“Tell me about this Princess Twilight.” said Sir Wub-Wubs, breaking the silence that had arisen several hours ago.
“Huh? You don’t know her?” asked Vinyl.
“Well, I know that she’s a princess, and that she’s sort of replaced me. Lady Celestia and Lady Luna have called me here before, but as soon as I arrived they sent me back because Twilight was dealing with it. Who is she?”
“Princess Twilight used to be Celestia’s student. She did a lot, even before she was princess. She defeated Nightmare Moon and turned her back into Luna.”
“Really? It’s her I have to thank for bringing me back to serve miladies?”
“She also turned Discord back into stone!” added Derpy.
“Discord? How could she defeat Discord?”
“She also defeated King Sombra, Queen Chrysalis, and Tirek. Wait a second… If we’re going to Tartarus, won’t that give Tirek a chance to escape?”
“I doubt it. As long as Cerberus is still there, I don’t think Tirek will be moving anytime soon.” said Wub-Wubs. “I still don’t get it. If Twilight has all of these achievements under her belt, why send me rather than her?”
“You might not want to hear this, but maybe it’s because she’s a princess.” said Vinyl. “From Celestia’s standpoint, it’s gotta be better for her to lose you rather than Princess Twilight. It seems wrong and cold, but it’s something to think about.”
“No, you’re probably right. It makes sense.”
“No.” said Derpy. “She picked you because you’re the best. Princess Twilight is powerful, but you’re even stronger.”
“You think so?”
“I do.” said Vinyl. “I was just joking around earlier. Trying to push your buttons is a lot of fun.”
“Something just occured to me.” said Wub-Wubs. “We’re in a desert, right?”
“Yeah. So?”
“Why aren’t we dying from heat stroke and dehydration? We should be unbearably hot and sweating out the last few drops of moisture in our bodies.”
“But good thing we’re not.” said Derpy. “Maybe it’s Hades’ magic. It’s making the animals and the weather act strangely.”
“Speaking of animals, are those mice still with us?” asked Wub-Wubs. “My vision is getting even worse.”
“They ran ahead a while ago. We might catch up to them.” said Vinyl. “Why is your vision getting worse?”
“The sand is loosening up, which is good. It means we’re getting closer to the Frostatip Mountains.”
“Don’t you mean the Macintosh Hills?” asked Derpy.
“That’s what they’re calling it now?” said Wub-Wubs, still a little behind the times. He stopped in his tracks, remembering something that had eluded his memory for the entire journey.
“What’s up, Wubs?” asked Vinyl.
“I remember! The Teleportation Song! Of course!” he cried, smacking his forehead with his hoof. “The Flicker Song!”
“You know a teleportation song?” asked Derpy. “Why haven’t you used it?”
“I forgot the words, but I remember them now.” said Wub-Wubs, clearing his throat. “We outweigh the air and are going nowhere, we will be lighter, Vocal’s three fighters. We rise in the air, is still going nowhere, but the thought of my Lady will protect and save me. Our Lady Vocal has gifted us song, we fight in her name and now we are gone.”
Bright light surrounded the trio, blinding them and shrouding them in heat and energy. They felt as if they were floating, with invisible walls compacting in on them. The heat grew more and more intense, as did the feeling of claustrophobia, until Vinyl and Derpy thought they could take no more. And then, just as quickly as it started, the heat cooled and the walls expanded, allowing them to breath. The light died down, revealing their new location. They were at the base of a tall, red-rocked mountain. Sir Wub-Wubs slowly stumbled forward, like a foal taking his first steps, and pressed his hoof against the mountain.
“This is it.” he said. “This portal will take us to the lower level of Tartarus, right in Hades’ main chamber if we’re lucky.”
“Cool! How do we get in?” said Vinyl, ready to see and defeat Hades. She had a question or two that only he could answer.
“Um…”
“You don’t know. Why does that not surprise me? I should’ve known that this was too easy!”
“Hold on, I’m trying to think…. Derpy!” exclaimed Wub-Wubs. “See anything?”
“I see… a cave, with stairs going down, but I don’t see how we’re going to get in.” said Derpy. She walked up to where the cave would be and knocked hard on the stone. “It’s solid, but there is something behind it.”
“We’ve come too far to let a little something like a locked door send us packing.” said Wub-Wubs. “We can break this lock, we just have to get creative! There has to be something, anything that I overlooked.”
“I don’t k-” began Vinyl, cutting herself off in confusion. She stopped and looked down at her hooves, which were slowly darkening.
“Some unknown factor that could help us.” muttered Wub-Wubs, pacing back and forth.
“Wubs?” said Vinyl, the black spreading up to her chest.
“An inexplicable detail that will get us into Tartarus.”
“Wubs?”
“A gift horse that I won’t look in the mouth.”
“Wubs!” shouted Vinyl in fear. Her entire body was now glowing black, and her face was slowly turning as well. Yellow light shined through her shades, which she promptly took off to reveal the glowing golden irises.
“What?” asked Wub-Wubs.
“I’m all black and glow-ey now! It’s freaking me out!” she panted, anxiety taking over. Soon, she’d hyperventilate, which is something she never wanted others to see. She inhaled deeply, trying to calm herself down.
“Relax. Here, take a seat.” said Derpy, leading her to the mountain. Vinyl sat down, pressing her back against the red stone of the mountain. She placed her sunglasses atop her head, when suddenly, the ground beneath them began to shake and rumble. A thin fissure grew up the mountain, breaking open a cave, with smooth, grey stone stairs leading down into the bowels of the earth.
“What was that?” asked Wub-Wubs. “I felt movement.”
“It opened.” said Vinyl. “I sat against the mountain and it just split open.”
“You opened the portal? How? Do you have a Key?” asked Wub-Wubs. “You couldn’t have a Dimension Key. I’d sense it.”
“What’s a Dimension Key?” asked Vinyl.
“It’s an energy that can open a portal to any realm. You have it. Somehow.”
“How?”
“I have no idea. I’ll find out later, when we’re done here.” said Wub-Wubs, looking into the abyss uneasily. “After you?”
“You’re such a gentleman.” said Vinyl. She led the way down into the ground, Derpy behind her and Wub-Wubs behind Derpy. They walked down the warm, hard stairs, deeper and deeper into the hot, sweltering underground. There was an eerie, foreboding silence, not a peep coming from the trio, or anything else for that matter. Sir Wub-Wubs took the opportunity to check around for anything. Now that they were on something more solid, his “sight” returned to him.
“Nothing at all.” said Wub-Wubs. “No life other than us three. How much further down do we have to go?”
“Not much.” said Vinyl. “Only a few more feet.”
“I haven’t heard much from Derpy. You okay?”
“I’m fine. Just thinking.” said Derpy. “What is going to happen when this is over?”
“What do you mean?”
“Between us three. After we’re done, what’s going to happen? Will we still be friends?”
“Duh. I’m not just gonna jet on you two.” said Vinyl.
“We’re here, aren’t we?” said Wub-Wubs. “What are we looking at?”
“A really big cave. The ceiling is high, with stalagmites hanging down and stalactites coming up from the ground. There’s a tunnel going forward and there’s a… an opening or something. I can’t see too much else. It’s really foggy in here.”
“It’s not fog.” said Derpy. “It’s… spirits.”
“She’s right.” said Wub-Wubs, his horn glowing bright blue. “This is Spirit Smoke. Evil spirits that had their souls removed and burst into vapor by Hades.”
“That’s jacked up, dude.” said Vinyl.
“Cruel, yet effective. I’ll take the lead now. This is going to be dangerous.”
Sir Wub-Wubs trotted in front of Vinyl, who was furiously scratching at her hooves. The black that stained her coat wasn’t showing signs of fading. She thought about bringing the issue to Sir Wub-Wubs’ attention, but disregarded the idea. She figured that he would disregard it, or ignore her.
“So many unanswered questions.” said Wub-Wubs, walking into the tunnel. “How did you know this wasn’t fog?”
“I saw their pain. I can see them screaming and groaning. It’s terrible.” said Derpy.
“Yo, do you guys hear that?” asked Vinyl. “It sounds like rushing water.”
“I just can’t catch a break, can I?” said Wub-Wubs. He had an idea what it was, but was holding on to the small glimmer of hope that he was mistaken. He trotted through the long tunnel, crawling closer and closer to the opening. When he reached it, he paused in front of the flowing river that was before him. It was about a dozen yards across, filled with rushing, purplish-black water. Sir Wub-Wubs smiled morbidly a few feet away from it, stopping the mares in their tracks. On the other side of the river was a huge, red castle, bloody-red towers standing tall and bold.
“What’s up, Wubs?” said Vinyl.
“The body of water before us is known as Styx River.” said Wub-Wubs. “Something that makes this expedition infinitely more dangerous.”
“Let’s just swim across.”
“No. If we touch the water, our souls will be stripped from our bodies and judged until our fates are decided. Then we will go to either the Fields of Asphodel, the Fields of Punishment, or the Fields of Paradisa. If you are deemed evil or sinful, you will go to the Fields of Punishment, where you are tortured and enslaved for all of eternity. If you are deemed good and peaceful, you will go to the Fields of Paradisa, a place of peace and harmony. The Fields of Asphodel is where most ponies go. Ponies who are neither good nor evil.”
“What you’re saying is don’t touch the water.” said Vinyl. “Derpy could fly us across.”
“No. You cannot swim through, fly over, teleport past, or ford the Styx River, unless you have a pass from the Keeper, who doesn’t seem to be here.”
“Hello? Who goes there?” asked a voice from behind, soft and kind, familiar to only Sir Wub-Wubs. When he heard the voice, he froze, filled with shock, joy and terror. He knew that voice. He heard the voice everyday, in his dreams, during meals, every waking moment of his life.
“Impossible. Where are you?” he said in disbelief.
“Over here.” she said. Slowly from the right, she stepped out of the shadows. Her body was thin and elegant, the definition of majesty and grace. Her blue coat was almost glowing, and had a crystalline shine. She absentmindedly twirled her emerald green mane, bouncing her glowing golden eyes from Wub-Wubs to Derpy, from Derpy to Vinyl, and from Vinyl back to Wub-Wubs. She trotted forward, her very presence baffling Sir Wub-Wubs to no end.
“Lady Vocal.” said Sir Wub-Wubs, turning and bowing before her. Tears were threatening to flow from his eyes, but he was holding it back very well. At the utterance of the name, Vinyl’s jaw dropped. She must’ve misheard, because Vocal just couldn’t be there.
“I’m sorry. Do I… know you?” asked Vocal.
“You don’t remember me?”
“I’m afraid not.”
“How could you not remember me?” said Wub-Wubs, his feelings more than a little hurt. Then he remembered his many, many aesthetic transformations. “Of course you don’t. There’s nothing to remember. You’ve never seen me like this before.”
“I beg your pardon?” said Vocal.
“My father was your personal bodyguard. I’m Treble’s son.”
“Treble’s son? No! Wait, wait, don’t tell me… Not Ryth… not Chora… you’re-”
“Lady Vocal, I can only ask that my name is kept between us.” said Wub-Wubs quickly. “If you wish to tell them, then by all means.”
“If you want me to keep it a secret, then I will honor that choice.” said Vocal. “But you are… the blind colt?”
“Yes, although I’m no colt. Time has not been very kind to me. It has, however, been fantastic to you. You are just as beautiful as I remember.”
“Yo!” exclaimed Vinyl. “Are you gonna introduce us?”
“Please do.” said Vocal.
“These are my companions, Vinyl Scratch and Derpy Hooves. I apologize for Scratch’s rudeness, disrespect, and ignorance, past, present, and future. Forgive me.”
“I’m sure she is just wonderful. If I may ask, how are you here? How are you in Tartarus?”
“We’re here to stop Hades!” said Derpy.
“Is that so? How do you intend to do so?” asked Vocal.
“I am going to trick the trickster. A few choice words and I will make a deal with Hades that he can’t refuse.” explained Wub-Wubs. “He’ll be in such a rush to accept that he won’t read the fine print.”
“Then what are you doing here?”
“We have to cross Styx River.” said Vinyl. “Can you help us?”
“As a matter of fact, I can.” said Vocal. Her horn began to glow, surrounded by golden light. A path of yellow light shined across the width of the River. Lady Vocal grasped Wub-Wubs’ shoulder and trotted across the bridge. Wub-Wubs followed quickly, with Vinyl and Derpy close behind. They made their way towards the castle, allowing Wub-Wubs to ask the questions that had been plaguing his mind.
“Lady Vocal?” he asked. He didn’t care that he sounded like a child asking his mom for permission to play outside. “How did you survive? How did you end up in Tartarus? Why haven’t you left? What will you do when we get you out of here?”
“Um… Let’s talk after this is done, yes?” said Vocal, leading the way up the stairs.
“Perhaps you should stay out here.” said Wub-Wubs. “I do not wish to offend you, or to suggest that you can’t handle yourself, but it’s going to be dangerous in there. I cannot stand to lose you twice.”
“I appreciate your concern, but I don’t think Hades wants to fight.”
“Of course. Derpy, Vinyl, listen up!” said Sir Wub-Wubs boldly. “Until now, this quest had one goal, which was to defeat Hades. That is now the secondary goal. Our primary objective as of now is to return Lady Vocal to Equestria, and put her on the throne next to Lady Celestia and Lady Luna.”
“Lady Celestia? Lady Luna?” said Vocal, slightly bitterly. They reached the top of the stairs, where she opened the tall, wooden doors with her magic and brought the group into the main room of the castle. In the corner was an all-black stallion, locked in chains and unconscious. His mane was light blue and flickering like a flame that was dying out.
“Who’s that?” asked Vinyl.
“That is Hades, foolish mare.” said Vocal, closing the door. She levitated Vinyl, Derpy and Wub-Wubs towards the wall, smashing them into the stone.
“Milady! Something is attacking!” cried Wub-Wubs.
“I know. That was me.”
“Why? said Derpy.
“I needed an exit, and you fools hoof-delivered the only Dimension Key left in this filthy land of Equestria right to me.” said Vocal. “You really thought this was the work of Hades? Only a Muussist could do this, and their creator is here. Bow before Lady Vocal.”