Truth and Reconciliation

by sincarnation

Prologue – New Beginnings

Noonish 12:30pm, 2nd of Weylin, 365 days before the Tirek Incident – Tartarus

“It has been far too long since I was not caged, “ rasped the weary voice. “That blasted mutt finally left his post, and it has been over a thousand years since either Princess has checked in on this forsaken place.”

The severely weakened Centaur carefully made his way over to the next prison cell over, doing his best to be silent. Tartarus was treacherous on its best days, but it was maddening at its worst. While many common folk thought about death as the ultimate punishment, but those on the deepest levels knew the most precious thing wasn't their life but their sanity. Tartarus was a prison built to hold the vilest and most resilient of creatures , but time had caused more than the immortals it was intended to hold to be trapped within its depths.

It wasn't long before the centaur's journey came to an end, at the edge of the cell of Tartarus's most recent prisoner. Each cell in Tartarus was prepared to house a specific prisoner, and few of them were even remotely similar. The cell" before him didn't actually have a locked door, it was surrounded by jagged crags slopping in every direction. As he maneuvered towards the center, the air became stiflingly hot, and the crag spiraled around the edges of a pit of molten rock.

Just standing at the edge he could sense a magic similar to but slightly different from his own siphoning magic at work. What had shocked him was the amount of magic it had consumed over the years, it was staggering to know that it had all come from a single source. He knew that if he even attempted set foot inside what little magic he had would be ripped from him and added to the collection.

“Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best,” thought the Centaur as he stood just outside the cell.

The dim chamber was only faintly illuminated by the faintly glowing intricate sealing circle carved into what appeared to be obsidian floors with a the soft glow coming from beneath revealing the molten rock beneath. Suspended in the middle of the chamber appeared to be a creature mummified and held aloft by an innumerable amount of chains. The captive must have noticed the visitor because it seemed to stiffen up shortly after he entered.

“Tirek?” growled a strangely clear voice. “You have escaped? To what, pray tell, do I owe the displeasure of your presence?”

“Ahhh the Savage Beast speaks,” mocked Tirek as he looked upon the ludicrous amounts of chains with increasing anticipation.

“You know I haven’t held that title in nearly 3000 years, I am no longer the same Savage Beast. Now what do you want? You wouldn’t be here otherwise so don’t waste my time.”

“Isn’t it rather hard to waste time between immortals? When your life isn't limited by time, time itself becomes devalued. What better do you have to do in those chains?”

"While it is true that scarcity increases the value of anything, this hellhole hasn't made my time so utterly worthless that I would waste it or my words on you. Tirek what do you want? I’m not asking again,” snarled the prisoner. He knew Tirek had a plan, Tirek wouldn't come to him otherwise. They hated each other, and a thousand years of festering rage wasn’t enough to prevent him from being wary of the depraved centaur.

“As you wish, sire, but are you not tired of those chains? Don’t you long to feel the breeze through your coat? Well I have earned my freedom, and now you have the chance to earn yours. All you have to do is join me, and together we can take revenge on those who betrayed us and destroy Equestria.”

“Me? Join you? As your underling? Time must have eroded your sanity, why would you want my help? Why would I need your help? I can’t stand your presence, and you don’t care for mine either,” questioned the chains. Tirek was obviously trying to use him for some means or another, but there is always a catch or a betrayal in the near future when it comes to the centaur.

“The enemy of my enemy is my ally or so the saying goes, it is as simple as that. I recommend you hurry, my offer does expire soon. Honestly I recommend you take it, the alternative is that I leave you here to spend the rest of your days consumed by chains.”

Tirek’s feelings of domination were short lived as he suddenly felt the atmosphere shift, the tension caused by irritation and caution broke only to be replaced with an ominous mirth. Tirek could feel the wolfish smile hidden beneath the layers of chain in the very core of his being, and his stomach plummeted. Whatever was coming next wasn’t going to be good, and his fears were only confirmed when he heard a deep laugh echo throughout the chamber.

“Three things that will help you in the future Tirek, first of all the enemy of my enemy CAN be my ally. While that’s not how it was originally said, assuming that they will be on your side could get you killed, likely by me. The fatal flaw of every plan is the assumption you know more than your adversary, and lastly when you try to make a deal with someone, always try to be the one in the position of power,” said the prisoner confidently.

Tirek could only laugh, “You should be careful, it almost sounded like you believed yourself to be in a position of power while you remain there wrapped in chains. If that were the case though my deal wouldn’t be necessary, and maybe I should just leave right now,” said the centaur as he made his way to leave. Even as he walked away he couldn’t help but feel the pit in his stomach was only getting worse.

“Oh but that is the case Tirek, you and I both know you are too diminished to escape Cerberus if he should suddenly come rushing back at the sound of a prisoner escaping. So here is the new deal, you set me free and we both escape to go our separate ways, I won’t interfere with your plans and you don’t interfere with mine. Or alternatively I let loose a howl so loud Cerberus will come rushing back with more than enough time to capture you before you truly escape.”

“That is insanity,” paled Tirek as he suddenly understood the feeling in his stomach. “You would condemn us both to avoid helping me? That is absolute madness, being spiteful for the sake of hate and not even some greater benefit. Why? Do you truly despise me that much?”

“Insanity?” laughed the prisoner. “Ignorance is no reason to label something as madness. As for why, you escaped your cell merely on the fluke that Cerberus was called away for some reason or another. My plan for escape is close to fruition with or without Cerberus or you for that matter. So even if you try to run and leave me here I will escape soon and leave before either of you even notice my disappearance. Like you said when you don’t have to worry about aging time means very little, what is a few months to the thousand years I’ve spent here?” explained the prisoner calmly. “Honestly, you should've just run instead of coming to me for help with your plans.”

“Well then, what stopping me from just getting recaptured and warning Cerberus of your escape plan since we are discussing mutually assured destruction!”

“You don’t know how I plan to escape, and even so I’m not worried about Cerberus. These chains aren’t for show, even without my magic I’m more than a match for Cerberus,” continued the prisoner. He didn’t mention the risk that a fight with Cerberus might draw the attention of Celestia, somepony he couldn’t fight without his magic, but Tirek didn’t need to remember that. “All you have to do to avoid all this is free me with no other conditions attached, but I recommend you hurry and decide quickly though because this offer expires soon.”

Tirek hated to be bested by anyone and especially by him, but he wasn’t going to let pride spoil his chance for freedom. Besides there would be time for revenge for this insult later, even still he took a moment to pretend to think about it before finally answering.

“Fine you win,” spat Tirek resentfully. “We can escape together no strings attached, but I trust you know some way to escape your prison? I am not as intimately familiar with the workings of your cell.”

As he finished that sentence, he heard a spitting sound and a sharp whistling object shot past his ear landing with a clang in the wall beside him.

"Put simply, the circle drains my magic, the walls limit my senses, the chains keep me in place, and the heated chains are distracting my regenerative abilities. The chains repair themselves when broken, and there are just too many to break fast enough," explained the prisoner.

"What is this then?" questioned Tirek as he pulled the relatively small spike out of the wall.

“I broke off and sharpened that segment of chain with my teeth long ago, all you have to do is use it as a chisel and disrupt the circle without falling to the magma. Obsidian is sharp and magically conductive but fragile, it shouldn’t be too hard for you even in your diminished state. Just do that and I can break free. The chains only repair when broken not when they have been eroded and weakened, I have kept the chains prepared for ages in case the circle's power wavered for the slightest moment.”

It didn’t take Tirek long to carve into the volcanic glass, the most difficult part was navigating the semi-molten terrain, but he took as much time as he dared to memorize the seal in case he needed it later. As soon as he had crossed into the lines forming the circle, its power waned for just long enough. In that instant the chains suddenly shifted and exploded outward sending shrapnel into the surrounding walls.

“Free from those blasted chains, and free to connect with nature after a thousand years,” laughed the newly freed prisoner as he twisted every stiff joint in his body noting that the seal was also repairing itself. “True freedom however is only a short ways away.”

The newly freed prisoner took a moment to feel out the natural flow of energy, and when he did he could feel Cerberus along with something else headed toward them at a rather slow pace though.

“We should hurry now that I’m free I can sense Cerberus on his way back.”

He didn’t mention that he could also sense a massive source of magic leading the way, but he partially hoped it would catch Tirek on the back end of their escape. It didn’t feel like Celestia, but it had nearly as much power and was still maturing. He made a quick mental note to investigate it after he fully recovered his strength.

“Then let us go, I have no desire to be here when he returns,” said Tirek as he hurried along the side of the jagged crag.

After what felt like hours of climbing jagged rock, sneaking past atrocity after atrocity, and shuffling along narrow ledges they finally breached the surface, only to be greeted by a beautiful sunrise.

“True freedom at last,” laughed Tirek hysterically. “One step closer to recovery, and one step closer to revenge.”

“Sunrise often symbolizes new beginnings, how fitting” chuckled the Savage Beast. “You should use this as a time to reflect upon your true desires and consider a new beginning for yourself. I don’t foresee many futures where your revenge plot succeeds, and consider that warning your reward for freeing me. I highly recommend you take it to heart. Anyway this is where we part ways Tirek, remember the deal. I don’t care what you do with Equestria, but the slightest stray into Lupinia and all the magic in the world won't protect you from my wrath.”

Without waiting for a response he bolted for the forest, his natural sense of direction pointed him towards the Everfree forest. He no longer cared about Equestria or what happened to it, whatever Tirek did they had brought upon themselves. All that mattered was getting to the Everfree forest. It was the closest place he knew he could rest and recover without worry of being bothered by wayward ponies or animals.

After he arrived, it took only mere hours for the oldest creatures to remember him, and after teaching some of the younger generations the consequences of not making sure that what you hunt is prey, he reached his destination.

He stood before a massive waterfall with two rocky extensions jutting out from each side. In the older days it was called Devil’s Cliff, but once it was consecrated many stopped using the name. He slowly approached the waterfall, a place that held many precious memories, and he walked straight through to the cave behind it. The water that collected in the central cavern had once been blessed by the moon, granting it unusual healing properties, and after a thousand years it looked relatively undisturbed. It was a place few knew of in the past and he imagined even fewer would try to get to now, and a simple illusion and force field would be enough to convince most ponies foolish enough to try to find the cave that it had collapsed.

“While I hate to admit it, Tartarus caused far more damage than I thought. I’ve waited many years though, one more won’t hurt,” he thought to himself.

As he sunk into the healing waters, he was barraged with memories from nights, both glorious and horrific, past. Many memories that were once so close to his heart now stabbed him with pain, twisting more and more with every image.

“Some wounds can only be healed with time, some never heal, and some wounds aren’t allowed to heal” he thought as his vision started to fade. He knew he should be more concerned that his body was shutting down to repair itself, but his mind was a thousand years in the past. He could only float there helplessly as he felt his heart torn from his body over and over again, it was a feeling he never wanted to forget.

“I’m sorry, I failed you,” he whispered while on the verge of tears as sleep finally was getting a grasp on him. Though he slept, all he had were nightmares about the night mare that would be in his thoughts forever.

Author's Note:

Welp, this is the beginning of what will probably be a moderately long story. This is my first story, and constructive criticism is appreciated. No editors, pre-readers, or anything, let me know if you are interested in helping out.

*Props to anyone who catches the subtle references throughout the story

4/29 Round 2 of edits: As of 4/29 im re-reediting the story so if there is a drastic change in style that is probably the reason bear with me, the inconsistency will be fixed relatively shortly.

Comments

[Timeless Lord Slayer]

A few errors throughout the chapter, but it is still very good.