Twilight jerked to her hooves, the latter portion of her scream echoing in the air. She blinked, staring up at an inexplicable yet radiant light that shined upon her. The princess’ mind worked frantically as she spun a fast circle in search of Celestia… but she was alone.

Her solitude did nothing to dissuade her alarm. Celestia thought she was a changeling! Twilight felt her head, which was still sore from where her mentor had ground a hoof against it. She’d been treated like… like dirt. She’d never known Celestia could be so cruel. For a weak moment Twilight found herself hunched low, heart heavy with the understanding that her beloved benefactor had treated her in such a way.

How was she supposed to right her mistake if Celestia wouldn’t let her? She couldn’t stay here, she didn’t belong in this timeline. All she’d wanted was to go back to a historic moment and see things for herself. It was just research for a book! How could something so innocent lead to this?

But Twilight’s sorrow was brief. She stood tall and sucked in a long breath. She needed to focus, to calm down, to think. Celestia thought she was a changeling. Looking back, that would be an obvious conclusion to meeting a second Twilight. It was clear by now that the Twilight of this world wasn’t an alicorn. If she had just given herself some time to think on how her appearance would look she’d have seen this coming.

Twilight was determined not to be discouraged by this. She would look at the problem and find a solution. Celestia had to be approached in the right way, that was all.

But first, Twilight had to figure out where she was.

The answer – as far as she could tell – was a palace. She found herself standing in a wide, towering hallway resplendent in gleaming white marble. Not just the walls, but the floor too, and the massive columns that ran along either side of the spacious place. She couldn’t tell what the ceiling was made from, for all she could see when she looked up was a pale glow that illuminated the entire hall.

Twilight looked ahead; there was nothing but endless hallway. She looked over her shoulder and saw the same view behind her. What was this place? It almost felt like a dream. Maybe it was. Perhaps Celestia’s spell had put her to sleep.

No, that didn’t make any sense. A sleeping spell was not so dangerous as to warrant protection from wendigos. So if she really was awake, perhaps it had been a transportation spell? Had Celestia teleported her to some fantastic land?

But again, why would something like that warrant the protection of wendigos?

There was nothing for it; Twilight began to walk. The hall had to lead somewhere and one way was as good as another. She called out a few times, wondering if whatever creatures lived here could even understand her language. For all she knew, she’d been teleported clear across the planet.

That thought was just a little worrying, and Twilight concluded not to provide it any further indulgence.

Her walk was long and quiet. She soon became aware of the complete silence surrounding her; no wind, no voice, no hoofsteps aside from her own. It was even more disturbing than seeing the same constant walls, the continuous line of columns that stretched on for an eternity. She called for somepony a few more times, but her voice was always met with little save her own echo.

Eventually she gave up, for the act of disturbing the silence was beginning to feel… improper. This place had a certain sacred feel to it, like a great temple, and Twilight had the distinct impression that her presence was unwelcome.

She was so relieved when she finally saw the doorway on her left. She approached at a trot and peered inside, wanting to call out but hesitant in the quiet. The room she found was tall and wide, but nothing compared to the halls she’d just been in. Everything was white, just like before. There were large, highly decorated blocks set in rows against the walls. They had a curious look to them and reminded her of something she couldn’t quite place.

The room was a dead end; no other doors lead out. With nothing better to do, Twilight approached one of the large blocks in hopes of learning something about its function. She was growing desperate to learn anything about this place.

The block she came to was long and wide, but just a little shorter than herself. After some inspection she realized that the plinth-like top was actually a lid; this was a box. She pressed at it, but it wouldn’t budge. Judging from the texture, she suspected it really was solid marble. She glanced around at the white room, then the glowing ceiling. Everything seemed so… unreal.

This was getting her nowhere. Glowering, she turned to head for the door. She had to find the way out and get some information, and—

She came to an abrupt stop as she entered the hall… except it wasn’t the hall. No, she was in another of those large rooms, with a door immediately opposite her. Twilight blinked and looked back, confirming that the room she’d just been in was still there.

“What in Equestria?”

She peered at the walls, then the boxes, then the bright ceiling. Was this place some sort of enchanted prison? Had Celestia dropped her in a magical maze?

Come to think of it, that sounded much more like something Celestia would do. The thought had Twilight smirking. This had the feel of a magical puzzle and suddenly she was much more confident. This was her kind of challenge! If she could best it then surely Celestia would recognize her intellect and magical prowess and know she was the real deal. Her certainty rising, Twilight trotted for the new door. She would see how this little maze worked and she would escape! This would not be a problem.

She passed through the door and found herself in another dead end. The princess took a moment to explore the room for potential clues, but there was nothing save white walls and those strange marble boxes. Satisfied there was nothing of interest, she went back through the door.

This time Twilight found herself in a T-shaped room – still filled with those boxes – and saw doors to both her left and right. Frowning, she bowed her head and focused on sensing the magic of the place. In doing so, she suddenly became aware of a chaotic mishmash of energies cascading over her! She winced at the powerful sensation and tried to focus; clearly this place was designed to be as confusing as possible.

She turned her head to one of the doors, but the magic didn’t subside or intensify. She pointed her horn to the other door and felt the same effect. Glowering that her idea wasn’t proving very helpful, she ceased the spell and rubbed her tingling forehead.

She would just pick one at random.

She turned right and passed through the door. This time it was another straight shot. Twilight glanced around at the familiar scenery with a curious eye before turning around and passing through the door again. If she could see what was the other way, perhaps it would help her make a better decis—

She sighed, head drooping as she found herself in a dead end. The rooms changed so quickly! “This is tougher than I thought.”

“I wish I knew what I was doing.”

Twilight blinked and looked around. That voice… was her own. But she hadn’t said that. “Hello?”

“Is that me?”

Twilight spun a small circle, eyes darting about, but she could see nopony. “Who’s there?”

“Did Celestia banish the other me as well?”

Whoever it was, it knew her thoughts! The sound seemed to be coming from her right, and there was a door there, so Twilight quickly ran through. She found herself in an empty room with four doors. “Is somepony there?”

“Or is it just an echo?”

An echo.

Twilight sat, gazing at the shining light above her. Was her voice simply trailing back to her? But how could that be? Was it another trick of the maze? Mind churning over the possibilities, she pursed her lips and blew a loud whistle.

“Will it repeat?”

Twilight perked her ears, trying to catch the direction of the voice. It didn’t work. The sound seemed to be echoing her thoughts, though, so if she had no thoughts…

Focusing to clear her mind, she sat and blew another long whistle.

No sound came back.

Her suspicion confirmed, Twilight considered the situation. The magic here was really strange, almost wild. She closed her eyes and focused once more, letting the chaotic energies reverberate through her horn. Varying directions, shifting intensities… she’d felt this before. Where had she felt it? It was so unnatural, and yet so…

Her eyes snapped open, a familiar anger boiling in her. “Discord!” She spun about, glaring at the boxes and the walls. “I know you’re here. Come out and explain yourself!”

The draconequus didn’t appear as commanded.

Twilight stomped her hoof. “Discord, this is not funny.” She couldn’t believe it, how could she have been so foolish? He’d probably planned all of this from the very beginning! Odds were she’d never even traveled through time.

“Where are you?” She ran through a door to find herself in another T-shaped room. Maybe it was the same one as before. “If you don’t let me out of here right now I swear to Celestia you’ll be back to stone in no time!”

She galloped through several rooms, snorting in frustration as her eyes scoured every nook and cranny for her tormentor. Yet she tired herself out before she ever found anything, and finally stopped to lean against one of the boxes and pant. That bastard of a draconequus, he was probably having a good laugh at her expense! When she got her hooves on him…

She closed her eyes and tried to focus on the chaotic energies swirling about her. If she could just pinpoint a source, or even a direction! Discord wouldn’t get away with this, she would teach him a lesson he’d never forget! By the time she was… done…

Her head turned, following the powerful energy source that she’d finally pinpointed. She could only stare; it was coming from the marble box upon which she was leaning.

“Gotcha!” She jumped back and fired a thick beam into the box, which erupted in dust and rock. The resulting white cloud filled the room and made her cough. “How—” She hacked, pausing to set a hoof to her throat and wait for the dust to settle before trying again. “How do you like them apples?”

But there was no Discord. She blinked, staring at the rubble before her. Had he escaped? She glowered and picked her way through the rocks, menacing thoughts sweeping through her mind. She was going to kill that stupi—

She let out a cry and jumped back at the sight of a claw, bracing for an attack that didn’t come. Ready for anything, she came a little closer and peered. Sure enough, she was looking at an eagle’s claw. But it was thin and shriveled and coated with powder.

It wasn’t attached to anything.

A tense fear hit Twilight as her eyes darted about. A piece of wing there, a bald tail end there. A face, feminine and withered.

Twilight felt the air rush from her lungs as she turned to gaze at the other blocks. Almost a dozen of them, all lined against the walls, all solemn and unadorned.

Graves.

She was in a draconequus tomb.

Her hoofsteps echoed in the pure light as she fled, not understanding where she was running to. She only knew that she needed to get out now. Her mind was in tatters, the hard reality of her situation suddenly becoming much, much clearer.

She had asked Discord about his race. The tombs were created to contain the unwavering, eternal powers of a draconequus. The chaotic magic pummeling her from all sides wasn’t coming from him, it was coming from the bodies of the dead!

Yet even as she ran from room to room, breath coming in gasps and eyes darting among those rows of graves, Twilight knew this wasn’t the worst part of her situation. Oh no, not by far. According to Discord, there was only one draconequus tomb within the borders of Equestria:

Tartarus.

Twilight thought she could handle herself, but nothing terrified her more than the idea that she might have been sent to Equestria’s equivalent of Hell. The things that were down there… Her hooves kept pounding the solid stone as she cried out for somepony, anypony to answer her. She couldn’t be in Tartarus, she couldn’t be!

She came sliding to a stop, eyes going wide at the sight of the shattered grave. Gasping and with sweat beading off her brow, she slumped against the door frame and trembled; how could Celestia do this? Of all the places to send her! Twilight could understand a true villain, but a changeling who looked like her protégé? Wasn’t she at all concerned that maybe Twilight was the real thing?

She dropped to her haunches, ears laid back as she stared at the bits of broken bone and ruined draconequus. She would never get out if she couldn’t handle things logically, but the magic of the draconeqii was anything but logical! How could she think of a solution when the problem itself made no sense?

Even so, she had to find a way. She had to get back to Equestria, to get her crown back, to return to her own time! She just needed some sort of clue. Even a draconequus had to have enough practical sense to create an exit… right?

The terrifying question remained: where would she be when she did find the exit?

Panic began to rise in her, and she promptly whacked herself across the cheek. “Get it together!”

“Abandon all hope.”

“I am not thinking that!” Twilight glared up at the ceiling, having nothing better to vent her frustration on. Well, maybe not a ceiling, but whatever it was. A light. Grumbling, she turned away and tried to think rationally. There had to be some simple method of getting out of here! She almost wished she were back in that eternal hallway.

Okay, so she might be in Tartarus. Hopefully not, but she had to accept it as a possibility. It was supposed to be a bunch of caverns and this hardly qualified, so maybe she wasn’t in Tartarus? She eyed the light above once more, noting to herself how it seemed far too bright for a creepy set of—

She blinked, staring at the pale luminescence that filled every room. She couldn’t see a source.

Could it be that simple?

Having no other ideas, Twilight opened her wings and rose at a very slow rate. She had to cover her face against the harsh glare, but soon she was high enough to reach a hoof up and try to touch a ceiling. It met only air. Another spark of hope filling her, she rose a little more. Her hoof waved for any sort of contact to indicate what was beyond the light. Soon she was completely encased in the cold glow, and had to keep her eyes firmly closed and covered by a leg.

But then her hoof touched something. Or rather, passed through something. It was a cool sensation not unlike emerging from underwater. Twilight was tempted to pull back, but she knew that there could be no proper logic to guide her, not in a draconequus tomb. Even so, she hesitated; what would she find if she kept going?

At last Twilight let out a shout and, trying very hard to channel her inner Rainbow Dash, beat her wings. Her world went silent for just an instant as her head passed through… whatever she was feeling.

Suddenly she was flying.

Sideways.

Her sense of orientation completely lost, Twilight cried out and dropped onto her back. But the ground wasn’t hard; on the contrary, it was soft like grass. She blinked, staring up with wide eyes at a pale blue ceiling glittering with tiny crystals. She became abruptly aware that her world had become much, much colder.

Shivering, she sat up with a soft groan to take in her surroundings. She was most certainly in a cave. The walls, though of a rather pretty blue, were rough and random in their manner. But if she was in a cave, why was the floor covered in picked flowers? She eyed the things, wondering where they came from with no plants to fall off of. The flowers had tall and thin petals, with lots of white and just a thin streak of red. She wasn’t sure what they were, but they were pretty.

She observed the wall she’d fallen from, seeing that it was different from the others. It was smooth like a mirror, but without offering a reflection and a few shades lighter in color than the surrounding rock. Curious, Twilight reached a hoof to touch it and made an awed sound as the mirror reacted, tiny waves cascading up and down the wall like ripples of water. So this was the tomb’s entrance? She was mildly surprised at how easy it had been to escape. Clearly Celestia had overestimated the strength of her spell.

Feeling a touch more confident, Twilight turned about… and felt her jaw drop. There, standing not fifteen feet away from where she’d landed, was a massive column of ice. But it wasn’t the column that had her keeping her distance; it was the draconequus sealed within. What was that doing here?

She promptly stood from her hunched position with a self-conscious cough. Why wouldn’t there be a draconequus guarding a draconequus tomb?

Why would he encase himself in ice?

Though the question nagged her, Twilight had no time to think on such things. She needed to leave, and perhaps this guy could help. She knew enough from her unpleasant encounters with Discord to know that he was probably trying to play some childish game with her, anyway. So, even though she dreaded what ridiculously silly event might come of it, she approached the creature’s back.

“Excuse me, sir.”

No answer. The creature of chaos remained frozen in place.

Twilight frowned; surely he wasn’t legitimately frozen! Draconequus magic would have no problem getting him out of something like that. Grinding her teeth, she took another step forward. “I could use some help.” A long pause. “Hello?”

She started walking around, head low and grumbling. She barely noted how her breath was coming out as steam. “Listen,” she snapped once properly in front of him, “I know this is an odd… circumstance?” She gazed up at the tall creature, eyes going wide at that familiar face. “Discord?”

He stood tall over her, shoulders hunched and eyes bitter. His claws were set tight as if to clutch at something and his lips were pulled back in a sneer. Discord looked quite upset from his spot in the ice, and it left Twilight feeling just a little nervous.

She shook her anxiety away. There were more important topics at hoof, such as why he was here.

She had to remind herself that this wasn’t her Discord; this was the Discord of the new timeline she’d somehow created. There was no telling what this one would be like, or how dangerous he could be. She set herself in a defensive stance on instinct as she studied his frozen, angered face. “I know you can hear me, Discord! Stop fooling around and talk to me.”

No response. His eyes didn’t even shift.

She sneered, horn glowing in warning. “I’ll cut you out of there if I have to!”

Still no response.

Twilight rolled her head back with a sound combining a groan and a sigh. “Oh, come on! I have far more important things to do than wait on you to decide if you wanna play along. I need to find the way out of here. I’d like your help.” She peered at him, tapped the ice crystal with her hoof. “Hellooooo?”

She stood there for several seconds, waiting for the draconequus to do something. Speak, zap out of his prison, melt the ice, shift, blink, anything. The longer she waited, the more uncomfortable Twilight became. Discord wasn’t one to wait for so long to do something, it wasn’t his style. True, this probably wasn’t the Discord she knew, but she couldn’t imagine his personality being that different.

Her ears folded back as she gazed up at his unmoving eyes. “Discord?”

A disturbing thought came to mind as her eyes slowly looked through the ice to the smooth wall leading to the draconequus tomb. What was he doing near a place like that? Unless…

Dreading the result, Twilight closed her eyes and cast a simple, short range soul detection spell.

Time passed in silence. When she opened her eyes they were moist.

“Oh no…”

Discord was dead. She reared back to press her hooves to the ice and study him a little more closely, an intense sorrow filling her. She’d never really liked Discord, but… dead? What in the name of Equestria could kill a draconequus? Had he come all the way here in hopes of achieving some kind of proper burial?

How had this happened?

Then she remembered her moment in the past, that frightening instant when the Elements were going wild and her crown was reacting uncontrollably to the magic. The princesses had tried to stop it, and Discord had been…

...panicked.

Twilight fell back from the ice crystal, shaking her head slowly. Good Goddess, what if she was responsible for this? What if her innocent little trip through time had lead to Discord’s death? Had she bastardized the Elements of Harmony with her untimely arrival?

She sat and tried to think, eyes wide as she trembled in the cold. No. No, it couldn’t be. She’d been outside, in the open air! This was a cave. Something else had to have defeated Discord, it was the only explanation!

But what if her presence had lead to it in some way?

“Sweet mercy,” she whispered, looking up at her old foe’s unpleasant face. “I wish you could talk to me. I wish I knew what all has happened since that battle. If I did this to you, I am so sorry.”

She sat for a few seconds, pondering this new discovery with head hanging low and sorrow in her heart. She had to find some way to fix this. She was – might be – responsible, so it fell on her to make it right. But how? It wasn’t like she could bring somepony back to life.

…but she could go back in time.

Twilight turned from Discord, determination and self-directed anger guiding her to leave the frozen draconequus and his flowers behind. All she needed to do was go back to her own time. Discord would still be alive! She would fix this. She would go home, and if she ever saw that big stupid oaf again she’d give him a big hug. She couldn’t wait to see the look on his face! All she really needed was to find her way out of this cave and figure out where she was in relation to Equestria.

Of course, getting out might not be so easy. She really hoped this wasn’t one of those maze-like systems that ran for hundreds of—

Twilight rounded the corner and came to an abrupt stop, jaw dropping at the sight of the massive cavern before her. It was huge! More importantly, it was populated. Hundreds of creatures milled about in the hill-like open space, a constant chatter reaching her ears as she gazed at them. Had she come upon some sort of subterranean city?

This might be easier than she thought. A wave of relief washed over Twilight as she stepped out into the open and began making her way to the first individual she saw, which happened to be a griffon.

She wasn't three steps in before her hoof hit something soft that made her stumble. When she looked down her heart jumped into her throat; she’d tripped over a diamond dog’s face!

“Oh, I am so sor… sorry?”

The diamond dog’s head slumped sideways on his shoulders, eyes rolling about and his tongue hanging loosely. He was buried in the floor all the way up to his shoulders, and he was a bland grey color. Not just his coat; his eyes, even his tongue were stone grey. Twilight covered her lips as she stared at him.

She knelt down, alarm and confusion mixing in her mind. “How did you get like that? D-don’t worry, we’ll get you out!”

He ignored her, head lolling around as strange, pointless noises rose from his open lips. Twilight waved a hoof in front of his eyes, but gained no response. She sat up and cocked her head. “Are you okay?”

The dog gained a gradual smile, his eyes still unable to focus on any one direction. “Gems… Buried in gems…” His words came slow and dull, just like his coat. “Look at all the gems…”

Twilight watched in solemn uncertainty, not sure what to make of his behavior.

Then she saw him creep down into the ground by about half an inch.

She gasped and stepped back, lifting her forelegs in fear that she might be grabbed by whatever had him. As she did she saw the bodies and let out a startled cry. Twilight lifted off as her eyes darted about the stone floor, which she now saw consisted of petrified creatures of all sorts! Ponies, diamond dogs, griffons, a veritable city of creatures cast in stone! Legs, heads, tails, manes, she even thought she saw the massive claw of a dragon poking up from the mess, all tightly compacted into a rough, bumpy floor.

How could this have happened? She spun about, noting all the creatures still roaming about the cavern. Weren’t they alarmed? Didn’t they care? She flew to the closest individual, a griffon who was sitting and eyeing the high roof of the cavern. “Hey! What is this place? Why is the floor made of bodies?!”

The griffon didn’t answer, her color only slightly less grey than the diamond dog’s. She just kept staring at the ceiling with a silly smile.

Twilight flew in front of her. “What is wrong with you?”

A short huff of a laugh came from the griffon, her eyes not moving from where they now gazed, which was right through Twilight. “Such nice clouds…”

Twilight flew backwards as she gazed with worry. She turned and flew to a nearby pony who still seemed to have his colors. He was bouncing in place for no apparent reason. “What’s going on?”

He just kept bouncing, a manic grin on his face as he giggled.

Twilight tried another pony, one who wasn’t smiling. She was walking in what seemed to be a random direction, a harsh glower on her dull, green face. Twilight flew alongside her. “Please, talk to me!”

The pony only walked on, grumbling under her breath.

Fear began to fill Twilight as she flew to an aging pony sitting on his haunches near the wall. She landed and shook him by his stone-grey shoulders. “What is wrong with you ponies?!”

He opened his mouth wide and emitted a long, low, soft moan. Twilight took a hesitant step back, watching in horror as he sank a little into the stone ground. He was down to about his knees.

She flew high, heart pounding in her chest. Her earlier theory came back to her, and the thought had her chest in a vice; what if this really was Tartarus? She hovered over the cavern, gazing at all the creatures below. She examined individuals, observed how many were in varying stages of petrification. Not a single one was doing anything noteworthy, unless silliness counted as noteworthy. Was this supposed to be Tartarus, the great prison of all things evil? But… but how could so many ponies be in here? And what was wrong with them?

“Somepony talk to me!” She flew a small circle, scanning at the crowds below with an inexplicable sense of horror. “What is wrong with all of you? Somepony make sense!”

She paused when she heard the laughter. She looked to see a tall pegasus stallion, his face split in a demented grin as his guffaws filled the cavern. He was joined by another pony, then a griffon. Soon it seemed every creature in the place had joined in. The laughter began to fill the air, until it felt as if Twilight was being directly attacked by the horrible sound! She covered her ears, but couldn’t close her eyes; they were all looking at her. Their lips parted in twisted jeers, their eyes were wide and unseeing, their colors were various shades of grey. Faces were straining to let the noise out of their throats.

Twilight’s heart sank to some deep, black place as she flew a little higher. Chills were running down her spine. Insane… they were all insane. She flew, mind locked in fear as the terrible sound chased after her. She could only think of one thing: she had to get away. Get out. Flee.

There were dozens of caves exiting the cavern. Twilight took the closest one, flying through in a blur. Her vision faded in the dim lighting and she instinctively tucked her wings and continued on hoof, but she didn’t slow down. She couldn’t, she was too terrified of the laughter. It echoed against the cave walls, amplifying the effect so that it almost seemed to be following her. Tears fell unbidden down her cheeks as she struggled to see her way.

She was in Tartarus. There was no question now. The haunting, fading laughs were like hammers pounding the fact deeper into her skull, forcing her to face the terrible truth.

Celestia had thrown her into Tartarus!

Twilight began to slow down, legs aching from the exertion. Her eyes began to adjust to the dim light of the crystals and she immediately regretted it. She wasn’t alone in the caves: ponies, griffons and other creatures were in here too, spread far apart as they hid in the nooks and crannies of the winding tunnel. Some were mumbling to themselves, others were performing pointless acts like banging their heads against the walls. The scariest ones were those that did nothing, hidden like ghosts in the shadows as the surrounding stone gradually took them.

And Twilight was among them. The thought scared her so much that she found herself cowering in a dark corner, body trembling and cheeks moist. Was she going to become like them? Would the darkness consume her, the insanity of her neighbors drive her to the brink? What had she ever done to warrant this? How could Celestia do this to her?

She just wanted to go home!

She lay on the floor and bawled. Memories of her library swam up to her, of the smell of old books and her comfy bed. Dear Spike making her breakfast while she sat at her favorite desk to study or write letters. Home. Comfy, warm, safe. It didn’t even exist in this world.

Then there were her friends.

Applejack at her apple stand, the sweet aroma of her produce filling Twilight’s nostrils. The vibrant colors of Rainbow Dash as she helped Twilight learn to fly. Rarity’s obsessive fawning over Twilight’s crown even as she helped her with her court manner. Fluttershy’s soft, patient voice as she taught Twilight how to care for her wings. Pinkie Pie’s animated laughter as the ever-present smell of cake frosting assaulted Twilight’s mind.

She might never see any of them again. What were they doing back in her time? Where were they in this one? Did they even know one another? If she did escape and sought them out, would they have the slightest clue who she was?

She forced herself to her hooves, wiping the tears from her face even as she choked down a sob. She had to get home. Even if only to see their faces again, she had to. Though her mind was filled with doubt and confusion, though Tartarus was one of the most dangerous places in Equestria, she would never forgive herself if she succumbed to sorrow.

She was Twilight Sparkle. She’d faced Nightmare Moon and Discord, helped rescue the Crystal Empire, worked to defeat Queen Chrysalis, even become an alicorn! This was just one more challenge, and she would prevail.

If only she didn’t feel so… daunted.

Twilight shook her head with force, fighting to keep her confidence high. She was not going to escape Hell on Equestria by hesitating. She would set out right now, and nothing was going to stop her! She turned to the tunnel, glaring out at the ponies barely visible in the dim light and silently daring them to test her.

A little illumination might help her new quest, so she focused and brought her horn to a bright glow—

—then leapt against the wall; a pony had been standing right next to her! She pressed against the tunnel and stared, breath coming in gasps as she recovered from the shock. Just another one of the quiet ones that stood idly by, nothing to be afraid of.

Twilight stood properly and set a hoof to her chest. She stretched it outwards as she released a long, calming breath. With one more annoyed look at the pony she prepared to leave it to wallow in its own sin – for why else would anypony be down here save punishment for a crime?

Then she noted the pony’s face and her jaw dropped. Twilight had just stumbled upon something she’d never have anticipated: a pony she recognized.

Author's Notes:

A number of Inferno references were made in this chapter, but I'll keep mum for now. It's more fun to see if anyone can recognize them.

Special credit goes to The Bean for originating the concept of a draconequus tomb in Tartarus.

So now Twilight knows where she is and what she wants to do. But even if she understands that, she doesn't really understand her situation. Time for her to meet somepony who does...