“A magic duel?” Shadow Heart asked in confusion.

“Exactly.” Skeletal Deviant replied with a grin. “Sonata is the prize. Whoever wins gets to claim her as their own.”

‘You gotta be kidding me…’

“So, you choose to go the road of the magic duel?” Queen Haydon responds in a calm tone. While Shadow Heart was more confused about what she was talking about, Princess Leonore walked up to him with concern.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Princess Leonore asked in a worried tone.

“Why the face, it’s just a magical duel. What’s so bad about it?” Shadow Heart replied in a confused tone. Skeletal Deviant only snickers at the question when he asked it. “And what’s so funny?”

“You must not know how things are run here do you?” Skeletal said mockingly. “Allow me to explain; The way this works, goes back to the times when this kingdom was founded. After Grogar was sealed away and after Tirek was trapped in the wastelands of Tartarus, many demons were left without someone to serve. And soon many demons roamed this plain desperate to overpower one another, either by amount of wealth, women, or magical power. So our beloved queen here took power through a competition to show off one’s power, strength and speed.”

“It was my way of maintaining order after my husband’s passing.” She said.

“Maintaining order?”

“I’ve had some rowdy rebellious citizens during my rule since they were more war torn and I didn’t want to lead us into another war with other nations that didn’t do anything to us,” Queen Haydon added walking towards the balcony. “So I had to challenge them to a duel to silence them. It was at that time that they had their powers stripped away and banished form the city.”

“So you’re saying that If I lose the fight against Skeletal Deviant here?”

“Then your powers would be removed and you will become a mortal being, and banished from my city,” She followed up. “There was only one demon that stood a chance against me during my rule here.”

“Hold on,” Princess Lenore said her mouth agape. “What demon was able to take you?”

“A Succubus by the name of Velvet Rose,” She added, picking up a picture. “And she was my friend.”

“The leader of her little succubus gang The Velvet Roses?” Leonore said in shock.

“She’s a legend in the making and our fight ended in a draw. I’ve actually had a great respect for her and her strength despite the succubi that feeds on the lust and greed of males alike.” Haydon replied in a calm tone.

‘Whose Velvet Rose?’ Dusk thought to himself. ‘Why do I feel that name is familiar’

“But enough about that, I’m just warning you now that once you start this, there’s no going back,” She adds as she walks towards Shadow Heart with a dark glare. “So outsider, are you prepared for what may happen if you lose?”

“I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t here to get her back.”

“How do we know that she belongs to you?” Haydon added in a dark tone as she leered at Shadow Heart. “Skeletal happens to be one of my most trusted advisors and all who challenged him have lost. For all we know you may be a lowly incubus that was trying to move in on power.”

"Because I claimed her and she knows who I am. Is that proof enough for you, or do you need a demonstration to prove she's mine?"

“The only way you’ll prove that is through our battle Dear Shadow Heart,” Skeletal replied with a cocky smile. Sonata was afraid that Dusk would look as she looked at Shadow Heart with pleading in her eyes.

“So what’s it going to be?” He replied with a grin. With a sigh, Shadow Heart uttered his words.

“I accept your terms.”

“Heh, agreed,” Skeletal Deviant replied with a mischievous smile

[bi]‘Are you really agreeing to this?’ Dusk said in Shadow’s mind. ‘Sonata is not just some trophy in this, she's a living being.’

‘Like I have a choice. We either win her within three hours, or we risk losing her forever.’

“Then it’s decided,” Haydon replied with a sigh as she and her remaining guard walked towards her door. “We start in one hour, so be prepared.”

“Good luck my fated opponent,” Skeletal Deviant replied as he pulled Sonata by the chain around her wrists forcing her to come with him. While Sonata was being taken away, she gave one last look to Dusk that was saying ‘help me’ before being led out of the room.

“Move it prisoner,” The two gaurds made as they poked Shadow Heart in the back with their spears forcing him to move forward. Shadow Heart knew there was no going back as did Dusk since they were short on time.

-Prison Cells-

“Might as well enjoy your new home scum,” The guard behind Shadow Heart said as he was led into a large prison cell that had a few prisoners inside. They soon went up to a large cell door and Shadow Heart was thrown into a single prison cell as he landed on the floor with a loud thud and the door behind him would lock.

“Assholes,” Shadow Heart groaned as he got up and dusted himself off.

‘Great, now we’re back in the prison again,’[i/] Dusk replied in a dark tone.

“Don’t worry, I’ll figure out a way out of this,” Shadow Heart replied in a calm tone. “It’s not like we’re gonna be here forever once we beat this asshole.”

"Get used to it. You're gonna be living here for the rest of eternity," said another male voice. Shadow Heart looked over and noticed another demon who had a bulky build, red skin with demon markings on parts of his body and had long hair reaching the bottom part of his back. His eyes were orange-yellow with slit pupils and had two black horns. "Face it, that lying, cheating bastard has a way of getting things his way. And he worked things in his favor to shut me up."

“Cheating?” Shadow asked in confusion.

‘What’s he talking about?’ Dusk asked in confusion.

"Before I go any further, my name's Ifrit, the infamous fire demon. That pompous jackass you're about to face, he uses cheap tricks with whatever kind of crystals he hid on the battlefield," Ifrit explains, turning away in shame.

“And no one has busted him on this and you tried but failed?”

“He has a veil that activates every time anyone uses an attack spell."

"A veil, huh? Hmm… maybe I can use this to my advantage to put the overgrown lard-ass on ice. But don't get me wrong, I'm not gonna go and cheat my way to victory like that scumbag."

“Yeah well it’s how that asshole ran things ever since he came into power,” Ifrit replied in a usual dull tone. “I was originally the queen’s royal advisor until that pompous bastard came along and cheated his way into my spot. When I tried to expose him to the queen she at first thought I was a sore loser if I didn’t have any proof on him. I had my powers sealed away and my position stripped from me because of him,”

‘What do you think Shadow?’ Dusk asked. ‘How can we beat this guy if offensive spells won't work on him?’

'You've learned how to detect anti-magic items, right?' Shadow asked Dusk in his mind.

‘Of course I have,’ Dusk replied. ‘It’s something I’ve learned how to do ever since the incident Chrysalis kidnapped us.’

'Then we've got a chance to get our girl back, clear this guy's name and give the brat the greatest ass-kicking of a lifetime. Oh yeah… it's all coming together,'

“So even after what I told you, you’re still gonna go through with it?” Ifrit replied in a dull tone. Shadow Heart turned to face him with a dark expression.

“Let’s just say, I have somepony worth saving,” Shadow Heart replied, turning towards Ifrit. “I’m not even from this city, and the jackass you’re describing took somepony dear from me, and I need to get her back.”

“Heh, I heard a lot of demons give that exact same speech before they had everything taken from that asshole,” Ifrit replied. “Trust me, you’re better off throwing the match.”

“Then you haven’t met someone like me before if you think I'm gonna let that dipshit make a fool out of me. When I commit to something, I won't stop until I get it done… like my women,” Shadow Heart replied. “Let’s just say I have my own ways of exposing corrupt bastards like him, and he’s going to have a lot of hell to pay by the time I’m done..”

“Whatever floats your boat pal,” Ifrit replied as he turned away from him. “So how long did you get before your inevitable loss?”

“Thirty minutes when I got thrown in here, 5 minutes went by since we started chatting, so I've got 15 more minutes until I head out there. And it's all I'm gonna need to prepare for this fight,”

“Well good look then,” Ifrit replied. "But don't say I didn't warn you."

-Coliseum-

In the center of the city was a large coliseum that was the pinnacle of one on one duels or bloody battle royals that spread like tartarus wildfires. Demons and demonesses were gathering around, making their way to their seats as news of Shadow Heart and Skeletal Deviants fight spread like wildfire and demons were thinking to themselves what idiot would be challenging him this time. As for Queen Haydon and her daughter, Leonore, they took their seats in a private stand, towering above their subjects and next to them was the prized, captured former siren, Sonata, still in her slave outfit and anxious about how this fight was going to turn out.

With everyone patiently waiting, Skeletal was also preparing himself for yet another "win" as he calls it. "Hehehe, that little punk is gonna be in for a great big humiliation when he gets a heaping help of defeat. His bitch is as good as mine!"

“Why do you seem upset dear Sonata?” Loenore replied in confusion.

“Skeletal is a monster and you don’t even see it,” Sonata replied in a dull yet scared tone.

“We’re all monsters in tartarus, sister,” Leonore replied in a dull tone.

“Not that way, I mean with how he treats any female he meets as property,” Sonata repleid. “He’s a monster in that perspective.”

“If it makes you feel any better, I don’t like him either,” Leonore added. "He's been nothing but a royal pain since he took up the advisor position."

“You don’t understand, I found a diary about a plan that he has involving taking over the entire city and soon invading Hesperia, and it’s not good,”

"What plan?” Leonore asked in confusion. Sonata was about to say something when a cough was soon heard getting her attention. She turned around to find Skeletal Deviant dressed in dark silver battle armor that had a skull and crossbones on the chest plate as well as shield.

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything,” Skeletal deviant replied in a calm tone. He walked over to the royal monarch and her daughter. He turns over to glare at Sonata who is now paralyzed with fear in her eyes. She suddenly felt a migraine coming on as she felt him invading her mind.

“When this is over my dear,” Skeletal replied in a dark tone. “I’m going to fuck you so hard that your brain is going to melt and leave you with so many marks, you'll even be branded as my top cum dumpster,”

Sonata was frozen as tears began to well up in her face, and she knew that if Dusk didn’t win, her life in Equestria was over. Haydon sensed Sonata's distress.

"My dear, what seems to be troubling you?" Haydon asked, but she didn't say anything. Her eyes were shrunk and she was frozen with fear. Her tears ran violently down her face, crying for all of this to be over the way she wants it to be.

“She’s just excited for how the match would play out as all,” Skeletal deviant replied with a smug smile that makes anyone want to puke. “So where is my next loser?”

“If you mean your next opponent, he should be here since I sent a few guards to retrieve him,” Haydon replied in a calm tone. She then walks up to her podium and taps on the microphone getting everyone’s attention.

"Demons and demonesses, welcome to tonight's one and only "Clash of the Demons!" As you all know, for tonight's prize, we have a lovely dame," she said, gesturing to the caged Sonata. Most of the demons whistled at how cute she looked, but she didn't respond due to being frear-struck by her captor. "And for tonight's fighters, we have the undefeated champion, the one and only Skeletal Deviant!"

The crowd all shouted out boos and jeers as the reigning champion stepped into the ring. He laughed it off without a care in the world, flexing his muscles.

"Not to mention disgusting," Leonore said under her breath.

"And his opponent in battle, a demon who comes from parts unknown. The mysterious, yet charming and oh-so seductive incubus… Shadow Heart!" said the demoness. As the gates opened up, the mischievous, confident incubus stepped out, smiling at his prayer as Skeletal was in for a big surprise at what he had in store for him. The crowd seemed to be on his side, but are all assuming he'd lose all the same. Shadow Heart was dressed in some armor that was provided by his captors and it was coated in a scarlet red sheen with blatch patches to block out heat.

Skeletal seemed skeptical and thought he was just putting up a facade. "What's that look for, you smug little runt?" he asked.

"Just getting my head in the game. Everyone came here to watch another Clash of the Demons, right? So what better way to give them a good show than to put on my best game face."

"You must be thick in the head. This ain't no fight if I know you're gonna lose. So why not be a good little incubus and forfeit the match. You'll save yourself the embarrassment," Skeletal said.

“I’m here to rescue my mare, that’s final you pompous jackass,” Shadow Heart replied in a dark tone, cracking his knuckles.

“Hmph, don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Skeletal replied as he readied his sword. “You’re going to regret chasing me here to get your little whore, and you’ll now have to suffer humiliation at my own hands.”

“Well you’re gonna regret taking her from me,” Shadow Heart replied as he readied a sword that was given to him.

“Before we begin, we have some rules to go over for the newcomer,” Queen Haydon replied as she summoned a scroll into her hands. "There will be no fatalities, killing is strictly forbidden. You may use any weapon you choose or any spells, except for invisibility or any spells that cancel out others' magic, same with items that have that ability. Poking in the eyes is prohibited, same with hitting in the private parts. But if you make your opponent hit themselves below the belt, that's fine. And above all, if you are defeated in battle, you will have your powers taken away and will be banished from the city… forever!"

'Oh, now I've got an even better reason to stay here longer. Skeletal, you are in for one big… surprise, mothafucka!'

''Seriously? Did you really have to say that overused line?'

'Why not? I'm about to mop the floor with this dickhead, so I might as well have fun while doing it,' Shadow thought. "I understand, your… excellency. Now then, I'm ready for action!"

"Alrighty then. Now that we've established the formalities. Demons, choose your weapons and await for the battle to commence."

-Everfree Forest-

Outside of the Everfree Forest, stood a familiar mother who was looking very pissed off as she was standing where Dusk and Skeletal left.

“If that bastard thinks he’s going to tear my family apart,” She said as she snapped her fingers and opened up a portal to Tartarus. A rune circle would also appear under her and her clothing would change to just a sash covering her chest, bat wings sprouting from her back, and two horns sticking out of her head. She then looks back at the portal with her ruby slit cat eyes with a scowl on her face. “You have another thing coming you pompous bastard.”

She then jumps through the portal before disappearing behind her seconds later. Within the demon realm, she cracks her knuckles and glares at her former home. ‘Watch out, Skeletal, You messed with my cub, now mama bear's coming to kick your ass and feed it to you.’ she thought to herself.

-Coliseum-

The sounds of chatter rang all throughout the coliseum. The spectators waited eagerly to watch the battle that was about to begin. Dusk was determined to rescue Sonata, Shadow Heart wanted to show Skeletal up, and Skeletal Deviant was just smug to add another mare into his large harem. Queen Haydon soon stood up from her throne and looked down at both contestants.

“Are both sides ready?” She asked both Shadow Heart and Skeletal Deviant

"Yeah… ready to create another sex slave!" Skeletal boasted.

“I’m ready to kick your fucking ass,” Shadow Heart said to himself but then responds with “I’m Ready!”

“Good, then let the battle begin,” She announced and the sounds of a gong went off as both males charged at each other and clashed blades. Dusk was actually thankful that his sister taught him some forms of combat before going here after the events of them being kidnapped. He could tell that this Skeletal Deviat was very skilled when it came to a sword and shield as they clashed blades with one another.

“Oh please, you’re swinging the sword as if you were throwing a temper tantrum,” Skeletal deviant mocked. “Where did you learn how to fight?”

"Like you're one to talk, swinging that thing like some hairy-ass cave pony from the stone ages-- oh wait, I forgot, you are one," Shadow retorted.

“Hmph, keep up this foolish cannon fodder, you’re only delaying the inevitable of losing my brand new pet,”

“She isn’t your pet jackass,”

“Not yet,” He followed this up by pushing Dusk back and creating a rune circle. “Well now, why don’t we see how you can handle this?”

“The fuck’s he doing?” Shadow asked.

‘I think he’s gonna use a spell,’ Dusk replied from the amulet. ‘I’ve seen these types of rune circles before.’

“Well what spell is he using?” Shadow Heart asked in confusion. The sounds of crackling lighting soon followed short and it was getting Shadow’s attention. Several thunderclouds soon followed up and Skeletal was just smiling as he pointed towards Shadow with his swords and a knowing smirk.

“An offensive spell huh? Well two can play at that game,” Shadow lit up his horn, conjuring up a spell that would surround him in a magic veil to protect himself. However, his spell is quickly cancelled before it can fully be enchanted. “The fuck?” Then before he knew it, a bolt of lightning blasted Shadow into a wall, leaving a large crack in it.

“Aww what’s the matter, struggling to get your magic out?” Skeletal laughed in a mocking tone. The spectators just cheered and some even laughed at the expense of Shadow’s misfortune.

“Man, it’s just another one sided slaughter show,” One spectator said.

“I don’t know why he even tried, Skeletal has never lost before.” Another spectator followed up. Meanwhile in the royal stand, Queen haydon sighed and sat down in her throne thinking that her royal advisor had another win in his back pocket.

“It would seem we have another over anxious demon trying to claim false hope in keeping you,” Queen Haydon followed up as she took a sip of her red wine. Princess Loenore thought that she was going to watch another boring fight and was about to leave, but turned around to see a scared and confused Sonata looking at the fight with shock and despair.

“Hey don’t feel bad,” Leonore said, trying to help cheer her up. “If you want, I can probably visit you at your new home.”

“This is wrong,” Sonata said, making Leonore confused.

“Look I know you don’t like the asshole, but you’re going to have to deal with the fact that-”

“That’s not what I mean,” Sonata interrupted. “I’ve seen his magic and how powerful it is, so to have it suddenly cancel out like that doesn’t make any sense. That’s what I find so wrong with this.”

“What do you mean?” Leonore asked her in confusion.

“Something is wrong with this fight,” Sonata followed up. “They said that Skeletal never lost a fight, but has anypony ever thought to ask why he never lost? It just doesn't make any sense. Nopony or demon can be that good if his opponent's spells just cancel out like that.”

"I've been wondering the same thing, but even with my abilities, I can't sense any foul play. And unless I can detect the source, I can't do anything to stop this match. I'm sorry, young lady," Queen Haydon said.

“Well something has to be going down,” Sonata followed up with fear and confusion. “No one can be this good.”

Meanwhile back on the coliseum floor, Shadow Heart groaned as he slowly sat back up unsure of what just happened.

“Damn it, what the fuck happened?” Shadow Heart groaned. “That never happened before.

‘This must be what Ifrit was warning us about,’ Dusk replied in shock. ‘This is how Ifrit first lost to Skeletal Deviant, he really is cheating.’

“Well how’re we gonna bust this guy?” Shadow Heart asked. “Did you sense where the magic canceling was coming from?”

‘No sorry,’ Dusk replied with a somber tone. ‘He must’ve cloaked them pretty well that not even advanced demons can sense what’s going on.’

"Fuck! Okay, we'll just have to keep a sharp watch out for whatever's causing this. Mark my words, we're gonna kick his ass." Shadow Heart followed up as he stood back up and Skeletal smirked thinking that the fool had a chance.

“Still trying to delay the inevitable?” He mocked, readying his sword. “You’re an even bigger fool for not staying down when you had the chance.”

“I’m just getting started you asshole,” Shadow Heart groaned brandishing his sword.

"Aww, too bad I'm going to finish it. Game over, runt! Your bitch is mine!" Skeletal said, preparing another attack. He charged at the weakened Shadow Heart, going for another slash and he barely managed to dodge the attack and tried to clash with the oversized ogre. However, Skeletal merely swung his sword and knocked Shadow's momentum away, slicing the air. Things take a turn for the worse when Skeletal slashes at Shadow again and leaves a huge gash on his chest. Shadow yelled out in agony as he stepped back.

“I’m sorry did that hurt you?”

However, the pain was short-lived as his gash wound quickly healed. Shadow snarled at his heavy-set foe with hostility.

“You’re really starting to piss me off you asshole,” Shadow Heart growled. His fury clouded his mind as he charged forward and slashed at Skeletal.

“Really now,” He mocked as he dodged another slash. “Why don’t you show me how pissed off you really are?”

"You asked for it, fatso," Shadow growled. He concentrated every ounce of his mind into conjuring up a lightning spell, channeling it from his horn to his hands. But when he tried to blast his attack, his magic attack fizzled out once more.

“Really now, you’re just embarrassing yourself at this point. Time to put you out of your misery!" Skeletal said. The massive tyrant conjures up a massive black ball of dark energy, brimming with sparks of white lighting, then launches it at Shadow. Shadow barely dodges this attack and could tell Skeletal was toying with him. But then…

"Shadow, I think I found something," Dusk said, getting Shadow’s attention.

“What is it Dusk?” Shadow asked in frustration

"I can't really explain what it is, but it looks like there's some crystals flashing inside those torches every time you try to cast a spell. I could be wrong, but they might be the source of what's disabling our magic." Dusk explained.

“Cheeky bastard,” Shadow Heart said to himself. “How do we cancel those damn things out?”

"I'm not sure, maybe there's a way to crack them up and break them. Any anti-magic item that's broken becomes useless." Dusk explained.

“Well how can we overload them if we can’t use our magic?” Shadow Heart followed up as he dodged another lightning blast.

“Maybe we can't, but he can,” Dusk followed up gesturing towards Skeletal Deviant who was still very smug about his next so called victory.

"Hmm… you just might be onto something." Shadow smirked.

‘If we can trick him into blasting those crystals we can have access to our magic again and end this once and for all.’

"I read you loud and clear. And I know exactly how to bait him. Hey, you giant turd! I've seen better throws than that from your mama!" Shadow provoked, getting in front of one of the torches.

"A cheeky loser to the bitter end, I'll give you that! Alright then, catch this!" Skeletal shouted, tossing another dark ball at Shadow. Only this time, the blast was dodged and Shadow watched as the attack made contact with the crystal. However, instead of shattering into pieces, it absorbed the magic.

“What the?”

“It seems you know of my little trick, but too bad it was all in vain,” Skeletal replied with a smile. “You really thought I would fall in your little trap?”

“You knew?”

“I anticipated that one of you would eventually try a stunt like that,” Skeletal replied as he lifted his hand in the air and trapped Shadow Heart within a bone hand. “So I had my little gems enchanted to absorb energy around the field, even my own if they felt threatened.”

“You bastard!”

"Now, accept your defeat like all the other losers!" Skeletal boasted before blasting Shadow with a dark bast wave, knocking him against the wall.

‘Damn, I thought it would work,’[i/] Dusk replied in a somber tone.

“Damn it, is there any way to kick this bastards ass?” Shadow Heart groaned as he stood up from the knock back. Rather he tried to stand up only to be grabbed by the wall by another bone hand and pinned to it where he couldn’t escape.

“I think it’s time I ended this foolish show,” Skeletal replied as he summoned one more rune circle to charge up another lightning strike. This one looked to be much stronger than the previous lightning strikes that he used before.

“Damn it, I can’t get loose,” Shadow Heart groaned as he tried to get free of his destructive ["Dusk, listen… if I can't beat him, you're gonna have to take over. Maybe a demon can't beat him… but an alicorn stallion prince might be a different story. If you can… give this tub of lard Tartarus"

“What do you mean by-” Dusk couldn't finish his question as the bolt of lightning struck Shadow with pin-point accuracy. Shadow shouted in agony before he lost consciousness. The bone hand that held him let him go, causing him to fall to the ground limp. Skeletal chuckled, thinking he's finally won yet another match and stared down at his "beaten" foe.

Sonata watched in horror as her beloved didn't move. 'No. No! It can't end like this! I can't let it end this way… I won't!' she thought. 'Dusk, please! Get back up, I beg of you!'

‘So..Sonata?’ Dusk thought to himself.

‘Dusk please, you have to get up! I know you're stronger than this! Don't let that monster take me from you! If he does, he'll… I… I don't even want to think of what he'll do! So please! GET BACK UP!’ Sonata cried out in her mind, scared and shaken.

‘I… I don’t...know what to do…’ Dusk admitted. ‘He...he thought of everything even before I could make a move, I don’t know how to beat him.’

‘Oh come on, you managed to get out of tight situations before,’ Sonata persisted.

‘When I was with my friends, but now I’m by myself here,” Dusk followed up. “I’m not sure what to do anymore...he’s won…’

‘What about when you conquered me, my sisters and the other evil empresses back when you claimed us as your mates?' Sonata asked

‘That was my other half and he’s out cold at the moment,’

'Out cold or not, he's still a part of you. His demon blood runs within your veins. And whether you're alone or not, the strength of your friends are always there with you.'

‘Wh-what?’

‘What about that time you told us when Eris was still evil at the time that you were able to get everyone back together after Celestia helped you?’

At that moment, Dusk's mind traveled down memory lane. He recalled all the times he and his friends always found a way to stop evil, even when they were separated. Heck, Dusk even once held his own against Lady Terra when she escaped from Tartarus with the other alicorn magics he gained from Cadance, Luna and Celestia. And if he was able to match up against a magic-sucking tyrant, then the demon who relies on cheating is no different.

'You're right… This isn't any different. Sonata, I mean this in the nicest of ways. I'm glad Shadow made you be by my side. I promise, when all of this has ended, I'll make it up to you in any way you wish.'

‘Thank you, now please get back up, and make this asshole pay,’ Sonata followed up.

Meanwhile Skeletal was smiling over his new spoils of victory and he thought that it was over.

“Well my queen, It appears to be over,” Skeletal said with a smile.

“It would seem so,” Queen Haydon replied as she stood from her throne. “I hereby declare the victory goes to-”

“Hey, he’s getting back up.” A spectator said, pointing towards the ring. Dusk was slowly but surely getting back up, slightly charred, but still alive and well, glaring at a rather annoyed Skeletal Deviant.

"You little runt! You should've stayed down! Why do you insist on making a fool of yourself?!" Skeletal asked, clenching his fists. “What do you see in this foolish plaything?”

“Plaything?” Dusk said panting, still trying to recover his strength. “You only see her as a slave.”

"So what if I do?" Skeletal retorted.

"That's your problem. You don't see Sonata the way I do… the way Shadow Heart does. She's more than just some sex slave, she's a living being who has a life of her own. A life she deserves to choose of her own free will. She also happens to be my alpha female… and she's my lover. Whether she sees me as her "master" or not, she and I are equal. That's something that you'll never comprehend, Skeletal. All you care about is taking away others happiness without any shred of remorse. You always let your puny dick do the talking," Dusk spoke out.

"YEAH!!! TELL HIM, KID!!!" shouted one of the spectators. The sounds of spectators cheering at Dusks' works actually pissed off Skeletal, and all that combined with the puny dick comment sending him over the edge.

“Now’ you’re just asking me to kill you,” Skeletal Deviant growled as he summoned another rune circle to charge another magical blast. Dusk wasn’t moving though, what he didn’t realize was that something was surrounding his body. "You should've stayed down when you had the chance, kid! Now I'm gonna obliterate you!"

Skeletal then fires his final lightning blast with the intent of destroying Dusk from the inside out, but when the blast connects, only a cloud of smoke is left behind. Then later, as the smoke cleared out, Skeletal was left astonished to see Dusk still standing and with his arm sticking out. Somehow he had blocked the attack with just one hand and his eyes were glowing white.

“W-what the?” Skeletal Deviant was both shocked and confused as to what was going on, even most of the spectators were surprised as was the queen.

“Well now, this suddenly got interesting,” Queen Haydon replied with a smile as she sat back in her throne. Princess Leonore was shocked seeing this as she thought this was just another win with Skeletal, only for things to suddenly turn around like this was surprising.

"Your attacks can't hurt me anymore, Skeletal,” Dusk replied as the wounds he received were slowly healing and even more demonic energy surrounded him. A rune circle soon appeared below him and he was surrounded in a purple light.

His height increased by a few inches and his body muscle grew, yet he still had a slender figure, allowing him to keep his mobility well-balanced. His pupils became slit like a demon. Black demon markings covered parts of his face, mostly around the eyes like a mask. Same for his shoulders and his chest.

"How can this be?! Who are you?!" Skeletal demanded.

"I am Dusk Shine…" Dusk said. He quickly moved up close to Skeletal using super speed similar to Rainbow Dash's and punched him in the gut with tremendous force similar to Applejack's raw strength. The raw force was enough to send Skeletal flying against the wall. The spectators gasped in awe and how much power Dusk displayed from just a single punch.

“Holy crap...” Princess Leonore said in shock. She then turned to a relieved sonata who was just as surprised seeing him like this. “How long was he holding back?”

“I don’t know,” Sonata said in surprise. “This is the first time I’ve seen him like this in my life.”

Meanwhile Skeletal Deviant was slowly groaning, getting up from the sudden gut punch. Infuriated, he wanted to attack, but the blow to his gut got him so sick, he upchucked a small pool of his own blood.

“You….you dare spill my blood?” He growled glaring at the newly empowered Dusk. “You DARE TO WOUND ME?!!”

"The pain you're about to feel will make that punch look like child's play. And I intend to make you suffer greatly for what you've done!" Dusk said, aiming his hand out at Skeletal. From the tips of his fingers, tiny magic diamonds shot out, some grazing Skeletal skin while some pierced him like a deadly hail storm.

“YOU BASTARD!!” He shouted as he opened a portal to summon a demon’s hand through it. He felt his pride being broken apart, and he wasn’t going to stand for it. He sends the demon’s hand after him to try and crush Dusk, but without even looking, Dusk took one big step out of the way and avoided being crushed to death.

"That trick won't work on me," Dusk said calmly. Just this his stare intensifies. When that does happen, Dusk could feel himself getting calmer and could see more clearly. Everything felt like it was in slow-motion. He could see where Skeletal's weak points were and whether they were open or not. "None of your tricks work anymore."

“Why you insolent little-!” He was about to throw another insult only for everything to stop and he felt a serious pain in his stomach once again. Dusk had delivered another punch to him and he didn’t even realize what just happened. He stumbled back from the pain and keeled over, feeling to puke once again.

"This charade has gone on long enough. Now it's time to end this once and for all!" Dusk declared, raising his hand up high. Suddenly, a burst of magical energy surged out of his hand and formed into a giant golden yellow ball.

“This is rather strange,” Queen Haydon replied watching this play out.

“What do you mean?”

“Skeletal has never lost a fight yet here is a new challenger and he’s struggling,” She added feeling rather puzzled. “I think he’s let each of his many wins go to his head and has gotten soft from them.”

‘Or Sonata’s theory was right,’ Leonore followed up. ‘She felt something was off from the start, and I thought she was just an airhead.’

She let her thought wander for a bit as the spectators started to get more and more excited from watching the fight, she looked out to see what was so confusing. While everyone else was focused on the fight, out of the corner of her eyes, she noticed one of the torches flickering.

‘Looks like she was right, I doubt torches are supposed to do that.’ She added. Meanwhile back to the fight. Dusk's golden ball of magic energy continues to grow to incredible size.

"When all is said and done, I plan to free every single demoness and creature you kidnapped, enslaved, and raped and reunite them with their real lovers! And you'll be left to wallow in misery, stripped of your power for the rest of eternity! This is the end for you, Skeletal!" Dusk declared.

"DO IT! FINISH HIM!!!" One of the spectators yelled out.

"ALRIGHT!!! CLOBBER THAT BASTARD!!!" Spectator #2 shouted.

Mere seconds before Dusk launched his attack, he took a moment of silence to think to himself. 'Sonata… Shadow… my friends… family… my lovers… thank you for helping me regain my true strength and showing me what's truly important.' With those thoughts expressed, his magical energy ball was ready. With all his strength, he launched his attack down on Skeletal.

"Curse you, you fool! CURSE YOU!!!!!!!!!" Skeletal shouted as the ball of energy engulfed him, causing pain to surge throughout his body, inside and out. He shouted in agony before the magic exploded. The entire stadium was surrounded by smoke and the spectators were eagerly waiting on who won the battle. As soon as the smoke finally cleared up, it revealed Dusk in his new form but he slowly drops out of it and he slowly shakes his head unsure of what happened. He looked around to see that he was still standing, the setting was in ruins and he saw Skeletal Deviant was in a crater.

“Woah, I won…” he said, surprised while panting

“It seems we have a new champion,” Queen Haydon said proudly. "And the winner of this battle and our new reigning champion… Shadow Heart!"

The entire crowd cheered as Queen Haydon, Princess Leonore, and Sonata all went down to see Dusk who was glad that he was able to pull off a near impossible win. Sonata quickly wrapped her arms around her lover and twirled around in the air. Dusk hugged her back while maintaining his balance as he spun her around, then put her down gently.

"You did it, Dusk. You saved me," Sonata said, crying happy tears.

“I’m sorry, Dusk?” the queen asked in confusion. “What is the meaning of this?”

“It’s a long story, but right now I’m just glad that I got Sonata back,” Dusk replied with a smile. That’s all that matters to me.

“Were you disguising yourself as a demon this entire time?” She asked, quite puzzled at how she believed a mortal could cross into this world. “If you are, then you must be very brave to save a mare and daring to cross into this world.”

"Well… the truth is I'm actually half-demon. My mother's a succubus and my dad's actually a unicorn stallion," Dusk explained.

“A half demon,” Queen Haydon and the crowd looked at Dusk in awe and were very surprised to hear that he was a half demon. While that was going on, a figure emerged from the crater that Dusk created, and he was not happy. It was Skeletal Deviant and he had a small dagger tipped with poison in his right hand.

“The fact that I lost to a demon is one thing,” He said to himself as he slowly walked over towards Dusk and Sonata who had their backs turned. “But the fact that I lost to a half-breed is AN INSULT IN ITSELF!!! DIE YOU LITTLE SHIT!!!"

His shouting caused Dusk and Sonata to look behind them and see that Skeletal Deviant to turn around and see a crazed incubus was glaring at him. The crowd was shocked at his actions and the Queen wasn’t too pleased by his actions. He was close to stabbing him, but a hand grabbed him out of nowhere and the crowd was shocked to see who it was. Skeletal Deviant turned around to find a familiar succubus behind him.

“I think that’s enough out of you, you miserable baby dick bastard…” A female voice called out getting the Queen’s attention.

“Velvet Rose?” Queen Haydon called out and the crowd was shocked to see the legendary gang leader of the Velvet roses in her stadium after all this time. She was standing before the spectators in her usual arm length purple gloves, thigh high boots, and her aura of arousal with her dark purple batlike wings.

“What would the queen of succubi be doing here?” Skeletal was thinking to himself. “My business is with this foolish-”

“No way… MOM?! What are you doing here?!” Dusk called out. The very moment Dusk said that, everyone looked at him in shock. The entire crowd just stared at Dusk as they were surprised to learn that the half demon of one of the strongest succubi was the son of the leader of the roses.

“No way, he’s her son?”

“That makes him a legend,”

“I’m so glad I came out here to see this,”

“This is just insane,”

All of the spectators were clamoring and chattering amongst themselves over the fact that they were witnessing the return of the queen of succubi herself and the fact that she had a son was surprising to them. Meanwhile, Skeletal Deviant was sweating bullets learning of this.

“Hi, Ms. Velvet,” Sonata said casually.

“It’s good so see you both,” She said with a sweet voice.

"You mean to tell me that you're Velvet's son?!" Leonore asked, shocked. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

"I… did say my mom is a succubus, but I guess I never said what her name was," Dusk said.

“I do hope my son wasn’t too much trouble,” She said in a sweet tone towards her son, it was soon going to turn dark when she glared at Skeletal Deviant. “but the reason I’m back is because a little birdie told me that this asshole tried to take my daughter in law away from my son,” She said in a dark voice looking down at a now scared Skeletal who looked ready to piss his pants.

“L-look...if I knew that he was related to you, it wouldn’t have-!” He doesn’t get to finish his excuse when she bends his arm back to where it broke in a single go. He screamed in agony when he felt the bones being bent out of place.

“Zip it Dumbass!” She yelled and he cowered underneath her. "I know you game and I've just about had enough of your bullshit! Taking women away from others who earned them is one thing, but cheating your way into victory unforgivable. I'm sure you knew about this, right?"

“Cheating?” Queen Haydon asked in confusion and even the spectators were confused by what she was talking about. She stood up from her throne and walked over to the group with a scowl on her face. “What is the meaning of this?”

"Strangely, when we first fought, my other half, Shadow Heart, was having trouble using his spells and we're fluent in casting them. But I noticed something odd. Every time Shadow attempted to cast a spell, the torches glew. Something tells me he hid some kind of anti-magic item in those torches," Dusk explained.

“I took one of them down as proof,” Velvet explained as she took out and held one of the torches, tossing out an anti-magic crystal that had broken into pieces. Queen Haydon and Princess Leonore glared over at Skeletal just as the rest of the crowd did.

“So this entire time you cheated your way into the position you earned, just to try and gain favor from me?”

“M-my queen please-!” Skeletal tried to speak only for Velvet to step on his tail to where she cut it off.

“I thought I told you to stay quiet,” She growled her hand being coated in fire. “Be grateful you’re still breathing right now.”

“Serves you right for breaking my arm, you jerk,” Sonata said.

“Wait, he broke your arm?” Dusk asked in shock. Velvet’s right ear twitched hearing that. First Skeletal kidnaps her daughter in law, and now she learns that he hurt her, that’s more than enough to get mama bear ready to maul him to death. Her aura sparked as she turned around to face Skeletal Deviant who was now scared beyond recognition. Her eyes glowing bright red as she glared into his soul.

“Guess that’s another reason for me to beat you to a pulp,” Velvet threatened, cracking her knuckles and Skeletal looked ready to piss himself again.

"Ooh!!! Let me at him! I'll cremate that bastard!!!" A spectator shouted.

“Not only that, but his real plan was to uproot you from power to where he could take over,” Sonata followed up,. The crowd was pretty disgusted hearing what they heard form the group and how they looked at skeletal with disgust as he saw everything that he built was now crashing down. If that wasn’t bad enough for him, the Queen looked pretty furious as she stepped forward with her own glare.

"I cannot condone such a traitorous act! You've sullied the demon name of this entire city and everything I tried to build! And now you shall be punished severely," Queen Haydon said. "And I know just the punishment for you. Velvet… would you do the honours?"

"As much as I want to catch up, I need at least five minutes with this idiot, maybe even more," Velvet then grabs skeletal by the ear and drags him away while he's squirming. “I think it's time you had a first hand experience why I’m the most feared here, and why you don’t EVER mess with my family.”

Skeletal could be heard screaming as he is dragged away into a portal to who knows where, leaving Dusk alone with the royals as well as the over excited crowd that truly enjoyed the show and seeing probably one of their favorite idols.

“Okay, well that happened,” Dusk said in surprise as he watched as his mother dragged Skeletal away to who knows where. “So what happens now?”

“I think that we should talk in my royal stand,” She replied as with a single snap of her fingers they were all teleported to the stand where she was sitting earlier, and she turned back to the rest of the crowd. “As for everyone else, clear the stands, I’ll have something planned for this fiasco that was exposed by our new champion.”

"Oop, you heard the lady, let's vamoose!" one of the spectators called out. Sure enough, the entire crowd got up from their seats and headed for the exits. It took about thirty seconds to clear out the entire stands leaving Queen Haydon, Princess Leonore, a pair of guards, Sonata, and Dusk alone.

“Okay, so why is my mom so popular here?” Dusk asked in confusion. “And what’s this gang, the Velvet Roses? I’ve never heard of them before.”

“You don’t know who they are?” Leonore asked

“I never asked her about it, yet I never knew about her being a succubus until I found out about my powers during my college years,” Dusk answered truthfully.

“Probably trying to keep you out of her old life,” Queen Haydon brought up as she slowly walked over to Dusk. “She is the queen of Succubi and a powerful one at that. She led a gang of Succubi known as the Velvet Roses for quite some time. I challenged her and our fight ended in a draw, I respected her strength and she in turn respected mine to where we became good friends. And that was before I was the new Queen of what’s now known as Haydon City.”

“I may have to talk to her about that when I get home,” Dusk said thinking about what his mother never told him. “Also I met a demon named Ifrit who came to you about these claims and he’s still in the dungeon because of what Skeletal did.”

“I know,” Queen Haydon said with a sigh, “I hate that I didn’t listen to him before, and it had to take you to prove him right.”

“Well not only do you need to give him his position back, but there also the demons that Skeletal cheated out of their lives, their powers and citizenship back,” Dusk followed up. "Not to mention the girls he stole from them as well. They need to feel the warmth and protection of their true lovers now more than ever."

“Indeed, and that’s going to take awhile to do,” Queen Haydon said with a sigh. “I’ll just explain what happened and even create a portal spell with this as well so they can return safely.”

“I’m just glad I can put all of this behind me,”

“Not exactly,” Queen Haydon replied in a much more dark tone. “While you did help expose a corrupt individual, you still had the nerve to infiltrate a foreign land and not to mention broke into my castle unannounced.”

“Uh...well you see…” Dusk tried to say something but he wasn’t sure what to say. Even Sonata look pretty scared of what she might do to Dusk.

“But the fact that you were willing to risk everything for your love, you will be made a permanent resident of my city,” She said with a much sweeter tone. “You can visit anytime you like and will be treated as a guest as well as any friends you may have in the living world.”

“Oh, uh thank you?” Dusk said in surprise.

“And to commemorate that,” Queen Haydon said as she snapped her fingers and a portal opened from the ground and out from the ground came that same statue that he found when he was in the castle gardens. But he didn’t really pay attention to it.

“Oh, um you didn’t have to do that, I was just here for-”

“Dusk wait,” Sonata called out, interrupting Dusk as she looked at the statue further. “Mother?”

“Wait, what?” Dusk asked in confusion.

“I think this is my mother,” Sonata said, turning to Dusk. “Me and my sisters haven't seen her in over 1000 years,”

"Are you absolutely sure, Sonata? This is your mother?" Dusk asked, inspecting the statue some more. She was still in her statue form but Sonata was able to recognize the multi music note cutie mark that was on her hips.

“That’s my mother's cutie mark,” Sonata replied in shock. “Dusk, this is her.”

“You’re serious?” Dusk said in surprise.

“That’s quite the revelation,” Queen Haydon replied in surprise. “I found her like this when I was little and I’ve had her in the royal gardens since then.

“Well I don’t know how to get her out like this,” Dusk said as he reached out and touched the statue. The statue would suddenly give off a mysterious white light as cracks within the frame started to form. The statue started to crack more and more until it finally burst open and the blinding flash of light stunned everyone in the stand. The light soon died down and everyone was stunned to see who it was. There was a cream colored mare with long red, blue and purple mane and tail and gorgeous dark violet eyes. Her body looked similar to Velvet's with a nice pair of HH-cup breasts. She slowly got up and was stunned and confused to where she was.

“Goodness, my head, where am I?” She asked in confusion. She looked around, finding herself in some kind of stadium, then her eyes locked on some ponies and creatures she's never seen before in her life. "What the? Who are you? And… what's with those looks on your faces?" she asked, pointing out their blushing faces. Dusk looked like he was close to passing out.

But then, her eyes lock on a familiar face she hasn't seen in a long time. "Sonata Dusk?"

"Mom!" Sonata called out, as she rushed over to her mother, not caring at all that she’s naked at the moment. She started crying like mad finally seeing her mother again after so long.

“Sonata, it’s so good to see you again,” She said with a smile as she hugged her daughter. “But I need to ask, why are you wearing such a revealing outfit?”

“You were frozen for over 1000 years madame…” Queen Haydon said butting in, getting the attention of the new mother. “That will be for another time though, right now we should probably get you dressed.”

“What?” She asked in confusion. That was when she felt a breeze down below and realized that she was naked. Her cherry pink nipples were hardening from the air and her face burned red. She let out a slight eep and covered herself out of embarrassment.

“Hold on a second,” Princess Leonore replied as she snapped her fingers and her and Sonata were surrounded by a white aura and both mares appeared in ceremonial robes. “There you go, miss, all suited up.”

“Thank you, and Sonata, who is your friend there with the Horn and Wings?” She asked pointing towards Dusk who was still blushing furiously.

“Oh this is my master, Dusk Shine,” Sonata said with a cheerful tone.

“Master?” She asked in confusion while looking at Dusk.

“It’s a long story, but I have her and her sisters in a harem,” Dusk said in a rather nervous tone.

"So you have all three of my daughters as a part of your harem?” She said with a smile. “I do hope that you’re taking care of them.”

“Um, thank you miss...um…”

“Oh forgive me, My name is Larguetto Bedazzle,” She said with a smile. She then goes back to her daughter and both start to have a private talk together. Meanwhile Dusk turns back to the Queen and Princess unsure of what he just did.

“I’m not sure what happened, but I think I saved a mare’s life,” Dusk said.

“I guess that’s quite the show, son,” A female voice said, getting everyone’s attention. Sure enough, Velvet shows up, looking more calm than when she walked away with that asshole.

“Mom, you're back and...what is that?” Dusk asked in confusion when he saw her holding something wet in her hands and it was covered in blood.

“Just something that was attached to that cheating bastard who kidnapped Sonata,” She said in a dark tone. “I need to pay Cerberus a visit on our way out anyway.”

“Wait, is that his-”

“Yes, yes it is,” She followed up smiling while holding the severed appendage in her hands.

"Mom… you are one ruthless demon. Remind me to never get on your bad side," Dusk said, his heart racing like crazy.

“Oh Dusk, you could never get on my bad side,” She said with a cheerful smile.

“Okay, I'm not gonna lie, your mom scares the crap out of me,” Loenore said, shuddering in fear seeing this side of Velvet before.

“You should’ve seen what happened to the last guy who had the balls to cheat on her,” Queen Haydon chuckled to herself. “The poor fool would never be able to walk again after she was done with him.”

“Okay I think I’ve heard enough,” Dusk said, shuddering and walking towards Sonata. “I think it’s time we head home.”

“I think I can help you with that,” Queen Haydon said as she walked towards the group. “I just need to know the location and I can send you all there myself.”

“Think you can stop me at the main gate where we entered?” Velvet said as she walked toward her son with a smile. “I need to give Cerberus his little snack.”

“Why of course. Anything to help an old friend of mine," Queen Haydon said before she led Velvet over to the main gate where she opened up a portal for the succubus queen. "Just remember not to make Cerberus choke."

“Okay, I’ll catch up with you later honey,” Velvet said as she jumped through the portal to go and meet the three headed dog. The portal then closes, and the Queen creates another portal for Dusk, Sonata, and Larguetto to go through.

“Before you go,” Queen Haydon interjects as she takes off her necklace and hands it to Dusk. “This is for when you want to visit us again, Good luck on your safe return.”

“Thank you Queen Haydon,” Dusk said, giving her a bow. He then goes through the portal with Sonata and Larguetto and it closes behind him.

“Well, that was an eventful day,” Leonore said as she stretched her limbs and turned to her mother. “So what happens now?”

“Well now I have to look through all the list of demons who lost to that bastard and give them their powers and their citizenship back, but it will take me a total of at least three days to get everyone here,” Queen Haydon replied as she walked over to the balcony of the coliseum. “So many lives ruined over an ambitious bastard who I thought I could trust.”

“I guess that this means that you’ll have to be more careful who you pick as a royal advisor form now on,” Princess Leonore followed up.

“I know dear,” She added with a sigh. The sounds of a portal opening up behind them got their attention and through the portal, was Twilight Velvet coming out of the portal with a smile and a sigh of relief. The sounds of something tearing behind her as the Cerberus was eating something that belonged to a certain incubus stallion.

“I take it you did your business?”

“Yep, Cerberus is enjoying his snack,” She said with a smile as she sat down with the queen. “And as for the bastard, I ditched him in the mountains after branding him with my mark to where he has to walk back here and he won’t be back for about three days.”

“Then that’s exactly how long I can keep up with tracking down the demons who lost to him to begin with,”

“Oh it won't be that hard,” Velvet said as he reached between her cleavage and pulled out a book that had a skeleton on the front. “I found this in Skeletal’s house after paying it a visit to find a diary he had where he bragged about the names of demons that he ‘defeated’. He actually had a book where he could remember the names.” Velvet then handed the book to Queen Haydon and opened it to find that she was right.

“Okay then, I guess I can look through this and send each of them a letter explaining to them what happened.”

“I need to go check on my son and his mates, so I’ll be back later.” Velvet said with a smile and left the two alone while opening another portal back to Equestria. Giving a final wave she jumps through the portal, leaving the queen to have to go through a long list of her mistakes that were made from one ambitious demon.

Author's Note

And this is the fight and the big reveal for why Velvet is so feared there, as well as respected. This is thanks to Israel Yabuki and Yoshikage Kira for giving my a good reference as well as the fight to set up with how this played out. Had a lot of fun writing this as well. I have one more chapter to do involving when Dusk returns with Sonata, the sirens mother, and now coming to terms with his new powers and his life.