//------------------------------// // Tartarus // Story: Because I Could not Stop for Death // by ShinigamiDad //------------------------------// Reaper slowly drifted around a corner in a dark, labyrinthine chamber, honeycombed with scores of narrow niches, alcoves and passageways, many containing shadowy figures ensconced in faintly-glowing cages. He cast a low, silvery glow from his horn, and drew his sword, which hovered before him, shimmering with a faint golden aura. He worked his way through the tight, twisting corridors, until he stopped abruptly, before passing through a low archway. Directly before him, utterly black, impenetrable and disorienting was the rim of the Pit. Reaper’s sword swung to the right like a compass needle, guiding him along the edge of the Pit, barely two yards from its boundary. He carefully skirted the rim and made his way some forty yards, through a large alcove, and past several ghostly cages, to a shade, slumped forward against its confining enclosure. “Hello, Grey Thorn--long time no see!” The translucent grey figure lifted its head a bit: “I will not speak to you, Slave.” Reaper stepped around the cage and faced Grey Thorn: “Not a problem. I just came down here to answer a couple of questions. You see, I’ve never been down this far before--all the way to the bottom--and I needed to locate you, and see if you were, well, conscious.” Grey Thorn looked at Reaper balefully for a moment, then turned his head away. Reaper nodded: “Yeah, you’re conscious, alright--not happy about your new accommodations, but clearly aware of them. And I’ll be able to find you quicker next time, now that I’ve picked my way through your lovely neighborhood.” He glanced over his shoulder at the Pit: “You’d think after over five-thousand years I’d have made it down here once, but no--the closest I’ve come is one, floor? Layer? Level? Not really sure what word to use. One layer above you resides the spirit of old Stonecutter. Ever heard of him?” Grey Thorn stood silent, eyes closed. “Well anyway, he died two-hundred-and-five years ago at the hooves of his fellow villagers. Turns out they finally figured out what had happened to the dozen fillies who had disappeared from the surrounding area over a ten-year period.” Reaper leaned down and brought his face close to Grey Thorn’s: “They eventually turned up buried at the quarry with their skulls smashed in.” Reaper stood back up: “He actually killed a thirteenth pony on his way out--one of the village posse--but at least Sweet Rain was an adult who went down fighting.” Reaper turned to leave, then looked over his shoulder: “They killed Stonecutter on the spot, and it’s probably lucky for him they didn’t know he had sex with his victims’ bodies after he murdered them, or his end would likely have been very long and gruesome.” Reaper walked away slowly into the gloom: “So ponder that, if you will: you’re further down in Tartarus’ bowels than a necrophiliac, serial filly murderer. See you later!” Grey Thorn clenched his jaw and glared after Reaper. “He would not speak to you?” Reaper shook his head at Luna as she shifted in the seat atop her dais: “Nope; I didn’t really think he would, to be honest. I just wanted to confirm his location and make sure he’s conscious—which he is.” “Do you think he will speak to me, or to Twilight?” “Hard to say: we now know he always had a fascination bordering on obsession with you—“ “With Nightmare Moon, rather, and she is no longer part of this world.” “True, and I guess we’ll find out how big a difference that makes. As for Twilight…” Luna took a sip of wine from her goblet and sighed: “The dream sessions in the baths are doing her good, and I suspect she is correct in her assessment of Grey Thorn and his desire to brag. Twilight may well hold the key.” Reaper shrugged: “But can she handle it? The bowels of Tartarus are pretty rough on the best of days. When you’re dealing with a ‘brittle’ individual, I don’t know how much she’ll get out of him before she cracks.” “We can but try. Zecora’s time is undoubtedly short, no matter what her circumstances, and—“ “And I’ll do anything it takes to bring her back, no matter what the cost—you taught me that, Reaper.” Reaper and Luna turned in tandem to see Twilight emerge from her guest room off Luna’s chamber. Luna stood and descended the dais’ steps: “We know that, Twilight, and that is part of our concern.” Reaper nodded: “Kiddo, when I surrendered my power to restore you two, I did so in the full knowledge that it might destroy me and both of you in the process. I went in clear-eyed and without sentiment. Can you say the same?” Twilight’s red-rimmed eyes hardened: “I couldn’t live with myself I don’t try everything in my power. When do we go?” Reaper furrowed his brow: “I’d like to consult with Celestia before taking you—“ Twilight stamped her hoof: “Horseshit! I’m tired of everypony treating me like I’m made of spun glass! Zecora may be dying as we speak, and you want to ask for permission!” “That’s not what I said! I said—“ “Did you consult with Celestia before you violated the laws of Entropy and Fate?” “As a matter of fact, I did. I let her know what—“ “Fine!” Twilight closed her eyes and muttered under her breath for a moment. Celestia appeared with a flash a few seconds later: “Twilight! Did you just call for me?” “Yes—we’re heading down into Tartarus now to see if we can get Grey Thorn to talk. I wanted to let you know that I’ll be fine.” Celestia turned with concern toward Luna: “Will you please make sure Twilight doesn’t stay too—“ Twilight stepped between the two sisters: “I’ll be fine. I’ll make sure I don’t fatigue or break down or piss myself or whatever else it is you three think’s going to happen!” Celestia stepped back in surprise as Reaper raised an eyebrow: “I don’t really think any of those things will happen, Twilight, but you tend to push yourself too hard, even under the best of circumstances, and there’s no margin for error, here. This isn’t about you.” “No, it’s about Zecora, who might already be dead, and Grey Thorn who is dead, and I wish to the Cosmos there was something worse for him than mere death!” Luna nodded: “I, too, have much anger towards Grey Thorn, Twilight, but you must keep it in check, lest it cloud your judgement. I know whereof I speak…” Celestia nodded: “Of course we’re all concerned about Zecora, and of course we’ll do all we can, but we can also be concerned about your well-being, too Twilight!” Twilight’s shoulders sagged as her neck bent down: “I know, and I’m sorry, Princess. I just…I just feel so responsible for her fate. If only I’d—“ Reaper cut her off: “Not again, Twilight! You know as well as I do—literally—that you couldn’t have arrived any sooner than you did, and that your only choice at that exact moment was to seal and restrain to Void, or risk a full-scale breach.” Twilight closed her eyes and sighed deeply: “I know. But it doesn’t mean I don’t still regret it.” Luna stepped up beside Twilight and put a broad, indigo wing over the young alicorn’s shoulder: “We all understand regret, Twilight. You must not let it consume you.” Twilight looked up with a wan smile: “I’ll try Luna. I’ll try.” Reaper straightened his cloak: “OK, just so we’re all on the same page, let’s make this a fairly brief visit, just enough to test the waters and see how he reacts to you two, and you two to the surroundings.” Twilight and Luna nodded and disappeared in a pair of silvery-white flashes. Reaper began to fade when Celestia stepped toward him: “Reaper--I’m genuinely concerned for Twilight’s mind. I’ve never been deeper in Tartarus than the Courtyard area; even Luna has only ventured a bit further a time or two.” She chewed her lip for a moment: “Are the old myths and legends and nightmares about Tartarus true? Is it really that bad?” Reaper bowed his head as he phased away: “No--it’s worse.” Reaper phased-in just inside the broad archway leading down and away from Tartarus’ courtyard. He peered around, and finally spotted the two alicorns standing near a holding pen, looking at Cerberos. Reaper teleported next to Luna. “Shall we go, ladies?” Twilight pointed to the massive, three-headed dog: “Can he stop incorporeal beings as well as those with bodies?” Reaper nodded: “Yes, though he uses his astral form for that, so he often appears to be sleeping.” “What could he do to a spirit if he trapped or caught it? Could he actually damage its essence?” “No, but the spirit would be overcome with an intense sense of dread and despair, which are pretty powerful deterrents down here.” The three companions walked toward the downward passage and illuminated their horns as the darkness swallowed them. Reaper paused, and a patch of the matte-black floor beneath the companions’ hooves shimmered for a moment, then disappeared, revealing a smooth, five-yard-wide shaft. He half-phased and stepped out into the open air above the hole. “Just hover out here and let the currents carry you. This will take us down quite a long way before we have to resume our trip on hoof.” Twilight fanned her wings slightly and floated tentatively next to Reaper: “Why can’t we take it all the way down?” Reaper moved aside a bit to allow Luna to settle in on his other side: “It gets a little weird down toward the bottom.” The three began to descend: “All of Tartarus is somewhat like the Pit--it exists extra-dimensionally, and as we go deeper, the vortices and eddies, for lack of a better word, begin to warp and tug at the space around you. Near the bottom it’s simply too unstable and unpredictable for this shaft to reliably set you down in a known spot.” Luna raised an eyebrow as her glittering mane and tail were wafted upward by the shaft’s currents: “Where might it put one?” Reaper shrugged: “Who knows? That’s kind of the problem. You might find yourself in another world’s version of Tartarus, or whatever they call it there.” “Belzul, for instance.” Reaper smiled grimly: “That would be a good example, yes.” Twilight glanced back and forth at Reaper and Luna: “‘Belzul?’ What’s that? Was that something from--” She was cut short by a long, ragged, wailing cry that tore the air as they slowed to a stop and settled on the bottom of the shaft. The hole in the ceiling above them silently filled in leaving no trace. Twilight crouched slightly, her ears flat against her head: “What was that?! Is somepony being tortured or punished?” Reaper furrowed his brow as he led the Princesses down a narrow, twisting passage toward an open, catacomb-like vault: “Not in the way you mean, not in the sense one takes from the old mares’ tales and legends.” The three ponies emerged into a vast chamber, lit by countless torches and braziers, filled with freestanding cages, barred pits, niches and crystal-sealed tombs. Twilight began to tremble and sweat, and Luna shied away from a pale bluish pegasus bound inside a heavy iron cage. Reaper stepped up to the cage: “Old Stratus Chaser here, for instance, died a touch over a thousand years ago. She’s down here because she’s one of the few ponies in history to practice cannibalism.” Twilight grimaced: “She--she ate dead ponies?” Reaper raised an eyebrow and leaned in toward the pegasus’ blank, staring eyes: “Well, mostly dead, anyway.” Luna winced: “They were alive?” “One was. She hadn’t quite finished off poor Mossy Mane before tearing into his abdomen to get to his liver. That did the trick, and I showed up to escort poor Mossy’s spirit onward a few minutes later.” Twilight shuddered: “How--how did Stratus die?” “Asleep in her bed of old age.” “She was never caught?” “Nope. She moved around in the north in disputed areas during some of the last, big unicorn clan conflicts, so she was able to lurk and pick-off her victims without arousing much suspicion.” Luna closed her eyes for a moment: “Her dreams were normal. I do not recall any sort of dark or terrible images or impulses.” Reaper nodded: “No big surprise--she was a textbook psychopath, completely untroubled and entirely without conscience.” He unsheathed his sword and tapped the cage: “Until now. Now she spends her days consumed by the horror of what she did, what she became, who she killed.” Reaper straightened up and turned back toward Twilight: “That’s the nature of punishment down here--it’s self-inflicted. Given enough time all the denizens of Deep Tartarus punish and torture and consume themselves.” “Forever?” Reaper shrugged: “Maybe. Some finally come to terms with their actions and move on, others wallow, others deny.” “Move on?” “I’ve seen some ponies higher up over the centuries than where they were first dropped. There is the possibility of slow progression.” “But then what?” “Don’t know. Never really thought about it, to be honest. Ponies, by and large, are a pretty good lot--not many have been sent here.” Luna nodded: “How much further do we have to go?” Reaper turned away from Twilight and squinted into the distance and pointed with his sword: “Straight along this passage, then down a twisting stairway. That will take us to the penultimate level.” Twilight peered into the grey gloom: “How far is that? I can’t perceive the distance down here!” “Miles, to be honest, but now that you’re down here and stable, it’s a fairly straight shot. You can teleport once I get to the end. Hang on.” Reaper faded away, leaving Twilight and Luna fidgeting nervously next to Stratus Chaser, who was now moaning softly. Suddenly the alicorns were aware of a beacon in their minds’-eyes; they disappeared in a pair of flashes and reappeared next to Reaper. Twilight looked around at the low, polished, bluish-black archway over her head, and the lurid reddish glow beyond: “Are we getting close?” Reaper passed through the opening and began descending a steep, winding staircase, dotted with dim, flickering bronze sconces: “This takes us down to the next-to-last level. You’ll have to stand by for a few minutes while I re-establish a path to the final descending stairway. The chambers and grottoes and pathways shift a bit and I’ll need to nail the course down before giving you a summons.” Twilight shuddered as she fell in behind Reaper: “How long will we have to wait, do you think? Is the next level down like this one?” Reaper grimaced: “Umm, not exactly. The level we’re leaving is much like the higher ones, just with tighter restraints. Interestingly, the bottom is similar to this one, but pressed right up against the Pit. It’s the level we’re about to hit that doesn’t really fit the model.” Luna stepped up beside Twilight: “How so?” “It’s a lot more like the old mares’ tales and dark legends. There’re no attendants or demons or whatnot, but...well, you’ll see.” After two minutes of picking their way down the steep, cracked stairway, the three ponies emerged into a maze of alcoves and pits and pools and gaping fissures, many filled with smoke and fading embers, bathing the entire area in a dull, pulsing red glow. Cries of many voices, alien, pony and unidentifiable echoed in their ears. Twilight froze, her eyes wide: “What is going on here?” Reaper sighed: “Yeah, this is the level where the condemned’s sins are made manifest.” Luna furrowed her brow and gazed at a blurry creature stretched backwards across a bench, its throat torn open, spraying the ground in front of it with its blue-green blood. “‘Made manifest?’ As in they experience the effect of their own actions?” Reaper glanced at the twitching creature: “Right. This is also the level where beings from other worlds and realities are visible to each other. We’re so close to the heart of Tartarus and the base of the Pit, here, that the boundaries between worlds are almost transparent.” Luna sidestepped the ghostly outline of some six-legged creature screaming as it was drowning in steaming, golden pool, its head held just beneath the surface: “How many ponies are down here?” “Don’t really know. I’ve only been down here a few times--twice to see Stonecutter, once to see a mare from long ago who poisoned her extended family as part of a convoluted plot, and earlier today as I passed through to the bottom.” Twilight clenched her jaw and glanced away from a tall, insect-like creature whose bowels were spilling out from its abdomen as it struggled against its restraints: “How can you not know? Didn’t you send them here?” Reaper threaded his way between a pair of rough pillars to an open area, surrounded by eight glaring lamps: “Not exactly. You weren’t the Harbinger long enough to figure this out, but I have the ability to tag a spirit for, well, extra handling.” “Extra handling?” “Yes. If I feel a pony to have been outside the bounds of ponykind, I can mark them. Then Fate or Entropy or whomever, takes that into account when sending their spirit on. I don’t know where they ultimately land, but I’d be shocked if all of them aren’t down here somewhere.” “Could you find them if you wanted to?” “Sure, if I wanted to take the time, and if I cared.” “Like you wanted to find Grey Thorn.” “Exactly. He was more than worth the search. I was able to eliminate most of Tartarus just by assuming he’d be here or at the bottom.” Luna nodded: “Even then, you seemed to have found him fairly quickly.” “I rolled the dice and figured he’d be at the very bottom. If I’d been wrong I’d have had to backtrack to this level and start over.” Twilight trembled: “Do we really have to keep wandering across here?” Reaper adjusted his cloak and drew his faintly-glowing sword: “No--you can stay here, and I’ll let you know when I’m at the other end, again; stand by.” He phased-out, leaving the two alicorns alone, their eyes darting about in response to various screams and cries and unidentifiable sounds coming from all around them. Twilight shifted nervously, then concentrated on one of the slender, slate-gray pillars holding up a lamp: “Hey, come look at this.” Luna stepped up beside Twilight, who pointed at a faint, ghostly shape on the pillar: “Is this a rune, or a glyph?” Luna leaned in and squinted: “Yes--it does appear to be a glyph of some sort, but blurry and distant.” “Yes, like it’s not really here. Hmm…” Twilight bit her lip and focused a pulse of dark magic at the pillar, inscribing a shimmering figure. Luna tipped her head to one side: “A rune of return?” “I suspect others are leaving ‘breadcrumbs’ as well, so I figured I’d give it a try.” Luna nodded: “Yes--we can see if it is detectable once we reach the far side of this expanse, after Reaper--” Both alicorns raised their heads, and Twilight turned away from the pillar: “Speaking of--” They appeared next to Reaper in a pair of flashes a moment later. Twilight turned back and peered across the hazy, near-limitless chamber behind them. Her horn glowed deep-purple for a moment, then she nodded to Luna. Reaper raised an eyebrow: “What’s that about?” Twilight turned back toward Reaper: “I left a rune of return back in that clearing. I can clearly sense it.” Luna nodded: “Should we have need of an independent exit.” Reaper bobbed his head slightly: “Yeah, that makes sense. I have my sword to act like a compass, and I’ve never brought anypony else down deep, so I guess I’ve never really thought about it.” He stepped beneath another low, polished archway and beckoned the Princesses to follow him down the final, steep incline to the bottom of Tartarus. They arrived a couple of minutes later at a blank, black wall. Luna and Twilight looked at each other in confusion. Luna looked around and cleared her throat: “Where is the entrance?” Reaper smiled: “Yeah, this one threw me for a second, too. You’re going to have to phase to get through it.” Twilight shifted back and forth, lifting her hooves one at a time: “Um, I don’t know if I can still do that…” “Give it a try.” She closed her eyes and bit her lip. For several seconds nothing happened, then she began to fade, like a washed-out photograph. Reaper advanced to the wall, nearly touching it: “OK, just walk on through, but don’t take more than a step or two--the nearness of the Pit throws off your perception. You could take a wrong turn and be lost in less than a minute. Just wait for us to follow.” Twilight took a deep breath and walked to, then through the jet-black barrier without a trace. Reaper nodded, then turned to Luna: “Your turn. Let me touch my horn to yours and start the process. I suspect you’ll be able to take it from there.” He stepped up to Luna and touched his glowing horn to hers as he began to phase. A ripple passed across Luna’s body, like water on a still pond, distorting and fading her form. She took a sharp, shuddering breath and held the effect until it stabilized. She too, passed effortlessly through the wall, with Reaper close behind. Luna and Reaper appeared on the other side and solidified, finding Twilight standing stock-still, shivering with her eyes squeezed shut: “It--it--it’s everywhere!” Luna stepped beside Twilight and closed her eyes as well: “I too cannot avoid it--the Pit seems to be everywhere all at once!” Reaper nodded: “Yeah, that’s the intended effect. This is the last awful stop on the Tartrus Express. The spirits imprisoned here are confronted with the reality of oblivion at all times. Many of them aren’t even really restrained--they can’t phase through the barrier wall, and any wandering is likely to lead to their final doom.” Twilight forced her eyes open and looked back at the blank, matte-black space behind her: “How--how can we get back, then?” Reaper drew his sword, which hovered before him: “Other than with me and Death’s Token? You likely can’t.” Twilight squinted at the rock face surrounding the barrier wall: “I wonder if--if I can leave a rune here, too?” Reaper shrugged: “Give it a shot.” Twilight swallowed and charged her horn with dark energy, inscribing a rune of return on the stone in front of her: “There. I--I’ll check it in a bit to see if I can come back to it.” Reaper turned away from the alicorns, bringing his sword in front of his face, following it as it led deep into the maze of Tartarus’ last level: “OK ladies, let’s see if you can handle being down here long enough to get to Grey Thorn.” The three companions progressed slowly through dozens of chambers and grottoes, wending their way through a labyrinth of narrow passageways and incongruously-broad avenues, all lit by the same, sourceless, dull, silvery light. After almost an hour they stopped in an antechamber of sorts, surrounded by half-a-dozen niches. In the niche directly across from them stood Grey Thorn, leaning against his cage, eyes closed. Reaper, Luna and Twilight approached, the two alicorns trembling and sweating, eyes cast down, avoiding the omnipresent draw of the Pit. They stopped in front of Grey Thorn. Eyes still closed, a cold smile spread across his lips: “Well, well--somepony wants something very badly!”