Tartarus Chronicles

"It's been a whole week, and she is still refusing to eat anything."

"So?"

"So?! You don't think that's a problem?!" Ironhoof growled at the old stallion. Although using the word 'old' in reference to the stallion didn't quite capture his age well. Ancient would be more fitting.

The two ponies were set behind a solid metal table in a brightly lit infirmary room. With Ironhoof being in his full set of armor, he made his companion look even more frail than the pony usually did. Solstice seemed like even his white coat was two sizes too big for him. His ears were permanently droopy, and the bags under his eyes gave the impression that the last time he slept well was when he was in kindergarten. Even the horn that adorned his forehead seemed more like a gnarled twig than anything else.

"From the medical point of view… I'd say it is."

Ironhoof waited a few seconds, expecting the stallion to continue his 'analysis', but Solstice seemed more interested in examining a thin crack forming on his left hoof. The silence was abruptly interrupted by three loud bangs Ironhoof's hoof made as it rapped against the tabletop. With an irritated look, Solstice raised his eyes and met the younger earth pony's gaze.

"Which brings us to the question, what are we going to do about it?"

"Just tell her to eat."

"It's not that simple."

"Yes, it is." If Ironhoof wanted the old stallion's attention he had it now. "In this case, it really is that simple."

"I… I don't want to do it. Not like that."

"You didn't seem to mind when Princess put that hex on her, but now, when it is useful, you get skittish to use it?" Ironhoof sensed what was coming. He saw the little fire in Solstice's eyes.

"I don't want to have this debate again," he firmly stated, hoping to end the debate before it escalates into yet another argument. Celestia knew it wouldn't be the first one… To his relief, the old medpony seemed to catch on to his mood and his expression again turned into bored disinterest. "There's got to be a way to get her to eat again. One that doesn't involve magic."

"Let's examine our options then, shall we? What have you tried so far?"

“…”

"Hmm, solid attempt, but I guess it didn't work. Maybe you could try talking to her?"

"Wouldn't make a difference. She hates me." That made Solstice snicker.

"I think it's you who hate her. Cozy probably doesn't like you too much, but I wouldn't call it hate."

"Then why did she stop eating when I…"

"Aaaah, now we are getting somewhere," Solstice smiled at Ironhoof with a narrow, crack-like grin Ironhoof couldn't stand. "I am sorry, you were saying?"

He took a deep breath to calm himself. "Why did she stop eating?"

"Well, now you are at least asking the right questions, friend! Why indeed?" The medpony got off his chair and slowly (very slowly) started pacing around the infirmary. "We need to think like she does."

"I am not in the mood for these psychological…"

"Imagine you are a filly stuck in a cage. The sun goes up, and the sun goes down. You are still stuck in the cage; you want to get out but can't… What do you do to pass the time?"

"I bite off my guard's ear?"

Solstice rolled his eyes slowly like he did everything. "You know her better than I do, Ironhoof. You need to help me here a little."

The commander remained stubbornly quiet.

"Then I suppose that's it for today. These visits are fun. You should come again sometime," he turned as if to leave but kept his eyes on Ironhoof, his grin never leaving his face.

The earth pony sighed. Hard.

"I am Cozy Glow. I am thinking of how I could escape Tartarus. There is only one pony that I see regularly. My guard."

"So you come up with a plan, or maybe multiple plans how to get him to help you," the old pony was stubbornly decided to play this game…

"Yes, but something goes wrong. I lose my temper, or things just don't go as expected. A fight breaks out…"

"...you casually bite off his ear…"

"...now I am stuck again. The guard won't talk to me again. Time goes on…"

"...a new chance! A replacement, a completely new pony with both ears intact."

"In my head, I am already practicing my best…"

"Oh, golly, mister! I am just a lonely, sad, misunderstood, vulnerable mare... Can you be my bestest best friend?"

"Something along those lines, I suppose. But then a problem…" Ironhoof went silent.

Solstice returned to his side of the table and retook his seat. "So what's the conclusion?"

"The conclusion is that she wants to force my hoof. She wants me to send somepony else in there instead. Somepony she could get to more easily."

"And will you?"

Ironhoof stood up. "Of course not. As you said, I know Cozy. She will keep this up for a bit longer, and then when it doesn't work, she'll just give up and try something else."

"Not the kind of conclusion I was hoping you'd come to. But she is your prisoner; do as you please."

"You think I should just give in?" he snapped at the unicorn, completely surprised. "Throw somepony at her to do with as she pleases?"

"To do with as she pleases? She is a pegasus mare in a cage! You don't seem to have much faith in your guards if you think they can't handle her," snapped Solstice right back and stood up to face the earth pony. "You want to hear my honest medical opinion?"

"Out with it."

"You two shouldn't spend any time anywhere near together! You only bring out the worst in each other."

"Duly noted!" Ironhoof turned to leave but was stopped by a surprisingly strong hoof that landed on his back.

"One more thing," as if a switch was flipped, the old medpony was once again the picture of tranquility. Any semblance of frustration and anger was replaced by the same look of bored indifference he wore when Ironhoof stepped in. "Leave the key to the solitary here."

"Why?" he asked, sizing up the old pony.

"Your worries about Cozy's health may have been quelled, but I want to take a look at her."

"She likes herself too much to let this game get too far."

Solstice pulled on Ironhoof harder.

"The key." Ironhoof noticed he had that look in his eye again. He knew that arguing would be pointless at this point. If it came to that, he knew Solstice would be willing to remind him that his commander rank was irrelevant when it came to medical topics. Without another word, he reached into his saddle bag.

The heavy key rattled against the metal as it landed on the table. Solstice released his hold of Ironhoof.
"And think about what I said."

"Is it always this quiet? With this many criminals around, I expected it'd be a bit more… rowdy."

"Mhm..."

"Has there ever been a riot or something like that?"

"Mhhh…"

Ashen suppressed a frustrated sigh and gave up. He turned his eyes back on the small 'courtyard', as the guards called it. In reality, it was hardly anything more than a slightly more spacious cavern with a smooth-chiseled roof. Scattered around it were a handful of benches and low mushroom-like growths that glowed softly, giving the whole space a slightly eerie look. Ashen grew to like it, though. Its high ceiling was a welcome change compared to the rest of Tartarus. When it wasn't occupied, the courtyard was about the only place in Tartarus where he could stretch his wings and fly a little if he was careful. It was anyway his only option for now. Outside the walls of Tartarus, the storm that started when he came a week ago was still raging on with no end in sight.

'Nopony goes in, and nopony gets out,' he thought to himself.

Mount Krakatoa was a small island in the middle of a permanently wild sea. Its shores were long and shallow, filled with sharp rocks as far as the eye could see. Without wings, it would be almost impossible to make it to the deeper sea let alone to the land. Even with wings the bad weather severely limited travel by air.

"The time is almost up," his companion remarked dryly, snapping Ashen from his thoughts. It was possibly the fifth whole sentence he had heard the kirin say since he first met her a few days ago. Frost Haze was the only kirin in Tartrus as far as Ashen knew. She also happened to be the only kirin he's ever met. All the more disappointing it was to him that Frost seemed to communicate almost exclusively in 'mhhms', 'ohms', and variations thereof. At first, he thought she just didn't like him, but as he observed her more, he noticed she kept her distance even from the other guards.

Frost was right, though. When Ashen glanced at a small wall-mounted clock, he saw that the designated hours had almost elapsed. It was time to gather the prisoners. The gray pony quickly counted them all as they milled about the courtyard. Two ponies by a bench, a zebra with a scarred face just to his right. Further in the distance, half-obscured by a cluster of mushrooms, an especially nasty-looking earth pony about twice his size. Satisfied that all the prisoners were accounted for, Ashen allowed himself to relax a little.

Out of the corner of his eye, he studied the kirin. She couldn't be much older than him, yet her gaze seemed unnaturally hard for somepony her age. Nicely complimenting her unyielding blue eyes was her pristine white fur and fluffy gray mane that extended all around her head. Through the gaps in her armor, Ashen saw some of the hard scales that covered her back, which were the same color as her eyes.

"You go get that zebra and those two ponies; I'll take care of the earth pony," Frost's tone didn't leave any room for discussion, so Ashen just nodded and made his way over to 'his' prisoners. Next to him, Frost also moved in the direction of the earth pony.

As he approached the zebra, she didn't as much as look at him, stubbornly staring at a blank wall. "Time's up for today. You know the drill," Ashen simply stated and nodded at her to move.

Slowly, almost lazily, the zebra averted her gaze from the wall. Without looking at him and with no great hurry, she made her way towards the courtyard's gate.

"You two too guys. End of recess!" The ponies hardly paid him any attention as he approached them. Ashen found himself awkwardly standing next to them as they continued to chat, unfazed by his presence. Quite frankly, Ashen didn't know what to do. It's not like he had much experience dealing with prisoners… When he saw Oakstride do it, it seemed so easy. A few rough words and light kicks and the prisoners would just do what they were told. But Ashen knew he wasn't that sort of pony; if he were to try that, it would just come off as awkward.

He tried once more: "Time in the courtyard is only awarded for good behavior, if I write you up then the next…"

Ashen's attempt was interrupted by a commotion behind him. Turning his back on the ponies, he instantly spotted that things were also not going smoothly for Frost. The kirin's scale-covered hooves were firmly planted in the ground as she faced the much larger prisoner towering over her. What little Ashen could hear of the uninterrupted streak of curses quickly persuaded him to abandon the ponies for now and go back up his partner. As he got closer, more of the conversation reached his ears.

"…been eating that slop you feed us for three months, didn't as much as look at anypony, and I get a lousy hour in this dump for all that?!"

"And you'll get nothing more if you don't shut up and get in the line," Frost's tone was without a hint of fear as she stared down the prisoner. Ashen was a bit taken aback to hear some anger seeping into her voice. Strange, given how composed she usually seemed.

"And if I don't? You and misses are going to drag me back to the cell?"

In the blink of an eye, Frost turned to him, suddenly aware of his presence.

"Get back to your prisoners!" she snapped at Ashen with a hard look in her eyes.

"I-it just looked…"

Frost's eyes went back to the earth pony just in time to notice him trying to poke her in the chest with his hoof. Frost swatted it away as if it was an annoying fly. "Last warning, Frazzeled Knot. The line! Now!"

Ashen didn't move; for a moment, the two seemed to be locked in a silent conversation, both unflinching. To his surprise, for a split second, it seemed like the earth pony would back down, but as suddenly as that moment came, it was gone.

"BUCK HER! BUCK THE BLASTED KIRIN!" one of the ponies shouted from the other side of the courtyard.

Frazzled didn't need any more encouragement.

With the speed that nopony his size had any right to possess, he spun around and bucked with all of his might. Ashen could swear he could feel the rock below him shake a little as the stallion's hooves landed back on the ground after, fortunately, having missed Frost by a hair. Frost skillfully dodged another kick but, to her evident surprise, she was lifted above the air by a shimmering force field.

Ashen turned around in panic and saw that despite the magic dampener on his horn, one of the ponies was, with much apparent effort, able to conjure a spell just strong enough to immobilize Frost. It was as if time slowed to a crawl for Ashen. He was completely stunned and didn't know what to do. Even with the best effort, it would take him a few seconds to get to the pony. Should he try anyway, or should he…

SLAM!

Frazzled didn't wait around for him to decide. His third kick landed on Frost, and out of the corner of his eye Ashen saw that the kirin managed to roll aside at the very last second. Thanks to that one movement, the crushing blow only landed on her armor plates. The force was still enough, though, to send her flying.

Ashen heard her land somewhere behind him, but he didn't have a chance to check as he very quickly realized that now there was nopony between him and the anfry prisoner. Frazzled launched another kick, and this time, it was Ashen's turn to test his reflexes. With a single move, his wings launched him right above the earth pony and far away from his hooves. He pulled his wings closer, and as quickly as he took off, he landed right on top of the stallion. The impact that would have been enough to knock out any regular-sized pony barely made Frazzled Knot waver.

"Get off me!"

Frazzled bucked and jumped as he tried to shake Ashen off, but the pegasus managed to stay on top of him. It was only somewhere in the back of his mind that he took note of the terrible sound Frazzeled's hooves made as they landed on the ground after each kick. Getting under them would certainly not be something he could just walk away from.

Suddenly, Ashen noticed a brilliant flash. In the struggle, he didn't have time to investigate. A few seconds later, though, a furious shriek made both him and Frazzled awkwardly stop their fight.

"ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?!"

Ashen knew that kirin could transform into flaming forms when angered. But knowing something and seeing it with his own eyes were two completely different things. Save for the armor that was getting more and more red by the second Frost was unrecognizable. Her eyes were now puddles of white light, and her body was completely enveloped in flames. The fluff around her neck raged like an inferno, and even from a distance, Ashen felt the heat radiating off her body.

He didn't have time to take it in before he realized that there was a flaming fireball hurling toward both him and Frazzled. Acting on pure instinct, he threw himself to the side and, in the process, by pure chance, kicked Frazzled, sending him out of harm's way. The pegasus scrambled to get back up on his hooves. His eyes went back to his kirin colleague, but she seemed completely consumed by her fury. Her attention fixated on Frazzeled Knot, who looked like he was really starting to regret his choices.

Frost's horn lit up with magic, and without much effort, she lifted Frazzled into the air.

"I... TOLD... YOU… THAT... RECESS… WAS... OVER!"

With each word, she slammed Frazzeled against the ground with such force that Ashen could feel the ground shake. Her words were little more than snarls, and Ashen had to focus to even understand what she was saying. The heat she was radiating was so strong now that Ashen could barely stand looking at Frost. He was starting to get worried about how this whole thing would end.

"I am done, okay?! Sorry, I should have just listened." Frazzled begged once the magic enveloping him evaporated and he tried to scramble away from approaching Frost.

She threw another fireball, which the pony barely avoided. Ashen's nostrils were assaulted with the smell of burning mane. This was going way too far.

"Frost! Common, he's done!" Ashen shouted but just earned himself a snarl from the kirin. She was now almost within a touching distance of Frazzeled Knot. In his retreat, he managed to back himself against one of the larger mushroom growths. There was nowhere for him to go now. The heat must have been unbearable as he was desperately trying to shield his eyes with his hooves.

"Yeah, I am done! Happy? You made your point, kirin. Just let me be!"

If Frost heard him, she didn't show it; she just continued to walk forward. Ashen had no idea what to do. In a desperate attempt, he got as close to Frost as he could, shielding his eyes from the heat just like Frazzled.

"Frost, snap out of it! You're gonna hurt him!"

This time, his plea managed to draw her attention. She spun around, and for a split second, as their eyes met, Ashen wasn't sure if she would just turn her ire on him instead. There was a tense moment as the two guards just stared at each.

To Ashen's relief, the heat subsided. As the flames faded, Frost's form changed back to that of a white kirin. There was still anger in her blue eyes, but also something else that Ashen couldn't decipher. She didn't give him time to guess before breaking the eye contact and turning around.

"Take him to the others," she ordered, this time in her usual voice. The hint of poorly concealed anger made it crystal clear that she didn't want to discuss what had just happened. Without saying one more word, she just walked away from the two ponies and towards the other group. The zebra was already standing at the gate, and the two ponies scrambled to join her. The whole time, they intently started at their hooves and tried to make themselves as small as possible.

"That kirin freak is crazy! I thought for sure she would toast me like a marshmallow," Frazzled muttered under his nose as he slowly got up. Still, he made sure to keep his voice low enough that Frost couldn't hear him. Without as much as looking at Ashen he slowly started to walk towards the gate with a noticeable limp in his step.

It took them about half an hour to get the prisoners back to their cells. During that time, Frost stayed as far away from Ashen as she could and made a point of avoiding his gaze. When she spoke it was always curt – even by her standards. Where the large pony's hooves hit her, they left a decent-sized dent in Frost's armor, but to Ashen's relief, the kirin otherwise appeared unharmed.

The same couldn't be said for her armor. Everything that wasn't metal was charred black, and even the metal pieces were bent out of place after being exposed to so much heat.

With a sense of relief Ashen closed the cell door behind zebra. That was the last one. According to his schedule he was now supposed to have an hour long break. He felt like he'd need every second of it to recover from what just happened. To his surprise when he turned around he found Frost staring directly at him. Despite being taller than she was he felt small under her scrutinizing gaze.

"We have to talk."

Her tone left little doubt that it would be a conversation he wouldn't enjoy, but he nodded nonetheless. Without another word, Frost let him through a series of tunnels. Despite already being familiar with this section of Tartarus, Ashen still had no idea where she was leading him. They ended up in one of the side tunnels that didn't lead anywhere – far away from any prying eyes.

"I told you to watch those ponies, didn't I rookie?!" Frost's tone was harsh, and her expression left no room for doubt that she was still angry. A hint of flames danced on the tip of her fluffy mane, but it was so brief that Ashen wasn't sure he didn't just imagine it. To Ashen's relief, though, she at least appeared to be fine. "Only luck was that it was the armor that took the hit, not my skull, or else we wouldn't even be having this conversation!

Inadvertently, Ashen's ears went flat against the side of his helmet. He took another look at the deep mark in her armor. He knew Frost was right; his carelessness almost got her severely injured… or worse.

"I am sorry, I didn't mean to, it just…"

"I – don't – care! You've been here a few days, and you think you know how it works here better than I do?"

Now, it was Ashen's turn to get angry. It's not like he wanted to do anything other than help her. Did she really not see that? He bit his tongue and tried again.

"I made a mistake, and I get it. I only wanted to help, though."

"If I ever need your help, I'll make sure to let you know!" she snapped back at him. Hearing that, Ashen's frustration got the better of him.

"Yeah, you roasted that earth pony pretty good on your own. Would have gone even better if I didn't step in!"

Ashen regretted that jab immediately. It wasn't fair of him, and it surely wouldn't do anything to get back in Frost's good graces. There was that hint of flames again, and this time, Ashen was sure he hadn't imagined it. Frost bared her teeth at him but didn't say anything back. They stayed like that for a moment, glaring at each other in silent frustration.

Ashen was the one to break it.

"We should go to the infirmary and have a medpony take a look at that," Ashen said, careful to keep his voice even, and nodded towards her injured side.

"I think you've helped me enough today. It's nothing you need to…" Whatever she was trying to say was interrupted by a pained gasp she let out as Ashen gently nudged her injured side with the tip of his hoof.

"You were saying?"

"I was saying it's none of your business!" Frost tried to push past him and leave, but Ashen stepped in her way. He tried once more.

"Please, let's just go get that checked, then we can get out of each other's manes. If it turns out it's nothing, then fine, but at least I'll be able to sleep a little easier tonight."

Frost didn't reply right away. It seemed that the past couple of exchanges exhausted her vocabulary for today. Still, Ashen took the exasperated sigh she eventually let out as an agreement. Without one more word, the two of them made their way to the small prison infirmary.

Just like every other room in Tartarus, the infirmary was also carved out of solid rock, but it was the only room, as far as Ashen knew at least, where somepony went through the trouble of painting the walls white. Even with the raging storm outside, three large, shabby-looking windows still let in a little bit of extra light.

"Pfff, must have been a real nasty one by the look of that bruise," the old med-pony remarked dryly as the last bent armor plate came off.

"Is she going to be fine?"

"Yeah, I think she will. If that were me, though, you'd be scraping what was left off the floor after a buck like that," Solstice stated with a hint of humor as the magical aura from his horn scanned over the injury. From the tone of his voice, it was impossible if he was just making a statement or trying to joke. As the medpony worked, Ashen was practically burning a hole into the back of his head.

Finally, the light died down, and the unicorn looked at Frost. "Eh, it's going to turn all colors of the rainbow before you feel fine, but nothing seems to be broken in there. I'll give you something to dull the pain Frost and let Ironhoof know to take it easy on you for a few days."

"That won't be necessary."

"As you wish," Solstice simply stated in a bored tone. "Then I will just write you up for medical leave. Two weeks should be enough I think." As he talked he was already pulling out a parchment and a quill from the bottom drawer of his desk. Frost quickly jumped over to him and shut the drawer.

"Yeah, I'll take it easy for a while."

"Glad to hear that."

Without another word of protest, Frost grabbed a small pouch filled with pills that Solstice had passed to her. Ashen tried to catch her gaze, but Frost stubbornly refused to look anywhere except the infirmary door. Without another word to him or Solstice, she left. Once the kirin was out of sight, Ashen let out a soft sigh. At the very least, it was good to know her injury wasn't too serious.

"Looking at that long face of yours, I assume you had something to do with that little incident." For a moment, Ashen completely forgot about the old medpony who was now intently staring at him.

The pegasus could only nod. "I made a mistake. Didn't do what I was told, and Frost got the bad end of that decision…"

Solstice nodded knowingly and gave Ashen a brief pat on the back.

"Muzzle up, rookie. Can't always just do what they tell you to do! Got a head on your neck for a reason - just need to fill it with some experience."

Ashen laughed a little. The kind look on the older pony's face made him feel a little better. "Thank you. I appreciate it doctor… ehm, well suppose I don't know you name."

"Doctor Solstice. But Solstice is just fine, kiddo. I am not too big on these formalities and titles."

"Ashen Wing. Pleased to meet you."

The two colts exchanged a quick hoofshake.

"You a city slicker, Ashen?"

"Born and raised in Canterlot."

The two ponies ended up in a conversation for a few more minutes. Solstice seemed to be quite interested in how Ashen made it to Tartarus. Ashen's insistence that it is just a routine assignment fell on deaf ears, and in the end, Solstice was only satisfied after Ashen painstakingly recounted all the events that led him from his Canterlot home to the gloomy prison.

"And that's it. Not more to it than that, I swear, doctor," Ashen finally said.

Solstice only nodded, another question already on his tongue. He stopped himself when he saw the pleading look in Ashen's eyes.

"Sorry, kiddo, interrogation over. In my defense, we don't get that many ponies in and out, so sometimes I get a bit carried away. I suppose you got some places to be. Feel free to run along; I also need to wrap up some things here."

"No harm done at all, doc. It's already almost finished for today. I'll just go and grab something to eat. We'll see each other around."

"Yeah, hope it won't be here, though," Solstice noted dryly, gesturing at the infirmary walls.

With a final goodbye, Ashen turned to leave and was almost out the door when something seemed to click in place in Solstice's head.

"Wait, Ashen. One more thing! Or rather one favor." Solstice pulled out an unassuming key from his desk's drawer. "This one is from the solitary ward. Have you been there already?"

"I know where it is, but can't say I've been there."

"I am not surprised… Usually, we only have one pony there. Cozy Glow – maybe you've heard about her? Your predecessor was responsible for the solitary. Since he left, Ironhoof and I have been taking turns looking after Cozy."

Ashen stared at him intently, trying to remember where he had heard that name before. Try as he might, the memory eluded him. In front of him, Solstice had put the key on his desk and nudged it towards him with the tip of his hoof.

"Should be my turn today to bring her dinner, but well… my joints aren't what they used to be. Going up and down the stairs. You know what I mean?"

"Sure. So you just want me to bring her the dinner?"

"If it wouldn't be too much trouble. I know you said your shift is over, but…"

Ashen grabbed the key and gave the doctor a warm smile. "Don't worry about it," suddenly, his smile faltered a little. "Just, you know... shouldn't I let the captain know?"

"Don't worry about it. You can bring the keys to his office when you are done. If he says anything just tell him that I sent you."

That seemed to have reassured Ashen. When the young pegasus left, a devilish smile spread across Solsitce's muzzle. He really, really regretted that he would not see Ironhoof's expression when Ashen Wing walked into his office. Still, he had a good feeling that tonight, Cozy would eat her dinner.