//------------------------------//
// In Acerbus's Halls 
// Story: The Element of Friendship 
// by The Derpy Doctor 
//------------------------------//

	When I opened my eyes, I was in by far the second darkest realm in all of Equestria. I was in what could only be Tartarus.
Silly human, haven’t you ever read greek mythology, Tartarus is just a world where immortal bodies are born in invisible form and are often tortured, but here it is much better, it is just a prison where evil is kept. Since Cerberus died, it is now a place for souls to go when they die. I’m just the same as I was before, just immortal until I leave here. That’s the human myth.
I still have to get up to the surface. I lunged for whatever place would lead me out of here, but as I did so, I was held back by shackles wrapped around my back hoof.
“Dinky, it’s okay, we’ll be here with you.” Applebloom reassured me.
“I know,” I said beginning to cry, now, “We’ve failed, though. We’ve left all of Equestria up there to come to the same fate.”
Then out of the corner of my eye, I saw Celestia. She was trapped here too.
“Celestia!” I shouted at her, but she was too distant to hear me.
“Dinky,” Applebloom said, “It will be alright.”
“But Celestia, She’s all alone. She’s crying. Can’t we help her.”
She cried, and that wouldn’t cut the kind of motion that she had doing. She was weeping, and she had the greatest reason. The ruler of all Equestria. Possibly the most worthy of us to guard and protect the rest. Instead, she died in seconds.
Scootaloo confronted me: “She’ll be okay. We’ll all be okay. There is always light to outshine the dark. Even if none of us are there, there will be something there to destroy the darkness.
“I…” I couldn’t counter her argument. Heck, half of it was what I said. How could I?
We sat in silence for a while. I hoped that maybe what they were doing up there was worth us dying.

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“Acerbus!” I shouted (Chrysalis here again), “That was not called for. Innocent ponies, just standing for what they believe in. You had to eliminate them for that?”
“To be fair, didn’t I already say I would destroy each of you anyway?”
“Not Justified…” My voice faded. Another voice crept in. “I WILL NOT SUBMIT!”
I was overrun with overdoses of dark magic. It all exploded out of me in one very big burst of energy hot enough to compete with Celestia’s own sun.
I missed. I wasn’t expecting it to come out. I just missed. Way, way, waaaay off to the right.
I was not alone.
Others used magic. Unicorns and earth ponies all. Several rays of light, several wing beats, and so many lights. Everypony seemed happy many ponies found strength in the light and broke the bars on their cages with a swift kick and blew Acerbus off of his feet.
All of this happened in seconds. Acerbus was stunned until he regained some composure and tried to destroy us, but he was too late, and we found him on the ground. He was defeated by the light. He was at our will, now.
“What should we do?” Somepony asked.
“I think that we should do what he did to Dinky.” Another suggested.”
Then Twilight became the voice of reason.
“Listen up everypony!” Twilight screamed relentlessly.
Everypony stopped yammering and listened to the other princess (that really, they should have listened to in the first place).
“Dinky is not dead,” She continued before everypony muttered in disbelief. “Quiet!” They silenced and listened again. “She is in the halls of 	Tartarus along with Celestia and her friends. As for all of the help that she has given us. She has done something that I had only heard of in books, and we all need to get to her immediately. As for Acerbus!” insert long pause.
“I have a plan for him.”



“Sweetie Belle? do you have any food?” I, Dinky, asked.
“No.” she then responded. I hadn’t eaten all day and I had died of explosive rays. The least I could ask for was some food.
“Why would I-” She continued, but I thought over that. Metaphorically sighing in my brain.
The light came. It hit my head with a force. 
I saw all of my other friends. I saw my mom. I saw Twilight, Luna, Doctor, Chrysalis. I saw all of Ponyville. I saw everyone in one tiny hole. 	The only hole. The only way out.



“How did you find us?” I asked as we all got out of the prison with the help of Rainbow Dash, Celestia and Spitfire. As I was no longer in 	Tartarus, no longer an immortal being (remember from before).
“We didn’t, Twilight said. “We just had Derpy use her destructive skills to put holes in the ground above the Tartarus before we found one 	so close.”
“Did you defeat Acerbus?” I asked in the most enthusiastic voice I had.
“We did.”
“How?”
“You inspired us, Dinky.”
I blushed. I couldn’t just take all of the credit.
“Well… I…” blushing again. “...had my…”
“She had us.” Sweetie Belle finally finished my thought.
“Yeah,” I concluded.
“You used the unknown element,” Twilight assumed, “An element that was never found, but never really even created, only mythical 	poems tell about it. You used that element to spark fires within each of us. We were all just acting on a new element!”
“Well…” I then checked for a cutie mark and then thumped my hoof on the ground in disappointment. Nothing.
Celestia stepped forth and looked down at us.
“Dinky?” She thundered.
I bowed. “Princess Celestia.” I honored.
“Stand!” I needed no second thought, I had no intention of going back into the depths of Tartarus.
“You have proven yourself worthy. You are certainly my next personal protege at Princess Celestia’s School For Gifted Unicorns.”
“Yes!” I shouted not able to hold it in.
“Oh and one more thing. Celestia pointed out.” At this I panted and brought myself to the closest reality.
“More?” I echoed my own thoughts out my mouth.
Celestia pointed to my flank. No words.
That’s where I found a great Cutie mark. It was a lot like my mom’s. It was a lot of bubbles, only shiny, beautiful, and they all seemed to 	have formed a shape much like a crown.
Celestia turned away and muttered to herself. “Works every time.”
I barely made out Twilight speaking to Celestia: “Will she become an alicorn like me?” and the Celestia respond.
“Either that, or she’ll become rogue, and I will have to banish her to earth where she will spend much of her time trying to open doors 	with hands, and picking things up with her non-snouted mouth.”