Ponyville Noire: Hellraiser

Chapters

Prologue: Nightmares
Part 2: Law and Order
Part 3: Waning Moon
Part 4: Darkest Desire
Part 5: Storm Warning
Part 6: Night of the Rebooted Dead
Part 7: eyE enO tsuJ htiW tsaeB ehT raeF
Epilogue: Resolution and Repentance
Part 1: The Devil Went Down To Ponyville

Prologue: Nightmares

The brush rustled deep within a starlit forest. The dying leaves of autumn fell around a fleeing orange pegasus as he frantically swatted away the bushes and ferns. He tripped over his hooves as he broke into a clearing and pushed up his messy blue mane out of his face, panting.

He quickly whirled around at a faint whistling sound and rolled out of the way as a bronze shield flew like a discus and embedded into the ground where he had just been. The moonlight reflected off of it with a malevolent gleam. Flash could nearly see his petrified reflection in it.

Flash frantically tried to will his wings to listen to him, but they instead flapped uselessly. He scrambled backwards as fast as he could… only to skid to a halt as a menacing shadow fell over him.

The depictions always showed Somnambula as a kind being, always in deep meditation or overcoming some obstacle with her mind and wit. But that wasn’t who was before Flash Sentry. Her wings were ragged and leathery, tape draped over her body and limbs. Her chest was open, though no organs could be seen. Her eye sockets were empty and glowing with an ethereal green glow, her muzzle shriveled and full of jagged teeth.

Flash took a step back and his ear turned to the sound of the shield being excavated. Flash Magnus was hardly the stalwart of bravery and courage either – encased in dull, dented armor, his muzzle, eyes, and wings were in a similar state to Somnambula’s.

“Unworthy… Unworthy… Unworthy…” they rasped in unison, their voices like hoarse whispers that cut Flash deeper than any blade would.

Flash whimpered, looking back and forth between the two as they slowly advanced on him.

“Please, stop!” he cried, his voice echoing through the wooded glade.

Just as he thought he could feel their ragged breath on his coat, a pale blue mist swirled around him, shoving both of the twisted ponies back. Luna manifested, practically standing over top of him with her wings spread wide.

“Begone, nightmares,” Luna boomed, her eyes glowing a pale silver.

Slowly, the twisted Somnambula and Flash Magnus backed away flap by flap. Flash looked up at Luna, gulping in a breath of air as he broke into an uneasy smile up at the princess. “Thank you, your majesty.”

“’Tis my duty, Flash Sentry,” Luna said, a kind smile crossing her muzzle as she gazed down at him.

A flicker of movement caught her attention. The twisted Flash Magnus had hurled his shield at her.

Luna’s eyes widened in surprise. She case out one foreleg and swatted the shield away – half a second before it would have embedded in her chest. She stood there, eyes looking from the shield to its deranged hurler.

“Go, Flash Sentry!” Luna cast out one wing towards the trees. “Twilight awaits up ahead, and a peaceful night sleep.”

Flash nodded once and took off in a full sprint. Luna noticed the twisted Magnus turn towards him and she leveled her horn at the nightmare. A beam of silvery magic blasted the abomination into a tree, while Flash disappeared in the wood line.

Her ear flicked towards the gust of wind behind her. Her wings swung with titanic force and slammed the zombified Somnambula to the ground. The nightmare lost a wing as it bounced across the ground before rolling back upright closer to the trees.

“Impossible,” Luna whispered, looking between Somnambula and the recovering Flash Magnus. With a growl, she ignited her horn again and sent out a sweeping wave of silvery magic at the two simultaneously.

The two flickered like static, growling in defiance, before vanishing away. Luna’s eyes followed their remnants – a pale blue mist, laced with familiar sparkles. She broke into a gallop after the mist, but was only able to follow it a few feet before it dispersed completely.

Luna wasn’t sure what scared her more: corporeal nightmares able to fight back, or the fact her pulse was racing and her breathing heavy. Nightmares weren’t real. They couldn’t fight back… could they? Were they getting stronger… or she weaker?

The only thing Luna did know for certain was: this was hardly a random occurrence. Ponies throughout Ponyville were suffering from the worst nightmares she had ever seen. And they weren’t slowing down.

A faint cry in the distant reached Luna’s ear. She looked into the dense foliage once more before letting out a huff and turning to leave. Off to the next nightmare.

And unaware of the pale blue eyes and their slanted pupils tracking her every motion from the shadows.

“Quite a show, boss.”

“Yes, but she’ll need more fuel. Ponyville should have us covered still. Care to make another run?”

“But of course. It’s always a pleasure to stretch my legs among the mortals. Anyone in particular you want?”

“The more corrupt the better. You should know the difference.”

“Indeed.”

“We’re getting close. A little more pressure… a little more difficulty… and one untainted Tantabus will be at my disposal.”

“What if she doesn’t make one for you to steal?”

“Oh, she will. And if by some chance she doesn’t, we’ll make her then. The Nightmare can be… quite persuasive, if applied to the right weak points. Now go, and do not fail me. Remember, I freed you from the Abyss, I can send you back.”

“…Wouldn’t dream of it.”

Author's Note

And so we begin.

I hear Ponyville is rather charming this time of year.

I'd love to swing by for a visit.

Part 2: Law and Order

“There!” Phillip called, pointing to the building they were fast approaching. Even from their vantage point in the sky, they could see the ivory mare in the suit. She stood by the doors, as if waiting for them. She seemed to flash them a smile before stepping inside.

Daring set Phillip down just outside the door. She made to charge forward and draw her pistol, but he stopped her, shaking his head.

“Daring, I know what she said, but if she’s had the chance to attack us and hasn’t, maybe we should hear her out,” he said.

“Hear her out?” Daring roared. “She was asking for our souls, Phil!”

“Even so, if we go in there guns out, we’ll only cause a panic. Let’s scope things out first.” He jerked his head towards the front window. With a grumble, Daring nodded, joining him at the window to peer inside.

Lucifer had trotted over and sat down at the bar. The Apple Pie seemed sparsely occupied at this time of night, with only a few customers milling about. She cleared her throat, and Pinkie popped up from seemingly nowhere behind the bar.

“Hello there,” Lucifer purred, her crimson eyes locked with Pinkie’s blue orbs. “I would like the sweetest thing you have on the menu, even if I have to wait for you to clock out.”

Pinkie’s face turned a deeper shade of pink and she promptly disappeared into the kitchen.

“Did she scare Pinkie?” Daring hissed.

Phillip shook his head. “No. She looked… flustered.”

Pinkie appeared a moment later with a plate full of what looked like burritos smothered in maple syrup. Leaking out the ends, however, was melted chocolate. A napkin with a knife and fork on it was slid next to the plate. Before Lucifer could say anything to her, Pinkie slipped back into the kitchen.

Applejack walked over, scratching the top of her head under her hat. “Huh. Now I wonder what’s gotten into Pinkie Pie,” she remarked.

“Bartender,” Lucifer said, lifting her fork and knife in her magic. “What would you say is your finest beverage?”

Applejack flashed her a friendly smile. “Why, that’d be our apple cider, ma’am.” She reached under the bar and pulled out a cold bottle. Setting another napkin down opposite of the first, she sat the sweating bottle before Lucifer.

The demon hummed and opened the bottle, taking a test swig. “What a rich, robust flavor. My compliments to whoever bottled it.” She lifted the bottle in her magic and nodded to Applejack.

Applejack beamed. “That’d be my family. Our pride and joy.”

“I can see why.” Lucifer began cutting into her pancake, mopping up some of the syrup with the first forkful. “Tell me, have you seen any unicorns like me around? With a horn like mine, I mean.”

Applejack looked her up and down and shook her head. “Sorry, can’t say I’ve ever seen a unicorn like you before,” she said. “If I see ‘em, I’ll let them know yer lookin’ for them. Miss… uh…?”

“Call me Lucy.” She took a bite of the pancake and hummed with delight. “And please, give your chef my compliments.”

“Will do… if I can find her.” Applejack frowned and stepped into the kitchen.

“Alright,” Phil said. “Let’s go talk to her.” Daring nodded.

The two stepped into the Apple Pie, getting a few waves from the few patrons left. Lucifer, however, didn’t seem to even notice them – she continued to chow down on her syrup-laden pancakes hungrily.

Walking over, they sat on the stools next to Lucifer, glancing at her. “Took you long enough,” she said around a mouthful.

“What’d you do to Pinkie?” Daring jerked her head towards the kitchen doors.

“What can I say? Demons love sugar,” Lucifer replied with a shrug.

“Enough games, Lucifer,” Phil said quietly. “We need to know why you’re here.”

“And why you want our souls,” Daring hissed.

Lucifer swallowed and sighed. “Well, seeing as I didn’t get what I needed from here, I suppose an information exchange would be useful.” She looked to Phil. “By all means, you first.”

“Why were you at the butcher scene?” he asked. “Did you do that?”

“No.” Lucifer cut another piece and ate it. “I was trailing the demon responsible. Beelzebub the Exiled, most dangerous kind of demon there is and recent escapee from the Abyss.” She paused, glancing at the two of them. “You would call it ‘Limbo.’”

“And you decided to not tell the police that?” Daring asked.

“Ah, ah. My turn.” Lucifer smiled, before her complexion returned to seriousness. “How long have these butcher scenes been occurring around here?”

“It started a week ago. There’s been four of them so far,” Phil replied.

“Each more grizzly than the last,” Daring added with a shudder.

Lucifer hummed around another bite of pancake, staring into the woodgrain of the bar. “That would line up with when Beel was released.”

“Alright, so why is this Beelzebub killing ponies like that?” Daring asked. “Is she... eating them or what?”

Lucifer shook her head. “She’s after their souls. Each body I saw, the soul was cleaved entirely out of it. And the way they died? She wanted it to hurt, to ensure the soul experienced the most anguish it could so it’d be potent.” She huffed. “What do these dead ponies have in common?”

“The only pattern we could figure out was they were all criminals, mostly organized,” Phillip said. “Some in the middle of a drug or weapons deal, some were in their hideouts. None of the loot or weapons seemed to be missing, and each pony seemed to be suffering from some sort of infection or sickness.”

“Just about all of them had records as long as their legs,” Daring added with a nod.

“Sinners,” Lucifer muttered. “She’s after tainted souls. I don’t know what she could want with them, but she mentioned being employed before she got away from me.”

“Employed by who? Another demon besides you?”

“I don’t know. Someone strong enough to break her out of the Abyss and control her. There’s… something else you should know about all of this.” Lucifer looked to them, eyes locking on theirs. “She stole some souls on the way out… including one of the Old Gods.”

The temperature in the Apple Pie seemed to drop twenty degrees. Daring gripped the edge of her stool so much that the leather squeaked. Phillip felt his heart hammering in his chest, and it took him a moment to reign it in enough to speak.

“Which… one?” he croaked.

“Nightmare Moon.” Lucifer huffed, taking a swig of her cider before slamming it down on the napkin. “Did you think I was up here for a vacation? If it were just Beelzebub, I’d let you two handle her like you did Zugzwang.”

“You should have led with that! What are we doing just sitting here?!” Daring exclaimed, before clamping a hoof over her mouth. She glanced around, but the other patrons didn’t seem to notice.

“I need to find my two colleagues first. They’ll be invaluable when we find Beel. Unfortunately, we split up when we reached the surface to cover more ground and I haven’t seen them since.” Lucifer gave a weak chuckle. “Actually surprised your fellow officers haven’t found them first.”

“Then we need to get a move on, now.” Phillip said, sliding off his stool with Daring following after him.

Lucifer set some bits on the counter and hopped down after them. “You know, the soul pledging offer is still on the table,” she said.

“Not a chance,” Daring said. “Where do we start looking?”

Lucifer hummed, tapping her chin. “Now that I think about it, maybe your officer friends have seen them. It’s hard to miss a unicorn like me – and one of them is a bit of a loose cannon.”

She galloped past them and outside. Another column of crimson fire startled pedestrians as Lucifer leapt into it and vanished along with it.

“Wish she’d do that for us,” Daring huffed, hurrying outside.

“Flying’s bad enough,” Phil grunted, racing after her. “I’m not ready to be grilled on the barbie.”

“And you’ve never had this sort of nightmare before?”

Flash Sentry swallowed and shook his head, looking down at the tile floor of the precinct lobby out of embarrassment. “I know they were my ancestors and all… and I’ve felt some pressure to be as good as they were, but… not like that, you know?”

The mare he was talking to nodded in understanding, jotting something down on the notepad floating next to her.

She was around his height, with a muscular build. Her pristine white coat matched her mane and tail, the former done up in a ponytail. Her horn curved forward instead of being straight. A pair of mirrored sunglasses blocked her eyes from view, and she was dressed rather casually – a red button up shirt with rolled up sleeves, black tie, and a black jacket draped over her shoulders. Padded gloves covered her forehooves, with the label “HPJ” on the cuffs. Her cutie mark was a pair of golden scales.

“Sorry, I know this is important and all, but… it’s just so embarrassing to talk about,” Flash huffed.

The mare set a hoof on his shoulder. As he looked up, he caught the glint of a pair of revolvers tucked in shoulder holsters under the draped jacket. She flashed him a reassuring grin.

“Hey, you’re being a big help to this investigation. And you’re not the only one experiencing this stuff – hence the investigation,” she replied.

Flash gave a half-smile and nodded. “Thanks. I’m glad to know Princess Luna is investigating this – it’s all so weird.” He frowned. “I, uh, never caught your name.”

“Call me Justice,” the mare said, pointing to herself. “Don’t worry, we’ll get to the bottom of this.”

“Justice!”

Justice turned in time to catch Lucifer as she all but tackled her. Her glasses were knocked askew briefly, revealing pale eyes, before she quickly corrected them with a chuckle.

“Good to see ya, Lucy,” Justice said, nestling into her mane. “Did you find anything?”

Lucifer huffed, pulling away. “No. Beel got away, but apparently she’s working for someone now,” she replied, glancing away briefly. “Have you found anything?”

“Maybe. I’ve found a weird pattern going on with the officers here,” Justice said, floating over her notepad.

“Uh…” Flash took a step back, looking at Lucifer with widened eyes. “Aren’t you that weird mare that Red—”

“Oh come on! We were just here!”

Flash jumped when Daring stormed through the precinct’s front doors, followed closely by Phillip. He nodded to Flash, before he and Daring turned their attention to Lucifer and Justice.

“Phillip, Daring,” Lucifer said, standing to the side. “This is Justice, the former High Prosecutor.” She gestured to her with a hoof. “Seeing as she was responsible for originally defeating and imprisoning Beelzebub in the Abyss, I’m sure she’s more than capable of doing it again.”

“Detective Finder, Detective Do, it’s an honor,” Justice stepped forward and offered them her forehoof. Phil and Daring glanced at one another before each shaking it. “Loved your work with Zugzwang, awesome final battle.”

“You say that because you weren’t in it,” Daring deadpanned.

“Right. Well, I found something interesting that might be related to our missing Old God,” Justice said, flipping through her notepad. “Officers around here have been having vivid nightmares. Dr. Suunki, Twilight Sparkle, Detectives Herring and Sentry, even Chief Cold Case.”

“They’re all pretty close to us,” Phil said, rubbing his chin.

“And this is Nightmare Moon we’re talking about,” Lucifer added with a nod. “Strange… why would she target those close to you?”

Flash took another step back, glancing between the four of you. “Uh, well, if you have this covered, I’ll just, uh… go see how Twilight’s doing,” he said.

Just as he was turning to leave, the phone rang at the receptionist’s desk. She answered it, listening to someone on the other end, before turning to Flash. “Detective Sentry, it’s for you. It’s your mother.”

“My mom?” He blinked, rounding the desk and taking the phone. “Mom? Uh huh. Who? Well, Phil’s here, I’ll ask. Ok, love you too. Bye mom.” As he handed the phone receiver back to the receptionist, Flash frowned at the group.

“Is Joy alright?” Phil asked.

“She says she has company. Some mare who’s looking for a Lucy and a Justice?” Flash asked, looking to Lucifer and Justice.

The two demons looked at one another.

“That can only be one of two demons,” Justice said.

“Then let’s hope it’s ours,” Lucifer said. She turned to Phil. “I’ll let you take point on this one and let you lead us there, but time is of the essence.”

“Why? What’s wrong?” Flash asked, panic rising in his voice. “Is my mom in trouble?”

“We don’t know that yet, jackaroo, but you’d best come with us,” Phil said, galloping for the door with Daring and the demons in tow. Flash quickly followed on their heels, taking flight as Daring scooped up Phil yet again.

Daring and Flash landed out front of Pastor Sound’s home, the former setting Phil on the ground as she did. Lucifer and Justice ran up shortly after, breathing a little hard from the run.

Lucifer seemed to sniff the air as she narrowed her eyes at the house. “Justice and I will wait out here,” she said. “We’ll stop anyone who tries to escape.”

“Besides, demons and holy places don’t exactly mix,” Justice added with a nervous chuckle.

“Come on!” Phil jerked his head towards the door. Daring and Flash were at his side as he all but charged the front door. He tried the knob first and found that it was unlocked. Flash barreled past him as it swung open.

“Mom! Are you ok?” he called, skidding to a halt in the living room. His stomach sank into his chest.

Pastor Sound was seated on the couch, and next to her was a mare of imposing stature. She easily stood—or in this case, sat—as tall as Princess Celestia, her limbs and barrel hardened with muscle. Her coat was a dark charcoal gray, contrasting with her white mane and tail that flared wildly like fire, the former in a loose ponytail. Her horn, longer than a normal unicorn’s, curved forward and was jet black in color, seemingly as sharp as a sabre. She was dressed in an open leather jacket with spiked collar and a crimson band on her upper left foreleg. Metal gauntlets covered her forehoves. Her cutie marks were triple-crossed white chains.

The most haunting feature, however, was her eyes. They were white, though not an unseeing pale. They glowed with an intensity, the only way to determine the iris from the whites of her eyes. They matched her frowning expression.

And she would have been even more intimidating… if she didn’t have a glass of milk and a plate of chocolate chip cookies floating next to her, freshly baked from the aroma in the home.

“Oh, why yes, I’m quite fine,” Joy said, flashing Flash a smile. “Are you alright? You sound like you’re out of breath.”

Phil and Daring joined Flash, gawking at the site of the demonic unicorn next to the pastor.

“Who, uh… who’s your guest?” Daring asked.

Joy smiled and patted the unicorn on the leg. “She said she was from out of town and misplaced her friends. I offered her some milk and cookies while she waited. We got to talking and I mentioned my son and she suggested calling the station. I hope we didn’t interrupt anything.”

“Actually, Joy, we were looking for her,” Phil said, keeping his eyes on the dark mare. It was hard to make eye contact with her – every time he did, an unpleasant memory bubbled to the surface of the mind, and he eventually settled on the side of her neck. “Thank you for calling.”

“Oh? Is she in any trouble?” Joy asked.

“No, we have her friends outside is all,” Daring said.

The trio stepped back as the milk and cookies were lowered gently onto the coffee table in front of the sofa and the mare got to her feet. “They’re right, I should be going with them,” she said, her voice calm and level. She turned to the pastor, a look of discomfort coming over her. “Thank you for your time, and… thank you, for the milk and cookies.”

“Always a pleasure, dear.” Joy smiled, patting her leg. “Peace be with you.”

“And with you.” The mare nodded and stepped towards the group.

She paused, regarding each of them with her glowing eyes, before stepping around them and out the front door.

“You didn’t happen to catch her name, did you, Joy?” Phil asked.

“No, she didn’t say. And I didn’t think to ask.” Joy got up, and Flash was immediately at her side to help her over to the group. “Is everything alright, Phillip?”

Phil set a hoof on her shoulder. “It’s another big one, Joy. But we’ll handle it, don’t worry.”

Joy nodded, patting his hoof. “I’ll be praying for you.”

Phil gave another nod as he, Daring, and Flash exited. Lucifer and Justice approached the mare.

“Judgement! There you are,” Lucifer said. “What were you doing here?”

Judgement grunted. “I wasn’t making headway, with finding Beelzebub or the souls, so I decided to wait,” she said. “I figured if you two needed me, you’d find me.”

“So wait, if demons and holiness don’t mix, why was she in a pastor’s house?” Daring asked as the three of them walked over.

“Daring, Phillip, Flash, meet Judgement,” Lucifer said, gesturing to the taller mare.

“Is she the embodiment of… death, or something?” Flash gulped.

“Hardly. Death is the mortal’s reprieve – then you meet her.” Lucifer smirked. “Judgement here is the High Prosecutor, in charge of punishment of the damned. As such, she’s… exempt from normal demon etiquette. Holiness doesn’t harm her.”

Judgement walked over and towered over Flash. She jabbed a hoof at his chest. “Your mother is a good pony,” she said, narrowing her eyes. “And so are you. See to it that you stay that way.”

Flash gulped, stepping back. Phil set a hoof on his shoulder, glaring up at the demon. His eyes faltered again, however, and he was forced to look at her nostril.

“Sorry, I don’t mean to scare you,” Judgement said, huffing. “All demons can read souls. Yours is clean.” She frowned as her eyes shifted to Phil. “Yours, less so.”

“Why don’t you go back to the precinct, jackaroo,” Phil said. “Tell Cold that we’ve got a handle on this.”

Flash took one more look up at Judgement before pulling out a necklace from under his shirt – a circular medallion with the Holy Mother’s eye, surrounded by the six gems of the Elements of Harmony. He whispered a silent prayer to it before looking to Phillip. “A-Alright. Good luck.” He tucked the necklace away, spread his wings, and took flight, disappearing into the night.

“So wait, if you’re the former High Prosecutor…” Daring looked to Justice, then to Judgement. “And you’re the current one… how’d that happen?”

Judgement snorted. “You two of all mortals should know an office romance when you see one,” she replied.

Justice coughed, looking away as her cheeks flushed.

Lucifer scowled at the ground, face growing red. “Yes, well… it wouldn’t look good for the balance of things if the Devil held sway over the High Prosecutor, let’s leave it at that,” she said curtly. She cleared her throat and fought to regain her composure. “This is the entirety of my team. We should start strategizing with what we have now.”

“Agreed.” Phil nodded. “Let’s head back to our house before anything else happens.”

“And no flame teleporting, we live there,” Daring said, jabbing a hoof at the demons.

As they waked away, the trio of demons followed after them. Judgement leaned and whispered to Lucifer. “Mortal souls shouldn’t be working this with that old fly and the Old God loose.”

“Have faith in them, Judgement,” Lucifer replied quietly. “I suspect there’s more to them than meets the eye… at least some higher powers certainly seem to think so.”

As they walked away, none of them noticed the fly take flight from a nearby streetlight and into the night air.

A crimson changeling standing on a nearby rooftop held out a hoof. The fly landed on it before burrowing its way into her chitin. Her pale red eyes flashed brighter briefly and she frowned. “Lucy’s got the gang back together… it won’t be long before they put two and two together.”

She turned to the mare standing beside her. She looked like an ordinary unicorn mare, with a golden colored coat. Her blonde mane and tail were straight, the former coming down to cover her right eye. She was simply dressed in a purple top hat and a purple vest with a shimmering star pattern for the fabric. Her cutie mark was a coffin.

She turned to the changeling, her visible eye’s iris glowing pink. “Then we need to set a trap to stall them,” she replied. The glow in her flickered as she talked, seemingly two voices coming from her lips instead of one.

A dark smile crossed the changeling’s muzzle. “What did you have in mind?”

“The Nightmare has had her fun with their dreams. I’ll let you and Charlotte have fun with their bodies,” the mare replied, a dark giggle emanating from the second voice. The smile soon hardened into a determined frown. “You have to be quick and quiet. No one can alert them until the trap is in place.”

“And once they arrive?”

“Keep them there as long as you can. The Nightmare must be properly charged. Charlotte here is expendable, but you’ll need to escape. Understood?”

“No spider has caught this old fly yet… save for the Abyss,” the changeling replied, taking a grand bow.

The mare gave a satisfied smile and nodded. “Excellent. Then I leave my doll in your capable claws, Beelzebub. Do not fail me.”

The pink glow flickered out, revealing a green iris. The mare smirked at the changeling.

“What did you have in mind?” she asked, her voice back to normal.

Beelzebub gave a dark chuckle, her horn sparking with crimson firefly-like magic.

“How good are you at playing pretend?”

Author's Note

Ah yes, Justice. We’re indeed quite… close. Especially after Beelzebub was imprisoned the first time. The way she fought to defend me from that traitorous bug… well, you had to be there to see it. A shame she had to give up her High Prosecutor position for me, but it was her call. There’s no way I would have gone to Ponyville without her.

Speaking of the High Prosecutor, Judgement can be quite ruthless at it. I swear she’s a sadomasochist the way she punishes sinners. Torment suits her – I can see why the higher powers decided to send her down to us. Oh yes, she’s as fallen as I am, though she doesn’t seem to miss the clouds. Any demon would be a fool not to bring that kind of muscle along on a mission like this.

She puts up a tough exterior, but between you and me – we both enjoy small, talking furry animals. Ponies included.

Part 3: Waning Moon

As a distant bell chimed one in the morning, Daring and Phillip led the trio of demons to their home at 221 Honeybee Bakery Street. As they turned a corner a block away from the house, Phil held up a hoof.

“What’s up?” Daring asked.

“It’s one in the morning,” Phil said quietly. “Yet our street’s as crowded as if it were rush hour.”

Sure enough, parked cars lined either side of the street in front of their house. Ponies were milling about as well, reading newspapers under the light of streetlamps or talking to one another in hushed tones. But Phil’s trained eye told him they were on surveillance – eyes and ears scanned up and down the street.

“Interlopers,” Judgement growled. “Shall I dispatch them?”

Phil and Daring frowned, looking at her slowly with quirked eyebrows. “Let’s not jump straight to violence,” the latter remarked.

“So what do you propose we do? Walk over and say hello?” Lucifer asked.

“If they jump us, we’ll handle it,” Phil said. “We’ve been in worse spots.”

“Then we jump to violence,” Judgement said with a satisfied smirk. “They’ll be no match for the three of us.”

“Five of us,” Daring interjected. “Now let’s go – and no fighting unless provoked.”

“Fine,” Judgement grumbled as they stepped out of the shadows and walked towards the house.

The pedestrian’s target became clear as soon as Phillip and Daring approached – all eyes fell on them. A few slid past them to the trio of demons, some gawking as the towering sight of Judgement. She glared back at them, and the pedestrians soon occupied their eyes with anything but her own glowing orbs.

Justice and Lucifer, however, looked over them as if studying them, the latter’s crimson eyes glowing softly in the darkness of the night.

“They’re guards, all of them,” Justice whispered.

“Yes, but why are they guarding your home?” Lucifer asked, looking at Phil and Daring.

Phillip and Daring shared a look. They opened the front door and stepped inside – only to be immediately flanked by more guards, this time clad in full armor. The door promptly shut behind them.

“Detective Finder, Detective Do.” Princess Luna rose from her seat on their couch, wings spread in grand display. “I apologize for this intrusion at this time of night.”

“Your majesty,” they said as one, bowing to her. Daring was the first to look up – and frowned as she studied the princess’s face.

Luna was hardly of regal composure. Darkened bags hung under her eyes, despite some attempt at covering them up with makeup. Her coat was tousled in places, as if she had rolled around in bed before visiting. Even some of her wing feathers seemed askew.

“Are you alright, your majesty?” Daring asked.

Luna sighed. “Ah, you’ve noticed. I should have anticipated such perception. I am afraid we are in great trouble,” she said, bowing her head.

It shot back up in surprise as the door opened, crimson magic gripping the door handle. The guards jumped at the ready, horns flickering with magic and weapons at the ready as Lucifer, Justice, and Judgement all stepped into the living room.

“Well, that was rude, shutting us out like that,” Lucifer scoffed, smoothing out her suit with a hoof.

Luna’s eyes narrowed at them. “You,” she said with an icy tone. Pale blue magic ignited around her horn as she stomped forward. Phillip and Daring stepped to the side.

Lucifer, however, just stepped up to the princess. “You’re looking a little perturbed, princess,” she said casually, a smirk crossing her muzzle. “Haven’t been sleeping well?”

“What did you do?” Luna roared. Pale blue magic gripped the unicorn’s body and she was slammed back into the front door. Lucifer opened one eye, shooting Luna a murderous gaze.

“Back off!” Judgement barked, angling her horn at the alicon. It ignited with pale white fire. Some of the guards that approached her were gripped in a similarly-colored magical aura.

“What evil have you wrought upon us this time, demon?” Luna snarled. Her magic snared Judgement, but the larger unicorn was harder to budge. Judgement pushed against it, the fire of her horn growing brighter.

“Demon?” Phil and Daring said at the same time, looking at one another.

“Everybody chill!” Justice shouted, getting between Lucifer, Judgement, and Luna. She held out a forehoof to both of them and turned to Luna. “We didn’t start this, but we’re here to finish it.” She looked to Lucifer and Judgement. “And now is not the time, we need all hands—er hooves on deck for this!”

Judgement let out a snort, her magic flickering out. The guards gasped as they were freed from the restricting magic.

Luna narrowed her eyes at the trio before her magic, too, flickered out, releasing Lucifer and Judgement. The smaller unicorn pushed off from the door, smoothing out the wrinkles in her suit.

“Your majesty… did you say… demons?” Phil asked, looking at the trio of unicorns with new, warier eyes. Daring did as well, a hoof going to her necklace.

“Aye, demons. From the pits of Tartarus,” Luna spat more than said. Her hardened gaze didn’t leave Lucifer. “Who are supposed to be keeping the Old Gods down there.”

“It wasn’t our idea to let Nightmare Moon get loose,” Lucifer protested. “Beelzebub the Exiled took her, and who knows how many other damned souls. We’re just here to get them back!”

“And a fat lot of progress you’ve made!” Luna jerked her head towards Phillip and Daring. “Here to tempt them, like your kind did Starswirl?”

Lucifer let out a quiet growl as her eyes narrowed. “Listen, you,” she seethed. “My predecessor made that mistake, and it’s not one I’ll be making. I offered the soul pledge to them, yes, but only to keep them safe – they refused, and I abided by their wishes.”

“Hah! Their souls wouldn’t be safe in your clutches,” Luna scoffed.

“Guys!” Justice shouted. “We’re getting off-topic here again. Look, we got an Old God to stop here and a runaway demon to toss back in the Abyss. I get it, we’re not on the best terms, but we need to work together on this.”

Luna grumbled quietly, before letting out a long sigh. “She is correct, this is no time for in-fighting. My apologies – you are right, I haven’t exactly been sleeping easy with Nightmare Moon loose.”

“I’m sorry we haven’t made much progress on recovering her,” Lucifer said. “We were coming here to put together what we know so far.”

“Well, please: illuminate us.” Luna gestured around the room.

“So Nightmare Moon has been targeting a lot of the officers at the local precinct here,” Justice said, pulling out her notepad. “Everyone from Chief Cold Case to Twilight Sparkle and Dr. Suunki.”

“Everyone close to us,” Phil summed up. “Any connections?”

“Each nightmare was catered towards the victim – some sort of past trauma, some sort of fear or insecurity. Other than that, nothing.” Justice shook her head.

“The only thing that ties them together is Nightmare Moon – they’re her constructs for certain. No figments of the mind have ever rebelled against me so fiercely,” Luna said firmly. “And so frequently.” She looked to Lucifer. “What of this wayward demon?”

“Beelzebub the Exiled, one of the most dangerous kinds of demons there is,” Lucifer said with a frown. “I cornered her at a bloody mass murder scene, but she got away. Before she did, she mentioned she’d found new employment. And apparently, this wasn’t her first dance.” She nodded to Phillip and Daring.

“These murders…” Luna turned to Phillip and Daring. “Tell me about them.”

“All criminals in a meeting, torn apart by some unknown means and often with signs of some sort of recent ailment in the body,” Phil said.

“None of the weapons were touched, nor any illegal contraband,” Daring added. “Whoever did it was there to kill them in the most brutal way possible.”

“Beel was harvesting their souls,” Lucifer concluded. “Tainted souls, plucked from mortal bodies when they were at their most anguished… but even a demon like her has no use for such things. It must be for her employer.”

“So we’ve got Nightmare Moon targeting those close to us, and this crazy demon killing ponies for souls… how are they related?” Daring asked.

“I’m not entirely sure,” Lucifer admitted. “Beel is the one who stole Nightmare Moon, but even she can’t control a soul that powerful. Not on her own.”

“Wait…” Daring paled. “Nightmare Moon… she’s an Old God, right?” She looked to Phil, who gave a hesitant nod. “She should be out there letting the whole world know she’s free… and all she’s doing is giving some ponies bad dreams?”

Luna’s eyes widened. “Someone… or something… must be controlling her.”

A silence fell over the room. Justice and Judgement looked at one another, the latter with eyebrows raised. Daring sucked in a breath, while Phillip’s mind ran a mile a minute.

The air was pierced by the sound of a phone ringing, causing some of the guards to jump. Phillip walked over and answered it, swallowing so his dry throat could speak. “Finder and Do Detectives,” he said, trying to keep his voice level.

“G’day mate,” came his voice from the receiver.

Phillip’s head shot away as he stared at the phone like a snake that had bit him. “Who is this?” he demanded, outrage overcoming his fears.

Daring, Luna, and Lucifer walked over quietly as the voice continued. “Well I’m just havin’ a good ol’ walkabout down here at the police station. You know, where I work. See you, wankers.”

There was a click as the Phil on the line hung up, and he slammed the receiver down on the cradle.

“This is serious,” Lucifer said. “While we were given pony forms, Beelzebub was given a changeling form – that could’ve been her. And we don’t know if her employer is with her.”

“As much as I want to help, Nightmare Moon is still out there. I must stay here and defend the dreamworld,” Luna said.

“We’ll handle this Beelzebub, your majesty, don’t worry,” Daring said, reaching into her vest.

“How in my damned name do you intend to fight a demon?” Lucifer asked.

Daring smirked, producing the weathered stock whip from her vest. She ran a hoof down the length of its cord, feeling a slight tingle of static against it. Meanwhile, Phil produced his weathered waddy club, thumping it in his hoof and feeling it rumble in his grip.

“Will these work?” he asked Lucifer.

Lucifer smirked, looking over the weapons with an approving nod. “I knew someone up there liked you two. If those are enchanted by some sort of deity, they should suffice. Judgment, Justice, and I will see if we can divine Nightmare Moon’s location. If she’s conjuring nightmares, her soul must be around here somewhere.”

“How do you plan to do that?” Luna asked.

“The three of us should be able to channel our soul reading abilities enough to find her soul – it’d be stronger than a normal mortal’s so it’d stand out,” Judgement explained.

“You’re not going to say hello to your old friend?” Daring asked.

“No offense, but I’m not getting in the crossfire of those bad boys,” Justice said, pointing to the weapons.

“Be careful out there,” Luna said, nodding to them.

Phillip and Daring gave her a brief salute, pocketed their weapons, and bolted out the front door where Phillip was scooped up by Daring and spirited away into the night.

“Phillip Finder” hung up the phone on the receptionist’s desk before changing in a flash of scarlet fire back into the crimson changeling. She turned to the golden unicorn beside her with a smirk. “They’re on their way,” she reported.

The golden mare grinned maniacally. “Then let’s spring our trap,” she purred.

Beelzebub nodded. “Time to divide and conquer.”

Author's Note

Ugh, that pun at the end.

Yes, royalty tends to not like us demons much. Something to do with one of us tempting this Starswirl character. Not any of my colleagues, of course, but my predecessor. It’s how I wound up with such a cushy job – and a thankless one at that. Honestly, do you think its pleasant dealing with the damned for all eternity?

But enough about me, let’s see how this fight will stack up, shall we?

Oh, and are any of you familiar with Afton Robotics by any chance? Oh, no reason. Just wondering. Don’t worry, I’ll tell you in the next chapter.

Part 4: Darkest Desire

The front doors of the Ponyville Police Department echoed loudly through the desolate building. The power had seemingly been cut – the entire building was vacant and dark. There were signs of disarray – chairs in the lobby toppled over, the receptionist’s desk had papers scattered around it, and some of the doors hung partially open.

And there wasn’t a living soul in sight.

“You don’t think that Beelzebub…” Daring began, swallowing.

Phil shook his head. “I don’t know. I hope not,” he replied quietly.

They each pulled out their flashlights, switched them on, and clipped them on the front of their shirts. Daring pulled out her stockwhip at the ready, eyes darting around at the shadows cast by their beams.

“So, where do we start?” Daring whispered, shining her light down one adjacent corridor and then another.

The sound of hoofsteps approaching caught their attention. They shined their flashlights in the direction – just in time to catch a crystal unicorn in the face with them, and cast refracted lights across the darkened walls.

“Mortis?” Phil asked, angling his flashlight away. He frowned. “What’s your first name?”

“M-My name… My name is Dr. Vitae Mortis, I’m a mortician at the Ponyville Police D-Department, and… and… I think I’m g-going into shock,” she rasped.

Phil and Daring nodded to one another, the former wrapping her leg around his shoulders to help stabilize her. “Easy, Mortis. What’s happened here?” Phil asked gently, walking her towards the entrance.

“Th-There was this… red blur. I remember hearing shouts and sc-screams, and then… I got so dizzy. I must have passed out. When I came to, I ran for the entrance,” Mortis said.

“Where is everyone?” Daring asked.

Mortis shook her head. “I… I don’t know. I didn’t see anyone, and I don’t remember anything after I blacked out,” she said.

“Stay near the entrance, we’ll look around,” Phil said, carefully removing her leg. “If anything comes at you, run as fast as you can out of the building. Even if it sounds like us.”

Mortis nodded. “Be careful, Phil,” she said, shying towards the front doors.

Phil and Daring turned towards the hallway Mortis had run from and proceeded down the darkened corridor. Everything was quiet, save for their hoofsteps which echoed down the empty precinct.

They occasionally turned to check rooms, giving each a cautionary sweep with their flashlights before poking their heads inside and giving them a look. Everything was in the aftermath of chaos – furniture overturned, filing cabinets opened and the contents strewn about, and doors left ajar. Fortunately, the only thing that seemed to be missing was any sign of blood or gore.

That is, until they came to the morgue. As they opened the door and shone their light around the sterile-reeking room, Phil’s flashlight fell on a faint trail of crimson drops. “Got something here,” he said, leaning in close. He shut his eyes and inhaled. “Fresh.”

Daring shone her light down the length of the drops, which trickled out of the room and down the hall. “We must’ve missed it because of all the stuff laying around,” she remarked. “Did Mortis look hurt to you?”

“No, but we’d better go check on her to be sure,” Phil said.

As they turned back towards the front door, their flashlights fell upon an orange figure in the doorway, and all three of them shouted and jumped. Daring readied her stockwhip, until she realized just who it was.

“Phil! Daring!” Flash said, setting a hoof on his chest and taking several steadying breaths. “Am I glad to see you two.” His uniform seemed torn and disheveled, but otherwise there wasn’t a mark on him.

“What’s the big idea scaring us half to death?” Daring snapped, lowering the whip.

Phil set a hoof on her shoulder and turned to Flash. “We’re glad to see you’re alright, jackaroo. Have you seen anyone else?”

“N-No. I woke up in Red’s office, and he’s gone! I was going to head down to Dr. Suunkii’s lab and see if I could at least find Twilight or someone,” Flash said, shaking his head.

Phil hummed and leaned in close to Daring. “What do you think?” he murmured.

“Seems like Flash to me,” Daring whispered. “Definitely got his priorities straight. But what about Mortis?”

“I’ll go check on her – you go with Flash. I’ll meet you in Suun’s lab if she’s not too hurt.” Phil pulled out his waddy club. “We each have a weapon to fight this demon if we find her, so keep your guard up.”

Daring nodded, turning back to Flash. “I’ll go with you to Suunkii’s lab, Flash,” she said. “Phil says he’s going to check the rest of the building.”

Flash swallowed and nodded, flashing a grateful smile. “We should hurry then – no telling what’s happened to anyone.”

As Flash and Daring headed down the hallway to the entrance down to Suunkii’s lab, a nagging thought made Phillip turn and shine his light over the blood trail in the mortuary. As it illuminated the beginning of it, he frowned and headed back towards the entrance.

“Mortis, it’s me!” Phil called as he returned to the entrance, club in hoof.

She had started towards one of the front doors, hoof on the handle. “H-How do I know for certain?” she said quickly, eyeing him up and down with wide eyes.

“Earlier, when we were interrogating… that strange unicorn, you’d had a coffee with two sugars, as you usually do for your late shifts,” Phil said. “You always drip some on you – it was on your coat collar this time.”

Mortis calmed down, hoof falling from the handle. “Oh thank goodness,” she breathed. “What is it, Phil? Did you find something?”

“Well, we saw some blood in the morgue, I was worried you’d been hurt,” Phil said, shining a light all along Mortis’s body. “The blood trail led back here.”

“O-Oh? Well, I feel fine… as fine as I could, I suppose,” Mortis said, wiping at her brow.

There was something in her body language that caught Phil’s attention. He’d never seen the mortician so nervous before – her body was trembling, sweat was beading at her brow, and her eyes wouldn’t meet his.

“There’s something else… you said you’d been knocked out for some period of time, right?” Phil asked, eyes narrowing.

“Y-Yes. I didn’t get the chance to see a clock on my way out, so I don’t know for how long,” Mortis said.

“We received a call from the precinct approximately seven minutes ago. If you had been attacked before then, that’s nearly ten minutes of unconsciousness,” Phil explained. “And there would’ve been a pool of blood in the morgue.”

He frowned. “There’s not. And you’re not hurt, so where did that blood come from, Mortis?” He shone the flashlight in her face.

Mortis winced against it. “I-I don’t know, Phil. I w-was unconscious a-and--”

“Enough tricks, demon. We know you’re a shapeshifter.” Phil leveled the club straight at Mortis and slowly approached. “What have you done with everyone?” he growled.

“…Demon?” Mortis’s fearful gaze turned smug, a smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth. “Not quite, detective.”

A high-pitched sound forced Phil to clamp a hoof over his ear, then put away the club to cover the other. He backed away as the sound rattled his very brain, backing away from the source…

Dr. Mortis.

He opened one eye to see Mortis begin to distort in front of him, like static on a monitor. She turned to him with a sinister smile, before her crystalline body was replaced by that of a familiar golden unicorn, wearing a purple top hat, bowtie, and shimmery vest.

“Permit me to introduce myself,” the mare said, taking off her top hat in her hoof and doing a grand bow. “I am Charlotte Rigor, at your service.” Her visible green eye stared up at him.

The sound had finally subsided enough for Phil to grip his club again, glaring at the mare. “Where’s Mortis? Where is everyone?” he demanded.

The mare simply giggled, standing upright and then replacing her top hat. She charged forward, barely giving Phillip any time to fully pull out the club. As one of her forehooves raised to strike him, he prepared to grab it.

The blow would’ve landed in the middle of his chest if he hadn’t caught it, but instantly something felt off. Her hoof and leg felt soft, like a normal pony’s, but underneath of the hair it felt stiffer and hard, as if it was nothing but bone beneath.

He tried to budge the limb, to flip her over or throw her off, but found he couldn’t. It was like trying to budge a statue. In a second, his eyes drifted from the leg up to Charlotte, who was now grinning like a maniac.

And then the next second, he was flying over her shoulder.

Phillip crashed against one of the front doors, cracking the bulletproof glass on impact and sliding to the ground with a groan. He forced his dazed mind to focus at the sound of hoofsteps, and promptly rolled out of the way and onto his hooves, producing his waddy club.

Charlotte, meanwhile, landed a blow that would’ve been to Phil’s stomach – instead it shattered the bulletproof glass. The maniacal grin once again turned back to him.

“What are you going to do with that thing?” she sneered, charging at him again.

Phillip swung the club like a bat as she got into range – the mare ducked under it like a serpent, bringing an uppercut with her. Phillip’s head jerked back and a gust of wind brushed past his chin. Frowning, he gripped the club in his other hoof and brought it down on her extended leg.

There were two simultaneous cacophonies: that of rolling thunder and that of clanging metal. Pink sparks exploded from Charlotte’s leg as she limped backwards, eyes wide in horror as she looked between her struck limb and him.

Phillip disregarded the unusual reaction in favor of taking another swing, this time aimed at the side of the mare’s head. With a snarl, she ducked underneath it and began to backpedal and jerk away as Phillip continued to try and land a blow.

“Stop right there,” Charlotte growled as she backed against a wall. Her maniacal grin returned.

“Where are the others?” Phillip demanded, raising his club.

“Take one more step, and I skewer the real Dr. Mortis.”

Phillip blinked in confusion, his eyes scanning the vicinity. To his trained eye, there was nothing but empty air around Charlotte Rigor, and nothing even within grabbing distance to back up such a threat.

Then that high pitched whine returned and Phillip growled, covering his ears. He forced one eye open to watch Charlotte, and his jaw dropped.

The mare’s visage flickered away yet again, becoming mere static as flesh and bone gave way to fur and metal.

Charlotte’s form resembled a smiling unicorn costume, slightly larger than a pony. She still retained her coloration and clothing from her “realistic” appearance, but now there were gaps in the joints, revealing cold metal underneath – and beneath that still, the faint glimmers of crystalline skin.

“What… what are you?” Phillip growled.

“Are you familiar with an iron maiden, detective?” Charlotte’s voice now played from a speaker, originating from somewhere in her throat. “I’m worse. I am comprised of a metal skeleton, conveniently tucked away by a series of springlocks that hold it back – and dear Dr. Mortis is currently where it normally resides.

“Should I… say, trip the springlocks, your dear mortician will become a bloody pulp of shredded tissue and shattered bones as my parts recompress. So, I suggest you not make any sudden movements.” She gave an electronic snicker that sounded like static.

Phillip growled, slowly lowering his club. He could see Mortis shifting under the machine, muzzled cries for help coming from Charlotte’s own muzzle. “Why are you doing this? What do you want with her?”

“She was just a convenient target,” Charlotte replied. “I am to keep you and your partner here until my mistress is done. We can’t have you interfering with her plans.”

“Daring,” Phillip suddenly realized. He raised a hoof to sprint towards the hallway, his stomach dropping when he realized the nature of the trap. The only thing that stopped him was an electronic burst of static that sounded like someone clearing their throat.

“Not a step in any direction, detective,” Charlotte said. “But please, feel free to sit and get comfortable. We’ll be here a while.”

“Who do you work for?” Phillip demanded. “Beelzebub? Did she put you up to this?”

“Beelzebub is as much a pawn as I am, detective. She has a debt that needs to be repaid, through servitude,” Charlotte said. “My mistress is far, far more powerful.”

“Nightmare Moon?” Phillip frowned. “You’ve freed her, so why not let her loose? Unless… she’s not your mistress either.”

“Very astute, detective. My mistress has many powerful pawns.” Charlotte giggled. “I’m sure Beelzebub is having a great time with your partner.”

Phillip clinched his teeth, mind running through the possible scenarios. He needed to get Mortis out of that talking suit, but he’d need a way to prevent the springlocks from going off. He didn’t know how to even get to them, much less do it quicker than Charlotte could trip them.

His eyes slid down to Charlotte’s leg, eyes widening slightly. There was a definite dent in the front of the foreleg where he had brought the club down, marked by a dent in the faux fur of the machine. Charlotte even had it lifted off the ground slightly as it stood, as if it were broken. The occasional pink spark bounced from it and onto the floor.

A plan quickly formed, and his grip quickly tightened on his club. He took a deep steadying breath, eyes locked with the fake green eye of the machine. Quietly, he muttered a prayer to Angkakert: “Please let this work.”

And then he struck.

The club arced down on the machine’s head, and a great clap of thunder rattled the remaining doors and vibrated the overturned furniture in the lobby. Phillip pulled away to find he had left a sizable dent in the costume’s forehead, just behind the horn.

“NO!” the machine roared, Charlotte’s voice now distorted static as pink sparks poured from the machine’s joints and crevices. Her mouth hung open limply. “SPRINGLOCK CONTROLS: OFFLINE. MOTOR CONTROL: OFFLINE. WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?”

The machine began to twitch, ears flapping and tail swishing out of control. Phillip ran forward and gripped Charlotte by the muzzle and neck and gave a tremendous yank.

There came the whining sheer of metal ripping apart and the head came loose. The rest of the body went limp, the sparks sputtering out. Charlotte’s eye became half-lidded as the machine was finally silenced.

And where Charlotte’s head had been was Mortis’s, mane disheveled and glasses missing, with thankfully nothing more than a few minor cuts.

“Remind me to not get on your bad side,” she groaned.

“Sorry, Mortis,” Phillip said, quickly discarding Charlotte’s head and running over to start pulling at the suit containing her. “Are you alright?”

“A little cut up – the insides of this… thing are sharp,” Mortis remarked. She craned her head back to look over her shoulder. “There, middle of the back. There should be some release clasps. I was unfortunately conscious when this thing put itself on me.”

Phillip searched the back where Mortis was looking, and found a thin seam in the costume’s faux fur. Prying it apart, there came snaps that made his heart jump—for fear of the still active, and now uncontrolled, springlocks Charlotte had mentioned—followed by hisses.

With a metal clatter, the suit felt away like a sack of metal bones around Mortis’s hooves. She quickly shimmied her legs out of the suit and stepped away from it.

“Who designed that thing and what drugs were they on?” she remarked, eyes sliding over the machine’s exposed inner workings. They almost resembled a metal pony’s skeleton.

“Stay near the entrance, I need to go find Daring,” Phillip said, grabbing his club and racing down the hallway towards Suunkii’s lab.

“Keep quiet,” Daring hissed back to Flash as she slowly opened the door to Suunkii’s lab. She peered inside, sweeping her flashlight around the room. Twilight’s neat system had been thoroughly ransacked, with papers and equipment scattered about the lab.

“Twilight’s going to have a fit about this,” Flash muttered as Daring stepped into the lab, and he followed, observing the damage.

“Let’s focus on finding her first,” Daring replied. She peeked under some of the tables, examining some of the scattered papers. “Were she and Suunkii working on any experiments?”

“Not that I know of,” Flash said. “What caused all of this anyway?”

“Some sort of demon,” Daring replied, turning her flashlight towards the door that led down to the records and evidence departments.

“Demon?” Flash swallowed. “Did… do you think they took Twilight and the others?”

“I’m not sure. I didn’t think that Lucifer was serious, but I guess she’s the real deal.” Daring gave a weak chuckle. “Now would be a good time for another prayer on that emblem of yours.”

“…My what?”

Daring halted, turning to Flash. He winced as the light struck his eyes. “That Holy Mother’s emblem.” She moved the light down to his chest, frowning as she noticed the lack of the chain the emblem would’ve been on. “Where is it?”

Flash felt around his chest. “I-I don’t know. I swore I had it on b-before I blacked out…”

Gears turned in Daring’s mind. She remembered Justice saying holiness and demons not mixing. And Lucifer had said the demon had been a changeling. And the Flash in front of her, raised by a pastor, conveniently lacked his Holy Mother emblem.

“Motherfucker,” Daring swore, producing her whip.

“Guess the charade is over,” Flash sighed, before hacking as if he was about to vomit.

Something heavy and sticky splattered the front of Daring’s shirt just after she had pulled out her whip, coating her flashlight and turning its light into a dark blood red. A sickeningly sweet stench wafted up to Daring’s nostrils. There was a burst of crimson fire in front of her, and Flash was gone.

“Motherfucker,” Daring hissed, yanking off the flashlight. Whatever the substance was had hardened like amber – the flashlight landed on its back, illuminating the whole of the lab in its deep crimson light. “Come out, you fucking demon! What’d you do with everyone?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” came a feminine, prim voice from the shadows. Daring cracked her whip in the direction and struck only air. “Honestly, what do you intend to do with that paltry thing?” Another crack, another miss.

“How about you show yourself and find out?” Daring growled, pivoting in place as her eyes scanned the room. The shadows seemed to dance in the slight flickering of the flashlight, but nothing seemed to be moving.

Then Daring’s focus shifted to the ceiling, and a dark red blob of chitin descended upon her like the plague.

She managed to roll out of the way as the changeling-demon landed with a thump where she’d been standing. Upon getting upright, she snapped out the whip – Beelzebub made to dodge it, but a foreleg was ensnared by the very end.

A bright white burst of light illuminated the room like a flashbulb as lightning arched down the length of the stockwhip and into the demon. Beelzebub hissed and snarled, rolling to the ground – pulling Daring and the whip with her.

Daring went flying over Beelzebub, the whip untangling from her target’s foreleg as she passed by. She crashed into a filing cabinet, leaving a sizable dent before sliding to the ground. Her eyes blinked into focus as a hissing red blob filled her vision.

Daring’s head jerked back just as one chitinous leg shot past like a cannonball, putting an even deeper dent into the metal cabinet. Another backhoofed swipe caught Daring square in her chest—fortunately padded by dragonscale—and sent her tumbling back.

Daring swatted at Beelzebub with her whip as the demon charged her, the very tip glancing along the side of her barrel with a crackle of electricity and another hiss. Beelzebub bounced against another filing cabinet before barreling into Daring.

The wind escaped Daring’s lungs as she was flung into the far wall and slid down. She sat upright propped against the wall—thankful her wings were somehow unbroken after all the tumbling—and glared at Beelzebub with one murderous eye.

The demon was wheezing. A gash spread down the length of her barrel, and she was trying not to put too much weight on the hoof that had been snared. But she seemed to still have enough fight left in her – she snarled, angled her horn towards Daring, and charged like a lancer.

Daring shut her eyes and whispered a prayer to Awely-Awely: “Please, please let this work.” She cast out her whip one more time.

The whip snaked under the charging demon and ever so lightly touched her chest. There came a flash of lightning that seemed to come from—or through—the ceiling, bathing the entire room in white and followed by a clap of thunder that rattled the furniture in the room, mixed with a piercing scream.

When Daring’s vision finally returned, Beelzebub was no longer in front of her. Her head snapped to the door as it slammed open, but whatever had been there was gone. The red, amber-like substance that coated Daring’s flashlight cracked, reverting its light back to normal.

“Daring!” Phillip called as he ran into the room. His eyes fell on the whip gripped tightly in her hoof.

“Phil! …Is that you?” Daring asked.

“Yeah.” He stopped before her, producing the waddy club. “Are you alright?”

Daring breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m gonna be bruised in the morning for sure,” she said with a weak chuckle as she slowly got to her hooves with a grunt. “Did you see Beelzebub?”

“If you mean that red blur, yes, but she got away before I could stop her – she seemed to be in a big hurry,” Phillip remarked, putting the club away.

“Well, these weapons do seem to work on them,” Daring said. “How’s Mortis?”

“I’ll explain after we find everyone. They aren’t down here?” Phillip looked around.

“No, but they have to be somewhere… right?” Daring swallowed, not wanting to voice any other possibilities. Phil’s look grew hard and he nodded in response.

Their ears twitched at a faint sound, and they looked to the ceiling as they honed in on it – something clanging on metal bars and rattling them. It was faint, but in the quiet of the darkened police station, it came through.

“Lockup,” they said simultaneously, looking to one another.

“Where else would you keep prisoners?” Daring said with a breathless chuckle as they ran from the room.

Lucifer walked up to the remains of Charlotte Rigor – or at least the machine. Phillip had tossed the head on top of the suit and the entire thing looked like a mangled, bloodless pony corpse. None of the officers wanted to get near it, least of all Mortis. Most of them were chatting away over the ordeal, save for Red who was still ranting about being locked up in their own lockup.

“You said your club was effective on it?” she asked Phillip behind her

“It disabled its… springlocks, I believe she called it,” Phillip said. “She also mentioned her mistress – someone who was using Beelzebub and Nightmare Moon as pawns.”

“Demonic energy powering an animatronic suit… powerful pawns…” Lucifer’s look turned grim as her eyes darted back and forth in thought.

“Who the hell are we dealing with?” Daring asked as she walked over. The nurse had checked her over and given her some painkillers for the coming bruises.

“She’s targeting those close to you two, but why would she… wait.” Lucifer turned to Phillip. “What is Luna’s connection to the officers here? The ones afflicted with nightmares?”

Daring and Phillip glanced between each other.

“She… helped us when we lost Trace,” Phil said. “All of us.”

“Of course! She’s not after those close to you – she’s after those close to Luna. Whatever her scheme is, it involves Luna.” Lucifer turned to the disassembled animatronic. “And I think I know who she is.”

“Who?” Daring demanded.

Lucifer swallowed, looking them in the eyes. “The Mirror Twin.”

Just as Phillip and Daring’s mouths opened to press further, a white light enveloped the three of them.

Author's Note

Curious? Charlotte Rigor was what we call a springlock suit – a wearable animatronic, in a sense, and a sentient one at that. The animatronic components are held back by springlocks, and failure of said springlocks is quite a messy way to go.

As for her appearance, that’s a recent piece of technology known as an Afton Mirage Disk (AMD). It emits a sound frequency that fills in the gaps of your perceptive memory. Say you saw a red octagonal sign without really looking at it, you’d assume it’s a stop sign. Charlotte’s AMD allows her to trick a mortal’s mind into thinking what you think she is. Makes animatronics look realistic – or give them a disguise.

And because she’s demon-powered, she shares a weakness to divine weapons, just like Beel. Convenient.

Part 5: Storm Warning

Phillip and Daring opened their eyes, looking around cautiously.

All around them was an expanse of white, with no indication of where the ground ended and the sky began.

A shadowy form moved to their left and they both jumped. Where Lucifer had been standing was an entirely different figure that towered over them, at least another three ponies higher.

She stood upright, with two legs and two arms ending in five-fingered hands. Her skin was a pale apricot. She was dressed in Lucifer’s suit, along with black slacks and matching heels. Her hands were covered by white gloves, and a long, thin tail with a barbed tip flicked behind her. Her rounded head had Lucifer’s hair and familiar mole, along with a pair of curved white horns out either side of her head.

The tall figure paid them no mind – her attention was focused skyward. “About time you showed yourselves,” she said, her voice matching Lucifer’s as well.

Phil and Daring slowly followed her gaze, gawking at the sight. The giant striped horse-like entities were the size of mountains, seemingly made of thundering clouds. Each had three pairs of wings spread out from their backs, crowns of flashing lightning bolts encircling their heads, and glowing white eyes. One possessed a long beard and the other a long white mane, but neither had mouths.

“Our children are in danger,” the male of the two said in a deep rumbling voice that echoed in the ponies’ heads. His calm voice was laced with an anger that made both ponies think of a stormy sea.

“We want answers, fallen one,” the female added, her voice similarly telepathic, and carrying a similar, barely restrained fury.

Lucifer huffed. “An Old God’s loose, on the puppet strings of an interdimensional being of considerable power and being aided by a traitorous demon of a most dangerous variety.” Her eyes narrowed. “So, you have a stake in their souls.”

“What’s she talking about?” Daring hissed to Phillip.

He opened his mouth to speak, but felt a cold chill against his chest. Reaching into his vest, he pulled out his necklace, the carved pendant glowing softly in his hoof. Noticing that, Daring pulled out her own and found it reacting similarly.

Lucifer’s eyes lingered on the two of them for a moment, then downward with a brief thought, then back up at the entities. “You want to keep them safe, your chosen heroes. On that we can agree, it is nowhere near their time – so let me make an offer.”

“We are listening,” the female entity said.

“If they pledge their souls to me, I can promise their survival. You have my word,” Lucifer said, holding up one hand while pressing the other to the center of her chest.

A growl of thunder and a buffet of wind rocketed past the demon, but Lucifer stood unfazed. “Explain yourself,” the male demanded.

“Should they perish, their souls will be mine to do with as I please. All I would have to do is keep their souls from passing, heal their bodies, and restore their souls,” Lucifer explained calmly. “And once they’re restored, their souls will no longer be mine.”

“And should they not perish?” the female inquired, an eyebrow raised.

“Then as soon as Beelzebub is resealed in the Abyss and the Old God is detained back in her pit, I will relinquish all stake in their souls. No strings attached.” Lucifer looked between them. “You two are formidable, but even you can’t interfere with the afterlife. I can. I’m the best chance you have to keep them safe.”

The male hummed in thought, a crackle of thunder reverberating across the blank plain. He turned to the female, who gave a sigh like a soft gust of wind and nodded.

“Very well, Lucifer,” the male said. “But know that if you betray us, we will see to it that you are imprisoned with your damned for all eternity.”

Lucifer gave a soft sigh and nodded. “I accept these conditions,” she said. “I am a demon of my word. I will not fail you, or them.”

A soft smile, warm and welcoming crossed her face as she turned to Phillip and Daring, crouching down to their height and offering them her hand. “Pledge your souls to me, please. I will keep you safe,” she said softly.

Phillip and Daring looked between her and the two entities. The female gave a nod, smiling down at them.

“You may trust her, my children,” she said.

“Phil… is that…?” Daring asked.

Phillip swallowed. “I think so… but there’s something more pressing.” He turned to Lucifer. “I want to alter the deal.”

Lucifer frowned. “How’s that?”

“Promise to give those protections to our friends, should this all go south,” he said. “Can you do that?”

Lucifer’s crimson eyes glowed softly, and Phillip felt memories bristle against the back of his mind before they faded along with the glow. Her smile returned. “Done.”

Phillip turned to Daring, giving her a nod. She returned an uneasy smile. “Well, as long as we’re all covered by this insurance,” she said with a weak chuckle, looking at Lucifer. “So… how do you… pledge your soul to a demon?” Her snout scrunched up. “That does not sound right.”

“Simply say ‘I pledge my soul to Lucifer,’ and place your hooves in my hand,” Lucifer explained. “After that, leave it all to me.”

Phillip and Daring shared a look before nodding. “I pledge my soul to Lucifer,” they said in unison, setting their hooves into Lucifer’s palm.

Lucifer shut her eyes and bowed her head. “The pact is sealed. Your souls are mine,” she said quietly. “And I will keep you safe.”

Under the judging gazes of the two entities, the trio faded from the empty plane.

When Phillip and Daring opened their eyes again, they were back in the precinct’s lobby, and the creature in front of them was back in her pony form. Lucifer set her hoof down as Phillip and Daring looked around – no one seemed to have noticed anything.

“I appreciate you trusting me,” Lucifer said with a small smile. “Not many would.”

“You’ll be keeping your end of the bargain though, right?” Daring asked, frowning at her.

Lucifer nodded. “But of course. I’m mischievous, not evil,” she said, her smile reverting back to its usual smirk.

“Right. Were you able to find out Nightmare Moon’s location?” Phillip asked. “The sooner we take care of her, the better.”

“We believe we’ve found her. A cemetery in the western part of the city, cliché as it is. But there is something else you should know – Beelzebub took more souls from Tartarus than just Nightmare Moon.” Lucifer glanced down at Charlotte’s remains. “And given what the Mirror Twin is capable of already, we should be on our guard.”

“Who is this Mirror Twin anyway? You mentioned she was… interdimensional?” Daring asked.

“A demon of unspeakable power, with a proficiency for mental trickery and mechanical tinkering, and she’s no colleague of mine. If she were in this plain of existence, believe me we’d know about it. She must be relying on some of her puppets to do her dirty work,” Lucifer explained. “I’m still trying to parse out what she wants with Luna.”

“Lovely,” Daring huffed. Phillip just grunted.

“Justice and Judgement are with Luna now. I figured we should all march on Nightmare Moon together – strength in numbers and all. Are you two fit for fighting?” Lucifer asked, turning to the door.

“Ready as we’ll ever be,” Phillip grunted.

Everything hurt.

Every muscle in Beelzebub’s body burned. She had forgone flight shortly after fleeing in exchange for walking. Her breath came out in wheezes that made her sound like her chest was hollow. She tried to keep weight off her one forehoof as she went – it and the gash down her barrel were coated in a crimson amber to help expedite healing.

She wasn’t sure what she had expected entering the service of her liberator. A being that powerful was not one you just brushed off – and stealing souls from her former jailers had made it all the sweeter.

In hindsight it had been more than she could chew yet again. She’d expected Lucifer to follow after her – she hadn’t expected ponies with holy weapons, and no doubt holy protectors behind them.

She blinked her compound eyes, trying to get them to focus. Normal vision was difficult enough, but as she scanned buildings in the slumbering metropolis, the souls she saw inside took the shapes of multi-colored blobs.

Beelzebub knew she needed shelter, lest the ponies track her down and finish the job they had started in the police precinct. A building across the street with a blueish blob located on the first floor seemed like the best bet.

Stumbling over her sore legs, she crossed the street, winced as she raised her good hoof and put weight on the sore one, and knocked.

A white unicorn mare with a blue, flowing mane and tail and the cutie mark of a blue rose answered the door, eyebrows raised as the crimson changeling before her. “Can I help you?” she asked.

Beelzebub blinked at her. “If… If I could please… step in a moment and rest… please…” she panted. In her foggy mind, she wished she were acting.

The mare carefully eyed Beelzebub from horntip to hooves, eyes lingering on the encased wounds, before locking eyes with her. After a moment’s pause, the unicorn nodded and stepped aside. With a grateful smile, Beelzebub limped into the house, the mare’s eyes on her the entire way in and over to the couch.

“What’s your name?” the unicorn asked.

“Beel… what’s yours?” Beel shut her eyes, concentrating her willpower towards her wounds.

“Blue Rose. What happened to you?” Blue’s eyes darted between Beel’s battered form and a nearby telephone.

“A stupid fight for stupid reasons,” Beel said bitterly. It was as close to the truth as she was willing to admit. “I hope… I didn’t wake you…”

“I’m waiting up for my daughter,” Blue said briskly. “She should be home soon.”

Beel’s eyes opened, her mind clear enough for her to scan her environment. On a shelf across from her, she saw pictures of Blue Rose and a younger changeling and her gaze softened. “This late at night?”

Blue nodded. “She’s out with her friends.” Her gaze focused back on Beel. “So, Beel, you’re new to town. What brings you here?”

“Business,” Beel said, some of her bravado returning. “Though I’m beginning to think I’m the one getting the business – this fight I was in was a part of it.” She sighed. “Honestly, I think… I think I’ve made a mistake.”

“Ponies around here are still getting used to changelings. Might be best to come up with a disguise,” Blue replied. She and Beel turned to the sound of the door opening.

“Mom?” Ocellus asked as she shut the door behind her. She dropped her saddlebags by the door. “What are you doing up?”

“Waiting for you,” Blue said, walking over. “Did everything go alright?”

“Yeah. Sandbar was struggling with some of the ecology terms.” She smiled up at her, then it fell away as her eyes shifted to Beel. The crimson changeling flashed her a smile and a slight wave. “Who’s this?”

“Just a visitor, she just needed a moment to rest, she won’t be here long.” Blue shot Beel a frown past her daughter. “Better head up to bed.”

“Alright. Night mom!” Ocellus pecked her mom on the cheek and ran upstairs.

Beel smiled warmly after her, then looked to Blue. In her new changeling form, she could taste the honey-sweet love that wafted off the two. “You’re a good mother, Blue,” she said.

“I try. In this city, I have to be on my guard,” Blue replied, walking over to Beel. “Now, you can stay a little while longer, but if you need some love to help patch yourself up, there’s a brothel two blocks down the street.”

“Thank you very much for your hospitality,” Beel said with a nod. The love she had sampled was already added to her growing energy reserves – she felt the burns and cuts shrink, her muscles sighing with relief.

Blue nodded, heading into the kitchen. There soon came the sounds of water running and the quiet clatter of dishes and silverware, but Beel felt the burning gaze of maternal instinct every now and again as she curled up and lowered her head.

A soft buzzing filled her head, and she looked up to see a shadow on the far wall. It was difficult to make out due to its faintness, but it seemed vaguely triangular.

“How are you feeling?” a familiar voice asked in her head.

“Holy weapons weren’t a part of the deal.” Beel frowned.

“I thought you were the most dangerous kind of demon there was, dear Beelzebub.” The shadow flickered across the shelves as if regarding their contents. “So, is this why you couldn’t get me Queen Chrysalis’s soul? Hmm?”

Beel bit her lower lip, a tinge of panic at the back of her mind. “I was pressed for time, and you know it. Liberating an Old God was going to cause a stir and I had to be quick.”

“Well, I need you on your hooves. Lucifer and company have the Nightmare’s location. After what happened with Charlotte, I was able to disable the weakness in the… rogue’s gallery, but the Nightmare’s body still requires my power for total control.”

“So, what’s our next step?” Beel tilted her head.

“I need you to take out Phillip Finder and Daring Do. If they use their holy weapons on Nightmare Moon’s new body, I’ll lose all control of her – and that will spell disaster for this world as well. You don’t want that, do you?”

Beel growled softly as the shadow lingered over the picture of Blue Rose and Ocellus. “No, of course not.”

“The new plan is simple: Nightmare Moon will weaken Luna’s mind and I’ll force her to make a Tantabus for me, and for that I need to be in full control of the Nightmare. I need you and the rogue’s gallery to run interference – kill those two mortal detectives if you have to, but keep them away from Nightmare Moon!”

Beel nodded. “It will be done.”

“Then rise, Beelzebub. We have work to do.”

The shadow slunk away into the darkness of the living room. Beel’s eyes lingered on the spot for a moment more before giving a sigh and bowing her head.

The amber shattered around her forehoof and down her barrel, the burns and cuts no longer visible. A clicking growl sounded in her throat as she rose to her hooves, muscles ready for round two.

Her gaze softened on the pictures before Beelzebub turned and walked out the front door, wings buzzing as she took flight.

Blue stepped out of the kitchen at the sound of the front door closing. She looked around, frowned, and went to check on Ocellus.

Author's Note

Demons have soft spots, believe it or not. Justice, Judgement, and I love small, furry, talking animals – which is why we are so fond of these ponies. And honestly, kirin are just the best of the bunch. If someone could get that delightful Autumn Blaze to damn her soul for all eternity, I would make her my most treasured lap pet.

Beelzebub, as it turns out, has a soft spot for bugs, insects, and anything insectoid in nature – and that includes changelings. They’re not that bad to look at really, but not really meant for cuddling. To each their own, I suppose.

Who knows – maybe it will change some outcomes.

Part 6: Night of the Rebooted Dead

The Mist K. Tonic Cemetery covered several acres near the western edges of the city. A few suburban homes stood on the street leading to its tall, iron gates, now quiet and deserted as a distant bell chimed three in the morning.

Princess Luna stood at the lead, dressed in silvery armor that glittered in the moonlight from above. Flanking her on either side were a trio of royal guards in v-formation, strapped in full combat armor and brandishing weapons. Behind them trotted Phillip and Daring, each brandishing their holy weapons, and Lucifer and her demons.

Pale blue magic cast open the creaking gates, blatantly unlocked in anticipation of their arrival.

“The cemetery’s caretaker should be gone by now,” Luna said. “I shall march on Nightmare Moon myself, with my guards keeping whatever other abominations this Mirror Twin wishes to throw at me at bay.”

Lucifer nodded. “Judgement will go with you. It’ll be easier to send her back to the pit that way,” she said, looking at Phillip and Daring. “Justice and I will accompany you two in keeping her creations at bay to keep some weight off the guards. Hopefully, they’ll be as easy to dispatch as that suit in the precinct.”

“Hopefully,” Daring said, rolling her eyes.

“And you’ll have our backs, we have your word,” Phillip said, frowning at Lucifer.

“On my word.” Lucifer nodded. “Your death shall not come today, not on my watch.”

No one bore witness to the procession that stood at the hallowed grounds, save for a crimson figure on a house’s rooftop.

A chittering growl echoed in Beelzebub’s throat as she eyed up her targets. She had the element of surprise: a simple slice to their unarmored throats, and they would be dealt with. The mortals and the princess would be no match for the creations lurking inside – and the Nightmare deeper within.

Her eyes drifted to the cemetery, towards the Nightmare whose soul was a raging indigo speck within one of the mausoleums. It had occurred to her: what was the Old God’s fate once her employer got her way?

A familiar portrait of a changeling and her daughter flashed through her mind.

Growling, Beelzebub’s wings buzzed. As her eyes turned back to the group, Luna was already stepping through the gates with her guards and Judgement, leaving the other demons and the detectives exposed before they could enter. Now was her chance.

And so she made her choice.

She launched from the roof in a crimson blur, forehooves extended to pounce upon her intended prey.

Justice’s head turned to her as she plowed into her side like a freight train, sending the former High Prosecutor bouncing across the pavement and dislodging her draped coat and sunglasses.

“Justice!” Lucifer shouted, horn burning with crimson flames.

“Go!” Justice called, growling like an animal as she rolled to her hooves. “I got her!”

Phillip and Daring moved to the cemetery entrance, but their attention remained on Justice as her growling grew louder and louder.

They watched as crimson magic slowly did three things simultaneously. First, Justice’s curved horn disintegrated slowly in a crimson glow, only to be replaced by two more, one on either side of her head. Second, a pair of thick, leathery wings, more like a dragon’s than a bat’s, materialized on her back. Third, her tail hairs seemed to spiral together as if being spun like string, forming a long, thin black tail with a spade-like tip.

“Let’s go,” Phillip barked at Lucifer, running into the cemetery with Daring.

Lucifer cast one last look at Justice before running inside herself.

“Time for a rematch,” Beelzebub seethed, allowing hate to cloud her mind with thoughts of revenge. She hoped it would be convincing enough for her employer.

“Bring it, they don’t call me the ‘Flybreaker’ for nothing,” Justice growled, bearing now sharpened teeth. She drew one of her pistols and opened fire.

In a burst of crimson magic, an elytra-like shield formed in Beelzebub’s forehoof. She charged forward, letting the bullets ping off of the conjured shield as she lifted into the air. In another burst of magic, a sword vaguely resembling that of a Hercules beetle’s horn appeared in her other forehoof – and she brought it down on Justice’s head.

Justice ducked to the side, a breeze kissing her cheek, and she brought her gun up to fire at Beel at point blank range.

She was able to get one shot to graze chitin before the shield blocked the rest of her shots. Tossing the emptied gun aside, Justice ducked under a slashing blow and drew her other pistol.

Justice raised it to fire, only for a sweeping blow from the blade to send it flying off into the night. She just barely gripped the blade in her forehooves as it was brought down on her, demon strength meeting demon strength as Beel tried to force her to the ground.

“I’ve had a long time to think of how I’d exact my revenge on you, Justice,” Beelzebub snarled, a delighted grin on her face. “And oh, it will be sweet.”

“Too bad you’ll have to settle for disappointment,” Justice replied with a smirk.

Using a flap from her wings to give her some momentum, Justice kicked the blade at its guard, knocking it from Beel’s grasp. A swipe from the end of Justice’s tail smacked Beel across the face, enough of a distraction for Justice to grip the shield by its edges once upright. With another flap of her wings, she picked both shield and shield bearer up and slammed them to the ground.

She rolled to her hooves backwards as the changeling demon got to her hooves, holding up a forehoof to swat away the falling sword. Her horns ignited a brilliant red as she got into a fighting stance, one padded glove with the “HPJ” label facing Beelzebub.

Beel chuckled darkly, tossing aside the shield. Both it and the discarded sword vanished in bursts of crimson magic, replaced by a pair of scythes, styled like mantis forearms, in her forehooves.

“I’m going to shred you to ribbons!” Beelzebub shouted, charging forward.

“Less talking, more action,” Justice replied, smirking.

The first slice—angled towards Justice’s throat—was brushed aside by a parry, the opening filled with a jab to Beelzebub’s muzzle. What followed a similar dance as Justice maneuvered around or brushed aside hacks and slashes from Beel’s scythes, jabbing whenever an opening made itself available. All the while, her horns burned red.

With a final snarl, the battered Beelzebub slashed downward with both scythes. Justice stood on both hind legs, gripping Beel’s forehooves and stopping the scythes inches from her pale eyes.

Beel’s eyes flickered to Justice’s horns briefly before locking eyes with sightless ones. “Wasting magic?” she panted with a breathless chuckle. “You’re losing your touch, former High Prosecutor.”

“Oh, I don’t think so.” Justice smirk grew into a grin as a burst of light flashed from her horns.

Underneath their hooves, the magic Justice had been laying down glowed into existence – their hoof-to-scythe skirmish had formed a loose pentagram on the ground. Beel’s eyes widened with shock and horror.

“NO!” she roared as Justice forced her down, fighting against scrabbling limbs and flailing wings. Beel sunk through the pavement as if it were quicksand.

Justice cast one last look, and a soft smile, towards the cemetery.

“Go get ‘em, Lucy,” she said quietly.

With one last effort, she forced Beelzebub back into the pits of Hell, vanishing along with her. The pentagram flickered away seconds later, and Justice’s discarded items vanished away in crimson flashes.

The cemetery consisted of several intersecting cobblestone paths, sectioning off large swaths of graves, statues, and mausoleums. The scant trees throughout the grounds each had a stone bench under them.

“She’s dead ahead,” Judgement growled, glowing white eyes locked down the central path. “Should be in that mausoleum there.”

Just as she pointed it out, there came the crack of a rifle and an exclamation from one of the guards. Two others rushed to his side, brandishing their assault rifles. The rest took cover behind some of the tombstones, along with Phillip and Daring. Luna, Judgement, and Lucifer stood out in the open.

“That would be our welcoming committee,” Lucifer said bitterly. “Go on ahead with her, Judgement. We’ll dispatch them.”

Phillip eyed the guard who’d been hit, noting the bullet had glanced off his body armor rather than go through – the exclamation had been from surprise more than anything. The crumpled slug lay on the cobbled ground.

To his trained eye, it seemed to be a slug from a hunting rifle.

That’s when he heard the singing.

“O-Oh death… whoa-oh death… won’t you spare me over til another year?”

“The Poacher,” Daring and Phil said at the same time, looking at one another as the familiar voice rang over the cemetery.

“Let’s go,” Judgement hissed, crouching low as she and Luna pressed forward. Cautiously and with a sweep of their guns around the premises, the guards all followed after them.

Daring and Phil produced smoke bombs, tossing them over their tombstone cover and letting them detonate among the rows and rows of stone monuments. Crouching low and with weapons in hoof, they snuck between the graves.

Lucifer huffed. “Enough games.” In a flash of crimson magic, she transformed in a similar manner to Justice, flapping her wings and taking flight. She spotted her target behind a nearby tree: a stallion with a reddish-brown coat and dark green hair with a thin beard.

“They’re all her machines!” she called to Phillip and Daring. “Don’t hold back on them!”

“Wasn’t planning on it!” Daring called back.

The dead hitpony brought about his gun to fire on Lucifer, only for Phillip to spring up on him first with a swing of his club, catching the Poacher in the center of his chest. A roar of thunder accompanied the blow.

The Poacher’s rifle went flying into the night, and he into a nearby statue with a grunt. Phillip watched him carefully, then his eyes widened as the Poacher got to his hooves.

He looked like the Poacher – as he had died. His eyes seemed pale and lifeless, and the thick gash was across his throat, caked with dried blood. But he was very much alive and moving, now brandishing a large hunting knife.

“Not going to work on me, detective,” the Poacher sneered.

“Phil!” Daring leaped over a tombstone to assist – only to stop short of a jet of flame that would have immolated her. It left a blackened line of singed grass in front of her, as if daring her to cross it.

A hacking, wheezing laugh accompanied a female earth pony as she stepped into view, struggling to adjust for the weight of the fuel tanks on her back. The Scorcher’s head still resembled a skull, yellowed teeth bared at the detective. Her turnout coat still had bloodstains on it, but there were new holes and burn marks. Pieces of scorched wood stuck from her collar.

She levelled her gauntlets at Daring, a soft blue flame licking at the end of each. “I’ll roast you first, then that bastard Finder. He’s going to pay for what he did to me!” she snarled, licking her dry lips.

“Oh, go burn in Hell!”

The Scorcher looked up, raising her gauntlets at the swooping demon approaching her. Streams of orange flame shot outward – a futile attempt. Lucifer inhaled before shooting out her own jet of flames from her mouth like a dragon, blood red in color.

It dwarfed Charcoal’s attempt at flamethrowers and completely engulfed the Scorcher, whose howls of pain were promptly cut off as her shadowy form disintegrated in the epicenter of the inferno.

Daring shielded her eyes before something pulled her backwards. A roar and a wave of heat washed over her as the Scorcher’s fuel tank erupted. As Daring lowered her forehooves, she saw the only remnants of the Scorcher was a blackened, smoldering stain.

She glanced upward to find Lucifer carrying her back to the path. “Thanks, that was a close one,” she said, slipping from Lucifer’s grasp and taking to the air.

Lucifer nodded. “Don’t mention it, but we need to be on our guard. There are others out—”

A piercing screech erupted from above them and a large, dark blob slammed into Lucifer, sending her crashing to the ground. Daring caught the glint of something shiny and had the wherewithal to flap out of harm’s way as a blade’s slash whistled past her.

The shadowy form of a black griffon filled her vision as a disguised metal skull met hers, sending her towards the ground in a daze. A quick flap of her wings prevented her from suffering the same fate as Lucifer, her vision swimming as the shadowy form shot towards her.

Phillip, meanwhile, had one foreleg around the Poacher’s neck, plunging the swiped blade into the faux pony’s chest and gut – sparks erupted from each wound as if they were gushes of blood. As the Poacher finally went limp, Phillip’s eyes raised to the skies.

Roaring screeched as he angled his blades towards the stunned Daring. His midsection was stapled together haphazardly, dried blood caking the thorough wound like glue.

“Daring! Watch out!” he cried.

Lucifer, meanwhile, snarled. As she picked herself up off the ground, her red eyes glowed as she glowered. “Oh, you are going to suffer when I cram you back in Hell!” she hissed, raising her head up and spitting out a single crimson fireball.

Roaring had caught up to Daring, two sabers at the ready to make mincemeat out of her. Lucifer’s fireballs melted the left talon completely, with Roaring let out a startled screech at the sudden loss.

With a mighty flap and a buffet of wind, Lucifer took flight again. Her barbed tail curled around the falling blade’s handle, just as Daring shook off her daze. With grit teeth, she snapped her whip, wrapping it around the griffon’s neck.

A lightning bolt rained down from the heavens, charging the whip’s coil with dancing white electricity. With a weak squawk, Roaring plummeted to the ground, the whip fortunately loosening before his bulk dragged Daring with him.

He crashed to the ground in front of Phillip. The faux griffon made a feeble attempt to get up, but the harsh landing of hoofs and a quiet metal shink stopped him in his tracks. Lucifer, standing next to him, glanced coldly over her shoulder at him as his head fell off and his body went limp.

“Thanks,” Daring huffed.

“There’s at least two more,” Lucifer replied, her eyes scanning the tombstones. Her eyes widened and she dropped the sword held in her tail in favor of grabbing Phillip around his midsection with the appendage.

She yanked him out of the way as a screeching white mass of griffon shot past where he had been standing. Whitestone landed, sliding to a halt as she turned to face them. Bleeding stab wounds covered her chest, her eyes still tainted red.

“You’re gonna pay!” she shouted, charging forward with a flap of her wings, talons at the ready.

Lucifer grabbed the blade Phillip still held and threw it at her. It embedded itself into the griffon’s shoulder, but it didn’t slow her down. With a growl, Lucifer nearly bowled over Phillip and Daring as she launched herself at the pirate.

Whitestone’s eyes widened at the sudden bravery, but she didn’t get the chance to understand it. Lucifer reached out with her forehooves, slamming into the griffon’s shoulder and driving the knife in past the hilt. The impact countered the strength of Whitestone’s charge, with the demon pushing the griffon back along the cobbled pathway.

As they ground to a halt, Whitestone looked up at time to see blood red fire leaking out of Lucifer’s mouth. She barely had the chance to lift a talon as the full fury of Lucifer’s hellfire engulfed her head, burning it away in seconds.

Lucifer blew out a puff of smoke as she got off the machine’s corpse, dusting off her suit. “Alright!” she called into the cemetery. “You’re outnumbered! Let’s make this easier for all of us!”

She walked over to Phillip and Daring, and they all turned to a familiar snicker.

A pony with a light blue coat and silvery, almost gossamer-like hair stepped from behind a statue. Pale bluish-grey eyes, filled with anger and hate, rested behind a pair of gold-rimmed glasses. And even in a place like this, he was wearing a black suit and tie.

“Silvertongue,” Phillip grunted.

“Old acquaintance of yours?” Lucifer asked with an arched eyebrow.

“Hardly.” Daring’s voice dripped with venom. “Of course she’d bring you back.”

“And it looks like it’s the best for last,” Silvertongue mused. He flicked out one foreleg, producing a butterfly knife. “She’s given me so many interesting toys to kill you with.”

Daring grinned, snapping her whip at Silvertongue. His eyes widened as it curled around his neck – but no lightning appeared to strike him.

Instead, Daring took to the air, dragging Silvertongue with her. He gasped and tried to cut at the whip, but his first attempt at a hack caused a spark to shock the knife from his hoof. Daring began twirling the whip in a circle, parallel to the ground.

“Batter up, Phil!” she called.

Phillip smirked, gripping his waddy club like a baseball bat.

“Ooh, clever girl,” Lucifer said with a bemused smile.

Daring, with a grunt of effort, swung the whip at Phillip. It unwound around Silvertongue’s neck, sending him hurtling towards Phillip like a lopsided ball towards home.

Phillip put his back into the swing, relishing the surprised look in Silvertongue’s eyes a second time as the club connected with his midsection. A clap of thunder reverberated like a sonic boom, and the light blue blur that had been Charlie Silvertongue slammed into a tree at terminal velocity, breaking his new body in two at the waist.

“Homerun,” Lucifer remarked. “Needed to get that out of your systems?”

“You have no idea,” Daring huffed as she touched down next to Phillip.

“We should check on Luna and Judgement and see if they need any help. That should take care of the minions.” Lucifer glanced around the cemetery.

Daring and Phillip nodded, rushing with the demon towards the mausoleum.

As the fights began behind them, Luna, Judgement, and the former’s guards ran down the central path of the cemetery. The guards paused to do sweeps of the cemetery yard before falling back into line.

The mausoleum in question towered over them. Gargoyles guarded the four corners of the exterior, snarling down at anyone passing by. The front door was heavy iron, untarnished by time, with no evident way to open it.

“Guard the perimeter,” Luna said to the guards, her horn flaring with pale blue magic.

The guards each gave a salute, taking up positions with their rifles around the outside of the mausoleum. Judgement cracked her neck from side to side as Luna’s magic gripped the heavy iron door. It didn’t take much for it to give.

It roared more than it creaked open. A faint humming noise began to sound from the shadowy depths of the crypt. Luna’s horn lit brighter, illuminating the inside of the mausoleum as she and Judgement peered inside.

On a slightly raised platform stood a black, pony-like figure. It had a smooth, sharp horn and curved back wings, but seemed to lack a mane, tail, or any identifying features. Where the eyes should have been, the material of the body differed, as if it were made of glass.

“So, this is where thou lie, Nightmare Moon,” Luna said, her magic charging to strike. “Not for long!”

The humming grew louder, coming from within the pony’s chest. Pale blue eyes with slit pupils ignited on the blank pony, looking about before finally locking in on Luna and narrowing. A slight pink ring formed around the pale blue pupils, and the thing’s horn crackled to life with pale blue magic.

“Luna, look out—” Judgement’s warning came too late.

A wave of pale blue and pink magic rocketed past Luna, opening a swirling vortex. Luna had no sooner comprehended it than the machine had charged her, grabbing hold of her in a tackle. Luna tried to struggle against the metal grip, and by the time she had thought to teleport, she was through the portal.

“Luna!” Judgement leapt into the portal after her, just as it snapped shut. The guards who raced over found nothing but eddies of pale blue magic evaporating away.

Phillip, Daring, and Lucifer raced over a moment later, looking around for any sign of Luna and Judgement.

“Where the hell did they go?” Phil snapped.

Luna’s eyes slowly blinked open and she got to her hooves. Slowly, she took stock of her surroundings.

She was in a never-ending plain. Knee-high pale blue grass grew everywhere across the rolling hills. Above, stars, nebulae, and her distant celestial body in all of its full glory. The dreamscape’s most central plane.

Then a shadow appeared on the moon’s surface, almost looking like the side profile of a unicorn’s head. Luna’s eyes widened as she realized the shadowy substance was bleeding off of the moon and quickly rocketing towards her.

It slowly took shape as it approached. Reptilian wings spread from its side, and a vaguely pony-like form took shape between them. A nebulous mane and tail, not unlike her own, formed next, followed by a trio of glowing green eyes. Soon, the nightmarish entity was close enough for Luna to see it licking at its lips with a forked, serpentine tongue.

Luna raised a shield made of pale blue magic and took flight to charge the creature – Nightmare Moon in her most corporeal form.

The Old God melted into shadows around the barrier and reformed behind her. Before Luna could turn to shield herself, a beam of pale blue magic blasted her in the back of the head. She let out a cry, not of physical pain but mental anguish as nightmares flooded her mind. The very things she squashed and beat back every night assaulted her senses.

Her barrier flickered out and her wings went limp, causing her to plummet to the grassy field below.

“Yes, ancient one. We’ve worn her down, now don’t let up!” A distant voice rumbled from some rolling storm clouds in the distance, flashing with pink lightning within. “Her mind must be at its most vulnerable.”

With a sneering grin, the Nightmare touched down near Luna. Just as the alicorn was getting to her hooves, the Old God fired off another volley of nightmares into her skull. Monsters and terrors of unholy forms flashed before her mind. Luna grunted as she struggled to shield herself from the mental onslaught.

There was a sudden crackling roar as a jet of swirling white flames sliced in front of Nightmare Moon, creating a wall of fire between her and Luna. The Nightmare hissed, looking skyward, eyes narrowing at the sight of her jailor.

Judgement’s wings dwarfed her body, and her blackened horns curved outward and then inward. Her entire demeanor seemed more draconic than equine, right down to the baleful glare she leveled at the Old God.

“Not today!” she roared. “Back in your cage!”

Nightmare Moon roared back, her shadowy form taking to the sky to charge the High Prosecutor. Judgement’s horns flared with more white flames and she tucked her wings to dive at the Old God, the flames swirling around her like a comet.

The impact resounded like a cannon shot, with white flames engulfing the shadowy Nightmare as Judgement drove her to the ground. She shook off blasts of dark magic and the horrors it conjured up, long enough to plow Nightmare Moon into the ground.

Judgement flapped back over to Luna, who was still shaking off lingering nightmares and putting a proper barrier in place. “Are you alright?” she asked the alicorn.

“I will be better when the Old God is back in the pits of Tartarus,” Luna grunted back, horn flickering with magic.

Judgement nodded in agreement, looking around. “Where are we?”

“The dreamscape, the domain of dreams and nightmares – and it would seem Nightmare Moon’s liberator is indeed set on my mental degradation.” Luna narrowed her eyes towards the rolling storm clouds.

“Can you make a portal out of here and to the real world?” Judgement asked, eyes falling on the white flames she had left the Nightmare in.

“I’m not letting that thing out of here, or into anypony else’s mind,” Luna said firmly. “If this is where my last stand is to be, so be it.”

“I can take her back to the pit myself, but I’ll need a portal out of here,” Judgement said. She turned to Luna with a serious frown. “You can count on me.”

Luna scowled, studying Judgement for a moment before giving a curt nod. “Very well. Just give me a signal.”

There was a howling roar – Judgement turned in time for the Nightmare to plow into her, sending them both tumbling across the plain. Judgement hissed and snarled as the nightmares oppressed anew, and finally on one spin kicked Nightmare Moon off of her and into the air.

The Old God only had a moment to right herself before she fled from another scorching beam of white fire. In bursts of pale blue magic, stony hands appeared from the ground and attempted to grasp the Nightmare to no avail – they were either squirmed out of or obliterated.

With a mighty flap of her wings, Judgement rocketed into the air after Nightmare Moon, extending her forehooves. From her gauntlets extended metal claws, which she angled at the Nightmare’s chest.

The shadowy form bobbed and weaved around the demon’s slashing attempts, and likewise Judgement pulled her head out of the way of the Nightmare’s attempts to ravage her mind.

Luna shut her eyes, digging her hooves into the dreamscape’s soil and digging into its very essence. The light of her horn grew brighter and brighter as she channeled the energy through her, before opening her eyes and casting forth her magic.

Nightmare Moon ducked away from one particularly savage slash, and was about to dodge another when pale blue magic encapsulated her entire form. The shadowy mass pulsed and writhed against the grip of magic, struggling to break it.

Judgement took the opportunity to plunge both claws into the Nightmare’s chest.

“NO!” Nightmare Moon roared, as white hot fire built up in Judgement’s mouth. Her gaze, one of abject horror, turned to Judgement – and her opening maw was the last thing Nightmare Moon’s new body saw.

A crackling blast of white fire obliterated the machine’s head under the nightmarish illusion of eldritch life. Faint, pink magic vainly tried to regenerate the lost head as the illusion flickered out, as it had for Charlotte, but more white fire fought it back.

“NOW!” Judgement called, diving to the ground, firmly gripping the burning, headless body.

Luna panted as she cast open a portal – it was too quick and too much of a strain to think of a specific destination, so she chose the graveyard.

Judgement blasted a beam of white fire through the portal, etching a glowing pentagram onto the cobblestone beyond, and vanished through the portal.

The gathered ponies and demon by the mausoleum stepped back when a swirling, pale blue vortex opened in the sky over the path leading up to the mausoleum. The guards raised their guns, and Phillip and Daring raised their weapons.

There came a whistling, screeching noise, like a bomb falling. A jet of white fire blasted from the portal – which was parallel with the ground and only five feet above it – igniting a glowing pentagram on the cobblestones.

A fiery blur shot out of the portal next, a tangle of black bodies and white flames. It disappeared as soon as it appeared, rocketing through the pentagram and ground as if the latter didn’t exist. The pentagram flashed one before fading away shortly after.

If one had listened closely, they could’ve heard a dire soul screeching “No!” the entirety of its descent.

Luna flapped through a second later, the portal closing after her. Her guards raced to check on her, especially at her stumbling landing, but she brushed them off.

“Your highness!” Phillip called. “Where’s Nightmare Moon?” He and Daring raced over next, followed closely by Lucifer.

“Back in the pits where she belongs,” Luna said, flashing a tired smile. Her eyes fell upon Lucifer. “Thank you, Lucifer. You and your demons have righted the balance of things.”

Lucifer breathed a sigh of relief. “Don’t mention it, and let us all pray that it doesn’t happen again,” she huffed. There were a murmur of agreements among the group.

“I’ll just be glad to get home and be done with this crazy, eldritch shit,” Daring sighed. “I need several drinks after tonight.”

“Seconded,” Phillip grunted.

“Rest easy, detectives – Nightmare Moon shall trouble you no more,” Luna said, nodding to them.

Nodding to the princess, Phillip and Daring turned to Lucifer, who flashed them a small smile.

“So,” she said. “Let’s not meet like this again, shall we?”

“Definitely,” Daring chuckled.

“Thank you for your help,” Phil said. “I trust our souls will be returned to us soon?”

Lucifer nodded. “Indeed.”

There was a flash of pink beneath Daring and Phillip’s hooves. They looked down in time to see a swirling pink vortex, vaguely triangular in shape.

“Oh shit—!” Daring was cut off as they fell through.

“No!” Lucifer leapt forward, hooves extended for them to grab.

And only swiped at empty air as they vanished through the portal, which snapped shut right behind them.

“Where did they go?” Luna demanded, racing over.

Lucifer’s eyes were wide in shock, fixated where the portal had been. “The Mirror Twin…” she muttered.

Author's Note

Oh damn it all. I thought we were done here.

And after such an extensive series of fights too. But hey, that’s why Justice is known as the “Awesome Demon.” And why Judgement is the High Prosecutor. Not to mention yours truly – I fancy myself quite the hellfire pyromancer.

And yes, the cemetery's name is a Lovecraft pun.

Part 7: eyE enO tsuJ htiW tsaeB ehT raeF

Phillip and Daring crashed into a solid stone floor, despite Daring’s attempts to slow herself down or right herself with the flapping of her wings. The fall, fortunately, felt like it had only been two feet – far shorter than the mile they seemed to have fallen.

“Ugh… Phil?” she asked, sitting up.

Phillip grunted, slowly getting to his hooves. “Where the hell are we?” he asked.

“I’m hoping it’s not there, actually,” Daring replied, dusting herself off. She examined their surroundings as she got to her hooves.

They were on a stone island in the middle of a starry void. Pink nebulas and cosmic clouds swirled around them and stars twinkled off in the distance. Other than their landing pad, there didn’t seem to be anything else occupying the void.

“Don’t tell me it’s another dimension,” Daring huffed.

Phillip nodded, then their eyes widened and met.

“Interdimensional,” she muttered.

“And last thing I saw was pink fire,” Phillip added. “Are we—”

“On my home turf? Why yes, yes you are!”

The ground underneath their hooves shook. The source soon made itself clear – a towering, golden pyramid rose in front of their island from below. It was the size of the mountain, and had a brickwork-like pattern halfway up from its base- but strangely enough it seemed completely two-dimensional.

Then a large eye opened on the blank portion of the pyramid – a great white ovular orb with a slanted, black pupil. It slowly focused down on the two detectives.

“You’re the Mirror Twin, aren’t you?” Daring called. “Why’d you bring us here?”

The pyramid laughed – a dark, echoing sound the resonated in the ponies’ minds. The glow of the pyramid seemed to flicker in time to the noise.

“You’ve destroyed my precious dolls, dispatched my underlings, and foiled a rather masterful plan. You’re the detectives here – what do you think?”

“You’re… here to let us go?” Daring grinned sheepishly with a shrug. Phillip nudged her in the shoulder and shook his head. “What? It was worth a shot.”

“Adorable. So, the Phillip Finder and the Daring Do. Such an honor to have you in my sanctum. Permit me to introduce myself formally…”

There was a snapping sound, and both ponies had to blink as the space around the pyramid warped and bent. It shrunk down before their very eyes, until it was roughly a foot tall and floating closer to them.

It had also grown extra accessories – a pair of thin black arms protruded from either slanted side, and a pair of equally thin black legs dangled from the base. A black bow was now proudly displayed on the brickwork, and a short, fat top hat floated above the pyramid’s tip. Curly eyelashes now adorned her eyes.

“Doll R. Cipher, at your disservice,” the pyramid said with a tip of the hat. Her voice, prim and proper, resonated outward like normal speech now – her glow still flickered with her speech. “Or Doll Reverse Cipher, if you prefer the full name.”

“I prefer you smashed!” Daring lunged forward, throwing a punch at the pint-sized pyramid – only to find herself drift off the ground. She floated through the air, struggling to move or use her wings to no avail.

“Yes, gravity’s a little off here. That’s how I like it,” Doll said with a chuckle. “Now, at the matter at hand—er, hoof, for you, I suppose—I believe some retribution on my part is in order.”

“Retribution this!” Daring snapped, pulling out her whip and cracking it at the triangle.

Doll flinched back as the tip of the whip’s lash licked her form, just to the left of her eye, leaving a glowing white gash. Doll shrieked.

“Oh, the pain! It’s so terrible! Ah! You wound me so!” she exclaimed, flailing her arms as her eye gazed skyward.

Daring’s smirk was replaced with a scowl when the triangle broke off into a fit of dark giggles. With a wave of a finger, Doll’s slash sealed back up.

“Silly little pony,” Doll said, a dark tone falling over her voice as she glared into Daring’s eyes. “That’s not going to work here. This is my domain – and no spirits will be saving you.”

“Why were you after Princess Luna?” Phillip shouted.

“Oh, that.” Doll huffed. “I had wanted her to make me a Tantabus – by force if necessary. A magical construct of infinite energy and endless nightmares. One that wasn’t tainted by her control yet – and only she could make it for me.”

“So what? You went after all those ponies for some construct?” Daring asked, slowly floating upside down.

“Technically, the Nightmare did. I just guided her demented magic,” Doll said with a chuckle.

“That’s enough!” Phillip barked. He ran forward and kicked off from the island, struggling to get momentum as he held up his club.

“You’re right, that is enough,” Doll mused as he slowed down in mid-ascent, fighting to push himself further. “Enough playing games – I’m here to see you die.”

Doll snapped her fingers and stone walls emerged between her and Phillip and Daring. Their stone island expanded out into a round, arena floor. Gravity shifted, and they fell back to the ground.

The two ponies found themselves in the epicenter of a great coliseum, with rows and rows of empty stands looking down upon them. Atop a grand podium, Doll Cipher floated down into a stone throne.

“I understand the demons did most of the heavy lifting, but I can’t very well kill them – their souls will just go to Hell and regenerate. You two on the other hoof, are very executable. And I can’t think of no better executioners than yourselves!” Doll cackled.

“If you think we’re fighting each another, you’re insane!” Daring snapped up at her.

“Sure I am, what’s your point?” Doll giggled, holding a hand aloft. A bright pink ball of fire appeared, casting its light down on the two ponies. “But no, not just yourselves, your darkest selves. The ones you do your best to suppress.”

Daring and Phillip’s shadow expanded outward, crimson eyes igniting where their eyes should be. The two ponies turned to find their shadowy reflections crawling off of the ground. Shadow Phillip held his own version of Phillip’s waddy club, and likewise Shadow Daring cracked her own whip experimentally.

“Let the games begin!” Doll called, snapping her flaming fingers again.

Phillip and Daring braced against their respective shadows, and their doppelgangers mimicked their form.

Then the shadows charged – and crossed paths.

Daring flapped away as Shadow Phillip charged in, swinging madly with his club. Phillip, similarly backed away from Shadow Daring’s cracking whip, only for smoke bombs to erupt in his face.

He backed away, hacking and coughing as Shadow Daring slid in and kicked him between his hind legs. Phillip tucked and rolled, trying to suppress the pain.

“Hey! Hooves off the goods!” Daring called, ducking away from a savage blow from Shadow Phillip’s club that cracked the stone floor. She rolled towards him and kicked him in the side, but it hardly seemed to faze him. Another swing sent her backing away.

“Daring!” Phillip wheezed, blocking a crack of the whip with his club. The tip of the whip wrapped around the club, and Shadow Daring attempted to pull it from his steely grip.

“Little busy!” Daring called, jabbing at Shadow Phillip’s chest. He swatted her aside with a sweep of his foreleg.

“These weapons, what are they used for?” Phillip called, pulling against Shadow Daring’s tugs and yanks.

“Kicking ass?” Daring called back. Then her eyes widened. “Oh, right.”

On her throne, Doll leaned forward with a glare, gripping the thrones armrests tight enough to crack them. “No.” she hissed.

Phillip charged forward, allowing Shadow Daring to pull him in somewhat, and swung the club at her midsection.

At the same time, Daring rolled to her hooves and cracked her whip at Shadow Phillip.

Thunder and lightning roared and crackled against the shadowy enemies. Their crimson eyes widened as they detonated in explosions of pink fire.

“NO!” Doll roared, her yellow body turning red. “NO, NO, NO! You’re supposed to DIE!”

“Not today, Cipher,” Daring panted, leveling her whip up at her. “Your magic is demonic – these weapons can cancel it out.”

Doll’s eye narrowed thoughtfully. “Yes,” she said slowly. “You’re quite right…”

She snapped her fingers again, and the coliseum reverted to Daring and Phillip’s original island in a flash of pink flames – but the void was gone.

All around them were black skies and dark clouds. Harsh, chilling winds buffeted downwards, forcing Phillip and Daring against the island from the force of gravity. The pair looked up, eyes widening in horror.

The entirety of the city of Ponyville was racing towards them – or perhaps at this angle, they were racing towards it.

“Which means I’ll need more earthly means of dispatching you,” Doll said smugly in their minds, having stayed behind in her realm. “Bon voyage, detectives.”

Daring grabbed Phillip and spread her wings, trying to catch the air, but it was like struggling against a great elephant sitting on her chest. All she could do was strain her wings as death rushed towards them.

Husband and wife locked eyes, reading the same message in each other’s faces. Then, without a word, they embraced tightly and closed their eyes, taking one last comfort in each other’s touch.

Doll Cipher watched Phillip and Daring’s island fall to the earth and slam pony-first into the center of Ponyville through a triangular portal peeking into their world.

“Oh well, back to the drawing board,” the dream demon mused.

With a snap of her fingers, she sent what remained of Phillip Finder and Daring Do back to Mist K. Tonic Cemetery where they had departed, and shut the viewing portal.

Insane as she might be, she wasn’t entirely heartless after all.

The crackling of fires and wails of screams off into the distance roused Daring from an eternal slumber. She got to her hooves, blinking groggily at the expanse of crimson stone underneath her.

Her eyes widened as they looked next to her and seeing Phillip laying there. “Phil!” she exclaimed, shocking herself with how faint her voice was.

Phillip grunted, blinking awake. Daring’s eyes were wide as how he looked – semi-transparent and ever so lightly tinted white around the edges. She looked down at her own hooves and noticed they were similar.

“Daring?” Phillip asked. “Where… where are we?”

They looked around, and their transparent stomachs sunk. The great cavernous expanse around them was blood red, with stalactites hanging down at them like giant fangs. The crackling of fire and wailing screams became more pronounced.

Strangely enough, there was a great, black, wooden desk in front of them. Seated behind it was a bipedal creature, much like Lucifer had been in that white void. Her white hair was tied back into a ponytail, and she sported a pair of round glasses, as well as an ID on a lanyard around her neck. Her horns were short and black, barely poking through her curly hair.

A plaque on the desk announced her as “Pandemonica.”

“Welcome to Hell’s Customer Service,” she said in a tired voice – she had a drowsy demeanor overall. “Name’s Pandemonica. How may I serve you today?”

“What are we doing down here?” Daring demanded, flying forward to peer over the desk – but with its height, she barely got her forehooves on top of it.

Pandemonica sighed, pulling out a thick black book bound in leather. “Names?”

“Phillip Finder and Daring Do.” Phillip peered over as well, but he could hardly reach either.

Pandemonica flipped through the pages until she stopped. “Phillip Finder and Daring Do. You are deceased, and have not been put through to Soul Processing at the request of Lucifer herself.”

“What’s that mean?” Daring asked.

“It means she is still using your soul for something, and will not let you pass on until she is done,” Pandemonica patiently explained.

Daring and Phillip looked at each other. “You think… with the soul pledging?” Daring asked quietly, swallowing.

Phillip frowned, turning to Pandemonica. “Why are we down here though? Because we made a deal with Lucifer?”

“No, all souls go down before they go up, no matter if they’re buried, burned, or drowned. They’re punished based on the extent of their sins and then released – or not, if their sin is too great,” Pandemonica patiently explained. “Though if you’ve been held back by Lucifer, it means she’s invested in your souls, whatever the case may be.”

There was the sound of a burst of fire behind them. Daring and Phillip turned to see Lucifer standing there, once again in her bipedal form and panting. “Oh thank the holy ones above,” she said, walking over to them.

“Why are we here, Lucifer? You said you’d send us back!” Daring demanded.

“If I sent your souls back to the bodies you left behind, you’d die all over again. Painfully,” Lucifer said with a frown. She reached out and set a hand on each of their shoulders, which they winced at. “They’re being healed as we speak, I assure you.”

“My children.”

A rumble of thunder sounded behind Lucifer. The trio turned to see the striped beings made of clouds once again, now closer to the ponies’ sizes. They walked over to Lucifer as she rose to meet them. Angkakert and Awely-Awely looked up to her.

“I have not forgotten my word,” Lucifer said firmly, with a slight panic in her voice. “Healing takes time, even for our resident angel.”

Awely-Awely raised a hoof. “Be at peace, Lucifer. We know. We thank you for saving our children before their song ended at its natural conclusion.”

Lucifer nodded. “It is indeed not their time. Besides, they’re good for business.” She flashed a smile down at the two ponies, before turning her attention back to the wandjina. “Beelzebub is being detained for the time being until I can make the Abyssal portal – Judgement is resealing the Old God. All’s well that ends well.”

“But we didn’t stop that Doll Cipher,” Daring protested.

Lucifer sighed. “Doll Cipher is a dream demon, one of two in the known dimensions. And they’re far harder to kill than you might think. There are just some beings who can’t be killed – even the Old Gods had to be imprisoned in the end.”

“Still feels like a hollow victory,” Phillip grunted.

“Be at peace, my children,” Angkakert spoke, a wave of calm falling over their spiritual bodies. “You have averted much suffering and stopped her schemes. True, she fled alive, but she did not flee with what she sought. All is not for naught – and I doubt she will be back to try again.”

“So, when do we get out of here?” Daring asked, shuddering at a particularly loud scream. “This place gives me the creeps.”

“Soon. Azazel shouldn’t be long.” Lucifer smiled down at them, squatting to their height and lightly petting them on the heads. “Thank you for your help, and for trusting me.”

Phillip and Daring nodded, before an overwhelming feeling of drowsiness came over them. Their eyes blinked with heaviness before they collapsed again. Their forms melted into pale white wisps and ascended through the fanged ceiling.

“Go live another day, heroes,” Lucifer sighed, watching them go. “I pray we don’t meet like this again.”

Author's Note

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Epilogue: Resolution and Repentance

Rain pattered against the bedroom window of 221 Honeybee Bakery Street, accompanied by the distant rumblings of thunder. It caused one of the two lumps in the bed to stir with a groan, pushing down the covers and squinting at the intruding, watchful sound.

Daring smacked her lips, looking around the bedroom with groggy eyes before her mind caught up with her. “Holy shit!” she cried, sitting up right. “Phil!”

The foreleg that had been draped across her, startling her bed partner with a snort. “Daring…?” Phillip croaked, before eyes widening and shooting upright himself. “The demon! And the city! And down there! And… we’re alive?”

“Was it all a dream?” Daring asked, looking at him with wide eyes.

Phillip almost gave a shrug, then his eyes slipped past her and widened. Daring followed their gaze.

Sitting on the nightstand was an unopened bottle of Manticore Rare, accompanied by two shot glasses. Leaning against the crystalline bottle was a small notecard, with a short message written in a flourishing, crimson script.

“Mischievous, not evil."

Daring teared up, letting out a choke between a sob and a laugh, before leaning into Phillip. Phillip held her close, sighing with relief.

“I could go for some pancakes right about now…”

Autumn Blaze shot up in bed with a snort. She glanced around at her surroundings before looking out her window at the crisp, fall morning.

“Whew, what a crazy dream,” she remarked. “Last time I have Devil’s Food Cake before bed.” She frowned and shook her head.

Her stomach growled in protest and she hummed.

“Yeah, I could really go for some pancakes,” she agreed.

Beelzebub bounced and tumbled across the floor, the stones as red as her wardrobe. She finally stopped against a wall, her face bruised and blood trickling from her lips. Shakily, she got to her feet.

At least she wasn’t a changeling anymore.

Any relief was short-lived as Justice appeared from nowhere, slamming a hand against Beelzebub’s neck and forcing her back against the wall. Had Beel been a mortal, she wouldn’t have had a neck to worry about.

“W-Wait…” Beelzebub choked out. One eye was swollen shut, but the other tried to see past those tinted aviators.

She let out a pained wheeze as Judgement appeared, her claws piercing her abdomen and all but impaling her. The burning pain that followed and lingered made Beel grit her teeth.

Lucifer slowly appeared behind the two other demons, arms crossed and a glare of unsympathetic hate across her face.

“Wait for what, Beel?” she said. “You stole souls from us, you stole an Old God from us? We’re not waiting a second more to throw you back into the Abyss where you belong.”

“P-Please,” Beel panted, a weak smile on her battered face. “I… I wish to… repent…”

“Repent?” Lucifer cocked an eyebrow. “After all you’ve done? You tried to steal my throne, and now this. I had to strike this from the memories of countless mortals!”

“I-I was under debt!” Beel croaked. “She freed me! I had to serve her o-or…”

“Stay imprisoned?” Justice asked with a frown.

“Y-Yes! Please! I’ll do anything for a second chance!” Beel looked to Lucifer, shooting a pleading look.

Lucifer’s eyes narrowed and glowed softly. They studied Beelzebub for a moment, from horn tip to toe before delving into the demon’s crimson soul. Then they widened. “Let her go.”

Justice and Judgement glanced back at her, then at each other, before relinquishing their grips on Beel. They stepped back as Beel slowly slid back to the floor, panting.

Lucifer walked up to her, squatting down to her height. “Anything, you say?”

“A-Anything…” Beel panted. “I’ll repent… I promise…”

A devilish smile crossed Lucifer’s lips. “For your sake, I certainly hope you do.”

Author's Note

I, Lucifer, Queen of Tartarus and CEO of Hell, hereby fulfil my end of the bargain and render the events of Hellraiser null of any canonical weight, as was agreed in my contract.

However, I am a demon, and it is in our nature to be very fond of our loopholes. And while these events are non-canon… I didn’t say anything about the characters. Don’t worry, I’m sure it won’t be an issue. If they don’t remember us, they can’t summon us.

This has truly been fun, and I hope you’ve all enjoyed it. Regardless of when you see these messages, I wish you all a Happy Halloween. Stay spooky.

-yours truthfully,
Lucifer

Part 1: The Devil Went Down To Ponyville

The chilly autumn air had set in in Ponyville. Autumn leaves scraped across the sidewalk in front of one of the city’s many warehouses in the industrial district. Some of them were abandoned, or went unchecked at night. Hardly a car drove past at this time of night, making it perfect for meetings.

Or at least, it had been.

The metal side door swung open and the shadowy form of a unicorn appeared in the doorway. Piercing crimson eyes scanned the room before she stepped inside.

Her coat was a pristine white, unblemished save for a mole under her left eye. Her mane and tail matched, both long save for a row of evenly cut bangs over her eyes, with a hairband atop her head lined with black spikes like a tiara. She was dressed formally: a red collared shirt, black tie, and black suit jacket. A triangular sigil lapel pin on her left breast matched her cutie mark.

Her horn—curved forward, rather than straight—flickered with crimson sparkles and a sound like steel striking flint. Blood red orbs of fire, each the size of a baseball, flickered to life around her and lit up the warehouse’s main floor like a photographer’s dark room.

And the floor was hardly clean. Dark shapes littered the main area, most of them irregular masses but others identifiable as guns and other weapons. Upon closer inspection, the lumpy forms were pony bodies, shredded and torn open in horrendous fashion. Some of them sported black boils and other manner of grotesque ailments.

The mare simply disregarded them, and abruptly stopped when she started to venture among the bodies – and her leading forehoof made a splash.

Leaning down and concentrating some of the fireballs closer together, the mare saw her faint reflection on the floor, distorted by ripples. An intense odor of copper slowly wafted over her as she looked around and saw similar reflections of her fireballs in amongst the bodies.

“How lovely,” the mare muttered, shaking the blood from her hoof before continuing through the gruesome marsh. Her voice had a posh accent to it.

“Come on out, Beel!” she called. Her voice echoed through the cavernous room. “Let’s make this easy for both of us. I want those souls back and you back in the Abyss – and we’ll be plugging whatever hole you crawled out of for good measure. I’m sure you don’t want a repeat of the last time.”

The mare paused, her ear angling towards a faint skittering noise. She looked to the ceiling, where a series of gangways ran over top of the warehouse floor. Condensing some more of the fireballs skyward, she honed in on the noise.

She found a changeling skittering upside down and low to the underside of one of the gangways. Her chitin was a blood red crimson in color, interlaced with white accents. Her wings were dark grey, sharing the same iridescence of a house fly. She had pale red eyes, and seemed to be licking her lips.

“Savoring some more kills are we?” the mare asked, raising an eyebrow.

The changeling licked her lips and twisted her head all the way around—accompanied by the sickening cracking of chitin—until she was looking down at the mare with her head right side up. She broke into a grin.

“What can I say? Mortal blood just agrees with my tastes. The more wicked the mortal, the finer the wine,” the changeling scoffed, she too with a posh accent.

The mare gritted her teeth. “Well, we’ll be sure to send you a sample platter once you’re back in the Abyss!”

“No thanks. I’ve found… new employment.” And with that, the changeling dropped from the gangway.

The mare flinched, but the changeling righted herself and her buzzing wings caught her fall. She darted through the air, and the mare followed her movements, sending the full force of her fireballs after her.

The changeling ducked and weaved around the shots, but one caught her straight in the chest like a cannonball. It launched her out of the window and into the alley adjacent to the warehouse. The mare galloped through the blood to the nearest exit.

She shoved through a set of double doors, some of the blood running after her as she looked around the sky. “Beel! You can’t hide!” she roared. “We’ll find you!”

“And my little distraction will find you!”

The mare whirled around just in time for the changeling to launch off her perch on the exterior wall and shove her into the stone wall of the adjacent building. The mare was stunned only for a moment, but it was enough time for the changeling to disappear over the rooftops.

That’s when the mare noticed the payphone by her choice of exits. With the receiver hanging down, swaying in the evening breeze.

Red and blue lights flooded the mare’s vision and the wail of sirens assaulted her ears. She winced against the sensory onslaught, turning towards some shadowy figures entering the alleyway.

“Police! Hooves in the air you!” came a male voice, barking orders.

The mare stood there, humming with contemplation. Then a smile crossed her muzzle, tainted with dark intent. Slowly, she raised her forelegs.

“This should be fun…” she thought to herself.

Detective Red Herring stormed through the front doors of the Ponyville Police Department. His trench coat was tossed over a dress shirt, its collar disheveled like his mane. He slammed a forehoof on the front desk, startling the receptionist. “Where’s Chief Case?”

The receptionist simply pointed down one of the hallways towards the interrogation rooms. Red noticed she was trembling, long past his surprising arrival. His eyes lingered on her as he headed in that direction.

Turning at one of the intersections, it was easy to find Cold Case – and at least half of the on-duty officers as well as Dr. Mortis. They all stood outside one of the interrogation rooms, gazing inside intently.

“Cold!” Red stormed over to her. “You know this is my night off, and you know why, so why am I here?”

He was taken aback by the wide-eyed look Cold gave him. She quickly composed herself with a clearing of her throat and puffed out more smoke from her pipe. Red realized the air was heavy with the smell of her pine tobacco.

“I’m sorry,” she said tersely. “But I need everyone we can get right now. The tougher the better.” She jerked her head towards the interrogation room.

Red walked over and gazed through the two-way glass. The white mare was seated comfortably at the interrogation table, stripped naked. Heavy manacles bound her legs, enchanted to prevent her from using her horn’s magic.

And in spite of all that, she was smiling, not of maniacal glee or sneering superiority, but of genuine amusement. She seemed completely nonplussed by the situation without a single hair out of place.

“…Alright?” Red asked, glancing at Cold.

“We’ve had her here for half an hour. She’s not asking for a lawyer, nor has she professed any sort of innocence.” Cold swallowed. “We caught her at a warehouse on Eventide, at another one of those butcher scenes.”

Red’s eyes widened, then narrowed as the gears turned in his head. “She’s not the one who did it,” he deduced.

“She hasn’t said that herself. She’s just sitting there… and that’s not the weird part.” Cold levitated up an evidence bag, holding the unknown mare’s lapel pin. “Look familiar?”

Red studied it for a moment before shaking his head. “Beats the hell out of me.”

They and nearly everyone around them jumped when the mare gave a hearty chuckle from within the room, as if she had heard him.

“Captain Oak took one look at it, crossed himself, and left without a word. Won’t even say anything. Her cutie mark is this exact symbol,” Cold said when her breathing had calmed, putting away the bag. “She’s not in the database and we’ve got nothing on her except she was walking through the blood on the scene.”

“That still doesn’t explain why I’m here and not with Honeydew.” Red jerked his head towards the room.

“Things aren’t adding up, Red. We need answers.” Cold set a hoof on his shoulder. “If you can get answers out of her, I’ll pay for you and Honeydew’s next date myself.”

Red huffed. He moved to leave, then noticed Dr. Mortis standing among the crowd. Unlike the others—who looked, for lack of a better term, spooked—she seemed chipper, and was jotting stuff down on a notepad.

“Why’s the doctor at an interrogation?” he asked Cold.

“That would have to do with this mare’s… peculiar conversation topics. She’s talked about quite a bit about anatomy… of the deceased. I believe one of the newer officers is in the bathroom losing his lunch as we speak,” Cold explained.

“Great.” Red huffed. “Anything else I should be worried about?”

“I think you’ll know when you see it,” Cold said with a frown. “She doesn’t react to violent outbursts either.”

Red blinked, but shook it off. He opened the door and slammed it shut behind him, storming over to the table and stomping both forehooves on the table, trying to make some noise to rattle the mare.

But visually, nothing changed in her demeanor. Her eyes simply focused on him… and the longer they lingered, the more he felt they were looking through him instead.

He opened his mouth to speak, but she beat him to it:

“Detective Red Herring,” she said merrily. “Don’t you have better things to be doing this evening? Or better ponies, hmm?” She raised one eyebrow with a satisfied smirk. “You really want to blow a shot with your former wife?”

Red’s jaw would’ve fallen through the table, if it hadn’t set into a snarl instead. He would have flipped the table had the mare not been shackled to it. He leaned in with a growl. “The fuck are you talking about?” he seethed.

The mare’s crimson eyes bore into his, and he blinked, backing away and averting his gaze. She simply chortled.

“Not only have I read the books, I can read you like a book,” she explained in a matter-of-fact tone. “Tell me, do you know what happens to a wing when it starts to decay?”

“…What?” He looked at her with a bewildered expression. She was still calm and collected.

“Well, it locks into place first. Rigor mortis sets in rather early on. The flesh of the wing starts to rot away ever so slowly, but not the feathers – oh no! The feathers fall out… one by one…”

“You’re crazy,” Red interrupted.

“Not at all. But when you do reunite with Honeydew, give her my best, won’t you?” The mare’s smirk deepened.

Red’s eyes widened and he opened his mouth to speak, only to snap it shut with a growl. He stormed out of the room and glared at Cold. “How the fuck?” he seethed.

“I don’t know. She knew Mortis was here without any of us saying anything either – and no one here knows her,” Cold replied. “This is why I wanted the best.”

“Then call Phil and Daring for the weirdos. I don’t like strangers knowing everything about me,” he said, jabbing a hoof at the mare in the room.

“Oh, please do.” Cold and Red turned to the mare, who seemed to have her eyes locked on Cold’s through the two-way glass. “I’ve been asking for someone competent for the past half hour, Chief. Ring them up, won’t you?”

Cold’s pipe clattered to the ground.

Phil sat at the glass, staring at the mare. Daring, behind him, checked through the evidence bags that held the mare’s clothes. She stopped at the sigil lapel pin and studied it.

“What’s she doing?” Daring asked over her shoulder.

“She’s making eye contact. Even though I’ve shifted my position four times. She’s following me,” Phil replied. “Otherwise, she’s just sitting there.”

“Well, I’m not a religious pony, but this sigil rings a bell.” Daring offered it to Phil, who looked it over through the plastic bag. “Some mythologies have a sigil that’s supposed to belong to a fallen pony that fell into Tartarus with the Old Gods. This looks like it.”

“And it’s her cutie mark.” He sucked in a breath. “Daring… we’ve faced monsters before… here and in Aushaylia. We know they exist.” He looked to the mare, who flashed a friendly smile. “Do you think we’re looking at one now?”

“Well, I guess we’ll have to ask her ourselves.” Daring set the bags aside. “And seeing as she asked for us specifically, we should be on our guard.”

Phil nodded, getting up and stepping inside, followed by Daring. They approached the mare slowly, hooves on the pistols in their shoulder holsters.

“Detectives Finder and Do,” the mare said. “A pleasure to meet you in the flesh and blood.”

“You seem to know a lot about others, how about you cough up something about yourself?” Daring said.

“Very well.” The mare turned to them, as much as she could still shackled down. “I am Lucifer, Queen of Hell… or, as you know it, Tartarus. Leader of the demons who keep the dead in their rightful pits or send them off to their paradise.”

Phillip and Daring glanced at one another, and collectively took a step back. Phil’s hoof gripped his pistol tightly. “A demon… you mean like—”

“Zugzwang?” Lucifer scoffed. “Hardly. But enough small talk. I have urgent business to attend to and I have to find my colleagues.”

“There’s more of you?” Daring asked. “You’re not going anywhere, not until we get more information.”

Lucifer sighed. “If you want information, and to help stop the apocalypse about to be unleashed upon your world, then the more the merrier. I only have one thing to ask of you.”

“What’s that?” Phillip asked.

The demon smirked. “I simply ask that you pledge your souls to me.”

“Not a chance in Tartarus,” Phil grunted. “If that’s even where you’re from.”

Lucifer frowned at this, holding up her shackled legs. With a simple tug apart, the chains snapped. Crimson flames ate away at the remaining metal like it was paper and she hopped out of her chair.

“If you aren’t going to enlist your services,” Lucifer said coldly as she walked up to Daring until she stood over her. “Then stay out of the way. I have no time to be babysitting mortals.”

Her horn flickered with red sparkles. There came several audible bursts of fire and exclamations of surprise from the hallway, and blood red flames swirled around Lucifer’s form. Daring and Phil stepped back as, piece-by-piece, Lucifer’s wardrobe reapplied itself to her.

“If you think we’re just going to let you walk away…” Daring growled.

Lucifer adjusted her lapel pin. “Well, if you two think you can keep up, I’ll be heading to the Apple Pie In Your Eye next. You’re not the only one who needs information.”

Phil and Daring shielded their eyes as a column of blood red fire enveloped where Lucifer was standing. When it vanished, she was gone, leaving behind the stench of brimstone and a slightly torched circle in the floor.

The pair glanced at one another before bolting out of the interrogation room, past a stunned Red, Cold, and the crowd gathered that watched them leave.

“I can’t believe it…” Cold muttered.

“I can’t believe she didn’t set off the fire alarms,” Red said.

Author's Note

What? Thought I could only rock a goat form?

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to find yourself inside the book you were reading, living an adventure amongst your favorite characters? To get to have the same kind of fun they get to have?

Well that’s what I’m living through now. Stay tuned, dear readers. Things only get hotter from here.