Chapter 174: Ponies and the Demon Part 1: A New Arrival
In the Ring of Pride, Octavia, the daughter of Stolar Goetia, was walking through the city, making her way to the I.M.P. Building where she can get her fathers Grimoire and go someplace of her choosing to be alone and get away from her parents constant fighting and yelling, putting in her headphones so she could listen to music on her phone as she walked. As she was walking, a small group of demons was coming up behind her, one of them pulling out a knife while another cocked a gun, which it caused Octavia to stop where she was, pulling one of the earbuds out of her ears as she listened for what mde that sound, but she heard nothing, so she put the earbud back in her ear and continued to walk towards the building. However, as she walked, she spoted someone in front of her, a red and purple demon with a mismatch pair of wings and a sharp, toothy grin, which she felt creeped out by him, but she kept walking until he blocked her path, causing her to stop and pull out her ear buds, look up at him and glarring at him.
"What do you want creep?" Octavia asked.
"Now that's not very nice of you, is it, princess?" The demon asked. "After all, you do have an image to keep for your family."
"What do you know about my family?" She asked, pushing past him, but he grabbed her arm, making her yelp. "Hey, let go of me!"
"Aw, what's wrong?" The demon asked. "Can't stay for a friendly chat?"
"You're hurting me!" Octavia shouted. "Let go!"
"Don;t you want to stay for a little while?" The demon asked, which his friends came out and smiled at her, showing they were imps and a few serpent like demons. "We just want to have a little fun."
Octavia looked at the demon and his friends, not liking how he said they wanted to have fun, so she reached into her pocket and threw some red powder at him, causing him to yell in pain as she ran away, the demons friends running up to him and seeing he was blinded by the powder.
"You alright boss?" The imp asked.
"No, she hit me with chili powder!" The demon replied. "Who goes around with chili powder in their pockets!?"
"What do we do boss?" The imp asked.
"What else, get her you idiots!" The boss shouted. "And take her alive! The head man will kill us all if we fail to get her or if we kill her!"
The imps and serpents then started to go after Octavia, who was running as fast as she could to get away from the gangsters, looking back to see if she was being pursued, which she was as she saw the imps running after her with knives in their hands, the girl running for her very life as she tried to get away. She ran down narrow allyways and through the streets to get away from her pursuers, continuing to look back and see they were still after her, looking back forward and seeing a place where she could duck down, jumping over a vendor and kneeling down, waiting for them to run by and when they did, she popped her head up to see if they were gone and thankfully for her, they were.
"Who were those guys?" Octavia asked herself, coming out of her hiding spot. "What do they want with me? Are they wanting to do something to me? Or... are they trying to get to dad?"
"There she is!" One of them shouted.
"Crap!" Octavia said.
She then started running away again, trying her best to get to the I.M.P building to get the grimoire and get out of there, having arrived at the door to the I.M.P building, but found that the door was locked, Octavia tugging at the door to open it, but it was locked tight, growling in frustration as she heard her pursuers getting closer. She looked around for something to break the door open, finding a small stone and picked it up, throwing it at the glass door and shattered the glass, allowing for her to squeeze through and continue to run away from her pursuers. She reached the staircase and started to run up them, not wanting to wait for an elevator to get there and give her would be kidnappers a chance to catch up. She ran up flight after flight of stirs, reaching the floor that the office for I.M.P was on, taking a moment to catch her breath, but a moment later, she heard the elevator starting to ding, looking at it and realizing that her pursuers were still coming, the elevator showing that they were onlt five floors away from her, so she ran to the I.M.P office door and tried to open it, but like the front door, it was locked. She looked at the elevator and saw they were three floors away from her, so she had no choice, but to use her elbow and smashed the window, reaching in and unlocking the door before closing it again, slamming the door amd moving whatever she could in front of the door to block their path before running into Blitz's office, running to he painting and trying a bunch of different combinations as she heard the door getting his, looking back and realizing her time was running out until she got the right combination, opening the safe and pulling the book out.
"She's barricaded the door boss!" One of the imps shouted.
"Well bust it in you morons!" Someone shouted, making Octavia panic.
Without waiting, Octavia took the book to the desk and started to flip through the pages, looking for the spell to teleport her out of the office and someplace where she might be safe.
"Come on, come on, where is it!?" Octavia asked, looking through the book to find a spell to help here. "Aha, here it is!" She then heard something get smashed and looked up, seeing they had busted down the door, so she closed the door to Blitz's office and pushed the desk against the door, creating another obstacle for them as she took he book, putting it on the ground and crossed her legs, looking at the book frantically to figure out where to go as they started to slam against the door, making her look back as she looked at the book. "Where to go!? Where to go!?"
"Hurry up you useless sacks of flesh!" The boss said.
"Screw it!" Octavia said, looking to the book. "Take me someplace far away where I can be safe!"
A moment later, a green circle appeared underneath her and glowed brighter and brighter, the demons breaking the door down and seeing her sitting in the circle.
"Gotcha!" The boss said. He rushed forward and grabbed her arm, making her scream as he tried to pull her out of the circle. "You're coming with me girly!"
But it wouldn't happen as the spell had completed and a flaming orb surrounded her, cutting the demons arm off and making him yell in pure pain, falling on the ground and writhing in pain while the imps looked at him, backing away as he yelled in pain.
"What is going on here!?" A females voice said. The group looked up and saw Aphara walking towards them, looking annoyed as she saw the demon. "Where is the girl?"
"She used a spell to teleport herself out of here." One of the imps replied. "We didn't catch the name of where she went."
"You idiots!" Aphara shouted. She opened her mouth and sent a breath of scorching blue flames, incinerating the imps while the demon was still there. "You should have been more careful. She may not have control of her powers yet, but she can still use her fathers dumb book to get away."
"Sorry ma'am." The demon said. "Won't happen again."
"I know it won't." Aphara said. She then used her claws and dug her entire hand into his gut, ripping out the heart and crushing it, which caused the demon to fall to the ground and die. "Now I need to tell my master the target got away."
The dragoness walked out of the building before anything else could happen, leaving the mess behind as she didn't have time nor the patience to clean it up. Meanwhile, in Equestria, everyone had just left the castle as the morning came, getting out of the Everfree forest to go about their daily routine with Rainbow Dash returning to Cloudsdale to get started on the storm that was scheduled for that day, Rarity needing to get to work on a new line of dresses, Fluttershy going to take care of a couple of sick animals that had just been brought to her and Pinkie returning back to Sugarcube corner to help with preparing for a large order. As for Twilight, she and Spike were returning to the library to continue to do some research after collecting some of the books from the ancient ruin while Spyro and Applejack went back to Sweet Apple Acres, having had enough excitement for one night as they had a lot of work ahead of them.
"Man, what a night." Spyro said. "Though we didn't find any answers about the chest, at least we got to explore the castle a bit more. Even if you all panicked a lot and ran around like a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off."
"Yeah, kinda embarrassin'." Applejack said. "Ah'd... kinda appreciate it if ya didn't tell Big Mac or Applebloom about this."
"Don't worry, I ain't no snitch." Spyro said, walking into the farm. "Anyway, we got a lot of work ahead of us today, so let's get started."
The pair continued to walk into the farm to get started on their daily tasks and get everything taken care of before the end of the day. However, in the Everfree forest, in the middle of an open field, a green flaming orb appeared in the middle of the field and from it, a shadow appeared in the center of the field and the flames died down and from it was Octavia, but her original form had changed into an Alicorn, her face white with a white horn portruding out, a dark grey mane and coat with wings that were both grey and white, still wearing her hat and her pink shirt and black jacket and her tail was black at the tip of it, grey in the middle, and white near the flank. She groaned a bit as she woke up, rubbing her head as she had herself a killer headache, trying to get up, but she wobbled a bit before falling down, groaning again as she opened her eyes, revealing they were the same as she was before being transformed.
"Ugh, really, really got to work on my magic." Octavia said, looking around. "Where in the seven rings of hell am I?" However, as she removed her hoof and looked at it, she saw she had a pony leg and panicked, treying to get up, but tumbled down and rolled towards the pond, looking in and finding she was now a pony, freaking out as she tried to stand on her hind legs, but fell flat on her flank, looking at her hooves. "What in all the hell happened to me!? What have I been turned into!?" She then got up, barely being able to stand on all four of her legs before stabalizing herself. "Ok, ok, calm down. I can make this work. Just gotta figure out where I am, get changed back, and get back home and tell dad what just happened."
She then started to walk in a random direction, thinking that she was heading in a direction to get her out of the forest, but as she was walking, a few pairs of glowing green eyes was watching her, slowly approaching the demon turned pony as she wasn't paying attention, but she soon paid attention when she smelled some foul breath, turning to see what it was when she saw three Timber Wolves coming to her, making her freeze as her eyes were wide with horror before running away, her body going into automatic survival mode as she ran away, screaming in fear as the wolves chased after her. At Sweet Apple Acres, Spyro was bucking some of the apples off of the trees, helping to speed up the process of collecting the crop since Granny Smith was putting Applejack on light duty, despite her still being able to pick up some baskets of apples and bucking trees. As Spyro got ready to buck another tree, he heard someone screaming, instantly thinking it was the fillies as he took off, heading straight for he farm house and stopping in front of it.
"Applebloom, Scootaloo, you ok!?" Spyro asked, looking around.
"Uh, sugarcube, they're at the clubhouse." Applejack said, coming by with a basket of apples. "Why the heck did ya think they were here?"
"I heard screaming." Spyro replied. "I thought they were in trouble. Or they got into my alchemy set again and unleashed a fire tornado on the trees."
"Wait, that was them!?" Applejack asked, clearly annoyed. However, they then heard the screaming again, this time they looked to the Everfree forest and heard the screaming coming from it. "Somepony's in the Everfree forest. And it's the middle of Timber Wolf season!"
"Stay here, I'll get whoever it is!" Spyro said, flying off.
"Oh no!" Applejack said, getting the baskets off and running after him. "Ya'll ain't leavin' me out of this!"
Applejack ran after Spyro to see if she could help, both heading into the Everfree forest to find whoever it was that was foolish enough to go into it durng the middle of Timber Wolf season. Int he forest, Octavia was running for her life, trying her best to stay ahead of the wolves, but they were gaining on her, the demon turned pony looking back and finding they were even closer than they were before, making her try to run faster.
"Someone, anyone, help!" Octavia shouted.
However, as she ran, she ended up tripping on a root, falling to the ground and skidding to a halt as she left a line in the dirt, getting up and rubbing her head, but before she could run again, one of the wolves bit down hard on her shoulder, making her scream in pain as it swung her around and threw her towards a tree, smacking her head against it as she slid to the ground, opening her eyes enough to see the wolves come towards her before she pased out, slumping to the ground as the three wolves got closer and closer to the unconcious pony until a wall of purple fire shot up from the ground, blocking the wolves from their prey as Spyro flew in.
"Geez, you three really picking on a girl like that?" Spyro asked, flying over head. "Now that's just down right pathetic."
The wolves growled and ran for Spyro, one of them leaping up to get him, but he jjust moved to the right and dodged the attack, the wolf slamming into the tree and falling to pieces, the other two looking up at him, ready for a meal, but then they heard someone running towards them, turning to see what it was when Applejack ran underneath one of them, using her Keyblade to cut the legs off, making the wolf look surprised as he fell down and fell apart, turning to piles of wood while the third one growled, approaching Applejack to attsck her, but a bolt of lightning came down and blew the Timber Wolf to pieces, Spyro flying down towards his pregnant girlfriend and landing in front of her.
"AJ, what the heck did I just say!?" Spyro exclaimed. "I said I'd handle this!"
"Hey, Ah might be pregnant, but that don't mean Ah'm defenseless!" Applejack replied, looking to the unconcious alicorn pony as they approached her. "And who the heck is this? Another alicorn princess?"
"Beats me." Spyro said, using his magic to pick her up and place her on his back. "But she's hurt real bad. We need to get her out of here and to Sweet Apple Acres now."
Spyro ran out of the forest with Applejack close behind him as they ran straight for the farm to get her treated. In Malefors stronghold, Malefors statue was glowing while the skeleton of Orion was floating there, Aphara walking in and towards Malefor, looking nervous.
"Sir, we've got a problem." Aphara said.
"The Goetia girl escaped." Malefor said, spooking her. "I was informed by one of my mercenaries that she had escaped."
"Afraid so." Aphara replied. "She used her fathers magic book and teleported some place else. You ask me, she's more trouble than she's worth."
"Yes, but she's a descendant of the Goetia line and the weakest." Orion said. "Meaning she'll be easy to get the blood we need from her."
"If we can find her." Aphara said. "She could be anywhere by now."
"Indeed." Malefor said. "That's why I'm sending my Grublins to locate her." A moment later, dozens of Grublins appeared around them, looking at Aphara before dark portals appeared and they all hopped into them, leaving the dragoness alone with her two leaders. "They'll find her and bring us either her blood, or her corpse."
"No, we need her alive!" Orion said. "The blood of a Goetia must be extracted while shes alive. If she's dead, then it won't work!"
"Relax my friend, we'll get the blood." Malefor replied. "While she's still alive, my grublins will get her blood and we'll be one step closer to our freedom."
Malefor then started to laugh, his laughter echoing through the halls of his stronghold as the others looked at one another, unsure about his plan as all they could do at that moment was wait. In the guest room of the farm house, Spyro was healing up the pony as best he could, using his magic to heal the injuries while Applejack took her clothes to Rarity to get them repaired if at all possible, noting that she was different as he culd sense a powerful amount of magic coming from her, but there was something strange about her. As he was finishing up healing her, the pony opened her eyes, groaning as she opened her eyes and saw Spyro, screaming and falling out of the bed, groaning as she rubbed her head.
"Hey, you ok?" Spyro asked.
"I... I quess." Octavia said, Spyro helping her up. "Who are you?"
"I'm Spyro." He replied. "And who are you?"
"I'm... Octavia." She replied. "Octavia Goetia."
"Goetia?" Spyro asked. "Why does that name sound familiar?"
"Uh, nevermind that." Octavia said, looking around. "Um, where am I?"
"Oh, you're in Sweet Apple Acres." Spyro replied. "One of the best Apple farms in all of Equestria."
"Equestria?" Octavia asked.
As she asked that question, it immediately got Spyro's attention, looking at her in confusion as his suspicions about her rose.
"You're... not from around here, are you?" Spyro asked.
"What gave that away?" Octavia asked, looking depressed as she looked at herself, noting she didn;t have her clothes on as she covered herself. "WHERE THE #%@ ARE MY CLOTHES!? AND... wait, did I just get censored?"
A second later, the world paused and Spyro turned around, looking at the readers with a serious look.
"Yeah, that's going to happen a lot in this story." Spyro said. "Some of the 'adult' words are going to get censored due to the rating in this story." The world then resumed and he turned to Octavia again, who took the blanket off of the bed and covered herself. "Relax, your clothing is being taken to Carousel Boutique to get repaired. Besides, most of the inhabitants here don't wear clothing. We're all ponies. Or, dragons, griffons... actually, forget about it, it's complicated. "Point is, you don't need to be scared about being naked here."
"Still doesn't make me feel any less uncomfortable!" Octavia said.
"Relax, it's nothing to worry about." Spyro said, walking to her. "Once your clothing is repaired, we'll head to the boutique and get them picked up." He could see that she looked really uncomfortable, but he held out his hoof, showing that he didn't mean any harm, so Octavia reached out, still not sure if she can trust him, but she took his hoof, which he helped her up and took the blanket from her and put it back on the bed, turning to her. "Ok, so, why the heck were you in the Everfree Forest in the first place? It's the middle of Timber Wolf season."
"That was a Timber Wolf?" Octavia asked, surprising Spyro.
"Ok, definitely not from here." Spyro said. "Are you from another world?"
"Guess you can say that." Octavia replied, sitting down. "I come from the First Ring of Hell: Pride."
"Pride?" Spyro asked, smacking his head. "Of course! The Goetia's! An ancient and royal demon family who rule over the First ring! Wait... you're a demon?"
"Well duh." Octavia said, the world pausing again as Spyro looked back at the readers.
"Whoo boy." Spyro said. "Let me tell you, if I ever get sent to Cadia and word get's out I'm associating with a demon, they'll riddle my hide with bullets."
"Do you always break the fourth wall like that?" Octavia asked, surprising Spyro as the world resumed. "You're not the only being who breaks the fourth wall you know."
"Ok, I'm just going to let that slide right now." Spyro said. "Anyway, how did you get here? Shouldn't you be at home or something?"
"Yeah, like I feel welcome there at all." Octavia replied, getting up and alking to the window. "My parents argue almost everyday these days. I mean, they're divorced and all, but my mom is such a horrid person. She even tried to have dad killed twice already, which she nearly succeeded in doing so."
"Wow, talk about a killer relationship." Spyro said. "Kinda reminds me of the Moclans way of divorcing a mate. They stab and kill them when they divorce." The world paused and he looked back at the readers again. "How do I know that? From the show, The Orville. It was on Disney Plus, but it's no longer on it, but it is on Hulu. Sort of a Star Trek kinda show, but it's more comedic."
"You done?" Octavia said, Spyro looking at her and seeing she wasn't affected by the Fourth Wall freezing trick.
"Oh, sorry." Spyro said, the world resuming. "Well, it can't be arguing all the time, right?"
"Afraid so." Octaiva replied. "I mean, my dad does his best not to show it, but everytime my mom talks ill about my dad or degrades him like he's nothing, it really hurts him."
She could hear all of the nasty things her mother would say to her father, how she would continuously call him names, throw stuff at him, even the time she had made a call and yelled in front of her dad as she said she wanted him dead. Then she remembered how she called her weak and pathetic, even calling her a mistake, causing her to shake and cry, a tear rolling down her face. Spyro noticed the tear and could sense how upset she was and sat with her, putting his hoof on her shoulder to try and comfort her.
"Hey, you ok?" Spyro asked, worried for the pony.
"She called me a mistake." Octavia said, her voice cracking as she started to cry. "Saying that my dad coddles me too much and made me as weak as he is. Saying I should never have been born. Why would she say such a thing? Why?"
"I... don't know." Spyro replied, removing his hoof from her shoulder. "Sometimes... people, and I guess demons, are raised in an environment that is so toxic, it changes them for the worse. Other times, they're just born evil and cruel." He then turned her head so that they could look at one another, seeing how upset she was, but he just gave her a warm smile, doing his best to cheer her up. "But I know one thing. You're a good person... er, demon. your father did his best to raise you to be the best you can be without your mothers influence corrupting you. Sounds to me like you have a great father."
"But... he doesn't stand up for himself at times." Octavia said. "He just let's her do what she wants to him."
"Because he's trying to be a good role model for you." Spyro replied. "I may not agree with him not standing up for himself, but he's trying to do his best to show you Octavia that fighting and arguing never solve anything. Only if you listen and open your heart to them will you find a way to get through this." He then wrapped his wing around her, which she was a bit confused as to why he'd do that, but she didn't try to fight it, somehow feeling more comfortable around him, more at peace, and most of all safe. "I can sense whether or not someone is good or not and to me Octavia, I can sense that you're a good demon who was raised right by her father."
Octavia didn't know how to feel, looking at the pony she had only just met, but already feeling like she could trust him, leaning in and putting her head in his chest, which she could seel the emeralds and something metal underneath, but she didn't mind as she could feel Spyro stroking her head with his hoof, comforting her as they sat there for a moment, letting their guard down as they sat there in silence.
"Spyro, Ah'm back!" Applejack said, both ponies looking at the door as she entered. "Oh, yer awake. That's a relief."
"It is indeed AJ." Spyro said, ending the hug. "Octavia, this is Applejack. She owns this farm along side her brother, Big Macintosh."
"H-hello." Octavia said.
"Howdy there sugarcube!" Applejack said. "Glad that ya'll are ok. Welcome to Sweet Apple Acres."
"T-thank you." Octavia said.
"So, where ya'll from?" Applejack asked. "And why the heck did you enter the Everfree when it's this dangerous?"
"AJ, Octavia is from another world." Spyro replied, shocking Applejack.
"Wait, ya'll sayin' she's not really a pony?" Applejack asked.
"No, she isn't." Spyro replied. "In fact, she's a demon."
"A demon?" Applejack asked. "Well how the heck did she get here in Equestria?"
"It's... a long story." Octavia replied.
"Well, ya'll can tell us all about it over some breakfast." Applejack replied. "Granny's away for the day and Big Mac is deliverin' a cart of apples into town, so we can talk about anythin' we want."
"Anything?" Octavia asked, looking at Spyro.
"Anything." Spyro replied. "AJ knows about the other worlds as well and we both have keyblades, so-"
"You're Keyblade bearers!?" Octavia asked, feeling her heart just plummet into her stomach.
"We are indeed." Applejack replied. She looked at Octavia, noticing how spooked she was as she backed away. "Hey, you ok sugarcube?"
"Y-y-y-yeah, just..." Octavia replied, shaking in fear. "It's just... I heard stories about the Keyblades. And... well..."
"Octavia, what's wrong?" Spyro asked.
"Well... Keyblades... they're... they're enchanted weapons right?" Octavia asked, which Spyro and Applejack looked at one another before looking at her. "I'll take that as a yes. You see, Keyblades are like blessed weapons. They basically kill demons."
At the mention of that, Spyro called his Keyblade, holding it with his magic and making Octavia feel scared as she saw it for the first time.
"So... you're saying the keyblade can hurt demons?" Spyro asked.
"More than hurt them." Octavia replied. "They can kill a demon with one hit if you hit them in the right spot. It might not be a holy weapon, but it definitely counts as one."
Spyro looked at his Keyblade, noting how uncomfortable it made her, so he dismissed it, looking to Octavia with a smile as he approached her.
"Don't worry, you have nothing to worry about." Spyro said. "We only use the Keyblade to fight the heartless, Nobodies, and anything else that threatens the world order. You're our friend Octavia, so you have nothing to worry about from us."
Octavia was still nervous to be around Spyro and Applejack, now knowing that they both had Keyblades, she didn't know whether to trust them or not, but she looked at Spyro and saw how nice, calm, and collective he was, deciding to trust them as they walked out of the room, following after them to get something to eat as they talked. Meanwhile in the first ring, Blitz and his crew had just gotten to their building, parking the van that Blitz uses to pick everyone up so they could get to their building, everyone getting out one by one as they walked towards the building.
"All I'm saying sir is that we need to be careful with this target." Moxxie said. "If what Aphara said is true, I doubt the bullets she rovided for us will be any good, even if they're the main weakness to his armor."
"Ah, you worry too much Mox." Blitz said, locking the van and walking ahead of the group. "We'll be in and out before this guy even has a chance to sneeze."
"I'm actually excited for this mission Moxxie!" Millie said. "I never got to kill myself a prince before! This'll be exciting!"
"Uh, Blitz." Loona said, seeing the front door.
"But sir, according to the report, he's super fast, strong, has some powerful magic-" Mixxie said, before Blitz yanked the report out of his hands.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, blah, blah, blah, super hearing, powerful eyesight, control over the elements, all I'm interested in is the major payday we're gonna be getting for this job!" Blitz said.
"Blitz." Loona said, tring to get his attention.
"But what about this?" Moxxie asked. "He's a Keyblade bearer."
"So?" Blitz asked.
"Well, wasn;t there some kind of warning about a Keyblade in the Grimoire?" Moxxie asked. "About how dangerous and lethal they are to demons and imps?"
"Ah who cares?" Blitz asked. "We'll put a silencer on our guns and he won't even know we were there."
"For the love of God!" Loona exclaimed. "Blitz, the door!"
They all looked at the door to the building, finding that it was completely destroyed, glass shattered and scattered across the ground and on the floor, metal frames bent and broken, shocking everyone as they suddenly had a bad feeling about what had happened. They all then started to run into the building and took the elevator, putting in the floor number their office was on and arrived to find their office door was busted in, the hinges destryed and the glass from the door on the ground. They then entered and found that the entire office area was wrecked, chairs smashed, desks busted, everything was completely ruined until they went into Blitz's office, finding his desk was smashed and the door was destroyed, but what surprised them the most was the Grimoire was still on the floor in front of them, Loona walking over and picking it up to look at it.
"I can't believe it." Blitz said. "Whoever the #%@ destroyed our office is going to pay dearly for this!"
"What were they after?" Moxxie asked.
"Is the Grimoire safe!?" Blitz asked.
"Relax Blitz, I have it in my hands here." Loona replied, showing the book.
"But... why leave the Grimoire behind?" Moxxie asked. "It's one of the most powerful things here in Hell. What were they after if not this?"
"Not what, but who?" Loona asked, sniffing the air. "There were five of them. One sinner and four imps were chasing someone, who came here for some reason. But I can't make out who it is they were chacing."
A moment later, Blitz's phone went off, sounding like someone screaming as he pulled it out and answered it.
"Immediate Murder Professionals!" Blitz said. "This is-"
"Blitz, thank goodness you answered!" A voice said.
"Stolas?" Blitz asked, groaning as he rubbed his eyes. "Look, nows not a good time. Someone ransacked our office and-"
"Blitz, I need your help!" Stolas said. "Octavia's missing!"
"Wait, back up, you're little emo girl is missing?" Blitz asked.
"Octavia's missing!?" Loona asked.
"I talked to her last night, trying to cheer her up." Stolas said. "But when I came to get her, she was missing!"
"Oh, now I know who it was!" Loona said, sniffing the air. "Definitely smells like a Goetia was in here. I think the person the vandals were after was Octavia. She must have used the Grimoire to get away."
"Well, that would make sense." Blitz said. "Stolas, did you get that?" A moment later, he heard a click and beeping, confusing Blitz as he looked at his phone. "Uh, hello?"
A moment later, the entire hall outside lite up and blood red flames shot in, Stolas appearing in his royal outfit with a scared and worried expression on his face as everyone looked at him.
"My little owlette was here!?" Stolas asked. "Is she alright!? Did they hurt her!?"
"Hey, we just got here, don't ask us questions we don't have the #% answer to!" Blitz said.
"Is it just me, or is that the third time Blitz got censored?" Moxxie asked.
"She must have used the teleportation spell again to get away from her pursuers." Stolas said. "Oh, I hope she's alright."
"Loona, can you get a beat on where she went?" Blitz asked.
The hellhound sniffed the air, trying to get a scent tgat would clue her in on where the princess went, but couldn't get anything.
"Nothing." Loona said. "Whatever scent there was, it's long gone by now."
"Oh, how could I have let this happen!?" Stolas asked. "I knew I should have checked on her sooner, but I didn't! She must be scared, alone, cold, hungry-"
"Get a hold of yourself Stolas." Blitz said. "We'll help you look for your daughter after we take care of our target."
"No, I need your help looking for her!" Stolas said. "Please!"
"Sorry, we've put this entire thing off long enough." Blitz said, pulling the slide back on his handgun to load a bullet into the barrel. "We got a prince to kill."
"Please, I'll pay you for helping me to find my sweet little girl!" Stolas said. "Please, I need your help to find her!"
Blitz just put his hand over his eyes, groaning as he turned to look at Stolas, giving him a serious look.
"Alright, we'll hold off on our job until we find your daughter." Blitz said. "Is there anyway to track the portal she used to escape?"
"That is kind of tricky." Stolas replied. "Such a feat is difficult. Magic isn't like a phone, you can't simply track it through GPS or anything like that."
"Great, this just get's better and better." Blitz said.
"Wait, look at this." Loona said, showing the book and revealing many different worlds and lines that connected them. "She might not be on earth this time. i think she's in another world."
"Oh no!" Stolas said. "This is bad! Very, very bad! She might run into a Keyblade bearer!"
"A what now?" Blitz asked.
"Didn't you read the book!?" Stolas asked. "A Keyblade Bearer is one who weilds a keyblade and is very powerful both in close quarter combat and in the use of magic. Their weapons enchantments makes them equally as dangerous to us demons and us higher, more regal demons. If she runs into one of them, she's as good as dead!"
"Then we need to split up to find her." Moxxie said. "Cover more ground that way."
"Can't believe I'm saying this, but that's a pretty good idea there Mox." Blitz said, taking the book and putting it on the ground. "Alright, we'll each take a world and start searching!"
"I also have these." Stolas said, showing some crystals. "They aren't Asmodean crystals, but they'll help you to move onto the next world if you can't find her in the one you went to. Plus, they'll help you to communicate with everyone else."
"Alright, Millie, you take the one that's shaped like a lamp!" Blitz said, pointing to Agrabah. "Moxxie, you got this one with all the trees! I got the pumpkin shaped one. Loona-"
"I'm going to this one." Loona said, pointing to Equestria. "I'll start at the colorful one and work my way from there."
"You sure Loonie?" Blitz asked. "You could start at the clock tower?"
"No, I'll start here." Loona said.
"Alright, if you say so." Blitz said, putting on one of the gems.
"Oh yeah, I almost forgot to tell you something about the crystals." Stolas said. "Each crystal needs at least a couple of hours to recharge after each use before you can use them again."
"Hey, better you told us here than in the other worlds where we would try to use them to get away." Blitz said. "Right, everyone take a crystal and get moving! The sooner we find Octavia, the sooner we get to our target."
He raised his hand and was about to lick it, but Stolas put his hand over it, confusing the imp.
"As I said, it's not an Asmodean crystal." Stolas said. "So you don't need to lick it to use it. It has a list of worlds you can go to already in it. Just say the name and it'll open a portal to that world."
"Oh, right, sorry." Blitz said. He looked at the crystal as it showed the list of world names, finding the one he needed and lifted it up to the window. "Halloween Town!"
A moment later, the crystal glowed red as it fired a beam of red magic, opening a portal and revealing the world in question, so Blitz ran through it, passing through without a problem as it closed, leaving the others to put their on, but then look at Loona.
"Didn't take ya for the sunshine and rainbows kinda girl Loona." Millie said.
"I'm not." Loona said. "I only took that world because it's full of ponies and horses. I read the description in the Grimoire and we all know how much Blitz loves horses."
"She's got a point." Moxxie said. "So, since I got the jungle world, how will I... oh never mind I found it." He lifted his crystal up, pointing it at the wall as it glowed. "Deep Jungle!"
The crystal then fired a beam of red magic at the wall, opening a portal to the Deep Jungle as many tres appeared, Moxxie running and jumping in as it closed while Millie raised hers to the window, aiming it as if it were a gun.
"Agrabah!" Millie said.
A beam of magic shot out of her crystal and hit the window, opening a portal to a city in a desert as she ran towards it and jumped in, the portal closing and leaving Loona and Stolas alone in the room, the hellhound looking at the royal demon as she put her crystal on.
"Don't worry, we'll find her." Loona said.
"Please do." Stolas asked. "And, if it helps, I hope you find her first. You became my daughters very first friend and I think she looks up to you. She may feel more comfortable around you."
"Don't worry, we'll look until we can't find her." Loona said, raising the crystal to a wall as she looked away. "Equestria!" A beam of red magic fired and hit the wall, opening a portal into Equestria and showing Ponyville, the hellhound running in and jumping through the portal, but as she did, she felt her body begin to change, popping out and landing on her face, growling as she got up and tried to stand, but fell down again, seeing she now had hooves and that spooked her. She got up again, remembering how to walk on all fours as she went over to a nerby pond and looked in, seeing she looked like an Earth pony, her mane the same as her regular, unkept hair, white hair, her face and under half still white while wearing her stockings on all four legs, her back half grey like usual in her hellhound form, her eyes still red and slver while wearing her spike collar and her tank top with her black shorts with a moon still on them. "Ugh, I'm really starting to regret selecting this world already. I hope to god that Octavia is here and I can find her quickly so I don't have to stay in this little girly cartoon world any longer than I need to."
She then spotted Ponyville and started to walk towards it, hoping to find Octavia there and she could find her before anything happened to her. At Sweet Apple Acres, Spyro and Applejack had just gotten Octavia some food, letting her eat as she was probably hungry, which she ate some of the Apple Fritters, Spyro and Applejack letting her eat as they waited patiently for her to finish, looking up and wiping her mouth.
"Thanks again for the food." Octavia said. "You didn't have to do that."
"Aw horse feathers sugarcube, it's the least we can do." Applejack said. "Now, ya said some creep tried to kidnap you?"
"Yes, afraid so." Octavia replied. "I think they wanted something from me, but I didn't get a chance to let them say what they wanted."
"Knowing those kind of guys, and the place you live, there was probably one thing they wanted." Spyro said. "You did the right thing to run away. But you should have sought help."
"Yeah, in Hell, no one helps anyone." Octavia said. "I ran to the I.M.P building where I knew my fathers Gromoire was and used it to get here. Didn't think I'd be attacked by a towering pile of lumber as soon as I got here. Guess that's what happens when you don't practice using your magic."
"Wait, you're a Goetia and you don't know how to use your powers?" Spyro asked.
"Never tried to learn." Octavia said, putting her head on the table. "I never sae the point. Besides, my mother never gave my father a chance to teach me. She was always badgering him and yelling at him to give me time to ask him how to use my magic."
Spyro looked up at Applejack, who seemed just as surprised as he was, which she nodded her head, letting him know he should do it.
"Hey, how about I teach you how to use magic?" Spyro asked, surprising Octavia.
"You serious?" Octavia asked, looking at him. "Do you even know the first thing about demon magic?"
"No, I don't." Spyro replied. "But I do know a lot about magic, so maybe some of the things I know might help you."
Octavia looked at Spyro, surprised that he would offer to teach her how to use magic, but smiled at him, feeling more and more comfortable around him.
"Well, why not?" Octavia replied. "I might benefit more from learning from you here than I would back in my warzone of a home."
"Then it's settled." Spyro said. "I'll teach you as much as I can while we try to find a way to get you home. But first..." Spyro then got up from the table, walking to the door before turning to the two girls. "How about I show you around town? Get you familiar with the place while also introducing you to my friends."
"You sure that's a good idea?" Octavia asked. "I mean, I'm a demon and... will they accept me?"
"Of course they will hun." Applejack replied. "Spyro was kinda the same as you ya know. Unsure if he'd fit in and scared he might not be accepted. But now look at him. Everypony loves him, he has a herd, many friends, a baby on the way-"
"Wait, a baby?" Octavia asked.
"Oh yeah, he's gonna be a father." Applejack said. "Ya see, Ah'm pregnant with his baby."
"Wait, for real!?" Octavia asked excitedly. "Oh my goodness, that's so exciting! How far along are you!?"
"About one month now." Applejack said. "Gotta wait another ten months before we can meet our little angel."
"Wow, congratulations, both of you." Octavia said. "You must be so excited."
"Well, it was kinda a surprise when Ah found out to be honest." Applejack said, putting her hoof over her stomach as she smiled. "But honestly, Ah wouldn't trade the chance of bein' a mother for the world."
Octavia looked at Applejack, seeing how happy she was at the news that she was going to be a mother, looking to Spyro and watching him walk over to Applejack and wrapping his wing around her, the two leaning into one another as they smiled, wishing her family was like that as she looked down at the table, her heart aching as she was jealous of how happy they were together.
"We can't wait to see our baby." Spyro said. "But for now, all we can do is wait."
"Well, I'm happy for you." Octavia said, though she seemed upset. "Truly, I am happy for you."
Spyro however could sense that she was upset, which they both saw that she was unhappy and knew that she was jealous of them.
"Come on now, no sad faces." Spyro said. "In this place, we only run on happy faces."
"Happy?" Octavia asked.
Spyro and Applejack looked at one another, worried that she might not actually be happy here when she flicked her head up, giving the biggest and silliest grin she could muster, which made them both laugh, lightening the mood, which also made Octavia laugh, forgetting how unhappy she was as they all laughed together.
"Now ain't that the funniest face Ah've seen in a long time." Applejack said. "Kinda reminds me of Pinkie Pie."
"Who?" Octavia asked.
"Don't worry, you'll get to meet her soon enough." Spyro said. "Come on, I'll introduce you to her and everyone else. Plus, we can stop by Rarity's Boutique and get your clothes if they're ready."
"That would be nice." Octavia said, getting up. "Even though you don't wear clothing here in thsi world, I kind of feel a bit exposed."
"I kinda felt the same my first time here." Spyro replied, confusing Octavia. "I'll explain along the way. Come on, let's introduce you to some new friends."
Spyro tucked his wing back in and walked towards the door, Octavia following close behind him out the door, walking towards town to introduce Octavia to his friends, but as they walked towardfs town, another portal opened up and a Crossbow Orc appeared from it, looking around to find Octavia before it dug into the ground, beginning it's search before it could be spotted. At the same time, Loona was walking towards the town, reaching over the next hill when she spotted Spyro and Octavia, having only just seen them go towards the town as she lowered herself and got her gem.
"Everyone, you're not going to believe this." Loona said. "I think I might have found Octavia."
"Already!?" Moxxie asked. "Wow, that was quick."
"Good work Loonie!" Blitz said. "Where is she!?"
"She's in Equestria." Loona said, looking at Spyro. "And I think yu're going to love this. She's with the target."
"Wait, for real!?" Millie asked. "Wow, now that's what I call a coincidence!"
"Who cares about coincidences!" Blitz shouted. "It means we get to complete two missions in one day. Double payday! Hong on Loonie, once my crystal is recharged, I'll be there and help you to nail him!"
"No way, I can take this punk." Loona said. "He doesn't seem all that tough."
"You sure honey bear?" Blitz asked. "You don't have anything made of Beskar."
"Seriously, I'm not some baby that needs coddling everytime she goes on a walk." Loona said. "I'll be fine."
"Just remember Loona, he's strong, has some seriosu magic-" Moxxie said.
"Ugh, whatever fatty." Loona said, moving to deactivate her crystal.
"And he's...!" Moxxie said, which Loona turned her crystal off before he could finish. "Force... Sensitive."
"Force what now?" Blitz asked.
"Force Sensitive." Moxxie said. "That means he's a Jedi!" Blitz didn't undertsand what he meant, Moxxie face smacking himself in disbelief. "Did none of you watch the Star Wars movies or series!?"
"Relax Mox, Loona's got this covered." Blitz said. "If she can take down a secret organization of wacko's and a mascot in a costume, she can handle this one guy. Now can this thing recharge any faster?"
The message ended and cut everyone off, Moxxie looking at the report he still had and taking in a deep breath, looking at the trees as he was trapped in the jungle for the next couple of hours.
"I got a bad feeling about this." Moxxie said, walking away from a hippo filled lake to get someplace sunnier.