Everything Falls Eventually

"Why would we go to hell?!" whined Rarity. Silent got a dark look in his eyes and he winced. His chest! I completely forgot!

"That doesn't matter! Shouldn't you be tending to your own wounds Silent?" I asked while he continued patching up Dash. He looked over again and smiled.

"To answer Rarity's question: Where do you think this started? The safe haven doesn't exist in this world, rather in the one below. To answer Twilight's: I'm already near death... might as well prolonged another's,"  he explained.

"Okay, but what happened to Celestia? How did Pinkie Pie... get injured?" I was still in mourning from her death, as the rest of us were.

"Well, Celestia is the doom-bringer. She plagued this land and that's her demon form. We have to kill her. Not the demon. The actual Celestia. And Pinkie Pie jumped in the way of Celestia, which caused her injuries. I threw an axe into Celestia's side, that's why she flew off," he explained further. I can't believe Pinkie would do that... for me. But, as Silent said, grieving distracts from the now. I looked over at him and saw another kind of pain. Physical and mental pain. His eyes contained darkness and depression, while his body trembled unknowingly from his deep gash across his chest. Why was he trying to protect Rainbow Dash? Did he like her back? Ugh, these thoughts again!

"Say, where are all the zombies?" asked Applejack.

"Gone. We're in a race of time now. We get to safety or we're engulfed by the unforgiving darkness of hell. Pretty isn't it?" he joked. Applejack gave him a strange look as he finished up healing Rainbow. "There! Now let's get going!" he ordered. I put my hoof on his shoulder, he winced and glanced back.

"You're not leaving until you're healed," I told him. He snickered and leaned close.

"I'm not surviving this... I'll see you in my domain..." he whispered, smirking as he resumed his path down the road. What did he mean by that? He's survived worse surely! What was he playing at?

The journey was extremely uneventful. Since the zombies were gone, there were no enemies to face. We had nothing to talk about, since speaking of our life before this tragedy saddened us. Rainbow constantly tried to talk to Silent, but he kept shoving her off. I caught a look at his face while he did it. He seemed... tired and spent. Exhausted even. He noticed me and pulled his hood up. I had completely forgotten he still wore those robes.

"What does that symbol mean?" I questioned.

"Die fighting for something you believe in, rather than dying while fleeing that belief," he responded coldly. His eyes grew darker and his walked slowed as we approached a huge stone wall. He was emitting a strange sound, almost like speaking.

"What's he sayin'?" whispered Applejack. Silent flicked his wrist and plunged the hidden knife into the wall. His murmuring grew louder. They were incantations! After several minutes, he uttered audible words.

"Life is a trial from which we have not finished. Open the Gates of Hell so we may cross into the plains of death, sacrificing our lives to bring back a peaceful and calm land... so we may do Heaven's bidding." The stone wall began to crumble.

"What the hell?!" squealed Rarity. Silent chuckled.

"Face your fears in the Fields of Horror. I'll see you at the Palace. Don't delay!" he shouted before collapsing and disinagrating  into ash. Rainbow screamed.

"C'mon then! Let's not keep him waiting!" encouraged Applejack, sprinting into the opening leftover from the destruction of the wall. Upon entering, voices erupted everywhere. They were familiar too. Spike, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle. All of them! Why were they here? Where were Rarity and the others? Is this my greatest fear?

"Wake up!" shouted Shining Armor, who stood towering over me. I bolted up and glared at him. His eyes were darkened, lifeless.

"What happened?" I asked. He shook his head and walked along the narrow passage ahead of us.

"Welcome to Celestia's 'paradise'. We've been imprisoned here so we can't stop her from destroying the Overworld. Luckily, you've survived and found Silent Flash," he explained.

"Why is Silent so important?" I kept hitting him with questions.

"He's the ruler of this place originally. That's right, you could call him Satan, but he isn't a bad guy. He died a long time ago and was deemed completely evil and insane and was promoted to Palace Commander. From there he took the spot of ruler. Funny isn't it?" he ended.

"He didn't seem like Satan up there," I added.

"Of course he didn't. He's not Satan. He's depicted as him, although the real one is somewhere around here," explained Shining.

"I thought this was supposed to scare me," I questioned. Shining laughed.

"Is that what he told you? He was just trying to scare you with that. But if you want to know what he was talking about, step through here." He stomped his hooves on the ground and a portal opened. "It is a shortcut to the Palace," he added.

Cautiously, I stepped through the portal. I was sucked into a room where my friends were hanged by their hooves.

"One by one... they all fall down.... deeper.... darker... till the final words are barely heard among those connected to them... now you're here... ready to die... how about your friend? The princess... a prize worth taking... but you five will have to do...." A horrifying voice screeched softly as I watched in horror as my friends were slaughtered by unknown forces.

"NO! MAKE IT STOP!" I shouted. What the hell was going on?! The vision began to fade and I fell into darkness. I was dead... killed where I was bound to end up....