Sensuous pink walls surrounded the group who had returned to the 'love motel,’ resting up before the presumed final clash with the power-mad death-dealer. Bellatrix carried the imp in her arms, cradled her like a child before placing Moxxi under sheets. Near her were the twins, also unconscious.

And after rescuing Midnight Blitzer and dealing Shadow Scythe a fatal blow, Beatrix couldn't help but feel psyched… yet reminded herself her adversary could strike at any moment. Not to mention the manor itself was a constant threat that surrounded its trapped inhabitants.

“I knew you'd come back to me,” said Cerise, helping her blue pegasus polish his spear with the cloth he’d given her.

“I’m glad to be back,” He nodded. “Still, I feel awful about everything that happened.” While blurry, Midnight’s memories remained vivid of all the drugs and affect the twins injected into him. He felt his skin crawl upon sharing all that happened during his captivity. “To think, Shadow Scythe could have used me to kill you all!”

“Pft. As if I’d allow a mere soldier to do me in,” Bellatrix scoffed.

“Plus, you’re way too sweet for that,” Cerise added in with reassurance, caressing his bare chest with a warm palm.

“I dunno,” he sighed, scratching the back of his head. “This whole ‘hyper-stallion’ stuff has been messing with my head…”

And while Shadow Scythe was cruel, not even she deserved the fate Foal-Bearer and Wet-Nurse attempted to give her through his newfound prowess. Killing in battle was already a difficult thing for him to do, when necessary. But to take advantage of a helpless opponent...

Sunny took another drink before asking, “Got any idea what Shadow Scythe’s planning now?”

“Hard to say,” Beatrix said, pacing around the room with pursed lips. “Her horn might be busted open, but who knows if she can regenerate it! If the manor saved her, it must think she's valuable…unless it plans to eat her. Ugh, this sucks! Why is everything always harder to figure out?!”

The potion she'd forced the reaper to ingest wasn't designed to last long either. It was merely a deterrent while she sought a more permanent solution. And with the manor's help, its effects probably wouldn't have applied anymore, regardless.

“A shame we haven't had more time to train,” lamented Bellatrix, who slapped the spade of her tail on the floor with a toss of silky black hair. “Alhough, I guess we’re fortunate to have all come a long ways in a short period. I don’t think I’ve felt this strong in a long time.”

“Mhm,” her sister agreed before pulling a chair by the barstool to take a seat. Pacing around, fearing for the worse, wouldn’t solve anything. For now, they’d have to wait and make the best of their relative safety.

With many still pensive after recent events, they attempted to relax. Cerise's jubilant nature tried to keep them cheery, celebrating the return of her lover with a playful dance under the disco ball and flashing neon lights. She jingled her bells to the fast-paced music, gyrated her hips, and grabbed Midnight by the wrist, pulling him onto the dance floor with a series of giggles. Awkwardly, the pegasus did his best to mimic her movements, earning more laughter.

“Heheh! Those two make quite the cute couple,” Sunny snickered, taking another swig of her bottle. “Color me a tad envious~.”

“Hey, who knows! Your own Flash Sentry may pop around the corner eventually,” Beatrix assured, resting a hand on her shoulder.

“Well, sharing him with Sunset and Twilight wasn't so bad. But a girl has to carve her own path sometime.” She sighed, finished a drink, and covered her mouth to hide a small burp. “I want to write my own story, you know?”

“Oh, trust me. I know,” The violet witch winked. “And I’m sure you will! Wherever you want to go after this, I’ll take you there!”

“I'll hold you to that. Can't wait until we kick Shadow Scythe's sorry butt again,” Sunny said with a sly grin. Rising, the goth mare decided to join the couple on the dance floor, hands thrown up high and eyes closed once she lost herself to the noise.

An hour later, the maids finally stirred as one. Their eyes darted around wildly like they had been trapped in a horrid nightmare for a lifetime.

Unfortunately, the sisters remembered all the crimes their bloodied hands had been forced to commit. Holding each other, soft sobs arose from them, their buried souls restored thanks to Sunny's intervention.

They offered everyone apologetic looks, Midnight in particular. He smiled at them and fluffed his wingspan, bigger and stronger thanks to their 'training', but the hyper-stallion's innocent demeanor mostly intact. The twins staggered out of bed, headed over to the jacuzzi, and washed in a ritualistic manner like the near scalding waters could wash away their sins.

Beatrix cautiously approached the two crystal ponies, hand poised on her hip. “Hope your heads are clear now that Shadow Scythe isn’t toying with your minds.”

“Oh, yes! Much clearer now,” Wet Nurse nodding before her sister leaned forth. “We want to fight alongside you, as penance for our mistakes.”

“Well, welcome aboard! We could use all the help we can get,” Beatrix nodded, smiling kindly. While they usually weren't fighters, the siblings had inherited a degree of skill in that area due to their possession by the manor.

“Consider our lives yours,” the twins said and bowed, prismatic bodies wet and gleaming under the bright lights.

“Whoa, now! I don't want either of you to sacrifice yourselves,” replied Beatrix with raised hands. From what she knew of the twins from other dimensions, they could be almost fanatically loyal to those who won them over.

“We'll do whatever is necessary,” assured Foal-Bearer, who bathed her sister. “But Shadow Scythe must be stopped.”

“That bitch is crazy,” added Wet Nurse, who almost lost her composure. “A complete megalomaniac!”

“Sister,” chided Foal-Bearer softly, though her expression shared the sentiment. “Though, yes, she’s quite the twisted individual.”

“It's a shame, really,” sighed Beatrix, watching the sisters wash one-another, supple curves lined in soapsuds. “She's one of the most brilliant ponies I've met in all my travels. But then she decided to use all that knowledge for evil.... Think of all the good she could've done if she put her mind to it! We probably could have saved the multiverse a thousand times over!”

“Wot abaht fuckin’ the bloomin' multiverse thousands of times over?!”

Beatrix rolled her eyes before turning to see Moxxi had awakened, walking her way before taking a seat on the jacuzzi ledge. The little imp yawned and stretched herself before asking groggily,” “Did aahhht interestin’ 'appen while I was nappin’?”

“Not much,” Sunny answered with a shrug. “Just a little bonding. And plans for what to tackle next.”

“How’s your head, Mox?” Beatrix offered with a cheeky grin. “You took quite the pounding back there~!”

“Pffft! I’ve 'ad bigger slobs bein' stuff daahhhn me gullet! If ya want, lov, I can take ya ter me favorite glory hole sum nickle and dime. Get that tongue wrestlin' over sum of the meanest cocks 'round,” the imp proposed, sporting her own witty smirk.

“O-ohh! Uhm, hmmm…. I’ll have to think on that once we’re out,” the witch considered with flushed cheeks.

The imp threw a wink before rushing onto the dance floor, not one to be left out of a party.

“O-ohh Moxxi!” Midnight greeted, blushing heavily. “I-I’m so sorry about…m-making you…well, y’know…”

“Dick. I sucked your dick, lov,” Moxxi giggled, fluttering her eyes at him. “Though if ya wanna make it up ter me, why don’t we head aahhht for abit an--”

“H-HEY!” Cerise interrupted with a sneer, cutting between the two while hooking her arms around Midnight protectively. “Back off, he’s mine!”

“Ohh, don’t be loike that, lov! I’m only playin’~” Moxxi laughed before resuming to swing her wide hips to the beat. The couple laughed it up with the lesser demon before joining in with her movements.

A short time later, Bellatrix joined the maids after they redressed in their usual costumes. Beatrix allowed herself to ease into her seat while watching her friends dance like it was the last night of their lives.

Everyone deserved at least one break. And she would enjoy what leisure she had until--

“FOUND YOU, BELLADONNA!”

All at once, the walls burst open, the once lavishing pink decore torn as slimy tendrils wriggled out. Everyone screamed in alarm, huddling close to one another as each direction they turned was blocked by dead flesh. Beatrix prepared a shielding spell as the ceiling started to give out, the light flickering lifelessly as the final wall crumbled.

And out from the carrion texture emerged Shadow Scythe, gushing in viscous fluids like she had been reborn, nude form tethered to the organic pulsing mass once she occurred and arced her sickle amidst cackles.

“Sweet tits and fuckin dicks! 'ow’d the bloody blazes did ya find us?!” Moxxi exclaimed.

“Not like you were trying, with all the rachet you were making. Figured I’d catch you with your faces down, and asses up~” Shadow snickered, mocking the imp’s dialect.

“See, it’s not as fun when ya make lewd jokes, mate. Especially since ya still ‘aven’t popped your cher-”

“SILENCE, IMP!” She demanded, one arm growing out to slash at her with a sharp blade, making her yelp while clutching onto Bellatrix’s leg.

“W-what do we do?!” Cerise cried.

“Arm yourselves,” called Beatrix, everyone quick to reclaim their gear and weapons before forming a stand behind the space witch, glaring at their visceral foe. “Damn it, Shadow Scythe! What have you done?!”

“Only what was necessary to ensure my victory, witch,” the reaper explained. “The creature and I have become one, and through our bond, I have become stronger! And now, I have you all trapped in one space where no one can hide. You were fools to think you were ever safe. Death comes for all, whether it be natural or sudden!”

The arms wielding her wicked blade swung through the air, firing a white arc towards the trapped companions. “Get down,” Midnight yelled, barely able to shove Cerise down to the floor. He yelped as hot blood sprayed from his back and splattered.

“NO! Grrrng, how dare you!” Cerise seethed, about to fly at the reaper before realizing her limbs were stuck. Gasping, she found rotten flesh coiling around her legs and arm, showing not even the ground was safe. Her eyes widened as another scythe grew out from the ceiling to swing down at her like a guillotine.

The sound of steel banging into steel resounded as Midnight blocked the arm with his spear. “L-let go of her!” The pegasus grunted, bouncing the blade away before swinging his spear to pierce through its arm.

Shadow Scythe hissed, leering down as the stubborn soldier jabbed into the corpse raised from a wall, arms binding Cerise down. The couple nodded to each to her before lunging at the reaper. They were met by cackles as she retreated into the wall.

“H-huh?!”

“Stay on guard,” Beatrix warned, the room emitting laughter as Shadow Scythe emerged from different areas, taking wild swipes at her friends, who all narrowly dodged.

"Shes toying with us," Beatrix realized, eyes looking around for the pale unicorn. "Trying to stir up enough fear before we’re more digestible for the manor!"

She did her best to follow where Shadow Scythe would appear next before taking a lucky shot at the west wall, managing to blast a magic spell directly into her face. “Grraaaaaaaaagh!?” the reaper yelled, clutching her scalded face.

“Moxxi, quick! While she’s distracted!” Beatrix urged.

The imp nodded before jumping to the wardrobe, the only furniture that wasn’t consumed in the manor’s innards. Channeling her archaic magic into her claws, she disabled the creature’s effect to open another white corridor, beckoning her friends inside. All of them rushed inside, coming into another portion of the mansion.

Grotesque innards expanded and contracted around them, the discolored tunnels slick and sticking to their feet. Worse, they could hear the wild howls and screeches of monsters trapped inside.

The whole place turned on them. Midnight, Cerise, and Bellatrix hovered under a flap of wings. The twins carried smaller axes they discovered in the 'love motel,’ no longer 'blessed' by supernatural strength.

Sunny worked overtime, horn lit by magic, as was Beatrix's who led the party and raced beside Moxxi, whose chaotic nature made sure they could safely navigate the maze.

But Beatrix knew they couldn't run forever. Eventually, Shadow Scythe would find them, and they’d have to continue their fight.

Again, she tested her powers and tried to cut a hole in the air where they passed, almost completing the link and punch between dimensions. "Almost there..."

“There’s no escape for you, Belladonna!” The reaper’s voice growled.

The witch yelled, ducking down as Shadow Scythe appeared from above and her blade swiped like a pendulum. Maniacal laughter reverberated, the sickle brought down like a guillotine, fliers forced to break formation as they were almost cleaved in twain.

They headed into a more open area, the entrance Beatrix assumed. Could they finally breach the exit...?

Fleshy walls opened above, and from it arose the severed, preserved heads of stallions and mares the huntresses had claimed. Their eyes snapped open, and they lifted into the air, whirled about, screamed, and laughed once they hurtled at the group.

“Ugh! Enough of the lame funhouse tricks,” Beatrix called out. “Why don't you face us, coward?”

“As if I’d risk exposing myself for another secret attack! You’re so predictable, Belladonna!” The voice of Shadow Scythe rose from all around them. “I might be outnumbered, but I have you completely surrounded. How does it feel to be inside me, Midnight? Bet it’s a lot tighter in here than it was in your lousy marefriend~!”

The winged couple snarled, Cerise more so while fending off the swinging blades. The reaper herself manifested from the ceiling, suspended upside down as she leveled her sickle at the twins. “And you! Look what you’ve done by pushing me to this, you pathetic zombie harlots!”

“You truly are beyond redemption,” Foal-Bearer snapped back, clutching the hilt of her weapon.

“You can’t blame us for being such a vile monster!” Wet Nurse grunted, swiping down to split the skull ahead. Bone fragments erupted in a splatter of blood, the party around her doing the same to their assailants.

Moxxi strained, aware that nowhere would be safe if they couldn’t force an exit out of this thing. “Keep up the gud fight, lov’s! I’ll 'ave us aahhht in a jiffy,” she insisted before halting her actions to dodge another swipe at her head. “Just...keep a mince pie aahhht for me sweet lil' arse, please!?”

Beatrix and Bellatrix shared a nod as they weaved spells alongside Sunny, more heads charred and blasted from the air, reduced to ashen wrecks that rolled in an acrid stink.

But these were mere distractions, there to waste their time as, like Beatrix feared, monsters pulled from all over the abomination's innards converged on the area, acting like the manor’s horrifying immune system. All hell broke loose at once, forced into another heated battle.

The witch raised her hands, letting loose a flurry of spells taught by Sombra. Sunny and Bellatrix covered her with their own elemental attacks, discharged in a storm.

They were protected by the more direct fighters, Midnight's arm shaking each time his sword split a creature in half. Near him hovered Cerise, who skewered the beasts on her lance and kicked their corpses loose.

The twins caved in domes, the meaty floor now splattered in blood and brain matter, some of it caked on the clothes and armor of the winded combatants.

“No wealth, no ruin, no silver or gold. Nothing satisfies me, but your soul~♪” Shadow Scythe sang lowly as a menagerie of beasts drawn across various parallel dimensions was driven to beset them, lost, trapped, and frightened.

Beatrix couldn't help but pity them. They, too, were kindred spirits condemned to wander in search of a purpose. But knew she couldn't afford to hold back, or else she and her friends could pay the ultimate price for her mercy.

“Look at you, cutting through them like a butcher,” the reaper continued to mock. “You’re no less a monster than I, and you know it!”

Even after all this time, Beatrix still couldn't deny it. They were assailed by hellhounds, puddles of slime, bat-winded eyeballs, disembodied brains surrounded by nests of tentacles, and all other manners of minor, twisted abominations.

She imagined some were written into the Necronomicon by its author like Bellatrix had been, others once animals who were drawn into the tome, warped into monstrosities.

“Don’t listen to her, B!” Cerise assured, skewering one of the eyes on her blade, gushing with fluid. “She’s the one who’s sick!”

“We saw the real Shadow Scythe,” yelled Foal-Bearer between a two-handed stroke that chopped a hound in two. “Terrified. Vulnerable. Is that why you're so hostile? To protect yourself and hide from the world?”

“Be quiet! You don’t know a thing about me! So shut your mouths...” Shadow Scythe dissolved back into the wall, not content to play around anymore. “Or better yet… I'll shut it for you!” Unbeknownst to her younger twin, the pale unicorn resurfaced behind, ready to strike.

“Look out! Behind you!” Sunny cried, trying to fire a spell, only for another hellhound to accidentally intercept it mid-lunge.

Wet Nurse screamed as a leg was severed from her in one precise swoop. She crumpled in a bloodied pool, Foal-Bearer shrieking too as the pain was shared. The reaper snickered in satisfaction and bled back into the surroundings.

“This is bad,” said Sunny, two of their warriors down in an instant. “Yo, Mox! How much longer do you need?”

Her question was met only with small whimpers. Beatrix and Belladonna looked in, confused to see the imp curled up, her claw deep into her panties, panting hotly. The witch stared dumbfounded.

“Wha-ah!? What are you doing!? This isn’t the time or place for this!!” She yelled in frustration. Of all the times…was she actually getting off to this?

“A-aaah~! Almost.... There,” she muttered, furiously fingering her snatch while her tail vibrated, ignoring the bewildered looks of her comrades.

Shadow Scythe merely laughed at her. “Hahaha! The small slut can’t even focus on her task without falling to depravity. Oh, this is too rich! Here.... Let me help you reach your climax!”

Disappearing into the wall of carrion flesh, Shadow Scythe reappeared above Moxxi, scythe poised to behead the little creature.

“Moxxi, stop! Watch out!” Beatrix called out, knowing she wouldn’t make it in time.

But the little imp was oblivious to the danger, too busy rubbing at that sweet spot while whimpering, “Yes yes yes yes... Yes! YES! YEEEEEESS!!” She moaned out, head arched back as neon light and smoke enveloped her form in the heat of her orgasm.

As Shadow Scythe swung down, her blade sliced through the haze...only to meet nothing.

“What the?! Where did she--GUUGH!?”

The reaper gasped to find her form within the grasp of two large hands, luxurious fur of pink and purple growing out the back.

Her cold eyes widened, staring into the x shape slits of the demoness, plump lips curved into a smirk. “Caught ya~!” She purred as Anarchia appeared out from the fog in all her glory.

Beatrix sighed in relief, shaking her head. “For fuck sakes.... You could have warned me next time, you cock muncher!”

“Would have ruined her flow,” Bellatrix added in, a slight smile to her lips. “Looks like the imp found a better way to access her true powers!”

“All thanks to you, lov,” Anarchia winked before coiling her tail around the wriggling body of Shadow Scythe, its tongue slithering out to lap at the reaper.

“Gaaugh! Get off me, you insufferable whore!”

“I dunno, I think you look much sexier tied up, doll~” She giggled before giving one short yank to pull the pale unicorn entirely out from the manor’s innards.

A harrowing shriek rose from Shadow Scythe as the wall collapsed, a tidal wave of sticky innards washing over the group, flooding the chambers and washing most of them out to the rocky surface outside.

The fliers headed out behind them, the cold darkness of space around the dead planet lit by stars in the distance.

Realizing they were free, many monsters broke into a mad run, without direction or purpose except to try and save themselves.

“We...we made it out!” Midnight exclaimed, he and Cerise holding each other in joy.

“NO! Graaagh, Damn you!” The reaper growled in spite before sinking her teeth into Anarchia’s tail.

“Yoaaach!” The demoness yowled, loosening her coil just enough for the reaper to burst free, knocking her back. She was swift to fuse herself to the manor’s flesh, straining the exterior to a twisted lump of meat on the surface of endless rocks. The group was floating a little, the lack of gravity outside rendering them near weightless.

At Shadow Scythe's mental command, the mountain of discolored flesh trembled and started to rise. It formed into a titan before their eyes, cast a shadow over them, and loomed far above, Beatrix's eyes wide as she cradled the twins who were in shock to her breast. The land shook once the hulk began to move, like a golem of decayed meat, its thick fists balled up and ready to strike.

“Wild,” whispered Sunny.

A blow rang out. Each fist was intercepted with Anarchia’s giant hand-wings. The demoness tried to disrupt the titan’s form with her arcane signature, Eris. But there was too much mass and flesh to properly flow her essence into.

Luckily, Bellatrix came to her aid, taking her own demonic shape to help hold the monster back. Beatrix and Sunny helped launch another shower of raw spells at the titan, while Midnight and Cerise zipped around its 'head' where Shadow Scythe sat embedded in it.

The reaper swatted at them, hissing and spatting while being pelted by explosions. A cooked meat stench lingered in the atmosphere.

Wrapped in her aura, Beatrix barely lifted the twins away in time as a meaty fist made a crater in the rocks. A rush of lightning thundered up her arm and blasted the exposed reaper directly, yelling in anguish.

“I’m done playing around, Shadow Scythe,” Beatrix declared, releasing another squall of magic. She threw all that Sombra taught her at the reaper; smoldering flames, shock waves, crackling bolts, shards of ice, gales that swirled. They battered the titan all over, and alongside the other spells that peppered Shadow Scythe's body, forced her back.

Another swing bashed into Cerise, who yelped and hurtled through the air, only to be caught by Midnight. She smiled at him and winced, aware that were it not for the lower gravity here, the brutal blow would have broken her spine.

“My hero~” She cooed before shaking it off to focus. “We have to find a way to stop this thing. It could destroy the whole planet!”

“If we can cut Shadow Scythe out again, the monster will be defenseless,” Midnight nodded, carrying the dancer in his arms.

“Easier said than done!” Sunny yelled.

“Not if I have anything to say about it.… AND I DO!” Bellowed Shadow Scythe, who stomped about, her arms and legs coiled in tendons that tethered her to the titan, allowed her to manipulate it like a meat puppet. She yanked her lithe arms and legs, maneuvering the clumsy abomination.

Cerise and Midnight danced around the reaper from her lover’s grasp, tried to cut the tendons. Nonetheless, they were repeatedly forced back, with little choice but to momentarily withdraw each time she punched at them.

The fliers circled the abomination, zipped and weaved, barely able to so much as scratch it as magic thudded around them.

Bellatrix, Sunny, and Anarchia were swatted away, their bodies rolled into the rocky ground, struggling to rise up.

“Oh no! Hang guys, I’m--GNNFH!” Beatrix groaned, a fist seizing the witch as Shadow Scythe cackled in triumph.

“Nowhere to run now, Belladonna,” the reaper said, smirking wickedly while lifting her up to get a better look at her face as she squeezed the life out of her through the titan’s iron grip. “No friends to come to your rescue. Nothing to save your putrid soul. Whatever will you do now?”

But her smile faltered upon realizing the witch had stopped struggling. Instead, she was calmly breathing, eyes closed as strange dark energy began to flow around her.

And upon a deep exhale, her eyes opened, her pupils darkened. “This!”

In a flash of dark light, the titan’s hand disintegrated, Shadow Scythe reeling back in pain. The self-entitled ‘Goddess of Death’ gazed in astonishment to see Beatrix, her limbs and cape bathed in dark cosmic energy, the very darkness of space underlining her figure.

And in her hand was an ethereal sword, dripping with dark matter. Shadow Scythe gazed into the piercing violet eyes of her foe.

“What is this?!” She demanded. “Where did you get this power?!”

“This is arcane magic,” she replied, opening her palm as a dark sphere materialized. “This is Erebus. And this is the end for you...!”

Beatrix slashed her phantom blade through the titan’s arm through blinding speed, soaring towards the startled reaper. Shadow Scythe forced herself out of the titan with little time to choose, rose to block the assault with her own weapon. The clash resonated in an audible ring.

“Grrrn! So you’ve learned a new trick! You must think you’re so clever, huh?!"

“Enough to whoop your sorry ass,” Beatrix sneered as the two slashed at each other with fervor. Down below, her friends slowly recovered before looking upon the sight of the two unicorns, locked in battle.

“Whoa,” Sunny marveled. “I knew Beatrix had strong magic, but this is unreal!”

“Didn’t know she could wield a sword like that,” Midnight agreed, green eyes wide.

“This is amazing! Get her, B!” Cerise cheered.

“Ye, shove it where it 'urts, lov!” Anarchia joined in.

“Guys,” Bellatrix shouted, drawing attention to her as she pointed to the mass of carrion flesh letting out a howl of pain, attempting to regenerate its severed hand. “We've still got to take that thing out! For good!”

“Right!” They all called in unison, combining their abilities to subdue the flesh titan as it attempted to reform.

As the duel raged on, Beatrix threw all her weight into the attack and knocked the sickle out of Shadow's grasp. She gave her no quarter, her free hand used to draw a circle in the air.

Shadow Scythe snarled before finally realizing the battle below them, her eyes widening at the sight of her titan being brought to its knees by Beatrix’s assemble of dimension hoppers. “NO!”

“You're in checkmate, Shadow Scythe,” Beatrix proclaimed, aiming the tip of her ghastly blade to the reaper’s throat while warping space with her other hand.

“Not yet, I'm not! Two can play at this,” Shadow Scythe spat defiantly, drawing on the last of the abomination's strength to use its own space-traveling powers. Despite her separation, she could still channel much of its potential, and between their simultaneous attempts to tear a rift in reality, the atmosphere shuddered, time and space warped to the point the universe around them started to lose color.

“No, stop!” Beatrix cried out, everything around them turning monochrome, her friends frozen, she and the reaper the only ones unaffected. “Don’t be stupid. Even I'm not crazy enough to tear two holes at once! It could cause the entire universe to collapse!”

“What do I care if everything dies? Death is the natural enemy of life!”

A horn flashed as the reaper summoned her scythe back into the hand, her white hooded cloak trimmed in black manifested over her.

As they resumed their duel in mid-air, Beatrix unfurled a pair of ethereal wings with her arcane magic, struggling to keep up as her foe pressed the attack.

Lights arced in each stroke. Sparks showered around them each time they made contact.

“You look like such an amateur wielding that sword!” Shadow Scythe scoffed.

“Oh, give me time, and I’ll swing it just like my father!” Beatrix persisted. But she had to admit that Shadow had a point in calling her out for her lack of swordsmanship.

Thankfully, the umbral blade handled itself to make up for her lack of experience. Though its aid came at a cost, for she could feel the reserves of her magic drain by the second. Her nemesis would easily claim her head once her reserves tapped out.

She may have inherited Shining Armor's stubborn nature, but hardly his combat finesse. She was forced to let the magic sword guide her. Around them, more visible fractures appeared across the universe, audibly reminded they were doomed at this rate. ‘I’ve gotta finish this now!’

As her foe swung overhead, Beatrix shifted her magic for her sword to disgust into ethereal tendrils, wrapping around the pale unicorn’s limbs to immobilize her.

Releasing her hold with the blade, Beatrix launched forth to deliver a hard punch into the reaper’s face, the blow sending her spiraling into the rocky, planetary crust.

Beatrix hissed, clutching her fist as she bruised her knuckle before descending down. “Not my best choice in actions, but boy, did it feel real good,” she chuckled dryly as she walked over the Shadow’s crippled form, the wretch struggling to break free from the ethereal sword’s grasp.

‘Damnit…. How did Beatrix become so strong? If I don’t act quick, she’s gonna…’ Shadow Scythe lamented, glaring weakly at the approaching witch. A thought came to her as she used what remained of the manor’s powers for one last ploy.

“Mommy?”

Beatrix stopped in her tracks, eyes wide at the sound of a familiar voice. Shakingly, she turned towards an overwhelming light, the silhouette of a young unicorn standing a few feet from her. Violet pupils meet scared milky eyes.

“Abby?!”

Her hand reached out for her, slowly walking towards the shivering form of her child. Her voice died down as the light behind Abadonna unveiled a tall figure behind her, gripping her shoulders gently. The only thing visible on his features was his graceful smile, glowing wings spreading wide around them.

“No.… S-stay away! Come to mommy, Abby!!” She pleaded, the magic of her sword disrupting as Shadow Scythe rose up, holding her weapon like a crutch. Steadily, she walked towards the distraught witch, maliciously smirking, dark circles under her narrowed icy blue eyes.

“I learned everything that the manor ‘saw’ within its walls,” she snickered. “To think, the biggest whore of them all actually has a daughter! When I killed you and your friends, I thought maybe I’ll go find her, bring the head of her weak mother.” She was right behind her now, arms raising a sickle above her head to deliver the final blow.

“Or raise her as my own, hmm? But judging by your reaction, I think it’ll be far sweeter if I reunite the child with her father…. What was his name again? Ah yes.... Ze--AUUGH!?”

The phantom blade had manifested in Belladonna’s hand as she leaped forward to plunge it into Shadow’s abdomen. The startled reaper stammered, blood oozing out of her gaping mouth while staring into the tranquil fury in Beatrix’s eyes.

“Don’t ever think about touching her again,” she warned with righteous indignation, her voice cool.

“B-but how?! You were…. Gaagh!” She coughed up blood, pushing back while clutching the wound in her stomach, red staining her bandages.

“I’m the daughter of an illusionist. I have been under enough spells to know I’m being tricked,” she explained, taking a more aggressive stance. “I just wanted to make sure you had nothing left before I end this.”

Letting out a pained war cry, Shadow Scythe lashed out in wild swings. But in swift movements, Beatrix swirled all her raw power into the umbral sword before swiping across the reaper’s torso.

The sheer impact caused her weapon to shatter into fragments. Shadow Scythe shrieked as she was hurled towards the ground, spinning and smashing into rocks. Skidding to a halt, her broken snout filled with the taste of copper.

Any movement she made shot searing pain through her bones, her spine twisted at an unnatural angle. She whined, “I-I can't move.”

Color returned to the universe around them all at once, time resumed as warped space dwindled away. Beatrix landed before the broken unicorn. Even after all the heinousness, she had planned to simply banish her somewhere else.

But after that ploy and threatening her daughter? She stared down her helpless opponent, coolly lifted her ghostly arcane blade high, ready to carve her into so many pieces she'd never revive.

“N-no, you can’t! I am…death incarnate,” Shadow Scythe insisted to herself, blinded by tears as she limply clawed at the rocks.

“Beatrix!”

Her sharp focus turned to her friends and family, rushing to her side. Behind them, the charred meat titan was still too weak to move of its own volition anymore.

“Tit’s sake, lov! I fin' ya went overboard in puttin’ 'er through the wringer,” Anarchia hissed, winching at how brutally battered the deathbringer was. Midnight stood by her, looking at the witch with concern.

“Are you...really going to kill her?” He asked.

“After all the hell she’s put us through? I’d say she deserves it,” Bellatrix asserted, arms crossed under her chest.

“It's up to you,” Sunny said, placing a comforting hand on Beatrix’s shoulder. “I could attempt to 'purify' her, but I don’t think she’ll be willing...”

Beatrix glanced over her shoulder at the wounded twins, who Cerise tended to, another of the reaper's many victims.

After a few moments of consideration, she wryly sighed before dispelling her archaic flow, her sword vanishing as she stumbled back into her sister’s arms. “Nnghn…Do it Sunny,” she panted, too exhausted to weave another spell anyhow.

Crouching and placing her hands on the reaper, Sunny's eyes went white, and she channeled her power into her. The patient was forced to relive all her sins, the onslaught of guilt she'd never been capable of feeling before overwhelming her.

Shadow Scythe thrashed about, desperate to resisted the purging of her immoral soul, letting out animalistic screams after inky smoke poured out her mouth and eyes.

“Stop resisting,” Sunny pleaded, despite her dislike for the unicorn. “Otherwise, you’ll be reduced to dust!”

“B-better than being a-altered~!” A surge of alien emotions threatened to destroy the reaper, cooking within by her own malice, unable to accept the consequences of her actions, which were thrown back in her face.

She whimpered and burst into tears, curled up into a fetal position, all her bravado that protected her like armor stripped away by the harsh truth under her innumerable sins.

A short time later, Sunny withdrew and announced, “It's done. If she weren’t immortal, she would be ashes by now...”

Beatrix nodded, finding her balance with the help of Bellatrix as she glanced down at the once-proud reaper with barely a trace of pity. “It’s finally over…that’s all that matters,” she exhaled. The violet unicorn saw no glint of familiarity in Shadow Scythe's watery eyes, closer to a frightened, trembling child.

Gently, she lifted her into her arms, cradling her face into her bosom. “Hush now,” she murmured, allowed her maternal instincts to manifest. “It will be okay, I promise.”

After a moment of rest, Sunny marched over to the abomination and turned the same power on it, uncertain if it would work on such an alien creature even though it was sentient. They watched in fascination as the meat twisted back into the shape of the mansion, hardened back into a building.

To her surprise, the creature didn’t resist in order to preserve itself. Fear still remained in it, the beast driven by self-preservation.

“It’s dying,” she stated. “Without food, it won’t last much longer.”

Cerise lifted her head to Sunny, having finished wrapping bandages around Wet Nurs’s severed leg. “Is there any way to sustain it?”

“You think we should save it?” Midnight added, conflicted. “The place did try to kill us many times.”

“It's more like a wounded animal than a malicious spirit,” noted Sunny. “It only survived by siphoning off Bellatrix and then fusing with Shadow Scythe.”

“What...happened...?” A soft murmur came from Wet Nurse as she and Foal-Bearer awakened. They shimmered and started to fade out of existence, no longer tethered to reality by the mansion's power, nor animated by Shadow Scythe's necromancy.

“It seems our time is up,” lamented Foal-Bearer, her smile melancholy as the twins held each other. “At least our last moments will be in peace, thanks to you all...”

“What?! No! It isn't fair,” Cerise sniffled, watery-eyed. “It's not your fault what happened! Can't we do anything...?”

Anarchia shook her head. “Afraid not, lov. This creature 'as a taste for demonic flesh, and I can’t maintain this body for long. Not that I’m willin' ter fuse wif it, mind you…”

“Then allow me,” Bellatrix strode forward.

Beatrix turned to her sister in surprise. “What? You want to fuse with it?”

“It won’t be Ham and Cheesy gettin' ya aahhht loike da last nickle and dime, Bella. Ya sure ya wanna bind yourself again?” Anarchia chimed in, sporting a worried look.

Bellatrix nodded confidently. “I know you're not the type to be tied down. Neither was I, once upon a time. But now? I must admit it feels nice to help those I care about.” A warm, small smile was on her lips as she approached the gothic manor.

Touching its interior, Bellatrix felt the tendons wrap around her arm, heard the muted alien babble in her head.

While she couldn't discern all the words, the intent was clear. All the creature wanted was to survive at any cost.

“Unite with me, and you'll live. But in return, you must not harm anyone else, unless in defense of us. I'll make certain you're well looked after and fed. Are these terms acceptable?” A moment later, she had her answer, and a portion of the surface opened up to expose the organic innards. She walked into it, allowed the warmth and sliminess to close around her shapeliness.

Beatrix, who still cradled the reaper, sucked in a breath and waited a few moments before she called, “Sister? Are okay in there?”

A prissy voice sounded from the domain inside their heads. (Yes. I feel...different. I can see, hear, and smell from every angle of this building. Consider this place your new home away from home, should you wish to stay here.) She quietly laughed.

A warmth flowed over the maids and suffused them, a field of energy arising from the structure before them. The Crystal Pony twins broke into tears, staring down at themselves once life and heat returned to their prismatic, coral bodies.

“S-so we'll be okay?” Wet Nurse sniffled. “Oh, thank you!” She held her sister, glancing at the bandaged, severed nub of one leg.

(I've given you some of my power to help keep you animated. Unfortunately, if you leave my sphere of influence, less than a mile beyond the manor's grounds, I fear you two will cease to exist. Forgive me, but I fear that's the best I can manage.)

“It's more than enough,” said Foal-Bearer, who carried her sister in her arms and shared a warm smile between them.

“This is great,” Midnight exclaimed, smiling. “Looks like it all worked out!” He linked his arms with Cerise at his side.

The double doors creaked open, torches on sconces flared to life amidst hisses, and they crossed the threshold back into the entrance, albeit this time their hostess was able to welcome them. They were now given free rein to explore the halls at their leisure.

The click of heels and boots echoed in the foyer. Dim lights fell from a chandelier, shadows looming cast by the statues and busts of nude mares and stallions, the shining suits of armor on display.

Murals and paintings decorated the area, and Beatrix realized they were drawn from her memories and depicted many of her adventures across the galaxies.

“You'll be fine,” she assured Shadow Scythe again, the pale unicorn shivering and trembling, carried and pressed to her warm bosom like she couldn't understand where she was anymore. “I'll take care of you. I swear it.” She kissed her forehead.

Soon they were seated back at the banquet table, where a feast was placed before them. More preserved food drawn from other dimensions. They were quick to settle in amidst a rattle of dishes and chatter between them. Beatrix sat Shadow Scythe in a chair next to her and wondered if her mind was really shattered? Would she regain her memories, and what would happen then?

She tried to shake such thoughts away as she helped the now child-like reaper spoon food into her muzzle.

Around her, Midnight and Cerise shared stories about their lives. Moxxi, back in her imp shape, sat on top of a statue, deep in conversation with Bellatrix through the walls. Sunny drank herself stupid while the maids politely savored their meal, thankful to have a second chance without any worries.

Beatrix smiled warmly and studied them, lettuce crunched between her teeth as she pushed a fork into her salad.

No longer a nomad except by choice, the traveler imagined she would return here to rest between trips many times.

Yet she couldn't cease her days of adventures yet. Not when her daughter was still out there, and she needed to further sharpen her ability to warp space.

Author's Note

Stick around, readers! There will be an epilogue!