This story is a fan-fiction of MLP:FiM. I don't own any of it. It belongs to Hasbro, etc, etc.
Don't sue. Seriously. That would be so uncouth.
The Pony from Hell
Rarity stormed off to her kitchen after slamming the door to her small living room. Her mind was still reeling with frustration as she grasped the mug of coffee with her magic and took a long angry sip. She put the mug down on the table, a scowl marring her otherwise beautiful facial features.
‘What a jerk!’ she yelled in her mind as she went through her kitchen, fixing herself a simple bowl of cereal for breakfast. She thought about how grateful she was that he had saved her, but to intrude so rudely? And to think, she thought he may have been a gentlecolt. She sat down at the table to eat her meal, but first took another swig of her coffee. ‘At least he could make good coffee.’ She told herself, smirking in appreciation to a good job.
As she ate her breakfast, she tried to fight the frustration and the thoughts about Lucifer, but she couldn’t. It was all too much to take in. The events of last night and this morning were some of the most surprising that have ever happened to her, and that includes anything Pinkie Pie ever surprised her and her friends with. ‘Who is he anyway?’ she asked herself as she angrily bit down on her breakfast. It was then she realized she didn’t have a clue who he was, or why a simple (or at least simple-appearing) earth pony would be thrown into Tartarus. She knew from the whole escapade with Cerberus that Tartarus was the great underworld prison that housed all the monsters and daemons of a time before the princesses ruled Equestria. Then who was this earth pony who claimed to be the Lord of that terrible place? He could do magic without the help of a horn, that much Rarity was certain on, but how truly powerful was he? As Rarity finished her breakfast and floated her bowl into her sink, an idea jumped into her mind. She may not know who Lucifer was or why he was so powerful, but she knew somepony who would.
After a quick shower, a nice brushing, and a mental debate of which boots (she chose not to, since the rainwater, and thus mud, had dried earlier), Rarity was out of the house. She cheerily walked through the warm spring day of Ponyville saying “Hello!” to everypony she encountered, her friendly smile almost as bright as the spring sun. Eventually, she arrived at her destination and rapped three times on the wooden door of the library. Shortly, a baby dragon opened the door to the library and almost fainted with glee.
“How are you doing today, Spike?” Rarity asked, with an embarrassed smile. She knew, of course, about Spike’s little crush on her. She thought it was cute, but it still embarrassed her how he looked at her sometimes, like she was one of the princesses. She loved the attention, but sometimes it was too much.
“Gah…gah..great, Rarity!” Spike stuttered out, his eyes reflective of his emotions. “So what can I do you for?” he said, leaning against the door, trying to look as sultry as a baby dragon could.
Rarity rolled her eyes. “Is Twilight in?” she asked. “I need to talk to her about something. In fact, I think she might be the only pony who would know what I’m talking about.”
“Sure, I’ll go get her.” Spike said with large smile, glad he could be of any help. He ran off into the library and Rarity let herself in, closing the door with magic. As always, the library was neat and orderly with the occasional book lying here or there. Sunlight streamed in from plenty of windows illuminating the room and giving it a cozy warmth. The room smelled of dry wood and ancient tomes and made everything seem so all the more mystical. Rarity was looking at the ancient storybook on the pedestal in the center of the room as she heard hoofsteps behind her.
“Rarity! How are you?” Twilight said excitedly as she came down the stairs, Spike trailing behind her. She gave Rarity a quick hug before Rarity could answer her question.
“I am quite good, darling. How are you?” she said, returning her friend’s hug.
“I’m fantastic! I just finished this book on some new applications for theoretical geo-magnetic magical trigonometry and I can’t wait to try out some of the spells. But enough about me; Spike said you needed my help with something.”
“Yes.” Rarity said, her mind racing as she was about to tell Twilight about her current houseguest. For some reason, a small part of her mind kept telling her not to say anything about how the Lord of Tartarus was actually living in her house.
“Yes,” Rarity reiterated. “I wanted to know if you knew anything about this thing call ‘Lucifer’. He’s from Tartarus and the only reason I know this much is because…um, Aloe, yes Aloe, was talking about it yesterday while I was at the spa with Fluttershy. She said he was from the stories she and Lotus were told when they were fillies.”
As Rarity told her lie, feeling terrible all the while and also unsure of why she was telling it, Twilight’s eyes lit up. Rarity could see the surge of intellectual interest rush through Twilight’s body, making her excited at almost Pinkie Pie levels.
“Tartarus? ‘Lucifer’? I’ve never heard of him!” Twilight squealed in happiness. “But don’t worry! By the time we’re done here, you’ll know all about him. Spike!” she said loudly.
Spike stood at attention and saluted to Twilight.
“I want you to start in the south shelves. Rarity and I will stick with the North walls for now. Look for anything that mentions Tartarus, obviously, or any old folk tales.”
“Sí, comandante!” Spike said, rushing off away from the pair of mares as Twilight pulled various tomes from the shelves near herself and Rarity. She turned to Rarity with about two dozen books floating above her head in her magical grasp.
“Let’s start reading.”
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The grand marble doors that had the history of the Equestrian princesses etched in them and led into the Royal throne room in Canterlot Castle closed loudly and forcefully as a single pony entered the throne chamber. Inside, it was completely silent, as the princesses had made it for this meeting alone. For this was no ordinary pony and what they were to talk about was no trivial matter: something had escaped from Tartarus.
The pony, a pegasi, stopped at the foot of the thrones and bowed to both princesses, a rarity to see in the middle of the day as the one he owed allegiance to was the Princess of the Night.
“My liege.” He spoke softly as he bowed in respect to his rulers. His heavy black overcoat went well with his leather-brown coat, his white hair, and his dark grape irises around his pupils.
“Rise my vassal.” Princess Luna said grimly as the pegasi stood, his overcoat tinkling as the various gold medals on it shimmered in the light of the room. If there was anypony to undertake this job, it was this one…or so she hoped.
“You know of the situation, Fleet Admiral?” Princess Celestia asked solemnly.
“Yes, Princess.” He said before clearing his throat. “At precisely 12:15 three days ago, there was a large surge in dark magical energy from the gates of Tartarus. I was called in personally by Rear Admiral Lock Key of the Gate Troops. He reported that Cerberus had gone wild around noon and shortly after minions of Hell began to assault the gates of Tartarus. Naturally, the Gate Troops responded and helped Cerberus keep the tainted ones at bay. However, during the fighting, a large explosion of dark magic occurred behind the gates of Tartarus decimating a portion of the minions. We do not know what made this happen, but at 13:56 hundred hours, there was a similar surge within Equstria. This leads to only one conclusion…”
“So you understand what this means Fleet Admiral? What you must do?” asked Princess Luna.
“Yes my liege. I am to find what made this surge and return whatever it may be to Tartarus, dead or alive.” The pegasi responded, his purple eyes aflame with the fires of justice.
“Let us just hope it is not the worst, dear sister.” Princess Celestia said, looking over to her sister with worry. Luna returned the sentiments with a simple grunt. Somehow, she doubted it was anything easy to put back…
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“… and with sixth largeth wings, he spread the flames of war, famine, pestilence, and terror across the lands until thy Princesses, Discord, and many of the old ones of power did joineth their strengths to put him back into the pit from whence he caem.” Read a purple unicorn from an ancient book that held even older knowledge.
“Well, that Lucifer sounds like he was the first Discord, only worse.” Twilight said nonchalantly as she closed the book with magic and put it back into the special temperature and humidity controlled bookcases. “It’s surprising that Aloe and Lotus would know about him…”
“It was just a fable from their childhood, dear.” Rarity said nervously, now understanding what was now occupying her house. “It was just a way their mother would make them eat their hay and go to bed. You know, ‘eat up or Lucifer with get you.’”
“Quite.” Said a sultry voice that made Rarity jump ten feet in the air. She turned around quickly and felt her heart drop and a cold sweat form on her coat as she saw the stallion with the silver mane and the gold-flecked-red coat standing behind her, near the check-out counter.
“Who are you?” asked Twilight suspiciously, eyeing the calm stallion and the reaction by Rarity.
“I’m new to Ponyville and your lovely friend over there decided to house me while I looked for a new residence. I am Light Bearer. It is nice to meet you.” Lucifer lied.
“Really?” Twilight said with a questioning look to Rarity. “I knew you were the Element of Generosity, but even this…”
“The Element of Generosity?” Lucifer questioned with a tone of pleasurable surprise. “I did not know my beautiful hostess was also such a prominent figure in Equestria.”
Twilight smiled and giggled at all of his compliments to Rarity. “She’s quite the mare…”
“Exactly.” Lucifer said with a smile, making Rarity blush besides the fear she felt within herself. She wondered what Lucifer would do once he found out what she was doing.
“Would you mind checking this out for me?” Lucifer said to Twilight, holding up a book.
“Of course!” Twilight replied, slipping behind the checkout counter and lifting the book up with magic along with a slip of paper that she slid into the front page of the book. “The Devine Comedy.” Twilight said with appreciation as she gave the book back to Lucifer with her magic. “You don’t see many ponies reading the classics too often, now-a-days.”
“Well, I believe it’s always good to reread the historicals. This one always somehow reminds me of home.” Lucifer said with a sincere smile and a dart of the eyes to Rarity. She gulped, but followed him as he started out of the library.
“Toodles!” Lucifer called back to Twilight.
“Bye Light! Bye Rarity! Come back soon! We’ll talk later Rarity!” was all Rarity heard before the door to the library closed as she was walking side by side with the lord of hell.
“I’m not going to hurt you. Why is that the first thing everypony thinks?” Lucifer said with a tired bluntness, which made Rarity not only calm down, but also feel bad for him.
“I’m sorry, I…”
“Just wanted to find out more about me and send me back to Tartarus, right?” Lucifer cut her off, an angry tone entering his voice. “Well, you…” he said, his voice raising, his eyes flashing violently, before he took a deep breath and his enraged form seemed to diminish, all the darkness around him disappearing.
“What?” Rarity asked, truly concerned for Faust-knows-why.
Suddenly, Lucifer’s sinister smile returned. “If you really want to send me back, I can make sure you ‘accompany’ me! What a lovely prospect! I won’t be alone!”
Rarity cringed at the thought, but somehow, she felt pity for him too. It was in the way he said the last few words of what she knew to be a false threat. I won’t be alone. What had he gone through in Tartarus anyways? And despite him being a monster from, well…Tartarus, why did she want to send him back so much? He had saved her…maybe she should give the stallion a chance…
“So,” Rarity said with a mix of nervousness and boldness, “what is your story? Why did you become the ‘Lord of Tartarus’?”
“I am no Lord of Tartarus. I am the Lord of Hell, the lowest and most ancient part of Tartarus. If you think Tartarus is like a prison complex, then it is nothing more than a play-pen compared to Hell. In fact, Hell was built solely to hold moi.”
“W…what did you do?”
“I brought light.” He said sullenly, suddenly showing his age with his words. For a split second he didn’t look like the young, cocky, and powerful stallion, but an old, beaten, and tired creature, surrounded by darkness that did not suit him. Rarity was about to say something, but Lucifer silenced her with a look from his now dim emerald eyes and she followed him as he walked away from Ponyville and up to the escarpment above Ponyville Pond.
Ponies of all shapes and sizes were milling about the pond, swimming, playing, and fishing on this warm spring day. There were many pony couples, clearly in love, minding their own business and eating lunch from picnic baskets around the banks of the pond, but also atop of the escarpment, just as Lucifer and Rarity were. They walked past all of the couples who occupied the grassy area and Lucifer sat down on the rocky, unoccupied part of the escarpment that nopony would use. Simply, it was too rough and ugly-looking to be fitting for any couple in love. Despite the ugliness and roughness of the terrain, Rarity sat down next to Lucifer as he looked out ahead. Rarity followed his gaze and gasped inwardly. From this spot, one could see the entirety of the pond below, most of Ponyville, but more importantly, the wide Everfree forest. Rarity could see numerous open glades in the forest, all filled with spring flowers in bloom and wildlife in all their glory. Sunshine flitted in and out of the trees as a gentle wind rustled their tops.
“It was before your race was the dominant one on this planet.” He said quickly, pulling Rarity’s attention from the natural beauty of the forest. “I was one of the first ones. It created me first, when it split itself in two. Then it split many other times, each one with a different aspect of itself. I was the ‘Light Bearer.’ I would know wisdom in its full, not like the other ones who knew their own version of wisdom.”
“But then it happened. I learned true wisdom and became angry at it for not teaching everyone about this fact. So I taught the others like me what it would not. This angered it, which in turn angered us. One thing led to another, and soon I was at war with it. I never wanted that to happen, mind you, I just wanted some talks, maybe a few concessions, but each side became overzealous. I didn’t know what I was doing and soon that showed. My side lost a battle I never even wanted to start. It was disappointed at me and that made me angry; not because it was disappointed I even tried to fight it, but because disappointed that I was doing what I was born to do. I learned the true wisdom, so why couldn’t I share it? “
“So I was cast down with my fellow. I was left on this planet for a while to do as I pleased, which was anything that would snub it, until I overstepped my boundaries and kinda slept with one of its creations. The first ‘woman’ to be precise. So that pissed the jolly old thing off and it sent me and some of my naughtier cohorts to this underground prison complex called Hell.”
“It was, and is, like no other prison in the world. It will never be rivaled nor will it ever be brought down simply because it is your own imagination that keeps you there. It takes whatever fears you have, whatever terrible things you can think of, whatever negative emotions you can feel, and turns them into tangible things that torture you mentally, physically, and in ways you didn’t even know existed. Did you know that your aura can be set on fire? I sure as hell didn’t! And then…It’s just been so long…” he finished, looking out to the world and taking in a deep breath. Rarity saw as his eyes closed for a second, then shot open with green flames, his face the picture of pure evil, with a predatory smile that could eat through any holy light, a leer that could swoon any mare, and an angry hate that could kill anypony. But then it all went away and Lucifer laughed sadly. His face was tired, his eyes dim, his smile charming in its sincerity, a sincerity borne out of a want of truth, an end to all the lies it has told in the past.
“A long time ago, I would have ravaged this place. Now…”
The same gentle wind blew between the two, picking up scents of blooming flowers and the warmth of the coming summer and flourishing the two with them. Yet, nothing could lift the block of ice on Rarity’s heart. Sure, he was a daemon, but didn’t he deserve a second chance too? Yet, doubt strung chords across Rarity’s heartstrings as she remembered the passage about him from the old tome. It had said he was ‘the deceiver of man, a king of lies.’ But looking at his face right now, his body laden with time and consequences, she felt the block melt. He had a hard life, and though she couldn’t believe she was saying this to herself, he deserved this freedom. He had done his time. Now it was his time to become free.
Lucifer was startled as he felt the mare throw her hooves around his shoulders and pull him close to her tightly. “It’s alright.” She told him as he tried to pull away. He stopped struggling and stayed still, remembering how it felt to be held.
Strange…It’s warmer than hell, that place I’ve called home, but not unpleasantly so…
It’s so nice.