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

Ofxruvi gl Hlfo Kilxvhhrmt: hgirpv Ksroork Urmwvi zmw Wzirmt Wl'h mznvh uiln gsv ovwtvih. Gsvb'iv fmwvi xlmgizxg zmw droo mlg yv tizxrmt lfi nlogvm tzgvh glwzb.

Ofxruvi gl Xfhglnvi Hvierxv: Kzmwvnlmrxz, uvgxs Zazavo . Dv szev gdl nligzoh gszg mvvw svzormt, zmw gvoo svi gl xzoo fk hlnv lu svi uirvmwh. Rg'h nvhhb.

~L