Long, long ago, in the time before time, the land of Equestria was born. Ponies grew and played, frolicked and capered, as was their wont. The other races allied with the ponies, or fought wars with them. Such was life in that turbulent time. But there were demons, foul creatures born from the shadows, that would always terrorise them. One of these shadows was known as 'Teridax.' A mysterious being of pale flesh, peculiar garments and a black mask that never left his head (and he referred to it as a Mask of Power, that granted him his foul abilities.) In that time before time, he sought to cover the world in his dark arts, to crush the lives of those ponies and other beings beneath his heel.
But there were those who resisted. Those who fought his dark wishes.
The alicorn sisters, Celestia and Luna of the Sun and Moon respectively, did make Teridax the first prisoner of the new prison, Tartarus. And thus, the immortal guards referred to him as 'Prisoner 0,' so black were his deeds and his name that he was stricken from all but the highest records. Tartarus was a wretched hive of scum and evil, built to contain Teridax and Teridax alone. Others were thrown in, those too foul for the Elements to touch, and the prison quickly was filled. Discord, a former warden, abandoned his post when the insidious whispers of Teridax reached his ears, corrupting the blithe spirit of Discord and turning him into something both greater and lesser than his state.
And thus, Teridax has remained in his prison, waiting, scheming for his revenge. So potent are his black thoughts, and his machinations so subtle, that even after he was imprisoned he managed, through his own malicious words in a dream to corrupt King Sombra, turning him into the hateful tyrant of the Crystal Empire, and teaching the king a twisted and hateful style of magic. And not even his jailers were immune, for within fair Luna's heart, Teridax's words festered like the rot in an apple, eventually being unleashed on the world when his foul lies were proved by circumstance to be correct.
Some say that the black-hearted tyrant has died, alone and bitter, clutching to the black powers with which he sought to cover Equestria. But others say that his time is coming. That the release of Nightmare Moon was in itself a prelude to his own return... there are many theories. Whatever the case, Teridax is not the same being that he once was...
Tartarus
How did it come to this?
I flexed my long, clawed fingers. Once before, they had been made of pale flesh, skinny, taught, with chewed fingernails. Now, they were clawed, sharp and deadly. Over the years, my Kraahkan had whispered to me, telling me of the power I would achieve if I allowed myself to become Makuta, the race that rose so high and fell so deep. I had to in the past, when my gut started showing. So, I allowed it to happen.
First, it was a couple of gears appearing underneath my skin. I didn't cry out. Besides, it hadn't hurt me at all, it was a remarkably painless process. Then, it was my skin hardening and blackening, forming a natural armour. Even then, I did not really care. I had not really wanted to lose too much, and I foolishly thought that I could reverse it should I need to. It was when I'd lost the last vestiges, when my internal organs dissolved into a fine mist, then did I care. But I couldn't reverse my transformation. I was a Makuta in form as well as power now.
Ah, Tartarus. Black walls of thick granite, with prison cells made of rusty yet exceedingly durable iron. Along the corridors, minotaurs patrolled, wielding huge weapons and sweating profusely, though the temperature of Tartarus would switch form boiling hot to freezing cold with exceeding regularity. Not. The heat of Tartarus is enough to cripple even the strongest of beings, except for those guards and my own self. Now that I was in this form, the extreme temperature of Tartarus didn't bother me. it hadn't really done so before, when I was a man, but in this new armoured shell my powers had grown and grown.
In the cell opposite mine, Tirek, also known as Prisoner 1, stared at me. "So tell me, Prisoner 0. What goes on in that mechanical head of yours?"
I lifted my head, red eyes locking with his yellow ones and causing him to back up a step instinctively. "What goes on in my head is none of your business, Tirek. You would do well to remember this fact. Now leave me be."
He nodded, scurrying back and watching me from his own cell across form my own. I chuckled without humour and leant back in my cell.
Fear is such a lovely power to use in order to instil intimidation and respect in another. I remembered when Tirek had been thrown in here, the second highest priority prisoner besides me. He'd come up, sneering at my being 'a pathetic weakling.' I'd thrown him across the room and would have killed him had Cerberus not interfered. I growled slightly. Damned dog... immune to my fear powers and many more, no wonder why it had been made my main guardian. Since then, Tirek had maintained a wary respect for me and my powers. He'd tried to absorb them, only for the Kraahkan to retaliate on my behalf.
Ah, my Kraahkan... my most valuable tool... my most useful ally in these dark and trying times. I chuckled mirthlessly. I had been as much a slave to it as it had to me. Key word being 'had.' The Kraahkan had submitted before my superior willpower, and it now lay dormant for my own subtle machinations and schemes to grow and coil around what I had already influenced. Only its powerful defence mechanism and my own power had allowed me to keep it, though the guards tried to take it off every now and then.
It was then that Cerberus, the huge brute, suddenly disappeared, barking and chasing who knows what. That caused me to blink. Normally, the damn dog was too focused to even think about leaving its post with only a couple of significantly weaker guards keeping us in line. Practically taking candy from a baby.
I locked eyes with Tirek and nodded. Tirek burned his way out, while I simply turned my finger into a fine wire and slipped it into the lock. I fitted the key's contours and opened the door that way. I stepped out, searching for my Staff of Shadows.
That staff was very important to me. I'd had to craft it myself, out of protosteel. The twin blades and long handle had been far too big for me, but I'd wielded it with my magnetic powers. It had worked remarkably well. Now that I was a Makuta, the weapon would be more than sufficient for my purposes. I could actually hold it now. Now that I looked back, I realised that the Kraahkan had anticipated me desiring to transform into a Makuta and deliberately told me that this was the only size my spear could come in. I growled at that. My mask would need some more discipline in the future.
A Minotaur guard saw me and tried to subdue me. I chuckled. I then lifted him into the air with barely any effort. Wearing armour and weapons made of ferrous metal around a being who possesses, amongst other powers, the power of Magnetism.
"Where is my Staff of Shadows, guard. Please tell me." Politeness is never too hard for anybody.
He glared at me and was about to shout. With a quick thought, I Silenced him.
The result was seeing him bellow, but no noise came from his mouth. I quickly looked him in the eye. "I asked a question. Where is my staff?"
I absently used my magnetic powers to pull everything metallic towards me. I noticed that I'd pulled a lot of guards here along with...
My trusty Staff of Shadows. Its twin blades gleamed dully at me, as if welcoming my return. I picked up my trusty weapon, and swung it in a wide arc, magnetically repelling the guards and blowing them back. I turned to Tirek then, who was watching me. He'd already drained several guards of their forge magic, though it apparently didn't sit well with him given his sickly expression.
"And this is where we depart, Tirek."
With that, I stalked forwards, intent on ignoring the insufferable centaur. The black halls of Tartarus had driven me both to boredom and new heights of creativity. He followed in my path for a bit, but a searing hot blast of Plasma discouraged him from taking the easy way out of Tartarus.
"Why such hostility, Teridax? Weren't we friends, a long time ago?"
I nodded at him, busy tearing gates that tried to shut on me open with my magnetic powers. "Yes, that is true; but is your confidence in your own abilities so low that you'll follow in my path? I thought that you weren't weak. Or have I been mishearing things for my sentence of four thousand years?"
With that, I threw several guards into his path and kept walking. It would benefit him greatly with that additional magic. Or it would incapacitate him. My plans relied on him acting as I knew he would act.
This place stank of minotaur and Cerberus sweat. I was happy to leave it behind me.Guards tried to get near me, but with a thought they were thrown to the top of the corridor and pinned there by reversed gravity. The fall wouldn't kill them, exactly, but it was just humiliating for the guards who often boasted that they would die before allowing the inmates to escape. Still, it wouldn't do to have them trying to alert other guards with screams. With a wave of my hand, they fell into a deep sleep. After I was done with that final chore, I stalked onwards to freedom, my agitation manifesting in the slowly spreading aura of darkness that was emanating from me. I was Teridax, the Makuta. I had endured Tartarus' boredom and dull prison cells just for this. And I would be free from this place, this wretched prison built to hold me and those shadows that skulked in the night. They had never found my fortress, so that should be safe.
Eventually, I found a gate. Without hesitation, I flung it open and walked out, analysing the ambient air around me. Feh. Nothing important. The light was a bit bright, which annoyed me on an instinctual level. My every instinct screamed at me to shut out this annoying light with some nice darkness, alleviate a bit of strain on my glowing red eyes. Yet I did nothing. Why? It was just after Tartarus' only successful breakout, and thus I was loath to do anything which might put me back in there.
I looked around me, at the horizon, checking my position and triangulating with what I could remember. I would have to wait until night fell so that I could get a more accurate prediction. I spread out my senses, feeling for a high concentration of shadow or magnetic energy. When nothing came in this immediate location I snorted. I hadn't really expected any success with finding my old lair, but it had been worth a try. Celestia wouldn't have built any gate to Tartarus in any location that had such dark power flowing through it. After all, a Makuta... always... has a dark fortress.
I looked down at my hands. Was I even human now? I had to look at myself seriously. I had lived so much longer than any other human, beyond any natural lifespan and many empires. When I'd gotten here, through my own aggressiveness and the Kraahkan's manipulations I'd become an enemy of 'ponykind.' I still thought them weak, but at least I could admire their strength against adversity. Those who fled me deserved my loathing, but those ponies who stood up to me I... liked? Admired? No, it was respected.
It was why I disliked the vast majority. The herd mentality of a race of sentient herbivores meant that they were generally terrified of me. Heck, even those who were brave enough to stand against me often had to do with powerful backup. Then again... I will admit, in my present state I was pretty terrifying even to the bravest of warriors- a ten-foot tall behemoth of dully shining steel in red, black and gunmetal grey.
Had I a mouth, I would have grinned. I had no idea where I was, not until nightfall at the very least. All I had on me were my Kanohi Kraahkan, my Staff of Shadows and, of course, my myriad abilities and incredible intellect. This was going to be a good time to... spread some influence, in a subtle way of course.
Canterlot
Celestia smiled serenely as she dealt with yet another noble trying to curry favour with her. This time, it was the esteemed Goldenhoof, trying to negotiate yet another tax evasion. This she would not allow. The life of a Diarch of Equestria was remarkably dull sometimes, yet there were little things, everywhere, which made it all worth the while. Such as ensuring that enemies of the realm were dealt with properly, creating a safer future for her little ponies and, of course, seeing her sister walking around again.
Just then, a minotaur from Tartarus burst in. Celestia and the noble regarded him with shocked eyes. The noble, in particular, took great offence.
"What is the meaning of this?"
The minotaur ignored him, instead focusing on Celestia directly. "Princess, Prisoners 0 and 1 have escaped."
He bowed deeply. "As soon as Cerberus left the prison, the prisoners immediately broke out of their cells. It was only our gross negligence that allowed their escape. Please, forgive us."
Celestia shook her head. "No apologies are necessary. Thank you for bringing this matter to my attention quickly."
She turned to the noble. "Apologies, Goldenhoof but I must depart. Consider your tax evasion denied."
With that, she teleported away, back into the chambers she shared with Luna. Her sister looked at her. "Dear sister, what is the matter?"
Celestia's expression was grim. "Prisoners 0 and 1 have escaped. I was just informed, before you complain."
Luna nodded. "Any idea where the blaggards have fled to?"
Celestia shook her head. "Regretfully, the gates to Tartarus don't have a magical signature that can be traced. Though this has prevented many break-ins, this sole break-out means that they will have an easy time hiding from those who would bring them justice."
Luna nodded, levitating a sword in her aura. "Then we shall be the one who will personally hunt down Teridax. For what he did to us."
Celestia nodded, face hard. "Teridax will not evade us for long, I am sure of it. He was always too arrogant to contemplate hiding."
A plain, somewhere
I absently felt a slight prickling in the back of my metallic neck. A force of habit, perhaps? Well, regardless, I was hidden, in the most unlikely of places- a barn. A slight fall from grace, but one that was necessary- after all, I can't have the alicorns tracking me down and putting me back. Not after I've already served a sentence. Not a chance in, ironically, Tartarus.
I turned back to the mysterious blue beast. "So it's a deal then?"
Ahuizotl grinned widely. "Of course, mister Makuta." That last bit was in a rather pained grunt, on account of me pinning him to the ground under his own weight. Gravity; too useful a tool for such a pawn. I'd stumbled across him talking about the 'Orb of Vision,' and after listening about its properties, I had to admit that my curiosity was piqued. A simple crystal ball, capable of seeing into other worlds... what kind of person would I be if I didn't snatch something like that up? I then incapacitated him, covered him with an illusion, and then dragged him to my current hiding place. His little cat army had tried to take me on, but given that I was made of impenetrable protosteel, it had only been a minor nuisance before I sent them to sleep.
"Understand that while I want this artifact, it doesn't matter overly whether you lose it or not. All that matters is that you tell me where important artifacts are already. In exchange, I will provide you with a suitable reward for your efforts. If it is stolen by somebody else, then tell me where the Orb is. I must have it. Again, do we have a deal?"
Ahuizotl sweated. I increased the pressure slightly, just enough to cause a large twinge of pain. "I said, are we clear?"
Ahuizotl grinned up at me with his tail barely lifting into a thumbs up position. "Agreed, Teridax."