Ghosts of the Past

CHAPTER 8 – Death Throes of the Terrorsnake

Date: Unknown. Location: Unknown.

A voice could be heard in the darkness.

“Wake up and run, little pony. Run for your life.”

It was the same sneering voice as before.

Date: Unknown. Location: Unknown.

Louis woke up on a cold, hard surface. He was still a pony.

Remembering his last vision of a cannibalistic talking dog, the injured pony looked around. No dog was to be seen; but behind him, a huge snake head looked at him with vicious eyes. He did not understand what happened, but things certainly went from bad to worse. [“Oh, shit.”]

He quickly stood up, and trotted away to the stone bridge in front of him, far from the giant snake. One of his rear legs did not answer to his commands and stood there, limp. But it was not enough to distract him from his main mission: escaping this place, once again.

Slowly advancing on the bridge, he constantly looked at the snake behind him. It looked at him too, visibly furious to see its meal go away. It spat and screamed, but nothing reached the fugitive, driven by his survival instinct.

Louis reached the exit tunnel safely, looked at the snake one last time, and slowly climbed its slope.

In the middle of the tunnel, very loud noises of crushed rocks could be heard. The pony accelerated, adrenalin pumping through his veins.

When he reached the throne room, the scent of decay assaulted his nostrils. The dog’s corpse was still there, wide open, its contents spilled on the table and the ground, filling the room with its stench. Pinching his nose with a hoof and wondering how that was possible, the pony staggered through the room slowly and carefully, trying to be silent.

When he reached the room’s exit, he carefully put his head in the tunnel, expecting dog guards to be there. But there were none near the throne room.

He took some time to sit, out of danger, for the first time in several hours. Then, he looked at his limp leg, and his condition puzzled him. Instead of being entirely yellow, a part of it was grey.

Poking it with his hoof, he noticed it was hard. In fact, it was as hard as stone, and roughly stone-colored. But why would his leg be made of stone?

Keeping the preoccupying state of his leg in his mind, Louis decided it was best to keep walking.

In the tunnels further, no dogs waited. The first time he passed through these tunnels, there were guards in some corners. It wasn’t true anymore, and all the previously occupied spots were empty.

After passing through several empty tunnels, the pony stopped checking for dogs everywhere and simply walked the best he could with a partially petrified leg.

He wondered what happened to Earth. How did he get here, in a cartoon world? It was too interactive to be a dream, a bit too lifelike to be a coma… Yet, it definitely happened right after a motorcycle accident at a high speed. And, his body was now that of a pony. He didn’t feel any hands of toes, but he had a tail. Not feeling his hands if they had been crushed in the accident would be logical, but feeling a tail? What did it mean? His entire situation was impossible to understand. But he had to keep calm and carry on, at least until he was out of that dreadful place.

After wandering randomly in the empty tunnels for what seemed to be hours, Louis finally heard noise. The footsteps of several dogs were coming closer.  As quick as he could, he hid behind a pillar and waited in the dark, trying to breathe as slowly as possible.

He could hear the large group of dogs discussing as they passed by.

“… was good.”

“But. Chewy parts were bad.”

“Idiot. Chewy parts, not to eat.”

“Then why were they there?”

“It was not made for eat.”

“Why not if made of iron and had juice?”

“You heard, noises. It was moving. And juice was for pony.”

“But, one juice was bad. Why?”

“Ponies have weird tastes.”

“Bah. Still think it was bad idea. We…”

Finally, the dogs were far enough to allow Louis to search for the exit again.

He walked until he reached the end of the corridor; and when he entered the next corridor, his jaw dropped.

[“No! My bike! What did they do!”]

Not much of the motorcycle was left. The entire engine was gone, and the plastic parts were mostly chewed off or torn. The only intact piece was the saddle, and it sat proudly on top of a small debris pile in front of the den’s exit.

Losing no time to bury his noble steed, the pony climbed the stairs slowly and hoped for the best.

His hopes quickly went down in flames, as he heard the voices of dogs discussing in the control room near the stone doors.

Since there was nothing else to do, he hid behind a pillar and waited for them to go away, cogitating about everything that happened to him so far.

Date: Unknown. Location: Unknown.

Mercury tapped on the ground impatiently with his foot. His appointment was due several seconds ago, and, in the Dreamworld, seconds actually last hours.

After a few hours, or seconds in the real world; a cloud of smoke appeared out of thin air, and widened until it was several meters high. Then, a light flash could be seen inside the cloud, and a man spoke. “Ow, ow, ow ow! This hurts! Fuck!”

He tottered out of the cloud and fell on his knees, both hands on his head. “I haven’t had a headache this horrible since forever…” The man breathed heavily, and tried to stop moving.

Mercury looked at him with a smile. “Took you long enough to come here. So… Was it fun?”

The man slowly stood up.

“Barfing and then being mauled to death by a giant snake isn’t quite my definition of ‘fun’. Anyway… Where are we? On Earth?”

“No. Still Equestria. You think I’d let you go that easily? I told you… To win, I am ready to kill you, resurrect you, and kill you again.”

“I did everything you ordered me to do… Why would you do this to me, and why would you even bring my brother here? He’s not supposed to be here!”

Mercury laughed. “You signed for that, even if you didn’t take the time to read everything in our contract.”

“You just… Ah... Fornicate you under consent of king, seriously! He didn’t want to be here!”

“He didn’t but it’s your fault, and I don’t need people’s consent to make them come here anyway. I’m a god. Now, shut up. Go and kill that stupid snake.”

“He said he repelled several other Soul Guides! How am I supposed to beat him?”

“Yeah. He said that. And I said I was a nice guy.”

A short silence ensued.

“Yeah. Good point. But I still don’t know how to beat him, and I don’t even understand how I’m still there.”

“I guess it’s time for another boring lesson…” the god sighed, before resuming his speech. “Soul Guides are bound to the Soul Dimension. That’s what’s interesting about being a Soul Guide: even if being dead is often annoying, you can also be alive sometimes. Your earlier body was just a golem, made with magic, and that you used temporarily as a body. In short, every time you jump into the Mortal Dimension, you generate a body that hosts your soul. And, when you go to the Soul Dimension, you bind that body and the amount of magic required to generate it to your soul in order to use it later, and erase it from the Mortal Dimension. Thanks to this particular bond you’ve got with the Soul Dimension, you can die a lot and it won’t matter. Well, it won’t matter, except for the fact it almost completely drains your magic reserves and lets you feel the pain of death for a while.”

“Uh… Okay. Just… Why does it drain magic if death is basically the same thing as ‘jumping’?”

“Because it’s not the same thing. Jumping is like taking your body and putting it somewhere else, when dying requires you to use magic to recreate a new body from scratch.”

“I think I get it.”

“Good. Now, go back there and die again. I’ll have fun watching you.”

“Nah… I don’t think so. In fact, I have a question for you. May I ask it?”

“Sure. Go ahead. I don’t mind, as long as you entertain me afterwards.”

“Is it possible to affect souls with spells?”

“Yeah, why that? You think you can beat him with a few spells?”

“I do.”

“Then show me what you’ve got, and don’t forget: be dramatic. It’s more fun for me. Now let’s get out of this lousy dream.”

Date: 18th of August, Second Year of the Game. Location: Unknown.

Sstharos the Great Basilisk was angry. The pony escaped and didn’t say a single word, as if the venerable snake didn’t deserve to take his life.

Near him and far away at the same time, I opened my eyes. I was back to the good old Soul Dimension, as intangible as ever.

Looking around, I saw Louis escaping through the tunnel.

During a minute, I searched for French words related to souls and fire.  I made a mental list, and, very soon, ended with two words left: “Incendie” and “animisme”. Knowing these two probably had latin roots, I tried to change them into latin words and played around with them.

I ended with the following formula: “Animus Incendium.”

Mustering the magic power I had left, I focused on setting my scythe on fire, and pronounced the incantation.

Nothing happened for a few seconds, but very soon, a strange grey flame ignited my scythe. When I put my hoof above it, I could feel the burn. It was something I did not experience with regular fire.

No one could see me smile.

The snake retracted back into the wall, abandoning the idea of having one more meal.

The pony had only been gone for a few minutes before another voice could be heard. But Sstharos did not like this voice: no one was there, in front of him, and yet he heard the voice as if there was someone.

It said: “Revenge is best served fried.

“Deep fried.”

“Who’s there?” the basilisk asked.

No one answered.

After I finished provoking him and had my share of fun watching my murderer not understanding who talked, I simply plunged the flaming scythe in his body. It opposed no resistance, and I let it inside him for a few seconds.

When I pulled it out of him, the flame was still there, eating his soul away.

Sstharos shrieked, as soon as he felt the flame. Then, he twisted around frantically, feeling that he was burning alive, but unable to extinguish the flame. He moved up and down, smashed the wall with his head and fractured his scales; he even broke the ground in several places, but nothing could help him. He tried to bite himself where he felt the burn, because he was pretty sure rock couldn’t burn; but it was useless, and he kept on feeling the burn.

In his last moments of consciousness, he heard the voice again.

“That’s what you get for killing a Soul Guide.”

Sstharos the Great’s body stopped moving.

In the Soul Dimension, the temperature rose, and I walked away from the burning soul, not really willing to catch fire myself.

I thought about him wriggling around in his last moments, and wondered about what I had done. This was one step above what I did with Shiny Ring and Sky Blue. I did not only kill someone, I destroyed a soul. It would be excluded from life and lost forever, and I was responsible. Yet, I did not especially feel bad, mostly because the basilisk killed me beforehand. It was wrong, yet satisfying. Was it a normal reaction? I wasn’t sure. I never had been sure of what was normal for humans. After all, some say: “Everyone’s normal until you really know them…”

I walked on the bridge and I heard a faint explosion. Something hit me, and I fell on the ground.

Date: Unknown. Location: Unknown.

I opened my eyes in a black nothingness, and couldn’t control my body.

My head hit a wall several times and broke it.

Outside, blurry forms could be seen. Several snake-like beings were on the other side of the wall.

I saw a white flash, and then I was on the other side of the wall. It was an egg.

Another flash, and I was eating some of my weaker brothers and sisters.

More and more flashes blinded me, and, every time, the scenery changed. I grew up quickly, ate some ponies, ate some spiders, ate some dragons, fought a few Soul Guides, joined the army of the great centaur known as Tirek, fought a great battle against the Wardens, lost, and got imprisoned into Tartarus.

Then I corrupted several dogs through the eras, promising them power and fame, rendering them mad. I made them bring me slaves to eat, and ate them when they couldn’t bring slaves. I made them eat the subordinates who defied or failed them, to allow them to reign in fear; and I gave them some of my knowledge, so they could serve me better.

I greeted the last Alpha for the first time. I taught him many things about life, death, magic, gods; and ultimately I had to eat him, because he failed to bring me more food.

Finally, I saw a strange being shrouded in a black costume who tumbled backwards when he saw me. We spoke, he tried to sing. I ate him. And, at the last moment, I started burning. I could not see fire, but I felt it, and it hurt even more than the magical fires my opponents used during the wars I fought. After a while, I fell on the ground, I heard a voice again, and everything went black.

Date: 18th of August, Second Year of the Game. Location: Tartarus.

I woke up on the bridge, an arm dangling over the abyss. I had been reduced to a ghost once again.

The alien memories were still vivid in my mind, as well as the feeling of my soul burning away. The headache it provoked was painful, and I did not dare to worsen it by moving.

A few minutes later, a message appeared in my hand. I lifted the scroll in front of my face, and read. “Pretty nasty side effects, huh?”

“You don’t say…”

Writing back, I asked: “What happened?”

“There’s been a thanatonic explosion. In short, you made his soul explode when you destroyed it, because of the magical overload your spell provoked. It was very entertaining.”

“Does that happen all the time?”

“Sometimes. It depends on the spell you use. Nonetheless, I didn’t foresee that you would set his soul on fire. I like that method.”

“Yeah, great. But why do I have his memories?”

“Oh, that? It’s just a shard of his soul that cut through yours and merged with it.”

“What, you mean I will forever have all the memories of a homicidal giant snake from hell?”

“Exactly. And if too many other creatures’ souls merge with yours, you’ll eventually become completely insane and I’ll laugh my godly ass off.”

“Is there a way to remove these things?”

“There are, but you can’t afford them. However… Win the game for me and I may do that for you as a bonus after it ends…”

“Dammit… And what do I do now?”

“Go and save your brother. He’s hidden near the exit, and he’s got a few urgent problems, like having basilisk venom in his bloodstream.”

“What the hell?”

“It’s not exactly my fault. When the basilisk spat on you, a few droplets landed on Louis’ injury and it went into his blood. So now, he’s going to slowly turn into stone until he dies.”

“Getting turned to stone is bad enough, but why would he even die? I thought petrification worked like cryonics?”

“It is like cryonics… Except that they both have to happen fast if you don’t want to have problems. And the venom creeping through his veins isn’t fast. When it’ll reach his heart and paralyze it, the rest of his body will still need a blood flow. So he will die. A brain without any oxygen input generally doesn’t work very well, you know.”

“Was that a part of your plan too?”

“You can consider that as a toll.”

“Well, then I will demand you commit sexual intercourse with yourself in the land of Hades.”

“Very funny. Now, get back to work and lead him to a healer. Ponies know enough healing magic to avoid the venom’s progression.”

I dropped the parchment and stood up slowly. Avoiding to move too fast in order to prevent the headache from hurting too much, I entered the tunnel leading to the diamond dog’s den.

Date: 18th of August, Second Year of the Game. Location: Diamond dog den.

I staggered through the throne room, dizzy after the long walk I just made. The headache was slowly dissipating, and I could move faster without experiencing a neuronal rave party.

Walking towards the door, I passed through a group of diamond dogs laughing in a corridor. One of them was drunk and threw up everywhere. The others talked about some kinds of juices and mocked him.

“Twash good anyway, shaddap”, the ill one said, before throwing up again.

I left them to their duties and kept on walking.

I understood later what the juice was. Near the stairs, the motorbike’s remains stood in a somehow orderly pile, and the fuel tank had been cast aside and emptied. Yet, none of its contents remained, and the air didn’t smell like gas.

“No way… Did these idiots actually drink the gasoline?”

Looking around, I noticed the motor oil container was also there, but most of the oil remained and had been spilled on the ground.

“Yeah. They drank the damn gasoline. No wonder why that dog was throwing up... Anyway. I should find Louis and open the door.”

There was no sign of him when I reached the closed door; although it was mostly because I didn’t see very well in the dark. I decided to open the doors.

The dogs inside the control room didn’t look like they’d leave soon. Luckily, a tiny smoke illusion was enough to make them go away screaming.

Crashing noises and a cartoon dog tumbling down the stairs surprised the hidden pony, who flattened himself against the wall instinctively.

“Smoke! Smoke! Run!” he heard.

[“Is there a fire or something? I have to get out of here fast!”]

After the last of the dogs disappeared in the corridors down the stairs, Louis slowly walked to the control room. Inside, there was nothing particular.

[“Were they hallucinating?”]

A voice talked to him while he trotted to the windlass. [“Open the doors and go south. You will find a town. Ask for ‘Nurse Sunheart’.”]

[“Who’s there!”]

[“There is no time for that. Your leg is damaged and you will die if you don’t hurry. Open the door and get out of here, now!”]

[“I do what I want, fuck you! I don’t even know you!”]

[“You really want to die? No? Then go south and shut the fuck up, cretin. I'm here to help you, not to kill you.”]

[“Whatever. Screw you.”]

The pony grabbed the winch controlling the windlass and turned it several times. Slowly, the colossal stone doors opened, revealing the pale silvery light of the moon. The cold wind entered the stairway, and Louis could feel it brush against his body slowly.

He took a big breath, savoring the feeling of fresh air in his new lungs, and headed north.

[“That’s not south, idiot. Go the other way! There are only deserts up north! Don’t be a retard, dammit!”]

[“Yeah. Right. And why would I believe you?”]

[“I know that you have a box of condoms in your sock drawer. You don’t want me to tell your mom that it’s almost empty.”]

[“What? Who are you, a mind-reader or something?”]

[“I’m your guide. Now, go south and shut up.”]

The pony harrumphed and turned back.

[“Can you help me at least?”]

[“Using a magically transferred voice is already too much. I can’t do anything for you now.”]

“Tssk.”

He headed south and kept his mouth shut during the travel, occasionally guided by the strange voice.

Date: 19th of August, Second Year of the Game. Location: Appleloosa.

The sheriff patrolled in the main street of his beloved village. It was a fine morning if he ever saw one. There were no buffalos to be scared of, no diamond dogs, not a single predatory animal around, and the smoke thing was gone, according to the town’s pianist.

Twisting his moustache around, his eyes closed, the sheriff savored the morning air, as well as the flowery scent of pastries and bread coming from the bakery down the street. He stood there in the sunlight, content, and silently thanked Celestia for her beautiful mornings.

Behind him, a voice interrupted his meditation and asked him a question in a language the sheriff did not understand. Turning back, he saw an exhausted yellow pony fellow, bleeding and shaking, his eyes outlined by violet semicircles. He babbled two words and collapsed on the ground. Sheriff Silverstar, however, did know these two words: “Nurse Sunheart.”

Losing no time, the heroic mustachioed guardian of peace sprinted to the nurse’s house and executed a perfect roundhouse kick to open her door. With an ear-shattering crack, it flew open and hit the wall on the other side of the hinge, its knob leaving a dent in the wall.

“Get dressed, milady, we’ve got a life to save!” he shouted through the doorframe.

The drowsy unicorn mare, half-asleep and sipping coffee, still wearing her pajamas, looked at the sheriff through the kitchen’s door. “You know… You should really stop doing that, doors are expensive. It’s the third this year…”

“I told you, no time to lose! One of our compatriots just fell in a coma right over there after asking for help!”

“Very well. Let’s go.”

She let her mug fall in the sink and the pair walked into the street, to have a look at the unconscious stranger in the middle of the street.

“Oh my, this poor stallion has been somewhere terrible! Look at this! He’s even petrified in some places… And he’s a blank flank… For someone this old, it’s very strange. I’ve never seen this before. We must carry him to the infirmary!”

“It will be done.”

Sheriff Silverstar put the stranger on his back and pushed forth with all his might.

Huffing and puffing, the relatively small earth pony still managed to bring the unconscious pony to the infirmary, where he dropped him on a bed. Nurse Sunheart followed closely, monitoring the stranger’s pulse. Immediately after he was laid down on the bed, she hooked a few syringes in his skin and raced to her laboratory, in order to prepare a poultice working against the petrification. She had to infuse several plants and other ingredients with magical energy, or else it wouldn’t do anything.

Seeing as his deeds were accomplished, Sheriff Silverstar exited the infirmary with a proud smile, twirling his moustache more than he ever did before.

Concentrated on healing her patient, Nurse Sunheart jumped out of the laboratory and into the infirmary a few minutes later, her poultice held in her mouth. She dropped it in surprise when she saw her patient’s first visitor, but instead of hitting the ground, the poultice slowly levitated and went on the petrified leg by itself, even though there was no magical aura around it.

The strange pony known as Phantom was there, in the infirmary, with her.

“H-hello. What do you want?”

“Hello, Nurse. To answer your question, I want you to take care of him. He is very important. If you do this for me, Appleloosa can consider its future debt towards me fulfilled.”

“What debt?”

“I am going to definitely get rid of the diamond dog pack nearby.”

And, without a word, he vanished in a black smoke cloud.

Nurse Sunheart immediately went back to work, curious about the pony’s identity. If he was important to such a being, he must have been special.

Date: 19th of August, Second Year of the Game. Location: Diamond dog den.

I spared my magic reserves the best I could during Louis’ walk. I only gave him directions when necessary, and didn’t cast any fancy spell. It was necessary, if I wanted to cast all the spells I needed later.

Once I was certain he would be in good hands, I went back to the infamous rock and stairs.

Nobody closed the doors. Something was wrong.

I jumped through dimensions, taking away a good part of my magical reserves in a single spell. Slowly, I touched my mask with my hoof and flexed some muscles. It was good to be back inside a physical body… Even if it wasn't my own. I couldn’t refrain from moving my right foreleg upwards and silently thinking: “Yes!”

But there were urgent matters to be taken care of, so I carefully walked down the stairs without waiting too much. It was a tricky exercise when you had four legs instead of two, and I almost tripped several times.

In the control room, a diamond dog was talking alone in a corner. The sound of my steps snapped him out of his trance. Pointing a shaky arm at me, he asked me who was there.

It was the one-eyed dog that I slapped with my “statue” before. Someone gouged out his only valid eye, its inner liquids having been splattered on his fur and mixed with blood.

I did not bother taking care of him, he was harmless. Instead, I asked him a question.

“What happened here?”

“No, no, NO! GO AWAY! NOT YOU!” the dog yelled, crawling backwards in panic as he recognized the voice his friends described.

“Answer or die.”

“The Alpha dead! Everyone fight!”

“You want to live?”

“Yes, yes! Don’t kill!”

“Then, don’t move an inch and wait for me.”

“Will wait. Please don’t kill.”

I turned back and exited the room.

Down in the tunnel, chaos reigned. Several dogs were dead or dying on the floor in some corridors, and clattering sounds could be heard everywhere.

Further, in the throne room, a bloody brawl was taking place. Two dozens of diamond dogs ran around, clawing and biting each other in a blind fury.

Their fight came to a halt when a powerful voice pierced their eardrums. “ENOUGH!”

Snarling, they looked at the source of the voice. All their faces became void of rage and were filled with fear when they saw the smoke cloud, surrounding ghosts of their fallen comrades and a macabre pony dressed in black.

Suddenly, the whole group reunited and cowered in dread, hiding behind the broken furniture lying around.

“What exactly happened here?” the grisly voice asked, inquisitive, as the smoke cloud came closer to the crowd.

Some dogs immediately started rambling about incoherently.

“SILENCE! The leader may step forward and explain.”

Two bleeding dogs stood out of the crowd and both declared they were.

“Ah, I see. The old Delta. And who is the other one?” the shadow addressed Sly.

“I am new Alpha!” the other shouted.

Sly punched him and answered: “He is challenger.”

“Well then. It seems you all have been fighting for the throne. Is that it?”

The Delta took a few seconds to choose his words and answered. “Yes. Alpha killed Beta and ate him. Then Alpha disappeared. Then Gamma was killed in fight for being Alpha.”

“I see. Then the Delta will lead the pack.”

The challenger harrumphed. “This not the way of diamond dogs!”

“Do you think you are powerful enough to question my judgment?”

He crossed his arms and nodded, defying the shadow. “Yes.”

“I can ruin your life with a single spell, by using ancient and mighty magic that even ponies do not understand.”

The challenger did not care. In fact, proving that he was stronger than the smoke would be a great thing, and many others would want him for Alpha if he vanquished his opponent. “I, stronger than you.”

“Fine. You asked for it.”

The smoke cloud covered the pony. A few seconds later, he reappeared and yelled: “VISCERIS INVERSUM!”

A slight tingling was felt by the challenger, but nothing else happen. “Ha! Worthless magic. I, more strong!”

“It was only the first part of the spell, stupid meatbag.”

The shadow immediately finished the incantation. “MERDA FLUVIUM!”

The entire belly of the targeted diamond dog moved of its own accord. He fell on the ground, a hand allowing him to stay above the ground while the other one grabbed his stomach.  Opening his mouth instinctively, the dog felt his insides empty themselves through it.

As the other diamond dogs jumped away in horror, a muddy torrent escaped from the challenger’s mouth, preventing him from speaking or breathing. During more than twenty seconds, he constantly threw up his own excrements, looking at the black magician in despair.

The aforementioned magician only stared at him without saying anything, his white and unmoving eyes contrasting with the dark smoke.

When the spell ended, the dog coughed, trying to breathe, choking with the foul water remaining in his mouth.

“Well, what do you have to say?”

The dog remained silent and looked at the ground, helpless.

“I always knew you were full of shit.”

And then, the mage laughed. His cavernous voice echoed in the throne room, and the other dogs’ laughs slowly added themselves to the noise. In the end, everyone was mocking the challenger.

It was the worst day of his life.

Interrupting the general laughter, the previous Delta, now Alpha, stepped forward and asked the mage: “What you want now?”

“Tell me about your previous Alpha. Who was he, why did he eat his own kind, and when did he become Alpha?”

“A year ago. We were poor and homeless. Another clan took our home. He was Alpha for some time already, but then he told we he had a dream. In dream, a silver dog talked him about here. So we came here. And he ate everyone weaker who was challenger after. I know not anything else. Sorry. Please don’t kill we.”

“I will probably not kill anyone. But I have to tell you one thing: I just put a curse on you all. If you enslave ponies again, you will die horribly. Is that clear?”

The Alpha’s hands ran over his body, searching for anything different during a few seconds; before answering, his pupils dilated in fear: “Yes! We will not take more ponies!”

“Good. And now, I’ll leave you one last chance to live. Listen carefully. Do you have explosives?”

“Things that boom?”

“Yes.”

“We have.”

“Perfect. Then, bring them all to the door’s control room, near the stairs, and pack up everything you need to survive in bags. You’re going to find another place to live and go away from here. This place is cursed, and I will destroy it.”

“We will do.”

He turned back and addressed the silent crowd. “Now, we make bags and go away! Do what smoke says!”

They all scurried away, save for the challenger who stood there, miserable, bathing in his own excrements. He did not dare to speak, because he knew something horrible would happen to him again.

The mage pointed a foreleg at his face, and the dog put his arms in front of it to protect himself.

“VISCERIS INVERSUM!”

He whined, unsure of what happened.

“This is your chance to live a new, better life. I cancelled the effects of my spell. Now, learn of your mistakes and do not repeat them. Flee this place. Find your destiny. And don’t forget: no more slavery.”

The defeated challenger did not wait for another order and ran away.

Date: 20th of August, Second Year of the Game. Location: Diamond dog den entrance.

The pack set off to the east without looking back. They did as I told them and went for the Marble Pillars, where they could learn what a life without being a slaver was. They even accepted to keep the blind one with them, even though he was nothing but a burden.

I looked one last time at the dreaded tunnels before throwing a fireball in the middle of the stairs.

A colossal explosion blast pushed me backwards, and my cape flowed in the air current for a few seconds. I had to say, this pony body was far more stable than my old human one. Having four legs was practical, when you didn't have to climb stairs.

With the explosion, the stairs and most of the den’s tunnels collapsed, sealing this path to Tartarus forever. I knew there were more like this elsewhere, but at least this one was closed.

“After all, the Hero of Kvatch didn’t close all of the Oblivion Gates in a single day.”

I headed to Appleloosa, dragging behind me a little sledge that I ordered the dogs to make for me before they departed. Its metallic cargo, glimmering in the sunlight, could have blinded anyone who looked at it too much.

I still don’t know why I let them live at that moment. When I came to these tunnels, my intention was to bury them with it. Yet, I chose to let them go away and potentially do something stupid elsewhere.

I guess I have too much faith in sentient beings, these days.