The Princess of the Night: The Demon
Chapter 1 - Normality
Ever since their marriage, Luna had been very busy with her royal duties. Gerard knew it was selfish, but he missed being able to spend time with her like they used to, before the events that brought him to Equestria. He thought about Lily, hoping she was coping with the pressures of running the College and taking care of Marek. His powers were bound though, so it shouldn't be a problem he mused. He returned his attention to the scroll he was reading. It was from the Starswirl the Bearded wing of the Canterlot Archives, his favourite place in the whole castle.
He was trying to discover the nature of time, and the theoretical application of it within the symbols of the Dimensional Jump. Mind melting concepts, even for the unicorn. He often talked to Luna for hours about his theories, and when she was too busy, Twilight was always eager to talk. She was extremely competent, Gerard had to admit. He had not seen a unicorn of that power since Starswirl, and if she continued to progress at the rate she currently was, she would soon surpass even the old mage. That is, he thought, if she were a bit more rational. Gerard still remembered the 'Grand Galloping Gala Incident'. He and Luna had never laughed so hard in all their existence.
It was the kind of chaos that Marek would have loved, he mused. It was odd, but having his head completely to himself was an unsettling sensation. It was fine when he was with Luna, but at times like these, when he was on his own, that Gerard began to miss Marek's sarcastic little comments. But then he came to his senses and remembered when Marek had tried to kill him, and the loneliness became bearable again.
"Please Supreme Pyromancer, show us again!" chorused the assembled students. Lily smiled good-naturedly before speaking.
"Now I've told you a hundred times, call me Lily."
"Please Lily, please!"
Lily laughed as the students looked up at her in anticipation. Then she noticed the figure hiding in the shadows, trying to stay out of sight. Their eyes met and Lily felt a surge of anger, fire flaring in her hands instinctively. It spread along her arms to her torso, then the rest of her body, leaving her skin and clothes unharmed. The students gasped and applauded, while Marek scowled from the dark corner he occupied.
He hated her. He hated that she had played a key role in his downfall. He hated the fact that she still had her magic, while he had none. Technically speaking, this was untrue. Marek wished he had no magic. Rather, all the binding runes did was block the flow of magic. He could feel the power, ebbing and flowing, always just beyond his grasp. It was slowly driving him insane. Something had to be done, and so he bided his time, waiting for his chance to strike.
He looked up and noticed the room was empty, except for himself and Lily. Marek scowled some more and Lily laughed.
"And to think that I was once afraid of you. I saw what you did that day in the café and I saw you for what you really are, even if Gerard didn't. I always knew it would come down to you versus him." She stopped and thought for a moment before chuckling. "Talk about battling your inner demons."
"You have been getting very cocky since my powers were bound," growled Marek, "but mark my words, they will not remain bound forever. When I have my strength back, I will lay waste to this world, and I will make you watch every second of it."
Lily's eyes hardened. "Careful Marek. Keep talking like that and I might just have to call Gerard back here to knock more sense into you. You have to remember that Luna still lives here in this time. If he thinks there's any chance she's in danger, he won't hesitate to kill you."
Marek went pale and mumbled something before turning and storming out of the room. Lily sighed, visibly relaxing.
"He's planning something," came a voice from the shadows. Lily whirled around, fire already flaring in her hands. It died out when the flickering flames revealed nothing more than Anton McAllister, the new Supreme Necromancer. A creepy man, but then Lily had never met a user of shadow magic that was not creepy.
"Let him plan. His powers are bound, and they'll stay bound."
Anton nodded. "Yes, I suppose you're right. It's a pity you know, that he's evil. We could learn so much from him."
"He's all the bad aspects of Gerard's personality, he can never be anything but evil."
"I wouldn't be so sure," argued Anton, "He's a person in his own right now, with his own thoughts and feelings. There's always a chance he may redeem himself."
"You don't know him like I do Anton. You haven't seen him fight. He has killed and laughed and killed again. There is no redemption for people like him."
"Not if you think like that, there isn't." Anton said before walking away, leaving Lily with her thoughts.
Gerard was waiting on the watchtower as the sun began to set, painting the sky a vibrant orange. The colour slowly deepened, and the sky began to fade from azure, through to royal blue, then purple, then black.
"I remember when we would sit underneath the willow tree at home and watch the sunset together," Luna said from behind him in a wistful tone. Gerard rose and turned, embracing the lunar princess.
"They are some of my fondest memories," he smiled.
They parted and Luna approached the telescope, recalibrating the apertures.
"So, what magical concept has captured your attention today?" she inquired, slowly swivelling the telescope.
"Time."
"Ah, it is a difficult one. Could you be more specific?"
"I'm trying to figure out how to incorporate it into the Dimensional Jump. I mean, if I can travel through space, why not space-time?"
"I am sure Einstein would approve."
"I'm sure he would."
Gerard put away the scroll and approached Luna.
"So, anything interesting on the telescope?" he asked, trying to nudge Luna out of the way. She laughed and pushed him away with a hoof.
"Apart from a party in Ponyville and some drunken ponies in Las Pegasus, no. Everything is quiet."
Gerard snuck up on Luna from behind, like the pony ninjas of old. When he was ready he pounced, knocking her to the ground. He jumped up, victorious, and looked through the telescope. He loved seeing drunk ponies fall over. He heard a groan from behind him and spun, worried he'd hurt his wife. The space behind him was completely devoid of Luna. Gerard cocked his head to the side, confused. There was a cough from above, and Gerard looked up in time to see Luna swoop down on top of him.
"Oh Gerard, you are so easily fooled," she laughed softly.
"No, this is all part of my ingenious plan."
"Oh? So you now have me exactly where you want me?"
"Yes," he said, and kissed her.
A/N: So there you have it, the first chapter of The Demon. I realize it's a slow start, but I think Gerard and Luna deserve it. Things will pick up quite a bit from this point onward, so this is your warning. There will be quite a bit of graphic violence in the following chapters (similar to the last story). For anyone who hasn't read my first story (The Princess of the Night: The Sorcerer), I would highly recommend reading it first so you'll have some idea of what's going on. As always if you enjoyed this chapter, or if you spotted a problem, please leave a review telling me about it (Heaven knows I need them to notice my story flaws *cough-day2-cough*).