Snow Mane was afraid. He was a unicorn stallion, his fur a light grey and his mane was white as snow. He had bright purple eyes and a flute for a cutie mark. He had no idea where he was. It was a strange building. The floors were tiled with marble, they had fake animal fur of different colours in perfect squares and rectangles. The walls were painted different shades of whites, blues, greys and more. There were blinking spheres of glass on the top, a low hum coming from them. If you looked closely enough, you could see a low yellowish form of lightning, unlike the normal fire everypony had.

Snow remembered a fire, then a very thin looking white pony, and then he woke up here. There were monsters left and right. Some resembled ponies, others were so disfigured and monster like he had no idea what they were. The looked like they had been pulled apart and then sown back together. He was crying like a baby, mostly out of fear. He was hungry, cold, tired and scared. There was no way to escape.

Snow’s mane, tail and fur were dirty from the muck and blood covering everywhere. He couldn’t be here, he shouldn’t be here! Everything was wrong, it was all wrong! Slowly, Snow left his hiding spot, and sneaked out into those dank hallways. It looked like one of those medicine cabins from his town, filled with snake oils he thought were cow pat. He walked as silently as possible, his ears flattened against his head. He heard somepony coming and scampered to a hiding spot. There weren’t any doors that opened, his magic not working. He had to hide, he had to hide! Snow found a bed and ran under it, a mysterious substance caked under it that smelt rancid. No time to think about what it was, he just needed to hide.

His purple eyes followed as large and rotted hooves slowly limped along the hallway, a ragged breath furthering the stink. He covered his mouth with his hooves, shaking in terror was it passed, a heavy piece of metal dragging along the floor. When the heavy steps were finally gone, Snow slowly climbed out from under the bad, the mystery slop clinging to his once well-kept fur. He walked around, opening doors and jiggling those that were locked. Sometimes he found somepony in a chair with wheels on the sides, mumbling to themselves about things he didn’t understand. He breathed as calmly as possible, the fear never leaving his body.

Suddenly he was grabbed by somepony and pulled into a room that had previously been unlocked. He was slammed against a metal table, the force making him cough as jolts of pain throbbed in his back. He looked to see a pony. Its fur was beige, its single eye was teal and its teeth a crooked yellow. A soft pink mane sticking out in every direction possible, and the missing eye wasn’t covered, just a bloody hole that’d dried up. It had many scars all over its face and body, some areas discoloured like it’d sewn on more skin.

“The meat is mine.” The voice was gargled and crooked as well, as if it’d laughed so hard its throat was soar. He couldn’t tell if it was male or female thanks to how messed up it looked. It picked up something snow had never seen before, a circular blade that was jagged, all the points pointing back in a curved shape. It whirred to live, spinning so fast it was a blurring circle and screamed with a hunger to dismember. It was going to cut him, to slice and mow.

“no!” Snow cried as it held him down with a hoof while he struggled. The buzzing thing was brought closer and closer until it stopped. It seemed to be thinking about something, looking around like a paranoid rabbit. It was covered in so much blood that was likely not its own it made snow feel sick. It dropped the metal thing, both hooves pressed hard against snow’s shoulders. It pushed him upwards somewhere, the forcing causing the skin under his fur to bruise.

“You stay there,” it said, the grin growing wider than physically possible. Most likely thanks to the cheeks being cut… “and cook!” What!? It suddenly pushed him into some kind of stone casing with metal railings on the ‘floor’ and a small stone platform just behind him. It was barely big enough for him to fit in, and he kicked all the way to the end against a cold brick wall, his rump against that small stone platform.

It cackled as doors closed, and fire sprung to life from beneath as if dragons were under there. It was trying to cook him. Snow looked around frantically and felt a gap where his elbow fitted. He turned, and slapped his body against it, feeling the stone give a tiny bit. He did it again, and again, and again and again. So much so that fur was starting to come off his shoulder and it begun to bleed. Eventually it finally crumbled, and he escaped the fate of being cooked alive.

Snow panted heavily, vomit rising in his throat, but he swallowed it down. He didn’t know when he’d see something edible again. Snow shook his head, walking through the labyrinth of, well, he didn’t know. Snow Mane’s ears twitched as he heard something, it sounded like gasping. Let it die, whatever it was, let it die. It would kill him, he needed to live! He had to.

Snow saw glimpses of a fire, a roaring fire with the strength of a chimera. He shook his head, the fire going away. He walked further and further around, doing his best to hide from the monsters that used to be ponies. Eventually he walked through a door that lead outside. Hope filled his eyes as he felt fresh air, no matter how corrupted it was. Snow ran, but then found it was all inside of a fence made of metal. He wasn’t free yet. Dammit! Snow Mane’s ears perked, turning and found there were more mutated ponies. Some wearing shirts, some not.

“Skin er shirt er fuck off.” He nodded, running off after a mutant pony told him to. He ducked under the attempted punch of some featherless griffin with a broken break and missing wing, the other with no feathers. He stopped at a ladder meant for the bipedal but climbed up them anyway, much to his struggle.

Snow Mane panted, walking around until he found another door. He pushed it open and fell down some stairs. Snow shook, pain pulsating around his body like a second heartbeat. Snow didn’t want to move, he just wanted to lay there, but he couldn’t. He wanted to go home, to escape, to be in his wife’s hooves again. He shook his head. Forcing himself to stand on his aching hooves. Snow Mane looked to his front left leg, the bone flaring up whenever it touched he ground. It was breaking.

He limped, trying to find a way out of wherever he was. He couldn’t figure out what was happening, or why everyone was so… dead? Snow sniffled and collapsed. He was so tired, he just needed to find a way out. But what if there was no way out? What if he couldn’t get home to his wife? For all he knew, she was gone, another one of these monsters. Should he fight on if there’s nothing to fight for? Snow didn’t bother trying to stand, many thoughts going through his head.

“don’t give up, you’re ruining my fun.” Snow’s ears pointed upwards as he heard a voice. It wasn’t like the others, but it was still twisted “We haven’t even gotten to the best bit yet! Get up already.” Snow Mane couldn’t. He was just tired. He could see his wife’s face now, her smile drifting off… into a fire…? “Bah! Stupid equine.” Snow’s purple eyes widened as he was now looking at the blueish grey hooves of a pony that still had fur. He looked up, seeing a face that wasn’t stitched by a foal. Yellow and red eyes boring deep into his soul “What a shame, I really thought you could be entertaining for me.”

“Who… are… you…?” Snow Mane choked out, his ears dropping as he looked further into those merciless eyes. They were filled with such malice and evil, it was like the devil was before him. He had no idea how right he was. Tophet chuckled to himself as the stallions’ pupils shrank in terror, the very look that he enjoyed.

“My name is Tophet, I’m the God of Tartarus, and you’ve been a very bad boy…” Snow Mane’s breathing quickened, smoke starting to choke him. Not enough that he couldn’t breathe, but enough to the point where he was uncomfortable and coughing. The short unicorn circled the other unicorn, a smile still on his face “you don’t remember do you? It’s fine you can’t get it up. More common than you’d think, one if five I hear,” he chuckled at his rather suggestive joke “Do you remember a fire? Well, do you, snowy?”

“Y-yes…”

“Good!” Tophet chirped, now trotting around the collapsed unicorn with foalish glee “You’re doing well! Most ponies take a few decades to figure it out! Well done, here, have a star!” He voice suddenly deepened as Tophet stamped onto the ponies’ flank, searing pain causing him to cry out. When Tophet removed his hoof, a pentagram had been ingrained on his flank, the meat still sizzling and tears leaving Snow’s eyes. Tophet’s were filled with sick glee.

“Please stop it! I don’t know what I’ve done wrong!” He sobbed like a foal, the fear making them extra salty. This fact was known because Tophet licked them off his cheek, enjoying them “Please! Please!” He begged and begged, the sound was music to Tophet’s ears.

“Do you want me to tell you?” The stallion nodded, the way his eyes shook was of pure terror and pain, bringing more and more glee to the dark deity “Well, since you’ve been such a good boy…” his hoof traced the still burning mark that ruined the ponies’ cutie mark, the hind leg twitching furiously “Rather simple. You were jealous. A curse even we gods are not immune to. Your jealousy gave birth to paranoia, just as annoying and bloodsucking as an actual child.” He tone slowly and slowly lowered. From chirpy like a madman, to dark. He was very expressive as well, he had thousand more facial muscles than the average pony that was for sure. Then again, he was a god.

“what… did I do…?” He could remember a fire, a roaring fire straight from the hearth of a dragon. Tophet stopped circling, standing in front of the unicorn as he pulled himself into a sitting position. Snow Mane could see just how none-pony this being really was. Who else could have such eyes and a mane of pure blue flame? “Please, just tell me…”

“Fine mister ‘…’ i’ll tell you. You believed your wife unfaithful, didn’t you? She was rather gorgeous i’ll give you that, I don’t get why people believe jealousy to be such a bad thing. Envy is a part of us, but acting on it, now that’s the true sin.” Snow Mane watched as Tophet nudged a door open that hadn’t been there before. He looked towards it, images playing before him. He could see himself yelling at his wife, drunker than a stallion in Shireland “That envy got rather heavy didn’t it? The paranoia eating away at your sanity… you chased that mare away with your fusion of the two. She left you, all alone, doing who knew what?” Snow glared, not believing Tophet’s words “So you followed, and you set free the dragon that had been incubating inside.” He turned back to the pony, his yellow and red eyes now like fire places.

“No!” The cried as the doorway showed his wife graphically melt before him “I didn’t kill her, I DIDN’T! I wouldn’t do that!” Tophet wanted to cackle, but it’d take away from the moment. Snow collapsed again, sobbing furiously “I wouldn’t, I wouldn’t…” Tophet stood before him, the stallion looking pathetic. Honestly, he said he was God of Tartarus, what did this idiot think? He was in hell, he’d done something bad.

“You did, you killed her. In your stupor, you followed her all the way to her brother. And in that stupor, you believed they were together. So, you decided to kill them both…” his smile was a mixture of anger and pleasure, it twisted Snow’s very being “But that wasn’t enough. The fire you used to kill them also set fire to your village, pretty much all of them died. A couple of them came here, but none of them were as bad as you Snowy. After all, not everyone commits genocide.” And with that, Snow suddenly found himself standing before the building again. His injuries were all gone, all expect the star on his flank that wouldn’t stop sizzling. He’d have to go through it again, and again, and again. Tophet walked away, the smile still on his face. That pony was getting a magma enema the moment he got out, or he was going to be eating a live Parasprite. Either way, it would be fun to watch.

He didn’t come to the mortal world often. He only did it to let off some frustrations he held deep inside. Tophet had a certain issue. One that had taken eons for him to even recognise. He was alone. When you govern hell, you don’t get to talk to anyone all that much. You can try holding a conversation, but they wouldn’t understand. They were mortals, they didn’t understand what eternal life was like. They wished for it, they actually sought it out the foolish creatures. It’s a curse, a responsibility that everyone of them had to suffer through.

When he did come to the mortal land, it was to quench the thirst for social interaction, nothing more. The other gods just bothered each other, while he wondered the mortal land. He disguised himself of course, but not by too much. All he changed was his sclera from yellow to white and his blue fire mane into actual hair, though he kept the colours. Everything else was the same. They were too stupid to believe he was anything other than a short unicorn. Tophet sometimes killed ponies, just to see them actually die instead of playing with them and they just regenerated after an hour or so.

He liked the taverns though. A shame alcohol couldn’t affect him, not unless Vhihlewi brewed it. God of wine, what BS. The whores were fun though. As gods were susceptible to envy, they felt pleasure as well. They had desire, they had needs and wants. They were like ponies, only more powerful, with true purpose and immortal. Unless they were attacked by another god. And if they stopped doing what they were there for could make them fade from existence. Although that only really applied to gods who were MADE. He had always been a god, nobody was before him unlike some of the others. Cosmo was dead, so they needed to find him a replacement.

“Hey, check it out,” he heard someone say, a pony most likely. When he turned around, he indeed saw a stallion. Another unicorn. This own was a dark green with a dark purple mane and dark yellow eyes, his ass tattoo a book of some kind. Tophet didn’t actually care. The unicorn had a friend, make that two friends. The other was another unicorn, this one a mustard yellow with a green mane like seaweed and had blue eyes, his butt mark was a bit of corn. Finally, was a very buff earth pony who was as red as artery blood, his eye colour bright orange and his mane a shade of black. All of them were drunk “Got ourselves a midget!”

“There should be a ‘we’ in there.” The pony took that as an insult, how cute. He peered into the soul of the pony. Tophet could only see the sins of a pony when he did this trick, since he was supposed to punish the wicked. Cadaver could see both the good and evil, which made his decisions a lot easier. If Tophet could see the good in ponies, it might’ve made his job a little harder “Maybe you should go home and fuck that cousin of yours again, or maybe go and hit on your niece? She is rather, pretty, isn’t she?” The stallion roared, jumping at him, and Tophet simply stood out of the way. The ugly yellow one joined in “And the dog fucker is here too! It’s a party of regrets isn’t it!”

It’s a little funny to only die by the hooves of another god. It means your body can’t be destroyed in the mortal world. He didn’t even bother fighting back, it was just so funny for these stupid drunkards to try and do something about their rage. Tophet suddenly released a powerful surge of magic, throwing the two unicorns off of him. He rolled his eyes at their stupidity. He was immortal, especially since none of the other gods wanted his job.

“How did ya do that?” The earth pony demanded, holding a pitchfork. Tophet just grinned, showing his actual teeth. The earth pony panicked and charged at him, and Tophet did nothing. He waited, waiting for the two unicorns to see what he was about to do. When the stallion was half a metre away and had aimed his pitchfork, Tophet stepped to the side, and the stallion suddenly exploded, blood and guts everywhere. Tophet even got a splatter over his face, but not a cell budged, he didn’t even blink to the force of liquid splashing over him. A gift to Cadaver.

“Red!” Red? What a dull name. Tophet’s long and pointed tongue revealed itself, licking some of the blood off of his face “Demon! Demon!” The yellow stallion screamed, his horn flaring with weak magic.

“You aren’t entirely wrong there.”

The yellow stallion ran forwards, a small dagger in his magical grip. Where’d he get that? Questions for when he was in Tartarus. Tophet’s eye twitched, and half of the yellow pony disappeared, the lower half. It was being fed to Cerberus, a good dog. Nobody knew that they actually had three names. Cer, Ber and Us. Meh, nothing to be concerned with. The unicorn did manage to stab Tophet in the hoof, which was annoying. The pony died, leaving the green one, who pussed out and ran away. Oh well, Tophet would see him eventually. Cadaver didn’t take kindly to incest.

Tophet walked along the street, heading to a tavern called The Chubby Squirrel. It was slightly amusing how imaginative people could be when it came to making these tavern names. Chubby Squirrel. Tophet rubbed off the blood from his face, somehow forgetting he had a knife in his hoof, and walked inside. Tophet went right to the bar and sat on a stool, ordering any old thing to drink, paying with perception currency. It wasn’t real money. But it felt, smelt, tasted, looked and sounded real, so how could they know otherwise? It was good being a god. So, he just sat there, drinking and listening to the mortal’s dribble about their problems. Apparently, it was singing night because a mare got up on a stage, gaining everyone’s attention.

Figuring he’d might as well see what the commotion was about, Tophet turned and saw a mare that perplexed him. She was the whitest white he’d ever seen, abnormally so, as if the earths soil avoided her. Her eyes were a bright emerald, like the canopy of a jungle. Her mane was a soft blond, and sort of glowed as if the sun was behind it at all times. It was carefully platted, the same with her tail. He was most intrigued by the fact her flank was blank, like untouched snow. She was beautiful, he’d seen many mares that were beautiful. Some that were far more beautiful than her, but the reasons he met them were similar to why Snow Mane was in his little labyrinth he hoof-made. When you have all of eternity, you start doing things manually, so you have something to do. And then, she started to sing… The Willow Maid Song by Erutan

A young man walked through the forest

With his quiver and hunting bow

He heard a young girl singing

And followed the sound below

There he found the maiden

Who lives in the willow

He’d seen many ponies in his lifetime, many of the were evil, or at least the mortals’ concept of it. He could see it, the stains in the ponies’ souls. Oh, there was a griffin in here as well, neat. They’d all done bad things, all except for one, and it irked him. The mare that had the voice of an angel. He couldn’t see into her soul. Why. Why couldn’t he do it? He could do that to even his fellow gods! Why couldn’t he see into her soul? Where was her stain? The spot of black in the expanse of white?

He called to her as she listened

From a ring of toadstools red

"Come with me, my maiden

Come from thy willow bed"

She looked at him serenely

And only shook her head

He listened to her song while concentrated, growing more and more frustrated. Where was her darkness!? He had lived eons and had yet to find a pony without a stain. Where was her envy, her anger, her hatred? It was impossible not to feel any of those things! He grit his teeth, never having to actually TRY to find the sin in someone before.

“See me now

A ray of light in the moondance

See me now

I cannot leave this place

Hear me now

A strain of song in the forest

Don’t ask me

To follow where you lead”

The mare noticed him in the back, seeing his irritation, not that she knew why. She continued to sing, her voice carrying out throughout the hearts of the ponies, and griffin, around her. Her voice as said to be gifted from an angel, and she believed them, but then many questioned why it wasn’t her destiny to sing. To be honest, she didn’t know why she couldn’t get her cutie mark. It wasn’t a bother though, she could at least bring joy to the ponies around her.

A young man walked through the forest

With a flower and coat of green

His love had hair like fire

Her eyes an emerald sheen

She wrapped herself in beauty

So young and so serene

Tophet watched, and watched, and watched. He couldn’t find it. This hadn’t happened before. Even Cadaver had sinned, though that wasn’t an accomplishment as he admitted his faults. The mare… this, snowdrop, had no stain in her soul. But how? Surely there must be something, there must be some kind of reason as to why?

He stood there under the willow

And he gave her the yellow bloom

"Girl, my heart you've captured

Oh, I would be your groom"

She said she'd wed him never

Not near, nor far, nor soon

She took a step forward, the ponies before her grinning from admiration and lust, and others out of envy and disgust. She was used to it, and she didn’t mind. She was drawn to the one in the back though, the one who seemed confused by her.

A young man walked through the forest

With an axe sharp as a knife

"I'll take the green-eyed fairy

And she shall be my wife

With her I'll raise my children

With her I'll live my life"

He was imagining her words as pictures. A pony and a stallion, the stallion an earth pony and the other a fae. Not a breezie, he still regretted releasing them into the mortal world from Tartarus. She was in her tree, while the stallion tried to win over her love.

The maiden wept when she heard him

When he said he'd set her free

He took his axe and used it

To bring down her ancient tree

"Now your willow's fallen

Now you belong to me"

That guy sounded like an asshole. Give him a minute and Tophet would cut down his ‘tree’ if you got what he meant.

She followed him out the forest

And collapsed upon the earth

Her feet had walked but a distance

From the green land of her birth

The mare’s tone slightly got lower, her eyes holding a faint sorrow. As she sang, he could see she had many emotions. A tale sung to her by a loved one perhaps? Wherever they were, they certainly had a good taste in song and tale.

She faded into a flower

That would bloom for one bright eve

He could not take from the forest

What was never meant to leave

The maiden died? That was oddly morbid for such a sweet-sounding song. And he was the God of Tartarus! Morbid was his thing! The mare got a round of applause, and he watched her leave with a smile on her face. One of pride. Pride that she’d made someone smile. Nobody was that perfect. Nobody, and he was determined to get answers. Tophet stood up and followed her outside. There was a scream in the background, someone finding his handiwork, but he ignored them for they mattered little to him.

The mare wasn’t aware he was following, and he was getting more and more frustrated by the moment. Why? Why was she so clean? She couldn’t be a mortal. Maybe one of Falrasil’s angels sent to bug him? The bastard had done it before, to the point he could smell an angel a mile away. Literally. They reeked of glitter. He stopped as she did, the mare looking left to right, for whatever reason not behind her. Not much to be afraid of when the literal devil was behind you.

“Hey!” The mare looked over, as did Tophet, seeing a stallion coming over with a very angry face. This one had a dark soul, much darker than the mare “what did i tell you about leaving the house!?” He shouted. The stallion was of blood relation. He had her mane and eyes, but only in colour. His eyes didn’t have that shine to them, and his mane made a rock look as reflective as a mirror in comparison “you’re coming home and you’re doing it now!” He grabbed her, the mare squeaking in surprise. Ponies had little standards, since they had nobody to lead them yet. Tophet slowly followed in the shadows, intending to learn who this mare was. He followed all the way to some run-down cabin. She was in poverty, why no envy towards the rich? She didn’t make sense!

“i’m sorry daddy, i just wanted to make the ponies’ happy. They really liked my song.” She sounded proud, and she should. That was one of the nicest songs he’d heard in a long time, since many he’d heard were of screaming pleas for their agony to end “i sung about the maiden, like the one mother told us about, the fairies.”

“Stop babbling about fairies, stupid girl!” Another funny thing. Ponies were oddly naïve to the world around them. They barely knew about the Umbrum their rulers, let alone many creatures around them. The fairies were pretty cool. Tophet was actually pals with Titania and Oberon, they were pretty cool with having the devil be a friend. He was no ally, he didn’t like picking sides, but he was a friend “You should be working, nothing more and nothing less. Unless you get a mark on that worthless ass of yours nopony will want you!”

The older pony had clear mental disorders, a schizophrenic from what Tophet could see. He could tell, thanks to experience. Hell, he caused some of them. She was too nice, far too nice. She should be cold and cruel, hateful of the stallion, but she wasn’t. It was angering him even more. The father of the mystery mare walked towards a fireplace, rods of metal laying there. He must be some terrible blacksmith. He bit onto one and pulled out a rod with a scorching red rip. Very ominous. It didn’t take Tophet even a millisecond to understand what the father wanted to do. He’d done it not an hour ago for fuck sake. The mad pony stated nopony would want her because she was blank, he likely wanted to sell her off for money, so he thought branding a mark would make her sellable. Selling daughters for money was a very common business. He’d dealt with a lot of fathers who’d done the very deed.

The stallion pressed a heavy hoof against her body, the mare unwilling to fit back out of fear of harming him, which angered the god more. When the stallion brought down the brand, it never touched her fur. Her emerald eyes looked up, to see a stranger standing over her, the brand digging into his chest. He could feel pain, but he had high tolerance to it, and stood firm. The stallion stumbled backwards while the stranger stood strong, barely flinching.

“Who the fuck’er you!” Shouted the father, stamping on the ground, madness drowning his sombre eyes. Tophet was still short, he was around her height, perhaps a very tiny bit shorter, but he was not afraid. Tophet released his illusion, his mane back to their flames and his sclera back to their dark gold. The stallion couldn’t comprehend what stood over his daughter, but he subconsciously knew not to mess with it. Those eyes, god those eyes, they were burning him. Literally, he could feel his coat start to catch alight “Raaah!! Demon! Demon!” Tophet only stopped because he felt a tug on his cloak, unfortunately letting the mad stallion escape. Tophet would see him again, there was no escaping Tartarus.

“Thank you… my name is True Heart… I’m sorry for my father, but I’m thankful for your help.” She looked to his chest, seeing the mark “Oh your hurt!” True Heart suddenly pushed the deity into an old chair and scrambled upstairs, rummaging for something. Tophet rose a brow. He’d just been pushed into a chair, and he’d let her do it. Why? That word was becoming as old as he was. She’d apologised for that madman, it was getting annoying how pure she was.

True Heart came back down with a small bag and a pot of water. For whatever reason, a reason he’d yet to find, he allowed her to ‘attend’ to him. He watched as she wetted a cloth and padded it around his wound, not even bothered by it. Then watched her put a pad against it and wrap gauze around his neck and chest. Then she saw the knife in his hoof, which he’d forgotten about. She gasped and went to get more things to help. He just pulled it out, blood coming out. He couldn’t bleed out in the mortal world, not if a mortal harmed him anyways. The mare returned, then did something he had never expected… he was, being scolded? His mane was on fire, and she was scolding him about his hoof?

“It’s nothing to be concerned with silly mare, tis but a flesh wound.” She… bopped… his… nose… what the absolute fuck? He just let her do it, words failing him. Her soul was clear, but she just yelled at him? How does that work? He let her sow it closed and started to wash blood off her fur. Now was another question in his mind. Why was her getting blood on her fur angering him more “You enrage me, you know that? I’ve known you fifteen minutes, and you are the most infuriating thing i’ve ever met.”

“Why?” She asked worriedly as if she’d done something wrong. When that was the problem. She hadn’t! WHY!

“Because your soul is clean. I cannot find a fucking thing in you, nothing!” She wasn’t afraid of his outburst either. He’ll add that to the list that seemed endless “You live up to your name and I hate it, I absolutely hate it! You’re so pure it’s disgusting! I want to know why. It’s the only reason I even followed you when you left. I need answers and I need them now!” True Heart could see his confusion and his frustration. Her mother, Gold Heart, told her a many of things. This being, wasn’t a pony. She could tell. He had so many years behind his eyes, she couldn’t fathom “I can’t find any rage, not any anger or anything! Why!?”

“Anger is just a letter away from danger. To hold onto your rage, to hold onto hatred does nothing but hurt you. You must forgive to free yourself… my daddy was sick, I knew he was. All I can do is be there for him. He’d one terrible things, the passing of my mother broke him.” It was sad to watch him deteriorate into what this stallion had seen, but she still loved him “I love him as my father, I always will. Everyone deserves to be happy.” She even used ‘one’ instead of everypony. It was more inclusive this way.

“Not everyone, little mare.” She was a pure being, like the moon among stars. Yes, the stars were beautiful, and all shone brightly, but none of them could outclass the moon “I have met many who deserve eternal punishment, who deserve torture and who deserve the pain they suffer! It is my purpose to punish the wicked, they all cry at my hooves for forgiveness, something they shall never be granted! I laugh to them as I crush them, make them implode over pavements and I drink their very tears.” His grin grew wider and wider, his tongue moving around in his mouth as he could still taste Snow’s tears.

“I see,” True Heart said, seeing his eyes. He was lonely. She could see it, even if he couldn’t. He said things that frightened her a little, but it was natural to feel fear. She wouldn’t run from him though “You’re a being of revenge?” He was more than that, she could feel it. He was special. His mane was on fire for sun’s sake. Curious, she put a hoof against it, feeling it. He watched her, her hoof unharmed by the flames. His flames hurt the impure, so it wouldn’t harm her. A bit of a first to be touched there though “Oh, I told my name, time for yours.”

“I am Tophet, God of Tartarus. I’m also called Satan, Demon, Menace, Devil and pineapple pizza. The latter will be relevant in a few thousand years.” She wasn’t running away. Why was this becoming very disturbing? Dammit, he used why again. That word was like the plague, or Zacherle, Goddess of Plagues. So, the same thing. Her hoof still stroked his fiery mane, no fear in her being. It was becoming almost scary at this point “You’re a freak of nature to not piss yourself in my presence. Di you not hear? I’m S.A.T.A.N!”

“No, you’re Tophet,” she giggled. He was at a loss of words for this strange creature “you have a very expressive face.” He got that a lot “Am I that strange to you?” She smiled. She felt honoured to be in the presence of a god. He’d stood up for her, the God of Tartarus thought she was special. He wasn’t anything that anybody imagined him to be. Not red or evil looking. He was actually something opposite to that “Why should I be afraid of you? You’re cute!”

Error, error, Tophet.exe not functioning. He allowed her to hug him, mostly because he was too shocked to say otherwise. Someone had called him cute. Cute. Nobody had ever called him cute before… what in the bloody hell was clinging onto him? No way this was a normal mortal, he refused to believe that. Maybe she was made by Cosmo? That made more sense than anything else going on right now.

“I hate you.”

Author's Note

Tophet and True Heart's tale is inspired by the story of Hades and Persephone, only with ponies and less disney. God of Hell and a pure simple earth pony, sounds cute don't it?