Vampires swarmed like ants at the edge of the hill on which Mystwood sat, wearing ragged rags and torn leather cuirasses, snarling like starved animals— hungry for blood. Luna, despite her weakened magic, held off the horde well with her saber and the occasional weak beam of magic from her horn. Spike and Draven held off vampires with their respective elemental powers; Spike breathed hot flame onto a squad of vampires, and Draven fried them to a crisp with wicked bolts of lightning from his hands. Daisy dug her hands into the earth and uprooted the ground, tossing boulders of sod and rock at her opposition, and Nick barraged his foes with a maelstrom of chains, pummelling his foes senseless. Cyro froze vampires in their tracks and smashed them to pieces with Dragon Shatter, and Jhettei raised his defenses with his Iron Body technique as he beat vampires senseless. Dross sprouted eagle wings out of his back and dive bombed into the horde with giant crab claws for arms, crushing and slicing vampires with his pincers. Twilight aided his efforts, and she let loose blasts of powerful celestial magic, vaporizing scores of vampires.

Dross noticed an oddity about Twilight when in battle; she was smiling, though, she didn't seem to notice it. Twilight found herself lost in the fray, as wild and as unpredictable as her foes, almost growling herself. Her eyes were twitching in an unsettling fashion, and as she cocked back her arm to deliver a fatal sword slash to an opposing vampire, she laughed lightly under her breath. Perhaps this was due to all the pent-up anger within her soul, the hatred, the fear that boiled up inside her like a frothing elixir in a smouldering cauldron. Twilight cleaved through most of the vampires on her side of the hill, leaving only limbs and charred remains strewn about. She almost seemed on the verge of crying.

"You fucking-..." Twilight scowled as she cursed at the corpses at her feet and whimpered, remembering all the torture she endured all the suffering. Had it damaged her spirit? Was this reality for her? A blood-stained battlefield?

"Twilight..." Dross grabbed her shoulder as she got up off her hooves. "You can't let that rage consume you... you'll get lost out here."

"I know... I know, I'm sorry," Twilight nodded as she wiped away the anguish from her eyes. "Why is this so easy for me now? The killing?"

"It's not easy, Twilight," Dross could barely be heard over the roar of the battle around them. "It's harder for you now than ever before, you just can't tell yet. But you gotta keep fightin'; there's too much stake, you know that."

"Yes..." Twilight nodded with a little more confidence as two magic blades manifested in her hands; another wave was approaching from the north. "There are more coming!"

Spike, Draven, and Raiel held off an approaching force of vampires on the other side of the sloped, grassy battlefield with a bit of difficulty. They had multiplied their numbers from the last wave, and these vampires wore heavier armor and seemed a bit hardier. Draven's lightning, however, still was able to fend off their advance, but Spike was having a hard time keeping up with the vampires. Their speed was far greater than his, and even with Dragon Fury activated, Spike was outmatched by their agility and sheer numbers. A vampire managed to break through his guard, slashing him across the chest. Raiel reacted swiftly as Spike stumbled back and grimaced; she had to stop the vampires from gaining any more ground on the young dragon or he would surely be overwhelmed.

Raiel drew her saber, and it emitted an odd blue glow from the blade as she directed it towards the surrounding vampires. "Magic Blade Technique: Glowing Edge!"

Spike watched in awe on the ground as a whip of blue arcane energy escaped the tip of Raiel's saber, slicing dozens of vampires in two and blowing others back. "Whoa! What was that?"

"A trick my father taught me when I was much smaller, now hold still..." Raiel replied as she sheathed her blade, placing her hand, which appeared to be glowing, on Spike's wound. "Guérir."

Spike felt a sharp sting as the wound on his stomach closed in an instant. Not only his stomach healed, but his other minor scrapes and scratches were mended as well. "Where were you when I fought in the tournament?"

"Hey, you bloody bampots! Quite makin' googly-eyes at each other and fight off these bastards with me!" Draven shouted at them both as he blasted another vampire apart with his lightning.

"Shite! There's too many of em'!" Gin grimaced as she fired her blunderbuss into the chest of a charging vampire, blowing it back onto the ground. "Guys! We gotta find Alptraum's lackeys and quick, or we'll end up as vampire chow!" Some other vampires attempted to jump at Gin and Rummy, but they were stopped dead in their tracks by a powerful shockwave that tore up the ground in front of them, scattering the vampire troops. "Bloody hell..."

The shockwave originated from an attack of Pisces. He had smashed the ground to pieces with a powerful punch imbued with Dragon Shatter, and the attack had such power behind it that Gin thought it was an earthquake at first. Pisces protected Luna with all his might, sending entire battalions flying into the air with Dragon Shatter. His Dragon Shatter was so advanced, in fact, that Draven mistook it for Dragon Wave.

"Everypony! Behind me! Advance!" Pisces roared as he stood in front of Luna like a shield, blocking bullets and arrows by coating his chest in Dragon Skin. "You mustn't put yourself in the line of fire, Princess Luna!"

Pisces rammed his trident into the ground, causing a fissure to run up the hillside, smashing the wall apart even more and causing a geyser of water to rise up from the ground. His raised his free hand up and waved it about in a gentle fashion, manipulating the bursts of water that arose from the fissure, washing away the troops and creating a gap in the enemy forces for them to advance.

"Forward!" Pisces' eyes narrowed as they locked on his target; the members of Indigo Rose were dead ahead, waiting for them inside the city. "Hold the line here with the Field Marshal, marines!" Pisces turned to his crew and Draven's. "Stick to your groups and pick a target! I'll hold off their troops with Luna!"

"Aye, aye, gramps!" Rummy nodded as Spike, Gin, and Raiel followed him through the opened way to Mystwood. "You blokes! Let's take em' together!"

The three dragons were the first to advance down the path Pisces created with his water. Cyro's Dragon Fury caused his back fins and eyes to emit a cold, arctic haze. Spike activated his Dragon Fury as well, and they charged beside Draven, who clenched his fist, turning on his Dragon Fury too— sparks crackling all over his body. Draven's electrified elbow collided with Theodore's cane sword, and they clashed for a few moments before backing off. Nick aided his comrade and fought against Theodore as well. Spike breathed hot fire on Thatchet, but the slimy stallion scoffed at his attack, slamming his partially-rotting fist into Spike's face. Rummy caught Spike and blasted Thatchet's head apart with a blast of gunpowder, but his head regenerated in seconds. A blade of ice formed in Cyro's hand, and he swung at Sven with all his might, but the brutish ice dragon blocked with an icy shield and snarled at him. Out of instinct, Jhettei backed his friend up and launched his palm into Sven's defenses.

"Tetsu no Ken!" Jhettei shouted as his hand took on a dark grey color, almost as if his skin was metallic. The palm strike pulverized Sven's ice shield.

"Heh, not bad, runt!" Sven remarked as he gave Jhettei a swift backhand to the face, knocking him away. "But you gotta do better than that!"

The battle moved to the outskirts of Mystwood; houses and cobblestone streets were uprooted and destroyed by the ensuing battle, and the hillside behind them was set ablaze by tumbling torches hanging along the outer walls.

Lamia vanished out of thin air atop a nearby thatched-roof house, then reappeared behind Dross in an instant, claws out and ready to slice her prey. "You! Stallion! Die like the pig you are!"

"Dross!" Twilight cried out to her companion as she parried Lamia's claws with her twin sabers, slicing Lamia's hands clean off.

"Rraaagghh!" Lamia hissed as her hands began to regenerate rapidly. "I hate killing pretty things like you! But you're beginning to piss me off!"

"You're insane, succubus," Twilight scowled at her foe as she readied her blades.

"Aren't we all?" Lamia snickered at Twilight, her tongue lashing about like a snake.

"Careful, Twilight. This is no ordinary succubus," Dross informed Twilight; no succubus could have that kind of speed. "I think we're dealing with some kind of snake demon!"

"How clever you are, little bug..." Lamia purred as her eyes became more reptilian and hypnotic. "Come here..."

"I..." Dross' eyes went blank as he lowered his guard.

"Oh no, you won't be controlling him!" Twilight stepped in before Lamia could corrupt Dross and swung at her stomach. "You'll have to go through me!"

"If I must..." Lamia grinned maliciously.

"Theodore...? I think it's time to divide and conquer," Thatchet nodded to Theodore, who was dueling with Draven and Nick.

"Indubitably, my good sir," Theodore raised his hands into the air, void energies swirling all around him. "Void: Kapteyn Scatter!"

An omnidirectional wave of void energy burst out of Theodore's hands like compressed vapor, encompassing everypony within its radius. Theodore then snapped his finger, and the cloud compressed back into his hand, carrying everypony across Mystwood in an instant.

****

"Winslow, can you see the others down there?" Fluttershy wondered as she flew over Mystwood, Winslow dangling under her, grabbing into her hands.

"I don't see anypony. By the stars," Winslow stared down at the gate, dumbfounded as he shook his head, watching as bursts of void energy blast mist into the sky in separate locations across town. "It's that Brand-user. He's creating portals with the void energies he exudes. He's moved the others away from the battle."

"But isn't that what we wanted?" Fluttershy asked Winslow as she lowered altitude.

"Yes, but the question is; is that what they wanted as well?" Winslow said as Fluttershy landed on the rooftop of a blacksmith shop, close to the town square. "Stay sharp. I can feel that demon's presence."

Winslow jumped off the building, falling into a dive roll just before he hit the street; Fluttershy followed, though, she simply hovered downwards like a deflating balloon. "These poor ponies..."

Buildings around the town square were completely deserted; fresh fruit stands, banks, they were all void of life and breath. Only the occasional rat would scurry across the wide street leading into the town square. A dysfunctional fountain stood in the center of the square, spurting out blasts of murky grey water at random intervals. Fluttershy could see a figure in the distance, shrouded in a feathered cloak, bowing his head and kneeling in meditation before a giant blade plunged into the stone beneath his feet. He seemed to be whispering something to himself, perhaps a passage of some sort, and his eyes opened slowly as Fluttershy and Winslow drew closer to him.

"You've come," The demon murmured, deep and detached, low and harrowing. His voice seemed to echo, and the world around them began to darken in his presence. "I have been waiting for you, paladin and fledgling."

"You are not like the others in your organization, are you?" Winslow pried, suspicious of the demon lord's motives. "Why are you in the mortal realm?"

"And why did you save me?" Fluttershy added.

"It is very simple," Amon scowled, his demon eyes burning with anger. "It is my sworn duty to kill the last member of a bloodline that brought about my suffering nineteen years ago. It is you, Fluttershy. I have spared you until this moment. You are destined to be my last victim. And you and your parents shall be reunited in Infernum!"

"What...? No..." Fluttershy recalled faint memories of her birth parents; her mother died of illness, and her father was a soldier who died in action, she was sure of it. "My mother died to plague nineteen years ago, and my father was killed in action."

"No, your father was a demon like me, Fluttershy, and it was I who vanquished him. I killed your mother and father all those years ago, and I've come back to finish the job. Your father doomed me to die in this realm, cursed me from ever returning to Infernum. They are my sworn enemies. And they died like rats in a trap, helpless and screaming..."

Fluttershy's form morphed as anger began to consume her heart, and her more distinct demon features became more and more evident. She was going to tear him in half, rip out his heart. If this was the one responsible for all the pain her mother endured, she was going to make him feel it tenfold. "Y-you... I'll kill you!"

"Fluttershy, wait!" Winslow shouted as Fluttershy charged at Amon blindly.

Fluttershy took a swipe at Amon, but he dodged with unfathomable speed and countered, giving her a firm knee to the face. He grabbed his sword and held it high to land a killing blow on the stunned Fluttershy, but Winslow intervened in the nick of time, blocking with his greatsword, though barely able to withstand the sheer strength of the demon.

"You will die with her, paladin," Amon said coldly as he grabbed Winslow by the throat, holding him high in the air. He then tossed him aside, launching him into a building, toppling it.

"Winslow!" Fluttershy cried out to him as Amon gave her a firm kick to the stomach, winding her.

Winslow emerged from the rubble, his eyes multiplied into three new ones. He drew his blade and took a swing at Amon with a determined mug, but that confidence soon faded as he heard a deafening clash of metal. Amon had blocked his sword strike— what he assumed was the impossible. His demon eyes saw past his gaze somehow, rendering his ability useless.

"Your eyes... they are those of a sorceress. Mine are the eyes of a Lord of Infernum. Such pitiful magic is worthless to me, mortal," Amon scoffed as he parried Winslow's blade and slashed the paladin across his chest. "Pitiful-." Amon was cut off abruptly by Fluttershy's hard fist impacting his face, sending him back into the fountain and pulverizing the angelic statue that sat in the center. He continued backwards, slamming into a house and causing it to cave in. However, he stepped out of the rubble within seconds. Though, he was amused by the fact Fluttershy was able to slip past his guard. "Impressive, young demon... but you have no blade to control that boundless energy within. Your form will tear you apart if you try to sustain it."

"I... don't care..." Fluttershy panted as sweat dripped down her face. "And... I won't lose... anypony else to you!"

"Oh? I doubt that." Amon snickered as he grabbed his blade off the ground and held it up to Winslow, who was in the midst of recovering. "En guarde." Winslow relied on his intuition to block Amon's sword before it could scrape Fluttershy, but Amon saw through him, and shifted his angle of attack, charging his blade with green energy. "Demon Blade Technique: Serpent's Fang"

Luckily, Winslow was fast enough to avoid most of the attack, but it did gouge a deep cut in his right forearm, making it painful to grip his blade. "Damn..."

"You won't hurt him!" Fluttershy leapt at Amon, attempting to strike him with a kick, but Amon ducked, elbowing her in the face, pushing her back once again. "Why isn't he using his sword...?" Fluttershy thought as he raised her fists; it didn't make sense. "I was wide open."

"Rraagghh!" Winslow shouted as he charged up an attack. "Fourth Eye: Soul Dance!"

Amon dodged the long-range slashing attack with ease and passed Winslow's guard once more. Winslow reacted immediately and held his blade up to block. However, Amon did the unthinkable as he grabbed Winslow's blade with his left hand, crushing it in his grasp. For the first time in his life, Winslow was without his blade. Amon then gave him a swift backhand to the face, downing him.

"Winslow!" Fluttershy screamed.

"And now it is just you and me..." Amon said as he raised his blade to Fluttershy's heart.

Author's Notes:

Well, Shanghai'd is back, baby! And it's gonna get heavy from here on out! As always, I hope you enjoyed! See you in the next chapter!