//------------------------------//
// Canto III 
// Story: The Divine Comedy: Twilight's Inferno 
// by Mint Tea 
//------------------------------//

Canto III

THROUGH ME YOU ENTER INTO THE CITY OF WOES,
THROUGH ME YOU ENTER INTO ETERNAL PAIN,
THROUGH ME YOU ENTER THE POPULATION OF LOSS,

JUSTICE MOVED MY HIGH MAKER, IN POWER DIVINE,
WISDOM SUPREME, LOVE PRIMAL. NO THINGS WERE
BEFORE ME NOT ETERNAL; ETERNAL I REMAIN.

ABANDON ALL HOPE, YE WHO ENTER HERE.
These words I saw inscribed in some dark color
Over a portal. "Princess," I asked, "what does

it mean? You must be able to understand."
Luna spoke in a very monotone voice,
"All fear must be left here, and cowardice die."

The same shiver as before went down my spine.
"I guess that makes sense," I said. Luna noticed my
nervousness and wrapped one of her wings around me.

"We have arrived where I have told you: here
You will behold the wretched souls who've lost
The good of intellect." Then, with good cheer

Trusting to my guide, I followed her
under the safety of her wing. It smelled
of rain and was very warm. I nearly felt myself

falling into slumber when I awoke to the sounds
of sighs, groans, and laments from every direction.
Within the few seconds I had closed my eyes inside

Luna's wing, we were well inside a spiral slope
leading deeper into a black abyss. I began to weep,
Strange languages, horrible screams, words imbued

With rage, or despair, cries as of troubled sleep
rang through the walls. And I, my head in a swirl
of terror cried, "Princess, what is this I hear?

What pony makes such a wretched sound?"
Luna: "This is the sorrowful state of souls unsure,
Whose lives earned neither honor nor bad fame.

Who, neither rebellious to the herd, nor faithful to it.
Chose neither side, but kept themselves apart-
Both Pony Heaven and Hell reject them, lest the wicked of heart."

I needed to shout to ask Luna my next question,
"Do they have to yell so loud about it?!"
Luna chuckled at my question. "I will make my answer brief:

They have no hope of death, but a blind life
so hopeless, they envy any other fate.
To all memory of them, the world is deaf."

I scowled at Luna, giving another complicated
answer to an easy question. Luna did not acknowledge
the scowl and instead: "Let us not speak of them, look and pass on."

I looked outside of the safety of Luna's wing
to even catch a glimpse of the source of the screams
Though nothing caught my eye. The spiral continued

Only showing walls of some sort of red stone. I opened
My mouth to ask Luna where exactly they were,
but my answer came all too quickly.

Around fifty yards ahead of my guide was the base
of the spiral slope leading to a dirt floor covered
in the corpses of ponies of all shapes and sizes.

Each one moaning, screaming, crying, or a combination
until their breath escaped them, by which they inhaled
again and restarted the process.

By wasps and flies, blood trickling down each face,
Mingling with tears for harvest underfoot
By writhing maggots. When I turned my eyes,

Farther along the dirt floor, I could make out
more corpses across a shore of a great river.
Each corpse slowly trying to pull themselves towards it.

I shrunk in fear deeper into Luna's wing as
we came closer to the edge of the dirt floor.
Luna let out a sigh as she removed her wing from me.

I shrieked in pure terror and tried to
place myself back in between Luna and her wing
only to meet failure after failure.

"Remove your fear child, they will not hurt you
They want to cross the river, nothing more."
Luna placed her hoof on the dirt floor and raised

the other for me to take. I hesitantly took her hoof
shaking furiously. Somehow I gathered the strength
to ask, "Why do they move towards the river?"

I stared at the corpses slowly clawing forward on the ground
while Luna responded, "You will learn soon
enough, when we have pause at Acheron's shore."

Luna continued her walk while I stood close beside her.
A small path clear of damned ponies worked its way to
the shore with relative ease.

Then, at the river an old pony in a boat:
white mane and grey coat, shouted towards us,
"Woe to you, wicked souls! Give up the thought

Of...Oh hello Princess Luna! Fancy seeing you here!"
The old pony smiled and waved as he pulled
his ferry to shore. "What brings you here?"

"I AM ESCORTING A LIVING SOUL ACROSS ACHERON!"
Luna spoke in her royal Canterlot voice.  Unfazed, 
the old pony: "Living souls stand clear of this ferry.

By another port, and another boat. You will be
brought to shore by another way." Luna shouted again,
"CHARON, do not rage: I will it therefore it is!"

I had not noticed before, but the eyes Charon squinted
at Luna at that moment contained a deep fire I have never
seen before. A swirl of red flame lay in his pupils.

His gaze finally met mine and I let out a small yelp.
He sighed in defeat, "If it is willed, come aboard."
Still scowling at Luna he turned to his oar and motioned

Both me and Luna onto the boat. I took my place
on the port and sat quietly as Charon quickly moved his oar
back and forth through the water.

Luna spoke to me from her side of the small boat,
"Twilight here are joined the souls who die
from every country, all of them eager to find

Their way across the water-for the goal
Of Divine Justice spurs them so, their fear
Is transmuted into desire. Souls who are good

Never pass this way; therefore, if you hear
Charon complaining at your presence, consider
What that means." Charon scoffed at her last words

The oar still in his mouth. The banter between the 
two calmed me and I let a sigh of relief out. The water slowly
splashed across the sides of the boat with a peaceful hypnotic sound-

Then the earth of that grim shore began to shake: so violently,
I broke into a sweat. A wind burst up from the tear-soaked
ground to erupt red lights and batter

My senses-and so I fell, as though seized by sleep.