Not surprisingly he did repeat himself, and well, I saw no reason to hold back.

After being bashed against a wall, the head then driven into a nearby well, a body was whipped into the cobble stone floor. A small trickle of blood found its way between the cracks as four hooves steadied themselves, lifting a stubborn payload.

The head contained thoughts, racing a mile a minute, contemplating how to approach the monster. That much was clear. The muscles? They could be bruised in the morning. The heart, however, kept a burning determination, an indestructible will.

The crowd surged around the combatants, one standing proud, an essence of doubt lingered in his mind whereas the slowly rising warrior, teeth grinding as he wiped his maw, only locked eyes with the other.

I, fucking, HATE magic.

You gotta do better than that. The support I was receiving consisted of criticism, sounds of someone grimacing, and sarcastic remarks about failed tactics. It almost sounded like a droning noise after twenty minutes.

“I was kind of expecting more from a colt entering the steel pony competition. Guess, err, you weren’t the one dominating out of you and her, huh?” he taunted, inspecting a hoof. The guy’s a lot bigger than what I thought he was originally, being abnormally tall for a unicorn.

It was that damn telekinesis spell. Charging at him would result in me being swatted away. Shadow sink was useless without a shadow to latch onto. All in all, getting close was proving impossible, but for the sake of Twilight? I was waiting to tear him limb from limb.

“What are you anyway? A costume designer? You think you could take an ex-member of the royal guard?” I looked up, spotting him mutter something from afar with a scowl. I didn’t care, I wasn’t about to let some xenophobic, ignorant, mortal, pony believe he is any match for me.

“Me? Funny,” I started, beginning another attempt. I had one last trick I was willing to pull out. “What, exactly, am I?” I added, standing tall, one hoof gesturing towards myself. A droplet of magma spilled onto the floor.

He shrugged, grinning. “A loser with too much time on his hooves?” He chuckled, only awkwardly stopping once he spotted the stares from those nearby. “Alright, I’ll bite.”

Actually, that’s my department.

“You some kind of scabby pony with a fire up his flank?” I chuckled in response, shaking my head.

“Cute, really cute.” I smiled at him, generating an uneasy silence. He cocked his head, bewildered by my eerie grin. I waited and he shook his head and glared at me.

“Whatever, you talk too much.” There it was the small flicker of orange light around his horn. The unicorn pointing the protruding objects towards me.

There was a fiery blur, followed by a gasp from the audience. He looked up with a confused expression, glancing around. His target had disappeared, something he wasn’t quite hoping for. Once his head swivelled to the right, he came face to face with me. His amber eyes narrowed, coming level with my own.

“I, for one, don’t care much for the ignorant.” With tremendous power I brought a hoof up under his chin, sending him onto his hind hooves as a tooth rocketed to the sky. Whilst he was standing, I spun around priming my hind legs. With one swift kick I sent him into a nearby wall, narrowly missing the heads of onlookers, whilst summoning a dust cloud. When the dust settled, the enraged stallion looked up, spotting me looming over him.

“How did he get there?” I heard a colt ask. The voice was muffled, slightly distorted as edges of my vision began to darken. My peripheral vision was slowly engulfed by a void. The only thing in my sight was this… abomination… this cesspool of illogical hate. Still he glared at me, his form highlighted by this scarlet glow.

“Lucky sho-“ he spoke as his horn glowed, only for his comeback to be silenced by me clamping down on his horn. He screamed. Each attempt to tear his horn out of my maw created another yelp. I could tell I left a few marks on his apricot appendage, even in the brief seconds it was held between my fangs. I tossed him over my head, before standing up to grab him with my hooves whilst he was airborne.

Unfortunately, given that I have only achieved the rank of amateur pony, he slipped out of my grasp before I could swing him across the street. Since I was reaching behind me, I wound up stumbling back and seconds later colliding with cobble stone. I watched as he crash landed beside me. Instantly, my voice returned to the creepily calm tone.

“I can understand mistrust in a species, one being the predator and the other the prey.” I turned to face him, his eyes still spinning. “But, you see, or not as the case may be, when you can’t explain your reasoning and simply go against someone because of who they are, well…” I paused, watching his eyes settle on him once again stare at me with a large frown. Despite the cuts along his cheek, he was really trying to beat me. He had his chance, now it was my turn.

“That doesn’t exactly go over well for me, personal experience talking.” Before he could roll over, I got to my hooves, placing one on the back of his head. Applying pressure, he soon started angrily grunting and mumbling something. Probably offensive, but the stone road helped censor it between bashes.

I let up, watching him cup his head. Grabbing his throat, I dragged him into a nearby alleyway, before tossing him down the narrow space. I turned back to face the crowd, all of which were leaning forward.

Unsurprisingly, whoever I gazed at seemed to stare of at a fascinating patch of empty sky. There was abundance of scents in the air. There was fear, emanating from a those closest; a sense of pride and support, that seemed to come from the ones furthest away, although I noticed that the couples closest to me held this scent too. I also caught a whiff of something else.

Hate. Somewhere amongst the crowd at least one pony wasn’t exactly in my favour.

“What?” I growled aggressively, scaring a few ponies by my sides. I was too busy scanning, hunting even, for that foul odour amongst the fearful and confused mass of equine. “He started it…” I tailed off, raising my snout to subtly sniff the air.

They’re close. M.V.R commented. He was right. I knew he was from the way the scent was slowly edging away.

“It’s not as if somebody has the same ideals as him,” I added slowly, honing in on the scent. The sky grew darker, the terrified ponies across the street fading into an approaching blackness. The shadow approached, engulfing many.

My senses sectioned off the crowd, blocking out those who were not emanating the putrid stench. Ponies began to fade, the few remaining stood by my right. A small filly, more fearful than resenting my actions. He soon faded behind the veil also.

Next to him, stood worried mare, one who quickly backed away at my intense glare. Not her. M.V.R commented, moments before I spotted an odd pony.

“Do they?” I finally finished, earning a miniscule twitch of his dark eyes. He was odd, but not in the sense of how he looked; by the malachite coat, the preened feathers, and the hoof raised in disgust, I gathered he was like some of the others. He clearly didn’t approve of my actions, much like everypony else.

And yet, his anger wasn’t focused on that. Oh no. The hate was strong with this one,

My vision began to unclog, releasing a tidal wave of colour to reform the natural world. I found who I was looking for: the one other stallion that seemed to side with his beaten friend.

“No,” he hissed, venom practically hitting the floor as he trotted off. The crowd soon followed after, allowing me to return to my punching bag. Oh boy was I far from finished with this guy, but wouldn’t you know it? He had hobbled away.

The narrow passage kept out of Celestia’s warm rays, casting a slanted shadow from the cottages overlooking the gap. Dull, dreary grey stones littered the path haphazardly, disregarding any form of order. Trodden newspapers, stained with dirt and shadow, drifted along the route, barging into my sides. Canisters of greasy steel, spilled their load of black bags onto the floor, providing a foul feast for a few rats and flies.

This was Ponyville at its worst. The only thing missing was my chew toy.

“Playing hide and seek? Adorable, cute even. Noble? Inspiring? Superior? Hardly.” I taunted, creeping down the cold trail. At the far side was the market place, a glimmer of light down far end.

With no response, I continued my silent prowl whilst attentively in taking the air. The breeze carried a delicious scent; mouth salivating slightly, I proceeded to follow the direction of the smell. A single droplet, caught between two cobble stones.

Growing a wicked grin, I allowed my tongue to slither towards the sample. It rolled in the crimson droplet, barraging me with luscious information. I had his DNA, his scent, and now his sins writhing on the tip of my tongue.

Now… the hunt was on.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I found him. He was trying to keep to the main roads, pausing to talk with some of the stall merchants. I could tell he was aware of my presence, especially after snapping and announcing my crimes against him for all those around us to hear.

However, whenever the crowd turned to face me I had shadow sunk onto a nearby shadow. First time? I was attached to Granny Smith; bless her frail heart, when he wound up accusing her of nearly killing him a tide of laughter confused her but infuriated him.

The second time, after safely seeping out between the stalls she shuffled through, I followed him further. Once again I repeated my previous method, never being so happy to see Aloe nearby.

This is the closest you’re going to get to being underneath her, isn’t it? By actually being her shadow.

Shut up.

Once again, he was declared was humiliated when Aloe protested against the charges. He started to panic. The sweat dripping of his brow left a trail for me to follow, hence why he was now being pressed against the wall by the throat. In the alley way, where nopony was looking, I did give him a few more jabs to the ribs before question time.

I was still rather sore about that Twilight comment.

“P-p-please… leave me alone. You win, unicorns are not the best. You can let me go, I won’t ever judge another being again,” he sobbed, his tears becoming small puffs of steam once the trickled down my hoof.

I merely grinned, it was a beautiful sight: the unworthy, the corrupt, the sinner’s clinging for dear life.

“I know, I know.” I said darkly, inspecting my other hoof. “Question is though, why should I let you go, rather than end you right here?” I snarled and threw him to the floor. I was impressed by the level of punishment his body could take, then again it only let me play with him some more.

Pressing my hoof down on his chest, I began to hear more pained sobs. For added effect I encased my wings around us, creating a small dome of flame. His moss eyes glistened with the ghost of his past. I could see it. He was recalling all the wrong he had done, not just to other species from his last statement.

“I don’t want to die,” he squeaked, generating a small chuckle from my lips. When I was done, I gave him a jack-a-lantern’s grin.

“Why? It’s not so bad. If you’ve been a good boy you’ll be happy for all eternity.” That sinister smirk crept back onto my maw, causing his eyes to narrow in horror. “But if you’ve been naughty, well, you can say hello to a few friends of mine.”

Oh, isn’t it delightful? Look at him squirm. Those bruises and cuts are rather minor, looks like dinner isn’t ruined after all. That scent, those sins, delectable!

“W-What do you want from me?” he stuttered, tears streaming down his cheeks.

His life. An easy thing to take, so full of hate, how could I not? It’s not like he’s worthy of another breath.

“First, where is my friend?” I asked, licking my lips as a drop of crimson rolled out of his nose.

“We left him in the Everfree Forest! Far away! I’m sorry! If you spare me, I’ll help you find him.”

Mercy? What? Does he think I’m can’t find a greedy little hound? I bared my fangs, restrained his head. He tried to wriggle free, but the weight of my body, combined with the demonic strength kept him subdued. I turned his head to the side, lifting it up and keeping his hooves down.

“I have a flashy friend who is more than willing to help me find him, lest it tarnish all that pride.” I hissed, licking his exposed neck.

Here it was. My meal, my victory. His sin; all that hate, all that pride, all MINE!

“OH SWEET CELESTIA, SOMEPONY HELP ME!” he screamed. For the sake of savouring my meal, I slowly closed my maw. The pressure dug in, my tongue desperately trying to breach the skin. I felt the tips of my fangs penetrate, a small choked cry being released. A little more pressure, a little more PAIN, and I would be dining like I was meant to. Then… finally…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"He is not worthless. He can still control you. He didn't want to hurt them. He was protecting us from you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"It's because he is a good pony!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Yeah? Look Twilight, if you don't want me around I'll," I'm sure I would have mentioned that cave from when we first met, had she not decided to hug me, "Twilight?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I don't want to hurt you." I whispered. She gripped me as if her life depended on it.
"You won't." she replied.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I snapped back to reality, uprooting my fangs from around his neck with a string of thick saliva snapping as I jerked back. Stepping back, I snapped my wings back into their resting position. I stared down at the seeping wounds around his neck, a large bite mark riddled across the limb. My maw dropped, both of us wearing a look of horror; his however was that of a child praying in fear, whilst mine was the reflective response to almost murdering a perso- err pony.

Same damn thing.

“What was I thinking?” I asked myself, falling to my haunches. I was shaking, my plates rubbing against each other. Fear engulfed me; the thought of succumbing to those diabolic thoughts shocked me to the core.

I looked back, spying the colt quivering as he gazed at me. His mangled mane fell over one of his eyes. His bruises shone through, paling his tangerine coat in an unhealthy yellow; spots of sanguine were dotted around his face, throat, and side, giving me a crystal clear image of what exactly I had done. The guy looked like he tried to swim through razor blades whilst being pelted by hammers.

Fear, emanating from the now brown roots of his tail and soul; if I was going to redeem him, and possibly me, then I had to do this now.

“What are you?” He asked, pointing a jittery hoof.

“That’s only important if you plan on being a racist titbit.” I said grimly. Saying I was the guardian of Hell probably wouldn’t have helped at this point.

“What? You some form of vigilante vampire?” he asked, massaging his neck.

“Close enough.”

“You’re insane.”

“You almost died because I hunted you down. Even if I am not, do you think you can evade me again?” I earned a silence, his look of terror still smothering his face. “What pony do you know that can eat another pony, anyhow?”

“I-you,” he started, before sighing. “None, we couldn’t digest meat if we tried.”

“I can,” I said, before looking him square in the eye and leaning towards him; an act that generated a small, wet, ripping noise. “And have.”

He opened his mouth, releasing a small squeak. I used my hoof to keep his muzzle shut, further striking fear into the stallion.

“If you want to live, heed my warning, mortal.” I said, still maintaining that dark tone of voice. “If I catch you acting this way to another species, or to your own, you won't get a second chance. You thought to be better than the others, and even some of your own equine friends, and yet your apparent superiority was your downfall. You thought yourself to be untouchable, and those around you to be of no equal. Yet, here you lie, defeated and wallowing in your own shit.”

He sobbed, causing me to harden my gaze.

“Judging with dark intent, to perform evil deeds, brought them upon yourself. Do you understand?”

Removing my hoof, he showed a vacant expression. Soon after, a light seemed to switch on, a spark that completely removed the hate coming from him. I could still smell the crap on his tail though.

“Yes… I… understand.” he replied morbidly, rolling onto his front. I grimaced at the pile of… terror… currently standing between me and him.

“I am sorry, I know I shouldn't do this to other species. Guess I thought that being a pony, and having princesses who controlled both the sun and moon, I thought I we were better than the others." He sighed deeply, looking back up to me. "I thought unicorns were better too, then you basically kicked my flank with no magic." He seemed to bite his lip, glancing between me and and his surroundings. "I… know where your friend is.”

Still preoccupied, I gave a lazy arch of the eyebrow.

“He’s in a shack, east of the bridge leading to the Everfree. Follow the red flowers into the woods, then turn off at the river. Follow it down and you’ll find him. He’ll be alone, mostly, it’s kind of what they do to dogs.”

“I don’t care for the moment, do it again and I’ll have your spleen, understood?” I earned a violent nod. “Who’s ‘they’?”

“Others, like… they are what I used to be, they might hurt the guy, but they mostly don’t show up. They think by hurting him they’re doing him a favour.”

“Thanks.” I said, my thoughts returning to how I almost butchered him. I wanted his heart in my mouth, I wanted to hear his muffled cries, and I needed that blood in my gullet. I could only guess why.

So, why didn’t I just kill him?

That was an easy question. Looking back up I spotted a purple flicker of flame on the ground, before a blue hue engulf the nearby area.

“What’s happ-“

“Go, before I change my mind.” I quickly snapped. He galloped off, summoning a few newspapers to scrub his flank as he disappeared around a corner.

Magma! FOR FUCK’S SAKE DON’T EVER DO THAT AGAIN TO ME! M.V.R screeched. A cold breeze flowed along my back, the shadow instinctively becoming a border for me not to cross. I stopped at the edge of the alley, simply looking back into the long street.

I was struck with guilt at the sight on the far side. During my hunt, I had almost devoured a colt that was opposite the library. The sun light hugged the bark, the leaves gave a vibrant green, and the tranquil sky gave a picturesque back drop to the living building.

Oi! What the fuck was that about?

“I almost did it again… He nearly won. He… he keeps lying to me, to all of us. I- I can’t risk… not her.” I said, merely staring at the front door. I was swamped with both guilt and shame; Blood Rage had almost fed right in front of her home, and I was going to enjoy it.

Dude, you gotta speak to her.

I need to save Spot. Last thing I need is her at her worst with me on this.

==================================================================================

“Oh, when am I going to see so more carnivorous chomping?”

“Discord… this is not amusing.”

“Lighten up big guy.”

“Perhaps I may, I have this four-hundred year old adulterer stuck between my teeth, and your spine would be a perfect substitute for a pick.”

“You wouldn’t want me,” Discord said nervously. “You don’t know where I’ve been.” A dark chuckle echoed around the void. The dragonesque hated ‘the office’… to put it light, as usual. Only the light of window, encased in a mercury edge that was forever unsettled and traversing the sides of the viewing portal which shone upon his form.

Whereas the other was yet to be seen, as I had been ever time Discord was summoned to this sinister environment.

The light that emanated from image captured the worried look rapidly spreading across his face as an artic touch currently slithering across his shoulders.

“Actually, I do know. I am not pleased, Discord.” It whispered. It. Even with the silky, masculine voice this beast didn’t seem to suit being called ‘he’, and ‘she’ was even worse. Calling it a beast implied a dark, primal desire ridden, thoughtless monstrosity. Alas, Discord knew, and feared for that reason, that this… creature was once second to this plane of existence’s creator, but he was relieved to know he was not all powerful.

Still, the mere fact that he was only kept alive on a whim stopped the mismatched creature from pointing that out.

The voice bitterly spouted, “You sent him.” The screen homed in on the demonic equine, currently caught between a navy tone and apricot flicker of flame. “He was off limits.”

“Why? I mean, can’t you bring him back?”

“My reach does go beyond this shell that encases me, true. However, I want you to know something,” the voice whispered, a voice like honey towards the end.

“You haven’t got another human pregnant again, have you?”

“No… not yet.”

“Well, we don’t have all eternity,” Discord remarked sarcastically, turning around to gaze into the pitch black background.

“So impatient, not wonder I had to release you twice. Did you not see that display?”

“He looked like he was going to have the other’s head like a snow cone, what of it?”

“That was my doing.”

“Really? Petty meddling isn’t one for you, Lucy,” the dragonesque said, stroking his beard. “So why did you stop?”

“I did not do such a thing.” Discord’s eyes widened, his jaw slowly unhinging.

“H-h-how?”

“He has been stubborn since the beginning, a simple mistake in an otherwise perfect system; he was supposed to die one month after the transformation. Any remnants of humanity in him was destined to be removed, and yet…” the voice whispered. The hairs on the back of the spirit’s neck caught the icy breeze of a silent sigh. “Which is why, Discord, I am not pleased with your choice. He is beyond my meagre grasp, but do not have any disillusions that I could not command him to do my bidding. I was merely testing the water. Should I decide that the purple mare is unworthy, he’ll kill her whilst she sleeps for my amusement.”

“Then stop kidding around and yank the foal from Equestria!”

“Ah, bub bub bub, your mistake may have become a rather interesting turn of events. If Magma Vein does survive his internal conflict, I may have use of him.”

“If he doesn’t?”

“I am not at loss, the damned fool will return to us, corrupted by sin a subjected to Hell’s lashings,” the voice paused to conjure a dark-hearted bout of laughter. Seeming to be originating from everywhere at once. “ And at the hands of a good friend of his. However, you might wish to consider escaping again.”

“How do you figure that?”

“If Magma Vein bests his Primal, then you… fail.”

“WHAT!?”

“You know why, and it is merely your own doing. Don’t try and argue with me; you sent him back as an act of revenge for once again being imprisoned in stone. You knew that the youngest Cerberus would ambush her when you sent him back the first time, however, seeing as he was still in training, he failed both you and me.” The sound of echoing tutting, followed by a voice reserved for scolding a child. “Yes, I wanted her gone too, before I moved on and corrupted her sister. Ultimately I succeeded. However, you were merely spiteful and bitter at her for triumphing over you. That is anger and that is pride… that is a sin, dear Discord.”

“You can’t be serious! What are you thinking? We had… a… deal.”

“Yes, we did didn’t we? You see, to me, you starting to seem less and less likely worthy of your contract. Twice I have organised your escape, twice you have failed to honour our deal due to your own desire for spreading insanity. However you did fullfill half of our deal, but Celestia did away with most of them didn't she? No matter, I have no desire to spread my rule to Equestria... as my leash demands."

"So if you are of no use to me, then you are a meal for me.”

==================================================================================

I pushed on the door, releasing a sigh I didn’t know I had. I was still in shock; the overwhelming feeling of losing control sickened me. It was incredibly powerful and scarily subtle, as if removing the tethers to my own mind without my knowledge.

Inside, the library was quiet, as usual, but it seemed empty. Even with Spike’s head bobbing around on the far side of the upstairs landing the room itself was filled with books and space.

“Oh hey, Mags, I heard about Apple Bloom,” he chirped from upstairs, taking time to come to the railing to wave at me. I gave him an acknowledging nod, watching him disappear out of my sight. “Good job by the way, and thanks for, you know.” I could imagine him rolling a claw around, avoiding a topic I was currently unaware of.

“For what?” I asked, pausing my moment of mopping to begin to ascend to stairs.

“Saving Twilight from those lions, she says another second and somepony might have gotten hurt.”

He’s kind of right, just not because of lions. I growled, luckily not catching Spike’s ear, or whatever he had for ears.

“No big deal, if a lion tried to maul me it would chip its fangs.” I beat my chest for emphasis, watching a coin sized chunk of black exoskeleton bounce off. It fell to the floor, instantly becoming dust. We both stood there, blinking at the ash pile.

Well, that’s new. I thought, watching the lizard put down a pile of books and waddle over. I wondered what that could possibly mean, slightly worried for my health. I repeated the process with the plates on my sides and body and did not receive similar results.

Well, you have taken quite a beating, from the dogs, Twilight, and even that unicorn. What did you do to him anyway? Did you preach or something? M.V.R commented.

No, I thought, casting a sapphire hue on Spike. I almost ate him.

“Hey don’t feel bad, I know you can kick some flank-“ He instantly slapped his mouth, an act that caught my attention as well as an arched eyebrow. “Please don’t tell Twilight I said that.” He pleaded, grasping his claws together, and getting on his knees. Looking back into his emerald pools, it didn’t take a genius to see how desperate he was.

“Sure, I doubt she be mad at you anyway,” I said before looking at the floor. I muttered under my breath, “Not like you almost killed someone against your own will.”

“Oh thanks bro, Twi isn’t one for that sort of language,” he leant closer, raising a claw to his mouth, “Although, most of the bad stuff I learnt are in those stories she reads.”

“Stories?”

“You know, err, romance.” He wretched whilst I stepped back. “I mean, not that I know or anything.”

“Of course not, not since you told me the morning after Nightmare Night.” I said dubiously, causing a faint crimson tinge to cove his cheeks. I gave a merry-less chuckle that seemed to overcome any reason to doubt my mood. A sudden thought hit me, one that made me glance towards Twilight’s door. Looking back beckoned Spike’s head closer, preparing to whisper similarly to how he did to me.

“How often has Twilight started reading these books, especially ones with mature language?” I asked. He looked over my shoulder and we continued our talking like true conspirators.

“She doesn’t read a lot, but after spending years of stacking and shelving, I know which books she takes with her to her room,” he continued, counting on his claw, “Study type books, you know, like magic spells and a lot of math-physics-stuff,” he said using his index claw.

Sounds about right.

“She normally takes out three adventure stories a week, sometimes the entire ‘Daring Doo’ series and puts those ones back the next morning. I have no idea how she manages that.” I said whilst listing the genre on his second claw.

“She’s talented.” I remarked with a shrug, gaining a sagely nod from my lizard companion.

“That’s mostly it, but, I know that after spending time with Rarity she always takes a romance novel off the third to last shelf,” I arched an eyebrow, earning a roll of the eyes form him. “The romance section is sorted alphabetically across, but age rating going up, vertically. Apparently it’s one of the basic spells any unicorn librarian should know. Makes sense really, I can’t grab a book that’s for fifteen year old, although there aren’t many for teens below sixteen.”

“Why?”

“It’s like, I don’t know, trying to reach through glass? All I know is that there’s this purple force field when I get close enough and I can’t touch the books.” I shrugged the matter off; seemed to be a good as excuse as any and I wasn’t about to argue with magic, especially after being almost grinded to dust by it.

“So third to last shelf is…” I trailed off, checking behind me: coast was clear, thankfully.

“Something Dash calls the ‘in need of a cat instead of a colt’ section,” he quoted, using matching hand movements. He frowned a little, looking up to me. “But Dash doesn’t like reading anyway, says it’s for egg heads and stuff. Rarity always gets a little mad when she calls the romance section that, but she never says anything, she’s an angel.”

His eyes turned into little, warm pink hearts, a blissful smile engulfing that maw of his. I glared daggers into him, bringing a hoof down with some force.

“You’re going out with Sweetie Belle, not Rarity.” I jabbed his chest, sending a bolt of green flame against my face. I still stood there, burning my stare into his worried pupils.

“Whoa, whoa… I’m sorry… I just, look me and Sweetie Belle are just hanging out,” he removed his gaze from my own, sliding onto his backside with a saddened sigh. “I haven’t, well, I haven’t asked her to be my,” he said, before his voice trailed off into another sigh. I smiled warmly down at the reptile, offering a hoof to pull him up.

“Next lesson, a brief one and it comes with homework.” His eyes twinkled for a split seconds before the hope was snuffed out by that final foul word.

“Aww, c’mon.”

“Patience is more than a virtue. Yeah you may have been a good guy for her for as long as you’ve known her, but that won’t mean she’ll feel the same way back. You got to show her that, over time, but don’t forget the rules. Got it?”

He gave a curt nod in reply, giving me a determined look. “You betcha.”

“Now,” I said before returning to a hushed tone, “What’s so bad about third from the top?”

“Well, they’re like I said, they got a few bad words… at least one make out scene, but other than that its basically like the teen stuff,” he replied in an equally as quiet tone, shrugging towards the end.

“I thought you said you couldn’t get to the older stuff,” I pointed out, arching an eyebrow.

“We do share a room and she is terrible at hiding things. Last year, she hid the book she gives me on my birthday right under where I slept. She thought I’d never find it there, and it almost worked, until I moved my basket because the sun kept waking me up in the mornings.” I gave a small snigger at his dead panned expression.

“So three from the top isn’t so bad, what about two from the top? Any age rating on those?”

“You have to be an adult like Twilight, but I don’t know what makes them near-the-top stuff,” he scratched his chi, staring of to the ceiling. “Whatever it is, it can’t be like the top shelf stuff because Twilight started using a register for that.” My eyebrows almost shot through the roof, piercing the green canopy of leaves.

“A register? You mean the thing she used to check the stories out?” The way he shook his head in response worried me.

“No, she has a different register for those books,” he replied innocently enough.

I was stupefied. Was she secretly documenting which ponies were taking out potentially explicit novels for desperate house wives everywhere? Was she potentially blackmailing the single mare, walking in with the pony equivalent of a trench coat and hat to mask their appearance, merely so that she could shame them into following her commands?

“Hey you okay?”

Is that how she has this town under her thu- hoof? Is she keeping tabs on mayor mare and is she in control of a secret society ruled by Celestia, therefore enforcing her rule with the promise of utter humiliation otherwise? Is that how she keeps everypony in check? Threatening them with the social stigma of being a pervert, ensuring peace across Equestria through the shame of pornographic novels?

“Dude, you’re starting to creep me out.”

“Huh, what, eh?” I blurted, returning from my runaway train of thought. Spike was looking back at me with a look snared between confusion and fear. I shook my head, blinking my eye flames.

That was fun, I reckon she stashes whips around in case she needs to discipline an unruly stallion. What shortly followed was a rather realistic sounding crack of a whip. And she’s all geared up in rubbery latex.

“Sorry, kind of blanked out for a second. So, why does she have a register?”

“Oh, that’s easy. Sometimes the top shelf stuff doesn’t come back, and she has to spend all day tracking it down. About a month ago she got really mad when it messed with her schedule… by three minutes. So she made a register to track who’s taking what and when, and what condition they’re in, you know, library stuff.” He shrugged, still looking up to me.

“You haven’t… handled those books have you?” I asked, slightly worried. Thankfully he returned a nod.

“Nah, Twilight handles romances and horror stories, as well as the rest of the library with my help; not a lot of ponies borrow those.”

Aren’t you mean to be looking for Spot? Once again I was stupefied, I had wasted valuable time, talking about library management. What the fuck is wrong with me?

“Spike, do you know where Twilight is? Is she in her room?” I asked, turning to face the door by my side. My confidence in resting my hoof against the door diminished half way as I recalled why I was even here in the first place.

“I think so, why do you need her?”

More than you know.

I heard that!

You know what I meant.

I’ve known for a while.

“I only want to talk to her for a while.”

“Oh, okay,” he said eyeing me up. I stepped aside to allow him to waddle past, a small hint of suspicion in his eyes. I ignored him and looked back to the door, my hoof already pressed against the door. Rather than pushing in, I figured I’d knock first.

“Who is it?” an all too familiar voice cried out.

“It’s Mags, we need to talk, Spot’s in trouble… and… I might need your help with this one.”

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The light of day was diminishing, casting an apricot hue across the bedroom. A single bed, wide enough for two if they didn’t care much for personal space, was opposite the door on the upper floor. That’s right, she had a miniature staircase leading up to her starry bed. Along the landing were the only two windows, the one closest to the stairs was littered with hearts and the blinds were down.

Unsurprisingly, a few full bookshelves were carved into the walls and staircase, as were cabinets and drawers. Being a gentle colt, I think I’d rather not snoop through those, not that I expected to find some rather, heart racing lingerie amongst a nudist society.

Still, as I reluctantly agreed with M.V.R, stockings wouldn’t exactly be out of the question.

“So Spot is trapped in the Everfree, being held captive by racist ponies? That’s horrible!” Twilight screeched from her bed, I was standing feet away, an emotionless mask pointed at her furious face.

“I know, I know, look we gotta help him!” I stated, edging closer. Her determined expression caught the light of the sunset, her glare practically dissolving. I remained in the darker side of the bedroom, unexposed to the direct light source coming from the window by the bed.

I opened my maw to explain the reliability of this source, until that is, I chocked and closed it once more. I was terrified to admit to her that I was inches away from killing so close to her home, especially after the entire Diamond Dog incident. I would rather not have to look at those pained, betrayed eyes ever again if I could help it.

“Magma Vein, is there anything else?”

Unfortunately, given the suspicious tone, I guess I couldn’t. Could I? Look her in the eye and try. With M.V.R’s comment I looked back up to see her sitting at the bottom of the bed, her head cocked to the side. The arched eyebrow slowly returned to its rightful position, only to be shifted once more before as a concerned aura engulfed her.

“Magma Vein, how do you know where he is?”

I gulped, swallowing a bit of blood and saliva before opening up. Unfortunately I guess I didn’t get all of it; after a splodge of liquid fire burnt itself into the floor, Twilight looked up to me with terror written across her maw.

“What happened to you!” she shrieked, hopping of her bed and cautiously edging closer, carefully avoiding the burn mark on her floor. I stepped back, staying behind the shadowy border that divided us.

“I’m fine,” I said softly, wiping my lips of any seeping fiery fluid. I needed to wait a few more seconds before the wound sealed up fully. “I merely underestimated my opponent is all,” I said, shaking my head. Peering off to the side of her hooves, my head lowered to hers. I winced and prepared for the inevitable-

“Wait, you got into A FIGHT?!”

“Okay, first off it was selfplplplplll-“ my lips fluttered as a lavender glow encased my mouth, forming a pink ring around my snout. She glared at me, the intense odour of something burning emanated from her, easily revealing the disciplined anger that was slowly consuming her.

“What did you do that for? If you dare say self-defence…” she trailed off, a glint of murderous intent in her eyes. Once my moth was free of that mystical clamp, I slapped my lips together.

“Self-defence.” I stated, raising my hooves up in mock surrender. She grinded her teeth in response before face hoofing. Hard. “Look, Twilight, I said if somepony was going to attack me then I wasn’t going to sit there and take it. Besides he said things about… Spot.” I finished, biting my lip and suddenly finding interest in the view outside.

I probably would have got a better look if I had managed to step next to her, but I’d rather stay out of the spotlight at this moment. Sadly being the only other pony in the room rendered that a difficult task. Impossible some would say.

“He admitted to knowing where Spot is in the middle of the day, and you suddenly snap at him?” she chided, still caught in the orange hue of the dying day as she frowned out of the window.

I opened my mouth, but it wasn’t me who spoke.

“He started saying some rather inappropriate things about you, Twilight. I guess I kind of… snapped when he started insulting you.” A voice announced, coming from behind. Turning back around, I looked for any reflective surface. There it was, right behind me: a large mirror with a scowling reflection. I couldn’t tell if it was my reflection or his until he pointed between me and the mare approaching over my shoulder.

“What sort of things?” she asked, mild curiosity laced with fear and sadness.

Bloody good job knob head!

It’s what you pay me for.

With a sigh, I turned to face her, bowing my head and keeping it down. My thoughts lingered momentarily before I gazed up to her, my flames meeting her deep violet eyes. “It was one thing for him to insult me, perhaps Spot, but when he started mouthing off about you I couldn’t stand there.”

I recalled what happened next, looking back to see a shimmer of pink irradiate of me as I said, “If it makes you feel better, I didn’t get to lay a hoof on him for a few minutes.” I looked back, and gingerly poked a sore piece of my exposed ribcage. A chip of black carapace fell to the floor, crumbling upon contact. She looked between the small collection of dust and my form, hooves over her mouth as she gasped.

“I took one heck of a beating, not really trained for magic, but don’t worry about that, I can heal pretty quickly,” I winced as I moved my hind leg; they both ached and screamed with pain from my training sessions and the beat down from magic. “But I think I have a lower pain tolerance as a mortal, everything’s is in agony right now.”

“Oh my gosh, are you okay? Tell me where Spot is and me and the girls can find him!” she replied, pulling me closer in her ethereal grasp to inspect my form. She was studying my face and sides, noting the few chips in my plating in some areas, her expression become worse by the second. She paused to blink before looking back at me.

“What did he actually say about me?”

Another lump in my throat. In short, I began to list only a tenth of the things that I had actually heard. Her ears drooped, she bit her lip and winced; he was both derogative and explicit, and never failed to make her seem short of a cheap prostitute.

Why did I spare him again?

“He… said all of those things?” she asked, giving me a pained look. I edged forward, coming to stop with enough space for me to rest my hooves on her shoulder. Sitting on my haunches, I was still about a two hooves taller than her.

“Twilight, please don’t take anything he said to heart, okay?” She looked up to me and I could see the piercing ache in her heart. “You know the town will stop talking about you like that, Dash promised and you know that they only do it to tease anyway. Nopony actually believes the rumour anyway.”

“Well, I know… but what he said was way out of line, and completely uncalled for,” she said with a frown, raising her voice ever so slightly. “What did I ever do to him, I’ve always remembered my friendship reports, and I’ve been following them up and being nice and making friends,” she said with a shaky voice. “Did I do something wrong to upset him? I mean I didn’t think ponies could do this sort of thing because they don’t like another species.” I cupped her chin, lifting it to give her a sad smile.

“Twilight, if souls like that never existed, then neither would I. When I died I would have gone to paradise if I had been a better human being, if I was any worse then, well.” I said, lowering my hooves from her shoulders. I was tempted to so how I might have wound up being tortured for all eternity, but it seemed rather inappropriate. She looked like she was about to inquire, but I cut her off with a shake of a hoof. “Another time, Miss Sparkle, let’s get a few things out of the way.” She paused, blinking before giving a curt nod.

“You are not a slut,” the word caused her to wince, her ears slamming down once more, “If you were I would be able to smell it a mile away.” Tapping my nose, I gave a small smirk as I said, “Enhanced tracking capability, courtesy of becoming a Fighter demon, basically a guard. I can track escapees with this thing based upon what sort of demon they were, or what sin is tied to them; envy, lust, fury, etcetera, etcetera.”

I leant forward, bringing my muzzle centimetres away from her neck as her soft fur brushed against my smooth cheek. I took a sniff of her form, making sure she knew what exactly I was doing. Leaning back from the action, I caught a perplexed look on her face.

“No lust whatsoever,” I stated boldly, grinning ear to ear. She seemed to be at ease with that, smiling shyly back. I scrunched my face, rubbing my snout, “Although you kind of make my nose go numb a bit, but I did pick of a lovely sweet scent from you my dear.” I earned faint blush as I stepped back, a small grin plastered on my face. I was starting to think that it may not be the best time to tell her about Blood Rage yet. We needed to rescue Spot.

“You are beyond description at times, you know?” She cocked an eyebrow in response. “Element of Magic, defeater of two deities, one a corrupted lunar goddess, the other a chaotic trickster, how can anypony compete with that?” She blushed, a single ping of pride resonating from her before being smothered by her modesty. “Hell, you’re giving me a run for my money and I’ve taken down a few Primals, but a god? No way, not possible.”

“Well, when you put it that way, but I don’t really like to brag about it. I always thought it seemed a bit…well… big headed,” she replied pawing at the floor.

“Maybe, but beyond that fact, looking at who you are, I can only say you’re splendid company.” I smiled warmly at her, trying not to expose my ruby tipped fangs. “Smart beyond comparison, incredibly cute when you’re stuck in a story, extremely compassionate, you are one of a kind. Who else would let a lost, potentially evil being into their home?” I brought a hoof to my chin, tapping it slightly. “Well maybe Fluttershy.”

I earned a click of the tongue in response, but I continued. It was nice to see her perk up, and if she was going to help me out I don’t want her pissed in the slightest. “You’re nothing short of insightful and you’re a good person- err sorry- pony to you friends. I even consider you a friend, and that’s an exclusive club.” She gave me a dubious look whilst I inspected my hooves.

“So I’m gonna need your help rescuing our canine colleague, maybe the others if we have time.” I added.

She nodded, looking out of the window. She brought a hoof to her chin, looking to be in deep thought before looking back to me. “Can you use your tracking ability on Spot?” I too returned a nod before she continued. “Alright, I know you said that you know his whereabouts, but I think it will help more if you look around for anything that might be his. You can pick up his scent and it will lead us closer to him, you know, in case they moved him.”

I shrugged, stepping further back. “Couldn’t hurt to try. Are you getting the girls together?”

With a flash of her horn she was by her bedroom door, holding it open. “Yes, I think Dash is working nearby,” she stated before gesturing towards the window. I glanced out, able to see the outside, minus the rainbow mare I was looking for.

“Brilliant,” I stated, grinning. Walking towards the window, I closed the curtains. My form dissolved, dropping like liquid into the sudden darkened recesses of the room. Upon rematerializing, the curtains were flung open by a lavender force and I was standing beside Twilight, currently looking at me with a mocking frown.

“Was that necessary?” she asked, stepping through the door.

“You’re just jealous that my method is dark, mysterious, and has quite an effect on the viewer, rather than a frilly, bright pink flash.”

“At least mine is available twenty four hours a day; yours only works when the lights are out,” she returned as I stepped through the threshold. I could hear Spike scuttling about along the bottom floor. “Oh, and like I said, you look a lot less scary in pink. I mean if Pinkie Pie catches you like that she won’t stop hugging you.” My merry mask slid into deep scowl at the floor.

“And just like that you’re out of the friendship club, collect your membership on the way out.” She stifled a chuckle with her hoof, a rather odd trick considering that she was still walking alongside me to the stairs.

“How exclusive is that club of yours? I mean, what categories do you use when selecting who your friends are?”

“Typically? It’s ‘will you try to kill me?’ ‘No?’ ‘Well do you consider me as a meal?’ ‘I see, prepare to die.’”