Maledictum Insania 2: The BloodClaw Cult By Nero Darkard (aka. NeroTheDarklord)
Chapter 14: New Form
After a day of preparation, the keepers of harmony were finally ready for their second attempt to infiltrate a church of the BloodClaw Cult. Thanks to the fashion diva's makeup tricks, both Twilight and Rarity now looked like two entirely different ponies.
Twilight's mane and tail were dyed to a brilliant white and her coat turned cream. Even her cutie mark got repainted, letting it look like a slice of lemon cake.
Rarity on the other hoof had her mane recolored into a dark brown and her coat became pale orange. Instead of diamonds, she now had a wedge of sponge cake on her flank.
"Ok. Let's get through this one last time," Twilight started. "My name is Lemon Cake, you are Sponge Cake. We are sisters and nieces of Mr. Cake. There is no cultist activity in Mustangia yet, so we will claim to be from there. We came to Fillydelphia to search for other members of our family and try to get more in contact with other cannibals. We have heard of the cult and want to join them."
"Got it, darling. I have to admit, I am kind of excited! I can finally put my acting skills to a test!" Rarity responded.
"Do not go over the top. A good act is one in which you do not realize the pony is acting," Crystal suggested.
"I will keep that in mind," Rarity confirmed.
"Good," Twilight commented. "Fluttershy, Applejack, Crystal: I need you to wait nearby. In case something goes wrong or if we get her, I will give you a signal."
"We will stand ready for you," Fluttershy agreed.
"Okay then. Disguise: check. Saddlebags: check. Robes: check. Fake meat: check. Mr. and Mrs. Cake: check. Background story: check. Ambush plan: check. The only thing missing is an emergency escape plan, but we can't plan that before we know what the church looks like on the inside," Twilight stated.
"So... about us. Let me get this straight. When Pound and Pumpkin come back from school, you want us to go for a walk through the park close to our shop with them, where we will get ambushed by a group of police officers? And they will arrest us and bring us to a secret reaper hideout?" Carrot Cake wondered while rubbing his head in confusion.
"Yes. This is only for your own protection. No matter if we succeed or fail, the cult will get suspicious about you, since you brought us inside their church. But if they see you getting arrested, it will make them think you truly had nothing to do with our assault," Twilight confirmed.
"How long are we supposed to stay there?" Cup Cake spoke in worry.
"A few days at least," Crystal started. "We need to make sure there is as little connection between you and our operation as possible. Then, we will play some information about you getting transported to jail into the hooves of the cultists. If they decide to attack the convoy and free you, we can be sure that the cult still sees you as their friends. If they do not, we will bring you straight to Canterlot Castle. Mistress Celestia already agreed to make you her guests for the duration of this crisis."
"Thank you a lot, deary... Finally having a break from all these cannibals will be like a vacation," Cup Cake commented.
"Alright. Is everything clear now?" Twilight wondered.
"Yes. Are you ready to go?" Carrot Cake asked.
"Everything is planned and ready. Please bring us to their church," Twilight requested.
With a small nod, the Cakes turned around and opened the front door of the sweets shop, closely followed by Twilight and Rarity. The rest of the group went through the backdoor and used an alternate route to stay hidden.
After just a couple of minutes, Twilight noticed that they were being watched, partially with surprised expressions. So Twilight decided to fake a happy smile and started trotting more cheerful, as if she was looking forward to meeting the cult. Rarity instantly adapted the behavior.
Now, the ponies started smiling at them, giving them suggestive nods as they passed by.
Twenty minutes of walking passed until the group reached a large hotel. At first, Twilight expected the Cakes to lead them behind it or in a dark street nearby. But as she realized that they were being guided right inside and towards the reception, she became deeply astonished. This whole building is a BloodClaw church in disguise? Since she figured it would only support her act, Twilight decided to openly show her stun.
"Welcome! May I... Oh! It's you! Okay, please follow me!" the mare on the reception spoke.
Without saying a word, Mr. and Mrs. Cake went behind the counter of the reception and into a large back room. Then, the mare took off her uniform and hung it up. Using a special key, she locked the door behind the group and opened a locker. Inside was a red robe with three black claw marks, which she immediately wrapped around herself.
"So you have finally decided to join us? And who are these two?" she wondered as soon as she was done.
"Well, not quite. We are still being observed, as we told you. But these two here are not. Come on now, don't be shy. Introduce yourselves! You can trust them!" Cup Cake spoke.
"Um... Okay. My name is Lemon Cake and this is my sister Sponge Cake! We're from Mustangia," Twilight spoke.
"Mustangia? I didn't know Cakes were living there," the robed mare commented.
"We don't have a church over at home, yet. But we heard quite a lot about you! Uncle Carrot Cake told us you are looking for more... ahem... ponies like us, right?" Rarity wondered.
"You are in a circle of very trusted ponies, so just speak it out openly. Well, of course the cult is searching for more cannibals and we would be honored to have members of the Cake family among us!" the mare confirmed.
"Awesome!" Twilight cheered. "Finally some ponies who think just like us! We have been searching for fellow cannibals for such a long time! Look! We even got some robes from other members of your cult already!"
As soon as she finished speaking, both Twilight and Rarity opened their saddlebags by magic, making their BloodClaw robes fly out and wrap around them.
"Oh! Excellent! Normally, we would ask you to take part in a survey and prove your intentions by performing a few basic tasks for us. But since you are members of the Cake family and come here from the recommendation of other cultists, I think its safe to skip that! All I need you to do now is to prove that you eat ponies, purely out of safety precautions," the mare requested.
"That's pretty understandable. Hang on. I think we still got some left!" Rarity commented and made two pieces of fake meat fly out of her bag.
An expression of insane joy started showing in the other mare's face. While she watched Twilight and Rarity eat the fake meats in front of her, the mare began to grin widely and her pupils began to shrink, followed by both eyes becoming bloodshot. This even seemed to lightly unsettle Mr. and Mrs. Cake, even though they were used to these things.
To make this as authentic as possible, both Twilight and Rarity got themselves used to the texture and flavor of the fake meat by eating a few pieces beforehand. Even though it was nothing a normal, vegetarian pony appreciates, they could act as if they relished it.
"Great! That sealed it! Welcome to the BloodClaw Cult, Lemon Cake and Sponge Cake! Would you like a tour through our church?" the mare wondered.
"Absolutely!" Rarity cheered.
"That's the spirit!" the mare spoke, grabbing her key to unlock the door back to the reception again. "Sorry, Mr. Carrot Cake and Mrs. Cup Cake, but the entry to the church is only permitted to members. I hope you will reconsider joining us soon."
"Oh, alright then. Take care of my nieces, okay?" Carrot Cake spoke.
"The cult takes good care of its members! Don't worry. As long as they are with us, they are safe from the alicorns' influence," the mare promised.
While she was busy guiding Carrot Cake and Cup Cake back outside, Twilight and Rarity congratulated each other without a word. Their act was spot on. Then, the robed mare returned, locked the door again and went to the other side of the room.
"I think its time to introduce myself! I am Bookmark, accountant of the BloodClaw Cult in Fillydelphia. I help the Guillotine of Hope and her agents to distribute orders all around this city!" the mare explained while moving a curtain aside to reveal another door, which she then unlocked.
"Who's that?" Twilight wondered.
"She's a high-ranked demoness and the tactician of the BloodClaw Cult. It is her task to guard our leader, high priestess Black Widow, and organize the orders given out by her. You two are lucky! They both just arrived in Fillydelphia a few days ago! Not many newcomers get to meet them this soon. They are awfully busy, you know. Oh... the joy... such bliss to be with our lords, hehehe," Bookmark explained, lightly slipping into insanity again, but catching herself immediately.
While she lead Rarity and Twilight through the door and down a few stairs, they exchanged a quick glance. Their suspicions were correct. Black Widow really was the key to the organization of the cult and this Guillotine of Hope was the one handling her orders. But discovering that the guillotine was a high-ranked demoness was something they knew would make their assault a lot more difficult. Somehow, Twilight and Rarity needed to lure her away from Black Widow for their assassination to succeed. Knowing this, Twilight decided to play excited and started skipping.
"That's so great! What a great way to enter the fray!" she commented happily.
"The high priestess will hold a big ceremony tonight. Until then, there is much you need to learn about us and our believes. Have you ever heard of a blessing called Maledictum Insania?" Bookmark wondered.
"The cultists we spoke to before mentioned it, but they didn't explain what it was," Rarity replied.
"That's okay. We will teach you all about it... Hehehe. Our lords. Our beloved queen of terror! Praised be her red darkness!" the robed mare stated manically before collecting herself again and resumed. "Ahem... Anyway, let me show you around for now."
As they reached the bottom, they found another door, guarded by two robed stallions holding daggers. As they saw Bookmark, they immediately began to unlock the door and opened it.
The group entered a very large, dark hall with several cultists guarding it. Many sinister religious symbols and candle stands were placed along the walls. On the other side of the room, they could see a large blood-stained altar. Above it was a balcony, richly decorated with large red curtains, dark symbols and art resembling demons and Nightmare Moon. Rotting pony corpses were nailed to the large pillars across the hall with big metal nails, staining everything around them in dried blood. The words 'Traitor' or 'Heretic' were burnt into the skin on their foreheads. From a heavy metal door on the left side of the altar, screaming noises could be heard. On the other side, there was a richly decorated black door.
"This is our ceremonial hall," Bookmark started explaining. "Here we hold all our gatherings, festivities and praise the demon queen. The offering table over there is where we make offerings to Nightmare Moon and her children... Where we rend flesh and bone, spill the blood of non-believers... Oh, I'm getting off topic again. Anyway, on the left side, we keep the pony sacrifices. The door on the right side leads to our sanctuary. Entering it is strictly forbidden. Our lords use this place as a retreat and do not want to be disturbed while inside."
Both Twilight and Rarity had to get their acts together. Despite the smell and the corpses hanging around them, they needed to force themselves to look happy and excited.
"What's with the balcony up there?" Rarity wondered.
"This is where our priests hold their speeches. For tonight, it will be high priestess Black Widow speaking to us, so you have every reason to be excited! I also recommend you to not eat too much. Since she is visiting us, we decided to serve a... very special pony tonight... hehehe," Bookmark replied, once more showing how much bliss insanity brought to her.
"What about the ponies you captured? Can we have a look at them?" Twilight requested, causing Bookmark to giggle.
"You are really living up to your family name. Eager to torture some prey and taste some nice fresh blood, huh? So sweet, their screams. So tender, their flesh. So irresistable, their agony... That's just too understandable. But sorry, I can't let you go in there right now. As you can hear, our dungeon is already occupied. Even though we constantly get supplied with new victims, we still have to schedule the times when which cultist can go in there. If you want a round, there is a two hours gap the day after tomorrow," she explained.
"What do they do with the victims?" Rarity spoke in a frustrated tone, faking a pout.
"I don't know how you handle that over in Mustangia, but some of us prefer to not be disturbed while the are playing with their prey. It is kind of a private thing for them. Makes sense when you think about it... I wouldn't want to be disturbed while I gouge out eyeballs... Cut strips out of my victims... Lick the blood out of their wounds... Oh, sorry if I make you hungry. Basically, we allow pretty much everything so long as they don't die. Though that can happen sometimes, so it's not a big deal. In that case, all we ask for are twenty bits for the replacement and everything is fine," Bookmark stated.
"Ah, I see. Hm...Such a big hotel and you only use this hall?" Twilight wondered.
"Haha! Don't be silly! Most hotel rooms are permanently reserved to members of the BloodClaw Cult for free! Do you want one?" the robed mare wondered.
"Of course!" Twilight spoke, faking cheer.
"Alright then! If that's all for now, I would like to teach you some basics and show you your room!" Bookmark stated and turned around.
Three hours had passed since Twilight and Rarity infiltrated the church. By now, they were in their hotel room, waiting for a signal to come down to the ceremonial hall again.
The impressions were hard to take for both of them. Especially Twilight could hardly take how casual the cult took the torturing of ponies as a free-time activity, causing her to constantly walk up and down the room with an angry expression.
"Monsters, all of them," she mumbled.
"I know, darling. I know... But we can not let this distract us. Our number one priority is still the same. If we get Black Widow, we might have a chance to free the ponies they captured," Rarity commented.
"It will be difficult, though. I didn't see any way to reach the balcony, so she must be entering from somewhere else. If we need to flee, we would either have to fight our way back upstairs or teleport up to the balcony and see if we can find an alternate exit," Twilight spoke.
"I would say we should go for the balcony. At least the earth pony members of the cult would have a hard time following us if we go that way. But actually, I am more concerned about the special pony they want to sacrifice and eat. What would it say about us if we just watched while they kill him or her? But if we try to save them, we will blow our cover. And to make it all the more complex, even if we say our cover is more important than the life of a pony, they will expect of us to eat with them," Rarity stated.
"The right timing is the key here. First, we need to see who this special pony is they want to kill. As horrible as it sounds, we will have to decide if that pony is worth losing our cover or not. With my arcane magic and your gemstone magic, we might be able to cause enough distraction to get both the victim and Black Widow. But we won't know how many demons are around there and the Guillotine of Hope will certainly be the biggest problem," Twilight analyzed.
"Darling... While I am really not usually that kind of pony, I think we won't get through this without having to seriously hurt at least a few cultists. Unlike the first time, this place is a lot bigger," Rarity spoke in concern.
"No, Rarity. We are better than them. We won't step down to their level. It is already bad enough that we have to kill Black Widow. Who are we to decide over who is worthy to live and who is not? They might be cultists and they might be insane, but they are still ponies," Twilight stated.
"I guess you are right... As long as it is not a life or death situation, I will try to avoid hurting them. Oh! Twilight, come over here for a moment! Your makeup is smudgy," Rarity spoke.
"Ah, thanks. You still look perfectly fine, though," Twilight replied.
"I do this everyday, darling! If I don't know how to handle makeup and dye, who else is supposed to?" the fashion diva asked proudly while fixing Twilight's makeup.
"So you are disguising yourself as another mare and fool around with ponies everyday? That's a side of you I haven't heard of yet!" Twilight stated while giggling.
"Pah! As soon as Applejack stops mocking me, you come to take that over, darling?" Rarity replied in played indignation, followed by giggling along.
Suddenly, they heard hoof-steps approaching their door, causing them to instantly become silent. A knock on the door followed.
"Come in!" Twilight called.
As the door opened, they saw Bookmark standing there, smiling at them.
"Good evening! I just wanted to let you know that the mess is about to begin in ten minutes... Hehehe. Trust me, you do not want to miss this feast!" she explained, grinning wickedly again.
"Thanks for reminding us! We will get ready right away!" Rarity stated happily.
The door closed again and the two waited for Bookmark to walk off. Then, Twilight gained a distraught expression.
"Gosh, she is disgusting," she whispered.
"Well... We better get ready," Rarity commented.
One by one, the cultists met up in the same back room where Twilight and Rarity were welcomed in the cult. There, they put on their robes and went downstairs to the ceremonial hall. Both of the mares blended into the masses perfectly and they could quickly occupy the tactically important spots in the masses.
Since they were new to the cult, they were handed out sheets of paper, containing ceremonial chants. The first half hour of the meeting was a mixture of praising to Nightmare Moon and chanting into trances. As two mares not under the influence of the curse of madness, Twilight and Rarity just felt extremely uncomfortable, but did the best they could to act along. Then finally, the moment came they had been waiting for.
The chanting suddenly stopped and from behind the curtains on the balcony, a mare wearing a red and black ceremonial dress stepped forth. Around her neck, she wore something similar to a black scarf with a red spider symbol on each end. She even wore a red and black mask made of cloth, covering her identity entirely. Nothing on her body even slightly revealed what she looked like underneath. Still, Twilight and Rarity instantly knew that this was their target. This was the high priestess Black Widow.
"Darkness is black. A fact only few would disagree with. Saying it is like saying that birds can fly and water is liquid. It seems to be the most obvious thing in the world. But some do know that not all birds can fly and water is not always liquid. So, darkness is not always black either. We are those who are different, because we know of these facts," she started speaking.
Already, Twilight could watch how Rarity's mouth fell open and she became wide-eyed. Without moving her head, the fashion diva quickly jumped her eyes between Twilight and Black Widow. It took her a moment, but then Twilight understood what she wanted to say: Rarity knew this voice.
"Disciples of Nightmare Moon. Welcome. Welcome to this festivity in the name of the true gods of Equestria. Let us humbly pray to the queen of demons, for she is everything we wish to become. Let her cruelty become our cruelty. Let her fury become our fury. Only if our hearts burn with the same hatred for all living things as the hearts of our lords do, we can become one of them," Black Widow continued speaking.
Twilight remained silent. But inside, she was not sure how she was supposed to react to these words. The cult honestly thought that a pony can turn into a demon. Twilight knew for a fact that this wasn't true. She had seen how a demon destroyed its host and bursted free with her own eyes. But of course, the cult had a huge error in its perception. For them, the birth of a demon meant an act of transformation and nothing else.
All around them, Twilight and Rarity could watch the cultists closing their eyes and starting to silently pray, so they played along. After a while, they returned their focus to the high priestess.
"But Nightmare Moon is not only cruelty. For serving her children, she rewards us. For giving ourselves to her red darkness, she makes our greatest wishes come true. Tonight, the queen of demons decided to reward one of you. Lightning Dust. For your great deeds, Nightmare Moon wishes you to step forth and claim your reward," the high priestess announced.
The name shocked both Twilight and Rarity. Lightning Dust? The mare who caused Rainbow Dash to nearly abandon her dream of becoming a Wonderbolt? She was here as one of the cultists?
Out of the crowd, one red robe rose and started moving towards the altar. As the cultist turned around, they saw a bright turquoise mare with orange mane and eyes, grinning in anticipation. It really was her.
"The demon queen knows of your ordeal, Lightning Dust. So she grants you the thing you wish for more than anything. The thing which embodies the sinister queen more than anything else: Revenge. So, you shall have the honor to carve tonight's feast," Black Widow announced and made a gesture.
Two cultists opened the door to the dungeon and stepped inside. Moments later, they returned with a mare wrapped in heavy chains, dragged her out and re-tied her to the altar. Another pony the two present keepers of harmony were shocked to see here. It was Spitfire, captain of the Wonderbolts.
"Oh gosh, yes! Thank you, Nightmare Moon! This is so perfect!" Lightning Dust cheered, then started walking around the altar. "Hey there, Spitfire! Remember me?"
"Wha... Lightning Dust?!" the yellow mare replied.
"Yep! Its me! I suppose you want to beg for your life now," Lightning stated.
"Keep dreaming! I regret nothing about throwing you out of the Wonderbolts Academy!" Spitfire spoke.
"Do you have any idea what you have done to me?!" Lightning Dust started shouting. "I had one dream in my life: Becoming a Wonderbolt! And you crushed it! Why? Because of one tiny mistake! You could have given me a second chance! You could have given me the opportunity to prove that I can be better! But no! You just took away my leader emblem and kicked me out of the academy, destroying any chance for me to ever be a Wonderbolt!"
"Your attitude was a hazard to all other cadets! You selfishly put your goals above the health of everypony else! Only the best of the best can become Wonderbolts and while you had the spirit and the physical capabilities, you certainly had no bit of the personality of a Wonderbolt! In fact, I should have kicked you out much sooner!" Spitfire kept defending herself.
"Oh you... You!" Lightning spoke, barely able to keep herself together.
Suddenly, the turquoise mare turned around and became silent. Then, she started to laugh lightly.
"You know what? Why am I even getting so angry?" she spoke, very calm all the sudden. "Sure, you destroyed my dreams and my future. And sure, I became completely desperate and lost, thanks to you. But the BloodClaw Cult found me and helped me back up! They became my new family and I owe everything I still have to them. Including... this."
As Lightning Dust turned back around, she had an unnaturally wide grin on her face, tiny pupils and bloodshot eyes. The sight was so terrifying that even the tough Spitfire gasped.
"Yes, I don't care for the well-being of others. Yes, I would sell my own grandmother and walk over corpses to get where I want to get. And I love it! I love to destroy everypony in my way! I love to tear them to shreds and making them scream for mercy! I love to see their blood run down my hooves and certainly, I love to devour every tiny bit that is left of them! And now, you are in my way, Spitfire!" the insane mare announced, reaching out her right front leg, asking for a knife.
Now, Spitfire slowly started to panic. She struggled against the chains which kept her tied and all the present cultists grinned widely in anticipation for the massacre. Only Twilight and Rarity sat there, not sure what they should do.
Lightning Dust quickly approached with the knife in her mouth, complete insanity written on her face. The time had come for the two keepers of harmony to make a decision. It was either them busting their disguise and risking Black Widow to get away, or the life of the Wonderbolt super star Spitfire.
Twilight and Rarity looked at each other with serious expressions. Then, they both nodded. Instantly, Twilight's eyes turned white and she sent a powerful arcane bolt in between Spitfire and Lightning Dust, sending the insane mare flying and destroying Spitfire's chains. Not even a second later, all Cultists suddenly jumped up, drawing knives out of their robes.
"Arcane magic! It is Twilight Sparkle! Kill her! Kill her!" Black Widow shouted.
All at once, the cultists started assaulting Twilight with a huge variety of attacks and spells. But before even a single could hit, she used an arcane shockwave to push them away. Rarity immediately lifted a few aquamarines out of the pockets of her robe and covered all the cultists around them in ice. This, though, only helped them for seconds, as a few cultists quickly busted out of the ice and revealed themselves as skin-walkers.
Against several demons at once, just the two of them would still hardly stand a chance. So Twilight raised an arcane force field around her, which the skin-walkers instantly assaulted by turning into a huge variety of sharp weapons to pierce through the shield.
Now, Lightning Dust got back on her four legs. With insane rage written on her face, she started charging towards Spitfire. But Twilight was faster. She used her arcane magic to build a second force field around the yellow mare.
"No! She is mine! She is mine! Miiiiiine!" Lightning Dust shouted with the blade in her mouth, repeatedly stabbing the force field with extreme aggression.
Suddenly, the door leading to the ceremony hall bursted open. Twilight expected that her friends had heard the explosion and came to her aid. But to her huge surprise, the first one who charged in was Lady Truesight.
As soon as Twilight realized she was there, Truesight tossed her scythe to Lightning Dust, impaling her. Now weaponless, a cultist who just broke out of the ice charged her from behind. But without even looking, Truesight grabbed his front leg, tore the blade out of his grip, tossed him over and stabbed him in the chest. Immediately after, she threw the knife to her right, hitting another cultist who was just about to break free in the eye without even looking at him.
The reaper clairvoyant summoned her scythe again. But instead of defending herself against the skin-walkers aiming for her now, she bowed down. As if she knew it was coming, she made space for Crystal Blossom, Fluttershy and Applejack who now charged inside, letting loose a huge battle.
Twilight's eyes jumped back up to the balcony. She could see the ceremonial dress of Black Widow disappearing behind the curtains and teleported Rarity and herself up to the balcony.
"She's getting away!" Twilight shouted and started running.
Rarity followed her through the curtains immediately. The path in front of them was dark and had several turns, but using teleportation, they came close enough to see the leader of the BloodClaw Cult again.
"Guardian! Protect me!" Black Widow shouted.
Suddenly, an earth pony stallion appeared out of the dark, so close to Twilight and Rarity that they both could not react fast enough before they crushed into him. Both instantly tried to get up again and teleport past him, but for some reason, there suddenly was a magical force field between them and the guardian.
"I have been wondering how long it would take you to show up. Nice disguise," the stallion spoke.
"I got no time for you! Get out of the way!" Twilight shouted, casting a spell to break the force field. But as soon as it disappeared, the earth pony stallion somehow conjured up another.
"Oh, I will take the time from you, Twilight. There are a few things we need to talk about," the stallion continued.
Twilight was baffled. How could an earth pony use magic? And why was it so strong that it actually had some effect against her arcane magic?
Suddenly, Applejack, Crystal Blossom and Fluttershy came running towards them from behind.
"Twilight! Did she get away?" Crystal asked.
"Where is Lady Truesight?" Rarity wondered.
"She is handling the cultists and demons for us. Why are we stopping here? Who is this?" Fluttershy spoke.
"I don't know. But for some reason, he knows my name and can use magic! I can't get past him!" Twilight stated.
Now, Crystal Blossom and Rarity tried to help breaking the force field. But, again, as soon as they broke it, the stallion created another.
"Ugh! Shoot! Black Widow is getting away! Who are you?" Twilight asked in frustration.
"Say my name and I will let you through," the stallion stated with a sinister grin.
"We don't have time for this game!" Rarity shouted.
"What in tarnation is going on here?" Applejack wondered in great confusion.
It became silent. The group stood there, staring at the stallion behind the force field while he stared back with a sinister grin. Now having to calm down and think, Twilight came up with something.
"Wait a minute. She called you her guardian. You are not a pony. You are a demon. One of those skin-walkers. The Guillotine of Hope I assume," she stated.
Now, the stallion's eyes started glowing red and his grin grew even bigger.
"Not bad, but that is only my title. What is my name, Twilight?" he kept asking.
"Ugh! I don't know any damn demons! And why do you know my name?" Twilight spoke in frustration.
"You do. At least me, you know very well," he responded, still grinning.
"No I don't! Get out of the way, for Pete's sake!" Twilight shouted.
"Getting through here is really simple. All you need to do is say my name and I will let you pass. I won't move any moment sooner," the skin-walker kept mocking.
It was clear to the whole group that this demon was playing on time. With every second that passed, their chances to catch Black Widow became smaller and smaller. Twilight lowered her head, running through all the demons she had ever encountered and still exist. Who could it be?
"Say, Twilight. Do you still think about Spike and Moondancer from time to time? Or were those final words you spoke to me just empty babbling?" the demon wondered.
An electric bolt of shock rushed through Twilight's body, causing her to lose her arcane aura and her pupils to shrink to tiny dots in fear. Even Fluttershy, Rarity and Applejack had utter shock written in their faces and became speechless.
"T-Twilight? D-Do you think what Ah'm thinkin' this thing is?" Applejack stuttered in fear.
"No... No way... You... You can't be..." Twilight spoke in disbelief.
"Oh, but what if I am? What do you think, Twilight Sparkle? What is my name?" the demon wondered.
"That... That is absolutely impossible! I saw you getting consumed! This can't be! There is no way this can be happening right now!" Twilight shouted.
"Then how do I know all this? How do I know about Spike and Moondancer? Is there any other demon that could know about their horrible ends?" the demon asked in a very arrogant tone.
"You... You are..." Twilight stuttered.
"Just say it already," the demon spoke with a displeased expression.
"Despair..." Twilight finished.
The demon began to grin again. Right in front of them, it let down its disguise. The body color turned into a dark purple and the mane and tail became long, chaotic and black with a red stripe. On its forehead, an abstract horn very similar to that Queen Chrysalis had started to form while a single black strain of hair placed itself between her nose and her left eye. Then, the front legs suddenly tore open, revealing huge sharp teeth. The hind legs became wrapped in dirty bandages and out of the joint connecting the leg to the thigh, blades started to grow. Ultimately, a heart-shaped hole appeared in the demon's chest, which immediately began to bleed.
"Good girl," she commented with an echoing voice that sounded like a mix of Twilight, Queen Chrysalis and something new and foreign.
The group stood there like paralyzed, not believing what they were seeing and hearing. This demon looked and acted like the one Twilight defeated three years ago. Yet, it was different. She was covered in weaponry, her mane and tail were different, as well as her horn and voice. But the way she acted, the way she spoke. It was just all too familiar.
Despair clearly relished the moment of shock she created. She just stood there and grinned in satisfaction, even letting the force field disappear again. Still, not even Crystal Blossom dared to move, since she could judge from the group's reaction that they were facing an extremely mighty opponent.
"Mentor... can demons survive even when being consumed and the reaper is killed?" Fluttershy wondered.
"No. That never happened before. When consumed, a demon is forced back into the pre-birth state of their existence, meaning once the reaper who consumed them finds their final rest, the demon will get destroyed," Crystal explained.
"Oh, I did get destroyed! But you don't honestly think Queen Nightmare Moon would let so much power as I gained from consuming Queen Chrysalis' soul just go to waste, do you? That was all planned all along! Back then, I was just a test," Despair commented.
"A... a test?" Twilight asked.
"Queen Nightmare Moon wanted to create a demon so independent and with such a deep understanding of the ways of demons, she would not even need to give out orders to the demon for it to act. My queen wanted to see if I could read her mind and act her will without her ever speaking a word to me. I was created without a purpose because she wanted to see if I still could make the right decisions; And I more than satisfied her. But as a mere imitation of the keeper of magic, my abilities were limited. I had to be destroyed in order to be recreated! Now, I know my purpose. Now, I am what I was always meant to be: The mightiest of those you call skin-walkers! I am Despair, the Guillotine of Hope," the demoness explained calmly.
"How in Equestria could anything about you survive your own destruction?!" Twilight shouted.
Despair slowly shook her head while grinning, apparently amused.
"You really forget things fast, don't you Twilight?" she started in a very cocky tone. "Have you forgotten about our bond?"
"Our bond... But I... I broke it..." Twilight spoke.
"You just broke my influence over you. Once a bond to a demon is perfected, no force in this world can ever destroy it! All the time, a part of me kept on existing inside you! As long as you live, I can always come back," Despair explained.
"No..." Twilight commented speechlessly.
"Yes," Despair replied. "And now that I am back, I will make you see what my name really means. Anyway, I think I occupied enough of your precious time. You can go chase after my protégée now if you believe you can still catch her."
For a moment, Crystal Blossom toyed with the idea to attack Despair. But the demoness could read her intentions in the reaper mare's eyes and teleported herself right behind Crystal. With her right front leg split open to reveal a huge mouth full of sharp fangs, she held it on Crystal's neck.
"Don't even think about it," Despair spoke sharply. "I have a long, long list of things I want to do to all of you and I wouldn't like the idea of throwing it away because I had to kill any of you early."
Now, Twilight just started running, completely ignoring Despair because she was yet not able to understand that her greatest nemesis had returned. The others followed. Only Crystal and Fluttershy hesitated a moment.
"Oh and by the way: The prophecy of the corrupted stars? It was a feint. A trick to make you think you stopped us so we could continue our true plans without having you interfere," Despair stated just in time for the whole group to still hear it.
These words made Fluttershy's eyes grow wide and her mouth fall open. Crystal slowly stepped away from the demoness.
"You put so much effort into a feint? You spent years on creating a chain reaction that would have been so potent, it would have resurrected Nightmare Moon, only to let us prevent it from happening?" Crystal wondered.
"Of course we planned it out so it would work! Otherwise, you would not fall for it! But we never expected to actually get through with the prophecy! The only reason why I am even telling you this is because we now have crossed the moment where nothing can be stopped anymore! You can keep struggling and resisting if you want. But it won't change anything anymore! It is over. Very soon, it will all be over," Despair explained.
Even the elder reaper mare found herself at a loss of words. She just decided to follow the group, Fluttershy doing the same.
So they left again, leaving Despair behind with a victorious grin on her face. This little mind-game she set up was a pure joy to her. She already couldn't wait for the next step of her plan to come.