There was a brisk chill in the morning air as Bright Spark marched along the path through White Tail Woods. Next to him, trudging along was Full Plate, who was silent and gruff as always. The older brown stallion paraded stiffly along the small dirt path and kept his eyes locked on the road ahead.
Bright Spark wasn't exactly a fresh face recruit. Oh, no, the honey colored unicorn had a few months of solid guarding work under his belt, but this was the most action he'd seen since he had graduated. A fairly simple mission; retrieve the 'Servant of Shadow' but it was one that had him thrilled to finally see something other than the humdrum walls of the castle. Not to mention an getting to see an actual Servant of Shadow! He'd heard rumors of them; how they'd prowl the castle late at night, doing missions for Luna in relative secrecy. Now he would get to chat up some sort of special operations pony that Celestia wanted to hold an audience with. Why they just didn't send a missive was beyond him, but he relished the exercise and appreciated the trip from Canterlot into town
Full Plate, however, did not seem so thrilled. Since he'd received the assignment from Princess Celestia, he'd been stone-faced and aloof. Normally he was cordial or at least showed more warmth than he did now, but he stoically walked along the path as if the weight of the world rested on his shoulders.
"There," Full Plate grumbled, pointing a hoof towards a lone looking cabin near a grove of trees. The old earth pony stared quietly at the house, while Bright Spark did the same. He gave his bright, sunny bangs a gentle flutter and frowned when Full Plate didn't move.
"What? What is it? You've been acting like you cut your tongue on a salt lick," Bright Spark groaned. Full Plate stiffened and turned his gaze on the inpatient guard peering at him for a moment longer before he shook his head with a harrowing snort.
"I've got a bad feeling about this. Princess Celestia does not send for Servants of Shadow," He explained, slowing his stroll towards the house looming in the distance. Bright Spark frowned in confusion. Something was beginning to prickle under his fur at the way Full Plate had uttered the cryptic remark.
"Then what are we doin' out here? What is this a joke or somethin?" He asked. He gave an annoyed snort at the idea of wasting this time in the morning on a pointless errand. He appreciated the exercise and sunlight, but he was hoping for something more exciting than a playing messenger. Full Plate shook his head grimly in return and sat back on his haunches, gazing at the house.
"No. Princess Celestia does not send for the Night Court. She has the Sun Court to run her affairs. They see to Celestia's needs. To summon the Night Court is..." Full Plate paused and drew in a breath and holding it as if choosing his next words carefully. Bright Spark didn't need to hear the rest of it, though. Already he was beginning to feel a foreboding as they drew closer and closer to the house. Celestia had no need for the Night Court. Why were they being sent to retrieve one of them? Why send an escort? Bright Spark frowned further, feeling the base of his horn beginning to throb with an oncoming headache. He was getting a bad feeling. They were told to bring back the Night Court member, but the reason why was above their pay grade. That didn't sit well and now that the concept clutched at his mind he began to feel nervous. He shot a glance at Full Plate.
Before he could press the matter further, Full Plate had risen from his spot and started towards the house again. Bright Spark followed suit and soon found himself standing in front of a large oak door that seemed to belong to a regular house. This hardly seemed like the place one might find one of the so-called 'Servants of Shadow.' Where was the mystique? Where were the attack dogs or the training equipment? It was just a boring, ordinary house. Full Plate lifted a hoof and rapped four loud knocks that echoed in the still morning air. The noise drew with it a silence that bounced across the forest. Woodland creatures stopped what they were doing and listened as four loud bangs rang out into the air once again. Nothing happened. Bright Spark was about the suggest to Full Plate that no pony was home when the door slowly creaked open and a large, sleepy pair of blue eyes glared up at them.
A small silver colored filly stood behind the partially open door. She'd opened it just a crack as if to keep as much sunlight out as possible. Slowly, Bright Spark noticed the house had its blinds drawn. It hadn't caught his attention before, but it seemed as if every window was shut and every curtain had been drawn as tightly as possible. The little girl peering out at them looked like she was maybe nine or ten, and had a stock of shockingly blue hair bursting from her scalp. She gave a lazy yawn and pressed her face up against the door, eyeing the two guards warily.
"Yeah? Whadda want?" a squeaky and moderately grumpy voice asked from behind the door. Full Plate gestured towards Bright Spark and himself and cleared his throat.
"Princess Celestia requests an immediate audience with the Errant of the Night," He said flatly. The girl stared for a moment. Two moments. The silence had gone well past uncomfortable and Bright Spark glanced over Full Plate. He stood rigid and tense as if the lingering silence hadn't been driving him insane while he waited for the girl's response. She sighed. The door slammed shut and the sound of a bolt-lock echoed through the wooden frame. It swung open a few moments later, revealing a tiny filly with a mean looking disposition. She gave a frustrated little snort and rubbed an eye with the back of her foreleg.
"I need five minutes, and a bowl of cheerios," She mumbled. Bright Spark tossed another glance at the older stallion before peering around the house. A few couches, a fireplace. An upstairs, a kitchen. It didn't seem like the hideout of some sort of special agent shrouded in shadows. Speaking of which, the girl in front of them had scurried off to the kitchen and was preparing an extremely hasty breakfast.
"Soooo...that's her? She's who we're here to get?" Bright Spark asked incredulously. Full Plate didn't move, save for the barest hint of a nod. At that, Bright Spark frowned. There was no way the girl could even be close to meet regulations for a regular castle guard, so how in the wide realm of Equestria did this foal manage to become a Servant of Shadow? She didn't look like much at all. Only a few hints of muscle under a scrappy, wiry frame. What's more, the girl had a coat pattern he'd never seen before. The shocking silver was offset by an inky tone of black that covered her muzzle, ear-tips, wing tips, neck and cannons. At first, he thought it was her natural coloring...but, no, there was something off about it. No matter, the girl was barely out of foal-hood. A joke of some kind, surely, Fullplate was teasing him. This was not the fabled Servant of Shadow he was sent to retrieve. It simply couldn't be!
"Horse apples, there's no way that's who we're here for, she's just a stupid kid," Bright Spark whispered, eyeing the girl in the kitchen as she greedily slurped at a bowl of cereal. She immediately looked up at him and scowled.
"Smarter than you. " She snapped viciously, glaring daggers at Bright Spark who raised an eyebrow in disbelief.
"She has extremely good hearing." Full Plate helpfully added, clapping Bright Spark on the shoulder before turning to leave.
Bright Spark 'escorted' the little filly (who he discovered was named Diamond Dancer) all the way from Ponyville and the White Tail Woods right up to the front doors of Canterlot Castle itself and he was still wondering why an escort was necessary. The filly was cheerful enough after the early morning grumpiness had worn off, and she was more than happy to skip, bounce, and prance along with them right up until they got to the castle doors. She demonstrated no hesitation when she reached the castles wide double doors, as so many fillies had a tendency to do. Like she'd done it a million times before, and she'd do it a million times more, the moment the little filly reached the path to the throne room, she drew herself into a more refined posture and took to walking with practiced steps. She didn't speak a word, nor toss Bright Spark a second glance. She simply opened up the doors, and disappeared, leaving Bright Spark and Full Plate standing just outside the throne room.
The throne room was as barren as Diamond had ever seen as she stepped into the grand foyer. It contained no stiff legged guards or chittering maids. No diplomats or lawyers or advisers. Nothing but a thin-lipped alicorn who sat patiently on her throne, scrutinizing every step Diamond took.
The vibrant sound of her hoofsteps echoed off of the high ceiling, and nothing in the room served to hide her from Celestia's borrowing gaze. The filly felt like the most illuminating spotlight in the world was zeroed in on her, and every step she took seemed to magnify the sensation.
Finally, Diamond stopped just sort of the throne and looked up at Celestia. She stared back with a forced little smile and transparent frustration. It made Diamond Dancer cringe. The years and years of stoned faced, emotionless responses Celestia had used during her court sessions failed her. Something was dreadfully wrong and it showed.
"Hello Diamond Dancer. I'm sorry to bother you, as I'm sure you're very busy, but I'm afraid this is a priority." She explained sullenly. Diamond nodded her head and drew in a breath through her teeth and held it. It was a visible habit of bracing herself for news she was absolutely positive she did not want to hear. Celestia continued, unabated.
"As of thirty-six hours ago, Princess Luna, my sister, has been deemed missing. She was last seen heading to Tartarus. " Celestia explained coldly, paying close attention to the filly in front of her.
Diamond, for the most part, seemed relatively calm, even as the Princess explained that Luna had gone missing, and her last known whereabouts were in Tartarus. That would change, she was sure- more than likely before the end of the conversation. Celestia gave an exhausted sigh. As much as she hated to drag a filly into this, time was not a luxury she could afford at the moment.
"Twelve hours ago, a rescue party was sent to retrieve her. We've lost all contact with them and time grows increasingly short. There is a rumor among the guards, that the Servants of Shadow have tactical knowledge of Tartarus that could assist the situation, is that true?" She asked. There was no way she could hide the plea in her voice. Surely, she'd succumb to desperation, if she were enlisting a child to help.
Diamond winced and felt her ears instinctively pin back against her skull at the mention of forbidden knowledge of Tartarus. The Sun Guard was all about strict rules and regulation, Chains of Command, red tape, and bureaucratic laws that made them an efficient well-oiled machine when it came to typical day-to-day issues. But to descend into Tartarus was anything but typical.
The sun guard had no business going into Tartarus and if they did they'd be wildly ineffective down there. Exceedingly few ponies had ventured into Tartarus and lived to tell the tale. Now it all made sense. If word got out Princess Luna was missing, or perhaps lost to Tartarus, enemies of Equestria could flock to the country to attempt a takeover or worse.
Diamond swallowed the lump in her throat as the full realization of what was happening hit her. It hit her hard and without mercy. Princess Celestia was desperate to rescue Luna. So much that she was willing to beg for the help of the Servants of Shadow. Luna's personal court would have the best chance of finding her in the burning void of Tartarus but that meant...
"Yes," the filly croaked, her voice hardly audible in the massive, empty hall. That was all that was needed and Celestia rigidly nodded her head and bit her tongue. No. This had to be done. There were no other options left to them and the longer they failed to act...
"And can we count on this knowledge to assist in...in...helping rescue, my sister?" Celestia asked candidly. It was obvious that the princess could not bear the thought of losing her beloved sister twice. No, Never again. She'd march into Tartarus herself if she could, but to risk capture and put the rest of the kingdom in danger? She peered at the tiny silver sliver of hope in front of her, who stared up at her silently.
There was a moment of contemplation and a lingering moment of hesitation before the girl nodded her head and let a quiet "Yes your majesty," spill from her lips. She seemed confident enough, even if Celestia could see the doubt washing over her. Regardless, she'd agreed, and that's what mattered the most right now.
With a glance that bespoke a million thank yous, Celestia forced another raggedly thin smile. In return, Diamond gave a slipshod salute and turned to march from the throne room into the hall and outside of the castle. It was all too much and it was all too big, and it left her brain numb and trying to grasp what had just happened and what she'd just agreed to.
The Servants of Shadow were not the easiest ponies in the world to get ahold of. They functioned at night, kept out of the public, and did what they could to keep a low profile. Diamond was by far the easiest to contact which lead to Princess Celestia begging her to accept a mission on behalf of the rest of the group. They functioned as a unit together. All for one and one for all, there was no way Princess Celestia wasn't aware of what she was asking. She must have known, she must have. To ask a member of the Night Court to venture into Tartarus was to ask them all to venture into Tartarus. This was a suicide mission.
The Everfree forest seemed much quieter than usual to Diamond as she meandered through the underbrush. Perhaps, she theorized, it was because this was the last time she'd set hoof into the place before her mission. Perhaps the essence of death clung to her more so than usual, and perhaps the animals of the forest could sense it. A tiny filly walking through the forest with the reaper nipping at her hooves. The girl trembled and picked up her pace.
Even if she knew exactly where she was going, Diamond had managed to get lost at least once in the vast, spanning forest. Did all the Servants of Shadow have to be so difficult to get into physical contact with?! Why couldn't they just be like her and live in normal houses in town?! Before too long could pass, however, her destination came into view. Deep, deep within the Everfree forest, where the sun rarely ventured and the shadows held supremacy, was a broken down, old dilapidated house. The sort of haunt you tell ghost stories about at campfires to frighten kids, and teenagers dared each other to knock on the door.
Lining the property was a bleached white picket fence. Several of the boards had fallen into disrepair and all of it looked like it could topple over at any second. There was a large gap created by a number of missing posts, and that's where Diamond squeezed herself through. The front gate was covered in dark and rusted chains that hadn't been opened in years, and the path leading up to it was overrun with grass. The property itself seemed entirely abandoned, with broken windows and a collapsing roof. Really, the entire building looked like it was ready to crumble to dust with a good kick.
The front door, Diamond noticed, had been smeared with a number of red stains, and the chipped wood and scratch marks made it look like somepony was clawing desperately at the door to get inside. As if something had chased them to this place and the house was the only shelter they could find. The knob hung haphazardly from the front door as if it had been beaten open in a hurry. Diamond could only imagine the stories the house held as she worked her way around to the back yard.
As she rounded the house, a small number of unfinished graves slowly came into view and a great number of shovels and pick-axes surrounded all of them. The spectacle was a sight to behold for certain, but it was the freshly exhumed, opened casket, and the trail of dirt leading into the house that caught Diamond's attention. The back door was slightly ajar, and an inky, almost mist-like darkness was spilling out of it. Diamond Dancer frowned. This was every level of 'no thank you' imaginable and the girl gave a groan.
"Everything about this screams of poor life choices," she sighed, turning towards the house. She did not want to go inside. Every fiber of her being was telling her not to go inside. And yet she found herself taking a step forward and nudged the door open a little further, watching in awe at the darkness that seemed to flood at her hooves like a fluid. She wrinkled her nose and tapped the door nervously.
"Hello...Anypony home...?" She squeaked as loudly as her voice would let her. There was no reply, and the little filly gave another groan of annoyance. She nudged the door open a little bit further and perked an ear, listening for the sounds of anything that might be stirring inside the murder house. A low moan pierced the air from somewhere deeper inside.
"I don't have enough red flags to wave here, " the girl lamented, tentatively poking her head further in. The doorway led to a smallish kitchen, where a quaint little table sat in the corner. The furniture too, was falling apart, as the table had only three legs. The fourth had been replaced with what looked like twigs and sticks that were wrapped in...oh, Luna was that dried flesh?! Diamond blanched and began to back peddle as quickly as possible, but stopped in her tracks when the door behind her mysteriously suddenly slammed shut with an unseen force.
"Of course," She groaned dryly with her ears splaying back. Before she had time to even think about looking for another way out, something to her immediate left twitched and then lunged from the darkness, seizing the filly in a cold, iron -like grasp. Diamond shrieked in surprise, squealing and kicking her limbs in every direction, but her assailant was much too quick for her and squeezed tightly.
"Greetings, miss Dancer. Your visit is most unexpected. Am I performing this 'hug' correctly? This is what you ponies like, is it not?" A voice slithered past her ear. Immediately, Diamond gave a sigh of relief and nodded her head.
"S-Sure Nettie. That's a hug alright. A horrifying, horrifying hug, " the filly squeaked, pulling herself free from the dark purple hooves that stiffy clutched her. Behind her, 'Nettie' pulled back and fixed her glare at the little pony who had invaded her home. Diamond turned and offered a nervous smile, taking a step back to bring the other pony fully into her vision.
'Nettleglum' (Nettie for short) was not by any means a typical mare. Her coat was a dark, ominous shade of purple that always seemed to remind Diamond of poison somehow. Her mane was a shadowy mess of ebony curls that was pulled back into a tight braid behind her and swayed down near her shoulder with her truncated movements. Sometimes Diamond could swear Nettie had just risen from the dead with the way she walked with stiff joints and labored gestures. Zombie or not, Nettie was the 'Night's Steward' and held black knowledge and forgotten secrets that could fill hundreds of libraries. She had no wings nor horn, but Diamond was positive she wasn't an 'earth pony' in the least. No, not with slitted pupils like the ones she had. On top of all of that, the strange, unfamiliar social habits she had, further pushed her out of the category of 'normal' pony. She turned her green-eyed stare towards the filly and offered Diamond an expression the girl had never seen before. Was...was she smiling? Was that a smile? Why did she have so many teeth?
"It is wonderful to see you, miss Dancer. Would you care for a cup of Spider tea? It is very very fresh, " Nettie offered, woodenly moving towards a wood stove in the corner. On top of it sat a trembling teapot, which Diamond was sure she wanted nothing to do with.
"Ahh, I'll pass, thanks. Say, Nettie, you been to Tartarus before, right? I mean, those stories about you are true, right? You've been there and back?" Diamond asked, warily keeping an eye on the teapot. A little black star-spider dangled from the spout and the girl shuddered.
"A lovely place, yes. I spent a number of days there in my youth, A beautiful place for rest and relaxation. Are you seeking to visit? I know of several wonderful little torture booths where you can spend an hour for just a silver coin, "Nettleglum replied crispy, pouring a hot cup of.....liquid(?) from the teapot into a small black goblet she was suddenly holding in her hooves. Diamond knitted her brow, and quietly shook her head.
"Err, I'll keep that in mind. N-No, Princess Celestia has asked the Night Court to fetch Princess Luna. They think she's in Tartarus, and I'm trying to gather a search party, " Diamond explained, watching Netties unchanging expression. She sipped at her tea thoughtfully, before she gave the filly another little nod.
"Oh, splendid. I did think a vacation would do her wonders. I suppose time can get away from you when you're enjoying yourself. If you're requesting my help to bring the Princess back to her royal duties, I would be happy to assist you. " Nettie explained, watching the little filly in front of her leap for joy.
"Oh, thanks Nettie!! I've got to go and get the rest of the Servants together. Can you guide us from the Castle around six tomorrow morning? That should be enough time to round up Virga and Dinky!" Diamond explained, already turning towards the door. She liked Nettie, sure, but the house made her uncomfortable for a variety of reasons. The 'Spider tea' was just the latest entry to a long list. Nettleglum nodded her head and followed the girl to the door.
"Did you see my latest work?" Nettie asked, pointing to a row of empty graves. An awful lot of work and effort had obviously been put into the numerous resting plots, and Diamond, while somewhat disturbed, was going to compliment her on a job well done. Until she noticed the last grave at the very end of the row, which was much smaller than the others. Nettie pointed at it stoically, while pride riddled her voice.
"That one's yours." She said quietly and marveled at how quickly Diamond had removed herself from the premises.
The swirling snowstorm that engulfed the air over Everfree forest had always drawn a sigh of envy from Diamond's lips. She'd have loved to learn weather working and cloud control, but her wings weren't reliable enough for that kind of occupation. She stole a glance behind her at them and flexed them gently, splaying out each individual feather. Icarus Syndrome had stolen the glittering silver they once were and replaced it with gritty black splotches of discoloration. Even in the dream realm, Icarus Syndrome haunted her. Her sickness was never more than a flick of a feather away. Princess Luna had once given her a lecture about the subconscious, the ego, and identity, and self-representation in dreams. Diamond had nodded off about half way through. Was that irony? It didn't matter. She had very little time to contemplate such matters. She'd forced herself to sleep after her visit with Nettleglum, and slipped between realms for a reason, and it was a waste to spend the time thinking about irony. She peered up at the terrible blizzard that spiraled around in the air above her and spotted a faint white cloud that seemed slightly bigger than the rest. She grinned. A pegasus' eyesight was the best of the best, and hers was better than most.
Diamond flittered up towards the cloud without a terrible amount of difficulty. She was asleep after all, where her wings worked the way she wanted them too. The dream realm was a place the Night Court often visited during their off time. A 'payment for services rendered' of sorts. Lucid Dreaming, as Luna called it, was the realization that you were dreaming while asleep. In the Dream Realm, matter could be created from imagination, and with a little skill, nothing was out of reach. Diamond was often reluctant to visit, as her imagination was vivid, and her emotional scars were deep. Without proper control, dreams could easily shift to nightmares, and the Nightmare Realm was a place Diamond found herself in far too many times for her liking.
The cloud in the middle of the snow storm was comfortably warm with a large plush rug and an expensive array of bookshelves that seemed to materialize around her, as if she were in someone's personal study. A tiny library, perhaps, that was complete with its own crackling fireplace. It was a very very classy cloud, and there, sitting in the middle of it all, was a ebony pegasus with a dark blue mane. He smiled quaintly at the little filly that popped out of no where, and dipped his head in greeting.
"Diamond Dancer. And what do I owe the surprise? Do we have another mission already?" The dark pegasus asked. Diamond gazed at the swirling snow around her. It was almost hypnotic the way the cold biting wind and the warm home-like environment of the cloud created a juxtaposition around her. She nodded her head as she stared into the heart of the storm.
"The princess is missing, Virga. Princess Celestia says she's in Tartarus, and she wants the Night Crew to rescue her. You'll lead us, right? " Diamond explained quietly to the dark pegasus, even if she were unable to take her eyes from the freezing madness in front of her. Behind her, she could hear Virga climbing to his hooves and he joined her, watching the storm he'd created by her side. Diamond knew relatively little about Virga, who was the 'Night's Champion' but rumor around the castle was he was the product of a pegasus and a Wendigo, impossible as it sounded. While Diamond wasn't terribly sure of events that lead to Virga's creation, the black pegasus could conjure storms of terrifying power from his wingtips and that was good enough for her. He frowned and peered down at the filly.
"Tartarus is no place for fillies. " He grunted. She didn't turn to look at him but nodded her head.
"Tartarus is no place for ponys." She countered. He growled. She was right, of course, but that was beside the point. He shook his head, watching the snow dance around the little cloud in a frenzy.
"I'm serious. This mission is too dangerous even for you. You will stay behind," He growled, watching her closely. He'd expected a tirade of angry insults, and protest. Instead, she simply rolled her eyes, as if she'd been expecting those exact words.
"Why dontcha grab an abacus and calculate the odds of that actually happening. Go ahead. I'll wait,"
"Dia, no. "
"You are literally about to walk into the underworld and there's an invincible girl who wants to help, and she has a magic wishing star capable of bending reality itself, and your choice is to leave her behind?" She asked flatly. He turned to glare at her and was unsurprised to find a cheeky grin stretched across her lips from ear to ear. He sneered. Did she think this was a game?! Was she even aware of what she was actually saying?!
"Diamond, this mission-" He started, but found his voice cut off by the unchanging expression she bore. It was pure determination. Stubborn little thing. She was fully aware of the situation and it was him alone who was just wishing that she weren't. He gave a sigh and gently nodded his head in frustration and defeat. She would be more useful to them tagging along instead of waiting for news that they succeeded and in the event misfortune befell them all, the tiny jewel around her neck could mean the difference between life and death. And the worst part was that she knew it.
"Take off time is six tomorrow morning at the castle. That should give us plenty of time to prepare, and since we'll be gone all day, it'll give Celestia time to get our victory party ready!" She squeaked. He nodded gruffly and forced a smile at the spunky little pegasus. If they were all about to meet their grisly deaths in the underworld, at least Diamond seemed to have a positive attitude about it! She turned and gave him a misaligned salute, before she pitched herself over the side of the cloud and disappeared into a blanket of white snow.
*****
Diamond jerked awake with a gasp, peering around her with wide eyes and perked ears. She'd found a nice shady tree branch to rest in and force a nap, after she'd left Nettleglum's place. With two members of the Night Court confirmed, only one remained and possibly the toughest challenge of them all. Dinky never wanted to do anything other than study, and be left alone. Getting her to join a fun romp into the jaws of death was going to be like pulling teeth. Out of a dragon. That breathes perpetual fire. But Luna had once said Dinky had the 'gift' of necromancy, and if that were true, even a young necromancer could prove useful. At least, Diamond hoped so, since they were going to need all the help they could get.
The Castle Library was a vast, sprawling expanse that left Diamond dizzy just peering into the room. Thousands upon thousands of tomes, texts, and documents lined the shelves that stretched from one end of the library to the other. Diamond was not an avid reader, nor did she care for the miserable silence that surrounded her as she made her way down the rows of shelves. The entire room made her feel slightly uncomfortable and prickly. It was the silence. The frighteningly unmistakable sensation of being absolutely and utterly alone made her feel ill at ease. But she wasn't alone. Not by a long shot, for even in the dismal silence that surrounded the girl, her sharp ears could make out the sound of leathery pages being turned and flipped somewhere deep in the bowels of the library.
Diamond pressed on, keeping her ears perked and listening for the sound of life that got louder and louder the deeper she went, and stopped when she found its source. At the very end of the library, sitting at the furthest table she could, sat a little gray unicorn that was perhaps Diamond's age. Dinky Hooves, the Student of Darkness. She had her nose buried in a thick, thick looking text and next to her sat an elephantine stack of books that looked just as fat. Diamond drew in a quiet breath and steeled herself for the headache about to take hold of her. Ok. This was it.
"Go away," Dinky spat coldly, the moment Diamond took a step towards her. The angry little unicorn hadn't moved from her spot and didn't look up, but somehow she knew Diamond was in proximity.
"Oh, good. I was afraid you'd be in a bad mood," Diamond groaned, approaching the other side of the table where Dinky sat. Dinky didn't look up, she simply flipped another page in her book and continued reading.
"I reiterate. Go. Away," grumbled the little unicorn. Diamond grimaced and glanced at the door at the other end of the library. It would be so easy...
"I need your help," Diamond said, tentatively sitting down across from Dinky, who sighed in irritation.
"That's a shame," Dinky grumbled.
"Luna's missing," said Diamond. At that statement, Dinky actually looked up, eyes widening briefly. That got her attention! Diamond almost let herself feel hopeful that this would be easier than she thought until the expression melted away and back into irritated indifference.
"Then go find her," Dinky huffed, turning another page in her book. Diamond remained undeterred.
"She's in Tartarus, " She said as patiently as possible. Dinky frowned, looking up at Diamond in shock.
"What?! I mean...why is she in Tartarus?" She asked nonchalantly as if it didn't bother her in the slightest. Diamond felt her muzzle slack and confusion take over. That was a good question. Why was she in Tartarus? Slowly, it started to dawn upon Diamond that she might not exactly know the full story behind the horrible adventure she was about to embark on. Her ears remained curiously perked a moment longer, before the filly shook her head. No. It didn't matter. The reason why Luna was there was a moot point, by her own will, or by somepony else, the mission was still the same.
"I- I don't know! But she's in trouble, and she needs our help!" Diamond exclaimed. Dinky rolled her eyes and flipped another page. Slower this time, as if she were demonstrating her absolute lack of interest in the conversation. Diamond felt the fringes of a snarl starting to take hold.
"The castle guard will handle it," Dinky replied only to see Diamond quickly shake her head.
"The guards have already failed!" she barked, planting both her forehooves on the table with a tiny thud. Dinky flipped another page in that damned book of her's and rolled her eyes yet again, entirely ignoring Diamond's frustrated gestures.
"And you will too, you moron. Do you really think you're going to make a difference? Trained soldiers failed and you think you're going to get one hoof step further than they did? Are you really that stupid Diamond? Use the pitiful excuse for grey matter you've got between your ears and think about this! You will not come back from Tartarus. Let Twilight and her friends handle this, and just stay out of it. "Dinky huffed. Diamond's expression hadn't changed, although now she was visibly breathing hard and glaring at Dinky with no small amount of contempt.
"You think Princess Luna has the time to wait around for Twilight and her friends to come rushing to the rescue?! Celestia choose us for this mission for a reason, Dinky!" she snapped, the snarl having fully seized her face. Dinky reached up and rubbed the bridge of her nose with a groan. The conversation and the absolute brainless nature of the pony next to her were grinding down to the last of her patience.
"No, you imbecile! The only reason Celestia talked to you is because finding you is as easy as locating the nearest open crater and she knows at least one member of the Night Court knows what Tartarus looks like! She doesn't want you because you can't fly without face planting the ground! You think you'll actually manage to help save Luna?! You're loud, you're dumb, and the only thing you're good at is making a mess! Do not go down to Tartarus. Seriously, you're smarter than this." Dinky spit, daring to look up from her book to make sure Diamond was getting the message. The dumb filly had, however, turned sharply on her hooves and kicked the stack of books Dinky had collected.
"You're a bucking coward, Dinky!" Diamond snapped, marching away from the other filly, and out of the library. Dinky watched in silence as Diamond took her her leave after her completely oblivious little tantrum. Dinky grumbled. That moronic mare made her so angry sometimes that she wanted to wrap her hooves around her neck and squeeze until the stupid stopped. No. Calm down. Focus. Now that silence filled the library again, she could concentrate on her studies- a fact that became apparent as the kicked over books around her lifted telekinetically into the air. They arranged themselves in a neatly aligned stack to the left of her, and she tried to find where she'd left off, before Diamond poked her head in. Madness. That stupid filly was going to get herself killed. Surely there was no way she'd be dumb enough to head into Tartarus. No. No. She wasn't crazy enough to set hoof down there, was she? That just wasn't possible, was it? No. No. Dinky shook her head, trying to forcefully snap herself out of her thoughts. But everything Diamond had just said was a broken record playing in her head. The Night Court wasn't really going to go on a suicide mission, were they? What hope could they have against the horrors and titans of Tartarus?
Dinky glanced at the open book in front of her and closed it with a dismal sigh. To accept the mission was to accept a death sentence. If the other servants of Shadow were heading into Tartarus, it was clear what she needed to do: Find a new job.
They hadn't come close to his expectations in the slightest. No. The Servants of Shadow were so...so....boring. Much more so than Bright Spark had expected when he stepped into the foyer where the Servants had assembled. They weren't like anything he'd imagined. They weren't top secret mysterious figures cloaked in shadows. They were as ordinary as ordinary could get. A purple earth pony that looked sullen and reclusive in the corner. A dark blue pegasus that looked as if he'd topple over at the first sign of combat, and a little girl that could be no older than ten years old. This? This was supposed to be some legendary team? He frowned, shaking his head quietly. How? How did Celestia expect them to be successful? How they hope to stand up to the horrors of the abyss? Was that it? Part of the secret was that they weren't anything special at all? Let their reputation do the work for them? The unicorn frowned quietly, and scanned the four of them, at last coming across the reason he was here in the slightest: Full Plate.
The older earth pony dipped his head quietly towards the unicorn and a ghostly twitch of a smile caught his lip when Bright Spark made his way across towards him. The older stallion dipped his head and gestured to his side before resuming his motionless silence, watching over Luna's personal court. The three of them were silent as they inspected various pieces of armor and looked over themselves, muttering occasionally. The pegasus was wearing some sort of dark colored armor that seemed to protect his upper body specifically and leave his wings available for maximum mobility. A black carapace protected his chest and forelegs and he wore an iron mask over his face with slots for his eyes. To Bright Spark, he at least looked like he were ready for combat. He was the only other armored pony in the room, aside from Full Plate.
They were joined by a fourth. Another filly that looked to be about the same age as the silver filly in the room. He'd seen her before, as well. Dinky Hooves, who was always in the Castle Library, day in and day out. She too, was a Servant of Shadow? She approached the gathered team and leaned in close, muttering something that Bright Spark couldn't quite hear. Whatever she'd whispered had the dark pegasus laughing, and the other little girl pulled Dinky into a cheerful hug, much to Dinky's obvious dismay.
"Not a word." Full Plate whispered, holding himself at full attention when the dark pegasus finally let his gaze drift over The older pony and Bright Spark. Full Plate had instructed him to visit early in the morning, and while he had not fully disclosed the nature of why he wanted to meet so early, Bright Spark could only guess it was about what they'd discussed recently. A few brief thoughts of promotion flickered past the Unicorn's mind. Oh, he'd be working his tail off since joining the castle guard. Helping out with a specialty mission that involved the Servants of Shadow was just one more step on the road to becoming an elite member of the sun guard. Full Plate had once been a member of the Sun Guard. He'd seen all sorts of action in his day and had managed to secure a position a senior tactics advisor of the defense council in a relatively short amount of time. As far as the sun guard went, Full Plate held a lot of respect and Bright Spark was lucky enough to have garnered his interest enough for a mentorship of sorts. Being his grandson didn't hurt matter's any either.
"And what's this?" the dark pegasus 'Virga' asked eyeing Full Plate and Bright Spark over. Bright Spark offered a bright smile, but Full Plate remained staring straight ahead.
"I have been assigned to assist in the retrieval of Princess Luna. Private Bright Spark, First Class is my personal squire for mentorship and aid." He said briskly, not daring glance at the teenaged pony by his side, who looked utterly dumb-founded. Personal squire?! Him?! This would get him into the Sun Guard for sure!! He was beside himself, but swallowed down the smile as the dark Pegasus eyed him over.
"Celestia didn't say anything about assigning the sun guard to us... I suppose any help that we can get. "He said after a few seconds. He turned towards the purple earth mare and she produced a ratty looking scroll of paper. Bright Spark grinned and leaned into the large stallion.
"Thank you so, so so so much! I didn't know you wanted me to be your squire?! This is a top secret mission, right? Does that mean I get high-level clearance? Do I get to know about the secret plans Celestia gav-" Bright Spark began and yelped when Full Plate's hoof accidently collided with his own. The larger Stallion leveled his stare at Bright Spark and the smaller unicorn felt a chill run down his spine at the very silent, but very insistent suggestion for him to be quiet. The filly, Diamond Dancer was peering at them seriously, and her ears were twitching. Before Full Plate could mutter an excuse, the gothic looking mare gave a bone chilling cough.
"We must depart." The purple earth pony said suddenly, and as if on cue, the rest of them turned towards the side door of the room. They filed out of it, one at a time, and out into the frosty morning air. The mission had begun. Only Diamond alone stood peering at the two of them before she too turned her head and trotted from the room.
******
They were quiet as they followed one and other out into the town and towards the edge of the market. Full Plate, however, slowed his trot to a crawl when he reached the middle of the market. Here, where the hustle and bustle was its loudest, Full Plate slowed his advance to keep step with Bright Spark, and out of step with the rest of the Servants, where they might have a quiet little chat with one another.
Diamond frowned. She didn't like the way the two ponies in the back were whispering to one and other. She'd seen them before, earlier, when they'd delivered her to the castle in order to talk with Princess Celestia. And now, they wanted to tag along on a mission doomed for failure? She quickened her pace until she was next to Virga.
"Whats up with the love birds in the back? Did you know Celestia was gonna be givin' us help?" Diamond squeaked. Virga shook his head as he neared the edge of the market.
"They aren't here to help us." He explained quietly, much to Diamond's confusion.
"Whadda mean by that? Why would they be here then?" She asked. Virga chuckled. Ahh, the naivete of children.
"They are here, in order to make sure we follow through with Princess Celestia's request. There are a great many things that could go wrong and too few witnesses for a full story." He explained, tersely. Diamond looked baffled, and Dinky rolled her eyes.
"They're here to make sure we don't stage a coup or hold the princess at ransom or something." She huffed in an exasperated whisper. Diamond frowned and peered over their party at the earth pony and the unicorn in the back. They had said something strange before hoof...She shook her head, rejecting the thought from her mind. They were going to need all the help they could get, and paranoia would tear them apart. She groaned and pulled in a deep lungful of the crisp morning air. She was going to need to keep her head clear if she hoped to be successful on this mission. She didn't have time to entertain errant thoughts of crooked guards or wild conspiracies. The mission was still the same: Get Luna to safety. She'd see to it that was the case, despite any interference from the sun guard or not.
"Wheres the entrance to Tartarus, Nettleglum?" Virga asked as the stiff-legged pony lead them through town. Bright Spark noticed that while The other Servants had no problem keeping up with her, Nettleglum seemed to move only when he wasn't directly looking at her. Every time he glanced over at Full Plate, Nettieglum would be standing in the shadow of a shop somewhere, idly chatting while the rest of the group caught up. When he looked away and back again, she was across the market stalls entirely. When he opened his mouth to question her particular movements to Full Plate, the older stallion merely shook his head as if to say 'don't ask'. But now the questions were piling up. Why did Full Plate suddenly announce his squireship? Why were the foals not armored? Why were there foals in the group to begin with? He kept glancing at Full Plate, but the earth stallion refused eye contact. Was he afraid of the filly with the remarkable hearing listening in? He bit his lower lip. She didn't seem like she was paying attention. At the moment, she was chatting quietly with the half pony half wendigo creature named Virga who was looking over a map with Nettleglum.
"In the middle of the Bad Lands. Right about here. We'll take the train to Appolosa and we'll reach the Bad Lands by this afternoon. Maybe we'll get to Tartarus late afternoon, early evening. I do hope we can avoid the late crowd rush to get in." Nettleglum lamented quietly, staring off into the distance. Diamond winced faintly but didn't comment, instead choosing to patiently stand in line with Virga, who purchased six tickets to Appaloosa.
Diamond couldn't help but notice they were all one way.
The train had always marveled Bright Spark. The absolute cleanliness, the friendly, charming atmosphere, the respect. He loved that part the most, feeling eyes on him as ponies and fillies pulled themselves out of the way for official 'Canterlot Business.'
He and the other elites had taken to a small empty cabin in the very back of the train, where they were most likely not to be disturbed. That suited Bright Spark just fine. There was enough space for six of them, even if it was a little bit cramped and he couldn't sprawl out the way he might have liked. They wouldn't be there for long, of course, the train was already pulling out of the station and hurling them towards Appaloosa. Squeezed together as they were, there was enough space for Virga to pluck something from his saddle bag. He placed it on the table while Bright Spark tried to figure out when he had put on saddle bags. Had he always been wearing them and they just blended in with his flanks? Did he pick them up after getting on the train?
No. No, it didn't matter. Instead, Bright Spark focused on the object Virga had tossed onto the table. It was a collar and a pretty one at that. It was navy blue with little white half moons all along the ridges and a tiny buckle protruded from one end. Virga flashed Diamond Dancer a quiet smile.
"This is for you, Dia. It is a Harmonix Collar." He explained while the little filly peered over the collar before she scooped it into her hooves.
"Cool! I've always wanted a Harmonix Collar...I think...? What's a Harmonix Collar?" She asked. She'd already pulled off her necklace and put on the collar in its place. She attached the tiny glimmering jewel to it she wore habitually, and now she resembled a largish puppy of sorts. Virga nodded his head, reaching out to adjust the device around Diamond's neck.
"It is an enchanted piece of equipment. Do you see the crystals along the material? These crystals perfectly mimic the vibrations produced against them and immediately reproduces them from this crystal, here." He explained, producing a small dark blue crystal from his bag, that he held up for her to see. Her eyes widened and she gave a little 'oooooh' of understanding, even if it was obvious the explanation had done directly over her head. Dinky rolled her eyes with a sigh.
"It means if you talk while you're wearing the collar, it'll transmit what you're saying to this crystal here." She explained. Diamond nodded her head quietly, but Dinky could tell she was still trying to connect the dots.
"Soooo...why would I want this?" She asked. Bright Spark felt a tiny stab of annoyance at the brainless little filly. Who cared if she couldn't grasp why she would want direct communications. He could think of more vital questions to ask.
"More importantly, what's the plan? I mean, you guys have some sort of connection to Luna, right? Like, some map, or something that'll take us straight to her, then we bring her back?" He asked with a hopeful grin. He knew it wasn't going to be quite so easy, but he was really hoping that it would be. He still couldn't quite understand how this was the team Celestia would choose to send to rescue her sister. What was his role to play? Why would Full Plate drag him into this? What was he supposed to do if things got heated? Were they all counting on him? An old guy, a scrawny pegasus, a couple of children, and a crazy mare? He felt a twinge of despair suddenly wash over him.
"Nothing like that. We'll simply have to search for her. I can imagine it won't take longer than an afternoon. There are only so many attractions one can visit before the experience grows somewhat repetitive. I think we should start at the River of Styx, and ask the Ferrymare if she's seen our dear princess." Nettleglum explained, not turning towards the group. She stared out the window, peering into the distance and froze as if something had suddenly caught her attention.
"Oh...six in, nine out," Nettleglum mumbled to herself. She frowned, looked quizzed, then nodded as if reconfirming her own cryptic statement. Bright Spark started to look to Full Plate across the table but instead turned directly towards Nettleglum. He'd chosen to sit directly next to her so that maybe she couldn't do that thing she liked to do where she was there one moment and then gone the next. She was still next to him when he turned to ask her what she'd meant. Much to his utter horror. It was the smell. It was the scent of formaldehyde and decaying fungus mixed in a way so dreadfully putrid he thought he might throw up right there on the table. Was that perfume? Had she mixed perfume in an attempt to try and mask the scent? Celestia, why had he not smelled that before now?! How did the other Servants handle it? Was Full Plate not affected by this stench? He glanced out the window desperately. He could see Appaloosa out the window. Maybe he'd make it. Maybe...
"Bright Spark?" Nettleglum asked, looking at him curiously. He frowned. What was going on? He'd asked her something before his sinuses went into a full-fledged panic mode. What was it? Did it matter? It didn't matter. Appaloosa was getting closer...
"Just a silly vision. Souls. Dear. Souls." Nettleglum explained as if that made any sense either way. Still, he hastily nodded his head and forced a wide smile. He would not vomit on a Servant of Shadow. He would not. He forced his attention away from the scent, and towards Diamond Dancer and Dinky, who were looking over Diamond's new collar. Idly he wondered if Virga had some sort of cool gear for him to wear. Something that augmented his magic, perhaps? Maybe some forbidden spell that only elite super-agents were allowed to recite. He fell into that category, didn't he? After all, he was here, wasn't he?He wouldn't be on a mission with these supposed highly skilled elite super agents if he didn't have what it took. He had almost forgotten how excited he was to get away from the mare next to him.
Nettleglum... Something about not knowing where she was sent a chill down his spine, but when he glanced over at her, she was gone like she'd never been there in the first place. He sighed and tried to shake the growing apprehension he felt when around her. If she ever wanted to stab him in the back, she would have no problem sneaking up on him to do so. How had she managed to get out of the seat next to him without him even noticing?! Was that some special trick of the Servants? Were his senses so bad that he couldn't even-
"The ride is over. Shall we resume?" A voice whispered into his ear, forcing him to jump to his hooves. Standing in the aisle next to him was Nettleglum, looking bored as she waited for him to pull himself out of his seat and leave the train with them. Bright Spark frowned, opening his mouth to protest a number of things, shook his head, and in the end, he simply sighed and followed the creepy pony from the train to the platform where the rest of the Servants had already assembled. As he stepped off the train, he felt something pulling at him to turn and watch it slowly depart from the station.
The train glided away on the rails, getting smaller and smaller until it was just a dot in the distance. The last hope of escaping a trip to Tartarus had just left without him. Bright Spark swallowed quietly. The five other ponies with him were the only ponies he would be able to count on. Or, more accurately, he was the only pony the other five were going to be counting on. He was getting more and more convinced he was the smartest pony in the group, and it was beginning to make more and more sense why Full Plate dragged him into this mess. He was the only chance they had.
A solid hour had passed for Bright Spark and his company since departing the train and trekking into the Badlands. Bright Spark had taken the lead, naturally, of course, once he'd realized why Gran-why Full Plate had dragged him along. He marched ahead to the front of the group until he was in step with Virga and Full Plate, neither of which paid him attention. No, it looked as if Virga had a great deal on his mind. Far too much to worry about the soon-to-be Servant of Shadow walking along with him. Bright Spark grinned to himself. The Sun Guard was a nice thought, but Servants of Shadow seemed like it would be much more satisfying. Oh yes. He wanted the power, prestige, and respect that came with a legendary team. Who wouldn't? Yes, the Night Court was much more his style, he decided. He'd make a much better Servant than these clowns. He could bring about glory to the night! Much more so than the sun, he was sure of it! What did Celestia offer that Luna didn't? This was his ticket in. He could taste the promotion as the group reached a wide clearing. The craggy ground was orange and bleak while a good number of rocks and stones littered the cracked area around him. Here, Virga had signaled the group to stop, and Bright Spark couldn't have been more ready for a break as here the uneven terrain made him trip and stumble more than he'd have liked.
"Alright, so where to next, Nettleglum?" Bright Spark called over to where Nettleglum and the fillies were. Dinky had found a shady spot to sit down and had her nose buried in a book. He almost laughed. A geek through and through, Dinky always had to have her nose in a book. He'd never seen her without one. The other filly, Diamond, was laying on her back, peering up at the dying sunlight.
"It'll take longer without Luna around. Celestia's always kinda shaky with it," the little girl sighed glumly, peering up at the evening air. It took him but a moment to realize she was talking about the night itself. The skill behind raising and lowering the sun and moon was something Bright Spark had never considered before but now that he thought about it, surely there would be subtle differences between the two performances. Diamond hopped to her hooves and shook out her wings. "Silver stars, guys. I thought we'd get here by nightfall, but we're early. Our powers work better at night, right?" she groaned. Virga nodded his head dismissively, but Bright Spark's ears perked at the comment. Powers...?
"You have powers?" He asked quietly, regarding the tiny pegasus with an air of disbelief. Virga nodded his head and gestured to the rest of the Night's court.
"Not exactly powers, but boons from Luna to assist us in our royal duties," Virga explained and extended a wing into the air. Among the rows of inky black feathers sat a darkly hued navy blue one, strangely out of place. It almost looked as if one of Luna's feathers had been grafted onto Virga's wing. Bright Spark's mouth dropped open in shock and it slowly dawned on him that it was one of Luna's feathers. Seeing it attached to Virga boggled Bright Spark's mind. An Alicorn feather was a precious thing since true Alicorns didn't lose their feathers the way normal birds molted. The magical properties of the feather was a possibility Bright Spark found turning over and over in his mind. If he were to join the Servants, would he receive a boon too? What other 'boons' did Luna bestow on them? The fillies? Nettleglum? His mind reeled at the possibilities. Next to him, Nettleglum pointed a purple hoof towards a large group of standing stones some distance away from them.
"There." She said crisply to his confusion. "You asked where to next. The entrance to Tartarus is beyond those rocks, where an iron clad door awaits and ghastly admission prices lurk within the shadows. Ahh. This takes me back to my youth. I do hope some of the old staff remains, as I recall Sisyphus had the most lovely fitness regime. Now fillies, step lively and mind the guardian." She said quietly. Bright Spark frowned. It often seemed like Nettleglum was prone to fits of insanity, but every now and then, she said something that didn't bode well at all. Almost as if on cue, the ground began trembling underneath him.
It wasn't trembling as if it were an earthquake. No. This was a tremble accompanied by a thunderous roar and the planet shook as if something were angry with it. The sky turned to darkness as a great shadow cast out the sun. A horrifying colossus of a creature towered over them on great massive paws and muscular sculpted legs. Its chest was thick like a large stone slab and coated in fur the color of bubbling pitch. A scent like no other greeted Bright Spark's nose. The creature's breath was a morbid odor that reeked of death and rot. The stench originated from each of the monster's three skulls; the gaping abyss lined with yellowing spears. It was the guardian. A beast of horrific power and great ferocity and up until this point: something Bright Spark thought was only in fantasy books.
"...C-Cerberus..." Bright Spark stammered in awe before he snapped back to military mode. This was it! His first big test! His chance to take command of the situation and confirm his role as leader. He shot into action before his mind even had time to finish putting together a plan. Move first, think later! First priority: the fillies! He shot a glance at the children and groaned. Dinky had flung herself safely behind a bolder, much like everypony else, but Diamond was marching towards Cerberus much like she had a death wish.
He took off from his spot like a rocket, putting every ounce of extra energy he had into speed. Maybe, if he could reach her in time, he could prevent something terrible from happening. The dog-like beast sniffed at the air and peered around, but even with six eyes, it didn't seem to notice the small group of ponies, hiding behind a boulder. It certainly hadn't noticed Diamond, he realized, since she was still alive, but that could change at any moment! This meant his options were few and his time was extremely limited. He stretched his legs out in front of him, and galloped so hard he could feel his heart pounding in his throat. If he pulled this off it would be a miracle, and if Cerberus ever so much as utterly glanced to his left, it would become a tragedy.
"What are you doing?!" Bright Spark hissed, scooping Diamond into his forelegs and diving for the bolder Dinky was hiding behind. He rolled forward with the filly safely tucked against his side, and Cerberus none the wiser. Diamond began to protest, but Virga quickly, and efficiently silenced her by stuffing his hoof into her mouth.
"I was gonna- Ooomp!" Diamond whimpered, but Virga shook his head and put his hoof to his lips and shushed her. On the other side of the boulder, Cerberus yawned, stretched and curled into a large black ball of intimidation.
"How do we deal with this? Can we sneak in another entrance?" Dinky asked. Nettleglum shook her head.
"There is but one path into the heart of the underworld, dears, and it is paved with broken souls and battered ponies and Byzantine floor tiles. The Guardian of the Gates will not suffer from magic. It cannot be tamed but must be passed." Nettleglum explained. Bright Spark frowned. Well, just because Nettleglum claimed it couldn't be toppled with magic, didn't mean she was correct. There wasn't much that a good magic torpedo couldn't take care of. He drew in latent mana in the air and began to channel while his horn which stirred to life with a bright yellow light. A single magic torpedo would stun the beast long enough for him to figure out what to do next. He poked his head out past the boulder again and took aim, leveling his eyes on the massive canine.
"Ok, Full assault frontal assault. Virga, you hit him from the air and the left. Give me the deepest freeze you can manage. Try and slow it down. I'll see if I can't take out its legs from below." Bright Spark explained Virga frowned and shook his head. If Nettleglum said the beast couldn't be overcome with magic, it was pointless to try a full on assault.
"That'll never work. I say it looks sleepy. Perhaps we could wait, and sneak in instead. " He offered. Full Plate shook his head. The big gruff Earth pony gave a grunt.
"No. I don't do stealth. We I say we outsmart him. He's slow and stupid. We can easily match that." The older earthen pony barked. Meanwhile, Dinky and Nettleglum watched quietly.
"I have brought the most darling crumpets from the spider bake sale down the road. Would you like one while we wait for a solution?" Nettleglum asked pleasantly. Well, as pleasantly as Nettie got, which didn't involve burying you somewhere. Dinky simply gave a groan. She could feel a headache coming on.
"About as much as I'd enjoy a colonoscopy. I'm more interested in the fact that there should be four idiots in our party, and I'm only counting three. " Dinky explained. Nettleglum frowned and peered over at Bright Spark, Virga and Full Plate. Wait...where was...
**************
"Hey." A tiny voice cooed. Cerberus opened a single blazing eye on each head, glaring down upon the little silver filly that dared stand in front of it. Not even enough for a mouth full. He closed his eyes. Back to sleep.
"Nice day, huh?" The voice again. He ignored it, focusing on the nap that was so close, yet so far away. Lefty yawned again and Righty dared sneak a little peek at the splotchy little filly in front of it. It was stretching out, flexing its wings, and hopping up and down.
"Ya know, if I were you, I'd be bored. I mean, can't be all that much fun hangin' out here, watchin' tumbleweeds go by. I mean, I bet ponies aren't exactly dying to get into this place. Get it? Dyin?! AHHAHAHAH! So, me, I'm thinkin' how about a race? That ridge over there, and back? I'm pretty fast. I'm bored, you're bored, and you look like fun! Come on, let's race! Come on, come on! Let's play!" Diamond squeaked, her voice reaching a higher and higher pitch. She thrust her rump into the air and wiggled it around, and smacked the ground in front of her with her forelegs, much like a dog would bid another for a game of wrestling or tag.
The right head watched, finding itself caught up in Diamond's created excitement, and soon the left head seemed interested too. With both sets of eyes on her, Diamond turned and took off as fast as she could, pumping her wings in a wild frenzy of feathers. She very well might have been the fastest on the team, but she knew she would be pushing it racing against Cerberus. Or, anything for that matter. As long as she could resist thinking about her wings.
She shot ahead at full speed, and not daring to glance back until she was positive she'd at least gained a few dozen feet from her starting position. She tucked her head over her shoulder and shrieked at a heavy set of teeth that nipped at her tail. Faster. She wanted to go much, much faster. At least Cerebus was following her which formed the bare bones of her plan. This should have bought the Night Court plenty of time to figure out how to get into Tartarus. Without Cerberus guarding the gates, getting in should have been a cakewalk as long as they had Nettleglum with them! Now all Diamond had to do was figure out how to get inside herself. She groaned, idly wondering how many ten-year-olds had to figure out how to get into Tartarus to save a goddess.
How was she going to get in? She'd shot off without a second thought and now that she was approaching the ridge where she'd bet the beast, she needed to come up with a plan. Behind her, Cerberus nipped at her hooves and barked at her, circling the ridge where she'd gone so only moments ago. He was gaining on her, she realized with a chill. She threw her wings into overdrive as another realization washed over her: She needed to win this race. That was it. That was her way inside! Now that she was headed back towards the starting point, she could see no signs of her companions. They'd all made it inside the road to Tartarus, she hoped.
Beyond the point where Diamond had started was a large, circular 'gate' that really looked like a large iron coin with a split right down the middle. One of the doors was wide open, and that was the door Diamond shot for. She would have to aim it just right to manage to get inside but as long as she kept just ahead of Cerberus, she figured she'd be able to pull it off. With her current speed and the doors racing up to her startlingly fast, all she had to do was tilt slightly to the left to send herself hurtling into the depths of the underworld itself. Slightly. Slightly. Sliiiiiightly. Her wing lurched oddly to the left and the filly immediately took a furious nose dive into the planet. She'd been thinking about her wings. She'd over compensated for her inability to feel the air currents, again, and pulled herself out of muscle memory. Now she was wildly skidding out of control across the broken land. She ended up reaching the doors to Tartarus with a resounding CLANG that rang out through the valley as she slammed face first into the solid iron (which now contained an indentation with a striking resemblance to Diamond's facial features.). She collapsed to the ground just as Cerberus was galloping up to the gates. A purple hoof reached from the door to Diamond's immediate left and grasped the girl by the tail and dragged her inside into the darkness.
"She's coming around," said a voice that flooded in with the rest of her senses as Diamond regained consciousness. It always took her a few moments to recollect herself after a face plant of any type. The group had taken momentary refuge right inside of the gates. It seemed as if Cerberus was too large to enter, or perhaps had more sense to stay out of the underworld.
They were in a tunnel, burrowed through the dirt in a long corridor that descended to what looked like a much wider cave. There was a faintly marked trail that offered the illusion of stairs, but it was the luminous glare of Virga that caught her eye first and foremost. He was the one who had noticed her awaken from her unconscious state and now he had been glaring at her since.
"What?" She groaned. He gave a snort and shook his head.
"Since when do you operate without telling the rest of us the plan? This mission is far too critical for wild stunts like that! " He snapped. Her ears pinned to the sides of her head and she gave a little huff.
"I was just doin' what Firefly would have done." Diamond grumbled quietly. Virga's glare remained solidly fixed on her and he shook his head.
"Firefly would have mentioned her plan to us! Still, you completed the goal with minimal risk to the mission and the rest of us, and you did it quickly. You did a good job, just try to keep me informed next time. " He added, forcing a minuscule grin to twitch at the corner of her lips.
He frowned and knelt down and peered at the collar she had wrapped around her neck, inspecting it for damage after her crash. He knew it wouldn't last long, and he'd hoped for a stress test before putting it to use. It looked more or less undamaged, but he had his utmost doubts it would remain that way. For now, though, it was all they had.
"You're up, kid." He said, gesturing down the desolate tunnel. Diamond peered into the darkness, and then turned back to the rest of the group, offering a sloppy little salute.
Bright Spark frowned watching the girl curiously. They had pulled themselves into a little semi-circle around Diamond's unconscious form, but now that she was miraculously up and around again, he had turned towards the path, only to be stopped by Nettleglum.
"Allow miss Dancer to take the lead. She is quite the proficient scout." Nettie advised. The unicorn stared in disbelief, turning towards the child again.
"Her?" He asked flatly. Nettie nodded her head. They watched Diamond amble towards Full Plate and tug at his armored foreleg.
"Could I get a favor? Whack me on the dome, couldja?" She asked sweetie. Full Plate raised an eyebrow and peered at Virga curiously. The dark pegasus gave a sigh and nodded his head towards the pair, gesturing for Full Plate to consider her request. Nervously, he shrugged and lifted a massive hoof, cuffing the girl on the back of the head. Whatever she must have been expecting didn't take place, because a moment later, she plucked herself off the ground and smiled sweetly.
"One more time! With feelin! Come on, we're wasting time here!" Diamond exclaimed, obviously no worse for wear, regardless of the fantastic blow she just endured. Full Plate peered at the filly in confusion, before reaching a hoof back to deliver a solid blow to the side of her skull. This time, to his amazement, her eyes briefly glimmered, before taking on a surprisingly white hue. She flashed that same sickly sweet smile of hers and turned sharply on her hooves.
"Ok. I'm scouting now. There, I told you!" She said with a snort, before skipping down the tunnel. Virga sighed. Kids.
"Alright, I'm confused. Again, why are we sending a child into the underworld, and why did we hit her first to do it?" Bright Spark demanded, looking helplessly around at the other members of the group.
"Miss Dancer's boon grants her the most splendid night vision, but her destroyed nerves don't allow her to control it properly. She requires outside physical stimuli to activate it. "Nettleglum said quietly from the darkest corner of the already dark room. Virga joined her, reaching into his saddle bag to fish out the Harmonix Crystal he had displayed before.
He sat next to Nettleglum and set the crystal before them all. The 'receiver' as he called it, was a shiny blue gem, shaped like a pyramid and glowing faintly. After a moment, it began to vibrate.
"...Guys? "whispered the crystal faintly. Bright Spark perked his ears in surprise and leaned in closer to examine the receiver. That was Diamond's voice! By the circle of the sun, it worked!
"First hundred or so feet is all clear. No sign of anyone or anything so far. This cave at the bottom of the tunnel opens up a little bit more but then turns into another tunnel. That first room is safe, I'll let you know when I find something else." The Crystal explained, before going silent. Virga nodded his head and stood up, pointing down the corridor Diamond had ventured down.
"First room, guys," Virga explained, tossing a lofty stare into the darkness.
"Did Luna grant each of you night vision when you joined?" Bright Spark asked, cramming himself in beside Virga as they wandered down the stairs.
"No. Each boon is gifted as service demands it. I was given greater control over winter storms and severe cold. Diamond was given her trinket and night vision, Dinky was given books of the damned to study, and Nettleglum...is...awesome." He added after a moment of hesitation. Bright Spark didn't need to look to know if Nettleglum was behind him. He had a feeling she was always behind him and it creeped him out to no end.
"Trinket?" He asked, trying to shake the uncomfortable sensation he felt when Nettleglum lurched by in silence. Virga gazed down the tunnel where Diamond had explored further, nodding his head absentmindedly. He perked his ears, listening carefully for her voice over the receiver.
"The jewel she wears around her neck. It is a piece of a fallen star given to her by Luna. It can grant wishes of extraordinary measure. It could come in handy." The dark pegasus explained. Bright Spark scrunched his nose is disgust. Were such powers given away by Luna so carelessly?! The idea was both enchanting and horrifying to him- Who knew what Luna would bestow upon him for coming to her rescue.
"Does she really think Diamond is the best pony to give something like that too?" He asked quietly. This was answered with an irritated snort. Dinky had seemed to blend into the shadows and only the little ball of light protruding from her horn gave away her presence in the group.
"No. That has been proven to be a severe miscalculation." She groaned. Virga snickered quietly behind a wing.
"Well...the trinket has proven more irksome than valuable, but its powers are not easily weld. Certainly not so any pony off the street can control it. Diamond is..." He struggled to search for the proper term. Dinky had no such trouble.
"An idiot. The star powers its wishes by innocence, and Diamond is as 'innocent' as it gets." Dinky explained and set herself down next to Bright Spark and Virga, watching the receiver intently.
Dinky was much different than Diamond, Bright Spark observed. While Diamond seemed boisterous and explosive, Dinky was quiet and reserved. The very cusp of an angsty teenager, Dinky was much more a fit to his idea of a 'Servant of Shadow' than Diamond Dancer was. She had little black spectacles she kept pushing up onto her nose, and a permanent sneer etched across her muzzle. She peered coldly at the receiver and tapped at it once, curiously.
"Why aren't we hearing anything? Can she hear us?" She asked. Virga shook his head quietly.
"No. It's only able to replay the vibrations being sent through it. It's a one-way enchantment." Virga explained. Bright Spark shook his head and leaned in closer.
"Well, she might not be able to hear us, but I think I can layer a clairvoyance spell over-top of the original enchantment..."He explained, reaching out to grasp the crystal in both hooves. His horn gave a sputter of magic and a golden aura encased the receiver.
A moment passed. And another, and another still, and every second that ticked by, the crystal became clearer and clearer. Virga would consider it translucent if it weren't the image of Diamond Dancer creeping along slowly starting to appear in its center.
"Impressive! That's-" Virga began, but Diamond cut him off. She'd wandered into a much, much larger cavern and was staring at something out of the collar's range.
Bright Spark pitched himself down the path as fast as he possibly could. The child had been cryptic in her report on what she'd found, but her troubled voice was enough to spur him into action. Immediately, he'd broken away from the group and thrown caution to the wind, racing towards the area the filly had last been heard from. He hoped for the best but expected the worst. Really, what was he thinking, letting a filly trek off on her own in a place like this?! The pathway gave into a massive, rocky outcropping where Diamond was sitting quietly, gazing into the distance. Bright Spark was about to ask what was so important, that she couldn't bother describing it, but then he stopped, and he gazed too. His jaw dropped to the ground, and his eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. Dear Celesta, that was impossible...
**********
Full Plate jaunted along the cavern corridors towards the place the Errant had mentioned. Slowly, the base of the path she'd taken came into view and he braced himself. He had taken point and the rest of the group followed tensely behind. They'd been prepared for battle. A demon of nightmares waiting for them; some sort of wretched monstrosity he wasn't prepared to deal with. He did not, however, expect to find a vast and sprawling city.
The cavern widened out from the outcropping and opened up into a massive, complex of structures. Scores of buildings dominated his vision and stretched far into the depths of the massive cavern. On closer look, the buildings seemed to be carved out of stalactite and stalagmite and all of them flaunted an intimidating gothic architecture.
The buildings were cracked and broken and covered in a thick sheet of what looked like rust. It smothered over everything, absolutely everything, from the floors to the ceilings to the walls. One by one his companions slowly joined him, and like Full Plate, they too found their mouths hanging open. Who could have expected an entire city deep underground?! What was its purpose?! What was it doing here?! Who built it?! As if able to read the minds of the Night Crew, Nettleglum shuffled herself to the head of the group and pointed out towards the buildings.
"Ahh, the city of Tartarus. This place was built for lodging," Nettleglum explained, shuffling herself slowly towards the path, where it descended down into the city below.
"Lodging?" Bright Spark asked, who was quick to follow, trotting along nervously after her. She headed towards the nearest building to her and nodded her head towards him.
"Yes, lodging. Some of the lines for the attractions here can get dreadfully long," Nettie said, poking her head into what looked like an abandoned shop. Bright Spark opened his mouth to call Nettie out on her obvious raging insanity but fell short when Diamond's voice called out from up ahead. She'd gone skittering past while Nettleglum was talking, but he'd paid little attention to her.
"Over here guys!" she called out. She was sitting in front of a large looking slab of concrete that stood upright like a statue might in a park, or in a town center. Laying in the middle of the slab was a stallion as tall as Celestia and built as thick as Big-Mac. He was chained to the rock in various ways creating a monument of sorts and seemed entirely immobile. He was adorned by a single vulture, sitting atop his prone form and endlessly pecking at his flesh which seemed to heal itself over the moment the last shred of meat was torn away. Diamond made a face and paled. That poor vulture was forced to eat the same meal over and over again. She could only imagine what kind of terrible bird related horror that vulture must have inflicted to deserve such a fate. Truly, this was a place of nightmares.
"Hey...buddy....you okay? " Diamond asked nervously. She had meandered over to the stallion's head, looking up at him with wide blue eyes of hers. Bright Spark groaned at the almost painful ignorance of the girl, while the behemoth stallion looked down at Diamond with curiosity. He considered her question, then shrugged his shoulders.
"I endure," he groaned quietly. The silver filly simply nodded her head politely. To be honest, she'd been talking to the vulture, but the bird hadn't responded.
With all the horrors swirling around her in Tartarus, Diamond Dancer still found that she froze when she felt the icy clutch of Nettleglum's hoof on her shoulder. Nettie drew the girl to one side and out of the way and allowing her to shuffle into view of the stallion. He looked down at her, too, but his eyes widened in a spark of recognition. Nettie offered what Diamond would very, very hesitantly consider a 'smile' and stepped next to the tortured stallion.
"Nettleglum? Of the Grimdark clan? By the princesses..." the large pony mumbled in disbelief. Nettleglum gave her head a slow, creaking nod and turned towards the group.
"This is Prometheus. He was here when I was but a filly ages and ages ago. He held a bonfire so popular they awarded him his own retirement rock and pet vulture," Nettleglum said sullenly like she were the world's most unenthusiastic tour guide. Prometheus looked like he were ready to reply, or perhaps more accurately argue by the look on his face, but Diamond's squeaky little voice cut him off before he could get a word out.
"That's great and all but we're kinda in a rush. Have you seen, like, a really tall dark blue mare around here? She's the princess of the night, her hair is the universe, and she has this look in her eye like she might go completely insane at any moment, " Diamond squeaked, pressing herself passed Nettieglum to look up at Prometheus hopefully.
"Thy princess is deep within Tartarus, down below in the farthest reaches. Proceed with caution, little ponies, for thy party is mortal. Thy princess hath laid low Atlas and chained him again in his place, and dealt swiftly with Lavan but has not yet caught Tethys and Grogar remains free. Turn back now, lest you would have such horrors befall you," he said The vulture, profoundly indifferent to company, continued gnawing. Diamond shook her head in stark defiance and made it a point to stroll past Prometheus as if his warning were a personal insult to her.
"Don't care who's in the way. The mission is still secure the princess," she snapped, marching ahead. As far as she was concerned, Princess Luna was down in the darkest, furthest reaches of Tartarus, ergo, it only stood to reason that's where she was headed next. The trapped stallion watched the filly spirit herself off, before turning back towards Nettleglum.
"The Flesh Foals have bred beyond belief. Take great care in venturing forth. Thy princess will not be so easily returned to the surface. She carries upon her a great weight. Meanwhile, the Crimson Maiden battles Arimaspi and the war they wage shakes at the foundation of Tartarus itself. A war for power is at hoof, and that is a danger even for the Grimdark clan," the stallion groaned gravely to Nettleglum. Dinky had to admit, for being endlessly tortured, he was fairly articulate. Nettleglum shuffled forward, pointing to where Diamond had ventured off on her own.
"I do believe it best to inform miss Dancer of the situation post haste. I do hate to cut our reunion so short, but my dark princess must resume her duties. Enjoy your vulture," Nettleglum intoned, dragging herself away from the massive slab where Prometheus watched her go. A grin drifted across his lips, regardless of the endless pain. He hadn't seen Nettleglum in what felt like centuries.
"So how would one become a Servant of Shadow?" Bright Spark asked quietly. They had settled on a smallish looking 'hut' that had been carved out of a smaller chunk of stalagmite. Virga Nettie and Full Plate were fixed on watching Diamond Dancer prowl through the dark, and Dinky was buried nose deep in a book. The three ignored him, but Dinky gave a scoff and slowly flipped a page in her book.
"Bright Spark, having been driven to madness by his surroundings, asked feverishly if he could join the doomed adventurers. I suggest euthanization immediately. It's the only way to be sure the madness doesn't spread, " she grumbled. She hadn't looked up from her book, but her ears were perked in Bright Spark's direction.
"Wow. You must be a blast at parties. So I'll just assume you have no idea how then," Bright Spark jeered in reply. Now that Dinky's ever-present ire was directed towards him, he found her to be insufferable instead of occasionally humorous. She rolled onto her side, facing away from Bright Spark and gave an irritated snort.
"Princess Luna would tell you you'd need to prove yourself to her and give you a test. In my case, I killed and resurrected a snail and Luna recruited me as a necromancer. Now I'm stuck with a cursed book that's bound in flesh and written in blood and I'm spending my Saturday touring around Tartarus with a group of idiots. So, that's super cool. Can't tell you how glad I am to be a part of this magical journey into the land of never-ending therapy appointments," Dinky grumbled sourly.
"If you hate the group so much, why come at all?" he asked. Even with her back to him, Bright Spark could see the discomfort Dinky was experiencing at the question. After a moment passed, however, her voice was still just as cold and unfeeling before.
"Simple. I had a dream something terrible would happen to Diamond Dancer and it takes dedication to make dreams come true," Dinky said flatly.
"You guys sound like you have some history between you," Bright Spark said. Dinky scoffed again.
"The only thing between us is contempt. Have you talked to her? She's an idiot," said Dinky. Bright Spark chuckled quietly, nodding his head.
"Glad I'm not the only one to notice," he snickered. He was hoping to find common ground with her. To establish that his views matched her own, and find somepony to say a good word for him to the princess. That's how these things worked, wasn't it? Instead of a response, though, Dinky simply flipped another page in her book. She hadn't bothered to look up for the entire conversation and didn't seem like she was going to start now.
"I don't know what Luna needs Diamond for anyway, you could clearly do a much better job, " Bright Spark added, subtly scanning the filly for any changes in her grumpy demeanor. Dinky hadn't moved in the slightest, studying the book in front of her with a laser focus Bright Spark couldn't seem to penetrate regardless of how much he sweet talked her. Teenagers ugh.
"Anypony would be a better choice. Not a high bar to clear," She growled. Was she getting colder? This isn't how bonds were meant to be formed. Dinky didn't seem to care at all. He had figured his best bet was getting in cozy with the children to let them put in a good word for him, but after talking with Dinky...
"She should be checking in soon, get ready," Virga announced, drawing Bright Spark's attentions back to the rest of the group. They were all gathered around the receiver crystal, watching Diamond explore the rest of the city. He made his way over and sat down next to Full Plate, letting Dinky's words tumble about in his skull.
"Where'd she learn to sneak around like that?" Bright Spark pipped, quietly, watching every movement Diamond made on the receiver crystal.
"Before miss Dancer was a Servant she was a practiced thief. Those skills seemed to have transitioned well, " Nettie explained, keeping her gaze fixated on the triangular device in front of her. Diamond was creeping along what looked like a store front. Her legs were bent and her ears were peeled back against her skull. Every now and then, she would freeze for a couple of seconds and her ears would twitch. Admittedly, small, quick, and quiet were not the worst traits for a scout to have.
"You know, she's pretty quiet. I figured after she messed up with Cerberus, we'd just use her as bait, but she makes for a pretty good scout," Bright Spark chuckled quietly. He caught a flash of a grin from Virga, and Nettleglum bobbed her head slowly up and down.
"Alright guys, can you hear me? Those Flesh Foal things? Those things are buckin' everywhere!! They've got red skin, they're about my size, and they've got big black empty sockets for eyes. Jagged teeth and probably hostile. I found a bridge across a huge chasm. I figure this is a good spot to meet, next. Take a left, then a right, then another right from where we were, I'll see you at the bridge," her squeaky voice crackled through the receiver crystal before she returned to silence. Admittedly, being able to detect enemy locations before they tore you apart was a skill Bright Spark could see uses for.
"We move immediately. Nettie, Full Plate, take the lead, Bright Spark, stick to Dinky, and I'll bring up the rear. Keep it tight and stay vigilant!" Virga snapped. Almost instantly, Bright Spark found himself obeying without question. Virga's voice was commanding as it was crisp, and it snapped like a whip in the unicorn's ear. They moved swiftly, trotting from the abandoned shop and out into the 'street.' It was almost like he was in some sort of surreal dream, trudging through the bowels of Tartarus to find a missing Princess. Some dark fairy tale you told to foals around a campfire or something like that. A war story. His war story. As he thought about it, another grin crept over his muzzle. Dinky shuddered.
It didn't take them long to follow Diamond's tracks, and the path she gave them was particularly uneventful. Still, Bright Spark could see shapes moving in the shadows, and a quiet but incessant clicking sound filled the air. To his immediate right, Dinky walked along beside him, seemingly completely unphased by the concept of wandering through gloomy hellscape. She didn't cower, or whimper, or complain. She almost seemed to only have two functioning emotions: utter indifference or unparalleled irritation. Strange that he found himself envying her nonchalance, at something like this. He doubted she would suffer a single nightmare from this place, given how uncaring and detached to this mission she seemed. Then again, the Night Crew didn't have to worry about things like that, though, according to rumors. Supposedly, they had complete control over the dream realm, and it was yet another thing that tantalized his thoughts. What was that realm like? Could he do anything there? Would he learn to manipulate dreams like Luna could?! Could he have anything he wanted? Infinite power? The world under his hooves? He trembled at the idea and received a rude look from Dinky, who walked quietly beside him.
"Your dreamy smile in contrast to our hellish nightmare world is deeply unsettling," The unicorn rolled his eyes. So far, he'd seen nothing terrible. Nothing that stuck out or disturbed him. Sure Prometheus was pretty creepy, and Cerberus was a challenge, but barring those things, he was pretty sure he could take on anything down here. He scoffed. Dinky was just a filly, what did she understand about bravery. What were the two brats so worried about?! Still, a rescue mission was a rescue mission, and Princess Luna would reward him for services to his country. His grin grew wider as did Dinky's look of disgust. He sped up his stride hoping to catch a little distance before her next remark.
He was sure she said something about his horn, but he turned his focus towards the little filly in front of him, as he rounded the corner of the nearest 'stalactite' building. Diamond was casually standing a few feet to the left of a small, rickety-looking rope bridge that stretched across a great gaping chasm.
"Ahhh...The Titan's Rift. The largest fissure in Tartarus! This is Everscream Bridge. Across it lies less civilized areas of Tartarus, and it is the domain of Titans; creatures both great and terrible," Nettie intoned. Diamond had risen up and fluttered into the air, pointing across the bridge.
"Yeeeeeah, I'm cool with dealing with titans, but that bridge doesn't look too friendly. So let's send Dinky across first!" Diamond giggled.
"Wrong." the other filly sighed dryly. She peered at the dreadful looking bridge and then around the area, looking for some way to cross the divide. Diamond, however, kept talking, regardless of how much she wished otherwise.
"Aww, come on! This will totally work, cause you're really light, and if the bridge breaks, I'll fly down and save you!" Diamond announced cheerfully. Dinky's expression did not change.
"Strangely enough plummeting to my doom with you being my only hope for survival is on my bucket list right under "Drink a Bleach Cocktail," She growled.
"That's enough you two. We need to find a safer way across. Full Plate, how much do you weigh?" he asked. The large stallion flushed and shook his head.
"I weigh enough that I think we need an alternative route," he grumbled. He looked over towards Bright Spark as if expecting the brash Unicorn to unleash a flurry of genius ideas that could instantly be put into practice. Bright Spark, however, remained utterly silent. Perhaps they could send their fliers over to secure the rope and make it safe for travel? Reinforce it, perhaps? He gazed over the group thoughtfully and came to a stop on Diamond.
She was staring intently into the darkness of the chasm as if she were looking at something he couldn't see. She had an upright stance with perked ears as if she were paying close attention to something deep in the dark. She frowned and pointed a hoof into the blackness.
"Guys...? Do you hear that? Kinda...kinda sounds like ...like claws on a rock? Like scratchy kinda, ya know?" Diamond pipped, looking over her shoulder at the group. Bright Spark shook his head.
"Don't hear a thing Diamond," he said. Diamond had stood up now, quite intensely peering into the darkness of the chasm. He peered too, sitting down next to her curiously.
"No, seriously, don't you hear that? It's..it's getting louder...I think it's from the chasm." She mumbled. The other Servants had taken notice now, also peering into the darkness, scanning for whatever it was Diamond was looking at.
"There's nothing there, but if you like, we could throw you down there to find out, "Dinky chimed in sweetly.
"We don't have time for this. There's nothing down there. Let's figure out how to get across the bridge." Bright Spark snapped, forcing Diamond's ears to fold back against her head. There was too something down there! She could see them! There were dark figures looming in the shadows! She gave an indigent snort while the rest of the company pondered over their options. Peering back into the chasm, she quietly she grasped a good sized rock in her hooves and dropped it into the inky darkness below her, and listened again. The scratching sounds had stopped but was replaced by an animalistic howl, that forced every member of their party to stop what they were doing and look up at each other in alarm. Diamond winced, and hastily backed away from the cliff face.
"So, guys, I just attracted an alarming number of, uh....things. Something we're gonna wanna be aware of as they're climbing up the edge of the chasm!" Diamond announced in a growing panic. Her feathers were fritzed out around her wings, and one or two flickered off as she fought down her instinct to immediately take flight. Bright Spark narrowed his gaze, staring into the pit, but couldn't find the source of Diamond's panic. There wasn't anything in the chasm, and he didn't hear anything, did he? Then what made that howling sound? He pointed his horn towards the gaping maw of the abyss and fired a single glowing burst of light. Just as Diamond described them, they were small and crimson, covered in pimply skin, and climbing up the cliff face with a terrifying speed. There were dozens upon dozens of them. More than he could count, scrambling to wildly climb out of the canyon.
"Damn it, Diamond!! NETTIE! Take the fillies and find a place to hide! Bright Spark, hammer down as many as you can, and I'll give you as much air support as possible! Full Plate, watch our flanks! Tangos inbound ponies!! We'll try to hold the bridge, but if we can't we fall back to Prometheus!" Virga announced, spreading his wings. To Bright Spark's amazement, Ice began to form over his body like armor. Spikes jut out from his shoulders, and a mask formed across his face. He resembled a strange looking dragon made of ice and valor. Diamond paused, unable to tear herself away from the spectacle before her. Every time Virga put on his battle gear and went into combat mode, she felt the pit in her stomach drop out. The Night's Champion was truly a spectacle to behold, and one day, she wanted the power and armor, and respect he so casually slung around.
"Now miss Dancer!! NOW! We must make haste!" Nettie exclaimed with a voice that was still somehow flat and monotone. She was ushering Dinky away from the battlefield and gesturing for Diamond to follow. She gathered the fillies together and pulled them into the closest structure that she could find, and the three of them watched as the first battle of Tartarus took place in front of them.
They came. They came galloping over one and other, flinging themselves in a great and terrible wave of crimson bodies. They poured out of the chasm in a scarlet flood of gnashing teeth and snapping fangs. Already, Bright Spark could tell there were too many for them to handle. The sheer number of the creatures was astronomical. From his position at the front of their group, he aimed and loosed as many bursts of magic as he could. Arcs of energy sizzled from his horn and danced through the air in frightful blasts.
With a tremendous crackle of mana, Bright Spark caught one of the creatures with a jolt of magic, right between the eyes, sending it toppling back into the depths of the pit. Two more took its place almost instantly, climbing over each other in mindless rage. Bright Spark had never seen anything like it- neither had Diamond Dancer.
"Ooooooh, this is bad! They are WAY outnumbered you guys!! " The filly squeaked from her hiding place. Nettleglum had tugged her and Dinky into the closest building she could. A structure of some sort that almost resembled a church. There was an altar at the far end of the room, and what looked like seating leading up to it. Diamond and Dinky had taken to peeking out past the entrance at the battle taking place close by.
"Astute observation, Diamond. If only there was someway we could have avoided this! It's almost like you shouldn't have given away our position with that rock, you idiot." Dinky snarled quietly. Diamond groaned and buried her face into her hooves. She'd botched the mission. Princess Luna would be lost forever in Tartarus, and it was all her fault!
"I know, I knoooow! I screwed up!! I screwed up bad! I wish there was something we could do to help!!" Diamond squealed in distress. Across the short distance, it was to the battlefield, the silver filly watched in horror as countless numbers of Flesh Foals swarmed her companions. Virga was in perfect form, taking to the air with a spirited flutter of his icy wings. The black pegasus brandished his powers with deadly force and accuracy and one stroke of his wings sent a flurry of icicles barreling towards the creatures like bullets. They skewered and stabbed, pinning numerous creatures to the ground, but more came still.
Full Plate seemed right at home, grasping the tiny creatures and hurling them across the room like a child angry with a toy. Dinky had heard stories of Earth Ponies possessing strength superior to other races, but only now did she have the opportunity to witness the extraordinary ability. The older stallion pitched his assailants into one and other as easily as one might toss a bowling ball down a lane, scattering monsters like pins. When they leapt on him, he threw them off, one at a time, with little effort. He was making far more headway than the other two, but it wasn't enough. They needed more help; reinforcements that didn't exist! As far as Dinky was concerned, this was all the fault of the idiot filly next to her. She shot Diamond a vicious look, but the girl didn't notice. She was transfixed on the tragedy befalling her teammates.
Dinky gave a miserable groan. She hadn't expected Diamond's rampant idiocy to be contagious, yet here she was in the depths of the underworld itself, following this idiot filly. And for what? To make sure Diamond didn't do something stupid and get herself killed?! Diamond couldn't be saved from herself. It was inevitable this adventure would end the way it did. Just last week the brainless filly had BEGGED Dinky to watch her newest trick. She dragged Dinky into the training yard where she had set up a circle of six training dummies. She proceeded to bounce around each one of them like a pinball colliding with bumpers. While it was impressive she'd managed to hit six targets in three seconds, she'd spent the entire day practicing the dumb maneuver instead of studying, and then she had the nerve to complain that Dinky was always 'acting' like she was smarter than her. Dinky gave another groan, pausing in thought....the moronic filly next to her was the brainless one, but sometimes she could be slow on the uptake herself.
"Diamond!" Dinky barked, reaching over to grasp the filly by the shoulder. "Do you remember that stupid trick you were working on last week?!" Diamond gave a frustrated snarl and shook her head.
"Nu-uh, it isn't stupid, it's called the Radiant Ricochet and-" she began, but Dinky didn't let her finish. Without another word, she wrapped Diamond in a burst of telekinetic energy and threw her as far as she possibly could towards the battle. The girl gave a shriek, tumbling through the air before she landed unceremoniously in a silver heap.
"I DON'T CARE! DO THE TRICK! DO THE RAGING RICOCHET!" Dinky screamed as Diamond climbed to her hooves in confusion. What on earth was Dinky talking about? How could she do the Radiant Ricochet without the target dummies she'd set up?! Now only a few feet from the raging battle, something strange happened. Everything froze, like a still life photo, only Diamond found she could still move normally, but more curious was the bright white line that appeared in front of her. The curious line extended from Diamond and took a short path towards a Flesh Foal adjacent to her. The filthy little beast had its eyes set on her, but like everything else in the battle, it was frozen solid. The mysterious line then moved from him to another of the flesh foals, and then another still. Suddenly, Diamond knew what it was drawing: A five pointed star and each point was one of the creatures. The line was a figment of her imagination; her brain charting a course for her to take and before she'd even realized it, she was off like a shot.
*****
Too many! There were too many of them! Bright Spark was doing his best to come up with solutions to the situations the Flesh Foals put him in. Three coming from the right. He shot a glance at the ground and felt the spidery language of magic spill past his lips. A patch of ice to send them tumbling to the ground. He was quite adept at casting spells mentally, of course, but he found it helped his concentration when he had to cast quickly to actively recite the verbal components. His spells were quick, effective, and simply spells like the ice patch was an efficient use of his magic reserves, but still more came! One of the creatures had flung itself at him, leaping into the air and diving at him with gnashing fangs. He plucked it from its brutish leap with a burst of telekinesis and redirected his momentum towards two approaching creatures from his left. They went down easy, but still more came!! There were too many!! Bright Spark was about to issue the command to retreat when something terrible happened. One of the fillies was on the field!!
He caught sight of her out of the corner of his eye. Diamond Dancer had come tumbling from the hiding spot Nettie had swept her into and now was sitting on the ground with a confused expression on her face. NO! She was a sitting duck!! What was she thinking!! Dinky had mentioned something about Diamond's supposed invulnerability but this was not the time to find out if there was any truth behind that!
"FULL PLATE!! THE GIRL! GET THE GIRL!!" Bright Spark hollered, trying to get the other stallion's attention. Now he had to keep an extra eye out for the girl and with trying to watch his own back, keep an eye on his allies, and defending himself from the horde of monsters, and that added up to a number of eyes he didn't have. UGH! If he survived this he was going to murder that filly. He shot another glance towards her a froze. She was gone. His eyes darted around the battlefield for a moment, but there was no sign of her. NO! Had one of the creatures already carted her off somewhere?! That's when he saw it: The ball of light zipping through the battlefield. He'd never seen anything like it before! It was a glowing ball of bright white light that bounced and crashed against every Flesh Foal on the battlefield. After five distinct hits, it would pause and reorient itself, before it shot forward again at blazing speed. In those short seconds where it stopped, Bright Spark could see the shape of Diamond Dancer before she zipped off again. Bright Spark had heard of Pegasi with super speed before, after all, everyone had heard of Rainbow Dash, or Spite fire, but he'd never heard of one being so young! Was this the true power of Princess Luna's Servants of Shadow?! She hit one after another after another, going so fast, Bright Spark lost track of her a few times. He could have sworn there were two or three copies of the girl bouncing around like a pinball! No- a multiball!
After only a moment of watching Diamond's performance, a plan started to cobble itself together. Diamond wasn't dispatching the flesh foals she hit, but her blows did provide a momentary stun he could capitalize on. With her help, they had started to make a dent in the army of monsters swarming them, but there were still far too many to defeat. They had to make a break for it!! It seemed like Virga had a similar idea, and dashed through the air towards the bridge.
"GO! GO!! ACROSS THE BRIDGE!!" He called, twisting around in mid-air to thrash his wings about. Shards of ice crashed around the broken terrain of Tartarus. Splintering and cracking, Virga crafted a barrier using the ice from his wings; a wall of sorts to shield his party from the vile creatures striking at them. Bright Spark took off in a gallop, throwing arcs of magic freely as he ran towards the hiding place Dinky and Nettie had gone.
"GIDDY UP!! GIDDY UP!! WE ARE MOVING PONIES!!" Bright announced, ushering Dinky and Nettleglum as quickly as he could towards the bridge. He froze when he saw more of the Flesh Foals, pouring out from the city where they just were, like some inaudible dinner bell had rung! The bridge was the only option now! He turned, heading there himself. There, Full Plate and Virga were holding off as many Flesh Foals as they could, keeping the path towards the bridge open. Now was their chance!! They raced forward through the chaotic brawl, dodging the creatures that they could. Nettle was first, fearlessly shuffling across the old planks of creaking wood, with Dinky hot on her heels.
The splintering snap of the wood had almost gone completely unnoticed by anypony in the fight. The number of Flesh Foals was simply too great to keep an eye on everything, but Diamond heard the snap of wood over it all anyway. One of the planks on the bridge had given way, just as Dinky was crossing over it. She only had a moment to scream before she tumbled into the darkness below.
Bright Spark hadn't seen what happened. He was too busy trying to keep the Flesh Foals from scrambling onto the bridge after his comrades. He hadn't noticed Dinky until Diamond had screamed her name in horror but he certainly noticed now! A split second after Diamond had shrieked, she pitched herself into a free fall, diving after Dinky into the darkness, and then she too, was gone.
"Bright Spark! The Bridge!! Destroy the -HUROK!!" Virga screamed from somewhere high above them. Bright Spark didn't bother to glance back at Virga or try to guess what had happened to Virga for him to make such an interesting sound, instead, he threw himself over the crumbling remains of the wooden planks of the bridge, launching himself forward into a daring leap. The moment he cleared the last planks of the bridge and was airborne over the safety of the ground on the other side, Bright Spark twisted his body in mid-air, and fired a blazing shot of destructive magical energy at the bridge connecting the chasm, obliterating it entirely. A perfect shot that left the bridge a smoking heap where it once had been.
He climbed to his hooves, feeling a wave of relief washing over him, but it was short lived. Even with the bridge destroyed, monsters still flung themselves from the pit, climbing out and hissing, but their numbers were much, much fewer. So few, that they had relative ease in fleeing from the bridge, dispatching what few monsters that remained. The Flesh Foals had all mostly climbed up on the other side of the chasm, and it would take them some time to climb all the way down and all the way back up. It granted them enough of a reprieve to retreat well away from the bridge and the chasm, where Bright Spark gamboled.
"Did you see that?! That one-two ice shot I did? I cast San Script's Sand Blast! Full Plate, did you see....what? What happened? Where are Dinky and Diamond?" the pony gasped breathlessly, the adrenaline still racing through every inch of his frame. His teammates, however, did not seem to be quite as enthusiastic. They seemed sullen and somber, sharing dismal glances with one and other before Full Plate cleared his throat.
"Dinky fell from Everscream Bridge, and Diamond sought to give chase,"Nettleglum explained, quite suddenly standing next to Bright Spark. This time, Bright Spark's surprise melted instantly and was replaced with a hollow pit in his stomach. He turned and peered down the path, back towards the chasm and presumably they'd left the children.
"Wha- what? What do you mean Dinky fell? S-she couldn't have, she was right behind me, she- I didn't see...that- can't- no. " he stammered, already turning to throw himself back down the path. Sure, he'd saw both of them tumble from the bridge for a split second, but he'd assumed one of his teammates would have saved them! He thought they had made a clean get away!
"What are you doing?! We have to go and get them!!" he barked when he noticed his company hadn't moved a muscle. Virga shook his head darkly.
"If Dinky fell, the fall would have killed her, not to mention the pit was full of those things. She'd have been torn apart." He said solemnly. Bright Spark's mouth dropped open. He shot a pleading glance at his teammates, struggling to find the error in the logic. This couldn't be happening. No!
"But...I thought Diamond was invincible... How could they have beaten her?" He asked, almost spitting the words from his lips as soon as they came to him. Nettleglum shook her head in return, gazing down the path back towards the pit.
"If miss Dancer had succeeded in rescuing Miss Doo, they may yet remain alive, but I can't sense their souls. It is possible Tartarus prevents Princess Luna's boon from working properly. I can see the auras of life force, and I cannot see theirs at all." Nettleglum mumbled to herself.
"The crystal?" Bright Spark asked, but Virga was already fishing it out of his saddle bags. He set it down in front of them and peered into the blue tinted pyramid. Only a pure crystal blue returned his gaze. There were no tiny pegasi to be seen or squeaky voice to be heard. Virga gave a grim scowl and tossed a look back at the rest of the group, shaking his head sadly.
"I'm afraid they're gone. Our mission, however, remains the same. We must return Princess Luna to the surface. Come, the River of Styx is this way. " Nettleglum intoned. She had no taint of regret in her voice or sadness to speak of. Perhaps losing one of their own had no effect on a dead girl. He drew in a quiet breath. The fillies couldn't have been old enough to even consider dating yet. Not old enough to know their first true love. Not even old enough to make a million mistakes to regret. They were dead, and all he found himself thinking about was the empty spaces the Servants of Shadow now had on their roster.
******************
The path they took was a craggy one. Like the chasm of the grand canyon, it was all reddish clay and dirt that piled high into plateaus. Nettleglum lead the four of them down a long winding path that twisted and curved into a stony set of stairs.
"Ahh. I was but a filly when last I was here. The river glows just as beautifully as I remember it. " Nettleglum intoned as she shuffled herself down the path. And indeed there was a glow that radiated from the river as it came into view. It was a soft, delicate bluish green sort of haze that gently spilled from the river like a fine mist. Almost eagerly, Nettleglum approached the shore and peered down the river.
"Charon shall be arriving shortly. We can ask them if the Princess has crossed the river." Nettleglum explained. Bright Spark, Full Plate, and Virga sat quietly on the river bank, peering into the ethereal splashes of souls from the river. Soon, in the distance, a small light flickered into view. It was faintly obstructed by the thick mist and fog of the river, but it was getting closer and closer.
Full Plate leveled his eyes, trying to cut through the fog in front of him. He was certain that was a boat he was looking at, and indeed, as it came closer, he became surer of himself. It was a flimsy looking vessel that reminded him of a delapidated gondola. There were pieces missing for Celestia's sake!! But the boat cut through the water with practiced finesse and soon came to a stop next to Full Plates group. 'Charon' the ferrypony, stood at one end of the boat, clad in thick white robes that obscured its body entirely. The hood that was pulled over Charon's face seemed to hide every feature it had with a deep, swirling darkness Full Plate was positive he didn't want to stare into.
Nettleglum's emotionless face twitched at the sight of Charon, and she shuffled up the to boat. A smile, perhaps? To Full Plate, it looked like Nettleglum's expressions never changed, but the rest of the Night Court acted like she was perfectly normal.
"Nettleglum," Charon said, only she didn't say it. It was a voice that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once, swirling around the inside of Full Plate's head. The gruff stallion shuddered and threw his head left and right, but still, the intrusive voice remained.
"Charon," Nettie intoned. Her voice was smooth as ever as if the sudden intrusion of another voice in her head didn't bother her in the slightest. She was still as a statue, Full Plate noticed until Charon stepped forward and beckoned towards her with a robe-clad hoof.
"Passage is one silver piece," Charon said simply, and patiently waited on the boat. Nettleglum held out a silver token she'd produced from somewhere. Like usual, no pony had seen where it came from, and no pony wanted to think about it.
"The coin is yours, but we require information, not passage. Princess Luna has gone missing from the surface world," Nettie explained. Charon gave a low, terrifying chuckle.
"Oh, yes. The Princess of darkness came through here looking for that other pony. I ferried both of them across the river." Charon remarked. At this, Full Plate and Bright Spark exchanged glances. Another pony? Even Virga looked confused as Nettleglum was suddenly holding four coins in her hoof and offering them to Charon.
"Just a moment, please." Bright Spark squeaked, reaching to grab Nettleglum by the shoulder and draw her over to the group for a private conversation. He threw a glare at Charon and pulled the Servants of Shadow close around him.
"This is the pony ferrying us across the River of Styx. I heard if you cross, you die automatically. How do we know we can trust this guy?!" He hisses. Virga shook his head quietly.
"I'm more concerned with Luna chasing after some other pony. Who else is down here?! And more importantly, why weren't we briefed about this?!" he snarled. Nettleglum bobbed her in a rigid sort of movement, although Bright Spark wasn't sure what Infomation she was trying to relay to them.
"It is perfectly safe. As safe as one can be along the River Styx. I've ridden it many a time and had no problems. Do be careful not to fall in. Getting wayward souls out of your mane can take days," she explained. Bright Spark balked. When he looked over, Nettleglum had already gotten onto the gondola and was standing next to Charon, waiting patiently.
"It doesn't matter. The mission is still to rescue Luna. This is the only lead we have." He exclaimed, quietly climbing onto the boat next to Nettleglum. Full Plate was next, boarding with a sigh and mumbling something about retirement, leaving Bright Spark standing on the shore in disbelief. They were paying money. Actual money, to get onto a rickety old boat, to travel across the souls of the dead, to find a goddess in a world of three headed dogs and monster children. Madness. It was complete and utter madness. He idly wondered what that said about him, as he stepped onto the gondala.
The gondola lazily floated towards a shore of gray and aqua colored sand. To Bright Spark, it almost looked metallic. And forboding. Definitely forboding. The tiny boat slowly approached the shore, and along with the shore came a small, well-trodden path leading towards a large cave and a massive wall that followed the shoreline.
While Bright Spark was eager to get off the creaking gondola, he couldn't help but notice Virga looked perturbed. He stared into the glowing souls of the river below him, deep in thought with a frown dominating his features. Bright Spark had figured a member of the servants would easily look past the death of a fellow soldier, but the loss of the fillies was obviously troubling him. What was he supposed to say? Should he say something? Was it best to leave him alone, or offer him a word of comfort? He was under the impression the Night Court were unattached things or others. They were heartless, merciless soldiers, specializing in the dirty jobs no pony else would do. And if they were all dead like Nettleglum was, he could believe they didn't have emotional bonds either. Suddenly, an icy chill raced down his spine. Were they all dead? Is that how Princess Luna granted them their powers? Enchanting a soulless corpse?! Would that mean he would meet his end at Luna's hoof?! Was that why they were all so loyal to her? Why they'd be willing to march into Tartarus for her?! It suddenly made entirely too much sense. Slowly, Bright Spark cast his gaze over Virga, looking for clues of his demise. He didn't seem to notice, instead briefly peering at Nettleglum.
"Nettieglum," Virga asked stoically, still staring into the vibrant river. It was enough to shake Bright Spark from his terrified thoughts. He perked and ear, listening in on the conversation as Virga continued unabated.
"The connection?" he asked sourly. Nettleglum shook her head. She had her eyes closed but seemed to be taking in the surrounding area anyway.
"Oh, I've felt nothing since we've arrived." she intoned. Virga scowled and peered at the flat side of his hoof. There, it glowed faintly, a brief shimmer of white that depicted princess Luna's cutie mark. Bright Spark stared in awe. It was a Royal Rune: A symbol of significance and devotion to the crown. It was rare to see one, and even rarer to be granted such a rune. Once, while visiting his grandfather, far before he had ben inducted into Celestia's royal guard, Bright Spark had seen Full Plate's Royal Rune. As a member of princess Celestia's personal guard, Full Plate had a mark that softly glimmered on his hoof, when Celestia had need of him.
"Connection?" Full Plate asked quietly. Virga shared a glance with Nettleglum.
"We each have a unique bond with Luna. It allows us to feel the presence of night. It is difficult to explain," Virga mumbled. He sounded like he didn't understand it entirely himself. Perhaps he didn't with the way he kept fidgeting.
"Think of it is as if we were connected to the shadow of her soul," Nettleglum explained. Full Plate perked his ears, silently imploring Nettleglum for more information.
"Well...what that means for us, is the princess may not be down here if we cannot feel her. We simply must continue searching as we've been doing. The magical connection between Luna and us, broken or not, has no baring on rescuing our dear princess." Nettie explained, ignoring the increasingly frustrated look on Full Plates face. Bright Spark had noticed too, but he was too busy watching Virga to comment. He turned away from the rest of the group, mumbling to himself and of the words Bright Spark could hear "impulsive" and "irresponsible" were two that caught his attention the most. Immediately he was thrown back into the choice of wanting to comfort the other stallion, or simply let him be. Luckily, a distraction came into view as the little boat bobbed up to the shore at the other end of the river.
"What, the buck, is THAT?!" Bright Spark shrieked in horror. In front of them, was a massive rock wall that seemed to hug the shoreline, but it wasn't the wall that he was staring at. It was the creature slithering along the wall that dominated his attention. The wall itself had a number of deep dark holes burrowed into it and out of them wriggled a creature much like a centipede. It had row after row of grotesque, elongated legs, and at its front was the body of a pony, only it wasn't like any pony Bright Spark had seen before. It was like a centaur with a dozen extra legs and no arms. Its nose was far too long, and its eyes were much too small. Its mouth was a gaping hole on one side of it's 'face' and its ears were thin and wiry. As the boat came to a stop, the creature made a shrieking sound and clambered down to the shoreline towards them. It was charging!
Virga had already taken flight, leaping from the gondola into the air with a flourish of his wings and Bright Spark followed suit. He leapt onto the sand in front of him and pointed his horn at the creature. Immediately he found himself mentally shifting through his list of spells that would take this creature down. An acidic burst? A magic torpedo? An ice rocket? Perhaps a jolt of-
"Scylla." Nettieglum purred, striding past Bright Spart towards the creature as if it were an old friend. The creature, the ponypede, crept closer, making chattering whimpering sounds, and drew its appendages towards Nettieglum. Bright Spark stared but didn't dare drop his guard. His horn flickered with arcs of trembling magic, and he kept his eyes fixed on Nettie and the creature.
"Scylla is one of the lifeguards here, everypony. She is extremely strict about pool safety and the rules," Nettie explained, gesturing towards a large nearby wall, with a radiant glow behind it.
"That's the main pool and sauna behind there. Be careful if you plan to visit and do not go near the popsicle vendor without armor. Scylla, I'm terribly sorry to bother you during working hours, but we have need for some information. Charon tells us Princess Lu-" Nettieglum began, but 'Scylla' immediately turned away from her and scampered along the shore before she vanished from view into a nearby cavern the moment Nettleglum had mentioned Luna.
A moment passed and then another and Scylla poked her head free of the cave, to see if she were being followed. Nettie gave a grim sigh and turned back towards the group.
"That path she's taking leads to Titan territory. If Princess Luna descended, we may have combat to consider soon." Nettie explained. Bright Spark felt a grin starting to tug at his lips. Combat? Without the need to babysit foals? He could really let loose if he were unrestrained by the fear of some wayward filly stumbling onto the battlefield. He nodded his head boldly.
"I take on any challengers in the name of the night!" He announced. Virga shot him a scrutinizing glance.
"You make bold claims. Tread carefully, " he growled. Bright Spark winced. Wasn't Virga also doing this in the name of the night? What was wrong with him making the same claim? Did he realize Bright Spark was a contender for a position in the Night Court? Was he threatened by his raising status? He nodded his head never the less. He needed to keep focused on the task ahead of them.
"Do you think it knows where the Princess is?" Full Plate asked. He had already taken point and was marching towards the tunnel Scylla had taken. Nettleglum made a thoughtful sound, moving to keep in line behind Full Plate.
"She may not know the location of the princess, but what she leads us to will probably be able to point us in her direction. Scylla will assist us in our search. She will help tremendously. " Nettie explained. Behind them walked Bright Spark, who kept glancing behind him at Virga.
Virga wasn't moving. He sat at the mouth of the cave where they had entered and stared quietly into the past. He sadly sighed. Had he been faster, perhaps. Had he been more attentive, surely things would have gone differently. Diamond had convinced them to let her tag along, and she had brought Dinky, and now their souls had been lost to Tartarus well before their time. It was his fault. Try as he might, he knew deep down this was his fault. Diamond had trusted him to lead the mission and he'd already failed in getting everypony home safely and soundly. He wondered if-
"VIRGA!!!"
The scream from the tunnel drew him to his hooves instantly. They hadn't gone that far ahead, did they?! He only needed a moment to sort out his guilt before resuming duty, but that scream sounded like a 'moment' they didn't have the luxury to afford. He took off in a wild gallop, throwing his hooves out in front of him, as fast and far as he possibly could. He'd failed once this mission, but he would not fail again
"DIAMOND!!! DIAMOND WAKE UP! WAKE UP RIGHT NOW YOU IDIOT, WE'RE GOING TO DIE!! WAKE UP!! WAKE UP DIAMOND!!"
Diamond groaned quietly, trying to clear her dizzied vision and bring herself out of the dark place she went to when she crashed. It was something like sleep, but not quite the same. If she had to describe it, it was as if she were awake, but asleep at the same time. All outside stimuli were blotted out for a haunting silence. She could still think, sort of, in fractured thoughts and fragmented ideas at least. Try as she might to pull out of such a state, she found she always had to take a few moments to recover from a crash. She called them Crash-naps, and she'd discovered the higher she was the longer it took for her to regain at least some functionality. Was this a crash-nap? Had she crashed? Of course, she'd crashed. She always crashed. But why?
"DIAMOND!! NOW!! MAKE A WISH!! DO IT NOW!!"
She groaned. She couldn't think with Dinky screaming in her ear the way she was. It came back to her all at once, memories slamming into her consciousness like a dam bursting open. Dinky had fallen from the bridge and Diamond had spotted it amidst all the chaos of the battle. With no second thoughts, Diamond threw her wings into overdrive and hurled herself at Dinky's plummeting form. From the angle she was descending and the speed of her momentum Diamond realized she wouldn't be able to safely catch Dinky without the two of them splattering into the chasm below, but she had to try!
She had wrapped her body around Dinky's trying to slow their fall. Once they connected, Diamond tried to pull them both into the air moment Diamond had grabbed her, but she knew it wasn't going to work. Dinky was too heavy for Diamond's tiny wings. No, she needed a new plan, but there just wasn't the time! With no other choices, she opted to reduce the damage as much as possible. She twisted the two of them around in midair, making sure her body was between Dinky and the chasm's wall as she fell. Things would have been slightly easier if Dinky wasn't screaming, but she couldn't really blame her.
There! Even if Diamond couldn't feel the impact of her body hitting the chasm wall, she could detect the way her vision jostled that she had hit something. Now they were spiraling. Spinning through the air in a wild free fall, now that Diamond's trajectory had driven them close enough to the wall to make contact. If slamming into the wall had slowed the fall enough, Dinky might survive impact with the ground below. Diamond could only hope. They spun and tumbled in the air, with Diamond paying careful attention to the ground below her. She was slightly smaller than Dinky, so it was important for as much of her body to take the crash to the ground as possible, and that meant she had to maneuver the both of them into a position at the perfect second, and that meant - Everything went dark as the two of them connected with a roaring thud.
*****
They had crashed into the ground, hard, with Diamond slamming into it first, and Dinky landing on top of her. The silver filly lay prone and unmoving, while Dinky wobbly pulled herself to her hooves. As impressive as Diamond's heroics had been in rescuing her from the fall from Everscream bridge, the situation had not improved in the slightest. Diamond wasn't moving and her stunt brought them a lot of attention. The Flesh Foals that had been skittering along the walls of the chasm and attacking party had changed tactics. Now that Diamond and Dinky were separated from the others, the creatures focused on them, much to Dinky's dismay. She reached over to rub Diamond's shoulder, watching in terror as the creatures began to stalk towards them. Things were quickly turning from bad to worse.
"Diamond...Come on Diamond, wake up!" Dinky snarled, rubbing Diamond's shoulder urgently. The other filly did not respond. The flesh foals were getting closer and closer, taking their sweet time, stalking towards the downed fillies with murderous intent. Dinky stole a glance at Diamond's condition. If the other filly wasn't up to defend her, she wouldn't last long at all against the creatures.
One of them, in particular, had been eyeing Dinky warily and pounced at the unicorn when she leaned down to try and rouse Diamond. Dinky caught the flash of movement out of the corner of her eye and leaped to the side, nimbly avoiding the assault. With Dinky out of the way, the creature opted for the unconscious girl instead. The creature seized Diamond in its jaws, trying to tear into the girl's flesh but with little success.
"PUT HER DOWN!" Dinky screamed. Her horn sparked to life for an instant, and the creature, surprisingly, did as it was told. It politely placed Diamond on the ground and turned towards Dinky, curiously. As if it were awaiting further instructions. Dinky's brain put two and two together instantly. Undead creatures. She was a necromancer.
"DEFEND US!" Dinky demanded, watching in awe as the beast turned sharply and attacked the closest stalking Flesh Foal. Suddenly an open brawl broke out around them. The creatures were ravenous, fighting each other for the first taste of tender filly, Claws and fangs flashed and flickered and sprays of blood splashed through the darkened chasm. It wouldn't take long before one of the creatures was lucky enough to pounce them without interference from another. They had to escape!!
"Come on...Ugh...Diamond..." Dinky grumbled, trying to drag the girl by her collar. If she could just find a place to hide for a few seconds. The hectic chaos of the fight wasn't going to let that happen anytime soon, though. Dinky froze when she noticed one of the creatures leering at her again. No!
"DIAMOND!!! DIAMOND WAKE UP! WAKE UP RIGHT NOW YOU IDIOT, WE'RE GOING TO DIE!! WAKE UP!! WAKE UP DIAMOND!!"Dinky screamed, shaking Diamond as hard as she could. The other filly was groaning quietly. A good sign!! She was awake! Now Dinky just needed to get her to act.
"DIAMOND!! NOW!! MAKE A WISH!! DO IT NOW!! She screamed, shaking Diamond as hard as she could. Diamond yelped and squawked and finally reached up to bat Dinky's hooves off of her.
"Leggo! I can't make wishes with you shakin' me like that!" Diamond snapped, wrapping her arms around Dinky regardless. "Alright, this place is getting rough! I wish we were anywhere but here!" Diamond squeaked. Briefly, Dinky watched the little star Diamond wore around her neck come to life with a small but brilliant light. It glimmered, and the whole world turned white with it, as the star granted Diamond's wish, teleporting Diamond and Dinky twenty feet to the left. Anywhere but here. Ugh. The white light deposited Diamond on the ground and Dinky on top of her.
"Get. Off, " Diamond groaned. Dinky shuffled to her hooves, staring in dread at the horrific number of creatures that had turned towards them.
"You make lousy wishes," Dinky sighed flatly, helping pull Diamond to her hooves. The star had only deposited them twenty feet to the left, but it was no longer in the middle of a gang of filly hungry Flesh Foals. In fact, it has set them down with a good distance in between them. A distance they were quickly eating with swift lunges towards the two Servants.
"Run!" Diamond screamed, bursting from her position into a frantic run. Now was their chance! The Flesh Foals were far enough away they might be able to make it if they put their all into a wild burst of speed. Diamond made it several steps before she realized Dinky was lagging behind. She groaned. All that studying... Realizing Dinky was next on the menu, Diamond turned sharply on her hooves. Most of the Flesh Foals were behind them. They'd probably go for the easier meal. They were simple creatures with little in the way of tactics. This would work. It had to!
"Dinky! KEEP RUNNING!" Diamond screamed, turning to charge directly at the other girl and the army of creatures chasing behind her. She hoped Dinky got the message, but Dinky usually did, she was a smart girl. She nodded, frantically, as she raced through the canyon, doing her best to dodge rocks and anything else barring her path. Now was definitely not the time the time to experiment with her new found powers over the undead!! She threw herself forward, racing madly away from the horde of creatures chasing her while Diamond did the opposite.
The tiny pegasus hurled herself passed Dinky, leaping high into the air with a flutter of her wings and crashed into the ground behind her.
"MY KNEE!! I'M DOWN!! ARRGGHH!!! GET OFF ME!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!" squealed Diamond with an ear-splitting shriek as the monsters descended on her. Biting and chomping, they seized the fresh target and forgot all about Dinky who raced through the darkness of the chasm and left Diamond Dancer behind, screaming into the gloom.
She didn't even look back when the screaming stopped.
The alcove Dinky found to hide in was small. A closet-sized notch of stalactite just large enough for her to squeeze into. A shed, of some sort, perhaps? It didn't matter what it was, all that mattered were the number of Flesh Foals in the current vicinity, and to Dinky's limited good fortune, there were none around. Every few moments, she poked her head out to take a look around, but the barren hellscape was unchanging. She had made a clean getaway.
She sighed and leaned against a curved wall, pushing her glasses up onto her nose. For the moment, she was safe, and that gave her a chance to plan her next move, which consisted of one word and one word only: "Leave."
If she wanted to do that, of course, she had to climb back up the chasm, find the bridge, cross the bridge, avoid the Flesh Foals and other creatures lurking around, and slip past Cerberus outside. Easy!! She scowled softly. Easier if Diamond was with her. At least the other filly could be used as a decoy.
As if on cue, the air in front of her popped and crackled with celestial energy. A tear formed in front of her; a rift, rippling and shimmering in the air. Arcs of lightning danced and flickered around her, and slowly, the rippling 'gate' deposited a small silver filly in front of Dinky, with a glowing little star around her neck.
"Ugh....Hey, it worked! Ha! It took me six whole tries to get here! Hey, Dinks! Siver stars, that fight, huh?!" Diamond explained exuberantly, instantly standing up with a cheerful grin over her stupid face. Dinky stared. Really. How was she so upbeat all the time?!
"We're in the middle of Tartarus, our princess is missing, we're two untrained fillies separated from a group of trained soldiers, and there is a horde of goblin things chasing after us! Wipe that stupid smile, off of your stupid face, and take things seriously for once!" Dinky snapped, feeling the fur on the back of her neck prickling in anger.
Diamond rolled her eyes and poked her head out of the alcove to take in the surrounding area before she turned back to Dinky.
"Aw, you're just jealous that I beat up more monsters than you did!" The plucky pegasus snickered.
"Jealous? Of you? If I were EVER jealous of the tiny pea you have rattling around in your head that you pretend is a brain, I'd pick my nose with a power drill," Dinky explained. Diamond frowned.
"Dinky, did you go to school to learn how to be such a colossal bitch, or is that just natural talent? I mean, I just saved your life! Multiple times, in fact, so a little bit of gratitude, would be nice! What have you got against me?" Diamond huffed. Dinky turned sharply with a snarl twisting on her lips the moment Diamond mentioned saving her.
"You, did, NO, such thing! You're the one who got all of us to come down here in the first place. You're the one that ran off when we were working on a plan for Cerberus. YOU'RE the one who dropped the rock into the chasm, and YOU'RE the one who caused that fight, got us separated, and effectively sentenced the both of us to death!! I HATE you because you are an idiot. Intelligence is the most important thing in the world, Diamond, and you act like my mother! Completely brainless! Not a bucking thought in your big empty head! All it does is inconvenience everypony else and you're too dumb to understand it! You mindlessly drift in and out of these situations, and you NEVER LEARN ANYTHING and put others in danger! I HATE YOU! We'd all be much better off if you had just died when your mother pushed you off that cloud!!" Dinky raved, loud enough to echo past the alcove into the darkness surrounding them.
Diamond slowly folded her forelegs in front of her and nodded her head at each of Dinky's points. When she was done, Diamond slowly stood up and dipped her head out of the alcove, beckoning for Dinky to follow her. Just outside. Two steps from the little hidey hole.
"Ok, Dinky. You're smarter than me. I accept this, I understand this. You're probably a whole bunch smarter than me. How about a pop quiz hotshot: how long do you think you'd last against me in a fight?" she asked cheerfully. Dinky growled, and began a response- but Diamond hadn't finished. She continued walking around in a smallish circle, keeping an eye on her surroundings as she talked. Dinky was beginning to feel anxious.
"No, really, How long you think you'd last against me? One round? Two, tops? Sure, you'd get off a couple of shots, but then what? I mean, seriously, think about it if you and I got into a fight? Who's down here to break us up? Who's gonna set the rules? Cause you've been trying REAL hard to get me to slug you, and I just want to know how you think that would end? See, to me- the dumb mare, with the invincible fur is the girl you want on your team in a world of monsters. Everything down here would love nothing more than to kill you, and you have been trying really hard to add me to that list. " Diamond snapped. She had turned away from Dinky and stood with trembling wings and angry quivers. She was doing her best to manage Dinky's attitude. Every second they spent fighting was a second they weren't looking for Luna but sometimes that other filly got on her last nerve. Always acting like she was the smartest pony in the room and better than everypony else.
"I wouldn't fight you, I'd just outsmart you. "Dinky sighed. "It wouldn't be hard because you're as intelligen-" Dinky began but was cut off when she noticed Diamond tap-tap-tapping her right hind hoof against the ground.
"Hey, check this out." Diamond squeaked brightly, stomping her hoof even harder. What was she doing? It was rude and weird. Did she interrupt Dinky just to stomp her hind hoof against the ground? Dinky watched for a moment, staring at her hoof, trying to figure out what Diamond was doing before the pegasus kicked a clod of dirt into Dinky's face. A trick!!
Dinky stumbled back, coughing and trying to clear her vision, but Diamond was too quick for her. She pounced the other girl, firmly wrapping her hooves around Dinky's neck to forcefully point her head (and horn) away from Diamond's face.
"GET OFF ME!!" Dinky screamed, bucking, and kicking, but Diamond had too much experience to be thrown off by the weaker girl's violent thrashing. She braced herself, holding Dinky down with an angry sputter bubbling from her lips.
"WHAT NOW, DINKY?! WHERE'S ALL THAT LIP NOW?! HUH?! WHAT NOW SMART ASS?! DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING, DID YOU?!" Diamond snarled. She lifted a hoof and brought it down across Dinky's face with a loud, resounding smack. It briefly stopped the struggle altogether, leaving Diamond and Dinky panting and heaving at one and other.
"MAKE A COMMENT ABOUT ME BEING A NUDGE!! DO IT AGAIN DINKY!!" Diamond screamed. She lifted her hoof to bring it down on Dinky's face for another slap, but the moment she lifted up was the moment Dinky turned her head and fired off a blast of magic. She caught Diamond right in the face. The silver filly shrieked in surprise, rolling off of Dinky and clutching at her face, trying to restore her lost vision; Dinky had blasted her right between the eyes!
"ARRRGH!!" Diamond screamed, rolling back and forth, clutching at her eyes. Dinky pounced, trying to take advantage of the situation. She dove onto Diamond, wrapping her hooves around the other girl's neck trying to wrench the star from her. She could use it to get home...get out of this nightmare!!
"I WANT TO GO HOME! TAKE ME HOME! I WISH I WAS HOME!" Dinky screamed, clutching at the star- but nothing happened. In those scant few seconds, Diamond launched her off with a firm kick, leaving the two of them laying on the ground, panting heavily and separated.
"Legit question, Dinky? Why follow us down here?" Diamond asked after a long few seconds of gazing at the ceiling. Dinky panted quietly in the darkness but otherwise didn't respond.
"Cause you hating me? I get that. You hate the servants? Fine. Maybe you hate Luna too, but why did you come down here? That's the one part I can't connect." Diamond groaned.
"I don't want to be alone. I hate you because you're dumber than rocks but...sometimes you're the only pony in the castle that will talk to me, and mom's too busy getting fired from her jobs, and ... and I don't...have a lot of friends." Dinky sighed. Diamond rolled her eyes in the dark.
"You don't say? No friends. How strange and yet, you have such a charming and unique personality," Diamond grumbled flatly. There were no responses from the darkness for a long few couple of seconds.
"I'm...not real good at making friends. And now I'll never get to be, because of you," The darkness said, somewhere adjacent to Diamond.
"You say that like we've already failed," Diamond groaned.
"Yes, Diamond. We have failed. See, you might not be aware of the fact we are fillies and not trained to handle a hostile environment, SUCH AS TARTARUS!" Dinky snapped. There was quiet for a long few moments before Diamond finally spoke up.
"Ok. We fail. We die down here. Your mom, my brother? They die, too. Canterlot? Ponyville? Manehatten? All gone," Diamond grumbled. Dinky's ears perked in the darkness. What in Equestria was this crazy filly talking about?
"Do you think Princess Celestia can deal with the news of her sister being lost AGAIN?! It would crush her. It would DESTROY her. You think she's gonna have the energy to raise the sun if she loses her sister after JUST finally getting her back? You think she'll care about anything? You think depression and despair and all that wouldn't take over? You think she'll be sunshine and rainbows? That princess was desperate enough to ask us to help find her sister and that means we are the LAST chance Equestria has. Without Luna, Celestia wouldn't raise the sun, or the moon. We'd all die with her heart," Diamond explained. She climbed to her hooves and reached up to tug the star piece from her neck.
"If I can save at least one pony from Tartarus, though, I'll do it," Diamond explained. She made her way over to a confused Dinky and held up her star.
"Take this and use it to try and wish yourself home. You might have to try multiple times but should eventually get you there. It might not work at all, but I hope it protects you...when you get out give it to my brother...ya know...so he can remember me? That way, you get out AND he gets a cool keepsake!" Diamond offered with the same, dumb, cheerful smile she had earlier when they started talking. Dinky balked and looked at the glittering jewel in her hooves and the brainless filly in front of her.
"I..." Dinky began. Diamond turned away from her and shrugged.
"You're right. We're probably gonna fail. I'm cool with that, because....well you know I've got nothing but borrowed time. I figure I'll use the last of it to look for Luna. Hey, I made it this far, right? You've still got a chance to get out of here, though." Diamond explained. Again, Dinky glanced down at the jewel in her hooves, and up at Diamond who started to walk away from her. Was she seriously just giving Dinky her most prized possession?
"You wanna bail? Fine. Just tell my brother I love him a whole bunch okay?" Diamond begged quietly, shuffling off into the cold darkness.
"Wait!" Dinky called out. Diamond paused, perking both her ears as Dinky wandered over and fell into step next to her.
"You know the star doesn't work for me," Dinky grunted and forcefully shoved it back into Diamond's hooves. Diamond looked confused for a moment, and Dinky shrugged her shoulders. "And that means if I want to use it to get home, you need to possess it and we need to find Luna, because you won't use it until we do. " Dinky explained coldly. The probability of survival was much higher working with Diamond than against her, though she was loathed to admit it.
"So let's go and find her then!" Diamond announced and trotted off, happy go lucky once more. Dinky could only sigh.
Virga liked combat. It was something he'd been trained to do from an early age, and something he excelled at. Combat was easy. Easier, at least, than the burden of his failures. He could lose himself in combat. He didn't have to think about the fillies he let die while he was fighting. Combat was soothing. Combat was comforting. Combat was something he needed right now, so he flocked to it.
When they summoned him from the tunnel into the cavern with a cry of alarm, he galloped as fast as he could, finding the path widened the further he traveled. When he got to the cavern's mouth, he immediate saw the problem.
Only...he didn't know what he was looking at.
There were creatures. Several of them, large and bulky with thick black fur across their forms. To Virga, they resembled some sort of gorilla or some kind of ape. Larger than the normal variety to be sure. They had pointy ears and jaws that protruded with pointy fangs, but it was the large chunks of metal that adorned their frames that caught his attention the most. As if someone had taken the liberty of removing the limbs the creatures had and replaced them with random bits of steel and construction materials.
They had formed a circle around the Servants of Shadow and were attacking them in groups of two and three. A creature that resembled a wolf came charging up, the right half of its skull was a shiny round bubble of steel that seemed like it ripped itself out if the creatures face, only to stop half way. It drew a nasty snarl and raced forward, only to be swiftly dispatched by Bright Spark. The teenaged unicorn had lined up a perfect blast of fire that tore into the creature, leaving it engulfed in flames and thrashing about the ground wildly.
More of them were coming. They loosely resembled animals Virga could name. A lion, a bear, a gorilla. They all had black murky fur, and all of them had pieces of metal or steel sticking out from their bodies. Whatever they were, they were attacking, and that's all Virga needed to see.
He brandished his wings, quickly ascending into the darkness where he could get a better view of the attacking enemies and a clear shot. More of the creatures came limping in out of the darkness. Hobbling on peg leg steel parts and scrabbling across the rock with pointed claws.
The one that looked like a lion was almost directly below him. He twisted in flight, firing a line of three icicles, that all pierced the creature, skewering it against the ground. Row after row of spikes slashed through the air, finding targets in the infinite creatures in the dark.
Virga seemed to have an endless supply of projectiles to release because he fired them with little regard for anything resembling conservation. For every beast that launched itself at him from the abyss, Virga had an excess of spears to launch in return. At one point it seemed to Bright Spark, he was simply trying to stuff as many bolts as he could through the creatures with no rhyme or reason.
He flash froze the ground, keeping himself in the air while the beasts struggled to stay upright on the now frictionless ground. They had become far too busy with Virga's assault to pay attention to the rest of the team, Bright Spark had noticed. From Virga's air superiority, he unleashed a terrifying barrage of hail that violently impacted the writhing creatures below him.
The largest creature towered over the group, with a massive chunk of steel extending from its right shoulder down to the ground. It raised the steel beam and brought it down on the ground with a heavy, ground shaking THUD and roared a tremendous bellow of defiance.
It only took one well-placed icicle driven into his skull to take it down. It hadn't even gotten to raise the weaponized limb it wielded before the blow was struck. Virga had lined up the shot and fired out a blast of ice that sped through the air like a bullet, piercing the monster through its brow.
Bright Spark watched, mouth agape as the massive beast gave a quick twitch and stumbled forward, the creature crushing one of the other beasts underneath it. The other creatures began to scatter, but they didn't have a chance. Even as far removed from the combat as they could be, Bright Spark noticed the ground near his hooves had taken on the sheen of a thick layer of frost and Virga rose higher and high into the darkness.
Now the cold was really setting in. Bright Spark could feel it in his blood. He could see his breath as more and more snow swirled around. A blizzard inside of a cave. A white out, with snow and ice and hail!! All of it swirling around in a wicked display of power!
The creatures looked confused and uncertain as the phenomenon took place. Jagged shards of ice, sliced through the air like razor blades, and the howl of the furious storm was drowned by shrieks of agony. A thin red mist filled the air, mixing in with the twisting white of snow. Somewhere in the blinding blizzard, Bright Spark had sworn he'd heard a voice screaming "Abominations!" over and over and over again. It was an unearthly wail of a voice that did not belong to Virga, or any sort of creature Bright Spark could identify.
He'd fallen to his belly, trying to find what cover he could when the storm began, but it vanished suddenly, just as it started, and the room was painted with scores of ichor and pulp. In the middle of it all stood Virga, trembling with a rage Bright Spark could feel from across the room. Silently, he turned towards the rest of the group and drew in a dark breath. If Bright Spark didn't know any better, he'd swear Virga was basking in the utter carnage he'd simply willed into existence. His eyes were wild tiny pupils that had a terrifying unnatural glow to them.
Bright Spark had expected combat. He had not expected a massacre. He felt sick. He could admit to that. That was the truth. He'd never seen creatures so ruthlessly butchered down before. Never so many, never so much and so violently. It was only now, did he notice the numerous ropes of gore splattered across his armor. Virga did not turn his anger on them, no, but consequences did not discriminate.
"Simply marvelous. This brings back memories of my first year in kindergarten..." Nettleglum purred wistfully. She approached Virga (slowly, Bright Spark noticed) and stiffly nodded her head.
"Steelwork beasts. Think of them as sort of a science project that went astray. They prowl less civilized areas, mutilating themselves. They are very, very hostile and make for terrible dining companions. They always bring the cheapest wine, " Nettleglum explained solemnly.
From the darkness came another wailing sound, and Scylla slithered her way along the floor. Bright Spark had lost sight of it during the battle, but it slithered quietly along the ground in open sight now. It stepped over severed body parts and pools of fluid, mindful the Nettleglum was watching at all times.
"I believe we are being bid to follow darlings. Scylla always did know the swiftest shortcuts. " Nettleglum intoned, following Scylla. Bright Spark followed suit quickly, but noticed, once more, Virga hadn't moved. He was sitting in the middle of the gore-caked battlefield, staring at the ground. He wanted to give him time to mourn, but they had a job to do. If it were up to him to take command of the situation, so be it.
"Um...Good job Virga. We have to start moving now. I know it's tough, but we gotta push through. That's...uh...that's an order, " Bright Spark said stiffly. He needed Virga's help if he was going to save the Princess, and that meant he couldn't have Virga moping around. Virga didn't move, nor turn around. Instead, he simply stared at his hooves. Was he holding something? Bright Spark frowned, creeping closer and closer still.
Oh.
He was holding the receiver crystal. He had fished it from his saddle pack when Bright Spark wasn't looking and now he stared at it, teary eyed and breathing heavily.
"WORK!" He snapped abruptly, giving the receiver a furious shake. Bright Spark took a step back, wincing nervously. Things were going from bad to worse quickly. If Virga wasn't stable, he might have to inform the rest of the Servants that Virga was a danger to the mission.
"Virga. I'm sorry, but-" He started, but this time Virga turned his head with a snarl, peering at Bright Spark with a terrifying focus.
"SHUSH! I thought I heard something!!" He barked. He turned back to the crystal, perking his ear and holding it against the side of his head.
Bright Spark slowly lowered his head. Aiming his horn at Virga's back, while the pegasus wildly shook the crystal. As if he could somehow pull the fillies out of it. He had lost it.
"Virga...please...they're gone," Bright Spark tried again. Virga did not respond, but instead held the receiver up to his ear, as if listening for the voice of a ghost. Bright Spark perked his ears too, slowly approaching Virga. He kept a careful eye on his wings, and kept his horn pointed at him at all times. Just in case. He was a pony with a terrifying power...a pony who may not be entirely sane, after watching two of his teammates perish.
He was about to gently prod Virga's back when he gave a tense sigh. "It's no use. It's-" The pegasus said, as the crystal took on a faint blue glow.
"HELLO?! HE**O!? SE*D HELP! I N**D HEL*!" a deep voice chimed out that Virga had never heard before. A very male voice that bled away into an angry, squeaky shout.
"Give it ba** to m* you mook! * *old you it's busted! They can't **** ** and we can't hear the* ******!!" squeaked a very familiar, very pegasi voice that clipped in only seconds before the connection died again. But those few seconds were all Virga needed. They were alive!
For the last hour or so, Dinky and Diamond had walked the bleak and barren land of Tartarus, looking for some sign of Princess Luna, and for the last hour or so, the trek had been made in blessed silence. As long as Dinky had known her, Diamond acted like 'silence' was a personal adversary of hers; an arch nemesis that she went out of her way to attack with her squeaky voice whenever possible. This trait made her attractive as bait for most situations but never failed to give Dinky a headache.
But now? On the utter precipice of despair and in the depths of Hades, the other girl was quiet. No, not just quiet, she was absolutely silent as they trudged across the wasteland. For a brief, flickering instant, Dinky allowed herself to hope that Diamond was actually doing something useful. Concentrating on putting her heightened senses to use in finding the princess, or maybe she was working on a full proof wish to get them home. Surely, the filly was contemplating the true depths of her powers and she was preparing to astound Dinky with tactical prowess and strategic insight. Just as Dinky was looking at her, the other girl stopped abruptly and got a wistful look across her muzzle as if she'd just had a striking epiphany.
"What do sandwiches taste like?" Diamond asked.
Dinky sighed. God, she hated this pony.
"What?" Dinky asked. She knew better than to ask. Really, she did. She could not figure out for the life of her why she carried on a conversation with Diamond Dancer. Boredom perhaps? The desire to bond with her fellow Equestrian? No no, Dinky was quite sure it was the gnawing insanity creeping around the outskirts of her mind from prolonged exposure to Tartarus.
"You know.......sandwiches?" Diamond explained helpfully. Dinky stared. Sandwiches. The girl was asking about sandwiches. Of all the things to be thinking about in the middle of an extremely critical mission: Diamond had chosen sandwiches. Diamond had stopped walking and turned to peer at Dinky quietly as if expecting a reply from her companion that wasn't riddled with insults.
"I'll be honest, Diamond. I don't get you. I admit that. I don't. You are easily the dumbest pony I know. You couldn't pour water out of a boot if the instructions were written on the heel, you destroy everything you touch, and you are a walking disaster. I mean, my dog, you're a neandertal, Diamond! Do you eat meat?! Somehow, you're so insanely stupid, you act as a functioning black hole for intellect! You are an intelligence vampire! And all of this is painfully demonstrated by the fact that you are talking, about, sandwiches!! And me?! I'm your latest victim! You've diminished my intelligence just by being around you, so much so that I actually followed you down here. I followed you into Tartarus! Do you not understand we are going to die?! How are you so clueless?! WHY ARE YOU SMILING?!" Dinky screamed. Her voice echoed into nothingness, lost in the endless depths of Tartarus.
"Heh. "Better up then down!" Thats and old Pegasus saying Bardigan told me! It means-" Diamond chirped brightly but Dinky held up a hoof.
"No. I don't care. You can't just brush this off! You can't just brush everything off! This isn't funny! I'm going to die because of you! You idiot!! Don't you even understand what you've done?! How are you even remotely cheerful!" Dinky shrieked. Diamond couldn't help but flash a gleeful grin regardless.
"Cause we're not dead yet, and as long as we're still alive we still have a chance to help Princess Luna!" she chirped happily. Dinky's mouth dropped open. This dumb filly was so entirely clueless that she actually thought she would be of some use to Luna still. Even throughout all of this. Dinky choked out a harsh sputter of a laugh.
"You really don't get it, do you? You have no idea what's going on at all. All you can think about is Luna. Are you even aware you're Luna's pet? Blindly following her at every turn, begging for scraps of attention. No, No, you're too dumb to figure that out, so let me spell it out for you: You're Luna's puppy: a stupid lapdog always at her side, trained to fetch and nothing more. You are not helping anypony," Dinky snarled quietly. Diamond turned abruptly towards Dinky, but whatever the pegasus was planning, Dinky was prepared for it. She wouldn't be caught off guard again by some stupid trick! Diamond, as if sensing Dinky's paranoia, turned away from her and shook her head with a diminutive growl.
"First of all, dogs is awesome, I would be so lucky, secondly, as an alleged dog, I reserve the right to bite you in any given scenario without prior warning. Third, Princess Luna needs our help, and we, like it or not, have been given the unique opportunity to help her. When you can help somepony out, why would you let the chance to help pass you by? I'm willing to do whatever it takes to save Luna! That's loyalty!" Diamond exclaimed. Dinky shot her a withering glare and huffed.
"Yes, yes. You're willing to do anything for Luna, even get the rest of her court killed while doing it. If Luna took a dump on your face and called it cake you would dig right in without hesitation, Diamond. You are too dumb to realize loyalty is not a virtue, it’s a weakness," Dinky sighed. Diamond paused at that statement and screwed up her muzzle in disgust.
"Are you asking me to belt you again? Cause it sounds like you're asking me to belt you again? I think I'm gonna belt you again. Loyalty is not a weakness, Dinky! Loyalty is-" Diamond began but Dinky held up a hoof with a groan.
"Try and focus on the bigger picture, Diamond. Your loyalty to Luna is the reason I'm going to die cold and alone in Tartarus," Dinky snarled. Diamond's ears splayed against her skull and the little girl gave a sigh.
"No, the reason you're gonna die cold and alone is because I'll probab-" Diamond began, but Dinky had held up a hoof suddenly, with a sharp "SHHHHHH" her ears perked and eyes wide. Had she heard something Diamond didn't? Did she have some sort of necromancer abilities to allow her to sense the presence of demons and it alerted her to some unseen danger?!
Diamond perked her ears listening to the silence around them, straining to try and discern whatever peril it was that Dinky had detected. The unicorn quietly crouched down behind her, trying to make herself as small as possible, while Diamond frantically searched for the threat.
"Over here!" said Dinky sharply, prompting Diamond to turn around and right into the horn pointed at her face. Diamond had long ago lost her sense of taste, her sense of smell, and her sense of touch, leaving her with just her rudimentary senses of sight and hearing, and her pegasi senses. Her remaining senses had been heightened drastically, and while it meant she could hear a pin drop, it also meant she was susceptible to bright lights more than the average night pony. A weakness Dinky casually exploited, flashing her horn as brightly as she could when Diamond had turned around.
"Gah!!" she shrieked, stumbling back in shock. The surprise attack had blinded her, and in that blindness left her open to a follow-up attack: A large rock Dinky grasped in an aura of telekinesis, and brought down across her skull, sending the filly crashing into the ground. Dinky climbed atop her. She pinned her tiny wings easily with a hoof and held the rock aloft to attack her again if she tried to squirm away.
"Listen to me featherbrain. This is a preemptive strike, and that means I'm hitting you before you hit me. If I'm going to die down here it isn't going to be because I let you get the drop on me twice. You are not going to lay a hoof on me again and if you try to 'belt' me I will choke you to death with your own tail, understand? Don't you EVER touch me again!! I am taking control of this situation! I am in charge! I am smarter than you. I will always be smarter than you, and if you want to get out of here and back to your ‘brother’, you are going to do what I say, got that?" Dinky grumbled. Diamond wriggled and squirmed underneath the other girl and laughed coldly.
"That sucker punch struck a nerve, huh? Trust me, Dinky, I WISH I didn't have to put up with you. This is no picnic, but I... " Diamond began but her voice trailed off when she noticed the star dangling from her neck twinkling to life. Dinky sighed.
“You moro-”
And then they were gone.
******************************
The star was particularly merciful this time around. It could have deposited Diamond and Dinky anywhere in the barren hellscape of Tartarus, but it had dropped them (atop one and other) neatly behind a large bluish boulder. There were a moderate number of rocks and stones surrounding them like they had been whisked away to the middle of a quarry of some kind.
“Nice job stupid. Now where are we?” Dinky snarled quietly, climbing off of the other filly and dusting herself off.
“Dinky...” was the only reply that Diamond could manage. She was lying on her belly, staring wide-eyed at something behind them. Slowly, Dinky’s gaze shifted towards whatever it was that Diamond was fixated on. By the mare in the moon...
Behind them, some distance away was an open grave. A mass open grave. An open grave that stretched endlessly outward and filled with just as many bones and bodies. Diamond drew her hooves over her muzzle in shock, but Dinky could only stare, now equally fixated on the morbid scene in front of her: hundreds and hundreds of dead ponies. The life long since sucked away from them, leaving them much like soulless husks piled on one and other. No. Not just dead ponies. Dead creatures. Hundreds and hundreds of violated, mutilated corpses, laying in crude stacks.
“Y-You can’t do this to me! I am royalty! I- I demand you release me at once! D-Do you hear me! Do you know who I am?! Celestia will surely be most cross with you! Release me at once, I say! I don’t want to be a sacrifice for Tirek! Let go of me! I need my blood inside my body!! He can’t have it!! I want my one phone call! Where do I file a complaint?! I want to talk to your manager!!” squealed a voice that echoed out from the clearing. Quietly, Diamond and Dinky peeked around the boulder they were behind, peering at the spectacle taking place in front of them. There was a unicorn, large and white with a big barrel chest, and long wavy locks of spun gold that danced from his skull. His snowy white coat was dirty and tarnished with mud and debris, but he looked uninjured. He was being dragged by his neck by a short chain towards the blood-stained clearing. Holding that chain was a creature Diamond Dancer couldn’t quite identify, but it dragged the big unicorn along with a horrifying strength.
It was large and colored a dark shade of dirty crimson. It looked like it was covered in wet skin; leathery layers of filthy flesh that wrapped and dangled around thick, deformed, sinewy muscles. It stood on two large, red, cloven hooves, digitigrade with thunderous, explosives steps that echoed about the empty clearing. As it pulled and tugged the unicorn forward, It turned and grunted in an alien cry of fury. Its head somewhat resembled a grotesque, monstrous goat with bulbous horizontal eyes, and a massive tusk fanged muzzle. The worst of the creature was the muscled arms that tapered down into horrifying claws where the end of its limbs should have been. The dangerous looking protrusions extended nearly three feet in length and glittered an ebony crystalline gleam.
“Is that who I think it is? That’s Blueblood isn’t it? What's that royal loser doing down here?” Diamond whispered dryly. The girls had taken to peering around the side of the boulder they were hiding behind, to watch the unicorn being dragged towards the center of the clearing. Dinky shook her head and made a face like she’d just swallowed a mouthful of soap.
“No idea. But I bet he can tell us why Luna’s down here. Look, there, see the cuffs around his legs?” Dinky whispered, pointing towards the creature and Blueblood. Diamond narrowed her eyes and scanned the two of them quietly. Around the unicorn’s ankles, there were indeed four, large iron looking cuffs wrapped tightly around each limb. Occasionally they took on a fierce and otherworldly crimson glow, illuminating a small circle of runes that wrapped horizontally around the cuff.
“Those are capture cuffs. They’re used by necromancers to keep demons in check, or force somepony to do their bidding. Mostly they're used for slavery. As long as those are on him, he’s not going to be able to run very far. I’ll have to disenchant them and that goat demon doesn’t look like he’s going to let us get close. We’ll need to-” Dinky growled, gasping in shock when Diamond suddenly went racing past.
"No time for plans, Dinks! He said he was going to be sacrificed! If we don't move, it'll be too late!! Get the Prince free, I’ll deal with goat-face!” Diamond hollered, throwing herself out of cover without another word. Dinky sighed, pausing to marvel at how quickly Diamond had decided to throw herself into harm's way before she had a chance to develop a plan. Every time she thought she'd reached the absolute bottom of her pit of hatred for Diamond, the filly appeared with a shovel and a smile.
“HEY!!! BUTT-HEAD!!”
Both Blueblood and the goat creature stopped their struggling and turned and looked at the tiny filly who had come out of nowhere and started screaming insults. Diamond swallowed nervously, and strolled to her right, making sure the prince and the creature had their eyes on her. She caught a glimpse of Dinky dipping behind the rocks closest to Blueblood. So far, so good.
“Yeah I’m talkin’ to you, can-eater! Step away from the prince, or I show you what a real headbutt looks like!” Diamond Dancer demanded, bracing herself and splaying her little wings as widely as she could. While she imagined she didn’t look threatening it didn’t matter as long as she drew all of the attention in the room...
The goat creature tilted its head ever so slightly and Diamond scrunched her nose. Maybe It didn’t understand her? A pity, that meant half of her arsenal was gone and if she couldn’t taunt the creature to keep its attention on her, she would have to find a different way to hold its focus. At least long enough for Dinky to free Blueblood. The creature slowly took a step forward towards Diamond, and tilted its head in the opposite direction before it opened its horrible grotesque mouth and emitted a sound.
Ever so much like a scream, yet not a scream nor sound Diamond had ever heard before, but it was easily a sound the filly never wanted to hear again. It started off low: like the guttural snarl of a panther that was mixed with the engine of an automobile, but the pitch was far, far too low to be either of those things. Only- it didn’t stay that way. That low, terrible, guttural growl got higher and higher until it resembled a deafening screeching violin that could shatter glass and Diamond’s ears splayed to either side of her head. It was not an earthly sound the creature had made and it managed to rattle the little pegasus to her core, well before the battle even started.
“T-The buck was that.....was that a war cry? That was impressive as -YIPE!” Diamond squealed, diving towards her left when the goat-like creature suddenly charged forward. It had attempted to skewer the filly with a quick and vicious pounce, but Diamond was quicker still. She dove to safety and rolled up onto her hooves in a combat ready pose. The creature gave a bleat of anger and turned towards Diamond, slashing at the girl with its long ebony claws. Diamond’s enhanced eyesight caught every errant flinch and tell-tale twitch the beast made before it attacked, however, and she was long gone before any of them could land.
“Whoa, swing-anna-miss! Strike two!! You are terrible at this, but you might make a good player for The Manehatten Mammoths with swings like that!" Diamond chided, dashing backward to avoid another slash from the monster’s claws. Her short, quick movements were starting to leave after-images of herself behind her, which were promptly destroyed by the rampaging goat. It was a neat little trick, one Dinky had watched Diamond practice over and over and over again. The contrail from her wings was a white streak of light, and that refracted the light off the crystalline properties of her coat like endless mirrors. The end result was an illusionary image of Diamond left behind when she darted to and fro. It was a phenomenon Dinky would have loved to study, but that would have required Diamond to sit still for longer than she was capable of. And to willingly be in Diamond’s company. Dinky shuddered. She had managed to dart close enough to Blueblood to feel that dark magic emanating from the cuffs around his ankles.
"Don't move," Dinky whispered, memorizing the numerous glyphs that were wrapped around the anklets. She knew most of them by heart. A language of the dead. Yes! She could recite a counter-spell to undo the cuffs!
"Who are you?! What's going on?! Who is that?! Why is that goat-pony so mean?! Did you see its claws?! Do peasants not know what a manicure is?! What kind of vacation is this?! Why does he want my blood?! Did Auntie Celestia send you?! Where is the rest of your squad?! Why are there children in the army?! Are you a filly?! How did you get down here?! Where is Auntie Celestia?! Goodness you're filthy! Try not to touch my royal hooves!" The unicorn above her babbled. Dinky groaned and squeezed her eyes shut. The prince's pointless questions were not helping her concentration in the slightest.
"Quiet!" She whispered sharply. For a moment, the prince's ears perked in surprise at the rude little filly tending to him, and he gave an indignant snort.
"How dare you! I say, I'm not accustomed to such paltry service! And I'm hardly talking loud at all! Certainly not loud enough to warrant that kind of response! Who are you to tell me to be quiet! You didn't answer any of my questions! Do you know who I am?!" Blueblood snarled. Dinky rolled her eyes and in doing so, caught sight of Diamond while she worked distracting the guard. Her stupid abilities had kicked in fully now, and every movement she made left a glittering trail of sparkles behind her. The crystal fur she had was shedding, a trait of her sickness that happened when she overexerted herself.
Still, sick or not, Diamond could still provide an ample distraction, and her odd little ‘Rainbow-Dash-Inspired’ tricks were proving to benefit her greatly. She nimbly dodged the goat’s claws and danced around his slashing attacks, but when it turned away from her to deliver a swift kick from one of its legs, it caught Diamond square in the face. The blow was enough to snap Diamond’s head back and send the filly spiraling into the air. She crashed hard into the dirt, tumbling head over hooves, until she lay still and silent.
The goat creature threw its head back and made a bleating sound of triumph before it trudged over to collect its prize. The downed filly didn’t move, and Dinky didn't expect her too. Not yet at least. One of Diamond's favorite tricks was playing dead until the last possible second. This would at least buy her some more time. She turned back towards the cuffs and charted her progress. The last of the runes on his hind right ankle had faded away, and the cuff tumbled to the ground with a quiet clatter.
The monster lumbered over towards Diamond, looming over the filly with a vengeful gleam in its eye. Diamond was laying on her belly with her eyes closed. Her ears were flat against her skull and her legs were tucked underneath her. The creature slowly reached down to skewer the filly in its claws, happily taking its time to slaughter its victim. Before it could sink its claws into Diamond's flesh, however, the filly sprang forward in a startling burst of speed. From a prone position, Diamond had launched into a furious headbutt and surprised the monster with a solid strike! She cracked him in the face, mirroring the hit he'd delivered to her earlier and skittered out of his range with a leering grin.
"Na-Na-Na-Boo-Boo, eat a bowl of dog pooh! What kind of dumb loser demon can't kill a filly?!" Diamond cackled, followed with the most obnoxious raspberry Dinky had ever heard. It was making her fur stand on end so she had no doubts the goat was just as eager, if not more so, to separate Diamond's tongue from her muzzle. Good. All the more time for Dinky to work her magic. So far, she had just about finished the second cuff.
Dinky tried to keep focused on the task at hoof, but a bestial cry of fury from the goat drew her attention promptly. The monster had grown tired of Diamond's antics and now aimed to quickly, and painfully eviscerate this tiny filly buzzing around it. It slashed and clawed at the girl bouncing around it in circles, but could not land a solid strike.
Diamond was nimble and made good use of her tiny size. She skittered around the demon, dipping to his left and then his right, between his legs behind him, and then up and over his head with a flutter of her wings. If she could keep that up, Dinky would be finished in no time, and they could make a run for it. Dinky glanced down at the last cuff in her hooves, almost finished...
"So, Dinky! Anytime would be good!!" Diamond called over her shoulder. Dinky gave a grunt. The dumb filly must have thought decrypting and disenchanting a complex bondage spell was an easy thing to do. She had a retort lined up for the dumb pegasus, but it died in her throat when she glanced up, just in time to see the goat demon land his second blow. This one caught Diamond in the side with pitch black claws and left a grisly gash in her flesh. Diamond crashed to the ground, rolling onto her back and scooting away from the looming beast with wide, panic-stricken eyes.
"Wh-What?! WHAT IS THIS?! HOW?! I-I DON'T UNDERSTAND!! W-WAIT! WAIT! I DON'T UNDERSTAND!!" Diamond screamed, looking over her fresh wounds in panic. She'd never encountered a situation where she didn't have the advantage of invulnerability! Impossible! This was impossible!! She looked down at the new hole in her side. Her ribs. She could see her own ribs. Two dark red little shards of bone that peeked out past her blood stained fur. In a desperate panic, Diamond tried to put herself back together, scooping up as much of her blood as she could to force it back into the oozing wound. No no no no no! Scared and teary eyed, she did her best to try and push her ribs back into her body while trying to keep an eye on the demon at the same time. How was this happening?! How was it hurting her?! She was supposed to be invincible! Her body wasn't supposed to react like this!! There was no pain, but there was so much blood spilling out of her! There was too much blood spilling out of her...
"NO!! WAIT!! PLEASE!! NO!!" Diamond squealed. She had ended up scooting back on her rump, trying to put as much distance between her and the angry demon as possible, but there was no escape. Without another word, the monster skewered the girl in one vicious thrust, stabbing its long ebony claws through Diamond's belly and out her lower back. She thrashed wildly and wide-eyed, trying to free herself from the creature. Were those her intestines?! Could she see her own guts, ebbing out around the sinister claws?! For the love of Luna...
"STOP!! I WANT MOMMY!!" Diamond hollered in a blind panic, tears rushing from her eyes as she was slowly lifted up into the air. She'd never seen her own blood gush out of her like that before. Never so much and never quite so black. It was like ink. She was bleeding out all of the night time inside of her! NO!! Somewhere, in the back of her mind, she was aware that didn't make any sense, but panic had completely taken over by this point. The goat creature cackled a low, haunting laugh and held Diamond out at arm's length, observing his hard-won prize. A screaming, struggling filly was not something it saw in Tartarus all too often, and what was stranger still was the girl's blood. Oh, she bled alright. Long syrupy rivets of the stuff, but it was black as the night sky, and poured from her body with an almost ominous slowness, like sludge or molasses.
Black, bubbling blood was too good to pass up. The girl struggled in its grasp, but she wasn't going anywhere. It lifted her up, higher and higher over its head. It hadn't bathed in blood for nearly a month and now it was faced with a golden opportunity. Slowly, it watched the shiny black blood ooze down and splatter over its forehead. Down across its eyes. Down over its neck. It shuddered at the warm sensation that cascaded over its body and twisted its claws a little more to increase the flow.
It was so warm! It was SO warm! The child's blood was so deliciously, comfortingly warm. Almost hot, really. The goat Demon squirmed under the filly, much the way the filly squirmed over it. Ok, now the blood was hot. A good kind of hot. A bit like a sauna. Comforting and cozy. Well, maybe it was slightly uncomfortable. It was more like a hot tub that had been turned up to high. Like a scalding bath but he was enjoying himself none the less. At least, that was the truth when he'd first started to bathe. Now it was slightly too uncomfortable to enjoy. The blood had gone from cozy, to scalding to boiling! No, hotter than that. It was painfully searing! Hotter, and hotter still. Not searing!! BURNING!!!
The goat dropped Diamond to the ground, throwing the wounded filly away from it to clutch at its eyes where the blood was hissing and bubbling and melting into his face. It screamed, and thrashed, wildly clawing at itself while the filly's blood ate away at its face like acid. The long black claws did it no favors in removing the substance from its face, and soon the monster was a shrieking mess of blood and bone. It collapsed to the ground, screeching in agony, clutching helplessly at its face. It didn't even feel the sudden weight on its chest from the little filly who climbed up onto it. It certainly, however, felt the filly who grabbed it by the face with a weak snarl.
"Hey....Butt-head...You're not...you're not done with your bath!!" Diamond growled, grasping the creature's head with her tiny hooves. She forced its face into her blood coated belly. The creature screamed and trashed, but Diamond clung to it with as much force as she could muster. It screamed into her messy fur, and plead into her fresh wounds, but Diamond didn't let go until the creature had stopped moving. Stopped screaming. Stopped breathing. It was dead.
Diamond weakly rolled to her side, and off of the creature. There were holes in her. Holes in her tummy and a great gaping gash in her barrel. Panicked and confused by her condition, Diamond stole a glance around the quarry, coming to stop on Blueblood and Dinky who were staring at her from across the clearing. Slowly, she turned towards them with a pleading whimper, extending a blood-soaked foreleg towards them. It felt like all of her energy was pouring out of her and just summoning the strength to crawl forward was using the last of her reserves.
"Dinky.....help..." Diamond squawked. The blurry figure of Dinky meandered over calmly and coldly and stopped right in front of the filly, scanning her quietly.
"What was that about belting me?" Dinky asked coldly, watching the large black puddle of blood that spread underneath Diamond. The other filly made a sputtering sound and kicked and twitched, trying to pull herself to her hooves.
"Dinky...please...I...I don't feel so good...I'm scared..." Diamond sputtered, reaching for the other filly's hoof. Dinky sighed and stood up, glancing around the clearing for a tool to help Diamond...ahh! Perfect. She stood up with a quaint, tiny nod and stepped out of Diamond's view. The injured girl tried to turn to follow Dinky, as she swiftly set about collecting the largest rock she could find. Diamond watched in silence, injured and helpless, as Dinky turned around and sauntered up to her void of anything resembling emotions.
"Relax. I'll help," Dinky snarled. Diamond gave a helpless whine and tried to kick to her hooves, but her legs refused to obey her commands. Teary eyed and out of options, Diamond looked up at the older girl with a pleading whimper.
"D-Dinky..." Diamond squeaked nervously. Dinky didn't respond and simply stared down at Diamond for a long few moments while the filly slowly bled out in front of her. Finally, Dinky came to a decision, and hefted the rock over her head with a burst of telekinesis and glared at the crippled filly. In her last fleeting moments of panic-stricken consciousness, Diamond realized the star had granted her wish. Now she wouldn't have to deal with Dinky. She wouldn't have to deal with Dinky ever again.
The rock came down with an echoing thud, and not an ounce of regret.
Dinky shuddered, doing her absolute best to try and process the adrenaline rushing through her body as she dropped the rock to the ground. Diamond didn't move. The little unicorn drew in the stale air of the cavern and hissed through her teeth. In through her nose, out through her mouth. Breathe. Slowly, now. Deeply, now. Breathe. Breeeeeeathe.
Quietly, Dinky threw her gaze over Diamond's crumpled body one more time, before she turned and narrowed her eyes at Blueblood. He stood staring at her, wide-eyed and slack-jawed. Most importantly, no longer babbling inane questions. He swallowed silently and lifted a shaky hoof, pointing nervously at Dinky.
"Y-yo-yo-yo..." he sputtered. Dinky glared quietly and puffed out an irritated sigh.
"You," she said for him and watched his lips flap while he tried to form a sentence.
"K-k-k-k-k..." Blueblood stammered. Dinky felt the fur on the back of her neck starting to heckle. She glanced over at the blood splattered rock she'd recently discarded and looked back towards Blueblood thoughtfully. No one would ever know...
"Killed her. Yes. Astute observation. Where is Luna?" Dinky demanded coldly. Blueblood didn't answer. His stare was affixed to Diamond's mutilated body and the utter coldness at which Dinky went shuffling it around with her magic. She lifted one of Diamond's forelegs, dangled it limply in the air, and then turned her over onto her back and glared at her quietly. Whatever the filly was looking at seemed to displease her, because she cursed sharply and rolled her eyes.
"I asked you a question, " she grunted. He'd been silent while she was examining Diamond's corpse, and was silent now as she plucked the necklace from the other filly and looked over the glimmering object thoughtfully. The powers of the cosmos bestowed upon the dumbest girl in existence. It wasn't fair. For a moment, Dinky wished Diamond were still alive if only she could kill her a second time. It was strangely, not quite as satisfying as she'd hoped. She sighed. The dark thoughts were getting darker and darker. Part of being a necromancer, and the books she'd been reading, she suspected. She wrapped Diamond's necklace around her throat and turned pointedly towards Blueblood, who coughed and rubbed the back of his head.
"I...um...she's at the castle," he squeaked. He was talking to a murderer. A cold blooded murderer. A child killer. This was worse than the goat-beast. He nervously eyed the rock Dinky had used and swallowed the lump in his throat. Was he next? He had hoped for a rescue and now he was disturbed by the rescue team. How ironic. He thought bitterly. Dinky 's ears perked and she gave a huff.
"Castle? Who's castle?" Dinky asked. She sighed. Getting a straight answer out of this moron was like asking her mother a math problem. Blueblood gazed down the pathway the goat had brought him and shuddered.
"I- I don't know. Some goat guy or something. G-Gargamel, I think. I want to go home!" Blueblood snapped. Dinky frowned. Gargamel...? She'd read about a lame sorcerer by that name, once, in a book in the library in regards to alchemy. What would some sorcerer want with Princess Luna? No. There was more to it than that. She glared up at Blue Blood quietly, and then past him at the cuffs lying on the ground. ...Those could work...
"Tell me what's going on and how you got down here. Make it snappy, we don't have long," Dinky grumbled, motioning for Blueblood to step to one side. Behind him, the demon cuff's fluttered up into the air, firmly clasped in Dinky's telekinetic aura. But she didn't threaten him with them. Instead, she floated them over towards her and quietly began to affix one after another to the murdered child she'd been sitting next to. Did this filly not have any respect for the dead at all?!
"I won an all expenses paid underground extravaganza vacation!" the Prince whimpered. Maybe if he just answered her questions, he could wait until she wasn't looking. Surely he could overpower a child, right? The little filly didn't respond. She was instead focused entirely on the corpse next to her, painstakingly using her magic to place the cuffs around her cannons. He noticed, she made absolutely sure to keep her distance from the blood that had melted through the goat's face. He peered down the path again. She wasn't paying attention. He could make a break for it. He drew in a breath to steel himself...
"That is a terrible idea, " Dinky warned. She wasn't looking at the prince, but the moment he'd taken a step forward, she'd seemed to know instantly. He gulped and returned to where he was standing.
"You said Tirek wants your blood. The books I've read suggest some of the worst prisoners in Tartarus are confined by the blood of royalty. It's required to unshackle their bonds. ...Alright...let me guess: You were told to travel to the badlands, whereupon you were taken into the desert and pulled down here by force...But you're not the goal. You're bait for a princess, and it was Luna. If Tirek wants out of confinement, he'd need help...But some low-level sorcerer couldn't possibly...wait...you said he was a goat...are you sure you don't mean Grogar? The Necromancer? The tyrant of Tamelon?!" Dinky demanded, turning to point a hoof at Blueblood, but the other pony had stopped listening to her. He stared, wide-eyed and mouth agape passed her like he'd seen a ghost. Dinky didn't have to guess what he was looking at. She scowled darkly as the last of her patience started to ebb away.
"You should be very, very dead," Dinky sighed. She glanced over her shoulder with a glare of irritation. Yup. Diamond's corpse had pulled itself upright and into a sitting position. Her head was down and her neck was limp, but her eyes had a faint incandescent glow to them. Of course, they would, Dinky realized. She'd been whacking the girl in the head...
"And yet..." Diamond hissed coldly. "Despite your valiant efforts, here we are," She snapped sharply, each word from her lips coated in venom. Dinky held her glare of utter contempt, staring at Diamond's crooked frame. The filly hadn't moved from that spot. Perhaps she was still too weak? That meant Dinky still had the upper hoof, for now. She aimed to keep it that way.
"I'd wondered if those claws would tear through your crystal hide. Legend has it, the ebony claws of a Tartarus demon could even shred the golden fleece. I figured silver fur wouldn't be too much of a challenge. Dragged down into the dirt like the rest of us, huh miss invincible? There are only so many things in the world that can 'chip' you and now we've found one more to add to the list. You are vulnerable. You are weak. If you stay down here, You will die. You will not see your brother again. Give up. Take the hint. Take us home. Make a wish," Dinky growled and dangling Diamond's star in front of her nose. Diamond glared passed the star at Dinky and quietly narrowed her eyes.
"You....You knew it could hurt me? And you didn't tell me? You let me go up against that thing, knowing it could have killed me?" Diamond asked, spitting each word out like they were covered in the thickest hatred imaginable.
"You dove in without waiting for my plan. This is what you get for being so stupid. You deserve it," Dinky explained. Diamond glared at Dinky for a long few moments. Dinky glared back.
"Alright, Dinky. I wish you were home. I really, REALLY, wish you were home. Happy? I could find the princess better without you," Diamond hissed bitterly. The two fillies glared at the star. Nothing happened. Dinky sighed and pulled the jewel around her own neck, watching the twitching anger behind Diamond's eyes as she did so. She was quite sure, that if Diamond had the energy the pegasus would have snatched it back into her possession, but as it was, Diamond remained quiet and crumpled in her sitting position, keeping her eyes on Dinky the entire time.
Dinky gave an irritated sigh. Trying to frighten Diamond into wanting to go home should have worked. The trauma of seeing a demon tear apart your body should have ignited a spark in her heart to go fleeing for the hills and never look back. It should have frightened her into a wish of cowardice, transporting them home and leaving grown-ups to handle the situation. A crude plan, but all Dinky had time to come up with on the fly. And yet, Diamond was still too stupid to want to go home. The wish Diamond had made was under duress and without passion. The star had failed to grant Dinky anything more than a headache.
"Very well. I had hoped to extract a wish from you to take us home, but it seems that's not an option. Pity you can't handle that. But I have a backup plan. BlueBlood says Luna is being held in a nearby castle. We are going there to find Luna, and you are going to protect me. You are my bodyguard, the way it should be. You'll die before I do, understand?" Dinky announced smugly. Diamond gave a cold laugh and narrowed her eyes.
"I think you are severely underestimating how much I'd like to bite you right now, "Diamond grumbled softly. Dinky nodded her head.
"Oh, but I'm not. Hence the cuffs. I have seen Pegasi crack the speed barrier. I've seen contrails of fire, lightning, light, ice, even smoke. I've seen pegasi do some amazing things, but I've never seen a pegasi regenerate. Not like you do. Not like that," Dinky spit quietly. Diamond gave a snort.
"I can't regenerate you moron," Diamond growled. Dinky stared in silence before she gestured towards Diamond's belly. Diamond had been looking herself over and knew exactly what Dinky was referring too, even if she didn't expect it herself: The puncture wounds she'd gotten from the goat creature were gone, as was the gash in her side. Diamond swallowed quietly, and Dinky nodded her head glaring at the pegasus.
"A few years ago, a stupid little filly came to ponyville, looking for Princess Luna. I didn't know her, back then, but her name was Diamond Dancer. Diamond somehow managed to get the interest of a nightmare, like the one that accosted Princess Luna and transformed her into Nightmare Moon," Dinky growled. Diamond's ears twitched faintly at the story of her own history.
"I already know this story, Dinky," Diamond grumbled, but Dinky continued regardless.
"So this foolish filly: Diamond Dancer gets possessed by this evil spirit that wants to use her body and take over Equestria. Diamond is rescued by Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. When that happened, Luna ordered me to start brushing up on nightmares. Would you like to know the symptoms of your affliction?" Dinky asked. Diamond huffed silently. Dinky continued unabated.
"It will return for you, one day. It's a powerful entity. It's strong enough to take over an Alicorn, so what hope do you think you have? It won't let you go. Even now it's slowly taking over. It's in your blood. In your head. In your soul. That's how you regenerate, you know? The curse fills in those missing pieces with the essence of itself. Every time you get hurt the curse gets stronger and stronger. In the long run, if it finds you again, it will be able to take over without any resistance. And if it can't do that, eventually, you'll just become one of them, and it won't matter anyway. So 'these' are a precaution," Dinky explained, gesturing towards the slave cuffs around Diamond's cannons. Diamond glared at them silently, then brought her gaze up towards Dinky. She had a smug little grin glued to her lips.
"Dinky. I am going to tell you this once: Release me," Diamond snarled. Dinky rolled her eyes.
"How about, instead, you punch yourself in the face for me," Dinky commanded, watching in delight as Diamond slowly raised a hoof and smashed it as hard as she could into her face.
"The cuffs keep you under my control and you'll remain as such until I deem fit otherwise. You'll do as I say until the mission is complete. From now on, you're my shield,"Dinky explained, adjusting her tiny glasses. While Diamond sat still, Dinky could tell she was struggling in vain against the magic of the cuffs. Try as she might though, Diamond was completely in Dinky's control, and with her star wrapped firmly around Dinky's neck, the girl wasn't going to be making any errant wishes anytime soon.
Dinky stood up and glanced at Blueblood, who had been standing only a few feet away, watching the exchange between this murder-child and a girl who just crawled back from the dead.
"I have 'it' under control. You are going to lead us to the castle where Luna is being held. If we can get to her, she can help us return to the surface, it's our only option right now," Dinky announced, turning towards Blueblood. He frowned in response and shook his head.
"Sooooo sorry, but I don't take orders from childr-"He paused, finding his voice seizing up in his throat. Dinky was glaring at him in such a way that every drop of moisture in his mouth had suddenly vanished. He swallowed dryly and dipped his head forward. "Err...Yes. T-This way." he squeaked quietly, gesturing down the part with a foreleg.
"Come, Diamond. You're to defend me no matter what. You know, with those cuffs on, I wonder if you'd be forced to follow instructions even in death....guess we'll find out," She chuckled dryly. Diamond glared the devil's glare at the other filly and found herself slowly lifting her legs and following quietly behind Dinky.
"You're only so smug because this thing is busted. If this thing was still working, the Servants would have heard every word in the Harmonix Collar," She growled. Blueblood's eyes immediately bulged. Harmonix collar?! He'd heard of them before!! They were all the rage in Canterlot right now! If the filly had one he could get help! He could go home!!! He turned, pouncing Diamond to the ground and groped at her neck for the shiny collar she was wearing.
"HELLO?! HELLO!? CAN YOU HEAR ME?!" He screamed into the girl's face, grasping his hooves around the collar and shaking it wildly. If he could just get a signal... The dead-not-dead-anymore filly squealed and flailed her little limbs at him.
"Leggo you moron! This thing's busted! If it worked they'd have come to get us by now!" Diamond explained, but Blueblood didn't listen, pinning the filly to the ground in a desperate plea for assistance. He ripped the collar from her throat, pulling it close to his face where he screamed into it as loudly as he could.
"HELLO?! HELLO?! SEND HELP! I NEED HELP!!" he yelped. Diamond had almost immediately leaped into the air to grasp her collar from the panicked prince.
"Give it back to me you mook! I told you it's busted! They can't hear us and we can't hear them stupid!!" Diamond snarled. Dinky gave an agitated sigh and rested a hoof on the bridge of her nose. It would be so easy to just leave Blueblood here. The Princess, however, would not look so fondly on such a strategic maneuver. If Dinky wanted the kind of favor she might receive from Luna that would send her back home from this nightmare, Blueblood would be a key component in that, and that meant keeping him alive. She peered thoughtfully at the idiot pegasus and the idiot unicorn before turning sharply on her hooves.
"Let's get this over with. Blueblood lead the way. Diamond, stick close and shield me. We're going to sneak into the castle, find Princess Luna, and sneak out. Now let's move. First- Diamond, punch yourself in the face," Dinky announced, turning to watch Diamond do as she was told. The cuffs around the pegasus' cannons glowed faintly with every one of Dinky's words and Diamond found herself helpless to Dinky's instructions. She lifted a hoof and drew it back, before she smacked it as hard as she could into her nose.
"That will never get old," she snorted, turning to follow Blueblood, who slowly took the lead and started down the path.
"This really isn't the best condition for this sort of thing. Why on earth do I have to be in front? Wouldn't it make more sense to put the dead girl ahead? Why does this sort of thing always happen to me? I'm royalty! This is the worst day ever! Why do I have to suffer when there are so many other ponies in the world who are worse than I am?! I don't deserve this kind of shabby treatment! Why kind of ponies does Celestia hire anyway?! Was this the best she could do?! Really? Do you have monthly reviews? Are you aware of how you're supposed to treat royalty?!" he growled, while Diamond trailed behind the two of them. Slowly, something dawned on her. Oh. She no longer had to deal with Dinky. Now she had to deal with Dinky, and Blueblood. The star had granted her wish twice now. She could cry. She really could.
Just outside the mouth of the cave of steelwork beasts, the Servants of Shadow had gathered to stare in awe at the castle that loomed in the distance. It stood stoic and intimidating upon a large copper colored hill, drenched in gothic architecture and a foreboding silence. Scylla pointed a hoof towards the castle and relayed a whimpering sound to Nettleglum. The purple pony(?) nodded her head stiffly, turning towards the rest of the group with a grim sigh.
“I believe Scylla is leading us to that castle in the distance. That is the castle of Grogar, the Tyrant of Tamelon. He is a fierce necromancer and not to be trifled with! He always cuts ahead of the line and never leaves a tip. His evil knows no bounds. If he is involved I believe our princess will be in dire peril. We should make haste to retrieve her,” Nettleglum explained, stiffly starting down the path towards the castle. Virga hesitated but only for a moment, before he and Full Plate gruffly started down the path behind Nettle. Scylla, however, turned and darted up along the hillside. She vanished without another word, turning to peer at them as if to say “Goodbye” to the doomed rescue party before she disappeared out of sight. Bright Spark got the feeling that he would not encounter it again. No matter. She’d assisted them in finding their next locale, they could take it from here. He fell into step with Virga, glancing behind them at the lonely trail towards the cave they had left in their wake.
Deeper and deeper into Tartarus. Could they ever find their way back out? All bets were on the princess now. What if she could not free them from this place?! What if she were dead before they could reach her?! Would they be trapped down here forever?! Nervously, Bright Spark looked over at Virga. The black pegasus walked with a dedicated stride, towards the castle, but Bright Spark noticed a hesitation in his steps. Perhaps Virga was worried too...or maybe he were thinking of the children. Just hearing they were alive seemed to brighten his day considerably, even if they had no plans to escape this terrible place.
“You think those kids have a chance down here?” Bright Spark asked grimly. Virga let out a choked laugh and shook his head.
“Diamond’s hard as her namesake and Dinky is smart as a whip. Their biggest threat is to each other, but as long as they’re together, I think they’ll survive until we can find them... Unless they kill each other first that is,” Virga explained sullenly. Bright Spark gave a grunt of annoyance even still. Who on earth thought it was a good idea to bring children on a critical mission such a this? It was insanity. A ‘magic star’ couldn’t possibily be powerful enough to justify bringing foals along. If it were so powerful, why not just wish Luna back to them? Why go down into Tartarus at all?
“Great. We’ll have to rescue the rescue party. Them being here is just dumb! It doesn’t make any sense. Those stupid kids are more of a liability if anything else. What was the princess thinking, recruiting them into our organization? It’s....it’s...It’s lunacy...hehhehe,' he grinned. Virga tilted his head, shooting the unicorn a penetrating gaze and gave a little huff.
“There’s a saying among the Servants of Shadow. ‘The fillies are her favorites’ They’re Luna’s...’children of the night’ so to speak. You’ll gain no favor with our princess if she hears you talking like that," he chuckled flatly. Bright Spark’s ears drooped to either side of his head, and his mouth went dry. Had he just shot himself in the hoof? He winced and flashed a nervous smile.
“ Are you serious? She cares about them that much?” he asked incredulously. Virga nodded.
“Once, she reassigned a guard to Detrot for disturbing Dinky during her studies,” he explained. Bright Spark’s mouth dropped open in disbelief and he wildly searched Virga’s face for clues of jest. He HAD to be joking! However hard he searched, Bright Spark could find no traces of anything resembling humor in Virga’s response. If the foals were so important to the princess...
“There’s no way Luna would leave Tartarus without them...We’re trapped here,” Bright Spark groaned quietly. Virga nodded his head grimly.
“Diamond’s star might be able to transport us home. As a backup extraction plan if Luna is unable to do so. Luckily, if we wait long enough, she might appear with a wish. In the interim, we find Luna.” Virga explained. Bright Spark sighed again. The entire extraction plan was based on one little girl who could be anywhere in Tartarus. Bright Spark only hoped she had the common sense to stay safe and out of sight.
*****
Diamond sighed quietly, staring up at the ebony castle Blueblood was leading them to. It was stoic, perched loftily above them on a large coin colored hill. They were moving carefully, approaching it from behind when Blueblood stopped suddenly. Dinky stopped when he did and Diamond stopped with them and the three of them peered at the morbid castle in front of them, searching for a backdoor or some rear entry.
“So. Dinks. Care to tell me about anything that might rip me apart before it happens this time? Who’s this Grogar mook and what’s his story?” Diamond growled.
“First punch yourself in the face,” Dinky commanded and couldn’t stifle a giggle as the filly did as she was told. This time she hit herself so hard it snapped her head back sharply.
“Still hilarious. Grogar is a goat. A necromancer of enormous power. Once, long ago he ruled Ponyland with an iron hoof,” Dinky explained. Diamond scratched her head curiously.
“Ponyland? That's the place across the Sparkling sea, isn’t it?” Diamond asked, letting her mind flicker back to what she could remember about geography. It wasn’t much, but she could hold a map of the world in her head.
“Oooo top marks Diamond. You remember the name of a sea. Don’t strain yourself. Grogar ruled with twelve mystic bells he used to influence his powers. Each could do something different. He could read minds, open portals, summon the dead, and draw upon the darkest spells and rituals in existence,” Dinky explained. Diamond blanched.
“If this yutz is so powerful, how in Equestria are we supposed to beat him?” The girl whined.
“Oh, now you want to hear a plan?” Dinky asked smugly. Diamond glared.
“About as much as I’d like to be shiska-bobbed again,” she growled. Dinky gestured towards the castle, and then back towards Diamond.
“Simple. You will sneak into the castle, and locate Princess Luna. Your larceny expertise and the fact that you’re too dumb to die make you the ideal candidate for this mission. I will remain out here, keeping BlueBlood safe,” Dinky explained, adjusting the little spectacles on her nose.
“I approve of plans where I'm kept safe,” said Blueblood sagely. Diamond’s eyes narrowed, but before the girl could protest Dinky held up a hoof.
“That's majority vote. Not that it matters, since you don’t have a choice. I order you to sneak into the castle and search for Princess Luna,” Dinky said sternly. Diamond remained seated, fighting tooth and nail against Dinky’s control
“Dinky I swear to the mare in the moon if you don’t let me out of these stupid cuffs!!” Diamond snarled fiercely. Dinky shook her head with a grumble.
“Did you forget how to be a thief you idiot?! I said sneak in! No talking you moron! Now go," she said, pointing a hoof towards the castle.
Suddenly, Diamond drew a wide smile across her face and nodded her head. Beaming brightly, Diamond Dancer gave Dinky a happy (if not sloppy) salute and marched her way towards the castle. After all, now that she didn’t have to worry about Dinky or Blueblood, she could search for Luna without any distractions or Dinky’s insistent insults. And once she found Princess Luna, the princess would take these dumb cuffs off. And once that happened, she and Dinky were going to have a conversation. Oh, goodness, yes. Diamond was good at talking with her hooves, and she was planning to deliver quite the monologue. The filly grinned to herself and made her way down the road.
The moments trickled passed slowly. So slowly, in fact, that it felt like each second was a stretched eternity of waiting for Diamond to return from her errand of searching the castle. It wasn't the greatest plan; sending Diamond in alone, but she was the only one who had some probability of success. Crystalline ponies had a natural resistance to magic, and her diamonized skin made her tougher than most. Still that meant Dinky and Blueblood were vulnerable while Diamond was away, and if another one of those goat demons arrived, it would be up to Dinky to actually combat it. It was a thought that left a sour taste in her mouth and a chill that raced down her spine. She doubted her mystic arts would provide much of a defense against goat demons or other creatures in Tartarus, and all she could do was hope everything worked out.
The little unicorn groaned quietly and reached her hooves up to massage her temples as another terrible thought occurred to her. Diamond had barely managed to topple a single one of the creatures. If she were forced to combat multiple demons at once, they would demolish her, cursed blood or not. No amount of regeneration would help that number of opponents. The stupid filly wouldn't stand a chance...and Dinky was the one who ordered her into it. Dinky had ordered Diamond to her own death, before the disease or her own stupidity ever could. There was no way she'd stand a chance in Tartarus without her star to support her, but she couldn't leave Blueblood on his own! This was all Diamond's fault. Had she just stayed out of Tartarus like Dinky had told her to in the first place, she could be in the warm comfort of the castle library reading to her hearts content and Diamond wouldn't be in any danger.
"Are....you worried about your friend?" A gentle voice asked. Dinky and Blueblood had taken refuge near the 'quarry' which Dinky had figured out was a sacrificial pit. The numerous bodies and the horrid stench of decay was testament of that. She had been so wrapped up in her thoughts about Diamond, she'd almost forgotten Blueblood was there. Almost. Until he started talking again. At first, she hoped she could placate him by just answering his questions. About thier mission about the Servants of Shadow, about Luna. He had been blissfully silent for all of ten minutes before he had the nerve to ask about Diamond. She bit her lower lip at the question and rolled her eyes.
"No. And she's not my friend. She's an idiot," Dinky grumbled. Blueblood nodded his head quietly.
"I guess if you can just bring her back to life, it's no big deal if she gets killed, huh?" Blueblood mused thoughtfully. Dinky's muzzle slowly twisted into a scowl and the filly turned towards Blueblood with a huff.
"No, I cannot just -bring-her-back-to-life. My powers don't work like that. So, yes it's a big deal if she dies you moron! She shouldn't be down here in the first place, but she's too stupid to understand that," Dinky snarled quietly. Blueblood frowned in confusion, tilting his head to one side. He squinted at Dinky hard. She pretended not to care, and pushed her muzzle into the book Blueblood noticed she always seemed to have on her. Bound to her through some sort of magic?
"Then...why would you come down here?" He asked quietly. She turned towards him with a hateful glare that pierced every defense that he had and violently injected itself into his soul. It was a withering gaze that was almost tangible in its application and it left him mercifully quiet. Dinky returned to her book and flipped a page, grumbling quietly to herself.
"It's not like I WANT to be down here, "Dinky snapped after a tentative few moments of silence. She slammed the book shut. She opened the book again.
"I didn't WANT to put her in those cuffs, You saw how dumb she is! It was safer if she was under my control...she's a hazard to herself and others and if I could keep her close maybe...I-I mean it's not MY fault she's so stupid! I didn't have a choice! She's the only one who could find the princess! I had to send her alone!! I DIDN'T KILL HER!! SHE DESERVED THIS!" Dinky screamed, listening to her voice echo across the burial pit. She turned away from Blueblood, opening the book again, looking for where she left off. But now the words were suddenly blurry. She shut the book and pushed it away. It was all Diamond's fault. It really was. If she hadn't been dumb enough to come down here, none of this would have happened.
She pulled the book closer to her again and opened it up, closed it, and then opened it again. Next to her, silently, Blueblood watched her repeat this action over and over again, muttering to herself bitterly with every motion. It just wasn't fair. Really it wasn't. She shouldn't be punished for how stupid Diamond's behavior was. This was entirely her fault. Anyone who had any intelligence at all would be able to see that. Obviously, of course, had Diamond not come down to Tartarus all of this could have been avoided. Celestia would just send more of the guard. Eventually they'd make it to Luna and rescue her and...and it was...it was only a matter of time. They had no business being down in Tartarus. This was all Diamond's fault!! All of it! If she weren't so stupid, they wouldn't be down here. If she weren't so stupid, they wouldn't be separated. If she weren't so stupid, the Harmonix Collar would still be functional and-
And...
And at that point, Dinky realized she knew a 'Clairvoyance Spell.' In a rush of blazing magic, Dinky's horn erupted, and she threw open her book. She could use it as a catalyst! A conduit to something she controlled- the capture cuffs! Yes!! With those on, Diamond had technically become her servant- or a familiar of sorts. She could channel that magic into a scrying spell! She could see where Diamond was and if she were okay!!
"Are yo-" Blueblood asked, but Dinky turned towards him, eyes glowing white with radiant mystic energy.
"SILENCE!" She snarled. Slowly, the pages in front of Dinky, filled with arcane text and forbidden knowledge began to glow. Ideally, a crystal ball or something would be a better conduit for this sort of thing, but Dinky had to take what she could get. A hastily cobbled together spell, cast from memory after having only seen it once in a cave a few hours ago wasn't an exact science, so she wasn't sure this would work in the slightest.
Quietly, the pages flickered, and the gentle blue aura from the tome revealed a scene from what looked like a picture book. It was slowly stenciled into view, like it were being drawn in real time. First, a castle, dark and imposing; like the one Dinky had sent Diamond too. She bit her lower lip. The book depicted morbidly flickering torches and long halls of gleaming ebony. It was like the castle itself had been built as a monument to suffering and agony. There were pictures of Imp creatures. Smallish demons that resembled red goblins with wings and a tail. The book drew them hovering about, chittering and barking at one and other in the court yard. Dinky turned the page thoughtfully. Either these were all images Diamond was seeing, or had seen since she'd snuck into the castle, she was sure.
The next page illustrated Diamond herself, her hind quarters wiggling through a tiny open window that lead to a store room. Alchemy ingredients and spell components. A few dusty jars and odds and ends of things Dinky didn't want to know about.
The next scene etched itself onto the page, showing Diamond sneaking through the halls of the castle, avoiding a trio of goat demons by keeping low and quiet, and the one following that rendered Diamond entering a large master bedroom, where Luna was chained to the wall with a nullification ring wrapped around her horn. Her wings were bound to her sides, and blood trickled from a dark wound in her shoulder. The final page was simply an image of Diamond lying on the ground with a broken neck, and Luna standing victoriously over her.
Luna warily watched the door, absolutely refusing to take her eyes away from the knob, even as her head began to droop. The harsh metal chain wrapped snuggly around her neck was not heavy in comparison to the weight of exhaustion that pressed upon her head like a crown. The chain lead to the center of the room, where it was firmly anchored to the floor by a large silver ring.
It was a fairly simple room. Barely furnished. A bed in one corner and that was all. This room is where Grogar had placed the princess after he stripped her of her regal regalia and left her sitting nakedly. The cramped confines of the room gave her little in comfort for spreading her wings, and the nullification ring Grogar had placed around her horn kept even her cosmic powers bayed.
Grogar seemed to believe her fate had been sealed. With her magic at bay and her wings pinned by the claustrophobic conditions of the room, he had endeavored to demoralize her by laying claim to her personal throne, hungering for every sweet drop of suffering he could force upon the Mistress of Midnight.
She aggressively refused his offer.
The physical conflict had been short and sweet. It only took one fury-charged kick from her leg to remind Grogar of the physical prowess of an Alicorn. The Earth Pony strength and Alicorn possessed was often left hidden but could be summoned at will should the need arise. Luna felt the need to ring Grogar's bells in the worst possible way. He quickly retreated from the room, and bathed her in silence leaving her to her thoughts, and all Luna could think about, was how she got into this mess. She chuckled bitterly. It all started with a letter.
A letter that had been delivered to her in the middle of the evening. Dropped off by one of her servants; the little bat pony that danced around the dream realm. Dawn. Young and extremely curious, Luna had discovered a little batpony flittering about the Dream Realm one night and much to her surprise, the bat filly was fully aware she was in the dream world. She had been practicing lucid dreaming in order to offer Luna her thanks for the lovely dreams she had.
Apparently, the child had a dream in which she was a star singing in the Canterlot Concert Hall. The tickets had all been sold out and everypony in Canterlot wanted to hear her: the supersonic singing sensation! Awakening to the real world, Dawn, a simple orphan, had decided to try and make her dreams come true. She had no luck as, more often than not, the girl had a knack for accidentally adding a sonic scream to solos she was singing. The resulting headaches, broken glasses, and temporary deafness barred her from most competitions, but the dream repeated itself anyway, strong as it ever was. That's when she'd sought out Luna. Even if she couldn't sing, the girl was grateful anyway, as her lovely dreams took her far from the suffering and desolation of being an orphan. A charming little girl, Dawn was russet colored with two ebony pigtail braids dangling down to either side of her shoulders. Dawn's ease into learning to lucid dream and how quickly she took to traveling between realms, earned her the title of the Night's Messenger after Luna had listened to her heartfelt tale. She was to deliver messages, to and from Luna to ambassadors all over Equestria and beyond. To accomplish this, the boon bequeathed to her had been a 'Black Key.' An item of terrible power, able to open doors to other realms and dimensions. To the dream realm, to tartarus, wherever it was she needed to go the key would take her. It was this key, that had allowed her to deliver the message to Luna.
Late in the evening, Dawn had appeared, looking frazzled and carrying a with her a simple message in writing Luna had not seen in centuries. Old script captured on a tattered scroll that carried with it grave concern: Blueblood had been pulled into Tartarus to be sacrificed in the 'ritual of opening.' A barbaric ritual meant only for the worst offenders, which meant Canterlot was dealing with a worst case scenario.
And so, Luna had come. She strolled into Tartarus to rescue Blueblood. She had managed to locate him, but they had gotten separated and she captured. And now? Now she was trapped in a sadistic game at Grogar's hooves, chained to the floor and left to rot. Forgotten in Tartarus, never to see the light of day again. Or so she thought.
At first, Luna thought she would be sentenced to a humdrum life of boredom trapped in this empty room. But that's when the first demon had entered. A large boar-like creature, it was sent into the room and it immediately attempted to gore her with thick, wicked looking tusks. Simple combat maneuvers and Alicorn strength was enough to subdue the creature and cake the room in fresh gore.
Next had been some strange incubus creature that promised her an eternity of paradise if only she would help it destroy Grogar. It too had been devastated by Luna's hooves and a short fuse. She would not be Grogar's plaything!! But another creature appeared. This one seemed to be Celestia herself!! It promised to free Luna and lead her from this accursed place.
In times long past, Luna and Celestia had sworn an oath to one another; "Thy Kingdom Above" A royal seal of promise. Equestria would eternally come first no matter what the situation. Celestia would never risk Equestria to venture into Tartarus. This creature she slaughtered maliciously, punishing it for having the gall to assume the guise of her family!! Now there was a new demon, and Luna was ready.
Cute. It wandered in silently. A shifter demon. This one was slightly smaller than the other ones and moved almost silently across the floor. Obviously a minion of Grogar, it wore around its legs two silver capture cuffs and around its neck an odd-looking collar. This creature; this foul, detestable skinwalker had taken the form of one of her servants.
It assumed the guise of her Night's Errant. A plucky little pegasus she thought of rather fondly. This creature had been studying under Grogar; its assumed identity was almost flawless. It even got the scars and disfigurement the girl sported correctly. The blotches and splotches of patchy inky fur around her neck, legs, wings, and face were a perfect match for the real Errant, but that's as far as it seemed to have gotten. The creature did not have the perky pep in its step the Night's Errant always had. It did not shout out a boisterous "HI PRINCESS!" like the Night's Errant always did. Above all else, the Night's Errant, nor any pony else in Equestria knew of her whereabouts. Nopony could know one of the Princesses were in Tartarus and their defenses weakened. No, this demon would suffer like the rest.
But it did wear the same goofy smile on its face the Night's Errant wore. Always grinning ear to ear like she'd never been happier in her life than when she was with Luna. It tugged at her heart and fanned a flame of regret that slowly burned into a white hot rage of hate. They were assaulting her emotions and preying on her sorrow.
She lay still, watching the tiny demon sneak its way over. Its head dipped left and right as if it were worried it might be being watched. Clever, it was playing the role, but Luna would not be fooled!! Its face lit up when it spotted Luna. A big goofy smile that screamed the innocence of a child. Luna laughed coldly. The moment it got close enough to reach out and touch her was the moment Luna sprang into action, leaping up to deliver a forceful surprising kick!! She caught the Shifter Demon with the force of an angry God, snapping its head to the left and sending it spiraling into the air. It crashed to the ground with a sickening thud where it went limp.
Luna watched quietly, ready to strike again if the creature made a move. It twitched once, twice, and slowly, slowly started to climb to its hooves. Luna snarled quietly. It still hadn't dropped it guise! Surely the blow delivered was enough to force it to reveal its true form. Did it think the Princess of Darkness so easily fooled?! Did it really think it could play her emotions so readily and convince her of an impossibility!? She would end this miserable creature's existence!! She would not be tricked!!
*****
Diamond groaned, pulling herself up from the floor where she had landed. This was not the reunion she'd been expecting. This was not the sweet, sentimental victory she had hoped for when she finally found her princess. This was all kinds of wrong!!
Before Diamond could react, the princess was upon her again, delivering a ruthless blow that sent Diamond sailing across the room where she impacted the fall wall with a devastating crunch!! She made a significant indent against the wall where she had impacted, and now lay prone on the floor, trying to recover her breath.
"REVEAL YOUR TRUE FORM!" Luna snarled, marching over to grasp the demon in her hoofs. She sounded angry, angrier than Diamond had ever heard her. The little filly squeaked and held up her hooves, in dismay, trying to explain the last few horrible hours of her life- but not a word slipped free. Baffled, Diamond only had a moment to consider this odd new occurrence. Why couldn't she speak? What was going on?! Every time she tried to open her mouth and explain who she was, the words were muted and silent.
"..." Diamond sobbed desperately, trying to explain who she was and how she'd gotten here. It was no use, she couldn't even scream as the next blow came. Luna had wrapped her hoof around Diamond's tail and swung her across the room, throwing her into the far wall, where her she bounced to the floor.
"RECITE THE OATH OF DARKNESS!" Luna demanded, standing to her full majestic height. If this creature somehow WERE the Night's Errant, the question would reveal her knowledge of the evening. The tiny demon rolled to its side and made a wild gesture with its hooves, but did not speak, and so it would die. Luna would make sure of that.
Diamond whimpered quietly, clutching at her throat. Why couldn't she speak?! Why couldn't she fix this?! It wasn't like Dinky had ordered her to be silent. No. No that wasn't a command! The cuffs couldn't have interpreted the last thing she said to Diamond as a command!! No talking! That idiot!!! Dinky had sentenced Diamond to death by the hooves of her own princess! All due to a stupid misunderstanding...This was the end of her story. There was no way she could prove to the princess she was the real Errant. Luna must have thought she was some sort of imposter!! There had to be some way to- wait, she could simply- The next blow came, sending Diamond clear across to the other side of the room.
*****
Luna huffed quietly, eyeing the creature for signs of movement. Had that last attack finished it off? She couldn't tell. This creature was different than the others. It was much more resilient to her Alicorn strength and it refused to drop its impersonation. Luna frowned, feeling a new surge of anger rushing through her.
"Do you...do you think I am so easily fooled?!" Luna snarled. The beast was slowly climbing back to its hooves, and astonishingly enough, began to crawl towards her. Was it so dedicated to its task that it would continue to assault her? It clearly had no chance of winning. It really did remind her of Diamond. Diamond would have never given up. This creature, however, could not possibly be the Night's Errant. That just wasn't possible. It couldn't be!!
"HOW DARE YOU!!" Luna screamed. The moment this creature stood up, Luna delivered another blow, sending it toppling to the ground, where Luna stood over it, hoof on its neck, poised to crush the life out of it. She narrowed her gaze at the creature, waiting for it to finally reveal its true nature to her, where she would end it without remorse. The demon pretending to be a filly squirmed underneath Luna's foreleg, before doing the most horrible thing it possibly could: It held up a hoof and it glittered a soft glow that resembled Luna's Cutie Mark. A Royal Rune of service. No. No it couldn't be....NO!!!
"ERRANT?!" Luna shrieked in horror, immediately scooping up the little filly in both her forelegs. Diamond smiled weakly and offered a shaky little salute, beaming from ear to ear again. Impossible! She'd spent the last ten minutes beating the utter life out of the girl at full Alicorn strength. Of course with the cuffs and the unfamiliar collar, how could she be blamed for mistaking the Errant for a demon.
The tiny filly gestured to her throat when Luna set her down, and then towards the cuffs on her cannons. Of course... Tearing off the magic cuffs proved no challenge for the Alicorn, who made short work out of the weak magic keeping Diamond in check. Luna pitched them to the side, keeping a wary eye on the filly in front of her. The filly immediately rubbed her cannons, before giving a sigh of relief.
"Thanks Pri- HEY! My voice works again!! Thank you very much, princess! I'm sorry it took me so long to find you!" Diamond squeaked happily, oblivious to the misty-eyed gaze of the Princess of Darkness.
"Child, Oh, Diamond I...I am ...you have my deepest apologies, I-I thought," Luna began, but her voice was lost to the explosion that rocked the castle and toppled both of them to the ground. Diamond was up first, weakly climbing to her hooves and limping towards the door where she'd crept in. Luna watched the girl quietly peek outside and then turn towards Princess Luna, grinning so hard it looked like her head would be lopped off if it got any wider.
"What is it, Errant?!" Luna demanded. Diamond hobbled her way back over and pointed excitedly at the door.
"It's the servants!! The Servants of Shadow are here!!"
