In the main hall of Canterlot Castle, a bipedal creature in a blue jacket was holding a mare hostage and had threatened to kill her if he didn't get Hunter. It happened so fast that no pony could react before it was too late and now the creature was holding a blade to the crying mare's throat. A few guards had tried to intercept the creature before it had grabbed the mare but were laying on the ground with deep cuts and broken bones.

"I will not ask again, where is hunter?!" it yelled in frustration.

Everypony was in staring at the creature in fear or anger. Where did it come from? Who was this Hunter he wanted? The princesses and the element bearers were currently behind a platoon of guards while the nobles were all the way behind them cowering in fear.

"Let her go!" Celestia demanded as she, Luna and the unicorn guards had their horns aimed at the creature.

"I'd advise you point those things away from me unless you want collateral damage," the creature said and pushed its blade into the mare's throat and made a small cut just enough to draw a little blood.

"Alright that's it, I'm going in!" Rainbow Dash said as she took off towards the creature.

"Rainbow Dash stop!" Twilight said and used her magic to pull Rainbow Dash's tail before she got anywhere near the creature.

Being forcibly pulled by her tail, Rainbow Dash hit the marble floor with an audible 'thud' before she looked and Twilight. "What the hay Twi?! I was gonna kick his plot!"

"Ya would've only gotten the mare and possibly yerself killed Dash!" Applejack told her rainbow-maned friend. "Think before ya charge!"

"Girls!" Twilight said getting the attention of Applejack and Rainbow Dash. "Now is not the time to fight each other, we need to do something."

"What can we do? If any of us get close that there thing is gonna kill her." Applejack pointed out and looked at the creature and hostage.

"Where's Hunter when you need him?" Celestia muttered to herself.

BANG

The loud bang caught the creature off guard to the point where it dropped the mare and jumped backward to avoid the red energy that was heading its way. Giving off a low 'hmph', the creature stared in the direction of the west wing and saw stallion walking on his hind legs with his forelegs aimed at the creature as smoke was coming from the sleeves of his tuxedo. Giving a small smirk for about a second the creature looked at the hostage and pointed at the guards to which the mare just ran, tears running down her cheeks.

"So you decided to show your face after all Hunter, I was afraid you'd be too occupied to face me after our last meeting," the creature said and turned to look at Hunter. "How's your father?"

"Vergil..." Hunter growled.

Hunter glared at the creature then stepped in between guards and the creature still aiming his forelegs at it. Everypony was staring at Hunter who didn't bat an eye as he was staring at the creature looking at him.

"Hunty what are you doing?" Pinkie Pie gasped. "The big meanie creature will give you a booboo that will go owie wowie!"

"I know Pinkie," Hunter said in a low tone. "Trust me, I know."

"Nopony is getting hurt under our watch! Hunter stand down now!" Luna commanded. "That is a royal order!"

"Sorry, Luna but I don't do orders," Hunter said and turned his head slightly to see them. "But you should get everypony out of here, I'll buy you time!"

"Don't be ridiculous Hunter! He's a demon, a strong one at that!"

"Yet I deal with demons everyday Luna," Hunter said and stretched his forelegs to the sides and had his signature swords materialize in his hooves with their respective element at the ready as he got into a fighting stance. "Now put a strong barrier up behind me so he can't hurt any of you and under any circumstances do not fight him if he beats me."

Seeing that Hunter didn't back down, Luna ordered the guards to get the partygoers away from the castle to safety while Celestia set up a faint golden-colored barrier behind Hunter. All the mares could only hope that Hunter knew what he was doing and would be able to fend off this creature, while unbeknownst to them, it was a score that was to be settled between family.

"This brings me back Hunter, back to Temen-ni-gru," Vergil said as it got into a fighting stance. "It's gonna be interesting to see what my brother taught you."

"I've learned enough to know how to kick your ass!" Hunter said as he felt his blood boil. "Whatever happened to the man I used to think who had a heart? The man who wouldn't use hostages?"

"He has never been there Hunter, don't fool yourself."

"You wouldn't dare threaten an innocent life just like that! Where's your honor?"

"Thrown out the window when you and Dante, killed me on Mallet island!" Vergil said and charged towards Hunter.

"You motherfucker!" Hunter yelled as he charged towards his uncle.

Meeting in the middle both sword bearers clashed their blades against the other's and put their raw strength to the test. Pulling back, Vergil planted a swift kick in Hunter's stomach and sent him flying to the other end of the hall. Grunting as he got back up on his hind legs, Hunter rushed towards Vergil and shot his guns as fast as he could. Spinning his sword as fast as he could in front of himself, Vergil blocked all of the red projectiles coming towards him without breaking a sweat. Still rushing towards Vergil, Hunter swung Rudra into his foe's spinning blade to stop it and slashed at Vergil's feet but Vergil sidestepped and thrust his blade forward to try and stab Hunter who barely blocked it with Agni.

Failing to see Vergil's foot moving, Hunter felt it collide with his gut and staggered a few feet back as Vergil slashed his blade from above. Blocking Vergil's sword with his own, Hunter used his strength to keep the blade from going down further and hit him, even though he's taken stab wounds that would be lethal to others, a demonic weapon could be fatal to his health.

Grunting, both pony and human were using their strength to overpower the other but so far it was a draw.

"Is that the best you can do Hunter? I thought you had grown stronger," Vergil said in a disappointed demeanor. "Has my brother really been that lazy with you or did he only teach you to rush in blindly?"

"Shut up!" Hunter growled.

"The training Dante gave you isn't gonna enough, he wouldn't be able to help you even if he was here."

"SHUT UP!" Hunter yelled in rage as he pushed Vergil's sword to the side and threw him into the snack table that was present in the main hall.

Getting back up on his feet while rubbing the snacks off of himself, Vergil looked at where Hunter was and almost let out an uncharacteristic gasp. Taken back from what he was seeing, Vergil saw Hunter's body slowly transform into something else. Hunter's fur was becoming a complete blood-red, two small horns grew on his forehead, his tail had become thin and very long with a sharp knife-like tip, a pair of razor-sharp claws had grown from his front hooves, his eyes had gone from their normal baby-blue color to a fiery orange glow, his teeth had all become like a predator's and to top it all off, his body looked as if it was covered in some sort of strong black obsidian-like plating. Hunter's body had just embraced his demon blood and transformed him into his demon self.

"Well, well, it seems like you've finally unlocked your potential Hunter, still, it won't change a th-" Vergil started but was cut off as he barely dodged the tip of Hunter's tail coming at him.

Hunter had shot off his tail tip and had it materialize back to where it belonged. Giving off a loud roar that would intimidate even the toughest of animals, Hunter charged towards Vergil for the third time and spun around in a fast motion wiping Vergil off of his feet by swiping his tail at Vergil's feet and used his hind legs to buck Vergil into the wall of the castle. Grinning from ear to ear, Hunter got back into his fighting stance and snarled at Vergil. Seeing his uncle coming out from the shape he had made in the wall from the buck, Hunter aimed a foreleg straight at Vergil, not taking his eyes from his price.

"What form of power is that?" Vergil thought to himself. "He is but young stallion how is he this strong? He shouldn't be this strong without practice!"

Looking at Hunter, Vergil saw that he was now wielding Sparda and clenched his teeth a bit. Hunter was using the demonic power from Sparda to increase his power but also at the risk of losing control. Summoning a spectral sword, Vergil shot it at Hunter who absorbed the energy, judging by the demonic energy that appeared and disappeared right on impact. Things were starting to get interesting at this point.

Behind the barrier, all the mares could only bear witness to Hunter's transformation. Was he a demon all along or did he have some sort of artifact that changed him in need?

"What's happening to Hunter?!" Twilight asked to no one in particular.

"It's like that demon killer in the demon book you let me borrow Twilight!" Dash said in both amazement and fear.

"That's because Dante is not fiction, everything in that book is based on events two millennia ago," Celestia muttered to herself and looked on in surprise. "I never thought I'd see something like that again."

Hunter rushed towards Vergil again but at an even higher speed than before and swung his sword at Vergil who dodged out of the way just before he was split in two. Vergil sent more spectral swords which Hunter absorbed as the pony was advancing. Vergil used his demon powers to briefly disappear and reappear behind Hunter and managed to cut Hunter's tail off. Growling in both pain and anger, Hunter quickly turned around to face Vergil but had his face get bashed in with something blunt, before getting kicked into a pillar. Grunting from the impact, Hunter fell onto the floor after hitting the pillar and was holding a front hoof to the left side of his barrel as he slowly reverted back to his normal stallion self.

"Why do you resist Hunter?" Vergil asked as he approached Hunter. "You've been wanting more power ever since Temen-ni-gru, you have had the chance multiple times, so why are you resisting it?!"

Giving a slight cough, Hunter looked deep into his uncle's eyes with a glare. "Because I don't hurt family for it, but train!"

"I see," was all Vergil muttered and was standing in front of Hunter. "I had hoped for things to not come to this Hunter, but you chose to try and stop me."

Raising his sword, Vergil pointed the tip down towards Hunter's back and in a quick motion pierced the stallion's back.

Giving out a yell of pain, Hunter felt his breathing become uneasy as pain washed all over him. Trying to stand up, Hunter would feel the pain grow more and more intense as Vergil twisted his sword to keep the stallion from getting up. Feeling himself slip in and out of consciousness, Hunter knew he was in trouble.

Vergil knelt down and gave Hunter a glare. "Where is the amulet, Hunter?"

"You got your own..." Hunter groaned from the pain. "Leave my dad's amulet alone...."

Vergil lowered his head and sighed in annoyance. It could've been so easy to just end Hunter right here, had he not been needed alive. Pulling his sword out of Hunter, Vergil saw the red liquid underneath the stallion increase as the blood was leaving the pony. Turning his gaze over to the group of mares behind the barrier staring in disbelief at what they had witnessed.

Vergil took his blade and gave a downward slash in the air and then a sideways one, leaving lines in the air which opened some portal of sorts. Giving one final glance to the mares behind the barrier, Vergil was about to drag Hunter through the portal with him, until a bolt of lightning struck him in the back. Giving off a grunt, Vergil faced the direction of which the lightning bolt had come from and saw the green mare that hadn't been a part of the group behind the barrier.

"Leave him alone!" Sapphire shouted in anger and flared her horn as Hunter was now behind her, probably some small teleportation spell as Vergil had seen some unicorns do.

Looking at the unicorn, Vergil pointed his blade at her giving her one chance to walk away. "Give me Hunter or you leave me no choice."

Was she foolish enough to still stand up? It would certainly be her downfall and an unwanted casualty but possibly unavoidable.

"I will not give him up just like that!" Sapphire exclaimed and fired off another lightning bolt.

Dodging the lightning bolt, Vergil rushed the unicorn at incredible speed with the intent to kill. Sapphire shot another lightning bolt at the human but because of his speed, Vergil was easily able to dodge it like before and closed the distance between them, pointing his blade to her throat while looking her in the eyes with a cold stare. Sapphire felt a lump in her throat, as she felt the blood-coated blade was somewhat pressed into her throat.

"Any last words?" The human asked in a cold and unamused tone.

"I have a lot actually!" A new voice growled as a new human in a red jacket jumped in between Vergil and Sapphire, delivering a swift kick to Vergil's chest sending him back. "And some of them go like this, 'Leave the ponies alone if you really value your life'."

Still stirring from his blood loss and the exhaustion from his Devil Trigger, Hunter looked at the human that just saved Sapphire and gave a small smile, before blacking out from the blood loss.

Glancing back to get a glimpse of Hunter's passed out form, the human then turned his gaze towards Vergil and groaned. "You really don't get along with him do you?"

Gritting his teeth in anger, Vergil rushed the creature who managed to block his attack with red energy similar to Hunter's and used said power to propel the human back into the portal that had been created a minute ago, which closed itself.

"And I thought you didn't rush in blind Vergil," The newcomer called out loud to no one in particular.

Hearing the faint sound of magic being dispelled, the human turned around to see the approaching mares and gave a small smirk. "What a nice surprise, to see a bunch of beautiful mares in dresses."

"Dante?" Celestia asked. "Is that you?"

"Well, who else would dare call you 'Sunbutt' or your sister 'Moonbutt', Celestia?" The human inquired, earning a groan from Luna.

"Yes, It is thou Dante," Luna said with a light blush, her face covered by a hoof. "None would have the bravery or be foolish enough to call us by such a silly name."

"You love it Moonbutt."

Luna just scrunched her nose as she groaned even more. "It is good to see thou again Dante."

Dante turned around to see Sapphire who was frantically trying to wake Hunter up. Heading over, Dante put a hand on Sapphire's shoulder, giving her a small smile. "He'll be fine, not the first time he's been through this."

Those words seemed to calm Sapphire down a bit but she still didn't leave Hunter's side whilst looking at the stab wound he had. The wound was deep and seemed to go through the back to the front still pouring out some blood. Despite the fact that Hunter had regenerative powers thanks to the demon blood, it would still take hours if not a day or two to leave it without a scar of some kind.

Dante hoisted the unconscious stallion over his shoulder and turned to look at the royal sisters. "I'll get Hunter to the medical wing so he can rest up, I'll meet you all in the dining room where I'm sure you all have questions."

Seeing Dante head towards the medical wing, Celestia gave a sigh and looked at the large pool of blood where the stallion just laid.

"Like father like son as they say," Celestia muttered to herself.

Sitting in the dining hall of the castle, the royal sisters had told the element bearers, and Sapphire about who Dante really was and his feats of saving the nation two millennia ago and the fact that he wasn't really a pony. They were waiting on Dante to arrive from the medical wing of the castle, everyone was pretty shocked over what had happened, a battle of demons and Dante arriving out of nowhere? It was as if events from the past were playing over again during different circumstances.

"Princess Celestia?" Twilight called out.

Turning to face Twilight, Celestia gave a gentle nod for her to continue.

"Is he the hero in red?"

"Dante? Why yes he is, he did save Equestria 2000 years ago, I'm still surprised he doesn't look ten years older than we last saw him," Celestia said.

"How in tarnation did he even get to Equestria?" Applejack chimed in curiously.

"Does he like parties?" Pinkie asked with enthusiasm.

"Does he have cool fight moves like Hunter?" Rainbow Dash asked in interest.

"I hope he acts more of a gentlestallion than Hunter did when we asked him questions, such a brute," Rarity scoffed.

"I'm worried about Hunter, he looked very weak," Fluttershy said quietly.

Questions and opinions about Dante were shared with the element bearers as well as worries, a few about Hunter. Hearing the muffled sound of boots meeting tilestone, everypony turned their attention to see the eastern hallway doors open and show Dante, carrying a green bottle. Walking over to the table that all the mares had gathered by, Dante, took a seat and leaned back in his chair then threw his legs up on the table, much to Rarity's disgust. "S'up?"

"Hello, Dante, I assume Hunter is being examined by the medical staff?" Celestia asked.

"Yup, apparently the stab wound grazed his heart as well as piercing his left lung."

"Well, he certainly stood up against Vergil."

Pulling the cork on the bottle he had, Dante took a swig from it and let out a satisfied sigh of satisfaction.

"That's the Hunter I raised so many years ago," Dante chuckled and put the bottle on the table. "Pretty good wine I must say."

"Dante, why art thou drinking wine and where did thou find it?" Luna inquired and narrowed her eyes at the stallion.

"I pulled it out of my jacket," Dante sarcastically told the lunar princess who groaned in response. "No, I found it on the way back from the medical wing."

"And ya took it with ya partner?" AJ asked. "Why?"

"Well cowgirl, when you've been stuck as a statue for a while, you'll become thirsty and hungry as hell." Dante took in a deep breath out of the air and smirked. "Speak of the devil."

A unicorn maid entered the dining hall from the western hallway, pushing along a food cart with multiple plates of pizzas on it. Dante almost jumped out of his chair with glee at the sight of such a beautiful display. Almost. Levitating a plate to everyone at the table, the unicorn maid gave a slight bow and returned from where she came leaving the mares and human alone again.

Wasting no time, Dante took a slice the pizza in front of him and devoured it within a few seconds, sighing blissfully at the taste. "Best type of food no matter where you are."

All the mares in the room with the exception of Sapphire, Celestia, and Luna went wide-eyed as the human ate his pizza at a ridiculous speed, finishing it within five minutes. Dante chuckled at their reaction and licked his fingers clean.

"I've never seen somepony eat food that fast," Twilight mused.

"Good job Dante!" Pinkie exclaimed with a huge grin.

"I could do it faster if I tried," Dash said and rolled her eyes.

Dante gave a smirk to the rainbow-maned pegasus before taking the wine bottle and taking a long sip from it. It wasn't like they were taking the bottle away from him, so why not enjoy some wine for once?

Dante parted the wine bottle from his lips and stretched his arms. "Man, I feel like I've taken a long nap. I hope it's not tampering with my abilities."

"I could run a quick spell on you to see if your magical powers are still awakening," Twilight said with glee.

"I don't think we're talking the same language, purple," Dante replied as he turned his gaze to the bookworm.

"What do you mean? It's just a simple spell that determines your full magical power."

"I don't have magical powers,"

"Wait, what?" Twilight cut in. "You don't have magic?"

"No, we humans do not. The closest thing we have to magic is imagination. If we see a problem we'll figure out a way to fix it."

"But, how can you live like that?"

"Simple, we adapt, that is the human's greatest tool, adaption."

Turning his gaze back towards Celestia and Luna, Dante pulled his legs off of the table and leaned forward with a dangerous look on his face.

"I've been locked away for months and my gut is telling me the demon problem has only gotten worse since then. Have you two found any clues as to who is in charge of this?"

Giving a firm shake of her head, Luna's eyes were filled with concern. "Nay we have not Dante, we fear that they are very wise in the art of hiding their tracks."

"Are you sure?" Dante asked, not believing a word. "Remember when I first arrived? Everyone was afraid of me to the point of some calling the guard to capture me. Sure I knocked them out but I didn't kill them because they weren't demons. You two were suspicious of me for the fact that I was an unknown creature that suddenly came to your rescue back when you needed it the most. You, on the other hand, though thought I was sent by the demons as a spy or something, I wasn't, I had just arrived in Equestria. Despite the fact it's so long ago I am still skeptical about some things you say."

"How'd you even make it to Equestria Dante?" Twilight asked.

"What happened was that I had finished a job in Red Grave City back in my world, killing a bunch of religious nutjobs who were trying to open a portal to the demon world using human blood as tribute. I don't know what happened, but they must've somehow been able to do something cause I was sucked into a dark void. What waited on the other side was something not even I had ever seen. Equestria."

Dante closed his eyes as he tried to remember the important parts of his tale of arriving in Equestria and aiding the citizens.

"I had fights with guards every time I ran into them, then I had demons trying to kill me so my situation wasn't great at all. I had learned that some ponies were helping the demons take over Equestria and despite the fact that I was wanted for being what I am, I helped save their world, I even saved Moonbutt once thanks to my increased physical abilities. If it wasn't for getting stabbed right in front of her, she probably wouldn't be sitting here right now."

"But the princesses would never capture someone just for being a different species!" Twilight pointed out.

"Afraid so, when do you think I arrived in pony-land the first time?" Dante asked. "Anybody gonna take a guess?"

Dante opened his eyes and looked around at every mare in the room yet none of them spoke. Dante's eyes fell on Sapphire. "What about you? Any guesses?"

"Well, if I must. You first arrived in Equestria around two millennia ago, when the princesses had barely become grown mares at that point," Sapphire answered and got a nod from the human.

"Seems Hunter told that bit of the story I see," Dante mused and turned to look at Twilight. "But yes, they did try to capture me 'cause I was an unknown creature that had just appeared, as demon armies were advancing towards the rest of Equestria and there were ponies helping the demons by leaking information."

"Why would somepony do such a dreadful thing?" Rarity almost shrieked.

"Power," Dante simply answered. "Demonic power specifically."

"That still didn't explain what you said about the princess!" Twilight pointed out. "Why bring it up if you aren't gonna explain it?"

"Because time passes and it changes you," Dante said and got out of his chair. "I'm gonna go to my old room and see you all tomorrow, where I'll be looking into this whole demon thing and finishing it once and for all."

Vergil was in an armory mixed with a training room, cutting into some practice dummies in frustration as to what had happened. The universe must've been laughing at him and his failure of capturing Hunter alive and getting his brother's amulet from the stallion. His own brother, Dante had suddenly just appeared but he was supposed to be dead. He went missing months ago and then he suddenly reappeared and in this forsaken land filled with ponies too? It made Vergil so damn angry.

"Vergil deary, those practice dummies aren't gonna break if that's what you're trying to accomplish, I did enchant them for that purpose to keep you in shape when you are here after all." A motherly female voice called.

Vergil didn't say anything as he stared at one of the dummies, sword aimed at it for about a minute before he sheathed the blade and gave off an annoyed sigh.

"He always interferes with my plans, one way or another," Vergil stated and turned to look at his companion. An earth pony mare was standing in front of him. She had a royal blue fur coat with a long smooth silver-like mane and tail. She was currently soaking wet from a shower and had a towel draped around her back as she had probably heard Vergil's frustrations and he had come to know her as 'Black Mamba'.

"Dante? I had a feeling he was still alive," Mamba mused as she started to dry herself. "I will admit that going to the gala to capture Hunter and get your brother's amulet from him would be pure luck, had it actually worked. No, I wanted you to go there and confirm if my theory of Dante still being alive but hidden to be true or false, and congratulations you proved that my theory was correct dear."

At those words, Vergil grew a little mad. "You're telling me that I went there mainly as a lab rat for some theory about my brother being alive?"

"Put bluntly, yes. Think about it like this, if we didn't know Dante would be here and had our plans in motion without taking him into account, we would lose before we could factor him in. Was this necessary? Yes, it was."

"Hmph, you should've told me, I could have gotten the same result had I known," Vergil deadpanned.

"No deary, you couldn't," the mare sighed and shook her head. "It wouldn't have had the same impact as it did this way. You could have given them a sign that showed you were just here to investigate, which means they could prepare something we could not prepare for."

"I see."

"Good, now, I know you have regenerative powers thanks to your demon blood Vergil, but I'd rather take a look at possible wounds just in case. Black Mamba can't lose her valuable companion in this endeavor."

Mamba left the room and hummed a little tune as her hoof steps became quieter as the seconds passed. Not really having anything better to do, Vergil followed the direction of the mare and headed through a small hallway and entered a door into some room that seemed to be the bedroom of a child. It was colorful, yet worn as whoever lived in this room must've grown up a long time ago.

"Ah, there you are deary, I thought you got cold hooves, errr... feet," Mamba said as she had prepared a bowl of clear water and a bowl of red liquid, both with a cloth each.

Pulling a chair from a nearby corner, Vergil sat down in it and took off his coat, followed by the ascot around his neck and his sleeveless vest. Vergil's upper body was now bare and showed no wounds or scars. Taking a quick look over his body, Mamba took the cloth from the bowl with clear water and rubbed the cloth over his torso. It wasn't cold or hot but just the right temperature for the skin.

"Tell me, have you ever been with foal?" Vergil asked. He didn't know why he asked, it just came out of nowhere.

"A son," Black Mamba said as a small smile appeared on her face. "An adorable colt who wanted to protect his mother from the dangers of the world, but that was a long time ago."

"Hmm... who was he?" Vergil asked still not understanding why he was asking these questions, he honestly didn't care yet here he was, asking about it and listening to it.

"September 26th, 24 years Post-Equestria, I gave birth to a small colt whom I named, 'Double-cross' and I lost him more than two millennia ago." mamba gestured for Vergil to turn around and began rubbing the damp cloth on the human's back. "His father had been killed by a crazy stallion who rotted away in prison for murdering a noble, honored for protecting the common ponies."

"Hmph, the stallion got what he deserved for murdering someone of honor." Vergil mused.

"I agree, he took my one love away from me and I was left to care for my son by myself," a few sniffles came from the mare as she remembered the painful memories. "I took care of little Double-cross the best that I could, I gave him all the attention he needed, all the food he could eat, but one day I lost him. Some unicorn novice was having a magical surge, a very powerful one with no real good reason behind it. I didn't know what happened before it was over, but my little Double-cross had disappeared through a small rift and I had no way of getting him back no matter how hard I tried."

Black Mamba shakily finished rubbing the damp cloth across Vergil's back and just went quiet as a few years ran down her cheeks.

Vergil turned around to face the crestfallen mare and put a hand on her shoulder. "I know what it's like to be alone and lose your family, my life crumbled back when I was a young boy and ever since I've been forced to take care of myself, it's a painful route but you can't change things as you'd see fit or know the consequences."

Mamba gently nuzzled Vergil's chest and gave a small smile at the sympathy the human was trying to show. "Thank you, deary."

Author's Note

Merry (belated) Christmas and happy (soon to be) new year!

I don't really have much to say other than that.

Corrections related to, grammar, spelling, contradictions, are welcome as I can't be a perfect author as much as I try.