The Descent

"Have you ever thought about it?" Gehenna continued, to no one in particular. "Why you've never seen anyone like us in Equestria? Anyone at all?"

Come to think of it, why were all these misfits here anyways? Was there some curse upon the island that caused it's children to grow this disproportionately? Before she could finish the thought, Gehenna spoke again.

"We are outcasts, all of us. No one here was born on this island. We are all refugees, exiled from Equestria so they could maintain their perfect image with Celestia's protégé and her friends and whatnot. What they would call a disability in Equestria is that you've lost your hind legs or your eyes aren't quite facing forwards. Without ever thinking of us."

The mare returned to the intact window, shimmering in the evening light. She kicked it lightly, causing all the blue and green shards to fall out onto the floor. She stomped her hoof, and suddenly the shards rearranged themselves to a crystaline copy of Gehenna, mirroring her every move.

"And to think, so many of us had potential." She said, in some kind of a ballet dance with herself, while her copy continued the sentence in a tone reverberating like glass. "Only to end up here, unallowed to show what we are worth."

As the clone spoke it's closing words, it fell back into a pile of shards on the floor. Lifeless.

"Have you never felt the same?" Gehenna continued, pointing at Burning Bridges. "How respected do you feel for your work? In the eyes of everypony else, are you anything more behind that burning mane, or a one-stallion freakshow?"

"Well, I-" Bridges started, but as usual, was interrupted.

"The only other being in the entire world with a mane like that is Daybreaker herself. You should know damn well you're worth more. Perhaps, you weren't picked to be sent here at random, hm? Maybe, they wanted... To get rid of you?" Gehenna said, walking closer and evening her head with Bridges level. She clapped her hoofs twice, as a mare bolted through the window. While normal at first glance, they seemed normal enough, until Ametrine noticed her eight legs and two pairs of wings.

"This is Speed Demon." Gehenna said, pointing at the overly energetic mare in the window. "Fastest in Equestria. At least, she used to be, before she was thrown out by her parents and left to wander the streets. Shunned everywhere she went, she took the last ferry here before they closed all public access to this island. She lives here now, among her own kind. Protected from the foul outside. Who's to say that you two won't end up the same?"

It was clear to Ametrine that she wasn't talking about her. In fact, she seemed to have been forgotten entirely within this conversation, if you could even call it that. She looked over to Eswyn, who looked like she was about to burst from anger. Bridges did not share the rage. He was nervously biting the inside of his mouth, as if he was in deep thought.

"As for you, automaton? I know who you are. Have you told her friends here what you've really done?" The extremely talkative mare followed with, staring at Eswyn. Speed Demon, now realizing she wasn't apart of this ordeal anymore, jumped back out the window.

...

"Didn't think so. Allow me a moment to explain." Gehenna whipped back to the two others in the room with a massive, almost creepy grin. "Little ol' Eswyn here isn't just annoying, she's also a criminal. So are the rest of her petty little crew. At least they were, most of 'em are deservedly dead by now." She finished her sentence with a loud cackle.

"N-" Eswyn didn't get the opportunity to say a single word before being interrupted.

"Thaaaaaat's right! You were sent out on a penal ship! A crew consisting of grifters, vagabonds and everything in between on a suicide mission with no purpose in mind at all. Eswyn, is a murderer. Don't think for a second that I didn't know~." Gehenna said, winking towards Eswyn.

"That will be enough." Eswyn started, finally getting the opportunity to talk. "You have already sullied the name of house Eswyn, and I've quite frankly had enough of your games."

"And what are you going to do about it?" Gehenna returned, once more displaying a cocky, sharp smile.

On the other hoof, the only emotion on Eswyn's face was anger. She had had enough. Either incapable of thinking straight or completely disregardful of her own health, she started charging straight towards Gehenna who quickly lost her grin and returned to a serious expression. Just as Eswyn approached, Gehenna suddenly slammed her front legs down, her hooves landing straight onto Eswyn's head and sending dust flying everywhere. Once the dust settled, it was clear that Gehenna had easily overpowered their aggressor, standing with her front hooves atop her head. Eventually, she stepped off as the shaken Eswyn stumbled back.

"I suppose you don't want to join us." The mare that was for the first time that day standing on all fours said. "What about you?" She asked Bridges, who was currently incapable of processing his emotions. After nearly a minute of complete silence, he answered.

"I will."

Gehenna didn't say a word, instead just walking over to the stallion and putting one of her front legs around his neck, walking away with him towards a door behind the throne. Ametrine was devastated and shocked as she watched her only friend follow this lunatic across the room. She reached her hoof out as some kind of unidentifiable gesture, but it was in vain. She observed in silence as the two disappeared into the door in the back, not batting an eye towards the two that they'd left behind. They waited for nearly five minutes, alone in the throne room.

But no one came.

"It's time to go." A saddened Eswyn said to the still stunned Ametrine Glow after what felt like an hour. Just as the two before them, Eswyn supported Ametrine as they walked, guiding her. Down the stairs, out the courtyard, past the twisting streets, back to the pier. As they approached the ship, they spotted Mausoleum one last time, still holding his head under his leg.

"I see." He said frowningly, clearly having taken note of the missing stallion. "I'm sorry." He closed with, as he started ambling back into the town. The two mares were just outside the ship when Tidal Surge popped his head over the railing on the upper deck.

"What took you guys so lo... Where's the other one?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

Eswyn shook her head in response as she helped Ametrine up the boarding ramp, and back onto the ship. The two walked straight to the pilothouse, where the two prior patients had woken up and were conversing silently on Burning Bridges' bed. As the two ponies walked in, they stopped talking and just watched as Ametrine sad down on her bedside with Eswyn. Eventually, the burnt dragon and bandaged griffon walked over to them.

"Where's the burning guy?" Foulplay asked. "He wasn't lost in the storm, was he?"

"He's staying." Eswyn replied, after a brief moment of silence.

"But we were escorting him to wherever, why get cold hooves now?" Asked Nightmare Fuel.

Eswyn simply just shook her head again, signaling that the conversation was over. She leaned in and hugged Ametrine tightly, but the mare on the receiving end was completely out of it. Her thousand yard stare showed no emotion, no pain, only emptiness. Eswyn sighed as she stood up, and laid Ametrine flat on her back on the bed. She then looked at the Nightmare and Foul, who understood what she meant immediately as they extinguished the lit candles and left the room.