Of Stars and Chains: A Venting Story

by Crazy-Eyed Sharpshooter

Rating: mature
Tags: Other, Romance, Princess Luna, Original Character, Fetish, Adventure, Equestria Girls, Violence, Princess Celestia, Sex, Main 6, Profanity, Gore, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Death, Alternate Universe
Length: 18005

A death. A new life. Same world, different rules. And a story that I will not take seriously.

A human who passed is given another chance to help a world in peril... Before the story stops being about him.

Instead, it focuses on the Celestial Avatars, guardians from the stars, who have been corrupted save for the destined leader. Will he save them, or will the chains of burden consume him?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is a stupid fic that I decided to make out of boredom while I write things I actually care about. Don't expect consistent uploading, as I have more important things to do. Feel free to laugh at this horrendous lack of effort. I'll laugh with you. And yes, I am going to attempt to go through the whole series. Place your bets on if I actually can though.

PS Certain chapters will contain certain elements based on the tags, so look out for these. Don't want people to get mad.

[D] = Death
[G] = Gore
[5] = Sex
[F] = Fetish
[V] = Violence

Published 2022-06-10 09:00:01 UTC
Last updated 2023-07-15 09:27:52 UTC

[G] [D] Chapter 1: Death of D-Oh Hey, Another Story

Damien coughed as he gripped his sides, blood leaking from his mouth and nose broken. He’d been fighting for so long, and yet he didn’t stop coming at him. He watched as his own father took his creation, a staff composed of rebar, and broke it to pieces before tossing it aside.

“Piece of trash,” the towering man said to his son. “Can’t even make a decent weapon, let alone kill me…” He pointed to the nearby train station. “You thought you could get away? Thought you could escape and we wouldn’t find out?” He walked over to Damien, grabbing his hair and pulling on his hair. “Well guess what… You’re going to die here. You’re going to die and then I’m coming after your friends. And no one’s going to stop me.”

Damien breathed, looking into the eyes of his father and scowling. “Fuck… You…” He spat blood into his dad’s eye, causing him to loosen his grip enough for the young man to break free. Stumbling backward, he grabbed a piece of his broken metal staff and smashed it over the giant man’s head, over and over. He heard the crack of bone and knew that he was close, but the last swing he needed was stopped by the massive hand of his dad. He pulled it away, grabbing his son with his other arm and slamming him to the ground.

“You’re coming with me…” He said with a manic laugh before slamming the tip of the broken spear into Damien’s stomach. It punched through his hoodie and into his chest, making him spasm as he looked his dad in the eyes. Everything was going dark. Blood poured out his mouth as he was strangled. He was going to die.

No… He thought, gritting his teeth as he felt something sharp in his hand. Glass. Pure luck was on his side. With the last of his strength, he buried the shard deep into his dad’s temple, causing him to go limp and collapse. It was over. He was free. But now, he only had seconds to savor that freedom as he was sucked into oblivion.

~~~

Damien awoke on a bed, looking around in a panic. A white room, complete with a table, a couple of chairs, and a woman in a white robe sitting in one of the chairs. He jumped up, getting in a defensive position, but the woman slowly held out her hand.

“Fear not, Damien Daniels. I mean no harm to you,” she said, her voice ethereal but comforting. Something about her made Damien slowly lower his guard. The woman motioned to the other chair, and he obeyed. Something about her made him compelled to follow her instructions, and while it unnerved him, he felt that disobeying was only going to cause more trouble.

Sipping from a cup, she inspected a stack of papers. “Do you remember anything that happened beforehand?”

“Huh? I mean… Maybe, I-” He froze in place, the events of the train station parking lot flashing in his mind. He gripped his head in panic, but the touch of the woman calmed him down slowly.

“It is okay. You are safe here…” She assured him with a smile. “Your father was immediately dropped downwards and won’t be escaping any time soon…” Sighing in relief, he nodded as he sat back, hugging his legs. Even though he knew his dad was far away, he knew that he wasn’t fully safe. “So… I’m really dead…?”

“I’m… Afraid so…” The woman looked down, reaching out and touching his hand. “I’m very sorry that the cards were against you from the start.”

“Why…” Damien grit his teeth, gripping his knees. “Why was I given such a bad hand…? Why did God let me suffer and die?? Does… Does he hate me…?”

“No! No no no, God hates no one. It is just…” She sighed, looking at a wall. “Some people do not come out well. It is not God, but Fate. And fate is a cruel woman…” She looked down before looking at Damien. “But she saw what she did to you, and she is going to give you something special.”

“Huh?”

Smiling, she looked at him. “A world which was previously at peace has had its world become disrupted. As such, a new hero must emerge, and I believe that you, Damien…” She put a hand on his shoulder. “Can help that hero…”

“W-Wha…” He looked confused, squirming uncomfortably. “No, I can’t… I’m a bad person, not some guardian.”

“My child, you are skilled not only in combat, but you are sharp in the mind. And in going to this next life, you will find true love and companionship beyond anything you could have had before.” She looked him in the eyes. “Be the hero they need you to be…”

Looking back, he saw that in her eyes was a pleading urge to help them. He wanted to help, but even he was terrified that he could cause this place even more harm with his explosive tendencies. As he struggled in his own turmoil and self-pity, he noticed something wrapped around his neck: Long, heavy chains which felt heavy the more he panicked. “W-What are these??”

Sighing, the woman took his hand. “Those are your burdens. You have three of them.” She pointed to the chain around his neck, then his hands, and finally, his legs. “Your great terror, your paranoia, and your instability. These burdens will be trapped with you, making your body that which you believe you are, but if you can control them, you will find your true self.”

Gulping nervously, he watched as the chains gripped him tighter, wrapping around him until he became a beast of a creature. Arms bound together, large teeth, body covered in black and chains, with his voice raspy and tired. The woman spoke up. “Aside from this, you will be reborn into a new world, within the body of someone with a better family, and your skills and burdens transferred over to the next hero. A clean slate for you.”

Well, really not totally clean… He thought to himself before nodding. “Fine. I shall go. Do I need to know anything before doing this?”

“Oh, I believe that you’ll figure things out when you get there,” she laughed as she took his hand and slowly helped him to his feet. Guiding him to the door, she spoke before opening the door, light consuming them.

Let God’s faith tame your chains and be your judge…

~~~

In Equestria, a mare was giving birth to a pegasus foal. When he was born, doctors were concerned by the marking on his neck, around his body and wings, and also his hooves and wanted to keep him for testing. When nothing came of it, they would hand the foal to his mother, and so, Devil Dust was born to his parents Star Dust and Ashen Dust. Star cradled her son in her hooves, his father smiling down at them both. They didn’t know it, but their son was bound for great things.

As their foal grew as the years passed, they found their son to be not quite amicable with other ponies. He lashed out, pouted, and stayed by himself. He was born an angry foal, but whenever he was with his family, he seemed to calm down just a bit.

However, he seemed to be quite a tinkerer. While his father was gone serving the military, Devil was always looking for things to put together. This led to him getting in trouble, as he was caught a few times sneaking around places he shouldn’t have been in order to grab more material. However, he did manage it, and from it, his mother would see him swinging some kind of staff made of rebar from a construction site and tape he swiped from a hardware store. She giggled as he swung it about, almost like he was born for this. Even then, he bonked himself on the head and fell over, getting mad rather than crying, and then getting up to try again.

While his ability to create grew to that of an amateur craftspony, his social skills did not improve. He was quiet, averse to conversation, and still seemed to just get upset easily. While he was quite troublesome at times, the other colts and fillies loved the stuff that he made and always asked that he make stuff for them. So, he did just that, making odd trinkets and art pieces that he found and putting them together. Seeing this, his family saw that at the very least, they didn’t need to be concerned about him being a loner.

What did concern his parents was that, while most pegasi foals tried to fly, he simply stayed planted, unwilling to even attempt. It wasn’t even a physical problem. His wings would continue to grow, but any time somepony would try to open his wings, they would snap shut out of fear. After visiting several doctors, they determined their only reasoning was some form of trauma, which shocked Ashen and Star. Their son was always treated well and always loved him. How could he experience trauma? After an extensive investigation, nothing came from it, and Devil would simply be loved by his family, despite his condition.

The thought that there was something wrong with his head troubled Devil to no end. He never wanted to believe he was anything but the best. Why did he think that though? It was like a niggling little voice told him to. The only solution to compensate for his lack of flight was to improve the techniques he practiced by himself. Her mother would watch him, slowly teaching himself how to fight with his staff and making it more stylish as he did so, just like those Wing Chun movies he always watched. She found it quite odd that despite never expressing any desire to befriend the other foals initially, he did desire their approval the whole time.

The day finally arrived as they all prepared for show-and-tell, and Dust held out his staff to everypony.

“Mr. Dust, we’ve already seen your staff,” His teacher said, some colts and fillies giggling at him. He shook his head and motioned them all to come outside before exiting, slowly making a circle in the dirt with his staff and standing in the middle. As they watched him, Devil took slow, deep breaths.

No fear… Just focus… That raspy voice in the back of his mind reassured him as he began to perform with the staff. It was always there, and it always encouraged him to be the best. He would be the best.

Standing on his hind hooves, he swung the staff about, moving with the skill of those in the Wing Chun movies that Devil watched. Just from watching and mimicking, he had been performing some form that was elegant and beautiful, simple but conveying his skill. Then, when the finale came, she made one final sweep upwards when the unexpected occurred. He created a small rising flame that took the form of a tiny rat before it faded into sparks and smoke.

He didn’t know what happened, but everyone cheered him. He looked at them all, breathing quickly in exhaustion. For the first time, he felt good, like he had accomplished something worthy of other ponies’ approval. Just then, he noticed a glow on his flank, and looking at it, he saw that he had gotten his cutie mark: Two rats forming a circle, almost like they were chasing each other and in the center was a ball of fire. The other cheered for him, and for once, he felt like the happiest colt in the world. There was even a rainbow that appeared in the sky not long after. He smiled wide, running to his class.

~~~

In the palace, as Celestia returned from judging the students and finding a new prodigy, she was met by two guards, looking quite nervous. “Princess, we must inform you… They have been unsealed.”

Her eyes widened as she nodded, following the guards through the castle and into a secret chamber. Inside, several chests were opened, each one empty save for the one facing them. Inside was an odd jade talisman with two rats circling a fire. Taking it with her magic, she looked at it and took a deep breath. “May the stars save us from utter destruction…” she muttered softly.

Author's Note

Ayyyy, this was totally not worth the space I wrote this in. Well, either way, hope you had a laugh.

Chapter 2: Testing the Limits

Devil Dust was pretty happy. For the first time, he was actually popular and had friends. He even got a nickname now, DD. Having friends was weird, even if he liked it, and what was really weird was getting Hearts and Hooves gifts from the fillies. He blushed a bit, making sure to keep them in a box in his room.

He had a party planned, but nothing big like a cute-ceañera. And yet, his mother had pulled out a lot of stops to make sure everyone was having a fun time. There was even a filly, Vanilla Sundae, who confessed that she liked him, and although others laughed, Devil hugged her close, thanking her for saying that. He didn’t deny anything, but that was because he didn’t know what romance truly was.

As the party came to an end, Devil sat with his mom eating dinner. “Hey mom? When’s dad coming back from work?”

“Soon, honey. He was called to the castle, and needs to handle something, but he’ll be back.”

Nodding, he quietly ate until he heard a knock at the door. He ran as quickly as he could, opening the door to see his dad still in his armor and with a tired smile on his face. “Hey kiddo…” Ashen said, hugging his son close as Devil hugged him back. That was when he noticed who was behind his dad: the tall, regal form of Princess Celestia. Star Dust was in awe, bowing before the princess.

“Y-Your Highness! I’m honored to have you in my home!! To what do we owe the pleasure?”

Chuckling, Celestia waved her hoof. “Do not worry, Star Dust. I am only here because…” She paused, looking at them for a bit as her smile faltered for a moment. Seeing Devil, she leaned down and looked at his cutie mark. “My, that’s quite the cutie mark…”

“Th-Thank you, Princess Celestia…” Devil said nervously. He was worried that he did something wrong. Was it the fire?

“You know, your father told me quite a lot about you. You like making weapons, yes?”

He nodded quietly, pointing to the staff nearby. “Th-That one is my favorite… B-But I do sometimes make swords and stuff too… I just make stuff with whatever I find. It’s fun.”

She quietly picked up the staff, inspecting it. She noticed traces of magic that were not of the unicorn or even alicorn kind. Her eyes turned to the colt, who grew more and more nervous as she was there. Her smile returned as she knelt low, looking him in the eyes. “Do not worry. I am not mad, and I am not here to hurt you. You’re safe…”

Hearing this relieved Devil, even if only for a little bit. Celestia took a seat and motioned the others to do the same. As the family all sat down, she slowly set an ornate chest on the table. “Mrs. Dust… Are you familiar with the concept of the Heavenly Bodies?”

Star blinked in confusion, thinking for a moment. “Well, I… I don’t think I am…”

Nodding, Celestia continued. “You see, long ago, the stars gave birth to many bodies, including our own. In order to ensure the balance of the world, 24 celestial bodies would search for 12 ponies to serve as vessels. Two of them would occupy one body, and at the end of the life cycle of the 12 vessels, there would be new ones with the order altered. There would never be the same one twice for a long time. As the death of the last leader occurred recently, we had been searching for the next batch of avatars… But it seemed as if dark tides swayed the influence of 11 of them.”

“W-What do you mean…?”

She sighed and looked down. “The years ahead, it seems, will contain malevolent forces from which corrupted the other 11 emblems as they were being created. Only this one remains… The one which belongs to your son.” She lifted the jade emblem and revealed it to them, showing it contained the same carvings as Devil’s cutie mark. Her mother gasped in shock, covering her mouth.

“W-Wait! My son can’t be some kind of… Avatar deity! He’s just a little colt!”

“M-Mom, I’m not a little foal!”

Celestia intervened. “Star, don’t you think it’s weird that a pegasus managed to perform any kind of magic at all, let alone magic that is not of this world?”

“W-Well… I-I don’t know!” She huffed, crossing her hooves. “I-I just think he’s too young to deal with any of this nonsense!”

“Oh, I agree. I was never planning on having him start an adventure. What I wish for him to do is receive his education and training in the castle and among the other fillies and colts in my academy.”

Devil immediately jolted up. “N-No!”

They all looked at him, and he shrank a bit and gulped. “I-I mean… I’m finally making friends at my school… I-I feel… Happy…”

Seeing the sadness in Devil’s eyes, Celestia slowly lifted his chin up and smiled at him. “My sweet rat child… I understand your worry. But rest assured, just because you will be away, it doesn't not mean that they will forget you. Paths of friendship always cross along the road.”

Devil looked down, sniffling. He didn’t really get it, but he would only nod. He wasn’t going to defy the ruler of Equestria when his mother was nearby. Celestia suddenly hugged him close. “I promise. You’ll make new friends along with your old friends…” All Devil could do was savor the moment, closing his eyes as he cried silently.

~~~

The next week of school was hard on Devil Dust, especially when everypony was treating him so nicely. They all were so impressed that he got to go to Celestia’s school and do cool stuff. Of course, none of them knew why. They were not allowed to say what they were planning to do. That still didn’t stop everyone from thinking that DD was the coolest colt, getting to go to the best school in Equestria. However, the one who was hit hardest was Vanilla, who was in tears. Not sure what to do, Devil hugged her tight.

“Hey… It’s not like I’m moving. You can come and visit sometimes if you want…” He smiled at her, rubbing the back of his head. Vanilla looked up, eyes shimmering with tears. “Y-You mean it…?”

“Yeah, of course! And when I’m done and everything, wherever Celestia has me go, I’m sure we’ll run into each other!”

He gave a cheeky laugh, showing his innocence and care. It was the kind of thing that made young Vanilla’s heart skip a beat before hugging him tightly. “A-Alright…” She turned away and began walking before she stopped and pointed to him. “D-Devil Dust! I promise that we’ll be together forever! Do you??”

Smiling, he nodded and crossed his heart, making Vanilla blush before turning away and walking off. With this done, Devil got his books and left that school for the last time, nervous but hopeful that his new school would be better.

~~~

Needless to say, the school was everything Devil’s young mind could comprehend, and yet nothing like it. He was surrounded by many other colts and fillies, all studying subjects that he couldn’t possibly understand. And yet, he tried his best. At the very least, his linguistic side was his strongest suit, and while he was lagging in some aspects, he made up for it by turning in amazing stories. Her teacher smiled wide. “My word Mr. Dust! Where did you learn to craft such amazing stories~?”

“Oh, just… In my head.” He chuckled nervously. It was true that everything he created was in his head, but some of it felt like somepony was guiding him on how the plots should go. He never understood that guiding spirit, but he was simply going to roll with it like he always had.

Unfortunately, not many of the students wanted to be friends with him. Even with his talents, they all saw him as some weird, uneducated pegasus who got in on a fluke. His moves didn’t impress, and he couldn’t use his fire under Celestia’s request.

However, while the classes themselves were a struggle, nothing could compare to his true training. As he approached the courtyard, he looked around, slightly nervous. He wasn’t sure who he was supposed to be looking for, or if this was the correct space. However, soon two guard ponies approached him. One an older dark blue pegasus with grizzled features and a yellow tail, and the other a white, younger but still adult unicorn with a longer, sapphire blue mane. The pegasus looked the young colt up and down as he paced around him. “Heheh… So, little Devil Dust… Haven’t seen you since you were just a tiny foal.”

DD blinked as he looked at the older pegasus. “W-Wait… You know me, mister…?”

“Name’s Blue Thunder. I was a part of your dad’s squad before they moved me to the castle to train new recruits. Speaking of…” He motioned to the unicorn. “This here is Shining Armor. I’m teaching him about training. He’s gonna be moving up, this one, heheh…”

Devil waved to Shining, who nodded and smiled at him. He then turned to Blue, who rolled his neck. “Before we can start your training, we need to see where you stand. Can you fight?”

“U-Ummm, well… Yeah, with my staff.”

“You fight with a staff? Hmmm, impressive. Not many can pull it off. Would you like to take it out?”

Nodding in excitement, he went to his bag and pulled out his staff. The trained soldiers couldn’t believe what they were seeing. What they expected was a wooden staff for swift combat. What they saw were five pieces of rebar that had been somehow fused and taped together and wrapped in the middle. It was clearly too big for him as he stumbled backward trying to get it out of his bag.

They wanted to chuckle, but they were quickly silenced as Devil performed a few moves with the skill of a Wing Chun adept. When finished, he sighed and looked down. “S-Sorry. I know I’m not that good. I-I just copied the moves in the movies…”

Blue smirked as he approached the colt, taking the staff and inspecting it. It was definitely a sturdy weight, not something that a normal colt could handle. Something was definitely up with him. He handed it back before stepping back. “Next, we’re gonna see your magic potential. Hit me with your strongest spell.”

“Uhhh, sir,” Shining Armor intervened. “He doesn’t have any magic.”

“Just give him a minute.

Gulping nervously, he nodded and tried to focus. He performed the same form that he had done when he first shot out fire. However, as he came to the conclusion, nothing came out of it. He stared, feeling his heart beat faster as he performed the move over and over. Blue sighed, shaking his head. “It’s alright, kid. There’s no reason to be ashamed-”

“No no no no no no…” He repeated over and over as he swung his staff continually. His breath quickened, sweat poured down his face, and his teeth started to grit. Blue dodged a misplaced swing and reached the colt. “Devil, that’s enough. Come on…”

“No no no NOOO!” Slamming his staff onto the ground, the ground suddenly cracked hard. Fire rushed up with chains arising with them. Seeing this, Shining quickly rushed to the two and shielded them as the chains slammed against the shield. When it couldn’t break through, it began to slam into the courtyard, grabbing things and pulling them in.

Blue could only see one solution to this. He moved the staff away, holding the colt. “Hey hey hey… That’s enough… You’re okay, kid. I’m sorry for pushing ya…” Slowly but surely, Devil calmed down. The ground closed up and the fiery chains vanished. With that done, Blue stood up and looked at Shining. “Listen, cadet, do you think you can keep an eye on him? I need to report inside.”

Shining saluted. “Yes, Commander.”

“Excellent.” With that, Blue Thunder left towards the castle.

Shining looked down at the miserable Devil Dust. He got down to his level and smiled at him. “Hey, don’t get so down. That was some amazing magic you did. I don’t know what it was, but I think that you’ve got talent. No other pegasus can use magic like you.”

Devil was undeterred in his misery, however. “But… But I didn’t do the move I was supposed to… Everyone’s going to be mad at me…”

Shining was definitely confused. “Who’s going to be mad? No one said what move you had to do, just some magic.”

It seemed like Devil was trying to understand what this meant beyond passing and failing. Before he could blurt out another reason for his failure, Shining stood up. “Tell you what. I’m going to take you out to get some ice cream. My treat.”

This seemed to snap Devil out of it, smiling as he stood up. “Really? You mean it, Mr. Armor??”

“Of course! I can introduce you to my sister if you want as well. I think you both would get along pretty great!”

Nodding, he quickly jumped up, following Shining as they left the courtyard.

After a quick stop at the academy in order to pick up a purple filly, the three stopped at an ice cream parlor. The filly went by the name Twilight, and it turned out she was Shining’s little sister. Devil did his best to be friendly but only earned an odd look from her. It wasn’t malicious, at least it didn’t seem to be. Nevertheless, he was enjoying his frozen treat. It felt like the fire in him was finally dying down. The ice cream was smothering the fear in a scoop of bliss.

~~~

Blue sighed as he sat with Princess Celestia, looking over the notes he took. “I gotta say, I didn’t expect this from Devil. First, he exhibits this… Weird magic, and then there were those chains. I know for a fact that I saw some of those chain markings glowing. I think the neck?”

Nodding, she inspected the scores that were put down. She completely ignored Blue’s comment. “I see… However, I did notice that you are missing the flying portion. When will I see the score?”

“Hm? Oh, you won’t. Truth is, Devil can’t fly. I don’t know why, but ever since he was a kid, his wings have stayed clamped shut. He looks like he’s got strong ones too. Just he’s too afraid to use ‘em. But seriously, what was with his magic? That wasn’t what you told me he would be.”

Celestia remained calm, looking through the notes. “Blue, while I understand your concern, if you knew of the truth of Devil, then I believe things would be very difficult for you.”

Blue’s eyes squinted. “What… What are you tryna get at, Princess?”

Sighing, she looked out the window. “Blue, before I can tell you the truth, I need you to make a promise to me. Never tell Devil what I am about to tell you, and do not treat him any differently than before. He is still the same colt you bonded with alongside Star and Ashen.”

After a moment of pause, Blue nodded. “Alright. I promise to keep everything secret and treat him the same way as before.” With a cross of his heart, the Princess nodded and began to tell a tale of a monster.

Author's Note

So two things:

One, didn't expect to get the next chapter done. Had way too much free time, which means I need to spend more time actually doing shit.

Second, Hell yeah! Majority dislikes! Let's keep it rolling people!

Chapter 3: Friendship is Stars Part 1

The training that began many years ago was not an easy one. Devil had to put a lot of time and energy to ensure that his mind, body and spirit stayed on a strong path. He performed many obstacle courses, dueled with Blue and Shining repeatedly, meditated in order to control his magic, and finally, to compensate for his lack of flying, he learned to do the next best thing: Jumping good. By the end of it, he was able to jump over the walls of the castle with no effort. Everypony was astounded, and with the skills that he acquired and the education he received, all he could do was help his mother around the house and wait to be called. And then, it happened.

One day, as he helped his mother with the garden, Shining Armor approached the home, still in uniform. Devil slowly stood up and looked at him. “Is it time…?” He asked, rubbing his gray and red mane. Shining nodded and smiled. “Just about.”

Star looked at his son sadly as he approached her and hugged her close. “I’m sorry I have to go, mom… But, I promise I’ll do what I have to do.”

Nodding, she held her son close. “I know… It’s going to be so lonely without you here… Promise me you’ll be safe.”

“Always mom.” With that, he slowly let go, grabbing the bag with his stuff that was tied to the end of his staff. With a final hug for her mother, he followed Shining to the castle. Many ponies watched them pass by, muttering whispers. He could tell that they thought of him as a criminal, a vagrant, or in some kind of relationship with the guardpony. He did his best not to hit them over the head, taking breaths as he focused as Blue taught him. As they arrived at the castle’s throne room, both bowed before the Princess, with the other guards leaving and sealing off the room. Celestia approached Devil, admiring the colt who was now a stallion before motioning them to rise. She acquired the chest so long ago, opening it to reveal the jade emblem. “Devil Dust. You have completed the training here in Canterlot, and with it, you are ready to begin your journey. As such, I present you with the emblem and hereby grant you the title of Avatar of the Twin Rats of Flame.”

The emblem slowly rose up, spinning around over and over before attaching itself to the neck of the stallion, creating a choker with it. As he tapped it out of curiosity, Celestia then took Devil’s staff. “And as a gift from me…” She placed her horn on the staff, causing it to be enveloped in the aura of the princess for a moment before it faded. “There. This should be a good aid.”

Nodding, he took back the staff and bowed. As he did, however, a puff of green smoke flew in before forming into a letter. As Celestia took it and read it, she nodded with a smile. “Well, it appears that Twilight finally figured out the events that will be proceeding us.”

“Twilight? Shining’s sister, Twilight?” Devil spoke up. He remembered spending time with her, but she was always buried in her books. He didn’t hate her, but he knew when he wasn’t wanted. Celestia nodded, writing down a response. “Indeed, and to start your journey to finding the other Star Ponies, I will be having you deliver this to her. From this point forward, I would like you to protect her.”

Taking the letter, Devil bowed his head slowly. “Yes, Princess. I will do as you ask.”

Celestia smiled softly, bowing back to him. Devil didn’t know how to respond to this, so he simply stood back up and walked out. Finding Twilight’s current place was a bit of a hassle. Canterlot was so big, and she could be anywhere. That was when he spotted three familiar mares, quickly approaching them. “Minuette, Lemon Heart, Twinkle Shine!” He called out with a smile, getting a smile right back along with a hug.

Minuette spoke first, clearly excited. “Oh wow, Devil! You look so good now! We haven’t seen you in a couple of years!”

“Haha, yeah. Sorry, my training took me pretty far from here.” He rubbed the back of his head, hoping that none of them asked what that training was. The snow was now his greatest enemy.

“Oh really, well we’re glad you’re back! Are you able to come to Moondancer’s party?” Lemon Heart continued with a smile.

“Oh shoot, Moondancer…” He rubbed the back of his head, trying to figure out what to do. He wanted to go and see an old friend, but he needed to quickly get to Twilight. “I want to, but I actually have to start working with Celestia on a secret project… But hang on…” He turned and reached into his bag, pulling out some scrap metal. Arranging it around, he quickly and carefully (not to mention secretly) used his fire magic to fuse the pieces into a locket on a chain. “Here. If you can, can you give this to her from me? Tell her that next time, we can do whatever she wants! Oh, before I go…” He turned around mid-packing. “Do you know where Twilight is right now?”

Giggling, Minuette nodded. “Yeah. She’s in her home right now.” She pointed down the street, to which Devil smiled and hugged them all before running off. Twinkly Shine finally spoke up, shrugging. “He’s weird but never boring.”

As Devil reached the house, he took a moment to admire it before he knocked on the door. It slowly opened, revealing a small purple dragon. “Oh hey. What are you doing back, Dust?”

“Hey, Spike. I’m here to drop off a letter that Celestia wanted me to give Twilight-”

Before he could even finish, Twilight appeared in a cloud of sparkles, snatching the letter from him before pushing him out and closing the door. “Jeez… You’re welcome…” But, rather than leaving, he waited outside for the inevitable bombshell.

“WHAT?!?”

~~~

Twilight grumbled, leaning against the edge of the chariot as they flew off to the village of Ponyville. Spike was rereading the letter to them about checking the preparation for the Summer Sun Celebration, and how she needed to make friends. Meanwhile, Devil was listening intently, making sure his stuff was secured. The last thing he wanted to do was have it fall out.

“Spike, I am her loyal student, but the fate of Equestria does not rest on me making friends,” Twilight said as they landed. Devil rolled his eyes as he hopped off with them, biting his lip in thought. This would be the beginning of his journey, but where exactly would the other ones be. Equestria was huge, and he didn’t have the luxury of flying. Whatever the case, he had his own job: To protect Twilight for the Summer Sun Celebration. Thinking about it, DD came to the conclusion that Celestia did know something was going to happen, but whether it was a Star Pony or Twilight’s Nightmare Moon, he couldn’t be sure. However, as he spotted a pink mare approaching, he slowly got into a defensive stance. Spike, meanwhile, looked at him and motioned him to move it down. After a moment’s hesitation, he nodded and did so.

“Come on, Twilight, just give it a chance.”

Twilight looked at the mare and awkwardly smiled. “Uhhh… Hello.”

What happened next, none of them could have predicted. With a long gasp and a leap in the air, the mare zipped off at high speeds in the opposite direction. All three stared in confusion before Twilight rolled her eyes and turned around. “Well that was interesting…”

“Yeah… Weird…” Devil said, walking with her through the town. “Do you think that she might know something?”

“I doubt it. She really didn’t seem like the scholarly type.”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean that people don’t know things. There’s a lot of folk wisdom and rumors around.”

“Hmmm…” She was skeptical, but she wasn’t going to get into a debate with Devil. The two didn’t see eye to eye on a lot of stuff. He was creative, free-spirited, and emotional, while she was calculating, logical, and focused on the intelligent thing to do.

Their first task was to check on the food situation for the celebration. This would lead them to a farm that seemed to focus heavily on apples. Just the sight and smell of the place were enough to make Devil’s stomach growl. “Twilight, if they have spare food, we’re staying.”

“Devil, we don’t have time to-”

“Twilight, if I don’t get a meal in, I’m going to eat an actual pony instead.”

Twilight groaned before they heard an enthusiastic “YEEEHAAAW!” Out of nowhere, an orange and blonde-maned mare in a Stetson ran to a nearby tree before turning and bucking it hard, causing apples to fall from it and land in buckets below. Devil whistled and made the first move.

“Well, I gotta say. That’s a good set of hind hooves you got to kick apples out of a tree that good.” The mare turned, surprised to see a unicorn and pegasus approaching. Smiling, she went over and took the pegasus’s hoof to give it a good proper shake, and that’s when she found he was actually quite strong himself. “Howdy you two! Welcome to Sweet Apple Acres! The name’s Applejack!”

“Hello, Applejack,” Twilight said, nudging Devil to the side. “My name is Twilight Sparkle. I’m here to inquire about the food for the Summer Sun Celebration-”

“Well, shoot! Of course!” Before Twilight could say anything, she was dragged over to a table, where Devil watched as the mare listed off what he assumed was either her family or the foods. Smirking, he approached them just as Applejack finished up listing her family.

Twilight spat out an apple that had been shoved into her mouth and quickly gave a strained smile. “Well, I see you have the food situation taken care of, so I’ll just be going-!”

She was stopped by Apple Bloom, the youngest of them all, who gave her the big puppy dog eyes as she asked, “Aren’t ya gonna stay for brunch…?”

Devil intervened, wrapping a hoof around his protectorate with a grin. “Yeah, Twi! It’s been… A time since I’ve eaten, and I’m starving!”

She gave him a glare to melt steel before she groaned and hung her head low. “Fine…”

As they cheered and prepared a feast, Applejack approached the staff-wielding stallion. “It was mighty kind of ya tah convince her to stay. I didn’t quite get yer name.”

“Ah, my bad,” Devil said as he stacked his plate. “The name’s Devil Dust, I’m Twilight’s guardian for the time being. I won’t be staying in Ponyville much after this, I have a mission from the Princess.”

“Ah, shoot. That’s a shame. But, if the Princess says ya gotta, ah suppose ya got no choice.”

“Yeah…” He sighed and looked at his plate, stacked high with food. With a crack of his neck, he dug in with the speed and vigor of a starving pony at sea who just found land with food. Applejack and the members of her family watch as he tore through the treats like a mad stallion. Even Twilight saw his consumption and didn’t realize how hungry he was before he cleaned his plate. Standing up, he bowed before the family. “Thank you for the meal!” He shouted, before looking at Twilight. “Hey, finish up. We’ve got work to do.”

Twilight’s eye twitched as he said this, stuffing her face herself. I can’t believe he had the gall to tell ME to hurry! He wanted to stay and eat, and then he scarfed it down like that?!? Ugh!!

~~~

Needless to say, her frustrations led to Twilight eating more than her fair share of the food, as she was struggling with a full gut while walking. Devil smirked and walked ahead, looking at the list. “Alright, Spike. Next thing.”

“Hmmm… We have to check the weather. Somepony named Rainbow Dash is supposed to take care of it.”

Twilight looked up and around. “Well, she’s not doing a very good-”

“TWILIGHT LOOK OUT!!”

Devil shoved the unicorn away before a loud crash was heard. Groaning, Twilight looked up to find a blue mare with a rainbow mane had crashed into the poor stallion and landed the two in a mud puddle. Gasping as a feeling of worry spread over her, Twilight ran over. “Devil, are you okay??”

“Nnngh…” The groaning stallion mumbled. “I landed on my staff…”

Spike couldn’t help but snicker along with the blue mare, who quickly flew up. “Heh, excuse me. Let me help you out there.” She quickly flew off, returning clean and carrying a rain cloud, which she bounced on to dump rain all over Devil. Sighing, Devil took deep breaths as steam slowly came off of him and his mane became frizzy and unkempt. This earned plenty of laughs out of Rainbow and even some from Spike.

Seeing nothing but nonsense get done, Twilight approached. “Let me guess. You’re Rainbow Dash.”

“Heh, the one and only!” Rainbow flew up, moving towards Twilight. “Why, ya heard of me?”

“We heard you were supposed to be keeping the sky clear!” She sighed and ran her hair through her dusty mane. “I’m Twilight Sparkle, I’m here to check on the weather for the Summer Sun Celebration.”

“Yeah yeah. It’ll be done in a jiffy,” Rainbow said as she relaxed on a cloud. “Just as soon as I finish practicing.”

“Practicing? For what?”

“The Wonderbolts! They’re gonna be performing at the Celebration tomorrow, and I’m gonna show them my stuff!”

“Ha! You??” Devil shouted. “You couldn’t even be a janitor with your lack of discipline! I mean, not able to take out some clouds??”

Rainbow immediately snapped up and looked down at the pegasus taunting her. “Oh yeah?? Why don’t you come up here and do it??”

“One, it’s not my job, two, I can't fly. Need a third?” He gripped his staff, but Rainbow was too busy laughing at him.

“What kind of fully grown pegasus can’t fly?? Ahaha-”

That was when she saw a shadow rush up high in the air, well above her cloud, and land right onto her, Devil looking her in the eyes. “I can’t fly. That doesn’t mean I can’t jump good.” He turned around. “Besides, I know what it takes to be a Wonderbolt. You familiar with Commander Blue Thunder?”

Rainbow’s eyes lit up. “Are you serious?? Of course, I know him!! He was one of the best Wonderbolts there was! He was so good, when he retired, he still trained pegasi!”

“Yeah. Like me.”

Rainbow went quiet, her eyes shrinking a bit. “You’re kidding.”

“Nope.” With a flick of the wrist, he handed Rainbow a photo of him with the commander in question. “That one’s got his signature. If you can clear the skyline before I hit the ground, it’s yours.”

“Ha! Easy!” Rainbow smirked before Devil casually threw himself off, and soon the race began. Devil waiting for the landing while Dash smashed cloud after cloud. Just as he hit the ground, Rainbow finished up. “See? Easy!”

“Hmmm… I’ll allow it.” He shrugged, getting up and stretching. “Enjoy the piece of paper with a name on it.”

As the trio left, Twilight smirked. “That was quite the use of reverse psychology there, DD.”

“Eh, what can I say? Fangirls are easy to manipulate. And she did a good job.” He smiled, looking at his frizz and her unkemptness. “Looks like we both made a mess though.”

“Yeah… I’m looking forward to getting home and resting with a bath.”

“I hear that.” The two bumped hooves as they walked onto the main building where the ceremony was going to be taking place. When they arrived, they found the place completely decorated, elegant and sophisticated. “Beautiful…” Spike muttered, but Devil’s gaze could tell he was not focusing on the decorations, but rather on the mare looking through various colored ribbons.

“Excuse me,” Twilight said, but the mare simply tilted her head.

“Just a moment, please. I’m in the zone.” The marshmallow mare picked out a sparkling ribbon and tied it to a pole with a satisfied smile. “Sparkle always does the trick, does it not? Now, what can I help you-Whahahat?!?” She looked between the two ponies before her, eyes wide. “Whatever happened to your coiffures??”

“Uhhhh…” Devil looked over at Twilight. “Yo, Brains! Translate!”

“I… Think she means our manes? Wait, Brains?” She gave Devil a look before shaking her head and looking at the mare. “S-Sorry, we’re just here to check on the decorations, then we’ll be out of your hair.”

“MY hair?!? What about both of your hairs?!?”

“Honestly, frizzy hair is common with me. I have thick hair for some reason.” Devil shrugged, but was cut off when the two of them were pushed away, and Spike simply floated along.

~~~

They would arrive at a place that Dust would charitably call “beyond femininity”, and in a flash, his hair was done. Looking at his new mane that was shorter, but still had the swoop he liked, he nodded to her. “Actually, this was nice. Thank you.”

“Not a problem. However, have you ever thought of a new accessory? Jade isn’t the best look for you.”

“Uhhh, this isn’t an accessory, it’s for work.” He slowly got up and followed this mare (whose name he discovered was Rarity), over to Twilight, who was getting fitted into a new saddle.

“What kind of ghastly career requires such a look for you??” She quickly began going through various dresses and saddles.

“From Celestia. I gotta find the other ones and the ponies they’re attached to. Speaking of, I totally forgot to ask everyone else. Have you seen anyone with one of these?”

“I can’t say that I have, but if I do, I’ll let you know!” She picked out a dress and walked over to Twilight. “And I must say, a job from the Princess herself. That is quite the luxurious position! Tell me, are you both from Canterlot~?”

“Y-Yes…!” Twilight said as she struggled from the dress tightening.

Rarity quickly released her and smiled wide. “Oh, I’ve always wanted to live there! The style, the sophistication, oh to walk among the greats there… Oh my! Emeralds?? Let me get you some rubies!”

As soon as she ran off, Twilight immediately got out of the dress. “Let’s go before she tries to dye my coat a different color!!” Grabbing Spike, she ran off, Devil following close behind.

When they left, Spike was still daydreaming about Rarity while Twilight groaned and rubbed her face. “Last one… Devil, do you have the list?”

“Right here.” He held it up and looked through it. “Says that we need to check on the music. After that, you can do your research and I can get a good bath.”

Nodding, the three of them heard a beautiful song sung by birds coming from a ways away, beautiful enough to even snap Spike out of it. As soon as they heard, they snuck into the bushes and peeked, seeing a yellow mare with a pink mane conducting a chorus of birds. Devil Dust’s eyes focused on the mare in question and how she handled the birds. It was a clear sign that this mare was an introvert who struggled with ponies but was most comfortable around animals. It made sense. He muttered in a low tone. “Alright, Twilight, what we’re going to do is be very quiet and gentle when-”

“Hello!”

Devil realized that she was already out of the bush and trying to go about it like everyone else. Facehoofing in frustration, he slowly got out while leaving his staff and approached as Twilight tried to get a name out of the mumbling mare. “Twilight, just… Go help Spike. He’s stuck.”

“What-? Again??” Groaning, she walked off, leaving just the two of them. The mare looked shakily at this stallion. She didn’t know who he was or why he sat beside her or why he pulled out a small stick. However, then he began to draw in the dirt with it.

Hello. My name is Devil Dust. How are you?

He slowly looked up and handed her the stick. Nervously, she took it, sitting next to him and writing in small letters.

I’m Fluttershy.

She handed the stick back to him, and he smiled. Nice to meet you. That was a beautiful song you composed.

Thank you.

We won’t be any trouble, we just wanted to see if it’s going well.

I think so. I’m nervous, but I think it works.

I’m glad. You like animals?

I love animals! They’re so amazing, every one of them!

We have a baby dragon with us. Would you like to meet him?

Fluttershy immediately jumped up in excitement. “Really?? A real baby dragon?? Oh, I would love to meet him!”

Heheh, he thought. Cake. He motioned her over to the bush they hid in, where Spike happened to be in. What followed was Fluttershy bombarding him with question after question as Twilight and Devil walked to the library.

“Ugh, I can’t wait to rest…”

“I feel you, but honestly, I think I need to train. If what you said is right, then I do need to be in fighting shape.”

“Oh please, you’re a capable fighter. I just don’t know if it’s going to be enough to have a Celestial. That’s why I need to look for these Elements of Harmony.”

By the time they reached the treehouse, the sunset was already upon them. Twilight was using Spike like a diversion dummy once more, while Devil smiled and waved goodbye. Fluttershy blushed and waved back, but the three were quickly inside thanks to Twilight.

“Huh. Rude much?” Spike said with his hands on his hips.

“I’m with the dragon on this one. Dick move.”

“I’m sorry, you two, but you know I have to convince the Princess that Nightmare Moon is coming, and we’re running out of time! I just need some time alone to study without a bunch of crazy ponies trying to make friends all the time!”

“You mean like the ones in our house?”

“... What?”

The lights flickered on, and suddenly, they found themselves surrounded by ponies from the town who greeted them with a big “Surprise!”, and while the other two were surprised, Devil was not.

The pink mare from their first meeting giggled as she approached them. “Hi there, I’m Pinkie Pie and I threw this party just for you two! Were you surprised? Huh? Were ya? Were ya?”

“Very!”

“Eh. Half and half.”

“Well, Devil. Last I checked, libraries were supposed to be quiet.”

“Oh, like you were with Fluttershy?” He smirked and rolled his eyes before walking opposite Twilight, Pinkie following Twilight while he looked around for his stuff. He found the bag stuffed in a corner and quickly took it to a small alcove he spotted, hanging it there. However, it wasn’t until he spotted Twilight running upstairs that he ran over to see what had happened. “Spike, is she okay? Did she get hurt?”

Spike shook his head, showing him a hot sauce bottle. “No, she just made a little mistake.”

Sighing in relief, Devil felt a tap on his shoulder as he saw the mares from before and smiled. Applejack spoke up. “Wow, yer mighty protective of her.”

Devil nodded with a sigh. “Yeah. Celestia told me to keep an eye on her and keep her safe through the Summer Sun Celebration, but so far, nothing has happened.”

“Heh, yeah. Not a lot happens around here.” Rainbow shrugged, relaxing in the air.

“Although, I must say, I wish I had a strapping stallion like yourself protecting me.”

Devil chuckled, bowing his head. “If ever the time comes, I promise to try and protect everypony.”

The mares smiled at him, Fluttershy and Rarity blushing while Applejack spoke up. “That there is a kind offer. We’ll do the same. That said, what’s the deal with that there thing on yer neck? I meant tah ask ya.”

“Oh, this? It’s my Celestial Emblem. I’m not sure what it does, but Princess Celestia said that every cycle, these are given to the Celestial Avatars, or Star Ponies if you don't want to say all of that.”

They all looked at him in confusion, making him sigh. “Okay, so you know those horoscope things that tell your future?”

“Oh, yes!” Rarity chimed in. “I simply adore them!”

“Yeah, we actually work for those forces.”

“What??” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “No way. Those aren’t real!”

“Eh, believe what you want to believe.” Devil said, shrugging. He knew his fate, and he wasn’t going to start another situation with Dash at their party. “That being said, I had to do a lot of training for it, so… Hopefully that doesn’t go belly up.”

The night was long and full of conversation. Devil got to learn a lot about each pony and just what made them tick. While as a colt he struggled socially, the events that led here helped strengthen him. However, soon enough, the time for the Summer Sun Celebration was upon them, and while the others rushed ahead, Devil waited for Twilight. She looked nervous, anxious, just overall like something was about to happen. Devil hesitated to do anything but eventually gave her a light hug to the side.

“Uhhh, what are you doing?”

“Just…” He sighed. “I believe you. I believe that it might happen, or at least something. I don’t know what, but I trust you. I’ll be on my guard and make sure you’re safe.”

Twilight looked at this pony she always called a mere acquaintance. He was such good friends with her brother that he saw him as an older brother in a sense. In a way, they were kin. She smiled lightly and hugged back. “Thank you, Devil. I believe in you.”

As they arrived, Twilight found herself next to Pinkie once more while Devil stayed close by. With the Mayor announcing the Summer Sun Celebration, he listened intently for any screams. And then, his emblem began to glow. It was dim, but it was slowly getting stronger. Quickly, he covered it up, knowing something was wrong.

“And now, it is my great honor to introduce to you the ruler of our land, the very pony who gives us the sun and the moon each and every day, the good, the wise, the bringer of harmony to all of Equestria… Princess Celestia!”

As the curtains opened, what they found was not the princess, but a beast, unlike anything they’d ever seen. The shape of an ox whose top had been covered in a hard shell and whose horns were replaced with crab pincers. His body was adorned with stars and at its head was an emblem, just like Devil’s. And not only this, soon a new figure appeared. A jet-black alicorn with night regalia. The rumors were true. Nightmare Moon was back.

Author's Note

Why did you all not only manage to break even but actually jump ahead and give me a positive L:D ratio? Now the joke is ruined! Fuuuuck, I might actually have to try here!

Screw you guys!

[5] Chapter 4: Foreplay is Magic, Part 2

As the ponies around them panicked in all directions, Devil took the first move, rushing at Nightmare Moon with a staff strike that was easily deflected by one of the Ox-cer’s pincer horns. All this would serve was to offend the tyrant.

“You would lay a hoof on ME?!? I am your ruler! I-” She paused, seeing the emblem on Devil’s neck and smirking. “Well well… It appears one of you Celestial Avatars still stands tall. No matter. You shall join me by my side!!” She fired upon Devil, but before he could react, he was protected by a magic barrier. Twilight looked at Devil nervously, but he would have none of it. “Twilight! Get to the library! Figure out how to undo this! You five!” He pointed to Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie and Fluttershy. “Get everyone out safely and keep her safe!”

“But Devil, what about you??” Twilight asked worriedly. Devil would only smirk as he moved in, tapping her on the chin.

“Don’t worry about me. I can hold my own.” That said, he turned to the Ox-Cer and Nightmare Moon. “Now get moving, I got a crab to cook.”

Twilight didn’t want to let him go. She knew it was a bad idea, that he would get hurt or worse. However, he was buying them time, a brave pony to the end. She could only nod and run away, leaving just the three.

“How foolish of you to fight alone, little rat. No matter, now there’s no one to protect you.” She smiled cruelly.

Devil rubbed his nose, glaring up at her. “Maybe you’ve been out of the loop, but I’m not some weakling. I was trained by the best. I don’t plan to go down easy, you night witch!”

Nightmare Moon’s grin grew wider, pointing forward. “Let us see if your words hold truth then! Ox-cer! Attack!”

The Ox-cer roared and obeyed, rushing at Devil Dust and slashing at him with the pincer horns. Every attempt was dodged by the stallion before he leapt in the air and struck the back over and over. However, all that came out of it was a loud TING sound and a laugh from Nightmare Moon. The only thing that he could think of is use some magic, so with a deep breath, he spun his staff, producing fire before throwing a rush of fire down. This had the effect of the ground and not the Ox-cer being set alight. “Oh shit! Redo, redo!” He called out, spinning his staff in the opposite direction which caused the fire to fly back into his staff. Now it was the beast’s turn, who rushed and slammed him against the walls over and over, grunting in pain as he fell back and grit his teeth. He tried to escape, but only found himself clenched in both pincer horns.

Shit shit shit! What do I do?!? His mind tried racing with thoughts, his creativity at an all-time low thanks to being pinched slowly to death. But it was at this moment, that his mind gave him a vision…

So here’s this giant enemy crab… Attack its weak point for massive damage.

His eyes opened up. The weak point. He looked all over the body of the Ox-cer for some kind of weak point, but couldn’t find anything. Then, just as things seemed hopeless, he found it: The belly of the beast. Taking a deep breath, he reeled his hind hooves back and bucked with all his mind, sending the Ox-cer flying back quite a bit. Nightmare Moon watched as the young stallion simply stood there, awaiting an attack. Both stood and waited, but the mare in the moon became impatient. “Just attack, you fool!”

The Ox-cer immediately obeyed, but this was the biggest mistake, as with a kick of his hooves, he sent his staff upwards, knocking the beast in the chin and sending it on its back. Sure enough, that spot was simply exposed, leading Devil to leap high in the air and charge up another fire attack. “Flaming Lance!” He shouted, striking down towards the exposed belly of the beast… Only to be stopped inches by a blue aura.

“Well done, little rat. You have proven that you are indeed worthy of being one of my servants.” She smiled and pulled him in, tossing the staff aside as she looked him up and down. “And I must say, quite the attractive stallion… If only you were like the last rat avatar I knew. Ugh, such an ugly thing… But you… You’re more than just a simple pet… I think a Queen deserves something more, no?” She smirked at him, licking her lips.

Devil, meanwhile, stared at the evil queen, very much confused and worried. “Uhhh… I don’t know what the rules of the Avatars are yet, but I’m pretty sure that having… Intimate moments with tyrannical alicorns aren’t allowed…”

“Oh, silly colt… Who do you think has control over those stars? Me. I can make them obey me, just like I did with her.”

“Her?” He looked confused, but then looked down at the Ox-cer. That wasn’t just a beast, but there was a mare in there. He realized that he was in trouble for harming an Avatar. He thought the emblems themselves did this. “Oh… Ummm… Listen, if we are going to… You know… Maybe we should do it somewhere else…? I mean… We’re in a gazebo in a backwoods village. Not the most… Romantic…”

Humming to herself, Nightmare Moon looked around and nodded. “Indeed. A stallion like you deserves better. Come. We leave for our new home.” Before Devil could say anything, he was enveloped in a starry wisp, which quickly stole away the Ox-cer and flew off past the forest.

~~~

While he was trapped in the starry void, Devil thought about a lot of things in his life. Making friends, having a poor psychological profile, hearing voices. It was all bizarre. He didn’t know why mares seemed to like him the most, but it was beginning to be a problem on his life.

Soon, though, the contemplations were over as he was dropped onto a cold stone floor with nary a scratch on him. However, his staff was also gone, meaning if he was going to fight, it would be hoof-to-hoof, although the bindings on his body told him that this was likely not an option. As he struggled to break free, he found a shadow looming over him belonging to none other than Nightmare Moon. The Ox-cer was nearby, bound as well as she gave the beast a scowl before turning to Devil.

“Your energy… Even if you are pure, I can smell the darkness flowing inside you…” Licking her lips, she slowly moved closer, rubbing his body gently. “If I could have a little bit, we could carry a child who could help us rule all of Equestria… Wouldn’t that be lovely, my soon-to-be?”

Devil squirmed in place, watching as she used magic to cause his cock to grow into a full erection. Just the sight of it made Nightmare Moon’s eyes widen. “M-My, that is… Quite the member on you… N-Not that I haven’t seen others of course! You should be honored for having such an experienced ruler servicing you!”

She looked at it and idly played with it in her hooves before slowly hovering over it. Devil could see a look in her eyes, one that was nervous, angry, like she was better than this. He looked up at her, sighing. Nightmare Moon… Would you like some help?”

She darted at him in anger. “S-Silence! I do not need ‘help’! I can do this on my own!”

“It’s fine, really. We haven’t even done foreplay, and you’re already trying to stick it in.”

This caught her off-guard. “Foreplay? What is this you speak of?”

Sighing, Devil motioned to her. “Let me free. I promise to show you.”

She seemed to be hesitant, but after thinking for a long time, she glared at him. “Attempt to leave or harm me, and I’ll send you to Tartarus.”

Nodding in agreement, the binds around his body vanished as he took a breath. He motioned her forward, and she complied, walking closer and lying in front of him. He moved a bit closer, leaning in before cupping her cheek and looking into her starry eyes. She could feel his breath, warm and gentle as he moved in and slowly kissed her. Their eyes closed, Nightmare Moon slowly placing a hoof on his cheek back. She moaned softly, their tongues playing with each other as their bodies got hotter. Eventually, they broke the kiss, Devil kissing her neck slowly, making her gasp and shiver.

“H-How… How are you so-?”

“Shhh…” He whispered, placing a hoof to her lips. “Just let me service you…”

Blushing, Nightmare Moon went quiet as he kissed her gently down her body. Her gasps and squeaks echoed in the empty room before he reached her crotch, where he saw that she was quite wet. He smiled and slowly ran his tongue along her pussy, and this caused the tyrant to finally break. She cried out in pleasure as she lay back, writhing in pure ecstasy as continued to service her.

His tongue danced across her folds, Nightmare Moon covering her mouth as she looked down at the stallion. Never in her life had she felt this good. It was like he was reaching into her soul and caressing it with his tongue. When he felt her pussy twitching, he licked faster, moving up and nibbling on her clit. This seemed to do the trick as in a sudden rush of fluids, the evil goddess came hard before collapsing on the ground.

He smiled slightly. He knew this mare was going to try and take over the world, but he couldn’t help but feel she just wanted to be adored. Crawling up to her, he kissed her cheek and whispered in her ear. “I adore you…”

She looked back at him, still panting and trying to recover. Her emotions were high, and all she could do was lean in and kiss him slowly. He wrapped his hooves around her neck and she did the same to his waist. She removed her helmet and looked into his eyes, taking one of his hooves and placing it on her head. Smiling, he pet her slowly, making her smile and nuzzle his hoof.

“Sweet little rat… I never thought I would feel this way… But… I believe that… I…”

Her eyes widened as she jolted up. She shoved her helmet back on and adjusted it. “Those ponies! They have made it passed everything!” She growled and looked forward, getting ready to teleport to the chamber. Then, she stopped, looking at Devil.

“Are you… Going to be okay here?” His eyes met hers and he smiled with a nod.

“Go on. You can do it. I believe in you always.” She knew deep in her heart it wasn’t herself she was talking to. Rather, he was speaking to… Her. The her she kept buried deep down all this time. How could he love her? Why wasn’t he there when there was no one…? She took a breath and bowed her head, vanishing.

With her gone, Devil sighed, rubbing his forehead. “Alright, let’s see… Uhhh…” He turned to the Ox-cer, completely unconscious. “Wow, she uhh… Really knocked out when we were picked up. Alright, let’s see, how am I gonna fix you…”

He touched the emblem on her forehead, causing it to glow brightly along with his own. Grunting in pain, he found himself trapped in a starry void with the Ox-cer.

Hello, Devil Dust.

What? Who’s there?

It is I… The stars slowly shifted, revealing two rats composed of the celestial bodies with fire surrounding them. Rat-ini. Your Guardian.

Rat-ini…? Well… Can you help? What the hell am I supposed to do?

You already know, my child… It is within you…

Oh, dammit… Is this really going to be a big “The truth was inside you all along" type of thi-” His eyes shot open as a memory occurred, a bipedal with long, dark hair holding the face of some sort of winged beast. With this spell declared, let the pain be shared.

He looked at the floating Ox-cer. He needed to share the burdens, to take them as his own and carry them. Was he capable of doing this? Would this kill him? He couldn’t hesitate, other ponies mattered. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

Alright... This is stupid... With this spell declared, let the pain be shared…

Instantly, the Ox-cer roared, chains flying from the creature and into his emblem. He failed to notice that his shadow got a little longer as the last of the chains sucked in. The Ox-cer slowly melted away, revealing the pony inside to be a very large mare. She had to be as big as Applejack’s brother at least. Her blue mane was tied in a ponytail and her coat was a deep red. When the world returned, a shield fell onto the ground from where the Star Beast remained and the mare lying there slowly awoke, blinking before jumping up and getting into a fighting stance.

“Woah woah, easy there. No need to get punchy.” He stepped back, trying to be careful as the mare looked at him.

“You… You’re the staff guy. The guy I saw in…” She paused, looking at her body and spotting the shield. “It was real… Wait, did you seriously fuck the bad guys???”

Devil’s cheeks went red. “N-No! It’s called foreplay, and it was supposed to be distracting!”

“Horse apples! I saw that look! You were totally gonna plow her!!”

“How could you have even seen that! You were unconscious!!”

“I was pretending, jackass!” She smirked, tossing her ponytail back. Suddenly, a loud boom was heard, causing both of them to flinch.

“I uhhh… Think my friends won,” he chuckled, slowly stretching and walking to the door. “Come on. Let’s go meet them.”

The two zipped about the ruins of the castle, with Devil leading the two and the mare following close behind. Every so often, he would stop and look around before darting down a hallway. After some navigating, the two found themselves in a large area, where Twilight, the other girls, a smaller night-themed mare, and Princess Celestia herself were. Devil immediately ran over, shouting “Princess! Princess!”

Celestia looked up, smiling at the rat Star Pony. “Devil, I see you have freed the first of your comrades. I am very proud of you…”

Devil quickly threw himself down, bowing before the princess. “Princess, I… I’m sorry. I failed to stay with Twilight. Nightmare Moon, she captured me and-” He paused, looking around. “Where… Where is she?”

Celestia smiled and looked back at the smaller mare right under her. The mare blushed and looked down before attempting to meet his gaze. He blushed in return and looked back at her. The others looked at the two, confused about the situation.

“Uhhh, what’s going on?” Rainbow asked, looking between the two. Applejack only chuckled, keeping her mouth shut, Rarity gasped and waved her hoof on her face, and Fluttershy shrunk down and blushed a bit.

Finally, the mare declared with her loud booming voice, “Devil almost banged Nightmare Moon!”

“Hey!!”

The pieces finally connected as Rainbow burst out laughing, falling back on her flank as she kicked the air. Devil could only blush and cover his face in embarrassment. Celestia looked over at the mare. “You are Out Boxer correct?”

Out Boxer’s eyes widened. “W-Wait, how did you-”

“Your family was quite worried when you ran off. Having that emblem awoke a corrupted fate.” The princess smiled. “But if it were not for Devil Dust here, you would have remained as such.

She eyed Devil, blushing and looking away with a scowl. Devil bowed his head low, Celestia taking his chin and looking him in the eyes. “Do not be afraid, Devil. I am not mad. Far from it. You protected Twilight long enough that she could realize her destiny as one of the bearers of the Elements of Harmony.”

Devil looked over at Twilight, seeing that she actually had a crown on. He thought that he heard about these elements from Twilight as she was doing research, but she didn’t think she’d be wielding them. Smiling, he approached her. “So… Guess you and me are more alike now.”

“Y-Yeah…” She smiled back. “I guess so.”

He held out his hoof to her, and after a moment, she hoofbumped him, her smile going wide.

When the group would return the Ponyville, much occurred. A party was held for the return of Princess Luna, Devil was reunited with his staff, and he watched as Twilight asked to stay. He smiled and watched them, looking at Out Boxer. “So. You going back home?”

“Maybe…” She looked forward, her face stoic. “Might go traveling around. See if I can’t find more emblem ponies.”

He nodded, thinking. “You know… Celestia told me that these emblems would come to us and that things would work out. Maybe it’s for the best for us to plant our feet, keep this place safe, you know?”

“Yeah, you’d like that wouldn’t you?” Out muttered, tossing a loose hair to the side. “Seduce me and all that. Nice try.”

“Hey, it’s not about seducing. I want to be there for this place. Plus, who knows what’ll happen if we walk away?”

She sighed, rubbing her head. “Fine. But I’m staying somewhere else. No reason I get to stay in whatever perv shack you’re in.”

“Ugh, you’re impossible.” He shook his head and walked back to the library. His smile was hidden though. This mare, she had spunk. He liked that. Maybe the others will bring their own spice to his life. Not that it wasn’t already a flavor bomb already. As he crawled into his alcove and set his staff aside, he wondered what kind of adventures lay before him…

Author's Note

Well, this was stupid.

Chapter 5: A Ticket Taker

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.

Chapter 6: Two Thick-Skulled Mares

Devil thrust his staff towards Out, who nimbly dodged each subsequent attack. She was fast, and her reflexes good. That much was evident to him. Still, if he could outmaneuver her or she made a mistake, he might be able to land a decisive hit.

Out’s punches focused entirely on landing a solid hit on Devil’s staff. It was strong, but Out was stronger. She had to be. And with the staff out of the way, the stallion was nothing but a sitting duck. She kept on dipping and dodging, only putting on the pressure when Devil made a mistake. Then finally, an opening happened as she rolled out of a strike and found the staff right there. She swung her hoof with her devastating right cross…

BONG!

Before recoiling as the punch landed and sent the pain right back into her hoof. She fell back, holding it close. “Dangit, dangit, dangit! What the hell is in that thing??”

“What? It’s just enchanted rebar.”

“Hey! I said, no magic, you-Gah!!” She flinched as she tried applying pressure to that hoof, only to wince in pain.

“Out, we’re Celestial Avatars. We’re literally brimming with magic. You had to have used your magic before everything, right?”

“Why the-Ngh! Why would I use magic? I got my hooves to take care of everything!”

“Yeah? Like right now?”

“Shut up! This is your fault!”

“Don’t blame me when you have a perfectly good weapon RIGHT THERE!!” He pointed to the pincer shield that came out of her cleansing, gathering dust in the corner.

“I don’t… Need… A stupid… Weapon…!”

“Fine. Be without magic. But when we have to fight something and you’re just breaking your hooves on it, don’t blame me.” He quickly slung her other hoof over her shoulder.

“What are you doing?”

“Helping you in the barn. You’re going to get some rest until that heals.”

“I can’t. Promised AJ I’d help her with the bucking.”

“Well, how are you doing that when you only have 3 hooves, genius?”

She stared at him, eyes squinted as he brought her inside. “Are you always such a writhing pain in the hole?”

“Apparently, it developed as I got older. Helps that my teacher was too.”

“Remind me to punch them when I can feel my hoof again.”

Out was sour. Not only was she relying on one hoof for everything, but it was also her less dominant hoof. She refused help from Devil, who simply went back home, as well as everyone else who offered. She was going to train herself to be capable without her strong hoof.

She looked over at Applejack, who went downstairs at the crack of dawn. “Sorry about not being able to help, AJ. I adjusted my sleep schedule for nothing.”

“Ah, shoot. It ain’t a big deal, Box. Ya gotta get better like Big Mac, or else ya can’t help later. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of this orchard all by myself!” She huffed her nose proudly before walking out.

Out Boxer felt pumped by AJ’s energy. She was right. There were no limitations that would stop her from achieving her dreams. She was going to be the strongest in both hooves! And it all would start with the apple juice in front of her. She slowly reached out to grab it… Only to knock it over in a misjudged attempt at grabbing it.

“Dangit!!”

She walked over to grab a small towel to clean the mess, only to slip on the juice and fall face first.

“Dnghht!!”

Getting up and cleaning up the mess, she walked over and tossed the rag again. “Okay, starting now. No more falls-”

“HEY, OUT!”

Apple Bloom's loud scream caused a reflex which, when translated in her state, lead to another fall to the ground.

“Out Boxer, are you okay??”

“... DANGIIIIT!!!”

Devil was chuckling to himself as he heard the faint echoes of his fellow Avatar. There was something oddly satisfying about being correct that he always tried to attain. Then again, it didn’t feel that difficult to be correct when working with Out Boxer.

“... Okay, that’s a little mean…” Devil muttered as he shook that demeaning thought out of his head. “She’s at least trying to overcome her problems. I can respect that.”

Yeah, at least she doesn’t run from her problems, that voice in the back of his head commented. Met plenty of people like that…

Devil looked up from polishing his staff, visibly confused. “How could you have met anyone like that? You’re a voice in my head!”

You’ll understand when you’re older… Let’s go get some lunch.

“Yeah, sure I could eat.” Nodding, the stallion spun his staff and then slapped it on his back. He slowly walked out of the library, then paused five steps out.

“Wait, did you mean me, you bundle of horseapples???”

As the days passed by, Devil saw his companion go from a burly but presentable mare to a disheveled and exhausted one that could be taken out by a stiff breeze. She smelled, she had food in her mane, and her coat was dirty. A small part of him felt a smugness start to swell, but something inside pulled him back to just staring at her.

“What??” Out shouted at Devil, who looked away from his companion and towards the stage at Applejack. It turns out, AJ’s stubborn nature was having effects on her as well. She looked exhausted from nonstop applebucking, and everypony could see that. Still, she took her award and headed out, leaving the ponies to disperse. Steeling himself, he turned to face his companion.

“Out, if you need help, I can-”

“Buck off, pervert. I’m not letting you bathe me.”

Devil stepped forward. “I wasn’t asking that! I’m asking if you need help doing literally anything. You look like hot garbage.” He leaned in to sniff the air around her, cringing. “And smell like it…”

“Oh, am I not pretty enough for you, lover boy??” Her scowl grew. “I can handle all this by myself!!”

Before Devil could try and argue, Out stomped off, stumbling because of her injured hoof. All he could do was sigh in frustration.

You can’t really be mad at her…

“I’m not mad. I’m frustrated with her. She’s so headstrong and just… Ugh…” He turned and moved towards Twilight.

It’s a complicated situation. She’s clearly a wo-... mare seeking independence.

“From what?? She’s already on her own!”

Once again, it’s complicated.

“Ugh, forget you…”

“U-Ummm, Devil…?” Twilight looked at the stallion, slightly nervous. “Are you… Okay? You’ve been mumbling to yourself.”

Devil flinched and nervously chuckled. “N-Nothing. Just… Ruminating on Out and AJ.”

Twilight nodded with a slightly nervous expression. “Y-Yeah… I know she wants to do everything on her own, but…”

“It’s not healthy…”

The unicorn nodded slightly. “What should I do…?”

Devil shrugged and leaned his back against the walls of the town hall. “Try and reach her, I guess? I doubt she’s going to listen though. Both of them are stubborn.”

“Ugh, I know… She’s such a great friend, but sweet Celestia…”

“Yeah…” His vision sharpened, and his voice seemed t dip in pitch a bit. “But if your friend was suffering… Would you give up at the first sign of resistance…?”

Twilight looked surprised at the sudden shift, but the stallion who was apparently her roommate got back up and walked off. “I’ll wait for her. It’ll be a moment, but she will break. You need to figure out what you want to do.”

With that, Twilight was left to mull over what Devil said. Was it right to just let her destroy herself? But this is her choice… She shook her head and sighed.

Time passed for the two, and both of them found themselves hit with a wave of troubles. Devil had gotten smashed by Rainbow Dash once again thanks to Applejack’s poor timing on a stunt, the entire town being poisoned by some tainted muffins, again, thanks to Applejack, and a stampede of bunnies that Devil Dust just barely managed to handle. Guess who was behind it.

Out, meanwhile, only degenerated further, tearing into her food with bare teeth and shattering jars before using her good hoof to smear its contents on anything possible. Any attempts at reason by the others were basically off the table, but one member of the Apple family still tried to make an attempt to help the injured boxer.

It was a week since the injury, and Out had just slipped on another mess she’d made, falling on her back. She didn’t understand, she would’ve normally healed by now! Why was this so difficult?? Her mind kept thinking about Devil’s words and seeing his smug face. She gritted her teeth in rage, trying to get up.

“H-Hey, Out? Do ya need-?”

Out finally snapped. “I told you I don’t need any help!!! I’m fine handling it on my own so just BUZZ OFF!!” She turned to meet the smug stallion’s gaze, only to find that it wasn’t Devil Dust.

It was Apple Bloom, who was now shaking in place and holding back tears.

Realizing what she’d just done, she immediately stumbled out words to try and apologize. “A-Apple Bloom, I’m sorry! I didn’t-!”

But it was too late. Apple Bloom ran out the door crying, leaving the large mare by herself with what she’d done. Out felt the impact of it, and she collapsed onto the ground. Her soul felt broken. All this time, trying to be a good role model for the filly while helping the Apples, and what did she do? Yell. Her mind went back to her line of logic.

It’s HIS fault… He made me do this. If he’d just admitted… If he just…

She gritted her teeth hard. Nothing he could’ve done would’ve made her trust him. He was scum, just like every stallion she ever knew. Just like… Just like her…

“Happy now?”

She looked up. There Devil Dust stood, his face not in the usual carefree grin, but that ominous dark tone. She scowled as he approached.

“What? Here to rub it in? Here to say I told you so?? Well guess what, you’re STILL wrong! I don’t need anypony or any magic weapon! I’m strong! I’m-!!”

SMACK!

Without prompting or warning, Devil sent a powerful slap across Out’s cheek. Her eyes went wide as if she didn’t believe what had just happened. She lied forward on the ground while the stallion growled and began barking back.

“You done making excuses?? Cause never have I seen a mare make so many excuses for the fact that she doesn’t want help!! I don’t care what kind of life you had to lead you to this, cause if you’re yelling at fillies to prove a point, you’ve LOST!! You’re not strong! You’re WEAK!!!” He grabbed her by the head and shouted. “WEAK PONIES BULLY OTHERS, ESPECIALLY THE WEAKER ONES!!!”

Out stared in complete shock. This wasn’t the carefree, awkward pervert stallion he knew. This stallion was aggressive, pushy, and not afraid to be blunt. And the worst part of it all was that he was completely correct. She did lose. She was weak. She needed help. And those facts caused her to shed a few tears.

This other side of Devil didn’t care, however. He just dragged her out of the kitchen and up the stairs, where she proceeded to run a hot bath, strip Out Boxer down, and toss her inside. As he stepped out of the bathroom, he turned and pointed. “Soak in that and don’t move until I come back. I’m going to clean up the kitchen.”

Out said nothing, only sinking a little in the bath as the warm, soapy bubbles soothed her body for the first time. She thought about what he’d said again, wondering how she could probably be wrong. She still didn’t like him, and he was going to pay for slapping her, but she smiled slightly as she considered how it helped her.

Outside, Twilight could see as Devil carrying off a bag of garbage to the trash can. His tired, angry expression showed her that he was in that weird attitude of his. She slowly approached him, a slight smile on her face.

“So what was that about waiting until the breaking point?”

“Devil” eyed his roommate. “I did wait. She broke. And then she broke my limit by screaming at a kid.”

Chuckling with a sigh, she nodded. “Well, I hope she’s willing to at least listen to you for a bit. I don’t think Applejack is going to be happy when she wakes up.”

“Yeah, well neither am I. I’m going to kick her flanks up and down the orchard as part of a promise.”

“Well…” Twilight tapped her chin. “If you do teach her to use her shield, aren’t you not gonna be able to do that?”

“Oh, trust me…” Devil held up his homemade staff. “I’ve got more than a lifetime’s worth of experience with this. If she does beat me, it’s just because I’m going easy.”

Twilight giggled and nudged him. “We’re gonna finish up here soon. What do you want for dinner?”

“Ah…” Devil looked up. “You know what? Might put a pin on that. I’m gonna stay here until Out heals up. It shouldn’t take too long if I’m doing it.”

“Alright… Just remember to take care of yourself.”

“Always. You too… Brains.”

Twilight smiled at him before returning to work. For all of his faults, for all of his oddities, she couldn’t help but appreciate her roommate. He always made sure her life was a bit interesting, and she couldn’t really imagine life without him…

Life without Devil… She thought for a moment about it, then shook her head. I don’t… I don’t think I’d like it… No…

Author's Note

I don't know why I came back to this. It sucks, and I want it to die.