Part 3: Burning Wind

Why do you hide, demon?

Is it out fear that you have come to this world? Is it out of fear that you have attempted to destroy me by destroying the things I love?

I know you intend to possess my body. I know you will do horrible things to the people I love. But why me?

Because you’re afraid. You’re afraid of me, afraid of what I can do. You fool yourself into thinking that you have lured me here, to this sick, depraved parody of something I loved and treasured, and have trapped me here like a rat in a cage.

Fool yourself no longer, demon. Be not proud of your actions. You are still inside my mind, but my mind is the key that sets me free.

I will be free of you, demon, no matter the time it takes or the sacrifices that I make. I will be rid of you.

…

Good luck, child.

We were a considerable distance from Ponyville, the town being merely a dark smudge on the burning horizon. The sky no longer gleamed blue, but roiled and shimmered like a ruby in fire. I could not help but think of Hell as we walked. Religion never played a large part in my life. My parents raised me Catholic but I refused to believe many things the Church’s doctrines dictated.

But I knew now there was a hell, and I walked its rolling plains.

Ponies flanked my left and right, following me as we traipsed like forlorn soldiers across the field. The wind stung my eyes and rubbed my skin raw. The pegasi were suffering, their wings useless in this unbearable gale. I do not know why they were incapable of flying in this wind, but in my thoughts I suspected that far more than mere nature lay in this searing breeze.

As Luna and Twilight had both acceded to my requests far too easily, so did the other ponies. I knew they would. I had as much influence on the denizens of this world as did the demon that I hunted.

“So how do you know where we’re going?” Spike asked curiously, bobbing on Twilight’s back.

I stopped in my tracks. The fingers of my right hand tingled. I lifted my hand and pointed at a large mountain that slashed the burning sky.

“I can feel its presence. The demon’s attack on Fluttershy left traces, traces that I can use to lead us back to it.”

“Oh,” the dragon said, no doubt still roiling in confusion.

“Ah, Twi, everypony?” Applejack said loudly, making herself heard over the howling wind. “I can’t go much farther. We’ve been walkin’ fer hours. Can’t we take a breather?”

Twilight looked to me, and I looked around, but we were in an open field that stretched as far as the eye could see.

“We shall be like lambs to the slaughter later, or fish in a barrel now. Such choices.”

“What in Equestria are ya talkin’ about?”

“This field is vast, too vast for the eye to see. Should we bunker down we will be easy prey for whatever monster the demon throws at us. We must continue. Can Twilight not ease your discomfort and exhaustion with her magic?”

“Well,” Twilight said, “I suppose I could, but…”

“…help…me…”

The voice was petite, and had it not been so distinct it would have been lost in the wind. I looked around, but it was immediately clear where it had originated from.

Fluttershy’s eyes were black and blood seeped down her front, gushing from her mouth. She collapsed, and her blood pooled around her head, taking the shape of a crimson halo.

“FLUTTERSHY!”

All the ponies ran towards their fallen friend, but with swift realization I smacked them away with my wings.

“No! She is gripped with darkness. You ponies cannot, will not survive the demon’s shadow!”

“Then what do we do?!” Rainbow Dash screamed.

I wracked my mind, thinking as quickly as I could. “I must once again siphon the darkness from her body. But if I take it, I will be gravely injured. If you take it, you will die. Therefore someone else must take the darkness from me, lest we all die from its kiss. But who or what can—”

“Me.”

I looked and there was Spike, his green eyes determined and his scales ashen.

“I’m no pony, and I’m not afraid either! I’ve had magic done on me! I’m not afraid!”

“Spike,” I gasped. “This energy…it will kill you. Or worse.”

But he remained silent, and Fluttershy continued to choke on the darkness. In his eyes I saw determination unlike that of any human I’d ever seen in my life. He was a man—or dragon, I suppose—bent on rescuing his friend. So I held out my hand.

“Take it,” I said. “I will draw the energy from her and into you.”

“Okay. Let’s get this over with.”

That statement set off an alarm in my head, but the alarm was muffled by the ungodly pain that followed as I grasped Fluttershy’s leg and began to siphon the dark energy from her body. Spike was calm, too calm. Something wasn’t right, but I couldn’t think. There was too much pain to think.

Everything was moving so fast. The wind, the fires, us…

Too fast.

Spike suddenly grabbed my arm, opening a new channel into which the dark energy flowed, and suddenly I knew.

“NO!” I cried, but it was far too late. Spike had drained me clean of the darkness, and now he grew and grew to the size of a large ship, inflating like a balloon. The other ponies stood in shock, unsure of what to do.

I knew what had to be done.

In my mind I rang out, pleading for a weapon. I stretched out my ungloved hand, and in mere seconds a sword appeared, shining steel that would bring swift death to those that unfortunate enough to get in its way.

I readied my sword, but it was too late.

Spike had become a monster, a black dragon with hate-filled eyes and fire-rimmed nostrils, a dragon the size of a three story house. It turned and roared an earsplitting roar, nearly shattering my wings. The other ponies fell over in shock, but I stood my ground.

“So,” I muttered as the mutated Spike pawed that ground. “This is what your plan is, demon. You intend to turn my pony and non-pony friends against me. You have begun with Spike.”

I heard no answer, but wasted no time.

“You want me to kill Spike. That is your wish. Kill him in cold blood.”

Still no response, but I knew what had to be done.

With a mighty roar the dragon leapt at me, trying to stomp me and simultaneously impale me with his serrated teeth. I ducked and weaved, slashing at his legs while tucking in my wings to avoid further injury. The ponies screamed in absolute terror, but none of them stepped forward to aid me in my fight. I didn’t blame them. I wanted to back out as much as they did. Spike was as favorite a character of mine as the ponies were, and to think that now I had to kill him…

”Fall to me, dragon!” I cried, slashing at his legs again. He howled in pain and anger. Again I ducked out of range of his fire breath, his crushing tail, and his terrifying teeth. I slashed and hacked, and the dragon spewed black blood, shadowy substance that seemed to float aimlessly in the air like ink underwater. All the while the ponies stood back in utter shock, their mouths agape and their eyes wide with fear. Spike roared angrily, and his eyes glittered with hatred and rage. I knew what I had to do.

I lifted myself into the air, the wind comfortable on my glass wings. Soon Spike was below me, and before he could take to the air I hacked at his wings, drawing more shadowy blood and rendering them useless. He roared, but it was a pained sound, fueled less by rage and more by misery and suffering. Spike was dying, and not from my blade. The shadow was consuming him so fast that…

I’d only been in the air for seconds when the dragon moaned and toppled.

The crash was enormous, and I saw the six ponies get knocked off their hooves. Spike stopped moving, groaning in anguish. I flew down to him and stood in front of his giant head.

“The shadow,” I realized. “It is eating you alive.”

Another moan, and I detected no rage in the sound. His eyes were weak and helpless.

“Even the dragons of Equestria cannot survive under your spell, demon,” I muttered, expecting no answer and receiving none. “And this means that…you heartless bastard.”

But even as I said it, I knew what had to be done. Taking my sword, I walked up to Spike and patted his head.

“I’m sorry, friend. But your friends cannot bear to witness your suffering any longer.”

Then I killed him, driving the sword through his eye and listening to his final breath. He shuddered and died, and before the corpse even had time to cool, black shards began to melt off of his body as he disintegrated into nothing. In mere seconds, where there had been a mighty dragon there was nothing but a charred, gruesome skeleton.

I gasped and fell to my knees, tears welling up in my eyes. The ponies drew closer but were still very much afraid. I said nothing, but instead cried my eyes out.

This time the demon had won.

Never again, demon. Never again.

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