Banished To Tartarus - A Story of Unlikely Heroes and Moral Villains

by Nortes432 ft Spitfire

Chapter 4 - Honestly, Who Had it Worst?!

Ireagato broke the already frozen lock on the cage, allowing him to easily push the door open with ease. The sheriff's office was a mess; ice shards were against the walls, a bunch of them used to kill the doctor and pin his corpse to the wall. Applejack's hooves were frozen together, as if she had been hogtied. "I'm going to kill you!" Applejack shouted, struggling to get free.

Ireagato shook his head. "You're going to get some serious frostbite before you do that," Ireagato told her. "See you later, partner," he said, mimicking her country accent. He quickly made his way out of the sheriff's office. Ponies were heading his way, for they had heard the commotion. Searching around for an escape, Ireagato spotted two ponies heading to him. One was very familiar. "Rhyme Beat?" He asked quietly.

Rhyme and Spitfire rushed towards him. As Ireagato was distracted by them, one of the ponies raised a rifle to shoot Ireagato. Rhyme quickly reacted, pulling out his hoofgun and shooting the pony in the arm. The pony dropped the gun, and fell over, screaming in pain. Rhyme quickly moved up to meet Ireagato. "Hey, how's it going?" he asked the alicorn, patting his back. "You seem to have company. Let's get out of here!" Ireagato nodded, and the two took off as they followed Spitfire. Rhyme turned back and fired a couple of blind shots at the ponies chasing after them. Gunshots whizzed past them, barely missing.

"Quickly!" Spitfire shouted. "We need to lose them and fly out of here!" The ponies continued running out of town, hoping to find enough time to take off. Their plans were cut short, though, when a bullet struck Spitfire in the wing. Spitfire screamed out in pain, falling over and tumbling across the ground.

Rhyme stopped and turned to her. "No!" He shouted, quickly going to help her up. Ireagato stopped and turned around, looking at the two first, then to the mob. The mob pulled out their guns and released their gunfire upon the three. Ireagato thought quickly, creating a wall of ice between the three ponies and the angry horde.

He kept his magic up, making sure the ice did not chip away from the oncoming heavy fire. "I can't hold it...much longer..." he said through his teeth. "Hurry!"

Ireagato felt his magic growing weaker, due to the hot sun beating down and the oncoming gunfire, he couldn't hold a wall of ice for long. Once he thought his magic would let up, something unexpected happened. A large explosion blew both the ice wall to pieces, Ireagato onto his back, and the mob a couple feet into the air.

Rhyme looked up, and saw rescue. Luna and Solar were flying above them. Luna had a large scythe on her back. Luna quickly flew down to the mob, and before they could react, she used her scythe to dispatch of them one by one, as she moved with ease and fluidity. Solar went to Rhyme and Spitfire. "Quickly, get her on my back. Rhyme, go with Luna," Solar ordered. Rhyme and Ireagato quickly helped Spitfire up and onto Solar's back. The pegasus wrapped her hooves around the alicorn's neck to support herself.

After Luna finished off the last pony, she quickly ran over to them. "More are coming!" she said, sheathing her scythe. "Quickly, hop on!" Rhyme obeyed, climbing onto Luna's back. The three swiftly took to the air as more ponies stampeded towards their location, firing shots into the air after them as they made their great escape.

Once the trio had disappeared from sight, the ponies stopped firing. A single white-coated pony made his way through the crowd. He had a light blue mane, and markings across his bodies. His eyes showed anger. "How could you let them go?" the unicorn asked, grabbing one of the ponies.

"W-we couldn't catch them, Captain Shouhei!" the pony told him. "We're Earth Ponies! We can't fly! We're no match for three alicorns!" the pony whimpered, scared.

Captain Shouhei gritted his teeth. "Alicorns?! Was one of them my brother?" he growled. The pony nodded slowly. "You let me brother get away?!" he threw the pony to the ground. The pony scrambled to get away. Captain Shouhei drew his sword and angrily stabbed the pony in the chest. The pony screamed in pain as the sword was kept in his chest. The fake Shouhei turned to the rest of the crowd. "I want you to find him! And the other alicorns! If I don't get his head on a silver platter in the next three days, you'll all look like this worthless trash!" he shouted. He turned and kicked the dying pony, causing him to groan in pain. "Trot it off," he mumbled angrily, taking the sword and storming away.

Note loved to fly. It was relaxing, freeing, and a great cool-off. Except for when he's a wanted fugitive. Note quickly found a place to land, a small back alley that was isolated, fenced in, and only contained a dumpster and a couple trash cans. All he needed to do was get out of town without drawing attention. The shotgun was slung over his back, for he didn't dare to lose it if things get rowdy.

Note inched across a wall, peeking around the corner. It was an alleyway, with a small view of the street. Note waited until the coast was clear, and then made a run for it. He slid and stopped at a large pile of garbage bags, taking another peek so he could make another run. He made the second run, stopping at a small wall that blocked off half the alley exit. He peeked out, looking around. He caught eye of an interesting and familiar pony.

"Nurse Seraph?" Note whispered to himself. He hid back behind the wall, and watched for her to walk by. Once she did, Note quickly grabbed her and pulled her behind the wall. She dropped her bag and let out a small squeal as Note stopped and held her as if they were doing a romantic dance. "Nurse, is that you?" Note asked.

Nurse blinked, and nodded. "Yeah, it is. Is that you Note?" The Nurse asked, narrowing her eyes. "I know there are doubles here, I've already seen mine."

Note narrowed his eyes. "It is me. But, I want you to prove it is you," Note told her, letting her go but keeping his guard up. Nurse straightened herself, and thought for a moment. She cautiously walked up to Note, grabbed one of his wings, and ran her hoof along his sensitive spot softly. Note clenched his teeth. "O-o-okay! It's you, it's you!" Note protested, pulling away.

"Alright then," Nurse said, sighing deeply. "So, Mister Note, what do we do?" The Nurse asked, crossing her hooves. "We're in some alternate dimension with some Emperor Haxx ruling Equestria. What did you gather?"

"I learned that this Note never met Cruxia, has a metallic right wing, is actually evil, is in love with Twilight, who is really great at massages, and that I'm a great kisser," Note told her, taking a deep breath. "Don't ask about the last part."

Nurse nodded. "I probably don't want to know anyways," she said, shaking her head. Nurse peeked around the corner and looked around. "So, where do we go? Ponyville is too dangerous. We need to find somewhere to hide. Someway to get back home."

Note patted her on the back. "We'll find a way. We always do." Note turned around only to get struck in the face hard. He let out a scream of pain as Nurse turned around. Nurse barely avoided the oncoming punch as she stumbled back to find herself staring at a large demon. He stepped over the knocked-out stallion as he approached Nurse, forcing her to back up against a wall. Nurse attempted to hit the demon, but the demon grabbed her by the neck. Nurse began to choke as the demon raised her in the air, smirking with confidence.

"Hey, stupid!" A stallion shouted. The demon turned to see who it was, only to get impaled in the face by a sword. The demon dropped Nurse as she gasped for air, breathing heavily. The demon fell on the ground, limp and dead. Note groggily opened his eyes, his conscious coming back to see two ponies nearby. Nurse stood up and looked at who saved them. She was shocked. "Ireagato?" she asked.

The young stallion stared at her, then at Note. "I heard that there were outsiders. Didn't expect some important ones like you two." He walked up to Note and pulled him up to his hooves, "Especially you, Love Note." Ireagato grabbed his hoof and shook it.

Note shook his head into focus as he stared at Ireagato. "Wait...you're Ireagato...from this dimension?" Note asked him, still a bit confused and dazed.

The alternate Ireagato nodded. "I am from here. I'm not a part of the empire though. Tell me, are there others?" he asked, eager for an answer from the two.

Note shrugged. "There was a third...but he's dead now," he told him, taking a deep sigh. "I don't know if any of the others are here." Note turned to Nurse, who nodded in agreement.

Ireagato frowned. "Alright then. We'll work with this. I will take you two to see Luna," Ireagato said, spreading his wings. "C'mon now, miss. I will carry you." Nurse smiled brightly, walking past Note with a wink as she picked up her bag and climbed on Ireagato's back. Ireagato clenched his teeth, giving a fake smile. "Easy. Let's go." Ireagato took off into the air, followed closely by Love Note.

Misbeat felt a certain level of discomfort as he sipped his tea. He was at a table with a dead rabbit, a mutant pony, and a demonic emperor. This was definitely not a normal day. "So, mister, where do you come from?" the demon asked.

Misbeat took a gulp and answered. "Well, I was born in Manehattan. Got into gambling and all. It was a pretty boring life, really." He decided to use his con artist skills to his advantage.

Haxx nodded, sipping his tea. "I see," the demon spoke with a deep voice. "You seem like the kind of pony who has fun. With your hair, your oddly...edgy kind of look, and even your suave look.

Misbeat nodded. "I have a suit back home to go with it," he told the emperor. "With a nice fedora as well. You should see it sometime. It gets all the mares, and the stallions." Misbeat smirked as the demon leader began to laugh. Even Kraken giggled a little at the joke.

"You know, I like this one," Haxx told Kraken, patting her on the back. "I might actually let you keep him around." Kraken let out a squeal of joy as she hugged Haxx. Haxx let out a small laugh as he hugged her back gently.

Misbeat looked around. He needed to find a way out of this place. He couldn't keep up his con for long, since he knew nothing about what was going on. Maybe a distraction would work?

Misbeat's ears perked when Haxx spoke again. "Young stallion, you have a nice sense of humor. Could you tell us another joke?" the demon leader asked, sitting up straight. He towered greatly over Kraken and Misbeat.

Misbeat thought for a moment, and nodded. "S-sure. I can think of one..." Misbeat smiled and continued, "What do you call a con artist behind bars?" he asked. When the two gave a shrug, he gave the answer, "Dis-con-tinued!" The two erupted into laughter. Misbeat quickly thought of a new one. "What did the bartender say when the drunk pegasi left the bar? Fly safe!" The two seemed really easy to entertain, for they continued to laugh at the joke. Misbeat straightened himself as he told the third joke. "Do you know why I'm not laughing at these jokes?"

Haxx looked at him with a curious look. "Why is that, mister?"

Misbeat smiled. "I'm beating a dead horse here." Misbeat, using his telekinesis, flipped the tea table and launched it at Kraken, causing her to fall over under the table. Haxx stood up quickly, only for Misbeat to jump to the side, using his telekinesis to trip Haxx with the demon's own chair. Misbeat quickly sprinted out of the house as Haxx shot magic bolts at the pony. "Thank you for coming out, I'm not coming back!" Misbeat shouted as he ran away from the cottage, heading into the forest.

It didn't take long for the group to re-assemble. Luna, Spitfire, Rhyme, Ireagato, and Solar Flare were already at the base hidden in the Everfree Forest. Misbeat, was trekking through the Everfree Forest, sensing his friends through his telepathic abilities.

The alternate Ireagato landed in front of the base, followed by Love Note. The base was in a massive tree, built like a large treehouse. Nurse climbed off of Ireagato's back, stretching. "This is the place, eh?" Note asked as Ireagato walked up to the door.

the alternate Ireagato knocked three times. "Not the best place I could ask for, but we haven't been caught yet," Ireagato said as the door opened. Before him stood Rhyme Beat. "Who are you?" Ireagato asked, pulling out his sword.

Rhyme threw his hooves up, frightened. "Whoa whoa whoa! Ireagato, buddy, no need to be hostile!" the stallion said. He backed up into Princess Luna, who pushed him to the side.

"Ireagato. Who have you brought with you?" the princess asked, looking at the ponies. Her eyes focused on Note. "Is that..."

Ireagato nodded. "They are the outsiders. Found those two in Ponyville," he said as he pointed at Note and Nurse. "Can I get inside? I'm kind of exhausted."

Note chuckled at knowing this Ireagato was the same bumbling joker that he knew. "Come in, come in!" Luna said, stepping to the side to let the trio in.

The real Ireagato was sitting at a table, a makeshift ice-pack in his hoof as he used it to dull the pain on Spitfire's injured wing. Nurse quickly ran up to them, bag in tow. "Ireagato!" she called.

Ireagato turned around to see her. "Nurse? What are you doing here?" he asked. He stepped to the side as Nurse quickly overlooked Spitfire. "She was shot in the wing," he told her.

"Ireagato. You're okay." Ireagato turned around only to get hugged immediately by Note. Ireagato was caught off guard, but kept his footing as he slowly gave Note a hug as well.

"Yeah...you too..." he said slowly. He was actually really glad that Note was okay, but was still annoyed by the hug attacks. It was right after Note left the hug that Ireagato locked eyes with himself. "Who are...you?..." Ireagato asked, slowly approaching his other.

"I'm Ireagato Ireto. Former prince. Great with ice. Brother of Shouhei." The other said, holding out a hoof. "Good to know I'm just as handsome in your world."

Ireagato stopped and looked down at his hoof. "Wait, are you the reason why I was locked in that cell and accused of all those crimes?" Ireagato asked. The other Ireagato nodded firmly. Ireagato then smiled and accepted the hoofshake. "You are amazing!"

Note rolled his eyes as he sat down. "Ireagato's talking to himself again," he said in a teasing manner. Both Iregato's turned and glared at Note as he laughed.

Solar Flare walked into the room and stopped in surprise. "Note? Nurse Seraph? Ireagat...o's?" She said the last one slowly, looking between them.

Rhyme threw his hooves into the air. "Somepony please explain what's going on!" he said, confused. "Which one is the real one? I'm lost!" The ponies around began to laugh, even Luna giggled a bit.

Shouhei was still a bit weary, but felt a soothing with Thunder. They had left Canterlot, and headed south towards Ponyville; which was the only place they knew well. "I know we'll find Bark near the Everfree. He's smarter than some will think," Thunder said, seeming a bit worried about her pet timberwolf.

Shouhei sighed. "Yeah. I'm sure he's fine. Don't worry," he assured the griffon, patting her back. "What do you think is going on, anyways?"

Thunder shook her head. "If only I knew..."

Meanwhile, heading flying over Ponyville and heading towards Canterlot, was the other Shouhei on a chariot. "Captain," a soldier called. Shouhei turned to the soldier which accompanied him. "You should take a look at this." The soldier handed him a pair of binoculars.

Alternate Shouhei took the binoculars forcefully and looked through them. He spotted a griffon flying towards them. "Who is that?" he growled. He then noticed something off. He spotted himself on the griffon's back. He gritted his teeth. "Outsiders. Take them down." Shouhei ordered, throwing the binoculars at the soldier, who stumbled to catch them, almost falling out of the chariot. Alternate Shouhei looked at the soldier. "Now you idiot!" he took a rifle from the soldier, and took aim.

Thunder spotted the chariot. "What's that?" she asked, squinting. "I think there's a patrol. Should we make a run for it?" she asked, turning her attention to Shouhei.

Shouhei shook his head. "I think I can divert them. They still think I'm their captain, I believe." Thunder nodded and turned around, only to get struck in the leg by a bullet. She let out a loud scream as she lost control of her flight, causing Shouhei to hold on for dear life. Thunder kept her on her flight path, but was quickly zooming towards the ground. "Forest! Go for the forest!" Shouhei shouted. Thunder aimed herself towards the forest the best she could, zipping into the treeline and less than a second later, crashing hard.

The alternate Shouhei growled as he watched the two disappear. "Go! Find the bodies!" he ordered, taking a whip and using it on the two demons who were guiding the cart. They let out a neigh, as they turned to head back down to the forest.

The alternate Note paced back and forth in the bedroom of the castle. "You should have killed him, Corruption," he said, looking at Twilight. "You should have known that leaving another me alive would cause this. You know just as well as Haxx and Shouhei about what I'm capable of."

Twilight shook her head. "I'm sorry, sweetie, but you're just too cute to kill!" Twilight sighed, frowning. "Give me another chance. Next time, I'll rip his skull out and give it to you!"

The alternate Note sighed. "You're so romantic, Corruption," he said, giving her a kiss on the lips. "Don't hold back." Note then trotted out. "You owe me a shotgun, by the way!"

Twilight smirked. "Oh, I am getting that Note Booty," she said. She smiled, her teeth turning fanged as dark magic surrounded her body. Her eyes glowed green. "I'm killing all of them."