> Fluttershy's Inferno > by Fish Taco Truck > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Limbo, Part 1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dark waters sloshed under the rowboat. It creaked and swayed inside of the cool night air, and the overwhelming stench of decay filled the nostrils of the two denizens of this boat. The sea they resided in was the Sea of Souls, a precursor to the foul place they traveled to. Fluttershy was wearing an armor of pale steel, donning aluminum hoof-plates (glazed to be gold), and sharp shoulder plates. On her back, nearly invisible, sat a large sword. the blade was a silver glow, unfathomably bright in the velvety darkness.The hilt was steel wrapped in leather, and a sun stone was stored within a socket at the end. The fury of the sun would flow through this blade, and strike down any darkness that stood to fight her. Twilight wore a black robe, as her frequent... trips in to The Inferno had left her with quite an unhappy name. She would be killed on sight if she was identified. They both sat in silence, and the only sound was the water. Moving, splashing on the boat's side. It would cause anyone else to go insane. "Twilight, I need you to tell me what I will be facing ahead." Fluttershy broke the silence with her sweet, however determined voice. "I've never been to The Inferno, nor do I want to ever again after this adventure." Twilight seemed to know her pain. She may be a resolute and introverted pony, but she is no stranger to Fluttershy and her emotions. "Understandable," Twilight replied. "The Inferno is a horrid place of evil and nightmares. After this is over you will reach a solace unlike any other." Twilight sighed, stopped her constant rowing to look at her map she had pulled from a book. "The first circle you will see is Limbo. Nothing exists but your own personal fears and nightmares. You will have to defeat them to move onward. "Next is Lust. Ponies will try and seduce you to going back, but you cannot listen. Just keep moving." Twilight paused to take a deep breath. "Next is Gluttony. You will find millions of treats and cakes, but once you eat one you cannot stop. Do not eat any of the food in that circle. After that is Greed. Gold, gems and hundreds of fortunes will tempt you, but you cannot fall for the tricks of gold. "The fourth circle is Wrath. Anger and evil brew there, and the enemies you will face must be killed to end their torment of anger. The fifth is Pride. Enemies there must be taught of their mistakes... and show their pride the comfort of a blade. The sixth circle is Darkness. Ponies are there by choice, and a great city has been made there. They dabble in the black arts, summoning creatures of nightmare. You need to kill any pony you see inside. That is not a choice." Fluttershy was holding up a sigh. She had never killed anypony, or any animal in her life. To start now was going to be, not only hard, but painful. But once it was over, she would gain a form of solace with herself. She knew this. Twilight continued. "The 7th, and second to the innermost circle, is Nightmares. All nightmares from every pony on the planet reside here. Their greatest fears... even yours. The final and eighth circle is Violence. That is where you will find Na-shuul, and most likely Rainbow Dash." They black waters began to become clearer, as the boat approached Limbo. Fluttershy knew what she needed to do, and she could not let her friends down; she could not allow herself to fail.Twilight seemed to notice her determination, and giggled. "Twilight?" Fluttershy seemed surprise, a laugh inside of such a bleak place. "I knew you had pent up battle fury, but to take on the Eight Circles of The Inferno?" Twilight smiled. "You're something of a warrior, Fluttershy." "After this, not so sure I will be." Fluttershy said. The atmosphere immediately turned serious once more. The fog around them shifted to reveal the waters ahead, and most importantly a beach made of pure black sand. Screams could be heard seemingly miles away. The sound of the boat hitting the sand nearly made Fluttershy jumped. She knew she needed to be resolute. Not now, Fluttershy. Forget fear. Her hoof hit the sand, and it crumpled under her hoof. The first hoof step of many had been taken. "Fluttershy," Twilight said. She turned around to look at her friend once more. The element of magic took off her hood to reveal her face, the first time she had seen it in hours. "You need to remember that danger, is very real." Twilight's eyes narrowed with seriousness. "But to be afraid is a choice. No matter what happens, promise me that fear will not be your choice." "I cannot feel fear, when it is all around me." Fluttershy's smile could bring the whole of Limbo to light. "It's a... special talent of mine." "Then I need to get back to Canterlot to hold off Na-shuul's forces." Twilight used her hoof to kick the boat off. Fluttershy turned to look at the fog covered trees in front of her, when she heard her name called by Twilight. She turned back to see the boat, and heard a yell. "Kick some ass for me!" "There aren't any donkeys down here, but I will try!" She replied. A muted laugh is what she heard in response. The last she would hear for hours, maybe days. The smile faded from her face, and ferocity took it's place. The trees ahead of her were a pure onyx, and the leaves were as if crystal shards. She trotted forward, in to the darkness ahead of her. In to The Inferno. Fluttershy's Inferno > Limbo, Part 2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The black sand ended at a miniature cliff, with grass coming over the top. Weeds sat at the edge, staring down as if ready to grasp an unsuspecting prey. Fluttershy climbed up this edge, and her hoof hit a very odd patch of ground. Looking down, she realized this was the grass. It was prickly, black and sharp. Her hooves would get used to it after a while. The undergrowth shrouded whatever sky could exist here, be it blue, black or red like blood. Her look at the leaves were correct, as they were black and crystaline. The forest seemed to go on for a long while, as she had gone nearly 200 meters without even a slight change in the scenery. Until the webs began. Hundreds of webs, silky and white. The black land was shining with webs, ranging from miniscule cobwebs to ones... larger than any spider Fluttershy had seen. She had remembered something when these webs began... her chronic fear of spiders. Fluttershy remembered what Twilight had said, how fear was a choice. It sounded confident before, but now it just seemed impossible to chose confidence. She stood still and took breaths. This isn't real. it's just your imagination. The webs aren't there. As much as she wanted to believe that, she couldn't. They felt real, they looked real and they even stuck to her... as if a real web. She kept trotting. Fear was lessening it's grip on her, and the webs began to fade as quickly as they had begun. Soon there were only small strands left. The webs were just about finished, when something caught her eye. A black ball, with eight legs. It hung from a tree. Her head whipped around to see it, but it was gone as quickly as it spawned in to life. Giant spiders. How amazing. Fluttershy said to herself. She wasn't as much afraid, as she was ready to kill whatever the hell decided to appear in her eyesight. Her ears perked up at the sound of... hissing. She froze in place. Her hooves began to slowly raised to her claymore, as a soft thunk landed on to the ground behind her. Then another, and another. Her hoof grasped the hilt of the sword, and the sheath made a shhhhhink sound, and she spun back to see the enemy behind her. A giant spider, easily as large as a water tank, was on the ground. The legs were slender and strong, and the eyes were a powerful gray, as if a storm grew inside of it. The spider's torso and abdomen were non-existent... simply a head out of one of Fluttershy's nightmares. The claymore flashed from her back, taking a cleave at the spider. The first one missed, however the second one took a chink in to it's leg. The spider hissed in a gout of pain. It shrugged it off rather quickly, and lunged it's fangs at Fluttershy. Her blade blocked the mouth's blow, and she quickly recovered from the hold the spider had on her. Fluttershy's blade came down on the spider's eye, and the spider hissed in a pain, Fluttershy could only imagine. Her blade struck the spider's leg, cutting it clean through. Her brain nearly tingled with a pure terror she had never felt before. Killing an animal was... simply unthinkable to her, but she remembered this was only a figment of imagination. White blood spewed from the base of the spider's leg. She couldn't hear the spider's scream over her own rage with the thing. She whipped the sword from the right side of the spider. She took the claymore in her hooves she thrust the tip in to the spider's head. It made it's destination with a sickening thunk. White blood dripped from the sword's tip, and the spider's leg twitched, then simply stopped. The spider was dead. Fluttershy had a sense of fury and pride unlike any she had ever felt. Good riddance, you little bastard. She was startled at her own thought. Sweet Celestia, what is going on with me? She sat, staring at the spider. The first thing she ever killed was one of her greatest fears. In the look of the white blood dripping from the slightly rectangular slit the blade had left in the being, she felt... calm. Her calmness nearly surprised herself. By the time she was ready to move on, the clouds began to lower to make a foggy sheet over the ground. At least, they seemed like clouds. There was a large bank of clouds, and a chilly wind blowing on to her face. Her next fear was coming to fruition. Fear of the blizzard. Cold wind bashed her face, as black snow flipped past her face. The area around her was colder than anything she could have imagined, more frigid than the north where the Crystal Empire resided... and that was the most chill she had ever felt. Somehow, Limbo had duplicated her fear ten times over. Fluttershy's body nearly went still with the cold, however her form was... unaffected. Her eyes were set forward, being helped by the sword on her back, the only source of warmth in a sea of cold. She sheathed the sword, and help it in both her hand. An old rhyme came in to her mind... one that illuminated a sun stone. "In the blackest night, the stone shall guide me. In brightest day, the night will not rise. The blade of light shall be my key, to stop the darkness that clouds my eyes. Beware the shine of the sun's MIGHT!" She yelled the last part of the rhyme, and the blade shone the way forward. With the incredible light, the storm dissipated, and warmth returned to the world. Good, let's get out of here. She trotted forward, once more. There was only one more fear, the one she dreaded the most. Rainbow Dash's death. Sure enough, there was an oak tree ahead of her. Hanging from it was the cyan form of the Element of Loyalty. > Limbo, Part 3 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The color of Rainbow Dash was indistinctable. Cyan, with multicolored hair. Her stomach was covered in blood, and her mouth dripped of it. The oak tree from which she hung was the most mortifying part for Fluttershy. It was the exact same tree as her house. Now that she looked at it closely, it was indistinctly her house. It nearly made her want to vomit. The noose from which Rainbow hung was dilapidated and worn, as if used to kill her itself. Fluttershy wanted to walk on. To move her hooves away from the sight of easily her closest friend dead in a horrid form. But she couldn't pry her eyes from the horror. The moment she was going to walk away, the skull of Rainbow lifted up, her eyes dead and snow white. To her horror, the mouth moved... and talked. Fluttershy... the pegasus seemingly spoke to her. You... failed. A splitting headache overtook Fluttershy, and she raised a hoof to her head to cradle the throbbing pain in her forehead. A shadow dashed in front of her, and when she looked back to the pony, the head was down to her chest once more, as if the scene had never happened. What in the hell... She thought to herself. The foreground was covered in mist, and it obviously had not a second ago. Something was toying with her. Without a second thought, she moved on. Going further in to the area, she realized that this fear was not of Rainbow Dash dying, it was of her failure. The land in front of her was a scarred and horrifying landscape, covered in dead ponies, some sticking out to her more than others. The buildings were terrible and warped versions of houses in Ponyville, non more twisted than Sugarcube Corner, covered in a crystal substance. Twilight's Library was a burnt husk, Rainbow Dash's cloud place had crashed to the ground. All this time, a whisper resounded in her head. Over and over again, the same words. Save us... others said You are weak..., and one finally said her name. It was as if the ponies around her were invisibly walking up to her and whispering in her ear. The sound drove her insane, mad beyond belief, wanting to cut down who... or whatever was causing this. At once, there was a sound of a loud crash from one of the nearby buildings. She noticed it was a familiar house, one she had shared with a close friend of hers... Rarity's Boutique. It was, like the others, covered in sharp crystals and black ooze. The door had creaked ajar, and she could not fathom who could do it. But, like the others, she had to conquer something in each fear, and this was most likely it. The boutique itself was as if a monster had decorated it. Mannequins were strewn about, covered in a black substance she had assumed to be blood until now, and windows were cracked with shards lying in their foreground. The stairs were the only unaffected places in the entirety of the boutique. With caution, she climbed the stairs. The room at the top was obviously Rarity's, considering the pure amount of fluff and posh pillows it contained. The top floor was still it's usual colors, but more dull. The room was not empty, for lying in a circle of odd signs was Rarity. "Oh... darling Fluttershy." She said in her usual tone, but something was not right with her voice. It cracked and spat as if in a wind tunnel. "How have you been?" Fluttershy cautiously approached the white unicorn. "Fine, but you need to get out of here. This entire place is-" "Oh I know, darling, I know." She said, flipping her mane back with an off smile. "That armor looks simply dreadful, you should take it off before the ascension happens. Want to be your best for him." Fluttershy could already tell who... him, was. Na-shuul. "You mean Na-" Rarity shushed her, as if not wanting to hear his name said. She cleared her throat and started once more. "Well, HE is an evil thing, and must be punished for his crimes." "Darling, you mean well, but you don't realize what's at stake. Even IF you kill me-" Fluttershy instantly drew her weapon, the tip pointed at Rarity. "Don't call me 'darling', Na-shuul." The form of Rarity twisted in to a new monstrosity. It was only a small vision, but it was a pony with a broken horn and dragon wings, with antlers sharp as knives jutting from it's skull. It's eyes were a blood crimson, the pupils as black and thin as a snakes. This was Na-shuul. "Yes, I suppose it WAS quite hard to keep that illusion for long. But know this, Element of Kindness. You do not understand what is at stake here. If you kill me-" His words were cut off by Fluttershy's sword cutting through his form, black smoke trailing with it. Shut the fuck up. She thought to herself. Reasoning with Na-shuul was impossible, she was going to kill him. With barely a sound other than a faint poof, the scene around her turned back in to the forest she was inside of. Just through the trees, she could see the deathly shore of black sand she had arrived at. Rather than walking for miles, she had walked possibly 15 meters from the shore. Another one of that bastard's magic. She said. Before walking around, she noticed that Limbo ended nearly 20 feet from where she stood, and a large mountain range towered over her. Stairs lead, presumably, in to the next circle, Lust. She walked up to the stairs, and begun to climb. The Sea of Souls was clearly visible from half up the steps. She still had many more to take, but it seemed as if it went on forever. Again, she wondered if this was magic, but the stairs DID come to a crown, they were just long. Soon enough she hit the top, and with it a view of what was to come in front of her. The inferno was horrifying in Limbo, but this was nothing she could have imagined. In front of her was lust. It seemed as if a happy place, covered in plains of pink and cushions, trees beautiful. However she knew this was false. Next was Greed, a golden citadel covered in gears. After was Pride, and it seemed very grand and ornate, again falsified. After that she could only see a large red mountain, presumably either in Wrath or Violence. Either way, something was inside of it or near it. The rest of the circles were most likely underground, or had no visible landmarks from her view point. Only a view of what's to come was enough, she was already sick of this place. But she knew that somewhere was a cyan blue pegasus, and an unbelievably malicious creature lying in wait for her. That day he would be right, and sail in to his waiting arms. Was this a trap? Or was it a challenge? Either way, she was going to kill whoever stood in her way, to save Rainbow Dash and to restore Equestria. Oh, and kill Na-shuul. She started down the new set of stairs, the rest of The Inferno dissapearing from her sight 10 steps down the line. Now she had to finish Lust. > Lust, Part 1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- NSFW Warning: The following lust chapters will be considered mature; please proceed with caution. As she saw from the vantage point atop the mountain, lust was filled in cushions and pillows. She was expecting this to be another trick of magic, but lo and behold the soft pillows began to envelop her. This type of comfort she did not even consider to be present in the Inferno. Fluttershy felt as if she could stay in the bed forever, until she was snapped back to reality. Great, even the pillows are trying to seduce me now. She said. Fluttershy struggled to be free of the cushion mass, but when she did she continued onward. The whole of the circle was covered in this; plains of pillows, beds and other devices of comfort. She understood these were all tricks, until she hit a certain scene. The beautiful forms of the Lotus sisters sat in a thermal bath area, and stroked each other. Never in a suggestive way, but Fluttershy understood they wanted her to come closer. Being investigative, she decided to go along with the sister's little "act" to seduce her. "Ah, Fluttershy!" One of them said, as they galloped up to her. "You're just in time to join us in taking a bath." Fluttershy's hoof was taken to the bath. "Well, that does sound relaxing." Fluttershy said. The sisters stripped her of the armor she wore, including the claymore. Fluttershy indiscreetly pushed it toward the bath itself so she would not be caught unawares. "Let us get you relaxed, shall we?" The blue one said. They then got to work on stroking Fluttershy's body. She was feeling pleasure unlike any other she had felt before. Her groin area was beginning to get hot. Fluttershy tried to protest, but they moved slowly downwards... "Now, for your bath." They said. Stopping the massage, they dunked Fluttershy in the hot water. But they knew they could kill her, so they held her under. Bubbles began to rise to the surface, as Fluttershy believed she was going to die there. Fluttershy knew she could best the two, so she quickly delivered a buck to their chins, they were expelled quickly, and she flew from the water. Grabbing her claymore, the sisters now became horrid succubi. They were red humanoid creatures with red and purple skin, fingernails like sharpened talons, a spiked tail, skimpy bikinis covering their breasts and groin, with red cat eyes. Their most striking feature was their halo, which was made entirely out of thorns. The succubi hissed at Fluttershy, and she was ready to repel them. The first of them lunged at Fluttershy, the purple one. She blocked her pounce using the claymore, and delivered a swipe to her undercarriage. Howling in pain, the red succubus went in for her while Fluttershy's back was turned. She quickly whirled around to hit the succubus with the butt of her sword. She crumpled to the ground as the purple succubus regained composure, and lunged at her once more. Becoming tired of their incremental attacks, Fluttershy rammed the sword through the purple succubus heart, making her bleed a black blood. The succubus fell to the ground, dead. While she was doing this, the red succubus came at her and delivered a scratch to her face, leaving bloody marks along her cheek. Fluttershy whirled around and stabbed the red succubus through the chest, mere inches from her heart. She crumpled on the ground, and Fluttershy applied pressure to the sword wound. "Who the hell are you?" She demanded, holding the succubus' very life in her hand. "Servants of pleasure, of course." Her voice seemed to be gaining seduction with her situation. "Made to seduce the unwashed hordes, like yourself." "I am no unwashed horde, bitch." Fluttershy dragged the sword closer to the succubus' heart. She gasped in pain, coughing up more black blood. "Now tell me how to get out of this place." "So long as you give in to your desires, you will never escape." She said. The succubus dragged the claymore to her heart, ending her life with another gurgling cough of blood and laughter. Fluttershy removed the blade from the Succubus' chest. She remembered then what she had said to the succubus while she was still in the heat of battle fury. I've never called someone that before, why would I do that? She thought to herself. Fluttershy, with new found realization of how much of a warrior she was, sat down and began weeping. There may have been the sticky black blood still on her hands, but she needed to bury her face somewhere. When she surfaced once more, the mixture of blood and tears running down her face, she dunked her head in the bath to cleanse herself. It may not be a baptismal fount like they had in the churches back in Equestria, but at least it helped. Laying down in a spot as comfortable as could be and as far from the decaying corpses, she rolled over and stared at the thundering sky. Travelling in a storm was dangerous. She put down her head on a pillow, and went to sleep. "In the name of the sun, in the name of the moon, in the name of Celestia herself, I cleanse you!" The preacher said. Fluttershy's head was dunked in to the fount, and was pulled out once more. "I abolish you of your sins and wrongdoings, for I am the voice of Celestia!" Fluttershy was going under her first baptism for doing her first sin; pride. Due to her parent's hyper religiousness, whenever Fluttershy committed anything close to a sin, she had to be baptized. Her parents looked at Fluttershy's sobbing face, sorry for feeling vanity in herself. The image was gone, and replaced by something else. Fluttershy was in her teen years now, yelling at her parents. The unkind voice of her mother and father roared. "I'm telling you no, Fluttershy!" Her father said. "What demon has come over you to cover you with such rebelliousness?" he inquired, shaking Fluttershy vigorously. "She must be cleansed once more, a demon has come in to her!" Fluttershy's mother said. Before she could so much as grasp Fluttershy's hoof, she dragged it away and smacked her mother straight across the face. Blood sprayed on to the ground of their cloud house. "Demon, let go of our child!" her father said. As he attempted to grasp Fluttershy's hoof, he too was smacked across the face. Grabbing her backpack, she was going to run off to flight school. "I hate you mother, I hate you father!" She shouted at them both. She then galloped away, not caring to look back at the abusive home she was in. That was her last day in Cloudsdale, she would live among the earth ponies for the rest of her life. Now another image filled her head; Na'shuul. He cackled with a shrill voice filled with malice. "Are you afraid? You should be." After that, the images before flickered by in quick succession, as well as the hanging form of Rainbow Dash, staring at Fluttershy with pure anger. "YOU LET ME DIE!" It yelled in a nightmarish voice. Fluttershy's nightmare ended. Cold sweat dripped off of Fluttershy's forehead as her head snapped off the pillow. It dripped across her armor and down in to the stones below. The storm had obviously subsided, as there were no drops of rain in sight, but still thunder. Fluttershy arose, hooves shaking. She grabbed her armor and sword to find the succubi's corpses gone, with a blood streak leading away. With a shiver, she continued down the plush road. This circle was one of the most vicious.