Daring Do and the Eyes of the Demon

by PegasusKlondike

Demon's Game

The boat drifted into the darkness that marked the edge of the goal of their journey. The torchlight flickered feebly, casting shadows into the crevices and behind the pillars of the ancient lava tube. Daring's heart pounded like it always did before a mission like this, that great build of anticipation, months of research, of traveling and seeking ancient myths and village rumors. All of it built up to this, this tiny moment in the grand scheme of her life. The short window of existence where each breath might be her last.

The wooden hull of the boat ground against the stone of the lava tube, and the three leapt out to drag their boat to the stone shore of a cove within the cave. All around them, the sound of water lapping against the shore made more noise than their own heavy breathing. Coming to dry ground, they beheld the entrance.

A stone arch carved from the very black stone of the volcano, murals carved into the walls surrounding it. Atop the arch lay the carved head of a serpent, the curved fangs sticking out as if to inject their venom into the unwary soul that passed underneath.

Bearing a torch in a hoof, Timur walked over to one of the great murals that stretched out to either side of the archway. "Look at this, there's some kind of writing here."

The flickering light of the torch illuminated the carved runes and markings that told the story of this place, and the ultimate fate of the Eyes of the Demon, as told by the workers who had spent their entire lives building this place.

Timur squinted at them, trying to make out what they said. "Augh, I do not know this dialect. It is one of the most ancient known, and has characteristics of almost every tribe in Zebrica. Zecora, can you read them?"

Zecora took a look at the runes, glazing over them slowly and with great intent. "It's the song of Talib."

"How can you tell?" asked Timur.

Zecora nodded to the pictoral carvings above the runes, displaying the story being told. "The carvings say it all, you dweeb," she said in rhyme to insult the other zebra.

Daring inspected the runes. Like many things, they seemed to make her mark tingle with the strange magic of a god. With her sight enhanced by magic, the writing took on a strange light, wavering into words that she could read. "Wait, I think I can see the words," she said aloud.

She pointed a hoof at the beginning of the mural. "See here, all the zebras and other creatures of the land living together in harmony. They worked as one people, lived as one people, and died as one people. But then it says that Grinwa escaped from Tartarus where Yeye imprisoned him." Her hoof drifted across the mural, past the villages living happy under the sun, and to another panel, showing a bestial monster wreathed in fire, totally unlike any other she had ever seen. Far more wicked than Wale Mrefu, this creature was a true demon. "And Grinwa went to the leaders of all the separate tribes, telling them that the others were conspiring to bring them down. Grinwa sowed chaos across the continent, using his Eyes whenever somepony stood in his way."

Her hoof came to a panel standing out over the others, a zebra warrior standing tall over his fearful and groveling brethren, a blindfold over his eyes as his spear shined like the sun. "Talib. He rose up and stood in Grinwa's way. And Grinwa tried to kill him like all the others, but he couldn't. Something about Talib made him resilient to the Eyes." The next panel showed the Blind Warrior fighting the demon by his other senses alone, piercing Grinwa through the heart and casting him back to the flames of Hell. "He killed Grinwa, but it wasn't over. The other zebra had been promised power by the demon, and they stole his source of power, his Eyes."

The panels ended with the stone archway, and Daring rushed over to the other side to finish the story. She almost sweated with a grim anticipation, her breath short as she continued to read the faded letters. "Talib stole the Eyes from his brethren, and brought them here for safekeeping. But it says he wasn't unaided, many tribes wanted them sealed away...or even destroyed." Looking up from the panel, her heart nearly stopped. It was the Blind Warrior Talib, bearing his shield and spear, but with a mark upon his forehead. A mark of a spiral within a circle, seeming to go forever inward into his mind. "He had the same mark as me...she blessed him too."

Timur and Zecora stood next to her, bearing torches and leaning in to hear more. "What else does it say?"

Wetting her lips, Daring continued to read. "It says that he brought the Eyes to the safest place he could, with his allies. And he told the leaders of the six tribes of his blood that he needed a place that could not be entered by somepony without the strength of a god. The chimps knew of just such a place, this mountain. They led Talib here, and once they finished the Tomb, Talib sent them away. They never saw him again."

Zecora held her torch over to the rest of the panels. "What do these say? It looks like great dismay."

Daring drifted over to the remaining panels. "These are a warning." Her hoof traced over the final panel, one of a foolish warrior who chose to wear the Eyes of the Demon. Before him stood thousands of warriors, a stream coming from each of their faces and flowing to the one bearing the Eyes. "It says that the Eyes of the Demon aren't the thing that is dangerous. It's the fools that choose to bear them that become dangerous."

Her heart fell cold as she read the last words of the inscription, barely scratched onto the wall, as if the mason did it with his last dying breath. She fell back on her haunches, her eyes wide and the mark on her head burning with divine rage.

"Ms Do, are you alright? What does the last line say?" asked Timur as he gently helped Daring up.

"The last sentence says that it takes the souls of those who look upon them, and channels them into the body of the bearer, converting the souls into raw magical energy." She stopped for a moment to catch her breath and take it in. "It's one of the most forbidden types of magic, even in Equestria. Soul magic, the act of stealing somepony's soul and using it for magical power. The Eyes of the Demon aren't a weapon, they're a siphon. It makes whoever wears them into a Legion, a creature forged out of violent, stolen magic. They always die horrible deaths when the souls tear them apart to escape."

Both zebras laid their ears flat, barely containing growls as they heard the mention of the most perverted use of the natural magics, far worse than even the enslavement of the Spirit Masks. Timur straightened out. "It makes sense. It all makes so much sense. Soul magic is inherently unstable, the souls are still aware when they are used as a magical force, and will do anything to escape. It wasn't the Eyes that caused the destruction during that age, it was the Legions dying after they could not keep their stolen souls under control."

Daring stood, walking over to the archway. "Then that is more reason to get them away from here. They'll be safe in Equestria. Are you two coming or what?"

Zecora and Timur stood back by the boat, not moving a muscle.

"Well, come on!" Daring nearly shouted.

Timur walked over to Daring, placing his torch in her hoof. "We cannot. You know what the inscription said, only those with the strength of a god can enter. Anypony else is doomed to imminent failure. This is your destiny, Daring Do. This was your purpose throughout this journey. You are the only one in over a thousand years who has been worthy enough to pass through that arch and into the abyss. Go now; our fate, the fate of Zebrica, the fate of the whole world rests in your hooves now."

Daring looked back at the black stone arch, its stones carved with the symbols warning the bold traveler of their doom should they pass. But before she could go, Daring placed down her torch, throwing her forelegs around Timur's neck. "Thank you, Dad," she said half-seriously. Even in the face of the unknown, she still wanted to leave them smiling.

The stallion patted her gently on the neck, feeling her body shiver with fear for what was to come. "Don't be afraid, daughter. Remember what you have learned, from me, from Zecora, from Yeye, even from Jack. You can do this, just do not lose hope. Zecora and I will be here when you return."

The quivering mare withdrew her hooves slowly, walking over to Zecora. The other mare nodded, embracing Daring with the care and compassion of a true friend. "If this is the last time we ever see each other, you've been one of my truest friends, Zecora."

Zecora squeezed Daring tighter, her hooves holding firm. "It will not be the last by any mean. I want you to take this, it will help with what needs to be seen." Loosening her grip on the other mare, Zecora handed a pouch of her mystic powder to Daring. "It will burn bright in the darkest place. Hurry now, and make haste."

Cinching the pouch onto her waistband, Daring gave one last goodbye hug to both zebras, turning back to the stone archway. Stepping to the threshold, Daring gave herself the typical once-over before plunging into a temple or tomb.

"Jacket, check. Pouch, check. Attitude, check. Confidence," she swallowed the lump in her throat, standing bold before the darkness. "Check. And last, but not least-" she flicked the brim of her pith helmet with her hoof. "Double check."

Taking a deep breath, she lifted a tentative hoof, Daring closed her eyes and laid her hoof down beyond the archway's threshold. Opening her eyes, she let go of her breath when no traps activated or supernatural forces attacked. Carrying the torch with her wing, she walked more confidently into the oily blackness of the inside of the mountain.

"Huh, don't know what I was worried abouAAHH!!" she screamed as a swarm of bats filled the cave, flying all around her head, tangling in her mane and scratching on her hide. She flailed about in fright, batting at the ones in the air while trying to brush off the ones on her skin. "GO AWAY!" she shouted, sending out her god given power. Within two seconds she was alone, the bats only a distant chittering as they flew out of the extinct volcano and into the Zebrican night. "Geez Louise, I'm in here for four seconds and already I get swarmed by flying rats."

Scooping her cast aside torch off the ground, she resumed her march into the Tomb of the Blind Warrior.

Slowly but surely, the floor leveled off from the rough natural texture of a lava flow, replaced by a smooth floor that had been crafted by tools or the touch of magic. The ring of her hooves echoed far into the pitch blackness that lay on every side of her small oasis of torchlight. But walls began to take shape out of the uncut roughness of nature. Straight lines that would never come into being on their own.

The dim light of her torch illuminated the workmanship of the hallway she trod through. Everything was constructed of the black obsidian stone that encompassed the entire crater, and the reflective surface of every stone seemed to instead drink in the light of her lonesome torch.

Her magenta eyes scanned over the walls, taking in the bas-relief carvings. The great warriors of Zebrica proudly paraded down that wall, their heads held high and their steps bold, despite their insignificance in the face of the relic which stole their very souls. The long hallway seemed to go by slowly, and Daring picked up her pace, despite the archaeological importance of the engraved walls. There was something that demanded her attention more than any mural.

Up ahead, another archway appeared in Daring's circle of light, more of the runes of warning inscribed along every stone. Again, the carved head of a serpent adorned it as a keystone. The room beyond it seemed far larger than the hallway. Stepping through the arch and into the next room, she beheld an expansive chamber. Stalactites hung from the ceiling, and the black stone of the preceding hallways stopped at sea of sandstone blocks embedded in the floor.

Each block lay engraved with the image of an animal. Taking a closer look, Daring felt the situation to be insanely familiar. "Oh boy, this again? When will temple builders learn to make an original trap?" She glanced at the stones, wondering what stone was safe to tread upon. The stones were carved with the sculptings of the creatures of Zebrica. From what she saw, it contained a few serpents, elephants, gazelles, apes, and a smattering of birds from where her torchlight could touch.

Daring smirked at the ease of which she could conquer this little test. "They never build these things with pegasus ponies in mind," Daring tittered, spreading her wings to flap over to the other side. But as she spread her wings, a loud, dry hiss came back from the arch. Whipping about to face some new foe, a glow of light came from the carved serpent on the arch.

A stream of light leapt from the serpent's fangs, striking Daring in her wings. The stream of light felt like the venomous strike of an actual snake, sinking into her veins with a burning touch. Falling to the ground, she clutched her sides in agony. Her chest heaved with labored breath, and Daring stood again, brushing herself off. "What is the deal with this place?" She checked herself over, looking for any real damage.

Looking back to the other side, she leapt into the air to try again.

....and promptly fell back to the ground. "Oof! What the hay?!" Her wings felt glued to her side, and no matter how hard she tried, lifting a single feather felt like trying to bench press one of the Everguard.

"Ah ah ah, no cheating," a deep, gritty voice said.

Daring whipped around to face her new foe, but she remained alone in this room. "Who are you!? Where are you?"

A rumbling chuckle came from the very stones of the Tomb. "Oh, how delightful, a new toy to play with! Maybe this little pony can actually finish the game."

"What game?" she asked to the empty room.

"Why, my game of course. Mmm, I can almost taste your potential, Daring Do. You have more raw experience and possibility than any other who has made it this far. Though that's not saying much, not many have made it past the front door. And even fewer had the fortitude to keep going. And none have made it past the final challenge. But you, you have something none of the others had. And only a handful across the ages have ever received such a precious gift."

One of Daring's hooves drifted up to her head, lightly brushing the silvery mark. It seemed wary, and even hostile against the presence in this tomb. "What's your game? How do I play it without losing?"

"Just do what you do, Daring Do. Yours is a prisoner's dilemma; every ending is a rather dark and rather dismal path. Remember to have fun and play by the rules!" A haunting laughter seemed to chill the air as it echoed throughout the black stone walls and inside of Daring's very mind.

With that the presence receded, Daring looked back out over the sea of tan stone. The etchings of various animals of Zebrica decorated it, just like the floor of the temple of the Sapphire Statuette. "Hmm, what is the connection? Maybe it's predators, just like in the Southern Jungle temple." Gazing out over the sea of stone blocks, she noticed a plethora of predators, mixed with almost an equal amount of their prey. So sorting them by predators and prey was not an option.

"Maybe it's animals that can fly?" she asked herself. Once again, the flying animals seemed to be in great abundance, negating that possible answer.

Grinding her teeth, Daring kept thinking. "How can I find an answer when I don't know the riddle?" she growled under her breath. "What am I supposed to think? Is it the jackal that I step on, or will it drive a rusty spike through my chest? Or-or the eagle? I am gonna get burned to a crisp for touching the eagle? Somepony give me a bucking hint!" she shouted. Her voice rang on the stones, echoing her frustrations throughout the caverns and hallways of the entire mountain.

Murmuring to herself, she paced back and forth along the edge of the tile floor. "Is it the elephant? Or do I hop from crocodile to crocodile? How can I solve a puzzle with no clue?" Daring groaned in frustration, having done two full laps of the front of the tile floor. "This is hopeless! There must be ten thousand of these damn tiles!"

It hit her, a memory from the Din'Jaro village, when the Chief had instructed her. "Wait, ten thousand. A hundred by a hundred stones, carved into the earth's bones. Tread carefully out of the light, and follow the path of they without sight. Talib was blind. As blind as-"

She searched out among the carved stones. She passed over the jackal, the elephant, and all others. Finally her eyes came to rest on a strange bird, but upon closer inspection, it turned out to be something that was a little more mysterious than any bird. "Talib was as blind as a bat," she said with a certain satisfaction.

Delicately she extended a hoof, placing it down on the symbol of the bat. Placing her weight on it, she felt no give, nor any repercussion for touching it. She gave a quick grin before placing her other three hooves on the tile. Spying another bat marked tile three rows ahead, she gave a jump and landed gracefully. Hopping from bat to bat, Daring felt her confidence surge. Trust a zebra to leave his game plan in a rhyme, this might be easier than she thought.

Though it was typically the rush of adrenaline that kept her going through the depths of some temple or dungeon, right now it was simplicity. This was quite possibly one of the easiest trials she had ever undergone, relatively speaking. Taking a particularly lengthy jump with ease, she spied the end of the tiles only a few rows away. Getting a bit antsy, she jumped all five remaining rows and landed hard on the far side.

Wiping the sweat from her brow, Daring looked back smugly at this measly test. "Ha! Foal's play! What else you got, huh?"

The pegasus felt the dark presence return, a low chuckle coming from practically everywhere. "Well played, Daring Do. I'll have to admit that it while it was less entertaining than everyone else, it was nonetheless impressive. But seeing all the others driven absolutely mad with frustration and indecision! That is a kind of entertainment that can make the ages just seem to fly by."

"I played your game, and I won! How's that for breaking the mold? Now just let me get the Eyes and I'll be on my merry way."

"Hold it there, little bird. You've only beaten one test out of three. You have the body of a warrior, but do you have the mind of one? Make your way onward, and we shall see. Enjoy the Path of Eternity, I always enjoy it when the hale and hearty warriors get their minds torn to shreds!" the disembodied voice cackled in its rough, low tone. "Oh, and your torch," a light came from another serpent stone, striking the torch held in Daring's wing and shattering it into splinters, plunging the chamber into darkness. "You won't be needing it." Again the malevolent presence receded into the shadow, leaving Daring alone in the dark.

Reaching into a pouch, Daring brought out a hoof full of the light powder Zecora had sent with her. Tossing it in the air, it illuminated the room with a pale green light. Turning about, yet another of the black stone archways stood at the end of the chamber, a tunnel of darkness stretching on to near infinity.

Taking a few steps forward in the pale light, she stopped herself right as her hoof began to cross the threshold of the stone arch. "Wait, all the other things were a part of the rhyme. This is the Path of Eternity, what did it say about the Path of Eternity?"

Daring went over the rhyme in her head a few times, making sure she had the correct answer for this riddle. "Only the sightless may see, and walk the path of eternity. But I can see, how the Hell am I supposed to walk the path?" She contemplated how to beat this next test. A thought came to her, and she threw a pinch of the powder into the long hallway. The entire thing remained empty, stretching on to the horizon without any break or feature.

"What's so bad about this? Okay Daring, what if I just closed my eyes? That's like being blind, right?" Seeing as she had no alternative, Daring snapped her eyes shut, and took a small step forward. Absolutely, positively nothing happened.

Building once more in her confidence, she took a few more steps forward. The ring of her hooves bounced off the walls, and her breath came nervously.

And as she moved onward, the second test began.

"Daring! Help!" a mare's voice echoed into the hallway.

"Zecora!" Daring shouted back. Spinning about, she almost opened her eyes, but stopped as she realized she would fail if she did so. Freezing in place, beads of sweat began to form on her brow.

"Daring! Please help me!" the voice of Zecora shouted again.

Swallowing the knot in her throat, Daring shouted back. "Just hang tight. I'll be there in no time!"

The sound of hooves clattering on the floor turned her back towards the right direction. "So, I have you just where I want you, my little bird. You escaped my prison once, but this time, I'll take off your hooves and cut out your tongue!"

Daring's heart went cold. "N'dutu..."

"Help me, Daring!" Zecora continued to shout from the entrance hall.

Torn between running back to save Zecora from whatever was plaguing her and opening her eyes to fight her foe, Daring began to shiver, using all of her willpower to keep her eyes shut. She could hear N'dutu laughing mere feet in front of her face. "Did you ever think that you could win? That your pitiful acrobatics and strokes of luck would be enough to stop me? I have the Eyes in my possession! You will bow to me, just as your weak friends have. In fact, I may keep you as a pet in my harem."

A deeper, more sinister voice echoed out from her side. "Yes, Daring Do. This is the one where I win. It was only a matter of time. No more pitiful stories of how you outsmarted me through dumb luck and stole the artifact right out of my grasp!"

"Ahuitzotl....you're not here...you're not here in Zebrica," she whispered fearfully.

Daring could almost feel the hot breath of Ahuitzotl running down her neck. "Wrong again, Daring Do. I think I shall have you bound to me as a mind slave, just like your pathetic wretch of a mother!"

Daring's heart nearly stopped. She knew her mother was alright, back in Hoofington, that it had only been a ploy of Ahuitzotl's to kidnap her mother and hold her ransom for a few artifacts. "That's not true. I saved her, I saved her god damn it!"

Another voice, sweet and kind, yet carrying the pangs of agony and torture came through. "Daring, please. You have to help me, honey. Please, I need you, sweetie!"

"No....mom....no. No no NO! THIS ISN'T REAL! None of you are real!"

"Daring, sweetie. Don't you remember your own mother? I used to wake you up in the morning with that song that made you giggle! I'd give you a kiss on both cheeks before sending you off to school! Please Daring, he's going to kill me! No, no...NOOO!!" The mare's voice was cut off by the sound of a slice. Daring held back her weeping, covering her ears with her hooves and trying to drown out the voices.

The sounds of heavier hooves approached Daring as she backed into a wall. "Why Daring? I just tried to do my job. Is it because you valued those worthless artifacts over our friendship? Is it because you wanted to make me look like a fool in front of the Princess? I thought we had something special, Daring. But you just used me...."

She tried to hold back the tears of guilt. "No, I'm sorry, Lucky. I never meant for you to be shamed or hurt. I-I..."

"You what? Wanted to make the world a better place by displaying trash? All you ever did was drive a wedge between us, you made other ponies suffer to feed your own lust for adrenaline. And where has that gotten you in life? You have no friends, no family, you drift from town to town while ruining people's lives to forward your own ambition! You're a whore who can barely keep her legs shut for five minutes, you ride on your reputation like some kind of a bombed out celebrity. I stayed around you because I pitied you, Daring. You're a disgrace to even be seen with."

Though clamping her eyes shut with every ounce of strength left in her eyes, a small stream of tears trickled down her face. "Lucky, I-I-I'm sorry. I can change. I never wanted to hurt you, it was all fun and games. You laughed, I laughed, we shared special moments..."

The sound of Lucky Charm's voice hissed straight into her ear. "And what did you do right after we shared those moments? You abandoned me. You left me for dead."

Daring sank to the floor, trying to shield herself from the barrage of her failures. "It's not real...it's not real," she whimpered to herself.

"You had better start believing it, because it is more real than you could imagine," a deep zebra voice said to her.

"No, Timur, not you too. Please don't do this to me. I never did anything wrong to you. Please, just don't do this to me."

He snorted loudly, scoffing at her. "I should never have agreed to come back here with you. I've nearly been killed more times than I care to count, and what have I heard from you? Nothing. You're a narcissist, Daring. You only care about yourself, you have the gift of a god and you abuse it every step of our journey! I came to the precipice of death to defend your life, and you repay me with shame and dishonor before the High Chief!"

"....you're not real. None of you are. This is all my imagination," Daring said to herself, knowing every word that she heard to be an utter lie.

"Daring, help me!"

"Victory will be mine at last, Daring Do!"

"I want you to watch while I burn down your homeland with the Eyes in my possession!"

The voices swirled around her, adding more and more volume as they closed in on the helpless pegasus.

"Please, save me!"

"Get away from me!"

"Go crawl into a rat hole and die you filthy excuse for a pony!"

"Usurer!

"Murderer!"

"Liar!"

"Thief!"

"Coward!"

"Whore!"

"Defiler!"

Daring slapped her hooves to her head, holding back the urge to open her eyes and scream.

"Will you all....JUST SHUT UP! EVERYPONY SHUT UP!" she screamed to the swirling vortex of voices that seemed to consume her. Standing up, she faced the direction of the hallway, running full speed towards the next chamber. Her hooves fell loudly on the stone floor, each step seeming like it only drew her an inch closer to her unseen goal.

Her eyes never opened, not even a crack. But she knew from the game master that if she did, not only would her mind be forever lost, her body would be rent asunder. She panted as she bolted towards the next test, hearing the sounds of angered mob of her lies trailing close behind.

She felt she was getting close, but she did not stop. Behind her, the force of her own demons howled at their temporary failure, determined to drive her mad. She felt bony claws barely touch her flank, their touch feeling like the icy touch of death itself. Pouring on even more speed, her lungs begged for air as she barreled down the empty hallway.

And as suddenly as the torture had begun, it was over. The mass of voices vanished, and Daring ran straight into a wall, almost breaking her nose in the process. Falling back on her haunches, Daring lay down for a moment. Tears streaked down her face from the horror of the Path of Eternity. But a smile spread across her face as she wept, a laugh gently escaping.

"I...I made it. I beat the second test."

The sound of clapping came from the black halls. "Very impressive. You took quite the mind flaying there, Daring Do. Most entertaining, bravo! Maybe I misjudged you, maybe you do have what it takes to finally break the curse of the Eyes of the Demon. Move along now, the final test lies just beyond that door."

Slowly getting back to her feet, Daring looked at the final stone arch leading even further into the mountain. This was different than the others, it was still the same black obsidian carved from everything else, but a pale, phosphorescent light gently came through, and the sound of gently flowing water tingled in her ears after so much silence.

"What's the final test?" she asked to the open air.

"Why, I am, my dear," the voice said. "Come along, little bird, let's see if you can do what nobody else has even dreamed of doing. You have the mind and the body of a warrior, let's see some warrior's heart."

She took a step through the next arch, mentally preparing herself for this final test. The doorway opened into a massive cavern. The normal stone floor was missing, only a narrow ribbon of stone meandering to the opposite side of the chamber. On either side of the path, huge chasms dropped down to unknown depths. A few waterfalls fell from pores in the rock, falling down into the open chasms. As Daring Do walked to the start of the stone path, her hoof crushed something soft and moist. Looking down, she had crushed a mushroom that gave a light glow of pale green. They were everywhere, and seemed to be the source of all the light.

Walking carefully along the path, she saw her final test standing guard over the final chamber. A huge statue, seeming to be some monstrosity formed out of somepony's nightmare. It had the body of a pony, and the torso of a Tall One seemed stitched on at the neck. It had hands like one of them, but tipped in flesh raking claws. His head was bestial, a pair of tusks jutting out from his lower jaw and a pair of sweeping horns shot out from his forehead.

"A centaur. A real demon," Daring said to herself.

To her shock, the head and torso lost their stony sheen, becoming flesh and blood as she watched. Flexing his arms, the demon popped the joints in his neck and spine. Focusing on Daring, the demon gave an expansive grin. "Well well well. Finally some company after unknown centuries. Welcome to the Tomb of the Blind Warrior, Daring Do."

Daring took a step back, her immobilized wings trying to spread in a defensive posture. "Who are you? What do you want from me?"

"But of course! Where are my manners? I am the final obstacle in your path, relatively speaking. May I introduce myself, I am known by you sniveling creatures as Grinwa," the monstrous centaur said from his prison of stone, bowing as much as his stone encased body would allow.

"Grinwa? But Talib killed you! You should be burning on a spit in Tartarus, monster!"

Grinwa rolled his eyes, miming her words with an open hand. "Blah blah blah, you children of Gaia always have such foolish preconceived notions of what should and shouldn't be. He did kill me, but it wouldn't let me die. I am just as much a victim of the Eyes as anyone else that has ever looked into them. But that can all change tonight."

"Who is Gaia? And why are you standing guard over your own creation?"

"My creation? I have never created a single thing in my entire existence. No, the Eyes are a creation of creatures far more powerful and dangerous than I could ever be. And if you want to know who Gaia is, simply look around you." Grinwa spread his arms wide, indicating the stone of the mountain. "She's your precious Mother! Your Yeye, your Vren'kasha! She never lets any of you know her true name out of some undeserved superiority over your wretched forms. I came from a true god, my father created my entire race with a purpose, not to be coddled and watched like a pet, but to fight and conquer! He gave my brother Tirek the will and power to command the demon legions of my home, and he gave me the power to steal souls through trickery."

Daring looked down at the floor, her mark tingling with energy. "Gaia...what's going on?"

"Something far greater than any of us, yet so petty it makes me sick. We're both pawns in this game, you see. This is no war, no great struggle of our own volition. This is a feud between gods, an argument between Gaia and my father! She has used you, Daring Do. Used you to accomplish her own goals without lifting a finger on her part. You've been a good little pawn in their game, and so was I! But no more, if I can free myself, I can free all of us from their game. All you have to do is let me out."

Anger filled Daring, anger that she had been some pawn. Not only to Princess Celestia, if anything she was just another piece in this game. No, she felt enraged at the goddess who was simply using her to checkmate some other god in a great cosmic game. She looked Grinwa straight in the eye. "What do I have to do?"

A special type of glee came from Grinwa's eyes, and the demon rubbed his hands together in anticipation of his ultimate freedom. "All you have to do is give that mark." He reached out with a hand glowing with foul magic. Daring felt herself being drawn to the demon, her mark being forcibly exposed to Grinwa. "Give me that power, and I can break free of this curse. I can free us all from the tyranny of both gods and mortals. And not only that, I can give you whatever you want. I can make you never fear death, I can preserve you in your beauty for all time. You will never fall ill, never grow old. You could have nations bow before you, and all you have to do is give me that power."

A memory came to Daring, the memory of the alicorn under the shade of the willow tree, the loving souls singing in the paradise she had created for them. Grinwa's long claws almost touched her head, coming so close to his freedom. Daring felt a dark kind of magic emanating from the demon. A magic that seemed to stroke her mind and tickle her pleasures.

She thought about the people who she loved, all of those people who had turned against her on the Path of Eternity. They who had demeaned her in return to her own use and belittlement of them.

Turning her gaze once again to the demon of temptation, she gave her answer.

"No."

Grinwa's went wide, his fists clenching hard enough to break stone. "No?!"

"I know monsters like you. You give promises that you cannot keep. The second that I let you out, you would see the world burn with chaos and hatred. You live to cause disharmony and discord. I'll never ally with such a foul creature as you!"

Grinwa's eyes burned with a magical fire. "You fool! You would choose to be a servant of a god rather than rule as one of them?! You had your chance to give it willingly and avoid my wrath, and now I shall take your gift for my own!" An aura of dark magic surrounded his hands, stretching out to Daring to forcibly steal the power of her mark.

The tentacles of darkness surrounded Daring, but as she braced for her imminent death, a voice came to both pony and demon.

"Grinwa, leave her be. She has passed the test fairly."

At the sound of the voice, Grinwa recoiled, his tendrils of magic withdrawing. "No! I do not bow before you! I am Grinwa! I am the Trickster and son of Procyon! I do not listen to you!"

"Go back to your prison, foul one. Your wretched test is done," the voice said to the demon, each syllable striking like a hammer onto the monster.

Grinwa bore his fangs in a snarl, trying desperately to free himself from his prison. A surge of magical energy struck the demon from the shadows, coursing through him and changing him back to stone.

Daring looked for her savior, but to no avail. The room remained empty except for her and the imprisoned demon. Walking past his statue, Daring felt something strange magic humming from the prison. It was not like the binding magic of the Everguard, nor was it like foul magic that Grinwa himself wielded. It was a magic that she had only felt a few times in her life, and only coming from herself. It was harmonious magic, like what came from her mark.

Daring paused before the final arch, the last chamber in this massive tomb that had nearly claimed her life and her sanity on every stage. She tried remembering the rhyme of the Tomb guardians, but nothing in there said anything about the final chamber. Taking a deep breath, she steeled herself for anything else that was to come.

Walking beyond the final archway, she entered the Tomb of Talib.

It was like the chamber before, a dark chasm surrounding the narrow pathway. But this place was different, the chasm below her hooves seemed to have no bottom, and the only light came from a beam of moonlight illuminating an island in the abyss. On that island sat a great stone throne, and in that throne sat a figure, holding something in his hooves.

"This is it, the Eyes are here," Daring said to herself. Walking along the narrow path, she felt the gaze of unseen presences all around her. She stopped, looking around herself for any sign of danger. Glancing off the edge of the causeway, she saw flickering lights rising from the abyss, taking on shape as they drew near to her.

They began to line the path to the throne, forming into the shapes of warriors of every race that the Eyes had stolen. They seemed rotted and mummified, like the ages had taken their toll, even as spirits. Zebra warriors with their spears stood next to apes in their wooden armor of antiquity. Pony soldiers in the armors of the Classical Era gazed with empty eyes sockets next to fleshless minotaur warriors.

They didn't stand in her way, instead they seemed to urge her onward, giving their respect however that race deemed worthy of giving it. Daring finally reached the foot of the throne, the swell of stolen souls drifting back down to eternity. The blind warrior Talib sat upon the throne, clutching a simple wooden mask in his hooves.

"That's it? A wooden mask? That's the great artifact that has destroyed nations?" It seemed too simple, it wasn't made from anything special, it wasn't embedded with gems or gold. It didn't even seem to have been carved very well. But what surprised her more was Talib himself. He looked perfectly preserved, not a single stray mote of dust touched his striped and scarred hide. Even the bandage that covered his eyes looked freshly wrapped. His flesh looked real and unspoiled. And the mark on his head seemed as bright and undiminished as the day Yeye placed it there. It was almost as if he were still alive.

Wetting her lips in anticipation, Daring looked over the wooden mask for any sign of wires, pressure plates, weight sensitive stones, anything that might trip a trap should she do something wrong. Carefully she reached towards the Eyes of the Demon, her teeth closing gently on the wood of the mask.

As she lifted it slowly out of Talib's hooves, she breathed a sigh of relief. Her sigh was cut short by the press of cold steel against her throat.

The tip of the spear moved up to her chin, lifting her head up and flicking the Eyes out of her teeth. Talib caught the Eyes with a hoof, returning them to his lap. His sightless eyes stared right down at Daring, a look of disapproval coming from them.

"You're....your're alive!?" Daring said incredulously.

Talib nodded, stepping down from his throne with spear in hoof. "For over a thousand years these wretched Eyes have kept me alive. Kept me waiting for a worthy warrior to arrive." Talib inspected Daring in every way he could, listening for her breath, smelling the delicate scents of a pony, even stopping to touch her in places. Stopping at her face, he lifted a hoof and began to feel her, tracing the lines along her face and getting a mental picture of this intruder. He stopped over her mark, his own shining with a magical light as they seemed to recognize one another. The marks of magic greeted each other, letting their bearers know that the other party bore no ill intent.

"You have passed the test I have laid. And you heart has passed judgement and been weighed. Tell me, it is the Eyes you have come for, is it not? Into my sepulcher you have ventured for what you have sought."

Daring nodded, but realized the pointlessness of such a gesture. "Yes. There's a warlord coming here, and he'll stop at nothing to take the Eyes for himself and enslave all the world. I need to get them back to safety in Equestria. Princess Celestia will take care of them, we'll never have to worry about them being stolen and abused anymore!"

Talib turned back to his throne, taking his seat with the Eyes. "They are safe here. Only a god's intervention got you this near."

"They won't be for long. N'dutu will tear this mountain apart stone by stone to reach you. He'll send tens of thousands through those traps until one gets through to take the Eyes away."

Talib sighed from his throne. "It is a sadness to hear, that people still give themselves to brutes at the point of a spear."

"Listen to me, even if N'dutu fails, the one who told him about the Eyes will never give up. He'll recruit some new fool to enact his will. Tens of thousands of innocents could die because the Eyes are still not safe."

"And will they be safe in your place of hiding? Think of the innocents there all dying. There is no safe place for this curse. Wherever they go, things will become worse."

"Please, you know who sent me here. She sent you here, she gave you the power to hold this curse from ever touching the world again. Yeye placed her trust in me, she wants them locked away somewhere where they will never see sunlight again. Where not even somepony touched like us can reach them."

Talib considered her words, the words of truth that came from one of the few to ever match him. "For over a thousand years I have waited for somepony like myself to come and relieve me of my burden. And for a thousand years I have awaited my promised rest when such a warrior as yourself came along. I am tired, fellow blessed one. I have not left this room in centuries, I stay ageless while the world around me burns to ash and renews itself like the phoenix. Both Grinwa and I are bound to this foul device, and once it leaves us, we shall both return to the elements."

"I don't want you to die, Talib. I just need to get them to safety."

Talib sighed, taking the Eyes of the Demon into his hoof. His hoof caressed his eternal charge, hating it for changing his life forever. With a nod, he tossed the wooden mask to Daring. It landed at her hooves, clattering about. "I do want to die, Daring Do. Do what you must do. And remember, never use their power for anything." Talib leaned back on his throne, crossing his forelegs over his chest. He was prepared to give up his prolonged life, if it meant that his burden would see a safer resting place than here. "Yeye, I come home."

Daring gently picked up the Eyes of the Demon, placing them in her pith helmet. Walking back towards the archway, she paused to look back at the Blind Warrior. Talib nodded once more to Daring. And without further delay of his promised rest, Daring passed through the arch. Behind her, she heard a whisper of wind, Talib turning to dust after fifteen centuries of imprisonment.

And in front of her, the same breeze seemed to tear the solid stone of Grinwa's prison into sand, the centaur turning to dust before her eyes. With her prize finally in her possession, Daring began the trek back to the entrance. But to her surprise, the entrance seemed to be just barely far away. Not at all like the miles and miles she had trekked into the mountain to retrieve them. With their purpose fulfilled, the tests receded, letting her pass unchallenged.

*****************************************

The walk to the entrance was far shorter, even the oily blackness seemed to recede as the tool of chaos was removed from its resting place. Daring felt different, even more different than when she returned from the Twilight Realm. She felt older, more fatigued and more scarred than she had ever been. Every other temple had simply tested her agility and her resourcefulness. This place had nearly torn her limb from limb and made her a whimpering foal. Never again could she live without the memory of this place scratching at the back of her mind.

Timur and Zecora stood waiting for her by the water's edge in the underground cove. Both seemed unnecessarily tense. Timur took a nervous step towards her as she walked out. "Daring, are you alright? We heard you screaming for hours on end. We thought you were dead."

"I'm worse for wear, but I'm fine," Daring replied as she walked back through the first arch.

"Good...good. Do you have them?" Timur asked with a quiver to his voice.

Daring began to reach up to her pith helmet to bring out the Eyes, but stopped when she noticed Zecora's legs shaking. "I have them. But before I bring them out, tell me when you got here, N'dutu."

The scarred warlord walked out from the shadows, a grin spanning his face. "You made it too easy, Daring Do. It seems that I was right, good things do come to those with patience." Behind N'dutu came an entire platoon of archers and infantry, aiming their arrows straight at Timur and Zecora. "Now, if you would be so kind, hand over the Eyes of the Demon."

"I'd rather suffer their curse for eternity than see them in your hooves, monster. I'm not afraid of your bows and spears." Daring backed up, spreading her wings in defense.

N'dutu scowled, barking some order to his infantry. The warriors surrounded Timur and Zecora, a certain gnoll placing the tip of his sword on Timur's backbone. "Give it to me, or they die."

"Daring, don't do it! We aren't worth the lives of everypony you know!" Zecora cried out to her friend.

N'dutu nodded to Grimhide, and the gnoll diverted his sword to slash Zecora across the cheek. Only the restraint of six warriors kept Timur from leaping up and tearing out the gnoll's throat. Zecora winced from the pain, a stream of blood welling up and running down her face.

Grimhide licked the blade, placing it against Zecora's throat.

"Wait!" Daring shouted. N'dutu nodded to Grimhide, who lessened the pressure on Zecora's throat. "You win." She reached under her helmet, grabbing the wooden mask and throwing it to the warlord.

Comments

[Nide]

now what?
and where nobody can get the mask? space, lava, the sun, a black hole, inside a nuclear storage and the bottom of the sea