09- The Demon of Legend
Twilight's blade met Nightmare Moon's, both glowing in shades of blue with heat of contained plasma and arcane flames respectively. Right up against each other, one would notice that Twilight's sword glowed more in a darker shade of blue, much closer to the purple of her jacket, where Nightmare Moon's held a much lighter tone. Sunset and Starlight watched on, recovering their strength for the moment, as Twilight held her own against the demon. Sunset remembered the story now that Twilight had said the name- the Sister of Darkness had supposedly been banished a thousand years ago by her counterpart, the Sister of Light.
If the Dark Sister had returned, Sunset suspected there wasn't much any of them could do. She and Twilight were only so powerful, even their mentor would only last so long against the demon that almost threw the world into complete darkness.
I can't think like that! A voice in Sunset's head spoke, but it wasn't Pinkie or Rainbow's demon. The voice sounded like her own, except it was upset and distorted.
I have so much power... The voice said, sounding naturally malicious. She's weak, ancient, a relic of her time... I'll destroy her.
Yeah! Pinkie's voice sounded. You tell you, Sunset!
You've got this! Rainbow added. I won't let you down this time, I promise.
Sunset was confused, her inner voice was completely contrasting what she was feeling. She didn't think she could win, she wanted to run away, make a better plan of attack, not lose it all in a street brawl. But somehow, this other voice of hers was something she could hold on to and bolster herself with.
And Twilight... Twilight and Nightmare Moon were becoming a storm of steel, neither of them giving the other any moment of rest as they danced and dashed around each other. Their speed seemed equal, but Nightmare Moon clearly had superior sword skills- Unlike Twilight, she had no need to dodge, her blade handling techniques and footwork could easily handle anything Twilight could dish out.
I'll deal with her later.
Twilight was going to answer her for actions, but her tone of voice was much more sinister than she wanted. But as with her resolve, her feelings towards Twilight became aligned with the voice. As unwelcome as it was, it gave her the strength to stand again.
"Come on, girls," she said, addressing her demons. "Let's show this old fossil how to party!"
On the other end of their makeshift arena, Starlight was going over her options. Nightmare Moon was a complete unknown to her, she had only heard of her strength through legend. She wasn't getting very far before, but now, Nightmare Moon was powered up. Of course, Twilight and Sunset had shown up, but neither of them were making much progress either.
Maybe if they all fought together they could take her down. The thought was a bit ego crushing, but she brushed that feeling aside. This was bigger than all of them.
She still had three full power cells to work with, but Nightmare Moon's armor was a huge obstacle for her. Her chainsaber could weaken it, but it needed to make a lot of contact before the damage was noticeable. She still had a few more tricks to try, but all of them were more energy intensive, and if she were to drain herself completely she wouldn't have access to have any of her defensive or evasive techniques.
There was something new though, Starlight noticed. Nightmare Moon's sword now had magic coursing through it. If she could make contact with it, even if only a few seconds, she might be able to recharge a little bit of power off of her. Blade to blade contact was enough, so long as her right hand had contact with her saber, meaning she could sustain her power by deflecting attacks. She'd have to play her cards right, but she certainly had more of a chance now.
And so, as picked herself up, she took her weapon in both hands and held it close to her chest. Concentrating, she focused her energy through her cybernetic limb and into the handle of her chainsaber, making its blade shine brightly. Its teeth sparked and glowed teal, added heat and electricity hanging in the air around them. She let go with her right hand, and it remained in its charged state; it would stay this way for a while, until the energy she gave it was exhausted. She hoped it would last long enough.
As it spun up, the teal glow blurred into itself, making the blade look almost solid.
Starlight ran forward, eager to get back to swinging it.
-----
"Three young demon hunters..."
Selene overlooked the battle at the Coyote Hotel from a rooftop across the street. Twilight had rushed ahead of her, eager to fight, but upon seeing that others were already fighting Selene decided to hang back.
"What do you make of this, Sombra?"
The unicorn sitting beside her looked up disinterestedly. A soft grumble passed through his lips, forming into a short snort. It wasn't any of his business, he was just along for the ride. Under normal circumstances, he'd never consider allying himself with anyone, but the situation was dire, and Selene was a unique case. They had been both friends and enemies at different points in their lives, and the last time they met Selene had proved more than capable of defeating him. And at the current moment, his power wasn't what it used to be, so getting payback was not an option for him when she first asked for his assistance.
For the time being, they were going to cooperate and depend on each other, no matter how much it bothered him.
Of course, he didn't vocalize any of this, he stubbornly kept his fanged mouth shut. He hadn't uttered a word in two thousand years, but he didn't need to. Sombra was more a demon of grand action, though his current form was limiting to how grand his actions could be. As such, he would prefer they not engage with enemies unless they absolutely had to.
"Mmh." Selene understood his thoughts without needing to say anything. "Perhaps we will get to do things your way after all. Our action doesn't seem necessary right now."
Sombra's eyebrow raised, and he coughed as if he was saying 'I told you so'.
They both looked down to the fight below, watching as the three demon hunters fought against Nightmare Moon. Each of them were powerful in their own right, with different styles and weapons and techniques, all of which seemed just barely capable of keeping up with the Sister of Darkness's mortal body.
The first of them, the cyborg in the denim jacket, hit fast and hard, with much ferocity behind each of her strikes. Her weapon was unusual, a glowing, spinning chainsaw on a sword handle. It must have been heavy, yet she was strong enough to swing it around wildly with a single hand. Her natural, organic hand at that. She also had a metal hand that appeared to soak up the magic from Nightmare Moon's sword.
Interesting.
Then there was the woman in the yellow jacket. She seemed quite similar to Twilight in terms of fighting style, yet she moved in a much more relaxed manner. Was she another of Celestia’s students? She knew there were multiple, but Twilight Sparkle was the main one. This other girl had the simplest sword of the ones present, just an enchanted piece of demon metal from the looks of it, but she wielded it with such speed and precision, it was probably all she needed. Her coat also was similar to Twilight's, but had different markings and color.
Curiously, she had a lollipop in her mouth. Perhaps it helped with her focus.
Twilight herself fought just as well as Selene expected, judging by their encounter with the Tantibus. She made fast, fluid movements, powerful strikes, and always stayed a step ahead of her opponent. Her other weapons worked well together, the cloak, mantle, and gauntlets all being wearable, unlike the other girl’s weapons, which had to be used independently. Twilight was quite reserved in using them though, she much preferred her sword.
Or were her other weapons less reliable?
Just as Twilight seemed to be on the edge of losing her combat flow, she made a subtle adjustment in how she gripped her katana. Nightmare Moon's sword came at her, but she didn't parry the strike like she had before, instead twisting her body around the massive weapon and lunging forward at her with a stab.
Twilight's counterattack struck hard, puncturing Nightmare Moon's chest armor and finally forcing her to step back, but it came at a cost: The Dark Sister had readjusted her blade, and Twilight had taken a slash across the face. Everything seemed to pause for a moment as both Twilight and Nightmare Moon stared at each other, taking in the fact that they had both been hit. Selene expected one of them to make a move, but Twilight seemed to be frozen in place. Taking advantage of the pause, Sunset and Starlight charged in behind her, landing consecutive blows on the Dark Sister and looking to have the advantage.
Twilight was still stunned, though. A mental attack of some kind, Selene guessed.
Unfortunately, she wouldn't recover fast enough to back the others up. Nightmare Moon was almost immediately able to stand her ground, the single hit nothing to her in the long run. Just as Twilight had herself composed again, Selene saw magical energy pulse around her for a moment, but then all four of them became fuzzy blurs, seemingly teleporting around the immediate area. They were distorting time, she could tell, only picking up small pictures of the fight through brief moments playing out in normal speed.
Several things happened.
One, Twilight got caught in an upward swing of Nightmare Moon's sword, and she was quickly slammed back down into the street when Nightmare Moon flew up after her.
Two, the red haired demon hunter exchanged sword hits with Nightmare Moon, and went into a bind with her. However, she wasn't able to react to the dozens of light swords being summoned above her head. When they dropped, she was pinned to the ground and kicked aside.
Three, the cyborg's glowing blade sliced into Nightmare Moon's shoulder plate, grinding the metal down surprisingly quickly, but before she could cut all the way through she was shoved away. The demon came around with wide and rapid sword cuts as she advanced, forcing Starlight to jump back again and again, until she finally took a hit and was knocked all the way back to the edge of the main street.
Concern flashed in Selene's eyes. Not one of them were getting back up. Nightmare Moon was too powerful, they'd need to retreat. She looked around for possible escape routes. The road leading past the hotel was clear, as was the main street leading up it. Following the road in the other direction there were two other figures, watching the fight with much concern in front of an RV.
Out of the corner of her eye, Selene thought she saw someone else standing on another rooftop somewhere, but when she looked they were gone. Her eyes went down to Sombra, who was looking in the same direction. His head turned back to her.
"You saw that too, didn't you?"
Sombra nodded.
"Who were they?"
Sombra's shoulders rolled, and he gave an uncertain hum. That was most voice Selene had heard from him since they'd been traveling together.
Back in the street, Nightmare Moon had clearly defeated the three before her.
"We need to get them out of here." Selene said.
Sombra's eyelids fell in sarcastic anticipation.
"They're our only chance of stopping Nightmare Moon. Even if we can only save one of them, we must do it."
A huff and an eye roll was all Sombra gave in response, before looking back to Selene expectantly.
"I was thinking we focus on Twilight, she was agreeable to helping us."
Sombra's eyes narrowed.
"What do you mean we can't trust her? We can trust her enough."
His eyebrows both raised, but his mouth retained its flat expression.
"We're not being completely transparent with her either. She doesn't need to know everything about us, and we don't need to know everything about her." Sombra's face didn't change, and Selene continued talking. "What, do you want to grab the cyborg girl first?"
Sombra shook his head.
"The redheaded one?"
A sign of acknowledgement.
"Why her?"
Sombra didn't reply, but Selene got the feeling that he was trying to suggest that she was the most important of the three.
Being done with their engaging conversation, Sombra's form melted away into a liquid shadow that scooped Selene off her feet and carried her from the building and down to the streets.
Selene appreciated the lift, but wasn't expecting it, and she squirmed a bit as her balance shifted. Sombra only held her tighter until he could set her feet back on the ground and resume his unicorn form.
"I'd appreciate a warning next time..." She said, directing her attention to the battle of interest once more.
-----
Nightmare Moon took long, heavy strides towards the downed Twilight Sparkle. A long cut across her cheek that stretched onto her chest was gradually healing itself, but she was still catching her breath. This fight was too much for her.
Before the demon reached her, Sunset jumped in to intercept, holding a strong blade lock against Nightmare Moon. Her boots dug into the ground, and she had one hand on each end of her weapon, the grip used when met with more power than she could handle. She turned her head back to Twilight.
"Both of you, get out here! We can't beat her!" Sunset held strong, but she couldn't hold forever.
Starlight wasn't ready to back down. She may have only had one power cell left, but she was ready to give it all to this fight. Of course she was running in to help. "No way, I'm not leaving until you are!"
Twilight held her sword out to the side, blocking Starlight's path. "She's right, we can't face her right now."
Starlight pushed the sword down, but Twilight grabbed her shoulder as she tried to pass her. "Nightmare Moon is only going to get stronger if we let her go!"
“She'll kill all three of us if we stay." Twilight said.
Sunset’s hold slipped for a moment, and Nightmare Moon shoved her to the side. Stepping past her, she let out a sphere of energy from her hand that blasted both Starlight and Twilight back down the main street.
“Hey!” Sunset called out. “I'm not done with you yet!”
Nightmare Moon shifted her sword position, slicing through a party cannon shell just before it hit her.
Sunset looked to the other two demon hunters again. “Seriously, go! I can't keep her here forever!” Bringing her sword back to bear, she desperately struck at Nightmare Moon, just to get her attention.
Twilight did just that, but Starlight still had objections. She stared at Twilight in disbelief.
"What, you'd just leave someone trying to help you behind?" Starlight asked, following after her as she sheathed her weapon and began to walk away.
"Yes." Twilight's response was almost immediate.
“She's going to die!” Starlight said, glancing back at Sunset before chasing Twilight further down the street. "You have to help."
Right before she was on her, Twilight turned, replying only with an agitated, uncaring stare, so cold that froze Starlight in place. The look made her uneasy, its message loud and clear. No, she didn't have to help, and she wasn't going to.
"Guess you really have changed..." She mumbled.
"But you haven't," Twilight replied, bringing her face close to Starlight's to emphasize her intent. "If you stay here, you'll die for nothing. You're not strong enough to handle this, so go home.”
“I am too!” Starlight glared at Twilight, shoving her away, but before she could do anything else Twilight swung her whole katana and sheath at her. With both hands behind it, she pressed the startled Starlight up against a nearby vehicle.
“No, you're not.” Twilight said, keeping her sword solid in its place as Starlight tried to push back against it. She pushed and grunted, but for all of her effort couldn’t move Twilight back.
“I… am!”
“Then prove it! Push me off of you!” Twilight kept her feet planted, and Starlight was completely unable to move her.
Starlight’s fist glowed, activating and coming up from under the sheathe barring her, but Twilight caught her at the forearm. She tried to kick at Twilight, but she still couldn't move her, and the action only loosened her footing more.
Her back slammed against the car as she finally lost her strength, and Twilight just looked at her with disappointment as she backed away.
“Why do you care so much?” Starlight asked, after a moment of Twilight's silence. "Huh?"
Twilight didn't respond, instead, she took steps away from Starlight, walking down the ruined main street.
"Answer me!" Starlight called after her, but she didn't listen. Someone else was waiting for her ahead, a blue-haired woman.
"Selene," Twilight said to this new woman. "We're going."
"Is she coming with us?"
"I don't care."
Starlight quickly glanced to Trixie's RV, seeing both her and Sunburst watching with hopeless expressions. She made a circling motion with her hand, wanting them to meet her around at the end of the street, and they got back in the vehicle. Her eyes went back to Sunset, who was holding another block. She wanted to stay, wanted to keep fighting, but in her current state she knew it was a losing battle.
Sunset's hold finally broke, and Starlight could only stand and watch as she fell onto her back, her lollipop coming out of her mouth and shattering on the ground.
Twilight was right, she didn't really have a choice. She had to be left behind.
-----
Things were not going well for Sunset, but she was doing what she intended; giving everyone else time to get away. Laid out on her back, she spared a look to the side and saw the RV was escaping, leaving her alone with the Sister of Darkness.
Regardless of what happened, Sunset had achieved her goal. Everyone else was able to escape. Sunset wasn't afraid of something happening to her.
Sunset, get up! Rainbow's demon shouted at her. You're not out yet!
Come on, come on! Pinkie's demon shook her internally, but it didn't help.
"Looks like this is it, huh..." Sunset breathed. Nightmare Moon stood over her, her wings folded behind her back and her sword held low. The massive demon reached out with her free hand and grabbed all of Sunset's torso, lifting her up to meet eyes with her.
"Come on! Do your worst!" Sunset struggled as much as she could, but her fight was gone. In her struggle, the amulet around her neck fell loose, catching the demon's attention.
"What are you waiting for?" Sunset shouted, not realizing why the demon was just staring at her. "A holiday card?"
Nightmare Moon put her sword away, and without acknowledging any of Sunset's taunts, she plucked the amulet off of her neck.
"Hey!"
The amulet… Sunset's inner voice said.
"Oh, you're not going to like what happens next..." She growled.
Hold on, what happens next? Rainbow's demon asked. Aren't we about to die?
Nightmare Moon disinterestedly threw Sunset on the ground, needing both hands free to loop the amulet's chain around her own neck. Sunset pushed herself back up, but the demon was suddenly right up on her, ramming her huge sword straight down through Sunset's chest and impaling her entire body on it. The sword split the street as it stuck up from it, leaving her dangling a foot up off the ground.
All Sunset could give was a nearly silent gasp of pain. Losing the fight wasn't the important part, she was losing what she been trusted to safeguard. It was never about her rivalry with Twilight, Celestia was really trying to keep something like this from happening. A demon getting their hands on the amulet was infinitely worse than another of her students. And if that demon was one of the most powerful demons in history? Surely, the worst possible thing.
Without any witty remarks or cool facades to hide behind, it hit her all at once. She had failed Celestia and everyone else she cared about. It was heavy, more than she was ready to process.
"Child of Celestia..." Nightmare Moon's cruel voice finally echoed from within her metal suit. "So foolish of you to think you could challenge me and emerge victorious. Not even your master could defeat me in pure combat."
Sunset closed her eyes, and the voice took over her thoughts again. Angrier it became, angrier and more viscous. No!
Nightmare Moon took up Sunset's sword and examined it. As huge as it was, it was small to the demon, the length of a short sword to her. Still, she seemed just as interested in it as she was the amulet.
You're taking what's mine...
"Hmm. Redemption, the most underwhelming of Celestia's swords... Fitting, she would give it to someone as weak as you."
You're destroying my home...
Sunset was unable to respond, her body was locked up. The voice wouldn't let her move...
You're destroying my friends... Her friends. If she failed, they would pay for it, not her. Twilight too, as much as she hated her right now. The thought of them suffering further because of her failure... Sunset's eyes began to tear as that thought overwhelmed her senses. How would she feel if she lost her friends to Nightmare Moon? Afraid, lonely, hopeless, sad... angry.
So very, very angry. Furious, at herself, at Nightmare Moon, at Twilight, at the world that had taken what was most important from her.
That anger dominated any other feeling.
"I won't let you take them from me!" The voice screamed. Or did she scream it? She couldn't tell. Regardless, she felt every muscle in her body tense up, a renewed energy surging through them. The voice inside deafened her, every bit of anger at herself and her situation building within her until they broke through her skin in the form of brightly burning flames.
The fire did not consume her, though, within it, she was transformed. Her skin's color turned to a pale red, it became thicker and rougher in all places. Her hair turned a brighter shade of red, and two leathery wings sprouted from her back, pushing straight through her coat. The coat itself seemed to merge with her body, becoming a golden brown, hardened carapace around her shoulders and torso that still flowed stylishly around her legs. Her eyes blackened, nothing but two narrow red irises in them, and her teeth became razor sharp. She felt powerful, more powerful than she had in a long time, and with this power, the voice within her become one with her own.
That voice, her Inner Demon, had been fully awoken, and the demon-turned Sunset was focused now on one thing: Vengeance.
Somewhere, deep down, she was afraid, for she had never wanted her Inner Demon to resurface ever again. But currently that fear was being buried under layers of rage. It was not a wild, uncontrolled rage, though. No, she would regulate it, concentrate it, and focus it into a narrow stream that would pulverize anything in front of it.
Pressing both feet on the ground, she pushed up against the sword sticking through her with all of her might.
"I'm... not... through...with... you!" She declared, each word louder than the last. She forced her body around the obstruction in it, the hole in her gradually growing in size as she neared the sword's hilt, and ripping even further as she pushed past that. The sword's pommel broke through her collarbone, just beneath her throat, but her demonic regeneration was healing her so fast that the wound was already closed by the time she was clear of the weapon.
For the record, that was the largest thing she had ever been shoved through her. Now, it was time to return the favor. She reached back behind her with both hands, pulled the sword from the ground, and threw it forward over her head at Nightmare Moon, who until this point had not been threatened by Sunset's transformation.
Nightmare Moon caught her sword by the blade, but the tip of it breached her chest armor, and she recoiled a bit before readjusting to hold it properly. Sunset's own sword was released up into the air, and with her new wings she flew up to catch it.
"Let's see how you handle this!" Sunset flew towards the twisted knight, quickly forcing her to back away with just a few strikes of her sword. Nightmare Moon backed herself up the stairs, focusing on guarding against Sunset's much stronger attacks.
Sunset pressed her as hard as she could, swinging her sword again and again, finding that she could channel her energy into it to bathe its blade in flames. She ripped away at Nightmare Moon's armor, cutting it up in ways that she wasn't able to before. Her anger, her thirst to inflict what this demon had inflicted on others gave her so much power, and she immersed herself in it completely.
"You're finished!" The same demonic voice that was in her head came out of her mouth, making the air around them tremble.
With one last thrust, Sunset pushed her blade straight through Nightmare Moon’s chest, the armor there sufficiently weakened. She responded by immediately shoving Sunset away, breaking her grip on the sword, and backing up several more steps.
She looked into Sunset's eyes, and gave an ominous reply.
"This does not matter..."
She reached out behind her, touching the demonic tower that had summoned her to this realm. Sunset closed in to get her sword back, but right as she grabbed its handle, the tower began to glow, creating a dark portal around Nightmare Moon. There was no time to pull her blade away, and she was pulled into the vortex with the demon.
The portal closed, a broken lollipop being the only indication that Sunset had ever been there.
-----
A portal suddenly opened, dropping Sunset and her opponent somewhere completely unfamiliar. Some kind of tall, rounded tower on the outer wall of a massive, ancient castle. The exact location wasn't important, though. She still had a fight to win.
Still tightly holding onto her sword, she pulled back from Nightmare Moon, bringing it around to fight again, but her blade met a cut that perfectly countered hers. Sunset's balance was thrown way off, and the far end of Nightmare Moon's sword cut across her fingers, the unexpected sting of pain causing her to release her weapon into the air behind her. It spun, and ultimately fell from the tower out of her sight.
Nightmare Moon immediately stepped in before she could do anything else, capitalizing on her moment of vulnerability. She cut down through Sunset again and then grabbed her by the neck, choking her before she could summon another weapon. The area to her back was beyond the castle walls, the perfect place to dispose of her foe. She began a powerful spin, Nightmare Moon holding her arm low to the ground and dragging Sunset's face against it, getting muffled sounds of pain in response.
Upon completing a full two spins she put all of her momentum into flinging the smaller demon girl into the air, launching her far over the edge of the tower towards the forest surrounding the castle. She wouldn't let her just fall though, no, Nightmare Moon would summon a set of light swords to fire at her, each one striking her back up into the air just a little bit, making her fall incredibly slow and painful.
Eventually, Sunset lost hold of her anger to the pain of the glowing swords shooting through her, and she reverted back to her human form. Blurred voices in her head called out to her, but she couldn't keep them in focus. She couldn't keep anything in focus, she was falling and everything was spinning.
The last thing she processed was Nightmare Moon flying up to her and spiking her downward with a swing of her sword, and then a cold numbness as she impacted hard against something.
Then, darkness.
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<They fought well, but not as a team. That's why they lost. Although I admit Sunset might have won if she didn't end on the other side.>
~Why the sudden Interest? Why do you care? You are a being of chaos!~
<What happens if Nightmare Moon wins? This place becomes yet another dull Demon Realm. Sure a Demon Realm might look fun... at first. But after a mere few centuries it gets so predictable it bores me to tears! Think of the duality of humans, born without power but able to win it if they survive contact with demons and then coexist with their inner demons after awakening. Think of how many people will have, are having their inner demon awakened thanks to this chaos and terror! If Nightmare Moon wins all these interesting people will do is either die or become true demons... and what's the fun in that?>
~So... you will intervene? Use what little power the seal let's you use to help them?~
<Oh Celeste, how naive you are! You think is mere coincidence all these girls ended having no choice but to fight Nightmare Moon? Having them skip the Boss fight would be no fun!>
~...You are right, they are not listening to me.~
<Sometimes, honesty is the best policy, isn't it? And saying that, I still think you are a hot Princess!> Discord then laughted at his name joke.
~I am not a Princess!~
<Only because you chose not to be, because you let the pain of your loss dominate you. You could have been humanity guiding light... that way it would be more fun once I get free. But whatever, is not my choice, is yours. So what will you do now Celeste?"
9690888
I'm not sure how, but you've pretty much figured out the long and short of what Celestia's been up to...
9761715
That's fair, but having played DMC5 myself, I super don't trust her lol
Sounds really interesting to read. Can't wait to get started!!
9955045
Not sure! The Tantibus generates an alternate form of someone based on their existing magic/powers. Your character seems to already have different forms, so the Tantibus would either create another version of him based off his current form, or it might force him into an already existing form. (Though you'd be the judge, i only gave the two pieces youve linked quick read-overs!)
10014622
Therell be plenty more of that, for sure!
10015105
I hope you enjoy the rest of it. I'll do my best to getting around to finishing it this year, hopefully!
Berzerk mode Activated.
MMMMMMMMMOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRE PLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEASSSSSSSE?!
Whoa time slowed down there for a sec.