Chapter 19: Gates of Hell

A dull, throbbing ache coursed through Twilight’s head, making clear thought impossible.

Something had happened. Something major, for sure, but what she couldn’t remember. It hurt too much to think, and she could barely get enough breath to fill her lungs.

All she could remember was getting ready for bed when there was a knock at the door, then... Nothing but pain and darkness. Just remembering that much almost made her writhe as innumerable claws wracked her insides, and her stomach lurched violently.

Not wanting to taste the hayburger dinner she had for a second time, she focused on pushing the nausea away. She let out a low groan of displeasure that did nothing but send another spike through her skull.

During a lapse of pain, Twilight noticed something: in the background, beyond the pain, was a low mumbling that seemed miles away. She focused on it, and slowly but surely the sound came into a hazy focus, just barely distinguishable.

“Educ portas inferi. Educ portas inferi.” Twilight’s ears twitched, her brow wrinkling up as she concentrated on the not mumbling but... Chanting?

“Educ portas inferni a principe tenebrarum inthronizare!” Twilight tried to focus more on the words. She had heard the language before; it was an ancient one, she knew for sure. Celestia had tried to teach it to her, as it was the language royals used long ago. Twilight was an incredibly smart pony, nopony would deny that without then whimpering at her tower of light morning reading that wobbled threateningly over them, but, when it came to learning a second language, she was sure Bulk Biceps had greater skill than she did.

The chanting grew louder and faster, and no matter how hard she tried to decipher the words, she had no chance in figuring out what they were preparing. All that she knew was that chanting was in a dead language, and, judging by her working hypothesis that she had been foalnapped, they were working a dark magic.

With hearing not helping her figure things out, Twilight started to open her eyes. Instantly, she squeezed her eyes closed as the light struck them, almost clenching her skull in on itself. Still, she had to figure out what she had gotten into, so she redoubled her efforts, fighting through the pain. It took a few tries, but finally she was able to open her eyes and look around.

The first thing she noticed was the fire. The orange flames glowed brightly in the darkness she was submerged in, illuminating a guard of thick trees around her, which she surmised was the Everfree. Shadows danced all around, making the already dangerous woods seem even more menacing.

Next, she noticed the hooded figures below her, dressed in robes of dark red with black accents. They were in a circle, swaying back and forth around a figure in the middle, his robes a reverse of the others. The ground around them was covered in sigils and markings that corresponded with dark magic. It was only then she realized that she was elevated above them all, and finally noticed the rough bark digging into her back.

Twilight’s first reaction was to move, even if only to arch her back away from the discomfort, but she didn't even make it an inch before she met resistance. Looking down, her wings, waist, and all four legs were bound in heavy chains. They rattled in her struggles, but the noise did not interest her captors. Relaxing her body, Twilight glared at the hooded figures below her.

She was an Alicorn now. Even before that, she was a damn powerful unicorn, if she said so herself. She would not be restrained in such a way, not if she could help it. Letting out a slow breath, Twilight gathered her will, preparing a spell to show these misguided fools the error of their ways.

Yet, before she could gather more than a spoonful of her power, white hot agony raced through her skull like an electric shock. The feeling started in her horn, like barbs driving in as her entire body contracted together until the will spilled from her grasp. As much as she tried, she could not hold back a cry of pain from the sudden shock. The figure in the middle of the circle looked up, a pair of red eyes looking up at her.

“Ah, it seems as though the last of our guests has finally awoken,” the figure said. His voice was smooth and rich. He proceed to bow his head towards Twilight. “It is a honor to meet you, Princess Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Magic.”

“Shove it, you creep!”

Twilight’s ears perked up, and she looked all around her. On the same level as her, chained in exactly the same fashion as her, were Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash. Rainbow was still struggling against her chains, eyes locked on the figure and eyes filled with fiery rage.

The four of them were chained to trees in a half circle around a small clearing. There was a tree or two between each of them, allowing them to see one another clearly. Twilight looked up and down the trees of her captured friends. Their trunks were splintered and cracked with carvings as well, similar to the ones used in the circle.

The figure looked up at Rainbow, grinning at her with an unnaturally white smile and sharp looking teeth.

“There is no need to be rude, Rainbow Dash.” The figure laughed, the ponies around him still chanting. “It’s only proper to address royalty with such respect,” he said, turning back to Twilight. “As is introducing oneself. I am Blackheart, thirteenth son of the Devil.” He pulled back his hood, shaking out his black mane. With his hood back, Twilight saw Blackheart’s serrated horn, jagged and cruel.

“The son of the…” Twilight just stared at Blackheart, his followers still chanting in the background. “You believe that you are the Devil’s son?” Blackheart merely chuckled as he slowly rolled his neck, cracking it.

“Ah, you must think me insane, for we all know the Devil does not exist,” Blackheart said, focusing his red eyes on Twilight.

She just glared at him, her mind racing for an idea. She needed to escape this psychopath acting on fantasies that had obviously somehow amassed a large sum of power. Twilight needed to figure out what was restraining her power and how to get around it, then how to deal with the delusional creep before her.

“Think me a psychopath? A delusional creep?” Twilight’s head snapped back to Blackheart, eyes wide. He just kept on grinning, showing off his white fangs. “Before you ask, or think it, yes: I can read minds. A talent any half decent demon can do. Though further proof will be needed, I suspect.” With that, a dark purple aura formed around the clasp of his robe. The clasp gave a click before the robe fell from his body.

Twilight could not stop herself from gasping, for the sight before her should not have been possible. Standing there was an Alicorn. His coat was a purple so dark that if hadn’t been standing next to the fire she would have sworn it was black. A mane and tail of coal black, leathery wings that ended in angry points, and holes within that looked like they had been burned. Under the cloak he wore a silver breastplate, legs hidden behind intricate armor, and finally a black cape draped over his back. He shook his head as his wings unfurled to their full length, showing them to be bat-like with sharp talons on the ends of them. Taking a step forward, Blackheart looked up at Twilight, his smile never faltering.

“As you can well see, I am who I say I am. Blackheart, son the of the Devil, and future ruler of this world.” He laughed, turning from the four captured ponies and towards the large fire. Black sparks cascaded across his body and bled into the ground. They danced around the fire, and with each passing second the flames rose higher, the heat more intense, till the sparks of black magic jumped into the blaze all at once.

The fire exploded from the normal yellows and red into purple and black flames. Sheer, raw power ran through the fire, lashing out at random, gauging great streaks into the ground. In the light of the dark fire, Blackheart’s profile looked positively menacing, highlighting each sharp edge, wings with holes in them, and made him look larger than life. As the fire blazed higher, the chanting of those around Blackheart grew louder, their swaying side to side in perfect timing.

“Virtute insistit priscosque deos! Ritu numina testor chaos sanguis meus! Tollite sacrificium, septem duces caecorum tueri visceribus!” Twilight’s raw synapses cried as she attempted to parse the alien tongue, and could only get the slightest of what he was saying. Though she could swear he was paying tribute to the gods of old with sacrifices, the first being seven… demon generals?
The chanting slowed down, as the hooded ponies around Blackheart looked at one another before focusing their attention on Blackheart. Blackheart didn’t seem to notice, continuing to invoke his spell.

One of the generals took a step forward, as he did Twilight could just make out the figure’s face as he stepped near the fire. The pony did not have a coat of fur, but of red scales that looked heavily scarred.

“My Lord... is this true? You gave your word that we would have more power than we ever did under your father,” the demon said, his tongue flipping out like that of a lizard. Twilight could only see Blackheart roll his head to the side, looking at the general over his shoulder.

“My dear general, do you forget I am the son of the Devil? You should always assume I will betray you.” Blackheart laughed as he turned back to the fire. Twilight could sense each of the generals starting to gather their energies, dark and ferocious power to lash out and attack Blackheart in deadly retribution.

Before any of them could gather the will needed, the black lightning that was infused into the fire lashed out at them.

The bolts of power struck each general at the exact time and drove through them like spears. All they could do was scream out in pain as the energy sparked across their bodies, tearing them apart, milking them for all the blood they were worth. All the while, Blackheart faced his fire again and resumed his chanting, his voice subsumed by the howls and screams of his generals.

The sight was beyond gruesome in Twilight’s eyes, and she tried to will her sight away from the slaughter. Yet there was a sick fascination with the act, not only in the primal savagery of it, but in the pursuit of knowledge, to see truly black magic being used. There was a part in every unicorn that had thought of the power of black magic, to use the dark arts and forbidden deeds for personal gain or knowledge. The cost of using such power turned many away, for to even start using black magic one must sacrifice others to feed the power, and once that first sacrifice was made the user's soul would be forever stained.

A sacrifice Blackheart was all too willing to make.

As Twilight fought the urge to keep watching, the black bolts of magic tore their victims apart, their blood filling in the sigils on the ground, or being absorbed into the fire. She looked to her friends in the same position. Fluttershy’s eyes were shut tightly, and in the eerie glow Twilight could make out tears flowing down her face. Rainbow and Applejack were fighting their bonds, the terrible event renewing their strength to survive, to get out of there as fast as they could. She wanted to escape as well, but the powers at work here were far out of the reach of her studies, and she did not even know where to start to fight it.

“Do not worry, my dear Princess. I shall make your deaths swift and clean. There is no need to make your deaths as terrible as theirs,” Blackheart mused as the bolts withdrew back into the fire like serpents. As they did, flames erupted out from the bottom of the fire sending out a shockwave across the ground where the blood and sigils were now one. The blood began to move on its own, filling in any vacant carving or spare crack, till the entire working of magic was covered in it. The ground then shimmered a few times, before Twilight could just barely sense a field of power above it, protecting the spell so far.

The spell Blackheart was working on was not just powerful but extremely vulnerable,at least if to the shielding spell over it meant anything. Any working of magic that involved the use of a magic circle such as this could be disrupted if even one of the lines, points of power, or even a miscalculation of power could destroy the entire working, along with the user. Magic on this level was extremely sensitive, so the user had to take every precaution they could to ensure the spell did not blow up in their face.

Literally.

With Blackheart’s attention back on the dark fire, chanting another verse of his spell, Twilight scanned her surroundings, looking for a way out. With her power being blocked chances were slim that she could escape, even with her mind working as hard and as fast as it could do try to find the most logical way out. Though as hard and as fast as she could think, she was at a huge disadvantage. When it came to the powers of magic, those who had more time to plan, to work on theories, to work out problems and ways to overcome them, were always at a big advantage. There were those who could improvise, could dart and weave around their foes without much preparation and pull off feats of magic unrivaled, but Twilight was not one of them.

Yes, she had used magic on the fly a few times, but those were simple spells that she had practiced for years, or knew enough about the concept of how the spell should work that she could connect the dots without thinking. This was new territory for her, and with whatever Blackheart was using to block her power there was no way for her to use her powers to get out of this. She needed to find a way, something to distract him, to prolong this demon until help could arrive, or the time would run out of the window of opportunity. Just the smallest thing could help now.

“The Ghost Rider is going to kick your sorry ass!” Twilight eyes went wide, as she turned to the voice. Still struggling in her bonds, Rainbow Dash bared her teeth as she pulled and struggled. “He’s going to be here any minute now and mess you up!” Rainbow declared, the chains rattling like an orchestra falling down a mountain.

Blackheart turned to Rainbow Dash, even with most of his features covered in shadow Twilight could see him smile widely, showing off those impossibly white fangs.

“Oh really? The Ghost Rider?”

“Damn straight!” Rainbow Dash yelled, never even pausing her struggle to get free. “I bet his mouth is watering at the chance to eat your soul!” Twilight just stared at Rainbow Dash: the same mare that a few weeks ago was calling the Ghost Rider a disappointment, trying to get Wild Blaze convicted of being him. Now she was saying this myth was going to come save them?

“I doubt my father’s errand colt will be making an appearance anytime soon. I made quite sure that he has his hooves full. A demon army is no small matter.” Blackheart chuckled, turning back to his four captured victims. “And don’t think that because you keep his host’s bed warm at night he will get here any faster.”

“Say what now?” Applejack cut in, her struggles stopping for a moment as Blackheart spoke. “Are you tellin’ me that ya been in such a good mood of late, because yer involved with a demon?”

“Shut up!” Rainbow Dash spat, turning to Applejack. “It's not like that!”

“Oh yes it is,” Blackheart mused, as he advanced towards the four ponies still bound in chains. “In fact, if it wasn’t, I wouldn’t have any use for you. Any of you. Each one of you is very important to me and this ritual,” Blackheart said, pacing before them till he was right in front of Twilight, smiling up at her.

“Of course we are! We’re the Elements of Harmony, you dolt!” Rainbow Dash yelled. Blackheart did not look at Rainbow Dash, as his red eyes locked onto Twilight.

“The Blood of an Alicorn: Twilight Sparkle,” Blackhart purred. He stalked in front of her like a lion as he made his way around the four. “Blood of a Virgin: Fluttershy.” Fluttershy gave out a small gasp, as her face turned bright red even in the limited light. “Blood of a Mother to Be: Applejack Nimbus.” Twilight saw Applejack’s jaw drop open, where it lay trembling as tears sprung in her widening eyes, her hooves suddenly still in their chains. “And finally... Blood of a Demon’s Willing Bedmate: Rainbow Dash.” Blackheart stopped in front of Rainbow Dash and just smarmed up at her. “The fact the four of you are Elements of Harmony was just a happy coincidence. Destroying the vessels of the Elements only ensures the completion of my plans,” Blackheart said, his voice dripping with smugness.

“But I’m afraid that is all the time I have,” Blackheart said with a sigh, his horn sparking with dark power as the familiar bolts of black magic formed and started to creep up the tree of Rainbow Dash. “It’s best to just do than to talk.” Blackheart laughed as the the bolts rested around Rainbow’s throat and she stared them down from under stiff brows. “Now, di—”

In the blink of an eye a blade appeared in Blackheart’s neck, sinking nearly to the hilt in the demon’s flesh. Blackheart let out gurgle, blood spurting out of the wound while more leaked out of his mouth. He sounded almost surprised, before a ball of emerald fire came hurtling from the woods behind. The fireball caught Blackheart full in the chest, covering the demon in flame as he was sent flying backwards.

Before Twilight could even turn her head to see what had happened, a flash of purple rocketed past them all and towards Blackheart. The demon had skidded to a halt, the protection he had put up around the spell flaring up as the circle was threatened. Before Blackheart could do much more, he was struck by a purple fist, carrying such tremendous force that the sound of bones snapping echoed off the trees around.

“Nopony!” Before Blackheart could be flung away, a second fist slammed into the other side of Blackheart’s head, bones popping and breaking with the strike.

“Touches!” The figure grabbed Blackheart by the mane with both claws and slammed their knee into Blackheart’s muzzle, another chorus of pops and cracks filled the air.

“My!” Both claws were raised above the figure’s head, one cupping the other as the purple figure lifted them higher and higher, growling as their arms strained.

“Sister!” Next, the figure drove his hands downward onto the broken mess that was once Blackheart's head, driving the demonic pony into the ground, the protection spell flaring in shades of angry purple as Blackheart’s body made contact with from the talons, the fire, and the force of an enraged teenage dragon.

“Spike!” Twilight hollered, but before she could do much more Spike inhaled deeply through his nose, leaning backwards, sucking in more air until his lungs must have been bursting. Then he leaned forwards, opening his jaw as wide as he could and unleashing torrent of green fire from his mouth. The flames enveloped Blackheart in brilliant light that illuminated the area in cascading colors of green. Nothing of Blackheart could be seen within the flames, but Spike kept up the storm until he had no breath left in him. Shutting his jaws, sparks of green escaped between the gaps in his teeth, and smoke rose up from his nostrils.

“Way to go Spike!” Rainbow Dash cheered, while Spike shook his head, clearing away some of the smoke. “Dragon one, two-bit demon punk zero!” she continued, laughing and cackling as she sank back against the tree.

“Stars and stones… Ah’m pregnant…” AJ murmured, the events in front of her not seeming to register all at once. “Again…”

“Spike! How did you find us?” Twilight called out, not wanting to waste more time. “And get us down!” Spike turned back to Twilight, one claw scratching the back of his head, while he laughed nervously.

“Oh… right Twi’. I’ll have you down in a sec, but um… I wasn’t the one to find you. Heck, I didn’t even know you were missing till he came and got us.” Twilight cocked her head at her assistant as he walked over to her.

“Who is ‘he’? And what do you mean ‘us’?” Spike just gave off another bout of nervous chuckles as he got closer.

“Greetings, Princess Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight’s eyes went wide as she tried to look around for the source of the voice. She knew that bayou accent, dripping with a fake gentility, and realized why Spike wasn’t so forthcoming with information. Entering her vision from the right was a white pony with a light golden mane, and a gold reptilian eye. “It has been quite some time.”

“Yes, it has. Agent Bentgrass.”

Bentgrass just smiled up at her, giving off that aura of smugness and arrogance that seemed to follow him around. He was exactly how she remembered him from their last meeting, except he was no longer wearing the suit and tie. Instead, he was wearing what looked like a bulky black vest of heavy fabric that covered his entire torso and spine, wrapping around his shoulders. On his right foreleg was a blocky metal gauntlet, much too bulky and cumbersome looking to be any kind of armor, but Bentgrass looked fairly comfortable with it. Along his waist, Twilight could notice the slightest gleam of metal objects, what she could only assume were knives and, from what she had seen of Blackheart being impaled by one, Bentgrass was very efficient with the weapons.

Bentgrass came out of the woods as though he had been planning a picnic that night, such was the ease he was walking with, making his way towards the circle Blackheart had been working on. Trailing behind Bentgrass was Rumble, his eyes darting around in a panicked motion as he looked from Spike, Bentgrass, to the captured mares and back again.

“How did you know we were in trouble?” Twilight asked, watching Bentgrass inspect the circle. “I thought you left for Canterlot weeks ago,...” She groaned as Bentgrass turned back to her, smiling still. “You never went back, did you?” Bentgrass just chuckled.

“I never leave a mission half done. Besides, I still have many questions yet to be answered, so I decided that remaining in the area would be in the best interest for all,” Bentgrass confirmed, as he prodding the circle with the tip of his hoof. “And a good thing I did, am I right, Your Highness?” Twilight merely rolled her eyes at Bentgrass.

“Yes, yes.” She sighed, as she watched the agent walking around the circle. “Be careful: The magic in there is very powerful, and even with that shield up I don’t want to mess with anything so—” Twilight’s mind caught up with her mouth, and her eyes went wide as she watched Bentgrass examine the circle again, his hoof pressing up against the shield.

The magic within the circle would still be up: the sacrifice had been made and was drawn back like a bow and arrow, just waiting to be released. The shield spell, though, that should have gone down the moment that user died.

“Spike! Bentgrass! He’s still alive!” Twilight hollered, and no sooner than she did Blackheart began to rise again, sparks of dark magic cascading across his body as he stood. Burned flesh smoothed and spread out, bones popped back into place, armor damaged by Spike’s attack groaned and shifted. Even his cape was brought back to its former glory. Blackheart stood there, looking nonplussed. He shook his head, ash falling from his mane and coat.

“I must commend you, young drake; that little stunt took me off guard.” Blackheart laughed, red eyes scanning across the ground before locking onto Spike. The young dragon turned from the tree Twilight had been chained to and faced Blackheart again, teeth bared, claws at the ready, and smoking rising from his nostrils. “But it will take much more than some lone dragon runt to stop me.” Blackheart advanced towards Spike, showing off his own fangs in a crazed smile.

“This lone dragon runt still broke your face!” Spike roared, launching himself at Blackheart, green flames escaping his mouth in the charge. Darkness swelled around Blackheart as the shadows themselves merged into his magic. As Spike let out a torrent of flame, a whispery veil emerged from the ground between the two, shielding Blackheart from the blast. This did not deter the young drake; he rolled to the side and charged Blackheart once more with claws unsheathed and itching for blood.

Blackheart was to ready for the next attack, as the aura of blackness enveloped his horn and a long sword materialized, just in time to deflect the sweep of Spike’s claws. A shower of sparks burst from the contact, but Spike’s strength proved itself the better as he forced the sword down, leaving Blackheart’s face vulnerable for Spike’s other claw. Not wasting the opportunity, Spike’s claws slashed through the air and across Blackheart’s face, right across the demon’s eyes.

A groan of pain escaped Blackheart’s lips, but nothing more as his horn sparked with dark energy that blasted Spike in the chest, sending him flying backwards into the woods. His body so dense with muscle and strong scales, and moving at such speed, Spike broke a tree clear in two upon impact. Though, like Blackheart, Spike only gave a groan of pain as he pushed himself back up onto all fours.

Twilight watched as Spike got onto all four, his eyes wide in fury, pain, but most of all a lust for battle; and that was what truly scared her. Yes, the demon before her with dark powers that were already regenerating his body froze her breath in her chest, but not as much as seeing one of her, if not the closest, of friends losing himself. Dragons were known for many things, hoarding, hibernation, immense power, and a love of battle. That last was a part Twilight knew Spike never took part of, except on game nights, but a dragon within the lust of battle was a danger to all.Even those they considered family.

If Blackheart knew anything of a dragon’s lust for battle he did not show it. Instead the sword he materialized vanished before him, the black magic used to create it dissolving back into sparks and dancing across the dark alicorn’s body. Spike did not wait for what was next, but unleashed another gout of green fire.

“Foolish drake,” Blackheart murmured, the sparks shooting from Blackheart’s body and forming an angular shield that directed the fire upwards into the sky. “I am from Hell. You think your fire compares to that?” He laughed as the blaze faded to nothing. “Let me show you true destructive fire!”

All around Blackheart, the ground exploded in blue flames shooting high above the trees. The sparks of black danced within the fires concealing all of Blackheart’s body, except for his red eyes that bled through the fire. Spike merely growled in primal rage as he started to circle the inclosed Blackheart, his tail swishing back and forth like that of a cat, waiting to pounce. The red eyes followed Spike, melting through the flames to follow the dragon’s progress.

Twilight could do nothing but watch the standoff between powers, wishing for nothing more than to help her assistant, but she had no idea how. Fire, even enchanted with magic, would not deal much damage. Dragons were the lords of fire, many of them living in volcanoes and sleeping in the magma at night. As much mystical energy one could put into flames, there was no substitute for the unmatched elemental power of fire. Even if Blackheart did manage to supersede Spike’s tolerance to flame, the result of such power would surely destroy any plans he had.

Unless…

Unless the fire was a distraction!

“Spike! Behind you!” Twilight screamed, but her mind worked it out too slow as before she could even finish screaming Spike’s name, the blue flames went out like a candle in a storm, and shadows erupted behind Spike. Tendrils of dark power ensnared themselves around Spike’s throat, and tightened so much that even from her vantage point in the tree Twilight could see the scales compressing under pressure.

Spike gave out a ragged wheeze, and his body was lifted off the ground. The frightened dragon clawed at the bonds of power around his neck, but the tendrils did not tear nor come undone. At most, Spike’s claws were doing more harm to himself as he sliced into his own neck in a mad effort to get free.

Blackheart stepped out of the shadow’s behind Spike, his lips pulled back in a wide and malevolent smile as the tendril of dark energy emerged from his horn, holding Spike in place. Spike’s legs kicked out at random, ragged gasps for breath escaping his mouth but no air could reach his burning lungs while Blackheart held him in place.

“Now, now, little one. Keep struggling like that and you will use up all your air,” Blackheart mewed, as jerked his head to the left, causing the powers to pull Spike back and forth. “And what fun would that be? I like to play with my food.”

Twilight’s struggles intensified as she watched Spike suffocate. She kept trying to build up the will to cast a spell of some kind at the monster that held her little brother hostage, but each time she gathered power the dark magic restraining her would intensify and cause all her will to slip away alongside a muted, strained gasp. At that moment she felt weaker than she ever had before in her life; all she could do was watch Spike be slowly murdered in front of her.

“Get away from him you bastard!” called a voice from above. Twilight looked up for the source of the noise to see a gray streak darting out of the air. It did not take Twilight to recognize the streak as Rumble, swooping into the fray to save his lover. With a roar of pure defiance, Rumble zipped right of the sky and slammed his hoof into the side of Blackheart’s head.

Blackheart just stood there, red eyes still fixated on Spike, strangling the dragon with the dark magic he controlled. Rumble hovered right next to Blackheart, entirely frozen, hoof slammed into the demon’s cheek. But nothing had happened, not even a recognition of the attack. A black bolt of power shot down from Blackheart’s horn and struck the young pegasus in the chest, sending him crashing into the nearby brush, the demon not even looking in his direction once.

“The blood of a drake, even one as weak as yourself, could always be proven useful in future spells,” Blackheart murmured as a second tendril came out of his horn, this one in the shape of a blade. “You may continue to struggle, makes no difference to me,” Blackheart said, a deep chuckle escaping his throat, as the tendril strangling Spike shifted just enough to keep suffocating him but leaving his carotid artery exposed. The blade moved slowly towards the throbbing bulge, the demon taking sadistic pleasure in making his captives watch him lowering the blade, and savoring the struggles and panic of the dragon within his grasp.

Wham!

Wham!

Wham!

Bursts of red mist exploded from Blackheart’s back, covering the ground behind him in gore. Blackheart blinked a few times, didn’t appear harmed by the attack, more baffled at what had happened. So much so that the magic he has been using to keep Spike suspended faded away, dropping Spike to the ground in an unceremonious heap. The dragon took in a few ragged gasps of air, but otherwise remained motionless. Looking around him, Blackheart turned in the direction of the sound, only for another trio of whams to echo through the air.

Twilight’s own ears were ringing at the echoing sound, the noise around her ears muted as though they were filled with water. Opening and closing her mouth a few times, she tried to pop her ears as she looked for the source of the sound.

Standing near her tree still, Bentgrass stood with his right foreleg raised and pointed at Blackheart. He stood perfectly still with his back legs spread shoulder width apart, never moving his raised leg. Blackheart shook himself again, like a dog coming in from the rain, and looked back at Bentgrass.

“Why agent, that is certainly an interesting contraption. Ineffective, but interesting.” Blackheart said, taking slow steady steps towards Bentgrass. “But playtime is ov—”

Another trio of shots came from the mount on Bentgrass’ foreleg as he rolled to the side on pure reflex. Two of the three shots made Blackheart, one hitting the side of the demon’s face and spurting blood and bone everywhere, the other hitting the chest plate and reflecting off into parts unknown. As Bentgrass rolled, Twilight watched him hit the side of the mount and a rectangular shape came out of it. The object fell limply to the forest floor. At the same time, Bentgrass reached into the bulky vest, pulled out a similar item, and pushed it into the mount.

As Bentgrass came up from his roll, Blackheart’s face was enveloped in shadows, rebuilding his face, mending all the destroyed tissue and bone. Bentgrass didn’t wait for the demon to lock on him again and fired three round blasts from the mount again in rapid succession. Bursts of red came out of Blackheart as the strange weapon found its mark time and time again. Each time Blackheart would begin to mend himself and Bentgrass would move, avoiding the demon’s direct line of sight. The ground was covered in small brass cylinders and those strange rectangular boxes, though all were slowly drowning in demon blood.

“I grow tired of this game,” Blackheart growled, another burst of red exploding from his shoulder. The attacks didn’t seem to be causing Blackheart any permanent damage, but the air around him darkened all the same. Bentgrass just kept on moving around, firing from the mount, or at times throwing knives to keep up the attack on his enemy.

“Stop this now, or you shall regret it,” Blackheart said, his voice still in a low growl. As he spoke, another round exploded through his right flank. Blackheart’s eyes grew brighter as he whipped his head around to where Bentgrass was. “Enough!” the demon roared, as sparks of black power danced upon his horn.

A tendril of shadows erupted from the ground beneath Bentgrass and shot straight up into the night sky, its tip coated in crimson. Twilight squeezed her eyes shut at the sight, and turned away, not daring to open them. She could hear Bentgrass giving out a gasp, and a muffled yell of pain as she heard something slump to the ground with a dull thud, with a metallic clang; followed by another much louder thud, and the scrapping of hooves on ground.

“I did warn you, Agent Bentgrass,” Blackheart said, his voice free of all the previous anger. “Consider that a mercy on my behalf, I wouldn't want you to miss the birth of a new world,” With her eyes still closed, Twilight could hear the ragged and hard breathing of Bentgrass as the scrabbling of hooves continued.

“Ho… how do you kno… know my name?” Bentgrass asked through gritted teeth, Twilight didn’t want to imagine the kind of pain he was in, or what kind of mercy this creature considered as.

“Do not be fooled into thinking you are part of some greater plan, dear Bentgrass. Anypony that came into contact with the Ghost Rider I needed to know, for this plan hinges on him.” Blackheart chuckled, and Twilight could feel a cold power starting to surround him.

“And why is that?” Twilight felt her stomach turn and twist, threatening to bring up the hayburger she ate earlier, as she opened her eyes. She didn’t want to see what Blackheart had done to Bentgrass, but she needed to see the event unfold, to find a way to escape.

When she opened her eyes she found Bentgrass sprawled a little ways away from her, clutching at his right shoulder, pushing himself away from the circle and Blackheart with only his hind legs. Twilight could feel a sigh escaping her lips, as she turned to Blackheart, happy that the stallion was alright.

That was until she found why Bentgrass was reduced to crawling.

Midway into the circle Bentgrass’ right foreleg laid motionless in a puddle of blood, the contraption still latched onto it. Her stomach contracted, and a wave of nausea made its way through her, but she fought it down, tearing her eyes from the severed limb.

Blackheart was standing in the middle of the circle, again facing Bentgrass. The shadows around him were being pulled towards him and the fire he had created. Sparks of dark magic were rolling through the shadows and fire, as well as Blackheart himself. Anypony with any experience with magic could tell he was gathering power once more, ready to make sacrifices out of her and her friends for the ritual he was calling. They were all running out of time till the powers at work would be past the point of stopping and dark magic would be released in devastating ways. She needed to find a way to stop this monster, and stop him now!

“Why? My dear Bentgrass, do you think I would tell you my plans if there was the smallest of chances that you could stop it? Fleas have been the downfall of great conquests before, and I shall not make the same mistakes.” Blackheart laughed, looking down at Bentgrass as he did. “Besides, did you really think an earth pony, a adolescent dragon, and his horny coltfriend would be enough to stop me?” This time, Bentgrass laughed, a wheezing sound escaping his lips as he kept clutching to the severed limb.

“No. I did not think so,” Bentgrass said, still cackling. Blackheart watched him, cocking his head to one side as he did. “That’s why I invited him.”

“All aboard!” Echoed through the woods all around them, and into the night sky. Blackheart looked up from Bentgrass into the night sky, as an aura of green energy enveloped Bentgrass and hurled the wounded pony away. A bright blue steam engine with two orange carriages came crashing down onto Blackheart, steel crushing like foil around the dark alicorn. The coaches soon followed suit in a explosion of splintering wood. The sound was absolutely devastating with the twisting metal, wood splitting and breaking, and echo of a steam whistle reverberated all around. Steam and smoke hung in the air, but it was easy to see the wreckage of the train, resting on top of what had to be a mangled Blackheart.

A green flash of light appeared in front of all of them, and once faded Twilight could hardly believe her eyes.

“Please remember to take all your personal belongings with you as you exit. Thank you for choosing Discord Rails for all your upstart demon smashing needs!” Discord said, in voice high and cheerful and vaguely crackling as he floated in the air before them. He was dressed in an blue and red conductor’s uniform, twirling a pocket watch by the chain in his griffon claws.
“Dis… Discord?” Fluttershy squeaked out, her bright blue eyes locked on Discord, tears threatening to spill out. The Lord of Chaos turned to his head to her, and flashed her a smile before disappearing in another flash of green and appearing next to her, his conductor uniform gone.

“Oh Fluttershy, darling!” Discord purred, as he hugged the chained Fluttershy, flattening his arms to slip them between her back and the bark. “I just heard that you and Braeburn are engaged! I am so happy for you! Oh, I can’t wait to be an uncle! Say, can you name your first foal after me? Discord Jr? It suits colts and fillies!” Discord laughed, as he squeezed Fluttershy tighter. “But how dare that stallion not ask my permission to marry my bestie best friend! I shall have to find a suitable punishment for him…”

“Discord!” Rainbow shouted, struggling with the chains around her. “Get us out of these stupid chains! You killed him already!” Discord looked up at Rainbow Dash and merely laughed.

“Now, now, Miss Dash. This battle is far from over!” Discord laughed, as the screeching of metal being torn apart came from the ruins of the steam engine.“Now, I will take care of this little brat, but first…” he turned around to face Fluttershy, still smiling. “Can’t have you seeing this part, or hearing it!” With another snap of his talons, a blindfold appeared around Fluttershy’s head, and a pair of heavy-duty ear protectors popped into place above it.

“Discord! What the buck are you doing!” Rainbow roared, the chains around her rattling. “If he kills us he can summon the Gates of Hell!” Discord didn’t pay attention to Rainbow’s yelling as an airhorn appeared before Discord in a cloud of pink. He put the nozzle right next to Fluttershy’s ear and pressed down.

The horn went off loud and strong, making all those still conscious, or among the living, cringe at the sound. All except for Fluttershy. She turned her head around serenely, lips pursing delicately.

“Discord? Hello? What is going on?” Discord just smiled at Fluttershy’s confusion, just as the sound of metal screeching rang through the air, before a blast of black magic broke through the wreckage of the steam engine.

“Father did say that you had a taste for the theatrics,” Blackheart said, as he emerged from the wreckage, standing as tall and smug as ever. He turned to the The Lord of Chaos, but he was facing away from Blackheart, instead looking over Fluttershy and inspecting every inch of her for injury. Blackheart rolled his neck, letting the sound of cracking fill the silence between them as he took another step towards Discord.

“I have actually been trying to get in contact with you, Lord Discord. Knowing that a simple bureaucrat was able to contact you does bring me a bit of shame. I have heard many a tale of your great power, and would like you as an ally,” he said, chuckling as he brushed a speck of dust off of his shoulder. “You once allied yourself with my father, but his time has long passed and I shall be the ruler of Hell soon. If you join me, I will give you an entire country to do with what you wish. What do you say?” Twilight could only watch in horror as Blackheart made his offer, smiling at Discord his lips pulled away from those sharp teeth.

“Don’t do it, Discord!” Applejack shouted, the chains rattling as she struggle against them. “This here vile sack of goat dung was plannin’ on killin’ us! Killin’ mah unborn foal! He’s a no good mother fu… Mmf!” A white cloth had appeared around Applejack’s mouth. Twilight could just make out her bright green eyes darting around, before glaring over at Discord. He was still turned away from Twilight, making it impossible to see his face.

She then heard more muffling near her, and turned to find that Rainbow Dash had a similar piece of cloth wedged into her mouth; her eyes filled with uncontrollable rage as she struggled so violently against the chains they were beginning to dig into her coat and skin. Twilight tried to call out to her, but her own voice was muffled by rags as well.

“Silence, my dear ponies,” Discord said, his voice just barely above as whisper. “The grown-ups are talking.” Discord still not turn to face Blackheart, his gaze solely fixed upon Fluttershy. Blackheart watched it all, his smile never fading as he waited for Discord.

“Just imagine all the fun you could have. I did promise Sombra Equestria... or the Crystal Kingdom, I don’t remember.” Twilight’s eyes widened at the name, and her back bristled with a sudden chill for her brother and sister-in-law. “But I am sure you could take it from him and claim Equestria as your own. I will never intrude upon your fun, just as long as you agree that I am the ruler of Hell.” Blackheart’s voice was smooth, calm, and collected; the kind of voice that could charm a pegasus into buying an airship. “What do you say?”

Discord didn’t respond right away. Instead, Twilight watched him raise his paw to his chin and begin to stroke his beard still looking at Fluttershy and nothing else. Twilight gazed back at Blackheart, who just kept on smiling, not saying a word and letting Discord have all the time he wanted.

“You know,” Discord started, breaking the silence that hung in the air. “If you were to come to me with that offer a few years ago, I might have joined up. Just to see what would happen,” he said, still not facing anypony but Fluttershy. Blackheart smile faltered for a second, but quickly rallied himself.

“And now?” Blackheart asked, not moving from where he stood. “What could of changed have changed your mind in such a small time? That you would not jump at an opportunity to have such fun?”

Discord let out a chuckle, as he extended his griffin claw to Fluttershy, lifting a few strands of pink mane out of her face. “Well, I guess I exaggerated a bit for their benefit.” Discord made a vague gesture at Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and those scattered across the ground. “I might have joined up a few moments ago, just for giggles of course, but you see… you involved Fluttershy in this and… oh… how can I put it…” Discord began to pull his beard again, crossing one arm across his chest as he crossed his legs over one another. “Oh!” He raised a single talon, flicking in backwards jauntily. “I know!”

Everything happen in a blur. One second, Blackheart was standing a few feet away from Discard; the next a flash of bright green energy slammed into the black and purple alicorn, sending him flying through the woods, smashing through trees and landing beyond Twilight’s sight.

“You dun GOOFED!”

Author's Notes:

That took longer than I thought it would. Thank you all that have stuck with me for so long! We are finally getting towards the end, and I am trying to deliver the best possible story I can! I did promiss a fight with Discord, you just have to wait till next week. This chapter is huge! Being well over 15,000 words so I had to divide the chapter into two parts. That means next week you get a full chapter of Blackheart vs. Discord!

Thank you to Arbarano, Jake the Army Guy, and tottallynotabrony for all of their edits! This chapter would not have been anywhere as good as it is now without them!

Translation
Bring forth the gates of hell. Bring forth the gates of hell.
Educ portas inferi. Educ portas inferi.

Bring forth the gates of hell, so we may enthrone a new prince of darkness.
Educ portas inferni a principe tenebrarum inthronizare!

By the power of the Ancient Gods! I call upon the powers of Chaos by my blood rite! Take this sacrifice of seven demon lords to protect the inner workings!
Virtute insistit priscosque deos! Ritu numina testor chaos sanguis meus! Tollite sacrificium, septem duces caecorum tueri visceribus!