My Little Overlord

Chapters

Prologue: A Meeting of Minds
Chapter 1: The Trouble With Demoness'
Chapter 2: All Women Are Crazy
Chapter 3: Twenty Percent Cooler
Chapter 4: Overlord Rarity
Chapter 5: A Demon's Heart
Chapter 6: Demons About Canterlot
Chapter 7: My Little Demons
Chapter 8: The Overlord of Equestria

Prologue: A Meeting of Minds

Two beings, ageless and powerful were meeting on neutral ground. A quiet forest on an unclaimed planetoid far from either’s home world. Both wore heavy clothing in a vain attempt conceal their identities in case any spies had followed them.

One stood on two legs, leanly muscled with a thick black cloak hanging loosely over his shoulders. His chest and abdomen mostly bared by the vest he wore and nothing else on his chest. Tight leather pants lead down to stylish brown boots. A few errant locks of well cared for lilac colored hair fell around his neck. He bowed low as his fellow conspirator arrived. “I can’t thank you enough for meeting me. It’s been too long.” His voice was smooth and elegant.

His guest too wore a dark cloak to hide her identity. Nearly twice the size of the bipedal male she stood on four long legs. Her coat of silken fur white as newly fallen snow. The cloak rippled constantly from her ever churning multi-hued mane, while her poly-chromatic tail rippled freely in the breeze. A long horn stood out from beneath the hood she wore. “Not at all. It’s a pleasure to see you again my friend.”

The two sat in companionable silence, just enjoying the sensation of reuniting with an old comrade. “I hope things have been going well in your neck of the woods. I’ve heard you’ve had a veritable string of problems lately.” The red eyed man inquired.

His companion laughed lightly. “It’s certainly been an exciting few years I won’t deny that. But yes, things are going very well. My student has recently joined my sister and niece in ruling Equestria. I’m afraid the stress has been getting to her however. She was always a little high strung.”

“Mmm. I understand completely. My son’s taken the throne since my er…retirement. He has good dependable friends to help him but the boy’s growing restless. You know how kids can be.”

“I do. I think that’s her problem as well. She has a brilliant mind and can be very good under pressure. It’s when she has too much free time on her hooves that problems arise. She starts to invent things to occupy her time and now and again they can get a little…troubling to say the least.”

“Hm.” The gentleman demon produced a tea set from…somewhere and poured a cup for his guest. “It occurs to me we may be able to assist one another.”

It was so rare the ageless princess got a chance to enjoy time with anyone on her own level and she decided to play coy. “Oh? Don’t keep me in suspense.” Delicately she sipped at the tea. Netherworld blends truly were some of the best; she made a mental note to set up some sort of import arrangement.

“Well your student needs a problem to solve yes? My son needs to get off his butt and do anything really. Why don’t we just…throw the two together? See what happens?”

Another calm sip of her tea. Oh but it was good. “It would certainly be…interesting. I worry about the damage either could do however. The young Overlord is incredibly powerful is he not?”

“Let me worry about that. I’ll make sure he doesn’t cause too much trouble for you. I do feel it’d be best if you hosted. The Netherworlds can be a bit bracing for your kind as you well know.”

“Oh yes I recall. If you hadn’t arrived when you did…” A shudder ran through the powerful equine’s frame. “Well best not to dwell on such unpleasantness. As to your idea, so long as you can promise me your son won’t cause any real trouble…”

“Mmm. I can promise to keep the collateral damage to a minimum?”

A small smile formed on the equine’s muzzle as she tapped her cup to his. “Then let the fun begin.”

Author's Note

Had this idea rattling around in my head for a bit and it demanded to be created! I'll be working on it here and there between my regular stuff. :x

Chapter 1: The Trouble With Demoness'

“Grrr! Where is she?!”

Demons throughout the Netherworld trembled as their mighty Overlord raged through his castle hunting down his errant vassal. Their feuding had become the stuff of legend. Whispers spread all the way from foreign Netherworlds up to Celestia itself of the great prank wars between Overlord Laharl and Demon Lord Etna, his chief vassal.

No one was entirely sure how it all began. Some say Laharl fired the first shot when he got into Etna’s prize snack stores. Others claim the feud began when Etna beat his high score in Super Prinny Fighter 3. Whatever the case the true cause would likely never be discovered. It was a well-known fact both demons were more than a little petty and with the relative peace their Netherworld had enjoyed for the past few years they were getting a bit…antsy.

At first it’d started small. Scorpions in her bed. Acid in his shampoo. Just little pranks any young demon might pull on his friends. It wasn’t until Etna had escalated the conflict by bullying her prinnies into spray painting an enormous mural of the Overlord, lips planted firmly on her leather clad backside that Laharl began to take it seriously. Never one to be outshone by his own vassals, Laharl’s own message in graffiti was scribed right on the moon. A giant caricature of his first vassals face scribed across the moon with the words “I love Hoggmeiser” to accompany it was his return shot.

Etna went into hiding in one of two places. The prinny dorms, which judging by the numerous scorch marks and debris left behind by the poor things being tossed about and exploding had already been searched. Or in Flonne’s wing of the castle. Laharl’s fury was manifesting physically in a blazing aura as he stormed up to the east wing of the castle. HIS castle! But he hesitated before kicking in the doors.

On the other side Flonne was no doubt doing…whatever stupid crap Flonne got up to on her free time. So far the fallen angel had remained a neutral party in the battle between Laharl and Etna and he intended to keep it that way. The sickeningly sweet love obsessed angel-turned-demon might have the demeanor of an angel, but if provoked…

With a shiver the young Overlord recalled the last time he’d gotten Flonne angry at him. He’d ended up sleeping in the zombie pens for a week to avoid being the target of her wrath. No, the two absolutely could not be allowed to join forces. Taking several deep breaths Laharl turned to a mirror smoothing out his hair and doing his best to regain his composure. With a scowl he rapped sharply on the door.

He was tapping his foot seconds later in impatience. About to open his mouth and bellow for Flonne to hurry up he recalled his decision to stay on her good side and snapped his mouth shut with an audible ‘click’. After a veritable EON had passed (more like a minute and a half), the door opened revealing his second most trusted vassal.

He frowned a little as his anger cooled somewhat. Seeing Flonne always brought out…FEELINGS. Complicated feelings. The kind he hated. He always fumbled a bit mentally when trying to think of what to say to her. Your hair looks nice? Your fangs are really shiny today? I like the bow on your tail? He always defaulted to what worked best. “It took you long enough!” Nailed it.

The gentle demoness pouted a little. “I was making a snack Laharl. Did you need something?”

I’d love to join you! Maybe we could get dinner? My treat! “Where’s Etna?!” Truly the smoothest of smooth talkers with the ladies.

Flonne’s large ruby colored eyes narrowed just a little, and the Overlord felt the temperature shift just a few degrees in the negative. “I don’t know. She’s YOUR vassal Laharl, not mine.”

Laharl felt his anger building again. The two WERE in cahoots! The little traitor! “I know she’s in there Flonne!” He shoved the door hard sending her sprawling on her backside. She gave a little yelp as she crunched her tail.

He winced looking down at the sudden flash of discomfort on Flonne’s face. Help her up! Apologize! “Etna! I know you’re in here!” Storming passed the grumbling Flonne he cast about her quarters. The east wing had been drastically transformed over the last few years. Flonne may be a demon now but she was an angel at heart and her fluffy, frilly, pink filled wing of the castle reflected it. Even the prinny’s busy cleaning wore poofy pink heart covered aprons.

Flonne smoothed her tail with a sulking glare at her Overlord’s back. Why did he have to be so stupid all the time? With a huff she stalked back to her kitchen and resumed her meal preparations. The dummy. It wasn’t entirely his fault she knew. Demons just…felt their emotions a bit more than angels did. It had been a pretty freeing few years down here really. Up in Celestia you had to be calm, poised, and composed at all times. Down here though…she looked to the young Overlord again with another sigh. Down here she could be honest with herself…so why could she never be honest with HIM? It was all so hard sometimes.

She knew he felt the same way about her, but both were just a little too shy to confess to the other first. She could see it in his eyes sometimes, he’d be just on the edge of saying what she knew he wanted to say, then something inevitably happened to interrupt them. Or someone more often than not…

As if on cue a cry of ‘why me dooooood?!’ echoed down the hall accompanied by the explosion of a thrown prinny. Laharl came soaring down the hall bouncing along the floor and rolling back out of her wing of the castle. Eyes wide at the inevitable coming storm Flonne raced around the counter and hastily scooped up all the valuables she could, just in time as a raging Laharl blazed back down the hall, sword bared and leaving streaks of flame along the floor in his wake. With a gentle sigh she lamented the loss of yet another nice carpet.

She winced as the sound of steel meeting steel rang throughout her normally peaceful chambers. That was the last straw. She’d put up with their nonsense long enough. Squaring her shoulders she set down her precious collection of magical girl figurines, took up her staff and stormed down the hall toward the sounds of battle. Her anger was very slow to rise, but once it did the demons of Laharl’s Netherworld had learned to be far more afraid of her than the more violent prone Laharl and Etna.

Angel she may have been born, but she was a demon now. And like all demons when Flonne was roused to anger it generally had explosive results. It didn’t help matters that she had been in line to become the new Seraph of Celestia. Which meant she had enough magical might to control every angel in existence. She’d sacrificed that happily for Laharl’s sake, but he made it difficult to…like him a lot…at times.

She found her two closest friends predictably enough battering away at each other in Flonne’s very own bedroom of all places. Laharl was hacking away with abandon while Etna nimbly leapt from place to place, occasionally deflecting a sword swipe with her wickedly barbed spear. The young demoness’ face was locked in an almost permanent smirk it seemed, as she hopped about either not noticing or caring about the destruction being wrought in Flonne’s personal haven. She knew Laharl would mind, if he were in a thinking state.

Flonne suspected it would come to this the second she’d seen her lord of course. His normally blue hair had been dyed bright pink in his sleep. To make matters worse the antennae like protrusions he always wore had been curled and either gel’d or spray’d into twin heart shapes. It was definitely the worst Etna had done thus far and she could understand Laharl’s anger…to a degree. Seeing her beloved limited edition collection of Defender of the Earth action figures shattered on the ground however sent all thoughts of sympathy flying.

Laharl and Etna were locked together, almost nose to nose. Etna smirking and Laharl scowling. Both demons paused in their mortal combat as chill shivered down each of their spines at the same time. Swallowing heavily in unison they turned their heads to the sudden source of dark energies roiling through the room. Flonne’s eyes were twin fires blazing hotly as she took in the destruction of her room and collectibles. The battling pair backed away from one another immediately, their weapons vanishing to the extra dimensional space each stored them in.

“F-Flonne! We’re uh…we’re done! We made up! Right? Right prince?!” Etna threw an arm around Laharl’s shoulders.

“Y-yeah! We’re…friends again…” He seemed near to vomiting as he said the words though.

“I. Have. Had. ENOUGH!” Her anger reached the point of no return as she stormed up to the two. Magic flared as she bashed first Laharl, than Etna over the head with her staff. Normally not a physical powerhouse like her friends, Flonne punctuated the wallops with a healthy dose of magic…enough to render both demons semi-senseless. Sending her staff to the same weapon-space utilized by all high ranking demons she gripped Laharl and Etna by the ears, and began storming back through the halls of the castle.

While either one had the physical strength to break away from the weaker demoness’ hold neither dared do so for fear of making her angrier. The last time she’d been THIS upset was when Laharl declared Valentine’s Day illegal and outlawed everything pink and heart shaped in the Netherworld, (He did this to explicitly avoid confessing his feelings on the day of romance like he was expected to). When he refused to alter his stance on the matter she’d wound up sending the old castle sliding from its cliff-side perch into the lava flowing below.

Both made a token protest as she drug them down the sweeping staircase to the entrance of the castle. The lesser vassals scrambled away from the sight of the angry fallen angel. Laharl made a mental note of every one of the traitorous cowards for future punishment. Maybe transmigration into a slime or something would inspire a bit more loyalty. Mercifully Flonne released their ears and both immediately went about massaging the offended appendages.

Before either could open their mouth to complain, demand, or apologize Flonne summoned the strongest wind spell she knew, blowing both into the castle doors, smashing them off the hinges and sending the now yowling pair flying into the Netherworld. “And don’t come back until I say so!”

***

Princess Twilight Sparkle began her day as she did every day. With a checklist. The youngest princess of Equestria was up early of course; she had to be in case anypony needed her. So far they…had not. But it could happen any second now! It didn’t mean she was a bad princess of course, just that there were no world breaking problems in Equestria. And that was a good thing!

She’d naturally been invited to live in Canterlot Castle, but had politely declined. Ponyville was her home and if she could be a princess in the capitol city she could certainly be one in the small farming town she’d grown to love over the years. Sure the other three princesses lived in castles…and she lived in a tree. But she loved her tree library! She loved the books and the field trips Cheerilee would bring the class on to check out books en masse. Living in a tree didn’t make a pony a bad princess.

With a soft sigh she looked over at Spike’s empty bed. Her number one assistant had again been struck with the desire to learn more about dragons, and against her wishes he’d set out for the dragon lands. She called him a baby dragon but in reality Spike was very nearly an adult by pony standards. His sixteenth birthday had been last month, and he’d taken the opportunity to announce his impending trip. She really hadn’t realized how much she depended on the little guy for just about everything. Not that that was a bad quality in a princess! Celestia and Luna had plenty of ponies working under them.

Nodding to herself the young alicorn trotted down the stairs of her home, flexing her still new feeling wings. It’d been two months but they still felt awkward and unusual, more than a few times she’d bumped them against a table or shelf in her home. Reaching the ground floor she unrolled her checklist frowning at the first item to do.

Check for mail from Spike.

She’d insisted on Princess Celestia teaching her the spell used by her teacher to send scrolls back and forth via dragon fire once Spike had made his decision. The dragon promised to send her a letter as soon as he’d found a good time to do so. So far she’d received exactly zero. Still! Today might be the day! Trying to be hopeful she trotted outside to the mailbox.

Empty.

Nodding as if expecting that she checked the first item off. Second? Breakfast. The seemingly simple task had also become a bit of a chore as of late. The café was her preferred breakfast destination but going out amongst the townsponies had become…difficult since her coronation. She breezed by her royal regalia without casting it a second glance, all that would do is make things worse. At first she’d worn it all day every day, but gradually she began to notice the way everypony was treating her.

Aside from her five closest friends she was being treated as something of an outsider. Nopony was rude or unkind, just the opposite. Everypony would bend over backwards to please her. They refused to accept payment for anything, brought her heaping portions for her meals…far more than she could eat in two or three sittings. That wasn’t the worst of it. The worst was the distance. Everypony kept a respectful distance from the newest princess, feeling it would be rude to just wander up and talk to her like she was a normal pony.

Still, she was confident if she just kept at it her friends and neighbors would come around in time. She was still Twilight Sparkle, head (only) librarian in Ponyville. The only change was she had the added honorific of the Twilight Princess. She was still a little unsure of just what that meant. She was in charge of…the sky between day and night? So for like a half hour Twilight Sparkle reigned supreme in Equestria.

Making her way through the familiar streets she smiled with polite nods to anypony who dared meet her gaze. Hasty bows and formally averted looks were most responses. A few of the ponies she’d become especially friendly with over the years returned her smile but they still bowed nonetheless. She was relieved to find Rarity already at the café enjoying a scone over a cup of tea. The fashion conscious mare lit up with a smile at the sight of her friend.

“Twilight! Over here darling I was just sitting down to breakfast!”

Her mood already improving by leaps and bounds Twilight made her way to Rarity’s table. She almost fell flat on her rump when the normal table cushion was tugged away by a speedy waiter, to be replaced by a far more plush and ornate one. Ear flicking gently in irritation Twilight maintained her polite smile, nodding her thanks and taking a seat.

Rarity was barely concealing a mirthful smile. “Oh do relax dear, they’ll get used to you. You know how everypony can be; it takes time to adjust to something new.”

With a little huff Twilight blew her bangs out of her eyes. Maybe it was time for a mane cut. “Easy for you to say, you’re not the one getting treated like…like…”

“Royalty?”

“Exactly! It’s horrible!” With another huff she let her head thump onto the table.

“Oh I can imagine. Having every whim catered to with barely a raised hoof. It must be absolutely dreadful.”

The scholarly alicorn rolled her eyes. “You’ve seen how everypony practically runs away from me when I try to talk to them. Remember the town meeting last week?”

Rarity did indeed remember. Twilight was running a bit late and the Mayor was apologizing so much for starting without her she was practically groveling. Everypony watched in horror, as if they expected the fledgling princess to send her to the moon at any second.

“Well I suppose somepony’s are being a bit extreme…”

As if on cue a small army of waiters brought out every breakfast dish offered by the café, stacking them on the table and nearly blocking both mares’ view of one another.

Grinding her teeth together audibly Twilight forced a smile. “Thank you sirs. This is MORE than enough. Just like EVERY morning.”

Bowing low enough their snouts were practically dragging on the ground they departed. Rarity delicately picked up a small pastry taking a bite. “I suppose things are a trifle overboard.”

“And that’s not even the worst of it. I have nothing to do Rarity! Princess Celestia, Luna, AND Cadence all invited me to sit in on court with them but nopony was there to see ME, just them! Celestia says I have to do ‘independent study’ from now on, whatever THAT is! There hasn’t been any emergencies or crisis’ in months!”

Rarity sipped her tea quietly, sorting out just how best to phrase what she said next. “Twlight…you cannot possibly mean you want something like Nightmare Moon or Discord to attack us again? Equestria was nearly shrouded in eternal night, and actually was turned into the chaos capitol of the world. It might surprise you to learn this, but our little town had very little excitement before Princess Luna’s return.”

Letting out a huge gust of air the distraught alicorn took a huge bite of pastry. “I know…I know Rarity I just…I feel so useless. Princess of Twilight? I know she just made that up to make me feel like I was in charge of something. I just wish somepony would give me a chance! A chance to show I can be just as good a princess as the others!”

“Well I don’t know about all that, but if you’re truly desperate for something to do…”

“I am! Anything!”

Rarity was understandably hesitant. She had a large presentation coming up and Fluttershy was adamantly refusing to model her latest pegasus themed fashions. She hadn’t even bothered asking Rainbow Dash, the speedster would never agree. Though Twilight looked to be in danger of approaching 'want it need it' levels of unbalanced behavior...she was still one of her dearest friends and needed help. “I’m in need of a winged pony for an upcoming show. My new spring line is nearly ready to go, but I’ve yet to find a model. I know it’s not exactly the sort of emergency you were hoping for but…well it would mean the world to me.”

Twilight’s ears drooped only slightly at the seemingly frivolous request, but Rarity’s earnest tone spoke lengths as to how important it was. Perking up slightly she smiled. “Of course I’ll help Rarity. Anything you need, I’m your mare!”

“Right then. Be at the boutique around lunch time, I’ll have everything set up for you then. And Twilight…try not to let all this get to you. Things will get better, you’ll see.”

Watching her friend go Twilight simply sighed and took another bite of breakfast. “…I hope they get better soon.”

***

Say something. She was dad’s oldest and most loyal servant. That should mean something right? She’s a pain in the butt but she’s always been there for Laharl when he really needed her. They’d had their squabbles over the years but always made up. Of course it was usually Flonne who forced them to do so. Well he wasn’t some little kid who needed the angelic demon to do his talking for him. He could do this. He could…apologize.

“This is your fault!” Perfect.

“MY fault?! YOU’RE the one who charged me with a sword!”

“YOU threw a prinny at my face!”

“You outlawed all pudding and pudding based products!”

“Well you…you’re a flat chested good-for-nothing waste of mana!” Oops. That might have been going a bit too far.

Etna’s eyes widened in shock for a moment, then narrowed dangerously. “Oh AM I?”

Alright…play this cool. It wasn’t too late to salvage this. He shoved her. “Yeah!” Dammit.

“Oh yeah?!”

“YEAH!”

He tensed waiting for her strike to come. Instead she…just stood there looking at him quietly. “…do you really feel that way?”

He urk’d. He was ready for violence, for more name calling, even a little stabbing. He wasn’t ready for her eyes to tear up. “W-well…I mean…I…that is…wh-what do you care what I think anyway?!”

She bristled now, her anger rising to the point that her pigtails were twitching. “W-well fine then! If you think I’m so useless maybe I’ll just leave!”

“Good!”

“Great!”

“So long!”

She stared him down, fists clenched at her sides tight enough to cause her arms to tremble. He stood staring back, not backing down an inch. Etna broke first, spinning on her heel and taking wing.

Laharl watched her go for a few moments. “Who needs her anyway…” He considered going back to the castle and begging Flonne’s forgiveness. He considered chasing after Etna. In the end he went with his usual fall back. Storming to the dimensional gate. “I need to kill something!”

The gate master bowed as he approached. She was an old demoness. She’d been his father’s and grandfather’s gate master after all. She’d performed her duties for three overlords without complaint. “Anything in particular you’d like to murder this evening sire?”

“I don’t care as long as there are a lot of them!”

Bowing she turned to the gate intoning the ancient words of passage that would activate the stone arch and send her enraged Overlord through time and space to a destination he could vent his rage on. What Laharl did NOT know was this was in fact not the real gate master. She was tied up and stuffed in a potato sack in the bushes nearby.

Feeling his fury growing by the second Laharl wasted no time in leaping through the now brightly glowing gate. Immediately he realized something was wrong. Bright tendrils of magic lashed out at the demonic Overlord of the Netherworld, tightly binding his wrists. He yowled more in anger than actual pain at the burning sensation as heavy and very solid manacles took shape around his wrists.

The normal falling sensation associated with gate travel seemed wrong as well. He was moving much too fast, spinning end over end as he careened wildly along the dimensional pathways. After what seemed like an eternity he was ejected from the swirling corridor of light…only to find himself so high above the ground all he could see were clouds.

Scowling and vowing that the gate master was going to receive the business end of his sword rammed as far up her backside as it could go he called on his innate magic to shift his ever present scarf to a functioning set of wings. He felt the rush of mana rise up from his core…then race into the manacles. Mouth open and eyes wide he tried again…and again with the same results. Every attempt at accessing his power produced the same results. The manacles absorbed it every time.
The apparent sealing of his power was bad enough. Then he realized he was still falling. And that the ground was in fact in view now. Shoulders sagging in resignation he heaved a sigh. “I swear I’m going to kill her when I get home.”

***

Fluttershy was skirting the edge of the Everfree forest, collecting a few medicinal herbs for her little animal friends back home. A nasty cold had started going around a few of the rodent families and she wanted to nip it in the bud. It was a pleasant afternoon at least. Sun was shining, the birds were singing and a lovely warm breeze ruffled her feathers just right. Sighing at the absolute perfection of it all she delicately gathered the plants she sought into the saddle bag strapped to her side.

The picturesque afternoon was shattered by a sudden scream. The timid pegasus let out a yelp of her own and immediately shot straight into the air, her normal response to being startled. The screaming sounded like it was coming from…up? And it sounded like somepony was in a lot of trouble. Pushing down her usual flight response she screwed up her courage and worked her wings slowly rising above the tree tops.

With a gasp she saw somepony falling from the sky! She couldn’t make out the details very well but they definitely didn’t have wings. She tried in vain to reach them but they were falling too fast, and she was no speedster pony like Rainbow Dash. She nearly reached him…she was close enough to make out his features and for one moment time seemed to stand still as his wide red eyes met hers…then he slipped from view beneath the tree tops with a resounding THOOM.

“Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness!” Folding her wings she dove down to see if there was anything she could to help. She’d seen some pony’s take falls like that before and survive, but never without any serious injuries. And she didn’t know WHAT she’d just seen but it definitely wasn’t a pony. Diving as fast as she could she landed on the edge of the crater peering down cautiously.

“H-hello…falling…pink haired…thing? Are you…are you alive?”

A soft groan came from within the hole. The dust was slowly clearing and Fluttershy got a clearer look at the fall victim. From the width of his shoulders and back she guessed it was a he. He had two arms and legs, a little like one of the monkey’s from the royal gardens. Only he didn’t seem to have any fur aside from the top of his head…which was pink with two long strands curled into heart shapes. This went a long way towards easing her fear of the unknown creature; surely it couldn’t be all bad if it had such a nice mane? He was wearing red pants made of some shiny material she coldn’t identify, a long red scarf around his neck. with rather plain looking shoes on his feet.

She slid down the crater to the fallen things side. “C-can you move? Are you…ok?”

Laharl groaned again and ripped first one, than the other arm free of the small Laharl-shaped dent he had settled in. Glancing up he saw the…flying horse thing from a moment ago. “I’m fine!”

She reared back wings flared in alarm at the sudden shout. “O-oh well um…good? I…I saw you fall and was worried…”

With a grunt of annoyance he pried himself free and stood up, brushing the dirt and dust off. “…who the hell’re you? WHAT the hell’re you?”

Fluttershy was backing away now, eyes wide with fright. “I-I-I….”

Laharl narrowed his eyes slightly. This thing was obviously terrified of him. Which is should be! But…that wasn’t really going to help him figure things out. He could try beating answers out of the weird little yellow winged horse but…he felt a little twinge in his chest. The same one he felt whenever he fought with Flonne. “Er…uh…I mean…hi.”

Fluttershy was frowning faintly. He HAD just plummeted from the sky and created a huge crater that would probably make anypony a little angry. “H-hi…”

To say Laharl was not used to diplomatic talks involving anything other than threats of violence, than usually following through with said threats would be an understatement. But he’d seen Flonne do it and dammit he could to! “I am Overlord Laharl! I demand…would…LIKE…to know where I am!”

The mares ears folded back as the thing…the Overlord Laharl shouted again. “O-oh dear…m-maybe I should go get my friends?”

Crossing his arms over his chest he simply nodded. “Fine. Get your friends. I’ll wait here.”

“H-here? But this is the Everfree Forest! There are all sorts of dangerous beasts and monsters!”

Laharl felt as strong as ever, physically he wasn’t impaired but without his magic he couldn’t summon his sword or any of his abilities. He wasn’t particularly worried; after all if this world was inhabited by such wimpy creatures like this flying horse their idea of a monster was probably an angry house cat. “I’ll be fine talking horse. Go fetch your friends if you must.” So saying he promptly sat back in his crater.

Looking from the odd creature then back toward town Fluttershy sighed. This really seemed like the sort of thing Twilight should handle. “Ok…you just wait here. And be safe! Try not to make a lot of noise…”

The displaced Overlord just watched her fly above the trees with a grunt. “Hmph. Monsters.” In the brush just outside the craters edge, a small pack of timberwolves had gathered, drawn by the tremendous noise Laharl had made on his impact. Nearly a dozen of the wooden monstrosities were soon peering down at the demon.

Hearing the first growl he looked up and his scowl deepened. “I’m definitely killing her.”

Chapter 2: All Women Are Crazy

“Hmph! Are we doin' this or what?!”

The hot headed overlord glared up at the pack of magically animated wooden wolves from within his crater (he made it after all, that made it his property!). The monsters growled but seemed hesitant to make the first move. They were used to less…aggressive prey. Generally anything’s reaction to them was shrieking and running in the other direction. This weird thing seemed eager to fight.

The largest of the pack perked its ears suddenly, headed whipping to the side as it caught a new sound carried on the wind. Several sharp barks and its pack were off, bounding after their alpha in search of new easier prey.

“Hey!” Laharl leapt from his hole and glared at the retreating wolves. “Nobody growls at me and just walks away! Get back here!” Promises of waiting to meet the yellow horses’ leader fled as Laharl’s outlet to vent his frustrations on suddenly turned tail and ran. Teeth bared in a fierce grin he gave chase swiftly leaving the small clearing behind.

***

“I can’t believe you talked us into coming in here…again.”

“Ah can’t believe y’even WANTED t’come back here.”

Scootaloo rolled her eyes listening to her friends complain. “Come on you guys we’ve done EVERYTHING there is to do in town to get our cutie marks! The next obvious move is to try stuff outside of town! Besides it’s not so bad out here. Fluttershy comes into the Everfree all the time, and Zecora lives out here!”

The wisest of the three nodded, large pink bow bouncing in her mane. “Ah s’pose that’s true. Applejack an her friends come through here from time t’time. Heck Twilight visits Zecora regular-like fer that tea she likes.”

Sweetie Belle, by far the most cautious of the three seemed less than convinced. “Still remember last time? We would all be lawn ornaments if Fluttershy wasn’t there!”

This was a sobering thought for the three fillies, and even the adventurous pegasus paused a moment. “Well it’ll be different this time! We’re older! Smarter! And uh…cooler?” The first was true even if only a year had passed. The second was certainly debatable. As to the third, that depended on who you asked.

“Hmph. Well what’re we even s’posed t’be doin’ out here Scoots? Ah’m all fer tryin somethin’ new t’get mah cutie mark but we tried hikin’ in Whitetail already.”

A toothy grin split the orange filly’s face. “We’re going to be Cutie Mark Crusader Adventurers!”

Her two friends shared another nervous glance. “That ain’t exactly specific.”

“It doesn’t sound very safe either…”

“Well then somepony else think of something!” As Sweetie Belle opened her mouth Scootaloo quickly added, “something NOT involving tea parties or board games or something.” The little unicorn abruptly snapped her mouth shut.
“How about we just go to Zecora’s and back? That’s not TOO far, and maybe she’ll have some neat stuff to show us.”
Having an actual destination in mind went a long way to settling the fillies’ fears. If the three had been less intent on their discussion they may have heard the approaching wolves.

***

Poor Fluttershy was working her wings as hard as she could. Equal parts concern and fear propelled her through the air. The odd creature, Overlord Laharl was alone in the Everfree Forest. Despite his confident words she couldn’t help but worry. With a relieved smile she soared over Ponyville landing before the library. She was in such a hurry she didn’t stop to consider the door might be locked, and when she raced forward assuming it would swing open easily…instead she bumped her nose against the solid door and fell back on her rump with a soft yelp.

“Oh no Twilight’s not home…” Casting about and feeling her panic rising again she took to the air once more. “Think Fluttershy think…she wasn’t going to Canterlot, spa day isn’t until tomorrow, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie are working…” That left one likely location. Hoping against hope she winged for Carousel Boutique.

Her wings and chest were beginning to ache in protest from all the heavy activity. While she wasn’t exactly out of shape, Fluttershy was no athlete or work pony. She landed outside the boutique panting gently and nudging the door open. She almost flopped on the ground with relief as she spotted Twilight standing still for Rarity while the unicorn worked a hem on a new (and rather sleek looking) dress the alicorn was modeling.

“Twilight! It’s an emergency!”

Twilight Sparkle’s wings flared in excitement as she turned to Fluttershy. The look she gave the butter yellow pegasus was something you’d expect somepony dying of thirst to bestow upon a desert oasis. “Really?! What’s wrong?! Discord turned evil again? Princess Luna went crazy? Rampaging dragons?!”

“N-no…there’s um…a…thing in the Everfree Forest.”

Rarity cleared her throat less than gently and nudged Twilight back into place. “A ‘thing’? Isn’t the Everfree full of weird animals and crazy monsters?”

“W-well yes but…you see this one um…talks. He fell from the sky. A-and um…he’s waiting for you in the forest?”

Now she had the princess’ attention again. “It talked? But you’ve never seen anything like it before?”

“Oh no I’d remember something like this. He looked a little like a hairless monkey. He said his name was Overlord Laharl.”
Rarity had turned from her work to regard the pegasus now too. “Overlord? That doesn’t sound like a terribly friendly title. Is he dangerous?”

Fluttershy scuffed a forehoof as she thought. “I’m not sure. He seemed a little…shouty. But he had such a lovely mane. I think he was just a little upset about falling um…a few hundred feet to the ground.”

The other ponies’ eyes widened at this. “And you just LEFT him there? Fluttershy that’s not like you to ignore a wounded creature, talking or no.”

The gentle pegasi’s brows drew forward just a hint in irritation. “Of course I would have helped if he was hurt. But he was just fine.”

Another long look crossed between the horn’d ponies. “He fell a few hundred feet from the air, with nothing to slow him down…crashed into the ground…and he was fine? You’re SURE?”

“Oh yes. Absolutely sure. But um…he IS sitting in the Everfree waiting for us…”

Twilight nodded firmly. “You’re right. I don’t know who or what this Overlord Laharl is but the Everfree is no place for anypony or uh…anything to spend an afternoon. Lead the way!”

Rarity could only sigh softly as Twilight teleported herself out of the half-finished gown, letting it fall to the floor forgotten. Casting one last forlorn glance at the garment she galloped from the boutique trailing her friends.

***

“Stupid…whatever those things were!” With a bellow of rage Laharl slammed his first into a perfectly innocent tree, toppling the defenseless fauna. The wolves had given him the slip, leaving him with his building pent up aggression reaching a critical level. He was about to storm back to his crater, likely murdering several more trees along the way when a trio of high pitched shrieks pierced the quiet stillness of the forest.

Laharl had something of a crisis on his hands. Someone was definitely in trouble, but he didn’t care. On the other hand someone in trouble meant someone getting attacked, and there was a good chance given the direction the screaming was coming from it was the very wolves that’d managed to get away from him. No doubt if Flonne was here she’d be badgering him to go help.

Scowling at the fact that even when the fallen angel wasn’t here, she still somehow managed to nag him he sprinted in the direction of the screeching. His hunch was correct, the pack of wood wolves or whatever the hell they were, were closing in on three cowering little horses. Only one of them had wings and another had a horn. That was weird. And they were all kinds of crazy colors. Tears were streaming down their faces as they scrunched into a tight ball of adorable fluff. Ugh if Flonne could see these things she’d go berserk.

With a grunt he leapt forward landing firmly between the tiny horses and the wolves. The wooden creatures hesitated for a moment at his sudden appearance…and that moment was enough for the Overlord to act. Just because he had no weapons didn’t mean he wasn’t a total badass. Gritting his teeth he swung his fist into the snarling visage of the closest wolf. With a satisfying crunch its head just burst apart in a shower of sticks and splinters, the rest of the body flipping through the air and landing with a thud breaking apart on impact.

“Hmhmhm! Thought you could get away from ME did you? No one growls at Overlord Laharl and walks away!”

Scootaloo was lamenting not only that her life was about to end, but that her closest friends were about to die because of her actions too. That is until she heard the strange voice. Daring to lift a hoof from her eyes she saw…something fighting the wolves! “Girls! Girls look!”

Her fellow crusaders peeked up as well, jaws falling open at the spectacle before them.

NOW Laharl was feeling better! After his first punch the wolves turned their attention to him, one clamping its jaws down on his arm. The poor things teeth shattered against his skin.

“Hmhmhmhmhm…HAAAAAAHAHAHAHAAA!” Gripping the hapless beast with his free hand he flipped it into the air and snagged it by the tail then began using the poor thing as a bludgeon against its fellows. Bits of bark and leaf flew through the air in all direction. A pretty piss poor substitute for bone and blood in his opinion, but it was still a pretty good stress reliever.

While Sweetie Belle and Applebloom stood transfixed, jaws nearly resting against the forest floor at the brutal acts being perpetuated by the weird pink haired thing in front of them…Scootaloo looked on with an altogether different expression. Eyes wide and shining with admiration she watched in awe as her savior tore through the timberwolves like…dry tinder! Could it be? Was it possible? She almost didn’t want to believe it but…had she found someone…COOLER than Rainbow Dash?

His initial makeshift flail reduced to nothing but kindling Laharl cast about for more of the stupid things to beat to death. To his dismay it seemed they were all dead or had run off. Still he felt better. Tossing the bit of wood in his hand aside he glanced down at the three horses he’d saved. He expected at least cursory thanks, not three sets of huge eyes staring at him silently (two in fear one in admiration). What would Flonne do? This was like a whole world of angels in little horse form.

His thoughts were interrupted as the horses’ eyes shifted from him to…something over his shoulder. The sound of splintering wood filled the air as he turned in time to see the splinters of the destroyed creatures pulling together. Not just back together, but fusing into one huge monster. Grinning toothily he pounded his fists together. “Now this is more like it!”

***

“Fluttershy there’s nothing here, he must have left.”

“I just don’t know where he could have gone! You do believe that he was here don’t you?”

Rarity trotted up to the pair gazing down into the empty crater. “Well that is a rather unusually shaped impact in the ground down there. It would appear that he was here. Perhaps he got bored?”

Twilight was scanning the ground around the crater quietly. “Look at all these tracks girls. I think timberwolves found him.”

This brought a gasp from the other two mares. “O-oh I knew I should have insisted he come with me. H-he was just…yelling a lot…a-and…”

Shaking her head the young alicorn gestured around the clearing. “There’s no blood Fluttershy. I think he’s fine wherever he is.”

“Gyaaaaaaaah!”

All three ponies whirled at the scream getting a clear view of the creature Fluttershy had described soaring through the air at high velocity right at them. The ponies scattered as he smashed into the ground then slid a few feet, digging a small trench in the dirt.

Before any could think to go to his aid, a tremendous howl split the air forcing all three to cover their ears. With a resounding boom a timberwolf easily the size of an adult dragon barreled into the clearing chasing after the prone Overlord.
“Who the hell d’you think you are?!” Laharl was on his feet already. He whirled to the nearest tree and slapped both hands around the trunk, digging his fingers in hard enough to splinter the bark. With a grunt he heaved it up, roots and all and spun hurling it right at the enormous beast like a huge leafy spear.

Already smirking at the expected carnage, his smile fell as the thing opened its jaws…caught the tree in them…and crunched it to splinters. It even paused a few moments to casually chew its meal which only served to increase its size. “Grrr! Dammit that’s not fair! If I had my magic you’d be a bonfire by now!”

Twilight wasn’t quite sure what to make of the physically powerful potty-mouthed creature, which had run right at the wolf and leapt on its head pounding away with his fists. She tried to decide which she’d rather have emerge victorious. But Fluttershy said the creature, Laharl had just yelled…not attacked her so he couldn’t be all bad. Her musings were interrupted as she spied three familiar little fillies peek out from the brush.

“Rarity! You and Fluttershy get the girls out of here! I’m going to try and help the uh…Laharl.”

Rarity’s eyes widened at the sight of her little sister. “Of course! Be careful Twilight, we’ll be back as soon as we can!”
Twilight kept an eye on the battling monsters (yes plural…she had NO idea what Laharl was but he was clearly dangerous) while her friends evacuated the Crusaders. Satisfied they were far enough she turned her attention back to the timberwolf. Squaring her hooves she closed her eyes focusing on her magic.

Since becoming an alicorn it had gotten a bit…tricky. Oh she could still use any spell she’d learned and a lot easier than ever before at that. The difficulty came from the power behind her spells. Even simple levitation had to be relearned at first. Everything she tried to pick up wound up crushed into a tiny little bead of whatever it had been.

Still this seemed the perfect opportunity to really flex her magical muscle. She was a little concerned about catching Laharl in whatever she cast however, so she settled on focusing her magical aura over the wolf’s lower half. The wolf yowled in pain and rage as its back half just imploded in on itself, splinters of wood raining down around the clearing. It tossed its head wildly again flinging Laharl into the air. The young demon landed with a grunt next to the alicorn.

He looked at her for a moment then looked to the devastation she’d wrought on the thing he was fighting. “Huh…not bad for a little talking horse.”

Twilight’s nostrils flared. “ExCUSE me?!”

Laharl was momentarily taken aback. “Wh-what?! All I said was not bad!”

“No…you called me a…a…HORSE!”

His scowl was matching her own now. “So? That’s what you are isn’t it?”

She reared back wings flaring in indignation. “Y-you…how…how DARE you!? That is…that is a very racially insensitive word!”

“What? What the hell are you talking about?! You have four legs! Hooves! Tail! Fur! You’re a horse!”

“I…I…” She reared back and shoved him with her forehooves.

The demon wasn’t expecting the physical strength that accompanied the little horses shove and he was sent staggering back. His own eyes widened now. “You shoved me! Do you know who I am!?”

“You called ME a horse! Do you know who I am?!

“Oh I know JUST who you are! A goofy, tiny, talking…”

“…don’t you dare.”

“…horse.”

Nostrils flaring, Twilight Sparkle’s horn flared to life. If Laharl had been in a clearer state of mind he might have reconsidered throwing around what was apparently a racial slur at the little…thing (since apparently she WASN’T a horse?) that had just crushed the back half of the huge monster he’d been struggling with a moment ago by glaring at it harshly. A bright magenta flash filled his vision and he rocked back feeling like he’d just been slammed in the face by a rampaging dragon. For the third time today Laharl found himself soaring through the air, crashing to the ground and creating yet another crater. At least he was accumulating plenty of property to call his own here.

All at once Twilight’s anger fled when she realized she’d just used her magic offensively against a creature that was apparently far inferior to she in strength. Frowning at losing her cool so easily she galloped after Laharl, slowing to a canter as she neared his resting place. “A-are you alright?”

His eyes snapped open as she neared; with a shout of his own he swung his fist up catching her just under the muzzle and rocketing her into the air. Her head was ringing and she was seeing such pretty little birds flitting around her head as she flipped head over tail into the air wildly. Shaking her head violently she regained her senses, flaring her wings and slowing her ascent. She silently thanked Rainbow Dash for the daily flying lessons as she slowly righted herself and circled Laharl from above.

Her quarry sighted she tucked her wings to her sides and dropped into a nosedive. Her horn blazed and surrounded her body in its nimbus of light augmenting her already alicorn enhanced muscles. Forehooves stretched out she streaked right for her opponent intent on bashing her hooves right into his stupid smug little monkey face.

Laharl may be without access to his mana…and therefore his magic, sword, and combat skills…but he had more than enough muscle to beat up some stupid…horse! Yeah horse! He waited until the last second before leaping over the enraged alicorn, twisting in the air and landing behind her as she smashed into the ground, letting loose an explosion of magic powerful enough to scorch the ground. Smirking he moved to grab her around the haunches…realizing his error just a second too late.

Horn still brightly lit Twilight leaned forward on her forehooves, coiled her hind legs in tightly and bucked out catching Laharl in the chest. The Overlord was pretty sure he heard something break in there as the iron hard hooves connected, and sent him rocketing along the ground into a fourth trench/crater.

Panting heavily from all the unexpected physical activity Twilight felt her anger slowly cooling. She approached cautiously…though kept out of Laharl’s reach this time. “…are you…done?” She didn’t hide her frown seeing the very clear hoof marks embedded in his chest. What was wrong with her? This isn’t how she behaved! She was acting like a bully!

Cracking an eye open Laharl looked at the purple horse with new respect. It’d been a long, long time since he’d had a good fight and she was certainly putting up one of the best he’d ever had. He again lamented the loss of his powers…how great a battle would it be if he had access to his full strength!? But he knew when he was outmatched. She was physically his match. He didn’t know if she was using some kind of magical buffs to get to that point but it was the harsh truth. They were even physically AND she had magic. The two didn’t really add up to him winning this. Grudgingly he nodded. “For now.”

‘Well it’s better than nothing.’ She thought to herself. She even extended a hoof to help him up, which to her relief he accepted. “So if you’re not a horse what the hell are you?”

She bristled at the h-word a moment but calmed quickly. He really had no idea he was insulting her before. Now she was feeling even more guilty for reacting like she did. She had no idea why she just…really wanted to hit him. She never wanted to hit anypony! Well maybe Discord…he deserved a good buck to the face but nopony else. “I’m a pony. An alicorn pony to be precise. And what are YOU? Fluttershy said you were Overlord Laharl. I assume Overlord is a title?”

Gingerly Laharl rubbed at his throbbing chest but nodded at her question. “That’s right! Overlord Laharl! I rule the whole Netherworld!”

Netherworld? She’d heard THAT term before. Though it was commonly referred to by another name. “Y-you’re from Tartarus!”

Eyebrows drew together in a scowl as Laharl regarded the pony like she was simple. “No I’m from the Netherworld, I just said that!”

“Tartarus has many names. Netherworld is one of them. You’re a…a…”

He grinned toothily at her realization. “A demon.”

“You’re going right back where you came from before you can hurt anypony else!”

“You can get me back?! Well good! Do it!”

She wasn’t expecting THAT. Didn’t all the demons and monsters of Tartarus want to get loose and wreak havoc on Equestria? “You…want to go back?”

“You’re a little slow aren’t you?”

Wings bristled again. “E-excuse me!? I’ll have you know I’m considered rather intelligent by my friends!”

“Wow they must be REALLY stupid then.”

Twilight felt her anger beginning to boil again. Why was she getting so mad?! This…Laharl was clearly a child. Did she really want to HIT a child? Staring hard at his smug smirk and the superior look he was casting her she realized…yes. Yes she did.

Before she could act on her impulse they were interrupted by the reformed timberwolf charging again, snarling wildly. Both Laharl and Twilight spun to face it, and in unison screamed, “We’re talking! Get lost!”

Demonic fist and alicorn magic collided into the monster, blasting it into millions of splinters. Both panted for a moment before looking to the other.

She’s not THAT bad. I HAVE been trying to push her buttons. She said she wanted to get me back to the Netherworld. I can do this. I managed to be nice to the yellow one! “We at least you’re not completely useless in a fight.”

Twilight narrowed her eyes. “I’m pretty sure I was kicking your sorry flank all over this forest a minute ago.”

“Well you…you’re just…lucky I can’t use my powers!”

Twilight’s nose wrinkled in confusion. “You can’t? Why not?”

He lifted his arms displaying the manacles attached to his wrists. “Every time I try my mana drains right into these.”

Now the scholarly alicorn was intrigued. “Mana? You use mana to fuel your own abilities? We use mana to do magic too!”

“Huh. Well…can you get these off?”

More interested in the prospect of the puzzle than the actual ramifications of fulfilling his request she took one in her hoof turning it over gently. “Hm. I might be able to. It’s a pretty powerful binding though.”

“So you’re not strong enough to do it?”

“I didn’t say that! I just said it was a powerful binding spell! Of course I can break it!”

“Well then do it!”

“Well fine!” Charging her horn to do just that she had another moment of clarity. Was she REALLY about to set this dangerous demon’s powers loose? Shaking her head she banished the spell she’d been gathering. “Actually…I don’t know that I trust you not to just attack me even more ferociously than before.”

Damn, was he that transparent? With a grunt he tugged his arms back. “Well then get me home!”

Snorting softly she nodded. “That I will be MORE than happy to do. Come on. I need permission from Princess Celestia to open the gates of Tartarus. We’ll go to my home and send her a letter.”

“Wow a letter? You ponies sure know how to get things done around here!”

Closing her eyes Twilight took several deep cleansing breaths. She would contact Celestia, open the gates, and get rid of Laharl. This would all be over In a jiffy. Opening her large violet orbs again she smiled. “Well then let’s get moving!”
Laharl was momentarily taken aback by her swift change in attitude. Suspecting something funny was going on, but not wanting to get into another slug fest with the purple little powerhouse he followed silently. Maybe she was just crazy? It’d make sense, every other woman he’d ever met was. Why should having four legs instead of two change that?

Twilight Sparkle made quick progress leading him from the forest, and soon they left the dark woods behind emerging near Fluttershy’s cottage. She breathed a sigh of relief seeing Rarity and Fluttershy working to calm the Crusaders. Poor Sweetie Bell and Applebloom were still sobbing. Scootaloo was the first to spot them.

“There they are!”

The two stopped their sniffling and looked up, then as one the trio charged toward Twilight, gratitude written all over their faces. Mentally preparing herself to accept their gratitude with grace and royal dignity…her wings fell as they brushed right by her.

“Thank you for saving us mister!”

“Yeah y’all were amazin’ in there!”

“You’re the coolest…anything I’ve ever seen in my life!”

Mouth agape Princess Twilight watched the three fillies’ heap thanks upon the rude, brutish, insulting demon. Laharl looked as uncomfortable as she was astonished.

“Wh-whatever. I didn’t do it to save YOU! I just wanted to beat something up!”

All three stopped and looked to one another. Sweetie Belle and Applebloom looking uncertain, Scootaloo’s admiration only grew. “That is SO cool.”

Laharl smirked. Now this one he liked. “Well I’m Overlord Laharl! The biggest badass in the entire Netherworld!”

Eyes shining Scootaloo whirled on her fellow crusaders. “We could try being Netherworld Badassess!”

Rarity’s eyes rolled back in her head and she keeled over in a dead faint at the profanity coming from the little filly. Fluttershy gasped softly and Twilight’s goggled eyed look went from Laharl to Scootaloo now.

“Hmhmhm. You’ve got pretty good taste kid! Maybe you can even be one of my vassals!”

“Woooow really?! That sounds so cool!”

Twilight stomped a hoof into the ground. “Girls! I think you should be getting home. I need to have a word with our new…friend…in private.”

A chorus of disappointed groans met with her demand, but Twilight was a stern authority figure even BEFORE she became a princess. Now if they didn’t do what she said they’d probly wind up in a dungeon of something. Without another word the fillies scampered off already planning on ways to impress their savior.

Twilight Sparkle turned to Laharl with a disapproving frown. “Listen. I don’t know how it works in the…the Netherworld but we do NOT curse in front of foals here. In fact we don’t really curse at all…”

Arms folded across his chest defiantly Laharl glared down at her. “What the hell do I care?”

Eyes narrowed her horn flared as a glittering magenta aura snapped into being around Laharl. Struggling all the while but helpless in her magical grip he was drug into the little cottage. Twilight strode right into the bathroom and seized a bar of soap off the sink. The Overlord’s eyes widened but he was helpless to resist as his mouth was forced open and the bar of soap crammed inside. Several agonizing seconds passed before it was removed and he was dropped on his butt.
“Wh-who the he-“ Her sudden glare caused him to falter. “…ek…do you think you are?!”

“I am Twilight Sparkle, the Twilight Princess of Equestria.” This was her first actual act of authority as a princess. “With the authority invested by that title, I proclaim that if you curse while in our country…your mouth will be washed out with soap!” Ooo she sounded so official!

“I…you…I’m…the overlord…”

“Well you might be in charge in Tartarus, but HERE its princess’ only buster. So unless you sprout a horn and wings in the next few hours while you’re in Equestria you do what I say! You got that?”

As much as it galled him to admit it…she had a point. This WASN’T the Netherworld. Hell this wasn’t even the human world or Celestia. This was….Equestria? Jeez what a stupid ass name. But with his power sealed he couldn’t really do much to defend himself if this princess got it into her head to take more final action against him. “Fine. Just get me home!”

“Nothing would please me more.” Striding briskly from the cottage she offered Fluttershy an apologetic shrug. “I’ll buy you a new bar of soap.”

Fluttershy was fanning Rarity with her wings. “Oh no, it’s no trouble at all. It had to be done. Honestly you should be ashamed of yourself Laharl. Teaching such nasty words to such little fillies. What do you have to say for yourself?”

Gah! How could this be?! The universe couldn’t POSSIBLY be cruel enough to propel him worlds away from demon Flonne only to stick him right in front of PONY Flonne could it? But he felt that horrible, awful, gut wrenching sensation he felt whenever Flonne was…disappointed in him. He’d been stabbed, shot, burned, frozen, poisoned, and even killed once or twice on the field of battle, but nothing…absolutely NOTHING compared to the agony this sensation carried with it.

Arms folded firmly he hmph’d and looked away. “….sorry.”

All at once the little yellow hor…ponie’s eyes softened once more. Just like Flonne’s. “Well it’s ok then. Just don’t do it anymore alright?”

Twilight watched their exchange quietly. Was he really a demon from Tartarus? Watching him interact with Fluttershy it was hard to believe it. But one look at his blazing red eyes and sharp fangs dispelled the innocent illusion. Her own expression softened slightly. “Come on Overlord, let’s get you home.”

Nodding silently he fell into step beside her. He took the time to look about the town as they entered. Everywhere he looked were more of the colorful ponies. Some had wings, horns, and some had neither. The plain ones were the majority. What was the significance of the horns? Twilight Sparkle’s seemed to glow when she channeled magic, it must be a focus for their mana.

“So. I have to ask…”

He glanced down at his guide. “What?”

“…what’s with your mane?”

“My ma…you mean my hair?”

“Right. That it doesn’t really…fit you.”

He felt a growl building in the back of his throat, but at a warning look from the alicorn he fought it back. IT nearly made him throw up to do so, and his eye twitched several times but he beat it down. “My head vassal Etna did it. I can’t get rid of it.”

He yelped as her horn glowed and she tugged his head down to her eye level. “Well it looks like mane dye. And…A LOT of styling product.” She released her hold and he straightened up. To his dismay her horn glowed brighter and the glow around his head intensified until he was nearly blinded. It faded quickly and he caught sight of his hair. His blue hair!

Almost not daring to believe he ran his hands over his head, feeling his antennae styled back to their proper shape. Tugging one down he examined it for any trace of the hideous color. Finding it all blue once more he looked down at the pony again. “…thanks I guess.”

Thanking somepony didn’t seem to come easy to the demon. Of course he was a DEMON, so he probably didn’t say thank you very often. Really he wasn’t what she expected of a blood thirsty soul stealing monster. He was definitely a jerk, but some ponies were jerks too. He did save the crusaders, even if he claimed it was for another reason. He couldn’t be ALL bad.

“You’re very welcome.” Maybe a little diplomacy was all that was needed. She doubted they were going to become friends or anything, but there was no reason to make things worse on him. The poor guy was pretty far from home, he was probably upset or distraught.

They drew more than a few stares from the ponies in town as she led her unusual guest to the library. Magically unlocking the door form the outside she let him enter first.

Huh. She lived in a library? In a tree? That was actually a little cool. There weren’t many trees in the Netherworld…at least not trees that were alive like the ones here seemed to be. Really he was beginning to get a bit of a headache from all the bright colors, and he was definitely missing the stench of boiling lava. But there was something to be said for being out in the fresh air. When he was little he remembered his parents taking him to places like this.

He hadn’t thought of his mother in a long time, and tried to do it as little as possible. Shaking his head he banished those thoughts before they could take hold in his head and bring him down that melancholy road again. “So what now?”

“Now I sent a letter to Princess Celestia. I need her permission to open the gates and send you home.” Twilight was already levitating a quill to a scroll of parchment.

He watched her work as he took a seat on a cushion on the floor. It was a little interesting to see something without hands writing and manipulating stuff you normally needed thumbs to use. “Didn’t you say YOU were a princess?”

“I am!” She sounded very proud of this. “My coronation was two months ago.”

“And this Celestia person is a princess?”

“She is. The princess of the sun!”

“So why do you need her permission?”

Twilight blinked at him. “What do you mean?”

He shrugged. “You’re a princess. She’s a princess. Isn’t that the same rank?”

The gears slowly turned and clicked into place in Twilight’s head. “Well yes I suppose. But…she’s Princess Celestia. She’s been our ruler for thousands of years.”

That was interesting. “So you ponies are immortal?”

“Well not all of us. Though some of us do live very long lives. Princess’ Celestia and Luna are actual immortals though.”

He leaned forward, resting his chin in his palm. “So you’re like…a junior princess? A princess in training?”

“No. I’m a princess. A full blown, have a crown and everything princess.”

“But you need permission from this Celestia princess to do anything?”

“Not ANYthing! Just…big things.”

“So she doesn’t trust you to do the big things on your own?”

She was getting upset again. “I…that’s none of your business! What do you know anyway?!”

He shrugged. “I know what it’s like having to live up to someone else’s legacy is all. My father was…in SOME people’s opinion the greatest Overlord to ever rule. All the time I hear “Well that’s not what your father would do.” Or “King Krichevskoy did that differently!” He clenched his fists tightly…before calming slightly. “So…I know what it’s like. Not being able to do things without…everyone expecting you to do them differently, or better. That’s all.”

Twilight’s expression softened as she stared at the demon. Was that really what had been bothering her this whole time? She recalled sitting in on the other princess’ courts. Every time Celestia, Luna, or Cadence had tried to let her make a decision the petitioners had loudly demanded that one of the more experienced, and in one mortifying case the REAL princess handle their problem.

Her wings flexed open and closed as she went back to her letter. “Oh. I’m…sorry?”

He grinned suddenly. “It’s fine. I just beat the crap out of ‘em and that settles the matter every time. You should try it.”

“I doubt Princess Celestia would approve of me attacking petitioners who disagree with me.”

“So? Are you a full princess or not? Do things your own way and to he-ck with how THEY work.”

Twilight rolled the scroll up and sent it along its way. “It’s not that simple.”

Laharl shrugged again. “It’s as simple or complicated as you make it.”

Twilight Sparkle again regarded the surprising demon quietly. It couldn’t REALLY be that simple. …could it?

***

Princess Celestia was locked in her private chambers, door sealed under several powerful magical wards as she gazed into her scrying mirror with her mysterious guest. She was unhooded but he remained incognito while he was abroad.

“They certainly seem to be getting along all of a sudden.” She sipped her tea daintily as the expected scroll appeared before her.

“Well he is my son after all. Superior genes to those of most demons. Though to be honest, I’ve been seeing overlords like Laharl more and more of late. It’s actually rather pleasant. More than a few Netherworlds are becoming better places to live. I think you’d like Veldime, a lot of green.”

Celestia swept Twilight’s letter aside not bothering to read it. Her guest leaned over her shoulder curiously as she scrawled her reply. “Perhaps we can visit for our next little get together hm? I’m glad we’re seeing one another again, I don’t have many friends.”

A smile spread on the visiting demons face as he read her words. “Oh you are cruel.”

A playful smile formed on the princess’ face as she glanced over at her guest. “I have no idea what you mean.” The scroll rolled itself up and gripped in her magical aura vanished with a pop.

Both watched in interest as Twilight unrolled the letter.

Princess Luna was just rising to see about raising the moon for the night when she head…laughter? Brow furrowed curiously she moved to her sisters door ear pressed to against it gently. Her sister was…giggling…wildly. And there was a male voice laughing as well! Cheeks darkening in a blush Luna turned and sped from the hall in a swift gallop. What Celestia got up to in her bedchambers with stallions was her own business…

***

Twilight smiled cheerily as her mentor’s return letter appeared. She unrolled it without delay clearing her throat to read it aloud for Laharl’s benefit.

“My fellow Princess Twilight Sparkle,”

She paused a moment to bask in that first line.

“While it sounds as if your reason is dire I’m afraid I…” She faltered.

“What?”

Clearing her throat she continued. “…I cannot give you permission to open the gates of Tartarus. I believe the spell is beyond your abilities at the moment and cannot risk you loosing greater threats into Equestria. You will have to find another way to send your guest home.

Best of luck, Princess Celestia”

Slowly she rolled the latter back up, and calmly laid it to rest on her desk. Laharl watched the princess cautiously. “Spell is beyond my abilities?”

He recognized the signs. He’d seen it often enough when Etna or Flonne got genuinely upset at something back home. Slowly he rose from the cushion sidling toward the door.

“Cannot risk me loosing greater threats?”

Careful steps carried the demonic overlord to the door of the library.

“Cannot give me PERMISSION!?”

Throwing caution to the wind he dove out the door and into the streets beyond just in time to avoid the minor magical explosion from within the library.

“….all women are crazy.”

Author's Note

Man I feel so lame, I made myself laugh at the Cutie Mark Crusader Netherworld Badasses line. Ugh.

Chapter 3: Twenty Percent Cooler

Generally when one of the women in his life had such ragesplosions as Twilight Sparkle just did, they needed minimum of five hours or a few pounds of desserts to calm down. Having no access to the latter Laharl decided that Twilight could probably use a little space. Casting one last backwards glance at the library….bright purple magical flashes still going off inside, he picked himself up off the ground and followed the path toward the center of town.

It was a little like one of the town’s in the Netherworld. Only really bright and filled with colorful talking ponies. Why the hell did they call themselves ponies? Why was horse a slur? Ponies are young horses. This whole place was stupid and he toyed around with the idea of blowing it up when he got his powers back. Eh, it wasn’t that bad. Though he was definitely going to beat the living crap out of Twilight Sparkle, and probably destroy that stupid ass forest for good measure.

To further compound his growing bad mood…he was hungry. The fleeting thought of eating a pony passed through his head but he was pretty sure that would end up with Twilight Sparkle turning him into a smear on the ground. He somehow doubted he’d discorporate and wake up in the Netherworld hospital if he died here. That left finding local cuisine. He stalked up to the nearest pony, one of the horned ones with a mint green coat and goofy white and green mane. “Hey! You!”

She yelped and looked up at him wide eyes. “Y-yes?”

“Where can I get something to eat?”

She blinked. “Er…” Timidly she pointed a hoof to the building directly behind him. The building shaped like a big gingerbread house, with plenty of sweet smells wafting from it.

“….I coulda found that!” He paused at the entrance when he heard three excited and familiar voices.

“And then woosh! He swooped in and POW! Punched the timberwolves to pieces with his bare hands!”

“It was kinda scary…so was he…but he seemed kinda nice too…”

“Ah dunno if Ah’d say nice but he was definitely good in a scrap.”

Laharl puffed his chest in pride. Powers sealed and on a world of talking ponies and they still couldn’t get enough of him. It didn’t matter where he went…he was awesome.

A new voice piped up, older sounding but still very cheerful. “Wow girls! He sounds pretty super-duper cool!”

“He was! He’s the coolest thing I’ve ever seen!”

The older voice sounded surprised. “Really? Even cooler than Rainbow Dash?”

There was a pause. “Rainbow Dash IS really awesome but she can’t beat up a whole pack of timberwolves with her bare hooves…”

“Well I suppose that’s true. She did help stop Nightmare Moon AND Discord!”

“Yeah she HELPED stop…he won all by himself!”

He’d heard enough. Smug grin in place he strode inside. “Hmhm, it seems my awesomeness preceded me!”

There were the three little fillies. What the hell were their names? Scootaboo, Apple…something and…Silver Belle? That sounded right. They were talking to an adult pony, one of the boring looking ones. Pink coat, pink mane…he hated her already.

“There he is! Hey Overlord Laharl! What’re you doin’ HERE?!”

It was actually pretty nice having someone calling him by his actual title. Not Prince. Ugh how he hated that. “Twilight Sparkle’s blowing up her library and I’m hungry. I’m here for food.”

The pink pony behind the counter gasped. “Why is she blowing up the library?!”

Laharl shrugged indifferently. “Girl stuff.” He strode passed the line of waiting customers butting his way to the front, eyeing the delicacies inside the glass case. He was already drooling at the sight of the gooey sweets within. “I’ll take it all!”

“Wowee you must be really hungry! That’ll be three hundred and sixty two bits!”

Laharl narrowed his eyes at the minimum wage flunky behind the counter and dug around in his pockets. “…d’you take Platinum Skull Card?”

He was expecting a blank stare or an outright refusal. Instead she smiled chipperly and dug around under the counter, plopping a credit card reader atop it. “Yup! Go ahead and punch in your pin!”

Laharl opened his mouth once, then closed it. He opened it again…and closed it. He slowly drew his card through the reader and entered his pin code. It chirped pleasantly and a little ‘Approved’ popped up. Still not entirely believing it he tucked his credit card away while the pony went about gathering up his order.

He took a seat at a free table ignoring the angry looks the ponies he’d just cheated out of receiving their afternoon treats. The three fillies followed and invited themselves to sit with him. “What’s a vassal?”

It was the orange one, Scootaboo. “My servants and minions. They do my cooking, cleaning, fighting, whatever I want….most of the time.”

The white one Silver Belle wrinkled her nose. “MOST of the time?”

“Yeah how’s that work? Either they work fer ya or they don’t.” He took a dislike to Applewhatever’s accent.

“Of course they do! My word is law and if anyone argues they get….turned into something unpleasant!”

His bellowing was drawing attention and he scowled again hunkering down in his seat. The orange one spoke up again. “So you really think I could be one of your vassals?”

He shrugged. “Sure why the he….ck not? Just slap a weapon in your hands…hooves…whatever. Have you smack around a few low level enemies and build your stats. You’d be a decent vassal in a week.”

The pink pony arrived piling food on his table. “What’s building our stats mean?”

He was about to speak before he was cut off by the serving pony. “It means you grind out experience points against enemies until you get stronger in whatever things you’re best at. Get enough experience and you gain a level! Leveling up means you hit harder, have more hit points and can cast more spells!”

Laharl’s eyes narrowed again as he started at this bizarre pony. “Uh…what she said.”

“Whoa. That sounds pretty awesome! I wanna gain levels!”

“Me too!”

“Me three!”

“Hmhmhm. When I get back to the Netherworld you can come with me. I can always use more vassals!”

Eyes sparkling at the prospects the crusaders were racing back out the door already chattering away deciding what stats they wanted to improve first. Laharl was just glad they didn’t want any of his food. He wasted no time digging in. By about the fifth cupcake he realized the pink pony was staring. “…what?”

“You don’t REALLY plan to take them to the Netherworld do you?”

He swallowed. “…who are you?”

She blinked. “Oh! Wow I didn’t even introduce myself! I’m Pinkie Pie!”

Of course she was. How the hell did this pony know so much about the netherworld? “How the hell do you know so much about the Netherworld?”

She giggled. “Well that’s easy silly!” She dashed upstairs, returning soon with a thick book in her mouth that she plopped in his lap.

“E-everything Anypony Could Want to Know About the Netherworld?! Where did you get this?!”

She wrinkled her nose in confusion. “Uh…the library? Where else would somepony get a book?”

“Y-you…that’s not…I mean….” He slammed his fists on the table. “What are you?!”

Her smile widened. “I’m Pinkie Pie!”

She turned to go back to her register, but Laharl wasn’t done with her. With a growl he jumped up from his seat clamping a hand on her shoulder. “I didn’t say you could walk away!”

Without a word she reared forward and delivered a solid buck right to his chest, blowing him out the doors and passed a startled line of ponies. Prancing back to the kitchen she spied Mrs. Cake. “I’m taking my lunch!”

Laharl was just picking himself up preparing to charge in and boot the rotten pink monstrosity to the moon…making a brief mental note to stop grabbing the damn things from behind…when she came zipping out the front door making a bee line right for him. “Time for a boooooss battle~” She chirped in her sing song tone.

With a dawning expression of concern Laharl realized he recognized the obviously insane ponies’ movements, but he wasn’t skilled in bare fisted fighting. Judging by the way she was zigzagging his way…she was. Still he was Overlord Laharl! Getting beat up by some freaky princess like Sparkle was one thing, he was damned if he was going to lose to this cotton candy headed idiot. “I’ll show YOU a boss battle!” He kicked forward intending to pound her on the top of the head.

Instead he caught a forehoof to the face as she leapt up and punched him square in the nose. With a yelp he went sailing back, shoes digging grooves in the dirt road. Grunting he slammed into a solid stone wall that seemed to…appear out of nowhere?! “H-how…?”

He didn’t get a chance to finish his question as she was upon him in a flash. Crouching low she reared up delivering a powerful uppercut and sending him sliding along the wall wailing all the way. He felt himself come free as he drifted into the air a moment…to his horror she was already above him, spinning to gain momentum than driving her forehooves into his chest sending him spiraling down into the mysterious wall with enough force to drive him all the way through it back to the ground. With a low rumble the stones collapsed burying him.

Landing with a gentle ‘clop’ she surveyed the damage as the dust slowly settled. “Huh I thought an Overlord would be tougher!”

“GRAAAAAH!” Stone exploded in all directions as Laharl burst free of his makeshift prison. “I’ll show you tougher!” Charging with reckless abandon he swung for her head…only to hit air as she ducked. His body followed his fist sailing over her as he lost his balance. With a cheery little ‘hyup’ she bucked upwards slamming him in the stomach with her back and vaulting him back into the air.

She watched him go for a moment before rearing back and stomping on the ground. Huge chunks of stone flew into the air after Laharl and the earth pony nimbly hopped from rock to rock until she’d reached the apex of his flight. Pondering a moment she selected a particularly big stone and hammered away with her hooves until it resembled a giant stone hoof. Giving it a solid kick the huge missile slammed into Laharl and blasted him into another flying boulder causing a huge explosion of dust and stone.

Massive chunks of rock rained down around Ponyville. A few bemused citizens watched Pinkie Pie’s antics with a laugh and a shrug. “It’s just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie.”

Laharl bounced off the ground and lay there groaning. This was…the worst day of his life. There was literally no comparison. First one pony beats him up. At least she had been a ruler of some kind. But now he was being smacked around by a…a…register monkey!? He tried to rise but collapsed back into the dirt.

He peered up at her as she landed before him again. “Oooo level up! You’re worth a nice chunk of exp Overlord! Now the best part!” He squirmed as she rummaged about his pockets, retrieving his credit card. “The loot!”

“I-I’ll…kill you for this…” Laharl made a feeble attempt to fend the probing mare’s hooves from his pockets but she silenced him with a quick thump on the head.

“I won! That means I get your loot! Riiiiight?” She was nose to nose with him at this point.

He could only scowl. How had it come to this?! The mighty Overlord Laharl reduced to…a pink pony’s punching bag. He might as well give up his crown now. Overlord Pinkie Pie would rule with an iron hoof. For a moment the image of siccing her on Etna brought some cheer.

No! No dammit he was Overlord Laharl! With a growl he sprang upright surprising Pinkie Pie. Lighting quick he grabbed her by the throat eliciting a soft ‘eep’ from the pony. Bellowing his outrage he slammed his other fist into her barrel, then drop kicked her into the air. Finally grinning in satisfaction as she vanished from sight with a little glimmer.

“Hmhmhm. Haaaahahahahaa! So how about that you stupid horse?! Not so tough after all!”

Pinkie’s squeal as she descended could be heard some would say all the way in Canterlot. Her landing leveled three flower stands, the proprietors of which just sighed, shook their heads at Pinkie’s antics and cantered home for the day. They knew she’d pay for the damages.

Laharl stormed over smirking all the while. “Well? Nothing to say HORSE?” His step faltered a moment as he heard…music. A loud crescendo of dramatic opera style music in fact. He cast about for the source before his eyes fell upon the pink pony as she slowly rose from the wreckage her fall had created. That’s when he realized what the music sounded like. Pinkie Pie’s curly mane and tail had gone completely flat, and the mirth was gone from her eyes replaced by a steely look he’d seen in the fiercest of opponents. It was the music that always started when the boss changed to its ultimate form.

***

“Wh…what is THAT?!” Her demonic companion was staring agape at the image in the mirror.

Celestia sipped her tea calmly, watching Pinkamina give Laharl a rather sound beating. At some point she had slammed him into a deep crater where gouts of dust and dirt constantly erupted. A panicked Laharl tried to pull himself out only to have a pink hoof snag him around the throat and drag him back in.

“Oh that? That’s just Pinkie Pie.”

***

Twilight dropped the books she was in the process of reshelving as her door slammed open. She whirled at the offender prepared to give them a piece of her mind but her rebuke died away in her throat. Laharl staggered in, bruised, beaten, and bloody.
“Unseal my powers right now!”

She raced to his side offering support as he almost toppled over. “Wh-what in the world happened!?”

“That…that pony! She attacked me! Then robbed me! You need to unseal me so I can blow her straight to Celestia!”

Twilight was momentarily speechless as she helped him to the cushions. “A pony did this to you? Who? HOW?! Did you pick a fight with Big Mac?”

“No! it was…it was…Pinkie Pie!”

Twilight dumped him on the ground unceremoniously. “Pinkie Pie? Pinkie’s the nicest pony in Ponyville she wouldn’t beat anyone up!” Of course neither would Twilight but she’d already thrashed Laharl once.

“I know who it was! She…she was a monster…” He shivered.

Twilight rolled her eyes. “You just relax alright? Mean old Pinkie can’t get you here.”

The door banged open again, as if conjured by her name being spoken Pinkie Pie stood in the door way. Mane and tail floofy like usual smiling all the while. “Hey Twilight! Oh hey Laharl!” Twilight thought she heard what sounded suspiciously like a whimper come from the demon. “Laharl dropped these while we were rough housing earlier! Thought he might want em back!” Pinkie three very unpony shaped teeth to the floor, still a little bloody before tossing the astonished princess a wink and cantering back to the bakery.

Not wanting to believe her eyes Twilight seized the teeth in her magic than raced to Laharl’s side, forcing his mouth open and drawing a weak groan of protest. Sure enough three very clear holes sat where his missing teeth should be.

“…wow. You really know how to make anypony hate you don’t you?”

***

With a loud yawn and lazy stretch Rainbow Dash sat up from the cloud she’d been napping on. Some kinda commotion was going on over near Sugarcube, probly Pinkie doing…Pinkie stuff. With an irritated snort at her mid-afternoon nap being disturbed she flexed her wings and kicked off her impromptu perch. Doing a couple slow circles over town she idly pondered how to fill her day. No big weather problems needed her attention and there hadn’t been any emergencies in Ponyville for months. It was kinda nice; she’d had plenty of time to work on some new stunts.

There was an idea! Nothing perked her up like showing her new stuff to her number one fan. Grinning in anticipation of the well-deserved accolades she was about to receive she set a course for Sweet Apple Acres…specifically the crusaders’ clubhouse located on the property. Landing lightly on the balcony leading inside she perked her ears when she caught her name.

“…really think he’s cooler than Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo?”
What? She must be hearing things. THAT couldn’t be right.
“Hey don’t get me wrong. Rainbow Dash is still pretty cool. But Laharl’s just cooler.”

Laharl? Who the hay was Laharl!? What kind of a stupid name was that?!

“Well how much cooler d’you think he is?”

All at once it was like her world crumbling all around her. Scootaloo thought this…this Laharl was cooler than her? No way, no chance!

“I’d say he’s like…twenty percent cooler.”

“T-twenty percent?!” Rainbow bellowed in dismay. She couldn’t help bursting through the doors to the clubhouse. “Who the heck is Laharl?! What makes him so cool??” Her nostrils were flaring.

The three fillies stared at the incensed mare, open mouthed and eyes wide. “W-well he’s uh…super strong.”

“An’ he’s from a whole nothing world!”

“He made a timberwolf explode by punching it!”

Rainbow Dash was frowning. Some of that DID sound pretty cool. “Well I bet he’s not faster than me! No one can outrace Rainbow Dash!”

She saw that familiar little glimmer in Scootaloo’s eye. “That’s probably true…you should totally race him!”

“Hey! Yeah! A race! Then we’ll see who’s the coolest! Just you wait squire, I’m gonna blow him outta the water!” She turned to the door before faltering in her step. “Uh…where is he?”

***

Twilight Sparkle sighed as she finished bandaging the last of Laharl’s wounds. “No Laharl. I will not unseal your powers so you can destroy Pinkie Pie. She’s one of my best friends!”

“She’s a lunatic! She almost killed me!” Laharl was fuming, no doubt were his mana not sealed he’d be surrounded in a flaming aura of rage.

“Well she must have been provoked. DID you provoke her?” Now she was staring him in the eye.

“W-well…a little! I might have grabbed her around the back…then call her a uh…”

Twilight’s eyes narrowed. “A WHAT Laharl?”

Crossing his arms he hmph’d. “Whatever then don’t unseal my powers. When I get home I’m bringing my whole army here to turn this dump into a new garbage pit!”

Twilight just heaved an exasperated sigh glancing down at the teeth Pinkie had knocked out. “What should I do with these?”

“I don’t care. Throw them away or whatever.” He was moving from rage to sulk.

Before Twilight could comply the door banged open for a third time that day. She really had to put up a door stop or something. Rainbow Dash came barreling in looking furious. She sighted Laharl and stormed up to him. “You! Are you Laharl?!”

Typically Laharl’s response would be either shouting or more violence…but he had had MORE than enough of getting into brawls with these freak ponies. He staggered back and put Twilight between himself and this newest assailant. “Just leave me alone!”

Twilight frowned approaching her friend. “Rainbow Dash what’s got you so angry? What did he do?”

Never taking her eyes from the wary demon she flared her wings. “I’ll tell you what he did! He’s been…being cool! I’m here to challenge him to a race!”

Calming a bit Laharl eyed her now. “A race? You don’t want to cave my chest in or beat me to death with your bare hooves?”

“That’s right! You! Me! Outside. Right now.”

Twilight heaved a sigh. “Rainbow Dash he’s not going to race you. He doesn’t even have wings, it wouldn’t be fair. Plus look at him!”

Rainbow Dash took a moment to actually look at her mortal enemy. He was bandaged pretty heavily from head to toe. “Wh-what the heck happened?”

“Pinkie Pie.”

The pegasus just nodded as if that made all the sense in the world. “Oh…well…I don’t care! He’s stealing my thunder!”

“Even if he wasn’t so beat up, and he COULD fly you know it wouldn’t be fair Rainbow. Nopony’s half as fast as you.”

Rainbow smirked. “Yeah I guess that’s true.”

It was Laharl’s turn to smirk. “If my powers were unsealed I could fly circles around you.”

“Well unseal them and let’s get this on!” Rainbow zipped to Laharl getting nose to nose.

“I can’t.” His grin turned sly. “But SHE can.” He nodded to Twilight.

Rainbow rounded on the alicorn now. “Well do it! I need to show them I’m still the best!”

Twilight heaved an exasperated sigh. “Rainbow Dash he’s VERY dangerous. Even with his powers sealed he’s still very powerful. I don’t want to imagine what would happen if he got loose at his full strength.”

Rainbow settled on her haunches seeming to ponder this development. “Well since you’re unsealing them, can’t you reseal them too?”

The princess blinked. “W-well yes I suppose…but still it might take time to recast the binding and he could cause a lot of damage…”

“Hmph. If the stupid rainbow butt wants a race I’ll stick to the race.”

Twilight frowned again. He sounded sincere enough. Another sigh and she nodded. “Alright Rainbow. You’ll get your race.”

“Aw yeah! You’re goin DOWN buddy! I’ll get the track ready!” She was off in a flash.

Eyeing her guest critically Twilight trotted closer, taking his manacled wrists up in her magic. “…I’m trusting you Laharl. If you try anything funny I’ll…sic Pinkie on you.”

About to scoff at the statement Laharl’s voice froze in his throat. In the window of the library was Pinkie Pie, leering at him and slowly drawing her hoof across her neck. “…r-right…just race…”

Several deep breaths later the princess closed her eyes concentrating on the complicated magical bindings over the manacles. It was a very sophisticated spell but nothing she couldn’t understand. It was rather clever. Anytime Laharl tried to access his mana to utilize his abilities rather than going where he wished it to, the energy went into the manacles instead. Her horn glowing brightly she temporarily disabled the mana draining effect. She could reactivate it at any time however and was satisfied she could rein him in if he got out of control.

The change over Laharl was immediate. His back straightened and his eyes shone with renewed energy. “You did it!” He was grinning toothily flexing an arm and stretching his shoulders. Twilight watched with burning interest as he held his hands out palms up and closed his eyes. She worked a simple charm to see magic as clearly as anything else in the physical world. With a small gasp she realized she could recognize the spell matrices used as he worked a spell. At first suspicious she identified several of the runic symbols as those for healing and restoration. Almost immediately a warm green glow suffused Laharl’s body. His bruises faded and cuts sealed over. She could even see his teeth regrowing.

“Th-that’s the most powerful healing spell I’ve ever seen!” She paused. “Wait YOU know healing spells?”

His eyes snapped open as he tore the bandages off. “Of course! I’m the Overlord I learn every spell any demon in the Netherworld can cast! Useless mages and healers are always the first ones down. Someone has to pick up the slack and keep my vassals alive.”

So he learned healing magic specifically to aid his fellow demons? The more she learned of the strange being the more normal he seemed. Maybe normal was the wrong word…she definitely didn’t think the constant cursing and violent temper were normal. But he had feelings like anypony else. He cared about his vassals that much was clear.

“Come on. Let’s go see this race track Rainbow Dash is setting up.”

He rolled his eyes. “RAINBOW Dash? What’s with you ponies and your goofy assed names?”

She decided to let that one slide. “Laharl is a pretty goofy name to me.”

“Hmph! Whatever! Show me to this race track so I can utterly humiliate your stupid friend.”

Shaking her head and silently hoping Rainbow Dash soundly trounced the irksome demon she led the way outside. Not too far away she could see Rainbow racing about overhead, setting up several obstacles and large rings made of cloud stuff in the sky. “You CAN fly right?”

He just smirked and remained silent as he gazed up at the working pegasus. Rainbow’s activity was beginning to draw a curious crowd. They were already setting up seats and passing out snacks. He noted Pinkie Pie among them and looked away scowling. He had to strongly resist the temptation not to drop a meteor on the little beasts head.

Soon enough Rainbow had landed before the waiting princess and overlord. “So here’s the rules! You hit an obstacle or hoop, you lose five seconds. You miss a hoop, lose five seconds. Whoever has the best time wins! Got it?!”

His smirk never faded. “Got it. Who’s going first?”

She huffed. “I am of course! Just so we can get this done quicker!” Several town pegasi were hovering about the track by now, roped into monitor duty by Rainbow Dash. The crowd had been steadily growing until he bulk of the town had turned out to watch the spectacle of their town speedster racing the weird alien.

Rainbow took her place at the starting line as Twilight Sparkle cantered to her side. “Ready? Set?” Her horn flared and gave off a loud bang. “Go!”

Dash was off like a rocket, leaving only a blazing rainbow trail in her wake. She flew through the first ring smoothly, steadily climbing higher and higher. She expertly rolled around floating bars and looped over perfectly sculpted aerial hoops. She breezed across the finish line to the wild cheers of her fellow equines below. Grinning ear to ear she landed before the waiting duo. “Time?”

The time keeper landed checking his stop watch. “Nineteen point four Dash!”

Giving Laharl a poke in the chest her smile turned smug. “Beat THAT.”

Cracking his knuckles Laharl stepped up to the line. Hesitantly Twilight moved to his side. “Ready…”

He clenched his fists tightly and the magically sensitive ponies in the audience felt a massive swell of magical energy centered around the skinny demon.

Twilight’s look only turned more pensive. “…set…”

He was building so much mana it was starting to crackle off his body in black arcs of lightning that would now and again scorch the ground as they flitted away from his body. The long scarf around his neck stopped its billowing and rapidly coiled in on itself, forming a pair of bat wings.

“….go…” There was a dull BOOM as Laharl vaulted off the ground. The streaking bolt of black lightning was only visible as the demonic overlord when he came to an abrupt halt to pull off a turn, than he’d kick at the air and become a bolt of light again.

The ponies watched mouth agape at the spectacle. Only the powerful princess, Twilight Sparkle could actually see the demon within the sheathe of mana he’d conjured to propel himself through the air. HE never touched an obstacle or failed to fly through a ring, but was moving at such speeds they were utterly destroyed in his wake. The time keeper was so astonished he hadn’t even started the stop watch…not that it was needed. Laharl went from the beginning to the end in the time it took anypony to blink twice.

“So how about that Rainbow Butt?! That’s what happens when you challenge an overlord! Behold ponies of Ponyville! Overlord Laharl has proven he is the superior racer! Forevermore will Rainbow Dash be remembered as an utter, complete, and total LOSER! Haaaaahahahahahaaaa!”

Rainbow Dash hung her head so low it was almost grazing the ground as the demon laughed and taunted her above. How could this be? This was HER element! Racing was everything to her…and she’d been beaten…effortlessly! She could hear her friends trying to console her but their words felt hollow. Eyes burning she whirled away from the concerned crowd and made a bee line for her house.

“That’s right looooser! Run away! Always remember the day you dared to challenge Laharl!”

Twilight Sparkle was scowling now. Rainbow had made the challenge and lost, but that didn’t give Laharl the right to make her run off in tears. She turned to a gently frowning Fluttershy. “How far did you say he fell last time?”

The gentle mare blinked at Twilight then looked up at Laharl. “W-well…about that far?”

“Thank you Fluttershy.”

Laharl was still cackling madly when he felt the horrible heaviness return to his manacles. All at once his mana drained back into them and he was free falling. For a moment he supposed this was what karma must feel like. Just for a moment, then he hit the ground. Oh well, one more crater for his real estate portfolio.

***

Overlord Malbreche had many titles. Lord of Murder and Torture were two of his particular favorites. If Laharl and his ilk embodied the best of demon kind (sad but true), than Malbreche and his were the worst. They were the demons that stories of flesh eating rampaging monsters were based around. He was an old Overlord, older than most that held the title in the universe nowadays. A towering example of demonic perfection, he was nearly eight feet in height clad in midnight black full plate armor. Covered head to toe in the imposing spiked metal plates no one had ever seen what he truly looked like beneath. Only his balefully glowing yellow eyes could be seen from inside his helm.

“I think I’m confused. You’re saying there’s an idyllic world of peace and happiness, that you’re a NATIVE of, and you want ME to go raze it to the ground? From what it sounds like there’s nothing of value outside the joy of murder and mayhem, and that doesn’t pay the vassals.” The Overlords voice rang hollowly from inside his helm.

His visitor merely smiled. It was the oddest creature Malbreche had ever laid eyes on. Taller even than he when it stood on its mismatched hind legs and stretched the serpentine body to its full height, the creature had two mismatched wings and a semi-horse shaped head. “Well a little birdy told me you and a certain Overlord had a bit of a…rivalry would be the world? I believe his name was Krichevskoy…?”

The glow of Malbreche’s eyes intensified. “Just SPEAKING that name in my presence is punishable by death! I’ll have your head in my trophy hall you…whatever you are!”

“Tut tut. Let’s not lose our temper. Now I know he keeled over, something about choking to death on a bag of pretzels and thus robbing you of the satisfaction of killing him yourself. But…what if I said I had the next best thing?”

Now the brutal overlord was intrigued. “…go on?”

His guests smile widened unnaturally. “I know where you can find his son. And I have it on good authority he’s nearly powerless.”

Malbreche’s eyes widened now. “What? How?!”

A simple shrug was the others response. “Does it matter? I can give you Overlord Laharl on a silver platter. All I ask in exchange is that your charming little minions have a little…fun in Equestria.”

Slowly the Overlord smiled…not that anyone could see it. “Why involve yourself?”

The creature’s smile vanished in an instant. “Because that hypocrite of a princess dumped Laharl on our world JUST to sew chaos in some nowhere hick town! That’s MY job! She turned me to stone for millennia for doing it last time then she goes and does this?! Oh no…that’s not acceptable.”

“So you crave vengeance as well? Very well creature, I accept your offer. I’ll send one of my finest vassals to deal with the little punk and drag him before my throne. And not to worry…if it’s chaos you desire, he will provide it in spades.”

His guests smile returned. “Then my dear Lord of Torture…we have a deal.”

Author's Note

Pinkie Pie, master of fist style weapons! She founded the Ironhoof style taught in several different worlds of course.

Chapter 4: Overlord Rarity

Once it was clear the show was over, the assembled ponies began to disperse. Though they were all buzzing with excitement. Rainbow Dash had been beaten in a race! Such a thing just wasn’t done and nopony was really clear on how they should react. Many seemed to think it was a fluke, or that the racer had taken it easy on the new guy because he was so deformed.

Laharl heard none of this however, deep in his newest crater as he was. Gnashing his teeth in fury he wrenched himself free and leapt out. “What’s the big idea?! You couldn’t just let me land!?”

He was met with an equally irritated looking Twilight Sparkle. “You hurt Rainbow Dash’s feelings.”

“Hmph. So? She challenged ME. And lost. That means she’s a loser, it’s the definition of the word!”

Twilight didn’t seem amused. “That doesn’t give you the right to rub it in her nose. She takes racing very seriously.”

The overlord still seemed unphased. “And? If it’s so serious to her maybe she should stop sucking at it. Or pick who she decides to drag into a race smarter. Clearly anyone can just look at me and see my vast superiority.”

Opening her mouth once, then twice trying to find the right words to vocalize her feelings without descending to Laharl’s level of petty insults Twilight instead rounded on her hooves and stalked back to the library.

Watching her go for a moment Laharl spotted Scootaboo (he was still pretty sure that was her name) regarding him quietly. With a smug grin he stalked up to her. “Pretty awesome right?”

To his surprise she frowned. “The racing yeah, but after? That wasn’t awesome it all. It’s never cool to hurt somepony’s feelings on purpose.”

“What?! Of course it is! That’s the best part of beating someone. Rubbing it in their face after. Jeez don’t you ponies know anything?”

She turned away without another word going back to her friends. “C’mon girls let’s get outta here. This guy’s not cool, he’s a jerk.”

“Hey! I’m cool! I’m the overlord! The most badass demon there is! Don’t just walk away!” He scowled as they didn’t turn back but kept walking. With a snort he turned on his heel preparing to go the other way, nearly bowling over a gentle glowering Fluttershy.

Oh god not her too! She opened her mouth, no doubt to admonish him and make him feel miserable…but before she could get a word out he vaulted over her head and dashed from the sight of the race. He didn’t stop until that horrible Flonne-wannabe pegasus was well out of sight. Breathing a sigh of relief when he noticed she wasn’t giving chase, he slowed his pace.

From where he was standing he could see the weird house build in the clouds Rainbow Butt had flown off to. “Jeez she likes her rainbows.” Arms folded across his chest he just stared up at the cloud home silently for several minutes.

“Mmm, she does doesn’t she? I’ve told her once or twice it’s a bit much but Rainbow Dash isn’t a pony to listen to sound advice. She’s the sort who needs lessons drilled into her by force most of the time.”

Laharl turned to the cultured voice behind him, seeing the unicorn he’d made faint earlier. White coat, curly purple mane, obviously fake eye lashes. Maybe ponies had prostitutes too? He shrugged. “Whatever, not my business.”

“I suppose that’s true. You were quite spectacular in the air. I’ve never seen anypony as fast.”

Finally! Someone who appreciated his awesomeness. “Yeah well it was no big deal; I mean I guess I AM pretty amazing.”

“You certainly are. I was wondering if you’d lend me some of your amazing skills this afternoon? I’ve lost my usual assistant and some…body to help me makes the job so much easier.”

Now he regarded her skeptically. “Why should I? What’s in it for me?”

“Well Pinkie Pie said you had to use credit at Sugarcube Corner. Am I correct in assuming you don’t have a bit to your name?”

He shrugged. “So? It’s not like I’m gonna be here long enough for it to matter.”

“You know that for absolute certain?”

He opened his mouth to reply, then shut it. He DIDN’T know for certain. Twilight said she was ‘working’ on a way home for him whatever the hell that meant. Though it sounded like she had no idea how to get him back and was saying that just to placate him. “Whatever. So what you’ll pay me? Whaddo I gotta do?”

“Nothing too difficult darling. Just a bit of heavy lifting here and there. You’ve quite a lot of muscle hiding in those skinny arms I’m told.”

“Hmph. Fine. Let’s just get this over with. And you better pay well!”

“I’m very generous with my helpers you’ll find. Let us be off hm?”

Laharl walked at the unicorn’s side, happy to have something else to occupy his mind with than a tear filled pegasi’s magenta colored eyes.

***

Fluttershy approached the library cautiously. From the banging and crashing within it didn’t sound like Twilight was in a very good mood. Steeling what nerves she possessed she pushed her way in, ducking with a little yeep as a book flashed overhead soaring out into the street and striking an unfortunate stallion in the back of the head…knocking him out cold.

Twilight barely tossed a half-hearted ‘sorry’ the poor ponies’ way before she focused her attention on her visitor. Her pegasus friend was regarding her with a mix of fear and worry, and she forced herself to calm down. “I’m sorry Fluttershy. But that Laharl…I don’t know what it is about him but every time he opens his big, stupid mouth I….grrrrr!” She stomped a hoof cracking the floor.

“W-well um, why is he still here then?”

The fuming alicorn glanced Fluttershy’s way again. “What do you mean? Princess Celestia won’t let me open the gates of Tartarus to send him back.”

Feeling a bit bolder now that Twilight’s eyes and horn had stopped glowing Fluttershy stepped closer. “I mean why is he still HERE. In Ponyville. He’s obviously an awful person making Rainbow Dash cry like that. And he got into a fight with Pinkie Pie of all ponies. Why don’t you just tell him to go?”

Twilight blinked. “Tell him to go? Go where?”

The pegasus shrugged. “Does it matter? He can take care of himself and nopony would be sad to see him gone. You obviously hate him right?”

“I…” Twilight’s wings sagged and she sighed. “I don’t HATE him. He just makes me…angry. I’ve NEVER felt so angry. It’s not all his fault…there are glaringly obvious cultural differences. I don’t doubt that in his world it’s common for the winner of any contest to brag a good deal. Or to swear all the time or to SHOUT all the time.”

She was pacing back and forth now, giving Fluttershy occasional curious looks. “I’m a little surprised you feel that way though. It doesn’t seem very…kind? You were a lot more patient with Discord.”

Now it was Fluttershy’s turn to pause. “I…well you’re right. Oh my goodness I don’t know what’s come over my Twilight. How could I suggest we cast him out of town? He’s just lost and alone and probably a little scared even.”

The more book smart pony was frowning gently now as she levitated a kettle of tea on to boil. “Something funny’s going on here. Anypony spending time around Laharl seems to be…different.”

“Meaner you mean.”

Twilight shook her head. “No, not necessarily. I’ve spent more time with him than anypony else and I don’t feel MEAN, my temper’s just been a good deal shorter. I think Laharl is inadvertently affecting our behavior somehow.”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened at that. “He’s dangerous just to be near?”

“Maybe not dangerous, but there’s something odd about him. It could have to do with his mana. As I’m sure you know every pony tribe, not just unicorns, uses mana for everything. To grow their plants quicker, to fly, whatever. We’re swimming in the stuff. Laharl is too but his mana felt different from ours.” She frowned trying to find the right way to put what she wanted to say into words. Instead she used magic to create an image of a gently flowing stream in the air.

“This is what a pony’s mana flow looks like. Relaxed, free flowing and smooth. Now when I examined Laharl’s mana it looked like…” The stream shifted to suddenly become a roaring out of control river, great waves rising up and crashing together in a wild frenzy of motion.

“So…Laharl’s magic is wild and crazy while ours is calm and reserved? And him being around us is…” Fluttershy trailed off as Twilight’s eyes widened and she floated a mirror off the wall. Staring intently at it she gave a small squeak and looked at the nervous pegasus.

“My mana’s flowing twice as fast as it should be. The more we’re around Laharl…”

“…the more we’re acting like him.” Fluttershy finished quietly.

“But this doesn’t make any sense! Spike’s mana was wildly different than ours and we didn’t…get lazy and want to eat gems all day. How could just being near him do this to us? Because he’s a demon?”

Fluttershy shook her head. “I don’t know Twilight. But I think Princess Celestia needs to know.” Seeing her friend grabbing quill and parchment she shook her head again. “She needs to be told in person. You go to Canterlot; I’ll track down Laharl and take him to my cottage. It’s far enough from town he won’t effect anypony but me.”

Twilight chewed her lip in concern. “Are you sure? He might make you go crazy or something.”

“I’m sure. Somepony needs to look after him and I think I’ll manage just fine. You just go talk to the princess and get her to take care of everything.”

Twilight had to fight back her rising irritation. SHE was a princess too. SHE should be able to take care of everything. She shouldn’t have to run to Celestia anytime a big problem came along. But this wasn’t about her, it was about Ponyville and she couldn’t let her insecurities get in the way of her duties. “You’re right. Just…be careful. If you start to feel funny or anything just…figure out a way to get some distance from him alright?”

“Alright Twilight. Don’t you worry; just get this mess straightened out.” Fluttershy managed to keep her brave smile on until her friend was out of sight, flying as fast as she could for Canterlot. When she was in the clear she let out a deep breath. “If his mana’s affecting us…is ours affecting him?”

***

This one seems like she’s not a total lunatic. She wasn’t yapping his ear off, bludgeoning him, or wanting to show him up at anything. She seemed content to walk in silence which would normally suit Laharl just fine but anytime his mind began to wander it wandered to the crushed pony.

“So uh…what are we doing out here anyway?”

Rarity glanced up at him. She’d been walking him out of town toward the mountains nearby. “Collecting gemstones. My old helper Spike was such quite good at it.” She sighed softly. “I do miss him.”

“Spike’s a pretty goofy name for a hor..pony.” He hastily corrected himself, noting the alarmed look in the ponies’ eye.

“He wasn’t a pony in fact. Spike was a dragon. The cutest baby dragon anypony could ever have the good fortune to meet.” She heaves a tremendous sigh. “I do worry about him so.”

Hm. So there were dragons on this world? That was interesting. “Where’d he go?”

“Oh the dragon lands. Wanted to learn more about himself or some such nonsense. As if everything he needed to know he couldn’t find here.”

With a grunt the demon shrugged. “Dragons’re tough. He’ll be fine.”

“Oh? You have experience with dragons?”

Laharl looked down at her. “Of course I do. I have a ton of them as vassals. They’re some of the strongest monsters in the netherworld.”

Rarity furrowed her brow in confusion. “There are dragons where you’re from? In Tartarus? Are they imprisoned for being bad or…?”

“Don’t be stupid. We have tons of ‘em. There’s no way they could all come from this dump. Overlords have been using dragons as vassals for as long as there’ve been demons. It’s traditional to have one guarding your vault.”

“How very strange.” They continued on in silence before the mare looked up at her temporary assistant again. “That was quite an impressive race earlier.”

Laharl’s antenna twitched. “Yeah well we’ve already established I’m amazing.”

“Mmm.” Her horn was glowing softly as she swung her head to and fro slowly. “Be a dear and break that boulder open would you?”

Brow raised curiously Laharl moved to the large rock. “Just break it?”

“Please.”

With a shrug he swung his first in a downward arc, splitting the boulder cleaning with a shower of stone and dust. He was more than a little astonished to find it filled to the brim with priceless gemstones of all kinds. “Wh-what the hell?! Is this some kind of money piñata?!”

Rarity trotted up practically squealing in delight. “Money? Of course not these are just rubies and diamonds and the like. Decoration…or food for dragons I suppose.”

Laharl looked from her to the gems incredulously. The stupid rock was filled with enough cash to buy his whole palace. Maybe twice! “You…you use them for decoration…and food. Not for spending? No one to cash these in here?”

The unicorn was happily levitating the gems into a large wagon she’d been trailing behind them. “Of course we don’t spend them. What would somepony do with a sparkly rock? Save make their home or clothing look pretty of course.”

The gears were rapidly turning in the overlords head. If he could return to the Netherworld with THIS much cash he could buy…a new Etna! One who knew how to shut her trap and behave. His excitement dimmed somewhat at the thought of his chief vassal. Why was his chest feeling tight again? Stupid ponies must be getting to him.

“Laharl dear are you alright? You look a little green.”

“Hmph! I’m fine! Pay me with some of these gems and you can keep your bits or whatever.”

“They truly have monetary value where you’re from don’t they? Very well if that’s what you wish, we’ll split them fifty-fifty hm? But I expect you to work hard.”

“Lady for that much cash you got it.” He was working with much more enthusiasm now. Gleefully pounding the ground or smashing anything she indicated had yet another treasure trove stored within.

“You know I don’t believe I’ve ever seen Rainbow Dash so thoroughly beaten.”

Laharl twitched and his fist slipped causing him to bounce his face off his latest target. Rubbing his nose with a sullen glare he shot a scathing look back at Rarity. “Well she shouldn’t’ve picked a fight with me then.”

“I can’t find the fault with that logic certainly. Though I have to wonder if you couldn’t have been a trifle more tactful afterwards.”

He had been wondering that very thing. With a grunt he pounded the next boulder apart allowing the pony to collect her gems. So what if he gloated some? He always did! Though he may have been a bit worse than normal. He was pretty pissed off from the thrashings he’d received already. “I don’t wanna talk about the stupid race! If you want my help then drop it!”

“My apologies of course. I didn’t mean to upset you.” She kept moving along at a relaxed pace, pointing out yet another cache of gems. While he dug them up she took a moment to study his manacles. “What would you do Laharl? If you weren’t wearing those?”

“Beat the crap out of Pinkie Pie.” There was literally no hesitation in his response.

Rarity couldn’t help but laugh a little. “I suppose I can understand that sentiment after the thrashing she delivered you. But what about after that?”

“Go home. I’d find the stupid gates of Tartarus myself and pry them open.”

“Go home? That’s all? Not raze the countryside or try to steal the souls of everypony in Equestria?”

With a snort he dumped the latest armload in the wagon. “What is with you ponies and your crazy ideas about demons? For your information most of us aren’t wild bloodthirsty monsters! We don’t go around beating up anything we want for fun! I mean…maybe violence is the first solution we think of to a problem but we still need a REASON.” (even if the reason is as petty as stealing a pudding cup, an incident that sparked a thousand year war between two neighboring netherworlds).

“Wouldn’t the riches found in Equestria be enough to draw your people’s attention to us?”

“Well…uh…yeah. I guess. But I don’t NEED the money. I just want it. I’m not gonna start blowing this crap hole up because I want some gems. Ugh I could just imagine what Flonne would do to me if she heard I started a war for money.”

“Flonne? Is she your special somepony?” She drew another X on the ground.

“D-don’t ever say that! Of course not! She’s the most annoying, obnoxious, love-obsessed freak of a demon in the Netherworld! In ANY Netherworld! Probably in Celestia too!”

Rarity giggled softly. “Your cheeks are turning rather pink Overlord Laharl. Are you suuuure?”

With a growl he rounded on the annoying mare. “Yes I’m-“ His eyes widened at something behind Rarity. Seeing the shock in his eyes she turned to look in time to see a massive axe twirling end over end heading straight for her. It was coming too quickly for her to even think about catching it with her magic. She braced herself for the coming impact…

…only for it to never come. She felt something hot and stick splatter across her face and neck. Breath coming in ragged gasps she looked up to see Laharl standing over her, the blade of the axe having gone through his back and out his chest. He’d leapt in the way and taken the deadly weapon meant for her in himself. “L-Laharl…”

With a grimace he dropped to one knee. “I’m fine! Th-this’ nothing! J-just get outta here!”

“Absolutely not! You need help!” She began to fret trying to find the best way to remove it. Before she could contemplate using her magic however a massive black armored figure fell from the sky, landing with an earth shattering impact and sending dust and stone flying everywhere. Her wagon was tossed from the side of the mountain to bounce far out of sight below, trailing gems as it went.

“Ha! So you’re Overlord Laharl? I’m not impressed.” Rarity gazed up at the imposing figure. Bipedal like Laharl was, though he was clad head to toe in jet black armor. Only the top half of his head was exposed. Baleful yellow eyes gleamed down at the pair.

Laharl struggled to rise; only to fall to his knees again as the demon gripped his axe forcing him down into the ground. “When my lord sent me here to collect you I thought I’d have a harder time than this. One little axe in the back and you’re out of the fight. And you let yourself get wounded for the sake of…THAT?”

Rarity shivered as the monstrous creature turned its gaze to her. He began to laugh a deep bellowing roar of a laugh, keeping his grip on the axe handle and sending vibrations through it with each guffaw, causing Laharl to squirm in agony. “S-stop it! Let him go this instant!”

This only seemed to amuse the demon more. “Oh ho! The little unicorn has spirit.” Contemptuously kicking Laharl aside while simultaneously wrenching his axe free, the young Overlord landed in a growing pool of his own blood. “Well then little horse, before I bring my trophy back to my master let us do battle eh? You’re clearly a mighty warrior to stand up to me so.”

With a sharp gasp the mare’s eyes darted from side to side. Seeking a weapon…an escape…somepony to help. ANYthing. Though she was forced to come to one inevitable conclusion as the demon charged. Nothing could save her.

***

Celestia and her guest both leapt from their viewing place by the mirror the second the axe found its way into Laharl. “What in the world is that?!”

Her guest wrenched the mirror to the side to get a clearer view of Laharl’s assailant. “It’s a demon! But how did it get here?! You said you had Equestria cut off from the other worlds!”

“I did. Something broke my spell of protection over Equestria. We can worry about that later. We have to deal with this threat immediately.”

“Ah, ah, ah. I can’t have you two rushing off and spoiling all my fun. After all I’ve just arrived to the party!” Celestia glared hotly as Discord appeared in her private chambers. “Surely my invitation was lost in the mail. I mean it’s not like you’re so hypocritical that you’d imprison ME for a thousand years in stone for sewing a little chaos, then go and dump a demonic OVERLORD amongst your cheery little ponies just for fun!”

Celestia could almost physically feel the rage and hated rolling off the supposedly reformed draconeqeus. “Discord this isn’t the same at all. The universe has changed; many demons aren’t the horrible monsters from our time. Where did you even GET that thing?”

“Who Mr. Tall Dark and Slashy? He’s on loan from a new acquaintance of mine. Your little friend there’s heard of him. Malbreche is his name I believe?”

“What?! You revealed this world to the Lord of Torture? Are you completely insane?!” Not bothering to conceal his identity any longer Vyers let his cloak slip away.

Discord was busy laughing maniacally so Celestia answered for him. “He is. I had hoped like Luna enough time to contemplate his actions would temper his mental instabilities. Clearly I was wrong.”

His laughter ended abruptly as he fixed Celestia with a hot glare. “Oh it gave me time to contemplate lots of things Princess!” He spat the last word. “We were to be partners you and I? Do you remember? I found you drifting aimlessly out there and we made a deal! I find you a new world; you let me have my fun in it! Right?!”

Celestia’s ears folded back. “You went too far Discord. Pranks and jokes were one thing but then you started causing serious home to the citizens of Equestria. I had to put a stop to it. I tried to reason with you.”

“Well not THIS time! This time I win! This time the game goes how I want it to go!” His demeanor did an immediate one eighty and he grinned. “But not to worry! You two will still get to spectate. “Former Overlord and current Princess both lunged toward Discord, but not quickly enough. With a snap of his claws a bright flash filled the room, and soon the statues of both a demon and alicorn stood in place of the living beings.

Humming cheerfully to himself Discord hoisted both into the air and turned them to face the suddenly much bigger mirror. “There we go! A nice clear view! Now let’s sit back and enjoy the show hm?”

Neither prisoner had much to say on the matter.

***

Rarity couldn’t stop an alarmed shriek from forcing its way out of her mouth as the axe came close enough to sharing off her head she felt the wind stir her mane as it passed. She was darting back and forth frantically working to avoid the surprisingly quick demons attacks, but she was rapidly running out of room. He was methodically backing her into a corner.

“Not long now little unicorn. Just sit still and I’ll end it quick!” He punctuated the last word by slamming the axe into the ground at her side, digging a deep furrow in the rock.

About ready to keel over from her panic Rarity’s eyes fixed on the prone, possible dead form of Laharl. Her heart skipped a beat as she saw his hand twitch though. He was trying to rise! He was still alive! Of course that would change quickly as soon as the demon lost interest in her. Laharl was depending on her. Perhaps all of Ponyville too. The town wasn’t far and who was to say the demon would lose interest in murder after doing away with her? No it was time to stop running.

Planting her hooves solidly she rounded to face the demon summoning all the magic she could into her horn. He charged forward not concerned in the least, and was considerably surprised when the magical blast caught him square in the stomach, lifting him off his feet and sending him hurtling over the side of the mountain. Breathing raggedly Rarity eased to the edge peeking down in time to see the armored monster disappear into the trees far below.

Satisfied her quarry would not be returning she hurried to Laharl’s side. There was more blood than she’d ever seen in her life, but now was not the time to be squeamish, (she was already covered in the stuff and would be taking either a twenty four hour bath or all day spa trip to cleanse herself once all this was over). “Laharl! Laharl are you alright?”

Groaning softly he cracked an eye open. “…had worse. Would be better if these damn manacles weren’t on me.”

Smiling in relief that despite nearly being sheared in half he DID in fact seem to be recovering Rarity knelt beside him. “Is there…is there anything I can do?”

“Can you get these off me?”

She shook her head. “I’m sorry no. I’m not the best with spells. I could make them explode or something equally unpleasant. We’ll need Twilight for that.”

“Hmph. Then get me outta here. Where’s the heavy knight?”

“I knocked him off the cliff. We shan’t be seeing him again.”

Rarity didn’t like the semi-alarmed look in Laharl’s eyes. “That’s it? Knocked off a cliff?”

The mare’s ear twitched as she heard faint crunching noises coming from the edge of the cliff. Barely daring to look she couldn’t help peering over the edge. There was the demon, the heavy knight Laharl called it climbing back up. He would pound a fist into the side of the mountain and pull himself up, bit by bit.

She rushed back to the Overlord’s side. “W-what do we do?! We have to get out of here!”

With a grimace Laharl rolled himself onto his back. “…how’s that stupid horn work? You draw mana from the air or inside?”

Rarity blinked at the seemingly from nowhere question. “Wh-what? What’s it matter?”

“It matters!”

She yelped softly. “F-from the air around us. Everypony has a small store of personal mana inside but unicorns cast spells by drawing ambient energy through their horns. That’s basic biology.”

Laharl nodded firmly. “Good. Stick your horn in here.” He indicated the garish gash running the length of his abdomen.

Rarity of course recoiled. “A-are you mad?! I’m not sticking my…my horn inSIDE you!”

With a grimace he sat up straighter. “D’you wanna stop that guy or not?!”

Dancing from hoof to hoof Rarity looked from the gaping wound back to the slowly approaching demon. “Oh this had better work or I’ll kill you myself!” She inched closer, screwing her eyes shut and slowly easing her horn toward the gash. “Ew ew ew ew ew….”

She heard Laharl gasp in pain and she almost pulled away as her horn made contact but his hand clamped around the back of her neck tightly locking her in place. She struggled at first, then felt the first jolt run through her horn and into her body. It was mana…though far more than she’d ever tried to absorb for a spell before. Again she tried to pull away thinking that was the end of it, before another jolt ran through her. Than another, and another.

By the fifth she was beginning to feel a sensation somewhat similar to over indulging in the occasional bottle of wine with Fluttershy after their spa trips. Though it wasn’t wine that was the source of her growing intoxication. This time it was something altogether different.

Power.

Smiling now she didn’t resist as Laharl conjured more and more of his mana. Of course it attempted to flow from his core to the manacles, but the unicorns’ horn was the closer conductor for the energy so instead of the metal at his wrists it raced down into the ponies’ body. He watched curiously as her snowy coat began to darken to a slate gray. She was growing taller steadily, and with a little gasp of pain he realized her horn must be growing too as he felt it force its way through his chest and out the back.

She was nearly the size of a normal, full grown horse though her mane and tail rippled and flowed constantly with the heavy concentration of mana in her body. Blinking her eyes open she stepped away as his hand fell from her neck. They were the same crystalline blue thought he pupils were vertical slits. “Oh…my…Laharl is this…how you feel all the time?”

“Pretty…awesome right?” He was paler than ever, but he’d kept enough mana for himself to keep from bleeding to death even if he’d halted his healing.

“That is certainly one way to explain it.” She was a little surprised at the sound of her own voice, deeper, imposing. Surprised…but she liked it. Now when the demon hauled itself over the cliff and into view it wasn’t fear she was feeling. It was anticipation.

Lips pulled back in a tooth grin revealing the small but noticeable fangs she watched the heavy knight fully raise to his feet. “Shall we begin round two?”

Author's Note

Mostly I picture her like Nightmare Rarity from the comics! I didn't originally intend to manifest physically beyond her eyes, then I saw that picture of her at the end of issue 6 and it was to badass not to use. XD

Chapter 5: A Demon's Heart

Chapter 5: A Demon’s Heart

Discord rocked back clapping delightedly. “Oh I didn’t see that one coming! And just LOOK at Rarity! She makes a rather fine demon don’t you think?” He looked to his guests, who he’d petrified not long ago. “So glad you agree! I have to say I like you like this a lot more Celestia. None of the glowering or judging.”

His gloating was interrupted by a sharp knock at Celestia’s door. “Princess Celestia! It’s Twilight! I need to speak with you immediately, it’s urgent!”

Eyes widening in panic the chaos spirit zipped back and forth across the room. He couldn’t very well petrify Twilight, watching her with Laharl was hilarious! He just had to get rid of her!

Twilight tapped a hoof impatiently outside her old mentor’s door. “Princess? Your sister said you were in your chambers. It’s very ur-“ She stepped back as the door cracked open and Celestia squeezed through the crack.

The youngest princess stepped back eyes wide at her normally composed mentor’s erratic behavior. Celestia staggered to a stop, wings flopping open and closed before settling against her sides. Clearing her throat softly she adjusted her crown. “Yes my faithful student?”

Hearing the old moniker her teacher used to call her brought a nostalgic smile to Twilight’s face. “Well it’s my demon problem. I’ve made a very startling discovery!”

Celestia’s eyes kept flicking from Twilight to her door. “Uh huh?”

Uh huh? Since when did Celestia say ‘uh huh’? “W-well-being so close to Laharl is altering our mana flow. Essentially we’re acting more like him the longer we’re around him.”

“Is that all?”

Twilight blink and stepped back. “I…w-well yes! What more is needed? This is serious! Everypony in Ponyville could start acting like…like jerks! You have to let me send him back to Tartarus where he belongs before it’s too late!”

Celestia tapped a hoof gently against her muzzle. “Mmm. Nah. Now run back to Podunkville like a good junior princess. The grown-ups have work to do.” She ruffled Twilight’s mane condescendingly and turned back to her room, slamming the door on the younger alicorns muzzle.

Twilight Sparkle stood staring at the door, mouth agape for several minutes. No less astonished were the pair of guards ponies stationed before their princess’ chambers. Twilight turn to them with a disbelieving look on her face, one that was rapidly shifting from astonishment to rage. Eyes wide the first guard whispered to his fellow. “Get to a kit! Hurry!”

Returning the terrified look his partner raced off, sparing his poor fellow a quick backwards glance. He ran with all speed through the halls to one of several glass boxes that dotted Canterlot Castle here and there. Without hesitation he smashed the glass that read ‘Break glass in case of Twilight Sparkle meltdown!’ He returned with the fire extinguisher just in time to see the youngest princess’ mane and tail flare with magical fire, and wasted no time hosing her down.

Twilight stood stock still, her mane limp against her neck as she took several deep breaths. With a curt nod to the guards ponies she trotted passed briskly. The first dared to clear his throat. “P-princess? Can we be of assistance?”

With a weighty sigh she turned to them, wearing a weary smile. “No. thank you gentlecolts. And thanks for the ah…” She motioned to herself.

The speaker offered a faint smile. “Of course Princess Twilight. Those were your idea after all. Work like a charm too.”

With a brief nod to the brave guards she trotted for the exit briskly. A concerned Luna was standing at the foot of the stairs from Celestia’s tower. “Twilight Sparkle are you well? I saw a guard breaking one of the emergency cases.”

Twilight briefly considered several courses of action. Calmly and rationally explain the problem with Laharl. Ask Luna about her sister’s bizarre behavior. Even ask the lunar princess to accompany her to Ponyville. She opted for a fourth, and until lately unexpected choice. Wings flared she stalked up to Luna. “No I am not ‘well’. Your…your…FAT flanked sister can just…” Twilight took a deep breath. “Stick her horn where the sun doesn’t shine! Now if you’ll excuse me I have to go to Ponyville and save my friends without help from her OR you for that matter! We handled Nightmare Moon alone! We handled Discord and King Sombra without any princesses! We’ll handle demons too!”

Without another word she stormed passed leaving an open mouthed Luna behind. Once Twilight was in the air she blew out a huge breath. “Laharl was right. That felt pretty good!”

Discord chuckled resuming his natural shape as he observed Twilight flying for Ponyville. “Well! Now that that’s taken care of, let’s get back to the show shall we?” With a smirk at his petrified audience he poofed up a comfortable chair, a tub of popcorn, and reclined to enjoy the show.

***

Rarity felt none of the fear she’d experienced before upon seeing the horrid demon. The formerly awe inspiring ridged armor now seemed somehow…desperate. Like the demon within was trying to make up for some unseen inadequacy by trying to make himself look as imposing as possible. She even went so far as to offer a sympathetic smile. “I see the same thing in stallions from time to time. Try to dress flashy to draw attention away from skin conditions or the like. It really is quite sad.”

The knight seemed unsure of himself. How did she know?! Well that didn’t matter. Even if the horse thing was juiced up on the Overlord’s mana, it was still a prissy unicorn. Hefting his axe he charged forward with a grunt. He expected her to charge as well, maybe use her newly elongated and sharpened horn as a weapon. Instead she simply stood still as he closed the distance, regarding him with that same slightly condescending look.

Needless to say he was more than a little surprised when her horn shimmered quickly and a…something erupted from the ground at his feet. Moving too fast for his eyes to follow, shearing through his breastplate and leaving a trail of blood to arc into the air as it went. He staggered back, a hand clasped to his chest, staring dumbly into the air. A rapidly spinning diamond the size of his fist was slowing its ascent, hanging in the air surrounded by the same shimmering aura around the unicorns’ horn.

“Well now that certainly looked like it hurt. I can’t imagine being cut with a diamond is a pleasant experience. Perhaps you’d like to toss that nasty axe away and we can be done with all this?”

“Y-you! Who d’you think you are to talk to me like that! I’m Golvenz! The greatest of Lord Malbreche’s knights! You’re just a goofy horse thing from some podunk nowhere world!” Ignoring the throbbing in his arm he gripped his axe and hauled back, hurling it with all his might sending it twirling end over end at the uppity unicorn.

An uppity unicorn simply raised an eyebrow looking extremely bored. Her horn flashed again and the ground all around her erupted with hundreds of glittering gemstones that all linked together tightly forming a very impenetrable (and in Rarity’s opinion absolutely gorgeous) wall, sending the axe careening harmlessly over the side of the mountain.

The mare sighed dramatically as she shifted the gems ever so slightly from hovering in vertical positions to horizontal. “Well I did try to be diplomatic.” Her eyes hardened almost imperceptibly as she focused on the demon before her, the gems darting forward into an arrow like wedge as one after the other they tore through his armor and out the other side like the heavy plates weren’t even there.

He tried to stand against the seemingly endless flow of glittering projectiles but he was soon lifted off his feet and swept through the air, howling in pain and fury as he vanished over the horizon, the gems still tearing through him with abandon.

Rarity watched it all coolly for a moment before turning to the prone Laharl. “I dare say that’s the last we’ll see of him hm? Let’s get you to the hospital. I’m sure nurse Redheart can fix you right up.”

Laharl merely grunted, though his hand was still tightly clutching his wound. “I’m fine! Chase that idiot and make sure he’s dead! Or did you forget where you just sent him?”

Eyes wide Rarity looked in the direction her wave of gems hurled the brute. Right for Ponyville. “You’re right! You just wait right here! I’ll be back in a flash!”

The overlord watched her go frowning faintly. Stupid ponies and their stupid town. Why the hell did he care? He blinked. …why the hell DID he care?

***

After flying all over town Fluttershy had FINALLY found out from Sweetie Belle that her sister was planning to take Laharl into the mountains to help her harvest some gemstones. It wasn’t the worst news she could have gotten, at least he was far from town where his mana couldn’t hurt anypony. Anypony but Rarity that is, and Rarity had no idea what being around Laharl could do to her. Jaw set in unusual determination Fluttershy spread her wings making for her friend’s usual gem hunting grounds.

Tilting her head at the strange sight coming toward her she hastily flew aside as what looked like another demon came soaring by, howling curses and being deviled by a constant swarm of spinning (and very sharp if the blood was any indicator) gems. Having the worst feeling Fluttershy knew the source she flew harder for the mountains. It wasn’t hard for her to spot the imposing grey unicorn charging toward town; if not for the gemstones on her flank Fluttershy wouldn’t have recognized her.

Screwing up all her courage the pegasus lowered herself closer to the suddenly frightening Rarity. “U-um…Rarity? Are you…alright?”

She was probably about as tall as Princess Luna, Fluttershy realized as she got closer. To her relief Rarity’s eyes held the same warmth they always did when looking on her friends and while her voice was deeper it was no doubt hers. “Fluttershy! Well yes I’m just fine. Laharl’s hurt badly back in the mountains and I need to make sure that vile demon fellow stays down. Would you be a dear and fetch him for me?”

“O-oh yes! Yes right away! Um…be careful?”

Laughing lightly Rarity waved her concern away, resuming her breakneck charge for town. Watching her go with a little frown Fluttershy turned back to the mountains. Laharl was easy enough to spot. He was leaving a noticeable trail of blood as he limped through the pass. She landed beside him eyes filled with concern. “Laharl! Y-you…how are you still walking? There’s a…a…”

“A hole! I know there’s a hole in my chest you don’t have to point it out!”

“W-well um…sorry. I’m sure you know there’s a hole there. Let’s get you to the hospital right away.” She knelt down low, offering her back.

“…you want me to RIDE you?”

“Well I could carry you but it would be a lot easier for you if you just rode on my back to town. Come on now, no need to be shy. I’m stronger than I look.” She offered him a confident smile.

He WAS starting to feel pretty woozy. With a grimace he eased onto her back, mindful of her wings. “I’m on! But you better not tell anyone about this! I’ll never live it down!”

“I promise. Now you hold on tight, I need to get a bit of a start and it might be a bit bumpy but once we’re in the air it’ll be nice and smooth.” She broke into a quick trot heading for the edge of the cliff. Each step send waves of pain rolling through Laharl but he just grit his teeth pushing it aside. True to her word once her hooves left the ground and they were in the air it was a lot smoother.

Fluttershy was gliding more than flying, flapping her wings as little as possible so as to disturb her rider as little as she could. She risked a glance back at her passenger. “What um…did you do to Rarity?”

“I loaned her my some of my mana. With my powers sealed someone had to fight that demon and your lunatic Princess Sparklebutt or crazy pink monster weren’t around!” Sensing the mare’s concern he continued. “She’ll change back to normal when she gives my mana back, relax.”

“Oh thank goodness. Twilight found out that being around you is making everypony act more um…demony.”

Laharl didn’t comment as the town came into view. There was something about this place that’d been bugging him for a while. “D’you ponies have tons of twins or what?”

Fluttershy blinked at the unusual question. “No…not that I know of.”

“Hmph.” He’d cross his arms in thought if he wasn’t partly bisected at the moment. “What other kinds of monsters are here? Besides the dragons and wood wolves.”

The pegasus landed gently outside the hospital. “W-well…all sorts I suppose. Manticore, hydra, trolls, ogres, goblins, giants…I’m sure Twilight has a book you could borrow. B-but let’s get you in a nice comfy bed first.”

The way he was feeling a comfy bed was sounding pretty good. Their attention was drawn to the center of town as a glittering cascade of gemstones rained down from overhead. With a grimace Laharl started for the commotion. “Well c’mon! Don’t just sit there with a stupid look on your face!”

Snapping out of her fear induced near-catatonic state at Laharl’s sharp words Fluttershy swallowed the lump in her throat and walked at the side of the limping demon, offering herself as support. To her surprise he draped an arm over her back allowing her to assist.

***

“Really now darling this is getting a trifle embarrassing. I’m beginning to feel bad for you. Just drop your silly axe and we’ll call it…a draw! Nopony wins; you go home I go home hm?” Rarity’s voice practically oozed condescension, and it was clear to pretty much any spectator that she was deliberately antagonizing the terrifying monster she was fighting.

Of course as far as everypony was concerned Rarity was pretty much just as scary. Only the fact that she was equine shaped kept the crowd from fleeing in an all-out panic. The demon knight, Golvenz charged the mare as she casually examined a hoof. This time she didn’t call on her small fleet of gems to defend herself. She pivoted on her fore legs and lined up a good book, blasting the demon square in the chest sending him careening through town trailing shards of armor as he went.

The crowd was screaming in panic making way as the monster crashed through several of the stalls in the market. A slight twinge of regret found its way into Rarity’s breast seeing all the devastation. Jaw set in determination she galloped after her quarry, intent on being done with this once and for all before somepony else got hurt.

Screeching to a halt she could only stare mouth slightly agape at the demon lying before her. He was…swelling, a terrified look in his eyes. “My lord no! I haven’t failed I…urk…” His words choked off as he grew bigger and bigger. Eyes wide Rarity cantered back hastily. The demon knight was the size of a small house now, looking fat and bloated and beginning to glow with a hellish red light.

Laharl arrived at the scene in time to see the demon going critical. With a grimace he kicked Fluttershy down an open cellar door just before the doomed knight reached critical mass. The explosion leveled the entirety of the market, and more than a few homes and businesses toward the center of town.

Rarity barely had time to summon her gems from above to form a dome around herself, but even the glittering shield couldn’t hold up to the onslaught of released mana. She felt the hot flames of the released mana licking at her coat, and though she tried to resist its pull she was hurtling through the air to fly far from town.

A groggy Fluttershy clambered to her hooves shakily. Her ears perked at the horrible groans and cries of pain coming from above. A few flaps of her wings carried her from the basement revealing the devastation that was the center of town. Badly burned ponies lay moaning and writhing on the ground, most wouldn’t live through the next few moments. She had enough medical expertise with caring for her critters she could identify fatal wounds when she saw them.

Then her eyes fell on her savior. Laharl was face down on the ground, pale and unmoving. Gasping softly she landed at his side, gently nudging him onto his back. She breathed a sigh of relief when he cracked an eye open. “Q-quit jabbing me with those hooves!”

“Oh Laharl! I was so worried! You…you saved me!”

An embarrassed flush found his cheeks as he looked away, taking in the devastation around him. What was once an idyllic little town was now a scene of horrific battle and carnage. He loved a good fight but dragging civilians into it, (for no reason, if they were rich or something it’d be alright to beat the crap out of them) was low.

The pair yelped as Twilight Sparkle arrived by teleport. “What happened?! I saw the explosion halfway from Canterlot!”

“A demon knight found me. Rarity fought him but his Overlord made him self-destruct when he was about to lose.” The young overlord lay flat on his back, eyes closed once more as he struggled to breathe.

An opened mouthed Twilight looked around slowly. “W-we have to help as many ponies as we can! Come on Fluttershy! “

Laharl’s hand shot out gripping Twilight around the foreleg. “Give me my powers.”

“I…Laharl I can’t right now I have to help the town.”

With a grimace he pulled himself into a sitting position, still holding her leg firmly. “Just do it!”

Scowling down at Laharl she briefly entertained the idea of bucking him through the nearest wall. But she knew that was the demonic influence. Her scowl eased into a concerned frown as her horns glow enveloped his manacles loosening the mana blocking effect.

“Get me to the center of the blast.” Twilight was surprised at his unusually somber tone, but she and Fluttershy both loaned him a shoulder limping him to the still smoking crater. He looked around briefly before leaning heavily on Twilight.

“Laharl what are you…” Twilight trailed off as she felt the overlord gathering his mana. It was much diminished for some reason, less than half his usual strength but still packed plenty of punch. She couldn’t stifle a gasp as runic circles began to form around his feet. The six spell matrices soared into the air and spread out to engulf the bulk of Ponyville.

Everypony still conscious could only gape at the beautiful humanoid woman who appeared in the sky. She looked down upon the town, a faint frown upon her gentle features. Spreading her arms wide she bathed the town in a warm green glow. When the mystical light faded she vanished as Laharl’s spell ended.

Twilight blinked her eyes open seeing…confused but healthy ponies shakily climbing to their hooves. Laharl’s garish wound was gone but he still looked pale and shaky. “L-Laharl…what…what WAS that?”

“That? That was nothing! Just the most powerful healing spell there is! I just summoned the prissy goddess of healing herself. Impressed? Of course you are! Hm hm hm!” His eye twitched as he began to laugh, clutching his chest and staggering before Fluttershy steadied him.

The young princess just stared hard at the overlord as he used the timid pegasus as support. With a deep breath she again focused on his manacles. This time when the glow faded from them…they fell to the ground with a pair of metallic clinks.

Lifting his hands almost disbelievingly Laharl looked to Twilight Sparkle. The annoying pony was smiling the same stupid smile Flonne smiled at him when he spared the Seraph. “Wh-what? Don’t expect a thanks or anything! You shoulda freed me as soon as I got here!”

To his further outrage both Fluttershy and Twilight tackled him hugging him fiercely. “G-get off!” They were drawing a crowd now. It wasn’t long before somepony thrust a hoof at the prone demon.

“Did you see that?! He healed everypony! He’s a hero!”

Laharl gave a strangled yelp working to disentangle himself from the mares hugging him tightly. “N-no I didn’t! I was just…healing myself! You just happened to get caught in the effect!”

His words went unheeded as the townsponies began cheering wildly for their new hero. He was soon hoisted onto the backs of the crowd and carried about town in an impromptu parade. To his seemingly endless embarrassment they began to…sing. It was like the whole town had a whole musical number ready and waiting in the event of a demonic overlord using a massive healing spell to bring them back from the brink of death.

Eyes dancing with amusement Twilight Sparkle finally rescued him. Teleporting both he and Fluttershy back to the library. “What the hell was that?!”

Twilight settled him in her own bed with a shrug. “When we get really emotional we sing. You’d better brace yourself; you’re probably going to get a party for this too.”

Secretly Laharl loved nothing more than to have praise and accolades heaped upon himself, but he wasn’t sure how he felt about it coming from the colorful equines of Equestria. “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard!” He propped himself upright in the bed, but made no move to leave it.

“Are you going to be alright Laharl? You still look very pale.” Fluttershy brought him a glass of water.

One he wasted no time downing swiftly. “That stupid unicorn Rarity still has a ton of my mana. It’s fine I’ll just absorb more. She can keep it.”

Twilight frowned gently. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea Laharl. For her or you. Your mana is making us behave more like you. Our mana might do the same.”

“Hmph! Fine then go find her and bring her back!”

Looking from pegasus to demon Twilight nodded. “Alright. She shouldn’t be hard to track. You have a pretty unique feel to your magic.” She paused looking over her shoulder at the door. “And Laharl…thank you. You didn’t have to do that.”

Another grunt was his response as she left. He could only stare out the window for so long before he was forced to look at Fluttershy, who had been staring at him steadily the entire time. “…what?”

She settled on the bed comfortably. “Are all demons like you?”

With a scoff he looked away. “Of course not! I’m an overlord! One of the greatest demons to have ever lived!”

Fluttershy giggled softly. “I meant do they all act like you? So…nice?”

His antenna twitched almost imperceptibly. “I’m not nice! I’m a demonic overlord you idiot!”

This was normally the part where Flonne or Etna would bludgeon him over the head or start name calling back. Instead Fluttershy kept her cool, leveling a steely gaze on him. He found it almost impossible to look away. “Apologize.”

“Wh-who do you think you’re talking to! You can’t tell me to apologize! I’m an overlord!”

Fluttershy’s stare never faltered, she just kept gazing at him with a calm even look. He opened his mouth to berate her further but the words felt…hollow. They died in his throat. “Hmph! …fine! Sorry! Alright!?”

“I accept your apology Laharl.” She refilled his water, deciding on a new line of questioning. “Do you have friends back home?”

“Feh! Of course not! I have vassals!”

“Oh? Well do you have any vassals you’re close to?”

He grunted softly, again looking out the window. “I guess.”

“Tell me about them.”

“Who? Flonne and Etna? They’re nothing exciting. Etna’s the biggest pain in the butt in the Netherworld! I dunno why I put up with her!”

Fluttershy tilted her head. “Why DO you put up with her?”

He went quiet again, sipping the new glass of water more calmly. “She was my father’s most loyal vassal. She was an orphan he saved from some slavers or something. I GUESS she’s kinda useful now and then…when she’s not throwing prinny’s at me or stabbing me in the back!”

“And the other? Flonne?”

She didn’t miss his hands tighten at the name. “…she’s nothing special. Just an ex-angel turned demon love obsessed lunatic who never quits badgering me or bullying me in my own castle!”

“So there are angels to?”

He looked back at the mare on the bed now. “Of course there’re angels! Jeez what kinda bubble does that Princess keep you all in?”

Fluttershy ignored the faint insult. “Why did she turn into a demon?”

A pained look flashed across his face. “Celestia…the world of angels…had a corrupt archangel who was trying to exterminate all demons. Flonne helped us beat him, but she was punished by the Seraph their leader, for harming her fellow angels. He turned her into a flower.”

Fluttershy gasped softly. “What happened next?”

“I…” He frowned. “…I was angry I guess. I mean, of course I was! She was one of my vassals! He had no business doing that to her! I was gonna kill him too but….” He shrugged. “Flonne wouldn’t have wanted that. For some reason he changed her back, but she was a demon instead of an angel. I’ve been stuck with her ever since.”

“So because you spared the Seraph he gave Flonne back to you?”

“I guess so. I hate that smug jerk and his stupid face.”

Fluttershy laughed softly. “Well thank you for telling me about them Laharl. They sound like good friends. I’ll let you get some rest now.”

He didn’t both correcting her again as she left the room.

***

“Doooooood!”

Etna looked up from her place on Laharl’s throne as the excited Prinny came charging in. “What’s got YOU so excited?”

“Lady Etna! We found him dood! The gatekeeper said she felt Prince Laharl’s mana!”

The demon lord leapt to her feet. “Well what the hell’re you waiting for?! Go get Flonne and round up the prinny’s! We’ve got a Prince to save!”

“Aye, aye dood!” The Prinny in question snapped a sharp salute and waddled off to Flonne’s chambers.

Etna walked briskly to her own chambers gearing up for a fight. “That idiot. He better be alright or I’ll kill him myself!”

***

Flonne, Etna, and a small Prinny squad were soon assembled at the dimensional gate. An embarrassed looking gate keeper keying in the coordinates. “I can’t apologize enough for allowing myself to be subdued and impersonated. Please give the Overlord my most sincere apologies.”

Flonne flashed a warm smile. “I’m sure he won’t be mad once we explain everything. Don’t worry!”

Etna wasn’t so sure but she felt no need to get the gatekeeper worked up while she was in the middle of sending them to a supposedly very far off world. “So is this a Netherworld? Human colony? What’s up?”

The gatekeeper frowned gently. “I wish I could tell you Lady Etna. All I know for sure is it’s heavily saturated in mana, and that Overlord Laharl’s power definitely emanated from there. It’s at the very fringes of space.”

The gate finally stabilized and the troupe wasted no time rushing through. It was a rougher ride than usual but all seven made it out the other side. Etna yelped as they appeared high in the air, but both she and Flonne snapped their wings open hovering in the air.

The prinny’s weren’t so lucky as all five went plummeting toward the ground. Normally Etna wouldn’t care but they were so far from home she wasn’t sure if they’d respawn or not. Both she and Flonne flashed through the air rapidly snagging the plummeting prinny’s and settling them on the ground carefully.

Etna scowled about at the colorful and very fresh smelling forest, but Flonne seemed to be basking in the bright sunshine. “Alright! You five head that way! I feel a bunch of mana coming from somewhere to the north. There’s another huge pocket of it over to the east so Flonne and I’ll head there. If you find the Prince have him send up a magic flare alright?”

As one the demonic servitors saluted. “Aye, aye Lady Etna dood!”

Flonne frowned as they waddled off. “Do you think they’ll be ok alone?”

Etna shrugged. “They’re all elite prinny’s, well over level a thousand. There’s some strong mana here but the five of them should be fine. Though the stuff coming from the east feels strong enough to be the Prince. Let’s get moving.”

No more words were said as demon lord and fallen angel took to the air, flying on a direct course for Canterlot.

Chapter 6: Demons About Canterlot

Chapter 6: Demon’s About Canterlot

Overlord Malbreche clenched the arms of his throne tight enough to send hairline cracks racing through the obsidian bones. “Golvenz has failed me. Can any of you worthless maggots go to this nowhere world and retrieve Krichevskoy’s upstart brat?!”

His vassals shuffled uncomfortably looking from one another without speaking. Golvenz was one of their Overlord’s most powerful vassals. If he fell the world must hold formidable warriors. All eyes turned to the sultry empusa who cleared her throat. “Perhaps what is needed my lord, is a lighter touch.”

Grunting softly the Overlord glared at the speaker. “You think you can succeed where my mightiest knight failed?”

The demoness shrugged casually. “Perhaps. Perhaps not. Though it seems there isn’t an overabundance of volunteers.”

“Hrm. Fine. But if you fail me Linette you know what will happen.”

Shifting from foot to foot she bowed smartly and turned on her heel. Boots tak-taking as she made her way to the dimensional gate. “Alright Overlord Laharl. Let’s see what you’ve got…”

***

Flonne and Etna reached the city of Canterlot just as the sun was making its descent. If anyone was paying attention it made a rather erratic and wobbly descent too. Hovering well above the clouds the pair of demoness’ looked down at the city in confusion.

“You’re seeing this too right? It’s not just me?”

Flonne could only nod slowly as she looked down upon the city of ponies. “They’re the cutest things I’ve ever seen!”

Even the caustic Etna was finding it hard to disagree. “W-well whatever! Who cares how cute they are; somewhere down there is the Prince! Only he could be giving off that much mana! These…things must have him hostage!”

Flonne gasped eyes wide as dinner plates. “Do you really think so? They look kind of…adorable.”

“THESE ones sure. But I feel some BIG mana presences in that castle. We need to infiltrate it!”

Flonne let out an excited squeal. “I’ve got the infiltration masks!” She joyfully exclaimed, digging out a pair of black ninja masks.

Etna eyed them skeptically. “Something tells me we need a better disguise then masks this time. In case you didn’t notice there’re no humanoids at all down there. Just…colorful horses. Can you magic us up a real disguise?”

Dejectedly tucking the masks away Flonne stared down harder at the ponies beneath her. Eventually she nodded. “I think so. Ready?”

Taking another look at the cute little horses below Etna sighed. “Ready. Gimme one of the ones with wings!”

Nodding Flonne flew a few feet back from her friend. “Here we go!”

Etna winced as Flonne began to chant in the Celestial language. To a demon’s ears the words sounded a bit…wrong. They were the words of law, order, and creation which were the polar opposite of a demons natural being. Still she clenched her fists and soldiered through as thick runic bands of yellow light formed around her. She felt a warm sensation flow over her body. When the light faded a black furred, red pig tailed pegasus pony flapped her wings in Etna’s place…still dressed in her typical black leather outfit only resized for her equine body.

“…how do I look?”

Almost immediately the demon lord regretted asking. Flonne’s eyes grew huge and shining as she let out a high pitched squeal crushing Etna in a hug. “You’re adorable! Oh I should keep you like this!”

Squawking in protest Etna flailed her forelegs swatting Flonne away. “Don’t even think about it! Just do yourself and let’s get moving!”

Pouting only a little Flonne worked the spell again on herself this time. The now lily white, blonde maned pegasus angled downward to land with Etna at her side. “I feel all small and fuzzy.”

“You ARE small and fuzzy you idiot. Now try and act…horsey I guess.”

Snorting softly at Etna’s rudeness Flonne took a moment to look about at the ponies going about their evening business. They all seemed kinda…snooty. With a small frown she realized it reminded her very much of how the angels behaved in Celestia. A bit cold and aloof. Sure demons routinely greeted one another by punching each other in the face, but then they’d have a laugh and share a drink.

“Let’s not worry about them Etna and just get to the castle.” Etna eyed her friend curiously. Flonne had the sort of stern tone she usually only reserved for reprimanding she or the Prince. With a shrug she fell in beside the other pegasus as the pair headed through the streets of Canterlot toward the castle.

***

Twilight found Rarity wallowing on the ground sobbing loudly. Rolling her eyes the Twilight Princess landed beside her friend. She was momentarily taken aback by her appearance. She was as large as Princess Luna and looked nearly as imposing. “Rarity…what’s wrong now?”

“I’m a mo-ho-honsteeeeeer!” The wailing mare got out mid-sob. “I let Ponyville get destroyed because I sent that DREADFUL demon flying into town! Everypony is hurt and it’s all my faaaaaaault!” She broke down into another hefty wail.

Twilight was feeling a little weird about her suddenly enormous friend wailing like nothing had changed at all. With a soft sigh she climbed down into the small crater Rarity had landed in resting a hoof on her shoulder. “Everypony is fine Rarity. Laharl healed them.”

The waterworks stopped almost instantly. “…really? He did?”

Offering her friend a smile Twilight gave a little nod. “He really did. I removed his manacles and he used the most amazing healing spell I’ve ever seen! He said he summoned the spirit of healing magic herself! Can you imagine? He can call on the spirits who provide the fundamentals of magic! Imagine if he could call on others?!”

Rarity blinked as her friend started to go off on one of her tangents. “Twilight you promise me everypony is alright? I didn’t get half the town killed?”

Blinking out of her magic-lust induced ramble the Princess nodded again. “Yes I promise Rarity. He summoned this giant woman who bathed the whole town in healing magic. He collapsed right after, he’s severely mana drained.”

Now Rarity glanced over her own enhanced form. “Oh dear, I suppose I’d better get back and return this shouldn’t I?”

Helping Rarity stand Twilight nodded. “I think that’s a good idea. Do you uh…feel ok? You’re very big and sort of…” She waved a hoof searching for the words. “Nightmare Moony.”

With a delicate laugh Rarity allowed Twilight to help her back to her hooves. “I feel completely myself darling I promise you.” She glanced back and forth as if searching for eaves droppers before leaning in and lowering her voice. “Though between you and I…that was quite a rush!”

Eyebrows raised Twilight regarded her friend speculatively. “What was?”

“All…that! The fight! You weren’t there to see me but I was quite spectacular if I say so myself. I summoned a horde of diamonds and woosh! Cut him to ribbons casting him into the air! Then I gave chase and bucked him! I bucked him like Applejack would a tree and down he went! I wish you could have seen it.”

With a faint frown Twilight gestured toward town. “Let’s get you to the library so you can return Laharl’s mana. I don’t think it’s good for you.”

Raising a brow Rarity regarded her friend curiously. “Whatever do you mean darling? I’ve never felt better. I feel so…so…ALIVE. You can’t imagine! It’s as if I’ve been seeing the world through a sort of…hazy filter. And now my eyes are clear. Everything just…FEELS stronger than ever before. I…I’m not sure I wish to give it up Twilight.”

Now the young Princess’ eyes widened. “Rarity you can’t mean that! Look at what happened to Ponyville! This mana is…is wrong! It’s not natural and you have to get rid of it! These demons aren’t our friends. They bring destruction everywhere they go.”

It was Rarity’s turn to frown. “Twilight Sparkle I’m surprised at you. Laharl is a little rough around the edges I’ll admit, but his being here is certainly not of his own doing. Not only that but he saved the girls in the forest and healed the town after the demon exploded. Which was my doing, not his.”

Twilight heaved a sigh running a hoof over her eyes. “I know Rarity I know. I’m just…frustrated. And my meeting with the Princess today! She was so rude! I’ve never felt so belittled in my entire life. I just want to get Laharl home and I have no idea what to do.”

Despite not wishing to give up Laharl’s demonic mana Rarity was allowing Twilight to lead her to the library. “Well you have to open the gates of Tartarus to get him home yes? I think the solution to your problem is fairly straightforward.”

Shaking her head Twilight gave an angry snort. “The Princess told me no.”

“Yes well, aren’t you a Princess as well Twilight? You don’t need her permission to act for the good of Equestria.”

Gazing toward the distant city where her former teacher lived her wings flared as she recalled the scathing words Celestia had for her. “Laharl said pretty much the same thing. And you’re both right! I AM a Princess. Laharl needs to get back to his own world and I can do that. We’ll get him his mana back and send him home.”

Resting a hoof on her much smaller friends back Rarity smiled. “That’s the Twilight Sparkle we all know and love. It’s been absolutely dreadful seeing you so down in the dumps and moping about all the time.” She couldn’t hide a deep sigh. “Still I am going to miss this increased stature and magical power. Imagine the fabulous dresses I could wear now! Why I’m as big as the Princess!”

With a little laugh Twilight smiled, feeling her spirits lifting. “Maybe I can find a size increasing spell for you once everything has calmed down a little bit. Now! Let’s go visit our demonic hero. You should have seen his face when everypony started singing…”

***

Creeping to the door of Twilight’s bedroom Laharl put his ear against it. He could hear Fluttershy moving around downstairs. With a frown he sat back on the bed. He was feeling better but if he went out the front door no doubt he’d be mobbed by a dozen crazy ponies.

It was getting late so at least he had the cover of darkness to escape into. Carefully he slid the window open shifting his scarf to a pair of wings and taking to the air. The last thing he wanted was that fake Flonne pony to make him feel all…feely. His mana was seriously strained to the breaking point but he had enough to keep himself aloft as he rose above the town gazing down at it contemplatively.

What was it about this place that was making him so touchy-feely? Was it as simple as their mana affecting him like his was affecting them? With a soft snort he landed on a nearby cloud sitting cross legged, chin in palm as he stared at the town. His ear perked as he heard nearby voices. Curiously he glanced up seeing a pair of pegasus ponies similarly resting on a cloud above.

“I heard she hasn’t left her house all day! She wouldn’t even come out when the big explosion happened!”

“Well it was pretty humiliating what happened. After she was such a hotshot loud mouth and getting showed up like she did. I’d be surprised if Rainbow Dash showed her tail in town for a week.”

There it was again. That annoying pang in his chest. Gritting his teeth he jumped from his cloud hovering before the startled pair of mares. “Where’s Rainbow Butt live anyway!?”

Looking torn between admiration for the towns’ newest hero and intimidated at the strange demon’s yelling both wordlessly pointed off to the left. Squinting the young Overlord could just barely make out a structure in the clouds. Without another word he left the star struck pair, landing before Rainbow’s front door.

Staring at the door he ran through a few different approaches. Flonne would go in all sad and downcast, feeling terrible for hurting the pegasi’s feelings. When Etna wanted to apologize she would just bribe her way to forgiveness. That method was definitely more appealing than Flonne’s but he had no idea what you bribed a pegasus with. In the end he went with his usual method.

Hammering on the door he almost caved it in. “Hey! Rainbow Butt! Get out here!”

He had to strain to hear it, but he definitely heard a mumbled ‘go away’ coming from within. Squaring his shoulders he just kicked the door, sending it flying inward. If he were a more thoughtful sort he’d wonder how someone kicked a door made of cloud off its equally cloudlike hinges but Laharl was anything but a deep thinker.

He found the pegasus lying on a sofa, (also cloud) looking like she’d been crying for a while. She didn’t even look upset that he kicked in her door. “I said go away.” She rolled over facing away from him.

Laharl stared at her for a minute before he spoke. “I kept hearing how you were ‘so cool’ from Scooter-whatever. You were supposed to be the coolest pony in the whole world in fact. Then you stupidly challenged me to a race, which is forgivable since you’ve never heard of me but still a pretty dumb move. And instead of trying to get better when you run into someone stronger or faster what d’you do? You sit in here crying like a whiny baby.”

He turned away with a snort. “You never get stronger by running away crying when you get beaten. That’s when you train harder than ever. When I fought someone stronger than I was I trained my butt off, then went back and kicked his ass the next time! Guess that’s not how ponies do things. They just run away from their problems.”

The Overlord made his way to the door but paused when he heard Rainbow Dash call out. “Hey!”

He looked back, the smug look never leaving his face. “Hey what?”

The mare glared at him wings flared. “…I still think you’re a jerk! …but thanks. You’re right. Next time I’m gonna fly circles around your demon butt!”

This brought a grin to Laharl’s face. “Hmhmhm. Anytime you want another humiliating defeat come and find me! I’m always happy to show how much better I am than everyone else around me!”

Rainbow Dash stood at her doorway watching the demon fly off, unable to hide a smirk at his long, loud, and obnoxious laugh as he went.

***

“Princess Twilight Sparkle. Princess Twilight Sparkle! Well of course she’s a Princess. She was only Princess Celestia personal protégé, then the element of magic. Why not make her a Princess on top of everything else? Oooo I hate her!”

The blue unicorn with the silvery mane balled up the newspaper she’d been reading and hurled it into the brightly burning camp fire. With a soft grunt she pulled her star studded cape tighter around herself gazing into the flames. Eventually she sighed softly.

“No. No she and I reconciled our differences. I’m a new mare!” Standing now she grinned shouting up at the night sky. “The Great and Powerful Trixie has been reborn! And will soon make her triumphant return to the stage!” Smiling genuinely to herself she settled back down stirring the veggie soup she had boiling.

“I’ll do it right this time. None of the bragging or showing everypony up. Grandfather taught me to be a real magician and that’s what I’ll be. Just the magic! Astounding crowds of all ages!”

“But is that really enough for someone as great and powerful as you?”

The alarmed mare whirled toward the sultry female voice. She couldn’t see anypony save a pair of glinting red eyes in the darkness. “Wh-who’s there?”

Trixie gasped aloud as the figure stepped forward. It was like nothing she’d ever seen before. Nearly as tall as Princess Celestia with a pair of long horns growing from her thick fiery red hair. A small pair of bat like wings fluttered at her back, a long tail with a heart shaped spade on the end coiled around her leg. The creature walked on two legs and seemed to have very large…protrusions on its chest.

“Why…I’m a friend. Perhaps the very best friend you’ll ever have.”

Eyes narrowed the travelling performer regarded the strange creature with open suspicion. While she was no student of a Princess magic was her special talent and she could see far more than the average unicorn. Something about this creature’s mana was very wrong.

“I have enough friend’s thank you. Perhaps you should be on your way.” She didn’t phrase it as a question.

The creature affected a hurt look. “Now is that anyway to treat someone who’s come to you in good faith offering to solve your problem?”

Trixie couldn’t help but feel a bit intrigued, despite the warning bells going off in her head. “What problem?”

The mare gasped as the creature produced the newspaper she’d tossed into the flames, whole and unburned. “Your Princess problem of course. It just so happens she’s in the way of my mission. We can work together to deal with both our problems.”

Trixie looked away with a frown. “The only problems I have with Twilight Sparkle are of my own doing. I’ll see to my own affairs thank you. Please be on your way.”

With a soft hiss the creature tossed the paper back into the flames. “I’d hoped to do this the easy way, but I need a way to get close to Overlord Laharl. You’re going to help whether you like it or not!”

Nopony was near enough to hear Trixie’s screams.

***

The disguised demoness’ regarded the bat winged guards flanking the entrance to the castle curiously. They made no move to stop either Flonne or Etna as they moved forward with more confidence. Casting a glance at the guards as they moved forward Etna leaned toward Flonne. “Is it just me or did those guys look kinda…”

Flonne nodded regarding the next pair silently. “Yes, something’s weird on this world. Let’s just find Laharl and get home. I’m getting worried. I sense a lot of big mana presences nearby.”

Not quite as sensitive as her friend Etna accepted her assessment. She knew Flonne was kind of a bubbly idiot but she could get serious when the situation called for it. She allowed Flonne to take the lead as she lead them unerringly toward the nearest big presence. Both stopped short as they nearly smacked into a line of waiting ponies.

Exchanging confused looks with one another, Flonne approached the last in the line. “Um…excuse me?”

The beige coated stallion flashed a smile as he turned to regard Flonne. “Something I can help you with miss?”

Flonne returned his smile at his cheerful politeness. This fellow seemed much nicer than most of the locals outside. Of course he wasn’t dressed all fancy, maybe he was a commoner? “What’s this line for?”

Now it was his turn to look surprised. “Well for Princess Luna’s night court. She holds open court in the evenings for ponies to bring important matters to her attention. Somepony’s think she’s scary but personally I think she’s been amazing for Equestria. Having two Princesses means we get problems solved twice as fast right?”

Flonne shared another confused look with Etna, but smiled back at the stallion. “Uh…right! So have you seen you know…anything weird? Maybe a strange looking boy with blue hair…not a pony! He’s uh…a talking monkey.” She inwardly congratulated herself on her cleverness.

Tilting his head the stallion frowned. “Can’t say I have miss. Is that why you’re here? To ask about your missing pet?”

His confusion grew as the black coated mare guffawed behind her friend. The one he’d been speaking with seemed to be holding in a laugh as well. “Yes! Yes that’s why we’re here. To see the Princess!”

Eyeing the pair oddly now he nodded slowly. “Well good luck. It shouldn’t be too long a wait…”

Thanking him Flonne rejoined Etna at the rear of the line. “Well I guess this is as good a place to start as any. I bet that big presence I sense nearby is the Princess.”

Etna gazed at the closed doors at the head of the line. “How big are we talking here?”

Flonne shrugged a little. “The one just beyond is strong but nothing we can’t handle. A bit further though I sense a presence that’s strong enough to be Laharl, and maybe a couple even stronger than him.”

Giving a low whistle Etna planted her rump on the floor while they waited. “Well let’s hope your sensors are malfunctioning or something. We don’t want to be picking a fight with someone as strong as the Prince.”

Flonne had to agree. Their wait wasn’t very long fortunately. With the impatient Etna at her side Flonne wasn’t sure how long she could keep the demon lord occupied before she snapped and just barreled her way into the throne room. By some miracle they managed to enter without Etna making a scene. Both were a bit surprised by the appearance of Princess Luna.

Misinterpreting their hesitation for nerves the lunar Princess smiled gently. “Please come closer. There is no need to be nervous. I know my reputation is a trifle marred by past misdeeds but I assure you I will not bite.”

Etna had a burning desire to ask what past misdeeds she meant but at a warning look from Flonne she stilled her tongue. The pair approached, Flonne dipping into a courtly bow while Etna did so somewhat reluctantly. “Thank you very much for seeing us Princess. We hope you can help with our problem.”

Luna’a serene smile never faltered. “I will of course do anything in my power to assist you. What troubles you this evening?”

Never one for lying Flonne took a deep breath and removed the disguise spell on herself and Etna. Luna’s wings flared in alarm as their true demonic appearances were revealed. “We’ve come a very long way looking for our missing friend. He landed on your world by mistake and we need to bring him home.”

Wordlessly looking from first one demoness to the other Luna’s smile faded entirely. “What manner of creatures are you? I have never seen anything like you.”

The fallen angel seemed to hesitate before answering; unfortunately this gave Etna the chance to butt in. “We’re demons! What the hell do we look like?! Now where’s the Prince?!”

Luna’s eyes narrowed as she rose to her full height. “As I suspected. Surrender yourselves now and you will be returned to Tartarus unharmed.”

“Ha! Like I’m gonna surrender to some stupid horse! I’ll deal with this. Flonne you go find the Prince.” A swirl of dark energy formed around Etna’s arm as her spear manifested itself. Her cocky grin never faltering as she slipped into a combat ready stance.

Flonne seemed somewhat dismayed the negotiations broke down so quickly, but with Etna around she should be too surprised. “Alright but be careful Etna, she’s strong.” Making a break for the doorway leading upwards behind the throne room Flonne was met with a magical barrier courtesy of Luna. She barely broke her stride as she summoned magic of her own punching through and racing up the stairs.

“Guards!” Etna reacted little as the bat-winged night guards rushed into the room gaping at the now armed demoness. “Not her! Her partner is on her way to my sister’s chambers! Stop her! I will deal with this one myself.”

Still grinning Etna watched the guards’ race after Flonne. “They’re lucky. Flonne has a no killing rule.” Her smile vanished as she returned her focus to Luna. “You though. You’re not so lucky.”

Luna had a distinctly unpleasant feeling welling in the pit of her stomach. A feeling she hadn’t really felt since her sister had been about to use the elements of harmony to banish her to the moon. Luna felt fear.

***

“The master ninja slips from shadow to shadow! Completely unseen and unheard by the hapless guards!” Flonne was flitting from shadow to shadow up around the high ceiling of the corridor leading to Celestia’s chambers, a very confused group of guards clearly tracking her movements.

“Uh…you! Demon…girl…thing! Come down this instant! You can’t just barge into Princess Celestia’s chambers!”

Flonne let out an alarmed shriek and dropped from the ceiling, landing on her head. “Ow ow ow…how’d you see me?! I was practically invisible!”

The guards all shared a ‘she’s kidding right?’ look before turning serious again. “You will surrender n…” He was interrupted by a tremendously loud yawn. One his fellow guards seem to be sharing in. “…ahem…you will surrender…” He trailed off as Flonne’s sleep spell fully took hold, rendering the group unconscious. With a satisfied smile she picked herself up off the ground and plastered herself to the wall creeping along slowly.

“With the inhumanly alert guards rendered unconscious Super Ninja Flonne resumes her stealthy approach…” Her cheer faded as she neared the door at the end of the hall. There was a powerful malevolent presence within. It could be Laharl but his mana usually felt a bit gentler. Unless he was really angry, in which case it was definitely Laharl inside.

Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves she pushed the door open. Within was another horse like the dark blue one downstairs, though her coat was purest white and her mane rippled with a pastel rainbow of color. She was stuffing her face from a huge tub of popcorn, watching what appeared to be Laharl being stabbed through the chest over and over again on a mirror. “Ha! I never get tired of it!”

Flonne could only gasp in horror as the pretty horse creature rewound the scrying image to watch Laharl get impaled on the axe again. How could something so beautiful be so cruel? Steeling herself she summoned her staff. “Where’s Laharl?!”

“Eeeee-yah!” The horse leapt from her chair whirling in shock. “What? More of you? How did you get here?!”

Her features set in unusually steely determination Flonne raised her staff. “I won’t ask a third time! Where is Laharl?”

The horse seemed to be overcoming her surprise, though she did raise an eyebrow as an explosion from below rocked the castle. “And you’re not alone? How did I miss you arriving? Well no matter!” She cleared her throat smiling grandly. “Your friend is recovering from his wounds in a little town down the mountain. He should be resting there. The library I’d bet.”

Regarding the horse suspiciously Flonne nodded slowly. “Thank you. What happened there? Who attacked him?”

With a casual shrug the horse went back to her recording. “Oh some demon, who can keep track. Well thanks for stopping by. Ta ta now.”

Lips pursed together Flonne turned to leave. As soon as her back was turned the disguised Discord fired a petrification spell at the fallen angel similar to the one he used on the real Celestia and Vyers. The draconequus was considerably surprised when the seemingly innocent young demon girl turned back to him, an unpleasant glint in her eye. His spell collided with a magical ward and rebounded smacking him square in the chest. Soon two statues of Celestia adorned the Princess’ chambers.

Skipping lightly over to the newly petrified horse Flonne patted her on the head. “You shouldn’t try to curse an angel. We can always feel them coming.” Her gaze settled on the other statues in the room. “Mr. Mid-boss? What kind of trouble are you getting into now?”

With a long suffering sigh she dispelled the curse over the former Overlord. He staggered to his knees groaning weakly. Flonne knelt beside him using a simple healing spell to help get his strength back. He looked just as surprised to see her as the horse did. “F-Flonne? What are you doing in Equestria?”

“Looking for Laharl. The Gatekeeper tracked him here. And then I find you here. You wouldn’t have anything to do with Laharl’s being here would you?” She leveled her best ‘you better not lie to me’ look.

Chuckling nervously the demon hastily averted his gaze. “Well maybe. It was just a bit of harmless fun. He seemed so bored and Celestia’s protégé had just as little to do so we thought getting them together might spark a bit of…activity for both.

Well aware of Laharl’s violent mood swings when he had nothing to occupy himself with, Flonne couldn’t entirely fault him for his idea. “Well it’s not very fun when he gets nearly chopped in half Mr. Mid-boss! How could you put him in that kind of danger?!”

Raising his hands defensively Vyers rapidly shook his head. “No no! That demon knight had nothing to do with us! Demons aren’t even supposed to be able to find Equestria. Celestia keeps it protected by a magical veil! A veil that was pierced by well…him.” He nodded at the new statuary.

Flonne glanced at it with a gentle frown. “So that wasn’t really the Princess’ sister? I guess this other statue is the real…Celestia? That’s a funny coincidence.”

Vyers sighed softly. “Not as big a coincidence as you might think. I’ll let her tell you herself however.”

Staring at him curiously but knowing he was a good fellow at heart, Flonne released the real Celestia from her imprisonment. This time she could just tell she was the real thing. She practically radiated warmth and kindness. The regal alicorn regarded Flonne with a soft sigh. “I suppose it was inevitable someone would find me eventually.”

As the Princess’ form was bathed in golden light, Flonne’s eyes widened and with a soft gasp she keeled over in a dead faint.

***

Fluttershy was waiting on the balcony of the library as Laharl made his descent. Almost immediately the young Overlord regretted returning. She was gazing up at him with large shining eyes, a small smile playing across her muzzle. Doing his best to ignore her he landed with a grunt making his way back to the bed.

She turned silently tracking his progress. Finally he looked back. “What?!”

Fluttershy moved to sit at his bedside. “You went to see Rainbow Dash.”

His antenna twitched almost imperceptibly. “S-so what if I did?”

The pegasi’s smile grew slightly. “You went to make her feel better.”

“Hmph! Of course I didn’t! I just happened to be flying by her stupid cloud house and…and I wanted something to eat! So I kicked in the door and helped myself! She cried and cried for me to stop but I just ate everything she had and left!”

“Oh? I didn’t know demons ate alfalfa.”

“A-all the time! We love it!”

Wings fluttering gently she headed for the door. “Well I’ll fix you a big alfalfa sandwich then. Your stomach was just growling so you must have a big appetite for it.”

Grimacing at being caught in his lie Laharl could only watch her leave in silence. Flopping back with a grunt he shifted his gaze back out the window watching the puffy clouds drift along in the pre-dusk sky. “Stupid ponies. Stupid pony world.”

He jerked upright at a soft knock on the door. “What now?! I don’t want an alfalfa sandwich!”

It wasn’t Fluttershy however, but Twilight and Rarity. He couldn’t help but feel a faint pang of relief that the latter seemed unhurt. “Why would we bring you an alfalfa sandwich? Obviously you don’t eat things like that.”

Grunting in reply he lay back in the bed. “I thought you were the other one. Whaddo you want? I don’t want any more songs!”

Rarity laughed softly at that. “Oh I do wish I could have been here to see that. But no, Twilight thinks it best I return your mana.”

Laharl didn’t miss the hint of disappointment in the mare’s voice. “I don’t need it. Keep it! It’s probably contaminated with…with pony mana now anyway. It’d make me as big a sissy as Flonne!”

Not bothering to contain her squeal of delight Rarity danced on her hooves. “Eee hee hee! Thank you so very much! I shan’t waste anymore of your time then! I need to get to work right away! Oh imagine the gowns I’ll be able to wear!”

Mouth agape Twilight Sparkle didn’t even bother trying to stop her friend as she galloped full tilt from the library, no doubt to lose herself in her work room for days. Snapping her muzzle shut with an audible click she rounded on Laharl. “Why did you do that? Your mana could be negatively affecting her!”

“She seemed fine to me. Is she not acting like her normal self?”

Ears splayed as Twilight considered. Besides her unusual enjoyment of the fight with the demon Rarity was acting exactly like she always had. “I…I suppose not but still. Don’t YOU need your mana?”

Laharl shrugged. “I’ll just absorb more. Even if your goofy pony mana messes with me I can absorb PROPER mana when I get home. Speaking of getting home…”

Nodding firmly Twilight moved toward the door. “Tomorrow we’re going to the gates of Tartarus. Princess Celestia’s blessing or no, I’m opening them and sending you home like I should have done right away.”

Laharl let her leave without another word. It was getting late and he was pretty wiped from the day. Rolling on his side he smirked to himself. “Now she’s talking like an Overlord.”

***

Princess Luna staggered back to her hooves, coat covered in a thin sheen of sweat and breath coming in labored gasps. “What…what ARE you?”

Etna brushed a bit of magical residue from her shoulders, the left over from Luna’s last attack. Contrary to the Equestrian Princess, the Demon Lord barely looked to be slowing down. “I’m the sexiest thing to ever come out of the Netherworld is what I am! Now where’s the Prince!”

Shaking her head in frustration Luna growled. “There is no Prince Laharl in Equestria! The only Prince is Blueblood and you are MORE than welcome to take HIM with you!”

With a growl of her own Etna hurled her spear unerringly for the Princess’ side. Neither pony nor demon expected the sudden rush of wind and rose petals as Vyers made his entrance, snatching the spear from the air and spinning it expertly before resting it against his side. “I’m surprised at you Etna. Attacking so fine a lady as Princess Luna. You should be ashamed.”

All color drained from Etna’s face at the unexpected appearance of her former Overlord. The demon she’d sworn a lifelong oath of loyalty too. “K-King Krichevskoy?! What are YOU doing here?!”

With a flip of his hair he tossed the spear back to Etna. “It’s Vyers now. The Dark Adonis!” He even struck a pose as the rose petals swirled about him. Seeing neither demon nor pony looked impressed with his display he sighed. “Visiting an old friend and making trouble for my son. What are YOU doing here?”

Recovering from her shock Etna frowned. “We’re looking for the Prince of course! You can’t just abduct the Overlord and not expect anybody to notice!”

Chuckling ruefully he shrugged. “I suppose we didn’t think things out very well. Our little game got out of hand when a third party butted his nose in. Thanks to Flonne however he’s taken care of. Now! Apologize to Princess Luna.”

His voice didn’t leave any room for argument. Banishing her spear Etna frowned at the Princess. “Sorry for attacking you. We were just worried about the Prince. Flonne knew there were big mana presences here and we thought you were hiding him.”

The evening’s surprises only grew for Luna. The appearance of her demonic savior and now her attackers’ contrite apology. “I…see. I suppose your distress is understandable as it sounds as if your ruler was abducted from his very world and transported here.” Leveling a no nonsense look Vyers’ way she huffed. “And let me guess. The friend you were visiting is of course Celestia.”

“Of course! And she’s waiting for us upstairs. She’ll explain everything when we get there.” Without waiting for mare or demon he turned on his heel marching back upstairs.

The former combatants eyed one another warily before moving to follow. “You are unusually strong for one so young. Your Netherworld must be a harsh place.”

“Eh it’s not so bad. And I’m not that young. I’ll be fifteen hundred and ten this year. You’re pretty tough for a pretty princess horse. Give it a bit and you’ll catch up.”

With an indelicate snort Luna trotted ahead at a brisker pace. “I am a pony, not a horse.”

A confused Etna followed along. “…what’s the difference?”

***

Unseen by anypony in the sleepy farming town of Ponyville, a familiar wagon rolled into town under cover of darkness. Pulled by a familiar mare. Trixie looked out from beneath the brim of her hat, red eyes glinting in the dark of night. “And let the show begin.”

Author's Note

I apologize for the slow updates. Overlord is sort of my side project I work on when I want a break from my regular stuff. That and League of Legends uber distracts me some days. XD;;

Chapter 7: My Little Demons

After an incredibly hectic, tiring, infuriating, and terrifying day Twilight Sparkle was asleep almost the second her head hit the couch cushion downstairs. Thoughts of demonic attacks, infectious mana, and transformed friends were forced from her mind as she sought the sweet embrace of sleep.

Alas even in her sleep she couldn’t escape the insanity her life had become. Visions of demonic ponies and cackling Overlords plagued her rest. She tried to fight fruitlessly against the shadowy monsters in her own consciousness but they were the hardest to stand against of course. She could feel herself being swallowed up in a tide of rage and hatred, losing more and more of herself by the second. Mouth open in a soundless scream she raised a hoof as if searching for something to cling to lest she be submerged and lost completely.

Her silent cry for help was answered as a silver shorn foreleg reached out, gripping the young Princess’ hoof tight and heaving her from the demonic morass. Twilight found herself face to face with Princess Luna. Her harsh words with the dark diarch fresh in her mind she looked away blushing heavily. “Thank you.”

Luna regarded the alicorn silently for a time. Now and again she would shift her attention to the churning mass below. “You seem to have much on your mind Twilight Sparkle. Perhaps if you had talked with me like a rational adult at the castle you would be more at ease.”

Twilight sucked in a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “You’re right. I’m so sorry for how I acted toward you Princess Luna. It’s not YOU I’m angry at. The things your sister said…I’ve never heard Princess Celestia speak like that to anypony! She was so…”

Luna quirked a brow. “So unlike herself?”

“Yes! Exactly! So un…” Twilight’s eyes widened and her ears drooped. “Ponyfeathers. I’m an idiot. It wasn’t really Princess Celestia was it? Is Queen Chrysalis back?!”

Taking a deep breath of her own Luna banished the nightmares below landing lightly on the ground. “Oh how I wish it were so simple Twilight Sparkle. Sit with me and I will tell you of my sister’s latest bid to keep herself entertained…”

***

“Sweetie Beeeeelle! You’re being ridiculous! Come out of that wardrobe this instant!”

“Not until you tell me what you did with my sister!”

Rarity snorted so indelicately that if she were seen by anypony else she may very well have fainted in embarrassment on the spot. “I AM your sister Sweetie Belle! I’m just…bigger! More majestic!”

“More monstery!”

The transformed unicorn flinched back from the closed wardrobe as if physically struck. “You don’t…you don’t REALLY think I look like a MONSTER do you?!”

Something in her tone gave Sweetie Belle pause. All the shrieking and whining was definitely starting to SOUND like Rarity. And the tall, dark mare who entered definitely carried herself like her big sister. Frowning suspiciously the little filly peeked out of her hiding spot. She wasn’t prepared to find the Princess sized mare hunched in a corner moaning about her cruel fate. She was even wearing her black exile cloak even if it was comically tiny on her now.

“My own sister! Terrified of me! I’ll have to go into exile…again! Oh woe is mee-hee-heeee!” She degenerated into heaving, (and in Sweetie’s opinion) overly dramatic sobs.

Chewing her lower lip a little Sweetie Belle cautiously approached. This big Rarity creature had the same cutie mark…and definitely the same sense of drama. Still barely able to do little more with her magic than create a few sparks she wasn’t trained to feel out a pony’s mana but Rarity’s felt familiar. Sort of the same but with something new mixed in.

Taking tiny steps the filly slowly reached the huge, sobbing mare. Tentatively she reached out resting a hoof against her flank. “I…I’m sorry um…Rarity. You just kinda…scared me. It’s been a scary day really. Timberwolves and demons and all sorts of stuff. So…I’m sorry. You’re not monstery. It’s actually a little neat.”

Instantly Rarity’s mood did a one eighty, the sobbing stopping in a second. “Oh Sweetie Belle thank you!” She scooped up the much smaller pony in her forelegs hugging her to her chest.

Squirming a bit under her sister’s greatly enhanced strength; Sweetie Belle took a huge gasp of air when Rarity finally let her go. The little filly gazed quietly at her much larger sister now. “So what happened?”

Heaving a sigh Rarity tossed her mane flippantly as she rose. Sweetie Belle had to resist rolling her eyes. She was DEFINITELY Rarity. “Well! Laharl and I were collecting gems in the mountains when this absolute brute of a demon attacked us. Poor Laharl was badly hurt protecting me. Since he can’t use his powers he gave his mana to me and I transformed into this impressive vision before you.”

The young pony sat quietly pondering her sister’s words. “So you’re still you? Just bigger and cooler looking?”

“Indeed! I wouldn’t quite put it in those words but I assure you Sweetie Belle, I’m the same Rarity as always.”

A smile was forming on Sweetie Belle’s muzzle. “Can you share it?”

***

“Aaaaaaaagh!”

Twilight snapped awake flailing wings and legs as the shriek from overhead jolted her both from her sleep and her conversation with Princess Luna. She noted with a small bit of irritation that the sun was only just beginning to rise outside. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been up so early. Heaving a sigh she rolled to her hooves tucking her wings against her sides and making for her room.

“Laharl there had better be a good reason you…oh dear…” She trailed off as she beheld not a demon in her bed, but a pony. A young earth pony stallion, maybe just out of his teenage years. His coat was a healthy rich royal purple color, while his mane and tail were the same blue his hair was. He even had the same antennae rising above his head. Laharl’s scarf and golden bracers remained intact, and his eyes blazed the same ruby red. But he was most definitely a pony.

“What’d you do to me?! This is some crazy pony spell! I know it was you!” The enraged Overlord thrashed about in the bed getting to all fours and immediately tumbling onto his face when he tried to rise onto his hind legs.

Twilight felt her own temper flaring. “What makes you think I had anything to do with this?! I told you absorbing Equestrian mana could be dangerous! I TOLD you to take the mana you gave Rarity back! And now you’re a pony! So WELCOME to Equestria Laharl the pony! I’m sure you’ll fit RIGHT in!”

Laharl was blazing with fury as he surged back to his hooves. “Don’t gimme that crap! We’re going to open those gates and send me home right now! I’ll just get rid of this crappy mana and get REAL mana back! Or else I’m gonna…”

“You’re going to WHAT? You’re an EARTH pony Laharl. No horn means no spells.” Twilight couldn’t contain a smug grin at that.

The earth pony in question’s eyes narrowed dangerously. Twilight’s own widened as she felt his mana gathering and building into a massive spell. Eldritch flames began to lick about his hooves as he summoned the fire spell. Thinking quickly Twilight doused him with a water summoning spell.

Flames safely extinguished Twilight hastily raised her forehooves. “Stop! Just stop!” Laharl was already building his mana for another spell. “Alright so you can use your magic as an earth pony. Blowing up my library isn’t going to help anypony! Like you said we just need to get you home and this will all be fixed! Right?”

Sucking in several deep breaths Laharl’s fury was slowly cooling. “…right. So let’s go to these stupid gates before anyone sees me like this!”

Offering a faint smile Twilight allowed herself a relieved sigh at having diffused the situation diplomatically. “How about we have something to eat then we’ll be off? You’ll be home before you know it!”

Giving a grunt as a replay he stood to follow her again, again doing a spectacular face plant. “Grah! Forget it! I Don’t NEED to walk!” His scarf flared around his neck forming a pair of suspiciously pegasus-like wings that lifted him from the ground. Now mobile without the need to coordinate four legs he followed her downstairs.

Deciding not to comment or offer her help unless asked for Twilight just went to the kitchen fixing a simple breakfast of toast and apple jam. Carefully Laharl was settling by the table. “So where’s your dog?”

Levitating the meal to the table Twilight looked at him curiously. “I don’t have a dog.”

“Then why the he…ck d’you have a dog bed in your room? That basket with the ratty old blanket?”

He was surprised by the look of pain that flashed across her face. “It belonged to Spike, my assistant. He left to learn about himself. The dragons that is. Can’t learn much about dragons in a pony town right?” She tried to smile but he could see the pain in her eyes.

“You made your assistant the dragon sleep in a basket at the foot of your bed? No wonder he took off.”

He physically recoiled from the sudden anger radiating from the pony across from him. “That’s NOT why he left! I loved him like a brother! I hatched him when I was a little filly and he REFUSED to sleep anywhere BUT in that basket! I tried giving him his own room or a real bed all the time but he never used them! You do NOT talk to me about Spike! Do you understand?”

Wordlessly he nodded shifting his focus to the food in front of him. Grimacing at the useless hooves where his hands used to be he just sighed and leaned forward eating it right off the plate. He waited until Twilight had calmed before speaking again. “I know what it’s like. Losing someone…like that. My chief vassal Etna left me for a while.”

Twilight’s expression softened as she regarded Laharl. “Really? What happened?”

“Hmph. Some idiot demon stole her most important memories of my old man. He’d only give them back if she betrayed me. We worked it out in the end but…” He looked unusually somber as he recalled the events. “…but it hurt. I guess.”

“I can’t imagine how I’d feel if one of my best friends betrayed me. I mean of course she had good reason but still it must have been hard on both of you. I’m glad you made up though.”

He huffed again licking the last of the jam from his plate. “She’s a pain in my ass is what she is. She’s supposed to be my chief vassal! My first and most loyal minion! She’s always stealing my snacks or resetting my high scores just to get under my skin!”

Twilight giggled softly seeing how flustered he was getting. “Do you have any other friends in Tartarus?”

“It’s the NETHERWORLD. Not Tartarus. And…I guess a few. Mostly my old man’s vassals who stuck around. Then there’s Flonne. She’s…” He grimaced rubbing his chest.

“Laharl? Are you alright?”

“I…I don’t know. My chest hurts. Your stupid pony mana is probably killing me!”

Tilting her head she regarded him curiously. “It didn’t start hurting until you mentioned Flonne.” He flinched again at the mention of her name. “Laharl is Flonne maybe…special to you?”

His eyes widened. “Wh-what?! No! Of course not! She’s just some stupid, love obsessed…pain in my…butt…” His voice softened and grew quieter as he spoke.

“Laharl you look like you’re about to drop dead or something, that’s not normally something that happens just for talking about somepony.” Levitating the dishes back to the sink she tapped a hoof to her chin. “Would it be safe to assume demons typically experience negative emotions like anger first in response to any given situation?”

Laharl leveled a deadpan look her way and she chuckled softly. “Right, right. Well anypony in Equestria’s first response in a tense situation is diplomacy or conversation. We DO get angry but it takes a long time and a lot of stimulus to do so typically. I suspect the massive amount of Equestrian mana inside you now has tempered your emotions more toward a typical citizen of Equestria.”

“Well I could have figured that out on my own! It doesn’t explain why I’m having a heart attack!”

Twilight’s ears folded back as he raised his voice again but with some effort she kept her own temper in check. “It does though. You’re feeling your positive emotions more than before. Joy, kindness, generosity…love.”

If his eyes widened any further Twilight suspected they might have rolled out of his head. “Get me to those gates NOW.”

Huffing softly Twilight magically swung the door open. “Oh! I almost forgot the big news Princess Luna gave me last night! She said that…” A faint frown crossed Twilight’s face as she strained an ear leaning out the doorway slightly.

Laharl’s scowl deepened. “She said what? Don’t just stop in the middle of a sentence!” His grimace eased slightly at the glazed look in Twilight’s eyes. The Princess ignored him entirely as she began to walk at a stiff, but steady pace toward the town square. Craning his head in the direction she was walking he strained his ears to hear whatever seemed to be afflicting her but he couldn’t hear anything.

“What the heck is going on?” Catching himself before he tried to take a step forward and trip all over his legs again Laharl spread his wings taking to the air. It looked like every pony in the whole town was migrating toward the town square. Almost everypony he amended quickly, seeing a distressed looking Rarity moving about from pony to pony trying to shake them from their stupor. Folding his wings he angled toward her landing clumsily. “Don’t bother! They’re enthralled.”

The imposing mare raised her eyebrows at Laharl’s appearance. “My you’re quite the handsome young colt all of a sudden. Decide to settle in Equestria did you?”

Feeling his temper flare his antennae stood on end. “I didn’t do this on purpose! Your stupid world’s mana did it to me! Don’t you think there are more important things to worry about than me being a…” He blinked. “Huh, really? Handsome?” Looking over his form with a more critical eye now…he saw a purple horse. “…do I have a butt mark?”

“A cutie mark. And you do! A rather impressive one. It’s very ‘you’ darling.” Her horn shimmered as she drug a mirror from her boutique outside setting it down for him to see. Indeed there was a cutie mark on his flank. A sword lined in blazing flames with a large golden crown dangling off the hilt.

Staring at it from every angle he hmph’d. “Well as far as butt marks go it’s probably the best one on this whole planet.” Movement from the doorway caught his eye. Glancing over he recognized the white filly that hung around Scootaloo. Though he only recognized her because he could feel the presence of a large chunk of his own mana circulating in the filly. She was about half his size, so maybe twice as large as her friends. Her horn was longer and sharper though her mane and coat were unchanged. Her eyes still shined the same shining green, though her pupils were vertical slits like her older sister’s.

Rarity took a step back as she felt Laharl’s anger building. “You…you gave my mana to your little SISTER! I didn’t say you could do that! It’s not a bag of cookies to pass around to every idiot who asks for it!”

The mare in question sighed softly. “Well I know. And it was just a LITTLE mana. She was very adamant about my sharing.”

Grunting Laharl looked back toward the town square. “Something’s going on and it’s not affecting us. Probably because of the Overlord’s mana in our bodies. This IS something unusual right? It’s not some weird pony herd thing?”

“I assure you it is not. Sweetie Belle you stay in the boutique. No arguments! If I see you set one HOOF outside you’ll be grounded for a month! Ponyville isn’t entirely safe as it used to be at the moment.”

Hearing the sternness in her sister’s voice the little filly sighed and shrank back into the building. With a sigh of her own Rarity turned to Laharl. “Well shall we Overlord Laharl?”

Puffing his chest a bit at her using his title he grinned. “Let’s go!” Momentarily forgetting about the current state of his body he turned on his hooves tumbling over his own legs. To her credit Rarity didn’t so much as snicker as she levitated him back to his hooves.

Seeing the embarrassment written across his face she smiled softly. “Watch how I move. Front left, back right, front right, back left. See? With a little practice you’ll be galloping in no time.”

Despite himself Laharl was watching attentively as she gave her impromptu lesson. Shaking his head violently he took to the air once more. “I don’t want to be galloping I want to be normal again! I’m going on ahead!” Not waiting for a response he soared above the rooftops of Ponyville toward the large gathering of ponies below.

Now that he was closer he could hear loud, carnivalesque music blaring obnoxiously from a tacky stage where a unicorn was in the midst of performing cheap magic tricks. Performing them badly too. Trying to pull…something from a hat she ended up punching a hoof right through the bottom. Flailing her leg wildly to get it off her face lit up in a smile as Laharl approached.

“Ah! The Great and Powerful Trixie has been waiting for you Overlord Laharl!” She seemed like a normal unicorn at first glance. She even had a stupid butt mark of a magical wand or something. Her horn was constantly glowing with magical usage but instead of the normal colorful twinkling it was surrounded in a black miasma that flowed from the stage over the crowd like a creeping moss.

Landing shakily on stage Laharl looked out at the crowd recognizing a few of the enthralled mass. “Who are you? How d’you know my name? And what are you doing to these ponies?”

Her smile grew toothier. “You’re not a good listener are you? I DID just say I am the Great and Powerful Trixie did I not? And how could I NOT know your name? It’s not every day a demonic Overlord makes his way to Equestria. Though you seem to have gone…native.”

Laharl glared suspiciously. Something was very off about this pony, and it wasn’t just that she seemed to have enchanted the entire town. It was her eyes he decided. Every pony he’d met so far had every open expressive eyes. Trixie’s were cold, lifeless. No that wasn’t it…he could see SOMEthing in them but it wasn’t normal.

Not one given to deep though Laharl made up his mind quickly. He didn’t know who or WHAT this pony was but he DID know one thing, he didn’t like it. And when he didn’t like something there was always one surefire way of dealing with it. With a shout he flared his wings soaring higher into the sky and twisting around mid-air, diving straight at a distressingly unconcerned Trixie.

He might not have hands to hold a sword but the stupid hooves on his forelegs seemed hard enough to beat someone to death with. Already grinning at the upcoming crunch of breaking this smug mare’s face he was considerably surprised when he collided and bounced back painfully. Rolling across the ground he blinked up at the now laughing Trixie in astonishment.

“Oh dear! Level one?! Did the little Overlord not just change physically, but get reincarnated? Tsk, tsk. I suppose the base stat boost is nice but a level one Overlord…pony…thing is no match for me.” With a wicked peal of laughter she unleashed a barrage of magical lances. Laharl flailed his wings just barely managing to fling himself back out of the way as Trixie’s spells scorched the earth.

Growling furiously Laharl gathered his mana for the strongest fire spell his reduced state could conjure. His foe looked on unconcerned as he built the flames bigger and bigger, flinging them toward her with a shout. Her eyes flared with eldritch light as the magical fire slammed into an unseen shield surrounding her body, rebounding and colliding with him in a spectacular explosion.

Fur and flesh burning he couldn’t even attempt to pull out of the dive he was in heading right for the ground. Bracing himself for the impact, a sheath of magic flared to life around him slowing his descent and gently resting him on the ground. Cracking an eye open he saw an incensed Rarity standing over him protectively.

“Not the REAL Trixie I presume?” Rarity was keeping her cool but there was a cold fury burning in her eyes. “I suggest you release my friends, and Trixie I suppose from whatever control you have them under.”

Trixie tilted her head regarding Rarity curiously. “And who’s this? One of your pony vassals? That’s adorable. Though she does look a fair bit more impressive than you do little Laharl. Well come on then pony vassal let’s see what you… hey! Hey don’t ignore me!”

Rarity had turned her back on the bellowing possessed Trixie to help Laharl to his hooves. “Are you alright darling? You got a bit singed.”

Laharl scowled fiercely. “This stupid pony body reincarnated me! I barely have any strength now that I’m at level one. You need to deal with this! That pony is being possessed by a demon. Probably a bubble-chested succubus.”

Rarity raised an eyebrow regarding him coolly. “I’ll chalk your rudeness up to the stress of your day thus far. How precisely am I to deal with this? Is there some trick to forcing the succubus creature out?”

The demon-turned pony shook his head. “Not one you’ll like. I’m sure this won’t be easy for you but you’ll just have to beat the demon out of her.”

The imposing demonic mare got an unpleasant glint in her eye. “Beat it out of her? As in I’ll have to thoroughly rough the ‘great and powerful’ Trixie up?”

“Yeah…why are you smiling like that? Aren’t all you ponies super best friends or some crap?”

“My dear Overlord, while it’s true that everypony shared a certain bond thanks to the magic of harmony…some ponies need a good thrashing now and again. Trixie is most certainly one such pony.” Rarity trotted toward the stage with renewed determination.

The possessed Trixie watched her approach head tilted to the side. “How about you just step aside and give me Laharl. Then I’ll leave your little town alone. Not so high a price hm? Certainly he doesn’t belo-“ She was cut off by having to leap back as a shard or gleaming emerald burst from the stage between her hooves.

“I offer YOU one chance. Leave Trixie’s body and get out of Ponyville.” Rarity stood tall amidst the enthralled ponies of Ponyville, her gaze steely and leveled Trixie’s way.

The pony in question regarded Rarity with burning excitement in her eyes. “Well if we’re to do this we may as well do it right hm? I can’t fight very well like this.”

Despite her strong confidence Rarity involuntarily took a step back as a powerful aura of magic flared around the show mare. Black flames licked about Trixie’s form as she started to grow. Raising on her hind legs her body changed rapidly. Her forehooves softened and split into blue skinned hands. Her fur was receding all over her body leaving smooth unblemished skin, save a bikini-like patch around her now sizeable bosom and curvaceous hips. Sizeable horns pierced the brim of her hat growing to full size while her tail slimmed down to a silver heart-spade prehensile shape. Her cape was blown away as large bat-like wings sprang from her back.

Wings flapping gently the demon hovered inches above the ground. “Proper introductions are in order yes? I’m Linette, chief infiltrator of Overlord Malbreche.”

Rarity regained her composure quickly. “Rarity, element of generosity. Charmed I’m sure.” No sooner did she finish speaking than she reared back and slammed her hooves into the ground bringing a geyser of glittering gems erupting beneath the demoness. With an alarmed yelp she was swallowed up in the cascade and carried high into the air. The elegant mare was already galloping through the crowd, guiding the torrent of gems away from the town square.

Growling in the back of his throat at his helplessness Laharl prepared to follow. He might not be able to help hurt this big-boobed monstrosity but he could give Rarity advice. A sudden voice from behind brought him up short.

“What in tarnation is goin’ on around here?!”

***

Near the edge of the Everfree Forest Rarity felt her control over the gems falter and putter out. Confused she watched as they fell away from a seemingly unharmed Linette. “Are we far enough from your little town you feel we can fight properly?”

Not happy that her attack had so little effect, and that the demoness had figured out her plan Rarity simply tossed her mane. “I suppose so, if you insist on continuing this unpleasantness.”

“I do!” Linette thrust a hand at Rarity conjuring a blast of flame. Snorting softly the mare summoned a magic shield of her own letting the flames crash against it harmlessly. When the fire stopped she smirked about to deliver a retort when a block of ice following in the wake of the flames collided solidly with her muzzle sending her reeling back in a daze.

“Not very experienced with magical combat are you? Too busy primping that rat’s nest you have on top of your head?”

“Uh! UH!” Rarity’s mouth snapped open and closed sharply as she gasped, trying to process the demons hurtful words. “How DARE you! I’ll have you know my mane is one of the best kept in all of Ponyvi-“ Another brick of ice smashed her in the face as she was speaking, sending her staggering back to land on her rump.

“Tsk, tsk. You’re much too easy to get riled up dear.”

Shaking her head dazedly Rarity had to admit the demon was right. Groggily she lifted her head to regard her foe. That’s when she noticed the creature wearing Trixie’s skin was primping her own hair a little. “…you’re certainly one to talk about one’s hair darling.”

This seemed to get her attention. “Excuse me?”

Getting back to her hooves Rarity eyed the demon casually. “I just mean it must be difficult keeping your mane looking as good as you can. You’re doing the best you can I’m sure. Being on the road at all hours hunting down innocent demons. Why the bags under your eyes are barely noticeable darling.”

Bristling now the demoness opened her mouth to retort but she seemed distracted suddenly. Shooting Rarity a dirty look she summoned a mirror of ice. “There’re no bags under my eyes you lying little…” She turned to look back at the large demon touched pony, just in time to see a pair of ashen grey hooves flying at her face before Rarity’s buck collided firmly with her head and sending her careening back into the woods behind her.

Trotting casually after her quarry Rarity called out in sing-song tones. “Are you alright darling? One little kick didn’t do you in did it?”

Her confidence evaporated at the huge release of magic coming her way. She raised a shield to try and block the gist of it but to her horror the gleaming gems melted to slag as she magical flames blasted into her, searing her coat and burning her badly sending her tumbling head over hooves to the ground.

A fuming Linette stormed up to the fallen mare, eyes blazing. “No. It didn’t.”

***

“I don’t have time for this! Get this thing off me before I strangle you with it!”

The infuriating orange mare in the stupid cowboy hat stood solidly on the lasso she’d snared around Laharl’s barrel. “Now yer not goin’ anywhere til ya tell me what’s goin’ on here! What’s wrong with everypony?!”

Both ponies’ ears splayed at the sudden explosion of flame coming from the direction of the Everfree. “A demon’s enthralled all the stupid ponies of your stupid town! Rarity’s trying to fight it but she’s in way over her head! Beating a knight is one thing but this is a succubus, they’re tricky. Now get. This. OFF!”

Applejack’s eyes darted around the glazy eyed ponies staring aimlessly ahead, then to the obnoxious flying earth pony she had lasso’d, and finally out to the direction of the explosion. “Well then what’re we standin’ around here for?” With a quick flick of her neck she undid the rope and coiled it at her flank.

Free of the rope Laharl’s wings flapped hard carrying him toward the sounds of battle. “Sorry for the rope there partner. Don’t think I recognized ya. You a friend of Rarity’s from Canterlot or somethin’?”

Glancing down at the earth bound pony keeping pace with him in mild surprise Laharl grunted. “Or something. Where do you think you’re going?”

“Ya said Rarity’s in trouble didn’tcha? Well I ain’t the type’a mare t’turn tail an run when one’a my friends is in a scrape.”

“Hmph. You’re just gonna get in the way! Stay here!” Trying to ignore the indignant call behind him Laharl pumped his wings harder. He wasn’t sure if he was frustrated or impressed that the pony was matching his air speed on the ground.

They came upon the demonized humanoid Trixie holding Rarity off the ground by her throat. Applejack nearly tripped and fell on her face seeing the imposing mare her friend had become. “That’s Rarity?!”

Ignoring the confused mare Laharl landed in front of her and focused his magics summoning a powerful whirlwind, using it to blast the combatants apart. Rarity skidded along the ground to come to a stop near the newly arrived duo, while Linette was flung into a tree hard enough to snap the trunk.

Applejack watched Laharl’s display of magic wide-eyed. “How’d y’all do that?! Yer an earth pony!”

Snorting softly Laharl glanced the earth pony behind him over. “You can do magic to. If you weren’t too dull to figure out how.” He quickly cast a healing spell over Rarity healing the worst of her burns.

Her eyes fluttered open as her breathing eased. “Th-thank you darling. She took me by surprise.” She looked passed Laharl to Applejack in surprise. “Applejack? You’re not trapped with everypony else?”

“Was bringin’ a cart back from the Greene clan’s farm up the way. What’s goin’ on Rarity? Who is this? And… is that Trixie?”

“I’m afraid it’s a demon wearing Trixie’s body. This is Overlord Laharl, a guest of Twilight’s and a hero who saved many lives yesterday.”

Applejack turned to regard the blue furred earth pony colt as he dodged about the recovering Trixie-creatures magical attacks, returning fire with the occasional spell of his own. “He’s doin’ magic. How’s he doin’ magic? An how’re YOU so big?!”

“I’d love to answer any questions you have but right now I think I should give Laharl a hoof in there. Stay back though; this is too much for you.”

“T-too much?! Who d’ya think yer talkin’ to?” Applejack looked to the battle seeing the powerful blasts of magic flung around and a frown tugged at the corners of her mouth. “Never seen magic like that b’fore.”

Rarity nodded a touch grimly. “She even melted through my gemstone shield. I need to help Laharl even if just a little. Oh if only Twilight were awake. I’m sure she could help!”

“Now hold on! I may not be all big an fancy like you but that don’t mean I still can’t help Rares!” Applejack kicked into a charge at the demon but was stopped short as Rarity’s magical aura flared around her, hoisting her off the ground and drifting her closer to her friend. “What’s the big idea?!”

Rarity was smiling however. “You’re not all ‘big and fancy’ like me. Though would you like to be?”

***

“Poor little Laharl. It looks like your pony vassal deserted you.” Linette was quite pleased with this turn of events. Laharl’s spells stung but weren’t anything too serious. The giant grey unicorn however had caused her serious damage in that torrent of gems. It was only thanks for a healing spell just before she broke free that she appeared unharmed. Her mana was getting pretty low however, between enthralling the town and possessing Trixie.

The Overlord was looking more worn out than she fortunately. He was doing an admirable job avoiding her attacks but when he tried to return with a powerful spell of his own it fizzled. “D-dammit!”

Flapping her wings lazily Linette closed on Laharl. “Aww, is the cute pony Overlord out of mana? What a shame.” With a surprise burst of speed she closed the gap and back handed Laharl hard across the muzzle. Normally a succubus preferred to deal with her opponents with magic and guile but she wanted to use as little of her drained mana reserves as possible. Even with the brat being reincarnated to level one, slapping him still felt like hitting a brick wall. She feared he wouldn’t even feel it but he was indeed reeling.

“So inconvenient, losing all your levels like that. Oh! But on the plus side your base stat increases are up right?” Grinning wickedly she dove after the young Overlord as he struggled to his hooves shaking off the slap. Clenching her fist tight she prepared to deliver the finishing blow, when out of nowhere a rope lashed around her neck snapping taut. Her eyes bulged wide as the air was abruptly cut off and she snapped backwards crashing to the ground painfully.

Groaning softly she followed the rope to its source. It was yet another demonic pony! This one in gleaming green armor trimmed in red. She was covered entirely in the ridged plates of metal all the way up to her muzzle. Between the armor and her strangely metallic looking hat perched atop her head, all that was visible of her face were the gleaming green eyes with the demonic pupils. “Reckon that’s about enough outta you missy.”

Snorting contemptuously Linette tried to tug the rope out from under the hooves of the armored pony. She may as well have tried tugging the mountain Canterlot made its home on with the rope. She couldn’t see the ponies face but she had the distinct feeling she was smirking at her. Snarling with rage the snared demoness sent a line of fire racing across the rope incinerating it as it grew in size to a raging inferno by the time it reached her quarry.

Applejack didn’t even try to avoid the magical flames. She casually tilted her hat down to cover the rest of her face and allowed them to engulf her. With a cry of triumph Linette leapt to her feet. “Idiots! You can’t match my power!”

Her eyes soon widened as the flames died down revealing an unharmed Applejack. “Well lookee there. An here I thought you were some big shot fancy magic pants.” Linette’s fear grew as the mare slammed a forehoof into the ground causing a noticeable tremor through the area. “S’pose that means it’s my turn right?”

Wanting no part in fighting this armored behemoth, Linette spun on her heel prepared to grab Laharl and fly off. She was met with the grey mare from earlier standing protectively in front of the dazed Overlord. “I’m sorry darling, were you planning on leaving so soon? I thought you’d like to meet one of my dearest friends first.”

Judging by the heavy booms coming from behind her Linette correctly guessed the pony had kicked into a charge. Snapping her wings open she leapt from the ground flying as quickly as she could into the air. She was momentarily confused when the sound of the armored pony charging stopped and risked a glance downward.

Rarity had gathered Applejack in her magic and flung her through the air to collide unerringly with the fleeing demoness. Wrapping her armored forelegs around the shrieking demons neck she briefly wondered exactly how somepony was supposed to buck another in mid-air. Bringing her head back she snapped her armored forehead into the very un-armored forehead of the possessed Trixie. The reaction was immediate as her eyes went crossed and her wings stopped flapping. Applejack shoved her away and was caught by her unicorn friend, gently levitated to the ground.

Linette wasn’t quite so lucky and she crashed head first to the ground below. A scowling Laharl looked from Applejack to Rarity. “You gave HER my mana too?!”

Sighing at his over dramatic tone Rarity rolled her eyes. “Well my magic wans’t working against that wretched creature. Yours wasn’t either. I thought perhaps a non-magical solution would be in order. And I was right, wasn’t I?”

The argument stopped as a slim white skinned hand reached out of the small hole the demons impact caused. Linette hauled herself up and out leaving the once-again fully pony Trixie unconscious behind her. “You…you killed me…”

Frowning faintly Applejack cantered up casually. “Land sakes girl you’re just as big a drama queen as Rarity. Uh…no offense of course Rares.”

The only slightly offended unicorn rolled her eyes. “None taken.” Though she didn’t hide all the sarcasm. “And Applejacks right darling. While we may have given you a sound thrashing Trixie’s likely in far worse shape than you.”

The three ponies could feel their fur stand on end as Linette’s mid-section began to glow with expanding mana. “I wasn’t…talking about YOU…”

Acting quickly Rarity snared the unconscious Trixie from the hole and broke into a gallop away from the doomed demoness. Confused as to what was happening but not wanting to stick around and find out Applejack raced after her friend. Only Laharl remained. He was feeling the strangest twist in his guts over her coming fate. “…sorry. That you’re gonna die I mean.”

The look of pain contorting the demoness’ features turned to one of surprised. “…you really are. Aren’t you?”

“Don’t make a big deal of it! Malbreche is a shitty Overlord if he just throws away his vassals when they screw up! My vassals are the biggest bunch of bumbling idiots in any Netherworld but I’d never do this! It’s just…” His voice softened. “It’s not right.”

Another surge of mana raced through the dying succubus and she had to grit her teeth from crying out in pain. “…thank you Overlord Laharl.”

Nodding once he turned to run, only to be stopped short by a flash of purple before his eyes. Twilight took in the scene with alarm. “You’re hurt! What happened?! Who’s she?!”

“She’s about to explode like the last one. We need to go!”

Linette was unable to hold in the anguished wail of pain as she began to near her explosion point. Twilight looked from her to Laharl wide-eyed. “No. Nopony else is dying. We have to help her!”

Laharl shook his head scowling. “You can’t. The only way to help her is if….” He frowned faintly. “…you have to get all of her old Overlord’s mana out of her, and replace it with some of yours. If you do it quickly enough you might save her.”

Mana transference wasn’t a terribly complicated concept for the magical prodigy. Twilight raced to Linette’s side, horn glowing brightly as she began to draw the killer mana from the demon’s body and expel it into the air. Eyes wide the demoness watched as Princess Twilight Sparkle funneled the massive amount of power out of her body and into the sky forming a wickedly swirling pillar of red and black magical energy.

She looked to Laharl, confusion clear in her eyes. He nodded once toward Twilight and the succubus shifted her focus back to the Princess. She felt her connection to her former Overlord severed entirely as the last of his mana was forced out of her. Though with that gone she was also losing hold of her physical form. “Th-thank you...miss. I’m still a goner but at least dissipating is a lot more pleasant than exploding. Sorry for…all the trouble.”

Looking back to Laharl for confirmation, at his nod Twilight swung back around to focus on Linette. “I’m going to try and give you some of my mana alright?”

Laharl stepped up to Twilight’s side gazing down at the fading demoness. “You have to give her a good sized chunk. Refill her entirely with your own energy.”

A bit daunted at the task but determined that no more life was being lost in Equestria Twilight nodded. Her horn flared again as her brightly glowing violet mana infused the form of the dying Linette. Soon a bright sheathe of purple light cut off the royal pairs’ view of her.

Laharl couldn’t hide a triumphant smirk as the light faded. A pegasus mare lay where the succubus had moments ago. Her coat a brilliant reddish pink color like her hair had been, her mane and tail were jet black. She was a bit more well-rounded in the flanks than the other ponies he’d seen and her fur was definitely puffier around the chest but she was a pony through and through.

Twilight wobbled on her hooves and was pleasantly surprised when Laharl moved to support her weight. “What…what happened to her?”

Looking from the recovering pegasus to the Princess leaning on his side Laharl frowned thoughtfully. “Congratulations. You’ve created your very first vassal.”

Twilight’s eyes widened. “Wh-what?!”

Jaw set firmly Laharl looked to the distant Canterlot. “It’s time you took me to meet your Princess. It’s about time you learned the truth about yourself, and your world.”

Looking from the confused pony recovering at her hooves then to Laharl’s unusually determined features Twilight Sparkle had the distinct feeling her life was about to change forever.

Chapter 8: The Overlord of Equestria

“No way. No way! Rarity is one thing! But Applejack too?!” Rainbow Dash was not pleased in the least. After the town had been released from Linette’s control she, along with everypony else had been slowly recovering. Of course when she saw the towering armored form of the demonically enhanced Applejack she immediately protested.

Rarity sighed. “Whatever is the matter now Rainbow Dash? It was an emergency. Laharl and I could have very well been killed.”

For her part, Applejack seemed more interested in examining the armor now adorning her much larger frame. “Sure is shiny. This all comes off right?”

Rarity and Rainbow Dash exchanged a brief look of ‘how should we know?’ “I’m sure it will Applejack. Twilight or Laharl would no doubt know how to remove it. I’d try my hoof at it myself only my magic seeps to slip around your armor.”

The earth pony mare eyed the glossy metal plates with a new eye. “No kiddin’? So magic don’t work huh? I just figured that Linette critter was all flash like Trixie.” She brightened suddenly. “Well you gals have fun takin’ care of whatever… All this is! I’m gonna head home and challenge Mac to a hoof wrestle! Can’t wait t’see the look on his face when I trounce him!”

Ignoring Dash’s protests and the occasional pony knocked on their rear by her thunderous passing Applejack merrily trotted toward Sweet Apple Acres. Eyes blazing now, Rainbow Dash whirled on Rarity. “Me too!”

Reluctantly the demonic mare looked away from the mirror she’d been adjusting her mane in. “You too what darling?”

“Make me… Like you guys!”

Rarity softly clicked her tongue. “I’m not sure that’s such a good idea Rainbow Dash. Laharl seemed a bit put out by my sharing with Sweetie and Applejack. Twilight didn’t seem overly enthusiastic either.”

“Sweetie Belle?! You shared the cool demon mana with HER too?! Now you HAVE to share it with me! You just know she’s gonna pass it on to Applebloom and Scootaloo! I can’t be the ONLY pony in Ponyville without cool demon mana!”

Rarity’s eyes widened suddenly. “Oh my. You don’t really think Sweetie Belle would do that do you?”

Rainbow just leveled a deadpan look her way.

Eyes closed, Rarity heaved a long suffering sigh. “Oh of course she would.”

Rainbow Dash was on her knees, hooves together and begging up at Rarity. She was even unleashing the huge adorable ‘filly eyes’ at her. “Please Rarity! Pleasepleasepleeeeeeeease! I can’t have Applejack getting such a huge advantage over me!”

About to rebuke her yet again Rarity paused. The half-finished line of pegasi dresses requiring a model sprang to mind. “I suppose I’d be willing to share. One one condition!”

Rainbow nodded rapidly and climbed back to her hooves. “Anything!”

A malicious glint entered Rarity’s eye. “Well then, to the boutique.”

Suddenly Rainbow Dash began to wonder if keeping up with her rival was really worth it or not.

***

Twilight was leading Laharl and a surprisingly spry on her hooves Linette back to the library. The young Princess regarded the new pony curiously. “How is it you’re so capable on your hooves while Laharl can’t take two steps without tripping all over himself?”

Ignoring the protests of the Overlord, Linette smiled softly to Twilight. “After my time as a Prinny ended I spent some time as a fenris wolf. A good deal longer than I was as a succubus come to think of it. Walking on four legs is comfortable for me Lady Twilight.”

Twilight’s ears twitched almost imperceptibly at the title before her name. She’d never admit it but she kind of liked it. “Is that common? For demons to… To change?”

“Oh yes. Well for us generics certainly.”

Now Twilight wrinkled her nose in confusion. “Generics?”

It was Laharl who spoke up next. “Demons are roughly split into two categories. Generics are the standard vassals of an Overlord. We take a sort of blank template. Like female warrior or male wizard then infuse some of our mana into it and out pops a new vassal. Generics all look more or less alike. They might have different personalities but they're identical to one another.”

Twilight was nodding slowly, digesting this new and fascinating information. “And I suppose the unique demons are like yourself? Or are there a dozen Laharl’s running around on your Netherworld?”

Laharl’s antennae bristled at that. “Of course I’m unique! I’m the Overlord you twit!”

Giggling softly at his outburst, Twilight was pleasantly surprised to find Linette sharing in her mirth. The former demoness seemed very strangely cheerful and upbeat. It was hard to believe the pretty, curvaceous mare following dutifully behind her had tried to kill some of her friends’ mere minutes ago.

“Generic demons often get reincarnated into new forms all the time. Usually when an Overlord discovers a new template. We like to try them out, see how they do. If we’re unhappy with the performance of a vassal as one type of demon we just change them into another.”

Twilight regarded Laharl with a faint frown. “Do they like that?”

“Mm. Sometimes. I MIGHT listen to my vassals requests from time to time. If they want to remain as they are or try something new. Reincarnation has plenty of benefits though. We grow stronger faster every time we reincarnate. Just drag them to a training zone and make them duke it out for a couple hours. It’s a good way to get a feel for a new demon template.”

Linette was regarding Laharl with a small smile. “You’re a very kind Overlord, aren’t you Sir Laharl?”

“What?! Of course I’m not! I’m the cruelest Overlord in all the Netherworlds!”

Now the dark pink pegasus adopted a teasing sing-song tone. “Rumor is you have an angelic lover.”

“Whaaaaaaaaat?!” The two mares had to jump away as a raging inferno sprang to life around the outraged earth pony colt. “Who said that?! Who said she’s my lover?!”

“Nopony in particular.” Linette blinked. “Did I just say nopony?”

Banishing the flames with a snort Laharl stormed passed Twilight and her vassal. “It’s how these goofy ponies talk. Since you were reincarnated by Princess Sparklebutt you probably got the local lingo downloaded.”

This seemed to amuse the pegasus mare to no end. “Nopony better take my food! Everypony better watch their tails or else! This is fun!”

Rolling her eyes at the two arguably craziest ponies Twilight had ever been around, (and this included Pinkie Pie) she just trotted after the low flying Laharl. Not entirely watching where she was going, she collided into the stationary colt standing in the doorway. “Laharl! Why are you just standin….oh.”

Standing in the middle of her library was Princess Luna. The dark diarch of Equestria was regarding a book shelf casually. “Good afternoon Twilight Sparkle. And I extend my greetings to you, Overlord Laharl. As I’m sure that must be you in that pony shell. Your mana is nearly identical to your servants.”

Glancing back at Twilight curiously, who simply nodded toward the Princess, he approached. “Uh… hi. That’s me. Wait… Servant?”

“Indeed. Two of your…vassals I believe they are called? Two of them have come to Equestria seeking you.”

Laharl’s eyes widened while his pupils shrank to tiny pinpricks. “N-not… Flonne and Etna?”

“Yes the very same. The latter of whom engaged me in battle in my very throne room while the other rescued my sister and her guest from Discord’s clutches. They await you in Canterlot Castle.”

“Nope! Not going! Get me to that gate right now!”

Twilight looked from Luna to Laharl. Something was definitely wrong with Princess Luna. She looked… Agitated. It was subtle. A slight frown on her muzzle and the way she kept shifting on her hooves. Though Laharl’s reaction was a bit of a surprise as well. “What? But aren’t they your friends? I’m sure they were worried about you.”

“I don’t care! I don’t want to see them!”

Linette drifted in lazily overhead. “No. He doesn’t want THEM to see HIM Lady Twilight. He’s embarrassed that he’s so adorable.”

“You keep your big mouth shut!” Laharl focused his ire back on Twilight. “Get me out of here RIGHT now!”

Twilight was at a very important decision she knew. Laharl had wanted to meet with Princess Celestia and share some sort of ‘truth’ about Equestria with her. Now however he seemed terrified at the prospect of his friends seeing him in his current pony state. The mature decision would be to honor his request. Send him back to his Netherworld. Maybe he could even come back after he got himself sorted out.

On the other hoof, he’d called her a horse several times. Made Rainbow Dash cry and got into a brawl with Pinkie Pie. “Alright Laharl. I’ll send you away. Ready?”

“Yes! Anywhere!”

His blood chilled at her sudden smile. “Say hi to your friends for me.”

“You wouldn’t dare! Don’t you dare! I’ll get you for this Twilight Spar-“ The rest of her name was cut off as Twilight teleported the Overlord away. Right to Canterlot Castle’s throne room. Princess Luna had watched the entire scene quietly, and only raised an eyebrow at its conclusion.

Seeing the unspoken question in the elder Princess’ eyes Twilight shrugged. “He’s had this coming for a little while now.”

“Indeed.” Luna was watching Linette drift about the library as the curious young mare poked and prodded various knick knacks. “And who is your friend, Twilight? Her mana feels very strange, and very uniquely like your own.”

“Oh! Well… It’s a bit complicated. Princess Luna this is Linette. I sort of saved her life earlier. She was a… Well she was a demon. Her Overlord sent her here to capture Laharl. When she failed he tried to kill her. I saved her life and had to give her some of my own mana. In the end this is what she looked like. She seems a little attached to me now.”

The pony in question landed just behind Twilight regarding Luna curiously. “It’s nice to meet you ma’am.”

Luna studied Linette closer. “How interesting. She seems like an ordinary pony to me.”

Twilight nodded. “She is, as far as I can tell. Linette this is Princess Luna. She rules Equestria with her sister Celestia.”

Linette regarded Luna more closely. “There are more than one of you? And you all rule peacefully?”

Luna quirked a brow. “Yes. Is that so unusual?”

Linette nodded vigorously. “Of course! I’ve never even heard of two Overlords LIVING on the same Netherworld, let alone ruling it together! And there are THREE of you here?!”

Twilight’s mouth gaped for a moment. “Ehe heh. You’re just a little confused Linette. We’re not Overlords, we’re Princesses. And Equestria isn’t a Netherworld it’s… Well it’s just a regular world! Right Princess?” Luna regarded Twilight Sparkle silently, her eyes sad. “…r-right… Princess?”

Closing her eyes, Luna took a deep breath. “It is not my place to tell you Twilight. Go and see Celestia. She will reveal all to you, as she did to me.”

Eyes wide and disbelieving Twilight looked from Linette to Luna. Her horn flashed brightly and she disappeared with a burst of magic.

Linette stared up at Luna, ears folded back as she pawed the ground uncomfortably with a forehoof. “I… I don’t understand. What did I say?”

Luna smiled kindly and draped a wing around Linette’s shivering form. “You did nothing wrong my little pony. Come. Let us see if we cannot get a nice treat down at Sugarcube Corner. I did not have the chance to go last time I was in Ponyville and have heard nothing but good things from my…” Her frown returned. “From the good ponies of this lovely town.”

Feeling herself cheer up a little Linette nodded. “Yes ma’am. Thank you. Everypony is so kind here. It’s… It’s wonderful.”

Leading the small pegasus mare from the library Luna felt her gaze drifting toward distant Canterlot. “Yes. One would almost say it’s perfect.”

***

A thoroughly miserable Laharl sat in the middle of the throne room, ears folded back and head almost resting on the ground. Etna had been laughing helplessly for at least the past five minutes since his arrival. Flonne on the other hand had tackled him in a fierce hug, and was not contenting herself with petting him down his neck and back. All attempts to dislodge the fallen angel or force his cackling vassal to shut up had failed due to his low level status.

And sitting on her throne, watching it all silently was the pony who could only be Princess Celestia. She was taller even then her sister. She just oozed sunshine and regal calmness gazing down at the three demons silently.

Laharl couldn’t remember the last time he wanted to punch anyone in the face so hard.

All of a sudden that changed as someone he intimately recognized stepped out of the nearby doorway bearing a tray of food and drink. “I rustled us up some snacks!”

Laharl wings snapped to life lifting him off the floor and dragging Flonne along with him. “You! You idiot! Why are you here?!”

Vyers affected a hurt look. “Idiot? That’s no way to greet your dear old dad! How about a hug instead?” The dandy of a demon set the tray down and opened his arms wide, grinning like an idiot all the while.

“I’ll give you a hug old man!” Laharl tried to launch himself at the grinning demon, but Flonne’s added weight turned it into a sad sort of circling over the fallen angel’s head as she clung to his mid-section. “F-Flonne get offa me! I need to kill him! This is all his fault I just know it!”

A bright purple flash lit the room, heralding the arrival of Twilight Sparkle. Laharl was about to lay into her when he saw the strangely hurt and serious look on her face as she regarded the Princess. “It’s not true. Tell me it isn’t true.”

Celestia tilted her head regarding Twilight. Her best and brightest pupil. The first pony since Cadance she felt was worthy to join she and her sister in ruler ship of Equestria. “I wish I could tell you that more than anything Twilight. But it’s true.”

Laharl ceased his struggles against Flonne and landed lightly on the floor next to her. Mercifully she didn’t glomp right back onto his middle, just rested her hand at the small of his back. He could live with that. Even Etna had shut her stupid mouth and was sitting quietly, though she was biting her tongue hard to do so.

Twilights wings flared in her outrage. “How can that be true!? How can we be… Be demons?! We’re not like them at all!”

Celestia tilted her head curiously. “We’re not? You’ve never lost control of your emotions and done something regretful? Applejack and Rainbow Dash have never endangered their friendship over a tiny trivial matter? Rarity has never bent the truth for her own benefit? I suppose Fluttershy has never lost her temper and snapped in a way most unlike herself? And don’t even get me started on dear Pinkie Pie.”

Twilight frowned thoughtfully. “Well still… We all have our… Eccentricities but… But he’s so violent! And he has such a foul mouth!”

Laharl was beginning to feel insulted, even more so when Flonne began to nod along with what Twilight was saying. He ‘accidentally’ jammed a hoof down on her hand drawing a soft yelp from the girl.

Celestia closed her eyes, sighing softly. “I suppose I cannot hide the truth any longer.” Her horn began to glow brightly with a radiant golden hue. It spread out to envelop her body in a sheen of brilliant light. When the light cleared it was not a regal pony regarding the four youngsters in the throne room.

She had lost none of her impressive stature. She was taller even than the statuesque Vyers. Though she now stood on two legs. Her furless skin nearly the same alabaster white her coat had been as a pony. Her humanoid limbs were slender and elegantly shaped. She had the strange tiny nose and lips that the other demons in the room possessed, and her ears were just slightly pointed now. Her eyes remained the same violet color, but the pupils were likewise demonic. Her wings were perhaps her most striking feature. Massive and white feathered as her alicorn wings had been; only they burned with a constant flame. Feathers would blacken and fall away, burning to ash before they reached the ground only to reappear.

Laharl unintentionally tensed up as he recognized a fallen angel, though one of much more impressive power than Flonne. The former angel at his side had clenched him a little more tightly when Celestia’s true form was revealed.

“You… What are you? You’re not a demon like them.”

Celestia’s kind smile was the same as ever as well. “I’m like Miss Flonne. A fallen angel. Once I was known as Celestine, the seraph of Celestia. The realm of angels. I committed the most heinous crime of desiring peace with the demons. I felt constant war and strife between us served no one at all. Neither side benefitted from the battle and death. In the end we were only hurting ourselves. I tentatively began to reach out to the nearest Netherworld’s Overlord. King Krichevskoy.” She nodded toward Vyers.

Twilight glanced at him quietly. The man’s silly grin was gone replaced by a look of contemplative nostalgia. “We grew close rather quickly. I was infatuated with his zest for life. His boundless emotion. He was very much like you are Laharl. Quick to anger but fiercely protective of those he cared about. He of course was enchanted with my boundless grace and beauty.” She allowed herself a playful little smile.

Vyers gasped softly, putting a hand to his heart. “And who couldn’t be?!”

Celestia’s young student didn’t seem to be enjoying their comedy act. A fact that didn’t elude the immortal former angel. She offered the young Princess an apologetic smile. “Anyhow. The angelic council didn’t care for my budding relationship and forbid me from seeing Krichevskoy again. When I refused to obey their wishes they burned my wings and cast me out. I was fortunate to land in my dear friends Netherworld. He took care of my while I adjusted to suddenly losing my status as an angel. I was worried about my lay about brother Lamington inheriting Celestia but I prayed he could get his act together.”

Flonne’s eyes widened at that while Laharl and Etna both snorted with laughter. “S-sir Lamington is not a lay about! I… I can’t believe he ever was!”

Celestia smiled kindly toward Flonne as she produced a photograph in a flash of golden light. It depicted a younger and somewhat overweight Lamington with a gaming head set on, eyes glued to his computer and surrounded by cheese snacks. The two demonic lords were howling with laughter by now, all four of Laharl’s legs flailing in the air while Flonne merely looked aghast. “You can keep this one if you like. I have plenty.” She slipped the photograph under Laharl’s scarf.

Twilight shook her head vigorously. “Can we PLEASE stay on track?!”

“Yes of course.” Celestia seated herself on her throne. “Well eventually I came to terms with being a demon. It really isn’t much different as I’m sure Flonne can tell you. We just have a tendency to be rather more explosive when our tempers are lost.”

If her two demonic friends had begun to recover from their laughing fits, they started all over again at the embarrassed look on Flonne’s face. “Krichevskoy offered me a position in his Netherworld but demons of or caliber can be somewhat independent. I wanted to strike out on my own. I’d never had the freedom to go and do whatever I wished before. I lived in the human world for a time… Ask me about them later please Twilight.” Twilight’s mouth snapped shut. “I was enchanted by some of their fairy tales. Particularly of magical horses. Unicorns and pegasi specifically.”

“I’d always found horses to be beautiful creatures. Strong, majestic and free as I’d always wished to be. Even if I hadn’t realized it at the time. And so I decided the time was right for me to found my own Netherworld. But I wanted it to be different than the others. A shining beacon of what we COULD be, not what the angels thought we were.”

Her expression grew clouded for a moment. “I met someone in my travels. Another powerful demon with a taste for whimsy. We travelled the cosmos in each other’s company for a time. Typically trying to one up one another in our pranks.”

Twilight’s eyes widened, and Celestia nodded. “Yes. It was Discord. Together he and I found a quiet little spot in the middle of nowhere to begin crafting my world. Now I was powerful but inexperienced with building an entire world from the ground up. Discord’s assistance was invaluable. At my request he even crafted a magical veil over my fledgling Netherworld to keep it away from the eyes of less pleasant travelers. In exchange for his aid all he asked was to be allowed to have some harmless fun with the future inhabitants of my world.”

Celestia sighed softly. “I agreed of course. We’d become such close friends and I knew his pranks were more or less harmless. To me. It’s easy to forget how fragile mortal beings can be. My first creations were the unicorns. I’d been enchanted by the idea of a magical horse of course. I gifted them with intellect and speech and set them loose into the world. Next were the pegasi. Out of whimsy I gave them the gift of weather manipulation and the ability to literally live in the clouds. The earth ponies came from a desire to see the more mundane horses that I’d admired so much made flesh in my world.”

“For a time it was enough. I had my darling little ponies to look after. I cherished each and every one of them. As generations passed I grew a tad fanciful. I added the cutie marks. I created them all of course; each and every pony is technically my child. The originals all sprang from my own mana. My life force if you will. That mana is within each and every pony in Equestria. So it’s simple enough for me to know what their special talent will be. That one calling in life above all others that will bring them joy.”

“Eventually however I grew lonely up in my castle alone. I’d taken a pony form of my own of course. The one you’re so familiar with. My ponies were so kind and loving, but they were all too frightened to get close to me. Fearful of my anger should they do something to upset me. And so…”

Twilight gasped softly. “So you… You CREATED a sister? You MADE Princess Luna?! That’s what she’s so upset about!”

Celestia nodded slowly. “Yes. The one secret I never wished her to know, but Lulu always had a way of knowing when I was holding anything back. I made her to be my equal in every way. I didn’t wish another simple subject but a true companion. Discord was fine for the occasional flight of fancy but he had no interest in deep, meaningful conversation.”

“Luna realized the threat he posed to our subjects first of course. I was blinded by my friendship but she saw the harm he was causing to the ponies. When I asked him to calm his jokes he reacted… Poorly. He lashed out and attacked, said I reneged on our bargain. I fractured my old celestial magic into six pieces, the six core tenants of harmony that make up the universe and crafted them into magical artifacts. Luna and I used them to seal my old friend away in stone.”

“As time went on things returned to normal. That is until Luna’s demonic nature began to surface. Ordinarily being jealous or feeling unappreciated could be talked out and worked through easily. Demons however experience our negative emotions far stronger than the positive. She was completely unequipped to handle the crushing rage and despair that welled up within her. And so Nightmare Moon was born. It broke my heart sealing her away, but I couldn’t bear to do to her what I did to Discord. I’d hoped in time she would master her own emotions. And she did. If she hadn’t then you and your friends’ use of the elements would have simply sealed her away again.”

Twilight was shaking her head slowly. “I just can’t believe it. We’re… we’re DEMONS? Each and every pony?”

Laharl had been sitting quietly as the story went on. “I noticed some funny things around your town. How you all had mana but only some of you knew how to use it. And then there were all the generics. Multiple copies of tons of the ponies.”

Twilight sucked in a short breath of air. “Y-you’re right! There are… There are at LEAST three Lyra’s! And four Time Turner’s! How has nopony noticed?”

“Because I did not wish them to notice. I’ve made plenty of unique ponies, but too many would put a terrible strain on the world. They all have their own lives and personalities. They simply look the same.”

Flonne was more than a little surprised when Laharl awkwardly shuffled to Twilight’s side and laid a comforting hoof on the alicorn’s back. Etna and Vyers eyed him with equal confusion. “Let’s get outta this dump. You can… I dunno give my idiot vassals something to eat then send us on our way. Once we’re gone Malbreche should leave your world alone.”

Twilight’s head was reeling from everything she’d just learned. But having a friendly hoof so close, even if it belonged to the insufferable Overlord Laharl helped. She looked to the demon colt and smiled faintly. “Thank you Laharl. I think I’d like to leave too.”

Celestia watched the exchange in silence. The golden glow heralding her return to her pony shape went unnoticed by her young former protégé. “Twilight I think we should talk a bit more don’t you?”

Twilight didn’t even look up at the pony she’d idolized her entire life. “I’ve heard you talk enough to last me a lifetime Princess. If you’ll excuse me I’m going to get my real friend back home where he belongs. Laharl may be rude, loud, and obnoxious Princess but he’s never lied to me. Not like you have. Pinkie Pie says lying is the fastest way to lose a friend. I never really understood that until now.”

Even the ever-obnoxious Etna realized the situation had gotten pretty serious. She quietly took her place at her Overlord’s side, offering a small wave to Vyers. One her former lord returned with a small smile. Twilight’s magic soon enveloped the three demonic visitors, and the foursome vanished the way she’d arrived.

Once they were gone Vyers turned to Celestia. “She’ll come around. They both will. Luna’s your sister and that Twilight is practically a daughter to you. They just need time.”

Celestia stared at the spot the young Princess vanished from. “Perhaps. Though I’m not entirely certain I deserve their forgiveness.”

***

Twilight reappeared in the library…then immediately shrieked in alarm as Pinkie leapt out at her blowing a noise maker right in her face. “Welcome back Twilight! You’re just in time for the party!”

“Party? What? Pinkie what par…” She trailed off gazing up at the big banner hanging in the room. In large balloon letters it read, “Sorry you found out you’re actually a demon!”

“It’s your sorry you found out we’re all actually demons party.” The cheerful pink mare delivered in a serious deadpan.

Flonne and Etna stared at Pinkie Pie in confusion while Laharl almost imperceptibly backed away. “Pinkie! You… You knew? How long have you known?!”

“Mmmmm….” Pinkie plopped her rump on the floor tapping a hoof to her chin as she considered. “I guess since I was maybe six or seven? I mean it just makes sense y’know?”

“You never thought to tell me?!”

Pinkie’s eyes widened. “Well you never asked me if we were all secretly demons now did you?”

“I… I…” Twilight sighed. She hadn’t actually though to ask that. And she knew without a doubt if she had Pinkie wouldn’t lie to her. And if the information were pertinent to some sort of emergency her fellow element bearer would have certainly volunteered it. “…you’re right. Thank you for the party Pinkie Pie. It can double as a welcome to Ponyville party for Laharl and his friends don’t you think?”

Smiling that Pinkie Pie smile she simply tugged a little rope connected to the banner. A smaller one unfurled reading, ‘Welcome to Equestria Laharl, Flonne, and Etna!’

Now the two demon girls both looked at their Overlord in confusion. Almost against his will he muttered, “That’s… Just Pinkie Pie.”

Squealing cheerfully Pinkie scooped him into a tight embrace. To his vassals’ shock he didn’t immediately protest and try to bash her about the head, he simply sagged and allowed her to get the hug out of her system. “Now you’re gettin’ it! Let’s get to eating those snacks! The other girls should be here just abooooouuuuut….”

The door burst open in a blaze of color. Twilight noted with alarm blaze was exactly the right word for it. There was a trail of rainbow hued flame crackling merrily along the floor and leading up to...

Twilight Sparkle closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Rainbow Dash. I’m going to pretend I didn’t see what I just saw. When I open my eyes again if I DO see what I just saw, I can’t be held responsible for my actions.”

Twilight opened her eyes.

Rainbow Dash hovered in the middle of the room, wings flapping and grinning maniacally. Sharp fangs glinted in her mouth. Her coat had darkened to a hue just shy of midnight blue, only slightly paler than Princess Luna’s. Her eyes retained the magenta color but her pupils matched those of Rarity and Applejack now. Her ears were noticeably more pointed, and instead of feathers she had the large bat-like wings of one of Luna’s night guards.

Of course that wasn’t even the most striking change. No that would be her mane and tail. Or rather, the oscillating rainbow flames where her mane and tail USED to be. “Pretty sweet right? I’m thinking of going by Rainbow Blaze now? Whaddya think? Guys? Anyone?”

The explosion that rocked the Golden Oaks library could be felt from as far away as Trottingham. It would be passed off as a mysterious magical event by scholars some years down the line.

Author's Note

You saw it here first! The totally canon origin of Equestria! It could be! You can't prove it's not!