I watched as Rythil pressed his ear against the wall, trying to hear what was going on on the other side.

“They’re alright, I can at least feel that much,” I said. “I would guess they're quite worried, but they’re not in any real danger.”

Rythil removed his ear from the wall. “Well, that’s at least something. With your dad and Hades on the other side, it could have turned out worse.”

“Dad wouldn’t hurt them, not when I’m not around them. He may be growling and roaring, but he has no reason to be angry at them.”

“You mean except the kirin who pushed you over the doorstep.”

“Ohh, right. Did you see who did it?” I shifted my attention to him.

“No, but the options are very limited. With only two Runehorns accompanying you, it had to be one of them.”

“I hope Dad was too occupied to have noticed who it was. Fertile Dessert or Rapt Glance could get in trouble if he saw who it was.” I sighed. “The earlier we get back, the better. I’d prefer it if Dad growls at me instead of them.” I gave the door one last weak punch with my claw before I turned around and started to inspect the interior of the temple closer. In the dim light from the torch Rythil was holding, I could see that we were probably in some kind of hallway. It was a little chilly, and the whispering in the air didn’t make the place any more welcoming. Though, at least the fog had probably cleared up a bit, which was great in terms of seeing what was around us, however, the black marble that made up the floor, ceiling, and walls absorbed a good proportion of what little light we had. Only the fine strings of, possibly gold, inlayed into them, forming strange patterns along the way, helped by reflecting at least some of the light.

“It is indeed gold,” I said in surprise after licking one of the strings. “There’s a huge amount of gold in this temple, given how far these lines seem to stretch.”

“You can say that by simply licking it?” Rythil was astonished.

“Yeah, kind of. One of the traits I got from Dad. It works better with gems, but gold, silver and other precious metals have their own tastes too. I can’t tell if it’s pure gold, but I can say it’s extremely close if it isn’t.”

“Given different circumstances, I’d have a comment or two to make about that, but, ” he raised his torch and illuminated the hallway a bit more, “I think I’ll save those for later.”

“That's probably for the best. Well, we should move on and see if we can find the other side. Would you claw me over the bag of herbs, please?”

“Sure,” he fetched it from out of his fur and offered it to me.

“Alright,” I took some not anger plant leaves out of it and returned the bag to Rythil. “At least we’ll have some more light.” While saying that, I noticed how he took a few steps back. “Don’t you worry, you already saw it doesn’t make kirins angry, it just turns us nirik.” I placed the leaves in my mouth and swallowed. Even though I already knew how it would turn out, it took me a moment to look at myself again. Being engulfed in flames without being angry was still an interesting feeling. “Okay, that should help, let’s go.”

“Would you mind if I take the lead?” Rythil asked while keeping his distance. “I think that’s what Fortuna would expect of me. Also, I have a feeling that I can see better in the dark than kirins can.”

“We can walk side by side, the hallway is wide enough for that.” That was all I was willing to tolerate. I mean, he may or may not see better in the dark, but leading was in my name.

“Yes, but what if something attacks us? Based on what Hades told us about his temple, it seems possible.”

“And you think you can fight better than me then?” A slight growl punctuated my words.

“Perhaps, I mean, I am twice your size and a full dragon,” he said slowly. “but that’s not the point. Your dad as well as my goddess may take issue with you getting hurt when I am meant to be watching over you.”

Ponyfeathers! Unlikely as it was for me to admit it, he had a point. And the worst part is, it wasn’t even his fault. If I insisted on taking the lead or walking in first, if something happens, he will be the one getting blamed.

I growled unhappy. “Arg, fine, take the lead.” I raised a claw. “ But only because it would be your head rolling if something went south!”

“Thank you.”

I wasn’t entirely happy with this, but we were able to keep moving. Rythil in front and me in the rear. Fortunately, we had more than enough light now. So it was no wonder that we noticed the gold ornamented reliefs along the walls now.

“Look at this,” Rythil said while brushing his claw over one of them. “If I am not mistaken, these are kirins doing some kind of,” he paused and took a closer look, “no, kirins leaving some kind of settlement.”

“We are not here to admire the engravings, Rythil, we are here to rescue Bliz and Heat Wave.”

“Of course, just,” he sighed. “Normally such engraving are either presenting a piece of history or something of cultural significance. It may help us understand Hades temple a bit better.”

I gave the engravings a short look. “Look, I am normally very curious about my species’ history and culture, but this is not the time. I… “ When my gaze landed on the name of the settlement in the picture, I froze. There was something familiar about it, despite my inability to read it.

“Shakirin-La,” Roary said. “The picture is showing some kirins leaving Shakirin-La.”

“Shakirin-La,” I repeated slowly while placing my claw on the name. I turned my gaze to Rythil. “This settlement is named Shakirin-La.”

“You think it is the Shakirin-La?” He held his torch closer and inspected the engraving of the settlement. His claw wandered over the golden lines which I assumed were supposed to represent several houses.

“I don’t know of any other city or town with that name. If there was a second one with that name, it would be strange. It was my species capital after all.” Now my claw found its way to the houses as well. “Another strange thing is that all these houses seem to be perfectly fine, there aren’t any signs of destruction or fighting. I think the city was abandoned after the empire fell, but that’s just my guess. There are even little kirins between these houses.” I pointed at them. “There.”

Rythil wanted to take a closer look, but for some reason hesitated to get any closer to me.

“What’s the matter?” I wondered. “I told you I won’t bite.”

“I am actually more concerned about you burning right now. Also, you might damage the image if you start to melt the gold out of it.”

I gave a confused look at the gold below my claw. “I’m not burning nearly hot enough for that. Sometimes I wish I could, but you need a stove for that.” I returned my gaze to him. “But why are you concerned about that? You are a dragon, fire doesn’t do a thing to you.”

“Oh, it very well does. I would burn like a frayed carpet with all my fur.”

“Wait, you’re flammable? Like, setting on fire flammable?”

“Yes. Unfortunatley, luck dragons are not immune to fire.”

“But,” I raised an eyebrow and pointed at him, “you are a dragon?”

“Of course I am. Luck dragons are just attuned to water, not fire, that's all.”

“No wonder my aunt has trouble accepting that statement…”

“Hey!”

“Nevermind, forget that I said that. Though, you know, that would have been an important piece of information to know from the start. With you joining my merriment full of kirins who can turn into walking campfires, not to mention my family…” I let that linger in the air for a second. “You really should have told us. Just imagine if my brother had tried to help you dry off after you washed yourself! He would have set you on fire on accident!”

“Well, I didn’t think it would be important. And why would your brother do that? Spitting fire at creatures is not typical dragon behavior as far as I know, and I am one.”

“One that can’t spit fire himself, and as it turned out, can’t be spit at without turning into a bonfire. Doesn’t seem to me like you would know how dragons handle fire.” I shook my head when he tried to reply. “My brother and my Dad use their fire all the time, even for drying off after taking a bath. Night even set Kindling on fire when they were kids since he didn’t know that some creatures aren’t immune. For dragons like Dad, my aunt, or any other dragon I know of except your kind of dragon, there’s nothing more common than fire. So as soon as our rescue mission here is over, you are going to tell everyone everything about luck dragons and what it means to be one. Who knows what other things are just common for us that would kill you, or vice versa. With your ability to use magic, something I know the dragons I know of aren’t capable of, who knows what kind of powers you can invoke that may be harmless for you but would hurt my merriment or family.”

“As I said when I joined your merriment, I have no intention of hurting any of you. None of my abilities should pose a threat to you or your family. In my family-tree, there aren’t any abilities that have been passed down that would be very useful in harming others directly. There are luck dragon families that have that, like the emperor's family line for example, which has had dozens of luck dragons who can summon typhoons, but that ability is very rare.”

“You are telling me there are luck dragons that can just summon a typhoon out of nowhere?”

“Yes.”

I rubbed over my forehead. “My Mom’s folk can move the sun and moon, your folk can summon devastating forces of nature, and mine has some form of mental connection that can span the entire species as it seems to have in the past. Not to mention the god’s who can do who knows what. With all these folks out there, no wonder some kind of catastrophe plaques Equestria every other weekend.”

“Equestria?”

“The place my mother is from. A pony country where my grandparents live. Every now and then some powerful being tries to take over. And now I fear that as soon as I manage to resurrect the kirin empire I’ll have to deal with that on a regular basis too.”

“If you make Fortuna your patron goddess, I’m sure you will have far fewer problems than the other kingdoms or empires in that regard. With her also being your godmother, you should have it far easier than any other leader out there in general.”

“Hmm, that is true. Still, we will need some powerful magic sooner or later to keep certain threats at bay.”

“You should also consider that not all creatures out there are hostile to begin with. I am sure there are many powerful beings that are not interested in attacking your future empire at all.”

“I hope so.” I took a deep breath. “Enough of that though, we should move on. So,” I returned my attention to the engravings on the wall, “why are these kirins leaving Shakirin-La?”

“Maybe we’ll find out if we take a look at the other engravings.” Rythil pointed down the hallway with his torch. Sure enough, when I looked where he was pointing, I could see that all the way down the hallway there were images engraved in the wall.

“Could be.”

We moved over to the next picture. It turned out that it was actually several pictures in one, like a comic book. At its top, two lines of kirins were depicted following what was probably their leader. “That must be an azure kirin,” I said. Even though they weren’t painted blue, it only made sense that their leader was an azure. “They lead the kirins away from Shakirin-La.” I looked over the following panels and winced slightly. “They weren’t very good at it it seems. It looks like while they were traveling quite a few kirins perished. Some were picked off by dangerous creatures, like rocs or manticors, others got lost or were crushed by rocks while crossing a mountain path. There was also one particular kirin in the middle of some curly lines that I was guessing was meant to be water. Only his front legs and head were displayed sticking out of them, and he had this desperate expression on his face. At the end, a far smaller group was depicted in a swampy area in the right bottom corner of the whole engraving.

Curious, we moved to the next picture. The kirins that had made it to the swamp seemed to have settled down, but not at the surface, but below. The picture showed a lot of tunnels and caves, filled with kirins doing various things, like crafting tools or, maybe farming plants? I wasn’t sure. Though the overall impression was that they built some kind of settlement in these caves.

“Maybe these kirins built all this?” Rythil guessed. “This temple and the building at the surface had to have come from somewhere.”

“It seems so. The question is why though? Leaving Shakirin-La is one thing, but traveling this far and through all these dangers just to end up in a swamp? I don’t see the reason behind this. Why?” I tapped my chin. “Why would they do this?”

The answer became clear in the next picture. While the kirins we saw before were underground, looking fearfully in the direction of the surface, a new bunch of kirins had shown up. Above the caves, a group of kirins stood, but they were wearing armor and wielding spears, also, they were led by a kirin which, this time, had blue gems in the places where the scales on their back and forehead would be.

“Seems I was wrong. The leader in the previous picture wasn’t an azure-kirin. Which makes this even more strange. Why would a group of kirins leave Shakirin-La, and why would an azure-Kirin follow them here?”

“Whatever the reason was, I don’t think they had good intentions. Look there,” Rythil pointed at a little kirin at the edge of the scene. They were kneeling in front of a little shrine, praying. ”Looks like one of them knew how to get some help.”

“Depends on who he was praying to. Some gods are more helpful than others from what I’ve heard. Given that they were able to make these engravings though, and where they’re at, I think I have a good idea to whom they were praying.”

“Sounds logical, but something about it just seems… off. I don’t recall hearing or reading about the kirin empire worshiping Hades to any real extent. I am pretty sure they knew about him and they might have had a temple or two dedicated to him, but even then, from what I heard about Hades, he isn’t really the protector kind of god.”

“What do you mean?”

“If one of these kirins prayed to Hades for protection from their enemies, I don’t think Hades would have sealed the entrances, summoned some mist, or even scared the attackers away with illusions. It’s more likely that he would have cursed them with decay or deadly illnesses. That or he would offer the petitioner knowledge on how to beat their enemies themselves, even requiring them to prove themselves to him.”

“Doesn’t sound very comforting, this whole decay and illness thing.” I shook at the thought. “Knowing that, the knowledge probably wouldn’t be very nice either.”

“I am sure we will know in a second,” Rythil pointed at the last engraving.

Curious, we both walked over and took a look. After we had taken a look though, we both stood there for a moment, unsure of what to say. We only looked at the engraving and the flickering light dancing across it.

“At least we now know what happens if I get hit by that magic our new friend was throwing at me,” I said with my ears flicked back and pressed to my skull.

“We should try to avoid that. It doesn’t look like it would do you any good.”

In the image before us, one of the kirins from the settlement, possibly the one who had prayed to Hades, faced the azure-kirin and their followers. From this kirin’s forehead, a thunderbolt exited and struck the azure, who was now displayed as a skeleton.

“I doubt that I would be turned to bones and ash. Summer Moon seemed to be fine after she got hit. But I agree, whatever is happening here definitely looks unpleasant. Also, you see how their merriment flees in all directions after they got hit? I think we can take it for granted that my connection to my merriment would break if I get hit.”

“Makes it an effective weapon in a fight with kirins being lead by an azure. It just seems a little bit less drastic than what Hades would normally come up with. This also raises the question of whether these kirins are fleeing because they are afraid of also getting hit, or if it is a side effect of the spell causing panic and confusion.”

“I assume if the mental connection was suddenly interrupted it would cause quite a bit of confusion. From what I learned from Nimble, and Fortuna when we visited Shakirin-La, the mental connection allows us to efficiently guide our subjects and coordinate their actions. If you are used to it and suddenly it's gone, yeah, it would take them,” I pointed at the picture, “some time to regroup for sure.”

“I’m starting to get a bad feeling about this.” Rythil began stroking his whiskers in thought. “If these pictures are to be believed, and I’m sure we can, there could be a good deal of kirins able to use this magic lurking below the surface of these swamps. Whatever reason they had to leave Shakirin-La, it’s been quite a while since then.”

“Oma said over a thousand years ago.”

“Over a thousand years, that means several generations for dragons and a few dozen for kirin. Even if only fifty or so made it here, their numbers could be in the hundreds by now.”

“You have a talent for painting the darkest possible situations, you realise that?”

“I’m just giving you a possibility. All that being said, I know we’ll have luck on our side. Fortuna seems to have every intention to protect us. At least that’s what you make it sound like whenever you bring her up. Also, I would assume they don’t have any problems with luck dragons, so they may not be immediately hostile towards me. That could help us if we try to negotiate with them.”

My gaze returned to the azure-kirin in the picture. “I wonder if that is even possible. If they shoot me on sight, there’s hardly room for negotiation.”

“They may not immediately realize you’re an azure while you’re in your nirik form.

“We know an azure when we see one.” Both Rythil and I turned around in shock. We hadn’t heard anyone approaching us! “You can try to hide below your flames and lack of proper colouring, but you will not fool the skilled eye.”

From the shadows of the hallway emerged a kirin. He was on the older side, holding a staff in one hoof and wearing a black mask on his face. However, the mask was more decorative than anything else, having a few flowers attached to one side and only covering the area around his eyes, leaving his muzzle and forehead exposed.

“Normally I would welcome you to the temple of Hades, strangers, but you,” he came closer while pointing his staff at me, “are far from welcome in this place.”

Rythil stepped between me and the newcomer, and when I opened my mouth to reply, he dared to close his claw around my muzzle. He quickly let go of me again though when he was reminded that I was on fire.

“Ouch!” He yelled and shook his claw.

“Serves you right!” I growled before addressing the stranger. “We are…”

“We were invited by Hades himself to pass through,” Rythil interrupted me. “He was the one who let us in.”

For a moment I withdrew my attention from the stranger and growled at Rythil while presenting my fangs. How dare he assume he could take the role of leader here just because I agreed to let him walk in front of me before!

“How about you let me do the talking,” he whispered between gritted teeth. “I’m just trying to prevent this from immediately going downhill.” I could see a little bit of panic in his eyes as he said this, but at that moment, I couldn’t care less.

“You do not speak for me!” I hissed.

“It may be for the best if you let him though,” Calmly dared to pipe up. “He is not, NOT, challenging us here.”

“Of course he is!” Roary yelled. “We have to do the talking, we are in charge here!”

“Silence!” I yelled, earning me a worried look from Rythil.“We are here because you foalnap…”

Rythil quickly closed his claw around my muzzle once more, suppressing a whimper of pain. “We are looking for two of our lost friends,” he bursted out quickly. “There may have been a misunderstanding between the kirins here and the ones we came with!” As soon as he finished the sentence, he let go of me and placed his claw in his mouth.

I was this, this, close to biting him!

“Hmm,” the stranger intoned, “and who are you, that my god decided are worthy to wander these halls?” He looked at Rythil to answer the question and not me, which proved that Rythil had overstepped his position!

“Riitheeel,” Rythil mumbled, “preest of Fort-una.” He removed his claw from his mouth. “And this is Fiery Leadership, godchild of Fortuna.”

The stranger lightly tapped the ground with the bottom of his staff a few times. “I see.” He turned around and started to walk towards the shadow in front of us again. “If that is the case, you may follow me.” He continued his walk, leaving the choice to do so or not in our claws. “I am Caustic Mercy, priest of Hades,” he continued without even looking back.

I exchanged a quick look with Rythil and then trotted forward to follow him. When he tried to walk past me though to take the lead again, I gave him a challenging hiss, making it clear that he was no longer allowed to. He opened his snout to say something, but, after another look at my fangs and fire, reconsidered. With that settled, we followed Caustic Mercy deeper into the Temple of Hades.

*

Silently, we had made our way deeper into the temple until we reached what seemed to be the inner Sanctum. Any attempt at reviving the conversation with Caustic Mercy as we’d done this had been in vain though, since he had not been willing to continue speaking with us after his short introduction. However, as soon as we arrived and walked over the bridge dividing the outer temple from the inner one, something interesting happened. As the fog disappeared, so too did the cacophony of whispers we had been hearing since Hades had opened the door leading down here. They had been so prevalent that I must have tuned them out.

When the fog had mostly disappeared, revealing the inner temple to be a grassy field with a small forested area at its center, I couldn’t resist looking over the side of the bridge to satisfy my curiosity and see just what was down there. When I did, I was both surprised and confused. Below us was what looked like a canal filled with… something. It looked similar to the grody water we’d seen thus far in the temple, but it had a green shimmer to it that made the hairs and scales across my whole body want to stand on end.

Following the length of the canal, I saw that there were two other bridges, one to my left and one to my right, that also lead to and from the inner temple, and below both of them were streams of the suspicious water flowing into the canal. After leaning further over the side of the bridge and looking down, confirming that under this bridge there too was a stream feeding the canal, a thought hit me, how was I able to see all this?

Even though I was on fire and Rythil had a torch, there was no way just the two of us were giving off enough light to illuminate an area as large if not larger than the outer lair back home. Looking around, I found the answer, glowing moss covering the walls and ceiling of this underground chamber. Strangely though, rather than the usual green I expected moss to be, this moss was a light blue.

Disconcertingly, despite knowing Caustic Mercy likely hated me for being an azure and probably wouldn’t hesitate to attack me, the fact the water below us and the moss around us were the colors the other should be was putting me more on edge.

When the three of us finally crossed the bridge, I finally noticed a white dome peeking out over the top of the trees. Focusing on this, I eventually realized that the forest looked to be surrounding some kind of massive marble gazebo if I was not mistaken, at least that’s what I could see between the trunks and the leaves.

Frustratingly, attempting to look through the trees to make out what I was seeing had caused me to slow down. This in itself wasn’t the problem, it was everything that happened because of this that caused me to scowl.

Caustic Mercy still did not seem like he wanted to acknowledge our existence, so he maintained his pace, causing him to start putting some distance between him and me. Additionally, with me slowing down and us now being in an open field, Rythil took the opportunity to attempt to subtly walk past me and take the lead, but a more hostile hiss and presentation of my fangs brought him back in line. Not wanting Rythil to try undermining my leadership a third time, I picked up my pace to catch back up with Caustic, realizing as I did that we were headed to the large gazebo I had seen.

When we reached the tiny forest, Caustic Mercy spoke up again. “This is the Neighcromantion, any traveler who comes to this temple has to pass the test of Hades.”

“And what kind of test is it?” I wondered.

“Nothing too difficult,” he replied. “You have to assemble a meal, purify yourself, and then, cross the pool filled with the water of the styx.”

“We have to do what?!” Rythil yelled, earning him a look over the shoulder from Hades' priest. “Mortals can not swim through the water of the Styx, it is impossible!”

“Only if you fail the test, if you properly purify yourself, you have nothing to worry about.”

“What’s the deal with the water?” I whispered. “I mean, if it is actually water and not this greenish soup that’s flowing through the canals here…”

“That isn’t any normal water,” Rythil spat out. “That water is evil! It was created by an old king of the luck dragons, Takataniri! If you touch it, it will rot your flesh from your bones! No mortal can swim through it!”

“Fairy tales,” Caustic Mercy snorted. “The water of the styx was created by the gods themselves, a barrier for mortals to separate the world of the dead from the world of the living. It is true though, the unprepared and the disbeliever may perish in it.”

“And you want us to swim through it?” My wings puffed open. “Have you lost your mind? I don’t care who created it! If it will kill me, I will not go in there!”

“The choice is yours of course. Just keep in mind that you fail the test if you don’t.” He made a vague gesture with his free hoof. “With all the consequences that entails.”

“What do you mean by that?” Rythil asked before I could. “Deciding that we failed just because we refuse to die isn’t how the rules of the gods work!”

“Maybe the rules of your goddess doesn't work that way. The rules of the lord of the underworld very well do. It is all about life and death in the end.” As Caustic Mercy spoke, we arrived at the Neighcromation, and I could see the pool he had been talking about at its center. “You see, Hades, as a god, sees far beyond the bindings of mortality.” He grabbed one of the cups standing on the altar, filled it with, as far as my nose could tell, wine, and turned around to face us. “All the little problems, all the trifles of life, they matter not within these walls.” He offered us the cup. “The question now is, are you willing to do what is necessary, or are you not?”

“I am here to rescue my friend and a member of my merriment, not to die!” I took a step back. “And I heard that it is not a good idea to drink or eat anything around here in the first place!”

“Yes, we are aware of the rules regarding the temples of Hades, at least the general ones,” Rythil added as he denied the cup as well.

“Well, ‘tis your loss,” Caustic Mercy said before emptying the cup in one go. He wiped his snout with his foreleg and placed the cup back on the altar. “The food and drinks are the best part of the ritual. And besides,” his smile suddenly became a hint mischievous, “it is already too late to pass on the food as you have already partaken.” His gaze hung on me as he said this.

I exchanged a confused look with Rythil. “I haven’t eaten anything from this temple!”

“We arrived only a few minutes before you found us,” Rythil confirmed. “Neither of us took anything from the temple.”

“Is that so?” Caustic Mercy tapped against his cheek with the tip of his staff. “And what about the leaves of the nirandir? You didn’t eat any of it when you were already inside the temple?”

“Nirandir? What is that suppo…” My stomach suddenly began to feel weird, followed by the flames along my body starting to flicker as a little bit of steam formed around my neck and the lower part of my forelegs.

He was talking about the anger plant! Ponyfeathers! I ate some leaves after I entered the temple!

“I see,” he went on. “You do know what I am talking about.”

“Don’t tell me…” Rythil’s snout hung agape. He looked as shocked as I must have been. “The leaves!” His gaze sprung over to me. “I am so sorry!” He rushed over, shrinking himself as he did so. When he was in front of me, quite a bit smaller than me at this point, he dropped to the ground, with his hind legs fully compressed, his back arched, and his head to the ground so that his forehead and muzzle were against the ground between his front legs. “Please, forgive me! I have failed in protecting my goddesses’ godchild!” Now his tail was swinging widely left and right, while his claws scratched aimless over the ground. “Oh, she will be so angry! What have I done! She will curse me for sure!” He lifted his front claws from the ground and started to pull at his mane. “She will empty her caldron of misfortune over me! Throw me right into the deepest depths of the Tartarus!

“Rythil!” I yelled. “Calm down! She isn’t going to rip off your head!” I am aware that I could have been more sensible there, Fortuna is his goddess after all, but in my defense, I wasn’t really calm either. “She will do neither of those! It was as much my fault as it was yours. You warned me about eating anything here. Neither of us knew the leaves were included in that!”

Now he dared to look up to me, and I could see the panic in his eyes. “It is my duty to watch over you! My responsibility!”

“Watching over me is my responsibility!” I growled. Probably not the right time or place for my sense of dominance, though… “I am the one in charge here! I am responsible for my well being!”

“Let me interrupt you two,” Caustic Mercy said. “The day is progressing, and you can decide later who’s fault this is. For the moment, there is a test waiting for you. Or, would you prefer to remain in this temple, let’s say, for the rest of your days?”

“The rest of my days?” Now I growled at Hades priest. “What do you mean by that!”

“I mean,” his voice became more sinister, and a cloud of darkness formed around him as he raised his staff menacingly, “that you are in the temple of Hades, god of the underworld, and have eaten leaves of the nirandir! Those who have eaten in the temple of Hades without permission are cursed to stay in it till they are turned to dust or manage to bargain with the Landlord!” Near the end of his speech his voice turned normal again and the cloud of shadow dissolved itself.

“Alright,” I gulped and fought the shiver that wanted to go down my spine, “noted.”

“So, do you wish to cross the pool now or not?” Caustic Mercy asked in his normal voice. “I think we can pass on the purifying in your case anyway.”

My gaze moved over to the basin of greenish soup that pretended to be water. “It is not like I don’t want to follow your rules here, but I don’t really see a way to cross that… that… well, that,” I pointed at the pool. “If touching it will kill me, how am I supposed to cross it?”

“It wouldn’t be a test if it was easy, would it?”

“And if I simply fly to the other side?”

“No flying allowed I am afraid.” He didn’t look like he was in any way apologetic about that.

“Hmm,” I stepped closer to the pool and threw a look into it. A soft, green glow seemed to lurk deep below the surface, and I could see that there was something off with my reflection. I lowered my head to have a better look, only to push myself back with a suppressed ‘eek’ a moment later.

“What is it?” Rythil was quick to jump to his claws and rush over. While he was still shaken to the core, he was not so foolish as to disappoint Fortuna by getting sloppy at what he thought was his duty, to protect me. Also, seeing him running over to me when he was barely bigger than Kindling almost made me forget the horrific thing I had seen, almost.

“I saw my face, as a skull! My full body was only bones! My neck, chest, everything!”

“I told you that water is cursed!”

There was absolutely no way I would swim through that! Greeny shimmering water is one thing, but water that shows you what you look like as only a collection of bones and nothing more, no thank you! I took several steps back and put some distance between me and the pool.

“How am I supposed to swim through that?!” My question was directed at Caustic Mercy. “Shouldn’t a test by a god at least be possible to pass?”

“No one said you have to swim,” he replied. “If you can walk on water, that would also suffice for passing the test.”

“As if anycreatue could walk on water!” I retorted. “And even then, it would melt my claws or something for sure!” Suddenly though, an idea crossed my mind. “A boat! What if I build a boat to cross? Would that count?” There was plenty of wood nearby. I mean, I didn’t know what Hades thoughts on me cutting down his garden would be, but it couldn’t be as bad as swimming through flesh melting water, right?

“You can most certainly try.”

With a newfound sense of hope, I galloped over to the trees nearby, though, with my burning claws… “Rythil, come here, help me with this!”

“This won’t work,” he said when he arrived next to me. “Wood can’t withstand the water of the Styx either.”

“You’re kidding me!”

“No, sadly not. Look.” He picked up a branch from the ground, moved over to the pool, and threw it in. With curiosity as well as a growing sense of panic, I saw it land in the water, only to immediately begin hissing before dissolving in the water like it had fallen into lava, just without the fire of course.

I could hear Caustic Mercy giggling.

I felt on my haunches.

“Again, I am so sorry!” Rythil stepped next to me. “If I can do anything…”

“What will happen if I just try to leave?”

“You will not be able to find the exit I suppose, get lost in the fog, something like that.”

“You said it would be difficult, not impossible to leave once somecreature ate something here!”

“Yes, well, you can bargain with Hades. As I told you, it is possible, but maybe… maybe you could try your luck…” He scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, “well, try to pass the test, somehow.”

“There must be a way to cross that darn water!” I got up and stomped a claw. “There has to be!” My gaze then landed on the bony image of myself on the ‘water’s’ surface. “Bones! That’s it!” Hastily, I rushed over to Rythil, trying to open his bag to rummage through it, but he just as quickly pulled away.

“You’re still burning!”

“Oh, right… “ I threw a helpless glance at my claws. “Quick! Grab me a bit out of your bag!”

“What for?” He alarmedly wondered. He did as I said though and dropped the bag and started to rummage though it.

“You will see in a second!” Impatiently, I shuffled from one claw to another.

Various items were tossed aside by him as he searched, he eventually even turned the bag upside down, spreading everything across the ground. “There aren’t any bits in here I am afraid,” he said.

“There has to be! Those little coins get into everything, even socks in the washing machine! Look into everything!”

He did as I told him, though, unbelievably, we had no luck!

“Ponyfeathers!” I yelled loudly.

Rythil looked over to me and stopped searching. “What do you need a bit for anyway? What is it good for?”

“For Charon! Charon demands a coin to help you cross the styx! He told my parents about it when he came to Mom’s birthdays!”

Rythil shook his head slightly in disbelief. “Don’t tell me you know Charon too.”

“Sure I know him! He saved my Mom’s life when my brothers were born, since then he comes to her birthdays to eat her cookies!”

Obviously speechless, Rythil just stared at me with his snout hanging open slightly.

“He always demands something in return for a favor though. That’s what I need the bit for!”

“He… he normally takes coins,” Rythil slowly said and rummaged in his fur. He pulled out a very small bag and threw it over to me.

“What’s this?” I caught it with my claw, unfortunately setting it on fire in the process. “Sorry!” I yelled, but was distracted as soon as the bag fell apart and a few coins were spilled on the ground. “Coins!” I picked one up and turned in my claw. It was gold and struck onto it was the image of a luck dragon on one side and some kind of bird on the other. “Perfect, exactly what we need!” I turned to the pool and stepped to its very edge, trying to remember the exact words Charon had told my parents back in the days.

“What is it now?” Rythil asked as he stepped next to me. “What do you need?”

“I’m trying to remember the words that are needed to summon Charon.”

“A coin for the ferrystallion,” he replied.

“A coin for the ferrystallion, right!” I pulled back my claw to toss the coin in the pool but held back at the last moment. “Wait! Two coins! We need two coins! He shall carry you over as well!” Quickly, I turned around and fetched another coin. “Two coins for the ferrstallion!” I yelled while throwing the coins into the water.

With a mix of hope and fear we waited, even Caustic Mercy made his way over to us and looked over the pool for any sign that Charon would show up.

Though for the time being, nothing happened.

“What a shame,” Caustic Mercy said. “Meeting Charon surely would have been interesting. It seems it was not meant to be though.”

“Did we do something wrong?” Rythil leaned forward and tried to look where the coins had sunken down to. “Maybe it only works if one is dead?”

“It only works if the god whose temple you enter is willing to let me in,” Charon's rusty voice rose from behind us. “You know, it is like one of those houses for you mortals, you can’t just burst in and expect everything to be fine and dandy.” He shook his hoof a bit left and right. “I mean technically you can burst in, but like with you mortals, the owner may get upset.”

“Charon!” I rushed over to him and offered him a tight hug. “Thank you for showing up!”

He just stood there, neither returning nor denying the hug. “You have summoned me, Fiery, this is not a friendship visit, this is business.”

“Oh, right, sorry.” I smiled sheepishly and stepped back. “Business, of course!”

“So what do you want and what are you willing to offer? I am on a tight schedule as you know.”

“I would like you to carry me and my friend Rythil here,” I pointed at him, “over this pool full of water from the styx.” Rythil meanwhile just slowly waved at Charon, obviously having trouble dealing with another god showing up because I aske.., I mean summoned them.

“I see, two passengers, one way trip. Payment?”

Knowing how to play my cards, I retorted right away. “One box of the finest cookies made by my Mom, the next time she bakes some.”

“Intriguing, but no.”

“What? No? But you love those cookies!”

“Yes, but what if your mother dies before she can make some more? Mortals are very fragile, and your journey isn’t exactly the safest. Also, you do remember I first met her when she was dying.”

“Okay, fine. I get it. If she can’t do it, I will make the cookies for you next time I get the opportunity to make some. May take a little while, but…”

“No, you may also die. Making deals with mortals that depend on future outcomes is not to my liking.”

Truth be told, dealing with Charon is far more pleasant when he is not on duty if you ask me!

“Alright, do you have something in mind then?” I gave him my best smile. “Something that I can offer that I actually possess right now, or that I can fetch real quick?”

“Do you carry something with you that you hold dear?”

“Uhm, not right now, no. Also, you know how we mortals cling to such things, making you delicious cookies or a cake or two is far better to offer up in the long run. I just need a tiny bit of time till I get back to an oven.”

“In this case, I don’t see a deal being possible. If you would excuse me then, I have things to do.” He turned around and made an attempt to leave.

“Wait!” I rushed back in front of him. “Okay, I have an idea! You are able to transport creatures for some distance, right? Like Aphrodite did with her priestess?”

“That is correct.”

“Okay, so, hear me out. What if you take my Mom for a short trip to our home, let her bake you a lot of cookies and then come back to carry me over this pool? Oh, and my mother back to my merriment of course? This way you get the cookies first and then fulfill your part. No risk for you,” I quickly added.

“No.” He attempted to step past me but I laid a claw on his shoulder to hold him back.

“What if… Ouch!” He had grabbed my claw and twisted it around so I had to follow, laying now on my side before him.

“Careful, Fiery Leadership,” he said.

“Sorry! Sorry.” He let go and I raised from the ground. “My bad, again, sorry!”

“Maybe I can offer something,” now Rythil sprung in. “Perhaps…”

“That’s not how it works,” I denied before Charon had to explain it. “I am the one who wants to bargain, not you. Anything that gets offered has to come from me.”

“I am glad you paid attention, Fiery Leadership.” Charon gave me a short nod. “Anyway, if you have nothing by your side at the moment that is worth offering, we are wasting time.”

Sadly, he was right. My mind was spinning hecticly, searching for anything of value that I had with me, but nothing I could find was worthy. That means, wait a minute! The Fortune Cookies! I still had some of those!

“What about these?” I held one up and offered it to Charon, “is this to your liking?”

“These are useful, but the taste is not really to my liking. I think I have to deny. Do you have anything else?”

I let my head hang. “No, I do not have anything else of worth with me right now.” I mean, the thought of breaking another fortune cookie did cross my mind…

“Wait, that is not correct!” Now it was Rythils turn to speak again, however, as he said this, I could see that he seemed to be struggleing to voice his thoughts. “There is one thing you possess that you can offer.”

“What would that be?”

“Your memories. Charon also takes happy memories as payment.” Rythils voice was incredibly hesitant, and his tone made it clear that he most definitely did not want to tell me this.

I threw a bewildered look at said ferrystallion. “You do? You never told me this.”

“Not my favorite payment, and there was never a need before to tell you,” Charon replied. “Though, it is true, I also take those as payment for small favors.”

“Like carrying two creatures over this pool?”

He clicked his bony hooves on the ground for a moment. “Perhaps,” he finally said.

“So if I share a happy memory with you, you’ll carry us across?”

“No, not share, give it to me. I will take the memory from you, you will forget it, and I will gain it, that is how that works.”

I involuntarily flicked my ears back. “That doesn’t really sound all that good!”

“It is how it is,” he replied, then his gaze wandered into the distance for a moment. “Well, our time is up anyway, so take it or leave it.”

“I…”

“Alright, see you then,” he raised his hoof to gesture goodbye and disappear.

“Deal!” I quickly yelled, unaware of just what I was agreeing to. “Deal. One of my memories in exchange for safe passage across the pool.” I moved over and extended my burning claw.

“Fine.” Charon exended a hoof and shook my extended claw.

“So, how is it going to happen?” I asked after we let go.

“Take a seat,” he said and gestured towards the ground. When I did as he said, he laid one hoof on my head. The moment we touched, dozens of memories floated across my inner eye. Tons of memories. I saw my first attempts at flying, as well as that one time Dad took me and Nightflame to the volcano-plains so they could take a bath while I enjoyed the warmth from the side. I also saw the time I first bit Uncle Never, as well as the first time I got naughty… A small blush crept across my cheeks at seeing that last memory, but Charon so far didn’t seem to be interested in anything I was seeing before me. It took a while, but finally he said, “Yes, that is what I would like to have.” The memory we were currently looking at was myself, at the age of four, proudly purring right after I had given him my plushy stone and saved Mom. “This memory would be perfect,” he said. “Not only is it one of your happiest memories, but also it involves myself. A very good offering indeed.”

“But… but it is such a valuable memory for me!” I flicked my tail nervously. “I don’t want to lose it! You said if I agree, I will not remember it anymore, right?”

“Correct, you will lose all memory of this event, while I gain it. And no return of course.”

I gulped. The day I saved Mom. I was so proud of myself. So happy. It would be hard to loose the memory! Again, I gulped. “Can’t you…”

“Take it or leave it.”

“I… I…” Hesitantly I nodded. “Alright,” A small tear formed in the corner of my eye and evaporated right away. “Take it. If that's what I need to save my friend and Heat Wave, so be it.” Unintentionally, my claws formed to fists.

“Alright.”

I closed my eyes. I could feel Charon's hoof softly stroking over my head.

“This will not hurt, “ he assured me.

Slowly, the image before my inner eye lost its colour. The lines between the different ponies and dragons blurred, the whole image faded away… and bursted back to its full glory the same moment a loud roar echoed through Hades Temple and Charon’s hoof was ripped from my head.

I reopened my eyes and saw my Godmother standing there, roaring straight at Charon while she threw him a good distance away from me. Taking the position between me and him, she growled warningly at him, daring him to approach. In her form, more than twice as tall as dad, she looked quite intimidating from my mortal perspective.

“Don’t you dare!” Her voice just barely below the level required to shake and damage Hades Temple.

“We were just having a civilized bargain, Tuny.” He got up and swept the dust from his bones. “Nothing to be furious about.”

She just growled in return.

“What is the meaning of this commotion?” Now another voice, deep and threatening, echoed through the temple. It was Hades again. He flew towards us from the other side of the inner sanctum, and a wave of shadows and fear crawled over the ground behind and below him. His mane was now burning red instead of blue, and like my godmother, the ground shook with each of his words, if not simply from his sheer presence. “Fortuna! What are you doing in my temple?” He grew to twice her size and was surrounded by a fog made out of shadows and what I can only describe as faces or souls of the dead. “I didn’t invite you here!”

I rushed behind my godmother's tail and tried to hide myself, while she, unimpressed, just answered. “My godchild was in need of my help. It was my duty to come to her aid.”

“It is forbidden to help ones chosen one on their journey! You are breaking the rules!” Hades seemed to be more furious that my godmother may have spoiled the fun of the great game than her breaking into his home.

“Not if it is one of us attacking them!” She returned her gaze to Charon. “And from my perspective, forcing her to offer you her memories by denying any reasonable bargain counts as an attack!”

“That is debatable,” Charon replied.

“I do not care!” Hades shouted again. “Your interference is improper!”

“I am obligated to!” Fortuna countered, not that much quieter than him. “She is part of my family! She is my godchild! If you had a godchild you wouldn’t act any different, Hades!”

Hades was going to respond, but then he hesitated. Slowly, the flames on his neck turned back to their, I believe, natural blue. “Perhaps,” he finally said. “This also falls under the rules. One has to protect their relatives.” He landed and shrank down to the same size as my godmother. “Still, you burst into my temple without even knocking!” He moved forward till he stood eye to eye with Fortuna.

“I brought something to compensate you for it,” she snorted and then growled at Charon, “and also to bargain with you.” Without further delay, she pulled a basked full of cookies out of the thin air.

“Are these those special cookies you get from the mortals?” Hades eagerly asked. The little dispute they’d had already forgotten. “The ones with extra amethyst sprinkles and cinnamon?”

“Exactly those,” my godmother replied. “You can have some because I bursted into your temple, and you,” she looked at Charon, “may have some as payment to carry my godchild and my priest across Hades test.”

Both gods seemed to be more than eager to agree. Their eyes were glued to the basket, and as soon as Fortuna placed it in front of them, they both shrunk down to far smaller sizes and pillaged the basket to the best of their abilities.

“Seems we all agree on this,” she said with a smile.

Author's Note

Just a little reminder, I have a disordserver for updates on the writing, discussion and such
https://discord.gg/w2g8bzx

Also, this is my attempt at making this part of the story more Daring Do like, like my readers requested. I wanted zombies, but the readers wanted tricky adventure I hope you liked it!

And as always, a list of my little helpers

Schattendrache : Edits and Pre-reading
QueenChrysalisForever: Pre-reading
SweetStrokesStudios: The Artwork
You: Motivation and Feedback