CHAPTER 5

Strangle…

Pain…

Suffer…

FIGHT

Devil Dust jolted awake, smacking his face into the alcove wall which in turn, caused him to fall out and hit the ground. “Ow…”

Twilight quickly went over, looking at Devil lying on the ground. “Devil, are you okay??”

Slowly picking himself up, he shook his head to reorient himself. “Wow… Umm… Yeah, I’m fine. Just a bad dream.”

“Okay… Are you sure you don’t want to come with us to help Applejack?”

“Ahhh… Nah. My hindlegs are kind of… Way too powerful, sadly. I might actually break the trees if I’m not careful.”

“Alright… Well, I left some breakfast on the table for you. We’ll be back around lunch.” She motioned Spike to follow her out the door. As they left, Devil sighed. It was the same nightmare day in and day out. The total darkness, the rattling chains, and the figure who loomed in the distance. He’d been having it since he was a colt, but had no idea what it meant.

He had gotten used to a pattern. Eat breakfast, go for a run around Ponyville for a few miles, do some physical training including his hole jumping, practice some staff techniques, and then take some time to study the texts on the Stars.

He’d take notes on everything he could. He wanted to be prepared, lest he find himself against an opponent that he couldn’t fight easily. He didn’t like to think on the spot.

When lunchtime came around, he decided to go out to eat. He had a few bits from the odd jobs and performances, so he could treat himself to a hayburger combo. As he walked along the street, he spotted Twilight walking in his direction and ran over. “Hey, Brains. Good to see you’re back. How did everything go?”

She groaned, rubbing her head. “More complicated than I’d like. Oh, the princess has a letter for you.”

“Hm?” He took the letter and looked through it, walking away from Twilight to read it in solitude.

Devil Dust,

I am aware of the awkward situation that the incident with Nightmare Moon has left you with Out Boxer. According to some intelligence I had gathered about her, she has always been someone who has had a distrust of stallions who weren’t her father and brothers. However, if you attempt to prove yourself to be different and to meet her gaze equally, I believe that you two will accomplish your quest in no time and keep Equestria safe. It will all begin with these two tickets. I believe that you know what you need to do.

With care,

Princess Celestia

P.S. Luna wishes to let you know that she misses you very much.

Devil took a breath and rubbed his face. Never in his life had he felt more humiliated than that moment. His reputation for being the one who saved Equestria with sexual skills had made him quite renowned as a sex god. For most stallions, this would be a heaven-sent miracle that let them get any mare they wanted. For Devil though, it was a nightmare of unreasonable expectations and an inability to have ponies take you seriously as a fighter.

The biggest blow, however, was the situation between himself and Out Boxer, the mare he was supposed to be working with. Ever since last week, he hasn’t been able to talk to her without earning himself a glare and a scowl. It was frustrating because nothing he said got to her.

Stubborn as an ox is right, he thought. How the hell am I supposed to get her to agree?

He walked considering his options only to reveal that he had none. He didn’t know anything of mares or how to be smooth. Heck, that time with Nightmare Moon, he didn’t even know what was happening! It was like something else came over him! Not that she’d listen to that.

Advance…

Shut up, brain, Devil told that voice in his head. I’m pretty sure you’re the reason I’m in this mess. Now I gotta figure out how to gain Out’s trust.

Challenge… Advance…

I’m not going to make any advances on her! Are you only focused on-

Devil…! Twilight…!

Devil darted his head to look over and see Twilight being hounded by her friends over what sounded like her spare ticket. With wide eyes and speedy hooves, he rushed in and hit his staff on the ground, making some fire rise up and moving the ponies back.

“What the Tartarus is wrong with you all?? You’re biting her head off over a ticket!”

“But Devil!” Rarity moved forward and whined. “It’s the place where I’ll meet my true love!”

Pinkie intervened. “It’s the ultimate party!”

“Ah can fix grannie’s hip!”

“The Wonderbolts!”

“The garden!”

All of this pressure was making Devil’s eye twitch and forcing him to breath in and out rapidly to try and calm down.

Twilight was not as well-acquainted with Devil as she would like, but she was familiar with his famous outbursts. Her brother told her of one incident when they first began training him and tore up a chunk of the courtyard. Wanting to avoid it, she quickly hugged him and rubbed his back. Quickly, Devil calmed down and hugged back, Spike joining in.

The unicorn glared at the others. “Listen, I don’t know who my ticket will go to. That’s my decision, and I’m more focused on getting lunch right now! More importantly, please don’t push Devil! That’s very vital!”

“Oh, don’t tell me you’re giving the ticket to him!”

“No! He’s got his own tickets!”

Their eyes focused immediately on the recovered Devil Dust, who shook his head and took a breath. “No. Celestia gave me orders to take Out Boxer and mend our relationship as fellow Celestial Avatars.”

Applejack gave him an awkward look. “You sure, sugarcube? She ain’t exactly in the mood tah deal with ya. She’s been a great help on the farm to ya, but she really ain’t fond of ya.”

“I have to. Truth is, I don’t know if I can fight other Star Beasts by myself and she’s an absolute powerhouse. I want her on my team.”

Applejack nodded. “Well, if ya wanna talk with her, she’s at the farm, helpin’ out. I’d be careful though, sugarcube.”

“I’ll be fine. I’ll leave my staff at the library so that she can see I’m no threat to her.” With that, he walked off, Twilight leaving soon after. Rainbow looked at the others. “What are the chances of him actually succeeding before the day is over?”

“‘Bout as good as the chances of you gettin’ that ticket.” Applejack smirked as she walked off.

“No way! That ticket’s mine!” She shouted before running off, followed by the rest.

~~~

Devil took a slow, deep breath of the country air as he moved forward, staring at the tall mare as she bucked tree after tree before angrily carrying the apple crates back to the farm. He needed to make sure that he didn’t make any unnecessary actions. Just apologize and ask. That’s it. He ignored the looming clouds that were gathering around him as signs and simply moved forward with a smile. Out Boxer was about to pick up her bin of apples when he made his move.

“Out, I wanted to talk to-”

BOOM!

Before Devil could even react, he found himself getting punched in the face so hard that it sent him flying through the cloud line. Her hoof fist smoked as she stared at the dot in the cloud break and rain began to fall upon her.

“Huh. Wonder who that was…”

~~~

Devil lied on the clouds, staring up at the light blue sky, trying to figure out what just happened to him. He touched his snout to assess the damage only to find that it didn’t have nearly enough damage as he expected. In fact, it hardly had any damage. Just a very minor scuff that he wiped off.

That… Definitely didn’t feel right. He was definitely supposed to have felt something and have something there. All he really knew was that he had failed to secure that “date” to the Gala. Rubbing his face for a moment, he looked around to see where exactly he was when he spotted a sulking Dash.

Wait… Out Boxer and Dash are sport ponies… Maybe this can help…

“Hey Dash!” He shouted, getting up and running over.

Dash looked up and sighed, lying back on the clouds. “What is it, Dust?”

“Hey, you and Out Boxer are both really sporty. Is there any angle I can take that can help me get her to agree?”

“Heh, knew it…” She chuckled and leaned back against the clouds. “There’s no way you’ll get her to do it. She hates you!”

“Come on, Dash. I seriously need help. She just punched me all the way up here!”

“Well that’s not surprising.”

Devil raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

“Cause she was raised by boxers, duh! I mean, her dad is Hay Maker, one of the top heavyweights in Equestria!”

“Hay Maker…” He hummed and rubbed his chin. “I’ve heard that name before…”

“Well yeah. Who hasn’t?” Rainbow shrugged before walking over to him. “Look, I don’t know. I just think that you could pack it in and hand the ticket to somepony else. Liiike…” She not-so-subtly motioned to herself with a growing grin. Devil promptly shook his head and looked around. There had to be someone who could help him.

Spotting Carousel Boutique as the clouds started he smiled wide. Right, Out Boxer is also a mare… And there isn’t anyone who could help me than Rarity on that front!

Taking a leap of faith, he gracefully landed and shook his body as he walked in. “Rarity? You in?”

Just like Rainbow Dash, Rarity seemed to be in a bit of a funk. He smiled a bit. “Guessing you were unsuccessful as well?”

“Don’t rub it in, Devil…” She sighed. “You get to go to the Gala, and I… I don’t!”

“I mean, you could always sneak in. I did once.”

She looked at him and gasped. “You… Snuck in?!?”

“Well, almost. I nearly made it to the actual event itself, but I ended up being caught by my dad working security…” He chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. “Needless to say, he checked his bag every day since then.”

This made Rarity smile and giggle a little. “You seemed like quite the fiery youth as a child.”

“In more ways than one, honestly…” He looked down at his hooves. “Anyways, I won’t bother you anymore. I just came to ask if you knew any ways I could properly apologize to Out Boxer.”

“Oh… That is quite the tall order.” She tapped her hoof and paced about. “Normally, a mare would like a gift as an apology, but you have the Gala ticket… It’s a very difficult situation. I assume you bowed in apology.”

“Huh?”

“Oh you know, the proper way in which a proper gentlestallion would. He would take one hoof back, bend the other, and bow his head low.” She did the motion, and Devil was quick to mimic it, making sure that he memorized how to do it. “But really, darling, I don’t know if even the ticket would be enough. She seems to despise how you… Ahem… Made relations with an evil alicorn.”

“I’m aware…” He rubbed his head. “I tried explaining it, but she seems content in ignoring me.”

“Well, dear… It might be best to consider… Other options?” She took a couple of steps forward, fluttering her eyes.

Once again, Devil shook his head. “No. This is by Celestia’s orders. I can do this.”

She sighed and nodded, Devil turning and leaving. So being sporty isn’t an option, and just being straightforward wasn’t one. He struggled with the thought of him and Out not working together, the two unable to fight and coordinate well as one of the Star Beasts comes and tears them limb from limb. He shook his head. He didn’t want that to happen.

He walked around for a while, his mind trying to think of it as a sparring match. The two were at odds fundamentally. She was big and strong, he was smaller and lither. She attacks with powerful blows, and himself with fast strikes. In fact, the only thing that they really had in common was that fire inside them, but even that was different. His fire was controlled by years of discipline and some fear, and hers was untamed, angry, and ready to act on a moment’s notice.

“Aaaaaaahhhhh!!” He grabbed his head in frustration, his chain marks feeling warm. “Why is this so hard?? Mares are so complicated!”

“Well, not all of us.”

Devil looked behind himself to see Applejack, a plate and treat on her head. He sighed and nodded. “I-I know, I’m sorry Applejack. Just like… How am I gonna make Out Boxer understand-?”

“Sugarcube, when a mare like her’s got her sights set, she does it. She don’t second guess herself, and she keeps movin’. Right now, yer just plum outta luck.”

Devil went quiet, looking down at the ground.

“She don’t wanna deal with someone who just finagles themselves all over, no matter what the reason. Really, if ya give her time then be completely honest with her, at some point, she’ll say yes. Right now, though, not gonna happen.”

“Yeah… Okay…” He muttered, his head sinking lower. It didn’t help that he was hungry, his stomach roaring as he gripped it in pain. Applejack, not one to leave a pony starving, placed the plate down in front of him.

“Here… At least eat somethin’. Can’t stand seein’ a pony go hungry.”

He looked up at her and smiled a bit, taking the plate and nibbling on the apple brown betty. As he watched her walk off, he couldn’t help but wonder what it was he could do. What did he learn from any of this?

Challenge… Advance…

Oh Celestia, shut uuuup… He smacked himself in the head. What do you know? You’re the me that got me into this mess! I’m not gonna be dirty as long as I’m in control-!

Suddenly, he found himself getting smacked in the face by… Himself. He stared at his hoof in confusion. How did it…? Did that voice in his head have control?? Before he could figure that out, his hoof dug into the dirt quickly. The drawing was crude, with an O, an X, and an arrow pointing to the O from the X. O was labeled as Out, and X as Dummy. It was a simple plan, so simple, even Devil couldn’t fuck it up.

“You want me to go back and talk to her again??” He stared at his hoof. “Are you nuts??? I don’t want to die!!”

Receiving a facehoof, it drew a circle around the O.

“You want me to… Keep my distance. Am I right?”

The hoof nodded.

“But what am I supposed to say?? ‘Hey, I’m sorry the voice in my head had me do weird stuff, can we go to the dance?’ It just feels so-”

Suddenly, Devil began to twitch and spasm about, his head rocking back far. His eyes rolled up for a moment as he went limp, slumping forward before taking a breath.

“Pay attention.”

~~~

Out was finishing up her work for the day, watching as the sun set. It was sad that she couldn’t go and see her family at the gym. Part of her wanted to leave as soon as she could. She had no obligations, so why bother? She didn’t have to listen to that pervert.

“Hey.”

Speaking of… Out thought as she turned her head to see Devil standing a good ways away. “What do you want?”

Devil held up his hoof. “Before you go on a rant about how I’m like every other stallion, there’s something I wanted to say.” He gently bowed his head low, practically kneeling before her. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I resorted to lurid behavior when I should have fought her. I used whatever tactics I thought I could to keep everyone safe and keep her distracted. Did I enjoy it? Yes, but it is not a common thing for me.”

Out watched in surprise as Devil practically groveled before her. His words were genuine, it seemed. He continued.

“I know what it’s like to be judged for something out of your control. Pegasi treated me like garbage in the past because I was a pegasus who couldn’t fly. It was only when I could do stuff they couldn’t that they saw my worth. It always seems like no matter what, people always think of us as lesser when we’re just different.”

She stayed stern, but hearing of his plight was a tad disheartening. It was like he knew of all the things that she had to deal with and was using it as a weapon to get her to accept him. Finally, he pulled out the Gala tickets.

“That’s why, I want to offer you a challenge. I would like to go to the Gala with you. Not as lovers or special someponies. Just as friends. On top of this, I want us to train more. There are other Star Beasts out there who will take us down if we’re not a team. So, we’re going to train together. If at any point I intentionally make advances towards you, you can leave and we never have to speak to each other again.”

“... And if you succeed?”

He smiled. “Then I hope we get to be good friends.”

She rolled her eyes and walked over to him, snatching one of the tickets from his hoof. “Fine. You got a deal. But one move, Dust, and I send you packing into a pinewood box. Clear?”

He nodded. “Crystal.”

With her walking off, Devil turned away and began walking back to town.

And that, kid, is how you treat a mare.

How… How did you do that???

You gotta think right in order to plan these things. Want my advice? Listen to me more often?

Then why were you so quiet before??

Dude, you keep pushing me back further and further. Let me in more, and I’ll do what I can.

Devil’s true self sighed as the raspy voice made a very compelling argument as to why he needed him. Fine. But screw up, and I’ll find a doctor to help get you out of my head.

Good. I don’t want to be here anyway. See you later, loser… loser… loser… loser… loser…

As the voice descended back into the recesses of his mind, Devil wandered the streets. He wasn’t sure how, but he succeeded. And this time, he was going to do things right. No lewd behavior and no flirting with her. Easy. He passed by a restaurant where he saw the five mares previously fighting for a ticket all eating with tickets of their own. He smiled and slowly approached the restaurant. He was going to be very excited to share his news with the others.

Author's Note

God, what a loser.

If I had been him, I would have just asked someone else. I guess when you have to be part of a team, it's different.