Queen Of The Netherworld [666 Follower Special]

Kyra was pacing back and forth in front of her tower when Deva and Amanté finally arrived.

"There you two are," Kyra sighed as she approached them.

"Anything you need from us?" Amanté asked, sounding just as worried as her mistress.

"The red mare nodded. "I will have to leave and hunt down Pumpkin before she causes too much trouble. You need to let my sister know that she's in charge while I'm gone... and I need you two need to find out who let her out," Kyra said before turning and heading towards her tower.

"Wait, what?" Asked Deva, eyeing her sister. "What do you mean by who let her out?"

Kyra stopped at the doorway to her tower and spun around to face them. "Those runes on her cell were powerful. I made them myself..." Kyra hesitated before letting out a sigh and turning around, heading inside her tower. "Someone let her out!"

It was Nightmare Night in Ponyville and foals were out with their parents trick-or-treating. Meanwhile, in the Golden Oaks Library, the town's librarian was standing in front of a mirror in her bedroom. She was wearing a magician's outfit with hat and fake beard. Smiling as she looked herself over, she marveled at how accurate her costume was to the legendary sorcerer it was based off of.

Just then there was a knock on her door. "Uh, Twilight?" A young male's voice asked. "You almost done in there?"

"Just about, Spike," Twilight answered, before pulling herself away from the mirror and heading to the door. Opening it, she saw the young purple dragon dressed in a dragon costume. Not able to hold herself back, the librarian burst out laughing. "You... You're going out as a... as a dragon?"

Crossing his arms, Spike raised an eyebrow. "So what?"

"The point of dressing up is to be something you're not," Twi said as she left her bedroom. "But, if you wanna go as yourself, let's go." She then headed for the stairs that led to the first floor.

"Maybe next year you go as a librarian," Spike said jokingly.

Twilight let out a chuckle. "No, I don't think I'll go as a librarian... Since it's my job here in Ponyville, I would like to take a break from that."

"Well, you do you," the 12-year-old dragon said with a smile. "I wanna be a dragon."

Letting out a chuckle, Twilight approached the front door and opened it. "Come on, Spike," she said, the dragon picking up a pumpkin-shaped bucket. "Let's go get you some candy.

A white unicorn mare circled a white unicorn filly in the middle of a boutique. The filly was wearing a white princess dress and looking rather annoyed.

"Come on, Rarity," the filly complained. "It's not a pageant. It's only Nightmare Night."

"That may be true, Sweetie Belle, but that's no excuse to not look fabulous." The mare was wearing a yellow top with a short blue skirt and orange and black stockings. At least part of her attire was festive. Draped around her neck was a roll of measuring tape.

Rolling her eyes, Sweetie just stood there for about another minute before crossing her arms. "Is it good enough, or..."

Taking a step back, Rarity thought for a moment before smiling. "Yes. Yes, it is."

"Oh, finally," the filly said with a wide smile as she hopped off the little stage she was standing on. "Now, we can go get some candy."

"Yes, but do remember not to overindulge, dear," Rarity pointed out as she followed her littler sister to the front door. "You don't want a stomachache."

"I'll worry about that later," Sweetie scoffed before opening the door, the both of them heading outside.

Applejack walked into Apple Bloom's bedroom, wearing a lion costume. She had a brown full-body outfit, minus the head, with tail and short fur. Around her neck was a lion mane and she had a fake lion muzzle over her own pony muzzle. She looked around the bedroom before the filly she was looking for walked into the room, wearing a gypsy costume.

"Ah'm right here," the filly said as she looked over her sister. "A lion?"

"Ah told ya I was gonna be a lion," Applejack said with a smile as she walked over to the filly.

Apple Bloom smiled. "Ah wasn't sure if you were bein' serious."

"Well, I was," the older sister replied with a chuckle. "Now, come on, lil' sis," she beamed as she headed out the door. "Candy awaits!"

Rainbow Dash was knelt in front of Scootaloo, looking over her costume with a smile. "You look adorable, Scoots."

The orange filly had on a full-body cat costume with a hoodie that resembled a cat's head. On her hands and feet were fake paws. "You really think so?" She asked with a wide smile.

The cyan pegasus nodded as she rubbed her head playfully. "Sure do."

"Do you have yours?" The filly asked with a giggle, liking the playful head rub.

Rainbow smirked and stood up. "Of course I got mine. We're matching this year, right?" She asked, leaving the bedroom they were in and headed into the bathroom.

"Oh, I can't wait to see you in a kitty costume," Scoots sad with a giggle as she climbed onto the bed and sat down, facing the bathroom doorway.

"You're the kitty!" Dash called back from the bathroom. "I'm the cat!"

Scootaloo chuckled and rolled onto her back. Soon after, Dash came out of the bathroom wearing her costume. It was almost exactly like Scootaloo's costume except, instead of a one-piece, it revealed her legs from the lower thigh to her ankle and her arms from under her shoulder to her wrist. Her feet and hands still had the cat paws.

"Wow, Dashie," Scootaloo said, sitting up to face her.

"What?" Asked the mare with a chuckle. "Like I said... I'm the cat and you're the kitty. Plus, maybe I'll meet someone..." she said as she headed for the door.

Scootaloo smirked at her before following.

Fluttershy walked around the outside of her cottage, setting down food for her animal friends. She wasn't in a costume either as Nightmare Night was her least favorite holiday. Every year she spends it with her animals instead of dressing up and going into town. She was currently wearing a long pink hooded sweater that went down to just above her legs as well as shorts that weren't visible. As she fed her animals, she passed by a stick in the dirt a few feet from her cottage, a sign attached to it. Stopping to look at it, a few tears fell from her eyes.

Walking over to it, she knelt down in front of the sign, running her hand along the engraved letters. A. N. G. E. L.

"Happy Nightmare Night, Angel..." she whimpered, sniffling as she closed her eyes.

Pinkamena stared out the window of the main room of Sugarcube Corner, watching all the stallions, mares, and foals having fun and scaring others with their costumes.

"Pinkie?" Asked Mrs. Cake as she and her husband walked down the stairs. "You aren't wearing a costume."

The pink mare looked over her shoulder at them before looking out the window again. She was wearing dark blue footed onesie pajamas that hard pink lollipops on them. Mrs. Cake was dressed like a mummy and Mr. Cake was dressed up like Dracula, or rather the pony-equivalent to Dracula.

"No..." was all the pink mare said.

Mr. and Mrs. Cake looked at each other as they got to the bottom of the stairs. "But, you go out every year," the mare said as they walked over to her. "And, you can't be alone tonight. Not when there's so much fun to be had outside."

"Would you like one of use to stay with you?" Asked Mr. Cake.

The pink mare shook her head. "I'm good..." She then looked at them with a light smile. "You two have fun."

Hesitating for a second or two, Mrs. Cake smiled back. "Okay, dearie. If you change your mind, you still have all those costumes downstairs."

"Take it easy, Pinkie," Mr. Cake said as he opened the door, the both of them leaving.

Pinkamena watched them go before letting out a sigh.

Twilight was standing in line to bob for apples when she heard the sound of leaves rustling in the wind. Looking at a nearby narrow space between two houses, Twilight noticed that it seemed darker than it should. As if no light was getting in there despite everywhere else being lit by either candlelight or moonlight.

Feeling like something was wrong, she looked around for her friends. Not seeing them anywhere, she looked back at the shadowed "alley." Taking a deep breath she left the line she was in, moving to investigate. When she got nearer, the light seemed to be returning to that small space between the houses. Moving to the corner of the house on the right, she peered inside.

When the unnatural shadows vanished, there was a brief burst of fire. Shielding her eyes with her arm, Twilight looked away for a second. When she looked back, there was a red mare standing where the fire was.

Kyra stretched her arms with a light groan, before letting out a disgusted sigh. "I can't believe I had to come back here..." she muttered to herself.

Twilight was wide-eyed as she watched. Slowly taking a step back, her foot scraped across the dirt, making the red mare's ears perk up. Kyra then whipped around to face her, making the purple unicorn let out a startled yelp.

Raising her hand towards Twilight, the unicorn was engulfed in red magic before she was yanked into the alley and into the clutches of the red mare.

Holding her by the neck, Kyra pulled her in close and sniffed her neck. She then stuck out her foot-long tongue and licked up the mare's cheek. Twilight just let out coughs and whimpers.

"P-Please don't hurt me..." Twi choked out. "W-Whatever you are..."

Kyra let out a sigh of annoyance and dropped the mare to the ground. "You aren't the one I'm after... You taste and smell... normal," she said, sounding disgusted.

Twilight let out a cough as she rubbed her neck. "Wh-What are you?"

The red mare hesitated before crossing her arms. "I'm Kyra. Queen of the Demons. I'm--"

"A demon?!" Twilight gasped in fright, her eyes going wide. "A-Are you here to kill me?!"

Kyra smirked evilly before letting out a chuckle. "And bring Sera down here? She's nice and all but I'd rather avoid any interaction with Angels. No, I'm here to look for a demon who's escaped from Tartarus."

Twilight hesitated before quickly scrambling to her feet. "A d-d-demon's escaped Tartarus?!" She exclaimed, before starting to run away. "I have to go warn my--" She then let out a gasp as she was suddenly slammed into the side of the building by an unseen force. She was then dragged across the wall, letting out a groan as she was brought back to the red mare.

Kyra kept her held against the wall as she stepped up to her. "If you tell anyone what I am or what's going on... I will personally take your soul to Nether and you will never see the light of day again."

"But... my friends and I can help..." Twilight explained, her heart racing as she sweat from fear. "Y-You see, we're the Elements Of--"

"Harmony?" Kyra asked, sounding disgusted for saying such a happy word. She then thought for a second. "Suppose that could be enough to make you immune..." With that, she released her hold on the unicorn, letting her drop to her knees. "Maybe you could be of some use to me, after all..."

Twilight got to her feet and smiled lightly, still really nervous about her company. "Anything to... help the queen of the Demons..."

Kyra raised an eyebrow as she crossed her arms. Saying nothing, she walked to the end of the small alley and looked out at the ponies enjoying Nightmare Night. "She could be anywhere... She could be anyone..."

Twi tilted her head as she walked up behind the demon. "Um... Who?"

Kyra looked over her shoulder at her. "Pumpkin Patch."

"Pumpkin Patch?" Asked Twilight, thinking of where she heard the name before. "Why does that sound familiar?"

When she snapped out of her thoughts, she realized Kyra had started moving into the streets of Ponyville. Something else to note was that the Demon Queen was now wearing a costume to blend in. She wore a black cloak and had on a headband that had bat ears, which covered her pony ears if viewed from the front. She also had on fishnet stockings and high-heels. She still had on her black tube top but her panties were replaced with black shorts.

"W-Wait," Twilight stammered as she ran to catch up. "Pumpkin Patch. From the legend? Are you telling me that... the legend is true?"

Kyra eyed her before looking ahead again. "The pony was real but the killings were made up. She only managed a couple before Luna was able to banish her to the Nether, where I was tasked with watching over her. As I must do with all of the powerful demons that are brought to me."

"Wait..." Twilight said, thinking aloud. "Luna?"

Deva and Amanté stepped into the cell the Candy Mare was held in.

"Did someone really help her escape?" Asked the younger sister.

Amanté shook her head. "That's what Kyra said..."

Deva eyed the door and ran her hand over it. "Hmm... That still doesn't explain how she got out. Only Kyra can open these doors..."

Amanté thought for a moment before looking at her sister. "Perhaps she was riled up? Maybe someone spoke to her..."

Deva eyed her before turning and leaving the cell. "Then Kyra was right. There is a rogue demon in the Nether."

"Where are you going?" The taller demon asked, following her sister.

"To tell Kyra."

Applejack was watching a Bob For Apples event, wearing a lion costume. A lion muzzle was over her pony muzzle, a lion mane was around her neck and she wore a brown one-piece with a tail that looked like pajamas for child. On her hands and feet were lion paws.

"Careful, ya'll," she said. "I know ya'll want them apples but ya don't wanna stay under fer too long."

"Applejack," Twi said as she walked up to her.

Turning to face her, AJ smiled. "Twilight. Hey." She then looked her friend up and down. "And, uh... who are you supposed to be?"

"That isn't important right now," Twi said urgently before leaning in. "We have a situation..."

Applejack hesitates for a moment before noticing Kyra. "Um... Who's your friend?"

"We're not friends," Kyra said, looking either bored or annoyed or both. Hard to tell. "We just met."

AJ chuckled nervously before looking at Twilight. "So, um... What's going on?"

"Not here. Get the others and have them meet us at the library."

AJ gave an unsure nod, eyeing the red mare in her vampire cosplay one more time, before heading off to find the others.

Twilight watched her walk away as Kyra started walking away, too. "So..." the red mare said as Twilight walked quickly to catch up again. "To the library, then?"

Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo stood near a house, a few fillies at the front door getting candy. The cyan mare then knelt down in front in the filly and smiled. "You know what would be so funny and cute?" She asked, setting her bag down. "Instead of doing the usual Nightmare Night tune, do this." She then held her paws up like cats do before tilting her head. "I want some candy. And I want it meow."

Scoots let out a giggle as she shook her head. "I'm not doing that."

"Oh, come on," the pegasus said with a smile. "I want it meow. Right meow."

The two just startled giggling when Applejack ran up to them. "Hey, Dash," the orange mare said. "Twilight needs ya. We're all meeting at the library."

Rainbow looked up at her and sighed, looking back at Scoots. "Come on. We can go back to this afterwards," she said, standing up and holding out her hand.

Hesitating, the filly let out a sigh and stood up, taking her hand. "Better be good," she said, slightly pouty.

Kyra was laying on the couch by the staircase leading up to the library's second floor. Legs crossed, she said nothing while Twilight was leaning against the wall near the front door. There was an awkward silence before there was a knock at the front door. Quickly opening it, Twilight smiled.

"Hey, you guys," she said as her friends entered the library.

First, was Applejack and Apple Bloom, followed by Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo, then Rarity and Sweetie Belle, Fluttershy, and Pinkamena taking up the rear.

"So, what's happening meow?" Dash asked, getting a chuckle from Scootaloo but a confused look from everyone else.

Kyra looked over at them and eyed each one. Seeing the fillies, she growled and got to her feet. "And, who invited the little ones?" She asked, approaching the group. "I don't believe they're the Elements, are they?"

"Hey, missy," Dash said, standing between the orange filly and the red mare as her tone became more serious. "Scoots goes where I go. Got a problem with that?"

Kyra glared into her eyes before Twilight let out a nervous chuckle. "Uh... Girls? Meet Kyra. She's... uh... Well, she's..." Letting out a sigh, the unicorn shook her head. "I don't know how to put this..."

"I'm Kyra," the red mare said, introducing herself as she kept glaring at Dash, the two inches apart. "Queen of the Demons."

"Like hay you are," AJ scoffed as Rainbow smirked, no one believing a word of this.

"So, she isn't a Demon?" Fluttershy asked, a hand over her mouth as she looked really nervous.

"Of course not, darling," Rarity assured her as she crossed her arms. "She's just... not all there..."

Rainbow looked over at Twilight. "You actually believed her when she said she was a demon?"

"Demon Queen," Twilight corrected, as if she were afraid to upset the red mare. "And, you didn't see what I did..."

"And, what did you see?" Asked the cyan mare. "A Nightmare Night prank?"

Kyra's eyes flashed red before the pegasus was thrown up at the ceiling, hitting it with her back and letting out a grunt of pain as she was held in place.

"Rainbow!" Yelled AJ, charging at the red mare. "What do you think yer--"

Letting out a gasp, she was thrown backwards and collided with Apple Bloom. Going wide-eyed, Fluttershy ran over to help them.

"You're a monster!" Rarity yelled, her horn lighting up.

Eyeing her, Kyra let Rainbow fall to the floor with a thud before the walls and the ceiling around them exploded, revealing a fiery landscape. Rarity let out a gasp and looked around. "Wh... What..."

"You foolish mortals need to know your place..." Kyra cooed darkly. "I may live below you but you exist beneath me..."

"S-Someone he-elp..." came Fluttershy's frightened voice. "Sh-She isn't b-breathing..."

Looking over at them, the others saw Applejack and Fluttershy knelt over Apple Bloom, who seemed to be having trouble breathing. Letting out a sigh of annoyance, Kyra started to approach them.

"You mortals are so fragile..." she said, sounding like she did't give a shit.

"You stay away from her!" AJ yelled, getting up and approaching the red mare, pulling her fist back for a punch.

When she tried to attack, Kyra grabbed her fist and pulled her close, the two about an inch apart. "If you don't want your little sister to die, I suggest you stay the fuck out of my way." She then shoved the mare aside. Twilight managed to slip in behind her to keep her from falling. The red mare then stepped up to the downed filly and knelt down. As she did, she eyed Fluttershy. "Are you going to try and stop me, too?" Fluttershy shook her head quickly, letting out a soft whimper but not backing away from AB. "Good choice," Kyra said, before placing her hand on Apple Bloom's chest. "Figures... Broken ribs. Piercing her lung."

"Ah'm gonna KILL YOU!" AJ yelled, before there was a red glow beneath Kyra's palm.

The filly let out an ear-piercing screech of pain as the faint sound of bones cracking could be heard. Tears were streaming down Apple Bloom's face, hearing her sister scream like that. After a few more seconds, Kyra pulled her hand away and Apple Bloom gasped loudly, before breathing heavily and rapidly.

Kyra then stood up and turned to Applejack. "She'll live." She then walked away as Applejack ran over to her sister.

"What is wrong with you?" Twilight asked, a look of disbelief on her face.

The red mare eyed her and crossed her arms. "Do your friends believe me now? In case you've forgotten, there's a murderous demon out there. In her current state, she'll have had to possess someone. If she kills enough and steals enough souls, she'll be able to manifest in her true form."

Dash finally got to her feet and looked around at the hellish landscape around them. "So, you're... a real demon, huh?"

Kyra looked over at her. "No shit. Now, do you want to help save lives or do you want to keep questioning whether or not I'm telling the truth?"

Rainbow hesitated before AJ spoke up, still knelt down with Apple Bloom leaning against her. "What is this demon, exactly?"

"The Candy Mare," Kyra replied, turning to face her. "Originally known as Pumpkin Patch."

"The... Candy Mare?" Asked Rarity. "The old legend? She was... real?"

The Demon Queen nodded and crossed her arms. "And one of the things she can do is infect candy, infecting anyone who eats it. The process is irreversible."

"But..." Fluttershy said, getting to her feet. "The foals... Nightmare Night... Everyone's handing out candy tonight."

"Precisely," the demon confirmed. "Now, let's stop screwing around and get out there."

"Um..." Rainbow said as she looked confused. "What should we do when we find her? We're not demons like you. We'll be killed immediately."

"Magic shields," Kyra replied as she eyed the cyan mare. "The Candy Mare will be able to wear it down but it will make you safe for a while. Also, don't eat any candy and don't go investigating any strange voices. And, be careful of voices. If you can't see who's speaking to you clearly, run. I will cast a spell on all of you. Should you run into Pumpkin, I will know and come to pull you away. However, once we find her, we need a way to capture her. Luckily, I have an idea. We just need to find her."

The Elements all eyed each other, not feeling too confident.

"But... not all of us can use magic," Fluttershy pointed out.

Kyra let out a sigh and rubbed her forehead. "Fuck me..." Looking up at the mares, she sighed even deeper. "Pair off, then. Some will be at a bigger disadvantage but if you follow the rules and trust in me, you will be fine. Everyone else in this town, however, is a potential victim. So, if you'd prefer the legend to stay a legend, I suggest we move. Now."

Just then there was a pillar of flame in the center of the room, the Mane 6 and the fillies backing away. When the fire dissipated, Deva stood there. Looking around, she spotted the 9 normal ponies... then Kyra. "Mistress," she said, walking up to the red demon. "We may have found out how Pumpkin got out."

Kyra raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. "Oh?"

"It's possible her anger reached new levels and she became too strong for the runes," Deva explained. "Someone must've got her worked up. Meaning there's a rogue Demon who really doesn't like you."

Kyra thought for a few seconds before nodding. "Makes sense... The angrier Pumpkin gets, the stronger she gets." Uncrossing her arms, she stepped up to Deva. "Keep this between you and your sister. But, keep your eyes and ears open." Nodding, Deva took a step back to prepare for her trip back to the Nether. "Oh, and... Deva?" Kyra asked, her tone becoming softer.

"Yes, Mistress?"

The red demon gave her a light smile. "Say hi to Malice for me. Tell her I'll be home as soon as I'm finished here. Deva smiled back and nodded, before vanishing in a burst of fire. Looking back at the others, Kyra saw them all huddled by the front door. "What?"

"So, that was another Demon?" Asked Dash.

Letting out a sigh, Kyra walked towards them. "Let's get this started already."

Twilight thought back to what the Demon had said. "So... Who's Malice?"

The red demon stopped when she was near the group, before eyeing the purple mare. "What's it to you?"

"Nothing... I just..." Twilight started. "You just seemed happy when you mentioned her name..."

Hesitating, the Demon's eyes narrowed as she stepped up to the unicorn. "Are you trying to be my friend?"

Twilight wanted to take a step back but feared it would show distrust. "Um... Yes?"

Kyra shook her head. "No." She then looked at the others. "Let's get one thing perfectly straight... I'm not your friend. I don't want to be your friend. In fact, I wish I never met you. However, there's more at stake here than my personal hatred for your kind. So, rest assured, when Pumpkin Patch is back where she belongs I will rid myself of you." Returning her attention to Twilight, she leaned in closer. "Friends create a bond. Bonds break. You get hurt. Maybe even die. So, in summary, friends get you killed."

"That's not true," Twilight said, her facial expression becoming serious. "Friends can help you in the darkest of times."

"Is that a fact?" Kyra scoffed. "Tell me, if your friend's in danger and you know it's a trap... will you go help?"

"Of course."

"My point exactly..." Kyra continued. "You create friendships, and when that friendship is in danger, you become reckless in order to try and save it. Recklessness will get you killed... and, if you're going up against the Candy Mare... that sort of recklessness will do far worse than simply kill you..."

Twilight's eyes stayed narrowed as she looked away. Kyra hesitated for a second before moving so she was in close proximity to the others as well, who also had scowls on their face.

"Some pep talk..." Applejack said as she crossed her arms.

Kyra eyed her before letting out a chuckle. "I'm sorry. I can't take you seriously looking like that." She then held up her fist as it became engulfed in a red smoke. She then held her hand out towards the group as the red smoke seeped from her palm and engulfed the group.

"What the hay?!" AJ said as she looked around.

"This better be good..." Rainbow said as she got ready to fight in case this went poorly.

Rarity held Sweetie Belle close as the red mist appeared to absorb into the mares and fillies.

"There," Kyra said, lowering her hand. "I'm now partially connected to all of you. "I'll know where you are and what you're doing at all times... If you see Pumpkin or hear her, so will I."

"Oh, I feel so much better..." Rainbow groaned, not liking the idea of hunting down a dangerous demon.

"How much time do we have?" Asked Twilight.

"Not long," Kyra answered, looking at her. "She would've already found a host by now. Now, she'll concentrate on acquiring souls so she can manifest in her true form."

A gray filly with long red hair, purple eyes, and wearing a cloak stood near the Nightmare Moon statue in the forest near the town. She held a basket of candy and was staring at the pile of candy meant as the offering to the evil alicorn. Hesitating, a small smirk spread across her face as she reached into her bucket and pulled out a piece of candy. Raising it to her mouth, she blew onto it. A green mist left her lips and went inside the candy. The sweet began to take on a greenish tint. The filly then tossed it onto the pile of candy. Watching the cursed candy land on the pile, her smirk grew wider before she turned and walked away.

"Soon..." she cooed, her eyes flashing purple.

To Be Continued...