Devil Mare Cry: The Fate Of Two Worlds

Chapters

Chapter 1: An Unexpected Turn Of Events
Chapter 2: A Dark Cloud Forming In The Distance
Chapter 3: A Little Taste Of Hell
Chapter 4: The War No Pony Knew
Chapter 5: Friendship In Numbers

Chapter 1: An Unexpected Turn Of Events

Devil Mare Cry

The Fate Of Two Worlds

This was it, the beginning of the end. Tucked down onto the ground using the Yamato as support to keep him up, barely crouched, Vergil was battered, bloody, and bruised; he had used up most of his demonic energy and was slowly starting to near his limit. Vergil was powerful, there was no doubt about that, but ever since he got here, his demonic magic had been changing; it took some time to adjust; there was no demon world in this universe, so while his power would regenerate naturally over time, his recovery time would be significantly delayed.

Angrily, he bit his lower lip, trying to desperately think of anything he could to try and find a way past this nightmare scenario. Everything was a disaster; he should have seen this coming a mile away. There were so many signs that hinted at this turn of events. Yet, the half-devil chose to ignore it out of spite, the idea that if he were able to handle one thing, then, of course, he'd be able to handle another thing despite being more catastrophic than anything else he had dealt with here during this time in this world – what a foolish mistake he made.
A grave error that should have never happened due to his carelessness. Why did every world he came to seem to fall apart at the seams? Either by a wrong decision or a series of unfortunate events, everything seemed to end in ruin for him; misery must love his company, he supposed.

The surrounding landscape was nothing short of a hellish and horrific scene. The once pristine ocean blue of the sky was now stained with a river of blood-red crimson; clouds were pitch black, a shade of black so dark that each cloud looked like a miniature void of darkness. The usual glow of bright green in the grass of the fields and plains, now littered by colorless dead grass, plants, and wildlife, touched the massive black mass of dark magic slowly permanently corrupting the lands, killing any living things that would make any brief contact with the energy field, this black magic mass, was the manifestation of death in the form of pure harmful and malicious energy.

All around Vergil laid the bodies of ponies that bravely tried to stand up and defend their town, only to be mercilessly killed, or at the very least, gravely wounded and left on the brink of death. Floating high in the air, what was left of Ponyville stood the figure who had caused it all: Daemon Hellfire, a pure-blood demon back from his later father's period in time. He hovered in the air, his long black hair waving in the breeze from the stolen Alicorn Magic he had retrieved. He was the same size as Vergil – a demon in human skin just like him, but due to all the magic he had consumed, Daemon had now become what was close to a god of death, and he took great pride in reminding everyone of it.

"Look around you, Vergil. Look at the mess you've made. All this chaos, death, and destruction. It's on you!" He cackled darkly, clearly enjoying the power wielded in his grasp.

"If only you had chosen to return when you had the chance, you could have spared yourself from all this." A short pause turns into a sinister, dark cackle.

"Then again, I'm glad you did because that means I get to have the bonus of torturing the son of my arch nemesis. I get the luxury of all the Alicorn magic in this world AND Sparda's power simultaneously. And I CANNOT WAIT!" The pure blood demon taunts, giving a dementedly satisfied expression as he revels in the success of his plan; after centuries of endless confinement, he was back at last in full power, and now that he had come this far with his plan, the demon was more than ready to take over the world and entire multiverse.

"The only way you get that power is if you kill me, so good luck because you're going to need it,"
Vergil warns, rising back up to his feet, but is right away met with a large black tree branch made of shadow that grabs him and sends him flying through the charred structure of four homes in the ruins of Ponyville, plums of dust debris and smoke as he's sent through each wall before landing right on a large tree trunk, the impact of his fall snapping the tree clean in half as the tree fell on top of him.

Thinking he's knocked Vergil out, Daemon turns his back, only for Vergil to emerge from the dust and debris, a bright white glow of energy trailing behind him with a thunderous charged uppercut armed with the Beowulf light gauntlets; the strike rattles Daemon's jaw and is launched up into the air for a brief few seconds before reappearing below before Vergil had a chance for a follow-up attack.

While in the air, the half-devil switches weapons, the white gauntlets of light disappearing into his soul as the Yamato reappears in his grasp. Charging up a large portion of demonic energy to his arms and blade, blue energy appears, creating a larger blade thanks to the enhancement of his power; he's about to go in for a powerful strike before Daemon stops him in his tracks as he revealed someone trapped inside of a transparent red magic bubble.

"Ah ah ah, think carefully about what you do next, Vergil. One wrong move, and I'll end Princess Twilight's Sparkle right here!" His demonically distorted voice rings out into demented laughter, a laugh that sounds like the cackling of a complete psychopath.

Gritting his teeth in anger, Vergil bit his lip; as much as he didn't want to admit it, Daemon had the upper hand here. The Cambion knew enough about Daemon to see that he wasn't bluffing. Much to his great dismay, Vergil knew that his hands were tied.

His eyes shut in disgrace, dammit! If only he had acted quicker, then this would have never happened. The half-devil didn't want to admit defeat, but what else could he do? He had Twilight at his mercy, and even though he knew he should find another way, he just couldn't let something happen to Twilight. She was far too unique to him.

With a defeated sigh, scornful blue eyes glared at Daemon, who had just looked at him with a smug grin. The urge to punch him in his smug face grew, but with Twilight's life at risk, he wouldn't dare do anything that would cause her to get hurt.

"Fine… what do you want, Daemon?" Vergil reluctantly asks, his glare not leaving the shadow demon as he waits for his answer, though he is sure he already knows what his demand would be.

"It's straightforward. Surrender to me all of your father's power, and I'll let your little Pony live. The choice is yours, but don't keep me waiting; I get bored easily."

"NOO! Vergil! Don't do it!" the purple Alicorn exclaimed, her sweet voice slightly muffled from the confinement of the bubble. She looked down at him with drooped ears and sad, watery purple eyes. She pleaded for him to stop. If Daemon had his hands on Sparda's power combined with the Alicorn magic he already had, there would be nobody in the world or universe to stop him.

"Twilight!" Vergil shouts up at her. She puts her right front forehoof against the bubble as their eyes meet and never leave, even with the height that separates them.

"It's… it's okay, Vergil. I'm not worth it.." Twilight weakly added, taking her right forehoof back. She was getting weaker and weaker. Judging by how bad she looked, he could tell just by the sight of her that she wouldn't be able to last another ten minutes in there. Her time was running out, and he needed to act now before it was too late; it was moments like this where his emotions made it difficult to keep his composure. However, despite the internal struggle, he stayed calm – a testament to his years of combat experience.

The half-devil said nothing; his expression said it all; the emotions in his deep blue eyes spoke volumes in the way they would frown at the sight of her; it was hard to see her trapped in a red bubble, helpless and slowly dying. The bubble was draining her of her magic and life force the longer she remained in there second by second. His stoic blue eyes looked at her, a sparkle in his hues at her sad face. She meant so much to him. Vergil knew this was precisely how Daemon would get what he wanted. Even with all the Alicorn magic in his grasp, Vergil still had a fighting chance of defeating him, and he knew it, too, but he just couldn't put Twilight's life at risk. She was too special to discard, even for the world's fate.

"…After all we've been through… you're more than worth it."

Prologue End

Chapter 1: An Unexpected Turn Of Events

Five months earlier…

The cold, cruel atmosphere of the demon world never changed. With every transformation the demon world underwent, the barren, unforgiving, cold, and hot atmosphere filled the air with a looming sense of dread for the unsuspecting visitor. However, the two brothers knew exactly what to expect here, especially since this place always felt familiar. This world was part of their heritage, although they preferred the human world over the demon world.

It had been a very long four months for the sons of Sparda; the demon world always had several layers and depths that never changed. One wrong turn and you could end up on an entirely different part altogether, so knowing the logistics of this realm and its constantly changing landscapes was always imperative to keep in mind. At this point, it was on instinct whenever they were here. Vergil had expected them to be finished three months ago.

Still, they had found that this version of the demon world was the deepest it's ever been, which made sense since even the world around them was trying to protect its only gateway back to potentially invading the human world. If such a thing were ever to happen again, humankind wouldn't stand a chance this time, and humans were crucial to the continuation of the world he and Dante were so familiar with.

"So we're finally done." Dante shot his older brother a proud, toothy grin.

"Damn, I guess time does fly when your havin' fun, huh?" He jokes, knowing all too well that this wasn't precisely what Vergil would call fun.

"Well, if you'd like to stay here and continue to kill demons for chuckles and amusement, then by all means." Vergil retorts. While it did feel nice to be on equal grounds with Dante again, the elder half-devil was more than ready to leave the demon world, especially after four months of battle, sparring, and not exactly a healthy sleep either, which was expected, no one could just sleep in the demon world without being killed in their slumber,

Every devil and demon down here saw Vergil and Dante with a permanent target on their backs due to their father's past heroic act – something their fellow demonkind would never forget for eternity. Despite the headaches it often would put them in, Vergil and Dante never questioned what their father did. He was a hero and always would be, no matter what anyone said about him.

"Hell no!" Dante exclaimed. "It's been four damn months, and I haven't had a single slice of Pizza since! As fun as kickin' demon ass is, I'd choose Pizza any day."

His younger brother's response prompted him to scoff.

"Of course, only you would suffer from pizza withdrawal…" Vergil muttered, shaking his head at his brother's antics. He was very much used to this type of thing from him, but it was still a little annoying. That's precisely how a sibling was supposed to be, so it would be strange if he didn't act like this.

"Hey, you suggested I take a break from Pizza for a while. Well, this was it." He shrugged his shoulders, raising his arms with empty palms.

"I prefer sitting by the fire with a good book and tea. Now that's a fun night, not gorging on Pizza and watching old eighties cartoons," Vergil comments, a light jab of his own as he recalls his brother's habits, something he learned during one of their many chats throughout their stay here.

"I swear, Verg, you're such an egghead. Ya got books on the brain all the time." Dante fires back, something he always liked to bring up in these little bits of brotherly banter.

"Knowledge is also an effective form of power. It would be best if you considered that in your next job. Perhaps you could get jobs done faster and wouldn't be in debt." Vergil answered back, curving the ball a bit in their back-and-forth.

"Uh, yeah, whatever. It's more fun to jump in and get crazy." Dante replies, wearing a proud grin as if he made the most powerful statement ever. That is typical of Dante.

"Right, you have fun with that." Pushing up the blade from the sheath with his thumb, Vergil closes his eyes, picturing the human world in his mind before his sword glows brightly. He slices in a crisscross pattern, cutting in the shape of an 'X' before the two slices in space and time rip and open a portal, mirroring a crystal-clear picture of Devil May Cry through the rift.

"You comin'?"

Dante asks, looking back at his brother over his shoulder as he stands still in front of the open portal.

"Go ahead; I'll be right behind you shortly. I'm going to make sure this area is clear quickly. I plan to use this space in this part of the demon world to store things. Traveling with less is more efficient for combat situations, after all."

Dante just chuckled and shook his head. This was just like Vergil. He always had something to do and made sure work was one hundred percent complete. Ever since his demon half brought chaos to the human world, Vergil had been working extra hard to try and clean up the mess he made of the human world; humans were still alive but barely holding on, so to make up for what he's done, the elder half-devil had been pushing himself. Redemption was impossible, but he at least wanted to do the best he could to show the world he was trying.

"Alright, see ya in a few bro."

Dante stepped through the portal with his usual waving salute, returning to the human world. Vergil spent a few moments scoping the area around them, making sure there were no signs of demons; once he confirmed it, he planned to sever the connection to the other parts of the demon world and entirely turn it into a space for storage. The scouting of the area had taken about ten minutes.

Content with this place, he was about to draw his blade again when suddenly, he felt a swift jolt of ancient demon energy. The rising power was strong enough to shake the ground below his black belted combat boots lightly; he wasn't even given enough time to react; the moment his eyes looked back in front of him, he was met with a shadow figure made of pitch black shadow.

Slowly, the shade around him fades, revealing a man about Vergil's height (6'5) with long silver-blonde hair, sharp pointed ears, and piercing red eyes. He wore a long black open trench coat revealing his slender build; he looked a bit slimmer than it looked in the history books; maybe he wasn't at full power yet, which gave Vergil an advantage.

"So… the traitor had a son, did he!" The man scowled angrily, clearly harboring an especially heated grudge for Sparda.

"Well, at least I can make his son suffer." With a dark, distorted chuckle, a flash of darkness flares around him for a moment, and in the blink of an eye, there's a giant claw coming right for Vergil, aiming for his neck. Thinking fast, Vergil bends his legs back. He arches, evading the claw strike as the sharp, razor-like claws zipped past his face.

A shadow suddenly extended from below to impale Vergil from the back. But the half-devil is one step ahead, and in a blur of midnight blue, he teleports away, a blur of midnight blue reappearing quickly behind the demon, and with the blade pointed at him, Vergil swung his sword, slicing the demon across his chest, a hiss emits from him at the slight pain, but it contorts. A shadow foot suddenly extends and kicks Vergil in the back of the head. He wasn't expecting it, so he took a few steps back.

Quickly he regained his balance, and in a burst of immense speed, a blue after-image trailing behind him due to the velocity, Vergil came in with a hard stab, impaling the demon right in the stomach; he hisses in pain as the blade tip pierces through his back, but uses this moment to manifest some shadow hands to move up and reach for his Yamato, Vergil quickly caught what he was doing, and used his strength to jerk his arm forward to fight him off, and he does but in the fumble, of the claws grip the blade of his Yamato with red energy.

Immediately upon contact with the sword, the magic in the sword clashes with the demon's magic. The reaction and intensity of two powerful forces of power colliding create an explosion of black, purple, and blue energy; the explosion is so great that the shockwaves immediately push both demons back.

The shockwaves causing them to hit the ground hard, Vergil lost his grip on the Yamato during his collision with the pavement, and the final impact causes a giant portal to open, a colorful portal, but had no mirrored view like it usually did. The exact second the rift opened in full, the currents of flowing energy began to pull everything around it, causing him to cling to a statue stuck to the ground desperately.
Steadying his vision, Vergil notices that the demon has also spotted the portal and is again trying to reach the Yamato. Taking a leap of faith, not wanting the Yamato to fall into the wrong hands, Vergil lets go of his only landline to this world and lets the current pull him, thus allowing him to grab the Yamato. This seemed to be what he wanted, though, as not a moment later, the demon lunged at Vergil, tackling him midair, a grunt at the collision as the two were dragged in.

As the two demons fell endlessly through the magic wormhole, they clung to each other, fully engaged in combat. Vergil gripped the demon's coat collar while the demon grabbed his coat sleeve. As they spiraled through the portal, the two threw punches at each other. Vergil was getting clawed in the back multiple times while Vergil was punching and cutting back in retaliation.

The wormhole's energy currents became more intense, causing the two to spiral as they drifted, leaving trails of blood from each other floating behind them as they fought. Finally, there was a fork at the end of this current, which connected to another current, leading to another direction, and they were heading right for it. In a last-ditch effort to do some damage to each other, moments before they reached the fork in the energy current, both went in for one final, critical strike, and both succeeded.

Vergil got several claws plunged into his chest, which tore off a part of his skin, causing him to bleed. At the same time, Vergil's opponent suffered multiple lacerations along his chest and body, even losing an entire chunk of his side, leaving behind a bloody mess. Right after both got their last strike on one another, they hit the fork, and in one sudden swoop, the demon he was fighting was taken by the current, bringing him in the direction opposite Vergil's.

The two shot each other a cold glare while still in the eye's view. Just before he was out of view, Vergil saw the demon flash him a sinister smile before he was up and off sight; he didn't like that smile; it was there when Vergil thought he might have done right what he wanted. Ultimately, all he could do now was see precisely where this strange portal would take him.

Minutes passed, and there was, at last, a bright white light at the end of the tunnel of colorful energy. First, there was a flash of bright white, then back in darkness. The portal opened and down fell Vergil. Unfortunately for him, the portal rift that dropped him here picked a rather lousy angle from which to fall. Vergil had little time to react. Within seconds, he felt a sharp pain shoot from his back to his chest. The Cambion had just landed on two sharp rocks, and they had impaled him in the back of the shoulders and came out just above his pectoral muscles; blood shot from his mouth as the force of the sharp rock. With a painful groan, Vergil knew that as much as this hurt, he couldn't stay like this.

“…Damn, it's not my lucky day today..” He thinks to himself. The pain was grueling, to say the least; slowly looking at his surroundings, he managed to spot a way down from where he was; it was just a matter of getting out of this predicament. Blue eyes darted back and forth from the path of rocks down below and his wound; he knew what to do, and it wouldn't be pleasant. Taking a deep breath, he mentally braces himself for the unpleasant pain his body is about to be in. With a final breath, he cleared his mind, understanding that he needed complete focus to do this right.

“Grraaaahhhhhhh aaaagghhhh!” He groaned out loud in pain as he forced his arms to wiggle free, making the rocks plunge deeper into him, making more blood drop on the green grass below, painting parts of it red.

This was torture, but he needed to get himself free. Gritting his teeth to the point where they rattled at his clenching, Vergil pushed himself downwards to grab the rock point. With a precise twist using his demonic strength, he managed to snap both pieces in half, successfully freeing him. Though this would cause him to tumble to the ground, the elder son of Sparda managed to slow his fall by briefly grabbing a loose branch before it snapped in his grasp. Thankfully, it had slowed his fall enough to the point where he could throw his body towards the grass, and with a light thud, Vergil hit the ground.

"….At long last.." He weakly rejoiced, slowly rising to his feet. Looking at where he landed, Vergil noticed something: the Yamato was missing!

"Dammit!" He cursed as his eyes began to scan everywhere around him. After looking around for about ten minutes, Vergil spotted a silver shine of moonlight reflecting off the blade. Reaching for it, he's met with an unfortunate sight. It was the Yamato, alright, but it was in two pieces.

"…Great, what next?"

A question he would soon regret asking, as suddenly the forest became dead silent, the bugs stopped creaking, and the nocturnal birds stopped their hunts and birdsongs; there was nothing but a dead silence; it was like he couldn't even hear himself think, it was that thick. Less than a second later, the silence is cut in half as the loud, beastly roar echoes behind him. Blue eyes dart to the side to look behind him with a slight tilt of his head. Standing before him was a beast with the body and head of a lion and the head of a goat and snake; it even had a lizard's tail; what the hell was this thing?

"…I had to ask."

With an irritated sigh, he knew he had to fight; thankfully, since this wasn't a demon, he wouldn't need to use too much of his power. Besides, he had to make this fight quick because he had already used up a lot of energy, and the added wounds didn't help his healing. If anything, it just delayed it even more. Vergil had luckily packed another weapon with him. He had taken this back from Dante. Closing his eyes, he bends his legs and goes into a fighting stance. Right when his pose is in place, in a bright flash of white, the Beowulf light gauntlets appear on his fists and feet.

"Let's get this over with."

The beast lunged at him first, and Vergil charged up some of his demonic power. His right fist began to glow before he unleashed an unforgiving punch right into the lion's head of the beast, making it roar in pain. It went in again for another lung, this time quicker, trying to catch him by surprise, but he was ready.

The second it was airborne in front of him, Vergil raised his knee. His right leg gauntlet began to glow, and less than a second later, he unleashed a wave of heavenly-charged kicks, hitting each of the three heads multiple times before he followed up with a forward-charged haymaker punch, sending the beast directly through multiple trees before it laid there, motionless. As the energy returned to the core of his body, the gauntlets immediately disappeared into his soul.

"Ngh… I'm almost at my limit.." Putting an arm over his bleeding wounds, he checks to make sure he's in the clear and finally moves forward. "I… gotta get out of this forest.." He tiredly reminds himself, forcing himself to push on. Vergil was much stronger than this, but the four long months of gardening in the demon world finally caught up with him. He hadn't eaten or slept correctly in far too long; the fatigue was hitting him now, and what horrible timing.

Several minutes felt like hours as he wandered and wandered. Finally, after what felt like forever, he saw the end of the forest, and there was some town that he could briefly make out from the distance. He didn't know where he was going or where he was, but he was running on fumes at this point, so heading toward the only sign of civilization he'd seen since coming to this place was his only option.

Gradually, the closer he got to the end, the heavier his steps felt like they were becoming; it was like his body was slowly starting to shut down; he had pushed himself way too far, and now he was paying for it. Vergil barely manages to make it, and the second his boot takes the first step onto the grass outside the forest, he can feel his body tell him that this is it; he will fall and tumble to the ground. He did, landing with a thud. He manages to roll over onto his back, but he can feel his consciousness begin to fade.

"What a pathetic way to die.." Is the last thing he says to himself, unsure of what will happen next; all he can do is lie here while his overworked body punishes him for going overboard. Just before his vision goes black, there's a voice.

"Hey! Are you okay over there?!"

Everything goes dark, and the quiet of exhaustion takes him. Vergil has bouts where he briefly regains consciousness, and whenever he does, he catches a quick glimpse around him.

Darkness blinks, and open, groggy blue eyes spot the night sky.
Darkness, eyes open, and then another blink of slow glimpse of consciousness. He glances at this strange magenta-colored energy around the Devil Hunter as he continues to fade in and out of consciousness.

Darkness to another blink, and he can faintly realize he's hovering in the air, but his mind and body are too exhausted to process it all, and he's gone. One final blink and the last thing he spots is what looks like some furry, purple blob talking to him, but that's all he can see before his consciousness finally eludes him after the sound of a door shutting.

The sound of steady trotting of hooves clacking on wood is heard as she rushes inside the Castle of Friendship, shutting the door with her right foreleg. This specimen was unlike any other being she'd ever seen. 'But my curiosity can wait; right now, he needs help,' she tells herself as she lightly levitates the man into the guest bedroom. The moment she lays him on his back, her eyes are met with a red stain under a double blue toned sleeveless button and zip-up vest.

"He's bleeding bad. I should take care of that one right away!" She said to herself as if she were giving herself a mental pep talk to stay calm so she could carefully treat his wounds. Her horn would glow deep pink as she cast a spell that would slowly unbutton the vest and free the zipper so she could pull that down.
Once that was done, her eyes immediately caught sight of his wounds, most notably, the two on his shoulders.

There was a problem, though; she needed to take his shirt off fully to see the wound, so she carefully slipped off his midnight blue long coat and then his sleeveless vest, which gave her the full view of his wounds. Glancing up at his shoulder wounds, she's shocked to see they've closed up a bit, enough to where the bleeding was slowed; how curious. Upon closer inspection, her eyes suddenly began to trace up his chest. She was looking longer than she had thought, and like that, curiosity got the better of her.

"O-oh, wow!" She suddenly found herself looking at his abs, his lean figure that seemed to suit his toned chest well. With a thin blush on her cheek, she tentatively began to reach out and touch his midsection with her right forehoof, but before she could feel how his skin felt – with the absolute worst timing, in walked Spike, a small purple baby dragon, who was a longtime friend of Twilight.

"Twilight, what are you doing?" He suddenly asks, completely catching her by surprise, evident from the little embarrassed yelp that escaped her lips. "EEEK!"

She very quickly took her forehoof back.

"U-Uhhhm, n-nothing!" she quickly replies, hiding her face to shake off the blush and focus back on the task at hoof. "I was returning from having tea with Zecora when I found him lying on the grass just outside the Everfree Forest. He was hurt pretty bad, so I couldn't just leave him there."

"Whoa, he is hurt pretty bad," Commented the little dragon upon propping himself up on the table to look at the wounds on this mysterious, silver-haired stranger. "Huh, I've never seen a creature like this before," he added.

"Me too…but I think I know what he is?" she says, putting a forehoof to her chin. Her horn glows deep pink as she picks up the cloth with her magic, hovering it in the air for a moment before dipping it in water and ringing it out a bit.

"I think he's a human, but I'm not sure entirely." She mused, deep in thought.

"You think? What's making you think otherwise?" the dragon asks, glancing up at the man before returning to Twilight.

"I can sense some Magic within him, something I've never felt before. But I think so. He fits every description of what a human would look like in the books I read. It's strange, though. I always thought humans were just an old Pony's tale."

"I mean, but look what happened with Princess Luna when she was still Nightmare Moon. Princess Celestia said her legend was supposed to be an old Pony's tale, too, but it turned out to be true," Spike said.

"You have a point, although she did have a reason to keep every pony in the dark for that one, to prevent a mass panic in Ponyville." She paused as she hummed in thought, thinking over possible reasons why her teacher would want to keep the existence of humans a secret. Then, her eyes light up as an idea pops into her mind.

"Spike, can you do me a favor and look for the book of Equestrian Ancient Legends? I think the information about humans is in either the third or fourth volume." She politely asked, hoping her books would help her like they usually did when she needed specific information.

"Sure thing, Twilight." With that, he smiles at her before turning his back and heading for the door, but before he can exit, she remembers his clothing.

"Oh, Spike, if you don't mind, can you also throw his clothing in the wash, too? He'll probably need some fresh clothing when he wakes up." She asked, magic picking up his jacket and sleeveless vest. Magic tried to wrap up his clothing in a ball so Spike could carry it more easily (Since the clothing was five times his size). As she's working on rolling it up, she feels a weight in his long coat; curious, she pulls it out of the pocket; it was a book with the letter 'V' on it.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, sure!" Grabbing the balled-up clothing from her Magic, Spike exited the room to put the laundry in and then began his search for the book Twilight had asked about.

For now, she set it down and resumed her treatment, using her magic to run the cloth over his wounds gently; he was still unconscious but reacted to the warm water. A soft groan escaped him as he felt a gentle pressure along his injuries, but it didn't wake him.

"I know it will hurt a bit, but don't worry, you'll be fine." She softly spoke to him, unsure if he could hear her. Suddenly, he shifts his right arm a bit.

"…Thank you.." He subconsciously says before drifting right back off again. Despite not being conscious, his thanks brought a small smile to her; it was good to know he was okay enough to respond, even if it wasn't entirely deliberate. About two hours passed, and Twilight finished cleaning his wounds; she even disinfected and bandaged him up, too, taking great care to tend to him despite being a random stranger, on top of being a being she had only read about in the books.

"You're welcome." She softly replies, gently tucking him in with blankets using her magic. She was about to leave the room when she looked back over at his book. She knew she probably shouldn't pry, but it was a book that was more than likely different from the other books she'd read. The purple Alicorn mentally scolded herself for being so curious, but a bookworm does what a bookworm does best; she couldn't help herself. Flipping open a page, she realizes something about it.

"A poetry book?" She was surprised to find this with her new guest. Many of the poems inside were quite emotional. She even found some handwritten notes left by the man, briefly touching on how it feels to read the poem and its overarching emotions behind it, although the writing looked old and dated. Particular passages of each poem had these notes. She unexpectedly found herself relating to some of his notes and even the poems within. Upon a closer inspection, Twilight noticed one significant detail about this book that made it stand out, it didn't seem like a first issue, almost like it had been copied from another book. Perhaps something happened to the original, and he pieced this one together to replicate it? That was enough to tell her that this book and the poems inside of it, probably meant a lot to him.

Curious purple hues look back at the man lying in the guest bed. She wanted to read more but felt awful for reading without permission, so after flipping through and reading about four poems in their entirety, she closed the book and set it down gently on the nightstand, deciding to check his wounds one last time. Lifting a corner of the bandage wrapped around his shoulders, she was shocked that the scars were healing much faster than she expected.

"Wow, you're not just an ordinary human, are you?" She quietly asks, knowing she won't get an answer; she thinks aloud. Turning off the lamp with one final glance back at him, she finally leaves the room. Her magic very lightly closes the door behind her, leaving the room in darkness.

Hours pass, and night turns to day; as the sun rises high above the sky above the kingdom, Vergil begins to stir a bit before his blue eyes slowly open. He finds himself lying in a bed, looking up at a ceiling that isn't familiar to him. Everything that happened before he woke up flashes, reminding him that it did happen. Vergil tries to get out of bed quickly but is met with a sudden pain in his shoulder, though it is brief.

Looking down at his exposed chest, Vergil could see that he had been bandaged up. Whoever had treated his wounds had taken a lot of care; he could tell by how quickly the pain subsided. Usually, there was a bit more pain whenever a wound of his would heal when infected, but this unknown bandage wrapper had taken great care and time with a thorough cleaning.

His black belted combat boots clacked on the wooden floor.
Vergil spotted his sleeveless vest and jacket neatly folded on the table; they were clean, and someone had washed them for him. Grabbing his sleeveless vest, Vergil removes the bandages on his chest and shoulder, dropping them into the garbage bin near the bed before throwing it on, zipping up his vest, and buttoning it closed, shifting a bit to throw on his midnight blue jacket after he gets his arms through the sleeves, adjusting his collar at the end. Hence, it popped up how he liked it.

The sound of steady boots on the floor prompted the sound of trotted footsteps to head for his door. Once the door swung open, the half-devil was met with a very unexpected sight: a purple pony with mesmerizing big purple eyes, a horn, and beautiful feathery wings. A solid magical energy also seemed to radiate from her being, adding to his many questions.

"Good morning. I'm glad you're up." She politely greeted. Instead of responding, though, he blinks at the sight. Was this Pony… talking?

"U-Uhm.. my name is Twilight Sparkle, by the way." She awkwardly added.

As strange and random as this encounter was, she was most likely the person who had treated his wounds, or at least he thought she did anyway.

"Vergil…" He responds, still slightly baffled that he is now having an intelligent conversation with a talking pony. He has seen weirder things, but this one was a new experience. Walking towards the window, he looks outside, and it's ponies as far as the eyes can see.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Vergil." The purple Alicorn politely replied.

"Likewise." After looking out the window momentarily, he turns his head back to meet her, blue eyes catching her purple-colored hues. "Are you the one who brought me here last night?" he asks, wanting to confirm, although if it was, he wonders how exactly she managed to do that, let alone carry him back here.

"Yes," she nodded. "I have a friend who lives in the Everfree Forest. I was returning home when I found you lying there. You were hurt pretty bad, too. And I didn't think any other pony would find you since not many ponies visit the forest, so I took you back here."

"I didn't think you would be up so soon, though; I thought it would take at least a week or before any sign of distinct healing until I saw how fast one of your wounds cleared up," Twilight added, marveling at how unique this man was, it was still hard to believe she might be looking at a human, and a peculiar type of human at that.

Aside from the apparent physical structure differences between them, the Alicorn couldn't help but remain extra vigilant about this strange magic she could feel coming from within him; she didn't know whether to be cautiously concerned or just curious. Whatever the case, if he had wanted to do her any harm, wouldn't he have done it already? Perhaps he was a friend, after all?

She would still keep an eye on him for a bit more to ensure the safety of Ponyville and Equestria. She was a Princess now, so aside from solving friendship problems, it was also her duty to protect the safety and well-being of every Pony.

"Usually, my wounds heal much faster, but I was already running on fumes even before I ended up in this world," Vergil replies, glancing down at the bandages on his chest and then back to her. Twilight blinks at the end of his sentence. "Did he just say he came from another world? Could it be the one where the other versions of my friends are?" She thought to herself. It was an interesting theory, but it wasn't one that she was confident would be true.

If that were the case, his power would have felt familiar to her, but it didn't. This energy coming from him was something completely unknown, an energy or magic unlike anything she'd ever felt. It was a little intimidating, but she again reminded herself that if he were indeed a threat, he would have acted by now, especially after feeling the magic inside of her, which she was almost positive that he could feel in return.

There was always a way to tell when two were equals to powerful beings, either by a short clash or just a mutual acknowledgment of power. With Vergil, there was no natural way to tell how strong he was in full; there was some unnatural balance of energy inside of him, but that was as far as she could tell, though she couldn't say for sure since that was just a guess.

"Wait, are you saying you came from another world?" she asked, to confirm her theory at least partially.

Vergil nodded. "Yes, I did. My swo-" He stopped himself mid-sentence, causing Twilight to furrow her eyebrows. He just remembered the Yamato; it wasn't with him, which wasn't good. "Pardon the change of subject, but Twilight, did you happen to see a sword near where you found me?" He asked, hoping that she did. The last thing Vergil remembered about his sword was finding it in two pieces. If that blade were to get into the wrong hands, broken or not, that sword was still infused with a powerful demonic magic that was capable of severely damaging the very fabric of space and time as a whole -- one of the many reasons he always made sure to keep his sword with him at all costs.

Twilight hums in thought, a hoof to her chin as she takes a moment to think.
"Now that you mention it, I remember seeing one a little away from where you were lying. It was broken, though. Was that the one?"

Vergil cursed under his breath, so she didn't bring it. Damn, he just hoped that it was still there. If Vergil had come to this world, he knew that the demon from the other day was here, too; he saw him get pulled away by another portal current. With that demon here, this world was in grave danger. The half-devil didn't know much about this demon, whoever he was - he knew his late father. He made that clear the moment he attacked.

As random as this all felt, Vergil suspected this probably had something to do with whatever he was ultimately planning. Now that he was here, only time would tell what would happen next. It all felt a little too deliberate; the way that demon waited for Vergil to jump at him must have set him right up. He cursed at failing to read the scenario carefully, but that was too late now.

"Damn! I'm going to have to go and retrieve it then." He mutters to himself; he just hoped it was still lying in the grass; he would find some way to repair it later. All that mattered, for now, was reclaiming it to ensure that the demon or anyone else wouldn't take it before he arrived.

The purple Alicorn's ears drooped slightly. "I'm sorry. I thought that since it was broken, you wouldn't need it. I thought about bringing it but figured you may have thrown it away." She apologized.

Vergil shook his head dismissively.
"Don't worry about it. There was no way you would have known, so it's okay." He reassured her. Twilight helped him when he needed it, so there was no reason to blame her for not bringing his sword. She could have just left him there to die, yet she didn't. It wasn't ideal for him to be separated from his sword, especially with a Shadow Demon on the loose, but he was still grateful for her help.

"I appreciate your help, but I should probably go to that forest. If you'll excuse me," Vergil said, walking past her and heading for the door.

"Why don't you join me and my friend Spike for breakfast first? He makes the best pancakes," she politely offered. Twilight had no idea how long it had been since he had last eaten, but she assumed it had probably been quite a while since he mentioned running out of energy before he got here. The least she wanted to do was feed him so he was at least full of energy, especially if he was going back to the Everfree Forest.

"Thanks for the offer, but I think I'll pass. The longer that sword is out there, the more unrest I feel." Again, Vergil turns his back, finally exiting the room. As he steps out of the bedroom, he is surprised that he has been staying inside a castle this whole time. The shiny monochrome floor, the long corridor halls with banners hung high above the hall's windows.

Walking down the hall, Vergil finds the stairs leading down, eventually spotting the path to the front doors. He's about halfway down the staircase before the sound of echoed trotting comes in his direction.
"Vergil? Do you even know where the Everfree Forest is?" Twilight asks, looking down the staircase at him; her question makes him stop walking, and silence soon follows, enough to tell her that he didn't know the way, just like she thought.

"How about this? Join me and my friend for breakfast, then once we're finished, I'll come with you?" She asks, inviting him to eat one last time. Thinking it over carefully, despite knowing how important getting his sword back was, the idea of food did sound nice. It had easily been quite a while since Vergil had last eaten, so having his first meal after four months was probably a good idea. He didn't realize how hungry he was until food was mentioned.

"Well.. it has been a while since I last ate. So I suppose I will. But you don't need to come with me. Show me where it is later, and I'll head in from there." He says, politely dismissing her offer to tag along. She didn't need to help him with that.

"Please, I insist. Besides, I don't mind lending an extra hoof." She adds with a smile.

Vergil sighs and agrees. She has already done enough. There was no need for her assistance in looking for his sword, and if this was indeed her castle, he assumed she probably had other more important things to do than help a stranger look for a lost item. "Alright, fine. Lead the way."

Twilight gives him a small half-smile before turning around to walk back up the few steps she had descended while talking to him. While the half-devil followed behind the Alicorn, he took another look around him, taking in the rest of the castle's sights. Vergil had seen a lot of castles in his many ventures, but this one was a little different from the others, although he didn't know why.

"So, I'm guessing this is your castle?" he asks, attempting to converse as he follows Twilight down the hall and towards the dining hall door. He notes the many different designs that stand out from the other castles he had ended up in.

"That's right. I got this castle quite a few months ago. It took me a lot of getting used to, but thanks to my friends, they made it feel more homey." Twilight briefly explained as they entered the massive dining hall. It was beautifully decorated. Whoever did this took great time and detail to put it together like this, and he had to admit, it was pretty impressive. It was very suitable for the dining hall of who he assumed was of royalty.

"I see. Well, I've been to a lot of castles in my time. And this one is magnificent." He complimented. Vergil was used to seeing a lot of dark and retro colors. This castle felt futuristic yet modern at the same time, an odd mix, but it certainly seemed to work well with the aesthetic.

"Thank you. One of my best friends, Rarity, decorated the dining hall. There's one room in here that all of my best friends decorated together, and it's probably my favorite room here." She happily replied as the two arrived at the dining table, where Twilight sat on one of the many chairs.

As Vergil sat at the table shortly after Twilight, Spike jumped onto a chair and began to plate the pancakes. There were three plates and three pancakes for each of them. "Vergil, this is my friend Spike. Spike, this is Vergil."

"It's nice to meet you," the dragon greets Vergil as he hands him his plate, serves Twilight next, and then serves himself right after.

The half-devil gives the small dragon a nod of acknowledgment. "Yes, likewise."

With their plates complete, the trio began to eat, and the start of their breakfast was awkward. The longer the silence extended, the more weird the atmosphere became. To shake it off a bit, Twilight decided to ask some more questions she had, hoping that their new guest would become engaged in some form of conversation.

"So Vergil, you said you came here from another world but didn't finish." She reminded him, optimistic that she would finally get the answers to some of the most pressing questions she had on her mind. "Does it have something to do with that sword of yours?"

Waiting until he swallowed the piece of pancake in his mouth, he gave her a nod.
"It has everything to do with my being here. My sword is called the Yamato, and my late father created it. It's a powerful weapon that can slice through the very fabric of space and time itself. So, you can imagine the amount of catastrophic damage it could unleash if it falls into the wrong hands. That's why I always try to keep my sword with me."

The concern of that demon potentially getting hold of the sword was a significant issue. Still, thankfully, Vergil could recall not sensing his energy anywhere in the forest upon his arrival here into this world. Wherever that demon was now, Vergil was at least confident that he hadn't come to this part of the kingdom; he just hoped he would have time to prepare for whatever was next.

"I didn't know a sword could be that dangerous," Twilight commented, surprised at how mighty this sword was. But something didn't make sense. If it was broken, how would it still have all this power? "It was broken, though. Doesn't that mean it can't be used?"

"Not exactly. Broken or whole, the Yamato is fully infused with the most powerful demonic magic. The magic can still be accessed even if it's in two pieces, and if that person knows what they are doing."

Quickly jumping out of her chair, Twilight lands on all four of her legs." Then we'd better get going right away!"

Rising from his seat, Vergil nods in agreement. While she had asked him questions, Vergil had already finished his plate and had been waiting for her to finish until now. "That was the first breakfast I've had in a while. It was an enjoyable one. Thank you, Spike." He says, wanting to show his appreciation for this dragon. The half-devil was still a bit thrown off being in this world, but he was grateful for being found, these curious beings. He never really expected any help from anyone. Or any pony, in this case.

Spike puts his hands proudly to his sides and gives the devil a half-smile, showing off his baby dragon teeth. He wasn't expecting their new guest to be so mannerly, but it was clear he appreciated it, maybe a little too much.
"It's no problem. I can make pancakes this good in my sleep." He grins, which earns him an amused half-smile from the silver-haired man. The response reminds him of how Dante was with some things, always the one to show off without any shame.

After the very brief exchange, Vergil was the first to be out the door, and Twilight followed, only to be stopped at the doorway by Spike for a moment.
"Oh Twilight. I found those books you wanted. I left both volumes beside your bed in your bedroom."

"Thanks, Spike. I'll see you later." Twilight smiles at her little dragon friend before walking out the door and meeting Vergil, who is already waiting for her outside on the walkway. "Alright, follow me. I'll show you where the Everfree Forest is."

"Very well. After you." Letting the Alicorn lead the way, Vergil followed behind the little Pony. His thoughts were racing. Just what was that demon planning? Who exactly was he? And what did he have planned here in this world? It felt like he had a million questions and didn't have a single answer.

Whatever that demon was plotting, Vergil would have to ensure he was prepared. Even with his lack of information, it wasn't hard to tell that their first encounter in this world would be huge. The half-devil must take caution and be well prepared whenever that happens, and Vergil would do just that.
"Just you wait, demon. I'll find out what you're plotting, one way or another," he thought upon reaching the distant forest entrance.

Location: Smoky Mountains || Time: 11:35 a.m. ||

The sun was high in the sky over the Smokey Mountains, and the two families that resided there were the Hooffields and the McColts. Peace between the two feeding families had finally come thanks to a visit from Princess Twilight Sparkle and her Pegasus friend. That had finally ended the fight that had been ruining the natural valley between the two mountains. The two families worked amongst themselves, conversing in between their daily tasks.
A shadow looms in the distance, watching them from afar with a sinister grin, showing off his razor-sharp teeth, a void of dark energy surrounding his form.

"Not the best ponies to start with, but hey... magic is still magic." The voice says, a dark husk in his tone. With a psychotic grin, the figure walks towards the twin mountains. Long, sharp shadow claws pop out of his hands, dragging them behind him as he moves in; these two families had no idea they would become his first victims. It would only be a tiny step towards his ultimate goal, but even the magic from this pathetic old-timer would be a great way to begin.

"I think I'll take my time killing them."

End of Chapter

Author's Note

Hello FiM readers!
I'm Darkslayer. I used to write stories years ago
I talked about a story like this with a former friend of mine back in the day (About 7 years ago)
After much thought, I figured I'd pop back online and emerge from the dust to try this again.
Needless to say, this is an experimental story, but I do have a storyboard document with plots and stuff planned up until chapter 15 at least for the moment, so I'll see how this does. In the end, I'm probably still gonna finish it. So far, I can see this story maybe surpassing 20 chapters with all I have planned (At least for the moment, I'm adding more whenever idea's come to me.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy the story, if not, well thanks for checking it out regardless.
Happy reading!

Chapter 2: A Dark Cloud Forming In The Distance

Devil Mare Cry

The Fate Of Two Worlds

Location: The Smokey Mountains || Time: 11:47 a.m.

It was a calm early afternoon in the Smoky Mountains; the Hooffields were talking with the McColts as they went about their day, doing their chores within the nature valley between their two homes perched atop each of the twin mountains. The two families had been working in harmony ever since Princess Twilight Sparkle visited their little country mountainside region of Equestria and helped both families stop a decades-long feud that had left the poor valley in a horrid state. Many of the animals had been struggling to find a warm, stable home, and to make it worse, even lacked a proper sustainable food source for far too long. The complete restoration of the Smoky Mountain Valley would take a lot of hard work, but it would all be worth it in the end.

About a couple of months had passed since the Princess's visit, and so far, the valley was beginning to look a lot better than it did when the Alicorn and her Pegasus friend came to solve their friendship problem. Both families were genuinely grateful to be on the same side again in far too long.

The Sun was scorching today, which meant good Sun for the crops. With a tired sigh, Ma Hooffield wipes some sweat off her forehead with her forehoof; she had just planted an entire field's worth of Pumpkins and tomatoes, each given their field section for an even balance of work.

“Ahnn done! It ain’t going to be an easy job, but if we keep workin’ together. Ah'm sure this valley will lookin’ pretty and plump full of produce again in no time!" The old pony cheered.

“Since ya’ll showed my family howta farm, I reckon it might be sooner." Replied Big Daddy McColt as he slowly trotted alongside his neighbor friend. The two families had been complex at work since morning, so it was about time for a break. On their way to join everyone at the McColts, the old ponies walked by a small crop that the Hooffields had planted for the animals. Glancing down at her plants to see if any signs of budding berries were showing, a few plants caught her eye, making her stop in her tracks to take a closer look. Big Daddy McColt doesn’t notice until he looks to the left to see Ma Hooffield isn't with him; looking back behind him, he spots her looking at the crop and approaches her, curious as to why she stopped to check a perfectly healthy crop that was planted a while ago.

“What are ya doin', Miss Hooffield?” Mister McColt asks.

"Them crops here were planted a week ago. They should still be fine."

Ms Hooffield ran her right forehoof over one of the many dead plants. It was confusing because, as far as she could remember, these were already standing tall and close to harvest. She looked up at him with an unmistakable look of confusion.

“That’s why it’s got me bothered, these things were close ta harvestin’ yesterday, how come they died alluva sudden?"

Before either pony could answer that question, the final remaining row of healthy plants immediately wilted and died right in front of them; their eyes widened in shock at this unexplained phenomenon – and they would, unfortunately, get their answers. Both ponies were suddenly met with a prominent humanoid figure. It was tall and wore a long black trench coat, the pitch of black so dark that it almost looked like the coat itself was part of its body. They could very faintly make out pale skin, but it was shrouded in some kind of dark mass of energy.

“Who are you?! Have you been the one poisonin’ our crops!” She shouted, demanding an answer.

The man just chuckles. “Poison? Nope, that’s just me. Pretty cool, huh?" He says with a sinister grin.

“Every little plant in my presence dies. Call it a gift."

"That doesn't sound like no gift to me." She replies, taking a step back.

"Listen, stranger, I dunno why you're here, but I think it's the best time ya leave.” Big Daddy McColt says in his best threatening voice, but it only causes the man to burst out into laughter.

“You, a bunch of earth ponies? Make me leave?” He broke out into a loud laughing fit. Without warning, he shifted in place, harboring speed quicker than a blink. Both earth ponies were suddenly grabbed by the neck and choked. Their forehooves and forelegs squirmed in the demon's grasp, desperately trying to escape his grip. As he continued to choke the life out of them, in a flash, he changed from his human form, shedding it, and in less than a second, his body was completely enveloped in a shadow blacker than midnight on a cloudy evening.

The entire ground began to shake. Just as the two ponies were losing color, their airways getting crushed by the minute he kept his grip, in an attempt to save the two, both families took action, and the demon was hit with several wooden harpoons; they impaled him after they were thrown, but he was unbothered by it, he was more annoyed that he was interrupted. His eyes began to glow a bright red, his empty crimson eyes sending waves of fear throughout their bodies, freezing some in place, paralyzed in absolute terror.

His mouth outstretched a broad, unnaturally massive wicked grin, a grin so vast that it was like he had no constricting muscles limiting it, at least not in this form. Now in his shadow form, shadow claws extended out of his wrists, creating several shadow spikes that were immediately driven right into both ponies, making a mess of blood spurt out of the two as the ponies were impaled in multiple angles, the spikes began to drain the magic energy, and the life force of them simultaneously of the now lifeless ponies that fell limp in his hand, leaving the other ponies horrified at witnessing the brutal slaying both family leaders right before there very eyes had them shaking in their hooves.

His shadow-clad body began to flash as he drained every drop of their Magic and life. With a menacing laugh, he quickly darts towards the terrified remaining members of both families. Fully extending his shadow claws, in one single swipe of his clawed hand, he cut off four of the Hoof Fields heads clean off, creating a mess as their headless pony torsos fell to the ground in a pooling of blood, a bloodcurdling scream of one of the mare victims, before she lost her head, seemed to wake some of the others from their traumatized trance, and without any other option, the ponies quickly turned around on their hooves and took off running for their lives.

“Every pony! Run fer yer lives!” One of the last remaining Hoof Fields shouted, and the rest of them dispersed, this only brought a morbidly amused grin to his face.

“I LOVE it when they run.”

The ponies ran as fast as they could; they didn't want to abandon the place that held so much to both families, but it was either run or be severely murdered. Unfortunately, luck wouldn't be on their side, as he was secretly waiting for them in the shadow of a nearby tree. The second the small slew of ponies stepped on that shadow, they were stuck like glue and tried with all their might to push and pull their hooves out, but to no avail.

They didn’t even have time to realize that it was the end, and a second later, the demon would emerge from the shadow he was hiding in. Piercing red eyes would be the last thing they saw before several hands came out of the shade below his feet. They began to brutally rip the limbs off of each pony one by one, their screams of utter agony before he finished them off by simply crushing their heads beneath his feet, creating a large splattering of blood.

From the bloody massacre, one McColt remained; he was missing his back forelegs, grunting and groaning in utter anguish as he desperately tried to crawl to his escape. However, due to his missing forelegs, the pony had unfortunately left a trail of blood leading right to him, so it didn't take the demon very long to find him.

“Awwww... I bet you really thought you were going to make it. Just think about it." The demon summoned a random shadow chair and sat, watching the pony struggle as he still tried to crawl away.

“You could have told someone about this. You could have gone crying to your precious Celestia about how you're home was attacked by such a horrible creature…” He chuckles between his words.

In one quick move, he rose back up to his feet, driving his heel into the back of the pony, causing him to scream out in agonizing pain; the demon took great pleasure in causing pain, especially when he heard the loud snap of his foot caving in his back. It was almost an addiction to him, or maybe it was, and he was a willing blood junky, entirely giving in to his appetite for mass destruction and insatiable craving for extreme violence. He was a demon in its purest and most evil form. Looking up at his killer with weak eyes, he manages to ask one question.

"W-Who and what are you…" the pony very weakly asks, coughing out blood immediately after his sentence. The question brings an especially menacing grin, flashing the dying pony his unnatural wide grin, showing off his dagger-sharp teeth. Soulless, empty red eyes stare back at the creature at his mercy.

“…I’m Daemon of the Shadow, and you’re life and magic.. are all mine.” He breaks out into a manic psychopathic laugh as he drives two large claws directly through the pony's eyes, killing the poor creature instantaneously. Realizing their only source of support for this valley was gone, the animals began to flee. However, a rather unfortunate group of rabbits ran by him, unaware that his dark energy had already invaded the land here. The exact second the rabbit passed by Daemon, they stopped, their color completely drained as their life forces were taken from them.

Glancing down at the now-dead animals, he grins. "Excellent, looks like my power is starting to increase." Red eyes get a good look at the Smoky Mountains. Looking up at them, Daemon’s lips curve into a twisted grin. “The smoky mountains… the perfect spot to set everything up.” Raising his arms into the air, Daemon begins to levitate, an aura of dark energy surrounding him as he hovers toward the mountain range.

"Enjoy your time here while you can, son of Sparda… in due time, all of the Magic in Equestria will be mine! And with Sparda’s power, I’ll be a god!"

Raising his hands, black orbs of energy manifested in his palms, and he began to gather up material for building; he started his assembly; the Smoky Mountains were now his for the taking. During his construction, he passes by the family memorial fountain that depicted their two founding family members and looks at it for a second, only for the fountain to be entirely destroyed by the simple closing of his palm mere seconds later, a dark and sinister grin as he walks forward to slowly begin planning the design of his new home, he would just need to find the suitable materials first. He would be in the clear to move forward with his shady preparations.

End of Chapter Prologue

Chapter 2: A Dark Cloud Forming In The Distance

Location; Ponyville: Inside the Everfree Forest || Time: 12:04 P.M.

Being back in the forest so soon was weird, especially after all the trouble he dealt with yesterday when he first got here. Still, in a new world like this, Vergil couldn't let his sword just sit there free for the taking; even if that demon didn't get to it, his Yamato still had the potential to cause a lot of destruction if mishandled, so there were far too many risks. All it took was just one unstable discharge of demonic Magic, and even that could be enough to tear a hole into the fabric of space and time here. Then, this world would be either consumed by the black hole it would create or would attract a mass army of demons from his world, ending this reality.

Following the Purple Alicorn closely behind, the half-devil carefully examines their surroundings, making sure there are no beasts or creatures stalking or tracking them. Vergil knew that this forest had dangerous beasts; he had to kill one the night he arrived. Luckily, their surroundings were clear for the time being, so he could focus on the search for his weapon.

"Twilight, just how far in are we going?" Vergil asks. They, unfortunately, didn't see his sword where he was lying, which meant it was further in the forest.

“Don’t worry, we’re almost there. My friend may know where it is, too. She knows this forest very well, so if anything important was left here, then there’s a chance she might have seen it." She reassured, and the Alicorn could understand his slight frustration. From all that she had been told about his sword, all of this power and Magic had within it, keeping it with him on his person at all times made complete sense; she just hoped she was right, and Zecora did at least have an idea where it was. If any pony around here knew the Everfree Forest best, it would be her, and if there was anything different about it, the kind Zebra would undoubtedly be the first to notice. This entire situation was beyond her understanding.

For now, though, she would help Vergil find his sword. Once he had it back, though, Twilight still had a few more questions for him to try and help better understand how he had come here and if there was any way she could be of assistance. Helping others was the right thing to do after all, even for visitors from a whole world – and that part of his predicament that she could understand since the purple-furred mare had her own experiences with another globe a couple times.

"I don't understand how this friend of yours would know where it is. This forest is significantly vast, and there’s a lot of ground to cover.”

"It's just a possibility, no guarantee that she does. Either way, I'm sure you'll be able to find it. Careful though. You just had a decent sleep, and you wouldn't want to tire yourself out again," Twilight replies, looking back at him for a moment.

“I’ll be fine. I refuse to leave this forest unless I have the Yamato back in my possession." Vergil answered back; he felt fine now that he had a decent sleep and a good meal in his stomach. He was all set and probably could pull off an all-night search, though he hoped he wouldn't have to. There was still information to gather about this world. If this world had any particular source of power, then he would need to find out exactly what it was. The sooner he found out, the better chance he had to at least get an idea about whatever that dastardly demon was planning. He would still dig for information thoroughly, the more he knew, the better prepared he could be.

"Alright, then we'll just have to keep looking; I'm sure we'll come across it sooner or later." Twilight again reassures him, trying to remain optimistic for her new friend, she just hoped the sword was still here in the forest like she thought it was.
The two are about halfway through the forest. Still no luck with locating it, that was until Vergil stopped in his tracks abruptly causing Twilight to do the same. Curious as to why he stopped, she looks over at him.

"What is it, Vergil?" She asks, tilting her head a bit, but he puts his hand up in response, hushing her for a second, which prompts her to give him a confused look, eyebrows furrowed with one ear down and the other up as she tries to understand why he stopped.

“Wait, don’t you feel that? Focus for a moment, and you’ll feel it.” Vergil suggests, but it just makes the Alicorn more confused.

"Huh?" she hummed, looking ahead; it was only when she closed her eyes to concentrate that she felt exactly what he was talking about. Some kind of magic interference made searching for Yamato's magic aura even more difficult. His sword had a distinct feeling to its energy, and it could be felt when the sword was broken or still at peace. It was like someone had planted a magic seal on it, diminishing its radius significantly from detection.

"Oh, you mean that dark magic energy coming from further in, right?" Twilight asks him. Now, she can tell why he is being cautious.

“Yes, exactly that. It doesn't feel like the Yamato's normal Magic. I think someone didn't want me to find it. It might be some sort of cloaking spell that cuts down the magic radius, almost masking it completely." He mused, taking a wild guess. He couldn't say for sure, but for now, it seemed like it was a plausible theory until they found more detailed and accurate information.

"Do you think it's a trap?" She added another possible theory, one that she was almost positive she was correct about. Twilight still didn't know much, but even she knew a trap when it looked like one, regardless of who or what sent it.

"That very well may be. So once we get closer, you should stay back." Vergil suggested, but before Twilight could react, the two were interrupted by a voice coming in their direction. Vergil didn't recognize it, but Twilight did.

"Twilight Sparkle, beware!” shouts a Zebra rushing towards them. Once in front of the two, she stops in her hooves, catching her breath for a few seconds.

“Zecora? What’s wrong?” The Alicorn asks, an understandable look of concern worn on his purple ally's expression. So not only could Ponies talk here, but Zebra, too? It made him wonder just what other creatures in this world could have a full conversation. At this point, he assumed that almost all the animals here could talk, any of the animals who were part of the horse or pony family anyway. That much was clear.

"Twilight Sparkle, beware, the Everfree Forest has changed; once a place of quiet and peace, now roam beasts, that of which the eyes have never before seen." The Zebra says, giving her friend a somewhat cryptic warning in her usual riddle-like format about the current state of the forest.

"Beasts the eyes have never seen?" Twilight repeated, humming in thought, the gears turning inside her mind as she tried to guess what she meant, but Vergil knew immediately what she was talking about.

“Sorry to interject, but Zecora, that’s your name, right?" Vergil asks, hearing her name when Twilight spoke to her.

The Zebra blinked, probably because she didn't realize how different he was until she was right in front of them. "Oh, yes, that's me."

“I’m Vergil. I don’t mean to cut the pleasantries short, but I need to know. These creatures you saw, what did they look like?” He asks, waiting for her answer. Something told Vergil not to grab the Yamato upon finding it, at least not right away, so he needed to get all the information about these creatures he could get in their limited time.

"Before I explain, I must tell a short story, about what happened when I picked herbs for my potions. I saw a flash of evil, you see. These creatures looked horrid with a skull for a face, draped over in midnight, with malice in their gaze. At that moment, I heard the wailing; it teleports, flies, and is armed with a stick, a curved, angled blade at the top of it." The Zebra explained.

Twilight was usually good at decoding Zecora’s riddles, but this one, she honestly couldn't tell what her friend was talking about; glancing up at Vergil, the look on his face said he knew exactly what she was describing, but it didn't make sense. As far as Vergil knew, it had just been him and the Shadow Demon that came here, so why were there demons from his world here, too?

Twilight can be seen by the look in Vergil's eyes, which shows that he's thinking heavily about something. Curious, he decides to ask, as it seems like he knows what she is talking about. "Do you know what she's describing, Vergil?"

The half-devil nods. “Demons from my world, Hell Vanguards.” He replies. Vergil was going to get to the bottom of this. At first, he thought this might be something that the demon was doing, but the half-devil was confident that it was something else entirely. He had a feeling it had something to do with the Yamato, likely related to how he ended up here. Maybe his blade had been more damaged than he originally thought.

"Hell Vanguard?" Twilight repeated the name, the word sounding foreign as it rolled off her lips.

"Have you fought against them before?" She later added.

Vergil nodded, remembering facing these things in his earlier years when he was entirely different. After all those years, seeing this kind of demon again was a little strange. Why were Hell Vanguards back? it made little to no sense.

"I have, but it's been a long time since I've seen this type of demon again. It’s supposed to have been eradicated years ago, but apparently not.”

"Then we'd better go take care of them." Twilight quickly speaks up, taking a few quick steps forward before Vergil puts his hand up to stop her, causing her to glance at him, very slightly annoyed, but understood he meant well with his suggestion.

"These are demons, Twilight. I doubt you have such creatures in this world. And they are not to be taken lightly if one is completely unfamiliar with them. So I'll take care of it. Once we encounter them, staying back would probably be best for you." The half-devil quickly suggests, walking on ahead before she can answer. With a sigh, Twilight follows closely behind him, Zecora accompanying as well. Now a trio for the remainder of this excursion, the three proceed further into the forest.

After about ten minutes, the three spot a dark energy up ahead and quickly pick up the pace; upon their arrival at the scene, they spot a broken sword and what appears to be a black energy coming from it. It's in the form of pitch-black lightning, and every few minutes, a black bolt would strike a random part of the grass or forest, then open a portal prompting a Hell Vanguard to emerge from the dark mass of energy before that same smaller portal rift opened. The sight caused the two with Vergil to widen their eyes at the scene unfolding before them.

“So he did do something to my sword? I should have known that was part of his plan." Vergil muttered to himself under his breath, the open thought causing Twilight to furrow her eyebrows. It sounded like he knew something else, too. She wanted to inquire about it but decided against it for now, as the best thing to focus on at the moment, was getting rid of these demons. Just by looking, the Alicorn could count at least ten of them.

"There they are!" As the aura becomes an even brighter blue, he suddenly raises his right hand with an open palm, and seconds later, a glowing blue transparent two-handed sword appears in his grasp. He had used the Beowulf yesterday, so now it was time to change it up a bit.

The moment his mirage blade is in his hand, he kicks off his left hell into a full-on charge, showcasing his inhuman speed as he zipped towards the group of Hell Vanguards who swung their scythes down with their usual wailing. Vergil easily side-stepped the strikes, evading them and allowing him to quickly counter by driving his blade right into the face of one of the Hell Vanguards with a powerful stingr stab, creating a splattering of demon blood as the blade's tip pieces its skull through a glowing eye socket, the Vanguard shrieked at the pain as it was forced into a nearby tree, crashing right through it, killing one.

Four tried to teleport, reappearing at once to attempt to catch Vergil from all directions with a downward swing of their scythes. Still, he saw that coming and teleported himself, leaving a blur of midnight blue behind, causing their scythe blades to miss and hit the ground.

Their weapons got stuck in the grass for a moment. Still, the half-devil didn't waste the opportunity and reappeared above them, coming down hard with the blade down on top of them with a gallant grunt at the impact of his mirage blade slicing all four clean in half, making them erupt into a spew of blood. Twilight watched the display with a mix of fascination and horror at how much blood these demons seemed to bleed. So this was a sample of Vergil's power, and she was amazed; she hadn't seen anything like it before. Despite the bloodbath of demons unfolding in front of her eyes, the Alicorn was genuinely impressed, his powers were certainly a spectacle to witness, if one could look past all the blood and gore anyway.

Turning his attention to the remaining five, Vergil is about to go in for another attack. When the dark energy from the Yamato becomes more violent, it becomes apparent that it's about to summon another Hell Vanguard. Not wanting any more unwelcome demons to show up, he jumps, making a dive for the blade, but two of the Hell Vanguard see what he's doing and try to intercept his path.

Thinking fast, the quick sound of horseshoes trotting forward, Twilight Sparkle's horn glows a deep pink. With her Magic channeled up, she began to blast the two Vanguard, blocking Vergil's path with several purple energy beams, successfully pushing them back and damaging them simultaneously. The demons shrieked at the pain as the parts of them that were hit by Twilight's Magic began to melt, even killing two of them in the process. Vergil acknowledges her assistance with a quick nod as he reaches out, swiping up the two pieces of his sword. Taking a moment to observe the Hell Vanguard, the silver-haired devil hunter takes note on just how much Twilight's magic seemed to damage the demons, which was strange -- he couldn't recall ever witnessing the Vanguard react like this to an attack, it made him suspect that there was a lot more significance to that purple Alicorn's magic then it seemed.

Twilight's interference fully captured their attention as the Hell Vanguards began to turn their attention to the Purple Alicorn and the Zebra next to her. The attacking demons come at the two with a horizontal strike, but Twilight and Zecora can quickly step back to avoid it, leaving room for a counterattack. As the demons were a bit off balance as their strike missed, Twilight darted forward on her legs, jumping and turning her body, landing with her back to the demons. She kicked her back forelegs up, bucking one of the Hell Vanguards as hard as possible, and she succeeded.

The strike sends them back a few yards. Still, the Alicorn quickly follows up by twisting her neck back a bit to point her horn at them and unleash another magic blast, an even bigger one that shockingly killed them on contact, completely disintegrating them in the overwhelming power of her magical blast. Vergil was impressed but couldn't really praise her for it right now, as he was about to be very preoccupied.

Holding the broken sword in his hands, the dark aura of energy began to emit again. Since it was in his hands, he could tell right away that this wasn’t just some random demon spell; it had been one he'd never seen before, especially the way it would cause his hands to burn with every passing second, causing him to grit his teeth a bit, it felt like the pieces of the blade were on fire, the pain only intensifying the longer he held it.

"Twilight, we need to stabilize this energy as soon as possible!" He warns, unsure of how much longer he could hold on. It hurt a lot, but he wouldn't let go; no matter what, he wouldn't let any more demons escape into this world.

“O-Okay!” She quickly responds, speed-trotting to his side to help. Taking a quick look, it's apparent that it's a type of Magic she's never seen before. But there was good news, parts of the aura of that energy did feel somewhat familiar to her.

"I've never seen any kind of Magic like this before. But I do notice one vague similarity." A pause, quickly remembering something in a book she had read a few days ago about otherworldly Magic.

"I read this book a few days ago. While this Magic is entirely new to me, there are always one or two similarities in spells, regardless of what world they come from. I can only see one for this particular spell. This is a type of portal magic, but a rare kind. It's a one-way with no way back. In short, it's like a faucet that can't be turned off. It's going to keep summing more and more of those things. But I think I have an idea." She explains, showing off her vast knowledge of Magic and spells. Twilight was very intelligent for an exquisite being like her.

“Do you think it will work?” He asks. Usually, Vergil was the type of person who liked to know every piece of information possible before doing something. He took great pride in always being one step ahead of his enemies. But even Vergil had moments where he couldn't find anything, so Twilight's incredible knowledge of everything about Magic was a huge asset. On paper, it wouldn't look like much, but showcasing her high intellect was enough to show him that she was made a Princess for a reason.

"I'm not entirely sure, but it's our only option. So we'll just have to take a chance." Twilight points with her right forehoof to the grass, lightly gesturing for him to put his sword down in the grass. Carefully, Vergil does as instructed. The second he puts it on the grass, the energy is about to act up again, but Twilight encases the two Yamato pieces inside a purple magic barrier just before the black mass of energy could flare up again.

Right away, the Alicorn could feel just how different this Magic was. As it tried to fight through her barrier, it was almost like this energy had a mind of its own. Twilight began to groan as she struggled to keep it inside, but ultimately, she managed to keep it in there.

“Urrghhh! V-Vergil, the rest is up to you, but hurry! I don’t know how long I can hold this in..here!” She warns, groaning afterward. With a nod, Vergil decides to do only what he thinks might work. It was a long shot, but it was now or never. While Twilight held it inside the barrier, Vergil placed his hands over the sword; closing his eyes, he started sending some of his demonic energy inside the blade. It was challenging but with the combination of their teamwork and quick thinking. The two's efforts prove to be successful.

Twilight's magic barrier kept it from summoning any more demons, significantly slowing the spell's magical power. Because the Yamato still had a link to his soul, the moment Vergil's demonic energy touched it, the sword glowed and put itself back together right before their eyes.

His sword was fixed, but he could tell there was something wrong with it right away. His sword had been broken and surrounded with dark magical energy all night, which was the best he could describe. This energy had an unmistakable demonic feel to it, but at the same time, this foreign aura also came with it. Just to be safe, he wasn't going to equip the Yamato, at least not until he took a closer look at it to ensure it was safe to use. Vergil didn't know much about the demon he was dealing with. Still, it was always better to be safer than sorry, especially in another world with a whole kingdom. Civilization or pony Inhabitants would be, unfortunately, caught in the crossfire.

"We did it! YES, my calculations were correct!" Twilight rejoiced. Purple's eyes lit up brightly, and her ears twitched happily as she suddenly lost herself in an overexcited tangent.

"Judging by the velocity and thickness of the magical mass surrounding the sword, I suspected that ordinary tactics wouldn't work, so I calculated the length and duration of a barrier spell and found out how much magical energy it gave off the longer it was cast. I had to roughly estimate the speed and rate at which the energy traveled to pick which barrier would be more effective enough to create a magic overload!" This understandably had Vergil taken aback a bit, as he wasn't expecting such an excited reaction from her – needless to say, it was both oddly cute and amusing to him.

She seemed to have realized it, too, as seconds later, she giggled bashfully.

"Oops, sorry about that. I… got a little carried away there." She quickly looks away, hiding her embarrassment.

Silence for a moment, but it earned her a short chuckle from the half-devil. He just shook his head; he didn't mind it. It was random and sudden, but he didn't judge her for it. "Well, your calculations were perfect. A-plus, easily.”

Twilight was expecting him to poke fun at her about being an egghead like everyone else did. Of course, it was good fun when it did happen, but perhaps she was just so used to that type of reaction that she assumed it would have been the same result with him. Instead, she was surprised to be praised for it; he didn't even throw in a joke at the last minute, either. Twilight then remembered that Vergil kept a book with him at all times, which was something she could see herself doing too, although in her case, Twilight would bring multiple.

“You really think so?” The Alicorn asks, a slight proud grin forming on her lips.

"Knowledge can most certainly be a crucial tool in many situations. What you did was a prime example of that." Vergil replied. If she could do this much with Magic that she knew nothing about, it was safe to assume that Twilight Sparkle was a genius for Magic. Not just anyone would have been able to counter such a spell, especially since it was a type of Magic that initially came from something other than this world. Others would have more trouble in dealing with that. Twilight had just shown she could be resourceful when the moment called for it.

“I couldn’t agree with you more! Knowledge is a huge thing to have. I have read many books, and I'm grateful for all I know. I wasn't too sure if it would work. But I'm happy it did." Twilight cheerfully replied.

“Anyway, we should probably head back. The Summer Sun Celebration is in a few days, and there's much to prepare.” The Alicorn turned to her Zebra friend. “Thank you for the warning earlier; it was a big help." Twilight smiled.

“It was my pleasure, Twilight. Take care.” She gave the Alicorn a friendly smile before walking back towards the forest. As the Zebra passed Vergil by, the two met eyes. “Zecora, right? Thanks for your help.”

The Zebra stopped to look back at the humanoid visitor. There was indeed a strange energy that seemed to radiate from him, but she was able to tell that he was on their side and meant no harm, just from instinct alone. A foreign presence here, but a welcome guest all the same. As odd as his being here was, Zecora felt that fate had a lot planned for him; no one would just end up in another world for nothing; she looked forward to seeing how much his being here would affect things. She nodded. “Of course, new friend. Perhaps you and I will meet again. Until then, Take care." Giving them two one last smile, Zecora disappears behind the forest trail further in, likely returning home now that the demons were dealt with and the area surrounding her home was once again peaceful

As Twilight leads the way down the path leading back to Ponyville, Vergil follows behind her. It's only there that he catches her saying something about the Sun. “So Twilight, what exactly is the Summer Sun Celebration? Is it some sort of tradition around here?”

It was probably a dumb question, but everything about this realm was brand new to him, so he didn't know what to expect since he first arrived the other day. Thinking that he would be in this world for a long time, Vergil made a mental note to try and find out as much as he could about this world. The sooner he would be able to familiarize himself here, the better he would be able to prepare. That demon was plotting something big; the half-devil didn't know the details; it was just a gut feeling that stuck with him the more he thought about it.

“That’s right. In Ponyville, we follow a lot of different seasonal traditions. The Summer Sun Celebration is one of the most important ones. It happens every year on the longest day in Summer.” Twilight briefly explained. She knew he would ask, and there was much he still didn't know about this world, so Twilight would happily answer any questions he may have.

"Oh, I see. What is the celebration commemorating? It must be serious if it's one of the more important traditions." He asks as the two walk up a hill, spotting the exit of the Everfree Forest just up ahead.

“The Summer Sun Celebration used to be about the day Princess Celestia banished her sister Princess Luna when she was some pony named Nightmare Moon – something she had been known as for a long time." A short pause before she continued. "About a couple years ago, Princess Luna and Princess Celestia made up. So this year we'll be celebrating not only the Sun, but the reunion of Princess Celestia and her sister, too. Princess Luna lowers the moon, and Princess Celestia raises the Sun right after. I'm pretty excited because this year, I finally get to play a bigger role in it!" She finishes explaining, her tone cheerful as the two fully exit the forest. The passion for her role was evident in her voice; if she had just recently become a Princess, then he could understand her excitement.

Now, walking down the path alongside Twilight, the two continue their conversation as they pass through Ponyville. While they walked, Vergil noticed that several of the ponies were staring at him, and for some reason, they would immediately look away from him the exact moment his eyes looked at them. It's a little irritating, but something Vergil expected. They must not know that an outsider was talking with their Princess a lot. It was a slight annoyance, but he just ignored it, focusing instead on the conversation he and Twilight were having.

"Well, it sounds like Ponyville has quite the historical past," Vergil commented, keeping his eyes on Twilight, not caring about the several ponies in town giving him looks. There was a collection of looks he was getting. Some would side-eye him as they passed by, while others would give him a dirty look or a straight-up glare at him. Some looked away after, while the odd few would keep their eyes fixed on him, not caring if he saw how they were looking at him. Vergil wasn't too surprised by their reactions; perhaps he was too different. Vergil quickly stood out for the apparent reason of being the only humanoid there, so he felt it would be like this for quite a while; he would just have to get used to it.

"It has an incredible history. I've read so many books about Equestria's past history. I thought I knew everything about it, but now that I have access to the forbidden library, I can finally expand my knowledge of its history, and I can't wait to read those two books back at home."

Twilight happily replies, expressing her excitement for more reading material – a feeling Vergil could relate to since he was also quite the prominent bookworm himself. As they walked down the town path, Twilight listened to him as he spoke, trotting alongside him; the Alicorn Princess noticed how every pony else would look at him. Whenever she would look at other ponies, she would get a smile or a wave, sometimes both. It was clear that he and Twilight were friends, so she didn't understand why every pony looked at him like that. Were they just that intimidated by his presence?

Soon after, the two return to the castle of friendship; they enter through the doors, his eyes recognizing the now familiar interior of her fantastic home. Their footsteps (or hoof steps in Twilight's case) echo throughout the halls as they walk down the hall, the shine of the crystal floor sparkling like always, displaying just how well cared for her home was. This castle was pretty huge, so he could only imagine how much work it was to maintain; it was admirable.

Hearing the echo of the doors closing, down the stairs came Spike, greeting the two with a wave. “Hey guys, welcome back. Did you manage to get your sword back?” The purple dragon asks, grabbing a sapphire gem and throwing it into his mouth with a loud crunch.

"Yes, we did. There was some sort of spell cast on my blade. Luckily, thanks to Twilight's help, we both managed to somehow dispel it." Vergil briefly explained.

"His sword even put itself back together, so hopefully, it's working again," Twilight added.

“Sweet! I had a feeling you two would be able to do it. So does that mean you can use it again?” The little dragon asked,

“Considering it was cursed overnight, I won't use it until I thoroughly review it. I want to ensure there's nothing else wrong with it, before I fully determine whether or not I can use it right away." The half-devil answered. While he remained stuck here, Vergil didn't want to take risks. Vergil couldn't shake off the feeling deep down in his gut that coming here was deliberate rather than chalking it off as a random unfortunate occurrence.

"Better to be safe than sorry, huh? That's a pretty good idea, actually." The dragon replies.

Vergil nodded in agreement. “Precisely. I prefer being one step ahead rather than a few steps behind. Especially in this case."

"Same here," Twilight replied, intrigued to find yet another commonality they shared. "I like to be well prepared and completely organized. I have three checklists I follow every day, including one extra list that also keeps track of my other lists.” The Alicorn Princess added a nervous giggle at the end of her sentence.

"It's true. And I can vouch for that. Every day, I review her lists to ensure she has planned everything accordingly. She's probably the only pony I know with a list that goes over other lists.” Spike confirmed, a hand rubbing the back of his head.

“Eheheh … and I always appreciate your assistance, Spike." Twilight says, with a sheepish grin and a light blush on her face. She turns her head away to hide it.

"Well, what can I say? I am the number one assistant, after all." Spike replies, a proud grin on his face after his sentence.

Twilight just giggled, very much used to the antics of her close friend who had come to Ponyville with her about four years ago now. "Yes, that you are Spike." She smiles, touching her longtime friend, who doesn't hesitate to hug her back before they lightly pull back.

Checking the time on the clock high above them on one of the walls, Twilight saw that the clock read that it was about twelve-thirty in the afternoon now, the second she looked at the time and realized that it was almost time for the picnic with the girls. Looking back at Vergil, she took a few steps towards him to meet her gaze.

"Hey, Vergil, Spike, and I have to go meet the girls for a picnic. You're more than welcome to join us if you'd like." She politely offered, hoping he would say yes. Her friends just had to meet him, but she wouldn't force him to come along if he didn't want to.

"I appreciate the offer, Twilight, but I'm sure you've seen how every pony in town looked at me. No offense to you or your friends, but if the town isn't exactly a fan of my presence, I'm certain these friends of yours will think the same." Vergil wasn't necessarily bothered by their looks; it was just a bit of a headache whenever he saw them. Those were precisely the same looks that people back in his world gave him. The few humans who knew about his time as Urizen always gave him that same look, if not precisely the same. It was almost always a similar look, which gave off the same feeling of isolation he was used to.

Twilight was a bit sad upon hearing him decline. Of course, it was going to take the residents of Ponyville quite a bit of time to get used to seeing Vergil in town, but Twilight knew that her dear friends would be a lot more accepting of him. So far, he was friends with Spike and her, but no one else. The Alicorn knew her friends wouldn't judge him; they would undoubtedly be fascinated by him, but they would never make him feel like an outcast. Friendship was Magic after all, and the Princess of Friendship would just have to show him that.

“Vergil.. I know the other ponies in town give you looks, and I’m sorry you have to deal with that. But I promise you that my friends won’t look at you like that. In fact, I’m sure they would like you. So what do you think?” She asked, her tone a bit softer.

"…How do you know they won't think otherwise?" Vergil asked in return. He was close to accepting, but she could still see the reluctance in his blue eyes.

"You won't know for sure unless you try, Right? Just give them a chance. That's all I ask." Twilight persists and after much thought. The half-devil gives a sigh before he slowly nods in response.

"…Very well. I suppose I'll come along…" He agrees it had taken a bit of convincing, but she was glad he agreed. She thought he would have declined again, and if he did, that was when she would have finally given up and just left him be, so when she got him to tag along, she was pretty satisfied with his change of mind.

"Wonderful! I'm glad you reconsidered." Twilight says, flashing Vergil a friendly smile before she turns to look at the little dragon. "Oh, Spike. Did you already pack the picnic basket?" She asked.

“Yep! I got it all prepared while you guys were in the Everfree Forest. So that’s already taken care of.” Spike happily replied, pointing towards the picnic basket that sat on the kitchen counter. He was very proud of his efficiency in preparing everything.

“Perfect! Thank you, Spike.” Twilight replies appreciatively, turning back to look up at Vergil. "I'm just going to grab a book quickly, and then we'll go. Be right back in a moment!" The Purple Alicorn trotted her way upstairs and into her bedroom, her horn glowing deep pink to grab volume three of the Book Of Equestrian Ancient Legends with her Magic, stuffing it inside one a book bag she was planning on bringing, the picnic would be a few hours or so, she figured since she would be relaxing with every pony, that she would be able to read the book, and possibly find out more about the ancient urban legend of humanoids, that supposedly used to roam Equestria. The more information she could soak up, the better she could understand how they came to be and where the rest of these humans were now.

“Twilight’s right, you know. The others will be a lot more welcoming. The other ponies in town might take a while, but the girls are much different." Spike added, hoping Vergil would have at least a bit more optimism about this picnic. Vergil says nothing; instead, he just nods. He would have to see for himself what would really happen. Regardless, the half-devil wasn't expecting much to come from meeting Twilight's friends.

Moments later, Twilight comes trotting down the stairs with a bookbag and saddle bag full of reading material. Immediately, Vergil begins to count how many books she has with her; it seems like she has packed a whole bunch. "Are we all ready to go?" she asks with a smile, looking at Spike rather than Vergil.

"You bet!" Spike enthusiastically replies as he heads out the door to wait. Vergil looked and turned sight as she glanced at him, waiting to hear if he was ready. "Alright, let's go then." Vergil adds Her horn begins to glow deep pink and she levitates the picnic basket alongside them as they exit the castle of friendship.

The Alicorn Princess immediately began to lead Spike and her new friend Vergil towards their signature spot where she and the girls usually had their picnics – up on this grassy hilltop that gave off a nice view of Ponyville below. The closer they get, the moment the hilltop is in sight. Vergil spots a collection of five colorful ponies, each exotic and beautiful in their own way.

As the girls watched Twilight and Spike make their way over, the others quickly spotted the new face behind Twilight, a tall, silver-haired man with striking, deep blue eyes. Vergil was wearing his usual outfit. Black combat slacks, black belted boots, with his two-tone blue sleeveless under the vest, complete with his midnight dark blue long coat that had a split at the end. There were peculiar tree branch-like designs on opposite sides of his jacket and white lining.

As they get to the picnic blanket, Spike moves to take a seat. As the girls stared at Vergil in amazement at his presence, Twilight wasted quickly introduced him to every pony here.

"Hello every pony! I'd like you all to meet a new friend of mine. Girls, this is Vergil. He's a visitor from another world. It sounds pretty crazy, I know, but it's true." She introduced them to him one by one, starting from the left.

“This is Applejack. She works with her family at Sweet Apple Acores. Her family has the best apples in Equestria." After her introduction, Applejack gave the new friend a smile. "Well, Howdy there, Vergil. It’s nice t’meetcha.” The half-devil gave her a polite wave, and then Twilight moved on to the next friend in line.

"This fierce-looking pony with the colorful mane is Rainbow Dash; she's the fastest flyer in all of Equestria and is the leader of the Cloudsdale Pegasus weather team for Ponyville." The colorful maned mare flashes him a confident, toothy grin. “Hey there, Vergil. A pleasure to grace you with my awesomeness!” She energetically greets them, even holding out a forehoof for him to shake his hand, which he does shortly after; his hand and hoof shake solid and firm, giving her a nod of acknowledgment as he lets Twilight continue moving down her line of friends.

“This super energetic pony over here is Pinkie Pie. She works at the bakery called Sugarcube Corner; she's the resident party planner here in Ponyville." Pinkie Pie, bouncing up and down on her hooves, eagerly waited for Twilight to finish her introduction so she could chime in, and she did just that. Practically, speed bouncing towards the new friend.

“Oooooooooo, you're different, but in a COOL way! WOW, just look at you! I've never seen a human before. Except for this one time at night, I was coming back home after leaving Twilight's place, and I saw this REALLY tall shadow standing on two legs like this." Pinkie suddenly stood up on her forelegs, seemingly doing it effortlessly as she continued to say multiple things quickly.

"And then I looked at it and was like, WHOA! So I grabbed a flashlight, snuck up behind them, and yelled HOLD IT RIGHT THERE, BUSTER! Only to realize it was just a cardboard cutout. But I SWEAR it looked like a person!" She exaggerated her body language, jumping on loud words, and hyperactively jumped forward, physically acting out all her movements in this insanely long story.

At the end of her long sentence, she fell on her back with a light but soft thud but very quickly rose onto all fours with ease, her poufy curly mane and tail moving, jolting up. Without warning, Pinkie Pie suddenly jumped up, wrapping her hooves around his shoulders, and put her head against his, throwing him into a random but colossal hug. He clearly wasn't expecting that, but he awkwardly returned the hug. "Anyway, it's nice to meet you, Vergil!" She enthusiastically says, her happy-go-lucky voice sounding especially cheery. He felt her squish him tightly in her grasp.
"Yes...like....wise." He's able to mutter before she finally let go, which for a few seconds felt like a vice grip on his shoulders; this little pink pony was surprisingly strong for her size. The second her hooves touch the grass, she's bouncing happily back to her spot on the picnic blanket.

“And this very stylish mare right here is Rarity. She runs the local fashion store, The Carousal Boutique. If a big event is coming up and you need to look your best, Rarity is the one to go to." Twilight explained.

The beautiful purple-haired fashion pony gave him an elegant wave of her forehoof; she gave the half-devil a smile. "Why hello there, handsome~ charmed to meet you." The moment she got a closer look at him, she immediately began to imagine what kinds of jackets she could make for him. She had never seen a human before; no pony had ever made an outfit for a being quite like this. She noted many things about his body structure and how she'd have to alter and adjust. Still, she enjoyed the challenge, especially when it came to expanding her fashion sense.

There was only one person left to introduce, and she always opted to save her for last whenever there was a new friend since she knew how shy her friend was when it came to know people in town, especially since this person was a new being entirely. “And last but certainly not the least, this is my friend Fluttershy. She lives at the cottage near a small set of trees. She takes care of all the animals here, big and small. Fluttershy is the girl to go to if there's ever a problem with a pet or an animal.

Timidly, she takes a few slow steps forward. She doesn't look at him for about a minute or two before slowly looking up at him, the shyness evident in her expression. Though her eyes were rather adorable, the distinctness of her eyelashes was beautiful. This was an exciting world, to say the least.

"Hi… it's… nice to meet you." She gave him a timid smile before thoroughly looking away, and she gave him a cute little nervous squeal as she turned her head and walked back to her spot. Finally, with the introductions finished, Twilight turned to look back and forth between her friends and Vergil.

"Now that introductions are out of the way feel free to start eating, girls." Twilight adds, finally taking a seat on the blanket. Surprisingly, she sat next to Vergil, though he didn't seem to pay any mind.

"YES! This is the moment I've been WAITING for!" Pinkie Pie cheerfully replies. Immediately, seemingly out of the blue, she pulls out a cupcake and takes a bite.

Mmmmmmm! I love cupcakes!” She randomly pulled out another.

Twilight opened the basket and began to pass every pony a plate with some sandwiches and snacks, evenly dispersing them all out between her friends. Spike seemed to make extra. He probably knew that Twilight would invite Vergil along. She smiled and turned to her dragon friend, who was sitting next to Rarity.

“Spike, did you pack extra?” She asked with a smile.

“Mmhm.” He mumbles with a gemstone in his mouth, finally talking more after his mouth is empty. "I had a feeling you were going to invite him to come along; that's just the type of person you are, Twilight," Spike added, tossing an emerald into his mouth.

"Well, I am the Princess of Friendship after all," she joked. She took this role seriously, but she never wanted her friends to address her as such since it just felt weird to imagine her addressing them so formally.

The girls were fascinated with Vergil, to say the least. After the introductions, most of the picnic was spent asking him questions, some about his world compared to this one and others about himself in general. They were just trying to get to know him as best they could, showing genuine interest in his answers.

“So Vergil, tell me, dear. Just how different is your world from ours? I find it absolutely fascinating about how you've come here from another world entirely." Rarity asks, her horn glowing blue as she levitates her teacup to her lips to take a sip. After she asks his question, all the girls lean forward a bit, fully invested in what his response will be.

"There are many things different about my world compared to here. While there are some brief similarities, there are many differences. The most obvious one is that humans are a civilization back in my world, while it's Ponies here." Vergil explained, and the girls listened intently, even throwing in more questions.

“How are the seasons in your world, Vergil? Are they the same, or are they different?" Asks Twilight Sparkle, still parked next to him on the picnic blanket.

Vergil turned his head to look at her, blue eyes meeting her purple hues as he answered her question, which was a pretty easy one to answer. From what it sounded like, the ponies here were the ones who changed the seasons, physically changing seasons as if there was a whole weather team in the clouds. This. This was quite the curious world he had ended up in.

“We have the exact same seasons. Spring, Summer, Fall, or Autumn, depending on whatever one calls it, and Winter. The major difference is that we have a whole weather system back in my world, so our weather changes independently. While here, it sounds like you all change the seasons manually here." Vergil explained, adding the last sentence based on what he learned when Twilight introduced Rainbow Dash earlier.

“Whoa! So you guys don’t need to do anything? The weather really changes by itself?” Rainbow Dash asked, seeming interested in what she had found out.

“That’s correct. We probably have the same months as you. Do you all have twelve months in a year as well?" He asks, only now realizing he was starting to get lost in the conversation with these ponies. From a social standpoint, humans and ponies were one and the same. Maybe they weren't too different after all.

"Yes, we do. Just like your world, we also have twelve months in a year. Fascinating, simply fascinating! I never would have thought our worlds would have this much in common." Twilight mused. She was clearly having fun learning about all of this, and then again, even Vergil started to enjoy this.

“U-Uhm… are there lots of animals in your world t-too?” Fluttershy nervously asked, very slowly starting to get used to Vergil’s presence amongst all of them. He was surprised to get a question from the quiet one, but he didn’t mind. Vergil also liked animals too.

"We do. There are many different animals in my world, although most of the creatures are the same as the ones here. However, I do tend to see a lot of stray cats around... “ A short pause as he recalls a story.

"I remember one cold rainy night in the city. I came across a litter of cats, about five, not counting the mother. So I did the only thing I could think of, I wrapped them in my jacket and brought them home. I cared for them for a while before letting them go again. I would have kept some, but I was constantly on the move at the time, so I couldn't keep any. However, I did manage to find a proper home for them. Probably one of my earliest experiences with stray animals.” Vergil explained, recalling it in great detail.

Fluttershy was in awe. The fact that he also cared for animals so much made it much easier to talk to him. She found herself comfortable now that she had spoken to him quite a bit.

“Oh my, that was so incredibly sweet of you, Vergil. I love animals so much, especially cute little itty-bitty kitties.” Fluttershy smiles; she didn't expect this from Vergil.

The picnic continued for another two hours, and Spike eventually fell asleep, which prompted everyone to wrap it up for the day. After talking with Vergil for the whole picnic, Twilight and her friends would get to know their outworldly visitors a decent amount. They considered him a friend now, something he did not expect to happen upon arriving here. Vergil helped the girls clean and pack up; any leftovers were completely devoured by Pinkie Pie. With the picnic finally concluding, the girls began to leave individually.

“Well, it was nice meetin’ ya, partner. Have yourself a good night." She tipped her hat to him, and he gave her a nod.

“It was nice meeting you as well. Goodnight.”

Applejack gave him a nod right back, then moved over to provide Twilight with a hug. "G’dnight Twilight, see ya tomorrow."

Twilight hugged her back. “Goodnight Applejack.” She says, lightly pulling back so her friend can go back home.

"It was lovely meeting you, dear. Stop by the Carousal Boutique sometime. I'll make you look especially dazzling!" Says Rarity, who seemed very excited to create something for him, an offer he would definitely take her up on one of these days.

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well. I just may take you up on that, thank you. Goodnight, Rarity." Vergil replies. Rarity flashes him a charming smile before walking over to Twilight.

“Thank you so much for the picnic, darling.” Rarity says as he puts a forehoof around her friend to hug her. "Goodnight, Twilight."

“Of course, I love our group picnics, so I don't mind putting it together; goodnight, Rarity." Twilight happily replies.

Pinkie Pie quickly pounced at Vergil, pulling him into a hug again, this time he was actually prepared and managed to catch her, which earned him a cute giggle from Pinkie as she squeezed him tightly with her forehoofs – which was a typical hug from Pinkie Pie. "It was SUPER fun to meet you, Vergil, goodnight!"

"Same to you, Pinkie. Goodnight." Suddenly, she sprung out of his grasp like a freshly popped bedspring, landing right in front of Twilight, who would be hugged by the happy-go-lucky pony, to which Twilight returned, trying to keep what little breath she had during Pinkie's rather powerful hug.

"…Goodnight, Pinkie." Despite the stranglehold of a hug her friend gave her, she managed to get out before she finally pulled away, turning to cheerfully bounce down the path leading back to Sugarcube Corner.

“It was nice to meet you, Vergil. Maybe. Maybe I'll see you around sometime tomorrow, later!" Says Rainbow Dash, holding her hoof out for a bump. Vergil complies, putting his fist to her hoove. “Awesome!” Quickly turning around, he moves over to Twilight. As always, thanks for preparing the picnic. Goodnight, Twilight!"

“It was my pleasure, goodnight Rainbow Dash.”

With a wave of her hoof, the cyan Pegasus stretched her wings and took off into the air, leaving behind a rainbow trail as she zipped up and around some clouds before he saw the rainbow heading towards a big house in the sky.

Fluttershy walked up to Vergil and talked to him first, a testament to how much this picnic had helped him make friends, especially if she was the first to speak to him this time. This picnic may not have been such a bad idea.

"It was nice meeting you today, Vergil; I hope you enjoy your stay here in Ponyville.. uhm.. goodnight." She flashed him a shy smile before moving over to Twilight and giving her a hug, which Alicorn returned immediately.

“Thanks for always putting together the picnic for us Twilight, goodnight.” She smiled sweetly.

"Anytime at all, goodnight, Fluttershy.” She smiled in return, and Fluttershy slowly rose up into the air, but enough to where she was just above the ground as she slowly flew her way back home to her cottage.

Now that it was just two of them (Since Spike had fallen asleep), Twilight turned to Vergil. Because he was still new here, and no one seemed to like him for whatever reason, the Alicorn turned to face him, prompting him to look at her. In return, their eyes met.

"Since you don't have anywhere to go, you can stay with me at my castle," Twilight politely offered.

"You've already done more than enough for me, though."

She just shook her head, flashing him a small smile. “It’s okay, I don’t mind at all.”

Ironically, Vergil had just finished thinking about where he was going to sleep. He had opted for a campfire, but Twilight went ahead and offered him this; She had already done a lot for him, yet here she was, extending her home to him. Although it appeared that he was a bit reluctant, he was also quite grateful.

"…Thank you, Twilight, I appreciate it." Vergil folds, giving her a tiny smile. “Always happy to help, Vergil. Alright then, let's go home." Using her Magic, her horn glows deep pink, and she carefully places the sleeping Spike on her back as they return to the castle of friendship. At the top of the nearby mountain, a shadow figure with glowing crimson eyes with an equally red glow in his mouth as he outstretched his grin, showing off his dagger-like teeth. He just stared at them, his energy hidden so neither Vergil nor the Alicorn could sense him; he wanted to remain in the shadows and reveal himself only when the time was right.

"Enjoy your peaceful evening, Vergil… because tomorrow, we'll see how much you care about this town and the ponies that hate you." With a maniacal laugh, he turns and walks away, passing a group of little rabbits, with an evil smirk, the demon disappears in a swirl of shadow energy, pulling the animals in with him. "Come little creatures, time for a little.. upgrade." Once he's gone, there laid a lone dead plant on the mountainside left from where he had previously been standing.

----End Of Chapter----

Author's Note

Hello readers!
Chapter 2 is here and things are very slowly starting to build.
I love me a good mix of slice of life, action and violence.
I try to balance it out here and there, because I like to build things up (Plot, relationships, esc.) but also like to try and keep it interesting, keep some suspense, you know?
There may be also be a few slice of life chill chapters in the future, but also more action as well
Another note, I had originally intended for the picnic scene to be longer, I only skipped near the end since it was like 5 am and I had been editing since midnight at that time so I was Drained lol
So sorry about that, the next slice of life scene when it happens,
will be extended a bit more to make up for this one.
Thanks for checking this story out.
Until the next chapter, take care, and Happy reading!
~Darkslayer

Chapter 3: A Little Taste Of Hell

Devil Mare Cry

The Fate Of Two Worlds

Location: Ponyville – Inside The Castle Of Friendship|| Time: 12:54 a.m.

Tick

Tock

"Why does it sound… louder than usual?"

He thought to himself, blue eyes staring up at the ceiling as the wind from the spinning ceiling fan creeps in like a chill in the night.

Tic

Tock

…

Tick

Tock

The noise of the clock's ticking continued with each slow movement of the second hand, the noise, although faint, cuts away the comfortable silence in the safe confines of this guest bedroom like a loud crash of thunder on a clear, partly cloudy night. As this ticking continued, ten minutes became well over an hour since Vergil had been lying on his back in this comfortable spare bedroom.

The mattress was plush and very soft, it felt like the ones made of that soft foam that stayed cool, and didn't get warm, that he could get another good night's sleep, yet he couldn't drift off. Vergil was never usually this restless, but he couldn't fall asleep for some reason. Twilight had made his unofficial room for the remainder of his time in this strange new world. Upon his arrival, he felt like such an outsider since he was the only person of his kind here. If these ponies had seen any other humans at all before, and because he was also part demon, it made him especially fascinating to them. Thankfully, it was starting to become a bit easier to adjust since he became friends with Twilight and her circle of best friends. For ponies, they all had distinctive personalities.

That group of ladies turned out to be some pretty interesting people, friendly too – a huge difference compared to how the normal residents of Ponyville looked at him. Trying to settle the steady flow of thoughts in his head, he turned over onto his side, his eyes now facing the window a bit above his nightstand. This bed was comfy, so it was odd not to be able to sleep. His body wanted to, but his mind refused to cooperate.

"Dammit…" He silently cursed to himself. Ever since he and Twilight found his sword cursed with an unknown type of dark magic, something just didn't feel right, and no matter what he tried to do, any mind-numbing task to slow his thoughts failed – he just couldn't shake this feeling, a stinging twist in his gut pulled at the pit of his stomach, it felt like something had his stomach by sharp claws, but he was well aware that he wasn't injured.

For several moments, he began contemplating if he should get up and do a quick walk around Ponyville, and it seemed like he was going to do just that. Rising from the bed, Vergil stood up, his usual slicked-back hair messily hanging down in front of his face, making his bangs come down to his face just like his younger brother Dante. Running a hand up through his hair, he pushed it back to his original hairstyle.

Wearing only his sleeveless vest and slacks, Vergil quietly snuck out of the guest bedroom, very quietly shutting the door behind him. The half-devil managed to get downstairs, carefully taking each step so he wouldn't potentially wake either Twilight or Spike.

After quietly slipping his black belted combat boots on, just before he can reach the door, there's a flashlight coated in deep pink, and the beam shines on him, completely stopping him in his tracks, he looks back at her over his shoulder.

"Vergil? Where are you going at this time of night?" He was asked.

It was Twilight with her wizard nightcap on, she was holding a glass of water in her forehoof and quietly trotted over to him to catch his answer.

"I can't sleep… I've been trying for a few hours now, but I just get a feeling that something bad might happen tonight, so I'm about to go take a quick walk around town, just to make sure all is well." He explained Vergil wasn't going to lie to her, if something like this was making sleep impossible, then he just had to take a look.

The purple Alicorn Princess gives him a look, and here Twilight had thought she was the only pony who worried about one thing for several hours in a day, especially if that worry stays with you late into the night. "You're still thinking about that, huh?" She politely asked, a tinge of concern in her tone.

Vergil nodded. "Yes... I've tried everything I can think of to try and ignore it, but no matter what I do or try, it just never helps. It doesn't even matter if I'm comfortable.. sleep is just unobtainable." He quietly explained to her.

"Hmm… are you sure you're not just thinking about it too much? I've had some similar days and nights of my own in the past. Sometimes, if you lay down with a lot on your mind, it can lead to a particularly rough night."

The Alicorn didn't necessarily doubt him, it was also just important to note that the odd time this type of thing would happen, that one silly thought could sound a lot more serious than it was, which could be a thing that can happen sometimes.

"I understand what you mean, Twilight. But I'm positive that this isn't the case with this one." He sighed, the half-devil had planned to tell her anyway, so this was probably as good a moment as any to do that – Vergil wanted Twilight, and only Twilight to know about it for now, that way none of the others would worry. The most important thing to do for the moment was to try and find out as much as he possibly could about this demon.

"Twilight… there's something important I should tell you." Vergil shifts a bit, eventually turning his head to look at her, before he gets a chance to start, Twilight speaks first.

"Let me guess, you didn't come to this world alone?" She asks, giving him a proud little smile that tells him she already knows.

"How did you know?" He asked, curious. Did she sense a magical aura somewhere? He hoped so, because despite having this deep gut feeling, for whatever reason, he couldn't detect any energy, and usually Vergil's power detection ability never failed him, but tonight, he hadn't sensed anything at all, despite that he still wanted to take a quick look outside just for assurance.

"Yesterday, when we were in the Everfree Forest, I overheard you quietly thinking out loud to yourself. I'm glad you told me yourself though." She says, flashing him a tiny smile.

"I see... I'll have you know, that I never intended to keep that piece of information from you for long. I did plan on telling you." Vergil modestly replied she was a lot more perceptive than he thought her to be. Still, though, he didn't want to make it seem like he wasn't going to tell her.

The Alicorn Princess shook her head and smiled. "It's okay, Vergil. I'm sure you had you're reasons. I'm just glad to hear that you weren't going to keep it from me."

It was strange, Vergil had thought she would be a bit more upset that he didn't tell her right away. Instead, she was completely forgiving and brushed it off, something he wasn't used to, though he was grateful to know that she understood, and believed him, too.

Twilight hummed in thought, well, she was already awake, and this did sound important, so an idea came to mind.

"Since we're both awake, mind if I join you? You can tell me all about this mysterious stranger who came here with you, too."

Vergil nods. "Sure. If anything, I owe you an explanation anyway."

Leading the way, Vergil exits the front castle doors, Twilight following behind him, taking off her nightcap, and setting it down on the table before closing the door behind them with her magic.

Upon their trek outside, the two make their way down the path from the castle leading to town, enveloped under the serene, and beautiful dim, blue glow of the moonlight cascading the entire town, surrounding Ponyville in this enchanting, midnight grace of the cool shade of moon and its luminescent nightshade, as the peaceful silence rang throughout town like a quiet lullaby that gently nestled its residents into a comfortable sleep.

Walking with Twilight toe in hoof, Vergil strolled through Ponyville at the Alicorn's side, the two of them being the only individuals awake creating an especially tranquil experience in their late-night venture. Now that they were fully alone, it was a good time to start explaining.

"Alright, Vergil. Whenever you're ready, please start with how you got here." She smiles, waiting patiently for the half-devil to begin.

With a nod, he takes a breath and then starts to explain.

"Before my arrival here, I was just about to return home after being in the demon world for about four months. Unfortunately, before I was able to open the portal back to the human world, I was attacked by a demon in his human form."

"Another demon? Was there anything important about him you remember? Like what he looks like?" She asks, trying to find any bit of information about this mysterious stranger that Vergil could remember from the encounter with him.

"Yes I do.. he had long silver-blonde hair that went down past his back, blood-red eyes, and two sharp pointed ears.. he was wearing a long black trench coat, it was a shade of black that looked … darker than the color black, if that makes sense?" He explained, trying to recount as much as he could from just under two days ago.

"A darker shade of black? Strange.. anything else?" She asked, checking one last time if he was missing any details.

After a pause, Vergil tries to think of more, it takes a few minutes but the only other thing he recalls is the strange power he used. "The only other thing I can remember about him is his powers. Somehow, he's able to manipulate the darkness, and can even bend the shadows of objects." The half-devil added, taking a few extra moments to see if anything else came to mind, which he didn't. It wasn't a lot, but at least they had something to start with, he just hoped that he would be able to find out more soon, before anything major would happen. Coming up with nothing else, he shook his head.

"That's all I can remember, after that, we both ended up in the portal, and both managed to get one good hit on each other before we were separated. Though, just like me, he's probably healed by now." Vergil says, as they finally finish the walk through Ponyville. "Thank you for telling me, Vergil. Tomorrow, I'll write Princess Celestia a letter telling her about all of this. If this other demon is a potential threat to Equestria, then the sooner she knows, the better."

The two turn around at Sugarcube Corner beginning to make their way back to Twilight's castle. Now that she had all the information about this other demon Vergil could provide, they could start doing more research.

The two continued their moonlight stroll, Twilight decided to use this chance to talk to her new friend a bit more since this was a rare opportunity for some one-on-one time. "So, not counting the rough arrival here, what do you think of this world so far?" The Alicorn asks, curious to hear his thoughts after now spending nearly three days here in Equestria.

"I've seen quite a few different worlds in my past travels, but this one was certainly not something I expected." A short pause, gathering his thoughts, before continuing. "When I looked out that guest bedroom window after I woke up, it dawned on me right there that I was the only humanoid here in this world, which was part of why I felt so unnatural here." short pause, gathering more of his thoughts.

"While I still feel a bit like an outsider, I will admit, you and your friends have helped in making my being here much more comfortable. I don't exactly excel at making friends when it comes to new worlds. Oftentimes, the locals tend to avoid an outsider that's so different from them. So I'm very grateful."

"Really? Well, I'm delighted to hear that your experience in this world has been a positive one." A short pause as the two turn the final corner leading towards the outskirts of town, they finally arrive back at the Castle of Friendship which prompts Twilight to stop for a moment, in turn causing Vergil to stop as well, the Alicorn Princess turns around to face him, taking a few steps towards him to meet his gaze. Despite what he's saying, the clever mare can tell that he was feeling a little bothered by the way the other ponies were looking at him.

"I'm sorry that the other ponies in town haven't been as welcoming, give everypony some time, I think they just might be a little intimidated since humans like you are extremely rare. I'm sure they will come around eventually." She lightly reassured.

"Twilight, there's one more thing you should know about me…" Vergil politely interjects. If they were going to be friends, then there was no sense hiding in exactly the type of being he was from her – this would be the real test.

The Alicorn blinks. "What is it?" She asked, the mare could tell that there was slight hesitance from him, she could see it on his face, which told her that this new fact about him, was very important.

"It's okay, Vergil. You can tell me." Twilight adds, flashing him a small reassuring smile, and it does seem to help, as Vergil is noticeably less reluctant now, she could see it in his body language.

"I'm not just a human, I'm also part demon, as well." A short pause, to recount the exact name of his kind.
"A Cambion, if you will.."

He added, expecting a sour reaction. The mare's eyes widened slightly at his confession, but it didn't seem to cause her any discomfort, she seemed more intrigued than anything, which was a bit surprising to him, demons were a type of species that were either universally hated or feared.

In most of these worlds he's been to during past adventures, he found many people and beings, who always subjected him to disdain for his kind, part demon, or full demon, they were all the same to those people. The odd time, some would see him as a hero due to his father's history of heroic chivalry, although it didn't happen as much anymore, especially considering what his demonic half, Urizen, had done back in Red Grave before he saw the error of his ways.

"Fascinating! I suspected that you weren't some ordinary human when I saw your wounds heal." She admits, that while she had a theory that he wasn't just human, she would have never guessed that he was part demon, though she could tell that revealing his species wasn't something he did to just anyone, the way his face looked, told her that he may have had some incidents in the past due to being what he was. Something she understood since demons technically weren't seen as a particularly good species, Vergil on the other hoof, was different. She didn't see some scary demon in him, so he wouldn't have to worry about that, and the purple Alicorn wanted to convey that message to him wholeheartedly.

"That doesn't bother you?" He asked, genuinely curious to understand how she was so calm about it. Every time he told people (which already was rare in itself) there was always some sort of sign or reaction that usually told him there was some discomfort, but not with Twilight Sparkle.

"Of course not. You're a demon, but it doesn't mean you're the same as every other demon in the whole universe. Yes, I've only known you for a few days, but I can already tell that you are far from being a malicious and terrifying demon." A short pause, as she gently reached out to softly touch his arm with her right forehoof. Sure, it had been just about three days since they'd known each other. But it didn't take Twilight long to see the good in Vergil. There was no doubt that he was very different from her for obvious reasons, but if a pony and a griffon could become friends, then why not a pony and a demon, too?

"So if you ever find yourself feeling out of place here again, come talk to me, and I'll gladly remind you that, whether you have fur or skin, you'll always be a friend to me, and the others." Twilight warmly reassures.

Twilight's kind grace has Vergil temporarily speechless, he wasn't expecting to run into such wonderful people – or ponies, in this case. Twilight Sparkle was something else, she seemed to have a heart of gold. This warm sentiment made the half-devil understand exactly why she was the Princess Of Friendship – she was willing to accept others, no matter how different someone was, a true testament to her crown.

"Thank you, Twilight. That means a lot." This had probably been one of the only times where Vergil had been met with such kindness, so much generosity. Never did he think he would make some friends, let alone an entire little group of friends. It was not something he was used to, but it did feel rather nice to be treated as an equal instead of a danger or threat to society – which was unfortunately more often than not.

The two of them exchange a smile. For seconds, they realize they had been staring at each other for a bit longer than usual, and the two seem to notice before Twilight quickly, but tentatively took her front forehoof back, causing the both of them to look away.

"A-Anyway, it's pretty late. We should probably head back inside." Says the Alicorn, who slowly, but shyly rushed through the doors of the Castle of Friendship, leaving Vergil to his own devices for a moment – but one single moment was all he needed. Suddenly, before he can even get a chance to reflect on Twilight's sweet nature, he feels it, a familiar dark and ancient energy, and it feels slightly larger than before, it isn't long until Vergil suddenly feels the sinking feeling of being watched. Carefully closing his eyes, he looked around, thoroughly checking his surroundings, it took him about a minute or two, and then – he found it.

Standing far away from a ledge high up on the mountain that gave off a perfect view of the Castle Of Friendship down below, was a dark figure, his shadow seemed to be moving, swaying in the gentle night breeze almost like the darkness that surrounded him was alive, he stared down at Vergil from above, crimson red eyes with a worn outstretched blood-red grin that would strike fear into the eyes of someone weak-willed. The son of Sparda just stared him down, knowing that this was undoubtedly the same demon who had attacked him in the demon world, the familiar dark, and malicious feeling in his power aura gave it away -- but he looked different, very different.

Just then, the Castle's doors swung back open, causing Vergil to look away for a moment, and in the direction of the noise, Twilight Sparkle quickly poked her head out, trotting outside afterward, confirming that she could also sense the presence of magic, especially if it felt completely irregular.

"Vergil! Do you feel that!?" She asked, quickly joining his side, only to freeze upon her eyes finally glimpsing the figure standing up above, giving him a glare the second her purple eyes spotted the dark figure, staring down its crimson-red eyes, her glare remained unwavering, although there was a particularly strong eeriness to this power that made her shiver a bit.

The Alicorn saw him, but the exact moment Vergil shifts his eyes back above to look, the figure is gone. Twilight witnessed him disappearing into a void of darkness that seemed to have carried him away, even just looking at him for those few seconds was more than enough for Twilight to pick up a powerful sense of dread in her sights.

"…Was that him, Vergil?" Twilight asks, still looking up at the now empty mountain ledge where the figure had previously been standing.

Vergil nodded. "Yeah … that was him alright."

Slowly looking away from the mountain, Twilight, trots over a few steps to Vergil, gently nudging his arm with her right forehoof prompting him to lightly turn his head to face her. Blue eyes meet her purple hues. While she wore a bravely strong expression, the half-devil, he could tell that she was a bit shaken up.

"I've dealt with my share of enemies, before and after I became the Princess Of Friendship … but" A short pause, drooping her ears before she speaks.

"…But that demon's aura… was by far, the most foul magic aura I've ever felt.." She adds, slowly shaking off the unease that crept over her as she recalled the intensity of those cold, red eyes.

Vergil slowly reached out, his hand gently patting the back of her fur.
"Come on, Twilight let's head back inside."

She blinked, relaxing at his very brief touch before he felt him take his hand back. "R-Right. We still have to prepare for the Summer Sun Celebration after all." Finally, with the uneasy feeling washing away completely, the two head back inside the Castle. Vergil stopped at the final step briefly, to look back one more time at the mountain where the demon had so boldly revealed his presence to Twilight. "Whatever it is you're planning, I'll find a way to stop you.." He says to himself, a vow to find out more, and foil those plans, whatever they were – he wasn't going to let that demon do anything to this world. Turning his back to the mountain, Vergil finally heads inside closing the doors behind him.

Chapter 3: A Little Taste Of Hell

Despite the eventful and tremulous night, Vergil, and Twilight both managed to fall asleep, not right away of course, but were well-rested enough to go on with the day. In Vergil's room, blue eyes slowly opened, as he reached up to rub them with his hand. Sleep may not have come right away last night, but at least he had been able to fall asleep at all, he hoped Twilight slept at least decently, although he couldn't blame her if she didn't. Last night still bothered him, there was no way that demon was out there just to make his presence known to Twilight, Vergil suspected that he may have done something in Ponyville, whatever it was, all he could do was just make sure he was ready for anything.

Slowly, sat himself up in bed before eventually pulling the blanket off of himself, and shifting his body to move his legs out of bed then rose to his feet. He outstretched his arms with a yawn, letting his arms gently drop back down to his side after. Reaching towards the coat rack, Vergil grabbed his sleeveless two-toned blue turtleneck vest, zipped it up then moved over to the mirror in his room so he could run his hand through his messy silver hair, slicking it back like he usually had it.

Upon finishing looking at his reflection, he noticed that two lone bangs were hanging down past his forehead, reminiscent of the hairstyle that he previously had in his earlier days. He tried to push them back up, but to no avail, annoyed with it, he decided that if it was mostly slicked back, then it was good enough, he didn't want to deal with his hair right now, so he turned and left the bedroom. Passing through the hall and entering the dining area, he spots Twilight who was reading a book at the table, with a cup of tea next to her. The sound of the door opening makes her poke her head up from her book. "Good morning, Vergil. There's some tea if you'd like some." She offers with a smile.

"Morning, Twilight. Tea sounds nice, thanks." Returning a smile with a tiny one of his own, the half-devil walks to the counter, grabs a mug, and puts it on the counter, picking up and pouring himself some tea from the teapot, steam rising as it spills into his cup, giving way to a pleasant aroma of berries. Shortly after adding his three sugars and milk, and stirring, he joins Twilight at the table taking a seat across from her.

"Spike is still sleeping, I figured I'd let him sleep in a bit. I also wanted to talk a bit about last night." Twilight says, waiting for Vergil to take his seat.

"We can if you want, but I already told you everything I know."

She slowly nods. "Yes, I remember. It's not related to what you told me" She stops for a moment, taking a few seconds to recollect her thoughts.

"The way that magic felt, it was unreal. Almost like the magic surrounding him, had a mind of its own.."

"He's a demon in the most pure, and evil form. I'm going to find out exactly who he is, one way or the other." Vergil replies, clearly upset that he knew little to nothing about this enemy demon, he despised being a few steps behind, the less he knew, the more of a disadvantage he'd face. Considering that the fate of this world could potentially be at stake, he did not want to take any serious risks, especially a very costly risk.

"We'll have more luck if we work together. With the both of us doing research, I'm sure we'll be able to find something to work with." Twilight insisted, with how utterly horrifying that magic felt, there was no way she wasn't going to do her part – she was a Princess for a reason after all.

Vergil reluctantly agreed. "Alright, we'll both try and find out whatever we can." Given just how powerful that demon may be getting, this was a serious matter, so the sooner they found information, the better. "Regarding that, Twilight. I think it's best if we keep this just between us for now." Vergil suggested.

The Alicorn nodded in agreement. "I agree. We don't want to cause any panic. It also gives us time to do some information hunting, too."

"Thank you. And yes, I'd rather we tell our friends when we have some concrete information to give them on this new enemy." The Cambion added, picking up the mug and putting it to his lips to sip his tea, setting it back down shortly after.

"Me too. " The purple-furred mare agreed, using her magic to take a sip of her tea and flip over the page of the book she was reading.

"What are you reading, Twilight?" He asked, looking down at the book she was flipping through. He had noticed her reading it ever since he first joined her at the dining table.

"Huh? Oh! Equestrian Ancient Legends, it's the third volume. I'm trying to see if there are any links to what's been happening." She explained, flipping over to another page with her magic.

"Ah, I see. Any luck yet?" He asked, going in for another sip of his tea. It was funny, Vergil also relied on books for information several times before, it was ironic seeing someone else who shared some of his habits, which wasn't very often.

She shook her head, eyes still glued to the book. "Nothing yet, I'm almost done with this book though. If there's nothing in here, then there should be something in the next volume, Equestria has a pretty huge history. I've read the previous volumes too, and also found nothing. So I'd say that volume four is our best bet."

"Later on, after you're done with today's final preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration, I say we come back here and do some reading. I'll look through any other books you think may be relevant, while you read through volume four of that ancient legends book. What do you think?" He pitched, from what he could tell, that there were just two days left before this celebration, so tonight would be their only chance to do some research before things became busy, since she was a Princess, he assumed she would be relatively preoccupied that day.

Twilight hummed in thought, looking over at the calendar to check the date, she's able to confirm, so his idea was doable. "Yes, we can do that. I'm going to be a bit busy during the day of the Celebration, so tonight can work." She adds, giving him a small smile.

Before changing the subject, Vergil recalled her saying she planned to write to the Princess, he figured he would ask her about that. If the Princess of Equestria knew something, given the circumstances, he was positive that Princess Celestia would be able to provide some much-needed input that would hopefully fill in the blanks that could help them piece together the identity of this demon, and what exactly he could be planning.

"Oh. Twilight, did you write that letter already?" He asked, to which the Alicorn would nod.

"Yes. I wrote it a little bit after I woke up. Once Spike is up, I'll get him to send it to her. Princess Celestia is in Saddle Arabia with Princess Luna right now on royal business. She told me she would be done tonight. So tomorrow, she'll be here in Ponyville." She replied, showing him the neatly rolled-up scroll with her magic, setting it down next to her shortly after.

"Excellent. I was just checking. If she knows anything, I'm certain that she'll tell us what we need to know." A short pause. "What did you tell her?"

"I told her about your arrival, what you told me about how you got here, and then I mentioned to her this other demon, I told her that we saw him last night too. All we can do now is wait until she can reply."

Vergil nods. "Very well. In that case, I suppose for now, we'll try to carry on with the day. I'm sure there's still much to prepare."

Moments later, before Twilight could respond, the two heard a yawn, and in walked Spike prompting an immediate subject change. It seemed that he had finally woken up, outstretching his small arms, he let out one last yawn.

"Good morning, Twilight, Vergil." The dragon greeted them, jumping up onto one of the stools at the table to join them.

"Good morning, Spike. Did you sleep well?" The Alicorn asked.

"Oh yeah, like a log." He pauses for a moment, only to realize that he overslept a bit, and breakfast wasn't made.

"Wait, I slept in. Darn! That means breakfast wasn't made! Ugh.. sorry about that." The little dragon apologized, though Twilight didn't think it was necessary, and lightly shook her head.

"Don't worry about it, Spike. You always go above and beyond for me, and I'm always grateful, but it doesn't mean you can't sleep in, of course, you can." She gently reassured.

"Thanks, Twilight." He smiles. "If you want, I can make you something now?"

"That's okay. I think I'll probably grab something on the way. I have to go meet Princess Luna soon to find out a bit more about the part I'm going to be playing in the celebration. She's coming back first to oversee things while Princess Celestia finishes over there. I'm supposed to have more to do now this year, too." She explained, that it was something she was very excited to learn, especially since this would be her second Summer Sun Celebration as a Princess, and the first one where she would be given her chance to address the other ponies in her speech, and not just be the final finishing touch to the rising of the sun like last time.

"Alright. I'll be able to make lunch after though, so that I can take care of." Spike replied, throwing a ruby into his mouth with a crunch.

"Thank you, Spike. Before I go, could you send this letter to Princess Celestia for me, please?" She asked, her horn glowing deep pink as her magic hovered the scroll over him.

"Sure thing, Twilight. I'll do that right now." Taking the scroll, he runs his claws over it to make sure it's sealed tight for its trip, then he grabs it, throwing it up into the air, he inhales deeply, blowing out a small green flame that made the scroll disappear, turning into a trail of smoke that made its way out the window, and officially began its journey to Princess Celestia.

"Anyway, I think I'm gonna start heading out now. So I'll see you later."
With that, Twilight began trotting away, stopping when hearing her name.

"Twilight wait." The Alicorn turns around to look back at him.

"Hm? What is it Vergil?"

"I was just wondering.. if there was anything I could do to help?" He offered, sudden but very kind of him to offer to help, she guessed maybe it was a way to try and show the other ponies that he wasn't so different after all.

"You want to help? But what about the other ponies?" She asked, wondering if he would be bothered by the fact that he would be stared at and avoided just like the other day.

He just shakes his head. "It's whatever. All I care about is lending a hand, and maybe making a few bits while I'm at it. If I'm going to be in this world for a while, then I may as well do my part and earn some money in the process." A short pause after his words. Considering how the others in town looked at him, there was no way he would be able to find some work, especially some that would pay him, Twilight was his only chance at getting something, he just hoped it wasn't too much to ask of her.

"…If it's not too much to ask, I could use your help. I doubt any of these ponies will let me take part. They'd sooner run away, rather than talk to me." Vergil wasn't expecting much to come of his request, if anything, she probably had more important things to do. "On second thought, you probably have more important things to do, so … don't worry about it." He quickly changed his mind.

"It's no trouble at all, Vergil. Go grab your jacket, I'll wait for you outside." Turning back around, she stepped outside. Patiently waiting for Vergil below the stairs while he grabbed what he needed.

In a blur of blue, Vergil teleported away, reappearing inside his bedroom, he grabbed his long coat off the coatrack, then teleported again, this time reappearing right beside Twilight, his sudden appearance causing her to jump a little bit – she was not expecting him to be able to teleport.

"Whoa! You can teleport too?" She asked, genuinely surprised at this new fact about her humanoid friend.

"That's right. It was one of the very first demonic abilities I perfected. The art of teleportation was relatively easy to get the hang of once I figured out how much power I needed in total that was required to use it." He briefly explained, recalling a little bit from his childhood, the better parts of it anyway.

"That's amazing! I can do that, too!" Twilight excitedly chirped, not wasting a second before proving her claim, disappearing in a flash of deep pink, reappearing behind him in that same explosion of color less than a second later.

"See? Of course, this version is quite different compared to yours, it's still interesting nonetheless." Again she poofs, once again reappearing in front of him.

"Indeed. Although you seem to reappear slightly quicker than I do, that's probably because your teleportation is based on magic, and not natural power. So mine takes an extra millisecond. It doesn't sound like much of a difference, but trust me, there is a distinctive difference."

"Really?" Twilight hummed. "I don't think I noticed. Teleportation magic is a high level of magic here in Equestria. So I haven't met any pony else who could do it." She was intrigued, the Alicorn wasn't expecting Vergil to also have the ability to teleport, the only other she could think of was Discord, but that made sense for him. This silver-haired half-devil though, was quite the specimen indeed. She wondered what else he could do.

"Impressive, though I already had a feeling you were quite the talented mare." Vergil complimented, the half-devil didn't need to see much to know. The way she had been able to trap the demonic magic was a clear sample of just how skilled she was. Magic worked very differently here than how it did back in his world, and Twilight seemed to have a very good grasp on it.

Twilight just giggled bashfully, looking away shortly after to mask the tinge of her flushed face. "W-well I don't know about that. I guess I always loved studying, so I suppose you could say I've done a lot of research.." She adds, shyly rubbing the back of her mane with her right forehoof.

"A high knowledge of magic, and you're well-read. I'd say that's a good combination for success." The half-devil says, giving her a tiny half-smile. The two continued down the path.

"Thanks. But aside from all the studying and hard work. I know one thing is for sure. I wouldn't have gotten to where I am now if it weren't for my friends. They've been supporting me ever since I first arrived in Ponyville a few moons ago." Twilight warmly adds a quick flash of all the things she'd been through with her friends play through her mind, she was grateful to them.

"I see. Well, with a precious circle of close friends, I'd imagine anything would be possible…" The devil hunter comments, walking on a little bit ahead, there is an underlining hint of sadness in his tone, it is faint, but the Alicorn can notice it right away.

"All friendships are important to me!" A short pause as she rushes a bit to catch up to him. "That includes new friends, too." She quickly added, giving a small nudge of his arm with her right forehoof, the little touch prompted him to turn and meet her gaze just in time for her to give him a small smile.

The moment the two of them began their casual trek through town, the staring quickly began. All eyes were on Vergil, ponies watched his every move, looking at him with wide eyes that made it seem like they were staring at an alien from another planet – which wasn't exactly accurate, but at the same time, not that much of a stretch, since he was in a way, from another planet. The only difference is that he was from another world instead. The princess decided to strike up a conversation, to hopefully distract him from the onlookers, it also gave her another excuse to get to know him a bit more.

"Hey, Vergil. Can I ask you something?" She tentatively inquired just as the two passed by Rarity's Carousel Boutique. At the request to ask him something, he simply turns his head to look down at her.

"Sure, what is it?" He responds, his tone sounding a bit more normal now. The question on her mind was a bit of a tricky one. On one hoof, she wanted to ask about it, but on the other hoof, she wasn't sure her question would be considered prying. Unsure of his reaction, she goes ahead to ask it.

"Do you have friends back in your world?" She curiously, yet cautious asked, carefully studying his reaction, in case he was vague, his body language should be able to tell her a bit more about how the question made him feel.

"…." Just as she thought, no answer. Purple eyes shifted to watch his movements, he was shifting his arms a bit, and the pacing of his walk slowed, but only for a second, before it continued. From what she had seen, this seemed like a bit of a sensitive subject for him, quickly she began to regret asking.

"Ah … er, never mind. Stupid question. Of course, you had friends, right?" She brushes it off, feeling a little bad for asking. Instead of being met with anger, he just sighs a bit, then finally looks over at her.

"It's not a stupid question, there's nothing wrong in being curious." There was a brief pause before he finally began to answer.

"No … I don't. I've never really had any friends before, not once." Vergil finally answers, there's slight hesitance in his voice, but Twilight was only asking a question, he wasn't about to bite her head off just for that, if anything he should have expected that question from her at some point since she was The Princess Of Friendship.

Her expression saddened a bit at his answer, ears drooping a little as she let him go on with his answer. Now she did feel a little bad for asking such a personal question. Still, he told her anyway, which showed her that he trusted her, and she was glad. Friends needed to have trust in each other after all, and she was happy that he was willing to share a bit with her.

"Unfortunately, the people back in my world would sooner want to see me dead, rather than have me continue to exist around them. Though I can't say I blame them for their low opinion of me." There was a notable softness in his tone now. Judging from how reluctant he'd been about giving her the full story, the purple-furred mare could faintly spot a gleam of guilt in his deep blue eyes, after that, it wasn't hard to put the rest of the pieces together – he was a reformed villain. A revelation she wasn't expecting to find out.

"That's awful Vergil.." She pauses, thinking for a moment. "…What did you do?" She asked, now more curious about him than she had previously been. Twilight knew how those who were reformed tended to be. Discord was a bit iffy, but she still trusted him. Trixie was another that came to mind, but two ponies stood out the most from the others she knew. Starlight Glimmer, and most notable of all, Princess Luna. If those two could be forgiven for their wrongdoings, then she didn't see how Vergil couldn't be forgiven, too.

"…" Blue eyes shifted away from her gaze to look at the ground, while he did trust Twilight Sparkle, from the severity of his crimes, he wasn't sure if he was ready to tell her that yet. Perhaps one day, but that day would not be today. Finally, his eyes revert down to again meet her gaze.

"...With all due respect, Twilight. I don't think that's something you're ready to hear."

"Oh … it's okay. I understand.." Twilight says, although it is rather obvious that she is a bit disappointed that he won't tell her. Part of him wanted to, but with all she had done for him thus far, and given the gravity of all that he'd done, the half-devil just wasn't sure how she would react. He had just made some new friends in another world for the first time, if they knew that he had damn-near killed off the entire human population in his world by summoning a demon tree that drained people of their blood, he was pretty sure that the girls, especially Twilight, wouldn't look at him as a friend anymore.

"Maybe another time…" He quietly added, the mare caught what he said but didn't say anything in response. The two walk down the path. Twilight silently hoped he would have the courage to tell her sometime, though it was a little concerning. If he didn't want to talk about it, just how bad was he? Whatever the case, she would just have to prepare herself for the day whenever she would find out, that was if he would choose to tell her at all. For now, despite the slight disappointment, Twilight would respect his privacy and move on to a different subject.

"Anyway, what kind of things did you want to help with? I'm sure we can find something for you to do." Twilight asks, the two stopping as they arrive at Ponyville Town Hall where the Mayor would be.

"I'm honestly not sure. I'm not familiar with the setup for this celebration, but I'm willing to help in any way possible for some…. Uh.. what was the money here called again?" He asked, the name of the currency had accidentally slipped his mind.

"Bits." Twilight corrected

"Yes, that's it! I'll help any way I can for some bits." He adds, and Twilight nodded.

"Okay, just give me a few minutes." With that, Twilight headed inside the town hall while Vergil opted to wait outside. The second he was alone though, the staring once again continued, this time it annoyed him, was staring all they could do? It didn't bother him at first, but at this point, it was just getting ridiculous. In response, Vergil frowns, his expression becoming visibly irritated; he turns to face the onlookers.

"Is STARING all you lot can do?! Keep on giving me that look, and I'll make sure NONE of you can ever see ever again!" He angrily snapped at them, his threats understandably causing the several ponies staring to become scared for their lives, and in seconds, the area was clear of ponies. After the dust settles from the stampede of ponies running away after his threats, Vergil only then realizes that he reacted rather irrationally.

"Rrrgh! Dammit!" He cursed aloud, regretting the lack of control in his previous reaction, to refute this frustration, he summoned a blue phantom blade, angrily crushing it in the palm of his gloved hand, the shattered pieces turning into little blue energy particles before completely disappearing.

"What is every pony's problem?!" He huffed, crossing his arms. Vergil honestly began to question just how Twilight and her circle welcomed him so openly, while every pony else just judged him for being different. While Vergil stood outside, inside the town hall, the Princess was already speaking to the mayor. Just like the other ponies, she was very concerned with the outsider in their town.

"Princess Twilight! How wonderful it is to see you." Mayor Mare gives the Alicorn a bow, rising to her hooves again after a few seconds.

"Good morning, Mayor Mare, good to see you, too." Twilight replies giving a small friendly smile.

"So, what brings you here today, Princess?" The mayor asks, walking to her desk and plopping herself into her chair behind it.

"I know preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration have been going smoothly already, but I was wondering if there was any leftover work that needed to be done. There's a new friend of mine who is hoping to help out a bit." She explained, pausing for a moment to glance back outside the window at Vergil, then back to the mayor. Vergil is getting a bit impatient outside and opts to just up and enter through the door.

"You see, he came here from another world, and since both me and him have no idea how long he's going to be here, he'll need some bits to get by in the meantime."

"B-But Princess, how could you trust something like that? It's an outsider, and certainly not a pony, surely you must think it doesn't belong here, there's just something unusual about that creature that bothers me. We don't know what it's capable of, it could very well destroy this town if we're not careful." The mayor politely disagreed, unfortunately, Vergil had opened the door a bit, but before he got the chance to push it all the way open, he overheard everything the mayor had said.

"Why am I not surprised.." He mutters under his breath, prompting a sudden SLAM as he closes the door hard behind him, the loud noise causing both the older pony and Twilight to jump a bit. The Alicorn knew immediately that Vergil had heard what she said, which caused Twilight to frown at the mayor, giving her a very disappointed look, she wasn't happy with her answer, what she said probably added to Vergil's feeling of displacement, it probably even made him lose faith that the other ponies would eventually come around to accept him.

"His name is Vergil, and he's my friend." Twilight corrected, offended that the mayor would address Vergil as an 'it' rather than a man. It wasn't right.

"I'm disappointed, Mayer Mare. Aren't we supposed to give everypony and everyone, a chance? Judging people based on appearance is not how friendship is supposed to work at all." Turning her back to the Mayor, Twilight raised her wings and walked out, leaving the mayor alone with her shame.

Quickly trotting out the door and down the steps, Twilight began looking left and right for her friend, she felt awful that he had to hear that, she couldn't believe what the mayor said. There was a part of her that understood the reason to distrust him, but he had been with her for days now and hadn't done anything wrong, that told her all she needed to know about him.

"Vergil? Vergil! Where did you go?" She called out, checking all around her for her tall friend, but he was nowhere to be found. Unsure of where exactly he could have gone, Twilight decided to backtrack and see if he went back to the Castle.

|Vergil|

Sitting in his bedroom inside the Castle Of Friendship, there Vergil sat, revealing the reality that he might not be accepted here after all. The half-devil wasn't hurt by it, he was more angry than upset. All this just reminded him about the way humankind treated him, the group of humans that knew he had been the one behind the Qliphoth tree always made it a point to call out Vergil on his crimes, no matter how much good he did, maybe he should have expected a type of scenario like this.

"…What an utter waste of time."

Why did he even bother trying to ask for work? How exactly was he supposed to make something of his being here if no other pony would bother to give him even a glance without either running away or avoiding him only to watch from afar. Perhaps the seven he met here were the only friends he would find here, and if that turned out to be the case, he wouldn't mind – he was lucky to make any friends at all here. It wouldn't be an easy time here in Equestria. Without any money, he wouldn't be able to do anything, and Vergil wasn't about to pester any of his new friends for bits either, that would be pathetic. The very idea of trying to mooch off his friends disgusted him. With all these difficulties he seemed to face, the road ahead from here on out would be quite a rocky one.

A few moments later, Spike opened the door, jumping a bit at finding Vergil there.

"Whoa! Vergil? What are you doing here? I thought you were going to try and help around Ponyville?"

"That's probably not going to happen." The half-devil simply replies, pulling out his replica copy of his poetry book. Nero had the original, but it would be unheard of for Vergil to be without it, so he kept this second copy with him wherever he went. Opening it, he begins to flip through some of the pages absentmindedly, not looking for any particular page.

"Huh? Why not?" the dragon asked, jumping up onto a stool. Spike was just about to gather up the bedding in this room to wash it, he didn't expect to find Vergil back here, so he assumed that something might have happened.

"Let's just say, ponies here are far too fearful and distrusting of me. Although, I'm not very surprised."

"What happened, Vergil?" The dragon further inquired, were the other ponies in town intimidated by him? He couldn't help but wonder just what it was about him that scared them so much.

"I heard the mayor responding to Twilight, she made her thoughts about me very clear. In the end, I suppose it doesn't matter anyway. I'm used to being shunned, hated, or feared for what I am." Vergil stops on a page with one of his favorite poems: The Marriage Of Heaven and Hell.

"So you're just gonna give up like that?" Spike asks, crossing his arms.

"What else can I do? Fear will always carry their judgment, that's just how it goes with us demons." Vergil comments, dismissing the dragon's words. Spike was a dragon, he couldn't possibly understand.

"Come on, Vergil. You don't believe that, do you?"

The Cambion is silent for a moment, blue eyes revert down to the contents of the page he's on. Quietly, he reads along the poem until it comes to a particular two lines in the poem that's highlighted with a blue highlighter marker.

"Prudence is a rich, ugly old maid courted by Incapacity. A fool sees not the same tree that a wise man sees." That is all Vergil says, unsurprisingly leaving Spike a little confused.

"Huh? Uhmm. Can I get that in English, please?" Spike asks, a claw rubbing the back of his head.

Vergil sighed, maybe he should have just said it, rather than reading a line from the poem below him on the page. "Every pony in town is much too paranoid to listen to reason. If I'm to remain an outcast here, then so be it."

"Listen, Vergil. I can sort of understand how you want every pony to accept you. But try not to take it personally. In the past few years, we've had a lot happening here. A whole lot of bad, but also some good too. Whenever there's a new face in town, every pony here is usually a little on edge, especially when it comes to a type of species that no pony has ever seen before. You just have to wait and be patient." Spike tries to explain.

"Everypony here is usually kind, welcoming. And always happy to say hello to a new visitor. Even if that person isn't a pony. I think you're just so different, that it scares them out of being friendly. There's nothing wrong with you Vergil, it might take a bit longer than normal, but I know everypony will be calling you a friend in no time, just have faith."

Vergil seems to catch onto this understanding the dragon is trying to convey to him. Twilight had said the same thing too. One would think that if the Princess trusted him, everyone else would follow. Perhaps this world was a lot more complicated than he originally thought. Still, though, the place was in danger, and if none of the other ponies would come to trust him, then it would certainly make it harder for him to help whenever that demon's plan was finally set in motion.

"I suppose I understand.. but what if my time is limited?" Vergil asks, only to realize that he probably shouldn't ask such things, he wasn't supposed to tell anyone else about the demon yet, not until more information was discovered.

"Huh, what do you mean?" Spike asks, understandably confused, to which Vergil quickly brushes it off. So they were always overly cautious, if what Spike said was true, then maybe there was a chance, though he chose to keep his expectations low.

"Nothing... don't worry about it. Anyway, I do see what you're saying." Vergil closes the book and pockets it again. It wasn't exactly the kind of answer he was looking for, but it was enough to make him disregard what the other ponies thought of him. It wouldn't be easy, even without the trust of the other ponies, Vergil wasn't going to stop his mission.

"Thank you, Spike. Perhaps I'm slowly beginning to understand things from the town's point of perspective a little bit more."

"Yeah, that's the spirit." The dragon cheered. "Trust me, you'll get your moment to earn their trust. In the meantime, at least you still have seven new friends, right?" Spike says, giving his taller friend a small smile.

"You're right. I should be thankful for what I already have." The two exchange a mutual nod, and bump fists before Vergil exits the room. Walking through the hall of the castle, the clacking of his footsteps from his black belted boots echo throughout the walls as he steps in toe towards the doors.

The exact minute that Vergil stepped outside, he was immediately met with a very loud explosion in the distance, an explosion so large, that he could feel the entire ground beneath him shake. Narrowing his eyes, a bad feeling quickly creeps up on him, it is one of those gut-wrenching, stomach-twisting feelings where you know that something is very wrong. There was no indication of what it was, you just had to trust your instincts, and that was exactly what he was going to do.

"That can't be good."

Kicking off his left heel, and stepping out onto his right foot, Vergil broke out into a sprint, his demonic energy flowed to his feet, drastically increasing his speed the longer he ran, during his rush, he was able to pick up the familiar dark energy he felt last night when the demon revealed himself to Twilight, there wasn't a moment to lose, he had to get there as soon as possible.

|Twilight Sparkle|

Trotting through Ponyville, Twilight is heading back to the Castle Of Friendship to check up on Vergil, she was a little concerned. Vergil was a bit hard to read, she already knew he was a good person and could be trusted, but at the same time, there were moments when she couldn't predict his emotions, it was almost like he was rediscovering his emotions from how unpredictable his reactions were.

Vergil claimed that the opinions of the others didn't bother him, but maybe they did. Maybe they did, and it bothered him a lot more than he would let on. Three days in of knowing him, she could already tell he had some pride for who and what he was, which she suspected, was probably one of the reasons he decided to play off how he felt, to preserve whatever pride he could hold onto, but that was just a theory she had, and didn't want to assume that was the case without hearing a bit more about his side of the spectrum first.

The Alicorn sighed. "I hope he isn't having second thoughts about all of this.."

She says to herself, remaining hopeful that Vergil didn't completely give up on trying to win over the rest of the town if only the others knew he wasn't as horrible as they all perceived him to be. As she trotted along the path, she was deep in thought, trying to think of some possible way for everypony here to see him for the kind person he was.

Just as the purple-furred mare is about to reach the outskirts of Ponyville where her Castle is, without warning

B O O O O O M !

A loud explosion is heard, the shockwaves of it sending powerful tremors that seemed to shake the very ground every pony stood on. As soon as the explosion went off, Twilight looked in the direction of it immediately, it came from somewhere within the Everfree Forest. Not long after the aftermath of the explosion, a large flock of birds began to fly away, followed by a trail of animals that took off into a sprint running away from something.

"What in the name of Celestia was that?" Twilight says, quickly extending her feathered wings, and she takes off with a wild flap, soaring over to where she suspected the explosion had occurred.

|Fluttershy|

It had been a typical day just like any other for the kind, pink-maned Pegasus. She had spent most of the day taking care of all the animal friends that lived with her at her cozy little cottage, a few of them were sick and she had been treating them one by one, using as much gentle care as she could. One of her unique gifts was her ability to talk to and understand other animals, something she did quite often. During her daily routine. Some of her animal friends had expressed that they noticed that quite a few of their other animal friends were missing. After taking count of everyone, Fluttershy would soon realize five animals in total were missing. A blue jay, a snake, two goats, as well as a rabbit (a friend of Angel Bunny)

For two hours, she had been searching for them already, but had no luck, she wasn't sure what else to do. She wasn't able to ask for help either since every pony was busy helping with preparations for the upcoming Summer Sun Celebration.

"Oh no, what am I gonna do? I've looked everywhere for them. I hope they're okay."

One of her other friends, a red robin flew and landed on her back, chirping to her about something, so the Pegasus listened intently, her attention undivided as she began to converse with the little bird, getting whatever details she could out of her feathered little friend.

"What? There were a bunch of strange noises in the forest last night. What kind of noises?" She asked, becoming increasingly concerned with each detail the robin would give her, she couldn't believe what she was hearing, the sounds the bird was describing honestly sounded pretty terrifying.

"Growls, grunts, and roars? Oh my, that sounds scary.." Trying desperately to stay calm, decides that she can't do this alone after all, and is about to take flight to find one of her friends, when suddenly, her animal friends fly away, the red robin telling her in bird chirps that she should leave too, then immediately took off after the other birds. Soon after, her other animal friends took off, leaving Fluttershy confused, and now very worried. Before she has time to think—

B O O O O M !

A loud explosion sounds off, and it's coming from the Everfree Forest, Fluttershy feels the shockwaves immediately since she's a bit closer to the forest. It catches her by surprise, and she's knocked over but safely landed on her flank.

"W-What was that??!"

Not wanting to wait around to see what exactly the explosion meant, the shy Pegasus took flight, and quickly left in search of her friend Twilight Sparkle.

"I-I don't know what's going on, but I need to go find Twilight. All of you should go find somewhere safe, just in case, but please be very careful!" With a flap of her wings, off she soared. After flying past a few homes in Ponyville, Fluttershy spots her friend Rarity, the two make eye contact, prompting Fluttershy to slow down, and gently descend to meet her friend.

"Rarity!"

"Fluttershy! Glad to see you're alright, darling." The purple maned, unicorn pulls her friend into a quick hug, the Pegasus reciprocating it upon the hug before the two gently pull back. "I'm so glad that you're okay too."

"Did you hear that dreadful explosion? I was in the middle of sewing the most dazzling part of this dress a client requested when that horrible noise broke my concentration." Rarity explains, clearly just as bewildered by this as she was.

"I did, it scared the poor animals. I don't know what's happening, but we should go see Twilight, I was just about to go look for her." Fluttershy replies, the concern for her poor animals freshly weighing on her mind, he prayed that the ones who were missing were okay.

"A grand idea, dear. If any pony knows what's going on, it would be Twilight. Let's be off." Picking up her friend Rarity so they could travel quicker, the two took off towards the explosion, they knew Twilight was more than likely already going there, she just hoped the two of them would make it there on time before anything else bad happened.

|Rainbow Dash|

Fast asleep inside a comfortable fluffy cloud slept the cyan Pegasus. She had recently become a Wonderbolt not that long ago, finally living the dream she had been chasing for so long. Rainbow Dash truly loved what she did, but even being a member of the Wonderbolts could be rather exhausting sometimes, so she had been napping for a few hours, peaceful and undisturbed.

A few hours ago she had just finished everything she needed to do in her part in helping set up for the Summer Sun Celebration, this nap was her reward for all the hard work she had done today – and it was a reward she was thoroughly enjoying. Unfortunately for her, this perfectly comfortable nap was about to be disturbed. Seconds later, it happened.

B O O O O M !

A loud explosion cuts through the deafening silence like a firework without the light show. The noise and shockwave were so powerful, that it even pushed back a few of the clouds in the sky, Rainbow Dash's unfortunately being one of them. Out of nowhere, the shockwave of the blast sent her cloud back, jolting her awake the second the cloud she was on moved, she barely had time to react as she was shoved off of the cloud like a leaf being taken by the wind.

"WAAAAAAAHHHH" She screamed, her adrenaline kicked into overdrive, Rainbow managed to turn onto her stomach midair and extend her wings, catching herself just in time to save herself from a violent spin out. Relief washes over her immediately. "Phew.. that was a close one. Man, I am just too awesome!" She proudly grins, chuckling a bit after. She had never caught herself this quick before, it must have been a new record. Her moment of glory is sadly cut short as she finally registers what happened, the explosion, where it came from, and what could have possibly caused that. She had a bad feeling about this.

"No idea what's going on, but Twilight needs to know about this." Knowing her friend, the purple mare was probably already heading to the scene of the explosion, no sense in keeping her waiting, especially since this felt serious. Taking off into a burst of hypersonic speed, off went the rainbow-maned Wonderbolt, leaving a trail of rainbows behind her. Rainbow Dash zipped past town, rainbows still trailing behind her. During her fly-by, Rainbow Dash spotted Pinkie Pie who was standing outside of Sugarcube Corner looking in the direction of the explosion.

"Pinkie Pie, you hear that loud bang too?" She asked, the energetic earth pony quickly turned around, bouncing in place on all fours at the sight of one of her close friends.

"Hi, Rainbow Dash!" Cheerfully, Pinkie pulls Rainbow Dash into one of her usually powerful hugs, causing Rainbow Dash to softly grunt a bit despite reciprocating the hug, before finally letting go, the ability for air to return to her lungs restored upon Pinkie Pie letting go.

"I'm sure every pony heard that big BOOMsplosion. I wonder what it was." Pinkie replies, very curious about this unknown phenomenon. Despite her natural hyperactive personality, even Pinkie knew that as interesting as the explosion was, it likely didn't mean anything good.

"Same here. I was about to go find Twilight, you should probably come too. I gotta feelin' that we got some serious flank kicking to do!" Rainbow cheers raising her forehoof, which was a typical reaction of her. She had always been quite the dare pony, a thrill seeker constantly trying out new adrenaline-fueled things. While she appeared to be a bit overexcited about it, Rainbow always could be serious when the moment called for it, and she had a feeling, this would be one of exact moments.

"Sounds like a GREAT idea! Dashie. Let's GOOOOOOOO!!" Pinkie announces, eagerly hopping away in the direction of the Everfree Forest, with Rainbow Dash leading the way through the air, staying close to the ground so she could still talk with Pinkie Pie should they need to act fast.

Upon reaching the Everfree Forest, she doesn't even get the chance to fully enter the forest, the second she is about to pass through the entrance, she stops dead in her tracks at the unexpected sight before her. Purple eyes widen in shock at the creature standing before her: It was some sort of grotesque, mutant abomination. This beast had been artificially created. It was about the size of a Timberwolf, if not larger. This thing was a horrifying and morbid amalgamation of other animal parts. She couldn't describe it any other way besides it being some twisted mutation that was comprised of bird wings, goat antlers, the tail of a snake, and oddly enough, the long ears of a rabbit, only these ears had a sharp point to them meaning those ears had been turned into a deadly weapon.

"I don't know what you are, but I will NOT let you reach the town!" With a determined face, Twilight got serious, her horn began to glow deep pink, and she began to shoot a multitude of charged magic blasts at it. The first few shots missed, but soon after a few would hit, which caused it to roar out loud, this was a roar that sounded unlike any other creature or beast she'd ever heard before, just what exactly was this thing? And why was it here?

The thing didn't like her magic blasts very much, without time to fully react, the creature swung its clawed tail trying to crush Twilight with it, but she managed to teleport out of the way in an explosion of pink, just in time to avoid the attack, and counter with another magic blast, this time it hit the creature on the forehead, and it hissed in pain, retaliating quickly by smacking Twilight hard with it's clawed paw. This vile creature was at least five times her size, so it didn't take much to send the poor Alicorn flying back. She shouts in pain as she's sent back several yards. "EYAAAAAAAAAAHHH" She screams as she goes the distance, she is about to go right through a large building, the force of the strike had been so great, that Twilight wouldn't be able to react in time with magic or regain control.

Just when things were starting to look bad, a lasso loop firmly wrapped around Twilight's waist, slowing her down and yanking her away from the building, effectively saving her from potentially sustaining some serious injuries as she landed gently on the grass next to someone, one of her close friends, Applejack.

"Applejack! Phew, thank you."

"Don't mention it. Alright there, Sugarcube?" She asks, lending Twilight a hoof to help her stand back up.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I could have been a lot worse for wear if it wasn't for you."

"Ah'm, jus' glad ah' got here in time," AJ adds with a smile, taking her trusty lasso back. The two ponies stare up at the creature, and it looks right back at them with its cold piercing eyes. It's an intense stare-down, but luckily for the two of them, the rest of the cavalry arrive, as Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rarity show up to the scene.

"Girls!" Twilight praised. "I'm so glad to see you all"

"Yeah, sorry it took us a bit, there's this weird heaviness in the air that was throwing me off a bit." Rainbow Dash comments, that she had no clue what this strange pressure in the air was, but whatever it was, this thing was causing it.

As the rest of the girls began to assess the situation, to Fluttershy's horror, she saw exactly what happened to her missing animal friends Seeing all those random animal parts protruding out of this thing brought her to tears, she couldn't believe it, this was truly a nightmare to her, those poor animals.

"NOOOOOOO!" Fluttershy screamed, the shock completely washing away, and was quickly replaced by a mix of sorrow and anger, although it was mostly sorrow. "T-Those were the missing animals…"
Tears began to fall from her eyes, and Applejack was the first to rush and comfort her, pulling her weeping friend into her for an embrace. There was a lingering sense of shock, dread, and horror that would spread through the six, as they realized something crucial, something that they weren't used to. The gripping fear of death hit them, the fear paralyzing them into a trance-like state, death was not something this place dealt with very often, it was rare. When it did happen, it was never usually something as horrible as this – a cruel reminder to them that death was still very much a thing, and that it might be setting its sights on the Kingdom of Equestria as a whole.

"Come on girls…. we need to stand up to this thing!" Twilight says, trying to desperately will herself and her friends back into the fight, and out of the stranglehold known as fear, but it's no use, to anyone but Twilight, who manages to break herself free from the grip of fear that had subdued her. The creature is about to come down with a claw that would crush and shred all six of them, thinking quickly, Twilight raises her voice, somehow recapturing their attention.

"EVERY PONY GRAB ONTO ME!" She manages to shout, the volume of her voice is just enough to break them out of their fearful trance, and the five can miraculously grab onto Twilight just in time for her to teleport her and her entire group of friends out of the way.

"Yeah! Now let 'em have it!" Rainbow Dash shouts, dashing right forward towards this creature, With every step it takes, the ground shakes a bit, this thing is enormous, but Rainbow Dash doesn't let its taller, bigger size intimidate her, and she bravely zipped forward, rainbows trailing behind her flight, she's picking up speed more and more the closer she gets.

Finally, Rainbow uses her speed and starts to circle the creature, the Pegasus gets progressively faster with each round trip, and this continues until she successfully creates a controlled tornado, which seems to work at first. she managed to make it dizzy, it staggered back a bit, and with a quick swing of its hand, it smacked Rainbow Dash, making the twister dissipate along with sending the Rainbow Wonderbolt flying.

"Ugh! Aaaahhhhhh!" She's about to slam hard into a rock, which would cause serious injuries, so Twilight acted quickly, catching Rainbow Dash with her magic right before she hit the rock. She lets out an audible groan. "Thanks." She says, as Twilight lightly sets her back down.

"Are you alright, Rainbow Dash?" The Alicorn asks, the others joining her as they move to check up on their friend.

"Yeah, I'm okay." She replies, rubbing her head with her forehoof. The six friends aren't given much time to regroup, the ground shakes steadily as the girls spot the large creature now charging directly at them.

"Ladies, scatter quick!" Twilight quickly instructs, and the group of friends now scrambled to move out of the way, for its relatively large size, the thing could sure as hell move fast. Luckily, the six could move out of the way just in time as the large claw of the monster created a crater in the ground where they had previously been standing, the aftermath of the missed strike made her and the other very grateful to have moved out of the way in time, had any pony been there when that hand came down, there would have surely been no survivors.

"This is like tryin' ta wrangle up a big ol' wildebeest with a hay rope. We ain't gettin' nowhere like this." Applejack comments, an honest assessment of their situation since it wasn't exactly going all that well.

"What are going to do?" Fluttershy asks, her tone sounding a bit hopeless, likely still feeling the aftershock of the loss of her animal friends.

"Don't worry, dear. I'm sure we'll think of something." Rarity chimes in, trying to sound optimistic, even in the face of this seemingly dire situation unfolding before them.

"Well, we better think of something fast!" Pinkie adds, looking around trying to desperately think of something, just when things couldn't seem to get any worse, they did. Suddenly, these black tentacles emerged from the beast, it wrapped around Twilight quicker than any pony could react, pulling her to it.

"TWILIGHT!" All the girls shout in unison. In an act of desperation, Applejack bites her lasso for grip and begins to swing it, giving it a throw, the lasso manages to grab wrap around the beast, even slowing its steps a bit. With a jump, Applejack shifted all her weight to her hooves, trying to fully immobilize the creature. For a second it seemed like the country mare had managed to stop it in place, but before any pony could follow up, in one powerful pull, the creature jerked its body, pulling Applejack forward and sending her through a tree trunk, it snapped in two on the impact the two pieces hitting the ground with a loud thud soon after.

"Applejack! Are you okay!?" Rainbow Dash asked, rushing over to where she landed. When the dust cleared, thankfully, she was okay, just a bit dizzy, and relatively sore as well from the rough landing.

"Y-yeah. Just a lil dazed is all…" The country mare weakly replied, the landing was harsh, but despite the rough impact, she pressed on, and was back up on all fours shortly after, slow to her first few trots, shaking off the initial sluggishness, she's right back in action moments later.

After Applejack's tactic failed, Twilight tried to activate her magic and teleport, unfortunately for her, this creature had magic-draining tentacles, so the moment her horn glowed pink for not even a second, the magic was zapped from her, thus causing the tentacle to shock her.

"EYAAAAAAAH!" Twilight screamed in pain as the jolts were sent surging through her body, effectively turning her magic against her, so she stopped trying to channel her magic, in turn stopping the electrocution, she was spared, but the powerful zap had rendered her unconscious, incapacitated in its grasp. The monster breaks three more trees this time with more tentacles, and proceeds the throw several of the sharp pieces of tree directly at Ponyville, a few even targeting some of the ponies outside blissfully unaware of the danger that was heading their way.

"Jus' HOLD ON TWILIGHT!" Applejack shouts, trying to think of anything she could do at this point, it was clear to them now that this was no ordinary creature, one that was unknown in origin, no pony had ever seen it before. Had it been one they knew of, it surely would have been defeated by now. They were at risk of losing their hometown, and things were looking rather bleak. Every pony had been caught off guard by all of this.

Understanding the gravity of the situation, not wasting a single second, Rainbow Dash tries a desperate move and uses her speed to catch one of the smaller tree trunk pieces, with careful timing, she's able to catch it with her hooves. With her wings flapping wildly to support the weight of the object she could.

"Urrrrrrgh I-I got it!" It takes a moment, but with a careful spin, she launches it at the creature, the sharp tree piece breaking a few smaller pieces in his path and successfully impaling its side. Just when they believe they may have found some sort of counter, the body of this monster was that of a shadow, it somehow managed to phase through the part of its body that was targeted. The creature was unharmed, but it was also angry now. Its eyes suddenly began to glow, and it charged toward Ponyville, Twilight was still an unwilling hostage at its mercy, she couldn't even flap her wings, it was hopeless.

"We gotta go stop that thing, and Fast!" Applejack shouts, leading the rush to Ponyville, despite the gloom of this situation, the girls follow, understanding that it is now or never.

"But how are we gonna do that? This damn thing is practically impossible to beat! We threw everything at it!" Rainbow Dash protests, she wants to stop it, but everything they tried hasn't worked so far leaving them without a foolproof plan of attack.

"Well we have to do something, otherwise Ponyville will be demolished, and the poor other ponies along with it!" Rarity interjects, lamenting on just how severe this scenario was becoming.

"We just have to give it the best we got, even if our best isn't enough, we have to try!" Pinkie Pie chimed in.

"But how are we ever going to stop that thing?" Fluttershy weakly says, her morale had been damaged after realizing she had lost some of her animal friends in the worst way possible.

"Ya'll just keep fightin' Well find a way ta get through this, we always do!" AJ says, trying to remain as open-minded as possible. She didn't want to lose hope, unfortunately, hope alone wouldn't protect Ponyville and all its inhabitants.

The girls finally arrive back in town, and they are met with a chaotic sight, one home had already been destroyed, and just when the other five got there, tentacles emerged, grabbing hold of Lyra Heartstrings, Derpy, and Mayer Mare.

When all hope seemed lost for them, in a sudden and unexpected flash of blue, several of the tentacles were suddenly cut, and several glowing blue phantom blades impaled the beast in all directions and angles, making it impossible to phase out every part of its body, this would finally lead to doing some serious damage to the creature, it hissed loudly in pain, even stumbling back and ending up against a large bolder, stunning the thing for a bit. The moment the girls begin to fall (Except Derpy who just barely managed to open her wings in time to catch herself) Rushing in, Rainbow Dash catches Lyra, while Fluttershy catches the Mayer.

The second the tentacles were sliced, a blur of midnight blue very quickly teleported below – it was Vergil, dawning his usual midnight blue long coat with his serpentine, and branchlike designs on opposites of the front that lined up with his zipper and jacket collar, he had appeared just in time to catch Twilight in his arms pony princess style, there was a two-handed glowing blue sword on his back, it was made of pure demon magical energy, glowing a more brighter blue than usual.

"Vergil!" The girls say at the same time, that they were wondering when he would show up, and what exactly had taken him so long to get here.

"Sorry I'm late, I just needed a bit of time to create this." He twists his body a bit, showing a better view of his mirage phantom edge sword.

"I needed to make some minor adjustments to this special sword, and now it's ready." The half-devil very briefly explained. About a minute or two later, Twilight slowly wakes up, letting out a slightly pained groan.

"Unnn.." As soon as her eyes open, and her vision fully refocuses, she's met with the familiar face of Vergil, the sight bringing a tiny relieved smile to her lips.

"…Vergil?" She softly says his name, to which he gives her a small smile in return.

"Sorry, I took so long.." He adds, and Twilight just shakes her head dismissively.

"I'm just glad you didn't give up on Ponyville.." She weakly responds, moving to wrap her forehooves around his neck into a hug, he wasn't expecting this, nor was he expecting his heart to start racing so much, but he doesn't mind, even moving one arm to hug her back, giving her a soft caress of her fur in the mix, a subtle and tender moment of respite among all the chaos around them, Twilight found an odd warmth in his strong arms.

"Well, let's just say, a little dragon made me realize that I should be more understanding, and rational. Rather than assume everyone, or everypony, is all the same. But I would have come regardless." Truth to his words, even if everyone in Ponyville didn't like him, it didn't mean they deserved to die, especially in such a horrible way.

Slowly, Twilight pulled back and Vergil gently placed her back down on the ground. She took a few slow trots forward; there was a slight stagger to her movements, but the purple-furred mare regained her balance shortly after.

"I'm glad he was able to help you understand."

"As am I..." Vergil caught a glimpse of her staggering mere seconds ago and wanted to double-check, to make sure that she wasn't hurt anywhere.

"You okay, Twilight?" He softly asks, purple hues look up to meet his deep blue-eyed gaze, she gives him a little smile and nods.

"A little shaken up but, yeah, I'm alright."

The group of girls approach their friend and hug her, grateful that she's back with them, safe. While the group checked on Twilight, they were interrupted by the screaming of other mares further within Ponyville which quickly snapped the group of seven and sprung them back into action.

"I'll go deal with that vile creature, I think it would be best for you ladies to go into town and help everypony in trouble, I'll keep that beast preoccupied, and finish it off," Vergil instructed, going with what he thought was the best tactical approach. If he was right about his theory, once he would engage in combat, that thing would likely set its sights on him – as unpredictable as this all was, Vergil already had a feeling he knew exactly who was behind this, that demon, this was far from just a random occurrence -- this was exactly why he felt such unease the night before.

"Alright, we'll leave that thing to you." Looking towards town, Applejack ran on ahead to lead the other girls into Ponyville, the purple mare stopping for a moment to look back at her taller friend for a brief few seconds.

"Vergil.." Hearing his name, he stops to look at her.

"Please, be careful." She adds.

"Don't worry, I've got this." Exchanging one final glance at each other, the two nod and head off in separate directions. Twilight joined the other girls in town to tend to the ponies that needed help or were wounded, while Vergil closed his eyes, releasing some of his demonic energy, four glowing blue devil wings emerged from his back, and in one powerful flapping of all four wings, in a gust of wind, Vergil took flight, he didn't feel that it was necessary to activate his Sin Devil Trigger, so he opted to just summon his wings instead.

The half-devil had excellent timing, by the time he was fully airborne, face to face with this unknown beast, it was about to crush a large portion of the town, but Vergil soared into action. Grabbing his Mirage Phantom Edge, holds it out, conjuring up some demonic energy, the blade dramatically expands until it's just as long as the creature, immediately Vergil threw his arm down, and with one mighty swing, he slices the arm of the beast clean off, thankfully he didn't need to worry about the falling limb and causing damage or harm as it mysteriously turned into a shadow upon being separated from the body long before it could even get close to the ground, and Vergil noticed it right away.

'It turned into a shadow?... strange.' He thought to himself, quickly following up with another swing of his blade, this time a vertical one that managed to successfully slice off the top chunk of its head, the severed half turning into shadows like the last part that was severed, this only proved to Vergil that this creature was the demons doing, and if he was trying to Frankenstein his demons, it painted a small picture of exactly what his plan could be. Vergil hoped they would be able to find out his plan before significant progress was made, but with little to no information on that demon's whereabouts, he couldn't say, all he could do, was try to find out as much as possible – he just needed to know where to start looking.

"It's still not dead? Dammit!" Not giving him time to react, tentacles spur out of the creature, and they target Vergil, the tips of the tentacles suddenly change and morph into sharp blades heading right for the Cambion who was still airborne, but with careful timing, he's able to teleport out of the way, a blue afterimage of himself trailing behind his movements, showcasing just how fast he was dodging.

His quick judgment allowed Vergil to swoop in with his wings, extend the blade again to the same size as the previous strike, and drive the long magical sword deep into the gut of the beast, spilling out a mess of blood, and a strange black liquid. Vergil made sure he ran it through every part of its bizarre shadow-like flesh, upon being this close to the monster, it was honestly kind of disgusting. The creature roars in pain, but before Vergil can finish the job, the devil swordsman feels a powerful magical energy above him, one that provides a warmth almost like it mimics the glow of the sun. The second that magic blast comes down, Twilight can see it from Ponyville and immediately recognizes who it is.

"Oh! Princess Celestia is here, can you girls finish tending to the other ponies?" The purple-furred Princess asks.

"Go on ahead, Sugarcube, we'll take care of 'em' from here," Applejack says with a nod, helping up one of the injured ponies, and stands her back up onto her hooves. Twilight leaves the rest to her friends, flaps her wings, and takes flight in the direction of her mentor.

That same orange blast grows and strikes, hitting the creature dead center in the chest, upon impact with the magic blast, the monster shrieks out loud in agony, just like what happened with the Hell Vanguards the other day, Vergil witnessed the creature's skin start to violently melt the longer the magic blast burned its body, but this time a lot faster, within mere seconds, the shadow creature is nothing more than a large charred skeleton, upon the melting of its flesh, a morbid painting is left on display, the body had other animal parts and bones fused into the thing.

Vergil was sure glad that Fluttershy was in town with the others, he didn't think she would be able to handle this gruesome scene too well, and he didn't want to make those emotional scars she already had, even deeper. Slowly descending back down to the ground, Vergil gracefully lands in front of the now charred and melted body of whatever cursed amalgamation it had been, his devil wings disappearing back within his body.

"What... the hell is this thing?" Vergil asks himself, yet another question, and one of many that he already had no prior answer to. Whatever this was, he had a feeling it wouldn't be the first time they faced something like this.

Watching the scene unfold in its entirety, well hidden within the shadow of a nearby tree, is Daemon, masking his power and aura so he could observe, he had planned for more, but unfortunately with the interruption of one of his old enemies, he was forced to retreat. A low demonic hiss escapes him.

"That DAMN Celestia is ALWAYS ruining my plans… oh well. At least I was able to see enough to write my prototype off as a failure.. time for some major adjustments." Traveling within the clever cover of shadow to shadow, Daemon escapes disappearing into the darkness.

Back near Ponyville, Vergil is met with a snow-white furred tall Alicorn, her colorful mane flowing dramatically as if there was an endless gentle breeze. This was his first time meeting her, but even the half-devil was able to tell who this was – none other than Princess Celestia, the current ruler of Equestria. Twilight had always spoken highly of her

"And you must be Vergil, I presume?" She asked, to which he nodded.

"Yes, that's correct. You must be Princess Celestia."

"Indeed, Twilight told me about you in her letter."

Ironically, enough, just as the regal pony mentioned her name, down descended Twilight, landing gently on the ground beside Vergil, trotting to Celestia the moment her hooves touched the ground.

"Princess Celestia, you're here!" She says, relief in her voice as she wraps her hooves around her mentor for a hug, and she hugs her back, their wings caressing each other lightly in the exchange.

"Ah, Twilight. I am very glad to see that you're okay." The two lightly pull back.

"I'm sorry, I tried to stop it, but it was too strong.." Twilight apologizes, but Celestia just shakes her head.

"You have no reason to Apologize, Twilight. No one could have foreseen something like this. You did what you could, and that is all that matters." Her words reassure the purple Alicorn, her posture easing up a little, and she finally relaxes a bit.

"What are you doing here Princess? I thought you had important matters to attend in Saddle Arabia?" Twilight asked.

"Yes, I did. But the moment I received your letter, I knew I had to check in on Ponyville immediately, and I'm rather grateful that I did. My sister is finishing things over there, she'll be here tomorrow for the Summer Sun Celebration."

If she had gone through the trouble of postponing important royal matters just to come here, that told Vergil that she likely knew something, and right now, especially after what had just happened, they needed all the information they could find.
"Pardon my interruption, your grace. But if you came all this way, then you have something important to tell us, don't you?" Vergil asks, respectfully getting right to the point.

"That's correct. I have something very important to tell you both. Now if the two of you will kindly accompany me to the Castle Of Friendship, I will explain everything." Says Celestia leading the walk ahead, Vergil and Twilight exchanged a curious glance, before quickly following behind the graceful, white-furred Alicorn Princess. The trio continued down the path, the Castle finally in sight, when they were directly in front of the castle, Celestia turned back to look at the half-devil walking alongside the Princess of Friendship as they approached the stairs of Twilight's castle.

"You know, I can see a lot of your father in you, Vergil." She says with a smile, the short sentence causing him to stop in his tracks, prompting the other two to do the same. That sentence alone, while short, spoke volumes to him, did that mean… his father had come here at some point? Twilight even seemed surprised, wearing an equally shocked expression as Vergil.

"…You knew my father?"

End Of Chapter

Author's Note

Hello dear readers!
At long last, chapter 3 is here, and what a wild ride it was.
I appreciate all the patience, it's a bit tough being a one-man editor, but I sort of prefer it that way, brings me closer to my writing I suppose.
Anyway, as you may have noticed,
I wanted this chapter to give Vergil & Twilight a bit more time together
Yes, I am well aware that the other of the Mane Six didn't get a lot of time in this one, but they will in the next one.
Now that the first 3 chapters have set the pace of what's to come, things will start to slow down a bit, and there will be a bit more slice-of-life stuff in the next one, lore stuff and world-building, with some surprises in the mix of course.
As chapters come out when the action starts up again, I may link music to add to the immersion, but I'll figure that all out when it comes down to it.

Side note: Please excuse this chapter if it doesn't seem as polished as the last one, the premium for my writing correction app ended, but I'll be getting it back on payday, so this chapter may be edited a bit more once I get it back.
Thanks again to the people who are interested in my story
I didn't think I still had the drive, but you guys proved me wrong with your interest.
In any case, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter
Talk to you all in the next one, and as always.
Happy Reading :twilightsmile:

~Darkslayer

Chapter 4: The War No Pony Knew

Author's Note

Hello, dear readers, I decided to put my notes up here just to give you a couple of quick updates, The first one is the more important one, and the second is just a small note about my variation of Vergil in this story, and how he will be very slightly different in this story.

1. While I started this story based on Season 5 of FiM, I've recently reworked a bit of what I had planned and added more as well, part of the reason why this chapter is out MUCH later than I had planned, I also spent a lot of time editing because I wanted this chapter to be worth the wait. (aside from the hand injury I mentioned in my last blog post, lots of life stuff got in the way but I'll make a post about that later.) I've decided to change it to during Season 6 since it suits the story much better. Not linked to any specific episode as it gives me more freedom with the plot, and with what I've added, I also decided to add one more OC to the story, but it's someone who you'll find out more about later in coming chapters as I'm still building that characters traits up a bit. These are the only major changes to the story.

2. If you've read the Visions of V Manga, the last thing to note is that Vergil is very slightly canon-divergent in this story, but not by a lot. I just wanted to mention this so I don't get comments telling me that Vergil isn't canon in here, this is also why I used the Alternate Universe tag, so I have a little bit more creative freedom with all the canon characters involved in this story.

Anyway, that's pretty much it.
This will be the only author's note I put on top (Except one other later on for a particular moment in a future chapter), and the only one this long.
So don't worry about that for the next chapters, should I feel the need to add any notes.
I apologize for the wild delay, there definitely won't be another delay this long for the next one without further notice. As always, thank you very much for your continued interest in this story.
I look forward to hearing what you all think as this story keeps unfolding, especially with the new things I have planned.
As always,
Happy reading! :twilightsmile:

~Darkslayer

Chapter 4: The War No Pony Knew

Devil Mare Cry

The Fate Of Two Worlds

Chapter 4: The War No Pony Knew

Location: Ponyville || Outside the Castle of Friendship || 4:43 P.M. ||

“You … knew my father?”

Getting dragged into a portal with an enemy he knew little or nothing about was one thing, but hearing that the kingdom's ruler knew his father blew his mind. So many questions began to pop up inside his mind about how his father could have come to this world during his time.

The idea of Sparda somehow being connected to Equestria never crossed his mind. The half-devil was immediately curious. There was plenty he wanted to ask the ruling Alicorn about, but since this information, she had more than likely involved the demon, Vergil thought so anyway, so for now, he would have to save those questions for later, right now he wanted to find out as much as he could about this demon.

“I did. Sparda became a wonderful friend of mine, and he was also quite a powerful warrior, too. I met him a very long time ago.” She answers, recalling a few memories in her mind.

“I never expected my father to have come here, although, given the Yamato’s special ability, I can sort of see how that could happen, despite my mild bewilderment.” So, it was true, it had to be. It was coming from the ruler of Equestria herself. There was a lot more to find out about this world than it seemed.

“So, what was it you were going to tell us, Celestia?’ Twilight finally spoke. The purple Alicorn had been patiently waiting for Vergil and Celestia to finish their brief conversation. It seemed pretty important, and she didn’t want to interrupt.

“About this other demon, the both of you saw last night. Was he covered in shadow, with cold red eyes?” She asks, moving back to the reason she had asked them here.

Vergil and Twilight turn their heads and look at each other, the mare’s ears perking upon realizing something, and she could tell that Vergil was coming to the same conclusion at Celestia’s accurate description of the ominous, shadowed silhouette from the night before. Breaking their gaze, they turn to face the taller Alicorn, her colorful mane still majestically flowing in an invisible wind.

“Yes … that’s exactly what he had.” Twilight confirmed. Celestia’s expression darkened, becoming serious.

"…Just as I’d feared." She cursed under her breath. ‘We ensured he could never escape. How is this possible?!’ Celestia thinks to herself, that if Daemon was back, then Equestria and the entire universe could be in danger.

“Um … Celestia, did you know that demon?" Twilight asks, unsure of what to expect.

“…Unfortunately, I did.” She woefully admits there’s a hint of regret clear in her tone. With a sigh, she enters the castle with Vergil and Twilight following, shutting the door with her magic behind them.

The clicking of hooves melded with the light footsteps of Vergil echoes throughout the castle halls. Up the stairs and into the Hall of Friendship with the thrones and cutie map, Celestia leads them. Finally, within the confines of comfort behind closed doors, she turns to face the two. It would be a long story, but they needed to hear it. Taking a deep breath, the tall Alicorn captures their immediate attention, and Celestia began to explain shortly after.

“Several moons ago, back when my sister first shared her rule over Equestria with me. I was returning to Canterlot from some royal duties out of town, in the furthest outskirts of town, I passed by a rare sight, a male Alicorn with dark fur, for some strange reason, he could not use his magic and was about to be mangled by an Ursa Major … I saved him because he was an Alicorn I did not recognize.” A short pause, but she’s quick to continue.

“His name was Midnight Prancer, and he seemed especially grateful that I had saved him, which seemed normal at first … little did I know, that my saving him, became the greatest mistake I could have ever made…” She stops for a moment, briefly gathering her thoughts, the other two remain silent, but sharply attentive, so she goes on.

“I trusted Midnight as a friend … but I was wrong.” a short pause before she continued.

"One night, he stayed over as a guest in Canterlot. While we slept, he roamed my castle through the night, killing all my guards along the way. He found the Equestrian Crystal, and corrupted it with his dark magic, evil, and malice, amplifying the negative emotions of every pony across the kingdom of Equestria, gathering them up, and using his Alicorn magic, he spread waves of hatred, malice, fear, and every swirling negative emotion known to pony, it infected the kingdom and its land, turning all of Equestria into a Living Hell. His power became so great, that he pushed me and my sister out of our castle and took it over. Without peace and harmony, the kingdom suffered. Next, we knew that Equestria had a war on its hooves. It was called The Eternal Harmony War, the most chaotic and devastating war in our history,” Celestia explains in great detail.

“Eternal Harmony War?” Twilight repeated, furrowing her eyebrows in thought. The name of the war was one that she didn’t recognize. There was no memory of it being in the records. “I don’t remember reading that in the history books. I hope I didn’t accidentally read past it.” She adds.

Celestia just shook her head, knowing very well that Twilight could have never possibly read about it, and she would explain that in a moment.

“Don’t worry Twilight, you couldn’t have skipped past it, because none of the history books have publicly recorded it.” She corrected.

“Really? Why? Was there a specific reason for not recording it?” Twilight asked a question that Vergil had also been wondering ever since she had explained.

“To prevent any chance of giving him any power,” Celestia replied, which didn’t make sense to them, and she could tell by the way they were looking at her.

“Remember how I said he amplified the negative emotions of all ponies? Well, that includes Fear, contempt, guilt, anger, sadness, hopelessness, and finally, despair.” She explains.

“I understand the severity behind this, your highness, but first, I have to ask. You claim this person was an Alicorn, so how is that related to the other demon that we saw?” Vergil asks a question that has also been floating around in Twilight’s head ever since Celestia began this story.

“I do understand the slight confusion, but I was about to get to that.” A momentary pause to wet her lips so she can continue. “The war I mentioned lasted for about six moons. It may not seem like a lot by itself, but I assure you, that during the first four moons of warfare, I witnessed several unpleasant things, things that would surely drive anyone with a less than substantial willpower to insanity…” A short pause, shuddering at her words.

“After one more moon of fighting, his forces discovered our hideout, and this resulted in the loss of several brave ponies’ lives … and for a moment, it seemed like all hope was lost. After most of our army either died or fled me and Luna were the only survivors... All seemed lost, until a portal opened, and out came a man with silver hair and a purple long coat –The moment he arrived, he eliminated the attacking forces and even escorted us to safety. Thanks to him, we were able to escape, and that’s when we finally learned the truth.” Celestia pauses for a moment, taking a few to recall the details scene-by-scene.

“Sparda told us that Midnight Prancer was only serving as a vessel body for a powerful demon named Daemon Hellfire – the former ruler of the demon world where Sparda came from.”

“A vessel? Why was he a vessel?” Vergil asks, trying his best to put all the pieces of this story together so he can get a better picture of everything.

“Not a lot was known, but according to Sparda’s account, Daemon used to control one of the circles of hell. At some point during his rule, he developed a desire for more power and attempted to overthrow Lucifer, aiming to dethrone him and take control of all of hell. They ultimately defeated Daemon and sentenced him to face a cruel and horrible fate - The Torture of Ten-thousand deaths - as punishment for his betrayal." Celestia explains, recalling all she could from such a long time ago.

“Ten-thousand deaths…?” Twilight repeated, shaking a bit at how gruesome it sounded. “That sounds … horrible.”

The moment Vergil heard that something came to mind. Part of this sounded familiar to something he had come across in his father’s memoirs. Unfortunately, he couldn’t remember all the details, but the part about The Torture of Ten-thousand Deaths resonated with him–it had been something his father had briefly mentioned in the pages he had read through, and Celestia seemed to notice him catch on with the look in his eyes, so she continued.

“It is. It’s a punishment where the accused has their astral body–their soul, shattered into ten thousand fragments, and sent into a continuous, but slow loop of living a new life span across multiple worlds and universes, only for them to die in the most brutal and agonizing ways…” Celestia grimly explains, that even she couldn’t imagine such a horrible fate, as just talking about it made her cringe, it was a truly horrible fate.

“The accused is cut into multiple fragments? I’m a little confused.” Twilight modestly admits it mostly made sense, but it was hard to understand how it was possible–though it was probably a question that she was better off leaving unanswered.

“In short, the shattered pieces are forced into smaller souls of the accused and is forced to live a multitude of very brief new lives where they have no choice but to experience an extremely painful death shortly after,” Vergil explains, simplifying it the best he could. Twilight was a smart young mare, but even Vergil could understand the slight confusion. Even he was having trouble wrapping his head around it for a bit, until the rest of her story filled in those blanks.

Twilight’s ears drooped, lowering until her flank tapped the ground. She had to sit down for a moment. The horrifying thought of having to endure a brand-new life, only to die shortly after, was hard to imagine, especially if the death was a painstakingly agonizing end.

Using all of this information, Vergil could finally piece together exactly what happened, the one thing that connected Daemon to this world. It all made sense now. Sharing a glance, Vergil can tell that Twilight had come to the very same conclusion that he did.

“I think I might be able to guess what else it was my father told you,” Celestia says nothing, and just closes her eyes, giving him a slow nod—a nod of shame.

“When you saved Midnight Prancer…” the half-devil says, stopping as Twilight finishes his sentence.

“…You were also saving Daemon from his fate in his Equestrian vessel.."

“I’m ashamed to admit it, but it’s true.” She paused. It was a moment in time. She had wished she would have approached it differently, but she didn’t carry any guilt from it, because she had taken full responsibility for it all. Moving on, it was time to tell them about how it ended.

“For the final moon, Sparda trained my army, and even took the initiative to create some special anti-demon armor, he even forged an entire armory's worth of specialized demon-hunting weapons for ponies, and within the middle of the year, we successfully cut through their defenses and stormed his castle. Once his forces were vanquished, Sparda opened a rift leading to the demon world from his realm, together we combined our powers, and sealed him deep within the depths of the demon world.” Celestia finally finishes explaining.

Silence falls between the trio, giving Vergil and Twilight a few minutes to process all of this important information. A few moments later, the half-devil is the first to break the silence with a question.

“How do you think he got out?” Vergil asks.

Celestia shook her head. “I wish I knew. That being said, I’d rather not spend time worrying about how he got out, right now, figuring out his plans should be our very first priority. Even the smaller details are imperative.” She adds, that there were many questions, several unanswered, and eventually, they would be answered. All they could do for now, was take what they’ve learned so far and try to use it to gather any other information they possibly could.

“Right! It’s going to be difficult if there are no written notes about that war, but I will do my best to find out what I can.” Twilight beamed, siting the challenges that she would undoubtedly face in this search, but remained determined to come through.

“As will I,” Vergil adds. “If my father came to this world, I’m sure he may have left something here for me. One way or the other, I’ll find it.”

Celestia smiled. While the outcome was still uncertain, despite the unpredictability of what was left to come, she had complete faith in Twilight. Vergil, too.

“I’m sure that you will, both of you.” Finally, the two of them were now well-informed. Princess Celestia turned her back to them, slowly trotting her way to the staircase. Instead of going down, she stops on her hooves to look back at them.

“Until we know a little more about Daemon’s plan, I would appreciate it if you kept this between the two of you for now. When the moment is right, you will tell your friends. Right now, we don’t want to risk causing a panic. Any emotional distress will make him stronger.” She quickly added.

Both Vergil and Twilight nod in agreement. If this was a kingdom kept secret, then of course they would keep it between them. Normally in these types of situations, Twilight felt bad for keeping things from her friends, but she understood how serious it was to keep the peace while they dug for more information on the down low. At least this time, Twilight had some pony–or in his case, someone else to talk to about it, which did help a little. Vergil and Twilight exchange a glance and share a nod, the half-devil turning his head to face Celestia shortly after.

“Twilight and I were already keeping Daemon’s appearance to ourselves. We’ll continue to do so, your grace.”

“Thank you. Anyway, I think we should go check on Ponyville now. I’m sure they’re still going to need help to clean up.” Celestia suggested as she turned around to take her leave.

Vergil and Twilight followed behind her, with whatever that creature was dead, it was safe to start rebuilding, thankfully Ponyville had only suffered minor damages, and thanks to some miracle, there weren’t any casualties, and despite everything, it was always a good outcome when no pony lost their lives, especially in an unexpected attack like what happened earlier. Hopefully, this would be the only attack this peaceful little town would have to endure.

Returning to Ponyville, Princess Celestia walks on ahead. The second the other ponies notice her, they begin to bow, capturing every pony’s attention immediately. Once she could tell every pony was looking at her, Celestia raised her wings and began to speak.

“My Little Ponies of Ponyville, as you all know, we just experienced an attack by an unknown creature. We may not have been ready for it, but thanks to all of your combined efforts, I’m happy to report that there are no casualties." A pause, as every pony cheered, celebrating the glorious fact that no innocent pony had lost their lives during this unfortunate event. Once the cheers and hoof stomping finally subsided, Princess Celestia continued.

“While there has been some significant damage reported, it is nothing that we can’t handle. That being said, tomorrow’s Summer Sun Celebration will go on as planned!” Cheers and happy hoof stomping are heard in response. To finish addressing the town, Celestia turns to look at Twilight as the crowd’s cheering comes to a stop, prompting her to take a step forward and raise her wings next to speak.

“Because of the damage our town has suffered, the cleaning will take some time. To ensure that we have a successful Summer Sun Celebration tomorrow, I humbly ask that every pony continue to lend a helping hoof in today’s cleanup. By working together, we’ll be all set for our special celebration.”

Following her request, the sound of a hammer on wood cuts the brief silence, causing every pony to turn and look, to their surprise, every pony spots none other than Vergil, who had already gotten a head start in rebuilding. Within the exact time of Princess Celestia, and Princess Twilight’s speech respectively, Vergil had already finished rebuilding Mayer Mare’s home, and office entirely all by himself, a testament to his demonically enhanced speed for any task, even building.

After Twilight’s words, more and more ponies began to leave the crowd. One by one a pony began to help Vergil build. Gradually, in a few minutes, all of Ponyville was at Vergil’s side, working hard in repairing and rebuilding, it was truly a sight to behold; every single pony who resided here locally was now doing their part, working alongside the person they all avoided in unison. Watching as every pony actively engaged with Vergil in a friendly manner, she couldn’t help but smile at the sight.

Shortly after, Twilight and Celestia joined in on helping with the reconstruction and rebuilding of Ponyville. A task that seemed like it would take a while originally, only took about two hours, but with every pony working together, two hours felt more like thirty minutes. A repair that would have normally taken all day took significantly less time, a shining example of proof that good teamwork could be possible, regardless of whether you had hands or hooves. Twilight had suggested splitting up into groups, so she organized each pony squad a task.

Most of the Earth Ponies led by Applejack and Pinkie dealt with clearing away the rubble using their remarkable strength and natural resourcefulness, they would also help with the reconstruction of buildings, damaged homes, and structures.

The Unicorns were led by Rarity who focused on fixing and redoing the two decorations, as well as repainting the recently rebuilt homes the Earth ponies had finished, and were now moving on town monument repair, as well as a general maintenance check by Applejack to make sure all of their plumbing was still intact, repairing any that needed to be fixed.

The Pegasi were led by Rainbow Dash, and they were tasked with helping the Earth ponies build by placing the roofs on each building, then had to prepare a light rainfall for a few overnight night to wash away any remaining little pieces of rubble and broken tree branches, while Fluttershy and Dr.Fauna helped settle the animals into their new homes, relocating them to a safe place so they had places to stay again.

After everything was finished it was starting to get late, but all of their hard work had paid off. The rebuild went so well, that it didn’t even look like a gigantic monster stormed through here, at all, Ponyville, was good as new again. The sound of multiple trotting of hooves takes Vergil out of his daze, turning around, he meets with every resident of Ponyville looking at him, but this time, their faces wore an expression of shame and regret, the mayor being the very first pony from the group to approach him directly, clearing her throat as she stopping in front of him before she finally spoke.

“Hello there. In the beginning, we avoided you and acted completely rude, and yet, you still saved our lives, even going so far as to help us rebuild.” says the mayor, her ears drooping as she looks at him. There had been a grave error of judgment on their behalf; it had taken them a bit, but at long last, the mayor and the rest of Ponyville realized that they had been wrong about him. This humanoid wasn’t an enemy. He was a friend and the very first of his kind here in this strange new world.
“And when you saved our beloved Princess shortly after, I knew for sure I was wrong … we were all wrong about you.” She sighs, looking back up at their guest.

“Vergil, I, on behalf of all of Ponyville, am very sorry for the way you’ve been treated upon your arrival. Normally, we are a welcoming bunch, but with everything that’s happened lately, seeing a being unlike our kind may have made us a bit more anxious than we’d like to be.” She says, taking a moment to look at all the other ponies behind her, several of them nodding in agreement as Vergil looks around the crowd of mares, fillies, foals, and stallions gathered around him, a way to mirror the mayor’s apology without saying anything.

For a few minutes, Vergil just looked around at every pony staring at him, wearing facial expressions that showed him these ponies did genuinely feel bad. Eventually, they knew they had perceived him wrong, and he shouldn’t have taken it personally. When the mayor looked back at him, she held out her right front hoof for a shake.

“Admittedly, I originally thought that none of you would understand, though I soon realized that there was also a lack of understanding on my part as well. So we were all wrong about something.” Taking her hoof in his gloved hand, they shook, accepting the apology. Equestria was now the first world where he had somehow managed to come to an understanding with the locals, because of his unlucky track record of experiences with otherworldly locals, Vergil didn’t think this would ever be possible.

This world may be different, but this realm was by far the best place he’d been to in quite a long time. Vergil had made some friends, and the locals in town finally accepted him, and for that, he was grateful to the residents of Ponyville for their reconciliation with him, having them see him as a friend, rather than a foe, would make his time in this world much easier.

Unfortunately, though, Ponyville was only just one small fraction of a larger kingdom. Equestria had several other parts to it. While Vergil may have won over Ponyville, the other parts of the kingdom might not share the same sentiment that this town did, though it was hard to say. Regardless, the half-devil wasn’t going to worry about it; one small portion of Equestria on his side was more than enough for now.

“Yes, I agree. That just goes to show you that you’re never too old to learn something important.” The mayor nods, taking her hoof back. Vergil was no longer someone they would avoid; instead, he was their newest resident in their peaceful little town. Considering that he was from another world, it didn’t seem like he would be here permanently. Despite that, from now on every pony would see him as a friendly face, and they would treat him as one of their own until the day would come when he could finally return to his own world.

It was ironic hearing Mayor Mare say that since that had been the same thing Vergil had recently realized himself, well before he ended up here in this world, he could relate. “That’s true … I’ve had my share of eye-opening lessons, too, lately. Anyway, good day Mayor.”

Exchanging a tiny smile, Vergil turned around, taking a moment to look at the other ponies around him, as if they were anxiously waiting for him to say something. “I never meant any harm, so I appreciate all of you coming to understand. Thank you, every pony. I look forward to the rest of my time here in this peaceful little town of yours.” His words cast smiles across the rest of the ponies, grateful that he was forgiving them for how they had been avoiding him like the pony plague, but it would be a brand new day tomorrow, with a brand new start.

Princess Celestia watched the exchange from afar with a smile, proud to see the other ponies no longer afraid of him, and instead, treating him like a local, as they should have. With Ponyville and its residents safe, Celestia prepared to take her leave back to Canterlot to wait for her sister and return here with Luna for the rising of the sun early tomorrow morning.

As the other ponies in town went back to their homes, Vergil caught up with Twilight, as she was trotting to meet the girls. Along the walk, Celestia approaches them, bringing them to a stop. “I’m going to head back to Canterlot for a few hours and wait for my sister to return from Saddle Arabia. I’ll see you two tomorrow morning.”

“Alright, me and Vergil are going to check back with the girls.” Twilight and Celestia hug.
“See you tomorrow, Celestia.” The purple Alicorn adds, flashing her mentor a smile as they lightly pull back.

“Yes, I’ll see you then, Twilight.” She smiles in return. Turning to walk away, Celestia stops for a moment to glance back at Vergil. “Oh, and Vergil.” The half-devil meets her gaze upon hearing his name.

“Welcome to Equestria. Aside from what we spoke about earlier, I hope you enjoy your time here in this world.”

Vergil gives the tall Alicorn a very tiny smile in response.
“Thank you, your grace. Take care for now.”

The two share a nod. Then Celestia turns away to spread her wings, and with a powerful flap, off she went soaring into the air in the direction heading towards Canterlot, leaving Vergil and Twilight alone. The moment Celestia is gone, the two begin to make their way back to Ponyville so they can meet up with the others.

As the two walk, and trot in step with each other, Twilight can’t help but express her amazement about what the two of them had just recently learned, so she strikes up a conversation.

“Wow … I didn’t know Princess Celestia knew your father.” If his father had been to this world at some point, perhaps this was fate’s way of connecting the pieces of the past to the present. With this new important piece of information, maybe Vergil’s arrival here in this world was happening for a reason. There were so many more questions now than ever, but for the moment, Vergil knew not to focus on that, despite how peculiar it was. The half-devil had a feeling he would eventually find out just how deep this connection with his father’s apparent history in this world.

“My father is the one who forged the Yamato, so I had already assumed he had traversed into other worlds. I just never thought that I, myself, would ever stumble into a world that he’s been to before.” A world like this. It was the last place he thought his father would ever come to.

“Well, now that you know, I’m sure that later on, you’ll be able to find out more about his time here," Twilight reassured him.

Even if he was playing it off, there was no denying the look he had on his face when Celestia told him. That was all she needed to know that he was still thinking about it, regardless of him choosing not to show it. How did Twilight know? Because she was the same way for things you were dying to know the answers to, the major difference between them was that Twilight would often let her worry and stress show in those situations, while Vergil appeared calmer, and focused. Wearing an expression that was hard to see through–like a faded stone sculpture, if one looked hard enough, they would be able to very faintly see the finer details.

“Yes, I’m sure I will too. For now, though, I think it would be best for us to just focus on what the Princess wants us to find out. We need to try and at least try to find out whatever it is he might be planning. The longer we’re left in the dark, the more dangerous things could potentially become.” Finding out more about his father’s history here was something he was going to look into. For the moment, though, it was more important to focus on the task at hand–or hoof, from Twilight’s perspective.

“Yeah, you’re right. As much as I’d like to figure out the connections from your father’s time here, we probably should.” She agrees, trying to calm her excitement.

“Anyway, I was thinking later we could-” Before Vergil can finish, Twilight interjects, unable to contain herself–this new fact had blown her mind, there were so many possibilities, and many things it could mean, so many theories to discover and debunk, it was thrilling to her.

“Connections and links like this aren’t something that happens too often, and from another world too! There’s got to be some kind of reason for all of this.”

“…Twilight.”

“Just think about it! All the connections from one world to another, I mean, there are SO many levels, or types of parallel universes, to the multiverse theory. If this turns out to be true; it could be a HUGE scientific breakthrough! Level one! The idea that space is so big that the rules of probability imply that surely, somewhere else out there, there are other planets exactly like Equestria. An infinite universe is likely to have infinitely many planets, and on some of them, the events that play out would be virtually identical to those on our own Equestria! We don’t see these other universes because the speed of light limits our cosmic vision — the ultimate speed limit. Light started traveling at the moment of the big bang, about 14 billion years ago, even in this world, and so we can’t see any further than about 14 billion light-years”

“…Twilight!”

“Level two, I don’t think fits here. In a level two parallel universe, regions of space are continuing to undergo an inflation phase. Because of the continuing inflationary phase in these universes, space between us and the other universes is expanding faster than the speed of light — making them completely unreachable!” Vergil doesn’t even get a chance to say anything, Twilight continues her overexcited rant.

“No, I think this is more of a level three connection: A level three parallel universe is a consequence of the many world's interpretation, or MWI for short. From quantum physics, every single quantum possibility inherent in the quantum wave function becomes a real possibility in some reality. When the average pony thinks of a parallel universe, like, for example, in a science-fiction story, whenever a parallel universe is brought up, it’s usually a level three they are referring to. I’ve experienced this myself before, so I’m a BIG believer in the theory of the multiverse. There are so many potential theories, especially when it comes to quantum physics! There are just books full of information about this. I can’t wait to find out more!”

“….” Vergil just crosses his arms, letting the Alicorn have her fit of excitement, patiently waiting for her to finish. This was by far the most energetic he’d ever seen in Twilight. While he wasn’t giving much of an outward reaction, internally, he had to admit, her little bout of overexcitement was pretty adorable, and was it rather cute to watch, especially the more she got lost inside of her little scientific rant, he was beginning to learn a lot more about Twilight from their interactions, he certainly didn’t expect this side of her, but it was a sort of endearing.

“THIS IS SO EXCITING!” Twilight exclaimed, with a big smile painted on her face. Finally, as she slowly calmed herself down, only then did the Alicorn know that she had once again gotten a little too carried away. The second their eyes met, Vergil simply arched an eyebrow, this immediately caused Twilight to blush in embarrassment.

Ironically enough, though, Vergil understood every single thing she said. While he didn’t go to school as a child, the half-devil did take the initiative to read several educational books, the kind the teachers read to the students. It wasn’t a practical way of learning, but it did help him learn everything he needed to learn as a kid.

“Uh … s-sorry about that…” she says, giving a sheepish, flustered smile, shyly clicking her front hooves together.

Vergil just chuckled a bit and shook his head. He found it rather amusing, and charming all the same. Not only had it been a cute thing to watch, but it also really showed just how intelligent Twilight was, and very passionate about science as well, another new thing to learn about his new friend.

“No need. You were caught in the moment. Besides, I can undertand the excitement. I enjoy flossing my brain with knowledge too."

“Really? I do remember you telling me that you were also well read. I just didn’t know to what extent. What kinds of books have you read?” She asks, curious to find out more about Vergil’s reading history and how it was connected to his own level of intellect.

“Every single educational subject one would learn in school. When I was a child, I always went out of my way to find the book for every technical and vocational, academic, for every grade. I wanted to know everything a kid was supposed to learn. I knew that I wouldn’t understand the world if I didn’t,” Vergil explains, even briefly mentioning his childhood.

As he spoke, Twilight listened to every word he said, she wasn’t expecting him to bring up his childhood, and hearing him willingly mention it, the Alicorn became immediately interested, though she didn’t want to get too invested, since she knew that he would likely only share a limited amount of his earlier years, wanting to respect his boundaries and save herself from becoming too curious, she would take what she could get about his past until he was done talking about it.

There was a growing urge to ask him for more details, but she didn’t want to force him to talk about something in full if he didn’t want to. And from how it sounded so far, it seemed like his childhood was relatively difficult. If a child had to teach themselves basic education, she could only imagine how hard it had been for him. Curiosity was already starting to kill her, but she would wait until he was ready to reveal that part of his past to her. Even so, she just had to ask at least one question.

“Wait a minute, you had to educate yourself? Why in Celestia did you have to do that?”

“…. Let’s just say I was a very misfortunate child.” A vague response, but she expected it, there was probably a lot more behind what he was saying, and her curiosity was peaked, although she would respect his decision to withhold it a bit longer if it wasn’t something he talked about much, she could only assume it meant his childhood was a lot more difficult than she had originally thought it was.

“Well, whatever happened, as tough as it might have been, you made it! And I'm glad you managed to get by,” Twilight replies. Several potential theories immediately started popping up in her mind. ‘I wonder how bad his childhood exactly was?’ she thought to herself as the two turned the corner into Ponyville.

“Yes … I am, too.” The half-devil quietly added.

Coming up to the center of town, Vergil and Twilight spot their friends just up ahead. Only one of them is missing, Fluttershy. The Cambion and Alicorn speed up their pace a bit, concerned with why their soft-spoken friend was suddenly absent. The girls seem to notice the pair, and they quickly trot on ahead to meet halfway.

“Vergil, Twilight, there ya are. We were wonderin’ when you two would be back.” Applejack says, being the first pony to speak up.

“Hey girls, sorry we took a bit,” Twilight replies.

“What’s going on? And where is Fluttershy?” Vergil asks, though he had a feeling he may know why she was missing–it likely had something to do with those poor unfortunate animals and the tragic fate they had suffered.

The five mares look at each other, sharing a somber glance before the five look back at their two friends. “We were helping clean up the rest of the debris from the attack, then I asked Fluttershy if she could go grab some extra garbage bags from her place, but she hasn’t returned yet.” Rainbow Dash explains.

“Of course, we were concerned; in fact, we were just about to go to her cottage to check on her.” Rarity added.

“In that case, we’d best stop wasting time, let’s go.” Vergil insists, that shortly after, the group began to make their way to their friend's cottage, there was no detection of any demon energy, so he didn’t think she was in any danger, regardless, everyone was still worried about her. Several trots and steps later, the group arrives outside of Fluttershy’s home.

Applejack is the first to move forward and begins to knock on the door with her right forehoof. “Hey, Sugarcube, it’s us. Are ya in there?”

There’s no response, but when she listens closely, Applejack can make out the sound of faint sobbing behind the wooden door. “Do ya'll hear that?” She asks, wanting to make sure she’s hearing that. Rainbow Dash moves forward and puts her ear to the door. “That’s Fluttershy alright, let’s go!” Without another word, Rainbow pushes the door open and speeds inside, the others quickly following in after her.

Vergil is about to head inside behind them, when something tells him to look back for a moment, so he does, in the faint glow of the moonlight, Vergil spots a small stack of garbage bags, they are down in the grass, right in front of the corpse of that demon creature. Just as he thought she had seen. It wasn’t hard to piece together what had happened. She probably stumbled upon this just as she was about to head back to the others.

“I should have cleaned this up before Princess Celestia called for me…” He cursed his failure to clear the body. Vergil truly didn’t think she would come across it tonight since it was so far back to the side. Instead of going back inside, Vergil decides to get rid of it.

Vergil quickly ran over to the corpse, placed his hand on it, and teleported with it, taking it to an empty field on the outskirts of Ponyville, the half-devil had spotted this field during Twilight's tour of the Castle sometime after he had first arrived when she showed him her balcony, and since her Castle just along the outskirts of town he managed to steal a glimpse of it, he needed to know where he was going in order for him long distances.

Once he was at the field, he dropped the corpse and backed up, holding out his right arm. He closed his eyes and began to concentrate, in his right hand, he conjured up his Phantom Force Edge, gripping the handle. Moving his arm back down, he held it behind him and crouches down low, channeling up a lot of demonic energy, and shortly after, his sword begins to glow a bright, dark blue. Once it grew into a large energy-mass blade, he brought his sword forward and jumped up into the air, with a swing he unleashed a large energy slash of blue energy which completely eradicated the corpse.

Upon entering the cozy cottage of Fluttershy, Vergil is met with the sight of his friends surrounding the crying Pegasus. Silently, he joins the other’s side, standing in place between Twilight and Rainbow Dash as they all try to comfort her.

“W-W-Who would do such a horrible thing to innocent animals?” She says between weeps, tears streaming down her usually gentle, now puffy eyes like a waterfall.

“Oh, Sugarcube … there is a lotta nasty folk out there. Why, they could be doin’ it for a whole buncha terrible reasons. Whatever the reason, ain’t nothin’ ever gonna justify any excuse in harmin' some peaceful lil’ critters.” Applejack says, her tone soft and comforting. Her southern drawl was a lot more clearer in her softer tone.

“But they weren’t doing anything!” Fluttershy cries, tears still falling from her soft blue eyes, she wails, her sobs becoming louder, which prompts Applejack to reach out and start to lightly rub Fluttershy’s back with her right front hoof comfortingly.

“We’ve seen our share of truly terrible ponies before, Fluttershy. While we may have been able to help some. Unfortunately, there are some out there are and have little to no desire to reform themselves. I think this is one of them. It’s those who are truly the worst of the worst.” Twilight adds, trying her best to explain why anyone would want to do such an awful thing to some innocent animals that were just doing their own thing.

“If I could, I would trap all of those horrible ponies, and beings, in one great big tornado where they would stay forever, but I’ll just have to settle for throwing hooves, and I’ll throw hooves if I have to!” Rainbow Dash adds, taking a makeshift fighting stance, and throwing out a few punches with her front forehooves.

“Anyone who would dare do such a thing is a dreadful pony. Listen, I know this is really hard for you, dear, but you’re just going to have to be strong. If not for yourself, then for the animals!” Rarity chimed in.

Pinkie Pie wasn’t the best with words sometimes because she was always so hyperactive and incredibly upbeat and would accidentally get lost in saying the wrong thing, Pinkie didn’t want to do that seeing how vulnerable her friend was right now, so she wasn’t sure what to say in this moment, instead, she did the one thing she knew she could, Fluttershy had never really dealt with the death of one of her animal friends before, so Pinkie opted to pull Fluttershy into a warm hug, trying her best to find any kind of words she could.

“I know this isn’t easy, but put it this way, those friends of yours, are in the big party up in the clouds now, WAY past the sky, and I’m ABSOTUTLY sure that they are having a lot of fun up there.” She rubs her friend’s back with her hoof. “So, they’ll be just fine. In fact, I can imagine them, smiling down at you, and up there, everyone’s smiles are SUPER EXTRA bright!” Pinkie says, doing her best to reassure her.

The girls and Vergil are stunned by how surprisingly profound Pinkie’s words were. Silence amongst them as they let Pinkie’s words sink in. She managed to find the right words this time. It was almost poetic, just without the rhyming. It was touching, especially coming from somepony like her, who had a bit of a track record in saying the wrong thing, especially to Fluttershy.

The pink-maned Pegasus even seemed to resonate with her friend’s words, slowing her crying down a decent bit, while she was still visibly distraught, the party pony’s sweet words had calmed her enough to where she wasn’t crying as loud anymore.

Fluttershy sniffles, puffy wet eyes looking at her.

“…Y-You really think so?” She asks between shaky sobs.

“Are you kidding? I don’t think so, I KNOW so!” Pinkie happily exclaimed, throwing her hooves up in the air with her usual bright smile. Her next sentence had the pony of kindness a bit more, and she began to wipe her eyes with her hooves.

“Pinkie’s right, Fluttershy. I’m sure that your friends are up there having a great time. Sure, they might miss you, just as much as you miss them, but even if you can’t see them, they will always be in your heart, watching over you from above.” Twilight softly says, adding to every pony else’s reassurance.

“Totally. I bet they have everything that every animal of every kind loves up there. It’s like a super cool, super awesome paradise. So, I’m sure those friends of yours are doing A-Okay up there.” Rainbow Dash added, trying to add to the moral support in her way.

“That’s right, darling. I’m certain that every animal is in a much better place up there in the heavens.” Says Rarity, reaching out to touch her friend’s hoof for a few moments, before taking it back.

“Exactly, Sugarcube. Shoot, ah’m sure all of em’ up there are as chipper as a bird in an apple tree!” Applejack says, enthusiastically, but making sure to keep her tone soft.

“A-Are you sure?” She asks, her lips trembling a bit. She just needed one last push. Immediately, the girls turned to look at Vergil, waiting for his input. Glancing at everypony for a second, Vergil takes a few steps towards Fluttershy’s couch, crouching down to her height so they could look each other in the eyes without her straining her neck from looking up at him.

“I know how difficult this is, Fluttershy. Especially dealing with loss for the first time, it's never easy.” Vergil softly says, his tone gentle.

Upon hearing that her new half-devil friend had also faced this kind of grief before, her crying comes to a subtle stop, rubbing her eyes with her hooves, her tired, blue eyes peer up and meet Vergil’s gaze, a mix of curiosity and sadness clear on her face. Their Cambion friend’s statement immediately captures the attention of the other ladies, they all look at each other, and move in closer to Vergil and Fluttershy to hear about the details.

The half-devil was internally cursing himself that he had to tell all of his new friends this but he felt that his past grief would do a lot in helping Fluttershy get past her current grief, and he did trust these mares, just like they trusted him. Besides, this horrible news was clearly too much to handle, and for someone as emotionally sensitive as her, he could only imagine what had been running through her mind once she found out about the tragic fate those four animal friends had met.

Twilight, being the most surprised out of the others though, frowned. She didn’t know Vergil had faced loss before; she hadn’t experienced such a thing in her life yet, so she couldn’t relate, but she did understand how terrible loss affected someone. The purple Alicorn was an avid reader, among the copious amounts of books she had read, there was a handful of them that had expressed how loss could affect somepony, a good example being the main character of a fictional novel losing a friend or loved one to an enemy or some tragic accident.

While there was a lot of pain in trying to accept it, those stories also showcased how that same loss, could also help one better themselves as a pony, although it wasn’t always easy for others, the shy Pegasus being one of those others. Thankfully, she didn’t seem to be crying anymore,

“Really…? You’ve lost someone, too?” She softly asks, a sniffle after her question. The five other girls take a seat on the floor once they’re close enough to listen.

Vergil nodded. “Yes, I have. When I was a child, I lost my mother.” A brief pause, as he takes a moment to let the memories come back to him, and it didn’t take very long for every scene from that night to return. He would spare his new group of friends the full details of that night, but give them enough to show Fluttershy that he knew exactly what she was going through.

“It was the around the evening, just after a birthday party-”

Pinkie’s ears perked up immediately upon hearing that word.
“A Party?! Ooooo! What KIND of birthday party was it?” She excitedly interrupted, hopping up and down a few, but the moment all of her friends stopped to look at her, she realized that question wasn’t an important one, and that she probably shouldn’t have rudely interjected.

“Oops … hehehe… sorry.” The hyperactive mare apologized, sheepishly rubbing the back of her mane, calming her energy a bit. She sits back down, allowing Vergil to continue, giving an innocent smile shortly after.

“Don’t worry about it, anyway.” Vergil lightly clears his throat, then continues.

“It was around the evening after a birthday party had finished. I was at a playground not far from my home…”

Location: Human World || Playground || Sparda Manor Outskirts ||

Time & Date: 7:28 P.M. || March 1st A Few Decades Ago

A young Vergil, wearing a dark blue knit vest, and a pair of black shirts, with brown sneakers, the young devil boy had been playing by himself on top of a play structure. Sitting on top of the little roof with the bar to help slide down, the child enjoyed the view, before glancing down at the golden-chained necklace around his neck, a beautiful pink gemstone amulet hanging down from it, his half of the gift he and his brother had received earlier today. In his lap, a poetry book was given to him by the librarian who saw Vergil visit often, so he wrote the first letter of his name on the cover to solidify it as his own. It had been an enjoyable evening full of fun and games, but after the celebration was finished, the rest of the night seemed to quiet down significantly.

His younger brother Dante had eaten a bit too much Pizza and was taking a nap, so Vergil opted to go play by himself for a little at the nearby playground that was just outside of the border of the land that was still his family’s property.

The young boy had come here to this playground quite often, especially on days when he just wanted a place to read in peace, since no other kid came to this playground after the swing set broke, it hadn’t been replaced yet, but he didn’t mind, it allowed him to treat this place as his quiet area.

“It’s so pretty…” the young boy says, admiring the sparkle of the gemstone from the glow of the moonlight. It didn’t take long for Vergil to take a liking to this present. He was going to cherish it. Finally letting it go, it fell back against his chest. Vergil frowned. While today had been fun, it did feel pretty empty. The absence of his father had been felt all day, looming over his head like an invisible dark cloud, especially compared to the previous year’s party, when his father was still here.

Despite what Dante wanted to believe, Vergil knew their dad didn’t abandon them, there was surely some important reason he was gone, and he would cling to that belief forever, he believed in his father, there was no way he would just leave them without saying goodbye if it wasn’t some sort of emergency.

Their mother did her very best to keep it fun for them, and she did succeed in doing that. Today wasn’t horrible, just a little lonely without the man he looked up to so much. Looking up at the moon, he sighs.

“Father … where in the world did you go…?” He asks the moon, knowing he won’t get an answer. Looking down at his poetry book, he’s about to open it and read when he hears a loud explosion in the distance, making him jump a bit.

(“The explosion shook the entire play structure, even shaking up the ground it stood. It felt like a bomb went off. It nearly knocked me off the top of the slide.”) He narrated; his recollection continues.

“What was that?!” Jumping down from the top of the slide, the young devil boy landed on his feet, quickly taking a look around him to see where it possibly could have come from. It takes a few minutes or so before he spots what must be the source, a cloud of black smoke, so he heads directly in that direction. As he passes through the short-wooded area, he starts to become increasingly more concerned with each step, because this is leading toward his home.

("As I finally reached the top of the hill, I witnessed the source of the explosion - my home engulfed in flames. My world was falling apart all around me, but what I saw next … changed me…”)

After about five minutes…. he finally saw it, his luxurious family home, completely engulfed in flames, and just outside the gate of his family estate, laid his mother’s lifeless body in a pool of blood.

Eyes widening in despair, as reality winded up to hit him in the face with the gravity of this horrible situation, he burst into tears, clenching his mother’s hand, it was so cold to the touch, even as a mere child, Vergil knew she was dead, still, he didn't want to believe it. After a few silent steps to her body, the young devil kneeled down and gently placed his right hand over top of hers, she was colder than ice to the touch, confirming his worst fear, she was indeed dead, and Dante was nowhere in sight–he was all alone.

Tears fall from the young boy’s face, his sobs echoing around the area. Not a single living soul nearby, at least not a human soul. “NO!! MOMMY Wake up, PLEASE wake up!” The child cried, desperately shaking her, clinging to even a sliver of false hope that she was just badly injured, and would be up soon, but he knew it was hopeless. Burying his face into his deceased mother’s neck, he clung to her, his tears trickling down her cold flesh, smearing her blood-stained rouge cardigan as hit tears wet her cold flesh.

The sound of inhuman snarls and slow footsteps catches the young man’s attention. He knows that danger is approaching, but he’s frozen in panic and fear. “…m-mommy… p-please don’t leave me here…” the boy says, in weeping whispers. “…Please… I don’t want to be alone…” but she’s already gone. He knows it’s all up to him now, but where does he start? What could a mere child do against a large group of attacking demons?

(“So, I ran. As fast as I could, for as long as my legs could take me, I didn’t stop even when I could feel the flattening of my airless lungs with each footstep. There was no way I could run forever, so eventually, they found me, I just barely survived…”) He briefly recalls, Finally, as the demons inch closer, Vergil’s fight-or-flight mode takes over, his small body pumping full of adrenaline, he quickly stood up, and took off running, down the road towards the graveyard, the demons following in pursuit, there’s more to the night he lost his mother, but Vergil left that out, he wanted to spare his friends the gruesome details of the near-death experience he would face at the claws and scythes of those demons.

"That pain stayed with me for a very long time. It wasn't easy to erase.."

The girls are in shock at what Vergil had just shared with the six of them, each of them with an understandingly sad look on their faces, his friends felt awful for him, but he didn’t share those details about his past looking for sympathy, he was using it as an example to express what he was trying to say, and the girls seemed to catch that, they didn’t need the full details of his past to get the picture he was painting for Fluttershy’s advice.

“The moral of the story, Fluttershy. Loss is one of the worst and most difficult things to go through, but we can't spend our life missing that person, we need to move on. I know it hurts a lot because that pain can lead to much worse in the future if you hold on to it forever. that emotional pain. It will control you, and might turn you into the wrong kind of pony -- one you never want to be. They are gone, but will never be forgotten because your memories with them, will keep them alive inside your heart." A brief pause to let those words sink in a bit before he continues.

"Besides, I’m sure your little friends above would much rather see you rise and overcome this struggle, instead of letting this despair drag you down into a fall."
Finally, Fluttershy finally smiled, his words resonating with her deeply, the smile in her eyes also came back.
“Thank you, Vergil.”
She wipes her tears with a hoof. “And, you’re right. I could never forget that I have such amazing friends to help me.” Fluttershy agrees, the mane six, joining together for a group hug.

As the girls put a hoof over each other, Twilight briefly looked over at Vergil who was fixing his jacket collar while they hugged, as the friends embraced each other, the Alicorn wasn’t about to leave their new friend out, her horn glowed a deep magenta, that same color surrounds Vergil who looks down at his feet as Twilight effortlessly levitates him up, and right between the girls putting them at the center of their group embrace.

“Twilight, what’s the meaning of this?” He quickly asks, looking around as she hovers him over towards the mares.

“That’s including you too, you know.” She smiles, lightly setting him back down on the ground, the six of them turn around to face Vergil, shifting a bit before leaning in for the hug, the girls hugging his chest from left to right (Applejack at the far left of him, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle with Pinkie Pie at the other end)

The half-devil wasn’t expecting them to pull him into the hug, so he felt a bit awkward at first, but it didn’t take long to subside, a slight bit of hesitance, but it faded shortly, and Vergil finally wrapped his arms around them in return. Including him in the group hug was sudden, but he didn’t have any problem with it. A group hug felt nice, but it would certainly take some time getting used to.

Back in his world, the small circle Vergil was a part of would never do something like this. Besides, it was more his brother Dante’s small circle, friends of Dante’s, were merely just acquaintances, or in some cases, business partners, so he never really saw them as friends, and Vergil was pretty sure that Trish and Lady would probably agree with him. Those ladies only spoke to him if she were partners on a demon-hunting job, which was to be expected. In this world, though, Twilight and her friends treated him like a proper friend. The differences here and back in his world was like night and day.

Vergil was starting to get used to friendship. In this world, Vergil was free to be himself here, without the need to worry about anyone knowing about what he did. There was a bit of shame in keeping his new friends in the dark, but he had his reasons. Would all of them still be able to call him a friend if they knew that he had the innocent blood of millions, if not more, on his hands? He didn’t think so; it was better to keep that to himself, at least for now.

Unfortunately, Vergil couldn’t lie to Twilight. She was the only one from the group who had asked for more details about what he did; the Alicorn was kind enough to respect his decision not to tell her yet, and he appreciated that, so one day he would have no choice but to tell her, and he wasn’t expecting a positive reaction, the day he told her, would be a true test of friendship. For now, he was going to focus on adjusting to life in Ponyville, taking some time for research, both on the world, and any potential leads that might give even the faintest hint of Daemon, Vergil wasn’t going to let that bastard catch them off guard next time.

As the group embrace gently broke, the girls all smiled. Fluttershy was in good spirits again. Every pony was glad. The shy Pegasus looks around the room at each of her friends. Every pony notes how late it’s gotten, so Fluttershy walks them to the door, stopping to smile at them.
“Thank you all for coming to check on me. I feel much better now.”

“Of course, Fluttershy. You know that we’ll always be there for you.” Twilight says with a smile. Normally, the Alicorn would wait outside and say goodnight to all her friends one by one, but tomorrow morning was the Summer Sun Celebration, and she was once again taking part in the ceremony, her second time doing this as the Princess Of Friendship, so she had to be up a bit earlier, and if she wanted to sneak in a bit of research reading with Vergil as planned, while still having time for a quick nap before the ceremony then she would need to hurry, she had calculated exactly how much time she could spend for each in her head, and she wanted to do it while it was still fresh on her mind.

“I have to be up a bit earlier tomorrow, so I’m going to start heading back home a bit earlier tomorrow for the Summer Sun Ceremony. Goodnight, girls.”

“That’s fine, Sugarcube. We’re gonna make sure Fluttershy is all settled in. Goodnight, Twilight.” Applejack says with a smile.

Twilight looks over at Vergil. “I’ll meet you back at the Castle.”

Vergil shook his head. “I’ll be right behind you.”

She smiles. “Okay, I’ll wait for you outside then.” Twilight politely excused herself and trotted out the door.

Turning back to Fluttershy, the half-devil nods. “Take care, Fluttershy, ladies, Goodnight,” Vergil says, giving her a small half-smile.

She smiles. “Thanks, you too, Vergil. Goodnight.”

Vergil gave her a small nod, then turned his back, and joined Twilight outside, and off they went, walking down the path leading through town. Things were calm and peaceful, at least for the moment.

“It’s nice to see the other ponies in town relaxed now. None of us were expecting something like that to come storming out of the Everfree Forest.” Twilight says, starting up a conversation with him.

“That was probably exactly what he wanted. To try to catch every pony by surprise, creating a new type of demon from scratch takes a lot of magic, so we should be okay for a bit.” Vergil added.

“That’s a relief. Tomorrow morning is very important.”

“Twilight, if you have to be up a bit earlier, shouldn’t you go to bed?” He asks as they pass by Sugarcube Corner.

“I can be up for an hour or two. We did say we were going to do some research after all, and it’s also important for us to start.”

“Well, alright, if you’re sure.”

“Of course I'm sure. For studying or researching late at night, this pony is a professional.” She puts her right hoof to her chest, raises her chin, and closes her eyes, speaking proudly, a hint of playfulness to her words.

“Oh, really now? Even after the eventful night that you’ve had?” He asks, playfully doubtful of her claim. After the busy day it had been, he was sure that Twilight was pretty drained. Though he was curious to see if she could prove her words.

“I have plenty of late-night study sessions behind me before I became a princess, so I am positively sure. I bet you’ll fall asleep before me.” The Alicorn playfully challenges, and he accepts, amused to see if she can back her words up.

“A bold statement coming from you. I’m a bookworm too, so don’t underestimate me.” Vergil playfully retorts. He was used to a little back and forth with the winged, purple-furred pony. Out of all the group, Twilight, and Vergil seemed to connect a bit more than he did with the others. They were still friends, but Twilight was becoming a bit closer to him than the rest.

“I guess we’ll just have to find out then, won’t we?” Twilight replies, a soft giggle after her words.

The two make their way through the rest of Ponyville. A few minutes later, the duo is outside of the Castle. Walking up the stairs and through the double doors, they enter, the doors closing lightly behind them as they step onto the crystal floor, clack and clicks echo from their steps.

“Feels good to be home after a long day, don’t you think?” Twilight asks as the two head upstairs towards the living quarters.

“Indeed, especially after a battle.” Vergil agrees, walking up the steps behind her, her tail happily swaying to the left and right as she trotted her way up.

Along the way, each swing of her tail gives him a very quick glimpse of her flank and everything under her tail … he pretends not to notice, joining her side as they step into the living room.

“Okay, here we are.” Says the Alicorn, using her magic to float over a couple of books towards them.

Now that they were back, Vergil took a seat on the couch, and Twilight hopped up onto the couch, taking a seat beside him, floating the book over to him. Vergil takes it from her magic.

“Okay, I’ll read volume four of Equestrian Ancient Legends. You read the first volume and try to look for even the smallest detail. Anything will help.” Twilight politely reminded him. Even the vaguest detail counted for something, so the two began their read-through, looking for anything that could even point toward the war that Celestia had mentioned.

“Got it. Let’s see what we can find.” After that, Vergil opens the book, turning it to the first page, and begins to read.

Vergil and Twilight began to flip through the books, going through every paragraph, combing both books for any piece of information they could come across. For the first several minutes, neither Twilight nor Vergil could find anything, so they read on.

Even if they wouldn’t find anything conclusive yet, reading these books was still beneficial to Vergil, he didn’t know anything about Equestria, so this was also a good opportunity for him to find out more about this world while trying to do research at the same time. During Vergil’s read, while he didn’t find any clues or hints, he did learn about the origins of Harmony, the story about the four pony tribe leaders, Princess Platinum, of the Unicorns, Commander Hurricane of the Pegasi, and lastly, Chancellor Pudding Hat of the Earth Ponies, eventually came together to settle their differences, uniting in friendship and harmony, thus creating the land of Equestria.

About one hour had passed so far, and Vergil had already read the first volume. As the half-devil closed his book, the purple Alicorn beside him also closed her book. The two look at each other and realize that both of them have finished reading at the same time. Twilight giggled.
“Wow, I’ve never met any pony else who could read as fast as me.”

“I can say the same. Back in my world, others I know don’t read much.” A pause, as he recalls Dante’s magazines he reads sometimes, though, Vergil didn’t count that as proper reading, since it was just a magazine, so he didn’t think it was worth mentioning, a magazine, wasn’t exactly literature, especially the types of magazine's he often looked at.

“A bunch of the girls read. A few moons ago, Rainbow Dash didn’t read. She thought it was ‘uncool’ and that reading was only for-”

“Eggheads?” Vergil asks, a term he’s heard before.

“Exactly.” Twilight giggled softly. “You’ve been called that before, too?”

Vergil nods. “Yes. A word my brother likes to use often whenever I’m reading a book.”

“Me too. Rainbow actually tried to hide the fact she enjoyed reading when she first found out she liked it. Pretty funny whenever I remember all the ways she would try to hide it.” The Alicorn speaks, sharing a funny memory of one of that competitive Pegasus that he had also befriended.

“That does sound pretty funny. At least she came around to enjoy it in the end.”

“Yep! And she even has a favorite series. Daring Do. Her adventures are pretty exciting. I have the entire collection, so browse through my library anytime you like.” She says, giving him a small smile.

“I will certainly pay the library a visit sometime, thank you." Vergil gave her a smile in return.

“Oops! Sorry, I guess I got a little carried away from our conversation. Did you find anything in that volume?”

Vergil shook his head. “No worries. But no, I have not. Nothing that will help us, anyway. Although it did allow me to learn a bit about this world. Which was helpful.”

“That’s okay, we have plenty of books to look through, so I’m sure we’ll catch a break somewhere. Although, at least you got a history lesson about Equestria in the process?"

“Indeed, vital information for me to learn. I think we'll find something. It will take some time, but let's just keep looking.” Vergil agrees, grabbing the second volume next, opening the book, and flipping it open to the first page.

Twilight’s horn glows and she levitates a book towards herself, opening it to the first page as well.

“Since I’ve already read those books. I’m going to take a look through the Ancient History of Harmony book. Keep on checking through the other volumes of Equestrian Ancient Legends. I might have missed something.”

“Will do,” Vergil replies as he begins to read the first page. The two took their sweet time in their research, carefully reading through every page, keeping a close eye out for any sentences, phrases, or words that stood out at all. Even the smallest speck of a hint would help them to some level of degree.

After about half an hour of reading, on page four-hundred seventy-two, Vergil’s eyes caught something in one of the last sentences in the last paragraph of that same page. “Hey, Twilight, I think I found something.”

Hearing her name, the Alicorn's ears perk up. Looking up from her book, she turns to face him, curious to see what it is he found. “You did? That’s great! Where is it?” She asks, moving a few trots closer to him on the couch. She comes in next to him and sits her flank down to take a look.

“Right here, page four-hundred and seventy-two, read this last sentence. I think you’ll catch it the moment you hear it on your lips.”

Twilight leans down a bit to inspect the specified line. Her eyes scan the page, reading it in full until her eyes come across what he was pointing at, to which she began to read. “In a kingdom of harmony for all, there can’t be even a trace of negativity, for the cursed dark magic of despair can taint and corrupt, even the purest of things.” She reads a hum after the task. Her ears flop, slight confusion. What exactly did that mean?

She looks up at Vergil with a puzzled expression. Though he was right, she could feel a deeper meaning to that phrase as it rolled off her lips.
“Hmm, I always thought that was just a clever old way of expressing how important harmony and friendship are. But reading it out loud like this now? I can tell that this was some sort of hint, just a really vague one.” Expressed the Alicorn, putting a thinking hoof to her chin.

“I’m not sure what it means, either. For now, I suggest we-”

“Write that sentence down? Way ahead of you!” Twilight says proudly, her magic levitating the notebook with the written quote, upon looking at it, Vergil noticed that Twilight had also written the page number it was found on, what paragraph it was, and even wrote down a few hypothetical theories of what it could mean, it was a truly impressive thing to see, she had done that all in only a minute or two as well–another testament to Twilight and her impeccable amount of intelligence, she was a smart, and sophisticated young mare.

“Ah, yes. Precisely that. You did that in less than three minutes?”

“Yep! I figured that taking notes would be an effective thing to do the more we look. But just in case, even though we have it written down, I think we should still p-”

“Put a bookmark on the page? Already done.” Vergil interjected.

Twilight blinked, she didn’t even notice him place that there, upon closer inspection, she had also read that Vergil had also written the phrase in question, as well as a brief description of the context and meanings of the hint, good attention to detail, even for a bookmark.
“Wow, I didn’t even notice you put that there.”

Vergil shrugged. “Well, I figured in case we didn’t have time to flip through the book to read, that having that short sentence on there would make it easier to just have it on the bookmark instead.”

“Good thinking, Vergil. That will come in hoof if we’re ever in a rush.”

“It’s just common sense, really. Nothing special.” A short pause, as he modestly brushed off the compliment.

“You on the other ha- or erm—hoof. Are a rather resourceful young mare. You already had it done before I could even ask.”

Twilight smiles up at him. “It’s like you said. Great minds think alike.” She says, playfully pressing a hoof to his arm.

Vergil softly chuckles. “I suppose you’re right.”

She gives him a sweet smile before turning her attention back to the book on the history of harmony, flipping over to the next page. “Anyway, we should probably finish these books.”

Vergil looks up at the clock on the wall, it read:

1:36 A.M.

Looking back down at Twilight, he recalled her saying she had to be up earlier to prepare for the raising of the sun, and lowering of the moon for the special Summer Sun Celebration that would be taking place in the earlier morning hours. “Are you sure that’s a good idea, Twilight? You said you needed to be up earlier, did you not?” He asks.

“Well, yeah I do. But I can still finish this book. I’m not tired at all. Remember, I’m the expert at late-night researching.” Says the Alicorn, putting a hoof on her chest and raising her wings. She closed her eyes and gave him a proud smile.

“If you say so…” Says Vergil, a bit doubtful of her words, Twilight had quite a busy day, so he wouldn’t blame her if she were to fall asleep.

The two continue to read, about twenty more minutes go by, and Vergil is at the halfway mark of the book, he comes across someone named Star Swirl, the Bearded, a pony Vergil recalled her mentioning a few times as a legendary wizard that she saw as an inspiration for her magic.

“You’re right, Twilight, Star Swirl the Bearded, was indeed a very skilled wizard. I just got to the part where he-”

As Vergil looks down at Twilight to speak to her, his lips close, and he smiles. Twilight had fallen asleep, her head resting comfortably in his lap, the book she had been reading just below her front hooves. She looked so peaceful because she likely had a big morning ahead of her. Vergil decided that it was best to leave her be for now.

“Sleep well, Twilight.” He quietly says, slowly closing the book and carefully setting it down on the table in front of the couch.

Looking again at the sleeping Alicorn Princess in his lap, he couldn't help but admire how cute she looked, sleeping soundly, her little chest slowly rising and falling as she silently snored. As she lay there, sleeping with her head nestled into his lap. Twilight Sparkle may be a magical pony, but from these four days with her, he’s already learned a decent bit about her.

Initially, at first, he thought this world was bizarre, and didn’t think much of this place. But thanks to Twilight, he’s found a new appreciation for this world. Magical Ponies or not, they were still his friends, and he was glad to have met them. The circumstances weren’t the best, but at least they still welcomed him in so warmly.

The more he looked at her, the more this urge to pet her soft purple fur seemed to grow, and he didn’t know why. Hesitantly, he crept his hand down and gently began to stroke her mane. Twilight sighed contently in her sleep, shifting a bit, but didn’t wake up. He noticed something. Twilight was smiling in her sleep now, so he continued to pet her soft, smooth mane.

Being the only one awake, Vergil’s mind began to wander. Several thoughts filled his mind as the events of the past four days played back inside his head like a show recorded on a PVR. So much had happened in the past four days. After this weekend, it would be a week since he had been here, crazy to think it was nearly that long already.

Hours would pass, and eventually, when the clock hit six a.m. Vergil decided to wake her up. He didn’t want to, but she had told him she had some important duties to attend to for the celebration. Reaching down, Vergil gently began to shake Twilight. “Hey, Twilight, it’s six in the morning, time to get up.”

Twilight stirred in her sleep.
“Nnnnm … it’s easy, just… calculate the variables, and times the hayburger, then round it to the nearest daffodil…”

Vergil scratches his head. “What in the devil is she even dreaming about?” Shaking his head, he gives the sleeping Alicorn another gentle shake, this time a bit more quicker. The second time did the trick, and Twilight quickly jolted awake.

“I know the answer!” She says quickly sitting up on the couch, glancing around to realize she’s still in the living room. It’s at that moment, Twilight finally realized that she had fallen asleep in his lap. As the reality of her unplanned nap hit her, she slowly looked up at him, only to be met with an amused smirk.

“Well, well. Good morning.”

Twilight giggles bashfully, a blush on her cheeks. She quickly looks away from him, moving her head out of his lap, trying to hide the pink line over her cheeks from him. “Uhm … S-Sorry. I guess I didn’t realize how tired I was, eheheh…” she adds, shyly tracing her hoof in a circle on the couch.

“Don’t worry about it. Yesterday was rather exhausting. It’s good that you got rest.”

She gives him an endearing smile.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Twilight remembered it all clearly. It’s at this moment she realized she had never thanked him for last night.

“Hey, Vergil…?”

“What is it, Twilight?” He turns to look at her.

“Last night, things took a pretty bad turn. If it wasn’t for you, I might not be here, so … thank you for saving me.” The Alicorn gives him a warm smile.

The half-devil just shook his head. “You took care of me while I was out of commission. Saving you is the least I can do. Just glad I got there in time.”

Twilight nodded happily. She was grateful to still be alive after an attack by such a horrid creature. Next time trouble would threaten to stir, Twilight would make sure that this time, she would be ready for it.

“Anyway, now that I’m up, I should probably get going. This year’s celebration is going to be a little different, so there’s a bit more me and the other princesses have to prepare. So you and Spike can meet up with the girls. I’ll join you all shortly after the raising of the sun and lowering of the moon.”

“Sounds good to me. See you later, Twilight.”

“See you later, Vergil.” Twilight nodded, giving him a little wave of the hoof before trotting out the door, the light tapping of hooves on the floor follows as she took her leave and went out the door.

About five minutes after Twilight left, in walked Spike, finally awake. He yawned and stretched. “Good morning, Vergil.” He greets, a yawn after his words.

“Morning, Spike. He says, standing up from the couch, stretching out a bit himself, sitting down for a long time definitely required a bit of stretching.

“How did research go last night? Did you learn about Equestria?” As far as Spike knew, Vergil and Twilight’s researching was about him finding out more of the history of Equestria, which wasn’t exactly wrong, since he did do that a bit after, but only once they found a hint about what Celestia had told him and Twilight about.

“I did. Twilight showed me all the books that explained the history of Equestria. So I’d say I’ve learned enough to call it a good start.”

“That’s good. Twilight has at least ten-hundred or more enormous library’s worth of books here at the castle, so you’ll probably be able to learn the rest of its history here, easily.” Spike explained Twilight’s collection was only getting larger and larger. There is a wide variety of books available here.

“Yes, I’ve noticed that she has an incredibly vast collection. It sort of reminds me of my personal library back in my old home.”

“Wait, you had a book collection this huge back home?” Spike asked, taken aback at this new piece of information. To the little dragon, Twilight was the only one he knew who would have an insane amount of books, and even though he wasn’t exactly a pony, he still didn’t think anyone would have as much books as his longtime friend.

“I did, an entire basement’s worth. Twenty-five acors of land, and the underground turned into a private library. I miss it sometimes, so I suppose I’m grateful she has a large variety, like any avid reader should.” Vergil responds, a clear proudness in his tone. It’s slight but noticeable.

“…I swear, it’s like he’s like an alien version of Twilight.” Spike muttered under his breath. Luckily, Vergil didn’t catch all of it, he just gave the dragon a slightly narrow eyed look.

“Uh, anyway! If you’re ready, we head out and meet the girls.” Spike quickly added.

Vergil nodded. “Yes, we probably can start making our way.”

“Well, then we’d better get going if we want to make the party.” Says Spike, leading the way out of the Castle of Friendship, and Vergil follows.

Spike and Vergil walk down the steps, and towards town, the sound of music in the distance of the tow. It was interesting, witnessing all the other ponies in town being up so early. If the entire town was up for the party, then the Summer Sun Celebration must really be an important part or Equestrian tradition. There was still so much to learn about this world, indeed.

“Let me guess, amazed at seeing every pony up so early?” Spike asks, giving a few town pony a wave as he passed by

Vergil nodded, taking a look around them as Spike lead him through town, ponies passing them by who were also on the way to the party.

“Twilight spoke of how important this day was, so I’m not too surprised. But it certainly is a spectacle, seeing so many here when the sun isn’t even up yet.”

“You can say that again.” Looking around, Spike spots the girls and waves. “There they are, let’s join them” Spike moves on ahead the moment he spotted Rarity.

“Good morning girls, especially you, Rarity.” Spike greets, to which the unicorn smiled.

“And a splendid morning to you as well, Spikey-wikey.” Rarity replies, causing Spike to blush a bit as her hoof ruffles his scales.

“Mornin’ Spike, Vergil.” Greeted Applejack with a friendly smile.

“Good morning, Every pony, Vergil too.” Rainbow Dash greets, stretching her wings out a bit, a yawn following suit after.

“Morning, girls.” Vergil replies.

“Good morning.” Fluttershy says, giving her new friend a kind smile.

“How are you doing today, Fluttershy?” Vergil asks, wanting to check in on the Pegasus, especially after yesterday.

“Oh, um. I’m okay. Much better than before, though, thanks.” She softly replies.

“That’s good. Glad to hear you’re doing better.” He says, Fluttershy looked pretty shaken up yesterday, so seeing a smile on her face this morning was a wonderful thing.

“Good morning, Vergil. Soooo, some little pony told me that it was your first Summer Sun Celebration?” Pinkie Pie asked. Disappearing after a blink of his blue eyes. Looking around for her left and right, Vergil is about to call out for her, only for Pinkie to reappear from behind him, just over his right shoulder.

“Is it really? Is it really? IS IT REALLY?” The party planner pony hyperactively asks, reappearing on a different side of him with each time she asked, from right, to left, and below his leg before reappearing back where the pink-furred pony had been previously standing before, her random speed and seemingly endless energy leaving a bewildered look on his face for a moment, before he finally registered the question once again.

“Uh … yes, it is. I did come from a different world after all, and our sun and moon sets and rises up by themselves.” Vergil finally replies.

“Yeah, I knew that. So, are you EXCITED!?”

‘She already knew? Then why ask at all?’ He thinks to himself, Pinkie was a very peculiar kind of pony, that he could tell right from the moment he had first met her, definitely the wild card of the group. Pinkie Pie and all her hyper reactions would take some time getting used to.

“Well, everypony that talks about it says it’s a very important celebration, so I suppose I am rather curious to see it with my own eyes.”

It wasn’t a direct answer, but an answer regardless. If it was an event held in such high regard, Vergil was naturally going to be interested in seeing it. There was no real indication of how long he would be in this world for, so getting used to their way of life, and adapt to their celebrations and traditions was a crucial part of him starting to blend in–or blend in the best a humanoid in a world of magical talking ponies could, anyway.

“Oh yeah, you are just GUSHING with excitement right now!” She paused, going up onto her back legs for a moment to reach out and shake him a bit with her two front hooves.
“Deep down behind those steely blue eyes, you’re a BUNDLE of joy, just waiting to explode. Am I right?” Pinkie asks, chipper and full of energy even this early in the morning ‘how does she do it?’ He wonders to himself. Vergil doesn’t even know where to begin with whatever it was she was talking about, so he concluded that the best option in this exact moment, would be to just nod and agree with her, despite him being completely lost in the topic of the conversation at this point.

“Uh … sure, something like that.”

“Well, you’re gonna be SUPER excited when it starts.” Pinkie replies, a big smile on her face as usual. Before Vergil can get a chance to respond, the three Princesses take the stage, their regal presence being felt the moment they put their first hoofs on stage.

Right away, the half-devil’s eyes center on Twilight, the purple-furred Alicorn felt different. She had this special aura around her as she stood on stage with the other two princesses. Vergil wondered just how long she had been a princess for now. She just seemed so in tune with her duties. It was like she was a different pony whenever she was on duty.

“Um, Vergil. Did you have your own celebrations in your world, too?” Fluttershy asks, just like the others. She was also curious to know more about their new friend.

“As a matter of fact, yes, there are. We have several celebrations. And much like Equestria, each distinct part of my world has their own cultural traditions and celebrations that differ from the ones on my part of the planet.” Vergil briefly explains he knew of them, but even in his travels, the half-devil didn’t go everywhere in the world. That was impossible. In light of that, though, he could at least tell the girls a bit about the ones he did know about from personal experience.

“Several celebrations!!?” Pinkie lets out a very over-exaggerated gasp that no pony other than Pinkie could produce, then began to bounce up and down on her hooves in excitement.

“More celebrations means more ponies, and where there’s a celebration there’s also A PARTY!!” the happy-go-lucky pony added.

“What about sporting events? Did you have those back in your world too? Those are so awesome!’ Rainbow Dash eagerly asked, a question he was expecting her to ask at some point.

“Yes, we do. There are many sports in my world.”

“What kinds of sports did ya’ll have in your world, anyway? Sure sounds like there are a lot of ‘em,” Applejack chimed in with her own question.

“There are several. But the most popular in my world would be baseball, basketball, soccer, football and ice hockey.”

“Baseball? Huh. That sounds pretty similar ta Buckball. Is it just like that?” AJ adds, throwing out a question of her own.

“It probably is. I don’t know how Buckball works, but for baseball. You have players on the field. One team is throwing the ball at the other. They are called the pitcher. The pitcher’s job is to throw the ball at the batter of the other team.” Vergil briefly explains, encouraging more questions, and there was plenty more they had.

“Oh wow, that sounds fun. What is the pitcher supposed to do?” Asked Fluttershy.

“The pitcher’s goal is to try to make the batter of the other team miss the swing three times . Three strikes and they are out. Then the next swinger comes in to try to hit it”

“What’s the batter do? I mean, I know they have to hit the ball, but for what? Is there a basket you have to throw it in? Like Buckball?” Asked Rainbow Dash, quite invested in this conversation, just another example of her appreciation for sports.

“Good question. Yes, the batter is supposed to hit the ball. But you see, the moment the ball passes the players on the field, the swinger has to drop the bat and run around four specific sandbags, we call them bases. If you reach one base before any field pitchers catch the ball, you’re safe, but if the catcher near the base your running to catches the ball, you're out.“ Vergil explained, the girls were a little more interested in sports than he thought.

“What happens if the running batter runs past all the four bases?” Asked the sporty Pegasus.

“If the running batter makes it to the fourth base, the team gets a point. We call that, running home.”

“Is there anythin’ else the batter can do to get the team ah point besides makin’ sure the others don’t catch it?” Asked AJ.

“Yes, there is. If the swinger hits the ball so hard that it goes out of the baseball park or stadium, it’s called a Homerun. If the batter hits a Homerun, every teammate that’s on either of the four bases, get to run all the way home.” Vergil explains.

“Sounds a little boring, but it could be fun? The part about hitting a Homerun, anyway.” Rainbow Dash comments, which makes sense coming from her. He never took her for the type that something like baseball would entertain.

“Well, I think it sounds about as fun as a lasso trick at a rodeo.” Applejack says baseball sounded like something she would enjoy. Her enthusiastic reply said it all.

“Are there any other more, you know, cooler sports?” Asked the cyan-furred Pegasus, hoping that there was a more interesting sport from his world.

“Now Rainbow Dash, that wasn’t a polite way to ask, you know,” Fluttershy politely reprimanded.

“I appreciate that, Fluttershy, but it’s not necessary.” Vergil reassures.

“It’s not?” Asked both Rainbow and Flutter in unison.

“I’m not too surprised that you find baseball boring. Some people in my world would certainly agree with you. It’s not a sport that’s for everyone. Or in this case, not for everypony.” Vergil quickly explains.

Pinkie playfully nudges his arm with her hoof, acknowledging his of the wording here. “Aww, listen to that! It’s only been a few days and you’re already using the right phrasing!”

“Admittedly, sometimes I do forget to say that,” Vergil modestly replies.

“You’ll get used to it,” Pinkie adds, giving him a polite, dismissive wave of her hoof.

“So, what’s the other sport you mentioned?” Rainbow Dash inquired about the other sport, but before Vergil could respond, the royal horn sounded, immediately grabbing the attention of every pony. It seemed like the celebration was about to begin.

“We’ll have to put a pin on that for now. I’ll tell you later.”

Rainbow Dash groaned a bit. She was just so curious to find out, but since the ceremony was going to start, she agreed. “Ugh, alright. But you gotta tell me about that sport after!”

“I will. Anyway, it’s about to begin.”

With every pony’s attention, the three Princesses stepped forward, all the ponies bow, and so does Vergil. The Alicorn's raised their wings up the moment Princess Celestia began to speak.

“Good morning, everypony! And welcome to this year’s Summer Sun Celebration. As you all know, this celebration over a few moons ago had a very different meaning. What was once a day to celebrate the banishment of Nightmare Moon now serves as a special day for us to celebrate the return on my sister, Princess Luna.” All the ponies in the crowd cheer in response, but Celestia extends her wings, politely ushering the other ponies to quiet down, and listen.

“Before we proceed with the lowering of the moon and rising of the sun, Princess Twilight would like to say a few words.” With that, Princess Celestia gave the Princess Of Friendship a nod–her signal to go ahead, and Twilight steps forward, wings raised up high as she spoke.

“Hello, everypony! I would like to extend another welcome to this year’s Summer Sun Celebration! Ever since I became the Princess Of Friendship, I’ve seen the power of Friendship grow significantly. We’ve all come a long way to get to where we are now. As you all know, we have a new face here in Ponyville.” She says, looking at Vergil from the crowd, it was pretty easy to point the hint out from the crowd since he was the tallest figure among the crowd.

“It was a bit of a rough start, but you all came around to welcome him, despite not being a pony. This is proof that friendship is getting stronger and stronger, and I am so incredibly proud of all of you. In light of this, we will be having a festival to celebrate our harmony. After the ceremony, please feel free to enjoy any of the food and drink stalls here throughout town. There are also several very fun games and other activities for families and especially the ones with foals. So with that being said, I will leave the rest to Princess Luna and Princess Celestia, and once again, Happy Summer Sun Celebration to everypony!”

The crowd of ponies cheer, applauding by stopping their front hooves on the ground in sync, a few of the Ponies looked up at Vergil after Twilights little speech, and gave him a smile, each of which he returned with a small smile of his own

Princesses Celestia, Luna and Twilight looked at each other, giving a nod to prepare for the traditionally special lowering of the moon, and raising of the sun. Princess Luna closed her eyes, her horn glowing a deep moonlight blue as she slowly began to levitate into the air, Vergil watched closely as the moon began to lower, but halfway, not long after that, Princess Celestia closed her eyes, also beginning to levitate as her horn began to glow a bright sunshine orange, Princess Twilight watching carefully for her queue.

The second that the moon and sun are about to pass each other by, Twilight extended her wings, and gave them a flap, then took off, soaring with speed directly between the sun and moon, the second Twilight disappears behind the sun and moon, in a flash of magical beauty, the second Twilight is out of sight, a large purple flash of her cutie mark began to explode into the sky creating a truly extravagant display. As she flew, Vergil starts to concentrate, and everything slows down through his eyes, he’s able to see just how large Twilights wings were, they were beautiful, especially the way the lights of both the sun and moon looked reflecting off Twilight, only he could see this thanks to his ability to slow his breath, and completely focus, allowing him to watch this utterly incredible view, blue eyes watching the Alicorn as she gracefully flew between the sun and moon, his vision speed returning to normal shortly after she’s through.

“Absolutely astonishing…” Vergil says to himself, captivated by what he had just witnessed. It was almost as beautiful as fireworks, but maybe a little better.

After that, the moon lowers, and the sun rises high above the sky. One by one, the Princesses gracefully land back on stage, Luna first, Celestia, then Twilight last.

The ponies cheer, the applause much louder along with the cheers this time, and Vergil joined in on the applause, so this was the Summer Sun Celebration, an amazing celebration at that, he could tell just how much the ponies adored their Princesses, a true testament to the Harmony that resides over the kingdom thanks to their rule, and Ponyville very clearly looked up to their resident Princess of Friendship.

Now that the sun was up, the crowd of ponies in front of the stage slowly began to disperse as the Princesses leave the stage, Twilight can finally jump down and go see her friends, slowly cutting through the leftover groups of ponies as she passed them by.

“So, what did ya think, Vergil? Real pretty, wasn’t it?” Asked Applejack, curious to hear his thoughts.

The country mare’s voice fully bringing back to reality. After a couple of blinks, he gave a nod. “That was indeed an incredibly beautiful display. And from how loud the crowd was cheering and applauding, I can see how truly important this celebration is to every pony here.”

“It was simply dazzling! I’d dare say it’s even better than the one she did last year. She took flight with more gusto this time.” Rarity complimented, praising her dear friend’s performance.

“Yeah, she took off pretty fast. Not as fast as me, of course.” Rainbow Dash says, wearing a proud grin, but clearly no one was having it. She could tell by the narrow-eyed look her friends were giving her.

“I-I mean, yeah, she’s uh, definitely gotten faster with her take off … eheheh…” Rainbow corrects herself, a sheepish smile as she rubs the back of her neck with her hoof.

Not long after that minor exchange, the sound of steadily trotting hooves tapping on the ground coming towards them captured their attention, making them all turn to face the direction behind them. Twilight, giving her friends a small smile, meets the group.

“Hey there, everypony.” She turns to look up at her half-devil friend wanting to include him in her greeting too, though he wasn’t exactly a pony.
“And Vergil, of course,” she adds, flashing her smile as she joins her group of friends.

“Howdy there, Twilight, that was a real nice lil’ display ya showed us there.” Applejack complimented.

“It was as gorgeous as it was last year, if not more, darling.” Rarity added, taking a few steps forward as the purple Alicorn joined her friends.

“Oh, yes. It was absolutely beautiful, Twilight.” Fluttershy softly adds a smile after her piece.

“You’re timing was definitely a lot better too this year, too.” Rainbow Dash adds in their best friend’s appraisals.

"That was as exciting as shooting a giant party canon!!' Pinkie added, jumping up into the air after her last sentence. She randomly remained in the air for an extra minute, finally landing back on her hooves just before Vergil could comment, though he did notice, and decided to leave it be for now.

“Thanks, girls. I was a lot more prepared for it this year. I took extra time to calculate the best speed I should run, and cross-calculated it to match the best angle I should take off at for maximum flight.”

“Yeah, it was amazing! But uh … wasn’t that a bit much for one fly through?” Spike asked, though this type of thing was just typical Twilight at this point.

“Nope! You can never be too prepared, Spike.” Her response earns her a rolling of the yes from the little dragon.

With most of her friends have given her feedback, there was one particular person’s, that she wanted to hear as well. Lightly walking over to him, Twilight’s violet eyes turn to Vergil. As their eyes meet, he knows right away she’s expecting a response.

“I must say, I certainly wasn’t expecting a display like that. Witnessing the rise and lowering of the sun and moon was one thing, but that explosion of magic after you flew between. It was a breath-taking sight to behold, quite the spectacle indeed.” Vergil compliments, saying the first words that come to mind after her silent question.

Twilight smiled at his words. There was also a faint sense of relief on her face. Perhaps she thought the ceremony wouldn’t move him since it was so different to him, but his words proved her thoughts wrong. “Thank you, Vergil. I’m glad that you enjoyed the ceremony. Summer Sun Day is a very important day for us.” Twilight is about to say more, but it suddenly cut off by Pinkie Pie, who randomly appeared right beside her.

“Happy second Summer Sun Celebration fly through zoom, Twilight! I made you this big cupcake to celebrate!” Pinkie Pie suddenly congratulates, Twilight isn’t expecting Pinkie to be right there beside her, so she jumps back a bit letting out a surprised ‘eep!’ nearly falling over, but maintains her balance. Twilight’s eyes widen a bit at the ridiculous size of this cupcake, though she has to admit, it does look rather pretty. It is clear that Pinkie has put a lot of work into this, as it is well decorated for its size and looks delicious.

“Wow! This is the biggest cupcake I’ve ever seen you bake, Pinkie. Thank you.”

Twilight moves in to give her a hug, and Pinkie happily returns her hug. After pulling back, the hyperactive pony handed her the large cupcake, it was about the size of a hard cover book, with purple frosting, her cutie mark in the centre of it, surrounded by little sparkle sprinkles, with an added layer of thin vanilla frosting, with a rainbow cream filling. The Alicorn takes an extra few moments to admire the impressive attention to detail Pinkie had when she dressed this cupcake beautifully. It was like an art piece in frosting form, a testament in showing just how much of an expert baker Pinkie Pie was. Twilight was grateful.

“Oh, I’ve definitely made WAY bigger cupcakes before. Actually, this wasn’t even the first version of it I made, so I’m SUPER DUPER happy that you like it!” Pinkie cheered, happily hopping up and down a few times.

Twilight was curious. If this really wasn’t the first version of her cupcake, the just how many did Pinkie Pie make? Knowing Pinkie, she assumed she made several. The pink earth pony had so much energy that her thoughts travelled about one-thousand milers per second. “Wait, if this wasn’t the first version, just how many others did you bake?”

Pinkie puts a hoof to her chin with a hum. Thinking for a moment, she counts in her head for a few seconds before nodding to herself, again turning to face Twilight. “Abouuuuuuut, ten different cupcakes! I just had SO many ideas, but Mrs. Cake said I shouldn’t overdo it, so I kept it at ten. It was a really tough choice in picking which one I wanted to give you. So, after some REALLY INTENSE thought, I decided to go with this one.” Pinkie energetically explained, giving Twilight a smile after she finished talking.

“That sounds like it’s going to be a very yummy cupcake. I’ll definitely enjoy that later. I’d have it now, but I don’t really want my first meal of the day to be dessert.” Due to being in a hurry, Twilight didn’t have time for breakfast today, and now that the ceremony was finished, brunch sounded like a great idea.

“Oh! I understand, Twilight. Dessert for breakfast isn’t for everypony.” Pinkie smiles, proceeding to randomly produce a big cupcake from out of nowhere, and in one chomp, devouring it. “Ahh, that hit the spot!”

Twilight giggles at Pinkie Pie, she was always so random, but that pony always knows how to put a smile on every pony’s face, she could make almost everything fun, the Alicorn was looking forward to seeing how Vergil would react once he found out about her Pinkie sense, he was already slightly baffled that his friend had just scarfed down a cupcake, devouring it whole like a snake, it was quite the thing to witness so suddenly.

“Anyway, I’m going to go put this away really quick. Thanks again, Pinkie Pie. I’ll let you know how much I enjoyed it later.” Twilight adds, to which the energetic earth pony nodded, and cheerfully replies, “OkiDokiLowkie~,”

Using her magic, with the deep magenta glow of her horn, Twilight and her cupcake teleport, disappearing in a burst of magenta, and reappearing inside her castle so she can wrap up her cupcake and put it away for later. While her friend did that, Pinkie happily hopped her way back to the others. With her magic, she grabs a piece of paper and a writing quill, placing the paper down on the kitchen counter first. She quickly begins to write a note with the quill that says: Twilight Sparkle’s Cupcake, DO NOT TOUCH;

While Twilight was away, Rainbow Dash flies up and glided until she was front of Vergil, with her hooves to her hips, speaking up before Vergil or any pony else could say something.
“Now that the ceremony is done, you gotta tell me about a few more of those cooler human sports! Baseball was kinda laaaame. So, what are some of the cool ones?” The cyan Pegasus eagerly pressed him to know more.

“I know, I didn’t forget. Like I said, there are quite a few different ones. But I’ll tell you about the ones that may be more your style.”

“Well, Ah for one, think baseball sounds mighty fun, Vergil. Traditional games are always somethin’ ah enjoy. Some ponies just prefer a lil’ more action in a sport.” AJ comments, a playful jab at Rainbow Dash.

“What? Standing around watching players try to catch a ball just sounds boring. Aside from the whole HomeRun thing though, that sounded pretty cool.” Rainbow Dash replies, not denying the country pony’s comment either. Every pony here knew that Rainbow was always the type who enjoyed the more upbeat and faster pace games, which did make sense considering ponies called Rainbow Dash the best flyer in Equestria, and had easily become one of the most recognizable Wonderbolts of all time, next to Spitfire.

“I can sort of understand. Just like you, back in my world, the few people in my group of acquaintances knew me well for my speed.” Vergil proudly admits this was probably the only thing for he and Rainbow Dash had in common, and that was just fine. After being here for almost a week now, Vergil had learned that you didn’t need to have a lot in common with someone to be their friend. An important lesson to have picked up on, and there was more than likely a lot more here that he would be learning, and he welcomed it.

“Really? Haha, nice! We got a need, a need for speed!” Rainbow Dash cheered, dashing to the left, right the back to Vergil, her wings flap excitedly as her hooves lightly lift up a bit from the ground, she holds out her right hoof for bump.

Noticing this, Vergil lifts his hand, makes a fist and they bump his knuckles through his fingerless gloved hand, tap her hoof, creating a little ‘clack’ from their contact.

“Anyway, regarding speed. We do have several types of racing sports. Though only a small handful would be suitable for you.”

“Huh? Why do you say that? I’m the BEST at races. I always win.”

“I’m well aware, Rainbow Dash. I’m not doubting your abilities. I say that simply because your world here lacks the necessary technology for those types of races.”

“What do you mean?” Rainbow asks, scratching the back of her head with her hoof.

“Obviously, you ponies don’t have cars.”

“Uh … what the heck is a car?”

“Exactly.”

Rainbow Dash thinks for a moment, coming up with a vague idea of what she thought he was talking about. “Wait … do you mean karts? We have kart racing here.”

“Not quite. Although, karts are relatively close. I’m talking about motor vehicles.”

“Ah ain’t ever heard of those before.” Applejack admits, looking at the others, and their expressions of confusion were all shared equally.

“It’s something civilization in my world relies on quite often. Just walking down the sidewalk, cars used to pass by all the time. It was very normal.” Vergil briefly explains.

“Used to? They don’t use em anymore?” AJ asks, catching exactly what he says.

Vergil realizes he kind of screwed up by saying that she he opts to dodge the question entirely. “Anyway, regarding those sports. I’ll start with explaining track and field. It’s often an Olympic sport, so many professionals spent years training, staying in perfect running shape. Although in the Olympics, there are several more competitions other than running.”

“Did you say Olympics? That sounds a lot like the Equestria Games!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed; Vergil’s telling of the Olympics immediately fascinated her, and very eager to hear more about it all in great detail. He had them hooked on hearing more now.

“That’s pretty much what it is. Just the human version of it.”

“What other kinds of events an’ competitions do ya’ll got in them Olympics?” AJ asks, her own curiosity beginning to peak as the inner athlete inside her seemed to come out the more he spoke about the sports back in his world.

“There are several, but if you really want to know, I’ll go over the ones I can recall from memory.”

As Vergil began to tell his friends about the Olympics in his world, back at the Castle Of Friendship, Twilight had taken some time to organize all of her paperwork and fan mail neatly on her work desk. “There! All ready for later on.” She checks the clock on the wall. “Oh! It’s already been over twenty minutes? I hope the others haven’t been too worried.” Her horn glows, and in a flash of magenta, Twilight teleports out of the Castle.

During that span of time, Vergil had managed to go over the most common competitions that the Olympics from his world would participate in whenever the Olympics would come around. Rainbow Dash and Applejack were the most interactive in this conversation. While the others listened, Pinkie Pie was stuffing her face with cupcakes and all kinds of desserts, but was listening as well.

“Whoa! You’re right. It’s exactly like The Equestria games, just a little different. The Three-way Relay is basically a grounded version of The Aerial Relay.” Rainbow Dash commented.

“And the Javelin Toss is just like the Heavy Horseshoe Throw. We’re just throwin’ different things.” Applejack added.

“The Long Jump is EXACTLY the same, though! WHAT A WORLD!” Pinkie very cheerfully added, jumping up into the air after the end of her sentence.

“The Triple Jump is also pretty much the same, too. Oh, the only difference is that the Pegasi that compete in it are only allowed to flap their wings once for an extra boost. Two or more is disqualification.” Fluttershy adds to the conversation. She was also relatively interested in hearing about the differences or other potential similarities regarding these Olympics. The girls were learning so much about them, and a bit more about their new friend as well.

“You’d be surprised at just how similar some things from here are when compared to my world. Even I’m rather intrigued.” Vergil replies, it was pretty perplexing on how closely similar his world, and this world here was, but interestingly, he was also curious to learn more about this universe and all the things it had to offer.

“I must say, I find it rather remarkable that our worlds are quite the same in some aspects as well. On the day of the picnic when we first met you, I do happen to recall you telling us a bit about your world, too. From all you’ve told us so far, it certainly doesn’t sound like our worlds aren't all that different after all.” Rarity chimed in, sharing her thoughts on everything he’s told them all about his world.

“I think so too. Upon my arrival here, at first I thought everything would be completely different. I wasn’t exactly sure how I could adapt. I assumed this world differed vastly from mine. I wasn’t exactly wrong, but I wasn’t right either.” He says, looking around at the rest of the town from where he sat. He was slowly starting to get used to this place, and having friends definitely helped him adjust.

“Well, we are all very happy to have you here, Vergil.” Rarity generously adds, flashing him a sweet smile.

“ABSOTUTELY!” Pinkie cheered, wearing a big smile on her face like usual.

“Thank you, ladies. I first saw my ending up here due to bad luck. But after spending a few days here, I couldn't be any more glad to be wrong.” Vergil replies, giving them a tiny smile, making sure he looked at every one of them.

“Rarity is right, Vergil. Even if you got here entirely by chance, I’m glad we could make you feel welcomed.” Says Twilight, emerging from behind the shadow of a nearby tree, catching Vergil and every pony off-guard, except Pinkie Pie, of course, who smiles amongst the gasps.

“Twilight? How long have you been there?” Vergil asks. He had been so caught up in the conversation that he didn’t even notice the Alicorn get back and rejoin them.

“Twilight! I was wondering when you would finally join us,” Pinkie quickly adds, causing everyone else to glance at her for a second. To which she just smiles. “Pinkie sense!” A response that makes Vergil arch a curious eyebrow.

Twilight giggled a bit at Vergil’s reaction, understanding his slight confusion, this would probably require a bit of an explanation later, something Twilight would keep in mind for after, as even she still didn't fully understand Pinkie's sense, but knew enough about it to trust in those senses.
“Not too long, about twenty minutes or so.” She replies, walking down from the little hill next to the tree, finally rejoining with her friends.

“Really? Then how come I didn’t pick up your magic?” Vergil asks, clearly recalling that Twilight had a distinct magical power that he felt within her.

“I hid my magic, so you couldn’t pick it up. I wouldn’t be very sneaky if you knew I was here. I had a feeling Pinkie would know, but knew she wouldn’t give me away.” Twilight adds, looking at Pinkie for a second, the two exchange a quick smile.

“I had no idea you knew how to cloak your magic as well.” Vergil replies. If she knew even a cloaking spell, he was curious to find out just how wide her knowledge of magic was.

“Well she does have the element of MAGIC after all ” Pinkie Pie playfully states, pointing a hoof a Twilight’s cutie mark.

“Ah … good point.” Vergil says, clearing his throat. Right, they had elements, he had nearly forgotten the uniqueness of their cutie marks, something they had explained to him during his very first picnic with the girls.

While everyone was engrossed in the conversation, she had already teleported back, right beside one of the trees nearby. The Alicorn heard all her friends getting along with Vergil, and she wanted to sit back and listen for a few moments. It made her happy to see that all her close friends were getting along so well with him.

A humanoid from another world, enjoying a conversation with Equine Ponies, a true sign that showed just how powerful friendship was, so strong that it could even reach beings from other dimensions entirely. It was a very amazing thing to see.

“What were you doin’ over there, Twilight?” Applejack is the first to ask.

“Yeah, were you watching us the whole time?” Rainbow Dash chimed in with her own question.

“I was just listening to you all talk for a little. It’s just so nice to see you all get along well with someone who is so different from us in a lot of ways. It really shows just how far we’ve come in making friends.” Twilight answers, giving all of her friends a smile.

“Whoa, you’re right! I never really kept count of all the friends we’ve made. After all six of us met, I guess making friends just came to me naturally.” Rainbow Dash mused, it was hard to believe that so much time had passed since they had met.

“Well, ah’ll be. We really did make ourselves a whole apple barrel’s worth of friends, didn’t we?” Applejack adds upon realizing this revelation herself.

“It really does make me happy to have met you all.” Fluttershy sweetly adds.

“Indubitably. And I am unequivocally certain that we’ll continue to make many more friends from here on out!” Rarity chimed in, feeling the shared sentiment of their friendship.

“Anyway, now that we’re all together, how about we go enjoy the rest of the festival? Besides, it's not too often we have a whole festival like this for Summer Sun Day.” Twilight suggested, this was the first time they held a full-on festival to go along with the celebration.

“Ah think that sounds like a fine idea, Twilight, let’s go ya’ll.” Applejack agrees, standing back up on all fours.

“Yeah! Last pony to the apple bobbing game treats us to ice cream!” Pinkie shouts, taking off into a sprint.

“Oh! It is ON!” Rainbow Dash grins, and in a strong flap of her wings, she took flight, zipping after Pinkie leaving a trail of rainbows behind her, the two mares thinking their friends are right behind them were so focused on the little race, that they didn't even notice the other girls stay behind.

“Do we really have to race?” Vergil asks, looking over at Twilight and Fluttershy.

Twilight can’t help but laugh a little at hearing Vergil’s lack of interest in the race, though she could understand his reluctance, maybe he wasn't used to abrupt competition?
“Don’t worry about those two, that’s just how they are.”

"Once you been hangin' round us enough, this kinda thing will feel a mite bit normal." Applejack chimed in.

“Exactly. So you don’t have to participate if you don’t want to.” Fluttershy adds. “Not into competitions too much either, Vergil?” She asks, curiosity in her soft and sweet tone.

“On the contrary, I don’t mind a friendly competition. I just don’t have enough bits for ice cream.” Vergil says, giving a shrug.

“Oh, I see. Um. Sorry I asked.” She had to admit, Fluttershy felt a little bad for asking now. She felt her question may have felt a bit insensitive, at least to her it did, anyway.

The half-devil shook his head. “No, it’s not rude. I’m aware that of my financial situation here. I haven't exactly had the time to look for some work.”

“No worries, Vergil. I can cover your ice cream.” Twilight politely offered.

“Much appreciated Twilight, thank you."

"It's my pleasure, Vergil." Says the Alicorn, flashing him a sweet, little smile.

“Um, you guys. We should probably hurry and catch up with the others. We don’t want any pony to worry about us” Fluttershy softly interjects.

“You’re right, let’s head to Sugar Cube corner, the others are probably there by now.” After that, Twilight leads Fluttershy and Vergil towards the bakery to catch up with the girls.

Meanwhile, a sinister shadow with malicious intent lingers over his next target in another part of Equestria a bit outside the kingdom.

Location: The Dragon Lands || Time: 8:56 a.m.

It was a typical early morning unlike any other in the Dragon's part of Equestria. Dragon Lord Ember was already awake, and ready for her day. She had woken up around six o'clock to give herself time to wake up, have her breakfast and prepare herself for a quite a busy end to her week. Today Ember had a bit of a hectic schedule. Ever since she had become the dragon lord, within her rule, she had been hard at work trying her best to make a few more allies, though it wasn't going as planned. Friendship was nice, her experience with it thanks to Spike and his friends made it something she wanted to be more open to, it just wasn't an easy task.

The dragon's as a whole have always followed the old ways of ruling their kingdom, a way that involved ruling with an iron fist, with a more domineering and aggressive approach. She was trying to change things within her rule, and the other dragons didn't seem to be too into following her encouragement of being a bit more kind to ponies, and others, but it was clearly going to take some time, it would be a slow shifting process, because she was also still learning the deeper concepts of friendship herself. Today the first things on the list, was this meeting she a formal meeting with Prince Rutherford who would be here around eleven to discuss important matters since the dragons and yaks had a long history with each other.

Sat on top of the tallest rock in the dragons land, she watched over her land, as the other dragons did their own thing "Man... being dragon lord sure is a little tough sometimes." There was so much else she had to do later, her day didn't stop after the meeting with the yak Prince, she had also gotten some letter from her friends back in Ponyville, one of them being an invitation to visit Ponyville for their first official friendship union with Ember as Dragon Lord, and Spike as the official Friendship Ambassador of Dragons for Equestria.

While she had some spare time, Ember decided to check out the laves rivers and maybe sneak in a quick round of Scorch Surfing to give herself a little jolt of adrenaline to help loosen up a bit. Upon her arrival, the Dragon Lord is met with the sight of some of the other dragons on top of a large downhill lava slope.

"Hey, Dragon Lord Ember!" One of the dragons called out, giving their ruler a wave.
With a flap of her wings, the blue-scaled dragon flew up to the top of the lava slope where a few of the others were there gathered, Garble being among one of them.

As she got there, Garble gave her a wave.
"Hey, Ember, catching an early morning lava wave?" He asks, handing her one of the rock boards.
and she took it, moving over towards the stream of lava

"Yeah, I have a busy day ahead of me, so I wanna have a little fun to give me a bit of a boost, get me through the day a bit easier, you know?" She replies, taking the board.
Taking a few steps back, just as she's about to jump down the lava slope to begin her ride down, she stops after her eyes catch something suspicious about halfway down the slope just off to the left by a large boulder; It was hard to notice at first, but the longer the young dragon lord stared at it, the more she could see it.

"Hey, why aren't you going down?" Garble asks, scratching his head, expecting to have been seeing her catch a lava wave by now.

"Something's off." She simply replies, her red eyes staring at a suspicious-looking shadow of a boulder, it looked a lot darker than any normal shadow would be, and to make it even more strange, the sun wasn't as high up in the sky yet, and that shadow, was a size slightly larger than it was supposed to be. Normally Ember wouldn't care for little details such as the shadows of rocks and such, but this shadow was just too hard not to notice, because it stood out so much when taking a long look at it. If the sun's angle was just a bit more up, she might have missed it. This shadow gave her a bad feeling, one that made her sick to her stomach.

"What do you mean?" He asks, taking a few steps forward, his curiosity peaked.

"Look at that shadow down the middle left of us, and when you notice it, don't point it out." Ember cautiously informed, her eyes still locked with the shadow, not even wanting to blink until he confirmed that he could see it, too.

It takes Garble a few minutes, but once he realized what it was that she was talking about, he double takes a few times. It was incredibly hard not to notice it now. The immensely darker shade of that shadow could literally be seen from where they were. "You're right, that's weird. You think it's trouble?" Garble whispers to the young Dragoness Lord.

"Yeah, I have a bad feeling.." It doesn't take her too long to realize she hasn't seen someone in a couple of hours. Wherever Garble was, Smolder wasn't usually too far behind him, not today, unfortunately. With a potential threat very likely lurking within the darkness of that boulder's shadow, the safety of her dragon kind was important, especially the younger dragons, and right now, Smolder was the only one here, as the others are on a practice flight led by her father, former Dragon Lord Torch.

"Where's Smolder?" She asks, concern worn clear on her face. If she was nearby, then it would be dangerous to strike first with a young dragon caught between the crossfire of the fight.

"Smolder wanted to practice goin' down the giant slope, the one at the end of the lava lakes." He answers back, waiting for Embers options in this increasingly dangerous situation.

"If she's not here, then she's safe, let's make the first move." Ember says, preparing to command the dragons here with her to attack, but it's a little too late. "I think we were a little too slow, watch out!" Shouts Garble, quickly looking up, Ember spots that same large boulder coming right for her. Reacting quick, Ember moves out of the way, the boulder smashing into pieces on the ground a few feet behind her shakes the earth as a shadowy figure with bright glowing red eyes appears before them.

"What in the hell are you?!" Garble gasps, surprised by what he's looking at, he's not frozen in fear. but wasn't at all expecting this thing to emerge from the cover of a big rock, he already didn't know what to expect, and it sure wasn't this.

"What do you want with us?" Ember chimed in, demanding answers, hiding her fear best she could. it wasn't like her to be scared, but she had never seen a creature before truly as terrifying as this, and whichever creature that it was, it was unlike anything she'd ever encountered.

"I always liked you dragons, so I'll give you an easier option."
Ember scoffed, curious to what exactly these demands of his were, judging from the kind of energy he gave off, they probably weren't going to be fair.

Daemon casually crosses his arms, clearly not worried, or intimidated by the fact that he was slowly being surrounded by more dragons the longer he stood there. The shadow demon was relaxed, even as the numbers continue to stack up on him. "My demand is simple. Surrender to me your land, and I'll let you all live. I'll even sweeten the deal and give you dragons your very own part of this land after I take it's resources. Follow these demands, and I'll give you a pass when I burn this world to the ground."

Ember narrows her eyes at his words, dismissing his demands immediately. The dragons obviously were not going to willingly hand over their home turf, the dragons didn't owe him anything, and if it was the land he wanted, well then he was going to have to fight for it, these dragons weren't giving up their land without fighting to protect it, regardless of that being or creature's power, and to top it off, if he intended to burn the world, then he was clearly threatening not only the dragons, but their allies too, and with Dragons slowly starting to branch out into friendship, successfully beginning to build bridges with their allied kingdoms, and Dragon Lord Ember wasn't going to let this guy ruin everything she was building for her fellow dragon kind and their future.

"There's no way in hell that we would give up our land to some weirdo who hides inside the shadows of things!" The dragoness bravely refused. She knew what was best for her kind and wasn't about to give up something so important carelessly. Every dragon here was used to this land, and leaving it all behind abruptly was out of the question.

"Disappointing. But oh well. Just know that when you're all screaming in agony, that I did try to give you an easier option."

"Dragons! Attack!" Ember commands, and the second she gives the order, several dragons swooped in with their sharp claws pointed forward, the first to strike a small group of four dragons, and they went in for a dip downwards to swipe with their claws, but Daemon moves out of the way, shadow spikes extend, simultaneously impaling the three dragons in the neck, stomach and chest, blood spurting out of the wound the second the shadow spikes retract back within him, and the three drops to the ground, lifeless, red pooling below them from the wounds.

The very quick death of the three seemed to shake up the other dragons for a moment, as they all winced, but they knew that this fight was for their home and if this being truly wanted it, he would have to pry it from their cold, dead claws, and these mighty dragons weren't going down without fighting with their lives. Another group, this time a group of five Dragons, tried to pelt him rapidly with giant fireballs from all directions, but he simply moved out of the way. With a speed quicker than the eye could follow, the shadow demon hands become large shadow claws, and extend, giving it the ability to strike any vital spot with lethal intent, several claws capture one of the dragons midair, impaling his wings, and body in multiple locations, creating a mess of blood all around him

Despite the initial shock, more dragons moved in, planning to try a variety of different attack strategies on him. Four dragons quickly flew above him and with a deep breath, unleashed their fire breath on him, and while he was dealing with the heat, Garble charged into the flames, grabbing a large rock, he broke it across Daemon's face, then dug his claws deep into the shadowy being's body, the attack seemed to work, as the Garble had drew blood, but there was something very different about it, this blood was pitch black, it was so unnatural, further proof of just how different this person or thing was.

As the flames subsided, Daemon was nowhere in sight, it was like he just vanished without a trace, leaving the dragons that were previously engaged in combat looking everywhere around them desperately trying to locate where this dangerous new foe could have hidden. Still seemingly invisible, Ember the other dragons suddenly heard his voice from every direction, causing some confusion. "Damn... that really hurt. I think I'm done playing games now. Blood was drawn, and now I can't wait to tear you all apart."

Without warning, The ground is struck hard around them, this caused a plume of dust to rise up and cover the dragons, making visibility poor. To make it even more difficult, using the darkness within the dust cloud, Daemon extends his magic and it causes the entire inside of the smoke cloud to go completely dark, stripping every dragon trapped inside it from the little visibility they barely had.

Thinking smart, Garble and Ember move in close, back to back, and wing to wing. The two knew it was important to stay together, especially in crucial moments like this. With their vision temporarily obscured, all they could do was listen, doing the best they could as alert as possible.

It's quiet, so quiet you could hear a pebble drop and everyone would hear it.
Slowly but surely, the two dragons focus hard enough, that their eyes finally adjust, but just enough for them to see a few feet in front of them. Luckily, this wasn't a spell and was only a magic aura, it only served as a sort of screening that added to the visual impairment of the dust cloud putting them at a disadvantage. With her vision tolerable, Ember very briefly catches a glimpse of a shadow zipping right by her sight, that was clearly the new foe, he was just moving fast, much quicker than she had thought. While they could technically fly out of the dust, that was probably what he was waiting for and she wasn't about to potentially fly right to her death.

The silence around them was deafening, every single dragon here was on edge, trying their best to keep a look out. Several more times this shadow would speed by, at a speed too fast to get even a decent glance, until a green dragon at the far left of the group suddenly yells, but is cut off by a rough fleshy sounding S L I C E, the voice abruptly ending as the head of that very same dragon went flying off, the corpse hitting the rocky ground as the severed head hit the ground, hitting the rocky pavement with a disgusting meaty thud, leaving behind a splattering of blood as the head rolled down two more rocks before stopping against a large rock, truly chilling noises to hear when you're vision was heavily limited. The dragons were in an intense stand off, enveloped completely inside a dust cloud of shadow.

Not even a second later, a second dragon, this time its sliced in half right down the middle, blood and innards spilling out everywhere, the two opposite sides of that creature's inner anatomy all on morbid display. Suddenly, a third dragon, then a forth, and a fifth. Only leaving behind either a puddle of blood or a mix of blood and chunks. One of the dragons break under the difficulty of this situation, and with a panicked shout, this green dragon flapped it wings and flew out of the dust cloud, only for his scream to be heard shortly after, the sound of a devastating meaty snap is heard -- unbeknownst to the dragons in the cloud, that same noise was the result of Daemon using a large shadow hand to crush the dragon in his palm, snapping his bones through its tough scales like it was nothing more than a thin twig of a tree branch, it was a horrifying thing to hear, especially the light thud after the body hit the ground, a big dragon's large skeletal frame had been reduced to grinds so easily, this wasn't just some man, this was a Monster.

The remaining dragons begin to shake, the feeling of their mortality creeping over them in the realization that this was it, they were going to die a horrible death, this being was ungodly, and absolutely dangerous. While the other dragons in the background were picked off one by one, Garble turns to Ember, his expression was probably the most serious face she's ever seen him make. The chances of them making it out of this fight alive we looking slimmer and slimmer with each passing minute.

"You should find Smolder and get out of here.." Garble suggests.

"What? No. What about you?"

"Even if we die here, the dragons won't be gone, the kid dragons are on a field trip, and as long as our Dragon Lord is alive, dragons will continue to live on."

"But, Garble, I-"

"Nevermind! Listen..." He sighs. "I don't want him hurting my sister. I can buy you some time."

"Garble.."

"Ember, there's no time! So get going!" He shouts.

The young dragon lord wants to protest his decision, but deep down inside, she knows that he's right. Smolder was the only younger of the dragons that stayed behind, and after witnessing just how brutally this creature was murdering the other dragons, Garble and Ember didn't want Smolder to suffer such a cruel fate, she still had her whole life ahead of her. With a defeated sigh, she nods, understanding the severity of the situation.

"Okay... I'll get help, just hang on!" With that, Ember extended her wings, and took off into the air, flying as fast as she possibly could immediately making her way towards the furthest part of the lava lakes. This attack on dragonkind was unexpected, then again, who in their mind would ever think to expect facing a shadowy humanoid figure that hide within shadows and shade of objects.

As Ember flew away in a hurry, a dark shadow rose up from the ground, it was Daemon, his empty souless red eyes, with a large outstretched grin extended from ear to ear. "Awww, how noble of you. If your that determined to defend your Dragon Lord, then I think I'll take my time killing you."

Garble doesn't show any intimidation or fear, he suppressed it all with anger so it was easier to focus completely on the fight. Instead, he just narrows his eyes, showing this creature that despite the immense power this figure had, Garble wasn't going to back down. "Oh yeah? We'll see about that."

Ember was flying to the tallest Scorch Surfing slope, it had taken quite a bit of flying since the surfing because of how large the surfing area was, so many different lengths of slope, some short, while others like the aforementioned one she was heading to. This one slope in particular was called The Titan Drop, a well known slope that only very experienced scorch surfers tended to go for a ride on, it was also a popular slope for Dragons who loved the extreme thrill of Scorch Surfing.

As she got closer, after a few more minutes of speed flying, Ember catches a visual, there she was, down below on the top of The Titan Drop, the dragon lord quickly lands right next to Smolder who is immediately confused to why Ember had been flying so fast towards her, as their eyes met, Smolder can see the serious expression on the dragon lords face, the little dragon was concerned.

"Hey, Ember. What are you doing here? Is there something wrong?"

"Smolder, I need you to come with me to Ponyville." She quickly states, skipping right to the point, and understandably so, Smolder is very confused to the sudden request, she doesn't see any reason to go to Ponyville with her.

"What? Ponyville? But why? We're dragons! We don't live the same, we're better than a pony anyway. " Smolder retorts, crossing her arms and turning her back to Ember.

"It's not safe here right now, we have to go!" Ember insists.

"Not safe? What do you mean?"

"Smolder, I know you don't want to go to Ponyville, and you probably have a lot of questions, too." Lowering a bit, Ember reached out and lightly grabs Smolders shoulder, quickly turning her to face her. "Hey, what gives?" She protests, she had more to say but stopped when the blue-scaled dragoness gave her the most serious look she's ever given, which kept her silent.

"There's no time to explain, Smolder! I am the Dragon Lord! And right now, I'm putting the dragon lands in a state of emergency, and this is an official order of evacuation. So we NEED to go, and NOW!" She says, raising her voice to a much serious tone. The little orange-scaled dragon finally notices the severe look of urgency in her eyes, and it scares her a bit. Ember, was absolutely serious about this. It's not long before the realization fully hits her in the face, Smolders rebellious nature fading away the moment as the gravity of the situation comes in full circle, at last became crystal clear to the young dragon that things were not okay at all right now.

"O-Okay fine... I'll go." Smolder finally agreed, she didn't know exactly what was going on, but if the Dragon Lord was this serious, then this all had to be legitimate.

"Good, let's hurry." The exact second Smolder agreed, Ember motioned her to follow, and with a flap of her wings, took off in the direction leading out of the Dragon lands, Smolder quickly flapping her wings and following after her. Smolder tried to look around to try and catch a glimpse to what was going on, only for her spot a huge explosion somewhere down blow, that explosion catching Embers attention too, sadness in her eyes as she realized that it had happened in the area where Garble and that shadow man were fighting, that boom, made her heart sink, knowing all too well that there would be a lot of casualties, the loss of her fellow dragon kind pained her deeply, but she had to move on, she had to get help, if this person or creature was strong enough to cause a ground shaking explosion, then the chances of surviving against that were dismal, and she wasn't trying to get herself killed.

Just before they could reach the border of the Dragon Lands, Ember stopped, feeling that same dark energy from before, Ember's sudden halt made Smolder stop too. "What is it Ember?"

"Smolder.. stay back."

As soon as they stopped, up flew Daemon, long spiked shadow wings spread out and on his back as he blocked their path, his crimson-red grin that matched those soulless red eyes extended, he could see the fear clear in her eyes. "There you are Dragon Lord."

"What in the hell do you want with us?!" Ember asked, keeping Smolder behind her, her tail wrapping around her to keep a safe distance between Smolder and this intruder, her guard heightened to its peak, as she flapped her wings on spot, the two glaring at each other, refusing to blink in caution of the other determined to make the first attack.

"It's real simple really, Dragon Lord Ember." Daemon said, saying addressing her formally in a mocking tone.
"Give me the blood stone inside the scepter, and I'll spare you and the little orange dragon's life. surely your lives are more important that maintaining the rule of your land."

"Not a chance, Dragons defend their home until the very end." Ember says, her voice a bit shaky, but determined.

Daemon just shakes his head. "...What a shame."

"Smolder, fly away now.."

"But, Ember.. I-"

"-That is an order!" Ember desperately exclaimed, about to flap her wings and soar in to try and attack the shadow figure, time felt like it slowed down, as Ember knew that with each second that she got closer to him bit by bit, she was inching further and further towards her immanent death, knowing very well that she probably wouldn't be able to win this fight, creeping closer and closer to what would most certainly be a gruesome death, she began to try and mentally prepare herself, even if it was a one-sided fight, she would go down defending her home.

Just when the shadowed spikes were nearly within reach suddenly, Daemon is swiped up from the ground, a bit of black blood splashing below, and then was quickly thrown hard into one of the smaller volcano pits, the burns along his shadowed body, appearing as white energy tears in his shadow color.

Looking above, Ember smiled at the sight-- it was her father, Torch, it seemed he returned to the Dragon Lands just in time, and she was very grateful for his arrival, but horrified at the same time knowing that her father could face a fate similar then whatever happened to Garble.

"Dad, you're back!"
She quickly flew up to the much larger dragon's forehead, hugging him, flying back shortly after.

"Ember, take the younger dragons to your friends in Ponyville and make sure you tell Princess Twilight what happened here. If these allies mean what they said, well with this bloke, this is going to be their chance to prove it." Torch clearly instructed, his tone of voice just as serious as the expression on his face.

"But what about you?" She asked, her voice starting to get a little shaky when asking her father this question.

"I'm going to stay here and buy you some time." He says, his tone was now somber as it was serious.

Embers eyes widened, Garble and the other dragons were probably dead now, and the thought of losing her father too, horrified her, she wanted to protest his decision with all her heart, but considering the fact that this creature had taken down so many dragons already, she knew that she had no choice but to comply, as much as she didn't want to leave her father behind, she knew that she had to, for the sake of the dragon race and their continued existence.
"Okay... I love you, dad."

"I love you too, and I always will. Now go."
With tears in her eyes, she nods, then flaps her wings, catching up to Smolder not long after.

As soon as Ember and Smolder were gone and safely out of the main dragon land area, a shadow figure slowly rises back up into the air across from Torch, red eyes glaring down at the dragon, someone the shadow demon recognized right away.
"Long time no see, Torch. Still looking the same as ever, just a bit older now."

As soon as he spoke, Torch knew exactly who this was. Someone he never expected to see again.
"If it isn't Midnight, Fancy new look ya got there. Got tired of being a pony?"

"This body is just so much better than my old one. This form allows me to get stronger with each bit of magic I steal. So yes, you could say that," Daemon replied, a dark low chuckle after his words.

"If it's magic you're looking for, why come here? Dragon's don't have magic." Torch asked, demanding an answer.

"Yes I remember, I'm here for something else entirely."

"Well you're not going to get it!" Torch was done talking, the fact that he had come here and killed several of his own kind, there was no way Torch was going to let him get away with this, not without one hell of a fight. Torch flapped his wings and moved in for a strike with his claws, while Daemon did the very same.

Location: Ponyville Town Outskirts || Time: 10:15 A.M

After flying for what felt like hours, but was probably just over one hour, Ember had managed to fly all of the younger dragons along with Smolder just on the outskirts of Ponyville, the Castle of Friendship and the town visible in the distance. She had been flying non-stop the whole journey, taking the time to check in on the other dragons during their trip.

The dragons got tired midtrip, so Ember found a place nearby for them to rest, while she said she would go to Ponyville and get some carriages so the little dragons could rest their tired wings. Ember had been doing a lot on the flight, so she was pretty tired herself as the dragoness finally reached the outskirts, there's a figure seen below -- a pony returning to Ponyville, the closer she got, Ember was able to recognize the distinct cutie mark and mane.

"Starlight!" Ember called out, her voice exhausted from the long trip, she landed albeit a bit sloppy due to fatigue. Right away, the pony turned to face the dragon, concern immediately as the unicorn was able to tell that she was in great distress, and with how drained she looked, this was probably serious.
"Ember! What in equestria happened?" She asked, worry in her tone of voice.

Ember took a moment to catch her breath, finally speaking with the last of her energy.
"Need... to speak to.. Princess Twilight.. Dragon lands were.. attacked." That's all she's able to get out before her panicked adrenaline faded, and with the energy boost wearing off, she collapsed, but before she could hit the ground, Starlight caught her with her magic.

"The dragon lands were attacked? I better bring her to Twilight right away!" Starlight quickly levitated the dragoness into the air with her magic, then turned and made a dash towards Ponyville rushing as quickly as her four legs could take her, steady clacking of her hooves on the path as she sped through town in desperate search of her mentor.

--End Of Chapter--

Chapter 5: Friendship In Numbers

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