Dark Iron Kingdom

The ancient doors of Tartarus slammed shut thus sealing us into this dreadful place. Though I admit, I only knew this fact from the unearthly sounds the doors themselves made and the cacaophony of the spirits attempting to escape had dissipated. Death had indeed warned of the horrid tide of souls that had hammered away at the veil from Tartarus but I had never expected them to be so numerous. So numerous in fact that in their chaotic attempts to claw, bite, and stomp at each other they all had paid no attention to the group of spirits that slipped past them.

Normally by this point I would have been winded in my attempts at panicked running, but in a truly eerie sense I was not. No, it was worse in that my spirit seemed to flicker and weaken for a few moments before I recovered.

"What in Tartarus was that?" I stated somewhat perturbed.

In response Shadow Dancer piped up and said, "Uh which one? The sea-o-tormented souls or the soul flickerin'?"

"The second..." I replied still uneasy.

"Oh yeah that. Yeah ah never got used to that. Spirits don't get tired...they weaken. Oh yeah don't git yerself too weakened otherwise yer gonna shift into some strange will-o-wisp form for a bit. No body really, just a floatin' orb for a few minutes not doing much of anythin'," he said with an odd knowing tone.

I probably would have pushed him further for more information but we did not have the time. For the faster we could get out of this damnable place the better. So with little delay I reiterated the two main tasks we needed to complete. First we needed to find out what happened to the spirit of Tartarus. Secondly we needed to find a way to sort this mess out. A pair of tasks that obviously were far easier said than done.

But with our objectives in mind we continued to trudge through this veritable burning pit of despair. However, we soon discovered a serious problem. And that problem was summed up when Dusk Skulker grumbled out, "Do you guys know where the fuck we're goin'?"

And I was just about to respond until I heard a large group of spirits coming our way. So with great haste and a small amount of panic we all jumped to the side of the strange curving pathway we were on and hid behind some odd looking stone pillars. But just when I was about to slip my head out to view what was coming I felt a strange thin object against my neck. Then not but a second later a cold voice whispered to me, "Stay where you are and let them pass or I will permanently separate your connection to your living body you fucking bastard.

If I could have sweat at that moment in my spiritual form I would have, but other than that I complied with their demands. Then after a few moments the mass of spirits we saw coming passed by without one of them paying the slightest attention to us. Afterwards, to my great luck, whoever was holding the thin object to my neck got pulled away from me quite rapidly.

A yelp of surprise from the individual soon followed before I turned my head to see a cloaked figured get tackled to the ground by Twilight, Shadow Dancer, Tactics, and my mother. And to his surprising credit Dusk Skulker was holding some sort of ethereal dagger to the cloaked figure's throat. But while this was strange in its own right, what was truly bizarre was that instead of being surprised or scared the pinned cloaked figure just started to let out a deep chuckle.

Then after a few seconds the figure said in an amused tone, "So it is true. I thought it was you so we trailed you all when you got in here. Still heavily protected I see Captain Blood Moon."

"Captain?" I said confused before I remembered he said there were others. But even this proved to be not much in the way of alarming as two unarmed figures merely walked out from somewhere in a lazy like manner.

Then after a minute or so the one figure who was a stallion dressed in solar channeler armor stated in an almost bored tone, "I told you before, Deep Cut, he is a Lieutenant General now or at least he was years ago. Your memory is really awful."

The other figure that looked to be a mare lycan just snorted in an equally bored manner before adding, "Will ya let the dumbass up? It's not like ya can kill him a second time. Trust us, we tried. Besides he saved your ass from that group of souls that wander around the area."

Memories soon flashed through my mind as all three of them looked oddly familiar in a sort of way. Then like an unpleasant relative showing up at your home the faces of these three forced themselves to the forefront of my thoughts. And while I had not known their names from before, I certainly knew them.

The cloaked one named "Deep Cut" had been a rogue vampire assassin sent to kill me over sixty years ago. It was literally within a day or two of me unfortunately turning Twilight into one of my kind. In fact he was partnered with Night Fang the assassin turned grade school teacher. In turn I ended up killing him after I discovered he and his fellow assassins killed and eaten an innocent family.

The lycan however was less involved as such. I recognized her as one of the few goons as it were that were sent to check to see where my little fiends Silver Mane and Sharp Fang were when we first captured them back during the Rogue Faction Wars. Her and her cohorts did not seem displeased in the least at their disappearance minus potentially being forced to carry all the heavy things as Silver Mane and Sharp Fang were forced to do. However, aside from that, I was unsure what had happened to her until now though not surprising given rogue lycans had rarely lived long back in those days.

The last one however had turned my newly soured expression into an absolute scowl as I recognized them as an old rogue solar channeler lieutenant general who had ordered the collapse of a townhall on top of me over two hundred and forty years ago. He was also partially responsible for the slaying of my old home village from which that townhall belonged. In all fairness though I had gotten my vengeance on him. For I gave him quite the screaming death when I had lost control of my mind for a bit when reclaiming Canterlot from the Rogue Factions War a bit over sixty years ago. But vengeance or no vengeance I was hoping to never lay eyes on him again and yet here we were.

In turn I waved my hoof a few times and those pinning that dreadful individual named "Deep Cut" had let go. After which the other two in his group had walked over and helped him get up, which I found quite odd to be honest. Truth be told these three would have been hated enemies to each other in life and here they were helping each other out in death. It had truly become stranger and stranger in this place.

But regardless of all that, the scowl I had continued to wear from before did not go unnoticed. For that miserable solar channeler decided to speak.

"Ah I see by that look lieutenant general you don't find your current company pleasant," he said in a joking tone before adding , "I truly don't blame you to be honest. The feeling is mutual."

"Yes, pleasant is not what I would use to describe seeing you three again. However it is unfortunately noted I am a prince now, but please call me just Blood Moon," I replied trying desperately to remain civil.

He just took a deep sigh in response before stating, "Prince? By the sun above we've been gone longer than I thought. But I suppose titles do mean little in here considering the circumstances. As such my name if you ever wanted to know is 'Bright Sun'. This one over here, " he motioned to the lycan in their group before adding, "is 'Brown Paw'. And I see you've already met 'Deep Cut'."

In turn after they finished introducing themselves I did the same for my group though I had quickly cut to the chase if you will soon afterwards. For I truly wanted to know why they were following us. And to be honest they were surprisingly well...honest from what it appeared, but not in the way one would have imagined. No, it was significantly more somber.

"By the blue thread on your back we saw that you and Princess Twilight were still living. And that maybe...you all had something to do with what is currently going on. As such we...we need your help Blood Moon," Bright Sun said as he clenched his teeth, but he did not continue until Brown Paw put a seemingly calming hoof on his shoulder. "I don't remember how long any one of us has been down here. It's true torment in here day in day out. We had...we had even nearly forgotten our own names if not for each other reminding us of it."

When Bright Sun could not continue further Deep Cut took up the mantle. "Regardless of what those above believe Tartarus is not a permanent destination for most. Yes if you were truly wicked then your spirit would be sealed away in the Burning Vault in a sort of suspended animation state to serve as a warning to others until they remove you from existence," Deep Cut shuttered at his last sentence before adding, "However for the majority you only have two paths, the 'Path to Rebirth' or the 'Path to Redemption'. The first involves your spirit getting stripped of all memory and crimes to be born again on the material plane to try again. The second is the one we took and that we try and keep our memories but get tormented daily until our crimes have been absolved."

I had remained skeptical to his words until he lowered his ethereal hood. For it was then I saw a true visage of despair on him. A mask the other two wore themselves. But just when I was about to speak Shadow Dancer added his input into the mix.

"Ah know ya don't trust 'em Blood Moon, and to be honest neither to ah. But he's tellin' the truth. We technically ain't suppose to tell the livin' what he just said but he ain't lyin'," Shadow Dancer said a bit uneasily.

In turn I mulled over what Shadow Dancer said for a second or two and had attempted to get some input from the others. My mother, Tactics, and Dawn Skulker just shrugged with knowing looks. Twilight on the other hoof was looking around desperately for something to write on. Probably some new field of research and it was eating away at her that she was unable to record it. I merely chuckled in response at this before I looked back at Bright Sun, Deep Cut, and Brown Paw.

"Alright so you three desire our aid. However what could we possibly aid you with? It is not like we are able to let you pass on," I said still somewhat bitter at them.

Eventually Brown Paw took a deep sigh in response and I could see her "tough" act many a lycan commit to had withered significantly. "Well for starters..." she stated but swallowed hard before she added, "Ya can get the torment of this place up and running again."

And I admit I was severely taken back for a moment at what she had said before Deep Cut stated, "You must understand. We all have committed grave crimes and accepted to be punished in exchange for eventual redemption. With Tartarus stalled in its current state our sentences have halted for the time being. And as none of us want to be here any longer than we have to, we want it restarted so we can finally have peace in paradise."

My mood soon soured to even a greater degree upon thinking about their desire for resumed punishment. It was one thing to send them on their way to Tartarus, but it was quite different being the one that helped torment them in the afterlife. Even their somewhat rational desire for it did little to ease my nerves as who would truly desire such a thing? However in the end, bizarre or not, we needed their help as much as they apparently required ours.

So with little delay I told them what we wanted. First and foremost we required guidance through this damnable place. Secondly I had gotten details on what Deep Cut at mentioned earlier in his threat to me. For it seems that being me and Twilight are still connected to our bodies it is quite a bit more dangerous to be here. As it happened a few times where still living beings tried to visit Tartarus only to have their body and spirit link destroyed before becoming a resident here as opposed to just a visitor. And lastly some details on what happened to the spirit of Tartarus. Which they seemed to be more tight lipped about as all that they had given us was the statement, "You need to see for yourself".

Eventually we made our way to the core of Tartarus itself where the spirit of Tartarus usually was we were told. It was ultimately a far more perilous journey than I could have ever imagined but at least we had finally arrived.

"By the Stars and Moon how many damned traps, pits, spikes, and angry demons or otherwise are in this place?!" I griped in frustration as I pulled myself onto the last step of some strange looking spire like tower.

"Oh yes those, you never really get used to all that. And the worst are those really big worm like things that chew you up for a few years before well...you get out one way or the other," Bright Sun said in a monotone matter of fact type of way.

Everypony in my group just gave each other an uneasy look in response from our apparent collective remembrance of one of those delightful horrors attacking us on the train ride here.

However silence soon reigned further when we looked at what was on the top floor of our destination. There were glowing vines. Hundreds of them. And they were not some usual run of the mill vines, no, this strange plant or plants seemed to regularly pulse with an angry reddish orange light through its otherwise somewhat uniform black color. It was amazing that in my frustration that I had not noticed them until we got up here.

"Welcome to the source of all this. Do have fun in there. Tootles, " Bright Sun stated before him, Deep Cut, and Brown Paw started going back down the tower stairs.

"Wait. Where are you going?" I said somewhat confused.

The three of them stopped before Bright Sun slowly turned around and acted like he was blowing a long breath out his nose. "I'm going to be blunt. All three of us hate you to an extreme degree. You crushed Deep Cut's throat. Your little sunbeam trick to kill Gore Gash burned Brown Paw to a crisp and me...well you broke every one of my legs before you twisted my head backwards in your little blood rage all those years ago," he growled out then started grinding his spiritual teeth before adding, "We figured you were somehow in the thick of all this and wanted you out of here as fast as possible. It's bad enough down here without seeing your damn face everyday. It was probably the only reason Deep Cut didn't cut your life string. So if you don't mind we're going back to our regular torment and away from you!"

I was truly taken back for a second at his reaction. It was as if a tea kettle had become over pressurized and exploded. However it was not wrong in that I slew all three of them. Again Deep Cut was nothing short of a monster in life being an assassin and eating innocent families. Brown Paw was probably responsible for beating my friends Sharp Fang and Silver Mane senseless for years and was a member of the brutal lycan rogue faction. And Bright Sun was the lieutenant general of the rogue solar channeler faction that regularly sucked the life out of ponies for power. They all deserved what came to them. But as much as I hated to admit we were still flying blind in here if you will and needed their help. So I decided to do the one thing that could override one's hatred for another...appeal to their own self interest.

"Well so long I suppose. I was going to put in a good word with the Spirit of Tartarus on your behalf for aiding us. And I figure it could have potentially lessened your sentences if you helped him too," I said laying it on thick while not even looking at them.

Then in quick response I heard their hoofsteps stop abruptly before the three of them stated in perfect unison, "What?"