//------------------------------// // The Mightiest Mare of Equus Vol. 1: The Seven Deadly Sins: Issue #4: Corruption // Story: MLDC: The Justice League of Equestria - Omnibus 1 // by littleman001 //------------------------------// It was long past sunset by the time Caballeron's train arrived to Canterlot and the moon was already up by the time he reached his destination, the headquarters of RichCorp, company of Filthy Rich. It was late into the night but he was certain that the stallion himself way still in this building. Where else could all the pride and greed that Envy felt oozing around this place could be coming from? 'I can't even tell which one is stronger here. Pride or Greed.' The demon inside him pondered. 'I hope it gets figured out soon. My siblings are eager to finally inhabit a body after all these years. If things turn ugly, they might rip him in half.' It chuckled. Caballeron did not share the demon's amusement. 'Let's just get this over with.' He groaned. He was really getting tired of Envy's sadistic nature and careless attitude. 'How are we even supposed to get inside this late?' 'We didn't exactly bother with subtlety with the last hosts we found.' Envy chuckled. 'They're probably still mopping up what's left of those three pegasi. This time will be no exception. We will make our entrance the old fashioned way.' That was exactly what Caballeron was afraid the demon would say. He walked up to the main entrance of the building, a pair of glass doors that opened straight into the lobby. The stallion placed a hoof against the door and pulled it across the material. Reinforced glass, the strongest that can be made. Completely bullet and even magic resilient. Even the princesses would have a hard time getting through here. But they never met the power of the Sins. The literal embodiments of Ponykind's worst traits. As long as there is evil in the world, their power will never diminish. Caballeron raised his other leg and pressed his hooves against the glass doors. All the locks instantly gave out and he could pushed them open like they were unlocked. The stallion was greatly surprised by his increased strength which did not go unnoticed by Envy. 'That's just one of the perks of being the host of the Seven Deadly Sins, Doctor.' The demon chuckled. 'Now sit back, relax, let me take the wheel and enjoy the show!' Caballeron didn't even have time to comprehend what the demon was saying. His eyes suddenly widened and his pupils grew so wide that they filled out his entire sockets. When they returned to their normal size, they left the rest of his eyes glowing with demonic red light. A series of deafening blares filled the room as Caballeron entered and the demon quickly figured that the unauthorised intrusion activated the alarms. No matter. As the possessed stallion walked further into the lobby, two hidden gatling guns emerged from the floor behind the counter. Caballeron was forced to jump back to avoid the bullets fired at him. Much like his strength, his speed was also increased tenfold and he found themselves standing back in the door. He looked at the two glass doors on his sides smirked as he got an idea. He simply grabbed the handles of the doors and ripped them out of their hinges, before raising them in front of himself and using them as a shield against the bullets. While the unbreakable glass served it's purpose well, the force of the bullets crashing against it in rapid succession would have been able to push back any ordinary pony. But with it's strength, the demon effortlessly drove the stallion's body forward as the glass repelled the bullets. When the stallion reached the counter, he pressed the doors against their barrels and managed to keep the bullets from escaping. Becoming unable to fire their projectiles left them being lined up inside the barrels until the weapons couldn't take it anymore. Sparks began to fly out of them as they finally shut down. After dealing with the guns, Caballeron made his way towards the elevators. Breaking through another pair of doors, he entered a long corridor leading directly towards them. He was almost surprised to find that the building actually had security officers. Two rather shocked earth pony stallions were standing in front of him. "What the hay?!" One of them exclaimed. "This place is supposed to be impenetrable!" "That's what everypony says!" The other rolled his eyes. "Just to make themselves feel more safe about their buildings!" The two quickly managed to recover and raised their guns at him. "Hold it right there!" But the demon inside Caballeron had no intention of following the order. In the blink of an eye, he tore their weapons out of their hooves and pressed them together in his own, crushing them in front of their bewildered eyes. And before they had the chance to react, he dashed again and grabbed one of them by the collar. The other one tried to make a run for it, but Caballeron noticed it and hurled the one he was holding after him. The two collided into a ball and rolled out the door onto the streets. Free to make his way towards the elevators, Caballeron marched up to them and pressed the button. But instead of the green light that signaled it's arrival, he saw the panel requesting a code from him. Apparently, security was really tight that during the night. Caballeron simplified things a little. He bashed his hoof into the panel, smashing it, effectively bypassing the code. The elevator arrived in a few seconds and the stallion entered, pressing the button of the top floor where Filthy Rich's office was located. But halfway through the ride, the elevator stopped so suddenly that Caballeron almost fell over. It took him a few moments to figure out what just happened. Filthy's security must have cut the power to stop him. Caballeron chuckled. It won't do them any good. Caballeron gathered strength into his back legs and leaped up, bursting right through the ceiling of the elevator and started climbing up the cabel, reaching the top floor in no time. The demon's strength allowed him to tear the cabel in half and let the elevator plummer back to the ground floor before using the cabel to swing forward and burst through the elevator doors. Filthy's office was at the end of the corridor, guarded by another pair of security guards who looked much more well armed than the ones in the lobby. "How did he get up here?! They cut the power!" "Who cares?! Shoot him!" They never got the chance. Before they could even take aim, Caballeron picked up one of the elevator doors and threw it at them. The piece of metal slammed both of the security ponies against the wall, finally freeing his way towards the office. The door easily gave way to him and he found himself standing face to face with Filthy himself. The bald stallion was sitting behind his desk, looking up at Caballeron with a rather bemused expression. "Doctor Caballeron." He spoke upon recognising his visitor. Caballeron raised an eyebrow. "You know me?" Filthy put his hooves together in front of his face as he looked up at him. "I know all ponies from the underworld. In case I ever required their services. But I can't recall asking for yours so I don't see the reason why are you here. Whatever archaeological finding you want to sell me, I'm not interested." Caballeron chuckled. "Well, I guess that settles it. Pride is more suitable for you than Greed." He then reached into his saddlebag, pulled out the figure representing Pride and held it up towards him. The demon immediately flew out of it and before Flithy could react, the red mist already entered his body. The stallion was so shocked that he fell to the floor. He thrashed around and gagged as he adjusted to the entity trying to take over his body in a clear attempt to fight it. 'Stop struggling, Mr. Rich.' The demon tried to calm him down. 'I am an entity that can match your pride and help you live up to it. Why would you resist me?' Filthy eventually stopped writhing and caught up with his breath before slowly getting back on his legs. He raised one of his hooves against his head as he squeezed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth. Caballeron could see that he was struggling to resist the corruption much harder than the previous two creatures. Even Pride felt this stallion resisting much harder than any of his previous hosts. 'Whoever you are, whatever you are...' Filthy began. '...get out of my head!' The demon couldn't conceal his surprise. It was never denied by a potential host before. But it wasn't called Pride for nothing. The two minds continued to remain in a clash with each other for the one body and it wasn't clear which one would emerge as the victor. 'Come now, Filthy.' Pride continued to tempt. 'I feel you have goals that no ordinary pony could achieve on their own. The destruction of a godlike being, launching all of Ponykind into the new age. You're going to need all the help you can get.' But the stallion wasn't having any of it. 'Let me tell you something. I am not by any means an ordinary pony. I am Filthy Rich, founder and CEO of RichCorp, the wealthiest stallion alive and revolutioniser of Ponykind! If I'm going to achieve those goals, it will be on my own merits! And I'll be damned before I'll let some underworld abomination control my thoughts and my actions! Now begone, demon! And return to whatever pit of Tartarus you crawled out of!' Pride couldn't believe what it was hearing. It was impossible, and yet, the evidence was right in front it. This stallion managed to do the unthinkable, he was too proud to allow Pride to take control of him. He was too proud for the embodiment of the emotion itself. He was prouder than it. The demon was speechless, possibly for the first time in it's existence. All it could do was retreat from Filthy's body and return to the figurine it escaped from. Envy felt what happened and was just as shocked as it's sibling. 'This cannot be!' It gasped. 'Pride would never retreat! He is too proud for that! Just what is this stallion?!' The demon never got the answer because Filthy pressed a button on his desk which made a huge weapon appear from out of the ceiling. Caballeron turned to see the weapon charge up with green light and saw a green energy beam heading towards him so fast that even his enhanced speed wasn't quick enough to react in time. The beam hit him hard enough to send him crashing through the window and plummet towards the ground below before he crashed right into the concrete, creating a huge crater around himself. Without the endurance the demon lended to him, he wouldn't have survived. Caballeron slowly pulled himself together and stood up. The demon returned the control of his body to him but he could recall everything he just did. The adrenaline still ran through his veins as he recalled how fast and strong he moved through the building. How invincible he felt as he swept every obstacle in his path. It was quite an addictive feeling. 'Wow! What a rush!' He marveled at the experience. 'I'm glad you had fun, doctor, but we are not exactly closer to achieving our goal.' Envy scoffed. 'To meet a pony who's too proud to give in to the temptation of Pride itself. Never thought I'd see the day. If you are done, we should move!' The demon's words snapped Caballeron out of his thoughts and he was quite embarrassed over how giddy he became. He looked around to see if anypony was around and when he saw no one, he made his departure through a narrow street. 'So what do we do now?' 'We will simply have to find other hosts for my siblings. But I advise you hurry because they are growing more and more restless.' Caballeron gulped. If one demon could get so cranky, he did not want to think about what four more would be like. 'Any ideas where to start?' Envy sighed in frustration. 'We probably won't find another pony with half as much pride and greed as that Filthy Rich, but perhaps if I lower our standards a little, I could find another ideal host.' Caballeron felt the demon inside him suddenly pause and he learned it by now that it means it felt something. 'And what do you know? I think I already found two individuals that would be fine. They are close. In fact, I sense that they are coming our way. Be prepared, doctor.' Caballeron looked around and the first two ponies he saw coming his way were two unicorn stallions who looked so similar that he immediately could tell that they were twins. They had olive colored coats and red manes with white streaks in them and they were wearing matching hats and white and blue striped shirts. The only distinguishing feature was that one of them had a moustache. "Would you mind telling me why you dragged me back here, brother? And so late?" The one with no moustache asked. "Mr. Rich made it clear that he wants nothing to do with our new invention. Or us, for that matter." "I will not let that stuck up snob discourage us from setting up what could be the best business idea we've ever had in this city." His brother replied. "We are going to do it. And we are going to do it in this city, I don't care what anypony says." The first brother rolled his eyes. "Your pride is going to the death of us someday, you know." The second one looked back at him and narrowed his eyes. "Need I remind you that it was your idea to take our business to this city in the first place? We could have went to Ponyville or Appleoosa, but no. You had to choose the capital because doing business with big shot tycoon ponies and aristocrats appealed to your greed. You always want the most in the least amount of time! So please be quiet and follow me! We are going to see this through now!" Caballeron and Envy smirked as they thought the same thing in unison. 'Perfect.' Caballeron waited until the two unicorns passed by him before he turned to address them. "Excuse me, gentlecolts?" They turned back to look at him and their bitterness instantly disappeared upon meeting what they must have seen as a potential new client. "Well, good evening, my friend!" The one with the moustache greeted as he tipped his hat. "How could the world famous Flim Flam brothers be of service to you?" "Actually..." Caballeron spoke as he reached into his saddlebag. "I think I'm going to be the one doing a service to you." Pinkie Pie has been bouncing for at least two hours before the small town of Ponyville finally came into view. The pink mare had already tired herself out from her trip from the mountain she just destroyed, so the fact that she also had to carry her cart full of party supplies back to town did little to brighten her mood. In this situation, the stamina of Air Last would have been very useful. But Pinkie knew that no matter how tempting it was, she shouldn't waste the power she got on such trivial things. What was it they always said in comic books? With great power comes great responsibility and all that. It was pretty late by now and since the party had ended a long time ago, the cakes were probably wondering where she was. It wasn't like her to stay out without telling them first so they must have been a little worried, which was one more reason why Pinkie wanted to get back to Sugarcube Corner as fast as possible. Another very major reason was that she was so beat from everything that happened today that the thing she wanted most right now was to jump into her bed and sleep until her shift started tomorrow. By the time she reached Sugarcube Corner, she was so exhausted that when she took off the harness to the cart, she immediately collapsed in front of the building with her face buried into the ground. She had half a mind to just let sleep take her then and there - she had fallen asleep in stranger places and stranger situations - but before she could, she heard the familiar sound of the bell above door ringing which meant somepony was coming out to check on her. "Pinkie!" The unmistakable voice of Mrs. Cake exclaimed. "My dear, that must have been quite a party." She chuckled as she went to help up the other mare and carry her inside. "Don't worry about the cart. Me and Carrot will take care of it." Cup Cake carried the almost passed out mare up to her room where she laid her in her bed and tucked her in before leaving the room, gently shutting the door. A gentle smile grew on Pinkie's lips, both from the kindness of the elder mare and from finally feeling the softness of her bed. "This has been one hay of a day!" She muttered to herself, too exhausted to even laugh at the rhyme. "And now it's time for me to hit the hay as well. Nighty night, Pinke." She was about to finally succumb to exhaustion before she heard something right next to her bed. "I am afraid that will have to be put on hold." All of the exhaustion and sleep suddenly left Pinkie's body as she jumped several meters up from her bed with a shriek. She turned to her left to see none other than the Phantom Stranger standing next to her bed. "Would you please stop doing that?!" She yelled at the apparition who once again remained completely unfazed at the outburst. But before he could reply, the door to Pinkie's room opened. "Pinkie, are you alright?" Mrs. Cake asked with a concerned look on her face. Pinkie turned back to where the Stranger was standing, only to see that he was no longer there. Confused and a little frustrated, she turned back to Cup Cake with a sheepish smile. "Sorry, Mrs. C. Just a bad dream." She said, much to Cup's confusion. "A bad dream? But you just got into bed. How could you..." She started before remembering who she was talking to. "Pinkie, you are so random, sometimes." Pinkie shrugged. "Part of my charm. Goodnight!" She replied before pretending to get back under the covers. When Cup left, Pinkie turned to the Stranger once again standing there. She narrowed her eyes at him. "You have the most rotten timing, ever!" She scowled. "I apologise but our duties cannot be delayed. I have detected the presence of the Sins in this town and it requires investigation at once." The mention of the Sins immediately evaporated all of Pinkie's anger towards the Stranger and turned it into concern. "What do you mean?" The Stranger explained what he had seen and felt in the alley next to that barn where those three ponies were slain. Pinkie's eyes widened in horror. Never before had she heard about such a heinous crime being committed in Equestria, let alone in her peaceful little town. By the time the Stranger explained everything, she knew that the apparition was right. Such unprecedented vileness cannot be allowed to corrupt the land of Equestria. Her eyes narrowed in determination. The Sins had to be stopped and as the new champion of the Wizard, Shazam, this duty burdened her shoulders. "You're right." Pinkie admitted. "How could I sleep in peace knowing that these abominations are out there, threatening ponies? No, I cannot do that until I have tracked down and sent the Sins back where they belong. And I know just the way to do that." The Stranger actually allowed himself a small smile. Now he was certain he had found the perfect pony to pick up the mantle of the wizard's champion. That was until Pinkie actually voiced her plan. "I'LL THROW A PARTY!" She exclaimed cheerfully with a bright grin The Stranger's smile faded and his stoic expression returned, but instead of his usual indifference, this time it was with complete and utter confusion. "I beg your pardon?" "A party! And not just any party but the biggest, funnest, loudest party I can throw! I bet the Sins wouldn't miss an opportunity to wreck it! Evil creatures like that just can't resist ruining other's fun." This definitely wasn't what the Stranger expected her plan to be. But in the end, he figured that perhaps this wasn't such a bad idea after all. If Pinkie really threw such a huge party, then that could attract the Sins' attention, possibly with the intention of finding even more ponies to corrupt. "Then I shall leave you to it. Good luck, Pinkie Pie!" The Stranger replied before fading away. Pinkie wanted to ask him if he wanted to attend to the party as well, but didn't get the chance. Little did she know, the Stranger did intend to attend that party. Pinkie and the guests wouldn't notice it of course, but he'd be keeping an eye on the unfolding events and notify her the moment something happened. Pinkie shrugged and got out of bed, before bouncing downstairs. As she went down the stairs, the cakes were quite surprised to see the mare they just tucked into bed already bouncing around like it was morning already. "Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Cake!" She sang as she passed them by. The couple exchanged a confused glance. "Uh, Pinkie dear, are you alright? I just put you to bed and you looked ready to sleep through the whole day." Pinkie suddenly stopped as she realised she had to come up with an excuse for her employees. "Uh, yes, I was! But then I remembered I had an appointment with another client for throwing a night party and I'm already late. Bye-bye!" "A night party?!" Carrot Cake exclaimed. "So soon after your previous party? Pinkie, are you sure you're gonna be able to handle that? You look like you could pass out any moment!" Pinkie just waved off the stallion's concerns. "Don't you worry about me, Mr. C! Partying is what I was born to do! Be it night or day!" She assured them as she bounced up to the door and exited. "But if it makes you feel better, I promise I'll sleep through all of tomorrow starting with the moment I get back! Good night! I promise I'll try not to be too loud!" She didn't even wait for them to respond and just slammed the door shut before bouncing off into the evening. "Alright, Pinkie! Let's set up a huge impromptu party and draw out the Sins. It's not like you haven't done this before. I mean the party part, not the drawing out the Sins part." She wandered through the town, trying to find the ideal spot for her late night party, but even in such a small town as Ponyville, there were so many ideal places she could pick that she couldn't decide which would be the best. Her first pick for a huge party would be Sugarcube Corner, but since it was a workday tomorrow and the whole family needed to sleep, that was out of the question. The town hall maybe? She knew that would attract pretty much everypony in town, including the ones the Sins possessed. But then she remembered she needed a prior permission to use that place for partying or she'll go to jail for trespassing and unauthorised use of city property. Again. Maybe that farm a few minutes away from the town? No. They still didn't finish completely rebuilding it after Supermare wrecked it while fighting that giant zombie RichCorp was experimenting with over there. As she kept brainstorming, she failed to remember her earlier lesson about watching where she was going and ended up bumping into something that knocked a on her flank. She looked up to see the old Ponyville library by the name of Golden Oaks. It was currently unoccupied since the previous librarian who was also the owner retired and a new one was yet to be appointed. Pinkie put on a thinking face. It was big enough to host several ponies from the town and the walls were thick enough to conceal the sounds of loud music. Pinkie's lip curled up into a half smirk. She may have just found the ideal location for her super party. Pinkie looked around the building to find a place of entry. The main doors were locked so she had to find another way. Since she didn't see any on ground level, she looked up at the branches of the tree house and jumped up on one of them to peek inside. The inside of the library was pretty unkept with dust and cobwebs all around, but the bookshelves have been covered with sheets to prevent the few books that been left there from gathering any dust. Not seeing any other entry point, she jumped up to a higher branch and found a hole in the tree that was just wide enough for her to squeeze herself through. When she managed to get through, she was displeased to find that there was nothing on the other side she could stand on so she ended up falling all the way to the floor, swiping up a thick layer of dust and making her cough. Once the dust had settled, Pinkie looked around. The library's condition looked even worse from the inside. It would take a lot of time to set up a party here. Time that she wasn't sure she had with the Sins running around. Fortunately for her, she now had the speed of Merry Breeze, fastest pegasus to ever live and the messenger of the gods. For her, it would only take seconds to set up the biggest party here that this town has ever seen. She was about to say the magic word when something stopped her. An inner voice that told her that maybe she shouldn't waste the divine gifts she had received on such trivial things as a party. Just like when she refused to transform to get home faster after saving that town in the woods from the flood. But this time, it was different. This party was needed to lure the Sins out. And she didn't know how much time she had before they strike again. When that time came, she had to be there. Only she could stop the rampage of the Sins. That is the sole reason she was chosen. And she'll have to do anything within her power to achieve that. Her mind was made up as she realised what she'll have to do. "Shazam!" CRACK! With a lightning strike, Pinkie was turned back into the alicorn superhero, Captain MareVel and she wasted no time in getting to work. First she flew around the library at super speed, gathering all the dust around the hole in the wall. She then clapped her hooves together and the shockwave blew all of the dust outside. Pinkie then used her super speed to clean up the room of debris and fix every piece of broken structure before she finally got to set the actual party up. By the time she was finished, the place went from a run down library to looking like a miniature version of the Grand Galloping Gala. Flaglines and balloons were tied around every corner, party games like pin the tail and piñatas were set up, tables of food and drinks laid all over the place and she even set up a DJ booth connected to giant sound amplifiers. Pinkie smiled in satisfaction at her work. The super party was ready to go. Well, almost. She still needed her favourite part of every party she ever threw. The party guests. As she went to announce her party to all of Ponyville, she stopped when she noticed a mirror in the corner of the room and for the first time, she saw herself in full superhero suit. The red spandex suit with the yellow lightning bolt she saw back at the cave was covering her entire body with holes for her wings and tail included. All four of her hooves were covered in yellow spandex shoes, a white and yellow belt was at her hip and on her back, she was wearing a yellow cape with a hood at the top of it. Pinkie tried in the hood. It was big enough to cover her horn and her lush pink mane, which was good because with her signature puffiness, it wouldn't take ponies long to make the connection between her and the alicorn superhero. "Classy!" She commented as she admired her suit. "Alrighty then! Let's bet this party started!" The lightning bolt that suddenly struck the derelict Golden Oaks Library took everypony by surprise. The loud noises coming from the inside shocked them even more. They knew the building was abandoned for a long time and they had no idea who could be using it. A few ponies were about to run off and call some Royal Guards in worry that there might be a crime being committed inside, but those worries were laid to rest when the main door was suddenly sprung open to reveal the resident party pony of the town, Pinkie Pie standing there. Behind her was a fully set party with everything one could imagine from a Pinkie Pie party, but on steroids! "Hello, everypony! Are you ready for the greatest night party of your entire lives?!" She asked, full of enthusiasm. The townsponies shared confused glances. "Night party? But... What are we celebrating?" Asked a brown earth pony mare. The question caught Pinkie off guard. Why didn't she think of that? "Well... That's the best thing about parties! You don't really need a reason to have one! You just do!" She said, trying to make it sound like a convincing excuse, but when she saw it wasn't working, she came up with something else. "But if you really need a reason to celebrate, how about because Ponyville is the mostest, amazingest place to live in the world?!" She yelled with all the enthusiasm she could muster. The ponies in the crowd still looked suspicious and Pinkie began to sweat, nervous her plan wasn't going to work, but then suddenly, everypony cheered as enthusiastically as her and ran inside the building to start the party. Pinkie smiled in relief as she swept her forehead before following the others inside. The party was just as huge as she had hoped. The music was blaring and ponies were dancing, playing and eating all around the library. Pinkie was tempted to join the fun but then she remembered she had a job to do. The Sins will not hesitate to try and wreck this party, she just knew it. And if they already had hosts in this town as the Stranger suggested, then anypony in the room could be one of them. She'll have to keep her eyes open and look out for any potential sinner who could be under their influence. "I love what you have done with the place, Pinkie!" Exclaimed a yellow pegasus stallion as he walked up next to her. "I didn't think anypony would bother to clean up this ran down old library, even for a party. I certainly wouldn't have." Pinkie raised an eyebrow in suspicion. That sounded an awful lot like Sloth would talk out of somepony. "And why is that?" Pinkie asked as she leaned up right into the stallion's face. "Are you saying that the library should be left to rot out of sheer sloth?" The pegasus backed away with a weirded out look. "Uh... no. That's not what I meant." He replied as he backed away. "It's just I never thought it was worth it to put this old place back in shape, that's all." Pinkie looked up and down at him before giving him the 'I'm watching you' hoof gesture and leaving the confused and slightly scared stallion. She moved over to the snack table where she saw two ponies stuffing themselves with food, which awakened her suspicions. "Hey, guys!" She greeted as she went up to them, trying to sound as normal as she could. "Careful with the snacks, okay? You wouldn't want to look..." Her expression turned accusing. "...gluttonous now, would you?" The two ponies stopped eating and shared concerned glances. "Um... what?" "I mean, careful! You might choke on your food!" Pinkie replied, cheerful once more after seeing they weren't corrupted. She put some food on a plate for herself and resumed her search for any suspicious activity. Walking through the party ponies, she looked to her left and saw two ponies, a unicorn mare and an earth pony stallion sneaking away towards a room in the back of the library. She knew right away what this meant and rushed to investigate. "Don't go in there!" Pinkie yelled at them as she blocked the door with her body. "I haven't cleaned out these backrooms for the party. They are still messy and full of rubble and not fit for fooling around in." This would have no doubt triggered a violent reaction out of somepony under the influence of Lust, but the two in front of her just blushed and walked off in embarrassment, so Pinkie could go back to the party. As she looked around, she found herself getting distracted by the DJ. A white earth pony mare who was quite talented at her craft. While she planned to do the DJ work herself, the booth was free for anypony to claim. As she kept playing music, Pinkie heard a voice speaking next to her. "When will I get a chance to play?" Pinkie turned to see a gray pegasus mare watching the DJ Pony play with envy in her eyes. "What's wrong?" She asked, trying to sound empathic to hide her suspicions. "I feel like I could be a good DJ too!" The mare complained. "I've been practicing a lot lately and I felt like I could finally show it at this party, but that mare has been occupying the booth the whole time!" Pinkie thought for a while as she tried to find the best approach to the issue. If the mare was possessed by Envy, surely she would care only about getting to play DJ herself without thinking about anypony else. "Well, you gotta admit, she's pretty good at it!" Pinkie said but the mare just scoffed. "And look around! Everypony is having a blast listening to her music! I think you should just appreciate her music instead of envying her and just have fun." Pinkie observed the mare's reaction but when her scoff softened into an ashamed look, she knew that once again, she got the wrong pony. "I guess you're right." The mare sighed before smiling at Pinkie. "Thanks, Pinkie! You always brighten the world. It's great to have a friend like you." The two mares then embraced. "Hey, what are friends for? Enjoy the party!" She let go of the mare and continued her search on the dance floor. A slim, blue pegasus stallion was currently occupying it and impressing everypony with his moves. Pinkie watched him for a while and when he was done, she saw him flash a cocky smirk towards the crowd. "What's wrong, ponies? None of you are going to give me a competition? Oh, that's right! None of you CAN give me a competition!" He boasted as he struck poses. Pinkie caught the pride in his voice and expression and she generally didn't like boastful ponies so she quickly intervened. She jumped on the stage and bumped into the stallion, shoving him aside. "Nopony likes a showoff, buddy!" Pinkie retorted as she began dancing like the professional party pony she was. The stallion tried to keep up with her, but with Pinkie's limitless energy, he didn't stand a chance and eventually passed out on the dance floor. Pinkie hopped over to the panting stallion and offered him her hoof. Pride would have never accepted the help, but once again, Pinkie's hopes of finding a corrupted pony were crushed when the pegasus allowed himself to be pulled up. "Okay, okay! I guess I should have known better than to challenge Ponyville's biggest party pony." He said modestly as he dusted himself off. "Nice moves, Pinkie!" Pinkie was happy at the compliment, but once again, her search for the Sins yielded no results. She was starting to lose hope. Maybe this party wasn't such as a good idea as she thought. She found herself a secluded little bench in the corner of the library and sat down, burying her face into her hooves. The longer the party went on, the more clueless she was on what to do. Little did she knew, she had somepony watching over her who shared her goal in the discovery of the Sins. Among the partying ponies, walked the Phantom Stranger, invisible to the crowd around him, but everything they did, he saw perfectly clearly. Including Pinkie Pie's failed attempts to find the corrupted ponies. Her efforts were commendable but her methods were flawed. Luckily for her, he knew the dark energy of the Sins well. And if one of them did show up at this energetic celebration, he would find it. But as time passed and he didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, he too was starting to give up. None of the ponies in the library felt like they were under the Sins' influence. The party wasn't tame by any means, but none of the activities he saw could be considered sinful. They looked like normal, everyday ponies having fun. And then he saw him. Despite the Stranger being as old as time and having met countless creatures, he immediately recognised his face. It wasn't hard since he had seen him earlier today. It was the same earth pony stallion that interacted with Pinkie Pie at the birthday celebration she organised, but this time, something was different about him. He kept staring directly towards Pinkie with a determined and longing look, completely unfazed by the loud music or the ponies dancing around him. Suspicion has been stirred up in the Stranger and be used his ethereal eyes to look deep inside the stallion and what he saw frightened him to the core. Pinkie Pie was in great danger. He had to warn her. But even if she could easily beat the stallion into submission, she had no way of exorcising the demon from him. No, he had to consult with the wizard first. He shot one last look at the troubled mare sitting in the corner before fading away. He bad to do get back as quickly as he could. "Hey, Pinkie!" Pinkie Pie looked up to see her good friend and fellow party pony, Cheese Sandwich looking down at her with a concerned look, no doubt wondering what happened to upset her so much. Seeing him instantly lifted her spirits and she jumped up from the bench with glee. "Hi, Cheesel Weasel! What's going on? Do you enjoy the party I threw?" "It is great!" The stallion replied with just as much enthusiasm. "But the party had been going on for a while now. I've been having maybe a little too much fun and now I'm all exhausted. And from the look of things, I'd say you feel the same. What do you say we go out and get some fresh air together?" Pinkie frowned. Getting exhausted from the party wasn't exactly the reason she was so distressed, but it's not like she could tell Cheese the real reason. And she had to admit that he was right. She could use a break from her search for the Sins and the company of a pony she knew and always had so much fun with sounded like just what she needed right now. "Sure! That sounds wonderful!" Cheese just smiled in response and grabbed Pinkie's right hoof, leading her towards the door, perhaps a bit too forcefully for Pinkie's comfort but she tried to ignore that. He was probably just very eager to get some alone time with her. But even if Pinkie had any suspicions about Cheese, they completely evaporated by the time they got outside. Within a minute, they were walking and laughing together around the library without a care in the world. He managed to make Pinkie forgot about all of her worries for a minute and considering the huge worries she had right now, she greatly appreciated that. Eventually, the pare found a small bench in a quiet and secluded part of the town and sat down. It was a quiet night with nopony around. The only audible sound was the chirping of crickets. "You know, I spend so much time around parties with loud music and cheering that I sometimes forget how nice a little quiet can be." Pinkie confessed. "It feels so good out here with just the two of us." Cheese turned towards her with a sly grin. "I couldn't agree more." He mused as he leaned closer to the mare, but before their muzzles could collide, Pinkie turned back to him, smiling up at him, still completely unaware of the situation. "Thank you so much for bringing me out here, Cheese! I feel so much better. You're a great friend." To Pinkie's surprise and confusion, Cheese narrowed his eyes at her in response. "Well, I'm glad you think that way." He growled suddenly, causing Pinkie to back away in alarm. "But I want to be more than just your friend!" Pinkie's mouth fell open in shock. "What?! Cheese, are you... are you serious?" She stammered, unable to comprehend what she was hearing. She had never thought of Cheese Sandwich as anything more than a friend. Perhaps if he took his to confess to her properly, they could eventually get there, but the way he was doing it right now was anything but proper. He pressed her down on the bench and crawled on top of her, looking into her eyes with an utterly crazed look. Pinkie's eyes widened in realisation. She found who she was looking for, but she never in a million years would have expected it to be Cheese Sandwich. "Lust. It's inside you! It's controlling you!" The stallion backed away a little. It was his turn to be surprised. "How do you know about..." Cheese's eyes suddenly went wide and his pupils increased in size with a demonic red glow. When they returned to normal, he glared down at Pinkie with such a hateful stare that the mare instantly knew that Cheese was no longer in charge. "How do you know about me?" The demon snarled through it's hosts mouth. "Speak, wench!" Pinkie tried to wrestle the stallion off of herself, but it was of no use. The increased strength he received from Lust was simply too much for her. At least, in her current form. "Cheese, if you can hear me, please forgive me for what I'm about to do!" She said before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. "SHAZAM!" CRACK! The lightning that struck Pinkie was so strong that it sent Cheese back several meters away from her. When the stallion recovered, neither him, not the demon controlling him could believe their eyes. Standing in front of them was not the humble earth pony mare they tried to force themselves upon just a minute ago, but a sparkling pink alicorn, vibrating with power. A power that was all too familiar to the demon. "This power... I have felt it before..." It snarled and it didn't have to think long about where. "The power of the wizards! So the old fools can no longer stand against us by themselves and they sent a filly to do their dirty work!" The demon laughed on a chilling voice. "I'm sorry, Cheese Sandwich, but I think you won't be getting this mare after all. In order for our for our corruption to succeed, the wizards' power has to be eradicated. But don't worry, I will leave her body intact enough so you can still have some fun with her. If you're into that kind of thing, that is." Pinkie couldn't listen to this anymore. She threw herself at the possessed stallion and threw a right hook straight at his muzzle. The sudden strike was enough to catch the demon off guard and the punch sent it's host crashing back against the treehosue. Lust quickly recovered and attacked back, throwing Cheese's forelegs up into the air and bringing them down on top of Pinkie's head. The magically enchanced mare raised one hoof over her head to block it, but it wasn't enough. He managed to break through her defense smashed Pinkie's head into the ground before lifting his hooves again. "Sweet dreams, champion!" The demon snarled bitterly, but before he could brought his hooves down, Pinkie spun around with superequine speed and swiped Cheese's legs from under him. She then flew up and slammed down onto the stallion. "Come on, Cheese!" Pinkie yelled, holding Cheese by his collar. "Snap out of it! This isn't you!" The demon inside him just chuckled darkly in response. "You don't know anything. He's been longing after you for years. I wouldn't have been drawn to him otherwise. I merely give him strength to act on that feeling." The stallion then bashed his head into Pinkie's muzzle, throwing her off balance long enough for him to tackle her on the ground. Pinkie tried to get him off, but she was still too disoriented and the demon mercilessly took advantage of it. Cheese bashed Pinkie in the head several more times. Pinkie completely lost focus and the world started to spin around her, making everything a blurry mess. But she was still able to make out the demon's taunting words. "I'm going to enjoy this." It mused, striking Pinkie again. "I'm going to beat every inch of life out of you. But don't think I'm going to grant you a quick death. First, I'm going to make this dear stallion friend of yours defile you in every way possible. And as you are taking your last pitiful breaths, the last thing you will see is how I turned this pony you care so much about into the very thing you tried to destroy." But the demon's words were having the opposite effect than what it intended. Instead of losing the last remaining bits of her fortitude, they actually sparked a second wind inside her. Suddenly, the pain no longer mattered. All that mattered was that she had to save her friend from this abomination. The next time the demon tried to hit Pinkie again, she caught the hoof and held it in it's place effortlessly. She glared up at Cheese with such fiery anger that she never felt before. The demon gasped in horror as it noticed the lightning symbol across Pinkie's chest slowly start sparkling with electricity. It tried to jump back but it was too late. Pinkie's hoof connected with the stallion's muzzle and sent him flying with a huge explosion of lightning. The demon let out a shriek of agony as the lightning kept flickering around Cheese's face. It was the first time Pinkie managed to wound the entity inside the stallion and she quickly figured it out that the lightning she wielded was her only effective way to fight back. Lust completely lost it's remaining composure. Rage overtook it's entire being as it launched the body it was occupying forward to finish it's opponent for good. "DIE!" It roared at the top of Cheese's lungs, but Pinkie had other plans. She flew at the demon with the speed of Merry Breeze, pressed the raging stallion against the ground with the strength of Hoof Acres and unleashed the lightnings of Zephyr Hooves on him. Cheese's body kept writhing as he screamed on the demon's voice until he went completely stiff and finally stopped. Pinkie Pie panted heavily as she knelt over the stallion's body. As her mind finally cleared from the anger the Sin put inside her, she realised what she had done. "No! Oh, no! Cheese, please wake up!" She grabbed his shoulders and tried to shake the stallion awake. Eventually, she managed to get him to open his eyes and look up at her weakly. He tried to say something, but only muffled grunts came out, much to Pinkie's panic. "No! No! This wasn't supposed to happen! What am I going to do now?!" "I think I may be of assistance." Pinkie spun around and she already knew what she was going to see. Or more specifically, who. It was the Phantom Stranger, looking down at the two ponies in front of him with inquisitive eyes. "Oh, I'm actually glad to see you for once! You have to help me! My friend, Cheese Sandwich has been corrupted by one of the Sins and I think I accidentally fried him!" The Stranger was surprised to hear that. "So you have figured out how to use the power of lightning after all!" He said to Pinkie, sounding rather impressed, before turning his gaze at the stallion in her hooves. "I believe congratulations will have to wait, though. I have spoken with the wizard. He says he may have found a way to track down the rest of the Sins and lock them away. We have to return to the Rock of Eternity. Bring your friend as well, only Shazam will be able to help him." Pinkie nodded before turning back to Cheese, giving him a reassuring look. "Don't worry! Everything will be alright! I promise!" Cheese didn't seem to understand what the mare was saying to him. He just looked up at her with an empty expression before everything went black.