Once Desire and I finish cleaning our weapons, we check the area just in case there are people wandering about. Last thing we need is being spotted and the town going into a frenzy. Although we did manage to find some wild berries and potatoes during our search.

With the area clear we relax at camp and I listen to Desire as she hums a lullaby she used to sing to our kids when they were younger. "Hmmm hm hmmmm, ahh ahhhh ohhhhh~" Desire sings while cuddling up to me as I stroke her hair lazily.

It takes Gilda and Selene an hour and some minutes, but they return with two tents, camping gear and enough food for a week.

"We hast returned! Is this everything we shall need, Sir Damien?" Selene announces and then asks me as she dispels her illusion. Gilda looks tired from the walk and carrying the food bags.

I look over the supplies and smile. "Yeah, these'll do," I reply and start setting up the pot over the campfire and begin peeling the potatoes and some other vegetables for a nice stew.

"Damien, I gotta ask... If you want to get back to Tartarus, why didn't you just ask Princess Celestia to send you there? She knows how to from what I've heard," Gilda tells me and I raise an eyebrow at her.

"Well for one she's a bitch, it seems she and her people think I'm just a monster who needs to be killed... So I wouldn’t trust her even if my life depended on it. So no, I won't be asking her for help," I reply as I stir the stew, damn that's smelling good. How long has it been since I've last eaten vegetables not native to Tartarus?

"We knowest of the four Gate's to Tartarus. One is buried deep in the mountain Canterlot now rests upon, though tis guarded by Cerberus from what we remember. The second is just beyond Gryphonia in the Plaguelands with a spellbound dragon guarding it. The third is in Minos, homeland of the minotaurs, though I know not its exact location or what guards it. The last gate is located deep in Zebrica, guarded by the spirits of the dead," Selene tells me.

"I see, so we'll be heading to the Plaguelands then?" I ask her.

"Verily, tis the closest gate besides the one under Canterlot," she replies with a nod.

"How long will it take us to get there? While I trust my kids with my life, Slitherana isn't a strong leader and I worry some demon might try to kill her and claim the throne before we can return..." I ask Selene who looks thoughtful.

"At our current speed, it shall take about two months of non-stop travel," she replies with a sad expression.

'Two to three months... I hope Siltherana and the kids can hold on till then' I think to myself as Desire taste tests the stew.

"Hmmmm, stews ready, and don't worry about the others. The kids are strong and when they work together not even a demonlord is enough to stop them," my wife reassures me.

She's right, Tidus and his brothers can take out a demonlord with their rifles, speed, and agility when working together. "You're right, well let’s camp here until tomorrow... wait a second... Has anyone seen Noctis? I thought he left the mountain with us," I reply and ask as I look around for the raven.

"We hast not seen him since yesterday," Selene replies.

I frown and look back towards the mountain. 'I guess he wanted to leave, oh well,' I think and sigh.

For hours we talked as we ate and I explained the rules of poker to Selene and Gilda. Selene used her magic to create a crude but working deck of cards from my description of them and now we're playing our seventh round of poker.

"I raise three," I say and toss three gold coins onto the pile. So far Gilda has the least amount of coins, I'm in third while Desire is second. Though Selene is sitting there with a smug smile as she has the biggest pile of coins.

"Verily, we shall also call. Royal flush!" Selene says placing three coins and then shows her hand.

We all groan and Gilda tosses her cards into the fire accidentally in her frustration.

"I guess that ends poker night," I say with a chuckle.

It's now night time as the stars shine high above us with a full moon just above the horizon. "It's a beautiful night," I say and lay down on my back with Desire using my chest as a pillow.

Selene sighs with a sad frown also looking up at the sky. "Tis a shame not many ponies care for it as much as we do."

I'm not sure what to say to cheer her up. I let out a yawn but stop mid way, I can feel a demonic energy approaching. "Get up! We got company," I tell the others and then smother the fire.

"Hey what gives!" Gilda complains due to the lack of warmth now.

"Up the trees, now!" I order them and fly up to a low branch. The others follow as well and perch on a thick branch.

"Sir Damien, what is the matter?" Selene asks me.

I look at her while keeping my senses on the incoming energy signature. "There's another demon nearby, and it's heading this way," I reply and look towards the source.

"Are you sure they're here?" a tomboyish voice asks.

"Yes, we tracked them here and waited for your arrival," a male voice replies to the first.

"I never met a demon before! Oh I hope they'll like the party I have planned for them... that is if they're nice, no meany mcmeany pants is getting a party from me if they hurt my friends!" an energetic voice then says excitedly.

A group of six girls and ten guards walk over to our camp and start looking around. The sky blue winged girl starts looking through our bags and stutters when she finds all the gold coins in my pack.

"Holy cow! Look at all the bits in here! I could buy a hundred tickets to a Wonderbolts show with all this!" she says while drooling at the sight.

"Oh my! This bag is full of bits as well!" the white horned girl then says looking in Desire's bag.

"But where are the demons and the other Luna?" the purple horned girl asks.

"Stay here until I tell you to come down," I quietly tell the others. Desire looks worried with her rifle ready as the guards are carrying silver weapons again but they all nodded and I jump down and land behind Fluttershy. "Hello, Fluttershy. It's nice to see you again," I say to the timid woman.

She yelps and turns around with a hand on her chest. "Oh, Damien. Erm, it's nice to see you too... How are you?" she asks me with a slight hint of worry in her tone.

Before I could reply she disappears in a flash of white light and reappears next to the purple girl.

"Get away from Fluttershy you monster!" the blue girl tells me.

I raise an eyebrow at her and then look back to Fluttershy. "I've been better, your guards weren't very friendly this morning when they attacked us, but I've faced worse," I reply to her question.

The purple girl steps forward eyeing me warily. "Why did you kill the guards and injure Princess Celestia?" she questions me.

I huff and cross my arms across my chest. "They attacked me and my wife as well as Selene. I tried talking to her but she got me with a cheap shot and then hurt my wife, I stopped caring after that and did what I had to to protect my family," I reply.

"Yeah right, you're just trying to take over Equestria aren't you!" blue girl accuses me with a glare.

"If I wanted to do that I would have killed your Princess instantly, no, she's only alive due to her sister asking me not to," I tell her and glare back making her flinch slightly.

"And where is this other Luna?" purple girl asks.

"Before that, how about introductions? I am Overlord Damien Jackson of Tartarus," I tell them with a polite bow.

They stay silent for a few seconds before answering. "I'm Twilight Sparkle, student to Princess Celestia," purple girl replies. She’s wearing a knee long deep blue skirt, a white undershirt and a dark purple sleeveless vest. Her hair and tail are a dark blueish purple with two streaks of pink and hot pink through it.

"Ah yes, Luna told me your name but not of your appearance," I say as she frowns.

Next up the pink pony who looks like she's having trouble standing still speaks up. "Hi I'm Pinkie Pie! Do you like parties?" she tells me and asks. She’s wearing a pair denim overalls with a striped white and pink shirt under it, her hair and tail are hot pink and very poofy like cotton candy.

"Hello, Pinkie. And yes, I do like parties," I reply. I then notice the guards trying to slowly surround me. "You do realise surrounding me is pointless correct?" I tell them making them stop moving.

I then hear the sound of a bow string being pulled back before an arrow soars at me, I dodge the arrow which barely misses another guard as the sound of Desire's rifle then goes off. The guard with the bow cries out in pain as he writhes on the ground with his left hand blown off.

I look back at the guard and then at the girls. "So your objective was to distract me so they could get a clean shot?" I ask Twilight.

"No! I told them not to attack!" she replies and angrily glares at the guards.

I hear one of the guards growl to my right and notice it's the same one from this morning who threatened to kill me for his brother.

"Shall we continue with introductions?" I suggest and look back at the girls but keep my guard up.

The white woman then speaks up looking a little green in the cheeks, she’s wearing a pair of black tracksuit bottoms and a thick warm looking light blue parker jacket. Her hair and tail is an indigo colour that's styled with curls and she has a horn as well. "I am Rarity Belle," she tells me trying not to look at the writhing guard. The blue girl is looking up trying to find the source of the gunshot.

The orange girl with blonde hair and a worn brown stetson hat on her head, a red checkered shirt which hugs her chest and shows her stomach along with a pair of denim shorts frowns at me while using herself as a shield for Fluttershy. "Ah'm Applejack," she says in an unfriendly tone.

Blue girl then looks at me and snorts slightly. "I'm Rainbow Dash, and any sudden movements and I'll kick your flank!" she tells me with a cocky smirk. She’s wearing a pair of black running shorts and white tank top where her wings are spread wide as if showing off. I can see why her name is Rainbow as her hair and tail are the same colour as a rainbow’s.

I roll my eyes at her and look back to Fluttershy, the demonic energy I'm feeling is coming from her, did I mark her unintentionally? "A pleasure to meet you all," I reply to them.

"Now where is this other Luna?" Twilight asks again.

"Get your guards to throw away their weapons and I'll ask them to come out," I reply and glance at the guards.

"So you can just kill us all? I don't think so, come on girls! Let's just blast him with the Elements already!" Rainbow Dash replies and tells the others.

I can't allow that, if Fluttershy is indeed marked then. "Fluttershy," I say looking at the startled woman as I assert my will over hers, with what is called The Master’s Will. "give me your Element," I command her and her eyes glaze over as she walks over to me, unclasps her necklace and places it within my hand.

Everyone just looks stunned that she followed my order. Fluttershy's eyes then return to normal and she looks around confused. "Erm... w-what just happened?" she asks and eeps when she sees me in front of her and her Element in my hand.

"I'm sorry for doing that to you my dear, but I can't risk you using these," I tell her and look back in time to see Rainbow Dash fly right at me with an angry expression.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO FLUTTERSHY!" she yells in rage and punches me in the face, I barely flinch and then grab her by the wrist, twisting it behind her back and summon my scythe which I hold up to her neck.

"Do you have a death wish, child?" I ask her as she struggles to break free.

"Please don't hurt her!" Fluttershy begs me with tears in her eyes. The guards around us are on edge as they point their weapons at me.

I look at Fluttershy and then to the girl in my grip. I narrow my eyes and then get a thought, if I mark her as well I can just command her to calm down. Though I'm sure the others won't take kindly to that.

"What are you all even doing here? Surely you knew that you were not going to be able to do much," I ask Twilight.

"I have questions and I want them answered," she replies with determination.

I frown at her and then smile. "If you want answers then you'll remain here while the rest head back to town, if you can't agree to this then you can all just leave," I tell her. If I can get Celestia's student on my good side maybe the psychotic Princess will back off a bit.

"Don't do it, Twilight!" Rainbow says to her and I twist her arm a bit harder making her yelp.

Twilight looks conflicted as she looks at her friends and then sighs. "Deal," she says and glares at me.

"Twilight! You can't be serious!" Rarity tells her with shock.

"Rarity's right, Twi'. What if he kills ya?" Applejack says trying to talk her out of it.

"He didn't kill Fluttershy when he could have but instead saved her and brought her back to Ponyville... As much as I hate how he hurt the Princess, it was out of self-defence..." Twilight replies to Applejack while still frowning at me.

I keep an eye on the guards while the girls discuss the matter amongst themselves. The leaves of the tree above us rustle and Gilda glides down with a not so soft landing.

"Gilda!?" Rainbow Dash yells in surprise seeing the gryphon. The surprise makes her stop struggling.

Gilda gets back up and limps over to us. "Hey, Dash," she replies and I slowly let the prismatic girl go.

"G? What happened to you!? Why are you here!?" Rainbow asks as she runs over to the gryphon while the others all watch.

Gilda then explains how she was caught by the dragon on her way home after what happened in Ponyville and how long she was held captive in the cave and how I came along and freed her.

"So I've agreed to show them the way through Gryphonia," Gilda finishes her tale while Fluttershy checks her over for injuries, despite the way Gilda treated her the last time they met.

I notice a guard behind me sneaking up with a spear, seems he's going to try and impale me with it. I nod up to Desire and she fires a shot, shooting off the silver tip of the spear.

"The next guard that tries to attack me, I will kill you all, or worse, turn you into demons and make you kill each other," I tell them coldly making them back off.

Without warning a silver arrow flies towards my head and I lean out the way where it barely nicks my cheek with a slight hiss of burnt flesh. I then hear someone choking and see Twilight with the arrow stuck right in the middle of her torso just below her heart while blood dribbles down her chin. She looks down at it in disbelief before collapsing onto the ground.

"TWILIGHT!" all the girls shout out and I turn to the guard who fired the arrow, he has a horrified expression at what he just did and then looks at me.

I yell out in anger and toss my scythe at him which impales him in the heart and sucks out his soul as his body shrivels up into a dried husk. "Desire! Kill the guards!" I shout out to my wife who begins to shoot the guards one by one.

One of the guards flies off and I notice it was that guard from this morning, I ignore him as the rest charge at me with their weapons trying to impale me from all angles. As soon as they get close enough I conjure my darkfire and blast it around me, turning the guards apart from the silver on their weapons to ash.

'So silver is also immune to my darkfire?' I think to myself and look around as Desire picks off the last two guards. I walk over to the husk and pull out my scythe before dismissing it.

Fluttershy is cowering behind Rarity while the others look afraid.

I glance at the bodies and ash around me. "Idiots," I mutter and shake my head. These guards are so poorly trained and inexperienced, has this country been so lax that their guards have become so rusty and sloppy? Just one of my lesser demons can take on ten, maybe twenty of these guards by themselves… without a gun.

"Twilight hold on, we'll get ya help!" Applejack tells the gasping and panicking purple girl who looks like she's going into shock.

I frown and walk over to them where Rainbow Dash gets in my way. "You stay away from her! You've done enough here already!" she tells me and I just shove her out of the way and onto the ground. "Oooff! Hey!" she yells at me and hisses in pain.

The others back away slightly as I kneel down beside Twilight and look at the arrow. With frown I grip the arrow with my left hand which starts to burn from the contact, I hiss in pain and pull the arrow out which makes Twilight scream in pain and toss it away before placing my right hand over her wound. I then flood her with my demonic energy which begins to close her wound but also makes her scream in even more pain as her horn splits into two and moves up her head next to each ear and curls back, her hair also grows six inches longer as well.

Two bulges then appear under her shirt and vest on her shoulder blades, most likely wings. Then the hair on her tail falls off and the stump is covered in her purple fur as the stump then grows a metre longer with a heart shaped tip at the end of her new tail. Next her eyes turn red and slitted as fangs grow in her mouth. Lastly, her hips grow a couple of inches wider and her chest expands an inch or two.

The wound finishes healing once the change is completed and she's breathing more steadily now. So much for getting Twilight on my side now, Celestia is sure to be very angry with what I've just done to her student...

With a sigh, I stand up and back away from Twilight as the girls look on in both relief and horror.

"What have you done!?" Applejack asks me in anger as they all check on Twilight.

"Saved her life," I retort harshly and walk over to my camp where Desire and Selene finally come down, making the others gasp.

I set up my new sleeping bag and then walk back over to Twilight where I carefully pick her up and lay her down on the sleeping bag.

"I'll look after her, you lot better head back into town while you can," I tell the others.

"And leave Twilight with you and Nightmare Moon!? I don't think so!" Rainbow says and growls at me.

I glare at her and bare my teeth, I'm already angry enough as it is. "Call her that again and I'll make you eat your own tongue! And you will or I'll turn you all into demons as well and order you to go!" I tell her making her flinch.

Twilight coughs and looks at the girls. "I'll be fine, I'll see you all tomorrow morning," she quietly tells them looking tired and weak.

The girls all glance at each other and then start walking away. "I'm warning you, if you hurt her I'll... I'll... I'll make you regret it!" Rainbow threatens me and I roll my eyes at her. Rainbow also gives Gilda a worried look who yawns and gets into her tent.

I then look towards Fluttershy. "Here," I say and hold out her necklace to her.

She walks over and shyly takes it from me with a quiet thank you before scurrying back to her friends. I watch as they walk away towards the town glancing back now and then with worried expressions.

"Now then," I say and sit beside Twilight who's looking at me with curiosity and a bit of fear. "What I want to know is how your guards know that silver hurts us." And so begins the game of twenty questions.

Next chapter will be a question and answer session between Twilight, Damien, Selene and Desire. And a look at what happened to the colt who managed to summon Damien and Desire.

Also how will Twilight cope with her new look and... urges. Also Rainbow has anger management issues.

The Equestrian guards suck... like big time. Centuries of peace and no conflicts really hurt their military.

And where the hell has Noctis gone?