“Applebloom, Scootaloo, I want you both to listen to me very carefully and do exactly what I say.” My words are quiet, but firm and clipped like a military captain. “If we don’t take care of this quickly, there’s a very big chance that these Hellhounds could wind up chasing these ponies through town, and cause a whole national crisis. Applebloom, I need you to run back to my house and get my spell book and saddle bags, I’m gonna need them afterward.”

Applebloom nods with no small measure of relief, I’d imagine she’d like to be as far away from here as possible.

“Scootaloo, I need you to watch the road. If you see anypony coming this way for any reason, do whatever it takes to stall them. Turn them back if you can, but make sure they don’t reach the graveyard. I don’t care if you have to break their legs, they do not make it here, got it?”

She raises a hoof in salute and sprints off to follow my orders. Applebloom’s response is less immediate, hesitating just a moment to ask, “And what are you going to do?”

I stare back at her, my pupils narrowing into lizard like slits, and fangs slithering down from the top of my lips. “What do you think I’m gonna do?”

Her eyes widen another inch or two. She gulps down air, before nodding and running off towards town.

I turn back to the chaos in the cemetery. Condemned ponies scream and wail hysterically as the four eyed mutts descend upon them. I watch another pony crawl out of the dirt, only to be met by one of the Underworld guardians which promptly grabs him in its jaws and drags him screaming through the fiery portal. The sight unnerves me, and I chastise myself for it.

Come on, stay focused, you can’t let any of this shit get to you. Gotta make sure none of these guys leave the cemetery, or worse, run through Ponyville. Better start with the ones near the road.

I scan the area, and almost immediately see one of the brutes chasing a victim into the forest. The wind whistles around me as I charge forward, smashing into my target with the force a train engine. I burry my jaws deep into its throat and nearly tear its whole head off as I rip it out. The hound dies with a high pitched yelp, which garners the attention of the rest of the pack.

Here comes the horde.

The sting of hellfire spreads across my back as my jet black wings appear. These creatures are known for speed and cunning pack strategies, so I won’t last long on the ground. Dozens of hounds charge at me like blurred black lines. I give my wings a powerful flap and shoot up into the air like a rocket. I twist myself to line up my trajectory, and then dive full speed into the mob. I fly through the small army, slicing up two hounds on my way, and then arch back upward to the sky before they can jump on me.

I continue this strategy for some time, diving in and out of the pool of demonic dogs, always exiting with a fresh coat of blood smear across my face. It seems like it’s the only strategy I’ll need, but that’s the thing about demons: even the lesser ones are smart as hell in a fight.

I start to make another dive, when out of the corner of my eye I catch one hellhound leaping into the path of my flight. There’s only enough time to put up my hoof, which the dog promptly clamps its jaws down on. I’m screaming the whole way back up, dragging the vicious hound with me. It’s claws cut into my back, and I feel its teeth scrape against bone. It attempts to pull me in, to get my whole body in its mouth, but I spear its bottom jaw with my free hoof and rip it off of its face. The beast shrieks and whinnies in pain, drooling blood all over me. I follow up by plunging my hoof into its chest and ripping downward to split its whole body open. Several black organs and shattered bones spill out, splattering onto the ground below for the rest of the pack to fight over. Life keeps its residence in the hound I’m holding for another brief moment, before its eyes shut and I let the empty husk fall to the ground.

My wounds heal quickly and I’m given time to think. Okay, plan B! What the hell is plan B? Lets see, there’s still too many to risk facing head on, and fire won’t be too useful against creatures that drink lava and eat charred corpses. Come on Sweetie, think damnit!

I pound my hoof into my head, as if that could somehow kick start it into operation. I look around in some hopeful notion that something on this mortal realm could vanquish an eternal creature, and that's when I realize that not everything around me is of this plane. The dogs below me are still hungrily devouring their fallen companion, lapping at the pools of acidic blood and fighting each other over some of the intestines.

That's right! Hellhounds are complete savages when it comes to food, they'll kill each other over a meal.

My face is plagued with a gleeful grin. It takes me no less than five seconds to scoop up an unwary Hellhound that's busy gnawing on raw organs. I snap it's neck in mid flight, and then start ripping off its limbs.

"Chow time, bitches!" I scream at the top of my lungs.

I throw each of the limbs in separate directions, and they react exactly how I expected. The pack breaks off into several smaller, much less dangerous groups. My sadistic laugh echoes as I dive in for a bloodbath. First I take the smallest group, decapitating two of the savage mutts in one swing, then move on to a larger group of five. Three fall to several quick swipes from my hooves, another gets its head ripped in half before it can counter, but the last one is a bit trickier. He gets in a lucky shot to my face, nearly gouging my eye out with its long claws. The blow stuns me for a moment, which it uses to jump at me, jaws open wide, but I manage to recover in time roll underneath it and sink my teeth deep into its chest. Its shrieks of pain turn to horrid cries as I shoot upward into the sky. Once airborne, a plunge both hooves into the already heavily bleeding wound, and tear the beast in half right down the middle.

Never having been one to waste good material I fly across the graveyard, allowing the bloody intestines to spill out everywhere below me in a grotesque red shower. It's like ringing a dinner bell.

Hellhounds flock to the line of spilled gore and begin viciously devouring what's left. They're so focused on the food that they don't even notice me swing in for the kill. I extend my wings out as far as I can and arc my flight for a strafing run. My hooves are swift and cut through heads, necks, and skulls left and right, leaving no shortage of sticky red mess wherever I go. Their numbers decrease, enough to the point where I can relax and take more enjoyment out of each kill. I lick the blood at my lips; Hellhounds sure know how to bleed.

I snap my jaws shut on the neck of another hound, tearing its head off with a violent jerk, then swerve around for my next target. I spot him eating from the corpse of one my newest victims. I charge at him, hooves raised and dark excitement on my face, when he spins around, taking the massive body in his jaws, and throwing it at me.

It collides head first with me, and I’m thrown off course. The ground is strict and unforgiving when I land, digging a new grave with my face. My vision spins and tilts every which-way as I stagger to my feet, only to be forcefully reintroduced with the ground as a Hellhound jumps on me. Slobbering wet jaws take hold of my wing, and bite down with enough force to bend steel.

Pain! Seven names of Satan, so much pain! Tears come to my eyes and cry out loudly enough to wreck my voice. The dog yanks upward, and I feel both bone and skin come loose. Screaming with agony, I force myself up and punch the Hellhound in the jaw. It allows me to escape, but I quickly learn the extent of the damage. My left wing hangs from the jaws of the Hellhound, before being scarfed up and swallowed down whole.

Shit this is bad! I could heal a broken bone in an instant, but a severed limb is gonna take time, the one thing I don’t have at this moment. There are only five Hellhounds left, but without any more distractions or my flight... it seems like the pooch is gonna be screwing me this time.

The remaining hounds surround me, circling like vultures to a corpse. They stare me down, snarling and drooling foul black saliva. I’m stuck to the dirt, baring my teeth while trying to keep all the hounds in my line of vision; a task that I fail miserably at. Somewhere in my mind, I realize that this must be a hilarious sight: five giant beasts from the depths of Hell itself circling around a tiny filly who is trying desperately to intimidate them. I barely manage to catch a glimpse of the Hellhound before he blindsides me.

Somehow, I manage to get my hooves inside its jaws before he can close them around my neck, and I separate the top part of its skull from its body, creating a fountain of blood from the neck stump. Two more hounds jump me from the side. I decapitate one, roll under the other, and run for it.

There are still three more hounds to deal with, and I’m quickly getting a sense of their infamous speed. Running soon becomes less about getting away and more about keeping the momentum to dodge their attacks. Every time I look another direction there’s a pair of claws or a gaping maw ready to tear my head off. There’s never an opening for me to counter, never an opportunity to get away, it’s either keep moving or die.

This is ridiculous, I’m getting my ass kicked by a bunch of dogs, for fucks sake! Growling with anger I take a swing at the next Hellhound that comes near me. My hoof smashes clean through his head, but I fail to withdraw it before another hound jumps on me.

Claws dig into my chest and pin me to the ground. I grab ahold of the dog’s jaws, fighting through screaming pain to keep it away from my head. I’m making progress forcing it back, but I can’t help but be distracted by the sight of the final Hellhound closing in on me. It strides its way over to me, displaying rows of crooked sharp teeth, and breath that smells of decaying fecal matter.

Well, Hell probably won’t be all that bad. Who knows, I might even make some new friends down there.

I laugh nervously. Still struggling with hound on my chest I grin up at the approaching one. “Come on, you stupid bitch! I’m waiting!"

It seems all too eager to comply. Its jaws open wide, its tongue is close enough to drool saliva on me, when somepony clonks it in the head with a stone. The beast flinches at the assault before shooting a glare and snarling at its attacker.

“Hey there, you stupid mutt! Like filly food, do yah? Well, I’ve gotta a fine sample right here for you!”

I clench my eyes shut at that voice. Please don’t tell me. But sure enough, I turn and there Scootaloo is, shaking her ass for the slobbering bitch. “Damnit to hell, Scootaloo!”

I barely have time to react. I twist my hooves as hard as I can, snapping the Hellhound’s neck so violently that I nearly tear its head off. With less than a second to spare I take the now limp corpse and throw it at the last Hellhound just as it lunges for Scootaloo. The two bodies collide in midair and crash literally inches away from my dumbass friend. It buys me just enough time to rush in and jump on top of the still living Hellhound as it reaches for Scootaloo.

I wrap one hoof around its neck and gouge its eyes out with the other. The beast thrashes around and howls in agony, but with no one left to help it there’s no way its getting away now. I grab the ears and tear the skin off its head, then proceed to crack the skull open like an egg until I can finally break off a sizable chunk, then finish it by taking a big bite out of its brain. The hound twitches and stutters for a moment before collapsing in bloody heap on the ground.

I swallow the large chunks of brain, then check to make sure the thing is dead. Once I’m satisfied with its current state I look up at Scootaloo. She sits back on her haunches, blood sprayed on her face, and a look in her eye somewhere between traumatized and… I’m not sure, amazement? I really don’t like it.

Ignoring her fucked up mental state for minute I turn my attention to more pressing concerns, growling as I do. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? You were supposed to be watching the road!”

She looks at me, but doesn’t answer.

“Hello! Equestria to Scootaloo, do you read me? Mind explaining what the fuck was going through your head right now!”

She jolts as if suddenly waking from a nap. “Wha-what?”

“Head! What was going through yours?! Do you understand me?! What the hell made you think attacking demon of hellspawn could in anyway be a good idea?!”

“You… you were in trouble, I couldn’t just stand there and do nothing.”

“Scootaloo, do you have any idea what that Hellhound would’ve done to you if I hadn’t gotten to it in time? Don’t even ask, because you probably wouldn’t sleep for several weeks.”

The timid expression on her face is thrown off and replaced with one of anger. “Oh, and like you wouldn’t have done the exact same thing!”

“You threw a stone at its head! I would’ve skinned the thing alive. There’s a pretty big difference in how we approach our problems there, don’t you think!”

“What does that mean?!” she demands. “You think just because you’ve got powers means you gotta do all this yourself! That just because I’m not a demon means I can't help, can’t even save my best friend when she’s in trouble!”

“This isn’t a game Scootaloo! It’s not like one of our crusades where if you fuck up you can just move on and try harder next time! You get one chance to do it right or you dead, end of story!”

“Exactly, so why are you so pissed that I stepped in when you were obviously losing? I don’t care how well you say you were handling yourself, it looked like you were about to get eaten!”

“I don’t need you risking your life to save mine!”

“And I don’t need you treating me like I’m fucking useless!”

The words echo into the distance. We stand like two statues glaring into each other’s eyes, so close together we can feel the breath of the other slide across our faces. The whole world is shut out around us; all that exists is me and her, glaring defiance at each other. Time has come to a dead halt, or so we’d like to believe.

“Sweetie Belle, I’m back!” I look up the road and see Apple Bloom coming with my spell book under hoof and saddlebags in tow. “Sorry I’m late. I had a bit a’ trouble finding yer’ saddlebags, I guess you dropped ‘em somewhere when yah’ ran off after schoo—”

She pauses in mid sentence upon seeing the carnage. She looks down at us, back at the carnage, then back at our panting expressions, which are dripping with sweat and blood. “Is this gonna’ be a regular thing with the two of you? I’m just gonna’ come in after these gruesome battles and find yah' makin’ out in pools of blood?”

My hoof comes to my face so hard I’ll probably find a mark there later on. She’s picking up my sense of humor. I don’t know whether to be worried or relieved.

I sigh and walk passed a crimson faced Scootaloo on my way to Apple Bloom. “Lets try to stay focused, I’d rather not spend anymore time here than I have to.”

I take the saddlebags and spell book from her, then turn back to the bloody scene of the cemetery. I sit down right where the blood spill begins, then bite my hoof hard enough to make it bleed. After going through the process of drawing the pentacle and unlocking the book, I flip through to the back of the book where the more advanced rituals are stored.

"Sweetie Belle, your wing!" Apple Bloom gasps.

The twitching stump that was once my wing is still visible on my body. "Don't worry, it'll grow back with time. We've got other things to worry about until then."

Apple Bloom looks unsure, but doesn't question me. Instead, she takes my advice and looks over the bloody mess of the graveyard. "This is terrible. What happened to those zombie ponies that were around earlier?” Apple Bloom asks.

“More than likely they fled the instant they got the chance. Can’t say I blame them. Any amount of time spent in hell is probably enough to make you go insane.”

“Hell? What do you mean by that? Are you saying everypony we saw just now broke out of Tartarus?”

“Pretty much.”

“So everypony in this graveyard went Hell?”

“I said they broke out of Tartarus. I never said they went back to their original bodies.”

Silence ensues for a moment while my friends wrap their minds around the full horror of that information. “That’s awful. Sweet Celestia, now I feel sorry for those poor ponies. Is there anything you can do to help them at all?”

“I’ve already done all I can by slaughtering these Hellhounds. I can’t get involved any further without attracting more attention to myself, and that’ll be bad for everyone. Sorry Applebloom, but those ponies are gonna have to fend for themselves now.”

“Do you think they’ll make it?”

My eyes close reflexively. Will they make it? Doubtful. I may have killed the Hellhounds that were waiting for them, but one of the biggest differences between these creatures and other demons is they’re one of the few that can just walk right out the gates of Hell as they please. Chances are this whole pack will be back on their trail within a few short hours. Honestly though, as long as they stay out of Ponyville I couldn’t care less. Hell, it was no accident that I started the fight so close to the road; it was a small incentive I gave them to run the opposite direction. Maybe it’s a little harsh, but those ponies wound up in Hell for a reason, and I can’t risk bringing anymore attention to this town than there already is. Though I doubt Apple Bloom will understand that.

I look back at my friend, an expectant look in her eye as she continues to wait for my answer. I breath out softly and turn my head back to the spell book. “If anypony noticed something up here then they’ll be coming soon. We need to be out of here by then.”

It’s rude and not very subtle, but it’s all I’ve got, and thankfully it’s enough to subdue her worry. She gives me a leary look for a moment, but eventually drops the matter.

Finally I can get back to what’s important. I find the sigil I’m looking for, the mark of Beelzebub. I dig through my saddlebags and pull out one of the few things in there that actually looks like something a sweet innocent filly like me probably shouldn’t have in her possession. The old ceremonial atheme gleams in the sunlight. It’s made of silver, but lacks any sign of demonic influence like so many others do. I run it through the still open wound on my hoof, moistening the blade with blood. Usually I like to use the less conspicuous scissors for rituals, but the heavy duty blade is definitely called for here. I stab the dagger into the earth, and carve the sigil deep into the soiled dirt. I check the book repeatedly to make sure I’m copying the sign exactly. Once I’m done, I sheath the blade and then place the book right in front of me.

I extend my hooves out over the sigil and shout with a voice echoing demonic energy, “In nomine Domini Beelzebub, principe Gula, Dominus interiturum. Lubeo naturalis virtutis. Adsis praenuntiae mortis! Vorabit carnem mortuorum conchis reddituros quibus venerant ad terram! Sic erit!”

The air turns stale and dark chills run down my spine. There's a faint glow that emits from the sigil I've carved, the energy making it shift and turn as though it were an actual living entity. The corpses of the Hellhounds suddenly begin to vibrate. Their limbs move, but not in any natural way, even for a demon. Their skin crawls in unsettling manners, and when the source of the disturbance finally reveals itself, my friends scream.

Maggots, hundreds and hundreds of maggots squirm underneath the dead hounds' skin. They burrow out of their flesh, crawl out of their mouths, and dig into their eyeballs. There's so many of them that within a few short minutes most of the corpses collapse into nothing, and I mean nothing. Not even the bones survive this treatment, and the blood that once made a sea of red is quickly suck dry out of the dirt. When all signs of death wither away, so do the maggots. The entire army of disgusting creatures quickly vanishes, slithering into the dirt, never to be seen again.

The only signs of death now are the tombstones that decorate the landscape. Some might think the disturbed earth is suspicious, but it’ll take a lot more than that to attract the Order's attention. Satisfied with my work I turn to my slightly traumatized friends, cracking a smile to my face.

“Okay, all done here. Let’s go.”

Their heads jolt back into reality. Scootaloo is pretty quick to shake the disturbed look off her face, Applebloom is a little slower. She stares at me with huge unsettled eyes. “Um… what other kinds of spells do you have in there again?”

“Anything that can be useful really." That doesn't ease her horrified expression one bit. "They're demonic rituals Applebloom, were you expecting sunshine and butterflies?"

"No, it's just..." Her face twists in disgust. "Never mind, lets just go."

"Um, yeah, about that, I'm not too sure about this, but I have a sneaking suspicion that somepony might think something is a little out of place with us if we walk through town." Scootaloo states, rubbing her blood soaked face as she does.

"No worries, just requires a remedy from my magick bag," I state, digging into my saddle bags. I pull out thirteen black candles, and set them out in a large ring. “Care to join me?”

I almost swear that Scootaloo can teleport, she's by my side that quickly, smiling like a maniac. Funny, she acts all pissy earlier, but then I wave a little demonic magick in front of her... actually that might be more cause to worry than laugh.

Apple Bloom however is far less open to the idea. She stares at the candle ring the same way she'd stare at a bubbling tar pit. "Is this really necessary?"

"Does it look like we can just walk back through town?" I retort, shrugging my blood drenched shoulders.

"Come on, Applebloom, this'll be so cool!"

The farm filly makes an audible gulp. She continues looking at the circle ring, curiosity mixed with apprehension swimming in her eyes. Finally, she moves slowly into the ring, and joins us on our haunches.

"Glad to have you aboard." I clap my hooves together, sending a wave of demonic energy to light all the candles at once. "Now, normally this ritual is supposed to be performed by one pony, but it's pretty easy to adapt it to three. I want you to close your eyes, and keep your minds clear. No matter what you hear or feel, don't open your eyes and don't think of anything. Keep your minds completely blank no matter what."

They nod their heads, and close their eyes. I give them a little time to adjust to this state, then begin the ritual. I bite down into my hoof once more and squeeze the blood into the center of the circle. The old power is ignited and a glowing inverted pentagram appears beneath us. I join my friends in their meditation, taking a deep breath and emptying my head. I fall into a trance, then picture the bathroom of Carousel Boutique. I rub my hooves together and exhale a large breath. Demonic energy rises and a sensation encompasses me like I'm being lifted out of my own body.

"S-Sweetie Belle?"

The sensation begins to wither. "Ignore it girls, don't think of anything."

Apple Bloom shuts up and I'm able to concentrate again. The feeling rises up again and it's like we're spinning. Whirring motion and blinding speed takes hold, and were lost in space. For a moment I'm not sure if it'll work due to my friends interference, but then the movement dies down and we come to a jarring halt. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo open their eyes, blinking at the sight of my bathroom walls.

"This is officially way past awesome! What other spells do you have in there? Is there like some sort of invisibility ritual, or mind reading spell, or maybe..." My grin gets bigger and bigger as Scootaloo goes on. She eventually notices, does the math in her head, and resumes being angry at me.

She can be so cute sometimes.

“I’ll admit, that was somethin’,” Apple Bloom states. “Although, was there any particular reason you jumped us into the bathroom?”

“Oh yes, and an extremely important reason, too!” I look at her big wide eyes, and intense seriousness. “Blood stains are nearly impossible to get out of carpet, and I don’t need Rarity throttling me for disrupting the sanctity of her home when she gets back."

They both chuckle. "Yeah, I guess you and I could do with another bath."

"Shower! Uh, yeah how about we shower this time, separately." No way in hell am I going through that awkwardness again.

"Um, alright, sure whatever." Scootaloo shrugs. She trots up to the shower and turns the knob for the warm water. She looks beyond relieved to rid herself of the red substance.

"So what do we do now?" Apple Bloom asks. "I'm not gonna question that somethin' weird is happenin' after seein' that stuff in the graveyard. So what do we do to stop this stuff?"

The sigh comes out of my lips with weight. "Again, it would help if I knew more about what we're up against. There’s a few places around Equestria I can go to for info, can’t be too hard to find out. Attempting to assassinate Alicorns tends to make you famous.”

Silence stretches on after that. Nothing to hear other than the soft splatter of shower water.

“Say that this demon that attacked Celestia came here. Do you think you’d be able to take it?” Scootaloo looks over her shoulder, red tinged liquid running down her back. “I know you’re powerful and all but, how powerful are you exactly?”

The question makes me think for a moment. “I’m pretty high up there by normal standards, which is actually amazing considering I’m only half demon. But if I’m right, and that thing that attacked Celestia is one of the nobles of Hell…” My breath shivers just thinking about that outcome. “Yeah, I don’t think taking it in a head-on fight will be such a good idea.”

“Then how would we fight something like that?”

I put a hoof to my chin, rubbing blood together in the process. “Honestly, the best I think we can do is try to keep this place on low profile and hope that our sisters can find it and blast it with the Elements of Harmony.”

“And you think that’ll stop it? I mean this is a demon of Tartarus we’re talkin’ about,” Apple Bloom says. “What if... the Elements don’t work?”

Blood flies of my coat as I laugh. “Oh, trust me, if they get those things off it’ll work. There was a lot of talk going on in the demonic circles when the Elements were discovered again, and the demons were not happy. Apparently, those things are the last heavenly power left on the planet, and possibly the most powerful weapon anypony can use against a demon. If you've got those things, no demon in the world will go near you."

"So it's just a matter of time," Scootaloo says with a smile. "When Rainbow Dash and her friends find that thing it won't even stand a chance."

"Yeah, if they can find it," I state grimly. "The lesser demons hide themselves in Equestria well enough, but something this powerful is gonna be damn near impossible to find."

"Oh, they'll find it," Scootaloo chuckles. "Between Rainbow Dash, Princess Twilight, and that Order thing they're working with, I doubt they'll come back empty hoofed."

"I hope they don't at least. I really do." But Celestia knows, they never found me, after all.

We don't talk much after that, simply sit in silence, left to our own thoughts. Scootaloo eventually finishes, and steps out of the shower grabbing a towel off the rack. I enter after her, sighing delightfully as the cool water runs down my skin.

Such a long day, so much excitement. This is probably the first time I've gotten to relax in hours. I lift up my hoof and watch the blood come sliding off of it, falling in big red drops to the tiled floor. I'm tempted to give it a lick, but that'll probably creep my friends out. Instead I just settle for watching it run down my body and go spiraling down the drain. Sometimes I think I have an obsession with blood, which may not sound odd for a demon, but with me it's a really big obsession.

I love blood.

I love the way it looks, the ways it smells, the way it tastes, the way it feels spread across my body, being pushed in between my legs. There's nothing in this world that wouldn't be more appealing to me with blood smeared all over it. The most delicious meal, the most lavish painting, the sexiest of mares. Just thinking about Scootaloo earlier makes me a little horny.

No! No! Bad Sweetie! Very bad Sweetie!

I give my head a rough shake, jarring any unwanted thoughts out of it. The last thing I need is a libido going on right in front of my friends. Deciding against spending anymore time in the shower than I have to, I quickly finish up and dry myself off.

“Do you think we could ever get our cutie marks in demonic rituals?”

The towel falls out of my hoof at the question. Me and Applebloom give Scootaloo a berating look. “What? We've gotta exhaust all our options don't we?”

Apple Bloom seems to be getting more pale the longer she thinks about it. “Please tell me yah’ wouldn’t consider...”

“No, I wouldn’t.”

“Oh come on, can’t we try a small one just to see if it’s possible?”

I hear the front door open and Spike’s voice rings through the shop. “Girls! Are you in here? Come on, I'm supposed to be watching you three!”

“Maybe one to make our quote-on-quote ‘babysitter’ disappear.”

“Tempting, but then we’d have to come up with a whole story for where he went,” I joke. Still shaking my head I exit the bathroom to greet the baby dragon. “Hey Spike, we’re here. Uh, sorry about running off earlier. I just... had to be alone after they all left.”

Anxiety seems to melt off his face upon seeing us. “That’s alright, I’m just glad I finally found you three. You wouldn’t believe how long I’ve been looking around for you.”

“It hasn’t been that long since we left.”

“Yes, but it has started to get dark outside.”

“What are you talking about, it’s only…” My eyes nearly bulge out of their sockets when I look at the clock. “Nine-thirty at night?”

“Oh horse apples! Big Mac’ and Granny Smith were expectin’ me back at nine!” Apple Bloom dashes past me for the door. “I gotta go Sweetie Belle, see yah’ later!”

“I should probably go, too,” Scootaloo states, awkwardly walking past me. “What can I say though? I mean, it’s been a heck of a day. We really should do stuff like this more often.”

Fuck. You. Too. “Yeah, we really should. Good night, Scootaloo.”

“Bye.”

She leaves quickly, leaving just me and Spike. The young dragon continues looking at me with a weird stare. “So uh, was there something else you wanted Spike?”

“No, it’s just that I sorta realized that, Applebloom’s got her brother and grandma watching her, Scootaloo has… whoever she lives with, but you’re pretty much here all by yourself.”

I roll my eyes, knowing all too well where he’s going with this. “Thank you Spike, but I’ll do fine here alone. I’m sure you’ve already got your claws full making sure none of those pets tear the library apart, or hop town on any trains.”

He gives me a stiff glare, and only makes me laugh harder. “That was just a bad moment for me alright, and don’t change the subject. Rarity asked me to watch you while she was gone, and I’m gonna make sure she’s happy when she gets back, no matter how hard of a time you give me."

“Yeah, anything for a lay right?"

"What!"

"Nothing," I chirp, smiling fiendishly.

Spike blushes furiously, before shaking his head. "Look, let's just make this easier on both of us alright. You can sleep over at the library, or I can come over here if you want, your pick."

Damn, he's gonna stick to his guns on this one. Well, I didn't want to do this, but he's left me no choice. It's time to pull out my darkest ability, a demonic power that's so cruel, so horrible, so unbelievable terrifying that I still feel a little tinge of guilt every time I use it. I hope he's proud of himself.

Taking a deep breath to prepare myself I clear my mind to focus on all the details of what I'm about to do. Then I turn to him, strut right up in front of him, lower myself down on my two front hooves, and look up at him with the biggest most adorable puppy dog eyes I can possibly muster. Quivering my lip, sparkling rises, and all.

"Come on Spike, won't you pweaze let me stay here alone. I pwomise to behave myself and not cause any trouble."

He never stood a chance. "Hey... come on... stop doing that."

He tries to back away from my face, but that only delays the inevitable. "Come on Spiky, I thought you wanted to make Rarity happy. No better way to do that than to make her sister happy. I might even nudge her in your direction if you want me to."

His head goes for a spin. "You'll... really?!"

"Please Spike?" I say it again and accent it with a high pitched squeak. "Pleeeeeaase!"

I make my smile ten feet long, and give eye that sparkle like diamonds. He struggles for a few more moments, before finally breaking. "Alright, fine! If you want to be alone that badly then... you can stay here for tonight."

"Oh, thank you so much Spike!" I wrap my hooves around and squeeze tightly for good measure. Sucker!

His face turns a light shade of red and he rubs the back of his head. "Yeah, you're welcome. Just, please don't do anything to make me regret this."

"Don't worry, I'll be good." For the most part. "You just relax back at the library, and make sure Angel doesn't burn it down."

He rolls his eyes. "Believe me, I'll make double sure of that. Good night, Sweetie Belle."

I smile and wave as he leaves the house, and feel like a deflated balloon once I'm alone. This has officially been the longest twenty-four hours of my life. The walk to my room is short but lasts for eternity. I drag myself into bed, desiring nothing more than to pass out and finally get some peace. It just can’t be that easy though, can it? My body may all but shut down, but my mind demands to remain active and operating. Rest slips further from my grasp until it’s out of my reach forever. I decide to indulge my pushy brain, knowing it’s pointless to keep fighting it.

Demons have a perfect memory, and most can recall any point in their lives with near flawless detail. I’ve heard this can be a little weird after you’ve got a few thousand years in your lifetime, but I’m a long ways away from confirming that. Right now the particular memory I’m focusing on is when the demon flew over Ponyville.

It really did look like something that was pulled out of a fantasy book, or mythology story. From where I was standing, it looks like the thing was pretty high in the air so it would be a lot bigger close up, about ten times the size of a regular pony if I took a rough guess. There’s a few smaller details I can make out as well. Strange sigils on the forehead, eyes that resemble burning stars, but beyond that there’s not much I’m going to learn from the image alone. By all appearances it just looks like any other demon. A very powerful and intimidating demon to be sure, but still nothing that wouldn’t be out of the ordinary.

The feeling I got when I was in that beast’s presence still gives me shivers. Power beyond all measure, unbelievable energy straight from the depths of Tartarus itself. It scares me to think of the worst case scenario, and that thing does come to Ponyville. It’s true that I wouldn’t last long in a head-to-head fight, but still, there are other ways I can fight. My spell book has many rituals and incantations in it, some I’m actually afraid to use lest I unleash an otherworldly monstrosity into Equestria. If all else fails I have a few rituals I can fall back on, but that’ll only happen after everything else has gone wrong. If I’m not careful I might end up being a worse threat to Equestria than whatever this demon has planned?

Great, now I’m stressed.

I make a gentle sigh and stare up at my ceiling. I think back to when I was inside the dragon’s body. The smell of blood, the taste of organs, the shrieks of the creature. I go wet down below. I shudder a bit, and turn my thoughts to the image of Scootaloo I had earlier. The blood soaked mane, the sexy filly voice, and, Luna damnit the way she shook her ass at the Hellhound. I lower my hooves down beneath the sheets, past my stomach, and between my legs. I release a guilty sigh as pleasure flows through me.

“I see you haven’t changed a bit.”

I shriek in surprise and leap ten feet into the air. I crash back onto my bed with the covers falling over me. The sheets wrestle me for a bit before I can poke my head out, panting and sweating with fear. My eyes turn a glare to the direction of the voice, only to go as wide as dinner plates the moment I see it’s owner.

“Virgil?”

For a moment I have trouble believing the black scaled dragon is really there. He grins at me with a toothy smile, and marble eyes of pure white, the pupils and irises absent from view. He’s a little taller than I remembered, maybe in his early teen years now, but there’s no way I’d ever mistake those sweeping horns or mischievous stance.

“So I hear you had a little visitor fly above your town. Figured you might like to know what everyone’s been talking about.”