After Spike's life force has accidentally been sucked out, he is taken to the land of the dead. Twilight and the other's discover that they can still save him, and so they venture forth.
Spike, faithful assistant to Twilight Sparkle, has accidentally gotten his life force sucked out by a magical artifact. In that state, he was only considered mostly dead, not fully dead. As long as the artifact was taken away from him, he could recover. Before Twilight and the others could do so, one of the employees from the land of the dead already took Spike's soul away.
Now, in order to save him, Twilight and her friends will have to travel into Lot D, the land of the dead. There, they will beseech the land's ruler herself for the return of Spike's soul.
Notes: Takes place before Alicorn Twilight.
Let me know in the comments how you like the story, or don't like it, or any other random thoughts. It would be helpful.
Spike, a baby dragon, was on a task for his good friend, Twilight Sparkle. He was a small and purple dragon, not even taller than the ponies. Chubby cheeks filled out his round head. Green spines ran down from his head down to his stubby tail. His claws swung without a care in the world with every step he took.
The little dragon walked along a mountain path. On one side was a slope going up, on the other was a slope going down. A photo of a specific flower was in his claw. It was pink with petals arranged in a bell shape. Twilight wanted to study it for something complicated purpose or another. She was still talking about why she needed it when Spike decided to leave.
Walking along the rocky mountain was a boring task. There was nothing but the trail. Certainly no signs of the needed flower was around. The entire area seemed to be devoid of plant life. At least it was a nice day with clear skies and a light breeze.
As Spike looked around, something caught his eye. A strange shadow was dancing across the side of the mountain. High on the rocky wall, a single flower was dangling pink flower. Looking back and forth between the picture of the flower and the actual one, his eyes widened. That was it.
Spike stowed the picture away in his hammer space. His tough claws easily allowed him to climb up the not very steep slope. While he was up there, he heard the sound of squeaky wheels passing by underneath. As he was so close to the flower, Spike didn’t look back. Trying to reach out, his foot slipped, causing a few small rocks to slip loose.
“Wah,” Spike gasped. His loose feet flailed in the air, but he managed to get a new foothold. He plucked the flower out from the side of the mountain.
Down below though, something bad was happening. An old, cloaked pony was pulling on a cart filled with many different items. One of the rocks that fell off got caught in the path of the wheel however. It was temporarily jammed, causing the cart to shift and shudder, right towards the edge of the path.
“Ahh,” the old pony gasped as the cart went tumbling over the edge of the cliff. She barely had time to get out of the hitch.
With a lot of cracking and crumbling, the cart rolled all the way to the bottom of the mountain, being caught in a valley.
Spike slid back down the mountain, landing on the trail. “Are you alright?” he asked in a shocked tone.
“I’m fine, but my belongings.” She sounded very raspy, like her throat was dry. The old pony pointed down at the ravine. “I’d be lost without them.”
The cloaked pony had wrinkly bright blue fur. Her mane was hidden by the cloak but her tail had a dull green tone and was covered in dirt. Droopy eyes looked mournfully down at the cart. It was still intact but all her things were strewn in the valley. She also didn’t have the strenght to get down there without hurting herself.
“I’m so sorry,” Spike said. He was holding his arms out in a pleading fashion.
“That’s alright, young one,” the old mare said. “I’ll get it somehow.”
Spike raised his finger. “I’ll do that for you. It’s the least I can do.”
With ease, the little dragon dropped down to the cart. Quite a mess of items were laying around. There were quilts, locked cases, several cracked jars and urns, among others. One of the boxes had fallen open, revealing a bunch of gemstones. Their luster reflected in the young dragon’s eyes. He shook his head, shaking off the feeling of wanting them. He was here to help.
“Some of these are broken,” Spike said, holding up a jar. Strange powder was spilling out of the crack.
“Please, save what you can.”
“Got it!”
Replacing these items in a space efficient manner was a bit harder than Spike thought, considering how he usually worked with things of the same shape and size. He managed to get most of the things back onto the cart. Jars, cases and other objects were overflowing, threatening to fall off. Pulling the cart along the uneven ground was making things worse. Spike kept a claw on the stack of items all the way. His flower was tucked safely in between some quilts.
The cloaked pony followed along the trail. There was a point where the ravine was shallow enough for Spike to pull the cart onto the trail.
“Here you go, miss.” Spike pushed over the cart with an embarrassed look on his face. He also snatched back his flower.
“Thank you.” The mare went back into the straps that pulled the cart. “What is your name?”
“Spike.”
“My name is Musky Brew. I didn’t expect to see anyone else here. Where do you live, Spike?”
“Over in Ponyville. It’s on the other side of the mountain.” Spike pointed towards the town but a stone slope was in the way.
Musky Brew looked towards that direction anyway even though nothing interesting was visible. “I see. That’s quite a distance.”
“Hey, it’s no big deal for a dragon like me.” With the claw holding the flower, Spike pointed to himself.
“I think a fine dragon such as yourself deserves a reward for helping out.” Musky Brew placed a hoof on spikes head.
“Aw it was nothing.”
“Please. You can take one thing from my belongings as a reward.”
Spike eyed the cart with sparkling eyes. “Are you sure?”
Musky Brew nodded. “I insist.”
“Don’t mind if I do then.”
Spike crawled up into the cart. Rooting through the items, he was looking for the box of gems he had seen earlier. There was a large and delicious looking diamond among them. “I’m taking a gemstone, okay?”
“That’s fine. I have plenty.”
As Spike was reaching out for the box, a green glow caught his eye. There was another gem, wrapped in a black cloth. Part of it was visible. The dancing green light was mesmerizing. He wasn’t even sure what light was bouncing off the gem. It felt more important than the others. Spike briefly considered not taking it, but Musky Brew had said any one thing without conditions.
Spike wrapped his claw around the cloth covered green gem. Treating it gently, the young dragon wrapped the gem up tightly.
After coming out of the cart, he said, “Thank you, Musky Brew.”
“Thank you for your help, Spike,” Musky Brew said. “I must be off now. Have a safe journey.”
“You too!” Spike waved. He skipped off, holding his reward in both claws. The flower he was actually sent to recover was unceremoniously kept in his armpit.
Walking along the mountain trail had been tiring. He just gotten out of it and was heading towards a lightly wooded area. Since he had the gem, why not have a snack right now? Spike unwrapped the gem. Holding it up to the sunlight, a green glow bathed the area. Drool leaked out from the side of his mouth.
“Down the hatch,” he said to no one in particular. Spike opened his mouth and chomped down on the gem in one bite.
It had a lovely, refined taste, befitting something that shined so bright. The gem was oddly hard however. Not even his dragon jaws could bite through it. Spike wasn’t bothered though. He just swallowed it whole.
Licking the area around his mouth and rubbing his stomach, the purple dragon let out a satisfied sigh. That really hit the spot.
Spike continued to walk, but on the next step, he felt dizzy. The light from the sun pounded in front of his face. Staggering left and right, the flower fell out from his armpit. He tripped over a rock on the side of the road. Landing in a bunch of bushes, he fell unconscious.
Meanwhile, Musky Brew had also decided to take a break. She had her belongs spread out along the road and was in the middle of taking inventory of what had broken in the fall. A list of items was rolled out on the ground.
“Blankets, cloaks, fairy powder, nevermelting ice, eyes of newt, sapphires, rubies,” the old mare muttered as she looked through her items. “Horn of light, shard of no reflections, yada yada. Wait, the gem isn’t here!” In a panic, Musky Brew looked through all her belongings again.
The old mare had forgotten she even had that particular gem until looking back through her list. If the young dragon had taken any other gem, she would have been fine with it but not this one. This gem was dangerous. She had to get it back. In a rush, she repacked the cart as best she could. There was no time to waste.
“...and then I said, cherrychangas, are you crazy?” A pink pony’s eyes were bulging out.
“Pinkie, what does that have to do with waterskiing pelicans?” a sky blue pegasus asked.
“Uh, what waterskiing pelicans?”
Smacking her hoof to her face, the pegasus said, “Pinkie Pie, you are so random.”
Six ponies were gathered around a restaurant table in Ponyville. Ponyville was a nice little town that provided all the comforts a simple pony could want. Simple houses and lush gardens were all around the village. Rolling green hills and a forest surrounded the area.
An umbrella in the center of the the table provided cooling relief from the sun. They were six best friends, two earth ponies, two pegasus and two unicorns. It was a nice day for a brunch of hay, daisies and apples.
The pink pony was Pinkie Pie. Almost her entire body was pink, starting from her curly mane down to her curly tail. Only three balloons located on her flank were of a different color. Two were blue, one was yellow. She bounced up and down with boundless energy.
The pegasus was sky blue. Her mane and tail were strikingly colorful, with seven streaks containing every color of the rainbow. On her flank was a symbol of a cloud with a rainbow colored lightning bolt firing out of it. Two wings were spread out proudly.
Everyone was having a good time, enjoying the day. Everyone except one. A purple unicorn was prodding around a cup of tea. The amber liquid rippled with every movement.
“What’s wrong, Sugarcube?” a peach colored pony asked with a drawl. She tilted up her rancher hat with a hoof.
Her straw yellow mane and tail was tied at the very end with red bands. Three apples were pictured on her flank.
“Nothing. Well, not nothing. It’s Spike.” The purple unicorn put her hoof down. “He’s late. We had everything planned out perfectly. I even took into account how long he had to search for the flower.”
She had dark colored mane and tail, cut very evenly with two stripes in different shades of violet. Her mark was a pink, sparkling star.
“Twilight, how can you tell how long it takes to find a flower?” a yellow pegasus asked.
“Oh that’s easy.” Twilight held up a hoof in a very teacher-like manner. “Taking into the account of the season and time, I can know how many flowers after around in a given area. Now, I already know Spike’s walking speed and habits so I can take those into consideration as well. And I already took a reading of the weather so I can tell if he would be delayed by things such as rain or strong winds. Furthermore-”
“Yeah, yeah. Skip this part,” the rainbow maned pegasus said. “When was Spike supposed to get back?”
“Two minutes ago!”
“What? That’s it?”
“Rainbow Dash, we had everything planned out! How could he be late? What if he got hurt?” Twilight rubbed her mane nervously. “I was the one that sent him out by himself! I knew I should have gone with him. He said it was a simple task, that I should focus on my important research. If he got hurt, it would be all my fault!”
“Spikes a dragon remember?” Rainbow Dash said. “He’s probably tougher than all of you guys. Not me of course.”
“But why is he late then?”
“You can’t predict everything, Twilight,” the rancher pony said. “I’m sure he just got hung up somewhere.”
“I hope you’re right, Applejack.” Twilight was still fidgeting around nervously.
The rest of the day went on as normal. Rainbow Dash had performed some tricks then went to take a nap. Applejack worked on her orchard, collecting apples. Everyone else had a pleasant and easygoing day.
Twilight, however, was not calm. She paced around the library set within a giant tree. The floor was already worn and scuffed from many long hours of worried walking back and forth. Nervous sweat dripped across her face as she kept her face transfixed on the clock. Every tick of the second hand made the unicorn even more anxious. She began biting her mouth.
“What do you think, Owlowiscious? Is Spike alright?”
“Hoo?” a blank faced owl, perched on a wooden coat hanger, asked. He looked very tawny.
“Spike! Assistant number one? Oh, er, nevermind.” Twilight looked continued staring at the clock.
When the second hand struck a new hour, five in the evening, a knock came on the door.
“Spike?” Twilight dashed over to the door and opened it. Standing there wasn’t a small dragon but another pony. “Rarity?”
Of course it wouldn’t be Spike. Why would he need to knock to enter his own home?
Rarity was an elegant looking white unicorn. Her shimmering, purple mane and tail were permed into fanciful curls. Three shining diamonds were printed onto her flank.
“Hello, Twilight,” the regal unicorn said. She recoiled a bit upon seeing her friend up close. “Er, what’s wrong with your eyes?”
“My eyes?” Twilight’s eyes were stuck, wide open and were full of veins. “I’ve been looking at the clock so much, I don’t think I’ve blinked.” She chuckled nervously. One at a time, her eyelids snapped down. “I wondered what that stinging sensation was.”
“Has Spike returned yet?” Rarity asked. Full eyelashes swept the air as she blinked, hopefully. Pale blue eyeshadow adorned her face.
“No, he hasn’t.” Twilight shook her head sadly.
“That is just horrible!” Rarity wailed. “He’s probably alone and scared out there. All that nature around him, the sliminess, the dirt, the dusty air! He’ll be covered in filth.”
“I agree. With the alone and scared part, not the nature part,” Twilight clarified. “That’s it. I’m going to look for Spike. He shouldn’t be gone this long.”
Rarity held up a hoof to her chest. “If you’re going, I’m going too. I can’t leave my poor Spikey-Wikey out in that horrid nature alone.”
Owlowiscious also flew over. He landed gently on the Twilight’s back.
“Thanks for coming along, Owlowiscious. Your great vision will certainly be useful.”
The group stepped out into the cool Ponyville night. It was still bright as day since the time for the sun lowering hadn’t came up yet. Clouds had started forming up in the once clear skies. As they were leaving, they saw two pegasus coming over.
“Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy?” Twilight asked.
“Twilight,” the a yellow pegasus said meekly. “I’m worried about Spike. Has he returned yet?”
Her pink mane and tail were long and straight. The mane was swept up before falling down in one thick strand that almost reached the ground. The tail actually did drag along the ground as she walked. Her wings were clinging tightly against her body. Three pink butterflies decorated her flank.
“He has not! The poor thing.” Rarity was the one that answered.
“Geez,” the other pegasus, Rainbow Dash, said. “You’re worried too, Rarity? Spike is a dragon remember?”
“I’m still worried. He is way past the latest time I had calculated,” Twilight said. “I’m going to look for him.”
Pinkie Pie bounced over, seemingly from out of nowhere, like a ninja. “Look for who?”
“Hoo?” Owlowiscious said.
“I’m asking the questions here buddy.”
“We’re going to look for Spike,” Twilight explained.
“Ooh, ooh, ooh.” Pinkie waved her hoof.
“Yes, you can come.”
“Great! Just let me get my gear.”
She zipped away in a blur of pink. Before the dust cloud had even settled, a bush had replaced her. Two prominent eyes popped out from the leaves.
“Uh, Pinkie, what is that supposed to be?” Rarity asked.
Pinkie stuck her head out with a hoof to her mouth. “Shhh. I’m in camouflage.” her head zipped back in.
Twilight stared incredulously at the bush. “What for?”
“Well, he won’t know that we’re coming. Then we can snatch him up unaware!”
“We’re not trying to hunt him!”
“Not yet at any rate,” Pinkie Pie said suspiciously.
Leaves shook as there was struggling from within the bush. First, a rancher hat fell out, followed by a full pony, Applejack.
“Oof,” she groaned upon hitting the ground.
“No, Applejack!” Pinkie gasped. “You’re my surprise dragon catcher. And you can’t be a surprise dragon catcher if everyone can see you.”
Applejack’s eyes were still spinning out of sync. She spat out some leaves. “What’s going on, y’all?”
“We’re going to go look for Spike,” Twilight explained.
“Well, why didn’t you just say so? I would have come.”
Pinkie Pie leaned out of the bush. “Surprise. Dragon. Catcher.”
“Er.” Applejack backed away from the bulging eye. “I don’t think that sort of thing is necessary.”
Twilight stamped her hooves on the ground to get everyone’s attention. “Come on, let’s go.”
“Okay,” everyone else said in unison.
Five ponies and a bush left the soothing town of Ponyville, heading towards the area where Spike had been sent. The bush zipped along the side of the dirt path. Once, it accidentally ran into a tree. A branch landed on top of the push. It was drawn in by a pink hoof.
The sky had turned dark, and the moon was shining high in the sky. Cold wind shook the sparse trees in the open plains. Grass rippled on the side of a dirt road.
They didn’t get too far before coming on another traveller. It was an old mare, wrapped in a cloak. Her dirt encrusted tail nearly dragged along the ground. She was pulling a wooden cart filled with random items. The side of the cart was cracked, but it was holding up. Her legs were shaking with every step, but she plodded on without stopping.
“Excuse me,” the old mare said in a raspy voice. “Did you come from Ponyville?”
“Yes,” Applejack said. “What can we do for you ma’am?”
“Do you know a Spike? He’s a dragon, about this tall,” she raised a hoof to around neck height, “purple-”
Before the mare could say another word, Twilight rushed up with both hoofs pressing against her. “You saw Spike? Where is he?”
“You are friends with him?”
Everyone nodded. The bush bounced up and down.
Looking away from the mysterious shrubbery, the cloaked pony said, “Have you seen him?”
“No, we’re looking for him right now,” Twilight said.
“You don’t know where he is? This is bad.”
“What is, what’s going on? Start from the beginning.”
The old mare took a deep breath. “Alright. My name is Musky Brew.”
“What’s all this stuff?” Pinkie Pie asked. She was partially out of the bush and rooting through the stuff in the cart. A flexible metal loop was in her hoof. She managed to stretch it out all the way from fully extended hoof to fully extended hoof.
“I used to deal in magical artifacts. A lot of those are leftovers that didn’t sell. And that is part of the problem. He helped me get my cart out of a ravine in the mountain. As a reward, I gave him one of my belongings. However, he took something very dangerous. I forgot I even had it until I checked through my belongings.”
“What did he take?”
“It was a gem.” Musky Brew looked down, sadly. “I found it a long time ago. Back then, I didn’t realize what it was. Now I know it is a dangerous item. To keep it out of other ponies hooves, I kept it for myself.”
“Spike loves gems,” Twilight said. “No wonder he took it. What make that gem dangerous?”
“The gem came from Lot D. It is called the Gem of Death.”
The young ponies all gasped with front hooves up against their mouths.
All of the young ponies were in shock from hearing that Spike had somehow obtained a jewel from the Lot D. They stood there with eyes wide and mouth hanging open, except for Fluttershy who was shivering in the ground with hooves over her head.
Twilight was the first to shake into a recovery. “Okay, what is does this Gem of Death do? It can’t possibly be as bad as it’s name, right?”
“I am afraid it is quite bad. I think,” Musky Brew, an old artifact seller said. She started looking around with a bit of confusion on her face. “Wait, I can remember what the gem did. Let’s see. Something that has to do with, with death I’m assuming.”
“Think harder, please. What does the gem do?” Twilight beseeched.
“It’s right there on the tip of my tongue.”
“Ooh, let me guess.” Pinkie Pie sprang out from the bush. Appearing from seemingly every angle, she said, “Does it remove bad breath? Clean up stains? Suck moisture out of the air? Look pretty on a dress? Oh, oh, it stops paper from flying away in the wind!”
“Pinkie, let the mare think,” Applejack said as she stepped on the curly pink tail to curb the bouncy pink pony.
“Wait,” Musky Brew said. “Yes, I remember now. It sucks the life force of the wielder.”
“Suck the life force out of Spike?” Twilight’s eyes were wide in horror. “We have to find him, now!”
Musky Brew nodded. “Yes, if we find him, I can easily save him. There is a rather simple spell that can be used to protect whoever holds the gem, but there are none to stop its effects. I just need to protect Spike with the spell, take back the gem and everything will be alright.”
“Say.” Rainbow Dash hovered over, nervously looking around. “What would the effects be if the gem was eaten?”
“Eaten? What kind of question is that? Who would eat gems?”
Twilight’s horror only grew larger. “Spike would! Dragons eat gems.”
“Oh.” Musky Brew seemed to deflate, and her age was catching up, making wrinkles appear all over her face. “That might change everything. I have no idea what happens if the gem is eaten.”
“Come on, let’s go find Spike,” Twilight said. Her eyes had a fierce, determined look.
“Yes, I’m coming,” the old mare said. She slowly turned the cart around.
Applejack nudged Musky Brew on the side. She tilted her hat back and said, “I’ll take care of the cart for you ma’am.”
“Thank you very much, young one.”
“Yeah, and I’ll take care of you,” Rainbow Dash said. “We don’t have time to be taking it slow.” The tomboyish pegasus swooped down and picked up the old mare.
Fluttershy helped out by flying underneath and giving Musky Brew hind leg support. “Let us know if we’re going too fast, okay?”
“I’ll be fine. This isn’t the first time I’ve flown you know.” Musky Brew raised her hoof and pointed forward. “Now, let’s go.”
Meanwhile, Spike had just woken up. He held a claw up to his pounding head. How much time had passed since he fell asleep? The immediate area looked familiar, and yet, everything was strange. The colors of the world appeared faded, almost to the point of being black and white. Edges of the plants blurred into each other. The nearby bushes looked like nothing more than a blob of pale green. A heavy mist stopped him from seeing further than a the immediate area.
“Hello?” Spike called out fearfully. “What’s going on here?”
The young dragon took a few steps forward. A noise caused him to burst into a run. He entered into the fog and reappeared into the very same area. Spike tripped over something on the ground. Rolling to a stop, he found himself at the foot of a mysterious pony.
The pony was wrapped in a black cloak, from nose to tail. Only grey his hooves were visible. A pair of yellow eyes glowed from within the shadowy hood.
“Musky?” Spike asked hopefully.
No answer.
Taking a few steps back, he said, “Zecora?”
Still no response.
“Erm, okay. I’ll be going now.”
“Wwwait,” the cloaked stallion said. His voice flowed like the wind at night, transient and skin chilling. “Dddragon. I am here for yyyou.”
“M-me?” Spike held up a claw to his chest. “I think you must be mistaken. I don’t know you.”
“Ttthere is no mistake. You are dddead. I am here to hhhelp you move on.”
Spike shook his head while backing away. “I’m not dead! No way. You’re crazy.” He turned to run, only tripping over the same thing again.
The stallion stepped forward. He pointed to the object Spike had tripped over. “Lllook.”
Spike let out a yelp when he saw what was on the ground. It was him, or rather, his unconscious body. The Spike on the ground looked so peacefully still. How could that be? He was here, not there. Scrambling away, he ran into the mist. Coming out, he saw the mysterious stallion standing there, calm as a statue.
The little dragon tried many time to get out of the misty area. He eventually discovered that the mist acted as a boundary. Every time he got out of the area, he merely appeared on the other side.
Trotting forward, the cloaked stallion stood in the path of the running dragon. Spike collided against what felt like a solid wall.
“N-no,” Spike protested again. “It can’t be.”
“Yyyou must go. This wwworld is not fffor you anymore.”
“All my friends are here! I can’t leave them. They need me, and, and-” Spike couldn’t say anymore as tears gathered in his eyes.
“Lllet us go. The lllonger you ssstay, the hhharder it will be to llleave.” The cloaked stallion walked forward to a numb Spike. He picked up the dragon with his mouth. Rearing his head back. he flung Spike onto his back.
On the nearby path, Twilight and the other ponies were travelling in a hurry. They called out, “Spike!” hoping for a response, but none came. Both unicorns had their horns glowing to light up the dark wood path. Owlowiscious’ eyes were shining brightly in the darkness. He and Fluttershy were scanning the area from the skies.
“Wait!” Twilight suddenly stopped.
Applejack hadn’t been prepared and ran into her. Backing out of Twilight’s butt, the rancher pony asked, “What do you see, Twi?”
The book loving unicorn stepped forward. Lowering her head, the light around her horn revealed a flower that had been crushed into the dirt by heavy wheels. “This is the flower I asked Spike to find!”
“Spike!” everyone started calling out again.
Hearing his name had shaken Spike out of his stupor. He couldn’t reach them however as the cloak of the mysterious stallion was wrapped around him tightly. They were travelling through the ground. He was somehow able to see through the dirt and up at his pony friends.
“Twilight!” Spike called out. No one seemed to hear him. “Rarity! Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash!”
The old mare, Musky Brew, stared at the ground as if she saw something. She even jumped off Rainbow Dash to get a better view. What she saw, however, was merely a shadow that probably came from some leaves under the moonlight.
The other ponies were frantically searching the area. It was Owlowiscious that finally flew into the middle of everyone, hooting excitedly.
“He found something,” Fluttershy said.
“Lead on Owlowiscious,” Twilight said.
Leading on didn’t really entail going far. The brown owl just flew off through the bushes on the side of the trail.
“Spike!” Everyone said in unison when they saw his still body just behind the bushes. Twilight was the first to his side.
“Is he alright?” Fluttershy asked.
Twilight’s hoof was pressed onto his chest, and her head was tilted near his mouth. She could barely get the words out.“He’s not breathing.”
“Oh no, poor Spike!” Rarity exclaimed. “Do something Twilight!” She shook the other unicorn vigorously.
“Where’s that gem?” Applejack asked.
After pushing Rarity off, Twilight looked around. “I don’t see it. He must have eaten it.”
Pinkie zipped up to spike. “Let’s get it out then.” She pried his mouth open with her hooves. Her head was unable to fit inside, no matter how much she tried.
From below, Twilight forced Pinkie’s head away with her own. “Keep his mouth open. I think I can see something.”
“Okey dokey lokey.”
Using her horn to create light, Twilight peered inside. Everyone else watched tensely as she worked. As the seconds passed, they bit into their lower mouth more and more. Carefully and slowly, Twilight wrapped her magic around the gem. Sweat dripped down her face and around her nose. Fluttershy wiped it away with a towel.
“I think I got it,” Twilight said in a strained voice. Inside Spike’s throat, the gem wiggled around. She had to be very careful not to use too much power or move the gem too much. “Come on. Come on.” The Gem of Death slid forward, bit by bit. After getting it past the hard part, Twilight wrenched her head back, accidentally smacking into Pinkie Pie’s nose, but the gem flew out.
Musky Brew caught the gem in a black towel. Her hooves worked quickly to wrap it up.
“Is Spike alright?” Fluttershy asked.
Twilight shook her head. “He’s still not breathing.” Looking back to the old mare, she asked, “How fast does the Gem of Death work?”
Musky Brew shook her head. “Normally, it would take at least a week to have dangerous effects, but I don’t know what happens if the gem were to be eaten. I think,” Musky Brew sighed, “that the Gem of Death must have sucked out all of his life force.”
“No!” every pony gasped. Moonlight bounced around in the tears on their face. Owlowiscious landed solemnly on Twilight’s back.
Twilight continued to nudge Spike’s body. Her tears dripped down to the ground. “Spike, you can’t be gone. I need you.” Her voice was cracking badly and the words could hardly come out.
“There might be hope,” Musky Brew said. She looked down awkwardly as seven pairs of eyes zoomed to her. “Might, as in chance, for poor Spike.”
“What?” Twilight said immediately.
“I saw something I have not seen in a long time. A shadow of death. They are the ones that bring lost souls to Lot D, where all souls go. Normally, the shadows of death are completely invisible, but when a soul has not truly been lost from this world, their invisibility fades somewhat.”
“So what you’re saying is,” Twilight’s brow were furrowed in concentration, “Spike was taken away by one of these shadows. However, you saw the shadow, which meant that Spike isn’t really gone?”
“He is gone,” Musky said, “though only mostly gone. At this point, it is still possible to bring his soul back to his body and he’ll be alright.”
“Really?” Every pony perked up. Rarity looked particularly messy from her eyeshadow running under the flow of tears.
“It will be very dangerous however.” Musky Brew looked at each of the tear filled yet hopeful faces. She didn’t want to tell them because of where they must go. Yet she knew they would do everything in their power to get their dear friend back. She didn’t have the heart or courage to stand in the way of that. “Lot D, that is where Tartarus, prison of monsters, is located. It is deep underground, where the sun and moon won’t reach. In there, you will no longer be under the protection of Princess Celestia. But if you want to get Spike back, you all must go into Lot D and retrieve his soul!”
A long silence followed. All the young ponies nodded, one at a time, starting with Twilight and ending with Fluttershy.
The ponies had returned to Ponyville for the day. They were going to take one day to prepare before going into Lot D to rescue Spike. Musky Brew had made a potion to for them to take that will allow them safe passage through the lands of the dead even though they were still alive. It looked like a silvery liquid with bubbles suspended within. Yellow shine of oil spread over the top.
Everyone was preparing differently.
Twilight was in the library, of course, looking through books. She sat at her desk with nose almost touching the pages. Many of wooden shelves behind her were bare. A large pile of books was scattered behind her.
The booky unicorn was looking up everything about Lot D. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a lot of information as it wasn’t a place living ponies went. Supposedly, the city of Subterrania was located around that location as well. The entrance went through Lot D so not much information was available about there either. She only knew it was a huge mining empire.
Twilight also went through several books on spells and magical items. One book had a description about the Gem of the Dead. The effects were exactly what Musky Brew had said. A magic glow surrounded the book as Twilight tossed it away to bring in the next one.
Prepared, that was what the unicorn wanted to be. Everypony else was following her, so she had to be responsible for all of them. She had no idea what to prepare for so she would simply prepare for everything. That was what Twilight wanted to do, but she knew she had no time. Only the most important spells were studied. She still had other things to do during the day.
She situated the body of spike on her back. Taking the spell book along to practice, Twilight left the library. With a final look back, she said, “Owlowiscious, take care of everything till I get back alright? It might be a few days.”
Rarity was inside her boutique packing. Many colorful clothes were strewn about the area. Fabric and jewels were tucked away within box shelves. Several model pony stands were near the back. Some of them had partially finished dresses on them.
Rarity walked about, picking things up with her magic then putting them down again. Just what was one supposed to pack for going to Lot D? It might be hot so she brought a fan. It might be cold so she brought a scarf. If there was a lot of wind, a shawl might be needed. Dry air would certainly necessitate conditioner.
She zoomed from shelf to shelf, picking out the items to bring along. Anything that was in the way was just thrown to the floor.
A couch, Rarity definitely wanted to bring that along.
While going for it, she passed a jewelry stand on her dresser. A heart shaped ruby set into a gold necklace caught her eye. She rubbed the tear out of her eye before it smudged her makeup. Rarity put on the necklace. It still looked dazzling. She touched her hoof to the ruby and promised to bring Spike back.
Applejack sitting on the farm with a clearly troubled expression. She didn’t really need to bring anything. After all, Bucky McGillicutty and Kicks McGee (her hind legs) were all she needed.
“So, Apple Bloom, Big McIntosh, Granny Smith, I’ll be going away for a while. Will y’all be alright on the farm without me?” She looked to a small filly, a powerful stallion and an old mare in turn.
“Eeyup,” Big McIntosh said.
He was a sturdy dull red pony with simple yellow mane and tail. An apple half was on his hind quarters, and a wooden harness was around his neck.
“Where are you going Applejack?” a small, bright yellow filly asked.
She had yet to get a mark on her flank. A pink bow adorned her bright red mane while her tail was left plain.
“Er, I’m going to well.” Applejack looked away, uncertain of how to answer. “I’m going to an exotic location with my friends.”
“Can I come?”
“No!” she said more forcefully than she intended. Seeing her younger sister’s sad face, Applejack added, “It’s not really a place for fillies like you.”
“Las Pegasus?”
“Not exactly. Something like that though.” Applejack attempted an innocent smile to her family. It was clearly suspicious.
Granny Smith, a wrinkly, apple green pony, leaned forward on her rocking chair.. A delicious pie was featured on her flank. Her white mane and tail were tied into a neat bun. Her eyes looked her granddaughter up and down.
Applejack tried to smile even more, but sweat was starting to form under her hat.
“Alright, have fun. It’s not harvesting season or anything,” Granny Smith said.
“Bring me back something!” Apple Bloom said.
“Sure thing.”
Applejack wanted to say something else but two other fillies came running over, an orange pegasus and a white unicorn. Neither of them had marks on their flank either.
“Hey, Apple Bloom, let’s go ice sculpting,” the pegasus said.
“Yeah! Ice sculpting cutie mark go!” Apple Bloom ran off with her friends, a big smile on her face.
Applejack tilted her hat down. There wasn’t any need to worry her family. For now, Applejack just enjoyed the peace and tranquility of the orchards. Apple trees extended as far as the eye could see. Rolling hills of green created a soothing landscape. A red barn was right next to them.
Pinkie Pie was inside Sugarcube Corner, a cake shop filled with lip smacking pastries, cupcakes, regular cakes and many other types of desert. Everything screamed bright and colorful, from the cakes down to the decor.
“So, Mister and Misses Cake, I’m going to be going for a while.” Pinkie dramatically looked away with one hoof out and the other on her face. “I’m sorry, but I must do this,.”
“It’s okay, Pinkie, you can go,” Mister Cake said as he checked the oven to see how the cakes were doing.
He was a tall and rather thin pony with a strong jaw. He wore an apron with his striped bow tie and cap. Three scrumptious looking cake slices adorned his hind quarter.
“Don’t try to stop me! This is very important.”
“We never try to stop you,” Misses Cake said. A bag of green frosting was in between her hooves, and a tray of golden pastries was on the table in front.
She was a plump blue pony. Her mane and tail had the appearance of dark pink frosting. Three cupcakes were displayed on her flank.
“I know it will be hard, but I’m sure you can make due without me.” Pinkie Pie crawled along the ground and grabbed onto Mister Cake’s front legs. “Don’t worry, for I shall definitely return.”
“Go be with your friends.” Mister Cake tried to move back but the pink pony had a really strong grip. “We’ll be fine on our own for a few days.”
“And show my picture to Pound and Pumpkin every day, no wait, every half day. I want them to remember me exactly as I am now.” The Pinkie Pie of now was groveling on the floor though.
“We’ll do that, Pinkie.”
“No more protests!” Pinkie stood up again. “I am leaving.”
“Have a nice trip.” Misses Cake waved with a bright smile..
Fluttershy was inside her homely cottage. Everything was very simple and down to earth. Several animals had made their home inside hers. There were mouse holes, bird nests and many other burrows. Pots of flowers were hanging everywhere. The inside was like a nature preserve, full of soothing energy. A dark forest filled the view of the back window.
The yellow pegasus was in front of a table. There were five identical cloths on the table. Each one was packed with things such as ointment or bandages, simple supplies for scrapes and such.
“So Angel, I’m thinking of making care packages filled with my good thoughts for them,” Fluttershy said to a white bunny. “I hope they’ll do okay inside Lot D.”
Angle was tapping his feet with his head tilted to the side.
“What? Oh no, I’m not going. I won’t be any use at all. I’ll be much more helpful sending out positive thoughts to the universe.”
Angel sighed and shrugged.
A visitor suddenly stormed into her home from the window. It was a speedy blue pegasus with rainbow colored mane and tail.
“Hello, Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy said.
“How’s it going, Fluttershy? What are those?” Rainbow Dash pointed to the cloth bundles.
“Oh, these are just some simple supplies that you girls could use in Lot D.”
Rainbow Dash shot a crooked eye look at the other pegasus. “Why are there only five of them?”
“I was just thinking that I would be useless if I went. You guys going without me will be much more effective,” Fluttershy said as she finished tying up the care bundles.
“No way.” Rainbow Dash swiped her hoof horizontally across the front. “You’re coming too.”
“But I couldn’t-”
“No buts.”
“However I couldn’t-”
“No howevers.”
“Although I couldn’t-”
“No althoughs!” Rainbow Dash said sternly. “I learned last time that bringing you along is always a good idea. You’re not scared of the monsters rumored to be within Lot D are you?”
“I am,” Fluttershy said meekly
“There are only things like mothmen, gargoyles, zombies, catsabers, dragon zombies, wood golems, rifle lords.”
With every creature listed, Fluttershy shrank smaller and shook harder. Her wings became rigidly glued to her body, like they were made of stone.
“Easy stuff,” Rainbow Dash said. She shot a wry grin at the stiff wings. “Alright, Fluttershy, let’s go.”
The blue pegasus dug underneath the yellow one and lifted her up. She grabbed all of the little packages before flying away.
“Put me down,” Fluttershy pleaded.
“You could just fly off.” Rainbow Dash looked back with a toothy, evil smile.
But Fluttershy couldn’t. Fear had caused her wings to seize up. Try as she might, her wings remained stubbornly stuck to her body. She grabbed tightly onto Rainbow Dash’s body to keep from falling off.
“Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear,” she repeated over and over again.
“Be cool, Fluttershy. We’ll go in to Lot D, get shorty, be back out by dinner time,” Rainbow Dash said as she flew away.
Twilight had walked into the Everfree Forest, a place with trees so thick the sun was blocked out by branches and leaves. Dangerous animals lived within these woods, but she knew the way well enough to avoid trouble.
The unicorn continued on until she came upon a clearing. A small, wooden hut was located within the forest.
The stylings of the hut looked foreign compared to the buildings of Ponyville. Decorations of the inside was even weirder. There were shelves full of strange plants and jars. Masks were hung all over the wall. In the center of the room was a large cauldron sitting on a fire pit. It was currently empty and the fire off.
The person that lived here wasn’t a pony. She was a light grey zebra with black stripes. Her mane was styled like a mohawk while her tail was simple tied at the base. A line drawing of a sun was on her flank. She wore a series of golden necklaces and bracelets.
Seeing the unicorn’s worried expression, Zecora asked, “What seems to be the trouble, my dear Twilight Sparkle?”
“It’s Spike.” Twilight nodded to the dragon on her back.
“He seems rather lifeless. What is going on in this mess?”
Twilight Sparkle explained the entire situation. She also retrieved the potion made by Musky for Zecora to examine.
“I do not know much about your lands of dead. In order to make it, you must keep your head,” Zecora said. Her face was close to the silvery liquid. One eye looked magnified by from water distortion. “As for this brew, it might be true. I do not detect any ill intentions.”
“That’s good enough for me, I don’t have time for contentions,” Twilight said. “Also, can you watch over Spike for me while I’m gone?”
Zecora nodded.
Spike was placed, sitting against a wall. Twilight lingered a moment before finally moving away and letting him rest on his own body.
“Thank you. I’ll be back soon with his soul.”
“I look forward to your victory. Everything will work out, you’ll see.” Zecora smiled as she place a hoof on down cast unicorn’s shoulder.
Twilight nodded. She had to leave but she found it hard. From far away, Spike just looked like he was sleeping peacefully. He could wake up at any moment. But that was just hopeful dreaming. Twilight knew what she had to do, and she was going to do it.
One step at a time, the young unicorn walked out of the Everfree Forest. She refused to look back until she could speak with Spike once again.
Everyone else was already at the edge of town.
Rarity was looking determined. A shiny necklace gleamed under the light, and a large suitcase was behind her.
Applejack stood proud and ready. She gave a reassuring smile.
Pinkie Pie was bouncing happily. There was no hint of worry in her at all.
Rainbow Dash was looking very stiff with wide eyes and teeth clenched as Fluttershy had her front legs wrapped around in an iron grip. The sky blue pegasus could barely breathe.
“Here, everypony,” Rainbow Dash said in a strained voice. It took a bit of shaky effort, but she held out the care bundles Fluttershy had made.
Everypony, except for Twilight, took one. She left it for Fluttershy instead.
“Alright.” Twilight turned towards Lot D. “Let’s go, girls.”
Meanwhile, Spike had been taken onto a large ship. The ship was old and made of wood. Many parts had been cracked or warped. There was even a large hole in the hull, but somehow the ship stayed afloat. Large masts extended towards the roof of the tunnel. Torn sails hung lifelessly on the wooden posts.
His fellow passengers were other misty forms, mostly ponies. They were travelling down a large river inside a huge tunnel. A walkway lined both sides of the river. Hundreds of lanterns provided light within the underground.
The crew of the ship was a bunch of cloaked ponies. The captain had a skull like mask on over his face and a torn pirates hat on his face. The passengers mostly consisted of balls of light. Fog drifted of their immaterial forms. Only Spike happened to keep his original form.
The ship ride seemed to pass in a daze for Spike and the other spirits. Images of glowing eyes and fantastic scenery passed their sight. They passed sparkling lights and light blue eyes, pillars of flame and a green gaze, deep pits paired with spotters of amber, heavy fog where purple peered out, and a massive bridge watched over by grey.
The final destination for the souls passed through a massive doorway, easily capable of fitting entire buildings if opened all the way. A colorful glow leaked out from the partially opened doors. The boat entered into a massive chamber room. It was luxurious, despite being a cavern under the ground. In the center was a raised throne. A regal pony looked down at the newcomers with a stern face. Narrow, red eyes scanned the room.
“Welcome to Lot D,” she said with her voice booming through the entire area. “Let’s get along, everypony.”
Twilight and the others finally arrived at the mountain with the entrance to the Lot D. They were under the shadows of a massive mountain. Grey and brown were the predominant tones around the area. There were trees around, but they were all dried, withered husks of dark bark and twisting branches. Even though it was daytime, the sky was grey and cloudy.
Everypony was shivering from the cold, damp air clinging to their fur. Rarity constantly waved her head around to get the bounce back into her mane. They had also convinced her to leave all of her stuff at home, something she resented doing. She kept the ruby necklace however.
Twilight twisted her head to get something out from her saddlebags. She nudged away the wrapped up Gem of Death and reached for the a silver liquid inside a vial. There was just enough for six doses, one for each pony.
Musky Brew had warned them that the potion would allow them to penetrate the veil protecting the entrance of Lot D, but only once. They could not leave for any reason until their mission was complete. Being an old mare, she was unable to handle the stress of Lot D, so the young ponies were on their own.
“Here.” Twilight looked up at giant spikes rising out from the ground. “This is as far as I got lost time. The entrance should be down here.”
Everyone stared up with mouths hanging open. There was a narrow and winding canyon within the mountain. Steep walls, threatening to crash down and bury whoever was foolish enough to be here, surrounded the path.
Twilight took a sip of the potion. Her body shuddered as spasms went through each part in turn. Her iris widened and shrank repeatedly. Color drained from her body, turning her fur into a paler shade. All the shaking caused the potion to fall out of her hoof. It was only Applejack’s close proximity that kept the rest of it from spilling onto the ground.
Fluttershy had been cowering on the ground. She lifted a hoof off her eye. “How do you feel, Twilight?”
“I’m okay, I think. Go on, drink up.”
“Me next!” Pinkie Pie dashed over and stole the vial.
“Remember, Pinkie, drink only a little bit. We need enough for everypony.” Twilight shot a warning glare to the oblivious pink pony.
“Okay.”
After taking a sip, Pinkie reacted even more violently. The large smile and wide eyes on her face were a good sign though. “Weeeeee!” she cheered as her body went off cartwheeling.
Applejack had to catch the vial again. “We ain’t going to make a habit out of this, are we?”
Applejack, Rarity and Rainbow Dash all took a sip. When it came to Fluttershy’s turn though, the meek pony backed away. “I think you girls are fine here without me. It was very nice of you to bring me along, but I’ll be going back now.”
“Fluttershy,” Rarity said in a high pitched tone. The vial was floating next to her, suspended by unicorn magic. She placed her hooves on Fluttershy’s shoulder. Her sharp eyes were open wide and quivered under the light. “This is for Spike.”
Fluttershy turned her head down. When she looked up again, her normally soft expression had been replaced by a one of determination. Without saying a word, she grabbed the vial in her mouth to drink the last of the potion.
“Alright, come on,” Twilight said.
She took the first steps into the dark canyon. Wind, channeled through a such a narrow area, howled like lost spirits. Its biting force made her dark hair flutter wildly. The unicorn pressed on.
As the proceeded, signs of civilization became apparent. Torches, stuck into the stone wall, lit up with green flame as the ponies walked. The sickening green light casted flickering shadows on the walls. Columns were carved into the side of the mountain. Small alcoves had been hollowed out, only to be filled in with bones. Whether they were pony or something else, no pony in the group wanted to think about it. Everypony kept their heads facing forward.
It didn’t take long for them to arrive at a widened area. Four giant statues of ponies in rearing postures were arranged in a square, facing the way they had came in. They didn’t know if these statues were supposed to represent somepony or were just decorations.
The way ended at a cave. The opening slanted backwards. Massive spikes from the top and bottom made it look like the mouth of a great monster. Darkness from within seemed to reach out and create a gloom over the entire area. Chiseled along the top of the cave were the words, “Subterrania.”
“This is the right place I reckon,” Applejack said.
Twilight walked forward. “Let’s go.”
Stairs were located immediately inside the cave. The torches had ceased however, drowning the area in darkness. Not even Twilight, nor Rarity’s magic could brighten the area. They pushed on however, going by touch to know where to walk.
That plan worked fine right up until Twilight stepped off into nothing. She let out a scream as she fell onto what felt like a waterslide. Water was certainly rushing downward on all sides.
Everyone else, worried that Twilight had gotten hurt, rushed into the dark. One by one, they fell off. Pinkie reacted fast enough to grab onto Rainbow Dash. The pegasus tried to fly away, but she had already been pulled into the slide. Her wings extended only to hit against the walls.
Their shrieks overpowered the sound of gushing water as they spiraled lower and lower into the earth.
Inside a gigantic cavern within the ground, a shadow coated pony was sitting on a throne of gold. There was a rush of activity as several ponies wearing gold plated armor rushed around.
One of them approached the throne. With head bowed, he said, “Princess Terranea. Living creatures has somehow gotten into Lot D.”
“Is that so?” the pony on the throne said. Her voice was quiet now. The sweet tones slipped in between the bone joints and slithered through the body from the inside.
A momentary glow lit the throne as a stone basin, filled with water slid in front of the princess. An image of the ponies sliding ever downward was reflected on the surface.
“Guardians,” she called out.
Four shadows slid across the room. Each of them stopped in front of the princess and formed into a pony. Their features were still hidden by darkness.
“Why are there only four of you? Where is Lace?”
“Lace is probably lost again, wandering the halls,” one of the guardians said. “You know how Lace can be, Princess Terranea. Don’t worry, I’ll relay your orders.”
The princess looked into the pool again. “We have guests from Equestria.”
“We’ll get rid of them,” another guardian said.
Princess Terranea’s shadowy face remained emotionless. “Wait at your posts. When they arrive, you may do with these ponies as you see fit.”
“Princess?” one of the guardians said with a curiously opened eye.
“I leave it to you to judge the best course of action,” the princess said. Her red eyes widened. “Go.”
“Not to worry, I’ll muscle out these intruders.”
“Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!”
“Stopping ponies isn’t really my thing so....”
“I’ll grind them into dust. You won’t even be able to tell them from the dirt.”
All four ponies bowed. Without lifting their head, they sank into shadow.
“Twilight Sparkle.” Princess Terranea returned her attention to the rippling water. She watched the lavender unicorn in particular. “How interesting for you to visit here.”
Twilight and the others had finally fallen out from the slide. There were five splashes as they fell into a pool of water down below. Rainbow Dash had managed to fly at the last moment, spraying droplets of water everywhere as her wings shot out.
The five ponies swam to the nearest shore they could find. The chilly air made their bones ache. Fluttershy was shaking so much, she couldn’t climb out on her own. Pinkie Pie and Applejack had to help her out.
After shaking dry, everypony made sure that all of their belongings were still there. Gem of Death, check. Emergency medical supplies, wet but check.
“Is this it?” Twilight asked. “Is this Lot D?”
The six were inside a large, damp cavern. The shimmering blue stone were smooth from many years of erosion. Water dripped constantly from the ceiling. Looking up, there was a dizzying amount of potentially pony piercing stalactites hanging up there. More green fire provided light. A small river flowed from the pool they had landed in into a much larger river, one that flowed slowly. The water was so dark that they couldn’t see just how deep it was. A cobblestone path led deeper into the foreboding place.
Twilight raised a hoof towards the cobblestone road. “Let’s follow the path I guess.” It went upwards, towards an archway.
As they got near, a shriek echoed out from the next area. Everypony rushed forward to see what was happening. They came to a long corridor lined with torches. The green light bounced off veins of gold and silver running all through the walls creating wave like patterns everywhere.
A filly, there was a filly here. She was being chased by two black plated scorpions that were larger than even adult ponies. The many legs of the monstrous arachnids clicked along the ground. Every sound felt like something was crawling up the base of their necks.
“No!” Fluttershy exclaimed. She flew forward and put herself in between the filly and the scorpions. “Bad. You do not chase defenseless little fillies. Do you hear me?” Her brows arched downward menacingly. “You are larger, there are more of you, you do not have any reason to be chasing a this pony.”
The scorpions actually stopped in their tracks. One of them snapped their claws, but that only caused Fluttershy to glare harder. If scorpions could sweat, they would be filling buckets right about now. Looking at one another, the scorpions decided that it wasn’t worth the trouble. They turned to leave, disappearing into a hole within the wall.
“Whoa, how’d you do that, dame?” the young filly asked.
“Oh, it was nothing.” Fluttershy looked down. “I’m glad you aren’t hurt.”
“A pretty dame like you didn’t need to go through the trouble of helping me. I would have been alright.”
Twilight and the others walked over to greet the filly as well. It was then they noticed how odd the young pony’s mane and tail looked.
The young pony had a dark blue fur and a blank flank. Her mane and tail were neatly combed straight. Long bangs fringed her face. As for their color, it was more of a pattern. A painting of waves with thick black outlines was on her mane and tail. As she walked around, looking at everyone, the pattern never moved. It was as if her mane and tail were portals that allowed ponies to see into a pattern universe or a clipping mask over a picture.
Her innocent eyes were still wide with amazement at Fluttershy’s feat.
“Wait a second. You ponies have weird manes.” She circled around Fluttershy. “Wings that give hope of flying away from a dark city, but you never do, due to too much old baggage.” She turned to Twilight. “And those horns, ready to pierce into the darkness only to find that the veil is impossible to break through. Are you dames from Equestria?”
“Yes,” Fluttershy said. She leaned down to be eye level with the small filly. “What’s your name?”
“Ferry Merry.” The filly jumped up and down excitedly. “Wow, you guys are still alive. I haven’t seen a living pony, pegasus or unicorn ever.” She had grabbed onto Fluttershy’s long, pink mane and was moving it around. “Weird,” she muttered with wide eyes. “Your mane is so strange.”
“What are you?” Rainbow Dash asked. One hoof was raised suspiciously.
“If you mean what race I am, I’m an under pony.”
“Are you dead, squirt?”
“No, don’t be silly.” Ferry wagged her hoof arrogantly. “We of the Dod only work with dead souls. All under ponies are alive.”
Twilight suddenly spoke up, her voice was a higher octave than normal, “Under ponies! I read about them during my research. You ponies haven’t been seen in over a thousand years. I didn’t even think you were around anymore.”
Without any prompting, she went on into more explanations. “You, under ponies, can glide across the earth in a shadowy form. You ponies work the ground, creating gemstones and precious metals.”
“Er,” Ferry leaned back away from the overeager unicorn’s bright eyes, “I know that already seeing as I am an under pony myself. This dame has brains bigger than her head.”
Fluttershy waved to catch the filly’s attention again. “I’m Fluttershy. These are my friends.” The yellow pegasus introduced everypony with a sweeping motion of her hoof. “Do you think you can help us out?”
“For the dame with the killer hair? Sure. What do you need?”
Well, you see....” Fluttershy began to explain their situation. By the end of the tale, both of them were crying loudly.
“Your story cut through the cold, frozen night like a heated iron slug.” Ferry put a hoof on her chest. “I will help you guys get your friend back. Besides,” her tone of voice was suddenly joyous again, “if this Spike character really is only mostly dead, we might be able to convince the princess to let him go. It’s all or nothing.”
Fluttershy wiped the tears off her cheeks. She nodded happily towards the young filly.
“How should we go about getting Spike back?” Twilight asked.
“Talk to Princess Terranea. She is the one in charge of the place.”
“And where is she?”
“Hmm, here.” Ferry shuffled over to one of the torches.
Everypony watched in bemusement. They had heard Twilight say under ponies could turn into shadow but seeing it first hoof made their eyes widen. Ferry had transformed her hooves into shadow and slid up the wall to grab the torch with her mouth. The flame went out by itself when the torch was removed.
She popped off the wall. There was enough loose dirt on the ground to draw with. Ferry started making a very crude map. The basic shape was that of a spiral. Five lines that intersected in the shape of a lopsided pentagon were overlayed on top. The lines extended past the spiral.
“This is about what the Dod looks like. Here.” Ferry jabbed the center of the spiral. “This is the throne room and central administration chamber. This is where all the bosses work, see? The princess is there too.”
She traced the pentagon shape that ran along the spiral path. “The fastest and safest way to get there is to take the boats. They’ll go along the five rivers, and they’ll take you straight to the center. Be careful you don’t fall into the rivers, or you’ll be sleeping with the fishes, permanently.”
“How do we get one of these boats?” Fluttershy asked.
“Ooh, ooh.” Ferry hopped up and down again. “I got one. It’s a small little thing, like a dainty shot glass compared to a full mug. Higgs Boatswain has the largerest ship but he’s busy right now. So, let me take you?”
“I don’t know. It might be dangerous.”
“Come on, Fluttershy. It’s less dangerous for me than it is for you living dames. I am a river guide in training I’ll have you know.”
The pink haired pegasus looked back to her friends. They didn’t really have a unified response and were shaking their heads in all directions. Pinkie even went back to front, whatever that meant.
“Okay?” a confused Fluttershy said.
“Coolboss,” Ferry said. “Let’s go.” She shuffled off, her hoofsteps echoed in the long, downward tunnel.
With the young filly, Ferry Merry as their guide, the six living ponies ran down the long hallway. Green torches waved as they passed. As they reached the end of the hallway, sparkling lights reflected in their eyes.
They found themselves stopping to stare at the sight in front. Docks were built into the shore of a massive river. Sparkling little lights hung from strings all over the buildings, posts and boardwalks. Colorful tarps gave the area a hint of whimsy. Off in an even more colorful part of the docks was a used ship emporium. Much of the wood was warped or cracked. Barnacles had made much of the lower docks their home. The wood underneath weren’t even visible in some places.
Several ships, capable of holding hundreds of ponies, were docked currently. They all looked decrepit, on the verge of breaking down. Masts were cracked, torn sails lain on the deck and holes were in the hull. Somehow they kept afloat, even the one that was only half a ship.
The river was so wide, multiple ships could fit at the same time, end to end. A narrow walkway was on the other side. Bright circles, from the many lights, danced on the surface of the rushing water. A constant rumbling sound filled the area.
Several cloaked under ponies were around the docks. They carried crates, mopped the boardwalks and performed several other maintenance tasks. None of them gave a second glance to Twilight and the others.
“This is the River of Pain,” Ferry said. “It’s safe though, as long as you don’t fall into the water. The flute serpents will rip the flesh right off you.”
“F-f-f-flute serpents?” Fluttershy said. She let out a yelp when she saw suspicious movement in the water. It might have just been the normal waves.
“Aww, I’ll keep you safe. There’s my ship.” Ferry pointed down the docks. It wasn’t any of the large sea vessels. Her boat looked like nothing more than a row boat, moored with a rusty chain.
“This,” Rarity considered her words but came up with nothing better than, “thing? It looks like it’s about to sink any moment.”
The boat looked as if only four ponies could fit on the two benches nailed inside. Maybe more could stand at either end. That didn’t solve all of the bent wood and missing figurehead. At least there were no holes but some places looked to be struggling against the nails holding things together.
“Naw. Don’t worry about it, Rarity. I know what I’m doing.”
“What are you doing, Ferry Merry?” a harsh voice asked.
Every pony worker around the docks suddenly froze.
Appearing out of a dark spot on the docks was a pale blue pony. Her icy eyes glared at the living beings inside Lot D. Her mane had lopsided bangs, with the right falling all the way to hock length while the left ended just past the face. Or was it the other way around? The longer seemed to change depending on the angle. One side of her tail was also cut shorter than the other. Her mane and tail revealed the pattern of dark, stormy seas. Stones arranged in a doorway shape was pictured on her flank.
“Sis!” Ferry said.
She hurried over with a joyous expression. The smile slowly faded as her sister continued to stare darkly at her new friends.
“Sis?”
The pale blue pony used a hoof to push the filly behind her. She took a few steps forward. Even light movements caused the docks to creak and complain. “Uninvited guests, I am Arch Rune, guardian of the River of Pain. You are not dead souls. Leave this place.”
“Okay,” Fluttershy said. She had already turned to leave but bumped into Twilight.
The unicorn had her own glower for the guardian. “We’re not going back.
“Look here, see, Lot D is only for ponies or others that have died. We can’t make an exception for every Apple, Fire and Flower that wants to enter. If you firlies want, you can visit Subterrania. It’s much nicer over there.”
“No. We are going deeper into Lot D. We need to speak with your princess.” Twilight didn’t back down from the under pony at all. “Our dear friend Spike has been brought here by mistake. We’re here to get him back.”
“Mistake eh? If I had a bit for every time I heard that, I’d have two bits. Because not many living ponies are crazy enough to come here. See?”
“It’s true!” Twilight shouted.
“Even if it is, firly, I don’t handle these things. See?” Arch Rune leapt off the pier and landed in front of the six with a mighty thud. “And you’re not going to get to see the ones who do. Now if you firlies don’t want to get bumped off, I suggest you leave.”
A nudging at her feet caused her to look back. Her younger sister was there, staring up with wide, shimmering eyes. “C’mon sis. Let them through. They love this Spike fellow very much. And the dame with hair that could strangle a stallion in his sleep helped me out earlier.”
Fluttershy realized that she was being talked about. Though the guardian of the river was scary, she stepped forward anyway, one shaky step at a time. “I wouldn’t strangle anyone. If you would please let us pass, we would be ever so grateful.”
“No way, firly,” Arch Rune said, though her voice was no longer as forceful as before.
Ferry zipped over to Fluttershy. Pulling her head down by the hair, she whispered something.
“Alright, on three,” Ferry Merry said. “One, two, three!”
Fluttershy and Ferry gave the most pleading, despondent look they could with large eyes quivering from tears. Arch Rune took a few steps back. She looked away but found her eyes drawn back to the pleading ponies. The strange pink one was also there, doing some fancy twirling with her eyes and showing a crescent moon smile. That was just creepy.
Sensing the situation, Applejack dragged Pinkie away even as the pink pony’s eyes tried to stretch back out. Rainbow Dash smacked them back into their sockets.
“Pleeeease, big sis?” Ferry Merry drawled.
“Please, big- er, Arch Rune?” Fluttershy said in her soft, calming tone.
“Hnnnnngh.” Arch Rune recoiled back like getting punched in the heart. She righted herself and started pacing back and forth. The longer half of her tail swung in the wake. The princess had said to use their own judgment on what to do. “Alright, firlies, this is what I’m going to do. Each of you pays the fare for a boat ride, and I’ll let you go. See?”
“Fare?” Twilight gasped. Bits were one of the things she thought they wouldn’t need in Lot D. “Anyone have any bits?”
“Well, I did have some in my luggage,” Rarity said, annoyed, “but somepony made me leave it at home.” She turned up her nose.
“No, no,” Arch Rune interrupted. “We don’t use bits here. See? We use gold coins. Loans are provided, with vig of course, if you don’t have any coins.”
“Don’t do it,” Ferry Merry said to the group. “The vig will leave you out in the cold, lonely streets as snow falls on your mane. You’ll shiver with nothing more than a newspaper fire to keep you warm.”
“Hey, the fare is my best offer. Take it or leave it, firlies.”
“How about,” Fluttershy spoke up with a hoof held high, “we work instead? And you can pay us, and we’ll use that to pay for our boat fare?”
“We don’t have that kind of time, Fluttershy,” Twilight said.
“And physical labor, how boorish,” Rarity added.
Rainbow Dash flapped her wings and ascended into the air. “How about we just knock you down? That way we don’t need to do any of this stupid stuff.”
She hurtled forward, leaving a trail of rainbows behind.
“Wait!” Ferry Merry said.
The sky blue pegasus had no intentions of stopping. Arch Rune lazily looked up with a dull expression. Moments before impact, the guardian melted into a shadow on the ground. Images of a stormy sea shown through the black outline.
Rainbow Dash didn’t fall through to some strange parallel dimension though, she simply bounced off the hard ground underneath the shadow. Tumbling through the air, she arced towards the water.
“Rainbow!” her friends shouted.
With great skill, Rainbow Dash righted herself, but the very tip of her wings still swept towards the water. Everypony held their breath as they saw the primary feathers, that was the longest ones at the very end of the wing, dip into the water. It was hardly in before being pulled out. A few, glistening drops of water trailed along, creating ripples as they landed back in the river.
Then the water burst out into the air. White fangs gleamed, smashing through water on their upward path. A segmented pearly body followed.
“Ahhhh!” Rainbow Dash yelled as she dashed for the opposite wall. She pressed up against it tightly. Her chest heaved from heavy breathing.
A flute serpent, skeletal creatures over a hundred hoofs long, arced through the air. Its blank eye sockets still held a chilling gaze. Dagger like teeth lined its bony jaws. Air and water flowed through empty holes in its body, creating a strangely gargled but pleasant sound.
With its prey on land though, the flute serpent merely landed back in the river with a gigantic splash.
“Are you okay, Rainbow Dash?” Ferry Merry called out.
There was a light gash on her hind leg. Nothing serious, but it was going to sting for a while.
“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash croaked.
She wriggled off the wall. There was an imprint of her body left in the stone.
Arch Rune laughed. “You’re pretty good. But what’s the rush, firlies? There’s no arbitrary time limit. See?”
“I, I suppose not,” Twilight admitted. “Will you allow us to work then?”
“Sure thing.” Arch Rune looked around for things the six could possibly do. Her eyes narrowed into a leer as she swept through the area. “Oy, all you coltos, get back to work. You’re not being paid to stand around! You all want to be worked over?”
All of the entranced dock workers suddenly sprang to life. There had been a lack of creaking wood as the ponies talked, but now the area was rife with activity again.
Arch Rune placed a hoof against her shaking head. “Anyway, you six move the cargo off that ship to the warehouse.” She pointed from an old galleon to a windowless building. “At our pay rates, that should get you enough for the fare. See?”
“We see,” Applejack said, rolling her eyes.
Before starting, Fluttershy cleaned and bandaged Rainbow Dash’s leg first.
As the six went to work, they interacted a bit with the other dock workers. They were mostly nice under ponies that said, “Hi,” or, “How are you doing?” A few were grumpy but those ponies existed everywhere.
The under ponies was still strange to the six Equestria ponies. Pinkie spent a good while just picking up and shifting around an under pony while looking into his unmoving mane pattern. All of the under ponies seemed to have the ability to turn into shadow to travel along surfaces. A few of them had their legs as shadow, stuck to the underside of the docks, and they were chipping off barnacles.
“Let’s go Pinkie,” Applejack said. “The faster we finish moving the cargo, the sooner we can see Spike.”
“Okay.”
There was quite a stack of crates on the hold of the ship. Everything was nailed tightly shut, and the outside was unmarked, so they couldn’t tell what was inside. Dollies had been provided for their use. Twilight did the organizing with Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie doing the moving. Rarity helped out with moving the crates with her telekinesis.
Fluttershy had been brought away by Arch Rune. Ferry Merry was also there, next to Fluttershy. They were inside a simple office that overlooked the docks.
“Fluttershy, right?” Arch Rune asked.
“Yes,” the yellow pegasus said in a transient whisper.
“Ferry Merry told me that you saved her from some scorpions. I never thanked you for that, so thanks.”
Looking happier but still not directly at the other pony’s eyes, Fluttershy said, “You’re welcome.”
“My little sis is always getting into trouble with the local animals.” Arch Rune shook her head.
“Hey!” Ferry Merry glowered at her older sister. “I could have handled them.”
Arch Rune snorted as she messed with the filly’s hair. “You can’t even fully ground travel yet.” The guardian turned back to their guest. “I’m surprised your way with animals works on our Subterranian species too.”
“I didn’t know if it would actually.”
“And you jumped in anyway?” Arch Rune had an impressed smile.
Fluttershy shifted around. Finding no one position better than the other, she stopped with front hooves crossed. “I couldn’t let them hurt a young filly. If they were animals, I knew I could at least try.”
“Very nice of you.” The guardian held out her hoof.
“Eep,” Fluttershy gasped as she gently tapped it with her own.
“I should-”
A torrent of commotion from the outside cut into their conversation. Everypony was scrambling away from a crab, large as a carriage. Hundreds of spikes covered its blood red shell. One claw was more massive than the other, but both claws were lined with pony crushing ridges along the inside edge. It scuttled sideways on eight long legs. Each step threatened to break through the already groaning boardwalk.
Arch Rune turned into shadow and slid out of the office.
“What is that?” Fluttershy asked.
“That’s a giant enemy crab, though that’s only a small sized version,” Ferry explained. “Their shells repel even the harshest assaults, but they got a soft spot for hot lead.”
“You’re planning on hurting it?”
“What else can we do, Fluttershy?”
Fluttershy stretched out her wings as she leapt onto the windowsill. With a push off her hind legs, the pegasus flew out into the huge caverns. Arch Rune was standing firm, keeping the spiked crab from getting further into the docks. Fluttershy landed next to the guardian.
Ferry quickly shuffled out of the office to catch the action up close.
In a tone not befitting her previous bravado, Fluttershy said, “Um, would it at all be alright for me to try talking to him? If it’s not going to be an inconvenience for you of course.”
“This guy has been really persistent in coming. See?” Arch Rune dropped her puffed up stance and stepped to the side. “But alright, give it a shot.”
The other five equestrian ponies ran over when they saw their friend facing the giant crab alone. They all stayed back though, giving her room to work.”
Fluttershy had to walk around to the side, so she would be face to face with the crab. “Hello,” she said politely, if quietly. “What seems to be the problem? Why do you keep coming back here?”
The crab was doing something. What? No one else seemed to know, but Fluttershy nodded.
“Wait right here okay? I’ll be right back.”
The mild pegasus flew off. She swooped down, underneath the docks.
Rainbow Dash chomped on her hooves nervously.
There wasn’t a great big splash of a flute serpent or any other disastrous event. Fluttershy came out from under the docks with an old doll in the form of a pony in hoof. It seemed to be held together by silver thread. She dropped it in front of the crab.
Being very gentle, the grab picked it up without doing any damage to the doll. Maybe it was smiling? Fluttershy certainly was as the crab shuffled off.
“Whaaaaat?” Arch Rune said in a low tone.
“The doll belonged to him. He accidentally dropped it a while back, and the currents carried the doll until it got stuck here. He only wanted it back.”
“I repeat. Whaaaaat?”
“See, I told you Fluttershy is great,” Ferry said. “And look on the bright side, the small giant enemy crab won’t come back to bother us again.”
“I suppose not,” Arch Rune said, still uncertain about what just happened.
“This kind of service deserves a reward, don’t you think, sis?”
The guardian of the river chuckled. “Alright. For Fluttershy’s skill in handling the giant enemy crab, you Equestrian firlies will be rewarded twelve gold coins. That just happens to be enough to pay for the fares of six ponies.”
“Yes!” the six cheered.
“Thank you so much,” Fluttershy said.
“Hold up.”
Arch Rune slithered across the ground in a shadow, going somewhere off the normal path. When she returned, there was a bag in her mouth. She placed the bag on the ground, revealing the inside to be full of gold coins. Their bright sparkle lit up the area.
“Here you go.” With her teeth, she pulled out the coins in pairs and tossed it to each of the equestrian ponies.
“And here you go.” They all returned the coins as payment for the ferry.
“Oh,” Rainbow Dash added with a playful elbow to the guardians chest, “we finished moving the crates too. Don’t worry, no extra charge.” She flitted away with a smirk.
Everypony took their place on board Ferry’s small rowboat. Ferry stood where the figure head should have been, but it wasn’t since it broke off. The area had been smoothed over to make it a comfortable platform. Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie took the benches. That left Twilight to stand in the stern. Rainbow Dash just followed in the air.
They were past the checkpoint in the River of Pain. According to Ferry Merry, their next stop was the River of Fire.
Watching the events unfold from far away was the shadowy ruler of Lot D and Subterrania. Princess Terranea had an excellent view of everything from her magical basin filled with water.
So Arch Rune had decided to let them pass. She didn’t show any pleasure or displeasure at that fact. What interested her was the living ponies reason for coming down to Lot D. Spike, that name was familiar. As it should since that name was on the most recent batch of new arrivals.
“Bring Spike here,” Princess Terranea commanded the nearest guard.
Ferry sailed her little row boat down the slow flowing River of Pain. Some magic must have been in the boat since there was no rowing going on at all, yet it could the ship was being steered by its young captain.
The River of Pain ran down an enormous tunnel. On both sides, massive statues were carved into the walls. There were ponies, minotaurs, griffons and other creatures. A lot of times, the carvings were made to look like they were interacting with the many gold and silver veins in the wall, such as a minotaur using a vein as a silver whip, or a pony running along a trail of gold.
They passed through several massive arches that followed the contours of the cave. Creaking filled the air from hanging decoration. Giant skulls were suspended by thick iron chains. There were dragon heads, mythic stag heads, whale heads and many others.
Rarity was the only one staring. It wasn’t the skulls reflecting in her eyes, but the massive gemstones inserted into their eyeless sockets. Her hoof reached out, almost instinctively.
“Calm down, Rarity.” Applejack pushed the unicorn’s hoof back down. “Don’t want you falling overboard now.”
“But they are so huge and shiny,” Rarity said in dreamy, dulcet tones.
“Just don’t lean too far out, you hear?”
As they passed by the last arch, it had a mammoth head hanging, Twilight started to wipe sweat off her forehead. Everyone else was feeling the heat too. Even Rainbow Dash landed on the stern since flying took up a lot of energy.
“Why is it so hot?” Twilight asked.
“We’re getting near the River of Fire,” Ferry said. “We Dod employees are protected from its heat and souls don’t mind much. I guess for you dames it might be bad huh?”
“Twilight darling,” Rarity said with a voice of forced calmness. She was working hard to keep the sweat out of her makeup. “You wouldn’t happen to have a spell to block the heat would you?”
“I do in fact.”
Twilight’s face was scrunched up in concentration as her horn started to glow. White specks drifted lazily off her horn. She swept her head across the boat, hitting every pony with a trail of mist and snow.
“The spell protects against convection. Don’t touch anything hot directly though,” Twilight said.
“Whew. That is much better. Thank you, Twilight,” Rarity said.
“Yeah. I was hot like an apple pie in the oven,” Applejack said.
Fluttershy squeaked. “Um, if the River of Fire actually fire?”
“Naw,” Ferry said.
Fluttershy was about to breath a sigh of relief when the young under pony added, “It’s magma. Look, it’s coming up now.”
Up ahead was a sharp turn. A bright red and orange glow danced against the wall.
“Uh, anti heat shield, full power,” Twilight said upon hearing there was magma up head. A more powerful chilling blast filled the boat.
Now that everypony was nice and protected, they had another thing to worry over. As they had gotten closer, sounds of shrieking ripped through the air and their confidence. It was a horrible, scratch cry that lasted for ten seconds at a time. Everypony shivered as the fur on their neck stood up.
“What’s that?” Fluttershy asked as she cowered underneath the bench.
Ferry rolled her eyes. “She calls it music, metal. It’s like the sounds of a cat being strung up and gutted. I call it shuck that noise.”
“She?”
The River of Fire was fast approaching. It was a stream of pure molten rock. There weren’t any need for torches as the orange glow was enough to make the area feel like daytime. A very dirty red day but daytime nonetheless. Ferry steered her boat onto a pony made channel as the River of Pain dipped into the ground. Without fear, her wooden craft sailed onto the magma.
They came out in a massive cavern. It would have been fair to say that Ponyville could have fitted in here. The river followed a wide channel. Off in the distance, it looked like a city had been built into the walls of the magma chamber. Contraptions running along the wall brought magma up from the river to the city. The main form of getting around seemed to be rafts made of bone.
Rarity had gone starry eyed at the massive gemstones growing out from the walls and ceilings. It was possible to live in some of them, assuming of course they were hollowed out. “Best. Place. Ever!”
The shrieking got even louder but other sounds accompanied it. There were shrill guitars and heavy drumming.
Ferry motioned to a solid rock platform nearby and finally answered the question. “She, Fleckle Sun, guardian of the River of Fire.”
A stage had been set up on the solid rock platform in the middle of the magma sea. Two massive statues of iron skeletal ponies held up a banner that read, Galloping Wild. Giant fireflies lit up gem formations on the ceiling, causing beams of colorful lights rained down. What they had initially thought to be rocks were actually decorative speakers. They thumped in rhythm to the beat.
Metal cages were hung from the ceilings. Inside, dogs and deers twisted around in a carnal dance. Glistening sweat was flung from their writhing bodies. The drops evaporated before they even left the cage.
A mare was on lead guitar and vocals. Her long, ear piercing shrieks were what the Equestrian ponies had heard on the way in. She had burnt orange fur with white face paint. She had long, straight front mane with the tips styled into spikes. Her tail followed the same appearance. The pattern on her mane and tail was that of bones weaved into a wall. A mark of an expanding purple soundwave was on her flank. Spiked leather bands were around her neck and each hoof.
Fleckle Sun stood on her hind hooves with the skull head guitar in her front hooves. Wires ran from the end of the guitar to the the speakers. Her violent back and forth motions caused her long mane to whip in through the air.
Her backup consisted of living skeletons of bipedal creatures. Exactly what they used to be was a mystery as they were lacking skin and muscles. Only a single eye socket was in the middle of their skulls however. The band members were over five times the height of a pony with broad shoulder bones. Their spine was thicker than any pony’s body.
The band members were on drums, bass and backup guitar.
A roaring throng of under ponies, diamond dogs, minotaurs and other residents jumped up and down. There cries of adoration filled the the chamber.
“Yeah!” Fleckle Sun shouted. She tossed the guitar into the air, causing the wires to snap off.
The crowds cheered loudly and the tempo increased as the guitar spun in the air. Fleckle Sun let out an inpony cry.
She caught the guitar in one hoof and strummed it one final time with the other. Leaving her hoof in the air, pillars of magma burst forth all around the stage platform.
“Thank you, Lot D!” The guardian’s voice boomed out to the wild audience. “And good night! Even though it’s the afternoon!”
Jets of fire erupted from the stage as Fleckle Sun jumped off. She landed on the edge of the small island. The guitar was strapped to her back, so she could walk around on four legs.
“Merry cherry, Ferry Merry!” She waved.
“Hi, Fleckle Sun.” Ferry Merry hopped up and down on the small post on the front of the boat.
Fleckle Sun looked to the other ponies. Her green eyes widened mischievously. “And hello deadbeats. I’ll let you through.”
“Really?” Pinkie Pie asked. “How nice of you.”
“If you go jump in the magma.”
“What?” Twilight snapped.
“Only dead ponies are allowed to pass.” Fleckle Sun held her hooves together, one on top of the other. She mimed a jumping arc with one hoof, ending with pointing at the glowing molten rock. “You die in there, you are free to go.”
Rainbow Dash let out a sarcastic laugh. “You wish.” She flitted over to the island with the stage. “What, are you going to stop us?”
“Nope, they are.” The guardian pointed towards the flowing magma.
Everypony nearly jumped off the edge of the boat. A pair of eyes was peering out from the under the magma. The boat tilted under all of the ponies cowering at one end.
“It’s a blargg,” Ferry Merry said.
“A what?” Twilight asked.
“You dames may want to duck. Blarggs, large, dum-” she never finished her sentence as Fleckle Sun had jumped onto the boat. The small filly was scooped up, to be brought onto the safety of solid land. “What are you doing, Fleckle?”
Fleckle Sun moved her head away from the small flailing limbs. “Getting you out of harms way. I don’t think your sister would appreciate it very much if I dunked you into magma.” She rubbed her hoof against the filly’s head.
Ferry had finally broken free. Her attention snapped back to the boat. “Watch out!”
The blarrg had pushed out of the magma partially. It looked like a goofy, wingless dragon with flat teeth. It had scales that blended into the color of its surroundings. White spines ran down the creature’s back.
The ponies ducked into the boat as he blarrg’s gaping mouth swept along the top. Even though the creature hadn’t directly attacked the boat, it still crashed into it. The wood making up the vessel started to buckle and splinter.
“This would be so much easier if they could just attack the boats directly,” Fleckle Sun said. “Blarggs, go get your snack!” She shredded a quick riff on the guitar. Even without amplifiers, the screech of the chords reached far into the cave.
Several more pairs of eyes popped up from the magma. Without Ferry Merry on board, the row boat merely drifted along with the current.
“Girls!” Rainbow Dash gasped.
Pony crushing mouths leapt out from the river, attempting to catch a meal. Applejack landed a powerful kick onto the chin of a blargg, sending it crashing towards another one. Twilight was doing her best to push them away with magic.
“Stop hurting my new friends,” Ferry Merry proclaimed.
“Hey, if they can’t get past this, they’re not reaching the princess,” Fleckle Sun said. She was standing on her hind legs again, preparing to play the guitar. As her hoof slashed down, the blue pegasus got in the way.
“Stop that, call off those blarglefargle things right now.” Rainbow Dash pressed her furious scowl close to the guardian.
“I don’t tell them what to do. You’re misinterpreting random actions as me causing them.”
Both ponies’ hooves were trembling as they fought against each other. Rainbow Dash angled her eyes into an angry glare. She was more determined. Pushing forward, Rainbow Dash carried the opposing pony’s hoof away, but couldn’t follow up as the under pony turned into shadow.
Popping out from the shadows, Fleckle Sun leapt through the heated air. She landed on one of the many bone rafts drifting around the torrent of magma. She strummed a few notes on her guitar, causing a blargg to appear from beneath the surface. The magma creature bit down on the end of the raft and acted like a motor for it.
Fleckle Sun sailed up alongside the boat. “Why do a bunch of living ponies want to come here anyway?”
“Ugh,” Rainbow Dash groaned. She was circling the guardian like a hunter, waiting for her chance to strike. “Are we going to have to explain this to every guardian?”
“Sure.”
“Well,” Twilight said through harsh breaths, “we’re a bit busy here.” Her horn had started smoking as she repelled another blargg from their small boat.
The guitar strings vibrated, sending out a message to the blarggs. They all backed off for now, but their suspicious eyes remained above the magma.
After catching her breath, Twilight explained their situation. “...So that’s why-”
“Alright, alright, stop.” Fleckle Sun held a hoof up. She swished her head, so the long mane fell across her face. “Sorry I asked. I don’t care about this sob story.” She picked at her ear. “Back to getting attacked for you girls.”
“No you don’t!” Rainbow Dash tucked her wings in tight and went into a dive. One front hoof was held out while the other was tucked in.
“Wooooooo,” Fleckle Sun shrieked as she dodged the divebomb by first turning into a shadow, and then springing off the raft. It was a good thing she did so as the raft had shattered in the impact. While hurtling through the air, Fleckle Sun managed to play a few notes. The guardian landed on a blargg that had risen to catch her.
“Don’t even think about trying to hurt my friends again.” Rainbow Dash was hovering in the air, her wings spread out to their full length.
Fleckle Sun tilted her head back so much, her front legs almost left the ground. Her long mane fell to the side, dangling just off the ground. A tongue rolled out of her mouth. “What are you going to do about it?”
Rainbow Dash glowered down at the cocky guardian of the river. Fleckle Sun had her head leaned back, staring right back at the pegasus with unblinking eyes, her tongue hanging out. The air between them sparked with violent energy.
“Resume the assault,” Fleckle Sun commanded, with hoof raised.
Rainbow Dash wasn’t about to let the guardian play any more music. With a trail of rainbow following her, the pegasus dove.
The blargg that Fleckle Sun was standing on saw a meal heading right for it. Excitedly, the lava lizard leapt out from the magma. Its wide maw was a void where ponies would not return from. Using the upward force, the guardian of the river jumped outward.
Without missing a flap, Rainbow Dash pulled up and continued after the guardian. The blargg only chomped down on empty space.
Fleckle Sun crashed into one of the hanging cages around the area, but she instantly splattered into a shadow. Slithering in a thin line across the bars, she reformed on top. “And resume.” Her hoof scraped across the chords.
The blargg, all around the small boat where the other Equestrian ponies were, looked on with wide, blank looks.
“Uh oh,” Fluttershy gasped.
“Can’t you get them to stop, Fluttershy dear?” Rarity asked.
“I’ve been trying, but it’s not as if they are attacking out of fear, dislike or territory reasons.” The pink haired pegasus lowered her head until her long mane was coiled on the ground. Her voice became low and soft. “They won’t disobey orders. But they did say they are only under orders to bring us back to the beginning of the river and not to hurt us.”
“We are being attacked by monsters while floating over a river of magma and you expect me to believe they’re not trying to hurt us? Fat chance,” Applejack said. She landed a kick that made a blargg trying to grab them see stars.
“But,” Fluttershy tried to say. Her quiet words were drowned out by all the ongoing actions.
In the heat filled space above, Rainbow Dash was clashing with Fleckle Sun. The pegasus pony could fly, the under pony could spring forth from any earthen formation in the area. It was the razor blue wings against the heavy metal axe. Sparks flew off with each collision as a trail of rainbow zoomed past a trail of bones.
The audience from the concert had all huddled onto large bone rafts. They followed, salivating for more. Though this wasn’t part of the show, they didn’t care. It was great entertainment.
Ferry Merry was on one of the safety featureless vessels. She had squeezed through the legs of the larger passengers and was on the corner.
“Fluttershy, dames,” the filly called out. “If you keep following the flow of the river, you’ll eventually get out. Watch out for the falls at the end. A dragon lives down there, and he has a temper like a storm battering on your city. Try to steer towards the middle of the river.”
“Fluttershy,” Twilight said, “can you push the boat?”
“I’ll try.” Fluttershy flew up and over to the side of the boat. She was able to shift its direction with her head. Her tail was curled up to prevent any accidental magma dipping.
Fleckle Sun landed on a hanging cage. Her mane was frazzled after a couple of particularly rough clashes. Still, in a flamboyant motion, she pointed to the ponies on the boat. “See, going on is just a lot of trouble. Turning back now, otherwise doom shall befall Equestria.”
“What are you blabbering about?” Rainbow Dash said.
“I will explain.” Fleckle Sun grinned evilly.”See, if you move on, you will be missing the setting of the sun and the rising of the moon. Without you there to greet the moon, it will become depressed. The moon is very self conscious. If it gets depressed, it might consider suicide. And you know how it will do that? By jumping out of the sky. Imagine the calamity that will befall the surface world if that happens. Moon falls, everyone dies, I get too much work.”
“Nooooooooooooooo!” Pinkie screamed. “Not the moon! We’re sorry Princess Luna!”
“Pinkie,” Twilight snapped, “that isn’t going to happen.”
“But the moon never smiles. It’s always crooked. And hiyah!” Pinkie Pie took time off her moon crisis to karate chop a blargg looking to bite down on Fluttershy’s juicy plot. “And if the moon falls, we can’t have moonlit walks anymore.”
“The moon isn’t going to fall. Now focus.”
It wasn’t just Pinkie Pie that wasn’t focused. Rarity had leaned out the side of the boat, her hoofs reaching outward. A large, green gemstone was sticking out from a nearby island. It started shaking as a magical glow covered it.
“What are you doing, Rarity?” Applejack asked.
Rarity looked over and batted her eyelashes. “Well, it’s not as if picking it up is going to hurt. We can’t just be focused on the horrible situation we’re in right now. There’s the future to consider too.” The pony-head sized gem was gently lifted off the island and brought into the boat.
“Rarity! Get down.” Applejack dove over, pushing her friend out of the way from an incoming bite.
The push was a little strong however, and Rarity was sent flying into the bow of the ship. Her head knocked against the warped wood. With a light moan, she lain down.
“Oops.” Applejack covered her eyes with the brim of her hat.
Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes. She was going to end this. If that pony wanted to mess with her in the air, she would show just what a mistake that was. No one was better than her in the air. The pegasus’ wings sped up to a blur as she burst forward. This time, she was ready for the counter assault.
Rainbow Dash caught the strike with her front hoof. At the same time, her hind legs kicked out. She managed to flip the guitar off the falling guardian. Feeling heat swell up from below, the pegasus flitted back. A jet of magma burst out from a bubble in front of the position she had just been, spewing deadly liquid along the way.
The guitar spun through the air with nothing around to stop its descent. Ever resident of the magma chamber opened their mouth in a gasp as the electric guitar fell towards the magma. A sick sound filled the area as the magma sucked down Fleckle Sun’s instrument. Strings snapped and material oozed. Soon, it was more a blob than anything else.
Fleckle Sun, who had landed on one of the many bone rafts in the area, had her front hooves pressed on the side of her head and mouth hanging open. She took a deep, chest raising breath and ran a hoof through her mane to straighten it. “Alright, playing nice is over. You think I need my guitar to speak with the animals here?” She let out a long, stomach rumbling screech. There was a swarm of activity from the magma reptiles.
The guardian skillfully hopped through the chamber by shadow flinging herself from solid platforms. She was occasionally sidetracked by Rainbow Dash, but with help from the creatures living in the area, she managed to get atop one of the cages.
Stomping on the ceiling, she said, “Sorry my bitches and does, you all need to get out. I need to borrow this.”
“Uh oh,” Pinkie Pie said as her tail twitched uncontrollably.
The inhabitants of the cage popped open the bottom. They swung out, landing on the rafts. A bit back down the river, the boat was being pushed around by Fluttershy. The stare of the blarggs caused the pegasus to move away, right towards the hanging cage.
“Owaaaaaaah!” Fleckle Sun shouted.
One of the magma dwellers took a large gulp of the stuff. It angled its head back. Though the blarggs precision wasn’t too good, it was enough to hit the thick chain. The cage broke off and plummeted towards the ponies in the boat. At the last moment, Fleckle Sun flung herself to a massive stalactite. She remained glued to the surface with shadow legs.
“Whoa now,” Applejack exclaimed as the boat rocked from the impact. She stumbled back and fell onto her rump.
They were now trapped inside the cage. Its bottom had slammed shut from the impact, locking them in on all directions. The added weight made it much too tough to steer anymore. And whatever the cage was made of, it was magma proof. The boat just drifted along the River of Fire.
Rainbow had dashed over to the cage. She was tried to pull on it but immediately let go with a, “Yeowch.” A bit of smoke was rising from her burnt hooves.
“Hey,” Ferry Merry called out. “You’re coming up to the magma falls. Get back to the center of the river!”
“So that’s why my tail hasn’t stopped twitching,” Pinkie Pie said. Her head was twisted around to stare at her spazzing curly tail.
“You mean,” Fluttershy gulped, “we’re about to fall?”
Up ahead was the source of the gurgling rumble they had been hearing. Looking forward, everypony gasped. The once wide river suddenly narrowed into a strait only large enough for one ship. The channel was surrounded by a steep fall on both sides. Magma flowed over the edge, tumbling into the sea below.
The current happened to be pushing away from the center. Without a Lot D guide, no boat would be able to stay on the river. They were on a direct course for the
“Girls!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. She tried to pull the cage off again, but it was much too hot.
Fleckle Sun let out another screech. Only a single blargg, the one that had sprayed the magma, responded. “What, did the rest of you run off already?” she asked.
The the magma dweller got close to the cage, Rainbow Dash fought it off with a quick bop on the head.
“Hey!” the guardian called out. “I’m trying to help here. You’re not going to be able to stop the cage by yourself.”
“Like I’m going to trust you,” Rainbow Dash spat angrily. She looked back down inside at the trapped ponies. “Don’t worry, I’m going to stop the cage somehow.”
Twilight looked around for anything they could use. There wasn’t much. She noticed the bandage around the pegasus’ leg. It had, surprisingly, not burst into flames meaning that the heat repelling spell must have worked on it.
“Get out the bandages, we’re going to use that as a tie,” she said.
The others did as instructed. While Twilight was casting her spell over the bandages, Applejack was forming them into a lasso.
“Now throw them up to Rainbow Dash,” the unicorn instructed.
“Yeehaw!” the farm pony cheered. Somehow, she was able to manipulate the bandage lasso with her tail. “Get ready, Rainbow.” She bucked forward, sending the lasso up.
“Got it!” Rainbow Dash looped the bandage rope around her body, then sent them back down where they were tied at together at the end.
“Hurry, we’re getting close to the edge,” Twilight said.
“I’m working on it.” Applejack even stopped her pre-throw routine of twirling around the ropes. Several more bandages were added for stability.
Rainbow Dash’s wings beat against the heated air with all her might. The weight of the cage added to the pony filled boat was too much for her. They were still slowly being dragged to a steep fall.
“Waaaaaah!” Fleckle Sun yelled.
Fireflies descended from the gem filled ceiling of the cavern.
“Ah, no, get away!” Rainbow Dash flailed her hooves at the giant insects. She lost concentration on her wings for a moment and the cage surged towards the magmafall.
“I’m trying to help here,” Fleckle Sun said, annoyed, “so stop getting in my way.”
“Hah, a likely story,” Rainbow Dash grunted through furious flapping of the wings. The bandages around her waist tightened, digging into her pony flesh as she pulled even harder.
Fleckle Sun tapped her hoof impatiently. “Well, these are your friends.” She let out a shriek of instruction to the fireflies. They backed off but remained close.
Despite the pegasus’ best efforts, she wasn’t able to stop the cage. The four conscious ponies inside the boat all had wide, worried eyes. They let out a low cry that steadily got louder as their boat headed towards the magmafall.
“Come on,” Rainbow Dash grunted.
They were so close to the edge that they could see down below. Liquid gold was mixed into magma. Lying on a shattered island, littered with gems, was a great red dragon. It peered up at the teetering cage without much interest. As long as the ponies stayed away, as per their agreement, the dragon wouldn’t have to eat them.
The cage was washed off the edge of the river completely. It now only hung in the air by the power of Rainbow Dash, and that power wasn’t enough to keep it from falling, only slow its descent.
“No!” Sweat poured down the pegasus’ face like a leaking faucet. Her wings were practically buzzing.
“Over there!” Twilight pointed to ledge on the wall, fifty hoofs away. “Can you make it there?”
“No. Sweat.”
At the rate they were falling though, it didn’t appear as if Rainbow Dash could make it.
Twilight shook her head. “Just hang on. I’m going to try and help you.”
She shut her eyes in intense concentration. A glow wrapped around the entire cage. It was too heavy for the young unicorn to lift. Making a bit lighter, on the other hoof, was possible. Sparks flew off her horn, bouncing against the cage and the boat.
“If only Rarity was awake to help,” Pinkie Pie noted.
“Yeah, I said, ‘oops,’ already,” Applejack said.
Fluttershy looked up apprehensively at her fellow pegasus. She knew that it wasn’t possible to lift so many things for long. They wouldn’t make it to the ledge. “Um, Rainbow, if you don’t let us go, you’ll be dragged down with us.”
“No way!” Rainbow cried. “I will never let you girls go.”
“But-”
Applejack stepped forward, gently pushing the meek pegasus aside. “Rainbow Dash, don’t let go. I believe in you.”
“Roger!”
Fluttershy cast a shocked, sideways glance. “Applejack? But-”
“Not now, Fluttershy. Sorry, but we need to figure something out.” Looking around, the farm pony saw Pinkie heave a care package out of the side of the boat. “Hey, that’s a good idea. Decrease the weight inside.”
“Huh?” Pinkie Pie said. “No, I was trying to get that dragon to stop giving us the stink eye.”
“Well, keep on doing it. Everypony, throw stuff out like you’re cleaning out the barn. Rainbow Dash almost has it, just a tiny bit could make the difference. Sorry, Fluttershy, I know you put a lot of effort into these.” Applejack dropped her bundle as well.
“It’s alright.” Fluttershy swung hers out from the mouth.
“Can’t Fluttershy fly to make us even lighter?” Pinkie asked.
It wasn’t Fluttershy that answered but a strained Twilight. “That’s not going to work. The physics won’t allow it.” Her horn was almost like a sparkler that got stronger over time.
“We still have this.” Pinkie Pie held up the large gem that Rarity had picked up. She had lifted it above her head, but she hadn’t thrown it yet.
“Pinkie!” a high pitched, whining voice sounded. “What are you doing to my gem?” Rarity had just woken up, and looked like she had seen the pink pony committing sacrilege.
“Not now, Rarity,” Applejack cut in urgently. “Can’t you see we need to get rid of any excess weight?”
The white unicorn’s eyes slid from Rainbow Dash to the cage to the dragon waiting below. “Yes. I can see that. Do we have to though? Even if we do die though, we’ll still be right here.”
“Rarity!”
“Fine. Go ahead, Pinkie. Goodbye.” Rarity waved to the gem. “Alas, I hardly knew you.”
“Byebye.” Pinkie heaved the gem out of the boat, expertly threading it through the bars of the cage.
The dragon down below had gotten pretty annoyed at all of the trash the ponies had thrown down there. When the giant gem came however, it was taken as a peace offering. With a satisfied snort, the dragon tucked the gem away into a huge pile and decided to not flambe the ponies.
Though her magical skills weren’t as good, Rarity went over to help Twilight with lifting the caged boat.
“What else do we have?” Applejack asked.
“Wait.” Fluttershy pointed towards the ledge. “I think we can make it.”
“Come on, Rainbow Dash!” Ferry Merry called out. “You can do it!”
“Rainbow Dash!” the crowd cheered. They had been captivated by the transpiring events. A lone pegasus holding up a cage over a dragons nest. The magma falling down behind her, and the only way of safety was a tiny ledge on the wall. It was an amazing burning spirit. The audience chanted the name of their current star, Rainbow Dash.
Fleckle Sun was grinning. She flipped her long front mane out from her face, so she could see better.
Taking the energy of the audience, Rainbow Dash pushed herself even harder. Her neck strained, reaching for the ledge. “Yeeeeaaaah!” she cried as the cage came in for a crash landing. “I. Am. AWESOME!” She immediately collapsed on top of the cage with deep, ragged breathing.
A roar of jubilation went up through the crowds. Claws and hooves were raising the roof.
The sudden jolt had shattered the already damaged bolt. A huge crack split the front and back end of the boat.
Now that the feisty pegasus has settled down, the giant fireflies came back.
“Don’t worry, everypony,” Fluttershy said. She extended her hoof past the bars of the cage. One of the giant fireflies placed its front legs on the hoof. “They were never going to hurt us, they were trying to stop of from falling.”
“Say what?” Applejack asked.
“Yeah,” a voice from above said. Fleckle Sun had travelled onto the ceiling directly above the group. “We, of the Dod, are not allowed to take lives into our own hooves. I just wanted to scare you away, not seriously hurt you.”
Twilight staggered to her wobbling legs. She was still a bit woozy from expending all that magic, but she was capable of thought processing. “We’re not going to go back. We’re going to save Spike.”
“With the audience reaction to Rainbow Dash’s heroics, it just wouldn’t feel right to stop you girls, so I won’t. That was a truly awesome performance, Rainbow Dash. Pals?” Fleckle Sun extended her hoof downward.
“So what you’re saying is that you never intended to hurt my friends?” Rainbow Dash said wheezily.
“Nope.”
“How about not-kick-your-rump-on-sight?” Rainbow Dash suggested.
Fleckle Sun let out a chuckle. “I’ll take it. Air hoof bump.”
Rainbow Dash extended her weary hoof upwards.
“Through the fire and flames, you carried on. Weeeeeeeeee!” the guardian shrieked. Loose rocks fell as her voice bounced through the entire magma chambers.
“Your majesty,” a skull masked stallion said in a raspy voice. A worn out pirates hat covered his mane.
“Yes?” the regal figure sitting atop a golden throne said.
“Arrgh, I have brought you Spike.” He stepped aside, revealing a young purple dragon with green spines. The dragon had much more muted colors and was partially transparent.
“Thank you, Higgs Boatswain.”
“I will take my leave now.”
“Don’t you want to stay?” one of the many guards in the area asked. “The living ponies are doing good.”
A lot of under ponies were gathered around the ornate stone basin in front of the princess. They had been watching as the Equestrian ponies went through the Rivers of Pain and Fire. Quite a few bowls of popcorn were spread out between them. Within the rippling waters, the six ponies and Ferry Merry were now safely on stable ground.
“Nay, I have business-like business to attend to. Ye ponies enjoy yeselves now,” Higgs Boatswain said as he swished away. A mangled tail swept along the ground.
The princess glared down at her royal guards. Her mouth neither smiling nor frowning, but it was in a straight line. “Aren’t you taking things a bit too easy?”
“Uh,” one of the guards mumbled, “po-popcorn, your majesty?” He pushed over a half eaten bowl of the popped kernels, glistening with butter.
“No,” Princess Terranea said. She turned towards the small dragon. “Sir Spike, please come here.”
The young dragon had his claws clutched together tightly as he stepped forward. “Y-y-y-yes, your majesty?”
“Be at ease, Sir Spike. You are a guest here. Is there anything we can get for you?” All while she was speaking, Princess Terranea kept her narrow red eyes trained on the dragon. The stare was without a hint of mirth at all.
“W-well, since you asked,” Spike said. He held up a hopeful finger. “I do like gems.”
“Attendant, bring Sir Spike some gems.” The princess had not looked away from Spike. “Would you care to stay for a while?”
“Of course!” Spike said. His head was filled with drool inducing gems.
After the ordeal in the River of Fire, Ferry’s little boat had been snapped in two. Jagged splinters were threatened to prick any ponies trying to touch the boat. The six had been freed from the cage by the fireflies and brought to the start of the next river, the River of Wailing.
The River of Wailing was more of a natural made channel, suspended over a deep, black abyss. A cobblestone passageway lined both sides of the dark blue water. Small gemstones sparkled from the stone. The jewels along the riverbed gave the stream a mystical, shimmering quality.
Pedestals along the side held large, burning braziers. The flame did nothing to fight back the seemingly infinite amount of darkness on all sides. This river may very be hanging in an empty void.
The ponies were all huddled together, taking a break. Many of them were lying on the ground with head resting on their hoof. Twilight was still on her hooves. She strained her eyes, trying to see if anything was out there. The veil of darkness was too strong for her to pierce.
“Sorry about your boat, Ferry,” Fluttershy said.
The filly looked backwards, at the River of Fire where her boat still lain. She didn’t sound upset at all. “Don’t worry about it, Fluttershy. My sister knows a stallion. I’ll get it fixed up in no time. But we can’t use it for this trip.”
“Why not?” Rarity asked. “Weren’t there several other,” she hesitated to call those old, worn out things boats, “makeshift flotation crafts broken in half as well. They still worked.”
“Yeah, but they had to be refurbished. It’s not something we can just do. We need the right tools and stuff.”
A low wailing rattled through the air. The noise was deep and guttural. It lingered in the air, resonating into the the ponies. Even covering their ears didn’t help. The noise seemed to push away any feelings of happiness and warmth.
“Is it another singer making that horrible noise?” Rarity asked.
Ferry Merry was shivering badly. “No,” she whispered. “I don’t like this place. This is the River of Wailing. The darkness seems to go on forever, swallowing any hope of returning. A lone trail leads to the other side for those brave enough to walk it. The sounds are horrible monsters, trapped within the pits of Tartarus.”
“Tartarus,” Twilight gasped. “I see.” She stared down into the endless abyss. That was where all of the ancient monsters that used to roam the land were kept. “The entire area below us is Tartarus, so watch your step.”
“Well what are we waiting for?” Rainbow Dash said. “Standing around here isn’t going to do us any good.”
“Are you sure you’re alright to move?” Fluttershy asked.
“My legs are still at full power.” Rainbow Dash looked away from the others. Her wings weren’t at their usual position against her body. They drooped, and the edge most feathers dusted the ground. “I won’t be able to fly for a while though.”
“You did great though,” Pinkie Pie chirped. “Absolutely fantastic.”
“If you’re sure, Rainbow Dash, let’s go.” Twilight gave the other ponies a nod.
The group trotted forward along the cold side path. They seemed to be the only ponies on the lonely road. There wasn’t much to see, but monstrous cries caused shivers among the group. They were cries of anger, screeches of torment and howls of revenge. Ferry Merry was sticking to the underside of Fluttershy’s wing.
Pinkie Pie was standing at the ledge, waving. A great toothy smile was on her face.
“Pinkie,” Ferry Merry said, “Don’t encourage the monsters.”
“But look, they’re waving back.” Pinkie waved with both forelegs.
“What?” Ferry yelped.
Everypony looked over the ledge. Reaching out from the darkness were long, green skinned arms. There must have been tens of them coming from the void. The fingers twisted and spread open, trying to grab the most they could. They were emaciated, with wrinkled skin hanging on to bones. Each arm had a multitude of joints, allowing them to twist and entwine with each other as they reached out. The owners of the arm remained hidden away, far down below.
“It’s a hecatonchires!” Ferry backed so far away from the ledge, she nearly fell into the River of Wailing.
Twilight’s expression revealed that she knew about the seriousness of the situation. She grabbed Pinkie back by the tail. Waving to everyone, she said. “Come on, everypony, run!”
Fluttershy picked up their young guide by the scruff.
They hurried down the trail, manes flapping in the air. Fear of getting grabbed by monstrously limber hands the breathed new life into six. The first arms had grabbed onto the side of the floating channel. Using that as a support, the arms started coming up more rapidly. No matter how fast the ponies ran, most arms appeared in front.
“What’s a hecawhatever?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Well, that!” Twilight pointed her horn towards the arms sprouting up in front of them. “The hundred armed giants.”
“Ooh.” Without needing to focus on the running, Ferry Merry was punching the air with an angry look on her face. “What is that lazy bum doing? She should be keeping the inhabitants of Tartarus in check.”
Even running at full power, the ponies couldn’t fight off the fatigue from the previous river. Their muscles strongly protested with every step. The arms were coming down on the channel faster than they were moving forward. Twilight looked up in horror as several hands were reaching down towards them.
She gritted her teeth. Her horn glowed with magical energy, but the magic was flickering. Squinting her eyes, Twilight tried even harder. In a dull flash, her horn had turned into a dud.
“What are we going to do? What are we going to do? What ARE we going to do?” Rarity shrieked.
Answering her was not any of the ponies, but three feral howls. They were in unison, amplifying each others effectiveness. A sense of rage washed over the area, causing everypony to stumble in their step. The hecatonchires’ arms twitched and stopped their assault. Something prowled down the channel with eyes shooting daggers at the grasping hands.
It was a large, black dog with an extremely bulky front body. Massive paws smashed into the stone path with each step. Its body tapered off into being much smaller in the back. This dog had not one but three pug like heads. Each one snarled with sharp teeth bared. A spiked collar was around each head.
The hound arched upward, letting out another river shaking howl.
The arms of the hecatonchires started to retreat into the darkness. They released their grip from the river channel. A horrible screech sounded through the area as the nails scratched along the stone surface. The noise extended out towards the void.
Once the threat had passed, the faces of the dog dropped their fierce nature and became much more friendly. There was almost a dopy quality to them.
“Cerberus!” Fluttershy said in a dull but happy tone. “You really scared me.”
The giant, three headed dog came bounding over. Despite the massive size different, he was able to playfully lick Fluttershy in the face, sending her pink mane straight up. Each head took a turn.
“Whoa,” Ferry said with a wide open mouth. “You know Cerberus, Fluttershy?”
“Yes. We met a while ago.” Fluttershy was hovering in the air, petting his heads.
Applejack nudged the lavender unicorn in the shoulders. “Twilight here was the one that brought him back after his little trip to Equestria.”
“I remember hearing about that. So you were the one that brought him back.” She was looking up at Twilight with newfound admiration in her eyes.
The unicorn looked away, embarrassed. “Well, it wasn’t really hard. Cerberus is really friendly.”
“He is,” Fluttershy cooed.
“This is great. With Cerberus, no creature of Tartarus will dare get in our way,” Rainbow Dash said with an added hoof pump.
“All this noise is getting in the way of my meditation,” a voice said slowly. Walking forward in an equally slow manner was a white under pony.
Ferry Merry rushed forward and headbutted the chest of the other pony. “Cool, you idiot, where were you when a hecatonchires was attacking?”
The mare staggered back a few steps from the impact. “Don’t be that way, Ferry Merry. Dealing with the hecatonchires isn’t really my thing. It’s why I have Cerberus helping me out after all.” The white under pony gave an innocent smile that turned her eyes into arches.
“Who’s that?” Applejack asked suspiciously.
“This is the guardian of the River of Wailing, Cool Cestus. She’s as lazy of a guardian as I have ever seen.”
“Come on, I only prefer to talk things out instead of taking action,” Cool Cestus droned. “It’s not like anything bad happened. I would have stepped in if things were really getting out of hand. No? Okay. Nevermind.”
“What’s a hand?” Rainbow Dash whispered to the others.
Her mane was braided and then turned into a twin buns, so it looked like flowers were on either side of her head. Her tail was styled similarly, only it was one large flower instead. Her pattern was an antique rug, full of vibrant colors and square shapes. Adorning her flank was a pink lotus. A purple silk sash tightly wrapped around her waist.
She looked over the Equestrian ponies with her droopy eyes. “I remember now. Cerberus went on a trip a while back, and somepony brought him back. It was a unicorn with a stripe in her hair. It’s quite a surprise to see you in pony now.” Cool Cestus didn’t sound too surprised.
“Yeah, I did bring him back,” Twilight said with a tinge of pink on her cheeks. “He really wasn’t much trouble at all.” She rubbed mane with a hoof.
“Thank you. You saved me the trouble of going out and looking for him. Still, I should not just let you pass. It’s not right.” The guardian turned towards Cerberus. “Can I convince you to chase them out?”
All three of his heads whined and stared down at the white under pony with puppy eyes.
Rainbow Dash extended a hoof towards the giant dog’s leg. “That’s right, Cerberus is our friend.”
“Aww, Cerberus. You act so fierce around the prisoners of Tartarus, but around ponies, you are such a puppy.”
“Yes. He’s such a good doggy,” Fluttershy said.
Cool Cestus walked closer to the Equestrian ponies. Her purple sash dragged along the ground. She gave them a bright smile. “Can I convince you girls to leave then? I will even provide you with complimentary Dod coasters!”
Twilight put her hoof down. “We’re not leaving. All of you guardians should just stop trying.”
“Why are you so insistent on being here? Living creatures really have no business in Lot D.”
“Here’s the short version,” Applejack said. “Our good friend, Spike, got mostly killed. But he’s not all dead, so we’re here to get his soul back. Simple.”
Cool Cestus looked sadly at the ponies. “That, that is selfish. Doesn’t that mean you are the bad girls here?” She tilted her head to the side with both eyes opened wide.
Applejack stepped towards the river guardian blocking their way, her eyes angled down in anger. “Wait a cotton picking minute here. What do you mean we’re the bad girls?”
“Aren’t you?” Cool Cestus still held her head sideways. Her eyes had gone back to their normal half closed nature. “You are just breaking and entering into an important established institution with the sole intent being based on personal reasons. Have you even considered any ramifications?”
“What are you going on about?” Applejack said. “We’re just here to save our friend.”
“Ponies and others die, all the time.” Cool Cestus stood up onto her hind legs only and closed her eyes. Her left foreleg extended outwards. “Life is born, and they go through their course.” The right foreleg extended. “At the end, life ends. Sometimes, it ends before we are ready. It may be sad, but that too is part of being alive. Everypony must face death and move on.”
She brought her forelegs together. “That is the cycle ordained for as long as I have known. It was made by beings far smarter and more powerful that you, or I or even the princess. Our world requires this cycle to work, just as it requires the weather, the fertile soil and the capacity for organization.
“You ponies are being selfish, trying to play with life and death, trying to play with the way things are, just for the sake of one pony.” The guardian finally went back to standing on all fours. “You should leave and properly mourn your dear friend. Struggling here in futility will only drive you further into despair. Even the Dod can not return the dead to life.”
“Dragon,” Applejack corrected. “Spike is a dragon. And he’s not dead. I thought I told you he was only mostly dead. It’s your fault he’s in this condition!” Her words were peppered with fiery anger. “It was a gem from Lot D that sucked out Spike’s life force. Show her, Twilight.”
It took a moment for Twilight to recover from shock of seeing Applejack so upset. She shook her head into a recovery. “This, this is what drained his life force.” Twilight tossed the Gem of the Dead from her saddlebags onto the ground. Part of the gem’s glow peeked out from the black cloth wrapped around it.
“This?” Cool Cestus directly picked the gem up without any signs of worry. “This is one of the Royal Gems given out by the princess for extraordinary contributions. It’s not dangerous at all.”
“It is dangerous. Look.” Twilight floated a book out from her saddlebags. The pages flipped themselves to information on the Gem of the Dead as known by Equestria. She held it in place for the guardian to read.
“This isn’t right,” Cool Cestus said in a mild surprised tone. Her eyes lazily drifted across the page. “That shouldn’t be the effect of the jewel. It’s perfectly harmless.”
“Maybe to the residents of Subterrania.” Twilight snapped the book closed. It drifted back inside the saddlebags. “To us though, it’s very dangerous.”
“Then that is a bad miscalculation. I shall have to tell Princess Terranea about this. Draining life is certainly not intended. I wonder how one of our royal jewels got out of Subterrania in the first place?” Cool Cestus stowed the gem away in her sash.
Applejack raised her hat. “Now that you understand, will you let us pass?”
“I still can not,” Cool Cestus said. “It is an unfortunate accident, but accidents happen.”
“Applejack?” Twilight gasped. “After her!” The Equestrian ponies, Ferry merry and Cerberus all followed.
Cool Cestus looked left and right as everypony ran past her. “Uh, please do not continue on.” She let out a long sigh. It would look bad if she just let them run past her like this. Shaking her head a bit, she followed them.
“Wait up, Applejack!” Rainbow Dash called out. “What’s the matter with you? Slow down.”
Applejack did so, until she came to a complete stop. Her head was hung low and her eyes were closed. “Sorry, y’all.”
“What’s wrong, Applejack?” Pinkie asked.
“Yes, did we really need that sudden burst of exercise?” Rarity said.
Applejack looked up at the others, still with a sad expression. Her ears were drooping against her head. “I didn’t want to listen to that guardian yammer on anymore. We’re not stopping right, y’all?”
“Of course not,” the fancy unicorn said. “We’re not going to let somepony just talk us out of continuing on. We’ve made it this far haven’t we?”
“Yeah. I have no intention of stopping,” Twilight agreed. “Spike isn’t meant to be dead. We’ll take him back home.”
The sound of hooves hitting against stone came up from behind the group. Looking like she had just ran a marathon, Cool Cestus slowed to a walk when the group got near.
“Wait.” She took a deep breath. “Running really isn’t my thing. Wait.” After a few more pained breaths, Cool Cestus conitnued. “I won’t try to stop you. I can see you’re all determined to continue on.”
“If you were just going to say that, you didn’t need to run after us,” Rainbow Dash said.
The guardian held up a hoof, requesting a moment while she gathered her energy. After several calming breaths, she said, “I will let you go, but be warned, Spike may not want to return.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Twilight asked.
“Was he a good dragon?”
“He was the best dragon.”
“Then he will likely be granted a place in the Elysion Fields. It is a land of comfort and ease. Will he really want to return to the living world and leave that behind?”
“Of course,” Applejack said firmly. “We’re his friends. Being comfortable means nothing if you have no friends.”
“He could make new friends.”
The farm pony shot a heated glare at the guardian of the river. “Stop trying to talk us out of it.”
“Alright, alright. Getting physical really isn’t my thing.” Cool Cestus backed off. “Just promise me that you won’t go anywhere else. The next river is straight ahead. Don’t go off to the side paths.”
“Yeah, fine. We promise,” Applejack responded impatiently.
“And one more thing, since you girls are moving on, mind taking this to the princess for me? It would save me a trip.” Cool Cestus drew out the Royal Gem and the cloth that it had been wrapped in.
Twilight rolled her eyes. “Fine. Give it here.” She opened the saddlebags for Cool Cestus. “We’re going now.”
“Okay. Cerberus please keep them safe. I’ll return to meditating.”
Cerberus stood at attention with two pairs of serious eyes. The left of the heads still had a glazed over look with drool coming out the side of its mouth. It took a headbutt from the center one to get all of them on the same page.
Meditating, for Cool Cestus, meant lying on the cool stone path, listening to the babbling water in the River of Wailing. Her eyes were closed as she breathed in a slow rhythm.
The other ponies continued on. With Cerberus guarding over them, each head aimed in a different direction, none of the denizens of the abyss dared to even show themselves.
A constant sense of malice filled the wide open space. The air pricked and prodded at the travellers down the river. It caused their tails to go stiff and chills to shiver down their back. The ponies look around with shifty eyes only to see nothing.
Up ahead, a round platform broke up the long, straight river. It was made out of smooth, grey stone embedded with dazzling specks of jewels. A beam of light shone down from the surface, refracting off the stone and created a chorus of sparkles through the entire area. In the middle was a circular pool, with a golden edge, where the river flowed through. Two paths led off to the sides, with a gate floating over the abyss at the end of this.
“What is this marvelous place?” Rarity asked. She was ogling at the solid gold benches placed with a good view into the pool. “Oh my!” Her sparkle filled gaze travelled from the bench to the pool. At the very bottom was an artwork of a ruby tiara, made out of actual rubies gemstones. The surrounding sapphires and diamonds helped the red pop from the bottom.
“This is the crossroads,” Ferry Merry said. “It is a safe place. The monsters of Tartarus won’t try to enter here.”
“Oh yeah,” Twilight said. She turned around, straining her ear. “I don’t hear any wailing.”
“Perhaps we can take a break then?” Fluttershy asked hopefully.
“I suppose. This place is pretty relaxing.”
Looking forward, there was still a lot of river to cover. Looking back, the exit had long since shrank into nothingness. The ponies decided to rest under the solitary beam of light. The warming rays soothed their tense muscles.
Fluttershy and Ferry Merry were playing with Cerberus, petting him for being a good boy and all that. Pinkie Pie randomly bounced around the area. Her hooves fluttered every time they were off the ground. Rarity had taken to staring at the water. She almost looked like she was trying to seduce the gems out, with the way she pouted and batted her eyes.
Only Applejack was fidgeting around restlessly. The sounds of her firm steps against the stone were like bombs going off in the silent plaza. Finally, she came to a stop in front of one of the side paths.
Up ahead was a huge wooden gate set at the edge off a lone natural island floating in the void. The flat isle was just large enough to comfortably house the gate and a small procession of ponies. The gate was set into a simple stone frame, carved from matte, dark blue rocks.
Sensing something was wrong, Rarity had walked over. “What’s the matter, Applejack?”
“It’s, uh, I don’t want to talk about it.” Applejack nodded her head towards the gate. “What’s that over there?”
Ferry Merry came over, riding on one of Cerberus’s heads. She peeked out from behind his ears. “That’s the gate to the Asphodel Meadows. It’s where all of the average ponies and other animals go.
“And over there.” The filly tugged on Cerberus ear. The three headed dog jumped in the air and spun around one-hundred-and-eighty degrees. “Over there, that’s the gate to the Elysion Fields.”
“The Elysion Fields!” Applejack raced over to the other side, where the path lead over to another floating island.
This one was much nicer. It was ponymade with expertly cut stone. Gold and silver was embedded into the tiled floor. The arch to the fine rosewood gate was two massive pony statues. They were rearing up, with front hooves meeting each other to form the shape of the doorway. Both ponies were equipped with elegant gold and silver armor.
“Applejack, what’s with you?” Rainbow Dash asked.
Fluttershy looked to the ground. Her long mane blocked half of her face. “You’ve been acting strangely. But of course I could be wrong. Yeah, I’m probably wrong, never mind.”
“No, Fluttershy,” Rarity said. “Applejack is definitely acting strange.”
Applejack turned around to see everypony and everyCerberus looking at her. She backed away a bit with a nervous chuckle. Her hind legs stepped onto the connecting bridge between the main path and the gateway to the Elysion Fields.
She sweated under the pressure of her friends eyes. Their gaze made her feel transparent. Applejack crossed her front legs and crouched forward.
“Pinkie,” Rainbow Dash commanded.
“Wait, wait,” Applejack said. She peeked up past the brim of her hat. “It’s my parents.”
“You’re parents?” Rarity asked.
“Yeah. They’re both,” Applejack let out a long breath that deflated all of her bravado, “dead.”
No one else said anything. Even though Applejack had never said anything before, they had always figured something like that happened to her parents.
Applejack turned to face the shining gates. “Being here made me think about how much I miss them. I never got to spend enough time with them. I mean, don’t get my wrong, Granny Smith is great but-”
“She isn’t your parents,” Twilight finished.
“Yep. I wonder if they regret not being able to spend time with me, Big McIntosh and Apple bloom?”
“I’m sure they do.”
“But it sure would be nice to see them again.” Applejack stared at the gates.
“Um, well,” Fluttershy pipped, “didn’t we tell Cool Cestus we wouldn’t go off the main path?”
“Yeah, we did, didn’t we?”
Rarity sauntered forward and said, in a confident voice, “Who cares? You’re obviously bothered by this, Applejack. If you don’t do it now, you’ll be wondering for the rest of your life.” She turned to the under pony filly. “Ferry dear, it’s alright to take a closer look at the gate, isn’t it?”
“I guess?” Ferry said with a tilted head. “The gates to the Elysion Fields are a mystery hidden in the light. They are there for all to see but none to know.”
“Meaning?”
“I have no idea what happens if someone goes beyond the gates.” Ferry shrugged. “I remember being told by my sister, ‘Don’t think about it too much.’ I guess it would be alright though?” Her voice became overly high toned at the question.
Cerberus whimpered as he lain down on the ground. His paws were pressed down on the side heads.
Ferry Merry patted the center head. “You can wait here, Cerberus.”
“I’ll, uh, wait here too,” Fluttershy said. Her eyes had gone wide when she saw just how precarious the walkway leading to the island was. While the path wasn’t narrow, it had a complete lack of guardrails. Anypony could easily slip off and fall into the darkness below.
As everypony else stepped onto the island, they felt a sense of calmness. The overbearing darkness all around didn’t feel that bad anymore.
Applejack placed a forlorn hoof on the gates but didn’t push on it. It was probably impossible for her to move the towering doors anyway.
“Ooh, let’s give it a go,” Pinkie Pie said.
Taking a bouncing start, she rammed into the door. Completely silent, the thick wooden door swung open. It was just a crack when compared to how wide it could really open, but just a crack was enough for a pony to fit through.
Ferry Merry let you a yelp as she turned around, refusing to face the opened door. Everypony followed suit with a combination of turning around and using their hooves, everypony except for Applejack. She remained staring at the gates without any ill effects.
“That scared me Pinkie!” Twilight said.
“Woopsie.” Pinkie shrugged, hiding behind an innocent smile.
Turning back towards the opened gate, Rarity asked, “Why did we all turn away?”
“I have no idea,” Ferry Merry admitted. “I thought our souls would get sucked out or something. The white light would beckon us away.”
Seeing as how that hadn’t happened, everypony cautiously went back to the massive gates. They peered inside, only to see white. It was somehow as disturbing as the abyss of black around them. Beyond the gates were the nothingness of white. Applejack was standing there, entranced by the entrance.
Twilight placed a hoof on her good friend’s back. “Applejack, what do you want to do?”
“I don’t know. I think I want to be alone for a while.”
“Are you sure? Who knows when more monsters will attack.”
“Naw, no monsters will attack in this area,” Ferry Merry said.
Twilight shot a glare at the filly. She clearly already knew that.
“Don’t worry girls, I won’t do anything stupid.” Applejack tilted her hat back and looked at the other ponies. “When have you ever known me to do something stupid?”
Both Rainbow Dash and Rarity immediately raised their hooves. Before she could say anything though, Twilight made the motion for them to be quiet.
“I know what y’all are thinking. Don’t worry, I won’t go in. We promised after all, didn’t we?”
A slow nod came from Twilight. “Alright, we’ll go on ahead.” A slew of gasps came from the other Equestrian ponies. “Catch up soon, Applejack.”
“I will. Thank you, Twilight.” Applejack attempted a smile, but her heart wasn’t truly in it.
Rainbow Dash zipped over to Twilight, one eye opened wide with an appraising stare. “Are you sure about this, Twilight?”
The other unicorn was the one that spoke up. “Well, if Applejack says she’ll catch up, I’m sure she won’t let us down. Applejack is a most dependable pony after all. We’ll just leave her to do whatever it is she wants to do, shall we?”
“I guess.” There were shouts of uncertainty under Rainbow Dash’s words.
“Oh, oh.” Pinkie bounced up and down. “I could make her do a Pinkie Promise. This time, I’ll add in extra sprinkles!”
“That’s alright, Pinkie,” Twilight said. “Come on, girls, lets go.”
They returned to a confused Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash nudged the other pegasus along.
Leaving the little round, the others returned to the overbearing darkness surrounding the lone straight river. Once again, the path seemed to stretch on forever, to the point where they weren’t even sure they were getting anywhere. It was just the same repeating pedestals holding torches over and over again. They were accompanied by anguished wails.
Though they hadn’t even been walking for an hour, the long slogging repetition made it feel like nearly a full day. Everyone saw it at once, a speck of white in the distance. As they continued forward, their spirits lifted. It was finally the exit to the River of Wailing. Even Cerberus was happy for some reason. There was an odd shadow waiting in front of the exit.
As they got close, another creature’s voice spread over the area. It was not a wail but a laugh. “Oh hohoho.”
Resting on the other side of the river was a strange creature. It had the body of a lion, keen orange fur and all with the head of a mare pony. Golden eagle wings sprouted from the creature’s back. She wore a stylish headdress and exquisite golden jewelry was all over her body.
“Look what have we here.” The creature managed to jump from one side of the river to the other. She landed right in front of the ponies. Her full size matched that of Cerberus.
The guard dog bound forward, all three heads growling.
Why did such a creature have to block their way now? The exit tunnel, a very plain looking passageway, was right behind her.
The pony headed lion lazily waved a paw. “Calm down, Cerberus. I’m not a denizen of Tartarus, nor am I not allowed to be here. You can’t hurt me without going against the rules.”
One of Cerberus’ heads let out a whimper, showing that the statement was true.
Twilight looked down at their guide. “What is that?”
“It’s a sphinx,” the young river guide replied. “If that lazy pony, Cool, was here, she could just order the sphinx away. Without her though, we’ll need to play the sphinx’s game.”
“Game?”
“That’s riiiiiight!” the sphinx sang. “Do you want to go one at a time or have it be all or nothing?”
“What’s the game?” Twilight asked suspiciously.
“A riddle. If you answer, I’ll let you pass. If you can’t, you’re my dinner.” The sphinx grinned, showing off carnivorous teeth.
“How about we just go around you?” Rainbow Dash said.
The sphinx raised a paw. With a flicker, pony ripping claws appeared. “Care to try?”
Twilight went in close to the boisterous pegasus and whispered, “Can you get us around her?”
Rainbow Dash gave a test flap of her wings. The motion weren’t quite so smooth or fast as normal. With gritted teeth, she admitted, “I don’t think so.”
“We’ll keep that as our backup plan then.” Turning to the sphinx, Twilight said, “We’ll do the riddle. One riddle for the entire group.”
“Very well.” The sphinx gave a satisfied purr. “Easier for me.
“Now, I will only say this once. I am always right with you. I am never without you. It is impossible to get rid of me, for I will follow you to the end. I know all and hide all. Listen well and and all will be revealed.”
“You didn’t specify a time limit. We can take as long as we want,” Twilight said.
“Fine, but you can’t leave or that counts as failing the riddle. Tasty ponies are something worth waiting for.”
Twilight gathered the others around. “Alright. So, girls, any thoughts? And Pinkie, no randomly guessing. In fact, don’t say anything to the sphinx. I’ll be the one to give the answer.”
“You got it, Twilight.” Pinkie zipped up her mouth to show how serious she was, along with becoming useless for brainstorming.
Back at the gate to the Elysion Fields, Applejack had remained standing there. “Mom, dad,” she said to the gap, “Y’all probably can’t hear me. I have so much I want to tell you. I met a lot of good friends, you know? I reckon they’re the best friends a pony could ask for. And I’ve had so many stories that I want to tell you guys.”
She lowered her head sadly. “It’s so unfair how we never had enough time together. Do you feel the same way?
“I’m doing fine though. Don’t you worry about me. Granny Smith, Big McIntosh and Apple Bloom are handling the orchards just fine.”
Applejack pressed a hoof against the door. She wanted to go through so badly, to see her parents again. All of the pain she had experienced from losing her parents, those feelings returned when Spike was taken away. Now that she was here, perhaps she could have all three of them back.
She vigorously shook her head. No, she couldn’t go through. Not only did Applejack promise the guardian of the river, she also promised her friends. It was just as Cool Cestus said, loss was a part of life. Her parents were gone, but she thought about them every day. Going through the gates wouldn’t change anything. Spike could still saved however. No way Applejack was about to give up on him.
Looking up, she saw the two massive pony statues that held the gates together. “I’ll be leaving now. Sorry for messing with your gate and all. Er, I’m just going to leave it open since I really can’t see a way to close it.” Applejack tipped her hat to the statues.
She turned around and immediately let out a surprised yelp.
“I see you decided not to enter,” Cool Cestus said.
“How long were you there?”
“Since your friends left.”
Applejack glowered at the guardian. “Spying isn’t nice you know.”
“I watch over the River of Wailing.” Cool Cestus raised a hoof towards the gate. There was a beeping noise from her hind legs stepping on the remote control for the gate. Slowly, it slid closed again. “This is part of the river as well.”
The under pony took the raised hoof and moved it to Applejack’s chest. “You’re parent’s may be gone, but everyone we interact with transfers a bit of themselves into us. And we transfer a bit of ourselves into them. All of our bonds and connections are stored right here.” Cool Cestus tapped the other pony, right over the heart.
“I know that,” an annoyed Applejack said. “Because of what you said, I accept that ma and pa gone. That is the way of the world, but they are still with me, right here.” She raised a hoof to her chest.
“It is good that you have realized. No one that goes through the gates ever comes back. Not even I know what’s through them.”
“Hang on. If I had tried to go through, would you have stopped me?”
Cool Cestus shrugged.
“No, seriously.”
“You’re pretty strong. Physical activity isn’t my thing,” the guardian said dully.
“Good, since I’m going to go on. I know the importance of life and death, however if there is still a chance to save my friend, I’m going to do it. If I don’t even try, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.”
“Yeah,” the guardian sighed. “I figured as much. You’re friends are waiting for you.”
Applejack looked down the river. “I’d better get going then. Sorry, girls, I’m on my way. Looks like my ride’s here.”
Cerberus had came bounding back down walkway on the side of the river. He let out three happy barks upon seeing the two ponies.
“Thanks for coming to get me.” Applejack scratched the center head behind the ears after hopping on top of his head. “Now giddy up little doggie. My friends are waiting for me.”
“Wait for me!” Cool Cestus managed to barely hang on to the guardian hound’s back.
When they reached the exit, they found everypony else still there, gathered in a circle. Blocking them was the sphinx, who had taken to licking herself while waiting for a response.
“Applejack!” her friends happily exclaimed.
“Howdy, y’all. Sorry to be a bother.”
“Not at all, Applejack,” Rarity said. “You look a lot more like the old Applejack we know and love.”
“Aw shucks.”
Ferry Merry came rushing over. “Cool! Get this sphinx out of the way!”
“Er.” Cool Cestus looked to the side. “Talking to sphinxes really isn’t my thing. What is the riddle?”
Twilight had memorized it verbatim and easily repeated it. “I am always right with you. I am never without you. It is impossible to get rid of me, for I will follow you to the end. I know all and hide all. Listen well and and all will be revealed.”
“This is driving me crazy,” Rainbow Dash said with hooves scratching at her mane. “Especially Twilight. Whatever she says just makes me more confused. Now that all six of us are here, let’s just bust through.”
Cool Cestus slowly shook her head. “I think Applejack knows where the answer is, don’t you?”
After thinking for a while and looking at random directions, Applejack nodded. The answer was right where everything else was. Cool as a cucumber, she walked up to the sphinx. “Heart. The answer is the heart.”
“Wait, you’re not part of the group. Your answer doesn’t count!” the frazzled sphinx said.
“Is it one riddle for the entire group?” the river guardian asked. “I can confirm that this pony is a part of their group.”
The sphinx lost her haughty demeanor and looked deflated. “Fine. That’s correct,” she sighed. “You all may pass.” She jumped back to the other side, landing softly with the aid of her wings.
“Great. We are now one step closer to rescuing Spike,” Applejack said.
“Maybe it would have been kinder to stop you,” Cool Cestus said. She had a forlorn gaze aimed at the exit tunnel.
“What do you mean?”
“The next river, well, I hope you all make it through intact. Good luck ponies of Equestria. I’m going to go back to my,” she let out a drawn out yawn, “meditation.”
“So, Sir Spike, what do you think?” Princess Terranea looked down.
The baby dragon was sitting on the step leading up to the massive golden throne. He was surrounded by all sorts of gems, sparkling in many different colors. Wrapped within his tail was a long topaz. Being dead hadn’t stop his appetite at all.
“About the ponies?” He tilted his head. “Do they know me or something? I’ve never seen them before.”
“The next part is important. Please keep watching, Sir Spike.”
“Y-yeah, okay.” He didn’t sound very enthusiastic though. Spike almost wanted to avert his eyes from all of the ordeals shown on the viewing pool. Something about the six ponies captured his attention though. There was a sense of familiarity about them. Try as he might, Spike couldn’t remember who they were or what they meant to him.
A cloaked pony slowly walked across the massive administration chamber. Not a sound occurred when his hoofs struck against the marble tiled floor. All of the guards that weren’t too busy watching what was going on with the Equestrian ponies backed away from the cloaked pony’s chilly presence.
The pony stopped in front of the throne. When he bowed, his cloak swept across the ground, revealing a mark of a whirlpool on his hind quarters. Glowing yellow eyes peered up from under the shadow of the hood. “Yyyou called, Ppprincess Persssephone?” His voice was like a low, lamenting wind.
“Welcome, Reaper Fog Lace. I have something to discuss with you,” Princess Terranea said.
Twilight and the others walked down a long, dreary tunnel. Compared to the magnificence of the previous areas, this place looked very subdued. Rusty old chandeliers hung from chains that criss crossed through the ceiling. Water dripping down bat the flames away, but they could not put out the fire.
They were a group of all ponies again. Cerberus, being the guardian of Tartarus, had to remain behind. Fluttershy promised to come back and play soon.
“This air, it’s absolutely terrible for my mane,” Rarity complained as she sadly tried to style her mane.
Warm churning waters made the claustrophobically small tunnel muggy and humid. It was the kind of humidity found during summer nights, the kind that clung to fur in a sticky mess.
Rarity was desperately trying to keep the fine curls in her mane and tail from collapsing into a tangled, damp mess. Her high pitched whines echoed through the tunnel. “All this humidity is making me sweat. Do you know how horrible that is?”
The other ponies ignored her protests. Getting worked up over it was only going to make them hotter.
“What is the next river?” Twilight asked.
“Uh.” Ferry Merry tilted her head to the left, then to the right. She looked up thoughtfully. “I don’t know. Why can’t I think of it right now? Let’s see, River of Pain, River of Fire, River of Wailing, uh, this one, and finally, River of Hate. Nope, can’t think of it.”
“How about the guardian?”
“The guardian is a mare, I think.” A look of intense concentration crawled over the filly’s face. After another moment, she relaxed. “I got nothing, dame, sorry.”
“Hold up, squirt,” Rainbow Dash said. The rainbow pegasus was hovering a bit of the ground, drifting lazily along. Her wing strokes looked to be in good form, though was still not as fast as normal. “Are you telling me you have no idea what the next river is or who’s guarding it?”
“I guess I am. What of it?”
Rainbow scratched her head. “Nothing. It just seems weird.”
“I agree it’s off, but we aren’t stopping,” Twilight said.
Continuing forward, they found that the tunnel had brightened up. Strange floating lights, of various colors, lazily shifted around the area. They were able to pass through the hanging chains without disturbing them at all. Even with the added light, the murky blue river was still as impenetrable as ever.
“What are these little fellas?” Applejack asked. She tried to touch one, but her hoof went right through it.
“I know this!” Ferry yelled. The other ponies all recoiled in surprise. “Sorry. I mean, those lights are the lost souls, wandering the rivers of Lot D forever. They leave a trail of misery wherever they go, bringing coldness to the area.”
“Eep,” Fluttershy gasped. She had started backing away from the lights, only to run into a stalagmite. She let out a ear piercing yelp.
“Oh, Fluttershy, they’re lost in the sense that they have no purpose or direction. I mean we know where they are, we just have no place to put them.” Ferry Merry tilted her head again with eyes open wide. “I think. I know they’re completely harmless though.”
Twilight tilted her head back, watching one of the lost souls go over her. The tip of her horn raked through the body of light. “Looks that way,” she noted. “So come on, Fluttershy.”
“Yes, of course,” the cowering pegasus said. She still moved very carefully, getting out of the way from any lost souls in her path.
Up ahead, the walkways diverged from the river. While the river continued forward, the path they needed to take went upwards. In front of them were narrow stairs, carved out from rocks and chipped from old age. Standing in daze, right next to the stairs the ponies were going to take was somepony else, an under pony mare with a blank look about her.
Before anypony else could do something, Pinkie Pie had already bounced over. “Hi there. Are you a lost soul too?”
“Am I?” the murky green under pony asked. Her mane and tail fell in strips, similar to seaweed. Half of her face was covered by mane. “I don’t know.”
“Did you hit your head or something?”
“I don’t know. Who are you?”
The cheery pony grabbed the other’s hoof and shook it energetically. “My name is Pinkie Pie. What’s your name?”
“I don’t know,” the pony said again. She looked around at the group of colorful ponies all around. She then reached out and stroked Pinkie on the face.
“Hey! Dinner first, bucko.”
The green pony smiled and her voice grew softer, more sensuous. “You ponies are solid. I have not touched anything solid thing that’s not rock and bones in such a long time.”
“Who is this?” Rainbow Dash asked.
Ferry Merry shrugged. “I have no idea.”
“Well, if you have to call me something, call me Love.” The green underpony winked at the rainbow pegasus. “Or call me anything you like.”
“Er, I’ll stick with Love.” Rainbow Dash backed away a few steps.
“Won’t you stay with me? I’ve been so lonely,” Love said. Her eyes were wide and quivering slightly. When she blinked, a dull pink eyeshadow could be seen.
Rarity raised a hoof. “Oh, you poor dear. And look at how downtrodden you look. We need some curlers and powder here, stat.” She shook her head in frustration. “Ooh, but I didn’t bring anything.”
“And we need a party. STAT!” Pinkie Pie yelled. She was leaning on a cannon, that had somehow appeared when no one was looking. Her hoof struck repeatedly against a flintstone, but the sparks wouldn’t light the wick due to the damp air. “Stat, I said!”
“Wait!” Twilight’s yell echoed around the tunnel.
Everypony turned to look at her. Rarity paused in the middle of detangling Love’s mane.
“Ahem. Sorry Love. We really don’t have time for this. We’re in a hurry to save our friend.”
“Friend?” Love tilted her head. A provocative grin was on her sly face. “Is she also a cute pony like yourselves?”
“He is a dragon,” Twilight said pointedly. She continued, ignoring Love’s dejection. “We don’t have time to do makeovers and parties right now.”
Pinkie’s balloons, that had also just appeared, suddenly deflated with a whistling noise. The colorful pieces of rubber landed on the ground in pathetic little lumps.
“So, no party?” Pinkie asked in a tiny whisper.
Love hung her head so low, her mane soaked into the wet ground. “Awww. A party sounds really fun. I can’t remember the last time I had fun.”
Rarity let out a nervous chuckle. “Your mane, dear. Your mane.” The sight of mane haphazardly touching the grimy ground made the posh unicorn clench her teeth. While comforting the under pony, she swept the strip-like mane onto her hoof, lifting it off the ground.
Twilight let out an exasperated sigh. “Look, I’m really sorry. This is really important, and I don’t want any delays.” Seeing her party loving friend’s devastation, she added, “We’ll come back here later to throw a party. It will be a celebration for saving Spike. It just wouldn’t be a party if one of our friends were in trouble after all.”
“Really?” Love said. “You ponies are so nice.” She rubbed up against Twilight. Her tail playfully batted at the unicorn’s tail.
With a forced polite smile, Twilight moved away.
“Yes!” Pinkie Pie hopped into the air, her legs trembling excitedly. “It will be the best party ever. Because Spike deserves it. No way we can have a party without Spike, because he’s important to all of us. Now that I think about it, if Spike isn’t safe, we can’t enjoy ourselves.
“It will be so good to have him back. And we’ll invite our new friends, Ferry Merry and Love. We’ll have lots of games like pin-the-tail-on-the-pony, apple bobbing, and lots and lots of other stuff. And of course there will be delicious food. Aaaah.” A stream of drool leaked out of Pinkie’s mouth. She sucked it back in. “It will be the best party ever, with balloons, hundreds of balloons.”
“Party!” Ferry Merry cheered as she hopped into the air, little hooves wiggling.
Love let out a soft giggle, with hoof over her mouth. “That sounds fantastic. Though you’ll probably forget about me. I’m not anypony important to you.”
“No way. If you want to come, of course I’ll remember to invite you!” Pinkie proclaimed with front legs spread open in a grand pose.
Love took that to mean a hug and went in for one.
“Okay, no need for dinner first,” Pinkie said as she squeezed the other pony tight, their cheeks pressed up against each other.
Once Love was on all four legs again, she turned towards Twilight, the more stern looking one out of the bunch. “It’s scary up ahead though, are you sure you want to go?”
“What’s up ahead?” Twilight asked.
Love shook her head solemnly. “I have no idea.” She placed both forehooves on the unicorn’s shoulder. “I have been up the stairs a few times before, and I saw only fog. It was so thick I couldn’t even see where I was going. And weird, but lovely, music filled the area too.”
Everypony else took a nervous gulp.
Twilight placed a hoof on top of Love’s. “Thank you for the warning. We are definitely going to get through though. And we’ll definitely return for a party, right Pinkie?”
“Right!” the hyper pink pony chirped.
“Good luck.” Love blew them a kiss. “Don’t get lost.”
“Yeah, okayletsgetoutofhere.” Rainbow Dash flew up the stairs, making sure to swerve around the lost under pony in a streak of rainbow.
Everypony else was a bit more polite. Applejack and Fluttershy walked by without making any eye contact. If no eye contact happened, then there would be no invasion of personal space.
Fortunately, Love was distracted at the time by Pinkie Pie making random faces. The pink pony showed excellent skill in cheek puffing, eyes spinning in opposite directions, and the surprising malleability of her face.
“She’s not a baby, Pinkie,” Rarity pointed out.
Love looked quite amused though, and clapped her hoof on the ground. She even went in for some Pinkie face molding of her own. The party loving pony’s face was really good at holding a shape.
“Come on,” Twilight called out from the base of the stairs.
“See you later,” Pinkie said as her face snapped back to normal. She dashed off in a puff of smoke.
“Later, cuties,” Love said with a cool wave of the hoof.
The stairs up were narrow and uneven, both in step height and straightness. It looked to be an old passageway, one barely used. Flecks of rock broke off as the ponies walked. As they continued onward and upward, visibility started to decrease. A grey fog rolled in the small stairwell.
Upon exiting the stairs, Twilight moved just enough to let the others out, but remained near the entrance. She gasped as her hoof landed on a diamond patterned metal grate. It was small enough that stepping through would be impossible. Being able to see down below was unnerving however.
When Love said there was a thick fog in the area, she wasn’t kidding. Twilight could barely see twenty hoofs in any direction. It was a mysteryjust how big the area was. The stone walls retreated directly away from Twilight on either side, and appeared to go far into into the fog. Sounds of running water could be heard far below. Though the river wasn’t visible, the fog could be seen rolling along, following the currents.
Just as Love had said, musical notes drifted through the air. It was oddly festive for such a gloomy place with brass horns and strumming strings being featured prominently. The melody seemed to be coming from all sides.
“Ugh, the humidity up here is even worse,” Rarity whined in a high pitched voice..
“Nothing we can do about that,” Applejack wanted to call the prim looking unicorn by her name. Somehow, it slipped her mind at the moment, so she said, “Sugarcube. We just have to keep moving on,” Applejack said.
“I know that. I’m not stopping.” Rarity looked affronted at the very thought. “We have, uh, we have very some very important business or some such. Still, I’m going to need a long spa treatment after all of this. Care to join me?”
“Going to the spa isn’t my thing,” Applejack said. The others all turned to look at her, which she responded to with a shrug.
Twilight started walking forward again. Without looking back, she said, “We can discuss our plans later. For now, let’s keep on moving forward. Everyone stick together. We don’t want to get lost in here.”
“Which way do we go?” Fluttershy asked.
“I have no idea,” Rainbow Dash muttered. Frustrated flapping of her wings didn’t do much to clear the fog. Even when a narrow pass was made, the fog cascaded back into the convenient empty space. The area was just too enclosed to get any good air circulation.
Sticking close together, the ponies walked forward. Ferry Merry was quiet and remained close to Fluttershy. This place was strange and new to her, a river she had never been to before. Her mind worked furiously, trying to figure out why she had no knowledge of this place at all. Being a river guide, she certainly would have passed by here already.
It didn’t take long for everypony to start feeling the strain of being in this strange river. Their nose twitched, their breathing was shallow and they began wobbling in their steps. A dull, glazed over look washed over the ponies. Their fur was covered by a sheen of sweat and water vapor. Slowly, the pace of their walking fell out of sync. Everypony started to drift in different directions without meaning to. The grate on the ground seemed to blur as they continued on, slowly separating from one another.
Love was standing back at the entrance to river walkway. She let out a sad sigh while staring into the fog filled area.
The sound of hoofsteps made her turn towards the noise. Moving towards her was a skeletal stallion, wearing black clothes lined with colorful embroidery. Even without eyes, the feeling of being watched emanated out from the empty sockets.
“The intruders have entered the fog of the River of Forgetfulness. If they continue breathing it in...,” the skeletal pony said in a smooth voice. Somehow, he could talk without any of the important speaking organs. “Guardian Lace.”
Snapping out of her trance, the dark green under pony, whose real identity turned out to be Lace, said, “Yes.”
Her mane and tail were in a wavy organized mess. It looked like seaweed had sprouted from her head and butt. Half her face was covered by the long mane. Patterns of silky, golden yellow sheets shown through her mane and tail. On her flank was the picture of three dark red half hearts, none of which matched up to one another.
Lace looked out towards the fog with a frown on her soft face. They were going to invite her to a party too, but it looked like that wasn’t going to happen. Maybe she could invite them to one.
As Twilight walked forward, she found her eyes drawn to sharp shapes sticking out from above. Sometimes, when the fog moved a certain way, rusty iron structures could be seen hanging down. Rough gates with spiked bars poked through menacingly. Hanging lamp posts provided no light as it lacked a source. Twisting girders and metal cables loomed in the mist, like fingers waiting to snatch up anypony that wandered too close.
Looking around some more, Twilight found that she was alone. She shivered at the thought of being all by herself in such a sad location, but she didn’t really expect to see anypony else. After all, Twilight had come here by herself for purposes. She couldn’t exactly remember what purposes other than they were important.
Lights hovered around the area, casting a sickly glow over through the heavy mist. They moved as if they were sentient, but none of them cared when the unicorn got close. They passed straight through Twilight if she happened to be in their way.
Twilight jerked to the side, giggling while doing so. The part that the lights touched tickled warmly.
She plowed on with a bit more life than before. Whatever the unicorn was here for, she was certain it would come back eventually. For now, all she knew she had to do was continue onward.
The other five Equestrian ponies and the young under pony were all wandering around alone like lost ponies. They charged forward with varying levels of energy. For what reason, they didn’t know. All they knew was that it was something important. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie went ahead at top speed. Applejack, while a bit slower, didn’t really take the time to properly explore the area. Rarity and Ferry Merry had taken to walking and looking around.
Fluttershy had barely moved. She had her face buried under her hooves while wondering just why she was in this mist covered area. The sound of hooves hitting against the grates made the meek pegasus shiver. As the noise came closer, her trembling became so great, that even the mist shook.
“¿Señorita? What is a beautiful mare such as yourself doing here?” somepony asked.
Fluttershy peered up only to let out a gasp. “Oh me? Nothing. I’m not doing anything. I’ll just be going now.” She turned away, only to pause. After spinning around in a complete circle, she didn’t find any good direction to go.
“Please, do not be frightened of me. Let me help you.” The pony that spoke extended a bony leg. Not a frail leg, but one that was devoid of any flesh or meat. He was a skeleton, tall and thin, but a friendly looking one wearing a dark coat with colorful trimmings.
“Who are you?” Fluttershy asked in a barely audible squeak.
“I am nopony important, just a caretaker of this river.”
“River?”
The skeleton caretaker pointed down.
“Eep,” Fluttershy gasped when she saw through the grate into a vast expanse of fog. The sounds of running water was audible over the sound of music.
“Come with me, our mistress has invited you to a gathering.” The skeleton pony stared directly at Fluttershy. He was trying to smile, but that was rather hard without any lips. The unmoving bone face came across as bored.
“Okay,” Fluttershy whispered. “I don’t want any trouble.”
“It’s just a dinner for our honored guests.”
“M-me?”
The caretaker nodded.
Elsewhere, the other ponies were all meeting fancily dressed skeleton attendants. Rainbow Dash had been oddly easy to catch. Having no idea where to go or what she was doing here, she had followed one of the many floating lights in the area. They passed by a hanging three headed lamp post, and then another one, and another one.
Rainbow Dash swerved around it while thinking that there sure were a lot of similar looking lamp posts hanging on the ceiling in this place. Even the metal dents were the same. She was relieved to see another pony, even if it was one that was just bones. It was kinda off putting, but she felt relieved not to be alone at least.
Applejack stubbornly walked ahead. That was until a rather thick boned attendant asked, “Where are you going to in such a hurry?”
“Well, uh.” Applejack scratched her head. “I don’t remember right now.”
“It can’t be that important if you don’t remember it, señorita. Please, won’t you at least come with me for a little while? Our mistress went to a lot of trouble preparing a feast for her guests.”
“I’m her guest?” The farm pony adjusted her hat. “Well, I suppose it would be rude of me not to go at least. But only for a little bit. I reckon have something important that needs doing, and I’ll be doing it.” She pulled her hat forward in an appreciative bow.
For Rarity, the promise of someplace to rest her weary hooves and have a nice meal was more than enough to get her to go along. This place was absolutely dreadful in many senses. Just look at all that ridiculous hanging decorations. Whoever designed this place needed to learn how to use some color. She had to admit the floating lights were a nice touch. If only there weren’t all that hair-volume destroying fog around.
Rarity was the first to arrive at the site of the miniature party. There was a grand oval table set up in the middle of several silver arches. The frame of the table and seats were all made of silver as well. The unicorn we a quiet, delightful noise at the faceted glass that acted as the tops to the chairs and dining surface. Dull red cushions were provided on the chairs for comfort. In total, there were eight place settings. Though it wasn’t her event, Rarity went over and straightened out the actually silver silverware that was next to the plates.
The source of the festive melody flowing through the area was revealed now. Standing under one of the arches was a band of four skeleton attendants. Unlike the one that had brought her here, the band had a fancier outfit with golden tassels hanging from their dark coats and pants. All of them wore colorful, wide brimmed sombreros.
They made a small bow to the guest without missing a note. Being able to play brass trumpets as skeletons shouldn’t be surprising considering how they could talk. The lead band member strummed a large guitar. His hoof tapped against the wood panel as he bobbed up and down rhythmically.
“Dear, this place is a bit drab though, don’t you think?” Rarity asked a rather small attendant.
“It isn’t to your liking, señorita?”
“No, it’s marvelous. I’m just thinking out loud here. Would your host mind if I make some modifications?” Rarity leaned towards the attendant with batting eyelids.
“I suppose not. We put up all the decorations ourselves, but we’re not particularly good at it.” The skeleton pony remained completely still as he spoke. “It would be rude to have a guest do it though.”
“I insist. The proper decoration can set the entire mood for the party, and it’s the least I could do for such a gracious invitation. It’s no trouble to me at all.”
After a moment of what might have been contemplative silence, he said, “What did you have in mind?”
“If you could get me some colored fabrics, gemstones and flowers, I think I can spruce this place up a bit, make it more lively.”
“No flowers.” The sharpness of his voice made the white unicorn step back. “I apologize. Flowers are not a good sign to us. They happen to like growing on bones. If too many of them gather on us, they’ll lock our joints in place and drain out what bit of soul we have. There is an old saying from a wise person, ‘We may have years, we may have hours, but sooner or later, we push up flowers.’
“Down here is nice because no flowers grow.”
“I understand,” Rarity said with a kind smile. “I’m sorry for making you uncomfortable. The fabrics and gems will more than suffice.”
The small skeleton pony bowed before setting off.
Lace, meanwhile, had chased down Ferry Merry. The small filly was shuffling through the grates above the River of Forgetfulness without any worries, or rhyme for that matter.
“Ferry Merry, come here would you, dear?” Lace said.
“Who are you?” Ferry Merry asked.
Lace hung her head and frowned. She quickly looked up with wide, innocent eyes. “Don’t you remember me? I’m one of the five guardians.”
“Never seen you before, dame, sorry.”
“Well, that’s really bad. Here, put this on.” Lace just jammed a small sized skull mask onto the filly. “This will filter out the effects of the fog.”
“What effects?” Ferry said, her voice now muffled.
“Er, come on, I think I have some imported gingko biloba around here. The potion made from that should fix you right up.”
“Fix what right up?”
Lace let out a weak chuckle. “Nothing, nothing. Just go with Dat Bones now, she’ll get you sorted out.” She pushed the confused filly towards a skeletal attendant with wide hip bones.
Lace wiped her brow. What happened last time young river guide came to the river was still fresh in her mind. While Lace had been emphatically playing with Ferry, the filly had slipped off the boat and fallen into the water. It had been an accident, but Arch Rune was having none of it.
A cold sweat made the dark green pony shiver as she recalled what happened next.
At that time, Arch Rune said, “Listen, Lace, doll, I like you and all, but if you do not fix my sisters memory, bad stuff is going to happen. I have these nails. See? They’re long, rusty things. If my sister can’t get her memory back, I am going to have to string you up, hooves in the air. I’ll hammer in these nails through your hooves and into the fleshy leg portion. It’s going to take a while since hooves are so hard. I might accidentally split them entirely. Still like you though, remember that.” And then Arch Rune had given a firm squeeze on the shoulder.
Those words echoed loudly in Lace’s mind. No wonder Arch Rune guarded the River of Pain.
It should be fine though. Right? If Lace could fix up (most of) the memory of somepony that fell into the river directly, just breathing in a bunch of the river vapors should be no problem. She let out a nervous chuckle.
Now that her friend’s younger sister was being taken cared off, Lace set off for the party. All of the guests should have been gathered by now.
At the party location, Rarity had been hard at work making things more elegant, refined, while keeping the overall tone of the place intact. To go with all of the hanging metal structures, a focal point was created in the center of the table that looked a bit like a reverse chandelier of gems.
She was currently decorating the many arches surrounding the area with long pieces of colorful fabric. They were carefully draped over, evoking vines crawling along the metal. Bright gemstones popped from the shiny fabrics.
Lights of lost souls hovered around the area. As they had nothing better to do, they agreed to provide a brighter ambience. Hanging out by the party was certainly much more interesting than the usual aimless wandering.
“There,” Rarity said. She stepped back, admiring her additions. “What do you think?”
“It’s lovely, Señorita Rarity,” the small attendant said. “You certainly have a way with decorating.”
“Thank you. I do, uh, what did I do?” The unicorn shrugged. For some reason, not being able to come up with an answer didn’t really bother her.
“Hoo wee,” somepony said. A peach colored pony wearing a rancher hat said. “This place is looking fancy. Are you the host of this little party?”
“Oh me?” Rarity raised a hoof to herself. “No. I was just given permission to do some additional decorating. I’m a guest too.”
“Mighty fine work you’ve done here. Name’s Applejack.” She spat on her hoof and extended it.
The unicorn backed away defensively from the spit laden hoof. She waved instead. “Rarity. Charmed.”
Soon, two more guests arrived, both pegasi. The way they carried themselves couldn’t be more different. The sky blue pegasus with the rainbow mane swaggered, not caring about offending anypony. On the other hoof, the yellow pegasus with a long, flowing pink mane tip toed around the edges and refused to face the other guests directly.
“Sup,” the blue pegasus said. Without hesitation, she spat on her own hoof to shake Applejack’s. “I’m Rainbow Dash.”
Rarity had walked over to the cowering pegasus. With a bright smile, she asked, “And what’s your name, dear?”
“....” A name had come out, but it was too quiet to hear.
“What did you say?” Applejack asked.
Now that the other three ponies were all staring at her, the meek pegasus retreated further towards the ground.
The tall caretaker next to her raised a bony hoof. “Presenting Señorita Fluttershy.”
“Oh,” the other three said in unison.
“Well howdy, Fluttershy. No need to be, er, shy.” Applejack gently patted Fluttershy on the back.
They’re greetings were interrupted by the arrival of a murky green pony with the strangest mane any of them had seen. “Good evening. My name is Love, and I am the host for this party. I’m glad you have all, er.”
Lace raised her hoof and pointed to each of the Equestrian ponies. This would have been so much easier if there was a built in counting device on her hooves. “Only four?” She turned to the skeleton workers around. “Where are the other two?”
None of them knew.
Lace rubbed the side of her head. “Well, we can get started for now. I’m sure the others will join us soon. So please, have a seat.” A sultry smile spread across her lips. “We’ll have a grand time.”
For the occasional, Lace had adorned some jewelry. A golden pendant sparkled around her chest and two miniature gold chains dangled from her ears. The left one looped up to a piercing near the top of her ear.
Even though the table was large enough to fit at least twenty ponies, they all gathered on one end. The band started playing a livelier tune. Those bones could really shimmy if they wanted to. The guitarist and violinist also started vocalizing in a smooth, low harmony. The music still remained unobtrusive, allowing for conversation between the guests.
Waiters brought out the first course to all of the present guests, a lovely salad of various moss, lilies and lotus roots. Glowing silk lines were neatly arranged along the top.
“Upon seeing the plate before her, Applejack tilted her head. “Is this it?”
“Of course not. I was informed that this is a proper, full course meal,” Rarity said with an air of haughtiness.
“That’s right,” Lace said. “We’ll be having a salad, soup, appetizer, entrée and dessert.”
Rainbow Dash made a slurping noise as she sucked up her tongue. “Why can’t you just bring that all out now? I want to try everything.” She leaned forward onto the table.
“We could do that if you girls want,” Lace said.
Rarity waved a hoof in objection. “No, no. This is a nice, proper dinner event. We should enjoy it properly. Rainbow D....” What was the pegasus’ name again? It would have been impolite not to use it but a ruffian such as her probably wouldn’t mind anyway. “Don’t slouch. And you, Applejim, don’t wear your hat at the table, it’s rude.”
Applejack glanced up at the brim of her hat. “Why should I? I always wear my hat.” Her voice dropped to a low mumble. “You’re the rude one for not knowing my name.”
“What was that? Mumbling is rude.”
A distinct noise of grinding teeth was coming off Applejack. She decided to just eat. Looking around however, she saw that the host and the proper unicorn were both using forks to eat. Applejack tried picking one up. It felt extremely unwieldy in her hooves.
Of course, the unicorn was having no problems as she just used magic to manipulate the silverware.
The sound of a plate harshly being placed on the table cut into their conversation. “Bring out the next course already,” Rainbow Dash said, still with a mouth full of salad. She had foregone the use of utensils and just ate directly off the plate.
“Hmhm.” Lace nodded with a chuckle. She made a lazy wave to the waiter while keeping her smirking eyes on the guests.
It was fun having dinner with new ponies. They were as lively as her own friends. Less fun was the fact that they were supposed to be friends with each other. Now, her party guests were just strangers. Lace had seen a lot of people that once knew each other turn into ones that wouldn’t give each other the time of day. She let out a sigh as her dejected eyes glanced around the table.
After a minor nitpick from Rarity about which of the many forks to use, Applejack placed a hoof to her face. “Would you stop being so fussy about everything?”
“I’m just hoping you are so uncivilized that you can not enjoy a nice dinner party,” Rarity said. “At least somepony here knows proper etiquette.”
“Uh,” Fluttershy mumbled. She moved the salad fork away from her mouth before speaking. “It’s nothing really.”
Looking at them now, Lace wondered if perhaps her guests needed proper circumstances to be friends. Throwing them directly into a formal affair seemed to be causing some friction between them.
While the other ponies continued their snide socializing, one of the caretakers quietly slipped behind the guardian of the river. He leaned forward and whispered something in her ear.
“Pardon me, dear guests,” Lace said. “It appears our last two guests have gotten lost. Please excuse me while I show them the way. If you have any requests, I’m sure our waiters will handle it. Remember to enjoy yourselves.” She bowed her head.
The guardian of the river disappeared into the heavy fog, equally heavy thoughts on her mind. A determined look was on her face as she raced over the grating. The remaining two guests weren’t lost, both of them had turned down an invitation. There shouldn’t be any good reason for them to do that. One of them in particular had gotten dangerously close to the exit.
Taking advantage of the situation, Rainbow Dash ordered everything at once. Brought out was a lovely dinner of rich creamy corn soup, an entrée of delectably seasoned mushrooms and root vegetables, and a dessert of a light, clear soup mixed with various berries.
“Now that’s what I’m talking about,” Rainbow Dash said. A gluttonous grin spread across her face.
She immediately went for the dessert soup first. Her slurping splattered as much soup outside of the bowl as inside her mouth.
“Watch it,” Applejack grumbled as sweet, sticky droplets landed on her face.
“Sorry,” a giggling Rainbow Dash managed to say.
The farm pony stood up, placing both from legs on the table. “Waiter, bring me everything too.”
Rarity rolled her eyes, mumbling, “Plebeians.” She tenderly sipped her soup course, savoring the flavor.
When Applejack received all of her dishes, she leaned forward onto the table. She pushed aside the dessert dish for now. “I bet I can finish the soup and main dish before you can.”
Rainbow Dash gave an evil grin. “Okay, you’re on.”
Sensing the change in atmosphere, the band picked up the tempo. Vocal trilling raised the energy and spirits of the contestants.
In their rush, bits of food flew everywhere. Rainbow Dash had started flinging the pieces that landed on the table towards her opponent.
Fluttershy flinched as a misfired mushroom struck her nose.
“Quit it,” Applejack said.
“Don’t make the challenge if you aren’t prepared to win,” Rainbow Dash boasted. She slammed the empty main dish plate onto the table.
“The goal is to eat the food, not spread it everywhere.”
“The goal was to finish. And I finished.”
Grimacing, Applejack said, “Not yet you haven’t.” She finished the rest of the entrée in one bite.
The white unicorn sitting at the table suddenly let out a frustrated growl. “You two are the most unbelievable, uncouth, undignified ponies I have ever seen. Do you have any idea how to behave in formal occasions.”
“We’re just having fun,” Applejack argued. “This is a party, isn’t it?”
“This is a dinner party, not whatever shindig you’re used to.”
“If you don’t like it, why don’t you just leave?”
A wide eyed look of indignation appeared on Rarity’s face. “F-fine. I think I will. I have something far more important to do anyway.” She turned up her nose and walked away.
Using the farmer earth pony’s distraction, Rainbow Dash flicked a spoon at the ranch hat. Knocking it off would delay the other pony even more. Her throw had been a little too enthusiastic though.
Not only was the hat knocked clean off, it tumbled into a gnarled iron arch. One of the structural wires was sticking out just enough for the rough end to catch onto the hat. The metal bit tore through the rim, leaving a nasty cut.
“You,” Applejack slammed her hoof onto the table, “you’ve done it now rainbow pegasus.”
Rainbow Dash shrugged. Without any sincerity, she said, “Oops.”
The quiet pegasus, Fluttershy, sank further back into her seat as the two other ponies glared heated sparks at each other.
While the party went on, Lace sped through the swirling mist. She kept her head up, noting what structures were hanging down from the mist. She passed a cracked lamp post, a long iron fence, something that looked like a metal wing, and many other markers.
Up ahead was a bright spot of pink in an otherwise gloomy area.
“Hello there,” Lace called out to the pink pony.
“Oh, hello,” Pinkie Pie said as she cheerfully bounced along.
“Where are you going?”
“To do, uh,” Pinkie scratched her curly mane, “something important.”
Lace sidled over with her face down but eyes glancing up. “Wouldn’t you much rather come to a party?”
“Ooh, parties, I love parties, but I feel that there’s something I must do. It’s very important. Sorry, Love. I’ll definitely come back later.”
“Wait, what did you call me?” Lace asked, wide eyed.
“Love. It’s your name, isn’t it?” Pinkie tilted her head one way, then the other.
“Yes, but you remembered.”
“Of course I remember. How could I forget? I’ve even made a song to help me remember you. It goes something like this
It’s a lovely day for Love
A great dark green pony
All she needs is a little shove
To go to the greatest party.
Pinkie finished the song with a spin.
“How does, how does a song help you remember?” a flabbergasted Lace asked.
“It’s a mnemonic device, using other cues to help aid in memory retention. I have a song for all my friends too. My friends? Uh, I had six of them right? Of course I do, I think about them constantly.”
“Oh, w-well, they’re all waiting for you over at the party.” Lace wrapped a hoof around Pinkie Pie in an attempt to lead her away from the exit.
“I want to,” Pinkie said with a bright smile. “But I can’t.” Her face turned into a solemn frown. “There is something important I have to do, more important than partying.” She ruffled her mane frantically. “What could be more important than partying? It has something to do with my friends. What were their names again?”
Pinkie Pie started vocalizing.
I used to wonder what friendship could be
Until you all shared its magic with me
Big Adventure (That’s Rainbow Dash!)
Tons of fun (Ooh, me.)
A beautiful heart (Rrrarity.)
Faithful and strong (Cider maker Applejack.)
Sharing kindness (Gentle Fluttershy.)
It’s an easy feat
And magic makes it all complete (That’s Twilight.)
“Twilight! She’s hurting the most right now.” Pinkie Pie held both front hooves up to her gasping mouth. “Twilight’s sad because of, because of. Think.” She sat on the ground, one hoof folded across her chest, the other tapping her head. “Think, think, think.”
Thinking through her bank of songs, nothing really linked her to memory to the important friend. But there was more than just audio recollection. There was also spatial and color recollection. According to colors, there was somepony green and purple. According to space, that pony wasn’t a pony at all.
“Spike!” Pinkie squealed. “We need to save Spike. If we don’t, everypony will be sad, Twilight especially. A party isn’t a party if all your friends are sad.”
“No,” Lace admitted. She rubbed her hoof against the metal grate, unsuccessfully digging at it. “I suppose not.” Her mouth quivered.
Pinkie tightly squeezed the dark green under pony around the waist. “Don’t be sad. I’m sure we’ll all be happy again.”
“I’m not so sure about that.”
Their alone time was interrupted by a figure walking through the mist. It was too fleshy to be one of the caretakers. The pony was mumbling something, over and over again in dull tones.
Twilight Sparkle walked out from the mist in a daze. “I must keep going. I must keep going. I must keep going.” That one sentence droned out of her mouth, over and over again.
Pinkie Pie hummed the part of the song that reminded her who the lavender unicorn was before springing out. “Twilight!” She performed a diving tackle that caused both ponies to tumble across the grate.
“Who?” Twilight asked. Her eyes were only half open, seeing a blurry pink thing.
“Twilight Sparkle. It’s me, your friend Pinkie Pie!”
“I’m sorry but I don’t know you.” Twilight pushed the other pony off. She continued on her way. “I have something important to do, so please excuse me.”
“I’m coming too! All our friends are. You can’t just go alone. We need to go together.”
“Friends? I don’t need any friends. I have books. And books are more than enough.” Twilight gave a half hearted tilt of her head towards the saddlebags on her back.
“If you don’t remember me, I’m going to have to make you remember.”
Lace stood at the side, watching. She could have stopped this, but the knot in her stomach prevented her from moving. Normally, she never saw living beings under the effects of the river. Sure, it was just the vapors with a much weaker effect, but messing with the lives of living ponies made her mouth dry. The guardian was sitting on the ground, with exceptionally rigid front legs propping her up. Her mouth was pressed together until it was nothing more than a narrow line.
“Remember all the times we’ve been through? The times we went to handle that snoring dragon? The time we pretended to be Mare Do Well? The time I thought you all hated me and wanted to kick me out of the group?”
“Not really,” Twilight said as she backed away from the wide, bulging eyes.
“How about this, remember the time we went after Nightmare Moon? Remember the first song I ever sang you?
Giggle at the ghostly
Guffaw at the grossly
Crack up at the creepy
Whoop it up at the weepy
Chortle at the kooky
Snortle at the spooky.
Twilight let out a groan. She placed a hoof to her head. The horn gave off a faint glow. “Ha, ha, ha,” she found herself saying. Why did those words just suddenly blurt out?
“Come on.” Pinkie pressed even closer. “Remember how to smile? We all want to smile together again right?
Come on Twilight Sparkle, smile, smile, smile
Fill my heart up with sunshine, sunshine
All I really need is a smile, smile, smile
From this happy friend of mine.
The unicorn shook her head. Magic swirled around her horn. “Pinkie?” she managed to say.
“Yes! Yes, it’s me.”
“That melody sounds so familiar.”
The hyper pony folded her hooves and looked down thoughtfully. There must be something else she could do to jog Twilight’s memory. “Ooh!” she gasped.
She hopped up and down in front of Twilight. “Remember this?” Her entire body started to shake, as if she was standing on a localized quake.
“The doozy! Something big is going to happen,” Twilight said.
The unicorn’s horn suddenly burst into light. A spark travelled all the way to the tip before bouncing back, sending her sprawling on the ground.
When she opened her eyes again, they were spinning. Twilight shook off the dizziness. Looking at the pony in front of her, she said, “Pinkie Pie? What’s going on.”
“You remember, Twilight!” Pinkie Pie leapt around with a smile that outshined the dreary, mist filled cavern.
“Do you remember?”
“I remember we have this thing with the thing.”
Twilight grabbed Pinkie on one of her passes. “Hold still.” She aimed her horn at Pinkie’s face. A bright glow washed over both of them.
“Spike! We have to save Spike,” Pinkie said.
The unicorn nodded. “Where are the other’s though? And Love? What are you doing here?”
Lace let out a small peep. “Uh, well, erm, I followed you girls up. I think I mean, I can’t remember.”
“Hang on. I think this place affects our memories somehow. It’s strange, but I can remember not remembering. Anyway, I’m going to cast a protective counterspell.” Twilight cast the same spell onto Lace.
There wasn’t any sudden feeling of revelation for the guardian. The soothing feeling quelled her stomach somewhat. “Thank you,” Lace said appreciatively. “And please, call me Lace. I remember now, that’s my name.”
“I think Love, or Lace, was telling me that our friends were at some party here,” Pinkie said.
Lace glanced away. “Yes. I passed by them when following you. A band was playing there I believe.”
“Let’s go get them,” Twilight said.
Lace reluctantly followed the two good friends back. The nervous sweat of being an outsider rolled down her back. It didn’t take them long to follow the riveting music back to its source.
Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were all sitting around the table, laughing. Many empty plates were between the group of chatting ponies. Applejack’s hat had been repaired by an expert tailor. It was impossible to tell a tear was even there.
Applejack tapped her hat. “Thanks for fixing that up for me,” she said sheepishly.
“Not a problem, darling,” Rarity said.
“And I’m sorry for acting the way I did. It wasn’t proper for the current atmosphere.”
“Yeah,” a Rainbow Dash, slumped into her seat, said. “I guess I’m sorry too. I got caught up in the competition.”
Fluttershy smiled kindly at the others. “I’m glad you have all calmed down.”
Looking on at the four ponies, Lace had a thought. Perhaps this group was destined friends. If they met for the first time a hundred different times, they would become friends a hundred different ways.
Lace shot a glare at the incoming skeletal caretakers. She repeatedly made the motion for cease and desist to them. The attendants gave each other blank stares, but they backed off and waited at the sides quietly.
A skull mask wearing filly was also around. When Twilight and Pinkie came, she rushed over. The worry in her eyes were clear, even through the eyeholes. “Dames, did you lose your memories too?”
“Don’t worry, Ferry. We’re fine.” Twilight gave a reassuring nod.
One by one, Twilight restored her friends memories. They were all grumbling about the strangest experience. All of their moods were still high and jovial as they looked at all the strangeness going on around them.
Pinkie had been perusing at the food on the table. “What’s with this party? There’s no cake.”
“What is cake?” Lace asked.
“You don’t know what cake is?” Pinkie said with a look of absolute horror. “I will prepare the most magnificent cake for our celebration party. You’ll see.”
Lace had a wide smile that turned her eyes into nothing more than arches. “I would really like that.”
“And don’t worry, I would never forget to invite you,” Pinkie said.
Arche Rune, guardian of the River of Pain, stood on the end of dingy docks. The wooden pier was worn out with warped planks. Many wooden patches had been nailed in, fixing holes and cracks.
The guardian was pale blue under pony, with mane and tail of stormy seas. Her mane was different length side tails, with one side being much longer than the other. Her tail was much the same way. Half of it was trimmed short while the other half was left uncut. On her flank was the image of a stone archway, with runes inscribed on the side.
A dark river rushed down a long tunnel. Its torrential roar was magnified as it travelled the enclosed space. Signs of life, or maybe it unlife, could be seen swimming in the river. Their forms of bones, scales or spikes occasionally rose above the surface of the water. None of the local aquatic life seemed bothered by the currents at all. They easily stayed in place or even swam against it.
Arche Rune wasn’t doing anything in particular. Another shipment of souls wasn’t due for a while. Technically, she didn’t need to be at the river at all during the downtimes, but having the boss show up from time to time certainly whipped up productivity.
Behind her were the rest of the docks, a grimy yet festive place. All the buildings and boardwalks had been fixed up multiple times, often in the same area. Different shades of the same color were painted everywhere. Water damage persisted through the area and so did barnacles. Ghastly ships that looked more like wrecks than sailable vessels floated gently on the river.
Colorful lights and bright tents were strung up all through the area. The garish glows gave the docks the feel of a carnival or tourist attraction. Every tent had bright signs, lit up with some kind of liquid. They mostly sold food for the staff and workers. A plaza, well lit from stringed lights, was filled with long tables and benches.
Downriver, something was sailing over. Arch Rune looked at the incoming small boat curiously. Nothing was on the schedule that she knew of, and this dock really wasn’t one for much personal traffic. She strode down the boardwalk to get a closer look.
It wasn’t one rowboat coming down the river but two or possibly three. No, it was two. The second boat was just broken in half, and was being towed along. The broken halves managed to stay afloat through their natural buoyancy and lack of ability to hold water. They swayed from side to side, hitting against each other repeatedly.
Sailing in the tugboat were one of the dock workers and the dark orange guardian of the River of Fire, Fleckle Sun. Her long straight mane and tail were white with bones. A spiked collar was around her neck and leather bands were around each hoof. The mark on her flank was that of a purple sound wave.
As Arch Rune examined the broken boat, her eyes widened. Then they angled down in anger and a frown appeared on her face.
“What did you do?” she called out. “What the clouds did you do?”
“Don’t I get a. ‘Hi,’ first?” Fleckle Sun asked.
“Not when you’re dragging my sister’s ship, which for some reason is in two halves.”
“Uh, well.” Fleckle Sun looked back at the two boat pieces. “It’s more like two fifths and three fifths really.”
Arch Rune leapt through the air. Landing on the small tugboat caused a large splash and nearly tilted it over. The dock worker had to quickly balance out the weight by leaning over the side.
The orange under pony fell backwards, landing in a sitting position against the boat. “Whoa, what’s up?”
“What did you do to my sister?” Arch Rune growl, her face almost pressing up against the other guardian’s.
“Nothing, nothing. She’s fine, she’s happy, she’s probably chilling with Cool or something.”
“Then why is her ferry in pieces?”
“Stuff happened. Why are you looking at me like it’s my fault?” Fleckle Sun had both forelegs held up in surrender.
“Because it was fine when she left. See?”
“Hey, I can’t help it if the boat had such shoddy craftsmanship that it can’t withstand a little nudging from the blarrgs.”
Arch Rune narrowed her eyes into pointed daggers. “I built that boat.”
“Oh, er.” Fleckle Sun wiped beads of nervous sweat from her brow. “Oh yeah, I remember that. I was there.” She let out a small chuckle. “It’s really nice work you know. You really sanded that wood hard. What I meant to say is that the boat is old and probably ready to fall apart.”
“I made it last year, when Ferry Merry wanted to become a river guide.”
“Oh, right. Again, I was there. But you made it like it came from two hundred years ago,” Fleckle said. “Why under earth would you purposely make something old and ragged.”
“Well.” Arch Rune finally backed away. She rubbed the side of her head awkwardly. “Ferry Merry really wanted it to look like those ships.” A hoof pointed towards the ghostly galleons parked at the docks. “She thought that’s the way the ships were supposed to look, not knowing that those are refurbished from old wrecks.”
She looked down and let out a dejected sigh. “I spent an entire week making the new ship I made look like it was old and worn.”
Fleckle Sun let out a chuckle and slapped her friend on the back. “This should make Ferry Merry happy then. Now her ship is an actual an old wreck.”
Arch Rune grumbled inaudibly but couldn’t find anything really wrong with that statement.
“Come on, I dragged that piece of fine junky craftsmanship back here to get it fixed. By other ponies of course. I don’t know birds about ship building.”
Fleckle Sun stepped onto dry land. The boat had already been tied up inside one of the many warehouses. It was a dim area with windows boarded up, and lit only by lanterns hanging along the rafters. The lights danced off the waters and onto the walls. Wooden crates were stacked all along one side from the floor to the ceiling. Rails dipping into the water allowed for boats to slide onto land.
It was an easy task for two ponies to drag the broken rowboat parts onto land. Gathering all the needed tools and repair materials didn’t take long either. Fixing the small boat was going to be another matter however. The magic that kept it floating despite looking like it was hundreds of years old had been broken when the hull was.
Arch Rune let out a sigh and scratched her head. At least it was just a small rowboat. Enchanting that should be no problem for one capable of doing such things. She, however, was not capable. A sour look was on her face.
“Are you still upset I broke your sister’s boat?” Fleckle Sun asked. “Come on, I’m sorry. I was just doing my job.”
“I’m still upset that you broke the ship I worked so hard on,” Arch Rune said. Her evil glare briefly flicked over to a set of iron vice grips. Such things were perfect for holding things together, or putting the squeeze on annoying ponies.
Fleckle jumped away, with forelegs held up defensively. “Hey, hey, hey.”
“Relax, firly. I’m not going to hurt you. There are ponies around that could hear.” From the sheet of tools, Arch Rune picked up a hammer and some nails. “The problem is, I have to go to that used ship salesman to get the boat enchanted again. The guy talks smooth and sells tons of other stuff you don’t need. Last time I went there, I was sold some seat warmers, cup holders and an extended warranty that covered basically nothing. He was conveniently away when I went back there.”
Arch Rune’s hammering of planks into the boat was filled frustrations from remembering about last time. The orange guardian was helping by sitting at the side, occasionally handing over another nail or plank.
“Can you work any faster? This is boring,” Fleckle Sun said from her seat atop one of the crates. Her long tail swished back and forth, curving just enough to avoid dusting the dirty floor.
“Hammer,” Arch Rune said.
“You have one already.”
“I’m going to throw the second one at your head.”
Fleckle Sun opened and closed her mouth a few times. After a few moments, she shrugged and hoofed over a second hammer.
With a second hammer, Arch Rune seriously considered going through on her threat. Her hoof tossed the metal headed hammer up and down a few times, feeling its heft. Instead of smacking her friend in the face, she asked, “You say Ferry Merry is hanging out with Cool Cestus now? That means you let those Equestrian firlies through?”
“Yep.”
“What did you think of them?”
“Eeeeh. They are nice,” Fleckle Sun said with a slow thoughtfulness. “I think they’re nice. I didn’t really listen to why they wanted to go through the River of Fire.”
“They want to-”
Fleckle Sun held up her hoof. “I ignored it once, don’t make me ignore it again. I like them though. They’re interesting. A fiery vigor burns within them, pushing them forward. How could I say no to that? Especially after they pretty much made it all the way through the River of Fire.”
“You think they’ll reach the princess?” Arch Rune asked as she hammered more planks to keep the two boat parts together.
A guffaw burst out from the orange guardian. Her body tilted back, almost falling off the crate. “No way they’ll reach the end. Even if Cool and, uh, and what’s-her-name don’t stop them, Sticks definitely will.”
“Yeah. I can’t see them getting past Sticks. I just hope Sticks will go easy on them.”
“Unlikely.” Fleckle Sun gave an offhanded wave. “Sticks is going to grind them up, put them in her cereal, eat them and then spit them out because she just realized that’s cannibalism.”
Arch Rune chuckled. “I can see that happening.” She shook her hoof in warning to the guardian Sticks, despite Sticks not being here. “She had better not even think about hurting my sister though. Now, are you going to help me with this boat or sit there all day?”
“I think I’ll sit here all day. Thanks for the choice,” Fleckle Sun said with a smirk. That was when she had to duck a hammer aimed at her head.
“No way,” Spike gasped. His claws clutched the edge of the viewing basin tightly. “I lost my memories? So they really are my friends?”
Princess Terranea glanced sideways towards the baby dragon. “That’s right.”
He curled his tail up in front and hugged it tightly. “Twilight Sparkle?” He stood still as a statue, transfixed on the six Equestrian ponies.
Around him, the guards had set up quite a comfortable viewing area. They had brought in couches, and a wooden table. Colorful fizzy drinks and salty snacks were everywhere. Trash overflowed from the table, dribbling onto the ground.
The princess turned her attention back to Fog Lace, one of her soul reapers.
“In your professional opinion, was it Sir Spike’s time?”
Fog Lace looked down thoughtfully. “Tttaking all the neeew infooormation into account, nnno.” The cloaked pony let out a shrug. “Mmmy bad.”
“Try not to let it happen again.”
Fog Lace nodded. “Of course. Aaare you going to returrrn the sssoul?”
Looking at the image of the group travelling to the next river, Princess Terranea said, “I haven’t decided.”
“It wwwouldn’t matter anywwway,” Fog Lace said.
“Because the last guardian,” the princess said grimly. “It is a shame they came all this way only to fail. Or will you, Twilight Sparkle?”
Her gaze briefly flickered to the massive chamber doors. Waiting beyond that was somepony very troublesome. Unlike the other guardians, this one was unfalteringly serious of preventing any unauthorized entrance.
Twilight and the others headed down a set of stairs where the walkways met up with the river again. Everypony was in a bright mood. The lavender unicorn was feeling good because they had almost reached their destination. Only one river left to go. Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were especially happy. They still had an emotional high of meeting with each other again as well as having a lovely meal. Pinkie Pie was extremely happy to remember her friends and was bouncing higher than normal with an unflinching smile.
The only pony not exuberant was Ferry Merry. In fact, she was looking scared and reluctant to move forward. She shuffled forward, staying close to Fluttershy’s warm flank. A skull mask was still on her face. She thought it was a good way to hide her anxiety. It wouldn’t do if the river guide was worried about the river.
As they moved, the temperature cooled down. It was no longer stuffy and humid. The drastic drop in temperature was almost too much for their still damp fur.
“So, Ferry Merry,” Twilight said with a bounce in her voice, “what’s the last river?”
“Er, well,” the filly said, “you dames should be careful. The last river is the River of Hate. The guardian there has the resolve of cold steel and the violent tendency of heated death. You will have to fight your way past her.”
“Alright.” Twilight nodded firmly.
How bad could it be? At the very worst, there were six of them and one of the guardian.
As they continued on, the sound of water grew ever louder and more violent. The churning waters echoed within the tunnels, creating a roaring cacophony. All of the thrumming noises made it hard to talk, or even think.
The downward sloped tunnel ended just ahead. All they could see from the opening was a rigid, pony made bridge, wide enough to fit a channel of water in between two stone walkways on either side. The channel could fit a small fleet of ships and was filled cold, opaque water. The walkways were made with massive stone tiles. Pretty much every tile they could see was cracked in some way. A few were completely destroyed and hazardous to walk on.
One thing they noticed was the absolute lack of guardrails. It was like that with the River of Wailing as well. Nothing was put in place to stop somepony from walking off into the abyss. Bronze spider statues were set along the edge though. Their many eyes gazing towards the river in the center.
The source of the rumbling din became apparent as the group stepped onto the massive grey bridge. Far below them was a lake or some other body of water. The water was bubbling and frothing with activity. Multiple whirlpools clashed, spitting the lake high into the air in a burst of pressure. Anything that fell down there wouldn’t have a chance at getting back out. They would be instantly dragged under the violent surface.
Circular stone pillars held the bridge up high above the swirling waters.
Twilight gulped. “Alright, just stay away from the edge,” she pointed out obviously.
“I hear you, Sugarcube,” Applejack said. “I’ve seen a class full of hungry fillies at an all you can eat pie buffet behave better than this.”
“Stop paying attention to the dismal waters and look around,” Rarity said dreamily. “Look at all those gemstones.”
She was right. The area around the bridge was a vast open space. The jagged blue rock retreated far into the distance. Above them was a ceiling filled with shining gemstones, brightly lighting up the area. Pillars valiantly rose out from the waters below dotting the area. Set into every surface of rock were chunks of gold, dazzling gems and a myriad of treasures.
This place was almost like a dream. It wasn’t gloomy and run down like the River of Pain. There was no sweltering heat from the River of Fire. The cold loneliness of the River of Wailing was missing. And it lacked the mind destroying properties from the previous river, whatever that was. Everything was full of sparkling glory.
“I’ve never seen so many jewels before,” Rarity squealed as her hooves tapped against each other.
The other’s agreed with amazed nods.
“Well, yeah,” Ferry Merry said. “The majority of the under ponies actually make minerals and metals in Subterrania. Only a few of us work in Lot D.”
“I really want to see Subterrania,” Rarity said.
“Ooh, yeah! That would be great.” Ferry Merry sidled up to the Equestrian ponies. Her eyes were wide and sparkled from the reflected gems. “You know, I really want to see what’s up there, on the surface.”
Twilight chuckled. “I’m sure we can work something out.”
“Yeah, no problem, squirt. Once we save Spike, you can come along with us,” said Rainbow Dash as she waved a hoof.
A click punctured through the noise in the air, and everypony froze. Ferry Merry nervously backed away to hide behind Fluttershy, who was already all the way in the back.
As several more clicking noises happened, the bridge started to rumble. What the ponies couldn’t see was the complicated series of bronze mechanisms located both on and within the pillars the bridge. Heavy gears had started spinning on one of the stone supports, setting in motion an entire segment of bridge. It wasn’t the one the ponies were standing on but the part directly in front of them.
The river next to them turned into a waterfall as a segment of bridge started to rotate. The water started to flow out from the channel as the source had been cut off. The floor of the channel was filled with old metal scraps. They weren’t just a random assortment of stuff. Every piece of metal was either some old armor, dented beyond use, or dull weapons. It was as if an army had perished here. Falling water pushed off several of the fringe armors and weapons.
The rumbling finally stopped when the segment of bridge was now perpendicular to the normal orientation. A large gap that could not be jumped now kept the ponies from continuing on.
Everypony stepped back as a shadow slithered out in front of them. It had just appeared from the edge of the walkway.
“It’s the guardian,” Ferry Merry whispered.
A shape of a pony formed as the shadow rose from the ground. Each hoof landed on the stone tiles with a powerful impact. The mare’s angry eyes gazed out at the group of intruders.
Without any words, the guardian rushed forward. She tackled Twilight squarely in the chest, sending the unicorn flying back. Rainbow Dash managed to catch Twilight. Both of them gently landed on the ground.
“Wait a moment here,” Applejack started to say. She couldn’t get out any more words as the guardian leapt towards her.
Applejack managed to sidestep away. It was a good thing too as when the guardian landed, the stone tile cracked all the way through from powerful hooves.
With a snort, the strong guardian of the River of Hate stood at attention. Her dark purple fur was like a dark spot among this shining cavern. Her mane was long, but the tail was trimmed short. Both had a feral wildness to the way they twisted and spiked. The pattern revealed by them was one of black, shimmering with white reflections. Jagged obsidian, that was the picture shown behind her mane and tail. A set of crossed keys was pictured on her flank, one silver, one gold. Finishing off the guardian’s fierce gaze was a scar across the bridge of her nose on her otherwise uninjured body.
“Sticks, h-how you doing?” Ferry Merry said, trying to sound cool and casual. Her voice was a bit too shaky for that though.
“Don’t just come here and start attacking us.” Applejack Scowled at the guardian.
“Words are meaningless,” the guardian, Sticks, growled. Her voice was scratchy and deep. “If they weren’t, you would have left when you spoke with Cool Cestus. I won’t bother asking you to leave, I’ll make you leave.”
“Yeah?” Rainbow Dash said. She leaned forward with one eye opened wider than the other. “How are you supposed to do that? It’s against your rules to hurt any living ponies isn’t it?”
Sticks let out a low, rumbling laugh. Though she wasn’t any larger than the other ponies, Sticks felt imposing as she walked around, gazing at each of the intruders in turn. Her powerful aura drove back the ponies.
Her words came, low and fierce. “We are not allowed to kill living ponies. The rules are somewhat fuzzier on the subject of me breaking every bone in your stupid bodies and dragging you out.” A wicked grin spread over her face.
Rainbow Dash and Applejack immediately lowered in a ready to pounce stance. Their eyes narrowed as they pawed at the ground.
A sneer was on Sticks face. She started forward, one step, then two. On the third step, the guardian charged forward. The feisty pegasus did so as well, wings spread out. Sticks widened her eyes. The upper world sure was mysterious to give ponies strange growths on their back. She quickly got over it.
Sticks sank into the ground, completely avoiding the dashing pegasus. Applejack landed hard on the shadow. Her hooves felt like they had landed on something soft and fleshy. The shadows swirled around angrily. Sticks burst forth, her front hoof raised.
The farm pony contorted in pain as the uppercut connected in her stomach. She was flung backwards from the impact.
By that time, Rainbow Dash had returned for another tackle. This time, Stick was still distracted from her attack. She let out a grunt as the pegasus plowed into her back and carried her into the air. Both of them twisted around, struggling while soaring at high speeds. Rainbow Dash swerved around a lot, trying to avoid the guardian’s snapping teeth and hard hooves.
It was quickly apparent that Sticks had superior fighting skills. She managed to wrestle the pegasus over to gem studded wall before kicking off, sending her opponent crashing into the rocks. Sticks landed back on the main bridge with a deep thud.
Applejack and Twilight both charged in. The three ponies twirled around each other. Sparks streaked through the air, following the unicorn’s horn. Their movements were fast, and their strikes were fierce. Kicks with both hind legs, tackles, stabs with the horn, everything went.
“Give her the left,” Pinkie cheered as she mimed the action. “The left. No wait, right. Duck, duck, goose!”
Even with both Twilight and Applejack going on the offensive, Sticks was easily beating them back. What the guardian had was training and a desire to fight, both of which was lacking from the Equestrian ponies. Sticks had clean, sharp movements with little waste. Just a tiny opening was enough for her to lunge in for a quick strike.
Up on a stone ledge sticking out of the wall, Rainbow Dash shook her head into a recovery. She immediately hopped off with wings stretched out to their fullest. A trail of rainbows lagged after her position.
On the bridge below, Sticks had blocked a simultaneous attack from the two upper world ponies. She quickly wrapped her legs around the ponies. Spinning around, both Twilight and Applejack was lifted up, the world passing by in front of their eyes. She let them go, flinging them away.
Applejack bounced along the hard stone floor, coming to a stop near the other ponies. Twilight let out a cry as she sailed through the air. She could see the bridge fading away, only to be replaced with the violent whirling waters. She didn’t have a chance to fall though as something blue caught her.
“Thanks, Rainbow.” Twilight sounded winded when she spoke. The words had a tough time getting out from her pained chest.
“No problem.”
A dark look of joy was on Sticks face. She raised a hoof and waved over all the ponies in a taunting manner. “Come on.”
There was a loud crash as a chunk of gem filled rock suddenly landed on the place where Sticks was standing. When the dust cloud cleared, the guardian was revealed to have ducked to the side. She was still lying on her stomach, looking around at what happened.
Breathing heavily and standing with head tilted forward was Rarity. The glow on her horn faded away, as did the one around the chunk of rock.
“Stay away from my friends, you ruffian,” Rarity said. Her normally refined face had a hint of cold anger.
A smile was still on Sticks’ face. A shiver worked its way through her body. It was a shake of excitement. Out of all the attacks thus far, that falling rock was the first potentially lethal one thrown. Her toothy smile grew larger.
“No,” Sticks said.
Ferry Merry took several deep breaths. As the river guide, she felt it was her responsibility to make sure the situation doesn’t escalate any further. Each breath increased her level of courage a tiny bit.
Finally, she stepped out in between Sticks and the intruder group. “Sticks.” The filly cleared her throat, getting rid of the silly high pitched tone. “Sticks, why don’t we just stop this? Let these dames through. They need to save their friend. He was kind of, sort of, accidentally killed.”
Sticks walked towards the filly. Every step of her hoof seemed to make the bridge tremble.
Ferry Merry stood her ground, though an ever increasing amount of sweat was rolling down her face. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were both ready to jump in. Ferry waved a hoof, noting for them to back off. Her young eyes stared up at the wild looking guardian.
“Showing these ponies all the way here, you are a traitor to Lot D,” Sticks said. “Catch her.”
Before anypony could react, Sticks swiped her hoof, sending the small filly flying off the bridge.
“Ferry Merry!” everypony called out.
Rainbow Dash did her best to live up to her name as she streaked across the bridge. In her rush, she didn’t notice the under pony leaping up to intercept her. The pegasus let out a pained cry as she was spiked down into the stone bridge.
Ferry Merry disappeared from view as she went below the level of the bridge. Fluttershy and the others ran to the edge, all with a look of horrified look.
Something large and made of bronze swooped out. Flying upwards, they saw that the strange contraption looked like a bird, but one made of metal. It had a basic bird head with sharp beaks. The body was a cage where Ferry Merry was currently residing. The mechanical bird flew through a large metal board attached around its waist. On either end was a rapidly spinning propeller. Its feet were chained together by a dangling metal ball.
“Dames,” Ferry shouted, “just get to the princess. I’m sure she’ll agree to see you.”
“Okay,” Fluttershy said.
“Like I said.” Sticks barreled over, sending knocking Rarity to the ground. “I am stopping you right here.”
When the white unicorn landed on the ground, her golden necklace, a heart shaped jewel ruby was set into the gold frame, sprang off. Rarity watched in horror was it twirled through the air. Her horn glowed in a panic. The magic weaved around the necklace, stopping it just before it hit the floor.
Loud clicking suddenly filled the area again as the machines within the pillar sprung to life. The portion of bridge that had rotated away started to move back into place.
“What?” Sticks asked.
Twilight had teleported over to the bridge segment. After poking around for a bit, she had found the mechanism to control the rotation near the center of the segment. It was not exactly hidden, but the small sliding tile wasn’t immediately apparent either.
“Come on, let’s go.”
The Equestrian ponies hurried away from the violent guardian. As long as they kept moving forward, it would be alright. Their hooves trampled along the ground in a dash to reach the end. At the far side of the bridge stood a magnificent gate, their most definitely not final destination.
“Hold it!” Sticks roared. She had not expected all the magic and the flying ponies of the upper world had. “TALOS, all systems active. ξ defense level.”
With those words, the entire area suddenly sprang to life. Rubies sticking out of the wall started to shine as if there was a spiraling light within them. Screeching and groaning of metal clashed with the noise of turbulent waters. The bronze spider statues, they weren’t statues at all but more mechanical creations. Whirrings gears were visible through their metallic frame. Ahead of them, the spiders triggered the switch on the bridge, breaking apart every section. Now was a series of platforms running perpendicular to the way they wanted to go.
“Quick, how do you control the bridge thing?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Here.” Twilight showed the group what to do.
Rainbow Dash saluted. “On it.”
Applejack managed to keep the rather slow mechanical spiders away. Her powerful legs could toss them far, even if they were made of metal. One well placed kick sent a spider tumbling into a group, knocking all of them off into the water.
Rarity tried to put her necklace back on. That was when she discovered that the clasp had broken in the fall. She held the necklace out in front of her, looking at it sadly.
“Twilight dear,” Rarity said.
“Yes?” Twilight grunted as she blasted away a metal birdcage bird.
“Would you mind holding this for me? I don’t want it to get lost.” She held up the necklace set with a heart shaped ruby.
The other unicorn nodded. She gently used magic to place the necklace within her saddlebags.
“Hey!” Rainbow Dash called out. “Get ready for more incoming.” Without looking, she swerved out of the way of an birdcage trying to eat her up.
The next bridge section had just slid back into place, allowing them to continue forward. That also meant the spiders waiting there could come after them. Applejack stormed through the spiders, making a path right down the middle with mighty clanging and banging. Twilight and the others followed in a single file.
More heavy clicks rumbled through the area. At first, they thought Rainbow had activated the next bridge, but that wasn’t the case. They were confused about the source of the noise until Fluttershy made a small peep. Her hoof timidly pointed backwards.
Twilight’s eyes widened in shock. “Rarity, what are you doing?”
The bridge they had just came from just finished rotating back out of place leaving Rarity stranded there with Sticks. The unicorn lifted her hoof off from the switch.
Rarity proclaimed with a lot of force behind her voice, “This incorrigible brute hurts my friends, stands in our way of saving dear Spikey-Wikey, breaks the necklace he gave me and has a horrible manestyle. I will prevent her from coming after you so can reach the princess.” Her eyes narrowed angrily at the guardian. “You and me. It. Is. On.”
An aggressive smile appeared on Sticks face. This was the first time they noticed that she actually had two sharp fangs, ground down from her regular teeth. “If you think this is on, you haven’t seen anything yet. We can still crank things even more on.”
Five ponies stood in shock, separated from their dear friend by a gap in a giant stone bridge. The distance was too far to be leapt over, and falling would result in getting sucked into frothing whirlpools far below. Standing along, on the other side, was Rarity. She stared down the guardian of the river without her friends’ support.
“Rarity, what are you doing?” Twilight asked.
“Stopping her.” The way Rarity said her was full of sardonic anger. “Dealing with all of the bronze monstrosities and this brute at the same time will prove troublesome. I’ll keep her busy while you focus on reaching the princess.”
“If anyone’s staying behind, I would make a much better choice,” Applejack called out. It was too late for her to get back over though. The distance between the bridges was further than even her long jump distance.
“Or me,” Rainbow Dash added. When she tried to fly over, a wall of mechanical birdcages blocked her way. Her worried face shifted from side to side, peering through the cage bars.
Rarity forcefully extended her foreleg out to quiet them down. “You two are much more helpful breaking forward. Do not worry about me. I will be fine assuming you stop distracting me and let me focus.” Her powerful tone gave way to a more high pitched, quivering voice. “I’m not telling you to leave me here. I’m telling you to hurry up to the princess and tell her to save me.”
With great reluctance, Twilight said, “Okay.”
“What?” Rainbow Dash and Applejack cried out. Their bad feelings were clearly displayed on their frowning faces.
“Trust Rarity. She’s good at taking care of herself.”
“Yeah, but-” Rainbow Dash started to protest.
A meek cry of, “Help please, if you aren’t too busy,” came from Fluttershy.
Both her and Pinkie had been swarmed by the mechanical spiders and were being dragged towards the bridge. The hyper earth pony was flailing wildly. She shook off any spider limbs on her body with the sound of hooves thumping against metal. The meek pegasus had remained completely still and carried along on top of two spiders. They were getting dangerously close to the edge, where a birdcage was waiting down below with beaks open wide.
A streak of rainbow flew through the group of spiders, sending them flying over the bridge and into the water while at the same time snatching Fluttershy away.
“Let’s go,” Twilight said.
“Yeehaw!” Applejack reared up, cycling her front legs. When she landed, the powerful work pony charged forward. Her strong legs burst through the bronze spiders in the way allowing the others to follow.
Back on the bridge segment rotated out of orientation, Rarity and Sticks were still standing there. Sticks was dully looking at something on the ankle of her foreleg, usually the place where a watch would be if she wore one. Her other foreleg tapped on the ground.
“You waited for us to finish talking,” Rarity said. “You’re surprisingly polite for a brute.”
Sticks shrugged. “I’m not worried about them anyway. TALOS will take care of them easily.”
“You shouldn’t underestimate them, or me.”
The dark purple guardian prowled back and forth along the bridge. “I am giving you my full attention. It’s been awhile since anypony has challenged me to a fight.” She suddenly stopped and turned to face the white unicorn. Sticks growled, “You had better make this interesting!”
With great force, Sticks leapt forward, her body twisting back to ready a blow.
Rarity slipped out of the way. Her hooves were held up to deflected pieces of tile that had shattered from the blow. While the guardian was recovering, she grabbed onto the good sized rock on the bridge with unicorn magic and shot it forward.
The attack merely travelled harmlessly over a pool of shadow on the floor. Sticks reformed to start her assault again.
Of the two, it was clear that the guardian was the better fighter. By mixing martial arts with her ability to glide over the ground as a shadow, she easily gained the upper hoof. The largest difference between them was just how much more aggressive and willing to use violence Sticks was.
Rarity was doing everything she could just to not get hit. Her magic grabbed onto every nearby piece of shattered tile or loose rocks. After controlling everything from scissors to sewing needles, often many at the same time in very precise situations, this was nothing to her. The loose debris swarmed around, acting as long range strikes. Still, she was being pushed back, and the end of the bridge segment was coming up soon.
Their hooves stamped on the ground as they zigged and zagged around the bridge. Loose rocks were kicked off the side from their rapid movements. Magical glows and shadowy forms swirled around, clashing with each other. Heavy rocks flew forward and then were pulled back by magic.
After shuffling back several more steps, Rarity felt one of her hind legs slip off the edge of the bridge. She clenched her teeth nervously. A magic glow surrounded every loose thing in the immediate area. Her horn shined like a lighthouse in the night from all the energy it was giving off.
While her opponent was busy avoiding the mass of stuff she launched, Rarity looked around. The only escape route she could see was a natural formed pillar sticking out from the whirling waters below. Nothing else was around for her, and Sticks was stomping forward again.
Rarity even tried using magic directly on the river guardian. Of course, the energies were broken with just a step forward. Manipulating living things weren’t easy. Manipulating living things that were actively resisting was even harder. Now, manipulating a living pony as strong as Sticks, that was so far out of her magic that to even try was laughable. It was only pure desperation that made Rarity give it a shot, but her magic was always more suited for fine movements.
With nowhere else to go, Rarity jumped to the pillar. Only the front half of her body made it. Both forelegs held on tightly as her hind legs pushed off on whatever was available. She let out a small sigh as she managed to climb onto the pillar.
Now what though? Rarity merely traded a not-so-dead end for a full dead end.
Sticks made the leap to the pillar easily. Her bright eyes and grin revealed just how much she was really enjoying this. Even though her mane was ruffled and fur spiked out wildly from combat, this was fun.
The guardian’s heavy breathing slowed as she moved forward. “No more places to run.”
Rarity’s horn suddenly lit up. This light came all on its own, without the unicorn meaning to. Her head was pulled back so she was staring straight up. Several giant gems were stuck into giant stalactite. That wasn’t what the light on her horn was pointing to though.
A thin ray of light shot forth, bouncing between the gemstones. It landed on a pair of swords that looked well cared for, unlike the scraps of metal in the river channel. They had a monstrous design with the guard being furious horned faces spitting the blade out from their fanged mouths. The blades had several jagged edges, perfect for cutting, ripping and tearing. A chain linked the two blades together.
Using magic, Rarity pulled down one of the blades. The swing arc would pass directly through Sticks. The guardian followed her opponents eyes and saw the sharp sword heading directly for her. She immediately stepped to the side, but the force of the swing severed a few strands of her mane. That only made her happier about the entire situation.
Rarity caught onto the handle of the swinging blade, and with a shriek, she swung away. Her hind legs left the platform and were dangling over the empty air. Falling would result in getting sucked down and eventual drowning.
As she swung, the blades proved their sharpness. The one still lodged up in the stalactite had cut through it, sending the entire spike falling down. Rarity let out another cry when she realized that nothing was holding her up anymore. Quickly, she used her magic to shoot the other blade into a nearby wall and wrapped the chain around a jutting out rock structure for the actual support.
There was a loud thud as the white unicorn slammed into the wall. She just barely managed to keep ahold of the blade. Her eyes spun around on her slack face as she gently swung from side to side.
Once she came back from the dizziness, Rarity felt a strange surge of power. She took a deep breath that seemed to reinvigorate her aching body. It did absolutely nothing for the dirt on her fur, however. With the newfound energy flowing through her, she managed to climb up to small rock formation that the chains were wrapped around. A look of awe was on Rarity’s face as she let the power flow through her. It was definitely coming from these mysterious blades, she was sure of that. Once again, the horn had led her to a great treasure.
The unicorn wrapped the chain around her arms, going around her back. They were vile tools of combat, but in this situation, they had to be used. With a leap that would have been impossible for her a moment ago, Rarity sailed through the air as if she could fly. Magic powers pushed on of the blades out, letting her swing from a stalactite. She landed back on the bridge. Heavy breaths of excitement welled up within the unicorn.
With a growl, Sticks jumped back to the bridge as well.
When the clash between the two ponies resumed, Rarity found that she could move better. The opponent felt sluggish compared to her lithe and graceful spinning. She could easily dance around the guardian all day, though she was reluctant to actually attack. The blades around her forelegs had proven to be extremely sharp.
“Don’t you think it would be wise to stop?” Rarity asked. “Somepony is going to get seriously hurt, and it will likely be you.”
Sticks scoffed at the notion of stopping. A maddening look swirled around her eyes. “Getting hurt is part of the excitement.”
What was not exciting to the guardian was the prospect of losing. She was no longer able to even keep up with the unicorn. Whenever she attempted an attack, her hoof merely smashed into empty space. After getting driven back into the corner of the bridge, Sticks let out a frustrated howl. It wasn’t all the weapon’s doing, the unicorn had some genuine skill.
Sticks prowled around the bridge while breathing heavily. Her gaze flickered to far away ledge. It was time to kick things up a bit.
Even though she could have used a flying birdcage to get her there, Sticks refused to use outside help in their one on one match. Instead, she bounces off several smaller spires sticking out from the water. Her legs turned into shadow, keeping her from sliding down. While her movements were not nearly as graceful as fellow guardian, Fleckle Sun, she got to her destination all the same.
Sitting precariously on the edge was a shattered lion statue. Behind it stood another one, though this statue was just missing its head. Both heads were located on the ground nearby. Their grand manes looked slicked back into a pointed tip. The neck part was reinforced by banded steel, and there was a slot where somepony could stick their hooves in.
That was just what Sticks did. Both of the heavy stone lion heads were equipped onto the end of her forelegs as punching weapons. She extended a leg towards unicorn, showing off the teeth filled maw of the lion. Her grin grew even wider, and if it was possible, her teeth grew sharper. The power of the stone lion punchers filled Sticks up.
On her way back to the bridge, every spire she landed on shattered from the force of the lions’ impact. Her arrival was signaled by two heavy thuds as the stone weapons landed.
“Alright,” Sticks said. She rolled her shoulders. The eyes of her lion punchers glowed menacingly. “Now it’s on.”
Further ahead, Twilight and the others were doing their best to get through the swarms of mechanical spiders and birdcage birds. There were a lot more metal beasts than readily visible as a majority of them nested in alcoves and chambers underneath the great bridge. The clicking of metal legs came up from both sides of the bridge.
Twilight, Applejack and Pinkie Pie were trying to keep from getting overwhelmed while Rainbow Dash charged through the birdcages to reach the next separated bridge segment. Poor Fluttershy could only watch and tremble as the roaring metal clashed against pony hooves. The best she could hope for was not to be a burden to the others.
“Gyaaah!” Pinkie cried. The cheery pink pony had been watching the rear by herself. A surprise spider leg sticking out from the side of the bridge tripped her, causing her to roll into a group of spider machines.
“Pinkie!” Fluttershy gasped. “Twilight, they got Pinkie Pie.”
“I’m coming,” the weary purple unicorn said. She shook off the pained expression from battling through the bridge’s defense system. They were almost there. It was no time to fall now.
Pinkie Pie frantically waved her hoof. “No. Don’t worry about me. Keep going.”
The next bridge had just slid into place, meaning that all the resting bronze guards on that segment could now reach them. If they remained, they would be overwhelmed from all angles.
“But-” Twilight started to say.
“Negatory on the objections missy! You have got to save Spike so we can have the best party ever!” Pinkie cried as she was dragged under the bridge by the spiders.
Twilight clenched her teeth and looked away. Even though the situation seemed dire, those clockwork animals were still not trying to harm them, just capture them. Pinkie would be fine. “Come on, Fluttershy.”
“Mmhmm,” the yellow pegasus squeaked.
Up ahead, Rainbow Dash was starting to feel the fatigue from constant weaving, dodging and muscling through metal flying menaces. The ends of her wings drooped slightly and her movements slowed. After trying to push through two birdcages, the blue pegasus was bounced back.
“Duck, Rainbow!” a voice drawled from the bridge below.
Rainbow Dash did so just as a metal spider flew past her, crashing through the birdcages.
“Get going,” Applejack said. She had just launched a one of the spiders with her powerful hind legs.
Applejack was sweating profusely, and was also starting to tire from the constant onslaught. Her muscles ached with every movement and her legs felt numb from the stream of contact against bronze plating. She hadn’t felt this pained since trying to harvest the entire orchard alone.
Because of the delay, Rainbow Dash had just started to rotate the next bridge segment into place. Applejack, Fluttershy and Twilight were trapped on the edge as a small army of spiders crawled over.
The bridge wasn’t going to make it in time.
“Go, you two,” Applejack said.
“What?” Twilight gasped.
“Come on, Twi, I know you can just teleport there. And Fluttershy, you can fly remember? Y’all get going. I’ll be fine.” Applejack gave a sad but honest smile. “I’ll make another hole in the those bird things.”
“We can’t,” Fluttershy said.
Though Twilight wanted to agree with her shy friend, she knew they had to go on. It felt horrible leaving her friends behind, but if they were all captured here, the entire journey would have been a waste.
She placed a hoof on Fluttershy. “Come on.”
Fluttershy couldn’t find the strength to argue against the dark expression on Twilight’s face.
When the first of the spider contraptions reached them, Applejack flipped it into the air with her head and followed that with a strong hind kick, making a small gap between two birdcages.
“Come on, Sugarcube,” she said to Fluttershy.
Despite how the pegasus tried, her wings didn’t work as well as she wanted.
With a sigh, Applejack burrowed underneath the pegasus. With a hard fling of her hind half, Fluttershy was tossed, screaming through the air, until she was caught by Rainbow Dash.
Twilight gave the farm pony one last appreciative look before teleporting away in a puff of magic.
The good news was, they were nearing the end of the River of Hate. Only two more bridge segments to go before the grand gate that presumably led to the central administration chamber. The bad news was, that with only Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle fighting, getting close enough to the next segment was even harder.
Fluttershy looked at her two friends in front, getting battered and bruised. She then looked behind, where she saw Ferry Merry, Pinkie Pie and Applejack trapped within the caged torsos of the flying bronze birds. If only she wasn’t such a burden. Shiny tears trembled in her eyes.
Spike was her friend as well, yet would she be so useless in trying to save him? Fluttershy’s mouth quivered. And then, they stopped, forming a strong, straight line. Her eyes angled down in determination.
“Come on, girls,” Fluttershy said with her wings open wide.
“Alright!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
With both pegasus flying, the spiders on the bridge could no longer reach them. Because of their simple minded rush mentality, they left large gaps behind them that Twilight could teleport to.
On their way over to the next bridge though, one of the birdcages managed to slam into Rainbow Dash from above, sending her into the open beaks of another one. The pegasus was swallowed into stomach cage.
Twilight and Fluttershy could only spare a glance back as they reached the next bridge segment. Up ahead loomed a giant door with an arch of gold. The door was made of heavy banded metal and decorated with intricate filigree that resembled the shape of a flower.
A strange dreadful feeling came over the two. It was oddly quiet. Sure, the sounds of gears whirring, propellers spinning and spiders clacking were still there, but they were distinctly behind them. None of the mechanical creations had followed.
Twilight tried to activate the bridge switch, to rotate it back into place, only to find that there was none on this segment. Not that it was much of an issue for them. That was, until something happening in the waters below.
Two massive hooves of bronze, large enough to crush small houses, burst forth from under the waters. They landed on either end of the bridge segment. The structure felt like it was about to collapse from all the shaking and buckling, but somehow, it remained upright.
Pulling itself up from the water was a giant mechanical pony. It was a stallions from the shape of him. He was made of bronze. His frame didn’t cover all parts of his body. A complicated series of gears and mechanical parts could be seen churning away within. His mane was like a mohawk, giving the appearance of ancient helmet styles. Two blue eyes flared to life.
“TOTAL ARMORED LARGE OBSTRUCTION SYSTEM, INITIATING WELCOME PROTOCOLS,” the giant mechanical pony said in a hollow, reverberating voice.
Twilight and Fluttershy couldn’t find any words as they stared up at the mechanical bronze pony that was at least the size of an adult dragon.
Far in the back, Rarity and Sticks were still going at it, their battle now more dangerous than ever. Usually, one would need to train for years to master a weapon attached to a chain, but by using her unicorn magic, Rarity was able to easily manipulate the blades to wherever she wanted. She found that the weapons had magical powers of their own beyond just making her feel stronger. When she really put her effort into an attack, the blades would catch on fire, dealing tremendous damage to anything they touched.
The bridge they had been fighting on had long since been reduced to rubble and swallowed up by the many whirlpools in the water. They now fought across precarious ledges or outcropping on the wall. Several deep gashes were in the rock from where Rarity had landed her attacks. More miniature craters were around from where Stick had struck her blows.
Rarity used magic to send out a blade, swiping horizontally in a wide arc. Sticks raised both hooves and blocked the burning weapon with her stone lion punchers. In one quick move, she grabbed onto chain, or rather, the lion head bit down on it.
Sticks pulled back on the chain with a loud grunt, drawing her opponent in. When the unicorn was close enough, Sticks lashed out with her free foreleg, smashing the other pony away again. Like a bouncing paddle ball, she pulled back on the chain once more.
The sword wrapped around Rarity’s foreleg took the brunt of the blow. It was surprisingly durable, not even showing any signs of cracks even though she thought her leg was going to break after another strike. If the sword wasn’t wrapped around by the chain, she would have dropped it already from her foreleg going numb.
As she was pulled in again, her grimacing face recieved a vicious tint. With the help of telekinesis, she caused the free blade to snake forward. It whipped left, right, up and down, making defending against it difficult.
Sticks widened her eyes as the sharp blade came zooming for her head. She barely aborted the punch and shifted her head to the side. A flash of blood sprayed through the air as her cheeks were nicked by one of the jagged fangs on the sword.
Rarity wasn’t finished just yet. Using the momentum from being pulled in, she rushed past Sticks with the chain lagging behind. As it waved through the air, the links clanged against each other. The height it was dragging at was perfectly neck height for ponies. When the chain was caught under Sticks’ chin, Rarity pulled back, flinging the guardian through the air. Sticks crashed into the rough stone wall, sending out a cloud of debris and knocking several gemstones into the waters.
As the chain returned to Rarity, she watched the crumbling wall with surprise in her eyes. Light twinkled off her wide pupils. She didn’t even notice that after all the fighting, her mane and tail was no longer in their proper curls. Her mind was focused on the blades wrapped around her forelegs. They were brimming with an amazing power, but they also had a dark brutality. Such unladylike behavior just wasn’t her at all. The swords seemed to be injecting its own violent tendencies into her.
Rarity wanted to be rid of the angry weapons, drop them into the water. Until her friends were safe though, she couldn’t do that. She watched on with a broad frown as Sticks emerged from the wall. The under pony was hurt, but she could still fight. Rarity was prepared to give up anything to make sure her friends were safe and Spike was recovered. Determination burned in her eyes as she headed back into combat.
Chains cut through the air. Sparks erupted when they clashed against snarling stone lion heads. Sticks continued executing her strategy of rushing in. It was a rather effective one given the powerful defense and offense of the lion punchers. They continued their evading and chasing along the precarious ledges and pillars. While a misstep wouldn’t be trouble for either of them, thoughts of falling into the mass of whirlpools below still kept them cautious.
Rarity landed on a small pillar. Her face grimaced from the impact. In a reckless attempt to buy some more breathing space, she threw out both swords. When the chained blades came whipping over, she punched them aside. Even with the unicorn magic, the blades wouldn’t return in time. Sticks landed directly in front of the white unicorn. Both lion heads roared forward, landing solid blows right in Rarity’s chest.
The white unicorn sailed through the air, back towards the great bridge. She bounced off the stone tiles several times before finally skidding to a halt. There was a noticeable trail of cracks where she had landed on the bridge.
A satisfied smirk appeared on Sticks face as she wiped the blood from her cheek. She traversed across the ceiling with legs melded to the rock as shadow. Once the bridge was below, she released from the roof. Sticks landed on the bridge with two loud thuds when the stone lions struck against the bridge.
Now to deal with the other ponies. Looking ahead, Sticks saw a few of them had already been captured. A few was not all however. Four birdcages swirled around in the air, holding Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Ferry Merry. Far off in the distance, a massive mechanical pony overshadowed the doorway to the central administration chamber.
“Rarity!” Applejack called out. She pushed furiously against the bars. “What did you do to her?”
Sticks had a sideways sneer. “We just had a tussle.”
Rarity was in a heap on the ground. Her feeble attempts to move only went so far as lifting her head.
Applejack grunted furiously as she kicked the cage. The metal bird swayed side to side, nearly tipping over, but it managed to right itself. Two of the bars were bent, but not enough for a pony to fit through.
Rarity’s half open eyes looked among the cages. “Where are Twilight and Fluttershy?” she gasped out.
“They’re still free,” Rainbow Dash said energetically. “I know they’ll get to the end.”
The guardian let out a snort. As she looked around at the captured ponies, her confidence faltered a bit. All of them still had an absolute belief that their friends would make it. Her mouth curled into a snarl. Though she felt that TALOS could handle them, backup never hurt.
“I’ll go put an end to this right now,” Sticks said.
Her heavy hoofsteps thudded across the bridge. With a wave, one of the flying birdcages came over. Now that the match was over, she had no qualms about accepting outside help. Sticks jumped on top of the mechanical creature, ready to take off.
Rarity wrapped the chained blades around her forelegs tightly. Using the swords for support, she pushed off the ground to a kneeling position. As she summoned her magical powers, her face strained with pain. Both blades launched forward. Their jagged edge clipped into the platform with propellers that the birdcages used to fly. Rarity pulled back, sending the contraption crashing back to the bridge.
“Stop right there, you brute,” she commanded.
Sticks landed on the bridge, a bit stiffer than she would have liked. She turned back with mouth slightly agape. “You want to go again, Prissy Missy? I’ve already beat you. Just stay down and go to sleep.”
“That’s right, Rarity,” Pinkie Pie called out. “You don’t need to push yourself so hard.”
“Yeah, pick on someone your own size,” Rainbow Dash challenged as she pressed up uselessly against the bars.
The white unicorn staunchly swiped a sword horizontally, leaving it pointing out towards the side. Her sharpened eyes were focused on the guardian. “Beaten? Hardly. I don’t need to defeat you to win. All I need is to stop you from interfering with Twilight and Fluttershy. They will make it to the end, I know it. So I won’t let you get in their way!”
She swept upwards, sending both swords towards the ceiling. The two weapons spiraled around each other, trailing their chains behind. At the very top, they snapped together. Flames erupted over the swords.
WIth an intense, focused gaze, Rarity leapt into the air and simultaneously swung downwards. An arc of flame sliced through the air, towards Sticks. The impact sent rubble flying everywhere, and a cloud of dust covered where exactly the strike had landed. Chunks of stone and metal gears fell into the waters as the bridge segment they were on had started to collapse.
Within throwing distance of the exit, Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy had been stopped by a veritable bronze wall. Total Armored Large Obstruction System looked down at the ponies with glowing blue eyes.
“Twilight,” Fluttershy said, “go on without me. You can just teleport through, can’t you?”
“Unfortunately, I can’t. I’m not familiar enough with this place, so I need to see where I’m teleporting.”
Both of them had a nervous tick in their speech. They hadn’t taken their eyes off the mechanical bronze pony that completely blocked the view of the double door.
A terrifying metal whirring echoed through the chambers as TALOS raised one of its massive legs. A shadow fell across the unicorn and pegasus as a massive hoof moved over them. It came falling down, intending to trap them within the cup like shape formed by a horseshoe.
Both ponies dodged to the side, just getting out of the way before the gigantic crash.
“Come on, Twilight,” Fluttershy said, trying to sound tough. Her legs were trembling hard, though.
She burrowed under the unicorn and took flight. Fluttershy tried to go up and over the bronze leg in order to get clear line of sight of what was behind TALOS.
A metal hoof raised up, much faster than someone of TALOS’ size would appear to be capable of, and much faster than a pegasus that was carrying somepony else. Fluttershy bounced off the bronze armor. She quickly righted herself while heading towards the other direction. TALOS raised its other hoof, blocking her flight path.
An audible noise of metal snapping open could be heard. All along TALOS’ shoulder, hatches opened up revealing cannons. “GIVING OUT BALLS AND NETS,” TALOS said, monotonically.
Concussive force vented out the backside of the giant bronze pony’s shoulder as the cannons fired. What came out was not fun and games.
Nets of iron chains, dragged along by iron balls sailing through the air, came for the two ponies. Fluttershy watched in horror as they came toward her. Having nerves of hardened jelly, her wings froze up. Dropping straight down actually allowed them to dodge part of the barrage. They were going to fall right into the whirlpools below however.
“Fluttershy!” Twilight yelled as she grasped the pegasus’ pink mane. She didn’t want to do this, but she used the mane as a sort of steering device.
The tugging was enough to pull Fluttershy out of a freefall. She swooped up, avoiding more nets with the help of Twilight’s steering. As they got close to TALOS, its chest plate slid down, revealing a complex series of rotating weaponry. Staring at them currently were two giant iron claws.
A deep noise rumbled through the cave as the claws shot forth. Dragged behind them were hundreds of clinking chains. Each link was larger than a regular sized pony’s head.
With eyes wide and teeth clenched, Twilight pulled to the left. The claws missed them by only a few hoofs, and went crashing into the bridge. The following air wave caused Fluttershy to spin wildly. The two ponies crashed onto the giant bronze foreleg of TALOS.
They bounced to a stop on one of its grilled exhaust ports.
“Are you okay, Fluttershy?” Twilight asked.
“Yes.” The meek pegasus was rubbing her head with one eye closed.
“How’s your mane?”
“I’m alright. We have to hurry.”
Twilight looked up and saw that TALOS was bringing its other hoof over. “You’re right. Let’s go.”
The two of them ran up the side of TALOS’ arm.
“INTRODUCING LEG EXERCISES,” TALOS said mechanically.
Several hatches and ports sprung open in an attempt to stop the two ponies, but they weaved through all obstacles. Their hooves struck furiously against the metal plating as they raced forward. If Twilight could make it to the shoulder, she would be able to see behind the bronze giant.
Twilight’s heart fell as the back wall suddenly got further away. TALOS had twisted sideways and leaned its right shoulder forward. The two ponies were quickly being brought back towards the bridge. The second massive foreleg was already in place to sweep them off.
They continued running forward for lack of a better plan. Twilight despondently reached out towards the retreating doorway, but it was no use. The area was moving too much for her to try a teleport. What was once an empty space might be filled by something the next moment.
That was when Fluttershy picked up the unicorn again. They flitted off to the side, away from the main barrage of TALOS.
The mechanical pony had reacted quickly, spinning around in a great splash of water. It’s left hoof came rocketing towards the pegasus.
“SYNCHRONIZING HOOF TO WALL,” TALOS announced.
Fluttershy knew better than anypony that she wouldn’t be able to avoid the strike. Instead, she threw Twilight forward, out of harms way and into line of sight for the doorway.
As soon as Twilight could see the path leading up to the door, she teleported over. Upon arriving, a loud crash boomed through the cavern. Twilight looked back with a look of utmost horror to see TALOS with its hoof pressed tightly against the wall. Chunks of rock were still breaking off from the impact. The yellow pegasus was nowhere in sight.
“Fluttershy!” Twilight called out. “Fluttershy!”
“I’m okay, Twilight,” a quiet voice floated through the air. Fluttershy spoke from within TALOS’ hoof. She was nestled in the gap left by the horseshoe. “Don’t worry about me.”
Twilight gritted her teeth and turned away. She had to hurry as TALOS had started to turn around, still with hoof pressed against the wall.
Up ahead of her was a large set of double doors with a frame of stone. The doors themselves were made of charred wood. In the center of the two doors was a pony’s skull. The skull was as large as Twilight’s entire body and split down the middle. It was hard to tell if the decoration was fake or if there really was such giant pony at one point. Two ruby eyes looked outward to the bridge.
There didn’t seem to be a way of opening the door, no mechanisms, switches or anything of the sort. The door was massive and old however, and that meant a lot of cracks. Twilight found one large enough for her to look through. That was all the information she needed.
When TALOS had finished turning around, the unicorn had vanished, teleported through the gap in the door. Twilight had made it to the central administration chamber.
There was a flurry of activity within the throne room as the guards saw the purple unicorn heading closer towards the main gate. They frantically cleaned up the mess they made and moved back all the furniture to make the chamber presentable again. The guards moved like a well oiled machine. No pony ran into each other, though many of them narrowly skirted the possibility. Crumbs were swept into empty bowls, the floor was wiped and furniture dusted. Everything was returned to its correct place. The guards even used measuring tape to make sure.
Princess Terranea watched her guards work with a blank expression. It was nice to see them make things so spotless. The janitors were going to have an easy time tonight. As her gaze swept across the room, she noticed the little purple dragon was nowhere in sight. He had left a large pile of gems on the throne platform.
Twisting around even further, she saw Spike hiding behind her throne. His tail was wrapped around the side so he could hug it tightly.
“What troubles you, Sir Spike?” Princess Terranea asked.
“I, well.” Spike stared at the ground with glistening eyes. “I’m worried about meeting this Twilight and the other ponies. They travelled all this way, but I don’t even know who they are. I mean, I mean so such to them, but I don’t know them at all. How am I supposed to meet with somepony like that?”
“Do not fret. Twilight will understand, I am sure,” the princess said with regal calm.
“Ooor she could run away cccryinnng,” Fog Lace said. He was sitting off to the side, watching the guards make the chamber presentable.
Spike gulped and clutched his tail tighter.
“Yarrr,” a throaty tone growled from the side. Standing out of the way was Higgs Boatswain. “Deal with it as it comes up. I’m sure a bright young dragon such as yeself will not falter in the face of adversity.”
Fog Lace bowed. “Ppplease excuse me, ppprincesss. Therrre is somethiiing I mmmust do.” The cloaked under pony sank into shadow.
“Very well, Reaper Fog Lace. Guide Higgs Boatswain, we shall see.” Princess Terranea had her eyes on the viewing pool. “Harmony of Magic Twilight Sparkle approaches.”
Twilight didn’t know what to expect when she teleported into the central administration chamber. The only thing she saw through the crack in the door was a black tiled ground. Upon landing, an intimidating force washed over the young unicorn. She suddenly felt tiny and insignificant. The air of this chamber was very different from the throne room of Canterlot. She felt like an uninvited guest, trespassing on sacred ground. Likely because she was an uninvited guest trespassing on sacred grounds.
Immediately greeting her were two rows of guards, all powerful, strong and equipped with gold plated armor. Visored helmets blocked their eyes from view, though they could all see her.
The central administration chamber, while big, hardly compared in scale to some of the previous places Twilight had seen today. In grandeur though, this area soared above all the rivers. While the room was basically a large dome, it had exquisite designs. The walls had been lined with marble, carved to resemble a forest. Golden pillars supported the entire room. Rings of bones, embedded with gemstones, ran up every pillar. Hanging from the ceiling were several massive chandeliers made from the skulls of ancient creatures. They had tusks, fangs, even horns. The bright lights lit up the entire chamber.
Twilight held her breath as she looked around. There was no waterway here, meaning the boats must have docked back at the end of the bridge. None of the guards attempted to stop her when she walked forward. With a bit more confidence, Twilight strode onward, flanked on both sides by armored under ponies. Though she wanted to keep her gaze straight ahead, she found herself looking at everything.
All around the ring of the central administration chamber were buildings where actual work was handled. The architecture favored powerful stone construction with decorative pillars. Walls were painted to be bright and colorful. Every building seemed to coordinate its hues with one another. It was almost like an extremely small village was located within the cavernous space.
Under ponies moved, too and fro, on their busy schedules. They handled things all across Equestria with complicated magical sensors. None of them paid much attention to what was going on near the entrance. They all had other things that needed tending to.
With each step, Twilight gazed left and right. Two rows of guards kept her from wandering off the path. She was being directed towards the center of the chamber. All the pairs of eyes on her made her want to shrink back, but she couldn’t do that. She tried to give a smile to the guards and diffuse some of the tension. They weren’t going for it. Up ahead, an under pony was blocking her way down the corridor of armored gold.
“Greetings, lass,” the gruff under pony said. “This is the central administration chamber. Do ye have an appointment?”
This under pony had a sickly yellow fur. His mane was hidden under an old, red pirate’s hat. Moldy feathers were stuck in a worn out band. A skull mask covered the pony’s visage. His tail looked frazzled, with loose strands sticking everywhere. A grey ribbon tied it up at the end, keeping it from getting too wild. The pattern on his tail was that of soaking wooden planks. A ragged black flag, unfurled in the wind, was on his flank.
“I, I don’t have an appointment,” Twilight said. Her eyes narrowed dangerously, and she crouched into a position ready to pounce. “But I am going to see the princess. All of my friends are counting on me.”
“Easy, lass,” the masked pony said. “Yer in no shape to be fighting.”
“I will if I have to.”
The skull faced under pony let out a low, guttural chuckle. “Lass, ye has gumption. I am Higgs Boatswain, river guide of Lot D.” He took off his hat and bowed. Upon raising his head again, he said, “An appointment has already been made for you.”
“Really?” Twilight asked suspiciously.
Higgs Boatswain stepped aside. “Proceed to Princess Terranea. And remember to mind yer manners unless ye want to be a permanent resident.”
The purple unicorn gulped as her gaze turned forward. Up ahead was where the ruler of Lot D and Subterrania was waiting.
The center of the chamber clashed wildly with the rich underground aesthetics of the chamber. It was like a small, circular meadow. Lush, soft grass filled the area. All sorts of flowers grew in the grove. There were rising bell flowers, blooming camellias, rich marigolds and so much more. Somehow, they were all flowering at the same time. The petals mixed together in a marvelous swatch of color, and their sweet scent drifted around the area. A mantis was resting underneath the petals.
In the center of the grove was a massive tree.The thick trunk was like a pillar supporting the center of the room. Its lush, green leaves created an umbrella that almost reached all the way to the ceiling of the cavern. Hanging down from the tall branches were flower covered vines.
Directly in front of the tree was a golden throne. On that throne was the princess of Lot D.
“Welcome, Harmony of Magic Twilight Sparkle,” the princess said in an even tone.
“You, you know me?”
Twilight walked past a stone basin of water. She presented herself to the princess with a bow.
“Of course I do.”
“W-wait, please.” Twilight cleared her throat nervously. She had met princesses before, but for some reason, her mouth felt dry this time. “My friends, they are in trouble back at the River of Hate. Please, can you stop your guardian?”
“You would immediately ask something of me?” the princess asked.
“I know it sounds impudent, but my friends are in trouble. Please.” Twilight lowered her head until the horn touched the ground.
A tap rang out from the princess’s hoof as it touched the ground. Several massive flowers sprang up all throughout the meadow. The petals unfurled, revealing all of the ponies that had been captured inside the River of Hate. A particularly large flower opened to show Rarity, lying on her back. Her fur was full of dirt, and one eye was puffy, barely able to open. A pained expression was on her face. Sticks was right over her with a stone lion head raised, ready to strike.
“Guardian Sticks,” the princess said.
“What?” the guardian snarled. She blinked a few times, trying to figure out where she was. It took a moment for her battlelust to settle down and perception to return. “I mean, Princess Terranea, what do you need? I was just about to deal with the intruders.”
“That will be unnecessary.”
“But-”
“Guardian Sticks Nancy Stones, you may stand down.”
For the first time, Sticks looked intimidated. She lowered her head and backed away from the white unicorn. “Yes, Princess Terranea.” The guardian took up a stiff position behind the group of Equestrian ponies.
Twilight and the other’s all ran over to Rarity.
“Are you alright, Sugarcube?” Applejack asked.
Rarity flipped over onto her stomach but remained on the ground. “This is. The. Worst. Possible. Feeling. Ever. Not the grass, the grass feels great.”
Rainbow Dash let out a nervous chuckle. “I guess she isn’t that hurt if she can still complain.”
Twilight let out a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness you aren’t too badly hurt. I’m so glad you’re all okay. I was so worried.”
“I’m tougher than I look.” Rarity looked up at everyone with a smirk. She immediately turned that into a wince. “I’ll just stay here for a bit. It’s so soft.”
Fluttershy lain down next to the unicorn, trying to ease the pain and provide any support she could. “This place is very nice isn’t it? I haven’t seen so many different kinds of flowers all at once before.”
The group took a few moments to embrace each other. After such an ordeal, it was great seeing each other again. They all gently hugged Rarity. Ferry Merry had a tear in her eye as she watched the scene unfolding. She had practically forgotten that everypony was under the shadow of the princess.
“Greetings, Elements of Harmony. I am Princess Terranea,” the pony on the throne said in a voice that felt like it was coming from everywhere at once. Her words penetrated through skin and flesh.
Princess Terranea wasn’t an under pony. She was an alicorn, large in stature with long, shapely legs. Her fur had a shade of deep burgundy. The most striking feature of her was her mane and tail. They were long, several pony bodies in length and fanned out like great veils. The ends seemed to meld into the surrounding greenery and massive tree. A horn on her head turned into a long winding tendril that passed into the ground. Following suit, her wings were more like several tendrils that flowed backwards, meeting with the grand trunk. Whatever her cutie mark was, it was covered by the mass of tail. A serene field of flowers shone through her mane, tail, horn and wings. It was almost like the flowers inside her mane were seeping out into the world.
“You know of us?” Twilight asked.
“Of course. Your deeds have reached us in the underground as well. You brought day after night, ceased chaos, prevented change and lit up the dark crystals. Now you seek to bring life from death. It is an honor to welcome such esteemed guests.”
“Wow, you firlies sure have done a lot,” a familiar voice from behind said.
Ferry Merry hopped up with a big smile. “Sister!” She ran over into a tackling hug.
Standing next to Sticks was Arch Rune. Flanking them on either side were Fleckle Sun and Cool Cestus. Arch Rune grunted as her chest was struck by the filly. She had to take a step back.
“Are you alright?” Arch Rune asked.
“I’m more than alright. It was great! Guiding these dames through the five rivers was like bringing souls, lost in time and darkness, home again. We walked down a narrow path. Stepping to the side, if only briefly, would result in a fall to darkness, never to return.”
“I don’t know if it was that dramatic,” Rainbow Dash muttered.
“It sure felt like it to me, Rainbow Dash,” Ferry Merry said. “Guiding living ponies feels so different from guiding spirits. It was great, like finding a nice warm house after wandering through the damp, freezing caves for a week.” Her eyes were open wide. They almost glowed.
“Hey, look.” Arch Rune moved her sisters head.
A mark had appeared on her previously blank flank. It was a golden compass, arrows pointing in four orthogonal directions within a circle.
Ferry Merry had a toothy grin so wide, it almost extended beyond face. “Awesome, so awesome.”
“Yeah it’s awesome,” Rainbow Dash said.
Fluttershy smiled at their young guide. “That’s great, Ferry Merry.”
“Yay,” Fleckle Sun cheered. She lifted the small pony up into the air. “Drink sherry, Ferry Merry.”
“Don’t try to get my sister to drink,” Arch Rune hissed out the side of her mouth. She turned her smiling face back to her sister. “All the guardians treated you okay?”
“Yeah,” the suspended filly said. “My boat broke in the River of Fire though.”
“Hey, we’re getting it fixed,” Fleckle Sun said.
“And there was a scary moment in the River of Hate where Sticks kicked me off the bridge,” Ferry Merry continued.
“Sticks!” Arch Rune growled.
The dark purple guardian let out a blast of air from her nose. “You want to make something of it? I still have a lot of pent up energy.”
The two of them glared at each other, forehead to forehead. The two heavy lion heads on Sticks’ forelegs were crushing the flowers they landed on. Their eyes angled downward, preparing for some harsh confrontations.
“Ah, my cestuses.” Cool Cestus reached towards the lion punchers. “And why does Rarity have your blades, Sticks?”
“Annoying story,” Sticks growled, not bothering to look at the other guardian.
After watching patiently from her throne, the Princess said, in an even tone, “Calm down. And put away those weapons. No violence in the central administration chamber, please.”
“I’ll just take these then, shall I?” Cool Cestus said. Not waiting for a response, she somehow swiped both of the lion heads. It was an impressive feat considering Sticks’s forelegs were planted firmly on the ground.
Rarity unwrapped the chained blades from around her body. “Here, take this horrid thing.”
Cool Cestus draped the swords around her neck, like a scarf. “Thank you. These weapons are very dangerous. I’m surprised both of you aren’t more seriously hurt.”
“Bah,” Stick spat as she turned away from Arch Rune. Sensing that everypony was turning against her right now, the guardian walked towards the edge of the grove. She lain down to mope.
“And where is Lace?” Princess Terranea asked.
“Here! I’m here.” Lace came walking over next to the cloak covered reaper. “Thank you, brother.” An embarrassed look was on her face. “I got lost again.”
“Lace, what are you doing here?” Pinkie asked. She had already zipped over next to the dark green under pony. One hoof was wrapped around Lace’s shoulder. “These other girls are all guardians. That’s the guardian from the River of Pain, Arch Rune. Guardian of the River of Fire, Fleckle Sun. Guardian of the River of Wailing, Cool Cestus. Meanie guardian of the River of Hate, Sticks. Guardians, guardians everywhere.” Pinkie pointed to each of the guardians as she spoke. Her hoof then landed on the grand pony sitting on the throne. “And that’s the princess, Princess Terranea.”
A soft chuckle escaped Lace. “I know, Pinkie.” She reached over to stroke the pink pony’s cheek. “I didn’t tell you girls this, but I’m the guardian of the River of Forgetfulness.”
“The fourth river, Forgetfulness!” Ferry Merry gasped. “How could I forget?”
The other Equestrian ponies had looks of surprise as well. Thinking more on it though, it felt obvious now.
“How did you all get here anyway?” Twilight asked.
“We used the staff access tunnels,” Cool Cestus said. “I hope you didn’t think we went all the way around the five rivers to get anywhere.”
Lace looked down with tinted cheeks. “I always get lost in the staff access tunnels.”
“Wait, you have staff access tunnels?” Twilight shouted with maddening eyes.
“Calm down, firly.” Arch Rune placed a hoof on the unicorn’s back. “You can’t use them anyway. You need to be able to sink into shadow as they are more gaps in the rocks rather than tunnels.” The guardian turned into a pool of shadow on the ground, spun around a few times before reforming.
Applejack nudged the unicorn in the side. “Twi, shouldn’t we return our attention to the reason we came here.”
“Oh,” Twilight gasped. She faced the princess and bowed. “I’m sorry for our behavior.”
“It is fine, Harmony of Magic Twilight,” Princess Terranea said. She was not unused to ponies frolicking around her meadow and didn’t seem phased by all the ruckus. “Now then, Celestia’s little ponies, why have you come here?”
The four guardians and Ferry Merry backed away, giving the floor to the visiting ponies. Sticks was still sulking in the back, facing away from the proceedings.
Twilight and the others lined up next to the resting Rarity. All six ponies looked towards the princess with a confidence bolstered by being with friends.
“We are here,” Twilight said, “to recover our dear friend Spike. We believe he was wrongfully taken from the world of the living.”
“Sir Spike, what do you have to say?”
The ponies looked confused at hearing Spike’s name. Was he here? Then why hadn’t he greeted them yet?
Two small, purple claws reached out from behind the princess’s curtain of flowers. A pair of round, green eyes peeked out. They were filled with tentative thoughts. He was looking a bit transparent as well.
“Spike?” Twilight took a step forward, but that only caused the young purple dragon to shrink back. “It’s alright. We’re here for you,” she said softly.
“I don’t,” Spike sputtered, “I’m sorry, but I don’t know you. You came all this way for me, and yet I don’t remember any of you.”
He was looking downcast, fearful almost. The ponies had said they were his friend, yet he was such a bad friend that he couldn’t remember them. Spike thought that perhaps he should just stay here, where he wouldn’t cause trouble or pain for anypony.
“You don’t remember anything?” Rainbow Dash asked. She stepped forward aggressively. “What about the time we fought Discord? You were the Element of Loyalty for a short while. Or how about the time we all saved Rarity from the Diamond Dogs?”
“I believe I did not need saving during that incident,” Rarity protested.
Applejack put a hoof on Rainbow Dash’s back, keeping the pegasus from seeming too aggressive. “Calm down now, Rainbow. You’re scaring the little fella.”
Lace pulled on her necklace as it suddenly felt tight around her neck. “Sorry,” she mumbled sadly. “Washing in the River of Forgetfulness is a process all souls go through to help them move on in death. It’s not perfect, but most major memories are wiped out.”
Twilight let out a sigh of relief. “Oh, is that all.” Her horn was already glowing. “Don’t worry, I’ll fix this in no time.”
When the ray of magic fired, Princess Terranea flapped a wing, sending several tendril strands fluttering downward. The unicorn magic was harmlessly blocked.
“I cannot allow you to just haphazardly use magic on a soul under our care,” the alicorn stated. “If you wish for Spike to return with you, I ask that you do it without magic. We will judge if you are deserving of having the natural ways bent. And this is not the royal we. There are actual judges.”
“We’ll do it,” Applejack affirmed.
“Yes.” Twilight nodded.
Pinkie Pie had already proven the River of Forgetfulness wasn’t perfect. They just had to make him remember. First off though, they needed to get the young dragon to stop hiding behind the princess’s tail. Twilight decided it would be best if they didn’t all go together at once. She waved her friends back.
Approaching alone, Twilight put on her best friendly appearance. She tried to remain as unimposing as possible and made no sudden movements.
“Spike,” Twilight cooed. This reminded her a bit of the second time they met. The first time, of course, was when she first hatched him with a burst of magic. “Spike.”
“You’re, you’re Twilight. Right?” Spike asked. He was still hiding behind the sheet of tail.
“I am. Can we talk?” It felt strange behaving like this while under the watchful shadows of a sovereign ruler. Twilight pushed those thoughts out of her mind and focused only on the dragon in front of her. “Come on out.”
“Are you upset with me?” Spike asked.
“Why would I be?”
“You went through so much for me, but I don’t remember you at all or why you would do all this.”
“That’s alright. Come on. We can just talk.” The unicorn extended a foreleg. She kept a happy face though deep down, the entire situation felt so frustrating. If they could get him back, all of the pain and hardships they encountered up to this point would be worth it.
Spike raised the strands of Terranea’s tail and took a few timid steps forward. The thick strands drifted back into place as he walked through. He swept a gaze through the two pegasus, the two earth ponies and the injured unicorn. They all had looks of encouragement.
“So you’re not mad at me?” Spike tapped his claws together.
“Of course not. I’m just so glad to see you again.” Twilight tried to reach out for Spike, but her hoof passed through his body. She let out a sad gasp and put her hoof down. “Why don’t we start over? My name is Twilight Sparkle. I am Princess Celestia’s faithful student, learning the ways of magic and friendship.”
“I’m Spike. Pleased to meet you?” He was sounding a bit more like his old self, more laid back.
Twilight nodded. “Very pleased.”
“So, what do you want to talk about?” Spike asked as he scratched his head.
Twilight placed a hoof against her chin as she looked up thoughtfully. “I know, how about I tell you some stories?” She walked back towards her friends. “Come have a seat.” Her hoof patted against the ground.
“Okay, sure.”
Spike settled into the soft grass, surrounded by colorful ponies.
“Ooh, story time,” Pinkie Pie said with a smile like the crescent moon. “Let me go first!”
“Uh, okay,” Twilight said.
Pinkie cleared her throat in preparation. “This one time, during a bright and beautiful day, there were these two friends. Both of them are proud ponies, who wouldn’t back down from a challenge. One was an earth pony and the other was a pegasus. In order to prove which one was more athletic, they had an Iron Pony competition.”
Rainbow Dash and Applejack shot each other a sideways glance. Their mouths twitched nervously.
Pinkie Pie continued. Her eyes were wide and she was motioning to things only she could see. “A young dragon elevated it from a simple competition between friends to a full on spectacle for the town of Ponyville. His enthusiastic casting of the event brought out everypony for a day of fun and laughter.
“Of course there was one winner and one loser at the end. The loser couldn’t just end with the sour taste of defeat.”
Applejack tilted her hat down to block her embarrassed face from her friends.
“Anyway,” Pinkie Pie continued blissfully, “another competition was coming up. There, everything would be decided. It was a great race through the forest’s around Ponyville. I, Pinkie Pie, was doing play-by-play analysis and that same young dragon was going to be my color commentator. We were a great team, sailing through the sky in a hot air balloon and watching all the runners down below.” She wrapped a foreleg around the purple unicorn. “Twilight here came in fifth. She even got a medal for that.”
Twilight smiled proudly as she remembered the moment.
“Now then, what happened to the two competing ponies? They tied! For last! And that, Spike, is how we strip the trees of leaves.”
“Uh,” Spike muttered.
“I think you’re missing some parts there, Sugarcube,” Applejack said.
Pinkie shook her head energetically and chirped, “Nope. That’s everything.”
“Okay, my turn now.” Rainbow Dash pushed her way through. “And this will be much more awesome than that time with the race,” she mumbled. “Alright, squirt, listen up. Have you ever heard of the Sonic Rainboom? It is the most awesome thing to have ever been performed by pegasus-kind. Up until yours truly performed it, the Sonic Rainboom has been regarded as a nothing more than a story, for it has been a long time since the last one appeared. And-”
Twilight elbowed the rainbow pegasus in the side. “Spike wasn’t there when we you second performed the Sonic Rainboom,” she said through clenched teeth.
“Oooh,” Rainbow said with a sudden realization. “Is that what we were doing? I thought we were just telling stories. Okay, wait a minute then.” She sat down with a hoof thoughtfully pressed against her chin.
“Um, if it’s alright, I have a story,” Fluttershy said. Her legs were crossed and she was peeking out from behind her long, pink mane.
“Yeah, go ahead,” the other pegasus said.
One by one, the ponies regaled Spike with their stories. A twinkle appeared in his eye after each story. His apprehension at being disliked by the ponies was washed away by their words. Fluttershy spoke of the time when he first arrived in Ponyville. It was due to him that she first met with Twilight and gained several wonderful new friends. Applejack recalled how a brave young dragon would honor his Dragon Code, through self sacrifice if necessary. And how that very same dragon defended her from a massive timberwolf. Rainbow Dash, having finally come up with something, talked about a young dragon’s quest to adulthood and how he valiantly chose to go against being like other dragons. Rarity, after getting back her heart-shaped ruby necklace back from Twilight, told of a loving and generous dragon, one that she really enjoyed being around. The young dragon had given her the ruby, despite how much he wanted it.
“Those stories,” Spike said. A broad smile was on his face. “They’re all about me? Wow, I must have been a pretty amazing dragon.”
“You are an amazing dragon,” Fluttershy said encouragingly.
“Still, all that stuff is pretty hard to live up to.”
Rainbow Dash had a smirk and a wink. “I see what you did there.”
“What did I do there?” Spike asked with a genuine puzzled head tilt.
He shrugged it off and looked at the six ponies around him. One of them hadn’t told a story yet. “Twilight, what story do you have about this great little dragon?”
“Well.” Twilight moved around with a playful trot that caused her tail to swish. She was glad that he hadn’t lost any of his personality. Her eyes blinked thoughtfully. “I could tell you about the time you single clawedly saved the Crystal Empire. There was also the time at the Grand Galloping Gala where you had the right idea all along while the rest of us were trying too hard.
“Instead, I will tell you about my favorite times with you.”
Everypony and dragon looked over, expecting something grand.
What Twilight said was nothing so great. She simply said, “I enjoy all the normal days we spend together, where we don’t go running off trying to stop some catastrophe or when trouble comes to Ponyville. My fondest memories are just when we hang out at the library. You’re such a good helper, such as when you bring me a light to study at night, or when you find a reference that I just couldn’t. The simple times we spent together, those were the best.”
“Yeah, I think those were the times I enjoy the most too,” Spike said.
“Do you remember something, Spike?” Fluttershy asked with hopeful eyes.
Spike scratched his head. “I don’t know. I don’t think I remember anything. But it feels good hearing about all of your stories.” He held his claws against his chest.
Applejack pressed a hoof against the dragon’s head. “Even if we’re not in here,” she moved down to his chest, “we’re still in here. That I know to be the truth.”
“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash said. “You got to come back with us so we can have a lot more awesome times and a lot more times where we’re just chilling out.”
After lying down for the entire conversation, Rarity finally managed to stand up again. She swayed from side to side, but a look of such happiness was on her face that it seemed to erase her injuries. “Whatever will we do without our dear Spike? You bring so much to each out our lives. I fully understand if you don’t wish to return though, just know that we all care about you very much.”
“I, I want to go back with you,” Spike said with a sweeping glance to everypony. “I want to continue having fun with everyone. I-” his words were cut short as he fell to the ground. One claw was used for support while the other clutched his head.
Spikes eyes were shut tightly, and his teeth were clenched. “Rush of information like ice cream headache. Pictures coming back. Words and events. Sentence structure failing.”
“Spike!” everypony gasped.
“Take it easy,” Fluttershy said. “Don’t try to push too hard.”
A strained groaning came from Spike’s mouth as his body trembled. Then, it suddenly stopped. The small dragon remained on the ground, panting heavily. When Spiked looked back up again, his six dearest friends were reflected in his shining emerald eyes.
“Twilight!” Spike exclaimed. He rushed forward and tried to pull the purple unicorn into a powerful hug. They passed right through each other though.
“Spike,” Twilight said with a voice strained from having a ghost pass through her. “Do you remember now?”
“I do. At least, I think I do. I mean I only know what I remember and not what I don’t remember. You know?”
“Yeah,” Twilight said with a giggle.
In the heat of the moment, everypony let out a cheer and converged on Spike for a group hug, forgetting that he was still nothing more than a spirit. They passed right through him, bumping into each other in the middle. A good laugh was still had by all.
Wiping a tear of happiness out from her eye, Twilight turned towards the princess. She put on her best serious expression. “Princess Terranea, we’ll be taking Spike now since he wants to come with us.”
“We shall see, Element of Magic Twilight Sparkle,” Princess Terranea said. Her face was the same as ever, official and even-tempered. Whether she was pleased or upset at this turn of events was impossible to tell. “You will be judged if you are worthy of having this request granted.” Her voice strong echoed through the bodies of the ponies.
Twilight and her friends stood, forming a fence of ponies that separated Spike from Princess Terranea. The alicorn was looking larger and more imposing than Before. All of her tendrils were fluttering, having the appearance of a vertical rippling plane of water. Perhaps it was just their imagination, but the flowers displayed through her mane had a duller color than before.
The six ponies stood their ground.
“What are we being judged on, Princess Terranea?” Twilight asked.
“That is for the judges to decide. They will be present anon,” the princess spoke.
The six ponies looked around. It took a lot of effort to turn their head through all the tension in the air. The fragrances drifting off the flowers felt less sweet. A shroud of gloom seemed to have been pulled over the beautiful grove. The five guardians had backed away even more. They had taken up positions at five points around the front edge of the meadow. Ferry Merry, hiding behind her big sister’s leg, was looking hopeful. Also standing there was the river guide, Higgs Boatswain and the reaper, Fog Lace. They were all as still as statues.
Breaking through the silence was the sound of running water. It started with just a trickle. The Equestrian ponies almost thought that the River of Hate had flowed through the great doors, but that wasn’t the case. Even when the water turned into a roar, they still couldn’t see any signs of it.
From a spot devoid of flowers in the meadow, a geyser of water burst forth. It’s power rumbled through the area. Twilight and her friends let out a gasp of surprise as they moved away. The resting mantis ducked deeper into the leaves to avoid any stray droplets of water. The clear, crisp water stream formed a sphere above the the field of flowers. A ripple shook the water as it settled back onto the ground. It took on a weird shape, having a head and two arms. The lower half of its body was a column.
“Judge Aqueous,” Princess Terranea said, “must you break through my floors every time?”
“Oops,” Aqueous said. “Directions can be hard underground.” The water form was a female, or at least it had a female voice, soft and soothing, like a gentle brook running behind a cozy wooden home.
The water elemental turned, facing the ponies with her featureless face. Even without eyes, it felt as if she was looking at them. “Pleased to meet you.”
All of them were still in too much shock to answer with anything more than a nod.
They didn’t have much time to take everything in as the sound of thundering footsteps and a booming drum filled the area. Walking out from behind a building was a towering creature. Standing on its hind legs only, its muscular arms beat a drum strapped in front of his pudgy stomach. The creature only one great eye that remained focused on the ground in front. A cyclops.
The ponies did all they could not to run away from the cyclops that could easily crush them under his feet if he so desired. Each loud step made them lean back further and clench their teeth tighter. The cyclops stopped right before stepping onto the flowering grove.
“Mine Osmium is here!” a deep, powerful voice said. “And Mine Osmium is ready to render judgement!”
The voice hadn’t come from the cyclops. Leaping off the creatures back was a minotaur. He landed on the ground in what looked to be a pose meant to show off his body, crouched with one arm on the ground. He looked strong with a muscular chest and bulging arms. Smaller legs easily kept his top heavy body balanced. Two horns, with ends so sharp they seemed to glint, protruded out from the side of his head. A long, grey beard and wrinkles on his face revealed that the minotaur was quite old, despite his impressive physique.
“Welcome, Judge Mine Osmium,” the princess said. “I see all three judges have gathered. Are you ready to begin?”
Three? Twilight and the others were pretty sure there were only two. They shot confused glances to each other.
“Yes,” Aqueous said.
“Mine Osmium is always ready!” the minotaur boasted.
“Yeah, sure, I’m ready,” a throaty voice said. It sounded as if there was phlegm stuck in the speakers respiratory tract.
The ponies looked around, confused. It was Fluttershy who first pointed out the speaker, the mantis that had been resting underneath the flower this entire time. He looked like nothing more than an ordinary mantis, green, large eyes with a long neck, arms that looked like folded up blades. Normal. He was now standing on top of an orchid.
“Very well,” Princess Terranea said. “Elements of Harmony, I introduce to you the three judges that will decide if you are worthy of having a life returned. Judge Aqueous,” she raised a hoof towards the water elemental. “Judge Mine Osmium,” she pointed to the minotaur. “And Judge Rad Mantis.”
“Sup?” the mantis asked with a wave of his arm.
Rainbow Dash gave an awkward wave of her own.
The three judges lined up in front of the princess, facing the ones they were to be evaluating. Aqueous had an imperceptible look. An obvious look of derision was on Mine Osmium’s face, even with the bottom half blocked out by his beard. The most unenthusiastic one of the three was Rad Mantis. He just kind of looked like he was only here because it was his job.
Aqueous rippled when she spoke. “Elements of Harmony, we have been watching you since you first entered Lot D.”
“We have been judging you!” Mine Osmium said with a finger pointed at Twilight.
“Yeah, so, get ready for our judgement and stuff,” Rad Mantis said.
Aqueous spoke again. “Your reasons for coming here, your interactions with the staff of Lot D, everything is up for judgment. Before we begin, do you have anything to say?”
The six ponies looked around uncertainly. Their gazes were no match for the ones of the judges. Before any one of them could do anything, Spike passed through their bodies and faced the judges.
Spike held up an arm. His other claw was clenched tight. “Um, may I say something?”
Mine Osmium leaned down with eyes wide. “What do you have to say, Little Dragon?”
“Well, just that these ponies are my best friends, and I really want to go back with them. I know that is selfish of us, and goes entirely against the way things work. If you do decide not to let me leave, don’t blame them for trying. I would do the same for any one of them.
“Don’t even think about trying to keep them here as prisoners for invading Lot D. I won’t let you guys hurt my friends,” Spike said harshly.
“Spike,” Twilight said in soft awe. “Everything will work out, I’ll make sure of it.” She wanted so badly to hold his claw, to physically support him.
Looking back at the judges, she said, “We will do whatever we need to in order to get him back. He means the world to us.”
Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Rarity all nodded.
“Very well,” the princess said. A light, made with magic emanating from a bend in her horn tendril, shone on Aqueous. The light sparkled and danced as it passed through the judge’s watery body. “Judge Aqueous, how do you find?”
“Watching them, I saw only the desire to save their friend. They had no ill intentions for coming here at all,” Aqueous said. “They understood what that meant and still persevered through all five guardian rivers. Each one of them showed great fortitude, both physically and mentally. Though many obstacles stood in their way, they never once wavered from their goal. I find their characters very admirable.
“I, Judge Aqueous, find them worthy.”
The six ponies and Spike opened their eyes wider. Their hearts fluttered with hope at one vote in their favor. There were still two judges remaining. They swallowed down a nervous lump in their throat with eyes on the next judge.
Princess Terranea nodded. “Very well.” She turned her light to the minotaur. “Judge Mine Osmium, how do you find?”
“Mine Osmium finds these ponies a bunch of wussies,” the minotaur growled. He struck a pose with arms flexed downward, making his already impressive muscles even larger. His long beard trailed onto the ground. “There were six of you, against five guardians, and you barely made it. And to be honest, half of the guardians let you pass.”
He whipped into another position that showed off his well defined back. “The last pony that came here did it on her own. Now that was a good, hardy effort. For being being wusses that needed so much help to get through, Mine Osmium finds you wanting.”
“One for, one against,” Princess Terranea said.
Everyponies’ heart sank upon that verdict. Rainbow Dash and Rarity were giving their best glare to Mine Osmium. He either didn’t notice or didn’t find them threatening at all as he didn’t give any response. Fluttershy had her head low to the ground and was chewing on the ends of her hooves. Unlike normal, Pinkie Pie was still, waiting for the verdict next to a cautiously hopeful Applejack. Twilight was at the front, with eyes on the mantis.
“Oh great.” Rad Mantis placed a foreleg against his forehead. “It’s up to me.”
“Yes, please.” The ruling pony shot a stern stare to the final judge. “Judge Rad Mantis, please let us know your thoughts.”
The mantis cleared his throat. He looked around the ponies. “Uh, well, looks like it’s all down to me then isn’t it?” he said again.
Twilight and the others all looked back at him with wide, pleading eyes. He was there last hope for a resolution to their problems. Rad Mantis knew that too as he looked away from their heartfelt gazes.
“You all tried very hard and all. Uh, A plus for effort and all that. I would have to say that, well, perhaps, maybe,” his voice trailed away.
With every word, the ponies leaned in nervously.
“Both of my fellow judged made some very good points. The previous pony did it solo, while all of you did show a lot of strength during the trip. It’s a tough call really. On one leg,” he extended his right foreleg, “it would be a shame for you to fail after making it all the way here. On the other leg,” his left foreleg was stuck out, “this is really a big thing to ask for.
“Now, what should I pick?” Despite his uncertainty, Rad Mantis was clearly enjoying pulling the ponies in two directions with his words. He sat on the ground, leaving his legs extended, quiet in deliberation.
After nearly a minute of silence, the judge said, “I think I want some silkworms for dinner.”
The Equestrian ponies all let out an exasperated sigh. They were about to say something when the judge added, “Oh, and I find you girls worthy.”
The ponies faces lit up like the sun peering over the horizon. They could hardly breathe as they waited for confirmation from the princess, though their eyes twinkled with hope.
For the first time, Princess Terranea stepped off her throne. The tendrils stuck into the wall did not lengthen. As she stepped forward, they ever so slightly lost some of their slack. The princess stopped right behind the three judges. “So the judges have spoken. Two find you worthy, one finds you wanting. Under their guidance, I allow Sir Spike to be released from Lot D to go where he may please.”
A cheer went up through the six ponies and the dragon.
“Yes!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed loudly. She put up a hoof for a hoof bump from Spike. When he did so however, they passed right through each other. Her hoof accidentally struck Pinkie Pie in the side.
“Hey!” the pink pony squealed.
“Uh, oops?” both Rainbow Dash and Spike said.
Twilight gasped at the sight, and her elation immediately faded. Her worried face whipped back towards the princess. “Spike is still nothing more than a spirit.”
“That he is,” Princess Terranea said.
“Can’t you turn him alive again?”
“That is beyond my abilities. To bring Sir Spike back to life again, you would need to find life energy to replace what he has lost. If you were to have some, I could transfer it.”
“Where would we, get, something,” Twilight’s voice trailed off as her expression darkened. Her mouth pressed together tightly, unwilling to say any more. She realized that life force was everywhere, even within all of them. Transferring it would mean that one of them would die though.
“Twilight?” Fluttershy asked. “What’s the matter?”
“Nothing,” Twilight answered with a nervous wobble in her tone.
Rarity walked over with a swish of her mane, somehow styled back to the way it always was. “Really, darling, tell us what’s wrong. We can tell it’s not nothing.”
“It’s just that, the only way to get life force for Spike is for one of us to give it to him,” Twilight mumbled.
“No way,” Applejack said while fervently shaking her head. “No way one of us has to give up our life. There must be some other way.”
“That’s right,” Spike said. His eyes were angled down sadly. “I can’t take one of your lives.”
“But what can we do?” Twilight desperately looked around for answers. All of the staff of Lot D looked oddly still.
“Well,” Rarity said, trying to sound calm and nonchalant. Her eyes looked around at each one of her friends. “I could stay here. I mean, it’s not so bad. I could probably convince them to let me wander around as a soul, maybe open up a boutique down here.” She leaned in and lowered her voice to a whisper. “I mean, have you seen their fashion style? I’ll have everypony here looking great in no time. And you all can come visit me-”
Applejack plugged up the unicorn’s mouth with a hoof. “Hold it right there, Rarity. We’re not letting you stay here.” The others, Spike included, mumbled their agreement. “We’re going to figure something out, so let’s not jump to any rash decisions now.”
Rarity lain down on the ground with head hung. “Told off by Applejack of all ponies. It must have been a horrible idea.”
“It’s not that. Well, it’s kind of that. But are the others going to be satisfied if any one of us is left behind?” Applejack asked. “I know for a fact that even the ponies moving on with their lives will have a lot to deal with.”
“You’re right, I’m sorry for suggesting such a thing, Applejack. We’ll just have to think of something else,” Rarity said with a sigh.
“Oh, oh.” Pinkie Pie waved her foreleg in the air. “I know. We’ll create a medley. Like how sometimes in Sugar Cube corner, we’ll sell a cake assortment where several slices from different cakes are sold as one whole cake, for the ponies that just can’t decide.”
The other’s looked at her with confused glances.
“What I’m saying is that we each give one-sixth of a slice of life,” Pinkie Pie said.
“Oooh,” Twilight said, now understanding what the party-loving pony was talking about. She scratched her chin thoughtfully. Turning back to the ruler of Lot D, she asked, “Would that work? If we all provide one-sixth of our life, would everyone still be alive?”
Princess Terranea tilted her head curiously. “The theory is sound, though the practice is missing. It has never been done before.”
“We want to attempted it,” Twilight said.
The other’s all nodded.
“If it works, you will all lose one sixth of your lifespan,” the princess said.
“We’ll just have to make the most of the time we have,” Twilight responded firmly.
The grand alicorn looked at each of the determined faced of the six Elements of Harmony. Truly, they were wonderful ponies, worthy of the trust placed in them by Princess Celestia. When she spoke again, her words were soft, though still official sounding. “There is another way. With all that has happened, it is no small wonder that you forgot.”
“What?” Twilight said immediately upon hearing it.
“Cool Cestus provided you the answer. She told you to bring me the Royal Gem, did she not? If it was the thing that first drained Sir Spike’s life force, than his life should still be in there.”
“Ah, that’s right!” The green gem was taken out from the saddlebags around the unicorn’s back. Twilight held it up. “How do we get Spike’s life force out?”
“Again, this is just theory as it has never been done before, but break the Royal Gem.”
All the nearby Lot D staff, judges included, let out a gasp.
“Preposterous,” Mine Osmium said. “No way such wimpy ponies can even put a scratch on a Royal Gem made by the princess herself.”
“Just you wait,” Applejack said.
She snatched the gem away only to slam it into the ground. Her legs flexed as she reared back. The forelegs cycled through the air. “Take this!” Applejack exclaimed. Her legs slammed downward, almost blurring from the speed they were travelling at. The blow kicked up a cloud of dirt.
When everything cleared away, the Royal Gem was stuck in the ground but otherwise unharmed. Applejack was rolling back and forth on the ground, nursing her wounded hoofs. She bit her lip, trying to keep from crying out.
“I don’t know if it can be destroyed, Applejack,” Spike said. “I can usually chew through gems no problem, but I couldn’t put so much as a dent on this one. I had to swallow it whole to eat it.”
“I’m not giving up just yet,” Applejack said through gritted teeth. “Cool Cestus, let me borrow those lion heads.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Cool Cestus said. The lion heads were currently resting under her body. She put both forelegs in front of them as shields. “You will most likely destroy a large part of the princess’s meadow before the Royal Gem.”
“Come on,” Rainbow Dash grunted. “There has got to be a way to destroy this thing. If there was enough room in this place for a sonic rainboom, I would try that.”
Twilight had the gem in her hoof again, after digging it out from the ground. Suspiciously, she turned to the burgundy alicorn. If the alicorn knew how to make them, she must be able to destroy them. “Princess Terranea, may you please break this for us?”
Princess Terranea nodded. She tapped a spot on the marble platform where her throne was set. Twilight placed the Royal Gem there and then backed away. There was no magic, no grand spectacle. The princess simply placed her hoof on top of the Royal Gem. Twisting, sliding forward, moving back, her slow and precise movements were forced upon the gem. Then, as she slid her hoof forwards and downwards, the Royal Gem shattered as easy as breaking an egg.
“It’s all in the technique,” Princess Terranea said in response to everypony’s wide eyed stare.
From the fragments of the gem flowed out a red ribbon. Using magic, Princess Terranea directed it through the air towards Spike. The long fabric wrapped swirled around his body, starting from his feet and then rising upwards to his head. The ribbon tightened and was absorbed into his body as the fabric rubbed against his scales. Spike’s transparent body shimmered, otherwise he looked the same.
“Was that supposed to happen?” Applejack asked.
“Yes. What was just returned was simply the thing that ties a body to a soul. Bring Spike outside of Lot D, and he will be drawn back to his body, assuming it still exists,” Princess Terranea explained.
“Don’t worry, princess, we have definitely saved the body.” Twilight was looking at Spike though, and a smile was on her face.
“So we can go home now, Twilight?” Spike asked.
“Yeah. We can go home now.”
Rainbow Dash let out a chuckle. She grabbed Fluttershy by the hoof. Letting out an emphatic, “Yeeees!” she pulled the other pegasus into a spiral, adding a thick trail of pink to her rainbow. They burst into the air, performing one full loop before landing back on the ground.
Fluttershy staggered back a few steps before sitting down. She was giggling non stop, however.
“I do have one more condition, for the release of Spike” Princess Terranea said.
“What?” Twilight narrowed her eyes in frustration. Her feelings leaked through to the tone of her words. “We’ve already done everything.”
The alicorn tilted her head toward, shooting out a green beam from the base of her horn. Spike was encased in a green bubble, and he looked have fallen unconscious. His head was hanging, and his tail swayed with every movement.
“What did you do that for?” Rarity asked.
“Please trust me.” Princess Terranea stepped back, onto her throne again. “I will use my magic to make Spike follow you automatically. When you leave, you must not look back until Spike is back in Equestria.”
“What’s the purpose of that?” Pinkie tilted her head towards the cavern ceiling. “Wait, don’t tell me. I can guess.”
“That won’t be necessary, Harmony of Laughter Pinkie Pie. As I have said, this is trust. All of you shall walk in front. Spike shall follow soundlessly. You can not look back at him. Face forward, little ponies,” the princess repeated.
“Okay, we trust you,” Twilight said.
She turned away from the bubble encased Spike. Her friends did the same. Their bodies were stiff as they pointed away from him. After all coming this way and passing through all the challenges, the final request had been an odd one. The group decided it was best not to question it and just place trust in the princess to keep her word.
“You will have to leave through the five rivers. May your return journey be pleasant.” Princess Terranea turned to the under ponies working under her. “Guardians, please make sure they safely return to the surface.”
“Yes, Princess Terranea!” four guardians said at once.
“Yes, princess,” Sticks mumbled, clearly still unhappy. “Well come on then,” she snarled at the ponies. “Let’s go.”
The five guardians, and Ferry Merry, led the way back down the large chamber, towards the large set of double doors. Higgs Boatswain and Fog Lace remained behind. The three judges were starting to leave as well. Rad Mantis, being so small, had already disappeared. Or he could have been hiding somewhere, and nopony would know. Aqueous had sunk back into the hole she first made upon arrival. The cyclops that carried Mine Osmium over knelt down with one arm on the floor. The minotaur stepped onto the arm to be lifted into the air. Princess Terranea remained still, her expression as blank as ever.
There were a lot of murmurings among the workers of Lot D. Even though it had just happened, stories of the princess allowing some ponies to retrieve one of the dead from Lot D were spreading among the offices. For now, productivity was at an all time low as the workers were all spying on the proceedings. Or rather, they were watching, as spying implied some sort of stealth. The under ponies were watching from the rooftops or from the outdoor rest plazas.
The group travelled down the main path leading towards the River of Hate. On both sides, they were flanked by a row of guards.
The six ponies could hardly believe they were finally returning. Just how long had they been underground? Was it days? Weeks? Maybe years? The last one was unlikely, unless they spent far longer in the River of Forgetfulness than they realized. Seeing the sun again would be marvelous. Experiencing the breeze running through their manes again was something they couldn’t wait for. The feel of grass and soil under their hooves would be great after all the hard rocks and metal.
A low rumbling noise shook the area as the great doors were opened. Reaching out before them was the River of Hate. It was located within a massive cavern with blue tinted stone that was studded with great gems. The river was a long bridge with a deep channel in the middle where water could flow. Currently, the channel was empty. Off the side, several whirlpools could be seen churning in the lake below.
“Well, looks like you’re stuck here,” Sticks muttered dully once they reached most of the way down the bridge. Several segments were still shattered from when she had battled with Rarity, leaving a large gap. “This repair job looks like it’ll take a while.”
“There must be something you can do,” Rarity asked politely. “Please?”
“Hmph.” Sticks sat down at the edge, watching the shattered pillars sticking out from the water.
“I won’t apologize,” Rarity stated. “I did what I needed to in order to rescue my dear friend.
“I don’t expect any apologies,” Sticks mumbled. “What do you want me to do? You’re the one with magic. Go magic yourself over.”
Twilight eyed the large empty space. “I guess I could give it a shot.”
Before she could do anything however, Arch Rune walked forward. Arch Rune tapped her fellow guardian forcefully on the back of the head. “Stop moping and get us across, unless you want to hang out with us for the time it takes to repair the bridge.”
Sticks looked back with a glower. “Fine,” she spat. “TALOS, bridge.”
The massive bronze rose up from beneath the lake. Water cascaded over its armor and through its interior in heavy sheets. The pony cut through the whirlpools as if they were nothing. When it was under the gap, TALOS rose up, making a way for them to go over his back. “SPINE CHIROPRACTIC STRAIGHTENING, STRAIGHTEN.”
The ponies started over the bridge. As most of the guardians were moving over TALOS without any hesitation, Twilight and her friends did so as well. The bronze giant had slid its armored plating around in such a way that left no gaps, making for an easy trek over its back and onto the other side. Sticks, being the guardian of the River of Hate, had not moved from where she was sitting. This was as far as she would go.
“Thank you,” Rarity said as she passed. She tried to smile at the guardian.
Sticks only gave her a sideways glance before turning back to the ground. “Whatever.”
Cool Cestus left the pairs of weapons on the ground next to the guardian of the River of Hate. Sticks nodded once.
The group, minus Sticks, proceeded onwards to the River of Forgetfulness. Before entering, Lace had the skeletal attendants bring everypony a mask of bone. Even the other guardians got one. Only Lace still had her face exposed.
“These will prevent you from being affected by the river’s fog, so don’t worry.” Lace gave a sultry smile to everypony. “Come on then, follow me if you don’t want to get lost. I don’t mind if anypony wants to be real close.” She batted her eyelashes.
The River of Forgetfulness was actually underneath them. They were walking on a grate some distance above the rushing water. A thick fog filled the area, making it difficult to tell just how high up they were. Sticking down from the ceiling were twisting iron structures, mostly lamp posts or girders.
“Lace, Lace,” Pinkie Pie chirped as she hopped over next to the guardian. “You’re coming with us right? I promised to invite you to our celebration party. Now that Spike is coming back with us, I’ll throw the best party ever.”
Lace looked over with a sad look in her eyes. “I want to, Pinkie, I really do. But you said it yourself, a party is best with friends.” She motioned towards the other guardians. “I highly doubt Princess Terranea would let all the guardians have time off at the same time. At the very least, we need three to make sure everything is alright, one of which has to be Cool Cestus. That pony hasn’t taken a break in all the time I’ve known her.
“I would love to go to a party, but I want all my friends to be there too.”
Pinkie looked disappointed but nodded with understanding. “If you can’t come to the party, I’ll come back and bring the party to you!” She jabbed a hoof into Lace’s chest.
Lace stopped for a moment. She held Pinkie’s foreleg with both of hers. “I can’t wait to see you again. Come back soon.”
“You betcha.”
Lace remained behind in the River of Forgetfulness as the group moved on. They left their masks behind as well.
As they continued on, Twilight found that her eyes wanted to wander. They went left and right, trying to see all the way behind without her turning around. It was quiet back there, as if no dragon was following them at all. As she stole glances, she noticed that her friends were also having the same nervous eye movements. The remaining guardians and Ferry Merry were not revealing anything with their body language. Their gaze never focused on anything trailing behind them.
The silence didn’t last long as a loud gnashing shout could be heard. They must be nearing the River of Wailing. This time, the huge black space felt much less overbearing with more ponies around. A long channel, with water flowing through it, was suspended over a large empty void of darkness. Located underneath them was the prison of Tartarus, where ancient monsters were kept contained. It was their roars and wailings they heard all throughout the area.
A large, furry dog with three heads excitedly bounded towards the group.
“Cerberus!” Fluttershy said happily. She flew over to greet him by rubbing his heads. She had to move around, giving each head the same amount of attention. “I hope you weren’t lonely when Cool Cestus left.”
Cerberus let out a bark and licked the pegasus with his large tongue.
“Cerberus is actually pretty tough,” Cool Cestus said. “He probably does more than me for keeping this river in line.”
“You’re such a good boy,” Fluttershy cooed.
Cerberus responded with a lazy wag of his tail.
As they continued onward, the channel had two bridges branching off to the sides. They led to floating islands. On each one was a large doorway, one simple and homely, the other grand and ornate. They led to the place where souls rested.
“You aren’t going to try and go through again, are you?” Cool Cestus asked Applejack.
“I promised I wouldn’t, and that promise still stands,” Applejack said. Her head was pointing straight ahead, not even looking towards the gates. “Besides, I was never going to go through, you know that.”
“I do. I can’t say I understand what it’s like losing close ones, but you are certainly still pushing forward, in whatever you do.”
“My family grows apples. The best apples you have ever tasted this side of the mountain,” Applejack advertised with a confident drawl.
“An apple farm, huh? That must be relaxing.”
“Yeah, it can be when we’re not working hard, trying to take care of all the orchards.”
Cool Cestus closed her eyes, uncaring that the path they were on had no guard railings. “I think it would be nice to meditate under the apple trees. I’ve always wondered what the surface world was like.”
“You should drop my. My family and I will show you a hooting good time.”
The guardian tilted her head. “I can’t tell if a hooting time is my thing or not.”
“It will be once you experience it.”
“I can’t though. I must remain here, guarding the River of Wailing. Thank you for the offer, however.”
“You’re sure? I’m certain you can take some time off,” Applejack insisted.
“We’ll see. The future is ever changing and uncertain,” Cool Cestus said with a mystical wave of her foreleg. “But our time has ended for now. Please be safe on your journey.”
They had already reached the end of the River of Wailing. Odd how on the first trip, the river seemed to extend on forever, but on the way back, they had arrived at the entrance without even realizing it. Between talking amongst themselves and Fluttershy playing with Cerberus, the trip seemed much more fun.
“Alright, you take care of yourself now.” Applejack tipped her hat towards the guardian.
Coming up was the massive heat of the River of Fire. It was a massive chamber filled with flowing magma. Built into the wall was a town that ran vertically upwards. A complex series of mechanisms drew up magma to be poured down pipes in the wall. What they were used for was a mystery. Floating around the magma were rafts of bone. Minotaurs, diamond dogs and other residents used those to get around.
This time, Twilight didn’t need to cast a cooling spell. Fleckle Sun provided them a large raft made of bone, crewed by her band mates. Two blarrgs, reptiles that lived inside the magma, pulled the raft against the current. It must have been enchanted as stepping on the boat immediately made them feel cooler.
“This is so much easier than what we went through last time,” Rainbow Dash said as she looked out at the River of Fire. “Wow, I didn’t even notice that the rafts were made of bone when we were here before.”
“Come back again, and I’ll give you a tour,” Fleckle Sun said. “I’m sure the minotaurs and diamond dogs would want to meet you. All they’ve been talking about since you left is how awesome you were.”
“Well, I am awesome.”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself now. I’m still the most awesome around here.”
Rainbow Dash had an evil smirk. “We’ll just have to let the residents decide, won’t we?”
“Psh, go ask them. I’m not even worried.” Fleckle Sun gave a large, exaggerated shrug. “But that means you need to come back.”
“Yeah, I’ll drop by when Pinkie does.”
“Hot,” Fleckle Sun said.
The two of them gave each other a hoof bump up high. Then down low. They went into a forward slap followed by a back slap. Climbed the wall. Slid down the drain pipe. Blew it up. Rewound time, fixing it. And ended with another, more solid hoof bump.
“Alright,” Fleckle Sun said. “One more river to go now. Don’t let curiosity send Spike back to us if he isn’t already.”
“I haven’t even thought about looking,” Rainbow Dash said hoarsely. She turned to face the entrance to the River of Pain.
As Twilight and the others left the River of Fire, Fleck Sun let out a loud, “Awooooooooooooooh!” that reverbed through the glowing red cavern.
Finally, they had returned to the River of Pain, the first one the Equestrian ponies had been to when they entered Lot D. This time, the had to take the walkway next to the river as there was no boat for them. This river travelled down a long tunnel. Dangerous creatures lived under the surface, but they wouldn’t bother anypony as long as anypony didn’t bother them. Massive skulls hung from the ceiling, held in place by two thick chains.
Up ahead, there were the twinkling lights of the dingy docks. It was a mixture of festive joy and old abandonment. Several damaged ships were moored there.
“We’re finally back here,” Twilight said. “We’re almost out.”
“You don’t have to sound that excited about it, Twilight,” Ferry Merry muttered.
“I didn’t mean we wanted to get away from you. We just want to get home.”
“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash said. “And nothing against this place, it’s great and all, but I’m a pony of the skies. I need the wide open space to fly free.” Her wings shot out with bravado.
Ferry Merry walked over to the six ponies, her eyes wide in preparation for asking something. “Can I come with you? I want to see the above ground world. I heard all sorts of stories about it, such as the thing behind Princess Terranea’s throne growing everywhere.”
“You mean trees?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Trees,” Ferry Merry said in awe.
“Uh,” Arch Rune mumbled, “maybe next time Ferry Merry. Big sister isn’t quite ready for you to go running off on your own yet.”
“Aww, sis.”
“Don’t worry. I want to go too. See? We’ll make plans later.”
Fluttershy walked over to the two sisters with soft steps. “Um, you really should come up sometime. There are a bunch of amazing things up there, and I would be glad to show them to you.”
“Definitely. You better be ready to show us a good time, Fluttershy, because if you don’t I’ll have to hurt you.”
“She’s kidding,” Ferry Merry said when she saw Fluttershy nervously lean back. “I think. Sometimes, my sister’s feelings are like a dark cloth wrapped around a strange box. You can’t tell what it is, and you don’t want to dig deeper.”
Arch Rune just grinned.
Fluttershy cleared her throat and said strongly, “I will do my best.”
“Uh,” Twilight cut in, “I hate to ask, but how are we supposed to get out of here? When we came in here, we fell down a long water slide.”
“Seriously?” Arch Rune opened one eye larger than the other. “You took that archaic way in? We have an elevator that travels between here and the surface. See?”
“What?” Twilight said flatly. “Are there any other easier ways around that we could have taken but didn’t?”
Arch Rune innocently looked around while scratching her ear.
“Come on, I’ll show you dames the elevator,” Ferry Merry said.
The guardian of the river stayed behind, leaving them with a warning to watch out for scorpions. If Ferry Merry heard, she didn’t give any indication as she was already in the process of shuffling off.
Instead of going back towards their original entrance point, they went down large tunnel. It was unadorned, not even with light sources. Cobwebs filled the area. Hundreds of spiders, with red glowing eyes, skittered away when the ponies arrived. Twilight and Rarity provided some light from their horn.
“I guess it’s been a while since anyone has used the elevator,” Ferry Merry said. “Don’t worry, I’m sure it still works.”
The ponies pushed their way through the long, dark tunnel. Constantly, Fluttershy was apologizing as she tip toed around, trying not to disturb any of the spider’s homes. They watched the ponies from all sides with many eyes, but they remained far away.
At the end of the tunnel was a large room. It had no ceiling and no floor. The room extended vertically into darkness on both ends. One half was a platform of stone, the other half was a large pit. Huge chains were tied onto the four corners of the elevator without guard rails. The under ponies sure didn’t believe in any safety compliances. A massive rusted lever was on the wall nearby.
“This is it,” Ferry Merry said. “They way up to the surface. Good luck, dames. Come back soon.”
Fluttershy smiled brightly. “We will.”
One by one, they stepped onto the elevator platform. None of them turned around, for they were still within Lot D. That meant Ferry Merry had to pull the lever alone. She grunted repeatedly as her small body clung to the elevator lever.
“Just a minute,” the filly said. “I’ll get it.” She had stuck herself to the wall, above the lever, using the under ponies ability to transform into shadow. Her forelegs were pushing downwards on the switch with all her might.
As the lever shuddered, flakes of rust fell off. A long screeching sound filled the shaft, and the lever budged downward. After a certain point, it snapped the rest of the way, flinging Ferry Merry to the ground.
Somewhere high above, the sound of chains rolling across something rang out. The platform jolted upwards, to the surprise of all on it. Soon, the ride smoothed out, somewhat. The six Equestrian ponies began their steady ascent back towards the surface.
The six ponies stood on an elevator as it ascended up a lightless shaft. The two unicorns kept their horns glowing. On three sides, they were surrounded by rock walls. The fourth was empty space. On what they assumed was to be halfway up the elevator, a massive stone weight, clutched in a metal cage, came falling down next to them. It must be what was used to power the lift.
At the top, they had a violent stop with the platform bouncing past floor level from momentum. It settled down with a loud bang as everypony struggled to keep steady. They were inside a dark room. If it wasn’t for their magical light, they would have been submerged pitch blackness.
“Can we turn back now?” Pinkie Pie asked. “I must know if Spike is behind us!”
“Not yet, Pinkie,” Twilight said. “We’re not taking any chances. Let’s wait until we are outside of the mountains completely.”
“Okay.” The pink pony looked down, crestfallen.
“Now, how do we get out of here?” Twilight thought out loud.
“Over here, Twi,” Applejack called out. “I’ll trust you’re looking over here since I can’t turn around to check.” She had her hoof on a lever against the wall. There was another, much larger lever right next to it, which she assumed controlled the elevator.
With a bit of effort, Applejack pulled down the switch. Nearby, a stone panel slid away. Its vibrating noise shook loose dirt and dust. The glorious beam of light was immediately noticeable as it shined through the crack. As the panel opened more, the room was filled with sunlight.
Just how long had they been underground? The sun was out when they entered, and it was still out now. Such thoughts weren’t on the minds of the ponies right now, however. All they wanted was to return to the world of sunlight and moonlight, of wind and trees.
The space they exited was right near the entrance cave to Subterrania. In front of them were four large statues of ponies, rearing up. To their left was the stalactite filled entrance that led back downward.
They turned right, towards the narrow canyon path. Green torches, stuck to the walls, cast light through the passageway. They hurried on out of the mountains, yearning for home and Spike. Determined to keep their trust in the princess, none of them looked back.
The sight of open plains heartened them and gave energy to their weary legs. Twilight was the first to step out from the mountain path and onto the grassy plains. It was luminescent from the bright rays of the sun bouncing off the damp blades of grass. A nice breeze went through the area, bringing with it sweet smells. She let out a long sigh of relief. Without looking back, she moved forward to let her friends out as well.
“Can we look back now?” Pinkie Pie pleaded.
“Not yet,” Twilight said again. “We may be outside but if Spike is behind us, he still isn’t. Let’s move forward some more.”
Straight necked, they continued forward, counting each step. It was impossible to tell how far behind Spike was lagging. They didn’t want to turn early, not after coming all this way, but they also wanted to know if Spike was really following them or not. Twilight bit her lip as she continued forward, step after step. Her hoofs caused a slight rustling as they brushed over the grass.
After the last pony, Fluttershy, walked forward ten steps, a spot of green flashed out behind them. She let out a loud shriek, but remained facing forward with a strained expression.
Something behind them flew up into the air and streaked towards the horizon. A green bubble soared through the sky as if drawn to something far away.
“Spike!” they all exclaimed at once.
“Correct me if I’m wrong,” Rarity said, “but isn’t that the direction of Ponyville?”
“It is!” Pinkie Pie cheered with jumping motions, spreading her legs out as far as they could go.
Finally, Twilight turned back to the others to see their joyous forms. “Come on!”
Though they wanted to rush off as fast as possible, the trip back would take a while and they needed to conserve strength. Making steady progress, they marched all the way back to Ponyville.
What a wonderfully quaint place it was. Even though they couldn’t have been gone for more than a few days, it felt so good seeing the little village again, full of cozy homes and flowering gardens. The streets felt oddly empty however. It lacked the usual sight of ponies going about their business, greeting others on the street in a neighborly manner.
Exhausted and in dire need to a bath, the six ponies nonetheless felt exuberant. As they walked into town, somezebra was waiting at the main path. And since there was only one zebra living anywhere near Ponyville, it had to be Zecora.
“You have returned, Twilight Sparkle. Please come with me, on the double,” Zecora said.
“What happened? Where’s Spike?” Twilight asked.
“This way and you will know. Enough chatter, let us go.”
The path Zecora led them down did not go to the Everfree Forest. Instead, they headed towards great rolling hills that were filled with apple trees. A large, red barn house stood near the edge. It was a constantly repaired structure, but that allowed for many improvements over the years that kept things fresh and up to date.
“What are we doing here?” Applejack asked.
Pinkie Pie suddenly gave a long gasp. She had to let out the breath of air to continue on with the gasp. “I know what this is. The tables have been turned!” Without explaining further, she zipped over towards the smaller doors meant for ponies to go through. With a grand motion, she pushed it open.
She was greeted by a loud cry by a multitude of voices that said, “Surprise!”
Standing there, under streamers, balloons and a large banner that read, “Welcome Back!” were the residents of Ponyville. There were earth ponies, unicorns and pegasus of all colors waving happily from within the barn. While they didn’t know exactly what was going on, they never turned down the opportunity to be part of a party.
“We were going to throw a party, but then you guys threw a party, so now we don’t have to throw a party, and we can enjoy a party, for it is a party, yet I wanted to throw a party! What?” Pinkie Pie stammered. “You have turned the tables!”
Running to the front was Spike. He leapt into the air, into the waiting softness of Twilight and her friends. Finally, they could feel hug him again. Normally, they didn’t think much of the way his scales felt, but now, they thought it was really nice. The young purple dragon was hugged tightly between the six ponies. His legs dangled in the air as they lifted him up.
“What’s this, Spike? We were going to throw a party for you,” Twilight said as she rubbed his head.
“Well, since I just kind of zipped back here, I thought I would throw one for you guys. It’s the least I could do after all you’ve done for me.” He started to motion for all his friends to lean in closer, but as they were already nearly touching cheeks with him, he stopped. “I didn’t tell anypony what happened. They think I was sick, and you girls went off to find a cure.”
“How did you get better before we got back?” Pinkie Pie asked.
“Uh. Don’t think about it too much?” Spike answered.
They had to break off their hushed conversation as other ponies were starting to come over. Among the first to arrive were Applejack’s family, Rarity’s sister and Rainbow Dash’s number one fan. Zecora had broken off to enjoy some time with the resident’s of Ponyville, something she rarely had a chance to do. The zebra was pleased that they weren’t hiding from her stripes any more.
“What’s going on, sis?” Apple Bloom asked. “You told me you were going on a vacation, but Spike said you were finding a cure for his sickness.”
“Uh.” Applejack retreated a bit from her younger sister’s fierce gaze. “If you remember, I never said I was going on vacation, just that I was going to somewhere exotic, to find a cure.”
“At least she told you something,” Sweetie Belle, Rarity’s younger sister said. “I had no idea my big sister had even left until I went over one day and saw the sign on the door.”
“Oh, well,” Rarity said. Her eyes looked around nervously for some help, but nopony else did anything. “I, uh, forgot. There was a lot on my mind at the time. I am sorry though, please forgive me?” She gave an exaggerated smile to her younger sister.
“And what happened to you?” Sweetie Belle asked. “You look terrible.”
“I tripped on a root.” Rarity smiled even wider as if the more teeth she showed, the more truthful her words would be.
“Aww,” the younger unicorn said. “Well don’t worry. I heard you were coming directly here after a long trip and brought something.” She raised a hoof towards one of the tables where sandwiches, punch and small snacks were set up. Next to it was Rarity’s red reclining couch.
“You are such a dear, Sweetie Belle. Getting off my tired hooves is just what I need right now,” Rarity said.
“And you can tell me all about your trip.”
“Uh, of course,” Rarity said with a touch of hesitation.
Scootaloo was hopping around her idol, the miniature wings on her back were buzzing with excitement. “Welcome back Rainbow Dash! How was your trip? Did you do any awesome things?”
“Did I ever? The trip was great. But, uh, why don’t we enjoy the party for now, squirt?” Rainbow Dash said. “I’ll tell you about my feats later.” She patted the young pegasus on the head.
The party was a very lively affair with music, dancing and games. Mister and Misses Cake had catered the entire event. They provided a great spread of cakes, cupcakes, carrot cakes, pound cakes and many other kinds of cake. Thick, colorful frosting topped all the treats. A flashy pony, wearing dark sunglasses, was acting as the disc jockey for this event. She spun out party tunes with ease. Others were playing around, batting balloons through the air. The young ones had gathered into their groups and were chattering lively. A grey pegasus with yellow eyes was gingerly stepping around a chair she had knocked over, only to back into more chairs.
Quite a few of the residents had come over to Twilight and her friends, asking about what happened. None of the six had any good answers that didn’t involve revealing that Spike had actually died and they brought his soul back.
“Away with you gossip hags,” a raspy voice said. A pony pushed through the crowd, uncaring of what the others thought, and sent them away.
“Musky Brew!” Twilight gasped. “You’re still here?”
“I very well couldn’t leave without knowing everything turned out alright now, could I?” Musky Brew said.
Over the past few days, she looked even older than normal from worry. Her face was sallow and eyes sunken. Seeing that the six ponies had returned brought life back to her. Still wrapped around her body was a patched-up travelling cloak.
“It lifts a weight off my heart to see everypony back safe. I wouldn’t know what to do if you hadn’t, seeing as everything was my fault.”
Twilight shook her head, “It was just a bad accident. Everything worked out in the end, so don’t worry about it. Enjoy the party.”
“You are too kind.” Musky Brew lowered her head to Twilight and her friends. “I notice that you told everypony a different story than the one that actually happened. If you wouldn’t mind, can you tell me about Lot D?”
“Didn’t you just call them gossip hags?” Applejack asked.
Musky Brew shrugged. “I’m a hag.”
The group found a nice, private corner of the barn to speak. Rarity even brought her couch over. For the moment, the Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were playing with each other after none of them were told anything.
“Well,” Fluttershy said, “it all started with a walk down a spooky mountain path.” She told the part up until they left the River of Pain.
Musky Brew scratched her sagging chin. “You know, I have a bunch of gold coins with me. I would have given them to you.”
“Oh, well, it’s alright. We made due without it.”
“My turn next then.” Rainbow Dash puffed up proudly as her story about the River of Fire unfolded.
“You know,” Musky Brew said, “I think I have some magic item that allows ponies to walk safely over lava.”
“Oh come on!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. She had her hoof halfway to her face before deciding it wasn’t worth it.
“You’re not about to tell us you have some way to stop a sphinx or a hekaheka-somethings are you?” Applejack said with a keen stare, as if she was trying to peer into Musky Brew’s mind.
After thinking about it for a moment, the old mare said, “You know, I do have this repelling stone that’s supposed to work on certain ancient creatures. I’ve never tried it out though.”
Pinkie Pie grabbed Musky Brew by the shoulders. “How about something that allows me to light my party cannon in damp conditions?”
Twilight let out a forced cough. “What she means is, how about anything that prevents memories from being affected?”
“Yes to both. I have a candle that creates flames that will even stay lit underwater. I also have a tiara that prevents the mind from being altered.”
Pinkie Pie sank to her knees. Half sobbing, she yelled, “Why didn’t we ask?”
“Please tell me you have nothing to stop mechanical spiders and birds,” Rarity said.
Musky Brew sat there, not speaking.
“So you do have something like that?” the unicorn said with all the life sapped out of her.
“I call it an EMP, Emergency Mechanical Pounder. It will knock out anything that doesn’t function through magic in an area,” Musky Brew said. “Sorry, girls. I would have loaned you all the items if you asked.”
All of them had their heads hung. If only they had known. If only.
Interrupting their mini pity party was a mint green unicorn. Her mane and tail were two-toned, consisting of white and teal. A golden lyre was on her flank.
“Did I hear right?” she asked. “You went to Lot D?”
“Lyra!” Twilight gasped. She rubbed her head nervously. “Well, no, you see, er,” her words trailed away into uncertain mumblings.
“If you had told me, I could h-”
A loud crash sounded through the barn. The grey pegasus that had been bumping into chairs previously had just knocked over a table full of drinks. Juice was soaking into the ground everywhere. Good thing the ground was just dirt. Cleaning it would be pointless.
Twilight turned back to the green unicorn. “What did you say?”
“No, nothing,” Lyra said. “It doesn’t matter since you’re all back safely. Enjoy your party.” She walked off to go find a drink that was not soaking into the ground.
And enjoy the party they did. Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Spike spent the day together, laughing and having fun just like always.
Some time during the day, Spike had gathered all of his friends underneath the large banner. “I just wanted to tell you, thank you very much for saving me.”
“You are very welcome,” Twilight said with a beaming smile.
“You would have done the same for any one of us,” Rainbow Dash pointed out.
“Oh yeah, speaking of that,” Spike held up a claw, “remember my Dragon Code? Now that you all saved my life again, who am I supposed to serve until that debt is repaid? I guess I could go around to all of your houses one day a week, but then that leaves on day unaccounted for.”
“Twilight,” Applejack answered immediately. “Just continue being Twilight’s assistant. That’s what I ask.”
The group burst out laughing.
After a long day, when night had finally came and the guests had returned home, they were all too exhausted to go home. Instead, they just decided to sleep in the barn tonight, under each others pleasant company.
Dear Princess Celestia
It has been a long time since we last had any correspondence. I know that is mostly my fault, as I refused your last few letters. Still, I hope you read this one, but I would understand if you do not.
I received a group of interesting visitors recently. They were your subjects, the ones that wield the Elements of Harmony. Are all ponies above ground so valorous? It has been so long since I have wanted to be engaged in the going-ons of the above world. Knowing that they are your subjects made me wonder how you are doing?
If it is not too much trouble, I would like to invite you over for some tea and a chat. I would go to you, but you know that I can not leave my meadow. There are many things I regret and want to speak to you about.
