And They Gnawed Their Tongues in Pain

Their path twisted and spiraled, curving around the smooth wall with nothing but the occasional torch to break apart the darkness. No windows, no diversions or splits in the stairway, not even the smallest chip or cut into the stone steps. They were just as smooth as the wall. Everything there was so cold, everything was so dark. From the corner of her eye, diabolic shapes flew by out from the dark, but they vanished into nothingness as soon as they seemed to appear, once again merging with the bleak darkness from whence they came. Eventually, after they were led through what felt like an eternity of stairs, there was finally something new to see as the claustrophobic stairwell gave way to an opening; a large hole that was perfectly cut out of the thick wall of rock into a rectangular entrance, with rays of artificial light spilling through.

Never before had Celestia been so ecstatic to see even the smallest change in appearances, but after that trek of what felt like hours of nothing but stairs, who wouldn't be? Even with the light spilling through the entrance like a wave of water through a broken dam, darkness clouded either side of the opening, and such darkness would be perfect for an assailant to hide behind, just waiting for the right moment to drive their blade into their target's back. She shook her head, unsure of where the sudden tension and paranoia had come from, and made her way out of the tunnel. The more she thought about it, the sense of nervous uncertainty wasn't the only peculiarity she noticed about their surroundings. It had been present ever since they had entered the tower, but it had became truly noticeable ever since they made their way down the stairwell. She felt as if some kind of burden had fallen upon her, but she couldn't figure out why. Her train of thought suddenly derailed once they had exited the blackness, as it was as she trotted into the light that a soft wind brushed against her muzzle, carrying  with it a scent most foul that reached her nostrils within moments, invading her sensory receptors with painful intensity. It was the unmistakable reek of putrefaction, and it was beyond disgusting. It made her feel ill, and she thought that she would regurgitate her stomach acids upon the polished ledge. Thankfully, she managed to repress the urge to do so. As she took a look around her, she was unable to locate the source from where she stood, but she truly did not want to find out.

Now that she, her sister, and their guards were finally free of the shadow-drenched staircase, Luna took a moment to look around their surroundings. They had arrived upon a wide cliff that was polished so thoroughly that not a bump or chip marred its surface, with a makeshift guardrail carved out of a thick chunk of rock being the only thing standing between those perched upon the cliff's surface and a plummet down to the ground below, which was completely comprised of what appeared to be razor sharp crystals.  She knew that  a drop from the height they were at would be fatal from the elevation alone, and those makeshift spikes would only solidify that possibility of meeting one's demise. On either side of the balcony, there were yet more stairs, where they led being labelled by a slab of wood that had been engraved with directions that dictated the foals take the left, and the full-grown equines would descend via the right staircase. Peering over the balcony, Luna gazed upon two pairs of buildings of equal quantity and size that were segregated by the large wall of jagged black crystals that stretched out from where they stood, spread out to the farthest borders of each camp, then came back around on either side of the stairs like a makeshift fence. The camps appeared to be exactly the same, except for one single difference: The camp on the right seemed to have a large opening in the ground, though Luna was unsure of what that opening was for, or where it even led.

"Why are they separated like that?" She inquired as she turned from the railing, feeling a sense of mild dizziness overcome her the longer she peered over the sickening drop below her hooves. Along with the dizziness had come a low sense of unease as well, a fear that she would be shoved over the ledge to her death. She shivered as she imagined herself screaming as her body collided with the jagged edges of the cliff face, jutting like spikes that would tear her apart, splitting her hide with deep, horrific wounds as she descended. She blinked, snapping back to reality from the depths of her imagination's deranged projections. She wasn't even sure where that came from; she wasn't afraid of heights or used to such vivid illusions. Were such horrible images created by the atmosphere sinking into her psyche? Had the long and tiring journey begun to truly affect her mental state; causing her to tumble off the deep end of sanity's cliffs into the unending abyss of insanity and mental instability? If that were the case, it couldn't be that long before she began to hear the feeble screams from sources unknown.

"To prevent the adults from experiencing emotional and physical hindrances from their young during their work. However, they are allowed small amounts of time to visit their offspring when they are not working.  Which camp are you wishing to inspect first? Deeper down, I will show you such interesting sights," Sombra replied without so much as turning to face the Princess, his words spoken with a tone as cold as the wailing gusts and blinding snow that ravaged the land above their heads, something that sent chills down Luna's spine. The way he spoke only brought to her mind images of the ponies being kept in cells or filthy alcoves, treating them like livestock to be brought to the slaughter; a terrifying process of degeneration into mindless drones to serve the King's every whim, even if they were to gallop blindly straight into an empty grave and be buried alive en masse. She couldn't imagine what sort of horrific experiments or torture he could be inflicting upon the foals as well, and she would not allow it to go on.

"Whichever camp that you are keeping the foals in," Luna blurted out quickly, hoping that her sister would not object to her rashly-made decision. Thankfully she did not, only nodding her head in agreement. Perhaps it wasn't actually agreement, only a desperate attempt in a hope to keep from a dispute starting, but she did not particularly care what her reasoning was at that precise moment. She just had a wretched gut feeling that what they were looming above were the borderlands of something truly despicable and vile. The King was just as silent as her sibling, his only response at all was giving a hoof-gesture that the Princess of the Night had seen plenty of times: Right this way. Although, she could have sworn that he had also given a quick glance towards the archway from whence they had entered this underground chasm, but she wasn't completely sure about that. The monarch then turned his back on the group, causing his lush cloak of crimson cloth that was spilling behind him like a sea of flowing blood from a victim's back after the flesh is split by a traitor's knife over and over again to whip around his form as he began to make his way down the ass-numbingly long flight of stairs. As they followed right behind him, the group was so caught up in wild fantasies and nervous anxieties about what they would find at the bottom, they failed to notice one particular change: One member of the guards was not present in the group.

This was because a stallion by the name of Evening Star had taken it upon himself to play hooky from the rest of the guards, and was going to go snooping around in the adult-populated camp by his lonesome. Was it a stupid idea? Oh, most definitely. Especially considering that if Sombra found out about him digging around in places that he shouldn't be, there would be little that Evening Star could do to prevent the unicorn from beating him so badly that even if the Princesses discovered his corpse, all they would find that could be salvaged and taken back would be his teeth. But even with such frightening possibilities, the Earth pony knew that it would be worth it if he could save innocent lives. However, while it was quite a brave and noble thing for him to do, it would have not been very wise for him to charge into the situation with his spear's head facing outward as he let out a bloodcurdling shriek of war. No, the use of such a tactic was known in pony culture as, "A dumb move". Based on this absolutely stunning use of common sense, he had waited until he was absolutely sure that the rest of the group was out of sight and earshot before he would make his next move, and only  once they were gone did he reveal himself to the light of the torches. And with his spear's thick shaft gripped in his teeth, he began to traverse the unoccupied staircase; unsure of what he would find once he reached the bottom.

The monotonous rhythm of armored hooves marching down the long flight of stairs one after the other in a perfect unbroken formation was the only sound to break the unending silence that twisted through the atmosphere around the descending group of ponies, the pounding of the metal against stone akin to a formation crafted not by soldiers, but by and endless supply of mighty hammers striking against steel to mold it into place. And like a foal struggling to stay above water as they struggled in a raging river, the distance between them and safety grew larger and larger the farther down they descended. Down, down, deeper down they went, with no knowledge of when or where this journey would come to an end. All that they could hope for was that it came to a optimistic conclusion. And as the path twisted deeper like the walls of the wild and untamed Ghost River, that wretched smell grew stronger and stronger, flaring inside the equines' nostrils like the unending and searing heat of a blazing fire. Not even the faintest remnant of hope's fire remained in their hearts once they reached the bottom, as its luminosity was doused by the black tidal waves of horror and fear.

What had caused both the soldiers and the Princesses' blood to run as cold as the light of the freezing moon was not a gruesome sight of death or illness, but a complete and total lack of any life in the camp. They were basically standing upon a perfectly flat and barren slab of rock, that was split through the middle by a vast, colossal wall of jagged crystals that glistened like some wild abomination's teeth as it prepared to split apart its victim's exposed hide, tearing apart the helpless creature's soft flesh without the faintest hint of remorse or mercy. Totally empty, except for the two large buildings that were, much like the majority of everything else that the ponies had seen, made out of the exact same black rock. The building material used wasn't the only similarity between the two, either. Both were the exact same size and height, both completely lacked any windows, and both had only one door crafted out of heavy iron that served as both an entrance and an exit. The only visible difference between the two was that the building on the left had the word 'fillies' written upon the door with something sharp, while the building on the right had the word 'colts' written upon its door. Though; admittedly, the wording was actually quite difficult yo read thanks to the stylistically jagged format in which the lettering was written. The herd split up into two smaller groups, with Sombra leading Celestia and twelve of her guards through the building designated for fillies, while Luna and the rest of the guards explored the building for colts. Peering into the dimly-lit shadows, the mares and stallions knew that it was finally time to pull back the veil of curiosity, and see what the ruler was keeping within these walls.

Evening Star raced down the long, twisting flight of stairs with great haste. His heart was pounding like an unending wave of war drums as a battalion marched across a colossal field on their path to slay any and all who stood in their path of conquest; banners flying in the wind as they marched onward to fight the unholy war. With no companion to guide him through this path, he was a stranger in strange lands, and that genuinely made his hide crawl. After what felt to him like an hour of galloping, he finally saw the last step within his sight. Once his hooves touched the cold stone, he noticed something very peculiar. There wasn't a pony in sight. However, he could hear a faint sound, coming from the opening in-between the buildings. He hadn't a moment to waste, so he began to make his way across the camp and towards the ominous opening.