27th -Or- Disgaea: FiM

Fluttershy was scared.

It wasn't the usual kind of scared. It wasn't like when she meets a new pony. It wasn't like when she thinks of dragons. Well, what it used to feel like when she thought of dragons. No, this was a totally new kind of scared, the likes of which the butter colored pony had never known.

She woke up this morning to the screeching sound of a wild animal. It startled her. Almost jumped out of bed to help the poor thing when she realized, she wasn't in bed. Nor was she in her cottage.

She was in large stone room. There were torches on the walls, suspended metal cages in the corner of the room, and what looked to be a swirling vortex of magic. But none of that really bothered her, because much to her surprise, the room was filled with other creatures the likes of which she couldn't recognize. Most of them looked similar, and wore weird clothing, but one of them was considerably more scary, complete with a gut wrenching stench. Some of them looked at her as she whipped her head back and forth taking in all of their visages. Most of them ignored her.

The screeching sound continued, startling Fluttershy. None of the creatures seemed to notice, or if they did, they didn't care. Fluttershy got up to her hooves and galloped through the room to find the source of the terrible tortured sound.

She found herself in a long corridor, still made of stone with windows overlooking the red carpet on the floor. Fluttershy listened for the sound.

Closer now, the screeching sounded more like a screaming, in Ponise, no less. There was a suffering pony in this castle! Panicked, Fluttershy ran toward the sound, which led out of the corridor and into another expansive room. This one was a bit more vacant. At first sight, there was only a single living statue which looked at Fluttershy as she entered the clearing. It was a great big statue, with chiseled rippling muscles, a very prominent jaw with very spiky teeth, and glowing red eyes. It was mounted to a pedastal of sorts, which was carved from a dull green stone as oposed to the statue's grey body. Fluttershy trembled under it's watch. She fell down on her haunches and looked a little ways away while it watched. Apparently bored with the pony, it shrugged and looked away. Fluttershy sighed at the statue's indifference.

Fluttershy looked around the room, and found a floating... Thing wearing a green coat that seemed to be holding it's gaseous body down. She was going to try and communicate with the somewhat cute thing, when the sound, now very much a scream once again resounded.

"AAAAAHHH, DOOD! NO PLEASE, MASTER ETNA, IT HURTS, DOOD!"

The scream came from above, and Fluttershy looked up to see light coming from a raised section of the room. Without a second thought, Fluttershy spread her wings and flew to the higher ground.

She briefly heard a drowsy, "Ooh..." Before running through the open doorway.

Paying the quiet Dragon, the taciturn Manticore and big monster at the entrance no heed as they passed by her, Fluttershy ran straight to the middle of the very regal room, where the screaming was coming from.

She saw no pony, but she did find a poor little penguin being viciously beaten by a larger slimmer creature holding a baseball bat.

"This. Is. What. You. Get. For. Talking. Back." The red haired thing enunciated with every strike against the poor creature.

Fluttershy flew around the creature and picked up the little penguin before it could be struck again. She arose high into the air, well out of the creature's reach and held fast to the little penguin.

"Hey!" The creature snapped at the pegasus, "That's mine; give it back!"

Fluttershy shook her head. "No. I'm not going to give him back to you just so you can beat him senseless!" Fluttershy nuzzeled the poor stunned penguin's head, to which he just sighed contently, muttering something about a cute girl.

Fluttershy looked back at the creature below, who was quickly growing angrier by the second. "Who do you think you are, hitting a poor defenceless animal like this?" Fluttershy felt something building behind her eyes with every word, almost like magic. "I have half a mind to find your mother and tell her about what you did! What would ever make you think you could do something like this? There is nothing. I repeat: Nothing that gives you the right to hurt others like this!" It was the same kind of feeling that forced her to open her eyes as wide as she could whenever she used The Stare. "Now, I am going to bring him back down, and you are going to apologize to him, do you understand me?

The creature below stared at her.

"Well?" The butter colored pegasus demanded.

"Pfft BAHAHA!" The creature down below started laughing at Fluttershy.

"Huh?" The power of The Stare quickly vanished. No one had ever been able to resist The Stare before, let alone laugh at it.

"Yeah," The bipedal creature said, "like I'm gonna do that! BWAHAHA!" She continued to laugh. She actually began rolling on the floor as her peals of laughter echoed off of the walls.

"Why didn't it work...?" Fluttershy muttered to herself. She slowly descended to the ground as the humiliating laughter continued to bombard her. She gently released the little penguin as soon as she touched ground, only for it to jump on her back with startling swiftness.

The penguin creature leaned forward on his savior's back. "Master Etna's too stupid for mind control, dood." He explained in a simple sarcastic tone.

Etna stopped laughing immediately and jumped to her two feet. "What the hell did you just say!?" She roared at Fluttershy's charge. The sudden volume combined with her humiliation made Fluttershy cringe and cower before Etna's fury, making the penguin fall off of her with a thump. She hid her face behind her mane as the bipedal girl approached her and the penguin ran around to hide between her hooves.

"You know, I'm pretty nice as far as demons go." Etna said in a voice dripping with sweetness. "But," She continued, trying to maintain that gentle voice, "That doesn't give you," Her tone quickly deteriorated, now starting to dip into one of a more abrasive nature. "The right to talk to me like that!"

Fluttershy squeeked.

Etna stopped mere inches from the shaking mare. "Hey!" She shouted with a stomp, "How long are you going to hide in there?"

The little penguin pressed itself as far against Fluttershy as he could, while she clutched him tightly. "S-screw you, dood! I'm staying here, where it's safe!"

Etna scoffed. "Safe?" She asked, before pulling a great red spear out of nowhere, pointing it at the penguin thing. "That's funny." Etna pulled the spear back, before ramming it straight at the poor little creature.

Fluttershy screamed as pain shot through her body. She looked down to see the red weapon imbedded in her wing. The tip was lodged between two of the many bones that made up a pegasus' star anatomical feaure.

"What?" Etna muttered. "Tch." Etna hissed at the little pony. "How cute, trying to protect the miserable pile of crap?" Etna twisted and turned the spear, just trying to remove it from the pony's flesh. "Seriously though," Etna grunted "After I get this out, you better move your wing."

Fluttershy winced as Etna finaly wiggled it out. Fluttershy winced as she flexed her wing. She wouldn't be flying anytime soon. And she wouldn't be doing much else unless she stopped the... The blood. She shivered at the sight of it all pooling on the perfectly matching red carpet.

"Listen." Etna stated. She again pointed at the penguin nestled far into Fluttershy's grasp. "That's my servent you have there." She waved her spear a little to emphasize her point. "Now, I know how strong I am, and I can take a guess as to how strong you are." Fluttershy looked up from the unnoticable stain in the carpet to the monster above her. "Now, I'm going to stab him again. Just hard enough to crush anything on the way, and I will stop right in the middle of him, so you won't get hurt. Understand?"

Fluttershy tried her hardest to maintain focus on the girl in front of her. The only thing she could really do though, was force her wings to constricted around her precious cargo. She looked down at the silent animal she was helping, then back up at Etna. Fluttershy tried as hard as she could to glare, a quiet flame of resistence burning behind her cyan eyes.

"Tch. Whatever." Etna said. With a roll of her eyes, she muttered, "What I get for being nice."

Without not a further word, Etna raised her dull red spear just high enough to skewer both creatures. Fluttershy looked away and inhaled as deep as she could. She felt the little penguin's beak poke her chest and she instantly knew he had turned away from the evil woman. They both prepared for what was to come.

"ETNA."

Etna groaned and rolled her head around her shoulders. "What is it, prince?" She responded to someone behind her two victims.

Fluttershy and the penguin sighed with relief, having delayed death for a few moments. It took her another second for Fluttershy to register what Etna said. A prince... Maybe he could stop the girl... Fluttershy found it hard to think with the burning pain in her wing.

But it wasn't hard to hear. From behind, she could hear stomping, loud stomping so strong it sent vibrations throughout her form. The thing stomping towards her was almost scarier than the girl in front of her. After all, what kind of big... Scary... Angry... Monster could be the prince? If he was anything like the royal sisters, then he must be the strongest monster in the whole world! It was all Fluttershy could do to not cower at the thought (with some help from a sharp pain caused when she tried.)

"What I want..." The prince said as he stomped toward Etna and Fluttershy. The anger was very clear in his voice. "Is to know..." The source of the shouting voice finally appeared in Fluttershy's vision. She looked up at him, amazed. "What you think you're doing!" The young bipedal creature standing before Fluttershy was obviously younger than Etna. With his bright blue hair, toned youthful skin, and really really long scarf, the second creature barely looked anything like Etna.

"Geeze, prince..." Etna muttered in annoyance. "What's wrong with you?"

The prince slowly pointed at Fluttershy and co. ""What is this?" The prince demanded in a slow deliberate tone as he still pointed at the butter colored mare.

Etna quickly looked from the prince to the pony and back again. She shrugged. "A pegasus?" The way she spoke was a stark contrast to her earlier attitude. She was angry, volitile if just in tone, but now she sounded too bored for someone who was just about to commint murder.

"Wrong!" The prince snapped, wearing a furious air about him. "This," He used this pause to repoint at Fluttershy, "Is an intruder."

Etna blinked at the prince, giving him an obvious 'Are you for real?' look. "So...?" She finally uttered to the loud royalty before her.

The prince, although not visibly, was taken aback by the statement. "So... So when there's an intruder, you come and get me!"

"What."

The prince crossed his arms and sneered at his subject. "It's a new rule!" He proclaimed in an oh-so-princely tone. "Whenever there's an intruder, she must be brought before the overlord for a private ruling on her fate." The prince nodded, satisfied with his explaination.

"You made that up just now." Etna stated, deadpan.

"So what?" The boy countered. "I'm King Laharl, the Overlord! I can do it whenever I want!"

Etna just rolled her eyes and turned back to Fluttershy. "Whatever Prince, I just need to get this Prinny she's holding onto." She raised her spear and pointed it at the little pegasus pony.

"HEY!" The prince screeched.

The girl stopped with a start and looked at him.

The prince spoke with an impatient tone, "Didn't you hear anything I said?"

Etna replied with just as much annoyance. "Yeah, Prince, I heard you, just let me take care of my business-"

"Forget the Prinny!" The boy cute her off with a shout. "I, Laharl, your Overlord, command you to leave!" With that said, he pointed to the large golden doors at the end of the room.

She refused to budge. "Seriously, Prince, it'll only be a couple of-" She tried to argue.

"I don't care!" He cut her off again, "Out, now!"

"Ugh! Fine!" Etna groaned. She turned around and stomped out of the room while grumbling to herself about the Prince and Prinnies.

When Etna finally gone, Laharl redirected his attention to the scared mare at his feet. Fluttershy almost flinched away from his firy glare, but instead moaned from the pain it caused.

Almost as soon as she moaned, he was on his knees in front of her. "Are you okay?" He asked. When Fluttershy looked up to see him, she found that he was wearing a much kinder (and much more worried) face.

She almost found the words hard to say. "W-well..." She tried, before he stopped her.

"You!" He snapped at the Prinny hidden within Fluttershy's grasp. He pointed at it, said, "Come out!" and promptly pointed to the floor in front of him.

Fluttershy paused, before spreading her forehooves to allow the little guy to shuffle out into the open. Without anything to protect, she quickly lowered herself into a lying position. The prince grabbed the penguin in both hands and looked him straight in the eye as he spoke with the utmost of authorative tones. "Go to my room. In my coffin is a sundae. Bring it here at once."

The prince placed the Prinny on the floor. Almost as soon as it touched ground, the penguin started running as fast as it could while screaming, "YEEEEEEEEEEESIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRRRRRR, DOOD!"

The prince turned back to the meek mare. "I'm going to take care of you." He took one of her hooves in hand and patted it. "I'll make everything better."

Considering how her experience with these creatures had been so far, Fluttershy wanted to be wary of him, but she just couldn't. The more Fluttershy looked into his eyes, the more she trusted him. It was the weirdest thing, almost like looking into the eyes of her brother. If she had one. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't find any real malice behind those blood-red eyes. They were just too kin-

"Here you go, dood!" Fluttershy's thoughts were interupted when the Prinny came running back carrying a bowl over his head. "One extra-large-momma-style-sundae, dood!"

The prince accepted it with one hand and said, "Thank you." Before he could say anything else, the Prinny produced a spoon from his phanny pack, which the blunette accepted with a nod.

The bipedal boy crossed his legs and placed the bowl between them. From her view, Fluttershy could tell it was in fact an ice cream sundae, albeit an oddly decorated mostly black one. She wondered what the Prince was going to do with it.

He scooped up a liberal amount and pointed it to the pegasus' muzzle. "Eat." He gently commanded.

She gaped at him. The idea of consuming it in her condition- "I can't." She admitted.

His hand wavered slightly. He easily contolled himself however. "Please, Fluttershy." He sighed. "Please eat." He begged before pushing the dessert a little closer to her face.

Fluttershy gave him a blank stare. "How... Do you know my name?" She asked, with just a little bit of hesitation.

He shook his head. "That's not important," He insisted, "Just please eat it." He raised the spoon to her mouth once again. This time, it was close enough to smell the chocolate. "Please..." Fluttershy tore her gaze away from the treat to look at the boy in front of her. She was surprised to find he wasn't anything near what she earlier feared. He was just like... Like her. She could see it in his eyes, that same feeling she got whenever a little critter wouldn't let her help. She couldn't let someone who was trying so hard down... She conceded and opened her mouth.

The prince smiled just a bit. It was that sort of weary smile that she often noticed herself wearing. "There." He said as he slipped the treat in her mouth. Fluttershy worked it around a little before swallowing. It was sweet, that much was obvious, but there was something else about it, something that made her tongue tingle and her body do... Something. Whatever it was, it didn't last. "Good." The prince sighed. He scooped up another dollop of the ice cream and presented it to her. "A little more, now. Come on." He begged once more.

Fluttershy continued to eat the confectionary masterpiece. After a few scoops, that something she felt changed into a warmth. Like she was lying in a warm cozy bed while she ate ice cream, only on the inside.

Oblivious to her musings, the boy just presented another scoop of the half-eaten dessert. "Say ah..."

Fluttershy paused. She opened her mouth a little more, exposed her tongue and said "Ah..."

The prince froze, all of his body visibly tensed at the act.

This confused Fluttershy "Ah?"

With a trembling hand, and a flushed face he continued feeding his intruder/guest.

After they finally finished the entire sundae, the prince and Fluttershy both sighed for their own reasons.

The blunette sat up, and crossed his legs once again. He quickly tossed the bowl and spoon to the sleeping Prinny, who didn't wake up even after the impact. He shook his head.

"So..." He said. Fluttershy sat up, at attention. "How is your wing?" He tentatively asked.

"Oh, my wing..." Fluttershy breathed. "It doesn't really hurt anymore. But I guess I wont' be able-" Fluttershy stopped talking. Her wing. She looked at it. She rubbed her eyes and really looked at it. It was healed. The wound and all of the blood had just disappeared! She fluttered her wing. There was no pain; it felt like it always did. She looked back at the boy.

He just chuckled. "In this world, sweets do more than just give you a sugarhigh." He deftly explained. He then looked away for a moment while scratching his cheek. "And, well, my mom's special recipe is even better than other sundaes which are the best to begin with."

He looked back at Fluttershy, who just smiled at him.

"Thank you so much!" She sort of exclaimed. "If it weren't for you and your mother's sundae, I well... You know..." She looked down at the floor while still maintaining a minute smile.

The prince just waved Fluttershy's thanks away. "Don't worry about it." He assured her, "As long as you are in my world, I'll do anything to make sure nothing bad happens to you."

Fluttershy just giggled at this. "You are a very kind man, Overlord, um King Laharl, was it?"

He nodded.

"It was a very kind thing of you to do for me." Fluttershy kneeled down before the prince. "I am in your debt." She giggled again when she sat back up.

"Debt, huh..." Laharl said as a very unsettling grin grew upon his face. His gaze snapped back to Fluttershy, who jumped a little at the sudden change in demeanor. "Could you do something for me?"

Fluttershy, a little unnerved, just replied as best she could. "Um. Sure."

Laharl leaned in and asked, "Cheer for me?"

Fluttershy blinked. "What?" She asked.

"Cheer."

"Ch...eer?" Fluttershy repeated with just a bit of hesitation.

"Cheer." Laharl nodded.

Fluttershy nervously replied, "um, okay." Her voice was quieter than usual as she prepared to cheer for her new friend. "here I go..." She inhaled and released a "yay."

"Louder." Laharl commanded.

Fluttershy's eyes flitted back and forth. She tried again, by first inhaling then... "yaay."

"Louder!" Laharl demanded while wearing a huge grin.

Fluttershy stood up onher hooves. She took as deep a breath as possible, ready to blow Laharl away if need be. After five whole seconds of inhalation, she released a great big, "yaaaay."

She slouched back and sat on her haunches. Laharl stared at her with a blank expression. She felt a little bad that she couldn't live up to his expectations. She sighed. "That." She looked up to the blunette as he spoke.

"Was." He paused, looking at his trembling hands while he wore a gaping mouth. He put his hands to his cheeks and smooshed them together as he said, "So awesome!"

Fluttershy just stared at him, dumbfounded. Then she smiled. As long as he liked it... "um, could you... do something, for me? that is, i-if you don't mind..."

Laharl snickered at her reservation. "Anything." He replied with great confidence, "Just ask."

She paused. Then she took a deep breath. "Um," She started, trying to find the right words, "Could you, maybe send me... Back to Equestria?" She winced after she said it. It was blunt, something she knew she should try to avoid. But it was important. She just didn't want to hurt her friend...

"Oh." The sound of his voice made her heart sink.

She quickly tried to mend the situation as best she could, "I mean, if you don't want to, that's fine, I could probably get used-"

He held up his hand for Fluttershy to stop. He slowly shook his head. "No. It's okay Fluttershy." He slowly stood up. "I'll let you go home." Fluttershy looked away when he tried to meet her gaze. It hurt to look at him, especially now that those kind eyes looked so hurt. "You've been here long enough." He said in a quiet, matter of fact tone.

Fluttershy looked back when he held his hand out to her. She looked up to see him smiling. She smiled too, and placed a hoof in his waiting hand. "Come on, I'll show you the way."

As Fluttershy trotted through the castle, she noticed something. It was oddly subtle, and she had a feeling she wouldn't have noticed it if she was walking by herself. The caslte seemed... Empty. Devoid of something. It wasn't inhabitants, no, there were plenty of them. And it certainly wasn't furnishings. It was something intangible. Something she couldn't touch, and it felt like there was a lack of it all around her. Whatever it was, there was an abundance of it in Ponyville.

She looked over at Laharl. He was walking alongside her, with his arms crossed. Much like earlier, complete with an ear to ear smirk.

Walking next to him, it felt like the missing thing was especially missing. It was a weird feeling, and Fluttershy couldn't shake it.

"Here we are!" Laharl announced.

Fluttershy shook herself out of her reverie, and saw the swirling vortex from earlier. She looked to Laharl for an explanation. He was still staring ahead with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face. He noisily cleared his throat to the girl sitting nearby against a wall. Her head snapped up, and Fluttershy realized that she was sleeping a moment ago.

With her eyes still closed, the blond haired girl stood and walked to the front of the vortex, her red and black dress swaying with every step.

"How may I help you today, Prince?" She spoke with a very gentle but bored voice.

"I need you to open a the gate to a different world." Laharl said in a similar voice. It was like listening to two people who have spoken to each other for years and don't really hate each other, but just find something about the other monotonous. Like they've done it over and over. At least, that was Fluttershy's impression.

The girl nodded. "Do you know what it's called?"

"Equestria." Laharl drawled.

The girl froze. She turned on of her ears to the prince and said, "Come again?"

"Equestria. Coordinate Code ETV2190768"

"Okay..." She said in a happy tone as a smile and a blush slowly grew on her features. She turned away from the two and held her hands out to the vortex. Her hands glowed briefly before the vortex changed from it's usual lime green and white swirl to a distorted view of Ponyville.

She laughed heartily when the view changed to that of just outside Fluttershy's cottage. She turned back around and bowed for the prince and his companion, before walking back to her seat.

Laharl nodded to Fluttershy and they both walked to the gate in silence.

When they reached it, Laharl reached out for just a second, before quckly turning back to the little pony. "Well, Fluttershy, this is goodbye." He stated with as straight a face as he could. From what she could tell, he was trying to avoid eye contact.

The pink maned mare just nodded in response. "Yes." She quietly said. "It is."

Laharl lowered himself to one knee to speak directly to his new friend. "I'm glad I had the chance to meet you in person." The prince slowly uttered.

Fluttershy smiled slightly, glad that Laharl no longer seemed to be empty. Even if he did seem sad. "I'm glad I met you too, Prince Laharl. Oh, wait," She rubbed her chin in thought. "Or was it Over-"

Laharl waved away Fluttershy's thoughts. "No, it's okay," He assured her, "You can call me Prince Laharl. Or just Laharl."

She nodded at this. When she continued, she was sure to adress him with the same tone she reserved for Princess Celestia, "Well, Prince Laharl," She lowered herself before him as she did for the Princess, "I hope one day, we can meet again, and I hope the next time, it's under better..." She sat up and fluttered her left wing. She flashed him a nervous smile. "Conditions."

Laharl released a short laugh and shook his head to the floor. He was silent for a moment. While still looking at the floor, he said, "...Goodbye, Fluttershy."

The Element of Kindness trotted up to the young prince and pressed herself into him. She gently nuzzled his cheek. "Goodbye, Prince Laharl."

Fluttershy felt Prince Laharl tremble a little bit before he raised his arms and wrapped them around the back of her neck. Even after he closed his arms, he still trembled ever so slightly while he held her for a few more seconds.

Fluttershy nuzzled him once more before saying, in just a reserved voice, "You know, I could stay here. I-if you..." She inhaled and tried her best to sound audible. "if you want, that is."

"No." Prince Laharl said, resolute in both tone and his now still form. He let go and stepped away from the pony. Upon seeing her kind face, his eyes and tone softened. "No Fluttershy, it's okay. You can't stay here, it's just... Trust me, okay? You won't survive here, and if anything were to happen to you..." He shook his head. "I don't want anyone else I care about leaving me." He muttered.

Fluttershy cantered up to the prince and pressed the side of her head against his belly. "Okay Laharl."

Fluttershy backed away from the prince. Laharl watched her walk to the gate to her home. Just before she jumped in, she turned and said, "Goodbye." one last time.

"Goodbye." Laharl managed to call out before the gate closed.

With that said, the pony was gone and the gate closed. It returned to it's usual swirly pattern again.

The Demon Prince reached into his right pocket and removed a necklace. Attached to the necklace was a bright glowing pendant. Laharl looked first at the pendant, a gift from long ago which he gripped tightly and held close to his heart, then to the gate where his newer friend just entered, and finally up to where he dearly hoped many of his lost were now.

He lowered the pendant and looked at it's radient glow a proof of his worth. He looked up to the gate and stuffed the pendant into his pocket.

He turned around, his awesome scarf whipping back and forth with the combined non-existant wind and sudden force. He walked away wearing the utmost of confient grins.

"For now."

oXo

It was a bright summer midday in Ponyville.

A young alicorn colt cantered up the side of a grassy hill. He had a short blue mane that contrasted well with his pale off-white coat and almost cape-like red scarf. When he neared the top of the hill, he jumped to the peak, wanting to waste no time in his climb.

He stood at the top of the somewhat big hill overlooking the rest of Ponyville, amazed at just how different it looked in person.

His dark red eyes, though appearing violent at first, were actually filled with wonder as they darted back and forth across the quiet town.

He jumped high into the air and screamed with joy when the excitement overwhelmed him. As he descended, he extended his small wings and glided down into the town proper.

His name was Laharl, Overlord and King of the Netherworld. He once abandoned love and friendship. But that was long ago, and if the bandaged hearts on either of his flanks were any indication, he had come full circle on the matter. Most importantly however, he was on holiday, and he had a pony to look for.