While Twilight's folks are still snoozing on the couch, I turn to Twilight who is still frowning at me.

"So, my dear. Now that you know your parents still love you, what do you want to do while you're back here?" I ask her with a smile. Cadence lets her go and moves over to Shining and Gilda.

Her glare lessens but she's still pouting. "Well, once my parents wake up, I want to go home and tell them what's been happening since I last wrote to them," she replies.

"But how will we get there?" I ask with a smirk.

She smirks back making mine lessen a bit. "Pinkie will open a portal for us, she's been to my parents' house before," she replies making me pout.

"Damn. Oh well, I'm looking forward to getting to know your folks since they weren't afraid from the mere sight of us," I reply and look to my sister. She's still staring out the window looking over the city with a look of thought.

"We would recommend prolonging your excursion out of the castle until the populace knows of thine presence," Selene says as she stands up from the couch.

"Fair enough, we didn't come here to start a panic," I reply and sit back down on the middle couch next to Desire and Slitherana.

"Thank you. Now then, we shall head back to our sisters and begin preparations for the announcement. Please remain here until we can find you rooms to stay in," she then tells us as she leaves the room.

"This looks like something from a Disney kid's movie..." Melanie mutters as she continues to look out the window.

We relax and wait for a good eight or so minutes where Cadence was making a fuss over Shining while Gilda is glaring at her. The others are chatting or playing cards again until Twilight's folks finally wake up again.

Her mother is the first to wake up and just stares at the ceiling with a blank expression. "Welcome back," I comment with a smile.

"My baby girl is pregnant with the Overlord's foal..." she says in an emotionless tone.

Twilight looks worriedly at her mother, but what she says next just makes me smirk. "I have no idea what to get for a demon foal... would bright colours even work? No no no, it'll have to be darker tones..." she mumbles to herself and I just can't help but laugh.

"Keep the noise down, Dear..." Twilight's farther mutters as he rolls over and off the couch he's on. "Ooof!" he grunts as he looks up sleepily. "Honey... Where are we?" he asks and then spots me.

"Good morning," I say to him casually.

"Mom, Dad, I..." Twilight begins but then goes silent and looks down.

"Oh, Sweetheart. It's okay. As long as you're happy then so are we," her mother says and hugs her gently.

Her farther yawns and slowly sits up rubbing his eyes, his hair slightly dishevelled over his left eye.

"Well, this is certainly not what we were expecting when we heard you came home," he says as he slowly stands up and stretches his limbs.

"What were you expecting?" she asks him curiously.

"That you would return and continue your studies under Princess Celestia like usual, despite being a demon" he replies with a chuckle. "Instead, you're with foal and in a relationship with the most feared demon known to ponykind," he then says nervously.

"Well technically, ponies fear the title Overlord of Tartarus, they don't know about me personally," I tell him with a grin. "Though that will be changing soon I think."

"Yes well..." Twilight's mother says and looks to her daughter. "When will you be moving back to Ponyville?" she asks her.

"I errrr... I decided I want to stay with Damien, Desire, and Slitherana," she replies quietly.

"You... want to stay in Tartarus?" her mother asks in disbelief.

"It's not as bad as you think. I've seen a lot while I was there and most if not all demons under Damien's rule are friendly," Twilight replies with a faint smile.

I chuckle getting their attention. "You're making it sound like a nice holiday destination," I say getting a giggle from Desire.

"Well, it certainly is nicer than Manehatten is... At least you don't have any homeless people living in your streets or litter dumped on the ground," she replies with a huff. "I remember when we went to Manehatten six years ago to get mom's newest novel published, homeless ponies on the streets asking for handouts wearing tattered clothes and in poor condition. I know Celestia is trying to make it better for them but there's only so much funding she can use," Twilight says with a sigh.

"I see, well I guess we could offer them residency in Fel Haven, there's always room for more workers if they're willing," I say with a smile.

"You're willing to take them in?" Twilight asks surprised.

"If they're willing to work for what they get, sure. I won't tolerate them freeloading though," I reply.

Before she could speak, the door opens to reveal Celestia, Luna, and Selene. "We have arranged for you to be revealed to the public in two days. Until then, you'll be given rooms to stay in. Breakfast is served at seven a.m. Lunch at two p.m. And dinner at eight p.m. If you're late you'll go without," Celestia tells us, her tone sounding tired and stressed.

"Fair enough, your home your rules. So how did your ponies take it all?" I reply and ask her.

She sighs and rubs her left temple. "Not as well as we hoped... Some lost their nerve and ran out screaming, the maids and staff are on edge, and the guards are hesitant to follow our orders now. I just hope the citizens don't start a panic or a riot..." she says. I can just see the bags forming under her eyes.

"You look exhausted," I comment, making her look at me with a frown.

"I've had to keep my illusion spell up all day everyday just to stop everypony from panicking at my demonic appearance. The constant drain on my magic is tiring me quickly, not to mention I have to raise and lower the moon myself again while Luna was in Tartarus..." she replies a bit angrily.

"Well I suppose after this announcement you won't need to hold up the illusion anymore. And if you'd like, I could treat you to a full spa course at my daughters spa? Rarity can vouch for them," I offer Celestia. Rarity perks up at the mention of her name.

"Hmmm? Oh yes, Princess. Yuna and Slitherine have the most divine spa I have ever visited. Their skill and... physiology make the experience very enjoyable, and relaxing. Their own special mud baths have left my coat more luxurious than I've ever had it," she says with a mild blush.

"We must agree, sister," Luna says with a smile. "We have visited their spa ourselves and found it most enjoyable. Thou shalt not be disappointed," she then tells her.

Celestia sighs and rubs the bridge of her muzzle. "I will think about it after this is all over. But for now, I need to get everything ready for the announcement. Selene, please keep our guests out of trouble, I don't want anything going wrong before the announcement is done..." she says with a yawn at the end.

"We shall, though we recommend getting some rest first, sister," Selene replies with a worried tone.

"That sounds like a good idea, I shall be in my room should you need me..." Celestia says with another yawn.

I fight off the urge to yawn as well but fail when Desire and Twilight fall victim to the contagious action. Once I finish yawning, I speak up. "Well then, tomorrow I would like to go to where the Tartarus Gate is here. I have an idea to fix it up and link it to a new gate in Fel Haven using Pinkie's power so we'll have faster access to each other. Certainly would make trading between us easier," I say making Celestia wince slightly.

"I'd rather leave it as it is," she admits with a sigh.

"Your call really. We can always just set up the gate at Skullcove Bay, we need to rename it and see how... what was his name? Thin'ta?" I say and ask Desire who nodded in reply. "See how he's doing and if the place is running smoothly," I finish saying.

"We don't think the gryphon king will allow thee to do just that," Luna says with a frown.

I just shrug. "I own the bay there now, unless he tries to take it by force, he ain't having it," I reply.

"You know that could start a war right?" Shining says with a raised brow.

"Possibly, the only other option is moving them all to another location...Could always tame that forest we met Selene in, build a town there," I say while rubbing my chin in thought.

Twilight looks at me in surprise. "You want to build a town in the Everfree!?"

I look to her with a raised brow. "Why not? From what I saw while there, nothing is a threat to us really. It'll also make a great defensive position as well," I reply.

Celestia sighs again and shakes her head. "I'm going to bed before I have anything else I'll have to worry about..." she comments and leaves the room, making me and Desire chuckle.

Luna giggles and turns to us. "We shall be attending court while Celestia slumbers. Should anything arise, Selene shalt knoweth where to find us," she tells us and leaves the room.

"So, Mel!" I say to my sister, getting a hum from her as she looks at me. "So what do you think of this place compared to my castle?" I ask her with a smile.

"Well... This place seems to be more like a maze compared to yours, and all the bright colours and reflective surfaces are painful to look at. Best part I would say is the garden," she replies and returns to looking out the window.

I chuckle while Cadence giggles which makes me raise a brow at her.

"You're not wrong... You could get temporarily blinded should somepony cast an illumination spell near freshly polished marble, gold, or mirrors... The castle is enchanted to be more durable and magic resistant so the magic in the marble makes light more reflective," she tells us with a wince. "I accidentally blinded some guards and Shiny when he surprised me one time and my magic discharged," she says with another giggle.

"Yeah, I couldn't see for an hour until the magic wore off. Though if there's an intruder, it's effective in stunning them easily," Shining tells us with a chuckle.

"I see... I might have to look into that for my castle. Install flash stones in the hallway ceilings that trigger when magic is channelled into them, blinding those not expecting it," I say and rub my chin.

"So what should we do now? It's still a good four hours until sundown," Twilight says as she sits between her parents.

"I want to get to know more about the stallion that caught my little girl's heart," Twilight's mother says with a smile.

"Alright. My name is Damien Jackson. I was born a human on a planet called earth until I was shot in the chest and died, where then a dying demonlord pulled my soul to the plain between worlds and... I guess you can say forced me to promise to kill his brother for revenge in return for his power and a second chance at life in Tartarus." I tell her and over the next hour give a brief overview of my life in Tartarus.

"So you really brought order to Tartarus?" Twilight's father asks in awe.

"Wasn't easy, and many other demonlords still want to bring it all down just so they can sit at the top. Running a nation is not a life of luxury, I have to make sure everything is running as it should be. Make sure everyone has enough to live comfortably, or at least have a roof over their head, a job, and three meals a day. I have to make sure our defences are the best they can be. There's lots of things that need to be done before I can relax with my family at the end of the day. And that's with advisers and offices to make sure the minor details are running smoothly," I explain to him with a sigh.

"Sounds tiring," Twilight's mother says with a wince.

"It can be, but I have my family to support me. My sons manage the soldiers for me, my wives handle domestic affairs, and I handle the national affairs with other demonlords that are willing to work together. Now then, are you going to tell me your names or will I have to start guessing or give you names myself?" I reply and ask them with a smirk.

"Oh heavens, how rude of us. My name is Twilight Velvet, and I'm a novel writer," Twilight's mother introduces herself.

"And I am Night Light, I'm a retired guard," Twilight's father then introduces himself to us.

"Pleasure meeting you both, it's certainly refreshing compared to mostly screams of terror we're introduced with," I say with a chuckle.

"Well... if Twilight didn't say good things about you in her letters... we most likely would have as well," Mrs Velvet says nervously.

"Nothing I can really do about that with how bad a rep my title has, though I must ask. How do you feel about what I did to Twilight and Shining? Twilight I had to turn to save her life, and I turned Shining to use him to protect Twilight and she asked me not to kill him," I ask them both.

Night Light sighs with a frown while Velvet winces. "I won't say I'm not upset with what you did to them, but they're alive. Although I can't say the same about the families of the guards you killed during your escape. Many are crying out for justice to be served against you," Night Light tells me.

"I can't say I regret killing them, they came at us with silver weapons and killing intent. When it comes down to it, it's them or us, and I prefer to keep my people and family alive than people I don't know who want me dead," I reply with a shrug.

"I see... So if anypony or creature threatened Twilight or Shining, you would protect them from harm?" Velvet asks me.

"I'd destroy the threat with overwhelming force not only to end the threat, but to intimidate any others with them to surrender or flee. I don't tolerate any attacks on my people or nation and will reply appropriately," I reply with a sigh. "It's happened one too many times during my life in Tartarus. Demonlords attacking us just for our resources and lesser demons for slaves, I've destroyed everyone that has tried but even then we still suffered losses."

"Sounds like you had a tough life," Velvet says sadly.

"Not all bad. Now that most of known Tartarus is stable, I can focus on advancing our tech and civilian comforts. And I've had happy moments during the earlier years. My children being born is one of my happiest memories, holding them in my arms and smiling as they giggle or laugh," I tell her with a smile.

We all stop as Pinkie starts doing some random movements and twitches before yelping in pain.

"Pinkie? You okay?" Applejack asks her with concern.

"Something bad is happening, I think at Skullcove Bay as I had the urge to talk like a pirate..." she replies and scratches her chin.

"Are you sure?" I ask her and stand up, getting a nod from her. "Pinkie, can you please open a portal?" I ask her.

"Okie Dokie!" she replies and tears open a portal in the middle of the room.

I just stare at the scene before me. The sounds of battle where Gryphons wielding silver weaponry are assaulting the bay. I see some ash on the ground along with gryphon bodies while those still alive are fighting back the invaders.

"Close it!" I order her making her yelp and the tear zips shut, complete with zipper sound. "Now open a portal to Fel Haven, we're going to need my army," I say in a cold tone. My sons and desire are already up and ready to move as Pinkie opens the portal. "Desire, Vipirior, Scalefang, Tidus, Pinkie, with me. The rest of you stay here and wait for our return," I tell them.

"What's going on?" Twilight asks nervously.

"Gryphons are attacking the bay," I reply before heading through the portal with the others behind me.

We exit to my throne room where I inhale deeply. "GATHER THE ARMY! ONE OF OUR TOWNS IS UNDER SIEGE! MEET AT THE BARRACKS IN TENS MINUTES!" I order the soldiers and guards in the room who immediately get running.

We head to the armoury and suit up quickly. Once done, we head to the barracks where I see a good couple thousand ready to go. Including a few of my heavy hitters of archdemons.

"We're heading to a demon frontier town on a world called Equus. It is currently under attack by gryphons wielding silver weaponry so watch yourselves and each other! I want a few captured alive but the rest can be put down! Try to find their officers and take them alive! Engage at range first, only get close if you have no other option!" I quickly brief the soldiers armed with rifles, pistols, grenades, a mixture of melee weapons, and a variety of armours.

They cheer out as I look to a nervous Pinkie. "Open the portal as big as you can, once through find a place to hide until it's over," I tell her making her nod and open a portal big enough for four incuponies to walk side by side.

"ADVANCE! AID OUR PEOPLE AND PUNISH THE INVADING GRYPHONS!" I order my troops.

They charge through, fire in their eyes and rage in their hearts. I follow them and summon Thanatos, I'll have to avoid parrying and dodge any attacks from silver weapons so as to not harm Thanatos unnecessarily.

I look around and spot a group of lycans and harpies defending a warehouse like building where the cries of children can be heard within. Gryphons wearing steel half plate armour with leather padding are attacking the defenders with silver spears, swords, and arrows.

Not wasting anymore time as my army floods the bay, I charge towards the defenders and arrive at the first gryphon archer. He looks at me in surprise as I slice him in two and take his soul. The defenders take advantage of the confusion our arrival causes and attack the gryphons.

All but one gryphon falls where he stabs a harpy in the chest. She screams in pain but since she's not bursting into flames or ash, her heart is still intact. The others finish off the gryphon while I run over to her and place my hand on the wound. I gently flow some of my energy into the wound to help heal it faster.

I hear the sound of rushing water as the Kraken rises out of the ocean, tentacles extend above the bay before coming back down, slamming into gryphon ships trying to get to the docks. Cannons go off as the remaining ships fire at the Kraken who roars out in pain before descending under the waves.

Seconds later tentacles burst out of the water, wrapping around the ships and gripping tightly, snapping the ships in two before retreating back into the sea.

Gunshots sound out rapidly and the cries of pain follow. Our last fight with the gryphons may have gone in their favour, but this time I have more soldiers and better weapons.

"When did they attack?" I ask a lycan who is cut up slightly, the wounds not closing due to the silver that caused them.

"I think fifteen or more minutes ago. The animal sentries alerted us of their arrival and we managed to get defences up in time, but they overwhelmed us and their weapons are powerful..." he replies and hisses in pain before licking some cuts on his arms.

"I see. Keep defending this point, I'm heading for the main gate. Where's Thin'ta?" I tell them and ask.

"He was holding the bulk of them off at the entrance," he replies.

I nod and take off for the main gate with my scythe and a group of my soldiers.

Next Chapter: Chapter 55: Evacuate Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 32 Minutes