“Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid!"

"Okay Sweetie Belle, we get it, ya' screwed up. Now would ya' kindly stop repeatin' that word like a broken record?"

Apple Bloom's chastisement does little to sway me. "No, you don't understand. Stupidity is like the cardinal sin for demons! You don't fuck up this badly, you just don't."

"Come on Sweetie Belle, it wasn't that bad of a mistake," says Scootaloo.

"Yes, it fucking was! I should've known there'd be cultists dumb enough to follow Asmodeus, I should've known there was a good chance cultists could come to Ponyville!" I slap a hoof to my head and call myself an idiot for the thousandth time since we started walking back. “And now because of my stupidity, we've got this peachy little bitch wandering around town doing Satan knows what."

“Well, at least it’s not a full fledged demon that got through,” Scootaloo states. “I mean, it can’t be that bad if she’s just a regular pony, right?”

“Maybe, if this had been your everyday, average, run of the mill cultist, but no. This girl is in contact with Asmodeus, a literal Prince of Hell. Mortals who contact Princes of Hell, are not average by any standard. You both saw what she did back there with those demons, who knows what else she could be capable of. Cultists thrive off of summoning demons and making deals for power. She could be capable of leveling all of Ponyville to the ground for all I know."

“So I guess we better find her before she can do anything like that," Scootaloo states. “Say, do you think you could use that clarbuoyancy, thing or, whatever it’s called.”

“Clairvoyance Scootaloo,” I state. “And that’s not a bad idea.”

I clear my mind and visualize Alda’s face, trying not to do so without picturing her bound, gagged, and helpless before me. Several moments go by and then my mind suddenly goes blank, and I receive a vision, a vision of…

“The library.”

“What?”

“She’s in the goddamn library!” I blurt throwing a hoof to the sky. “Just our luck really. Come on, hopefully we can drag out of there before Spike asks too many questions.”

We trudge on through the town ignoring any conversation, and march up to the chestnut oak door of the library. Just as we enter we hear giggling from inside.

“You’re pretty handy for such a small guy.”

We stare at each other a moment, before turning the handle on the front door and entering inside. There, sitting on a stool dead center in the tree, is the pink coated pegasus from earlier, getting her wounds dressed up by a certain baby dragon.

“You sure know your way around a first-aid kit. Where’d you learn to do this anyway?”

Spike smirks as he finishes wrapping the bandages around her chest. “Oh, I have a friend who works with animals nearby. Sorta have to know a thing or two about this kind of stuff in that line of work, and she was kind enough to show me the basics as well. It’s been more useful than you would believe.”

“Such a cute smile, too,” she says with flirtatious eyes. “You must have a mare friend with that kind of face.”

Spike stutters and his face turns shades of red. “Well, I, uh-”

“I’m sorry, are we interrupting something?” I state.

They both turn to me, Spike with a shocked blush, and Alda with a cutting grin. “Ah, Sweetie Belle, how nice to see you again.”

My eyes turn a faint tint of red as I stare at her, beaming so much hatred into one glance. How I wish looks could kill at this moment.

“You… you two know each other?” Spike asks with a shaky voice.

“Why yes! These are the young fillies who warned me about that manticore that came out of the forest.”

“Manticore?” I ask.

“Yes, the horrid beast,” she says. “Left me rather scratched up, but I would’ve been it’s dinner had you three not warned me in time. Of course, I guess it’s a good thing I was there to lead it off you as well. I’d hate to think of what would’ve happened had we not bumped into each other.”

Her lighthearted grin is a mocking gesture. What the hell is she playing at? Why would she come here of all places? She had to have known I’d find her here, so why?

“That is pretty lucky for you to run across them out there,” Spike states, glaring at us with squinted eyes. “Could I ask exactly what you three were doing out there to begin with?”

“Good question, Spike, but here’s a better one. How are you going to explain to Rarity how you almost let her defenseless younger sister get eaten by a Manticore?”

Spike holds a finger up in the air, but only manages to weakly stutter out, “I’m… just going to shut up now.”

“And I’d rather put the whole incident behind me,” Alda states. “As far as I’m concerned you three are nothing but a pair of angels anyway.”

Pair? But there's three of- Oh you smug bitch.

I growl softly and look at Spike with hypnotic eyes. “Spike, give me and Alda some privacy? Don't come back in until we're done.”

He gets that blank look that all my victims do under the spell. “Well, if you need to talk… I guess I could step out for a moment.”

“Oh, but I don’t think there’s any need for that,” Alda states. “If there’s anything Sweetie Belle needs to say to me, she can say it in front of you. From the sound of things you’d do well to keep a close watch on her. Besides, why would she want to keep secrets from someone as cute as you?”

She rubs him underneath the chin and gives him a come hither look. Whatever affects my hypnosis may have had wares off under her lustful charms. “On second thought, I guess I should probably stick around after what just happened. Not like there’s anything Sweetie wouldn’t want me to hear, right?”

Once again cheated by that adulterous bitch known as hormones, god damn her to hell!

I swear internally but smile widely and answer with a calm voice. “Of course Spike, nothing at all. It’s just that it seems a little strange for someone to be traveling alone towards Ponyville. I’d imagine everypony is a little freaked out, what with the recent attack in Canterlot, not to mention the crime rates suddenly skyrocketing all over Equestria. I just wanted to ask our guest here what she was doing in Ponyville to begin with.”

Granted, I probably would’ve worded it differently. Like somewhere along the lines of, ‘What the fuck are you doing here, you little cunt, and tell me why I shouldn’t yank your lungs out through your vagina.’ Or something similar.

Alda looks at me sweetly and answers, “Well, to tell the truth, I was actually interested in this town’s recently ascended princess.”

Spike blinks at her. “You mean Twilight?”

“Indeed I do. Do you realize that we’ve lived to see a once in a lifetime event? The last time somepony ascended to an Alicorn was over a thousand years ago, and no pony has been able to do it since. Well, until now that is. It’s so amazing I just had to know more about this mare.”

“So, you came all the way out here, out of pure curiosity?” I ask.

Her eyes roll upward and she makes a guilty smile. “Well, that, and maybe to be the first to write a book on the subject and clean up in the marketplace.”

“Ah, so you’re an author then?” I ask. “Strange, I would’ve never guessed by your cutie mark.”

Then again, I never would’ve guessed what she is by her cutie mark. It’s a rather strange one, a large red apple with a white infinity symbol in the center of it, and rays of light coming off it in all directions.

Alda looks down at the image, never losing her smile. “You wouldn’t believe how much I get that. It's a special one that means that I seek after hidden knowledge, wisdom that’s hard to get ahold of, and share it with the rest of the world.”

So she literally got her cutie mark in occultism? I wish I could say that I was surprised, but then I’d be lying.

"I've always been interested in such knowledge, and your local princess is easily the most fascinating subject I can think of.” She sighs like a teenage girl fantasizing over a school crush. “I’d do anything just to meet with her.”

I’m guessing Asmodeus wouldn’t mind a meeting with the newest Princess as well. From what I’ve heard Twilight really gave the Demon Lord hell when he attacked Canterlot, and if word is true she’s largely why Princess Celestia is still alive. On top of that, it has barely been a week since she was coronated, so it wouldn’t surprise me to hear that not even the Crown Prince of Lust knows that much about her. First rule of any battle is to know your enemy, so maybe it isn’t so shocking that Alda turned up at our good Princess’s home.

Still, it was a careless move on her part. Even without a sixth sense guiding me she should’ve known I’d find her in such a public place, so why did she come here?

My acute hearing picks up a strange hissing sound in the room. I look over at Alda’s luggage, the cage she had earlier, and notice the beady yellow eyes staring unblinking at me.

I take a step back from those eyes, somehow feeling like there’s a danger in them. “What creature do you have in there?”

Alda breaks from her fantasies and looks vaguely at the cage. “Oh, just my one and only traveling companion, Aka. Such a cute little thing. Kept me company on all my travels across the nation.”

“Aka’s yer’ pet?” Apple Bloom asks.

“Why, yes he is.”

“And yah’ keep yer’ pet all locked up inside a cage?”

Alda puts an embarrassed hoof to her mouth. “Well, unfortunately to say, I sorta have to. Aka is a good boy, bless his heart, but he does have a little trouble getting along with others.”

We hear a loud hiss echo through the room, followed by a scared squeak. It appears Angel Bunny got a little too curious and wandered towards the cage, earning snap of fangs for its efforts.

“See, he acts that way with everyone.” Alda unlatches the cage door, and coaxes the creature out. “Oh, but you’d never harm me now wouldn’t you? Wouldn’t you?!”

The hissing goes softer as the creature slithers out from box. Whatever that cage is made of can not be of ordinary material, because the moment the thing comes out I immediately sense demonic energy. The demon takes the shape of a serpent, a big one. It’s about half as thick as Alda’s neck and nearly as long as she is. It has a jet black skin color with stripes of yellow, save its tail which is bright yellow and has a strange rubbery appearance to it.

Alda lowers her hoof to the ground and it begins crawling up her arm, slithering and wrapping itself around her neck. It laps at her cheek and elicits a giggle from her. Her joy doesn’t seem to be shared with everyone. Spike and my friends shudder at the sight of the creature, and all the pets run behind us shivering with their tails between their legs.

Fluttershy’s rabbit hides behind my leg, clutching to me like a scared child. Seeing an opportunity I look down at the rabbit with a loving smile. “Don’t worry little guy, I’ll be here to protect you.”

I then lower the ward suppressing my own demonic energy for a moment.

The effects are immediate.

The rabbit, along with all of the other pets, shriek and scatter across the whole library. Rainbow Dash’s tortoise smashes through the library window and all the others soon follow behind him, Opalescence stopping to give me one last hiss before leaving.

The others stare at the library’s new exit for a moment with dumbfounded expressions. Spike eventually realizes the direness of what just happened and goes running after them. “Damnit, not again!”

Watching him leave is so blissfully sweet, though it is somewhat mard by Alda’s dagger sharp grin. “I must admit Sweetie, that was well played. I knew there were wards that could hide a demon’s presence, but I never knew there were ones that could be turned on and off like that.”

“It’s a special variation that I made myself. As you can see, it comes in handy at times.”

Her eyes light up with, disturbingly, what I can only call respect. “And she’s inventive, too. I almost envy you. You don’t want to know how much I wish mortals could use those sigils as well.”

“Wait, what do you mean ‘wish mortals could them as well’?” Scootaloo asks.

“Well, you need some sort of fuel to power those sigils. In young Sweetie’s case, it’s her demonic energy, but regular ponies like you and me don’t have anything of the sort. So those sigils would pretty much be nothing but a nifty looking tattoo on us.”

Scootaloo’s ears flatten out and her eye twitches a little. Oh for the love of Luna, was she actually thinking I’d let her-

“Damnit!”

Yeah, apparently she was. I’d chastise her, but honestly I think she’s too busy grinding her teeth to pay it any heed.

“Your friends have interest in demonic magick? That’s rather interesting to know.”

Alda’s words light a spark of anger in my chest, and her conniving grin only pours fuel on the fire. “Don’t even start with me. I’ve already planned out twelve different ways to kill you and none of them are pleasant, or quick. The only reason you’re still standing right now, is because I don’t have the time to wipe up the mess after word. So I’m going to give you one last chance to back out. Leave Ponyville by the end of the day, or you’ll dead by morning.”

She closes her eyes and gives me an innocent smile. “You sure are persistent aren’t you. Did you really forget about my little friends watching over me?”

“Yes, because they did such a good job for you last time,” I say moving my eyes up and down her thick coat of bandages. “Besides, I’m a resourceful girl, you’ve seen that. I could shatter your sanity six times over if I wanted to.”

“Aw, now that’s just adorable.” She tussles my mane. My whole body freezes up. She actually has the nerve to tussle my mane! “Are you sure you don’t want to join up with my master? We’d get along so well if we were only on the same side.”

My eye twitches, and my hoof shakes. I need to physically restrain myself from punching it straight through her face. With gritted teeth I ask her, “Would you like to die by evisceration or decapitation?”

She sighs regretfully, before turning from me and walking over to the bookshelves. “Surprise me. I never believed we should know how or when death greets us.”

“Have it your way,” I state with a grunt. “Come on girls, I’ve got a mess to plan out.”

“You do that,” Alda states, grabbing a book off the shelf. “Oh, but I would prefer my body to be cremated after you kill me. So if it’s not too much you could at least light the corpse on fire, as long as, well you know, the Order isn’t chasing your ass down at that point.”

My legs lock up and all the air is ejected from my lungs. I arc my head over my shoulder and stare at the pegasus. “What did you say?”

“You have ears don’t you? I believe you heard what I said.” She tucks her book underneath her hoof, and turns to me with eyes narrowed to taunting slits, and lips curved into a smile resembling devil horns. “You’re not that hard to figure out. Tell me, why would a lone, demonic, little girl be living in a small town like Ponyville? Furthermore, why would she be trying to keep all other demons out? It’s a little strange, don’t you think? Unless of course…”

She begins moving, waltzing around me with a spring in her step. “You’re hiding from someone, and it has to be the Order or some other demon hunting group. Why else would you be trying to keep other demons out of town, other than to keep away the attention that comes with them?”

Beads of sweat begin forming on my face. She’s a lot smarter than I thought she was. With her airy demeanor I never would’ve guessed she was that sharp, but then again, I should know better than anyone that looks can be deceiving.

Alda passes in front of me again, her devilish smile prompting me to regain my composure. “Okay, I’ll admit, that was pretty astute of you. But what exactly are you getting at?”

“Oh come now Sweetie Belle. I know you’re smarter than this, you wouldn’t have made it in this town if you weren’t. Use that noggin of yours,” She states giving me two knocks on my forehead. “What I’m getting at is that you’re in no position to be threatening me, because if you even try to make good on those threats, I’ll cause enough havoc in this town to warrant a small army of the Order’s soldiers to be sent out here.”

“But… but they’ll find you, too!” Scootaloo shouts.

“Somehow I don’t think that’ll mean much to me if I’m dead,” Alda states.

The way she says it is so calm and casual it’s almost like she’s reading the evening paper. I growl and begin to respond.

“And just so we’re clear,” Alda says, stopping in front of me. “Don’t try anything sneaky either. I might not be able to watch myself twenty-four seven, but my friends sure can. Even now they’re hiding in this room, just waiting for you to throw the first strike. And even if by some luck you do managed to kill me-”

She leans her face in, her evil grin coming closer and closer until it can practically taste the sweat on my face. “I promise you that my demons will get the Order’s attention. How long do you think it’ll take them to get here when ponies start dropping dead in the streets, or when the blood of infants is used to write demonic sigils on the walls of their homes? If you lay one hoof on me the Order will be all over this town in a heartbeat, and I’ll be sure that my friends leave a trail straight to you.”

Her face, and her grin, lean away and I suddenly have space to breath. It feels like I’ve been holding my breath for a decade. My eyes stay locked on Alda even as she circles back to her bookshelves, a happy sway in her hips. “It was so nice of you to drop by to see me, by the way. Maybe you can visit again soon. I’d love to have your company.”

And just like that it hits me. I have nothing to say back to that. She has me. She has me by the throat, and there’s nothing I can do. I have enough demonic power in me to level a whole city, enough spells to wage a one pony war on Equestria, and yet to this one damn mortal... I’m powerless.

Every one of my legs trembles as I turn around, vibrating with rage. With something between a growl and sigh I walk towards the door, being careful not to stomp my hooves into the floor as I do.

I feel the eyes of my friends follow me as I walk. “Sweetie Belle?”

I don’t say a word, just continue to move towards the door. Spike is on the other side when I open it, dragging half a dozen whining pets into the library. I continue past him, gaining his ire in return.

“Oh no, don’t worry about me. I’ve got this all by myself, not like a could use an extra set of hooves or anything!”

I stop in place and glare back at the animals with a small spike of demonic energy. They all shriek and flee back into the library. Spike stares bewildered for a second before running after them. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom come out shortly after him.

“Sweetie Belle, are you feeling alright?”

Am I feeling alright? Does she really think I’m feeling alright? No, I’m not fucking feeling alright! In fact, I’m so frustrated right now I’ll probably explode if I don’t get it out of my system!

I stomp on through town without saying a word. I don’t stop for anyone, I don’t even make eye contact with anyone. I just keep moving on through Sweet Apple Acres and up to our clubhouse. I enter in, and shut the door behind me, answering my friend’s concerned objections with the click of the lock.

For the first few moments I can’t even speak straight, so I just pace around the clubhouse stuttering and grinding my hooves against the floor. When I finally do speak, it’s like a leak slowly bursting through a dam.

“Damnit… damnit… damnit… damnit, damnit, damnit, damnit, damnit, damnit, damnit, damnit, damnit, damnit, god mother fucking god damnit! Shit!” I take my frustrations out on some poor end table we had in the clubhouse, smashing to pieces on the floor.

“You just love doing this to me don’t You!” I scream to the heavens. “Oh, yeah, I know, of course You do! You’re not on my side, why would You be! I’m a demon, my whole life is just a big fucking show for You, isn’t it?! I can honestly see why my fathers tried to kill You in the first place! You’re a dick, a douchebag, an asshole! You created Your own fucking world just to have us line up one by one and kiss Your sorry fucking ass! Well fuck You! Fuck You and Your fucking asshole creations! Fuck!”

I bang my head against the wall, unsure if I’m trying to hurt it or myself at this point. Regardless, I end up sliding down it and falling on my haunches, continuing to cuss into my hooves.

There’s a gentle knock on the door, Apple Blooms voice breaks the silence. “Are yah’ done fussin’ in there?”

I breath out a sigh heavy enough to collapse the floor beneath me. “Yeah, I am, let me unlock the door.”

I do so and my friends come in, giving only a moments glance to the splintered mess of wood that used to be an end table. They sit in the center of clubhouse while I slouch against the wall, my mane buried in my forehooves. We sit like this for several awkward moments in silence.

Finally, Apple Bloom speaks. “So, what are we gonna’ do now?”

“What can we do? She’s got me in a noose here girls, and damn tight one at that.”

“Come on Sweetie Belle, you’ve gotta at least try,” Scootaloo states. “You have that spell book don’t you? Isn’t there something in there that can help you kill the demons?”

“Anything that could help me in there would be too noticeable to use in town, and even then as long as they can hide their energy there’d be no way to be sure that I got all the demons with her.”

“Then get her outta town,” Apple Bloom suggests. “You can hypnotize ponies, can’t yah’? Just walk up to her and ask her to ‘kindly follow you’ into Everfree forest.”

“That won’t work!” I spit. “Didn’t you see how she reacted when I tried to hypnotize Spike? She was on him in instant, and snapped him out of the trance. She knows I can hypnotize. I don’t know how she knows, but she does. And she’s obviously not dumb enough to leave town on her own, she’s too well protected there.”

“Well… what about the holy water? Can’t that help us at all, what if we drench her and everything around her in it?”

I glare at her, making her already sheepish smile bigger. “Do I even need to point out how many flaws that plan has? The fact that none of it will take effect unless we get the stuff on her demons? Or the fact that if we miss even one they’ll almost certainly go on a rampage through town? Or the fact that we’d have to waste our entire supply of holy water to do it? No Scootaloo, that won’t work either, it wouldn’t even come close to working!”

“Whoa, Sweetie, settle down there,” says Apple Bloom. “She’s only tryin’ to help. That’s all we’re tryin’ to do.”

“And as much as I appreciate the thought, I’d by lying if I said it wasn’t pointless.” I hit my hoof against the wall as I say it. “Don’t you see it girls, I can’t do anything to her without bringing the Order in, or revealing my identity. There’s nothing I can do.”

I hang my head low and grip at the sides of my mane. I’ve never felt this helpless before. Even when I’ve been in trouble before there was always something I could do, some clear course of action for me to take even if it was difficult. Here, there’s nothing, any move I make will get me killed. Stalemate.

“But you have to do somethin’.”

I give Apple Bloom a blank stare. “Did you black out for last minute or so?”

“No, you don’t you get it?” she says throwing her hooves up in the air. “That girl is here to spy, on Princess Twilight. If we don’t stop her there’s no telling what she could find. She could end up killing her, Sweetie Belle.”

I groan and shake my head as I respond. “I’m sorry Apple Bloom, but I can’t risk getting caught. Twilight will just have to fend for herself.”

“And suppose she doesn’t stop at Twilight? Suppose that she’s here to study up on everyone? Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, my sister.” She narrows her eyes at me and straightens up as she continues. “What if she goes after your sister Sweetie? What if one night, yah’ wake up, and find her downstairs in yer’ living room? Are yah’ just gonna lay around and do nothin’ then?”

The truth can be a real bitch sometimes, other times it can be a sucker punch to the gut that leaves you in pain after word. “She wouldn’t do that, she’s too smart to do that. If she is here to spy on Rarity she’ll use indirect means or get her demons to do the dirty work, but she’d never risk breaking into a house herself.”

“Fine, then suppose one a’ her demons breaks into your house, are yah’ just gonna sit on yer’ ass then?”

I bite my lip and growl my answer. “Yes Apple Bloom, that’s exactly what I’d do. That’s all I can do, whether I like it or not.”

They both gape at me, edging back like my words are physical blows.

“Are you serious?! What’s wrong with you?! Don’t you care about your sister?” Scootaloo asks.

“Of course I care about her!” I blurt. “But she has the Order on her side, along with the Elements of Harmony. Whatever Alda finds won’t change the fact that Rarity has the two greatest threats Tartarus has ever known on her side. Where as if I put one hoof out of line Alda will destroy me. The Order will come, they’ll find me, and I’ll be either dead or on the run. End of story.”

Scootaloo grips at her mane and growls. “Come on Sweetie Belle, you know this isn’t right. You’re the hero for Luna’s sake, you’re supposed to-”

“No! Scootaloo, I am no hero.” I throw my hoof at her accusingly. “You said I was a hero, but I never used the term for myself. If you think I kill ponies out of some twisted sense justice you’re wrong. I kill ponies because I. don’t. have. a choice! I kill them because there is something inside me that will drive me fucking insane if I don’t. I kill, so I can survive. I hide, so I can survive. Everything I have ever done, is just so that I can survive! Nothing more, nothing less. So don’t you dare try to make out what I do as heroic! Because it is anything but!”

Silence comes over the clubhouse. I find myself short of breath after my rant, and sweat pours down my neck along with my stress. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom stare at me, the former with a hurt look, and the later with a cutting glare. Apple Bloom maintains eye contact with me for an oppressive eternity, until she finally ends it with a single word.

“Bullshit.”

Now I’m glaring at her. “Come again?”

“That’s bullshit an’ you know it! If all you were tryin’ to do was survive then what’s the point a’ goin’ after criminals? What’s the point a’ comin’ out here where it’s so much harder to blend in? I might not be an expert in this kinda stuff, but it seems to me like everything would be a lot easier if you weren’t doin’ any a that stuff!”

She walks up to me, until she’s standing right in my face. “You know what I reckon? I reckon this don’t have anythin’ to do with you ‘survivin’. Nuh-uh, I reckon that yer’ just scared! Alda won the battle and now yer’ too chicken to finish the war! Is that it? I’m right, aren’t I, Sweetie Belle!”

“Shut up, just shut up!” I scream at her. “You don’t have any idea what you’re talking about! There’s a fine line between bravery and stupidity, Apple Bloom, and I can not afford to cross it, no matter what!”

“Our sisters an’ their friends crossed that line before.” She spits. “Hell, we might not even be alive if they hadn’t a’ crossed that line! Do you remember the cockatrice Fluttershy stared down? Or how about Rainbow bucking a dragon in the face? Or the whole lot a’ them taking on an army a’ changelings? Call it stupid if you want Sweetie Belle, but what they did saved lives, and if we don’t do somethin’ similar it might end up costing them their lives!”

“And so we’ll throw away our own lives in the process. Hell, we might even throw away more lives if Alda decides to act on her threat. We don’t need heroics now, Apple Bloom! We need to be smart. The smart live, and the heroes die. It’s not pleasant, but it’s the truth, Apple Bloom.”

“Our sisters our heroes, and they haven’t died!”

“Well maybe this time they will! Have you ever thought of that?!”

Silence comes so quickly it’s disturbing. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo stare at me with open mouths and plate sized eyes. Several heated breaths are taken before I realize what I just said, but by then it’s too late.

Scootaloo turns to the door first, Apple Bloom stays long enough to give me rabbid glare before following her.

“Wait, girls, wait! You know I don’t think they’ll… I didn’t mean-”

They slam the door in my face, and then I’m all alone. I remain transfixed on the door for a moment or two, and then hit my forehead on the floor. I want to scream at myself. I almost do.

God fucking damnit, why did I say that! Did I suddenly confuse them with someone like Virgil who doesn’t have anyone he cares about? Have I just spent so much time only discussing matters like this with other demons that their standpoint has rubbed off on me? Or am I just fucking idiot?

I keep asking myself these questions for some time, each one sinking me further into depression. One down side to asking yourself questions, there’s no quicker way to realize how alone you are. My hooves fall limp to the floor and echo through the empty clubhouse. It’s ghostly silent, only the soft whistle of wind can be heard, tickling the drapes and chilling me with its icy kiss. It feels like a morgue in here.

Eventually I can’t stand the silence anymore and stand to my hooves. There aren’t many things I’m uncomfortable doing, but staying idle is one of them. Alda may be off limits to me at the moment, but that doesn’t mean I can let my guard down. There’s still plenty of other demons that could wander into Ponyville… in fact, speak of the devil, I’m sensing a few heading towards town right now.

Is it sad that even the thought of torture, rape, and necrophilia doesn’t cheer me up?

Well, who knows, maybe my mood will lighten when I actually get there. It seems like they’re demons of deceit after all. They’ve always been known to be excellent screamers.

With a sigh I leave the clubhouse, shutting the door behind me.

The rest of my day is spent fighting demons, and I’m thankful to say that my mood does cheer up once I’m out there. No better way to cut down some stress than to cut into someone’s throat, or crush their lungs, or choke them with their own severed limbs, or tie them to bottom of a river bed with their own entrails. Have I ever mentioned that asphyxiation tends to lift my spirits?

By the time night comes I’ve amassed a pretty impressive body count. Three gluttony demons, two spirit demons, a group of harpies, and even some anger demons. Though my favorite group had to be the lust demons that took me for an ‘oh so helpless little filly’. Nothing quite like the look on a pedophile’s face when you show off a set of razor sharp teeth, while his cock is still in your mouth. I laugh at the memory.

Once my day of patrol is finished, I set the teleportation ritual and go back to Carousel Boutique. I enter in the bathroom again to wash off enough blood to stock three hospitals for weeks. When that’s done, I dry off and head to my room, though not with any amount of enthusiasm.

I’m alone now, and alone means I can think. I don’t want to think, because I know all I can think about is Alda and what happened with my friends. It’s not like I can avoid the subject forever, though. Wounds have to be stitched up eventually, it’s best to just get it over with before it gets worse.

I lie down with my hooves spread out over the bed, and stare up at the ceiling. I rub my head as if trying squeeze any distracting thoughts out of it. Finally, I breathe a loud sigh to tell myself it’s time to start.

I try to review the facts and see if there's anything I might have missed. Pondering the matter though only serves to nurture my frustration. Every solution is either too risky to pull in town, or leaves a big chance for escape. Each plan I think of only enforces the notion that Alda has me trapped, and trapped good.

Honestly, fuck Alda, fuck her and her stupid cunt faced demons. God, just thinking of that bitch is getting me pissed.

At some point I decide that my brain cells would be better saved if I just rub one off and then go to bed. So that’s what I do. I let my imagination run wild with the concept of killing Alda, torturing her and raping in every way I know how. When my orgasm hits me I have a big content smile on my face.

Despite everything that’s happened, I have no trouble sleeping tonight.

“You seem to have lost your edge since we last played.”

I can’t even summon the enthusiasm to respond. I rest my hoof on the edge of the table and use it to prop my head up. “Sorry, I’m just a little distracted at the moment.”

My opponent tilts her head to the side and grins at me. “Perhaps you should take your mind off this Alda girl. Heaven knows so many of the worlds problems can be solved simply by looking at our surroundings.”

With a roll of my eyes I look down at the board with a tired glance. My king is pinned into the corner of the board by the queen. There’s no places to move, and a knight hides off to the side preventing me from simply taking the queen. Checkmate.

I shake my head and breath a heavy sigh. “Chess motifs, how very original of you. Forgive me if I don’t seem so interested, but I hardly find games to give good advice for reality.”

My opponent chuckles in her grim voice. “And there is why Alda beat you, Sweetie. You fail to realize that life is a game, and the secret to winning, is to simply know that it is a game.”

I give my opponent a sharp glance. “What does that mean?”

Her smile grows. She reaches across the board and picks up one of my bishops. “In a game, you rarely ever consider the tragedy behind losing a piece. You move and control them like a god, you never care of what they think, what they believe, what they feel. They’re just pieces of wood that you’d sacrifice in an instant.”

She holds the piece on the flat of her hoof, then waves her free hoof in front of it. Inky mist shrouds the piece, and then lifts to reveal a tiny figure of Apple Bloom.

“But give the pawn a name, a face, tell the player that it is her friend and cares for her. Suddenly, the pawn becomes a lot harder to sacrifice. You’ll be so concerned about protecting one piece that you’ll lose the game.”

She places the figure back down on the board, right next to her queen, where it transforms back into its original state.

“Truth is, you could’ve easily broken my defense. Just take my queen and leave your piece to contend with the knight by itself. What’s the loss of another pawn to you?”

My eyes narrow, my lips go straight. I sit up right in my seat and glare at my opponent. “So says the logic of all great mares. But you know that great and good are not the same thing, and you also know which one of the two I want to be.”

“Ah yes, how silly of me,” my opponent gloats. “You still cling to those cute little fantasies that you can somehow be an angel, while at the same time masturbating to the thought of bathing in the blood of your enemies. When will you wake up and realize just how stupid and childish those notions are?”

I give her half a glare, too lost in thought to give her a full reprimand. “Who knows? Maybe it is childish, but then again I am a child. I am a child who will cling to her childish ways because they’re the only thing that keeps me from hating myself. The last thing keeping me from becoming a complete monster.”

My opponent’s smile falls from her lips. It’s replaced by a dark scowl that shows barred teeth and a vicious snarl. It remains only for a moment, and then folds back into a composed smirk. She chuckles, and then taps the edge of the board twice. My pieces transform into tiny figurines of my friends, my sister and her friends, along with several other residents of Ponyville. I grab the edge of the table when I see this.

“Well, I applaud you for having such pure minded goals. Live your life with the friends you endanger. Be proud of the sister you leave for dead. Truly you are the most innocent child in Equestria; no, of all time.”

The table shakes under my tightened grip. “I can protect my friends, and my sister can protect herself!”

She taunts me with her laugh. “Well, you’ve done a marvelous job protecting them so far. Three days in and you’ve already managed to let a follower of one of the most dangerous demon lords in existence to waltz into town. It’s an amusing situation, but honestly I’m much more interested in what will become of your dear sister.”

She taps on the table again, and then her pieces take the shape of hideous demons and devils, all facing towards the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. “Oh, how I wonder what fate she will have. I can imagine so many grisly deaths in her future, but then again maybe it won’t be death that awaits her. No, maybe it’ll be something far worse.”

Her eyes wander up from the board, and stare straight into mine. “What do you think will become of that dear sister you abandoned? Do think she’ll be raped? Or tortured? Or maybe both at the same time?”

The thought seems to make her giggle. Her laughter is quickly becoming more infuriating by the second. “Then again, it is a Crown Prince she’s facing after all. The literal masters of corruption and temptation. Who knows, maybe Asmodeus will sway her with the promise of some rich, handsome stallion. It wouldn’t surprise me, to say the least.”

“That’s enough!” My chair goes flying backward when I stand up. “You talk about my sister like that again and I’ll punch you in the damn face. I would’ve loved to help her if I could, I would’ve done anything, but it was too, damn, risky. The Order would’ve found out for sure if I told her anything.”

My opponent grins like a madmare, then leans across the table like a leering pervert. “So then you sacrificed her, took the queen and left her to face the knight herself then huh?”

Air escapes my lungs, like blood from an open wound. I stand in stunned silence, stuttering and staring dumbfounded at the mare across from me.

She begins her abusive chuckle. “You see the sad truth now, don’t you? You are correct in saying you’re a child, in more ways than you imagined. You’re not playing a game. Hell, these aren’t even game pieces to you. They’re dolls, and you’re playing pretend. You’re pretending to have a life that you can’t have, a perfect life. Your friends and family are all good for a laugh, and a hug, and a shoulder to cry on, but the moment any actual danger crops up you'll toss them aside like the toys they are. You’d kill your own mother in her sleep if it would help you survive.”

“Shut up… just, shut the fuck up! That’s not true, you’re lying! I know your lying!”

The longer she stares at me the wider her grin gets. “I’m lying to you?”

Somehow her silence is more unnerving than her laughter. My grip tightens when she stands up, and my heart pulses as she strolls calmly over to me. I do my best to stand my ground, remain strong and unmoving against her dark demeanor, which is like trying to stop a steamroller with my bare hooves. She’s just inches away when I finally bend and turn my head from her direction.

“No! You look at me, Sweetie Belle,” she demands.

Honestly, I want to. I want to look her straight in the face without any fear for once, but just seeing her… looking at her… and this close up…

“Look at me, Sweetie!”

My breath quivers from my lips in icy puffs. When did it get so cold so suddenly? With twisting fear in my gut and sweat burning my vision, I turn my stiff neck in her direction. My whole body is shaking, and then we make eye contact, and I go completely stiff.

I’m staring into her eyes. I’m staring into my eyes, the eyes of my demon self. They bore into my own gaze like drills. They’re lizard-like with a faint red glow, which illuminates my night black fur and deathly white mane. My sharp crooked teeth have a gaze of their own, a look of crazed malice. My wound is still visible, a stumpy wing that twitches behind my long curved horns. For the longest time I stare into my face, the face of madness. The face that was the very last thing so many ponies saw in this world.

When my demon self speaks I can literally feel the breath on my face. “The worst lies are the ones we tell ourselves, Sweetie Belle. You said it yourself, remember? Say one long enough and eventually you’ll come to believe it. Any blind fool could see just how much you truly care for these dolls of yours. You’d throw them all into a fire to save yourself. Why keep up the act? Why continue to lie to yourself? They’ll all find out about your true heritage eventually. Why not just embrace it? Turn your greatest weakness into your greatest weapon.”

There’s an aura of darkness that surrounds her words, a pleasing aura, like wine to a recovering alcoholic. Just listening to her gives me urges; the faint taste of blood on my lips, a sexual lust for pained screams, the sadistic excitement of taking another’s life. My darkest desires have been brought to life so that they may tease and tempt me ten times over what they usually do.

I can almost see it in my head. Alda at my hooves, crying into a pools of her own blood, begging me to end her pain. I take her head off and make love to her dead corpse, then I hang her from town hall for everyone to see. From there I travel all throughout Equestria, doing whatever I please to who ever I please. I fuck or rape any stallion or mare, for the first time I taste of virgin blood, and I become feared throughout all the nation. I could do it all. I could become the greatest demon to ever walk Equestria, I could do what Discord and Nightmare Moon failed to do, I could-

“No!” I punch my demon self in the face and back away from her, drenched in sweat. She touches the spot where I hit her. There’s not even a mark on her face. She shoots a glare at me, which I’m all too happy to return. “If you honestly believe you can pull that temptation crap on me, then I have trouble believing you’re actually me. I know the tricks of the devil better than anyone, so they can’t be used against me! Don’t try to spit in my face by telling me I’m a monster. I know I’m a monster, it’s my very nature, and I’m fighting like hell against it! I may not be an angel now, I may never be an angel, but damnit I will try even if I spend all eternity doing it!”

I slam my hoof against the table and pull it over, sending the pieces flying across the floor. “So take this damn game of yours and shove it up your ass! You can mock and insult me all you want, but I will never give in to you! I will throw myself into the pit of hell before I let that happen!”

I feel the slightest edge of a smile on my lips, which my demon self does not share. She stares at me, eyes narrowed and a frown cut deep on her face. She doesn’t say anything, but looks down at the game pieces, and sees my king. She lifts up her hoof, puts it down on the piece, and presses down with enough force to crack it.

I gasp out shock and fall to the ground in pain. I open my mouth to scream but all that comes out is a wet, gargled sound in my throat. Everything is pain, the slightest movement I make sends electric jolts of agony rippling through body. Moving my neck is pure torture, but I need to see what’s happening to me, and then I wish I hadn’t.

My limbs are crushed and bent in ways that they shouldn’t go. Ribs are snapped and stick out from chest, opening gaping wounds for blood to come oozing out of my body. I hear another crack and a whole new wave of pain comes over me. Guts squeeze out of my wounds like paste and blood flies up from my throat. It’s several agonizing seconds before I can physically force my head back to the demon.

Her face remains completely unchanged, and she stares straight into my eyes. The king is cracked all over, and breaking even more under her hoof.

“Knowing you, and the position you’re in… I have a feeling we’ll be seeing Hell before you even know it.”

She crushes the king completely, and my eyes pop out of my skull.

It’s truly sad how accustomed I’ve gotten to nightmares. I’m not even scared when I wake up anymore. I just shrug it off like a scrape or bruise. I sit up in my bed and rub the sides of head. It feels so empty, being here all alone. No family, or friends to go to, I’m completely isolated.

God damnit, I really fucked up today, and all because that stupid little cunt Alda got the better of me. Maybe Apple Bloom is right. Maybe I am just scared; but Celestia damnit don’t I have reason to be now?

Wasn’t that the whole reason I moved out here? So I wouldn’t have to be scared of cultists and demons attacking me, or hunter clans finding me? That’s how it was supposed to be, and Luna knows it was going fine for first few years. Now a Demon Lord is on the loose, and his little follower is strolling through Ponyville.

Life just loves to bite me in the ass, doesn’t it?

I take a deep sigh and fall back on my bed. For moment I’m unsure whether to stay awake and think or let sleep take over me again. I’m soon answered by a soft ‘tink’ sound that comes from my window.

I turn on my sheets to look outside. The sound comes again, and repeats every so often. I focus my senses and pick up a small object striking the glass each time it comes. I push the blankets off of me and get out of bed. The floorboards creak as I approach the window and stare outside. I can make out a tiny foalish figure standing in front of my house. My special vision allows me to cut through night’s darkness with ease, but even then it would still be pretty hard to mistake that oversized bow Apple Bloom always wears.

I push open the window and stare down at her. “Shouldn’t your family be expecting you back by nine?”

“Jus’ shut up and get down here,” she responds blankly.

With a pained breath I jump out the window touching the ground without so much as disturbing the dust.

There’s a long silence, one of the strangest I’ve ever felt. For an uncounted eternity we just stand there looking at each other as though it were the first time we’ve met in months.

Finally I break the silence. “Look, about what I said earlier-”

“Forget it,” Apple Bloom interrupts. “You were angry and weren’t thinkin’ straight, I’m not that mad at you.”

“I at least owe you an apology.”

Apple Bloom gives a faint smile. “Well, you can give it to me after yah' hear what a' have to say. Do you remember what yah' said earlier, about 'Alda bein' too smart to leave town? No way in hell we'll ever lure her out?'”

The words nearly knock the air out of my lungs. “What? She left town? Are you sure?”

Her grin extends another ten feet at least. “She's in the Everfree forest right now, conjurin' up some black magick ritual even as we speak.”

My jaw hangs loose and suddenly I want to break down into a crying fit of laughter. “Oh my God, Apple Bloom, this is great! We still have a lot to deal with, but it's still great and... and... wait, how do you know she's in there performing black magick? You-you didn't follow her did you?”

She shrivels back at this, and rubs the side of her hoof. “Well, no, actually. I know what she's doin' because... well... she dun' told me she was doin' it.”

The temperature drops a couple degrees, my eyes go wide. “She told you?”

Apple Bloom meets my gaze with serious eyes. “After we left the clubhouse me and Scootaloo wandered around town, don’t really know what we were doin’. Alda caught up with us and started askin’ a lot a’ questions; how long you lived here, how well we knew you, how we found out you were a demon… and then she started talking about how dangerous you were. She tried to convince us that we couldn’t trust you, and that you were only working to kill us or something.”

I turn away from Apple Bloom, burning anger in my eyes. So that’s her next move. She’s got me trapped in with her demons and now she’s trying to turn my friends against me. Perfect. What’s this bitch’s deal anyway? She already proved she’s smart and powerful enough to keep me subdued, why take a risk and go this extra mile?

“There was one other thing she mentioned, too,” Apple Bloom continues. “She… she offered to show us one of her rituals, even said we could name somethin’ we wanted and she would do it.”

Cold fear rushes through me. Did it truly take me this long to notice that Scootaloo is no where in sight? “Apple Bloom, where is Scootaloo?”

She stutter for a moment. “She left right after Alda had her talk with us, I haven’t seen her since.”

The weight in my chest grows, my lungs fill with lead. It can’t be any warmer than fifty degrees out here, and I’m sweating. “You… you don’t think she’d… No, no! She’s not that stupid. Is she?”

Apple Bloom hesitates for the longest time. “She always does seem to be… creepily interested in your demon stuff.”

Once again, truth is a bitch. I really want to give my friend the benefit of the doubt, but Alda knew she had that interest, and if she pressed her on it...

“We need to find Alda, right now,” I state with authority. “You said she in Everfree forest right. Between that and my clairvoyance we shouldn’t have any trouble finding them.”

“I’m right behind yah’, Sweetie Belle.” Apple Bloom states.

I can’t hold back the smile. “Glad to have there, Apple Bloom.”