The smell of sulfur was the first thing that I sensed, either meaning I was alive and near a volcano, or Dead and in Tartarus. No matter which one it turned out to be, I just wanted to keep my eyes closed a little longer. Maybe I would dream of a time when everything had not gone wrong.

“Bark, Wolf.”

Barking struck up from a couple of dogs. Both were loud, but one was high pitch and excitable, the other low and sturn sounding… not that I cared. “Bark, Wolf” and now they must be standing over me, loud enough to hurt my ears. Damnit, I just wanted to get some sleep.

“Hey mutts, will you shut up for me? I’m trying to wallow in my own misery here.” I opened up my eyes to see the two dogs, with one body…

It was an orthrus. The biggest one I had ever seen, at least a head taller then the cyber orthrus’ we used as attack dogs back home. It… he was covered in scars, and both heads looked at me like I had stolen his chew toy. Or was it because I was about to become a chew toy, which of course, would just be my luck.

Concentrating, the magic didn’t flow into me like it normally did. It felt different, more like I was reaching deep down to a cold place then simply drawing in the warmth around me. But I manage to draw the magic to me, and move my head. It was only enough to get just a little off the ground and somehow turn it, but I moved, if only painfully slowly. The orthrus decided to assist me, putting a large paw on my head and turning me around. Now in plain view, I saw my body playing with two orthrus puppys as their mother watched on in bewilderment.

“Bark, Woof.” The orthrus vocalized, making its own irritation known to me. I could understand, some headless stranger playing with its kids, that's not normal.

“Hay, stop playing around, and pick me up!” I yelled at my body. It froze, like it had just been caught with its hoof in the cooky jar. After glaring at it for a few seconds, my body sulked over to me and placed my head back onto my neck. The two puppys tried to keep playing with me, but their father quickly pushed them away and huffed at me. I didn’t need to be told a second time, and trotted away from the orthrus den.

With my head back on, I could now get a better view of where I was, but sadly, I had no clue what I was looking at. First off, there was no sky, just a massive stone ceiling that stretched far beyond what my eyes could see, and I spotted a hole in it in the distance, but no light shined through it. There were hundreds of rock spires as far as I could see, and some were so high that they connected to the ceiling, likely the support for the ceiling, and possibly made by magic. The rest of the stone spires decorated the horizon, each with a flat top that was framed by long stone spikes, as though they were cages. Below me was what looked like clouds, obstructing my ability to see where the floor was.

Descending the rock spire I was apparently on, I saw more animals going about their business here. One was a cat, a bit bigger than the ones I normally see, and it had two large and thick wings. The feline hissed at me before jumping off the spire, and flew way. Further down, I was startled by a group of rats running passed my hooves. All of the rodents were tied together by the tail, with one bigger rat sitting on the mass. I watched the mess of rats run off, only for them to get caught by the flying cat and dropped off the spire.

Insects also littered this place. Thankfully, they were much smaller than on the islands, though no less concerning. Moths with wings that looked like skulls, spiders that looked like they were made of rocks, and a group of centipedes that pretended to be a thorny bramble bush. It was luck on my part that I managed to avoid the fake bush, because I had startled a rat, who then ran into it and was quickly ripped apart by the centipedes.

I finally made it down to the bottom of the spire. The layer of cloud that had obscured everything from on the spires, was actually just thick fog about two hooves high. I couldn't help but feel that even thought it’s height wasn’t all that impressive, it was still hiding something. From what I’d seen so far, I could only expect that some small critter was running around in it, ready to attack.

“Ell, aren't you a sight foo sore eyess?” A haggard sounding voice croaked, startling me. Wiping my body around to look at what ever it was, in front of me was the strangest, and grotesque creature I had ever seen; the thing was like a short, thick, and furless seadog, with what looked like long claws that looked more like talons. Strangely, its face didn’t have a snout. It was flat, except for a nose that stretched out like a bird beak, at the sides there was long ears that seemed more at home as wings, above that were two large red eyes, and a long dirty gray mane that stretched down below its shoulders. It wore ragged dirty clothes, looking ready to fall off, except for a dark red, and wet looking cap that seemed in mildly better condition.

“Don’t see much ponies around here.” It hobbled closer. “Mind helping old Red Cappy with a ride?” Cappy’s breath smelled vile, and like it ate nothing but garbage and rotting meat. That being said, its body odor was no better. Geeze, I’ve smelled feral ghouls who were less ripe than this guy. Though, through the vile smell, I could smell the distinctive copper of blood coming off of him. The obviously large flag this thing gave off was as alarmingly red as the cap on his head.

“Mister Cappy, was it?” I asked, keeping a close eye on it’s movement.

“Call ma Cappy, all ma fellows do.” He replied with a bow.

At least it was trying to be polite, even if he was an insult to my eyes and nose. “Red Cappy, can you tell me where I am? I seem to have… run afoul of some strange magic.”

Red Cappy scratched its chin, and nodded. “I can see, all walken on busted iron legs, and like one was not missin at all.”

I looked down at myself, and Cappy was right, my legs were twisted and bent, any one of my back legs were missing. All at once I fell over, unbalanced, and unable to support myself. My legs gave out with a metallic groan, and how I had managed to get this far on them just confused me.

Red Cappy laughed loud and menacingly. “Oh how fun, and here I thot ya’d be trouble. But looks like more blood for me cap!” He did a little dance and clapped his hands before picking up a rock. “Before I go smashy smashy on ta noggin of yours, I’ll tell ya where you be.” He raised the rock up high over me. “Welcome to Tartarus, my bitty pony!”

“Woof!” The call of the orthrus loudly reverberates loudly into my ears, and Red Cappy stood frozen. Looking over, the orthrus had my other busted leg in its other mouth, and dropped it in front of me. It then glared at Red Cappy, who cowered down so low that he disappeared under the fog, only his red cap visible.

Sighing, I grabbed my lost leg and reattached it. It wasn’t like the busted leg would do much good, but seeing as I had managed to walk down here on the other legs, something magical was going on. Concentrating, I couldn't seem to draw my magic into myself, or really feel it like normal. Yet I could still feel the cold flame inside me.

Focusing on the flame, I imagined pulling it out, sending it to my now broken legs as I imagined them working again. Somehow I stood back up my busted legs. Looking down at them, they were covered in small blue flames, and making the legs work like they were never broken.

“Minerva, open map.” My pipleg flickered for a few second before going dark, meaning that though I could stand and walk, my legs were still not fully functioning. Moving one of my legs forward, it gave a pop and a squeek, but held my weight when I put pressure on it. “At least I can somehow move around.” I turned to the Orthrus, only to see it already walking away. I could only guess that it had been making sure I had no reason to return and bother him or his family. Looking over into the mist at the red cap that was slowly moving away, I pulled my guns out. Rather than the aura of my own magic, the two revolvers were instead held in the the air by a blue flame. “Red Cappy.” I spoke softly, but he kept moving away, so I fired my revolver over his head, knocking the cap off. “Get up you disgusting savage, before I make sure you can never walk again!”

Red Cappy shot up and spun around at me. “Yes ma’am, whatever ya say ma’am.” Timidly, he grabbed his cap again and held it to himself, wiggling a clawed finger through the fresh hole I’d put in it. “Cappy never would dream of hurting you, using ya blood for the color in me cap, no, no.” He sniveled at me.

I was irritated with having to deal with this little monster, but if I was to get out of here, I would need help.

“So you say we’re in Tartarus? Where all evil souls go?” I frowned at my own statement, despite all that I’d been through, part of me still didn’t quite believe it really. Or at least, I didn’t want to believe it. Maybe I just got hurt badly, and was being pumped full of drugs to keep me comatose as I recovered, and this was all just some elaborate fever dream. “Since you seem to live here, tell me about this place.” I ordered Red Cappy.

“Live ear, ya. Only ‘cause the cursed druidic deer trapped me here.” Red Cappy grumbled. “But no, no souls trapped here. Evil spirits yes, cruel mage lords, Liches, the queen of spiders, all sorts of bad. But not Cappy, Cappy’s one o ta good ones. All a mistake why Cappy’s ben imprisoned ear.”

“So if this is a prison then, where are the guards?” I asked

“Te hounds. Te hounds be ta guards, boss.” He pointed up the spire. “Te Orthruses ar te watch dogs, always up high, always one head awake and watching us damned ones. Then there's ta hellhounds, vicious they be. All those who get away, are dragged back em. And that’s only if ta get passed Cerberus, who guards ta gate ta Tartarus.”

“Right, now one more thing. Is there a nightmare imprisoned here?” I had a bad feeling that Phobetor was up to something, so I just needed to kill her before she could try anything.”

Red Cappy’s eyes darted around. “Yes, but ya not want to know about that one. Real dangerous to get near. Maybe instead we can go see Tirek, throw stones at the centar. It’s real fun, trust me, boss.”

I looked in Red Cappy’s eyes, using the evil eye on him for a few seconds. He stumbled back, even more scared then before. “Take me to the nightmare.” I commanded.

He nodded vigorously. “Yes boss, right this way boss!” Getting up, Red Cappy scurried off in a panic, but not faster than I could follow. I couldn't help but notice that the direction we were going, was towards the large hole in the ceiling I’d seen earlier.

The emptiness of this place made me almost miss the jungles. It lacking the sounds of life, and most of the vibrant colors of the outside world; instead being a pallet of mostly gray, black, and brown. The ambient sound was like an unending low groan, with the occasional crack of rock hitting rock, and sometimes the howling of a hound off in the far distance. The little life that was here watch Cappay and I from their hiding spots, or occasionally poked their head out from the fog.

We passed by a small spire that was being used to hang iron cages in the air. Inside the cages were harpies, who looked ragged and angry. They wore black robes decorated in bones, some of them looking more ornate than others. One of the more ornate robbed ones hissed at me as we passed, but I paid the caged birds no mind. Out of anyone I’d seen so far with the exception of Cappy, they looked like they belonged caged in here.

“Help!” A mare’s voice called out from not too far away. I turned to see a tree made of black crystals that had grown almost completely around and somewhat through a unicorn. She was silver gray, with a purple mane, and covered in black crystals that poked out of most of her flesh. “Help me, can't you? I've been trapped here for so long.”

Red Cappy threw a rock at her. “Shut it nag, no one wants ta catch your plague!”

“Ignore the goblin, fair knight. Help me, my condition affects me alone, and no harm will come to you.” She struggled to move a hoof, making cracking sounds as she beckoned me over. “I’m close friends of Clover the Clever, you must know of her! She will surely reward you greatly for saving I.”

If my situation was different, maybe I would look for a way to help the mare. Though, like everything else I’d seen so far, she had to be in here for a reason. Still, she might have gotten here the same way I did through some strange magic, so I couldn’t just leave her. It was a tough choice, but I did have one solution I could offer.

“Sorry, I can't help you get free, but I can help to end your suffering.” I raised one of my revolvers to her as an offering.

The mare lowered her gaze at me, and bared her black crystallized teeth “You’re just like the others, looking down at me just because I’m low born. Well so is Clover, but why does she deserve all the attention, praise, and honor! I'm a far better spell caster then she will ever be, so why did she get to become court mage!? Why the instant I get free, I’ll...”

I sighed, and walked away, leaving the mare to scream at me. Her angry voice slowly fading as Cappy and I got further away from her crystal tree. I had a feeling that Harp might have known who that mare was, Clover the Clever sounds like a part of history she would know about it. The thought of Harp sent the memory of her being pulled into the orb back into my mind, and stabbed a needle right into my heart.

“We’re here, boss. The nightmare’s cage.” Red Cappy pointed up the spire we’d approached. Unsurprisingly, it was the tallest here, and sat directly under the hole in the ceiling. “You go cup if you want, boss, but I not. I not mess with a nightmare. Cappy too clever to do such a thing, no offense, boss.”

“None taken, I’m not trying to be clever right now.” I looked down at Red Cappy, wondering if I should put him out of everyone's missary. In the end, I figured that he was here as a punishment, as well as to be something for the other evil spirits to fear as well. So I decided that it was best to leave him be. “Now scurry off, or I might feel the need to use you for target practice.”

He lowered himself into a bow that dipped him below the fog. Only his red cap was visible as he quickly left. My body waved goodbye to him on its own. I took control of myself again, and smacked at the hoof that was waving. Seriously, having my body do what it wants some of the time was something I was still not used to.

My attention returned to the spire and the long snaking path that spiraled up it. As I trotted up the roughly hewn stone steps, I kept my gaze upwards. Far above me, the hole looked more and more like a gaping maw, ready to devour me. The further I moved upward, the more I felt like I was climbing up to a sacrificial altar. But stranger yet, I could hear the sounds of music in the air, and the murmurs of ponies.

Reaching the top, I saw a long dinner table with many ponies at it, having a feast. Their clothes, mane styles, and decorations at the table looked to be of ancient pre equestria time, maybe older still. I was no historian, but I did at least know that togas fell out of popularity around the time of Equestria’s founding. A few ponies stood to the side of the feast, playing music from instruments of strings, wind, and drums. Some of them looked like instruments I’d never seen outside of old art, but they were all associated with the ancient times.

Getting closer, the ponies didn’t seem to notice me. They continued to eat and drink as they talked to each other in a language I didn't understand. On the table as a centerpiece was a large, and overly decorated marble jar. It was covered in motifs of ponies frolicing, fighting, and playing. I noticed that past the jar, there was a single open seat at one end of the table. Trotting toward it, I saw it had a letter set on an ornate gold dinner plate saying ‘reserved for the dragon slayer.’

Taking the hint, I took the seat.

An earth pony mare placed a plate of fruit in front of me, and poured a deep red wine into a goblet. She had a gold colored coat, mane, and… eyes. “Phobetor?” I had to force myself to say as I slowly pulled out my revolver.

“No, that's Pandora.” Her voice carried with it a jubilant but short lived laugh, but it didn’t come from the mare in front of me. “She is a naive pony, crafted by the gods for pony kind as a punishment for their arrogance.” I leaned to the side and saw Phobetor sitting on the other end of the table. The left side of her face was burnt, exposing blackened flesh, but she was alive all the same.

“Punishment for what?” I asked as I pushed the food away from me and kept my revolver close. A loud cheer came from the other ponies, and a new group of ponies appeared in costumes and holding props.

“Long ago, in a time forgotten, ponies once lived to worship the gods.” Phobetor spoke up as a pony with a long white beard stood on a pillar. Oddly, the other ponies bent down around him in worship. “It was what they were crafted for, from the earth mother’s clay, the sky fathers cloud’s, from even from the Ivory of the great star whale.” The actors shuffled around, one pony of each three tribes struck a pose, as a gray pony pretended to use a chisel on them.

I examined the actors, noticing something strange. The pegasus didn't fly, the unicorns didn't use their magic, and the earth ponies… were earth ponies. But none of them had cutie-marks.

Phobetor continued. “Their creator cared for these ponies, and in turn, they cared for him. More and more, their offerings and prayers went to their creator, and less to the rest of the gods.” The actors moved about, clambering around the gray pony, ignoring the bearded pony. “The other gods were not pleased by the actions by the ponies, and so stopped moving the sun and moon for them, blocked the skies with rain clouds, and hardened the earth so nothing could grow. The other gods called down, commanding the ponies to worship them or suffer endless misery and despair.”

The ponies playing the gods, unlike the other actors, had cutie-marks. The white bearded actor had a thunderbolt cutie-mark, it outlined in gold. There was also an actor with an eye cutie-mark, another with a heart, a sword, a shield, and one with a helmet covered in a purple flame. The actors had moved about again, the gray pony now holding three boxes.

Phobetor continued. “Hearing the prayers of his creation, and ignoring the gods rightful punishment on them, he gifted the ponies with what belonged to the gods. Magic, and the knowledge to use it. The magic of strength and will, to break the ground and make it fertile. The magic of fitness and duty, to fly through the skies and control the clouds themselves. And lastly, arcane magic, to move the sun and moon, as well as to bend reality itself.” A cutie-mark formed on each of the actors, and each one froliced before leaving the stage. The actors playing the gods now surrounded the gray crafting pony, all looking crossed. “The gods were beyond angry at the crafter, bestowing the ponies with magic made them closer to gods, and now they worshiped them not at all. So, for this, the crafter was locked away, far beyond the reach of ponies.”

The golden mare, Pandora, trotted onto the stage, surrounded by the gods. Phobetor spoke loudly, and with pride. “The gods planed to bring the ponies back to worshiping them, while also punishing them for their arrogance. So the gods together crafted one pony, a perfect pony that shined like gold itself. A pony who would right the wrongs that the crafter and his creations had wrought to the gods. They together, created Pandora.” The gods trotted around Pandora, and great golden wings sprouted from her back, and a long golden horn from her head. “And as a reminder of their importance to the mortal ponies, the gods commanded that she was to forever hold a jar containing all the evil in the world.” The marble jar was lifted from the table, and paraded onto the stage, in which Pandora sat on top of it. “A jar she was to keep closed unless the ponies were to fail even once more in their worship of the gods.”

The actors playing the gods spread out, and the ones playing the normal ponies returned, now circling the jar in a dance. Phobetor’s prideful face became a grimace as she continued. “Pandora accepted her role as the perfect pony to the simpletons. She was the one who spoke on behalf of the gods, for she was perfect, an example of what all ponies should strive to become during their insignificant little lives.” The actors then scattered, ignoring Pandora. “But though the ponies worshiped the gods once more, they did not look up to Pandora, they did not inspire to be like Pandora. No, they instead wanted her to lower herself to their standards. To come down to them, have her perfect hooves ruined by touching dirt, have her sweat by pushing clouds like a servant, and have her help move the sun and moon as though she could not do it all on her own.”

Pandora began to cry, weeping on top of the jar. “How tragic, the perfect creation of the god, crafted from divine gold, to be treated as though a common pony.” Phobetor’s voice became like a growl at the end. Pandora then sat up, placing her hooves at the side of the jar. “So then did Pandora have an idea. If she was made by the gods to be perfect, then should she not be worshiped like one? And if so, was she not right to punish ponykind for forsaking their duty? It was then Pandora decided to take a peek at what was inside the jar. She wished to see what punishments could be given to the ponies for their arrogance in the face of the god she now believed herself to be. Then and only then, they would know what power Pandora had, and why she was their superior, to be treated as such and worshiped along with those who created her.”

“The jar was opened only but a crack, and a black smoke came pouring out. It consumed Pandora, and everything around her.” Phobetor laughed and gripped at the edge of the table as a spark of excitement in her words made them turn real. I watched as again, the jar opened for Pandora, and smoke enveloped the golden mare. “The jar didn't close when Pandora let it go, instead it fell to the ground and opened completely.”

More black smoke was sent streaming high into the air while Pandora’s perfect form withered infront of her eyes. Her horn crumbled, her wings shriveled and twisted like dried and dead branches. I watched as her body sagged and dissolved away into darkness, all except her eyes. Pandora’s defiant expressed looked at me before it too disintegrated, falling down and turning into black sand that scattered across the table.

“Of the greatest example of all ponies misguided hubris, this moment was when I, Pandora, was reborn.” Phobetor then trotted onto the stage, her head held high. “Time passed, and I woke up, no longer the perfect pony I was. The magic in the jar had changed me, and stripped me of what had once connected me to both the gods, and the ponies they created. Even so, my mission still remained very much the same. A mission left undone no longer. For you have forsaken the gods and brought misery and suffering upon yourselves. But ponykind should fear not, for I will not make matters worse for all of you. Today, I return to the mortal world, and so shall the world return to its rightful state. Where they will finally bow down in worship of me for the perfect being I am.”

All the ponies around me began bursting into puffs of black smoke, along with the props, food, and wine. When the smoke cleared, I was sitting at a rough stone table, it covered in mutilated body parts. Stone bowls full of maggots were scattered around, and rusted goblets filled with blood buzzed with clusters of bloated flies. The marble jar was back on the table, but it had changed into an onyx black marble. The images had changed too, now depicting ponies being torchered in gruesome ways, while others kneeled before a shadowy figure with golden eyes.

Looking over to where Phobetor was, she sat in a large iron looking cage, iron shackles around her hooves. Next to her cage was Blackspot with a hacksaw in one hoof, and a broken lock in the other. Feverishly, he worked his way cutting through the shackles while his eyes trailed constant streams of blood out of them.

“Fuck!” I drew my revolvers, firing at Blackspot, his head bursting into blue flames. The Pirate fell to the floor, screaming and twitching as his face melted.

“A bit too late for that Vibraphone.“ Phobetor chuckled. I unloaded the rest of my bullets at Phobetor, but the cage filled up with the black smoke, and my flames quickly died out. “Sorry to disappoint, but that flame is meant to work only on mortals. Weren’t you listening to my story? I am a god, I will never die. I am Phobetor, the eternal!”

The cage began to bend outward, creaking loudly before the bars began to one by one pop out of place, and shatter like glass. The black smoke exploded, destroying the rest of the cage as the massive shadowy form of a black dragon rose up, towering even bigger than I’d seen her before.

She looked down at me and laughed, gold and black flames bursting from her mouth. “You have always been a step or two behind, from day one. Nothing more than a pawn for the games of others. Now wallow here in hopeless misery, for once the world is mine, I will return, and I will kill you. Or maybe not, perhaps I shall permit you to enjoy the same eternal punishment I have. I shall see how I feel after I rend the life from those you care for most...” Phobetor stretched out her massive wings, and took to the sky.

I tried to get up and stop her, but the gust of wind from her wing pushed me back. All I could do was watch as she flew up, ascending into the hole in the ceiling. No, she can’t get away, not like this...

Again I’d failed. She was right, every pony I’ve fought have been a step or two ahead of me. Everything from Rototom’s death, to Harp’s… it had truly all been for nothing.

I don't know how long I just sat in place, at a loss of what to do next. Maybe I could escape from Tartarus, and find Phobetor just to shoot her in her stupid face. But it wasn’t that simple. Not to mention, I also still needed to kill Carving Doll, and stop the Equalists from overrunning the islands.

“It's just too much, too fucking much!” I shouted at myself. “I was in over my head from the very beginning. Why was it my job to do this!? Huh!?”

“Oh, you poor thing.” The soft voice of a mare spoke up next to me. I let my head roll off before looking at her. Sitting at the table was a pale green mare wearing a pure white toga, and with a thick brown mane decorated with small red marbles. She was absolutely beautiful, as though she alone shined as a beacon in this hopeless land.

“Don't coddle the outsider my love, she might be violent like the others. My patience is not infinite, and I will not show mercy a second time.” A smooth sounding stallion spoke up, and I turned my floating head toward him. The stallion wore a bronze helmet decorated with two horns that covered his face. “Cerberus will be here soon, but if you try anything dullahan, I promise that I will make you a permanent resident of Tartarus.”

It was slowly building at first, but the more I looked at the two ponies, the smaller I felt. It was not like the foreboding feeling that Phobetor gave off, of a danger outside my understanding. No, this was more like they were simply beyond me, like an ant trying to comprehend a pony. These two radiated purity and clarity, and yet, I didn’t feel threatened, just... small.

“Be nice and I get to go home?” I looked back at my body, and it shrugged. “Ya, I can do that. But can I ask, who are you two?”

The helmeted pony huffed and looked away, and the earth pony mare giggled. She reached out and plucked my head right off my shoulders, giving me a pleasant smile as she held it in her hooves. “Oh don't mind my husband, he may seem big and scary, but he's actually just a big softy clad in bronze armor.”

“I’m not soft!” The stallion grumbled.

She passed my head back to my body, and clapped her hooves. Green vines sprouted from the ground and wrapped around the stone table, growing upwards until it was taller than both the mare and myself. A few of the higher vines sprouted a fruit I’ve never seen before, growing plump in size until the vine bent under the weight, and drooped straight into the mare’s waiting hooves. She happily cracked the fruit open, and I found it was filled with ruby colored seeds. She threw one into her mouth before passing the odd fruit to me.

“You want some, they are my favorite.” She asked with an oddly friendly smile. I only became more confused, and the mare sighed, before pulling her hoof back. “Sorry, my name is Persephone. It has been a long time since I’ve talked with a mortal, undead or not, and I was hoping you would have guessed my name.”

I cocked an eyebrow. “There's a station named Persephone. I think it was named after an Equestrian princess, which I’m guessing is you?”

A loud clanking noise came from the stallion. He had taken off his helmet and placed it on the overgrown table. Light gray in his coat, he had a jet black mane and two ivory white horns. He... was a bicorn.

“Wrong, my wife is no mere princess!” he growled at me and stood proud before a giggle from Pesephone broke his stalwart expression.

“Oh shush, you.” Persephone rolled her eyes at her husband. “However, it does seem that the old a tales have been mostly forgotten. And unfortunately, without Celestia, the knowledge of them are unlikely to return. But in a way, you are correct, just not in the way you think. I am the daughter of Zeus, king of the gods. I am also wife of Hades, god king of the underworld you are currently the guest of. Of course, this makes me queen of the underworld, but you can say I was once a princess. One so irresistible that Hades couldn't help but steal me away.” I looked over at Hades, but he looked away blushing. Persephone gave a little laugh, “Mother was so mad that we had run off together that she left the world in winter until I was returned.”

“So...” I was having a hard time comprehending what exactly was going on here. “what you're saying, is that you’re a god?” She nodded, and I frowned. “Then you made Phobetor, er… Pandora, then.” Persephone lost the coy smile on her face at that. Hades outright slammed his hoof on the table, getting our attention.

“Don’t blame her for her father's hubris.” He waved his hoof over the vine laden table, and small figures of ponies formed in the stone, dancing around the table. “I told him to leave it be, but like every time I tried to give him advice, Zeus would never take it. He made Pandora to be just like himself, perfect in every way, perfectly narcissistic. I always wanted to help Pandora. She never deserved what was done to her. From the moment life was breathed into her, she was destined for failure.”

“Then you got Celestia to capture her, and hid her from us!” Charon appeared, the shadow from the large jar rippled and moved, forming into cloke as the skeleton pony stepped out from under it, and wrapped herself in it. After her, and in much of the same way came Hel, and another robed skeleton, whom hid their face. “All the while telling us that she was contained, that she would never be free to rampage again. So tell me, how has that worked out!”

Hades looked from Charon, over to myself, and then back to Charon. “So this is your work Charon? I expected this from Izanami, but not you.”

Charon looked away. “I may be a spirit of death, but that doesn't mean I’m eternal. And for a ‘god’, neither are you. We’re all worried that when the day comes, whomever takes your place will not be able to defeat her.” She trotted over to the table flanked by the two other skeletons, choosing to sit at the midway point between the ‘gods’ and I. “When I learned that this one had been touched by Phobetor, I knew it was already too late. I could not afford to wait any longer for guidance, and action needed to be taken.”

“I agree with Charon.” Hel spoke up. “A nightmare born from the dreams of gods is already dangerous, but with the state of the world as it is, we could see another necromantic uprising once again. One not seen for thousands of years, one without a guardian to counter it.”

“The flame of hope has only recently returned to its rightful place, and it still needs more time to grow in strength again. Phobetor has know this from the moment it disappeared.” The third skeleton spoke, his voice as wispy and cold as the others, but also deep like a bass guitar. “If allowed to establish herself, the mother of all necromancy will reign unopposed. So I see Charon’s actions as more than justified.”

I raised a hoof. “Uh, excuse me?” All three skeletons turned to me in unison. “So are you saying that you planned on letting Phobetor free? Why the fuck would you do that!”

“I have a good idea why.” Hades sighed. “Go and look inside the jar, and I will explain.”

It was an odd request, but I complied. Climbing up onto the table, I trotted up to the jar. The marble lid was heavy, and despite my still broken legs, I managed to push it off. Sitting inside, was a single, small blue flame. It was nothing like my own flame that I felt burning inside of me. No, this flame was lighter in color, almost white, and incredibly warm. For some reason which I couldn’t put into words, just looking at it made me feel that everything… like it was all going to be okay.

“That is the flame of hope.” Hades explained. “It has the power to banish evil, and inspire the good that burns inside all of ponykind. It’s a weak flame however, so it cannot be used every time evil rears its head. So we protect it here, in this dark place, where only those who need it the most will seek to find it. But somehow, over two hundred years ago, pony kind managed to unintentionally steal it. Even we do not yet understand how, and yet, not too long ago it returned to us. Sadly, the flame still needs many more years to grow back to it’s previous strength. But it is our only effective weapon to use against Phobetor, without it, there is little chance we could stand against her once her plans come to fruition.”

“Then we must strike before she can regain her full strength!” Charons shouted, slamming a hoof down on the table hard enough to rattle the jar. “She is still vulnerable right now, so if we can draw her out, then we can beat her.”

“How?” I closed the lid, and turned to Charon. “It’s not like we can just throw out some bait, and wait for her.”

Hel chuckled. “Actually that's exactly what we intend to do. Well, not exactly, but She will show herself if we have something she wants.”

“And that is?” I asked.

“To win.” Hades answered. “She can’t take a loss, not unless it’s one she plans to have. It’s something she inherited from her creators, the drive to be better, to be perfect. If victory is at hoof, and then stolen from her, she will not be able to resist stepping in to take back her victory. She got that quirk from Zeus and Aries, those two would rather see a city crumble then admit when they were wrong. Hubarus as it’s called, and it was how Celestia and Starswirl the Bearded were able to draw her to be captured. They set up a simple trap, and Phobetor thought herself too smart for it work to work on her.”

I thought about it for a moment, and felt a cold shiver run down my spine. “The equalists. She said that she was going to take control over them.”

Caron tilted her skull at me. “Then the equalists must fight for her, and be brought to the edge of victory before they are smashed down. Only then will Phobetor show herself.”

“You know what you’re asking for, right?” I glared at Charon. “How many ponies will be killed if the equalist go on the warpath?” I sharply jabbed at the side of the marble jar as I narrowed my eyes to her. “You said this thing was the only way to beat her. So if we don’t have the flame of hope to use on her, then what weapon do we have? Unless you have the elements of harmony, I read about that being used on Nightmare Moon?”

“No, and even if we had, and could use such artifacts, all it do is imprison her again.” Caron ancewed before using her hoof to draw an image of a mushroom cloud on the ground. “But if she was hit by a concentrated chaotic magic in a violent burst, it would be able to damage the nightmare enough to shake her from her mortal bindings.”

I narrowed my gaze at Caron, understanding at what she was suggesting. “So you want me to drop a megaspell on her?”

“Close.” The third pony spoke up. “We have already planned this out between us, and want you to enhance the megaspell bomb with the death magic gifted to you.”

“Gifted?” I growled at them. “Gifted!?”

“That was a poor choice of words, and we apologise for that.” the third skeleton spoke up. “But if Phobetor is burnt by death magic in that way, then she will no longer be able to hide from us, after that we can remove the Dullahan curse around your neck. But for now, it is necessary to stop Phobetor. Kill her, and you can return to being a living pony.”

I closed my eyes, the sound of being normal again gave me some hope. “Liar.” But like everything always turned out to be, it was a false hope. “Those touched by death magic, belong to the dead. Isn’t that what you told me, Charon?”

“So very true.” The third skeleton chuckled as both Charon and Hel face hoofed. “Sorry for the poor attempt at deception, my name is Thanatos, by the way.”

I returned to my seat, eyeing Thanatos carfily. “Alright, Thanatos, then tell me this. Why me? Don't you have other dullahans out there?”

“Long ago, we indeed had many.” Thanatos pulled back his hood, and stretched out two bone wings. “The undead were either our servants, or abominations that needed to be destroyed. It was how we maintained balance, and kept evil from bathing the mortal realm in darkness. But long ago, two alicorn sisters traversed the land together, not just purging evil, but healing the damage left behind. They did what the gods failed to do, and kept evil from reforming within the pony lands for generations.”

“Celestia and Luna.” I made an educated guess.

He nodded. “When they ascended to that of nobility, with subjects to protect, the two sought out solutions to the problem of the numerous other evil creatures in this world. Solutions that would last for generations more than their original actions. And, with mighty heroes to aid them, evil was driven from Equestria, and into the deepest darkest corners of the world. From there, the remaining old gods, spirits of death, and great guardians sealed them away. We banished them to other worlds, and a few were even wholey purified. So successful was it, that the mortals soon began to forget the dangers that evil possessed, as they were now masters of their own world. And from then on, the princesses became the guardians of peace, and their mighty heroes kept evil from returning to swallow the land once more.”

I leaned back, not sure if I could even believe what he was saying. “So, what you're saying, is that you put yourselves out of the job?”

“It is more that we shifted our roles to that of simply maintaining the world behind the scenes.” Persephone clarified. “We had seen ponykind flourish in spite of your flaws, and had elected to merely watch as you wove your own fates.”

“Exactly.” Thanatos nodded again. “We no longer needed revenants of the dead to hunt down dark spirits, corrupt souls, and necromancers. Those heroes of the land managed to keep them at bay. And, by Celestia's request, we let the dead rest, and made no new allies to aid in their defeat. However, as you know, the world has once more changed. While there are indeed heroes fighting against the darkness, we have deemed that they are not enough to maintain a balance, and so once more we must act as we once did.”

“So I’m the first undead hunter in a long time then?” I asked, feeling a bit irritated by this. Seriously, couldn’t they have had a contract to sign or something? Put your name along the dotted line to fight evil golden-eyed bitches for all eternity. And if you act now, we’ll chop off your fucking head too!

The three skeletons looked at each other. Their bones rattling before Charon answered. “No.” That… wasn’t the answer I’d expected. “You are simply the first dullahan we have created. With the ascension of the princesses from their mortal forms, and no successor, the old treaties have long since voided. We have created many stewards to maintain places such as this, keeping these evils contained until the mortal realm can recover enough to take over once more. However, our actions are mostly limited to these realms, and such we need ponies like you to help push back the evil that has swept through the lands.”

“Right, that all makes sense, at least on the surface.” I think I was coming to understand the situation, and it didn't sound good. “But that still doesn’t explain why you chose me. There's got to be other better ponies to turn undead?”

“Even with all of our power and knowledge, we are still shackled to the prospect of convenience.” Charon answered. “Rituals, and binding spells are required, otherwise the soul become disturbed and corrupt. It's why those brought back by necromancer come back strange, emotional and violent. Your soul had already become detached, but your body was still living. In effect, you had already long become the undead, it's just that your body had not yet accepted it. In other words, a perfect vassel. So I made use of you, and interweaved your soul with my own spirit. The power you now draw upon to sustain yourself, is in fact, my own.”

A howl made me flinch, it sounding of three great beasts closing in. No one else but Hades paid the sound any mind, the god smirking as i could hear it step closer. I turned in time to see an absolutely massive black three headed dog, walk up onto the pillar. In one of its mouths was a bent lurker spear, covered in slobber.

Hades got out of his seat, and trotted over to Cerberus, reaching a hoof out to it. “Who’s a good boy?” The terrifying dog then rolled over, letting Hades rub its belly. “You’re a good boy, yes you are! Your such a good boy, helping me get rid of those meddling intruders. You’re the best boy.” Hades sounded more like doting dog owner than what I imagined the god of the underworld should sound. Cerberus gave a happy bark, blasting me with a gust of foul smelling dog breath.

From where Cerberus had come from were even more large dogs, far smaller than the three headed hound, but bigger than myself. A few of them were Orthrus, and there were six large black dogs with bright red eyes. They all happily pranced around Hades, as he tried to give them all attention. I looked over at Persephone, and she gave me a knowing shrug. Who knew, Hades was a huge dog pony?

We waited for Hades to finish babying his dogs before he put on a strong face that no longer held its intimidating effect. His gaze fell onto me, and I did my best to not smirk.

“Miss Vibraphone Echo, now that all the other intruders have been thrown out,” He looked over at Blackspots body for a second. “or rather, eliminated, I believe it is time for you to leave. I will not pressure you into fighting Pandora, and if you wish, I can have you sent to a place far from any conflict. We have asked enough of you as is, so I can at least grant you that should you wish it. Though I’m sorry, but returning you back to a living pony has long since become beyond my power. Know that you will still age in the mortal realm, and you can still be injured. However, should you wish it, you can still live a peaceful life, for what's left of it.”

“You offer her the choice to leave!?” Charon shouted as she sat up. “At a time like this!?”

“Silence!” He held his head up, and glaring down at Charon. “You don't get to argue with me, death spirit. The lives of mortals are not game pieces for you to move at your own whims. That is for the gods to decide, as is our right.”

“It's fine, Charon.” I spoke up before taking a deep breath, sighing slowly. “Don't get me wrong, I think that all of this is beyond messed up. But as much as I hate the way things have turned out, I'm not going to just let Phobetor have her way. She started this fight, and after all I’ve been through, all I’ve lost, I’m going to finish it. If I get to beat the Equalists down at the same time, fine, I call that justice.” I looked over at the broken Lurker spear that Cerberus had been chewing on, reminding me that I still don't know if I did kill Berenice. “Those other intruders you got rid of, did they have a leader? Possibly one that I shot in the face?”

Hades paused for a moment, scratching his beard. “There was one that was being fiercely protected, and if I must say, quite obnoxiously loud.”

Yep, Berenice was still alive, the fucking rad-roch. “If you put her back on the Islands, I want you to take me to her. She did something unforgivable, and I plan to rectify that mistake.”

“I understand.” He gave a clap of his hooves as his muzzle widened into a smug smirk. “I have returned the creatures near where they entered Tartarus. I can send you there, if you wish.” Hades looked me over, and sighed. “But, I doubt you will be able to do much on those legs once I return you there. Outside the bounds of this realm, they will return to the shattered junk they look like they are.”

Looking down at Minerva, the pipleg could be salvaged, but that take a skilled technician. “That's true, I still don't know how I managed to walk all the way here. And I doubt you have any cybernetics I could borrow.”

He clapped his hooves together, and a wave of magic bust like a gust of wind. Appearing out of thin air was a full suit of jet black full plate armor. It didn't look anything special, but something about it felt powerful. “I’ll lend you the legs of this meteoric armor. It will stand up to most mortal weapons, but more importantly it will let you stand up against Pandora’s magic, as well as to simply stand up at all.”

“So you kept it, after all this time!” Persephone jumped off her seat and over to the armor. “You're just too sentimental, darling.” Hades blushed brightly as Persephone trotted over to me. “Now let me get you into that armor, I bet you will look absolutely dashing.”

I tried to backup, but once Persephone had me, it was like trying to get out from under a mountain. She quickly stripped me of my clothes, as well as the bit of dignity I had left. Removing the full plate armor legs from the rest of the suit, she then used them to replace my broken cyber legs, fastening them in place, the straps going around my chest, barrel, and hips. Surprisingly, I was able to stand up easily with the armor legs, though it felt awkward to stand without anything attached to my connectors. And despite not having any legs to stabilize the armored metal legs, they would moved as if I had flesh and blood in them. More than that, with the armored legs on, I felt lighter somehow.

“Oh good, the enchantment still works.” Persephone said happily, clopping her hooves together. “You should find that the armor moves as you want it to, and with ease.”

Moving the leg, it wasn’t just like I had a leg inside it, I could actually feel it as though I had real legs. “What… how is this?”

“Like I said, it's made from meteoric iron.” Hades trotted over to me. “I had it forged for my dear wife long ago, though I could never justify sealing such beauty away underneath it. It was made so that she could easily get away from any perceivable danger, while protecting her perfect beauty from all damage. And while she has never once needed it, this is not yours to keep. I expect it back once your task is complete, do you understand?”

I nodded, but then Persephone nudged me and giggled. “There he goes again. Ignore the ‘tough stallion’ act. Even a fool could see that he likes you.”

“Her deeds are impressive...” Hades grumbled as he tried to save face. “for a mortal, that is.”

The new magical legs were nice, though after taking a few steps, I noticed that I left a thin trail of fog behind me. I hoped that it was only because I was in Tartarus, otherwise, that was going to make running away awfully hard to do against anypony who could follow a straight line.

After putting my dress back on, I placed my broken pipleg into my bag, and brushed myself off. “Alright, I'm ready to go back.”

“One more thing before you go.” Thanatos came trotting over, getting close. “No one here will care if you tell others about what you have seen, but be warned; if Phobetor hears of this, she will only become harder to draw out. Play the vengeful wraith, let her know that you alone have come for her. Make it all about her, that all of your rage is because of her. Do that, and it will feed her ego, her hubris, and blind her to your true objective.”

“Also!” Charon spoke up. “Undead doesn't mean immortal, just that you’re no longer part of the natural living world. Like Hades mentioned, you can still be injured, which means you can still die. All any pony needs to do is destroy your head. Your body can heal almost any injury, but it doesn't matter if your head is destroyed. Keep that in mind, so more than anything else, protect it.”

“If my head is my main week point, then can I also take the helmet from that armor?” I asked earnestly.

Haides shook his head. “That be a bad idea, Phobetor would recognize the hemet immediately, and will know I aided you. The legs will not be as recognizable to her, as you old back legs look similar. But if your successful in this endeavor, I will grant you the use of the entire armor, even have the helm reforged to fit your horns.”

“Right then, I’ll be careful who I talk too, and do my best to not lose my head.” I lifted my head up with my hooves, and used them to nodd. “So pretty much just survive, just as always in the metros.” Turning to Hades, he nodded at me, and lifted up a hoof high, calling Cerberus to him. With three loud barks, a portal appeared above Hades, and found myself being sucking in. Taking a deep breath, I let the portal pull me in, resolute in what I must do.

I had become an aspect of death, a vengeful spirit born of the gods to drive back the darkness.

More importantly than that though, I had some bitches to kill.

-

Footnote:

Quest Perk Gained - Meteoric Legs (You’ve just been literally Deus-Ex-Machina’d. Now you own a set of near indestructible magical legs. Your legs can no longer be crippled, and you cannot be slowed by unfavorable ground.)