“It’s like I thought… If I want to defeat you… I’ll need the ‘Power of the Hero’, won’t I?

TTTTTT

Chapter 3

Good Old Fashioned Battle

TTT – TTT

All three of the fillies opened their eyes to see that the Wood Golem’s hand was being held back by a single hoof that easily managed to prevent it from coming any closer. Connected to that hoof was none other than Mao who stood before the fillies, his coat billowed in the wind.

The Wood Golem growled as it clenched its fingers around Mao’s hoof, “Don’t… Interfere…”

“And you need to stop talking like that!” Mao growled before he leapt up and slammed one of his hind legs into the Wood Golem’s head. “Quit being so overdramatic!”

The Wood Golem’s eyes widened when the hoof connected with the side of his head and he stumbled about having released Mao’s hoof. The large monster fell to the ground as Mao landed in front of the three fillies, his face curled up into a large smile, ‘He may be over dramatic, but he’s a demon! That’s something I can use here!’

The Wood Golem clamped its hands together before it slammed them into the ground where Mao was, but the black stallion had leapt up into the air and dodged the attack. Despite his previous issues with a simple trot, now that he was in an element he was familiar with – Kicking some demon ass – it was as if the issue was now as far as it could be in the back of his mind.

Mao landed on the ground behind the Wood Golem and spun around, his right front hoof pulled back quickly before he slammed it right into the Wood Golem’s back. “GARGH!”

Its wooden teeth grounded against each other before the large golem spun around to backhand the ponified demon lord. “HOLD STILL!”

The Wood Golem’s eyes widened when he saw that his attack did indeed connect, however, Mao had used both of his hooves and blocked the attack. A large smile crawled onto Mao’s muzzle and his eyes narrowed down at the fellow demon, “Is that all you’ve got?”

While the two duked it out, the three fillies watched their fight from a nearby log – Using it as a hiding place while simultaneously using it to watch the fight. Well, Applebloom and Scootaloo watched, Sweetie Bellee was completely hidden with her front hooves held over her head, her entire body shook. “W-What’s happening now?!”

“That pony’s fighting that tree monster, and winning!” Scootaloo replied, not tearing her eyes away from the action.

Mao quickly pushed the large limb and slammed his right front hoof into the Wood Golem’s jaw, with a loud sickening crack that echoed through the air. “This is just pathetic! You call yourself a demon?! You can’t even take a horse down!”

The Wood Golem’s eyes widened as it stumbled back, its heavy footsteps rocked the ground, “W-What?! How do you know what I am?!”

Mao scoffed to the side, his red eyes leered right back onto the larger opponent, “Right, Wood Golems aren’t that smart – Well, either that or you’re not from Evil Academy. Or it could be both.”

At those words, the Wood Golem stepped back slightly, “Evil Academy? Wait – T-That hair… Those clothes… T… Those g-g-glasses… N-No…”

“Ah, looks like the gears are finally turning,” Mao chuckled as he lifted up his right hoof in front of his eyes. “Yes, I am the Dean of Evil Academy – Overlord Mao!”

With its eyes narrowed, the Wood Golem stood there for a few moments before all of a sudden…

The Wood Golem rolled over the ground, his arms wrapped around his torso and tears flew from his eyes as he kept up his laughter. Mao stood there with a dumbfounded look on his face. “The hell?”

Throughout its Belleowing laughter, the Wood Golem attempted to get off of the ground and back to its feet, but every time it did, it would double over in laughter again.

And Mao… He gritted his teeth and barked loudly, “WHAT THE HELL IS SO FUNNY!?!”

That yell seemed to have quelled the Wood Golem’s laughter (slightly) and it wiped a tear from its eye, “Oh, you have no clue – You have no idea! No idea of what an opportunity is in front of me!”

“You think if you attack the overlord while he’s a horse, he can’t properly defend himself, and you can become the overlord,” Mao bluntly stated with a dull tone in his voice.

“Uh… Well, yes,” The Wood Golem admitted as he scratched the side of his head.

“Damn it, are you really going for that clichéd of a motive?” Mao sighed with a shake of his head. “Then again, I have to give credit to you for at least wanting to take advantage of my current form. But… It’s pointless.”

“What?” The Wood Golem chuckled as he slammed his fist into his open palm, immediately cracking his knuckles loudly. “In case you didn’t notice, you don’t exactly strike fear with that new form of yours, and I doubt that those hooves of yours can do any real damage. Look at me, barely a scratch!”

The Wood Golem smirked as he crouched down, then he quickly leapt up high into the air, “BIG SPLASH!”

Mao blinked as he looked up to see the Wood Golem high in the air, spin about and slammed its hands together. The black stallion pushed up his glasses and chuckled, “Oh, that’s right, that’s you Wood Golem’s strongest attack. Well then, I guess I’ll have to counter that accordingly.”

With his right front hoof glowing brightly, Mao pulled it back as the light around his hoof erupted into a glowing bluish flame.

The Wood Golem plummeted down towards the demonic stallion, the air cut between him. But just before the Wood Golem was about to crash into the black stallion, Mao threw his fiery hoof up into the air and slammed it into wooden fists. Air and blue flames flew about the area as the two powerful forces clashed against one another.

The Wood Golem’s eyes widened as he watched several cracks race up his arms, the wood splintering with every second he was above Mao’s attack. All the while, Mao’s face spouted a large Cheshire grin and his red eyes glowed brightly. “Bursting… HOOF!”

And just like that, the Wood Golem’s arms exploded into several jagged pieces of wood and dirt that flew through the air. The Wood Golem’s torso fell to the ground right at Mao’s hind hooves. Mao placed one of his front hooves atop of the golem’s head and cackled, “I’d make a joke about you being ‘unarmed’, but that would be in too bad of taste for me.

“So, I’ll just settle for asking you some questions – How the hell did you get here and how come you got to keep your original form?!”

“I… I don’t know!” The Wood Golem sputtered, his face firmly planted into the ground. “One moment I was in the middle of stealing some pizza from a delivery boy, and the next moment, I’m in a forest that’s teaming with mana!”

‘Mana?’ Mao thought to himself as he turned his attention towards the forest that was a few yards away. ‘Now that he mentions it, there does seem to be an abundance of mana around here – I just didn’t notice it because of these stupid HOOVES! Hmm… It would explain a few things here though: The talking horses, that pegicorn who beat me down and quite possibly my transformation into this form.

‘No, wait, it wouldn’t explain why the Wood Golem still has his default demon form – Hmm. Perhaps I should experiment on this demon and WAAAH!’

Mao fell face first into the ground. When the Demon Overlord lifted up his head, he noticed that the Wood Golem ran away towards the woods. “RUNNINGRUNNINGRUNNINGRUNNINGRUNNING!”

“Damn it!” Mao growled as he pushed himself off the ground and quickly gave chase after the armless Wood Golem…

… Only after one step, Mao slipped over his hooves and landed face first on his nose, “GARGH! DAMN IT!”

When Mao got back to his hooves, he growled and noticed that the Wood Golem had disappeared in the forest. The black stallion slammed his hoof into the ground, ‘Stupid hooves! You made me lose my only lead outta this sugary hellhole!’

Mao blinked a few times at the three voices that called out in-sync and he turned around to see the three fillies had gathered behind him – each of them looked at the white haired stallion with stars in their eyes. The black stallion reeled back slightly as the three fillies ran up to him. ‘Gargh! What the?!’

“Thanks mistah!” Applebloom cheerfully said with a bright smile. “Ya’ll saved us!”

Mao contorted his face slightly in anguish, a demon being thanked for saving someone’s life?! He didn’t even see these three horses when he wandered over here, he was more concerned with the Wood Golem!

“Yeah, that was pretty cool,” Scootaloo admitted as she waved her hoof a few times. “Not as cool as Rainbow Dash, I bet she could’ve taken down that walking stump in half the time!”

“Where have you been?” Scootaloo asked, a stern look on her face. “She’s the coolest pegasus to ever grace the skies! And one of the greatest fliers in all of Equestria!”

Mao rolled his eyes, ‘Simple words – Although, it might have some experimental merit if this boastfulness is true.’

Mao turned his red eyes down on the small unicorn, his glasses covered gaze caused Sweetie Belle to hide behind her two friends. Still she mustered up what courage she had and looked to the stallion, “Um, h-how were you able to do all that? Y-You’re not a unicorn, are you?”

“Sweetie Belle, of course he’s not a unicorn,” Scootaloo stated with a roll of her eyes. “Do you see a horn in that crazy mane of his?”

“Is he a Pegasus?” Applebloom questioned as she trotted around the taller stallion. “He’s got them neat clothes, so it could cover his wings…”

“Even if he was a pegasus, that wouldn’t explain that magic he did,” Scootaloo retorted.

“Wait, what if he’s an Earth Pony who’s talent is magic?” Applebloom suggested with a hopeful grin on her face. “Say, Mistah, what’s yer Cutie Mark in?”

“Cutie mark?” Mao questioned as he cocked his brow. “Just what the hell is that supposed to be? And don’t call me mister – I’m Mao, the Dean of…”

“C’mon Mistah Mao,” Applebloom pouted, putting on her cutest puppy dog look and aimed it at the white haired stallion. “Can ya show us yer Cutie Mark? It’s gotta be related to that amazing light show you used to save us!”

Mao brought a hoof to his chest and grimaced. ‘Damn it! The cutesy is burning me!’

“Oh! W-Wait a second!” Sweetie Belle gasped. “We… We didn’t introduce ourselves!”

What happened next was enough to leave Mao, the strongest demon at Evil Academy and evil scientist who had performed many demented (and sometimes perverted) experiments, speechless.

“Cutie Mark Crusaders Role Call!”

“ON THE QUEST TO FIND OUR CUTIE MARKS!!”

Mao’s right eye twitched a few times as he watched the three fillies perform a dynamic pose similar to the colorfully dressed superheroes that he saw in his research. With a shake of his head, the Demon Overlord shivered for a second, ‘First thing I do when I get back to my lab – I’m drinking a large portion of that memory loss potion. I refuse to remember this… This… Cute travesty!’

The black stallion sighed loudly as he looked down at the three cheerful fillies, “I don’t have time for this – I need to…”

For the umpteenth time that day, Mao was interrupted – But not by one of these ponies, rather it was a loud grumbling that made his eyes shrink and stop in mid-sentence. “… Stupid stomach.”

“Ooh! We still need to really thank you!” Applebloom cheered as she and the other Cutie Mark Crusaders gathered around Mao. “And Ah know exactly how to thank ya perfectly! We can get ya’ll some food!”

Truth be told (as much as he hated to admit it), Mao didn’t get a chance to eat since yesterday – And it could be possible that the fact that he wasn’t able to access his full powers was attributed to his hunger and lack of nutrients.

TTT – TTT

“I just find this hard to believe this,” Twilight muttered out loud. “A demon overlord?”

Both Twilight and the disguised Luna had left the Golden Oaks Library in order to find Mao, and throughout their search, Luna explained the situation concerning Mao. “Thou should know better than anypony, Twilight Sparkle, that tales like these can be true – Trust I, I have seen what this stallion is capable of.”

“And from what I understand,” Twilight spoke softly under her breath. “You and Princess Celestia thought it’d be best to send him here?”

“So long as I am here,” Luna explained as she turned her head about, scanning the crowds of ponies in town. “And as long as you and the others hold their Elements, there should be no issue of this stallion. But we cannot let our guard down around him, though he may look like a regular earth stallion, he’s got impressive power and he’s not the most ethical pony around.”

“But Pri… I mean, miss,” Twilight corrected herself. “If we need to find him quickly, where are we supposed to start looking for him?”

“That is the question at hoof,” Luna replied as she stopped and tapped her chin with her front hoof. “I should’ve gone with a Pegasus disguise, then I would be able to search the skies for this troublemaker.”

“Then we need to get everypony searching for him,” Twilight replied with a bright smile. “We’ll get my friends and scour the entire town to find…”

Both Twilight and Luna turned to see a familiar pink mare gallop towards them, a huge grin on her face. The hyperactive mare skidded to a halt and bounced in front of the two, “There you are! I was looking for you! You won’t believe what just happened! You gotta see it for yourself! C’mon, c’mon, c’mon! You too Princess Luna! Come to Sugarcube Corner as soon as you can!”

And just like that, the pink mare dashed off leaving Twilight and Luna slightly confused at her actions. Luna craned her head towards Twilight and turned her head slightly, “Twilight Sparkle, am I not disguised?”

“Then how was the Pony of Laughter, Pinkie Pie, able to know who I was?” Luna questioned.

“It’s Pinkie Pie, she defies logic as a hobby,” Twilight sighed as she trotted ahead. “Let’s hurry, we should get Rainbow Dash first, she can help us get the others and we’ll search as discreetly as possible.”

“I thank you Twilight Sparkle,” Luna bowed her head slightly. “But, should we not recruit Pinkie Pie’s help with this matter as well?”

“She’s already got her mind set on something,” Twilight replied. “I’m sure we can find him without her, he couldn’t have gotten too far.”

A few minutes later, Pinkie Pie trotted into Sugarcube Corner, where a certain trio was gathered around a familiar black stallion who was messing with something on the table in the confectionary. “Hey everypony! Everything’s all set!”

“Good!” Mao called out, not bothering to look up from the Slaystation Vita he had on the table. “We’re outta sweets over here!”

“No problem, Mister Mao!” Pinkie Pie announced as she trotted to the kitchen. “More sweets for the new pony!”

“And something to drink!” Mao shouted as the fluffy pink tail disappeared into the kitchen. “Something carbonated! Or juice!”

“Ah ain’t never seen a thing like this before,” Apple Bloom stated as she looked at the glowing screen of the game system. “What’s it do?”

Mao growled as he pushed the game system to the side, “It cheats! That’s what! I can barely play any games any more with that thing!”

Sweetie Belle looked at the device and then towards the pouting Mao, “May I try, Mister Mao?”

“Whatever,” Mao growled as he slumped over the table. “Not like I can play the damn thing with these hooves now. Even if its on easy, I can’t be a fighting game now and…”

Mao’s eyes widened as he turned towards the small unicorn who had a great big smile on her face as she clapped her front hooves a few times. “That was really fun!”

“Wow Sweetie Belle, how’d you do that?” Scootaloo asked as she pulled it from her friend. “Lemme try!”

“Ooh! Ooh! Me next!” Applebloom cheered out loud as she pulled the game device over to her.

“OKAY! THAT’S IT!!” Mao roared as his red coat flew up high into the air. All three of the fillies leaned back as three familiar black devices popped out from the coat and landed on the table – Three more Slaystation Vitas! “You three! I’m taking you three down in co-op play!”

“What’s co-op?” Applebloom asked as Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo pulled up one of the Slaystations.

“It’s where these things can connect and we can face each other off,” Mao stated bluntly as he brought his own game system up to his hooves. “I’ll be able to show you all how it’s done! Nothing but beginners luck!”

“Does this mean we can keep these things?” Scootaloo asked as the screens lit up.

A wicked smile appeared on Mao’s face, “Tell you what, if any of you three win, you all can keep them. But, if I win, then you three will pledge to be my minions for the rest of your days!”

“Ooh! Maybe that’s what we’ll get our cutie marks in!” Applebloom squealed as she messed with the buttons on the device.

“What would a cutie mark of a minion look like?” Sweetie Belle questioned with her head tilted slightly.

“Enough talk!” Mao growled as he lifted one of his hooves up into the air. “Let’s get this showdown over already!”

TTT – TTT

Deep within the Whitetail Forest, the Wood Golem panted loudly to himself as he looked at his right arm – smaller than his original one, but at least it was there. Unlike his left arm which was still in the process of regenerating. “Damn it! DAMN IT! Just what the hell happened here?! One moment I was gathering mana from this world, net thing I know, I’m getting my wooden ass handed to me!

“Hmm, how interesting – I wonder if the summoning process was influenced by where I placed the runes.”

The Wood Golem craned its head back to see an overshadowed unicorn was right behind him. The unicorn chuckled as he slowly trotted in a circular fashion around the wooden demon, “Still, that was a rather pathetic display – I would’ve thought a demon would be able to handle his own against three fillies and a stallion who trips over his own hooves.”

With its fist clenched tightly, the Wood Golem quickly stood up and pulled its fist back, “Then how ‘bout I take down a cocky stallion!?!”

The Wood Golem roared as it threw its fist right towards the stallion, however, the fist never connected. Instead, it flew over the stallion’s glowing head, sliced cleanly off of the Wood Golem’s arm. For a moment, the Wood Golem just stood there with his eyes wide, and he turned to see that a few inches away from the stallion was an aura covered sword that floated through the air.

The fancy sword flew about until it was pointed right at the Wood Golem’s throat, while the stallion kept his eyes narrowed at the demon. “Now, now, now, is that anyway to act towards the one who’ll help you get your revenge?

“Though I suppose you demons tend to be a bit rough – So consider this a grace from your better.”

Absence of Friendship

by MangaKamen

Chapter 3 - Good Old Fashioned Battle