Hellfire Dash

by Centurion Pike-Wall

15~Explaining everything

"W-well, what do you want to know?", Umbra asked, still coming down from the afterglow of her kiss.

Twilight seemed to consider it for a moment, before rambling out, "Oh, I don't know. There's just so much to be learned from this. I, I, I just can't decide!"

"Look, I don't mean to come off as a motherfluffer, but can you hurry it up a bit? I really do need to get going", Umbra said.

Twilight nodded, looking at her. "Right. Ok then; who was that?"

"That was Pillar", Umbra said. "He's a Celestial. Back before the Covenant, he was one of the most well-renowned warriors of Faust in the war. And by well renowned, I mean most feared by the Daemons. After the Covenant, he still kept fighting and killing Daemons, breaking the Covenant. So, he lost his power and was imprisoned. No idea how he got out, but his old boss and my current one want him stopped."

"Wait! Faust? Covenant? War!?", Twilight said.

Umbra said, "Relax. That was over ten thousand years ago."

"Ok, now you need to tell me everything", Twilight said.

"But I really need to go!", Umbra protested. That reminder seemed to shake Twilight out of her 'Bookworm mode'.

She said, "Oh, right! G-go!" As Umbra tried to take off, she said, "Oh, and Rainbow! Don't you think of bailing out on me!"

"Wouldn't dream of it, you sexy egghead!", Umbra snorted, whirling around in the air, and diving in the direction of the stairs the stallion had fled down. Twilight lit up her horn, teleporting back to her castle...

++++

...And right into the middle of a bunch of ponies talking. Her friends, Spike, and Fizzlepop were still there, if obviously not in the same position they were before she had initially teleported away. Three new figures had arrived, however, taking up a decent portion of the room. One was an unfamiliar stallion in a dark suit, fedora, and round sunglasses, like the mob bosses from those old movies her dad liked. The other two, however, she recognized immediately.

"Princess Celestia! Princess Luna!", she said. "What are you doing here? And who is this?"

"Twilight", Princess Celestia said. "I'm glad you've returned. And, did you encounter Umbra?"

Twilight scowled for a second, before saying, "That's the thing. I did, but I found out something about her. She's-"

"The one you once knew as Rainbow Dash? Correct", the stallion said, drawing shocked gasps and looks of disbelief from all of the assembled ponies. Save the older Princesses.

"What!?", Fluttershy SHOUTED, much to everyone's surprise.

"I beg pardon?", Rarity exclaimed before her fainting couch fell back and she fell onto it.

Twilight, on the other hand, who knew about this information, was instead of shocked, suspicious. "And just how do you know that?"

"Ah, you must be Princess Sparkle. My nieces have told me much of you. A pleasure to meet you in the flesh", he said, holding out a hand to the flustered alicorn.

She stuttered, "N-nieces? What?" She shook herself out of her stunned state, before fixing him with a glare. "Ok. Just who are you, and how do you know about Rainbow?"

"Where are my manners", he said, rescinding his hand and spreading his arms. "My name is Lucifer Morningstar, Lord of Hell, and Umbra's employer."

"Hold up right there, partner!", AJ interceded. "What is goin' on?"

The stallion let out a sigh, looking up at the two alicorns. "Why do you insist on keeping this a secret? It would make things so much less complicated, and give my daemons an easier job."

"Do you want a mass panic?", Luna said. "I imagine that would make your daemons jobs much harder, uncle."

"Sister...", Celestia said, almost warning a bit. The younger sister snorted and looked a bit disgruntled, but remained silent. "Carry on, uncle."

"Uncle?", Pinkie asked. "Even I don't know what's going on, and I got a look at the writers' PMs."

"Er, ignoring that", Lucifer said. "Like my nieces and I have said, I am the Lord of Hell."

He proceeded to explain what his job was, and what he was doing here. How he had been informed by his nieces, Celestia and Luna, that he had been informed that one of his Daemons had been identified. The whole situation had been explained to him, and now he was here to explain what was going on.

"So, what exactly are you wondering? I'm sure I can answer any questions you may have", he said, putting his hands in his pockets and gave a small smile, showing off similar shark-like fangs to Umbra.

"How are the Princesses your nieces?", Spike asked.

Lucifer said, "My sister, Faust, had a... Oh, how do you put it... a fling! Yes, a fling. With a mortal a long time ago. And by long, I mean several thousand years. After the mortals' death, she had them raised by Starswirl the Bearded, before they became the rulers of Equestria. She maintains contact with them, hence why they know about the supernatural and me."

Other questions were exchanged, Lucifer answering them. How Hell worked, Faust, almost everything was asked and replied to. One question, however, was asked not to him but to the sisters:

"Why keep all of this a secret? I mean, if so many ponies and other creatures have to hide this, then why not let them be, you know, open about it?", Twilight said.

None of them noticing the look of barely contained fear on Fluttershy's face, Celestia said, "As my sister alluded to earlier, we wish to avoid a panic."

"But, aren't ponies usually excepting of others?", Twilight asked. That resulted in a harsh, barking laugh from Lucifer, and all attention falling on him.

"Accepting?", he said, like it was the most amusing thing in the world. "You're only ok with things when you're used to them. That zebra who lives on the edge of town, for instance. You only didn't think of her as a witch after proof to the contrary and six months!"

The group all looked about, wincing, recalling one of their not best moments. Celestia said, "He speaks the truth. Despite your moving past it, it is something of a sad truth that some might not. And if it was somepony close to them, then the results might be more dire. Better to keep it a secret, or at least edge it out slowly, than to simply shove it in their faces, as it were."

Before any of them could continue, loud screaming was heard outside. Celestia's horn flashed, and all of them were teleported to the steps of Twilights castle. The sight that greeted them made them freeze in their tracks.

In Ponyville, several creatures ran amuck, attack bystanders and otherwise destroying property. However, as they got a better look at some of them, they looked familiar. One, a dog-like pony with huge rippling muscles ripping apart a fruit stand, gave them a confirmation. He had bright red fur, with shredded blue jeans, a red flannel shirt, and a work yoke around his shoulders.

"Big mac!?", Applejack shouted in astonishment.

Pinkie asked, "What's going on!?"

Before any of them could say anything, Fluttershy suddenly fell to her knees. When they looked back at her, her wings were folded behind her back and tears ran down her cheeks. She whimpered, "I'm sorry." As she spoke, they made out sharp, pointed canines in her mouth. She let out a shrill shriek, her wings flaring out. Only, they weren't really her wings; they were instead, large leathery bat wings, much like Umbra had. Her fingernails extended into claws, and she hunched forward, hissing in pain and gripping her head.

Lucifer knelt down next to her, using a near pitch-black magic aura to force open her eyes. Instead of the normal teal eyes, she instead had blood-red slit pupils, the whites replaced with a swirling purple aura. He shoved her head aside, leaving her a crumpled mess on the top of the steps.

"Chaos magic. Someone is using Discords old power to control them", he said, scowling.

Twilight asked, "How!?"

"Much like how I created Daemons to check sentients sins and my sister to reward their good acts, Discord created them to embody.... well I don't honestly know. However, they all share a link to him and his... his power." He froze, face wide with horror. Even as Fluttershy writhed below them and chaos reigned in Ponyville, he muttered, soft as a mouse, "Discord, you bloody fool."

Author's Note:

Well, not my best. But, it's a filler chapter, so I guess it's to be expected. The next chapter is when things get interesting, and a few questions I'm sure you have are answered.

Comments

[Replica Knight]

Discord you good for nothing...

[Bronyshot]

"Uncle?", Pinkie asked. "Even I don't know what's going on, and I got a look at the writers' PMs."

of course she did lol