone’s ears. Alto meanwhile kept watch from the top of the tree, keeping an eye on their surroundings and an ear out for danger. An hour or more passed before Alto spotted something. Off in the distance, was what appeared to be a something that was flying. It was moving fast, but occasionally its flight would dip or steer to the side suddenly; like it was having trouble. Hidden from view in his tree top vantage, he watched what he could tell was a lone bat pony flying overhead. He could faintly hear her crying as she passed over. Instantly he knew that this pony needed help, just like the others from their group had. He took flight after her. He made sure not to be seen, he didn’t need her looking back to see a random pony following her. His plan was that once she landed, he’d introduce himself, ask what’s wrong, and see if he’d be able to help. Luckily she didn’t fly for too long. A river close by was where she landed, and the tree line was where he hid. He gazed at her from the shadows, taking in her form. Aside from all the dirt and dust that covered her coat, he could tell she was a beauty. And those eyes, one could fall and get lost in them. Carefully, he left the shadows and said, “Hello?” Good start; something simple. Now onto phase two: ask what’s wrong. “Are you—” “AHHHH!” Not the response he was looking for… “W-wh-what-what?! ….” She was backing away from him, walking into the shallows of the river. His eyes where mesmerized by how her tail flowed in the water, its deep purple shining through the surface in the moonlight. “It’s alright, I’m not going to hurt you.” Alto spoke smoothly, a smile parted his lips. “Stay away from me!” She shrieked, though her voice was hoarse. “Hey it’s okay. No need to be frighted. Look, I’m just like you.” He spread out his leathery wings, bat ponies were always more comfortable around their own kind. She’d be calm in a moment. “GET AWAY FROM ME!” Apparently not. “What’s wrong?! We’re the same, I don’t see why you’re frightened?” “No! No we’re not the same! I’m not like you! I-I can’t be a Demon.” Tears were forming in her eyes again and she looked away to hide them. Suddenly she turned and screamed; “I DON’T WANT TO BE A DEMON!” Well this was new. Alto had never met a bat pony who thought they were a Demon… “No you’re getting this wrong, we aren’t Demons.” “There’s nothing else you can be! Only Demons look like you!” “You look like this too.” “I told you I’m not!” Alto sighed, he knew he wasn’t going to get past this easily. As he walked closer to her, he said; “Listen, my name’s Alto. I’m a bat pony. Nothing else. I’m not a Demon. Or a vampire. Or a monster. And neither are you.” Every step he made, she took an uncertain step backwards, going further and further into the quiet river. “There’s nothing wrong with you, you’re just a breed of pony like the pegasi. Except we share our appearance with bats, instead of birds.” “S-stay a-away from me..” “I’m not going to harm you. I just want to know why you were crying.” “I-I don’t…” “There’s nothing to be afraid of. I just want to talk.” Alto stopped at the river’s bank while she stood in the middle of the river. The water reached up to her stomach. “My name’s Alto. What’s yours?” Everything was silent between them. He could see the conflicts passing over her face. Should she stay? Should she run? He only hoped it was the former. Finally, she spoke. “A-aria. My name is Aria…” “You’re beautiful.” He said, his eyes half closed from staring. His head jolted up as he added, “IT’S beautiful. I-I mean it’s beautiful.” Their faces reddened like sores as Alto rubbed his leg over the other. Aria stared into the face of this strange Demon, except he didn’t call himself a Demon, even though the similarities were unmistakable. He seemed kind, but was it a trick to make her return to Tartarus? She’d always thought she had somehow escaped from that hell dimension. Maybe he had escaped as well… Or maybe… Maybe he wasn’t from Tartarus. Demons from there were ugly, and monstrous and beastly. Yet he looked… cute? She didn’t have much experience with things like this. She wasn’t sure Demons could feel this way. So why did she? Was she attracted to a Demon? Could he be attracted to her? He called her beautiful. But also said he’d meant to say her name, so maybe it was just her name he liked. After all, it was the only thing that wasn’t Demonic about her; taken from the pages of a church’s music book. What could she do? “So, do you want to tell me why you were crying? Might help to get some things off your chest.” He ventured asking again. “I don’t want to go to Tartarus!” She shouted. Her face flushing in embarrassment, having still been in her train of thought from earlier. “Tartarus?” Alto said confused. “Why would you think you’re going to Tartarus? Is that why you’re crying?” “Aren’t you going to make me return there?” “Return? Aria, you never came from there in the first place. You’re not a Demon, you’re a bat pony. Born and raised in Equestria.” “I’m not going to Tartarus?” “No.” “Is it because I was cast out?” “What? No! Aria, you’re. not. a. Demon.” “There’s nothing else I can be! I’m not an Angel, I’m different to the other ponies! I have to be a Demon!” Alto huffed and walked into the water to Aria. Before she could move, he grabbed her shoulders with his soaked hooves and stared into her eyes; unwavering. “Listen to me Aria. You are not a Demon. Demons are tales, they don’t exist. You are however, a bat pony. Bat ponies stay awake during the night and sleep through the day. We have fangs and slit pupils and wings without feathers. We can see better in the night than any other pony and we can hear better than any other pony. So hear me; we are not Demons.” “But—” “No. What I said is true.” He let go of her and turned around towards the shore. Walking away he said. “If you choose to believe my words, then follow me. I doubt you have a home right now, so if you want, you can join ours. But if you don’t believe me, then there’s nothing I can do for you.” He followed the bank of the river away from her and kept walking without looking back. This was her choice. Thoughts were swarming through her skull. So many things she didn’t know contradicted the things she did know. Could she really be a bat pony? Not a Demon like she’d thought for so long. Her entire world was flipping around her. Was there really a place she belonged? A place where she wasn’t the Demon, but ‘The Singing Angel’ once more?... Perhaps not ‘The Singing Angel’, but Aria the Bat Pony didn’t sound too bad either. Alto smiled when he heard the sound of splashing water come closer to him.