A Demon In Equestria

Chapters

Ch. 01: It Was a Cold and Snowy Day
Ch. 02; As the Master Commands
Ch. 03; To the Rescue!
Ch. 04; The Aftermath of the Rescue
Ch. 05; Meeting New People
Ch. 06; Across the Fields and Through the Woods
Ch. 07; Meetings in the Library
Interlude: Training, Learning, Performing
Ch. 08; An Apple a Day Keeps the Summoners Away
Ch. 09; What Do You Do With an Evil Artifact?
Interlude: Discussion of the Divine
Ch. 10; Pre-Wedding Snippets
Ch. 11; Uninvited Guests
Ch. 12; Uninvited Guests, Part 2
Ch. 13; Uninvited Guests, Part 3
Ch. 14; Epilogue

Ch. 01: It Was a Cold and Snowy Day

The blizzard howled around the fur-swathed figure as it stood before the broken stump of a tower that was almost lost in the flying snow, despite being barely two yards away. Trudging through the drifts, the figure slowly crossed the ruin, occasionally stumbling on buried bits of ancient masonry, to crouch beside a staircase that curved up the remnants of the wall. Carefully running its fingers over the stonework, the figure smiled in its hood when an ancient glyph hidden under one of the stairs, worn away to almost nothing, glowed purple for a moment, as a muffled “thump” sounded from the snow-covered floor.

When nothing further happened, the figure stood up, throwing back its hood and revealing a black-coated, red-maned, unicorn stallion, to frown at the floor and wait. And wait. And wait. Finally, he threw up his hands in exasperation, “To Tartarus with this!” his horn glowed purple as a blast of arcane fire instantly reduced the heaped snow to steam. A moment later, one of the stone slabs making up the floor dropped down and moved to the side to reveal another staircase. With a satisfied smirk, he pulled a glowstone lantern out of his pack and started down, ‘Heh, let Daring Do and Ahuizotl squabble with each other and wander about in far-off jungles and deserts, there are plenty of ancient artifacts to be found out here in Equestria’s half-forgotten borderlands if you’re willing to look, and aren’t particularly fussy about how you get your information. Especially in these northern marches, what with the remnants of the lost Crystal Empire and the near-mythical Normane clans to plunder.’

Three steps down the stairway, he stopped and slapped his forehead in disgust, “Idiot,” the stallion muttered as he dug an oddly cut gem out of his coat and held it to his right eye, immediately, a stair three steps down began to glow to his vision. Backing up a few steps, ‘Better safe than sorry,’ the unicorn telekinetically pressed on the stair, triggering the beartrap concealed beneath it. After smashing the trap with his telekinesis, he continued on, stopping to deal with two other traps (a pair of spikes designed to impale the victim’s legs, and another pair of spikes angled to run the victim through the chest) as he descended deeper into the earth, ‘These traps are mechanical! How in Tartarus are they still working?’ he wondered as a door, flanked by a pair of everburning torches, finally came into view. “It’s about time,” the unicorn grumbled to himself, “Whoa there, Donut, old colt, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Fiery Glass was paranoid enough to trap the stairs to his own hidden study, let’s give this another look, just to be sure.” As he had suspected, a cautious examination through his enchanted gem revealed a tracery of magic overlaying the door.

Donut continued to scrutinize the spell-trap, slowly picking out its design, before nodding to himself, “You were an archmagi in your day, Glass, but that was fifteen hundred years ago, and for all their power, which is impressive by the way, your wards are no match for modern Abjuration theory.” His aura flared as Donut carefully dismantled the wards bound into the door, and then the magic wrapped around the handle to open the door while the unicorn cautiously remained at a distance. When nothing happened, he stepped up to the doorway and raised the gem to his eye again as he looked around the study, “Hmm … additional wards on that amulet and that tome over there, but nothing else …,” Donut smirked as he looked at the shelves laden with ancient books and magical talismans, ‘Magical lore and theory that hasn’t been seen in over a thousand years, secrets that have been banned since Discord fell.’ “And it’s all mine.”

A fire crackled in the hearth of Donut’s own basement study as he looked over his new acquisitions. Smuggling everything from Fiery Glass’s tower back to Canterlot had been slow, tedious work, but well worth the effort now that the old warlock’s research was where it belonged, in his hands. Pride of place went to an amulet, the Jewel of Hekate, and a heavy tome, Quod Tantum Regno.

The Quod Tantum Regno contained all of Fiery Glass’s research into demonology and necromancy, including information on several demons Donut had never even heard of (Dretches? Hezrou? Whatever they were, they could be summoned in groups, the potential was simply wondrous), as well as the natures of Tartarus and the Elemental Planes, and even several summoning rituals, along with some entertainingly implausible theories about alternate realities (A world where everypony was a counterpart to this reality, but they were all small quadrupeds? Starswirl the Bearded created a magic mirror that was a portal to other Realms? Preposterous.). The book was a blessing for any aspiring warlock, or it would be if Fiery hadn’t written half of it in Old Unicornian, forcing Donut to constantly stop and translate the old stallion’s scribbles.

As for the Jewel … that was a bit of a mystery. None of the unicorn’s research had turned up any mention of it, or of a “Hekate”, and the old warlock’s writings made no mention of where or when he had acquired the amulet, but they did explain its purpose; the Jewel greatly enhanced the strength of summoning and binding magics upon demons, elementals and the spirits of the dead, which made it the perfect complement to Quod Tantum Regno.

Now, after months of study, he was ready to start on his path to wealth (well, even more wealth) and, more importantly, power, the power he had always deserved. After all, was he not descended from the royal house of long gone Unicornia? Was he not destined, by birth and ability, to rule over the herds around him? And the next step to attaining that power was to summon and bind a demon to carry out his bidding and terrorize his enemies. He’d even selected his new servant from among the demons listed in Quod Tantum, although the information provided therein was disappointingly sparse; while the demon was not listed as a “Lord” or other Tartarean nobility, and Fiery hadn’t seen fit to include the demon’s type, a title, any notable powers, or even an illustration, the creature was powerful enough to require a blood sacrifice to call, and the old warlock had specifically included a warning to not attempt the summoning without the Jewel of Hekate, which hinted tantalizingly at the demon’s might. The book did, however, include the demon’s True Name (although it looked like somepony had tried, and failed, to burn that particular piece of information off of the page), which meant he had a formidable, but not “top rank”, demon that would be bound to obey his every command once summoned. As for the blood sacrifice … despite the Princesses’ efforts even Canterlot, the capital of the Empire, still had slums, and there were still desperate or homeless ponies whose disappearance would attract little attention.

Candles flickered in the grim stone chamber as Donut stood outside the warding circle he had painstakingly etched onto the floor, one bloodstained hand clutching the Quod Tantum, as he raised the other and began chanting, “Arruya Silussadaughavas, across the dark gulfs betwixt the realms, hear my call and obey! The door is open, the gates unbarred. I Summon Thee! As my will compels thee, the blood of the innocent binds thee to this world, Arruya, thee must do my bidding until thy art released! I Summon Thee, Arruya Silussadaughavas, I Summon Thee, I Summon Thee!”

The candles flared in a sudden, inexplicable wind, and their flames bent toward the circle as an oval of utter darkness materialized within the now glowing wards, then the very air seemed to twist, there was a faint “clang”, as if a distant iron gate had slammed open, and a figure was standing in the middle of the summoning circle.

It was bipedal, if not truly equine, and the warlock could tell that she was definitely female, despite the armor she was wearing, but she would never pass for a pony, what skin he could see was furless and ashen gray, her pointed ears were far to short for a pony’s, barely extending past her black mane, her scarred face was practically flat, with only a small bump of a nose, while her eyes glowed an eerie green, eyes that narrowed for a moment as they fell upon the body of the vagrant foal that lay chained to the gore-splattered sacrificial altar.

‘Just what exactly have I summoned?’ Donut wondered as he looked over his new servant; the heavy sword and armor, ‘Is that … dragonhide?’ clearly implied a war demon of some kind, but the exotic allure of the demoness’ muzzleless face and her very intriguing figure evoked another, far more lascivious, type of demon entirely.

“Vhat in Abyss are you?”

The unicorn glared at the presumptuous demoness in dumbfounded affront for a moment, “I am your Master, Donut Steel,” he finally snapped.

“Your name is Do Not Steal? Really?”

“Donut Steel!”

“That’s vhat I said!”

“Enough of your impertinence!” Donut bellowed, clasping the Jewel of Hekate in his free hand, “I am your Master, Arruya Silussadaughavas, and you will show me the respect I am due!” he smirked as the demoness flinched at the sound of her Name, “That’s better, now, kneel,” the warlock’s leer widened as she dropped to her knees with a fang-baring snarl, “Good, now that we’ve dispelled any doubts about who is in charge … hmm … yes. The original copy of the Discordian Scrolls is supposed to be stored in the restricted section of the Palace library, fetching them for me should be an adequate test of your abilities.”

Donut frowned as the demoness simply continued to kneel in the warding circle, “Well? What are you waiting for?”

“Vait, you really expect me to teleport from a location I don’t know to place I only just heard about?” she quirked an eyebrow disdainfully, “I don’t know about how Teleport vorks for you, but it doesn’t vork like that for me. Of course,” she added as Donut's face darkened in anger, “You could give me directions, or a map, and I could just valk there, vith few lower tier spells to keep anyone from noticing me, and then I vill be able to Teleport back to you.”

“Using a Background Pony charm to mask yourself among the ignorant herds, eh?” Donut mused as he stroked his chin, “If simply teleporting yourself to the archives is beyond your abilities, I guess your suggestion has some merit. Wait here,” the unicorn went next door to his study and quickly drew up a map from his manor to the Palace, a second to the Restricted Archives, and, as an afterthought, a map showing the way from the Summoning Chamber to his front door, ‘I don’t want that demon wandering about my estate unsupervised, after all, the servants would be sure to talk if they caught sight of it,’ he thought as he headed back, “Get up,” he grumbled at the still kneeling demon, “Here, these maps will get you to the Restricted Archives, do not deviate from them more than necessary, and try not to draw any attention to yourself.”

“And how am I to recognize these ‘Discordian Scrolls’ once I am inside?”

“They’re scrolls!” Donut snapped in frustration, “Graying parchment, blue-black ink, bound with a purple ribbon marked with an orange, eight-pointed star! By Grogar, do I have to explain everything to you?!”

The demoness was unmoved by her summoner’s outburst, “If I could merely snap my fingers and have vhatever I desired, regardless of how little information I might have, then I vould be a god not a demon,” she pointed out.

Turning away with a “harrumph”, Donut waved an irritated hand over at the pitiful corpse on the stone slab, “And dispose of that while you’re at it!”

Author's Note

Time for some unabashed shilling; this story was inspired, and influenced, by HunDun, the tales of Apple Scratch, In the Company of Night and the Winningverse Freeport and Midnight Sparkle stories, and I encourage everyone to give them a look.

Ch. 02; As the Master Commands

:How did he know your Name, ‘Caller?:

:I don’t know, Kragor, vhen I sacrificed my Name, it vas supposed to be erased, Nine Hells, I barely remember it!: HellCaller responded to the telepathic query of the sentient sword at her side as she walked through the city streets, masked by an Invisibility spell, a dead child cradled in her arms.

:That book your “master” vas clutching might have something to do vith how he knew your Name, ve should make sure to “relieve” him of it before ve return home,: Kragor suggested, :Second question, vhat are you going to do about kid?:

:I don’t know,: ‘Caller admitted, :I haven’t seen any temples or guardhouses yet, and I’m not going to just leave her in some alley for rats.:

:Vhy not?: Kragor asked bluntly, :It’s not like you owe her anything. You don’t even know vhat race she is.:

The demoness could only sigh, while Zau Kragor had been sentient for centuries, and was soul-bound to her as closely as a witch and her familiar, she was still a sword, and her understanding could be … rather limited, :This child vas killed because of me, Kragor, that makes her my responsibility.:

:Ah, this is about obligation, I understand now.:

Casually hopping up onto a low wall to get away from the press of the crowds, ‘Caller looked around, ‘Okay, so ve have horse-people vith horns, unicorns maybe? Horse-people vith vings, pegasi I guess? And just “normal” horse-people, most of them in colors that vould put a gnome’s hair to shame. City is bright, beautiful, and built on side of mountain, although my charge’s poor condition indicates that there is a slum either in city or reasonably nearby. No sign of temples, or a city vall for that matter, and only vay that palace up there can still be standing is through spending ridiculous amounts of magic,’ the demoness shook her head in exasperation at such wasteful vanity, ‘Yes, it is very pretty, but by Orcus’ fat, pimply ass, vho chooses a fancy palace over having a curtain vall to protect their city?’

Despite her annoyance at the city’s ruler’s priorities, a thin smile curled ‘Caller’s lips as she finally spotted a pair of armored, uniformed, horse-people walking together, ‘A guard patrol, finally!’

:Are you going to follow them back to guardhouse?:

:Ve don’t have time,: ‘Caller replied, :And ve could lose them in crowd,: moving quickly, she laid the child’s body atop some crates and then cast Ventriloquism, “Hey, over here!” the two guards turned at her call, but approached slowly, looking about for whoever had hailed them, ‘Not just rushing in blindly, good,’ the demoness noted, ‘They’ve had some training, at least.’ “This vay, hurry!” once the guards were close, ‘Caller lifted her hand, breaking the Invisibility covering the small corpse, before she slipped away, leaving the now very agitated guards behind.

:So, how did you get away vith it, anyway?:

‘Caller raised an eyebrow at her sword’s odd question, :How did I get away vith vhat?: she asked as she quietly slipped through the Palace’s halls.

:You lied to your “master” about not being able to just Teleport into this library,: Kragor pointed out, :You’re bound by a summoning, you shouldn’t be able to lie to him!:

:I didn’t lie,: 'Caller corrected, :I just didn’t offer additional information and let him draw his own conclusions. It’s not my fault if Do Not Steal doesn’t know about Greater Teleport’s capabilities or realize that it and Teleport are separate spells,: the soulblade gave a chiming mental laugh as HellCaller smirked.

Turning a corner, she spotted what the map claimed was her destination, ‘Ah, here ve are. Now to deal vith them,’ 'Caller thought, glancing at the pair of guards flanking the door, “Mass Hold Person.” Walking forward, she laid a gentle hand on each paralyzed guard’s muzzle, “Deep Slumber,” before turning her attention to the door, “Arcane Sight,” ‘Caller frowned as she examined the portal, ‘For a “restricted archive” these vards are awfully veak,’ a simple Knock spell was all it required for her to bypass the locks and protective enchantments.

“Hmm, maybe I vas telling bastard complete truth after all.”

“Vhy?” Kragor’s metallic voice was muffled slightly by the protective charms placed in the archive’s walls, “Vhat do you see?”

“There are abjuration glyphs inscribed into valls,” the demoness explained, “Let’s see … runes are odd … Identify … ah, there ve are … oh, vell that is disappointing.”

“Some clarification for those of us vho aren’t archmagi?”

“Sorry,” ‘Caller apologized, “These horse-people have entire archive under a permanent Dimensional Lock effect, vhich vould be impressive, if it vasn’t so veak. Vards vill stop Dimension Door, Teleport, Shadow Valk, and other, lesser teleportation spells, but higher-power spells, Planeshift, Greater Teleport and Gate, vill punch right through.”

“Maybe that is vhy horn-boy did not realize that you vere playing semantic games? Maybe they don’t know greater extradimensional travel spells here?”

“It’s possible, I suppose. Something to look into, anyway, if ve vind up stuck here for a vhile, vell, let’s get to vork. Locate Object.”

It didn’t take long for ‘Caller to find the scrolls she wanted (after all, how many would have a purple ribbon with an orange symbol on it?), which proved fortunate as a commotion erupted outside the archive. She plucked the scrolls off the shelf just as a purple unicorn-woman burst through the doors, her horn wrapped in a magenta aura, “Stop!”

“Sorry, I can’t stop and play right now,” 'Caller replied cheerfully, “Maybe later? Greater Teleport.”

“I’ve got you your scrolls,” ‘Caller announced as she strode into Donut’s study and tossed the documents on his desk.

“Ghah! Be careful with those!” the stallion glared at the demoness as he quickly snatched up the ancient rolls of parchment, “Were there any problems?”

She shrugged, “Someone saw me leaving vith scrolls.”

Donut frowned at his tartarean servant, “Describe this pony.”

“Female horse-person, (vhat is your race called anyway?), she had a horn like yours, purple coat, indigo hair vith a pink stripe, oh and she had some glyph or heraldry on her outfit.”

“This glyph was it a large, pinkish, six-pointed star surrounded by five small stars?” when ‘Caller nodded, Donut began to swear, “Grogar bucking Faust! Now Celestia’s pet will start poking around!”

“So, she is going to be a problem then?”

“Twilight Sparkle and her friends are Heroes of the Realm,” Donut growled, “I need to think about this … go back to the Summoning Chamber and wait until I need you.”

The next three days were something of a vacation for HellCaller; Mage’s Magnificent Mansion kept her comfortably housed and feed, while she placed an Alarm on the chamber door, so Donut wouldn’t catch her unawares. She’d even managed to pick up a little information through Scrying; she was in the city of Canterlot, capital of Equestria, and the locals were called … ponies. Kragor couldn’t stop laughing for almost thirty minutes when they learned that tidbit, while ‘Caller had decided that, given their ridiculous names and coloration, these “ponies” must be feykin, like the gnomes and elves back home. She had also observed several unicorns using magic, but never once had they made a gesture or spoken an incantation, their horns just glowed, and then the spell happened, a conundrum that frustrated the demoness to no end.

Early the next morning, Donut finally returned, “Arruya! Attend me! I have devised the perfect plan for dealing with Sparkle and her friends!” he rubbed his hand together happily, “You, my demon, shall journey to Ponyville and capture Fluttershy, the weakest and most timid of the Bearers, and teleport her back here. With one of their members gone, the Elements of Harmony will not work, and with you teleporting, Sparkle and the others will have not the slightest idea where to look for her. Between the Scrolls and the Quod Tantum,” the warlock caressed the tome hanging from his belt, “I already have a number of rituals to choose from that Fluttershy would make an ideal sacrifice for.”

“And how am I to get to this Ponyville?”

“Some demons are said to be able to change their appearance … to look like normal ponies … can you do this?”

‘Caller nodded, “It’s not a common thing for me, but I can manage it if I must.”

“Excellent,” Donut smiled, “Then I shall simply provide you with maps and a train ticket to reach Fluttershy’s home. Once no pony is around you can grab her.”

“This Fluttershy, vhat can you tell me about her?”

Donut chuckled, “I thought you might ask me that, here this magazine has a picture of her … Fluttershy is known as the most beautiful, and least powerful, of the Bearers of Harmony, Princess Celestia’s personal little band of problem solvers. While she can speak with, and according to some reports control, animals, she is also the most fearful and least combative of the six mares, although there have been some rather farfetched stories of her staring down dragons and other such foolishness. Although …,” he stroked his chin in thought, “She did befriend Discord, so I guess there might be something to those rumors ….”

“Hmm … she sounds rather like a beast master style druid,” ‘Caller commented as she leafed through the magazine, “Vhile not very powerful on their own, their bonded animals can be quite dangerous. And vho is Discord?”

“The Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony, you will know him if you see him, trust me, and if you do see him, stay away! I will get the maps and train ticket while you do whatever preparations you need,” the unicorn declared, “And remember speak to no pony about your true nature or purpose in Ponyville!”

“Fine, fine,” the demoness grumbled, “I just have one more question … vhat in Nine Hells is a train?”

The trip to Ponyville had been uneventful, well, except for the pink earth pony mare who had reacted with rather pronounced surprise when she spotted ‘Caller walking through the town and then run off without a word, ‘I vonder vhat her problem vas, anyway?’ the demoness mused as she stood before quite possibly the most stereotypical druid home she had ever seen, a living tree that had been turned into a house, surrounded by hutches and coops.

The demoness’ knock was soon answered by a yellow pegasus with a pink mane, “H-hello? Can I help you?”

“Vhy yes, yes you can, Fluttershy, Mass Charm Monster,” ‘Caller smiled as the mare’s expression went from confused to welcoming, “Vhy don’t ve go inside for a nice chat?”

“How are you?” asked Fluttershy as she settled on her couch “Would you like some tea? Oh, I’m dreadfully sorry, I don’t think I caught your name Miss ….”

“I’m HellCaller,” the demoness replied absently as she looked around, “You have a very nice cottage here, Fluttershy.”

“Thank you,” the pegasus smiled shyly at the praise, “HellCaller is an odd name for a pony, if you don’t mind me saying.”

“Yes, it is,” ‘Caller agreed as she sat next to Fluttershy and took the mare’s hands in her own, “I suppose it’s more of a title than a name. Now, I hate to disturb your day, Fluttershy, dear, but it is extremely important that you come vith me to Canterlot.”

“Oh, but I’m supposed to meet Rarity at the spa this afternoon.”

“I’m sorry, but this is vitally important, animals need you, Fluttershy, I could leave your friend a note explaining everything, if that vould make you feel better?”

Fluttershy nodded, “Yes, please, I wouldn’t want to make my friends worry,” she got up to fetch parchment and ink, “Are you sure we can’t go and talk to Rarity first? I’m certain she and my other friends would be willing to help animals in need.”

“There isn’t enough time, I’m afraid,” ‘Caller sighed regretfully, “But I promise that I’ll explain it all to them in my note.”

Once she had finished her letter, the demoness placed it on the table, along with a few other pages, and plopped a statuette of a rabbit on it to hold everything in place, “Continual Flame,” ‘Caller nodded at the glowing figurine, “There, that should ensure your friends vill find note. Now then, are you ready to go, Fluttershy?”

“Yes, I think so, am I going to need anything, should I get my first aid kit?”

“No, dear, all ve need is your expertise on animals,” encouraged by her new friend’s reassuring smile and the knowledge that animals needed her help, Fluttershy took the hand the demoness held out to her, “Greater Teleport.”

Ch. 03; To the Rescue!

Twilight Sparkle, and her number one assistant Spike the Dragon, were just sitting down for a nice bit of lunch when the door to Golden Oak Library slammed open, “Twilight!” cried Rarity as she rushed in, “Somepony’s foalnapped Fluttershy!”

“What?!” the purple unicorn paled as she read the note her friend shoved into her hands, “Spike! Go get Pinkie Pie! Rarity, go and grab Rainbow! I’ll run to the farm and fetch AJ.”

“A’right, what’s all tha ruckus about? Twi’ only said somethin’ had happened ta Fluttershy?”

Rarity threw her hands up in despair (even in the most serious of moments, the fashionista’s instinct for drama remained strong) “Our dear, gentle friend has been abducted by vile ruffians!”

Twilight nodded to her shocked friends, “It’s true, I have their note right here.”

“To Rarity, Twilight Sparkle and Company.

I have taken your friend, Fluttershy, captive at the command of one Count Donut Steel of Canterlot, who believes that this will cripple your ability to interfere with his future plans.

While she is in good health at the time I write this, I cannot say how long she will remain so, as Donut has expressed an intent to use her as a blood sacrifice for a summoning ritual, and I do not know when he plans to perform said rite.

Included with this letter, you will find three maps, one shows the route between Donut Steel’s estate and the Canterlot train station, the second the route between the estate and Canterlot Palace, while the third shows the route from the estate’s front door to Donut’s concealed summoning chamber. I believe Fluttershy will be kept either within or close by that chamber until Donut is ready for his ceremony.

Donut says that you six are ‘Heroes of the Realm’, if that is true, then this warning and these maps are all that you will need to rescue Fluttershy from his designs.

HellCaller”

“Yeah, like this doesn’t just scream ‘trap’,” Rainbow growled, “And what kind of a name is ‘HellCaller’, anyway?”

“Well of course it’s a trap, Dashie,” Pinkie replied cheerfully, even if her hair and ears were lying flat, “But this mystery pony is trying to make it a trap for that meanie-pants Donut, even if snatching Fluttershy wasn’t a very nice thing to do.”

Twilight rubbed her chin in thought for a moment, “Either way, Fluttershy is missing, and this is currently our only lead,” she declared, “Fillies, go and get your equipment, we’ll catch the afternoon train to Canterlot.”

The five mares (and one dragon) soon regrouped at the train station, where their armor and weapons drew worried looks from the other ponies waiting on the platform, “Uh, Twi’, sugarcube, are ya sure Spike ought ta be goin' with us?” Applejack asked in concern as she looked at the little drake standing resolutely beside the academic.

Twilight sighed, “He refuses to stay in Ponyville where it’s safe.”

“You bet I refuse!” asserted Spike adamantly, “Fluttershy is my friend too! And what if you need to send another message to the Princesses or something?” the mares could only look at each other and shrug in reluctant agreement.

Rarity put a hand on the drake’s shoulder, “Alright Spikey-wikey, you can come with us, but you stay behind us and out of any fights, do you understand? You know Fluttershy would be just horrified if you got hurt trying to rescue her,” the fashionista gave Spike’s shoulder a comforting squeeze when he finally gave a grudging nod.

A detachment of eight Solar Guards and a Canterlot magistrate, who introduced himself as Forthright Verdict, met the group at the Canterlot platform and accompanied them to the Steel Estate, where a butler eventually answered their extended knocking, “What is …,” whatever sharp comment the mare had been about to make quickly died when she saw the band of armored ponies waiting impatiently on the porch, “Yes, can I help you?”

Forthright stepped forward, “A number of very serious charges have been made against Count Steel, and these ponies are here as representatives of the Crowns to search this estate and take the Count into custody while the veracity of the charges is investigated.”

“Very well, come in,” the butler escorted the group into the foyer, except for the four guards who remained outside to watch the building, “And what are the particulars of these allegations, so that I may inform his Lordship and his barrister?”

Forthright pulled a scroll from a case on his belt and began to read, “Count Donut Steel stands accused of the following crimes: assault, foalnapping, illegal imprisonment, intent to commit murder, intent to use a sentient being for a ritual sacrifice, intent to summon a demon (or demons), and treason against Equestria.”

The butler blanched at the charges and quickly disappeared deeper into the estate to find her employer, while Rainbow tossed her friends a smirk, “Five bits says this ‘Count’ Donut tries to run for it.”

“That is why the Guard has ponies stationed outside,” the magistrate observed, “Though it is more common for nobles to bluster and threaten, and then leave everything to their barristers to sort out.”

Several minutes later, the butler returned, alone, “His Lordship is outraged at these spurious accusations, but will relinquish himself into your custody, under protest of course, but first he asks for a few minutes to gather his things.”

Forthright started to reply, but a chorus of thin, wailing howls interrupted him as a pack of eight squat, blubbery beings surged out of the hall, drool dripping from their fanged mouths and clawed hands outstretched. Spike grabbed the startled butler and dragged her back as the guardsponies surged forward to meet the attackers, “Go find Steel!” the sergeant yelled at the five mares as her sword bit into one of the abominations, its rubbery hide blunting the blow.

“Spike! Stay with the guards!” Twilight ordered as she and her friends charged into the estate, Applejack using her heavy maul to clear one of the horrors from their path by the simple expedient of smashing it aside to sprawl on the floor, where one of the guards immediately fell upon the prone monstrosity, his blade hacking and stabbing.

‘Caller leaned idly against the wall, indifferent to the reproachful stare Fluttershy had fixed upon her from the pegasus’ position chained atop the sacrificial slab, “Oh, come on,” the demoness finally grumbled, “Yes, accommodations are lousy, but if your friends really are ‘Heroes of Realm’ that Donut thinks they are, you’ll be out of here and back home in a few days, tops.”

The gag in her mouth reduced Fluttershy’s reply to a barely audible series of “meeps”.

“Vhat can I say, I’m not a nice person, and it’s not like I vanted to go after you,” ‘Caller added, waving a hand at herself, “Bound demon here, I can twist or subvert my ‘masters’ orders, but I do have to follow them in end.”

The mare meeped some more.

“Yeah, okay, if asshole I’m bound to takes it into his pointy little head to have his ritual early I’ll have to think of something,” 'Caller admitted, pulling away from the wall to frown down at Fluttershy, “He already murdered a child to compel me to his vill, but I vill not let him profit from this anymore than I absolutely have to.”

“Meep.”

“You’re velcome.”

The odd conversation was interrupted by Donut bursting through the door and rushing for the warding circle, where he quickly chanted a few words while holding the Jewel aloft. As soon as the brief incantation ended, the sigils flared, and a vile reek filled the room, as a trio of massive, bipedal toads appeared within the circle, their taloned hands nearly scraping the floor as they towered over everyone else in the chamber. “Guard this room!” Donut ordered his demonic servants as he backed up to the far wall, “Those Grogar damned Bearers of Harmony are here! They figured out I took Fluttershy somehow! Don’t let them near me!”

“Try and stay out of our way, half-breed,” one of the toad-demons sneered at ‘Caller in the Abyssal tongue as it shuffled across the room.

‘Hezrou,’ the demoness rolled her eyes as she drew her sword and moved to join the others, ‘Lazy as day is long, and at least as arrogant.’

A few moments later, but long enough for the three hezrou to begin shifting restlessly, the door exploded open and five mares poured through.

Applejack waited with forced patience as Rarity checked the door for traps or wards, when the white unicorn finally indicated the door was safe, she kicked it open and dove through to confront a quartet of demons, three massive, toad-like ones and a smaller, more pony-looking female, while behind them Fluttershy lay bound to a stone slab, and a stallion that the farmer would bet a barrel of cider was Donut Steel stood near the back wall, shouting orders. A cloud of cloying, greasy, unspeakably cold darkness enveloped the mares as soon as they entered the chamber, while multicolored bolts of ricocheting energy leaped randomly between the five ponies.

The farmer gritted her teeth against the pain and forced her way forward, her maul beginning to glow as she breathed a quick prayer to the Princesses, only to be intercepted by the demoness, a heavy, black-bladed bastard sword gripped in her hands, “Back ta tha darkness with ya!” Applejack growled as she swung, her heavy hammer bursting into white flames as it neared the demon.

The armored demoness merely grinned brashly at Applejack as she deflected the farmer’s blow, and then flames exploded around the farmpony and her friends as the demon spoke, “Garmth di Ixen.”

Blinking the spots from her dazzled eyes, the blonde mare was heartened to see that her friends had joined the fray; Rainbow’s paired blades whirled around her as she engaged one of the toad-demons, and Pinkie cartwheeled around another, her rapier in one hand and a rubber chicken in the other, while Rarity waited with studied poise before the last demon, her own rapier ready to lash out in precise, viper-swift strikes, and Twilight stood behind her more martially capable friends, hurling bolts of magic at Donut, who hastily raised a mystical shield to fend off the librarian’s assault.

While Donut was quick to go on the offensive, Twilight countered ever spell he threw, from blasts of dark magic, to sheets of flame, to shadowy, grasping tendrils. Likewise, Rainbow made quick work of her own opponent, and then moved to help her friends – Pinkie’s adversary actually looked grateful to be outnumbered, if only for the distraction from the baker’s constant chatter.

As this was going on, Applejack and the demoness had continued exchanging blows, along with the occasional burst of fire or ice, always punctuated by the demoness with a few words in what sounded a lot like dragonish to the farmpony, leaving both badly battered; Applejack had cuts on her arms and legs, and a long gash, luckily not deep, along her side, while the demoness’s armor was cracked and scorched by the earth pony’s hammering blows and seeped blood.

As the last of the toad-demons fell, only to shimmer and fade away as its body hit the floor, and Twilight shattered the warlock’s shield with an arcane bolt, the demoness stepped back from Applejack, “Dos di Ixen,” she snarled, conjuring a wall of fire that separated the five ponies from the rest of the room.

“Surrender, Donut Steel!” Twilight called above the crackling flames, “You have nowhere to go, and resisting will just make the court’s judgement harsher!”

“Surrender?” the stallion sneered, “To a pack of Princess-adulating peasants and an aggrandized civil servant? To Tartarus with you, the courts and your precious alicorns! Arruya!” Donut snapped, turning to his remaining demon, “I command you to end this idiotic fracas! I don’t care how!”

Applejack saw the demoness’s eyes glow brighter for a moment as a faint smile curled her lips, and then she spun around and unleashed a blast of roiling green and purple arcane energy that ripped across the room, shattering and melting the very stones, to smash into Donut Steel while leaving Fluttershy untouched. Following after the wave of magic, the demoness reached the stallion’s shattered body in a single bound and plunged her sword into his heart as runes flared upon the blade and a metallic sounding cackle echoed through the chamber.

As the wall of fire vanished, the five mares rushed over to cluster eagerly around Fluttershy, the demon momentarily forgotten, as Rarity made quick work of the pegasus’ manacles.

A sudden curse, and the sound of metal skittering across stone, drew the ponies’ attention away from their reunion and back to the demoness as she glared at the necklace on the floor and cradled her hand as if it had been burned, “Fine!” she spat, glaring at the amulet, “Keep thrice-damned thing! But this is going vith me!” she added, ripping a heavy book from the dead warlock’s belt.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash surged forward, their weapons at the ready, only to stop in surprise as Fluttershy quickly pushed past them to face the glowering demon, “Thank you for stopping Donut, even though I wish you hadn’t killed him, HellCaller, and thank you for restraining yourself against my friends.”

“Wait, you’re HellCaller?” asked Twilight.

“Yes,” the demoness replied absently as she gazed at Fluttershy in confusion, “You must still be suffering from Charm I cast on you, even though spell should have broken vhen Donut had me chain you up.”

The pink-maned mare shook her head, “No, you were kind to me even when you didn’t need to be, and you held back against me friends, even when Donut ordered you to protect him, because you knew it was wrong. You’re a good pony,” she stated firmly.

“Didn’t ve already have this discussion?” ‘Caller asked archly, before she flashed the pegasus a small frown, “I guess you ponies are really veak against enchantments, not to worry, it vill fade quickly enough once I am gone.”

“I don’t think she’s under a spell, ‘Caller,” the ponies looked around in alarm as the odd, chiming, voice of a young mare came out of nowhere, “I think she really means it.”

“She’s trying to be honest friends vith demon that kidnapped her?” ‘Caller laughed, “That’d just be silly, Kragor,” glancing back at the mares, now gathered protectively around Fluttershy, the demoness continued, “Well, I guess I shall see you again, or, more likely, never again. Togofor Ossalur.”

And the demon was gone.

‘Caller hissed slightly as she poked at a bruised rib, ‘Damn paladins and their holy veapons, even best armor can’t keep out divine fire,’ she grumbled to herself, “Now, vhere did ve end up?” she added aloud, looking at the rolling plains that stretched out before her, ending in distant blue hills.

“‘Caller? You might vant to turn around.”

The demoness frowned at her sword’s hesitant tone, “Vhat is it, Kragor?” she asked as she turned, to see a lone mountain rising in the distance with a city climbing its flanks, and a very conspicuous palace perched precariously above, “Oh, you have got to be fucking kidding me!”

Ch. 04; The Aftermath of the Rescue

Upon reaching the Palace, the six Bearers of Harmony, having treated their injuries, along with Spike and Forthright Verdict were quickly ushered into the Throne Room where Princess Celestia awaited them, the squad of guardsponies having remained behind to secure Donut Steel’s estate and servants. Twilight threw herself forward to embrace her mentor as she rose from her bow, while Spike and the other mares quickly crowded around their divine sovereign, leaving a flummoxed Forthright to slowly follow behind. “I’m grateful that you are all well,” Celestia said as she reached out to gently grasp Fluttershy’s shoulder, “I’ve sent a servant to summon Luna, she’ll be here shortly.”

“I am already here, Sister,” the lunar diarch said as she entered the room, “And most thankful that none of you hath suffered great injury,” she added warmly, before her lips turned in a small frown, “However, I do not see the accused, has he already been detained in the dungeons?”

“I’m afraid Count Steel was slain while resisting arrest, Princess,” Forthright explained, “Although I am not currently aware of the details of his demise.”

“I see,” Celestia sighed, “That is … unfortunate.”

Luna sniffed at her sister’s comment, “I fail to see how. Even if brought to trial, Donut Steel’s many offenses already merited a sentence of execution.”

“I always hold out the hope for redemption, Luna, as you well know,” the solar alicorn replied, “But I think that is a discussion for another time. Now, my little ponies, tell us what happened.”

The group quickly related their tales to the Princesses, albeit with frequent interruptions and side commentary:

“Spike!” an aghast Twilight scolded her assistant, “You promised you’d stay out of any fighting!”

“I know,” the drake admitted guiltily, before drawing himself up to meet Twilight's eyes, “But those demon-things were trying to get at the servants and Mister Verdict, what was I supposed to do? Besides,” he added, scuffing his foot against the floor, “All I really did was keep them back with my fire until the guards could deal with them.”

“Ah understand, sugarcube, Ah do,” Applejack said as she ruffled Spike's frill and Fluttershy wrapped the now blushing drake in a hug, “Yer brave an’ smart an’ ya want ta help ponies, but yer still jus’ a youngin’, an’ we worry about ya, is all.”

*****

“Donut murdered a foal?!” Rarity demanded, bring a hand to her mouth, “I think I might be sick ….”

“That’s what HellCaller told me,” Fluttershy confirmed, “She seemed rather … peeved … about it,” the gentle-natured pegasus added, blushing at her own strong language.

*****

“So, you are saying Count Steel was killed by his own demon?” Forthright asked skeptically, “The demon Miss Fluttershy claims he had bound with a blood sacrifice?”

“Considering his ill-advised final command, I find it most credible,” Luna replied, “Demons do not generally enjoy being called to our Realm and enslaved to the will of another, so I suspect that this HellCaller had been scheming to turn on Count Steel from the moment she was summoned, and any of the cannier demons would quickly seize upon such a poorly worded order to betray their erstwhile masters,” the Princess of the Moon chuckled darkly, “I find it most fitting that Donut Steel’s demise was at the hands of the very demon he bound to assist him with his foul deeds.”

“Fluttershy thinks that HellCaller was deliberately limiting herself during the fight,” Twilight added, “And considering the apparent strength of whatever spell it was that she used on the Count, I’m inclined to agree with her. Perhaps HellCaller was hoping to provoke him into making such a mistake for her to exploit?”

“It wasn’t jus’ tha magic that she was holdin’ back on,” Applejack said as she rubbed at her bandaged side, “Ah didn’t see it at tha time, but thinkin’ back, Ah’m pretty sure that she wasn’t goin’ at me all out, neither.”

“It still wasn’t very nice of her to assume Fluttershy’s attempt to be friends was because she was under a spell,” Pinkie grumbled, “And I’m going to tell her that when I see her again.”

Rainbow blinked at her hyper friend, “Why would we see her again? Wait, is your Pinkie Sense telling you stuff again?”

“Noperoonie, that’s just how our lives seem to go.”

The other five mares exchanged rueful looks, “She ain’t wrong,” Applejack admitted with a shrug.

“So … yeah, Count Steel was killed by his own demon, who … sort of apologized to Fluttershy for foalnapping her before we arrived, and then left peacefully once Steel was defeated,” Twilight chewed on her lip for a moment, “And that’s pretty much everything. Oh, and we recovered the Discordian Scrolls from Steel’s study,” she added, holding out the documents to the Princesses.

“You forgot about this, egghead,” Rainbow chided the academic as she held up a rune-inscribed amulet, “That HellCaller filly dropped this like it’d bit her, but she did take a book off Donut’s belt when she left.”

Celestia took the offered amulet from the pegasus as she passed the Scrolls to Luna, “Well I’ll be … the Jewel of Hekate, this disappeared over a millennium ago.”

Rarity leaned forward for a better look at the talisman, “What is it, Princess?”

“A most ancient and puzzling magic, gracious Rarity,” Luna responded, “None seem to know of its origins, but the Jewel’s ability to enhance the conjuring and compelling of beings from other Realms was often used to cause strife and turmoil.”

“The Scrolls will be returned to the Restricted Archives, and the Jewel transferred to the Sanctuary Vaults,” Celestia declared, “Although, it seems we need to update the wards,” she added under her breath, “And while I’m sure that Magistrate Verdict has a few more questions for you, you all should go home soon and get some rest. You’ve had a trying day, after all.”

“Vhat in Nine Hells and Seven Heavens is going on here?!” ‘Caller snarled as yet another Planeshift spell only moved her a few hundred miles instead of returning her back to her home reality.

“Maybe there is something vrong vith connection between this plane and Astral?” Kragor suggested, “Maybe that is vhy natives haven’t developed greater teleportation spells?”

“Their Summoning seem to vork just fine,” the demoness grumbled in disagreement, “Fine, time to stop pussyfooting around and pull out big invocations! Gate,” a circular window, five feet in diameter, appeared as soon as the incantation was finished, floating in the air and showing a well-appointed bedroom, “Ha! Take that, pony vorld! Come on, Kragor, let’s go home.”

But as ‘Caller stepped into the portal, she rebounded as if she had walked into a stone wall, “Are you shitting me?!” she yelled in frustration, pounding her fist on the invisible barrier that kept her in this world, “And vhat are you laughing at?” 'Caller snapped at her chortling sword.

“Sorry, ‘Caller,” Kragor managed to get out between snickers, “But vatching you lose it like this is hilarious! Aw, don’t be like that, I bet Fluttershy vould let us stay vith her vhile you’re figuring out vhat’s vrong vith magic.”

“Fluttershy? Vhat does she have to do vith …,” 'Caller trailed off as she finally noticed that Ponyville was sitting behind her, “Of course,” she sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose, before turning and striding into the shadowed forest rising nearby, “And you really think all her friends, including a paladin, vould be justfine vith having a half-demon hanging around?”

“You could at least give it a chance,” the soulblade pouted, “Fluttershy’s soul probably tastes all varm and cuddly … she vouldn’t turn us away.”

‘Caller cocked an eyebrow at her sword, “I don’t think most people vould understand that you mean that as a compliment,” she observed, still headed resolutely into the trees.

A few days later saw HellCaller comfortably ensconced in a mountainside cave; once again, Mage’s Magnificent Mansion saw to her comforts, while an Alarm spell on the cave mouth provided forewarning against any intruders (the smell of dragon that lingered in the cavern would keep most wild animals away), and the few healing potions she carried had served to ease the worst of her injuries and accelerated the recovery of the rest (although she would have a few new scars), while she spent her time studying the tome she had taken from Donut Steel.

“You vere right, Kragor,” she commended her bonded blade, “Donut got my Name from this book, it managed to resist ritual somehow … although I’ll be buggered if I can figure out how, or vhy my Name is in it in first place!”

The sword giggled, “Like you ever needed excuse for a bit of buggery.”

“Brat,” ‘Caller replied pleasantly, “Vell, this should be easy enough to fix. Erase,” she smiled contentedly as the words to her Name evaporated from the page as she ran her finger along it. After a moment, the demoness shrugged and deleted the rest of the entry as well, leaving only a blank area in the book where the information on her had once been.

“Oh, damn it to Heaven!”

The demoness’ profound profanity roused Kragor from her nap, “Vhat is it, ‘Caller, vhat’s vrong?” the soulblade asked groggily.

“I found out vhy ve can’t leave this thrice-damned Realm,” ‘Caller snarled, “Here, listen to this, ‘as my vill compels thee, blood of innocent binds thee to this vorld, thee must do my bidding until thy art released’.”

“Vell that’s annoying,” Kragor grumbled, “And how do these pony-people have such strong binding magic vhen they seem to know so little about dimensional travel? Still, ve just need to grab Donut’s body and bring him back as a ghoul or something and then … oh, oh gods, I’m so sorry, ‘Caller, I didn’t mean to –”

“Shh,” the demoness gently hushed her distraught soulblade, stroking its hilt, “It’s fine, Kragor, you did nothing vrong.”

“But ve’re trapped here because of me!” Kragor moaned, “Ve can’t go home because I ate Donut’s soul!”

“It’s not your fault,” ‘Caller declared firmly as she gathered Kragor into her arms, “I drove you into that pointy-headed bastard’s heart, you just did vhat you’re supposed to do. If anyone fucked up, it vas me, understand?” ‘All this time together, and Kragor can still be so oddly innocent,’ the demoness mused as she continued to comfort the distraught soulblade, ‘Even I still occasionally forget that there is more to her than just gleeful bloodlust ….’

Author's Note

I know that I’m playing fast-and-loose with how life stealing, create undead and the afterlife works in Pathfinder here, and I can only ask for my readers’ understanding and tolerance.

Ch. 05; Meeting New People

Princess Luna smiled to herself as she floated through the dreamscape, this was one of her favorite parts of her duties, observing her little ponies’ often whimsical imaginings and helping them deal with their nightmares and fears. Those nights when she found no night hags, ghouls, or other monsters attempting to prey on her subjects’ minds or bodies were especially cherished, and this was looking to be one of them.

As she passed through Ponyville, a new dream bubble in the Everfree caught her attention. Drawing closer, Luna's curiosity sharpened to concern as she saw that the bubble’s skin, which represented a dreamer’s sense of self and was their first line of defense against maras and other dream realm predators, was almost nonexistent.

Sliding through the inexplicably fragile barrier, Luna entered a broad mountain valley, the far ends shrouded in mists from which the sounds of a pitched battle poured, while a red-stained moon hung low overhead. Sitting on a rock was a young earth pony mare that looked to be made from black metal, glowing white runes manifesting and disappearing across her body at random, who was staring pensively down at the rabbit cradled in her hands.

“Hello, pony-lady,” the mare greeted Luna, not bothering to look up, “Do you know vhat’s vrong vith my bunny?”

‘That may hath been the fastest anypony, even a lucid dreamer, hath ever noticed my presence,’ Luna mused as she walked over to examine the rabbit in question, “I see nothing wrong with thine rabbit, mine little pony.”

“Pony?” the mare blinked at her, before running a hand over her muzzle and ears, “Oh, yeah, I guess I did pattern my form after you ponies … are you sure there’s nothing vrong vith my bunny? I’m still getting used to dreaming, and something about him doesn’t seem right ... maybe he isn’t fluffy enough?”

“He is most fluffy,” the Princess of the Moon assured the strange mare, ‘Patterning her form after ponies? Getting used to dreaming? Just what sort of being hath I discovered here?’ “Might I know thine name, young one?”

“Nope,” the mare replied cheerfully as she stroked the rabbit, “Names have Power, but you can call me Kragor.”

“And thou may call me Luna … thou hath never dreamed before, young Kragor?”

“Nuh uh, I’ve vatched some of my sister’s dreams, but I never had any of my own before ve came here.”

“Thou … watch thine sister’s dreams?”

“Oh yeah, I use our telepathic link to share her sensorium all time,” Kragor replied, before her muzzle fell in a thoughtful frown, “Maybe that’s vhy bunny doesn’t feel right, I’ve never experienced one directly before ….”

“But the battle out there does feel right to thee?” Luna asked, waving a hand at the distant mists.

“Hmm? Oh, battle,” the mare responded dismissively, “I’ve got plenty of experience vith battles and vars and vhatnot, it’s vhat I vas made for after all,” Kragor gave a slight twitch and glanced upward, “Oh, ‘Caller is vaking up, I guess it’s time for me to go … it vas nice to meet you Luna!”

HellCaller peered through the dense vegetation, a crude wooden spear in her hand, as she checked her surroundings for danger. While manticores, chimeras, hydras and the strange wolf-like plant-constructs that haunted the forest were no threat to the demoness, she had no desire to try herself against the titanic bears made of stars she had seen unless forced to, and she and the local dragon had quickly come to the unspoken agreement to give each other their space -- while 'Caller was quite certain that she could take the dragon, she saw no need to press a profitless and unnecessary fight. Besides, the resulting battle would almost certainly draw attention, which was something to be avoided for now.

As for the forest’s natives, the resident deer-folk had learned to avoid her, except for the occasional insult shouted from the foliage, after a few attacks on the “abomination” had gone horribly, lethally, wrong for them. The other local, a zebra-woman of all things, had seemingly contented herself with quietly observing ‘Caller from the shadows as she went about the woods.

The leaves rustled, and ‘Caller’s lips curled in a fanged grin as a small forest pig wandered into view, it’s snout buried in the detritus that covered the forest floor. While Mage’s Magnificent Mansion provided ample food, she preferred to have an emergency supply on hand (and for snacking while she was out), and smoked and dried pork would do quite well. Lurking in the gloom, ‘Caller waited patiently for the swine to turn its side to her, and then hurled her spear with all her unnatural might, driving the fire hardened projectile through the pig’s lungs and heart, dropping the animal where it stood.

:I still don’t understand vhy you’re vasting your time vith that pointed stick,: Kragor grumbled as 'Caller strode up to recover her weapon and heft the dead pig over her shoulder.

:Swords are excellent veapons of var, and you are extraordinary sword, my Sister, but trying to chase down a pig vhile vaving you about vould be a horrible vay to hunt, and it vould look completely silly as vell, besides meat doesn’t taste as good if I just kill animal vith magic.:

:Hmmph,: the soulblade snorted, mollified, :Too bad ve don’t have salt, pepper and mustard, like Linzi used to use on her jerky.:

‘Caller nodded, a faint smile tugging at her lips as she recalled their long-ago companion and her culinary skills, then stiffened as a “ping” sounded within her mind, “It seems ve have a visitor.”

Trixie glared down at Ponyville from the cave’s mouth for a moment, before retreating inside to where her bedroll and backpack lay, “Trixie is not obsessed,” she assured herself as she began to root around in her pack for her campfire bead, “Trixie is just scouting out Twilight Sparkle’s abilities before Trixie makes her triumphant return to Ponyville, and then on to the grand stage of life!” she flung her arms wide as she posed dramatically.

“Really? Is that vhy you’re squatting in my cave?” asked an amused voice.

Spinning around, the unicorn faced the figure standing in the cave mouth, her eyes widening as she took in the mare’s near-pony form, scaled armor, the bloody spear in her hand and the heavy sword at her side, and the fanged grin she was currently showing, “W-what,” Trixie stuttered, before drawing herself up, “Trixie was unaware that this cavern had been claimed, and Trixie apologizes for any trespass,” she said formally, hoping to mollify whatever the creature was.

The strange mare cocked her head to the side, as if listening to something, before shrugging, “I suppose you can stay, as long as you don’t make a nuisance of yourself,” and with that, less than enthusiastic, sanction, she walked past the nervous showmare to simply disappear as she passed through a shimmer in the air, leaving the dumbfounded unicorn alone in the cave.

Trixie glanced up from her fire as the air shimmered again, and the other mare returned from … wherever she had been. Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, she spoke up, “The Great and Powerful Trixie would like to know who she is sharing this cave with … please.”

“‘Great and Powerful’?” the mare smirked while a metallic voice laughed from somewhere, “Is that how you normally address a demon?”

Trixie didn’t even bat an eye at this revelation, “Trixie has already surmised what you are, but that still leaves the question of what Trixie should call the … two of you.”

“She’s a clever one, isn’t she?” observed the metallic voice.

“Observant, at least,” the mare conceded, as she crouched down across the fire, “Very vell, Trixie, vas it? You may call me HellCaller, and this,” she stroked her sword’s hilt, “Is Kragor.”

“Hi!”

“You … have a sentient sword?” the unicorn asked.

HellCaller nodded, “Yes.”

“You have a … sentient sword?”

“… Yes?”

“You have a sentient sword?!” Trixie shrieked.

“Damnit, voman,” grumbled Kragor, “That hurt, and I don’t even have actual ears!”

“Vhat’s big deal?” HellCaller demanded, as she rubbed at her own ear, “I know that sentient veapons aren’t exactly common, but come on.”

“‘Aren’t exactly common’? ‘Aren’t exactly common’?!” Trixie shook her head as she tried to rein-in her excitement, “In this Realm, thinking, speaking artifacts are unheard of! Not even the Alicorn Amulet, the Bag of Tirek or Sampo’s Spear have a mind of their own! Your sword violates every law of crafting, enchantment and artifice that Trixie knows!”

“And you know a lot of these laws, do you?”

“Trixie may not have gone to Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, but Trixie was properly trained,” she retorted, “And Trixie knows that many magical researchers (maybe even that insufferable, adorable, Twilight Sparkle) would give their right arms to study Kragor.”

:’Caller, I have an idea, vhy don’t you offer to take Trixie on as apprentice? She’ll learn more magic, and ve can learn about this Realm, since you’re still afraid to just go down and visit Fluttershy.:

:I don’t even know if ponies can learn my style of magic, but it’s not a bad vay to vhile away some time,: ‘Caller nodded, :And I’m not afraid to see Fluttershy!: she added sharply, before turning her attention back to the unicorn with a smile, “So, Trixie, let’s talk ….”

Once again, as she had several times over the last month, Luna slipped into the anomalous dream bubble in the Everfree; this time the alicorn stepped into a grand feasting hall, bedecked with tapestries and mounted weapons, and lit by a plethora of candles and flickering torches, two great fireplaces provided warmth while cheerful musical tinkled through the air. Kragor sat on the high table, the bodies of a pair of night hags laying on the stones before her, as she idly swung her legs, badly whistling along with the music.

“Young Kragor! Are thou well? Hath thou been injured?”

“Oh, hi, Luna!” Kragor replied cheerfully, “Look, I got my bunny right!” she added excitedly, as she held out her hands and a small rabbit appeared inside them.

“That is wonderful, young Kragor, but what happened? Why are there two dead night hags in thine dreamscape?!”

“Oh them?” Kragor gave an indifferent shrug, “They came in a little vhile ago, like you do, but they vere being very rude, talking about me like I vas a piece of plunder to be divided rather than talking to me, so I told them to leave. They got all indignant and attacked me, so I ate their souls,” the mare smiled happily at Luna, apparently missing, or ignoring, the alicorn’s horrified expression, “I didn’t even know I could still eat souls in my dreams, von’t ‘Caller be surprised vhen I tell her!” she giggled, hugging her rabbit.

“Do thou … often eat souls?”

“Vell, not anymore,” Kragor replied, “My sister and I have been sort of retired for last few decades. It’s vas starting to get a bit boring, frankly, but I did eat this horribly obnoxious unicorn guy vith a funny name,” she grimaced, “His soul tasted like moldy socks and hubris.”

“Would that hath been Count Donut Steel?” Luna inquired as she sat down next to the mare.

“Yeah …,” Kragor sighed, “Vait, how do you know about Do Not Steal?”

“Count Steel’s actions and fate are known to many ponies,” Luna replied evasively, “The common belief was that the demon HellCaller returned to her native Realm when Steel’s death freed her from bondage ... yet here thou are ….”

Kragor’s ears fell flat, “Ve can’t go home because I fucked up! Steel’s ritual bound us to this Realm until he released us, but because I ate his soul there’s no vay for my sister to be freed!” she suddenly burst into tears, “‘Caller insists it vasn’t my fault, but she’s trapped here all because of me!”

The Princess of the Moon blinked, and then wrapped her arms around the weeping mare, murmuring comforting words.

Trixie stumbled to the table, her mane a horrifying mess and her eyes still fogged with sleep, and accepted a cup from one of the ghostly servitors, “Thank you,” she mumbled distractedly, ‘An entire mansion, magically created and stocked, and separated from the rest of the Realm … and Trixie is living in it! Alongside a demon and a sentient artifact!’ she sipped her tea, ‘Now, if they only knew what hot coco was ….’

“Hi Trixie!” Kragor’s greeting interrupted the unicorn’s early morning musings, as ‘Caller joined her at the table, “Hey, could you answer a question for me?”

The illusionist took another sip, “What is it, Kragor?”

“Vhat do you know about a pony named Luna? She’s a dark blue unicorn-lady vith vings, and she talks to me in my dreams. Hey! Don’t spit your tea at me!”

Cadance looked up from the wedding catalogs spread out before her with a smile as Luna joined her and Celestia for breakfast, “Good morning, Auntie Luna,” she chirped, “And how was your night?”

“It was … enlightening,” Luna answered as she poured herself a glass of juice, “And do thine nuptial preparations proceed apace?”

“Actually … I was thinking of asking if Twilight’s Ponyville friends would be willing to help.”

“Well, that will certainly cause some distress among all the wedding planners who have been deluging the Palace with offers,” Celestia observed with a chuckle as she poured syrup over her pancakes, “What brought this on?”

“Well, Shiny is already planning on asking Twiley to be his best mare, and I thought it would be a good way to get to know her new friends,” Cadance sighed, “I know it wasn’t the time, but I still wished I had managed to see Twiley and the others last month when they came up for that horrible business with Donut Steel.”

Celestia, having noticed her sister’s guilty ear twitch, lowered her tea, “What is it Luna? Have you found additional information regarding Count Steel’s case?”

“Ah, yes … well … it seems that the demon Donut Steel summoned, HellCaller, did not return to her native Realm when he was slain as we had presumed ….”

Cadance’s fork clattered to the table, “What?! There’s an unbound demon freely roaming Equestria?!”

“They aren’t ‘roaming Equestria’, darling Cadance, they are just sitting in the Everfree Forest while they resolve what to do with themselves.”

Celestia raised her hand, forestalling the youngest alicorn’s reply, “‘They’, Luna? And how do you know all of this, anyway?”

Luna blushed and looked away as she stirred her scrambled eggs, “I hath been talking with her sister in her dreams ….”

The solar diarch frowned at her for a moment, before sighing, “Everything you see and learn in our little ponies’ dreams, you hold in confidence, but you break that trust now … do you believe them to be such a danger, then?”

“I fear they hath the potential to be such, yes.”

“And who are ‘they’?” Cadance pressed her aunt, “The official reports only listed the one demon, who is this ‘sister’ you’ve found?”

Luna furrowed her muzzle in thought as she slowly replied, “In truth … I deem they are not so much sisters, despite Kragor’s words … but more that I hath been speaking with HellCaller’s familiar … or even a symbiotic weapon of sorts.”

Celestia raised an eyebrow, while her niece burst into laughter, “A symbiotic weapon, Auntie? Really? I think you’ve been reading too many of Spike’s old comic books.”

“Comic books are a most excellent amusement,” Luna retorted, “And what else truly matches young Kragor’s description of her existence? She has no senses of her own, but uses a telepathic bond to borrow her sister’s, she claims she was, literally, made for war, and she can consume souls, both in the real world and in the dreamscape.”

At the last revelation, Cadance went pale as the laughter died on her lips, “A soul-eater?!”

The Princess of the Sun laid a comforting hand on her niece’s shoulder, “It would seem your concerns are well founded, then, Lulu. But, tell me, do you know why they have remained in Equis?”

Luna nodded, “They do not appear to be plotting anything,” she quickly assured her fellow alicorns, “But it seems that the ritual Donut Steel used required him to directly release the summoned demons from their bondage, and when Kragor devoured his soul, she inadvertently trapped the two of them here. She was most distraught when she confided this to me,” the lunar diarch added, meeting her sister’s and niece’s gaze, “And she felt great grief and guilt over ‘failing’ her sister in such a way.”

“You’re leading somewhere with this, Auntie Luna,” the pink alicorn observed, “Otherwise you would have just informed the Magus Corps and the Night Guard on where to find them.”

“I hath had a thought,” admitted Luna, “It is dangerous, and many would say ‘twas lunacy, but it worked with Discord and … mineself ….”

“You want to ask Twilight and the other Bearers of Harmony to try and befriend this HellCaller and her sister,” Celestia remarked calmly, even as Cadance wrinkled her muzzle, her ears falling flat with worry, “I agree, Lulu, that at the very least, it is worth the attempt.”

Author's Note

The Magus Corps is the creation of Chengar Qordath. If you would like to know more, I suggest checking out his Freeport and Lunar Rebellion stories.

Ch. 06; Across the Fields and Through the Woods

“Morning, Applejack!”

The farmpony looked up from brushing down her riding lizard, “Morn’, Pinkie Pie, what brings ya by so earlier?” she asked, her hands continuing with their work, bringing a soft purr as the lizard, Peachblossom, stretched under her ministrations.

“Welll, the Cakes wanted some extra apples because we have an order for an applecake today, and it’s Tuesday, so Derpy will be by looking for apple muffins, and Mr. Cake found a recipe for apple cookies that he wants to try out, oh and my Pinkie Sense says that we’re going to see somepony that we haven’t seen for a while, so I wanted to get everything done early, so here I am hoping that I could get some more apples, even though your stand isn’t open yet,” Pinkie finally paused for breath and reached over to rub Peachblossom’s nose, “P-p-please?”

“What was that last part, again, Pinkie?”

“P-p-please?”

“Tha part before that,” Applejack sighed, “About what yer Pinkie Sense was tellin’ ya.”

“That we’re going to see somepony that we haven’t seen for a while?”

“Huh, Ah wonder who it’ll be. Jus’ let me wash my hands, an’ Ah’ll get ya those apples.”

“Twilight! The Princesses sent you a letter.”

“Thanks, Spike,” Twilight smiled down at her assistant as she took the rolled scroll from his claws, “Let’s see ….”

Heading into the kitchen, Spike hummed to himself as he washed the breakfast dishes, before strolling back out to the library main room, where he noticed Twilight was slumped in a chair, staring down at the letter, her muzzle twisted in a mixture of horror and resignation, spiced with a touch of curiosity and, although she would later deny it, just a hint of eagerness.

“Twilight? Twilight!”

“She’s doing it to us again, Spike,” the unicorn moaned, “It’s Discord all over again.”

“What?” Spike took Twilight's hand in his claws, “What do you mean, ‘it’s Discord all over again’?”

“Princess Celestia!” Twilight waved the scroll, “She says that the demon who foalnapped Fluttershy is still around, and she wants us to try and make friends with her!” she gave a small, unhappy, laugh, “Well, I guess we’re the ones with experience, after all.”

“You could always refuse,” Spike suggested.

“No … no, I’m okay now,” she reached up to ruffle the drake’s frill, “I just needed to get that out of my system. And the Princess is right, Fluttershy did manage to make Discord into a … better … pony, and both she and Applejack believed that HellCaller was not working for Count Steel willingly and was holding back against us during the fight. No,” Twilight stood up, “Celestia would never ask this of us unless she believed we could handle it,” her determination faltered for a moment, “Somehow ….”

“Ha! I said we’d see HellCaller again and I’d get to call her a rudeie-patotie for dismissing Fluttershy’s friendship like that, and now we are!” Pinkie crowed as she dropped into a chair. The six mares were gathered in the library, Spike having been gently, but firmly, ushered out to “enjoy his unexpected day off” in the hopes it would keep him out of trouble.

“So, she has been lurking so close to Ponyville all of this time?” Rarity asked as she sipped her tea, “Even with her hiding in the Everfree, I’m rather surprised that no pony has noticed her before this, she does stand out, after all.”

“That’s why I plan on going to see Zecora first,” Twilight replied, “If anypony in the Everfree would notice the presence of a demon – and be willing to talk to us – it’s her.”

“The deer can be a bit … difficult at times,” Fluttershy admitted with a small sigh, “Oh, but I do hope they and HellCaller haven’t been fighting.”

“Wait, so the Princess wants us to hunt down a demon, who foalnapped Fluttershy and just, what, make nice?” Rainbow demanded, stomping her hoof in annoyance, “Not kick her plot back to Tartarus? Not even demand a feathering apology? Really?”

“Yes, Rainbow,” Twilight said firmly, “No attacking her, except in self-defense, no demands, nothing like that. HellCaller was compelled by Donut Steel’s summoning ritual, so blaming her wouldn’t be right. And since she’s trapped here, making friends with HellCaller and teaching her about Equestrian society and how to live in it is really for everypony’s benefit.”

Rarity glanced up with a small frown, “Wait, she can’t leave? How do we know this, darling?”

“Oh, um, well, Luna has been talking with HellCaller’s familiar in her dreams.”

Applejack raised an eyebrow, “Her what now?”

“Her magical assistant pony,” Pinkie explained.

“Oh, the other voice from when you all rescued me from Count Steel,” Fluttershy remarked, “I did wonder who that was ….”

“And, apparently, this familiar is also some kind of artifact weapon,” Twilight added, “Which means establishing peaceful relations with HellCaller is even more important.”

Pinkie leaned over to Applejack, “An artifact is a magical thingamajig,” she said helpfully, provoking an eyeroll from the farmer

“Fine, fine,” grumbled Rainbow, “If we’re going to do this, then let’s get on with it.”

As the six ponies were heading out of town, they spotted a familiar, cloaked figure approaching from the Everfree, “Hi, Zecora!” Twilight waved to the mare, “Isn’t this convenient, we were just on our way to see you.”

“Yes, it is convenient,” Pinkie observed, as she pulled a glowstone rod out from … somewhere … and held it up to undelight her face (despite it being daytime), “Maybe … too convenient!”

The zebra merely gave Pinkie an indulgent smile, before turning her attention to the rest of the little group, “While I am quite happy to see you all this fine day, what was sending you out my way?”

“We’ve been asked by the Princesses to talk with a demoness living in the Everfree and to try and keep her from becoming a danger to anypony,” Twilight explained, “You … wouldn’t happen to know where we can find her, would you, Zecora?”

The shamaness nodded, “I believe I know of the one who you seek, she and her guests are staying in the great cave on Mount Everfree as we speak.”

“Guests?” Rarity’s ears perked, “So she’s already interacting with other ponies? Well, I dare say that promises to make things much easier for everypony.”

Zecora raised a cautioning hand, “Be mindful when you draw near,” she warned, “While she mostly keeps to herself, the demoness can be rather casually violent, I fear. Also, I can impart that one of her guests has enough ego to fill a cart, while the other’s often ferocious choice does not match her young and cheerful voice.”

“Thank ya for yer advice,” Applejack said, “Oh, an’ Big Mac is workin’ tha stall today, if’n ya got a hankerin’ for some apples,” she added, grinning cheekily at the suddenly blushing shamaness.

“Do you really think you should be teasing Zecora like that, Applejack?” Twilight asked as they made their way up the mountainside, “Some ponies might not think it’s nice.”

“Aw shucks, Twi’, Ah’m jus’ funnin’ with her,” the farmpony defended herself, “Apples tease each other all tha time, an’ Zecora is going ta be an Apple as soon as she an’ Big Mac stop tiphoofin’ around each other, jus’ ya mark my words. Everything goin’ a’right back there, sugarcube?” she added, turning to look back at where Fluttershy brought up the rear of the group.

“Oh, yes,” replied Fluttershy, “It’s much less scary when there isn’t a dragon shaking the mountain.”

“Hsst,” Rarity brought a finger to her lips as she shushed her friends, “We’re almost to the cave, so perhaps a bit of stealth might be in order.”

“Umm,” Fluttershy raised her hand, “Creeping up on somepony’s home seems kind of rude, doesn’t it?”

“I think Flutters is right,” Pinkie added, “How are we going to make friends with HellCaller if we start out being all sneakyish?” she pointed out, while Applejack reluctantly nodded in agreement.

Rarity, Twilight and Rainbow glanced at each other, before agreeing, grudgingly on Rainbows part, to try it their friends’ way. As they approached, they could hear voices from within the cavern.

“Again,” said a mare with a heavy accent.

“Bluthel di Civip. You know, Trixie can already create bolts of frost and wave around Trixie’s dagger, without using pseudo-dragonish ‘magic words’, thank you.”

The six ponies paused in surprise, “What’s Trixie doing here?” Fluttershy whispered.

“Yes, but you are a neophyte at combining your spellwork vith martial ability,” the other mare replied, “Still, you are not hopeless vith veaponry, and you have potential to be acceptable Magus, even if you vill likely never vield a heavy blade.”

“Truly, Trixie is humbled by the boundless encouragement and support you constantly show Trixie.”

“Excellent sarcasm,” applause echoed from within the cave, “But currently ve are vorking on your spell combat training, not your vitty banter.”

“Well, I think we found which of HellCaller’s guests is the one with the ego,” Rarity sniffed, drawing irritated nods from Rainbow and Applejack.

“Wait, Trixie is training to be a magus,” Twilight’s muzzle furrowed in confusion, “She doesn’t seem like the type to join the Corps.”

“Well, why don’t we go ask her?” Pinkie suggested, walking up to the cave mouth before any of her friends could stop her and pounding on the cliffside, “Hello? Trixie? Ms. HellCaller? Other pony whose name I didn’t get? Can we come in? I baked you a cake!” she added, pulling said confection out of her pack and holding it up.

A startled cry responded to the party pony’s question, before the accented voice eventually replied, “Very vell, you may come in … and bring cake.”

Entering the cave, the six ponies found HellCaller calmly seated on a stone next to a merrily blazing campfire bead, while Trixie stood behind her, trying to glower at Rainbow, Rarity and Applejack while not meeting Twilight’s eyes, “Hello again, Fluttershy, and velcome to my … lair.”

The yellow pegasus shyly waved, while her friends looked around the cavern, with both Rarity and Rainbow clearly disappointed at how empty it was; despite the cave’s great size (it had been a dragon’s abode, however temporarily), the only signs of occupation were the campfire bead, a crude training dummy in one corner, and an equally makeshift meat-smoking rack off in a nook, smoke stains highlighting the cracks in the wall used for ventilation.

“It’s … very … nice,” Rarity said with a slightly strained smile.

“It suffices to keep rain off,” the demoness shrugged, “So vhy are ‘Heroes of Realm’ on my doorstep?”

Twilight opened her mouth to reply, but Pinkie – who had been looking for a sufficiently flat rock to put the cake on – spoke up first, “Oh, well since you’re going to be here a while, what with not being able to leave and all, we thought it would be neighborly to welcome you to Ponyville,” the baker said blithely, before glaring at HellCaller, “And I also wanted to say it wasn’t very nice the way you scorned Fluttershy like that back in Steel’s mansion, she was just offering you her friendship, for the divines’ sake,” she scolded, “There was no reason for you to be a nasty-pants meanie about it!”

'Caller’s armor creaked as she shifted on her rock, a seemingly casual movement that Rainbow, Rarity and Applejack all uneasily noticed made her sword easier to draw, and made the three mares wonder for a moment if leaving their own panoply and weapons back in Ponyville as a “show of good faith” had really been wise as HellCaller spoke, “And vhy vould you think I cannot leave?” she asked quietly, her eyes glowing brighter in the dim cave.

“Was that a secret?” Pinkie asked awkwardly, her ears dropping.

“It wasn’t the best way to bring it up, no,” Twilight admonished the party pony, “Princess Luna informed us of the basics of your … situation when she and Princess Celestia told us you were in the Everfree and suggested that you could use some friends.”

“Luna’s a Princess?!” the metallic voice of a young mare shrieked, “Vhy didn’t you mention this vhen I asked you about her?” the sourceless voice demanded of Trixie.

“If Princess Luna wished you to know who she was, she would have told you,” the illusionist replied, “Since she did not, it is not the Faithful and Dutiful Trixie’s place to reveal Trixie’s Diarch’s secrets.”

HellCaller glared down at the sword on her belt, “Yes, ve vill need to discuss sharing our secrets vith strangers, as vell,” turning back to the six mares, she continued, “So, vho exactly is this Princess Luna?”

“Luna is the Princess of the Moon,” Twilight explained, giving Pinkie a small “thank you” as the baker handed her a slice of cake, and adamantly not thinking about how the pink earth pony had fit the plates and cutlery inside her tiny pack alongside the cake, “She and her elder sister, Celestia, the Princess of the Sun, are the ruling diarchs of the Equestrian Empire.”

'Caller raised an eyebrow in confusion, “Vait, so are they Princesses or are they Imperial Diarchs?”

“Both,” Twilight replied, “As the goddesses of the Sun and the Moon under Faust, the Queen of the Heavens, they’re known as ‘Princesses’ as a religious title, and Celestia and Luna prefer to be called that,” she wiped some frosting from her lips, “They feel that having everypony refer to them as ‘Imperial Diarchs’ distances them too much from other ponies.”

As the demon mulled this bit of information over, absently eating some of the cake Pinkie had handed her, Rarity spoke up, “Actually, I believe some proper introductions might be in order, don’t you?”

“Trixie agrees,” the showmare replied as she stepped forward, “Bearers of Harmony, allow Trixie to introduce HellCaller of Kapul-uzg, Trixie’s teacher, who is very grumpy in the morning and Trixie thinks might be a bit too quick to resort to violence, and her soulblade, Kragor,” she leaned towards Twilight, “An actual living, thinking, artifact!” she squealed, before turning back to her mentor and waving at the other ponies, “HellCaller, Kragor, these are the ‘Bearers of Harmony’, representatives of some of the most powerful magic in all Equis, and the Princesses’ most obvious method of dealing with problems. First off is Rarity; a particularly vain mare, with pretentions of aristocracy, and a well-known gossip and drama queen, she is also the Element of Generosity, a talented fashion designer and seamstress, and she actually tries to live up to her ‘proper lady’ airs. Next, we have Applejack; something of a walking stereotype for farmponies, she is proud, crude, has a knee-jerk distrust of anything ‘fancy’ or ‘newfangled’ and is more stubborn than a herd of mules. The Element of Honesty is also dependable, supportive, and quite willing to work herself into exhaustion to help others. And then there is Rainbow Dash, the self-proclaimed ‘fastest flyer in Equestria’, a lazy, arrogant, impulsive, braggart and showoff, the Element of Loyalty is extremely dedicated to others, can even be altruistic, and might be as fast as she thinks she is.”

“Now, over here,” Trixie continued, ignoring the annoyed glares of the first three mares, “We have Pinkamena Pie, generally known as Pinkie, the Element of Laughter is unceasingly cheerful, devoted to bringing joy to others, optimistic to an almost pathological degree, and is one of the kindest ponies you will ever met, she is also scatterbrained, and obsessed with being the center of attention,” turning to point at Fluttershy the illusionist somehow missed that everyone in the cave (excepting Kragor) had raised an eyebrow at her last statement, “And then we have Fluttershy, a former fashion model, possibly the kindest pony you will ever met, willing to give everypony the benefit of the doubt, the Element of Kindness is also well-known as a coward and … well … a doormat. And finally, we have Twilight Sparkle, the most powerful unicorn of her generation, one of the most intelligent ponies in Equestria, always willing to try the diplomatic option first, the personal student of Princess Celestia herself, and a natural leader, the Element of Magic can also be an insufferable genius, neurotic, and her social skills need work. Oh, and she is an absolutely terrible dancer.”

“Yeah?” Rainbow grumbled, “Well you’re just a bigmouth who’s sore that we kicked your plot the last time we saw you!”

“You did not kick Trixie’s plot!” the showmare snapped, “Twilight Sparkle bested the Great and Powerful Trixie with her superior magical knowledge and ability!” her hand shot out to point at the confused librarian.

“Still, you could have phrased things a little nicer,” Fluttershy murmured.

“Trixie calls them as Trixie sees them.”

‘Caller put down her empty plate and gave the assembled ponies what would have been a pleasant smile, if not for how it emphasized her fangs, “Now that Trixie has handled introductions, vhy don’t you tell us vhy you’re really here?”

Twilight blinked as her ears fell, “What?”

“It vas a very nice cake, but Heroes of Realm, including a bloody paladin, being sent by their God-Princesses to ‘make friends’ vith a demon? Pull other one, it has bells on it.”

Pinkie tilted her head in confusion, “But you’re not wearing any bells, silly.”

Trixie sighed, “Did Trixie mention that Trixie’s teacher is also a cynic who has treated Trixie’s tales of Equestria with undisguised skepticism?”

“Vell, come on now, Trixie,” Kragor piped-up, “Blasting folks vith a ‘Magic Friendship Rainbow’ and making them ‘better’ is just silly, besides, it’s couldn’t be nearly as much fun as chopping off limbs and caving in chests, searing flesh vith fire or shattering bones vith lightning.”

“And Kragor is quite bloodthirsty,” the illusionist added, apologetically, “Trixie also forgot to mention that.”

“Really, dear,” Rarity admonished the soulblade, her muzzle wrinkling at the sword's cheerful brutality, “You could at least try to act a little more dignified.”

“Dignified? Miss Rarity, I’m a sword. Most people that I meet are reeking of blood and shit, and either screaming, begging, or praying to their gods before I take them. Vhat in Abyss vould I know about ‘dignified’?”

“Be that as it may,” said Twilight, with a slight shudder, “I understand that you have doubts, but we really do want to be friends. Please, just consider it?”

“I think you should listen to them, ‘Caller,” Kragor advised, surprising the ponyvillians with the unexpected support, “Fluttershy vould never lie to us, and Trixie trusts Twilight completely. Besides, Luna sent them, and she’s a nice pony-lady!”

HellCaller still looked unconvinced, so Twilight decided to try a different tact, “Maybe, you could come by the library tomorrow afternoon, and we could talk? Show you our good intentions? Oh, and Trixie, I have your hat and cape back at the library, as well.”

The showmare blinked and started to blush, “You kept Trixie’s cape and hat?”

“Of course I held on to them when you left them behind, I spent weeks trying to find you after you ran off into the Everfree!” Twilight glared at the illusionist, “Do you have any idea how reckless that was? How dangerous? How many nightmares you gave me?!”

“Y-you went looking for Trixie? You were worried about Trixie?” the azure unicorn was now blushing so badly that Discord (or possibly Pinkie Pie) could have cooked an egg on her forehead, before she took a deep breathe and visibly pulled herself together “Y-yes, well the Great and Powerful Trixie is most grateful for your efforts and c-concern and would be delighted to reclaim Trixie’s effects tomorrow at your residence,” this time everyone, except Kragor and an oblivious Twilight, gave Trixie a knowing or amused look (‘Caller was outright smirking at her red-faced student), which the showmare somehow still managed to completely miss.

“Vell, Trixie still has a great deal of training to do,” ‘Caller said, standing up and stacking Pinkie’s plates, “She may visit town tomorrow, if she vishes, and I … vill think about it.”

Recognizing the dismissal, the six mares gathered up the party supplies and headed for the cave mouth, as they left, Rainbow paused to ask, “Hey, Trixie, we meant to ask, what made you decide to try and join the Corps?”

“Join the Corps? Ah, the Great and Powerful Trixie understands,” the illusionist nodded, “It turns out that a ‘Magus’ is just a type of specially trained war wizard in HellCaller’s home Realm, Trixie was confused at first as well.”

"Huh," Rainbow grunted, "Well, good luck with that, I guess."

Ch. 07; Meetings in the Library

Trixie gnawed her lip nervously as she approached Ponyville, the site of her greatest failure as a performer since her early years in Neigh Orleans (her greatest failure in general was probably that attempt at rock farming in Rockville). Desperate for a distraction, she turned to the demoness walking beside her, “So … Trixie was wondering why you still look like a demon?”

“I have my reasons,” HellCaller replied, “I mislike hiding vhat I am for one, and for another, unlike my kin, I cannot simply change my apparent race on a vhim, and those particular spells don’t come easily to me,” she opened her mouth to continue, but a glance at Trixie gaping at her changed her train of thought, “Vhat is it this time, Trixie?”

“You can change your race? You can change your cutie mark?”

“I don’t have a cutie mark,” the demoness pointed out dryly, “But yes, I can change my shape, even turn into another species, as long as I have right spells,” she raised an eyebrow, “Let me guess, you ponies don’t have such spells, either.”

The showmare shook her head, “We have illusions to change a pony’s voice, coat and mane, and even to encourage others to not look too closely at our cutie marks, but to actually be another race, to be a griffin or a zebra …,” she turned big, pleading eyes on her mentor, “Will you teach Trixie these magics? Please?”

‘Caller merely chuckled, “Pulling on heart strings doesn’t vork on demons, and it only rarely vorks on hobgoblins … and, besides, magi do not have access to those spells.”

“But you do have those spells!” protested Trixie.

“And I am not just a magus, but you cannot simply learn to be a sorcerer, either you are born vith ability or you aren’t.”

Trixie walked along in a pout for a few minutes, before looking up, “Trixie still has a question.”

“Shoot.”

“Trixie would like to know, what is a ‘hobgoblin’, anyway?”

“I am,” ‘Caller replied, “Or a half-breed, on my father’s side, anyway. More precisely, hobgoblins are one of three subtypes of goblinoid races, I haven’t found an equivalent among people of your Realm, but then I haven’t really bothered looking either. Short version; hobgoblins are disciplined, organized, cooperative, industrious, and expansionistic. Ve’re also unapologetically ruthless, authoritarian, militaristic, and favor pragmatism and rule of vorthy far more than ‘fairness’ or coddling veak,” she offered the unicorn a fang filled smirk, “Ve’re definitely not vhat most races call ‘nice people’.”

“Do you think they’ll show?”

“But of course, darling,” Rarity reassured the nervously pacing unicorn, “Well, Trixie will, anyway, HellCaller, is … rather more debatable, I fear.”

“She did seem a bit … indifferent to the idea,” Twilight sighed, “Wait, why are you sure that Trixie will come, even if HellCall doesn’t?”

“Well duh, of course Trixie will come,” Pinkie assured the librarian, “She likes you, silly!”

“Oh good,” Twilight replied, “I rather like Trixie too, I hope we can put the past unpleasantness behind us and be friends.”

The baker facepalmed, “No, she like likes you.”

“Why are you saying it like that?” Twilight asked with a confused frown, “Is this like how a double negative is a positive, or something?”

Rarity put her hand on Pinkie’s shoulder and gently shook her head, “Perhaps this is a conversation for another time, darling?” she murmured, drawing a reluctant nod from the earth pony, as the tinkling of the bell over the library door announced Applejack’s, Rainbow Dash’s and Fluttershy’s arrival.

“Howdy, sugarcubes,” Applejack hailed the other mares, “Any sign of our … guests … yet?”

“AJ!” chided Twilight, “That’s not the right attitude for making friends with Trixie and HellCaller!”

“Ah know, Ah know,” the farmer sighed, “It’s jus’, after all tha trouble Trixie caused, an’ HellCaller being a demon what foalnapped Fluttershy an’ even her own student thinkin’ she’s too violent, Ah’m havin’ a hard time lettin’ it all go.”

“I understand, darling, truly, I do,” Rarity assured the farmpony, “But do remember, for all her belligerent ways, HellCaller did not want to foalnap dear Fluttershy, or to fight us for that matter. And while Trixie was obnoxiously smug, and she did go out of her way to humiliate us instead of actually trying to match our challenges, she was not responsible for the Ursa, and she did try to stop its rampage, and, when all was said and done, she lost far more than anypony else in Ponyville. So, please try and let bygones be bygones.”

Rainbow glanced out the window, “Speaking of Grogar, here they come.”

Joining Rainbow at the window, Twilight quickly spotted the duo, the cyan glow from the demon’s eyes making her easy to spot in the gloom of the heavy cloud cover, ‘Didn’t HellCaller have green eyes?’ the librarian wondered, before shrugging it aside and opening the door, “Good afternoon! Come in, come in,” she welcomed the pair, eagerly ushering them inside, “Thank you for accepting our offer.”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie had already said that Trixie would grace you with Trixie’s presence,” the showmare replied as she took a seat, “Although, Trixie admits to some surprise that Trixie’s mentor agreed to come.”

“Kragor prevailed upon me to hear you out,” 'Caller shrugged, "And this is definitely one of more ... unique ... libraries that I've seen."

“Well, we appreciate you giving us a chance,” Twilight assured her as she fetched a carefully mended, and rather flamboyant, hat and cape from inside her desk and presented them to Trixie.

The illusionist squealed happily as she clutched the garments to her chest, before remembering that she was not alone, “Ah, yes, Trixie thanks you for returning Trixie’s vestments to Trixie,” she said grandly, as she quickly donned the returned clothing and pulled her hat down to try and hide the blush coloring her cheeks.

“So, tell us a little about yourself, HellCaller,” Rarity requested, shooting a small smile at Trixie as she drew everypony’s attention away from the embarrassed mare, “What did you do before you chose Trixie as your student?”

“Let’s see … I served in Legions for a long time, did some vandering and short-hire merc vork for a vhile, vas treasurer for UnChosen Ones, came back to Kapul-uzg to fight in civil var, got stuck in a government position, eventually resigned, took over tower of a mad vizard, retired, started to go stir-crazy from boredom, and then I got summoned here.”

“Who were the UnChosen Ones, and why did they need a treasurer?” Pinkie asked around a handful of popcorn.

“UnChosen Ones vere an adventuring party Kragor and I helped found. Once others learned that I had experience vith logistics and supply, they vere very eager to drop all bookkeeping on me,” HellCaller snorted.

“Why would you call yourselves the ‘UnChosen Ones’?” Fluttershy wondered, “Wouldn’t you want to have something more … impressive sounding? Or inspirational? If you don’t mind me asking ….”

“Linzi insisted that ve needed a name for group,” 'Caller shrugged, “Some bard thing, I guess.”

“I vanted to call us ‘Death and Taxes’,” the soulblade added, “But Linzi thought it vas too depressing.”

“Heh, she did insist that ve need something less ill-omened,” HellCaller admitted with a wry chuckle, “Anyway, Phvan pointed out that ve veren’t exactly ‘the chosen ones’ or anything, a few drinks and one tavern brawl later and ve had our name.”

“Sounds like ya’ve had a real busy life,” Applejack observed, “Truth ta tell, Ah’m a mite surprised that ya was so involved in the affairs of regular ponies.”

“I may have been born touched by powers of Abyss, but I was born into Imperium,” 'Caller explained, “And vhile ve may revere our ancestors and their accomplishments, Imperium puts a high value on advancing through your own efforts.”

“Now, I have a question,” HellCaller paused to grin at her student, “I want to know all details of Trixie’s last visit to Ponyville and this confrontation between her and Twilight.”

“You see,” Trixie said as the pair walked away from the library, “No traps, no deceptions, and you kept those detection spells up for nothing. While Trixie has no particular love for most of the Bearers, you can trust them.”

“Trust must be earned, my apprentice,” HellCaller chided the unicorn, “Trusting too quickly or too easily has been death of many.”

“But you trust Trixie,” the illusionist protested, “Surely you can extend your trust to them as well.”

“Ah, but do I trust you? Or have you merely not triggered any of my precautions yet?” 'Caller’s lips curled in an unpleasant grin, “Enough of this for now, go, enjoy your time in town, get vhat you need from merchants, valk off some of that lust you’re reeking of, just be back before rain starts,” she unbuckled the sheathe from her belt and held her sword out to the showmare, “Here, take Kragor vith you, so she doesn’t keep pestering me.”

“Don’t let ‘Caller get to you,” the soulblade reassured Trixie as the unicorn glared after her teacher, “She really does think you’d make a good magus, this is just her fucking vith you, keeping you on your toes.”

“Trixie thinks that Trixie’s teacher could find a better method of testing Trixie’s attentiveness,” the mare sniffed, “And Trixie does not ‘reek’ of lust, no matter what misconceptions HellCaller may have!”

“Well, actually, you do,” Kragor disagreed cheerfully, “‘Caller’s mother is a succubus, so she can smell lust on you. So, vhich one is it? Farmgirl? Oh, oh, librarian? No, vait, is it Fluttershy?”

Trixie buried her face in her hands and made a sound that was half groan and half whimper as the soulblade blithely chattered away.

“Pardon me, Miss,” the earth pony stallion in a brown suit, bowtie and fez apologized as he brushed past Trixie, “Dreadful hurry, love the hat!”

“Vho vas that?”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie has no idea … why do you ask?”

“There’s something familiar about him,” Kragor replied, “Almost like I’ve tasted him before ….”

The illusionist shrugged, turning her attention back to the array of blank scrolls and books displayed in the window of Sofas and Quills. ‘Perhaps the town of Ponyville has forgiven Trixie?’ she mused hopefully, for while there had been a number of sharp looks and some muttering as she went about the town, no pony had been openly hostile to the showmare.

“Hey, look! Its Trixie!” the excited cry brought the unicorn spinning around to see a small herd of foals descending upon her while shouting questions:

“Are you putting on another show?”

“Where have you been?”

“Are you going to pick a fight with my sister again?”

“Why do you have a sword? Are you a swashbuckling heroine now?”

Trixie swirled her cape around herself, ‘Trixie must always look good for Trixie’s public,’ as she answered the foals’ queries; “The Great and Powerful Trixie has been traveling throughout Equestria, and while Trixie is not currently performing, that may change if Trixie can get permission from Trixie’s new teacher. Trixie has no intention of picking a fight with anypony, and the sword belongs to Trixie’s mentor, who is training Trixie to be a swashbuckling heroine, of sorts.”

“If its your teacher’s sword, why are you carrying it?” asked a small, pale violet, unicorn filly, her muzzle wrinkled in confusion.

“Trixie is carrying the sword, because she wanted to see the town.”

“Huh?” blinked an orangish pegasus filly with unusually small wings, “So you wanted to see the town? Or are you trying to claim that the sword did?”

“Both,” Trixie reached out to ruffle the pegasus’ cerise mane, causing the filly to embarrassedly swat at her hand, “Say hello, Kragor.”

The gathered foals exchanged bewildered looks, only to stare in shock as the sword piped up, “Greetings pony-people!”

“You have a talking sword!” the foals shouted excitedly.

“Yes, yes,” Kragor grumbled, “You pony-people always find that so surprising. Now, know that I am Great and Powerful Kragor, Black Fang, I know much and tell some!”

“Oh yeah?” challenged a white earth pony colt with a Trottingham accent and a brown patch around his eye, “If you’re so smart, tell us how many angels can sit on the head of a pin?”

“Simplicity itself! First, measure head of pin, then measure angels’ asses (this should be done twice, both to ensure accuracy and because I have heard that many angels have quite nice asses), finally, divide B into A vith simple arithmetic.”

“Kragor!” Trixie protested, even as the gathered foals burst into giggles at the blade’s vulgar language.

“Tell us how to get rich!” dared a pale grey pegasus colt.

“Even simpler! Find someone vho is already rich, kill them and take their stuff, then you find someone else vho is rich, kill them and take their stuff! Then find ---”

“That is enough, Kragor!” commanded a scandalized Trixie, “These are foals!” she added in a half-whisper.

“Really? … Are you sure?”

“Of course we’re foals,” a greyish-white unicorn filly declared, “Can’t you see us?”

“Vell of course I can’t see you,” Kragor retorted, “I don’t have any eyes!”

“But ya’re talkin’ ta us jus’ fine without a mouth,” pointed out a yellowish earth pony filly with a great pink bow in her mane.

“I … I don’t have a response for that,” the soulblade admitted.

“Foals!” a familiar, posh-accented voice called out, “It will be raining soon, so let’s let Trixie get on with her business, shall we? I’m sure she will be delighted to talk with you later.”

“Ahh,” the foals groaned as Applejack and Rarity approached from the direction of the library, “Can’t we ask Kragor just one more question?” begged the beribboned filly.

“Well, Ah suppose it would be a’right,” Applejack drawled, apparently missing Trixie’s frantic attempts at a “subtle” headshake.

The colts and fillies put their heads together as they argued what to ask, before the pegasus filly finally stepped forward, “So, umh … do you have any advice for us? Anything you think we ought to know?"

“Hmm …," Kragor mused for a moment, "Never run from anything immortal, it attracts their attention.”

Interlude: Training, Learning, Performing

“Levnim Kaegro,” a beam of golden light shot from Trixie’s outstretched hand to splash against the training dummy, while the mare gave a slight grunt as the rapier in her other hand lanced forward to gouge another notch in the wood.

Across the cave, HellCaller didn’t even look up from where she was prepping some meat for smoking, “Again.”

Light blasted and wood chips flew.

“Again.”

“Can Trixie at least use another spell?” the unicorn groaned, “The Studious and Obedient Trixie has been doing these exercises for weeks and she could probably cast this invocation in her sleep now.”

“That is point, my Apprentice,” the demoness replied, finally bothering to look at Trixie, “Disrupt Undead is a very veak spell, but it is also only completely reliable spell against undead that a magus has, and once you are properly trained, you vill be able to cast it unlimited number of times in a day. It also doesn’t damage training dummy, so ve von’t have to replace it as often,” ‘Caller smirked at her student, “Besides, I thought you said positive energy bolt vas ‘pretty’.”

The illusionist sighed and turned back to her exercises, while 'Caller continued with her own tasks, until, a few hours later, she began to collect her tools, “Go in and vash up,” she told a sweating Trixie, “Ve’ll continue your studies tonight, for now ve’ll head into town. I’m sure you’ll find something to do, and I need to arrange for some armor for your training, anyway,” 'Caller grinned as the showmare gave a theatrical shudder.

Trixie groaned in relief as she flexed her stiff shoulders, getting measured, and a basic fitting, for a boiled leather cuirass, vambraces and greaves took more time and effort than she had thought, ‘Trixie is surprised that Ponyville even has a leatherworker who does armor,’ the illusionist mused, as she popped her spine, “Now, what should Trixie do?” her mentor had given her the rest of the afternoon off, but she didn’t really know what do with it, “Maybe … Trixie could go to the library? Only to find a book, of course.”

Heading towards Golden Oak, the showmare was nearly trampled when a herd of foals, freshly released from school, came swarming out of an alley, “Hey, look! Its Trixie!”

“Are you doing shows yet, Miss Trixie?”

“Trixie is sorry …,” the illusionist replied, blinking at the sense of deja vu, before the disappointment on the foals’ faces struck a chord inside of her, ‘Trixie has no supplies or equipment … but Trixie started her career with nothing more than her talent and drive!’ “Yes, yes Trixie will put on a show! Trixie will be at the park gazebo in fifteen minutes, and Trixie expects to see you all there!”

A sudden explosion of smoke heralded Trixie’s appearance in the gazebo and return to the stage; what followed was over an hour of sleight of hand, minor illusions, and misdirection. The showmare even spontaneously adapted some of the minor invocations she had learned from HellCaller to entertainment purposes by chilling her audience’s drinks and exposing some of the spectators to the warm, tingling, feeling Disrupt Undead caused a living subject. And she managed to do it without once mocking any of her audience or issuing a challenge to anypony, despite some urges to return to her old, antagonistic, style.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie thanks you all,” Trixie bowed extravagantly as the foals, and several adults who had wandered in, clapped wildly, “Trixie will have new shows as her training permits, tell your friends!” and, with that, the she disappeared in another cloud of smoke.

Trixie leaned back gratefully into the armchair, hiding a grimace as her sore muscles twinged – she was a showmare, something of an academic, and well accustomed to life on the road, but now she was training to also be a magical warrior, and that instruction put new and painful demands on her body.

The physical exertion, and its attendant aches, aside, Trixie was more engaged than she had been in years; she had put on a successful performance, and she was learning a whole new form of magic, one completely unknown not just in Equestria, but in the whole of Equis, and her teacher had decided that the illusionist's training was progressing well enough to earn her a small reward; one evening of questions, truthfully answered, as long as her mentor believed that Trixie could handle those answers.

Said mentor was currently sitting across from Trixie, her spell-wrought blade casually slung over her chair’s back, “So, vhat shall ve discuss, my student?” the demon asked, flashing her apprentice a fanged grin, “History? Politics? Tactics? Tales from my Realm you might turn into part of your show?”

“Trixie will take you up on the last one later, but for now, Trixie wishes to ask you about Names.”

“That … can be a dangerous question, Apprentice,” ‘Caller replied softly.

“Trixie is not so foolish as to ask after her teacher’s Name,” the unicorn sniffed, “But the Magus Corps must already deal with demons and the fae, and Trixie suspects she will need to be able to as well, and Names are an integral part of it.”

'Caller nodded her head, “Very vell, overview of Names it shall be, then. First thing you should know are that there are Names and then there are names, and then there are names, and no, I am not just talking in circles,” she smirked at Trixie before continuing, “For fae, as vell as greater beings from infernal, celestial, and elemental planes, vhat I know as ‘Outsiders’, a Name is not just a designation, it is a reflection, expression, of entity’s nature, in some ways it helps define that entity’s nature. Knowing a fae or outsider’s Name can give you power over it, vith right spells and enough strength of vill, you can use a Name to harm, hinder, bind, aid, or even kill, if you’re powerful enough. That is vhy fae and outsiders guard their Names so jealously, and more powerful among them are usually referred to by titles,” 'Caller took a draught from her mug before continuing, “Any summoner or diabolist vorth his salt knows a list of Names, and is always, always, looking to learn more, but, using Names is a dangerous business, invoking a Name too often or too casually vill rouse ire of one Named, and none can hold a grudge like immortal.”

“Next there are names, commonplace names people use without a though every day.”

Trixie frowned in confusion, ‘What do normal pony names have to do with the fae and demons?’

“For most folk it doesn’t matter too much,” ‘Caller went on, not noticing the unicorn's puzzlement, “But for anyone vho needs to deal vith Named it is vital to know that if one of Named knows your full, true, name, then they can use it to affect you just as invoking their Name can be used against them. And it’s not just Named you must be aware of,” she added, “Any caster can use knowledge of someone’s true name to strength rituals and curses, just like a lock of hair or bit of blood, so keep your true name a closely guarded secret, my Apprentice, and only give it to those you trust absolutely.”

“Finally, you have use-names and pseudonyms, like Deadhand, Mender, Limper, FarTraveller, Bride, or maybe something with a bit more style, like HellCaller,” the demon preened slightly as Kragor laughed, “For most part, such names provided excellent protection against anyone trying to use your name against you.”

“The Astute and Observant Trixie suspects that there is a ‘but’ coming.”

‘Caller nodded, “Longer a use-name is carried, and more renown or infamy that gets attached to it, more … let’s call it ‘veight’ … that name has in veave of Creation, after enough time, maybe being passed from person to person, and enough notable actions, a use-name becomes so representative of its bearer that it can serve as a second true name for rituals and other magic.”

Trixie frowned, “You are several centuries old, does that mean that you are still Named, even though you go by a use-name?”

“In normal course of things, yes, it vould,” the demoness agreed, “But there are ancient rituals that can sever a person’s connection to their name, sacrificing their name, or Name, for greater arcane power, those rites also prevent your new use-name from gaining enough ‘veight’ for it to replace vhat you forfeited.”

“The why does not every pony use these rituals?” Trixie inquired, “It sounds like it would offer much to anypony with magical talents.”

“It does, but there are drawbacks; most religions consider sacrificing your name to be some sort of sin, a rejection of your parents, ancestors and gods, so rituals are often treated as ‘black magic’. Then, there is fact that forfeiting your name makes it anathema to you, anyone vho knows it gains power over you, as much or ever more than power granted by knowing Name of a fae or an outsider. Finally, rituals are extremely difficult to perform and almost nothing is recorded about them, so each caster must re-discover rites themselves, and doing them even slightly vrong is quite fatal,” HellCaller got up, stretched, and went to refill her mug, “I think that is enough on that for tonight,” she said, turning back to face the showmare, “You have your studies, and another show to prepare for, I’d vager, so I vill let you get back to them," seeing Trixie's pout, she wagged her finger at the mare, "I promised you overview, and that is vhat you got. Think about vhat you have learned and come up vith more questions."

"Fine," the illusionist sighed, "But Trixie expects to hear stories from your Realm next time!"

"I'll try to remember some of better ones," 'Caller promised, chuckling.

Ch. 08; An Apple a Day Keeps the Summoners Away

HellCaller bolted upright in bed, her face twisted in a snarl, only to relax as the lingering traces of magic faded.

:‘Caller?: the demoness’ soulblade murmured, her telepathic voice still muzzy with sleep, :Vhat is it?:

:Someone just attempted to summon a greater demon,: ‘Caller’s replied, jolting Kragor fully awake, :Spell vasn’t directed at any particular demon, so it tried to snag us.:

:A ritual strong enough for you to feel, even if you veren’t compelled to answer, is more than enough to call most balors or pit fiends,: the sword mused, :If the summoner vasn’t seeking a specific demon, than vhatever responded may vell be more than they are prepared to control.:

:Even if ritual vas strong enough, ve are already bound,: 'Caller’s lip curled at the irony, :Thanks to Do Not Steal’s accursed ritual, I doubt ve can ever be forced to answer a summon again,: rising from her bed, ‘Caller headed for her closet and began to dress, her sleep was already ruined, “Vhoever they are, I got a glimpse of them, and they are here, in this Realm.”

“You don’t think that they might have another grimoire … do you, ‘Caller?”

“I’m not villing to take that chance,” 'Caller retorted, scooping up her sword as she headed for her scrying chamber.

Luna shook her head in amusement as she left the dream bubble, ‘For one with such a well-developed ego to hath nightmares over romantic anxiety of all things,’ she thought, ‘Mayhaps I should encourage darling Cadance to start spreading her efforts beyond Canterlot … an advice for the lovelorn column in one of the newspapers, perchance?’ looking around, she strolled over to another, nearby, dream bubble, ‘I wonder what young Kragor is dreaming of tonight,’ but before entering the dream, the Princess of the Moon stopped as a thought occurred to her, ‘I hath never seen HellCaller’s dreams … does she wrap herself in wards such that I cannot perceive her imaginings? Or is her mind so different that I do not recognize her dreamscape when I see it?’ shrugging the notion away for another time, Luna entered the dream.

A forest glade spread about the alicorn, the surrounding trees pack so tightly that they formed an impassible wall, while a thick layer of grass and moss covered the ground, near the center of the glade, a quartet of skeletons played instruments, while Kragor and several, very fluffy, rabbits danced to the macabre musicians’ music.

“Hey, Luna!” the young mare waved, “Come and dance vith us!”

With a smile and a small shrug, Luna joined the festivities.

Hours later, but in truth only a few minutes thanks to dream manipulation, Luna led Kragor away from the still frolicking rabbits to a pair of seats, “Thou seem to be enjoying thyself most enthusiastically, young Kragor,” she observed, “Is there a particular reason for thy merriment?”

“I’m just trying to get in as much dreaming as I can before ve go hunting tomorrow,” Kragor replied, “My sister doesn’t usually sleep much vhen she’s got bit between her teeth, and ‘Caller vants this summoner dealt vith.”

“Summoner?” Luna's ears perked up, “What summoner might this be and why are thou seeking them out?”

“Ve don’t know just vho she is, exactly, but vhomever she is, she did a demon summoning strong enough that ‘Caller felt it.”

“While I can appreciate HellCaller’s and thine desire to confront this warlock, dealing with such ponies is the duty of the Night Guard and Magus Corps, not private individuals acting without Royal approval,” Luna objected with a frown, “It would be better for all if thy sister would work with the Magus Corps on this.”

“Yeah, you can try telling ‘Caller that,” Kragor snorted, “Vhatever this summoner-pony is up too, her ritual vas strong enough to call a demon lordling or attract the attention of vorse.”

“Do thou even know where to begin thy search?” Luna sighed.

“Uh-huh,” the soulblade nodded, idly scratching the ears of one of the rabbits, “‘Caller got a look at summoner-pony vhen she tried to call us, and ‘Caller has been busy Scrying on her to get enough information to find her.”

“Where is she, then?”

“Near some place called Vhinnybridge … Luna? Luna, vhat’s vrong?”

“There have been several disappearances from the village of Whinnybridge, a Magus was dispatched to help with the investigation,” the Princess of Night said grimly, “How long ago was this summoning attempted?”

“Just this morning past.”

“Then it is possible that the missing ponies may yet live,” Luna said, with a sharp nod, “The Magus will still be on the road, I will contact them and tell them to make all haste.”

“I’ll vake up ‘Caller,” Kragor replied, her own face showing a combination of bleak resolve and unholy eagerness that made Luna's ears folded back in alarm, “Ve’ll be at Summoner-pony vithin hour.”

“The Princesses, Zanobia and all the other divines take it,” Trixie groaned in annoyance, first her teacher spent most of the day closeted away in her chambers, now she was up in the middle of the night, disturbing the showmare’s sleep just when it had gone from nightmares to an exceptionally pleasant little fantasy about Twilight Sparkle. Rising from her bed with a huff, Trixie threw on her nightgown and stomped out to confront her tartarean Master, “The Weary and Fatigued Trixie is trying to sleep!”

“Voops! Sorry, Trixie,” Kragor apologized, “Ve’ll be out of here in a minute and you can get back to bed.”

The unicorn narrowed sleep-fuzzed eyes, “You’re up to something,” she accused, “Give Trixie a few minutes to dress and Trixie will be ready to accompany you.”

‘Caller made a short, chopping, gesture, “No.”

“But Trixie is your apprentice,” Trixie protested, “Where you go, Trixie goes!”

“You are not ready for this,” stated the demoness, “You vould be no more than sword fodder if one ve seek is as strong as I believe, and sword fodder only vorks in numbers,” seeing the showmare’s pout, ‘Caller’s voice softened ever so slightly, “Train and study, my Apprentice, your time vill come, likely sooner than you vish.”

'Caller clapped her hands together, “Now, it is time for us to be off. Jennuilt Zhin.”

“Ow,” ‘Caller rubbed her forehead and shifted her limbs to try and ease the pain of displacement, “Someone in this fool Realm has figured out Forbiddance or a proper Dimensional Lock,” she grumbled. Looking around, 'Caller spied the tumbled wreckage of a recently razed village nearby, the occasional flame gleaming in the night among the ruins, “And I suspect that is Vhinnybridge.”

“Ve should tell Luna and girls.” Kragor suggested.

The demoness nodded, “Agreed, but first thing’s first. Discern Location.”

When the ritual was finished, ‘Caller began a second for her Sending to Twilight:

“Relay this information to your Princesses immediately.

Whinnybridge in ruins, no survivors currently evident.

Summoner is underground, two miles East-northeast of Whinnybridge.

Proceeding on foot.”

The prints of several great, clawed, feet and accompanying drag marks led 'Caller from the devastated village deep into a nearby forest and finally to an overgrown and, seemingly, long abandoned cemetery. The trail continued deeper into the boneyard, until finally ending at the suspiciously sturdy doors of a massive mausoleum. With a few words, she cast Arcane Sight and leaned forward to examine the portal.

“Vell?”

“No spelltraps,” 'Caller informed her soulblade, “Just Alarm spell and some symbol inscribed vith Arcane Mark.”

“Really?” Kragor asked curiously, “Vhat does it look like?”

“A ram’s head surrounded by a ring of fire,” ‘Caller replied absently, “It looks like Dimensional Lock doesn’t extend beyond doors, but vith that Alarm there is no vay to surprise vhatever is inside.”

“Pity,” Kragor sighed, before giving a dark chuckle, “But like Linzi always said, ‘If you can’t be subtle ….’”

“… ‘Then be memorable’,” 'Caller finished, with a grin of her own. Standing back up, she drew her blade and pointed at the great doors, “Disintegrate.” There was an odd “ping” sound, like metal cooling too fast, and the center of the doors simply disappeared in a puff of dust, leaving the outer leaves hanging from their hinges.

Striding forward, the demoness entered a great hall, easily forty feet long, littered with rubble and the ravaged corpses of dozens of ponies, while a wide stairway descending into the earth at the far end. A host of withered, bestial ponies, including a number of fang-mouthed foals, looked up from where they had been feeding on the dead, while a quartet of fiendish-looking ponies, with coal-black scaled skins and horned skulls for heads, turned to glare at the intruder. Near the back wall, a massive reptilian biped, nearly twice the size of an ogre, reared up on a pair of cloven hooves and pointed a clawed finger at ‘Caller, “Destroy the interloper!” it roared in horribly accented Abyssal.

“Must be some of local demon breeds,” 'Caller guessed as the throng surged forward, “Vell, let’s clear out rabble, shall ve? Horrid Vilting,” as the incantation rang out, the ghoulish ponies collapsed into small clouds of dust, while the five demons all recoiled in pain as their flesh withered and cracked. With a throaty laugh, she sprinted to the nearest of the skull-faced demons and lashed out with her sword, the eldritch blade tearing through the startled fiend’s scaly hide, two more blows pitched her opponent to the floor, smoke and ichor leaking from its wounds as the demon dissolved into a noxious mist.

The equestrian demons seemed taken aback at the speed of ‘Caller’s assault, but quickly rallied; the three skull-headed demons enshrouded the demoness in a heavy haze of freezing, sickening, darkness, while the giant demon spoke a word of terrible, blasphemous power, but, to their dismay, 'Caller simple stood through their assault, one eyebrow raised, as Kragor’s giggles echoed through the vault, “Unholy Blight and Blasphemy are very effective spells against mortals,” she observed in Abyssal, “But they have no effect on other demons, I fear,” she favored the demons with a cold smile, “Chains of Fire.”

A whirling bolt of flames streaked from ‘Caller’s hand to slam into the giant demon, before splashing out to strike the other three in turn. As the trio of smaller demons collapsed, the giant shimmered and teleported to the far side of the chamber, as the entire crypt filled with flames. The gigantic fiend began to grin, only for ‘Caller to burst out of the inferno, runes glowing along Kragor’s length, and send his head tumbling from his shoulders in a single swipe.

Slapping out embers and the occasional flame, the demoness walked over to the stairwell, happily breathing in the smell of brimstone and burned meat that filled the chamber, as she looked over the doors blocking the stairs twenty feet below, :Huh, interior doors are almost identical to ones outside,: she relayed to her soulblade, :No spells on these, however, and symbol is openly etched into doors.:

Carefully descending the steps, ‘Caller could barely make out voices, rendered unintelligible by distance and the thickness of the doors, while a gentle touch indicated that the doors were unsealed. Taking a firmer grip on her sword’s hilt, the demoness kicked the doors open and strode inside.

The chamber was much like the mausoleum above, albeit more than twice as long, with another stairwell at the opposite end, and strewn with scattered rubble. Five cages holding terrified ponies lined the walls, while a pair of ponies in ritual robes chanted at a glowing ritual circle engraved onto the floor, finally, a half-dozen ghoulish ponies, more heavily built than the earlier ones, and a pair of decayed pony-angels hissed at the intruders. As the undead swarmed towards ‘Caller, a ghostly tentacle emerged from the glowing glyph and latched onto one of the prisoners, sending him into convulsions.

“More riffraff,” 'Caller sneered, “Horrid Vilting,” she raised an eyebrow when, although visibly injured by the invocation, the cultists and their undead minions remained standing, “So, you’re tougher than I thought,” the demoness admitted, her blade lashing out to sever a ghoul’s reaching arm, “That just means that this vill be more fun!”

The maimed ghoul quickly fell to ‘Caller’s hacking blows, its spraying blood searing whatever flesh it touched, only to be replaced as the pony writhing in the spectral tentacle’s grip transformed into another ghoul and fell upon a fellow prisoner.

With an annoyed snarl, 'Caller rushed across the chamber, undead claws ripping at her armor. Two blows of her soulblade sheered through the cheap iron of the lock, allowing her to reach in and yank the startled ghoul out of the cage as the ethereal tendril lashed out to grab another pony as she flung the ghoul aside.

With a swipe of Kragor, the demoness unleashed a churning wave of green and purple arcane energy that tore across the room, shearing through the ritual circle and the two cultists, leaving one laying broken upon the smashed and semi-molten stones, while the caged prisoners were left untouched, the otherworldly tentacle having vanished when the glyph was disrupted.

“You cannot prevent the Demon Ram’s return, Faustian!” the remaining cultist shrilled, her horn glowing fuchsia as she threw a bolt of energy at ‘Caller, “The sacrifices will continue!”

Twisting aside from the spell, 'Caller closed on the ranting cultist, her soulblade pounding through a hastily conjured shield, leaving the unicorn clutching a handful of her own entrails as she slumped to the ground, as the demoness flung a fireball at the oncoming undead.

The already injured ghouls went up in flames, but the freshly turned ghoul and the rotted angels pressed forward; claws tearing, fangs gnashing, and whenever one of the angels managed to draw blood, the wound instantly mortified.

“Chains of Fire,” once again the flames roared out, consuming the ghoul, who’s caustic, spurting blood charred more of ‘Caller’s skin, while a few sword strokes sufficed to deal with the corrupted angels as the burned.

Turning away from the bodies littering the floor, 'Caller quickly scraped away the necrotic flesh from her wounds and bound them, only to pause on her way to the stairs as Kragor spoke up, “Vhat about ponies?”

Glancing back at the caged prisoners, she shrugged, “Vhat about them?”

“'Caller!” the spellblade groaned, “Vhat vould Fluttershy and girls vant us to do? Vhat vould Linzi vant us to do?”

“Fine!” ‘Caller snapped, petulantly stomping over to the cages, she quickly hacked away the locks, before point her sword up the stairs, “Vay out is clear, for now,” the demoness said, “I think your Princess has people on their vay to Vhinnybridge, so you can vait for them there.”

As the ponies hurried away as best they could, half-carrying their injured, ‘Caller turned back to the stairwell down, “Happy?” she grumbled.

“Yes,” Kragor chirped, “So, vhat does next door look like?”

“It has same symbol on it, only this time it glows, and doors have glyphs of varding on them.”

“Sounds like it might be main chamber,” the soulblade suggested.

“Could be,” 'Caller agreed, “Vhich means they’ll have been alerted by that Alarm, seeing as both of these halls vere oblivious.”

Kragor hummed to herself, “Disintegrate doors again, maybe?”

“Sounds good to me,” ‘Caller shrugged, pointing at the ensorcelled doors, “Disintegrate,” the demoness’ eyes darted about as she took in the revealed vault; as long as the previous chamber, if not so wide, four battered doors revealed the presence of side crypts, while a small cluster of rickety bookshelves filled one corner. A robed pegasus mare, partially healed burns visible on her muzzle, stood near the center of the hall, flanked by two more of the corrupted angels, while the mausoleum’s final occupant lounged upon a crude throne of rubble – a balor lordling, if ‘Caller did not miss her guess.

Clad in nothing more than a loincloth and a heavy belt from which hung a flaming whip and a sword, the demon would stand twice ‘Caller’s height if erect, great, draconic, wings twitched idly, as flames raced over his scaled hide. A horned, equine, skull turned to regard the demoness with blazing eyes, “So this is our intruder … have you come to offer yourself to great Chethas the Depraved, little half-breed morsel? My new priestess could use some help satisfying my urges,” he added, waving at the mare, who shuddered.

‘Caller rolled her eyes at the demon’s offer, she had been propositioned by more powerful, and more appealing, entities many a time, and, frankly, her full-demon sisters’ blandishments had been far more enticing anyway, and for that matter, just how did a skull manage to leer? “I gather you are one vho put up Dimensional Lock?”

“Oh, that? A simple precaution, nothing more, although it seems that such abjurations are beyond the understanding of these ponies,” Chethas waved the matter aside, “Now, Dominate Monster, strip off that armor, morsel, and present yourself before your Master, I want a better look at my new toy.”

Strutting forward with an eager, even sultry, grin, the demoness began to fumble with the catches of her armor, only to stop and smirk up at the balor, “Horrid Vilting,” as the spell washed over the chamber, ‘Caller lunged forward, caving in the head of one of the corrupted angels, while a second strike crunched into the armor the pegasus wore beneath her robes, staggering the mare. “Cold Ice Strike,” she incanted, unleashing a shredding blast of jagged ice shards that knocked the cultist sprawling and slammed into the balor, ripping his flesh as he rose from his throne.

Stepping forward, his great whip lashing in one fist, Chethas glared down at the brazen demoness who dared to defy him, “Implosion.”

‘Caller staggered, coughing blood, as the curse’s destructive resonance struck her, but she kept her feet, “Polar Ray,” she countered, a blue-white beam lancing from her hand to strike Chethas full in the chest, quickly encasing the demon in a layer of ice, “Cold Ice Strike,” a second spell blasted the remaining undead angel, throwing it to the ground in a broken heap even as its claws tore at her.

The demoness took a deep breath, only to snap her head up at the shrill scream of breaking ice as the balor forced his way out of his glacial tomb, his whip lashing out to coil around ‘Caller and yank her into the demon’s fiery embrace, “Impudent bitch!” Chethas snarled, his sword smashing down to snap one of ‘Caller’s arms, even as her armor kept the blow from biting deep.

‘Caller didn’t deign to reply to the demon’s words, instead hurling another wave of pure eldritch energy that blasted the balor back through the shattered remnants of his throne. Spitting blood to the side, the demoness fixed Chethas with a glare as he rose back to his feet and spoke a single word of power, “Die.”

At ‘Caller’s utterance, Chethas the Depraved, aspiring Abyssal Lord, died … and his body immediately exploded in a blast of unholy fire.

Rising to her feet from where she had been thrown, ‘Caller winched as the burns that now covered half of her face, along with a host of other injuries, screamed at her, “At least that is done vith,” she groaned, her nose wrinkling at the acrid smell of burnt hair.

A trace of movement in the corner of her eye brought the demoness twisting around, as the cultist rose to her feet with a shout, “Sawakhaetshii Grogar!” a flood of confusing images and emotions assaulted ‘Callers mind, dazing her as the psychic assault caused fresh blood to drip from her nose and ears. Drawing a leaf-bladed, enruned, short sword from beneath her robes, the mare rushed forward, driving her weapon through the armpit of the stunned demon’s armor, and deep into her lungs, “Feed great Grogar with your death, demon!” the pegasus spat, twisting her sword and bringing forth a great gout of blood.

The cultist turned away, but was stopped by a hand gripping her shoulder, “It takes a bit more than that to kill me,” ‘Caller gurgled through the blood pouring from her mouth, “Maximized Vampiric Touch,” she sighed happily as her wounds closed and broken bones snapped back into place, before gazing at the mare who hung limply in her grasp, glazed eyes staring blankly, “I believe you mentioned feeding someone?” ‘Caller asked, her sword stabbing down, runes blazing, as Kragor devoured another soul.

While Chethas’ death throes had destroyed the bookshelves and their contents, (‘Caller could just imagine Twilight’s grieving over the lost tomes) a search of the side chambers turned up a diary and a grimoire, along with camping supplies, several minor magical items, what turned out to be a Bag of Holding, and a large stash of healing potions and unguents, which the demoness dug into eagerly. Adding in what she plundered from the fallen cultists, and ‘Caller felt that she had acquired a nice, not great, but nice, little payday for her efforts.

“Ve should probably make an account to somebody,” Kragor sighed, “I hate dealing vith paper-pushers and making reports that no one vill likely ever read,” she grumbled.

“Oh, you poor baby,” ‘Caller mocked her sister, “Stuck listening to reports and testimonies, vhat horror, I had to vrite accursed things, and read them too! Come on, troops Luna vas sending vill hopefully reach Vhinnybridge soon, ve can make our reports to them.”

The Sun was just beginning to rise as Princess Luna and her escort stepped out of the shadows in the ruins of what had once been a prosperous hamlet. Spotting the cluster of refugees being tended by the soldiers that had accompanied the Magus she had sent earlier, the alicorn directed her attendants, and the medicines and supplies they were carrying, to work.

After receiving a full report from the Magus, Breezy Lake, she turned her attention to one final individual; an armored figure, perched lazily on the stump of a ruined wall as she read, and rather conspicuously avoided by the other ponies. “Hello, Luna!” chirped a metallic voice as the alicorn approached, “It’s nice to see you in vaking vorld instead of my dreams!”

“Hello, young Kragor,” Luna replied warmly, as she eyed the soulblade’s elder sister, ‘Much as I had imagined her from the reports … but why does half of her head look freshly shaved? Is it some fashion thing? Maybe darling Cadance or gracious Rarity would know ….’ “And greetings to thou, as well, HellCaller,” the Lunar Diarch smiled at the demon.

“Nice …,” 'Caller drawled as she openly ogled the Princess, “At least my little sister has good taste in vho she shares our secrets vith.”

Luna bowed her head slightly in acknowledgement of both the implied rebuke and the, admittedly crude, compliment, “The situation was … most unusual,” she acknowledged, “And I truly hope we may leave the regretful matter in the past. Now, if thou would tell me what hast transpired here?”

Rising from her seat with a nod, ‘Caller clasped her hands behind her back and began her report.

“Vhen ve got back to town, you’re folk vere pretty freaked out by us, so that magus of yours, Lake I think it vas, asked us to vait off to side until you got here,” the demoness cocked her head slightly, “So … vho vere those cultists, anyway?”

“Devotees of Grogar the Corruptor,” Luna replied with distaste, “Every time we think we have stamped out his foul sect, another cult will pop up.”

“This might be of use to you, then,” ‘Caller suggested, offering the book she had been reading, “It vas diary of head cultist, some pegasus named Crimson Delight.”

“Mine gratitude. Do thou know anything of the demon who usurped the cult?”

“He vas Chethas Depraved, a minor demon lordling from back in my Realm, somehow Crimson's summons drew him here. Unfortunately for her, she couldn’t bind vhat she called up.”

“‘Caller, give them other stuff,” Kragor urged with a weary sigh, "You know ve don't really need most of it, anyway," the grumbling demoness dug into her new bag and reluctantly handed over all the coinage and camping supplies, most of the minor magical items, and a fair portion of the remaining healing potions.

“Thou hath mine gratitude, again,” Luna said, waving some of her guards over to take the provisions and other materials and oversee their distribution among the ponies of Whinnybridge, “These poor ponies will hath an easier time rebuilding thanks to thy generosity.” When the demon made no move to leave, but simply stood watching her, the Princess of the Night cocked an ear at HellCaller, “Was there something else that thou wished to discuss, or,” ‘What is that phrase darling Cadance uses?’ “Are thou merely enjoying the view?”

“Mostly enjoying view,” 'Caller replied cheerfully, “But I vas curious vhy you used Shadow Valk to get here instead of just teleporting.”

“Long range teleportation is most risky without a Gatehouse to serve as a beacon and secure arrival point,” Luna explained, “While a much rarer spell, and lacking Teleportation’s instantaneous movement, Shadow Walk is the sounder choice,” the alicorn frowned, “Unfortunately, most of the few ponies who do know Shadow Walk are usually warlocks or necromancers, which hast given the incantation an undeservedly wicked reputation.”

“Huh,” ‘Caller grunted, “Vell, vhile I vould love to spend day flirting vith you, your Highness, I should get back and deal vith vhatever mischief my Apprentice has gotten herself in to. Jennuilt Zhin.”

Author's Note

Here’s a bit of adventure to spice up all the slice-of-life chapters.

Also, the concept of teleportation "gatehouses" was originated by Estee in their Triptych Continuum stories. If your interested in MLP stories where Reality Ensues, than I heartily suggest giving them a look.

Ch. 09; What Do You Do With an Evil Artifact?

Twilight sat at her desk, a breeze coming through the open window, as she scratched down another half-formed idea, a scroll bearing the royal seal open beside her, ‘Celestia wants my suggestions for artifact security!’ she squealed to herself, ‘Admittedly, I’m not fully convinced that the Sanctuary Vaults actually need their safeguards refurbished,’ the librarian added, ‘Well, HellCaller did gain access to the Restricted Archives rather easily, but she is a powerful demon after all … just the kind of pony we don’t want getting into the Vaults ….’ “Oh dear.”

“Why the long muzzle, Twi-Twi?” Pinkie Pie asked, her sudden appearance producing a startled “Meep!” from the unicorn as she almost fell out of her chair.

“Oh, hi, Pinkie,” Twilight replied after a deep, calming breath, “I was just working on something for Princess Celestia.”

“Oh, oh, what is it?” Pinkie asked eagerly, “New recipes for cakes? Pies? Fudge? Fudge pies?”

“No, nothing like that,” replied Twilightr, ‘Although fudge pie does sound rather good.’ “The Princess was just interested in ideas for keeping dark artifacts out of the wrong hands.”

“Has she considered putting up a ‘Do Not Touch’ sign? No? Well phooey,” Pinkie tugged at her ear in thought, “Maybe we should get the fillies together for ideas?”

Twilight smiled at her friend, “You mean a brainstorming session? That’s a great idea Pinkie!”

“Really? I’d think having a storm in your brain would make it harder to have ideas, but if you say so.”

The next day, the Bearers of Harmony (plus a surprised Trixie) gathered in Carousel Boutique to share ideas, and indulge in a little gossip, over tea, “It’s so nice to have a quiet little get together, don’t you think, darlings?” Rarity said as she sipped her tea.

“Trixie would like to thank you for inviting Trixie to your gathering.”

“Oh pish-posh, darling,” Rarity replied with a dismissive wave of her hand, “Such gatherings are an excellent way for everypony to move past former unpleasantness. Besides,” she added with a slightly predatory smirk, “I suspect you will soon be a regular member of our little group, a, dare I say, most dear friend, indeed.”

“Oh, that would be wonderful!” Twilight agreed enthusiastically, as the furiously blushing showmare stared into her tea.

“Yeah, yeah, we’ll all become real chums and then everything will be rainbows and butterflies,” Rainbow Dash snarked as she wolfed down a handful of the tiny sandwiches Rarity had provided, “Now, who has an absolutely awesome idea for how to guard these artifact things?”

“I don’t suppose just dropping them into a volcano would be okay with everypony?” Fluttershy asked, hopefully.

“I’m afraid not,” Twilight replied, “The Magus Order has destroyed what they can, but some artifacts are just too powerful, or unstable, and throwing such relics into a volcano could quite possibly cause an eruption, and wouldn’t guarantee the artifact’s destruction, either.”

“Pity,” sighed the fashionista, “Well my first thought was to go with something simple and straightforward; as everypony’s magical aura is unique, why not use that for the ‘key’ and make it so that only two of the Princess, working together, can open the Vaults?”

“Hmm, not bad,” Twilight commended her friend, scratching notes onto the scroll she’d brought.

“I know!” Pinkie grinned excitedly, her muzzle smeared with clotted cream and jam, “Every morning, just as Celestia is raising the sun, the Vaults could teleport to a new location! And it could be completely random where they go, too! No pony can break into a place they can’t even find!”

“Yeah, but tha Maguses won’t be able ta find tha Vaults ta put any new artifacts inside, neither,” Applejack gently reminded the baker.

Pinkie's ear fell slightly, “Oh, yeah.”

“Perhaps we could move the Vaults to another Realm?” mused the academic, “It would foil any purely physical attempt to access their contents, and any would-be thieves would have to know which Realm the Vaults were in to even start.”

Rarity raised an elegantly styled eyebrow at her friend, “But what about the inhabitants of whatever Realm you chose to put the Vaults in, darling?”

“Yes, any natives might be a problem,” Twilight conceded, “But they are doing some amazing work on extra-dimensional spaces, maybe the Vaults could be put in their own, self-contained, demiplane?”

Fluttershy diffidently raised her hand, “Well … it occurred to me … that as long as we asked nicely and didn’t do it very often, Discord could probably turn any of those horrible artifacts into carrots, or, or butterflies.”

“I’m not sure how comfortable I am with relying on Discord, of all ponies,” Rarity demurred, “Not that you haven’t done wonders with him,” she hastily assured her timid friend, “But he is, well, Discord.”

“Still something to be considered,” Twilight declared, making yet another note.

“Aw, come on, fillies, the best way to seal something up is put it in a hidden dungeon,” Rainbow declared, “And then put in a whole bunch of traps and guards and puzzle-locks to deal with anypony who does find it.”

Twilight frowned uncertainly, “But that never works in the Daring Do books,” she pointed out, “I mean, sure it keeps whatever relic the book is about safe for a while, frequently for several centuries, but Daring always finds out about it and always gets the relic in the end.”

The weatherpony shrugged, “So, Celestia just needs to have Daring test the dungeon first, is all,” Rainbow grinned, “The Princesses could even sell tickets!”

“Which would give away where the Vaults are and what sorts of defenses they have,” Trixie pointed out.

“Oh, yeah, I guess it would,” Rainbow admitted, sheepishly rubbing her head.

“Well, what about takin’ all tha artifacts an’ jus’ dumpin’ ‘em in tha middle of tha ocean?” Applejack suggested, “That way they’re all out of everypony’s mane an’ no pony can get at ‘em.”

“But what about the seaponies?” protested Fluttershy, “A poor, unsuspecting seapony might find an artifact, and then horrible things would happen.”

“There would also be the risk of artifacts being found by kraken or other monsters,” Twilight added, “I’m afraid that plan has the same problem as putting the Vaults in another Realm.”

The showmare tapped her chin in thought, “The Great and Powerful Trixie’s stagecraft relies heavily on distraction and deception,” she observed, “Maybe something similar would work here? Provide would-be thieves and warlocks with an obvious, heavily-defended Vault to focus on, while the actual Vaults are hidden away somewhere else?”

Two hours later, while the seven mares had discussed many things, they were not noticeably closer to finding a solution to the puzzle Celestia had set them, “We should be doing better than this!” Trixie grumbled, feeling a bit waterlogged from all the tea, “You are the Bearers of Harmony, and Trixie is The Great and Powerful Trixie! Surely there must be more we can devise!”

Rarity patted the showmare’s shoulder, “While we have done our part for Princesses and Country, and mostly likely will again, we are not jailers or vault designers or bank robbers, and I fear we simply don’t have the experience and knowledge that Princess Celestia’s request truly requires.”

Pinkie glanced up with a grin, “We don’t have the experience yet, but didn’t ‘Caller say she spent years as an adventurer?”

“Hey, yeah,” Applejack agreed, “She must have seen all sorts of tombs an’ vaults an’ suchlike.”

“Alright, then,” Twilight declared, “We’ll ask HellCaller to join us tomorrow and share with us the fruits of her knowledge.”

“Why wait ‘till tomorrow?” the baker asked, “There goes HellCaller right now,” she added, pointing out the window.

Opening the window, the mares quickly called over the demoness and explained their predicament, “So do you have any suggestions?” asked Twilight.

HellCaller idly leaned against the windowsill as she considered the ponies’ request, “If destruction of artifacts is really not an option, I’d put it into a heavy chest and then fill chest vith molten lead. Once lead hardens, cover outsides of chest vith another layer of lead, this should block all detection magic and any emanations from artifact. After that find some public vorks project, grain storage, a dam, or a fortress, something that no one vill be in a hurry to tear down, and bury chest in foundation,” she offered, ignoring the disappointed looks from the mares at her prosaic suggestion.

“Actually, there might be a vay to destroy all these artifacts,” Kragor suggested, “But it vouldn’t be easy.”

The demoness glanced down at her sword in confusion, “Vhat are you … oh, that vay,” turning back to the ponies she continued, “Pay her no mind, those stories are apocryphal, and vere ancient vhen my mother vas born. Honestly, I have no idea vhere Linzi ever heard them in first place.”

“Stories?” Pinkie asked eagerly, “Tell! Tell!”

“Linzi told it better,” the soulblade apologized, “But I can try … Plane of Concordant Opposition is vhere all Outer Planes meet. Six hundred and sixty-six layers of Abyss touches Seven Heavens, eternal inferno of Elemental Fire intersects vith endless vaves of Elemental Vater, and unending potential of Positive Material mixes vith entropy of Negative Material. Here, according to ancient rumors vhispered between beings older than entire vorlds, in very heart of Concordant Opposition is a great, eternal, maelstrom, a vortex not of vater, but of reality itself. Same primordial legends claim that anything, or anyone, throw into Maelstrom is not merely destroyed, oh, no, such unfortunates vill be unmade! Erased from all Realms as if they had never been!”

“Eh, I’ve heard better,” the party pony shrugged.

Fluttershy gave a small shudder, “But it’s only a story … right?”

“So far as I know,” ‘Caller assured her, “But I’m not volunteering to go and look!” she added.

HellCaller continued her, rather aimless, stroll through the town, while she had been invited to join the seven mares, and the thought of teasing her apprentice over her crush was tempting, the demoness had declined. Now, as ponies bustled past with the occasional nod or greeting, a small smile curled the corner of her mouth as she relaxed slightly. Although ‘Caller was never actually alone, two centuries in the legions, and a dozen years with the UnChosen, had left the demon accustomed to having people around.

Looking about, she let out a small snort, ‘Does no one believe in fortcraft in this land?’ she grumbled to herself, tossing a glare at Ponyville’s exposed edges, ‘Sure it vouldn’t stop pegasi, but a defensive vall vould still keep ground-based bandits at bay, as vell as just general beasts and other dangers.’

Turning away from her contemplation of the ponies’ poor civil defense planning, the demoness decided to give the new magic shop operating out of a tent on the edge of town a look, her apprentice had spoken well of it, and the mere idea of a gnoll (or a diamond dog in the local parlance) wizard was curious enough to be worth a little investigation.

As she headed back through the streets, 'Caller was stopped by a sudden flash of light as a bizarre being appeared before her; while composed of parts from over a half-dozen different creatures, its general appearance was that of a serpentine dragon, “Well, now,” it purred in a cultured, masculine, voice, “Just the person I was looking for!”

“You vould be Discord, I presume,” 'Caller replied, calmly.

“Oh, so my reputation has preceded me?” Discord placed a paw over his chest, “I’m touched.”

'Caller favored him with a thin smile, “No, I vas merely told I vould know you if I saw you.”

“And now you have seen me,” the draconequus preened for a moment, “And I have seen the one who foalnapped Fluttershy, haven’t I, daughter of Silussa?” he added, his voice turning dark.

‘How does he know my Name?!’ the demon’s eyes narrowed and flared brighter as her hand slipped towards her sword hilt.

“I know many things, my dear girl,” Discord said, answering her unspoken question, “I am not bound to just this one set of realities, although I admit I am rather fond of it,” the draconequus glanced at ‘Caller, “Oh, do relax! Fluttershy has already vouched for you, that’s why we’re having this little chat. I understand that Flutteshy lives an adventurous life, sometimes, and you were acting under compulsion when you turned her over to Steel, but I want us to have a clear understanding for the future; no one hurts Fluttershy and gets away with it. It might take me awhile to hear of events, but once I do, I can find anyone, anywhere.”

“Well, enough of that!” Discord declared, clapping his claws together eagerly, “Now that we’re all on the same page, I look forward to seeing what your presence does to Equestria, and what the influence of the ponies does to you. Oh, and you really should drop by Fluttershy’s for tea sometime!” he added, before disappearing in another flash.

:Did a chaos god just threaten us, and then invite us to tea with Fluttershy?: Kragor asked in confusion.

:Yes, yes he did,: HellCaller frowned at the air for a moment, before resolutely heading in search of the nearest tavern, “I need a drink.”

Author's Note

Try singing the chapter title to the tune of What Do You Do With A Drunken Sailor ....

Interlude: Discussion of the Divine

Twilight Sparkle loved her study; wall-to-wall bookcases filled with tomes and keepsakes, a massive desk to conduct her research on, a fireplace for cold winter nights, and even a pair of almost sinfully comfy chairs perfect for indulging in a little pleasure reading or chatting with her friends.

Currently, Twilight was using her study to play host to a demon as the unicorn picked her brains over the differences between their native Realms. For his part, Spike had chosen to stay downstairs and watch the library, with said demon’s soulblade along for company.

‘I suppose Spike’s just a bit too young to fully appreciate how momentous this information could be,’ Twilight mused as she jotted a note on her scroll, “Your theories of Planar Cosmology are going to set the academic world on its ear,” she happily informed her guest, “I don’t know that anypony has seriously considered the existence of other, effectively self-contained, mortal Realms before, never mind the possible existence of multiple demonic and heavenly planes.”

HellCaller raised an eyebrow, “Vhere did you think demons came from?”

“Well, from Tartarus, of course, or the Elsewhere,” Twilight replied, “The people of your Realm must have done simply staggering amounts of planar travel to have discovered all of this.”

“Eh, not really,” the demoness demurred, “I think it’s more vhat few planar explorers there are go out of their vay to spread vord around, kind of an obsession vith academic recognition? Add in reports from every oracle or ‘chosen one’ or vhatever that has ever been summoned before one of gods, and that’s probably vhere most of it came from.”

Twilight's ears shot up, “Your divines don’t actually dwell on your Realm? How can that even work? How do they perform their duties?”

“They just do, I guess,” ‘Caller shrugged, “You’d have to ask one of them for details. Vait, are you saying that your gods are here, on mortal Realm, at all times?”

“Well, yes, of course they are.”

“I honestly half thought vhole ‘Princess of Sun and Moon’ thing vas metaphorical, even after meeting Luna,” 'Caller admitted, leaning forward in her chair, “Explain, please.”

Twilight smiled widely, while learning was as much her passion as fashion was Rarity’s, helping others learn was a close second, “Well, the divines are … a diverse group, really, ranging from embodiments of concepts, such as love or knowledge, to avatars of natural phenomena, like storms or the night, to cultural or racial archetypes, although many of the divines have multiple, or even overlapping, areas of interest, like all of the Princesses are exemplars of both ponykind itself and equine beauty, for example, but Celestia is also the divine of the Sun, diplomacy and rulership, and a patron divine of teachers and bakers.”

“Things are much same in my Realm,” nodded ‘Caller, "But vhat are other Princesses' dominions?"

"Well, Luna is the divine of the Moon, arts, dreams, and scientific discovery, as well as the Protector of Ponykind, while Cadance, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, is the divine of romance, love, fertility and compassion, and a divine protector of foals," Twilight explained, “Now, despite their variety, all divines share some traits in common; agelessness, and tremendous physical and magical might, especially when dealing with something that involves their area of divine interest. They are also physical beings, who must sleep, breathe, and eat, although I know from firsthand experience that Princess Celestia can go for weeks without rest. The divines can even be injured or affected by mortal magics if confronted by a sufficiently skilled pony. Actually, according to some salacious, and highly suspect, stories, they can even have foals, although such tales are contradictory on whether the resulting foals are also divines or not,” seeing the demoness’ lecherous grin, she quickly added, “I’ve never confirmed the truth of such rumors with any of the Princesses … I’ve never really felt comfortable asking them about it.”

“Anyway,” Twilight said, eager to move the discussion on to less awkward matters, “Due to this physicality, divines have been imprisoned, banished, or even killed, although I understand that the last is exceedingly rare. They are also not omniscient, and, despite their vast knowledge and experience, the divines can be tricked, or simply just not know something.”

“So far this is much like vhat I already know, except for your gods subjecting themselves to needless risks by remaining on mortal Realm,” 'Caller observed.

“Perhaps our divines are simply more closely connected to the Realm than your gods are?” Twilight suggested, “Now that we have gone over the basics, it’s time to address the three great exceptions to the rules.”

“Well of course, there’s exception,” grumbled ‘Caller, “Damn gods always have to find a vay to one-up each other.”

“First, there is Faust, the Queen of the Heavens,” the academic said, ignoring her guest’s acerbic remark, “Creator of the World and Bringer of Harmony, then we have Grogar, the Corrupter, Faust’s eternal enemy and the Father of Horrors. Merely a myth to most ponies, these two divines both existed beyond reality as we understand it and only assumed a physical form when they wished to interact with the mortal Realm. They could also alter the Realm as they wished with but a thought, and what few tales I’ve found referring to Faust seem to imply that she spent most of her time trying to keep Grogar contained. Finally, there’s Discord, the Spirit of Chaos.”

“Ve’ve met,” 'Caller said, “A creature ruled by vhim and impulse, but lacking intentional malevolence of my demonic kindred and vith more self-control then few slaadi and proteans I’ve encountered. He also takes teatime very seriously,” she added.

Twilight raised an eyebrow, “Slaadi? Proteans?”

“Native outsiders of Limbo, plane of pure Chaos,” ‘Caller explained, “A talk for another time, I think, you vere telling me about Discord?”

The librarian pouted at having tidbits of knowledge dangled in front of her and not being able to pursue them but complied with 'Caller's request, “Don’t take Discord lightly,” she warned, “He is vastly better now, but he used to be known as the ‘Mad God’ for a reason, and since he can warp reality as the fancy takes him, he’s on the same general power level as Faust and Grogar. He does have a permanent physical form, unlike them, however, and no pony really seems to know where he came from; Faust and Grogar are generally believed to have existed in the Elsewhere before Faust created the Realm and it’s associated planes, but Discord could have come from outside this reality for all we known about his origins … not even Celestia and Luna know for certain, and he just smirks if anypony asks him about it.”

Twilight’s eyes narrowed slightly when the demon gave a derisive snort, “You don’t have any reverence for the divines, do you?”

“Caution, yes,” ‘Caller replied, “A few of gods are even vorthy of respect, but reverence? Never. Look, vhat supposedly separates gods from rest of us? Other than sheer brute power, of course,” she began to tick off on her fingers, “Creating new life and granting spells to those vho vorship them. That’s it. Everything else people claim for gods I can do, from raising dead to controlling veather to changing other people’s shapes to smiting unbelievers … and I’m really good at smiting. Even granting spells and creating life bit can be done by any of planar lords, and vhile they might enjoy being vorshipped, they sure don’t need it vay gods seem to. And if only difference between us is power and a few abilities, vhy should I vorship them?”

"You can raise the dead?!" exclaimed Twilight eagerly, "Only Grogar and Faust have ever meddled in a pony's death, not even Discord is willing to interfere with that," she took a deep breath and shook her head as she focused on the conversation at hand, “Anyway, back to what we were discussing, unlike your gods, our divines don’t demand worship in general. The Princesses usually seem embarrassed by it more than anything else, actually, but the High Astral Temple and the other churches do a lot of good for ponies, so the Princesses let them be.”

“Interesting ... but I fear it’s time for me to be getting back," 'Caller said, glancing at the clock on the mantle, "Trixie’s training von’t just take care of itself, and longer I leave Kragor vith Spike greater chance they’ll talk themselves into going off on some harebrained adventure,” she and Twilight shared the amused, long-suffering, grin known by most elder siblings, “Thank you for chat, ve’ll have to talk again.”

"I look forward to it," the librarian replied eagerly, before her smile took on a nervous cast, "... Kragor and Spike wouldn't really go off on their own, would they?"

'Caller stroked her chin, "They have been rather quiet ...."

Exchanging worried looks, the pair rushed for the stairway.

Ch. 10; Pre-Wedding Snippets

‘Caller started, eyes wide with surprise, before hurrying to the invisible, magical portal that connected the mini-reality she lived in to Equestria, and that someone was somehow knocking on.

Opening the portal, the she found herself facing … Derpy Hooves, the mailmare, “Hi! I have a letter for a ‘Ms. HellCaller’, if you would just sign right here ….”

“How in Nine Hells did you do that?” demanded ‘Caller.

“Do what?”

“Knock on portal!”

“Well, how else am I supposed to deliver your mail?” Derpy replied in confusion, “Speaking of which, you might want to consider getting a postal box in Ponyville, like Miss Trixie did.”

“So, you knocked on a portal that has no physical existence, so you could deliver mail?!”

“Well, yes, as the Postal Service motto says; ‘Neither snow nor rain nor Chaos itself shall stay these messengers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds. Do not ask us about tar pits, black dogs with flaming eyebrows or big green things with teeth.’ Actually,” Derpy leaned forward confidentially, “Delivering to Discord is much worse, sometimes it takes months, while other times we get back before we’ve even left, and it gives the accounting department fits. Anyway, here’s your mail, have a nice day!”

Staring after the cheerfully whistling mailmare, the demoness finally closed the portal and turned her attention to the letter in her hands, only to be interrupted by her apprentice wandering in, “What’s that?”

“Someone sent me a letter,” ‘Caller replied.

Trixie (the Great and Powerful) frowned, “How did it get delivered? We’re in a pocket dimension.”

“Mailmare, Derpy, she … knocked.”

“Derpy knocked … on a dimensional rift … how does that even work?”

‘Caller could only shake her head, “I don’t have foggiest idea.”

The unicorn started to say something, stopped, started again, and then gave up with a shrug, “So, what is the letter about?”

The demoness started reading, “Vho in Abyss is ‘Captain Shining Armor’ and vhy am I being invited to their vedding vith Princess Cadenza?!”

“Oh, this is going to be absolutely fabulous, darlings!” Rarity declared as she took a seat in the train carriage, “We’re helping Princess Cadenza prepare her wedding!” she squealed, “I could just faint!”

“Please don’t,” Twilight said, earning her a brief glare from the fashionista, “And she prefers to be called ‘Cadance’,” dropping into her own seat, Spike scrambling up beside her, the unicorn glanced worriedly at her friends, “Are you fillies sure you want to do this? Preparing a Royal Wedding is a lot of work.”

“Won’t be no problem, Twi’,” Applejack drawled, “A lot of tha work is already bein’ done anyway, an’ Ah’m sure tha Princesses will have ponies ta help us out with tha rest if’n we need it,” she assured Twilight, as the other mares nodded their agreement.

As the ponies settled into their carriage, the door opened to admit HellCaller, Kragor at her side, dressed in normal clothes for once instead of her armor (much to Rarity’s relief).

“Hello!” Twilight joined her friends in greeting the demoness, “Are you going to Canterlot too?”

“Yes, I’ve been invited to a royal vedding, for some reason ….”

“Oh?” Pinkie bounced in her seat, “You’re going to the Princess’ and Shining’s wedding? That’s great! We’re helping set it up!”

“What is Trixie going to do while you’re gone?” Spike asked, “Aren’t you training her?”

“Eh, she could use some leave anyway,” ‘Caller shrugged, “I think she said something about putting on another show vhile I vas gone?”

“Oh, that’s nice of her,” Fluttershy murmured, “The foals really enjoyed her last magic show.”

Rarity pulled out a copy of the Foal Free Press as the group relaxed, “What is it, darling?” the unicorn asked, noticing the 'Caller’s bemused headshake.

“Your ‘newspaper’,” ‘Caller explained, gesturing at the periodical, “In my Realm, only a vealthy town can afford to have even one printing press and books, even fiction or poetry, are a valuable resource, yet Ponyville’s ‘small town’ library has as many volumes as a city archive might, you have a printing press just for your children’s school and you run off a few hundred issue a veek vith expectation that they vill just be thrown away. I know you value knowledge and lore, at times obsessively so,” she added, smirking at Twilight, “But sometimes I think you don’t realize just how vell off you have it.”

HellCaller soon changed topics, regaling the ponies with the tale of a strange hermit who told long, dreary stories and kept showing up, regardless of how far ‘Caller and her fellows had traveled, or how they had previously escaped his presence, only to resume his narrative at exactly where it had been left off, “If he vasn’t some kind of deity, I’ll eat Applejack’s hat,” she declared.

“Hey, ya leave ma hat out of this!”

Twilight found herself listening to her friends' chatter with only a half ear, distracted as she reflected on ‘Caller’s earlier words; the academic had grown up surrounded by books, she had never really even considered a world without ready access to knowledge and literature … she found the entire concept rather depressing.

“Sure is a big place ya got here, Twi’.”

“I might have gotten lost my first few times in the Palace,” Twilight admitted with a small laugh. Upon their arrival, one of the Palace's many servants had appeared to take HellCaller off to her rooms, while she and Spike had taken it upon themselves to escort their friends, “Now here are the kitchens,” said the academic, waving at the bustling chaos within, “You’ll want to introduce yourself to Chef Ram Sea, Applejack,” she added, indicating the stallion, “But I should warn you, he has a sharp tongue and a short temper. Anyway,” Twilight continued, “The kitchens are a good place to meet ponies, you can run into almost anypony dropping by to grab a snack, even the Princesses.”

“Did somepony ask for a Princess?”

The little group turned to find a smiling pink alicorn had snuck up on them, “Cadance!” Twilight squealed happily, as she and the Princess of Love began to chant and dance, much to the amusement of the watching ponies.

“Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake … clap your hands and do a little shake!”

“It’s good to see you, ladybug,” Cadance said, wrapping the younger mare in a hug, “And to finally meet your new friends, as well!” she added, turning her smile upon the other ponies.

Once the introductions had been made, Twilight turned back to her old foalsitter, “So, what brings you to the kitchens?”

“Oh, I just need a little pick-me-up after dealing with the wedding preparations all day.”

“That is a desire with which I can fully sympathize,” the group turned to find that Princess Luna had appeared behind them.

“Damn, are all of the alicorns so sneaky?” Dash muttered.

“Maybe they’re all ninja-princesses?” Pinkie whispered back.

Cadance raised an eyebrow at her fellow Princess, “I thought you had almost finished the negotiations with Hollowfaust, Auntie?”

“I hath,” Luna sighed, “Now all that remains is finding an emissary and staff willing to live under the necromancers’ dominion. Nay, that matter is almost settled, wearing as it was, still, I look forward to this evening’s celebration most eagerly,” she added with a smile.

Rarity’s ears immediately pricked up, “Celebration?”

“There is a fete this evening as a celebration of mine and Shining’s wedding,” the young alicorn explained, “We’d both love it if you would all attend.”

The mares’ ears all folded back, and Spike clapped his claws over his own ears with a grimace, as Rarity’s happy squeal tried to shatter the windows.

“Now, aren’t you all grateful that I insisted that you pack your gala dresses?” Rarity asked her friends, a smug little smile curling her lips, as they waited for their turn for the herald to proclaim them to the gathered ponies.

“Ah have ta admit, yer instincts were right on tha bits this time, Rares,” Applejack admitted, “Ah would have felt tha right fool turnin’ up ta this in jus’ ma work clothes.”

“I don’t remember it being this fancy back during the Gala, though,” murmured Fluttershy.

Twilight nodded, still slightly miffed that Spike had somehow managed to get inside without having to deal with formal introductions, “As big an event as the Grand Galloping Gala is, this gathering is essentially part of Shining and Cadance’s official wedding services, even if the actually ceremony won’t be until this weekend,” she explained, “Apparently, you just can’t have a small, quiet, Royal Wedding, no matter how much Shiny and Cadey would have preferred it,” Twilight sighed, “Oh, we’re up next!”

“Presenting, the Bearers of Harmony!” the master of ceremonies announced loudly, causing Fluttershy to flinch back with a small squeak, “Her Ladyship, the Baroness Twilight Sparkle, Bearer of Magic, beloved sister to Captain Shining Armor and Her Highness Princess Cadenza and personal student of Her Highness Princess Celestia! The Lady Applejack, Bearer of Honesty! The Lady Fluttershy, Bearer of Kindness! The Lady Pinkie Pie, Bearer of Laughter! The Lady Rainbow Dash, Bearer of Loyalty! And the Lady Rarity, Bearer of Generosity!”

Rarity was in her element as she mingled with the various notables, although she made a point of keeping an eye on her friends – while Spike and Twilight had been raised among the Canterlot elite and could probably hold their own, especially as they were happily chatting away with the Princesses and their family, the others might find themselves out of their depths surrounded by the nobility and various movers-and-shakers … well, except for Applejack. Rarity’s lips quirked, ‘Tutored by, indeed family to, the Oranges, probably the preeminent family of Manehatten, and she never lets on that she’s anything more than a simple country flower,’ she mused in fond exasperation, ‘For the Bearer of Honesty, our AJ can be rather sneaky at times.’

A passing page drew her eye back to the master of ceremonies, who was still announcing a last few dignitaries, ‘A last minute guest, perhaps?’ she wondered as the stallion read the note the young colt had given him, before turning back to the room to make the next introduction: “Presenting, her Imperial Majesty, HellCaller, Empress of Kapul-uzg!”

Striding into the hall, the demoness stopped mid-step, her head snapping down as she glared at the soulblade on her belt, “Vhat?” Kragor replied defensively, her voice ringing loudly in the momentary silence, “Vhere ve keeping that a secret?”

‘Caller took a sip from her wine and idly wondered how she had gotten involved in debating morality with some pony aristocratic by the name of Stone Lake, ‘By Seven Heavens do ponies have some silly names,’ she thought, before turning her attention back to the stallion who was currently expounding to her on the value of mercy and repentance, “There are some – many, actually – crimes that cannot be forgiven,” the demoness observed.

“What is more important, that mundane laws are followed or that a soul is rescued from darkness?” countered Stone, “Forgiveness of the repentant should always take precedence over any mere punishment.”

“And vhat good is repentance?” ‘Caller responded, “Does repentance return stolen goods? Does it heal maimed limbs? Rebuild burned homes and businesses? Raise dead?”

“Neither does punishing those who could still be redeemed,” the stallion replied, “Forgiveness offers peace and healing to both parties.”

“No, punishment provides closure and retribution to vronged, and peace of knowing that the one vho injured them vill not be able to do so to any others,” the demoness’ lip curled at such willful naivety, “Nine out of any ten people claiming repentance only regret that they got caught, not vhat they did, and their only desire is to escape their deserved retribution, not to perform some, ultimately meaningless, gesture of atonement,” she fixed a glowing eye on the noble, “And vhat gives you right to be offering forgiveness on behalf of vronged, anyway?”

“There is some truth to what you say,” Stone reluctantly conceded, “Although I’m certain you exaggerate the number of ponies who offer repentance in bad faith. And even if some ponies are irredeemable and merely pretending otherwise, we must still offer compassion to the rest, while also being ready to enact swift justice on those who have no interest in redemption.”

“You’re a damned idealistic fool,” ‘Caller sighed, “And you’ll probably get a lot of other folks needlessly killed, just like other dreamers I’ve known, but at least you aren’t totally credulous.”

“And you are a bloody-minded cynic,” Stone Lake retorted, “You’ve lost your empathy, blinded yourself to the potential of others, and yourself, to become better people, and I pity you for it. Good evening, your Majesty," he turned away pointedly.

The gathered ponies chatted as they drank and munched on hors d’oeuvres, a small quartet playing in the background, as Cadance passed among them with the easy grace that Celestia’s tutoring had drilled into her, ‘The filly from an edge-of-nowhere fishing village becoming a proper Princess,’ she thought with a small smile, ‘Who ever would have believed it?’ Looking around, she spotted HellCaller calmly standing off to one side in parade rest, her scarlet uniform and the heavy blade at her side, as opposed to the small swords worn by Shining and other members of the Guard in attendance, as well as a few nobles, set her apart as much as her exotic, muzzleless, appearance, or the circle of empty space that surrounded her as most of the guests uneasily avoided the strange, foreign empress. ‘I can’t really blame them, even without the knowledge that she is actually a demon, HellCaller is rather intimidating. Still … Auntie Tia’s and Luna’s plan has worked before, and from Twiley’s reports it seems to be working again now.’

As she headed towards the demoness, Rarity joined her, “Come to share a few words with our tartarean guest?” Cadance asked teasingly.

“Why, yes, Princess,” Rarity replied, “While I fully understand a mare’s right to a few secrets, our demonic friend has some questions to answer.”

“She does look a little lonely, doesn’t she? We should give her some company,” the Princess said with an impish smile, “And, please, call me Cadance.”

“Hello Rarity! Hello pink pony-lady princess!”

“Good evening, Kragor, darling,” Rarity replied, smiling down at the soulblade, “Good evening … your Majesty.”

Her pointed words only drew a fanged grin from HellCaller, “I did tell you I held a government position before I retired, I just chose not to elaborate.”

Cadance’s ear twitched, “How do you retire from being Empress?”

“After two hundred years on throne fixing that idiot, Pergor’s, mess, I just declared heir and left,” 'Caller shrugged, “They had a strong economy, military, and population to vork vith, and everyone knew that if they fucked it up again that I’d be back to reclaim throne, and I’d be in a very bad mood vhen I did.”

Both ponies winced, “You’d start a civil war?” the alicorn of love demanded, recently learned details about Nightmare Moon's war with Celestia filling her mind and making Cadance’s words come out harsher than she intended.

For her part, ‘Caller seemed indifferent to the princess’s tone, “I’ve already fought one civil var to save my country from incompetent and mad ruler,” she replied, “And I’ll do it again if I have to, besides, I rather hope that I’d use my Right of Challenge to deal vith matter before a full var became necessary.”

“Really, darling, you’d leave such an important thing as rulership of the nation to ‘might makes right’?” Rarity asked with genteel disgust.

“How is that any different than a civil var or conquest, other than number of people involved?” the demoness replied, “Anyway, even if Right of Challenge vas that simple, vhich it isn’t, by vay, vould it really be any vorse than determining your ruler based solely off vho had random luck to be born to right family, maybe vith a few paid-for priests to squawk about ‘divine mandate of kings’?”

“You’ve had some bad experiences with hereditary monarchies, I see,” Cadance observed with a wry grimace, “I can relate. Still, I must admit to finding some of your ways rather hard to understand, Empress HellCaller.”

“And if you vere seeing yourselves through my eyes, you’d find yourselves more than a bit funny looking, Princess,” ‘Caller retorted. The two Equestrians were honest enough with themselves to admit the demon had a point.

“Is everything ready, General?”

“Yes, my Queen, but I still have reservations ….”

“You worry too much, the lunar nag will be gone for the next few days, Cadenza is weak, the Elements of Harmony can be disabled by capturing or killing even one of the Bearers, and the Royal Guard is completely unprepared for our attack.”

“With respect, my Queen, for all her youth, Cadenza is still a divine, and there is Celestia, who is neither young nor weak, to deal with as well, and even if they are deprived of the Elements of Harmony, the Bearers are all experienced adventurers, and while we have infiltrated the staff and the Solar and Night Guards here in the Palace, and the Royal Guard throughout the rest of Canterlot, our own forces are still significantly outnumbered. And then there is this ‘Empress HellCaller’, the ruler of a nation we have never heard of, and a member of an unknown race as well, who just happens to show up now? I don’t like it.”

“Unless this ‘HellCaller’ has an army hidden in her pockets, she is nothing more than another dignitary, no different than any of the others. Now go prepare the troops, and if I hear any more of this defeatist talk, I’ll have you replaced, do I make myself clear, General Mandible?”

Ch. 11; Uninvited Guests

“So, how is the sonic rainboom practice going, Rainbow?”

Rainbow Dash, who had just been getting comfy for a nice after-lunch nap in the suite she shared with her friends, sighed to herself and glanced up as Twilight stood over her, checklist in hand and one ear twitching, “Practice is going just great, Twi’.”

“Shouldn’t you still be at it?” the unicorn asked, her smile taking on a creepy cast and her eye starting to twitch in time with her ear, “The wedding is only a few days away, and everything needs to be perfect! The clock is ticking, Rainbow. Clock. Is. Ticking!”

“Whoa, relax there, Twi’, things will get done, you just got to have a little faith,” the athlete reassured her friend, “We’re your friends, and we won’t leave you or Princess Cadance hanging, because we are awesome,” she added with a cocky grin.

“Thank you, Rainbow,” Twilight said, giggling at the weatherpony’s ego, “I know that I might be going a little overboard with the organization and trying to make sure everypony was on schedule, but this is Shiny and Cadey’s wedding, and I just want everything to be ….”

“Perfect,” the pegasus said, “I know, you’ve said it a few times, but you need to relax some, you getting all worked up, and frankly, a little bit creepy, isn’t helping anypony else stay focused,” Rainbow gave the academic’s shoulder a friendly squeeze, “Hey, maybe you could focus on the bachelorette party for now? Maybe ask Pinkie to help? I hear that she’s been having a few problems making her ideas of a good party mesh with what all the ‘elites’ are expecting.”

“Pinkie has been kinda down,” Twilight agreed, “I think I will ask her to help with the party.”

A knock at the door interrupted whatever response Rainbow had been about to make, with a small, annoyed sigh, the athlete flew over to the door, “Yes?”

The servant waiting outside bowed, “Captain Armor has urgently requested Baroness Sparkle’s presence.”

The academic’s eyes widened, “Shiny? Why? Is something wrong?”

“I’m afraid that I am not privy to the Captain’s concerns, Baroness, all I know is that I have been instructed to escort you to him.”

“Alright,” Twilight hurried for the door, “I’ll see you later, Rainbow.”

Applejack wiped her muzzle and let the napkin drop onto her plate, “Well, Ah need ta get back ta work preparin’ everythin’ for tha weddin’, especially with that Chef Sea feller sticking his foul-mouthed muzzle inta everythin’ for tha last few days.”

“Yes, I really should return to the finishing touches on Cadance’s dress, and then there are all of the other commissions I’ve been offered that need to be done as well,” Rarity sighed as she rose from her chair and escorted the farmpony to the door of her workroom, “Still, it was very kind of you to take the time to join me for lunch, darling,” she said, before leaning in, “I hope we can do … more as our schedules allow,” she whispered in the farmer’s ear.

“A-Ah think that would be right nice, Rares,” stammered the blushing farmer, “B-but Ah really need ta get back ta work,” opening the door, Applejack almost ran straight into the leader of a quartet of Solar Guards that had been about to knock.

“Lady Rarity,” he greeted the seamstress, “Lady Applejack,” the stallion added, his eyes narrowing slightly, “There has been an … incident. Please come with us.”

“Thank you, Mr. Jay, that was lovely,” Fluttershy beamed down at the little bird perched on her finger, around her spread the Royal Gardens, a great swath of hedges, statues, winding footpaths, and greenery from every corner of Equestria, all carefully tended by the Royal Gardeners. Turning back to the assorted songbirds perched around her, Fluttershy continued, “Now, let’s take it again, from the top, and a one, and a two, and ….”

The little glade was filled with the sound of birdsong for several minutes, before the arrival of four Guards sent the startled birds into the trees, “Lady Fluttershy? Princess Celestia wishes a word with you.”

“Good afternoon, Rarity,” Cadance said as she gave the fashionista and the group of palace staff that accompanied her, all of them weighed down with bolts of cloth, hat boxes, and similar paraphernalia, a bewildered look, “What can I do for you?”

“The question, Princess, is what I can do for you,” Rarity replied, “And I have had the most. Wonderful. Idea!” ushering the gaggle of servants into the suite, the dressmaker turned back to the bemused alicorn, “Now come, darling, inspiration has struck, and we must work quickly to make the most of it!”

“Well, alright,” Cadance shrugged, closing the door as she headed back into her sitting room.

Pinkie Pie, Premier Party Planner of Ponyville, sighed as she slumped in her chair in the little corner room she had claimed as her “party office”, ‘No games, reserved music, only formal dancing, it’s like these fancy ponies don’t want to have fun at a party!’ the hyperactive mare shook her head in despair, before giving a small giggle, her hair regaining a measure of its usual poofiness, ‘Well, except for that Mister Fancy Pants, at least he seemed to appreciate what I was trying to do … though I wonder why his wife got all blushy when he speculated if he still had his old knack for pin the tail on the pony?’

A knock at the door diverted the baker as she was grumbling at the lists of “suggestions” she had been given by various “leaders of society”, grateful for the distraction, Pinkie bounced over and yanked the door open, “Hello!”

“Um, hello, Lady Pie,” replied the startled maid, “Baroness Sparkle has found an old supply of fireworks that she wishes you to take a look at.”

“Fireworks?! Ohmygosh I love fireworks!” the party pony bounced happily before rushing down the hall and disappearing from sight.

“But I didn’t tell you where she is …,” the maid said, staring after the vanished mare in confusion.

“What does a mare have to do to get a nap around here?” Rainbow groaned as she pulled herself from the couch and listlessly flapped over to the door, “What?!” she snapped at the quartet of Guards that had been pounding on the door.

“Rainbow Miriam Dash, by order of Princess Celestia, you are under arrest,” the stallion pointed at the stunned weatherpony, “Seize her!”

“Hello, Cadance,” the solar alicorn smiled at her niece as she waved the younger mare into her chambers, “I was just having a bit of tea before Day Court resumes, would you care for a cup?”

“Yes, thank you, Auntie.”

Celestia settled back into her chair and handed her niece a cup, “So, what can I do for you, Cadance?”

“Oh, you’ve already done it.”

The Princess of the Sun’s head snapped up at the change in the other mare’s tone, her horn flaring with her golden aura, but it was already too late, Cadance flicked something at her aunt, and in the blink of an eye the solar alicorn was encased in black crystal, a lattice of yellow and black energy wandering over its surface.

Cadance’s eyes and horn flared green as she cast a privacy spell over the chamber, “I know you can hear me, ‘Auntie’,” she smiled unpleasantly at the other alicorn, “Unconsciousness and sleep are different things, but I’m not willing to risk you contacting your damnable sister. Besides, this way I can indulge in a proper gloat.”

Settling back into her chair, the mare let green fire wash over her, burning away the visage of Mi Amore Cadenza and revealing the reality that lurked beneath: a green maned alicorn with a black, chitinous hide, insectile wings, and strange, bloodless holes in her limbs and horn, “You would not believe the amount of work it took to find one of Sombra’s old crystal traps,” she remarked, sipping her tea, “And then all the effort to find a fragment of Grogar’s power to bind into it so the trap would actually be able to contain one of the divines indefinitely … but it will so be worth it when all of Canterlot’s upper society are mine, not to mention the senior officers for both the Solar Guard and the Canterlot garrison, the Elements of Harmony, and, of course, all three alicorns,” the insectoid alicorn glanced at Celestia as if the other mare had made a comment, “Oh? I’ll never capture Luna?” there was another flare of green flame and Celestia sat in the chair, “Why would she ever refuse a request for a private talk with her dear sister?” the false Celestia’s mocking laughter rang through the room.

“This bachelor party is going to be great!”

Shining Armor glanced down at the little drake walking beside him in amusement, “I’m sure it will be,” he chuckled, “So, how is Twilight holding up?”

“Well … when she’s not in checklist heaven she’s on the verge of having a nervous breakdown,” Spike sighed, “She wants everything to be perfect, and, of course, if it isn’t she starts getting all nervous, which can put things even farther off schedule, which makes her more anxious ….”

“Creating a self-reinforcing downward spiral,” the stallion groaned, pinching the bridge of his muzzle, “Well, I hear that Cadance’s bachelorette party is happening soon, and that should give her a chance to relax and unstress a little,” he frowned as a half-squad of Solar Guards approached, “Hello, what’s this, now?”

“Captain,” one of the guardsponies bowed, “I bear a message from her Majesty.”

“What is it, Lieutenant?”

“‘Die!’” the guardsponies lunged forward, swords rasping from their sheathes as green fire washed over them, turning the assassins into black, insectoidal unicorns with dragonfly wings sprouting from their backs.

Yet, even as they struck, a pale rose field sprang up, turning aside the killers’ blows. Inside the field, Shining and Spike faced their attackers, “Colts,” the unicorn said, as he drew his own blade, “Can you tell me what your first mistake was?”

“Saying we had a message from ‘her Majesty’ instead of ‘her Highness’?” one of the false guardsponies said, glaring at his leader, who shrugged apologetically.

“That certainly cost you the element of surprise,” Shining agreed pleasantly, “But your first mistake was sending only five warriors to deal with an abjuration specialist accompanied by his little brother, who just happens to be a dragon.”

Twilight frowned slightly as she followed the hoofstallion through the halls, ‘We’re not going anywhere near the Royal Apartments, the Guard Offices or even the training grounds,’ her ears twitched uneasily, ‘And this hall never had guards posted in it before …,’ “Where are we going?”

“Captain Armor is just up here, Baroness” the stallion replied, nodding to a passing maid.

The librarian opened her mouth to reply, when some sixth sense, likely honed by being on the receiving end of so many of Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash’s pranks, made her teleport to the side just as the maid spun around to drive a knife through where Twilight’s back had been!

The unicorn started to yell for help, only to have her cry die in her throat as the two guardsponies lowered their spears at her! Twilight unleashed a blast of unfocused magic that caught the charging guards and slammed them back into the wall, green flames flared as a pair of insectoidal beings collapsed to the floor.

The servant and maid, both dropping their disguises to stand revealed as yet more pony-insect horrors, spread out as they slowly closed in, the false hoofstallion cast an arcane bolt at the librarian, but the unicorn caught the spell on a hastily conjured shield. Twilight retaliated with a narrow beam of focused flames that sheared off one of his wings and sent him staggering away.

The maid lunged forward, knife raised, and the librarian barely managed to catch her wrist. The two mares stumbled across the hall, both of Twilight’s hands desperately gripping the assassin’s wrist, as their hooves scrambled for purchase on the slick marble floor.

The unicorn’s horn began to glow, but before she could cast her spell, there was a heavy, wet, “thump” and the maid went limp, dropping to the floor with a quarrel between her shoulder blades.

Looking around, Twilight saw Pinkie standing on what the unicorn had always believed to be a purely decorative balcony, crossbow in hand, “How did you even get up there?”

“It wasn’t easy!” the party pony replied, looping a rope around the balustrade and quickly sliding down, “Are you okay Twi-twi? Those meanies didn’t hurt you, did they?”

“No, I’m okay,” Twilight assured her friend, “But we need to warn the others!”

“Did the Princess say what she wanted to see me about?”

“I’m sorry, Lady Fluttershy, but she did not.”

“Oh …,” the pegasus’ ears dropped in worry for a moment, before perking back up, ‘I’m sure it’s nothing bad … and the Gardens are just so pretty, no pony could be depressed in them.’

But as they continued on, the timid mare began to shoot nervous glances at her escorts from within her mane, the little group wasn’t head back towards the Palace, but deeper into the hedge mazes, and, while not nearly as observant as some of her friends, Fluttershy’s years of experience with animals had made her very sensitive to subtle clues and behaviors, something was definitely off with the her escorts.

“Here,” said one of the guardsponies.

Fluttershy blinked in confusion, “Here?”

“Yes, here,” the guard grinned nastily as green fire washed over him and the pegasus recoiled in horror from the four insect-like ponies, “Look at her,” he sneered, “Too scared to even scream.”

As the quartet closed in on the cowering mare, the hedges rustled slightly, then masses of vines shot out of the foliage to wrap around them, Fluttershy, for her part, turned and fled back towards the Palace, leaving her attackers hanging in their green, leafy, shackles.

“My nose itches!” one whined, ignoring the glares from his fellows.

Rainbow flew through the halls of the Palace, her mind a whirl of confusion, ‘What did I do? Why would the Princess want me arrested? Oh my divines, did I just make it worse by running away?’ the pegasus frowned, ‘Wait, I’m Rainbow Dash, the fastest flyer in Equestria! If Celestia really wanted me arrested, she wouldn’t send just some unicorns to do it! I mean, I got away from those stallions in like no time flat!’ the mare nodded to herself, ‘Yep, somethings wrong, I need to find the other fillies!’

A flap of her wings sent her down another hall, while guardsponies and servants pointed and gaped, only for the weatherpony to gawk herself as two of the ponies suddenly flared with green fire and turned into something out of a horror movie, rising into the air on diaphanous wings as they set out in pursuit of the pegasus.

Shaking off her surprise, Rainbow flapped harder, piling on more and more speed, as she streaked to the end of the hallway and then looped back, the athlete’s hooves crashed into one of the startled bug-ponies, chitin cracking as he slammed into the floor. Snatching up the false guard’s sword, the pegasus shot back into the air, only to find the second insect-pony blocking her path. The bug was brave and trained, Rainbow would give him that, but he was no match for her awesomeness, and the false guard soon dropped to the floor, desperately trying to staunch the blood pouring from his armpit.

As she flew deeper into the Palace, the weather pony spotted Fluttershy running from the gardens, “Hey, Fluttershy! Over here!” weaving through an open archway, Rainbow landed next to her fellow pegasus, “Are you okay, ‘Shy? Do you know what the tartarus is going on?”

“N-no,” the timid mare shook her head, gasping for breath, “But some kind of insect-ponies are disguised as members of the Guard, they tried to attack me in the Gardens,” she added.

“What?!” Rainbow shouted angrily, before clamping down on her temper, “Alright, come on, we need to find the other fillies or the Princesses.”

“So, what’s this here ‘incident’, anyway?” drawled Applejack as she strolled along beside Rarity.

“Lady Rarity’s young sister arrived unexpectedly, and there was an … accident … tree sap was involved,” the guardspony added with a shudder, while the two mares winced in sympathy.

“Excuse me, darling, but just Sweetie Belle was involved?”

“Yes, Lady Rarity,” the guard glanced back at the fashionista, “Why do you ask?”

“Oh, just curiosity,” Rarity replied, exchanging looks with Applejack.

‘There ain’t no way that Sweetie would just “arrive” at tha Palace on her own, especially without Scootaloo an’ Apple Bloom along,’ the farmpony mused, her eyes narrowing as she glanced suspiciously at the four guards “escorting” her and Rarity.

It was due to this wariness, along with years of experience as an adventurer, that the farmer was able to react when the guardspony beside her drew her sword. Catching the mare’s arm, Applejack slammed the guard into the wall, then spun the dazed mare around to use as a shield.

Green flames flared, and four insectoidal ponies stood revealed, even as the farmpony gasped with pain, the emerald fires may have left the false guards’ equipment untouched but they sure as tartarus hurt her, two of the bug-ponies descended on Rarity, while the third closed on Applejack and her impromptu shelter.

For her part, the fashionista plucked a hairpin from her mane and jabbed at her attackers, their sneers dropping away as the unicorn lunged forward, the pin thickening and lengthening in her grip until a full rapier sprouted from her fist, punching through one of the insects’ mail coif and into his throat.

Her hands full of struggling bug-pony, the farmer smashed her captive into the wall again, and then threw the false pony into her cohort, sending him staggering back and buying Applejack time to snatch up the fallen sword, now armed, the earth pony glared defiantly at the two.

Rarity’s aura flared, and the three insectoids all reeled as the unicorn’s magic dazzled their eyes and disrupted their sense of balance. The farmpony lunged forward, her sword crashing down and dropping the stunned bug-mare in a bloody heap.

One of the false guards overcame his disorientation enough to hurl a blast of green magic at the fashionista, but Rarity lithely twisted aside, letting the spell splash harmlessly on the wall behind her, “I am not so easily caught as that, ruffian!” the unicorn declared, flicking her rapier at the bug-pony’s face.

Applejack, meanwhile, outdueled her own opponent, soon leaving him stretched out on the floor, moving to join Rarity, the two mares quickly overwhelmed the final bug-pony. As she looted a shield from the fallen insectoids, Applejack shot a glance at Rarity, “So, that’s why ya always wear a hairpin whenever ya don’t have yer sword with ya.”

“Well, a seamstress must have her Needle, after all,” Rarity replied with a small smirk as she hung her rapier from her belt, prompting an eyeroll from the farmer.

“Do ya conjure there are more of these here varmints about?”

“I don’t know, darling,” the fashionista sighed, “But it seems likely.”

Applejack frowned, “Can ya do that Truth Seein’ thin’ of Twi’s, so they don’t sneak up on us?”

Rarity shook her head, “I’m afraid that spell is beyond my abilities,” she confessed, “We’ll just have to do the best we can until we’re all back together.”

‘Caller wiped the blood from her soulblade as her companions equipped themselves from the fallen squad of insect-ponies that had attacked them, “Anyone know vhat hells these guys are?”

“I’m afraid that I’ve never heard of anything like them,” Fancy Pants admitted, while his wife, Fleur de Lis, shook her head “Non.”

At the demoness’ look, Tavros, the ambassador from the Minosan Isles, only shrugged, “They are unknown to me, as well,” he rumbled.

“They taste like doppelgangers,” Kragor observed with disgust, “All bitter and funky, like overripe lemons.”

“Act like them too,” ‘Caller agreed with a frown, “Ve’d better take some precautions, Telepathic Bond,” instantly the demon’s mind was filled with a babble of alarmed voices, :Quiet!: she bellowed mentally, :Better,: she continued as the noise calmed, :Spell only links our surface thoughts, nothing more. It vill keep any of us from being secretly replaced if ve get separated:

“Whatever they are, these creatures have clearly infiltrated the Guard,” Fancy said, turning to face the demoness and minotaur, he bowed slightly, “Fleur and I must see to the safety of the Princesses and Palace staff, we have no right to ask for your aid, Ambassador, Your Majesty, but we would welcome it most gratefully.”

“Hmph,” the demoness grumbled, wiping one hand across her uniform and drawing surprised stares from the others as the scarlet cloth shimmered and twisted back into her armor, “You two are not nearly as harmless as you try to appear,” she pointed out, “But Kragor and I could use some entertainment. Ve’ll help.”

“As will I,” Tavros said, hefting his looted sword, the blade looking tiny in his massive fist, “Such a blatant attack on envoys must not go unanswered.”

“Lieutenant Tarsus, report.”

“The operation is proceeding apace, Sir, a number of the Palace staff and visitors have been contained and are awaiting replacement, and both alicorns have been captured, although the team sent to seize Cadenza suffered casualties. The Palace should soon be ours.”

“Good news, good news,” the Changeling currently posing as one of the Solar Guard said, rubbing his chin, “And the bad news, Lieutenant?”

“We haven’t heard back from all of the priority target teams yet, Sir, but … some of the Elements of Harmony escaped, and a few of the ambassadors and Prince Blueblood are unaccounted for … and there is growing resistance from the remaining Palace garrison, which is hindering efforts to round up the rest of the staff and visitors quietly.”

General Mandible frowned, “Triple the guards on the gates, I don’t want any pony getting out to spread an alarm, and tell the drones that stealth is now secondary to neutralizing what's left of the Guard and the missing Elements, swarm everypony under if they have too. I'm going to the throne room, have another two platoons meet me there to help protect Queen Chrysalis and her new prizes."

Author's Note

Alternate Title: Changelings: Bugs in Disguise.

Ch. 12; Uninvited Guests, Part 2

HellCaller’s little band had grown; the doppelganger-ponies proved easy to ambush in turn by those who could see their true forms, and the demoness and her companions had picking up several Palace servants, visitors, and even a pair of guardsponies rescued from assailants masquerading as fellow ponies.

The halls had grown eerily quiet as they pressed deeper into the Palace, and the last two encounters with the invaders had involved undisguised bug-ponies; the first group had eagerly charged forward, while the second, quickly realizing that they were outnumbered, had tried to flee … tried. Neither group had gotten far.

A faint scratching sound from one of the walls brought the group to a halt, the armed members stepping forward to face the potential threat as the civilians huddled uneasily behind their protectors. A section of the wall slid back and aside to reveal a pale grey, amber-maned, unicorn stallion in a costly suit, his blue eyes widening in surprise as he raised a fireplace poker defensively, while a number of other ponies crowded behind him inside the hidden tunnel.

“Prince Blueblood!” Fancy Pants declared happily, “You escaped, and even rescued several other ponies! I say, well done old colt!”

While Blueblood preened slightly at the other stallion's comments, he didn’t lower his poker, “How do I know that you’re actually Fancival Pants?”

“Ve don’t have time for this crap,” ‘Caller snarled, quickly reaching out she dragged her fingers across the surprised unicorn’s eyes as he tried to pull away, “Vis Ocuirir. There, now you can see vhat ve are! Satisfied?”

The stallion sniffed at the affront to his royal personage, but waved his group into the hall to join the others, “There are secret passages, known only to the Royal Family, throughout the Palace, once I got to one of the entrances, these revolting invaders had no hope of catching me,” Blueblood said, a trifle smugly, “Now we only need to get to one of the concealed posterns and … wait … where is Honey Swirl?”

“I think your corridors are no longer so secret,” Tavros rumbled, “And we should be moving,” he added, glancing at Fancy and Fleur.

“Quite right, Ambassador,” Fancy said, adjusting his monocle as he turned to the gathered civilians, “Please go with Prince Blueblood, gentleponies, his Highness will see you all to safety.”

Blueblood blinked at his fellow noble’s pronouncement, before drawing himself up, “Yes, yes I will,” his gaze fell upon the pair of guardsponies, “You two will accompany us,” he ordered. Turning to the wall, the unicorn pressed a few stones and turned a everburning torch sconce, causing another secret door to open, “Once we get out of the Palace, I’ll rouse the Canterlot garrison,” Blueblood promised as the group vanished down the concealed corridor.

As the door closed, Fleur shook her head, “Prince Blueblood risking ‘imself for the common ponies, I would never ‘ave believed it.”

“Really now, my dear,” Fancy chided his wife, “I admit Blueblood can be a bit … vexing at times, but he is Seneschal of the Royal House, and can be a capable diplomat at need.”

“‘e was known as an arrogant peter plus haut de son cul among the Guard in my day,” the mare replied distastefully, “And I fear that ‘e ‘as done little to change since then, mon cherie amour.”

‘Caller started to say something, only to be interrupted as a full squad and a half of insectoids clattered around the corner, their voices raising in an eager cry as they spotted the small group. Glancing at the onrushing soldiers in annoyance, the demoness snarled, “Uoinota Ixen,” and flames, burning deep violet and pure white instead of an honest red or gold, erupted in the hall, the roaring of the sudden inferno swallowing up the bug-ponies’ screams as the conflagration washed over them, leaving behind no trace they had ever been there … except for their shadows burned into the flagstone floor. “Right,” ‘Caller said, ignoring her companions’ horrified stares, “Shall ve be off, then?”

Twilight and Pinkie carefully moved through the Palace, the two mares’ ears twitching as the occasional shout or the sound of distant fighting echoed through the halls. Twilight reached up to slap away Pinkie’s hand as she tried to rub her eyes, “Stop that,” the librarian admonished.

“But it makes my eyes feel all funny,” Pinkie complained, squinting at her friend.

“Yeah, True Sight makes my eyes itch too,” Twilight admitted, “But better that than getting ambushed by those bug-ponies again.”

Carefully peeking around a corner as they snuck deeper into the residential wing, the two ponies stopped as they spotted a cluster of insectoids, their true natures cloaked, leaving Princess Cadance’s suite; they were all battered and bruised, and four of the insect-ponies had to be carried by their companions, while another four were busy dealing with an unconscious alicorn of love wrapped in a cocoon of green slime, as a final quartet stood guard.

“What are they doing with the Princess, Twi’?” Pinkie asked, her ears drooping and her mane losing some of its poofiness.

“I don’t know, Pinkie,” Twilight replied, her voice eerily calm, and for a moment the baker could have sworn that she saw flames licking through the unicorn’s mane, “But these … bugs … have attacked me, attacked the Palace and the Princesses know how many other ponies, and now they’ve attacked my foalsitter, and I have had enough!” as her shout echoed through the hallway, Twilight charged at the false ponies, a blast of concussive magic lancing out from her horn to send several of them sprawling.

“Huh,” Pinkie cocked her head, “That really seems more like something Dashie or AJ would do … oh well,” with a shrug, the earth pony raced after her friend, a rubber chicken raised defiantly above her head, “Allons-y!”

The insectoids scrambled to face the oncoming ponies, but already injured and burdened with both their own wounded and a captive, they were quickly overwhelmed by Twilight’s barrage of spells and Pinkie’s skillful wielding of fake poultry.

Ignoring the fallen insect-ponies, Twilight began tearing at the goo binding the princess, blanching as she saw the welts and cuts that festooned her old foalsitter, “Cadance? Cadance, can you hear me? Please wake up.”

“Here, try this,” Pinkie said, offering a vial of smelling salts.

“Thank you,” Twilight said, before stopping to stare quizzically at her friend, “Why are you carrying around smelling salts?”

“Oh, I always carry some, in case of fainting emergencies,” Pinkie explained cheerfully.

The librarian couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow, “Rarity?”

“Rarity.”

The pungent chemicals soon revived Cadance, “T-Twilight?” she coughed, “Y-you have to get away, something is posing as ponies ….”

“I know, Cadey, they’ve already gone after me, and we’ve heard fighting in the Palace,” Twilight’s aura flared as she cast a True Sight spell upon the alicorn, “Can you stand?”

“Yes, I think so,” Cadance struggled to her hooves, her own aura flashing as she cast a minor healing spell, “I never thought I might start to agree with Sunset’s ‘blast first’ philosophy,” she muttered.

Pinkie glanced at the youngest Princess, “What was that?”

“Just thinking out loud,” the alicorn replied, “So, do we have a plan?”

Twilight nodded, “We need to find Shiny or Princess Celestia.”

“Alright, let’s go.”

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash flew through the corridors in search of their friends, or rulers, avoiding or outflying those insect-ponies they encountered, much to the frustration of the weatherpony, who would have preferred to leave a trail of trounced insectoids in her wake. Coming to an intersection, the two mares spotted Shining Armor and Spike approaching from another hallway, “Hey! Spike! Shiny dude! Are we glad to see you!” Rainbow cried happily as she landed before the pair, only for her face to darken, “Wait, how do I know you’re really you?”

“Well, how do we know that you’re really Rainbow?” Spike countered, as Shining warily raised his sword.

“Umm … maybe we could ask questions?” Fluttershy offered, “Like … umm … like … what did Spike give to Rarity on his birthday?”

“A fire ruby, she used it to make a cape,” Spike immediately declared, “What is Rainbow always bragging about her pet?”

“Tank?” the athlete blinked, “What isn’t there to brag about? He’s an excellent listener, the fastest flying tortoise in all Equestria, a champion at leveraging objects off pinned wings –."

“Okay, I’m pretty sure you’re you,” Spike hastily conceded.

“Oh, that’s good,” Fluttershy said with relief, “I don’t know what I’d do if I wasn’t me, so … now that we’re sure we’re us, what are we going to do about the bug-ponies?”

“First thing, we get some reinforcements from the barracks,” Shining said, sheathing his blade.

Rainbow frowned, “But how will we know if the ponies we meet are who they say they are?”

“We won’t,” the stallion shrugged, “But it’s either take that risk, until we can find Princess Celestia, Twiley, or a senior Magus to do True Sight, or we try to handle this situation entirely on our own, unless one of you has another idea?” without any suggestions of their own to offer, the three could only shrug and follow after the unicorn.

The Palace Garrison barracks were actually quite small, only being used by guardsponies on temporary assignment to the Palace, or those members of the Solar and Night Guard who had not yet acquired permanent lodgings in the city. Shining knew there was barely a dozen ponies currently quartered therein, and some of those had probably been on duty, or caught outside the Palace, when the insectoids attacked, ‘Still,’ he thought, ‘Even a handful of additional Guards will help,’ approaching the barracks, the quartet stopped to stare at the green slime that sealed the doors, while pounding could be heard faintly from within.

“Well, I guess whoever is inside is probably a real pony,” Spike observed, picking at the semi-hardened goo with a claw, “I’m pretty sure I can scrape all this stuff off,” he added, glancing up at his brother.

“Do it,” Shining ordered, turning to watch the halls as the drake got to work.

Shortly thereafter, the door opened to reveal a small group of anxious, fully armored, guardsponies, “Captain Armor!” a unicorn stallion said, stepping forward with a salute, “Are we glad to see you, Sir! What is happening out here?”

“The Palace has been infiltrated by shapeshifting bug-ponies, Sergeant Mustard, we don’t know how many of the staff and garrison have already been compromised and replaced,” Shining replied, “Grab your weapons, we need to get to the Princesses,” he glanced over at a pair of thestrals as the ponies went for the arms rack, “I’m well aware that the Night Guard has a tendency to keep more in the barracks than regulations allow,” he said sternly, “This is not the time to be holding anything back.”

The two Night Guardsponies looked at each other sheepishly, “We’ve just got a pair of light, folding, crossbows and some thunderstones squirrelled away, Sir, honest,” one replied, as they held up their small stash.

“Keep the bows,” Shining instructed, passing around the small supply of thunderstones, “The invaders seem to be keeping to Palace Duty equipment, probably to help them blend in, so they’re not carrying any bows. Having some archers of our own should prove helpful.” The stallion looked over his little detail, “Is everyone ready?” he asked, giving a small, reassuring, smile to Fluttershy and Spike, “Good. Everything seemed to go to tartarus a bit after lunch, so we’ll look for the Princesses in the Royal Apartments first.” His aura flared a pale rose for a moment, “I just sealed the Palace inside a spell shield, those fake ponies won’t be getting out now.”

“B-but what about the real ponies?” Fluttershy asked, her lips trembling with fear, “Won’t they be trapped inside too?” the mare’s eyes widened in concern, “Our friends will be trapped with those awful bug-ponies!”

“Yes, they will,” Shining replied, his voice suddenly sounding much older and wearier, “The Guard’s priority is the safety of the Princesses first, then the containment of this threat. Seeing to the safety of other ponies, even our friends and family, has to come after that.”

Rainbow wrapped an arm around her timid friend’s shoulders, “Being a Guard must really suck, sometimes.”

“Yes … yes it does,” Shining sighed.

Applejack rolled a shoulder to stretch the muscle as she and Rarity stood over a trio of downed insectoids, ‘Swords are a’right, Ah suppose, but Ah miss ma hammer,’ she mused, her thoughts flitting to the heirloom maul currently sitting above Sweet Apple Acre’s fireplace. “They ain’t even tryin’ ta be sneaky anymore,” Applejack observed, giving one of the bug-ponies a small kick.

“They’re probably confidant that they have dealt with most of the Palace’s occupants,” the fashionista replied, forlornly, “And given that we haven’t seen anypony in some time, I fear they may be right.”

“Hey now, no long faces, ya hear?” Applejack gave her friend a quick, one-armed, hug, “We ain’t done for yet; tha other fillies are still out there, not ta mention tha Princesses, shoot, HellCaller is probably havin’ herself a grand old time beatin’ on creepy bug-ponies.”

Rarity gave herself a small shake, “Yes, darling, you’re quite right, of course,” she frowned, “Wait, these horrible insects … they knew about Sweetie Belle … what if they’re in Ponyville?!”

“Oh, Alicorns!” Applejack whispered, before shoving down her own fear to put on a brave face, “Pull it together, Rarity!” she admonished the fashionista, “Ah promise we’ll check on our families and Ponyville as soon as we can, but we can’t do that until we got thin’s squared away here!”

“Yes, yes, ‘stiff upper lip’, as they say,” Rarity took a deep breath, visibly pulling herself together, “There will be time for hysterics and drama later.”

“Oh, Ah’m sure there will be,” The farmer replied, unable to resist tweaking her friend’s muzzle, “An’ who’s this ‘they’, anyway?”

“… I’m not really sure …,” Rarity admitted, “And this is not the time for such distractions, Applejack Apple!” Applejack merely smirked as the fashionista glowered at her.

Continuing down the hall, the pair kept a wary eye out for more insectoids, only for Rarity to stop them with a raised hand, “I can hear someone sneaking up ahead.”

“Tha bugs ain’t botherin’ with sneakin’ anymore,” Applejack observed, “So Ah conjure we jus’ finally found us some more ponies.”

“Thank the Princesses,” Rarity sighed in relief. They hurried on, eager to meet their fellow refugees … a concept which brought an outraged frown to Rarity's muzzle, ‘Refugees in our own Imperial Palace! The indignity of it all!’ turning a final corner, the mares found themselves muzzle to muzzle with Pinkie, Twilight and Cadance, “Fillies!”

“I’m so glad you’re both safe,” Twilight said, once the impromptu group hug finally broke up, “Have you seen any of the others? Do you know who is attacking us?” the academic tilted her head as she noticed Rarity’s weapon, “How did your rapier get here?”

“No, no, and a lady must have her secrets,” Rarity replied, “Now what is the plan, darlings?”

“Looking for all you fillies, Celestia, or Shining and Spike,” Cadance said, “I’m afraid we’ve mostly been making it up as we go,” she added, apologetically.

“It’s okay, Princess,” Applejack reassured her, “Twi’s gotten used ta workin’ without a plan, even if it does leave her a mite frazzled.”

“These are still warm,” Corporal Quartz Prism said, looking up at his Captain from where he was checking a group of insectoid bodies, “We probably only just missed whoever is fighting.”

“Then we should run into them in the next few halls,” Shining declared, “Spike, I want you, Fluttershy and Rainbow to stay in the back for now. Whoever these ponies are, they’re violent and well trained, and I don’t want to risk you getting hurt if they think we’re more bug-ponies.”

“Y-you’re not going to fight them, are you?” Fluttershy asked, turning big, pleading, eyes on the stallion.

“Not if we don’t have too,” Shining quickly assured her, “But we need to take precautions, just in case,” he glanced down at his little brother as the timid mare retreated to the back of the group, “Divines, have her puppy-dog eyes always been that strong?”

“You think Fluttershy’s puppy-dogs are impressive?” Spike chuckled. “You should see Pinkie Pie's.” The little drake walked back to join his friends, oblivious to the guardsponies grinning behind him.

A short cough erased the smirks from their muzzles as the guards turned back to their Captain, “Don’t say it,” Shining ordered firmly, “Not. One. Word. Understand?”

“Yes, Captain!” they chorused.

Resuming their trek, the little band pressed deeper within the Palace, “I always forget how huge this place really is,” Spike grumbled as he jogged along, his short legs pumping to keep pace with the ponies.

Shining started to reply, only to stop and look around the chamber, “Defensive formation!”

Even as the guardsponies moved to surround Spike and the two Bearers, a heavily accented voice spoke from the air, “Drop spell, Fancy, they’re ponies.”

Shining sighed in relief as the illusion faded, “Lord Pants, Lady de Lis, it’s good to see that you got away,” turning, he bowed to the other two, “Ambassador Tavros, Empress HellCaller, I’m grateful that you have escaped the invaders, although I must admit to some surprise at your actions since,” he added, nodding at the notched and stained blade in the minotaur’s hand and the fresh scars on the demoness’ armor.

“The Minosan Isles would never interfere in a purely internal matter of the Equestrian Empire,” Tavros rumbled, “But, these insect-ponies’ flagrant attacks upon emissaries gives me enough justification to … indulge myself.”

“Heh, I vas just bored,” ‘Caller admitted with a dark chuckle, “This has been vay more entertaining than I vas expecting.”

“It sure has!” Kragor chortled, making the guardsponies start, “Hey, Spike, Fluttershy, Rainbow! You guys playing too?”

The drake blinked, “Playing … yeah ….”

“Erehm,” Fancy coughed, “Yes, anyway, we were on our way to the Royal Apartments to check on the Princesses, where might you be heading, Captain?”

“We’re also going to the Apartments,” Shining replied, “Best we go together.”

As the reinforced group continued on their way, Kragor’s chiming voice reached the ponies from her place at the front, “I vonder if actually vedding vill be this much fun?”

“Ve can only hope,” her sister replied, “These ponies do seem to know how to put some spark into pre-nuptials.”

Corporal Schwalbe shot the three Ponyvilleans an uneasy glance, “There’s an entire empire of more like her?”

“HellCaller? Oh no, we’re pretty sure that she’s fairly unique,” Fluttershy reassured the thestral, “Pretty sure ….”

Twilight was not having a good day, in fact, between the insectoids posing as ponies, the attempted foalnapping of her beloved foalsitter, the invasion in general, and now finding that Celestia was not in her chambers like she had hoped, the academic was very close to a panic attack.

“Breathe, Ladybug,” Cadance said, “I know you were counting on finding Auntie Tia here, I think we all were.”

Applejack sighed and pushed her hat up, “So, what do we do now?”

The alicorn of love started to reply, then stopped as both her and Pinkie’s ears began to twitch and swivel, “Somepony … no someone is coming.”

“Someone, Princess?” Rarity asked, taking a firmer grip on her rapier.

“Yes …,” Cadance frowned in concentration as she listened, “Multiple sets of hooves … and something else … sandals? No, heavier ….”

“Boots!” Rarity declared happily, “HellCaller is the only person I can think of who might be wearing boots this time of the year!” seeing the looks from her friends, she coughed, “Yes. Well. Most species have hooves, you see, and of the few who don’t, griffins and diamond dogs only wear boots to deal with winter’s ice and snow, and dragons simply never bother.”

“Ah can’t see ‘Caller jus’ goin’ along with these bug-ponies,” Applejack observed, “So that means she likely has some other ponies with her,” she grinned, “Sounds ta me like we’ve found us some reinforcements.”

Eagerly pushing on, they soon ran into Shining’s group. While the resulting reunion buoyed many spirits, he quickly brought everyone back to the reality of their situation, “Have you seen any signs of Princess Celestia?” Shining sighed at the mares’ response, “I see. Cadance … Princess Cadenza, we need to get you out of the Palace immediately.”

“What? Leave all these poor ponies, and maybe Auntie Tia as well, in the hands of these bug? Why would you even suggest that, Shining?!”

“Because with Princess Luna away, and Celestia’s current whereabouts and condition unknown, you are now in charge of the Empire,” Shining explained, “Whatever else may be happening, whatever other concerns anypony might have, however much we might want to stay, right now your safety has to come first.”

Cadance glared at the stallion, then her features softened into a smug little smile, “Then, as the acting Empress, I order the Guard to help me find and rescue Auntie Tia and our ponies.”

Applejack leaned over to one of the guardsponies, “Can she do that?”

“I have no idea,” the guard whispered back, “The real question is whether the Captain buys it.”

The gathered ponies waited anxiously for Shining’s decision (Tavros, instead, merely looked mildly curious, while HellCaller seemed more bored than anything else), “That is a complete misuse of your authority!” he accused.

“Yes, yes it is,” the Princess of Love nodded, “Now, are you going to obey my order, Captain?”

The stallion glared at her, before his shoulders finally slumped in defeat, “Yes, Princess.”

“Thank you, Shiny,” Cadance gave the stallion a quick kiss.

“Cadey!” Shining protested, blushing furiously, “Not in front of the troops!”

Once she got her giggles under control, Twilight raised the obvious question, “What do we do now?”

“I say ve look for vhoever is leading this invasion in Throne Room,” ‘Caller suggested, “No matter vhat you’ve achieved, a conquest never feels complete until you sit in defeated ruler’s chair.”

The ponies exchanged looks, “O-o-okay … does anyone have any other ideas?” Rarity asked.

When no other suggestions proved forthcoming, Shining shrugged, “The Throne Room it is, then.”

Rarity stole back to where the others were waiting, “There’s nearly a hundred bugs guarding the door!” she whispered.

Shining grimaced, as he glanced at the demoness, “Looks like you were right. How are they positioned?” he asked, turning back to Rarity.

“There’s fifteen with their shields up blocking the hall, the rest are just standing around behind them.”

“So, we have over sixty hooves of open hallway to cross with a shield wall waiting at the end and we’re outnumbered over five-to-one,” Mustard sighed, “It could be worse, I guess ….”

“Vhat are you grumbling over? Five each is a good varm up before Throne Room and real fun starts.”

Shining shook his head at HellCaller’s cheerful bloodthirst, “We need to get to that shield wall and push through, or they’ll just hold us off and then pick us off or overwhelm us at their leisure, and that’s not counting whatever losses we suffer closing in down an open corridor.”

“I can help there!” Twilight offered eagerly, “Trixie taught me an illusion that should make us harder to target,” her aura flared, as the group’s forms seemed to shift and waiver.

“Not bad,” ‘Caller said approvingly, “This should help as well, Queelak.” Everyone blinked as energy rushed through them, with Pinkie (and, to a lesser extent, Twilight) vibrating in place.

“Oooh! ThisislikethetimeIhadsixchocolate-espressosandtwovanillalattes!” Pinkie Pie declared, “NowtheCakeswon’tletmehaveanycoffeeatall! Hey,IthinkIcantastetime!” her muzzle wrinkled in a confused, slightly disgusted, frown, “Whydoestimetastelikecandycorn?”

Applejack leaned towards the demoness, “That … might have been a mistake, sugarcube.”

“Hmmm … you may be right.”

“We’ll deal with the caffeine-crazy later,” Shining said, “We still have to get to the guards first … Twily, you can teleport ….”

The librarian shook her head, “I can only carry six, and besides, I’m not licensed yet. ‘Caller?”

“I can only carry eight on a Teleport, and distance is too short to Shadow Valk.”

“Horesapples,” Shining sighed, “I was hoping we wouldn’t have to rush that shield wall, and I don't want to split our forces … no choice now. On three.”

The insect-ponies snapped into formation, the front line bracing their shields, as the Equestrians and their allies burst into the hall, descending up the insectoids with unnatural speed as multicolored blasts of magic, crossbow quarrels, and a whirling bolt of fire, slammed into the shield wall, while a blast of pale rose magic splashed harmlessly against the Throne Room doors. Tavros, Pinkie Pie somehow riding on his shoulders, crashed into the weakened front rank, shattering their formation, and allowing his companions to poor into the bugs’ broken ranks.

“Jivntir Llonnair,” a shudder went through the insect-ponies at ‘Caller’s incantation, with several of them collapsing in withered husks, while the ponies pressed deeper into the enemy. The insectoids swiftly rallied, however, and between their numbers and the fact that all of them were in full armor, the Equestrians’ assault quickly ground to a halt, forcing the ponies and their allies to go back-to-back as the swarm pressed about them, while Schwalbe and Mondlicht peppered the bugs with quarrels from the air.

Despite everything, Twilight smiled as she watched Cadance and Shining fight the insectoids side-by-side, they just seemed so right together, even if Shiny was still the worst shot she knew – and that was including Fluttershy and the Cutie Mark Crusaders! Still, her BBBFF and the bestest foalsitter in the history of foalsitters were going to be married! She couldn’t help but give a happy squee and dance a few steps in place, not noticing as the bug-ponies she was facing pulled back, leery of getting too close to the clearly deranged mare.

Even as ‘Caller, Cadance and the unicorns’ spells cut swaths through the bugs, concentrated blasts of magic from the outer ring of the swarm knocked the two thestrals, bleeding and broken, from the sky. A blast of dragonfire pushed the swarm back for a moment, allowing Fluttershy to drag the wounded ponies into the protection of a hastily conjured hedge of brambles.

Tavros bellowed in pain as he took a bolt of bug-pony magic full in the face, while another insectoid stabbed the blinded minotaur in the chest with her spear. Fancy Pants valiantly stepped forward to protect the gravely wounded ambassador, only to fall himself as a bug struck low and hamstrung him.

A shield of pale rose magic sprang into being, covering the hole in the Equestrian’s defenses, as Spike ran forward and, with far more strength than his little form should have been capable of, dragged the minotaur and unicorn back to Fluttershy. Even as their numbers feel, Twilight unleashed a roaring wave of flames at the swarm, while entire squads of insectoids tumbled to the ground as mummified corpses as ‘Caller called out “Jivntir Llonnair” again.

Finally, with over half of their number fallen, the bug-ponies had enough and retreated behind a hastily raised shield of green magic, dragging their wounded along beside them.

Mandible wiped some blood from his gashed forehead as he glared at the enemy who was bandaging their own wounds and readying to assault the magical fortifications his remaining drones had conjured, ‘I don’t expect that to last long, as is,’ he thought grimly, ‘The Captain of the Guard with a handful of guardsponies and a baby dragon to back him up would have been bad enough, but something we could deal with … throw in a pair of pony nobles, who can actually fight, a minotaur, the entire Elements of Harmony, a divinesdamned Alicorn, and whatever “Empress HellCaller” may be, and we haven’t a hope of holding them unless the Queen Herself comes out to join us.’ While capable warriors, especially with competent leadership to direct and focus them, Changelings were much better at infiltration than in a straight-up battle, particularly against magical powerhouses like the Element of Magic and the Empress. “Sergeant Maxilla!” he called, with both Lieutenant Tarsus and Captain Kephri among the casualties, the sergeant was now the most senior drone available, “Get me the four most capable drones we have left, and ready everydrone else to gather our wounded and fall back into the Throne Room to the Queen.”

“Yes Sir, and what will the General be doing with my four most capable drones while we are falling back?”

“Buying you time,” Mandible replied grimly.

Mandible could feel the ponies’ magic probing the edges of the shield as the Sergeant returned, “The drones are ready to go on your command, Sir.” The Changeling nodded, turning to face the drone, only to stop and stare at the full squad that was formed up, some with crudely bandaged wounds, waiting on his orders.

“What in tartarus do you think you’re doing?!”

“Going with you, General,” Maxilla answered calmly, “If four drones will help you buy the wounded time, then ten should buy at least twice as much.”

The General glared at his impudent drones, before giving them a small smile, “Very well, then. The shield won’t last much longer, so we’re going to flare it for as long as we can, to keep the Equestrians from seeing the others escape, then, once the shield falls, we charge and keep them focused on us,” Mandible raised his sword, “For the Hive!”

“For the Hive!”

Author's Note

Alternate Title: The Ponies Strike Back.

With thanks to Jazz Jr. for his advice.

Ch. 13; Uninvited Guests, Part 3

“How are they doing?” Shining asked, kneeling beside Fluttershy.

“They’re all stable, for now,” the timid mare replied, not even glancing up as she worked on her newest patient, Fleur de Lis, who lay beside her husband, gripping his hand in agony as she tried not to writhe around a belly wound, “Those we haven’t already lost,” she added, blinking away tears as her eyes briefly flitted over the two still forms laying off to the side of the pegasus’ makeshift surgery.

Twilight’s muzzle wrinkled in thought as she helped a weary Cadance, who had already exhausted what little healing magic she knew, to her hooves, “‘Caller … didn’t you say you could raise the dead?”

“Yes,” the demoness admitted, as everyone turned to stare at her, “But they’ll barely be conscious, certainly not in any condition to fight,” ‘Caller raised an eyebrow at the unicorn, “And I thought you ponies didn’t ‘meddle’ in peoples’ deaths.”

“But you’re not a pony,” Twilight pointed out, “You’re a demon from another reality,” she reached out a hand, but pulled back before she touched HellCaller, “So many people have been hurt already, and only Faust knows what has happened to the ones who’ve been taken … please?”

‘Caller gave an irritated snort, before stomping over to kneel between Tavros’ and Schwalbe’s limp forms, “If some god comes after me because of this, I’m telling them it vas your idea!” Putting a hand on each corpse’s breast, the demon closed her eyes, “Nurilt Huven,” she said, causing the nearby ponies to stumble back as an aura of pure, undirected, magical energy enveloped her, “Kagn Loex,” she barked, sending the energy rushing into the two bodies.

The minotaur and thestral jerked, their chests heaving as breath rushed back into empty lungs, eyes snapping open as minds and souls returned to hollow husks, and cooling blood began to pump once more.

“Done,” ‘Caller said, as Fluttershy rushed over to check on the two stolen back from the grave’s grasp, “But they’ll need proper treatment to fully recover.”

“We’ll get everyone to the Palace medical wing or to the city hospitals as soon as we can,” Cadance, assured her.

Fluttershy turned back to ‘Caller, her eyes wide and lower lip trembling, “Umm … you can do this for the poor bug-ponies too, can’t you?”

“No,” the demoness said, pointedly turning away as Fluttershy wilted at the blunt refusal.

Rainbow glared at ‘Caller as she wrapped a comforting arm around her friend, “So, now we go after those bugs and finish kicking their flanks, right?”

“We need to make sure the wounded are safe first,” Twilight disagreed, “Spike, stop picking at it,” she added, reaching over to pull the drake’s hand away from the gore-soaked bandage wrapped around his muzzle.

“Not much ve can do for that,” HellCaller replied, “Bugs seem to still control Palace, and ve haven’t heard anything about reinforcements from city, so even if ve moved casualties and put a guard on them, at best ve’d only be buying them a little time if ve lose.”

“We can’t move the injured,” Fluttershy murmured adamantly, “The slightest stress could still kill Lady de Lis, Corporal Schwalbe and the Ambassador!”

“Still, leaving a guard behind, just in case, sounds reasonable …,” Shining said, giving Twilight a pointed look and nodding towards their little brother.

“What? Oh. Yes! Yes, Spike should stay behind and keep guard over the wounded,” Twilight agreed, “Please?” she added, with huge puppy-dog eyes as he started to object.

When Spike still looked like he wanted to argue, Cadance, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie and Applejack joined Twilight. When Shining, and even, after a bit of grumbling, Rainbow added their own puppy-dog looks, Spike’s shoulder slumped in defeat as ‘Caller gave a short bark of laughter.

“So, are there any other vays out of Throne Room?”

“Well, there’s the two secret passages.” Pinkie offered, having finally calmed down, “But I bet Princess Celestia has more hidden away!”

“Secret passages, eh?” ‘Caller rubbed her chin, “than either bugs have found them and know they have a vay out, so they’ll retreat if things go bad and ve’ll have to hunt them down, or they haven’t found passages, and ve’re looking at a Last Stand, possibly under eyes of their commander.”

Rarity’s muzzle wrinkled delicately, “I know ‘last stands’ in the songs and stories are usually all heroic and romantic, but I’d rather not test that first-hand.”

“Bards lie,” the demoness replied, sourly, “I’ve been through several last stands in my years, and only thing any of them have been good for is feeding Kragor.”

“Let’s not give them any more time to prepare,” Shining said, “Twily, HellCaller, if you could recast those spells, we’ll see if the bugs thought to lock the doors.”

Much to everyone’s surprise, the doors were unlocked. The gathered unicorns and alicorn raised shields in anticipation of an attack, but when the Throne Room doors opened, there was no barrage of magic or arrows to welcome them. Instead, what greeted their eyes was a massive swarm of insect-ponies, covering the floor, flying in the air, and even clinging to the walls. The injured insectoids who had been evacuated earlier lay in a groaning heap in one corner, as if they had been tossed aside, while a taller insect-mare lounged on the Solar Throne, one hoof resting on a massive black crystal, a web of golden and ebony energies coursing over it.

“I was beginning to wonder if you were going to just stand out there all day,” she sneered, “I don’t know who is more pathetic, you ponies, or Mandible for losing to you!”

‘Caller was opening her mouth to sarcastically point out that she wasn’t a pony, when Rarity’s horrified gasp and pointing hand interrupted her; barely visible within the crystal was Celestia.

“See?” the seated bug gloated, casually kicking the crystal, “Even your vaunted Princess of the Sun was powerless before me! Now surrender and –”

“No, no, no!” Pinkie shouted, stepping in front of the gathered swarm, “You have to tell us who you are and explain your evil plan before you demand our surrender! It’s in the rules!” she declared, holding aloft a massive tome emblazoned with “Da Rules, Fourth Edition, Revised” in gold leaf.

To the surprise of many (but not to anyone who really knew Pinkie Pie), the smirking insectoid complied, “I am Chrysalis, Queen of the Changelings! As for my brilliant plan, isn’t it obvious, you silly pony? I’m going to replace your leaders and infiltrate your society until we can reveal ourselves, take over, and reduce you ponies to slave labor and livestock … what you always should have been!”

Fluttershy gave a horrified squeak, “You’re going to eat ponies?!”

“Not like that! That’s disgusting!” retorted one of the changelings with a shudder, “We feed on emotions, not –” he quickly shut up as Chrysalis turned to glare at him.

“Now, where was I? Ah, yes, surrender and I will let you live!” Chrysalis smiled, “Considering the abilities you’ve displayed, I might even make you favored pets,” she offered, seductively.

Cadance wrinkled her muzzle in thought, “Hmm … tempting … but I did call dibs on Shining years ago … so … everyone blast the bug!”

Spells tore through the massed changelings (or slammed into a wall, earning Shining exasperated, side-long glares from his sister and fiancé), but Chrysalis threw up a green shield that blocked what magic her subjects didn’t throw themselves in front of.

The more martially inclined of the group stepped forward to protect Fluttershy, Cadance and Twilight, while the unicorn conjured a wall of ice to divide the Throne Room, but dozens of horns flared green and shattered the barrier as the insectoids descended upon them. The ponies, and demon, hurled spells and laid about themselves with abandon, but the changelings’ overwhelming numbers kept them contained at the doors, far from Chrysalis and her captive.

***

A hedge of coiling vines sprang up at Fluttershy’s call, providing the cluster of wounded changelings who had been evacuated into the Throne Room with some protection from the general fray, while also trying to wrap around and hold any other changeling who came to close.

***

Rainbow weaved through the flying changelings with a rakish grin on her muzzle, a song in her heart and fresh blood on her sword, sure they were ridiculously outnumbered and most of their side didn’t even have armor, but these bugs couldn’t touch her in the air, and the shields that Twi’, Shining and Princess Cadance kept throwing up meant the changelings couldn’t swarm over her friends from above. Besides, when they kicked that mouthy Queen’s plot it was going to be awesome! No … it was going to be better than awesome! It was going to be … to be … she’d have to talk to Twilight to find a word for things that were better than awesome. Glancing down, she noticed one of the changelings directing the bugs around him – or was it a her? Either way, it meant an officer. The pegasus cackled as she folded her wings and plummeted down on her target – hooves first.

***

A pulse of lightning leapt from Twilight’s hands to tear through the massed changelings as it leapt from target to target, leaving a trail of sparks behind, then, with a loud thunderclap, all the sparks detonated, knocking even more changelings from their hooves. “Why haven’t the changelings just rushed us all at once?” the unicorn wondered, as she conjured another ice wall to delay and tire the changelings even further, “They have so many bodies that they would just win … eventually,” Twilight’s muzzle wrinkled as she glanced at Chrysalis, “Does she really value her subjects’ lives so little?” she thought in disgust, while tossing a fireball into another group of changelings as they gathered together for a charge.

***

“What’s wrong with them?” Fluttershy wailed as she pulled yet another fallen changeling away from the frontline and passed him to the hedge before he could be trampled by his own comrades, “They aren’t even trying to protect their wounded!”

Pinkie slapped a changeling in the muzzle with her rubber chicken, “Yeah! And I’ve seen diamond dogs with better tactics!” she said, as she knocked her dazed foe on the head with her sword’s pommel, “The one’s we fought before were loads better!”

“I think they have some sort of hivemind going on,” Shining replied, catching a changeling on his shield and throwing the bug-pony back, “When Mandible was leading them, they were soldiers, but now that he’s gone, they’re just a rabble with good equipment.”

“Whatever is wrong with ‘em, thank tha Princesses for it!” stated Applejack, as she caught a sword on her own, and then sent her attacker to the ground with a kick that left a dent in the changeling’s cuirass, “If we was fightin’ this many soldiers, we’d have lost by now!”

***

Mustard went down with a cry under the changelings’ hacking blades, but Pinkie dragged him to safety as Applejack drove the chitinous swarm back with great sweeps of her blade.

***

Apparently having finally grown bored watching her subjects fight, Chrysalis hurled a massive bolt of emerald fire at the Equestrians, only for it to splash harmlessly against the shield that Shining threw in its path. The Queen blinked, then sat back in her stolen throne with a sneer as she waved another group into the fray.

***

“Back, you ruffian!” Rarity declared as she deflected a changeling’s sword blow with a sliding-parry, her horn flared as an arcane bolt took the infiltrator full in the face, sending him tumbling to the ground under the hooves of his fellows. The fashionista daintily stabbed another insect-pony through the throat as she stumbled, before casting a blast of light to dazzle more changelings, leaving them easy targets for her companion’s blades.

***

A wave of eldritch energy shredded a cluster of changelings gathered around the thrones as ‘Caller hacked down two more with casual ease, :Kragor, did you see that?:

:It looked like bug-queen vas drawing magic from pony-princess to block your attack … big mouth bug isn’t as strong as she’s pretending to be!:

:Maybe ve can overpower her …,: “Twilight! Cadance! Focus on Queen!” Bolts of pale blue and magenta magic slammed into Chrysalis, wrapping her in mystic fire and battering the changeling with crude, but powerful, concussive force, while a blue-white ray leapt from the demoness’ hand to encase Chrysalis in ice.

The massed changelings all stopped were they stood to stare in horror at their queen, but the ice quickly shattered away, leaving Chrysalis visibly injured, for the first time in the whole battle, but standing, “You little nags!” she hissed, her injuries disappearing as she inhaled a noxious looking green mist that rose from Celestia’s encased form, “Your pathetic struggles were entertaining for a while, but now you bore me. Drones!”

As if by command, every changeling standing (still a few hundred strong, despite the havoc the ponies and ‘Caller had caused) charged forward, a mass of grasping hands and fanged muzzles vomiting out great bursts of sticky, green, ooze, that overwhelmed the Equestrians by sheer weight of numbers and bore them to the ground, to quickly wrap the ponies and demon in oozing, web-like bonds.

Cadance gave a pained grunt as the drones dragged her and the others to their knees. Beside her, Shining’s aura flare for a moment, before flickering and dying away, “This goo must interfere with unicorn magic,” he muttered.

“Well, of course it does,” Chrysalis said, mockingly, “You are far from the first ponies we have captured, after all, and something did need to be done about you unicorns and your annoying little spells.”

HellCaller glared up at the changeling Queen, “Ulnot di --,” but Chrysalis spat up another blast of slime, gaging the demoness before her spell could be completed.

“That’s quite enough out of you!” Chrysalis declared, leaning back in the throne to smirk at her new captives, as one of the drones picked up Kragor, gave a small shiver, and wandered over to stand behind Cadance and Shining.

‘What are we going to do?’ Cadance thought frantically, although her years of training with Celestia allowed her to keep her emotions from her face, ‘Even if we were free, nothing we do seems to hurt Chrysalis so long as she can feed on Auntie Tia!’ the alicorn’s eyes narrowed as an idea struck, ‘Chrysalis was hurt by our spells, even if she stole Auntie Tia’s power to recover, and Shining’s shield held off her magic … oh, if only we could get free!’

Behind her, the drone holding Kragor shifted slightly, then he burst into action, his arms blurring and Kragor’s runes blazing as he cut down the changelings to either side, before shearing through the cocoons binding Cadance and Shining. As the two ponies stumbled to their hooves, the drone’s sudden betrayal and vicious sword work temporarily driving the other changelings back, Cadance reached over to grab her fiancé as she prepared to do something that would probably have Celestia, Luna and Twilight all yelling at her, “Shining, trust me.”

As their horns touched, Cadance opened herself completely to Shining, and felt a small surge of joy as he responded in kind. The alicorn’s power flowed into the stallion, replenishing his nearly exhausted magic reserves – but it wasn’t enough. Reaching out, Cadance drew in every bit of love she could; Twilight’s love of her BBBFF and her old foalsitter, the Ponyvillians affection for each other, HellCaller and Kragor’s sisterly bond. Reaching further, Cadance drew in Spike, Fleur de Lis, Fancy Pants and more, all the love she could find in the Imperial Palace and grounds, all the love in Canterlot, poured into Shining.

The couple stared deep into each other’s eyes as Shining’s horn flared – and their vision was filled by purple light.

Author's Note

I realize that this chapter could be lots better, but after starring at it for over two months with nothing coming from it, I decided to go with what I had so that the story could at least continue. :twilightsheepish:

Ch. 14; Epilogue

HellCaller came back to consciousness with a groan, “Nine Heavens, what hit me? I didn’t feel this bad after facing Chethas,” opening her eyes, the demoness found herself lying in bed in a small, very white room. A flexible tube ran from her arm up to a … bag of clear liquid hanging from a metal pole. Trixie was slumped in a chair, her hat pulled down over her muzzle as she snored, while Kragor sat propped-up in another.

“‘Caller! You’re awake!” her soul-sister chirped happily, before the blade flickered and teleported to her hand.

“Apparently I vas out for a vhile,” ‘Caller said, nodding over at her awakening apprentice, “Vhat have I missed?”

“Trixie doesn’t know all that has occurred,” the showmare admitted with a yawn, “But the invasion was three days ago, and you have been in the hospital ever since”

“And you came rushing to Canterlot to look after your dear teacher, did you? Or vas it to check on your sweetheart, hmm?” teased the demoness.

“Oh, I’d say it was a bit of both,” Cadance giggled as she and Celestia entered the room, “And Shining wants to have a ‘word’ with you about how you snuck your armor into the Palace,” she added

“I learned long ago that places vhere you aren’t supposed to go armed or armored and exactly vhere you need to,” ‘Caller replied impudently.

Kragor giggled, “Heh, remember time you had to pose as part of Pasha of Al-Douqib’s harem?”

“Oh, that,” ‘Caller’s grin became reminiscent and lecherous, “At least I had a good armor design for that adventure … it was very popular,” turning back to the alicorns, her face became serious again, “So, vhat happened in Throne Room, anyway?”

“I focused my power into Shining, and he used it to create a love-powered shield that threw all of the changelings out of the city … and put you in a coma,” a blushing Cadance explained.

“Which was a horribly dangerous thing to do!” Celestia chided her niece, “Drawing on that much raw energy without preparation or training might have hurt you badly and channeling it into Shining could have easily killed him.”

“I know, Auntie, but we were desperate!”

‘Caller blinked, “Sooo, you beat changelings, and me, vith … love?”

“Well, yes.”

“No, really, vhat did you actually hit us vith?”

Cadance frowned, “I told you, Love.”

“Fine, don’t tell me!” ‘Caller crossed her arms and stuck out her bottom lip in a pout, prompting Trixie to try and choke down a snicker while the Princesses exchanged exasperated looks. After a moment, ‘Caller’ dropped her sulk with a rough laugh, “So, you ponies have found something that can put me down and you’re keeping secret to yourselves. Good! There’s hope for you after all,” the demoness cocked an eyebrow, “All of changelings are really gone, then?”

“Yes,” Celestia nodded, “unfortunately, we haven’t been able to find what became of them afterwards,” the alicorn’s face fell, “Nor have we found all of those who were replaced.”

“It looks like some ponies were replaced months ago,” Cadance added sadly, “Possibly even years.”

Having heard enough depressing things, Kragor piped up, “Hey, vhat happened to vedding?”

“The wedding has been postponed a month to allow people to recover,” Celestia replied, “And it will give the Royal Guard and Equestrian Intelligence time to look for any more infiltrators.”

“And plenty of time for Hyacinth and her peers to bend Rarity’s and Pinkie’s poor ears about what a ‘proper’ royal wedding should involve,” the younger alicorn said with a wince.

“A month, eh?” ‘Caller leered at Trixie, “That should give you a chance to spend some ‘quality time’ vith Twilight, maybe even be her date for vedding.”

“What’s this now?” Cadance asked, as the two Princesses focused their attention on the furiously blushing illusionist, “Someone is pining after out little ladybug?”

“Oh, Trixie has been lusting after Twilight’s purple flanks and big brain for a vhile now,” Kragor chuckled, “It might even be actual love.”

‘Caller smirked at her apprentice, “If you are serious about pursuing Sparkle, I suppose I could add courtship practices and sexual methodologies to your education,” when Trixie descended into incoherent protests and heart palpitations as all her blood migrated to her face, the demoness burst out in laughter, “Oh, just look at you! You vant Twilight to be your first, do you? That’s just adorable!” ‘Caller waved a hand indulgently, “Fine, fine, ve’ll skip practical training, if it means so much to you.”

Celestia decided to take pity on the poor, flustered, unicorn, “I believe that Twilight is currently in the Royal Archives trying to research the changelings, and I suspect she would welcome some assistance,” the alicorns and demoness exchanged amused grins at Trixie’s hurried exit (not that the Great and Powerful Trixie would ever admit to fleeing from mere teasing), “Well, the duties of the Day Court call, I’m afraid,” Celestia said, excusing herself. Pausing at the door, she turned to add, “Oh, and HellCaller, Twilight, Cadance and the others filled me in on what happened while I was … indisposed. While issues of death and the afterlife are not part of my domains, I suspect that the involved divines will be willing to let the matter slide, this one time.”

As the door closed behind the Princess of the Sun, Cadance pulled a chair closer to the bed and sat down, “So, tell me about this ‘harem armor’ ….”

Author's Note

Thank you all for reading and commenting.