005

[GAME LOADED]

You continue running for what feels like hours, but must only be a few minutes, and you can hear him yelling behind you. You aren’t looking where your feet are going, and with a mighty *crunch* you can feel the floor break beneath you.

Your fall becomes a slide as the red sandstone that once made up the tunnel walls whirls all around you in a downward maelstrom of terror. A rock bouncing from above hits you on the head, and your vision goes black.

…

“One dead. Two escaped. Pathetic. Can’t you make up your mind?”

…

“Perhaps not. Or maybe… maybe you don’t have much of a mind to make up.”

…

…

“Honestly, you don’t even deserve this. You deserve to go back again and again and again, endlessly trapped in your own special hell. But…”

…

“I never was known for being cruel, now was I?”

…

“Now, your friends on the other hand. They’re just being mean. We’ve been through this five times now, and they haven’t SAVED you once! It’s like they didn’t even read the message back on the first one!

…

“Hehehe. Just kidding.”

…

“DOWN HERE, YOU DON’T HAVE ANY FRIENDS.”

[GAME SAVED]

…

…

…

You slowly come to, bruised and battered. Everything’s dark. You don’t know where you are. You can’t even see your own body in the pitch blackness.

[INVENTORY][LOOK AROUND][DO NOTHING!]

inventory

[RED CRYSTAL]

red crystal

You take out the red crystal, which lights up your surroundings. You’re trapped in a pile of rock, and a boulder looms precariously over you, looking as though it’s going to fall over any moment. What will you do?

[STRUGGLE][DO NOTHING!]

struggle

You attempt to wrench your foot free, but in the process you disturb the boulder overhead. It bears down on you with sufficient force to crush your head. Which it does. Violently.

[GAME OVER]

[LOAD LAST SAVE][RESET][QUIT]

load last save

[GAME LOADED]

You wake up again, still just as dazed as the first time. It seems your injuries aren’t spontaneously healed every time you ‘start over.’ Pity. You once again spot the boulder, wobbling unsteadily.

[STRUGGLE][DO NOTHING!]

do nothing

The boulder crashes down over you… and then rolls past. Thankfully, you managed to duck into the convenient you-shaped pit you made when you landed here, so you’re fine. You wrench your leg out of the hole, and out of the mess of second-person pronouns. That done, you wave around the red crystal, trying to get a sense of where you are.

As it turns out, you’ve slid right into some sort of room. It used to be clean, from the looks of things, but not anymore. Debris covers what was once a perfectly usable countertop, and multiple beakers and flasks have been pushed onto the concrete floor, their contents slowly eating through and giving off an acrid smell. You tiptoe your way over to the exit door, and are surprised to find that it locks from the inside, allowing you to simply turn the lock and progress.

You step out into a dark hallway, and immediately feel the chill of the air conditioning. It’s cold in here, so you decide to make your way through quickly. As you pass by one of the doors, you stop a moment to read it. “Lab B7,” it says. So you’re on the basement floor, then? Strange. You’d think someone would have mentioned an entire laboratory hidden away in whatever this ‘Tartarus’ is. If nothing else, you might at least be able to find some stuff to help you get back to the surface world. You’re not sure what you’ll do once you get there, because you’re pretty sure your world didn’t have evil talking horses, but it would definitely be better than this dump.

Entering one of the Labs, you’re pleased to find that it contains a computer, which you might be able to use to contact help, and some storage cabinets. Looking through a storage cabinet that’s open, you find a sword, which by your standards is very short. It’s midnight black in coloration, and is approximately one and a half times the length of your arm. You take it with you, pleased to have a real weapon, and place the red crystal on a nearby table. You’re tempted to toss the crystal now that you have a real blade, but it’s also your only source of light. You start up the computer, hoping it’s good enough to at the very least have a connection to the outside world.

To your dismay, you merely find a series of documents detailing the height and weight of various prisoners, and other irrelevant details. In addition, the computer is so old-fashioned that you can’t seem to contact anything at all with it, not even other computers. Or maybe you’re not sure how – after all, you don’t even know how you remember what a computer is.

Irritated, you search the storage cabinets some more. There are some rocks that don’t seem to do anything, which you discard, and a strange golden triangular necklace.

Put the necklace on?

[Y/N]

n

You keep the necklace off, stowing it in your pocket. It’s really heavy, and looks to be made of pure gold, so maybe you can sell it later.

Moving on, you think you catch one of the ghost-creatures moving down the hallway. However, when you blink, it’s gone. Still feeling tired from the rockslide, you rub your eyes and keep moving.

Your progress comes to a halt when you find that the elevator to this floor has been destroyed, the doors bent inward just enough to where they won’t open. Disgruntled, you turn your attention to the nearby stairs. It looks like someone attempted to start blocking them off, as there is a wall of dirt in front of you, but never finished the job, as it’s only a few feet high. You kick it over, and proceed up the stairs.

You arrive at the lobby of the building, which looks as though a tornado has been through it. Papers, decorations and even chairs are strewn everywhere, and the whole place gives off a heady scent of mold and decay. A faded sign says “Harmony Labs.” You have absolutely no idea where or what that is.

Looking outside, you’re shocked to find that Harmony Labs comes with its own pre-installed moat. Of lava. It looks to be at least three hundred degrees outside, and with your sweater on, you’d be sweltering in the heat. Good thing this place somehow has air conditioning.

You have two options of where to go: A door on the left of the lobby desk, or a door on the right. You don’t feel like exiting the Lab unless you really, really have to. Approaching the door on the left, you’re irritated to find that it’s locked, the only possible key a small cone-shaped indent in the wall. Trying the right door, you find that it’s open, and leads you to another series of hallways.

You hear footsteps echoing down the corridor almost as soon as you walk in, so you decide to back out and wait. What you aren’t expecting as you walk backwards out the door is to bump into something, and promptly be picked up by the scruff of your neck.

“So here you are again,” a hoarse voice whispers.

You wiggle your body around, craning your neck, only to find yourself thrown to the floor. Quickly recovering, you finally manage to get a view of your assailant.

It looks like someone gave a human the mother of all sunburns, then fused them with a gray horse into a centaur and gave them goat horns to top the whole thing off. The newcomer is male, judging by the tone of voice, and has a silver nose ring. Finally, the lower portions of his arms are encased in what appear to be silvery-gold restraints, broken chains trailing off the sides. He looks quite frail, and very old.

“Well, let’s get this over with,” he rasps. “My name is Lord Tirek. You are a human. And that look on your face… that’s the look of someone who’s used that crystal quite a bit. On one in particular, I suppose. How did it feel, to stab her through the neck?” he inquires.

You back away. “I – I had no other choice!” you argue. “She was going to kill me!”

Tirek smirks. “Was she? Well, that’s no excuse. She wouldn’t have hurt you if you hadn’t gone that way. You had the power to prevent her death, and you didn’t use it. You’re pathetically weak,” he snarls.

You glare back, getting to your feet. “So, what, you’re here to judge me? If you’re down here, that probably means you’re in for a whole lot more than self-defense,” you successfully counter.

Tirek laughs. “Am I? You know, there’s only one species down here that’s ever considered killing another as an act of justice. And it’s not me, nor the changeling, nor the ponies. It’s you. And you’re going to pay for it… if not by my hand, then another.” Without another word, he launches himself at you.

[FIGHT!][RUN!][DO NOTHING!][FLIRT]

flirt

Tirek stops a moment as you adopt a sexy pose. “Sure you don’t want a piece of this?” you ask.

His eyes narrow at you. “You’re not my type,” he flatly answers.

[FIGHT!][RUN!][DO NOTHING!][FLIRT]

fight

You lash out with the blade you found, and to your surprise are able to score a hit. A long gash runs down Tirek’s front, dripping dark red.

“So, you’ve found the sword! And just in time, too,” Tirek taunts, backing away. “It isn’t even rightfully yours, you know that? It belongs to somepony you left behind.”

His horns light up orange, and a beam of magical energy strikes you, knocking you off your feet.

“What’s the matter?” Tirek continues angrily. “Humans are normally immune to magic! But with that crystal… you’re just as weak as those other ponies!”

His horns glow again, and you struggle frantically as you’re lifted up into the air. A millisecond later, you’re tossed to the side of the room, slamming into a portrait and crumpling to the floor. He picks you up, and does it again, slamming you into the ground this time. The sword you just picked up skitters away, out of your reach.

“What are you going to do now, pathetic whelp?!” Tirek questions while he’s attacking you. “Are you going to try to SPARE me? Oh, wait, you can’t! You made that choice long ago!”

By now, you’re too dazed to respond. Slowly, you’re dragged towards Tirek by the inexorable power of his magic, and you can hear the centaur panting with effort.

“What a shame,” Tirek murmurs as he surveys you, upside down and helpless. “You couldn’t even defeat me. What makes you think you deserve this world more than I do?”

While he’s talking, you realize you’re still holding the triangular necklace from earlier. With the last of your strength, you swing it upward and across Tirek's neck, somehow managing to catch his jugular vein and sending a splatter of blood across the room.

Tirek's eyes dilate in shock. He steps backwards, dropping you to the floor and falling to one knee. “S…so that’s how it is, then…” he mutters, clutching his neck as he coughs up blood. "Killed by the necklace my brother made for me... How ironic."

To your surprise, he smiles at you, a grin worthy of someone who managed to gain victory at the last moment.

“Fool. The only thing you ever accomplished was getting yourself stuck down here like the rest of us. Murderers can’t leave the Harmony Barrier… and now, you’ve murdered two. Enjoy living out the rest… of your short, miserable life… in suffering…” Tirek breathes, closing his eyes and dropping to the floor.

You’re too badly hurt to respond, and collapse to the ground yourself.