The Road to Hell

>Day 13 in Equestria.
>These last two weeks have been the best of your life.
>Before coming to this crazy, pony-filled world, your life could by all accounts be considered to have been shit.
>But here it's different. Here life is good.
>The friendliness of the ponies was such a jarring change from what you had been used to, but you very quickly warmed up.
>The ponies never had their own agenda or ulterior motive, they're just nice for the sake of being nice.
>Hell, the unicorn pony who accidentally summoned you was kind enough to let you stay in her own house while she made arrangements for you to get your own place.
>Honestly, the whole ordeal is leaving you more than a little floored.
>Nice for the sake of nice was completely unheard of where you lived on Earth and the concept required getting used to.
>But in the meantime the ponies had spared no effort in their attempts to make you feel right at home.
>Today, however, your nerves were starting to get the better of you.
>Twilight had informed you that her mentor, and apparently the ruler of all pony-kind, wanted to meet you herself.
>She also moves the sun, did you mention that?
>Twilight had told you time and time again not to worry about it, but it seemed as though it was easier said than done.
>After all, it's not every day one meets a god.
>"Honestly, Anon." Twilight chastises you. "There's no need to worry. She just wants to meet you and get to know you."
"But what if I mess up somehow? What if I embarrass myself or you? What if-"
>"Sheesh, Anon, I don't say this often, but you really need to listen to Twilight. You're starting to remind me way too much of her." Spike says.


>Twilight shoots Spike a glare. "I do NOT overreact."
>He shoots a grin right back. "I never said that! You said it!"
>Twilight grumbles to herself for a moment, ignoring the baby dragon.
>"Aaaanyways, you really don't need to worry. Princess Celestia is the kindest, most likable pony in the kingdom, there's no need to be worried."
"If you say so, Twilight."
>"I DO say so. Now stop worrying, she'll be here any minute."
>You take a deep breath and force yourself to stop pacing.
"Alright Anon, it's just a pony princess. You can do this!"
>You turn to Spike.
"I CAN do this, right?"
>He waves a claw dismissively. "Of course you can. I've met her plenty of times. Twilight isn't lying, she's probably the nicest pony you'll ever meet."
"Alright. Good. I got this."
>Suddenly the room is lit by the telltale flash of a teleportation spell and you close your eyes against the glare.
>When the light is gone you look to see that where there was once empty space there is now a tall, white pony princess.
>The only word you can think of that even seems to come close to describing her appearance is 'regal'.
"Oh crap, I can't do this." you mutter to yourself.


>"Hello everypony." the princess greets you all.
>The second you hear her voice all of your concerns seem to simply vanish.
>You realize that there is literally nothing to worry about.
>You should have listened to Twilight and Spike sooner, no one with a voice that soothing should be anyone to worry about.
>Twilight trotted happily up to Celestia, a huge grin on her face and the two shared a quick hug.
>"Hi princess!" Twilight says. "It's so great to see you again!"
>"The feeling is mutual, Twilight. I've found myself missing your presence at the castle."
>You stand awkwardly off to the side as the two converse. Should you introduce yourself? Should you just wait till they finish? How long would that even be?
>"Ah, and this must be Anonymous!"
>Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit.
>You glance at Twilight and Spike looking for some kind of clue as to what you should do.
>Getting nothing, you decide to drop down to a knee.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness."
>"Oh don't worry, there's no need for that, Anonymous."
>You hesitantly get to your feet.
"Um, alright. So Twilight said you wanted to get to know me or something?"
>Celestia nods. "That's correct. However there's one thing I'd like to do first."
"Oh?"
>"Please don't take this personally, but you are a very strange creature, nothing like you exists in all of Equestria. Before we do anything else I need to be sure that you aren't in any way a threat to my little ponies."
>Your eyes widen in shock.
"Princess, I swear I would never hurt any of them!"
>"And I believe you, and I've received several letters from Twilight that also lead me to believe much the same. However it is my duty as the ruler of Equestria to take every available precaution when it comes to the safety of my subjects."

>Alright, you can get that. If a strange creature came to your kingdom you'd probably wanna check it out too.
"Alright, I understand. But how are you going to do that?"
>"A simple spell that will allow me to look into your mind. Don't worry, I promise not to be too invasive, I'll only skim your memories."
>Well. You're not exactly sure how you feel about someone looking at your memories, but if it'll get her to trust you faster then why not?
"Alright, what do I have to do?"
>"You don't have to do anything. Just sit back and try to relax while I look over your memories."
"Okay. Whenever you're ready then, princess."
>Without any further ado, Celestia's horn begins to glow a brilliant gold.
>She lightly touches her horn to your forehead and you feel a slight warmth at the point of contact.
>Nothing more really happens so you decide to just sit tight and wait.
>As the minutes drag by you feel your nose start to get a little runny.
>Well this sure is awkward.
>You raise a hand up to wipe your nose, moving as slowly and carefully as possible so as to avoid disturbing the princess.
>You rub your hand along your nose, glad to be rid of the annoying sensation.
>However it returns just as soon as you put your hand down.
>Fucking... of course it would happen RIGHT as the princess was trying to determine your threat level.
>You raise your hand to repeat the action, but freeze when you see your hand.
>It's covered in blood.
>You glance downwards and notice that blood is dripping from your nose onto the floor at a steady rate.
>Welp. That can't be good.

"Hey, um, Twilight?"
>"Need something, Anon?"
>She's standing behind you so she currently can't see your nose bleed or the growing puddle of blood on the floor by your feet.
"Is it common for someone to have a nosebleed when they have their memories read?"
>Twilight cocks an eyebrow and trots over.
>"Well I've never heard of that ev- MOTHER OF CELESTIA!"
"I'll take that as a no then?"
>Whatever she says next, you don't hear.
>You're overcome with the strangest, and possibly worst, sensation you've ever felt.
>It's as though you're being dragged into your own mind yet still remaining aware of everything around you.
"What the f-"
>And then it begins.
>Every memory, from as far back as you can remember, begins playing out before you.
>The entire childhood you'd taken such pains to forget.
>Everything comes flooding back.
>You can feel another presence watching with you, completely unaware of you. Celestia.
>You can feel her shock, revulsion, and, worst of all, her pity.
>Your drunk of a father who'd come home every day reeking of booze who'd take out the stress of his day on you with the back of his hand.
>The hellhole of a school you went to where you were forced to give up your food or lunch money every day.
>Oh look, even that time where a guy knifed you in the gut for your wallet while you were on your way home from visiting your dying grandmother in the hospital.
>That sure taught you to care about things.
>As every agonizing memory passes by, you're aware of a growing pain in your physical body.
>The energy from the spell begins to break down and manifest as electricity, sending powerful, painful currents throughout your body.
>Not one of your best days.

>You wish you could scream. Really you do.
>Unfortunately just about everything is completely beyond your control.
>But you can still feel at least!
>Wait, no, that's a bad thing.
>The horrible memories of your life run through your head while your body is assaulted by whatever craziness Celestia is doing.
>This probably isn't going according to plan.
>However Celestia seems completely unaware of the goings on in the outside world.
>One particularly powerful jolt of electricity shoots down your right leg, baking the marrow in your bones and causing them to crack apart under the intense heat.
>Another one shoots up your left arm and causes every single muscle in it to contract violently and with such force that the muscles are ripped from your bones.
>The fluid in your eyes begins to boil.
>What started out as a simple nosebleed has by now turned into a torrent. Multiple torrents.
>Blood pours from your nose and mouth and streams from your steaming eyes.
>And all the while the horrible memories just keep playing.
>You can hear shouting, but for the life of you you can't make out a single word.
>Probably because your eardrums violently blew out.
>Maybe Earth wasn't so bad after all...
>You feel Celestia's presence violently wrenched from your mind by an external force.
>Finally, FINALLY, the memories stop.
>So does the rest of your torment.
>With nothing keeping you standing anymore you drop to the ground and surrender to the sweet, sweet blackness.

>The darkness is... nice. You don't feel in here.
>You don't hurt.
>You don't remember.
>You're not really sure what you're glad to not be feeling or remembering, but that's probably a good thing, so you just enjoy not having a care in the world.
>But slowly the darkness lifts and you feel yourself returning to wakefulness.
>You don't resist it, you just don't have the energy to.
>Slowly you eyes crack open.
>You slam them shut as the light practically sears your retinas.
>However, not one to be deterred by a single failure, you try again.
>You manage to force your eyes open and you endure the pain long enough to adjust to the light.
>The sight that greets you is the concerned visage of Celestia.
>But you don't see Celestia.
>You see the face of your father, the kids at school, that guy who mugged you. You see the face of everyone who ever wronged you.
>Instinctively you scramble backwards as fast as you can.
>You don't get far because your left arm doesn't respond to your commands and your right leg is in a cast.
>Nevertheless the reaction is enough to affect Celestia, who seems to shrink back from your frightened gaze, her ears pinned down against her head.
>After you manage to calm down some, you take a look around, wondering where you are.
>You're currently in a bed in a sterile white room.
>Your left arm is in a sling and your other one has various tubes stuck into it and wires stuck onto it.
>A repetitive beeping is your final clue.
>You're in a hospital.
>You decide to voice the only reasonable question to come to mind.
"What the hell just happened?"

>Celestia's mouth opens and closes a few times as she searches for something to say.
>She finally settles on "I'm sorry."
"Sorry for... what exactly?"
>"You... you don't remember?"
"Not a thing. Though judging from the state of me I'll call that a good thing."
>"Do you want me to tell you?"
>You make a painful attempt at shrugging.
"I'd rather know than not."
>Celestia takes a shuddering deep breath.
>"It would seem that I... neglected to take into account how humans might react to magic."
"Magic did this?"
>She nods sadly. "Mine, specifically. I attempted to read your thoughts to determine whether or not you were a threat to my ponies. It seems as though you... rejected, for lack of a better word, the spell."
"Why?"
>"Twilight and I have had a few days to research that while you were unconscious. It would seem that with you being from a reality where magic doesn't exist, you aren't used to exposure to it. The very matter of your body rejected the magic. It took a team of unicorn surgeons almost sixteen straight hours of casting the most basic of healing spells to get you to the state you are now."
"Well... I guess that answers that then." you say, scooting a bit further away from Celestia in you bed.
>The movement doesn't go unnoticed and Celestia takes on a look of even greater sadness.
>"Anon, I can't express how sorry I am for this. I swear on my crown I'll make it up to you!"
"N-no really, it's fine. You don't need to bother yourself with me."
>"But it's not alright! I came down saying that I wanted to make sure you weren't a threat and then I very nearly killed you! I... I just... I'm so sorry, Anonymous."
>Welp, time for a subject change!
"So... my arm and leg? What's the deal with them?"

>"You... will have a severe limp and have to walk with a cane. As for your arm... the muscles were torn from the bones, there was nothing the doctors could do with the resources available."
"So a lame arm and a limp? Well... not saying I'm happy with it or anything, but I suppose it's better than, ya know, dying."
>"I swear, Anonymous, I'll make this up to you."
>You try desperately to wave her off. You really don't want her doing ANYTHING else to you.
"Hey, don't worry about it. Easy mistake to make.  You don't have to do anything!"
>"Well if there's anything you ever need, please don't hesitate to ask."
"Well, now that you mention it, I am kinda tired. I'd really love to just go back to sleep for a while."
>Celestia's ears go back down against her head. "O-oh, alright. I-I'll just leave you alone then."
"Thank you, princess. Um, see you later, I guess."
>"Goodbye Anonymous, I hope you feel better soon."
>When she finally leaves the room you slump back in your bed.
>Finally. Finally she's gone.
>You feel a little guilty at feeling so relieved about her absence, but hey, she DID almost kill you.
>And from your experience, if someone can hurt you, they generally will.
>Better not give her any reason to come visit you again.
>Just pretend you're not in blinding agony until you can get back to Ponyville and then you'll be set.
>Who the fuck are you kidding? This fucking princess is going to kill you.

>Day 39 in Equestria.
>It's been a few weeks since the accident, but everything seems to be alright.
>You know, except the walking with a cane and not being able to move your left arm.
>But other than that everything is going pretty well.
>Pinkie through you an amazing party once you got out of the hospital, so at least there's that.
>Twilight even hired you on as a second assistant. She even provided room and board.
>You really hope she's not just apologizing for Celestia's fuck up.
>To your delight you've seen neither hide nor hair of Celestia these past few weeks.
>You know she means well, but to be honest you really want nothing to do with her after that little episode.
>You have gotten a few letters from her though, all wishing you well and apologizing more.
>Probably. You haven't opened them. You don't plan to.
>With any luck, if you can just ignore it hard enough, maybe it'll go away and your limp and your arm will be all that will come of it.
>Funnily enough you really don't think it's going to be that easy. You're reasonably sure you're going to die.
>You're really starting to worry about her popping in to check up on you, too.
>You jump at every strange sound, afraid each one may be her teleporting in.
>You haven't told Twilight, but you're even starting to lose sleep about it.
>"Hey Anon, can you come up here real quick?" Twilight calls down to you.
"Sure thing, Twi." you reply.
>You slowly manage to stand up, grabbing your cane and limping across the basement and up the stairs.
>You open the basement door to come out into the main lobby of the library and freeze at what you see.
>If there really is a God he must have a terrible sense of humor.

>Celestia stands in the middle of the library with Twilight.
>"Good afternoon, Anonymous." she says. "I'm sorry I haven't been by more recently, they keep me quite busy up at the palace."
"Oh... yeah, don't worry about it Celestia. I wouldn't wanna take up any of your time."
>"Oh it's no trouble at all. I'm just glad to see you're doing so well."
"Uh huh. So what was it you needed?"
>"Oh yes, of course! Well you see I thought of a way to apologize for my... mistake a few weeks past."
>Shit shit shit shit shit.
"Oh... really?"
>She nods happily, looking pleased with herself. "I believe I've figured out a way to repair your leg. It's a very simple spell, I could even cast it right here if you desire."
>More magic? Aw fuck no. You got enough of that shit last time to last you a million lifetimes.
"Oh you don't have to do that, I can manage with this limp."
>"No, I insist. I'll restore your leg to full working order."
>Somehow that doesn't sound nearly as reassuring as you're sure she thinks it does.
>Oh well, it doesn't seem as though you can back out of this at all. If she wanted she could just force you to endure he spell.
>And if you're getting mutilated, then by god you're getting mutilated on your own terms!

>You take a deep breath and steel yourself against the impending mutilation you're convinced is coming.
"Alright princess, let's... let's just get this over with."
>Celestia notices the reluctance in your tone and you briefly notice hurt flash through her eyes.
>You can't honestly bring yourself to care.
>"Anon, once more I cannot express how sorry I am for that mishap-"
"I know." you say a little too quickly. "I know. You've told me."
>Her ears go down against her head and she seems to shrink a little.
>What, did she just expect you to smile and tell her it's fine?
>She put you through hell, intentionally or not.
>Twilight clears her throat to break the tension.
>"Well let's get started then!" she says.
>Celestia walks over and eyes your injured leg for a moment.
>"Now Anon, this may hurt a little, but it should only feel like strong growing pains at the very worst. Nothing more."
>Right, until she boils the blood in your veins, of course.
"Can't be any worse than last time."
>She looks at the floor, ashamed.
>"... Alright, I'm going to start now."
>Goody.
"Ready when you are, princess."
>Her horn starts to glow that familiar golden glow that you've unconsciously come to associate with doom.
>She casts the spell on your leg and, amazingly, it works.
>You can feel the fragments of heat-cracked bone shuffle themselves back into place and knit together.
>It's a strange feeling, not unlike the feeling of growing pains that Celestia mentioned you'd feel.
>For a few moments you dare to hope, to believe that you've escaped some horrible magical backlash.

>Once again you come to realize that fate has a pretty horrible sense of humor.
>As the bone mends you hear a crackle of energy and a gasp.
>"Oh no..."
>That there's something you REALLY do not want to hear.
>You look down and notice that the spell is starting to break down, just like last time, and small bolts of electricity are flaring to life around your healing leg.
>Oh boy, here we go.
>Celestia closes her eyes and the glow around her horn intensifies as she tries to rectify the situation.
>Good god what the fuck are you doing you stupid horse? Don't put MORE energy into a failing spell!
>The spell continues and your leg fully heals.
>Then it keeps going.
>You notice beads of sweat forming on Celestia's face as she struggles to keep the spell from catastrophically failing.
>She doesn't succeed.
>This time, instead of breaking down, he spell supercharges with all the energy Celestia poured into it.
>The bone mending spell goes into overcharge.
>It isn't pretty.
>New bone begins to generate on top of the old bone.
>A spike of bone shoots out of your calf, eliciting a grunt of pain and dropping you to a knee.
"I take it this isn't how it was supposed to go?" you hiss through gritted teeth.
>Celestia just stares on with wide, terrified eyes.
>Soon half a dozen more bone spikes erupt through muscle and flesh all over your leg.
>Unlike last time your body is fully under your control.
>So you can scream.
>So you do scream.
>And you keep screaming until the pain makes you black out.


>You wake up to a familiar beeping sound.
>You open your eyes and confirm that, yep, you're in the hospital.
>Fortunately Celestia isn't anywhere in sight.
>It's just Twilight this time.
>You sigh in relief. Twilight you can deal with.
>The second she realizes you're awake Twilight jumps out of her chair and tots over to you. >"Anon, are you alright?"
"Ugh."
>"Completely understandable."
"My leg?"
>Twilight uses her magic to gently pull back the covers revealing your fully intact leg.
>Well, intact minus the dozens of stitches.
>"After the, um, growths were removed everything was pretty much fine with your leg. All the breaks were mended."
"Alright. Then what about all the torn muscles and flesh?"
>"It seems that very weak spells aren't prone to the catastrophic degradation that Celestia's were, so a few hours of basic healing spells took care of all that."
"Wonderful."
>"Anon, I know this is all really bucked up, but please don't be mad at Celestia."
"Twilight, she magically mauled me. Twice! I'm not just angry, I'm completely terrified! What's she going to do next? God only knows what'll happen next time she tries to 'make it up to me.'"
>"Anon, please..." Twilight says, sadly. "She only had the best intentions."
"Twilight, back on Earth humans have a saying. 'The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.'"

>Twilight sighs. "She told me to offer you anything you wanted as a way of apologizing."
>Well that's an easy one. It doesn't even require any thought.
"I want her to stay away from me."
>Twilight winces.
>"Anon..."
"No, really. So far every time I've seen her I'm either being mauled by her or recovering from being mauled by her. I would really just prefer not having anything to do with her."
>"Anon, if I tell her that she'll be devastated."
>You motion down at yourself with your only working arm.
"And I'm not? She put me through hell, Twilight. Absolute hell!"
>"Alright. I... I'll tell her then."
>Twilight starts to trot out of the room, but stops briefly at the door.
>"Anon, I know you've been through a lot, but please, try to forgive Celestia. She didn't mean for any of it to happen."
>With Twilight gone it's just you and your thoughts.
>They all go back to Celestia.
>Yes you're angry with her, yes you hate her for doing all that to you, yes you hate her for taking paradise away from you.
>Equestria was supposed to be your escape from your old life, something better.
>But then Celestia came along and sent all those thoughts right to hell.
>Which is probably where you'll be heading soon if Celestia doesn't take the message and stay the fuck away.

>Day 50 in Equestria.
>There's been no sign of Celestia at all.
>As per your request, Twilight told her what you wanted.
>Apparently she took it pretty hard. Twilight told you there was quite a bit of crying.
>You can't find a single fuck to give.
>However, while she is staying away, she keeps sending you letters.
>You've got a steadily growing pile of scrolls from her in the back of your room.
>You haven't read one.
>Spike gets a little annoyed that he has to belch up so many scrolls that won't even be read.
>But you're as happy as can be. No crazy alicorns trying to mutilate you.
>Just the way you like it.
>You put away the last book in the library and look around, noticing that now there is literally nothing else to do.
>Twilight's hanging out with her friends.
>Spike's tagging along and trying to get Rarity to notice him again.
>Sometimes you almost feel bad for the little guy.
>Almost.
>He did kinda do it to himself.
>Hmm, what to do, what to do.
>There's really not much to do other than work.
>Not much you CAN do with your arm the way it is.
>But you're problem is solved by a knocking on the door.
>Well that's convenient, helping somep0ny ind a book should be a perfect way to relieve boredom.

>You open the door to greet whichever pony decided to visit the library today.
>But when you open the door all you feel is terror.
>Standing there at Twilight's doorstep is the object of all your fears.
>You take a few stumbling steps back from the door in terror, but trip and fall flat on your ass.
>That shit ain't gonna stop you though. You scurry backwards a few feet, never taking your eyes off of the gleaming white alicorn in the door.
"Y-you!"
>"Anon, please, I know what you... asked of me, but please hear me out!"
>Nope nope nope nope nope!
>Not doing this again!
>You keep crawling backwards until you hit the far wall.
"I-I thought you w-weren't going to c-come near me anymore!"
>"Please Anon, I know I've hurt you, but please, give me a chance to speak." she all but begs.
"I've given you plenty of chances!"
>She starts walking after you.
>Your heart starts to race, your pupils shrink to pinpricks.
>You know what's coming.
>Pain, torture, misery, probably death.
>Oh god you're going to die!
>"Anonymous, please let me make it up to you, I know how to heal you!"

"You said that last time! Can't you please just leave me alone? Haven't you done enough already? Why do you have to keep doing this?"
>"Just hear me out. The hospital kept samples of your blood. I used those to study the effects your body has on magic. I know exactly how to cast spells on you so that they won't fail like they did the last times."
"That's great, but I can live just fine with only one arm! I'd much rather LIVE, thank you!"
>She keeps getting closer."
>"Just give me this one chance! I can fix this! I really can!"
>Her horn starts to glow.
>You completely lose it at this point.
"STAY AWAY FROM ME!"
>Your heart feels like it could explode.
>It probably will if she touches you with that thing.
>"Just let me try, I know I can do this."
>The horn gets closer.
>Your heart keeps beating even faster, you're not even sure how that's possible.
>Your left arm sure hurts for some reason.
>The horn touches your forehead.
>You scream.
>Everything goes black.

>You are Princess Celestia.
>And you don't think you're a good pony anymore.
>You just wanted to fix Anon, that's all you wanted.
>You wanted him to know how sorry you were for doing what you did.
>Just thinking about it makes you feel sick.
>The fact that it was you who did it makes it even worse.
>You just wanted to help him.
>But every time you tried you only made things worse.
>This time might be the worst of all your mistakes.
>You pace back and forth across the hospital hall waiting for the doctor to return.
>The sound of approaching hoofsteps stills your pacing and you spin around to see who's coming.
>The doctor approaches, flipping through papers on a clipboard as he does.
>When he approaches you he clears his throat and begins without any prompting.
>"Well it seems your spell worked flawlessly on him. The muscles in his arm all completely reattached to the bone."
>You could feel the unsaid "but" in his voice.
"But?"
>He sighs and removes his glasses.
>"But I'm afraid the stress he was under from the ordeal was too much for his heart. He went into cardiac arrest and we were unable to resuscitate him."
>Your eyes widen in shock.
"You mean... he's..."
>"Time of death was 6:13 p.m. I'm sorry, Your Highness."
>It takes you a moment to fully process what you've done.
>You killed Anonymous.
>Without another word you teleport yourself from the hospital to your chambers in the palace.
>The second you touch your bed you break down sobbing.
>You didn't mean for any of this to happen! You just didn't want Anon to think you were a bad pony!
>You are Princess Celestia.
>And you are not a good pony anymore.