Ponies in Tartarus

by ff0000

PiT 8: Tenacity

Rainbow Dash glowered down at the cocky guardian of the river. Fleckle Sun had her head leaned back, staring right back at the pegasus with unblinking eyes, her tongue hanging out. The air between them sparked with violent energy.

“Resume the assault,” Fleckle Sun commanded, with hoof raised.

Rainbow Dash wasn’t about to let the guardian play any more music. With a trail of rainbow following her, the pegasus dove.

The blargg that Fleckle Sun was standing on saw a meal heading right for it. Excitedly, the lava lizard leapt out from the magma. Its wide maw was a void where ponies would not return from. Using the upward force, the guardian of the river jumped outward.

Without missing a flap, Rainbow Dash pulled up and continued after the guardian. The blargg only chomped down on empty space.

Fleckle Sun crashed into one of the hanging cages around the area, but she instantly splattered into a shadow. Slithering in a thin line across the bars, she reformed on top. “And resume.” Her hoof scraped across the chords.

The blargg, all around the small boat where the other Equestrian ponies were, looked on with wide, blank looks.

“Uh oh,” Fluttershy gasped.

“Can’t you get them to stop, Fluttershy dear?” Rarity asked.

“I’ve been trying, but it’s not as if they are attacking out of fear, dislike or territory reasons.” The pink haired pegasus lowered her head until her long mane was coiled on the ground. Her voice became low and soft. “They won’t disobey orders. But they did say they are only under orders to bring us back to the beginning of the river and not to hurt us.”

“We are being attacked by monsters while floating over a river of magma and you expect me to believe they’re not trying to hurt us? Fat chance,” Applejack said. She landed a kick that made a blargg trying to grab them see stars.

“But,” Fluttershy tried to say. Her quiet words were drowned out by all the ongoing actions.

In the heat filled space above, Rainbow Dash was clashing with Fleckle Sun. The pegasus pony could fly, the under pony could spring forth from any earthen formation in the area. It was the razor blue wings against the heavy metal axe. Sparks flew off with each collision as a trail of rainbow zoomed past a trail of bones.

The audience from the concert had all huddled onto large bone rafts. They followed, salivating for more. Though this wasn’t part of the show, they didn’t care. It was great entertainment.

Ferry Merry was on one of the safety featureless vessels. She had squeezed through the legs of the larger passengers and was on the corner.

“Fluttershy, dames,” the filly called out. “If you keep following the flow of the river, you’ll eventually get out. Watch out for the falls at the end. A dragon lives down there, and he has a temper like a storm battering on your city. Try to steer towards the middle of the river.”

“Fluttershy,” Twilight said, “can you push the boat?”

“I’ll try.” Fluttershy flew up and over to the side of the boat. She was able to shift its direction with her head. Her tail was curled up to prevent any accidental magma dipping.

Fleckle Sun landed on a hanging cage. Her mane was frazzled after a couple of particularly rough clashes. Still, in a flamboyant motion, she pointed to the ponies on the boat. “See, going on is just a lot of trouble. Turning back now, otherwise doom shall befall Equestria.”

“What are you blabbering about?” Rainbow Dash said.

“I will explain.” Fleckle Sun grinned evilly.”See, if you move on, you will be missing the setting of the sun and the rising of the moon. Without you there to greet the moon, it will become depressed. The moon is very self conscious. If it gets depressed, it might consider suicide. And you know how it will do that? By jumping out of the sky. Imagine the calamity that will befall the surface world if that happens. Moon falls, everyone dies, I get too much work.”

“Nooooooooooooooo!” Pinkie screamed. “Not the moon! We’re sorry Princess Luna!”

“Pinkie,” Twilight snapped, “that isn’t going to happen.”

“But the moon never smiles. It’s always crooked. And hiyah!” Pinkie Pie took time off her moon crisis to karate chop a blargg looking to bite down on Fluttershy’s juicy plot. “And if the moon falls, we can’t have moonlit walks anymore.”

“The moon isn’t going to fall. Now focus.”

It wasn’t just Pinkie Pie that wasn’t focused. Rarity had leaned out the side of the boat, her hoofs reaching outward. A large, green gemstone was sticking out from a nearby island. It started shaking as a magical glow covered it.

“What are you doing, Rarity?” Applejack asked.

Rarity looked over and batted her eyelashes. “Well, it’s not as if picking it up is going to hurt. We can’t just be focused on the horrible situation we’re in right now. There’s the future to consider too.” The pony-head sized gem was gently lifted off the island and brought into the boat.

“Rarity! Get down.” Applejack dove over, pushing her friend out of the way from an incoming bite.

The push was a little strong however, and Rarity was sent flying into the bow of the ship. Her head knocked against the warped wood. With a light moan, she lain down.

“Oops.” Applejack covered her eyes with the brim of her hat.

Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes. She was going to end this. If that pony wanted to mess with her in the air, she would show just what a mistake that was. No one was better than her in the air. The pegasus’ wings sped up to a blur as she burst forward. This time, she was ready for the counter assault.

Rainbow Dash caught the strike with her front hoof. At the same time, her hind legs kicked out. She managed to flip the guitar off the falling guardian. Feeling heat swell up from below, the pegasus flitted back. A jet of magma burst out from a bubble in front of the position she had just been, spewing deadly liquid along the way.

The guitar spun through the air with nothing around to stop its descent. Ever resident of the magma chamber opened their mouth in a gasp as the electric guitar fell towards the magma. A sick sound filled the area as the magma sucked down Fleckle Sun’s instrument. Strings snapped and material oozed. Soon, it was more a blob than anything else.

Fleckle Sun, who had landed on one of the many bone rafts in the area, had her front hooves pressed on the side of her head and mouth hanging open. She took a deep, chest raising breath and ran a hoof through her mane to straighten it. “Alright, playing nice is over. You think I need my guitar to speak with the animals here?” She let out a long, stomach rumbling screech. There was a swarm of activity from the magma reptiles.

The guardian skillfully hopped through the chamber by shadow flinging herself from solid platforms. She was occasionally sidetracked by Rainbow Dash, but with help from the creatures living in the area, she managed to get atop one of the cages.

Stomping on the ceiling, she said, “Sorry my bitches and does, you all need to get out. I need to borrow this.”

“Uh oh,” Pinkie Pie said as her tail twitched uncontrollably.

The inhabitants of the cage popped open the bottom. They swung out, landing on the rafts. A bit back down the river, the boat was being pushed around by Fluttershy. The stare of the blarggs caused the pegasus to move away, right towards the hanging cage.

“Owaaaaaaah!” Fleckle Sun shouted.

One of the magma dwellers took a large gulp of the stuff. It angled its head back. Though the blarggs precision wasn’t too good, it was enough to hit the thick chain. The cage broke off and plummeted towards the ponies in the boat. At the last moment, Fleckle Sun flung herself to a massive stalactite. She remained glued to the surface with shadow legs.

“Whoa now,” Applejack exclaimed as the boat rocked from the impact. She stumbled back and fell onto her rump.

They were now trapped inside the cage. Its bottom had slammed shut from the impact, locking them in on all directions. The added weight made it much too tough to steer anymore. And whatever the cage was made of, it was magma proof. The boat just drifted along the River of Fire.

Rainbow had dashed over to the cage. She was tried to pull on it but immediately let go with a, “Yeowch.” A bit of smoke was rising from her burnt hooves.

“Hey,” Ferry Merry called out. “You’re coming up to the magma falls. Get back to the center of the river!”

“So that’s why my tail hasn’t stopped twitching,” Pinkie Pie said. Her head was twisted around to stare at her spazzing curly tail.

“You mean,” Fluttershy gulped, “we’re about to fall?”

Up ahead was the source of the gurgling rumble they had been hearing. Looking forward, everypony gasped. The once wide river suddenly narrowed into a strait only large enough for one ship. The channel was surrounded by a steep fall on both sides. Magma flowed over the edge, tumbling into the sea below.

The current happened to be pushing away from the center. Without a Lot D guide, no boat would be able to stay on the river. They were on a direct course for the

“Girls!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. She tried to pull the cage off again, but it was much too hot.

Fleckle Sun let out another screech. Only a single blargg, the one that had sprayed the magma, responded. “What, did the rest of you run off already?” she asked.

The the magma dweller got close to the cage, Rainbow Dash fought it off with a quick bop on the head.

“Hey!” the guardian called out. “I’m trying to help here. You’re not going to be able to stop the cage by yourself.”

“Like I’m going to trust you,” Rainbow Dash spat angrily. She looked back down inside at the trapped ponies. “Don’t worry, I’m going to stop the cage somehow.”

Twilight looked around for anything they could use. There wasn’t much. She noticed the bandage around the pegasus’ leg. It had, surprisingly, not burst into flames meaning that the heat repelling spell must have worked on it.

“Get out the bandages, we’re going to use that as a tie,” she said.

The others did as instructed. While Twilight was casting her spell over the bandages, Applejack was forming them into a lasso.

“Now throw them up to Rainbow Dash,” the unicorn instructed.

“Yeehaw!” the farm pony cheered. Somehow, she was able to manipulate the bandage lasso with her tail. “Get ready, Rainbow.” She bucked forward, sending the lasso up.

“Got it!” Rainbow Dash looped the bandage rope around her body, then sent them back down where they were tied at together at the end.

“Hurry, we’re getting close to the edge,” Twilight said.

“I’m working on it.” Applejack even stopped her pre-throw routine of twirling around the ropes. Several more bandages were added for stability.

Rainbow Dash’s wings beat against the heated air with all her might. The weight of the cage added to the pony filled boat was too much for her. They were still slowly being dragged to a steep fall.

“Waaaaaah!” Fleckle Sun yelled.

Fireflies descended from the gem filled ceiling of the cavern.

“Ah, no, get away!” Rainbow Dash flailed her hooves at the giant insects. She lost concentration on her wings for a moment and the cage surged towards the magmafall.

“I’m trying to help here,” Fleckle Sun said, annoyed, “so stop getting in my way.”

“Hah, a likely story,” Rainbow Dash grunted through furious flapping of the wings. The bandages around her waist tightened, digging into her pony flesh as she pulled even harder.

Fleckle Sun tapped her hoof impatiently. “Well, these are your friends.” She let out a shriek of instruction to the fireflies. They backed off but remained close.

Despite the pegasus’ best efforts, she wasn’t able to stop the cage. The four conscious ponies inside the boat all had wide, worried eyes. They let out a low cry that steadily got louder as their boat headed towards the magmafall.

“Come on,” Rainbow Dash grunted.

They were so close to the edge that they could see down below. Liquid gold was mixed into magma. Lying on a shattered island, littered with gems, was a great red dragon. It peered up at the teetering cage without much interest. As long as the ponies stayed away, as per their agreement, the dragon wouldn’t have to eat them.

The cage was washed off the edge of the river completely. It now only hung in the air by the power of Rainbow Dash, and that power wasn’t enough to keep it from falling, only slow its descent.

“No!” Sweat poured down the pegasus’ face like a leaking faucet. Her wings were practically buzzing.

“Over there!” Twilight pointed to ledge on the wall, fifty hoofs away. “Can you make it there?”

“No. Sweat.”

At the rate they were falling though, it didn’t appear as if Rainbow Dash could make it.

Twilight shook her head. “Just hang on. I’m going to try and help you.”

She shut her eyes in intense concentration. A glow wrapped around the entire cage. It was too heavy for the young unicorn to lift. Making a bit lighter, on the other hoof, was possible. Sparks flew off her horn, bouncing against the cage and the boat.

“If only Rarity was awake to help,” Pinkie Pie noted.

“Yeah, I said, ‘oops,’ already,” Applejack said.

Fluttershy looked up apprehensively at her fellow pegasus. She knew that it wasn’t possible to lift so many things for long. They wouldn’t make it to the ledge. “Um, Rainbow, if you don’t let us go, you’ll be dragged down with us.”

“No way!” Rainbow cried. “I will never let you girls go.”

“But-”

Applejack stepped forward, gently pushing the meek pegasus aside. “Rainbow Dash, don’t let go. I believe in you.”

“Roger!”

Fluttershy cast a shocked, sideways glance. “Applejack? But-”

“Not now, Fluttershy. Sorry, but we need to figure something out.” Looking around, the farm pony saw Pinkie heave a care package out of the side of the boat. “Hey, that’s a good idea. Decrease the weight inside.”

“Huh?” Pinkie Pie said. “No, I was trying to get that dragon to stop giving us the stink eye.”

“Well, keep on doing it. Everypony, throw stuff out like you’re cleaning out the barn. Rainbow Dash almost has it, just a tiny bit could make the difference. Sorry, Fluttershy, I know you put a lot of effort into these.” Applejack dropped her bundle as well.

“It’s alright.” Fluttershy swung hers out from the mouth.

“Can’t Fluttershy fly to make us even lighter?” Pinkie asked.

It wasn’t Fluttershy that answered but a strained Twilight. “That’s not going to work. The physics won’t allow it.” Her horn was almost like a sparkler that got stronger over time.

“We still have this.” Pinkie Pie held up the large gem that Rarity had picked up. She had lifted it above her head, but she hadn’t thrown it yet.

“Pinkie!” a high pitched, whining voice sounded. “What are you doing to my gem?” Rarity had just woken up, and looked like she had seen the pink pony committing sacrilege.

“Not now, Rarity,” Applejack cut in urgently. “Can’t you see we need to get rid of any excess weight?”

The white unicorn’s eyes slid from Rainbow Dash to the cage to the dragon waiting below. “Yes. I can see that. Do we have to though? Even if we do die though, we’ll still be right here.”

“Rarity!”

“Fine. Go ahead, Pinkie. Goodbye.” Rarity waved to the gem. “Alas, I hardly knew you.”

“Byebye.” Pinkie heaved the gem out of the boat, expertly threading it through the bars of the cage.

The dragon down below had gotten pretty annoyed at all of the trash the ponies had thrown down there. When the giant gem came however, it was taken as a peace offering. With a satisfied snort, the dragon tucked the gem away into a huge pile and decided to not flambe the ponies.

Though her magical skills weren’t as good, Rarity went over to help Twilight with lifting the caged boat.

“What else do we have?” Applejack asked.

“Wait.” Fluttershy pointed towards the ledge. “I think we can make it.”

“Come on, Rainbow Dash!” Ferry Merry called out. “You can do it!”

“Rainbow Dash!” the crowd cheered. They had been captivated by the transpiring events. A lone pegasus holding up a cage over a dragons nest. The magma falling down behind her, and the only way of safety was a tiny ledge on the wall. It was an amazing burning spirit. The audience chanted the name of their current star, Rainbow Dash.

Fleckle Sun was grinning. She flipped her long front mane out from her face, so she could see better.

Taking the energy of the audience, Rainbow Dash pushed herself even harder. Her neck strained, reaching for the ledge. “Yeeeeaaaah!” she cried as the cage came in for a crash landing. “I. Am. AWESOME!” She immediately collapsed on top of the cage with deep, ragged breathing.

A roar of jubilation went up through the crowds. Claws and hooves were raising the roof.

The sudden jolt had shattered the already damaged bolt. A huge crack split the front and back end of the boat.

Now that the feisty pegasus has settled down, the giant fireflies came back.

“Don’t worry, everypony,” Fluttershy said. She extended her hoof past the bars of the cage. One of the giant fireflies placed its front legs on the hoof. “They were never going to hurt us, they were trying to stop of from falling.”

“Say what?” Applejack asked.

“Yeah,” a voice from above said. Fleckle Sun had travelled onto the ceiling directly above the group. “We, of the Dod, are not allowed to take lives into our own hooves. I just wanted to scare you away, not seriously hurt you.”

Twilight staggered to her wobbling legs. She was still a bit woozy from expending all that magic, but she was capable of thought processing. “We’re not going to go back. We’re going to save Spike.”

“With the audience reaction to Rainbow Dash’s heroics, it just wouldn’t feel right to stop you girls, so I won’t. That was a truly awesome performance, Rainbow Dash. Pals?” Fleckle Sun extended her hoof downward.

“So what you’re saying is that you never intended to hurt my friends?” Rainbow Dash said wheezily.

“Nope.”

“How about not-kick-your-rump-on-sight?” Rainbow Dash suggested.

Fleckle Sun let out a chuckle. “I’ll take it. Air hoof bump.”

Rainbow Dash extended her weary hoof upwards.

“Through the fire and flames, you carried on. Weeeeeeeeee!” the guardian shrieked. Loose rocks fell as her voice bounced through the entire magma chambers.

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