Sun Slayer's radiance

Michikatsu sucked in a breath of air as a purple aura surrounded his entire form. After a quick flash of light, the demon stallion found himself on the other side of the thick glass. Twilight had explained that, since the barrier had no doors for safety reasons, he would have to be teleported to the other side.

After the churning feeling subsided, Michikatsu looked at the bedridden demon mare with great sympathy in his eyes. The poor creature looked hollow: Its eye sockets seemed emptier than the last time they met. He slowly stepped towards her with a heavy heart. Each step felt like stone, and every breath that entered his lungs felt more like water. The feelings raging in his chest like a tidal wave were vast and alien to the demon stallion since they were for the demon.

“Hey…are you awake?” Michikatsu whispered. A twitch from the demon mare’s ear indicated such. “I’ve been informed that you have been requesting my audience?” He said while taking a seat on the floor beside the demo mare.

The demon mare’s head sluggishly moved to meet Michikatsu’s face, her eyes filled with something Michikatsu couldn’t quite pin down. “Y-You…” She murmured, “Hus…band?” The demon mare asked.

Her question had caught Michikatsu off guard, mainly because she responded this fast. And what did she mean by husband? Last time he checked, Michikatsu only had one wife and a human one at that. Was it the demon mare’s brain at fault? Twilight had informed him that the demon had gone into some sort of hibernation state, so maybe it was her mind readjusting to the waking world. Whatever it was, Michikatsu could figure that out later as he shook his head slowly.

“No…I’m not.” He said softly.

A look of disappointment crossed the demon mare's face, sending an annoying feeling of guilt through Michikatsu’s heart. “Oh…right, you’re that stallion from Manehatten. You finally came- thank goodness.” She said, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes.

Not wanting this interaction to become chaotic, Michikatsu quickly rested a reassuring hoof on the demon mare's chest, doing his best sympathetic expression. “Are you…alright?” He awkwardly said, swilling his eyes back to Twilight and Rainbow Dash. Much to his irritation, the two mares were peering into the room from the other side behind the door's single window. Michikatsu turned back, only for his frown to deepen. Tears ran down the demon mare’s face as she stared at the ceiling, clearly holding back sobs.

“All my life, I have been trapped within walls similar to the ones around us. Unfit for society, they say. In kindergarten, I mauled a colt's ear off because I thought he was going to hurt me, even though he was considered the most introverted in the class. More events like that forced my parent's hooves to take me to a hospital under the foolishly hopeful idea that it was some mind-related virus.”
“When the white coat ponies discovered that I had paranoia is when my parents forced themselves to lock me up in a mental hospital.” The demon mare looked around the room with a grimace on her face. “And this place…it gives me a sickly nostalgia, like re-reading a horror novel you hadn’t opened in years. Similar, but not quite.”

She then looked down at her stomach, placing a hoof over to the womb. “It was also there that I gave birth to a child. From what I can recall, the brother of a close friend of mine had an interest in me. So too, did I. When he found out about my emission, he came to me with the intention of a simple visit, but things got out of hoof. Us being separated for so long, one thing led to another, and well.” The demon mares hoof clench her lower section tightly. “That night was when a beautiful mistake; was planted, bringing me equal parts suffering and joy upon me.”

“When my child was born, the doctors took them away, only furthering my already fragile mental state. It pains me that I barely remember them; not even their gender comes to me, only another idea lost in my mind. So I broke out under the moonlit sky and spent most of my days as a street rat, wondering aimlessly in hopes of getting away from everything I had known. Weeks turned to months, and months turned to years. By then, I was nothing more of a bomb ready to go off, constantly living in fear to the point stray kittens nearly sent me over the edge.”

“That’s when I met him, the stallion in black. At first, I feared him as anything else around me. But for whatever reason, I felt as if this one pony would keep me safe, like Celestia wrapping her wings around me. That was the only moment I had felt truly safe in my life. In exchange for consuming his blood, I could have all the power I needed to feel at ease.”

A hollow chuckle crawled from her lips, facing back towards the ceiling. “Like before, I was foolish to believe I had such a gift, safety. It never stopped: the voices. They still taunted and laughed at my pain, even when I could claw them out with my hooves if I wanted to.”

Michikatsu winced at the memory of a similar scenario that happened in Manehatten. The sight of her hooves digging away at her own shattered skull and brain matter made him sick. To see her talk about it so casually was sickening in a sorrowful way. “S-So…what would you have me do about it?” The question had come out of Michikatsu's mouth automatically, shocking him. When did he think about that?

The demon mare slowly turned her face to meet Michikatsu’s, “The reason I was hoping to see you is that I think you are a good pony. The type to do anything to prevent a pony’s suffering.” A smile crept onto her muzzle but seemed almost forced. “So, Michikatsu,-”

“-Can you kill me?”

Immediately, Michikatsu’s eyes shot open in shock as a dumbstruck expression formed on his features. “W-What?” He stuttered.

“Even when I essentially became a new pony when Muzan reformed me, I could still tell my life was nothing more than suffering incarnate. Ponies like you try to rid the world of suffering, right? Like those stories, my mommy used to read to me. So please, rid me of my suffering once in for all.” The demon mare sniffled.

…

Michikatsu, for the first time in his life, had no words. He simply wrapped his forelegs around the demon mare and pulled her close, not bothering to hold back tears as he silently wept for her.

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

Fluttershy let out a contempt sigh and rested her head on Yoriichi’s shoulder. The couple was sitting atop a small hill, gazing towards the Everfree forest as Celestia’s sun, now controlled by Luna, drifted past the horizon and basked the land in an orangish hue. Subtle noises, such as the bird's last chirps before rest and the rustling of the spring leaves, gave the area a tranquil feel.

A gust of chilly breeze washed over Fluttershy, who only had a scarf on, which sent a shiver up her spine. She let out a whimper of discomfort, doing her best to close the non-existent gap between herself and Yoriichi's warm coat.

“I told you to wear something warmer, darling.” Yoriichi chuckled. Taking his haori off, Yoriichi wrapped it around Fluttershy’s shivering form.

It was an immediate effect as Fluttershy stopped shivering and looked up at Yoriichi with a smile. For the last few days, the two had gotten closer, both figuratively and literally. The former because of their newfound relationship. The latter because during their date, the night Michikatsu awoke, they discussed Yoriichi permanently moving in with the timid pegasus.

Before, Yoriichi only stayed in Fluttershy’s house out of a self-obligation to repay her for treating him and not having a home of his own. But now, he had the chance to stay with the one mare in this world he had felt a deep connection with. The moment she had brought the idea to light, Yoriichi automatically agreed to it. And at that moment, Yoriichi thought it was weird he was acting so…eager about something. Not like he was going to object or anything. It’s just something to bring up later in Twilight. Maybe it has to do something with that plan she was speaking of.

But Yoriichi was snapped back to reality by something nudging him. Looking down, he saw Fluttershy looking at him again with a concerned expression. “Are you ok?” She asked.

Yoriichi let out a snort of amusement and pecked Fluttershy’s forehead. “Yes, I am. Just got lost in my thoughts for a moment, that is all.” He replied, taking enjoyment in seeing Fluttershy’s faint blush.
“Oh…ok.” She said. Once again, silence took the two as they continued to peer out into the distance. It went on for a few moments before Fluttershy spoke again. “Was there something you needed to say?” She blurted out. Her eyes widened in shock at the way she asked her question, which sounded rude and abrupt.

Pulling away from Yoriichi, she put her hooves together and tried to make herself small as possible. “I-I’m sorry. I didn't mean to come off as impolite and-” Her apology was halted, however, when Yoriichi stood up and walked until he was in front of her.

“It is alright, my darling; I was about to get to that part, in fact.” Yoriichi’s hoof swiftly reached over to his haori and inside its inner pocket, pulling something out and hiding it from a confused Fluttershy. “I may not know of your culture's custom to this ritual, but I’ll try my best.” Getting into a kneeling position, Yoriichi cleared his throat before gazing at Fluttershy with a soft expression.

“It may not be the best time to do this, considering recent events and our short time together, but I digress. From the moment I met you, I could tell you were such a kind and gentle soul no other could match. You took care of me despite being a stranger at the time, you put your life at risk for me and my brother at the festival months ago, and the letters you had sent during your friend’s training filled me with great joy. And that is only a small sample of your never-ending kindness. In every possible manner, either directly or indirectly, we have been with each other through everything. And I want that joy and happiness you and I feel to last, even for a lifetime.”

Yorrichi’s curled hoof moved from the ground, opening up to present a small square box to Fluttershy. He bit the top of the box and pulled his head back. Inside, a beautiful hoof ring rested in the middle. Its edge looked made of polished ruby, complex engraving of animals and plants littered its golden surface, and a single diamond rested in the center of the ring. Fluttershy tore her teary eyes away from the ring and back to Yorrichi, who had a big smile on his muzzle.

“Fluttershy, would you take my hoof in marriage?”