Author's Note

Hello All

You might notice that I changed the name of this story. I just never really liked "The Life and Times" But just couldn't come up with anything better. Well, I finally came up with something that I liked. So here is Chapter 3 of "They call Me Easy"

Mirror Mirror

The quartet flew and slid through the dimensional rift, their bodies stretching and banking as their surroundings twisted and fell beneath them. With a flash they were at the end of their ride and the small group tumbled and skid on grassy ground of a new world.

Easy slowly sat up and tried to get his bearings.

“Well, one thing went right today.”

He looked around their landing site and seeing no dangers, he began helping everypony to their hooves.

“Is everyone Ok?”

Some were dusting themselves off and others were looking around at their surroundings. Dusk Shine took in the castle and the gardens around them and smiled in relief.

“Guys, we're back.”

Butterscotch moved to his friend.

“Where are we?”

“Equestria. Thats the castle and this, is Canterlot Gardens.”

He turned to everyone.

“Guys, We're home!”

It was Barb that spoke next.

“Dusk, we're not home. Not unless Prince Solaris suddenly decided to come out of the closet.”

The group turned in the direction the dragoness was looking and went silent.

A female Alicorn, perfect in every way, was regally walking toward them. She was tall, beautiful and the spitting image of Solaris.

She spoke.

“Welcome to Canterlot castle my little ponies. Which of you would like to explain to me what just happened?”

The quartette stood in stunned silence looking at the princess and her two companions. The alicorn had walked up with a very young drake and a unicorn mare that was the spitting image of Dusk.

The incubus could see Dusks eyes examining everything in front of him. He watched the stallion putting the puzzle together and was impressed when his attitude shifted to a more cautious one. This impressed the demon. He thought the colt would just accept everything at face value. It was nice to know that someone in his group knew that trust had to be earned.

While he thought this, he kept his eyes on the princesses face. While she wore a perfect mask it still told the incubus a lot. This mare was old, much older than her body suggests. Her perfect mask spoke of the routine use of command and power. Yet it was her eyes that had his interest the most. They spoke of centuries of experience and he watched as they moved from one pony to the next, examining them in detail and making instant conclusions about each of them. The examination that she gave had taken mere seconds, but he was certain that she had learned more about them than they had about her.

Dusk stepped forward and gave a careful bow.

“Please excuse us Princess, but we are all a little confused. We were trying to get back to Equestria, but we seem to have arrived here by mistake.”

Dusk stared uncomfortably at the princess.

“This may seem a little odd, but can I ask you your name?”

She smiled.

“I am Princess Sol Celestia. and I’m happy to tell you that you have arrived exactly where you wanted to go. This is Equestria, and I have been the sole princess here for a very long time.”

She turned and walked back to the patio.

“I think it would do all of us good, if we were to sit together for a little talk. You all look tired and we were just about to have tea.”

As the group positioned themselves around the table, Easy Comfort thought about what he saw. While the princess was good at masking her features, she wasn’t any good at masking her aura, and as a demon, he could read auras like a book. He could tell that Dusk had shocked her. She was intrigued by him and she was curious. He could also tell that she didn't like Barb any more than she liked him. It concerned him just how violently her aura had reacted to them both. He decided to warn Barb when he got a chance.

Over tea Dusk quickly told the story of who he was and how he had been trapped in Tambelon, while Tia sat quietly.

“And thats how we got here.” He finished.

Celestia looked at her cup.

“And what of you, My odd little Demon?”

The Imp sipped his tea.

“Me? Everyone calls me Easy, but I suppose you want to know how I got caught up in that mess. Believe it or not, I was at home washing dishes when a summoning circle formed and I got pulled into Tamberlyn.”

“Tambelon.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Its Tambelon.” Corrected the Alicorn.

The Imp grinned and politely corrected her.

“The country is actually called Tamberlyn, but it wouldn't surprise me if you had a different pronunciation. The passage of time, different languages, translations can make subtle changes like that.” He topped off his tea. “I found myself in front of a minor litch. Apparently they were fishing for demons that they could force into handling the harder magical tasks. Unfortunately that time, they only got me.” He smiled and took a cookie. “Basically, they were looking for someone like you, and what they got was someone like…” He glanced around. “Somepony like her.” He finished, pointing a hoof at Twilight.

The princess nodded and he continued.

“Well, they wouldn't send me back, so I ended up stuck there. I’m no magician, so I couldn't do what they needed and I eventually got kicked out of the keep. It didn't take me long to find a place in the town, and I’ve been living there ever since.”

Celestia sipped her tea.

“So, how were you involved with Dusks group?”

“Well, Tamberlyn is mainly undead. The living make up a small minority of the population and the castle isn't good at dealing with the living. Everyone knows… Everypony knows that I’m good with the living and I do have some basic healing spells. I guess they called me. There are almost no healers there. They don’t see a need for it.”

He looked at Celestia.

“To them the living are a tolerated nuisance.” He sat back and took a sip. “Anyway, when I overheard that the Scooby gang over there had got here through portals, I figured it was our best chance of getting out. So I took it, and here we are.”

The princess stirred her tea.

“I would like to ask each of you, what are your plans now?”

Easy Smiled.

“Well, for me, I just want a simple life. Maybe in a small town and far from trouble.”

For the first time in the conversation Celestia looked at Easy.

“I wasn’t talking to you, Demon. I was asking the others.”

Dusk Shines eyes narrowed in concern, but decided to answer the question.

“Well, the three of us are from a different Equestria. We would like to get back to it. He sighed, but finding ours may take a while. In the mean time I think it would be best if we could go back to Ponyville. It's where we all live in my world and I think that it's where we would most feel at home. I think it’s the best choice, at least for now.”

Celestia turned to the others and was met with nods. Seeing that everypony was in agreement she made her decision.

“Well, you have all been through quite an ordeal. I would like to have you all taken to the guest wing where you can all rest and recuperate. After that, we can talk about getting you settled in more permanently.” She turned to Twilight who had been furiously taking notes the entire time. “Twilight, I would like you to take Dusk and his friends to the guest quarters. Please see to it that the get settled in. I would like the Demon and Spike to stay behind. I would like to speak with them both in private.”

Twilight grinned.

“I would love to Princess. I have so many questions I can ask along the way”

Dusk Moved to Celestia.

“Princess, Before you make any decisions about Easy Comfort, I want to talk to you about him. I’ve spent time with him and I think he is safe. I want the chance to give you my input as the Princes personal student.”

“And you will have that chance.” She replied. “But for now, please get settled in.” And with that, the group left.

Easy watched the group go with a growing sense of apprehension. He turned to the monarch and wasn’t surprised when he saw her expression.

“Well, I’m sure you have questions for…”

“Be silent Demon!”

She then turned to Spike. “Spike, I’m sure that you want to talk to that dragoness. I know that you haven’t had many opportunities to talk to other dragons, but I want you to stay away from that one.” Seeing the downcast expression on his face, she added. “At least for now.”

“But Isn’t she basically me? Wouldn’t I just be talking to a different version of myself?”

Celestia sighed. “Spike, does she look like you?”

Spikes small shoulders fell. “I guess not. She looks older. I just wanted to see why.”

Celestia draped a wing around the young drake. “Spike, once I find out if she is safe, you can talk to her all you want. Until then, please stay away from her. Not every dragon is nice.” She stood. “You are Twilights number one assistant, why don’t you see if she needs help with her new friends.” and with a smile, he was off, leaving Celestia and Easy Comfort alone in the garden.

Celestia turned to Comfort and gave him a cold glare.

“Why should I allow a threat like you to wander around freely among my ponies?”

Easy hid a grimace.

“Because I am not a danger to anyone. Like I told Dusk and the others, A demon is a race, not an occupation, not a type of person. Just like you have ponies who are villains, there are demons who are heroes.”

She scoffed.

“So you're a hero now?”

“Well, no. I wouldn’t say I’m a hero, but I’m no monster either. I am no different from any one of your guards, or your maids, or your gardeners.”

“So you're not malicious?”

“No, I’m not malicious.”

“Did you think that I wouldn’t notice the spell you had on Dusk Shine? Did you really think that you could sneak it by me?”

The demons brow furrowed in confusion.

“Do mean the geas? It’s a simple contract. You can easily take the spell apart to read it. I agreed to help him escape and in return he agreed to help me settle in. It’s nothing complicated as contracts go.”

Celestia stared at the incubus for an uncomfortably long time before closing her eyes and sighing.

“Hellion, Easy Comfort, you will be housed at the pleasure of the crown and accompanied by a royal guard at all times. You are to remain within the wall of Canterlot castle and you will obey all equestrian laws. Should you break any of these rules, you will be cast into Tartarus where your kind belongs.”

Easy breathed out in relief. That went better than he thought it would. At least thats what he thought before Celestia opened her eyes and cast a spell faster than he could react. The first bolt hit him and he felt the contract shatter. The second bolt made his world go black.