Damien looked around the library and ruffled his wings contentedly. He had been spending a great deal of time here recently, especially so in the week since Discord's defeat. Between Twilight's constant questions about his world, culture, magic, history, and everything else she could think of, his own ever growing reading list, and a desire to learn all he could about Discord before their inevitable rematch he had taken to spending more time at the library than at home. Maybe that was why she had been willing to let him watch the place while she ran some errands with Spike.
Despite his initial hopes that he would remain undisturbed throughout his time as temporary librarian he was quickly growing annoyed that he seemed to be the library's only regular patron. It was rather disappointing that he was the only one in town that saw the true value of the massive treasure trove of knowledge Twilight had accrued during her time here.
And a massive trove it was. Just yesterday he had learned that not only did she have all the books that were normally seen in the main area of the library but had an entire room of books packed up in the basement that she would rotate out every couple weeks. He had added nearly three dozen books to his list of books to read as soon as possible the day she had done her rotation.
With a sigh of resignation he turned to the next page in 'A Historical Analysis of Zebra Culture' and returned to his studies. It was a bit on the dry side but gave him a good background on zebras in general and explained a good deal about Zecora. However before he could get started again he heard the library door open and a familiar voice float through the air.
“Hello Damien, did anything happen while we were gone?” Twilight asked as she trotted into the room, a box of cupcakes floating through the air in front of her.
“Nope, you missed a perfectly boring and empty hour of work,” Damien yawned. “Errands go okay?”
“I think so… Spike?”
Her draconic assistant started at having his name mentioned suddenly and quickly looked down at the large roll of parchment he held in his claws. “Triple check checklist to make sure we didn’t miss anything when we double checked the checklist…” He shot a quick look of exasperation over at Twilight. “Uhhh, check,” he said as he marked the last item on the list off. “Ugh, I’ve been holding that quill so long I’ve got a claw cramp, good thing we don’t have anything to report to Princess Celestia this week.”
Twilight’s face fell into a pensive look before shifting to a look of horror as she exclaimed, “we haven’t sent a letter to Princess Celestia this week?”
Damien winced in sympathy as Twilight rushed over to Spike and began to extoll just how bad missing a letter was. He couldn’t help the incredulous look spreading across his face as Twilight’s panic grew and she began tearing the library apart in search of her calendar. Her antics soon culminated in her rushing upstairs constantly muttering the word ‘no’ under her breath. “You gonna follow her?” he asked Spike as he looked at the stairs in confusion.
The small dragon gave a resigned sigh. “Someone has too,” he muttered as he made his way up the stairs.
Damien watched the stairs for several moments before returning to his book once more. Hopefully Spike would be able to calm Twilight down before something drastic happened, or before his studies were interrupted again. Preferably the studies one. His wishes turned out to go ungranted as Twilight came rushing down the stairs minutes later, stopping right in front of him with a small, slightly strained, smile.
“Hey Damien! Do you have an problems, troubles, conundrums, or any other sort of issues major or minor that I as a friend can help you solve?” she asked sweetly.
Damien raised a solitary eyebrow and gave her a flat look. “We’re friends?”
“Of course! You spend a lot of time here and we talk a lot and that means we’re friends!” She proclaimed happily before descending into a look of frantic worry. “Right? That does make us friends right?” Her eyes shot back and forth feverishly. “Or am I wrong? Am I that far behind on my studies in friendship that I can’t tell if someone is my friend or not? Or maybe-”
Damien quickly reached out and clamped a claw down on her muzzle to cut her off. “I suppose that we could be considered friends,” he said quickly. “Now why do you want to know if I have any problems right now?”
“Weeellllll,” Twilight began before launching into a declaration that would do Pinkie Pie proud. “Every week I need to send a letter to Princess Celestia telling her what I’ve learned about friendship, not every other week or every ten days but every week! And today is the deadline for this week’s report and I haven’t learned anything at all so I need to find a problem and fix it so I can send a letter to Celestia by the end of today or I’ll be TARDY! Then she might give me a test and I’ll fail since I couldn’t even really tell if we were friends or not and then I’ll get sent back to MAGIC KINDERGARDEN!”
Damien stared at the wheezing unicorn in front of him in shock. “I… see,” he finally managed to say. “And it has to be from you solving a problem? Why can’t it just be something you’ve learned through your studies?”
“But it’s homework! When you do homework you solve problems! Studying isn’t the same!”
“Well what if you just sent her a letter expanding on something you already told her abou-” he stopped at the look of anger and horror that was quickly storming Twilight’s features. “Never mind then,” he added hurriedly.
“So is there anything I can help you with?” she asked, one eye twitching dangerously.
“Not that I can think of.” Twilight’s face fell at the news and Damien couldn’t help but grin at her disappointment that things were going well. “Well why not head into town? I’m sure someone out there is in trouble and could use your help,” he suggested slowly.
“Of course! One of my friends is sure to need my help! Thanks Damien!”
Damien watched her leave the library with a cheery spring in her step and shook his head. “There is no way this is going to end well.”
“That’s what I said too,” Spike said as he came down from the upper levels of the library.
“This happen a lot?” Damien asked, still looking at the now closed door.
“Not often, but it has happened before.”
“And the proper response is..?”
“Hide in the basement with the panic kit until it all blows over,” he responded as he headed into the kitchen to start gathering provisions for his stay in the panic room.
Damien rolled his eyes. “Twilight is a level headed girl; I doubt she’ll do anything too drastic.”
“Right,” Spike said with a shake of his head. “I’m going to head to the panic room now. Try to keep the library from being destroyed.”
<=[XXXXX]=>
Twilight glanced up into the sky and cringed. It was already well into the afternoon and she still had yet to find anypony to help with a problem. Fluttershy had apparently conquered her fear and learned how to wrestle bears, Rarity had found her missing tape measure, Rainbow Dash and Applejack hadn’t been fighting or angry with each other, and Pinkie Pie was nowhere to be found! If she didn’t find something soon then she probably wouldn’t have any time to write a thorough report! That would be almost as bad as not sending one at all! What if she used that report in a review of her progress in Ponyville? It would completely ruin her perfect record of friendship reports almost as badly as a tardy report! She’d be sent to magic kindergarten!
“Hey dweeb, you alright?” a voice asked.
Twilight’s eyes snapped towards the source of the voice. “Gilda!” she cried out in joy.
“Uhhh, yeah. What’s up?” she asked, a little on-edge with Twilight’s exuberant reaction.
“You wouldn’t happen to have any problems that I can help you with? Friendship related ones preferably?” she asked.
Gilda took a tentative step backwards as she took in Twilight’s crazed appearance. “Not really. Things are actually goin’ pretty good. Got a job at the post office and everything.”
“So no problems whatsoever? No anger issues? No problems with coworkers? Nothing?”
“Hey, I’m not that bad,” Gilda muttered. “And Derpy ain’t actually that annoying, a little klutzy but a good mare.” She smiled slightly.
“So nothing at all?” Twilight wheedled hopefully.
Gilda’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “Why so surprised?”
Twilight took a nervous step back. “Well it’s just that uhh… you… and well I thought…”
Gilda shook her head and sighed. “Whatever dweeb. I need to finish this delivery. Later,” she huffed as she took the sky.
Back on the ground Twilight watched her leave and slowly shifter her gaze to the sun, suppressing a manic yelp as she noticed how far the sun had moved since she had last looked at it. Her eyes darted back and forth as she tried to see somepony that she hadn’t already talked to, tried to help. Seeing that her search was in vain a new thought popped into her head. Maybe if she couldn’t find a friendship problem to solve, maybe she could make one.
<=[XXXXX]=>
Damien glanced up from his book in confusion. His eyes narrowed as he cocked his head in confusion as he tried to place the sounds coming from outside the library. His eyes widened in slight shock and confusion as the pieces finally fell in place. It sounded just like there was a barroom brawl going on outside! But ponies brawling? Most of the peaceful little things probably didn’t know how to throw a real punch! This he had to see.
With a happy grin he trotted over to the door and flung it open to see the entire town was empty. His grin replaced with a look of wary confusion he scanned his surroundings a listened intently for the telltale sounds of battle. Within seconds he determined that they were coming from over a nearby hill.
Chuckling to himself he flew over to the hill and crested it with an eager gleam in his eyes. A gleam that turned to a look of confusion as he lay eyes on a pile of ponies fighting over an ugly and heavily worn doll. Before he could wonder at why anyone would be willing to fight over such a thing when a voice whispered in the depths of his mind.
That’s the most wonderful doll I’ve ever seen. I want it. I need it, the voice whispered in his mind.
Against his better judgment he took several steps down the hill before he managed to bring himself to a stop. “No!” he muttered under his breath. “I will not be defeated by this… thing!” He quickly rallied his mental defenses and began to analyze the spell as best he could with his flailing senses.
It’s so beautiful, why have I never seen such beauty before. I want it. I need it.
Again he was drawn closer to the doll and the pile of brawling ponies. “NO!” he screamed as he wrenched his gaze away from the doll and buried his head beneath his forelimbs. “I will not fall to this!” Even as he spoke he could feel the spell working its way through his mental defenses. His eyes widened as he finally placed the magical signature he was sensing form the spell, Twilight Sparkle.
A soft thud right in front of him made him open his eyes on reflex, only to see that the doll now lay inches from his beak. His eyes locked onto the ragged toy and the voice shouted in his head once more. “NO! I will… not… LET ANYONE ELSE HAVE IT! IT’S MINE!” he shouted as he reached for the doll. Just as his talon closed around the doll he heard the thundering sound of hooves and a sharp pain as the entire herd of bewitched ponies trampled over him in their rush to get at the doll.
The sudden pain rallied his mind and gave him a few precious seconds to act outside of the control of the spell. In a fit of desperation he slammed his head on a nearby rock as hard as he could. He grinned grimly as his vision swam and the blackness descended on him. His last thoughts before the he fell into unconsciousness were of Twilight Sparkle, and the unholy fury he would visit on the foolish mare for her actions.
<=[XXXXX]=>
Damien rose to his feet with a throbbing skull, an aching back, and a mind full of thoughts of vengeance. “That spell,” he seethed as he made his way unsteadily back to his house. “How dare she cast such a spell.”
He hissed a sharp word as he approached his house and his door was nearly blown off its hinges as an invisible force threw it open. He didn’t even spare a glance at the broken lock or the ruined door frame as he entered the foyer.
With even, measured steps he made his way up the stairs, each step creaking under the weight of his rage. “To defile the mind in such a way. To rob the entire town of their free will. To strip me of my ability to choose.” His voice was soft but cut through the air like a knife. Another curt word repeated his performance with the front door on his bedroom door.
Once inside he rose up on his hind legs and placed his claws on a large wooden desk. With slow deliberate movements he traced an image onto the top of the desk. With a slow tearing sound a roll of leather slowly materialized on the desk. His smile grew colder as he looked down at the item before him, one of the few he didn’t feel the need to carry with him at all times and one that he didn’t want anyone in town to discover. “It’s been a while since I used any of you,” he muttered as he unrolled the long strip of leather to look fondly at the tools that lay inside. There were knives and tongs, mallets, razors, and thin wires nestled with care inside little indents and loops of the leather. He carefully withdrew a wickedly sharp curved knife from its fastening and ran a talon down its edge. Even at the faintest touch it left an angry red line along his. “Perfect,” he berthed as he replaced the knife and left the room muttering a small healing spell under his breath.
It was at the front door that he finally found a reason to slow down. His barely suppressed rage was temporarily hidden by a polite mask as he beheld the white alicorn in his front lawn. “Celestia, I wasn’t aware you were in town,” he said tersely.
“I’m not going to let you do this Damien,” she told him, unshakable steel in her voice.
“You surely know what that fool did and my stance on those spells,” he growled. “There is nothing that will stop me from exacting punishment.”
“Punishment or revenge?”
“Different names for the same thing,” Damien scoffed. “All punishments are revenge; they’re just usually carried out by someone else.”
“If you do this my sister and I will be forced to bring you to justice,” she cautioned him.
“Justice. A pretty word used by those with power to assure others that they are trustworthy. If you want to administer justice then go to your student,” he spat. “But you will try to bring me under your justice. Just as many others have tried. And you will fail, just as they did.”
“You know you can’t beat us. You can’t even beat one of us,” she said, appealing to the one thing she knew she could count on, his sense of self preservation.
“But I can run. I’ve felt your magic. I’ve felt the way you use it. My own magic is nowhere near yours in terms of power. But in subtlety? You cannot hope to reach me. I will run and I will hide and neither you nor your sister will find me.”
“I will stop you here and now if I have to.”
“By forcing me to stop with brute strength? You know that would only make me bide my time, wait for an opening. An opening that you would give me in time. No one is perfect, something I know better than most.”
“No. I’ll stop you by doing this,” she said as she stepped over the threshold and into his house. She felt the crackling energies as powerful wards sprung up to stop her and limit her power. She winced in pain but let the powerful magics do their work, not resisting them in the slightest.
Damien leaned back in shock at her sudden invasion of his home. “Why?” he asked when he trusted himself with speech once more. “You knew stepping into my territory would weaken you. And you didn’t even try to fight the wards and curses. You let them affect you to their full potential! You have practically lain down and placed the blade on your own throat to save me the trouble of finding one myself!”
“I said I would stop you, and this is how,” she said with a pained expression as she planted her hooves in the ground and placed herself firmly between him and the door.
“There are other ways out of my house! The back door, the pegasus entrance, the gates damned windows!” he shouted at her as he waved a forelimb around his surroundings.
“Then I’ll follow you and stand between you and those as well,” she said.
“And what makes you think I won’t simply kill you in order to leave. The fight would be difficult but we are in my domain and I would win in the end. All you would do is throw your life away! And for what? For a pupil that would drive an entire city into madness in her misguided attempts to please you? For a fanatic so obsessed with you that the thought of your disapproval allows her to consider stripping away what makes us all more than the stones beneath out feet?!”
“But you won’t kill me, I am here, practically unarmed and at your mercy simply standing in your way.”
“And why do you think that!?”
“Because deep down you don’t want to kill me, because if you dig deep enough you are a good person, and because above all else,” she smiled wanly. “It would make your life far too difficult and bothersome.”
He glared at her for several moments before throwing his arms up in disgust, flinging the leather roll off into a corner. “Fine! I won’t harm your precious student! But I will have some form of revenge.” He waved a talon and dispelled the wards holding Celestia’s power back. “Now leave before I change my mind.” With an angry grunt he turned to head up the stairs.
Celestia smiled and moved over to whisper in his ear, “thank you for proving me right.”
Before Damien could turn back to scream obscenities at her she vanished in a flash of golden light. He glared at the empty room for a time before turning back to the stair. “Gates damned princesses and their thrice damned insight,” he muttered as he headed up the stairs.