Chains and Ladders

Aquila launched herself like an arrow toward Taus, but was intercepted by a sudden burst of light. Hovering before her, Princess Celestia’s eyes glowed with energy.

“Aquila, don’t do this.” Celestia stated flatly. Aquila gave a shriek and resumed her charge, with Celestia the target now.

Daemon jumped off the back of Halos to observe proceedings. As he levitated himself to a better vantage point, he found himself struck by a sudden sense of fear. Turning his head slowly, he barely dodged a blast of black energy.

Princess Luna, her eyes glowing as well, allowed Daemon no respite. Further attacks forced him to dodge rapidly, unable to respond. He was forced down to the sand, while Luna gently landed opposite him.

Melek Taus, the eldest of the demigods, spread his wings and laughed as Halos lumbered toward him. He stood still as the machine raised a hoof and drove it down at him, moving at the last possible moment.

“Is that the best you can do?” Taus sneered “I could move faster than that in my sleep!” Halos made no reply, but continued the follow Taus as he darted away. Jumping into the air and soaring overhead, Taus summoned a massive ball of energy and sent it crashing into Halos. Sand obscured his view for a moment, before it settled.

Halos stood unharmed by his attack. Melek Taus frowned. That should have scattered bronze across the desert. Taking a closer look at the engraved words located on the bronze machine’s legs as he lazily dodged its attacks, he saw that they were heavily enchanted with anti-magic spells.

“What a bother.” Taus chuckled. So his magic was useless as a solo weapon, but he still had plenty of options. Teleporting a few hundred yards away, he picked up a massive rock with his magic before teleporting back above Halos. Hefting his weapon, he tossed the stone at Halos with as much force as he could muster.

Halos’ blank expression didn’t change as the makeshift meteor hurtled toward it. Instead, it raised its right front hoof and looked as if it was intending to catch it. Taus snorted at the machine’s stupidity, before the rock suddenly came to a stop just inches away from impact. The rock was now shrouded in a bronze magic aura as Taus blinked to make sure he was seeing correctly. Now this machine had magic of its own, that wasn’t bothered by the anti-magic enchantments? If he didn’t need to destroy it, Taus would have taken it for himself.

The stone flew at him rather slowly, so he was able to dodge with no trouble. Taus flew a little higher, daring Halos to come after him. The bronze wings flapped a few times as the machine continued to chase after him.

“How amusing. You are a determined little engine.” Taus, far more maneuverable in the air, continued to dodge the best efforts of Halos to swipe him out of the air. The machine showed no fatigue, only a determination that even Taus found admirable.

Swirling sand around with his magic, Taus engulfed Halos with a sandstorm. Driving the grains deeper into the machine, through the gaps in the armor, Taus felt Halos plummet to the ground as it could no longer use the magic in its wings since they had been rendered immobile.

With a satisfying crash, Halos landed. Taus continued to push sand into the machine, eager to bury it beneath the dunes. Once it was no longer visible, Taus continued to force tons of sand onto the still form. He chuckled, imagining a foal playing with a toy at the beach. Daemon’s weapon had been defeated. Taus turned to see how Celestia and Luna were faring.

Behind him, Halos suddenly broke through the sand with a speed that startled Taus as he whirled around. He was terribly confused; he could still sense the energy of Halos deep beneath the sand, yet it was now closing in on him. He briefly wondered whether the machine had been holding back before an armored hoof smashed down on him.

For every attack Aquila made, Celestia matched with a defensive spell of equal power. Aquila’s talons had found their mark only once, leaving a nasty scratch on beneath Celestia’s left eye. Aquila and Celestia circled each other, awaiting the next act.

“You’ve gone soft in your old age, Celestia.” Aquila sneered at the alicorn, who rolled her eyes in response.

“You’re almost as old as I am, Aquila.” she reminded her adversary. Aquila feinted as if to attack, and Celestia cast a defensive spell reflexively.

“Scared?” Aquila mocked Celestia.

“Hardly.” Celestia returned with iron in her voice. “This is your last chance. I’ve been holding back and you know it. Leave now.”

With a shrieking laugh, Aquila attacked again. Celestia blocked her talons with magic before they could reach the solar diarch, but she was forced to move her head slightly to avoid Aquila’s snapping beak. The pair clashed several times in rapid succession, before Celestia suddenly went on the offensive. With several blasts, Celestia forced Aquila downwards, intending to take away Aquila’s aerial supremacy. Aquila was not so easily dissuaded from leaving her natural battlefield. She made several long circles as she moved upwards, dodging blasts and regaining the figurative high ground. Celestia flew up in loops of her own, mirroring the griffin, until the two were level again.

Celestia powered up for another round of combat, but suddenly a loud bang came from behind her. Risking quick glance, she saw Taus burying Halos with sand. Aquila grimaced as she watched the event, before turning back to Celestia.

“You’ve lost, Aquila.” Celestia locked eyes with her opponent.

“You underestimate me.” Aquila suddenly smiled wickedly. Celestia looked on in horror as Halos burst out and crushed Taus beneath a massive hoof.

Daemon wandered the dark mangroves idly, wondering how he had ended up here. The saltwater swirled around his feet as he moved deeper past the gnarled roots of the trees, while the moonlight allowed him to see only a few feet away. Occasionally, he’d see a dark figure dart around just beyond his sight. It scared him.

Daemon struggled onward, not sure where he was going or why. The figure now began to linger a bit, leaving him with the outline of another pony. At first, Daemon wondered if the pony would help him, but the figure didn’t seem too friendly as it hissed whenever he approached.

Reaching a clearing that hosted a massive tree trunk in the center of the mangroves, Daemon paused. He heard hoof steps approaching from the opposite side. As he leaned around, he came face to face with the Princess Luna. Reeling, both staggered back several feet before regarding each other with wary eyes.

“Where are we?” Daemon glared at Luna.

“We do not know.” Luna responded coldly.

“You brought me here. How can you not know?” Daemon grunted.

“I intended to take you to a dreamscape, yes” Luna replied, waving her hoof “but your magic somehow distorted the plane. I don’t know anything about here.”

“So how do we get out?” Daemon stamped his hoof, splashing a little water onto Luna.

“Neither of us seem to be able to use magic. Maybe there is some kind of test?” Luna suggested.

“A test?” Daemon looked at her quizzically.

“Some dreamscapes require you to pass an objective in order to proceed.” Luna explained.

“So how do we get out, then?” Daemon demanded.

“Did you notice a figure darting around?” Luna asked suddenly. Daemon shivered.

“I thought that was you.” Daemon’s eyes widened as Luna suddenly backed away in fear.

“We thought it was you.” Luna looked around wildly as splashing seemed to come from all around them. Pitch black figures slithered in from the mangroves, forcing Luna and Daemon back to back. As each turned to talk to the other, they suddenly found themselves alone.

The dark figures came up to Daemon, who froze. They morphed into his sister, Lillith. Daemon’s heart soared as he saw her fire red mane and eyes, as well as her dark brown coat. But suddenly, a gash appeared in her throat. All around him, Daemon watched as Lillith fell to the floor and gurgled. It reminded him of the Sultana for a brief moment before he fell to the ground crying. The mocking laughter of Melek Taus echoed through the mangrove swamps.

“You monster!” Daemon cried as the dead bodies vanished, replaced by his own dead body. He looked into his own glassy eyes, and trembled. Screaming incoherently, Daemon released all of his energy. The dreamscape vanished before him, returning him to the desert just in time to see Halos crush Taus.

“Daemon?” Luna, just a few feet away, spoke softly. She was shaking badly; evidently she had suffered a nightmare as well.

“What was that?” Daemon asked Luna. Luna’s eyes suddenly widened as she looked at something behind him. Before he could turn around, he heard a voice that made his blood chill.

“Fear.”