Hellfire Dash

by Centurion Pike-Wall

14~A proper reunion

Umbra turned around slowly, staring at the alicorn behind her. She did a quick look over herself as best she could. The clothing was the same, she still had on her face coverings and hat, and her wings still resembled those of bats. Then, she looked a little way up, and saw a string of orange, red, and yellow hair peeking under the brim of the hat. Knowing she was caught, she still said, "Ummm. No?"

Twilight crossed her arms, eyes narrowing. "Ok, I'm not Applejack. But even I know that was a lie. And you know it too."

She considered running. She could easily outrun her, and outfly her if it came to that. She could make it out of there and get away from her easily. But, she knew that wouldn't solve the issue. Push come to shove, she might even go to the Princesses, and she didn't really want to involve them. So, she stood up, sliding her knife into her jacket sheath. She held up her hands, before they fell to her sides and she said, "Ok. Yeah. It's me. 'Sup."

She expected Twilight to... well, she didn't really know what she would do. She said, "Why?"

That was something she didn't expect. She stuttered out, "W-what do you mean?"

"Why didn't you come back!?", Twilight shouted, walking up to her. "If you're alive, then why the Tartarus did you not come back!?"

"Y-you're not wondering how I'm alive?", Umbra asked, a mix of confused and terrified.

She yelled back, "I honestly don't care how you're alive, I just care that you are!"

"Technically, no." As soon as she said that, she winced, realizing her mistake.

Sure enough, Twilights eyes widened in confusion, before narrowing. "And what does that mean!? What is going on!?"

"Look, I need to go. Catch ya later, Twi!". She tried flying in the direction Pillar and the filly went, only to be stopped by a purple shield. The same shield then slammed into her and sent her flying backwards, landing on her back and sending a jolt of pain up her wings. An aura of magic surrounded her, lifting her up with Twilight.

She said, "Now. Explain. Why didn't you come back?"

Umbra couldn't exactly tell her. You know, about being a Daemon and what-not. She said, "Look, I can't. I-"

"What do you mean you can't?", Twilight shouted, by now visibly angry. "What aren't you telling me?"

"You know what, fine", Umbra said, indicating up to her hat. Twilight let her magic go, and Umbra removed the extra bits of clothing on her head. Her neck gaiter, exposing her teeth; her sunglasses, exposing her blood-red eyes; and of course, her hat, exposing her swept back horns. "Because I'm a bucking Daemon, Twi! That's why!"

That sent her into shock, and Umbra used the momentum that gave her to push her point. "Yeah. I'm a literal Daemon from Hell. My job is to hunt down the creatures who make deals with other Daemons and to collect their souls. That's why I was in Ponyville; I was on business all right. Collecting souls. I kill people for a job."

"B-but how!?", Twilight yelled, face contorted in a mixture of sadness, anger, and confusion.

"After Tirek blasted you into a coma, I was confronted by this Daemon. Abaddon. He got you out of the coma, and in return I gave him my blood."

"What does you giving blood have anything to do with becoming a Daemon!?"

"In this business, blood is like gold. It holds the soul, and I have to collect it when I kill someone." She then shook her head, and said, "Look, none of this matters. I have other matters I need to attend to, and I really need to go!"

"Still, why didn't you come back!?", Twilight said. Umbra got up in her face, wings flared and fangs bared.

"What part of 'I'm a BUCKING Daemon' did you not get! What was I supposed to do!? Knock on the door, convince Spike to let me talk to all of you, and just say 'Oh, hey girls. I'm now a Daemon from Hell who kills people and takes their souls for a living, but we can still be friends, right'? Who in their right bucking mind would-MMPH!"

She was cut off by Twilight slapping her, sending her head lolling to the side. "What is wrong with you? We're your friends, Rainbow. It doesn't matter what you are; we're still friends. And, I, I still love you."

"Well maybe you shouldn't", Umbra said, looking away and crossing her arms. "Maybe you should just move on."

"What did I just say, Rainbow? I just said that it doesn't matter what you are. What matters is-", Twilight said, only to be once again cut off by Umbra.

"And I agree with you. But it isn't just what I am. It's what I've done." She slumped down on a bit of rubble of the castle, looking up at her former marefriend through her bangs. "Like I said, my job is to hunt people down. To take their souls. I've killed the elderly and the young. At least one from nearly every living race on the face of the planet. Of every social circle, wealth level, everything. *Sigh*. I was even the one who killed Granny Smith."

"Y-you did?", Twilight said.

Umbra nodded. She looked up a bit more, making eye contact with her. "Just, let it go, Twi. I handle my business, and we'll never see each other again. For both our sakes, just move on, Twi." She stood up, turning to leave, only to stop in her tracks.

"Rainbow, no."

"That, that's not even my name anymore. I told you, it's Umbra Venandi", she said. She kept moving, a tear sliding down her face. She didn't want to, but it was for the best.

Suddenly, a massive pull on her horns sent her stumbling backwards. She was whipped around, face to face with Twilight. Even after all these years, she was still so beautiful. In a voice as soft and gentle as she could ever hope for, Twilight said, "I don't care."

"What?"

"You heard me. I don't care. I still love you. I don't care if I'd have to spend eternity alone, I'd never betray you. We're more than friends, and I don't give a literal hoot in Hell about it."

"Twi, I-"

"Shut up", she said, before pulling Umbra into a kiss.

Her eyes widened, before shutting in bliss. If she concentrated, she could almost imagine it was their first proper kiss, back on the train outside Our Town. A thought then occurred to her; she didn't need to draw the comparison. Twilight was more-or-less right. She still loved her, and it didn't matter as much as she thought it would. After a blissful eternity in their embrace, they pulled apart, giving one another looks of tender passion, with maybe a hint of lust.

"Now", Twilight said, grinning stupidly. "Explain. Everything."

Author's Note:

Dear sweet Lucifer, this was hard. I SUCK at righting this romance crap.

So, yeah. Keep 'er goin'.

Comments

[Youdidwhat]

Oh... Well that was easy.
-Good job by the way