A Fiend's Game

///LEVEL 1: A wonderful night to die///

Twilight stepped back to enjoy the view of a work well done. Neat row of shelves, every book on its place. Reshelving done right, Twilight smiled and nodded to herself. She looked out of the window. It was beginning to get dark out there. How much faster she would do the same if Spike was here?

Spike... Twilight smiled again at the memory of her number one assistant. Despite him writing letters every week, she still felt lonely in the empty library. How long has it been? She sat down behind the table with a cup of tea and started to remember.

o--(==========-

Six month ago she woke up early in the morning to the smell of coffee coming from below. Spike didn't like coffee, often blaming it for the bags under Twilight's eyes. It had to be somepony else, and she went down the stairs to investigate.

Behind a table sat a dragon with a steaming cup of hot black liquid. It was definitely Spike — purple scales and green spine were dead give away, but right now he was taller than her, even while sitting on the floor, and much different in stature. His shoulders became broad, his spikes thinned, and now there were two curved horns on his head, growing back from his forehead.

"Spike! Did you had a growth-spurt again?" She hoped that he learned his lesson last time and would not repeat same mistake again.

"Twilight, this is not what you think … ." The dragon tried to turn around, but not being used to his new size he nearly knocked the table over. Realizing his mistake he stopped and carefully stood up.

"And what, pray tell, is it then?" The lavender mare walked to the dragon. He was towering above her, almost two feet taller than she were.

"I do not know! I didn't do anything. I just woke up today and was already like this." Spike waved his hands to emphasize his point. "And when I went to sleep yesterday, I was the usual me." The young dragon was clearly as confused with the situation as she did.

"Alright, please calm down and let us sit and think this through. What were you doing yesterday?" Twilight went to the kitchen and returned with a cup of coffee. Apparently, Spike made enough for both of them.

"Well, you know the first half of the day — I was with you, nothing interesting happened. After you finished with your research you said that I could have a free time, so I went to Rarity's to help her out. I was there until the evening and then I came home, had dinner and went to sleep, that’s it."

"Hmm … ." Twilight sipped from a cup and rubbed her chin. "This can not be all. Try to remember everything in detail."

Spike looked down into his cup, deep in thought. Twilight had a suspicion that he was not telling her everything. She might knew the reason for his sudden transformation, but decided not to give herself any hopes before confirmation. She waited for his response.

"I don't know Twilight … ." The dragon sighed. "You know how I'm usually fast asleep, right?" Twilight nodded. He was a baby dragon ... Well, at least before. She made sure he followed his regime and went to bed in time, and he was usually fast asleep after he get to his bed. She had to admit, being her assistant may be exhausting sometimes.

"Well, yesterday I was unable to sleep for some time. I was thinking about — stuff … ." His cheeks turned red, further confirming Twilights suspicion. She decided to lure it out of him. "Spike, what were you thinking about? This might be important!"

"You see … ." He sighed. "Okay, yesterday I heard Rarity speaking to one of her customers about, you know — stallions. I didn't mean to eavesdrop or anything, they were just speaking so loud. They talked about different things they liked and did not like, and that made me think — Maybe I should stop simply dreaming about her, and trying to get her attention? That won’t get me further than being just her friend — Maybe I should try to become somepony she could be actually interested in, but — I tried to think last night what can make her interested in me, what do I have to offer her?" He sighed, and drank the whole cup of coffee in one go, then looked at Twilight. "And I could not find anything."

Twilight gulped, swallowing a knot that formed in her throat while her friend spoke. She walked to him and said quietly. "I think I know what happened to you, Spike. You grew up."

"Like I haven't noticed." The dragon chuckled. Looking at her from above was an unusual experience for him.

"I did not mean just that." Twilight smiled. She stood on her hindlegs and touched his forehead. "You grew up here." She moved her hoof to his chest, where his heart was. "And here. You are not a baby dragon anymore, Spike!" She tried to suppress tears that were formed from an emotions that overflowed her. "Does that means I am an adult now?" He was clearly surprised. "No, not yet. You are adolescent." Spike noticed a tear forming in the corner of her eye.

"What's wrong Twilight?" She wiped the tear away and smiled at him again. "Nothing is wrong." Then she pulled him in for a tight hug. "I am just so happy — dragons live for thousands of years. Ponies hardly know anything about your kind." She pulled away from him. "I was afraid you could stay a baby dragon for the rest of my life. I was afraid to never see you grow up, and now," she wiped away another tear, "it actually happened!"

She looked up to his face, when she noticed something. His horns were glowing faintly with a dim green light. She looked back at the cup he was holding. A mad idea just went to her mind.

"Spike, put that cup away. Do not ask, just do."

Spike looked at her, confused by strange demands, but still obliged, setting his cup on the table. With a flick of her magic, Twilight pushed the cup a bit further, just out of his reach, when he was turning back to her. She felt enthusiasm of the explorer.

"Now, Spike. Try to pick it up again without looking at it. Do not turn around."

The dragon shrugged and bent his arm back, trying to get a grasp on a cup that was not there. His horns glowed green for a split of a second. "Here." He handed the cup to her. "What was that all about?"

"Spike, do you realize what you just did?"

He looked at his hand. "Picked up an empty cup?"

Twilight laughed. "You used magic, Spike! I pushed the cup away out of your reach, but you picked it up anyway! You subconsciously levitated it to yourself!"

"I did?" He looked at her dumbfoundedly.

o--(==========-

For the rest of the day, they were experimenting with his new found ability. Spike proved to be quite a fast learner. In the evening he already could freely levitate two small-sized items at once.

"I know what I should do now." He told her at the end of an exciting day. "I should apply for the Canterlot Academy For The Gifted Unicorns".

"Spike, I can teach you the same things, here, at home!", the unicorn argued.

"Of course you can Twilight, but say, between a dragon with magical talent nopony knows about and a graduate with a diploma of a most respected academy in Equestria, even if he is a dragon, who will an employer choose?" She opened her mouth only to found out that she can not find the right argument against that.

"But that would mean you will leave … ." She muttered.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't realize... I was thinking only about my self, and completely forgot about you. I am so selfish, aren't I? I'm sorry, of course I will stay … ."

"No." She put her hoof on his mouth. "It is alright. You are completely right. You should go to Canterlot and learn magic the proper way, besides," she winked at him, "every student in the academy earns a title of lesser noble at the end, as representative of Canterlots elite. They also teach arts, poetry, etiquette and everything else you need to know to be a proper gentlecolt there. I will ask Princess Celestia to smooth things up with your entrance exam. Ponies in the committee can be quite — traditional. This will allow you to participate on equal ground with anypony else."

Spike’s idea began to sound better and better to him, but he was still worried about Twilight, and promised her to write letters every week.

After two days of preparations, early morning, Spike was standing at the platform of Ponyville train station. He smiled, as the photographer took a picture of him and six mares that were standing around him.

"I will send you the photo as soon as it is ready." Twilight assured him.

Spike nodded, and hugged her tightly. All the words they could say to each other, they have said already in the past hour. Spike knew, it would be hard to let go of his old life, of his best friend, but knowing is one thing, and actually experiencing it is completely different.

The train whistled, signaling that there was not much time left to departing.

"Take care of ya'self out there, pardner. Don't let those snooty Canterlot ponies step over ya!" Said Applejack sticking out her hoof.

"Will do, AJ. Will do." Spike answered, shaking it.

"Umm... be sure to eat well. Since you’re grown up now, you'll need eat more, but make sure your food is healthy. If that's okay with you... I mean." Said Fluttershy.

Spike nodded and smiled, as pegasus hid behind her mane again. She was not used to his new size and was a little bit more shy than usual.

"About food! I brought you these super-delicious cupcakes, my special recipe, to make your road sweeter! They will surely make you smile! Eat them and remember us, but don't keep them as a memento, because if you eat them later they won't make you smile, but rather make you do other things you don't want to do, so make sure you eat them!" Pinkie blurted in one go, handing him a bag of cupcakes.

Rainbow Dash never had a knack for this ‘mushy stuff’, as she used to say about herself, so she simply wished him luck and tapped him on the shoulder.

Rarity trotted to Spike, stood on her hindegs and draped a scarf over his neck. It was white and blue, with a diamond knitted on it. "To keep you warm in a cold mountain air. And to look absolutely smashing of course."

"Thank you, Rarity." He turned to the other girls. "Thank you, all of you."

He walked to the train and stepped in the door, then turned around and looked at them once again. "Rarity, I promise that I will do everything I can to become somepony you may fall in love with!". The doors closed, and train began to move, carrying him away to the new chapter of his life.

On the platform Rarity stood flustered, her cheeks bright red. "He was really serious about it, was not he?"

"More than you think so." Twilight confirmed with a chuckle. "Beware, Rarity. Next time you see him, he would no longer be 'Spike', but 'Sir Spike the Heartbreaker'". Everypony laughed, but Twilight noticed that Rarity's laugh was a bit... forced.

She found her own feelings to be strange and new. She felt a weird mix of sadness about Spike's leave, happiness that he finally found his own way in life and a sense of pride that she was able to help him along. She wondered if those were the same feelings her parents felt for her once? She never considered herself to be Spike’s parent, despite hatching him and caring about him all his life, he was more like a little brother to her.

o--(==========-

Twilight smiled, looking at the photograph they took back there. Beside it stood another one, that Spike sent her with one of his letters. Thanks to his time with her he already knew quite a lot about magic. And so he was able to master the year program in just three month. On that photo he was standing in a robe of a second year student.

Twilight sighed and put a photograph back on a shelf. It was already dark outside. She looked out of the window, and noticed a flash of light far away in the direction of the Everfree Forest. Curious, she looked harder, and her eyes widened as she saw a column of light rising against the dark sky. In a moment, the column dissipated, then came a strange sound, as if someone hit a drum. She felt a surge of magic coming from Everfree, it lasted less than a second, but that was enough for her to understand that she never felt anything like this.

In a hurry, she picked her saddlebag, a map of Everfree, a lantern and a notebook with a pencil. Sleep could wait, when there was an unknown phenomena at hand … .

o--(==========-

[Oww, shit. About time I started hallucinating.]

Val caught a glimpse of it, whatever it was with his peripheral eyesight.He was completely powerless. He couldn't even move a finger, all the energy he had came rushing out of him with an explosion that cleared the forest around him. Now everything he had left was staring at the beautiful sky above him. Several times he thought he saw the stars shifting, forming a different figures.

Feeling as his strength leaves him, he muttered. "What a beautiful night to die... ."

o--(==========-

Twilight noticed that the air itself started to feel different for some reason. The usual smells of the forest were dulled, replaced by... She concentrated for a bit, remembering, when did she smelled something similar. And she remembered a closed wing of the Canterlot Library for some reason. A smell of the air that did not circulate for centuries. Intrigued by this revelation she continued onward towards a clearing in the woods, and stopped at the edge.

This clearing was unnatural! It was more resembling a crater of an explosion, but the trees around it were not bend, but damaged by magic that cut part of them clean off. In the crater there were no signs of any remaining vegetation, probably destroyed too by the strange phenomena.

Twilight channeled a bit of her magic, trying to get a feeling of the magical flows inside the crater. She cringed. There was nothing. It felt like something simply burned away all the magic in a certain radius, taking along whatever was around it. She never heard about anything like that, but whatever it was, it had passed, and now the hole in the magical field was slowly filled down again by the wild magic of Everfree.

She poked into the area with a stick, but nothing happened to it, and the magic flowed as usual again, so Twilight assumed that it was okay to go there and investigate everything first-hand. She walked into the clearing and gasped. In the very middle of it lied something.

It was a creature akin to a minotaur, but different in its physique. It had the same legs and almost the same hands, but its shoulders were not as broad, and its muzzle looked flat, completely different from anything she ever read about. It appeared to her that the creature was wearing clothes, much more than ponies or minotaurs ever did, it was covering most of its body, save for the hands and its face. It had no fur on either, and its mane was long and white, stained by dirt and... blood? As she slowly walked closer to it, trying not to make a sound, she heard it mutter, "What a beautiful night to die."

It could speak! It spoke Equestrian! Wait... To die? The lavender unicorn looked at the creature, there was a small puddle of blood around it. Panic gripped her, she was not the one to let anypony simply die in front of her, not if she had any say in it. She hurried to the being, trying to remember every healing spell she knew. Turned out she didn't knew much of them. One for small bruises, which clearly was not the case here. The other one for healing a flu, not this one either. She reached the being and looked at the damage. In its stomach was a searing wound, covered by its hand. It obviously tried to stop or at least slow down the bleeding, but obviously did not succeed. She carefully lifted its hand off to see the extent of a damage and gasped.

It looked like something just took away a clean slice of it, removing part of its guts along. Twilight barely resisted the urge to vomit. She had no time for this, she had to help it somehow. Finally, she remembered the spell she needed. A spell to heal the wounds and mend bones back to normal. It was a complex one, but the mare never was the one to give up easily. She looked at creatures face and saw that its eyes were open, and it looked right at her. The eyes were as strange as everything about this being. They had no whites, only irises that were glowing gold yellow, and vertical pupils, like the ones of a cat.

Shrugging it off, Twilight focused at the task at hoof and began to cast her spell … .

o--(==========-

Val felt something touch his left hand and lifting it of his wound. Opening his eyes proved to be a hard task, but he managed. It was a horsey-thing from before, but this time it was up close, so he could actually see it. It was hard to make out the color in the dark, but he could swear it was purple, and it had a horn on its head. Its horn glowed with a faint purple light, revealing its features. The head of this thing was nothing like a horses though. It had large eyes that were facing forward, much shorter and pointy muzzle and very thin lips. Now that it was up close Val could say that it was probably two times shorter than he was. Way too small for any equine he knew. Then he noticed a saddlebag on its back. It meant that something around this parts had intelligence. Enough to domesticate the thing. Maybe gnomes or tashti, Val couldn't think of any other race that would be comfortable riding something as small.

Then he looked back at its head. It was staring right back at him, and in its eyes Val could see intelligence and determination. Perhaps he was wrong about this being being domesticated. It was its own owner it would seem. But what was it trying to do? It looked back at his wound and its horn began to glow brighter.

He felt a familiar sensation of his tissue growing back together and ribs shifting in his chest, realigning themselves. Painful — It was healing him? But how — ?

Then he felt something else. A strong flow of unfamiliar energy entered him, washing away the pain … .

Suddenly, he felt The Hound’s seal shifting. He rushed in his innerscape, but it was too late. The seal was shifting and twisting before his eyes, and in a matter of seconds it was broken, releasing the beast and destroying the sealspace that was holding it. The Hound stood before him, unsure of what to do now. It was irritated at the disappearance of its forest, and could not understand what did its alpha want from it right now. It let out a low growl.

[What the flying fuck?! Ral! What the hell is going on!]

The demon did not answered. Afraid of what could happen, Val rushed to the next seal. The current materialized here as a flow of water that was slowly flowing into The Torturer's chamber. The seal began to crack.

"No! No-no-no-no-no!" Val tried to reassemble the seal, to force the water away with his will and to reform the lines, but every time he did it, the water came back, washing it off. Eventually the seal started to glow and exploded, sending Val to the depth of his innerscape where he never was before. The current grabbed him, and pulled him further away. In the distance he could hear the demonic scream.

[Free!]

o--(==========-

A drop of sweat dripped from Twilight's forehead. She rarely exerted that much magic for such a long time. The being before her was twitching and writhing in pain, despite the fact that the spell had an anesthetic effect in it. She felt sorry for the poor creature, but there was nothing else she could do at the moment. It took her over twenty minutes to finish channeling the spell. Exhausted, she fell on her haunches.

The being held its arm up and tried to reach her.

"How are you feeling?" She asked. The creature stopped convulsing, so she guessed that pain was caused by the process of healing, though she wasn't sure. Its life was in no danger anymore.

Suddenly, creatures arm shot upwards and grabbed her horn."Food!" It said with a low growling voice. Twilight tried to get away, but she felt that her powers both magical and physical were leaving her. Still holding her horn the being stood up, and Twilight realized that she had no means of stopping it now, without her magic.

"I am not food! Let me go!" She screamed, trying to buck it, but her strength was weakening really fast. That creature, that monster! It drained her!

The monster brought her to his face by a horn. Twilight stared into its eyes, unable to look away. It smiled with a wicked grin, revealing a set of sharp teeth and canines. Her forelegs gave away from terror. The monster was going to eat her. Twilight tried to turn away as it started to sniff her, but the monsters grip held her horn tight.

"Delicious fear!" It sniffed again. "Delicious blood!" It pulled her up, making her wince in pain, as she was held by her horn with her forelegs several inches away from the ground. "Virgin blood! I shall make the perfect mix of suffering and despair! And meat! And more suffering!"

Twilight's lips trembled, tears of fear were flowing down her cheeks. She was so terrified she couldn't think straight. "Please don't eat me! Please, I don't want to die!". She prayed to the Princesses for a miracle that would save her from this monster, but her prayers were in vain.

The creature released her and she slumped to the ground, unable to move. The touch of this monster drained her dry. It walked around her and she heard a sound of cloth. She felt its hands gripping her rear with relentless force and pulling it up.

This could not be — what did this creature want with her!? "No! Please, no!" She cried, but it did not listen. She felt something brushing against her private area. Was that it? Would her first time be with a monster that would soon eat her?

It entered her in one go, taking her virginity. She tried to scream from pain and terror, but all she could manage was a quiet cry. The monster leaned forward to her ear. "Cry! Cry and fear!" It grabbed her head and forced her to turn and look into its eyes. It leaned further and licked her cheek, tasting her tears. "Delicious! We had just began brewing the mix and it's already good!".

Twilight's mouth opened, as the creature pulled back while still holding her head, and pushed right back in with a force, making her flank bounce. She was powerless to stop it, her magic refused to answer her. Everything she could do now is cry and wait for the end, or a miracle … .

o--(==========-

[What is that mongrel doing?! Who does he think he is? A fucking incubus?!]

[Well, Toth, I don't see the reason for the rage. At least you are not getting flooded like I am.]

The pipe coming from one of the machines near Ral's seal bursted out and now was filling his room with a smoking gray liquid. He did not knew what did it meant for Val's brain and hesitated experimenting on what it might do to him. So he took a gamepad and climbed on top of the couch. The liquid did not reach him yet, but looking at this rate it was not for long.

[Also note that he is a slavemaster, and as one he can gain strength from suffering of others. I think he is trying to gain as much power as he can, using the resources available. Did you ever got a virgin as a sacrifice?]

[I had no worshipers! All I've got I took myself!]

[Well, virgins are the most delicious meal, let me tell you. Well, at least he is enjoying himself while he can.]

[How do you know that? Our kind has no interest in mortal pleasures!]

[Well, your kind does not, but he is connected directly to our host's senses, and feels the same our host would feel in his place. The same works for me. Oh and Valianir can feel it too of course. And see. Traits of being possessed by a lesser demon that does not know how to cut the tails.]

[Aren't you going to do anything about this?]

[For now? Nothing. Just sit, watch and enjoy.] Ral looked down at the gray liquid. [While I can afford it of course.]

o--(==========-

The monster pounded into her, making her whimper from pain each time. She had abandoned hope, now simply waiting for this torture to end. With a dread she thought that her captor wouldn't give her such mercy easily.

"Lets add one more ingredient!" The monster growled and grabbed her mane, pulling her head backwards. Twilight didn't had the strength to beg or plead anymore, her cries reduced to a quiet whine. She felt its canines touch her neck. It waited several moments to make her fully understand what awaits her next, then it bit her, sticking its sharp teeth into her flesh. She felt the wetness of her own blood and licks of the creature's tongue. She felt her consciousness finally slip away, releasing her from pain. A hit to the side of her head brought her back from oblivion. That would've been too easy … .

"Looks like you're expiring! Lets not waste the meal, shall we?" The monster continued to rape her, now slapping her flanks harder and harder to keep her awake. Its speech became more complex over time Twilight noticed, her mind beginning to detach from the current state of her body. Why did she thought that? Nothing mattered anymore … .

o--(==========-

[And what is your great plan? Sit here and look like this idiot rampages around killing and raping until somebody kills him?]

[Relax. You do not know about how Succubi really work, do you? Unlike you I find time to educate myself even here. I had a lot of talks with Folgora recently.]

[And how does that going to help us?]

[Us? None. Val on the other hand...]

Thotumikatum sighed. He hated riddles, or rather he hated riddles he could not find solutions to. Ral laughed, and that laugh irritated the self-proclaimed king to no end.

[Everything is going to be fine. I know Val's movelist and I'm quite proficient at pushing buttons.]

[Of course. That clears everything up.] Spat out the irritated demon. Being trapped here with this bucket of wits was even worse than being frozen in the ice for a thousands of years. At least he didn't have to be conscious back then.

Ral chuckled. [Just wait till he finishes and see what happens, I know you'd like the sight.]

Toth didn't believed him one bit.

o--(==========-

Finally, Torturer started to feel that he was close. Soon he will gain everything this horse had to offer, and then he will eat her, and gain knowledge of where to find others like her. And then hunt and eat them. Easy prey.

He grabbed her flanks, impaling her on his cock once more and released his seed with a loud roar of pleasure. Who knew that possessing mortals felt that good?

As the semen flowed out of him he sensed that something was wrong. Terribly wrong. "No! That was not supposed to happen!" With each twitch of his dick, he felt energy leaving him, all the power he tried to collect so far. He tried to stop, but couldn't, he pulled himself out of his victim, but that did not help. He felt his grasp on his host's body weakening, feelings and emotions of this wonderful mortal body fading away.

He appeared on the barren wasteland. Only earth and rocks as far as the eye could see. An enraged growl came from behind. The Torturer slowly turned around, he would have been afraid to look, if he had any sense of fear that is.

[You fucking son of a bitch!]

A giant beast stood before him. It had a devilish mix of canine and humanoid traits. Standing on its hindlegs, it looked like someone decided to cross a canonic image of "dark overlord in a spiky armor" with werewolf, and some sort of angry spirit.

Valianir Zimmer and The Hound had fused together. Here, in Val's innerscape, his rage and hatred became material, and their appearance reflected it.

[Since you can't see what's going on on the other side of the innerscape, I'm going to comment this marvelous event for you.] Ral said with a grin.

[Oh, bugger.] Well, not like Toth had anything else to do … .

o--(==========-

[Ouuhh... And here goes his spine! They continue to beat him into the ground! There is a hole beneath them already! They are lifting him up and throw him high into the air! Wait — I didn't thought it is possible to use a Chain in the innerscape! Val uses it to bring him back into the earth, that's gotta hurt! Oh, he has a new idea, wait — They are ripping his hand out and … . Oh wow, they are beating him with it, can you believe that? Beaten by his own hand, what a twist! Okay, apparently now Val is going to — Oh no, he didn't, that magnificent bastard! He is going to play baseball with that dicks head! Using his arm as a bat no less! A-a-and — Homeru-u-un!!! Ha-ha! Whew. I guess this is the end of it.] Ral continued to laugh at Torturer's demise.

[Well,] Toth chuckled [You made me wish I could actually watch that for my self. Thanks I guess.]

[No problem, brother-in-host. I've enjoyed commenting it myself. I think I know now what's so good in the career of a sports commentator. No sport as awesome as demon-beating though.]

o--(==========-

Val had a splitting headache. He had beaten The Torturer in his innerscape to a bloody pulp, but now he felt as if it was his head that got launched into orbit by a giant bat. He brought what remained of the demon back to his cell, then reinforced the seal. He made sure to add several extra bindings to it.

[While he wouldn't die from it, I doubt he would be operational for several months at least. Good job.] Val heard familiar voice of his oldest occupant.

[Long time no hear. Why didn't you warn me? Did you enjoyed seeing me being possessed by another demon, huh?] Val was angry at him.

[Hey! Take it easy. Like I had any options! You didn't hear me. I guess it was because of all the liquid I nearly drowned in. Fried some of your circuits for good, that thing.]

[What liquid? The water?]

[No, a different one — how should I explain — One of your pipes got broken and started to leak, then it broke completely and flooded my chamber nearly to the brim. It dissipated once you regained control though, but I don't think it was The Torturers doing. He lacks the knowledge to do something like this. By the way it still dripping a bit. I'm no brain expert, but it seems to me that you have a minor case of serious brain damage!]

[Minor case?]

[Well, you are not a plant-like idiot yet, so I guess it was something non-vital.]

[Just great. Fucking great.]

With an effort of will he returned control over his body and opened his eyes. He was standing before a body of a little horse. A being that saved him. A being that he … .

"Oh shit. Shit, shit, shit. Fuck."

[Whats the matter?]

[I have harmed a person that saved my life. I have harmed her in the worst way possible. I have raped her — I've felt everything that bastard did. And the worst part? I have enjoyed every second of it! I have enjoyed raping a little horsey-thing. Who saved my life. It is the worst thing anyone could ever do.] Val slowly started to succumb to despair, holding his hands on his temples, he kneeled before the little unicorn. She was still breathing, and the blood from the wound on her neck stopped. She was alive.

[... You are not responsible.]

[I am! I could not hold him! I didn't hold him! I-I felt like I could really control him if I wanted, but I enjoyed it and let him stay! I … .] Tears began to roll out of Val's eyes. It was quite unusual for him to cry like that, but this was just too much.

[This is the worst … .]

[It is not.]

[Don't try to make me feel better, I know what I did, or rather what I didn't!]

[You do not. Now answer me one question. What will you do, if someone harms a priestess?]

That question was ridiculous. Harming a priestess, a being pure of heart, that tried to help everypony in need, unable to do anything bad … . It was simply unheard of. Any bastard that would do something like that deserved to die, without a doubt.

Satisfied by a meaningful pause, Ral continued: [Your circuits are really fried if it takes you this long to follow. Now look around. This is a dark forest at night. No smoke, no signs of settlement nearby. And now look at her.] Val turned around. [She came all this way, as if she knew there was someone that needed help. And she had the power to heal you.]

Realization struck Val like a gnomish hammer, blasting away all the other thoughts he had.

"I have raped a priestess … ." His legs went limp, and he fell on his knees. He looked at his shaking hands, unable to process the thought thoroughly. " I have … ."

He pulled a pistol out of a reeve and placed it to his head, gulped and closed his eyes.

[Stop!]

[... Why should I?]

[You didn't think again, don't you? What would happen if you kill yourself?]

[You will go with me, you wanted to say this? I do not care anymore!]

[Well that's where you wrong. Your safeguard is busted. Means if you kill yourself now, I will be able to control your body. Maybe. Maybe not, but there is a chance. But thats not important right now. Think about what will happen to her! It's a night in a dark forest and she is unconscious! Will you let her just lie here until a wild beast would stumble on a free lunch, ready and served?]

Val breathed deeply, trying to calm down and think this through. In the end, Ral was right. Besides, death would be a release for him now, not a punishment. He will turn himself in to the authorities of this world, and let them decide his fate. He would likely be skinned alive, but that did not mattered for him right now. He thought he deserved far worse.

[What should I do?]

[I dunno. Maybe carry her out of the forest for a start? I think you should head the way she came from.]

Val picked up a little body, and a sting of pain entered his heart. She was so light. And she was still crying, even while unconscious. He bit his lip and tried to hold back the tears that were streaming down his own cheeks. He wiped them, then looked at the moon, checking the direction. He started to move through the forest, holding a little unicorn carefully. It was a wonderful night to die, but not now. He had something he had to do first.

o---{>=L=O=A=D=I=N=G=-