Demon Bonds

Our trip back to Canterlot took place one week after our initial arrival in Griffonia, and Cadance and I couldn't be happier to be out of there. Things got rather unpleasant when they started to figure out something was amiss with their dreams, and we were (rightfully) blamed for their nightmares.

Aunty Celestia 'admonished' us for playing pranks on the griffon royalty, but I could tell she was secretly proud of us. She blamed it on a fairy tale monster called 'Nightmare Moon,' a nightmarish boogeymare living on the moon as far as I understood it. She just barely avoided starting a war with the racist catbirds.

Negotiations went worse than initially hoped, but she told us it was okay since she didn't expect to get very far with the neighboring country. It was par for the course with them, and she was happy they agreed to at least keep the peace treaty between our two nations. It was better than some other years they fought for control over where the border was drawn in the past.

The majority of our stay there was spent at the negotiation table, with one side shouting at us while Aunty Sunnybunny merely smiled like they were particularly nasty children throwing a tantrum. Cadance and I spent most of our free time fooling around redecorating some of the less-used hallways of their castle by hanging the pictures upside down and putting entire shelves' worth of books back in the wrong order in their library. And we let a few rats into their pantry in revenge for making us eat their questionable mystery meat.

The rats were happy to have a chance at a full meal while the chefs tried to futilely get them to scram. We barely avoided getting caught in the act while a kitchen hand received all the blame for leaving the door open. We felt only mildly bad that an innocent bystander got caught in the crossfire of our pranks, but I was sure he deserved it, anyway. And if not, I wouldn't give a fuck, either way.

As far as entertainment went, I had a hard time concentrating on my smut novel while hearing Cadance moan from the room next to mine. I swear, she did that on purpose every fucking evening. The screams of 'Oh, yes!' and 'Fuck me!' were incredibly distracting, and I was more than once tempted to pay her a visit and/or steal her toy. Alas, I was too much of a coward and afraid of ruining my friendship with her.

Our 'vacation' was over soon after that, and the ride back to Canterlot felt quicker than our ride to Griffonia. Whether that was due to the wind being on our side or just the relief of getting the Hell away from those racist fucks, I couldn't decide either way. I was just happy to be back in my own bed by the end of the day, sun be damned.

Kibitz thankfully got around to installing near-dark blinds to shut the sun out, at least. The curtains had a similar purple color to my mane and tail, and I was already thinking about painting the walls a dark red to make the room even less bright. The floor was easily covered with a plush carpet that felt comfier than my bed.

I also changed the covers and pillows for that one with red and black to make it appropriately edgy. Then, I got some generic music festival posters and replaced the bright white couch and table with two beanbags for the sitting area. The rest of the lounge was decorated with the same kind of furniture I already had, just with less colorful colors. I wanted to change the kitchen area of my suite into a bar, but Kibitz threw a wrench into my plans for that one. No alcohol for me until I was 'eighteen,' he said. As if I would go sober for three years, fuck that.

I got some mood lamps, speakers, and a sound system to make the atmosphere a bit cozier so I could hang out and relax whenever I didn't have to attend lessons. At least I was allowed to get a mini fridge to round out my little comfort zone.

Cadance went the opposite of my edgy redecorating. However, she, too, replaced most of her furniture with something more appropriate for our age than the grandmother style we had before. Where I went with red and black, she went full-tilt pink. Not the deeply saturated pink, granted, but pink nonetheless.

Her bedroom had a carpet similar to mine, just with a pale pink coloration. She changed her bed's covers to baby blue and replaced the pillows with heart-shaped cushions and a full-length body pillow. It didn't have a print on it since Kibitz thought it was unbecoming of a princess to go with the lewd version, much to Cadance's displeasure.

Her lounge area looked more or less the same, only with more of those heart-shaped pillows strewn around. I thought it would have looked ridiculous, but it somehow still appeared pleasant to look at. Since Cadance quickly became a makeup kind of gal, she also got one of those big mirrors with lights around it.

I refrained from commenting on it since I wanted one of my own now to sell the whole 'Pleasure' image I got going on for me. Sadly, I ran out of allowance for this month (we got some extra for the trip to Griffonia), so my dream of turning my suite into a sex dungeon had to wait a little while longer. Not that Kibitz would let me do whatever I wanted, but a girl could dream, right?

Cadance also got some cute plushies and flowers to decorate the rest of her suite with, giving it more of a girl-next-door vibe.

She also got a fancy new oven for her kitchen since she liked baking a lot, and her walk-in closet got a few new dresses with the rest of her money. They were nothing to write home about, but they made her look her age. They were pretty risque but not too risque. They were dresses you would wear in a club and not a BDSM dungeon.

Since school wasn't scheduled to start until August, we were stuck with private tutors six to eight hours a day (even on weekends, fuck me), while Aunt Jellysun would teach us more about our princess duties for an hour or two in the afternoon. That usually meant sitting in court with her, but at least it was entertaining enough. Some nobles really thought that just because there was a loophole in a law somewhere, they could exploit it. The dumb fucks weren't able to get away with everything as long as Aunty Tia was on the throne.

It sucked to live in a monarchy with a ruler actually doing her job for the betterment of everypony and not just the rich, didn't it? Cadance enjoyed these kinds of moments as much as I did. She always found the same ponies in the Dream Realm the following night who didn't understand what 'No' meant. I couldn't help but shed a proud tear as she gave them an unpleasant dream or two. They grew up so fast, didn't they?

Anyway, by the end of June, we had to attend the 'Summer Sun Celebration' in a city named Manehattan. It was basically the Big Apple, only ponified and less dirty. The event itself was a way to celebrate the longest day of the year and Aunt Celestia's reign as Equestria's high princess. That was a fancy way of saying queen, but who was I to begrudge her for not wanting to be seen as cold and uncaring? Even in this world, the word 'queen' had some unpleasant connotations. Something about the previous rulers of Unicornia being dicks and whatnot.

There was also the whole thing about the Nightmare Moon fairy tale that Aunt Jellycelly didn't feel like correcting ponies on and a big party that continued throughout the night before she raised the sun in a flashy display in front of a huge crowd. It was alright in my books, and Cadance had a lot of fun staying up late dancing to loud music in the streets. Ponies knew how to party; I had to admit that much.

Of course, there were plenty of ponies trying to get close to us, but most of them got the hint that I didn't appreciate them making a move on us with a glare or two. I would have gladly drained them dry of 'fluids,' but I was trying to turn over a new leaf here, damnit. And besides, nopony got to make a move on Cadance. She wasn't some conquest, for fuck's sake.

Cadance nudged me, a bright smile on her muzzle. "Come on, stop glaring at everypony and have some fun!" she told me, dragging me with her for a dance. I felt my face heat up as I stood there awkwardly, never having learned to dance. At least, not outside the bedroom, and certainly not as a pony.

"Cadance..." I muttered, feeling embarrassed. What a weird sensation for a centuries-old demon to have. Not that I felt like a centuries-old demon, to be honest. My life had been too messed up for time to have had much of an effect on my mind.

"Come on, it's easy!" she said while her smile didn't falter for a single second. "Just move your legs with a little bounce in your step. Everything else comes naturally, you'll see!"

I gave her a doubtful look but started to move as I was told once she gave me one of her pleading looks. I was sure I looked like an idiot, but the radiant smile on her muzzle was worth the mild discomfort. I kept surprising myself with what I would do for this pink menace. She was the only one who ever managed to make my heart stir. Not even the cockroach of a man I called my ex did that. Not that I had any love left for that asshole, and I doubted he ever did for me.

Soon enough, Cadance and I were bumping against each other. Me because of my inexperience and Cadance because she made it into a game, laughing each time she did so.

It felt strangely fun. The only experience I had with this kind of thing was when I was out hunting in clubs, grinding myself against a man to entice them, and that could hardly be called dancing. This was similar, but I didn't do it to get laid later that day. We were just fooling around and having a great time, doing our own thing while nopony else paid us any attention. Well, as much as a pair of princesses could, at any rate.

Sometime during the night, we both ended up with enough neon sticks bent around our fetlocks and hanging off our horns and ears that it was a challenge not to shake them off with our chaotic movements. Cadance looked like she was having the time of her life, and I honestly felt like my baggage wasn't weighing me down as heavily as it usually did. For a moment, I could even block out my time in Hell and feel like a normal girl again.

It was just too bad the night couldn't have lasted longer than it did, and we had to act like proper princesses in front of these ponies again. It was fun while it lasted, at least.

Aunty Celestia rose the sun from where we stood on the stage set up by the ponies of Manehattan, and with it came the exhaustion of staying up all night long. At least we wouldn't have any lessons until the next day, so we could take it easy and relax before we returned to Canterlot.

By then, summer vacation had started for most ponies, and the streets were even fuller due to that. Canterlot, as well as the castle itself, was a hot spot for tourists all over Equestria, and since only a few ponies got a chance to see us at our coronation, many hoped to catch a glimpse of us now in court and castle tours. I stayed the Hell away from the path the tour guides frequently used, all the while avoiding Sunset in the library and castle hallways, as well.

Whatever that girl was up to, I was getting seriously bad vibes from her. The door to her dream in the Dream Realm was turning darker and darker with an ominous feeling, and Cadance was getting concerned.

While she was a fucking bully and could go choke on a dick, I didn't really wish actual harm on the amber unicorn. I knew where that attitude led and wouldn't wish Hell on my worst enemies. That place brought out the worst in people, seriously.

Aunt Celestia told us she would look into whatever her problem was so at least Cadance could rest easily. It didn't make us any less paranoid about Sunset taking her frustration out on us, but it was at least a start getting her off our cases. She had been trying to sabotage us every chance she got, whether through intimidation or physical force.

Cadance quickly shied away when verbally abused, but I wasn't so easily cowed. Usually, I was the one that had to deal with bruises and the like. I never hit back, not because I feared retaliation, but because I was pretty sure I would be sent back to Hell for murder if I did. I didn't think using excessive force to make her bleed counted as self-defense.

Thankfully, we didn't have to deal with our amber bully all that often—aside from breakfast and dinner on most days (or the library when it couldn't be avoided). She was rather predictable with where she spent her time, so it was only a matter of not catching her attention when we wanted to check out a book or two.

Aside from learning eight hours a day when everypony else enjoyed their free time, we spent our days practicing unicorn magic and hanging out either in Cadance's apartment suite or mine. Usually in the pink pony's suite when she had friends over from school.

Speaking of school, I was catching Cadance up on speaking Prench and teaching her what little I knew of Italian. Not that I was all that good with 'Prench,' either—seriously, who came up with that ponyism—but at least I could speak it without butchering every second sentence or so. She actually made a friend of Prench descent during that one day we spent sitting in on Canterlot Academy's curriculum. Fleur was fluent in speaking the language despite it not being her actual mother tongue since her family has lived in Canterlot for multiple generations now.

Cadance was only slightly unsure of herself when speaking unfamiliar words. She quickly got the hang of it whenever we gave her an example of pronunciation, though. Most of her difficulties came from remembering which gender a word had and stringing words together when the next one started with a vowel. It was easier to spot on a piece of paper, but the entire point of the liaisons was speaking freely without stumbling over the following word (and sounding more melodic, but whatever).

Seeing her tear up in frustration at getting it wrong time after time was cute, but our encouragement appeased her enough to keep trying. French was harder than German in that regard only. Due to the similarity of the two languages, many words sounded similar to their English counterparts. Not that that made it any easier to remember everything else.

I was still of the opinion that German was easier to speak. Sure, it was a difficult and complex language to learn, but there was no guessing which word was pronounced in which way. If you knew one sound, you were pretty much set for every word containing it. The only truly challenging part came from the different S-sounds, getting used to the somewhat sharper pronunciation, and the noun markers. Grammar was easy once you understood the rules behind it, as was the case for tenses. You were pretty much set once you started speaking it without floundering over your sentences.

My only difficulties with the subjects we needed to learn were history and memorizing the map of this world. It looked similar enough to Earth, but fuck getting confused by so many weird ponyisms. It wasn't just the countries, but evidently enough, the city names and rivers as well as the forests and mountains. Ponies just loved naming everything after ponies, pony anatomy, or some other pony reference. But that was the case for every other species, too, making it a nightmare to get their names right for everything as well. Perfect memory could only help me out so much when the subject itself confused the Hell out of me.

Then, there were the weird anomalies that truly differentiated this world from Earth. One example was Canada, which was a frozen wasteland simply called the 'Frozen North' where Unicornia used to be. The yaks inhabited those remains now (or what little was left of those ruins, at least).

Europe consisted of, like... six countries. The Nordic Ponylands where Norway, Sweden, and Finland were supposed to be. Germaneigh took up much of the center next to Prance and Italony, while to the east was the former Griffon Empire. Next to Prance were Spony and Griffonstone. Above those were the Great Diamond Dog Queendoms. Whatever those were.

Africa consisted of many different zebra nations with the odd few colonies here and there, and Asia... was Asia. Just with ponies and dragons living in isolation behind a big wall, go figure. Australia, on the other hoof, looked way busier than its Earth counterpart. From the looks of it, every species on Equis made it their home, and they got along pretty well with each other (much better than any other nation, too).

Which brought us to South America. Past the Macintosh Hills and Griffonia were the Badlands, the Bone Dry Desert, and the Forbidden Jungle. A lot of it was unexplored land, and every book I could find on it just gave a general warning to not wander into it as some kind of Aztec monsters inhabited the land there. The jungle was unforgiving, and the murder-happy ponies living there were known to sacrifice ponies to their mad gods.

Curiously enough, the ocean was part of a country named 'Seaquestria' (very imaginative), and at the bottom was the south pole aptly named 'The Frozen South.' The oceans themselves fell under the authority of Queen Novo, an immortal sea goddess who rarely negotiated with the 'land dwellers.' Basically, she put a stop to sea warfare entirely, and anyone not respecting her domain was drowned on sight, no exceptions.

It didn't help that she literally commanded genuine sea monsters as if they were her pets. And all of that started because some dickhead called the 'Storm King' tried to mess with her. Two guesses where his island nation rested now, and the first one didn't count.

Yeah, this world might look magical to the uninitiated, but even here, people knew how to hold a grudge and threaten everyone else with their version of a nuke. Every girl's dream come true, right? Yeah... totally.

Anyway! Before long, summer vacation ended, and with it came the start of a new school year. Yay... woo hoo...