A young Wind Sorcerer soared through the silent night sky over the mist-filled forest, conjuring powerful air currents to glide and maneuver through, the leathery flaps of his armored flight suit allowing him to maintain the right altitude.
After passing over an abandoned barn, he knew he'd reached his destination... or rather, what was left of it.
The wing flaps retracted back into the pouches at the sides of his sleek, azure armor as he landed atop a hill, summoning a weak gust of wind to slow his descent. Looking down from his position he could make out an abandoned town almost completely obscured by mist various trees growing out of several houses. Wasting no time, he made his way down the road towards the abandoned town, his attention drawn to a lavender light that seemed to be emitting from one of the abandoned houses.
From what he had been told by the former residents, this village was originally a thriving town where various mages all lived and worked together in harmony... but sadly that all changed over six years ago. No one knows why, but the magic of Everfree Forest had suddenly grown out of control, and over time the forest continued to grow and expand until it enveloped and overtook the village, forcing many of the residents to flee and relocate.
Some simply moved to other places such as Cloudsdale, the Crystal Empire, or Canterlot, while others had poured their efforts into building a new village nestled between the Smokey Mountains and White Tail Woods.
Of course, that didn't necessarily mean they still didn't have to deal with their fair share of problems lurking in the forest from time to time.
There had recently been attacks on their new home by some of the very creatures that drove them off, and there were even rumors of several monsters setting up residence in what was left of the place.
Granted, the weekly Royal Guard patrols had been enough to deal with the wild animals, but the presence of one particular creature had warranted calling in a mercenary such as himself.
A Succubus.
Not just any Succubus mind you, this particular one had made quite the name for herself after her debut in Canterlot. Not only overpowering and seducing a prodigy in "Celestia's Academy for Gifted Sorceresses", but also managing to outsmart and easily escape the Royal Guard.
He'd had the unfortunate luck of running into her during his time in Appaloosa. Having caught her shamelessly seducing the local workers and draining them of their vitality, not enough to outright kill them, but more than enough to leave them bedridden for a while. Though he had managed to stop her and drive her off, every so often she'd pop up in an area he was traveling through to cause trouble, prompting him to seek her out and deal with her himself.
And today was one of those days. Apparently, she had been masquerading as a librarian for a while, easily tricking some of the locals into joining her for some late-night "reading sessions". After she had been found out, the locals discovered that she had made her home in the abandoned ruins of their former town.
As such, with the Royal Guards busy dealing with a Timberwolf infestation in the Whitetail Woods, he had taken it upon himself to finally capture her, or failing that, at the very least drive her out of the ruins and deprive her of any chances to seduce more innocent civilians.
...that, and he REALLY needed the money.
As he wandered through the abandoned town, he found himself stepping over massive roots that grew out of the sides of certain buildings, certain houses that had fallen into a state of decay after being abandoned for so long. After taking a detour to avoid a patch of poison joke, the Sorcerer found himself standing before what looked like a tree that had been modified into a house of some sort, in front of it was an old sign that read "Golden Oaks Library".
"...who would build something as big as a library inside a tree?" He mumbled to himself as another lavender light emitted from the window of what he could only assume was the top floor. Narrowing his eyes, he slowly made his way inside, carefully avoiding making a sound as he stepped over the broken door and several ripped up books. However, he then heard the sound of footsteps coming from the stairway and quickly hid behind an overturned bookcase.
"Honestly, who would just leave some perfectly good spellbooks in such bad condition?" The individual grumbled as she made her way into the room, looking through one of the old books. "I can't help but wonder if the original librarian was even doing her job right..."
Hearing that familiar voice caused the mercenary to bite his lip as he slowly perked out from behind the bookcase.
And there she stood, the rogue Succubus, as deadly as she was beautiful; Midnight Sparkle.
Her youthfully smooth skin was dark violet, her hair seemed to be permanently flowing upwards in a pattern of deep-pink and purple streaks, and a pair of deep purple wings with black-edges coming out of her back.
Her attire consisted of knee-length stockings, deep pink high-heels boots, elbow-length fingerless gloves of equal color, a pink choker around her neck, a strapless pink/purple dress that hugged her voluptuous figure almost like a corset, exposing her ample cleavage, with a short star-marked skirt with a lighter pink waistline that just barely went past her thighs, showing off her curvy hips and long shapely legs. Around her eyes an aura of magic that almost resembled glasses of some sort, and a tiara that resembled a long, jagged, pale-green glowing horn on her forehead.
That tiara was a reminder of how dangerous she could be, he wasn't sure when it happened, but at some point, she'd managed to start up a riot during an auction for an ancient artifact and snuck off with a tiara... one that could enhance any Mage's magic despite their skills... and he'd seen firsthand how powerful she was with that kind of magic at her disposal...
The mercenary was brought out of his thoughts as the Succubus snapped her fingers, resulting in the book she was reading vanishing in a puff of smoke. "Now then, where should I head to next...?" She mused to herself before casually sitting down behind an overturned table, temporarily obscuring her from his line of sight. "I've already done all I can in Hollow Shades, and I can't go back to Klugetown for a while..."
Then, just as he was about to draw his blade, an aura of magic engulfed his head and pulled off his helmet, revealing his yellow skin and wild blue hair. He then felt a lick on his earlobe and a kiss on his cheek. "What do you think, Flash Sentry?" A seductive voice whispered.
Startled, Flash immediately summoned a gust of wind and sent the Succubus flying out of the house, putting more distance between them both. He eyed her with caution as he exited the library, his blade at the ready, waiting for her next move. "So what are you up to out here of all places, you diabolical seductress?"
