Rainbow Dash Goes to Hell

by Obsidian Chitin

Hoof Deep in the Dead

Rainbow Dash was underwater amid a pile of corpses. Her eyes opened, and she kicked the body off of her before rushing towards the surface for air.
She coughed and sputtered, shaking water out of her mane. She paddled to keep herself afloat as she looked around.

She had no idea where she was.

The water was black, though it did not seem to stain her coat. The lake, or whatever she was in, was still. the only ripples came from her efforts to remain afloat. As far as she could tell, there was no land anywhere. Not that it was easy to see; The sky was just as pitch black as the water. Off in the far distance, a tiny speck of light. She spread her wings and began to flap.
It occurred to her that nothing was happening. She was still in the water. So, she fought down the panic, and began to swim.

She decided to go over her situation. She had no idea where she was, how she got there, or what the deal with the corpses were. In fact, she simply remembered going to bed the night before after re-re-reading Daring Do and the Sapphire Stone for the fourth time. For a moment, she considered that she had been abducted in her sleep, but she threw that possibility out immediately. She knew woke up the next day, she just didn't know anything past that. It was like there was a hole in her memory, and that was really starting to bug her.
After an hour of paddling, a few things occurred to Rainbow. First, she was not getting any closer to the light. Second, she was not getting tired. She knew she was an awesome athlete, a prestigious Wonderbolt, all that cool stuff, but even she should be a little winded. This left her even more confused; She couldn't fly, yet she couldn't get tired.

"A lost soul, I see."

Rainbow looked up to see a small boat sitting on the water in front of her. The boat looked like it was thousands of years old, yet had not a speck of moss on it. As Rainbow climbed aboard, she noticed that the boat wasn't even wet... Somehow.
Dash noticed a large cloaked figure, one two whole heads taller than her. She couldn't see anything beneath the cloak, anything that could determine the gender of the pony. Even its voice was neutral and genderless, with no emotion or warmth.

"I ain't lost, I know where I'm going." Rainbow replied indignantly. "I'm going to that light over there!"

The figure chuckled then replied. “You are as lost as every other soul I meet, and as foolish.”

"Hey!" Rainbow exclaimed.

"You don't even know where you are. I go by many names... But I refer to myself as Styx." The figure said. "This is my river."

"Kinda big for a river..." Dash said as she looked over the side. "...So, Sticks, do you row this, or-" As she stuck her hoof into the water, she was surprised to find it leaving a wake in the water, even when the boat did not. She looked back at the cloaked figure. "How...?"

"This realm does not operate by the same way as yours." Styx replied.

Time passed quietly as the boat glided across the water.

"What's with the bodies?" Dash asked.

The figure made its first movement: Turning its head towards its guest. "The shells of those whose souls have moved on."

Rainbow turned the thought over in her head for a minute. "...So, I'm dead?"

"Yes."

Rainbow turned back towards the water. She slumped against the side of the boat. "Aw, man..."

"What is a man?" Styx asked.

"Nothing but a word I heard somepony say once." Rainbow replied. "This sucks."

"Many welcome my embrace, those who have lived full lives. Many more fear my presence, as they do not know what will become of them."

"Do you know?"

"I do not know what becomes of the souls I ferry to the After."

Rainbow mulled over its answer. "...Like, every time a pony dies, you move them in this boat? How do you have the time for each one?"

"Time does not function in the same way in this realm."

"Huh. So, this is it? You take me to this... 'After', and that's that?" Rainbow asked.

"Not for you."

Rainbow blinked. The boat had beached upon a beach of gray sand, near a massive rock cliffside. "Wait, when did we get here?"

She climbed off of the boat, and stepped onto the sand. It was very coarse, and her hooves sank into it with each step. "Where am I supposed to go?"

Rainbow Dash turned around. There was no sign the boat, nor Styx, had ever been there.
"...Horsefeathers." Dash muttered as she made her way down the beach.