There's no much in this world that can harm me. Hell, I just took down an ancient elder dragon with my bare hooves and teeth, that should say something about what level I'm on. I've slaughtered killers by the dozens, massacred entire cults, and even gone toe-to-toe with a couple other demons in the past. I don't have much to be afraid of.

So why am I so scared now!

My friends haven't take their eyes off me since we left the cave: Scootaloo's bugged out in what I can only assume is a kind of worship normally reserved for Rainbow Dash, and Apple Bloom' filled with nervous energy. I know they've already agreed not to dump me as their friend, but I can't help but feel anxiety over what comes next. This is the first time I've ever been found out. I know they're my friends, but can they really keep this secret? My mind shrivels more and more the longer I ponder that thought. I am so fucked, aren't I?

The only thing I know for certain is that things are never going to be the same again. Not after I chased them, not after what I did to that dragon. There's just some things innocence can't survive. I feel like a should say something to them, something to ease the mood, something to reassure them. Anything other than this damn oppressive silence, but I've got nothing.

We trudge on through the Everfree forest, not saying a word to each other. When the silence is finally broken, it's from Scootaloo's curious tone. “Soooo... If you're a demon, does that mean you have like, all these cool demonic powers?”

I look over at her with a blank face, then quickly grow a smile. “Well, yeah there are quite a few perks that come with being a demon.”

“Like?”

I rub the bottom of my chin. “Well, you already saw my strength and speed back in the fight, and I also displayed my toughness, my healing abilities, and that thing where I can get lit on fire.”

“Yeah, that was pretty cool!” Scootaloo beams.

“Really, because if I didn't know any better, I'd have said you were scared of it at the time," chides Apple Bloom.

Scootaloo glares at her for a second before switching back to flank worshipping. “So, is that all you can do?”

“Well, there are some newer ones I've been working on."

“New abilities? Wait, so there's other powers you can learn?"

"Sorta. To be honest, not even I know how it really works. I just discover new abilities sometimes."

The look on Scootaloo's face was creepy, even to me. I never knew it was possible to have that wide a grin, and I've seen Pinkie Pie. "That is so cool! What's your newest power? Is it awesome, or is it super awesome!"

“Well, the newest one lets me put ponies into a trance so I can manipulate them a bit.”

"Wait, you mean like hypnosis?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

My newest fan inhales sharply. “Oh, oh, oh, do me! Hypnotize me right now!”

“Well, okay, if you say so.”

I close my eyes and calm myself with a deep breath. I open them again and stare directly into Scootaloo's wide excited opals. I summon demonic energy into my head, causing a tiny red glow in my irises. Then I say in a soothing tone, “Scootaloo, you are getting sleepy, very, very, sleepy.”

I sway my head back and forth, causing Scootaloo's head to mimic my movements “When you wake up, you will devour Rainbow Dash's corpse, and surrender your soul to me.”

“Wait, what!”

It feels like my chest is going to explode and I can't contain it if I tried. Laughter blasts out of my mouth like a cannon ball. I fall to the ground and roll over, clutching my sides. Even Applebloom starts laughing, after she gets over her initial shock.

Scootaloo doesn't find it as humorous. “Oh wow, that was so funny I forgot to laugh.”

I wipe the tears out of my eyes and stand up. “Sorry, I couldn't resist. In all seriousness though, it won't work if you know I'm trying to hypnotize you, so I can't really demonstrate it.”

Scootaloo snorts out an annoyed breath. “Well then, is there anything else you can do?”

I think for a moment. “Well, I've also been toying with some basic clairvoyance.”

“Clair-what now?”

“It means if I want to find or do something, I'll know where it is, or how to do it.”

The remaining curiosity that Scootaloo has dies within her. “That... doesn't sound as cool, compared with your other powers.”

“Maybe, but it is very useful. For instance, just a few minutes ago, I wanted to find a nice secluded place to wash all this blood off ourselves.” I trod over to some shrubs next to us and pull back the branches. “So I used the clairvoyance to find this nice little pond in the middle of the forest.”

The clearing opens up into, well, exactly what I just said. There's a small pool of water, clean and clear in the open sunlight. Apple Bloom's entire body seems to deflate in relief. “Thank Celestia! I wasn't sure I'd last another minute with all this blood on my coat.”

“Wait, you're complaining about being dirty?” Scootaloo says. “You live on a farm! How can a little blood bother you so much?”

“Really, you call this a little?” Applebloom twirls around to give her a full view of her stained body. “I've got no problem getting my hooves dirty every now and then, but animal blood is just gross.”

“Oh, come on, you barely got anything on you! She pretty much smeared it all over me.”

“Yep, and gave you a mouth full, too, as I remember.”

Scootaloo glares at her when she laughs, but her expression quickly changes into a scheming grin. “You know Applebloom, have I ever told you how good of a friend you are to me?”

“Um, I think so, why do you ask?” She replies, giving her a weird glance.

“Oh, no reason, I was just thinking I should express it more often. In fact, come here, I want to give you a great big hug.”

Applebloom's eyes go wide. “Whoa, hold on a minute, Scootaloo, don't even think about—”

“Come here!”

“No!”

I roll my eyes, yet can't help but chuckle as Scootaloo chases Apple Bloom around with dripping red hooves. Shaking my head I stroll past the scene and make my way to the pond. I dive in without much ceremony, letting the cold water run through my mane. I break the surface of the water and begin scrubbing myself.

It's been quite awhile since my bout with the dragon, so some of the blood has dried in place and fights to stay on. This isn't the first time I've had to wash up blood stains though;in my experience, circular motions will eventually get it off. It's a little difficult since I have nothing but my hooves at the moment, but I make do.

After a few minutes I've successfully washed a good portion of the blood of my body, save a few rough patches in my mane and a light red tinge in my coat. I'm gonna need more than my hooves to get everything out.

I look over my shoulder. It's more annoying than it is amusing this time, to see my friends are still messing around. Doesn't Apple Bloom realize she can just jump in here and all the blood will wash off anyway? I shake my head. I raise a hoof to call them, but hesitate when I see something in the water.

Through the now murky red waters, I see something like a shadow moving close by me. I run my hooves through the distorted water to get a clearer image of it, until finally I see...

“Oh, shit!”

My cry attracts the attention of my companions. “What's wrong, Sweetie Belle?”

I don't respond immediately, I almost don't want to believe what I'm looking at. “Girls, we've got a bit of a situation here. Oh, Luna, this is bad, this is really bad!”

“Why, what's going on?” Applebloom asks. “Are you hurt? Did something happen again, or— oh, dear sweet Celestia!”

“What! What's wrong? Is there someth—holy crap!”

If an explosion had gone off behind us I don't think any of us would noticed it right now, we're too absorbed by my reflection shining through the water... only it's the reflection of a red eyed demon, with jet black fur and goat horns stretching out from its head.

My companions hide behind me, Applebloom timidly peeking out. “Sweetie Belle, what is that thing?”

“It's... it's me.”

“It's you?” She looks down at the reflection, scanning it over again for recognition. “Holy crap, it is! But it's the demon you! I mean...the other you, like what you were when you went crazy, you know what I mean?”

“But why?” Scootaloo asks. “You look perfectly normal right now, like every other time I've seen you.”

“I don't know! Something must have happened to my ward.”

“Your what?”

I groan and then explain in a rush. “You both saw what I looked like during that fight, right? That was my true appearance, what I really look like. The reason why you've never seen it until now is because demons have a natural ability to hide their appearance and appear as somepony else. But even then, there's still a few signs that can tip ponies off if they're not careful. One of them is that," I said as I pointed down at the hellish figure in the water. "Reflections always reveal the true self.”

Scootaloo blinks a few times. “So all this time you've been here, no pony has ever seen you in a mirror?”

“No, there's ways we can cover it up. I have a special kind of demonic magick I use to hide this, but for some reason it stopped working.”

“Why?”

“I don't know! The only thing I can think of is maybe that creature from earlier messed with the spell.”

“Well can't you just recast it or something?” says Apple Bloom.

“Yes, but I'll need a book back at my house to do it.”

“Then problem solved, we just head back there and get the book,” says Scootaloo.

I shake my head. “It's not that simple. We'll have to walk straight across town to get there, and reflections aren't the only thing that the spell protected me from. There's several other signs that could give away that I'm a demon, and if even one pony notices any of them, it'll be bad news. They could get angry, they could attack me. They might try to kill me!” My breath runs more rampant with each syllable. “I'd have to leave Ponyville if they see this.”

“Whoa, Sweetie Belle, calm down.” Scootaloo assures. “It'll be alright, we just have to be careful. We'll get you to your house without anyone noticing a thing. We're Cutie Mark Crusaders! We can do that with our eyes closed.”

“Actually, I've got a better idea," Applebloom states. “Why don't me and Scootaloo just run in there and grab the book for you. I don't see any reason why we can't—”

“There you are!”

We all jump at the familiar, unusually loud voice. Fluttershy descends from the canopy with a relieved look in her eyes. I slip into a mini-panic and then lurch out of the pool, praying to whatever demonic force watching over me that she didn't see my reflection.

“Thank goodness I found you. I was so worried that...” She stops in mid sentence, suddenly noticing the blood that's dripping off of our coats. Several strands of her mane pop out of place and she gets an empty look in her eye. “Oh my gosh, girls! What happened? Are you hurt? Did something attack you? Please tell me you three are alright!”

She flies up to us and examines our bodies for any signs of wounds. I stop her before she passes out.

“It's okay Fluttershy, we just had a bad run in with a dragon.” She gasps in horror. “It didn't hurt us! This isn't our blood! It's-it's the dragon's.”

Her breath floods out of her mouth, and she puts a hoof to her chest. “Wait, the dragon's? Then, what... caused the dragon to... um...”

“Bleed all over us?”

“Yes.”

My friends and I pass a glance between each other. “Well, there was this... creature, that came out of nowhere and attacked it.”

“Yeah, I never saw anything like it before in my life,” Applebloom added. “I reckon it could've devoured all of Ponyville if it wanted to.”

Fluttershy makes a startled squeak at that. “Oh dear! Was it that creature that flew over town a little while ago?”

“Yes," I all but shriek, "that was it, that was exactly what it was!” I speak rapidly, not wanting to let that scape goat go by.

Fluttershy seemed content enough. “Well, I'm just glad that none of you were hurt. But what were you girls doing out here to begin with?"

My mind races and I conjure up an excuse. “Um, we were, trying to get our cutie marks. We thought we'd have luck as... uh... Cutie Mark Crusader Foragers!”

I put on a large smile and even larger eyes to make it sound more believable. Fluttershy looks less then amused. “Honestly girls, coming in here to get your cutie marks? I thought you learned your lesson after that incident with the cockatrice.”

We hang our heads low and pretend to look up at her in shame, at least that's what I trie to do, even if I'm doing a shitty job of it. I'm so close to laughing right now it's painful. I do remember the lessons we learned the last time we were in Everfree, I distinctly remember learning how much cockatrices taste like sautéed duck afterwords. Revenge is actually a dish best served hot.

While I muse over fond memories, Applebloom steps up to the plate to convince Fluttershy. She looks up at her with glossy eyes, and wavered lips, and says, “We're awfully sorry, Fluttershy. We were just so anxious to get our cutie marks now, we sorta up and forgot about the danger.”

“Well, I guess all that matters is that your safe. It'll be up to your sisters to decide what to do about this.” We all cringe at that. Hell hath no fury like Rarity when she's angry. “But for right now you can come back with me to the cottage. I'll get you washed up and then bring you home.”

My heart skips a beat. “There's no need to do that Fluttershy, we can just head home right now. I'm pretty sure our sisters would really like to know about this as soon as possible.”

“I know, but I can't bring the three of you through town like this,” she says, grabbing ahold of Applebloom's blood soaked hoof. “You'd give everypony a heart attack if they saw you.”

Fluttershy, if only you knew...

I hang my head and sigh in defeat. “Alright, lead the way.”

She smiles in reply and then hovers a short distance off the ground to lead us. We break into trot a few feat behind her, huddling close to not be heard.

“Don't worry,” Applebloom says. “We just need to keep her distracted long enough for you to wash up, that shouldn't be too hard.”

“Yeah, it's not like we're rookies at causing trouble anyway,” Scootaloo adds.

“Thanks girls, but there's one big problem we've got by going to Fluttershy's cottage.”

“What's that?” They both ask

I gulp down air. “Second big give away of a demon, animals tend to freak out around them.”

My friends give each other a horrified glance, before Scootaloo squeaks out, “Oh, boy.”

“Girls, come on, I don't want you three falling behind in here.”

We break into a gallop at Fluttershy's call, and begin a long, worried trek up to the cottage. The moment we get within eyesight of the place, it's clear that my warning was true. Every living creature with a ten mile radius of the house goes ape shit crazy. They shriek, flee, tunnel into the ground, jump into the lake, anything to get something between them and me.

Fluttershy blinks a few times at the sight. “That's... odd, the animals are behaving strangely for some reason.”

The three of us share a glance. I chuckle nervously. “Weird. Can't imagine why.”

Fluttershy simply nods to the comment before taking us inside. There's a few birds that are trembling in their nest, or mice that scramble into their holes, but other than that, the interior is completely devoid of any animal life. Our guide casts a worried glance over the room, but eventually continues upstairs to the bathroom.

She begins filling a tub for us and gathering together some spare soap and shampoo from the cabinet, which has a very large mirror plastered on the front of it.

Fuck.

“Okay girls, I've made sure the water is warm, and I've also...” She stops, taking notice of me backed into the corner and my two friends forming a wall in front of the mirror. “Um, girls, why are you—”

“Thanks for doing this, Fluttershy,” I cut in. “But I think we can handle it from here. We'll get washed up by ourselves.”

She gives me a weird look. “Are you sure girls? I mean, don't your sisters usually give you baths?”

“We're not babies, Fluttershy," I say, irritation seeping into my voice. "We'll be fine on our own. Go check on your animals. There's no reason to worry about us.”

She gets a vague look in here eyes, and her entire expression changes, as if her mind had just reset itself. She nods her head slowly. “Alright, if you say so.”

She turns off the water to the tub and then walks out of the room. My friends breath in the relief, and I just chuckle loudly. “And that, Scootaloo, is how you hypnotize somepony.”

Her head shoots up to attention. “Wait, you mean you just...” Her mouth hangs open until she's able to form a grin. “Oh, that is so cool.”

“Yeah, all well and good. Now, could we please get in here and clean up?” Applebloom says. “I don't want to have to stall again if she comes back in here.”

We all agree, and then jump into the tub, turning the clear water red. I grab the soap, and begin where I left off at the pond.

“Okay, the spell I put her under will keep her busy for now, but it'll wear off after awhile, so lets hurry. The blood has probably dried by now, so try to—” My breath vanishes as I feel the warm presence of hooves pressed against my back. I look over, and find Applebloom rubbing soapy hooves up my spine. “Applebloom, what are you—”

“It's probably more important that we get you out of this room before anypony else. If we help you out, we can get that done even faster.”

“Good idea,” Scootaloo states. “Here, get your chest, I'll focus on the mane.”

“W-w-wait a second, girls. I'm a little uncomfortable with this.”

“Oh, pipe down, we'll be done in a second.”

“But...”

My voice is drowned out once Scootaloo starts to run her hooves through my mane. My face becomes heated and my body starts to quiver. I struggle to stay focused and not give any indication of my enjoyment.

Oh hormones, you sadistic bastards you. You are my best friends, and my worst enemies. You don't realize that these are the closest friends I've ever had. All you know is that there are two beautiful young fillies scrubbing me down with soft warm hooves. You don't care that they don't even understand the concept of sex. All you see are two hunks of meat to satisfy my desires. Honestly, fuck you and your mind numbing pleasure.

I try to distract myself from what's going on, which is like trying to climb a mountain without using my hooves. I look down, close my eyes, and try to imagine it away. Yeah, think about something else. The time we tried to get our cutie marks in hang gliding. Going to Manehatten with Rarity. There we go. Don't think about the soft hooves massaging your back. Don't think about the two sexy, innocent fillies rubbing you down, their hooves exploring your body. Applebloom washing lower and lower, workin at my flanks. Turning around and locking lips with her, tasting her. Scootaloo burying her tongue inside my cunt, lapping at my clit. Diving into Bloom's snatch, drinking up her sweet nectar until she screams my name as I drive her to her first dripping orgasm while Scootaloo shoves her tongue up my ass and nibbling on my lips and—

Oh, who the fuck am I kidding?! I can't imagine this away!

I jump away from their hooves, and shove them both away from me. “Okay girls, seriously, stop! Just let me do this on my own!”

They both give me odd, naive looks. Scootaloo looks irritated. “Well, sorry for trying to be helpful.”

Ignoring the comment I race on to wash the blood off. My brain chugs to find a subject to get my mind out of the gutter. I look at my winged friend and say the first thing that comes to mind. “So... uh, Scootaloo, you probably still have a few questions right? Maybe now is a good time to ask.”

She gives me a weird look. "Really? Now? Isn't this sort of a serious situation?"

"Are you complaining?

"We'll, no but—"

"Then ask away."

She pauses a moment and puts a hoof to her chin. Then she looks at me and says. “What was your dad like?”

My arm locks up and I cease all movement entirely. Well, that certainly kicked the perversion out of my mind. I glance over my shoulder, and see my orange friend staring at me. “What? I was just wondering? Was he like you, or was he... you know... evil?”

“Scootaloo!” Applebloom spits.

“What? I'm just curious.”

I turn away from them, looking at nothing in particular. I shut my eyes and release a sigh. “I honestly wouldn't know. I've never knew him.”

Apple Bloom goes wide eyed. “You never knew him?”

“Never knew him, never seen him, never met him. He could be the devil himself for all I know.”

Scootaloo extends her hoof as if to hold me. “I'm... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—”

“It's okay, you didn't know,” I state. “It's just...”

I release a deep breath, and sink in my sorrow. I look down at the murky red liquid, and see the demonic face staring back at me. I place my hoof gently on the surface of the water. My pure untainted pony hoof could almost connect with the corrupted demonic black one, as if we could reach across and meet each other. Only I push down, and see that nothings really there.

“It's just that I never really like to think about him. I don't know who my father was, and honestly... I'm not sure if I want to know.”

An uneasy silence fills the room, broken only by the occasional drip-drip-drip of the faucet. I can literally hear my own heartbeat in the absence of sound. We continue washing up without saying a word to each other. Our coats are now free of any noticeable blood, and our manes shine in the bright morning light. Then Fluttershy comes waltzing in.

“Hi girls! How's it going in here?”

We all shriek, and my friends scuttle to hide me behind them. “Oh, we're doing just peachy in here Fluttershy.” Applebloom chuckles nervously. “Why don't you wait outside? We're about to get dried off.”

“Oh, but I think I see a little bit left in your manes. Here, let me help you.”

My friends push me and we press ourselves against the back of the tub.

This is bad, this is really bad! I'm tempted to duck my head underwater, but that's a very small and short sighted hiding spot. Fluttershy is getting closer to the tub. Never before have I ever thought such a kind face could be so intimidating. Her large beaming eyes threaten to cut into my soul, her gentle caring hooves are like deadly weapons, and her smile... her smile...

What the fuck is up with that smile?

It's like a bad smear on an otherwise elegant painting. It's big, sharp, creepy I might say; it just doesn't look like Fluttershy. If anything it looks like what one of the pedophiles I hunt for on the streets would have. Sick excitement.

“Um, Fluttershy, are you feeling okay?”

“Never better,” she chuckles. “Now come her, let me get all that filthy blood off you.”

She grabs Applebloom by the arm, and starts scrubbing her back down with a bar of soap, reaching to disturbingly low lengths of her body. Applebloom utters a startled meep in reaction to this.

I feel the clank in my cheeks as my jaw lowers to its widest extant. Scootaloo has much the same reaction. “Fluttershy, thanks, but do we look like babies to you? We can handle ourselves in here, just fine... without you. So, if you wouldn't mind now.” She waves her hoof as if to scoot her out of the room.

“Oh, Scootaloo,” she says as she fondles her mane. “I know you're all big girls, but you also made a very big mess, so I want to make sure you get every nook, and... cranny.” She full on gropes Scootaloo on that last word, making her shriek in a high voice.

My mind splits itself in half, and I pull Scootaloo out of her reach. “Fluttershy! What the fuck are you doing!”

“Uh-oh, Sweetie used a bad word. Mama's gonna have to spank you now.”

Okay, enough bullshit.

“No!”My voice echos with demonic power. “What's gotten into you?! You're acting like some sort of sick freak! Either stop right now, or I'll stop you myself!”

Her smile does not fade. Her eyes retain her luster. She laughs at my threat, a high pitched cackle that makes my skin crawl.

“Oh, Sweetie Belle,” she says, giving me a creepy stare. “You of all ponies should know what's gotten into me. Isn't that right, my little demoness?”

I choke on my own breath. “Wha-what, did you just call me?”

She giggles, then lifts me up under the shoulders.

“Come on, just give up, stop resisting. You know what your true nature is.” She purrs like a kitten, and as it turns out my cheek is her milk bowl.

Luna-fucking-damnit, not again.

While I squirm to get away from her tongue, and from my hormones, my mind is racing a million miles a minute. What the hell is she doing? How does she know I'm a demon? Why is she acting this way? What the fuck is going on?!

I try to push my way out of her grip, but she tugs me into a tight hug. She nibbles on my ear, and I can't stop a soft moan from leaking out my mouth. I begin to feel the moisture between my legs, and through the increasing pleasure I hear the soft voice of Apple Bloom.

“The mirror... Sweetie, the mirror," she whispers furiously.

The mirror? She already knows I'm a demon, what's so important about the...

Well, Luna fuck me on the moon.

There's two things I see in the mirror. One is me, in all my demonic glory. The other is a sickly grey unicorn, with deathly black eyes and razor sharp teeth that are currently nibbling on my ear. I can also see that it's a stallion; at least, I hope it's a stallion, what with that throbbing erection sprouting out of its undercarriage.

I look back at Fluttershy, locking my shocked wide eyes, with her sly lustful ones as she coos in my ear, “Come, why don't we educate your friends in the ways of true demonic fun?”

My face is stuck in a blank stare for a minute, and then I pull together a fake grin. “Oh yeah, sure. Lets do the whole deal. We can break out some wine, have a little fun, and to top it off, you can get out of my friend you perverted piece of shit!”

My demonic bat wings unfurl in a flash of hellfire. I give them a flap that sends us flying into the wall and crashing to the floor. The demon controlling Fluttershy snarls and roars in anger, but I'm far stronger than it. I pin her shoulders to the wall and glare at her while the beast spits out every obscene curse it can think of.

“Release me you bitch! Get your fucking hooves off me, I'll rip your eyes out and feed them to the wolves!”

I remain unintimidated. “Get out of my friend, you monster!”

“Go shove a cactus up your cunt!”

I conjure my demonic energy and latch onto his essence. “I said, get, out!”

My eyes flash red and I blast the spirit full of volatile energy. The beast screams and begins to convulse and spasm, flailing its head against the wall.

“Get out, or I'll send you back to hell where you belong!”

With that final threat the beast finally relents and leaves her body. I take no chances. I use my dark senses and watch the spirit flee, muttering angry curses as it does. Once I'm sure it won't come back, I lower my demonic power and turn to my friends, who both huddle together in the tub, watching me with huge shocked eyes.

Apple Bloom's mouth quivers like she's having trouble speaking. “What-what in the Sam living hay was that?”

“Spirit Demon,” I answer. “Some of the lowest ranking demons of hell, most famous for the ability to possess ponies and control their minds, as you just saw.”

Scootaloo observes from the tub for a few more second, before jumping out and walking up to Fluttershy. She lifts her head finding it completely limp, the gentle breathing in her nostrils being the only hint that she was alive.

“Dear Celestia, what did you do to her?”

“I didn't do anything to her, just the spirit that was controlling her.”

“Will she be alright?”

“Probably. She might be a little nauseous when she comes to, but other than that she should be fine.”

Applebloom joins us, eyeing the mirror just to make sure it was really Fluttershy this time. “That spirit you kicked out of her, what happened to it? Is it still around?”

“No, it flew off. We probably won't be seeing it again any time soon.”

“You let it go! But...” Applebloom looks around timidly, soft beads of sweat forming on her neck. “What if it tries to possess somepony else? You saw the way it was making Fluttershy act, someone could get hurt with that thing on the loose.”

“Doubtful,” I reply. “Usually the way possession works is that the victim needs to let the demon in, either willingly or through certain occult rituals. Without that there's usually some pretty strong defenses in their minds that stop demons from interfering too much.”

“Then how did Fluttershy get possessed?”

I feel my cheeks flare up, and I rub the back of my head. “Well... I'm guessing this is a bad time to mention,'but by hypnotizing her, I may have lowered some of those defenses in her head.”

I spread eagle my lips in a large grin... that fails to wipe the glaring looks off their faces. “Hey, I didn't know there was a demon near by! Hell, this is the first time I've even seen another demon so close to Ponyville! They never come to small towns like this.”

“You did.”

“Well... yeah, but that's different. I'm not looking to cause trouble.” I turn from them and glance out the window to the distant sky. First the big winged fucker that flies over Ponyville, and now a spirit possession. Something odd is happening around here. I may need to visit some friends in Manehatten or Los Pegasus to find out what's going on.

I can't get bogged down with that right now. There's still plenty of other things for me to worry about right now. Namely, the fact that Fluttershy is starting to wake up.

She groans out a low, pained sigh, then starts to press herself up on wobbly hooves. I'm at her side in an instant. “Easy, Fluttershy. Don't strain yourself.”

“What happened?” She moans.

It's times like these I'm thankful that I'm pretty quick with my tongue. “I'm not sure. You got pretty dizzy and then you just passed out on the bathroom floor. We didn't want to move because we were worried you might be hurt. Can you walk?”

“I... I think I can... Oh, my.”

Her head bobbles back and forth and then she stumbles for the toilet. Scootaloo turns her head in disgust; for once, Fluttershy is too wrapped up in her own affairs too care. I place a hoof on her shoulder as she finishes vomiting. “That's it," I coo. "Just get it all out.”

Applebloom comes to my side with equal concern. “She might be like this for awhile. Scootaloo, go get her some water. Sweetie Belle, see if you can find a bucket or something.”

The look she gives me is an unspoken message, and it says, 'get out of the bathroom, now!' Frankly, I couldn't agree more. Still damp from the tub, I step outside and shake out my coat the best I can. It's not hard to find a bucket on Fluttershy's cottage; you need something to carry all that hay and feed, after all.

When I return inside, Applebloom has Fluttershy sprawled out on the couch. She urgently motions me over with her hoof and I can see why. I run over and hand Fluttershy the bucket just in time. I think I see a little chunk of bile fly out of the side.

Scootaloo comes in carrying a glass of water, which Fluttershy graciously accepts. “Thanks girls. I-I think I'll be alright now.”

“You sure?”

“Yes, I'm sure.”

“Good,” I say with a large grin. “Because, we should probably head home right now. I'm pretty sure my sister is worried sick that I've been gone so long, after that de—uh, thing, flew over town. We'll see you later.”

We hear more sickening gags as we step outside. I feel a tinge of guilt for leaving her like that, but there's only so much shit I can deal with in the same day, and I'm well beyond my breaking point. I sigh and wave my friends onward. “Come on, we still need to get to my house so I can recharge that spell.”

They both nod and follow behind me. I might be acting a little paranoid, but I keep my demonic senses heightened as we walk. After all the surprises I've had today, I'm in no mood for any other unexpected occurrences. Thankfully, the rest of the trip there is not as tense.

We cautiously make our way across town, nervously avoiding any reflective objects or stray animals. Other than a few terrifying moments when we flee from a friendly wave or a smiling 'hello', we make it to the boutique without much trouble.

We scramble to get inside and lock the door behind us. The cozy violet walls shelters us from the world. I lean my head against the door, and breath out my stress. “Too... fucking... close.”

Applebloom gives me a weird look. “Sweetie Belle, what exactly does 'fucking' mean?”

I cringe. Fuck me, that's what it means. “I'll explain it later. Right now lets get upstairs so I can recast the spell.”

They nod in agreement, and we trot up the steps to my room. A ballad of screeching and hissing greats us upon entering.

"Yeah, yeah Opal, nice to see you, too," I reply venomously.

My sister's 'pet', takes cover under my bed where she casts threatening glares at us. She's always been a lot more courageous than most animals in my presence, if not stupider. I'm almost tempted to unfurl my jagged teeth and poke a grin under the bed. That one never gets old.

Instead, I keep my focus on the task at hand. I trot over to my desk and sort through the books. I notice my friends' eyes locked on the mirror in front of me, and the triple horned demon within.

"I'm sorry, but that's just plain freaky. I don't think I could ever get use to that," Apple Bloom states.

"Well thankfully, you won't have to, with a little help from this." I lift up my diary book proudly.

My friends take one look at the cover, gleefully giggling clown pony and all, then share a look. "Uh, Sweetie, this is your demonic book of evil?"

I chuckle while I reach for the drawer and pull out the scissors. "Girls, I live with Rarity, remember? Nosiest pony in town? I have to take a lot of measures to make sure she doesn't see this."

With that I put the scissor blade to my hoof, and drag it across. I can hear the air escaping from my friends' lungs.

"What are you doing?" Scootaloo shouts.

"Relax,” I state calmly. "I'm a demon, cuts like these are just baby pinches to me."

My words quiet them, but don't calm them down, and it doesn't help when I dig my other hoof into the wound. For once, even Scootaloo looks queazy. I take my moistened hoof tip and draw the pentacle on the front cover, then slam my demonically charged hoof down to open the seal. Red, glowing light leaks out the sides of the binding, and vanishes as quickly as it comes.

I open the book, and flip through the pages. "Okay, Lucifer, Lucifer, Lucifer, Lucifer, where are you?"

I scan each page for the right sigil, but don't fail to notice my friends hovering over my shoulder. They stare down in avid fascination.

"So, this is all demonic magick, right?" Applebloom asks.

"Indeed it is."

"Where'd you get this thing?"

I look back at them with pride. “I made it actually. I started several years ago with only a handful of spells, and I've been adding to it ever since.”

“And the clown cover?” Scootaloo asks.

I roll my eyes. “I was four years old back then! It was the only thing I had to write with. You never know though, maybe one day I'll have made a legendary tome that every psycho cultist will want to get their hooves on.”

Scootaloo snickers. “Yeah, the book of the circus clown, how terrifyingly evil!”

I have to support myself on the dresser I'm laughing so hard, despite my best efforts to glare at her. “Okay, I'll admit it's not the best cover, but I actually think that's a good thing. There's some spells in here that could cause a second Armageddon if they fell into the wrong hooves, so it's probably better that the cover be as misleading as possible.”

It takes me awhile to notice the ominous silence in the room. My friends give me wide eyed gazes, their dumbfounded expressions carved in stone. “Beg your pardon, but, what kind of spells do you have in that book, exactly?” Apple Bloom asks.

“All sorts. Some I use more than others, and then there's special ones I save for emergencies.”

“And, are they dangerous?”

“Some of them are, if you're not careful,” I state bluntly. “As I said though, I usually avoid the risky ones unless I seriously need them. Even then I usually put up so many defenses there's very little chance any real harm could happen.”

“Wait, does that mean you have used the dangerous ones before?”

“On a few occasions, yes.”

I try to move on. I flip through the pages of the book, ignoring the looks they give me, but I know their not gonna let me leave it at that. I grunt a sigh and answer before they press me.

“Some years ago, I was being tracked down by a pretty nasty group of demon hunters. I worked with a large clan of demons to fight them, but it was barely enough. They ended up destroying the whole coven, and they almost killed me. It wasn't until I discovered a very powerful ritual that I was able to fend them off.”

“What did the ritual do?” Scootaloo asks.

Thousands of horrible images assault my vision. I close my eyes and struggle to maintain composure while I shut out a months worth of nightmares and bad memories. “It doesn't matter. All you need to know is that it's the most dangerous ability at my disposal and I never plan on using it again.”

Again, they give me that accusing look that demands more information, but they can go to hell this time. There are some things in this world that even I'm disturbed by, which is truly a testament to how sick this world is.

I continue the search for the sigil mark, paying no attention to the two scowling fillies behind me. After a valiant search, I finally find the right one. I smile at the familiar lines, then prepare the to make the incision.

"Just to warn you girls, if that little paper cut earlier freaked you out, then you may want to leave the room now."

Once they connect the dots in their heads I can see a small tinge of shock in their eyes. "Doesn't it hurt doing that?" Apple Bloom asks. "Demons can feel pain, right?"

"We can, it just doesn't bother us as much." Not to mention it's major turn on for us. I push the point of the blade into my chest and start the incision. My companions noticably cringe as I drag it across my chest. We have a moment of silence while I concentrate on copying the exact design. Apple Bloom makes an awkward cough before asking, "So, uh... how many ponies know about this? You know, the whole... demon thing?"

I answer without stopping my cutting. "Other than you girls, just my mom and dad, or, well, Rarity's father, that is."

"Does Rarity know?"

"No, I've thought of telling her before, but I think it's best that she's just left out of it."

Applebloom's gaze widens. "You don't even trust your own sister with this?"

“It's not that I don't trust her," I clarify, trying to stifle the sick pleasure in my voice. "It's just that Rarity is a bit of a gossip and can run her mouth sometimes. I doubt she'd ever give away my secret, but I'd rather not gamble with it." Not to mention that Rarity and Demonic rituals would go together just as well as a conductor in a heavy metal concert.

“And what about those demons you mentioned? Didn't they see you like this?” Scootaloo asks.

“True, but very few of them ever discovered what I normally look like. Besides, most of them died at the hooves of demon hunters years ago.”

The words are blunt and they hit hard enough to cause harm. Scootaloo makes a noticeable gawk, and Applebloom shoots her hooves to her mouth. “I'm so sorry.”

“Don't be, you never knew them.” If you did, you'd be happy that they're dead.

I take up the cutters again and start where I left off. I don't get why they don't just leave the room. They clearly aren't comfortable watching me do this, and honestly, I'm not that comfortable doing it in front of them. With all the feelings this process brings out in me, it's sorta like they're watching me masturbate.

Just power through and get it over with, your almost done. I follow my own advice, and finish quickly, if a little unsatisfied. The mirror shows my demonic counter part, blood dripping from the massive rune that's mapped across her chest. My friend's are at my shoulders, looking curiously at my finished work.

“So, that's supposed keep all those signs from showing up right?" Scootaloo peers in the mirror. "Because It doesn't seem to be working."

"That's why I need to add the finishing touch," I state, before pressing my hooves together and clearing my mind. I summon the demonic energy from the abyss of my soul and concentrate it on the sigil mark. My wounds begin to glow a hellish red color, much to my friends' horror. I moan out in pain and pleasure, as the sigil sinks into my skin and latches onto my soul. There's a brief burst of light from my eyes as the process is completed, and the dark energy vanishes. Once everything settles down, me and my friends look into the mirror, and see my old cute reflection, just the way it should be.

I smile at the reflection, giving my mane a little twirl. "Good to see you again, gorgeous."

"Wow, I can't even see the wound anymore," Scootaloo notes.

"Yeah, it works pretty fast. There should be no evidence of anything as long as this sigil in place."

"Will this stay forever?" Applebloom asks.

"No, it'll last for about a week, and then I'll need to redo it again. Still, it works pretty well. No way anyone will—"

We all jolt when the door to my room suddenly flies open and bangs against the opposing wall. My sister comes rushing into the room.

"Rarity!" I shriek. I quickly slam the sigil book shut and place it face down to hide the bloody pentacle. "You're back."

For a moment I'm frozen with terror that she overheard us, but when I turn around, I see she's not even focused on us. She's currently rummaging through my things in a frantic search. "Um, can I help you, Rarity?"

She turns to us as if she just noticed we were there. "Sweetie Belle, where did you put my suitcase last week?"

My brain locks for a moment. "Oh, yeah, I borrowed it for that sleep over last week. Uh, I think it's under my bed somewhere."

She practically dives under there, as if in search of buried treasure. I use the moment to wipe the blood off the front of the book, and to put the dripping red scissors back in the drawer.

"Ugh! I can't find it anywhere? Why is it such a mess under here, Sweetie Belle!"

"Oh, actually, I think I may have put it back in your room under your bed."

Once again she charges out of the room. I share a glance with my friends before following her into the opposing master bedroom. We find her slamming her suitcase onto the elegant mattress, and rushing to fill it with all manner of clothes, brushes, and other essentials... along with about several dozen not so essentials.

She's currently sorting through her collections of perfume when I finally ask, "Why do you need to pack so much?"

"Can't talk now Sweetie Belle, I only have a little time," she says without turning around. "Hm, should it be 'Diamond Blue', or 'Mystic Essence'? Damnit, I'm taking both."

Now I'm really worried. It's unlike her to use, as she'd put it, 'such unlady like language.' She struggles to close the suitcase and then gets to work filling another bag. I jump up on the bed to get her attention. "Rarity, you're starting to scare me, what's going on?"

She still doesn't stop packing, but I do get answer out of her this time. "I'm heading up to Canterlot. Princess Twilight and Luna have summoned me and the other Elements of Harmony to an urgent security council. I don't know how long we'll be staying there, so I don't know when I'll be back." It suddenly clicks into her brain. "I don't know when I'll be back! Dear Celestia, I'll need to find a baby sitter for you girls."

Ignoring that loathsome statement, I continue pressing Rarity. "An urgent security council? What's going on? Why do they want you up there and..." I suddenly realize something in my sister's words. "And why isn't Princess Celestia summoning you, too? Doesn't she usually handle stuff like this?"

Rarity bites her lips and passes and awkward look between the three of us. "Listen, what's happening right now isn't anything you girls need to concern yourselves with. You can rest assured, everything is—"

"Rarity!" I blurt out. "If this is so big that two Princesses saw fit to gather all the Elements of Harmony together, I'm pretty sure the whole town is going to be talking about it. We're gonna hear about it eventually, so just tell us."

Her shifting eyes turn nervous, and she gulps down air. "Did you girls see the monster that flew over town a few hours ago?"

Scootaloo rolls her eyes. "We didn't so much as see it as go painfully deaf from hearing it. Why do you ask?"

"Well, that monster..." Her eyes flutter nervously one last time. Then she takes a deep breath and spits it out. "It attacked Canterlot, and from what I've just heard, Princess Celestia was almost killed."

Author's Notes:

Hi everyone, bit of news this time around.

Starting about, I don't really know when, I'll be writing a sister fic to go along with this one. Basically, it'll be a story that takes place in the same world, and timeline as this one, but with a focus more on Twilight and her friends hunting down demons. So, basically a view on the other side of the spectrum.

Also, let me make this clear right at the start. It is not necessary for you to read this fic in order to understand what's going on in the other one, or the other way around. The story and world information will be completely explained in both of them, and there will be no need to jump between fics to understand what's going on. At the most, there will be segments in which the two stories overlap, but that's it.

In any case, hope you enjoyed the chapter, and a late happy holidays to all of you. :)