A solid hour had passed for Bright Spark and his company since departing the train and trekking into the Badlands. Bright Spark had taken the lead, naturally, of course, once he'd realized why Gran-why Full Plate had dragged him along. He marched ahead to the front of the group until he was in step with Virga and Full Plate, neither of which paid him attention. No, it looked as if Virga had a great deal on his mind. Far too much to worry about the soon-to-be Servant of Shadow walking along with him. Bright Spark grinned to himself. The Sun Guard was a nice thought, but Servants of Shadow seemed like it would be much more satisfying. Oh yes. He wanted the power, prestige, and respect that came with a legendary team. Who wouldn't? Yes, the Night Court was much more his style, he decided. He'd make a much better Servant than these clowns. He could bring about glory to the night! Much more so than the sun, he was sure of it! What did Celestia offer that Luna didn't? This was his ticket in. He could taste the promotion as the group reached a wide clearing. The craggy ground was orange and bleak while a good number of rocks and stones littered the cracked area around him. Here, Virga had signaled the group to stop, and Bright Spark couldn't have been more ready for a break as here the uneven terrain made him trip and stumble more than he'd have liked.
"Alright, so where to next, Nettleglum?" Bright Spark called over to where Nettleglum and the fillies were. Dinky had found a shady spot to sit down and had her nose buried in a book. He almost laughed. A geek through and through, Dinky always had to have her nose in a book. He'd never seen her without one. The other filly, Diamond, was laying on her back, peering up at the dying sunlight.
"It'll take longer without Luna around. Celestia's always kinda shaky with it," the little girl sighed glumly, peering up at the evening air. It took him but a moment to realize she was talking about the night itself. The skill behind raising and lowering the sun and moon was something Bright Spark had never considered before but now that he thought about it, surely there would be subtle differences between the two performances. Diamond hopped to her hooves and shook out her wings. "Silver stars, guys. I thought we'd get here by nightfall, but we're early. Our powers work better at night, right?" she groaned. Virga nodded his head dismissively, but Bright Spark's ears perked at the comment. Powers...?
"You have powers?" He asked quietly, regarding the tiny pegasus with an air of disbelief. Virga nodded his head and gestured to the rest of the Night's court.
"Not exactly powers, but boons from Luna to assist us in our royal duties," Virga explained and extended a wing into the air. Among the rows of inky black feathers sat a darkly hued navy blue one, strangely out of place. It almost looked as if one of Luna's feathers had been grafted onto Virga's wing. Bright Spark's mouth dropped open in shock and it slowly dawned on him that it was one of Luna's feathers. Seeing it attached to Virga boggled Bright Spark's mind. An Alicorn feather was a precious thing since true Alicorns didn't lose their feathers the way normal birds molted. The magical properties of the feather was a possibility Bright Spark found turning over and over in his mind. If he were to join the Servants, would he receive a boon too? What other 'boons' did Luna bestow on them? The fillies? Nettleglum? His mind reeled at the possibilities. Next to him, Nettleglum pointed a purple hoof towards a large group of standing stones some distance away from them.
"There." She said crisply to his confusion. "You asked where to next. The entrance to Tartarus is beyond those rocks, where an iron clad door awaits and ghastly admission prices lurk within the shadows. Ahh. This takes me back to my youth. I do hope some of the old staff remains, as I recall Sisyphus had the most lovely fitness regime. Now fillies, step lively and mind the guardian." She said quietly. Bright Spark frowned. It often seemed like Nettleglum was prone to fits of insanity, but every now and then, she said something that didn't bode well at all. Almost as if on cue, the ground began trembling underneath him.
It wasn't trembling as if it were an earthquake. No. This was a tremble accompanied by a thunderous roar and the planet shook as if something were angry with it. The sky turned to darkness as a great shadow cast out the sun. A horrifying colossus of a creature towered over them on great massive paws and muscular sculpted legs. Its chest was thick like a large stone slab and coated in fur the color of bubbling pitch. A scent like no other greeted Bright Spark's nose. The creature's breath was a morbid odor that reeked of death and rot. The stench originated from each of the monster's three skulls; the gaping abyss lined with yellowing spears. It was the guardian. A beast of horrific power and great ferocity and up until this point: something Bright Spark thought was only in fantasy books.
"...C-Cerberus..." Bright Spark stammered in awe before he snapped back to military mode. This was it! His first big test! His chance to take command of the situation and confirm his role as leader. He shot into action before his mind even had time to finish putting together a plan. Move first, think later! First priority: the fillies! He shot a glance at the children and groaned. Dinky had flung herself safely behind a bolder, much like everypony else, but Diamond was marching towards Cerberus much like she had a death wish.
He took off from his spot like a rocket, putting every ounce of extra energy he had into speed. Maybe, if he could reach her in time, he could prevent something terrible from happening. The dog-like beast sniffed at the air and peered around, but even with six eyes, it didn't seem to notice the small group of ponies, hiding behind a boulder. It certainly hadn't noticed Diamond, he realized, since she was still alive, but that could change at any moment! This meant his options were few and his time was extremely limited. He stretched his legs out in front of him, and galloped so hard he could feel his heart pounding in his throat. If he pulled this off it would be a miracle, and if Cerberus ever so much as utterly glanced to his left, it would become a tragedy.
"What are you doing?!" Bright Spark hissed, scooping Diamond into his forelegs and diving for the bolder Dinky was hiding behind. He rolled forward with the filly safely tucked against his side, and Cerberus none the wiser. Diamond began to protest, but Virga quickly, and efficiently silenced her by stuffing his hoof into her mouth.
"I was gonna- Ooomp!" Diamond whimpered, but Virga shook his head and put his hoof to his lips and shushed her. On the other side of the boulder, Cerberus yawned, stretched and curled into a large black ball of intimidation.
"How do we deal with this? Can we sneak in another entrance?" Dinky asked. Nettleglum shook her head.
"There is but one path into the heart of the underworld, dears, and it is paved with broken souls and battered ponies and Byzantine floor tiles. The Guardian of the Gates will not suffer from magic. It cannot be tamed but must be passed." Nettleglum explained. Bright Spark frowned. Well, just because Nettleglum claimed it couldn't be toppled with magic, didn't mean she was correct. There wasn't much that a good magic torpedo couldn't take care of. He drew in latent mana in the air and began to channel while his horn which stirred to life with a bright yellow light. A single magic torpedo would stun the beast long enough for him to figure out what to do next. He poked his head out past the boulder again and took aim, leveling his eyes on the massive canine.
"Ok, Full assault frontal assault. Virga, you hit him from the air and the left. Give me the deepest freeze you can manage. Try and slow it down. I'll see if I can't take out its legs from below." Bright Spark explained Virga frowned and shook his head. If Nettleglum said the beast couldn't be overcome with magic, it was pointless to try a full on assault.
"That'll never work. I say it looks sleepy. Perhaps we could wait, and sneak in instead. " He offered. Full Plate shook his head. The big gruff Earth pony gave a grunt.
"No. I don't do stealth. We I say we outsmart him. He's slow and stupid. We can easily match that." The older earthen pony barked. Meanwhile, Dinky and Nettleglum watched quietly.
"I have brought the most darling crumpets from the spider bake sale down the road. Would you like one while we wait for a solution?" Nettleglum asked pleasantly. Well, as pleasantly as Nettie got, which didn't involve burying you somewhere. Dinky simply gave a groan. She could feel a headache coming on.
"About as much as I'd enjoy a colonoscopy. I'm more interested in the fact that there should be four idiots in our party, and I'm only counting three. " Dinky explained. Nettleglum frowned and peered over at Bright Spark, Virga and Full Plate. Wait...where was...
**************
"Hey." A tiny voice cooed. Cerberus opened a single blazing eye on each head, glaring down upon the little silver filly that dared stand in front of it. Not even enough for a mouth full. He closed his eyes. Back to sleep.
"Nice day, huh?" The voice again. He ignored it, focusing on the nap that was so close, yet so far away. Lefty yawned again and Righty dared sneak a little peek at the splotchy little filly in front of it. It was stretching out, flexing its wings, and hopping up and down.
"Ya know, if I were you, I'd be bored. I mean, can't be all that much fun hangin' out here, watchin' tumbleweeds go by. I mean, I bet ponies aren't exactly dying to get into this place. Get it? Dyin?! AHHAHAHAH! So, me, I'm thinkin' how about a race? That ridge over there, and back? I'm pretty fast. I'm bored, you're bored, and you look like fun! Come on, let's race! Come on, come on! Let's play!" Diamond squeaked, her voice reaching a higher and higher pitch. She thrust her rump into the air and wiggled it around, and smacked the ground in front of her with her forelegs, much like a dog would bid another for a game of wrestling or tag.
The right head watched, finding itself caught up in Diamond's created excitement, and soon the left head seemed interested too. With both sets of eyes on her, Diamond turned and took off as fast as she could, pumping her wings in a wild frenzy of feathers. She very well might have been the fastest on the team, but she knew she would be pushing it racing against Cerberus. Or, anything for that matter. As long as she could resist thinking about her wings.
She shot ahead at full speed, and not daring to glance back until she was positive she'd at least gained a few dozen feet from her starting position. She tucked her head over her shoulder and shrieked at a heavy set of teeth that nipped at her tail. Faster. She wanted to go much, much faster. At least Cerebus was following her which formed the bare bones of her plan. This should have bought the Night Court plenty of time to figure out how to get into Tartarus. Without Cerberus guarding the gates, getting in should have been a cakewalk as long as they had Nettleglum with them! Now all Diamond had to do was figure out how to get inside herself. She groaned, idly wondering how many ten-year-olds had to figure out how to get into Tartarus to save a goddess.
How was she going to get in? She'd shot off without a second thought and now that she was approaching the ridge where she'd bet the beast, she needed to come up with a plan. Behind her, Cerberus nipped at her hooves and barked at her, circling the ridge where she'd gone so only moments ago. He was gaining on her, she realized with a chill. She threw her wings into overdrive as another realization washed over her: She needed to win this race. That was it. That was her way inside! Now that she was headed back towards the starting point, she could see no signs of her companions. They'd all made it inside the road to Tartarus, she hoped.
Beyond the point where Diamond had started was a large, circular 'gate' that really looked like a large iron coin with a split right down the middle. One of the doors was wide open, and that was the door Diamond shot for. She would have to aim it just right to manage to get inside but as long as she kept just ahead of Cerberus, she figured she'd be able to pull it off. With her current speed and the doors racing up to her startlingly fast, all she had to do was tilt slightly to the left to send herself hurtling into the depths of the underworld itself. Slightly. Slightly. Sliiiiiightly. Her wing lurched oddly to the left and the filly immediately took a furious nose dive into the planet. She'd been thinking about her wings. She'd over compensated for her inability to feel the air currents, again, and pulled herself out of muscle memory. Now she was wildly skidding out of control across the broken land. She ended up reaching the doors to Tartarus with a resounding CLANG that rang out through the valley as she slammed face first into the solid iron (which now contained an indentation with a striking resemblance to Diamond's facial features.). She collapsed to the ground just as Cerberus was galloping up to the gates. A purple hoof reached from the door to Diamond's immediate left and grasped the girl by the tail and dragged her inside into the darkness.