Demon's Child

The Abyss. A gargantuan landscape, an endless, barren wasteland, where from time to time there were some ruins, dried trees and grasses, and small villages and towns where demons belonging to different tribes lived. Despite the darkness there, everything was clearly visible. In the darkest corners of that place, there was one giant building. The Palace of Archdemon, the self-proclaimed ruler of the Abyss. A huge, pitch-black castle, bigger than Canterlot and Griffonstone put together. Powerful walls, tall, sharp towers and extremely ghostly sculptures depicting terrifying, horned creatures, with long claws and ragged, membranous wings. In the Abyss, due to the lack of sun, or any other star, there was still impenetrable darkness, in which the roars and screams of creatures like from the hell could be heard. Outside the castle walls, there was a kind of arena, where demons fought each other and tested their abilities, although at that time the arena itself and the surrounding areas were empty.

Demonic Wing was lying on one of the destroyed buildings that were full of them in this cursed place. He was half pony and half-demon. His coat was faded black, white mane, huge membranous wings, and glowing yellow eyes with vertical pupils. On his body, there were numerous bruises, scratches and bite marks from battles with other demons, and many traces of torture. He lay on the roof of the ruins of the house and rested, breathing heavily. He was completely exhausted. For over two days he had been fighting in the arena by order of Archdemon, whom he called his father and only now could he rest. He could not oppose him, because then he would be doomed to something much worse than fighting in the arena. He could be whipped again with a fiery whip, or burned with a red-hot iron. He would lie there, looking angrily towards the castle. He hated his fate. He wanted to escape from the Abyss but was afraid of the consequences. He knew what the punishments here were for disobedience or failure. But what would happen if he tried to escape? Then he'd probably be sentenced to torture, but to one that lasted over a thousand years and much worse. Although he escaped from the castle to rest had some consequences, but he didn't care anymore. And so he fought in the arena every day, and the next torture wouldn't make any difference to him. He wanted to rest for at least those few minutes. His ears moved, catching the sound of the slow steps. He raised his head and saw a pony walking towards him. He was similar to himself, but his coat was red and his eyes were green, while the mane was the same color. He had seen him much earlier, as he watched him, or simply followed him. Demonic Wing stood up, growling furiously showing rows of sharp, back-curved teeth. He spread his wings, climbed up and landed just in front of a stranger.

"Who are you?" - Demonic Wing asked, preparing for the attack, showing sharp teeth and growling angrily. The stranger showed no fear. Wing felt he was a demon and the look of a pony was just an illusion.

"Hello, my son." - The stranger said, smiling friendly. - "You have grown up. If your mother could see you now." - The smile was gone from his face.

Wing was confused. - "Who the fuck are you? Answer me or you'll be fucking dead. And believe me, I still got a lot of strength."

"Calm down." - He got closer to him. - "Don't you recognize me?"

"I've seen you sometimes. You followed me, you watched me. Who are you? Are you some kind of spy? A pervert?"

"No." - He sighed hard. - "My name is Ar'gahl. And I am your father."

Wing laughed mockingly. - "Great. Maybe you should wear a cape and a helmet to cover your whole face."

"I'm telling the truth. Son, it's me. Your dad."

"Why don't I believe you? I don't know you, I don't know who you are."

"Because you don't remember me. And also you don't remember your mother." - Ar'gahl dropped his head down. Wing sensed that the red stallion was in pain. The pain of loss, and his previous words... Were truly honest. Wing calmed down a little and didn't want to tear the stranger to pieces anymore. - "Son..." - He looked at him again. - "Let me show you."

"But what?"

At this moment, Ar'gahl touched his forehead with his hoof. Wing was no longer in the Abyss. Instead, he was now standing on a green meadow, the setting sun was hitting him in the eye, and he... He saw it. He saw some mare, this red stallion, but... He also saw a little baby foal between them. Wing was stunned, that little foal, it was him. The vision suddenly broke away, he saw Ar'gahl's face in front of him, he looked around confused. He was in the Abyss again.

"Now you believe me?"

Wing swallowed his saliva and looked at his father confused. - "D-dad... Is that you?" - He blinked a few times and now... His eyes were normal, blue.

"You felt it. You felt the bond between us, didn't you?" - He touched his cheek. - "You have the same color of eyes as your mother. Except that... She had vertical pupils."

Wing took his hoof off his face. - "Tell me something... One thing. Did you abandon me? You didn't want me?" - He asked him directly.

"What?"

"That what you heard." - Wing frowned his eyebrows. His eyes were yellow again and had vertical pupils. - "I've been in the Abyss since I can remember. Every fucking day I have to train, fight, and if I don't want to, I have to be tortured."

"S-son. Please, listen to me."

"Listen to what?!" - He roared furiously, Ar'gahl went back. - "Your apology? Explaining why you abandoned me and asking for forgiveness!?"

"We didn't abandon you." - He looked at his son. - "We would never do that. They took you away from us." - After those words, his son calmed down a little.

"Who?" - Although Wing guessed it could have been Archdemon because he only remembers him and his demons.

"Archdemon." - Ar'gahl took a break for a while. - "He took you away from us, he killed your mother and... Well, you know the rest of the story."

Although Demonic Wing heard that his mother was dead, it didn't move him that much. It was because he didn't know her. When he thought about it, he felt a slight disgust to himself, but the feeling was suppressed. - "Why didn't you take me away from him?"

"Because I couldn't. If I did, Archdemon would have killed me and I wouldn't have any chance to help you. Now is the chance. I will help you."

"How?"

"First we'll escape from the Abyss."

"They'll know right away. There's no way we're gonna make it."

"You sure?" - Ar'gahl touched his son's forehead, and then a blue light flashed for a short while. - "Ready."

"What did you do?"

"I camouflaged you. No demon can sense you anymore. Your power, your presence, or the fact that you ran away."

"How long it works?"

"Forever. It's kind of a curse, but... With a positive effect. And it affects you because you're half-mortal. And this curse is kind of, uh..."

"Immunity?" - His son finished.

"Exactly."

"Hm." - Wing nodded. - "So what are we waiting for? Let's get the hell out of here as soon as possible."

"Come on, follow me. I know a shorter way."

Ar'gahl passed by him, and Demonic Wing followed him. Finally. At last, he'll get away from this place. He followed his father and thought. About his real mom, about what the world looks like outside the Abyss. Oh, yes. Ever since he remembered, he's dreamt of seeing what's beyond the abyss. He was fascinated by it and felt a kind of excitement that he would finally see something completely new. Or at least new to him.

Nightmare Moon sat on the river shore in the middle of the forest, looking at the passing water and touching it with her hoof from time to time. She sat and thought about various things. She thought about what was happening today and wanted to summarize it in her head. A whole day of cleaning up has tired her. But it could have been worse because at least she didn't have to clean the toilet. On the other hoof, she felt sorry for Spike that he had to clean the toilet. She was thinking about the scarf that Rarity was supposed to do for her and take it, but... She forgot about it anyway. She didn't care anymore. "I can take it tomorrow, nothing bad is gonna happen, right?" Her thoughts went down to the market, and to that what she bought. Everything that was on the list, and cider from Applejack. "Damn, I'd love to sip it now. One time or a thousand times." She thought. If she got drunk on it, I guess all her sorrows would be gone for that one short while. But she also knew that this way she opened the door to her addiction to alcohol. What then? The stopping for some time, the addiction getting into trouble, ending up at AA meetings. No. It was a very bad idea. It was enough that she was a coffee addict that didn't work on her anyway and could fall asleep without any problems, even if she drank over five liters. She also remembered what she talked to Applejack about. She started to think again about motherhood, about wanting to be a mother. These thoughts attacked her repeatedly and made her mad. Her friend's words "Give yourself time. Don't try to find that only one by force. Love will come alone, but it takes patience." and Applejack was right. Moon tried to convince her of those words, to overcome her thoughts, which attacked her from all fronts, "Well, well. The great and powerful Nightmare Moon wouldn't?"

"Shut your mouth..." - Moon said through her clenched teeth.

She was now irritated, but she did it. She managed to convince herself of those words. Applejack was right. There was no sense in looking for the only one by force. All she needed was time and patience. Yes, that's what she needed, that sweet relief. Those thoughts kept attacking her, but now she's the one setting the conditions. Now, she was the one who decided how to steer herself, not those cursed, intrusive thoughts. She felt a little proud. "I wouldn't? Ha! Surprise, my dear blondie." She thought, smiling with satisfaction. She finally stopped worrying about all that. She looked at the moon shining in the sky and the stars flickering around it. The night was beautiful, despite slight cloudiness and the cold around her, which was pleasant for her. It was cold, but not too cold. She felt good, she was finally free. She took a deep breath, then let the air out of her mouth, and the steam started to rise in the air, which disappeared after a while. She now felt refreshed by the cool, night air. She started playing with the water again. That night she won't be home soon, oh no. Despite the inner peace she finally managed to achieve, she felt deeply that something would happen that night. She didn't know what was going to happen but... She didn't care so much about it. The most important thing now was that she finally really felt free.

They were standing by a river running through a dense forest. Demonic Wing looked at the moon and the stars with amazement and unbelief. His father waited and wanted to give time for his son to get used to the new situation. Wing approached the water, touched it. He went back a little when he did so, and after a while, he touched it again. He turned his head slightly to the right, and then he brought his mouth closer to it and drank it. He felt refreshed, he laughed, and looked at the Ar'gahl who was just sitting there and smiling at him.

"It's amazing. This water is so clean and beautiful." - Wing looked around. - "Dad, it's so beautiful here and... I... I don't know what to say."

"You're welcome, son."

"Uh... I haven't thanked you yet, but... I'll do it now. Thank you." - He said with gratitude in his voice.

"You see... You don't have much to thank me for yet, Wingy."

"Hm? What... How did you call me?"

"Never mind. I just wanted to help you."

"And... You did it, Dad. We escaped from the Abyss, I... I'm grateful to you. What else could you do for me?"

Ar'gahl looked at him with sadness. - "Something your mother would probably want. And something that I'd like to do too."

"What?"

"To give you a childhood. A real childhood."

"Ch-childhood?"

"Yes."

Wing's ears dropped, and he sighed. - "There is one problem, Dad. My childhood is long gone and it wasn't an idyll."

"But I can make you live it again."

"How?"

"It's simple." - Ar'gahl got up and approached the river. - "I will rejuvenate you, then I will clear your memory and... I'll give you to the foster family."

"W-wait... You want to leave me?"

"You wouldn't be safe with me, son. If Archdemon finds out you're gone, I'm sure I'll be the first person he comes to." - He looked at him. - "I've waited a long time for the right chance to get you out of the abyss and give you a second chance to live a normal life."

Demonic Wing was saddened. He looked at his father, his eyes were now blue, normal. - "There's no other way out?"

"You can go back to the Abyss, but... I doubt you would."

"But why do you need to clear my memory?"

Ar'gahl sighed and touched his arm. - "I don't want you to live with those memories. I don't want you to be haunted every night by the nightmares of the torture of the Abyss and the executioners who tortured you."

Wing looked at him. He walked up to the Ar'gahl, then he hugged him tightly, closing his eyes. - "Thank you, Dad."

"So you agree." - He said, also embracing his son.

"Yes." - Wing let him go and looked him right in the eyes. - "I'm ready. Do it."

"Okay. Stand still and don't resist."

"Wait, before you do that, I want to ask you something."

"I'm listening."

"Tell me... Why did you call me Wingy?"

Ar'gahl smiled. - "That's the name your mom chose. It's the name she chose because of your wings."

"My mom? A... What was her name?"

"Ritta. I loved her very much. And she loved you very much too. If she saw you now, I bet she'd hug you tight and never let you go."

Wing laughed, and tears came out of his eyes. - "Mama..." - He sniffed with his nose, trembled, took a deep breath and looked at his father. - "I love her very much too."

"I know." - He looked at the moon, then again at his son, who wiped away his tears. - "Are you ready?" - His son just nodded. - "Okay."

Ar'gahl raised his right hoof with a yellow bright light. Demonic Wing started to get smaller and smaller. After a short while, he was already a small foal, about eight years old. The light disappeared from his father's hoof, Wingy approached the slow running river and looked at his reflection.

"I'm so small." - His eyes widened in a slight shock. His voice now sounded childish. - "What now?"

"Now go to sleep." - He raised his right hoof and then the foal fell to the ground. He was breathing slowly and calmly. He approached his son, then touched his forehead. A bright blue light was flashing and it disappeared after a while. Ar'gahl cleared his memory. - "Now everything will be fine. I promise." - Wingy was wounded. He wanted to heal his wounds, but... He sensed a hostile presence in the air.

"Oh, yeah, everything's gonna be fine." - He heard it behind him. He turned around and saw a tall horned creature standing in the shade of the trees, with long hooked claws, a pair of powerful bat wings and red eyes shining in the dark. The figure emerged from the shadow. It was Archdemon himself, a nasty person. - I knew it was you. Who else would care about that little brat?" - Archdemon's right hand turned into a long, straight blade reflecting the moonlight.

"He is not a brat. He's my son."

"Oh, how cute." - Archdemon laughed mockingly. - "You had your chance, fool. You were a good soldier. But nothing is lost yet. Give him back to me, and maybe I'll let it all go and even reward you somehow."

"No. I will never take your side again, you damn viper."

"You're right. You'll never do it again." - He smiled sinisterly. - "Any last words before you die?"

"You're gonna pay for what you did to Ritta, fucker!"

Ar'gahl has been in a combat position. First, he started to get taller, long sharp claws grew from his front hooves. His green eyes turned completely black, his coat started to darken and the mane seemed to be more jagged and dirty now. Archdemon saw this and moved back in slight fear, to attack after a while. He ran up to the stallion bringing out a quick cut, Ar'gahl jumped away, roared furiously and charged his opponent. He stabbed the claws in Archdemon's stomach and arm while biting into his throat. Archdemon started stabbing the stallion with a blade on his chest and to his surprise, it did not make any impression on the stallion. Ar'gahl was so angered at that moment, so furious that he didn't pay attention to the pain. He was led by the will of revenge for the death of his wife and the kidnapping and torture of his only child. Ar'gahl bit his right arm into the torturer's right shoulder, then, with an extremely loud crackle, he broke off his arm and retreated. He held in his teeth the hand of Archdemon himself, who now fell to his knees and looked at his opponent with anger but also fear. The stallion opened his jaws, dropping his bitten hand and began to approach his kneeling opponent slowly. Ar'gahl stood on his hind legs, instead of hooves on front legs he now had hands with long claws. With his left hand, he grabbed Archdemon by the throat and then raised him, while his right hand turned into a long blade which he measured into his chest.

Archdemon laughed mockingly. - "You can't save him." - He said, looking Ar'gahl straight into his black eyes. - "You'll kill me. So what? You die too." - Ar'gahl trembled, feeling a sudden chest pain that began to spread throughout his entire body. He dropped Archdemon and went back. He looked at his left hand, which slowly began to disintegrate. Small particles of his body began to float from it and the next ones were bigger with every second. - "Too bad. What now? You'll gonna cr..." - Ar'gahl cut off his head, which fell on the grass. His opponent's body fell and turned to dust after a while.

Ar'gahl was dying. He received too many blows that weakened him and caused terrible pain. He started to get smaller and was now in his normal body. His coat was red again, the mane was completely white and his eyes were green with normal pupils. He looked at his son and approached him, touched his head and gently stroke his mane. He wanted to take him to his new family, to an orphanage, anywhere, but... He couldn't. He wouldn't have had enough power, he'd have fallen apart before he'd flew ten meters. From his right hoof, grew claws again, he approached the tree and picked up a big piece of wood. He carved a small cavity in a piece of wood, creating a kind of boat. He put a little Wingy on this boat, then put it on the water. Wingy was floating away, and the Ar'gahl almost disintegrated. Bigger and bigger pieces were coming out of his body, and they were floating and disappearing. He was only hoping now that everything would be all right, but... This thought was overshadowed by his fears of what could happen. "Damn, what if he falls into the water? If he drowns? And... What if nobody finds him, or at least, nobody good?" he thought. Tears flew from his eyes. Nothing else he could do. After a while, he disintegrated completely. He was gone, and the dust that used to be Archdemon was blown away by a cold wind.