//------------------------------// // 1 - Welcome to Hell // Story: Fire, Brimstone and Pony Hooves // by Oddling //------------------------------// Silence… it is all I have known for longer than I care to recall. I have been trapped here, forced to stand in a sightless, soundless tomb for eternity. It was my punishment. My lord knew it would be the greatest way to break me. I would have gladly taken any other fate, yet here I stand in this empty stone room – not even a shadow of my former self. I was meant to suffer like this for the rest of time until the fabric that made up reality came undone. My lord’s word was absolute. So imagine my surprise when I heard the first sound to ever grace my resting place in an eon’s age. It was faint, at first, but as time went on the sound grew louder… the ping of metal against stone. I know not how long I waited there, listening, but it felt like years to my shattered mind. After some time, I started to think that this was just a new form of torture. The pang against the tomb wall had become so loud and grating against my nerves that I felt that I would break once more if it were possible. Then, without warning, a final strike against the stone signaled a cascade of crumbling rubble. It was such a sweet sound, one that I had become familiar with long ago before I was imprisoned. Ah, such fond memories… I had almost forgotten. Days of old, where I was once feared for my ruthlessness – revered even. I stood as one of the pinnacles of perfection among my demonic brethren. Even the sons of our lord showed me some degree of respect, which was worthy of praise among our kind. I was pulled from my moment of reverie when a new sound made itself known. Were it possible, I think my heart would have skipped a beat at the lovely tune of voices as they carried to my ears. I only saw darkness, but I could feel the movement of fresh air as it forced its way into the stale chamber I resided in. I eagerly awaited the arrival of those who had been foolish enough to enter into my cell… my stone body must have even begun to hum and vibrate I was so pleased. “What is this place?” I heard a soft whisper. A woman… “Ah’m not sure. Ah ain’t never seen anythin’ like it,” spoke another woman, her voice laced with a drawl I could nearly remember the name for. “Well, one thing’s for sure, this place is creepy. I don’t even see any treasure in here…” “Hmm… this place might be a bust. What’s that over yonder? Looks like a statue of some kind.” As I listened to their approach, something sent up a red flag in my mind. I vaguely remembered the unique sound of their footfalls, but that could not have been right. It sounded as if they were hoofed beings. Aside from horses on that mud ball called Earth, the only other creatures I knew of that walked on four hooves were Centaurs and the occasional horse demon hybrids. Surely that could not have been the case. Neither race would have broken our lord’s law in order to free me. Not after learning of what I had done. “Well ain’t this an odd sight.” “What IS that?” “Not sure… it looks like some kinda hybrid or somethin’ – kinda like that Draconequus thing in Canterlot.” “Now that you mention it… doesn’t this look like one of the Thestrals of Luna’s night guard?” Were these creatures referring to me? I grew curious about what else my punishment entailed, now that these things had spotted me. If they were not talking about me, then there must have been another statue beside me… but I doubted that. They did mention just one in this room. What did my lord do to me? For all I knew, he had turned me to stone in this place… “Well, whatever this thing is, it’s giving me the willies! Can we go now?” “Now hold on a tick… can’t ya feel that?” “Feel what? That weird sinking feeling in my gut that’s telling me there’s no treasure here and that if we don’t leave it’ll turn out badly? You referring to that feeling, Mem?” “Awe, now don’t go gettin’ weak in the knees, Crystal. It’s just a statue.” If only I could have chuckled. There was far more to the statue than either of them could know. Still, I found their names to be slightly odd. I doubt any demon would want such soft sounding names, so that ruled out my brethren. It also excluded the Centaurs for similar reasons. I was left curious as to who and what had entered my prison. As fate would have it, I was to gain my answer very soon. I heard the soft clops of hoofsteps as one of the ponies stepped right up to my stone form. Then I heard the one known as Crystal whisper something harshly to the one known as Mem. The next thing I knew, I felt the soft touch of something warm against my chest… and then something echoed throughout the room – the sound of something cracking. “Mem… what did you do?” “Uh…” “Why is it cracking?” “Um…” “Why is it glowing!?” “Ah think now’s a good time to run?” Mem suggested nervously. I would have paid them more attention, were it not for the heat building up within my body. I recognized the swell of my demonic powers. It was a feeling I had longed for, for decades. The rush of my old powers returning to me after so long filled me with such elation that I actually felt the stone on my face crumble as my lips curled up. I felt my fangs brush against my bottom lip and my smile grew. I opened my mouth to cheer in victory, but my cheer swiftly became a yell of pain as the first wards to keep me from escaping my stone prison activated. Massive chains of flame summoned themselves around my body, searing into my flesh. A bellow of agony ripped through my throat and my body collapsed to the floor. It hurt… were it not for the nostalgia of it, I may have fainted from the pain alone. I had felt these chains upon my form once before. They were meant to suppress the power of a demon and make them know only pain and suffering. Something was different about these chains, though. In my memory, they had been heavier, hotter. These ones were light and their flame only burned my flesh. They were weak… I could break them. I summoned as much of my power that I could. Though the chains had not been as intense as they used to be, they still drained away my powers. If I did not act in time, I would lose all hope of tasting freedom. Having felt the touch of another, after being condemned for so long in solitude, I was not about to let up without a fight. I pushed as hard as I possibly could, digging deep within myself to my hidden stores of power, and I unleashed everything I possessed against the binding chains. The chains roared to life as they fought against me, their heat and weight intensifying with each ounce of energy I released. Then, just as the last drop of my power pushed against the chains… they shattered and fell to the ground. My body collapsed to the stone floor as a panting mess of sweat, blood and molten metal. I lay there for some time, long enough for the metal to cool, before I dared to open my eyes for the first time in ages. The room was as barren as I remembered, save for the scorch marks around me and a hole in the wall that was illuminated my some kind of stick with a glowing gem on the tip of it. I groaned as I went to get up. My body refused to cooperate with the act. Though I had finally managed to open them, I decided it was fine if I closed my eyes to rest for a short time. I would have done so, too, were it not for the sounds of the other two occupants of my prison getting up. I had almost forgotten about them… hell, I was surprised they had survived the heat of my escape. I opened my eyes once more and lifted my head up, turning it in their direction. I lifted a curious brow as I laid eyes upon them. Two small horses stood against the far wall, though one of them was a unicorn by the looks of the horn on its forehead. They were still a strange sight to me, for I had never seen any of their kind that looked quite like them. The biggest difference, aside from their bright colors and large eyes, was that their faces could mold to form expressions. That was a new one to me. I wondered if the two of them were the owners of the voices I had heard or if those two had burned or run off. My question was soon answered as the unicorn rubbed at her head. “Ugh… Mem… can we not do that again?” Crystal said with a wince as she rubbed a forming knot on her head. Mem, the other small horse, slowly rose to her hooves and shook the dust from her coat. “Heh, ah suppose. That was a lil’ bit more than ah was expectin’ to be honest.” I eyed them silently as my eyes adjusted to the low light of the prison. The one known as Mem was just a normal-ish looking horse. Her coat was a creamy beige with a short brown mane and I noticed a small mark on her flank. The mark seemed to be a depiction of a treasure chest with smoke cradling it from beneath. My eyes shifted over and I took in the unicorn’s appearance. She was a pearly white color with a flowing sky blue mane. Her flank also had a mark, a prismatic cluster of gems. I stared at them for a long time as they stood up and dusted themselves off. It was curious that they failed to look in my direction, as if the very thought of there being anything dangerous just slipped their mind. Then again, it wasn’t like I was in any position to pose a real threat to anything at the moment. I had exhausted my energy reserves and my body still ached from where the chains had burned me. At least my body still held onto its healing ability. The sting of my injuries had been fading steadily enough while I watched the odd little horses. Once they had dusted each other off, Crystal’s horn lit up with a light blue glow and she levitated a few items from a set of saddlebags on her hips. From what I could guess, it looked like a few rolls of bandages and some ointments. The instant she opened one of them, the smell of herbs hit my sinuses like a steam engine. I recoiled from the odor and groaned as I placed my hoof over my face. Wait a minute… I pulled the hoof away from my face and stared at it in disbelief. It then occurred to me that I had also been staring down a muzzle. I slowly placed my hoof down and gulped as I prepared to look over the rest of my body. With a steady turn of my head, I came to see more of my current form. It did not take a genius to put together what I looked like. Much like the other two occupants of my prison, my body was equine. On my back were two leathery bat-like wings, tipped with small claws. My tail was like that of my old draconic self, though. Without a mirror, I had no way to know what my head looked like, but I was not pleased by the current changes to my form. From what I could tell thus far, I was an ice blue bat pony with a lizard tail. I sighed, regretting the act immediately. “Um… did you hear something, Mem?” Crystal asked with an audible gulp. “Ah think it came from over there,” Mem replied, pointing her hoof in my direction. I watched as Crystal lit up her horn once more and illuminated the room. Her eyes met with mine and we stared at each other for a long time. Either there was something on my face or it was my face, but once she found her voice, Crystal let loose a scream and ran from the room, towing a very surprised Mem in her levitation. I could not resist. I started to chuckle. It hurt to do so, but the sight I had just witnessed was too funny. I figured now was a good time to get up and I rolled onto my stomach. I lifted myself up on four unsteady legs, but collapsed again when they gave out. I must have used up far more energy than I thought. My meeting with the floor left me with a hoof digging into my chest and an aching jaw from my latest connection to the stone beneath me. With a heavy sigh I opted to just lie there uncomfortably for a while longer. I silently worked my jaw a few times to make sure the impact had not left me with a loose tooth or something. After some time had passed, I decided to move my back leg to get the annoying hoof out of my chest. With the offending appendage out of the way I was finally able to relax. Well… then again maybe not. There is such a thing as speaking too soon. My ears rotated atop my head, a sensation that nearly freaked me out were it not for the fact that it felt perfectly natural for this form of mine, and I heard the soft steps of hooves outside of the tunnel opening. I turned my head toward the sounds and waited for the owners to appear. The steps stopped just beyond the opening in the wall and I could just barely make out the forms of the two horses from before. They were watching me, just as I watched them. When a repeat of our previous staring contest failed to happen, I decided it was time I tried to communicate with the creatures. “What do you want?” I asked, my voice deep and intimidating as it echoed through the room. Mem and Crystal ducked away from the opening and started whispering between each other. I allowed them enough of my patience to let them figure out how they would approach me, which wasn’t much. “If you have no business with me then leave. This is a prison. You’ll find no treasure here. Be gone… unless you wish to answer to me for breaking into my cell.” Though I doubted I had the strength to kill them, I figured they were afraid of me enough that they would heed my warning. I was, again, surprised when they stepped through the hole and looked at me with steel in their spines. For mere cowards who ran from me before, they had balls to show such determined expressions now. Mem stepped forward and swallowed nervously. “Just who, and what, are you?” she asked. I lifted a brow at her and felt my left ear twitch. “Why do you want to know? Better yet, what made the two of you come back? From the way you ran, I would have sworn that you two had seen a monster,” I said with a sly smirk. Mem’s ears pinned back against her head and she looked down. I guess she felt ashamed of her previous encounter with me. “Ah apologize for that,” she said and looked back to me. “The thing is, you look pretty scary fer… whatever you are. We ain’t never seen anythin’ like ya before. Plus, ya did kinda come out of a statue…” “As was part of my punishment,” I said solemnly. “I was imprisoned here for my crime against my lord. Still, you haven’t answered my question. Why did you two come back?” I asked again. Crystal stepped forward and bowed her head regretfully. “We came back because you looked like you were hurt. I didn’t feel right just running away because you scared me. We came back to help you.” Well that was a surprise. Not in a million years would I have thought a sane creature could overcome fear to help someone in need. I’ll admit that I was weak enough to feel grateful for the aid, but I could not believe that they would have come back with such generosity without wanting something in return. “Why would you want to help me? You know I’m a prisoner here, yet you still wish to offer aid? Why?” I asked, though I might have done so a little too harshly. Yet again I was surprised when Crystal stepped forward with that look of determination. “Because nopony should have to suffer for so long in this place. Everypony deserves a second chance. How long have you been in this place? Don’t you think it’s time you were forgiven? If you could see yourself maybe you’d understand why I feel… such pity for you…” To say that caught me off guard would be akin to saying that getting struck by lightning was a little shocking. Just what was with this creature? How could anything feel such compassion – especially toward something like me? I eyed her suspiciously for a long moment as I tried to figure out what her goal might be. I watched as her horn lit up once more. A small mirror floated out of her saddlebags and hovered in front of me. Empty black eyes looked back at me. The face looked like a malnourished version of these odd horses and its expression was that of something that had seen oblivion and lost all hope. Two small, curved horns crept out of the corners of its forehead, though the one on the left had a crack traveling along its entire length. Its mane was charcoal grey and thin in places. I looked like I was just one step away from crumbling into a soul-less heap. I stared blankly, even as the mirror left my field of vision. The weight of my punishment finally hit me. I had no idea how long I had been imprisoned, but I know it was long enough to break my mind three times over. One of the downsides to being an ageless entity is that when the mind gives out… it takes ages for it to mend. I could clearly remember each time my mind gave out, the times when my thoughts would just… crumble into nothingness as I dwelled in my world of silent darkness. I sobbed uncontrollably the first time my mind broke – the act made even more pathetic by the fact that I was a crying statue, unable to move but could still feel the tears fall down my cheeks. The second time it happened I was an insane wreck, I could only babble incoherently and it was as if my mind was spilt into three personalities; all fighting to be the real one in control. The third time my mind shattered was the worst. Everything came to a halt and I was nothing more than an empty husk. I had no more thoughts. I ceased to be. Everything that made me a conscious being was reduced to nothingness. I truly died that day without being dead. I didn’t even know I had died until I heard the sounds of these two mining their way into my prison. Only a fool would think that having a mind, devoid of all thought, was peaceful… it was agony without tangible form. Now that I had a body of flesh again, I could feel it as my heart ached and my lungs squeezed while my tears bled from my eyes. Crystal was right. I had suffered enough. No… I had passed that point ages ago. I was nothing more than a broken fragment of my former self. I blinked the tears away and looked at the two creatures before me. “How do you plan to help something that has been ruined beyond repair?” I asked in a hollow voice. Crystal smiled kindly at me as she walked the last few paces to reach my pitiful form. I was a little surprised that she did not have to kneel down to me. It put things into perspective as I looked at her up close. With me on my stomach, my head came up to her throat. She lowered her head enough to meet my gaze levelly, that smile of hers unwavering, and she gently lifted her body to embrace me. I stiffened at her touch. I had never been hugged, save for the very few times a demoness had deemed me worthy enough after sharing a bed with me. Never had I felt one in an act of kindness… and never had it felt so pleasant. My body melted under her warmth and the fatigue I felt started to wash away as Crystal gently nuzzled against my cheek. My arms acted on their own and I returned the embrace as fresh tears cascaded down my face. I bit back a sob and sucked in a breath of air through gritted teeth. I shut my eyes once more and let my sorrow out through a quiet wail of heartfelt pain and loss. The old me would have enjoyed seeing me in such a state of emotional turmoil… while the current me simply allowed myself a moment to vent and accept the warmth of this kind being. At some point I felt Mem join in the hug. It was a strange feeling, being on the receiving end of such positive emotions from another. The only times a demon felt anything close to this was if they found the rumored ‘true love’ or when they were given slight praise for surviving in combat with the enemy. Though I felt saddened by it, the hug had to come to an end. Mem and Crystal slowly backed away after releasing me. I then noticed a dark patch on Crystal’s shoulder and was quickly assaulted by the scent of blood. I went to rise, but my legs buckled again, forcing me to stay down. Crystal moved forward with concern on her face. “Your shoulder,” I said weakly. Crystal looked at herself and only flinched slightly before she looked back to me with a understanding gaze. “That’s not my blood,” she said gently. “Those are your tears.” I sighed from both relief and annoyance. It was good that Crystal was uninjured, but it was grating to know that I cried blood like some holy statue. “We should get you washed up,” Mem said as she gently stepped closer to her friend. Crystal simply shook her head and looked to her friend with a small smile. “I can’t leave him down here like this. Just think of how long he’s been trapped here, all alone. He’s so weak… I have to help him,” she said compassionately. I groaned as I forced myself to stand, the act bringing both mare’s attentions to my efforts. In the time it took a heart to beat, I found myself being helped up on both sides. My legs complained as they trembled, but they found the strength to keep my body suspended. I huffed a slight chuckle and glanced between Mem and Crystal. “I feel that I must agree with Crystal,” I said tiredly. “I don’t want to be down here anymore. It’s lonely… I hate this place…” I sniffed pathetically, “I want to go home…” Fresh tears threatened to escape from my eyes once again, but a warm hoof gingerly touched against my cheek. I blinked sadly and looked at the pearly appendage before following it to Crystal’s sympathetic smile. “Shh… it’ll be alright. We’ll get you out of here. Do you think you can walk?” she asked. I nodded my head meekly. Man did I feel so useless and weak right about now. I recalled the days when I stood atop the mounds of bodies of those I had slain. I fought against mighty adversaries, some ten times larger than I, and I crushed them as if they were plastic toys. Now I could hardly stand and I would cry at the slightest feeling that passed through me. My lord really did choose the most effective way to punish me. Crystal’s ears then perked up and she pulled her head back as she realized something. She smiled kindly at me once more. “You know, I just realized that you know my name, but I don’t know what to call you. Still, I think it’s as good a time as any to introduce ourselves. My name is Crystal Seeker.” Mem smiled and placed a hoof to her chest. “Ah’m Memory Keeper, nice ta meetcha.” I smiled weakly at them both. “My name is Yerok. I was never given a second title.” Crystal smiled warmly at me. “Yerok… that’s a nice name. Come on, let’s get you out of here,” she said and she gently rubbed against my side to encourage me forward. I slowly placed one hoof in front of the other as we moved forth toward the hole they had made in the wall of my prison. Every muscle in my legs screamed at me, but I pushed on all the same. I wanted to leave this place. There was nothing that mattered to me more than escaping the one thing that had crushed me more effectively than a hydraulic press on a light bulb. I was even afraid that if I closed my eyes once more that I’d never open them again if I stayed. I faintly realized, as we walked, that I towered over the two little horses. It was only truly evident when I started to stumble just how small they were compared to my build. Still, we managed to make progress, slow but steady. The tunnel we traveled through must have only been about three hundred feet in length, but to me it might as well have been as long as my stay in the prison. I was beyond exhausted when we reached the end. My body collapsed just outside of the tunnel entrance. I think I caught a glimpse of the night sky, or maybe it was just my imagination. The one thing I do know is I had not slept so soundly for a long time.