Proper Evil's Return

“Wait, you’ll actually agree just like that.” Rainbow Dash blurted out in surprise while most of the other ponies were still processing the fact that he had agreed so quickly.

“I have little to gain from not following those rules. Besides I’m not stupid, if I started mucking with things in this depressingly bright town then I would be pushing my luck a little too much. I would prefer to err on the side of caution than pursue unnecessary risks.” Evalin said after he turned around to face the ponies. Twilight by this point had recovered enough to talk with a rational mind.

“And how do we know that you will keep your word?” Evalin gave her an offended look.

“Honesty is one of the most important parts of my race, my word is my bond. But for your comfort, I Evalin of the dragonkin swear not to harm anypony unless given proper reason and authorization from you or Celestia, I swear to not steal anything without the intent to return it to its proper place once I am done using it, and I swear not to attempt to manipulate others unless given proper cause.” Evalin said this with his hands on his chest, Twilight and the other element bearers looked somewhat relieved but his words did not instill too much confidence in their hearts. Just as Twilight was about to open her mouth to voice her lack of trust in his words he spoke up once more. “If you don’t mind, I'd like to work on the book now. So if you could fix this little problem that would be greatly appreciated.” He said this while playfully waving his hands in the air.

Twilight moved the book over to the table that Spike was standing on earlier before panicking again. “Celestia didn’t tell me how to undo the chains and I don't see a keyhole, she didn’t even give me a key!” Twilight then started to pace uncontrollably while ranting to herself, Evalin watched for a few moments before becoming bored at this display.

“Breathe pony, the chains are removed by magic. You must simply focus on them and imagine them unlocking while forcing your magic into them.” Evalin said calmly while his tail rhythmically swiped its way from one side of his legs to the other.

“Well if it's so easy then how come you haven’t done it?” Applejack asked to which Evalin turned his head to show the collar off.

“This infernal thing has cut me off from my magic, if I didn’t have it I would have been rid of these chains centuries ago.” Evalin said with bitterness coating his words.

With several deep breaths, Twilight managed to calm down enough to try what Evalin had said. Her horn lit up as she focused and after a few moments the metal gloves expanded before they started to slip off of Evalin’s hands. With a shake they fell off and revealed his hands, they were covered in scales like the rest of his body and they ended in two inches of claw that was a dull gravel grey color. Evalin clenched and unclenched his fingers for a few minutes, each time letting a series of loud cracks fill the air. Evalin then shuffled over to a chair at the table and awkwardly sat down while slowly wiggling his fingers.

Finally, after about two minutes he grabbed the book and inspected it with the same amount of care that Rarity put into her clothes. Twilight couldn’t help but notice how easily and carefully Evalin handled the leather-bound book. Despite his claws not a single scratch or blemish was placed on the book, after about half a minute Evalin set the book back down on the table and opened it. The first page was filled with a list of numbers; some were in groups, others were separate, but each number seemed to represent something, what that was Twilight didn’t know. Evalin then turned the page showing a set of letters in an odd language and a series of strange symbols marked the sides of the page.

Evalin’s eyes scanned the page with a deep curiosity, he continued to look over the pages until he got to page 76 of the hundred-plus page. There he paused looking at the page with a deep sorrow filling his eyes, Twilight looked at him only to see the beginning of tears starting to form in his eyes. Whatever prophecy was on the page had hurt Evalin at his core. With a shuddering sigh, he shut the book and used his hands to rub at his face, at least the parts that weren’t covered by the muzzle.