Katrina's role was to show Twilight and Grogar around the small hamlet of Lýkos Valley, but in truth, there wasn't much to see that Twilight hadn't already seen from atop the hill where the portal was—at least not a first glance. As the feline witch led her two guests deeper into the ravaged little village, the undead filly noticed the complete lack of greenery or any sense of uniformity in the layout of the town. It was clear that just about everything in town had been built haphazardly even before its destruction and much of what Twilight seemed fairly primitive even compared to the smaller countryside towns she'd read about in Equestria. She couldn't help but wonder just what kind of demons had lived in such a place.

"From what I understand, this podunk little town was once home to a hoard of lesser demons who managed to break free of some greater demon's thrall and escape," Katrina had explained when Twilight asked her out of curiosity, "they fled to the valley and built a small community for themselves."

The idea of demons building a community was a strange one to the filly, but that was only because she hardly knew anything about them. She'd always been told they were vicious, bloodthirsty monsters who only knew how to kill and devour and nothing else—or that's what her brother had said once anyway. And yet, as she, Katrina and Grogar traversed the dirty cobbled streets, Twilight could make out several creatures of all shapes and sizes—creatures she assumed were demons—conversing, building, arguing, and generally acting as any normal citizen of a small village would. There weren't many of them around from what she could tell, but the demons she did see—while intimidating in appearance for the most part—didn't particularly seem to give off a sense of mindless brutality, at least not upon first look.

As the group passed, some of the demons scattered about the hamlet stopped what they were doing to give them varying looks ranging from curiosity to suspicion to even outright hostility from a few, but none of them moved to confront the three and went back to whatever they'd been doing before soon enough. After having endured the looks and having observed them for a good while, the filly concluded that these creatures, for the most part, were just like any other sapient being trying to live their life as best they could given their circumstances, and that thought made her smile slightly. Still, the thought of her brother sent a pang of sadness coursing through Twilight and her smile fell just as quickly as it had come. She hadn't thought about Shining Armor since Grogar first told her she'd died during the exam. In fact, she hadn't thought about any of her family in some time, but before she could dwell on that, Katrina continued her explanation.

"Evidently, when the hoard reached the valley, they found that the town was already here," she said with a thoughtful hum, "it had already been abandoned and the portal on that hill was already there. None of us really know who originally inhabited the village or why it was left empty, but this is Tartarus, so anything could've happened and I wouldn't be surprised."

"Oh," Twilight replied, furrowing her brow in thought. A moment later her eyes lit up with an idea and she turned to Grogar, who'd been silently listening along as they walked up until now, "what about lost souls? Can't we ask them about the past with Necromancy?"

"That's one possibility that is unfortunately not available to us at the moment, child," Grogar answered with a slow shake of his head before glancing around the ruined town, "there are no lingering spirits roaming this town. In fact, it is... almost too quiet here, like the voices of the dead are afraid to speak."

"They are, and no one knows why... not even me... and I know just about everything there is to know..."

Before the bemused filly could ask what Grogar meant, the flapping of wings and the sound of a slow and sultry feminine drawl from above stopped them all in their tracks and caused them to look up to see something neither Twilight nor Grogar expected. What looked to Twilight to be a massive serpent held aloft by a pair of feathery jet black wings hovered several feet above the trio, its smooth forest green scales glimmering with a strange light beneath the blazing sky. That was odd enough, but even stranger was the creature lazily reclining on its stomach atop the serpent's back. At first, Twilight thought it was a mare, and one of the most beautiful mares she'd ever seen at that, but as the dragon descended enough for the creature to be seen in its entirely it quickly became apparent that this was not the case—not entirely.

The creature did indeed have the body of a mare with an ashen grey coat and a svelte physique to put even Princess Celestia to shame, but there were noticeable and—to the undead filly—unsettling differences here and there. Where her hooves should've been there were instead deadly looking dragon-like claws. Like the giant snake beneath her, she also had a pair of wings, but hers were more like a bat's and were abnormally large for a pony—large enough to rest on her back like a cape. Twilight actually thought it was a cape at first from a distance. Looking further down, Twilight saw that her tail was more akin to a leathery whip with a barbed tip at the end, but most curious of all, however, was its head. Rather than the slender muzzle the awed filly was expecting—and matching her dragon-like claws—the creature had a dragon-like mouth.

The snout, to be fair, was both slender and feminine, but Twilight could see more than a hint of the gleaming white fangs present within its mouth. Save for the wild curtain of snow-white hair that spilled down the side of its face and back, a pair of tufted equine ears, and thick black horns that jutted from the back of its head and looped up and around in such a way as to make an odd sort of halo, everything above its snout was covered by an ornate black and gold half mask that looked to be made of some kind of ebony porcelain. Behind the mask, a pair of predatory eyes that shined like jade-colored gemstones stared back at the others, the creature sizing them up with a half-lidded and seemingly disinterested gaze.

For a moment, no one said a word, but then the creature, evidently done with its assessment, let out a loud and drawn-out yawn, stretching its mouth open wide and giving Twilight a full view of its viciously sharp fangs and blackened forked tongue. It was only a brief glance that they all got before the group took a hasty step away from the newcomer, the filly wrinkling her nose in disgust at the sudden smell wafting from its open mouth. The creature's breath settled over them all like a sickening veil, the fetid stench bringing to mind a thousand open graves filled to bursting with rotting corpses.

"Urgh, your breath stinks!" Twilight blurted out, unable to help herself as she quickly retreated behind a grimacing Grogar. She threw a hoof over her stinging nose and narrowed her watering eyes as she continued, "it smells so bad!"

"Indeed, it is most foul," Grogar agreed, surprising the filly somewhat. Like Twilight, he narrowed his eyes at the creature before him, but for a completely different reason, "but such a stench shouldn't affect a Necromancer or their creations so strongly... who, or rather, what manner of creature are you?"

"To some, I am a curse... to others, a goddess of arcane wisdom and knowledge," the creature replied easily, "I was a commander, a Prince among Princes who ruled a distant land in a plane of existence that lies separate from yours," the creature turned its brilliant green eyes toward Twilight and gave the filly a disarming smile which did little to charm said filly given the fangs, "but here... in this place... I am simply a demon who knows far too much for her own good... you may call me Ash, and you need not worry about me."

"From what Tirek has told me," Katrina explained to Twilight, "Ash arrived here in Tartarus shortly after the attack of the Voracious Nightmare," the witch eyed Ash with a slightly suspicious frown, "the way Tirek and the others tell it, she was the who put everyone into a healing slumber before going into one herself... or so she claims."

"As I've told you... countless times, little witch," Ash replied with another prolonged yawn, "it is no mere claim. What need have I to stay awake with no one to talk to? The danger had already passed and thousands of years alone with no one to pester can be so dreadfully dull," she glanced in Grogar's direction and smirked, "wouldn't you agree, dear? Wouldn't you rather have someone to keep you company when your world leaves you behind?"

Grogar made no move to reply, but his stoic frown deepened just a bit at Ash's words. For a moment they stared each other down, Grogar with a furrowed brow from below and Ash with an innocent smile, looking down on the ram from atop her winged serpent. Twilight looked between the two before nervously turning to Katrina. The witch caught her look and sighed. She shook her head but didn't say anything more. Evidently whatever was being communicated between Ash and Grogar wasn't worth getting involved in. Twilight, uncomfortable with how awkward and tense the situation had become, decided it was better to intervene and took a hesitant step forward. It seemed that was enough to break the tension and the two turned to watch the filly as she approached. It happened so suddenly that Twilight jumped and retreated a step. Suddenly this didn't seem like a good idea, but it was too late to back out now. They were already waiting.

"Um... s-so... you were a goddess of arcane wisdom?" Twilight tried, turning to Ash. In searching for something to say she latched onto something the demon had said and her nervousness turned to confusion, "wait... but didn't you also say you were a Prince? So... so are you a mare, or... I mean you're not a pony, but... u-um... oh!"

Struck by another idea, Twilight closed her eyes and reached out with the magic she'd been learning how to wield all over again. Hoping against hope that it would work this deep in Tartarus, she cast her senses out across and beyond Tartarus until she found what she was looking for. With a triumphant smile, she gave a mental tug and an instant later her eyes opened to reveal none other than the Black Compendium sitting before her, much to Katrina's shock. The Abyssinian looked from the book to Twilight herself with a mix of bewilderment and curiosity, but after a few seconds, her gaze eventually settled on the book, though neither Twilight nor the rest of those present paid her reaction any mind.

"Ha! It worked!" Twilight practically squealed, clopping her hooves together in excitement before pulling the gargantuan tome open. She began flipping through the pages, carefully scanning each entry she was permitted to actually read, "I think I read somewhere in here that some demons can change their gender at will, so maybe... wait a minute..." she paused in her search as something else Ash had said clicked. Remembering her previous discussion with Tirek and Grogar as they all made their way to the portal, she looked back up at Ash with a hint of awe in her eyes, "if you were a goddess, does that mean you were one of those 'True Gods' that existed a long time ago?"

For the first time since they'd met, Ash's eyes widened in surprise at the question. The demon had been caught off guard, but recovered quickly and laughed lightly in response before allowing her serpentine companion to alight completely upon the ground. Once grounded, the snake partially coiled its lower half into a seat that Ash sat upon like a throne. The demon's smile widened into a toothy grin and her jade eyes twinkled strangely as she gazed down at Twilight. Her gaze was made all the more unnerving by the large serpent looming over her shoulder and watching the filly with that same strange intensity, its slender green neck slowly waving from side-to-side, but its flat scaly head and piercing eyes never leaving the undead filly.

Twilight couldn't help but shiver slightly as she looked into the eyes of that snake, eyes that held the same brilliant jade color as its master.

"Oh, I like this one," Ash cooed. She leaned forward in her 'seat' to get a better look at the object of her interest, "tell me, little golem, what is your name?"

"Um... it's... i-it's Twilight," Twilight replied, looking from Ash to Grogar with no small amount of uncertainty. Grogar, for his part, didn't return her pleading look, instead keeping his crimson eyes on Ash, but did give a slow nod in response, so Twilight swallowed and gave a nervous smile before continuing, "my, uh... my name is Twilight Sparkle," she finished meekly before thrusting a hoof in Grogar's direction and adding hastily, "a-and this is my Father and mentor! He's a really powerful Necromancer!"

Twilight winced at her own foalish tone and the fact that she was putting her mentor on the spot, but it couldn't be helped. The filly felt that this creature, more than anyone—more than Katrina or Cozy Glow or any of the demons she'd seen in the ruined town so far—was dangerous and most definitely not to be trusted. Her instincts were suddenly screaming at her not to draw too much of Ash's attention. She was all but certain nothing good would come of having this demon around. The undead filly was so flustered and nervous in fact, that she didn't notice the dim magenta glow coming from the bell around her neck.

Ash, however, was quick to pick up on the phenomenon.

"Is that so?" the dragon-like demon replied, her tone quiet as she glanced from the bell to Grogar. Grogar, in turn, only looked back with an expectant raise of his brow and Ash frowned briefly before turning back to Twilight, "well, Twilight Sparkle, you certainly know how to ask the right questions, but I'm afraid you're mistaken. I'm simply a wayward soul who arrived in the wrong place at the right time, and I doubt you'll find anything about me in that oversized tome of yours."

Her tone was still somewhat playful, but her voice had lost the vitality it suddenly gained. That strange shine in her eyes completely disappeared and her fang-filled smile no longer made Twilight want to flee for her unlife. The filly gave a small and quiet sigh of relief as she watched the giant dark green serpent uncoil itself, give a mighty flap of its wings, and rise once again into the air, Ash once more reclining atop its back. Her half-lidded gaze of disinterest was now wholly and firmly back in place as she gave the three beneath her one last look. Her eyes settled on Twilight and, for the briefest of moments, the filly thought she saw disappointment flash across her face, but if it was there, it quickly vanished behind another jaw cracking yawn. The demon's foul breath once again washed over the group, but Twilight, remembering the nasty stench, was quick to cover her nose and back away.

"Well, this has been an... interesting distraction," Ash said, addressing all three, "but I think I'll take my leave of you all for now," she turned to Grogar and Twilight with a vague smile, "perhaps we'll meet again, perhaps not if you're unlucky. Ravaged though this land may be, it is far from empty of dire threats. Should you leave this little town, I pray you live long enough to return."

With that, the winged serpent gave another flap of its feathered black wings and flew deeper into the town with Ash in tow, its scaly body practically swimming through the sky with more grace than Twilight thought should've been possible. She and Grogar watched the demon as she disappeared into the distance. It was only when none of them could see Ash anymore that someone spoke, the first being Twilight herself.

"I don't like her," she muttered, "she said she was a goddess of wisdom, but I don't know if I would wanna learn from her," she fell silent for a moment, a thoughtful frown crossing her face. A few seconds went by before she turned to Grogar, "where do you think she came from if not Tartarus?"

"No one knows," Katrina sighed, moving to stand beside the other two. The question was meant for Grogar, but the feline witch answered first, "I asked Tirek, but he's just as clueless as the rest of us. She may have contributed a fair amount in our survival, but no one can bring themselves to trust her completely, and I don't think the two of you should either. Cozy Glow may be a suspicious character, but with her, you would at least know what to expect to some degree. Ash, on the other hand..."

She trailed off meaningfully and shook her head before glancing down at the pensive filly next to her, then to the large black tome still sitting in front of her.

"Er... Twilight, dear, I meant to ask," she began with some hesitation in her voice. Twilight blinked and turned to Katrina curiously, and the witch continued, "that book, the... Black Compendium you called it? What manner of—"

"I believe it's time we moved on," came Grogar's brisk tone, startling the other two and catching both their attention. The ram held Katrina's surprised gaze with his own, giving her a look that brooked no argument on the matter, "we've still much to see after all, and I'm sure you have other matters to attend to, yes?"

"Ah... y-yes, I suppose so," Katrina replied after a moment. Taking the hint, she collected herself and moved past the ram, beckoning the others to follow, "very well then, I wasn't expecting Ash to show up, but I do a few more places for you to see and some others I'd like to acquaint you with while you're here. If you'll follow me..."

"Much obliged," Grogar replied with a nod, but didn't move. Instead, he turned to Twilight and motioned toward the book, "go on then, child. Return the Compendium from whence it came and follow along after the witch. I'll be right behind the two of you."

"Um... r-right, yes, Father," Twilight answered with a much meeker nod of her head.

Her horn flashed dark violet and the Black Compendium vanished an instant later, safely returned to Grogar's study back in Tambelon. Grogar watched her scramble to catch up to Katrina, who'd been silently watching the exchange from up ahead. She turned away at the sight of Grogar watching her and continued down the road with Twilight, the filly already asking the witch about something or other. It wasn't long before the necromancer followed after the two, his grim expression going unnoticed by those in front of him. There'd been quite a few things troubling him since his arrival in Tartarus, but that creature—whatever it truly was—was something to be particularly wary of. He hadn't needed Katrina to tell him Ash was untrustworthy, he'd been able to make that judgment from the very start.

Though the unintended consequences of the Soul Bond between himself and the filly was a constant source of worry, right then he found himself far more than grateful for it than he thought possible.

Just two more important characters to introduce in Tartarus. I'll try not to have their introductions take up the whole chapter next time.