Ars Moriendi

by Smalls McGee

Rating: teen
Tags: Dark, Human, Sad, Adventure, Tragedy
Length: 7996

A young girl from Earth finds her way to Equestria after the destruction of her town. Can she find peace or will evil follow her?

Hell reaches out to Earth to destroy a young girl. In her most desperate moment she discovers a portal to Equestria. Will she find peace and acceptance there or only predjuice? And what about Hell? Will it follow her to a land of friendship?

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2015-07-09 00:11:30 UTC

Chapter One- Mors Mortuibus

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Chapter One

    The darkness hung brightly in the cool May sky. Stars twinkled and danced overhead as a gleaming moon looked down like a great eye of some loving fatherly god.

    The night was peaceful, comforting like a child's favorite blanket. This tiny town, Sigurd, Utah had many nights like this for this was the home of good hard working people always quick with a smile and a helping hand.

    A stranger stalked the streets, walking softly as she made her way through them. A hooded robe, as black as the deepest void, fit loosely and cloaked her perversely beautiful features save two batlike wings that folded elegantly at her back.

    In her arms a newborn gazed upward with new eyes of purest deepest blue. And from above her mother smiled down at the little bundle in her arms. But there was no love in this smile it was only a cruel lust-filled mischievous joke full of malice and hate.

    As she walked through the neighborhood of the cozy little homes and large yards like tiny subsistence farms dogs barked and growled, chickens squawked scrambled and hid, and horses stamped and whinnied in their stables. Evil had come to their town and the animals hated and feared it, but the people slept on dreams of nightmarish lust raced and crashed through their minds like malevolent thunder.

    She had walked for one, two, three miles at least before she came to her intended destination. Sure she could have flown and been there sooner or used her innate magic to teleport and arrive in a breath’s time but she liked to walk. The night was pleasant and the sound of frightened panicking animals gave her a pleasurable chill.

    The house she chose was a friendly inviting old home with red brick, a newly painted white door and front porch, with a lovely freshly stained porch swing where friends sit and talk, or lovers watch the night sky in each other's arms. Tulips peek from the dormant ground and tree buds swell to bursting.

    Spring was in the air. Its glory mixed with reeking evil that came on drifting tendrils of erotic feminine scent.

    The strange shrouded woman padded softly up to the front door and gave her four day old daughter one last loveless kiss and then laid the little one down. She stood looking down at her baby seemingly studying her and the deep purple blanket she had been wrapped tightly in.

    She smirked at the baby, at how it looked more like a purple cocoon with the head of a newborn than a child. And oh the sweet terror, the suspicion and hate this child would bring! The thought of it made her tingle with evil pleasure.

    A moment passed. Dumbly staring down at the little one at her feet, a woeful would-be future played in her thoughts. She smiled and slowly raised her head and knocked loudly at the cottage door.

    A light turned on sending meager lamplight into the darkness. The shuffle of sheets and the soft sound of foot steps reached her keen ears. It satisfied her, she nudged the baby with her heeled boot and listened to the infant cry. The mother crossed into Hell just as the door knob began to turn.

    An older man answered the door. Dressed in pinstriped blue and white pajamas, his graying hair messed, and reddened brown eyes blurry and still asleep.

    He could hear the tiny angel, the little bundle crying at his slippered feet. The man rubbed his eyes to clear them and watched as the world came into focus. On the stoop lay squirming a prayer answered, a prayer he and his wife had prayed to profanity. They had never had children of their own and in their small town they never had the chance to adopt or foster a child. And yet here one was laid out like a holy relic.

    Quickly, he took the newborn up in his gentle arms and smiled down at her as he kissed her forehead. She struggled once, twice, and then calmed and quieted and looked up at the man that embraced her.

    The soft crinkle of paper muffled through the folds of her blanket. Slowly he brought her inside and pushed the door shut with his body and laid her gently on the old worn leather couch, once a deep chocolate now sun-faded to a light brown.

    The man felt her before he heard her. It was always like that even when they were kids. It was a connection they both shared.

    "Steven who was at the door?" He looked back at his wife, still beautiful after all these years. Even now she had the power to make him forget his name just like she did when they first met in the third grade.

    "I don't know," Steven looked back down at the baby as he spoke. "But she left us a baby."

    "A baby?"

    He knew the look on her face that "Yeah right" look.  He had to admit he didn't believe it either.

    "If you don't believe me then come see for yourself."

    She sighed then smiled, "Okay but I'm only doing this to show you reading all those conspiracy magazines have finally made you lose it."

    He laughed softly, he knew Anna hated them. "Hey, the 'Bat Boy's' real okay?"

    "Sure he is..." Anna stood silent a moment, her jaw dropped in unbelief. "Great Gulgren's sack..." Was all she could say in the tiniest of whispers. Her eyes locked in a gaze taking in the sight of the most beautiful baby any human has ever seen.

    "...I felt something like paper when I held her." His fingers searched carefully, softly through the silken purple blanket. With each fumble the wrapping grew looser until it finally gave way and fell limply in tiny piles at her sides. The nude baby shivered and squirmed and stretched her two too tiny batlike wings.  Steven stood up, he swore his eyes deceived him. "She's an angel..."

    Anna stared at the wings to. She replied but didn't look away. "Pah, what kind of angel has wings like that?"

    "This one." Steven gave Anna a soft gentle look. He was so kind, so insightful and she loved him for it. "At least that's what we're gonna tell her when she's old enough to ask what she is."

    "So what's that note say?"

    He picked it up, unfolded it and read it silently then let his hand drop to his side and the note to the floor. He just looked at Anna an amazed look on his face.

    "Well?"

    Steven spoke slowly, quietly he couldn't believe what was happening. "It says the baby's name is Jessilyn, and that the mother wants us to raise her." Then Steven smiled, he had such a handsome smile. "Looks like we're finally going to be parents. And to think you said we'd never have children. For shame."

    "Me?" Anna said with a fake angry tone. "That was you bucko." Then she laughed a laugh that turned into happy tears. "Thank you God... Thank you so much..."

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    "So you're turning ten this Friday. What are we going to do for your birthday Jess?"

    "Who says you're coming?" She said with a smile and playfully threw her hip into her friend's side.

    Shauna tripped over herself and fell her heavy backpack carried her down the embankment and into a ditch. As she got up she made a face and just before the little girl charged she promised vengeance. "Oh, I'm gonna get you!"

    Jessilyn screamed and ran half-heartedly. Her friend just steps behind her then Shauna leapt and took Jessilyn by the shoulders and they both tumbled and rolled giggling into the ditch. They both sat slowly up and leaned back on their arms. As their eyes met they saw each other caked in mud and torn grass and broke into a loud long laughter and laughed until it hurt.

    "You look like you're made of mud." Jessilyn did indeed appear to be made of mud, like some strange magical construct brought to life, only her brilliant sapphire blue eyes and her white smile betrayed her as being much more than a rude sculpture of clay.

    "So do you." A watery clump tumbled slowly down her cheek. She watched it fall with a wet splat. "Ah! I'm melting. I'm melting. What a world..." The little blue eyed girl said, her voice a perfect imitation of The Wizard of Oz's Wicked Witch.

    "How do you do that?"

    "I don't know. Imitating voices just comes naturally to me." Jessilyn replied thoughtfully this time her voice was a perfect replica of Homer Simpson's. "One time I called my dad pretending to be a would-be client. I was on the line for thirty minutes before he realized it was me." She spoke with a laugh and looked off into space lost in a pleasant memory, another one of her mischievous smiles spread across her face.

    The little girl stood slowly unfolded her small immature wings and flapped them vigorously. She stretched them out high above her head and held it enjoying the stretch and then let them fall loosely folded at her back.

    After helping Shauna up they both walked and slipped up the grass covered mild slope. They snatched up their backpacks and slowly walked the gravelly roadside.

    They were quiet a moment before Shauna broke the silence. "So, really what are we gonna do?"

    "Well, my mom's going to get us some movies and Nikki's bringing her Wii."

    "Is she going to get us scary movies?" she asked excitedly.

    "No. Don't you remember what happened when we watched scary movies at Leslie's house? You got so scared we had to turn the movie off."

    "Hey I wasn't the only one scared." Shauna said defiantly. "You were too."

    "I was NOT scared, I was frightened there's a big difference!" Jessilyn said with a smile, then her voice dropped to a nurturing caring tone. "Besides I was only like that so you wouldn't feel so bad about being a scaredy cat."

    "Uh huh, yeah right." Shauna smiled and nudged her friend with her elbow. "Whatever makes you feel better."

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    “Impossible!” Jessilyn’s biological mother stood before a white marble scrying pool. Her face flushed red with rage and stray locks of her raven hued hair hung down in her emerald green eyes giving her a spiteful evil look.

    She took a sip of wine from a priceless icelike crystal goblet then threw it against the hellstone wall of her home. The goblet shattered loudly and deep burgundy wine ran down the wall then pooled and boiled on an angel bone floor.

    An imp sat perched at the edge of the scrying pool watching the scene of Jessilyn and her friend play out. It shuffled its wings and gazed deeper into the moving pictures below it.

    As it gazed deeply into the scrying pool the little girl’s mother snatched up the hapless creature by its neck and yelled into its face. The tiny monster stunned, it hung limply as the woman’s harsh words rang and hurt its ears.

    “I sent her there to turn the people of that town against each other.  She was to inspire hate, fear, suspicion!” She squeezed the hell red creature’s neck white knuckled as it vainly struggled and scratched. Its tongue lolled and turned from pink to purple. “But she inspired nothing, they inspired her. They brought her to the light! My daughter, how dare they?”

    She flung the creature down hard with a sickening crunch of broken bones. It struggled to force precious air down its crushed windpipe, but finally laid back gave up and quietly died.

    She walked a few steps then angrily threw herself down into a plush burgundy chair. “Very well, I’ll destroy them all including my worthless daughter.”

    The raging woman smiled an evil smile. “I will destroy their world. Nightmares will walk the Earth and every creature will know fear.”

    She rested her chin on her right fist and sat motionless for what seemed like forever. Mortal fears played vying for a chance, a chance to be her chosen punishment.

    Old movies, ancient fables, even phobias she had gleaned from mortal hearts all promised something interesting. But some were weak cowardly fears that she wouldn’t use and she smirked at how fearful humans could be.

    At last, she discovered the plan she desired and it made her shiver. It may be cliché, the woman thought, but so are human fears.

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    “Happy birthday!” Jessilyn’s adoptive mother cried with a smile so big she looked like the Joker. But she loved her daughter’s birthdays even though she was tired and her blonde hair was messed and hung down in her baby blue eyes. “…It’s the one day I can legally spoil my daughter so I’m going to take advantage of it.” She had told Steven earlier when he begged her to take a break and slow down on the preparations.

    A rectangular gift wrapped in bunny covered wrapping paper sat in her lap and begged to be opened. Her friends, her parents each with a knowing grin on their faces, “Open it!” Leslie cried as she played with the pillow in her lap.

    As Jessilyn freed the gift of the last remains of wrapping paper her eyes grew big and her mouth dropped open. The world seemed to blur, quiet, slow down, and disappear all together. All that remained was her and the gift- a brand new Playstation 4. “No wonder Nikki didn’t bring her Wii.” the little girl thought to herself. “She said it was broken and I believed her! The clever little minx.” She smiled, shook her head and pushed her friend. “Nikki ya dork you knew all along didn’t you?!”

    Nikki only laughed, so did everyone. They were all so happy.

    The bat-winged little girl felt so safe, so loved. Her three closest friends were there Leslie, Nikki, and Shauna. Better the parents she loved so much were spoiling her rotten with her favorite food and lots of presents. She never told them but she would have been just as happy with Top Ramen and a fist full of sticks just as long as they were there. She smiled to herself, at her own secret, then to her clever trick. “Hey,” she whispered to herself. “If I can have the perfect friends and family, great food, and gifts who am I not to take advantage of it?”

    A loud crash of crumbling barns and sheds, the distant cries of fear turning into gurgled death. And the night choked black with fire, it was all at once, serenity to chaos. No warning only noise, fear, and the acrid smell of smoke cloaking the stars and haloing the moon.

    Steven ran nearly flew, with a frightened girl under each arm out the door. They looked left, then right and found the source of the tumult. That's when they saw them coming on stiff legs. Off in the distance they shuffled and stumbled like some grotesque army. Yet some were quick, nimble running, leaping, and perching on fallen trees and toppled brick walls.

    They screamed and laughed, hellishly hungry they tore through pet and man alike. Old Mr. Gunderson tried to run, but his elderly legs wouldn't carry him, they protested as he tried to leap over a fallen mailbox. His knees screamed out in pain and he stumbled and fell forward as he landed.

    The monsters were on him before he could get up. His screams of pain, fear, and death rang out and mixed with the horde as they crawled over him feasting on his body, tearing meat and limb from bones in a sickening stretching noise. Then his cries died away.

    Anna screamed and led the others back in their house and they ran as fast as their legs could carry them. The kitchen held a secret, a hidden cellar that was more like a dank hole in the ground with a trap door over it than a true cellar. They all raced to it and Steven quickly pulled the rug covering it away lifted the cellar door and commanded the little girls to get in.

    Terrible poundings and scratches came from the doors and windows. The creature's howls echoing through the home and as the door and windows shattered Steven dropped the cellar door and Anna pulled back the concealing rug. They stood there a moment, holding hands and traded "I love yous" before the horde charged into the wood paneled kitchen.

    Jessilyn listened to the sounds above blotting out her three friends that forced themselves to cry silent tears. She'd would never forget the sound. Step drag. Step drag. And others running on a smooth gait. Then the footsteps stopped and a loud crash of broken furniture and the heavy thud of a body striking the floor boomed in the small cellar. She thought the worse, and then she heard a woman's voice forceful, evil, yet undeniably sexy.

    "Where's Jessilyn?"

    "Who?" Steven replied his voice strained but defiant.

    "Don't play dumb with me, I know you have her."

    Jessilyn looked up through the cracks of the floor but all was black, the rug concealed all.

    The woman stood there in a revealing body hugging black dress, her batlike wings half folded and held menacingly outward. The woman pointed a sword tip that burned with sickly green flame at the man's neck. He closed his eyes and thanked God for the time he had been given.

    "He's telling the truth." Anna screamed. "We're all alone here. Please let us live."

    The woman smiled. "Let you live? I suppose I could do that... Yes, I think I will."

    The older couple sighed a breath of relief and Steven held Anna in his arms and he looked at the evil woman with thankful eyes. "Thank you. Thanks so much."

    She reached her hand forward and ran her burgundy claws gently caringly through Anna's golden hair, smiled then turned and spoke matter of factly to the rotted, mummified creatures that surrounded her. "Kill them, burn the house down."

    "But you said you'd let us live?!" Steven protested.

    The batwinged woman looked over her shoulder to the cowering couple. "I didn't mean you." Then she walked slowly forward out of the house, the old couple's frightened tortured cries of death ringing through the cottage. "Live long my little girl, we'll meet again. Perhaps by then you would have finally lived up to your purpose."

    Those cries, they burned into Jessilyn's ears playing over and over again. Her parents died to protect them, and her heart screamed with guilt and self-loathing. The woman asked for her. Had she been the cause of this? The death of her parents? Tears fell and seemed to burn her like acid.

    She didn't notice the heat of the fire, or the choking smoke that painted the air black. Her friend's coughed and choked. She could feel their sweat, their tears, their fear. And though the smoke had cloaked everything she knew that they were dieing, dieing in her arms.

    And she hated. Before she had thought it just a simple emotion but what she felt was like a living thing that burned and raged inside her screaming for release. She cried tears not of fear, not of guilt, but of pure undiluted hate.

    The fire burned for hours and her friends had stopped moving long ago. As the blaze cooled to smoldering coals the little girl clawed, squirmed, and forced her way out of the charcoal rubble. Everything was changed, dead like her family and friends. Houses, cars and other things smoldered in the night.

    People lay half eaten in pools of clotting blood. She watched from a distance as a pack of dead things circled her teacher. The crying woman begged pleaded on her knees, but she wasn't heard. Or she was and they didn't care. One of the monsters leapt tackled her and sunk it's teeth into her neck. She cried out but the others charged in and fed on her still living body like dogs.

    She hid her face in her hands and ran not knowing where to go. Jessilyn just had to get away, leave before they got her too. All around her the half eaten or blood drained bodies began to wallow in their blood, groan and stand up each as hungry as the monsters that made them.

    They chased behind her, some seemed to enjoy it. Some drug their claws on metal to draw out the fear and fun of the chase.

    She ran into the grassy hills leaping over holes and running as fast as she could, her little chest heaving rapidly. Her legs carried her quickly and the noises behind her stopped. But she didn't trust the soundless night.

    Jessilyn didn't need sleep like the humans did and her strong lungs and heart gave her the endurance to push herself, to press on through the night. She'd make it to Salt Lake City just over a hundred miles away and there she would hide in the streets. Hide until she can make them pay. They'd all pay each and everyone slowly and painfully and the thought made her smile.

    She ran by day and crawled through the tall grass by night. The going was slow but her hate kept her going, it fed her made her strong. And her loathing made her tingle, it felt good like a continual orgasm.

    She was changing, puberty had begun her flimsy girl nails began to redden to a deep burgundy to match her full pouting lips, they hardened and sharpened like manicured nails filed to sharp points but hard as steel and sharp enough to cut even the soul. Her eyes lined with black and lightening to a deep grayish bronze that brought out her blue eyes and seemed to make them glow with lust. Her teeth straightened, whitened and her smile grew permanently sensuous and seductive. And her newly flawless tanned skin beamed and showed off her budding breasts arrogantly. She wore her deep brown black hair neck length and straight, and even from a distance it looked soft perfect begging to have a lover run his fingers through those exalted locks.

    It was like night and day from little girl with little girl flaws to femme fatale perfection in a single night though she still wore a little girl's body and her tiny batlike wings, though strangely alluring and elegant were small and looked like a backpack from a distance. With her new seductive form she felt powerful, confident, the undead would pay and she knew the budding power inside of her would give her the strength to accomplish it.

    In the distance city light glittered like diamonds, cities like Jessilyn never sleep they only change to a charming dangerousness that corrupt and devour souls. Her life had changed, she had changed but deep within her heart her slain parents called to her. "Remember who you are."

    "But I need you so much." she cried out to the darkness. "Why did you have to leave me? Why did I kill you?" And she hated again, it flared up like a back draft. Some enemy destroyed her world and everyone she knew because of her. It was all her fault. But a still small voice told her it wasn't, told her to forgive herself. But she couldn't, she was too hurt, too destroyed.

    The downtown buildings of Salt Lake City stretched upward, like trees reaching for light. Rectangular and cold the unfriendly edifices looked down with cool starred. Shadows spawned from streetlights leaped out at her like the undead hordes of Sigurd. Her new breasts heaved in fear and apprehension, this is where she would hide, grow, and learn to kill. Stalking from the shadows only emerging to tear her enemies to bloody fleshy ribbons.

    As she walked the streets, teenagers wearing baggy pants and hats worn sideways called out to her crude and mean things meant to inspire fear and submissiveness. But she was strong, she didn't submit and she walked shoulders squared and her face stoic.

    A building, it's red neon sign gleamed brightly promising old and rare books intrigued her. The door pulled open and jingled with friendly bells and an old man greeted her and pretended not to notice her wings. He smiled at her request and led her to a section that read "Fables."

    "Thank you." she said with a smile and greedily turned to the old books. The old man watched her a moment then shook his head and left the little girl to the books.

    One book almost seemed to scream at her from the top of the book rack, it was called "A Dark Hunter's Field Guide." She reached high straining on the tips of her toes and gingerly took the old tome from the shelf.

    Jessilyn turned clutched the book to her breasts and found a seat at a long wooden table. Her fingers flipped through the pages until it came to a picture and her heart sank, and a quote from a video game came to her mind "Know thyself, though it may destroy you."

    The picture was a rude classically drawn sketch of a man and a woman with wings like her own. They were beautiful, perversely so and under the picture read the inscription "The incubus (the male: incubi plural), and succubus (the female: succubi plural)." It was a clinical writing of this species of demon, their role as master manipulators and seduction. It listed their powers by name including a kiss that had the power to drain away a creature's life essence and feed it to the demon healing them and charging them with power. It went on to tell of their cruel nature their love of destroying families and becoming "the power behind the throne".

    She had seen enough. Her eyes grew glassy and tears fell. She threw her head down in her folded arms and cried out "I'm a monster! I'm a monster!"

    The clerk heard her cries and ran to the small room. He had left her there alone and his heart dropped. Had someone gone there without him knowing? Were they hurting that odd little girl?

    He stood at the doorway to the Old and Rare Books section and looked in with trepidation. The old clerk was ready for a fight if he had to. He wouldn't let someone hurt that girl. As he scanned the room all he found was the little girl, her face buried in her arms her shoulders heaving as she wept.

    The clerk walked quietly to her and placed a caring gentle hand on her shoulder. But Jessilyn found no comfort in the gentle touch. The touch felt dreadful like corporeal remorse for some terrible sin yet to be committed.

    She leapt to her feet toppling the chair and the little succubus turned and threw the man's hand away in one fluid motion. Jessilyn cried out tears streaming from her tear-reddened eyes, "No, don't touch me! I'm a demon, a monster. I'll hurt you. Can't you see? I'm a monster..."

    And she ran from the store, crying weeping into the night.

    Jessilyn sat alone in a darkened alleyway. She hugged her knees and her wings wrapped around her like a protective blanket.

    She hummed to herself a lullaby her true mother, Anna, had sung to her so many times before when she was frightened or just sad. Jessilyn thought of her parents as she rested her head in her arms. They had such gentle smiles, and they always spoke gentle words that always lifted her up even if those words came as a loving rebuke.

    The little succubus thought about how happy, safe, and accepted they had made her feel- that everyone had made her feel. But she was in a strange place now, lost in the darkness and no longer the angel her parents had always claimed she was.

    City noises came to her keen ears. The purr of car engines and the sound of people talking too busy to notice the singular little girl that huddled terrified in the gloom of an alley.

    A rustle, blasphemously loud, echoed through the trash strewn alley. Startled, Jessilyn jumped to her feet. Her muscles tense and her claws flexing and relaxing. Ready to slash, to cleave, and to save her life.

    Forcing its way through the pile of dingy dirty boxes a cat emerged. Its long black and white fur matted and filthy to a dirty gray. The kitty looked up at her with big yellow eyes and like Jessilyn she was scared, lost, and alone. Her family nothing more than a faded distant memory of better times.

    The little girl's shoulders slumped and she let out a long tired sigh of relief as she sat cross legged on the cement. She smiled and called softly sweetly to the frightened feline.

    She could see the conflict in the cat's eyes that seemed to glow with arcane energy in the dim light. Is this girl a friend? Or was her inviting exterior an illusion, cunning bait so she could simply chase her and have her wicked sport with her like so many had before this night.

    It hadn't always been like this for the dirty cat that stared up at Jessilyn with frightened eyes. You see, she had a pet little girl once before. A little blonde haired angel of a girl who always smiled. She had loved her so much. Her other pet humans were beneath her, not worthy of the cat's precious time. But to this little girl she was like her shadow. That was until a neighborhood teen stole her and dropped her off in this hell and destroyed her life.

    But while her former pet girl was cute and angelic this one was sexy and demonic with bat-like wings and a sensual smile. And yet, even in a demon there was something good, something kind, and something gentle that shown through her lustful appearance. But the girl was hurting, destroyed, and broken and like the cat desperately needed a friend.

    Slowly, tentatively the little cat padded towards the young succubus one silent paw before the other. She knew better but the little girl's lustful voice promised safety and friendship and oh how the kitty needed it.

    Oh, that gentle touch that long lost ecstasy of soft fingers running through its matted fur. She could feel every wall come down as the pleasure surged over her. For so long the cat had known fear, bitterness, and cruel hate that this single moment of kindness was like an angel's kiss, ironic that it came from a demon. And for the first time in so long that time had swallowed it and made it forgotten, she purred and it was so loud that it filled the air with the raspy sound of pure joy. And at this moment she knew this strange girl, this demon from hell, was her new pet girl.

    It all faded away, all evil emotions, but one truth remained- God had not forgotten them. But God's love wasn't enough, it was far from enough for the light of forgiveness to enter Jessilyn's heart. Her fear, her hatred still burned, still raged, still hungered for release and it frightened her.

    The running, the hiding, the emotion- that terrible emotion plagued her. Her body screamed in agony like some monster had torn her asunder and then painstakingly rebuilt her in its own tortured image. She didn't need sleep, no immortal sleeps, but she needed rest. Just one moment to quiet her racing mind that reminded her always of her hellish situation.

    But that moment wouldn't come even as the cat lovingly ran its body against the little girl's thigh. Because her mind would speak to her reminding her to hate, reminding her of the blood, the screams, and the loss of so many good lives.

    She let out a long slow sigh and leaned back on the rough bleached red brick of the old building. Her arms dangled, her legs stretched straight and parted in a "V", and her wings hung limply at her sides.

    It wasn't until the cat laid between her legs with its upper body resting on her left leg that the girl finally moved and even then it was only to mindlessly stroke it. But her eyes, those lovely tired eyes, stayed closed and her body was as still as death.

    Off in traffic somewhere someone drove past with Rush's "Subdivisions" blaring above even the echoing roar of the cars and the passing light-rail; and it sent Jessilyn into a fit of laughter and then into a pleasant smile and memory. You see, to call her dad a Rush fan was like calling Antarctica "a little chilly". It was always Rush, Rush, Rush, Rush, all the time.

    She remembered listening to him sing in the shower. Singing? Well maybe not in the classic sense of the word it was more like some cross between mating cats and howling dogs. But somehow, it was worse than that it was pure ear torture and everyone but her dad knew it. But once he pulled out his air guitar there was no stopping him it was only a matter of time before he would sing. That's when Jessilyn and her mom would take to the hills, finding any reason to get out of the house. Once her mom on warning that her dad would be singing all day two days later actually scheduled a pap smear. Her mom said even that was better than his singing, but Jessilyn didn't know what a pap smear was so she smiled and nodded. But now all the "emergency" trips to the dentist seem stupid and she would give anything to hear his singing now.

    Even in her worry her mind eventually drifted off into nothingness, just the faded black of half remembered dreams destined to never be.

    Then off somewhere in the maze of alleyways came the telltale crash of toppled metal garbage cans followed by a mysterious thump. Her finger drummed furiously against the crumbling pavement. Her knee bounced nervously as she tried vainly to control her burning curiosity.

    "Fine," she complained. "I'll go see what that was. Stupid curiosity."

    She took the cat in her arms and walked quickly through the twists and turns of the dusty alley. Just past the last turn the alley opened up into what appeared to be the back of an apartment complex with rusted escape ladders clinging precariously to the walls.

    At the base of a ladder was a businessman dressed in an olive green suit hunched over and shaking a passed out, pale-faced, and seemingly lifeless man.

    The little succubus looked at the business man, then to the passed out man, and back to the business man.

    "Sir?" she asked tentatively. "Is everything okay? Do you want me to go get help?"

    The business man turned quickly and at last she saw his face. It was a sickly pale pink, with dull glazed eyes, and blackened cracked lips coated with clotted blood and gore.

    The undead creature screamed an ear piercing screech and gnashed its shark-like teeth as sick rivulets of saliva ran from its horrible maw. And then he charged her with a strangely quick fluid gate.

    The monster ran deceptively fast, leaping and tumbling freerunning style over trash and parked cars. He gnawed the dead man's ruined liver as he sprinted never stopping, never slowing. For he was filled with the unholy endurance that only undeath can bring.

    But Jessilyn was filled with an unnatural endurance of her own- fear undiluted. And it gave her strength to her muscles and speed to her step but it didn't give her luck.

    The alleys twisted and turned like a labyrinth constructed from a madman's dreams that closed in on her and cut off her escape to freedom and safety. She ran hard to the wall of the dead end and desperately clawed at the old brick trying to climb, trying to run up the building.

    Her fingers bled and sparks flew, but she couldn't climb no matter how hard she tried her razor sharp adamantium hard claws only served to cleave the red bricks in two. In frustration she slammed the edge of her fist to the wall and cursed through frightened tears.

    She could hear him behind her, even above the loud beating of her heart and the sob of her tears. The loud wet smacking of his lips and the constant chewing on that liver, always the chewing. The sound stole what was left of her bravery and echoed from wall to wall.

    The little succubus turned quickly, took a step forward, spread her wings and flapped them with everything she had. But she managed only enough lift to carry her to her tip toes.

    Her skin turned white, pale with fear. She closed her eyes and folded her wings slowly. Jessilyn opened her eyes, she had come to terms with her emanate death and capitulated in her defeat as she looked the creature in his hungry eyes.

    "This can't be," the succubus said with a trembling voice . "Zombies are supposed to be slow..."

    It laughed a dry hoarse laugh. "I'm not a zombie, strange morsel. I'm a ghoul."

    He stalked forward running his sharp yellowed claws on the brick as he drank in the fear she tried to hide. The liver dropped from his half mummified hand and he looked up and smiled an evil hungry smile.

    Footsteps echoed like a blessing through the empty alley. When she saw the shadow she ran for it but never noticed the ghoul smile knowingly as she past.

    The little succubus ran crying into the arms of a red haired twenty something and buried her face in her breast.

    "Please," Jessilyn cried. "You have to help me! There's a man after me and he wants to hurt me."

    "Calm down," the woman said reassuringly, her fingers running through Jessilyn's hair. "Where is the man now?"

    Jessilyn turned and pointed a blood dripping finger into the alley. "He's in there, in the alley."

    The ghoul stepped from the inky shadows of the alley and Jessilyn screamed and tried to run. Her steps fell quickly but she soon fell hard to the ground her body in the motion of a cracked whip. She winced in pain as she felt each of her shoulder muscles pulled in turn. But that was nothing compared to the crushing pressure on her wrist that made her cry.

    "What are you doing?" Jessilyn cried. "We have to get out of here, he'll kill us!"

    "No, no we're not going anywhere."

    She looked up at the young woman with fear. Those malevolent blue eyes that burned with necrotic light, and fangs those terrible fangs. The little succubus knew what Twenty Something was- vampire.

    The ghoul stood, shoulders squared, fingers flexing and relaxing, and his legs parted like a leopard protecting its territory.

    "What do you say, vampire." he said and then put his hand on his chest. "You get the blood and I get the flesh?"

    Twenty Something smiled. "Mother always said 'sharing is caring'."

    The loathsome ghoul shared her smile.

Jessilyn struggled mightily against the crushing grasp of the vampire Twenty-something. The bones in her delicate hand snapped loudly, but all she could hear were her terrified sobs and the racing thud of her pounding heart. The ghoul heard it though and he laughed and licked his lips hungrily with his ghastly sandpaper like tongue.

    He stalked slowly forward and smiled down at the frightened girl. His oppressive shadow and ghast stench loomed over her like a living thing and seemed as terrifying and horrible as all Hell. The ghoul knelt before the trembling girl cupped her cheek and smiled. Then he reached forward took her face in his hands and kissed her on the forehead.

    In her ear, he whispered in a soft caring voice. “Don’t worry. It won’t hurt very long.”

    Then he rocked back on his heels and his half mummified face grew dark. The undead monster made a fist, pulled back and let it fly. With a loud crack he watched satisfied as blood and teeth sprayed from Jessilyn’s mouth and nose.

    Twenty-something smiled and laughed as she watched the little succubus’ jaw drop open and her nose point permanently to the left- both horribly broken.

    The little girl watched as her vision blurred, darkened, then nothing. Time passed safe in her darkness, until she awoke with a terrible scream as the ghoul and vampire gnawed on her little form like dogs.

    Despair overwhelmed her. She knew she was going to die, knew she was going to be eaten and her blood fed upon to fuel the unlife of these two monsters. Worse, she was going to be awake the whole time. She could feel every bite, could hear her flesh rip, and tear, and her bones snap so the ghoul could get at the marrow inside.

    They just kept on eating and drinking- slurping and tearing through sinew- until from behind a deep resounding voice rang out through the alley.

    “Hey, what are you doing to that girl?” the voice cried.

    The ghoul and vampire turned in unison and looked up at the muscular police officer from their kneeling positions.

    “Holy fucking shit! What are you?” When the cop saw their faces coated with gore and running with blood he pulled his gun and shot the ghoul twice, the first shattering his right shoulder blade and the second fracturing the fourth rib by the vertebrae.

    It screeched out in rage and both charged the officer whose eyes grew large with fear of sudden death. He fired once more as he ran faster than his feet could carry him. Toppling over himself, the ghoul and vampire were on him before he could get to his knees- then came his blood-curdling cry.

    It took Jessilyn this long this long to simply roll over on her stomach. Large chunk of muscle were gone and her bloody broken leg bones shown clearly despite of the blood that pooled about her. She struggled to move, to pull herself away on her trembling arms, but her strength was gone literally bled out of her.

    From the trash a friend hadn’t forgotten her, now she stood worriedly before the little girl pacing and yowling.

    “I can’t,” the little succubus cried angrily. “Can’t you see that?” But the cat kept meowing. Jessilyn’s claws dug deep into the asphalt and she flexed her fingers angrily and as she did she slowly inched forward.

    Blood trailed deeply behind her, but with every inch forward she felt her strength return. Her body was regenerating- arteries, bones, nerves, and veins reconnecting. The blood trail stopped when soft skin covered newly re-grown muscles. New teeth pushed out broken ones, and her nose and septum pulled into its proper place with a loud painful crack.

    It hadn’t been but five minutes before her body had been fully restored to its former sexy and otherworldly beautiful perfection. Only her torn, blood soaked ruined clothing told her frightening tale of near death, for she had neither bruise, scar, or even a single hair out of place.

    She could stand and walk now, but her savior cat was too heavy and she walked along side Jessilyn meowing and looking up at her with big yellow eyes. Struggling to place one foot in front of the other the girl inclined against the rough brick of the old building, dragging her shoulder along the way as she walked through the twisting alley.

    The little succubus could still hear them feeding on that man even as she buried herself deep in an old rusting blue dumpster. Below the dumpster the cat stared out protectively, her yellow eyes large and threatening.

    And then the wind began to pick up, swirling around the dumpster in a vortex of trash that flashed with green lightning. Her hiding place shuddered and shook as if an earthquake rocked it to and fro.

    As the wind built to its climax reality tore and broke with a deafening clap. Eldritch greens and purples circled about like water down a drain sucking everything down in its blinding light.

    Below the cat cried out in terror, scratching clawing at an earth that was no longer there only empty void. From within the dumpster, Jessilyn shivered in her fright. Was this the end? Had the woman who destroyed her everything come to finish her at last with her devilish magic?

********************************************************************************************

    “Well, this is strange…” Twilight mumbled from the tome in front of her. She looked up at Spike who gave her a confused look. “It says I did everything right. So why didn’t it animate the table?”

    He gave a small shrug before replying. “Maybe you mispronounced one of the words? Try it again?”

    Twilight nodded and aimed her horn at the table once again. A purple energy around her horn brightened like a torch as she repeated the strange arcane words. Then at its climax a ray shot from her horn to the ordinary wooden coffee table.

    The violet arcane energy engulfed it and as the light faded the table began to dance. “Ah!” Twilight said clapping her hooves together joyfully. “You were right. I mispronounced “ambreralli” and said “ambrerallgi” instead.”

    Spike watched the table prance about, “So…” he asked without looking at her. “How do you turn it back to normal?”

    The alicorn’s smile faded. “I don’t know.”

    A loud snap rang out and echoed through the crystal palace. Twilight's ears pinned back, and she cowered in terror and amazement as a large metal rectangular box appeared over head and crashed down on the dancing table. Shards of wood flew like flying daggers throughout the room narrowly missing a startled Spike who ducked behind a chair to escape the flying debris.

Everything was quiet, deathly so. The pair recovered themselves and walked slowly towards the strange object. Halfway to their destination they recognized the sharp reek of garbage. The purple princess cringed and dry heaved at the stench, and Spike quickly covered his nose.

“Ugh,” Spike grumbled from behind his hand. “That smells terrible.”

Twilight nodded. “Did I bring this here? I wonder where it came from.”

They both jumped when they heard a soft meow from under the dumpster. In wide eyed wonder they gazed at a bleeding cat who drug itself free. When the feline saw the dragon and pony, it ran toward Twilight rubbing against her front right leg then back to the dumpster pacing back and forth and meowing loudly.

“What’s it doing?” Spike asked.

“Maybe it's trying to tell us something.” She walked slowly forward. When she reached the dumpster she ran her front right hoof over its side. “It seems normal.”

The cat watched a moment then lept onto the alicorn’s back and bounded on top of the blue alien object. She meowed, walking in circles and always looking at the confused pair before her.

“I think something’s inside, Twilight.”

With her magic she pulled back one of the two black plastic flaps that kept the dumpster closed. She took to the wing and lit up her horn as she hooved above. Inside was paper, torn plastic bags, and discarded food. Just as she was about to turn away she saw something move, there was something alive in there!

Her magic pulled the trash away and there beneath it all was the frightened blood clotted face of a terrified young girl, trying desperately not to be found.

“Please,” the girl cried. “Don’t hurt me!”