Corruption 2: Advent of Darkness

Chapters

Nightmares
Hunters
Monsters and Masters
A Meeting With Chaos
Madness Born of Darkness
Welcome to Hellas
Legend of the Etna Key

Nightmares

The darkness was everywhere. Everywhere she looked, darkness. She was in an infinite expanse of black. She kept heading forward, hoping, praying that she could find some sort of light. Anything would be better than this endless nothingness.

As she continued onward, she could finally see a gleaming light in the distance. It was small, flickering, and weak, but it was a light all the same. She immediately started running toward it, a small bit of hope having flared to life in her chest. She could finally escape this abysmal place! She could finally go home to her friends and see her family! She could-

The white light flashed red for an instant. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw that. The light continued to flicker between red and white, staying red for longer periods of time until it stopped. The bloody shade split into two orbs that became menacing, evil eyes.

"You will fall into Darkness," said a booming voice that nearly deafened her. The entire plain of blackness lit up into a blazing inferno, the eyes carried by a massive black blaze. "It is your destiny"

The blaze moved in to devour her in its infernal maw.

-o-

Twilight shot up with a scream, drenched in a cold sweat, panting heavily. She looked around her bedroom and out the window. It was morning. It looked like the sun had only risen about an hour ago. She placed a hoof over her chest to calm herself a little. But that persisting nightmare of hers…

"Twilight!" called Spike as he rushed into her room. "Are you all right? I heard you scream!"

The purple mare nodded reluctantly. "Y-yes, Spike. I'm fine. Just a… bad dream is all."

The baby dragon didn't seem entirely convinced, but he didn't press the subject. "Well, okay. Breakfast is ready downstairs whenever you're ready." Twilight nodded gratefully as the little dragon left her room.

She leaned back in her bed, staring up at the ceiling. That nightmare again… that black inferno with the ruby red eyes… ever since Sombra's defeat three months ago, that sole image had plagued her sleep nearly every night. Princess Luna had tried to help her, but all that did was give the moon princess the same horrible dream for about a week.

The young mare sighed as she pulled herself out of bed and got ready for the day. When she finished, she headed downstairs and into the dining room, where a fresh stack of pancakes awaited her. Spike was in the kitchen, washing his own plate along with a third set. Twilight furrowed her brow slightly. "Spike, where's Flash?"

"He had to go out for a little bit," the baby dragon answered. "He said it was just regular guard stuff."

"Oh." Twilight sighed and sat to eat her breakfast, lifting up a fork and knife with her magic. She had grown used to eating breakfast with Flash Sentry. After Twilight had been released from the hospital in Canterlot, Princess Celestia had recommended that a guard stay with Twilight until further notice, just in case… something happened. Flash was one of the few who volunteered for the job. He was a nice enough guy, and even helped around the library when he wasn't out on the town running errands or doing guard work. Twilight occasionally caught herself just staring at him when she didn't think anyone else was looking. This didn't go unnoticed by her friends, who sometimes teased her about having a crush, which she of course denied completely.

She finished eating and levitated her plate and eating utensils into the kitchen, where Spike took them and got to washing them. Twilight then left the dining room and went into her workplace in the library, where she kept her schedules. She could see that some things had already been crossed out. Flash and Spike must've already taken care of a few things on the list. It was still pretty long, though, even by Twilight's standards, which was really saying something.

It looked like she might have some free time later today. Maybe she would go out for little bit. After her… incident… she'd been avoiding others except for her friends. Everypony else seemed to get nervous around her, for understandable reasons. Even her own family, Shining Armor and Cadance included, seemed a bit unnerved when they were in her presence. But she occasionally went outside regardless. She needed to get out from time to time, if only to stretch her legs.

She headed over to the door after calling out to tell Spike that she was going to run a few errands, taking her to-do list with her. The sun outside was as bright as always, shining over all of Equestria with its brilliant glow. She looked over the list and went for the first thing that wasn't crossed out. She had to go see Applejack about catering for a party that Pinkie Pie was going to throw in a few days. She didn't know why Pinkie was planning this party, but she didn't really question it. She'd learned not to question Pinkie's logic. It was better for her sanity that way.

Rolling up the list, she headed straight for Sweet Apple Acres. Suddenly, she felt a chill on her back. She turned, and saw nothing but Ponyville and a few of its inhabitants walking about, running their own errands. That feeling just now, though… it was… familiar. Like she had encountered its source before.

She shook her head. It was probably nothing. She continued on down the road, shrugging off what had just happened. But despite her attempts to ignore it, she couldn't shake the feeling that somepony – or something – was watching her.

Something… familiar…

-o-

Drip. Drip. Drip.

The sound of water dripping from the stalactites on the cave ceiling above was the only thing that permeated the dense darkness of the cavern. The silence was eerie, enough to send chills down one's spine.

A small light began to flare to life. A dark unicorn stallion sneered as he stood from where he had been lying, his horn glowing with barely enough light to allow him to see his bleak surroundings. Where was he? How had he gotten here? And why did his magic feel so weak? Whatever the reason, he needed – no, demanded – answers. He looked around briefly, then headed down through the dark corridor.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Those infernal droplets were beginning to irritate him. His frighteningly unnatural eyes held a look of agitation. He shook his head and continued forward. He tried to recall what happened before he woke up in this strange place. A bright light. A young unicorn mare with pure white eyes.

It all soon hit him like a landslide. He had been defeated by that insolent little mare. But how? His magic was the most powerful in all of Equestria! The only one with power that could surpass his own was his mentor, but that mare didn't use dark magic. It was something else entirely. It was pure light. The perfect contrast to the dark magic that he normally used.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

He glared up at the ceiling. He was tempted to blast the stone above to stop that nuisance sound, but he knew better. Doing that would likely cause the entire cavern to collapse. Even his magic wasn't strong enough to keep a mountain from crushing his body into the dirt.

"Annoying," he muttered to himself.

"I know, right?" inquired a voice from behind. The dark stallion turned, ready to fight, only to let his jaw drop at the sight of a wild amalgam of animals reclining on a sofa, playing a game of solitaire on a card table. "I was beginning to wonder when you'd notice me. I'm sorta hard to miss, you know."

"Who and what are you?" the stallion demanded, his horn flaring more brightly. The mismatched creature just laughed in response.

"Wow, you really are just too serious, aren't you?" he inquired in a mocking tone. "Relax. I'm no enemy of yours. In fact, I'd like us to be the best of bosom buddies! But not really."

"I asked you a question, creature!" the stallion shouted angrily.

"And you will soon have your answer, my student," said a loud, booming voice. Above them, a pair of blazing red eyes opened, glaring down at the both of them. The stallion and the mix-and-match creature looked up with very different expressions; the stallion with recognition and reverence, and the creature with a bored look.

"Oh, you again," the creature said with a yawn. "Here to chastise me again, old timer? I've heard all your speeches before."

"Show respect, beast!" the stallion exclaimed indignantly. "You are in the presence of the greatest sorcerer this world has ever seen and ever will see!"

"Calm yourself, my student," the voice replied. "You do not know of this one, but he is another of my students. His disrespect is very much to be expected. I have taught him the ways of chaos, just as I have taught you the ways of fear." The stallion did as he was instructed and backed away from the amalgam, who smirked cockily at him. "You are both required for a very sensitive task. That is why I had him transport you to safety, student. You must both find the one called the Red-Black Beast. He is yet another apprentice of mine, and is one of two chosen required to release me from my cursed prison."

"Consider it done, Master," the stallion said with a respectful bow.

"Yeah, sure, whatever," the amalgam said as he picked his nose, pulling out his own brain and spinning it like a basketball before replacing it through his ear. "So, where do we find this 'Red-Black Beast' guy anyway?"

"He is within a mountain south of Equestria," the voice replied. "He is sealed within Mount Etna." The students of the owner of the voice nodded, and were just about to leave. "One last thing…" The two followers turned to face their master. "In order to break the seal, you will need the Etna Key."

"And where is this key, Master?" the stallion inquired.

"It lies hidden in a village outside Canterlot. It dwells within Ponyville."

Hunters

Flash Sentry hummed a happy tune as he walked through town, his saddlebags halfway filled with groceries and other items that Spike had told him they needed. He reached into one of his bags' pockets with his wing and pulled out the list that the baby dragon had given him. "Let's see…" Apparently, the next thing he had to do was go visit Sweet Apple Acres about that party that that pink mare called Pinkie Pie was planning on throwing in a few days. He needed to talk to Applejack about that. He believed that she was one of Twilight's friends, but he had never really been able to get to know her. Or any of Twilight's friends, for that matter. He supposed that this was as good an opportunity as ever.

After getting directions from some of the ponies around town, he eventually found the apple farm near the town's edge. It was a quaint little place, he thought. He had only been here once before, when he first came into town to act as Twilight's bodyguard. It was pretty hasty tour, back when the purple unicorn was still really shaken up about recent events.

He walked past the open gate and looked around at the humble farm. He personally wouldn't mind living in a place like this. It seemed like it was separated from the world and its troubles, completely free of all other problems. It was nice and peaceful, just the way he liked it.

He soon found Applejack bucking apple trees as her brother Big Mac carried the fallen apples away in a cart. He approached them and waved his hoof. "Hey!" he called.

Both Applejack and Big Mac perked up at that and saw the orange pegasus stallion walking over to them. Applejack grinned and said, "Well, howdy, Flash! Been a while since we last saw ya here. What brings ya to the farm?"

"Oh, I just need to ask you about catering for a party that your Pinkie Pie friend is planning," Flash explained. He then put on a curious look. "You two wouldn't happen to have any idea what this party is for, would you?"

"Nope," Big Mac replied with a shake of his head.

"Best thing to do is not question it," Applejack advised seriously. "Trust me. It'd prob'ly be better fer yer sanity not to wonder what's goin' on in that head o' hers."

Flash raised an eyebrow, but didn't question that. "Anyway, about the catering…"

"Oh! Right! We got that covered. We've got a whole line o' snacks planned fer the party. You can tell Pinkie not to worry none!"

"Got it," Flash said with a nod. He looked around at the trees for a second. "I've gotta say, you guys have a really nice farm here."

"Eeeyup," Big Mac stated proudly.

Applejack nodded in agreement. "We don't usually brag 'round here, but Sweet Apple Acres has got the best dang apples you'll ever eat! We've only got a hoofful of rivals in Equestria, and they just barely manage to match the fruits of our labors!"

Flash nodded again and eyed one of the trees. "You mind if I give apple-bucking a try?"

"You kiddin'?" the orange mare asked with a joking look. "Go right on ahead." The pegasus nodded and set his saddlebags on the ground, then headed for the nearest full apple tree.

-o-

Twilight tried not to make eye contact with anypony as she walked through town. That didn't mean that she didn't notice the nervous glances and the occasional spiteful glare sent her way. After a few months of this, she had grown used to it. The few who weren't afraid of her still accepted her. Even Rainbow Dash was willing to forgive her for what she had done, albeit a bit suspiciously at first.

She ignored the looks as best she could, but they were still rather biting. It served as a constant reminder of what she had done. And she believed that she needed that reminder. Otherwise, she might make the same mistakes again.

She soon came upon Sweet Apple Acres and sighed with a small smile. At least she knew that the Apple family would still welcome her as openly as ever. She walked past the gate and went off looking for Applejack, whom she found sitting on her rump, staring at several empty apple trees with a dumbfounded expression.

"Hey, AJ!" she greeted happily. She raised an eyebrow when the earth pony didn't respond. "Is something wrong?"

"No," Applejack stated truthfully. "Ah'm just a little in shock is all."

"What happened?"

"Flash happened."

"What?"

"Hey, Twilight!" called the voice of Flash Sentry from behind an apple tree. The pegasus flew over to the two mares with a grin on his face. "What brings you here?"

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "I came to talk to Applejack about catering for Pinkie Pie's big party. Why're you here? And why is Applejack so stunned?"

"Catering?" Flash asked. "Huh. Must've forgotten to cross that off of your to-do list for you. I already took care of that. They're getting some things ready." Flash eyed Applejack for a moment. "As for what's wrong with her… I guess I'm better at apple-bucking than I thought."

"Wait, what?"

"Yeah, see, I asked if it'd be okay if I tried bucking apples. AJ and Big Macintosh agreed. I started about ten minutes ago. I think I cleared about two acres already, but I'm not sure."

Twilight's jaw almost hit the ground. Applejack had been working this farm all her life, and she could only do about one acre an hour. Flash once said that he was the fastest trainee in the boot camp that he went to for training as a Royal Guard, but this proved that he was almost as fast as Rainbow Dash! "Did you fly at all?" Twilight inquired.

"No," the pegasus colt answered. "I just did was Applejack was doing. I just bucked the trees and headed for the next one."

Applejack shook her head, apparently trying to get over her shock. She suddenly looked like she had a joyful realization. "Shoot, if I'd known you were such a natural at apple-buckin', I'da hired you a long time ago! You just saved us at least two or three hours o' work today!"

Flash chuckled. "Sorry, but I've already got a full-time job. Besides, I think it's about time I got those groceries back to the library." He headed over to get his saddlebags when they suddenly levitated in the air sparkling with familiar purple magic.

"I've got that," Twilight said with slight smirk a giggle. She placed it on Flash's back, and the pegasus gave an appreciative nod. "You go on back, Flash. I'll take care of everything else from here."

"You got it," Flash said with nod as he turned to leave the farm. Twilight watched as he walked away, something Applejack easily took notice of.

"You really got it, Twi," she joked with a little chuckle. "You got it bad."

Twilight blushed at that statement and gave the orange mare a flustered look. "What? N-no, I don't!" Applejack laughed at Twilight's embarrassment as the purple unicorn rolled her eyes and walked away. That was one more joke she could add to the ever-growing list of times that he friends had teased her about having a crush on Flash Sentry. She knew for a fact that she didn't.

-o-

Three pairs of eyes watched from the shadows as ponies walked by, going about their daily lives as though everything was normal. The owners of those eyes hissed as one pony in particular trotted by. "There!" one voice said in a deep tone. "That one! That's the pony we hunt! Lead us to Etna Key!"

"Yesss," said a second, smoother, raspier voice. "Hunt. Bite. Burn. Make pony talk."

A third voice laughed gleefully. "Fun! We have fun hunting!"

"Yes," the first voice replied. "We have fun." With that, the eyes sunk deeper into the shadows, disappearing altogether, but not letting their target out of sight for even a moment. They would certainly have fun stalking the pony. They will definitely have even more fun chasing the pony.

Monsters and Masters

Twilight whistled a little tune as she walked through Ponyville, keeping her mind off of the looks she got from the other ponies as she trotted through town. She levitated her to-do list in front of her. She had already taken care of most of what was on it. She had spoken to Rarity about decorations, had Rainbow Dash and the other weather ponies agree to keep the weather nice on the day of the party, made sure that Fluttershy would have her animals ready for a petting zoo (Pinkie Pie's idea), and had given the local copier the details of the invitations that were to be made and delivered to everypony in town. The unicorn sighed at that last one. Why Pinkie didn't just meet with the local newspaper to have her big party advertised for everypony to see, she had no idea.

She rolled down the list to the last thing she needed to do. She now had to go talk to Pinkie Pie about the remaining details for the party. After that, she'd have the rest of the day to herself. With a nod, she rolled up the list and stored it away in her saddlebag and made her way to Sugarcube Corner. All the way, however, she felt as though she was being watched by someone. And it wasn't the other ponies in the town.

-o-

A trio of pairs of eyes followed the pony that they had been sent to find with readiness glinting in each eye. The pony trotted obliviously through the town, past others until finally arriving at their destination, the town library where Twilight Sparkle made her home.

"O-o-oh!" said a raspy voice. "This make it better! We get two preys for one!"

"Yes, yes," said a deep, throaty voice. "We get Key, and little unicorn! We get double rewarded!"

"Burn them?" said a third, stuttering voice said. "Have playtime, yes?"

"Yes, playtime," the deep voice replied with a heavy chuckle. "We play with ponies. Make ponies talk. Bring unicorn to masters."

"Fun!" the raspy voice said excitedly. The owners of those all followed the pony with gleeful grins. They were going to have fun soon.

-o-

Spike sighed in boredom as he went through his portion of the big to-do list. There was little else to do around the library lately, and most of the things on the list had already been crossed out, thanks to efficiency with which Twilight and Flash seemed to work with. The two ponies had cleared a good two thirds of the list off. Just when he finally came to something that wasn't crossed out, he heard the sound of the front door opening.

"Hey, Spike!" called the voice of Flash Sentry. "I'm back! I've got the groceries!"

"Just put them in the kitchen!" Spike called back. "I'll sort them out later!"

"You got it," Flash replied as he headed for the kitchen and began dropping things off onto the nearest counter. He left the kitchen then and headed into the main library to look around for a little while. He wasn't really that big a reader. He never really had the time for it, plus his own general lack of interest in literature. Twilight had been trying to get him to read a few of her favorites, and some other popular ones that she had. As it turns out, Flash Sentry was very good at procrastinating.

As he walked, he heard what sounded like something banging against the front door. When he went to investigate, the door practically exploded as a huge form charged in. He only barely managed to avoid being tackled by the massive beast that had broken into the building. The creature rolled across the floor until it hit the far wall and scrambled to its feet. Flash stared at the beast before him with wide eyes.

It had the body of huge, bulky lion with crimson eyes and huge teeth that looked sharper than razors. Its tail was a hissing snake with beady red eyes, and on its back was the head of a… goat? Silly as that may have looked at first, Flash easily saw the malice that burned in the goat head's own red eyes. Whatever this thing was, it meant business.

"Okay," the pegasus said as he took a few careful steps back. "Wasn't expecting company today." Suddenly, the lion head opened its mouth and spat out a stream of white-hot fire at the young stallion, who yelped in surprise as he flapped his wings to evade the fire. He flew off to the left and hovered there, staring at the burning ruin that was once a bookshelf. "Oh, Twilight won't be happy about that."

"Flash!" Spike called as he ran down the stairs. "What the hay is-?" The baby dragon froze the instant he saw the huge lion-snake-goat-hybrid monster. "Uh… I'll just go do a… thing." He immediately sprinted back upstairs then, but was blocked when the monster pounced up onto the stairs in front of him. The young dragon chuckled nervously. "Er, nice kitty?" The beast roared at him, and raised its paw to swat him away, but it was suddenly tackled by an orange blur, throwing the creature off balance and tumbling down the stairs past Spike.

"Spike, go get Twilight!" Flash ordered. "I'll hold off Fluffy here!" Spike nodded unquestioningly and sprinted off to find the purple unicorn mare. Flash returned his focus to the beast, which was already back on its feet and glaring at him with hatred and an unsettling hunger. "Right. Hold him off. I didn't really think this one through." The lion snarled at him. "Problem, Fluffy?"

"Pony!" the lion head growled in a deep baritone voice, catching Flash completely off guard. "We hunt you! You tell us where Key is! You give us Key!"

Flash just stared at the beast for a few seconds before shaking his head. "Wait, key? What key?"

The goat head bleated angrily. "Etna Key!" it shouted. "You tell us where Etna Key is! Then we eat you!"

"Well, that's inviting," the orange pegasus replied. "I've never even heard of an Etna Key before. What makes you think I know where it is?"

"Mastersss say you know!" the tail-snake hissed. "Tell usss!"

"Masters?" Flash asked with a raised eyebrow. "Who-?" Before he could finish his question, the monster charged at him faster than before, its lion's maw open and burning. He was only barely able to evade the attack, flying off to the right and hitting the ground harder than he had intended. He looked back up at the beast, which had jumped down from the stairs and landed with a loud thud, the wooden floor cracking under the monster's weight. Flash took several steps back as the monster approached him, impatience evident in its infernal gaze.

"You tell us where is Etna Key!" the lion head roared furiously. "You don't tell us, and we kill you! Eat your heart!"

"You're not exactly inspiring cooperation here, you know that?"

The monster roared angrily again and once more charged at the orange pegasus, who braced himself for the attack. Just before the beast could tackle him – or worse – its heads glowed purple for a split second, and it collapsed right in front of him, all three heads snoring loudly.

"Flash!" called the voice of Twilight Sparkle. The unicorn mare, followed by Spike, galloped over to the stallion, who released a sigh of relief and sat down with a relieved grin. "Are you all right? Spike said you were in trouble, but he didn't say anything about a chimera!"

"A chimera, huh?" Flash replied with a curious look. "Well, that sure sounds a lot more respectable than 'Fluffy.'"

"How can you joke about something like this!?" Twilight shouted at him. "If Spike hadn't found me at Sugarcube Corner, and if I hadn't been able to cast that sleeping spell on the chimera, you would've been…" She trailed off. Flash didn't need her to finish. He knew what she was going to say. He was about to apologize when she spoke again. "What's a chimera doing here anyway? What did it want?"

"It said something about something called the 'Etna Key,'" Flash answered as he stood back up. "I don't know what the Etna Key is, but it seemed to think that I knew where it was. It also said something about having masters, but it didn't say much else."

"Etna Key?" Twilight thought out loud. She turned to the chimera for a few moments, then faced Spike, who was already cleaning up the remains of the bookshelf that the chimera had destroyed. "Spike, write a letter to the princess. She may know what this Etna Key is and what it's for." The baby dragon saluted and hurried to do as he was told. Twilight turned back to the chimera, then to Flash. "Think you can help me get this thing out of here and into the Everfree? I really don't want it waking up in my house."

"Sure thing."

As the two ponies dragged the chimera out of library and back to the Everfree Forest, Twilight's mind kept going back to this Etna Key that Flash had mentioned. What was it? What was it the key to? And who were the beast's masters? She was beginning to have a very bad feeling in her gut. And that feeling was rarely wrong.

A Meeting With Chaos

Spike stood at the side of Princess Celestia as Flash Sentry began pacing impatiently. The Princess of the Sun had only arrived a few minutes ago, and had instructed Twilight to gather the other Elements of Harmony. The white alicorn was silent, a contemplating look on her face. Neither Spike nor Flash could tell what she was thinking, but they had both agreed that it likely had something to do with the Etna Key, or, at the very least, the chimera's masters. She clearly knew something. Hopefully, she'd be able to explain what was going on.

Soon, Twilight returned to the library, followed by her five friends. The purple unicorn immediately made her way to the princess and said, "I brought the others and told them all what happened, like you asked."

Celestia nodded in acknowledgement. "Very good, Twilight," she said in a calm, yet worried, tone. "You all know about the attack on the library. On Flash Sentry. The chimera that had attacked was after something called the Etna Key."

"Twilight told us 'bout that," Applejack replied. "What can ya tell us this Etna Key thing?"

The princess put on yet another contemplating look before sighing rather heavily. "Unfortunately, I don't know much about it. All I know is that it is a key to an ancient seal that was formed long before I was born."

"Do you have any idea where we might be able to find it?" Twilight inquired.

"Yeah!" Rainbow Dahs said. "We need to find that thing before that chimera's bosses do! Whatever they're planning can't be good!"

"I'm afraid that I haven't the slightest clue where it might be hidden," Celestia answered. "However… there is a rumor of a tome written by Starswirl the Bearded that contains information on every legendary artifact ever crafted in Equestria. It may have the information we seek."

"Uh, with all due respect, Princess," Twilight spoke up, "I've studied all of Starswirl's texts. Not one of them had any mention of anything called the Etna Key."

"That is because there is only one copy of this tome," the princess explained. "Unfortunately, it has been lost to the ages. Nopony has ever found it. Not even me."

"Oh, oh, I have something to say!" Pinkie Pie shouted, jumping about excitedly.

"Pinkie, darling, now really isn't the time for your nonsense," Rarity chastised the pink earth pony.

Pinkie grinned almost mischievously. "You're right. Who cares about some silly old secret passageway in the library anyway?"

"Wait," Twilight interrupted. "What? Secret passageway?"

"Yep! I was checking out the burned up part of the library, and I guess I stepped on a switch or pulled a lever or something, because part of the wall opened up!" The pink mare pointed a hoof over at the wall by the burned area, where, sure enough, a door leading to a downward staircase was open.

Twilight just stared at it, slack-jawed. She shook her head in disbelief. "How do I not notice these things!?" she asked to no one in particular.

"Maybe you just don't look around enough?" Pinkie suggested, earning her a glare from the purple unicorn, to which she simply grinned.

Celestia approached the door and looked down the stairway, her eyes narrowed. She looked around the inside of the doorway, and she gasped quietly when she spotted something. "Wait," she muttered to herself. "Twilight, come here for a moment." The young mare came over to her mentor's side, a curious look in her eyes. Celestia pointed to a strange mark on the wall beyond the doorway. It was simple star with spiral in the center. Twilight recognized it immediately.

"Th-that's the mark of Starswirl the Bearded!" Twilight exclaimed in amazement. "I've seen it in all of his books! What's it doing here?"

"Maybe this used to be his library?" Fluttershy suggested. "It has been said that this tree house has been around even longer than all of Canterlot."

"Ah bet that book ya mentioned is down there!" Applejack theorized to the princess, who nodded.

"There's only one way to find out," the alicorn replied as she took the first steps down the stairs. Twilight and the others followed, Spike on her back and Flash by her side.

The stairway was a spiral staircase, and seemed to go down for quite a ways. Twilight immediately took notice of this. It was already going much further down than the basement where she usually kept her lab equipment and personal books. She noticed both Rainbow Dash and Flash Sentry seemed to be getting a tad fidgety as well. Fluttershy especially looked uncomfortable. That made sense, she assumed. Most pegasi don't like going so far underground.

However, Flash seemed more distracted than uncomfortable, like he was lost in thought. Curious, she nudged him slightly. When he turned to her, she asked, "Is something wrong? You're quieter than usual."

The orange pegasus shook his head. "I'm fine. I guess. I really don't know. I just…" He hesitated, then sighed in exasperation. "I don't know where it's coming from, but I'm getting a… weird feeling. Like something's just… off." Twilight gave him a questioning look. "Look, it's just… weird, all right? That's all."

The unicorn mare eyed him worriedly, then looked over at Spike, who simply shrugged. It wasn't like Flash to be so tense. He was usually always chatting and making wisecracks. She had gotten used to his smart-alecky jokes and carefree demeanor. It had helped to deal with her… past actions. Seeing him so silent was… unsettling, to say the least.

The ponies and dragon continued down the stairway, which was beginning to get darker and darker. Celestia, Twilight, and Rarity used their magic to light the way as they all headed down. Fluttershy was practically clinging onto a rather irritated-looking Rainbow Dash, who didn't make any complaints about it. Even the bravest of the eight ponies and one dragon were starting to get nervous because of this darkness.

They eventually reached a pair of large double doors with a torch on either side, plus one above it. The doors had a plaque mounted on them, looking as though it had somehow been grafted into place by some powerful magical spell. On the plaque was written several lines of bizarre, stylized symbols. Celestia eyed the plaque analytically as Twilight approached her.

The young unicorn studied the plaque's inscriptions, but couldn't make sense of it in any way. It looked like some kind of other language that she didn't know anything about. Was it foreign? Or was it some ancient, long-dead dialect from Equestrian history? She was just about to ask the princess about when Flash Sentry suddenly spoke up again.

"'May this gate and lock prevent unknowing thieves,'" he said, "'who do not know what lies beyond. If victory the endless darkness achieves, then all the world that we know will be gone.' Well, that sounds kind of depressing."

Twilight stared at the pegasus for a few disbelieving moments. "Flash, you can read that?"

He looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Of course I can. It's plain Equestrian, isn't it?"

"It's not," Celestia spoke up, looking at Flash with narrowed, yet curious, eyes. "It's an ancient language known only to the alicorns of over two thousand years ago, long before my own time. Even I cannot read this."

"Hold on a second!" Rainbow Dash shouted as she zipped into the conversation. "How can Flash read it if you of all ponies can't?"

"I'm not sure," the sun princess admitted, not taking her gaze off of Flash. "Clearly, there is something more going on than any of us know." She was silent for a moment. "Flash, is there anything more on that plaque that you can read for us?"

The pegasus hesitated for a moment, then studied the plaque again. "Ah, a lot of it is kind of hard to read. But… 'The Key will open the mountainous lock, and free…'" He trailed off, and sighed. "Sorry, Princess, but it's illegible after that."

"'Free'?" Twilight inquired curiously. "Free what?"

"Oh, maybe it's a free volley ball!" Pinkie Pie suggested. "Or maybe a giant cupcake! O-o-oh, even better! A cake the size of a mountain!" She was about to give more guesses as to what was going to be freed, but Applejack slapped her hoof over the pink mare's mouth.

"Ah really doubt it's any o' those things," the farmer said in a serious and rather cynical tone.

Twilight thought on it for several moments. "That part about a key must be referring to the Etna Key," she theorized. "Maybe this door is what the Key is meant to open?"

"Perhaps," Celestia replied. "But I don't see any kind of lock anywhere on this door, magical or otherwise. And besides, the plaque mentions a 'mountainous lock.'"

"Well, I say we try to open this thing anyway," Flash suggested. "It's better than just sitting here on our flanks and guessing what's what."

"I'm with Flash on this!" Rainbow stated in complete agreement. "Let's just bust that door down and see what's behind it!" The cyan pegasus was just about to charge straight into the door when Rarity took hold of her tail with her magic.

"Now, now, Rainbow, settle down," the fashionista said in a chastising tone. "We don't know what's beyond that door. For all we know, it could be some kind of devious trap. Didn't the plaque mention something about thieves?"

"Yeah, it did," Flash answered as he walked closer to the door. "It probably has some kind of defense. Something that keeps unwanted visitors out." He reached up to the door with his hoof, planning to test it with a light shove. As soon as his hoof touched the door, however, the plaque suddenly glowed with a blinding white light. Everypony shouted in surprise and tried to shield their eyes from light until it died down just as quickly as it had come to life. When they looked again, the plaque was gone, and the doors were opened inwards very slightly.

"Okay," Flash said with a dumbfounded look. "Didn't see that one coming."

"Wh-wh-what just happened?" Fluttershy stammered out fearfully.

Twilight looked back and forth between Flash and the now-opened door, completely dumbstruck as the princess spoke. "The door must've reacted when Flash touched it," Celestia said. "First his comprehension of a dead language, and now this?" The white alicorn looked at the shocked Flash Sentry with both curiosity and a very slight level of suspicion. "Clearly, you must have something to do with all of this."

"What?" Flash responded with wide eyes. "No! I don't know what's going on! This is all just as new to me as it is to the rest of you!"

"Calm down, Flash Sentry," the princess replied. "I'm not accusing you of anything." She turned away from him, facing the door again. "I suppose it's time we saw what this door is hiding." With that, she took point and pushed the doors open, using her horn to light the darkened chamber beyond. The others followed her into the room, where the princess brightened her horn a little more, creating a few small orbs of light that floated off towards the ceiling before stopping in midair, lighting the room.

"Oh, man," Rainbow said in slack-jawed awe. "This place is HUGE!"

It was true. It was likely the largest room any of them had ever seen. The walls were made from marble with gold lining along the edges of the floor, four massive, elegantly decorated pillars towering above to hold the ceiling in place. Rarity especially seemed awestruck by the grand chamber's beautiful design.

"This place is…" Twilight began, trailing off.

"It's absolutely fabulous!" Rarity proclaimed. "It's such a waste for it to sit in the dingy old dark like it must've been for whoever knows how long!"

"What's that?" Spike spoke up, pointing over to a small podium in the center of the room.

Just when Twilight was about to answer, a painfully familiar laugh echoed throughout the chamber. "I was wondering when you ponies would show up!" a recognized male voice spoke. There was bright flash for an instant. "I was getting so bored of waiting for you all! How have you all been?"

The ponies and dragon all stared with wide eyes at the one who had appeared in front of them, lounging in the air with his mismatched wings flapping lightly. Before them was none other than the draconoquess Discord, a smug little grin planted firmly on his face.

Madness Born of Darkness

The ponies and dragon all stared at the draconoquess with wide eyes as Discord laughed mockingly at their expressions. Celestia was the first to recover from her shock, charging her horn with magic and preparing for an attack. She scowled at the spirit of chaos. "Discord! How are you here and why?"

"How?" Discord replied with an almost offended look. "Please, Celestia. I'm the spirit of chaos! I can do whatever I want, whenever I want. As to why, well…" He vanished suddenly, then reappeared, stretching his arms around both Twilight and Flash's neck, pulling them in close to his chest and making Spike tumble off of Twilight's back and onto the floor. "It all has to do with these two right here."

"What?" Twilight said as both she and Flash pushed away from Discord. "What are you talking about?"

Discord leaned back in the air in a lounging position. "Oh, now that would be telling. I'm no tattle-tale!"

"You'd better tell us!" Rainbow Dash shouted as flew over in front of the draconoquess, an impatient look on her face. "What do you want with Twilight and Flash?"

Discord chuckled in mischievous amusement. "It's not what I want with them," he said. "It's what my 'boss' wants." He made air quotes with his fingers at the word boss.

"Wait a minute," Applejack spoke up. "You have a boss?"

"Don't remind me," Discord said as he rolled his eyes. He turned to Celestia again. "Look, Tia, I've always hated the idea of being subservient to someone other than myself. Plus, what the big guy has planned isn't really my type of thing. So, I'm here to cut you a deal."

"A deal?" Celestia inquired skeptically with one eyebrow raised.

"Why in the world would we ever make a deal with the likes of you?" Rarity asked. "You threw all of Equestria into complete anarchy the last time you were freed!"

"I know!" Discord said indignantly. "And you all ruined it! Anyway, at least hear me out before you try to turn me to stone again."

The Princess of the Sun glared at Discord for a moment before sighing. "Fine. What is it that you want?"

Discord grinned at that. "Here's the deal: I'm going to help you to stop the guy that you call the Accursed One. I can't give you all the particulars of his plan, but I can give you a hint as to where to go, what to do, etc, etc. First off, there's a book on that podium over in the middle of the room. Take a look at it. Second, the Etna Key is much closer than you think."

"Wait, what?" Flash asked. "How do you know about the Key?"

"Who do you think sent that chimera?"

"That was you!?" Twilight shouted.

Discord raised his hands in a way to tell the young mare to calm down. "It's not like it was my idea. Personally, I would've just cast a spell to make little Flashy here cooperate with us. But I was outvoted."

"'Us'?" Applejack parroted. "You mean there's more followers of that Accursed One guy?"

"Sorry, but I've already said too much on that particular matter," the draconoquess replied.

"Can you at least tell us what you get out of this deal of yours?" Celestia inquired.

"Oh, you'll find out. Eventually." Discord looked down at his left wrist and suddenly slapped his cheek with his other hand. "My goodness, would you look at the time! I've gotta go!" Before anyone could respond to that, his body suddenly exploded into a burst of confetti, leaving everypony confused and wondering just what the heck Discord might've had planned.

"Does anypony else think we're in for another 'storm of chaos' soon?" Applejack asked. "Ah don't think the orchard could stand another chocolate milk rain."

"Oh, but chocolate rain would be great!" Pinkie Pie chimed in. "If anypony's ever thirsty, all they'd have to is look up with their mouth open! That chocolate rain was sooooooooo good!"

"Focus, darling," Rarity replied to the excited pony.

"We can't trust Discord!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "He'll stab us in the back the first chance he gets! Heck, he'll probably make us stab each other in the back!"

"We know, Rainbow," Twilight said to the other mare. She and Celestia took point as the group headed for the podium in the center of the chamber, upon which a book was resting, just as Discord had said. "But what he's told us so far is all we really have to go on. And this book might just have the answers we need."

Celestia nodded in reluctant agreement. "Twilight is right. Discord is unpredictable and untrustworthy, but he usually knows what he's talking about. And if he really does have a master of some kind, then it actually is very likely that he'll rebel against that master." That said, she lifted the book with her magic. It wasn't a truly unique tome. It had a hard brown cover with the mark of Starswirl the Bearded on the front. She opened the book to the first page with writing in it. The hoofwriting was incredibly old-fashioned. It was so old, in fact, that Celestia was the only who could make sense of it. That being discovered fairly quickly, she began reading.

This is the tome in which I, Starswirl the Bearded, shall record the traits of all magical artifacts in the history of Equestria, from benevolent items such as the Elements of Harmony, to more… disturbing pieces, such as the Alicorn Amulet, and several other unique, fascinating, and sometimes even dangerous trinkets. I must warn whoever reads this that some of these entries are likely not for the faint of heart.

The first entry continued on for about two more pages. It was a basic introduction from one of Starswirl's many books, Twilight thought, and was fairly long-winded. Celestia went through the pages, through every entry, each one regarding a different artifact. Some of them sounded like they'd be really helpful, like a bracelet that made an obedient doppelganger of the wearer, and a necklace that allowed the wearer brief visions of the future. There were, of course, some things that were… frightening to think about, such as a tiara that erases all sense of free will from the wearer, turning them into a mindlessly obedient slave, and hoof-worn ring that makes pegasi faster and stronger, but with an extremely addictive side effect that would render the user a hopeless vegetable should the ring ever be removed.

Eventually, Celestia stopped on one of the last few pages. The writing seemed to have gotten a tad sloppier for some reason. The princess narrowed her eyes at the words and read again.

I have had the same spine-chilling dream every night of this week now. A terrifying figure made from some shadowy inferno appears to me in my sleep every night, its crimson eyes glowing with hate and malice. It always speaks to me, telling me of some ancient relic that it only refers to as "the Key." I am unsure what this "Key" might be, but a unicorn does suffer the same repeating nightmare each night without some reason behind it. I will attempt to discover just what this Key is, and will use this tome as my journal on the subject.

…

I have just awakened from that nightmare once again. I cannot fathom why this is happening to me, specifically, but I have at least learned the full name of the artifact that I have been researching: it is apparently called the "Etna Key." So says that black flame at least. It would seem that this Key is meant to break a seal that has existed almost as long as all of ponykind. I will continue to find new clues on this relic as soon as possible.

…

These blasted nightmares will be the death of me someday. Every night, I suffer them, but I am still learning more about the Etna Key from them, as well as from my own research when I am not sleeping, something I have come to fear nowadays. The Etna Key has its origins in the land called Hellas, the homeland of minotaurs, centaurs, and the birthplace of the pegasi. My apprentice Clover the Clever and I are preparing to travel there now. Perhaps I will find answers from the natives there.

…

Clover and I are in Hellas now. We have been here for four days now. Everyone I speak to about the Etna Key either glares at me until I leave or changes the subject. I am getting the feeling that we are not welcome here. Clover has admitted to feeling the same. Regardless, we must persist. The Key has, regrettably, become an obsession of mine. I need to know what it is, and what it will release. I must know.

…

The dreams persist. They never leave me. The Key. I must find the Key. The dreams always say that the Key is close by, but everywhere I look, everyone I speak to, I find nothing. The Key is here. I know it. I must find the Key.

…

Clover says that we must leave soon. She believes that I am becoming too attached to this search. What a fool! She does not know what I see every night! I see it every time I close my eyes now. The black fire and its blazing red eyes, its grand, booming voice that crushes my ears, its sense of authority. I must find the Key. That blasted, illusive Key. It is always near, but always just beyond my reach. I must have it. I must. It is the only way.

…

Clover pleaded that we go home, back to Equestria. No… we cannot leave. Not yet. I have finally found a genuine lead to the Etna Key. Clover has had it with her all along. I cannot let her know that I know. She would flee to the ends of the earth if she knew. I will have the Key. But Clover is strong, and true to her title. I will bide my time for now. She is not worthy of the Key. The voice says so.

…

Sweet Mother, what have I done? I did exactly as I had planned: I bided my time, waited for the right moment. The instant Clover and I were somewhere no one would hear, I… sweet Mother Faust, I am unforgivable. She did not even have that accursed Key! The voices stopped the moment the deed was done. I… I cannot live with myself knowing this. I left her where she lay, rotting in some forest countless miles from her home… I am evil.

…

I have made my decision. I will do what must be done once I have finished and hidden this tome. This is to be my final entry. My final book. I can only hope that whoever finds this while in search of the Etna Key will fare better than I. You must embark upon this quest on your own. No one can help you. It is the way it must be. Otherwise, you will do to your companions what I have done to my own student. I am Starswirl the Bearded. These are my final words. I will do now the only thing I can do to even have a chance at restoring my shattered honor. Farewell. May Faust have mercy on all who seek that damnable Key.

"That was the last entry," Celestia said, a look of horror on her face. "Starswirl was corrupted somehow, driven mad by some force."

"The nightmares he described," Twilight added. "They… they sound just like the nightmares that I've been having. That black fire, and red eyes. That's the Accursed One. He was giving Starswirl those nightmares like he's doing with me now!"

"Starswirl said that he believed that Clover had the Key on her," Flash spoke up, "but when he…" He hesitated. "She… didn't have it. Could she have hidden it somewhere?"

"Maybe," Celestia replied. She turned to Twilight then. "It is evident that the Accursed One is after the Etna Key. It is very likely that the Key is what will release him upon the world again. From Starswirl's notes, you may likely find what you need in Hellas, the land just southeast of Equestria."

"Right," Twilight replied. She turned to her friends with a determined look. "All right, girls, get ready! We're going abroad!"

"B-but what about S-Starswirl's warning?" Fluttershy stuttered nervously.

"Yeah!" Rainbow agreed, giving an almost suspicious look to Twilight. "Those nightmares drove him crazy! Who's to say it won't happen again?"

"Rainbow!" Rarity said in a chastising tone.

"What? Twilight betrayed us before."

"And she made up for that!" Pinkie Pie said indignantly, wrapping a foreleg around Twilight's neck. "She would never forever do something like that again! Right, Twilight?"

The unicorn pushed Pinkie away a little. "Y-yeah. Never. I swear that I won't ever let it happen again." Rainbow didn't look the least bit convinced, but she didn't press the matter. She simply grunted and flew back a few feet. Twilight sighed and turned to Celestia. "We'll find the Etna Key, Princess. You have my word."

"And mine, too," Flash stated. Twilight was about to say something to argue that, but he cut her off. "Discord said that this has something to do with the both of us. It'd probably be a good idea for me to come along. Besides, I want answers just as much as you do."

"But-"

"Flash is right, Twilight," Celestia said in a slightly commanding tone. "He is highly trained, just as any other member of the Royal Guard. He may play a role that will greatly aid you in your quest." Twilight just gave a defeated sigh and nodded. "Also, I suggest that you take Spike along as well. I would like to be kept informed about how your quest is proceeding as go."

"You got it!" Spike said as he stood straight and gave a salute to the princess.

The Princess of the Sun nodded. "The Accursed One poses a dire threat, not just to Equestria, but to the entire world. We must ensure that he does acquire the Etna Key, and that he is not allowed to roam freely in the world. The fate of the entire world now rests in your hooves. Go and prepare for your new quest. You are to head to Hellas as soon as you are all able."

The seven ponies and one dragon nodded to the princess and hurried upstairs, while Celestia remained in the basement for a few moments more. She reread the final few entries in Starswirl's last book, and recalled what Twilight had told her of her dreams. The princess closed the book. She knew that reading it would only make her more worried for her pupil. She sighed as she placed the book back on its podium. She needed to have faith in Twilight. She needed to believe that her student, somepony who had become like a daughter to her, would be able to resist the powers of Darkness. Neither of them had proven completely reliable on such matters. All the princess could do was hope for the best.

-o-

Within the darkened caves, a shadowy blaze wrapped itself around a decrepit throne of shattered gems and crushed stone. The inferno's burning eyes narrowed at the ruin it had once called its palace, which had long-since been buried over the millennia. The Accursed One raised his hate-filled eyes to a single source of light, far above his fiery form. A small crack let the light pour in, a symbol of hope in the dreary cavern. He rose up to the crack, eyes glaring at the light it ushered in.

He used his dark magic, weaker than before, but still very powerful, to force the earth to close the tiny gap in his ceiling. The light cut off, descended back to his ancient throne, coiling around it like a snake around a mouse. He let out a low, grumbling sound as he did this.

"Soon…"

Welcome to Hellas

The sky was clear overhead. The sun shone brilliantly in the sea of blue above. There was a strong, but fairly gentle, wind blowing, propelling the airship forward. Twilight wandered on the deck as crewmen went about doing their jobs as they normally would. Princess Celestia had chartered this ship, the Sun's Blessing, to take her and her friends to Hellas. The fastest way to get there was to fly, apparently. She was actually pretty excited. She had never been on a full-fledged airship before. Neither had most of the others, save for Rarity and Flash, the latter of whom had once been assigned to help guard a shipment of goods from Saddle Arabia.

She leaned on the railing of the left side of the ship – she couldn't remember whether that was starboard or port – and watched as mountains in the distance moved by. They had been sailing for two days now. Equestria and Hellas were further apart than she had first thought. She had noticed that the terrain had become gradually more mountainous and rocky. Most of the ground didn't look very fertile from where she observed.

"Admiring the view, lass?" a gruff tone spoke, making the young mare jump. An older unicorn stallion wearing a ship captain's uniform had joined her at the railing. His coat was light blue, a few shades darker than Rainbow Dash, and he had a graying mane that still had a few spots of yellow in it. His old green eyes betrayed a kind of elder adventurousness, like he knew what he was doing and could get it done with little to no help.

"Oh, hello, Captain Portside," Twilight greeted the elder pony. "Yes, I'm enjoying the sights. This is incredible. I've never been so high up in the sky before."

The captain chuckled lightly at that. "Well, it's a pleasure to know that my ship will be your first to explore the skies with. Well, disregarding the fact that we have a set destination, of course."

"Yeah," Twilight replied. "Um, would you mind if I took a look at your map for a moment?"

"Not at all, my dear." Portside's horn glowed a bluish hue as a map levitated out of his jacket pocket. Twilight took hold of it with her own magic and unfolded it. The map detailed a large image of the land of Hellas, including major cities and seven locations for them to dock, one of which being Hellas' capital city of Aegis.

Twilight observed the map for a few moments before identifying their current location. "So… I believe we're in the Ares Mountain Range, right?" The captain nodded his confirmation. "All right… It doesn't look like we have very far to go now. By the scaled measurements on the map, and the distance between these mountains and Aegis, we should be there by… sometime tomorrow morning, I suppose."

The captain gave another chuckle. "You're becoming a regular sailor already, Miss Sparkle. Keep it up, and I might have to put in a request with the princess to have you join my crew."

"Um… thanks. Anyway, we shouldn't have trouble docking. The princess said that she had sent a message via magic to alert the minotaur High Lord Bravehoof about our arrival." The captain nodded his acknowledgement, and Twilight gave the captain his map back, and began to explore the ship again. The crew was nice enough, though a hoofful of them seemed to be rather wary of her. Whether it was because they weren't fond of newcomers or if they had heard about… her, she couldn't be sure.

She wandered on the deck, occasionally bumping into her friends as she did. Rainbow Dash was helping the crew keep up the ship's speed and status by helping the pegasi crewmen maintain a stable wind current, while Applejack helped the non-pegasi keep up maintenance on the deck. Fluttershy and Rarity were mostly trying to keep to themselves – Fluttershy for obvious reasons and Rarity because she found most of the sailors to be rather… unclean, to say the least – but some of the sailors had decided to shirk work to try and woo them, much to the mares' chagrin. Pinkie Pie just bounced around as usual, getting laughs out of the crew wherever she went. Spike was doing cleaning around the ship, whistling a little tune as he did so.

Eventually, she found Flash Sentry at the foredeck, looking over the rail with his head on his forelegs. She went over to him and stood by his side. "Hey, Flash," she greeted him. He didn't respond. Twilight raised an eyebrow at that. "Um, Flash?" Still no reply. "Flash? Hello?"

Suddenly, the pegasus vomited over the rail, catching Twilight completely off guard. She cringed at the gargled sounds that he made as the contents of his stomach poured out of his throat. When he finished, he wiped his mouth and turned to Twilight. "Oh, hey," he said with an awkward smile, his face a sickly green hue. "Sorry about that. I get airsick. Very easily."

Twilight stared at him in silence for a few moment, then began giggling. "A pegasus who gets airsick? Really?"

Flash snickered as well. "Yeah, it is kind of stupid. I'm fine when I'm flying on my own, though, thank goodness. It's just when I'm on ships like this one. The rocking motion, you know?"

"Yeah, I think I get it. It's just strange." She leaned over the rail again as Flash lowered his head back on top of his forelegs. They both watched the skyline, watching the mountainous, yet elegant, terrain trail away. The mare sighed in some admiration. The creatures of Hellas certainly had a beautiful home. "I wonder what the people of Hellas are like."

"From what I've heard," Flash answered, "they're sort of rough. Their culture is predominantly based around battle, and they're not too fond of outsiders unless they're minotaurs or pegasi, who they welcome openly."

The unicorn looked at her friend with a slightly surprised expression. "Wow, Flash. You really seem to know a lot about Hellas."

"Why wouldn't I? It's the ancestral home of all pegasi. This is actually pretty exciting for me, visiting the homeland of my ancestors. I'm sure Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy might feel the same-!" Suddenly, he cheeks bloated, and he opened his mouth to throw up over the railing again, to which Twilight actually giggled this time.

"You have a serious problem, you know that?" she said teasingly.

"Oh, ha, ha, very funny." Flash's reply only made Twilight giggle again, which, in turn, made Flash start to laugh a little.

From across the deck, Captain Portside smiled at the two younger ponies and shook his head with small laugh of his own. He made his way to his personal cabin, giving one last look to the two youths before he went inside. "Young love," he said to himself as he entered the cabin.

-o-

The darkness surrounded her completely in its infinity. She trotted through the void, unsure of where she was going. Where was she to begin with? What was this dark place? She asked herself the same questions over and over as she walked, trying to find some sort of answer. But there was nothing. Just cold, dark emptiness as far as the eye could see.

She could suddenly here a deep growl far behind her. She turned at the sound to see a blazing red light drawing closer to her. She took a step back at the sight as the light drew nearer and nearer. Eventually, the light split into two burning eyes flooded with hate and ill intent. She immediately turned and began galloping as fast as she could. Where to, she didn't know. All she knew was that she had to get away from those eyes.

She ran the fastest she had ever run before, but the eyes just kept coming closer and closer. She looked back once, and her eyes went wide when she saw that the red eyes chasing her now had a body of black flame. It drew ever closer until she tripped over seemingly nothing. She struggled to get back onto her hooves and faced the immense inferno again, fear obvious in her expression.

The blaze towered over her, its eyes narrowing. "Such delicious irony," it spoke in a deep, powerful, booming tone. "That irony will be the downfall of the Light. Bringer of both Light and Darkness. You will join with me." With that said, before she could say anything at all, the massive bonfire swirled around her, searing her coat, charring her flesh. Those crimson eyes only glared with the tiniest hint of amusement.

Twilight shot up screaming from her cot, waking up everypony in the same cabin as her. She was drenched in a cold sweat, gasping in terror as she shook wordlessly. Her friends had quickly gathered around her, trying to calm her down. She pushed them away every time they tried to talk to her, only telling them to go away, to leave her alone. Soon, somepony placed a hoof on her shoulder, and she turned with wide, fear-filled eyes to see a calm look in the blue eyes of Flash Sentry.

"Twilight," he said in as gentle a tone as he could manage. He didn't say anything else. Everypony fell silent. The unicorn slowly began to calm down, and soon wrapped her forelegs around Flash, who flinched in surprise at the contact. He could hear Twilight sniffling on his shoulder. With no other real choice at the moment, he returned the hug, hoping it would help her calm down a bit.

Soon enough, she stopped crying, though her eyes were still watery. She released Flash and wiped her eyes. "Th-thank you," she muttered. "I'm sorry. I… I had a really bad dream."

"One of those nightmares again?" Spike asked worriedly. Twilight nodded somberly. "Well, don't worry, Twilight! We're here for you!"

"That's right!" Applejack confirmed with a hard nod. "We've stuck together since day one. We ain't gonna let anything happen to ya, sugar cube."

Twilight gave a small smile and nodded appreciatively. "Thanks, everyone. I… thank you."

"So… what was dream about?" Rainbow Dash asked curiously.

"Dashie," Fluttershy said in quiet-but-firm tone.

"Come on! It was legitimate question!"

"That still doesn't excuse asking about it!" Rarity chastised the pegasus.

"It's okay," Twilight intervened. The others looked at her as she took a deep breath. "It was the same as usual. I was in a dark void, and I found the same pair of red eyes, like always. The Accursed One, I guess. But every dream I always hear some voice say something different. This time, the voice said something about irony, and it called me a 'bringer of both Light and Darkness.' I don't have any idea what that means, though."

"Maybe it thought you were a nightlight?" Pinkie Pie suggested.

Twilight shook her head. "Somehow, I really doubt that, Pinkie."

Just then, somepony on the upper deck called out, "Aegis, in sight!" That got everyone's attention. They all hurried up to the upper deck and made their way to front end of the ship, where Captain Portside awaited them.

"There it is, lads and lasses," the captain said with grin. "Behold, the city of Aegis!"

They all stared in awe at the city ahead of them. It was twice the size of Canterlot, with countless pegasi and minotaurs walking into, out of, and around the city. Its walls were a pristine white marble, roofs held up by beautifully carved pillars. They all were stunned by the grand city's scope and architecture. In the center of the city was a huge, temple-like castle where the Elements of Harmony and company could assume they would be meeting with High Lord Bravehoof. Rarity was practically salivating at the mere sight of the city, and even legitimately fainted, being caught by Spike before she hit the floor.

"This is…" Twilight struggled to find the words.

"Awesome," Rainbow stated quietly.

"Yeah… that."

The captain chuckled to himself. "All of you better get ready. We'll be docking soon." The younger ponies and baby dragon all nodded and headed off to prepare, all of them excited for different reasons.

-o-

On a balcony on the wall of the castle in the center of Aegis, a lone minotaur wearing a suit of bronze armor and long red cape stood with his hands behind his back, taking notice of the airship from Equestria. He snorted slightly. He was actually looking forward to finding out what these ponies were here for. Celestia's letter had been somewhat vague, save for the mention of a possibility of a threat to the entire world. Nothing was ever that simple with Equestrian, for whatever reason.

"Sire," said a pegasus wearing full armor. "The party from Equestria will dock soon. Shall we escort them to the palace?"

The minotaur thought on it for a moment and turned, walking past the pegasus. "No. A team of guards and I will meet them personally. I want to know what Celestia wants."

"Of course, High Lord," the pegasus replied respectfully.

The minotaur made his way down the halls of the palace, ordering a small group of guards, consisting of both pegasi and minotaurs, to follow him. He had a feeling that something very… interesting was going to happen.

Legend of the Etna Key

The Sun's Blessing docked with no problem. The city guards eyed the group that was departing the vessel with suspicious glares that were especially harsh towards Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Spike. The eight Equestrians stuck close together as a group of five minotaurs and four pegasi approached, all of them in full armor.

The minotaur in the lead stopped about five feet from them, his arms held behind his back, under the long red cape that he wore at his neck. He reminded them of Iron Will, the motivational speaker who had inadvertently turned Fluttershy into a bully for a week, except he had a darker coat, wore heavy-looking bronze armor, and his hair was more neatly groomed. He also had a dark beard around his chin and had a solid gold nose ring. He towered over the ponies and dragon with a serious expression on his face. He eyed Twilight with a raised eyebrow.

"I take it you are the group that Celestia mentioned in her message?" he inquired in a deep, intimidating tone.

"Um… yes?" Twilight answered with a slight gulp. "Are you… High Lord Bravehoof?"

"I am," the minotaur replied with a snort. "You and your companions will come with me to the palace immediately."

"Oh," the unicorn responded. "Uh, okay. Lead the way, Your Lordship." Bravehoof snorted at that. "Something wrong?"

"Hmph." The minotaur simply turned and went ahead, his guards motioning for everyone else to follow. Twilight faced her friends, who all looked just as confused as she was by Bravehoof's manner. She could only shrug in response, and she and her friends followed their greeters to the palace.

As they walked, the Equestrians all watched the busy city in awe. Minotaurs and pegasi were everywhere, working stores, marching through the streets in heavy armor, minotaurs carrying huge crates and barrels from place to place, pegasi soaring through the sky and keeping the weather clear. In a word, it was metropolis that was even busier than Canterlot, but without the same sense of superiority. Everybody in the city all seemed to treat each other with some level of respect that was just… uncanny.

"I must say, Mr. High Lord," Rarity spoke up, "Aegis is quite the city! Such elegance and civility! I'm almost jealous!"

Bravehoof snorted again. "This city was built to protect those who live within its walls, but to also feel welcoming. Hellas is a land of strife and conflict. This city has seen more refugees from war than you can fathom."

"W-war?" Fluttershy stuttered out.

"You need not fear, Wing-Sister," one of the pegasus guards said. "Hellas is at peace for now."

"'Wing-Sister'?" Twilight asked.

"It's an old pegasus term," Flash explained. "Pegasi in Equestria don't use it anymore, though. In old times, and in present-day Hellas, pegasi would refer to one another as 'Wing-Sister' or 'Wing-Brother' if they didn't know each other's names."

"So ya'll treat each other like family?" Applejack questioned.

The pegasus guard who had spoken narrowed his eyes at the earth pony. "In a way. We are all descended from the great Pegasus himself."

"A great pegasus?" Twilight asked.

"Not just any pegasus," Rainbow Dash chimed in. "The Pegasus. Legend says that he was born when an evil demon was beaten by a minotaur, and that he was the first of our kind. Personally, I think the whole thing is a load of baloney." The pegasus guards all glared at the cyan mare when she said that, all of them looking ready to take her down on the spot. "What?"

"Um, Rainbow?" Fluttershy whispered to her friend. "Maybe you shouldn't talk down about what they believe in. They look like they take older traditions very… seriously." She looked back at the guards, who were still glaring at Rainbow rather harshly. "Um… p-please forgive my friend, sirs. She-"

"Just make sure that she learns how hold her tongue soon," one of the guards said coldly. The yellow mare cringed at his tone and hid behind Rainbow.

"Geez," Spike muttered only just loud enough for Twilight to hear. "These guys really need to lighten up." Twilight shushed the young dragon quietly. "What?"

Twilight rolled her eyes and continued following Bravehoof and his guards. Suddenly, she stopped and looked over her shoulder at the roof of a nearby building.

"Something wrong, Twilight?" Flash asked, getting the mare's attention.

"I…" She looked back to where she had been looking. She shook her head. "No, I'm fine. Just… jumpy, I guess." Flash raised an eyebrow at that, but didn't press it. Twilight gave one last glance at that spot before shaking her head again and moving to catch up with the others. She had felt as though she was being… watched. It was probably nothing. Just her imagination, maybe.

-o-

The palace had looked magnificent from the outside. On the inside, it lived up to its outer walls. The floors, walls, and ceiling were all carved marble, just like most of the city, but the palace was covered with even more intricate carvings that were only possible with a minotaur's hands. The carvings depicted great moments from throughout the history of Hellas, from its earliest days to its most recent era. Most of it was legends from ancient times, and a lot of it had to do with war and violence that was mostly held between the pegasi and the minotaurs whenever they fought for dominance in the nation.

Even the windows on either side of the hall had their own stories drawn onto them. Each of them depicted famed heroes of both races and times of hardship in which the two species joined together for the sake of survival.

Along either side of the hall that the group was led through were statues of minotaurs and pegasi, each race standing opposite each other. Each statue was made from gold, a metal that was actually incredibly common in Hellas, and was sculpted in a way that had them in full armor and wielding spears. Bravehoof had said that this hall was built to symbolize both the alliance and the past transgressions between the two races.

Having learned that, Twilight got curious. "Um, High Lord, sir?"

"What is it?" Bravehoof replied gruffly.

The unicorn flinched at his tone somewhat. "Pardon me for asking, but how does government here work? Knowing about the… history between minotaurs and pegasi, you must have some kind of system that works for both races, right?"

The minotaur snorted. "I'm called the High Lord for a reason. You'll get an idea of how our government works soon enough."

"Er, okay," Twilight responded in slight confusion. Had she brought up a touchy subject?

Silence ensued for a while after that, save for the little "oohs" and "ahs" that were given by the eight guests. Eventually, they entered a large room that resembled Celestia's throne room back in Canterlot to a certain degree, but it was larger and grander. At the end of the room were five thrones, the center one being a little bigger than the others. In the other four thrones, two pegasi and two minotaurs were sitting patiently, pegasi on the left, minotaurs on the right. They were all elders, but were in incredibly good shape for the apparent age. All of them held serious, no-nonsense expressions.

"Bravehoof," one of the pegasi said. "We have been waiting for you very patiently. Why have you ordered a meeting of the Council?"

"We have visitors from Equestria," the High Lord replied as he sat upon the center throne. "Princess Celestia sent me a message explaining that her protégé and few others would arrive, and would require assistance." He narrowed his eyes at the ponies and dragon. "Although, she was not entirely clear as to why they would be coming. Care to explain, Equestrians?"

Five pairs of intense eyes focused on them. Even Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were visibly unnerved by those questioning glares. Twilight took a deep breath. "Well… we were sent to find a relic that we believe is somewhere in Hellas."

"And what might you be searching for, unicorn?" one of the old minotaurs asked.

"The Etna Key," Twilight replied.

Bravehoof's eyes widened slightly, while the four who were sitting at either side of him looked completely shocked and almost outraged. One of the old pegasi got off his seat and stormed over to Twilight. "How do you know of the Key? And what does Equestria want with it?"

"Hey, back off!" Rainbow exclaimed at the elder, who glared at her.

"Rainbow, please," Twilight said, waving her hoof to tell the pegasus mare to calm down. The purple mare cleared her throat and said, "We're only looking for the Key to ensure that somepony who poses a very real threat to our homeland doesn't get his hooves on it. Can you please help us?"

"You know not what you ask for, Equestrian," one of the minotaurs growled. "The Etna Key is as dangerous as what it can unleash upon the world."

"What, exactly, is the Etna Key anyway?" Flash inquired. "The first we heard of it is when a chimera attacked me."

The pegasus who had gotten into Twilight's face raised an eyebrow at the young stallion. He shook his head is disappointment as he returned to his own throne. "Is it any surprise that a pegasus born in Equestria knows nothing of the Key?"

"Calm down, Jetstream," Bravehoof said commandingly. He hung his head a little and sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He muttered something inaudible, then faced Twilight and her friends. "These elders are right about one thing: the Etna Key is dangerous. And for a number of reasons. But first and foremost, it is no ordinary artifact. It is… metaphysical."

"Oh, does that mean it's super-duper strong?" Pinkie Pie asked with an excited grin. "Oh, oh, or maybe it means that make you go superfast!" She started galloping around the room at nearly impossible speeds for an earth pony before Twilight caught hold of her with her magic.

"Pinkie, metaphysical means that it's a spiritual item," the unicorn explained. "It doesn't give you superpowers. It doesn't even have a true physical form." She released Pinkie, who fell to the floor in a heap and immediately stood back up next to Twilight. "High Lord Bravehoof, if the Key doesn't even have a real form, then how can you be so certain of the risk that it presents?"

"The Key itself is a spiritual construct," the High Lord explained. "It-"

"Bravehoof!" one of the old minotaurs shouted. "You cannot reveal knowledge like this to outsiders!"

The High Lord snarled at the dissenter. "Have you forgotten that I am the High Lord now? The last High Lord chose me as his successor because I am willing to ignore you conservative old fools if I feel that my homeland is at stake."

"I knew we should've chosen the pegasus candidate," the second minotaur elder said in angered tone. "He was much more cooperative."

"You made your decision three years ago, old man," Bravehoof replied. He face the Equestrian visitors again. "As I was saying, the Etna Key cannot maintain its own form. Each generation, it takes a new form. When one host dies, the Key moves on to another host. This process began with the creation of the Etna Lock that holds back one of the greatest evils to have ever been born in Hellas."

"Hold on a moment," Rarity interrupted. "Are you actually saying that the Etna Key isn't just a simple key? It's alive?"

"Yes and no. The Key itself is not alive. Its host is. Simple as that."

"Uh, go back a little," Flash spoke up. "You said something about something called the Etna Lock?"

Bravehoof nodded and rose from his throne. He walked over to the ponies with his arms behind his back. "The Lock is the gate that stands between Hellas and certain destruction. Behind the Etna Lock is ancient and powerful demon-warrior whose true name has been lost to the ages. Today, he simply goes by the title of 'Red-Black Beast.'"

"R-Red-Black B-Beast?" Fluttershy stammered. Bravehoof nodded.

"He was a centaur born over five thousand years ago. Centaurs have always been known to be powerful warriors, but seclude themselves in the mountains. They dislike contact with the other races unless absolutely necessary." The High Lord stepped away from the group and approached a window with a clear view of Aegis. "The Beast, however, was a warmonger. He sought to conquer and enslave all of Hellas for himself. Legend says that he made a deal with a true demon, who 'blessed' him with immunity to magic and weapons.

"The Beast waged war across the land," he continued, "devastating city after city, saving Aegis for last. He had conquered all but the capital by that point. He laid siege to the city, and broke through the walls. However, he came face to face with two of the greatest heroes in the history of Hellas; the minotaur Taurus the Bold, and Pegasus, the first of his kind. The two heroes battled the Beast with all their might, and somehow managed to push him back out of the city.

"But their battle did not end. They kept fighting until they reached the tallest mountain in all of Hellas, Mount Othrys. There, they unleashed some kind of power that bound the Beast to the mountain. The Beast was still able to fight, however. Pegasus soon forced Taurus to flee, and then sacrificed himself to offer his own soul to create a powerful stone wall carved by the gods themselves. His body became the wall, the door, and the lock. His spirit became the key."

"Wait a minute!" Rainbow shouted, zooming over to the High Lord. "You're saying that the Etna Key is Pegasus!? That's impossible!"

"Says one of the wielders of the Elements of Harmony," Bravehoof replied calmly. The six friends all looked at each other and Bravehoof in shock. "You didn't know? Your titles are recognized the world over. Especially you, Twilight Sparkle." The purple unicorn visibly flinched at his tone. "Word spreads fast, you know. Most of the world already knows of you. The disciple of Celestia herself. The one who nearly brought about your own nation's end." Twilight flinched. "But that doesn't matter." He returned to his throne and sat back down. "You are here to find a legend. I don't know where the Key is, but I do know where you can start."

"R-really?" Twilight asked, shaking off her initial shock at Bravehoof's knowledge of her. "Where do we begin, sir?"

"Go to the Spire of Hephaestus," the High Lord began. "It is a mountain just south of here. There, you will find a centaur village. Ask for Chiron. He will know what you must do."

The Equestrians all nodded. "Thank you, High Lord Bravehoof," Twilight said gratefully. "We'll let you know as soon as we find the Key!" With that said, she and her friends all hurried off to get to their next destination.

When the ponies and dragon were gone, the four elders all glared angrily at Bravehoof. "You have just put all of Hellas into grave danger," the pegasus that the High Lord had called Jetstream said. "If something happens because of this, it is on your head."

"You think I don't know that, you old horse?" Bravehoof asked snidely. "Should my decision backfire, I will take full responsibility. Otherwise, keep your opinions to yourself unless I ask for them." He leaned to the side in his chair, resting his head on one hand. "Although… I do believe that those ponies haven't the slightest clue what's in store for them. Something wicked this way comes, it seems."