Ponies in Tartarus

by ff0000

PiT 19: TYVM

The six ponies stood on an elevator as it ascended up a lightless shaft. The two unicorns kept their horns glowing. On three sides, they were surrounded by rock walls. The fourth was empty space. On what they assumed was to be halfway up the elevator, a massive stone weight, clutched in a metal cage, came falling down next to them. It must be what was used to power the lift.

At the top, they had a violent stop with the platform bouncing past floor level from momentum. It settled down with a loud bang as everypony struggled to keep steady. They were inside a dark room. If it wasn’t for their magical light, they would have been submerged pitch blackness.

“Can we turn back now?” Pinkie Pie asked. “I must know if Spike is behind us!”

“Not yet, Pinkie,” Twilight said. “We’re not taking any chances. Let’s wait until we are outside of the mountains completely.”

“Okay.” The pink pony looked down, crestfallen.

“Now, how do we get out of here?” Twilight thought out loud.

“Over here, Twi,” Applejack called out. “I’ll trust you’re looking over here since I can’t turn around to check.” She had her hoof on a lever against the wall. There was another, much larger lever right next to it, which she assumed controlled the elevator.

With a bit of effort, Applejack pulled down the switch. Nearby, a stone panel slid away. Its vibrating noise shook loose dirt and dust. The glorious beam of light was immediately noticeable as it shined through the crack. As the panel opened more, the room was filled with sunlight.

Just how long had they been underground? The sun was out when they entered, and it was still out now. Such thoughts weren’t on the minds of the ponies right now, however. All they wanted was to return to the world of sunlight and moonlight, of wind and trees.

The space they exited was right near the entrance cave to Subterrania. In front of them were four large statues of ponies, rearing up. To their left was the stalactite filled entrance that led back downward.

They turned right, towards the narrow canyon path. Green torches, stuck to the walls, cast light through the passageway. They hurried on out of the mountains, yearning for home and Spike. Determined to keep their trust in the princess, none of them looked back.

The sight of open plains heartened them and gave energy to their weary legs. Twilight was the first to step out from the mountain path and onto the grassy plains. It was luminescent from the bright rays of the sun bouncing off the damp blades of grass. A nice breeze went through the area, bringing with it sweet smells. She let out a long sigh of relief. Without looking back, she moved forward to let her friends out as well.

“Can we look back now?” Pinkie Pie pleaded.

“Not yet,” Twilight said again. “We may be outside but if Spike is behind us, he still isn’t. Let’s move forward some more.”

Straight necked, they continued forward, counting each step. It was impossible to tell how far behind Spike was lagging. They didn’t want to turn early, not after coming all this way, but they also wanted to know if Spike was really following them or not. Twilight bit her lip as she continued forward, step after step. Her hoofs caused a slight rustling as they brushed over the grass.

After the last pony, Fluttershy, walked forward ten steps, a spot of green flashed out behind them. She let out a loud shriek, but remained facing forward with a strained expression.

Something behind them flew up into the air and streaked towards the horizon. A green bubble soared through the sky as if drawn to something far away.

“Spike!” they all exclaimed at once.

“Correct me if I’m wrong,” Rarity said, “but isn’t that the direction of Ponyville?”

“It is!” Pinkie Pie cheered with jumping motions, spreading her legs out as far as they could go.

Finally, Twilight turned back to the others to see their joyous forms. “Come on!”

Though they wanted to rush off as fast as possible, the trip back would take a while and they needed to conserve strength. Making steady progress, they marched all the way back to Ponyville.

What a wonderfully quaint place it was. Even though they couldn’t have been gone for more than a few days, it felt so good seeing the little village again, full of cozy homes and flowering gardens. The streets felt oddly empty however. It lacked the usual sight of ponies going about their business, greeting others on the street in a neighborly manner.

Exhausted and in dire need to a bath, the six ponies nonetheless felt exuberant. As they walked into town, somezebra was waiting at the main path. And since there was only one zebra living anywhere near Ponyville, it had to be Zecora.

“You have returned, Twilight Sparkle. Please come with me, on the double,” Zecora said.

“What happened? Where’s Spike?” Twilight asked.

“This way and you will know. Enough chatter, let us go.”

The path Zecora led them down did not go to the Everfree Forest. Instead, they headed towards great rolling hills that were filled with apple trees. A large, red barn house stood near the edge. It was a constantly repaired structure, but that allowed for many improvements over the years that kept things fresh and up to date.

“What are we doing here?” Applejack asked.

Pinkie Pie suddenly gave a long gasp. She had to let out the breath of air to continue on with the gasp. “I know what this is. The tables have been turned!” Without explaining further, she zipped over towards the smaller doors meant for ponies to go through. With a grand motion, she pushed it open.

She was greeted by a loud cry by a multitude of voices that said, “Surprise!”

Standing there, under streamers, balloons and a large banner that read, “Welcome Back!” were the residents of Ponyville. There were earth ponies, unicorns and pegasus of all colors waving happily from within the barn. While they didn’t know exactly what was going on, they never turned down the opportunity to be part of a party.

“We were going to throw a party, but then you guys threw a party, so now we don’t have to throw a party, and we can enjoy a party, for it is a party, yet I wanted to throw a party! What?” Pinkie Pie stammered. “You have turned the tables!”

Running to the front was Spike. He leapt into the air, into the waiting softness of Twilight and her friends. Finally, they could feel hug him again. Normally, they didn’t think much of the way his scales felt, but now, they thought it was really nice. The young purple dragon was hugged tightly between the six ponies. His legs dangled in the air as they lifted him up.

“What’s this, Spike? We were going to throw a party for you,” Twilight said as she rubbed his head.

“Well, since I just kind of zipped back here, I thought I would throw one for you guys. It’s the least I could do after all you’ve done for me.” He started to motion for all his friends to lean in closer, but as they were already nearly touching cheeks with him, he stopped. “I didn’t tell anypony what happened. They think I was sick, and you girls went off to find a cure.”

“How did you get better before we got back?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“Uh. Don’t think about it too much?” Spike answered.

They had to break off their hushed conversation as other ponies were starting to come over. Among the first to arrive were Applejack’s family, Rarity’s sister and Rainbow Dash’s number one fan. Zecora had broken off to enjoy some time with the resident’s of Ponyville, something she rarely had a chance to do. The zebra was pleased that they weren’t hiding from her stripes any more.

“What’s going on, sis?” Apple Bloom asked. “You told me you were going on a vacation, but Spike said you were finding a cure for his sickness.”

“Uh.” Applejack retreated a bit from her younger sister’s fierce gaze. “If you remember, I never said I was going on vacation, just that I was going to somewhere exotic, to find a cure.”

“At least she told you something,” Sweetie Belle, Rarity’s younger sister said. “I had no idea my big sister had even left until I went over one day and saw the sign on the door.”

“Oh, well,” Rarity said. Her eyes looked around nervously for some help, but nopony else did anything. “I, uh, forgot. There was a lot on my mind at the time. I am sorry though, please forgive me?” She gave an exaggerated smile to her younger sister.

“And what happened to you?” Sweetie Belle asked. “You look terrible.”

“I tripped on a root.” Rarity smiled even wider as if the more teeth she showed, the more truthful her words would be.

“Aww,” the younger unicorn said. “Well don’t worry. I heard you were coming directly here after a long trip and brought something.” She raised a hoof towards one of the tables where sandwiches, punch and small snacks were set up. Next to it was Rarity’s red reclining couch.

“You are such a dear, Sweetie Belle. Getting off my tired hooves is just what I need right now,” Rarity said.

“And you can tell me all about your trip.”

“Uh, of course,” Rarity said with a touch of hesitation.

Scootaloo was hopping around her idol, the miniature wings on her back were buzzing with excitement. “Welcome back Rainbow Dash! How was your trip? Did you do any awesome things?”

“Did I ever? The trip was great. But, uh, why don’t we enjoy the party for now, squirt?” Rainbow Dash said. “I’ll tell you about my feats later.” She patted the young pegasus on the head.

The party was a very lively affair with music, dancing and games. Mister and Misses Cake had catered the entire event. They provided a great spread of cakes, cupcakes, carrot cakes, pound cakes and many other kinds of cake. Thick, colorful frosting topped all the treats. A flashy pony, wearing dark sunglasses, was acting as the disc jockey for this event. She spun out party tunes with ease. Others were playing around, batting balloons through the air. The young ones had gathered into their groups and were chattering lively. A grey pegasus with yellow eyes was gingerly stepping around a chair she had knocked over, only to back into more chairs.

Quite a few of the residents had come over to Twilight and her friends, asking about what happened. None of the six had any good answers that didn’t involve revealing that Spike had actually died and they brought his soul back.

“Away with you gossip hags,” a raspy voice said. A pony pushed through the crowd, uncaring of what the others thought, and sent them away.

“Musky Brew!” Twilight gasped. “You’re still here?”

“I very well couldn’t leave without knowing everything turned out alright now, could I?” Musky Brew said.

Over the past few days, she looked even older than normal from worry. Her face was sallow and eyes sunken. Seeing that the six ponies had returned brought life back to her. Still wrapped around her body was a patched-up travelling cloak.

“It lifts a weight off my heart to see everypony back safe. I wouldn’t know what to do if you hadn’t, seeing as everything was my fault.”

Twilight shook her head, “It was just a bad accident. Everything worked out in the end, so don’t worry about it. Enjoy the party.”

“You are too kind.” Musky Brew lowered her head to Twilight and her friends. “I notice that you told everypony a different story than the one that actually happened. If you wouldn’t mind, can you tell me about Lot D?”

“Didn’t you just call them gossip hags?” Applejack asked.

Musky Brew shrugged. “I’m a hag.”

The group found a nice, private corner of the barn to speak. Rarity even brought her couch over. For the moment, the Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were playing with each other after none of them were told anything.

“Well,” Fluttershy said, “it all started with a walk down a spooky mountain path.” She told the part up until they left the River of Pain.

Musky Brew scratched her sagging chin. “You know, I have a bunch of gold coins with me. I would have given them to you.”

“Oh, well, it’s alright. We made due without it.”

“My turn next then.” Rainbow Dash puffed up proudly as her story about the River of Fire unfolded.

“You know,” Musky Brew said, “I think I have some magic item that allows ponies to walk safely over lava.”

“Oh come on!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. She had her hoof halfway to her face before deciding it wasn’t worth it.

“You’re not about to tell us you have some way to stop a sphinx or a hekaheka-somethings are you?” Applejack said with a keen stare, as if she was trying to peer into Musky Brew’s mind.

After thinking about it for a moment, the old mare said, “You know, I do have this repelling stone that’s supposed to work on certain ancient creatures. I’ve never tried it out though.”

Pinkie Pie grabbed Musky Brew by the shoulders. “How about something that allows me to light my party cannon in damp conditions?”

Twilight let out a forced cough. “What she means is, how about anything that prevents memories from being affected?”

“Yes to both. I have a candle that creates flames that will even stay lit underwater. I also have a tiara that prevents the mind from being altered.”

Pinkie Pie sank to her knees. Half sobbing, she yelled, “Why didn’t we ask?”

“Please tell me you have nothing to stop mechanical spiders and birds,” Rarity said.

Musky Brew sat there, not speaking.

“So you do have something like that?” the unicorn said with all the life sapped out of her.

“I call it an EMP, Emergency Mechanical Pounder. It will knock out anything that doesn’t function through magic in an area,” Musky Brew said. “Sorry, girls. I would have loaned you all the items if you asked.”

All of them had their heads hung. If only they had known. If only.

Interrupting their mini pity party was a mint green unicorn. Her mane and tail were two-toned, consisting of white and teal. A golden lyre was on her flank.

“Did I hear right?” she asked. “You went to Lot D?”

“Lyra!” Twilight gasped. She rubbed her head nervously. “Well, no, you see, er,” her words trailed away into uncertain mumblings.

“If you had told me, I could h-”

A loud crash sounded through the barn. The grey pegasus that had been bumping into chairs previously had just knocked over a table full of drinks. Juice was soaking into the ground everywhere. Good thing the ground was just dirt. Cleaning it would be pointless.

Twilight turned back to the green unicorn. “What did you say?”

“No, nothing,” Lyra said. “It doesn’t matter since you’re all back safely. Enjoy your party.” She walked off to go find a drink that was not soaking into the ground.

And enjoy the party they did. Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Spike spent the day together, laughing and having fun just like always.

Some time during the day, Spike had gathered all of his friends underneath the large banner. “I just wanted to tell you, thank you very much for saving me.”

“You are very welcome,” Twilight said with a beaming smile.

“You would have done the same for any one of us,” Rainbow Dash pointed out.

“Oh yeah, speaking of that,” Spike held up a claw, “remember my Dragon Code? Now that you all saved my life again, who am I supposed to serve until that debt is repaid? I guess I could go around to all of your houses one day a week, but then that leaves on day unaccounted for.”

“Twilight,” Applejack answered immediately. “Just continue being Twilight’s assistant. That’s what I ask.”

The group burst out laughing.

After a long day, when night had finally came and the guests had returned home, they were all too exhausted to go home. Instead, they just decided to sleep in the barn tonight, under each others pleasant company.

---

Dear Princess Celestia

It has been a long time since we last had any correspondence. I know that is mostly my fault, as I refused your last few letters. Still, I hope you read this one, but I would understand if you do not.

I received a group of interesting visitors recently. They were your subjects, the ones that wield the Elements of Harmony. Are all ponies above ground so valorous? It has been so long since I have wanted to be engaged in the going-ons of the above world. Knowing that they are your subjects made me wonder how you are doing?

If it is not too much trouble, I would like to invite you over for some tea and a chat. I would go to you, but you know that I can not leave my meadow. There are many things I regret and want to speak to you about.

Your sister, Luna, is free to come as well.

Your’s truly, Princess Terranea.

Comments

[Nutter795]

Wuved it
Write moar stuff :D

[ff0000]

2476982
Thanks for reading my story!

[ff0000]

2991411

Haha, yeah. It's an awesome series, and I just had to toss it in somewhere.

[Shahrazad]

This story has been reviewed by: The Equestrian Critics Society

Story Title: Ponies in Tartarus

Author: ff0000

Reviewed by: Shahrazad

Ponies in Tartarus is entertaining, that much can be said. It’s an action-adventure fic, through and through. It’s about the mane six trying to save Spike from, well, death. They journey to the underworld, which is inhabited by a colorful and interesting cast of characters.

The story entertains, but don’t expect deep mythological symbolism or introspection. It’s still worth a light read, but the story doesn’t do anything spectacular. This story focuses on the action and sacrifices things that get in the way. It’s fun, and if that’s all you’re looking for, read on.

Full Review

Score: 7.0/10