I walk through the hallways littered with debris, stepping over broken and rotted furniture or stone bricks that have come loose from the walls and ceiling. The wailing is getting louder as I near the source, I enter a large room with a dried up fountain in the middle of the room with a pillar that has five poles sticking out of it that looks like it used to hold something on them. At the back of the room next to a broken window with moonlight flooding in is a cloud or mist of shadow that is making the noise.

I begin to walk towards it but my Raven takes off and lands on one of the damaged rafters overlooking the room. The sound of his wings flapping alerts the mist as a pair of beautiful turquoise eyes with slitted pupils stares at me with surprise and a little bit of fear.

"W-Who art thee?" her voice asks with a slight echo.

"My name is Damien Jackson. Who are you?" I reply and ask as I slowly walk closer to her.

"S-Stay back creature!" she warns me and floats higher into the air.

I dismiss my scythe and extinguish my flames. "It's alright, I'm not here to hurt you," I tell her and stand still.

She stares at me for a few minutes before speaking up. "Luna Nocturne," she finally says.

"Pardon?" I ask her with confusion.

"Thou asked for our name, tis Luna Nocturne," she replies floating down to the ground still eyeing me warily.

She has an interesting way of speaking, like the English of old. "It's nice to meet you, Luna. Do you know where I am? My wife and I were dragged from our home and brought here against our wills," I ask her.

Her eyes narrow and she floats a few inches closer. "Thou art in Equestria, more specifically our old castle in the Everfree Forest... thou dost not fear us?" she tells and asks me.

I frown and look down. "I've never heard of this place before, and to your question. No, I don't... Should I?" I ask and look back up to her where she shakes her eyes left and right as if saying no. "If it's not rude of me to ask, what are you?" I ask her.

Her eyes take on a sad frown. "We were an alicorn, until we were separated from our body and split into two... While our other half kept our physical body, we were reduced to this... this shadow form, stripped of our magic and weak..." she replies and falls to the ground sniffling.

I slowly walk over and kneel down in front of her, what surprises me is that I can feel the same energy I have inside her, is she a demon? I reach out and try to cup where her cheek would be in my palm but my hand just phases through her just like when others poke my wings. Her eyes snap open and she looks up at me as her shadowy like mist wraps around my hand.

"I'm not sure if there's anything I can do to help, but if you'd like someone to keep you company we wouldn't mind... I don't know the area and you sound like you could use a good chat," I tell her.

The bottom of her eyes tilt up as if she was smiling. "We would like that," she replies.

We head back to room we set up camp in, Luna is following behind me cautiously while my new raven friend is back on my shoulder. "We'll need to give you a name... How about Noctis?" I ask the bird, and surprisingly he nodded and cawed happily. Strange. "Noctis it is then."

We arrive at the camp to see the yellow woman awake, sniffling and being hugged gently by Desire. I raise an eyebrow at her. "What did I say about groping?" I ask her making her huff and roll her eyes.

"She's upset at her new appearance and I was just trying to calm her down," my wife replies with a frown.

"Alright," I say and walk over to the yellow woman. "How are you feeling miss?" I ask her.

"Apart f-from my a-appearance I'm f-fine...." she replies in barely above a whisper.

"I see, I'm sorry about that, but it would seem my demonic energy has altered you slightly to save your life. I wouldn't put it past me that you may very well be part demon now as well," I tell her honestly.

"I-I'm what?" she asks with wide eyes but then notices the floating cloud of shadow behind me who is also looking at the woman wide eyed. "NIGHTMARE MOON!" the yellow woman shrieks and with surprising speed uses Desire as a shield. Luna then does the same but hides behind me.

"Nightmare Moon? I thought you told me your name was Luna?" I ask the floating cloud.

"Our name is Luna, Nightmare Moon is just the name our subjects bestowed upon us during our years on our moon," she replies.

"Okay... So how did you end up here?" I ask her before going back to the beast and resuming my work on skinning and gutting it. The yellow woman looks nauseous and averts her gaze while Luna tells me what happened to her.

I'm surprised to hear she's royalty and that she’s over a thousand years old, she was also banished to the moon for a millennia just for trying to get her subjects to appreciate her nights more.

It seems over the centuries she was seen as a monster and villain that wanted nothing more than eternal night who people now call Nightmare Moon, though she despises the name... I then tell her that I'm the Overlord of Tartarus and that Desire is my wife, that makes both her and the yellow woman who told us her name is Fluttershy back away with wide fearful eyes.

"What? I'm not going to hurt either of you unless you plan to attack us," I tell them with a deadpan expression as the beast which Fluttershy told me was a manticore is now skinned, gutted and cooking above the fire pit.

"But we dost remember demons are cruel and hateful creatures whom delight in the pain of others, we remember Overlord Tirek and his hunger for power, which led him here to steal our magic for himself," Luna replies clearly not comfortable being near me now.

"Well, I wasn't born a demon, I was born a human who was killed in a store robbery gone wrong and got hit in the crossfire... as I was passing on, a demon pulled me into a void, gave me a deal I couldn't refuse along with his powers and dumped me in Tartarus where for the last sixty years I've been building myself up, killed the Overlord as part of that deal and became the Overlord myself. That was two years ago," I reply and turn the manticore steaks over the flames.

"So, thou art not cruel and sadistic?" Luna asks with a raised brow.

"Not really, only to those who would bring harm to my friends, family, and people. I've actually changed the demons under my rule's way of life. They're friendly enough and we now have games, holidays, families, and a functioning society where I used my old life as a basis," I reply and chuckle.

"But how did you get here?" Fluttershy asks, seemingly more comfortable with us now.

"Desire and I were overlooking Fel Haven from a balcony on our castle when we were engulfed in a white light, we opened our eyes to a new location in that city on the mountaintop and we had to fight our way out," I reply.

"You arrived in Canterlot?" Fluttershy asks with surprise.

"If that is what it is called then yes. A tall white woman with a horn and wings wearing golden armour attacked us forcing me to fight back, I didn't want to risk Desire getting hurt or killed due to the fact she was as strong as a demonlord so I escaped with my wife to here. I think that was about an hour ago right?" I reply and then ask my wife.

"About that yeah, she was a right bitch, threatening to destroy us just because Damien killed one of her soldiers for attacking and impaling him with a spear," Desire huffs and crosses her arms with an adorable pout.

"Thou killed a guard?" Luna asks with worry.

"He gave me no choice, I wasn't going to sit around and let them imprison us or worse, so as we went to leave they attacked and I retaliated. Simple as that," I reply and shrug. "But when I was about to kill her for her attack on me, more soldiers attacked us as well so we had no choice but to kill them. That's when I warned the woman to leave us be or the next time I see her I'll kill her," I tell them and check the meat, ah perfect.

I take a steak for myself and Desire takes one for herself as well. "Want one, Fluttershy?" I ask her and she looks like she's about to throw up.

"N-No thank you. W-We ponies don't e-eat meat..." she replies and turns away.

"That might not be the case with you anymore due to the changes you've gone through, those teeth might not be just for show," I tell her and take a bite from my steak... hmmm a bit stringy but not bad.

That seems to make her lose it and vomit away from us and shakes her head. "Oh don't be such a foal, it's actually very tasty," Desire says taking a big bite from her steak and moans inappropriately.

"So, Luna. What can you tell me about this place and where we can find a way back to Tartarus?" I ask her.

She snaps out of the stupor she seems to be in and looks at me. "Hmm? Oh, Equestria is home to the ponies of Equus, we have strong ties to the magic of the world and can keep the lands we live in in harmony with us, like the earth ponies magic to grow crops and their superior strength, the pegasi and their magic to manipulate the weather and fly. Then there's the unicorns who can use their horns to store magic and then use that magic to cast a variety of spells. And we alicorns have the abilities of all three races just multiplied by ten times." she explains to me.

"I see, and are there any other races like there are for demons?" I ask her.

"Verily, thy mate was once a pony, but the demonic energies of Tartarus mutated her ancestors into the demons they are today. Just as the harpies were once gryphons. Pray tell, do balrogs still exist?" Luna replies and asks me.

"Balrogs? Oh you mean the large bipedal dark blue minotaur like demons?" I reply.

"That is them," she says.

"Then sorry to say they died out a couple hundred years before I arrived," I tell her.

"We see," she says with a frown.

“Why do you want to know?” I ask her.

“We once entered the dream of a balrog who somehow found his way to Equus, he was rather boastful and had great pride in his strength and control of shadow magic, we visited his dreams often in our isolation on the moon but we never heard from him again in over two-hundred years,” she replies sadly.

Before I could speak, Fluttershy speaks up. "Erm, not that I'm not enjoying our talk, but I really need to get home before my friends start worrying about me," she says.

"Right... Then I must ask you to keep where we are a secret. I doubt you'd want me killing your Princess should she come after me," I ask her.

"No I don't... but what if ponies ask about..." she replies and gestures to herself.

"You're welcome to come back to Tartarus with us cutie," Desire offers her.

"N-No thank y-you, Desire. I like w-where I live, and I promise not to tell a soul," the timid pegasus replies, can she even be called a pegasus anymore? What were those bat horses in Harry Potter called again? Thas... thentils? Thastals? Oh right, thestrals.

"Very well. I'll carry you to the forest's edge and then you can make your way to the town from there... what were you doing in this forest anyway?" I tell her and ask.

"Oh I was looking for a rare flower that grows in here to make some medicine for a sick badger, but I couldn't find it and then that manticore attacked me... Thank you for saving me by the way," she replies.

"You're welcome, and I am sorry that it changed your appearance. Come on, let's get you home," I tell her and get up.

Before we could do anything though, soldiers in golden armour burst through the windows and that white woman I was told is named Celestia walks in through the front door looking very pissed off.

She then spots Fluttershy and gasps at her appearance. "What have you done to her you monster!" she yells out and glares at me.

I snarl back at her and stand up while forming my scythe. "I warned you what should happen if you followed me," I tell her and draw my pistol.

Desire is already beside me with my rifle at the ready. Luna looks petrified and Fluttershy looks ready to faint.

"P-Princess Celestia! P-Please don't hurt them! They saved m-my life!" Fluttershy tells Celestia.

"What? But look what he's done to you!" Celestia says and starts walking towards us.

"I..." the timid woman starts before a sad expression forms on her face. "I may not like my new... appearance... but I'd rather look like this than never see my friends again and dead in the forest..." she replies and looks down.

I glance away from Celestia and look to Fluttershy with my own sad expression.

"LOOK OUT!" Desire yells as it seems the white alicorn bitch took that as an opening and teleported in front of me before slamming her maul into my gut, piercing my stomach and sending me flying through a wall which crumbles onto me, I think she ruptured my intestine... fuck this hurts. "DAMIEN!" my wife calls out and tries to get to me only to be caught and held down by Celestia.

"I will make sure you'll never hurt my ponies again," I hear her say. I then hear Desire screaming in pain and I snap.

With a roar I take on my demonic form and burst out of the rubble. Before Celestia could even react, I'm already upon her and grab her by the throat. "Big mistake," I tell her coldly and choke her before tossing her hard through a thicker wall at the back of the room.

I hold out my hand and my scythe levitates into my grasp. I then coat my left hand in darkfire as I seem to have lost my pistol.

"Prepare to lose your soul, Celestia. You made the grave mistake of harming my wife," I tell her with as much malice as I could muster and all four of my wings spread wide as the light in the room seems to dim around us. The alicorn pulls herself out of the rubble with a small line of blood running down her left eye. "You called me weak earlier... then let's see how you do against me when I'm serious!" I yell at her and charge toward the wide eyed Celestia, easily killing the soldiers who throw themselves in my way.

Next Chapter: Chapter 13: Demonlord VS Alicorn Estimated time remaining: 10 Hours, 32 Minutes