• Published 13th Nov 2012
  • 1,292 Views, 24 Comments

Darkness in the North - Commissar Rarity



Twilight and Trixie team up to fight druids

  • ...
3
 24
 1,292

Balance Slays the Demon

“In the end
It’s never just the light you need
When balance slays the demon
You’ll find peace

In the end
It’s never just the dark you seek
When balance slays the demon
You’ll find peace”
- from “Balance Slays the Demon” by Poets of the Fall




Facing the unholy abomination rising from the pits of the earth, Trixie could think of only one thing to say: “Run!”

She broke off from the other two mares in a panic, legs moving of their accord. Her mind, though not weak, was unable to process the still-growing form of Khaazad-Tûl. The horror of confronting a demon even when prepared would break ponies stronger than her.

Stronger than… her.

Trixie skidded to a stop as that thought flittered through her head. No. She was strong. She was Trixie, great and powerful. She wasn’t weak. She wasn’t weak at all. She turned back to face the demon, face set in grim determination.


Khaazad-Tûl stepped forward, flakes of skin sloughing off his body. “S-s-so, little ponies-s-s want to s-s-stop me.” He raised a claw, foul green magic arcing around it as he prepared chaos magic. He snapped his wrist, the flinging the arc of magic at the ponies.

Twilight swung her head down, purple energy popping into existence around her horn. A small shield of the same hue appeared in the bolt’s path, intercepting it. The impact on the magical shield made her recoil a little.

Her heart beat rapidly, adrenalin making her unsteady on her hooves. A demon of Tartarus was no easy opponent, and the other times she’d faced creatures of this power she’d had her friends to help. Could she really banish it with the help of only a braggart illusionist and an earth pony who looked like she’d never had a hard day’s work?

She smiled. Of course she could.


Gathering energy in her horn, she started to strafe quickly around the demon. He followed her movements with his one eye that was not sealed by flesh. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Daydancer getting up, looking like she was ready to join the fight.

With a flash, she let loose with a burst of energy in the form of a beam, carving a path down the demon’s body. For a moment it looked as though she had succeeded – his body was slowly falling apart –

And then the halves melded back together. Twilight froze in astonishment. Books on demons were banned for the most part, and the ones she had read told nothing about this ability. In the back of her mind, she noticed he looked smaller than before. His regeneration must be affecting his body mass, she thought.

With enough damage dealt, the demon would have no mass to fall back on to regenerate, and his spirit would disintegrate on the winds and return to Tartarus. She smiled again at this knowledge. If she could just keep this pace up, they’d be done in no time –

Something struck her, sending her flying head over hooves. She had failed to notice him preparing more magic. Twilight laid there on her back, feeling as though there were a heavy weight on her chest. Wiggling her hooves, she tried to flip back over but the magic weight was too heavy. Maybe if she used her teleport spell to flip?

Magic crackled feebly around her horn. No use. Either the beam had tired her more than she thought, or the weight was blocking it.

Flapping his tattered wings, the demon flew up and landed next to Twilight. He leaned over her, and she saw for the first time how hideous and grotesque his features were. She could feel bile rising in her throat.

He raised a claw, razor sharp and dripping with some horrible substance. Before he could bring it down and end her, a blue burst of magic struck him, reducing one of his wings to cinder. He turned to face his new attacker.


Trixie. She stood there, ragged cape blowing in the breeze with a smug smile. “Behold the amazing magics of Tr-r-rixie!”

There was a flash of light, and smoke arose from where she stood. When the smoke cleared, three Trixies stood where the first had, each with that same frustrating expression. They broke apart, each running in a different direction.

Hissing, the demon leapt away from Twilight, head jerking around trying to follow the Trixies. They all skidded to a stop, and all began to charge mana in their horns. There was a loud crack and the three bolts of energy arced towards the demon. He dodged one, took one to the leg and another to the chest. Each punched a neat hole in his quivering flesh.

The demon roared in confusion, looking at the two holes that were filling with more flesh. Turning one of his limbs into a whip-like appendage, he flung it at one of the Trixies that had struck him. She tried to escape, but the tendril snaked around her leg and drew her close.

The appendage returned to his body, and it morphed back into a claw, clutching her by the throat. By the time he noticed the smug smirk returning to her face it was too late. She exploded in a flash of blue light. His body was greatly reduced by the explosion, bits of it spattering and sizzling on the snowy ground.

How could a magician skilled in illusions do such feats? Not easily. When the illusion of herself exploded, the other fake Trixie shimmered away, and the real Trixie collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily.


In the meantime, Twilight had gotten up. During the brief period the demon was regenerating from the explosion of pure magic, he had shifted his attention from her, dispelling the curse of burden.

“Daydancer! Do something!” she cried, looking in her direction.

“I can’t!” Her voice was shaky, full of panic. “I keep trying but nothing’s happening!” She stood, quivering and staring at a giant shard of the tower in front of her.

She had no magic left in her. Someone had activated the failsafe the alicorns had placed in the tower, Twilight realised.

That was bad.


Khaazad-Tûl made a gesture, and the skull of Barsabas appeared in his claw, broken and cracked from the collapse of the Obelisk. He ground it to powder, and took the horn the giant had stolen from the body of Stipticus. His flesh sizzled as he lifted the horn to his forehead and jammed it in root-first.

“His-s-s power is mine,” he rasped.

Then something curious happened. The sizzling that that gone along with his clutching of the horn began again. He clutched at the horn, which was slowly sinking into the flesh of his forehead.

“What is-s-s this-s-s?” Grabbing at it, he struggled mightily trying to dislodge it. With great effort, he ripped it from his skull, muscles standing out in his lanky limbs. He flung it aside, smoke rising from the hole.

The hole was not sealing. He hissed in anger. Somehow, the pure magic that still resided in the horn had reacted poorly to his black chaos magic. The demon resolved to finish this quickly, before the pure magic damaged him further

Morphing his arms into tentacles, he flung them at the two unicorns. Seizing them in his grasp, he drew them closer. They were struggling, writhing against the grasping appendages. His grip was too tight though – their efforts only wrapped them tighter in his grasp. As they drew close to him, he shifted the arms back to claws, clutching their throats.

Had he a proper mouth he would have smiled in anticipation.

“Rip you, fles-s-sh and bone,” he rasped. “Kill you s-s-slowly.”

The maw in the centre of his chest gaped open, jagged teeth probing the air. He slowly moved Twilight’s head towards it.

With a gout of black fluid, something white tore through the maw. It was pointed, forming an endless spiral.

The horn of Stipticus.


The demon loosed his grip on the two mares, allowing them to wiggle free. Smoke rose from where the horn pierced his middle. Pierced where he had drawn his link to this world, the madpony. He tried to speak, but only horrible gargles came out.

He slumped to the ground and fell on his face. His body began to disintegrate, flesh turning to ash.


Daydancer stood over his body, gasping for breath. Her coat was slick with sweat. She could hardly believe it. She had killed a demon without her magic. Just her mouth and quick thinking. Well, that and the horn.

“Good job,” panted Twilight. “You did it.”

“I – I did, didn’t I?” Daydancer’s voice was shaky but full of pride. She glanced up at where the Obelisk had once been. “But Augur… he didn’t.”

Twilight followed her gaze. “I don’t know. I think he might have.”


There was silence for a long while. The three mares sat or laid on the ground, recovering their strength.

At one point, Trixie spoke up. “Sparkle… Twilight.”

“Yes?” Twilight looked over at her, quizzically.

The showmare rubbed the back of her neck, bearing a sheepish expression. “Tri… I just wanted to say… Thank you. I couldn’t have done this on my own.”

“I’m… well, I’m happy to help, Trixie.” Twilight paused for a moment. “You know, you’re not as bad as I remember.”

“Neither are you,” Trixie said lowly at first. “Trix… uh, I expected you to be different. More like me.”

“I think we’re more alike than you think.” Twilight smiled at the other mare.


“Boy howdy,” came a familiar twang. “What happened here?”

Applejack and Rainbow Dash were sauntering slowly up to the battered ponies, supporting each other.

Trixie laughed. “Trixie only saved the world.”


Snow continued to fall, covering the world in white.