Thy Flesh Consumed

Chapters

Prologue
Chapter One: Little Horn is Born.
Chapter Two: Awakening
Chapter Three: A new path
Chapter Four: Return to Darkness
Chapter 5: The Black Tide
Chapter Six: A New Beginning
Chapter Seven: Alliances Forged in Blood.
Chapter Eight: Darkness
Chapter Nine: Blood Pact.
Chapter Ten: Germaney
Chapter Eleven: The Demonic Arts.
Chapter Twelve: Baron
Chapter Fourteen: Return
Chapter Thirteen: Nocte Tenebrae.

Prologue

Thy Flesh Consumed,

Prologue:

The guards watched slowly as the sunset, it had been a full year since Gorrog had been defeated at his citadel and since imprisoned in an endless sleep, no demons of any kind had been spotted in the time since, except in the memories and dreams of those whose lives had been torn apart by their devastation. Princess Luna had ordered the construction of a monument to the war and the lives lost in it, an Alicorn locked in combat with a Hell Knight.

Turning to his partner Stalwart Shield wondered why they guarding the frozen form of the Hell Knight, it had been over a year and he had not moved a muscle, not even to breath, but until he grew cold they were to guard his body. Stalwart had him chained by the legs and arms.

He had volunteered to command the garrison that guarded Gorrog, but his watch had ended and was returning to his quarters to get a nights rest before he resumed his duties the next day. A veteran of every major battle in the Demonic-Equestrian War, Stalwart was an excellent commander and had been the closet companion to the legendary Captain Stahl, who had been the first pony to stand against a demon army and win.

Stalwart stopped dwelling in the past and focused on the present, the glass of water on his chest jumped and he stared at it.

“Did anyone else see that?”

“No, Captain, but I sure heard it.”

“Thanks, Shadow Dancer” he said to the black unicorn next to him. He was somewhat of an enigma, not much was known about him except that he was one of the survivors of Fillydelphia, leading a small group of ponies out of the city as the demons were occupied crushing the Royal Guard garrison, and moving onto slaughtering the population.

The glass jumped again, spilling some of the water onto the floor, and Stalwart swore he heard a ripping noise, than silence. He put his ear to the outside wall, and heard heavy breathing, of some large animal.

He gestured to his fellow soldiers to return to their daytime posts and returned his ear to the wall.

“Stalwart, it’s a minotaur, he is injured,” but stalwart was puzzled that the minotaur had ventured this close the base, Princess Luna had told him personally that the base was virtually unknown to even the native Equestrians. Stalwart intended to interrogate him about how he found the camp, but judging by his face, he assumed that he came here under great duress.

The minotaur looked over his shoulder and stared pleadingly into Stalwart’s eyes.

“Please help me, I know you border guards have done it before, for other minotaurs.”

The desperation in his eyes and the fact that he didn’t know what they were doing convinced Stalwart sufficiently enough to let him in, but he would not go anywhere new Gorrog.

“What drove you over here” he asked, after the gates had been opened to allow him entrance.

“You have no idea; they were terrible monsters, each one towering over me, their faces and bodies black… except one, his eyes burned like a pair of malevolent suns. They’re coming.”

The terror of this minotaur reminded him of terror of the first ponies who fought the demons. He was beside himself with fear, constantly looking over his shoulder.

“Hey you guys take him into the barracks, keep him safe, I’ll go and check the surrounding country side.”

He climbed up the steps to the top of the wall, it was wooden and made of thick oak posts dug into the ground each about eight inches thick, crowned on the top by sharpened tips, and archers walked on a wood boardwalk that was connected to the walls. This gave him a protected place to watch over the surrounding land as it was relatively flat, except for the large mountain behind them. Which the camp was in fact built into. It also served as a border watch post and due to its resident unicorn’s ability to send letters directly to Luna immediately allowed this outpost to be well informed to what was happening.

Stahl took out a small set of binoculars and scanned the area around them, he saw no changes, other than the footprints of the minotaur ran up the path leading to the camp.

It was dark, out as the moon rose into the sky and Stalwart relaxed his guard slightly, his experiences in the war not letting him relax it fully.

A red flash caught his attention, pulling up his binoculars, Stalwart saw the demon, it was massive, red and holding a red fireball of immense proportions, dwarfing those used by Imps and bigger than a Hell Knights.

Then his gaze rested on the eyes of the monster, he saw their red glow, the shear hate behind them, pulsing and filling him with dread.

“Raise the alarm, they have returned.”

The soldiers looked at him, the dread in their eyes, demanding to know that he was lying, that this was some cruel joke. But the sudden red light streaking over the fields towards them only confirmed Stalwart’s statement in their minds.

“All Soldiers battle stations. The demons have returned and have brought a new type of demon, archers to the walls, everyone else concentrate at the gate.”

The ground shook as the demon ran towards them, its eyes moving up and down as it ran, its heavy steps shaking the ground.

“Brace yourselves” he yelled as the demon closed the gap between them. He could finally make out its face, its eyes were the most prominent feature he could see until it entered the light of the torches and he saw the large of horns that curled around its head in front of its face. It had a smooth face than a Hell Knight but for its nose, which was a single triangle shaped nostril.

Stalwart jumped off the wall as the demon charged them, being peppered by arrows as it ran up the hill side towards them. He felt the ground shake as an explosion tore into the wall close to the barracks.

That was all the distraction the demon needed to rip the gate off its hinges, its massive bulk now fully visible to them, the bulging muscles that covered it put a Hell Knight to shame. The flames its eyes, caused the soldiers around Stalwart, veterans of the Demon War to cower. Than it spoke, its voice deep, hard and full of fire.

“So this is where they are holding Gorrog, secluded but not heavily guarded. I am surprised but not impressed, Abkesh move in and find Gorrog.”

One of the most infamous demons of the Demon War appeared next to the demon, in a flash of red light. A black Hell Knight stood next to the demon, shorter by a good five feet. Now they had thought the Hell Knights were big but this thing towered over even them.

“What are you” said Stalwart in awe of this massive demon and taking a step back as its gaze was directed towards him.

“I am the Baron” and with that he conjured a fireball and incinerated a pony who was trying to edge close enough to stab him with a spear.

The Black Hell Knight disappeared into a flash of fire and only the Baron stood in front of them, one to forty were the odds, all the troops handpicked from the best companies in the entire Equestrian Army.

The Baron strode forward raising his fist and slamming it into Stalwart, knocking his off his feet and sending him though the wall into barracks. Looking he saw the blood splatter that covered the barracks, looking up he saw the minotaur’s entrails holding him to the rafters of the barracks a glowing pentagram, surrounded him.

The stench of death pervaded the air and Stalwart looked at his rear legs, one was broken yet he couldn’t feel it. Crawling towards the door he tried to ignore the screams of his fellow ponies as the Baron signal handily butchered them. He had to reach the letter, the black ribboned one. This information had to reach the Princesses, they had to be warned. This had to be dealt with before it sparked a second Demon War.

A roar of pure rage and hatred, erupted from the depths of the mine, and it intermingled with the screams of the dying to reproduce the feel that the battles of the war had. He looked and saw across the path, the message room, and on the desk the letters that would be sent to Luna and the High Command directly, but ether way he had to get to those letters. The green flame that would transport them to the Princess was already lit, but the distance which he might have covered in a feet short steps before, was agonizing long as he struggled forward, his broken legs hobbling him, he picked himself up and raised his broken leg pulling himself along. Grabbing the door frame, he pulled himself inside and collapsed onto the floor.

Grabbing the desk he pulled himself up, sitting down, he grabbed the black ribbon letter and held a corner of it to the green flame, and let go as it immediately burst into ashes.

Leaning back into the chair he closed his eyes, the deathly silence was strangely comforting.

He didn’t notice the footsteps of the Hell Knights outside as they ferried Gorrog’s still form out into the open. The Baron stood outside the mountain entrance but due to his size he couldn’t enter, so he waited as the Lord of Hell Knights was brought before him.

“Abkesh, prepare your brethren, Gorrog shall reawaken and he shall raise his army once again.”

A pentagram formed on the ground, Gorrog’s limb’s in each point and his head in the top most point. The pentagram in skull glowed in unison, his body regaining the power it had once possessed as Hell reawakened the furnace of fury and rage that sustained him.

“Arise Gorrog, Lord of Hell Knights and heir to the power of Hell, Arise.”

Stalwart felt the a sudden dread fill him, the monster who had killed his friend had returned, and a new one had slaughtered his fellow soldiers, yet something calmed him, soothed his anger and let him slip into a quiet sleep.

Gorrog, open his black eyes, he felt the presence of his guards and another demon, far more powerful than them. Shaking himself he rose, and froze staring. In front of him, stood a Baron of Hell.

“I thought your kind had passed from Hell”

I thought you were dead, things change Gorrog, now is not the place to inform you, we must escape here, as I am certain the ponies sent word to the other ponies.”

“Gorrog, they have returned, your greatest enemy, even as we talk they prepare to invade this world.”

Gorrog’s jaw dropped, he wished they had let him sleep.

Chapter One: Little Horn is Born.

Gorrog had been watching The Baron warily ever since they had left the decimated outpost where he was held. His strength was slowly returning to him, and as far as he could tell, they were headed away from any pony settlements, and were building sizable gap between them and the outpost.

A couple rocks tumbled down the path as Gorrog put his foot down and looked down, they were taking a roundabout route to his fortress to cause as much confusion to their whereabouts as possible. They were taking a path through the mountains, which would bring close to the Griffon Kingdom, which as Abkesh had informed him was risking exposure to a second nation, but Gorrog and the Baron had both agreed that it was better than having the full force of the Equestrian military brought down on them.

The Baron had impressed Gorrog with his skills as a warrior, and in his size. He was considerably taller than the Hell Knights, about fifteen feet tall he was stood half again as tall as a Hell Knight and was very muscular. But Gorrog was suspicious of him, as he was the first Baron alive for a long time.

“Gorrog, Baron I see a pony, it is going a different way than us but, it’s dangerously close.”

They all looked down upon the lone pony and his lonely walk, with a sack over his back. Than the Baron pointed and said.

“It moved”

“What did?”

“The sack on his back, it bulged outward and then retraced.”

Gorrog watched the pony with keen interest; he shifted his weight and wondered if it was a good idea to explore his discovery. He looked down on the pony from their vantage point and noticed the small dirt path he was walking on, his thoughts were fixated on the sack, curious at what was inside it and the chance to find out about the situation of his current enemies was very important.

“We should take this pony now, before he gets to a village, otherwise they will track us down, and might even send search teams out for us.”

“Gorrog, that is a useless waste of time, we need to get back the Hell Gate and for you to reopen it. Every second we waste, makes it ever more likely well be discovered.”

“Baron, we will be discovered either way, it is only a matter of time before a Pegasus does a sweep over us and reports back to their higher ups, so why not indulge in a little expedition and discover knowledge of our current enemies?”

“As you will.”

Gorrog looked at the pony, his back was turned to them, and the light in the sky was dying, so surprising him would be easy, so long as he was quiet. But he had also infiltrated a city on high alert to a demonic assault, so one lone pony would be easy.

He vaulted over the overhang and slid down the sloop, his large feet, kicked up a few rocks and they went tumbling down with him.

He followed the pony for several minutes always staying behind the last rise or in the larger dips in the ground as he stalked his prey. The pony wasn’t aware of him at all, as he moved in for the kill. Than he saw it.

The village spouted out of nowhere, in the hilly environment it was easy to miss, but something was wrong with it. His nostrils flared and he took a strong whiff off the air. Something he had never smelt before was permeating the air, yet he couldn’t quite place it, sweet smelling, but also repulsive to a mortal’s nose.

He crested the hill and watched as the pony entered one of the houses at the edge of the village, which was unusually inactive. This fact alone made Gorrog suspicious but he moved ahead, careful to watch his heavy step as to not alert his prey to his presence.

He looked though one of the filth stained windows of the house and saw the pony, in one hand was a knife, in the other was a small torch, and after a good look at its facial features, recognized it as female. The smile on its face, was odd to Gorrog as it contained no warmth, but a cruel malice and a depravedness not out of place on a Maggot. He inhaled, wondering where this would go when the mare reached for the bag and untied it.

From out of the bag tumbled a foal and this extremely puzzled Gorrog, what was this mare doing?

He smiled whatever that pony had in store for the other pony, paled in comparison to what he had in store for them. His mouth opened and a stream of drool poured down it. Gorrog slowly edged around the house, and when he reached the door, slammed his foot into the ground, announcing his presence in the most dramatic way he could, he kicked the door down. He poked his head into the small house, the short roof constraining how high he could stand.

Gorrog’s gaze wandered around the darkened room, he only light coming the window he had been looking in from and the door behind him. Maneuvering his body though the small door was difficult so he just slammed though the door frame, leaving a hole in the wall and clouding the air with a cloud of dust.

He walked further into the house, alert for the mare and foal. A strange smell was in the air and he followed it, hunched over to accommodate his raw size, in a room that was despite being obviously made for pegasi to use as well as the other types of pony, was only about eight feet high.

He followed his nose further into the house and found a door blocked his way, he put his ear to the door and heard muffled panting noises, along with whimpering.

He pulled back his fist and punched the door off its hinges, breaking it in half and sending it flying into the room, putting a hole in the ceiling in the process. A cloud of dust obscured his vision yet a smell pervaded the room, the smell of fetid meat. Snorting he made his way inside, and saw a crushed cot, with a set of leather restraints on it.

Something creaked next to him and he looked down. Buried under a pile of wood from the new hole in the ceiling was the foal. Leering down on it he almost missed something trying to dart around him.

Sticking out his fist, Gorrog sent the pony into one of the stone walls of the basement. He lurched forward, conjuring a plasma ball to light the room, and got a good look at the mare, she was what the ponies would call attractive with a long neck and light pink fur, and overall she was indistinguishable from the main portion of the population. If not for the large scar that ran down the left side of her face, it was roughly similar to one that a Maggot would deliver with its pincer hand.

“The Shadow of Death has come for you.” A voice said behind Gorrog and followed by almost insane laughter.

He ignored it and reached down for the mare, and noticed a wet streak running down her leg. Lifting her up with one hand he brought her up to his face. Her neck while limp did not appear broken.

Smiling Gorrog placed her body on the ground, and started towards the pile of wood. Reaching down he lifted a thick beam and tossed it aside. Picking up the cowering foal, he brought him over to the other pony.

In his hand a fireball formed, shedding more light on the room, and the terror on the foal’s face became ever more apparent as he looked at the mare. The light catching on his curiously small horn.

“The time has come for bitter things little one.”

Gorrog reached down and using the claws that tipped his fingers cut the throat of the mare. The foal starting pushing against Gorrog’s hand as Gorrog turned towards to him, and plunged hi fingers into the wound he had cut.

He placed the foal on the ground, and using his other hand; he drew a pentagram on his forehead, using the blood of the mare as his paint.

“What are you doing?”

Gorrog ignored the question and then raising his hand started to cut a pentagram into the pony’s flesh surrounding his horn. The foal struggled screaming and thrashing but to no avail as Gorrog’s strength far outmatched his and he felt chips of bone fly off as his claw cut through it.

After several agonizing moments Gorrog lifted his hand from the foal’s forehead. On it now was a pentagram, and Gorrog smiled at his work, though in the process the foal had passed out from the pain.

He slapped the foal across the face, front hand, back hand for a few seconds until he awoke. The foal jumped in Gorrog’s grasp and stared at him, his eyes wide and full of fear. Gorrog however instead of the distain he normally would see in those eyes and ignited the pentagram on his head. The flames glowed the color of his plasma balls and their shadows danced across their faces, and he focused his power on to the pentagram on the pony’s forehead, channeling in the power of Hell and the pony’s pentagram answered flames jumping across its surface.

“And so Little Horn is born.”

Chapter Two: Awakening

Gorrog and the newly dubbed Little Horn walked back to where the demons had made their encampment. Little Horn’s coat had changed color from the dark grey with spots of grey to dark black, with splotches of red near his hooves and face, resembling the pattern on Gorrog or his Black Hell Knights.
He had to walk fast to keep up with Gorrog’s long strides. The temperature was falling as night approached and Gorrog saw the pony shiver as they made their way into the mountains, Gorrog climbed the steep ledges easily using his massive hands to crawl up them like an Imp. Little horn on the other hand had difficulty and on some of the steeper slopes Gorrog hand to carry him.
As the last rays of the setting sun hit the horizon, they finally saw the camp. The other Hell Knights and the Baron had been busy, moving boulders and setting up a small fire pit using their fireballs. They paused and Gorrog put an arm in his way.
“My guards will not attack you unless I order them too, the Baron on the other hand, unless he sees the Pentagram, he will gut you.”
Little Horn visible gulped and a slight glint of fear appeared in his eyes. Gorrog walked forward into the light of the fire, his eyes scanning the area, then to his relief Abkesh and the rest of his guard walked out of the cave, followed by the Baron, his size causing him to stoop. Abkesh placed his fist over his heart and bowed as did the other Black Hell Knights, but the Baron simply nodded that he had returned.
“I have found a creature of great interest, as you should know my investigation of the pony bore fruit. I have created a new kind of demon similar to the commando’s that fought on Mars but of more intelligence, I name it Little Horn.”
“Gorrog, how can you be certain of his loyalty, we are taking an awful risk by permitting him here.”
“Baron, he is ours, I have absolute confidence that he is totally loyal, Hell itself now runs through his veins as it does through ours, even as we speak it is altering his physical form into a form worthy of the Pentagram.”
“I hope for all of our sakes that you are right.”
The Baron turned and walked back to the fire, and sat, his bulk casting a large shadow, across the hill top. Gorrog gestured and Little Horn walked into the fire light and in the short time that Gorrog had been away from him, he had changed. One of his cheeks was in tatters with a few strings of flesh going across it, and his body had grown a more muscled physic. His eyes had turned from blue to pure black, as if the pupil had swallowed them.
The other Hell Knights stared at him, and Gorrog noticed the flicker of curiosity across Abkesh’s face, but it quickly submerged itself under a mask of indifference. Ignoring it Gorrog now started an examination of his creation, as he merely provided the conduit of power, Little Horn had been born out of the pony’s body and the Hellish power that Gorrog had injected into him.
“Gorrog when are we resuming our journey to your fortress, in order for your armies to return to us we’ll need you to reopen the portal to Hell, and unleash its might upon this world again.”
“Baron, Gorrog wouldn’t the fortress be guarded by a large pony garrison, numbering in the hundreds and you only brought five Hell Knights as back up. “
“You underestimate us, we are not regular grey Hell Knights, we are the strongest of our kind, the veterans of The Great Hellish Civil War, and the First Demon-Pony War, and nothing will stop us.”
Thunder crackled overhead and they all looked up, storms were gathering across the valley and moving towards them. The Hell Knights closed the plasma balls that formed in their hands and Gorrog’s eyes narrowed as he gazed out across the fields.
Something about this storm wasn’t normal, but it wasn’t threatening, but still concerned him. Something was amiss, but the sound of the storms rains advancing towards them drove them inside the cave. The Baron lite one of his red fire balls and leaned up against the wall.
The other Hell Knights stood in a formation at the back of the cave, a space open in their line, in respect of their fallen comrade. Gorrog stared out at the plains; something was in the clouds flying at immense speed
“Little Horn, Abkesh, Baron we have a problem, look at those clouds something is moving around them, very fast.”
All the Hell Knights and the Baron moved to the mouth of the cave. The sheets of rain obscured the clouds but they could all see the movement of something. Than they saw it, a funnel descending into the plains. It swirled furious and wild, picking up debris as it touched the ground tearing into the grasslands with tremendous force.
“Stay inside the cave, we need to stay clear of that thing.”
A roar erupted above them, and Gorrog looked up. A massive cloud of smoke was rising from the mountain top, in two distinct clouds.
“What in the name of Hell has been released upon us?”
“Gorrog, that is a full grown dragon, they are rare this close to Equestria but I promise you if that thing finds us we’ll be smoking corpses.”
“Correction Little Horn, only you will be a smoking corpse, Hell Knights and Barons are exceptionally resistant to fire, of all kinds. You on the other hand, will be a smoking corpse, or a pile of ashes.”
Gorrog was about to say more when he stumbled as something massive impacted the ground behind them.
“Everyone out of the cave, its coming through this part of mountain!”
They raced out of the cave as a massive chunk of rock was pushed out of the mountain. Looking up Gorrog saw a red claw reach out of the mountain side; it was attached to a massive arm, easily twenty feet long. Conjuring a plasma ball, he stood as it reared its face. Its long snout, scared poked out of the mountain.
The wind was losing its speed and the debris while most were still in the air the largest ones had stopped. Staring into the mouth of the massive hole in the mountain, everyone them had their plasma balls or fireballs at the ready. Gorrog started to relax, until a loud roar shook the ground.
The dragon was showing itself, it head followed by a moderately long neck and a large body, red in color and a row of spikes stretching down it back. One of its eyes had a massive scar running across it and a pair of large horns crowned its head.
“Impressive, now let’s get a taste of that fire.”
“What strange minotaurs are at my gate”
Gorrog looked around, he had heard of minotaurs but none were around. He was confused until it struck him, the dragon didn’t know what they were.
“You shall make tasty snacks.”
The dragon reached for Gorrog, its claws outstretched as if to grab him. Than it abruptly dropped its arm, on Gorrog, its claws pointed downward to trap him.
As it was falling Gorrog, did the only thing he had time to do, he raised his arms.

Chapter Three: A new path

Only a thin sliver of light, was visible though the dragons fingers which only exasperated the poor light conditions thanks to the storm and night.
Gorrog, had sunken, up to his ankles into the soil, the only thing that had saved him, was calling upon the power of Hell and because there was no direct conduit for it, he could not perform the same feats as before, but it was sufficient to keep from being crushed.
The dragon’s claw, slowly flexed and Gorrog, felt the muscles in its hand tense. The change in pressure was quick and Gorrog shifted the hand.
“I see you are stronger than I thought, no matter I’ve always enjoyed my food, cooked.”
Flames poured though the holes in his prison and for the first time in a while, Gorrog felt warm. The heat of the fire barely bothering him, and as they licked at the grass around him, he sunk his
Punching the hand, Gorrog, grabbed one of the fingers that was holding him down and pulled upward. As the dragon recoiled, from him, Gorrog darted out from under its hand, ducking as plasma balls from his companions passed over his head.
The Dragon was far from with Gorrog and started to pull itself out of the cave, its massive bulk shaking the walls of the cave.
Dodging an attempted grab, Gorrog saw the Baron, hurling Fireballs into the ledge above the caves entrance, above which was balanced a massive boulder.
“Brethren, join the Baron, I will distract the dragon.” Gorrog shouted, reverting to Demonic to confuse the dragon.
The barrage of explosives started to crack the ledge, and Gorrog grunted as he shielded his eyes as the dragon blasted him with a torrent of fire.
The heat while he barely noticed it, was soothing and Gorrog, didn’t notice the claw, sweeping down to hit him.
The impact sent him sprawling, knocked off balance and into the side of the mountain.
As the dragon moved forward to attack him, Gorrog heard a crash as the boulder came crashing down, onto the dragon.
They all walked over, The Baron reaching the dragon first and kicked in the snout. Its eyes opened.
“The reaper cheated me.”
And with those words they closed.
“Excellent work Baron, now I suggest we make way to my citadel, we cannot afford any more battles like this”
“As you will” his guard said in unison. The Baron nodded and followed as they started off the mountain.
“Gorrog, where is Little Horn, it seems our newest member has disappeared.”
“Abkesh, I do not know, but he will be drawn to us, his bond to Hell is too strong now and his transformation is nearly complete, but as I don’t know how it will affect a live pony, we must be on the lookout for him, it is terribly painful.”
“Gorrog, why did you create that creature in the first place?”
“Because, I saw the perverse nature of his existence, the sickness of his mind and his appetite for destruction, I have glimpsed his mind several times during my rest, and I showed him the power of Hell, gave him a taste, his subconscience was my target and I succeeded. Now he is my finest work, soon Baron he will wreck a death toll among our enemies and show them a taste of the terror that shall engulf them with our coming.”
They all marched down the slope, moving quickly as the winds from the storm lashed them. They reached the bottom, searching for cover from the storm, as the great clouds of steam the floated off their bodies obscured their vision and made them highly visible to any onlooker.
“Gorrog, Baron there is a forest in the distance, we could take cover in it and stay hidden from the sky and get ourselves out of this wretched storm.”
“We shall go than.”
They set out their sight fixed upon the forest, its old trees, almost staring out at them. As they neared the forest, Gorrog could not shake the feeling that something was watching him, yet otherwise imperceptible to him.
“We shall take a rest here, and continue at the rising of the sun, we shall pass through this forest in such a manner as to avoid detection.”
As they made camp, and the others took their rest, Gorrog stared out into the wilderness, it was coming. But he took his rest, feeling the grasp of sleep.

A soft fluttering noise alerted him that something was behind him. The area around him was dark and resembled his fortress except that it was constructed of lighter colored stone.
“Welcome, Prince of Hell, I hope your rest was well. I have a proposal for you.”
Turning to face the voice, Gorrog saw a young looking pink Alicorn, slender in body, with a black mane flowing down her back. He took a step in her direction, his massive bulk towering over her, yet he saw no fear in her eyes.
“Gorrog, some power is stirring, I know not what it is but despite your previous actions, and the malice you bear towards my kind, I see a mutual benefit to an alliance between our two interests”
“So Princess, you seek to ally yourself with Hell?”
“Yes and no. You see, you have no choice, and I am no princess.”
Gorrog took another step towards her, closing the gap and stared down at her, his eyes glowing with malice.
“I take orders from no one, the only will I follow is my own.”
The alicorn appeared nervous, and took a step back, eyeing the sheer size of Gorrog, before she continued.
“Gorrog, even as you sleep, the Equestrians are closing in, you are not exactly stealthy and without your armies, how do you expect to protect yourself?”
“My guard and the Baron can hold off any force the ponies throw at us, even if the Dark Princess should show herself, I slew her sister and ate her body on the field of battle, I burned a city to the ground and slaughtered its inhabitants, and you think that I will be stopped by a few scouts?”
“Gorrog, I highly doubt you accomplished those feats, with only six other demons at your side, especially since, in the latter case, you had an army behind you and an open Hell Gate, to supply you with reinforcements.”
Gorrog lit a plasma ball, and stared her in the face, until to his surprise he saw, the walls of the castle change into cave walls.
Reaching out with his other hand he picked up the off guard alicorn and brought her up to his face, his eyes boring holes into her soul.
“What are you?”
“Something else, and she teleported out of his grasp, watching him, Gorrog I must attend to other matters but remember, you shall have to take my offer.”

Chapter Four: Return to Darkness

Gorrog awoke with a start. The fire had died down to coals and the night still lingered in the air. The forest canopy blocked most of the sun light and the cries of animals made it near impossible for him to hear if something was sneaking up on him. Around him, the other Hell Knights slowly awoke from their rests, the earth under them was bare, the mosses and other small plants were nowhere to be found.

Coming to his full height Gorrog examined the area around them, his eyes sweeping for any threat the forest might present. The glow of the Baron’s eyes signaled his return, the thud of his footsteps muffled by the soft ground.

The Baron ducked under a branch and faced Gorrog, and something flashed across his eyes, what it was Gorrog did not know.

“Baron, why were you out, this early?”

“I was doing a slight scouting run, and Gorrog, we should veer right to avoid a large lake that would be in our way.”

“Thank you, then Baron. How far should we turn to avoid this lake?”

“I’d guess about a mile, but not much farther as, we don’t have any idea what this forest might hold.”

They had set off on their slight detour when a slight chill started to creep into the air, initially causing great alarm, but when they did not get attacked by the goddess of the moon, they continued, but much more cautiously.

Upon settling down for the night beside a group of trees Gorrog finally noticed how hard the ground was becoming. He had seen how the air steamed off them early mornings but had thought little of it, yet now not much else was on his mind, as frost had started to accompany the morning sun each new day. This gave Gorrog pause, as he had no experience of winter or the cold for that matter, with the sole exception of the later battles in the previous war.

Later that day, Gorrog noticed the forest thinning, and rays of sunshine broke through the canopy.

“Have we reached the edge of this forest?”

“I think so, Gorrog but I doubt that it will have a marked improvement, yet I can feel the call of Hell growing stronger.”

“As do I Abkesh, but this is the last thing separating us from my fortress, we only have to cross the Plains of Tears.”

“Gorrog, when we do how do you know that we won’t be spotted by the scouts of the Moon Tyrant? I didn’t exactly leave any indication that it wasn’t a demonic attack.”

“Baron, we must cross it with haste, and hope that we can shoot down any scouts above us, also I suspect we shall have other things to worry about. We are not exactly an easily dispatched group of Imps.”

Later as the sun sunk beneath the horizon and bathed him it golden glow, Gorrog’s eye’s finally returned to the field where his army was defeated and driven back to his citadel.

“This is the start of our rising to power, with our power we shall send a clear signal to my army that the time for conquest has returned, and with them shall come the other hordes. Soon we shall conquer this world.”

Gorrog, the Baron, and his personal guard looked out across the field, the call of Hell pulling towards it. The moon had risen when they passed the remnants of a small skirmish from the war, the burned bodies of ponies, their blackened skeletons casting a dark presence over the area. Yet as Gorrog took a closer look at them, he noticed something; none of these ponies had the characteristic crushed bones, or broken forms of a demonic engagement. Some had bones that were broken but in much cleaner fashion then a Hell Knight or Imp as capable of.

“Demons did not kill these ponies, but whatever did wanted it to look like they were.”

“Gorrog, we need to keep moving than, unnecessary conflict will only attract attention we cannot afford right now.”

They set off this time, moving at a slow run, causing a small clamor as their one ton and up weights shook the earth. Gorrog, felt something or something watching him…

Far across the field the abomination watched them. His forelegs had become heavily muscled, his rear as well. Two horns now sprouted from his skull, and his body was now the color darkness and ash. His red eyes watched the group of demons, run and it followed them, slowly.

“Gorrog, I can see the fortress, soon we shall arrive and get out of this rain.”

“Abkesh, Baron we need to move faster. I can feel the call of Hell, and it is filling me with the force needed to punch through to it, and reunite these two dimensions.”

“Gorrog, I can feel something else, something is disturbing the call, something dark and another, but how I cannot be sure.”

“What do you mean Baron, I cannot feel any disturbance in Hell.”

“Gorrog, whatever it is, it is surely demonic in nature. Who was your biggest rival for power during the Hellish Civil War?”

“A Vargary Queen, by the name of Ardat Lili, she has a vast army of demons behind her, and even rivals me in the blessings of Hell, but overall I have beaten her before, and she withdrew from that theater, hidden in the shadows, awaiting my moment of weakness.”

“In the name of Leviathan, Gorrog if she has returned, you cannot open that portal, we have not the strength to resist the Black Tide.”

“Abkesh, she will open that portal eventually, using the cracks mine left to aid her, I have no other option but bring my army to this world, otherwise we shall drown beneath her horde, or be slain by the Moon Tyrant.”

The shadow of the fortress, the massive structure that had been the center of the end of the first Demon Pony War now abandoned had remained still. Its massive outer walls and gate commanded the view of the party, and its steel gate opened at Gorrog’s touch.

They walked slowly through its corridors and Gorrog lit the way with a plasma ball, casting a greenish tint the fortress. Gorrog felt the pull of Hell as he neared the room, where the Hell Hole was first born.

“All of you watch carefully I will only do this once.”

With that Gorrog held his fist into the air, and it slowly spread as a red skull formed. It opened its mouth and a wordless cry escaped its lips, loud and full of the anger and hate inside Gorrog’s soul. The glowing eyes drifted slowly across the room, until they rested upon the center of the pit.

Gorrog hurled the skull into the air, and it went straight into the pit, lighting the way as it sped towards the bottom. Striding to the edge, Gorrog brought back his arms and shot a solid pillar of fire into the pit, his eyes, flashing in a twisted and perverse sense of euphoria.

Than a jet of fire shot of the pit, followed by a stream of lava, the Hell Hole had been reborn.Erupting with renewed fury.

“Come to me my demons, we have a war to wage!”

With that Gorrog turned away from the portal, and before he could react, something leaped from the portal, and onto his back, twin blades impaling him through the chest.

Chapter 5: The Black Tide

The Baron, and Abkesh watched as a large spider like demon leaped from the pit, its front pair of legs outstretched like daggers, and it plunged them into Gorrog’s back.
He stumbled the sudden weight on his back pushing him to the ground. He collapsed to the ground, arms cushioning his fall.
“Thank you Gorrog, now the mistress doesn't have to open her own portal to Hell.”
She paused, looking around and taking note of the five, very angry Hell Knights, but then she saw the Baron and her jaw dropped. Gorrog turned his head as a red light filled the room, in the Baron’s hands he held large red fireballs, dwarfing those of the Hell Knights and his red eyes stared down the Vargary.
Using this opportunity, Gorrog reached his arm around her head, under the shoulder and flipped her over his head, wrenching the spikes out of his abdomen, filling the air with a vile smell as if his flesh was already starting to decay from the simple stab wounds.
Reaching an arm around the Vargary’s torso, Gorrog stepped on her body and pushed downwards with his foot and pulling upward with his arm. The Vargary screamed, and tried to push Gorrog away, using her upper half, yet it was to no avail, as Gorrog continued she reached out a pale arm and made a pulling motion, pulling a sizable chunk of rock from the wall.
The Baron stepped in its path, digging his feet into the rock of the floor, bracing himself the intercept the stone. It collided into him, not at its full speed but fast enough to push his two tone bulk several feet.
Gorrog, released one of his arms and brought it down on the Vargary’s, crushing several bones, and leveraging his weight to push the spider demon to the ground.
Then they heard it, the sounds of thousands of feet moving towards them.
“They are coming Hell Knights, soon the Black Tide will engulf you.” Spat out the Vargary.
“Abkesh, Baron, prepare yourselves, we will halt their advance, but should the mistress of the Black Tide come, she is mine!”
With that he tore the upper half of the Vargary off, blood and entrails spilling out, showering them in the death throes of the demon. Her lower half shaking, and trying to move, unable it seemed to know that it was dead.
Throwing aside the dissolving corpse, Gorrog faced the portal. The first demon emerged from the portal, its body resembling a cream white spider, its head was a spider’s head with ten eyes facing forward, its mouth was on top of its head, opened to reveal large fangs.
“That is the first of many, ready plasma balls!”
Red and green plasma and fireballs appeared in their hands. They braced themselves as the first one was joined by twenty others, soon over a hundred had walked out the portal with more pouring with ever increasing numbers.
“Drive them back to their sulking masters!” Abkesh roared, hurling a plasma ball into the growing horde, sending several flying into the air, the other Hell Knights followed suit.
Trites went flying, their bodies thrown by the explosions, yet more were surging forward, joined by creatures that looked like small white imps, but they made their difference when they started throwing plasma balls, smaller than a Hell Knight’s but still potent. One impacted Gorrog’s chest, interrupting him from throwing his plasma ball, and Gorrog turned towards it, hurling it at the Vulgar.
“Lord Gorrog we are seven they number in the hundreds of thousands, to stand here is to die, we must retreat.”
“Abkesh, Baron lead fall back, I will give you about fifteen minutes before I must follow you, if I cannot delay them for that long, I suggest that you run.”
The other Hell Knights started back pedaling towards the door throwing plasma balls into the ever increasing ranks of the Black Tide.
Gorrog stared at them, the countless Trites advancing towards him, their spider like bodies allowing them to swarm along the very ceiling. The Vulgary's, leaping from pillars or crawling on the floor, and a few Arch-Viles helping feed more demons through the portal.
Gorrog stepped on the foremost Trite, crushing it. They started fanning out, like ants to the slaughter, eager to bury him beneath their countless bodies. They formed a circle around him, the occasion Vulgar throwing small plasma balls at him. Than they all surged forward.
Gorrog tried to crush them off him, and succeeded in most cases, yet more came, clambering onto his body.
He tripped the soft corpses giving way under his foot, their blood making the floor slick. He landed hard on his back, smashing anything that was on it.
“Gorrog, quickly with me!” A deep and gravelly voice called out to him.
He forced his head to look towards the voice, seeing the creature that was trying to save him. It had changed considerable from its original form as a small foal. Above its eyes a pair of curved horns, curving towards its mouth, and nestled between them was a small, straight horn, he lacked the cheek on the left side of his face, with chords of muscle bridging the gap. His eyes had changed color to completely black. His muzzle had broadened and two teeth poke up from the edges of his mouth.
The foal had gone from a small pony to a powerful demon pony hybrid. His limbs had become incredibly muscled and his tail however remained the same, but jet black.
“Little Horn, back up.”
Gorrog felt the power surging into him as his pentagram burned once more. His vision went red and he felt strength pour into his limbs. He rose to a kneel and smashed his fists into the rock that made up the floor of the chamber, sending up chunks of it all around him and freeing himself in the process.
“Little Horn, we must flee, quickly through there!” Gorrog pointed to one of the side passageways out of the chamber.
He started running crushing the smaller demons beneath his feet, many leaping unto his back, only to be swiped off. As he was running he punched the archway of the passageway, breaking it. Little Horn was waiting inside, immediately seeing what Gorrog was doing and moved quickly down the passage.
With a second punch Gorrog destabilized the wall above them, and quickly ran into the passage.
“Little Horn, run!”
Gorrog threw a plasma ball into the archway just as the trite horde was slipping through, crushing several beneath it and sealing it off.
“Gorrog, while I must have to appreciate you sealing the passage off, how do we know they won’t pour through the other way and trap us?”
“Then press onward, we need to leave this fortress and link up with the others.”
They ran along the passageway, Gorrog hunched over due to the low ceiling. They passed a grate and looking up saw the horde moving above them, in the direction of the main gate.
“I think Little Horn, that they are going to flood the countryside and start a larger invasion. If they follow a pattern similar to mine, than they will make themselves known by assaulting a city or attempting to kill someone important among the ponies, though I doubt that they will be able too, I gave the ponies a proper beating and they have toughened up considerably.”
“Gorrog, do you hear that?”
“What?”
The thunder of collapsing rocks, gave testament that they were being followed.
“They broke the barricade or they opened up a new entrance, either way we need to move.”
The sound of something heavy moving above them.
“Mancubi, I knew they would be pulling their gluttonous forms from the portal soon enough. We need to get out of here before those mountains of lard catch us.”
They ran through the tunnel, following its dips and turns until they saw a small light at the end of the passage, the cramped confines of the tunnel slowly expanding into a sally port, from which several Hell Knights could stand shoulder to shoulder.
“Little Horn, they have a head start on us by about fifteen minutes, we should catch up to them, in about one day now all we have to do is avoid getting caught.”
They turned away from the fortress, in the direction of the village, Gorrog had attacked during the beginning of the First Demon Pony War. Hoping that the Baron, or Abkesh had brought the Hell Knights there.

Chapter Six: A New Beginning

Gorrog and Little Horn, had been walking until the sun rose and they made camp near a large boulder, using it as protection from any wind that might rise, but they refrained from lighting a fire to preserve their secrecy. Little Horn huddled close to Gorrog’s warmth, the waves of heat from his mouth clouding the air with a slight trail of moisture.
First light hit Gorrog’s eyes and he rolled over. They had entered Pony country yesterday, and today they would follow a road until they came across a town. The closer to Canterlot the better.
“Little Horn, soon we shall be entering the village where I first made demons know in Equestria, it is likely to be high alert, due to my return and the opening of the Hell Gate. Remember do not attack them unless I give the word.”
“Understood, but why are we not ransacking the village and obliterating every soul in it?”
“Because, I need them now, for one of the few demons who ever rivaled me is coming, I can feel her power as she draws closer to the Hell Gate, why she is taking her time I know not, but she will arrive eventually. Now I have fought her before, she has pulled off a similar feat when fighting The Bringers of Wrath, and it was incredibly successful, and I unwittingly helped her in doing it by crushing them, and sending the surviving demons into her fold. Now this time, it seems I am the Bringers of Wrath and the ponies are Hell’s Fist.”
“I see, though I have a question, do you know how many nations there are even excluding Equestria, we know of several, ranging from the Griffon Kingdoms to the Tribal Zebras.”
“You underestimate the size of her army, it is vast, it earned the name Black Tide and for good reason.”
Gorrog, started walking in the direction of a road, which Little Horn had spotted the previous day. Gorrog’s long steps carrying him towards his goal, to which Little Horn struggled to keep up with but managed.
They walked in silence, careful to avoid causing a disturbance as their presence caused wild animals to flee, and the dread Gorrog subconsciously emitted caused most ponies to know something was there. Little Horn on the other hand, had a far more mundane affect, mainly due to his appearance. The trio of horns on his head, alone would make you grotesque as a pony, but combined with his other deformities, the line of bone line of bony spikes running along his back, the fleshy remains of his cheeks, and most of all his left foreleg, which had changed into a claw, similar to that of a crab.
They past several abandoned carts, which put Gorrog on edge.
“Little Horn, we might be attacked soon, these were not abandoned by choice, the harness on this one is bloody, the other one, is smashed. Wait, Little Horn this is too clean a break to be a Hell Knights.”
Gorrog and Little Horn paused staring at each other, the breeze drifting softly, bringing with it stench of blood and fear.
“Little Horn, whatever is causing this, I want to know, and we might intervene.”
“Gorrog, if it is ponies who are under attack why intervene at all, why not simply wait to see the outcome and slay the victors?”
“Because I need to make contact with Princess Luna, we need her army and I fear that she will not help us, especially if I am correct, I ate her sister.”
A scream cut off their conversation as they saw a mare come running down the road pursued by creatures he recognized, they had fought besides the Ponies during the war, but now they seemed to be chasing one down, all were armed.
“Little Horn I shall deal with these creatures, scout ahead and I shall return to you shortly.”
Turning away from Little Horn, Gorrog ran towards the pony, a plasma ball in his hand. The three diamond dogs had taken notice of him and Gorrog saw recognition flash across one of their faces, along with fear.
The mare, froze as Gorrog approached, his stride taking him past her in two steps and he towered over the diamond dogs, eyes fixed on them.
They started backing up, Gorrog following, his black eyes boring into their souls.
“No amount of gems is worth this!” shouted the lead diamond dog, and he broke and ran.
Releasing his plasma ball Gorrog let it drop to the ground and it exploded. The blast shook the very air and caused much of the surround dew to evaporate in a cloud of steam. Using the cover he now had Gorrog advanced, and launched his hand forward where the diamond dog on the right had been, and he felt something soft but it recoiled away from him before he could grasp it.
Gorrog started running forward, his heavy footfalls echoing across forest road. The scent of the three diamond dogs was pungent and their fear coated the road, he followed his hulking body crashing though the branches that hung above the road.
The plasma ball was streaming steam at this point and it made his movements painfully obvious.
“Quickly we need to move before the beastie catches us!”
Gorrog paused and slowly made his way up the small hill in the road. In front of him, he could see the town, it was burning.
Gorrog scanned it, his sight falling on everything on the edge of the town, a few ponies running out of it and a few guards fighting in small skirmishes along its border.
“Forward you maggots, fight!”
A large diamond dog walked forward, his lower jaw jutting out, and his body was covered in thick crude iron armor. His helmet was painted red, and it had a hinge in it for the jaw armor to move with. In one hand he held a mace. Along his belt he had an assortment of crude but judging by its continued use and size, effective weapons, ranging from saw edged daggers to a moderately sized axe.
Several smaller diamond dogs, advanced around him, into a group of soldiers, who were blocking the street in front of them.
The diamond dogs, from what Gorrog could see, vastly outnumbered the ponies, he could intervene but doing so would weaken him, and might not give him the results he wanted, but from what he had seen form the three diamond dogs, his reputation preceded him greatly. So by fear alone he could win.
He watched as several more diamond dogs emerged from holes in the ground to join the melee at the end of the street.
He stood up from his position of over watch and moved towards the village and approached altering his course to avoid going to close to the diamond dogs.
He peered down a side street, and saw several ponies, with their backs to him, watching the battle in the other streets unfold.
Gorrog, strode down it, and for the second time, made his way into the village. His footstep resonated in the air, and the ponies turned to face him.
“It is true, he has returned, the Black Scourge!” shouted one of the ponies.
Gorrog turned to face the pony, who trembled with fear.
“You appear to be in need of assistance, and yes I have returned.”
A murmur spread throughout the crowd, they were shocked, thinking that the Hell Knight had come to bring death and ruin as he had one year ago, the offer of assistance was a shock.
A group of diamond dogs rounded the corner and charged, several had full armor, others carried crude spears, and two carried halberds. Slavering they charged, barking at each other, sending themselves into a battle rage.
Gorrog, bent over, and issued a reply, a deep and throaty roar, his joy at once again throwing himself into the fray, sent him sprinting towards them.
He closed the distance rapidly, and tackled the largest diamond dog. Bringing his fists down on its face, and noticed that these creatures had extremely tough skulls.
“Run dogs, for the Black Scourge, has returned!” Gorrog shouted, his voice carrying into the rest of the village. “I have come, to reap your souls!”
Gorrog stood up, the diamond dog beneath him to dazed to stop him and probably had several broken bones.
Rising to his full eleven feet of height Gorrog, stared down the others, and started towards them, as they raised their weapons, pikes, spears, a few clubs and a halberd.
He grunted and several flinched, it was all the opportunity he needed, striking with his clawed hands, ripping the throat out of one of the smaller ones, and slamming his corpse into the next one. Their armor while it was tougher than pony armor, only slowed Gorrog, as he leveraged his brute force to simply punch it inwards, leaving dents in it a few inches deep.
Than Gorrog felt the bite of steel as it tore into his flesh and he looked over his shoulder to see on of their pikes lodged in his back, its blade sticking in several inches.
“A worthy effort, but futile” and Gorrog slammed his fist into the diamond dog’s chest plate, the metal how strangely held, not giving way as Gorrog smashed his fist into it.
Shaking his hand, he took a long look at the diamond dog, something was different about it, or more likely its armor. The diamond dog staggered into a wall, clutching his chest.
A few of the others backed off, this creature was far too strong for them to fight, and they didn’t have the strength in numbers to overwhelm him yet.
Gorrog swung around, and grabbed a diamond dogs legs, and pulled them out from underneath him. Smashing his shoulder into his back Gorrog felt the satisfactory sound of the spine snapping.
As he was crouched over the body of the diamond dog, several others jumped on him. They pressed themselves into him, and using whatever knives they had on hand they stabbed him, their brutal assault bringing him to his knees.
“That’s right beastie, it bites doesn’t it! The boss will be most happy with your head!” The dog cried.
Than Gorrog heard a gurgle and the sound of tearing flesh, cutting the dog off.
“These mortals will never learn will they?”
Looking up Gorrog saw Little Horn standing in front of him, his claw covered in blood, that he was licking off.
“So my lord shall we purge these foul creatures from their pitiful lives?”
Gorrog cracked a brief grin on his face and nodded. Throwing off the dead bodies of the diamond dogs, Gorrog moved down the street, kicking over the body of a pony, looking down upon its ruined form.
The pony was missing half the skin on its face, but the soft rise of its chest, alerted Gorrog that it was still alive. Crouching down Gorrog stared at it, something was familiar about this pony, but he could not place where.
Shrugging Gorrog moved on, seeing the havoc that the diamond dogs had wrought, the doors of several of the larger houses had their doors broken in, and several windows smashed in each.
As Gorrog moved closer to the end of the street, the sounds of combat intensified, along with the screams of the civilians caught in the crossfire.
Than Gorrog saw the large fight in the center of the town, diamond dogs fighting the garrison, each locked in their own individual conflicts.
Gorrog conjured a plasma ball and aimed for the largest group of combatants, attempting to identify which side to throw it on to inflict maximum damage. He gave a signal to Little Horn, and threw the plasma ball, arching it over the battleground and into the group of fighters.
The blast dropped several diamond dogs, and flung several ponies across the square.
Roaring Gorrog moved in, his massive body and the loudness of his appearance drawing the attention of every soldier and raider in the square.
“He has returned, the Butcher of Fillydelphia!” Cried a pony.
“The Big Beastie has come back, for another beating.” A diamond dog shouted form the mob.
Gorrog braced himself and conjured two plasma balls in his hands, and cleared his throat, a loud grunting noise that resembled the crackling of fire.
“Ponies, I wish to treat with the Captain of your regiment, and as for you curs, I will give you roughly five minutes to leave or I will kill every last one of you, and feast upon your souls!”
The diamond dogs, started backing away from the enraged demon, except for one, who moved forward. He was the same large diamond dog who seemed to be in charge of this warband and the diamond dog, who was clearly scarred by years of battle and raids stared Gorrog in the face.
Tall for a diamond dog, he stood at seven feet, and was hunched over in his arms he held a mace and snarled at Gorrog.
“I know you beastie, you are the one you commanded the host of demons, that fought at Canterlot. I was there when you tore the city gates off their hinges and fought the Princess of the Moon, and threw the drake, Spike against one of the city walls. You are a monster of great strength, we shall leave as you demand.”
Gorrog was surprised by the fact that this diamond dog was smart enough to leave on his own accord, and watched as the warband left the town at a blast of the chieftain’s horn. But he could not ponder that for long as his thoughts were interrupted by a ring of leveled spears and other weapons.
“Ponies, it will take more than your feeble strength to stop me, so lower your weapons, and bring forth your commanding officer!” Gorrog snarled.
The officer detached himself from the rest of the cluster of soldiers, and gave a stand down order. Gesturing to a large building he started walking to it, followed by Gorrog.

Chapter Seven: Alliances Forged in Blood.

They entered the town hall, as Gorrog found out and the captain sat down on a chair facing Gorrog, with a table between them.

Flanked by Little Horn, Gorrog, was a curiosity for the ponies of this town, despite his previous visit. The demon sat upon a large bench, with a few barrels beneath it to help support his weight.

“So Gorrog, I will treat with you, but I cannot guarantee that the High Command will honor our agreements. You have stirred up a great many enemies for Equestria since you last walked among us. The diamond dogs we fought today were only one of many. The Minotaur Kingdoms, the Griffon Empire and others all have made moves against us, with only a few nations well beyond our borders remaining friendly. The Griffons have cut off trade with us to prevent corruption of their nation by the same power that besets Equestria, the Minotaurs have sealed their borders, and are building entrenchments along their border with Equestria.”

“I see, but I can promise you this, the Fists of Hell will no longer trouble you, so long as I am in command, however I have come to warn you of the Black Tide, a horde of demons numbering in the hundreds of thousands, they bring with them, some of the weakest and strongest demons in Hell’s service and as it stands we are sworn enemies. So I offer my assistance to Equestria in return for a military alliance.”

“So the Butcher of Fillydelphia, the breaker of harmony, the Black Scourge wishes to aid us, what an odd turn of events, but since the black letter arrived I was surprised to discover you wished a peace talk will us.”

Gorrog and the Captain turned to see none other than Princess Luna in the entrance of the hall. Cloaked in a midnight black robe, only her eyes showing.

“Gorrog, I should kill you right now, yet I shall stay my hand, as recent developments have persuaded me of your usefulness. The Inquisition has informed me of several outlying hamlets and isolated farms going off the grid, their usual shipments of food halting suddenly and upon investigation it was discovered several gruesome scenes of slaughter not seen since the Sacking of Fillydelphia.”

“I have not the forces to do such acts Moon Tyrant, currently I only have my personal body guard, and Little Horn here as soldiers. I am in no position to antagonize your kingdom, especially since I need your assistance. I assure you this is the prelude to a much larger invasion, from the Black Tide.”

“The Black Tide?”

“A demon horde that while it dwarfs mine in quantity lacks the same quality that mine has, making use of the small but numerous Trites and Vulgars as soldiers in place of Imps and Maggots. However it leaders, the Vargary are not to be underestimated, their Queen in particular is powerful, and very cunning, these farms and hamlets you speak of are her simply testing the waters.”

“A second demon army has come forth to do battle, this is grave news. Captain bring me parchment and ink, I have to alert the army, we shall need a response to this otherwise we shall be overwhelmed by these demons.”

“So, Moon Tyrant, shall we agree to join our forces?”

The princess hesitated, staring into his eyes, and extended her hoof, the red of his hands contrasting with the dark blue of her fur.

Gorrog watched as the captain returned baring the parchment and an inkwell.

“So Gorrog” said Luna, spitting his name as if it left a foul taste in her mouth,” I will give you my word as Princess of Equestria that you and your demons are our allies against this threat” and in a low voice she added, ”upon the slightest sign of treachery I will destroy you myself.”

“It is agreed than, we shall assist each other in overcoming this threat, but first I must gather my strength to me, it shall only take a moment.”

With that Gorrog stood up and started for the door.

“I don’t think so, Gorrog considering what you did last time we met, do you really expect me to just let you walk out of here?”

“What?!”

“Soldier, cage this monster!”

Gorrog looked around him and saw soldiers armed with pikes and crossbows emerge from the basement and every entrance to the structure, their bodies covered in plate armor with fur poking out from the joints. He felt the pokes of several sharp points in his back.

Taking a step forward Gorrog felt the temperature drop, his breath and the breath of the ponies steaming in the air.

Grunting and taking a few baiting swings Gorrog weighed his options, and a little voice inside him told him that he had little chance in a fight. He could bust through a wall but he knew that considering the number of ponies surrounding him, he would most likely find many more outside the building.

“Gorrog, come quietly and I’ll find a use for you, perhaps as an execution device or a meat shield against the very demons who have chased you, but should you not take this offer I will freeze you to the spot.”

The dropping temperature and the icy glow radiating from her horn, assured him that it was no idle threat.

Without his bodyguard, Gorrog knew that he little chance. Gorrog took a step towards Luna.

“Drop this petty charade, face me Moon Tyrant, I will crush you just like your sister.”

“Gorrog, a challenge to single combat, really how dumb do you think I am?”

Gorrog shifted his weighted to other leg, noticing how the soldiers on his right side saw this and shied back a little. Their eyes, visible threw the slits in their helmets showed apprehension.

“You know Moon Tyrant…”

A punch from behind sent him sprawling, and he fell flat onto his hands and feet.

“You will mind your tongue monster when you address the Empress monster!”

Rolling onto his back Gorrog saw the drake. He was wearing a suit of armor painted dark blue, with a white moon on the breastplate. His helmet’s visor was lifted and Spike stared down at Gorrog pure contempt and loathing in his eyes.

“Stand up monster.”

Gorrog slowly rose to his full height towering over Spike, his massive body dwarfing the drake’s. His rage barely contained as he repeated closed and opened his fists.

“Well what are you waiting for, do it.”

The drake was startled at first, but it was quickly replaced by a look of pride as he signaled for a massive set of manacles to be brought forward. They had three loops of thick steel all connected to a large ball in the center.

Spike pushed Gorrog’s head down, the Hell Knight complying with the drake as forced his head and arms into the manacles.

“See even the foulest of demons heads the Empress!”

“Praise to her!” The soldiers exclaimed.

Gorrog was lead out and he was placed in a large cage, his restrains chained to a set of massive loops in the bars. He looked as far as he could to the left and saw Luna standing on the stairs, her wings extended and her head in the air.

“Let this day be known as the day that the demon lord Gorrog was brought to the light of the Empress!” A hooded soldier who was taller than the others said.

In the distance Gorrog saw in the distance a set of red and green flames. Cursing himself for being so foolish, he looked around for Little Horn, and saw no sign of him.

“The monster you created fled when her grace arrived demon, you should have followed suit” said Spike and he spat in Gorrog’s face.

“And demon know this, your fellows will be hunted down and put to the sword like the vermin you are. Only the word of her grace keeps you alive.”

Gorrog stared into the drake’s eyes, surprised by how much had changed in the world. The very nature of this race had changed.

A stirring suddenly appeared in Gorrog, one he had not felt in one hundred years. The call of a greater demon, one who could transcend the mortality of their flesh as Hell saw fit, or they failed in their purpose. Gorrog shuddered this was very unexpected, and troubling, as if his invasion or that of the Black Tide had awakened a Greater Demon, than everything here, including himself would be threatened with death the likes of which this world had never seen.

Author's Note

Any Suggestions by you guys would be welcome and feedback on my plot is also welcome.

Chapter Eight: Darkness

The procession pushed forward and in two days Gorrog saw Canterlot. Its mountainside perch and high walls made it immensely difficult to attack and its garrison manned the walls and bastions. Gorrog was impressed at the size of the fortifications and their strength.
The Moon Tyrant had a strong seat, and Gorrog looked at the shelf as they neared the gates thinking of how his assault had failed.
Several soldiers opened the gates as Luna walked into the courtyard, a crown upon her head, it was made of sliver and had a set of sapphires inlaid in a circle around its edge.
“Bring him to me” She stated flatly, “and High Paladin, be on your guard.”
The drake nodded and unsheathed his broadsword.
Gorrog suppressed a grin as he realized in even captivity and in chains, they still feared him.
“Sergeant, bring word of this to Princess Twilight, tell her that he is here.”
Spike gestured to Gorrog and one of the soldiers ran off in the direction of the palace.
The cage door was unlatched and Gorrog hunched over from his restrains, walked out of it. He felt the collective fear of many of the ponies who had gathered in the square, their eyes fixed on his every movement. A huge crowd had gathered around them, watching the Hell Knight as he was herded by several soldiers and Spike towards the castle.
Gorrog snorted and moved towards it as the prodded him along with the points of their spears. He watched as Luna spread her wings and flew above the group, her eyes following him as he marched towards castle walls, their massive gate opening to receive him. Murder holes above his head and a portcullis made this entrance well-fortified.
“Soldier of the Moon, we have a special guest today, you remember this guy, recognize him?”
Spike took off Gorrog’s helmet showing the courtyard his face, his red neck and jaw, the pentagram that adorned his forehead. Several backed away and Gorrog heard a few muttered curses.
“By the empress’s grace Gorrog has been captured and brought to us in chains! LET THIS BE KNOWN AS THE DAY OF OUR TRIUMPH!”
Gorrog drew back his teeth, and turned to face the drake.
“I would not be so sure, if you think I was brutal, you have not seen anything yet.”
Several jaws dropped and Gorrog saw the look of pride and triumph flicker briefly to doubt than anger.
“What do you mean Gorrog?”
Surprised Gorrog turned to see Twilight standing in one of the many passageways into the courtyard. Her body was hidden by a black hooded robe, masking her face in a shadow.
Glancing at the drake, Gorrog saw something in his eyes, pain.
“My lady, we have brought you the monster who slew Celestia, your request that he be unharmed has been carried out.”
Gorrog stared at the alicorn; she was after all second only the Moon Tyrant in power and held sway over a significant portion of the population.
“Take him to his cell, insure that he cannot escape this time.”
The soldiers around Gorrog brought him down a passage way, and he was kicked into a large cell. The restraints on the ways glowed purple and began attaching themselves to his manacles. Two large cuffs held his legs to the wall and two chains attached to the sphere from which the chains on his arms and head originated. These all made his movement, except for very small amounts impossible.
A shape detached itself from the shadows, a purple glow from her horn lending a slight illumination to the dungeon.
“So, demon I have received word that you were trying to come to peace with us. Did you honestly think we would forgive you? No, I thought not, but don’t worry you’ll still be able to help us, you are the first demon to be captured alive of your kind. Hell Knights if I am not mistaken.”
She drew out a scalpel and floated it over to an exposed section of his skin.
“Now, let’s get our first sample.”
Laughing maliciously Twilight made a small cut through his skin. Applying just enough force to cut through the tough skin that covered Gorrog, but not enough to cause any serious damage.
“That hurt Gorrog?”
“I have been impaled upon a bed of spikes before, and during our war I was stabbed with much bigger blades.”
“Excellent than, because you’re going to be down for a long time.”
Gorrog’s eyes widened, masked by the darkness Twilight could not see them, but a drip of sweat passed down Gorrog’s head.
A vial was filled with his blood and float through the bars where Twilight deposited it down into a rack.
“Now I was ferret out your secrets and discover a new field of science, or more precisely biology. Hmm, what to call it.”
Gorrog stared at her, hatred at being contained and lacking the means to brake these chains, he grunted at her.
“Princess, what use is my blood to you, and why are you detaining someone who wished to become an ally?”
“Every heard of regicide Gorrog, that is what you are guilty of and more, the countless murders of ponies, the slaughter of an entire city.”
Gorrog shifted and leaned up against the cell wall, his restrains allowing him this liberty.
“So Princess why keep me alive, if I am guilty of these crimes, why not execute me now?”
“Because you are the most valuable demon we know of, your faction will not dare attack so long as your life is in the balance.”
“You underestimate The Baron, he might not care and simply let me die, and while he would lose the faith of Abkesh and my body guard he would gain an army.”
“What is the Baron?” Said Twilight who seemed suddenly interested in what he had to say.
“He is my successor most likely, the first Baron of Hell in many years, I myself thought them legend until I met him. Their return can only herald one thing, the return of the Greater Demons. Mortal you stand little chance against them, all of except for maybe your princess.”
“Greater Demons?”
“Yes, manifestations of Hell’s might.”
Gorrog now content that he had given all the information he would closed his eyes. It was dark enough in the cell to sleep and so he did, hiss imprisonment allowing this liberty as he was not restrained from sitting on the floor.
Gorrog awoke the next day, his eyes scanning the barred door and walls of his cell. Nothing but blackness encroaching upon him. Nothing moved until he heard a faint hoofsteps descending the stairs.
Quiet murmuring, then screams as the door to his cell was unlatched and something thrown inside.
“The price for betraying the empress is death!”
The door was quickly latched and Gorrog observed the pony, it was small and looked fearfully around itself.
Gorrog’s restrains which had previously been tight to the wall and the suddenly grew slack, the chains sliding over themselves as the clattered to the ground. The pony’s eyes fixed on the source of the noise.
Gorrog rose up and took a step towards the pony, it had been several days since he had eaten, and his stomach demanded to be feed.
He reached forward and stumbled upon one of his chains, landing heavily beside the pony. It screamed as recoiled back the pitch of the scream identifying it as male. Gorrog continued following him, his proximity yet inability to grasp his meal infuriated Gorrog, who rushed forward and smashed into one of the stone walls of the cell. Roaring Gorrog charged at the pony again, this time hitting him with one of his arms as he passed.
Gorrog slammed his shoulder into the pony’s jaw, breaking it and sending him sprawling. Gorrog dropped down onto his knees and sniffing the scent of blood moved in. He set his jaws upon the pony’s midsection and bit down, receiving several kicks to the head and shoulders as he felt organs muscles and fat fill his mouth.
The pony stiffened and began screaming, it cries echoing in the dungeons until Gorrog took out a second bite and blood loss overcame him. Gorrog continued to eat the pony focusing on the abdomen and working his way to the legs.
He was so caught up in eating that he almost didn’t hear a scratching noise, like pen on parchment. Something was observing him.
Gorrog looked over his shoulder and could the glow of purple magic but not much else, so he turned back to his meal, filling his stomach with meat. Gorrog stripped the meat to the bone, tossed the carcass aside having eaten all the flesh he could get his jaws around.
“So, how long have you been watching me?”
No reply but the sound of writing stopped.
“We both know you’re watching me so drop the charade.”
Silence was all that answered him.
Gorrog snorted and started rubbing his back against the cell wall scratching his back against the stone.
The chains started to tighten by means of several unseen winches, pulling Gorrog, who quickly followed, back to the same spot on the wall where he had fallen asleep.
Resting upon the spot Gorrog lazily sat down.
“You know mortal, I could get used to this.”
“I would not be so sure demon, things are changing and soon Gorrog, you will deliver us, Hell.

Chapter Nine: Blood Pact.

Several days passed and Gorrog had eaten only twice more, however the second time, it was observed by the Empress, which made Gorrog think that this pony had done something to upset the Empress greatly, if she were to condemn him and to sentence him to this type of execution.

Gorrog turned his back to the bars ignoring the various soldiers clustered around the bars. Even chained and imprisoned he still scared them, they would back away when he moved around the cell.

“So this is the demon who killed Celestia, doesn’t look like much, he doesn’t even speak.”

Gorrog looked over his shoulder and stared at the soldiers his eyes watching them, then turned his attention to the torch they brought to illuminate the area.

“Don’t be so foolish, that Hell Knight single handily routed an entire battalion, and lead the invasion of Fillydelphia and Canterlot.”

The soldiers all turned to face Twilight, and they bowed.

“Soldiers, I watched that demon” pointing to Gorrog, “Tear the limbs off ponies from shock divisions. I’d try not to enrage him”

Gorrog smirked as the soldiers edged away from the cage walls. Twilight sat in her usual spot and pulled out a note book and quill from her saddle bags and start her usual routine of observing his every movement.

“When does the meat arrive?”

“Gorrog you are an execution method and an exotic one at that.”

Gorrog stared at her, so what Luna had told him was true, than how long before he was cast out of this dungeon to be a meat shield. He had seen what a Trite horde would do to Hell Knights.

Gorrog knew that he had to maintain the illusion of being docile, as these restrains were far too complex and powerful to break out of.

He struggled against them for the first time, throwing his weight and strength against them, the bonds showing no signs of breaking or giving way.

“Stop now, Gorrog you won’t get free of those chains. Besides if you did we would put you down like the rabid beast you are.”

Gorrog glared at Twilight, his rage at containment returning, if only he could call upon Hell…

“Than my child do so” a voice whispered in his mind.

Gorrog paused in his assault on his restraints, that voice was familiar.

“Go forth my son, break your bondage and bring terror once more!” This time the voice sounded in the air deep and crackling with rage.

Gorrog felt he strength of Hell flow into him, once more.

Gorrog felt the pentagram glow as his body struggled against the chains.

“Empress Luna, he is breaking through the chains!” Twilight screamed, fear clouding her voice. Screams from other prisoners echoed down the passageway.

Gorrog felt the chains slowly give way, flakes of stone falling on his head, than the sphere slammed back into him.

“What is this?”

Gorrog looked up and stared Luna in the eyes, his eyes clouded with rage, the very air around him seemed colored red.

Uttering a guttural roar he tried to rush forward only to be snapped back into the wall. He surged forward, the great machinery of his restraints holding him back, as his wrath reached higher and higher, desiring only to sink his teeth into the body of the dark blue alicorn.

“Send word to the Crystal Empire and your fellow Elements, if this demon should break free we shall need all of our power to defeat him.”

“Empress, he needs to die NOW!” Twilight screamed and bent one of the thick rods of Gorrog’s cage, snapping it into a point and started to rip it from the stone.

Gorrog struggled against the chains every harder now, his rage addled mind still aware that his life was in the balance. With a great cracking noise Gorrog tore one arm free from the wall, his body lurching forward.

“You haven’t learned have you Moon tyrant, that when you play with fire, you get burned!”

Gorrog’s free hand erupted with green plasma, and it lite the dungeon, its blaze blinding several of the other prisoners and causing even Gorrog to look away.

Gorrog slammed it into his left restraint and gritted his teeth as shards of metal imbedded into his arm. Curling his arm Gorrog felt the chains give way and felt their impact on the ground.

“Hell has granted me my freedom, I shall in return bring it a fresh harvest of BLOOD!”

Gorrog than felt the jarring impact of the bar as Twilight hurled it through his chest, stopping him midstride.

“You know pony, I think I’ve had enough of you,” Gorrog rushed forward and slammed his uninjured shoulder into the bars, leaving large dents in two.

“Ready the Paladins, he cannot escape!”

This time Twilight obeyed and teleported up the stairs.

“Now Moon Tyrant, it’s just me and you. Soon I shall relish the taste of your flesh!” Gorrog said as he started slamming into the bars.

“Gorrog, I have an entire army at my command, and your enemies are legion, even among your own kind, word has it that there is a new leader of Hell’s Fists.”

Gorrog froze and stared into her eyes.

“Why tell me this, Moon Tyrant, if my rule has been usurped…”

“Because Gorrog, you could achieve much by my side, this was simply a test to see how far you would go for your freedom. Swear yourself to me and I shall release you from your bonds, you would become the greatest warrior in my armies, lead the drakes into battle in my name, and I shall reward you.”

Gorrog was still registering the betrayal of his horde, when Luna’s offer finally hammered home on him, she offered him vengeance and once that was done he could destroy her and claim this world in the name of Hell.

Gorrog dropped to one knee, opened his mouth to say he words, than stopped. A throbbing pain in his head had suddenly appeared.

“I, Gorrog lord of Hell’s Fists, swear my loyalty to Luna, Empress of Equestria. I shall bring those under my command to heal and shall be your loyal vassal.”

Luna looked down on him, a gloating smile on her face, her victory over one of her fiercest opponents achieved and his loyalty hers.

Gorrog stared at her, even on one knee slightly taller than Luna and lowered his head, as she opened the door of his cell, signaling the end of his imprisonment.

“Rise Gorrog and take your place at my side.”

Gorrog walked through the door and stood behind her as they walked up the stairs, leading Gorrog back into the light.

When they entered the entrance to the of prison, ten fully armored drakes were arrayed at its entrance, each carrying massive two hand weapons.

One detached himself from the formation and bowed to Luna before rising and removing his helmet, revealing the face of Spike.

“Empress, why is the demon free?”

“Commander of the Paladin Guard Spike, meet the newest addition to your service, Gorrog.

“Empress, forgive me but that is the demon lord Gorrog, the very monster who killed your sister and cast down our thousand years of peace. I cannot help but wonder at your reasons for this?”

“Gorrog has sworn his loyalty to our cause and to myself, he is now bound to it.”

“You honestly trust the word of a demon, that one in particular.”

“I might be evil, but at least I’m honest.”

The other Paladins clutched their weapons tightly, however they were restrained by the word of Luna who watched the two.

Gorrog while he towered over Spike was visible tired from tearing free of his restraints and Spike was fresh and in full Paladin armor.

“I suggest you lower your weapon, commandant, we serve the same purpose know.”

Spike regarded Gorrog, he was obviously exhausted and weakened from lack of food, the meals Gorrog ate during his stay barely enough to sustain him and the battering though the chains using up the majority of his strength.

Spike lowered his halberd and stepped away.

“If the Empress says you’re loyal than you’re good in my books.”

Gorrog say something in the way Spike looked at him, like he was analyzing him for some sign of betrayal or falseness. Gorrog stared at him, his gaze directed at how the dragon had changed. His body was toned and he seemed in extremely good physical condition. His armor was also in excellent condition, with heavy plates covering most of his body.

“Paladins to me, we have issues to address, the discovery of many incidents of demonic activity near Trottingham along with Germaney incursions.”

“Germaney” Gorrog asked?

“It is a small country north west of our borders and they have been probing our borders seeking to expand. You and two of the Paladins will be dispatched to deal with this, as a test of your dedication to our cause.”

Gorrog nodded and bowed.

“First however, I require my helmet.”

Luna clapped her hooves and two servants walked in carrying it.

Gorrog reached down and picked it up, and looked at the polished Hell Steel, staring at his reflection. He saw Luna and the Paladins in the background and for a second he swore he saw Abkesh in the helmet’s reflection.

“For the Empress” He shouted!

Chapter Ten: Germaney

Gorrog sat in the cargo bay of a troop train, carrying one hundred soldiers himself and the two Paladins. The very nature of this mission was to prove Gorrog’s goodwill to the Equestrian people Luna had claimed, his past sins to be atoned for.

Gorrog looked at the equipment of the train, swords, spears and other assorted weapons. The reason he was in the cargo bay was that the passenger car were too small for him, his eleven foot height well past their seven foot high ceiling. He laid back and rested, the Equestrians would no longer trouble him, as Luna herself had given him a writ of passage, granting him access and safety to any Equestrian settlement.

A horn sounded, this was the final leg of the journey, and they were nearing their mustering point.

Due to the nature of their expedition Gorrog thought they would end up fighting ponies.

“Gorrog, we are ready to move, remember Germanes wear grey armor, and have an iron cross as their standard, do not confuse them with us.”

“Yes, Paladin, I will not confuse you ponies, though I think that giant armored lizards are pretty hard to confuse with ponies.”

The Paladin grunted and left the cargo bay. He had refused to tell Gorrog his name, saying that it was not important especially to him, considering that in his eyes, he served the very opposite of Gorrog.

Gorrog had been ordered not to speak to the ponies, except in combat and despite Luna’s assurances that he could be trusted, many still did not.

He took a deep breath in with his nostrils, tasting and smelling the air and he reflected on how much had changed since two years ago.

Two years ago, Gorrog had led one of the most formidable armies in his section of Hell, he had defeated all of his enemies and was on the eve of an invasion that would bring ever more demons into his fold as they were attracted to his glorious slaughter. Now he was working for the very creatures he had set out to crush. A Baron of Hell had appeared and while he claimed to serve Gorrog, he doubted it.

“Gorrog, we have arrived,” a jet black pegasi shouted him.

Gorrog nodded and opened the side door of the train. Standing he observed the area around him, and took a breath of the air. Than the screaming started.

“A Hell Knight!”

“Demons!”

“Cease this at once, he is now a loyal soldier of the Empress herself, need I remind you the penalty of questioning her?” Asked one of the Paladins.

The ponies running from Gorrog and the hysteria suddenly halted, and silence reigned, the citizens of Trottingham stunned that one of the Paladins was in their city, along with the very scourge of Equestria.

Gorrog stared at the ponies and saw the obvious signs that something was wrong.

“Paladin, look at them, something is very wrong here.”

“Gorrog what do you mean?”

A noise caught Gorrog’s ears, the sound of tramping feet on stone.

“Paladin, listen.”

A line of grey shields advanced down one of the streets, each one interlocked with the one to the right of it.

“Company, halt!”

Gorrog, the two Paladins and their Royal Guardsmen stared down a Germaney shield wall.

“What in the name of the Kaiser is that monster?”

The soldiers looked at Gorrog, as he advanced, his steps shaking the ground. His eyes burned as he gazed at them, finally a target he could absolutely crush.

“Gorrog, you have the warrant of the Empress, crush them!”

“With pleasure.”

Closing the space between them Gorrog slammed into the front ranks, using his fist to send the unfortunate pony flying.

“Surround them and prevent their escape, leave them to the wrath of the Hell Knight.”

The ponies of the Royal Guard rushed to execute the order.

Gorrog meanwhile was a juggernaut, his sheer strength and lack of any experience against demons working in his favor as Gorrog smashed through their ranks. Biting into one of the ponies he crunched through his neck and shoulders, sinking his teeth into his body.

Jerking his neck Gorrog tore the pony’s head off his shoulders, crunching down on his skull and swallowing.

“Fall back, FALL BACK!!”

The Germanens, fled in his wake, a few being trampled as their fellows ran over them.

“Stand your ground, deserters will be executed on the spot!”

Gorrog looked at the source of the voice, an officer by appearance with a crossbow and curved sword on his side.

In between them stood about twenty soldiers, each one resolute that killing him was their only hope of survival, easy.

Gorrog conjured a fireball and hurled it into their ranks the shockwave sending several flying.

“Your, mine!”

Gorrog surged forward feeling bones break as he trampled them under his feet. Reaching out he grabbed the officer with the crossbow and fancy armor. Gorrog brought him up to his face and stared into his eyes.

“I am Gorrog, rightful Lord of Hell, War Tyrant of Hell’s Fists and bearer of the Heart. Tell those who command you, I come in fire!”

Releasing the officer Gorrog let him drop. Examining the carnage behind him he smiled, and looked at the corpses, trying to figure out which would taste the best. Selecting one of the bodies he used one of his claws like a can opener, slicing some of the flesh underneath it as he went, not caring as small bits of blood squirted into his face.

He heard a thump and felt a bolt impact his back. Ignoring the pain he continued to tear open the armor of his intended meal, taking great pains to avoid turning around and tearing the officer to pieces.

“By the Empress.”

Gorrog turned at the mention of Luna, and recognizing the voice. One of the Paladins was staring at his grisly work, and turned his gaze to Gorrog saw the body he was working on. Gorrog dropped the body and stared at him.

“This is what Fillydelphia was like wasn’t it?”

“No, it was much worse.”

The Paladin’s jaw dropped, and Gorrog could see him pondering this at the scale of an entire city.

“My Lord, the Germaney officer escaped and we followed him back to the field lines they have constructed.”

“Excellent, let the word of this slaughter spread throughout their ranks, soon we shall attack.”

“Gorrog that is not your decision to make, it is mine.”

“WHAT, did you say lizard.”

“Gorrog even with you, we have not the strength to attack them, they still have a 4 to 1 advantage of number on us. While I know you have fought worse odds, but most of our number are not the equal of Hell Knights, even you would be overwhelmed by their numbers.”

“Watch, Paladin soon fear shall spread throughout their ranks and they will have the problem of desertion. Which will crush their morale as they execute deserters.”

“Remember Gorrog, we are trying to recapture the rest of Trottingham, we can’t burn it to the ground.”

Gorrog just smiled and looked across the river watching as the Germanens milled around in confusion as his assault had caught their attention. Soon, he though, they will be vulnerable enough to strike and with sufficient blood shed he could open a small temporary portal to his army and call a few hundred through, and cast off the shackles of the Empress.

Gorrog caught up in his thoughts of slaughter , failed to notice the Germanens preparing a counter assault.

“Gorrog, they are crossing the main bridge, get here quickly!”

Gorrog saw a wave of soldiers quickly moving across the bridge, they had set up very large crossbows mounted on tripods, aiming for crucial targets and launching small bags with burning wicks protruding from the top. They exploded shortly after striking what they were aimed at.

Gorrog sprinted down the streets, his stride toppling a few objects along the way, and the few ponies in front of him dived out of the way. Gorrog saw the column of soldiers advance, their orderly formations advancing towards him at full stride, several bearing large spears and they focused on him.

Each spear had a long sharp edge running its length and a curved spike on the other side.

The ponies holding them, hade on helmets with visors similar to Equestrian Shock Troops but lacking the same bulk but their solid ranks and their movements as a formation, seamless and as one spoke of incredible discipline. Gorrog looked up and saw one of the bags being launched at him, and it exploded in his face, covering it in soot.

Swatting at his face, Gorrog felt several spears slam into his chest, one hitting his massive ribs and stopping the other missing his vitals and stopped as it got too hard to push them through his muscle. Flailing Gorrog struck several of the shafts, breaking them and smashing his fist into the side of a building trapping it

Roaring Gorrog conjured a fireball and threw it at where he though the soldiers were. A splatter of blood told him that he was at least partially correct. Rushing forward Gorrog tore his fist free from the building, and tripped over one the soldiers, sending him sprawling over the railing and into the river.

Gorrog shook his head, the water around him was rising and he sunk his claws into the stone walls of the river walls, and opened his eyes. The soot was gone, washed away into the river and he clawed his way upwards, the current battering him as he strained to get his head above water. He saw the underside of the bridge above him, and started crawling on it, this tactic while easy for an Imp was nearly impossible for a Hell Knight. Gorrog however had mastered it during a set of battles above a vast lava ocean with demonic bastions positioned on spires rising from it, connected to each other by massive stone bridges.

Maneuvering himself into position Gorrog crawled along the bottom of the bridge sinking his claws deep into it and curling them to prevent them from slipping. He crossed the underside quickly moving as fast as he could, the tramp of boots above him, signaling a large group of soldiers were moving above his head.

Gorrog felt something wrong and scrambled up the side of the bridge as three of the heavy crossbow crews spotted him and opened fire. Missing Gorrog they sailed into the water and Gorrog launched himself Imp style into the ranks of soldiers on top of the bridge.

Gorrog’s body slammed several of the ponies into the side of the bridge, smashing their skeletons and sending chunks of meat into the air.

“Fall back and surround the monster, we shall kill it now and send a message to the tyrant he serves!”

Gorrog was feeling the loss of blood greatly now, his various wounds, all were bleeding profusely.

“Pull back we can’t hold them, abandon the Hell Knight, he did his task.”

Gorrog dropped to his knees, the various spears in his body making movement excruciating as his crawl along the bottom of it had made his muscles dash themselves against the blades imbedded in his chest.

“Take the Hell Knight alive, I want to know exactly what this new weapon is. Considering the damage it caused we could use it.” Gorrog was barely coherent and he fell on his side as the soldier surged around him, several laid hands on him, and started to pull him away.

Chapter Eleven: The Demonic Arts.

Gorrog’s eyes slowly opened, the dark preventing him seeing much. He couldn’t feel his hands or feet, and turned his head to the side, trying to look at them. His eyes looked at them and saw the hooks in his hands and feet. They were positioned so that if he tore free he would break most of the bones in his hand.
Odd he thought that this crude prison was the most effective. His captors lurked behind a steel door set into the wall and it opened.
In stormed several fully armored soldiers and behind them walked calmly a high ranking officer, clade in his uniform with several medals on his chest. His face had a scar running along his light blue fur and his left eye was covered by an eye patch.
“So this is the monster that the Equestrians unleashed upon us. It is most impressive, however from what I’ve heard terrifying on the battlefield. Is that so sergeants?”
“Yes General, he slaughtered an entire company of soldiers singlehandedly, charging straight through a shield wall thick enough to stop a minotaur, and look at the size of him, he must be an entirely new species. We think that he is from the lost continent or the Scorched Lands.”
Gorrog turned his head towards the Sergeant who was speaking and opened his jaws and snapped them together.
The General looked at him, pondering Gorrog, and turned his attention to Gorrog’s head, and his looked changed to one of shock.
“I know what this creature is, and I don’t think we have enough soldiers to contain it, send word to the Over Command of the Army, the scourge of Equestria has been captured alive and requisition additional soldiers, the Griffons will pay a high price for him as a pet to their king and we need the capital.”
“Yes General.”
They left the room leaving Gorrog in silence…
Several days passed and Gorrog was alone, the hunger in his stomach intensified till it filled everything in his mind, slowly gnawing away at him, eating away at his strength.
The door creaked open, agonizingly slowly for Gorrog who desperately want to tear free from his restraints and eat whatever was opening the door.
“So I hear we have creature from the scorched lands sergeant, well let’s see what this creature is.”
Two soldiers walked in, one in a grey overcoat, the other dressed in casual dress for a pony which is to say no clothing. Gorrog stared at the large box the pony in the overcoat had brought with him. He set it down beside Gorrog and opened it, and pulled out a pen and paper.
“Bring me a table.”
The soldier rushed to fulfill this demand.
“You know, I’ve seen a creature like you before, of course it was from afar, I was observing the border with Equestria as medic in the army, and I saw a group of creatures like you just a different color and had couple of smaller guys with him.”
He hit Gorrog’s hand with a hammer, and Gorrog winced from the pain.
“Can feel pain.”
The doctor removed various other instruments and started working on Gorrog, taking a few breaks here and there but carried on for hours, though Gorrog had no idea why he was doing this.
Gorrog watched the doctor, pull out a small knife, and Gorrog’s eye’s widened, this small pony was going to attack him with this weapon.
“It will be a small cut, don’t worry it will all be over quickly.”
Gorrog stared at him and his compliance with being examined and for the first time in over a year, started to use his corrupting influence, driving the terror of Hell into the doctor.
It would not be instantaneous but slowly he would drive the doctor insane. Reaching out with his Heart he set him a visions of blood and death, and watched gloating as the pony froze his eyes twitching. It was short but it had an obvious effect on him. Gorrog projected the voice of a female pony, similar to one who had called him a monster before the Battle of Canterlot whom he had promptly executed in front of her foal, down the hall saying
“Over here… help me!”
The pony whirled around, and Gorrog saw his legs start to shake.
“Who’s there?”
He started backing up and tripped over Gorrog’s leg, landing just shy of one of the hooks that held Gorrog’s hands to the ground. Gorrog smiled and snapped at the doctor.
The pony started backing away from Gorrog and then he pulled on a cable. Gorrog could not turn his head far enough to actually look at him but he knew that given a few more hours he could break him.
Gorrog watched as the doctor’s call went unanswered; the cord was on the other side of the room.
Several minutes passed by and the pony gradually stood up walked over and collected his things, retaining a semblance of calm collectedness. Gorrog watched him as he walked out and the moment he thought that Gorrog could not hear him, he broke into a full gallop down the hallway.
They left him alone for a long time after that, Gorrog assumed it had been a few days but had no way of being sure, continued to play mind games, though this time it was with the other prisoners down the hallway, though he pointedly avoided tormenting the Equestrian ponies, focusing on the Griffon prisoners. He sent them twisted versions of their block, showing it in the aftermath of what it would look like if the demons ransacked it, blood on the walls, entrails and body parts scattered along the walls, and a few glowing pentagrams on the floor where demons had been summoned.
Than Gorrog realized that with the Hell Gate open he could in fact summon some of the lesser demons to him. Cursing himself for not seeing this before, he concentrated on a stone in the floor and begun to call an Imp to him, when it hit him, if he summoned a demon and was found, he would be most likely killed on the spot and if he did break free, the wounds he would suffer would be grievous enough to end any chance of fighting he had.
Frustrated by these problems he went back to toying with the other prisoners, attempting to drive them to insanity.
Over the next few days he started to focus on those whom he judged weak enough for this to work. Generally erring on the side of caution with his choices, as he was greatly inexperienced at this and he was investing a lot of his energy into this as well so even if he wanted to summon a demon, he couldn’t even summon a Lost Soul.
This was a problem and he had to feed, flesh or souls it was no matter to him, but it was unlikely that anyone would sacrifice their soul to him here or anywhere else. However possession was a different story.

Chapter Twelve: Baron

“Abkesh, have any reports on Gorrog come through?”
“No not since he took his stand against the Black Tide at the Hell Gate, we can only presume that he fell in battle or was captured.”
“Either way he is incapable of leading Hell’s Fists, I shall take his place, we need to secure a fresh source of troops…”
“Take his place?”
“Abkesh we are wasting time sitting here waiting for him to return, soon either the ponies or the Vargary will find us and there are but six of us. Unless we can gather up his army, we would be overwhelmed.”
Abkesh stared at the Baron, something was wrong, they had worked together for over a year trying to revive Gorrog, but only to that end. But they did have a mutual respect for another, complementing each other’s abilities.

The Baron took a breath through his single nostril, and a scent drifted into his nose, something else was in the cave, unfamiliar to him the Baron, started scanning the entrance and behind them, something was there, hiding in the shadows.
The Baron lift a massive red fireball, and bared his massive teeth as he searched the room, his eyes peeled for anything that moved.
“It seems the rumors are true, a Baron has indeed returned, tell me how does Gorrog fare. His absence is most troubling Baron, however I assure you I will find him.”
“Silence!”
Abkesh walked forward, and The Baron could see the fury in his eyes. Something about the Vargary’s words had enraged him.
“Now, now Abkesh you can’t honestly think that an up jumped bodyguard like you can talk out of place to War Tyrant like myself.”
The black Hell Knight glared in the direction of the voice but backed down.
“Baron, I have news of your lord, he was captured by a pony, known as the Empress, it is unlikely that he will escape alive, and I believe him to already have been executed. As such I believe that leadership of Hell’s Fists falls to you and I’d like to remove this enemy.”
“By what means?”
“Well I could slaughter you here, but that would be a major investment, even a normal Black Hell Knight is powerful, so I will extend you the hand of peace. Take it or leave it.”
The Baron’s eyes glimmered as the thought struck him, with Gorrog out of the way he was now master of a massive army of demons, and now with this peace he could acquire them.
“I take it.”
“Excellent, Baron shall we join our forces and assault the ponies in a most glorious slaughter?”
The Baron opened his jaws and roared.
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
Abkesh stared at the Baron, he and Gorrog had fought besides each other for a century in the Hellish Civil War. Watched as demon after demon died in that war, and been nearly killed several times over. How they had fought the very same demons that The Baron was now allying with, how they had fought off Guardians of Hell as they assaulted a fortress, broke the backs of many a demon horde and slowly incorporated surviving demons into his army. The Baron had thrown away over a century’s work with one sentence…
Abkesh felt a rage stirring within him, something was affecting the normally subservient Hell Knight, something was stirring up his wrath at this treason.
A voice whispered in his ear, inaudible to all but him.
“Go now my child, go now and strike down the traitor, the one who would throw Hell’s chosen aside ,strike him down and claim what’s yours, crush him beneath your fist!”
Abkesh opened one claw, letting plasma run through his fingers, the sound of it crackling into life. The Baron looked over his shoulder gloating over victories yet to come when his eyes rested on the plasma ball.
Abkesh’s face twisted into a look of uncontrolled rage and hurled the plasma ball, aiming for the Baron’s head.
The Baron ducked under it and a look of surprise manifested itself on his face, quickly replaced by one of pain as the smaller demon slammed into him, using his shoulder as a battering ram knocking the wind out of his lungs.
“Abkesh what is this treason?”
“TRAITOR!!” Abkesh screamed his eyes burning with rage, spittle flowing down his mouth.
He slammed the Baron into a wall, the element of surprise and his ferocity forcing the far larger demon to give him ground and forced him onto the defensive.
The other Black Hell Knights all jumped to their feet, unsure of who to help or attack. Abkesh was their leader in Gorrog’s absence but now the Baron was leader of their horde.
The Baron slammed his fist into the Hell Knight sending him sprawling, his massive size advantage being brought into play. It was his turn to beat the other in submission.
Bringing his fists down on Abkesh he sent the Hell Knight sprawling. His rage was visible his eyes glowing, twin red lights. He conjured his own fireball this one dwarfing Abkesh’s and slammed it into his face. Then he started to punch his ribs, as Abkesh got back up, trying to stand, until he heard a crack and one rib poked through the thick skin.
Picking up the smaller Hell Knight the Baron slammed him into a wall, with a sickening crunch. The Baron hurled him into this other wall, walking over leisurely.
Abkesh was lying down on the ground in a daze, his eyes were not focused and he made no move as the Baron lifted him up off the ground and in a low voice said
“Try something like this again, and I will gut you, than use your guts as a rope to hang you from. Am I clear?”
Shaking Abkesh he slammed him into the wall when he discovered that the smaller Hell Knight was far to battered to understand him.
“Let this be a lesson to you, I am in command now.”

Chapter Fourteen: Return

Gorrog, stood on the charred ground of an large empty field. Here almost one year ago at the height of his triumph he had opened a portal to Hell, and brought over several thousand demons to his horde, along with a Guardian of Hell.

Now it was but an empty charred field, grasses and small bushes encroaching along its edges. Gorrog stood in its centers, and placed a hand on the ground feeling warmth, as if this place was still connected to the temporary portal he had opened.

This meant that the city he had crushed was near, and he knew that many demons had stayed behind, which would mean that he could gather them once more to his cause.

Gorrog started in the direction of the city, retracing the path that his army had taken to this very spot. Gorrog’s bare head, poked above the hill, the sun shining upon his black flesh. Stood at its summit staring at the city.

It was still in ruins, he saw none of the life, that had once lived in it. He smiled, and roared, letting it carry above the city, the spirit of a century of war in it.

He made his way down the hill, walking towards the city, feeling the presence of fellow demons in it.

Taking the better half of an hour Gorrog was at the outer edge of the city, and stared down one of the desolate streets, listening to any sounds he could make out. Something was here, what it was he could not say.

Walking down one the side streets, he felt as if something was watching him, yet turning his head to either side he could not make out what it was.

Gorrog smashed through one of the doors and looked at the inside of a large building, it was vaguely familiar, and something was off about this place. Shrugging Gorrog made his way down a hall and up a flight of stairs, passing a few skeletons along the way.

He turned a corner and something streaked into a doorway. Gorrog ran after it, his heavy gait threatening to break the floor as one and a half tons ran across it. Crashing inside the room, he stopped, something was eerily familiar here. Gorrog looked around the room, scanning it for whatever had ran into it, and seeing nothing turned to leave.

Screeching, something jumped onto his back, landing on it hard and digging claws into him. Gorrog rushed backwards attempting to smash it into a wall, but it leaped off him, landing upon the ground in front of him.

It was a very light grey, its body thin and lean, with long limbs and a short stubby tall. Its eyes glowed green and it screeched at Gorrog, and it leaped at him, its claws outstretched and its small mouth open.

Gorrog planted a foot into its face sending it flying. Standing Gorrog dived at it as the Vulgar attempted to resume its attack.

Conjuring a plasma ball Gorrog threw it at the Vulgar, hitting it and sending it flying, missing its legs. On impact with the hallway wall, it dissolved into fire.

Gorrog stared at the spot where the Vulgar had died, slammed his fist into the wall, ending chunks of wood flying.

“It seems that her reach extends even here.”

Gorrog left the room, his steps shaking the hallway. Taking the route out of the building he walked down another street, which connected to the main street, which would lead him to the main square.

The smell of burning flesh caught his attention and he followed it, something was happening and he would find it. He broke into a jog, and saw the source of the smell.

Several ponies were quickly making their way off the street and into one of the houses, one being carried on a stretcher, who was suffering from various burns along her body.

“That’s a Hell Knight, run!”

“Captain, we can’t run with her on our backs!”

“Then drop her, better one die than three.”

The two courtiers dropped the injured pony and ran, following the other ponies in a rush to get away from Gorrog.

He walked over to the dropped pony and bent down over her. Normally he would have eaten the pony, but something stayed his hand. He placed his massive hand on her and picked her up and using his other hand, caressed her face, trying to wake the pony, and gather information on why they were in the city.

“Stop that, I mean it…oh”

She stared at the Hell Knight, and a look of pure terror appeared on her face. She screamed, not from her wounds but thinking that she was about to be killed.

Gorrog continued to stroke her face, his rough skin and harder than necessary touch, quickly distracting her from the thought of being eaten.

“Tell me why you are here and I will disavow the notion of eating you, refuse me and I will and know this I won’t start from the head like I normally do.”

The mare gulped, her eyes glancing around looking for her comrades.

“It is but the two of us and I grow hungry.”

That quickly refocused the mare and she seemed to be gathering her thoughts, the threat of being eaten must surely disturb them.

“We are a detachment of the Third battalion sent to investigate Fillydelphia and see if it could return to being a city in the Equestrian Empire. We have been fighting for a few weeks now and a new group of demons have appeared in the city.”

“How many?”

“We don’t know, we’ve been hard pressed with the current number, but these arrived in sufficient force that we could no longer operate openly, we’ve been reduced to skulking in shadows, along with the original group.”

“This information has been helpful, as such I will spare your life, but tell your Captain this, the Imps, Maggots and Demons in this city are my soldiers, any attack on them is an attack on me, strike at the newcomers as you will and remember this your Empress and I are allies, forced ones but still allies, I will remember this.”

The mare stared at him, thunderstruck.

He dropped her, and left the street moving towards where he thought his demons would be lurking, leaving the mare in the growing shadows.

He entered the square, the scene of a great slaughter of two entire Royal Guard divisions and thus his demons would probably stay here, awaiting his summons.

He lifted his head and stared forward at a moderately size tower, there he had killed a messenger who had sent word to the Equestrian High Command that the city had fallen.

He opened his mouth and roared. Long and loud, he let it fill the square, rising over the sounds of the night.

A hiss greeted him, it was close, and an Imp stepped into the light. Behind it stepped a maggot, and soon others followed, demons and a pair of cacodemons, even an Arch-Vile. His army was once again taking form around him, and no longer would he be at the mercy of others, he would command an army once more, and bring destruction and ruin again.

“Brethren, tonight we shall strike against The Black Tide, and bring ruin to them, we shall establish ourselves in the world and create a new Hell!”

A roar greeted him, and the collective approval of his new horde. Now united we shall bring forth another Demonic War he thought.

“Arch-Vile how many demons do we have, and of what types?”

In a harsh and hoarse voice the Arch-Vile answered.

“We have two hundred and two Maggots, one hundred and thirty seven Imps, and about twenty Demons, and a pair of Cacodemons.”

“How long have you been fighting?”

“We have been fighting for several months now, we have sustained minimal casualties and have limited our engagements.”

“Excellent, soon we shall reunite with the rest of Hell’s Fists, and sweep The Black Tide aside with one fell strike.”

Gorrog turned away from the collected demons and looked at the rest of city, his gaze wandering over the various opening into the rest of the city, this being the main square had several routes into it.

He could feel eyes upon his back, and looked at the host around him.

Something was off, despite the gathering of demons around him, all his forces gathered around him, it only served to remind him of how feeble they currently were, cut off from the majority of his armies that still resided in Hell.

Gorrog turned to Arch-Vile and gestured for him to come to his side.

“As the most sentient demon here until we reunite with my Black Hell Knights, you are my second in command.”

The Arch-Vile bowed and then pointed across the square. Gorrog following his malformed hands saw several ponies gathering in the entrance of the square. They were organizing into battle ranks.

“Traitors.” Gorrog hissed, sudden fury forming in his voice.

Gorrog conjured a fireball, catching the attention of the his demons, who all stared intently at him.

“Soldiers of Hell, our enemies gather, gaze upon tonight’s meal, and remember I am with you now, none shall stand against us!”

He started running towards the end of his army facing the ponies the demons parting before him.

His own ranks formed behind him, Demons and Maggots in front, Imps in the rear. All behind him however, casting the image of a grand army behind its leader, ready to die at his command.

“Charge my brethren!”

He broke into a charge bearing down on the Ponies, who had assembled into a spear wall, similar to ones he had seen employed by them in the Battle of Field of Tears. He would need to force an opening in it and quickly.

“Imps concentrate on the spear wall!”

The fireballs started to rain down upon the ponies like hail, striking them and setting one on fire.

Gorrog was closing the gap, roughly ten yards away when something knocked his legs out from under him.

The glow of a unicorn’s horn in the fire light caught his attention. Something about these ponies was different, normally Gorrog was barely affected by their magic, only the Alicorns strong enough to affect him.

Gorrog skidded to a stop roughly twelve feet in front of the ponies, the rough cobblestones scraping away at his skin. Several arrows impacted his shoulders and he grimaced at the pain, slowly rising to a standing position.

He roared the ponies in front of him, the light of the fires giving him a far more menacing look than normal. Around him Maggots and Demons surged forward, around him in a tide of flesh, something was wrong about this battle he realized, something tugging at the back of his mind.

“Imps engage in close quarters” he yelled, and the additional weight of numbers pushed back the ponies, their ranks threatening to buckle.

“For the Empress!” A battle sounded behind them, and Gorrog saw from across the square a much larger group of ponies than what they were crushing, charge at their head a Paladin, his armor reflecting the light of the fires.

“Arch-Vile get me reinforcements, now!”

The Arch-Vile nodded and started pulling demons from Hell into the battle.

Gorrog would have to counterattack them, but if currently he was surrounded, and did not have sufficient forces to divert to either assault. A single demon assault by him while it would be devastating would not work, he needed something to delay them, or a choke point, if they could only find one.

He could only think of one, the street where the feint had emerged from. It seemed ironic to him that their victory would come from the enemy’s strategy.

“Break through their lines!”

The ponies were starting to break, Gorrog’s forces outnumbering them and their ferocity caused several of them to desert their positions. Gorrog pushed passed several of the smaller maggots and smashed into the ponies, attempting to find the unicorn who had struck at him.

He tore a pony off the ground and bit its head off in one fluid motion and spat it out having no time to eat the pony. He saw a unicorn and as he went for her, her horn glowed and Gorrog felt something pushing at him, trying to stop him.

Had he been a common demon it might have worked but not on a Hell Knight, he sent an Earth Pony flying when he tried to stop Gorrog from attacking the Unicorn. He punched the Unicorn breaking her jaw and sending her sprawling. He felt exhilarated, this was where he belonged, on the battlefield, striking down his enemies with raw, brute strength.

He turned to see the progress the other ponies were making and realized that they were only seconds away from colliding with his demons.

The Paladin struck first, wielding a massive war hammer. He smashed an Imp flat into the ground and started making his way towards Gorrog, sending demons flying with strikes from his war hammer. Gorrog roared, and knew he had to protect the Arch-Vile, as the Paladin was making a turn towards him.

Gorrog hurled a plasma ball at the Paladin attempting to get his attention, however he knew that Drakes were immune to the fire and heat that made up a substantial part of the damage that plasma balls did. However the blast of them, enough to pop a nearby pony’s eardrums were very good at getting attention, and he was suddenly faced with a creature that could hope to equal him in physical might, despite the size difference between the two still favoring Gorrog.

“I shall slay you demon and bring your head to the Empress.”

Gorrog snorted in derision, he had plans for this Drake’s skull.

The Drake charged and slammed his war hammer into Gorrog’s chest knocking him flat. Gorrog saw the Drake raise his hammer to crush his skull and as he brought his hammer to its apex, Gorrog kicked his legs out from under him, rising quickly to his feet.

The Drake was rising as well, war hammer in hand ready to strike at Gorrog at the first opportunity. He would not give him that opportunity, both warriors faced each other, war hammer and claws at the ready. Their troops clashed around each other in the ruins of the first sack by Gorrog, this was his conquest and he would not give it up.

Gorrog swung out a fist baiting the Drake to swing, and started circling him. The two battlefield titans occupying each other’s whole attention. With one exception. Gorrog knew what the Arch-Vile was doing and several more Maggots had been teleported in, ready to strike, all the needed was a signal from Gorrog.

“Paladin, look around you, my demons in particular, what do you see. A hope of victory, some small concession? Look again, stare death in the face.”

Gorrog let drool begin to start flowing down his mouth, washing some of the blood off it.

“Keep your heresy, demon I shall strike you down and bring honor and glory to my brotherhood.”

He charged Gorrog, and swung his hammer trying to take Gorrog’s head off. Gorrog back stepped, and the hammer missed him by several inches.

“I will take your head Hell Knight!”

“I thought you Paladins knew my name?”

Fear suddenly flashed in the Paladin’ eyes the only thing visible beneath his armor, its plate of interlocking steel and on the bottom end of his tail chainmail covering every other part of his body.

“You know my name.”

The Paladin clutched his war hammer tightly in his armored fists.

“Then I shall bring great honor to my order when I bring tales of your defeat.”

He charged swinging his war hammer downwards attempting to crush Gorrog’s skull. Gorrog side stepped it and grabbed the haft. Pulling the Drake towards him he wrapped his free hand around his helmet and using it slammed him into the ground, the Drake too off balance to stop him and dropping to his knees.

Gorrog kicked his back, sending him sprawling into the cobble stones. Now he had to make sure the Drake did not rise.

He started heat the metal and crushed the skull of a pony in his fist as he had foolishly tried to stab Gorrog with a sword. The ponies used spears and ranged weapons on his kind for a reason, it was much safer to be at range than up close.

“MAGGOTS to me, tear this drake apart!”

He shouted and twenty maggots detached themselves from the battle and leaped on the drake allowing Gorrog to resume his command of the battle. These drakes would be a tough match for his Hell Knights as they were a challenge for even him.

The screams of the drake as the maggots started to take his armor apart and start attacking his flesh. Normally a drake of that caliber could and often did kill larger numbers of maggots than what was tearing at him now, but not one on the ground with the maggots already crawling over him.

The ponies were starting to fall apart with the fall of their leader and Gorrog watched as the Arch-Vile sent a few walls of fire into the ranks of ponies, many of them turning and running back the way they came.

“Hold, we do not possess the forces to chase after them, let them run all the way back to their Empress and send her the news of my return and that I do not suffer betrayal lightly.”

The Arch-Vile nodded and the rest of his forces started to descend on the dead.

Something caught his eye and he stared at it, the demons had stopped burning away, he saw corpses on the ground that belonged to his forces. This was abnormal, and told him one thing, something was very wrong.

Chapter Thirteen: Nocte Tenebrae.

Gorrog had been left alone for several days, using his various talents to slowly cultivate fear in them, as if everything they had once thought normal had changed. Voices heard with no source, screams without cause, objects disappearing and the accidents.

Now everyone in the whole place knew something was wrong and only one creature knew what. Gorrog was sitting in his accustomed position and shifted his weight on the hooks that held his hands and feet down. None off the Germanes had visited this section of the prison in a while, terrified of what Gorrog was doing, the bouts of insanity, the screaming and other assorted demonic activities.

All he needed now was food, his hunger had long since vanished which he took as a sign of terrible news, the lack of food would soon cause even these small activities to become as difficult as calling upon the Artifact, and he knew which one he would call on if the opportunity presented itself.

Than it struck him, if he could lure one of the ponies close to his maw, he could lung forward and start eating or he could use up a large portion of his remaining strength to conjure an Imp.

With sufficient time spent on it the Imp could melt the hooks binding him to the ground, and later open up one the cells for Gorrog.

Gorrog opened his mouth, his gums and tongue dry from lack of moisture. His small black eyes fixed on a small point of light advancing down the hallway, its light flashing down the corridor and under the iron door.

His eyes widened, and his thoughts raced franticly. He could not escape especially in his weakened state.

“If only the Vargary could see me now, their greatest enemy bound in chains and left to die here.”

The door creaked open, and a hooded figure entered flanked by two soldiers of the rank and file of the Germane army each one equipped with a spear.

“It has been a long time Gorrog, I thought they would have killed you by now but I was wrong, but at least I can see they did not feed you.”

Gorrog recognized the voice, and his jaw dropped, he thought that they were at a state of war.

Unveiling herself, Twilight stepped forward, her eyes boring into his head.

“I see your wondering exactly why the Germanes et me in to see you especially considering that our two countries are in a state of war with each other. Look carefully at these soldiers Gorrog, tell me what do you see?”

“Meat.”

Twilight was taken aback, she was not expecting that response, but walking forward she placed her hoof on Gorrog’s chest.

“I’ve waited a long time for this.”

Her horn started to glow, magic collecting into a ball of purple magic, her eyes lighting up.

Gorrog braced himself for the blast. He had lived a long life, over a century of glorious warfare, battling inside Hell for dominance over its vast legions.

A snarl interrupted Twilight and Gorrog tried to see what made it when a scream rang out from the doorway.

“What is that!”

Twilight turned her face plastered with surprise.

“What in the name of Celestia?”

The snarled changed into a roar and a black shape rammed into Twilight.

Gorrog stared at the spectacle the ball of magic exploded with sufficient force to incinerate anything caught in its blast.

Gorrog felt the heat roll over him, and even with his resistance to fire he flinched.

Turning his head he saw a slightly crispy Twilight emerge along with a black and very muscular pony, with patches of fur missing along his back, a ridge of bone poking above his spine, and with his left front hoof replaced with a large bony claw, resembling that of a crabs.

The smell of burning flesh caught Gorrog’s attention and he stared at Little Horn, the right side of his face scorched to the bone.

The only part that was intact was his eye, it turned to face Twilight and a low growl escaped his lips.

“What in the name of Celestia is that?”

Little Horn issued a roar from his jaws, his teeth long and needle like, pure rage in his eyes, as it registered to him that half his face was missing.

Leaping forward he struck at Twilight, slamming her into the walls of the cell.

Gorrog could only watch as his creation battled a full-fledged alicorn, knowing that unless the battle finished quickly it would result in both their deaths.

He started throwing his weight into the hooks intending to snap them at their base. Lurching from side to side he wasn’t making much of a dent in the metal, yet it was so taxing on his strength.

A burst of purple light filled his cell, and he saw Little Horn’s body thrown into him.

“You will pay for ever touching me, abomination!”

“I will devour your body!”

He charged into Twilight, using his horns as battering rams, only to be tossed aside by Twilight’s magic with contemptuous ease.

Gorrog was desperately using the last of his strength to break the hooks so he could join the fight.

He saw one of the bases start to bend, it could no longer contain him, and he lurched in that direction attempting to push it over the edge and break it.

The hook snapped off and his left arm was free.

He roared with satisfaction, and resumed his efforts on the other three hooks, using his free hand to heat the other hooks with a plasma ball.

Gorrog’s efforts to break his bonds while they were starting to show fruit were not fast enough, and glancing at Little Horn he realized that he would soon lose the fight with Twilight, despite his larger size and strength, her magic easily tipped the balance in her favor.

Gorrog broke the second hook, desperation fueling his efforts, and shuddered as he heard Little Horn cry out, the pain in his voice evident.

Gorrog grunted and started work on the bottom hooks, grimacing at as the pain of his injuries came back to him, the holes in his hands weeping black tears.

“No, he cannot escape, not now!”

Gorrog watched as the two Germanes charged him, their spears lowered and Gorrog roared at them, his wrath at being imprisoned surging forth. And he lunged forward, and knocked the spears out the hands of soldiers and using both hands brought one of the soldiers to his mouth, and took the first bite of meat in several weeks.

The pony let out a scream of terror and pain as Gorrog’s jaws removed a portion of his rear leg, blood pouring out.

“Get me out of here Hans.”

Hans bolted down the passageway screaming.

Gorrog, let go with one hand and used it to open a rent in the pony’s armor.

“Help me, please, someone please.”

The pony was losing coherence as more of his blood flowed out onto Gorrog’s body and face.

Gorrog bit down on the pony’s front leg and started chewing, his lack of cheeks, sending gore and viscera flying.

The pony passed out from blood loss and pain as Gorrog continued to devour him, moving on from his legs onto his stomach area, tearing out his innards and tossing them into the air, snapping his jaws closed on them.

Swallowing them, he heard the noise of something vomiting. Turning his head, blood dripping down it and obscuring some of his vision he saw Twilight vomit at the sight of his feeding. He looked downwards at his feet and saw that he had torn their hooks out of the ground when he lunged at the soldiers.

“Now, Princess I get to show you the same hospitably that Celestia got.”

He rose to his full eleven foot height, dwarfing Twilight and Little Horn, who was still trying to rise to his feet, his body bearing the signs of serious abuse.

Gorrog say the look of terror start to appear in Twilight’s eyes. He took a step towards her, his foot causing a loud echo in the passageway.

“Now Princess, Hell is unleashed!”

He rushed towards her intending to crush her against the wall, but in a flash of light she teleported out of his way and ran down the passage, galloping at full pace.

“You have risen once more master… I bring tidings of… war. The Black Tide has mobilized against Equestria in full force… they are currently fighting their soldiers outside of Manehatten.”

“War, Little Horn with it we shall rally demons to our cause and alert the others of my return.”

He stumbled sudden weakness grasping at him.

“I need sustenance, my fellow prisoners will prove more than sufficient.”

Gorrog grasping the wall, made his way to the door, and had to turned himself sideways to get through it, falling over and landing on his chest.

Pushing himself to his feet, he grasped the bars of a cell and stared at its inhabitants, drinking in their fear.

“By the Empress, he walks. The black terror walks again.”

Gorrog turned his head to the sound of the voice. A soldier stared at him, with a face he partially recognized but could not quite place it.

“Soldier which one of these cages are housing Equestrian Ponies?”

He saw the soldier’s eyes widen and he pointed to the one across from him and his own.

“Thank you.”

He pulled himself forward and approached the next set of cages, and ripped open the doors, his strength being used up more and more as did what were once normal feats for him. Walking inside he snarled at its griffon occupants, who faced him with talons bared.

They stood slightly taller than Ponies and with their wings flared looked much more intimidating.

“What are you?” Asked one of the griffons.

“Didn’t you listen to the soldier over there I’m the black terror, and your greatest nightmare.”

Gorrog edged his way forward, hit tongue snaking between his teeth and motioned for Little Horn to extinguish the lights.

Moving fast he snuffed out the four torches that provided the little light down in the dungeons.

Gorrog took a step forward and bit down on where he thought the griffons to be. Missing them he turned and swept his arms around him, listening for any telltale signs of where they were.

He opened tasted the air, and their scent washed over him, the scent of fear, sweat and blood also mingled in the air. He moved to the left slightly and sniffed again, his nostrils flaring as he tried to find the griffons.

Something brushed him, trying to dart around him, and out the gate. He slammed into It, driving the griffon’s body into the bars and heard the sound of bone snapping. Tiring of these games Gorrog ignited a plasma ball, and it came crackling to life, shedding light on the cells, and stared at the now terrified Griffon, the other lying next to him trying to crawl away, using in frontal arms, but unable to rise as his spine had been broken.

Gorrog bent over and picked up the Griffon, and slammed him into the walls of cell, not feeling the talons of the Griffon which were striking his flesh, trying to hurt him enough that he would stop.

Gorrog arched his neck forward and bit down on the Griffon’s head and made a jerking action, tearing it off.

The other Griffon started screaming and Gorrog turned to face him, only to see Little Horn leap forward and pounce on the Griffon, tearing into his flesh with his claw. The Griffon responded by slashing a Little Horn’s face, cutting a series of parallel lines down it. Little Horn responded by slamming his pincer into the Griffon’s belly, and opened it, leading to a terrible shriek of agony escape the Griffon’s beak.

Gorrog continued devouring his Griffon, enjoying the gamey taste of its flesh and crushing it bones as he passed more and more of its flesh into his mouth, devouring as much as he could.

Strength started to return to his limbs as he gorged himself.

“My lord, the soldier who escaped will have raised an alarm by now, I can pass for a pony at a distance, and if I have clothing I’ll be able to escape in a crowd.”

The tramp of boots echoed down the stairs, and Gorrog glanced at Little Horn, who was busily wriggling his way into the armor and clothing of the Germane soldier.

Gorrog looked at the stairs, the dungeon would soon be flooded with soldiers and in his weakened state, he would be unable to protect himself.

“Little Horn, I shall teleport out of here, but first, thank you for coming to my aid.”

Little Horn nodded, already trying to appear like one of Germane soldiers.

He lay on the ground, eyes closed, attempting to look like he was unconscious.

Gorrog drew upon Hell, and air and small pebbles being pulled in around him, and vanished in a crack of red lightning.