Princess Essenta

by Pone_Heap


Chapter 24: The Demon

Healing Arc

It was approaching sundown and the girls were still hunkered down near the edge of town. They’d elected to camp out in a grove of trees rather than go into town for beds. None of them were crazy about it, but they still hoped to not draw so much attention in case a certain gang of stallions with a "freshly-neutered" leader was skulking about, looking for them.

Also, they chose to remain because it was near where they were when Essenta ran off around lunchtime; drunk or sober, it would be the first place the princess would go when she decided or was otherwise compelled to rejoin them.

“I still do not see why we ran so far. It would have been an easy thing to very nearly beat the life from them and leave them in a pile somewhere…” Ama good-naturedly jibed Loress as they ate stew; they’d made a fire, because they weren’t that desperate to stay hidden.

Loress chuckled at Ama’s half-joke and retorted with her own, “Yes, but it still would’ve maybe caused us trouble. What if one of those rats escaped… told his friends? We’d have an army of rodents to deal with.”

The two laughed nastily at the idea; Ama had developed a rather “un-Mazan-like” sense of humor, considering humor wasn’t a conspicuous part of their culture, spending time with her new friends.

The girls had begun to jest about all the crazy possibilities they could conjure up, given their last 24 hours. They knew running, given the circumstances, had been the best decision. It was fun, bullshitting around, and they got to exercise facets of humor they weren’t necessarily accustomed to trying out. It also raised them from their funk, having been upset about their flight.

Even Orni, shy as was her wont, joined in, “Do you think the boss ‘ranger’ will keep his balls, or throw them out?”

Ama sprayed their campfire with a mouthful of stew, as she guffawed; the others laughed riotously, both at Orni’s sick inquiry and Ama’s reaction to it.

Wilka blanched, “Gross, Orni!”

But Orni stumbled through a defense of her statement, “No, no! See… he could put them in a jar of corn juice and put them on his shelf or something. And someday, he won’t be telling any of his grandfoals about it, ‘In my day… we saved things’.”

They all fell about the place and the little patch of forest shook with raucous female laughter.

Zyra pounded the little Knollwing’s back, practically sobbing, “Maybe he’ll wrap them up in blue paper and give them a proper burial…”

They’d been doing this the whole afternoon and early evening, with no end in sight. They hadn’t had laughs like that in some time.

Well, one of them was reliably having a lousy time: Dechaa was sitting sourly near the entrance to their campsite, supremely upset with the day.

Zyra called over to her, once she had a semblance of control again, “Dechaa, you’re gonna worry yourself into looking like Cap’s Old Rosy! A couple of us will run back into town and look for her again after dinner. Quit fretting and have some stew!”

Throughout the day, they’d been “casually” hanging around the town, one or two at a time, looking for Essenta. They were reasonably sure they’d checked all the pubs but might have missed one.

Given nopony (princess or otherwise) had turned up dead or (princess exclusively) in the town jail, they figured Essenta was probably fine and would turn up one way or another. They were concerned, sure, but knew that girls fought sometimes… It had been a nasty fight… and some nasty things had been said, but it wasn’t the end of the world. It wasn’t even the worst exchange the two had, according to Zyra. Nopony was overly curious what could top the catastrophe they’d seen.

Dechaa had been sulking all day, regretting her cruel but not inaccurate words to her best friend. She knew “things would be alright” but wasn’t looking forward to hashing things out with Essenta. The healer retreated to a corner of the site where she curled up under her blanket.

Allowing Dechaa to huff, the others polished off the chow and cleaned up. Zyra and Ama volunteered to go into town for a while and search; whether they found her or not, they’d also pick up a fresh pie. The town bakery was upwind of them and they’d been smelling baked goods since noon.

But the little mage and the exceptionally tall warrior halted at the opening of their campsite; they had a visitor… and a returner.

The rest of the girls noticed as well. No older than 20-years, there stood the most handsome stallion any of them had seen… and he had the princess over his back.

One of them might have demanded the stallion carrying Essenta identify himself, or why he had their friend, but they were initially daunted by the sense of malice to which the princess had said “meh”.

Zyra and Ama backed up slowly away from him; they were compelled to do so. Every fiber of their beings told them to run, but they were too shaken to do that. Wilka and Orni quaked where they stood. Dechaa ventured closer, but not too close. Their fur stood on end and they felt a muddled electricity move through their bodies.

The only one among them to keep a semblance of her wits was Loress.

She didn’t take kindly to somepony in the garb of Albin, especially a knight. While the Dale and the Valley had been at “peace” with Joeh and Albin for a decade, Terrow rested on the very border of Albin. While war was a far-off memory to some, border skirmishes had caused decades of misery for the Terrans.

That and the fact he had the princess were reason enough for her to disregard the menace, “Get your hooves off her!

As quickly as they’d ever seen their friend move, Loress tore towards their visitor, pulling back a hoof for a blow of near-decapatory force; it was so fast, she may as well have teleported.

The stallion stood his ground, “There’ll be none of that, young Terran.”

He stopped her hoof with his own, as if it was nothing. Loress saw her life flash before her eyes, but she didn’t wind up dying. He flung her across the campsite with the ease of tossing an apple to a friend.

Seeing Loress bounce along as if it had been one of them, the girls just about crapped themselves. And they might have, if the stallion didn’t calmly address them.

“I’ve no wish to fight anypony. Don’t try that again…”

His manner only did a little to keep their bowels in check, but the mares realized they might not die.

Loress, never at more of a loss in her life, hunkered down where she’d settled; she couldn’t move. The rest were terrified and did a poor job of concealing it.

Orni, already feeling a little weak in the knees, collapsed in his presence. She was faring only slightly worse than the rest, Wilka clamoring to her side.

The stallion took note of this; he couldn’t help but chuckle, “That’s the kind of reaction I’m used to seeing. You mares are quite perceptive.”

Saying the girls were wary, facing this fellow, was a gross understatement.

“The Terran could feel it and she still came in for a poke. You’re either very brave, my dear, or very reckless. You all should’ve seen this one on my back; she all but told me to go fuck myself when I met her!”

He laughed cheerfully at the recent memory. It was hard to say if it caused any fresh terror or not among the company; they were beyond being able to tell.

“Oh, yes… perhaps she’s the type to only fear the things she sees. I apologize for frightening you… I ran into your friend at a little tavern in town; we had some drinks and I couldn’t just leave her alone. I mean you no ill; I just wanted to get her back to you safe and sound.”

Dechaa, of all ponies, took a leap of faith. She could sense whatever the Hell was within him better than any of them, but she could tell he meant no harm. She approached him.

In turn, he could see her kindness and gentleness; she glowed with the stuff.

“You, my dear, must be the one Sen had that argument with.”

Dechaa and the rest of the girls just about died hearing that.

“You… know who we are? She… told you?” Dechaa began to inch away; the fear in her eyes was obvious.

Taking on an apologetic face, he waved a hoof, “Oh, no, it’s not what you think. It was a lucky guess, on my part. She didn’t say anything about any of you, other than you were her friends. I’ve never seen you before in my life… Still, consider me a friend.”

Hefting the princess off his back, he motioned Dechaa over.

Zyra scampered up, scared shitless to be that close, but helped shoulder Essenta.

The stallion smirked, “Don’t be afraid, girls. You have such beautiful souls… all of you do. I'm sure Sen's already forgiven you for whatever happened, so do the same for her. It's not worth the heartache."

He strolled past the three Dale mares, over to Loress.

Looking up at him, it was possible she’d never been so scared in her life.

He offered a hoof to the quaking Terran, “I’m very sorry for being so rough with you… but if your blow had connected, even I wouldn’t have walked away unscathed.”

She, about as sure as a mouse in a rattlesnake nest, accepted his hoof and she was deftly hauled to her hooves.

Taking on a rather… charming mien, he grinned, looking at her head to hoof, “Oh, wow… You are ravishing, young Miss.”

Loress, unable to help herself, melted right there; she was more than a little swept away and almost dropped again.

Dechaa and Zyra had retreated to the center of camp, beside Wilka and Orni, both still too freaked out to move.

Ama seemed the only one able to speak; she felt a tingle in her spine just looking at the guy, “Thank you, Sir Knight… for bringing our dear friend back to us. Might we… know your name, Sir?”

He shook his head, “No… it’s best you forget you ever saw me. It’s in your best interest, actually. I’m just a knight on a journey. Let’s leave it at that. Your friend has already forgotten me, I think; you should’ve seen her down that ale, but I’m sure you’re all familiar with her rhythms.”

That was good enough for them… but forgetting this would take a lot of liver abuse.

Looking over the six conscious mares once more, “Sen is most fortunate to have friends like you. Take care of her; she’s pretty special… Maybe try a little harder to keep her away from the bottle; it does her no good. I wish you all good fortune as you travel on.”

Without another word, he disappeared into the gathering dusk, leaving the girls with their thoughts about what just happened.


Wilka shuddered as they sat around their campfire, trying to keep from shouting, “What the fuck was that about?!”

She wasn’t the only one thinking such things… save Essenta, happily snoring in a corner of their camp, it was on all their minds.

Orni was still jittery, “I’ve… never felt that before… that… danger. I couldn’t move!”

Ama nodded silently, clutching a cup of hot tea in her nerveless hooves, trying not to spill on herself. Dechaa and Zyra were in slightly better shape, but not by much; the unicorns had still felt it more strongly than the others.

Zyra stared into the flames, “Really… does anypony have any idea what just happened?”

She, and nopony else had been expecting an answer, but they got one.

Loress was looking off into space, “I do.”

Ama eyed her, "That strength... is he a Terran?"

Looking to Loress expectantly, the five mares gave her a moment.

Loress sighed, “He… isn't a Terran. He's a normal Earth pony… at least he once was. That knight… possessed demon energy… the most powerful I’ve seen.”

Ama was skeptical, “Demon energy? How would you know of such a thing?”

Loress looked her way, “Like you, I traveled around quite a bit. I’ve seen such things… more than I’d liked to have. That stallion has taken into himself dark forces.”

Wilka looked over, terror in her eyes, “What kind of dark forces?”

Loress shook her head, “I don’t know… I’ve seen many things. He may have... supernatural powers beyond ‘normal’ unicorn magic… or he may have a demon form. I once saw a mare… an Earth pony that could transform into a raven. It’s possible; such things exist in the world. All it takes is the will to find it… and the resolve to let it inside. And whatever he is… it made any Knollwing or Terran I’ve met look like a bunny rabbit.”

The girls sat a moment, letting the silence of the night have a moment; all they heard were the autumn insects, an owl somewhere, and the crackling of the fire.

Loress breathed, “You all felt it… His being screamed. It said, ‘keep away… run’. Every fiber of my being wanted to obey. And the princess? She just sat and got drunk with him… if a demon can get drunk.”

They all glanced towards their beloved princess and leader. What kind of mare were they following? Some kind of goddess among ponies… or just a fool?