Descent

When Twilight stepped out of the bathroom that adjoined to the palace with the towel rubbing the side of her head, held up by a simple levitation spell, as she stretched her back with her palms high to the ceiling. Her hot feet coming in contact with the cool marble felt incredible and left her with goosebumps. Normally, she would cover herself with the towel because of Spike and his rapidly growing adolescent drake body, but she knew he would be miles from there at this moment. The only other pony around was Rainbow Dash, who had seen Twilight naked possibly more times than the alicorn could count, and it wasn't as if she cared much anymore. Since she became closer with Dash, Twilight had actually gotten quite a bit more comfortable with her body.

Walking into her borrowed bedroom, she found her girlfriend sitting on the end of the large bed fixing her hair. The bed was flawlessly made, the pillows even fluffed. Twilight smiled and shook her head in fake disbelief.

"Well, would you look at that. Dashie's all grown up and can make her own bed," Twilight joked. As a response, she receive a well-fluffed pillow to the face. Dash's wing folded back onto her back as she continued to contain her hair. Finally getting all of the longer strands in one hand, she wrapped a hair-tie around it. On the left, her bangs hung down to just above her eye and steadily ascended until it met her hairline about two-thirds of the way across her forehead. The ponytail was a tight one that clearly said that Dash meant serious business. Her shirt was a brown, thick one that she had rolled the sleeves up on above her elbows. She was wearing black leather gloves that had already seen some real wear and tear. Below the waist, she was sporting rough brown pants that seemed to be made of some terribly uncomfortable material. The cut of them stopped just past the knee, exposing a leather strap connected to a sheath. Out of the sheath stuck the curved handle of a dagger.

Twilight raised an eyebrow, giving her partner a look that said 'Seriously?'. Dash followed her gaze to the weapon and sighed. "It's only a precaution, Twi. Who knows what we'll see down there? Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it, right?" Dash quoted. Twilight nodded thoughtfully and turned toward her dresser. If Rainbow was going in dressed to kill, shouldn't she follow suit?

Half an hour later, the two of them walked out of her room and proceeded toward the throne room. This time the guards parted without a moment of hesitation, allowing the girls to toss the doors back and walk inside. Celestia stood off to one side, hardly taking notice of their arrival, and Treachery sat upon her throne wearing the same outfit Dash had seen him several hours ago. When he looked their way, he teleported himself across the room to a few feet from where they stood. When he reappeared, his outfit had changed drastically.

On each claw was a plated gauntlet that had the fingers melted off halfway down, exposing his wicked claws. On his chest, he wore a black metal breastplate under a black duster. The edge of the duster closest to the floor seemed to be smoldering slightly and it looked recently singed. On the hip of his torn jeans was a pair of sheathes, like larger versions of the one Dash was wearing, only the hilts that stuck out glowed along veins of pulsing red. Treachery caught her looking at them and drew one of the swords in the blink of an eye. It was razor sharp, slicing through the air like it was tangible, and it came to rest a few inches from Dash's nose before Treachery flicked it to the side and was holding on its side in his hands.

The blade was a dark grey that, as it got closer to the hilt, was enveloped in tendrils of black glass. The hilt appeared to be made of the same black glass aside from the lines of glowing red that looked and moved like magma.

"It's a demon blade," he told her. "Forged in Hell's Foundry, it's capable of killing anything we'll run into down there. The blade is made of metals only found deep in the Earth. The black is something called obsidian. Some know it as a naturally occurring rock that forms when lava super-cools. Others know it as dragon glass. In Hell, it's the crystallized embodiment of the tortured soul. Spires of it sprout out of the walls, floors, and ceilings on a moment's notice. And the lines of red are the blood of the demon who was sacrificed to forge the blade." He looked up from the weapon to Dash's face. It showed no hint of being amused or impressed.

"Huh. Is that all?" Dash asked bluntly, trying to sound nonchalant. Twilight elbowed her in the ribs and nodded intensely. Treachery spun the blade with a flourish and sunk it back into the sheath. He then began pacing around the duo, looking them up and down. Twilight had chosen to tie the hair behind her ears in a loose ponytail that was bound with a hairband around her neck, or thereabouts. She wore knee-high combat boots that she had always kept packed away for a rainy day. Above that she wore a pair of khaki short shorts and Treachery spotted a little bit of frilly cyan lace sticking up out off the side. She wore a crisp, clean pale lavender blouse above her belt, and it was nearly tucked into the shorts. She left the collar unbuttoned the the third button down, exposing a few inches below her clavicle. Attached to her belt was a tiny knife, not even half the size of the one Dash sported.

Stopping in front of them, he crossed his arms and looked from face to face. With a snap of his fingers, they felt their hips tilt to one side slightly and they looked down to see they were both now carrying demon blades. "Call them necessary precautions. I have no idea if He knows we're coming, but if he does, He'll make it even worse," he said, meeting their eyes for full effect.

"It's Hell. Does it get worse?"

Treachery scowled and looked at Dash as if she were an idiot. "Imagine every dark, evil thing you can think of. Not just monsters, not just demons; feelings, thoughts, all of it. That's where they're born. That's where He feeds them. If you think it doesn't get worse than a simple jaunt through Hell, you're dead wrong," he growled fiercely. For once, Dash actually had no reply to that. Looking to Twilight, he asked, "Any chance you know how to use a bow?".

Twilight held up her hand and wobbled it side to side. "My brother taught me how a long time ago, but I was never an expert," she admitted.

"It'll have to do," Treachery said just before snapping his fingers again. Suddenly, her arms felt somewhat constricted around the armpit and she felt something pressing against her back. Reaching back and pulling, she found she was now holding a bow made of bone enveloped in obsidian. The bowstring was black as night and when Twilight pulled it back, a spectral red arrow appeared on it.

"Heartpierce. Most famous bow in the entire arsenal. Once used by War to quell the demon uprising and maintain the balance," he told her as she marveled at the magical arrow that sat knocked in front of her.

Pulling her gaze away she blinked at him. "War. As in-"

"Yes, the Horsepony. The legendary riders of the Apocalypse who can manifest themselves as both perfectly humanoid and perfectly animal to ride themselves into the End War," he stated, clearly bored of explaining the Four Horsepony again. He turned to Dash who crossed her arms and frowned at him. He snapped his fingers once more and she felt leather straps tie up under her arms. Lifting them, she saw an ivory-colored pistol grip on the left and an obsidian one of the right. Pulling them out, she found them to be simple six-shooters made of the same metal as the demon blades. On the grip of each was a strange rune.

"Mercy and Redemption. No bullets, no problem. They fit ten shots each at a time and refill themselves quickly over time. Sounds impossible, right? Well, not when you're firing condensed souls," he said with a smile. "They, too, belonged to a Horsepony. The one called Strife, the youngest brother. They were lost to him eons ago, and we had them all along." Impulsively, Rainbow Dash pointed one squarely at Treachery's face. For a moment, his smile dropped and he looked her dead in the eye. In his deep black eyes, she saw something. She saw a stallion. A lonely stallion, weeping, begging for her to pull the trigger. The memory of their talk hours ago rushed back to her and she realized that now was not his time to die. She jammed the revolvers back into the holsters and went back to staring at him with her arms crossed.

"Well, now that we're nice and armed to the teeth, what do you say we make our exi-"

"And just where the hay to y'all think yer goin'!"

Behind them, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Rarity all strode in through the open doors. All but Rarity looked angry to be there. Rarity was too busy giving Treachery the bedroom eyes. "Y'all were about to hightail it outta here without so much as a goodbye? That's just cold, girls," Applejack scolded, being painfully honest with them.

"Girls, listen. I just didn't want to disturb you by waking you. It's early and you all should get some sleep. We'll be right back, I promise," Twilight swore with a tender smile. Treachery cleared his throat to catch their attention.

"Actually, I can't promise that. You see, time moves differently in Hell. Sometimes it moves slowly, sometimes it moves quickly, hell, sometimes it even moves backward! All I'm saying is that if - IF - we make it out alive, we might show up tomorrow, a week from now, maybe even a year. Just pray we don't show up before we leave or else we'll all die in a blast of incredible, universe imploding light. Although, if we make it through the portal, I guess that means we didn't come back into our own timelines. . .". Treachery seemed to lose focus for a second as he stared into the air and pondered this.

"Anyway, I'm sure we'll be fine and we'll bring Discor-" Treachery hopped out from behind her and clapped his hands together.

"Well, alright-y then! Let's get a few things out of the way before we cruise on outta here, all right?". He looked to the four mares and smiled. "You all seem like wonderful gals and I'll try not to get your friends here killed or maimed or mutilated or tortured or bludgeoned or strangled or. . . Nevermind," he said waving a hand dismissively. Catching Rarity's tempestuous gaze, he rolled his eyes. "Rarity, honey, unless somebody wants to loan me their body you can just can it. I'm not in the business anymore," he said, putting air quotes around "the business" before reaching down to his waist. Before any of them knew what was happening, Treachery had dropped his pants. Where his genitals would have been was a burned, cauterized wound marking just what he mean by 'not in the business'. Fluttershy fainted and Rarity gasped in horror as he reached for his pants.

Turning, he grabbed Twilight and Rainbow Dash's arms before turning around again. "Oh, and these two," he said, nodding to the two mares next to himself, "have been fucking like rabbits right under your noses. Ciao!". Leaving all the mares, including Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, and even Princess Celestia aghast at what he just said, Treachery pulled his two travelling companions forward and felt that same cold rush of air he felt whenever the shadows took him. Looking side to side, he grinned, shouting to them over the oncoming torrent of swirling shadows, "Hold on tight, dearies! It's gonna be one Hell of a ride!"

Half an hour later, the two of them walked out of her room and proceeded toward the throne room. This time the guards parted without a moment of hesitation, allowing the girls to toss the doors back and walk inside. Celestia stood off to one side, hardly taking notice of their arrival, and Treachery sat upon her throne wearing the same outfit Dash had seen him several hours ago. When he looked their way, he teleported himself across the room to a few feet from where they stood. When he reappeared, his outfit had changed drastically.

On each claw was a plated gauntlet that had the fingers melted off halfway down, exposing his wicked claws. On his chest, he wore a black metal breastplate under a black duster. The edge of the duster closest to the floor seemed to be smoldering slightly and it looked recently singed. On the hip of his torn jeans was a pair of sheathes, like larger versions of the one Dash was wearing, only the hilts that stuck out glowed along veins of pulsing red. Treachery caught her looking at them and drew one of the swords in the blink of an eye. It was razor sharp, slicing through the air like it was tangible, and it came to rest a few inches from Dash's nose before Treachery flicked it to the side and was holding on its side in his hands.

The blade was a dark grey that, as it got closer to the hilt, was enveloped in tendrils of black glass. The hilt appeared to be made of the same black glass aside from the lines of glowing red that looked and moved like magma.

"It's a demon blade," he told her. "Forged in Hell's Foundry, it's capable of killing anything we'll run into down there. The blade is made of metals only found deep in the Earth. The black is something called obsidian. Some know it as a naturally occurring rock that forms when lava super-cools. Others know it as dragon glass. In Hell, it's the crystallized embodiment of the tortured soul. Spires of it sprout out of the walls, floors, and ceilings on a moment's notice. And the lines of red are the blood of the demon who was sacrificed to forge the blade." He looked up from the weapon to Dash's face. It showed no hint of being amused or impressed.

"Huh. Is that all?" Dash asked bluntly, trying to sound nonchalant. Twilight elbowed her in the ribs and nodded intensely. Treachery spun the blade with a flourish and sunk it back into the sheath. He then began pacing around the duo, looking them up and down. Twilight had chosen to tie the hair behind her ears in a loose ponytail that was bound with a hairband around her neck, or thereabouts. She wore knee-high combat boots that she had always kept packed away for a rainy day. Above that she wore a pair of khaki short shorts and Treachery spotted a little bit of frilly cyan lace sticking up out off the side. She wore a crisp, clean pale lavender blouse above her belt, and it was nearly tucked into the shorts. She left the collar unbuttoned the the third button down, exposing a few inches below her clavicle. Attached to her belt was a tiny knife, not even half the size of the one Dash sported.

Stopping in front of them, he crossed his arms and looked from face to face. With a snap of his fingers, they felt their hips tilt to one side slightly and they looked down to see they were both now carrying demon blades. "Call them necessary precautions. I have no idea if He knows we're coming, but if he does, He'll make it even worse," he said, meeting their eyes for full effect.

"It's Hell. Does it get worse?"

Treachery scowled and looked at Dash as if she were an idiot. "Imagine every dark, evil thing you can think of. Not just monsters, not just demons; feelings, thoughts, all of it. That's where they're born. That's where He feeds them. If you think it doesn't get worse than a simple jaunt through Hell, you're dead wrong," he growled fiercely. For once, Dash actually had no reply to that. Looking to Twilight, he asked, "Any chance you know how to use a bow?".

Twilight held up her hand and wobbled it side to side. "My brother taught me how a long time ago, but I was never an expert," she admitted.

"It'll have to do," Treachery said just before snapping his fingers again. Suddenly, her arms felt somewhat constricted around the armpit and she felt something pressing against her back. Reaching back and pulling, she found she was now holding a bow made of bone enveloped in obsidian. The bowstring was black as night and when Twilight pulled it back, a spectral red arrow appeared on it.

"Heartpierce. Most famous bow in the entire arsenal. Once used by War to quell the demon uprising and maintain the balance," he told her as she marveled at the magical arrow that sat knocked in front of her.

Pulling her gaze away she blinked at him. "War. As in-"

"Yes, the Horsepony. The legendary riders of the Apocalypse who can manifest themselves as both perfectly humanoid and perfectly animal to ride themselves into the End War," he stated, clearly bored of explaining the Four Horsepony again. He turned to Dash who crossed her arms and frowned at him. He snapped his fingers once more and she felt leather straps tie up under her arms. Lifting them, she saw an ivory-colored pistol grip on the left and an obsidian one of the right. Pulling them out, she found them to be simple six-shooters made of the same metal as the demon blades. On the grip of each was a strange rune.

"Mercy and Redemption. No bullets, no problem. They fit ten shots each at a time and refill themselves quickly over time. Sounds impossible, right? Well, not when you're firing condensed souls," he said with a smile. "They, too, belonged to a Horsepony. The one called Strife, the youngest brother. They were lost to him eons ago, and we had them all along." Impulsively, Rainbow Dash pointed one squarely at Treachery's face. For a moment, his smile dropped and he looked her dead in the eye. In his deep black eyes, she saw something. She saw a stallion. A lonely stallion, weeping, begging for her to pull the trigger. The memory of their talk hours ago rushed back to her and she realized that now was not his time to die. She jammed the revolvers back into the holsters and went back to staring at him with her arms crossed.

"Well, now that we're nice and armed to the teeth, what do you say we make our exi-"

"And just where the hay to y'all think yer goin'!"

Behind them, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Rarity all strode in through the open doors. All but Rarity looked angry to be there. Rarity was too busy giving Treachery the bedroom eyes. "Y'all were about to hightail it outta here without so much as a goodbye? That's just cold, girls," Applejack scolded, being painfully honest with them.

"Girls, listen. I just didn't want to disturb you by waking you. It's early and you all should get some sleep. We'll be right back, I promise," Twilight swore with a tender smile. Treachery cleared his throat to catch their attention.

"Actually, I can't promise that. You see, time moves differently in Hell. Sometimes it moves slowly, sometimes it moves quickly, hell, sometimes it even moves backward! All I'm saying is that if - IF - we make it out alive, we might show up tomorrow, a week from now, maybe even a year. Just pray we don't show up before we leave or else we'll all die in a blast of incredible, universe imploding light. Although, if we make it through the portal, I guess that means we didn't come back into our own timelines. . .". Treachery seemed to lose focus for a second as he stared into the air and pondered this.

"Anyway, I'm sure we'll be fine and we'll bring Discor-" Treachery hopped out from behind her and clapped his hands together.

"Well, alright-y then! Let's get a few things out of the way before we cruise on outta here, all right?". He looked to the four mares and smiled. "You all seem like wonderful gals and I'll try not to get your friends here killed or maimed or mutilated or tortured or bludgeoned or strangled or. . . Nevermind," he said waving a hand dismissively. Catching Rarity's tempestuous gaze, he rolled his eyes. "Rarity, honey, unless somebody wants to loan me their body you can just can it. I'm not in the business anymore," he said, putting air quotes around "the business" before reaching down to his waist. Before any of them knew what was happening, Treachery had dropped his pants. Where his genitals would have been was a burned, cauterized wound marking just what he mean by 'not in the business'. Fluttershy fainted and Rarity gasped in horror as he reached for his pants.

Turning, he grabbed Twilight and Rainbow Dash's arms before turning around again. "Oh, and these two," he said, nodding to the two mares next to himself, "have been fucking like rabbits right under your noses. Ciao!". Leaving all the mares, including Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, and even Princess Celestia aghast at what he just said, Treachery pulled his two travelling companions forward and felt that same cold rush of air he felt whenever the shadows took him. Looking side to side, he grinned, shouting to them over the oncoming torrent of swirling shadows, "Hold on tight, dearies! It's gonna be one Hell of a ride!"

As the buffeting hurricane of warped shadows faded, a disturbing scene developed around the three of them. Ancient, broken stone made up several different walkways that seemed to converge and divide all around, some of them ending in shattered bricks that hang suspended in space. Although gravity seemed to act fine on them, it seemed that the bricks were free from its binding. Along the sides of the walkways were small pyres of flickering purple flame that seemed like a more focused version of the color overhead. The pyres appeared to be lit inside hollowed out skulls, raised a few feet off the walkway by the skull’s spine. Instead of a sky of earth and darkness like Twilight Sparkle ad Rainbow Dash had expected, there was a faded lavender sky that seemed more like a dense, suffocating fog.

“Home sweet home,” Treachery muttered under his breath, which came out in small puffs of water vapor. Rainbow started toward him angrily.

“What the hell, Treachery! That was supposed to wait until we got ba-“ She was silenced by Treachery whipping around, claw raised to her throat.

“Would you be quiet!” He hissed in a raised whisper. “If we’re here, He may very well already know we’re here. . .” He went about looking down the paths that led off into the distance before the choking fog enveloped them. A deep, menacing laugh from behind the three of them made all of them freeze in place.

“How quaint. Betrayed by the Betrayer. Should have seen that coming, really,” came a deep, cold voice. Slowly, the girls turned while Treachery stood stock still. Before them was an enormous figure in a heavy black cloak. In the end of a muzzle protruded, and it was jet black with a slew of scars blemishing the skin. As the girls’ eyes grew wide, the lips curled back to reveal silver teeth tipped with red.

“Welcome, Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash. This,” he said, opening his arms to the world around them, “is Hell. Well, at least a small part of it.” His head twitched slightly upward, indicating he was looking at Treachery now. “Come now, Treachery. Don’t leave your father without due respect in front of prestigious guests.” As if compelled by some powerful force, Treachery turned in place and knelt before the massive figure.

“Father, I-“

“Aren’t you going to introduce me?” the figure asked, grinning cruelly. Treachery shuddered and tensed.

“Girls, this is my father. He has many names and many titles. Lord of Lies, Prince of Darkness, the Fallen One. . . Lucifer. Among us, he chooses to be called by his roles. Corruption. Malice. Malevolence,” Treachery grumbled out, the words seeming to be placed in his mouth more than said.

Malevolence extended a warped claw of bone toward Twilight. Darkness, like the smoke the plagued Treachery’s legs, swirled like angry serpents. Twilight made to shake his hand before Treachery cut in.

“No!” Twilight pulled her hand back quickly and Malevolence’s smile fell. Treachery was forced to his knees again and he coughed once, spitting up blood onto the stones. Malevolence cleared his throat and smiled at Twilight again.

“Well, I hope you enjoy your stay here. With any luck on my part, it’ll be a long one,” he hissed before he vanished, the force of his disappearance cracking the blocks in a wide radius around him. Treachery groaned and collapsed onto the ground, causing Twilight to rush to his side.

“What did he mean about this only being a small part of Hell? How big can it be?” Dash asked, not making any movement to help the demon. Twilight grabbed him under the arms and helped pull him to his feet.

“Thanks, dear,” he told Twilight, then looked to Rainbow. “Hell is massive, actually. There are nine circles dividing the Fallen One’s domain. Limbo, Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Anger, Heresy, Violence, Fraud, and His domain. Each circle contains different kinds of the unholy. Right now, we’re in the highest circle, Limbo. Souls here wander for all eternity, all desperately in search of the light. The lucky ones make it to the Judge and are sentenced to a lower level, but that’s where the luck ends. Everything below this level is pure torture, specifically designed to break the sinners,” he explained, and the mares paled further with every word he spoke. “I tried taking us all the way to Fraud. I should have known Father was onto us as soon as we landed in Limbo. . .”

Twilight patted his arm tenderly. “There was no way you could have expected that. Now why do you keep calling Lucifer your dad? Surely you two can’t really be related if the legends of him are true,” she asked curiously. Treachery grimaced visibly.

“True, Father and I have no blood relation, but all demons are borne of his seed. The one true seed of Corruption. It was planted in me the moment I shook his hand years ago,” he said, looking at them both. Dash recalled his tale and how he had unwittingly given in to Corruption just to wish the Devil away. Twilight remembered how vehemently Treachery tried to stop her from shaking his father’s hand and realized that if she had, their quest would have been doomed from the start. She pulled away and covered her mouth.

“You- you saved me. . . You knew if I touched him, I’d be corrupted just like you were,” Twilight gasped. Treachery nodded in confirmation and in that moment, Dash was actually relieved to have the demon with them. Then, the next thing Treachery said stole that relief right out from under her feet. He tilted his face upward and sniffed deeply several times before his eyes went wide with fear.

“He alerted them. We have to go. Now!” He shouted, racing off toward the fog. Startled, the girls were frozen for a moment before they focused and got to running after the demon. As soon as they caught up, Dash looked at him in between watching her footing.

“Who did he alert? Who is there to run from here?”

“The Wardens. They’re the Overseers of the Damned. There are no demons from Limbo, so the Overseers are long-tortured souls from Limbo who are given the opportunity to keep the souls from Limbo in line. They’re forged straight into their armor in Hell’s Foundry, so there’s no body to kill. The only way to stop them is to destroy the armor,” Treachery said between taking twisting turns rapidly. “Worst of all, they’re not confined to Limbo once they’re ordered to a task. They can travel to any circle, but they have to travel up and down them like we do. And to top it all off, they love the taste of demon. . .” As if on cue there was a piercing shriek cutting through the fog. It sounded like metal being forcibly torn apart, but somehow still alive. Its message, however, was clear. They were closing in.

“Treachery, how do we even know where to go? You said souls wander for all eternity, how could we possibly fare any better?” Twilight asked and Treachery finally smiled.

“Because I live here, remember? Plus, I made my way to the Judge many years ago and served my sentence in Greed,” he explained, darting off on another turn. Twilight barely made the turn and she was starting to struggle for air.

She doesn’t have the endurance Treachery and I do, Dash realized as she looked back at her girlfriend. As she was looking back at Twilight, she heard an awful crunching noise in front of them. When she looked, Treachery was at least a hundred feet ahead of them and the ground was breaking apart between the demon and the two of them. The gap was now about three feet wide. Dash smirked and sprinted toward it, throwing herself over it with a dive, willing her wings out to help her glide. Instead, they remained tucked against her sides and she fell onto the brick pathway chest first. My wings don’t work here! Dash started to panic just as she noticed Twilight nearing the gap. Her stride was rough and weak.

“She’s not gonna make it,” Dash said under her breath as her heart caught in her throat. Rolling to her feet, Dash leapt toward the growing crevice just as Twilight jumped. Throwing the upper half of her body over the edge, she grabbed the alicorn’s wrist and held tight. She didn’t have the strength to pull them both up with her remaining hand, so she clutched Twilight desperately.

“My magic and wings don’t work here, Dash!” She cried, clearly struggling not to look down.

“I know, mine don’t either! It’s gonna be okay, Twi! I won’t let go!” Dash cried, her eyes pricking with tears. Twilight’s welled up and began to run down the sides as she managed a weak smile.

“Dashie, let go! Somepony needs to keep up with Treachery and we can’t both make it!” Dash’s mouth opened to argue, but she was too stunned for words to come out.

I can’t lose her. Not here. Not yet, Dash told herself as Twilight’s wrist started to slide. Dash gulped, but her throat was too dry to swallow. The air seemed to grow heavy and tense as they stared into each other’s eyes. Then, it began to crackle. They both looked around, confused, just as a black orb swallowed them. When they could see again, they were looking up at Treachery, who was bleeding profusely from his wrists. Looking around, they found mangled scraps of metal all around.

“Welcome back,” he panted heavily. His wrists stopped bleeding as the cuts began to close rapidly, and he smiled. “Don’t ever let Celestia tell you that black magic doesn’t have its strengths.” As Dash helped Twilight up, they both noticed a circle of blood around them. Presumably, that’s how Treachery had summoned them.

“What gives? Why save us?” Dash inquired, narrowing her eyes at the demon. He narrowed his eyes back and leaned in, whispering so only she could hear.

“Because you still have a promise to fulfill.” With that, he turned and walked away, brushing dust and dirt off his tunic. Twilight and Dash caught up to him and looked back at the shredded metal behind them.

“Were those-“

“Overseers. Yup. The fight drained me pretty bad, I only had enough juice left to save you two. Luckily, I think that’s all of them,” he said just as a guttural scream of agony roared behind them. They all turned in unison to see a massive figure standing on the other side of the gap that was now at least fifteen feet. It was silver with bronze colored embellishments, like the many spikes it had protruding from its joints. On its shoulders it had spikes that grew in size until they were at least eight inches near the neck of the armor. On top of the neck sat a large metal jawbone that adorned massive metal teeth. On a normal pony, the head would normally come out behind the jawbone, but this monster had no head. It just stood there, pole saw in hand, looking at them.

“Oh fuck. The squad leader. I thought I killed him along with the rest. . .” Treachery cursed, watching the beast. Dash scoffed and cocked an eyebrow.

“What’s the big deal? It’s trapped over there. If we keep moving, there’s no way he’ll find a way around to us in time,” she said, smirking. As though it heard her, the Overseer knelt down and lowered its head. Or, at least where the head would go. Then, with blinding speed, it launched into the air, rolling forward and landing on the other side of the fissure with enough impact to break apart some of the stones it landed on. Treachery cocked an eyebrow at Dash, who stared in disbelief. The Overseer, however, wasn’t stunned in the least and stood upright. This close, Twilight and Dash could see that he stood at least seven feet tall, if not a foot more. Tossing its head hole back, it shrieked angrily, forcing them to cover their ears. No sooner had it stopped than it came tearing toward them, pole saw lowered to run them through. Suddenly, Treachery behind it wielding a massive scythe. Swinging it downward, the sickle dug into the beast’s back and held it in place before Treachery pulled it free.

Furious now, the Overseer turned on Treachery and started swinging the pole saw at him. Treachery deflected each swipe in the scythe, but was slowly being pushed back toward the fissure. /Looking past the Overseer, he looked toward the mares.

“Anytime now, girls!” He shouted, deflecting another staggering blow from the Overseer. Snapping into action, Dash drew Mercy and Redemption and pointed them at the Overseer. Pulling the triggers, black bullets fired out of the barrels with tiny screams for every shot. She kept firing until the guns no longer fired anything and she looked at her target. It had stopped dead and was peppered with bullet holes. Dash grinned and blew off the ends of the guns before sliding them back into their holsters. No sooner had she than the Overseer straightened up and turned its jawbone toward her. Her grin fell and she pulled her demon blade free of its sheath, pointing the blade toward her enemy. Luckily, Treachery took this opportunity to swipe the pole saw out of its hand and sent it sailing into the abyss.

Another shriek from the Overseer told them is was beyond pissed now. It slammed its gauntlets into the stone and knelt on one knee. Confused, Treachery smoked behind them again.

“What is it doing?” Dash asked out of the corner of her mouth. Treachery shrugged in response just as the Overseer rose up. As it stood, bricks from the pathway came out, attached to its knuckles. They broke apart and reshaped themselves around the Overseer’s fists to form thick, clay-colored mauls where its massive fists used to be.

“Hmm. That’s new,” Treachery mused absently from behind the girls who were staring aghast at the re-armed Overseer. Without another thought, Twilight pulled Heartpierce from her back and took aim at the Overseer, who roared in its screeching metal way. She loosed the air and it hit straight in the center of the armor. The jawbone tilted down as if the Overseer were looking down at this new addition to its armor before looking back to Twilight and racing toward them. Not missing a beat, Rainbow Dash leapt in front her girlfriend and raised her weapon. The Overseer targeted this new threat and raised his own mauls in preparation to smash it to pieces. Thankfully, as it arrived, it took a too-wide stance as it swung its fists in a diagonal cross formation and Dash slid between its legs. On the other side, she rolled to the side just in time to avoid being pulverized by the Overseer’s maul. Where she had been laying there was an indent several inches deep in the stone.

Gripping the blade tight, she swung it toward her foe, slicing through his shin armor. Dash rolled backward and hopped to her feet in victory as she thought the Overseer would be more or less immobile now. Instead, it just stepped forward, leaving the severed section of armor behind and levitating on an unseen leg. Rainbow swore under her breath and ducked as a maul came swiping at where her chest had been. Unfortunately, she didn’t expect the other to come from the other side and watched, too late, as it swung toward her face. She prepared for the impact as she felt the maul crash to the ground next to her feet, arm and all. Looking up, she was Treachery standing behind the Overseer, his scythe dug into the pathway under where the Overseer’s shoulder guard had just been.

Furiously, it roared as it realized it was down to one weapon. Seizing the opportunity, Treachery flicked the sickle around the other side and cleaved the other arm clean off. Weaponless and stunned, the Overseer looked up at Dash. No smile broke her face as she brought the sword toward it at blinding speed. For a moment, the all stood still. Then, the Overseer’s neck guard and jawbone toppled from its body as it dropped to its knees. Solemnly walking over, Dash stood next to it before placing a boot on it and pushing the decapitated armor into the abyssal expanse below. Treachery just stared at its falling body as Dash walked over to Twilight and nearly got hugged to death.

“That’s hot,” said Treachery, still staring into the abyss. “Chicks who can fight are sexy.” When he turned, he saw Twilight and Rainbow kissing passionately. “And chicks who like chicks are even sexier.” Embarrassed that he notice, Twilight pulled away and blushed furiously.

“We, uhh, we should keep moving,” she stammered and Dash nodded an agreement. Treachery shrugged and took point as they walked again. The hollowed out skull pyres never became any less unnerving for the girls, but they were glad for them as the foggy sky began to darken. It slowly transitioned its way to become a dark purple all-consuming cloud and the pyres were their only source of light. As they continued to walk, they came across more and more worn, ragged looking ponies. Their faces were devoid of any excess flesh, leaving them looking gaunt and starving. Their clothes hung on them far too loosely and their posture was curved and broken, a show of how long they’d been searching. They were barely visible, more or less just grey, ethereal figures in the light that bloomed from the fires beside them. Treachery walked right through a few of them, but Dash and Twilight still felt compelled to step around.

“We’re getting close. That’s why there are so many more souls now, they can sense the Judge. They’re walking to their damnation, and they have no idea,” Treachery told the mares behind him as they eyed one trudging between themselves. “Just don’t touch them. The last time living flesh came into Limbo and touched one of the souls, well, that’s where Ghouls come from.” Twilight’s eyes grew wide and Dash looked at her. Knowing that Rainbow Dash spent far less time in the library studying books then Twilight’s bedroom, the alicorn filled her in.

“Ghouls are creatures that roam the Earth in search of corpses to consume. When they do, they take the form of the body and inherit all their memories as well. They’re just an old fairy tale to keep little foals from going outside at night,” Twilight explained with a smile. She sure did love giving lessons. Treachery coughed to get their attention.

“Except they’re all too real. They’re lost souls who got inside a body. They feel the blood, the emotions, and they yearn for life again so they kill and eat the body. Then, when they get to the Judge, he frees them from Hell because he only sees the flesh, not the corrupt soul inside,” he told them, and the girls looked back at the wandering soul, then back to their guide.

“If they can’t come in contact with living flesh, how come you can touch them?” Dash asked, eyebrow cocked. Treachery held out a hand and chanted something under his breath. With a puff of smoke, a black, slimy lump appeared on his palm. It twitched and leaked onto his hand as Twilight leaned in toward it.

“Is- is that. . .”

“Yep. That’s my heart. Make sense yet? I might be flesh, but I ain’t exactly living,” he said, rather cheerily despite holding his own still-beating heart in his palm. He closed his hand into a fist and the heart vanished, stopping him from crushing it. Twilight swallowed as the pyres became more constant. They were lined up on each side and the pathway slowly widened.

“We’re here,” Treachery growled, teeth bared. Holding out his hand, his scythe materialized in it and he firmly planted the end on the ground. Pyres lit all about, some even floating in the air or upside-down. There were hundreds of souls all milling about, trying to force their way toward the large center platform. Beside the platform were two massive columns connected to thick, iron chains. The chains linked down toward the center platform, attached to gruesome hooks that were dug into the flesh of some enormous beast. Its flesh was stretched, pulled, and beaten to a disturbing purple color. It had a massive head adorning a metal crown that hooked into the head. It leaked black blood down onto eye-less sockets that had stakes holding the lids apart. Just below the edge of the crown was a stump branded with a pentacle. Below the head was an amorphous body that only had long, thin arms protruding from the sides. These arms grabbed souls, stared at them without eyes, then cast them off the edge and into the abyss.

“Celestia’s mane. . . What is that?” Twilight asked, looking to Treachery.

“Here, he inherited the name Minos, but he was once like me. In fact, he was quite famous in life. I believe you know him quite well. Twilight Sparkle, meet the former Starswirl the Bearded,” the demon said, gesturing toward the creature on the pedestal.

Twilight gasped and covered her mouth. “No! How could that be the great Starswirl the Bearded?”

“One too many times he tempted fate by dabbling in the dark arts and it damned him here. He’s little more than a husk here, so he doesn’t remember most of his legacy, unlike me. He’s chained to that pedestal for eternity, whereas I can come and go to Overworld. Even worse, he’s got a grudge against demons in his domain,” Treachery explained. Raising his scythe into the air, the demon drove the hilt into the rough stone, cracking it and sending out a thunderous clap. The awaiting souls picked up their heads slowly and peered at Treachery. Something like recognition flashed onto their faces one by one as they started fading into nothing. Soon enough the only soul left was the one left in Minos’s frail hand. Sniffing the air with the two thin nose-slits he had, Minos’s brow made as if to narrow his eyes only to be stopped by the metal spikes holding his sockets open.

Angrily, the beast crushed the soul in its hand, the soul roaring out in agony before turning to black sand that trickled out of the Judge’s hand. “Demon! How dare you tread in my domain! My Lord will hear of this,” boomed Minos, shaking a fist at Treachery. Calmly, Treachery raised his free hand to silence the Judge.

“Calm yourself, beast. The Fallen One knows perfectly well that I walk in your lands. Now, I suggest you allow myself to escort these living past you,” Treachery said, his voice harboring a threatening edge. Minos answered with a gruesome laugh that exposed gnarled, rotting fangs.

“Oh, and here I thought you’d been kind enough to bring me a snack. It has been oh so long since I had fresh meat. No matter, I will take it for myself as I cannot allow you to leave my domain, demon,” Minos grinned, this taut lips splitting.

“We’ve no quarrel with you, Minos. And besides,” Treachery said, his face becoming dark and grim as he narrowed his eyes, “That was hardly a request.” Minos’s grin fell and he went to clenching his massive, disfigured jaw.

“You will regret this, demon. I sentenced you once before, I shall have to sentence you once more for this betrayal,” Minos growled as Treachery laughed harshly.

“Fool! You can no more sentence me for betrayal than I! You speak to Treachery, Minos. I am the knife in your back, beast, and you have no control over me,” Treachery barked, his humor gone. This time, the Judge managed to narrow his sockets at the demon, driving the spikes in them further into the bone.

“Ah, yes. Treachery, the demon of a thousand lies, the whisper in your ear, the knife in your spine. . . The Fallen Emperor,” Minos laughed with a cruel grin. Treachery’s teeth ground together as he gripped his scythe ever tighter.

“This if your final warning, Judge. Open the portal, or I shall open your skull.” Minos responded by launching a claw at Treachery, who vaulted to the side. “So be it,” he hissed, spinning to the side and bringing the sickle down upon the Judge’s hand. The following roar of agony was deafening, forcing Twilight and Rainbow Dash to their knees.

“How dare you! The Kinslayer shall hear of this, whelp!” Minos cried as Treachery pulled his weapon free, leaping over the pinned hand.

“The Pale Rider knows perfectly well that I harness the power of Harvester, fool. In case you had forgotten, the Kinslayer and I are quite close,” he replied with malicious grin just as Minos’s other hand stretched forward and grasped for Treachery’s limbs. All it found was his scythe slicing right through the Judge’s middle finger, leaving the bleeding appendage on the floor. Filled with rage now, Minos swung both of his hands together on either side of Treachery. Dash and Twilight leapt to their hooves as I thought Treachery had been crushed. Slowly, though, Minos’s hands we being forced apart. Inside them, Treachery snarled in frustration and strain as the veins on this arms bulged grotesquely. Looking over his shoulder, he looked to the mares.

“Anytime now, girls!” He growled as his arms buckled a bit. He lifted his hooves up, spreading his legs in a split to help force the Judge’s mighty grip apart. Twilight snapped into action first, pulling Heartpierce free and taking aim at Minos. Calmly, she loosed an arrow which hit a lucky strike deep into the Judge’s eye socket. Fetid, black blood shot out of the wound and Minos had to struggle not to grasp at his face in agony. Dash sprinted forward and raised her blade, driving it through the back of Minos’s hand and nearly into Treachery’s face.

“Hey, hey, watch it there, Dashie!” Treachery barked, unknowingly calling Rainbow by her pet name. Blushing furiously, she drove it forward another inch until it touched the end of Treachery’s nose.

“Don’t call me Dashie,” she hissed angrily. Treachery put his hands up in a sign of defense, forgetting his position. Immediately, Minos’s hands came together, pushing the blade out and crushing Treachery further. Twilight gasped in surprise and pulled her sword out, swinging it at the back of the Judge’s hand. Minos pulled his hands apart to see only a black scorch mark inside them. He bellowed in rage as he looked all around for his enemy.

“Up here, you overgrown prune!” The three of them looked up to the left column where, perched atop its jagged, broken top, Treachery grinned, gripping a wicked-looking hook in one hand. With the snap of his fingers, strange rock music arose out of the nothing around them. It began with a few simple notes played out roughly on an electric guitar with a drum set playing along in the background. Treachery winked and leapt off his pedestal as the singing began.
“Clean shirt, new shoes-“

Treachery swung by the hook and chain down past Minos’s face, kicking aside the Judge’s massive, flailing hands.

“-I don’t know what I am gonna do-“

Releasing his grip with one hand, Treachery pulled his scythe free and drove it into Minos’s forehead as he swung the hook into the beast’s socket with the other hand.

“Silk suit, black tie-“

Letting the hook go, it dug into the Judge’s socket, pulling his head to the side as he bled further. His hands went up to grab Treachery, but he was nowhere to be found.

“I don’t need a reason why- y- y-“

Out of that nowhere he came swinging, plunging another hook into the Judge’s other socket.

“They come runnin’ just as fast as they can-“

Grabbing the scythe, planting his hooves on Minos’s brow, and pulling the glyphed blade free, Treachery did a graceful backflip off of the Judge’s face, turning in air and swinging as he did so.

“’Cause every girl crazy ‘bout a sharp dressed man!”

He landed with a pose, kneeling, scythe in one hand, arms back, and eyes closed. He broke into a cool smile just as Minos’s body collapsed behind him. The monster’s disfigured head was left suspended in the air, pulled on by the two opposing hooks. The mouth was frozen in a snarl of fury, as it would stay. Standing up, Treachery bowed toward Twilight, then to Dash.

“Thank you, thank you,” he said, grinning as usual. Twilight clapped as Dash folded her arms and nodded approvingly.

“Gotta hand it to you, Treachery. You sure know how to use that thing,” Dash commented, eyeing the cruel sickle that the demon brandished. His grin shrank to a humble smile as he pulled the weapon in front of his face, running a hand along the side of the blade.

“Yeah, Death and I go way back. Harvester is- Err, was- Mine. It was my gift to Death eons ago,” Treachery said, rubbing the blade like he was hugging a long-lost friend. Twilight cocked her head to the side, hair cascading along with it.

“What do you mean? You mean you were Death before Death was Death? Err, if that makes any sense,” Twilight mumbled curiously, clearly hesitant to ask questions about the Undertaker. Treachery shook his head.

“No, no. Harvester was forged by my hand. The glyphs along her blade were etched by my own hands and her strength borne of my own blood. See, you ponies in the Overworld never quite understood Death’s title,” he explained. “Death wasn’t always Death, though few know his birth name. You see, Death is one of a lost race called the Nephilim. They were borne of unholy creation. Unholier than demons. Their father, an angel. Their mother, Lucifer’s firstborn.”

“How could Lucifer have children that weren’t demons?” Twilight asked as Dash rolled her eyes.

“He didn’t. His firstborn was the first mortal her turned, forever marking him and causing his banishment from Heaven. So Lilith, the firstborn, and an angel mated and created the one called Absalom. He was the brother to all Nephilim, as they were born from his own flesh and bone. However, he was strong. Too strong. He realized their power and called for the Nephilim to band together to take Heaven as a kingdom for themselves to reside in. Most joined him gladly, but a select few saw things differently. These few were War, Strife, Fury, and Death; the Four Horseponies. The Council, a group of beings that were crafted by the same hands that made angels, told the Four that they had to slay the Nephilim before they marched on Heaven. While they all agreed, only Death would hold the burden. Death betrayed his brothers and sisters for the Council and their balance-“

“Which is where you came in,” Dash interrupted, which earned her a thumbs up.

“Exactly. His betrayal was one for the history books, so naturally I was there. The friendly soul I am, I gave Death the gift of a blade able to separate the Nephilims’ souls from their bodies. He accepted Harvester openly and ever since, he and the blade have been shown together since the dawn of time,” Treachery concluded, clapping his hands together in a gesture of closure. Dash nodded in feigned understanding while Twilight searched her pockets for a notepad to write all of this down. What stopped her was an ear-splitting shriek.

“Shit! I thought we’d lost them. . . No time to talk now, girls. Through the portal we go, just hop off the ledge behind Minos and we’ll be on our way,” Treachery said pointing to the decapitated body. Dash glared at him.

“Oh, we’re supposed to just jump off the edge and hope we land somewhere? That’s crazy!”

“You’ll just have to trust me. I can see the portal clearly, but it must not be visible to mortals,” he told them and Twilight hurried off toward the ledge as Rainbow Dash just stood and stared at him.

“I’d never trust you, you’re Treachery! You’d do anything to get us killed. We all know it, so I’m not going anywhere,” she said, planting her feet firmly. Treachery growled angrily and gritted his teeth. He could hear the metallic footsteps of the Overseers already. Tossing up a hand, he pulled on his magic again.

“GO!” He shouted and Dash found herself flung backward through the air, over the Judge’s body and into Twilight. The both went tumbling forward, rolling over the edge past the body and Dash felt herself start to fall. She went to scream, but never got to, seeing as her breath was knocked out of her not a second later.