Twilight trotted a little ways behind Grogar, watching the demonic ram converse with the newcomer with no small amount of nervousness. She wasn't sure whether or not she liked the strange red creature who called himself Tirek. She certainly didn't trust him, that was for sure, but he and Grogar seemed to know each other, so she held her tongue.

The minotaur whose soul the filly had fed off of had been disposed of by the odd quadrupedal ape like creature, tossed over the small ledge and into the boiling magma. Twilight thought she'd be horrified, and was rather surprised when she felt nothing but some minor disgust as the scales and flesh melted away before her eyes.

She'd flinched, she'd grimaced at the sight, but nothing more.

With that done, Twilight had followed after the two adults, listening intently to their conversation, trying to make some kind of sense of her situation. Evidently, Tirek had known about the filly, and that she and Grogar would make their way to Tartarus. He had sent the minotaur as some kind of peace offering, which only baffled Twilight further as to how he'd known about the hunger.

"I have eyes watching beyond Tartarus's Gate, though my 'vision' is limited to the borders of the desert that surrounds Mount Infernus," Tirek explained to the other two. He turned and gave Twilight a small knowing smirk, "it was how I knew the two of you were coming, and, while I am no necromancer, I know the lich's hunger when I see it, believe me, my little undead pony."

Well, that explained things somewhat, thought Twilight, but not nearly enough. Aside from that, there was something still bothering her—a great many 'somethings' if she was being completely honest. She decided to pose the obvious question, certain Grogar would, but surprised that he hadn't yet.

"I thought there was nothing left here," the filly began, looking around at the narrow cave they were traveling through. The place glowed with a soft amber light that seemed to have no origin, "there's nopony left outside, and I thought there weren't any more demons here in Tartarus either."

"Oh, I think you'll find that we're a little more resilient here in Tartarus," Tirek replied with a chuckle, "while it's true that our numbers had dwindled down to nearly nothing in the wake of the Calamitous Flight that occurred many, many millennia ago, we managed to survive, somehow."

"This Calamitous Flight, whatever it might be," Grogar interjected, turning to Tirek, "am I correct to assume that it was the cause of the barren wasteland that the world beyond Tartarus has become?"

"It was the catalyst, yes," Tirek answered, his face grim, "I am unsure of how it happened, but ages ago, something was released from the deepest pits, the blackest depths of Tartarus—something ancient, something powerful... something that should've never been allowed to roam free. It ravaged and razed this place nearly to the ground, destroying all but a few of the most powerful demons before escaping out into the world beyond the Gate."

Both Twilight and Grogar stared at Tirek, the filly with wide-eyed horror, and Grogar with a troubled grimace, though at the same time, his red eyes seemed to glow with intrigue. Tirek raised a bony red hand and stroked his white beard as he spoke, a thoughtful frown making its way onto his face.

"We, that is to say, many of the strongest demons in Tartarus, fought against the dark beast, and while we failed to stop it, we made sure it was far too weak to do any more damage by the time it escaped," he continued, "unfortunately the battle had left all of us remaining either terribly weak or close to death's door—myself included.

"We were unable to follow after the thing, and so we retreated deep below to the lower levels of Tartarus to recover. Unfortunately the battle had taken more from us than we realized, and while some of us perished from our injuries, the rest spent far too long in a healing slumber. We lost touch with the world, and by the time we'd awakened, the world beyond had already been laid to waste."

"What exactly was this monster, Tirek?" Grogar asked, "to reduce the demon population to practically nothing and leave the rest so weak for so long... even now I can feel that you are much less than you once were. And weakened as the thing itself was, it still had the power to destroy the outside world."

"I am much removed from my former glory, yes," Tirek replied bitterly. He raised his hands and clenched them into tight fists, "and in our fragile state, I can't afford to regain my strength the easy way, so I must suffer this weakened form until such time as the demon race can begin to flourish once more."

He grit his teeth in silent frustration for a moment before unclenching his fists and letting his hands drop with a weary sigh. He smiled, then chuckled another moment later, his tone somewhat lighter as he spoke again.

"As for your question on what that abomination is," he paused a moment, frowning, "...there are many names for what that thing was, but the majority of those who lived in Tartarus knew it as the Voracious Nightmare. That which feeds off of and grows stronger from the pain and despair of its victims. I suppose it managed to regain its strength and the result is as you've seen."

Twilight shuddered slightly as she thought about what the monster must've been like. If this version of Equestria had been anything like hers, then the ponies wouldn't have stood a chance against something with that much power. Twilight wasn't even sure Princess Celestia could've stood against this Voracious Nightmare if Tirek was to be believed.

"Unfortunately, I have no idea what became of the beast, but it seems to have been defeated while we slept," Tirek continued, "I don't know who or what had enough power to vanquish such a terror, but I can no longer feel its presence anywhere in Tartarus or past the Gate."

"Yes, whatever this Voracious Nightmare is, it has long since gone," Grogar nodded, "I have been trapped in these dark wastes—this... other Equestria, for many, many years and have seen neither hide nor hair of any such creature."

"All those years... so close by, and yet you have yet to pay any kind of visit to your old friend here in Tartarus," Tirek tutted and shook his head, "I must admit, I am... disappointed—hurt even, Grogar."

"Had I known there was a Gate to Tartarus sooner, I might have made such a visit," Grogar replied easily, "if only for the sheer multitude of souls and useful knowledge this place no doubt holds, if not to visit you. Add to that my belief that you had perished long ago, and it hardly seems a surprise that I'd neglected to drop in, old friend."

"Fair enough, I suppose," Tirek chuckled before frowning seriously a moment later, "still, that the beast is gone has been a great boon to us here, as is the destruction of the rest of the world outside."

"What?!" Twilight exclaimed, unable to keep silent at such a statement, "how is that a good thing? Everypony... everyone is gone! There's..." she winced and hung her head, "there's... nothing left. We traveled for a long time to get here, and we didn't see a single living thing."

Tirek slowed almost to a stop as he stared back at Twilight, a contemplative look on his face. Twilight looked away and the centaur turned to Grogar, raising a quizzical eyebrow.

"I meant to ask you... where did you find a filly such as this, Grogar?" he finally asked, "I would've thought ponies, let alone a filly, would be in rather short supply."

"I was wondering when you'd ask," Grogar replied, giving a small chuckle of his own, "it seems the stars aligned and fate saw fit to grant me a boon of sorts. I pulled this filly from the brink of oblivion and gave her a new purpose. I rebuilt her into the creature you see before you, and I have no doubt that she is the key to my freedom from that accursed world of shadow."

"Ah, so you mean to use her then?" Tirek surmised with a slow, thoughtful look towards the uncomfortable filly, "and just what do you intend to do exactly? Where do you intend to escape to?"

"I managed to escape back to my own world once before, but due to a great amount of foolishness on both my part and that of my lackeys, I was banished once again," his eyes seemed to glow with fury for a moment but quickly settled a moment later, "but I mean to make sure this return is a permanent one," he turned and arch an eyebrow in Tirek's direction, "are you by chance familiar with the Solar Tyrant? The one the ponies call Princess Celestia?"

"Celestia... now that is a name I haven't heard in quite some time," Tirek breathed, almost wistfully, "such a fire that one had, in more ways than one," he laughed a short humorless laugh, "she and her sister both made no end of trouble for me and mine so many years ago. It's almost a shame that they're gone... I enjoyed our little skirmishes," he turned and raised a curious eyebrow at Grogar, "yes I know of Celestia and that Moon nag sister of hers... what of her?"

Grogar frowned in contemplation for a moment, making note of the fact that both Celestia and Luna had existed in that dead world once, only confirming further that he and his kingdom had been left to rot in an alternate timeline most likely several thousands of years ahead of his own.

"Ever since I, and what remains of my kingdom, had been banished to the Shadow... that alternate Equestria," Grogar explained, "I've been watching my own world over the ages. I've been watching and waiting while it went through drastic changes over many millennia. In this alternate timeline, Equestria is dead and gone, as are the Princesses who ruled over it, but in my world they both live, though only one remains to rule over the ponies at the moment."

"Interesting," Tirek muttered, stroking his beard thoughtfully, "so you not only desire to escape back to your own land, but to rule it once more. Understandable, especially given what I've seen of the world outside," he jabbed a withered thumb at Twilight, "and what of the filly? Where and how does she come into play?"

"I have certain plans I wish to put into motion once the filly has matured to my satisfaction," Grogar nodded at Twilight, who'd been silently hanging onto every word with a mix of emotions, "there are things only she will be able to do when she is ready, and with her help, I will escape, gain a hoofhold in the Land of Light, cast the Sun Princess down, and rule in her place."

Twilight's eyes widened, though whether in horror or simple surprise she herself couldn't say. She'd known in a general sense that Grogar had wanted to escape, and had even been told of his plan to take over Equestria once he was free, but to hear him talk about her and how she'd be instrumental in helping him take down Celestia was still a shock.

Tirek only laughed a hearty, wheezing laugh.

"Excellent!" the centaur guffawed, "I'd expect nothing less from you, my old friend! I wish you nothing but luck," still chuckling, he finally turned his full attention back to Twilight, "and to answer your earlier question, Twilight Sparkle, the death of all sapient races of that world means that we, the demons who remain, can finally emerge from this infernal pit and shape the planet to our own purposes."

"Wait, so now that everyone is gone, you want the demons to replace all the other races?" Twilight asked, frowning, "how are you gonna do that with how everything is? And why haven't you done it yet if you could?"

"Because we can't, not yet at least," Tirek answered with a sigh, "barring certain... circumstances, most demons born of Tartarus cannot survive long beyond the Gate due to how our innate magic interacts with that of the world beyond. Of those who could survive beyond the Gate without some sort of aid, only I remain."

"If that's the case, why not just leave then?" Twilight asked, "you might've found Father's kingdom and he probably could've helped you somehow... maybe."

Both of Tirek's brows raised at the title the filly had spoken and he turned to Grogar for an explanation. The ram simply gave a mysterious smile and inclined his head slightly. Deciding it wasn't worth delving into, Tirek shook his head and continued his explanation.

"I haven't bothered to leave because going out on my own would serve no purpose other than to waste what little energy I have left, and besides that, there is more work to be done here at the moment. It's taken an absurd amount of time, and we are still far from ready, but those of us that still live are trying to rebuild our society while finding a way to survive the outerworld's atmosphere indefinitely. We do have a plan, though we are still far from implementing it."

"If you've been observing Equestria, I assume you've noticed the drastic change in the mana," Grogar said, eyeing Tirek curiously, "I have studied it extensively and am somewhat able to harness its power to my own ends. Do you mean—or rather have you the means to do the same?"

"No... that is one step of the plan we have yet to accomplish," Tirek answered, looking at his friend with surprise and even a hint of awe, "we've surmised that if we can control the mana as it is now, adaption, and even integration, should be easy. We don't have the resources to study the effects of Equus's thaumic field on the average demon.

"Not many demons have ever bothered to learn until now, and the ones that have, have had little to no success figuring out a way to bring all demons beyond the Gate. That is one of the biggest reasons why Equestria has not been overrun in the past. If what you say is true however, then with your help, I believe we can finally start making some headway."

"So ultimately you wish to bring some life back into that lifeless plane," Grogar mused before giving a slow nod, "yes, I suppose I can share what I know, but I'd like a favor in return," he glanced down at Twilight, who looked back up curiously, "I believe you mentioned you might be able to assist the filly and I in finding an alternative for her hunger?"

"I did say something like that, yes," Tirek answered slowly, "believe it or not, I used to suffer from something similar, and I've long since found a way to overcome such an issue. I make no guarantee that my solution will work for a lich, but I can, at the very least give you the details, and you can try to work out how to adapt the solution for the filly."

"I suppose that's the best we can hope for at the moment," Grogar sighed, "a creature must take such water as they are given in a desert devoid of it, or so I believe the saying goes."

"Of course. You can never simply expect a miracle to fall into your lap. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst," Tirek gave the other two an unpleasant smirk, "you have to be realistic about these things."

"Indeed," Grogar replied with a nod, "it seems we've reached an agreement then. In exchange for my knowledge of the ambient mana permeating the world, you will tell me of this solution of yours. We will see what happens from there."

"Fair enough," Tirek replied with a shrug, "before we can accomplish anything however, we still need to reach the lower levels of Tartarus. There's a few creatures I'd like you to meet," his smirk became a mysterious grin as he looked down at Twilight, "and there's someone in particular who'd be absolutely delighted to meet you, child."

Twilight hesitated a moment, grimacing in discomfort before turning to Grogar questioningly. Grogar returned her look with a stoic nod and the filly relaxed somewhat, though she still gave the centaur a wary glance.

"How much longer is it until we reach these lower levels?" Grogar asked suddenly. He glanced around him. at some point they had emerged from the cave and were now surrounded on either side by impossibly high canyon walls. Ahead of them was a narrow path of gritty red sand that seemed to stretch on for an eternity. The ram narrowed his eyes at the sight, "it seems like it will be quite a journey."

"Oh, the road just seems longer than it is, trust me," Tirek answered, waving a dismissive hand, "it should take no more than two or three hours for us to reach the portal to the lower levels, I'm sure you have nowhere else pressing to be, so I wouldn't worry about it."

Gorgar merely grunted in response and followed briskly behind Tirek. Twilight had taken up the rear and was looking up at the blackened sky above, trying to sort out everything she'd heard so far with mixed results. She had far too many questions to count, but she'd since learned to hold her tongue until the time was right to ask. Aside from that, she had the feeling she'd have all of her questions answered and more once they reached their destination.

Until then, she held her silence and waited in anticipation for what she'd find in the depths of Tartarus.

I felt for the longest time that I was missing something in the chapters involving Twilight and Grogar, and with this, I think I may have found what I was looking for...