The trio gazed upon Amoronzon, the demon possessing Applejack. The fiend snarled at them, still angry that Tempest had shot him.

"You three... Grrr... Have reached... Grrr... The center...", he said, hatred seeping through every word.

"You... You MONSTER!", Fluttershy yelled. "Look what you've done! You turned Applejack into a monster... And fused her family to a tree! You... You're..."

"A nasty rotten fiend is what he is!", Discord chimed in. "You turned my man, my brother from another mother, Big Mac, into a tree! WE HAD A OnO SESSION MARKED FOR THIS SUNDAY, HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO PLAY IT NOW?!"

"You disgust me...", Tempest said. "You turned an innocent foal and an elderly pony into a tree... And for what? For your own amusement?"

"Grr... Master told me to... And they served... Grr... No purpose... Graahrg... But enough talk...!", Amoronzon said. "Now... Grr... We fight like Stallions... And Mares... And Mares who fight like... Grrraargh! Stallions!"

Amoronzon swung his fruit-flail before throwing it at the trio, who dodged and teleported quickly. Tempest tried shooting at Amoronzon's head, damaging him somewhat, but it seemed like that wasn't his main weak spot.

"We need to find a weak spot!", Tempest yelled out, as Amoronzon jumped into the air, and tried to crush her.

"Easier said than done, especially when this terrible fiend won't stop moving!", Discord said. He took out his Lunar Whip, and lashed it at Amoronzon's head, but it didn't do as much damage as the shotgun blasts.

Fluttershy took out her Solar Crossbow, and carefully aimed it at Amoronzon, as it started swinging its fruit-flail. She closed her eyes, as to not see her hurting Applejack's body, and shot a bolt straight at Amoronzon's face, stunning him, and causing the fruit-flail to hit his head, stunning him further.

"Nice shot!", Tempest yelled out. "Now let's try to find the weak spot before it recovers!"

Discord teleported behind Amoronzon, and noticed something. There was a crack in the bark on Amoronzon's back.

"Ohoh! What do we have here?", he said, before winding up for a punch.

"DISCOOOORD PUUUUUNCH!", he yelled out as his fist was engulfed in pink flames, and he punched the crack, making it larger. Amoronzon howled in pain, and he summoned roots to slap Discord away.

Tempest continued shooting at Amoronzon's head, even using the harpoon trick she learned to get closer to his face to blast him. Fluttershy still kept her distance, shooting bolts at Amoronzon's face. Meanwhile, Discord recovered from the slap, and got up again.

"Hey! You girls should probably be aiming at his back!"

"Why?", Tempest asked, blasting Amoronzon in the face again.

"Oh, i'm not telling!", Discord responded. "See it for yourself and you'll understand what i mean!"

Amoronzon started swinging his fruit-flail again, but Tempest shot him in the face, stunning him again, and allowing her to see his back. That's when she saw the crack.

"What about it?", Tempest asked.

"You see that perfectly convenient crack? I believe this monster's weak spot is behind it!"

"Well, say less!", Tempest said, blasting the crack at point-blank range, causing it to become even larger, and a bit of orange fur to become visible.

Amoronzon howled in pain once again, before leaping to the other side of the clearing. He then started swinging his fruit-flail again, but before anyone could shoot him, he detached the fruit's vine from his arm, and it flew towards the ground. Then, the fruit started glowing.

"Oh shit."

"LOOK OUT!"

Tempest and Discord ran away, before the fruit exploded, launching small, needle-like spines everywhere. Fluttershy hid behind the large tree containing Applejack's family, while Amoronzon laughed.

"GRAHAHAHAH! Puny ponies... And... Grr... Draconequus... Grrrahrgh... Can't beat me!"

Fluttershy snuck behind Amoronzon as he laughed, aimed her crossbow, and shot him in the crack, causing him to stop laughing, and yell out in pain.

"GRAAAARGH...!"

Amoronzon then turned towards Fluttershy, and regrowing the vine from its arm, grabbed her by the neck.

"Foolish... Grr... Pony... Prepare to be devoured... Graaargh!"

"N-... No!", Fluttershy yelled out, using her Solar rod to shoot Amoronzon right in the mouth, causing him to choke.

"NOW!", Tempest yelled out. And before Amoronzon could dodge, Discord, using his tail to propel him forward on the ground, dropkicked Amoronzon's crack, breaking it, and revealing Applejack's Cutie Mark, which was covered by a pentagram.

"GRRAAARR!"

"Boom! I've (literally) got your ass!"

Amoronzon summoned more roots to attack Discord, but this time, he kept teleporting around, avoiding all of them, before delivering a swift uppercut to Amoronzon's chin, while Tempest and Fluttershy shot at Amoronzon's exposed back, also shooting the roots whenever they tried to attack them. Amoronzon regrew his fruit-flail, and tried to swat Discord away with it, but he grabbed on to it as it hit him.

"GRR... GET OFF!" Amoronzon said, spinning the fruit in a circle, but Discord held on. Eventually, Amoronzon detached the fruit again, sending it and Discord flying, but he turned around, and kicked the fruit straight at Amoronzon's face. It got stuck, and before Amoronzon could even get it off, it blew up in his face, toppling him to the ground.

"Give Applejack back!", Fluttershy said, aiming her Solar Rod at Amoronzon's face.

"Grrr... Never!"

"Oh, you... You...", Fluttershy said, getting angrier. She then closed her eyes, and opened them as wide as she could, this was her secret weapon...

The Stare™.

Amoronzon was taken aback by the Stare™. How could what he perceived as just a puny, weak pony be so intimidating? He tried snarling at her, but found his voice wasn't coming out. Was he afraid? Was he, the mighty Tree Demon, scared?

At this moment Tempest and Discord took this opportunity to shoot and hit Amoronzon's weak spot. He growled in pain, as Fluttershy didn't even flinch, and continued using the Stare™.

Eventually, something was forced out of Applejack's body, and it was Amoronzon in his true form. He looked like a dead, crooked tree, with red, unevenly placed eyes with small yellow slits for pupils.

"Wow, he's even more of an unsightly fiend in person!", Discord said.

"You will pay for what you did to Applejack and her family!", Fluttershy said.

"GRAAAH! Stay away from me!
Grrrr..."

"Oh, how funny! You were calling us puny and weak, but now you're the one scared of us!", Discord said.

"What a coward.", Tempest said.

Suddenly, the Solar Rod and Lunar Rod began to glow. Fluttershy and Discord raised them, and, just like with Joroth, two beams came out of it, and hit the Archdemon.

"GRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"

Once Amoronzon desintegrated, a small orb of light with what appeared to be a cutiemark resembling a sprout was left in his place. The world around the trio glowed white, forcing them to close their eyes. When they opened it again, they were inside Applejack's home, which had now returned to normal. Applejack and her family were on the ground, unconscious, and in Applejack's case, she still seemed to be half-tree, just like how Rarity remained half-spider.

"Alright, im assuming we're bringing them to my house.", Discord said.

Fluttershy nodded. Discord slid the doors to his house open, and Fluttershy, with his and Tempest's help, brought the unconscious Apple family inside.

Rarity, Fluttershy, and Tempest stood near an unconscious Applejack, while Discord and Sweetie Belle were talking with Applebloom, who had woken up.

"So... How did it feel being a tree?"

"Ah don't really know how to describe it...", Applebloom responded. "Stiff, i guess?"

"Well, Sweetie Belle, there you go. That's one of your little friends already!", Discord said. "Now we just need to find the orange one... Wherever she is."

"Thanks Discord!", Sweetie Belle said.

"Well, what do they say? A promise is a promise, and i don't really have the heart to break a promise i made to a child."

"Well gee, thanks Mr. Discord!"

"No problem-o!", he said.

At this moment, Applejack started waking up.

"Ugh..."

"Applejack? Darling can you hear me?"

"AH! WHERE'S APPLEBLOOM?! AND BIG MAC?! AND-"

"Shhh, calm down, Applejack.", Fluttershy said. "They're safe and sound, don't worry."

"Where in tarnation are we?! Why does Rarity look like a dang Spider?! And why do i have wood growing all over me?!"

"You're in my house, pardner!", Discord said with a bad cowboy accent.

"Oh... Great, yer here.", Applejack said. "Anyway, mind explainin' mah predicament?"

"Oh you were possessed, so we beat the devil out of you, and that, dear Applejack, is why you're like this. The same thing happened to Rarity, in case you're wondering."

"Oh... Oh yeah... That happened... Gosh, that was awful...", Applejack said. "But ah'm glad to know my family's ok."

"Now Applejack...", Rarity said. "How about we compensate the time we spent possessed?"

"Aw heck yeah!", Applejack said. "Come 'ere, Sweetheart!"

The two then started kissing eachother furiously.

"Hey, ummm... There's children here?", Tempest said.

"Oh. Well then, Applejack, come to my room.", Rarity said, exiting the room.

"A'ight, ah'm comin'."

Meanwhile, at Grogar's Castle...

"What?! No! This cannot be! They've defeated Amoronzon?!"

Grogar was observing the map of Equestria when he felt Amoronzon's defeat. He became enraged. More than he already was. First, Tempest escaped his (metaphorical) clutches, and now, two of his strongest minions had been defeated.

Then, one of the demons came in through the door, delivering news.

"WHAT IS IT?", he roared.

The demon told him something by growling and screeching at him.

"So you're saying that he managed to capture the princess of the Crystal Empire and her family?"

The demon nodded.

He only didn't win that time because of those damned princesses, and those foolish ponies... But now he's managed to claim it in my honor once more... Very well, bring them to the dungeon, and tell the others of Amoronzon's defeat."

The demon was shocked by that last part, but he nodded, and left the room.

"I'm proud of you... My son."

Author's Note

The "Now we fight like men" line is a reference to Gilgamesh from Final Fantasy, in case anyone was wondering.

Demon Profile

Amoronzon, the Tree Demon
Threat Level: Dangerous
Class: Archdemon
One of the founders of Grogar's cult, Amoronzon, originally known as Earthy Greens was a gardener before his fall from grace. He possessed Applejack, and turned her into a tree monster, who craved nothing but carnage.