Chapter 25
There was no more time for regrets, no more time to rethink his choices in the matter. Aiden could only continue to run and hope that Saphira was taking Starlight Glimmer to safety. While he was currently baiting the monster itself away from them, letting it chase him through the hallway. Even when he was the target, the very the key the demons were looking for in hopes of taking the Crystal Empire. But he needed to take the risk, for the sake of others, and a chance to stop the monster.
First he needed to make sure the monster was hot on his trail and just as angry. A quick look back and he could see the monster flashing it's shiny teeth and roaring wildly. He was still very much with Aiden, so at least that little issue was easy to dismiss, now came survival. He needed to either get away from the demon or find a way to kill him without a face to face fight, one Aiden would easily die in. So he needed brains in this struggle, brawn could be used some other time in a less risky situation.
"Well…! Come on, Aiden. You've gotten yourself out of situations like this before,"Aiden spoke to himself as doors upon doors passed by as he tried to think up a plan,"So… He can see by sensing movement! How else can you mess with a movement seeking monster?!"
The boy wondered as he ran, hoping he could keep a distance between him and the demon. He made a quick right and blazed down a spiral stair case, nearly slipping half way down. The monster tore through the walls and stairs with his claws flailing wildly as he roared. It was enough to make his blond hair almost shoot up as he then felt a plan suddenly erupt from his mind. A monster that hunted by movement was actually so simple, make a lot of movement around the area.
So he let his hands raise to the air and light with his white magic to do some tricks. Once they were in a hall way, he let his magic take over cabinets and doors, anything that could be moved. Doors quickly swung opened and slammed shut like mad while drawers slid in and out. This caused the monster to pause right in the middle of the hallway, and take in all the movement. Movement was everywhere, and it was rattling the monster's head as it lost all means of direction.
It roared with rage and confusion as it gripped it's throbbing head to endure the confusion. It then exploded and started to swing in every direction, tearing pictures and chunks of the wall apart. This gave Aiden the time he needed to escape from the beast and find a way to the meeting room. If Twilight and her friends were truly there, then that's where he needed to be to get them out. First he needed to get his barrings, so he was quick to barge into the first bedroom on his right.
He slammed the door and locked it before going to the room's bed, and fell against it. Aiden held his chest and tried catch his breath from the chest, while figuring out how he could get to the meeting room. This creature would track him through the simplest of movements, running couldn't stay an option. So he needed a new way to avoid the creature, but he wasn't given the chance to make such a plan. For his magic went off the moment he sat down to relax.
Everything stopped moving, and the beast was able to catch it's bearings. Now it was able to shake off it's madness and continue hunting for the boy, hoping to maim and capture. So it wasted no time walking down the hallway, and tracking whatever movements it could find. Leaving Aiden to think fast about what he could do to escape the monster and go on the search. He needed to get things moving and distract the monster again, but there was nowhere to run from within a room.
"Ok, Aiden…! Now all you gotta do is disappear off it's radar…! How the hay do I do that?!"Aiden asked himself and racked his brain full of ideas and thoughts, as the monster slowly began to approach the door.
It was making sure that all the other doors were kicked open so that he could peer in. Looking for any signs of movement, this put the pressure onto the boy, he needed to think fast. He groaned, not liking the idea of thinking under pressure, it made him sweat and stressed beyond belief. He gripped his hands together and shook a bit, letting them pound against his head with the struggle. While the monster kicked down doors, letting the mere sounds intimidate the boy, it was just like the old days.
Suddenly as the monster approached, a very simple answer came to his mind. One that never would have passed in any situation, and it was simply consisting of just one word. Down, going down was the idea, there was no room to escape into, so Aiden needed to make one. He stood up and wiped the sweat from his head, before he looked to the floor, and decided to just go for it. He stood in the middle of the room and slapped his hands down, letting them go a blaze with his magic.
The demon had started to slam it's body up against the door the moment it sensed the boy's movements. Pressuring Aiden to quickly burn and blast through the floor to go down. The door was ready to fly off it's hinges, just as Aiden gave it a solid and strong push with his magic. Before he was able to blast open a hole in the floor, and suddenly plummet through the floor. Just as the monster smashed the door open and roared, rushing in to investigate the bedroom.
But Aiden just instantly vanished from it's movement radar in an instant blast of vibrations and magic. Then out of nowhere, the teen was just gone, and it made the demon quite furious. His prey was so close, but now he was gone, and it was left to wonder what happened and continue hunting. Little did he know, Aiden took a tumble through the floor and came to a crashing stop. And by some sort of miracle, it was in the one room that he was desperate to get to, he just didn't realize it at first.
He was too busy coughing and trying to shake off the dust on his shirt and hair. He was tempted to just stay on his back for just a little bit, maybe even nap a bit to recover properly. But that was to be saved for when every pony was safe from the demon, napping on the job would only waste the time Twilight had left. So he endured the dust and struggled to get to his feet to see the new surroundings. Too bad there was only darkness to surround him, along with some column figures.
"Ok…! Where am I now, and how close is it to the meeting room?"Aide asked himself before he felt hooves suddenly grab at his shoulders, and yank him into the dark.
Aiden screamed for a second, and flailed around to feel out the ones who tried to capture him. He could only grab at faces and smack them about before a hoof went over his mouth. Allowing silence to take over while a blue light then started to fill the room and reveal itself. As he struggled, the room began to be shown in the mystic blue light, the columns, and the great round table. This was indeed the place he was looking for, but he did not want to be captured when he just got here.
"Let go of me! I won't let you stop me from saving her! I will save Twilight!"Aiden wrestled free of some hooves and even landed a punch, making some pony yell from a punch to the chops.
Then he was able to get free as a bunch of panic erupted while Aide stumbled back and slammed against the wall. Where he fell to his rear, and manage to get a good look to the ones who captured him. It was none other than the elements of harmony themselves, all of Twilight's friends right before him. He saw Rainbow Dash first, crazy mane and her constant flying was a dead give away. While the others were hard to make out, mainly because they were tending to their injured friend, Applejack.
"There you all are…! I've been looking all over the place for you mares."Aiden exclaimed to the group as he counted heads to see who all was here.
"Aiden?! What are you doing over here?! There's a demon on the loose!"Rainbow Dash exclaimed to see her student in one of the most dire of positions.
"That's WHY I'm here…! I'm here to get you all out of here and crush this thing."Aiden punched his fist into his hand to show his bravery before his combat teacher.
"For a heroic rescuer, you sure have quite the way of saying hello…"Applejack mused while rubbing her muzzle from the slug she received
"Yeah… Sorry about that, it's fight or flight in this place and I couldn't move,"Aiden chuckled and scratched his head before noticing a missing mare from the group,"Where's Twilight? Is she ok? Tell me she's ok…!"
"She's here… But…she's kind of lost all hope…"Fluttershy admitted and looked to the chair where Twilight was sitting back in with her muzzle down.
"She just froze up, and lost her courage the moment we squabbled with the creature…"Rarity explained the issue that lied with their element of magic, and friendship princess.
"Twilight…?"Aiden quietly called out and rushed to her chair in hopes of helping the princess find her courage once more.
"Please help our friend…! We can't go anywhere without her…!"Pinkie begged for help while they watched the human approach the Alicorn.
He stood before her chair, and looked up to see the mare holding herself in the fetal position. She kept her back tight against the chair, and remained silent with fear of this evil. Aiden swallowed and quietly got on her chair to inspect Twilight, she felt cold to the touch once he put a hand to her shoulder.
"Twilight…? Hey…! Are you ok?"Aiden whispered to the pony, but she did not respond to him.
He tried shaking her shoulder, but it only made her gasp and tremble a bit from touch.
"It's me…! Aiden…! You don't have to be afraid any more…! I'm here."Aiden tried to reach her, and at the very least, she opened her eyes a bit.
"It can't be…! All that's left is darkness…! It lingers in darkness…"Twilight mumbled and lowered her head more to hide away from the darkness.
Aiden sighed, and thought for a moment, this was a lot like his phobia for the darkness. But this time there was a monster in the darkness, so her fear was understandable. This time however, he was grown up and ready to fight it, so he was not going to let Twilight be consumed by it. So he finally decided to hold her cheeks with both hands and slowly lifted her head to his own. She tried to resist, and it scared her friends at first, but Aiden stayed cool and spoke to her.
"Open your eyes…! I'm right here… You were there for me. So I'm right here for you,"Aiden whispered while seeing a fearful tear stream onto his thumb,"We made it through the monsters before. We can always do it again…!"
Twilight slowly stopped resisting, and began to open her eyes to an illuminating white light. From out of that light, she saw Aiden looking back at her with a soft smile to greet her. It was like finally seeing a light at the end of a dark and abyss like tunnel, and he was in control of that light. To see his face after witnessing the horrors in the darkness, it was a miraculous sight to see. As shocking as it was, her eyes only widened as she felt his thumbs rub her cheeks to comfort her.
"Aiden…!"She shuddered and held his hands before he put his forehead to hers.
"Hey there…! Did you miss me?"Aiden chuckled before he slowly brought Twilight in for a hug.
"You have no idea, Aiden,"She admitted fearfully and hugged the teenager long and deeply,"I lost myself in this darkness… And you brought me back…!"
"I wasn't just gonna leave you lost in the darkness…"Aiden insisted, feeling her nuzzle the side of his face with relief and happiness.
"What are you doing here? These monsters are trying to get you too…!"Twilight worried now that she was able to collect herself.
"I know, but I wasn't going to wait till you and your friends came back in pieces,"Aiden explained his means of being in the situation they had been in,"So I decided to come here with a friend and get you all out of here while the others wasted the time you had left…!"
"Really? They were that clueless on what to do about us?"Applejack asked with shock at the lack of action that had been taken.
"Yeah… They were more worried about how to keep me safe,"Aiden explained a got a few mused looks for another being a bigger concern than them,"We'll argue about that later though…! For now we're all getting out of here and take down this monster."
"How…? We can't move from this room…! It'll pick up on us and tear us apart!"Twilight exclaimed as Aiden helped her out of the chair.
"I can fight him off. I'm no defenseless boy anymore…! We'll just make a break for the exit,"Aiden explained while the other mares looked at him like he was crazy,"The minute you're all outside, me and my friend can destroy this thing in a snap."
"That's not exactly a well thought out plan, kiddo. It just sounds like a risky run for the exit."Rainbow worried for their chance if they were to go with this idea.
"We gotta take the risk. Or else we'll just waste more time, and eventually that thing will make it in here,"Aiden explained what was best for their survival in this situation, before looking to Twilight,"We need to get going while the going is good… When you are all safe. Then the demon will be toast…!"
Twilight still had the urge to just huddle up in her chair again and wait it all out. But now there was another way out, even though it risked some pony or one getting injured or killed. As scared as she was for any of these outcomes, there really was not many options other than what Aiden offered.
"Well… Girls…? Who's up for finally getting out of here? I can't see any other options here,"Twilight sighed and looked for her friends approval on this plan,"Unless you all wanna just stay here and keep on waiting for help…?"
They actually needed a minute to think about it, but the answer was quite clear for them.
"As much as I don't like risks, we really have no other options."Fluttershy admitted and agreed to the plan.
"I'll always want to be where my friends are, if one goes, we all go!"Pinkie Pie agreed and one hoof hugged Fluttershy.
"I guess my mind has been made up. A simple go for broke run for it…!"Applejack reluctantly agreed.
"If you think we're ready and you can fight these monsters. Lets do it then!"Rainbow Dash agreed and flew to Aiden's side.
"Very well…! I'm already missing my boutique, and I certainly don't want to die here…!"Rarity admitted and agreed as well.
"Then it's settled,"Aiden decided and used his magic to toss aside the barricade and swing the doors open,"Lets get the hay out of here, ladies!"
With that said, the group wasted no time leaving the meeting room for the exit. They traversed the darkness, with Aiden's white magical light guiding them through the castle hallways. They remembered the way in and out of the castle, all they needed to do was brave the darkness. So they all ran for it, making out the hallways and descending down the steps quickly. They expected the monster to be right on top of them, the movement was an absolute cluster mess, but it wasn't.
Half way down the stairs towards the next hallway and final flight of stairs. The demon had yet to appear at all, it wasn't following them at all, all was quiet aside from the stampede of hooves. Roars could not even be heard, it was like the demon just vanished out of all existence. This was all too strange, but they would never get an opportunity like this from a demon again. So they went with it, and never slowed down on their attempt to make for the castle's exit.
Aiden slid down a railing and made it down the steps as quickly as Rainbow Dash did. While all the other mares made it down the steps without an issue, Twilight slipped on the final step. She fell to the floor on her chest, alarming Aiden to her distress, and making him run to her aid.
"Are you alright, Twilight? Anything broken?"Aiden asked as she shook her head while he held her hoof to lift the princess up.
"What's wrong with me? I once fought against the most evil and powerful villains in all of Equestria,"Twilight suddenly sighed and started to question what was happening with her ever since she first encountered the dark demons,"Then these creatures showed up… And their master… They… They some how destroyed everything I knew about enemies and what they hoped to achieve…"
"We're almost there…! You two gonna come or…"Applejack stopped and looked to the two that she called for before the group of mares only watched and listened.
"These things are so evil… They don't want power or wealth or anything curable and pitiful,"Twilight compared this new type of enemy to all the others she had ever faced,"These ones actually want to kill us… And in the worse of ways…! And no matter what…I'm actually… Scared…!"
"You're not alone there… They have been the scariest thing I've ever known for the longest time,"Aiden admitted before he was able to get Twilight standing up nice and tall for a change,"But now I know that they can be destroyed, and they become the scared ones when we no longer fear them…!"
"Twilight… We're not leaving without you. We can do this, together…!"Rainbow did her best to try and offer extra support to the troubled princess.
"Together we can do anything. And no monster however strong and scary it may be. It won't stop us…!"Rarity joined in, hoping to get their friend going again like they always did in the past.
"Through the magic of our friendship, remember?"Fluttershy reminded Twilight of what her and them stood for as elements of harmony.
"Then there's no time to mope and feel like a dope! We gotta get out and give a shout,"Pinkie bounced forward and pointed to the main hallway to their right,"Lets go, every pony!"
This brightened up their spirits, Twilight even looked up to see her friends smiling. They showed no more fear, and only smiled with hope and determination to survive together. Even when Twilight herself had tried to give up and accept her death, they refused to let that happen. So out of respect for her friends, she lowered her head and pounded at the floor before standing tall and putting on a brave face. She looked to her friends, and then looked to Aiden with a small smile.
"Lets get out of here every pony…!"Twilight decided on their plan of action and rushed up to meet Pinkie Pie.
However they were stopped cold and remained in place from a complicated trouble. Aiden saw the worry and fear on their faces, and he was quick to rush up to the two mares to see for himself. And there he could see it, as could all the other mares that followed him to the steps. They finally knew the reason that the creature never pursued them, it decided to play a waiting game with them. And he was currently playing it right in front of the exit, it's red eyes darting around the room, it even looked like it was smirking.
It was like he was mocking them, and just waiting it out like a cowardly wuss. This made Aiden want to scoff and pound on the railing, but that would alarm the creature to their presence. They now needed yet another plan to get by the beast and make sure the mane six was safe.
"Well that explains why he wasn't all over us when we ran for it…! Sitting right in front of the door,"Aiden groaned and wanted to hit his head against the railing of the steps,"Now we gotta just find a way to get him away from the door, and get you all outside…!"
"Maybe make some noise and crazy movements with your magic? Distract him?"Rainbow suggested only for them all to notice that the creature was looking right at them, and not moving from it's spot.
"No…! He already knows we're here, he's not going to move until we do,"Aiden realized as he watched the creature scratch at the floor with it's talon like claws,"Oh boy… I think I'm gonna have to just go down and see about fighting him off and getting him away from the door…!"
"Aiden no…! If that monster captures you, it's all over for Equestria!"Twilight warned and stepped in front of the boy to keep him from doing it off the bat.
"The same can be said for all of you! And without friendship, there's no harmony to protect Equestria!"Aiden argued back and tried to push her aside to go for it.
"No! Don't! You can't just go down there and fight that thing by yourself! You could die,"Twilight wrapped her hoof around his arm to try and stop him from going any further,"I can't lose you! I couldn't live knowing you died for me! Not after all you've done for me!"
"I know… I just won't die then…!"Aiden decided and quickly forced himself out of her grip before leaping over the railing.
"Aiden!"Twilight reached for him, but he was already over the railing, and the monster spotted his movement.
He saw the golden figure vibrate with movement as he landed on the marble floor. He then slowly walked towards the creature, it tilted it's head at the boy suddenly challenging him head on. It could sense no others but the boy, and he was the primary target of the dark master. So it chose to accept the challenge and march towards the boy, ready to maim, capture and take Aiden away. But Aiden was not going to go quietly, he was going to fight hard, and he wasn't going to be easy.
The mares waited, Applejack and Rainbow held Twilight back so she did not get involved. Yet she screamed for him as he made the approach, and that's when the monster instantly charged. Rushing the boy while he waited for the moment that the beast would be distracted.
"RUN! GO NOW!"Aiden yelled before he jumped and smashed into the demon, as they both crashed to the ground.
"Let's go every pony! Do what he says!"Applejack gave them all a push and they all bolted down the steps.
They all ran as fast as they could down the steps, as Aiden wrestled with the monster. They struggled and resisted all desire to help the boy, as he tried punching it's head in. He even tried going for the eyes, but the problem with that is simply, it has no eyes to punch out. This mistake gave the creature an opportunity to grab Aiden with it's claws and slam him on his back. Taking the breath out of him, and making the small magical cube he was given to roll out of his pocket.
At that moment, it realized much more movement was all around him. He looked over to the main door just in time to see Applejack kick the doors open and let her friends go first. It grumbled and stood back up just as they all went right out there door, and it wanted to pursue the group. But that meant leaving the primary target behind, it looked to Aiden and growled with conflict. The conflict turned to confusion, and the confusion started to make it's head hurt, this was Aiden's chance.
He raised his hand, panting and trying to recover his breath from the ugly body slam. Before his hand could glow and wrap around the monster's torso to constrict the beast. Allowing him to then lift the creature up and suddenly send him flying up into the ceiling, smashing chunks of it apart. Before the monster came back down, face planting into the floor, cracking up the solid marble. It groaned and grumbled, it was registering pain, and it's pain was Aiden's gain on the upper hand.
He rolled to his feet and ran for the monster, it was too big to handle with fists. So he decided to do what helped him bring down Saphira, as he jumped and got on the creature's back. Aiden then proceeded to get and arm bent around it's neck, connecting it with his other arm for a rear naked choke hold. Choking the life out of these monsters would add a bit of irony to their demises. After all, many times, strangulation and breaking necks seemed to be their favorite way to kill.
"Alright…! Let's see if you monsters handle being choked out as well as you dish it out!"Aiden decided as the beast suddenly went crazy and sprang to it's feet the minute it felt itself being strangled.
It roared and wriggled with Aiden on it's back, trying to wrestle free from the choke hold. It snarled and gagged the moment Aiden started to use more muscle on the beast. Already it was starting to struggle with breathing, as it tried slamming it's back into a wall. But Aiden was able to avoid the slam by simply climbing higher, and then putting an even tighter squeeze on. The boy grunted and struggled to keep his grip on the beast, it was bumpy and rough, but also slimy.
It was difficult to hold onto the beast, and it's struggling wasn't helping one bit. He thrashed and swung all over the place while Aiden flapped and swung a bit with each swing it made. But then the monster suddenly dropped to it's knees and tried gripping at Aiden's arms. For it was just about out of breath and ready to pass out, it needed to break free from it's targets grasp. Then it was able to shuffle the arms a bit, and lifted Aiden's right arm just enough to make a move.
It manage to get Aiden's arm up just enough to open wide and clamp it's jaws down on the arm. This forced Aiden to scream as his blood quickly started to flow and seep from a forming wound. A couple shakes was all the monster needed before Aiden was forced to release it from it's grip. Allowing it to spin around and snatch the boy up in it's clutches to punish for the choke hold. It's response was a vicious choke slam that slammed Aiden into the floor and cracked it like glass.
He tried grabbing for the monster's neck, but he could barely feel his injured arm. And his left hand was barely able to even touch the creature's face, but that's all he needed to suddenly sense something. Something that was calling to him, as if it came from the inside of this monster.
"Help me…! It won't stop…until I die…! Please…!"Aiden froze hearing the sudden weak British like voice groaning in pain, begging for death.
"What…the hay are you?!"The beast snarled and shook it's head at Aiden's question before both claws went around his neck.
He wasn't going to get his answer, not in the new dire situation he was now in. As he grabbed the wrists of the demon to resist being strangled, he grunted and strained to keep his neck free. He squeezed the wrists as tight as he could, hoping to cut off the circulation and feeling in the monster's claws. Hoping to endure the struggle and weaken the beast, but it was shockingly strong. It reminded him of how strong Saphira was, it was like a grown man fighting a young bull, it all came down to will power.
A minute in, Aiden then felt himself lose all feeling but pain in his right arm. It fell to his side while the monster still remained strong and was able to put a bigger squeeze on the boy. And that's when Aiden started to pick, and place a hand to the creature's chest. His hand glowed and flickered, burning at the beast in desperation to get free, but it was still enduring. It seemed there was no amount of muscle that could over power and break the beast, then his newest guardian arrived.
Just as his vision went blurry, he then saw a sudden blast of force crack the beast in the back of the head. This made the monster fly forward and release Aiden before smashing into a wall. Sending pieces of marble, stone, and wood flying along with a cloud of dust, the monster was in a daze. Leaving Saphira to watch the creature stumble and struggle to collect itself from the attack. The woman then used this time to go to Aiden and check him after she spotted the wound.
"There you are…! You really tried to fight this thing solo, did you? That's brave of you,"Saphira admitted and sat Aiden up so he could catch his breath,"Then again, many would say bravery and stupidity often get confused…!"
"Nice…to see you…too…!"Aiden coughed as Saphira took up his arm to check the wound.
She put her mouth to his arm, and instinctively began sucking up the blood from his wound. She was aware that some of these kinds of demons were venomous, she needed to make sure Aiden was poisoned. Aiden was aware as well, so it kept him from questioning her actions as she spewed out nothing but blood.
"Ok, so it's not able to kill you with venom or bacteria…!"Saphira determined and ripped a strip from the bottom of her tunic to start wrapping it around the wound.
"Hey…! No amount of leg is going to make me like you more than Flurry Heart…!"Aiden informed and chuckled as Saphira scoffed at his light hearted joke.
"You must have lost more blood than I thought…! It's making you delusional and dumb!"Saphira retorted and tied the fabric tight against his arm to stop the bleeding.
"Thanks… For coming back…just in time."Aiden suddenly showed appreciation for the women coming in just in time to save his skin.
She paused, she thought for sure there was going to be an insult coming her way. Then he actually surprised her by showing gratitude and respect for the quick rescue, it actually felt good. It actually made her feel good to be appreciated and seen as something good to the only ever Equine in this world.
"You're welcome… Now let's fry this creature and get out of-"Saphira gently tried to decide on the next course of action, before she was instantly tackled by the beast.
It carried her across the room, and slammed her up against the wall, making the room shake. But this time around, Saphira didn't get her wind knocked out, and she was elbowing it's back in. Until she was able to put the monster in a guillotine and swing him to the side. Slamming him into the wall and raising a knee up to crack it's nose up, spurting blood onto the floor. She then slammed the beast against the wall once more, and pinned him there while Aiden tried to collect himself.
He crawled away a bit, and slowly got to his feet before he notice the glimmer of the cube he dropped. He looked back to see the monster throw Saphira back to get free and uppercut her. Sending the woman rolling and crashing into a table and painting, before it then jumped. Allowing for a high flying power slam on top of the woman, Aiden began to panic, this demon was tenacious. It had muscle to match Saphira's, and it appeared to know how to use it properly.
She locked arms with the beast, and it became another endurance match that even she could not win. If this thing could handle being choked out by Aiden, then it could handle a strength and endurance match with Saphira. He needed to turn the tables, and that's when he made a go for the cube. He ran and scooped it up in his hand before looking at it and trying to figure it out. He had no clue how to open it to retrieve what was inside, so he went with the classic beat and break it open.
He tried banging it against the floor, then began punching at it a few times. Then he even tried to bite at it while Saphira was starting to falter to the demon's power, he needed to be fast. So his fourth option was a simple bit of white magic on an index finger to work like a key. And once he touched the top of the cube and turned his finger, the cube finally relinquished itself to him. It glowed at first, while it's metallic foundation and skeleton shriveled and burned away.
It then grew brighter, and lost it's cube shape to a pure ball of expanding white magic. Before it burst into a bright flash of light and released the item within with a loud clang of heavy metal. It was none other than the curved great sword that Saphira was relinquished for her conduct. They trusted Aiden with it's safe keeping in case of an emergency, and this definitely qualified. So he took the weapon up by it's handle, only to learn that it was heavy as holy Tartarus, he could not use it, but he knew who could.
"Time to give you back to your rightful owner!"Aiden decided before shooting some white magic into the side of the demon's face, causing him to shriek and back off Saphira.
This gave the woman the chance she needed to kick it in the chest and force him off. Before rolling to her feet and looking to Aiden, as he held the very weapon her father proudly used. And Aiden decided to throw it her way, allowing it to be given back to the one her father trusted with it.
"Do it Saphira! End this monster, here and now!"Aiden cheered before the woman caught her sword and two handed it immediately.
"That just became easy as breathing…!"Saphira admitted as the demon froze up out of the blue to Aiden's words.
This gave the women all the time she needed to twirl her sword up and slash the chest. She then brought it down and cut the chest again, leaving an X wound bleeding across it's body. It stumbled back and only looked to the woman, as if it was finally recognizing her out of the blue. Something was familiar about her, something he did not see in a long time. Even as the woman came forth and rammed the sword through his gut, it still continued looking at her in awe.
While Saphira forced the blade as far as she could put it through the monster's gut. Till she then decided to give him a solid mule kick in the chest, sending him sliding off her blade. Before he flew across the room and clear through the door, letting it crash into the bright and shining sun. It barely got a second to recover before the sunlight was suddenly cooking it's skin, making it bubble. That was enough to make the beast squeal and shriek, while Saphira walked back to Aiden.
"Good toss with Carvira. She's a hefty girl, but in the right hands she's a reliable weapon,"Saphira talked of her curved great sword and patted Aiden's back with appreciation,"Thank you… Guess that makes us even then…!"
"Don't worry about it…! We're alive, and the monster is currently toasting right now,"Aiden pointed out as they started to walk towards the door to leave,"Mission complete! Twilight and the other elements are safe! The Nightmare Master completely failed!"
"That is very true…! You really did persevere regardless of the risk, and did what you came here to do,"Saphira admitted that Aiden had spirit and determination to do what he needed or wanted to do,"Perhaps you're not so bad after all… Maybe you are what this world needs now…"
"That's going to be a heck of a thing to try and explain to my mothers."He admitted as they stepped outside, and saw the creature burning alive in the sunlight.
"Oh… Speaking of which… They're a little bit upset with you."Saphira warned out of the blue while Aiden lifted an eye brow.
"How do you know that? They probably don't know that we even… Left…?"Aiden paused the moment he spotted the ponies of the hour.
Twilight and the others stood out in the light safe and sound after the brutal adventure. But right in front of them was Celestia and Luna themselves, they looked less than pleased. The elements remained quiet judging by the tensions the sisters had within, even when Aiden did what they could not.
"Oh… Hey moms…"Aiden sighed, knowing that he was about to hear quite a bit from his mothers.
"Aiden…! I can't believe you ran away from Canterlot, ALL the way to Ponyville!"Celestia exclaimed with outrage that her child did something so stunningly reckless.
"You have any clue how dangerous this was?! How vulnerable you were,"Luna continued on while Aiden decided to sit down for this one, while Saphira was a bit taken by this act,"We can't even believe that such things could be said about what you did! What were you thinking?!"
"I was thinking about saving Twilight and her friends…"Aiden replied and the mothers had no idea how to take that response.
"That was not for you to concern yourself with…! That was for us to decide on, not yours!"Celestia yelled while Aiden sighed and remained strong, knowing he did the right thing.
"Even if it took you all several days to decide on how to help us…?"Twilight suddenly decided that she was not going to stand for Aiden being scolded for his reckless heroism.
"Aiden is the reason we're all still breathing and not being ripped to pieces, princess. Pardon the honesty there…!"Applejack decided to also defend the boy's actions.
"Aiden was willing to not sweat the small things and come to our rescue,"Twilight walked in front of Aiden and decided it was time to stand up to her former mentor when she felt Celestia was in the wrong,"You and every pony else just messed around and did nothing…! We wouldn't have lasted another day…! And you want to scold him for doing what you all couldn't?!"
"Twilight…! This is different, Aiden's safety is our main priority. We can't jus-"Celestia was cut off before she could dare to bring up priorities.
"So no pony else is a priority to you? Has all this attempting to shelter Aiden made you lose connection with all others in your life?!"Twilight yelled and silenced her former teacher while Saphira noticed the monster undergoing some strange changes.
"Hey…! Any of you want to tell me-"Saphira stopped after Luna got in front of Celestia to explain things to Twilight.
"Twilight, there is only so much we can focus on. We cared for you, and we worried,"Luna tried a more gentle and rational explanation for their delays,"All we wanted was to be careful and find the best way to save you without any sort of risks. We can't go and be reckless when-"
"Well taking a risk was what saved us…! You should be thanking your kid, not yelling at him!"Rainbow argued and did not buy the explanation they were given.
"Hey…! Any of you ponies want to explain what's-"Rarity interrupted Saphira pointing out the black ooze and pieces of the monster falling off to reveal patches of refined skin.
"I agree, this child needs to be respected and appreciated for his actions,"Rarity argued with the princesses that began to back away and feel overwhelmed by the sudden defense,"He's a hero, not some defenseless child…! Especially with such a fascinating new friend at his side…!"
"Um… Is there any chance that you all could-"Fluttershy noticed the monster's sudden change, only for Pinkie to point it out for every one.
"Look at the scary monster! It's getting less…monster like!"Pinkie exclaimed and finally got all the ponies to stop fighting and look to the monster, as did the humans.
As more and more layers suddenly fell off the beasts body, scales peeled away to softer skin. Even the claws cracked off the digits as they took on a more hand like shape in the burning sun. The more pieces that fell off the creature, the more skinny it was turning out to be, even bony like. It's muscular structure even bubbled and fell off as it reared up and roared with torment in the sunlight. Right before it's long snout completely fell off to reveal chapped lips on a flat looking face.
A rough and rumpled beard and mustache were the only remaining masculine feature. But that was more than they needed as the layers fully peeled away and burned away to light. And what they left behind was a shocking and scarring revelation, one that would haunt them for years to come. To their horror, what was left behind was an unclothed, weak, and malnourished Equine human. Clearly male, trembling, full grown, and all to familiar to a certain Equine.
"This… Can't be…! That can't possibly be…!"Celestia choked on her words while the human weakly stood up, his arms were like twigs.
"An Equine human?!"The elements exclaimed while Saphira suddenly walked forward and approached the human.
"No…! That can't be! That's impossible! Equines could never-"Luna suddenly shocked Aiden by walking forward with Saphira, for she started to recognize him as well.
Once the frail Equine manage to finally stand on his shaky legs, he slowly turned around. Showing off his face, a face that pierced the heart of Saphira and shocked Luna's deeply. He may not be large and bulky, but his facial hair was a dead give away, just like his brown hair that was beyond messy.
"You…! It can't be…! You were… You are… No…"Luna was horrified, for this was the man that fought his own brother to defend the daughter that was now right next to her.
The man responded by opening his dark and corrupted eyes while slowly walking to them. Even his head was shaking, he was so weak, sick, and malnourished, it was shocking that he was even alive. He weakly reached out with one hand, and it was going towards Saphira. Luna looked to the woman, and saw a sight that was heart wrenching to see, the woman was suddenly in tears. She tried to hold in sobs that lightly leaked out, to see her own father reduced to such a state in a monster body… It was horrid…
She took a step forward, clutching her hands tightly in fists, one squeezing her blade tight. She gritted her teeth as a sob and whimper left her lips, tears streamed down her cheeks. Her heart was breaking as her father finally gripped her shoulder, while the other tried to reach for her neck slowly.
"Saphira…!"Luna was ready to jump in, but Saphira shook her head as she looked into her father's eyes one more time.
"Please… It won't let me die…!"The man suddenly groaned in pain before Saphira suddenly shoved him to the dirt.
He rolled in the dirt, kicking up clouds of dust before groaning with even more pain. Slowly he tried to get back up, it was heart breaking and painful to watch his body break and struggle. Before he was able to finally get back up, and start walking to Saphira again, Aiden's heart was tearing apart inside.
"It won't let me die…! It keeps forcing me to kill! I don't want to kill any more sweet heart…!"The man begged his daughter, hoping she would be the one to free him.
"No…! We can find a way to cure you!"Luna insisted before Saphira had suddenly shoved him to the dirt again with a weep.
Her hands shook as he flew to the ground again, and more dirt clouds flew into the air. She was starting to lose the battle with grief, and it was making her hands bleed from how tightly she curled them into fists. She understood where this was going, what needed to be done, but how does one bring themselves to do it? She needed to figure it out the moment her old man finally got up again. And this time he was limping, his body was destroyed, but the darkness forced it to keep going.
"I know you can do it…! Please my little flower…! Please help your old man,"The frail man looked ready to cry in pain while Saphira's mind was ready to explode,"Please…! I don't want to hurt you…! I'd never want to hurt my precious Saphira…!"
Finally, he was trying to wrap his hands around Saphira's neck to do the deed. But now her mind was made up, she needed to set her father free from this eternal torment. And the moment her face was touched by his hands, she exploded and gripped him by his shoulder to keep him in place. Before she screamed and rammed the blade through his chest, clean through the heart. He yelled in pain, but blissful sighs of relief came next before a second stab came next.
"Saphira!"Aiden worried, but the mares kept him back as Saphira forced her father to the ground and continued stabbing.
She unleashed a flurry of stabs, each came with a scream and sob of pain from the heart. She grunted, panted and kept on ramming her sword through her tormented father. She didn't stop, she needed to make sure that he was dead and completely free of the curse, no matter how much it hurt. Her heart was breaking down as she felt him stop moving and his hands fall to his side. His head tilted to the right, and a small smile crept up before his eyes closed to welcome his freedom.
This was a horror show, watching a daughter kill her father right in front of their eyes. The mares and Aiden could not think or even imagine this nightmare, let alone understand it's pain. But at the very least, it came to a sorrowful end as Saphira pulled her sword out of her father. She tossed it aside and rolled over onto her back, laying on her back with a loud cry before covering her face with her hands. The woman then laid there next to her slayed father and silently cried with unprecedented pain.
She wept and choked on her sobs, contemplating on what she just did this day. While all the others were left in shock and immediate grief, this great victory had now turned bitter. For now they had learned a terrible truth about their enemies, something that would change this war entirely.
"We… We were never fighting demons at all,"Aiden realized with shaky words as Luna lowered her head with sorrow for what Saphira just dealt with,"This whole time… We were fighting Equines…!"
I will be going back to smaller chapters after this so no worries every pony. Also, hope you all let this chapter sink in and realize how serious this has now gotten. The true enemy was the ones so loved by the ponies, this will change the game of war, and only more secrets are to come. Stay pony every one.