Into the Abyss

"NOW ARRIVING IN THE ABYSS!" Loudly announced the driver from his seat, waking Princess Twilight Sparkle from her blissful sleep. "We have exited the Rift and now have officially entered the Abyss." Batting the sleep from her eyes and stretching her limbs, Twilight shifted her seat and looked out the window. True to Mortis' word, they had exited the massive vortex tunnel from before, and had entered a new area entirely. Outside, Twilight could see... practically nothing. From beyond the interior of the Black Chariot, all she could see was an empty land, spanning as far as the eye can see, covered in a thick grey fog. She couldn't even see the sky or the ground, let alone if there is one.

'No wonder this place is called the Abyss,' Twilight thought to herself. "There's nothing here." Having spoken that out loud, Mortis peeked his head through the small window, his stitched face showing amusement.

"Eh, don't let that fool you." Mortis said from the front. "The Abyss is one of the largest Universal Sectors in the entire Nexus. This fog hides more than it lets on." The Voidwings up front shrieked, forcing Mortis to return to his post. "Alright, we're running a little late, and the Castle is just a few miles away. So... We're kicking it into overdrive."

"Overdrive?" Twilight asked, slight fear evident in her voice. A quick glance to the side revealed the other passenger, Scorpion, was clutching firmly onto the side of his chair. The reins cracked loudly across the Abyss, accompanied by the sounds of Mortis cackling.

"Hold onto your butts!" Mortis wildly cheered. With a mighty thrust, the Black Chariot lifted off the ground, and they were off like a bullet.

The Chariot flew across the fog faster than any dragon or pegasi in Equestria, darting back and forth like a frantic bee escaping certain doom. Twilight, unable to prepare for the sudden boost of speed, found herself being knocked all over the compartment with every turn. One unfortunate swerve sent Twilight careening into the window, her face planted on the glass, revealing to herself that Mortis was recklessly driving around large crag-like spires, jutting out of the ground and/or sky. Another harsh turn sent Twilight back into her seat, several bruises sported across her coat. Slowly trying to pull herself forward against the g-force of the flight, Twilight attempted to reach the driver's window and order him to slow down.

"Can you slow down?!" Twilight shouted over the rampant speed.

"Can't! We're making great time!" Mortis cheerfully responded, cracking his reins like lightening.

"I'll die if you keep driving like this!" Twilight attempted to reason. "Are you insane?!" Just as Twilight reached the window, something thick slapped against her face, obscuring her vision. Using her magic to remove the visual impediment, she saw in her hands was something sewn together... that suspiciously felt like skin. Mouth open aghast, she looked up and saw Mortis facing her... completely missing his skin with nothing but a blue skull in it's place.

"YES!" Mortis cackled once more, sending the Chariot into a full-on rampant flight. Twilight screamed at the top of her lungs as the Chariot suddenly shot upwards, landing her back on her seat, limbs and wings splayed wide open. The transport dashed madly right and left, up and down, not once showing any sign of slowing, and all the Princess of Friendship could do was scream helplessly, while the other passenger remained abstinent as he sat calmly in his seat. Finally, as the Black Chariot reached the zenith of it's trajectory, joyous news echoed from the now skinless Mortis' head.

"Destination straight ahead!" Mortis announced. "Castle Cauchemar, dead ahead!" The words breathed an air of relief, even as the Chariot still flew rampantly in the skies of the Abyss, Twilight allowed herself a cheerful smile knowing she was finally going to get off this deathtrap. Glancing out the window, Twilight could see their destination in the distance. Within the mists of the thick fog, Twilight could make out the outline of a massive castle looming off in the distance. It looked to be like the spires they had nearly crashed into, only in a more structural fashion. What didn't help change the mood was that spikes were jutting out randomly from the sides, ominous purple clouds hovered all over, and red lightening randomly shot about. Before Twilight could raise any objections, the Chariot shot down, and flew right towards the Castle. Twilight ended up slammed into the side of the compartment as the Black Chariot came to a rough stop. "We have arrived."

"About damn time." Scorpion snarled, standing up and exiting the Chariot without another word. Dizzy and dazed, Twilight managed to pull herself from the Black Chariot's compartment and landing with a rough thud on the ground on her back, moaning in pain.

Mortis poked his skull-head from his seat, clutching his sewn-together skin mask. "I'm going to put this back on, then I'll go and get someone to take your luggage to your room. Take care!" With a mad cackle and a crack of the reins, Mortis and the Black Chariot shot off the platform, flying away back into the fog. Twilight pulled herself to all fours, sore all over, as she tried to get her bearings.

"Is everyone here crazy?" She muttered to herself. Turning about face, Twilight was surprised to see how massive this Castle Cauchemar really is, it was even taller than her Crystal Castle and Canterlot Castle combined! Standing before her were a set of two massive black doors atop a flight of wide stairs, displaying a wide variety of grey and red gothic runes and symbols, some of which glowed ominously. At the center of the doorway was a large image of a blank white theater mask with two black eye holes, looming over all who entered. The sight made Twilight swallow in nervousness.

"Oh, there you are!" Exclaimed a male voice. Standing at the top of the stairs was a human wearing a dark-grey cotton coat, light grey fedora, grey pants, black shoes and gloves, and a mask identical to the one displayed on the door. "I was wondering when you were going to arrive."

'That must be Mask,' Twilight thought, watching as the masked man walked down the stairs. 'The one who wrote the invitation. The masked man stood before Twilight, towering over her, but oddly not by much. Twilight was oddly surprised to see that the man who represented a Universal Power stood only two hooves taller than herself (in human measurements, that's one foot).

"Introductions!" The masked man exclaimed. "I am Mask, Overseer of the Abyss, Lord and Master of Castle Cauchemar, and Leader of the AoA, otherwise known as the Army of Abominations!" Suddenly, Twilight felt a sinking feeling that this might have been a bad idea. "And you must be Princess Twilight Sparkle, newly crowned Princess of Friendship of Equestria." With a formal bow, Mask extended an open hand. "How do you do?" Slightly intimidated by this masked man, Twilight timidly put her hoof in the man's gloved hand, in which the two shook in greetings.

"I'm fine... Just a little frazzled from the trip." Twilight admitted. Mask chuckled, straightened up, and motioned to walk with him. Twilight began to follow as Mask crossed his arms behind his back.

"Yes, well, most people aren't exactly used to Mortis' driving, first time around." Mask said as the two walked up the stairs. "Granted, this kind of behavior is expected from a specter of his stature."

"Well, if he at least had given me more of a warning," Twilight said, rolling her eyes. "I wouldn't have had to call him- Did you just say 'specter'?"

"Indeed I did." Mask said, glancing down at the young pony. "Mortis is a specter, spirit, spook, ectoplasmic entity, in other words, a ghost."

"So... I was driven by a ghost?" Twilight asked, shocked by the knowledge of ghosts actually existing.

"Of course! Ghosts and Void Beasts are the only few creatures in existence that can safely pass through Rifts and Gates," Mask explained. "And in life, Mortis was a carriage driver of high caliber. Sadly, it was his career that ended his life in the first place."

"What happened?" Twilight asked, curious at the aspect of a story.

"A customer was in a rush and wanted him to take a shortcut through thick woods." Mask continued. "He was going so fast, the tree branches snagged onto his ears and..." He put his fingers to the front of his mask, pulling them back at an agonizingly slow pace, painting a perfect picture. Twilight shuddered at the image, but found the question regarding the flesh-mask flung in her face answered. "Carriage crashed, passenger ran for her life, and Mortis became the Ghostly Carriageman. I found him, gave him a job, and now he drives the Black Chariot." The two had finally reached the doors of the Castle, and Mask reached for a comically small golden doorknob on the nose of an image of a human skull.

"So, you gave him a purpose." Twilight reasoned. "That's... Really kindhearted of you."

"Of course it is." Mask said as he turned the knob. "You might find that I am a kind person." With a hiss and a click, a smaller door opened as Mask pulled the knob, hidden amongst the larger doors. Twilight allowed herself a small giggle at the appearance of a tiny door, which Mask caught and added with a chuckle of his own.

"Funny, I know. The large doors are mostly for show and larger guests, but I kind of need an entrance more accommodating to my size." Mask opened the door wide, allowing Twilight to step in, but before she could set a hoof inside, Mask blocked the doorway with his leg. "Before we enter, I want to make it abundantly clear that during the tour you are to stay by my side the entire time. Castle Cauchemar is large and it is very easy to get lost inside. Most of the denizens inside are not the friendliest, and I can't be held responsible if you end up hurt. Now, any questions before we begin?"

"Um... Yes." Twilight tentatively raised a hoof. "For some reason, the name of your castle sounds familiar. What does it mean?"

"Well, in Equestria, the language would be Prench. For most humans, it's French." Mask explained. "But in translation... It means 'nightmare'." With a cheerful whistle, Mask walked inside the Castle, leaving Twilight alone and once again questioning her choice to accept.