//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Present // Past // Story: Truth and Reconciliation // by sincarnation //------------------------------// Sunrise 5:30am, 11th of Viglyd, 6 Days After the Tirek Incident – A Meadow Outside of Canterlot “Argh the night never lasted long enough”, sighed a somber voice. The sudden noise cut through the barely waking meadow. There was a moment of stillness before the only sounds were choked sobs, and in that moment everything dulled. The birds stopped their songs, the plants seemed to droop a bit lower, and even the air took on a bitter taste. For those few moments the meadow mourned with him though they knew not why he mourned, but as suddenly as it started the sobbing started to slow, “I’ve had a 1000 or so years to mourn, now is not the time to wallow in pity,” thought the well-rested but sullen escapee. He could only look out at the horizon as the sun continued to rise into the sky. While he had tried to nurture a hatred of the sun for 1000 years, seeing the sunrise was exactly what he needed right now. The figure wiped away the remaining evidence of his tears and steeled himself, for the seeing the sun rise through the sky was enough to harden his resolve. During his time in Tartarus he made sure the wounds from that night stayed fresh, he didn’t want the pain to fade. He wanted to remember his biggest failure and what it had cost him forever. “Once I had no purpose, but before I could end my miserable existence an angel saved me. She gave me hope and purpose when I had lost my own, and later she gave me companionship and love,” the figure paused for a sharp breath. As he continued his voice grew more pained, “Then in my own naivety I lost her to my best friend.” The memory was still like a knife to the heart, something he had experienced many times before. “I was a fool to think she would never betray me, and now I will remember it every day of my miserable existence. But I won’t allow the pain to fade, nor will I allow myself to trust anypony like that again. The pain will be my penance, and suffering my only means of atonement.” Even as he stood, it took some time before he could actually look at the city in the distance. After a deep breath and a few moments to recollect himself, his voice no longer wavered nor did it sound as pained. “In all of our time together, I tried to warn you to be wary of many of things. The most important one was to fear the creature with nothing left to lose, and if you had bothered to heed my warning you would’ve killed me that night instead of imprisoning me. You will answer for what you have done Celestia if it is the last thing I do.” With those final words the figure started off towards Canterlot, the anger radiating from him was enough to cause the grass to stiffen up, and the wildlife to cower in fear. They could only look on and pity the fool that stood in his path. 6am, 11th of Viglyd, 6 Days After the Tirek Incident – Canterlot Castle Throne Room The Canterlot castle throne room was rarely quiet with it normally being occupied by guards, arguing nobility, and an uninterested princess, but this was an unusual time. It was before open court was held, and the guards were ordered to secure the entrances with only the bearers of the elements of harmony being allowed to enter. Inside Celestia sat in quiet contemplation, unsure if she was ready for the task ahead of her. She knew the next couple days were going to be messy, and she did not look forward to having to be the one to clean it up. She could hear their panicked hooves against the marble floors long before they came close to the doors. Celestia chuckled quickly to herself, “Perhaps next time I shouldn’t use the generic urgent summons letter. Everypony has been a little on edge since the Tirek incident, but it certainly was effective.” She quickly and easily took on her usual stoic demeanor, bracing herself for the task ahead. Suddenly the doors burst open as six distraught and disheveled ponies stampeded in. “Princess Celestia, we came as soon as we received your summons,” Twilight looked around frantically searching for any signs of impending doom. “Is Tirek free again? Or has King Sombra resurfaced? Has Chrysalis started replacing ponies with changelings in an attempt to take over Canterlot again? Or is it,” Twilight was cut off by a gentle, but firm voice. “Calm down Twilight the situation isn’t dire yet, but it was urgent that I got to talk to you all,” said Celestia as she used her magic to close the doors and cast a silence spell over the room. “Good morning and thank you girls for meeting with me so early, but it is very important that I get to talk to you and the sooner the better. However before I explain the situation, I need you six to promise me everything I’m about to say stays between us. This is serious, no pony else can know especially not Luna”. Celestia hated to do this, and she knew she would regret it later when Luna inevitably found out but it was necessary to make sure her subjects were safe. Not one of the elements hesitated before reciting the most binding words they knew, “Cross My Heart, Hope to Fly, Stick a Cupcake in my Eye!” Applejack was the first to speak up, “but Princess if this is so important are you sure this is somethin you should be keepin from yer sister?” Her friends silently nodded in agreement clearly having the same question themselves. “Honestly, I don’t want to do any of it this way, but this is the safest way. I love Luna dearly, but this is something she can’t be a part of.” Celestia knew the best way to remove a bandage was to do it quick, so she took a deep breath before she continued. “Alright I summoned you here to discuss a very personal matter, but let’s get this out of the way beforehand; I am probably going to be attacked tomorrow night. The attacker is one of the few beings with extensive knowledge on how to kill an immortal, and there is a very real chance that these are the last hours of my rule”, Celestia managed to say calmly although rather quickly. She had much longer to come to terms with the possibility, but still the thought of that entire night almost choked her up. Twilight was the first to panic as she blurted out, “Who is attacking? We can inform the guards and hide you away to protect you from th-“ Before the rest of the elements could join in they were cut off by a stern gaze and a raised hoof from the Princess. “Twilight let me explain please. Anypony strong enough to take on Luna or myself is more than a match for my guards, and if I sent them against him I would only be sending them to their deaths. I care far too much to do that.” Celestia let out another sigh, not unlike the others. “The irony of this situation is not lost on me, for it is that same love of my subjects that put me in this situation." Rainbow Dash was the first to get the courage to speak after their last outburst, “Princess what’s going on here? We’ve saved Equestria tons of times. Who is this guy that you are so sure we can’t stop?” The elements of harmony all nodded in agreement except Twilight who could only look on in shock. Only willpower was preventing her from breaking into a panic attack. Celestia was like a mother to her, she had spent more time with Celestia than she did with her own parents, and now Celestia was calmly accepting the possibility of her own death. She couldn’t believe it was really happening, but the proof was right before her eyes. Celestia had devoted a lot time since Luna’s return trying to figure out how to explain what had happened to not just to Luna but to anypony, and only now did she realize how unprepared she really was. So many events were intertwined it really shouldn’t have surprised her, but she was supposed to be one of the rulers of Equestria. Surely she could talk about the past without breaking down no matter how much she wished the night never happened. “His name is Artemis, and he had many names and titles in the past: Nature’s Fury, the Savage Beast, the Night Stalker, the Blood Hunter, the Wild King, Orion. Now he is only in the most obscure pony legends usually as a vicious monster, but his subjects, Luna, and I still remember him for what he really was. He was a great leader, strong warrior, and the best friend we could’ve asked for. During his rule ponies and wolves enjoyed an era of peace longer than what we have had now. Unfortun-” Celestia’s voice got caught in her throat before she suddenly blurted out, “I’m the reason why the wolves hate us, and I’m the reason why they regressed so much. They used to have prosperous culture that was equivalent to our own but now they are on the verge of extinction.” Celestia recounted bitterly as she felt the pain of hundreds of years of repressed guilt resurge and it wasn’t about to be pushed back down after getting this far. All she could do to stop herself from bursting into tears was clench her eyes shut and focus on continuing the story. “Long ago the wolves were constantly fighting amongst themselves, and Artemis fought to unify the warring wolf packs. He challenged every leader individually for leadership, and once he was the alpha of each pack he was accepted as their King. However without Artemis present to unify and lead them, they have only declined. That wasn't all he did though, Artemis helped us a great deal as well. His dedication to our, mine and Luna’s, safety was the model for the royal guard, and just as importantly he was our best friend for over 3000 years.” Celestia was fighting hard not to let herself start crying before the very ponies that looked to her for strength. She mentally cursed herself for still not being able to even talk about this after so long, but before she could force herself continue, she found herself being embraced from all sides. After waiting a few moments to ensure she wasn’t going to let any tears slip, she opened her eyes only slightly surprised to find the elements hugging her. Celestia managed to form a gentle smile despite tsunami of held back emotions bombarding her. She silently accepted and appreciated their closeness, and together they took some time to just enjoy each other’s company. 6:30am, 11th of Viglyd, 6 Days After the Tirek Incident – Canterlot Streets Despite the early hour, the streets of Canterlot were already brimming with ponies going about their day to day business. Most of them went along in an almost trance-like state, ignorantly and blissfully following their normal morning routines. While majority of ponies went along without noticing anything amiss, many others were shocked out of their trance by a massive angry looking unicorn walking through their path. Many who saw him had their jaw drop at his sheer size, and all who saw him knew to stay out of his way. “At least they know to avoid angry creatures that are larger than them, but even so they seem just as soft as they were back then. Some things never change I guess, I hated Canterlot back then too,” chuckled Artemis but there was no joy in it. “The hard workers got shoved out by the wealthy that charged a tail and a leg just to live near the Princesses, and the feeling of superiority made practically everypony living here into a condescending waste of life,” Artemis grumbled as many a passerby looked at him with a combination of confusion, fear, and awe. “I haven’t even talked to anypony yet, but the arrogant pretentiousness is so powerful I can’t ignore it. I can smell the horrible upper class perfumes, hear the condescension in their voices, and see their feelings of superiority as they look down on any and everypony,” Artemis continued to rant to himself. “I’d be impressed that they managed to reach this level if it weren’t so damn irritating.” As his miserable journey through the city continued, Artemis could only look on in irritated awe at how little had actually changed with the newer technologies. They created a better source of light than candles, and they even had strange objects that allowed them to communicate from a distance instead of sending letters. As far as he could tell even the modern Equestrian language was a blending of old Equis and Lupine, something Celestia no doubt had a hoof in, everything was at its core the same but more effective. His revelation was cut short as suddenly a mare was thrown out onto the street a few meters ahead of him, and what he saw sadly didn’t surprise him. The poor mare had clearly had too much to drink, the cherry red flush on her face stood out obviously against her pure white coat. If that wasn’t a giveaway Artemis could smell the alcohol coming off of her breath even in the distance. Her electric blue mane was, strange and interesting, disheveled and it was quite clear to him that she was in no condition to get home alone, but no one batted an eye or offered a hoof to help. “The ponies of Canterlot, who am I kidding most creatures with over-inflated illusions of self-worth, always seemed to be too busy to help one of their own in their time of need,” Artemis grumbled as he made his way over to the mare lying only partially conscious in the street. Vinyl Scratch had seen better days, but that is easy to say when you are face down on the street too drunk to stand. This wasn’t the first time the renowned DJ had celebrated a little too hard after a concert, and it definitely wasn’t the first time she had been thrown out of Sal’s bar. Sadly it also wasn’t the first time a stallion had suddenly hoisted her onto his back after such a night, but Vinyl wasn’t too far gone not to put up a struggle. “What the buck are you doing? Put me down!” Vinyl tried to struggle, but a noticeable aura of magic kept her from getting down. “Unbelievable, ponies still don’t know not to drink more than they can handle”, grumbled Artemis mostly to himself as he cast a spell to make sure the mare couldn’t fall off his back and injure herself. “Calm down, you aren’t in any condition to go anywhere alone. Now where am I taking you?” “Look pal I know what you are trying to do, it isn’t happening alright? Now just put me down” said Vinyl as panic was the only thing suppressing her growing desire to sleep. “Maybe I was wrong, things certainly have changed. Acts of kindness and goodwill are so rare that they are mistaken for deception and exploitation”, chuckled Artemis. “It would certainly be easier for me to just leave you here in the streets and go about my business, but my conscience would eat me alive for it. Look I’m not gonna hurt you, and to be honest nothing could stop me if I wanted to. I’m relatively new to this city, so most of this place is unfamiliar. Just point me towards a place where I can take you so you will be safe. I will drop you off and be on my way.” Artemis didn’t particularly want to help this mare, but he couldn’t just leave her alone. Aside from being no better than the very ponies he criticized if he ignored her, he actually would feel bad if he found out something had happened to her after deciding to leave her alone. Vinyl wasn’t completely convinced, but he did have a point. Ponies in Canterlot were already non-confrontational, and if they saw this stallion they wouldn’t even try to stop him. Still the idea of leading a potentially dangerous stranger to her home didn’t sound too good either she had heard too many tragedies that started that way, but then she thought of a better plan. “Fine just tell me your name first, and don’t try any funny business. Accidentally miss a turn and I will accidentally plant my hoof in your jaw,” said Vinyl as a mischievous smile crept onto her face. She knew exactly where she would lead him, and she couldn’t wait to see the look on her face when she got there. That smile was a dead giveaway, she had a plan. Artemis knew from personal experience that it was far better to air on the side of caution instead of taking unnecessary risks. Still he didn’t like to lie to anypony, so he opted to give her an older name. “You can call me Orion”, said Artemis before he started to chuckle. “Oh don’t worry I won’t, but I would love to see you try it.” It wasn’t crucial to his plan that he be at the castle right then anyway, taking an hour or so to help this mare wouldn’t hinder him at all. Soon he was following the mare’s directions throughout the crazy twists and turns of Canterlot. He knew there was a surprise waiting for him at the end, her smile gave that away, but he wasn’t really all that concerned. It wasn’t like anypony could kill him anyway, and if they could he wasn’t sure he would stop them. He knew he needed time to think, but he wanted a distraction so he didn't have to think. Artemis opted to push his goals to the back of his mind so he could focus. The morning was still young and he was helping a pony in need, nothing else really mattered at the moment.