The safest place in Tartarus is...
Starlight could hardly remember the last time she had been like this.
And yet, the feeling was deeply familiar.
Every nerve of her body in overdrive, ignoring several wounds, and her horn burning from overuse– A headache was the least of her worries.
There was no plan anymore, no correct pathway to take or sequence of events she knew she had to undertake– Everything was summarized in her mind with quick, short instructions.
Find Tempest.
Kill anything in your way.
Leave this place.
Kill anything in your way.
Find Trixie and Cozy Glow.
Leave this place.
Kill anything in your way.
Her breathing was ragged, she really wasn’t used to galloping this much– And the lower gravity didn't make this any less taxing. Another leap, and she landed on another platform near a small structure, immediately looking for another way down.
She snarled as she passed by another shrine– An automaton was entirely dormant within– And with her horn, she lit the way, seeing even more of them.
All sleeping soundly, with the clap of thunder below them filling the darkness around them with sound, and yet, they remained unmoving. The irony was not lost on her.
She took another step, intent on continuing her way down, but stopped as their red eyes lit up, and they all looked at her…
…And promptly shut down again.
Not a prisoner, not an enemy. She grumbled in annoyance.
Tempest was still alive.
She was alive, and she was fighting. This wasn’t over yet.
Starlight leapt into the darkness with determination, towards the sounds of destruction.
She could see even now, a horde of creatures still climbing from the abyss– The chain that came from below, all the way towards the ruins Tempest fought on.
It seemed like there were less of them now– But it wasn’t over. The wind howled furiously, and it brought the sounds of the beasts with it.
Starlight landed just in time to see the gruesome battlefield Tempest had made.
Sizzling carcasses were still erupting smoke on every corner, rotting and twisted monstrosities had been turned inside out.
Some of them even twitched still. The living attacked viciously and with no regard for their safety. Their twisted anatomy leading them to clumsy, furious charges.
There was a large beast with several legs charging at Tempest, almost resembling a twisted centipede. Starlight arrived just in time to blast it away, nearly incinerating it entirely.
Tempest looked back and nodded briefly, both breathing incredibly deeply, carefully. She had short, precise breaths, while the leader did so haggardly.
“...The kid?” Tempest asked quickly, conserving oxygen.
“Safe.” Starlight replied curtly, regaining her footing. “Trixie, too…”
All the broken unicorn did was nod. Smoke also erupted from her horn due to overuse.
Several bits of her armor that had been entirely broken off, the chestplate was nearly entirely unusable, and plenty of wounds adorned her hide to boot.
“...Ready for more?” The broken unicorn asked quickly– Seeing more creatures approach from the chains ahead.
“Yeah.” She answered shortly, her horn sparkling, as she took a ready stance.
The following battle was vicious, furious.
The monsters came in different shapes and sizes, and they were always aggressive.
Tempest would leap off rocks to strike at them, do agile rolls to gain momentum, and abuse the lower gravity to get distance from the enemies.
Starlight would keep them at bay with magic, and lash out incredibly angrily at any chance she had.
Among these two, there were no intricate spells, no coordinated strikes, no more pretty techniques.
Tempest bucked rocks at them, and ignited those rocks with lightning, sending molten shattered stones at their enemies. She would leap on a column, leap at the ceiling, then leap back down with fierce momentum, crushing a beast under her hooves.
Starlight would abuse her most primal magic. Fiercely crushing creatures with rocks, launching them at each other, igniting them and exploding them with kinetic blasts, screaming the entire way.
Both of them were getting covered in black ichor and entrails of their foes through the entire experience.
They united their horns, and together with their magic combined, they blew a horde away, scattering their insides onto the darkness below, getting launched back for good measure.
The silence was short lived. The wind continued to howl.
“Breathe, and stand. This isn’t over yet.” Tempest quickly wiped the ichor off her face. “...Try not getting this shit in your mouth.”
“Y-yeah. Yeah. Yeah.” Starlight had a perpetual furious grimace in her face. “I’m just getting started. Take cover.”
Furiously, she stood her ground, and shot a concentrated beam of visceral light towards their enemies that climbed the chain, incinerating them on the spot, or launching them away altogether.
And Tempest watched her movements carefully. The way the ground cracked below her as she fired the shots, her mane incredibly messy, covered in her own blood and guts of the enemy, the way she moved by primal instinct.
She saw it all cautiously, with great interest.
The beam subsided, and the leader winced in pain.
“There’s– A security… System.” Starlight breathed haggardly, looking above and around them. “We can… maybe…”
Tempest followed her gaze, but quickly backed away.
From the chains arrived a brute.
A house sized, anthropomorphic mass of muscles and flesh with a mouth for a torso, which roared at them furiously.
“Ugly bastard.” Tempest snarled. “Ready for this?”
Starlight did not reply. Instead she simply shouted– A primal scream as her horn lit the way and began igniting her surroundings.
Her patience was done. This night had been long enough.
Unleashing all she had, she shot at the monstrosity, pushing it away, incinerating flesh of bones, as the creature attempted to keep moving forward.
And Starlight did not stop. She just switched targets, choosing to fire at the temples around them, at the shrines, and then back at the beast.
Her light lit the cavern walls, for a brief moment.
And Tempest watched it all cautiously, analytically. She watched as Starlight Glimmer showed her true colors, what she was really made of… What she was really made for.
The monster remained standing, half of its body torn to shreds. It limped forward weakly, letting out bleeding growls, with several of its bones exposed.
…And Starlight stopped. Her mane was a mess, blood ran down her forehead, and her horn was overheated.
Tempest immediately stood beside her, ready to defend the leader if needed, ready to fight alone if needed.
…Until the broken shrines and temples that Starlight had bombarded began erupting with life.
The automatons activated, some even falling dormantly into the battlefield, all lighting with cold red light, as soon as they saw the monstrosity.
One of them fell near the two unicorns, seemingly cold and devoid of life– And it lit up at the sight of the half killed monstrosity.
“PRISONER. RETURN TO YOUR CELL.”
Tempest watched the scene carefully– All the while Starlight couldn't even keep her eyes open anymore.
They stood still, as the mechanical beasts began attacking the monsters.
Viciously, with decisive strikes, the automatons sliced and crushed the beasts with wings and horn– Or simply threw them back into the lower layers with impunity.
Tempest let out an enormous, weary sigh as she saw a squadron of flying mechanical alicorn statues soar across the chain, slicing and skewering and crushing any creature that passed their way, heading down, down, down…
She managed to finally sit, and wipe some of the blood and guts off of her face properly… Before checking on Starlight. “...What’s your status…?” She murmured.
Starlight was still standing– But her body was limp and weak. There was light still sizzling out of her horn, flickering out, as she gasped for air quietly, trying her best to breathe.
“...T…Trixie…! C-Cozy…!” She muttered incredibly weakly, before turning around, attempting to walk… And nearly collapsing immediately.
“I’ve got you.” Tempest said calmly, as she held the unicorn. “I've got you.” With some effort, Starlight climbed Tempest’s shoulders, and mounted her incredibly weakly– nearly passing out immediately.
“T–Thank…” Was all Starlight could murmur.
“All part of the job.” Tempest murmured back, as she surveyed the environment, looking for their way up– Keeping herself steady, not misstepping.
…But then she stopped. She stopped and she smiled, seeing Starlight’s handiwork, and seeing Starlight herself. Ruins all around them. Rocks, still floating down into the abyss slowly, and dozens of scattered bodies of the monstrosities of the abyss. “...I see you now.” She grinned knowingly. “I see what you really are. This, right here…” She beheld the destruction around her. “...Yeah. You hide it pretty well. But it doesn’t go away.”
“I-I… I don’t… I don’t want to be–”
“--It’s okay. You said it yourself, didn’t you…? …We can move forward.”
Trixie readied herself for another hop– The end was closer than ever. Just a few more leaps of faith. “...If you want to fly, it’s okay, kid. Just stay close–”
“Nope.” Cozy shook her head lightly, still clinging to the magician’s back. “Don’t want to.”
Trixie tried to avoid it, but she couldn’t help but smile. “...Alright.”
Briefly, they both flinched, as the sound of thunder echoed from below fiercely.
They beheld the darkness below, and the howling wind that could be heard even at this attitude. It was a sight to behold, so many temples being lit by the occasional blasts of magic, all the way down there.
…But it was a bad time to be amazed. Carefully, Trixie prepared another hop, and leapt forward onto the next platform.
One more jump or two, and they’d be out of this layer– The passage to the labyrinth greeting them coldly above.
She carefully tiptoed around one last shrine in the way– Even near it, the darkness was unapproachable. They feared glancing inside, and yet they could see the dormant machines.
“A-are they…?” Cozy whispered fearfully.
“S-sleeping… I think…!” Trixie walked a bit faster, carefully looking at them the entire way, as further from the shrine as she could.
But it was to no avail. Walking outside the temples was not enough.
Not when you were a prisoner.
“PRISONER. RETURN TO YOUR CELL.”
The machine’s cold red eyes lit to life.
Trixie yelped, and dashed forward, hoping for the best as she leapt into the darkness.
She narrowly landed before the aperture, a square-like passage that let into the tunnels above them.
She glanced back fearfully for a brief moment, and Cozy screamed.
A single automaton had activated, its eyes glowing in the dark.
“PRISONER.”
Without caring for a particular direction, she dashed through the labyrinthian tunnels, immediately attempting to ignite another small firework she carried, clumsily and forcefully.
The mechanical footsteps followed close behind, they shook the walls, they could feel it on their rib cages.
“I-IT'S RIGHT BEHIND US!!” The foal yelled out fearfully.
Trixie turned only for a moment, shooting the firework directly at the robotic beast, muttering a plea to the heavens that she wouldn’t miss.
The world lit up around them with the impact of the explosive. Trixie covered Cozy under her cape, and leapt onto the floor herself, covering her own eyes with her hat for good measure.
Sparks and flames erupted and flew everywhere, the deafening sound of the explosive echoing through the dark halls around them.
Only when they opened their eyes they could see the automaton had toppled over, and it's metallic body was singed, bent, superheated.
Breathing hurriedly, Trixie tried standing, studying the fallen enemy carefully..
“Y-you finally hit one! Finally!” Cozy cheered.
“I-I did! I did, didn’t I!!” The magician smiled dumbly. “That was one great and powerful–”
Slowly, yet certainly, limping and letting out strange, stalling mechanical noises, the automaton stood again.
“PRISONER.”
“Run! RUUUUN!!!” Cozy screamed in a panic.
Trixie did not need a command to do as much– She kept galloping through the tunnels, taking turns, climbing stairs, and narrowly avoiding strikes as the automaton leapt forward with violent intent, only to smash against a wall when attempting to strike.
Its movements were more sluggish, the machine limped– But that served only to make its misses more violent.
“I-I have a really, REALLY bad idea!!” Trixie declared, sprinting towards a familiar purple glow, her horn weakly lighting the way– her pace already slowing due to exhaustion.
“D-does it involve getting smashed to bits by a robot??”
“N-nope!!”
“T-then I’ll take it!!” Cozy shouted weakly as the machine narrowly missed them again.
With one more drastic turn, Trixie made it to the room with the cells, lit by the same purple torches as in the past. There were dozens upon dozens of opened and unopened cages, all scattered in different floors, some even hanging from the ceiling, but there was no time for studying or surveying the environment.
“PRISONER. RETURN TO YOUR CELL.”
Trixie found the largest, nearest open cell, and hopped inside, and shut the door behind her for good measure.
“W-wait! N-no!! N-now we’re trapped—” Cozy began yelping in fear, but Trixie shushed her, bringing a hoof to her mouth as they sat on the back of their prison.
They both stayed impeccable quiet, as the automaton stopped in its tracks.
The only sound that accompanied their surroundings was the faint sound of their own breathing, as they watched the cold machine stand perfectly still.
The light of its eyes grew dimmer and dimmer, until…
“...THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION.”
With limping, glitched movements, it turned around, and began the slow trek through the passages the way they had come from.
Trixie let out an enormous sigh, leaning on the bars of the cage, letting go for a moment– Even dropping her hat at the bottom of the cage for good measure..
“B-now we can’t escape…! again!! We can’t open these from the inside!! n-not without busting them, at least…!” The child pouted in undeniable fear.
“I'm not firing another firework with us inside this thing.” Trixie let out a weary chuckle, as she demonstrated the few explosives she still had stockpiled. “...Besides, I don’t think my last fireworks should be used to blow us to smithereens. S-sorry, kid. I'm sorry. but I couldn't outrun that thing for much longer…”
“...Bah. I get it. It was this, or…” The child let out a resigned sigh. “Or worse.”
Silence settled in quickly. As soon as their breathing stabilized, it was quite apparent that the only noise in the dusty room was the purple torches, and the nigh-imperceptible seismic rumble.
“...I guess somepony might find us eventually…!” Cozy murmured hesitantly, glancing around without much hope..
“Starlight and Tempest are probably going to pass by this room on their way up. Probably.” Trixie spoke as assuredly as she could. “...Probably.”
The child scoffed, leaning on the bars without much enthusiasm. “...How are you so confident things will work out? Everything has sucked so far…”
She considered giving a technical answer, but instead, just chuckled, as she evaluated the singes and tears her hat and cape had gone through. “Oh, it’s not so hard, kid. It’s all part of my act.”
“Oh.” The child frowned. “So you’re just boasting all the time. Well, nice to hear you admitting it.”
“Fake it ‘till you make it, kid.” She grinned even more, giving out a light bow. “You wouldn't believe how far a bit of confidence can get you– Heck, if you need proof, look at how far I’ve come. Enough said, hehe.”
“...Meh.” She tried huffing, but she couldn’t help but accept it.
After all, Trixie had undoubtedly made it this far. She had survived the depths of Tartarus, and remained as put together as any normal pony could be.
“The hat helps.” Trixie admitted with a cocky nod. “My great and powerful magician’s hat. It’s been with me for a lot of my adventures, heheh…!” Then her expression softened. “...Wanna wear it?”
Cozy blinked in surprise a few times. “...Whatever.” She grabbed the hat, and attempted to wear it, it was undeniably too large for her.
Letting out a delighted chuckle, Trixie couldn’t help but remember the first time she tried the hat on, and how it was undeniably too large. The little foal adjusted it several times, even sat better so it would stay on while not blocking her field of view.
“Hey, if you’re getting tired of it…” Trixie waved a hoof, as if offering to take it back, and Cozy just stuck her tongue out, and refused to let it go.
She giggled again, and soon enough the child joined in– If only a little.
It was night, somewhere. And Trixie was exhausted… Even if she didn’t seem to be sleepy, she felt it was worth it.
So she closed her eyes, if only for a moment, and…
“...I… I did it.” Cozy murmured shamefully, looking down.
“...Hm?”
“I-I worked with Tirek and Chancellor Neighsay to seal away the magic Equestria temporarily… I-I worked willingly, too!!” She tried sounding entirely coherent, with questionable results.
Trixie remained quiet, even as she spoke gently. “...Okay. Walk me through it…!”
“I… I first met Tirek through Neighsay– I had seen the stuck up stuffy jerk stomping around the school of friendship several times when he was confronting the head mare, and I already knew he was planning on shutting it down– Well, he was pretty vocal about it– But still.” She huffed, shaking her head. “...I didn’t want the place shut down. I was getting all those chumps to love me! It was easy! Twilight made me assistant in like– A month!”
Trixie sat back and listened, nodding along.
“...I followed him around for a little while, careful not to be seen, then I saw him enter a pretty hidden broom closet… I tried my best to hear what was happening inside, and after I heard some weird magic noises, I heard him arguing with somepony!”
She paused to breathe, frowning of exhaustion and anger.
“I-it was Tirek! H-he was talking to Tirek!! He opened a weird portal communicator magic thingy to talk to him… And they were debating what their plans to were! N-neighsay was telling Tirek about the magical artifacts the school was getting for the Spellvinger hunt, and Tirek laughed like a bad guy, telling Neighsay how he could use those artifacts to seal magic away from Equestria… And I heard it all! I heard their confessions!!”
Trixie nodded again, mulling over it. “...I see. And you didn’t tell anypony…?”
“Of course I didn’t. How else would I bribe him? I barged in, and tried telling him that I would tell everypony about what he was planning, if he didn’t… If he didn’t let me be headmaster by the time his plan was done.”
“You wanted to be headmaster…?”
“I-I’m not sure! I dunno! I know I wanted a good gig! A-and I figured; How hard could it be to manage a school of friendship? After all, the headmaster made me secretary in like a month, and the curriculum was really simple! Just make the students be friends!! I-I didn’t care which students there’d be, as long as the school was still standing!!” She huffed in annoyance, looking down. “...I wanted to stay there. It was a comfortable place. I found so many little corners to sleep– It was better than any dumb orphanage I ever stayed at.”
Trixie already knew she was an orphan– But the mention still made her purse her lips.
“...What happened next?”
“...I got the tables turned on me.” She muttered shamefully. “The chancellor said it was his word against mine, and that he didn’t care if he wasn’t trusted here, he had many ponies in canterlot that DID trust him.” She pouted in embarrassment. “...But he said I could be head mare if well.. If I helped him with the plan.”
“...Oh, kid…”
“...Then he said that the mere fact that I was attempting to bribe him was already enough evidence to have me taken by authorities… Sent back to an orphanage, minimum…!” She frowned, wiping her eyes. “I-I figured it’d be easy! I figured it’d be in and out! I-I mean, I figured he was also using me, but I was using him, you know?? Him and that grumpy pants Tirek…”
She let out an exasperated, shuddered sigh.
“...But no. It wasn’t easy. I had to lug around a bunch of magical artifacts to some caverns one at a time. It was miserable– I had to tell so many little lies about what I was doing to so many students– And I got caught so easily, in the end…!”
“...You didn’t have a choice…!”
“B-but I did! I did! Every step of the dang way, I did!! And I chose wrong, every single time!!” She barked out bitterly. “B-by the time we got to the trial, well… He sent me a note telling me to accept whatever verdict the trial had, that it was all part of the plan…. W-well it didn't matter if I had accepted or not, I was gonna get busted anyway, and it was always leading to this– I could have never have expected THIS!!!”
She spread her hooves around to their surroundings– And Tartarus greeted them with the same uncaring silence it always had.
“...We’re gonna get out of this, kid.” Trixie promised genuinely. “We’re gonna get out of this, and you won’t ever have to look back.”
She huffed, hiding her face under the hat. “...There’s nothing out there. Nothing left. School’s closed, and I’m a fugitive.”
“And you’re not alone.” Trixie stated without hesitation. “You’re not alone, kid. Not anymore. Neither me nor Starlight will let you go through anything like this ever again. I promise.”
The foal beheld her for a while– A mix of admiration and extreme reluctance– She sniffled, unable to be sure of anything anymore.
There they remained, considering their options, knowing this might be their new eternity…
…Until a strange bird walked in.
“Um.”
“What the heck?”
The bird had several colored feathers, and it looked like it could sprint at enormously high speeds. It even dashed close to their cage, and just observed them curiously.
And Cozy complained. “...How the heck does a bird get to be free and not us?!”
Both of them flinched fearfully, as the bird spoke. “...Is the weird machine gone?”
Blinking in confusion, they both nodded.
“...Ugh. Good.” With a strange, green flash, the bird turned back into a familiar changeling. “Those things really don’t like me.”
“Tars! You are a sight to sore eyes!!” Trixie beamed, running to the door of the cage. “C’mon girl, could you let us out? WE had to lock ourselves in here to avoid that big scary robot!”
Cozy blinked in confusion. “...You know this changeling? She looks… Odd?”
“She’s from before Thorax restored the changeling rule! Before Chrysalis got the boot. She’s nice, though!” Trixie assured with a nod. “We freed her when we passed by. Now she can repay the favor to us!”
She gave the changeling an exited, eager smile.
…And Tars just stood there. Looking at the lock, then back at the ponies. “...I’m really hungry.” She murmured.
The magician cringed– Only now realising the potential dire situation she was in. “...Um…!”
“I’m starving.” The changeling continued. And she did not look good. “I keep trying to find a way out of here… not matter how high up I go, It always leads me back down… I can’t leave, and I’m going to die if I don’t…!” She eyed the magician, licking her lips. “If I don’t…”
Backing up to the end of the cage, Trixie was at a loss for words.
…But not Cozy. “S-she knows the way out of here!! S-she can lead us up!” She bluffed openly and confidently. “You can’t eat her love, or she won’t be able to lead the way…!”
The changeling blinked.
She blinked, and looked between the child and the magician– Both of which now remained silently, smiling awkwardly.
…And then, in resignation, she sighed. “...Ugh… You set me free before, anyways… It’d be pretty crappy of me not to do the same. But once you lead us out of here, we’re even.”
The two ponies watched incredibly carefully as the changeling fiddled with the lock with her magic, and finally, it clicked open. “...Lead the way.”
“Y-yes! The way! I know the way! Um!” She stepped outside of the cage, and Cozy Glow immediately hopped on her back, Still wearing her hat. “...Follow me…!”
As confidently as she could, she picked a corridor, and started walking.
They heard strange rumblings around them, and Trixie gulped, knowing this meant the corridors were rearranging.
They walked for minutes. For what felt like an hour.
Trixie hesitated with every step, and always picked whichever path led up.
She remembered Starlight’s words well. This labyrinth was designed to not let prisoners escape. But it was entirely passive to visitors like her… She wondered then, what that would mean, for two prisoners and one visitor.
She let out an enormous sigh of relief as they were met with an enormous staircase– right as the changeling begun getting impatient, something she could be excused for, given the hunger.
“Y-yes! Here we go! We’re almost there!!” Trixie declared with joy, and even Cozy got excited as they began climbing the staircase with gusto.
Finally, at long last, much to their relief, they were back in the entrance hall.
The magician never thought she’d be happier to see dusty plates and overturned chairs again. Her joy dwindled a bit, as she was face to face with the enormous, imposing doors that led to the exit of Tartarus…
…Which were definitively closed.
She let out a tired sigh, not knowing what to do, Cozy and Tars asked her something, and she didn’t hear…
…Until her vision was drawn to a strange figure on the corner of her vision.
They were not alone up here.
Sitting by one of the tables near the doors was none other than…
“M-MAUD?!”
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An unexpected cameo, but an appropriate one.
(From a Magic set themed after the ancient Greek underworld, Tartarus included.)
Fascinating take on “School Raze.” I have to assume Neighsay had ulterior motives of his own to organize something as apocalyptic as sealing away all magic. I can’t imagine what, but the stallion’s an incomprehensible knot of paranoia and hippocentricity as it stands. Looking forward to getting more insight there, and to seeing how Maud made it out of the abyss.
One of the few upsides to Cozy's cannon depiction to be honest, She's so poorly handled that she becomes wonderful putty for writers to manipulate into a much more nuanced role for their stories. Heck, one could argue that BECAUSE she is such a one-note villain it probably made her much more popular in fan-content, considering the annual cozy glow fic contest is a thing after all.
Now bear in mind, that's no defense for her being so flat in-show, but sometimes it's the darker clouds that have more contrasting silver linings.
I also like how with your take: she isn't completely blameless. She's still a schemer and still carried those actions out and even reflects that she could have chosen not to. You don't just go "It's all Neighsay's fault" and sweep everything under the rug.
Speaking of: dang does that stallion play on reputation, which I think is a good underlying theme, intentional or not. Being the narrative antagonist of this story, he embodies the worst aspects of high society, reputation, social manipulation, and nepotism.
If he can get enough ponies to agree "others" are considered the opposition, then it doesn't matter how HE appears if his opponent is considered "worse" by the public:
"Oh I'm a traitor?, well that child doomed pegasi to fall to their deaths and is a known liar, you can't trust her pinning it on me"
"I'm being accused of contacting Tirek? well the ones who think I did was a disgraced former student and her foreigner friend from another dimension, they can't be trusted"
"Princess Twilight is claiming I am abusing my authority and power to absolve myself of alleged crimes? well SHE sent former criminals, former invaders, and a mudpony to overrule our lawful imprisonment of a criminal, so she is clearly unfit to rule compared to Celestia's standard"
"Princess Celestia wouldn't DARE make a royal decree against me, because if she did it would suggest she was complicit with all the prior cases, and what are the odds that ALL of these ponies can be trusted? hmmm?, she wouldn't sully her image over a truly innocent stallion such as myself"
He's just so punchable, and he isn't even that active in the plot, it's all just finding out how far he went over all of this in retrospect. Well done!.
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Hehehe you absolutely understand the appeal of Neighsay as an antagonist! He plays the system like an absolute fiddle, and he relies on complacency on as many sides as possible. He doesn't need his plans to work perfectly, he just needs them to demoralize, to affect, to make a statement. Setting a child up to fail with a magic sealing spell smack-dab on the school of friendship can go wrong in a lot of ways, but none of those ways actually incriminate him. And that is where he winssss. As long as none of it can be strong enough to be used against him, he wins.
I made myself giggle.
I imagined Maud standing in the corner, wearing a red-black propeller hat, holding a pennant saying "I ♥ Tartarus" in her hoof with a blood red balloon tied around her leg.
Trixie: "Um..."
Maud: "Hi. ...they have a gift shop down there."
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"HOW DID YOU GET UP HERE SO FAST"
"They have an elevator next to the gift shop."
12167624
"I went to Tartarus and all I got was this lousy shirt."
12168236
All I got was this lousy adopted child
Ooh I LOVE the visual storytelling here, of the cute RPG additions meaningfully adding to the tension as the darkness claws its way up.