Chapter 4: Headlock by Bad Boy Bill

And we're back! Chapter 4 looks to be an interesting one at the very least. We actually had something related to the plot happen! What will our protagonist do in the wake of the destruction of the guild (which was mostly his fault) and the death of all his comrades (... also pretty much his fault). And the one's who attacked them were the Germanes! So it must be Nazis. Any other guesses Solo?

SoloAcrobat6 guesses it was Hydra, those cheeky bastards always make a good movie with their evil plans. Either that or it was in fact… well I don't know, who gives a damn what I think. Not like I made this fanfic or anything… oh right, I made half of it. Damn.

Is that your two bits? Don't be a hater. I hate what I want. I am currently eating chow mein and general tao's chicken. I'm… not eating. How sad. Stfu.

Okay, for real, let's get on to the story. Also since I don't think we've done this but…

Disclaimer: Solo nor I own MLP… now we can move on.

I sighed as I stared at the sign. I could only assume it was one of those 'Welcome to… place' signs but I didn't have time for it or its crap. I had taken me about a month just to find my way to Germaney. First, had to cross the Atlantic Ocean to get Smane, and then had to travel all the way to Germaney on hoof. Gecko was probably feeling just as pissed as I was. Having to either sit on top of my head or having to ride in my pocket for long lengths of time. Of course, the reason we were making this grueling trip was for one reason and one reason only. We were going to hunt down the ones who attacked the guild and make sure they knew that they missed one. They were going to pay… oh they were going to pay a lot.

(Flashback to after chapter 3)

"Hahahahahahahaha", I couldn't stop laughing. It was just too hilarious. The base was actually attacked, blown up by the traps I had set in my room and now everypony was dead! Oh my sides! Royal! That bastard's dead! Don't have to put up with his bullshit guild and his bullshit missions anymore forever! I froze suddenly at the thought. Wait… the stallion who had saved me when I was just a foal and introduced me to this world of killing and thieving is… dead. He'd been with me for literally almost my entire life. He'd given me a home, jobs, food and advice. Now he's dead… which only meant one thing now. I grabbed Gecko and held him so our eyes locked.

"Gecko… we can't get our pay for the mission we just completed", I told him, my eyes beginning to tear up. "We can't get any more jobs… which means no more money!"

Gecko blinked at me.

"No I am not overreacting!" I yelled at him, placing him back on the top of my head. Suddenly, I felt a disturbance in the air. Something very evil was coming. I looked all around me, trying to find the source of this ominous presence I was feeling. Then I heard it, the rustling of leaves. But it wasn't the kind of rustling that was caused by wind, it was the kind created by an unnatural force. I turned around slowly to see what was coming at me. My heart froze as my blood ran cold. It was a paper airplane. Not just any paper airplane… his paper airplane. I turned around and began sprinting, my heart pounding in my chest as I vaulted brush on the jungle floor. I glanced back, seeing still gliding towards me. I picked up the pace as I ducked under a fallen tree. I simply ran. For the first time in a very long time, I ran away.

I don't know how long I ran for, hours maybe, but the paper airplane never got closer nor did it get further away like it was taunting me. Eventually I just collapsed on the ground, panting hard as I was trying to catch my breath. As I laid on the ground, I felt the paper airplane come to a rest on my chest. I sighed in defeat as I sat up and grabbed the paper airplane and unfolded it. I held in front of me so Gecko could read it. He jumped down to my snout as I interpreted what he was reading.

"'Dear Charmer, I know what you're probably feeling right now… crushing disappointment that I'm not dead. But fret not, all is good. Except, you know, that everypony else is dead. But I anticipated such an attack and I am currently working on fortifying my new guild. Yep, that's right, I have a new guild. I'm offering for you to join me here… however, you'll have to find it yourself. Have fun!' That's what it says? Who does that bastard think he is? Like hell I'll find him. I'll join some other guild and show that bastard, wait there's more? 'P.S. - I have your pay, and you're not going to get it unless you find me.'", I sighed. Oh did I sigh. That rotten, motherfucking bastard. He was holding my pay hostage. But it's not like I needed the money…

"Gecko, how much was the pay for the mission we just completed?" I asked him. He gave three blinks. "Let's find the bastard."

(Current time)

Of course, the only reason why we were here in Germaney was to find the people who attacked the guild in hopes that they knew where he had gone. We were walking through the streets of Struttgart hoping to gain some form of hints from the locals on the whereabo- bulletin board! I sprinted to the bulletin board. Bulletin boards were always full of quests and necessary information. There was a rule for that. However, there was only one paper in the middle, completely isolated and looking very important.

"Gecko, what does this one mean?!" I asked him, pointing to the paper. Gecko climbed down to my snout to get a better view. I began translating as he started reading. "'Hear ye, hear ye! On order of the royal king himself, all trained in fighting are to report to Berlin to assemble a party that will drive into the demon's homeland-' Wait, they're planning to go into the demon world? Oh my goodness… we have to join with them. Is there any other info?"

Gecko gave a series of shakes.

"They're going in to reclaim a holy relic that was taken? Why would the demons need a holy relic? Anything else? Those deemed well enough, will be traveling with the sacred Hero on this quest, and the pay is... Oh, we are definitely joining them now", I say as I then pulled out a map and marked the route to Berlin… this was actually going to be fun.

(Time skip)

I easily met the requirements to join the Hero's party. There were about 20 of us including the Hero. Most were close-ranged combatants. Including me, there were only three archers so this was already a failing party. We all introduced ourselves and swiftly departed towards Dresden. Apparently there was a gate to the demon world in Dresden. It took us several days to reach Dresden. In that time, everyone seemed to bond and become friends… which was a great idea before heading into demon territory. So now we stood in front of the portal that led to the demon world. The Hero was going to give a speech or something.

"In less than an hour, we will venture into the demon's territory. This is one of the largest parties assembled to have ever raided the demons in the history of ponykind. Ponykind. That word should have a new meaning for all of us today. We can't be consumed by our petty differences. We will be united. Perhaps it's fate that today is Day of Germane Unity, and we all stand here united. But we are not united for celebration. We are united for annihilation. We're fighting for our right to live… to exist. We will not go quietly into the night! We will not vanish without a fight! We're going to live on! We're going to survive this! Today! We celebrate Day of Germane Unity!" And with that, he disappeared into the portal. The others in the party all hurrahed and jumped into the portal. I sighed and shook my head. Everypony was totally going to die now. I walked up to the portal. When was the last time I had visited the demon world? Eh, and with that, I jumped into the portal.

I felt my hooves hit solid ground as I looked around. The demon world honestly didn't look that different. Well, there was the blood red sky. And the black sun. But besides that, it looked pretty similar… just more eerie. Surprisingly, nopony was being gouged by demons yet. In fact, there were no demons. Everypony else didn't seem to notice that as they began heading out, following the Hero. I ran up to the front of the party, to talk to the Hero.

"So how are we finding this holy relic?" I asked him. He held out a compass-looking thing. It seemed to just have one arrow though and was pointed forward.

"This is locked onto the relic's energy signal and will lead us to it", he replied. I nodded and fell back to the back of the party. We walked for about 20 minutes before the hero stopped us at some temple-looking building that clearly was harboring at least 50 demons.

"It's in there", the Hero said as he pointed to the temple. I silently laughed. Everypony was definitely going to get slaughtered at this rate. We walked in eerie silence up to the temple where two stallions opened the doors and we ventured in. There were windows on the sides so natural light flooded in. It was obvious to tell we were going to get ambushed here. Or maybe up on the floor above. I noticed that the walls and floor were all stone as well. The Hero nodded in what looked like affirmation.

"It's definitely here… I can feel it", he said as he looked around. Suddenly, a voice that made one's body shiver just at the sound, rang out.

"Well… well… well. What do we have here? Some ponies think they're brave. Traveling into demon territory to reclaim a holy relic. How… righteous. I believe that's the term you ponies use", suddenly, the walls gained eyes. No wait, those were just the demons ambushing us like I totally called it! I counted about 50, again, like I totally called it. We were completely surrounded. Even the exit was blocked off.

"If you want your relic, all you have to do is make it to the second floor… have fun with that", and then the voice disappeared and the demons started materializing. The demons were quite fearsome looking. They were bipedal creatures, with a black skin that almost looked like shadows and glowing red eyes. They were almost twice the size of us ponies and had a strong muscular system. Their feet and hands were clawed. Had quite the sharp horns on their heads which were perfect for impaling. Even serrated teeth to make it all the more painful for when they ripped you to shreds. They were practically born for killing… and I respected that.

"You can go ahead of us Hero! We'll hold them off from here", Soldier 1 said. Forgot his name. In fact, I didn't know any of their names. Anyways, the Hero nodded as the demons lunged forwards in mass. The Hero cut down a couple as he made his way to the stairs. I drew my bow and notched an arrow, firing it into the back of a demon who tried to follow him. We all formed a circle and began repelling the demons… is what I'd like to say, but it didn't take long for the demon's to overrun us. I watched as Soldier 1 was pulled apart by two demons, his blood splattering everywhere… and then they ate him. Soldier 2 was swiftly beheaded with a bite around the head. The demon seemed pleased as his blood gushed out from the wound. Soldier 3 was currently having his insides pulled out by a demon, his screams echoing throughout the floor. Soldier 4 was… actually already dead. But there was a huge puddle of blood. Soldier 5 was actually fending for himself pretty well, until a demon came up from behind him and impaled him with his horns. Called that too. Soldier 6 was missing a few limbs and crying. Soldier 7 was having his head shoved into his body. Which honestly was quite hilarious. Soldier 8 was split in half by a demon carrying a sword. Missed that guy. Soldier 9 was still alive and fighting. Soldier 10 was thrown into Soldier 9 and now they were being ripped limb from limb. Soldiers 11-13 were already dead. No wait… everypony was actually already dead. That did not last as long as I hoped. I realized my body had been on autopilot as I looked around. All the demons were staring at me. Minus about eight, the few who had been trying to climb the stair was dead, and the other five lay dead at my hooves. I glanced about, just making sure all the other adventurers were dead. Now, I could get serious against the demons. A demon charged straight at me.

"Press play", I sang as I fired an arrow, going clean through his head. He crumpled to the floor, his demon blood pooling out. They then got the idea to charge me in numbers more than one. Two came at me from both sides.

"Fast forward", I sang as I shot an arrow, killing the one on my left. I notched another arrow and rolled under the demon charging from the right. Without looking I fired the arrow.

"Non-stop", as the demon fell to the ground. Then they all charged at once. I put my bow away and summoned my dual ice swords.

"We have a beaten path before us", and two demons fell with their necks slashed open. I ducked under a claw slash and leaped forward, stabbing a demon with both of my swords.

"It was all there", I jumped off, the demon's black blood gushing out of the wounds as he collapsed.

I danced around the mass of demons, avoiding slashes and bites and other ways the demons were trying to maim me. I jumped onto the back of a demon and began stabbing as many times as I could before its body dropped.

"In plain sight", I rolled off its back and went into a whirlwind of parrying as the demons started trying to overwhelm me. I was parrying strikes for about a solid minute before finding an opening.

"Come on people", I threw one of my swords forward, impaling hilt-deep in a demon's head causing it to snap back in recoil. I teleported to the demon and grabbed my sword before jumping in the air. Several demons jumped after me, seeing it as an opportunity.

"We have all seen the signs", I simply threw both my swords at the incoming demons, killing two of them. I then drew my bow and notched an arrow simultaneously.

"So we will never get back to", I fired the arrow, my aim was flawless as it sunk into his eye and invaded his brain. I notched a second arrow but realized that I would be hit before I could fire it. So I teleported. But I didn't teleport backwards or out of his reach. I teleported closer to him, using a leg to stop his swinging arm as I put the arrow on his forehead. I smiled as its eyes lit up in recognition of what was about to happen. I pooled magic into the drawstring and released the arrow at almost supersonic speed. It easily passed through him and continued until it impaled another demon before exploding, catching three others in collateral. I had reduced their numbers by almost half at this point. I landed on the ground gracefully and watched as the demons seemed to be formulating a new strategy of attack. Despite their ferocity in battle and terrible jokes, demons were actually quite intelligent. While the average pony was smarter than the average demon, the smartest ponies couldn't even hold a grain of salt to the smartest demons.

"To the old school", I ducked into a demon trying to slash me and used my body to knock him back. I quickly notched an arrow and killed him instantly with a headshot. It was then that I noticed a demon stepping forward. Oh, it was the one with the sword! I slung my bow back onto my back and used my magic to retrieve my ice swords from the dead bodies.

"To the old grounds", I charged, my swords spinning wildly around me as I bear down on the demon who leveled its sword at me.

"It's all about the newfound", I flung one of my swords at it. Instead of blocking, the demon sidestepped my sword with ease. This was definitely a well-trained demon swordsman.

"We are the newborn", I grinned as I jumped into the air, spinning to gain momentum as I crashed my ice against his… demon sword material. Not actually sure what it was. But anyways, as I slammed with all my force into his block, his back leg buckled and it was forced down onto its knee. Hairline fractures spread beneath him. My strength clearly took him by surprise. But the surprise didn't last long.

"The world knew about us", my show of power was enough of a distraction for me to pull my thrown sword back into his chest. Which it then fell on. I turned over its body and retrieved my sword. I noticed at this point that my swords were practically covered in demon blood. It honestly made them look pretty badass as the black fluid dripped from them. The demons were hesitating to attack me… which just meant that I had to go to them. I dropped my saddlebags. They fell with a 'crack', the stone floor cracking from the weight of the bags. Stupid bags would probably give me spine troubles by the time I was in my thirties. I rolled my shoulder joints a bit. God I could use a massage.

"We are the future and we're here to stay", I launched myself forwards at the nearest demon. I got there before he could even flinch in reaction as I slit his throat wide open.

"We've come a long way since that day", I continued as the demons started to react to my new speed. In a whirlwind of slashes, I left a demon missing all four of its limbs.

"And we will never look back at the faded silhouette", I jumped over a demon who tried to claw me and set my sights on the demon behind it. I stabbed both my swords into its two lungs, at least were I assumed the two lungs were… also assuming demons had two lungs. In the wake of that, I pulled both swords up causing a fountain of blood to erupt.

"We've come a long way since that day", I turned to the demon I had jumped over, who was still turning around. I slashed at its open leg, cleanly cutting it off. As it toppled, I positioned my second sword so it impaled the falling demon's neck.

"And we will never look back", I dodged a demon that had tried to kill me with my back turned. I lopped off its outstretched hand. As it recoiled in pain, I rushed it and began stabbing into its stomach. I continued stabbing as blood began splashing out, but I used a magic shield so none of it fell on me. I stopped and let it collapse to the ground.

"Look back at the faded silhouette", several demons tried to rush me at once again. But this looked different. I could tell from just the way their bodies shifted that they weren't actually trying to kill me. I threw myself between the legs of one of them, chopping as I went. I looked back to around and found the source of my suspicion. A demon was trying to escape into the shadows. Probably to get reinforcements, which meant that these other demons had just been trying to distract. That made my blood seethe. Without a hesitation, I jumped back over the two demons that were still standing. I landed on the demon whose legs I had chopped off, I also stuck my swords in its head and his chest. I drew my bow and notched an arrow. But this was a special arrow. This one had a grappling hook head, just a bit smaller and narrower. It also had a long line of rope with it that led into one of my saddlebag pockets.

"Straight ahead on the path we have before us", I fired it between the two demons where it shot into the fleeing demon's leg, which was all that was left as it was almost entirely into the shadow. I used my teeth to bite into the rope. I then used my neck for all it was good for and pulled as hard as I could. The demon was pulled out of the shadow and was flying at me, foot first. I let go of the rope moved out of the way as the demon crashed into the two demons who had been standing still like dumbassses. I strolled over to the demon with the small grappling hook in his leg and promptly punched him until his face caved in and he became a bloody pulp. I looked up as the other demons had just been sitting there. Their faces all shared the same general emotion of shock. This was clearly something new for them and something they had never expected or been prepared for. I tilted my head back and laughed. This was actually so much more fun than I had thought!

"Day by day", I grabbed the sword that I had left in the demon's chest and walked over to the other two demons that were struggling to get up. One's arm seemed to just lay limp to its side. Probably dislocated. I smiled as I advanced on that demon. It tried to take a swing at me, but before it could even raise its healthy arm up to start, I teleported to its side and delivered a punch to the back of its knee, dead-legging it. It fell back to the ground where I swiftly stabbed my sword into its healthy shoulder. There, now it couldn't move. Time to do some scientific research. Today's question, how much torque does it require to remove the head of a demon from the rest of its body? After some twisting, screams and maybe a bit of diabolical laughter, I found that it took about 4000N of torque. Much more than required for a pony.

"Soon the change will come", I faced the other demon, ripping my sword from the now headless demon's body. This demon seemed to have some trouble breathing and was holding a hand over its chest. Fractured or broken ribs. I huffed. This one was too easy. I dropped my sword and swiftly delivered a punch where its hand was, with as much force as I could muster. I was actually just trying to pulverize his ribs but accidentally punched into his ribs. I almost pulled back out but realized that I had also punched its own hand into itself. I smiled as I grabbed its hand and shoved it upwards, further into the body. And with that, I pulled out as the demon was coughing blood, and spilling. It looked really awkward as he fell to the ground, his claw still inside itself.

"Don't you know we took a big step forward", without missing a beat, I picked up my sword and threw it at a demon, going hilt-deep into its head.

"Just lead the way and we pull the trigger", I grabbed my second sword from the dead demon's head and leaped. I landed on the demon's shoulder, riding his falling body as I grabbed my sword and jumped to the nearest demon. I sunk my swords into its shoulders and pulled down with all my strength, separating the demon's body into three vertical parts.

"Now we will never get back to", I quickly moved to another demon and chopped off its leg and sliced its throat.

"To the old school", I stabbed a demon were I assumed the heart was, but twisted my sword in it, just to make sure it was a fatal wound. Thankfully, low-born demons such as these didn't have regenerative abilities. In fact, if I remembered right, their healing abilities were actually worse than ponies. Did that make them easier to kill? Hell no.

"To the old grounds", I heard movement behind me and swung around with the demon still impaled on my sword. Which took a lot of effort… demons are heavy. My meat shield was met with a claw. The demon actually got its claw stuck in my meat shield's head… well it was definitely dead now. But the hilarity of the situation caused me to laugh as I brought my free sword up and sliced off its hand. I then dislodged my sword and jumped into the demon. Bringing my sword up through the bottom of the demons head, I granted it a swift death.

"It's all about the newfound", I noticed that I had about ten more demons to slaughter before I was done. The demons also seemed to notice this as they began backing up away from me. Oh it was adorable! I dropped my swords and drew my bow. I notched an arrow and fired it into the knee of a demon, crippling it from moving. This seemed to cause the other demons to come to the conclusion that they needed to run. I didn't hesitate to draw a second arrow and fire it into another's head, killing it instantly.

"We are the newborn", I notched a special arrow and fired it upwards. I ducked down into my cloak as it exploded… actually exploded wasn't really a good term for it. More like it shoot everywhere. But it shot flash grenades I had crafted. I grabbed the sunglasses from inside my cloak which I totally bought as a countermeasure for flash grenades and not because I thought they made me look badass. Anyways, my vision brightened up, but not blindingly so. Of course, I did this to both blind the demons and momentarily erase all of the shadows the demons had been trying to escape into. From there it was pretty simple work with my dual ice blades. I quickly judged which demon had been closest to escaping and teleported to it and slashed its neck open.

"The world knew about us", I teleported to the next closest demon and slashed its neck.

"We are the future and we're here to stay", another neck was slashed open.

"We've come a long way since that day", another demon collapsed to the ground, blood spilling from its neck.

"And we will never look back to the faded silhouette", another one bites the dust.

"We've come a long way since that day", this was getting boring again as another demon fell.

"That day", As I killed another demon, I noticed that the stone floor was practically covered in blood. Mostly demon, but there was some pony mixed into it.

"We've come a long way since that day", I came to another realization as I dropped another demon. They were still trying to recover. Ponies would have recovered a few seconds earlier which could have saved them… maybe this world's light was actually darker, so that made them more susceptible to short, bright flashes of light. I then noticed that there were only two demons left. I smiled. The nearest one seemed to just be recovering from the blindness and the second was the one I had crippled with an arrow. I got excited as I realized I could try something I had always wanted to do, but never got the opportunity to when going on assassinations.

"And we will never look back", I rushed the demon nearer to me and jumped up, summoning a fresh ice sword and swung it upwards. But there was something I was targeting specifically. I sliced off one of the horns on its head. I frowned as there was no blood, meaning that the horns were pure bone. I grabbed the horn in mid-air and threw it at the crippled demon. It impaled into his eye, causing him to roar/scream in pain. He went to pull it out but I would not give him the satisfaction. I swiveled the sword and brought it back down onto the demons head, killing it. I then used its body as a platform and launched myself from it. I drew my hoof back in preparation for a punch.

"At the faded silhouette!" I threw my hoof forwards for all it was good for and delivered my punch right onto the horn I had thrown. To say the results were satisfactory, would be a severe understatement. I fell to the ground with a 'splash' as the body fell with a 'thud'. It had a gaping hole in its head while the horn was completely embedded in the stone wall.

"We've come a long way since that day."

"And we will never look back."

"Never look back."

"At the faded silhouette", as I finished my song, I began laughing. Wait no, I wasn't laughing… I was… giggling? I froze immediately. I scanned the room to make sure that everything was dead. That was… scary. I had gotten way too excited during all that. I sighed, until a shift reminded me that I, in fact, was not the lone life in this room. I looked back at my cloak to see Gecko popping his head out of the pocket he slept in. We stared at each other for a while. He went to blink, but I looked away and cleared my throat.

"We'll just pretend that never happened, okay? Okay", I said as I walked over to my bags and slung them back under my cloak. They were pretty stained with demon blood. In fact… I looked down at my hooves and learned that my forelegs were soaked with blood. They were so soaked that it might honestly stain. Although my fur was such a dark purple that it looked black, my forelegs were now noticeably much darker than the rest of my body. I sighed as I would need to take a very enthusiastic bubble bath when I returned from all this. That then reminded me of the Hero. I looked towards the stairs. I had completely forgotten about the hero and the quest. I sped to the stairs and rushed up them. The scene that greeted me was this.

I stared at the demon. This one had horns that curled back, which meant that it was of the demon general rank… how convenient, I noted. In one hand, it held the Hero who was bruised and bloody. However, I saw the light and erratic rising of his chest. He was alive, barely. Probably because the demon had been torturing him for amusement. But as I walked in, the demon's attention turned to me. It stared at me in confusion.

"How… did you get up here?" The demon asked, not even trying to hide his surprise. His attention was then drawn to something at my hooves. No, wait, his attention was now definitely drawn to my hooves as I walked forward. It took me a moment to realize why. With every step I took, a 'splat' sound followed. I looked down at my blood-soaked hooves and then looked behind me. There were black hoofprints marking the way I had come.

"I took the stairs", I casually replied, turning back to the demon as I continued walking towards it.

"You killed them… all of them?" He asked me. I nodded, but then looked off towards the side, feigning consideration.

"Well technically the Hero killed a couple before he came up here", I answered. The demon dropped the Hero and turned to face me. I stopped as I was now within the reach of the demon. If it wanted to take a swipe, I was now comfortably in its range.

"I find that very hard to believe", the demon said.

"Well you could always go down there and check", I replied. The demon shook its head, but I felt like at this point it was just tuning me out.

"A pony killing 50 demons is unheard of in… history", it said. Yep, he was definitely talking to himself.

"Well I'm special", I said.

"Even this one", he nudged the Hero with his foot, "could have only maybe killed ten by himself. But this one is blessed with holy power."

"I'm cursed… does that count?" I asked it.

"So not only does this pony claim to have killed 50 demons, but it claims to have done so unharmed in the process", why was I even trying to have a conversation at this point? "But how else could it have gotten up here… also cannot ignore the blood on its legs."

"You know what? Fuck you, you're rude and a dick", I say before jumping up and punching it across the face. Except I didn't. My hoof sailed through empty air. The demon had dodged my punch. I didn't see its claw till it was in my face. But instead of trying to kill me like a normal demon would have, it seemed to just opt to punch me instead. I realized it was probably because it didn't even view me as worthy of its claws. It connected. Its fist hit the entirety of the side of my head and sent me flying. I hit the ground once before becoming airborne again and crashing into a wall. I shakily got up.

My head was ringing like a motherfucking bell. My vision was as fuzzy as a damned fleece. I probably had a concussion. It was at that moment when I realized the difference in power between a normal demon and a demon general. I couldn't stop the grin that crept its way onto my face. I tried to fight it… I honestly did, but I was just so… excited. I rushed at it in a slightly zigzag pattern before jumping. It threw a punch at me while I was in mid-air, which I had been expecting and countered with a punch of my own. My hoof collided with his punch which caused a small shock wave to travel up my foreleg. We jumped back from each other. I inspected my foreleg. I couldn't stop it from shaking. Nor feel it. But it responded to what I wanted to do. I looked up to see the demon doing the same thing. We locked eyes and I grinned wider.

"You are… surprisingly strong", he said to me.

"I could say the same to you", I responded.

"Why do you follow this one?" It asked me, gesturing to the Hero, who seemed to be bordering unconsciousness. "You are clearly stronger."

"Eh", I said. "I do strange things for money."

"Ah yes… you ponies have currencies", it mused out loud.

"Yeah… it's pretty fucked up what some ponies will do for money. I mean, I kill other ponies just for money. And amusement. But mostly for money", I replied.

"Makes you wonder who the real demons are", he joked, laughing. I joined him in laughter. We then launched at each other simultaneously. He threw a punch, no, he had his claw open. My grin somehow grew even more. I parried his claw and replied with a hoof aimed towards his knee joint. He deftly dodged upwards, nimbly spinning in the air to deliver a heel smash. I dodged backwards, but it read me and switched from a heel smash to planting its foot in the ground to launch itself forwards. It came with a downward swipe. I jumped forwards and went below it. I turned to face it, but it reacted surprisingly quickly. Without even looking, it threw a kick behind it, perfectly aimed at me. With no time to dodge properly, I put both my hooves up in a block and absorbed the blow. But that didn't stop me from sliding back. It turned to face me, its face was conveying… joy? I probably reflected the same. This was honestly an enjoyable fight. I quickly drew my bow and notched two magic arrows. It charged me but I was always faster when I was using a bow. I fired the two arrows, which initially fired outwards but arced towards the demon general. He spun his body and shifted his limbs with such agility that it looked like it broke the physical bounds of its body. The two arrows sailed through him… no, wait. I… missed. For the first time in what has probably been six years, I missed. I completely lost it at that. I began laughing hysterically, maybe even insanely. I didn't stop laughing as it continued charging at me. I didn't stop laughing as I summoned an ice sword. I didn't stop laughing as it kicked me in the side. I didn't stop laughing as I dragged my sword across its leg. I didn't stop laughing as I sailed through the air. I didn't even stop as I crashed into the wall again. I probably started calming down as I got up. But I was still laughing as the demon watched me in amusement.

"You… are quite the interesting specimen. I think I'll spare you and keep you as a pet to show off to all the others", it said, smiling at me. This sent me over the edge a bit as I fought to control my laughter. It wasn't till a hack of coughs broke my fit. I looked towards the Hero, he was gasping for air and seemed to be… mostly conscious. I had forgotten about him and the quest again. I walked over so I was standing between the Hero and the demon.

"So can I ask you something?" I asked, inspecting my sword. The blood was still wet and I had to shift its position in order to keep the blood from dripping off.

"You may" He said.

"Where's the holy relic that you stole?" I asked him.

"Ah, yes. It's inside of me", he answered. I tilted my head in confusion.

"Doesn't that… hurt or something?" I asked. The demon nodded his head.

"It does weaken me a bit", he said. My smile faltered at that, which didn't go unnoticed to the demon. "Is something wrong?"

"Yeah, uh, one request. Could you just like set it aside for a bit?" I asked of it. He paused and stared at me before answering.

"... Why?" He understandably asked.

"Well, when I kill you, I at least want the satisfaction of knowing I killed a demon general that was at full power", I responded. This caused him to go in a fit of laughter that was like the one I had just been in.

"You are certainly an interesting one", he said after calming down. He smiled as he seemed to reach inside himself and then pulled out a pony ring. "But I'll humor you."

"Thanks", I said as my smile returned. "Don't worry though, I have something that I think will amuse you."

"And what would that be?" He asked me.

"I'll also fight seriously this time", I replied. I held my left foreleg out and positioned my sword above it.

"Is that so?" He asked.

"Yep, you see, I don't think you were paying attention when I mentioned that I was cursed. Well it's not so much of a curse as it is a seal", I answered as glowing marks appeared all over my left foreleg. I learned there that the markings even appeared if my foreleg was covered in blood… the more you know. I couldn't read the glowing marks, but there were three circles that separated the markings.

"That's a demon seal", the demon stated. All of the mirth had left its voice as it stared at my foreleg. Its tone had shifted to, dare I say, fear. My grin broke new records upon my face.

"Yes. Yes it is", and with that, a drop of blood from my sword fell and splashed onto the furthest circle down my foreleg. I then exploded. Well, not really exploded. Kind of. But not like I literally exploded. Just all of my energy exploded, from me. It washed over the room. The pressure in the room increased as I even saw the demon general take several steps backwards. I began laughing as my energy still continued to flow outwards. I didn't stop until a voice behind me spoke up.

"Wh-What are you?" It said. I turned around and looked the Hero in the eyes. He flinched at my gaze. I looked deep into his eyes and saw one thing… fear. Fear that I would destroy what he loved most. Fear that I would take everything away from him. Fear that I would kill him. Fear that I would show him what true darkness was. Fear that I'd forever change his definition of morally unjustified. Okay, maybe it was just plain fear and I was being all artsy for it so I could be dramatic.

"Promise me you won't tell anypony okay?" I asked, winking, before turning back to the demon. "Hey, mister demon general..."

I got no verbal reply from him, but his focus was definitely entirely focused on me. I walked up to him. For every three steps I took, he took a small step back. I walked until I was right in front of him. I laughed as I gazed up into his eyes.

"... Can I sing you a song?"

(Time skip 4 days)

I sighed as I turned on the hot water in the complimentary room I had been given. I grabbed the bubble soap and emptied it into the filling tub. The last few days had been a little hectic. I had killed the demon general and retrieved the holy relic and the hero. As I carried him out, we surprisingly faced no resistance. I had been hoping on that as I was relatively unharmed. So I had to have Gecko rough me up a bit before we left the demon world. And then I had to limp my way from Dresden back to Berlin with the Hero on my back. He had fallen unconscious by the time I killed the demon general and hadn't regained it since. But when I arrived in Berlin, I was met with a welcoming party. There wasn't much time for celebration as they had to rush the Hero to the nearest hospital. Then they gave me a free room in a hotel that was near the royal castle. When they left, they told me they'd be back when my presence was requested by the king himself. After they were gone, I immediately drew a bath.

I removed my saddlebags took off cloak. I'd have to wash both of those afterwards. I walked back to the tub and sank into the water. I closed my eyes as I laid down. I sat there for a few minutes before a 'plop' drew my attention. I opened an eye to see Gecko resting on my chest with only his head above water. I smiled and closed my eye again. I lost track of time as I just sat there. It wasn't until I started feeling cold that I opened my eyes again. It was there that I was reminded why taking baths after battles were a bad idea. The water I was in was almost black, and very murky. I sighed as I got up, waking Gecko who had fallen asleep. I emptied the water from the tub and immediately began taking a shower. After some vigorous scrubbing and an unshakeable will to be clean, I got out and dried myself.

I grabbed my cloak and a washboard before going to work. I practically took me an hour to clean my cloak. And then I stared at my saddlebags. I dreaded cleaning those if the blood soaked through. I opened a side pocket and inspected it… they were soaked through. Motherfucker. I began emptying my saddlebags. From my saddlebags, I pulled out my two throwing knives, two combat knives and my two longswords. I kept these primarily in case my magic was being blocked or restricted. I pulled out my 9-piece chef's knife set, always handy to keep around. My various hoofcrafted potions that ranged from healing to restoring magic. They were always good when I was in a pinch… which was never. I pulled out my many poisons (also hoofcrafted), from paralyzing venom to air-based toxins. Always good for amusement. I pulled out my shovel that I kept on me for… reasons. I emptied all of my arrows, which I needed to make sure to restock after the battle with the demons. Again, kept them mostly when I couldn't or didn't want to use magic. I pulled out my iron axe that wasn't so much for killing as it was a tool for necessity. I emptied my few notebooks and quills I had for planning. There were various other knick-knacks that fell out. Then, I cleaned my saddlebags and had to put everything back into its place.

Then I got to sleep… for about 20 minutes before a knocking sounded from my door. I groaned and got up to answer. It was a stallion I vaguely remembered seeing. He informed me that the king requested my presence. So, I slung my saddlebags onto my back and donned my cloak. I made sure I had Gecko and followed him to the palace.

The king was a stallion probably in his fifties. He had red fur and a blue mane and tail that seemed to be graying at the roots from probably a mixture of age and stress. He didn't seem to be very relaxed now. As I bowed in his presence, he gestured for all of the guards and aids to leave the throne room. A pretty stupid idea to do with a stallion he had only met once.

"The Hero has awakened", he said. He wasn't really even looking at me. It just looked like he was speaking out loud.

"Is he alright, your majesty?" I asked. This man was lucky I wasn't trying to kill him. I hated talking formally.

"No… he is not fine", the king replied. I raised an eyebrow.

"What is wrong with him, if you don't mind me asking your majesty? He didn't seem to have any major wounds on his body when I carried him back", I informed.

"Oh, his body is healthy", he said, but he still was looking off to the side which was really getting on my nerves.

"Your majesty?"

"His body isn't damaged. It's his mind."

"His mind?"

"Yes. Ever since he woke up, he's done nothing but shake in bed and whisper about demons."

"... Is that so?"

"Yes… so let me ask you… what happened in there? And why did only you two escape?"

"Well, your majesty, we were lured into a trap that the demons had set up."

"A trap you say?"

"Yes. They used the holy relic to draw us further into the demon territory. There, we were split up… I… I don't know what happened to the others. I just ran."

"You ran?"

"Y-Yes, your majesty. I… ran. I didn't stop running until I found the Hero. He had the holy relic in his possession, but he was unconscious. I think that the demons did something to him, knowing that he was the Hero. I grabbed him and fled the demon world."

"Is that correct?"

"Of course, your majesty."

"Hm… while I should punish you for your cowardice, I also need to reward you for saving the Hero and being the reason that we have the holy relic back."

"I just ask to be paid the reward that was promised. I don't need anything more than that."

"Is that so?"

"Actually… I also want all of the other soldier's rewards to go to the Hero. I believe he deserves it, your majesty."

"That we agree on. Fine. You'll get your promised reward. And can I ask of you to deliver the Hero's pay and see if you can talk to him?"

"I would be honored, your majesty."

"Maximilian!" The king shouted. The doors to the throne room opened and servant entered, carrying two bags. The servant hoofed me the smaller bag which contained 30 pieces of gold. I pocketed them before the servant gave me the bigger bag. Just from judging by weight alone, it felt like there felt like there was almost 600 pieces of gold. I nodded at the servant before bowing to the king and leaving. If I had stayed for another minute I probably would have murdered the king of Germaney right there.

I made my way to the hospital where the Hero was staying, carrying the bag of gold on my back.

"I'd like to see the Hero please", I talked to the nurse at the front desk. She looked me up and down.

"Can I ask what your relation to him is?" She asked me. After dealing with the king, I was feeling a bit snarky.

"Ugh, well we ventured into demon territory together", I said while rubbing my chin, causing her eyes to widen. "But besides that, I guess we're strangers."

"He's in room 307", she told me, her mouth hanging slightly agape. I tipped my imaginary hat at her and walked off. I went to the third floor and found room 307. Outside was a guard who was probably on watch. I walked up to him.

"I'm here to deliver something to the Hero", I told him. He looked at me, I looked at him.

"And what would that be?" He asked gruffly.

"Oh just a little something from the king", I answered, throwing the bag from off my bag in front of me. He looked down and into the bag. He came back up looking surprise, flustered and shocked. Yes, those three are similar, but you can see it in the eyes. He stepped aside. I picked up the bag with my magic, and went to move past him but added, "Oh, would you mind giving us some space? Just some personal things."

He nodded his head vigorously and walked down the hall. I waited till he would be out of earshot before walking into the room. As I closed the door, the Hero's head shifted to look at me. But when our eyes met, his widened in panic and he began thrashing in his bed.

"DEMON! DEMON!" He shouted, shifting to the far side of the bed. I began chuckling a bit as I walked towards him. "DEMON!"

"Shhhh", I said, using my magic to forcibly shut his mouth, causing his screams to get stuck in his mouth. "You wouldn't want to worry any of the nice people here. Anyways, I'm here on the king's orders, he's an ass by the way, to give you your reward! But you know, after seeing you in such a state, this simply won't do. So I'll tell you what, I'll hold onto the gold for now. When you're feeling better, just find me and I'll give it to you then… ok?"

I released his mouth so he went back to screaming.

"Sounds good", I said, smiling. I walked over to his window and opened it. Three stories were nothing for me. So I took a deep breath and pocketed all the gold before teleporting down to outside the hospital. From there, I just started walking. Why had I come here again? Oh yeah, I was trying to find Royal. I was sure if I just walked in a straight line, I'd eventually see him.

(A week later)

"What does the sign say?" I asked Gecko, who was sitting on my snout. He did some shakes. "Brussels? We're already in Belgium? Huh."

I was about to continue walking until a shake caused me to stop.

"What is it? A tournament? What's so special about it? Did… did you just say 1.6 million? This tournament is hoofing out a reward of 1.6 million bits? What is it a tournament of? The National Honorable Combat Tournament? A fighting tournament where anypony can join… and the only rules is that you fight till knock-out or ring-out and no weapons are allowed?"

I got a nod from Gecko.

"... Oh my."

Well… if you've made it this far then… congrats. This is the longest chapter I have ever written by quite a couple of thousand words. Bet no one saw this fanfic containing demons. But now we know a bit more about our 'protagonist'. One, he's probably fucking insane. Two, he's got some demon seal, anime bullshit going on. And three, he has a purple fur! I find it amazing that I've barely even described the main protagonist. Hell, the demons are more described than the protagonist. Oh, one thing on the demons, this is just me, but imagine humanoid deathclaws. So like deathclaws that are 6-7 feet tall, stand straighter, don't have a tail, black as night skin and glowing red eyes. Also, I hoped you noticed that I never stuck with a specific pronoun for the demons. I'm sorry if it pissed you off, I know it pissed me off. But there's a reason why I switch between male and general pronouns while not including female pronouns. And the whole italics. Well, that's to show when the protagonist is speaking/hearing a different language. Now the main language for each chapter can change. So that leaves the question… what language does the protagonist speak? Another mystery. Also, the song the mc sings is Silhouettes by Avicii. Not a particularly good song for slaughter, but maybe it has a deeper meaning?

No No it doesn't, or not that I think it does. Though it did somehow fit in. Well that was a good bit of background for all of you, as it will be the last! Ok sorry, that is a lie, Solo likes to lie… sometimes. Good Bye!

Please review and favorite/follow if you enjoyed. I'd love feedback on my longest chapter.