Demons from the Past

"Ugh......" Aldric groaned.

"Shhh, I think he's waking up." A female voice said. He opened up one eye to see Applejack looking over him.

"Hi Applejack, where am I?" She smiled.

"You're in my barn." He nodded and sat up, clutching his jaw.

"Why does it feel like I got kicked in the jaw, Applejack?"

"That's because you did, Big Mac thought you were a monster and bucked you under the chin, you're lucky it's not broken. He wanted to apologize after I told him about you." He nodded to the barn door.

"Can you get him?" She nodded and went outside. A few minutes later the doors opened to reveal a large red stallion. "You Big Mac?" He nodded. Aldric got up and walked over to him. He squatted down, holding out his hand. "That was a nice kick, if I was a normal human I would've had my entire jaw destroyed." Big Mac held out his hoof and shook Aldric's hand.

"Well, that's mighty kind of ya." The barn door opened again to reveal Applejack.

"See y'all gotten on good."

After a little while Aldric went outside. He spotted hundreds of apple trees. In the middle was a house, probably where they slept. Something began to bark. He turned his head to see a small dog, running towards him. He crouched down and held out his hand. It stopped and began to sniff it. Then it leapt at Aldric and began to lick his face. "Woah, down, down." Hoofsteps were behind him.

"I see you've met Winona." Upon hearing her name she went to Applejack.

"Yeah she can be real friendly." He wiped off saliva from his face.

"I kinda guessed." She grabbed his arm and pulled.

"Come on, you still have to meet Granny and Applebloom."

Soon they were in front of the house. On the porch was a old and green pony. "Granny! Wake up!" Granny woke up startled.

"Huh? Oh hello Applejack." She turned to Aldric.

"Oh, you must be Aldric, Applejack told us all about you." He nodded. The door swung open, hitting Aldric in the nose.

"Hey Applejack! Hey Granny!"

"Applebloom! Watch when you open the door, you hit our guest." Her eyes widened.

"He's awake? Can I see him? Can I?" Aldric closed the door.

"I'm right here." Applebloom back away.

"I didn't think he was this big." He crouched down, again. 'This is getting really annoying' he thought to himself.

"You must be Applebloom, nice to meet you." She nodded.

"Yep! Nice to meet you too!" Applejack grabbed Applebloom and tossed her on her back.

"Come on, we got to buck some apples." Aldric grabbed her.

"Can I help? I feel kinda bad to sleep here and not help." She nodded and went off, Aldric behind her.

Soon they were in front of some trees that were riper than the others. "Some trees grow faster than others. So you get them before Apple Buck Season." She then kicked a tree which made them fall off into baskets that Applebloom put their. "Now you try." Aldric went up to a tree and kicked it. The tree flew out of the ground and into another tree.

"Oh.....sorry." Applebloom was laughing and Applejack was amazed.

"It's okay....just tone it down a little." He nodded and went to another. He kicked it softer, which made the apples fall out. "There ya go!"

After a couple of hours all of the apples were picked. They went back to the house to find Twilight. "There you are Applejack! I have a question to ask." She nodded. "How would you like to go to the Grand Galloping Gala?" Applejack was stunned while Aldric was confused.

"The Grand Galloping what?" They both looked at him.

"The Grand Galloping Gala! Only the biggest celebration that happens every year at Canterlot." Twilight exclaimed.

"Twi, you got tickets? How?" Applejack asked.

"Oh! Princess Celestia gave them to me. She gave me two tickets." Applejack began to break out to song and sing about selling her treats at the Gala. After she was finished Aldric's mouth was open.

"Why did you just burst out into song? Also why would you sell your treats?" Applejack looked at him.

"What do you mean?" Aldric sighed.

"Well it is pretty obvious that this Gala will have snacks already there, free snacks. So no one will buy your treats while the others treats are free." Applejack thought about that for a moment.

"I guess that makes sense....huh." Twilight waved her hoof.

"Well? Do you want the ticket?"

"Of cou-"

"WAAAAAIT!" Someone screamed above them. Aldric stepped back while Twilight and Applejack looked up. Someone crashed into them, knocking up dust. When it settled Rainbow Dash was their.

"Did somepony say Grand Galloping Gala?" Aldric, foolishly, talked.

"Yeah, the ponies you just crashed into were."

She turned around to see Aldric, who had the sun beating down on him, making him appear to be golden. She shook her head and set her game face.

"You." He raised a hand to his chest.

"Me?" She didn't like his attitude.

"You remember when I said this isn't over," he nodded, "it is still going." And with that, she flew at him. 'She has a grudge problem,' Aldric thought to himself. His instincts told him to go for his sword but he knew he wouldn't be hurt. He side-stepped her and made her crash into a tree. He decided to ask his question.

"Applejack," she raised her head, "has she always had this grudge problem?" She nodded. "Ah....okay......get down." He dropped to the ground in half a second. The other ponies collided, sending them tumbling into a tree. He walked over to them. Reaching out a hand, he said, "I said to get down."

Twilight and Applejack liked the help, Rainbow however, slapped his hand away.

"I don't need your help," she said.

"Pfft, you're stuck in a tree." He grabbed her hoof, making her blush. He didn't see it and yanked her down. They tumbled to the ground. "Again Rainbow? At least buy me a drink." She got up, kicking him in the face.

"You got a real dirty sense of humor, you know that?" Applejack asked. He nodded.

"Soooo tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala?" Rainbow asked Twilight.

"Huh? Oh! Right, I have two tickets to it, so I'm wondering which one of you wanted it." Rainbow started singing about something called the Wonderbolts. After she was finished Aldric asked another question.

"What is the Wonderbolts?" She turned around, shock plastered across her face.

"What is the Wonderbolts? You should be asking who! They are the greatest flying team in Equestria! Of course, you wouldn't know that." Something registered in Aldric's mind.

"Oh, like the Gryphon Riders of Carstadon." The were all confused by this.

"The what? Wait.....THEY RIDE GRYPHONS!" Twilight exclaimed.

"Yeah, they are the greatest flyers in my plane. They are used for stunt shows some times, but they are used mostly used for scouting, recon, and dive bomb tactics. Quite simple really." He whispered the next part to himself. "Should've used gryphon riders in the invasion.....I'm fucking stupid." Twilight still looked confused.

"The gryphon's allowed ponies to ride them?" He nodded.

"I'm guessing gryphons here are sentient? Mine aren't." She backed away, excepting this. Rainbow wasn't finished.

"Oh yeah? I bet the Wonderbolts could beat them." He smiled.

"Probably, but in fighting, recon, and everything else military, not a chance." She stepped back.

"Military? That sounds terrible! Fluttershy would hate hearing this." Applejack exclaimed.

"Then we don't tell her. Why did you even bring that up?" Aldric asked.

"Well," she played with her hooves, "I don't know." Twilight walked forward.

"Well I should ask the others if they want to go." He nodded to her.

"I'll go.....we're done here, right Applejack," she nodded, "right Rainbow?" She grunted.

They were at the crest of the hill when Twilight asked Aldric a question.

"How are you going to go into town without them freaking out?" He smiled.

"Simple," he said. She looked at him only to step back. In front of her was a large dog, pony sized.

"What the....." it barked a few words.

"Hey Twilight. Like what you see?" Twilight was stunned, Aldric transformed into a dog.

"How....did you.....do that? He barked a few more times.

"Simple transformation spell, can you stop asking me questions? It is hard to speak like this." She nodded, though she wanted to ask more questions.

"Okay first stop....Pinkie Pie." He nodded and sprinted into town. "Hey! Wait up!" She yelled, galloping.

Twilight finally reached Sugarcube Corner to see Aldric inside, playing with Pinkie. "Huff....Aldric....huff..." he turned his head.

"Oh, hey Twilight." He transformed back. Multiple shouts erupted from the store. It was soon clear except Aldric, Pinkie, Twilight, and he Cakes, who were shivering.

"It's okay Mr. and Mrs.Cake, he won't bite." Pinkie said.

"She's right, I won't hurt you Mr. and Mrs......Cake, right?" They nodded, not shivering anymore.

"So Pinkie," Twilight asked, making Pinkie turn her head 180° around.

"Is she....part owl?" Mr.Cake stood up, forgetting his fear.

"It's just Pinkie being Pinkie." Aldric slowly nodded.

Twilight continued, "do you want a ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala?" Pinkie gasped.

"The Grand Galloping Gala!" Again, she broke out into song. 'That is getting really annoying,' he thought. After she was done Twilight looked nervous.

"That, is also a good reason. I will still go out to the others." Pinkie nodded. Aldric transformed again, this time into a hawk.

"Got to change it up."

They next stop was Rarity. They got their to find her making a dress.

"Ah Twilight! What is it that you need?" She then saw the bird. "Oh! You got a bet hawk! How cute." He flew to the middle of the room.

"I'm not a pet," and transformed back.

"Oh! It's Aldric! What a neat trick!" 'Trick? This isn't a trick! It is a highly successful assassination technique.' He thought to himself.

"Rarity, Twilight has a question for you," he nodded to Twilight.

"Oh yes, Rarity," Rarity nodded, humming, "how would you like to go to the Grand Galloping Gala?" Rarity gasped.

"The Grand Galloping Gala? Oh how wonderful? How did you get tickets?" Aldric answered this.

"She got them from Celestia." They both turned, shocked.

"It's Princess Celestia." Twilight and Rarity said. He nodded, making Twilight angry. 'Is that all he does?.'

"I know, but she isn't my Princess, so I don't care. Also titles mean nothing to me, everybody has done something sinful, some are just better at covering it up." Twilight was furious. Someone was talking about her teacher, badly!

"She hasn't done anything wrong! She is the nicest pony I know." He shook his head.

"Maybe to you, but I could probably dig up a ton of shit on her that wouldn't make her very princessy." Rarity looked at him disgusted.

"Do you have to be so vulgar?" He nodded again. Twilight was done with the nodding.

"CAN YOU STOP WITH THE NODDING!" He shook his head.

"Their, happy? Also, yes Rarity, also, the ticket." She smiled and burst into song. 'One more song and slicing off my ears.' When she was done he couldn't help but laugh.

"What's so funny?" He smiled.

"Oh nothing, just your thinking of a fairy tale. Princes are just pompous assholes who would do anything to have more money. You should probably find love someone closer to home." Rarity didn't look convinced.

"You'll see, fairy tales do exist." He rolled his eyes and turned to Twilight.

"Fluttershy is the last one, right?" She nodded.

"What you going to turn into this time?" He smiled and turned into a rabbit.

"Pick me up."

They arrived at Fluttershy's house to find her outside, feeding her animals. "Hey Twilight, oh you found a bunny!" She grabbed Aldric and hugged.

"Let go of me." She gasped and held him out in front of her.

"He can talk! This is amazing!" The bunny sighed and squirmed out.

"Fluttershy, it's me." He said, transforming. They animals backed away, frightful of the new predator. Fluttershy herself squeaked and hid behind a bush. The only thing that remained was a white rabbit.

"Hello there," he said, crouching. "you are interesting. Why aren't you scared?" All he did was throw a carrot into Aldric's eye. "Now that," he yanked the carrot out, "isn't very nice. I like you." The bunny smiled and went inside. "Who was that bunny?" Fluttershy was calm now and answered.

"Oh, that was Angel. I am surprised he liked you, he doesn't like strangers." Twilight cleared her throat and stepped forward.

"Fluttershy, I was wondering if you wanted to go to the Grand Galloping Gala?" Fluttershy gasped and sprung over to Twilight.

"Tickets! To the Grand Galloping Gala! Oh how wonderful." She inhaled and was about to sing.

"NO! NO MORE FUCKING SINGING OR I WILL SLICE YOUR THROAT!" Aldric yelled, sending them barreling into Fluttershy's cabin. He sighed and walked in. Fluttershy was quivering in fear of Aldric while Twilight was standing next to her. He sighed.

"I'm sorry, it's just all of your friends have been singing and I couldn't take any more." He extended his hand towards Fluttershy when something hit his head. He turned his head to see Angel, with a slingshot and a bag of carrots. "Ha! You think that could hurt me?" He shook his head and pointed up. Angel expected him to look up, instead he leapt outside. "You shouldn't have pointed, you just gave your plan away. Anyway, I'm going to go back to the library." He transformed into a hummingbird and flew over.

Spike was sleeping when something hit the window. It kept hitting until Spike woke up and opened the window. A hummingbird flew in the library. "Hey.....get out." Spike said, groggily.

"Why?" Spike nearly leapt out of his scales, this hummingbird could talked!

"You....can talk!" The hummingbird transformed to reveal Aldric, making Spike scream out.

"Spike! It's me, the monster from before." This calmed Spike down, then he registered he said monster.

"M-m-monster?" He said, shakily.

"Well, that is what you called me." A fire appeared in the middle of the room. It revealed Aldric, smiling.

"Oh...it's you.....sup." Aldric shook his head, then spoke.

"Is there a light source here?" Spike nodded and walked over to the lightswitch. When he flicked it Aldric staggered back, his eyes adjusting. "Warn me next time." Spike nodded and flopped down.

"So, why are you here?" Aldric stretched and sat down.

"Oh, I was following Twilight around, she was trying to find out who was the best to pick to go to the Grand Galloping Gala." Spike nodded and got up.

"You want anything?" Aldric nodded.

"Water, carrots, and apples." Spike returned with a tray of items and a bowl of gems. "Why do you have gems?" Spike bit into one, talking while chewing.

"Eating them, don't dragons in your.....plane, eat gems?" He shook his head.

"No, they eat livestock and cattle. They also hoard gold. They mostly live in mountains far away from the big cities but the towns near the mountains....." Spike looked horrified.

"That's...terrible! Why didn't they leave the towns?" Aldric craned his head back.

"They didn't need too. I took care of the dragons." Spike was happy.

"Like, making them move?" Aldric laughed.

"No....by killing them." He finished, falling asleep.

He woke up to find Spike gone and Twilight's friends arguing. "SHUT UP!" He yelled, shaking the library. They all stopped arguing and turned their heads to Aldric. "Now, what is the problem?" They all began to talk at the same time. "QUITE!" They stopped. "I swear, it's like working with children. Twilight, what's the problem?" She looked down.

"I can't decide who to take along....wait! I know! Aldric, I will give you the ticket!" Aldric pinched his nose.

"NO! Give me the tickets." She handed them over to him. "Now, how can I send a letter to Celestia?" Again he said Celesta, not Princess Celestia.

"It is Princess Celestia." Twilight hissed.

"I already said, I don't care. Now, who here can give Celestia a letter?" Spike raised a scaly claw and walked forward. Aldric walked over and grabbed a quill, ink bottle, and parchment. He wrote something down and handed it to Spike. Spike set fire to it and it flew out the open window. He burped out another scroll and handed it to Twilight.

"Six tickets! Now we can all go!" She used her magic and gave one to each and they walked out.

"Man, I wish I could've gone." He burped another scroll out. "And two more for Spike and Aldric." Aldric backed away.

"No, I'm not going to a party." Spike walked up and waved it in his face. "Fine," he plucked it from his claw.

"So, what did you write to Princess Celestia?" Spike asked.

"Well....."

Canterlot, Celestia's Chamber

A scroll appeared next to her. "Oh, Twilight must have sent me a letter." She opened it up to read this.

Dear Celestia, What were you thinking? Twilight has six friends and you gave her two tickets! Did you expect her to tear them into three pieces from each and give them to her friends? That is just stupid. Put in the return scroll six tickets for Twilight's friends. Signed, Aldric.

'Well, that was different.' Celestia thought. Then another thought came to mind. 'He called me Celestia....I like that.' She smiled and sent the return scroll.