A Minion for the Night

"Quickly! This way!" Luna led the Celestia and Twilight behind a small mountain of burning toys. The flames were surprisingly cold, even though the flames crackled and roared no heat could be felt. The burning Krieg on their trail though, was a different matter. His fire was hotter than anything they had witnessed before.

"Did you see his face?!" Twilight gasped in horror as she tried to catch her breath. "And he... he breathed fire! I thought only dragons could do that! And that face! I mean."

"Calm yourself, Twilight! Panicking will not help us here!" Celestia tried to calm her, but she was just as shocked as her student.

After screaming his demand to them, he had pulled back his mask to reveal a face set in flames that was composed of nothing more than boiling skin and bone; and when he had opened his mouth a stream of searing flames escaped. They had barely had enough time to jump for safety.

"Is he following us?" Celestia turned to her sister.

"I can't see him," Luna replied and squinted her eyes. "The fire makes it hard to spot anything," she searched the surroundings. "I can see the exit!"

"Luna," Celestia's voice was suddenly very anxious.

"Oh, no..." Twilight cringed.

Luna did not notice. "If we make a run for it we may be able to-" something caught her attention and she looked up.

Standing on top of the burning pile and leering down at them with a hate-filled eye stood Krieg, ablaze in his flames as his skin started to boil. "STOP STARING AT ME AND TAKE YOUR PLACE IN MY BLOOD-HOUSE SLAUGHTER!"

Luna started to take a careful step backwards. "No sudden movements... maybe I can talk to-"

Krieg reached for his mask. "LIVE INSIDE ME FOREVER!"

Luna changed her mind. "Run!"

The three took off in a dash for the large door on the other side of the room, feeling the searing heat in their backs as Krieg bellowed out another breath of fire. "YES! YES! RUN INTO MY ARMS! EMBRACE THE FIRE!"

"He's gaining on us!" Twilight shouted in horror.

"Faster! We're almost there!" Luna ignored his mad howls and the burning form chasing them, but even without looking she could feel him draw closer.

"GIVE ME YOUR SOUL!"

With a last desperate push the three Alicorns shot through the door and three magical auras slammed the heavy steel door shut as one. They took a step backwards, uncertain whether the door would withstand Krieg's flames. However, even as they watched... the door started to freeze shut, a thin layer of ice slowly starting to cover its entire surface.

"Is it going to hold?" Celestia asked with concern.

"For a while," Luna breathed heavily. "I can not help but wonder who built these doors though..."

"Was that a promise as well?" Twilight asked with a ragged breath.

"I don't even want to know what that was," Luna shook her head. "Come now, we should hurry."

Twilight gave a short nod. "You're right, I don't want to-" she paused. "Oh..."

Celestia gave her a worried look. "Is everything alright? Did you hurt yourself?"

Twilight checked her wings with a confused face. "I lost my spoon..."

Luna made a puzzled face, but worry quickly replaced the expression. "Sister. What about you? Do you still have your spoon?"

Princess Celestia checked her wings. "I still have mine... why?"

Luna reached under her own wing and pulled out her spoon. "Three spoons were given, two rooms we have passed... two spoons remain."

Celestia's eyes widened. "You think they are keys?"

Princess Luna remained silent for a moment, carefully observing the spoon in her grasp. "Maybe... but not for the rooms. There is another intention behind these."

"Should we... go back and look for mine?" Twilight gulped at the thought even as she said the words.

"No. I fear we have spent far too much time here already. We need to carry on and hope that two will suffice for whatever he has intended." Luna replied before laughing to herself. "If only I had my spoon... That's actually not bad."

"Not. Funny." Twilight put on a sour expression.

Celestia sighed. "Let us head on and hope that we reach the end of this madness soon."

Five minutes later the three Alicorns had already encountered another problem; a junction.

"Three directions," Luna made an unhappy face. "If any of these passages even leads to the right door, that is."

"How do we decide?" Celestia spoke to herself. "There is no telling how his mind works or what he actually intends to-"

"Wait!" Twilight interrupted them. "Do you hear that?"

"Someone is humming a song-" Celestia whispered and her eyes widened in surprise. "I know that tune!"

"Tia! Lulu! Little Twilight!" Discord greeted them with a laugh as he floated down one of the corridors and towards them. "Fancy meeting you here!" he ignored their shocked expressions and took a look down the corridor they had just come from. "Enjoying the attractions too, I see? Haven't tried the fire pit yet, though. After all..." he made a dramatic pause. "I don't want to get burnt, do I?"

"Is that the real Discord?" Twilight asked with an expression of pure bewilderment.

"He is," Both Luna and Celestia replied with a deep frown.

"What are you doing here?" Celestia demanded from Discord.

"Well, you see; First I went and took a dive in the spaghetti pool, then I visited the fountain of bacon, fascinating architecture by the way... they have these little statues that shoot blood all over the ceiling! Bloodsplosion! Don't know what that means, but I love that word!" he scratched his chin and pointed down the way he had come from. "Then there was the mini-golf on the second floor, meat grinder on the third, exploding sheep on the fourth and right now..." he pointed down one of the corridors. "I'm heading down to the fifth floor. There's supposed to be a tunnel of disembowelment there that will make your eyes fall out!" he chuckled. "Probably your spine too!"

"That is not what I meant!" Celestia scowled at him. "Why are you here?"

Discord shrugged. "The gates were wide open, so why not? I could spend days in here! You can not imagine the stuff he's got packed in here!"

"Trust me," Luna spoke up. "We can."

"You saw them then? The parade of orphaned tears!?" Discord clapped his hands with glee. "Did you know that there's one every hour? I was heading out there right after the tunnel of bloody brides!"

"I thought it was called the tunnel of disembowelment?" Twilight scrunched her face.

"Oh, you're heading there too?" Discord held up a hand. "You have to be this crazy to be allowed onto the ride though."

Celestia let out a groan. "Discord."

"Yes, Tia?"

"Get out of this castle and out of his mind. We already have enough to worry about without you running around and causing problems."

"Me? Problems?" Discord made a shocked face. "Then I guess I can't help you find what you're looking for..." he acted uninterested.

"You know where to find-" Luna started.

"Yes." Discord cut her off. "I know where he is. I took a peek a while ago. Thought I'd meet him myself and chat a bit. But I... He..." Discord seemed to hesitate.

"But what?" Luna pushed on.

Discord turned his gaze to her and with a serious expression none of them had seen before he spoke three words. "He scares me."

There was a shocked silence. "Well, anyway I feel I overstayed my visit anyhow," Discord stretched his arms with chuckle. "I guess I'll go hit the Nipple Bar for a quick shot and then I'll head on out... I'll see you on the outside once you're back!" he started to float up and through the ceiling. "By the way," his arm pointed down one of the corridors. "He's down this way," his arm disappeared into the ceiling. "Hope you brought your spoons!"

Silence.

"Wait!" Luna suddenly called up. "What do you know about the spoons!?"

There came no answer, Discord had already left.

"This is it," Luna spoke carefully. "Be careful. There is no telling what awaits us behind this door."

They had taken the corridor Discord had shown them, and it had quickly led them to a huge door with rusted hinges and a looking glass in the center so dirty that nothing could be seen through it.

"Stay close to me, Twilight!" Celestia spoke up. "I don't want you to become lost."

"Neither do I," Twilight swallowed.

"Are you ready?" Luna asked while giving them a last, checking look. "Good. Then let us see what lies at the center of all of this."

She gave the door a push, almost expecting it to be locked. To her surprise though, it simply swung open a bit, not giving the slightest resistance.

"You finally got here, huh? Is the crazy guy with you too?" a male voice they all recognized as Krieg's calmly greeted them. "Guess not..."

Luna took a deep breath and fully pushed the door open. Behind the door, the three Alicorns found themselves in a yellow rubber cell... with a Krieg in a straitjacket sitting against one of the walls. The cell itself was tiny, barely large enough for all four of them to fit inside. Krieg watched their surprised faces. "Not what you were expecting?"

"Not really..." Luna raised an eyebrow, wondering why the supposedly sane part of his mind would be in such a place by free will and tied up in a suit usally reserved for the mentally insane.

Krieg sighed. "Well, neither are you." A small laugh escaped his mask. "It's close enough though, so it will have to do..." he leaned his head to the side. "You did remember to bring your spoons though, didn't you?" his eye narrowed as he saw Twilight cringe. "Please tell me you didn't lose it."

Twilight didn't respond, but only gave an ashamed nod instead.

Krieg's head sagged forward and onto his chest. "Great... just great."

"What is the meaning of the spoons? Why do you need them?" Luna asked with concern in her voice.

"They're nothing to me, really..." Krieg replied without lifting his gaze. "I don't need them," he looked up and into their eyes. "You do."

"For what?"

Krieg's eye wandered over Luna's form for a short moment before returning to Twilight. "To get out again... what else?"