Equua Mangia touched down heavily on the Everfree forest floor. When had he let himself get so weak? He was a demon, he should be splitting these ponies' heads open with a mere spoken word, so how was it that these ponies were nearly splitting his head.
His legs buckled beneath him and he fell to the ground with obvious relief. Already he could feel his skin knitting back together, and he was glad that he at least retained his healing ability. He sighed and licked his teeth, tasting blood both his own and not. With the metallic taste of copper on his tongue, he slept.
----------------------------------------------------
His eyes snapped open to the familiar sound of breaking earth. He partially stood and leaped forward, feeling thorns drag deep gouges across his flank and belly. He turned to see a pale green and purple pony, curved horn illuminated as massive brambles sprouted out of the ground where Equua Mangia once lay.
Equua pulled his lips back in a vicious snarl at the sight of his half-sister.
Flora Veneficia glared at the red, bloody pony.
"You've been out." She growled at him, lowering her head and relighting her horn. Brambles again sprouted from the ground, reaching for the now aloft demon. He spun and clamped his powerful jaws on a stem, ripping the plant out of the earth with desperate ferocity.
"Flora, why are DOING this to me?!"
He dropped the dark green and brown foliage to the ground, hovering in the air with a look of anger and distrust aimed at his sister before zooming off into the sky. He looked behind himself, looking for his sister, but of course she wasn't following him, she couldn't fly.
After he had gained enough altitude he landed on a cloud. Maroon color spread from his hooves and infected the cloud as his hooves cressed indents into the fluffy surface. He tossed his hair out of his face and peered over the edge, watching as his sister walked away, in the direction of her home and his prison.
Equua Mangia turned away and sat before experimentally flexing and unflexing his muscles. His slight frame was absolutely pathetic compared to what it had been before, and he couldn't help but feel a small wave of sadness from the loss of his strength.
He watched as birds flitted past him, chasing each other and weaving about as birds do in the spring. Reacting as if it were a mere involuntary twitch he leaped from the cloud and stretched out his wings, darting forth and snagging a bird in his jaws. It squawked aloud, still flapping its wings and ruining them against his sharp teeth. He made it suffer for a moment, digging his fangs into the bird's tiny body before crushing it and devouring it, feathers and all. He enjoyed the raw flavor of the winged creature, though it was no match for pony flesh.
He continued to fly about, banking and curving freely, chasing the birds or bugs that happened to cross his path. He enjoyed the free feeling of wind ruffling his mane and coat, breathing in the live scents of the forest and the far-away town.