Demon Bonds

Being a princess sometimes came with more attention than you were comfortable with, especially when attending a public school that couldn't be more similar to an American high school (minus the school shootings, I suppose). Cue all the rumors running amok among the student body and the staff members.

Cadance had it worse than I did due to her popularity as the prettiest girl in the whole damn country. That, and she was polite to a fault while I was known as the grumpy bat girl. You try walking around with a smile on your muzzle while everyone else takes one look at your fangs and almost pisses themselves in front of you; I dare you. If I didn't have a horn on my noggin,' I was sure I would have already ended up as the punching bag of some braindead oaf. So far, only Sunset had the guts to get outright physical with me, which had nothing to do with my batpony features.

That didn't mean I didn't get any jeers and rude gestures behind my back (or to my face whenever Cadance wasn't there to see it). Who would have guessed that the rumors already painted me as the devil who disrupted yesterday's court session while Cadance was the innocent girl tricked into laughing at her poor, innocent aunt? It came as a huge surprise. Not.

I didn't let the narrative of the rumor mill get to me while Cadance was swarmed with affection, and I had to deal with the dirty looks of everypony and their fucking pets. The atmosphere on the walk to school was awkward as Hell and downright unpleasant in the hallways. Even in the classrooms, it was hard to ignore everyone staring at me as if I had just committed the worst crime in Equestria's history.

The peak of absurdity was reached during lunchtime, though. Cadance was hanging out with Cheerilee and Mayor Mare, while Buck Withers didn't get the hint that the pink alicorn wanted nothing to do with him, and I had the misfortune of being tripped again on my way past their table with my lunch tray.

I wasn't carrying much on it besides a simple bowl of mixed fruit and some yogurt. What wasn't simple was the direction my delicious snack was headed toward. And my face.

The laughter around the cafeteria as I faceplanted into the resulting mess on the floor made me seethe with anger, and the smell of sulfur got slightly more potent. I turned my head to the ponies who just passed me and sneered. Fucking Dumb and Dumber. Of fucking course.

"Oh my gosh, are you okay?" Eight Bit asked as he hurried to my side. He hesitated at touching my shoulder, worried I would slap it away as I growled. Not a moment later, Cadance was also at my side, a couple of tissues in her grasp.

"I'm fine, I—" I began and squirmed as my best friend forwent giving me the single-use paper towels, cleaning me up herself instead. "Cady! I can do this myself, for fuck's sake!"

The unmistakable smell of ozone joined the foul odor of rotting eggs as she frowned at me. "Shut it, Ish. Let me look at you! You're bleeding."

"Cady—" I tried again, only for her to shut me up with a glare. I could see the glow in her eyes; if she wasn't careful, she would lose her grasp on her visage. I blushed uncomfortably as I let out a whine. "Please! You're embarrassing me..."

Cadance stopped as she took a look at the onlookers around us. I heard her growl to herself as she threw her wings open in anger. "Do you ponies find this funny?!" she shrieked. Her wings gave a few, slow flaps, and lightning crackled over her feathers, making me wilt at the potent show of magic. Usually, lightning meant I was about to get smited by an angel prick, but next to her, I felt... safe. How novel. "Is this how you treat one of your princesses?! You should all be ashamed of yourselves!"

My heart gave a nervous beat as a subtle holy aura surrounded her, and her visage started to unravel. Some of the feathers on her right wing looked blurry up close, and her horn was slightly see-through as the light pushed past the semi-real object.

"Pleasure did nothing to earn your ire! She—" Cadance continued, but this time, it was her turn to get interrupted.

"Can stand up for herself," I told the pink nephilim before she could ruin her life by revealing her true nature to the whole world. My friend gave me a scowl, and I gave her a meaningful, pointed look toward her wings. Thankfully, she got the hint, looking scared of herself as she almost lost control of herself. She at least had the fortune of not hurting anyone with the casual show of creating lightning from nothing. Things could have gone a lot worse had I not intervened.

"Pleasure..." she whispered, ears folding back against her head. "I... I can't just stand by while you get bullied like this. It's not fair!"

I smirked, standing taller in defiance of those who sought to push me down. Fuck them, they would never push me down and make me give up. I survived Hell; what could they do to me? "Trust me, Cadance, they're not worth the anger. Let them play with fire if they truly wish to do that. I'm not the one committing treason by assaulting one of their princesses. You know they're just a bunch of immature foals that will get nowhere in life, right? None of these pathetic,"—I glanced around at everypony with a hard stare, making some of them gulp anxiously—" stupid idiots"—I stomped my hooves, causing a slight tremor and more than a few to flinch—" is going to amount to anything because they can't find a fucking job when nopony wants to talk with them for offending the wrong pony. Let it be said I've got a perfect memory; I will remember each and every one of you. So, do your worst to bully me; I can hold a grudge for a very long time."

The whole cafeteria was quiet to the point where you could have heard a pin drop, and Eight Bit looked at me in awe. I brushed past him as I kicked the plastic tray away with a bit too much force, making it clatter noisily against one of the tables, startling the group of ponies sitting there. I couldn't care less about what they thought was important. In a few years, their stupid school drama wouldn't matter anymore, and they would go their separate ways. No one would give a fuck aside from the failures clinging on to the only time they had something 'good' going on for them.

And I was going to sit on a throne deciding the fate of millions, free of my torment in Hell. Heaven would have no choice but to look at Equestria with envy, and no demon would be able to take what is mine. I would become the princess all batponies could look up to with pride, and I would do it next to Cadance and Aunty Celestia. They were my family now, not that soulless bitch Lilith and my so-called sisters. She might have changed my face forever, perverted my soul with her taint, but this world... this new pony visage... I could finally build something worthwhile without worrying about my sisters or Lilith ruining it. I didn't need anyone's approval to make this world my home. I was tired of living my life one day at a time, merely surviving instead of thriving. No amount of bullying would ever change that.

Speaking of the pink nuisance, Cady followed me out of the shit show that happened back in the cafeteria. She insisted that I visit the infirmary even though the scratches from the broken bowl had long since healed. I was sure she just wanted to ensure I wouldn't skip classes, and no amount of arguing otherwise could convince her I wasn't about to head home early. Not that she was wrong to assume that; I had little patience left to deal with the last couple of school periods.

"Are you okay?" Cadance asked me as I cleaned myself up properly with a wet towel the school nurse gave me.

"Yeah," I said nonchalantly, though it did nothing to reassure my pink worrywart of a friend.

Cady looked at me sadly, feeling pity for me. "We should take this up with the principal; make sure it won't happen again."

I snorted. "You seriously think that will help?" I asked rhetorically, amused. "No, Cady. They will just retaliate even worse if they get into trouble. And what about all the other students? Are you going to go after them for laughing?"

Cadance frowned, and I sighed. I stepped closer to her and held out a foreleg, offering her an awkward hug. The pink girl made a frustrated noise as she leaned her head against mine. I tried turning my head away in embarrassment, only for her to hug me tighter. "I don't want you to be treated like this. It's disgusting and reprehensible. I have no idea how you can stand it; it makes me so angry."

I smirked. "Hey, now. This? It's foal's play compared to what I had to endure down there. The worst I have to deal with here is some idiot tripping me. The jeers and jabs at my race aren't even that horrible, all things considered. There were far worse things that happened to me, you-know-where," I told her.

Despite me hoping it would cheer her up, she ended up looking even more depressed than before. "All the more reason for you to be treated better than dirt," she grumbled. Her hoof gently touched a wing of mine, and I held my breath for a moment. Uhm... W-what was she doing? Her hoof traced the edge of my limb before gently caressing the claw on my wing finger. "You're so beautiful; I don't understand how nopony can see that."

I tried not to blush but failed miserably at that. My snatch flared with arousal at the sensual touch. "Y-you'd be the only one thinking a de—batpony could be beautiful," I muttered, trying to avoid smelling the scent of her mane. Lavender and roses with a hint of honey masked the subtle smell of angel and sin. She really was Love Incarnate. I almost got weak and touched her in a way unbefitting of a friend, myself. I wondered what it would be like to kiss those perfect lips of hers. I wanted to do all kinds of naughty things with her that would undoubtedly make her hate me. It would be so easy, too. Just a kiss and she would do whatever I asked of her... "I'm a monster..."

Cadance poked me sharply, a miffed look in her eyes. "You need to learn to take a compliment, Ish," she scolded me while I rubbed my sore side with an irritated glare. Right. What was I thinking? She was an annoying pest; why would I want to be together with her? "You are beautiful. I can see why Shining Armor and Eight Bit would be so enamored with you. Past the rough and grumpy behavior, there is a wonderful mare in there who hasn't lost her smile after everything she went through. She's loyal and kind—stunning, really—and she stands up for her ideals, no matter what. I'm glad to be your... your best friend." She almost seemed to wilt as she said that.

I... fuck. I dearly hoped she would never see the monster hiding underneath my pony appearance. The burning eyes and sharp teeth were nothing compared to the wicked, sharp claws and whip-like tail. Or the charred, sunburned skin flaking away in multiple places. She might have seen my life on the memory screens and what Hell and Lilith did to me, but she had never been on the receiving end of my... ugliness. I wasn't hideous, but far from the beauty standards I loathed growing up with.

A succubus had many 'great' assets to seduce any male into having sex with her, but compared to my sisters, I wasn't anything 'noteworthy.' My tits were the correct shape to not sag like a pair of overripe melons, and my ass was great for grabbing onto each of my cheeks, but the other Lilin had me beat in the size category on both. Not that I would have traded with them if it meant lugging around a couple of extra heavy weights with only a pair of small bat wings acting as a counterbalance. Sharing a face was bad enough, I didn't want to share that with my sisters as well.

Despite my four hooves now, walking around on two legs with no feet wasn't exactly easy. The less weight I had to put on my cloven hooves, the less I stumbled around like a clumsy fool. That certainly hadn't made me feel any more adequate compared to the bitches swinging around their assets like giant wrecking balls, though.

Call me whatever you want, but 'stunning' was not my first thought when I pictured myself (before and after Lilith altered me, that is). And even here in magic pony land, I was far from the ideal beauty standards of would-be supermodels like Fleur or Cadance. Ponies liked a bright coat, long mane, narrow waist, and tall legs. Not what I had going on for myself with my wild mane, dark red fur color, and fat ass.

Okay, I might be slightly exaggerating with my flanks, but the point was still the same. I didn't have a figure anypony would choose over Cadance's. I wasn't jealous or anything; she pulled off the jailbait—I mean, supermodel—figure really well, but holy shit, it annoyed the fuck out of me when some horny guy stared at her with a growing problem between their legs. And there were a lot of those around here, seriously.

I wasn't kidding when I said Shining Armor needed to get a grip on himself; he was the worst horny kid around here. That he hasn't gotten himself into trouble for sexual harassment yet was a miracle, to be honest. There were no public indecency laws in Equestria for apparent reasons, but running around with an erection was still highly frowned upon in places where foals could see you.

That Shining Armor also got a stiff bone around me was less due to the fact he thought I was hot and more due to the fact I got girl parts. That and my tail still had a mind of its own, giving anyone who cared to take a peek a look at my perpetually wet snatch.

As I said, a succubus had many great assets to seduce anyone into having sex with her, and that also meant a permanently aroused vulva. It certainly made catching prey easier, but it didn't give me that innocent girl-next-door vibe many ponies preferred around here.

Suffice it to say, I got called a slut and whore more than I cared to count. I had nothing against being viewed as such (I have lived like one ever since I was forced into the business by the wrong kind of people), but when ponies generalized it as a trait of my pony tribe, it left a bitter taste in my mouth.

So, long story short, I thought Cadance was nuts for thinking I was beautiful. There was no way I could ever compare to her soft, alluring features, vibrant mane colors, slender figure, and gorgeous eyes framed by perfectly applied makeup. Even with just the eyeliner, she looked way better than I ever did.

She was the prettiest mare in Equestria. Prettier than even our aunt, and that was saying a lot. Nopony could hold a candle to Cadance in my eyes.

The school bell rang before I could tell her as much, and we had to go our separate ways for our following classes. I had a double period of computer sciences while she had home-ec. I would have loved to attend that one instead, but the class roster was full by the time Cadance and I entered school. She was the last one to get a spot, and I didn't feel like being a bitch about it when she loved baking and cooking so much.

This left me with the nerdy option of spending my time wasting away in this elective, trying to understand why my shit wasn't working how I expected it to work. No amount of perfect memory could help me deal with writing code I only partially understood.

I would never become a software developer, anyway. Despite my dislike for drama and politics, I had a significant advantage over most ponies in court. I could sense their dishonesty as easily as any other emotion. There was little any mortal could try that I wouldn't immediately be able to recognize as bullshit.

Cadance caught back up to me once school was over, and I already dreaded the next hour and a half being tutored by Arcane Sigil. He wasn't very pleased about what happened at court the day before, either, but he was professional enough not to give us a hard time. Well, not much harder than he already was on us (and not in a fun, naughty way).

My struggle to cast magic through my unicorn horn frustrated not only me to no end. Arcane Sigil even went so far as to measure my magic output with a strange machine in the hopes of finding out what I was doing wrong, but the damn thing just exploded with an overload of magical energy, clearly not made for the strength of an alicorn (or demon goddess, whatever). My horn ached fiercely after the stupid test, thankfully excusing me from practicing any more unicorn magic for that day.

That didn't mean I could do whatever I wanted, though. I still had many other things to prove my understanding of, chief among them my understanding of Equestrian law. Alas, being practically made to be a living bullshit detector and figuring out which law meant what were two different pairs of horseshoes. I powered through, though. The sooner I learned this shit, the easier my time was going to become once Cadance and I had to act like proper princesses on Aunty Celestia's throne.

Speaking of our aunt, court that day was less pleasant than we were used to. The nobles didn't play around when they felt like they had been offended, making the two hours we spent sitting next to Aunty Sunnybum drag on as if they were twenty instead. The big sun goose swan horse didn't even chat with us whenever there was a pause in the proceedings, her posture tense and rigid as she focused entirely on work. I couldn't blame her after what happened, and she spent all day running damage control before we joined her.

There were more than a few mirroring Blueball's sentiment about our aunt playing favorites with the commoners, albeit in a subtler fashion than the pompous unicorn prince. It was undoubtedly an attempt to establish power over Aunt Celestia's authority as a princess and undermine ours. We were forced to defend ourselves instead of Aunt Jellysun giving them an ultimatum, but I think they got the message either way. Auntlestia wouldn't tolerate disrespect toward her or us from the nobility.

They quickly learned that I wasn't the pushover they thought I was. I could work my tongue in other ways than pleasing a pony's genitals. My sharp wit left the majority with unhappy frowns as they couldn't find a crack in my defense, nor could they complain about my lack of dignified responses, showing them no weakness whatsoever. They might have been fooled into thinking I was a country bumpkin, but I wasn't the same girl who stammered at her coronation due to the unexpected surprise of hearing the royal title my aunt chose for me.

No. I was a demon who survived centuries in the Court of Sin and Debauchery with the Queen of All Demons as my so-called 'mother.' I was the Lilin Ishtar who ensnared countless mortal minds with sweet, whispered words of pure, utter bliss. I knew how to manipulate ponies better than any of them could ever hope to dream of. All they accomplished was making a fool of themselves among their peers, unable to best a 'teenager' in their own game. I was ruthless.

Suffice it to say, I made a lot more enemies that day in court. Granted, they wouldn't try to assassinate me, but they sure as Hell could make my life difficult in the future. Still, it was well worth it, in my opinion. They were the ones playing with fire, just like the idiots in school. Unlike them, I played the long game, though. What was immediate gratification in the face of the satisfaction of reaping all my rewards later down the line? A paltry comparison.

I earned my freedom, and now I wanted respect. Respect for me, my fellow princesses, and every other batpony out there looking up to me for direction. I would turn their world upside down and give everypony the equality they deserved. The days of unicorn supremacy were over. Each pony race deserved to be heard by the crown, regardless of social standing or wealth.

They would never know what hit them until it was too late. Slowly but surely, they would find that their power was slipping right through their hooves, and they would have to share it with earthponies, pegasi, and the 'dreaded' batponies. All it would take were a few well-placed words here and there, and the House of Commons would have as much power as the House of Nobles.

Never mess with a demon. We could hold a grudge for longer than you could live. Bring it on, bitches.