Sun Slayer's radiance

(Five days remaining)

The hive was abuzz with urgency as demons flew this way and that way, trying their best to prepare for the upcoming war. It has been like this for days now. No rest, no flesh to eat, not even a moment to think before being forced back to work.

That was all halted, though. A door leading to the outside unexpectedly launched off its hinges with an echoing crack, sending splinters in every direction. What remained of the wooden barrier flew through the air until it eventually landed on an unfortunate demon's head, knocking him out cold. All was silent with the vast camber's inhabitants as they shot glared at the open entrance with bared fangs, ready to slay whoever dared to-

"Ohhhhh, So this is the hive! Yo Ho!"

From the dark void was a strange bird-pony hybrid wearing a top hat. It gleefully skipped as it swiveled its head around to take in the grandiose sight of the demon hive, giggling all the while

"Crow!!!" The one apparently named 'Crow' yelped in fear as its bird visage slowly turned to the entrance. "YOU. FUCKING. IDIOT!!!!" Crow screamed, scrambling to get up, but accidentally tripped on itself. It tried to get up again, but it was too late.

From the same darkness of the entrance, an astral blur shot out and straight at the poor bird-pony. The strange creature let out a final terrified cry as its face smashed against the cold stone floor. The surrounding stone cracked and split from the force, and the creature's body went limp. Above its body, Starburst exhaustedly panted as she stood over the fallen creature, wiping shooting star sweat beads from her forehead. She stepped off the corpse and lowered herself next to its ear.

"What in TARTARUS have I told you?! Time and time again, I have told you to stick by ME!" She shouted harshly. Starburst scoffed, taking a hoof and grabbing the collar of the creature's outfit, and hoisting it up to eye level. "And stop playing dead; I already know you can take more than that. We are wasting time."

To the surprise of the surrounding demons, the bird-pony groaned and shook its head; not a single scratch on its face other than a slightly bent beak. "You're no fun, Starburst." It said with an audible pout.

"I think we've had enough fun for tonight." She spat, emphasizing fun. Her furious gaze was then switched to the surrounding demons, causing all nearby to flinch away. "What are you all looking at? Get back to work!" She demanded. It didn't take long before the hive kick-started back into action, albeit faster this time.

“Come on, let’s keep going,” Starburst said, pulling the unharmed crow from the ground and setting him on his hooves. “I wish I still could get drunk.” She mumbled.
The duo made their getaway into the halls of the hive, Starburst slumping her head a tiny bit; Crow happily followed with his head held high.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To say the past few hours were tiresome for Starburst would be an understatement.

After Doctor Crow's little reveal about the seaside town, Starburst attempted to get the doctor to elaborate, to no success. She decided to move on from it and, seeing it was getting the two nowhere, asked general questions until the raging storm outside lightened. When it did, it had started the worst 12 hours of Starburst's life.

Firstly, you might be asking, how come she doesn't teleport herself and Crow away from the town? The thing with wild magic is that it's almost impossible to perform any kind of spell inside its area of effect. A famous example would be the Everfree Forest. Any spell requiring a large amount of mana that is cast within the forest's dark foliage will have varying outcomes. At the very least, its wild magic could force a caster to pour more magic into a spell than is needed, leaving the caster extremely weak. At worst, it would outright randomize a caster's spell. It also makes it all the more difficult when each wild magic-infested zone has its own type of effect. Thankfully, the storm seemed similar to the Everfree.

But this also meant that Starburst couldn't teleport away unless she wanted to needlessly waste her magic transporting two ponies over a vast distance.

So after the storm died down enough for safe passage, the duo left the water-boarded town. What began then was the most aggravating, head-smashing, and hoof-grinding hours of Starburst's life.

It started with Crow getting distracted by minor things, i.e, rabbits, insects, and such. This is because the mad doctor hadn't been this distant from his village in a long time, mostly going just far out enough to forage for herbs and berries. Annoying, yes, but it was something Starburst could handle. She was mistaken.

Every other moment when Starburst didn't have an eye on Crow, he would somehow wander off without making a sound. It left the demon mare to track him down by scent, which smelled strangely like strawberry-scented candles. And whenever Starburst located him, Crow would always be in some trouble. She could still feel that manticore claw embedded in her flank. And this cycle repeated for hours until they were enough distance from the hive where Starburst could teleport them both easily. But by then, the demon mare was on the verge of snapping the doctor’s neck then and there.

That all leads up until now. As Starburst and Crow walked through the rocky tunnels of the hive, the ladder sight-seeing as much as they could, they stumbled upon a large door. Doctor Crow was awed and went to touch the brass knob, but not before Starburst’s magic slapped the gloved hoof away.

“Listen here, Crow,” Starburst said with narrowed eyes, “You do NOT speak unless told to do so. You do NOT goof around in front of lord Muzan. Do NOT, and I mean DO NOT, insult him. Got it?” After Crow nodded innocently, Starburst sighed and opened the wooden door.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ya'know? When Rainbow Dash woke up today, this was the last thing she wanted to do.

Like any cheesy adventure novel (not including daring-do!), the sun shined beautifully through the window of her cloudy home. After a warm shower, filling breakfast, and her usual morning routine, the prismatic mare was planning on training: wings and breathing. And stepping out of her home, she was met with a wall of purple fluff.

Looking up, she saw six pairs of cold-hard eyes belittling her under their gaze. Before Rainbow could utter a word, Michikatsu practically crushed her barrel when he grabbed her and, in a flash, flew off with her in hoof.

Now here she is. Hiding inside a bush with Michikatsu while he used a pair of binoculars to spy on Fluttery and his brother. It didn't help that the nearly 183-centimeter demon stallion stood out like a sore fetlock and barely knew how to use binoculars.

"Blasted contraption!" The demon stallion cursed under his breath, removing the backward-facing binoculars from his middle eyes. "Where in the middle of an important operation, and that pink devil gave me faulty equipment." He growled.

Rainbow dash groans and lays back into the semi-soft branches. "Dude, how do you not know how to use something like that!" She said, pointing a hoof to the backward binoculars. "The narrow ends are supposed to be near your eyes. Did you not think to ask Pinkie when you got them?"

"Well...I," Michikatsu faces away with a sheepish look, "I thought it was simple enough to know, and I let my pride get in the way." He sighed. "But, I also wanted to get away from all that rambling." Michikatsu shuddered.

"What are you two doing?"

Michikatsu and Rainbow Dash yelped in surprise and leaped away, landing outside the bush on their flanks. Shaking the daze out of their heads, they looked up to see a confused Twilight staring down at them.

"M-Miss Twilight, I..." Michikatsu scrambled to his hooves, dusting himself off, "Fine weather we're having?" He awkwardly smiled.

Twilight continued to give the demon stallion a bizarre look. Opting to turn her attention to the rising Rainbow dash, she asked: "Why were you two in...a bush?" Her expression shifted to suspicion, noticing binoculars poking out of the bush. "And what's with that?"

Michikatsu stiffened while Rainbow dash rolled her eyes, "Long story, twi. But what's up, or did you scare us for no reason?"

At that, Twilight's eyes widened, "Oh, horseapples! I totally forgot for a second!" The alicorn rushed to Rainbow and Michikatsu, placing each wing on their backs.

"You might want to hold your breath."

Michikatsu cocked an eyebrow, "What do you-"

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BLARGH

Rainbow Dash shook her head, patting Michikatsu's back as he ejected his breakfast from his stomach into a public trash can. "You and teleporting don't get along, do you?" Rainbow dash asked. Spitting, Michikatsu raises his head to glare at Rainbow dash, pointing a shaking hoof at the trash can.

"What made you think that?" He responded sarcastically. Michikatsu's face shifted to a green hue again, quickly moved his head back to the trash can. Ponies passing by in the sanitized halls of the hospital gave the ill Michikatsu looks of worry; even a doctor came up to the trio to offer his assistance. Much to Michikatsu’s annoyance, the two mares politely turned their offer down. All the while, Michikatsu suffered both physically and mentally.

"I'm so sorry, Michikatsu. I didn't know it would affect you like that!" Twilight apologizes with a guilty expression. "It's just that something at Canterlot Medical Center needed your attention." Twilight placed a hoof on Michikatsu's back.

Michikatsu, once again, rose from the bin but looked more reserved than a few seconds ago. Wiping a hoof across his mouth, he turned to look at Twilight with a quizzical expression. “Yeah, I was going to ask you about that before I…you know.” Michikatsu nudged his head at the bin with a disgusted grimace, “So, what’s the urgent matter about?”

Twilight sighed sadly, “It’s…better if I showed you two, especially you, Michikatsu.”

With that, the studious mare turned from the two pegasi and began to walk down the semi-crowded hall. It left Michikatsu and Rainbow to look at each other in confusion before quickly catching up with the visibly concerned alicorn. White hall after White hall, a staircase here, a door there, and, eventually, the trio had found themselves in the psych ward section of the hospital.

And despite the cute pictures of animals and ponies on the wall, like some foal hospital, it gave off a spine-chilling feeling. In sections, cells side-by-side with a one-and-a-half-inch thick glass protecting the mentally ill from the ponies beyond them. Every single cell had one pony or some other poor creature residing inside. Screaming, clawing, and murmuring were the horrible symphony that echoed off the walls. To add the cherry to the horror movie-esque scene around them, nopony bothered to maintain the light fixtures on the ceiling, causing them to flicker randomly.

Good think their trip wasn’t long. At the end of the hall were two solar guards posted in their usual statue stance, gazes sharp as their spears. As Twilight approached, the two guards threw their hooves to their heads in a salute. “Princess Twilight Sparkle.” The first guard greeted.

“I assume that you saw Doctor Charlie Horse's letter?” The second asked.

Twilight gave a small smile and nodded, “Yes, I did. And just call me Twilight, if you will.” She said with a small chuckle. Her smile fell back again as she eyed the door between the two guards warily. “Has anything happened while I was gone?” She asked.

The first guard shook their head, “No. The demon hasn’t made a single movement in the last 3 hours.” They followed Twilight’s gaze to the door and huffed, “But I swear I heard faint talking on the other side.” He and the second guard looked to the door with an uneasy glance.

Twilight walked up to the first guard and placed a reassuring hoof on their shoulder. “You don’t have to worry now. Me and my friends here will take it from here.” She said with a slightly wider smile than before.

The two guards traded looks of uncertainty but eventually nodded and went back to their original positions. Twilight thanked the two, using magic to unlock the door and walking in with Michikatsu and Rainbow close behind. Inside, it was all a single large room split into two by a thick glass barrier going through the middle of the room. But on the other side of the glass, it made Michikatsu’s eyes widen in shock.

In a standard hospital bed, hooked up to a multitude of machines, was the demon mare from Manehatten. The best way he could describe the mare’s current state was…broken. She barely moved; only the subtle movement of her half-closed eyes and her chest were the only things that showed the mare wasn’t dead. Beside her and the many life-saving machines strapped to her still form, there was nothing else in the room, not even a toilet. Michikatsu walked closer to the thick glass and placed a hoof against its cold surface, staring at the demon mare with conflicting emotions.

Why had he been feeling this way? Any other time, killing a demon wasn’t a challenge to him physically, much less mentally. Those freakish bastards killed his men, took so many innocent lives away, and ruined livelihoods! But when he gazes at this mare, something inside him demands that she’s the one who needs help; it was concerning him, to say the least.

Did it have to do with the mare's demon art? No. It couldn’t have been; her blood demon art pertains to her anatomy, not some mind-altering magic. So why was he feeling bad for this thing?!

“Michikatsu?”

The stallion in question flinched slightly at the feeling of a hoof tapping his shoulder. Looking over, he saw Twilight and Rainbow looking at him with confused expressions.

“Ya good there, dude?” Rainbow asked.

“You’ve been staring off for a good 10 seconds.” Twilight added.

Michikatsu nodded and put his hoof back down, “Yes, I’m fine.” Turning his attention to the bedridden demon, he held back a grimace. “So why have you brought us here, Twilight?” He asked.

Twilight followed his gaze and breathed deeply, “Not long after the demon was placed here, doctors tried to run some blood tests, seeing it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It didn’t go well; three of the seven doctors were in critical condition, and their room was completely totaled. After placing a boatload of sleeping spells on it, it was logical to put the demon in the most secure section of the hospital, the psych ward.”

“After Doctor Charlie Horse told me of this in a letter, supposedly, the demon went into a semi-hibernation-type state. Any kind of attempt at physical or verbal interaction was pointless. Even when presented with meat, usually served to griffon patients, it did not move a muscle. The only thing it did was mutter mostly nonsense besides a few phrases like ‘good filly’ and ‘I’m sorry’ multiple times.”

Twilight then turned to Michikatsu with a mix of confusion and concern, “But one thing it said stood out,” Her eyes hardened, swallowing a lump in her throat, “It was calling your name, Michikatsu.”

The demon stallion did his best to hide his shocked expression by turning his face away, all while stifling a gasp, which came out as a huff. “That’s impossible.” He said, mostly to himself.

“I might have something to do with that.” Michikatsu and Twilight switched their attention to a sheepish-looking Rainbow dash. “I kind of…said your name while we were talking.” She nervously chuckled.

Michikatsu let out an exasperated sigh, “And WHY were you talking with the highly dangerous demon?” He irritatingly asked.

Rainbow rubbed the back of her head, “Well…when it woke up, it started to freak out. So I made some small talk to pass the time and might have mentioned you.”

Resisting the urge to smack the prismatic mare in the back of the head, Michikatsu shook his head disappointingly and looked back to Twilight. “Alright, stupid decisions aside, what will you have us do, Twilight?” He asked, feeling rather eager to hear her response.

“What we are trying to do here is, get that demon to a controllable level, at least to the point they won’t go berserk at random.” Twilight winced at the memory of the damaged hospital room. “And, Michikatsu, I want you to try and talk to it. Get any info you can get, albeit personal or otherwise.”

Michikatsu stayed quiet when Twilight finished, looking down at the floor in contemplation. Would he be able to do this? Sure, he had talked to demons before during battles and such. But those were merely one-sided; he always thought demons were too talkative. Now he has the chance to converse with one of the monsters, and he was feeling…happy?

Why was he happy about this? That demon, even bedridden, could snap at any moment and cause damage or harm. But thinking back, he had been feeling differently towards this demon, which Michikatsu couldn’t wrap his head around. He contemplated killing that demon…mare off back then, but that feeling of pity was overwhelming to the point it felt like being in another person's body.

“Back then, I wouldn’t consider these things worthy of living. Now I’m about to talk with one of them.” Michikatsu thought grimly.

Sighing, Michikatsu raised his head and nodded, “If you wish, I will do as you request, Twilight.” He said.

This was going to be a long day.