I felt power.
A searing heat that flushed through me in waves, carrying away all traces of fatigue and pain, leaving in its place shock, giddiness, and...
'F̸reedom̸.'

I looked down at myself; I was no longer wearing my trench coat, but a long black cloak, my hat was replaced with a black hood that blocked my peripherals, I raised my hands up to my face. They were now nothing but bone.
'what am I?'

I looked back at my assailant and something inside of me gave a sadistic grin, jarring the bewilderment out of me.
'Obliter̸at͟e ͞t̀he͜ ̸fool! Fĺay͝ h҉is͡ f͏lesh̢, ́fea͢st ̶o̴n̕ ͟hi͢s so͜u̴l!'

Moving to obey the shrill call, my hand rose, almost involuntarily, and pointed at him.
He flinched and started to back away, I just laughed at the sight of him, so suddenly struck by fear. But my laugh didn't come out right; it was a lot deeper then it usually was and it felt more sick, more perverse, more utterly evil then my inner demon. I was not being forced into a back seat here, I felt as though my movements were my own; as though the words I heard were suggestions, not directives.
Yet I was too intoxicated to care.

I pushed onwards, advancing one step forward for each pace wasted by my prey in retreat. As I passed Luna, I glanced at her for a brief second, she stared at me, eyes widened and mouth agape.
While I continued to walk toward my would-be-killer, he finally mustered the sense to turn and run. I rose my scythe in his direction and a faint red glow suffused across its blade, gathered into a single point and fired a black chain at the demon; filling the air with a dragging, clinking, echo and the smell of burning metal.
The demon looked back just in time to see the chain hurtle towards him and warp around his legs. Amid the sound of its many links striking one another, he let out the sweetest cry of what I could only imagine was hopelessness before hitting the ground in a cloud of dust and displaced underbrush.

“Aw, too bad for you.” I chuckled, grabbing the end of the chain before slowly pulling him back toward me. He squirmed around and even started to pull on his bindings, when that didn't work, he opened his mouth and spat out a glob of his acid-like venom on it but all it did was sizzle and drip off of the chain, leaving not a single blemish.
I knew he would never break them, I didn't know how I knew but i did, my head was filled with whispers, feeding me knowledge and egging me on to confront, to torture, to kill, all foolish enough to raise a hand against me.
'A̧ga̛ín͝s̷t͘ us̕'

I turned toward the big oak tree that stood a few feet away and walked over to it, flinging the free end of the chain over a low hanging branch. I moved to grab it once more and pulled. The weight strained against my shoulder bones, causing them to give a surprisingly comfortable pop.
Following much heave-hoing and no small amount of cursing, threats, and pleas from my captive, he was hanging upside-down from the tree. I wrapped the excess chain length around its trunk then fashioned it so he could not fall and get away, then faced the demon.
He hung there, a look of fear on his face, apparently he had no more fight left in him. How dull.
I closed the gap between us. He brought back a fist and tried to hit me but it stopped a few inches away. I raised an eyebrow at that pitiful display, hardly worth my time.
'̴H͡e s̴háll̛ scr͜ȩam̡ ̕f͜or o͏u̴r͘ a̵m͟usème̷n̕t ̕s̨oon̴ e͞n̢ough͘.̨'͟

His already rotted arm started to decay rapidly and turn to clumps of ash. He jerked his hand away and it slowly started to heal, he then opened his mouth and spat out a thick, meager trail of venom, it was clearer than before and lighter in coloration. I side stepped his attack with ease then stabbed the blade of the scythe into the ground.
The thing inside of me chuckled with elation, I felt it surveying my catch, pondering upon what to do with it like a kid with a new toy. Images —none without copious amounts of gore—flashed by, yet each of them were dismissed because they had “been done before”. Finally, it told me to speak.
“Grim Rodrick?” I raised my head in the air, searching for a face I couldn't see.
'No҉ ͝yo͡u ̨i͝m̧bécile͠! R̴ȩp̨ȩa͘t it̛ ͘exa̡c̨t̴l̡y͜ ͜as͠ I s͘a͘y.̨'͢ ̴ ͞
́
*Grim. Ro. Drek.*
A faint red glow emanated from the ground under the demon. He looked downwards, confused, before two long chains shot out of the dirt and wrapped around his wrists. These chains glowed bright red, with orange marking the places where the individual links connected. Smoke actually rose from the point where metal met flesh, they seemed to tighten with every scream he made.
I heard his cries of pain fill the air and echo into the woods behind us, smelled his rotten skin, charred black under the heat of the chains, saw him writhing in agony. Whatever allowed his arms to regenerate from their ash-like state only proved to his detriment at that point. Black clumps of flesh would fall to the ground only to reveal fresh new skin underneath, which would then be burned away.
Over and over again.
This was excessive, unnecessary, cruel. I wanted to be sick at the display, wanted to deny that I derived pleasure from my foe's misery, but it was not so.

He was mid-scream when my hands grabbed the top and bottom of his jaws, creating a dry shruking noise as bone ground against bone. A trail of saliva oozed from his upper lip to the grass below. I forced his mouth open. Wide, wider, and wider still.
I heard his bones pop and his skin groan like overstretched plastic, the trail of saliva was soon tainted with red. I took a moment to revel in the feeling of him shake his head against me, then pulled and gave a satisfied smile as I heard the bones in his jaw break.
With prompting from the voice, I opened my mouth and brought it down to his face, I then inhaled deeply. A green mist left his body and I drank it in. Though tasteless, as it entered me I felt euphoria and even more power fill my entire being. I finally understood why people would go out of their way to get high.
“No!” he screamed as a green fiery glob, far larger than what came before, left his body, soon all the dark energy dissipated and a demon no longer hung from the chains but a man, seemingly unharmed yet still, a naked scraggly-haired man. He looked up at me, eyes widened, tears flowing out of his eyes, unto the ground and into his mouth.
I just slowly raised my hand and pointed at him.
“Guilty!”

I snapped my fingers. A hole opened in the ground and screams of rage, agony and torment from an indecipherable number of voices rose up to a near deafening point. Red, black, and milky-white arms, claws and even a few tentacles shot up with a bang and a splay of blood that drummed across my hood like rain before grabbing the man, trying to pull him down. But the chains around his legs held him in place, I slowly raised my scythe, the man looked up at the chain then at me.
'Ah, t͞h͡e le͝gio͝n͟ o͞f̕ th̨e ̷dam҉n͝ed; uncouth̢, ̛l̀o̴ud a̧nd͠ ͢dreádf̵u͝l͢ĺy ug͠l̢y.̕.̛.̴ B͏u̴t͡ alway͏s ̶on tim̕e͞,҉ ̧and o͢ḩ s͏o açc̴ep̕tin͏g̕ ̸of̢ ̴ǹȩw͜c̸óme̛rs͟!̶'
“Oh God,” the man said, sobbing, all the while managing to speak above the voices; “Please no, please show mercy!”
I just laughed at his words and came as close to him as was possible without putting myself at risk of falling into the —for lack of an official term— Pit o' doomy doom®

“Sorry, all out of mercy.”
I swung the scythe. It cut through the chain like a knife through butter and the man was jerked into the fiery pit, the appendages following him down. The howls became gradually fading laughter as it sharnk inches at a time. Before long there was no sign of it ever being there.
I turned around to face the lunar princess but found my self face-to-face with Celestia, frowning, with horn poised forward.
I tried to walk around her, but a golden aura enveloped my limbs with a knee-locking pressure. She tried to pull me away from her sister but I trudged on, slowed but not halted by her grip.

I heard a growl come from behind before a ball of energy screamed past my ear and slammed into a nearby tree with the sound of a thunderclap that I could feel in my chest. Bark, twigs, and leaves burst into the air upon impact, engulfing what remained of the tree in an ethereal flame that illuminated the leftover blood and venom on the ground.
I turned on my heels.

“Your first and only warning,” Celestia said, igniting her horn again. She bared her teeth at me, the glossy sheen from the nearby fire in her large eyes made them more prominent, more threatening.

“I am not your enemy,” I said my voice cold and stern, despite the voice urging me to repay her 'warning shot' with a cracked horn.
“Then what are you?” she shouted back, spreading both pairs of legs to cover more ground. Her tail flicking from side to side.
I paused at that, not entirely sure of the answer myself, the voice however, was only too happy to provide it for me.
“I am the reaper.” I thrust my scythe handle into the earth.

“I judge souls bound for the afterlife. I decide if they deserve everlasting paradise, or everlasting torment, I am nether good nor evil; whether you are the richest of the rich or the poorest of the poor, whether you are the strongest of the strong or weakest of the weak, you are all equal in my eyes”
Celestia just stared at me, her eyebrow raised and head cocked to the side, reminding me of a confused puppy.
I turned away from her, my long black cloak slowly shifting back into a trench coat, my veins, then muscles, then skin crawling back to cover my hands. The hood on my head then shifted back into my fedora and the immense power that I felt before waned along with the voice's presence, leaving my body cold and trembling and my mind alone, for the moment.

I walked over to Luna and knelt down beside her, she was covered in cuts and scrapes, some of which looked deep, but not mortal. She was either asleep or unconscious. Amid the crackling flames I could hear her breath match the steady rise and fall of her chest.
Wrapping my arms around her, I lifted her up and grit my teeth against my muscles' screams of protest as I cradled her. It was difficult, considering she was bigger then most ponies.

I turned back toward Celestia; “We need to get your sister to someplace where she can get help.” my chin brushed against Luna's fur with every syllable.
Celestia blinked twice like someone jarred out of a thought; “Yes, we will take her to the castle, she can get medical attention there.” For the moment, she had dropped her hostile tone. I caught a glimpse of Celestia tilting her head towards me, her horn alight.
Then there was a blinding flash.

...................................?????..........................
“It seems he has been granted the power of the elder.”
“Yes, but he still doesn't know how to control it. There is much for him to learn.”
“Should we contact him?”
“No... Not yet, let him play with his little pony friends for a while longer, we will confront him soon enough. For now we will return to headquarters, the master will be interested in this development.”

.....................................Marcus...................................
When the light faded, I found myself in a room dimly lit by candles perched on an overhanging chandelier. Long, purple standards of what looked like silk trimmed with gold were draped from the walls at regular intervals. I squinted at the one closest to me and could make out an emblem of the sun placed slightly under a crescent moon.
“On the bed,” Celestia said, pointing her hoof toward its large frame in the center of the room.
I walked over and gently laid Luna down on the mattress, she stirred after her body partially sank into it, but didn't wake.
“I will fetch the medical staff.” An echo spread across the room after Celestia, clacked her hoof against the floor, sending a wave of golden energy across its marble surface like ripples in a pond. I could hear a metallic pattering in the distance.

“I will have six armed guards posted here.” She turned her head towards me. “If you dare think about harming my sister in any way, they will not hesitate to kill you.”
“I have no intention of harming her,” I said, turning toward Celestia.
“And how can I trust a being such as you?”she asked in a voice like something between a shout and a frustrated whinny, I watched the long shadows cast by her legs move up and down the wall as she faced me; “That... creature you fought. You tortured it while it was defenseless.” She shook her head. “While it was broken and bleeding and crying for mercy, you laughed!” Celestia slammed her fore-hoof on the floor, pulled her lips back into a snarl, and ignited her horn.
I could see the energy brimming from it and dropping off in small sparks, she looked about ready to kill me on the spot when a barely audible mrph came from Luna, prompting us both to glance at her. She rolled over unto her side and nuzzled her head into one of a few dozen pillows, eyes still closed.

Celestia took a deep breath and with it, the light of her horn dissipated, when she spoke, her voice was barely above a whisper; “I have faced my share of monsters, tyrants, and rebels, though I can count on my hooves how many took pleasure in such a thing as cold-blooded torture. Why should I allow you a chance to recover while you're weak? So that you may go free to do harm to somepony else?”
“Just hear me out. Please.”

I meant to sound firm but it came out as a croak. My arms ached from carrying Luna, my legs faltered in protest of being on my feet for so long, and I found it harder and harder to keep my eyes open. In the fringes of my mind, I felt my demon press against me, vying to assume direct control over my exhausted body, adding to a muddleheaded haze.

“I don't completely understand it myself, but what you saw in the basement of the library was the manifestation of all the pain, hatred, and misery I have experienced in my lifetime. I can feel it almost constantly trying to overpower me and it has taken a metric crap-ton of effort to keep it at bay.” I sat at the foot of the bed, it felt like a beanbag filled with memory foam.

I gave a silent yawn as my muscles relaxed, I allowed my eyelids to droop, hardly noticing the soft crackling of candle-fire above me fading.
A cold, sharp, though painless, tap on my forehead made me snap awake. Celestia had closed the distance between us, her horn just centimeters from my face;“And I assume that the one I saw near the forest was another being entirely?”

“Yes, and please, don't ask me what that was. I don't know for sure.”My voice came out colder then I expected.
Celestia gave me a hard look, like she was staring into my very soul, but I held my ground and didn't flinch away.
To tell the truth, I really wanted to.
“You may stay here.”

I looked up. My disbelief must have shown on my face, Celestia's voice took on a softer, almost comforting tone.
“Everypony deserves second chances. Everypony deserves solace. Everypony deserves mercy.”
I expected another hard look after that, but instead, her gaze was directed at Luna. Celestia's ears flopped down a bit, the no-nonsense look that she wore just moments before was replaced by doleful frown.

“I will still have a contingent of guards keep an eye on you,” she said before walking out the door.
After a few seconds there was the sound of hoofs and metal outside. Six armed guards appeared in the doorway, each of them wearing midnight blue armor. They all stood, staring at me with stoic expressions.

I wanted to move far away from them, but before I could process another thought, four unicorns in nurse outfits entered and made a bee-line for the bed.
“I will have to ask that you leave, Celestia said you will be sleeping in the dungeon.” One of them said. She brushed a hoof through her mane, avoiding eye contact and almost as an afterthought added; “Temporarily of course, just until another arrangement can be made that is both secure and comfortable.”
The six guards approached me, one of them holding two pairs of iron shackles in his mouth. I could have sworn that my vision blurred as I turned my head to size each of them up in turn. Though they were shorter than me, from close up I could see lean muscle showing through all but one of the guardsponies' fur in the places where armor was not present.

Though that one had a horn, undoubtedly offsetting any physical disadvantage.
There would be no use in attempting fight nor flight. Even if I got past these ponies, who knew how many more Celestia would have on standby?
I held out my hands and the unicorn placed the shackles around my wrists and ankles, leaving a tingly sensation when they came into contact with the pony's white aura.
We walked down hallway after excessively long hallway. With the guardsponies only rendering curt nods, grunts, or nothing to any conversation attempts, I tried to hasten time by counting the number of turns we took.
I stopped at forty-two.

We came down yet another one, covered in banners and tapestries containing symbols of either the sun or moon, much like the rest of the castle.
Superimposed into a nearby wall was a large iron door. My shackles made me stumble approaching the sharp decline in the flooring that led up to it, but I was caught by an armored hoof around my waist halfway down.
Before I could mutter a thank you, the guard stepped forward and knocked on the door three times.
After a few seconds, the door creaked open to reveal another guard, this one in golden armor, whose half lidded eyes seemed likely to shut at a moments notice.
But he woke right up when he locked eyes with me.

He retreated a few paces, to a wooden table with a sword and a crowded ring of keys on it; “What in the name of the maker is that?” he asked, eyes crawling up and down my form.

“How should we know what he is?” One of the guards to my left said in a flat tone; “Celestia wants him locked up for tonight”
“Is it dangerous?” The golden armored one took yet another few steps backwards. If I were unbound and didn't think that doing so would break the energy bank, I would have sighed, fake smiled and made a hopefully amicable palms up gesture to avoid being bludgeoned to death by a cute pony in my sleep in the name of preemptive self-defense.
I had to settle with a simple; “I'm not” and a half-smile that felt more like a grimace.
“It can talk!”

The splotch of dark-blue in my right peripheral dipped up and down curtly. The same pony executed that sigh I wanted for myself; “Even if he is dangerous, what harm could he possible do while restrained?”
“Well even if he is,” the prison guard replied; “We need to search him, at the very least. The last minotaur we had hid a shiv in his pants, I'm not taking any chances.”
The six guards started patting me down, one of them reached into my coat pocket and pulled out my leather wallet; “Hmm I was wondering where that went,” I said.
“Quiet,” one of the guards muttered.

'Well I'm glad I left my scythe outside the forest, that could have caused some trouble.'
As soon as I thought the words, my palms started to feel warm and tingly, the next thing I knew, the long weapon was in my bound hands.
All the guards jumped back and drew their swords. I looked up from the scythe and into their faces. Slowly, carefully, I turned its blade to face away from them and offered the handle to the closest one. As he took it in his mouth with a whuf of warm breath on my knuckles, I was painfully aware of a blade pricking the back of my neck. Had I sneezed then and there, I would probably have been given a view of my own jugular.
This reaper job was going to be the death of me.

I chuckled nervously as the gaurdspony laid the scythe on a nearby table; “Sorry about that, I was... tired.” the guard stared me down and gave a barely audible sigh. I was pushed along, now at weapon-point, down a long set of stairs, soon, we hit a poorly lit hall full of cells.
I followed their lead to one on the far end, the golden armored pony stepped forward, produced a key from a ring around his neck, undid my bindings and then unlocked the cell door. After I backed into it, he said; “please don't start any trouble,” before shutting the door and locking it with a click.
“Now what makes you think I would do that?”

He looked at the spot on the floor where I sat down then up at a point behind me; “I wasn’t talking to you.” he and the other guards walked off. It was not until I could no longer hear their hoof-steps when logic hit me.
'Then who was he talking to?' I thought to my self.
A large warm object, roughly the size of a piece of bratwurst, landed on my shoulder.
I turned my head to see a finger, its nail cracked and caked with grime, drumming on me.
'Oh, gawd.'

I did not want to look behind me, and for a while, I didn't, but the drumming would not stop. I clenched my teeth and forced my self to turn, ever so slowly, to find myself looking up at an eight foot tall minotaur with greasy black fur and a very disheartening smile; “Well, you sure are a big'un aren’t you?” I said, looking up.
The only indication I had of him grabbing my sides was the intense pain that shot through my left kidney as he lifted me up. I just continued to stare at the monster and much to my internal shock found that I was not afraid of him.

A voice that wasn't my own spoke up; “Come on big guy, show me what you've got.” with that, he snorted and threw me into the door of our cell with a loud bang. 'Well, this is about to get interesting' the same voice sounded in my head, as I felt my teeth sharpen into a point and the familiar black liquid pour from my eyes.
“Okay big guy,” My deamon said, getting on my feet, tiredness mitigated by dark energy and adrenaline.
“lets play.”

.........................Celestia...................
With the sun raised and a well-rested mind, Celestia was on her way back to her sister's room. She may have even been awake, considering that she had slept through her night for once.

She turned down the corridor, acknowledging the greetings of many guardsponies, butlers, and sleepy -eyed hoof-maidens just starting their daily chores on her way. She stopped at a window that took up much of the heavily adorned wall to her right. With its curtains parted, the sun's warmth flowed freely into her coat. She closed her eyes and stretched her neck back in a silent yawn, basking in its pleasantness for a moment.
“I simply must share this spot with Lulu.”

A blood curdling scream ripped through the air and sent frozen chills down her spine, prompting her to snap her eyes open. She quickly galloped into the room that the noise came from. Luna's room.

What she saw caused her to stop dead in her tracks. Luna was floating in mid-air, her eyes shut tight, with green puss oozing from her wounds. Above her was an abomination of lime-colored smoke and beady, black, bottomless holes at central mass.

She scanned the room for the medical staff only to find several skeletal figures laying on the floor, four of them wearing a doctor's uniform, her heart fell into her stomach as she looked back up at the creature and found it looking back with a large sharp toothed smile that dripped with the same green liquid that seeped from Luna's body.
The monster let out a loud scream, Celestia felt and heard a force crack into her chest like a war-hammer. Colors blurred past her vision as she sailed backwards, only to halt abruptly when her back connected with the hallway's wall, leaving spiderweb-cracks on it.
Dust, as well as chunks of marble fell from her face and mane as Celestia stood back up.

She angled her now lit horn towards the gas-ball monster and charged, wings outstretched. Each hoof-step sent a jarring pain through her spine that she consciously had to brush off. She saw the mass puff up and glow a brighter shade of green before the doors to the room slammed shut and a fire of the same color erupted around it.
Celestia growled, skidded to a halt, and fired blast after blast of concentrated energy at the barrier. The flames warped, yet did not disperse, much to her horror, they glowed brighter and seared her lungs with
the smell of brine and rotting flesh.

The sound of hoofs hitting marble called her attention to six elite soldiers from the lunar guard galloping in her direction followed by six elite soldiers from the day guard. They halted in front of Celestia at attention.

She rounded on them with a grimace; “Ten of you stay here and see what you can do about these flames.”
“Yes your majesty!” the guards said, almost in unison.

“You two,” Celestia said pointing her hoof at two day guards; 'You will accompany me to the dungeon.”
They fell in step behind Celestia, moving through the castle as fast as hoof and wing could take them. when she reached the incline leading down to the dungeon she jumped and opened her wings to glide to the bottom followed by the two guards. Celestia didn't stop to knock on the dungeon door, opting to reach out with her magic and rend it open, the guards behind her had to duck as it flew over their heads and crashed into the wall behind them.

The prison guard just watched in surprise and confusion as the princess of Equestria gunned it at full speed past him, down the stairs that led deeper into the Canterlot dungeon. The prisoners just watched amid a few gasps as she went past cell after cell stopping in her tracks only when the large hand of a minotaur shot out of one, almost causing her to trip. She looked down at the figure laying on the floor.
“Please your majesty, get me away from him!” he cried; “Please get me away from that monster!” he pointed a finger at a figure who was sitting on a bed near the back of the cell.

The darkness prevented her from making out said monster before a cold laugh cut through the air; “Stupid cry baby,” the figure said between bouts of laughter, Celestia pushed a little bit of magic though her horn illuminating the area enough for her to see who sat on the bed.

He sat there, legs crossed, long coat removed and laid beside him on the bed along with his wide brimmed hat. The left of his long pale arms that ended in gnarled, clawed,
hands held a nail file that he was using to sharpen his teeth with the sound of scraping plates. His empty eye sockets looked just like the monster's currently in Luna's room, save for a red glow in their center. A horrid black liquid poured from them giving off the appearance of tears.
The being looked from the crying minotaur to Celestia; “Is it time for my hour in the yard boss?” he asked.
“What?” Celestia cocked her head to the side.

“Never mind.” he sighed before leaning back against the wall and running a hand through unkempt white hair; “What do you want sun goddess?” he said in an annoyed tone.
“I wish to speak with Marcus”
“I am Marcus.” he chuckled.

“No, I do not wish to speak to you, demon,” Celestia growled raising her wings to full height and lighting her horn.
“Well I'm sorry, but Marcus is a bit tired from the fighting last night, so while he is taking a break I thought I would pop out and say hello to this fine fellow,” he said before tapping the minotaur's leg, eliciting a flinch from him.
“He wasn't very nice at first though,” the demon crossed his legs again and gave a mock-pout with his lips; “He tried to smash my head into the wall, so thought I would teach him some manners.”

“I don’t have time for your nonsense!” Celestia snapped; “Release your hold on Marcus!”
The demon just rolled the crimson orbs in the center of his eyes; “I told you, he needs to rest!” he leaned forward, a frown pulled on his features which curved into a slow condescending grin;“Would you like to leave a message?” He materialized a quill and a piece of paper out of nowhere.
'This creature is almost as annoying as discord.' Celestia thought.
“Buuut if you're having trouble, I could help you,” the demon said, that big smile still spread across his face; “You just gotta spring me lose.”
“How do I know I can trust you?” Celestia asked.

“From what I can tell, you don't really have a choice, do you?” He placed his large black hat atop his head then slid into his coat.
Celestia groaned in annoyance as she turned to one of her guards; “Please fetch the key to the cell,” she said.
“Oh that won't be necessary.” the demon chimed in an almost sing-song voice.

Celestia turned back to see him place a hand over the cell bars; they creaked and groaned then began to rust away. Celestia ground her teeth together, as the bars fell apart. They were laced with many durability increasing enchantments. It would have been a chore, even for her, to break them.
“Shall we be going then?” he said, motioning toward the stairs.

“Yes, we shall,” Celestia replied, forcing back her ire with his casual tone. The guards just stood there still trying to figure out what they just saw the demon do.
The creature in question stopped on his way out and bent down next to the still crying minotaur; “See you later, champ” he said, patting him on the head, causing the grown male's crying fit to take on renewed vigor.

“Well you heard the lady, boys.” The demon passed the guards waiving them over with claws outstretched; “We got work to do.”
The guards just shook their heads and began following behind their princess to the top of the stairs at a brisk pace. The demon pointed a hand toward a nearby table with the scythe Celestia saw Marcus use in the forest. It flew into his hands before he rested it on his shoulder and kept walking.
Celestia watched cautiously as he took the weapon; it seemed like he did not plan on using it on any of them but she wasn't taking any chances, she pushed a little bit of magic down her horn and thinned it out in an invisible shield around her guards and herself.
“There's no need for that.” she heard from behind.

“What ever do you mean?” Celestia craned her neck around, looking the demon in its eye sockets.
“Whatever ward you put up won't be needed; if I wanted to kill you, I could have done it without my scythe.”
From behind the demon one of her guards silently knocked a hoof against his fetlock, just above his armored shoe. A sign, informing her that he was prepared to strike preemptively if necessary.

No she signaled with a seemingly meaningless sweep of her right fore-hoof against the dust on the
floor. Celestia looked up at the demon; “Is that a threat?” she growled, angling her head slightly downwards, innocuous body language for most creatures, but a perfect way for a unicorn to put their horn into goring position. Celestia flattened her ears, a chill traveling down her spine.
“No,” The demon said back; “Just a statement of fact.” He chuckled, sending echos across the wall.

Celestia rolled her eyes at him yet gave an inward sigh of relief. “We don't have time for this.” She grit her teeth and darted forward, the sound of heavy boots hitting the floor from behind let her know the demon was still following. They had reached the hallway leading up to Luna's chamber when the boot-steps came to an abrupt halt.
The demon stood, hands twitching under a spot of sun directly by the window she visited moments before. He looked up at Celestia, his face contorted into a grimace, the liquid that dripped from his eyes had stopped and looked to be drying up, the crimson glow in his eyes dimming.
Celestia reached out with her magic and plucked the creature from the floor, into shadow of the large wall beside them.
“The light hurts you?” Celestia asked.

“No,” the demon replied; “I just find it to be really annoying, it drains my energy.” his words came between breaths of air, as though he were winded.
“From what Twilight told me, Marcus was trotting around the market in broad daylight yesterday, why wasn't he affected?”
“He isn't a demon.” The the black liquid was once again dripping from his eyes and the once dim crimson glow turned a vibrant red.
When they reached the door to Luna's room the ten guards were still trying to put out the raging green fire.

One of them spotted Celestia, and galloped over, he rendered a quick salute; “Your highness, water and chemical flame retardants have proven ineffective. Draining them has a visible effect, but our unicorns can't seem to siphon enough energy before they burst to full strength again. We believe the flames are being fed from the inside.”
“Thank you, captain,” Celestia replied; “You and the others are dismissed.” He dropped his salute before conferring her orders to the rest of his contingent. They took their leave, most of the unicorns dragging their hooves with tired ears.

Celestia was about to turn to the demon when he shoved her out of the way, raising a startled whinny which turned into a growl, but he walk forward, unabated. He stopped in front of the flames and looked at it for a moment.

The demon stabbed his scythe handle into the floor and removed his hat, running his claw-like fingers through his hair; “hmmm.” he looked up and down the flames and even probed them with a finger which was quickly drawn back and shaken in the air.

After moments passed into several minutes Celestia's agitation grew, feeling like a pit of bees in her head; “Can you help us or not?” Celestia yelled.
He let out one of his insanity filled laughing fits; “Calm down, I know what I'm doing.” With that, he took deep breath and blew a small gust of air onto the flames. They flickered a little, then went out.

“Now that wasn't so hard was it?” he asked, another chuckle leaving his lips.
“How did y-” Celestia's query was blocked out by the groaning of oak-wood doors being swung open.
“Now lets see what's behind door number one!” the demon said. A cloud of green smoke flooded the hall, causing Celestia and the two remaining guards to cough. The demon however, just took in a deep breath, a wolfish grin on his face.

........................Demon Marcus,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
I retrived my scythe and walked into the smoke filled room with a jovial little bounce in my step, when Marcus iced the demon back in the forest, I was worried that I had missed a chance at some fun.

“Well, you certainly made a bold move,” I said as I walked to the center; “How you managed to escape is remarkable I never thought you would hide in the princess's body.” I clapped my hands together like a spectator at a golfing tournament; “Smart move on your part.”
The smoke in the room faded giving me a nice view of an oversized human-ish skeleton, hovering over Luna's body; “Trying to regain your form eh? Sorry but I can't let that happen.”

The monster's skull jerked to face me before it let out a low growl and spat a large glob of acid which struck me.
I raised my hand to feel at the slick glob sticking to my head and absorbed it before it could drip on my clothes. The demon opened its jaw in a gasp as I tsked my tongue at it; “Your power doesn't effect me anymore,” I chuckled; “I absorbed most of it earlier so all your doing now is giving me more.” I then gave my scythe a quick spin before walking over to the bed, as I got closer, its horrid face grew even more fearful before leaping from the bed.
It made a break for the door; “Shut them!” I shouted.

Celestia nodded and I caught a glimpse of her horn igniting before the doors slammed closed.
The demon turned and looked at me, darting around the perimeter of the room. It grasped a heavy window curtain and tore it down. As it did, the harsh light of the sun shone through, forcing a painful scream from it. I calmly walked over to the demon and knelt down beside him, its writhing body and harrowed shouts compensating triple for my own relative discomfort.

“Now why did you go and do that? Did you forget that we don't do well in sun?”
The skeletal monster just continued to scream

“You know what? I take it back; you're a lot dumber than I thought you were, that was a fools move on your part,” I scratched my head and positioned myself to the side of the bed, where less light reached.

“You have no host to dampen the sun's effect on you.” As I looked down at it I snapped my fingers, mouth pulled into a grin of revelation.
“Wait, you didn't know that I have a host, did you?” I lost my grip on my scythe as I laughed until a pain rippled though my sides, the black ooze coming from my eyes thickened into a steady stream for a moment;“The pain you feel in the sun without a host is excruciating, I can't believe that you would try and screw us both over!”
“Help me!” It screamed, inching closer to my shaded spot at a hilarious millimeter a minute.
“Nope, I don't think I will.” I stood, raised my arms above my head and did a quick stretch.

I bent back down and retrieved my scythe; “Well, sorry to cut this conversation short, but I'm getting rather hungry and you would make a perfect snack.”
I stabbed the blade deep into his bony chest and slowly lifted him off the floor, his screams of pain grew louder as the blade sank a few inches further, aided by his weight. I brought my hand up to his throat and held him there as I slowly pulled the blade from his chest before opening my mouth wide and breathing in.
I almost lost my grip as the demon thrashed against me, letting out more loud screams as I absorbed the rest of his energy, making me feel half-full inside. The demon let out one last scream before becoming ash, cascading unto the floor in a pile, I flung a clump of it that mixed with the sweat in my hand away.
I turned back to the window and snapped my fingers, the curtain shot back up and blocked out the irritating light.

“Now let's see how you’re doing,” I said, walking over to the Lunar goddess's limp form; “Hmm... I wonder If a pony soul tastes like anything.” I reached my hand toward the alicorn's chest but it froze mere centimeters away from her.

I tried to move it but it still wouldn’t budge; 'Don't even think about it!' Marcus's voice rang in my head.
Just couldn’t stay asleep for a few more minutes, could he?
“I was only going to heal her wounds,” I replied with a sigh.
'Sure you were' He said, I could feel him trying to force his way through to his body, a pressure against my limbs and head that intensified by the second.
“Fine! I won't eat her soul, but I truly can heal her wounds.”

'Then do it, but if you try to take her soul again, I will lock you back up the first chance I get, understood?' I felt the pressure spike, and then go to an uncomfortable, yet bearable level.

“Yes, mom,” I groaned, after I felt his hold on my arm release, I opened and closed my hands before placing both of them on Luna; one on her head and other on her chest. I closed my eyes and concentrated, pushing my own energy, most of which was recently stolen anyways, into Luna's body.
I opened my eyes again and as I did, a dark red glow engulfed Luna. I winced in pain as a long gash ripped across my chest followed by more cuts and bruises all over my body. I continued the process for a couple more minutes before sighing; “That should do it,” I said before laying on the floor in exhaustion.
'Great.' I heard Marcus say; 'Now we are the ones who are hurt'

“Shut up,” I replied “Can't I get a break? Besides, we heal quickly enough,” I could already feel the wounds beginning to crawl closed, though not visibly so; “I know one thing though,” I said

'And what is that?' Marcus replied.

“I'm tired, I don't like being in pain, and I think you can have you're stupid body back. Fun's over, anyways.” I sat up when the door to the room burst open. Flanked by twelve guards, Celestia ran over to Luna while the guards surrounded me, each of them holding a sword in their teeth.
“A thank you would be nice.” I chuckled before I felt my senses fading from me.

....................Marcus..................
I sighed in relief as I was pulled out of the darkness. I could feel my teeth start to flatten back out and was about to run my tongue over them when the black ooze along my cheeks drained back into my eye sockets, it felt like someone was pouring acid into them, causing me to give a startled yelp, but the pain was gone after a few seconds.
I had to blink a few times before I could see straight again. When I finally could, I found myself surrounded by twelve ponies, six of them wore golden armor while the others wore midnight blue. Each of them held a sword in their teeth.

I looked up; Celestia was holding a crying Luna in her arms; “It's okay I'm here now, Celestia said, a few tears falling from her eyes as well. She glanced in my direction. It felt odd, seeing her with teary eyes and a warm smile in lieu of a frown or scowl.
I was still wondering which one of her faces looked more natural when my feet left the ground. The guards look up at me as I rose above them and I kicked rather futilely in mid-air, my legs and the rest of me covered in a tingly golden aura.
The feeling faded when I was pressed against her warm, soft barrel, she wrapped her forelegs around my waist in a tight hug; “Thank you!” she cried; “Thank you so much!”
“C-can-can't breath” I choked out.

Luna joined in on the hug making it even tighter, it felt like being smothered to death by giant pillows; “We thank thee for thy help,” she said, tears still in her eyes.
“S-still c-can-can't breath.”

Author's Note

Hello every one here is another chapter sorry it took so long

This was my favorite chapter so far i enjoyed writing it so much i would like to give a shout out to my buddy Maromar for editing for me i think he did an awsome job and i would like to thank you guys for all those likes and faves i really appreciate all the support thats really all i have to say for the moment i will try and get the next chapter out as soon as possible