Myths and Consequences

The mare's terror hardly immobilized her. In fact, it didn't immobilize her at all, Twilight observed. No sooner had she made her discovery did she take action. Said action was to lean back, both front hooves off the ground in an attempt to extract her deadly blade, a precarious position at best.

It seemed that Twilight was not the only one to observe this mare's instability. In a single bound, Luna sprang forward with a feral bellow, her voice bowling over the earth pony end over end.

"Ahh fuss buckets!" she cursed, shaking her head as she rose to her hooves. "I've killed stallions for less!"

Deciding that such a threat was best avoided. Twilight took hold of a small stone and whipped it at the mare. With a resounding gong like a bell, the mares head seemed to ring, followed by the satisfactory crumple of her body, legs twitching and eyes rolled up.

Two alicorns and a unicorn regarded this stranger, catching their breath.

"Relax Twilight, it'll be easy Twilight. We have faith in thy skill Twilight!" Twilight threw a disgruntled look at Luna. "When you miss a call, you don't do it small do you?"

Celestia sniggered as Luna scowled.

"Shut up!"

Luna was rummaging through the saddle bags that adorned the mares back.

"I won't shut up! I want to know what happened to this so called fool-proof spell you taught me!"

"Yes, as do I Luna, anything at all?" asked Celestia.

"Twilight check her aura."

"Oh check her aura now, shut up now, why don't I just...hey!"

"What is it?"

"Her aura, its orange! I mean...she's glowing orange." Twilight amended quickly at the realization of the mares coat. "And something on her neck, its blue."

"Oh, is that so?" Celestia was now beside her sister, examining the young mare. "Well this is a surprise."

"What do you spy dear sister?"

"I spy, with my little eyes, eyes that see beyond lies," Celestia gestured. "It would explain our current predicament Luna. Twilight do be kind and relinquish us of your practiced disguise, there is no use lying to this mare's sense of sight."

Twilight groaned in response, closing her eyes. She found it easier to remove the illusion, melting away Star Swirls face, until it was no more but a memory. Opening her eyes, Celestia and Luna looked like Celestia and Luna. Excellent.

"Now what?"

As if in answer, the warrior mare groaned, rubbing her temple as she slowly rolled onto her belly.Shaking her head clear of the recent bashing it took. Her gaze finally settled upon Luna, whereupon she blinked, blinked again, then made for her sword.

"You won't best me out in ma own field, I'll...I'll cut ya where..." she frowned at Luna who smiled back leaning upon the mares sword. "Well my daggers."

She felt the pouches along her chest.

"My double edged axe...half handled axe? Hatchet?" she frowned as she patted down the rest of her body.

All these items and more surrounded both Luna and Celestia. Apparently both had not been idle whilst Twilight was removing the disguise spell.

"Guess I oughta just crush y'all with ma bear hooves." she flexed her natural weapons, rippling muscles bulging at the tension much to the displeasure of the trio whom frowned at the mares insistence to do harm upon them.

Celestia spoke first.

"Do be calm stranger. Things are not as they seem!"

"I am not without defenses!" shouted the mare as she hopped into a fighting stance, hooves raised.

"Oh really? Do name such a defense that should leave us quaking in fear. For demons we are not."

"Enough of that crotchety attitude, I won't be fooled, no sir, I've a charm that gives honest ta goodness truth to my eyes!"

Twilight almost let forth an audible gasp, realization that her abilities were not at fault, a modicum of confidence rising in her.

"Oh but we are but friends, do believe me, for such a talisman fills my heart with joy as it does my sister, for it allows us to prove our innocence and the truth of it in our tale."

"I ain't taking none of yer lies!" she swung a hoof, which Celestia dodged easily, leaning back ever so slightly. "I had fair warning bout demons trespassing on ma families property and I aim to fertilize this here orchard with your sorry carcass if'n ya don't skedaddle!"

"Oh just do us a favor, just one, remove the charm and gaze upon us!"

"What?" the mare stopped. "Just what kinda fool do ya take me fer? Disarming ma protection!"

"Young fool, if we had wished harm upon thee, we would have snapped thy neck whilst thee were unconscious."

"Well I...well...well shoot, I guess that is a point." she threw them all a glare, "But none of yer tricks ya hear!"

"No tricks, I promise you! So please humor us for but a moment and remove it. It would make the explanation all the more easier."

Slowly, with some obvious hesitation, the warrior removed her charm. Upon her hoof a small gem glowed, a tiny salamander with a blue pearl embedded in its center.

"Er...ya still look the same." she muttered in confusion. "I don't get it."

"Bravo, you are truly a hunter of high caliber, as such I would find it correct to believe that you would know of demons then?"

"I've been a hunter for as long as I've bucked the apple orchard! All my life!" she stood straight and proud, jutting he chest out. "Almost eight years now!"

"Oh really?" Twilight was worried that Luna's lack of true enthusiasm would ruin everything going for them in this ploy, whatever kind of ploy it was. Yet the night princess quickly recomposed herself as she pressed the conversation cutting her sister off.

"Then do tell us, for our interest. Has a demon ever been in thy presence without disguise to fib with thee heart, body, and soul?"

"Course not, their kind are always lying and scheming!" came the angered reply.

Twilight had to smile inwardly, as a simple thought crossed her mind. "Fat lot you know about demons."

"As I was going to say, before such rude interruptions." Celestia threw a glare at her sister. "Such knowledge should prove our point."

"What point?"

For just a moment, Twilight thought Luna was ready to throttle the mare and fore go the rest of this absurd discussion, but a gentle wave from Celestia seemed to calm her. To Twilight it seemed that the sisters subtleties were tragically lost upon this world.

"Celestia, Luna, may I please try?" asked Twilight. She trotted up to the mare and gave her a friendly smile as she activated lecture mode. "What she means is that if they were demons, then they wouldn't look like demons, so because they do, they are so they aren't!"

"Oh...Oh! Well I reckon that's some crystal clear logic ya got there!" nodded the mare, returning Twilight's smile. "Guess I did jump the hay bale on that one thinking y'all were trouble!"

"Now were lost." muttered Luna to Celestia who nodded in confused agreement.

"Now if y'all aren't a demon...then why do ya look like one?"

"Ahh..." Celestia sighed, "There in lies the story, for you see we are cursed by unfavorable circumstances beyond our control."

"Cursed?" gasped the mare.

"Tis true, we were demon hunters, warrior princesses whom held such victories over the likes of mo-lock the impenetrable, hard rock the immovable, and many more creatures." said Luna.

"Indeed, our names went far and true across the land, like an arrow, its aim never off and its path true!" said Celestia.

"Well I ain't heard of the both of ya!"

"Well we've never heard of you either." Twilight chimed in.

"Ya don't even know ma name!"

"Oh, I do apologize," said Twilight with a bow, she gestured her hoof towards her mentors. "This is the warrior princess of the sun, and her sister, the warrior princess of the night. Celestia, and Luna."

"Well shucks, y'all can just call me Applejack, all ma family does!"

"If I could continue," interrupted Celestia. When no complaints came, she did so. "As I was explaining. We, that is my sister and I, had achieved much renown amongst demon kind due to our voracity and constant victory. Truly bothersome, as tales of our coming hit the land, demons would flee or even kill themselves!"

"Bit full of themselves aren't they?" whispered the mare to Twilight.

"She's just starting." groaned Twilight.

"One day, in the dead of light, we had crossed paths with an ugly brute of a demon. He addressed us by name, startling us so. 'Princesses!' says he.'You may strike me down, but I shall return more powerful and stronger than you ever dreamed, a pox upon you, a pox that will grow as my blood runs cold!' Of course we merely laughed at him, such curses a common occurrence. 'Laugh, laugh, but know that I am your harbinger of death!' he had boomed to us loudly! Of course to put it simply, we killed him, nothing to difficult, sadly we had assumed his curse but a bluff, life since then has...never been the same."

"Why not."

"Cause of the curse you idiot!" Celestia merely shouted, her patience waning. "Er...I mean my most esteemed colleague! When we returned to our young protege in training here, he looked upon our new form and fainted dead away!"

"I did not! I...I was just winded by the heat of that day!"

"Oh of course dear Twilight," replied Celestia, as she and her sister put on an extremely wounded expression of pain and sadness. No awards were surely going to be parted here for best actor. "In his death, he had truly cursed us, and forcing us to look as we do to you."

"Scheming demon, clever, hat em all for their tricks!"

"Indeed, you see the genius of his plans! We, a fierce duo to be reckon with, reduced to the creature that we are now, to be hunted by old friends and allies. hiding like an animal, only our daughter following us, our only form of companionship."

"I thought you said she was yer proto-what's it."

"Protege....student," finished Celestia at the mares confused looks. "And yes, that too, oh the irony of it all!"

"Well shucks, that's somethin awful, ah wish I could help."

"Oh but you can!" Luna smiled winningly.

Applejack recoiled. Twilight grinned, glad to know someone else shared her same reaction to the lunar princesses rather...sharp toothy maw.

"Uh...how? I'm just a demon hunter...and farmer, ain't nothin special bout me." she said meekly.

Luna laid a gentle wing upon her dearly depressed sister, taking her place in the conversation.

"Indeed, we have been confronted by demons upon our journey, and not but a few days behind us, these demon assassins continue to pester us, cloaked in powerful hidden forms! It occurs to us that we have a mutual service to each other. We provide targets of opportunity to thee, and thou not only reigns in the glory of it all, but removes a bloody nuisance."

'They're bloody?" Applejack was horrified.

"Oh tis but an expression fair Applejack. So, would you help us as a fellow champion against the dark?"

"Well honestly I don't know, I am already on a job at this moment. Taking another job kinda just kerfuffles the whole thing. I'd hate for ma employer ta think I'm gettin lazy, know what it can do ta ones reputation!"

"Oh, it wouldn't be any trouble," Luna persisted. "Why they should be here soon enough and they are yours to keep!"

"Er why are they following you?" asked Applejack, throwing them a curious expression.

"A vile magician, whom we requested aid from, foolish were we to believe him able to aid our recovery!" spat Luna. "Curses the the name Star Swirl, may he suffer a hangover that which would be eternal as the night!"

"Star Swirl!"

"Oh, do you know him?"

"That's ma mission, I was payed to hunt that no good summoner of demons and put him out ta pasture!"

"But he isn't a demon." said Twilight.

"He consorts with their kind, that there is good enough reason to put him out fer good!"

Twilight gave a furious nod of agreement, her nerves feeling rather stretched now by the encounter.

"To whom is it that hired you, if we may ask, for it would prove fortuitous of us to find and offer our assistance to them!"

"Well, ain't so much a them, as it is a single who ya know." Applejack rubbed her neck, chuckling. "Innkeeper, called him self the D. Strange fella, fer sure, but comfortin ya know, nice and all that! Bout three weeks ride from here...er just how many?"

"Oh, we would assure thee that no more than two seek to bring us harm."

"Well, I guess it would be a boon to me, extra heads for the job, means extra pay, why i could get ma big brother some new tools, or replace ma grands hip! I'll do it! Heck Apple Bloom could use the college tuition for the future!"

"Alas we cannot help you." Celestia finally said, pressing her sisters wing away. "We must be on our way if we are to continue our journey."

"Why not? I'd think a fella hunter be rearin ta crack a skull or two!"

"If we were to stay and fight, it would be hardly worth mentioning, all that credit and honor of battle wasted away due to our supposed status of demon." she stated grandly. "If they laid eyes upon us, they would surely flee."

"Frankly, I'm finding this a bit hard to believe now." Applejack crossed her fore hooves.

Twilight had to agree, finding it difficult to not point out the princesses inconsistencies.

"Well, we admit the true fear is what comes from the magic of our charmed sword!"

Applejack's ears peaked up in interest.

"Charmed sword?"

Patting the sword under her wing, Celestia graced Applejack with a motherly smile. "Of course, this very blade once graced the hooves of famed hunter, De La Espresso Grande El Cappuccino!"

"Never heard o him."

"Nev-never heard of...Never heard of him! My dear Applejack, farmer of the Apple family lands and hunter...are you sure you are a hunter? To not know of a name like his. To not know mine, is understandable, to forgo his, why that is an insult to the hunters code!"

Applejack seemed to blanch slightly, tugging at the collar of her armor as she swallowed a large gulp of air.

"Not like there is any educatin that goes round here for folks like me." she said in earnest defense.

"Well, one can let such tales slide." she extracted the blade from its sheathe in a flourish, presenting it to Applejack. "Tis powerful, said to protect its user from death by demons when wielded."

"How did he die?"

"Knifed...by an exotic dancer."

"Oh...er yes, their nasty pieces of work. You sure the sword works?"

"Are we not here before your eyes, alive and in good health?" she smiled. "It works like any sword, though a bit point heavy."

"I meant the charm. I mean, demons will flee from it at its sight?"

"Of course, though years have passed from truly feeding the poor thing of demon flesh. We have been busy trying to remove this curse, as we would like to return home without fear of our own family harming us." Celestia frowned, putting the blade away. "Alas, with no work, and no one willing to help us save for you our dear friend. We've been looking to our apprentice here to try and sell it, sadly she is not savvy in the art of business as she is in the art of magical manipulation."

Twilight realized exactly what was happening now, and Applejack lost in all the grandeur was quickly and easily taking the bait.

"I...I could part a few bits, three at least to help a fellow out, would be shameful fer such a beauty to be lost."

"Three, you wound us so! I couldn't part with such family treasure for no less than two hundred!"

"Ain't no use than, I've a meager fifty bits in the saddle and no more." Applejack replied visibly frowning.

"Fifty?"

"Ain't wise, traveling with more than necessary, good way to be swindled ya hear?"

"Oh yes, tis true, tis surely true, Sister please allow us the pleasure of business with this faithful warrior!" said Luna, grinning maliciously. "We feel we shall offer thee a boon that will satisfy all, and with a few extra demons under your belt, you could push for ten times the price of what the tavern keeper D is offering."

"Is that so?"

"In deed, if you would merely part with your meager earnings, we would happily relinquish this blade, passed from mother to mother and finally to my older sister!"

"But its all I have!"

"And what good would a purse be if one drawn and quartered by demons?"

"Oh...makes sense!"

She took hold the blade, hefting it and giving it a few swings, her skills in the use of blades showing with every swing.

"Crummy balance."

"You'll git used to it, tis but a difference of weight to help utilize it in battle."

"Seems to be lousy steel." the mare squinted at the blade.

"Damascus, made to look as though it were a meager blade, saves it from theft, and throws off demons whom believe it to be not but a child's toy!"

"Well, my teacher always said 'if you care for the sword, the sword cares for you!'"

"We must have shared the same trainer!"

The two smiled at each other. Twilight on the other hand felt slightly ill.

"Hmm ya know fifty is all I have."

'Look upon the jewels! See how they shimmer in the handle."

"Their fake."

"Of course their made to look fake. It is a ploy to hide their value"

"Really now? What kinda stones?"

"Blarney stones!"

"Wha?"

"Yes. Expensive in their make, and hard to find. Why they would make thee favorable in the eyes of other mares! If thou understands our meaning!" Luna smiled at Applejack and regarded her rather acute glare. "And Stallions as well, of course."

"Its still all I have."

"Well part with us a mere forty and your sword."

"Ma sword?"

"Well, we could not travel this heathen land unarmed now could we?"

"Well, I guess that is fair. Well shucks, call it a shake and well be square!" she offered a hoof out, taking Luna's and shaking.

Twilight winced as she watched the lunar princess easily shaken where she stands. This particular mare having quite the affinity for feats of strength. A thought parted her mind and quickly she interrupted before Luna could carry on.

"Its a shame you should have to part our company here master Applejack."

:Ahh its just Applejack, or AJ, friends call me AJ." she said. "Sides, part company?"

"Of course, to prepare for battle, would not be in your favor to be caught here in the open fields would it not?" said Twilight gesturing to the few trees surrounding them.

"Well shucks now that's a point."

"Well no need to rush." Luna assured, she ground her hoof into Twilight's side painfully trying to get her to shut up.

"Oh of course there is reason to rush master, we are after all busy mares, are we not AJ?"

"No, she's got a point, and an Apple ain't never caught unprepared!" she parted ways with her money and sword. Collecting the 'charmed sword' and the rest of her equipment. "Praise to y'all friends, and have a safe journey. Look forward to sharing tales with y'all when were together again!"

With her equipment settled, she dashed off past the trio, obviously eager to try her new toy.

"Now look what you have done!" shouted Luna, "We were sure that we would have stripped the mare clean of all she owned if not for thee!"

She gestured a threatening hoof at Twilight.

"Hmm yes, why did you stop my sister, she is rather fortunate with the silver tongue." said Celestia.

"Oh no more than thee, dear sister, tis merely our eye for business that surpasses your own!"

They both giggled before giving Twilight fixed glares.

"The big rush to get rid of her, as gullible as she maybe, she was eventually going to catch on to a very minute flaw."

"Oh, the daughter thing, that would have passed well." said Celestia.

"No, the other thing!"

"Other...thing?" Celestia's brow rose.

Twilight sighed.

"She easily saw through our disguise right?"

"Of course, hence I spoke the truth of a curse placed upon our..."

"And if her charm allows her the ability to see through curses, which its a spell. This only means that her charm, would see through a curse, which is a spell, which like mine, merely changed your visible appearance. Thus you would appear as a normal pony, which your not, so you can't be, thus you are not!"

Both sisters took on a blank expression, gears obviously turning in their heads.

"I fear...it is time we carry on, best do so now than later." the sun princess finally said.

Twilight not wanting to let this guy, crossed her hooves and smiled, gripping this moment of victory tightly.

"Tell me, what would you do, if you ran into a demon hunter as smart as me?"

Celestia grinned, leaning close, very close to Twilight, nearly nose to nose.

"Oh its simple." she tugged the crossbow, from the hut, out under her other wing. "I'd kill them. Think about it."

She did.