What was that probing mouse-pitched squeak rattling my eardrums? Gods, it was high and utterly abhorrent to me like a dog whistle. It formed warped words and slapped me with a strange octave that appeared so far away. What was that feeling under me? It was coarse, spongy, and had an earthy smell to it. Where was I?

My eyelids were heavy. I could catch a scent neither sweet nor sour, I couldn't name it, but it was unique. It was masked behind a layer of sweat that had a sharpness to it. It's edge somewhat jump-started my memory and reminded me that I wasn't alone.

I pried open an eye, being first met with blades of grass. The grass was bent from a silhouette that flattened it with hooves. The outline of the shadow was almost a neon pink within my hazy vision.

“...Alright, well, nothing else worked. Guess I’ve gotta do the kiss of life.”

I heard lips smack. The mare above me looked a little confused as to when CPR was appropriate. Right now was not one of those times.

“NoOoO—" I whined, with my hoof outstretched to reject her oncoming approach. When contact was met, I recoiled, I didn't expect her to be so plush. Maybe that was up for debate since I had been deprived of my ability to touch for years. "Please refrain from violating my civil rights, seriously."

“Woooow,” Pinkie prolonged, “you’ve got some pipes, Mena! I’m sure everyone in Equestria could hear that! You’ve got a gift for screaming.”

Pinkie was perched on my chest with a doe-eyed expression that showed a glossy serenity. For a mare that had an unnaturally healthy diet of gluten and sugar, she was surprisingly light. I winced when a whiff of candyfloss overpowered the other scents warring for my attention. My stomach clenched, not of hunger per se, but more of nausea. I didn't like the aroma Pinkie had because of the overwhelming sweetness. It may be a heady perfume to others, but to me, this was more like repellent.

Her eyes reflected like that of a mirror. I could see my scowl growling back at me. Those crimps along the bridge of my nose should have told her long ago that I didn’t enjoy the invasion of my personal space.

“How long was I out?” I asked the pony draped over my stomach and chest.

“Three days.”

My breath formed a lump that caused my voice to crack, “three days?!”

She pressed a hoof to her lips to stifle a snorted laugh. “I’m just joshing you. You were out for a while, but not that long silly. If I had to guess, I'd say about three teensy hours.”

I released a breath that my lungs had held captive. My heart had picked up an alarming pace from Pinkie's unwanted tease. I had almost drowned out her words from the steady drum pounding in my ears. My anxiety spiked for a good reason, three days would have been a dangerous amount of time to be exposed. Pinkie and I had been quite close for a while, you could say I was literally joined to her hip. Hah, but really, my tendency to jump the gun and drop my shackles backfired horribly. How was I supposed to know my black magic abandoned me?

That red tape was on me, a significant error on my part. I had bunked with Pinkie for the long haul in hopes to fly under the radar. Actually, the anniversary of my decade long 'catch-me-if-you-can’ would have been doubled when Pinkie hit the big two-zero. Not that it was terrible to be chained within the depths of another species, but it wasn't an ideal way to spend nineteen years of your immortal life.

Coeus didn’t spend his time with his tail between his legs like I had. It was pretty gutsy of him to announce his return with a freaking meteor. I wasn't trying to be a hypocrite, I know I had blackened the sky with my return to flesh—but, you know, still.

He had always been overweening about his status and power.

"My discomfort from this situation is immeasurable. I dislike the touch of anyone especially snuggling, please respect that and let me breathe without suffocating." I explained before I flicked my hoof downward to direct her on where to sit.

"I'm not snuggling you, I'm sharing body heat. It's a survival tactic, you know. Do you always use that many syllables in one go when you're upset? Do you know how many balloons you could have inflated with that breath?"

She nuzzled me, finding a spot I didn’t know would ache. I magnified my woe, not allowing my discomfort to show. It had been so long that I had forgotten I was still wounded. I could feel a puff from her breath in a relaxed sigh. I hissed my frustration through my teeth, but it didn’t show in my tone.

“Off, now!”

Her lip was pouty, but she obeyed. With an exasperated huff, she rolled off of my stomach and flopped onto her side. I knew Pinkie was a touchy-feely kind of pony, but demons weren't ones to welcome affection as easily as others.

Speaking of demonic behavior, Pinkie’s way of dealing with my other side was… odd. It was the first time anything was dumb enough to brush up against it and ruffle its feathers. In fact, it was so shocked, it feared her in a way. I had never seen any creature, pony, or animal resist its intimidation. Pinkie was different, alright.

Either that, or I was right about the lights being on, but no one was home.

"What happened to you? You just sorta went A-wall, and I was worried. You got all sticky and evil-eyed before saying all this villainy stuff. You said things like 'Arrr, I’m a demon fear me’ and ‘I’m gonna eat you cause you’re tasty' I almost wet myself." Pinkie traced her surroundings with her eyes while touching her top lip with her tongue. She then quickly looked down and continued, "Actually, I kinda did."

I grimaced, “do you ever keep some things to yourself? Or do you identify as an open book?”

“I identify as Pinkie Pie, goofus. I’m very secure about my identity.”

I opened my lips to say something but closed them. I wasn't even going to try and redirect the conversation back to the original source.

She steamrolled past the awkward pause as if what she had said wasn't dodging me in the slightest. “Gonna need an answer on that one.”

I had agreed since the beginning that I wouldn’t expose myself to anyone. The whole point of pretending to be an illusion would have been wasted otherwise. Mortals hated my kind with a passion, a burning passion. Pinkie wouldn't be any different. She was as soft as chewed gum and would tattle on me to Celestia, who would then turn me in. I wasn't a fool, mortals couldn't stomach me. Especially Pinkie, the sins my kind had done would make her far more than just squeamish. No, but seriously, she was very squeamish, like more so than most ponies.

My story had some dark pages in past chapters. They were torn, ripped, and battered from the words written in bloody ink. I would much rather leave them on a shelf to collect heaps of dust, but they were stuck to me with tight seams. I couldn't relieve myself of the pain, and I'd let the pages cut me like shards of glass when I tried to turn to a blank one. My past haunted me every single day. It wasn't one I liked to share, and I didn't owe Pinkie a retelling of the tale. Yet, strangely, if I didn't tell someone, I'd cling so hard to my past it would cut me even deeper. Would Pinkie listen to my history, or would she believe it was just a fairytale?

I did kind of drag her into this… she deserved at least a little explanation.

"...Well, I'm not really categorized with your kind. I happen to be a hybrid between a demon and something else I'm not entirely sure of." I began, bringing my hoof upwards so that my eyes could peek at it."—I change forms quite frequently, and my body changes depending on how much my demon side is active."

Her nose wiggled, and her ears remained perked.

She just stared at me as if she were studying something alien, almost. Well, technically, I was an alien. I didn’t belong here, none of my kind did. Perhaps she feared my appearance? Or maybe she was debating what to do with me. Sure, Pinkie offered friendship, but that was total bull. I’ve experienced how demons have been treated, rightfully so, but it was still on the list of things to be cautious about.

I didn't want to fight Pinkie, I never did. Clearly, I was far from a threat at this point, but she didn't know that. It nerved me when seeing those beady eyes cross-examine my body. I was a little uncomfortable. It reminded me of those long-furry snake things Fluttershy had, what were they called, ferrets?

She shifted to sit upright, “you’re really tall.”

Of course, that was what was on her mind. No concern about a demon that had been a peeping tom in her mirror for years, or the giant firework show from black magic—nope, because my height was clearly the elephant in the room.

“You have wings!”

Her hoof had crept onto my leathery wings in an instant before exploring them with awestruck orbs of blue. Her eyes swept over my form, while instinctively, I attempted to shiver her off.

“Pinkie, no!” I scolded, but I was promptly ignored.

"Look at this!" She urged, stretching out my right-wing and holding the inner side in her left hoof. She glided her other across the outer surface, "I've never seen any wing quite like this! It's scaley, yet soft, it's also really long! Why didn't you have wings in the mirror? Why do they glow orange? Ooo, are those skulls for a Cutie Mark?”

She snooped around my backside while the steam continued to billow out of my ears, metaphorically, of course. I didn't have time for this! Pinkie was more concerned about a demon's physique than a very detailed explanation about why it was here! She had the attention span of a goldfish, and I tipped my hat at anyone who could corral it for more than five minutes. You know, if I wore hats, I’d recommend hoodies.

What was she even doing back there?

"Wow, you're about a whole Pinkie head taller than me! That's even counting my mane on a frizz day! You're also super lean. What kind of diet have you been on in my subconscious? Keto? Vegan? Clearly, you know how to manage carbs— I-I, don't. I'm terrible at it, as I say I'm here for a good time not a long time!"

I had many questions about that last statement.

"That's enough." I interrupted, shaking her grip off of my back leg. She was knocked onto her rump before she dared to blow a raspberry at me. "—Pinkie, this is serious. I can't waste time playing with you. If your curiosity has been fulfilled, I need to be on my way."

"Wait a minute!" Pinkie halted, sweeping in front of me as if that would interrupt my urge to swerve around her. "—Where are you going? We're just getting to know each other! Now all my friends can see that you're real and that I wasn't—"

“No!" I pleaded, "Do not tell The Elements of Harmony! That would be very, very, very dangerous to my health. The Elements... I… we… well, we just don't really get along. In fact, it's safe to say they are hazardous. Don't tell your friends I'm here, for both your sake and mine. Can you do this simple task?"

Her face was blank. “....Why?”

There was that pesky stare again, my God! She was a curious thing, but she wasn't one to deceive her friends. I had asked her to lie about me and to pretend she didn’t know I was real. She would never keep something from her best friends, and I was stupid to even ask for such a thing. Pinkie couldn't even keep a secret about Shining Armor's baby— what in Gaia's green earth would prevent her from doing the same with my secret?

She’s the absolute worst at secrets. Judging by her look, she didn’t appear very happy with my silence and was growing impatient about my response. Perhaps she’d understand my side if I told it first. Unlikely, but it was an option.

“Pinkie, I really don’t want to be the one to break this to you,” I began, lowering my tone to a warmer degree. “Remember that comet that we saw the other night?”

“The space rock that Maud likes to collect before intimately snuggling with?”

“Yes, wait, no. Huh?” My eyebrows formed crimps. Her expression didn’t change, once more refusing to follow up more on the subject. I hated it when she did that, "—It wasn't a space rock, or a meteor, comet, not even space debris. It's an… old rival of mine who happened to have been gone for a while. A… Titan."

She pursed her lips. "Mena, what's a Titan? Sounds kinda bad-guy-ish. Is it something that spells inevitable doom for Equestria? We get that a lot."

Inevitable doom wouldn’t be the half of it. Try extinction. I didn’t expect her to know what a Titan happened to be since the last time one was seen was two thousand years ago. The only one who would have lived long enough to remember was Celestia, and oh, she remembered.

She was not fond of me, obviously.

"Titans are what you call a lion among sheep. To the best of my knowledge, they were here before even Equestria was formed. Before you were born, before I was born, and even before Celestia was an Alicorn."

Pinkie swatted her hoof with a trill of her lips. "Pfft… that can't be true. Celestia was here before sliced bread. She's oooooold.”

She fell into a gale of laughter. The way her voice chortled in such a childish manner had annoyed me over the years. Eventually, my irritation wouldn't bother to bubble up since it was so free and pure despite it being carried into adulthood. It had a unique charm to where one would consider overlooking the immaturity in it.

Titans were much more than just lions. The one I knew was a hunter, and a long time ago, I was his sheep. His name was Coeus, Lord of the North. He had Equestria wrapped around his hooked claw the last time we had met on the battlefield. I was positive his allegiance with Celestia hadn't changed. It appeared she had him on speed dial considering what she said after the Gala.

How would one go about telling a sunshine child about war? Where would I start? Should I begin before the bloodshed or after it? Or perhaps somewhere in between the mature and PG-13 version? I needed to figure it out, I had run out of time, but I didn’t mean I had somewhere to be. I had run out of time to stall.

She had no idea about the war stirring. I didn’t think it would be right to even tell her, yet, I had to. The Elements of Harmony were Celestia’s trump card, both a strength and a weakness. I was fooled once, and I paid heavily for it.

She would soon find out that I had to fight her friends. As well as fighting her.

“...Maybe you should sit down.” I coaxed, gesturing to a patch of grass beside me.

I wasn't always a monster. I could be gentle when I needed to be like when I had to deliver harsh news to a sensitive pink Ponk. News that could be somewhat soul-crushing. She may stare at me with eyes full of betrayal, but it had to be done. No amount of pleading could stop what would be. I had to be tough on her even if it did utterly… annihilate… her trust in me. I had to do this even if it felt like I was hitting a filly in the face.

I had been avoiding her look, but I failed. I could see a part of it from the corner of my eye. My choices were not at their best this evening. That look tugged at the rusty strings of my heart, she trusted me, a demon. If she weren’t so innocent, my vocabulary would have flared up into some colorful curses.

By the Gods, I couldn’t crush this pony’s soul! This was Pinkie Pie. She didn't know what war was, and she would never grasp the concept of it.

“You are the absolute worst pony to explain this to. The universe has a hilarious sense of humor. Regardless, we need to have a serious chat. Come, sit.” I offered, grazing my hoof on the tips of grass blades in hopes that she’d join me.

She lumbered forward, sitting down shoulder-to-shoulder. The silence was awkward to me. I held air in my cheeks while grinding the gears in my brain. I needed to be accurate but along the lines of censorship.

The whole realm of Equestria had changed since the last time I was around. Now they've got the entire province convinced life was about rainbooms and happy little critters. From time to time, a boorish creature would stomp on their parade, but why bother worrying? The Elements of Harmony would just use their little artifacts of death to rainboom you to oblivion, so who would care? No big bad wolves here to worry about, right? Wrong.

Celestia had kept peace because of that illusion. She had buried the history in which my story had been sworn to silence in an earthy grave. The final nail was my banishment, and there Equestria's secrets would have been sealed. If I had died, that is.

“...You asked about what happened, and I know you’re wondering why I’m here and what I am. Have you ever wondered how the heavens and earth came to be?”

She replied, "One day, I asked Twilight about heaven. Since it's in the clouds, it should be pretty easy to reach by air travel, aka, The Pinkie Balloon. She kinda gave me a funky glare and muttered under her breath that it wasn't real. She then gave me a very lengthy chit-chat about how religion was just a way to rub a non-existent deity in every pony's faces. She called herself an atheist… I think that's the word she used, which is crazy because we both saw heaven!"

My stare had been focused elsewhere for a while, but they found Pinkie’s eyes. “You’ve seen heaven?”

She giggled, her muzzle crinkling to expose her top teeth in a smile. “Of course, I don’t know why every pony is acting like it's some high-end party place. I’d give it three stars at best. The rainbows were nice, a little spicy, but doable. The clouds are bouncy, the sports are fair, and the tour was meh. Twilight must feel pretty silly after my balloon idea worked."

My face fell. Was it truly possible for a pony to be this stupid? I would never say my thoughts aloud, but you could knock on her skull, and it would echo. There was nothing there. I had to resist the urge to investigate if my theory held water.

“—Pinkie. Cloudsdale isn’t heaven.”

“Uh-Whahaaaat?” She responded in an overly exaggerated gasp. Her eyes were dilated as if I had just told her the earth wasn't flat back in the old days. “But-but, Fluttershy has a pet named Angel… that’s a dead giveaway to their dirty little secret!”

“Anyway,” I continued through a vexed and clenched jaw. “—There are two ancient Titans that created most of what you see. The air, the grass, the dirt, and the sky. One is Gaia, the one they call Mother Earth, and the other Uranus.”

Pinkie hiccuped, choking on her breath before bringing her hooves to her lips. “That’s a funny word.”

It’s like talking to a brick wall. I was not trying to be rude, but she wasn't the brightest crayon in the box. You could compare her to that ridiculous white crayon that came with the pack and tried to fit in. She was trying, but her contribution was less than useless.

I tucked a lock of my mane behind my ear, "They created Titans. I am aware of one, Coeus, but none of the others. Long ago, Gaia had an era called the Golden Age in which everything was arguably perfect.”

Pinkie glanced around my left side. Her wandering eyes didn’t distract me from continuing. It was just a quirk Pinkie had that you either ignored or excused.

"—Twelve of them are said to keep the balance of life functioning. One happened to have three sons, in which the second tier was born. They were called Olympians, but mortals fondly call them Gods. These Gods didn't really agree with their father Cronus, and so they started a war—"

"—Pinkamena, there's an arrow in your shoulder," she interrupted.

“This war,” I spat, trying to continue my freaking conversation for like the fifth time. “—Was between all Titans and newborn Gods. The Titanomachy. Led by the eldest son, Zeus, they struck down their father and banished the remaining Titans into Tartarus—”

She placed a hoof on my shoulder blade. “That’s a pretty big ouchie. Umm… I think you need medical help. Like an: ‘arrow-in-my-body,’ doctor.”

“Let. Me. Finish. Please!" I slapped my hooves together in a 'prayer' position and touched the tips of them to my lips. "I just want to explain so you won't be caught off guard, and then we can part as unlikely friends."

There was a sharp prick near my upper back.

“Ooo. Oo. That looks bad, we are going to need a lot of bandaids. The head is really stuck in there, like when you lose the cap to your icing tube inside the cake batter. It's pretty hard to fish out."

I recoiled with a throaty roar. Pinkie leaned back, removing her hoof from where it had rested. She was flabbergasted by my reaction, how rude of me, perhaps I should have warned her before she so carelessly broke the no-touch rule.

I parted us with a wing and scooted her a few inches away, “why would you touch it?!”

Her right forelimb draped over my wing as her left hoof pointed forward. “Cause you need help! Now that I’m looking at you, you’re pretty banged up. You look like you got in a fight with an archery range, and lost. I don’t think the other guy looks as bad as you either, no offense, I’m sure you held your own. Archery ranges are tough cookies.”

I wet my lips and avoided eye contact. My eyes had disobeyed me and had taken their line of sight to my legs and stomach. Pinkie wasn't wrong. Not that I was expecting a different outcome, but it wasn't very uplifting to see yourself mimic the poor soul who pissed off Rarity’s cat. Slashes from claws advertised memories of my past battles, as well as gashes from sharpened swords. They were scars far from the spoils of war I wished to gain. Then, Pinkie had politely pointed out another, which was sticking out from behind my vision.

Well, on a regular basis, yeah, I should have noticed. What kind of moron doesn't see half an arrow sticking out of their shoulder? Me, apparently.

"I… urg… mmgh—" Pinkie hacked with her face as green as what you'd expect nausea to look like. "Mmmkgh…"

When I mentioned Pinkie was squeamish, I was actually serious about that. She covered her lips with half a hoof. Her face was about as knotted and twisted up as I imagined her stomach to feel. She then grimaced as if she could already taste the inching warmness and the aftertaste in the back of her throat.

“I’ll be fine. Demons regenerate, it may take two millennia,” I muttered begrudgingly, “—but it’ll heal… some time… probably.”

Pinkie looked woozy and a little light-headed. "No… no voodoo magic. Need.. hospital… and modern-day medicine… urk. Mmgurgh.”

That didn’t sound like an ‘I-should-be-within-five-feet,’ sound at all. Removing myself from the splash range would be an intelligent move right about now. Pinkie’s face was dulled into a pale-pink and dotted with a layer of cold sweat. Yep, those dilated eyes meant she was about to blow.

“This way!” She suddenly announced, shooting her hoof into the air and veering around to point forward. She wiggled herself into a standing position, “weeee-ooooooo!”

I wasn't super familiar with the encyclopedia-length definition that explained each of Pinkie’s abnormal sounds, but this was matter-of-factly a knock off of a siren. Or an attempt. At least she put some effort into it, but it wouldn’t win first prize at the fair.

"No thanks," I declined. My goal was to keep my voice as light and as polite as possible. Hospitals weren't too well-read when it came to demon anatomy. I doubted any insurance company had a policy for my kind, anyway. “Pinkie, I have to get moving.”

I had hit a forked road here. I couldn't just let Pinkie roam around knowing what I was, she'd crack like falling glass as soon as someone questioned her. I also couldn't keep her on a leash and attach her to my hip, either. When I possessed her body, I had a plan I… just… well, I couldn’t convince myself to go through with it.

My demon side didn’t like me going back on my word.

So I had two very different options. One, I could consensually kidnap Pinkie Pie, or you know, kidnap her the regular way.

I wasn't going to kill or hurt her. She wouldn’t even notice she was a captive. I'd never actually hurt a pony— no, no, Pinkie wouldn't actually be kidnapped. She just had to stay away from her friends. So, in other words, I was going to have to babysit her. I really wanted to avoid that option, since that meant I had to actually look after her until I had a solid plan.

She jumped out in front of me. Again, not entirely educated on Pinkie sounds, but I think she just made the sound of a skidding tire.

"—Wait a minute," She declined while pressing two hooves onto my chest and anchoring her tush into the ground. "Y-You can't leave, there's still so much I've gotta know about you! We also have to yank that thing right out of your—"

“No! Don’t touch it, dear God, please!” I begged, removing her hooves that felt like fishing hooks digging into my skin. Her grip was oddly desperate and clingy, “I’d much rather have anyone other than you do it!”

Her face darkened from a slash of hurt. Immediately, I felt a sting of remorse. I wasn't trying to be insolent toward her offer since I knew she was only trying to help. I could take care of myself, and I didn't need to be nursed by an Element of Harmony who may or may not still be on the ropes about keeping our truce.

Pinkie’s face was animated with more than just annoyance. She was not very happy with me. Her eyes squinted, challengingly, before a hoof sank into the giant puffball that was her disheveled mane. I was surprised at how dense it was, regardless if you wanted to look or not, her disappearing act was impressive. Half her limb was absorbed in the mess like a sinkhole.

Slowly she pawed out a yellowish paper. It was bent up, peeling, and water-damaged as if it had been through a few showers. She pinned it between two hooves before flicking her wrists to present the front side to me. She had quite the conceited smirk on her face as if she had just beaten me in a chess game.

I looked downward, and I still didn't get it. "Pinkie, this is an Uno card."

“Mhmm!” She chirped, once more nudging the card forward.

There was a pause. Perhaps I was too dim-witted to understand Pinkie’s realm, but it was an Uno card. The behavior of the Pinkius Pieicus, as Twilight had named, was quite something to behold indeed.

“....I don’t… I don’t understand.” I admitted, her sigh of dissatisfaction following quickly after.

“It’s an Uno skip card, duh. It means you aren’t allowed to deny my assistance because your opinions on the matter have been disabled. Therefore, in the rule book, which I totally read— you can’t make an action. Speaking is an action, rejecting me is an action, and you can’t do these things until it's your turn again.”

My entire expression was rounded all the way from my lips and eyes. Not in fear, more so questioning why I was even bothering with this mare. That was never how Uno had worked, and I didn't think anyone bothered to tell her.

"—Simon says, follow Pinkie." She commanded, flicking a hoof over her head and gesturing for us to get moving.

I...what… huh? This didn't make sense! My best bet was to roll with it, as of now, I didn't have much of a plan. Pinkie needed to stay away from her friends until she knew my side of the story. Once she was grouped with them, it was game over.

They’d hound me like a pack of starved wolves.

I followed closely. Pinkie bounced along the grass, humming some improvised tune of mirth. I stepped on a patch of bristles that was dampened, and I wrinkled my nose. I did a little waddle to flick off the mud from them, before once more tailing my guide. I hadn't felt water in a very long time. Or sunlight, heat, cold, and any sensation others may have had trouble imagining life without.

It was strange.

—Being back on the earth as a full form, smelling the forest in its prime. It was fading into fall, and so the scents of pine and crisp winds were evident. The grass was tangled with colored leaves, which I happened to notice when we crunched through them. Speaking of smells, I ached to feel taste.

The agony of going years without quenching my thirst had nipped at me. The same was told for food. I hungered, and I hungered terribly.

Demons fed on emotions you see, but not for nutrients. We happened to suck negative emotions to fuel our power, and consumed souls to absorb the owner’s abilities. When it came to what I wanted on my plate, a caesar salad is what I’d prefer.

—But not what I needed.

We're carnivores. Predators existed in Equestria, and eating meat wasn't as shunned as it was in the old days. Griffons had a more meaty diet back in the day, even picking on smaller species if they got hungry enough. Of course, this was outlawed when the nations agreed that it was an unnecessary onslaught.

My kind, well, I’d keep this to myself until the day I’m dead and gone— but we eat, you know….

Pinkie.

Not her specifically, but her species. I'd never in a million centuries do something like that. I couldn't vouch for my other half, however. It didn't agree with my choice of eating something less alive and green. It liked its prey still squirming on the dinner table. It was why I chained myself in her subconscious. I couldn't be trusted when it came to my unwanted urges.

One slip up, and the demon had already sharpened its claws.

I had been absorbed in my own thoughts for quite some time that I didn’t notice Pinkie had been flapping her gums.

“—Dashie said eating a bunch of sweets would make it all go to my hips or my tushy-tush. So I started throwing sacks of flour to get all lean with a few tiny bites here and there. She came back to tell me everypony thought I was getting even bigger, hearsay! It’s just my floof, you can agree, right Mena?’

"I'm not familiar with the word floof, " I said, drowsily coming back from my own thinking.

“It’s a cinnamon for fur,” She responded.

“I think you mean synonym, Pinkie. It’s not pronounced that way.”

She snorted, "I'm pretty sure I'm up to snuff with my English classes. It's pronounced cinnamon."

No, it's not. It's really, really, not. My eye roll was so emphasized I was positive I got a good look at my brain. It was best to ignore her and let her yap on.

Pinkie was much more friendly than I expected. She either didn't know a lot about demons or was a little foolish.

Sure, she might be questioning how evil I could have possibly been. She figured out I shook the entire mountain to crush the timberwolves, restarted the fire, and kept pushing for her to survive. Honestly, I would have been freed if she would have perished. That was why my demonic half was getting pissy.

If she would have died, The Elements of Harmony would be shattered, my secret would be safe, and it would weaken Coeus significantly.

Even though I was trying to save their planet, could I truly live with the idea of sacrificing others for the greater good? The answer had always been no.

I was weak in that aspect.

A cry of victory shredded my last thoughts. “Mena, look! Shelter! I have provided!”

How long had we been walking? It felt like a few minutes. Apparently, our walk had been quite long because the sun now looked like melted butter on the horizon. The sky had announced that it was sunset, and it cast a golden hue upon the valley. A weather-beaten barn rested within a wheat field that had been tucked in the plains. A lonely cottage was snuggled between two rugged trees with vines constricting the cobblestone walls.

Pinkie shielded her face with a hoof. “What a score, it looks like it's abandoned too! I don’t think anypony would mind if we just slipped on in there, dontcha think?”

I was beyond relieved to notice the entire property was vacant. Pinkie would have had a hard time dragging me anywhere near places with… life.

I'd expect Equestria to have abandoned houses with rotting frames and squirming termites in places like this. The woods were infested with timberwolves, and it wouldn't take a genius to gather up their savings and find better farmland. Yet, these crops looked healthy. It wasn't impossible for plants to grow without care, and it could very well be wild wheat, but something didn't seem right. It was too innocent and easy.

Pinkie divided the golden vegetation that was up to our hips with her stride. She cut a path through the wheat and scattered little grains from the crops into the air. I felt a little tickle when one of these reeds brushed against my muzzle. I tensed up, snapped my hooves together, and hunched over in a sneeze.

Allergies. Wretched Mother Nature.

I sniveled and rubbed the back of my hoof against my nose. Pinkie had crushed a path in minutes, which made my stroll a lot easier. I followed closely, careful to avoid more pollen clouds that would sucker punch me at any given moment.

She bounced out into an opening where the wheat had faded into visible grass. It was unkempt and wild, with several dandelions and onion grass that sprouted from clover. This property had been left to rot, no doubt. The entire cottage was a crumbling skeleton of what it had been.

I wrinkled my nose. The whole place smelled like rat droppings. Ugh.

"Come on, come on. Let's see what kind of treasures are here," Pinkie invited in an oddly playful tune. "—Who knows what will be inside! It could be a lion or a witch… or a wardrobe! Or something inside the wardrobe, like Narnia. The world may never know, but we would!”

I came up by her shoulder as she dusted off a window. Her entire hoof was coated in whatever grime she had just wiped off. Okay, ew. She didn’t appear to mind and peered inside by pressing her entire face against it.

“Thuh drr iz luocced.” She said, still breathing steam onto the glass.

Her voice was muffled and dulled by her entire face being squished. I gently took my hoof and pushed it under her chin. I then tugged her throat away from the window, and her muzzle popped right off the glass. She took a large gulp of air, while I stared at the imprint she left. I had no idea her smushed face could mold like playdough and make such a work of art. I held back a chuckle.

"English, please," I replied.

“The door is locked.” She repeated, pointing at the bolted door. “Gonna need a little something, something, to get it open. Watch this!”

She strolled around to the door's front. She flipped around to where her back hooves now faced it, and her head was visible to me. She gave me a reassuring nod and balanced her weight onto her front limbs. She angled her back ones up into the air and then let loose.

“HUAH!”

Dust fluttered forward, and there was a heavy thud. Unfortunately, that was about the only exciting thing that happened.

I rolled my eyes yet again. If I were to keep doing so, my eyes would roll right out of my head. She looked disappointed, pouting at the undamaged hinges as if they would be shamed by her evil glare.

"Well, now I'm convinced physics is a myth. When you kick something, it's supposed to go 'flop’ and fall down!” Pinkie berated while furrowing her brows, “—This is unacceptable!”

“Not to ruin whatever it is you’re trying to do, but aren’t locked things supposed to be a sign to you know… stay out?”

Pinkie threw her hoof toward the ground. "Well, this mat says 'Welcome,' so your argument is invalid. Therefore, I'm going to accept their offer and come inside even if it means I have to break down this door!" She looked a little too aggressive about the problem when she turned and marched toward the window. "You hear me! I accept your oddly secured welcome invitation!”

"Pinkie, this is trespassing. I don't think this place is abandoned—"

She placed both hooves on the glass window, before whipping back to stare at me. “No, we’re venturing onto another pony’s property without their permission.”

“That’s—” I stopped, rubbing the anger from my temple with a hoof. “—That’s what trespassing means! It’s also illegal!”

While I massaged the tension from my head, there was a loud crack. Something shattered, hooking my attention and making me snap back up to look at what had happened! Pinkie was worming her forelimb through a purposefully made hole in the window. I was utterly shocked, and my mouth was slacked.

“Pinkie… what in the actual hell are you doing?”

She stuck out her tongue in concentration. Then she decided to press her shoulder into the window frame to lean in further. “I’m getting the bolt cropper they left on the desk near their living room window.”

Her voice was so casual and unbothered that it nerved me.

"You're getting arrested," I replied flatly while crossing my forelimbs over my chest. "—Like with charges of breaking and entering.”

Pinkie leaned back out from the window. She held a silver bolt cropper within her grip in which she flipped into the air before catching. She cheesed at me, before slinging it over her shoulder and showing some spunk in her strut toward the door.

"Nah. Dontcha know the rules? We already sinned when we broke the window. If you commit one sin, you've already been a bad pony. If you're the lowest of the low, you can't go farther than that, right? As they say, once you hit rock bottom, you can only go up! So in order to no longer be on the naughty list, you've just gotta do good things. Do one good thing for each bad thing, and it cancels each other out! Easy peasy!"

I put up my right hoof with it slightly bent. I then put it back down. There were just so many things wrong with what she said I wasn't even going to try.

Pinkie angled the bolt cutter's teeth on one of the light chains securing the door. "This chain is wrapped around even on the inside. No amount of brute force is gonna crack it. With this lock busting thingamajigger, I can crack it open like a very stubborn ostrich egg!"

She fiddled with her position, and my hooves remained crossed.

I then filled the silence. “I find it odd that the owner had something that just so happens to break through the chain fortress on their door.”

She blew a raspberry. "Well, duh, if you get locked out of your house, you need something to help you get back in. Cause if they lose their key, that would be prettttty bad. So most ponies hide a little tool, which I exploit, in order to get into places. Many ponies don't know that the oldest trick in the book is either the key under the mat or the bolt cropper near the window. 'Ol Pinkie knows."

"So, in other words, you break into houses for God knows what."

“Correctamundo,” She agreed while putting pressure onto the cutter’s ends. “Anyhoodle… almost got it open. Mmmgh!”

The chains didn’t budge. She once more applied pressure, but her strength was no match for the flimsy locks that rejected her. She wiped non-existent sweat from her crinkled forehead, but this time, pushed her upper body over the bolt cropper.

I blew silent air from my nostrils. The words she said before… I wondered if—

My curiosity led me to the worn ‘welcome’ mat Pinkie sat on. She paid me no mind while I gently brushed my hoof over the bristles bent out of shape. I tugged at a corner before peeling it up from the grass it rested on. Something decided to play peek-a-boo from under it and smiled it’s shining face in the falling sun.

Well, would you look at that?

“There’s a key under the mat.”

Pinkie paused mid-push. Her head slowly turned my way and met my smug expression. Her face looked like it was radiating so much heat from the embarrassment that I could cook a three-course meal on it. Her lips were pressed tight as she addressed me.

“Are… are you serious?”

I nodded, my lips parting to reveal a fanged grin. Ouch, that must have been humiliating.

“You didn’t think to check that first? It could have saved you a lot of effort,” I teased, watching as her face darkened a few shades.

“Don’t question my logic!”

I sat with a knavish grin while she swiped the key from under the mat and jammed it into the key lock. She muttered more things under her breath, jiggling it around until it gave in and clicked to symbolize being unlocked. She used her spare hoof to push on the battered door, and it groaned when opening at that of a snail's pace.

Her shadow fell upon the wooden floorboards, and I leaned forward to look inside. The windows were withered and yellowed by time. It was a rotting heap, musty, and the air was pungent like it had been soaked in mold. There was a fireplace that was cracked and worn with a gathering of dust bunnies scattered around a woodpile.

Pinkie ventured first with a hesitant step through the door frame. I followed suit, stepping on the spongy floorboards that flexed under my weight. My eyes wandered to the walls that were nearly caved in like a loaf of bread that was prematurely removed from the oven. Ugh… the fumes were ghastly. This place was a biohazard, and I was sure the spores I breathed in weren't healthy.

“...Remind me again why we have decided to break into what appears to be a hidden lair.”

Pinkie either didn't hear me or chose to ignore my question. I was dismissed for a while as she broke off to scavenge through the kitchen by ripping open drawers. She rummaged for something, but my attention turned from her.

I stared at the wall. A grandfather clock was tucked neatly within the shadows. It sat upon a bed of flaking paint from the damaged plaster. It reminded me of dandruff. This whole place was disgusting. There was no saving it, and whoever owned this place just needed to burn it. Just dump an entire can of gasoline, chuck in a lighter, blame your crazy ex and collect the insurance money. Two birds killed with one stone.

Something shrieked, and I jumped about eighty feet. A mouse scurried under my hooves, making me stomp around to try and avoid it.

I heard a giggle behind me. Pinkie continued to gather what appeared to be supplies tucked under her forelimb and elbow.

“It’s just a mouse, he’s probably looking for a cheese wheel. Not going to lie, I’ve been looking for one too. I’m hungry.”

“Why are we here?” I demanded, observing the vermin scamper up the clock and disappear within a chewed hole in the wood. “S-So many diseases are in here. At least forty not counting rabies.”

“Medical supplies,” Pinkie muttered, zoning in on something underneath the kitchen sink. “—And some food, I’m sure whoever lived here wouldn’t mind.”

“Wouldn’t mind you stealing? I doubt it.”

She slapped the cabinet door shut and turned to face me with her hoof still lingering on it. “It’s called borrowing.”

“Hey, whatever helps you sleep at night,” I replied with a light shrug. “Besides, I don’t think anyone is coming back here for a few pieces of gauze and some expired cans of discounted beans.”

I kicked one of the cans that I had found on the ground. It made a loud clank before bouncing off the wall and spinning around aimlessly. I was about to turn away, but something caught my eye. Instead of a sealed can meeting my gaze, I instead was met with a hollowed one. An empty and consumed can of beans.

Mmmm, this didn’t smell right. It had the stench of something fishy around here.

I crouched, falling silent, before nudging the edge with my nose. I could smell something’s scent still lingering on the outside where he had held it. A stallion, young, perhaps not even old enough to grow his first chin hairs. It was fresh. Whoever had eaten this hadn't left that long ago. Maybe they were still— AYGGGGG!

My jaws unhinged in an involuntary screech that rattled the windows!

Out of instinct, I couldn’t help but snap back at whatever had dared to touch a very sensitive wound on my body! I craned my head around to my right side, where an idiotic Ponk still had her hoof planted upon the arrow embedded in my flesh.

I lunged, she didn’t move, but I was able to pull myself out of my blind rage. My teeth clapped right in front of her face, any closer, and I would have had her throat.

She blinked at me without a twinge of fear.

“I’ve gotta get it out, Mena,” She responded flatly. “Ouchies like this get infected, and then they turn into major second-tier ouchies. You do not want it to turn into a third-tier yikesie either, trust me."

I couldn’t promise her safety if she were to be careless enough as to touch me again.

“Please refrain from placing your dirty mitts on me! I strongly despise contact, how many times would you like this repeated before you understand?" I warned, reverting my gaze, so she didn't sizzle under my death glare. "—I don't like others touching me. I'm not used to it, nor do I require it. I'll regenerate."

“It’ll be easy! Like yanking out one of those pieces during the game Operation! The only difference is its crusty, messy, and…. A-and… mmgh—" I heard something bubble in her throat, and she pushed a hoof to her lips to keep something from coming out. "Bloody… and really… urrrup… deep in there.”

I wrinkled my nose. “And you expect me to entrust this kind of burden on you?”

“Absotootly!”

Laughable. Indisputably the worst thing I could put my trust in.

I pressed my hoof against her nose.

“No,” I whispered.

Her face twisted up as if she detested my answer. I, again, bent down to investigate the can and ignored Pinkie who had slipped behind my other shoulder. She sat down the gauze and the bottle of over-the-counter hydrogen peroxide. My stomach gurgled, and I hesitated for a moment.

Beans… the reminisce of them smelled so…

Right, I hadn't eaten in nineteen years. Real food at least.

“How did you get those wounds, Mena?” She asked, unwrapping the gauze and measuring a certain length. “You’re really hurt.”

My jaw locked. I didn’t like the memories that came with them.

“Do you mean the arrow? Or all of them in general?” I replied.

“All of them,” She answered.

She grew still, her eyes a gentle gaze filled with warm concern.

“Remember when I was talking about Coeus and the Titans? The Titanomachy specifically. Gaia believes you mortals are incapable of keeping the peace, she dislikes how you all are exploiting the planet. Pollution and war are big factors, you don't own this world, you're simply borrowing it." I began, twirling the empty bean container with a stray hoof. "Coeus was born from Gaia, and so he shares the same vision as she does. Titans are mindless drones in the presence of Mother Earth, few have their own opinions. A long time ago, I didn't know about Titans. I trusted him."

She cocked her head while engrossed in my story. “He… did this to you?”

I shook my head. "No, not all of them, the little wounds were from your kind. A long time ago, two thousand years to be precise, I lived among a nation where races weren't divided. Our culture was to be accepting. I knew Tirek and Chrysalis during their teenage years, funny enough."

Her eyebrows did a funky dance in amusement. “—Wait. You've lived over two thousand years? You don't look that much older than me! I didn't think the fountain of youth existed, we've gotta tell Rarity. She's been worrying about a gray mane ever since I came to Ponyville!"

I withheld a laugh, but my lips curled into a small smile. “No, the fountain of youth isn’t what I used to become immortal, Pinkie. Demons don’t actually age. Neither do Titans. At the age of sixteen, I went through a metamorphosis once my demonic side consumed the negativity and fear I felt. Just as you witnessed, it gets stronger when fear is involved. It doesn't care who it feeds upon."

I looked at my hoof. There was once a time I had paws. I was knocked unbalanced once Coeus went rogue and destroyed our kingdom. I was the only survivor. Demons are much more resilient to fire. Perhaps he wanted me to live, he couldn’t have possibly been that stupid. He knew what I was. There was no possibility that he could make such a dire mistake. Demons didn’t burn. Not by the Elements, not by fire, not by anything.

She laid her hoof on my shoulder to provide comfort. Once she made contact, I flinched, expecting it to sting. It didn't, and I was ashamed at how I expected it to. I associated it with pain because I had lived so long that every physical interaction stung like walking through a nettle pasture. No one dared to touch a demon with affection.

“So that thing I saw… that was your demonic half? Why haven’t I seen it before?” She asked, with her voice down several octaves. I had never heard her voice so flat, it was almost pained, “—Is that why you were chained?”

I nodded. "I had to. I grew a hatred for mortals. Yet, you were innocent of these crimes ponykind has done. You've done no harm, but as I said, my demon does not forgive. To prevent myself from hurting you, I chained myself with binds created from black magic. I then fed on your emotions to regenerate and hide from Gaia and Coeus. As long as I was chained, it couldn't escape to harm you. Nor could I."

Her hoof inched higher. “So it wants to eat bad vibes to get all big and muscly, right? You could have told it spinach does the trick, Mama Pie taught me that one. My Pinkie sense is telling me that might have been the reason you were being a Pinkameanie.”

"Mhmm," I answered, "The more I feed, the stronger my demonic power becomes. If I were to feed on negatives like your despair or anger, I would heal faster. I convinced myself that you would one day side with Gaia, and so, I had a chip on my shoulder before I even truly knew your future intentions. Black Magic is considered evil— for a good reason. It comes from demons and is learnable by every race. You, Twilight, even Discord could harness it if you wish. As long as you know the spells and accept the consequences. That was also the magic used to unseal me."

Pinkie’s hoof was warm. It was soothing to feel another. My wounds ached, and my memories of them stung once again. I was still a teen. I could live for ten thousand more years, twenty even. It wouldn't change that I hadn't experienced adulthood. How could you learn to be an adult if you were never given a chance? I was sent to war when I was sixteen. Alone.

“...So to understand, you get more powerful when I start feeling down?”

"Yes," I agreed, "—I… I didn't know what else to do to heal or to hide. When I was sixteen, my home Everglade was demolished by Coeus. We were both adopted by the king, who had pity on us. Coeus wished to dominate, and I wished to keep the peace. We never agreed on how to run the kingdom once my father stepped down, and so he decided if he couldn't have it, no one would."

I felt her stroke the tender flesh that had throbbed for two millennia. They were wounds that were still healing from that awful war. Her emotions did heal me to a degree, but not enough to fully recover.

I continued, "he left Everglade one early morning. I didn't stop him. I was… saddened when he left. If he felt his destiny was not with us, I had no reason to demand him to stay. As I watched him disappear over the hill, I mourned him. I considered him a brother, but I didn't know… I didn't know he left to destroy us all. Gaia had gotten to him like every Titan born from Mother Earth. The Golden Age was all she cared about, and now that burden is on her son. She convinced him that with me here, the Age of Titans couldn't be revived."

She was right. As long as I fought, Titans would not roam free on this planet. For the remaining time I lived, Coeus and Gaia were threatened. I was foolish, I trusted him because he was family. It was a blind trust the young have, for why would someone you love and look up to, want to harm you? No child would ever be prepared for that harsh lesson of reality.

My stare was heavily focused onto the uneven floorboards as Pinkie spoke, “—Mena… what is Coeus here to do?”

There was a knot in her throat, I could hear it in her voice. She was trembling and I could smell something seeping off of her. It was a sweet aroma that beckoned for my attention.

𝕱𝖊𝖆𝖗

My lip curled. My mouth was salivating, I was so badly starving.

“You need to listen to me very carefully, Pinkie." I forewarned, while my stomach expressed its eagerness to slate its hunger with a growl. "I understand you don't know much of what's going on, nor do I. I've been playing a lot of this by ear, but I can say that in the presence of a starved demon, you cannot show fear. I'm weak, and my control over my urges aren't as stable as they used to be."

Demons didn’t feed much on emotions for nutrition, but the flesh of who it belonged to was a very desired treat. Imagine drizzling some ketchup on fries. Most ponies wouldn't find straight-up ketchup as a full meal, but adding it to other foods made it much more appealing. The fries by themselves are fine, but with that condiment… they were two peas in a pod. This wasn't any different. You could say that fear was just a sauce to make a meal more desirable.

I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder. My teeth clamped on my tongue from the sudden feeling I was unprepared for. I lurched forward with bristling fur!

“AUAGH!” I wailed, chomping down on a hoof to prevent my screams of agony from shaking the cottage like booming thunder. “Wha… mmghr!”

I could hardly speak from the wind being knocked out of me. It felt like a gut punch, which was so sharp, it summoned a tear in one eye. My entire body was shivering from a fervent icy-hot chill running down my spine. It hurt, it hurt so bad!

I turned to Pinkie, my eyes bulging when seeing an arrowhead lodged within silver kitchen tongs. Her lips were pale, and her teeth were clenched behind her lips. She looked like she really regretted that decision.

“Pinkamena, I had to get it out.”

I was going to go for the throat in about three seconds. It took every ounce of my willpower to not maul the pony in front of me. I knew she was trying to help, but that was completely uncalled for! I groaned back my urge in a heavy sigh, one of those sighs that was more of a snarl than an exhale.

I bit my tongue too. I didn’t like that metallic taste whenever it happened.

“You… You are horrible!” I shrieked, slapping a hoof over the pulsating wound. “You can’t just do things like that, Pinkie! What’s wrong with you?!”

She cautiously put down the tongs. She then shot her hooves into the air as if to tell me nothing else was up her sleeve.

“You need medical help, bad. I’m dead serious, you’re hurt, and I’m worried!”

I opened my mouth to say something, but I only huffed as I stood up. I needed to remove myself before things got out of control. My temper was unusually high to the point of danger, and Pinkie was right in the middle of the storm.

I was blundering toward the door, unable to see straight from my dizziness. I fumbled around for the doorknob before pushing the busted door open. I nearly fell on my chin when forgetting to step over the tiny concrete step at the entrance.

I could hear Pinkie Pie’s steps behind me. “You won’t go to the hospital! My only other option was to look for medical supplies, that’s why I came here! Mena… Mena!”

The second time she called my name was much more stern. I didn’t know where in the name of the Gods I was going, but I wasn't staying here. Something was trailing after me. I could hear Pinkie’s hooves squish in the tilled dirt.

I did not trust Pinkie. Not with personal space, not with secrets, not with my wounds— not with anything! I was being courteous by explaining my side before the war raged on, but she could fend for herself!

No… No, I was being careless. I wasn't that ruthless, Pinkie wasn't a pawn on a chessboard. I couldn’t manipulate her and then throw her aside like a disposable glove. I’d be no different than Coeus if I did.

I took a moment to breathe in the crisp air. She needed to stay with me. I had to swallow my pride and go back. I had to.

I slowed down to a normal walking pace before stopping and letting her catch up. She panted, half the gauze roll fluttering in the wind as she came up to my side.

"Please—" She wheezed, "—Please don't run. I haven't run this fast since the ice-cream cart slapped a warning sign about not giving me free samples. Apparently, taking more than fifteen is against the rules… hah… when I came back for another, they ran faster than you."

I didn’t respond and instead just leveled my glare.

“What," She whined, "I had to taste all the flavors before choosing one to buy! Now can we please go back inside? I’ll be gentle, you won’t feel anything else okie? If you do, I’ll tell you my most ticklish spot and you can torment me with it. Deal?”

She had a way with humor, I’d give her that.

"You've exhausted me," I replied.

"Good, then that means we can take a little power nap. Sound reasonable? I've held off my sugar crash for three hours now."

I mumbled, but it wasn't anything other than a few jumbled curses. I wasn't going to go back into that house that smelled of rotting fruit peels, you couldn't threaten me enough to do so. I gave Pinkie a side-eye before turning and stomping toward the barn. A barn wouldn't be much better. However, I did like the feel of hay as long as it hadn't been sitting in rainwater.

I touched the door that was littered with jagged splinters. I could smell the stale air from inside even before I pushed open the double door. It creaked, the hinges screeching as if something hadn't demanded them to move in ages. Darkness greeted me, and the only life within it happened to be old webs from the residents that currently lived there.

Spiders… I hated spiders.

I shivered but walked inside. A limp and unlit lantern swung from the wind that had pushed past me. It rattled against the wall before I unhooked it from its position.

I touched the wick, and a small flame was born.

“Witchcraft!” Pinkie accused from behind me.

I sighed, "Pinkie, I'm a demon, and we are quite literally created from fire.”

"Pfft, I knew that,” She hummed. Her hooves scuffed against the wooden flooring as she surveyed the area. “That’s how you lit those sticks so fast back in the cave. Witchcraft is cool, I wish I could shoot fire from my hoof. Unfair advantage.”

I found a small table next to a large stack of hay and tossed the lantern onto it, lazily. The flame jumped and jerked from my movement before growing still. I sat beside it while tucking my tail underneath me. I guess I needed to think of a game plan. Gaia probably knew exactly where I was and would send someone soon. Not good.

I heard overly loud chewing sounds behind me. I broadened my gaze and caught Pinkie on her hind legs nipping at the haystacks.

“Pinkie, no! You don’t know where that’s been!”

She froze mid-chew. Her head slowly turned to me with a sheepish grin that caused some of the straw to fall from her mouth.

She swallowed, “hay is for horses! Ponies like hay, I like hay, this is free hay!”

"Get over here and sit down. For five minutes, could you just sit still?" I pleaded, observing her lip-sync my words mockingly.

Her medical supplies were set in a neat pile near a pitchfork and a shovel. Unfortunately for me, her hunger did not make her forget her original mission.

“Alright, time for those wounds to get all snug like a bug in a rug, kay? Just gonna wrap this around your shoulder nice and tight—”

“No!”

She jumped at my outburst. Eventually, her startled expression started to smolder into what appeared to be frustration.

“Why are you so stubborn? We’ve gotten this far!”

She stamped a hoof, and my muzzle wrinkled with disdain.

“In case you haven’t been listening, I am fighting an unwanted war against Titans and your kind. I apologize for the circus that I threw at you, truly I am," I said with sincerity. I was desperate to keep Coeus and mortals separate, but the scars were still fresh. "—But that doesn't change what happened and what will happen. You know Celestia is hunting me, and soon, so will The Elements of Harmony. You will be hunting me.”

I could see her swallow a painful lump. I pricked her a little, and it had bled.

"Please don't group me with everypony else," she said softly. Her expression was crestfallen and somber while her eyes fled behind a fragment of her mane. "—I may be an Element of Harmony, but I'm also your friend. I'm not going to abandon you all willy-nilly because there are some bad rumors. I know what I experienced, and I know who you are, you don’t want to be The Devourer. I saw it.”

My anger dissolved when her glossy eyes met mine.

"You're right," I said gently. "That was an unnecessary outburst. I'm sorry. I'm confused and angry—"

I stopped. Great, now the same lump that had infected Pinkie was blocking my throat. I didn’t mean to scream, or to be so on edge. She was making an effort to understand. That was more than enough to have some more faith in her. Perhaps she could vouch for me, but Celestia wouldn’t be a listening ear even if Pinkie spoke on my behalf.

I felt a reassuring hoof on my shoulder. She had joined my side to provide support even though I had given her the cold shoulder a minute ago. Pinkie Pie was a very forgiving pony and much more than I deserved.

“Tell me what happened,” She coaxed.

The gauze was in her hoof, but she didn’t intrude like she did last time. There was a deep plea quivering in her eyes. She wanted to help and was worried. It wouldn’t be the end of the world to swallow my pride and allow her this one thing.

I lifted my forelimb so she could tend to the wound. She sparkled, nearly illuminating the barn with her gratitude.

“When I spoke of the Titanomachy, The Golden Age, I was referring to the ancient war between the Gods and Titans. Yet, I’ve known about a second. Gaia wants to overthrow the Gods and what she’s created. More specifically, mortals.”

Pinkie was ginger when patting in the rubbing alcohol. "So, Coeus is here to overthrow us?"

“Yes, but you’re not what he’s worried about. No mortal could hope to challenge a Titan. It would be… madness in polite terms. I was a vengeful teenager who just lost her family— and I paid dearly for it when I tried to take him down myself even at his weakest.”

“That’s after he destroyed Everglade, isn’t it?”

I could hardly hear her. She was heavily focused on her work, and obviously not wanting to listen. I didn’t blame her, war was a disturbing topic.

"Yes. He… annihilated everyone there—" I choked, two thousand years, and this still held a bleeding spot in my heart. "—Coeus, caused my demonic side to feed on my despair. I had never known about this dormant evil until I became unbalanced, and my mortal side couldn't fight against it. I went through a heavy change throughout the next three years on my own. I fought as much as I could, but I lost against it."

“...That’s how you became immortal, right?’

“More or less. My aging stopped at nineteen, three years after the metamorphosis took place. I couldn’t control my actions at that point, my memory is foggy during those years, but I remember…pain. Arrows, spears, cannons… and the sharp smell of smoke. Some hit me, others missed, I ran and fought. I grew angrier, frenzied, and because of it I became more powerful. Yet less mortal.”

Pinkie poured a thick jelly-like glob into her hoof before smearing it into the ripped flesh. "That thing that had all that black goo...was that how it acted and what it looks like?"

I gave a small and dry laugh. “Yeah, it’s quite easy to jump on the demon-hating bandwagon when something like that is attached to me. That’s why Celestia became easily convinced that Everglade was a nation of devil-worshippers. The Elements of Harmony are meant to keep peace and… well, harmony. So Coeus went from my kingdom to hers, before lying through his teeth about what was truly going on.”

“Oh,” Pinkie deflated a little. “...He used the Elements to… hurt you… that’s what happened to you… isn’t it.”

She didn't ask a question. I couldn't tell if she was upset about what he did or that she felt she was somewhat a part of it. The Elements were connected to those artifacts, whether or not they wanted to be. In a way, Coeus and his sins were on her shoulders. She bore the burden of vanquishing evils as long as she carried the name 'Element of Laughter.’ Celestia may feel differently, but I was never evil.

Neither were the civilians in Everglade. Souls were sacrificed for my head, and I would carry that guilt for the rest of my immortal life. Now Pinkie shared some of that weight.

“I-I’m—” Her voice was hoarse and raspy. She had stopped tying the cloth around my shoulder and was instead biting her lip raw. “—I’m so sorry! I’d never do something like that. If you worry that I’ll do the same as Coeus, you’re wrong! The Elements of Harmony aren’t that way, we don’t do that!”

"I know you feel that way," I whispered hesitantly. I really didn't know how to say this to her, and I had to be selective with my next words. "—But you and your friends belong to Gaia. She has been with you from your very first adventure. Pinkie, power like the Elements doesn’t happen from thin air. It can turn immortal deities into stone, crumble nations into dust, or even tear demons apart from the inside like Stygian. You have the borrowed power of a Titan.”

“You have to believe me! My friends wouldn’t ever stand for—”

“Destroying an evil? A sin? An enemy of Equestria? Pinkie, I am your enemy. I had planned since day one that this would end in a battle. I don’t wish to harm anyone, but Coeus is not someone I can let walk away. Gaia will evict your race from this planet, and I don’t mean with a notice. You’ll be blown into next week to make way for the second Golden Age. She’s insane, she’s nuts!”

I clamped my hooves around my skull, knocking over the bottle of medical alcohol Pinkie had sat on the table. I shouldn’t be talking about this, all of it was crazy, and it gave me a head-splitting migraine. I feared Gaia, and I feared Titans, I was just one demon! At the end of the day, Pinkie was an ELEMENT! What was I doing? She followed the Tree of Harmony, and she loved her friends! I couldn’t ask her to turn on them, she’d never believe me!

“¥ðµ £êêl ï†, Ðð ¥ðµ ñð†? †hê mðr†ål §êêk§ ¥ðµr hêåÐ," The demon grumbled.

Pinkie latched onto my forelimb, but her voice was so far away. Shut up, everyone needed to shut up! My other half deserved to speak, least!

“Mena, listen to me!” She begged, but I couldn’t feel her anymore. All I could feel was—

𝕱𝖊𝖆𝖗.

It was taking over once more. I was dreadfully weak, and I could feel the cold claws of it scraping along my body.

“I Pinkie Promise, I won’t harm you!” She persuaded, yet, her voice was shrill to the point it reverberated throughout my head. It silenced even the demon.

She was panting, and glossy shine had applied itself to her cheeks and forehead. The little curl at the end of her mane was limp, and her hoof was dampened by a darkened mass stuck to my body. Pinkie had caught my attention enough to halt whatever emotions had prevented her voice from reaching me. A moment longer, and I would have been lost.

"I Pinkie Promise," She repeated in a thin and winded grunt. She slashed a hoof across her chest before weakly pressing a hoof against her eye. “—But you have to promise something as well.”

I remained still, mostly shocked, and unable to register what was happening.

She continued, “You have to promise you’ll make an effort to avoid a fight. I’ll help you, but they are still my friends even if they won’t understand. Please don’t hurt them, they won’t understand… they’ll—”

There was a shining trail down her cheek like a transparent ribbon. Pinkie had just sworn off harming me. I…I didn’t know how to respond to it. It was such a foolhardy thing to do! Pinkie had a different notion about demons from the time we spent together, but refusing to use her Element against one was suicidal!

—Although, I dearly respected it.

There was quite a large gap between my distrust and Pinkie now. Split right down the middle. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn't going to block a volley of arrows for her just yet, but I’d toss a shield her way.

“....Okay.”

She looked back up to me with a glint of hope sparkling in her eyes. She had already recovered from the tears which had slipped.

“—But Pinkie, you do realize Gaia is the Tree of Harmony. If you help me, you will be an enemy as well. Coeus is dangerous, and I can't promise things won't get grizzly."

“Should… should we make a plan?”

I hissed a breath through my teeth. “I’ll be gravely honest, I did not think I’d get this far.”

"So, in other words, we're going against a Titan who wants to eliminate us all? As well as a two-faced Tree of Harmony using my friends as sock puppets? Wowie… heh… this is definitely going to be a story to share next Nightmare Night. Limestone is so going down this year.”

Limestone! That was a name that was sweet but bitter.

"Pinkie, this is going to sound a little… odd—"

“I don’t think anything else can top what has been said,” She giggled.

I was glad to see some color return to her face. It had been quite a dark evening.

"Remember that… wyrm… that was at the Gala?" I hinted, rolling my hoof outward to try and help her along. I didn't really want to explain since the silence of her sisters had hit her pretty hard. Pinkie's face was blank, and so I had to continue, "—Remember when we talked about how Coeus used the Elements to severely damage me? Have you ever wondered why your childhood rock farm was so barren?"

She deadpanned. “It’s a quarry. They aren’t super luxurious, believe me.”

"Okay, yes, but no.”

“—Rock farms have nothing to do. Barren is putting it softly. Do you know how many friends I had back then? None! No pony wants to live there! It was so lone—”

I clamped my hooves softly over her muzzle.

"It's barren because that was the spot I was hit by the Elements and banished under Equestria to live like a feral rat. It slaughtered all life within a twenty-mile radius and buried me under a mountain of rocks. Two millennia went by.”

“Twuh mlina?” She asked through a funny form of ventriloquism. I kept my hooves over her mouth while nodding.

“Yes, two thousand years," I confirmed, loosening my grip so that Pinkie could gasp without losing oxygen. "He believed that would kill me, but using that much power in one shot exhausted him. I believe that's why he has been gone so long. I'm not sure how I survived, but I can safely say I had help. I'm not the only demon here, Pinkie. Longro, the wyrm you saw, or Beelzebub in the mortal tongue was with me. I don't remember how he got there, but when my demonic side was beaten back to submission by that blast, I regained my own body back. I peered up, and his eyes met mine."

Longro was what you could call a real demon. A gluttonous creature that devoured whatever he found, without even chewing mind you. Ponies feared him, Celestia feared him, all because to him, they were considered prey. He did not fight for justice, he fought for power and hunger. Exactly like my own demonic side, they took for themselves. Longro was never satisfied, but he obeyed my word.

“Longro hammered away at the seal that kept us there. On the other side, settlers plowed away from the outside. Coeus had buried us under minerals, materials natives chipped away at for centuries. It weakened the seal, and the magic was worn away by time. Eventually, those settlers passed, new ones came in, the veins dimmed, and the miners faded. I outlived the magic.” I explained, letting my hooves fall from her mouth. “Your family was one of the only ones who remained after two thousand years of miners. Limestone was the final tap that collapsed the seal.”

“She found you?”

“Maud and Limestone did." I added, "They were hospitable. Even as children, they showed empathy as you do. Before you were… um… born—”

I put quotations into the air with two hooves, she squinted but dismissed it. That was a long and complicated story for another time.

“—They were the only ponies I semi-trusted. I told them my story, and they agreed to help. Of course not without a fee. Limestone took a liking to Longro, and since he can burrow, she traded her secrecy and assistance for work hours. She was like… five, and I didn’t want to draw attention so I agreed. I knew Longro wouldn’t emerge from underground without a valid reason, and I let them do as they pleased. I didn’t think they’d remember me. They are still covering for me after all this time. I expected Longro to fade from their memory.”

Pinkie beamed, "yep, that's my sister! Even at such a young age, she makes our family business proud! I can't believe I wasn't in on this! I could have been a great help!”

Her cheeks swelled, and she puffed her chest in disapproval. I didn't have time to argue about why or why not she wasn't involved. She was required as of now. Therefore, I didn't understand why Pinkie's expression was as sour as spoiled milk.

“We need to find your sisters because at least they’re allies.”

Pinkie saluted me. “Tin fork, Pinkamena.”

I wrapped a hoof around a can of beans on the table. “It’s ten-four, not tin fork.”

"Okay, this time, I'm positive that it’s tin fork!”

My hoof applied pressure around the can, and the lid popped off. My eyes remained leveled with hers, and my expression lacked emotion. The lid clattered onto the wooden floor near her hooves, and she shrunk in her skin.

“Or.. Or it’s ten-four like you said.”

Speaking of forks, how was I going to eat this? I removed my stare from her and peered into the goopy mess of baked beans. What was with this pony and their large collection of canned foods? Oh well, I wouldn’t complain about any meal at this point.

I lashed my tongue into the can and flicked it against the mass. I smacked my lips after sampling the taste. Seasoned, slightly spicy… it’ll do.

I lapped up mouth fulls while Pinkie awkwardly rubbed the back of her head. She opened her mouth to address me, but suddenly withered under my gaze.

I wasn't sharing.

I was so hungry. A pony could go days without eating before sinking their teeth in a stale slice of bread, yet they'd devour it as if it were a five-star dish. Starvation convinced you that something tasted a million times better than what it was. Stale and room temperature beans had never been so appealing.

“Mena… may I?—”

I snarled, my muzzle wrinkling even though it was buried halfway down the can’s opening.

“—Nevermind!” She squealed, shuffling away from the table.

My fangs gnawed on the can's outer surface, denting it. She avoided eye contact. Wise of her to do so since demons were food aggressive. I couldn't help it, alright? I wasn't born this way, I just so happened to be overtaken with more animalistic reactions. It happened when you fused with your demon side at a young age without knowing how to control it.

I heard something fumble from outside. I stopped my sloppy eating for a second to zone in on the sound. Pinkie's senses weren't as heightened as mine, and so she continued to dwell in her thoughts as if she didn't catch it. I pulled my muzzle from the can before gently setting it down on the table. My nose twitched, and I caught Pinkie studying my sudden reaction.

She dropped lower and copied my alarmed movement.

“What is it?” She asked, her voice hushed.

I put a hoof directed at her to my lips before giving a silent cue.

I could smell another. A young stallion, I predicted. It was indeed the same one I caught a whiff of back inside the cottage. It appeared he wasn't alarmed. His steps were lax, not hurried, or too spread out as if he were sneaking. I could hear him mumble, the volume of his mutters growing sharper and clearer as if he were coming closer.

Great. It never went well when a civilian laid their eyes on a demon for the first time. Normally, the story went the same way. I got caught sticking my nose in things I shouldn't, and then stabbed by pitchforks. Every single time. They always go for the torch or the giant farming fork! I could smell it on him. Definitely a 'grab your pitchforks and slay the demon’ kind of guy.

There was another stumble outside the closed doors.

"Dagnabbit, stupid crumblin' mess being a thorn in my side." A voice cursed before I heard something fiddle with the door handle.

Pinkie's ears were sharply perked, and her eyes were visibly growing wider.

“Code red, code red! Our cover has been blown, to the haystacks!"

I opened my mouth to say something, but she had already fled like a mouse in the presence of a tabby. She dug into a large dump of straw before tucking herself into a small burrow inside it. It shifted and writhed before growing still. I wrinkled my nose, there was no way in hell I was hiding in a musty heap of—

The door groaned, and a silhouette appeared within a spotlight of moonbeam.

I rested my hoof upon the table. He lumbered inside, brushing dust from his leather vest, before peering up to meet me.

The little reed in between his teeth dropped from his lips.

My eyes narrowed. He was quivering in his little boots. I wasn't going to hurt him, but I knew how this was going to go down. If a pony felt cornered, they would buck out of instinct to defend themselves, meaning they would fight. It didn't matter if it were a dragon, hydra, or even a hellspawn.

I could hear his jaw clench and his heart quicken.

“What in the corn-shuckin’ field are you? Look at ‘em wings and—”

I stood up, and I saw his throat tighten along with his stance.

“—And… I… Gods yer some kind of monster!”

I put up a hoof. “Listen, I won’t hurt you. I have no intention of causing harm.”

Wow, I had no idea a pony could be soaked in sweat in a matter of seconds. It wasn't every day one stood in the presence of a demon. Props.

“...I don’t like those teeth, they got a nasty hunger to ‘em. You ain’t part of those other races, you’re… you’re… uh—”

Here we go.

He looked toward the raided can of beans. “—You’re a damn thief!”

His fear immediately melted into anger, which bled through furrowed brows. I reared back a little when he approached me without any preparation. He didn't even hesitate in arming himself to the teeth so he could attack.

He swung it around like a baton in a parade before flipping the edge toward me.

I lowered my gaze to look at the sharpened points aimed at my chest. I knew he was a pitchfork guy. Two thousand years and they still haven’t learned to use something else.

I sighed. “What a plot twist, a demon and a stallion can’t sit down and have a conversation without rattling sticks at each other.”

He jabbed it forward to intimidate me. “I don’t care whatcha are. A cow, a pig, or a pretty little succubus. Ima teach you a lesson ‘bout stealin’ from hard workin’ folk.”

I was choosing to overlook that insult.

My expression was lazy and spiced with a little bit of sarcasm. “So to do that you’re going to try and stab a demon? You don’t think that hasn't been done before?”

Pinkie’s hideout shifted. I saw a shadow slip out from behind it before lurking among the shelves. She was looking for something. She had a plan.

I hated it when Pinkie used her brain. It never ended well.

“Darn right I’m gonna poke ya! We don’t allow demons down here in the south!”

Pretty sure we were in the North. Being a country pony didn't always mean their homes were geographically located in the south. I didn't understand the trend with that.

Pinkie had found a shovel resting on a workbench. Her smile was alarming.

Fortunately for Pinkie, I couldn’t let my eyes follow her. I was too busy with the stallion trying to poke a hole in me.

“Say your prayers!”

"Demons happen to be atheists, or at the very least some form of it," I responded waggishly.

Wrinkles appeared in his forehead when his eyebrows tweezed. I could see confusion cloud his eyes. He didn’t know how to respond and it was beautiful.

He charged with his aim targeted toward my poor defenseless heart. Pinkie had hustled to try and intervene, but she didn't catch him in time. Without much effort, he was inches away.

He skewered me—the small dagger-points colliding with my fur. I kept my stare solemn, but I was quite bored with this recurring witch hunt. Pinkie's mouth was agape, the shovel in her grip lax, as she watched the metal burst into shavings.

The flurry of shattered metal fell upon the flooring. The sound reflected that of small hail flinging against a window.

It broke down to the hilt of the pitchfork where the stump bumped against my chest. I raised an eyebrow. The stallion was appalled.

He swallowed thickly before shakily bringing the broken tool away from me. His eyes were that of dinner plates and shaking within their sockets. I slowly directed my eyes toward the dull stick he was now holding. The metallic splinters on the ground were laid like traps around our hooves, but they didn’t exactly stop my approach.

I carefully placed my hoof around the useless wooden rod. “Yeah, no. You shouldn’t be playing with sharp objects or stabbing it at things you know nothing about. Give it to me.”

I easily removed it from his possession. He didn’t even try to resist.

I gently bonked his head with the edge of it. “I trust you won’t be doing this again. Cleaning up broken pitchforks is quite the pain. It’s like broken glass.”

I tossed the wooden pole onto the ground, where it rattled until it rolled into the shadows. He backed away once I turned around to face him. His rump hit that of a light pink chest blocking his path, and he nearly jumped like a startled calf. Pinkie stood behind him, shovel equipped, and a wide grin sparkling at us both.

“Hi!” She greeted, placing the end of the shovel in her other hoof to secure her grip.

“—And who in tarnation are you?” He asked, his voice sounding like a squeaky tire that desperately needed to be oiled.

“I’m Pinkie Pie!” She chirped.

She then hit him as hard as she could with the shovel.

“Oh my God—” I screeched, as the stallion fell chin-first onto the flooring.

I could have sworn I heard his skull crack. In no way would that not cause a major bruise when he came out of his newly acquired coma. Pinkie rested the handle of the shovel onto the ground as she watched his tongue loll from his mouth.

I placed a hoof over my racing heart. “Pinkie, what the— why would you… what’s wrong with YOU?”

“He’s fiiiiine!” She whined, before resting the shovel against the table. “—He’s just gonna have a nasty bump like in the cartoons. Ya just push it back in when it slowly rises with that whistle sound effect and all is good with the world. Ten out of ten doctors recommend that treatment.”

"Pinkie, I don't think he's breathing. Oh, dear God, he is not okay. You're crazy! Hitting someone that hard will cause swelling and concussions, Ponk!”

I ran a hoof through my mane as I examined the stallion knocked out cold. I could still hear his heart so that was a good sign. A small piece of hay was being pushed from his breath, which confirmed at least he was breathing.

He stirred, rolling his shoulder a little in his slumber.

Pinkie reached for the shovel.

“No! Pinkie, no! No more hitting, go in the corner!”

“But I hate the corner—”

“I don’t care!” I snapped, throwing my hoof toward the darkness. “Go sit and don’t move until I clean up this mess!”

Pinkie’s lip sagged and she pouted. She whispered curses with an embittered glare in the direction to where she was forced to sit in time out.

I exhaled quietly, trying to tie together my last nerves that had been strung thin. As of now, I was officially stuck with Pinkie. I couldn't let her fend for herself since she'd be on the menu to whatever pests lurked outside. She also couldn't wander back to her friends.

I glanced at the swollen lump on the poor sod’s head. I then gathered his legs in a glowing net of magic that secured his body. Well, wasn't this a nice mess I’ve gotten myself into. My demon was stronger than me, Pinkie was absolutely idiotic, her friends would side with Gaia— and now we’ve probably killed an innocent outcast.

I dragged him across the floor behind my wake. I placed him upon a bed of straw and levitated the hat that had been knocked off his head into my hooves. I then gently placed it over his eyes. I tried to give my condolences with a pat, but his unconscious groan told me I didn’t do a good job at avoiding his lump.

There was no way I was ready to face Coeus. Two thousand years had passed since our last battle. This time, however, I had some extra dead weight to lug around.

I glanced at Pinkie who was trying to catch a gnat in the air.

—Make that a lot of useless dead weight.

“...Quajh jheko mefok. Hedinj.”

A rough whisper that had a coarseness matching fragmented rocks cooed over the plains. The body in which it belonged to crackled. It was thick and armored with plating made of scales. They were like blades that coiled against the writhing mass.

“....Jto ij four... to ij fourok.”

The ruddy spines upon its face was revealed with a slashed eye beneath the ridge. It was looking at a patch of flowers misted in dew.

It hummed a growl, and the flowers danced from under its breath. "Yenjaquo hto hihun.”

It plucked a few from the earth between its fangs. Slowly a forked tongue coaxed them the rest of the way into its maw. The wyrm chewed, grinding the plants into a well-marbled paste before swallowing.

“...I can hear the songs from within the flames. An endless pit of hellfire in a sympathy of begging souls. Do you hear it?” The wyrm asked, as he turned his eye to an approaching pony.

The opalish mare had a look of boredom. “No, and I don’t care to.”

She had emerged along with a group into the field where the giant hellspawn had coiled around his findings.

“Longro, what are you talking about?” Marble asked, while her older sister Limestone, found a spot to sit under the demon’s shadow.

“—Gaia despises fire. It grows, flourishes, in her world. It is uncaged, no longer trapped within what had hidden it. Do you not feel her very essence dripping with fear?”

He ripped another mouthful of flowers from the grass.

“Why are you eating that? Those are poisonous, you dweeb!” Limestone scolded, clunking the side of her hoof against the oddly arranged scales sliding over each other.

“Wolfsbane,” he explained, “—A potent toxin. I sharpen my scales, I consume the poison of your world, to meet the Titan between heaven and hell.”

“Wait, you don’t mean—” Limestone was interrupted.

“—He comes from the stars, I heard the thunder he sent from above. She comes from underground, I heard the fire emerging from her soul. Gaia trembles in anticipation between the meeting of darkness and light.”

"I have no idea what you mean. You've been out here spewing nonsense for hours. We are going back to the rock farm, you've caused enough headache for me already!" Limestone chastised, slapping his scale once more.

“He means Pinkamena has risen,” Maud announced, without much inflection.

The group was hushed. Her words settled like bubbling nausea. Not one pony or demon happened to break the silence when putting the pieces together. Longro gazed at the pale radiance of the moonlight while the quietness slowly broke.

His otherworldly eyes shimmered under the pale light, “Tok tejh tuj yeppumjox. In your tongue, she has broken the mind of her host. The creatures of hell will meet the divines—” He stopped to glaze the group in his shadow. “—In the battle of Titans.”