Weathering the Storm (Myra, Open)

[Mortaleredwolf]

Lugh raised a brow. 'What an odd pony,' he thought as he watched the tics happen.

"Interesting. Uh well.. I like moonlight and carrot cake..." He tilted his head to the side. "How can you survive that blast?"

[RavenRise]

"Oh well you see, runic absorbs pony magic. Since lightning is pegasus magic, it absorbs it as magic instead of lightning. It enters through my horn and dissipates through my body. Shouldn't be harmful."

In reality, he had no idea what large amounts of magic through his body would do. He suddenly noticed a strange tingle in his stomach. Hopefully it wasn't serious. He was beginning to see patches of black. Oh great, he knew where this was going.

He buckled down to the ground weak, and Lugh and Myra helped him move back in the warm with Squeaky.

"Thanks guys. I just need to eat something and I'll be fine, really. A cracker or anything at all."

Myra looked happy. "Oh I forgot! I brought some hay cookies with me, wait here."

She brought a sack concealed by Squeaky and handed it to Raven. Hay cookies, with chocolate chip. OH CELESTIA YES.

"Thank you so much!" He OMNOMEDNOMED on a few cookies. "I should be fine now." Well, the collapsing anyways. He'd collapsed from exhaust before, but the scroll he learned the spell from mentioned nothing about absorbing large amounts of magic.

"No problem." She grabbed the sack and walked back to Squeaky. As she turned around, Raven spotted...

"Hey Lugh. Did that lightning do me in, or is Myra's cutie mark...different, on each side?"

[Mortaleredwolf]

"Different? Now that you mention it... it is rather different on both sides." Lugh moved slightly around. "Yeah... Lady myra. why are you colored like patch work?"

[Evest]

Myra used her tail to cover up one of her cutiemarks and gave an awkward smile and see looked at the two ponies waiting for her response. She had a choice. She could lie to them and keep her secret, which may end up troublesome in the end, or risk her new friends by telling them the truth. She took a minute to think.

As she thought she remembered a saying a new friend had told her not to long ago. "When something or somepony stands rigid, unmoving and unwilling to give or bend, even when the ground they stand on is breaking apart...they are the first to fall". She had chosen what she was going to do. The question is how to reveal it.

"Well...... Let's just say there are more than 4 of us here." (Squeaky included)

[RavenRise]

Raven did a head count. "1,2,3, myself...."

He looked at Lugh for an answer, who gave him the same "wut?" look he had.

"Myra, I hope there wasn't anything in those cookies that shouldn't have been there. What are you talking about? Whose the extra?"

[Evest]

Myra gave a smirk as Raven counted up everyone. When Raven finished and asked her where the extra was, She lifted up here grey hoof and with it tapped her yellow shoulder "You see Raven, when you counted me, you counted the yellow pony with a green mane. You forgot to count this side" She put down her grey hoof and with her yellow hoof tapped the grey side of her.

[Mortaleredwolf]

Lugh tilted his head. "So the gray side and the yellow side are two different ponies? Does this other pony have a name?" he asked a little confused on the matter. "Is this other dormant?"

[Evest]

"The other side is named Nimondi. He is an all powerful demon who possessed my body a couple years ago. His presence inside of my changed my colors." Myra looked to Lugh to answer the question with a more serious tone "And he is far from dormant. He is just no in control at the moment. I have to work hard to keep control of my own body."

[RavenRise]

"A powerful demon? Dear Celestia."

I guess that explains why she looks like neopolitan ice cream. Hm...

"You have to work hard? I haven't seen any strain from you all day. Some 'all powerful demon'."

His curiosity aroused by this new discovery, he examined his friend's cutie mark(s). Yup, different on each side. The darker one looked kinda scary. He poked it.

"I doubt he'd be able to do anything with my summon still active. So I doubt we're in any danger."

Isn't there any way to get rid of him? I'm sure one of Celestia's disciples would agree to help."

(if he had guts of steel...)

[Evest]

"Well. The thing it he is resting. He knows not to waste his energy all day trying for control but instead waits to try to use all his energy at once. As for your summon..... I'm sure he can get past it. He know older magic that tends to be more powerful."

Myra watched Raven as he examines and pokes the darker side of her

"As for Celestia... Its both that she doesn't want Nimondi freed and a punishment for me to keep him here."

Myra didn't notice yet but Nimondi was starting to wake. He knew Raven poked 'him'

[RavenRise]

"Older magic..." squee.

Although Raven had heard of demons, he knew next to nothing about them. His grandmother had told him stories as a colt about a demon that plagued their ranch, but he never really believed them. He figured the possessions she described were just seizures, and that the animals could have been spooked by wolves or weather.

The scars on his grandmother's body, however, were more difficult to explain. Still, he wasn't totally convinced demons were real.

"So, this demon is here to make your life difficult? Doesn't sound like an ambitious demon to me. There must be something else, I wonder what it wants?"

"I know, we'll hold a seance!"

Myra gave him a grave look.

"I used to do this with a girl from high school, it was fun!"

Myra: "I really don't think that's a good idea."

"I'll do just one question. If it looks bad, I'll quit. You have my word."

Raven had participated in a seance a couple of times with a female interest back in high school. Nothing ever happened, except once when she claimed she saw a ghost he couldn't see. He really only agreed to these so he had an excuse to hold her when she got scared.

He didn't take those seances seriously either, but her cutie mark was a pentagram. So some of it must have been true. Right?

Raven collected a twig from outside, and lit it with the fire. He stamped out the fire, and planted the burning twig on the ground in front of him.

"Let's form a triangle. It's for protection."

Myra and Lugh reluctantly did.

Raven did an exhale. Moment of truth...

He muttered the old incantation under his breath to begin the seance.

Suddenly, he felt a presence. This had never happened before, but there was no mistaking it. There was a spirit among them, and it was powerful. Adrenaline began to rush as darkness seemed to envelop him...

He let out a swear word. "Now I'm scared! Let's get the lights back on."

He picked up the candle and went back to restart the fire. In his shaky state, he dropped the candle short of the twigs and into the wet ground. They were completely enveloped in darkness.

"Lugh, cast a light, quick!"

[Mortaleredwolf]

Lugh yelped with the sudden darkness. "How can I cast a light if your spell is still active?!" But in reflex he did just to keep the darkness away and his horn lit up in a brilliant white light.

He mouth stood gapping at the light that poured from his horn that filled the area. "It worked!... it... worked?" He looked to Raven for an answer.

[RavenRise]

Raven looked back at him with his mouth agape. In his dazed and shocked state, he had forgotten his spell was still active. So how was that possible?

twinkle. Lugh's spell stopped, and Raven's horned twinkled dimly. There was light, but it was dissipating quickly.

"That's so odd. That's not supposed to happen. The summon's not gone but, it's weaker, for some reason."

Lugh still looked confused.

"There's only one possibility I can think of. Somepony is trying to weaken me, to break my summon. "

Summons are archaic, but powerful magic. He only knew Runic by chance. Who could be strong enough to break it?

Of course. The demon Myra was talking about. He must be trying to break the summon so he can effectively use his magic and escape.

He turned to look at her. She was barely visible under the receding glow. It was still obvious however, that she was scared.

"Myra, what should we do?"

Before he could read her expression again, they were in darkness again. He strangely felt himself losing consciousness. He shook his head several times. She still hadn't replied.

"Well? Are you okay?"

[Evest]

"I'm perfectly fine! Thank you for asking" a voice calmly said from where Myra was. The voice was deeper, near stallion like. Myra was no long there with them. Nimondi, the demon within, was now in control. Her.... His horn was increasing in glow. Glowing red, instead of the normal yellow. He used his magic to try to break the summon "Is this enough light for you? or should I go brighter?"

[RavenRise]

Raven had never felt fear of this magnitude. He could only stand paralyzed as the glare of the red eyes before him pierced his. Bathed in a red glow, gaining power, and right in front of him, this was something straight out of his boyhood nightmares.

As the red glow from the demon's horn grew harsher, he began to feel a pressure against his forehead. his thoughts raced as he buckled down with the weight on top of him increasing.

I have to break the summon!

If I do I die!

The alternative might be worse.

I can't fight him with magic I'll lose! that leaves...

By now he was buckled down completely on all fours, as if kneeling to the demon.

"Oh, are you begging for mercy?"

"My origins are Earth Pony, it's the best chance I have."

"Well?"

Raven struggled to life his head to face the demon. he felt his neck might snap under the pressure. he could only look at the demon's legs, the stance looked relaxed. arrogant, even.

Raven dashed in the direction of the demon as fast as he could, and made a connection with the body. The demon was knocked over, and the weight on his head was gone.

That actually worked?

He took advantage of the demon's complete shock to look around for anything that might be of help. The flames of the fire made part of Squeaky's body visible. Why hadn't he done anything?

"Lugh! He'll break my summon any time now. and I don't think our magic can take his. What should we do? I'm not so sure I'll be lucky a second time!"

Raven dashed in an attempt to pin down the demon, but he got up quickly. lines of hatred were sketched on his face.