Serenade shook her head after seeing the visions of her sister in the human world. She held her head as she kneeled in agony at the sudden surge of memory.

“What the fuck was that?” She questioned Sven.

The shadow appeared before her once more and shook his head. “I told you, this place will mess with your head, using the pain of not only your memories but the memories of others to cause you pain and suffering. I’m going to assume that was your sister Adagio?”

“Yes, but why was she in love with a mortal no less? Clearly, this place is playing tricks on me…” Serenade growled.

He shrugged. “It’s possible, but it’s also possible it’s showing you the truth because the truth can sometimes be more painful than a lie.”

Serenade hissed and swatted at him furiously. “Adagio would never break the only sacred rule that all sirens must follow, especially for a lowly mortal girl. She was a proud siren!”

Sven sighed and came up beside her. “What exactly is the rule? I’m not very familiar with sirens…”

Serenade glanced over at him with an annoyed expression. “Mother’s scorn, the curse for all sirens, they can’t ever fall in love, or disaster soon follows.”

“Well, maybe that was her undoing?” Sven suggested.

“Lowly human girl manipulated her…” Serenade hissed, slowly accepting the reality that her sister may have actually given into temptation.

Sven floated in front of her as he spoke. “It doesn’t matter now, there’s nothing we can do about the past, we have to move on, the final challenge awaits you, we can’t stop now, the wannabe demon lord hasn’t bowed before the night of Serenade Dazzle yet!”

Serenade looked down at her armored hand. The red claw protecting her body underneath looked sharp and menacing. She clutched her hand into a fist and lifted herself up from the ground. Once she was standing properly again, she nodded.

“Yeah, you’re right. Let’s kill this shit stain so I can be done with this all…” Serenade nodded.

“Then on we go!” Sven bowed before disappearing into the girl’s shadow once more.

Serenade tried to keep her mind on the task at hand, but she couldn’t help but wonder about this human girl, this “other” Sunset Shimmer that had swindled her sister. The irony was too much for her, one Sunset had undone her as Glitch, and then this other one had enticed her sister into loving her.

In her mind, it was almost as if she was destined to have a hatred toward the entire Shimmer bloodline. She was now more determined than ever to kill every last one of them, leaving none left, no chance that they would come back to cause her problems.

This “human” world seemed so strange to Serenade. A place where magic wasn’t rampant, it was so rare that they saw it as a mystery. What an easy place to conquer, Serenade considered taking over that place too when she was done. Serenade, Queen of all universes, she liked the sound of it. All would bow before her regardless of what world they belonged to, her legacy would stretch further than any ruler in history. She would be like a god to all around her, she could warm up to that idea.

Stumbling through a door, Midnight gripped her head. She and the girl she had come to know as Sunset had just narrowly made it out of the previous room with their lives. She was disoriented, but now she was coming around, making sense of what was happening.

Sunset adjusted her glasses before sitting on the ground. She was exhausted as well. She spoke up. “What is this place?”

Midnight placed her hand on the wall to hold herself up, as she composed herself. It was at that moment that she realized what was really happening around her. All at once, her memories came rushing back to her. Who she was, how she got to this place, and what they were trying to do there. Blinking a few times she turned her head to Sunset. “Rarity… That’s my name…”

Sunset blinked and looked up at her. “Huh?”

“Before, I didn’t remember anything, but now I wonder how I forgot in the first place… My name is Rarity. My memory suddenly came back, it’s strange…” She rubbed her temple as she spoke.

Sunset still looked confused. “You don’t remember who you are?” Rarity asked.

Sunset shrugged. “I know I’m a doctor, but other than that, not really…”

“No, you’re Sunset Shimmer, don’t you recognize me?” Rarity frowned.

Sunset shook her head. “Nope, I can’t say I’ve ever met you before. Even if I think really hard, your face doesn’t ring any bells to me…”

Rarity sighed as she looked the girl up and down. No, it wasn’t possible, she was too young to be the Sunset she knew, but that only meant one thing. “Shimmer?” She questioned.

Sunset gave her a confused face. “Huh?”

Rarity shook her head. “No that’s not possible either… You’re too old to be her, she died when she was 19…”

Standing up, Sunset gave Rarity a squared brow. “What are you talking about?”

“Just thinking out loud…” Rarity dismissed.

If Shimmer is dead, and this isn’t our Sunset, what is going on here? Is this place just playing tricks on me? Like my memory? Rarity thought.

Crossing her arms, Sunset clearly wasn’t happy about being kept in the dark, but then again Rarity wasn’t sure what to even tell her. This girl was definitely not the Sunset they knew, nor was she Shimmer. Perhaps just an illusion created by the wretched place they were in.

Her chain of thought was broken though as another door in the room opened and through it came Rainbow Dash and Applejack. Upon seeing her wife, Rarity raced toward her and embraced her. Applejack hugged her back, but Rarity noticed a slightly weaker embrace than usual from her normally very giving wife. She appeared distracted.

“Darling? Are you alright?” Rarity asked, trying to make eye contact with Applejack.

“Fine, just a little banged up, no biggie.” Applejack responded before looking over at Sunset. She said nothing but wandered toward the other side of the room inspecting it, checking how safe it was.

As Rarity watched her wife, Rainbow Dash came to Rarity’s side and spoke. “Sunset’s here too?”

“Yes, but it’s not our Sunset, it’s… Someone else… I haven’t quite figured that part out yet…” Rarity frowned.

Rainbow Dash nodded. “This place plays tricks on your eyes and your memories, so best not to dwell on it…”

“So you discovered that as well then?” Rarity smiled.

Rainbow Dash waved her metal hand dismissively. “That part became apparent after a little while.”

“Why do you think she would come to a place like this?” Rarity asked.

Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Maybe it wasn’t a choice. I saw some weird shit in the army, but this is definitely the weirdest…”

Sunset stood confused as the two talked. “Who are you people?” She asked.

Rainbow and Rarity ignored her question as their focus was on Applejack who was still checking the room around them.

“Something’s bothering Applejack…” Rarity pointed out.

“How’d you figure that out?” Rainbow blinked.

“She can’t hide things very easily, I can tell something is on her mind that she doesn’t want to tell me, which isn’t like her…” Rarity said.

Rainbow crossed her arms and sighed. “Well… A few rooms ago, some kind of vision hit her. I don’t know what she saw but she’s been really quiet since then. Must have shaken her up badly…”

Rarity sighed and walked past Sunset who was still standing confused. Rainbow grinned at the bespectacled woman as she greeted her. “So, what’s your story?”

Rarity placed a hand upon Applejack’s shoulder which caused her to flinch. It wasn’t like her to be startled so easily. She turned to face her wife with a guilty look upon her face. “Applejack, darling… What’s going on? What did you see?”

“Rainbow told ya’, huh?” Applejack frowned.

Rarity nodded. “It’s okay, you can tell me…”

Applejack shook her head. “I don’t rightfully know if I can…”

Rarity caressed the woman’s arm to soothe her. “You can tell me anything, you know that…”

Applejack sighed and tried to avoid eye contact. “What I saw… It sort of made me realize… We can’t win this thing… I think I get what’s goin’ on here… Why we’re here, everything…”

“What do you mean?” Rarity asked confused.

Applejack bit her lip. “Rare… When this is over… We need to hope that that demon wins…”

“What? Why? That’s not an option, Applejack! We can’t let them win!” Rarity protested.

Applejack took her wife’s hands and looked into her eyes. “Rarity… If they lose… We all lose. They were tellin’ the truth from the start… We all want the same thing, especially Sunset…”

“Sunset? What about her?” Rarity blinked.

“She has more to lose than the rest of us… We have to ensure that things play out the way that damned monster wants…” Applejack said.

Rarity sighed. “I don’t understand, but I trust you… What exactly is it that has to happen, you still haven’t told me…”

Applejack spoke with a serious tone. “Well, I’m not 100% sure, but I think I got an inkling… We’re close to the top, if we go up a little more, I’m sure I can confirm what I’m thinkin’…”

Rarity smiled. “Alright, then let’s all go together, we can meet up with the others hopefully.”

Applejack nodded.

A single demon’s skull laid upon the rocky igneous ground. Old, covered in soot, and fragile, it sat there as a relic, a reminder of a demon who had fallen there. It was a reminder of one forgotten by time, but it would not remind any more who walked past it, as a single heeled foot stepped atop of it, crushing it to dust. The armored boot standing atop of it was attached to the petite Serenade Dazzle, who stood before a large door that would take her to her final challenge.

She noted how it was ornate and decorated with several detailed carvings of mighty demons being slain by a shadow wielding some kind of large sword. Placing a hand upon the carvings, she examined them closely as Sven came from her shadow to explain what she was looking at.

“Make any sense of these?” She asked curiously.

Sven nodded as he looked at the demonic lettering at the top of the carvings. “It tells the story of a mighty demon. He came from the mortal world, a savage warrior, and when he arrived here in hell, he was filled with rage and hatred.” Sven pointed to another part of the carvings as he continued. “He would channel his rage into battle, conquering demon after demon, slaying mightier and mightier foes with a blade he forged here in hell.”

Serenade pointed to the bottom of the carving where she saw more text. “And this?”

Sven caressed the carved letters with intrigue. “Now he waits on his throne to become the demon lord, killing all who challenge him. While he was defeated in life, he swears never to be beaten in death. His throne room decorated with the skulls of his enemies.”

“Sounds like a real lady killer…” Serenade smirked.

“So you have a sense of humor after all…” Sven grinned.

Serenade rolled her eyes. “Whatever, let’s just kill this shit stain so I can get out of here…”

Sven laughed at her confidence. “Surely, I bet on the right horse then… This must be the bravery and fortitude I hear about when I hear the name Serenade Dazzle. Walking into any scenario, unaffected, unafraid…”

“You can get your lips off my ass any time…” Serenade rolled her eyes once more.

He nodded before disappearing into her shadow once more.

With an annoyed sigh, Serenade placed both hands upon the door that stood a good eight times higher than her pygmy height. Pushing forcefully, the door began to move slowly, creaking loudly as it did. The door groaned and scraped against the obsidian floor as it moved, making enough noise to wake even the heaviest of sleepers.

Once the door was fully open, she looked into the chamber it protected, around it was a river of lava, illuminating the dark area. There along the back wall were hundreds of skulls hung from hooks on the wall. Serenade noted they were lined up in rows of eight before turning her attention to a throne in the center of the room, crafted from charred bones, old broken swords, and shale. The room was fitting for one who would call themselves the demon lord.

There upon the throne though, a creature wearing a large decorated black helmet sat. His body clearly reptilian, as Serenade could see talons on his feet, and his body was covered with a black cloak as he sat there, a massive sword sitting behind him that was definitely larger than his own height. The hilt of which, Serenade could see a black shining stone that she knew was the object she was after.

It was impossible to see his face from behind the helmet, but he lifted a claw from under his cloak and waved it gently. And with that a shadow conjured from no where in his likeness, it drew its razor claws and stood ready to fight.

The world around them slowly turned into an empty dark abyss and the throne along with its occupant vanished, leaving only Serenade and the shadow.

She readied her claws and took a battle stance. “Guess our friend likes to play tricks…” Sven spoke as he appeared next to Serenade.

“An apparition then? An illusion?” She asked.

Sven shook his head. “It seems real enough. I think he can make his shadow fight for him, a common power for demons…”

“How pathetic, first his minions fight for him, and now his shadow? What a coward, he can’t face anything on his own…” Serenade shook her head and chuckled.

“Don’t underestimate this shadow though, even if it is only a fraction of his power…” Sven reminded.

“Yeah, yeah…” Serenade groaned.

The shadow quickly rushed her swiping with his powerful claws. Serenade dodged his first attack, observing him as she did. She dodged another before realizing while he was strong, he was fairly slow. His large muscles and height made it difficult for him to keep up with her. She wondered if the real thing was similar in that regard.

Not one to rely too much on defense and dodging, Serenade quickly switched to offense. Swiping at the shadow, she made contact with her left claw, but the shadow managed to keep his momentum up and counter attacked. She ducked under its first swipe, but it quickly made a downward swipe which she stopped by grabbing its wrist.

It retaliated by swinging its other claw which Serenade also grabbed. The two stood in a struggle as he tried to break free. Serenade realized his strength was too much for her to hold back in this fashion so she released him and jumped backward to avoid a followup attack.

“A tough kid isn’t he?” Serenade asked Sven.

“A remarkable warrior, but it takes more than strength to win a fight,” Sven commented.

Serenade nodded as she dodged yet another attack. “Yeah, he’s slower than a retard trying to do math…”

“A crude analogy, but I agree…” Sven chuckled as the two locked hands once again. Serenade struggled for a moment, but she held her ground as the shadow tried to break free.

“You’re about as weak as you are ugly…” Serenade stated.

The shadow of course, didn’t respond and the two broke their lock, but Serenade took advantage of the moment to quickly swipe at it, hitting its chest. She chuckled as she blocked another attempt by it to swipe at her, but she was then taken by surprise as it kicked her with its mighty foot, sending her backward with a grunt. It followed its kick with a swipe at her, scratching her armor.

Bringing herself back to a proper stand, Serenade grunted. “Oh? You got tricks do you? That’s really cute…”

The shadow cracked its knuckles before making a fist from its claw and swung at her. She moved her head out of the way from the first punch, but it followed with a second that connected with her helmet. She stumbled backward but the shadow didn’t relent, it followed its attack with eight more swings, each connecting, the final one placing a crack in the girl’s helmet.

Her head was ringing slightly, but Serenade put some distance between herself and the shadow as she assessed the situation. Her armor had cracked, but being as it was magically conjured, she could conjure some more when she had more energy later, so it was hardly of consequence, but it did give a more accurate depiction of the shadow’s true strength. It could put cracks even in her armor with just its fists.

Regardless, Serenade wasn’t about to admit she had underestimated him, it wasn’t in her to admit her enemies strong points.

She noted that despite its blows being powerful, they too were fairly slow just like its claw swipes. Carefully she planned her counter attack.

When it swung again, she moved her head and delivered a punch to its chest. It didn’t seem to do as much damage to it as its punch did to her, as it didn’t even stumble.

“Sturdy little bastard aren’t you?” She asked.

It took advantage of her failed punch to knock her down once more with a swift kick to her chest. Falling on her bottom, Serenade rolled out of the way from an attempt to stomp on her. “I’m really getting tired of your bullshit, you know that?” Serenade said.

She picked herself up and decided it was better to use her power rather than keep trying to go hand-to-hand with him.

Concentrating, she conjured up a black ball of energy and hurled it at him. To her surprise, he backhanded it, sending it back toward her. She stepped aside to avoid impact as she growled in frustration. “You’re full of surprises, aren’t you? Well, let’s see you deflect this…”

This time, Serenade conjured up a black energy spear and hurled it at the shadow. It attempted to block it by crossing its arms, but the spear pierced through its right arm, causing it to groan in pain. It grabbed the energy spear and pulled it out, causing the spear to vanish into thin air, but black smoke continued to exit the wound.

“Didn’t like that, did you?” Serenade chuckled.

The creature ignored its wound and came back at her with its claws drawn, swinging furiously. Serenade noted that it was far sloppier now that it was injured, as it began increasingly easier to dodge it.

She made another spear in her hand and stabbed the creature in the shoulder. It groaned and gripped the wound as more black smoke left its body. Now with its second injury, it moved even slower and its attacks were even less accurate. Serenade now saw this as an easy fight. With a few swipes of her claws, she ripped the shadow apart, eventually causing it to fall to one knee as smoke came out of its entire body before it vanished into a cloud of smoke.

As it vanished, Serenade tapped her helmet, making it vanish to reveal her face. An eyepatch covered her injured eye, but her face was quite beautiful regardless. With a casual flick, her long golden hair with red tips cascaded over her body. Her shining red eye glancing around the emptiness around her. Finally she called out to her foe. “Do you always let your minions weaken up your foes that you’re too afraid to face yourself? What kind of demon lord hides behind all these tricks to avoid his opponents?”

There was a deafening silence.

“Why not fight me yourself, coward? I grow tired of fighting your pathetic minions.” Serenade called out.

As if to answer her question, the darkness around her began to fade away, bringing her back to the room she was previously standing in, the concealed figure still sitting upon his throne. She grinned as she looked in his direction. “Well, looks like you finally decided to grow a pair and face me yourself then?”

His voice was deep and raspy, but also contorted, as if two were speaking at the same time. “I have long since waited for this day…”

Serenade stood silently as he lifted his claw from under his cloak and ripped the entire thing off, revealing that there was a large slice through his abdomen that had been healed with a black leathery material that was obviously demon flesh, tons of small tendrils sticking out of the wound moving gently as they looked to have a mind of their own. Serenade felt nostalgic seeing the wound, remembering it vividly the moment she saw it. The last time she had seen it, he was completely cut in half, but it looked like he had been put back together via demonic power.

Sure enough, he reached up and lifted his helmet, tossing it aside, showing his face, half of which was shrouded in a black energy, the other half looking quite familiar. A scowl on his face, she noted one of his fangs was broken. His body was covered in grey scales, and it was clear he was a dragon, or at least he was in life. In death he had become something else entirely.

Serenade began to chuckle as he revealed his face. “Well, well, well… I didn’t expect to see you again…”

“The opposite is true for myself… I have long waited for you to return…” He spoke.

“You’ve waited in vain.” Serenade grinned.

“Two thousand years… That’s how long I’ve waited…” He continued, ignoring her attempt at insulting him.

“I see you’re even uglier now than you were back then…” She smirked.

“The same can be said about you… I heard of your defeat by Glitch, and I see your outward appearance is starting to match the ugliness inside of you.” He pointed with his claw to her eyepatch.

“Sweetheart, I could still beat you in a beauty contest…” Serenade waved her finger teasingly.

“This moment… I have waited for so long for it… Two thousand years I have trained, I have honed my abilities, I have been patient. I knew if I positioned myself to become the demon lord, you would eventually show yourself again, it was only a matter of time…” He said.

Serenade just yawned at him.

“You… You murdered my entire clan, killed me and left my sister for dead… The hatred I had for you, it spared me from truly dying, it festered as I laid there dying, and turned me into a demon. I swore I would avenge my clan, I would kill Serenade Dazzle…” He said.

Sven appeared next to Serenade with a confused expression. “You two know each other?”

Serenade nodded as a smile came to her face. “Only briefly… He is Ash, at one point known as the blade of Dragon Scar, but that was before I sliced him in half…”

“What my sister ever saw in you, I’ll never know. Cinder was always too curious of a child…” Ash said.

“Curiosity killed the cat or the dragon in this case…” Serenade joked.

“It was a mistake to trust her foolishness. A mistake, I intend to correct today, she may have saw good in you, but I always knew you were rotten to the core. A beast that is only worth being skinned and hung as a trophy…” Ash said.

Serenade laughed and spoke in Draconian. “Sal eta diova, drugen.”

Ash’s face turned more sinister at those words. “You dare taint the native tongue of dragons by speaking it with your lips?”

Sven whistled in admiration. “Calling him a halfling? Quite bold a move there…”

It was well known among dragons that being referred to as a halfling was a deep insult, intended to imply their prowess as a dragon was nothing, that they were merely a dragon in namesake only.

Ash stood up from his throne and placed a claw upon the hilt of his mighty sword. Slowly, he lifted it with a single claw, it was an impressive size, and the fact that he could hold it in only one claw spoke volumes of his strength. He rested the blade upon his shoulder as he stepped down from his throne. “I have waited so long for this chance, I intend to savor every moment of it…”

Serenade laughed as she stepped forward with a grin. “Seldom in life do we get to experience such exquisite pleasures, and even more rare do we get to experience them twice… Killing you was such a pleasure, that I am going to thoroughly enjoy doing it again… I can’t imagine what it must be like to be as pathetic as you are… Waiting over two thousand years… Just to die a second time…”

“You will not leave this chamber, Serenade Dazzle…” Ash spoke loudly.

Ash moved about as slowly as his shadow did. His impressive muscles definitely slowed him down, but his massive blade certainly didn’t help either. He wandered to the other side of the room far away from Serenade and swung at the air. He continued to do this a few times which left Serenade confused. She raised a brow as she circle around him swinging at nothing. Finally she laughed. “Did you forget your glasses back at Dragon Scar when I killed you the first time? You’re not even remotely close to hitting me…”

Ash smirked as he placed his blade back upon his shoulder. “I was merely setting up the playing field…”

Serenade squinted in confusion. Sven appeared next to her to speak. “Something isn’t right, he saw you beat his shadow, and now he’s swinging at nothing, yet he seems confident…”

“Overconfidence means nothing…” Serenade dismissed.

Ash stood ready to fight as he gripped the hilt of his blade tightly. “Then let’s see your power, Serenade… Let’s see if you can beat me this time…”

Rolling her eyes, Serenade rushed toward him, only for him to swing his mighty blade. While it was a slow swing, it still forced her to move out of the way, but to her surprise, a shadow of Ash appeared to where she had moved to, swinging another sword. Quickly, she rolled out of the way and repositioned herself, putting some distance between the two of them.

“Illusions?” She asked Sven.

Sven shook his head. “No, they appear similar to the shadow he sent after you, capable of harming you, but they vanish after and attack… It’s strange…”

Serenade shrugged. “No matter; still just another cheap trick…”

Ash smirked at her words. “You think so?”

Serenade ignored his taunting and rushed toward him only for another shadow to appear, swinging its blade. She jumped backward to avoid it, but yet another shadow appeared, swinging once more. She dodged again, and again only for the process to repeat itself eight times. Something was wrong, he was able to conjure these shadows without any effort, he didn’t even appear to be doing anything to conjure them.

While she was busy dodging the attacks of the shadow, the real Ash brought his sword down toward her, which she only narrowly escaped.

“The echoes of the past are my strength, Serenade. I have never forgotten what you did to my family, and it has fueled me to kill you… I will avenge them, and see your skull upon the wall behind us…” He spoke.

Serenade tried to compose herself and formulate a plan. She needed to understand how his shadows worked, and think of a way to overcome them. While he was slow and likely easy to hit, she would never be able to get close enough if his shadows kept appearing out of nowhere to deflect any attempt she made at attacking him. She watched his body to see if he had any tells that would give some kind of hint toward when the shadows would appear.

While she was concentrating though, another shadow appeared behind her and swung. She ducked and kicked at it only for it to vanish before her foot even made contact. There were no signs of anything done on Ash’s part though. He didn’t appear to be doing anything to make the shadows appear, which meant they weren’t in his control, but acting autonomously. It was quite a unique demon power, but she couldn’t figure out how it worked.

“Quite a neat trick you have there…” Serenade stated as she kept her eyes on him while the two circled each other.

He nodded and smirked. “You haven’t figured out how it works yet, have you? I can tell by the look on your face…”

She sneered at him after dodging another shadow. “Regardless of how it works, it’s just another trick. Pathetic that you can’t face me directly…”

He laughed and shook his head. “A warrior must use all of the abilities at his disposal.”

Serenade had her hands full with three shadows appearing around her, each swiping at her with their blades. She dodged the first two and slashed her claw at the last one, deflecting the attack. While she was occupied, Ash swung his sword, Serenade tried to move out of the way, but the sword made contact with her armor, chipping a piece of it off of her shoulder. She grunted in annoyance as she rebalanced herself.

“Come on now, a warrior can not win by defending alone. If you wish to win, you must attack…” Ash teased.

“You’re just as annoying as you were back then… Though far uglier…” She growled.

“Talk is cheap,” Ash stated as he swung at her.

Serenade’s armor was grazed by the sharp blade, but she sustained no damage to her body. She stepped backward to put some distance between the two, but another shadow appeared swiping at her. It hit her in the back, and she stumbled. When Ash saw her reach the ground, he attempted to stomp on her with his foot. Foreseeing the attack she swiped with her claw and knocked his foot away. She brought herself back to a stand and focused on him.

Serenade squinted as she tried to figure out how his power worked. He seemed to be able to make a shadow appear seemingly anywhere.

“What’s wrong, can’t understand my abilities?” He laughed.

She growled at him taunting her. If she could figure out how it worked, she could make the fight end quickly.

Another shadow appeared behind her which she ducked from its slash. However, when she noticed it only swung at her in a horizontal slash instead of a vertical one which would have been harder for her to dodge, she questioned if the shadows had limitations.

Curiously, she stepped back to the same spot where the shadow had appeared and sure enough, it appeared again, using the exact same attack. It would have been pointless to do the exact same attack twice in a row when she would have seen it coming.

Serenade recalled Ash’s words: The echoes of the past are my strength.

At first, she assumed he was referring to the hardships he went through that had made him stronger, but she wondered if there was a deeper meaning behind it.

Recalling him slashing about pointlessly at the start of the fight, she focused hard and remembered him in some of the positions where the shadows were appearing. Could there be something to that?

I was merely setting up the playing field…

Those words connected in her mind. It all made sense now. She stood up and addressed Ash directly. “I see…”

“So you understand now?” He smirked.

“You leave a trail behind you… You can recall shadows of the past, places you’ve already been…” She explained.

He nodded with a grin. “Exactly. I can recall a shadow of anywhere I’ve been at any time. So I can attack from the past and the present. Meaning, I’m unbeatable.”

Serenade stepped backward as Sven appeared next to her. “He can attack from the past? That’s a tough one… He can fight me from the past, and he can fight me from the present…” “She said.

“Sounds impossible to beat an advantage like that…” Sven commented.

Serenade shook her head before dodging a few more attacks. A plan was already forming in her head after the attacks. She saw one flaw in his abilities, one weakness that she was certain that she could exploit. Looking around the room, she noted the lava around all of the walls. It looked as if it was only ankle-deep, and with her armor, she would be protected from it, and instantly it became a part of her plan.

Following that thought, she peered at the walls and was certain she could utilize them as well.

“We should lure him out of this room into the pathway we came in from,” Sven suggested.

Serenade shook her head as she focused on Ash who was approaching. “No doubt he’s set that area up too. Going there would be pointless…”

“So what’s your plan?” Sven asked.

“He can attack from the past, that means I have to attack thinking toward the future…” Serenade explained as she dodged another shadow’s assault.

“I don’t get it…” Sven said.

“It’s simple, I have to attack him from places he’s never been, or rather… Places he would have had no reason to go…” Serenade smirked.

“Huh?” Sven was naturally confused, but he decided to trust her instincts.

Quickly, Serenade bolted toward the lava in the room and stepped into it. With some distance between her and Ash, she quickly conjured up a dark energy ball and hurled it at him. He was able to deflect it with his blade, but it was clear her thoughts were correct. He lacked ranged attacks without his shadows so he had no choice but to pursue her into the lava. If he stayed at the distance he was, she could just keep throwing ranged attacks at him.

Once he set foot into the lava, he swung his sword, only for Serenade to dodge it. She would have to be quick though, she knew if she allowed him to stay in the lava too long, he eventually would have shadows there that could fight her from all sides. She hated to admit it, but his advice was right: she couldn’t just defend, she needed to attack.

Serenade took advantage of his slow speed and slashed at him, scratching his chest. She quickly followed it up with a second scratch, causing him to stumble backward. He pointed his sword toward her and thrusted it, but Serenade quickly moved and placed her foot atop of the blade, stepping on it before it hit her. He fumbled as Serenade ran up the sword and slashed at his face, scratching it.

He swiped at her with his own claw, but Serenade hopped off of him and pushed herself off from a nearby wall. She came down with both claws and slashed at him, cutting him deeply in the shoulder.

The damage to him was enough to make him drop his blade and grip the wound that was now spurting black ooze. “Fuck!” He hissed.

“Your power is limited to the past, which is funny… Because that’s where you’re always going to stay… You’re old news.” Serenade smirked before kicking some lava into his face.

He growled as he shook his head to clear his vision, but it was too late. Serenade went in low and cut his leg clean off. The dragon groaned in agony before tumbling, landing in the lava, half his body submerged in it as he panted heavily.

Serenade walked around him casually and reached into the lava, lifting his massive sword slowly from it.

Ash spoke between breaths. “Beaten by you again… I can’t believe it…”

Serenade managed to get the heavy sword’s hilt lifted from the ground. “Savor it… You get to be killed by the demon lord…”

“No matter what you do… No matter how many you kill, you’ll always be garbage… Complete garbage. One day another demon will dethrone you… Your life will always be filled with misery and looking over your shoulder… You'll never know peace, Serenade Dazzle, you'll never be able to rest...” Ash stated.

“You bore me…” She said before swinging the giant blade, cutting his head clean off.

The body slowly dissipated into a black smoke like all of the other demons she had killed.

Once the deed was done, Serenade stabbed the sword into the ground and gripped the hilt tightly. With a bit of force, she was able to break the black obsidian hilt off of the weapon and observed it. Her prize for killing Ash, though she would have gladly done so anyway.

“The hilt… The other piece you needed to forge a hell weapon…” Sven commented.

“Victory is its own reward, but new toys don’t hurt, I suppose.” Serenade tapped her helmet making it vanish once more as she examined the hilt.

“Then let’s make the final trek of our journey, I am eager to see the rise of the new demon lord.” Sven nodded.

The door to a club opened and the bouncer looked at the unicorn entering up and down. He was disheveled and messy with a medium-length mane that looked as if it hadn’t been brushed in years. His narrow glasses sat upon his face semi-crooked, and they looked smudged. The bouncer instantly recognized him and waved him through.

The Unicorn nodded and smirked as he walked in. Several mares dancing caught a glimpse of him and gave looks of disapproval. In his life, he was always the kind of stallion who didn’t attract the ladies, but he didn’t care. His name was Eight Ball, and he couldn’t care less for the appeals of the female gender or the male gender for that matter. There was only one thrill that did anything for him, the same thrill that he lived for, that he couldn’t live without.

Eight Ball found his way to the bartender and spoke loudly over the music. “I’m trying to get in on the games.”

The bartender nodded and gestured toward the backdoor. “I’ll meet you back there and let you down. Going to take their coin again today, Eight?”

Eight shrugged. “We’ll see…”

The bartender went toward the backdoor and unlocked it, allowing Eight through. Once in the back of the facility, they both walked through the maintenance area of the building until they came to the basement stairwell. Once they reached the stairwell, the bartender nodded to Eight Ball. “Good luck.”

“Luck is always on my side…” Eight Ball grinned as he walked down the staircase.

When he found his way to the basement, he saw quite a few familiar faces, but a few new ones playing at various tables. The basement was used as sort of a game room where gamblers could make high-stakes wagers. Looking around, he saw a large-looking stallion and decided that would be his target. The stallion was at least twice his size, making him the perfect chump. Judging by his jovial laugh and demeanor, he was having quite a good streak of beginner’s luck, which was perfect for Eight Ball; the perfect stooge.

Clearing his throat, he approached the table, and naturally, all of the others moved aside to allow him to sit. He had been there so many times, that everyone knew the drill when Eight Ball showed up to play.

“What’s the deal? Who the hell are you?” The stallion at the table grunted.

Eight Ball adjusted his glasses and smiled wryly. He didn’t even need to speak, as one of the other stallions in the room spoke on his behalf.

“That’s Eight Ball, the master of chance.”

The large stallion blinked a few times before looking over Eight Ball and laughed. “This squirt? You’ve got to be kidding me…”

Eight Ball reached into his saddle bag and retrieved a set of cards. “Don’t let appearances fool you. I see you’re quite a gambler.”

“What of it?” The stallion grunted.

“What’s your name?” Eight Ball asked.

“Bronze Hoof.” He blinked.

“Well, Bronze… How about we play a stallion’s game…” Eight asked.

“What did you have in mind?” Bronze laughed.

Eight placed a deck down and spoke plainly. “Risk or reward, you’re familiar I take it?”

Bronze laughed even louder. “Who isn’t?”

The game used a special deck of 180 cards, where the cards were split evenly between the players. Then the players took turns making plays to try and win all of the cards from the other player. Certain cards beat other cards, and certain cards would be more useful under certain situations. The rules were fairly complex, but the general idea was that playing it safe would take a lot longer to win cards, and riskier moves could have bigger payoffs, thus the name of the game.

“So, you want to play?” Eight asked.

“What’s the wager?” Bronze questioned.

Eight reached into his bag once more and produced a large sack of bits. Placing it on the table, it made a loud clatter making many jaws drop in the room. “80,000, sound good?”

“That’s a lot of money to lose, don’t you think?” Bronze laughed.

“If you’re afraid, just back out now,” Eight said.

Bronze grunted and placed a hoof upon the deck. “Bring it on, squirt. I’ll be more than happy to take your money.”

“We’ll see…” Eight stated as he began dealing out the cards, a plain expression on his face.

From the corner of the room, a cloaked stallion glanced over at the game, catching Eight Ball’s eye for just a moment. He seemed to be more of an observer rather than a player, but Eight tried to pay no mind to him and focused on the game instead.

The first play, Eight Ball put down a fairly weak hand, which was instantly defeated by Bronze. With a grin on his face, Bronze collected his cards, though Eight didn’t seem fazed by it.

The second hand went about the same, Eight throwing down a purposefully weak hand, which goaded Bronze into a sense of superiority.

After three or four losing hands, Bronze laughed loudly. “Maybe you overestimated yourself small fry?”

Eight just gestured for him to make the next move.

Bronze grinned and placed down his cards, but to his shock, Eight placed down a very odd arrangement that ultimately resulted in his victory this hand. He squinted and looked at Eight with intrigue. “That’s a pretty rare hand to pull off…”

“Maybe for someone like you…” Eight stated plainly.

Bronze grunted and the two continued their game. One hand, two hands, three, soon up to eight hands where Eight Ball won each one with relative ease. Bronze looked at his deck realizing it was getting rather small. A small bead of sweat ran down his neck as he realized he was about to lose everything he spent all night winning.

“Come on, play…” Eight yawned.

Bronze realized his only chance of winning was to now play riskier moves. With his deck dwindling down in cards, he needed a big comeback.

His next move was met with a strategic counter by Eight Ball, and the stallion ended up taking eight more of his cards. Another two hands ended the same. Bronze was effectively sweating bullets now.

After a few more hands, Eight controlled the majority of the cards in the game, and bronze was down to only a few cards left in his hand. Looking at them, he noticed something after peering at the table. With the cards Eight had played there was no way he could win, it was physically impossible. He blinked when he realized that Eight had saved his best cards for last.

Laying down his hand Bronze cursed loudly. “FUCK! YOU LITTLE SNAKE! YOU MUST HAVE CHEATED!”

A group of stallions held Bronze back as Eight Ball collected the money with a grin on his face. “No cheats here, Mr. Bronze… I just know how to play the game. If you couldn’t handle the stakes, you shouldn’t have played.”

“I KNOW YOU HAD TO HAVE CHEATED SOMEHOW! NO ONE IS THAT GOOD! YOU LITTLE SHIT!” Bronze growled as the group held him back.

“No, but perhaps you’re merely that bad…” Eight taunted.

Bronze growled in retaliation, but it was no use, the stallions that held him back were too strong for him to overpower on his own.

Once Eight Ball had collected his prize, he nodded to the group. “It was a pleasure taking your money, Bronze. Maybe next time you should practice a little before staking it all on one game?”

He growled in anger as Eight Ball walked out of the room and up the stairs with his bag now twice as heavy as before. He had had a small amount of fun, but it wasn’t the same thrill anymore. Taking money from chumps amused him, sure, but it didn’t give him the same high it once did. He was growing bored of such simple challenges.

Once he was up the stairs, he noticed the strange hooded figure was standing at the top.

Eight Ball looked behind him and pondered how it was possible to have gotten there. Carefully, he approached the hooded figure and stopped in front of him. “Did you want to play too?” He asked.

The figure looked at his saddle bag and spoke plainly. “That’s a lot of money, what do you plan on spending it on?”

Eight Ball shrugged. “Not much. Not like there’s anything worth buying these days…”

“So you play for the thrill of the game then?” The figure asked.

“Something like that… I play because I like the thrill of risking it all, the thrill of putting everything on the line…” Eight Ball said.

The figure nodded at him. “So, you like risks then…”

Eight frowned as he replied. “Yes, but it’s not enough anymore…”

“You want bigger thrills… I can feel it.” The figure stated.

“Yeah…” Eight raised a brow in curiosity.

“How about the thrill of when lives are at stake?” The figure asked.

Eight’s eyes widened at the suggestion. He had never considered it, but hearing it at that moment, nothing sounded more amazing. Lives hanging in the balance from the game? The greatest stakes ever.

“What is it you’re getting at?” Eight Ball asked, wishing he would just get to the point already.

“Tell me… How do you win so easily? Indulge my curiosity.” The figure replied.

Eight Ball shrugged. “It’s not that hard. You goad your target into playing their best up front, then when you start to win, it makes your opponent panic and play sloppy. Strategy is half psychology after all. In games of chance though? I am just really really lucky…”

“A talent like yours is wasted ripping off drunks in a run-down old club…” The figure said.

The stallion nodded. “So, what can you do to make the thrills better?”

Removing their hood, the figure revealed the face of a changeling, one with an eye patch over one of his eyes. “So, so much… You can’t even imagine…”

After the defeat of Ash, Serenade headed toward the final approach. She was guided by a black apparition that told her to follow it toward the hell forge. After some time, she approached a large crater filled with lava. There was a large rune above the pool with ancient text that Serenade couldn’t read, and around the cater, it was decorated with skeletons arranged in ominous ways.

“This must be the hell forge…” Sven spoke.

Serenade nodded as she looked into the pool of lava. With the wave of her hand, she recalled the spine and the hilt she had acquired and held one in each hand. She looked over the two and shrugged. She tossed them both into the pool without much thought.

The pool bubbled and boiled before erupting. Serenade shielded her face with her arm, and when the lava subsided, a black spirit floated above the pool looking down at her. It was massive in size and seemed to be made of some kind of black smoke. It opened its massive maw to speak to her. “Serenade Dazzle… One who wishes to sit upon the throne of the demon lord… You have passed the trials of hell, and proven yourself worthy of a weapon forged from the underworld. I present you with Hell’s Lash…”

Floating up from the pool was a whip finely carved from the spine of the beast she had slain, with the obsidian hilt she had taken from Ash. The tip of the whip split into three ends, all of which on fire. Serenade reached forward and took the hilt in her hand, gripping it tightly before giving it a few swings to practice with it. Just holding the weapon, she could feel hell’s power coursing through the weapon. Its power was immense.

“Amazing… A weapon of hell… I never imagined I would actually see one myself. I hear tales of their might, but they are rarely seen,” Sven spoke.

Serenade looked up at the spirit that continued to speak. “Such a weapon can only be wielded by one who has proven their world to the underworld such as yourself. You are one step closer to becoming the demon lord, the supreme master of all demons… The path before you is a difficult one, but with the lash at your side, you have the tools needed to pave it.”

Serenade looked down at the whip and nodded as she flicked it and released her hand, causing it to vanish. She could recall it at any time when she needed it, and she was certain it would prove useful in her eventual fight with Sunset Shimmer.

“I seek a portal to the human world, I wish to exact my revenge on the one who defeated me and knocked me down on my path to greatness,” Serenade said to the spirit.

It nodded. “With that weapon, if you concentrate your power, you may open one here. I will forge the connection between your home world and the human one once the portal is open. Be warned Serenade Dazzle, a majority of your power will be consumed to create such a gateway, and it will open be open temporarily. Decide wisely before you do so…”

Serenade looked back at Sven who floated behind her. “I guess this is goodbye, Sven.”

He nodded and bowed. “It was an honor to see the girl who will eventually be my master. In life, I wanted to be king, but in death, I shall accept serving one stronger than myself. Power is learned through watching those with experience after all.”

“Good to know that I can count on you when I come back here. You’ll make a fine addition to my army.” Serenade smirked.

He laughed as he gave a positive hand gesture with his claw. “Go exact our revenge. First Sunset Shimmer, then Twilight Sparkle will pay for what she has done to both of us. I look forward to the day that she is slain. So long as you do that, I will gladly serve you forever.”

Serenade grinned. “Consider it already done. Twilight Sparkle will pay for all she’s done, I don’t intend to kill her slowly either, I want to watch her suffer… Then after she begs me for death, I’ll draw her suffering out just a little longer while I kill her friends. When I have done all of that, then I will kill her…”

“Spoken exactly like a true demon.” Sven laughed heartily.

She nodded and stepped away before conjuring her new whip into her right hand. She held it tightly and closed her eyes for a brief moment. She inhaled and exhaled as she focused her power. Serenade siphoned as much of her power as she could into her right hand, feeling the energy go into her whip. She breathed and focused as she lifted her arm and flicked the weapon in a circular motion before coming downward.

A trail of energy was left behind where the whip moved, and eventually, a circle was formed before a large flash. When the flash subsided a dark purple portal floated in place where the whip had made the motion. The portal was ready, Serenade stared at it with wonder. This portal would take her to her greatest enemy, it would deliver her to where she needed to be to exact her revenge. After so long in prison, so long waiting for her moment to begin her plans, that it was almost unreal.

Beyond that portal was Sunset Shimmer, somewhere in the human world. Somewhere in that world was the woman who had scarred her body and ruined her conquest of Equestria, and Serenade would find her.

The woman stepped forward and reached her hand toward the portal, she could feel the energy emanating from it; another world trying to pull her in. She couldn’t lie to herself, it excited her, a whole new world to eventually conquer.

With intrigue in her eyes, Serenade stepped through the portal and instantly felt a strong pulling sensation. Around her colors swirled, and the world itself distorted. Her armor faded away, leaving only a naked body as she traveled between worlds. It was clear she was not powerful enough of a demon to use the armor outside of hell, but that didn’t matter, she would wield it again one day. She could see the human world begin to form around her, and sure enough within a good eight seconds, she arrived in the human world, and dropped onto the ground.

Lifting her head up she wiped off her face and looked around her. There were trees everywhere, it was clear she was in a forest. Standing up slowly, her long blonde hair cascaded over her nude form. She peered around her at the world she was now in. She had made it, she was finally in the human world. Now it wouldn’t be long before she would unleash hell upon it.

“I’m coming for you, Sunset Shimmer… You can’t hide forever…” Serenade threatened out loud.

I know, update on a Monday? What gives? So from here on out, chapters are going to be published upon completion regardless of the day they are made. No more Friday exclusive updates. We're approaching Part III of Act VII, which is going to be the finale of the entire story. I hope to have the story finished by the end of this year. We'll see if I can do that.