Chapter 5: Death and Pancakes
Chapter 5: Death and Pancakes
Fenrich awoke to sunlight shining onto his face, taking in the room prepared for him the previous evening. The bed, which was far too soft for his taste, stood directly in front of him as he sat against the wall next to the door while the morning sun streamed in through the glassless windows and reflecting off the amethyst floor. The room itself was relatively bare, with only a desk, an empty bookcase, and a lantern being the only other furniture in the room. While most demons would kill for the room he was currently in, the unnecessary opulence of it all only made him uncomfortable. He was a mercenary, he lived his life sleeping in either some crappy bed like in Hades or no bed at all. still, despite being in a foreign world devoid of any substantial fear energy, he felt surprisingly refreshed, especially after that party the pink one threw last night.
Somehow whenever he tried to escape from the party to gather information on Sombra, that mare always beat him to the exit. Even when he tried to jump from the balcony she was waiting there smiling with balloons tied to her barrel. What made it worse was that whenever he tried to physically throw her out of the way, he was the one who was sent flying. Usually back into the castle! After several different attempts he finally resigned to the fact that he was not leaving and instead talked with Rarity about the status of His Lord's suit which, to both his relief and chagrin, would have been done by now if it weren't for the party.
With a long sigh ending his recount of last night and his mind fully awake, Fenrich stood up from the wall and stretched his limbs, noting the pops his joints made 'I should check on My Lord and see if there is anything I can get him,' he thought 'I can't recall the last time either of us were so exhausted at the end of a day we slept through the night...wait,' the moment he thought that, something in the back of his mind told him that he was missing something important 'everything we did yesterday should not have made us as tired as we were, regardless of the lack of fear energy.' all they did yesterday, from walking through the Everfree, fighting those wooden wolves, and even his display at the apple orchard, were trivial compared to what he did daily at Hades. And yet chasing Twilight had winded him, Pinkie's party had left him dead tired 'what's going on?' while he wanted to pursue that tangent now, seeing to Valvatorez took precedence. So for now he made a mental note about the phenomena and left his room, only to find a prinny standing in front of the door leading to His Lord's.
"Morning Fenrich dood!" the prinny in question said as he saluted Fenrich "Lord Valvatorez figured you'd check on him when you woke up and wanted me to tell you that he went fishing before dawn. Said he'd be back two hours after the sun rose, dood."
"And how long has it been since the sun rose?"
"One hour and forty-three minutes, dood. I've been counting the entire time."
"I see," Fenrich answered "in that case begin searching the area for any trace of Sombra, we've already wasted enough time here as is."
"Can't do that dood!"
Fenrich eye twitched slightly as his voice turned cold "oh...and why not?"
To the prinny's credit; he stood his ground, even if he was sweating and shaking as he answered "well...Miss Twilight wants everyone present for breakfast, prinnies included, dood. Her friends Lady Rarity and Miss Pinkie Pie are already here, dood." hearing the low growl coming from Fenrich snuffed what little nerve he had as he made peace with the world.
"Grh...last night wasn't enough? Now we're being stonewalled this morning too?" Fenrich hissed. All of these distractions were starting to get on his nerves, and with the anomalous fear energy readings from yesterday still unresolved, things were quickly getting out of hand. Regaining his composure, he started making his way to the dining hall, with the prinny trailing him, where he expected the mares were waiting 'I've been lenient with these ponies, too lenient.' he thought, increasing his pace 'No more, it's time to get results.'
Twilight, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie sat at the golden table in the dining room chatting about Celestia's letter, specifically how she knew demons in the first place and what made her think that her friends would need their help, as well as the prinnies in general, two of which were standing together near the edge of the room giving them confused (albeit still blank) stares.
During the party Pinkie Pie suggested that her friends have breakfast with the demons before the princess arrived, to try and show some hospitality after the mixed first impressions. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were hesitant at first, but some pleading from one of the prinnies and the promise of cider from Applejack eventually changed their minds. At present, Spike was in the kitchen making enough pancakes to feed the thirteen of them. Rarity had brought with her some imported tea as well as cups for everyone expected to be here, on top of Valvatorez's finished clothes currently sealed in a box that rested on the table. Pinkie Pie brought the syrup and butter as well as whipped cream, chocolate chips, and three different kinds of jelly, all of which were kept in her mane.
"Now that you mention it..." Rarity said to her friends "the prinnies act as if having breakfast like this is unheard of. It makes me wonder what they go through on a daily basis."
"Well why don't we ask them!" Pinkie suggested, grabbing one of the prinnies with her front hooves "I mean we got two prinnies right here. Let's see what they say!" she said, completely oblivious that the prinny she was holing on to was struggling for dear life to break free of the her grasp.
"Help me dood! I don't wanna diiiie!"
Twilight carefully wrested the prinny away from her friend with her magic and carefully set him back down on the ground "Pinkie you have to be more careful with these prinnies," she scolded, noticing that the prinny was now kissing the ground "Valvatorez said that they explode when thrown and I don't want to find out if that's true or not."
"Hehe...sorry Twilight." Pinkie replied sheepishly.
"Pinkie does have a point, darling." Rarity added "Who would know better what that these prinnies go through each day than one of the prinnies themselves?"
"A prinny's job is to do whatever their master commands without question, they earn one sardine per twenty hour work day and have no benefits, sick days, paid time off, or healthcare."
The three mares jumped at the new arrivals voice, and noticing the prinnies were staring at the door petrified. With their curiosity piqued they turned towards the door to get a better look at who said it, and their blood ran cold. Closing the door behind him, Fenrich slowly walked up to the group with another prinny following behind him "And that is merely a standard prinny contract, there are far worse ones available depending on the soul and the client." there was no snark in his words, no humor, everything he had said was cold and callous as he stared at the ponies in the room with disgust "And right now not only are they not working as they should, your preventing them from working with something they are by rights not entitled to."
"That's horrible!" Twilight objected.
"That is more than what greedy, lazy, and corrupt souls deserve." Fenrich snapped before anyone else there could speak "And in case you've forgotten there's one such soul running rampant in this world right now, one willing to steal from, and kill other demons." Rarity's and Pinkie's eyes went wide at this revelation and if Fenrich were done talking, they would be bombarding Twilight with questions right now "We should have begun our search yesterday after Lord Valvatorez's suit was commissioned instead of wasting time meeting your friends, princess. Now if you'll excuse me, I have work to do, and so do the prinnies." with a quick glance to the two prinnies in front of him he snapped them out of their stupor and silently ordered them to follow. As he turned around his glare hardened as he found the door being blocked by one of the mares, currently standing on her hind legs and using her body as a barricade "Move."
"Nuh-uh no way!" Pinkie Pie said, determined to not give in to Fenrich's intimidation "If they're gonna be working all day...and...all night really..." she looked away, thinking about that tangent for a moment before returning her gaze to Fenrich "then they're gonna need a big breakfast!"
Fenrich couldn't believe what this pony was saying. Did she not hear him explain that prinnies don't get a breakfast normally? Or was she so caught up in throwing parties that the world could fall apart around her and she wouldn't mind? To him there was only one logical conclusion "...you're an imbecile aren't you?" Pinkie merely responded with a questioning glance while Fenrich suspected the glances from her friends were much less forgiving. Regardless the pink pony did not back down. With a heavy sigh Fenrich approached Pinkie, keeping a steady gaze on the mare as she began to shrink back and sweat a little "If you will not move on your own..." he said right before he grabbed her by the head, lifted her up to eye-level- "...then I shall make you move."
-And threw her passed the table.
Pinkie Pie rolled on the floor, dazed and disoriented but otherwise unharmed by Fenrich's throw. That didn't mean her friends took kindly to seeing her tossed across the table. Rarity rushed over to her dizzied friend while Twilight flared her wings and pointed her now-glowing horn at Fenrich, ready to unleash a few choice spells on the werewolf for harming her friend "what was that for!?"
"Wasn't it obvious, to get her out of my way." Fenrich replied calmly 'it's not like she's hurt or anything, My Lord would never forgive me for breaking one of his promises.' he thought before adopting his own fighting stance "And know this, if you attack first I'll have no choice but to resort to more...draconian measures to defend myself." Twilight didn't seem to understand what he just said, or perhaps she actually thought she could take him in a fight. Either way she was not backing down as magic continued to gather in that horn of hers and she kept her sights squarely on him. Fenrich did the same, looking for any indication of an incoming attack and the moment directly afterwards that he could use to counter and end this sorry excuse of a royal. He never got the chance though as the sound of footsteps from behind him drew his attention away "Tch, damn..." he muttered. Soon after he stood up straight and turned toward the door just in time for it to open and reveal the intruder "Welcome back My Lord." Fenrich said with a smile.
"Ah, good morning Fenrich. Do you by chance know where the kitchen is? I've caught quite a few sardines and wouldn't want them to go bad." Valvatorez said with a smile as he entered the room carrying over his shoulder a makeshift fishing pole made from a stick, some string, and a small jagged crystal shaped into a hook in one hand. In the other was a saddlebag with a six pointed star on the front filled to the brim with sardines (some of which were still twitching). Finally taking notice to the situation Valvatorez's looked towards his steward and Twilight curiously "um...am I interrupting something?"
"No not really," Fenrich replied nonchalantly "we merely had a difference of opinions-"
"You threw Pinkie across the room!" Twilight exclaimed.
"She's fine..." Fenrich replied dismissively.
To try and prove his point he shifted his attention to Pinkie opting the other two to do the same. Pinkie was standing on her hooves at least even if her head was spinning and she was swaying from side-to-side "yep I'm totally ok." Pinkie said with a smile, even though she was still wobbling back and forth "Why are there three Fenfens?"
While the disbelieving stares he got from Twilight and Valvatorez hurt, one more so than the other, Fenrich couldn't understand why Pinkie was acting like that 'odd, I didn't think I put that much force into it...' he thought but his musings were interrupted by one of the few things ha actually feared.
"Fenrich."
That being his lord's ire directed at him "yes, My Lord?" he replied tentatively.
"Care to explain why you tossed Pinkie Pie across the dining room?" Valvatorez asked sharply, setting down his fishing pole and sardines against the wall.
"Please understand My Lord, since we've been here all we have done is follow princess here, getting caught up in side trips and distractions along the way. For once since we've been here I'd like to get something done that actually relates to our mission." Fenrich pleaded, trying to save some face with His Lord "as such I came here to gather the prinnies and begin investigating, but the pink one-"
"Her name is Pinkie Pie, not the pink one. And we just wanted them to have pancakes with us!" Twilight interrupted, even having Rarity support her with a glare.
"...As I was saying," Fenrich continued unfazed "that mare blocked the way out, so I was forced to physically move her out of the way."
Valvatorez had closed his eyes and covered his face halfway through Fenrich's explanation, not out of boredom but instead to better absorb what was being told to him without distractions. Still, after everything had been said, his reason for covering his face had changed from focus to mirth "Fenrich, you should know full well how much I value the promises I make, as well as how I feel about you trying to deceive me." he scolded, glaring at him from behind his hand "However, while I am not fully convinced, Pinkie Pie has attested to being fine, and as such I've decided to be lenient...this time." Fenrich's eyes widened at what he just heard and was about to say something that Valvatorez could practically hear already "Do not mistake my actions, Fenrich. There will be consequences for your actions, but seeing that there are no chores the prinnies could not do themselves nor a legion of Overlord-class demons to face you will have to be punished for your actions later."
"Understood, My Lord..." Fenrich sighed.
Twilight gave Fenrich a victorious smirk while he reciprocated with a snarl which lasted up to the point where someone loudly cleared their throat, drawing attention back to them "you're not without fault either, Twilight." Valvatorez chided "While I'll admit Fenrich's actions were uncalled for, I cannot allow you to give the prinnies anymore food."
"What! why!?"
"Simple; they don't deserve it." he explained matter-of-factly "I know I've told you that a prinny is the soul of a sinful being working off their sins to be reincarnated." Twilight nodded in response whereas the other two ponies in the room gasped, looked at the three prinnies in disbelief (who nodded in confirmation), and retuned their attention to Valvatorez with their jaws still open "As such, they are not allowed any luxuries, such as more than one meal a day."
"But, Valvatorez, even if what you say is true, that just sounds barbaric." Rarity said as she helped Pinkie to the table.
"Then tell me; what would you do with your criminals?" Valvatorez countered and watched as both Rarity and Twilight were about to say something "And I'm not just referring to the pickpockets or litterers either. I mean all of them, including the worst ones you have ever faced and ones even worse than that." he added, stifling whatever the two mares were going to say "I could continue on with this until the sun sets again but for the sake of time I will simply say this; the prinnies are allowed one basic meal per day in the form of one sardine that they may either eat or sell to pay off their sins."
While Twilight didn't like admitting it, Valvatorez had a point. Equestria had Tartarus to lock up their criminals and they usually stayed locked up there. At least with the prinnies they're given a chance through hard work and reformation. But she still didn't like it "then how about a compromise?" she offered, watching as Valvatorez was about to object "Before you say anything at least hear me out. How about one pancake, split equally between them into fourths, in place of their usual sardine. Also they will not get anything to use as toppings, it will be just a regular, quarter slice of pancake, with nothing on it or with it."
"Nothing!?"Pinkie exclaimed, grasping onto Twilight's shoulders shocked after what she just said "Twilight, how could you!? I...I thought we were friends!" she cried, being as dramatic with her words as she could possibly be "At least butter, or syrup, or ANYTHING! But please have a heart!"
Twilight was unfazed by Pinkie's performance although she did sigh in relief knowing that she was in fact fine. "I'm sorry Pinkie, but this is the best I can do. I can tell Valvatorez is adamant about the prinnies get only the barest of meals," she said after prying her friend off her. At hearing this though Pinkie's eyes started getting bigger and more watery while her mane deflated into a slight curl "but I promise everything will be ok." Twilight reassured her 'besides, I never said how big the one pancake was going to be...'
"Pinkie Promise?"
"Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my-ouch!" Twilight said as she went through the motions up to her jamming her hoof into her eye 'one of these days I won't poke my eye out doing that.' she noted.
Valvatorez watched as Twilight went through the motions with barely restrained curiosity. Once he thought she was done he asked "Twilight, what was that you did just now?"
"It's called a Pinkie Promise," Twilight replied, still rubbing her eye "It's a promise between friends that you must keep, no matter what."
"And if you don't?"
"I'm...not entirely sure..." she admitted, she had never met anypony who broke a Pinkie Promise. The closest she could say was the Dodge Junction incident with Applejack "I heard that Rainbow Dash knows somepony who did but she wouldn't tell me anything about it." she added before returning to a more serious tone "And I'm not about to find out either."
Valvatorez was taken aback slightly at Twilight's declaration "you would risk breaking an unbreakable promise just so the prinnies can have some pancakes?"
"It was Pinkie's idea and I won't let down a friend." she replied staring down the demon.
Valvatorez could see the determination emanating off the princess in that steeled gaze of hers. And while he wants Twilight to keep her promise, his duties as a prinny instructor left him virtually obligated to decline. This back and forth thinking went on in his mind when at last he sighed "it seems I have no choice...very well, I shall agree to your terms." almost immediately Twilight and Pinkie brightened up, Pinkie especially looked ready to pounce on him. Their enthusiasm was curved slightly when he extended his hand so that he could continue speaking "However, there are two conditions that must be met. First: immediately after their meal the prinnies are to begin their individual tasks, and are expected to work twice as hard to compensate for this. And second: this will be a one-time deal for I will not allow any prinnies under my tutelage to be spoiled. These conditions are NOT negotiable, understand?"
"Yes, I understand." she replied evenly.
"Good, now if you'll excuse me I simply must find the kitchen and put these sardines on ice before they start to go bad." Valvatorez stated cheerfully as he reached for his makeshift fishing gear.
"Um, Valvatorez?" Twilight said as she grasped the saddlebag of sardines in her magic "I think Rarity has something for you so...I'll take these to the kitchen for you." she quickly stated before galloping out of the room with the bag of fish.
"Oh? Well...okay then." Valvatorez shrugged as he shifted his grasp to the fishing pole and stored it in his cape's pocket dimension. He turned around to see Rarity staring slack jawed at where the bag he used was with Pinkie standing beside her, giving the same spot a curious look.
"Hey, Rarity?" Pinkie asked.
"Yes?"
"Wasn't that Twilight's favorite saddle bag?"
"Yes..."
"...Do you think she'll ever get the fishy smell out?" the only reply she got was muffled crying as Rarity slumped onto the table "I'll...take that as a no." she said sheepishly. Seeing that Rarity was in no condition to present...well...anything, Pinkie grabbed the package with her hoof, holding it like a waiter would somepony's main course. With a quick shake of her mane, it became the same style as Rarity's and with clearing her throat she elegantly walked up to Valvatorez "Here you are sir Valzy, your order has been finished." she said in a mock high-society voice.
Valvatorez tried to suppress a chuckle as he watched Pinkie offer him the package "is that supposed to be Rarity?" he said as he relieved Pinkie of her parcel.
"Uh-huh!" she replied with her usual tone and gusto. Even her mane poofed back to normal after she broke character "What do ya think? Spot on? Not even close?"
"Hmm...practice makes perfect." Valvatorez evaluated before turning his attention to the package in his hand. Carefully he untied the strings binding it and parted the paper to reveal the folded black clothes inside. He then grabbed the articles of clothing, letting them unfurl in his grasp and tossed aside the wrapping "So, this is my suit remade hm?" he stated, beginning his examination "Color scheme remains the same and the size looks right, as do the proportions...although I am curious about the ruby cufflinks and embroidery." he noted. The rubies in question were cut to the shape of a diamond and were slightly larger than his previous button cufflinks. The white leather leg straps were gone and in their place were three similarly cut rubies sewn onto the outside of each pant leg running down vertically towards the end. "Well nothing left to do now but try it on, it's been a while since I tried doing that."
"That My Lord?" Fenrich asked, unable to hide his surprise.
"Ooh ooh, are we gonna see something cool!?" Pinkie asked, bouncing in front of Fenrich.
"That's right, but I would step back if I were you." Fenrich replied cynically.
Valvatorez raised his hand, conjuring dark energies from the ether into a shadowy ball above his head sucking up his new clothes into the expanding darkness. As the black sphere grew it eventually came into contact with Valvatorez himself slowly consuming him as well. When at last Valvatorez had disappeared into the ball of shadows it finally stopped growing and instead started pulsating. Moments passed and Pinkie and Rarity were becoming concerned that something went wrong, but one glance at Fenrich's face suggested that everything so far was meant to happen. Before they could worry any longer, an earth-shattering crack echoed throughout the room as white faults began to appear on the shadowy ball, and then another, and another and even a vertical band of green energy escaped, leaving a small gash in the crystal floor.
When the sphere of darkness, now littered with cracks and gashes, could take no more it erupted outwards covering everything in a black smoke-like substance before dissipating harmlessly. Standing at the center of where the sphere had been was Valvatorez flaring his cape in his new clothes "muwahahahaha! It's perfect! The fabric is not the least bit irritating to the skin, the stitching holds no matter how I move my body and doesn't feel the least bit restrictive!" he proudly declared to the group, even going so far as to throw a few punches and an uppercut to prove his point "Excellent work Rarity! Your skills are truly unrivaled in this world!"
"It was a pleasure working on such an order Valvatorez." Rarity said, looking up and wiping the tears from her eyes "I enchanted the gems to automatically repair any future damage done to the suit so you don't have to worry about tearing it again, or at least as long as there is magic in Equestria anyway."
"Wow Rarity! I didn't know you could do that!" Pinkie complimented.
"Twilight is not the only one striving to improve her magic." Rarity commented with a hint of pride in her tone "I too must improve if I am going to be known throughout Equestria."
"Well don't you have ambition!" Valvatorez exclaimed, giving Rarity an approving nod. He then turned toward his steward, who was merely standing with his head bowed, eyes closed, and a content smirk on his face "Fenrich, so long as you abide by the promises I've made you are free to do as you wish until Celestia arrives. I am going to stay here and keep an eye on the prinnies as well as talk with Rarity some more." he ordered.
"Understood, My Lord." Fenrich said before turning to leave the dining hall.
"Now then," Valvatorez continued as he took a seat at one of the cushions around the table making himself comfortable "why not tell me all about it while we wait for your friends and Celestia to show up. Besides I must think of a way to repay you for this."
"Oh don't worry about it in the slightest Valvatorez." Rarity said, waving her hoof dismissively and causing Valvatorez to frown slightly "As for my dreams and ambitions, well I would be more than happy to, although it will most definitely take some time to explain it all," Rarity answered as she poured herself a cup of tea. once her cup was full, she grabbed an empty cup towards her, on for each of the guests currently sitting at the table "care for some tea as well, Valvatorez? Pinkie?"
"Sure." they both replied.
For a while everything was peaceful. Valvatorez, while enjoying a cup of tea provided by Rarity and was listening contently to her desires for the future with Pinkie Pie chiming in whenever she felt like.
Over the course of an hour Twilight had returned, along with Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and the fourth prinny arriving shortly thereafter. Applejack had brought two kegs, presumably filled with cider strapped to her sides. Fluttershy had with her saddlebags bursting full of an assortment of small berries whereas the prinny had three large sacks lugged over his shoulder which, if how much he was sweating was any indication, were quite heavy. Rainbow Dash had brought...nothing. While it did strike Valvatorez as odd, whenever he asked or chided her about it her response was always...
"It's not that I don't bring something I just...forgot about it this time."
...Or something similar never specifying what that something was. Even Fenrich had shown up offering the charred newts to everybody who all 'politely declined' the offer for one reason or another.
The meal itself occurred with little incident. Each pony there, save for Pinkie Pie who had triple the amount, had a respectable stack of five or six pancakes adorned with whipped cream and various combinations of toppings depending on the individual, from Applejack's strawberry and honeydew creation to Twilight's blueberry and chocolate chip masterpiece.
Speaking of Twilight, Valvatorez (who had topped his three pancakes with sardines and pomegranates) had become irked when he saw the singular pancake meant for the prinnies turning out to be larger than five pancakes combined. However, when he confronted Twilight on this, her counter-argument was that he never specified the size the pancake had to be. This response, albeit a simple one, was enough to dissuade Valvatorez from pursuing the matter, much to Fenrich's chagrin(who had a plate of two pancakes and the aforementioned charred newts in front of him). This act would soon lead to the foundation of the Twilight Sparkle fan club in the Netherworld and shortly after the first Prinny Civil War.
But that is a story for another day.
For now, as Valvatorez looked towards the ceiling, the peaceful times the six ponies and baby dragon gathered here cherished would once again be placed in danger by forces they could not beat individually. Valvatorez was the first, Fenrich shortly after, and soon Twilight and her friends took notice of their staring and smiled. Be it through sensing their magic or watching the ones who did, everyone in the room had reached the same conclusion.
Celestia had arrived.
Everyone had assembled at the archway leading outside to the castle balcony, Twilight, her friends, and Spike stood to the side of the room in a line smiling at who had just arrived. Valvatorez and Fenrich stood side-by-side in front of them closer to the center of the room, each with their neutral glares staring down who was on the other side of the doorway while the prinnies fumbled about near a map of the local area.
On the other side of the archway was a golden chariot with two white pegasi in golden armor ready to pull the chariot at a moments notice. and in front of them, walking towards the group was an alicorn. The first thing that Valvatorez noticed was that this one was twice as big as Twilight perhaps even taller than him, if you counted the horn that is. after that everything else registered almost at once. Her fur and feathers were pure white, the horseshoes, regalia, and crown she wore were made from gold with a diamond-shaped amethyst crystal in the crown and chestpiece. Her mane, which were a collection of light colors normally seen in an aurora, flowed in a non-existent breeze and covered one of her violet eyes. Yet despite her radiance she wore a gentle smile that obviously contradicted the immense power Valvatorez could feel emanating from her.
"It is a pleasure to finally meet you in person Tyrant Valvatorez." the alicorn said in a regal tone...no, regal wasn't the right word for it. It was like a mother meeting her daughters friend for the first time, kind and gentle but with a subtle hint that one wrong move on his part would end with cleaning up their remains off the walls and floor. There was no doubt in Valvatorez's mind on who this was.
"Hmhmhm...so your Princess Celestia." Valvatorez surmised, returning her gentle gaze with a wry grin. In the moments where there eyes locked together the air in the room became heavy as a black fire seemed to emanate from Valvatorez while a white light appeared to radiate from Celestia clashing with the dark aura as the two sized each other up. Valvatorez could tell she was strong possibly as strong as an overlord-class demon, and right now she was holding back! Valvatorez had to grip his pant leg to stop his hand from shaking he was just so excited at the prospect of a strong opponent other than Hugo. "Just so you know; I haven't considered myself a Tyrant in a long time." Valvatorez added, not once breaking eye-contact with his mental opponent.
"So I've heard." Celestia replied with a chuckle as her aura receded causing Valvatorez to relax and do the same. She then turned her attention towards his steward and said in the same motherly tone: "It's also nice to meet you, Sir Fenrich."
Fenrich merely scoffed at her words earning some distasteful glares from the ponies behind him and even the guards pulling the chariot "enough pleasantries, say what you want so we can get to work capturing our escapee."
"To the point I suppose..." Celestia sighed "very well, but there are two things I must address first." she said, her motherly tone becoming stoic near the end "Twilight, everypony, there is someone I would like to introduce to you." she declared, turning her attention to her side.
The ponies watched as from behind Celestia came a figure still taller than Twilight and the prinnies but not nearly as tall as Valvatorez. He had golden blonde hair and bright red eyes currently staring at the group with an annoyed expression and(presumably) had his hands inside his coats pockets which ended covered in black fur. The coat in question was green with white sections on the sides with a yellow stripe running down the sleeves, the hood was pulled over his hair showing the cartoony skull at it's top while hood extended into an unearthly blue flickering flame separated by a large gold ring.
"This is Sir Death Emizel, son of the sixty-first president of the Netherworld Death King Hugo, an...old friend of mine." Celestia announced.
A hundred things were going through Valvatorez's mind right now. How did Celestia, this Celestia, know about Death King Hugo? And why did she refer to him as 'an old friend'? But for right now anyway there was something far more important that had to be addressed. "Fenrich?"
"Yes My Lord?"
"Would this count as a hat trick."
"I believe so My Lord, and a dissapointing one at that."
"Hey! I'm standing right here you know!" Emiel shouted.
Fenrich hung his head, rubbing his temples with his hand and groaned "and why are you here, whelp?"
"I'm here because my father caught wind of your little jailbreak at Hades." Emizel replied evenly, watching as one of Fenrich's eyes twitched "He wanted me to warn Celestia about it since the soul inside originally came from here. And once Celestia found out I knew you two she made arrangements so that we could meet."
"I take it these 'arrangements' are related to the lack of fear energy in this world?" Fenrich probed.
"You're half-right, Fenrich." Celestia responded "As you have figured out, there is little to no fear energy anywhere in Equestria. That is because for the past one thousand years there has been no reason for my ponies to be scared." she said with a hint of pride sneaking into her tone "However, Equestria is still a land full of magic, so much so in fact that pure mana seeps into everything. And while everything here has grown accustomed to it, your bodies would need time to get used to it."
"Having ones natural energy drained from them and replaced with an alternative source usually causes side-effects while the body adjusts, such as dizziness, vomiting, paralysis, blackouts, and..." Fenrich's eyes went wide as realization(and soon after his palm) hit him in the face " ...exhaustion. You wanted us to stay somewhere close, somewhere in your control in case we suffered any of the more serious side-effects."
"As I said: you're half-right. I meant what I said in my letter to Twilight,"
"Ok hold up! can somepony explain to me what's going on?" Rainbow Dash interrupted as she pointed at Emizel, Celestia, and Fenrich in succession "Your first name is Death, you knew THE KING of Death, and YOU lied about being a diplo-whatever you said-"
"I told you I was a diplomat of sorts," Fenrich stressed "I never said I was an official diplomat."
"And my first name isn't Death! I am Death." Emizel added.
"Ok, fine, whatever..." Rainbow Dash grumbled "my point remains the same! those two have been deceiving us this whole time! Those things are souls in penguins for crying out loud! He" pointing at Valvatorez "drinks blood and eats fish like it's nothing, what's stopping him from up to ponies?" Rainbow Dash asked rhetorically, yet before he could reply she continued on to Fenrich "And he just reeks of bad intentions. I bet he's done things that would make us sick to our stomachs with a smile on that face of his."
'That, and so much more, you multicolored waste of air.' Fenrich thought with a smirk.
"In fact, I'll bet you're the prisoners from the Netherworld that escaped." she added spitefully.
That tore it. Any patience Fenrich had left for the mare was just cast out the window by her off-handed comment. He could feel his hair bristling as fury slowly overtook him. His eyes reduced to pinpricks as in one fluid motion he turned toward Rainbow with a look of pure malice "say what you want about me but one more word against My Lord and I'll pluck out each and every one of those feathers you have and turn you into paste!" he threatened.
"I'd like to see you try." Rainbow Dash snorted, taking a fighting stance and flaring her wings with Fenrich brandishing his claws and adopting his own stance. Before they could do anything though magical auras enveloped each of them, a purple one for Rainbow Dash and a golden one for Fenrich, with the addition of one vampire and alicorn coming between them.
"Rainbow! Fenrich! that's enough!" Twilight yelled being back-to-back with Valvatorez facing her friend "Seriously, what's gotten in to you Rainbow?" she asked, becoming genuinely worried about her friends behavior.
"With me!? what about you Twilight!?"
"...Excuse me...?"
With a long sigh Rainbow relaxed her stance, as much as she could in Twilight's magic anyway, and stared into her eyes with a stoic face "yes, I heard what they said, Twilight. About blood and sardines being one of the only things he likes." she confessed, even motioning towards Valvatorez as best she could "How can you be ok with that!?" she pleaded.
"I'm not." Twilight replied with a firm voice before she softened it "Rainbow Dash, do you honestly think I would be ok with anything that drank blood for a living?"
"Of course not, so why are you!?"
"As I said; I'm not. Valvatorez promised me to not to drink the blood of anypony in Ponyville."
"And you believe him?"
Valvatorez glared at her through the corner of his eye "are you implying that I would go back on my word?" he asked Rainbow Dash rhetorically, almost daring her to answer the question "I would never break a promise, even if it cost me my life. though if you won't believe my words, then let my actions prove it to you." he said, now giving her his full attention while Fenrich cursed (mentally) that he could not stop what was about to happen "engrave these words into your heart and watch my actions Rainbow Dash as I make this promise to you; no pony, or dragon," he quickly added "will be harmed by me or any under my command."
Rainbow Dash couldn't help but groan after hearing something like that, it was almost too corny. And the fact that a supposed demon said it made it sound worse. So much so that continuing to argue just didn't seem right to her. Reluctantly she let out a long sigh and relaxed her body as Twilight set her down on the ground and released her from her telekinetic hold while Celesta did the same for Fenrich "...I'm still not convinced, though." she murmured, sitting down on the floor and crossing her forehooves.
"I think we should move on now..." Emizel noted now that the two didn't look like they were about to kill each other.
"I agree, time is of the essence after all." Celestia added, releasing Fenrich from her grasp "As I said there were two things I must address before I can continue. My little ponies I want you all to answer me honestly; what are your opinions of Valvatorez and Fenrich? Can you cooperate with them should the need arise?"
For a while each of them exchanged nervous glances, none of them wanting to be the first. After another minute one of them finally stepped forward "ah suppose ah'll start then." Applejack huffed, adjusting her stetson "Valvitor-, Valvetar-...grr, Mr. Val seems like a well enough...um...demon. An' Fenrich definitely knows how ta do hard work, but somethin about him keeps tellin me that he's not bein entirely honest with everypony."
"That's not surprising," Emizel stated nonchalantly "schemes and conspiracies are Fenrich's bread and butter. I think Valvatorez is the only sentient being that does completely trust him."
"It's true." Fenrich added.
"I suppose I'll go next," Rarity said "when I first met Valvatorez and Fenrich, I thought I was having a nightmare, but after talking with Valvatorez some more I've come to realize that he is not as bad as I first thought. He has his own aesthetics on just about everything, even what it means to be, as he put it, a proud and noble demon. I must say there are a few nobles in Canterlot who could learn a thing or two from him." one in particular came into mind as she said that. "Fenrich on the other hoof..." she winced and to look away as she tried to find the right thing to say "I won't mince words; I do not like him. From his attitude, to what he did to poor Pinkie Pie, to his outfit for pony's sakes,"
"I said I was fine Rarity." Pinkie Pie whined.
"I know dear, but it's the fact that he did it is the point I'm trying to make. With everything I have seen so far I would not mind working with Valvatorez more...but I cannot say the same about Fenrich. I'm sorry princess." she concluded with a bow to Celestia.
"It's fine Rarity, I cannot fault you for speaking you mind, especially when I ask you to after all." Celestia reassured "Now then, who would like to go next?"
"Oh oh me! Me me me! Pick me!" Pinkie said bouncing around with her hoof in the air. With a nod from the Celestia she eagerly began "Valzy and Fenfen are great!" Pinkie started, pulling out props from her mane while continuing "We ate some cake together, had an awesome party, played a lot of fun party games, ahh I remember it like it was yesterday..."
"It was yesterday Pinkie." Rainbow Dash chided.
"Oh, right, hehe. felt like over a month ago for some reason." she replied sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head with her hoof.
Everyone then turned their attention back to Rainbow Dash. being the next new pony to speak she inadvertently volunteered to go next. Realizing this she sat on her haunches and crossed her hooves staring at everyone with an adamant look "you all know how I feel. Whatever's coming this way we can take it without their help, like we always have!"
Celestia sighed at Rainbow's stubbornness. While she appreciated her drive and determination, she knew it would do her little good with what's to come unless she could work together with Valvatorez and his group. "And what about you, Fluttershy?" she asked, watching as, unlike Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy trembled under everyone's inquisitive gaze "Do you share your friends sentiments?"
"U-um...well...th-they scare me...a lot actually..." she managed to eke out "b-but Mr. Valvatorez promised to help me with something. And he doesn't seem very bad...even if he does eat fish..."
"And Fenrich?" judging by Fluttershy's action of staring down at the amethyst floor and hiding behind her mane Celestia figured she most likely had nothing else to say 'I suspect that sums it up.' she concluded before returning her attention to Fluttershy "it's ok Fluttershy, you don't have to say anymore, thank you for being so honest." after a simple nod, Fluttershy laid down on the floor and let out the breath she had been holding as Celesta moved on down the line of those who haven't spoke yet "and what about you, Spike? you've been surprisingly quiet throughout all of this."
Spike blinked at sudden attention, clearly not expecting to be called on "um...well...I don't really know what else I can add. I mean everypony knows Fenrich's strong already and I'll bet Valvatorez is even stronger so...working together should be fine as long as Valvatorez agrees as well, right Twilight?"
Twilight acknowledged Spike's question with an affectionate nod before pondering the question herself. While it was true the demons made no attempt to hide they took pleasure in terrifying humans from there dimension from her, Valvatorez didn't seem like the other megalomaniacal villains she faced this past year. If anything, he was more eccentric than anything. And Fenrich, while undoubtedly dangerous and definitely hiding something, was fiercely loyal to his master and followed his orders even if he didn't agree. It was like Spike said, so long as Valvatorez was on-board, Fenrich and the prinnies would most likely follow.
After gathering all of her thoughts together Twilight confidently began "Valvatorez had plenty of chances to hurt me on my way back to Ponyville, but he didn't. In fact he protected me and Spike from a pack of timberwolves when he really didn't have to. From what I've seen he's straightforward and honest, always looking for some positive, loyal to his beliefs and never goes back on his word. and while he may be a demon he doesn't exactly strike me as 'evil'. Fenrich...well..." at this point the confidence in her voice wavered. Fenrich was someone she would consider being evil, what with being able to lie eloquently, fight ferociously, and demand respect from his subordinates, and loathes friendship of any kind but she still had to make a case "he's smart, pretty rude, and probably only sees Valvatorez as his equal, and has done who-knows-what before coming here." at this Valvatorez, Emizel, Fenrich, and the prinnies behind her all nodded in sync with each other "But he trusts Valvatorez, and Valvatorez trusts him, therefore I will trust him as well."
"I see..." Celestia said as a wistful smile appeared on her face "it makes what I'm about to ask a little easier at least..." she whispered only loud enough that Twilight, Valvatorez, and Fenrich could hear it. The next moment her faint smile faded, being replaced with the stoic expression of a ruler "My little ponies, I'm afraid I have terrible news for you all. As you have all heard by now, yesterday, at around ten in the morning, a prisoner from Valvatorez's dimension escaped into Equestria. It is with great regret that I say the prisoner Valvatorez and Fenrich are pursuing is none other than King Sombra."
At first there was silence, simply six ponies and a dragon staring at the diarch with wide eyes and mouths agape. After a minute of silence the group yelled "WHAT! KING SOMBRA!?" in perfect unison to the demons surprise. Twilight was the first to recover from the revelation and stepped forward "but...how!? King Sombra was torn apart by the Crystal Heart! Spike saw it first-hoof!"
"I suppose that is my fault." Celestia replied dejectedly, her features falling into a slump as she stared at an empty part of the floor blankly "I had wanted to reform the souls trapped in Tartarus; to give them a second chance at a happy life. It was shortly after Discord was reformed that I was approached by the newest President of the Netherworld, President Axel-"
"Axel? You met that idiot too?" Fenrich interrupted. And when Celestia nodded he couldn't help but groan "And let me guess; he boasted about his new position, you made a deal with him that if you won at a game of some sort-"
"Hundred Blight Hold'em to be precise." Celestia clarified.
"-that he would do anything you said, you did and sent the souls of your dead criminals to Hades. Does that about sum it up?"
"More or less," Celestia replied with a sheepish grin before returning to her usual stoic expression "I am not foalish enough to send all of Equestria's criminals and tyrants to Hades, not without seeing the results of a few anyway. I also suggested other dimensions for the sake of anonymity."
"You know, Sombra has caused quite a mess back in Hades." Valvatorez stated "As a ruler of Equestria and as the catalyst for the situation we're currently in, you are going to help us in some way, right?"
Celestia replied with a curt nod "of course, I am willing to provide any assistance I can as well as the greatest heroes of Equestria." she then turned towards Twilight and her friends "That is...should they be willing to help."
"Princess..." Twilight whispered.
But before anyone could respond to Celestia's reply one of the pegasi pulling her chariot barged in and immediately knelt down in front of the princess "Your Highness! There's a commotion in town! Ponies are being attacked by a strange statue."
After acknowledging her guards report Celestia let out a small sigh as a faint smile appeared on her face "it seems we'll have to continue this later," she noted wistfully. The wistfulness didn't last long as she turned toward the balcony with her wings flared and her eyes set on the outside "whatever is happening in town is most likely connected to King Sombra and must be addressed before anypony is hurt. lets go, everyone."
Fenrich looked at her, offended at her choice of words "you're including us in this?"
"Of course," she replied "wouldn't you like to know what you're up against?"
And with that Celestia exited to the balcony, jumping down to ground level followed by Twilight and her friends, with her, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash carrying the others down. Valvatorez and Emizel followed suit, doing flips in the air on the way down. Even one of the prinnies hovered down with them. Uttering a few curses, Fenrich begrudgingly followed suit, simply dropping to the ground and landing with a hard thud. With everyone in attendance the group raced off toward the disturbance.
Finding what was causing a commotion wasn't hard, just run in the opposite direction of everypony else. Comprehending what was causing the commotion was a different story. Everyone in the group had confused stares as they looked at what was currently stumbling past the town hall, attacking wildly at anything that got too close. All but four of them continued to stare while the remaining demons and one alicorn exchanged disbelieving glances.
"Isn't that...the statue the prinnies carved in the Everfree forest?"
"The very same...but the weapon is new." Fenrich replied. From his point of view it was indeed the wooden Valvatorez statue wreaking havoc in front of them but unlike when they left it, the "eyes" of the statue were also emitting a purple fire out of it's corners, and the body seemed to have darkened since they last saw it and there were twigs sticking out of it in random places. The only thing that seemed intentional about the physical mutation was a growth protruding from it's chest, which took the place of Valvatorez's button. Growing out of its hand was a large blade made entirely of wood with chunks missing from its edge, giving it more hooked points than sharp edges, even the tip of the blade was forked "What a shoddy recreation of a Hero's Blade." he spat out.
The fake Valvatorez struck at another nearby vegetable stand reducing it to splinters and destroying the produce. Yet none of the items were cut, at least not cleanly. Most of the damage was because of how physically strong the fake was, demonstrated by it tearing out a part town hall's wall in an attempt to hit a stray pony. And while the ponies looked on horrified at what damage the fake could do or what could have been, one of the demons, specifically the genuine article, was trying to suppress his excitement behind a toothy grin.
"Well now, I think we've found the perfect test to see how well 'Equestrias greatest heroes' can fight!"
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... I think our resident vampire is going to be disappointed by a number of them.
I mean... sure, Fluttershy and her 'bear wrangling' skills are impressive as well as that brief kung fu moment from Rarity, but other than that they aren't what you'd call big fighters.
Like, not the Disgaea levels anyway.
Twilight in this chapter really got on my nerves why is she so determined to give the prinnies food when she knows they're sinners it's like giving the Joker a fork and expected him to eat with it. It's dumb as fuck and a poor choice of judgement other than that this was a good chapter.
6095030 Because when you have the goddamned Batman in your corner, you can afford to take a risk or two. Bad pun aside, the reason is relatively simple; she wants to be nice to tem, not as the servants or slaves like Fenrich demonstrated the previous day, but as equals like she would treat Zecora or Trixie. I hope this helps a little and I do appreciate the feedback, as well as that you like the rest of the chapter.
6046452 yeah, this battle's not likely going to be a "glorious one". But mark my words: by the end of this story each of them WILL have a moment worthy of the Disgaea name. I promise-
V. ...
P.P. ...
...crap.