Soul's Poison: Into the Dark World

An axe was embedded into a shoulder with quite an ease. And was taken out of there with the same ease. Only to be put into a body again. A different body and different place. A stomach.

A first one who got an axe was a lanky ratling. Before Blaze rushed off to the second guy, a dirty looking earth pony, he threw ratling off to the ground. Till the end of the battle, he was lying there grunting and cursing while the blood was gushing.

The second one wasn't as lucky as his companion. At first, an axe in a stomach which means heavy blood loss from organs being cut. And, secondly, when he ran up to him an archer, the only one in the crowd, shot.

After throwing the body away, Blaze looked around. There on a dirty narrow street different creatures circled them.

They were ambushed. They got into a trap... Or, maybe, they weren't into a trap. Maybe, it was these creatures around, since there was quite a lot of corpses and near dead beings.

Blaze lost his attention for a moment. But, when he kicked someone in the teeth, he noticed something.

Archer... And, he was aiming over him.

Bright... Oh, no! I wouldn't be able to reach her. She... he started to panic. Then, it boomed for all the street. And arrow flew into a wall. A little thud and quite a scream were caught by his left ear.

A glimpse of a body was enough that someone was standing beside him. He turned around only after another boom and a holler. His heart skipped a beat when he saw a newcomer pointing a gun at Bright Mind. Bright was fine though. A bullet killed not his friend but one of these rascals.

"Halt! You'd better stay away!" A newcomer shouted. The voice was of a mare and it sounded like a string torn apart.

"And why would we need to listen?" The bravest one from this mob busted. He even stood in a daring posture. He retreated after a newcomer pointed a gun towards him.

After she holstered her gun, she get another thing. A silver piece of fabric. In a matter of second, every creature in the mob started to talk between each other. Soon, the mob disappeared and all the corpses likewise.

"They are gone?" Bright Mind looked around herself. When she found no one around her, she leave the spear.

"You are right," the newcomer replied. "Come. We need to talk. In a better place."

"Should we listen?" Bright whispered. Really quietly. Newcomer's ear stirred nevertheless.

"You should," she blurted.

"Looks like it," Blaze looked at the figure moving forward. "We don't have a better solution."

The gray figure lead them to a shack on the edge of the town. It was quite modest, with a lot of dust, dirt and there was also cobweb. Blazing Spear and Bright Mind weren't squeamish, though.

"It's not the best apartments in the city," the gray figure told them. She pulled off her cloak and revealed that she also wears mask. Hidden beneath the mask there was a face of a pretty mouse. "I'm Silvia, by the way."

"It's fine, Silvia," Blaze replied. "But... Maybe, we should pay you?"

"Pay? Hmm..." She hummed. "I'm glad to help someone selflessly but actually I might seek some help in the near future... If you help me, I would repay the debt generously."

"Deal," Blaze agreed. Then, looking at her, he opened his mouth again, "If that wouldn't disturb you."

"Helping others couldn't be disturbing at all. My uncle made sure I wouldn't have a single thought like that one."

"Not a single thought? Hmm..." Now, Blaze hummed. "Who he was?"

"My uncle," mouse looked into nothing before returning to Blaze and Bright. "Well, then, have a sit for I will tell you a story of Silver Mouse, the defender of poor and innocent. A hero, who..."

"... Possess an imaginable power. Power, that bend the reality itself. If we set him free, he will help us to take over Equestria," a figure under the black hooded robe giggled. An echo sent his words flying throughout the crystalline caverns, meanwhile his finger dashed through the papers of the book. "Do you understand what we try to accomplish here?"

"We do," a little crowd of unicorns, all of whom were dressed in the same gown as their leader. Well, not exactly the same, since some of them had been dressed in expensive looking robes adorned with different accessories, while other had coarse looking cloaks with motley patches. Nevertheless, after they replied, they scattered around the caverns.

Leader meanwhile turned to other unicorn, who stood beside him, "Eerie Voice! Make sure these imbeciles do what they supposed to do."

No matter, how he was displeased with everypony around him he still admitted how much efforts and funds other put into their case. Especially, Eerie Voice and Pickaxe Strike. Now, only thing he should do is to wait.

After several hours, everything was done. After all preparations, leader now stood before the ritual drawing. He admitted every single flaw of it but after a simple check, he made everyone to start the ritual.

In the process of the ritual lines of the drawing were starting to glow and they also started to reform, fixing all the flaws.

In middle of the ritual, a gem in the middle of the drawing started to fly and at then it started to glow. At the end, when everyone, except the leader was at the edge of falling without sense, and the stone was filled to the brim with magic, it started to shoot with magic. All the magic arrows were pulled to the earth.

After some minutes of filling the drawing and the gem the ritual ended. The gem with clanking sound fell to the ground. Leader's followers did the same. Leader though stood before the drawing and before the creature.

The creature was weird, if not calling abominable. A fine piece of attire was looking fine on him, since it matched the common... mismatching. The body of the creature was patchy. The left hand was actually a gryphon's talon, while the right was muscular, with claws and the end of each appendage and actually reminded of abyssinians. And, that was just hands. All his body from the tips of two different horns to his toes and the end of his snake's tail that had a little tassel. If it was all, but the creature also floated over the absolutely clear ground, while all his attention was on the gem.

Hmm... And what I have been expecting from a demon? Leader thought to himself after some seconds of observing. "Well, demon! What of the deal?"

"A deal?" the creature said inquiringly but when he understood what he said, he turned his head to him. "A demon?! Huh, I think I need to be reminded of what I wrote in that book. Would you?"

"Well, this book said that there is a mighty demon from deepest pits of the Tartarus. Here is some several rituals and this one have summoned you," leader showed him the book. "It also says you are all-powerful and you will be grateful to whomever would summon you."

"Ah, that's the case, isn't it..." Demon looked at him disappointedly. "Well, do I look like some genie. Some blue ghost with bare chest. A ghost who makes wonders with the snap of fingers."

He snapped. And disappeared.

"Well, no!" he said from somewhere behind. When leader turned his head, he saw that every single detail the creature have spoken of was actually there, on him. He disappeared. "I'm someone else."

He appeared by his other shoulder. His appearance turned to the old one. "No! I'm not!" He stood before him. "I am Discord! Lord of All-Consuming Destruction and Bloody Madness!.. Wait? Or was bloody Destruction and all-consuming Madness?.. Nevertheless! I'm free and I shall be grateful... There is something behind that door. Bye!"

Right after he disappeared, the door burst. "Lunar guards! Open up!"

When he understood that he was lacking magic energy and actually was very exhausted, leader fell to his knees. And what have I just did?

"Look thoroughly!" Luna gave orders in Royal voice. Everypony around her was in hurry. "That foul demon shan't do a single thing in our kingdom!"

"Were you calling for us?" Twilight asked as she passed through the archway. Her friends followed right after her.

"I did!" Luna turned to them and dropped all the force of her magic enhanced voice on Twilight's ears. "Oh... Sorry."

"Well, since it's you who assaulted our ears, we would dare asking retribution," Twilight said and rubbed her ears. "So, what's up?"

"What's... Up?.." Luna mumbled, savoring the new phrase to her. "Uh, so, let's me to show rather than say."

She teleported herself and Twilight's company to somewhere. Twilight immediately noticed the little beacon's sigil under them. Before them, however, was a single bat-pony who was looking at the window before him.

"Is this an interrogation room?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"It is," the bat-pony answered, and before him was a window that lead to a room which looked indeed like an interrogation room.

"Unicorn before you was caught this morning. It's not clear but he says he summoned some demon in Equestria. We would highly respect if you find out the truth behind it," Luna said.

"Why ya haven't used that fancy magic of yers?" Applejack immediately noticed and retorted.

"Oh, we... Find out that we actually can't perform our mental magic. There is some sort of the block," Luna replied.

"Block? That's not too advanced for some demonologist?" Twilight said. "And against princess magic? Well, I'm thrilled. Let's get into this!"

"If you haven't noticed yet, the room has too little for everypony. Only two in the room," Luna pointed out, so with Twilight entered only Rainbow.

"Wow! We really here interrogating villains like in Daring Do books?" Rainbow gleed. She bend over the table in front of chained unicorn. "Where were you yesterday at five p.m.?"

"Ugh, Rainbow A. K. Yearling never wrote a detective story in Daring Do series," Twilight said and Rainbow turned to her right away. "That book wasn't part of Daring Do series and is a side-story which was written by someone else. You know what Yearling said about it. She said it's the worst detective book she had ever read. And let me be clear: she had read a lot of them. She said herself that she is a fan of Canon Daily and that griffin, eh... Hagatha Christen."

"Oh, uh, you know... That book actually was actually boring. I- Uh, I actually haven't read the half," Rainbow stuttered.

"If you say..." Twilight sighed. She sat on a chair in front of the unicorn afterward. "So, let's begin again. Your name? What's your name?" After some time of silence, she continued. "You aren't a talking one, yeah? You aren't mute by the way?"

"Spell Nexus. My name is Spell Nexus," unicorn looked at her with his eyes of pure aquamarine, which reminded Twilight of Nightmare Moon for some reason.

"So, Spell Nexus..." Twilight made a pause for a brief observation. "They say, you've summoned some demon here into Equstria. Is that true?"

"That is," He answered but not right away.

"So, demon... What is his name?.. Or her, perhaps?"

"Discord. His name is Discord."

"Discord then..." Twilight paused for a moment. "So, uh... What was his appearance? Anything particular... He hasn't looked like a pony?"

"No!.. No, it wasn't. It was... Anything, but the pony..."

"Oh, that's interesting. So, how you've come across with that Discord?.. Maybe, you had a dream or something?"

"There was a book... About him and written by him."

"There is a book..." Twilight took another moment. "So, can you tell us where it is. I would like to have a look."

Before answering, Spell was taking a little pauses, but this one was longer. "It's... It's gone, as far I remember. At least, before lunar guards took me and my assistants, I looked at the chamber we were in. I've noticed that something was amiss. With the ritual gem, the book was also gone."

"So, the book is gone?" Twilight looked suspiciously at him, which confused Spell for a bit. "Or, it isn't? Maybe, you are just hiding it, because of something particular which isn't allowed for the little like me and Rainbow, huh?"

"What?" Spell's face immediately reddened. "Of course, not! I'm not hiding it anywhere!"

"So, the book is gone... But maybe you left some notes?"

Spell's face lost a shade or two, as realization was coming to him. "Notes?" He grunted. "Well, you are in luck. I actually made some."

Twilight was about to shoot another question but was interrupted by Luna. "Your opponent don't resist in the finest, as we see."

When she looked in the direction of the voice, she saw princess. What she hadn't seen is the door and window, which literally weren't there. Only then she noticed that the room was practically a trap, with no ability to exit.

I should be more careful next time, she said to herself. To Princess Luna, she said, "In his situation, it's a wise decision ."

"Maybe," Luna replied. "In any case, we've came to tell you that the demon was sighted here in the castle."

"Oh, and what's the plan?" Twilight asked.

"We don't know of demon's powers, but with a mental block like that, we suggest you to use Elements of Harmony," Luna replied.

"Oh, fine," Twilight agreed with her, but then something came to her mind. "Hey, Princess Luna, eh... It's just, you are an almighty alicorn. Wouldn't you be able to seal that demon off?"

"Oh, that's quite a question... As much as we'd like to be able to fight demons alone, but that's not possible unless it's some lesser minions but the presumed power which that demon possess, leave us to no choice but to have you use the artifacts." Luna answered, making her position clear. Right after that, she made a logical addition, "Also, in a situation, you and your friends are in, it would be a wise decision to solve any troubles of royalties."

"Well, unless it's some dirty or insignificant work, I think we will do that," Twilight here also agreed, but then noted, "I'm not sure, though, if Celestia would ever give us an amnesty..."

"Maybe, someday it will change," Luna shrugged. "Well, let me lead the way."

And she led. The hallways went on and on and Twilight had troubles with recognizing the path and the place of their destination. When they came to stop, Twilight hardly remembered anything, so she wasn't ready when the walls revealed a archway leading to dimly lit room. She was expecting something like that though.

After a minute, which Luna take to get the Elements and then they come into a place where the demon's presence was noticed.

The living quarters haven't changed a bit and stayed the way as Twilight remembered them... But only if you expel flying furniture and food.

"That's... Interesting," Twilight mumbled.

"Oh, thank you for compliment," the voice replied, which took everyone aback. Meanwhile, some gryphon from the stained glass of window changed his posture. "I haven't put my best efforts into that, though."

"So, you're that fool demon, summoned by Spell Nexus!" Luna immediately proclaimed, pointing at stained glass.

"Oh no, don't use your cruel magic on a weak demon such as I..." the gryphon yelled at her, but the image quickly turned to one that was before. "... Or your magic might lead to this!"

This time, words came from behind and when they backed up a little bit.

The gryphon from before was now here in a stone. His half, at least. Which was sticking out of the wall with talons trying to grab them. Talons stopped to move when everyone was looking at statue. The whole statue then started to move into a wall.

"Those faces... Absolutely hilarious," The demon, now in his true mismatched form, was laughing his lungs off, while the body float over the ground. "And I just froze myself in a stone."

"You dare to make fun out of us?" Princess immediately burst with feeling, mostly with anger and indignation. "Twilight, get this bastard to where he belong. Now!"

Twilight already was on a way getting her Element to work. When her friends put their necklaces where they should be, she hold her diadem in hands, not mentally fitting with wearing a sign of royalty. Not now, she thought to herself.

And they gone through familiar feelings. World around become more and more insignificant and then nothing, while Twilight had the spell to fill.

Meanwhile, the rainbow cocoon shot with a little magic ray. "How... Interesting," creature mumbled as the ray reached him. "That's quite familiar energy."

Then, a bigger ray not only hit him, but it created a colorful whirlwind which hid him from the other world. The same thing happened with Twilight and her friends.

A minute or so and Elements landed. The demon stood in his whirlwind for a little bit more time, but then...

"Nice try," demon giggled. "I must tell your artifacts quite interesting, though, and I fear, I can't give something like this. But, still... Catch."

He throw something but it flew like bullet. No one was able to catch it and when it landed, no one had a wish to touch that something, which was a bomb. A bomb that had original upon impact.

Well, it was obviously an explosion. An explosion caused magical surge. Magic wasn't hurtful as ponies believed. Instead it made them to teleport uncontrollably throughout the corridor.

When it ended, everypony were wobbly but still on the ground. Twilight however find herself touching ceiling with her nose.

Oh, crap! Twilight cursed by herself as she came to her senses. Argh, so we have wall, light, glass... Stained glass. Something strange...

"This demon will pay greatly for that trick," Luna growled as she dusted herself. "By the way, nice composition."

"Uh, Princess..." one of the maid pointed at the stained glass. "These weren't there this morning. It's... It was made by demon..."

By demon? She looked at three pieces of glassy mosaic. Let's look at this composition as whole. Three pictures. Different heroes: a crowd of ponies, a gryphon king and diamond dogs digging the ground. Is it about wealth? It's quite a lot of gold in here... Nah, he isn't into that. But, maybe... Wait, not only gold. There is, uh... Gems?.. Wait, gem-gem-gem, hmm. Nexus said something about gems... Uh, he said one was used for summoning.

"I understand! We need to find that gem Nexus was speaking of," Twilight blurted out an idea that came to her mind. Which was right, since...

"Ah, a clever girl. I like that," voice of the demon flew through Twilight's ears. "You don't have a clue as to where the gem is, though."

"And, where to find that gem of yers, Twi?" Applejack asked Twilight as if no one had said anything which give Twilight a shudder.

"I think, I know," a bat-pony, that came right in time to give an insight. "Mistress Luna, the demon was observed in the castle's library."

They've followed that bat-pony right to the library, where they find demon... Peacefully reading a book, while sitting behind a desk. All things float in the air, though, and he flew higher than before. If he was at six inches over the ground, now he was somewhere like five feet. So, when he raised his head, he looked at them from above.

"A foul demon..." Luna was about to shout at him, but she rudely interrupted by demon's magic.

"No sound in the library," he tossed away any night guards with magic, while demanding silence. "If you have not read the rules... Then, don't worry. I haven't either."

"You will pay for that," Luna said through the teeth, as she casted away her magic.

"Catch me first," He said and vanished out of the seat. The table float there for a minute and then flew... But, not down but towards the princess. After table bashing Luna's shield, library came alive.

Books were flying at ponies, but after hitting a pony they stopped any further assault. Night guards were looking after each book lying on the ground though.

Twilight was also fighting off every book with her magic, but no matter how hard she was fighting books were increasing their onslaught. Eventually she skipped a book, which slapped her hard with its binding.

After that books eased their strike and soon it come to an end.

"It ended?" one of the bat-ponies asked.

"It looks like it," Applejack replied. Then, she turned around, "Twi! Are ya fine?"

"Probably," Twilight grunted, as she touched her bruised noise. When she opened her eyes, she looked at the first line. ...criminal always returns to the place of crime.

"Catch me," Luna mumbled. "I will catch you, just tell me where you are."

Where you are... Wait, criminal, place of crime... Twilight feverishly thought and then turned to Luna. "I think, I know where he is."

"We listen," Luna looked at her.

"Let's look the place of crime," Twilight said and Luna bowed a eye brow in incomprehension. "That place, where demon was summoned."

Luna turned to one of the bat-ponies. He smirked and made a gesture to follow him. After some minutes of walking, they've get to crystal caverns beneath Canterlot. Soon, they have come across a door.

"In that room, we found a Spell Nexus and others... But it closed, darn it," he swore as he looked at the door. "I've been thinking about that I forgot something."

"I don't think like its needed," Twilight disagreed with him and stood before the door. She pulled the door handle and the door opened. Twilight hadn't put much force, so the door opened only for a bit.

"What the..." A bat-pony was about to swear again, but Twilight went on with her observation.

"I also don't think that key is required now," she said. "There is no lock here, look."

"It's open," Rarity stated.

"And very welcoming," Twilight said as she peered into an absolute darkness behind the door.

"So, who's first?" Rainbow asked.

"I will be," Twilight said and stepped into nothing. "Follow..."

"Twi!" Rainbow screamed as the door closed behind Twilight.

"The door is closed," now, the bat-pony stated. "Will your friend do what she wanted?"

"I'm not sure," Rainbow said. "That's why we need to get there."

While other were readying themselves for breakthrough, Twilight get into a big room, where she found... Herself. A lot of her. A lot... of her reflections.

The room was full of mirrors. As she walked forward, she was noticing more and more and what is quite unnerving about these mirrors was that that these mirrors were moving making their mirror sides looking towards Twilight.

Suddenly, she felt a weird sensation. Not even turning her head towards that direction, she shoot with a ray of raw magic.

"Wow. I didn't even tell you the rules of this trial and you still managed to pass," a demon came to existence and get his hand over her shoulders. "Have I said, you are clever girl?"

"Yes, you have," she said. "So, let's end with this now... Please."

"Oh, and polite, even," he said. "My heart just melted. Wanna be my fiance?"

"Nah, don't think so..." She immediately rejected. Then, she looked at him, considering her thoughts, "at least... You know, you'll get out of this world to wherever you are from, so it's a dead affaire."

"Well, at least, I tried," he sighed. Then, he got to a broken mirror, restored it and get a almost perfectly egg-shaped gem. The mirror was identical to others but unlike the other from time to time its reflection distorts and deforms making the normal reflection crooked. "Hey, maybe, if not my fiance, then my partner. You have wealth and knowledge and I got that beautiful gem, huh."

"I feel tempted..." Twilight honestly replied. "But, I can't believe a demon like you, can I?"

"To a demon, you can't," he said. "But let me tell you something. I'm not a demon. I'm something else."

"And what exactly this something else must be?" Twilight looked at him, not very confident with what demon have in his mind.

"Oh, you know," He held a pause there. "That shall be my secret, for which I will grant you with two solace prizes. You already have that gem for passing two of my trial so I give a possibility to ask two questions before we pass to that part where I'm sent to wherever I've come, as you said."

"Two questions, huh?" She looked at him quizzically, so he nodded in reply. "Well, you're not going to tell me who are you so tell me your name at least."

"Oh, that's easy," he smirked. "I've got many names but they call me Discord."

"Discord," she looked at him, making up the second question. "Hmm, you said two trials, but there was more. Why?"

"That's even easier," he grinned. "First one was one with mirrors. The other was now when you rejected both of my offering even being affected by my magic."

"By your magic?" She looked at angrily. In her sudden outburst, she crushed the gem she held in her hand.

"Oops, sorry then," he apologized. It did nothing with the sound of tearing fabric, though. "For this fact getting out of the box - here, another prize." He give her a little cube, a little big bigger then a rolling dice. "If you pass everything in there, you will learn, you will learn who I really aaaaa..."

"Twi, are ya fine?" Applejack worriedly asked, as she and other entered the room. The door opened on its own after Discord disappeared.

"Yeah, I'm," Twilight said. "Let's get out of here.

"And what you should be?" Twilight said, residing at her place in Ponyville. A comfy and not that old armchair in the basement. And strange, enigmatic box. Twilight must solve the riddle behind it.

"A piece of a riddle, you are," she examined the box. The upper part of the cube had a button, which Twilight, having no other choice, pushed.

The button disappeared after she pushed, but then it get bigger, started to glow and float. Actually, it stopped and then an upper part shot with a part of it. When, Twilight looked at it, there was a bird-shaped slot. She looked at the parts that shot out of the box, and she saw different parts that were colored differently.

After some minutes she understood what she needed to do. She got these parts in the slots and when the last part get in... Nothing happened.

"What?!" She looked at the mosaic. One of the triangle had a free space in there."Are you serious?! Is these even possible?"

After some more she actually came with another way to solve that riddle. That time it actually had no free space. The box buzzed, the mosaic became a part of the box and then it float. It shone and then it shot with two sheets of paper and the pencil.

"Another one? Let's see."