Lamia's eyes sprung open as soon as she came to, laying on a secluded bed in the medical cabin of The Red Koi; she was given a special room all by herself to be tended to. Dross placed a hand on her shoulder, insisting that she remain stationary. "Whoa, there... you nearly bought it fighin' Twilight. Don't strain yourself."

Lamia wasn't relaxed, though, she was wasn't entirely outraged either, she was more flummoxed at the fact that she had not been restrained to her bed. "What...? Where am I?"

"You're on The Red Koi, Admiral Pisces' vessel. You're fine, you just took a nasty blow from a friend of mine is all..." Dross put his medical skills to practice, examining the burn on Lamia's shoulder left by Twilight's brutal assault.

Lamia hissed and recoiled as Dross pried off the bandages to rub a cotton pad soaked with vinegar on her seared flesh. "Don't touch me, stallion!"

"Listen, girl, you shouldn't even be on this boat with us! I'm the only reason you're here right now. Hell, I'm the only reason you're alive right now!" Dross forced the cotton pad onto Lamia's burn, causing her to writhe momentarily before the vinegar began to calm the wound. "Besides... you haven't got much to go back to anyways. The Indigo Rose is history now."

"You-..." Lamia scowled at Dross as she trailed off, convinced he was telling nothing more than a tall tale. "You're lying! This is some kind of trick to get me to divulge secrets."

"Personally, I don't give a damn what you think..." Dross said as he patted her bandages back down. "If you don't believe me, then that's fine. I don't think you're dumb enough to try anything here anyways..."

Lamia grunted, realizing that escape was nigh impossible; miriads would undoubtedly shoot her on sight. "Why then? Why bother helping me?"

"Cause I think you aren't the demon you claim to be. You ain't any harbinger, you're just a lost kid..." Dross sat down on his chair, leaning forward and glaring at Lamia. "Why join Alptraum, huh? What'll that do for ya?"

"If Alptraum takes over Ccrondil, he'll create a haven for us demonic children, a paradise!" Lamia announced with the conviction of a religious zealot, sitting upright against the backboard of her bed and snarling.

"Why would you want that...? You're a demon. Can't you just go back to Infernum like the others?" Dross was given no reply. "Yeah... that's what I thought. You're stuck here. You can't go back because you don't want to. This is your home, not Infernum. So, who raised you? A farmer? A blacksmith?" Again, Dross received no reply. "Did a stallion kill them? Is that why you're the way you are now?"

"No, I-!" Lamia cut herself off, shocked at the fact that Dross could read her so easily. "Why are you trying to get to know me?! I'm your enemy, and you've got other wounded to tend to, don't you?!"

"The way I see it, you're my patient. I've got oodles of time, sister... the miriad healers have made quick work of the others. But they won't touch you." Dross said as he held his hand out to touch Lamia's face. However, she pulled her head back reluctantly. "Oh, come-... really?!" Regardless, Dross thought of Lamia's stubbornness as little more than an annoyance, and he pressed his hand against her forehead to check the bruise near her hairline. "I'm not gonna hurt you-..." Dross trailed off; her name had slipped his mind. "What's your name...?"

Lamia was stunned for a brief moment. Had he just said 'I'm not going to hurt you'? The idea of hearing those words escape the lips of a stallion seemed like pure fiction, she had a hard time grasping it. In fact, thinking about it made her blood boil with frustration. Though, she didn't seem to object his treatment any further like before. "Why are you asking me such silly things?!"

"Because I've got nothing better to do," Dross replied as he dabbed a warm cloth on Lamia's bruise. "I figured you had nopony really to talk to, so I decided to treat you."

"Why treat me like any other patient?" Lamia was beginning to relax, though, she still kept her guard up. "I've done terrible, awful things, and yet you still treat me like any other patient."

"As a doctor, I've taken an oath to treat every patient equally— to do no harm to those I heal. It's my job," Dross said as he removed the warm cloth and applied grape-seed oil to the bruise. "You're a little tricky... common medicines don't seem to have an effect on you. I've had to find natural stuff."

"Why go through all this trouble just to help me, a mare?" Lamia asked with a little more sincerity than last time.

"Because you've had a rough go of it, haven't you?" Dross said as he laid her back onto her pillow, sitting down on his chair as he did so. "All you've ever known is hatred, rage, pain... it's in your nature to embrace those feelings. I get that."

"How do you know such feelings, insect?" Lamia asked the changeling doctor, who simply leaned back in his chair and sighed.

"I was born different too," Dross recalled his first days as a hatchling in the hive. "I had hair, unlike my brethren, and my skin wasn't as dark as the others, I also lacked the harsh of fangs of my siblings too. Regardless, I tried to fit in as best I could, and I joined the army at age sixteen, hoping to prove myself to Chrysalis. I was part of the First Changeling War fifteen years ago." Dross continued, delving into his darker memories. "However, my group got separated, and I was captured by pirates and dragged off to the other side of the world, to Dorio. I served as a slave for five years, but I eventually escaped after an Equestrian trade vessel docked at a nearby harbor. I made sure I was far away from that wretched place." Dross sighed to himself. "It was only until I ended up here that I realized that I didn't have to blend with a crowd. I could be my own pony, and I found peace amongst other misfits like myself aboard Pisces' ship."

"What are you trying to tell me...?" Lamia wondered.

"I'm trying to tell you that you don't have to blend in anymore. You have freedom now, and I suggest you take it." Dross stated as he looked down at the various bruises on her shins. "Yikes... Twilight's a lot stronger than she looks. Hold still." Dross pulled out a few cloth bags filled with freezing cold peas from the ice box below the bed frame, and he placed them on top of Lamia's legs, to which she groaned in pain. Dross pulled them away quickly. "Ah... too cold. Sorry about-."

Without a word, Lamia held Dross tightly in her arms, burying her face in his neck, weeping softly. She could no longer contain herself. All the pain, misery, anger, they all finally bubbled up. Throughout her life, she had only known the hatred of others. She joined Alptraum in hopes that one day, she'd finally be able to live in relative peace. She was born so different, so alien to the norm. She had been called 'abomination', 'devil', 'witch'. At some point, she began to believe those nicknames, that became her identity. However, out of the blue came this random stallion, a changeling to boot. And now, he tells her the opposite of everything she's heard her whole life? Her whole world seemed to unravel at this realization. Despite all who hated her existence, this single stallion seemed to care for her like any other mare. She found it impossible to try and hate him any longer.

"Hey... you don't have to get all teary-eyed over me, you know..." Dross chuckled, gently patting the demoness on the back. "You're-."

"It's Lamia... my name is Lamia..." She whispered through her tears as she hugged him tighter

"It's nice to finally meet you, Lamia. My name's Dross..." The changeling doctor smiled as he simultaneously checked the bandages on her back.

****

Nightmare Moon's blade came down on Luna like a landslide, but luckily she dodged just in time, strafing to the right. Nightmare Moon's attack created a large crack along the one side of the stone platform. Without any effort, Nightmare Moon pried her blade from the stone, releasing a ranged slashing attack from her sword to cleaved Luna in half— a wave of darkness. Luna ducked, then launched her own blade attack.

"Waning Crescent Blade: Artemis Wave!" Luna shouted as she sliced the air in Nightmare Moon's direction, firing off a blast of blue lunar energy.

"Damn you..." Nightmare Moon cursed under her breath as she blocked the attack with her dark claymore, breaking it apart with a thrust. "Take this!" Nightmare Moon retaliated with a downward strike causing the stone beneath Luna to erupt with dark power.

Luna had no time to waste, nor could she make a single mistake. If she were to be injured in this realm it would surely carry over to her reality. She couldn't afford to slip up if she was to fight with Alptraum. Luna dodged again, summoning a magic flail in her left hand to strike at a distance. She whipped the flail out, latching onto Nightmare Moon's right hand and pulling her closer. However, she put up a staunch resistance, and she severed the chain with her sword the moment it grabbed her. Luna scowled at her doppelganger as her flail faded out of existence; she created a war ax in its place, tossing it at her foe like a tomahawk. Nightmare Moon avoided the ax, throwing yet another ranged slash her way. Luna scoffed, going into a prone position to evade. She unfurled her wings once the attack subsided and took to the sky, charging a blast of magic in her horn.

"Worthless!" Nightmare Moon snarled as she too prepared a beam attack.

Their attacks clashed for a few seconds before fizzling, one never gaining an advantage over the other. Despite her best efforts, the Blood Moon still had an effect on her, even in this realm. It's power nearly severed her ties to the moon's energy, and she was running on mere fumes. She would have to use diversionary tactics to gain an advantage. Simply powering through her opponent would drain her already diminished magic. Luna mustered dual blades in her hands, dodging left and right as she dove at Nightmare Moon, who was trying to knock her out of the air with a flurry of ranged slashes. Luna closed the distance, landing right at Nightmare Moon's hooves with her blades at the ready. However, Nightmare Moon counted on this, and she brought her blade down on Luna before she could even strike.

Luna blocked the attack with her sabers, redirecting the energy outwards, knocking Nightmare Moon back. Though Nightmare Moon recovered quickly, and she swung low at Luna's hooves. Luna jumped up, slicing Nightmare Moon across the shoulder as she ran by. In a rage, Nightmare Moon released an omnidirectional wave of darkness, blasting Luna back. With a grunt, Luna brushed off the attack, preparing for Nightmare Moon's follow-up. Nightmare Moon swung high at her head, but Luna ducked, firing a blast of magic from her horn into Nightmare Moon's midsection. Nightmare Moon stumbled back, but held her ground, black smoke leaking from her open wounds. Luna could tell Nightmare Moon was getting more and more dangerous the longer she fought her. Although injured, her rage was more powerful than ever, augmenting her attacks. If she tried blocking blows from her sword, the force would surely shatter her arm. She had to evade.

"Rraagghh! Coward!" Nightmare Moon growled as Luna fell backward into a roll to evade her ranged sword swings. "Fight me head on!"

"Your rage imbalances you, demon... you won't win on this day." Luna taunted Nightmare Moon, stoking her doppelganger's fire.

"We'll see!" Nightmare Moon howled as she fired a black beam of energy out of her horn to smite Luna.

Luna dodged the furious blasts of magic, taking care not to trip over debris created by their fight; the platform was wearing down beneath them. She summoned a bow composed of sacred lunar light. "Waxing Crescent Bow: Artemis Shot!"

Luna fire three arrows at once, all aimed at Nightmare Moon's chest. Unfortunately, two arrows were shattered by Nightmare Moon's blade, but one managed to penetrate her defense, plunging itself into her gut. Nightmare Moon grimaced as she dispelled the arrow with her magic, fighting through the pain, and she summoned a black shield fabricated out of shadows in her left hand. Luna quickly summoned a broadsword, wary of Nightmare Moon's now enhanced defense. Though, her new guard had also crippled her offense. Without two hands to wield her claymore, the weapon would become sluggish. Luna began to circle Nightmare Moon, waiting for an opening; she knew Nightmare Moon wouldn't have the patience to wait for her own attack.

Sure enough, Nightmare Moon lunged forward, bringing down her blade on Luna like a toppling tree. Luna saw it coming, moving quickly to the left and thrusting her blade forward to pierce her foe's side. However, Nightmare Moon was prepared, and she raised her shield before the blade could bite her. With all her rage she lifted the claymore again, coating its edge with her dark power. Luna evaded again, but the attack fractured the platform completely, causing one side to fall into the abyss below. Luna jumped off the crumbling piece before it fell, scraping the back of Nightmare Moon's shin as she landed on the stable side. In her agony, Luna charged forward, bashing Luna with her shield. Luna winced for a moment; luckily she had coated her arms in a magic barrier before the attack could do any serious damage. Regardless, the strike still knocked Luna onto her backside, and she had little time to catch her breath before Nightmare Moon took a swing at her once again. Luna rolled to the side, avoiding her strike, then she stabbed at the bare spot between her left gaiter and thigh plate, wounding her severely.

Nightmare Moon wailed as she swung low, nearly cleaving Luna's head clean off. Luna, however, did not relent. She stood back up, pressing forward with what little strength she had left. She got inside her opponent's guard, slashing her left wrist, freeing the shield from her grasp. Then Luna followed up, drawing her blade across Nightmare Moon's left hip. Her wicked foe snarled as she gave Luna a firm kick to the face, and Luna fell back, seeing double. With a harrowing cry Nightmare Moon went in for the killing blow, thrusting her blade forward, aiming right for Luna's left eye.

"Heh, heh..." Nightmare Moon coughed up a thick, black ooze as she looked down at her chest and smiled; Luna had moved her head to the side just in the nick of time, and she plunged a dagger into her heart.

"I will never be bound by your chains again, foul creature," Luna grit her teeth as she twisted her blade further into Nightmare Moon's heart, grabbing the stone shard from her chest piece.

"You... fought well, Night Princess. You didn't hesitate to kill me. I admire your ferocity." Nightmare Moon laughed lightly as she felt the last of her life drain away. "I wonder... shall you be so merciless against your beloved husband?" Nightmare Moon's eyes went blank as she fell off the stone platform, down into the endless chasm below.

"Good riddance..." Luna spat into the abyss below, and with a grunt, she stood back up, clutching the shard in her hand. Finally, she was free, after thousands of years of torture, she was free from her demon's wretched grasp. Victoriously, she thrust the shard into the air, summoning the ancient Eclipse Blade. "Come to me, my friend! Return to mine hand!"

With a burst of holy light, the illusion around her was torn apart, and the realm was wiped away from existence. In her hand, she held the Eclipse Blade, and it was as spotless and radiant as the last time she held it nearly ten thousand years ago. The blade was white, and it emitted a glow like none other. It looked as if the very light around it bent towards it, drawn to its humming song as Luna held it high in the empty chamber. Glimmering blue runes were imprinted on the blade and handle, and the hilt was made of gray steel, along with the spike at the end of the handle. As she held it out in front of her, the shadows lurking within the chamber began to be drawn into the blade, obliterated by its holy, lunar light.

"It has been many moons, old friend..." Luna smiled as she marveled at her weapon. "Let us go forth and finish the deed." Luna took in a mighty breath, then bellowed in her royal tone of voice. "Cadre, I summon thee!"

****

Spike stood at the bow of The Red Koi, waiting patiently for Luna along with Twilight, who sat on a barrel just an arm's length from him. She was the first to speak up after hours of uncertainty. "Don't worry, Spike. Luna will be fine. She can handle herself."

"Yeah, I know... I'm still worried about her..." Spike winced as she rubbed the bruises on his head and chest.

"You should be resting, Spike. We've still got Caven Isle to deal with." Twilight reminded the headstrong dragon, though, she knew it wouldn't sway him.

"I'll be fine, I just burnt out my magic is all," Spike insisted, giving Twilight a confident grin before sighing to himself. "Are you okay...?"

"I'll live. I'm still getting used to-... you know..." Twilight nodded slowly, somewhat unsure of her own words. "Hey, Spike?"

"Yeah?" Spike replied.

"How did we get here? Was it my pompous attitude that brought us here all those months ago?" Twilight asked, still feeling guilty about the way she had treated Spike before their journey.

"No... I don't think so. I think this was all bound to happen at some point," Spike answered with a jolly mug, trying to cheer his good friend up. "Besides... I don't think I was really mad at you. I guess I was a little mad at myself back then." Spike laughed as he placed a hand on Twilight's shoulder. "I'm glad you unwillingly tagged along."

"Yeah... I suppose I am as well, despite all that's happened over the past few months." Twilight admitted.

"What're you two ramblin' about now?" Gin interrupted the two as she walked up the stairs and joined them on the bow deck.

"Good to see you too, Gin..." Twilight chuckled at the tomboyish mare.

"Has Luna shown up yet?" Gin asked as she stared at the gaping hole in Mystwood's outer wall, hoping she'd see the Night Princess standing there.

"No, not yet. She must be-!" Spike was cut off by a piercing roar that made the ground shake; a blinding light dispelled the darkness in the clouds almost instantly, allowing the starry sky to shine through the purple haze. Though, the red moon in the sky still remained. "What the-...?"

"I have returned!" It was Luna's voice, and it sounded as if she were all around them.

"Luna!" Twilight saw the mare hovering just above their vessel, looking down upon them all like a watchful protector. "You're back!"

"Aye, my dear. But I have not returned alone!" Luna shouted triumphantly as she landed on the bow. "Cadre!"

Out of the shadows of Crosis Swamp came an army of hundreds of stallions and mares dressed in black leather armor, shrouded by dark cowls. They brandished bows, swords, and shields all styled in the shape of the crescent moon, and they stood on the bank of the river to the south, silent and ominous. To the west was a lone, half-changeling Cadre member; she wore no cowl or hood, and her armor seemed to be somewhat scorched.

"Stand down, stallions!" Pisces shouted at his troops as they pointed their muskets at the Cadre members. "Stand down!"

"At ease, my Cadre!" Luna commanded her troops. "These are our allies in this conflict against Alptraum's army of darkness! Much has changed in the millennia since we've last met! And I know how patiently you have waited for my call after all these years! Now, we may finally rid this world of Alptraum forever!" With that, the Cadre roared, cheering with great vigor as they raised their weapons into the air.

"Night Princess!" The half-changeling beckoned to her goddess. "I have scouted Caven Isle! I know what they plan to do!"

"Is that so?" Luna raised a brow at her as she lifted her onto The Red Koi's main deck with her magic. "Converse with my comrades, tell them of the enemy's defenses. What is thy name, child?"

"Bethany! Bethany Rooks!" The halfling named Bethany replied as Luna set her down on the deck below.

"Bethany..." Spike recalled something Rainbow Dash had said to him during their time in Ausrüstung, a retelling of Liazo's story. "Wait... I've heard that before!" Spike ran down to the main deck to meet with the halfling. His mind was going a hundred miles a minute. "Do you know Liazo Catelli?"

"My brother? How do you know him?" Bethany wondered.

"Brother?!" The whole of Draven's crew shouted in amazement.

Author's Notes:

Now we fly to Caven Isle for the final showdown between the Changeling Empire and the Equestrians! Stay tuned!

As always, I hope you enjoyed! See you in the next chapter!