The library was visibly shaking as Star Swirl's demonic laughing echoed throughout the archive. The hellish haze surrounding us continued to distort the world around ourselves. This wasn't another vision, this was a horrifying reality.
"Star Swirl!" Princess Celestia called out. "We've already caught your minion here! It's over!"
"Minion?" Star Swirl's voice growled. "Darkstar is nothing more than a pawn. I needed somepony with a connection to Hell to weaken the seal, and he played his part perfectly. It took him months to reach Ponyville, and when he did I knew I was ready to begin."
"You son of a bitch!" I screamed.
"You won't attack Equestria again!" Twilight shouted. "As long as we have the Elements of Harmony, you'll never be able harm another pony!"
"Which brings me to the next step of my plan." Star Swirl replied. "Thanks to our mutual friend Darkstar here, the seal containing me has been considerably weakened. You don't need to worry about the Elements of Harmony anymore."
There was a shatter of glass as the container holding the Elements of Harmony themselves shattered open. Dark, magical fire enveloped the powerful jewelry, floating each element into the air. Within seconds, the fires burnt away the elements, taking them away like Spike's flames would send a letter.
"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" Twilight objected as she tried to save the elements.
"The seal may not be broken entirely but I still hold some power. I have the Elements of Harmony in Hell now, and soon, the magical seal will shatter, and I will send my demon army upon Equestria once more!"
Suddenly, I began to feel my body being pulled away. The magical grasp around my throat broke as the red haze morphed into a swirling tunnel of gore. I screamed as I was launched through the portal to Hell, with the mane six screaming behind me.
"Welcome to Hell, my little ponies! Hahahaha!"
---///---
Just like my experience in the jet stream, the winding tunnel of bloody appendages smashed me down onto the rocky surface of the evil realm. My body rolled over a couple time before stopping, allowing me to take in the pain searing through my legs. I forced myself up slowly, checking to make sure nothing was broken.
I was bruised, and completely scared shitless, but other than that I was fine. I was finally able to get a better look at my surroundings. The environment was exactly like the beginning of the Hell stage in Doom 3. I was surrounded by an underground lake of magma, the heat already searing my fur. In front of me were two demonic statues, providing the entryway to a broken staircase.
"This can't be happening to me..." I cried, tears rolling down my face. "Why is this happening to me?"
A pair of hooves smashed into my side, pinning me down to the ground. I looked up and saw Rainbow Dash glaring menacingly at me, her anger piercing me in the eyes like daggers.
"You have a LOT of explaining to do!" she scolded me, puffing smoke out of her nostrils.
"Rainbow Dash!" I heard Twilight Sparkle call out. She appeared in view behind Rainbow Dash, along with the rest of the main six.
"Where are the elements?" Rainbow interrogated. "I know you know something about this realm! Spit it out!" she yelled as she slammed me against the ground repeatedly.
"I don't know where they are!" I answered. "I had no idea this was going to happen, I swear!"
"Then what's with the pentagram thingy for your cutie mark? Huh?" she pointed at my flank. "You knew what it was! Star Swirl mentioned you by name! Why are you doing this? Just what in Equestria are you?"
I gritted my teeth, trying to resist spilling out the secrets I held. It was futile now, considering the position I found myself in. I had to tell them the truth now, whether I liked or not. I just hoped I could escape without mentioning the show.
"Look, Rainbow Dash." I spoke softly. "I never used to be a pony."
"So you're a demon then? I knew it!"
"No! Just listen to me." I continued. "I'm not a demon either. I'm from another world, not Hell or Equestria. I was a human, the dominant species of that world."
Rainbow Dash, along with her friends, listened to me with curiosity.
"About three months ago, I was somehow transported to Equestria, and turned into a pony. I have no idea how I got here or how I'm going to get back home."
"What about the demons?" Twilight asked, stepping beside Rainbow Dash. "We know you're connected with them because you have a pentagram for a cutie mark!"
"I'm getting to that. This is going to sound completely weird but I assure you it's the absolute truth."
I had the mane six circled around me, all of them staring at me with anger and fear. Fluttershy kept looking around to see if anything was coming after us. Hell was no place for a pony like Fluttershy.
"Hell, the demons, this entire realm is from a fictional game in my world." I stated.
"Wha... a game?" Twilight questioned.
"What kind of a game is this?" Pinkie Pie asked. "It's not a very fun game Darky!"
"Let me finish. It's something like an interactive game, where you control a simulated character in a simulated environment. In this game, Doom, you played as a marine who had to save the world from a demon invasion. It was one of my favorite games. I always thought that the pentagram in the game was a cool looking symbol, and I guess it became my cutie mark when I arrived in Equestria. I wasn't expecting it to make the game a reality and morph into your world."
"So let me get this straight." Twilight started. "You're from another world and was a fan of some fictional game, and when you appeared here you're saying that somehow the game itself became a part of our world?"
"...Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying."
Twilight hit me in the face.
"Ow!" I shouted, clutching my face with my free leg. "What the fu-"
"You completely tainted our world!" Twilight screamed at me. "You changed the course of history! Star Swirl the Bearded is a monster instead of a magical prodigy! And now another demon invasion is on the way!"
"Look Twilight, everyone." I sighed. "I had no control over this. I didn't know that any of this was going to happen."
"So what do we do now?" Rainbow asked.
"What?"
"There's always a way to win a game isn't there?" she continued. "You played the game! How do we win? How do we beat the demons?"
"Are you crazy?" I answered. "We don't have the weapons from the game or even the ability to use them! We can't defend ourselves!"
"There has to be a way!" said Applejack. "I reckon the Princesses didn't have the weapons back when the first invasion started and they were able to knock the hay outta' them."
"But they had the Elements of Harmony." I reminded her. "We don't, Star Swirl has them."
"...Then I guess we have to find them." stated Twilight.
"Yeah, good luck with that." I responded. "You'll only have to fight swarms of demons to get to them, and even then I bet Star Swirl has them guarded. It's suicide."
"We have to try!" Rarity exclaimed.
"Meany beard won't ruin my cupcakes!" Pinkie Pie yelled.
"I... I don't want my animals to die." stated Fluttershy quietly.
"There are other ponies back home that need us." Applejack said.
"The Princesses need us to do something." Twilight stated. "The seal protecting Equestria is weakening and we need to keep it closed before Star Swirl invades.
"We are all going to save Equestria!" Rainbow told me. "And you're the only one who knows about this place. We'll need your help."
This was stupid. In the game, you had shotguns, chainguns, and a big fucking gun to slaughter the demons. We had nothing. The demons are bigger than us and more powerful than we are. I couldn't help but feel that this would be the end for all of us, but even so they were still willing to fight. Despite how bad things were looking, the mane six weren't going to give up.
I sighed again. "All right, I'll do it. I can't guarantee we'll survive, but I'll help as much as possible. This isn't going to be easy. You are all most likely going to be injured, considering the power these demons have."
"What do we need to know about the demons?" Twilight asked.
"Some are slow, some are fast. Some can fly, others can teleport at will. Some of them can even throw fireballs at us. I'll be able to identify which ones are which."
"All right." said Rainbow, letting me out of her grasp. "Where do we go from here?"
"There." I pointed at the stop of the staircase, where a blue light had begun to emit to the top of the cavern.
The seven of us made our way towards the staircase, sweating from the heat of the magma around us. The staircase was cracked and broken, many sections of the steps missing altogether. We reached the top, where the blue light was beaming out of the floor and shooting upwards. I knew that once we went in, there was no turning back. I hesitated for a moment, breathing heavily in fear knowing what was waiting for us.
"What is this light?" Twilight asked. "It's beautiful."
"Sure, it looks pretty." I replied. "If I remember correctly, it will teleport us deeper into Hell, and there isn't anything pretty there."
"Let's just get this over with!" Rainbow stated. "It's the only way through!"
No one argued as we stepped into the beam of light. My fur began to tingle as the hidden force in the light took hold of us. Within seconds, the light began to drag us further into Hell.
The environment around us completely changed. We were no longer underground, instead a hellish sky replacing the cavern walls. Floating boulders slowly rotated in the far distance, above them a display of orange flares waving off into the distance. We found ourselves on a rocky surface, surrounded by an unfinished brick wall.
"I can feel it." said Twilight, who was looking off into the distance.
"What?"
"I can feel it, the dark magic." she stated, looking back at us. "Can you feel it too Rarity?"
"Yes.. yes I can!" Rarity exclaimed. "It's like there's no happiness, just darkness."
"I can sense it's extreme power. I can see now how easily it corrupted Star Swirl. We can't let this power take over, or-"
Our ears perked as the sound of demonic growl caught out attention. Looking over towards the source of the sound, we were greeted by our first demon. It stood on two legs, standing over six feet tall. It's body was protected by an exoskeleton, completely burnt by the fires of Hell. At the ends of its arms were extremely sharp claws, sharp enough to slice through a bone like butter. There were multiple eyes perched within its head, giving the creature perfect vision. It was the most common enemy in the game, one of the weakest. At least in the game you already had a shotgun by the time you fought one.
"Darkstar... what is that?" Rainbow asked with worry.
"It's a demon!" Fluttershy freaked, hiding behind her friend.
"It's an Imp!" I stated, readying for attack. "Watch out!"
"Watch out for what?" Twilight asked, but the Imp was already giving her an answer.
The Imp held out its right claw, where a ball of fire formed in its hand. It pulled back it's arm, and quickly launched the projectile towards us.
"Don't just stand there! Move!" I yelled, dodging the attack as the ball of flame collided on the ground beside me. The Imp was moving closer to us, and I saw Twilight ready her horn in retaliation. I hoped her magic would last, because Imps would be the least of our problems.
"Leave us alone!" Twilight screamed before releasing a purple projectile of magic towards the advancing Imp. The demon leaped to the side, landing on all fours as Twilight's magic missed it by a few inches. Taking advantage of it's position, the Imp pushed off the ground using its arms, extending them as it leaped towards the frightened unicorn.
"Twilight! Watch out!"
Before the Imp's claws could deliver a killing strike on Twilight, a rainbow streak collided with the demon, sending it tumbling over the edge of the rocky surface to its death.
"Is that the best you got?" Rainbow Dash taunted. "That wasn't so bad."
"That thing was just atrocious!" Rarity exclaimed. "That's what a demon looks like?"
"How in the hay can it throw fire like that?" Applejack asked. "That just ain't right."
"I hope there aren't any more..." Fluttershy whined. "They're scary..."
"Not fun at all!" Pinkie Pie stated. "I bet they don't even like chocolate cake!"
"It dodged my magic." said Twilight, still a little freaked. "It was extremely fast."
"Well, it's dead now." I said. "Let's keep going. The surface continues this way, where those floating platforms are."
Passing by the worn brick walls, the edge of the surface gave way to a series of rocky platforms suspended in the air. Between most of the gaps, orange, disfigured faces began to rise from the depths of Hell and float upwards. An ambient sound of painful moaning and crying escaped from the faces, sending a chill down my spine.
"This place is just disturbing." Rainbow stated. "I'd rather be lost in the Everfree Forest."
We jumped across the platforms, me checking for any sort of weapon from the game. I couldn't find so much as a pistol clip in the crumbling ruins. We made our way inside the unholy cavern, which was the entrance to some sort of hellish temple.
Hhhhhhiiiiiiiissssssss...
"Did you guys hear that?" I asked, my ears perked.
"I heard it too." replied Applejack. "Another demon?"
Right on cue, another Imp dropped from the ceiling right in front of us, landing on all fours. Knowing it would leap, I jumped out of it's way. The Imp growled as it missed, spawning another fireball in its claw. Applejack took advantage of the Imp's close proximity and proceeded to buck it from behind, only managing to nudge it forward and piss it off. The Imp turned its attention towards the farmer pony, throwing the ball of flame where she stood.
"Woah!"
Applejack didn't back away fast enough, and the edge of the flames manage to catch her forelegs. The pony screamed in agony as her flesh burned.
"Augh, it's burning me!"
Before the Imp could launch another fireball, a blast of purple magic connected with it's head. The demon's body launched in the air, screaming in pain before slowly burning to ash. I sighed in relief knowing the Imp was dead, but Applejack was hurt.
"Sweet Celestia, Applejack! Your legs!" Twilight screamed.
The fur had been singed off, leaving red burn marks on her skin. Applejack winced in pain as her wounds ached.
"Ow.. I'll be alright Sugarcube. I can still walk." she claimed.
"Better than being slashed open." I stated. "Let's keep going before-"
Thump
Thump
Thump
Thump
"-another demon arrives."
"Oh no!" Fluttershy wailed. "This one sounds bigger!"
"Brace yourselves."
THUMP
THUMP
THUMP
THUMP
Something I didn't want to see came around the corner and stopped in front of us. A four-legged, hairless monstrosity stared at us hungrily, the slime dripping out of it's mouth an obvious giveaway. Slime dripping from extremely long teeth, making a manticore look like a kitten. While it had two normal forelegs, it's back legs were purely mechanical. The demon roared at the sight of it's meal before charging at us.
"Great, a Pinky Demon."
Pinkie Pie stared at me funny as we prepared to attack.