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Hell Yeah

by sunnypack

Chapter 13: 13 - Demon's Twilight, Twilight's Demon

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Chapter 13: Demon’s Twilight, Twilight’s Demon

A magus once asked me: ‘Why are promises so important to demons?’ For most demons, the simple answer was that promises and contracts were part of our domains. Rigorously upholding our deals was what gave us power. You can rest assured a demon will always fulfil a promise, no matter how mundane it was. I think I used to do it for that reason, but as time slipped by I did it for another reason. It was for hope. Hope that fulfilling a promise will lead to another fulfilled back. Hope that one day a magus would finally fulfil a promise to a demon. And that day came. But I guess I wasn’t ready for it.

“Dad, I can explain!”

“Hold on a moment, Twily, we have to get out of here. You can explain outside.”

“D-Dad!”

Unfamiliar magic surrounded me and I was suddenly lifted and carried whilst we made our way outside. My insides felt like there was a knife there, twisting with every movement. I tried to move, but Celestia wasn’t kidding when she told me my essence was damaged. This was bad, bad, bad!

Meanwhile, I could feel Night Light’s presence towering over me as he set me down. I struggled to summon my domain, but I couldn’t. Damn, was it all going to end here?

“Morpheus, dear Celestia, I’m sorry, I hit you didn’t I?”

Wait a sec… something was wrong with this script.

“Night Light?”

He gave me a wink. “That’s Mr. Night Light, to you, sonny.” Then he regarded me with a cold stare. “What are you doing here with Twilight?” His horn glowed. “Depending on your answer, the results may not be pretty.”

“Dad!”

“What, Twily?! I’m not going to go easy on him if he deliberately brought you into danger, alright?” He puffed out his chest. “Can’t call myself a father if I didn’t protect my daughter!”

“Dad!”

“Oh fine, I won’t fry you, just explain yourself.”

Erm… “I… We were here to investigate the sprite’s connection to Lex.”

“Lex, huh,” Night Light scratched the back of his head with a hoof. “Wait a minute, that’s the demon that wrecked our headquarters!”

“What?” I surged forwards, then immediately regretted it, doubling over in pain. “Lex—” cough “—was here?!”

Night Light raised an eyebrow. “Yes, indeed. And, oh—sorry to disappoint, but we sent the sprite back almost as soon as we had it.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

“You know, those of your kind don’t belong to this plane. We’re in charge of sending them back so they can go about their business.” He sighed. “There’s always one or two crazy ponies trying to summon other-worldly creatures.”

“Errr, sir, what I mean is that you’re not worried about me being a demon?”

Night Light gave me a strange look. “Should I be worried?”

I shook my head emphatically.

Night Light shrugged. “Then it should be fine.”

“When did you know?”

“Oh, back when you both were injured trying to save another demon.” He sighed. “It was then I knew my little Twily had grown up.” He pursed his lips, but gave me an approving look. “I knew you were different.”

“May I ask why you aren’t blasting me on the spot? I thought your job was to stop demons and creatures like me.”

Night Light laughed easily. “A number of reasons, of course, I mean when I found out my own daughter summoned a demon… dear Celestia.” He rolled his eyes up to the sky. “You can image the shock I had when I found out.” He ended that on a stern note, staring at Twilight, who squared her shoulders uncomfortably. “I know you’re a genius, Twilight, but please, don’t give your old man a heart attack before he can walk you down the aisle, alright?”

“Daaaaaad.”

“Anyway, when I found out, I was nervous, but then the Princess did show me how you helped Twily and you also helped me out with the sprite. You even did my job for me, dismissing another demon to the Other again. Sure you don’t want to join the Board?”

“You were serious? Then why did you give me a card with no address?”

“Well, I… oh dear, I forgot about that.”

I slammed a claw into my face. Before I could say anything else, I was interrupted from behind.

“Watch out for that demon, Head Executor!”

Oh, sweet roiling lava creeks, it was Tourmaline and Amethyst. I forgot about them.

“Oh Mrs. Star and Ms. Star, how may I help you?”

“Head Executor Night Light, are you not aware that standing next to you is a demon?”

Night Light glanced at me and mimicked a shocked expression. “Oh my, what big teeth you have.”

“Head Executor, this is no time for jests! That is a dangerous demon next to you… or is it true and your daughter really has summoned a demon? Outrageous! I shall inform the Crown. They shall know what filthy thing has been summoned. Scandalous, even your dim-witted daughter should know—”

Night Light stared at Tourmaline coldly. “The Crown already knows.” He glared at her. “And I would appreciate it if you didn’t disparage my daughter in your self-centred tirade.” In the same breath, without turning around he raised his voice. “Mr. Mandrel, I can hear you breathing!”

“Ah, yes sir!” A foppish-looking stallion scrabbled out of one of the alleyways. He brushed off the dust from his extravagant coat and took a moment to style his hair, then he came trotting over as if nothing had happened.

“Where were you during the attack?” Night Light demanded.

“I was out in the field, sir.” He straightened his collar. “I managed to track a direction in which the assailant escaped to, but was unable to pinpoint where he went. It’s like he vanished, sir.”

Mandrel spared a glance in the direction of his wife. “Tourmaline, Ammy, dear, what are you two doing here?”

Tourmaline glanced between Mandrel and Night Light. “Hmph!” She turned her nose up, looking like she gained a bit of confidence from her husband’s presence. “The Head Executor and his daughter may very well be a part of this attack, for all we know!”

Mandrel took out a delicate silk handkerchief and wiped his sweaty brow. “Sorry, sir, I’ve told my wife many times that the Board of Containment has different procedures, she’s got a short fuse, but she means well.”

“Mandrel! A demon is right there, didn’t you always tell me these creatures were dangerous?”

Night Light’s brows drew together. “Mandrel, have you been leaking information out of the Board?”

Mandrel dabbed at his brows once more, barely sparing me a glimpse as he pressed his wife. “Tourmaline, dear, you must heed the words of the Head Executor, he acts on the Princess’ authority.”

“I will not! I’m sick of waiting at home, not knowing when you’re going to come back. You’re so secretive about these things, I can’t stand it!”

“Tourmaline, dear…”

Night Light cleared his throat. “Not to burst everypony’s bubble, but there are more important matters here. Mrs. Star, you’ll have to leave, we need to deal with a new demonic threat.”

Tourmaline spun around and pointed a hoof at Mandrel. “You told me this was safe!”

“It is! Usually. But extraordinary circumstances require extraordinary effort! Sometimes you can’t predict this sort of thing happening.”

“We need to escape this chaos, Amethyst, Mandrel, let’s go!”

Mandrel refused to move. “No, I’m sorry, my love, but I cannot abandon my post.”

Tourmaline’s eyes widened. “What? Stop speaking nonsense, we need to escape at the very least.”

“I swore to protect everypony by doing what I can for the Board of Containment. I have a duty to the ponies and to her. You must leave for safety, but I will have to stay.” He raised his head high. “I’m sorry, dear, I’d love to go with you, but I must do it.”

Tourmaline’s voice came back soft and broken. “But… you could be hurt. Why?”

“Because if nopony stands here, then who will?”

I have to admit, listening to this stallion talk about honour and loyalty was way above the initial expectations I had from his first impressionable appearance. His arguments could be platitudes when held to common inspection, but here, now, it was deserving of a little of my respect. Not necessarily because they were right, but because his conviction brought to life his belief in it that swayed those who listened. I think Tourmaline felt the same way, because she teetered, unable to form a coherent argument to counter that sheer will.

“Mandrel, my love… be safe.” She quickly kissed her husband on the cheek and then shot me a dirty glare before leaving.

I sighed. It was like she was blaming me for all her problems. What in the Other did I do to her?

“Amethyst,” Tourmaline snapped, “let’s go!”

Amethyst was rooted to the spot.

“Amethyst Star, you best move your hooves, or I will be very cross!”

Amethyst sent me a look and then bit her lip. “I-I want to stay with dad.”

“Amethyst! I can’t believe you! Why are you being so foalish? I know what is best for you; we must leave at once!”

“Mother, I can’t—”

“Why in Equestria not?!”

“Because… I want to. For a friend.”

“A friend?! Here?!” Her eyes shot to Twilight. “You can’t mean her? She’s the one besting you in everything since she came to the school. She’s an obstacle to your future! You cannot be friends with her.”

Amethyst shot me a glance, but didn’t say anything to correct her mother. Instead she dug in her hooves and gave her mother a more steady look that was more like a thin sheet of paper suspended delicately on a taut string of wire. She quivered under the weight of her mother’s gaze, but didn’t move.

Night Light interrupted the proceedings by talking from his saddlebags. Wait, something about that wasn’t right. How was he talking from his saddlebags?

“Oh, hello, fancy seeing you all here. Is the battle over?”

“Owl!” I shouted, prompting everyone to look at me. “You’re here?”

“Oh, hello, Morpheus. The outside world is wondrous, isn’t it? So changing, yet unchangeable. Not like the Library. That was unchanging but changeable. Such a contrast. Delightful.”

“Hey, you, I told you not to come out until I told you, the demon is still—” Night Light hissed, but he didn’t get any further. A shadow loomed over us.

“Ah, thank you for this. I was looking for it. Shame I had to destroy everything before you would be flushed out.”

A figure appeared in the midst of us. He negligently flicked a claw, sending a sharp wave of malevolent space distorting domain shooting towards everypony. Night Light surrounded Twilight and I with a barrier, whilst Mandrel withdrew a charmed crystal and threw it at the wave, stopping it dead in its tracks. Meanwhile, I shoved the owl back into the saddlebags, ignoring its indignant complaints.

“Hmmph,” Lex said, “figured you magi wouldn’t give it up so easily.”

“Give up what?” I called out. Lex’s eyes swung around and met mine. It widened in surprise.

“Morpheus… I barely recognised you. It’s almost like you’re entirely…. No that can’t be possible for you of all demons.” He casually deflected a bolt that Night Light summoned. “Oh dear, such impolite behaviour, so, so impatient. Would you kindly wait your turn? No need to rush to death, you know.”

“I refuse.”

Lex shrugged and leapt forward, scything with his claws, aiming for Night Light’s head. Clicking his tongue, Lex activated his domain, freezing time. I watched haplessly as my domain failed to encompass Night Light and Lex dashed forward.

Night Light dodged the swipe.

“What?” Lex snarled. “How did you do that?!”

Night Light flicked his cloak. “This dispels what you demons refer to as domains. I have to keep it active, but it’ll give me enough time to use this.” He withdrew his Astral Pendant.

Lex snarled and dived forward, as Night Light activated the Pendant. It glowed, but Lex contemptuously swiped at it absorbed something else.

“Another sprite?!” Night Light gasped and suddenly a magical charge exploded against his side. He grunted in pain and rolled on the ground. Where did that come from? Lex was gripping a red crystal that smoked in his palm. He dropped it with a his and grinned savagely.

“Magical detonation, one shot only.” He flexed his claws. “The Library is full of useful things, I almost lost my own life for this, you know? But I’m used to that. I’m used to so many things…”

The cloak lost its shimmering aura and Lex stood triumphantly as his domain encompassed the unicorn. He advanced like a lion stalking down its prey.

Night Light was frozen in time. There was only me left.

“Wait!” Lex stopped his claw mid stroke, just as he was about to make contact with Night Light. I quickly blurted out a plea. “Stop, you don’t have to kill him, just take what you need!”

Lex raised an eyebrow. “Going soft, Morpheus? One magus less is one less demon summoned.”

“I know that,” I continued slowly, “but no need to expend the effort and sink to their level. Just take whatever you want and go.”

Lex considered this. Then shook his head.

“No,” he said simply.

“NO!” I screamed.

His claw descended once more and I expended all my efforts in countering his domain with mine. Lex’s claw narrowly missed Night Light as the unicorn stumbled back reflexively, freezing once again as my domain snuffed out.

I coughed blood. I was now wracked with so much pain, that my vision was starting to get hazy. But I had to move. I had to keep alive. There was no other choice. I didn’t have the luxury to die here. Not here, not now.

“Morpheus!” Lex bounded over and clutched me. “You’re… dying?!” He grabbed me and probed me with his domain. “You’re mortal?!” His eyes narrowed. “No, but very close.”

I nodded weakly. “I guess I am if this weakness is so—” I broke into a fit, my body was at its limits and my essence was shredded“—advanced.”

Lex hesitated. “I… Morpheus, please, would you not consider my original offer? I was waiting for you the whole time to let me know… why didn’t you call?”

He gave me a messaging crystal to contact him, but I never used it. I shook my head sadly. “Lex, I can’t change anything, not with how I do things. I just wanted to let you know that this magus has freed Alma.” I took a shuddering breath. “Permanently. She is finally free.”

“No,” Lex said, squeezing me, “you can’t be telling me the truth. After all, magi are just… magi are just…”

“I wish I could say more…” I could feel my voice get weaker. Damn it, I just want to tell him the truth. The truth has always set me free. The truth will set Lex free. I put all my effort into speaking the truth.

“Twilight is the final ideal. She contains the key for the True Other.”

“Morpheus, you can’t… ugh…”

Things were a little foggy then. An indistinct voice called out. Lex disappeared briefly, then came back. Then disappeared again. He looked at his wit’s end. His eyes were glazed with the same madness Alma had exhibited.

“It hurts, but I have to do it, it hurts but I have to do it, it hurts…”

He kept repeating this mantra. That’s when I realised sluggishly that Lex was the same as Alma. He was tortured far enough to delude himself that he was doing the right thing. I saw it happen before. A magus would have to be far more twisted than usual, often taking extreme pleasure in breaking a demon to achieve this.

“Ah,” a voice rang out through the frozen piece of time, “a shame. Lex was such a good pet. So much effort went into breaking him.”

My eyes widened as a magus I knew all too well appeared.

“S-S-S—” I tried to force the word out of my shuddering lips.

“That’s right,” she crooned, “you can do it.”

“Se-Se-Se—”

“My little demon. The first. The best. How are you doing?”

“Selena.”

“Good demon. I knew you would be able to get there.”

“You ca—” I couldn’t finish the rest of my sentence, blood filled my mouth and leaked out, splattering the floor. Looking annoyed, the magus stepped forward and placed a hand on my body. Instantly, an electric feeling washed over me and I could feel a surge of energy washing over my body.

The magus gestured for me to continue. I slowly spoke, cautiously opening my mouth and spitting out the last of my blood. It was no longer a struggle but the weakness in my body persisted.

“H-How? You can’t be alive.”

“Ah, I know, it’s frustrating when someone you try to kill doesn’t die.” She sighed. “I mean after all I did for you creatures. Creating you. Giving you a home. The least you could do is be obedient.”

“You can’t be Selena… she would never say that.” I could feel fear leaking into my voice. “I didn’t kill her.”

“I guess it wasn’t your decision to lead her—oops—I mean me into the—oh forget it, it was fun while it lasted.” The magus shifted back into a sinister-looking pony. She regarded me with similarly coloured eyes to Selena. Deep blue, but instead of warmth it was speckled with animosity.

Black streaks in her mane of blue hair contrasted with her white coat as she studied me coolly. “I knew about your relationship with this magus, of course, what a joke. You demons aren’t any more useful than tools, how can you expect a magus as powerful as thefoundingsummoner of demons to just befriend you?”

Inwardly, I was relieved. I didn’t know if I could take it if it was truly Selena. Now I could unleash myself without reservations. The magus stood there with a little smile, expecting an answer, I kept silent, glaring at her.

“Aren’t you curious as to how I know about your precious Selena?”

I was, but I didn’t want to give this monster the satisfaction of answering.

She licked her lips and shrugged, continuing anyway. “It was simple, really, Lex would spill everything once I gave him the right persuasive nudge. I found out about you early, you know. You shouldn’t have stepped into the library. Alma found you there almost immediately. She even messed up some of the books resisting my command to dispose of you immediately, admirable, I guess. Oh well, delaying the inevitable, I suppose. But insubordination was punished accordingly.”

Lex flinched guiltily as the magus focused on him. I ground my teeth in fury.

“You’re a rare demon, you know. I wanted to get my hooves on you. But you wouldn’t fall for Lex’s tricks. What a useless demon. Alma was a failure too. What a pity. So much energy wasted on inferior products. I even constructed a little welcome for you in the Between. Liked it?”

Gritting my teeth, I cursed my own inability to reach out and end her life.

Watching my reaction, the magus bared her teeth more than smiled as she continued. “Well, never mind that, I came here for the Library core. It’s here isn’t it?”

I didn’t reply and she sighed.

“What I give can be taken away, you know.”

“Go to hell.” I ground out, as I spat at her.

She emotionlessly wiped away the offending attack and shrugged. “You’re not the first creature to tell me that.” She placed a hoof on me, contemptuously dodging the side-swipe of my claws. Instantly I felt lancing pain shoot through my limbs. My back arched as I cried out and Lex stood there, eyes bloodshot and wild.

“Morpheus!” He took a step forward and then doubled over as the magus shot Lex a withering look.

“Such heart-wrenching friendship,” she mocked, sending a bucking kick to my abdomen. “Or is it kinship? Well, no matter, as long as I can control, it’s immaterial.”

I felt energy course through my body at the same time she gave me another kick, giving me enough strength to keep me conscious and feeling the pain. I writhed, unable to do more than gargle, let alone scream.

“I’ve got to thank Alma for one thing, though, she did weaken you enough so that you couldn’t use your domain. It’s tricky, isn’t it? Lex never did tell me how it worked or even what it was, his sense of loyalty stretches deep. I mean if I had a couple of decades, I’m sure I could get it out of him, but… well… I think that’s what makes you so special. Loyalty of the other demons. With you, I think I could have accomplished far more. Oh well, luck of the draw when summoning, I suppose. If you cooperated with me, things could have been different.”

I tried to get up but a vicious kick to my neck sent me to the ground again.

The magus sneered at me. “You can’t imagine how dull it is to be talented. All this knowledge, all this power and for what? In this peaceful, boring, numbing kingdom where pretty princesses and pretty princes prance around declaring all ponies live in peace. Doesn’t it sicken you? There’s a dark side to everypony. Why can’t they just accept that?”

I tried to speak, but couldn’t get past my crushed throat. My mouth opened and shut but I couldn’t get a breath. I was slowly suffocating.

“Oh for pony’s sake. Here, it’ll be onerous doing this without conversation.”

She gave me a derisive pat on the shoulder and the pain subsided from my throat.

I forced a hoarse question out. “So this is some kind of revolution? What do you really want? Power? Money? Both?”

The magus gave me a surprised look and didn’t send another kick, but instead sat down in front of me with a wicked smile.

“What a pleasant idea and a flattering guess. No, I simply crave destruction! I want the world to end, nothing fancy.” She smiled. “Lex was right, I was going to combine both planes together. Not because I want demons to be free, not because I want the ponies to die, but just… because… I… can.”

I stared at this lunatic. “You’re willing to die here for this?”

She laughed. “Oh, no! Good one! I’ll be escaping to another plane, thank you very much. There are so many planes that just need to be reaped, and I don’t want to stay here. Too many powerful entities; I’d just be crushed. I mean have you seen the Princess? She could vaporise me in an instant. No thanks. I need to go somewhere more chaotic, where I can grow a bit more powerful. Right here, I can only control this small space around my demons. So this is just the first stepping stone. Gotta destroy this plane though, can’t have anypony tracking me down for revenge, right? There probably won’t be ponies in the next plane. Oh well. Not much some shapeshifting can’t solve, right, demon?”

The magus casually flicked a hoof at the others around us. “But, here in this frozen moment. I am Queen. So now, my cute little demon, what do you want to do? Do you want to hoof me the core, or will you and everypony here die as well and I search for it myself? It’s a simple request, really.”

My mind kicked into overdrive, trying to find a way out of this impossible situation. This magus was going to kill all of us if we didn’t give her what we wanted. I was choosing between dying now or dying later. What kind of choice was that? Suddenly, a thought occurred to me. I could just give her what she wanted, after all, if she was gone, then… maybe we had a chance.

But I had to sacrifice the owl.

I wracked my brains. Not a week ago, this would have been one of the easiest decisions to make for me. Leave the owl, take who I cared about with me and escape. But now I found myself hesitating. I found that I couldn’t easily discard anyone. I wanted us all to live. But if I didn’t do something, they would all perish instead.

“I understand,” I said, abruptly.

Forgive me, Twilight, I’m counting on you.

“What?”

“You want freedom, right? Who can’t understand that?”

“Freedom?” The magus tilted her head. “What makes you say that, demon?”

I forced a painful shrug. “The freedom to do whatever you want, in a society that says otherwise. I get it.”

She tilted her head. “Curious. Usually they would be calling me names by now or swearing or something. You’re different, I like you! Want to be my demon?”

“Oh, please no. But hey, I get it. I’ll help you.”

She kicked me again, making me wince and grit my teeth in frustration.

“What, really?” she continued unflinchingly. “Even if I’m not even guaranteeing you your own freedom, or your friends, or even freedom from pain?”

“Whatever, just talk to the owl, it probably knows where the core is.” I pointed to Night Light’s saddlebags.

Delighted laughter echoed in this chronologically still moment.

“Oh, dear, demon, you’re hilarious. The owl is the core!”

“Oh,” I said, feigning indifference. “Now you can take it.”

The magus lifted an eyebrow suspiciously. “You think I’m stupid? There’s probably a trap there. Lex. Go fetch the core from the Head Executor’s saddlebags.”

Lex moaned, but didn’t resist as he got up and trudged over to the bag. Fully expecting a trap, he gingerly opened the bag to reveal the frozen owl. It had a dumb look, as if it was trying to eavesdrop and was immortalised halfway trying to do so.

Lex hefted the owl and then set it next to the magus.

She took a look at the owl and cast several spells.

“No traps from what I can sense…” She shrugged. “Wow, I guess you weren’t lying. Maybe you were trying to help me.” She took the owl and then inscribed a pattern on the floor, making sure I didn’t move while doing so. Lex had collapsed on the ground, but his domain was still forcibly active, which meant the magus was compelling Lex to sustain the domain even during her brutal abuse.

I never wanted to kill so badly than I did right now.

With the last of my energy, I materialised my domain. I turned Lex’s domain in an instant into mine and froze the time to the magus. Groaning with the effort of maintaining an extensive domain like Lex gave me a claw full of seconds.

I dove forward desperately, reaching out with my claws to slash at the magus.

I managed to swipe at her mane before I was deflected by a radiant barrier. Hair filtered to the ground as I came so frustratingly close to killing her.

The magus sucked her teeth and tittered at me sadly. “Oh! So close, can’t blame you for trying, but I can’t have you trying to interfere with me. The next time you move, Lex, kill him.”

Lex resisted for a whole minute under the torturous will of the magus. She doubled down on the pain, not seeming to care about the time, looking more like she savoured the moment instead as she watched Lex writhe.

“Don’t resist, Lex!”

“M-Morpheus, it hurts…”

“Shh,” I crooned, “Lex, don’t fight it. I will stay still.”

“Please, Morpheus, don’t make me do it.”

My claws flexed hard against my palms, digging bloody holes in them as I held in my rage. “I won’t, Lex, don’t worry.”

Her preparations took well over an hour. I lay there, concentrating on recovering as much as possible. The next few moments after she completed her circle would be critical. There was only one last chance, but I kicked myself for not being able to do anything to help the owl. I wondered if it was similar to us, always used as a tool. Could it feel pain as well? Judging from the peaceful way it slept, I hoped it didn’t feel pain.

Lex, despite his suffering, despite his insanity, still tried to comfort me in his own way.

“Cheer… up… Morpheus… afterwards… we… will have… this plane… for… ourselves...”

I patted him on the shoulder as I took deep, calming breaths. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that this plan was going to wipe us both out in the process. All I could do was wait for the right moment and bide my time. To the Eternal Void with this magus, I was going to deal with her later. Right now, I needed to help my friends.

“Don’t worry Lex, you’ll be free soon. I promise.”

Lex finally smiled genuinely for the first time since I’ve seen him. “Morpheus, you always keep your promises.”

I smiled back. “Rest now, Lex.”

“Okay…”

“Touching. I really wish I could see your faces when the planes collide. I made sure it was gradual so you can feel despair as piece by piece the world is lost.” She clopped her hooves together in a sordid mime. “Pop! Just like a pimple.”

I swallowed a sarcastic retort. “I genuinely hope you find a life that suits you.”

The pony’s lips twitched as she caught my double meaning. “Well, me too. Goodbye, strange demon. Die fantastically for me, alright?”

With that, the owl glowed and the the circle lit up brilliantly for a split second, then the magus was gone. With it, the link between her and Lex was severed for a split second and I whipped out my Astral Pendant around my neck.

“Lex. I’m sorry but—”

“No, Morpheus, you can’t—!”

Without a moment to spare, I activated the Astral Pendant meant for me.

Lex struggled weakly, but seemed to give up. “Even you would betray me…” he croaked and seemed to collapse in resignation. It twisted a knife in my heart, but I steeled myself and watched him go. With a gelatinous flex and the quiet snap of reality, Lex was sealed inside the crystal. I gripped the Pendant, hung it around my neck and forced myself to move.

Suddenly, Lex’s domain expired, and the circle instantly activated. A faint shimmering began in the centre and then something familiar resolved itself. A swirling vortex of abstract thought, emotion and fever dreams appeared. Twilight stumbled forward, completing her motion, Night Light’s horn blazed but then snuffed out just as quickly and everypony gasped as a spherical object seemed to materialise and spread, slowly engulfing everything in its expansion.

“W-What is that?” Tourmaline cried.

“No time to explain!” I yelled, making my way to Twilight. “We have to stop it. It’s the gateway to the Other a magus created! The thing Lex was talking about!”

“W-What?” Twilight’s eyes widened. “What happened?!”

“You were frozen in Lex’s domain. I’m sorry, I couldn’t protect you with my domain, I’m too weak. Twilight, you have to stop this, the planes will collide.”

Twilight’s panicked eyes turned to the emerging mass and then back at me. “That’s a complex diagram, I can’t decipher it in one day!”

I reached over and flipped open her saddlebags.

“Not even with a book and owl that knows everything?”

“B-But—”

“Twilight!” I grabbed her shoulders and then stared into her eyes. “Believe in me and believe in yourself. You can do this.”

Twilight stared at me for a full three seconds and then nodded.

“Yes, I can do this, right. Spell. Magic. No problems.” She called out to Amethyst. “Hey, help me!”

“W-What?”

“Don’t just stand there, help me!”

“O-Okay!”

Twilight glared at Tourmaline. “You too! Anypony that knows magic, we need their help, now!” She turned to her dad. “Send for help!”

Confused, but seeing the determination in his daughter’s eyes, Night Light could only nod and he called for someone on the side. Suddenly, everyone was galvanised into action, springing forward in one torrential movement.

I sagged back down as all available unicorns in the area rushed towards the spell and were actively trying to disarm it.

I kept an eye on the sphere and looked around. There wasn’t anything I could do. Powerless, once again. I thought about what I had done, giving over the core without thought. Did I really do that? Was I doing it just to save a life? If I thought about it objectively, then I could have saved many more lives by dying without revealing the owl. Well, she might have found it anyway…

What was the right answer?

Was this my fault that everyone was going to die?

“Morpheus!”

I snapped out of my funk, my eyes widening as I took in a new horrifying development. The sphere was expanding faster now. It almost touched the bottom of the diagram, but even more concerning were shapes being formed at the centre. Things were starting to pass through. Oh no. Demons.

“Twilight, I’ll try and hold them back!”

“No, Morpheus, you can’t go in there!”

I forged my way forward, ignoring Twilight. The shapes hesitated on the horizon.

“This is not the Other!” I announced to the demons at the border. “If any of you are willing to brave the Astral Pendant, then step forward!”

There was hesitation to be sure, but eventually a demon would step through. I didn’t have the power to summon my domain and overpower them. If any stepped through, I would likely have to trap them in the pendant. Demons weren’t always friendly with each other, if I trapped another demon with Lex weakened, he could be attacked.

“Step back, Morpheus!” Night Light said. “We can hold them off for some time.”

A shimmering barrier was formed in front of the portal. Many others joined in. I felt a little embarrassed that I hadn’t even considered other ponies helping. They strengthened the barrier, but despite that, a pressure was beginning to be exerted on the barrier almost immediately.

While they held them back, I pleaded with the demons on the Other side to stop, but the pressure barely lessened. I guess it was natural to begin manifesting into the physical plane when it was available. Maybe it wasn’t a choice on their part, making my bargaining useless. I felt impotent in the face of a rapidly devolving situation. What use was I?

I began to raise my arms and summon my domain. Night Light saw the movement and growled. Though he strained with the barrier, from the side of his mouth, he spoke through gritted teeth.

“Stay back, Morpheus. Don’t overdo it.”

“But—”

“Shut up and help Twilight.”

“I can’t help her.”

“Yes you can, just be there, she’s trying because of you, you know. Ugh.” He staggered back under a sudden surge on the Other side. “Hurry up and go to her.”

I stood stock still for a second and then relented. “Right away.”

Dashing past various unicorns running in the opposite direction, I skittered over to see Twilight feverishly reading the last passage in the book.

“We’ve got ten minutes,” she stated, snapping the book shut with a tone of finality.

“The magus told me she wanted it to be slow,” I blurted in surprise. “This was not much time at all!”

“Ten minutes is quite a lot, considering this is normally instantaneous.”

So I could have destroyed the plane in an instant before? Wonderful.

“What can we do?” I asked.

Twilight hesitated.

“What?” I pressed. “There’s a way, right?”

Twilight nodded reluctantly.

I grinned. “That’s great! You can do it right?”

Twilight nodded once again, still as reluctant.

“What? What’s wrong?” I asked seriously, bending down.

“The book says there needs to be another medium to exert pressure going back. It has to contain a portion of the native physical sample from the other plane.”

“Oh,” I smiled wanly, getting a bad feeling about this. “That’s perfect, I can do it.”

Twilight shook her head. “No, you can’t. You don’t have to. We can—”

“Use Lex?” I laughed. “Sorry, but I made a promise to him.”

Twilight instantly knew the gravity of that statement.

“Morpheus…” she began with a quivering voice. “Don’t do it.”

“I have to.”

“I have some time left, I can find another way! I have to!”

I glanced back at the swiftly portal and smiled thinly. “Don’t worry, there’s no guarantee I’ll die, right?”

“The book didn’t say, but we’re passing the energy of an entire plane through you! If you were in top condition you might have a chance, but right now, you have nearly none!”

“Twilight, it’s worth it, after all it’s kind of my fault.”

“What?”

I quickly explained to her what happened in that frozen moment.

“B-But that’s not your fault!” Twilight bit her lip. “Don’t go!”

“You can get more friends, Twilight, don’t worry,” I said, totally dismissing her real reason for anguish.

“I don’t need any more friends,” she mumbled, barely above a whisper.

I hefted her as I stopped and levelled a look at her. “Twilight, I heard that.”

She didn’t say anything.

“Promise me you’ll make friends?”

Twilight shrugged but still didn’t reply.

“Twilight, if you are going to keep your promise, then one day I won’t be here anyway.”

“But—”

“But nothing. I can’t help but feel worried about you.”

Twilight stomped a hoof. “I thought you didn’t worry about magi.”

“I worry about my friends and I’m worried because I know you’ll find a way to send me back… so that means I won’t be here anymore and you will be alone once again.”

Twilight shook her head. “I… I don’t want you to go back, Morpheus, but I have to send you back.”

She sighed miserably. “The book did mention a way to send you back with this spell. The other demons pass through you as a medium and then you’re dismissed, if you survive. I can apply that spell I did for Alma as well.”

My eyes widened. “So that means…”

Twilight nodded glumly, but gave a weak smile anyway. “All demons will be exposed to my new spell. Effectively they can never be summoned again.”

Tears fell from my eyes. “You kept your promise.”

Twilight’s smile wobbled. “Well, you did too.”

Amethyst quietly prompted Twilight from the side. “The circle is done, we need your help for that spell you mentioned.”

Amethyst gave me a nudge. “Maybe if I was there first, I’d be feeling more than just numb right now.”

“Amethyst, I’ll miss you too.”

“Don’t say it like you’re going away forever, I hate that!” Amethyst hugged me fiercely. “I don’t like flaky ponies. I guess we can’t be friends after all.”

I patted her head and stroked her silently. Only then did the tears fall.

“Why did you have to come now?” she muttered into my fur.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologise!”

I kept quiet until we parted.

“I have to go,” I said softly.

“Will you come back?”

I smiled sadly. “I’m sorry, I can’t promise that.”

I stepped forward, Twilight slowly leading me to the central circle attached at the edge of the expanding plane’s circle. The expansion was occurring faster and faster and though the assortment of unicorns grew in number to help, the rampant demons and the inflating sphere was too much for them to handle and they were steadily giving ground. I could even spot a desperate Princess Celestia and a contingent of guards helping out, studying the spell and reinforcing the barrier.

Twilight touched her horn to the circle.

“Morpheus, I think this is really goodbye.”

“The week’s up, huh? This was a crazy week.”

Twilight smiled at that. “You’re telling me.”

“Oh, I almost forgot. Here.” I threw her the Astral Pendant I wore around my neck. “You have to free Lex and dismiss him.”

Twilight fumbled for the Astral Pendant and then stared at me with heartbroken eyes.

“Morpheus…”

“I have to, Twilight, I’m sorry I can’t stay longer.”

“Sentimentality doesn’t really anchor you to this plane, does it? What’s really keeping you here?”

“Well…” I put a clawed talon to my lips and smiled. “That’s a secret.”

“I’ll miss you, Morpheus.”

“I’ll miss you too.”

With that, Twilight touched the pattern once more and then I felt… nothing.

Author's Notes:

Exeunt.

As you may have noticed, I'm bad at fight scenes and stuff.

This needs some cleanup and bit of prose-fixing but for now, I think I'm satisfied with how I left it. It's kind of a sad story, but it leaves hope for the future. As you may have guessed, the theme for this story was mainly about letting go, getting the self confidence to do things your own way and the importance of resisting against adversity.

Next Chapter: Endtimes and Beginningtimes. Storytimes.

As always, my juniper readers, thanks for reading!

P.S. There may be an epilogue that reflects this commentary, but hey, don't let it tie you to the story. Stay free.

Next Chapter: 14 - Epilogue: Our Demons Estimated time remaining: 3 Minutes
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