The Flower Shop

Zexis gazed down at the book lying open on the table in front of him. It looked like any other book, the white pages filled with line upon line of ink penned in a flowing, elegant script, but aside from that, not much else. There were no sudden pulses of energy. No painful curses, nor even glowing runes. The black book from Zecoras cottage now was just that....a simple black book.

Zexis sat on a chair in his room. It was early morning, and below him, he could hear the happy, industrious sounds of the flower girls setting up shop for the day. He heard Roseluck moan in her bed, as she got herself off with a dildo. After one or two climaxes her raging libido would be calm enough so that she could work in the shop again… for a time a least. So far, she had only managed about two hours before her insatiable lust drove her back to her room to cum again, and again. It wasn´t perfect, but it was manageable, and less conspicuous than having to pretend she was sick all the time.
On the desk before the zebra laid an array of numerous different things. Timberwolf-bark, magic stones, old animal bones, as well as carving tools, incenses and a knife. And at the heart of it all lay the book.

Zexis had finally worked up the courage to open it again, after returning from Cheerilee’s "talk" yesterday. It hadn´t blasted him, which was at least a good start. The runes had also stopped glowing. In fact, it had lost any traces of the magic it had once held. Zexis theorized that the runes had probably served as a lock, or seal of some sort. Which begged the question, why had he been able to open it? Maybe it had something to do with being a zebra? He shook his head. It wasn´t important right now. The book was unsealed and its content open to him. And what content it was...

The book had turned out to be an old text about enchantments and runes. Its origin was unclear. The writing was Zebrican, but in an archaic dialect that was difficult to decipher. He supposed some of the more scholarly zebras would be able to more easily understand it, but Zexis hadn´t spent enough time around old dusty tomes to be very familiar with such things. What he had managed to translate so far had revealed a true treasure trove of knowledge. Spells old and forgotten, or even outright forbidden lay within, along with detailed instruction for various types of enchantments and the like.

So, naturally, Zexis had begun to use them immediately. And while the translating was difficult, he realized to his surprise that the actual application went far easier than he had imagined. He understood the underlying principles almost instinctually. The theory was difficult, he was just not intelligent enough for it, but he was nevertheless able to produce something by the time he went to bed. It seemed like he was quite talented as an enchanter!

He looked at the small glowing stone beside him. The blue surface was carved with rings and winding lines, creating a whirl of pulsing energy that flowed just underneath the surface. A mana-stone. A tool to store energy. One could pick it up and transfer magic into it or absorb it. Simple, but useful, with many applications. This one was small and created within a few hours, so it couldn´t take much energy. But later on, Zexis was sure he would be able to craft stones that could take in huge amounts of magic.

His eyes went to the Timberwolf-bark. This wood had a very high magical density, having been infused with wild energies of the Everfree for centuries. That made it prime-material for enchanting, though Zexis had a feeling that there might be some side-effects to crafting with it. After all, the more powerful the material, the more difficult the crafting process. For this reason, he had decided to leave it for later. He wanted to have a clear plan for this one. No use wasting resources in experiments.

His hoof flipped through the pages of the book. Many of them he couldn´t decipher, but that would be only a matter of time. No, what interested him more were the little notes scrawled in the margins of some pages. They were of more modern writing, but crude, as if the author had just learned how to write. They told a very interesting story...

Dear diary,
This is my first entry. It´s forbidden I know, but the spirits will forgive me. I put some bowls of smoking Bawacca outside, just in case. But I need to write. I need to preserve the story of our tribe. Words die, if no one is there to speak them. But words bound on pages last. I made sure to write into the Forbidden One. The priest doesn´t open it and he doesn´t know I cracked the seal, so he will not know what I did.
You will now ask me why. Why anger the spirits? Why risk the sacrilege of using the written word as an Uninitiated and a mare as well? Why defy the decree of Father and disobey the Law of Zara Shuku?
Because somepony needs to know the truth. Needs to know what the Unspeakable did to us. What the Mahrkaki are still doing to us. Because I cannot bear the thought of us vanishing, with only the spirits to tell our tale.
I hear Father calling for me. I don´t have much time. I will come back, write more. I will tell you everything.
Zecora, Daughter of Zambi, Chief of the Udongaga tribe

Zexis stroked his chin. This had been the first entry, scribbled over two pages. There were more, but he hadn´t read them. He wasn´t that interested in Zecora’s backstory. There were countless tragedies on Mundus, this was just one of them. Still, why didn´t the names tell him anything. Neither the Mahrkaki nor the Udongaga rang any bells with him. Which was strange, as they were clearly two tribes in Zebrica? So why didn´t he know about them.

Eventually he just shrugged his shoulders. There probably countless reason. Maybe they were too unimportant or they had been too far away from his home, for him to ever hear about them. Zebrica was a big land and unlike the ponies the tribes didn´t interact much, aside from electing the next king or gathering for war. So it was plausible he had never heard of those two tribes.

Zexis closed the book. His gaze lingered on it. This would help him very much in his quest of corrupting Ponyville. He had no talent for magic, but enchantments would help him offset that lack of ability. Once he had acquired more materials, and had the time, he could craft some very useful artifacts.

He looked at the clock and sighed. First, he needed to work. He still had some plans today, and unlike the book, they couldn´t wait. So he stood up and walked out of the room.

Skill unlocked! Enchanments: Apprentice

Right now you are in a prime position, but you need to maintain a steady hand or it might all suddenly fall apart.

Big Mac has been placated a great deal now, but we need to make sure we don't lose any control. He's too strong and well connected with the elements to risk letting loose. Once you have completed Apple Bloom's programming, I suggest a slow but steady approach to corrupting Applejack. Interact with her regularly and use the exhausting farm work as an excuse to give her beverages to re-hydrate (laced with the ever so useful suggestion powder). She has a strong will and high ethics, so breaking her will have to be slow by necessity or she will fight back.

You should also make sure to keep an eye on Cheerilee as you begin implementing changes to the school. As the school teacher, parents know and trust her with their children. If she is seen behaving irregularly, it will gain notice quickly. However her connections to the school board will be extremely useful, particularly in regards to Spoiled Rich. If you can corrupt her, not only will you gain far more control over the school, but access to her wealthy bank account, and the ability to fund your efforts with far more ease.

At Sweet Apple Acres

As Zexis made his way towards the barn, he saw Applejack trudging out of the building with a huge cart of apples in tow. The mares gritted her teeth as she pulled the heavy cart out in the open. Zexis could see the muscles in her legs tense up with every step and her biceps bulge, reminding him once more just how strong this mare was.
Soon Applejack stopped, the cart still halfway up the hill Zexis was just walking down. She panted in exhaustion and fanned some air into her face with her Stetson. Sweatbeads trickled down her face. She looked up and saw Zexis. "Howdy, partner.", she greeted.

"Morning.", said Zexis. He noticed that Applejack seemed tired. Not physically, but mentally. There were heavy bags under her eyes, as if she hadn´t slept much, and her hair was a little bit disheveled, with strings of her blonde mane falling into her face. All in all, the look of a mare worried sick about something. In her case, he had a strong suspicion about what it was: Applebloom.

"I thought today might be a good day to help you. Seems like you could use somepony to lend a hoof.", he said, stopping beside her cart.

Applejack took a deep breath and wiped the sweat from her forehead. "You have no idea, Zexis.", she muttered, "Big Mac’s up at the hospital checkin on Applebloom, and Ah am alone in taking care of the farm. We´re already behind as it is and this whole thing ain´t helping."

Zexis smiled. "Well, then I have good news for you. Applebloom is going to be discharged today. The nurse said she will up and running in no time."

Applejack’s expression lightened up at that, looking as if several stones just fell from her heart. "By Celestia and all apple pies in the world, that’s some good news!", she exclaimed. "Ah just don´t know what Ah would have done, if she had...." She paused before shaking her head. "No matter, she is good and that´s fine. Big Mac is going to calm down and we can finally get back to work."

"You got problems?"

Applejack made a grimace. "You were helpful an´all, but truth is, we´re still in the red. Third of the orchard is still full and Cider season is coming up an´Ah hadn´t got the time to prepare for it and...well, it´s just a lot of work still to be done.", she said.

Zexis stroked his chin. "Sounds serious. Why don´t you hire more help? I´m sure Twilight wouldn´t mind, if you ask her."
The mare however shook her head, almost violently. "No! Can´t ask them for something like this. They all got their hands full, what with Twilight being a Princess and the others havin’ their own jobs an´ all. I won´t bother them, just because I got a few chores piled up. We got through worse. Just a bit more work an´ then we´ll see the sun on the horizon."

Zexis frowned, but in truth he had expected this answer. Applejack was stubborn to a fault. The farm was her pride and joy and it would be unthinkable for her to admit that she may not be able to handle it all. It was no wonder she refused any help, outside of a few hired hands such as Zexis.

Which was fine, because that was just the thing the zebra wanted. He already had a plan in mind for bringing Applejack down and he had begun to set it in motion. Even the question he had just asked – and its predictable answer, was merely done in preparation for a later conversation. To affirm Applejacks pride, so he could use it against her.

"So, what? You gonna help me or stand there staring holes into the air?", asked Applejack, snapping her fingers in front of Zexis eyes.

The zebra blinked, before getting out of his thoughts and back into reality. "Sure, where we going?", he said, grabbing onto the handle alongside her.

"To Ponyville Market. Ah´m going to sell these off.", explained Applejack, pointing at the mountain of Apples behind her. Then she grasped the handle as well and they once more began to push forward.

Together, they dragged the heavy cart up the hill, slowly trundling towards the town. The heat of the day beat mercilessly down on them. To pass the time as they walked and take his mind off the hard labor, Zexis cast glances back, looking at their cargo of apples. Most of them looked bad, with bruises and brown blots all over them. "Tell me...pant...Applejack, why do you sell these?” He wheezed. I mean, they don´t look like your highest quality… he inhaled sharply, trying to make the stitch in his side go away. “gods, is this heavy”. Do you really think they will sell?", he asked through gritted teeth. His legs were already protesting and sweat began to pour from his body.

"These ones are not for eating.", explained the farm-mare, who sweated too, but was more used to the work."Ah´m gonna sell them to Ol´Pressbill. He then makes them into applesauce, applerings, appleslices, apple....."

Ponyville Market

"...and he once showed me a book, made out of applepaper. The ol´ fella has a ton of uses for them, Ah tell ya."

Zexis grunted just as much in affirmation as in utter relief as they finally made it to the market. He never knew that there were so many applications for apples, and now he wished that they never existed in the first place. How the fuck could a mare talk so long about one fucking fruit? What was her brain filled with? Applesauce!?

"You...really like...apples, hm?", he stammered, as they stopped and he flopped onto a nearby patch of grass, breathing hard, as if he had just run a marathon. His shirt clung to his body and his mohawk was hanging limply to one side.

Applejack too was sweaty, though in her case in a much more attractive way. Her shirt clung tightly to her body, outlining her sexy abs and her full breast. Her mane had also freed itself from its confinement and was now flowing freely under her stetson. Zexis realized that Applejack was, in truth, a very beautiful mare. She usually didn´t show it, because she didn´t care for appearances, but he was certain that she could have easily made a career as a model. No wonder Big Mac was so blueballed.

The mare put the handle down and wiped the sweat off her face. She grinned at Zexis. "Need a break, huh? No problem, Ah wait until ya finished your beauty sleep.", she mocked him lightly.

Zexis was aware that she was making a joke, but his cheeks flushed anyway. He gritted his teeth in anger. Fucking bitch! Who did she think she was? There he was helping her and she thanked him by insulting him. She should kiss his fucking hooves for fucks sake! Or even better, use her mouth for something more useful and suck his...

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Calm down, Zexis. She didn´t mean it that way and you´re not helping yourself by getting angry”, he told himself. Patience was the word of the hour. Just a few more days and she would pay for every transgression against him.

"Everything okay?" She peered at him. "Ya don´t look so good."

Zexis looked up and smiled reassuringly. "Everything’s fine. Just a bit exhausted, thats all.", he lied. Then he pulled out two bottles of water out of his backpack. He threw one to AJ. "Time to refresh and finish this trip."

Applejack looked at him funny. "Ya sure? Ya seemed angry for some reason.", she said cautiously.

Damnit this girl was sharp! Zexis tried to play it cool and just waved his hand. "It´s fine, got nothing to do with you..."

Now Applejack raised her eyebrow, but shrugged her shoulders. She put the water bottle to her lips and drank…

...

"No...Big Mac can´t do it...", mumbled Applejack. Her eyes were unfocused, but aside from seeming a little out of it, she looked fine.

Zexis groaned in frustration. He was standing here for over ten minutes already and he wasn´t even past the first suggestion. This mare was frustratingly stubborn. "Big Mac is strong and dependable, yes?", he asked.

"Of course..."

"Then surely it makes sense to listen to him more. He knows what he is doing. He could handle the farm...."
Applejack frowned and blinked her eyes focusing a bit. "He can´t. Ah promised Granny Ah would take care of Sweet Apple Acres. Ah swore it on her grave. Ah´m not gonna break that. Ah can do it, Zexis!"

The stallion swallowed. Crap, she was breaking through the influence! This mare posessed a stronger will, than he anticipated. Add to that her stubborness and he barely got through her. Maybe a different angle? "But you do know, that the current state of your farm is your fault, right? I mean, you´re responsible for it. It´s failure is your failure.", he said.
Surprisingly, Applejack hesitated. She blinked again, before scratching her head and gritting her teeth. "Ah don´t....Ah mean....", she said. Then she let out a frustrated scream and kicked the cart, which, despite its weight, jumped a few inches to the side.

Zexis skin crawled at seeing again the power in that mares legs. "Applejack? You haven´t given me an answer. Clearly the way things are going now..."

"AH GET IT, OKAY!", yelled the farm-mare. "Ah know we’re deep in the red! Ah know we didn´t sell enough apples last season or the season before that! And Ah know that Ah could do better! There, you happy now!?" She looked at Zexis, with fury in her eyes. Fury and shame.

Zexis nodded, trying desperately to stay calm. He knew Applejck was not gonna hurt him, but still. The Apple family could be very scary when they got angry. He held up his hands in a defensive gesture. "As long as we are on the same page...."
Applejack just snorted and grabbed the handle. "Let´s just get this over with." Then she stormed off, dragging the cart with her, as if it weighed nothing.

Zexis followed her. He was not satisfied. He had not been able to plant a useful suggestion in her mind. It was clear that on such a strong individual Suggestion Powder did not work well. Then again, he managed to make her admit, that she may be in over her head. Maybe he could build on that.

...

"Two hundred and five bits!? That’s fifty less than last year!", protested Applejack as she counted the golden coins in the bag that Ol´Pressbill had given her. "These are the same quality ya get from us every season! Why the sudden drop?"

The old Pegasus just shrugged his grey shoulders, as he gathered some apples from the cart into a basket. "I´m sorry, AJ. But I can´t help you there. Prices have dropped on the market. Apples are just not in demand right now.", he said, while he took the basket and carried it to one of the dozen presses he had standing in his hall.

"Appledump! We still sell out in cider and our stand on the market gets off all apples before the end of the week!", held Applejack against it. She waved the too small bag of bits in the face of the stallion. "How is that not in demand’?"

But Ol´Pressbill just shook his head. "I don´t know, AJ. All I know is that I don´t get my products off the shelves. And if I don´t sell all, I can´t buy all." He pointed at the cart. "I only take these off you, because your family and me have done business for a long time already, but I can´t give you full price even for that. I´m sorry, but I need to make a living too." He seemed genuinely sad, scratching the back of his bald head.

Applejack gritted her teeth and pulled her Stetson over her eyes. "Fiddle sticks!", she cursed.

Ol´Pressbill laid his hand on her shoulder. "Oh don´t be like that, girl. This is just a phase, you´ll see. Next year things will be better. And it´s cider season, so you´ll make a lot of money there. I´m sure you´ll manage to get through. You´re smart mare, Granny Smith always said that."

Applejack however wasn´t encouraged. "That´s what she said, alright...", she mumbled sadly. She tried to give a smile, but it looked very forced, and she quickly dropped it. Then she turned around. "Nice day, Bill." Ol´Pressbill sighed and got back to his presses.

Zexis was standing outside, not far from them. He had listened in. Various thoughts worked their way through his mind, but he pushed them back as Applejack came closer. He put a sad look on his face. "Did not go well, huh?"

"No, everything’s peachy.", replied Applejack monotonous. "Got what Ah needed. All dandy..."

Zexis raised an eyebrow. He already guessed that she was a bad liar, but this was just depressing. Still, this was actually fortunate. And it gave him an idea.

After Pressbill and his assistants emptied the cart, he grabbed the handle and took it up. He looked at Applejack, who was still looking at the coinbag with a frustrated, downright desperate look. "Hop on. I’ll carry you back.", he offered.

She looked at him incuriously. "Why? Ah can walk."

Zexis shook his head. "Come on, I know you´re not okay. Let me help you. It won’t hurt." He couldn´t really lie to her, which made it difficult to hold conversation without making her suspicious. But true statements didn´t seem to tick her off.

Applejack hesitated for a second, before sighing and climbing onto the empty cart. "Alright, but ya better not tell Big Mac about it. He´s gotten stricter these days.", she said, while opening the water bottle again and taking a sip.
Zexis grinned as he pulled. "Oh, I noticed that."

...

"It´s mah fault. Everything is mah fault. Mah responsibility. If we fail, I fail."

"That’s right. Now, repeat it. And tell me how you feel about it.", said Zexis, as he dragged the cart down the hill towards Sweet Apple Acres.

"It´s mah fault. Everything is mah fault. Mah responsibility. If we fail, I fail.", repeated Applejack obediently, emptying the water bottle. "Ah carry the whole farm on mah shoulders. It´s success or failure depends completely on me. Ah....Ah cannot afford to fail...Ah wouldn´t know what to do then..." At the last bit, her voice broke down a bit and she stared at the barn, with a tear in her eye. "We don´t make enough money. Ah try and try and it doesn´t work. The prices drop… Filthy....Ah mean, Rich doesn´t extend his loans anymore and..."

"Aaand we’re here!", interrupted Zexis. He let the handle fall and the sharp, sudden, clang brought Applejack back to reality. She blinked several times, confused. "Already? That was fast."

"Yeah, well... how time flies if you have a good conversation.", said Zexis, and smiled innocently.

"Suure...", mumbled Applejack skeptically and got off the cart. She patted down her stetson and looked at the empty cart. Then at small bag of bits at her belt. She sighed. "You gonna stay? Ah need to work at the orchard today and Ah could use the help.", she asked Zexis.

The zebra shook his head. "Sorry, but I got a class to teach. I will come back, if I find the time.", he said, again relying on half-truths.

Applejack just sighed in disappointment. "Well, thank you anyway for helping today.", she said. Then she walked towards the barn, waving Zexis goodbye. "Don´t give those foals any weird ideas!"

"Don´t fuck up the farm.", replied Zexis, and snickered when he saw the blond mare flinch. One suggestion at least had been successfully planted.

Well, Cheerilee broke surprisingly fast - not that I'm complaining. Maybe she could be useful in pointing out corruptible teachers, or keeping certain students after class without raising suspicion. Could be useful; of course, that's after you make sure she's on your side 100%.

Also, see if you can dig up some information on this school council - if Zexis can work his magic on them, we'd be able to turn the school into a veritable breeding ground for corrupt students (literally and metaphorically). We could pass all sort of new clubs, classes, and extracurricular activities that would expand our influence; and who knows, maybe we could even corrupt a few teachers along the way, prepare for the next generation of corruptible foals!

At the School

"Good morning, students.", said Zexis, as he entered the classroom.

"Good morning, Mr.Chikelu!", echoed back from the colts and fillies.

"Rumble, please untie Button Mash. Snip, Snail? Detention for both of you. Don´t pretend like you´re innocent. And Scootaloo? See me after class.", ordered Zexis, without looking at the class, unpacking his notes and preparing the board. He didn´t need to look to know, that Snip and Snail were staring at him in shock and that Scoots was smiling in both fear and anticipation.

When Zexis finished drawing, he turned around. Button was also returning to his seat, still trying to remove some of the magical sticky tape that they had made in alchemy-class earlier. Rumble tapped him encouraging on the shoulder and soon the attention was fully on Zexis.

"Now, I looked over your homework. All in all, good job. Twist scored highest, while Snail finished in last. The Morrigan is known for granting blessings in battle, not bakery. Don´t know how you made that mistake...", he said, while giving back the corrected homework.

Then he turned to the blackboard and revealed a depiction of a crater, huge in size, that was dug deep into the ground, sealed under a mountain and with only one entrance. The crater had a wide ring, that grew smaller the deeper it went and was seperated into several sections. The outline was jagged and rough drafts of fire, caverns and strange beasts littered the depiction.

Zexis pointed at the drawing. "Anypony able to tell me what this is?"

Twist hand raced upward. "It´s the Tartarus, Sir.", she answered.

Zexis nodded. "Indeed. And it´s the focus of today’s lesson. Yesterday we went over Gods and the different types of them. Today we go over their counterpart: Demons."

Several of the fillies shuddered, but at least one of the colts, Rumble, had a shine of interest in their eyes. Zexis saw it and pointed at him. "Rumble! Can you tell me what a demon is?"

The pegasus thought a little, before answering. "Well...they are...evil. Evil in persona. Wicked monsters that want to destroy Mundus! Eternal enemies of the gods.", he said.

Zexis tilted his head, before shaking it. "That´s too broad. Gods can be evil, too. And they have more times than not done terrible damage to Mundus. Why exactly do we differentiate between them and demons?"

Rumble didn´t have an answer for that. As Zexis looked over the class, he saw none of them had any idea what the right answer was. So, he turned to the blackboard and began to write. "The difference is two-fold: Effect and Origin.", he said, while writing the two words down. Behind him he could hear the hasty shuffling and the scratching of ink-feathers.

"Effect is the easiest one to explain: Gods create. That is, in essence, their job. They administer and control a part of Mundus, their dominion. That dominion doesn´t always need to be something good, but it is an integral part of the world. And while gods destroy as well, their main purpose is creating and maintaining their dominion."

"Demons cannot create. Their only purpose is to destroy, to pervert. They do not possess dominions, because they don´t add anything to creation. A demon’s actions will always end in destruction. They hijack certain aspects of creation, like smithing or magic, but they only copy skills and formulas already present."

Zexis stopped talking, when he saw Silver Spoons hand. "Yes, what is it?"

"But, doesn´t make that demons, like, weaker?", asked the filly, propping up her expensive glasses. "I mean, if they don´t create anything better, they should be defeated pretty easily, right?"

"Yeah!", added Button Mash. "That’s why they are so easily fooled in the legends, too. You know, when Celestia told that fire demon Asmodeus, that drinking from the fountain of youth would make him immortal and he doused his own flames trying?"

Zexis shook his head. "I´m afraid that is not quite right. Demons are inherently powerful creatures and most importantly, they are quite intelligent. Old children tales paint them as dull beings, because that fits better in their narrative of good always prevailing. But reality isn´t that kind."

"Demons possess powerful magic that no god or mortal can access. They are not bound by the laws of the arcane, like Equivalent Exchange and the like. Their bodies are strong and durable, not easily destroyed. And most importantly, they are powered by the sins and vices of mortals. The more negative energy is around, the more powerful a demon can get. You could call it one giant dominion to which they all have access to."

Zexis went over the notes, Time Turner had left him. "But the most dangerous thing about them is their talent of manipulation. A capable demon is something you only recognize when it´s too late. When its schemes and plans have already succeeded and there is no danger revealing their secret identity. They will coerce you into committing crimes and sins and slowly but surely lead you on a path of darkness and ruin, and in the end, you will..."

He looked up and saw that the entire classroom had gotten completely quiet. The fillies and colts looked scared out of their wits and Zexis noticed Sweetie having a tear in her eye. Even Rumble seemed a little bit shaken.

He quickly cleared his throat and closed the notes. "Well, they are dangerous.", he said, before smiling encouragingly. "And they are all locked up in Tartarus. The last demon to escape the confines of Tartarus was Tirek, and he was personally defeated by the Elements of Harmony. So, no worries there."

That seemed to take the tension out of the room and the students relaxed a bit. Some even started to talk a bit, making some jokes to lighten the moods, though Zexis’ warning cough quickly got their attention back.

"Anyway, moving on. The second difference is origin: The gods are creations of Mundus. They are born from the world either as mortals or as gods already. They are a natural existence, and part of the cycle. Demons, on the other hand, are not."

"They are an unnatural element. It is clear that their very existence disturbs the balance of life. Misfortune follows them and their actions, as mentioned, are almost always destructive. They can be likened to a disease. Infecting and damaging the host, in this case Mundus."

"But,", interrupted Silver Spoon again, "Where do they come from, exactly?"

Zexis pulled out a canvas and unraveled it, revealing it to the class. It was a painting, or rather a painting of a painting. It depicted a hellish, chaotic landscape. Lava spilling out from the cracked earth. Shattered mountains in the distance. The raging sea devouring the coast and everlasting winter freezing everything in its path.

And in all that chaos and destruction, gods. Dozens upon dozens of gods, of all shapes and races. A white alicorn with a red mane, battling a black draconequus with a skull as its face. A bearded minotaur wielding thunderbolts, firing them at a centaur of enormous size, with several heads and multiple arms. A moose with an eyepatch holding a spear against a monstrous white wolf. A one-eyed caribou shooting beams of destruction at a laughing griffon with a silver arm. An undead, rotting kirin-mare raising the dead to fight her husband, who led his family against her. And above them all, filling out the sky, a giant grey dragon, shattering like glass.

"The Sin War. The first war ever to be fought on Mundus. When the First Age came crashing down and all evil was created.", said Zexis, while looking at painting.

He looked at the class. "We don´t know if they were created, or if the apocalyptical chaos drew them to our world like a candle. But it was at this time that the first demons appeared on Mundus. Some theologians support the theory that it was the first demon ever to exist that caused the Sin War, but that is pure speculation. None of survivors talk about it and the ones foolish enough to ask, regret their choice pretty quickly. Nevertheless, that is their origin and since that terrible time, they have plagued Mundus."

Zexis paused and gave the students time to take it all in. Many were writing diligently. Button Mash, in particular. When they were finished, he returned to the blackboard and began to write some numbers at the side of his rough draft of Tartarus. Then he turned to the class. "Now, can anypony tell me the different layers of Tartarus?"

Again, raised Twist her hand so quickly it seemed like she was bitten by a tarantula. But Pipsqueak knew the answer as well, so Zexis picked him. "The first one is Tounela, where the black river of Touni is. I... think it used to carry the souls of the dead, but I´m not sure..."

"You´re right, it did. Now, though, it is mainly the first of many defenses that keep the inhabitants of Tartarus locked up. It´s black waters suck out your soul, if you do not pay the Death Maid.", helped him Zexis out. Then he pointed at Twist, who now hopped up and down on her chair.

"Oh, oh! The second layer is Hel, the land of the dead. Evil mortals who have committed so heinous crimes that they have been sent to Tartarus are banished there. The Goddess of the Dead, Hel, administers their punishment and ensures they cannot die until they have served their sentences.", she said hastily, before continuing. "Then comes the third layer, Gehenna, where everything burns and all the evil demigods, Lesser Gods and lower demons are incarcerated, slaving away in the hellish heat. And then comes..."

"Not bad.", interrupted her Zexis, holding up his hand, to shut her up. "Clearly someone read the Book of Origin."

Twist blushed at the praise and beamed in pride. "My parents are Prayers. Grandfather is a priest in Cloppicut and he read passages out of it to me every night at bedtime!"

Zexis remembered that ponies in Equestria who openly practiced their faith were called Prayers. There were not many of them, mostly because Celestia insisted on being treated like a ruler, instead of a Goddess. But they existed and especially in the rural areas there were some large communities who worshipped the princesses. All of them, in fact, which had led to quite some difficulties when three new princesses suddenly popped up a few years ago. But by now most of these problems had been cleared out and a new canon established.

It was a strange thing, from his perspective. In Zebrica, religion was something common. It was hard not to worship the gods and the spirits, if they showed their might on a daily basis. But in a land where one Goddess alone ruled for over a millennia, it didn’t seem far-fetched to have a more pragmatic view on legends and mythology.

Back to the question at hand, Zexis pointed at Rumble. "Can you tell me what the fourth layer is called?"

Again, the colt frowned at being asked. This time he thought for quite a while, flipping through the pages of his schoolbook to find the answer. Finally, Button had mercy with him and gave him a small note. "It´s... Hades. The layer where Great Gods and Archdemons are held. It is filled with darkness and stone and the curses of the Old World."

"Nice. Good reading, Rumble.", said Zexis, with a lightly mocking tone. The colt shrugged his shoulders and gave a grateful thumbs up to Button.

"Now, can anybody tell me the name of the last and final, deepest layer?", asked Zexis, pointing at the smallest, darkest section.

For a while, nopony said anything. Twist had her arm up, but Zexis ignored her first, wanting a different filly or colt to answer the question. Then, as it looked like he was going to relent and let Twist handle it, Sweetie Belle raised her hand.

"It´s Yomi. The deepest part, where no light shines and no life can sustain itself. It´s where the First Dead is sealed away, as well as the Worst Sinner and the Greatest Fool. They say, it is the only part of Tartarus that cannot be opened or reached.", she explained in a meek voice.

Zexis clapped his hand in open approval. "Not bad! May ask, how you know this?"

Sweetie Belle grimaced, sheepishly twisting a lock of hair on her finger. "Rarity wanted to make a clothing line with this as the theme, early on in her career. She got huge backlash from the Neighponese. That was when I read up on it. I just wanted to know why they were so mad about it." She shrugged her shoulders, as if it was no big deal.

Zexis nodded. "Yes, Neighpon is pretty sensitive about this topic. But good on you, for remembering this. You can tell your sister, her little cultural miss-step got you an A."

Sweetie smiled adorably at that. Zexis smiled charmingly back, keeping behind his desk to hide his growing erection. Good, how much he wanted to defile that innocent young mare! To just rip her little dress off and pound her over the table like a common whore.

Good thing lecturing was an excellent boner killer. He continued on with the lesson, trying to keep his thoughts on the topic and not on how much he wanted to turn this classroom into his own sex-haven.

...

Soon, the lesson drew to a close. Zexis wiped the depiction of Tartarus from the blackboard. Behind him, the students began to pack up and talk about their plans for the afternoon or what they learned today. They seemed rather chipper, despite the rather grim topic today.

"Unfortunately, I cannot let you go just yet.", said Zexis out loud, getting some annoyed groans from the ones already at the door. "I first have an announcement to make." He grinned. "Or better said, she has an announcement to make."

As is one cue, the door to the classroom suddenly opened and Mrs. Cheerilee stepped inside. She had changed. Her conservative dress had been discarded for a thin blouse, the first two button of which were open, revealing an enticing cleavage. Her skirt was shorter now too, ending over her knees, up her thighs and hugging her bottom. She had put on some black lipstick and wore mascara. All in all, she now looked all the part of a sexy teacher.

The colts stared at her, like she was an angel and the fillies seemed surprised as well. Cheerilee smiled at them, winking at the colts and joined Zexis at the table. She stepped close to him, letting their shoulders touch and putting a hand on her hip, while staring at the class. She licked her lips and looked at her clipboard, which her pressed against the underside of her breasts.

"I would like to announce that from today forward there are going to be two new lessons in the curriculum. These will Supplementary Lessons for Colts and Supplementary Lessons for Fillies. They will be led by Mr. Chikelu and me, respectively.", she said.

A loud groan came from the entire class at the prospect of more school, but Cheerilee just smiled sweetly. "Don´t be like that. It is only for a few weeks, then we are back to the regular schedule."

"And what exactly are these Supplementary Lessons?", asked Diamond Tiara.

Mrs. Cherilee smiled. "They are just some lessons to teach you about some important things about yourself.", explained Cheerilee, earning some confused looks from the students. "They will involve trust-experiments, psychological analysis, and examination of social norms. Thorough examination..." She giggled at the last one.

"These lessons will be mandatory and I expect everypony to show up, otherwise you´re going to get detention. Do well, on the other hand and we will reward you personally." Again, she winked at the colts who grinned sheepishly, not quite sure what that meant.

Zexis chuckled at the sight. He had been worried that Cheerilee would have changed too much, but it seemed like that worry seemed unfounded. The teacher knew how to interact with her students and her changed perspective didn´t seemed to have impacted her ability to take control of a classroom.

"Any other questions?", asked Cheerilee.

"Can we go, now?", asked Rumble.

Cheerilee smiled at him and nodded. "Sure, go ahead."

The students barreled out of the room, some with confused looks on their faces, but most just glad that school was over. As Scootaloo ran towards the door, Zexis arm rushed forward and grabbed her by the shoulder. "Not you, Scootaloo. There is still something I want to talk about with you.", said Zexis in firm voice, though he couldn´t quite hide his grin.
Sweetie looked questioningly at her friend. Scoots smiled bravely and waved at her. "Just go ahead. We see each other tomorrow.", she said. Sweetie shrugged her shoulders and waved goodbye, before walking out of the room.

Now alone, Zexis grip on the filly’s shoulder got stronger. Cheerilee closed the windows and put over the drapes just in case somepony wanted to eavesdrop, then she joined him. A wicked smile was on her lips, all kindness from before gone.
Scootaloo squirmed, pressing her thighs together. "E-Everything alright, Mr. Chikelu? Something with my homework?"
"Drop the act, Scoots. Cheerilee knows already.", said Zexis.

Scootaloo eyes went big and a smile parted her lips. "Oh, that’s great! That means you broke her---"

SLAP!

Scoots face whipped to one side, as Zexis hoof slapped her hard. The filly squeaked, holding her burning cheek. A wet spot appeared between her legs, staining her spats. "She knows, because you fucked up.", he spat.

Cheerilee grabbed Scoots by her waist and dropped down to her ear. "I saw you giving Rumble a blowjob, my little slut. Naughty, naughty...", she whispered

"I-I don´t understand. You told me to---"

SLAP!

The fillies face now whipped to the other side. "I told you to be careful! Not sucking off your classmates in broad daylight!", reprimanded Zexis. His gaze went lower and her could see a steady stream of wet pussy juice trickling down the pegasus’ leg.

Cheerilee saw it too and laughed. "It´s true! I thought you were joking, when you said it, but it´s actually true. Little Scootaloo is a slutty, stupid masochist.", she giggled. Her hand went up Scoots flat belly and to her race-shirt. She grabbed her erect nipples and began to twist them.

Scoots moaned in delight. "Ooooh yes, harder!"

Zexis just shook his head. "You should be glad Mrs. Cheerilee was so understanding. Otherwise we would have gotten into quite some trouble.", he said.

The little athlete cooed, when her teacher bit into her ear. "Eeep! Th-Then everything worked out.", she stammered. "B-But if you want to punish me...." She grinned, parting her legs towards Zexis so that the fabric pressed against her soaked twat, outlining it for him. ".... I am ready..."

Zexis grinned. Then he laughed. "Oh, you´ll get your punishment. But not from me.", he chuckled. Scoots looked confused, before yelping in surprise when Mrs. Cheerilee suddenly lifted her off her hooves, and carried her toward the desk. There, she pulled out some ropes, hidden in a cupboard, and a vibrator. "The good teacher demanded to administer the punishment herself.", explained Zexis, an evil grin on his face. "And something tells me you are not going to enjoy it."

Cheerilee snickered. "That is for getting laid." She slapped Scoots tight butt. "And for seducing my colts." She slapped her burning cheeks. "And that is for fun!" The last one she laughed at, as she hit the filly’s sensitive pussy, causing Scoots to squeal.

Zexis shook his head and looked at Cheerilee. "You have everything under control?", he asked.

"Oh, yes. Don´t worry. I will get her tomorrow morning. I will bring some spare clothes too, so she doesn´t arouse suspicion.", said Cheerilee, beginning to bind the young pegasus mare with ropes.

"C-Clothes? Wha-What do you mean? Master!?" Scootaloo now seemed in actual panic. This was not what she expected to happen.

Zexis just shrugged his shoulders and turned to the door. "Your guess is as good as mine. But don´t worry, I will come over to check on you...eventually. Have fun!" He laughed and closed the door.

Some street in Ponyville

It was evening. Zexis was carrying a bag over his shoulder. He had spent the rest of the afternoon gathering more materials from the Everfree Forest. With that, he should be able to try some new recipes and move further with the enchantments. He could hardly wait. So much to do...

As he rounded the corner, still lost in his thoughts, something pointy suddenly hit him in the head. Stars exploded before his eyes and Zexis yelled out in pain, jumping backwards. His hoof got stuck on a rock and he lost his balance. With wildly flailing arms and a rather undignified scream, he fell.

"Oh gods, Zexis! Are you okay?", a female voice called out.

"S-Sure....", mumbled the zebra, holding his puckering forehead. "So many pretty lights..."
"Oh no. Wait a second, I´ll fix this!"

A purple light enveloped Zexis’ head and seeped into it. The pain subsided almost immediately and his vision cleared. He looked up and stared into the worried eyes of Twilight Sparkle. The alicorn wore a high-collar blouse today, with black jeans that clung to her long legs. Her mane was falling into her face, but she wasn´t noticing it, as she examined Zexis head. Her long fingers touching his skin, running over his face...

Zexis noticed that he stared and blushed involuntarily. "Ehm, I think I´m fine now, Twilight...", he coughed, noticing how uncomfortably close she was. She smelled like lavender today.

Twilight blinked for a moment, before blushing deeply and backing off just as fast. "Oh, o-okay! I-I just wanted to make sure everything is alright. Nothing swollen or fractured...", she explained, smiling embarrassed and getting some hair out of her face.

Zexis couldn´t help but smile back. "It´s okay. Nothing is broken.", he said, getting up. He grabbed his bag and patted the dirt off his clothes.

Twilight’s face was still flushed, but she seemed to calm down as well. "Stupid horn!", she mumbled, sounding slightly annoyed. "Ever since I became an alicorn it has been growing longer. I even had to file it down, so I wouldn’t accidently impale somepony with it."

"That wouldn´t be good. The Princess of Friendship using her subjects as jousting puppets makes for poor publicity.", joked Zexis and noticed with joy Twilights amused giggle.

"You have no idea.", she said. "I constantly have to watch out what I say or where I shop. I can’t even count the number of times that I’ve accidently advertised for somepony, for instance when I was hungry for some hayfries." Then she remembered something. "It’s good that I met you anyway, because I wanted to tell you that we got the Tracker up and running. It´s going to be ready tomorrow if you want to join me-I mean, us?"

Zexis nodded. "That would be lovely. When are you going to start?"

"Oh, probably around the afternoon. That way we can make preparations in case we have to act fast."

Zexis nodded again. Lucky him, that left him with enough time to take care of Zecora. He wasn´t quite sure how he would do that yet, but he had a feeling he would come up with a plan soon enough. Then he saw Twilight muttering at him from the side. "Something the matter?"

Twilight blinked again and quickly looked elsewhere. "No, no, I -I just....ehm....", she stammered, as her face once again turned a darker shade of purple. "I-I heard about your mythology-lesson.", she quickly changed the subject.

Zexis chuckled at her awkwardness, but decided to be merciful and go with it. "Yes, it is quite interesting. Alchemy is more my thing, but mythology is quite interesting as well. It also helped me refresh my knowledge on the subject.", he said. Then he thought of something.

"You know something what always bothered me? Celestia is the Greater Goddess of the Sun. Now, wouldn´t that alone make her more than powerful enough to deal with any threat to Equestria? Like the Changelings, for example?", he asked.

Twilight expression changed, turned thoughtful. And a little sad. "You ask why she doesn´t just blast all the problems away, right?", she clarified.

Zexis held up his hands. "I´m sorry if this a touchy subject.", he apologized quickly. He didn´t want to offend Twilight.

"No, it´s alright. It´s a valid question.", said Twilight. She sighed, before closing her eyes. "Imagine you have the power to control the sun. Imagine the might that comes with a powerful dominion, and how easily you could just use that power to burn all obstacles away."

"Fire burns. It doesn´t distinguish between friend and foe. It just turns everything to ash. And the bigger the flame, the harder it is to control. One mistake, and hundred - no, thousands will die. It takes tremendous effort and control to just make sure the sun rises every day. In the early days, entire colleges of mages were needed to do that. Princess Celestia does that on her own. Alone. For over ten thousand years."

She looked Zexis in the eyes, sad and also a little proud at her mentor. "Yes, Princess Celestia is powerful. But that power comes with a price. Sure, she could have defeated Discord or destroyed Sombra. But her victory would have cost more than it was worth."

Zexis was quiet for a time. He hadn´t considered that. It made sense, but it didn´t sit right with him. "What about Queen Chrysalis? I heard that she was able to defeat Princess Celestia. Was that also because she held back?"

Twilight shook her head. "Yes, and no. Princess Celestia was holding back, indeed. But Chrysalis had been feeding off my brother’s love the entire time. Love is something very powerful. It´s difficult to describe, but what I think happened is that Chrysalis had somehow managed to tap into my brothers and sister-in-law’s connection to each other. And since Cadence is the Lesser Goddess of Love that meant she got access to her dominion. Combine that with Chrysalis’ own power and, well..."

She scratched her head and shrugged her shoulders. "It´s just a theory. To be sure, I would need to speak with Chrysalis herself, and she is unlikely to agree to that"

Zexis nodded. This was valuable information. So, Celestia wasn´t as powerful as she seemed. Or better said, she was powerful, but unwilling to use that power. Zexis smiled a bit. That was very useful, indeed. Maybe not right now, but definitely for the future.

Twilight learned forward, once more catching his gaze. She smiled at him. "Did that answer your question?", she asked.

Zexis looked at her and nodded. "Yes, quite. Thank you for the explanation. You´re just as smart as everypony says you are." He couldn´t help but charm her a little bit.

Twilight blushed at the unexpected compliment. "Not everypony says that...", she admitted.

Zexis just laughed. "If they don´t, then I would like to see who they think is smarter! Probably some old professor in Canterlot." He grinned at Twilight. "But you are one of the few who smart and pretty, my dear princess."

Twilight was now beet-red and puffed her cheeks in light anger. "Now you´re overdoing it, Mr. Chikelu. Don´t you know that one shouldn´t lie?", she said.

"I’m not.", answered Zexis honestly. "I would never lie to you." He was surprised to find that the last bit hurt him a little, inside. As if he regretted that contradiction.

He was surprised to see Twilight’s blush intensify. She quickly pressed her arms against the side of her body, and hid her eyes behind her bangs. For a while her mouth just opened and closed like a fish. Then her horn began to glow.

"ItwasnicetotalktoyouIneedtogobye!", she rattled off, before she disappeared with a little bang.

Zexis chuckled at her escape and walked down the street, whistling a little tune...

Relationships updated!

Applejack

Willpower: 9-1/10
Corruption: 0/10
Lust: 2/10
Secrets: Is afraid of losing the farm
Skills: detects lies
Traits: very strong, tight ass, strong willed

New Recipe!

Aphrodisiac-Incense: This is a simple incence, made out of several aphrodisiacs. It burns slowly over an hour and raises the libido and lust of everyone, who smells it. This is a slow, long-building effect that requires some time to show its effect. Once it hits, however, it raises one lust permanently and makes the subject more susceptible to suggestions and lustful actions.
Only way to defend against it is by taking the antidote beforehand or getting out of its sphere of influence.

Truth-Amulet: This amulet is enchanted with a simple truth spell. This spell functions as a compulsion for the target to reveal its deepest, darkest secret. It had only limited charges and, depending on the targets willpower, can expend more than one of these charges to force its effect, before it needs to be recharged. The target itself is not aware it is being manipulated, unless it is proficient in magic itself.

Author's Note

Wooh, that was longer chapter, than I expected.

Still, a lot of fun to write. I just love worldbuilding. Also, cookies for everyone, who can guess all the gods names in the War of Sin-Painting. All, except two, are major deities from several mythologies and religions. The key to figuring it out is keeping in mind who they fight against.

Other than that, there are also two new recipes for you to play with. I also gladly take suggestions of enchanments from you. So, if you have a good idea, just spit it out!

Anyway, I hope you had fun and I wish you a great time!