Drizzle was awake, late at night, levitating the spell book in front of him at his desk with his magic. He trotted around his room while reading it, pacing back and forth hastily. He looked at the ancient spells, only made for those who dare to cross the line. He mumbled to himself..

“No..Not good enough…I need something more, something better, something that will help me be MORE POWERFUL!”

Glancing back and forth, his anger arises suddenly. He slammed the book down onto his desk with his lamp turned on and his bedroom lights turned off, angry that he can not understand some of the spells and its magic. Then, he heard a soft voice whispering.

“Well….That wasn’t very nice….”

The voice laughed softly as it seemed to echo around the dimly lighted room. Drizzle’s eyes shot open in surprise as to what he was hearing.

“I…WHO’S THERE!? WHAT IS THAT!?”

“Oh...I think you know me quite well actually…”

Drizzle’s pupils shrunk, surprised that the voice he heard was responding BACK to his concerns as he did not expect for it to respond back to him.

“Am I going crazy…Why am I hearing things? I… Its probably been the lack of sleep or something. Yeah.. That’s definitely it..” Touching his hoof to the back of his neck, he scratched it nervously.

“Lack of sleep, ey? Is that what you think this is? Hahahahahaha….That’s cute…”

Drizzle’s heart inside his chest started to physically beat harder in fear. Creases formed under his eyes as his expression changed to a look of terror of the paranormal.

“SHOW YOURSELF!” He yelled.

The mysterious figure revealed themself as the shadow formed into a physical pony like form. The shadow form seemed to have moderately long hair which waved with each movement like a princess. The shadow also had piercing bright blue eyes which seemed to glow in the dark. The entire form was a very dark, almost blackish blue with what seemed like bat wings to go along with it. The form revealed themself as a more “mare” like form.

“Revealed enough for you my child?..”

Drizzle looked at the shadow like pony now slowly trotting towards him as the glistening light of the moon shone upon her.

“Didn’t I...See you..Inside one of the pages of that spellbook I found...In...The mountain of….”

Before Drizzle could finish, his eyes shook with fear. “Mooncaster…”

“Yes..Yes you did, my little pony! I have been trapped there for decades and decades! Thanks to you, you have set me free. Finally…I can once again fulfill my purpose!”

Drizzle squinted his eyes towards her in concern. “Fulfill your purpose? What are you...Talking about?..”

“Isn’t it obvious little one? I am the demon of deceit.”

She announced with a bold tone as a strike of lightning hit behind her in the background when announcing her name. “For I am the demon APATE!”

Apate pushed her shadowy hoof to his chin gently, as if teasing him.

“And you released me...Thank you so much….Drizzle…”

“I-..How do you know my name!?”

Apate soon laughed at him to mock the fact that he was panicking just because of her. She almost seemed amused at his attempts to yell at her because she knew that she could end his life in a second. She glanced around the room, looking at the furniture and finally the spellbook that he previously smacked down onto his desk. Grinning the entire time as she glanced around his room, she chuckled to herself.

“Oh my, I practically felt the weight of the book on me before I returned to society. I’ve been trapped for many decades you see. Nothing and nopony has come for decades so I couldn’t very well escape, now could I?”

Drizzle attempted to pathetically understand where Apate came from in terms of emotions so maybe she wouldn’t hurt him. He grinned nervously at her. “Well…I know what it’s like to be trapped in situations you can’t exactly escape from… There were some situations that found me lonely and broken as a pony..”

Apate looked back at Drizzle with surprised eyes and a smile. She laughed hard, holding her hooves up to her dark blue chest as if to grab a hold of something to not fall over.

“Oh sweetheart, don’t try to sympathize with me. That isn’t going to work…”

Raising her eyebrows in a cocky manner, she darted her eyes towards the spell book. Drizzle swallowed a hunk of saliva down his throat nervously as she let on that there was no way that he could get through to her. He was almost certain that his doom had been coming to him because of her lack of will to show empathy or understanding. She was a deceitful being.

Apate slowly trotted over to the spell book in which she was prisoner of many, many, many moons.

“So this is the prison cell of a book that you had picked out? Little did you know, I possessed this book and turned it into my own story. You see…I needed ponies to carry on my work. I needed loyal subjects to learn my truth. Most ponies believe that I am just an evil monster who haunts their dreams. I believe that I have more truth and knowledge to offer than that!”

Drizzle's face was blank, watching her pace back and forth from the book to his dresser. Drizzle looked down at the floor in a semi depressed state.

“Aren’t you just tired of EVERYPONY stepping on you?” She circled around him, flying around him slowly while still maintaining eye contact with him.

“Aren’t you sick of all the liars? Aren’t you tired of the cheaters? Aren’t you tired of being impoverished? Doesn’t it just make you SICK that you have to bow down to those who are younger than you just to get by in life? Aren’t you just tired at the fact that all your friends are doing much better than you? Aren’t you tired of almost every relationship you get in, failing? Aren’t you just SICK OF IT ALL!?”

Drizzle squinted his eyes at her in a tiny bit of rage. “Who are you to tell me that my life is shit!? I'm trying my best, that’s all that should matter! Aren’t YOU tired of messing with ponies heads just to get by in YOUR own life!?”

She laughed once more while staring back at him. She didn’t seem intimidated or phased by his words in the slightest. She was a very deceitful being. She knew exactly how to take ponies apart and put them back together. She could play with ponies minds and make them believe that her ideas were their own.

“Don’t even fucking try that with me. You should know damn well that I am here to HELP you more than anything! You simply need to not judge me first before you get to know me and my ways. Don’t think of me as a monster. Think of me as a creature who wants to help you and aid you into becoming a more powerful unicorn. That IS what you wanted….Wasn’t it?”

Apate stared at him before finally flying down and landing onto her hooves. Now standing on the floor, she gave him a glare as her neon blue eyes flashed before him.

“Refuse me and you’ll just live this same impoverished lifestyle as usual. I could help you become rich…You could have all the money and ALL the power! You just have to listen to everything I say…”

Drizzle touched his hoof to his chin, looking down. He was very concerned but also started to seem interested. He still had his fair amount of suspicion.

“And..What happens if I do agree..?”

“Well, you get everything that you ever wished for of course. You can achieve great power, you can take down all those who have hurt and betrayed you. Don’t try to pretend that you don’t want this deep down.”

Drizzle looked back at the spellbook, desperately wanting to say yes to Apate. His urges burned inside of him so much to the point where he felt his skin practically burning for it. He still had to seek further investigation into the matter before he just took up such a huge and odd offer from such a creepy looking creature. He felt like she would only bring him trouble. It was odd enough that this creature's tone of voice was so relaxed in such a weird situation. She seemed like a smooth talker and almost psychotic. He felt that she was the type of creature to persuade him into something troubling.

“You know that I want this badly..But I’m not sure about you yet. I may be many things but I’m not a fool, Apate..”

“Oh, you’d be surprised how foolish ponies can be sometimes. Ponies are honestly so predictable and easy. But, I can offer you things that you’ve always wanted. I see the evil of this world and I just want to help ponies. The world is filled with so much darkness..I can help you change this with your new found power. You just have to let me help you…”

Looking at the sliding door in his bedroom, he slowly trotted over to it. He looked out the window just staring at the stars and the trees slowly waving along with the wind. He opened the sliding door as he sat on the steps of it, outside. Apate slowly put her hooves onto Drizzle's shoulders with her head resting on his other shoulder. She stared at him as if she was a comforting friend to him.

“Oh Drizzle, I only care for you..I want you to succeed in getting your revenge. I want to help those in need. I want to help all the ponies who have been betrayed by the filthy little assholes of the world. They corrupt your mind and try to use you like a dog. Let me help you. I promise, you won’t regret a thing.”

He sighed slowly as if slightly relieved but still cautious with his hooves on his knees. “I’m not sure yet..Okay?”

In the morning when the sun arrived to greet Drizzle's eyes, the beam of light shone down from the window as he squinted sleepily. He was surprised at the fact that he was able to get sleep since he was so sleep deprived lately.

“Well, that was a weird dream I had last night..Something about some spell book demon named Apate..It felt so real though..” He mumbled to himself.

He heard a whisper from the shadows that slowly creeped up in a smooth tone. “Oh hun, that wasn’t a dream, see? It’s all very real for you. After all, you freed me and picked me out.”

He sighed as he lowered his eyelids in what seemed like disappointment. “Of course you weren’t a dream..Just another weird thing to add on to my life..”

“Oh my! That wasn't very kind of you to say..I am practically hurt!” She said this with a sarcastic mocking tone as she laughed gently. “Aren’t you going to get up today and go to your little friend's place?.."

“Yes and leave me alone today please. I need to focus today. She is presenting her achievement today in front of the library. She just got the reward from the library for her books. I need to be there and be a supportive friend. I can’t have you in my ear all day.”

Apate touched her hoof to her chest as if she was offended at what he was saying to her. She laughed as she continued. “MY, MY! Isn’t somepony defensive today! I could have helped you to!”

“I’m not being defensive. I just don’t want some creature listing off all my failures all day in my ear and telling me that I should get revenge on everypony. I mean, it is true that I absolutely despise and hate some ponies but it isn’t like I am going to go up to them and just burn their house down because they stepped on my hoof two years ago.”

Apate looked at him in the eyes as she had a disappointed expression. She held his chin with one shadowy hoof.

“Oh don’t give me that. You know this is way more than just some little bastard who stepped on your hoof. I’m talking about those ponies who backstabbed you and abandoned you. I mean...What the fuck else would I be talking about? You know that, little one.”

She emphasized the word “fuck” in her sentence as seeming to appear angry. She would never let anypony get the better of her. This was her game and she knew exactly how to play it. She also knew exactly where his past lied and she took his struggle to play into his mind. She acted like she cared for him.

“Please just..Not today. Look, you can do it any other time than this. Please, not today.”

“Oh finnnnneee. But I will be here waiting for you when you get back home. I never leave. After all, I AM loyal.”

Drizzle simply rolled his eyes. “You’re not my wife or something.”

Apate busted out in laughter. She held her stomach while laughing. “Of course not, your wife left you long ago. In fact, both of them did..”

Drizzle’s comical side suddenly faded away. His grin turned into him clenching his teeth in anger.

“How fucking...Dare…..You…”

“Oh don’t be so sensitive now. I was just joking, small one!”

Apate was secretly not only playing into his head but she wanted to make him angry. The more angry she got him, the more he got closer to accepting her offers. She needed his anger to get him motivated. She loved fucking with ponies minds. It was her job and her talent after all. It was her one passion in her immortal life. Drizzle took a big risk when talking back to her in anger.

“OH, FUCK OFF!”

He grabbed his jacket roughly, snatching it off the coat hook. He stormed out of his house to go to his friend's event. He was jealous and bitter every step of the way, walking roughly as if stomping his hooves to the ground would fix his issues. He kept mumbling to himself angrily while trotting over to the library.

“Fucking everypony thinking they’re better than me. Fucking Flusk winning everything in life and getting everything that she’s ever wanted. Meanwhile I am up shit creek looking for a paddle to steer through this amount of shit that I’m in.”

As he stomped on the ground angrily, the dirt on the ground puffed up lightly with each step from the force of his stomping.

“She gets some fucking medal and some fucking money for a stupid book and when ever I try to do anything in life, the gods from above fuck me. I try my absolute best to succeed in shit and never win. It’s almost like everypony loves to fuck with me. Especially that little bitch Flusk. She just gets everything hoofed to her like some grand, royal, fucking big shot. Ponies love to piss on my parade whenever something goes good for me.”

His mind was clouded with negativity. He spoke irrationally while stomping his way over as he finally arrived at his destination.

“Oh cool, let’s watch her get the fucking nobel peace prize and a fucking golden carriage to a mansion just for doing nothing but writing a fucking book or two.

He slammed the door open to the library very viciously. He saw Flusk standing at the top of the little wooden stage like structure inside the library. There were chairs aligned for the audience below as Flusk was speaking about her new book that was coming out soon. She announced to the audience, smiling brightly.

“My new book is going to be called “A Sunset without a Sun”. It’s going to be an inspirational piece about two foals who struggle through the difficult journey of their recent passing of their mother. With my new book coming out, I will help all foals, big or small, relate and find strength in losing their parents. This book is meant for those who have loved and lost. Before I do a reading of the first two chapters of my book, I will call on my best friend Drizzle Dots to come up to the stand for something important.”

Drizzle looked surprised at her hospitality and her kindness. She seemed to have such a graceful and kind nature about her. He instantly regretted the terrible things he said about her on the walk over to the library. She had a surprise set up for him. He felt so guilty and ashamed for what he had said about her. Even if she didn’t know what he said, this was just another result of Apate digging into his mind. He knew that he couldn’t take out his anger on others just because some of his friends seemed to do better than him in life. He started to think rationally again and put on a fake smile in attempts to stand tall that day and to try to be confident in himself. Flusk announced once more.

"Everypony, this was one of my friends who believed in me through my journey and helped aid me through my difficult moments in life. Because of him, I am able to be confident enough today to stand here and take charge in the things that I feel most passionate about. Please give a round of applause to him.”

The ponies cheered and clapped their hooves together in a roar. Drizzle started to tear up because he felt so horrible that he thought so badly of Flusk on the way over, only for her to surprise him with such a kind gesture. This only fed into his guilt and shame more. It almost seemed to lower his self esteem. He felt like shit even more so than usual. Even if the crowd's cheers helped him that day. he knew he would have to go back home to the demon who would only remind him of what a piece of shit he was. She knew everything because she followed him everywhere.

The day seemed to carry on as she spoke about the two chapters in her book in which she would later reveal two more chapters next week. Drizzle enjoyed getting out and watching her speak about her book. Although, he still felt sad that she was getting somewhere in life and he wasn’t. Deep down he didn’t want to say that to her. He knew that it would have seemed petty. He sighed while resting his hoof on his cheek, looking down while listening to her talk about her book. The noises around him seemed to drown out in his own depression. He suddenly felt his heart beating much faster than it should have been beating. He clenched his chest in pain and suddenly fell to the floor as it was quite clear that he was having a heart attack due to the lack of sleep he had recently been experiencing and the numerous amounts of stress.

His hearing faded all around him. All he heard before he passed out was a scream and the sound of running hooves.

“DRIZZLE!”

Author's Note

This chapter was written by me and edited a tiny bit by Flusk Flurry whom helped aid me in this! Hope you enjoy because it only gets much more juicy from here..
https://www.fimfiction.net/story/491574/3/playing-with-fire/chapter-3-apates-return