Dimension: Looking For Group

Planet: Earth

Specific Location: The Forest of Nestorep

Time: A year after Cale'anon meets Richard

"So," said Night Shade, "How the hell are we going to get the arch-demon to talk? They really don't hold their lives very highly in regard thanks to their hive mind disposition."

Daniel stroked his chin. "We need to trick him into talking."

Franklin laughed heartily as he slung the unconscious arch-demon off his shoulder and tossed him against a nearby tree. "That should be interesting," he said, "I mean, how are we going to trick him? How does that even work?"

Daniel nodded decisively after a short pause. "I have an idea. Here we go…"

The arch-demon woke suddenly. Snarling, he attempted to lurch forward only to find himself tightly bound by bonds of pure energy. He struggled a bit with the bindings before giving up. He then noticed Night Shade and Daniel standing in front of him.

"Who are you? How dare you defy the great Malpas! You're corpses will burn and rot!" the demon screeched.

Daniel just rolled his eyes, pulled back a hand, and backhanded the demon hard. He then said, "Yeah, great. Could you just shut up for a moment?"

Malpas spat out a broken tooth and growled, "Why have you held me captive?! No traveler has ever held demons captive! Why are you here?!"

Daniel laughed. "Oh, it's really simple. We usually don't like sparing abominations like you, but we're desperate, and we need some answers."

Malpas just laughed in turn. "You will never get answers from me."

"Oh really?" said Night Shade, "you might find us… quite persuasive."

Malpas leaned forward in his bonds and spat at Night Shade. "Do your worst, you mewling youth!"

"Oh, leave him alone," said a voice. All three looked to see Franklin strolling in.

"Franklin, what are you doing here? I thought you were watching our backs!" exclaimed Daniel.

"Oh, I would be, except for a minor issue," said Franklin as he strolled in closer.

"And what issue would that be?" said Night Shade, cocking his head to one side.

"I'm not Franklin," said Franklin. He raised a hand and snapped it once. Both Daniel and Night Shade let out yells and collapsed to the floor in crumpled heaps.

Franklin strolled up to the bondage and flicked a wrist, the bonds disappeared.

Malpas looked at Franklin curiously. "Who are you?" he asked.

"Oh, you know who I am, arch-demon Malpas," snarled Franklin, "You know very well."

Malpas began quivering. He collapsed at Franklin's feet. "Oh Grand Devil!" he cried, "What honor have I earned to be in your presence?"

Franklin kicked Malpas and snarled, "I have no time for your bowing and scraping, underling. There are issues that I have heard about from the Raging Fires dimension, and I want you to resolve them."

Malpas looked up and replied, "What issues?"

Franklin glared at the arch-demon as he replied. "There are creatures loose from another multiverse," he said, "Why are they here?"

Malpas looked confused, "Other creatures? We do not know of such things!"

Franklin kicked Malpas again and screamed, "LIAR! TELL ME THE TRUTH!"

Malpas cowered as he said, "We don't know of other creatures! We are simply preparing for the aftermath of operation Astrol! Like you commanded!"

Franklin stroked his chin. "Astrol… you changed its name, no doubt; without my permission."

Malpas shook his head, "We did no such thing! It was codenamed Astrol."

Franklin pulled out a long knife and said, "You did. In fact, how do I even know you are arch-demon Malpas? The Malpas I know would never lie like this."

Malpas gulped and leaned back. "No! I swear! Operation Astrol! We were to wait until mount Azrael melts, and then, with Legion as our leader, attack the harmony unit dimensions!"

Franklin pulled back the blade as he said, "Oh… so you are him. Mount Azrael… that's supposed to melt in, what, two hundred years?"

Malpas blinked, "No, Grand Devil, it shattered last year, far ahead of schedule. But… you should have known that…"

Franklin swore and hurled his blade against a tree. The tree shattered into splinters. "Curses! I knew I should have listened to that messenger before killing him!"

He whirled back to Malpas and seized him by the throat. "Status update! NOW!"

Malpas wriggled as he said, "Operation Astrol is complete! Legion was successful in destroying the My Little Pony harmony tree and is now taking leave until he can attack the other harmony units! We are awaiting orders from you sire!"

Franklin nodded and said, "Very well. You want orders? I'll give you orders. Go to hell."

With that, Franklin whipped out a handgun and shot Malpas through the head. The arch-demon simply blinked stupidly, and then fell over. As his body hit the ground, Daniel leapt up and said, "Well done!"

Franklin bowed, "Acting is one of my many gifts, fearless leader."

Night Shade, who was still lying in the grass, just burst out laughing.

Smiling a little, Daniel went over and helped Night Shade up as he said, "Well, our next step is clear now. We need to go to the… er… um, My Little Pony universe to see what is left of it. Then we will track down Legion and kill him. With the infernal realm's commander-in-chief down, things will function a lot slower for the demon armies."

Franklin nodded, "Right-o. Let's get moving!"

Dimension: My Little Pony

Planet: Equestria Earth

Dimension: Flaming Star's house

Time: 2 days after the arrival of Miranda

Flaming Star awoke to the sound of trumpets. He hopped out of bed and ran to his window to see Princess Celestia in her royal chariot touching down in Ponyville's town square. He quickly got himself ready and galloped off to meet her. As town square came into view, he was joined by Twilight.

"How's Miranda?" asked Flaming Star as he kept moving.

"She's fine. She woke up screaming about nightmares a couple of times last night, but she's sleeping soundly now. Spike is watching over her."

Flaming Star sighed as he said, "Are you sure Spike is up to the job? Last time he took care of Angel, he near ended up burning Sunset and Fluttershy's house to the ground."

Twilight laughed, "Oh, I think he will be okay."

At that, the two entered town square to see Celestia getting off of her chariot. Flaming Star cantered up and bowed with Twilight, Celestia then returned the bow.

"It is so nice to see you two again, my little ponies," she said.

Flaming Star nodded and said, "It is good to see you as well, Celestia. Tell me, how is Luna?"

Celestia's eyes fell as she replied, "She is still mourning. There is nothing we can do for her."

There was a long pause, finally broken by Twilight who said, "Princess? Where is the float you said you would ride?"

Celestia smiled as she replied, "Oh, it will be coming in time for the parade. Noon, correct?"

Flaming Star nodded. "It will be taking place this noon."

Celestia smiled. "Wonderful, I will see you two there. I have a few things to discuss with Mayor Mare."

Flaming Star nodded, and Celestia trotted away. Flaming Star then turned to Twilight. "Well," he said, "I suppose we should go and get our float prepared with everything else."

In a couple of hours, the book float was set up, and was driven by Flaming Star, and Twilight to the meeting place for all the other floats. There they met with Sunset, Fluttershy, Starlight Amber, and the CMC.

"Well hello you two," said Sunset as the book float pulled up to his apple-shaped float, "How are you doing?"

Flaming Star leaned on the driving wheel and winked, "Oh, we're just dandy. You wouldn't believe the engine we packed into this. 10-Cylinder, 90 degree V-type, 8.4 liter…"

"Wow, great, awesome, whatever," interjected Sunset, "Does this mean it's really flammable?"

There was a long pause. Finally Fluttershy said, "Where's Spike?"

Twilight waved, "Oh, he's watching over Miranda while we set up everything. When we can find somepony to watch her, he'll tag along."

Fluttershy wrung her mane, "Oh dear that sounds tiring, do you want me to watch her?"

Sunset kissed her on the cheek. "No dear," he said, "You've got to meet up with the rest of the Ponytone Quintet for practice. I'll watch her."

Twilight gave him a smile, "Thanks! Spike would appreciate the break."

Sunset nodded back and turned to the Cutie Mark Crusaders. "Will you three be fine?"

Scootaloo saluted. "We will! Have, um, fun!"

Sunset winked and trotted away with Fluttershy.

Suddenly a fanfare blared out, and the small group turned to see Celestia, followed by the rest of the Mane 6, cantering in with a large, beautifully adorned sun-and-moon-shaped float behind them.

Twilight ran up and gave Princess Celestia a hug. "Wow! It's amazing."

Celestia smiled, "Not as amazing as your float, Princess Twilight."

Mayor Mare then trotted up and said, "Okay everypony! Time to get the floats ready! Here is the list with the order of the floats in it!"

Flaming Star trotted up and scanned it quickly. Their float, followed by Celestia's float, were in the middle, usually the best place to be in a procession. He grinned and went off to tell Twilight. With that, the parade began. The cheering was immense, and the music of the Ponytone Quintet sailed through the clear blue sky as the procession slowly moved down from the Ponyville Town Square.

Flaming Star and Twilight sat side-by-side, grinning as they continued down the road. Flaming Star stuck his head out the window to watch as all the happy faces of a multitude of ponies passed by his vision. He turned to Twilight. "This is the life," he said, "I couldn't think of anything better."

Twilight smiled back and said, "Is this a memory you'll recall?"

Flaming Star kissed her on the cheek, "Oh yeah, this memory I will remember."

He then looked out the window to continue watching the ponies pass by. The parade floats in the middle slowed down a bit as the rounded a tight corner to pass by Sugar Cube corner… then it happened.

As if time slowed down, Flaming Star saw a group of hooded figures part the crowd near the corner they were rounding. As the crowd moved aside a bit, one of the figures hoisted a grenade and hurled it… straight at Princess Celestia. She wasn't looking, and they couldn't miss. Flaming Star didn't think, he just acted. Kicking down the door of the book float, he leapt sideways out of the vehicle and hurled a bolt of kinetic energy. It struck the grenade straight-on and blasted it high in the air where it detonated. Unfortunately, it was a shrapnel grenade, and slivers of deadly steel and ceramics sizzled down to the crowd below. The splinters hit Celestia in the leg, Flaming Star in the side, and the backs of several other nearby ponies. The rest of the ponies started screaming and running amok. Despite the deep pain in his side, Flaming Star didn't take his eyes off the direction the hooded figures had gone. Twilight ran out of the float and frantically began to hug Flaming Star.

"Flaming Star! Are you okay?!" she yelled, her eyes brimming with tears.

Gritting his teeth, Flaming Star reached his head down and pulled out two long, bloody steel splinters. He spat them out and said, "I'm fine. See to Celestia, she's hurt as well. I cannot let those insurgents get away!"

Twilight, her eyes wide, nodded quickly and ran off to Celestia, who was lying on the ground, surrounded by her guard. Flaming Star staggered up and swiftly got his bearings. Then he galloped off after the hooded group. They had head-starts, but they couldn't outrun the firstborn. Soon, after rounding a corner at top-speed, Flaming Star saw the group. Three hooded ponies. Gritting his teeth through the pain, Flaming Star picked up the pace and closed in. When they were close enough, he sent waves of seismic power into the ground, causing the earth beneath the hooded figures to shift and explode. The ponies fell to the earth. The moment they hit the ground, tentacles of stone erupted out of the ground to wrap themselves around them, binding them tight.

Breathing heavily, Flaming Star slowly moved up to them. He threw off their cloaks. He did not recognize any of them, though they most certainly were not from around Ponyville; two stallions and one mare.

"Why?" he said, breathing hard, "Why?"

"Long live the Black Hoof!" yelled one, he ground his teeth, there was a snap, and the pony's mouth was filled with foam and he went into convulsions. They had Nytebane, the deadly herb, in little pills in their back molars. The other two began to do the same. However, only one managed to break the pill before Flaming Star had knocked them out. Looking at the last living instigator, Flaming Star gingerly pried open his mouth and pulled the pill out. Wrinkling his muzzle in disgust, he vaporized it with a dark matter blast. He then picked up the unconscious form of the hooded pony and slung him over his shoulder. He then slowly limped away.

Several minutes later he had returned to the scene of the crime. Twilight was helping a shaken and wounded Celestia as police ponies were working to calm the crowds. Sunset and Fluttershy were with Twilight, and as soon as Sunset saw Flaming Star, he galloped over.

"What happened?" he exclaimed as he pulled up next to Flaming Star.

Flaming Star sighed as he dropped the insurgent. "I don't know, some act of terrorism I guess. There were three hooded ponies waiting near the corner. As we rounded it, they threw a shrapnel grenade at Princess Celestia, I blocked it, and they ran. I managed to catch them, but they had nytebane pills for suicide. Nevertheless, I was able to take one captive anyway. They called themselves the Black Hoof. Does that ring a bell?"

Sunset stroked his chin. After a pause, he said, "No, sorry. I don't think so."

Twilight turned to see Flaming Star. She galloped over as well and began to mop Flaming Star's wound, which was still bleeding profusely. "Stay still Flaming Star!" she exclaimed, he eyes wide with worry, "I need to patch it up!"

Sighing, Flaming Star lay down and let Twilight put a bandage on it. After a moment, he turned to the Sunset. "We need to find out what is going on with these terrorists."

Sunset nodded. "I'm sure we can figure something out."

Flaming Star grimaced as Twilight tightened the bindings as he replied, "Yeah, I suppose so. However, if they're an extremist group, we will have trouble getting anything out of them."

Twilight finished the bandage and said, "Princess Celestia will know what to do."

Flaming Star got up unsteadily and moved over to the hooded pony. He pulled of the cloak. The pony was rough cut, with black skin and a cyan mane. His cutie mark was that of a dagger.

Sunset frowned. "Hmmm… an assassin pony. Interesting. Do we even have those types of ponies here in Equestria?"

Celestia limped over as she interjected, "We do not. This pony is from one of the other lands."

Flaming Star nodded decisively. "Okay, so this was most certainly an act of foreign terrorism."

Abruptly, a large bat-winged pony landed and yelled to Celestia, "You're highness! Princess Luna was attacked by assassins!"

It was a pony from Luna's infamous Night Guard. Celestia gasped, "My dear sister! Is she alright?"

The Night Guard bowed low as he said, "She was fine. We were able to protect her with minimal casualties; the terrorist group had no survivors. What has happened here?"

Celestia sighed, "We were attacked here as well. It seems somepony wanted us out of the way."

Flaming Star narrowed his eyes. "It seems so," he said, "But who? Who would want to make an enemy of Equestria?"

The assassin let out a groan, and Applejack trotted up to him, prodding him in the chest. "Looks like we about to be findin' out!"

Note: Ooooh... assassins! Anyway, nice to see those reviews rolling in! Thanks! Keep them coming!