The lost souls

by grixie

Rating: teen
Tags: Crossover, Dark, Alternate Universe, Anthro
Length: 1376

Equestria has collapsed and demons envoys of the old one, have arrived. demons souls crossover.

On the first day sentient creatures were granted a soul, and with it came clarity and understanding.
On the second day, a soul consuming demon was planted and with it came corruption and madness.

The northern kingdom of Equestria, an economic powerhouse and leader of technological and military innovation via implementation of soul-channeling has succumbed to the demons. Isolated by an expanding deep colourless fog, many entered, none escaped. Until Scootaloo one of the two royal fangs escaped, and told the world of Equestrias plight. How demons stole souls adding to their power and driving victims mad, attacking those with souls. Enticed by the power of mature demon souls more people entered Equestria but still none returned. One hope remains Gilda a prisoner thrown into the fog for unknown crimes.
Set after The Crystal empire two parter but before Twilights ascension.
Crossover with Demon souls and MLP both of which I do not own.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2016-03-29 13:10:04 UTC

Prologue

Over ten years Equestria changed dramatically, once a bastion of harmony it descended over the course of ten turbulent years into a armed military police state that's economy was grounded in slavery in order to keep and maintain order. Eventually it reached it's current state, a dead nation, the staging grounds of the worlds demons and sorrows. Few if any live there for most residents souls have been consumed and are feeding an ever growing, all consuming, opaque, colorless fog creeping across the borders and those who enter have never left.

All of it started with a single investigation into a  network of caves underneath Canterlot mountain after the changeling invasion. Ignoring the countless wards and beasts set up to protect the secrets hidden there, they uncovered the last remnants of ancient civilization. They discovered The Nexus, in it was the key to the hidden magic of the soul arts, a powerful but primitive form of magic inherent in every creature, merely requiring a conduit be it talisman or staff to cast their inner energy's, everyone was able to use it apart from three species. The pigs, cows and sheep, for an unknown reason they could not use those magic's and so began their descent into slavery. Considered lesser beings it become more and more segregated. First came jobs then housing then all the other dignities they had until they were slaves in all but name.

This sparked a rebellion quickly attempting to overthrow the Diarchy of the Princesses and destroy the knowledge of the soul arts  to restore equality, leading to a civil war and eventually knowledge of how to use the soul arts leaking out of the country via mercenary's hired by both sides griffins for the rebels and crystal soldiers for the loyalists. After countless battles and losses the rebels were all but crushed only having a small piece of land in the northeastern portion of Equestria known as Kronus after their leader who died in the battle of their new capital, Victory Bay which they retained after the wars end. The surviving rebels that were captured suffered decimation and the survivors were banished and cursed to ghastly gorge and froggy bottom bog. They were both sites of magical conflict and after the war were a dumping ground for magical artifacts and equipment, and the residual magic had changed the landscape and the creatures in it.

The first demons were recorded at this time but knowledge of them was suppressed and cults sprang up to worship them. Calling them from the magical plane they began to raid towns and another war began, to wipe out the cults, a church was then created dedicated to worshiping a god who was an anathema to the abominations. Thousands flocked to this new faith desperate for something to believe in, to counteract this terrible threat. An order of warrior priests and temple guards quickly formed dedicated to finding and destroying these demonic cults. Iron Will a born leader was appointed to be general of the guard. Upper crust became the spiritual leader of the priesthood, radically changed by his war experiences. seven saints were appointed to represent the church, one of which was Fluttershy and each was appointed a bodyguard, hers was Iron Will.

The changeling race soon reappeared five years after their attempted invasion, but were on their knees offering peaceful co-existence and the terms they agreed to forced them into slavery harvesting the gems in the crystal empire and underneath Canterlot for barely enough love to sustain themselves unable to clearly think or act they toiled away. The demons ignored them when they arrived, for they had no soul no life merely automatons working ceaselessly at their jobs. The caverns under Canterlot became a labyrinth of intertwining and interlocking passageways and they discovered an ancient underground city overrun with giant hard shelled bugs. The lost underground empire of the diamond dogs and a dragon graveyard.

Over time the country built fortresses and garrisons across the country to maintain order, curfews were enforced and they were maintained even after the cults were destroyed. The empire under the guidance of shining Armour embarked an a massive campaign of raising a huge army and put it in a state of emergency placing curfews from dawn till dusk and spy's  all over the country. The crystal empire's citizenry did not take it well after having their freedom they had suffered so long for being taken away causing another rebellion who's forces waged a guerrilla war upon their country, putting more strain on the relationship between Shining Armour and Cadence. Cadence objected to the use of Equestrias military resources such as the wonderbolts led by rainbow dash who stayed until and after the demons conquered the land. Already strained after the first civil war and enslavement of the changeling race. After a year they divorced, Cadence stayed, Shining left the empire and resumed leading the royal guard, flash sentry promoted to his second in command.

Two years later all communications were cut off between the two nations after Cadence and Celestia had a small disagreement. It was at this time an archaeological digs were sponsored to look for remnants of lost civilizations like the nexus or the lost empire. The most promising turned out to be an offshore island once held by an ancient Minotaur cult that worshiped the storm as a living being and had elaborate sending off rituals for their dead. Twilight herself went herself to oversee this task still having her voracious appetite for knowledge. She was still there when the demons invaded and she hasn't been seen since.

Canterlot hadn't fared much better in those years before the demons witch hunts were common waged by the nobles against people they saw as unsavory or worthless destroying a vast majority of the commoners in the city, Rarity who owned a store in Canterlot evaded most of this by becoming court tailor and designer  her younger sister becoming a great knowledgeable sage of the soul arts. She has not been seen since the demonic invasion as well.

Applebloom and Scootaloo joined the army and rose through the ranks to become princess Celestias bodyguards, her twin fangs as they were called. Only Scootaloo has been seen outside the fog telling people what occurred in there and then returning hoping to find other survivors. She nor Applebloom has been seen since she reentered the fog. No one truly knows what happened to Applejack and Pinkie pie who left the country just before the invasion.

At the beginning of the tenth year after Twilight's coronation communication with the crystal empire was restored. However it seemed that things had managed to get worse, Sombra had been reborn somehow and had conquered the entirety of the empire by working with the rebels and binding them to his will as well as creating an army of golems and gargoyles whose construction methods are unknown.

His skill in the soul arts were without compare and the royal sisters searched for even greater power in the nexus while their army led in the field by prince Blueblood held the line against Sombras abominations. Celestia never returned, but Nightmare moon did leading a host of demons that annihilated both sides in the combat. Thick colourless fog was spread wherever the demons went stealing peoples and slowly expanded until Equestria and the crystal empire were encased by the fog.

It took three months of fear as countless soldiers heroes and people before someone finally emerged from the fog, Scootaloo. She then told people about the demons how they consumed souls to grow in power and strength and that those that killed them gained that power, she told how the demons wanted only to destroy and that they would inevitably destroy the world if left unchecked, she spoke of how those killed by demons never found peace, possessed by lesser spirits commanded and led by the demons.  This inspired a fresh new wave of people seeking fame and power to attempt to free Equestria, but they too failed.

Gilda now enters the fog as punishment for a petty crime, before she can return she must kill the demons or die trying. Will she succeed or have the demons found a new slave?