“BRIBE HER WITH COCAINE!”

The weight on his shoulders dropped suddenly. He was not sure what had occurred, and it felt like he just awoke from a year long slumber, but the words were here. In his mind as thoughts, and fast on his tongue.

“How much cocaine do I have to give you?”

“Wha-“

“How much, for you to show me the way?”

It sounded like a joke, that Red conceded, but he didn’t feel like laughing. Unlike Lilith. She only stopped when the orbs were dropping from her eyes. The spliff hissed under her hoof, squished onto the ground, the laughter still spilling from her mouth in bursts.

“Oh, oh mare, Dent, Dent, where did you pick up this – this filly here. I needed that, haha, oh wow.”

He looked to his hooves.

“I’m not kidding.”

She wiped a tear from her cheek, and that ugly, spiteful look returned. The vampire mare nodded.

“Yeah, me neither. No. Final answer.”

Red bit down, so hard that he feared his teeth may break. That look, that snooty pout was something that was starting to get onto his nerves. He felt as if there was a cold wind blowing. From somewhere, somewhere that was near but still not here. It was uneasy, making his hooves jittery. He looked onto the crooked cigarillo that lay there sparking its last embers. Again, the words found him.

“I don’t think you have judged this situation correctly.”

He dug into his saddlebag and took something out with his mouth. The vampony gently placed the brown bag onto the floor, it looking like packed lunch. Though this was nothing to be snacked in one sitting. He began explaining to the mare.

“This is one pound of cocaine.”

Red saw immediately, beneath that carefully maintained mask of disinterest, the unmistakable twitch of curiosity. This mare had vices, that much he already learned. Her eyes were glued to the small mystery bag in front of her, and a new small cigarette appeared from her soot-black dress. It was lit fast and inhaled faster.

“Don’t tell anyone, but I smuggle. Out of hobby, of course, as one does,” he tapped the bag, “I know what one pound of cocaine is worth. One pound of cocaine can open many doors and make loose quite some favors.”

He poked the bag idly. It felt almost like a bag of flour.

“For just one pound of cocaine. A whole Wingbardian shipment of weapons, diverted to where I want it. One pound of cocaine, and the rich mares in Manehattan gave me the key to every secret, obscure and elitist hotbed of the super- and ultrarich, scum of the earth… I’m just wondering, Lilith…”

It shook like a foal’s rattle in his hoof and her eyes followed it, as if hypnotized. He held it up for her eyes to see better.

“What one pound of cocaine can do here? What could two do? Three?”

She snapped out of her daze, eyes flattering.

“Cut the storytime! What the hay do you want?”

“A tour through the Fangs. Nothing more, nothing less. Show me how to get in.”

Silence.

She looked away.

The wind rattled at the gate, and the tension began to stretch itself in the air. A little drop of moisture landed on Red’s hoof, dripping from a leaky roof tile far up where light didn’t reach. His coat seemed tighter.

Her voice seemed resigned.

“You don’t know what it is like… in there. It has always been a death trap. A predictable death trap. But now…”

Her eyes found his so suddenly that Red almost jumped. In an instance all the disappointment was replaced by sudden fury. He stepped back in alarm.

“Do you even know what will happen to you?! When the inquisition finds you? Finds me?”

Her eyes inched close to his, and up close they boiled with anger. Her lips shook as they spoke, and the cigarette butt seemed close to be bitten off.

“You don't get it. You just don't get it! Out here - it's dangerous - in there it's madness! Do you hear me, Red? You must be feeling invincible? Do you think I didn't have youngblood friends like you? Do you know how many of those they took?! Do you know what they did to them?! In there, it’s madness! MADNESS!!”

Her hot breaths wafted against his muzzle, still smelling of the balmy stank. Red almost got queasy from it.

“I have to stay OUT HERE so nopony else gets dragged IN THERE! Now would you mind – tell me, tell me what the fuck makes you think you can buy me to help you kill yourself?!”

“I’m sorry, Lilith. I didn’t kn-”

“Stick your damn apology up-”

He raised his voice to get a word in.

“But believe it or not - I know what that’s like! To lose friends.”

Her indignant stare dug deep – an insult on her tongue, surely, but she listens. It felt like a burden around his neck, the things he just summoned from where he locked them away. Yet he found he wanted to keep talking, and somehow that disgusted him. Some things should be left locked away, but there was no choice.

“Out there, where I come from... I know what it's like, Lilith. I've lost many."

The contents of the sentence didn’t hit Red himself until he said it. Brothers and sisters in arms… and now, what are they? What became of their memory? Did anybat else remember them, besides him? A dreadful thought. The heavy feeling on his shoulders began to multiply as he realized he stopped talking.

“I’ve … I’ve lost friends… I’m losing friends right now, Lilith. An ocean away, right now."

He felt himself choking.

"They're killing us.”

This was you could bring yourself to say? Go on, revel in those disgusting images in your head. Reel them all in, here, all of it. All of the horror.

Red couldn’t help but see. The Orphanage. The Manehattan streets, the grime and filth. The jungle. The dead. Equestrian. Thestral. Stallions, mares, fillies. They looked so peaceful. An orange-yellow pony and a dresser. Don’t cry, by the goddess, don’t you dare. The lump in his throat coalesced, but despite the watering eyes he kept silent. He could only watch the tear drop to his hooves. Red gathered himself with all the strength he had. A shaky breath, then a shaky sentence.

“I know madness, Lilith. Out there, it’s madness. I can’t give up now… I need this, please. If only you knew what was at stake.”

Doubt was washed away, finally. A younger Red might have not have had the strength, but here he was. Changed. He met her gaze, and she seemed to shrink at it. The pout was unsettled, and finally moved to respond.

“Three bags, and I’ll do it,” she conceded.

“Three bags,” Red nodded.

“And don’t come back until you have it,” she spat.

He thanked her, turned on his heel and excused himself.

“That was … intense.”

The gate slammed shut with a great din, a blue-haired unicorn stepping into the cold next to Red. The latter had calmed his nerves enough to think clearly once again. He wiped down his face and eyes one last time, so nobat could see that filthy weakness dripping down his cheeks.

“Yeah… intense would be one word for it. Is she always like this?”

“Like this? Like… good looking?”

“Dent…”

“Oh, you mean, oh, yeah she has an attitude if that’s what you meant. But you… seemed to have struck a nerve.”

Red chuckled.

“I heard I was good at that sort of thing.”

“Yeah, sure seems like it…”, his gaze seemed more serious all of a sudden, “Red… why do you want to, you know… get into The Fangs?”

Red didn’t have an easy answer to this. Well it was an easy answer, but ‘a voice in my head told me to’ doesn’t exactly make for an easy conversation.

“I… need to speak to Rosa Maledicta,” he stated plainly.

Dent looked like Red said something to the effect of ‘I am literally going to kill myself’ – and Red understood why those statements might be interchangeable, but he explained himself anyway.

“I’m here, in this ice desert of fuck-all to ask a powerful…”, Goddess what was she again? Vampire magician necromancer sorceress? “…monarch of the vampiric dynasties and necromancy to help me free my people. Does that sound… sane?”

The layer of sweat on Dent’s forehead seemed to have solidified into an icy film that added to the already greasy façade of his. He gave a weak smile.

“I might have heard more insane talk, but considering where we’re at… stars above... moderately sane? But… alright enough for a reason I suppose. Still... you have a death wish.”

For some reason, that made the corners of Red's mouth curl into a grin.

Red looked in the direction of the marketplace, where the undead work detail still circled their snow around. The unending shade of the citadel slowly crept across the space, ominously so. The masonry of the huddled houses seemed to shiver at its approach.

"Dent... why's there shade if there's no sun?"

Aforementioned unicorn proceeded to drop a shiny coin into the dirt, cursing something and picking at the ruined currency with his hoof.

"Stars damn it, that was the rarest one... what? Well ... honestly, now that you mention it, I have no idea. I don't go outside much."

Red bit his tongue, otherwise it might have commented on that. Instead of commenting, he focused on the mind-numbing task of stuffing the damn cocain back into the brown baggie that burst during a rather unfortunate landing (he apparently was an even worse flier than he remembered). It was like confetti inside his backpack, which would be funny if it wasn't so damn expensive. His knife slid past the white lines, always leaving tiny heaps of the narcotic on the crate instead of all joining the packet again.

Another scoop, another scoop. Chunk rolls out because the heap became to large. Oh for goddess' sake...

"Great..."

He decided to call it quits while he still had some sanity left. When he rubbed the leftovers onto his nose, Dent's voice came from his shoulder.

"Uhh, Red?"

"Yes? What is it?", he resealed the package with the most annoying roll of adhesive tape that must have been personally created to torment him.

"Do you think that... and, really, by the stars I swear I am not judging your decision-making... but do you really think that breaking into the Fangs is the way to go about this?"

Red rubbed the irritating leftover strand of tape onto the crate to somehow get rid of it. He turned to Dent, who was munching on some apple peels.

"I know you're concerned, Dent... but..."

"...but?"

"I didn't gargle piss in the jungle for years just so I stop now."

"Even, with what Lily said?"

"Yes," he patted him on the shoulder, something that should convince the unicorn just as much as the vampire stallion. Dent nodded, finding the gesture sufficiently convincing. Putting his now freshly polished coin into his odd wizardly pouch, he produced something that seemed to resembled wood waste. To his astonishment, he stuffed that into his mouth as if it had been candy. Red-green shavings... Red wasn't a regular eater, not for quite some time, but that stuff seemed... odd.

"What even is that..." Red pointed to the wooden bowl the unicorn was carrying around.

"Mmph?" Oh, Applshvings," Dent swallowed, "...want some?"

"No. Thanks."

Red was used to food waste, but those shavings really looked pre-digested. Maybe just 'digested'. What's with all these apples...

"You know, I haven't seen you eating anything besides those... apple looking things..."

"Well... I think they're apples. They're nothing special or anything, that's why I'd advise against eating them if you don't have to. Which you don't, as you know..."

"Yeah, but ... where are those apples coming from, again? I don't see any trees around..."

Dent thought for a moment, pausing mid-chew.

"Oh, oh yeah... I think the iron circle has a pony that only does apples, I think. Something like that..."

Red raised a brow.

"Does ... apples?"

"Yeah, you know, creates them. Using magic. From other apples."

Huh. That got Red thinking. What if...

"Those iron circle ponies... do they magic ... other stuff?"

Dent seemed confused by the question.

"Yeah, by the stars, that's like the only reason Marekore keeps them around. Why'd you ask?"

"You think they could ... create other stuff? Like tools or... this?"

Red swung his rifle onto his hooves, presenting the .57 calibre to Dent with reserved giddiness. Dent looked at the stamped steel tenatively.

"Well, stars... I don't know. I suppose you'd have to ask..."

"Worth a shot..." Red flung the thing back onto his back. Something to keep in mind...

"For goddess' sake, didn't you tell her to come right away?"

"I did, but you know how she is."

"I met her today, Dent. How should I know how she is?"

"I don't know, maybe those supreme vampire senses of yours tell you that along with the weather next weekend."

Red shook his head, not being able to supress his smile. This unicorn sure was something.

"Since you now know why I'm here ... Dent, what does a sillycat magician want in Magehold?", Red formed the snow around his hooves idly.

"Silicate..." Dent mumbled silently.

"Oh, excuse me. What drives silikit magician to Magehold? Does it have an abundance of your precious rock deposits?"

Dent bobbed his head from side to side, blue mane swaying gently.

"Oh, well, you know. Rocks here are alright. But, stars know I'm not here for the rocks," he leaned over to whisper to the vampony, "...don't tell anyone... but..."

"...I've always wanted to be the king of Deponya."

"De...ponya?" Red asked incredulously.

"Not so loud!" Dent shushed aggressively, "...but yes, Deponya, the small country next to the Griffonian Empire? It's a small country. It has lots of mountains, and spiders, and..."

"Yes, yes I know. I've seen a map of the world before, yes. But why?"

Dent looked around and scanned the scenery for potential eavesdroppers, which Red found rather silly since they both were in an unmarked alleyway in the middle of nowhere. He shoved more apple residue into his mouth and quietly mumbled.

"Mhh, why noth? Pwetty Cashthls," he chowed down the 'food', "...relatively uninteresting for empires of conquest. And last but not least, the crystal deposits there are just fantastic. Did you know that?"

"As a matter of fact, I didn't."

Red also didn't particularly care about rocks. But this unicorns little plan seemed to leave him with a curious sort of sympathy. It was... a little whimsical, sure. But Red couldn't deny that such things had an effect on him. Kind of endearing.

"Well... Dent... how about I help you do that?"

Dent's eyebrows shot up. There was disbelief in his gaze.

"You... you'd help me?"

Red shrugged.

"Sure. Why not? I mean, you helped me out. It's only fair."

"Alright, and how would you help?"

That was an excellent question.

"I don't know. Maybe chat with Maledicta about it. See what we can do."

A snorted, blowing air out of his nostrils. He chuckled, and that made the blue streaks of his mane bounce.

"You really are insane... irrecoverable insane."

Red crossed his hooves, chuckling along with him.

"I prefer... ambitious."

Dent kept laughing for a little while longer, while Red counted the shell casings in his pack.

"What are you two laughing about?"

Red looked up and there she was, with freshly painted lips and silver strands that glistened in the half-sun.

"Hello to you too," Red rose to his hooves. He pointed to the clay jug that was precariously balanced on her back, "... what's that?"

She took it into her hooves and shoved it underneath Red's nose. The odor hit him instantly. Iron. His mouth started watering.

"Oh. For me?" He gently tapped his hooves together.

Lilith seemed annoyed at the quip. She sat the blood down.

"For us. So we don't keel over with thirst."

"Huh, generous."

"I can still change my mind if you prefer."

Red bit his lip.

"Fine. I was just... surprised, that's all."

He unscrewed his canteen with his lips, and asked Dent to hold the jug. The crimson slowly oozed into his metal container, with Lilith watching nervously.

"Careful. That stuff was expensive. You're lucky your payment is too. I didn't want to rip you off, that would have been bad for business."

"Wouldn't be your first bad review..." Dent commented as he floated the clay pitcher carefully.

"Shut," she hissed.

Red screwed the canteen closed, throwing it back into the pack. He looked around, searching for wether they actually were in the spot she specified. Lilith noticed his searching, and shook her head, her crescent ear rings tinkling. The crate that served them as a dinner table was violently shoved aside by her, leaving apple shavings in the dirt. Dent looked at them with sadness.

"Those cost me an eigth ounce of crystals."

"Quit it and help me raise the lid, hornhead."

Red joined the two, staring at the pony-sized square iron seal in the ground once obscured by the crate. The vampony mare took a hold of the handle, and almost swung the whole thing into Dent's jaw. It fell to the ground with a hefty chime, lightly dampened by the snow.

Below there was darkness. It smelled vaguely of wet stone and dirt. Dent didn't seem to like the sight, but he wasn't going to join the two anyway. Red thought about how deep the hole must be, and the thought made him swallow involuntarily. He looked up at Lilith, who seemed resolute as ever.

"Uhh, lady's first?"

She sighed, and put one hoof onto the stave below.

The interior of the sewers below were seemingly larger on the inside, and Red never thought such a tiny speck in the frost would need facilities this far-reaching. The walkways next to the cloaca were not exactly clean, but walkable and only rarely overgrown with greened copper pipes. Red walked a few paces behind Lilith, while the rifle on his back bobbed up and down.

Now that the light from above was nigh exhausted the vampire mare took out a small crystal from her dress - just what else was in there, Red wondered - and tapped against it. The rock floated from her hoof, shimmering bluely and illuminating the space on the walkway. Though he kept walking, Red did not like this sort of artificial light. In the jungle, campfires and torches are a fast route to a bullet to the head. That didn't exactly seem likely here, but Red felt exposed regardless. What could be watching from the dark?

"I've only heard stories..." her voice rung from the crumbling bricks around. Red had yielded to his urge to pry about those stories she hinted at, and she obliged. Surprisingly enough.

"They, they put you into a sort of ... blob. Of flesh."

"Like, a prison, or...?"

"No, your spirit, dummy. Soul or whatever else is in here," she patted her head.

"A thing you can't die in, but can still feel. I heard their dungeons are full of those things..."

That hardly quelled the queasy feeling in Red's stomach.

"Wow, sounds great..." he looked to his hooves, not quite sure what to do with the info.

"Well, good. Keep up the pace, I don't wish to investigate those stories."

There was a fork in the way ahead, and Lilith chose right. In the pale light of the crystal coiled swathes of mist across the masonry, as if it were an early summer morning. It dripped from above and all around, flowing together in the canal. To where? Perhaps that was where they were headed, Red mused.

It was strange, considering the colder it is the less moisture is in the air. Maybe there was heat coming from the earth? The crystal empire had thermal springs, perhaps there were some here too? Red almost slipped on the path, and bumped into Lilith's flank.

"Watch out, idiot," she pointed. Red followed her hoof, and saw where all the water went.

Here, the stream abruptly stopped to become a waterfall that shot into the depths, along with dozens upon dozens. From large to small, they trickled into the chasm below, into a large body of water that shimmered blue like the crystal next to the vampony mare. The walkways circled the large gorge and criss-crossed above it in wobbly looking bridges of stone. Red dreaded the notion, but already saw Lilith picking out one of the wonky things leading across the gap.

"Sightsee sometime else. Come on, move!"

"Okay, okay, goddess..."

Lilith seemed to not mind the height, Red seemed to mind a lot. But the view was something to behold at least. While he crawled along behind her, more trails of vapor slowly rose from below, slow as clouds. They touched the ceiling, where grand spikes of bluish ice pointed down. It seemed the ever-present decay was more pronounced on the ceiling. There were cracks that leaked light into the space, and the rays made the ice sparkle. The rifle on his back made for a shaky balancing rod, but eventually Red managed to cross the wide gap. He set his shaky hooves back onto solid ground, next to the impatient Lilith.

He barely gathered his wits when she dove into the next branch of the sewer. The light behind them vanished, and again the crystal served as the only source of light. Red felt the urge to ask if they knew where they were going, but it turns out he didn't have to voice it.

"This is... new."

Red looked at the crumbly wall before them. Bricks that were probably older than Equestria stood before them - just barely, by the looks of them.

"We should be going straight, yes?"

"Yes," she nodded, looking the wall up and down.

Red briefly toyed with the thought of sticking a grenade between the cracks, but then again, he didn't want to be buried alive down here. If the masonry barely held on as it was, explosives surely weren't wise.

"So?" Red looked over to the mare. She tapped her hoof, deliberating.

"We go around. No other option."

She made a turn on her heel and fastly dove into the dark. Red trotted behind her to catch up. It was a curious thing. Even though he didn't need to breathe, he felt like breathing faster. He couldn't freeze, he couldn't suffer a heatstroke even in the midday sun of the Equestrian south, yet he couldn't stand holding a freshly brewed cup of coffee. No need for sleep, but Red couldn't break the habit. It had something... familiar about it. Or was it a shred of mortality, clinging to him? His rifle bobbed up and down, and its weight was somehow comforting.

The pipes aggregated above the walkways, joining them on their path. They were noisy, rattling and hissing sometimes, shooting streams of hot vapor into their way. Red watched his step, not feeling like getting singed in the face by a feral jet. His eyes straight ahead, he peered through the growing mist. Little alcoves were all around. Red felt watched.

"Lilith, are you-"

"Not this again. Yes I am sure we are going the right way. Stop asking."

"I meant-"

Before Red could give voice to his concerns, the concerns manifested themselves as a pair of red eyes, peering from a small hollow in the wall. She followed his eyes, and froze as well. The red orbs belonged to a furry, frail thing. He got closer to view it better. The alcove hissed, and Red stepped back from the sight of bared, white fangs.

"Easy..." Red spoke, slowly producing something from his pack. The colt - too old to be a filly for certain - alternated between apprehension and intimidation at the stranger, until his gaze became transfixed onto the shiny metal canteen. Red unscrewed the lid, and the colt must have smelled the contents.

"Are you thirsty?" Red shook the container, and the colt carefully snuck forwards, curious yet guarded. "I won't hurt you..."
Red slowly tilted the canteen, until a slim stream of red trickled out. The colt greedily lapped it up, reaching his muzzle up to catch the tasty crimson stream. After it ran dry, he took to licking his hooves and wings, trying to get every last particle of the sanguine treat.

"This is all very touching, I'm sure. But I'd rather not stay," came her comment beside Red. He sighed, but followed the glimmering blue light.

That grim mug seemed to be etched into her muzzle. Kind of looked like it was locked in place, from all the time spent pouting like that. It must have really set by the fifth time Red asked if they were lost. That was... how much time ago? Red didn't trust his watch. According to that they'd been down here for 10 minutes, and no way in Tartarus that was correct.

"Lilith, what would you say if you stood in front of Rosa Maledicta?"

"Could you... stop wasting your breath?" she sighed, more exhausted than annoyed.

But he kind of liked wasting his breath. But he relented, and bit his lip to prevent a snark comment from leaking out. He'd trade in his forehooves to have her admit the two of them were lost, but a stallion can dream.

The copper pipes followed them to somewhere. Somewhere that didn't seem to come any closer. His hooves were kind of sore, but he felt that he could pass the time by coming up with something to say to Queen Maledicta.

'Your highness, I need to borrow a couple hundred vamponies, provisions and magic-thingymabobs to... uhh...' that didn't roll off the tongue quite so well. How could he pitch this? Leave the Nixie here as payment? Oh wait, he needed to get back to Equestria some way. Well, a couple hundred vamponies wouldn't fit in there anyway. Maybe he could stack them like in a can of sardines... goddess damn it, there had to be a solution, right?

"I got something," she said, and scared the tartarus out of Red. He looked at her expectantly.

"Please, please don't kill me for breaking inside your castle."

"Harr Harr..."

"I'm done."

Red swung himself onto a rather large red valve, sitting on top of a pipe. She glared at him, raising an eyebrow.

"What?"

"You heard me."

"Last thing I need is a stallion throwing a temper tantrum. Get up."

"No."

She buried her muzzle in her hooves.

"You leech, goddess damn smartass. Okay, and now? Wait for the crossing to appear in front of us? Goddess, you're just..."

She lost her breath in anger. Red kicked his hind legs up and leaned back, letting a large belt of crimson hit the back of his throat. That made him feel nicely woozy, and the metal underneath him became comfier than a white Equestrian lawn chair. The sight must have made her even angrier, judging from her trembling brow. He feared she might have a stroke at any moment, until her hoof reached into her dress.

A small, crumpled ciggie appeared in the blue shine, together with a matchbox. And that matchbox was opened to yawning emptiness. She cursed, stared at the ground for a moment and finally gazed up. She almost seemed shy when she asked if he got a light.

He produced the small metal box teasingly slow, dangling it in front of her greedy eyes.

"What's the magic word?"

"Shut up-"

"Now, those are two words."

"I'll give you another two, fuck yo-"

"Alright, alright."

He flicked open the Zippo, and the flame found the end of the ciggarette. She sucked on the other end, and soon it was lit.

"Did you think of anything to say by now?" she asked.

Red was busy fiddling about with the spring of the magazine, looking up to see her watching the condensing water on the pipes above. Her dress was wet, and the cigarette seemed to buzz.

"Like, in general?"

"No. To Maledicta."

Oh, that. He put his hoof to his chin.

"Hmm... pretty please, with sugarcubes on top, help? Something like that. Her support for undying loyalty, or something equally corny, I guess."

"Undying loyalty?", the mouth behind the ciggie began to grin, "That's how eagerly you throw away your freedom?"

Red thought for a moment.

"If it works, it would be worth it."

"Oh, look at you. What a colt, what a youngblood. You want a pat on your back, hmm?"

"Maybe later...", Red mumbled.

By now it was... how long again? His hind legs began to feel tingly. At least the two of them could work out something approximating small talk, if only in dire straits. Red thought it might be time to get moving again, so he shoved the magazine back into his rifle. It chirped in approval, and landed on his back where it belonged. He met the slippery ground and walked up to the mare against the wall.

"I think it's time. What do you think, Lilith?"

She kept leaning on the wall, joint still tucked between fang and tooth. Her head was turned away, facing the dark before them where the blue tint of the crystal didn't reach.

"Lilith?"

That joint was only a little nub by now. It fell to the ground, but she kept still. Watching. Red leaned forward, following her gaze. The lines and swathes of vapor flowed into the void seemlessly, nothing else. He squinted.

There was something. Something red. Two reds. It was that colt, from earlier.

"Hey, little stallion, what..." Red stopped himself. Something was off about this. Lilith put a hoof to Red's shoulder, and he felt it shake. "look, look," she whispered. There came more red from the mist, taller, colder. They emerged from the vapor like phantoms. They were clad in angled black plates, and Red could see tiny grooves in their armor that blinked as crimson as their eyes like tongues of flame. Their armor was covered with them.

Red didn't know what to do, until Lilith started to run. He tripped, and slipped into the film of grimy water. The light was fading fast, and Red hurried to his hooves.

"LILITH!!", he yelled after her, but she was not slowing down. The bluish tint began to shrink in front of him, and his wings flapped and forehooves ached. The metallic clangs behind him turned into a constant rattle. The light faded from view. He took the turn to the left, trying to remember the way back. He flapped his wings and pressed forwards, towards where he remembered the crossing. The pipes hissed around him, and he flew faster, faster, until a soot-black snout squarely met black masonry.

"I... I'm sorry Red. You... I can't recognize you anymore..."

...

Red's eyes rolled open slowly. It was dark. And it burned. He burned, all over. Every breath burned. Like someone pressed cigarette ends onto his fur.

He screamed in pain, and that air invading his lungs made it a million times worse. Tears flowed from his eyes, and left burning trails along his fur. Getting up was impossible, he was confined to the bench with large iron chains. Red did not have the strength to test them.

The realization of things slowly crept in beneath the pain. He had failed. Not only himself, but all those across the sea. And Lilith. Where was Lilith? Did she make it out? If she did, maybe... no. She definitely would not come back for him. Poor Dent, Red thought. Something went wrong, and now Red would pay the price. He bucked against the bench, but that was only rewarded with more pain.

He did not think screaming for help would amount to anything. The prickly air around him took the edge off from the fact that his journey was at an end now. He idly looked around in the dark, but there was little to be seen. Other the fact that the bench was a little small for him.

If he really stretched himself... yes! He could slightly, very slightly look behind him by sticking his head over the edge. And there was something there... a door. Something like that. And a chair with something sitting on it. A... flower? Yes. It had a pot, a long, black spiral-like stem, and a white-red flower on top. Red had a hypothesis to test out.

He took a small drag of air and gently blew onto the thing. The chalice gently bobbed up and down, and Red screamed in pain, again. What was ash now was fire, burning into his fur. He saw patches of fur slither from his hoof, revealing pinkish, red flesh and blood. He winced and braced against the bench, counting the seconds to make it pass. One, two...

Three. The door sqeaked, then groaned as it was pushed open. There came a light, and a calculated, tender voice.

"Awake already. Good."

What stallion pressed himself into view was not congruent with that voice. It was a bulking, brutish mess, with two misshapen fangs peering from his smirking maw. He wore black armor, that was covered in those red marks Red saw earlier. Scars, uncountable and grotesque littered his face, and there was more skin that fur on it. He had an almost curious expression about him, and Red began to panic at the sight.

"Where... where is she?" he gave weakly. The new air in his lungs threatened to overwhelm him. He forced himself harder against the bench to avoid screaming.

"Her? Oh, yes. Her. Delightful. I am so glad you decided to come. She is important."

He slowly circled the bench, Red only seeing him as a black mass through his teary eyes.

"She is also on the agenda for tonight."

"Let... let her go! It was my idea, to come here. Not hers... I'll tell you anything you want," Red coughed. The poison in the air made him woozy.

The vampire stallion in front of him rubbed his scarred cheek, and looked at Red from the foot of the bench. His smile was brighter, wider.

"I do not care. This is not an interrogation," he said, voice almost giddy. His hoof dipped beneath the bench, and Red shrunk as he drew closer. He had something triangle shaped in his hoof, one side red, the other grey. Red thought it was a piece of plate... but it was a saw.

"I do not interrogate. I punish the sinners. You have sinned. The catacombs are for the Queen alone. I punish the sinners."

His grin grew into a teeth-bared smile, and Red began to fidget. He tried to slide backwards, but the chain did not budge and kept him in place.

"Are you not curious why your left hoof is only bound by the shoulder?"

Before he could answer, the saw dug into Red's yielding flesh. He screamed until the weight of the stallion's forehoof pressed the air out of him. He pressed Red onto the bench with each slimy grind of the saw, until his airways only could muster a gurgle. Red felt every back and forth of the blades, nerves screaming as they were severed. He could make no sound to drown out the sawing, so he conceded to crying silently.

"There. Good. Here it is, in all its filth and refuse! Sin flows through you, do you see it?!"

He splashed a burst onto Red's face, and he spat out his own blood. The stallion rammed the saw down, and Red's teeth sank into his tongue. Again and again it went into his hoof, like an axe. The stallion sqeezed his weight onto his shoulder, and Red felt the bone crack. The scream was lost in a gurgle.

He didn't even notice when his hoof finally dropped to the floor. Only when the ecstatic stallion waved it in front of his face, like a young filly showing his father his first crudely drawn crayon masterpiece, did he realize it. Red turned to his side, to spit out the piece of his tongue from his mouth. The air burned, his eyes hurt, his hoof, now stump, was throbbing with waves of pain that made his head spin, then queasy, then weary, then dark.

Author's Note

finally
lots of things happened, as per usual. I only barely missed halloween!!

content wise, I tried to be a little more descriptive of things, I hope it bore fruit. variable chapter length, but eh

toodles