//------------------------------//
// The Beasts of Tartarus 
// Story: The Frozen gate of Tartarus 
// by Optimistic Pessimist 
//------------------------------//

	Applejack, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash stood firmly in front of the cave. Tartarus was but five yards away from their hooves. They stood ready, holding weapons at the front.

Applejack was wearing her necklace, the Element of Honesty. She stood ready, weilding a pair of heavy red guantlets, engraved with three apples on each side. They clinked with the sound of metal.

Fluttershy wore her necklace, the Element of Kindness. She held her staff unsteadily. It was golden, with a pair of wings floating about the top. Three glass butterflies orbited around a center magic orb.

Rainbow Dash was also wearing her necklace, the Element of Loyalty. She was leaning on her blade, yawning. She was bored, and she made it quite obvious. Her pole-axe was dug into the ground, but you could plainly see the brilliant colors of the blade and the golden staff that held it.

Applejack looked around. "Where's Pinkie Pie? I thought she said she'd be here." 

Something struck the ground next to Applejack, and she had to cover her eyes from the dirt. When the dust cleared, there stood Pinkie Pie. She was holding onto a pair of chakrams, each as sharp as a butchers blade. "Hey Applejack!" Applejack smiled. "Where's the other you?" 

Pinkie Pie turned around and looked at her shadow. She reached a hoof down towards the ground. Suddenly another, darker hoof came up from her shadow. Pinkie Pie stood back up as her shadow disappeared off the ground and onto the surface. It was Pinkie Pie, but it was a shade blacker, and the mane was down.

"I can't get over that Pinkie. Makes me sick everytime." Pinkie Pie simply giggled. "I find it very interesting." Her shadow picked up a pair of blades that had somehow appeared in the ground. The shadow whipped its' mane back. "Tartarus huh? This might be fun."

Rainbow Dash looked around. "When are they coming?" Applejack smiled. "Berry and Rarity, or the demons?" Rainbow Dash shrugged. "Either."

"Speak of the devil, will you?" They all turned their heads to find Rarity walking in wearing her Element, Generosity. She rubbed it lightly, and suddenly three purple gems burst out of the ground. White magic laced in between them, and Rarity took hold of her new bow.

Berry Punch was fiddling around with a strange contraption. Applejack smiled. "Berry, what is that?" The earth pony smiled. "It's a grenade launcher!" "A what now?" Berry sighed. "A bomb shooter." Applejack was surprised. "Interesting."

Rarity walked close to the edge of the cave. "Are they even aware that Cereberus is away?" Applejack shrugged. "I don't think so. They would've come out by now." Rarity took a second look. "Oh my."

She could see various demons trudging their way up the cave depths. They were all on fire, burning shoulders and heads. Many of them were on foot, but she could clearly see some of them were riding manticores. She wasn't entirely sure how far back the demon army reached.

"Let's give them a heads up, shall we?" Rarity pulled on the string of her bow. A white arrow topped with a drill point formed upon the frame of her bow. She took aim, and let loose. She looked down to see what she hit. Her eyes widened with surprise as suddenly the cave was lit up with a humongous inferno.

"DRAGON!" Rarity turned and fell to the ground as the largest column of fire exited the cave.

Applejack stood still as the fire blew past her. "Rainbow. Get your weapon out of the ground." Rainbow Dash complied quickly. She held it at ready, sparking with electricity.

Rarity rushed back to the treeline as the rumbling grew louder. She readied her bow with a large arrow. She had a clear view of the battlefield. There was a decent plain, but everything past that was a forest.

The rumbling grew ever louder. The Dragon roared, and the wind knocked down several trees. Rarity let down her bow to cover her nose. "They've never heard of hygiene, have they?"

The dragon finally emerged from the cave. It shook the ground with each step of its heavy claws. It looked almost like a burning house, the way it was on fire. Smoke billowed out of its nostril like a chimney. It looked around at the ponies. They were trying their best to look brave, but it wasn't working. The Dragon threw back its' head and released an enraged roar.

A white arrow pierced its skull. The dragon began to choke on the white projectile. It roared weakly, and then it fell to the ground, dead.

Applejack wiped her brow. "Nice shot Rarity." The unicorn smiled an unsure smile. "It was nothing. Nothing compared to whatever's left down there." Applejack turned back to the cave. She swallowed as two more enraged dragon roars echoed from the cave. 

"Alright. Here goes nothing."