Story Prompt: Hell · 11:40am Apr 24th, 2014
Speaking of Hell, or Tartarus, there hasn't been much fiction about it that I've seen. Granted, the really bad ponies go to Tartarus for certain. But what about the slightly bad ponies? Do they get the Tartarus-Lite(tm) section with visitation rights for good behavior?
And there's always a clerical error, every bureaucracy has them. It's where a good pony, through no fault of their own, gets shafted (figuratively and literally in this case). Will the hero, or heroine, struggle against overwhelming cosmic odds to break free of their unjust imprisonment? Or will they just shrug and go along with what turns out to be a rather boring after-life in Tartarus. The main reason being that since they did nothing wrong; they aren't scheduled for daily torture sessions, forced to eat hot coals for meals like the others (Tuna Tuesdays at the dining room is rather nice), or any other soul-crushing punishments. This could lead to said pony utilizing their time, which they now have an unfortunate surplus of, to observe Tartarus from a unique view nopony has ever seen before... from within. Maybe even interview some of the denizens and destitute despots? Why, this pony could be first widely acclaimed author from Tartarus! They could show Tartarus isn't as bad as everyone says it is. I mean, it is as bad as ponies say it is for bad ponies going there, but Tartarus itself is just like any other large prison, albeit with must meaner guards and a lot more red tape (red from all the blood).
...The hard part will be getting that manuscript past the front door.
...And some of the guards will want their names changed, not to protect their identity but to keep bad ponies from thinking they're really just average beings at heart when they're not "on the clock" as it were, doling out infinite pain and suffering.