Tirek.
The name of the demonic centaur depicted on the heinous stained glass window. His name alone made everypony, even Celestia and Luna themselves break out in a nervous sweat. No one could budge an inch from their spot, as if the essence of fear clamped around their ankles like iron and bolted them down to the floor. Though Tirek was only a stained painting depicted on the luminous glass, the centaur’s appearance was all the more reason why Celestia considered him a great threat.
He looked like the embodiment of pure evil itself. To Harold, he was the Satan to all ponykind.
“T-Tirek, your majesty?” Twilight squeaked, still shaken by the appearance of the illustration.
“Yes. Tirek is the demon of darkness and evil who is also the most feared creature in deepest pits of Tartarus. He was also the first and easily the most dangerous enemy that Luna and I have ever fought during the beginning years of our reign.” Celestia sighed shakily, as if she was intimidated by the ghosts of Equestria’s past. Twilight felt a lump in her throat, never seeing her mentor this scared before. Had Tirek done more damage to her than Nightmare Moon did one thousand years ago? More than Discord? King Sombra even? Twilight didn’t know, but she was about to find out.
“So what happened?” she asked.
Celestia sighed once more before she resumed her story. “Well, after Star Swirl the Bearded successfully performed the spell, our creation began an uproar within the citizens. Everypony was discouraged about having what they considered us either winged unicorns or horned pegasi take the throne of Equestria. But Star Swirl convinced us to make them see otherwise. Together, the three of us alicorns revealed to them our power that not even the whole tribe of unicorns could measure up to.”
“Wait. Wait a second. Did you say ‘the three of us?’” Twilight asked. “As in you, Luna and Cadence?”
“Not exactly, Twilight Sparkle. Princess Cadence merely ascended to an alicorn much like you have,” Luna answered, almost sounding loud for using her indoor voice. “Star Swirl originally created three alicorns to rule over the three celestial bodies of Equestria: the sun, the moon and the Earth. I govern the moon and the night while Celestia governs the sun and the daytime. But there was one other alicorn who ruled over the Earth.”
“Really? Who was it?”
“The other alicorn...” Celestia sighed sadly. “...was the first alicorn to be created. Princess Terra.”
“PRINCESS TERRA!?!” shouted the Elements of Harmony.
“Yes. Princess Terra, in a way, was our eldest sister. She was the first alicorn to be created by Star Swirl the Bearded and governed the Earth and everything that flourished in the world. She was also the kindest and most generous pony who ever lived, giving food and shelter to the all of the ponies who were poor and lost hope. She was the best sister anypony could have.”
Celestia’s eyes glimmered with moisture while she sadly smiled, Luna following suit. Everypony felt touched by the story of the princesses’ unheard-of sister, even to the point where Harold’s tears trickled down once down his cheek. It sounded to him like this Princess Terra that Celestia spoke of would get along fine with Lana. The kindness, the generosity, trying to get their own kind to see the light of hope. If Princess Terra were here right now, she would sympathize with her for being a good sister figure to both Celestia and Luna.
But Harold knew the story did not have a happy ending. He could see it clearly in the faces of the two regal alicorns.
“But Princess, if Terra is both you and Luna’s sister, then how come I haven’t heard of her until today?” Twilight asked, not knowing she was going to regret that question.
“You have seen her, Twilight,” Celestia answered. “She’s just not the way she is now when you first encountered her.”
“Huh?”
Everypony tilted their heads in confusion, Pinkie Pie’s forehead clonking into Rainbow Dash’s. Once again, Celestia’s cryptic speech left them all baffled. “Perhaps I shall elaborate with another story,” the ivory alicorn said. “During the years after the coronation of Terra, Luna and I, rumors began to arise of a cult of seven fanatical unicorns gathering somewhere in the dark recesses of the mountains. The cult was known to unicorns then as the Sin Eater. It was said that they stole a book containing dark magic from our royal libraries. They would use it to summon a powerful demon locked away in Tartarus.”
“Tirek,” guessed Twilight.
“I’m afraid so. When we got word of what the unicorns were prepared to do, my sisters and I scouted the mountains for any trace of the Sin Eater. We managed to find out where their gathering was, but by the time we got there, it was too late. Tirek had been summoned, and in return, he stole the dark hearts from each member of the Sin Eater and converted them all in his most deadliest weapon. The Stormbow of Darkness.”
“The Stormbow of Darkness?” Twilight squeaked.
“Indeed. The Stormbow of Darkness is a sentient being of darkness itself. It holds the great and terrible power to transform anypony and any living creature into a monstrous creature,” Luna explained, pointing her hoof to the empty burlap sack in the display case. “The Stormbow’s power was too great for even Tirek to control. So he contained the dark being inside this enchanted sack for him to wield at certain times. But somehow the Stormbow has escaped its prison and it’s loose somewhere in Equestria. I dare not think where it could be or what it’s scheming at this moment.”
“Princess Luna, was this Stormbow really all that bad?” Applejack asked.
“You have no idea, Applejack. The Stormbow of Darkness not only has the power to turn animals into the creatures that now reside in the Everfree Forest, but its influence could turn even the most pure-hearted ponies into pure evil, including me. The Darkness fed off of my jealousy, my anger and my resentment towards my sister for her subjects who praised the sun more than I with the moon. With it, I became the one pony I feared of becoming... Nightmare Moon.”
Everypony gasped. Now they knew the true origins of Nightmare Moon and the various creatures the Mane Six encountered in that cursed forest. Who knew that a living shadow had caused so much pain for Celestia for over one-thousand years? Although, it made perfect sense. Envy was one of the Seven Deadliest Sins of Ponykind and the darkness itself implanted that sin inside Luna. And Luna was envious towards Celestia for getting more attention in the daytime than she did during the night.
Everyone looked at the sack, feeling fear course their their nerves. A bad vibe resonated in the air, even with just a sideways glance at the sack. Out of the nine who gazed into the hollow emptiness of the bag, Twilight and Harold both felt the evil vibes the most. They felt a stronger terror take hold, staggering back a couple of steps with widened eyes and shaking breaths. Harold held his hand over his heart as it beat rapidly near the point where he could collapse from a heart attack while Twilight fell on her haunches, giving herself a bear hug to calm herself.
This feeling. Never before had the two felt this much fear ever. Why? It was just an empty woven bag with beads on it, meant to contain a dark force. But why... why did they feel this way? Why did this little old sack scare them so much that it made them drop to the floor!? Why were they the only two people in the room who felt what they felt while the other ponies didn’t!? Why!? Why!?
“Harold!? Twilight!?” Fluttershy gasped, prompting the others to turn to the two. “Guys, what’s happening to you!?”
The ponies quickly gathered around the two, both wriggling on the cold stone floor like decapitated snakes. Harold whimpered painfully as grasped his head with his hands while Twilight flopped on her back, her hooves still wrapped around her body. Five of the Mane Six were scared stiff, not knowing what to do in their condition. All they could do is try and snap the two out of their seizure-like scare by yelling to them.
“Harold! Twilight! What’s wrong with you two!?” Fluttershy screamed panicking.
“Twilight! Please restrain yourself!” Rarity yelped. “You’re gonna frighten yourself to death!”
“Hold yer horses, sugarcube!” Applejack yelled. “We can’t do nothin’ when y’all are movin’ around like mad!”
“Hey, Twi! Snap out of it, will ya!? I don’t want to lose another pony today!” Rainbow Dash yelled.
“They’re not responding! THEY’RE NOT RESPONDING!!” Pinkie Pie screamed deafeningly, turning to the invisible wall she loved to stare at in her spare time. “HEY, YOU OUT THERE AT THE COMPUTER SCREEN!! HELP!! IS THERE A DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE!?! WE REALLY, REALLY, REALLY NEED HELP!! NOW!!”
As the Mane Six tried to shout out to Harold and Twilight, Pinkie Pie yelping out to nowhere, Celestia daintily trotted up to the suffering duo, her horn lighting in her graceful golden light. Her horn flared and the golden light washed upon everypony, draining their panic away from their nerves. Harold and Twilight felt their fearful bodies become calm, eventually feeling their terror subside like the calm sea after the passing storm.
Celestia sighed with relief. She knew this would happen eventually, but she kept a stoic and relieved face as her little ponies surrounded both Harold and Twilight, all feeling both frantic and concerned.
“Are y’all alright!?” Applejack yelled.
“You’re both not hurt, are you!?” Fluttershy whimpered, her voice shaking with tiny sobs.
“What on Earth happened to you two!?” Rarity screeched. “Honestly, I thought I was going to faint!”
“Yeah! Totally! It looked like you two were having a seizure or something!” Rainbow Dash yelled, throwing her hooves up in the air.
“Thank Celestia that you two are alright!” Pinkie Pie cut in, giggling like a schoolgirl. “Literally! Hee hee hee hee hee hee!”
The two were disoriented at first, their worlds spinning around like a merry-go-round, but made a quick recovery in under a minute. They nearly stumbled over to their sides as they staggered up with their footing. It was lucky for them that Twilight’s friends were around to support them, to keep them from falling back down into the ground. Celestia cleared her throat, prompting the others to turn to the ivory alicorn who trotted up to Twilight and Harold.
“Are you two feeling alright?” she asked in a motherly tone as if she concerned for her children.
“I’m fine, Princess Celestia,” Twilight answered.
“Yeah. Me too,” Harold replied.
“That’s a relief to hear. Now where were we in our story when we were interrupted?”
“Umm... you were talking about Princess Terra, Tirek and the Stormbow of Darkness?” Twilight asked.
“Yes, of course. That’s right.” Celestia regained her composure before she continued on with her story. “It was after Tirek was just released from Tartarus. Using the powers of the Stormbow of Darkness, Tirek nullified our magic and purged our prospering lands into a barren wasteland, turning most of the woodland creatures into horrible beasts, like the manticore and the timberwolves. We tried every tactic to prevent the forces of darkness from taking over Equestria, but in the end, we failed miserably. Tirek managed to single-hoofedly overthrow Equestria and made our previous castle his own personal fortress using his dark power.
“But all hope was not lost. There were some who resisted. The original founders of Equestria, their loyal apprentices and their armies met up in secrecy, Luna, Terra and myself included. We planned out our revolt against the tyranny of Tirek for the sake of Equestria, and a great war was waged for many days. The battle was hard fought and the forces of Tirek were drawn back into the fiery pits of Tartarus where they once came.
“But the victory of the battle had a far greater cost. We lost a good number of ponies brave enough to join us in our quest. Among those casualties were Star Swirl the Bearded and Terra.”
Everyone felt their hearts leap into their throats. Their eyes watered as Celestia’s voice dropped into sadness, a tear rolling down her cheek. “Princess, I’m so sorry to hear about your sister,” Twilight lamented. “I’m sure she was a great alicorn. Star Swirl too, I imagine.”
“Thank you for your condolences, Twilight, but Princess Terra is not gone. As I said, she’s just not the Terra that Luna and I used to know and loved anymore.”
“Wh-What do you mean? What’s happened to her?”
“Twilight, you’ve met her in person on a couple of occasions,” Celestia said. “You’ve met her during the changeling invasion of Canterlot during your brother’s wedding. She was the one who took the form of my niece to feed off of your brother and usurp the throne of Equestria. She was also the one who kidnapped your friends’ sisters when the Secretariat Comet passed over Equestria.”
Twilight’s body almost went into complete shock. She remembered now. She remembered that mare... that wicked mare who kidnapped her old foalsitter, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and took her form on the eve of her brother, Shining Armor’s wedding. The doppelganger’s cover was blown, but her changeling minions had already cracked the the protective barrier surrounding it. Though she was defeated by Shining Armor and Cadence’s love, she eventually returned when a mystical comet flew overhead Equestria. She gained an enormous amount of power, but she was proven no match against the magic of Twilight Sparkle.
Now it all made sense. The decaying alicorn who stood a foot taller than Celestia. The cryptic clue of Princess Terra’s “loss of life” during the battle with Tirek. The way Celestia lost so easily when the bug-like pony blasted her to the tiled floor of the altar. This unexpected development changed everything.
“No...” she muttered.
“I’m afraid so,” Celestia confirmed sadly, her head and Luna’s drooping downwards like dying malnourished plants. “During our great battle, Tirek attempted to use the Stormbow’s power on Star Swirl the Bearded to consume the love from everypony else, but Terra had taken the hit for him instead. With it, she was transformed into a foul creature with the ability to consume somepony’s love for one another and taking the form of that pony. The Terra you have met during your brother’s wedding has been long gone.
“She had become Chrysalis, the current Queen of the Changelings.”
Everypony gasped in a chorus, some voices shaking with sadness, others brought to mourning tears. Harold kept his face hidden from the ponies. He didn’t want to show his sympathy for having lost a dear sister himself. After all, Terra descended into the path of a wicked old bug. It didn’t feel right for him to join in on the teary eyes when the sister the alicorns lost was forced down the path of evil. But still, he did feel a smidgen of heartbreak like the rest of the ponies, his chest tightening in a knot.
“Oh, Princess... I’m so sorry,” Twilight whimpered. “I didn’t know that Chrysalis was your sister at the time. I can’t believe that was her that I went hoof-to-hoof with. Those changelings were probably also her children. I feel just awful.”
“There’s no need to feel sorry, Twilight,” Celestia said, slight sadness in her tone. “There is no way for us to break her out of Tirek’s influence. Luna and I had desperately tried to reason with her, but it was too late. Terra had been long gone by then, and with it, our chance to defeat Tirek once and for all.”
“But how did you defeat Tirek? Surely, there was something that you used against him?” Twilight asked, causing her mentor to smile.
“There was, Twilight. When Terra was transformed, the future of all ponykind was laid upon mine and Luna’s shoulders. We were sure we were going lose this battle. With the power of the Stormbow of Darkness, our resistance was quickly wearing thin and most of the prisoners had become rampaging dragonic-like creatures. In a last-ditch effort to end the dark times, Star Swirl and the founders of Equestria had done the impossible: They sacrificed their lives and the Fires of Friendship to create the magic so powerful that it would bring peace and harmony throughout Equestria.”
“The Elements of Harmony,” Twilight guessed with awe.
“Indeed. By connecting the hearts of our land’s founders, the magic within them... Kindness, Laughter, Loyalty, Generosity, Honesty and Magic... had more than enough power to defeat Tirek and end his reign of terror. With the power of the Elements of Harmony, Luna and I banished Tirek back into the deep fiery pits of Tartarus from whence he came and we imprisoned the Stormbow of Darkness within this enchanted sack, thus ending his tyrannical reign once and for all.”
“Alright, Princesses! Way to go!” Pinkie Pie yelped.
“I thought that we had ended Tirek’s threat once and for all,” Celestia added stoically. “But as we sealed the Stormbow into the sack, it left us a disturbing warning. It showed us visions; visions of a creature not of a different world who would aid in the return of its master and once more bring forth everlasting ruin to Equestria.”
Everyone, including Harold gasped with shock. “So that’s why ya see Harold as a threat ta everypony,” Applejack deduced. “This boy’s gonna help that Stormbow varmint bring back that no-good minotaur, Tirek. Ah guess Ah also know why Rainbow Dash is so afraid of him.”
“Am not!” the pegasus interjected.
“It’s not how you think it would be, Applejack,” Luna said, lifting a hoof towards the distraught Harold. “We have discovered that the creature we see before us now is not entirely evil. But in order to aid the Stormbow of Darkness in the revival of its master, the creature has to become a host by giving in to the darkness of his heart. Once he has lost sight of what he holds precious to him, then it is a sure sign that the Stormbow will ultimately return. I should know, for that has happened to me just before my transformation.”
A small gasp came from Harold. He gripped his locket in his hand, the tightening muscles causing it to shake vigorously. Fluttershy became worried as she distinctly recalled the conversation with him back at the cottage. He once said that his locket belonged to somepony special, someone that he made a solemn promise to before he left on his journey. If that was the case, then...
“But there are two ways to help prevent the coming of Tirek,” Celestia said, with regret heard in her voice. Everyone could tell that they were not going to like either way. “The first way is to send him back to his home world. After I send him back, I will cast a spell so that nopony else will remember his arrival to Equestria.”
“A-A-And the other way?” Fluttershy asked, worried about the wellbeing of Harold.
Celestia sighed, clearly not liking the option that she would speak of. “We will have to channel the powers of the Elements of Harmony and turn him into the stone. His body will be preserved, but he will have to be moved to a hidden area in the Canterlot Gardens.”
“NOOOO!” Fluttershy screamed, much to everyone’s surprise. She scrambled to Harold and stood in front of him, her wings spread out in defense. Applejack and Rainbow Dash attempted to pull her away for fear that she would defile the princess, only for the pegasus to wriggle in resistance.
“You can’t do this to him, Princess Celestia!” Fluttershy yelled defensively. “Harold would never dare to harm anypony! Please! There has to be another way!”
“I’m sorry, Fluttershy, but I can’t see any other way,” Celestia said solemnly. “This is not my decision to make. This is a decision that our esteemed guest can only make for himself and that decision is final.” The ivory alicorn reluctantly turned to Harold, who kept his face hidden away from everypony’s view. “I know that you mean no harm, Mr. DeMatt, and I know how big it is for me to put you through all of this. But I have to do this for the sake of my subjects. That is why I am leaving you with two options: you can return home or you may remain hidden away in the Canterlot Gardens. It’s your choice.”
The room grew into dead silence. Harold gripped his locket, unsure of he what he could do. If he was sent back to Earth, possibly back to New York City from where he seceded, then he would have to face the repercussions of running away from home and the other stuff that happened during that same day. What was worse was that he would forget all that he did during the short hours he’d been there.
But being turned to stone was even worse, as far as Harold could tell. He didn’t want to know what it felt like being turned into a statue like Fluttershy did during that incident in the meadow, becoming a cold, lifeless body of solid rock, hidden away from civilization for all eternity. It was a cruel fate worse than death itself. It wasn’t because stone could not eat, breathe, talk or move. It was because he would never fulfill his promise to Lana. Harold wanted to live to make the spirit of his late sister proud, but he didn’t want to return home. He wanted to stay and be happy for the first time in nearly a month, but he didn’t want to become stone.
What was he to do now?
The mares all watched in suspenseful silence as Harold kept his mouth still, his hand trembling while he held his most valued treasure. Nopony knew what thoughts ran through the human’s head at the time, though it looked like he was in the middle of a drastic conflict between the two of Princess Celestia’s choices. Fluttershy nervously chewed her hooftips with her clattering teeth. Twilight tried her best to keep her composure. For the first time ever, Rainbow Dash felt a twinge of fear for the sake of Harold.
The decisions piled up on Harold like lead weights on his shoulders, the pressure becoming great enough to tense up. His gripping hand shuddered, the locket’s chain making a series of tiny clicking noises. Then he took a deep breath. The human’s grip on his locket calmed down and he let the gold drop from his hand. From what the ponies could gather, Harold had finally made up his mind.
The answer first came out in small, inaudible whimpers; then it came out in one single, yet powerful word.
“No.”
The answer shocked everypony to the point of gasping. Rainbow Dash, Twilight and Pinkie Pie all stared with widened eyes and slackened jaws, Pinkie’s jaw stretching all the way down to the stone floor. Fluttershy and Rarity both gasped and covered their mouths with their hooves. Applejack pulled her hat over her eyes, not wanting to see how badly this would end. Luna looked in horror as she saw her sister’s eyes narrow to the human’s defiance. She knew he pushed one of her biggest buttons.
“What did you just say?” Celestia asked, her tone dropping with her displeasure.
“No. I-I can’t go back. I won’t go back to Earth, even if you had no other choice.” Harold’s balled up his fists, which shuddered with growing nervousness. “But... I don’t want to be turned to stone either. I’ve come too far for me to end my journey now. I can’t stop here... I can’t...”
“Well, I can’t very much have you linger around this castle while you are presumed to be harbinger of our foe’s return,” Celestia said, her voice becoming stern by the minute. “I am only giving you two options that can only be beneficial for the wellbeing of my subjects. I have given you these options for your own choosing and whichever one you choose is final.”
“So what!? You think that by getting rid of me and wiping everyone’s memories of me, you’d be saving Equestria!? That sending me off will prevent that demonic centaur from coming here and turning all of you into bug ponies!?” Harold shouted, hints of sobbing rising in his voice. “You think that I would be so heartless as to even hurt any of you because I feel like it!? Because you think that my appearance would cause everyone to run and hide from me!? Because my people eat meat and I don’t still means that I’m already a menace to your peaceful society!?”
“Harold, please. Be careful how you talk to the princess,” Twilight warned the human. “You have no idea what she might do to you if you continue to speak to her like you are right now.”
“But what about me, huh!?” Harold continued, ignoring the warnings of the lavender alicorn. “Have you thought about what would happen to me if I picked one of those two damned options!? Don’t you even realize how I would even feel if you took away all of the happiness I felt when I came here!?”
“Harold!” Twilight snapped.
“DON'T YOU EVEN REALIZE HOW LONG I’VE WAITED TO BE HAPPY AGAIN!?”
The room fell into complete silence. The Mane Six stood shocked as they witnessed the human raise his tone against the equally surprised princess. With his arms shaking and fists clenched tightly, Harold fell to his knees and covered his face with his hands. He began to break down in tears in his palms, and for once, it attracted the empathetic looks from the ponies around him.
“Harold? Are you feeling okay?” Fluttershy asked, saddened by her human friend’s sadness.
Harold shook his head. “No. No, you don’t understand... none of you do. You don’t even know what it was like for me to be the son of two of the most hated people on Earth. My parents only goal in life was to obtain money and power. In return, they had everyone in New York except the high-class families thrown out into the streets! They never even had a qualm for the people they hurt! Not to my people! Not to the animals they killed to make coats! Not even their own children!
“And I was the one who had to pay for their crimes! I’ve been beaten up, ridiculed, publicly humiliated, and for what!? For being a part of a family who took away my people’s money, their homes and their businesses away! I was made the unwilling scapegoat for my parents’ crimes! It... It was literally tearing me apart!”
“Oh, come on. That can’t be true,” Rainbow Dash interjected. “You’re only making this story up just so you could get all the attention.”
“No! It’s all true!” Harold snapped, shocking Rainbow Dash by a foot. “Just take a good look at me! Look at what I’ve had to go through!” He pulled up the side of his shirt, revealing his torso all spotted with bruises, lined and scarred with scrapes. A scar ran under his right arm and little circular lesions marked where his mother doused her cigarette out on. Everypony gasped by the horrid state of the human’s body.
“These were all of my past fifteen years on Earth! These are all the fights that the bullies dragged me in through school! My parents’ punishment at my home! Fifteen years of pain, torture and humiliation, and I still haven’t gotten used to the pain!” Harold sobbed, burying his face in his hands again. “I tried so hard to convince everyone that I was nothing like my parents, but they wouldn’t let me! They thought by beating me, their frustrations and anger would be vented and my father would restore things back to normal! But that didn’t happen! All it did was make everything worse! There was no one else in the world who ever so much as cared for how I felt! No one!”
Fluttershy trotted over to Harold, pulling him in for a gentle embrace. “But what about your special somepony you told me about, Harold? Despite all that you’ve been through, you must’ve felt happiness when you with her?” The human's weeping suddenly grew exponentially. Fluttershy looked at the human with great concern, knowing there was something she said that made Harold feel this way.
“Harold... what’s wrong?” she asked.
Harold drew a shaky, sobbing breath before he answered. “She’s dead, Fluttershy.”
The mares gasped with shock, Fluttersy's being the loudest. The tragic facts unraveling before them had somehow caused their hearts to break, some nearly brought to tears. Fluttershy pulled away from her to look at him, her eyes showing extreme sadness. “Wh-Wh-What...?” she asked.
“My ‘special somepony...’” Harold continued, stopped by sobbings between words. “She was my sister, Lana. She died nearly a month ago, trying to save my life. She was the only one who cared for who I was and how much hell that I went through. All she ever wanted to do in life was to restore hope and undo all of the bad deeds that my parents wrought in my sick country... but she died before she could get that chance! When she died... in my arms...” Harold lifted his arms, both of which shook as he cradled the air where Lana laid before her eyes closed a final time.
“It killed me. It really, really killed me! I’ve been so alone... so depressed during that month, that I forgot what it was like to smile! I never knew what it was like to be happy until I came here! I... I thought that by staying here, I would feel happy again and probably move on with my life!” The human’s uplifted palms clenched into shaky fists. His sobbing began to be made clear with every word he spoke.
“But now I can’t! I can’t move on because you’re trying to make me forget all of my happiness and how warm it was just so you can save your own kind!” Harold pointed his finger to Princess Celestia, making her gasp in exasperation. “All I ever wanted was to be happy! I just wanted to feel happy and help me to finally recover from my loss!
“But how could I even feel this way if you’re gonna send me back home where you’ll take away every record of me being here, or if you’re just gonna leave me petrified in your gardens for the birds to poop on me!? How could you even tell me what you want me to do without giving a single thought of helping me instead of hurting me!? Maybe you can’t because... because... BECAUSE I’M A DANGER TO YOU PONIES!?”
Harold finally broke down crying, wailing up to the ceiling before he lowered his crying face down to the floor. Fluttershy pulled the human teen into her embrace, his cries muffled into her chest fur. She gently rubbed her back and shushed him, assuring him that everything was okay. Everypony looked on sadly while they watched Harold cry in the comfort of Fluttershy’s embrace.
“My-my-my parents even said that my pro-promise to Lana wa-was nothing b-but an empty promi-hi-hise!” Harold cried while Fluttershy nuzzled his forehead for affection, shushing him gently and telling him that everything was going to be okay. Like a mother comforting her own weeping child, Fluttershy rocked him gently and hummed a gentle tune to calm him down. While the pegasus tried her best to comfort the brokenhearted boy, Twilight turned to Celestia and narrowed her eyes down into a serious glare.
“If I may have a say in this, Princess Celestia, I have to agree with Harold,” Twilight said with a stern, direct voice. “I don’t approve of how you want to save Equestria from Tirek. This isn’t right! He’s just shown you how sad, alone and depressed he was on his world! And now your two options have only caused his pain to grow worse!”
“Twilight, I would watch how you’re talking to me, young lady,” Celestia warned.
“No, Princess! I have to get this out in the open! You can’t just send him back home... or turn him into stone when he’s at his weakest right now! Instead, you should be thanking him! You and all of Equestria must’ve seen my magic go haywire earlier today! Well, when my powers got out of control, Harold was the one who saved us all and helped calmed my magic down! If it weren’t for him, then none of us would be here to answer to your threat!”
Celestia gasped, her eyes grown wide. Her student’s words struck her like a spear. Had she really been thoughtless of the creature’s feelings? Was this any different from a thousand years ago, when she ignored Luna’s distress about how the ponies slept through her beautiful night for the sake of her subjects during the daytime? Was she really that low as to put Harold through a similar situation?
“Please, Princess. I’m asking you reconsider your options,” Twilight said, her voice becoming calm and concerned. “I know you have the best intentions of keeping Equestria safe from Tirek, but I think Harold has never known in his life what the magic of friendship is all about. That’s why you sent me to Ponyville in the first place.”
Celestia paused and turned to the scene unfolding before her own magenta eyes. She saw the distraught human cradled close to Fluttershy, sobbing his sorrows into her yellow fur. The more Celestia looked at him, the more she came to realize what she saw in him. It was like she was looking through an enchanted mirror to her past, when she mourned the loss of Terra... then Luna, when she banished her to the moon for a full millennium.
That’s when it came to her. Celestia was going to take all of his newfound happiness away from him. If she commenced with the decisions she laid out for the human, then she wouldn’t live it down. Like all the other hard decisions she made in the past... banishing Luna, mindwiping her own subjects, expelling Sunset Shimmer from her tutelage... these two would haunt her for days on end.
Sending him back in his current state was no excuse for saving Equestria.
“Please, Princess, could you at least give us a chance to help him?” Twilight begged. “If not for him, then for me?”
With a heavy sigh, Celestia slowly trotted past Twilight and approached Harold. Fluttershy pulled him in tighter as the alicorn stood over them with a stoic face. Harold flinched back, retreating his head back into Fluttershy’s chest. All the other ponies, save for Celestia and Luna, squeezed their eyes shut and waited for the painful sentence to pass.
“Very well then, Twilight, it seems you have left me with no other choice,” Celestia said in an equally stoic voice. “I, Princess Celestia of Equestria, do hereby decree that the human, Harold Gabriel DeMatt of Earth...”
Harold gulped fearfully, mixed in with the bitter saltiness of his own tears.
This was it. He was going to be sentenced to a fate far worse than death.
“...shall remain in Ponyville under the watchful eye of Princess Twilight Sparkle until he has learned the true meaning of friendship.”
The room fell into dead silence... again. Everypony shot a surprised look to Princess of the Sun, their pupils the size of pinpricks and mouths gaping open. Pinkie Pie’s jaw literally hit the floor, a gap big enough to hold a swarm of parasprites, even more when they would multiply. Harold looked up from Fluttershy’s chest fur, just as surprised to hear the sentence himself. His cheeks were stained with his shed tears and his eyes were stained red from his sobbing. His eyes also met with Celestia’s gentle smile as she knelt down to his level.
“I now understand the pain you have endured in the past, Harold,” Celestia said with deepened sympathy. “The loss of your loved one must have been indeed tragic, but your devotion to her has driven you to move on in your own pursuit of happiness. Am I correct?”
“Y-Yeah,” Harold sniffled, rubbing a tear from his eye.
Celestia smiled gently once more. She got up on her hooves and reached one out to him, helping him back on his feet. “Very well, then. Harold DeMatt, you have my permission to stay in Ponyville for as long as it takes to help you recover from your loss. Twilight and her friends will help you to settle down until you are ready to return to your home world.”
“R-R-Really!? You... you really mean it!?” The human whimpered surprisingly.
“Absolutely.”
Harold slowly beamed with a smile. His reddened blue eyes began to glimmer with tears again, this time out of heartwarming joy. He felt warmth and happiness blossom like a luminescent flower, glowing deep within the recesses of the dark cracks of his broken heart. Unable to contain this feeling of happiness, Harold rushed to the merciful princess and wrapped his arms around her neck for a gracious hug. He sobbed once more into her delicate white coat, soaking the carefully cleaned and groomed fur. It was nothing that Celestia couldn’t groom later tonight.
Ignoring her drenched fur, she pulled Harold closer to her with her elegant wings, embracing him in a gentle feathery hug and set the side of her head on his forehead. “Thank you! Oh thank you, thank you, thank you so much!” Harold cried, his voice muffled by the fur. “You have no idea how much this means to me!”
“Don’t thank me for this, Harold. Thank your new friends,” Celestia said, turning the human around to face the Mane Six. “These are the ponies who are forever in your debt for your noble deeds of saving them and my former student from a terrible fate. Now they will aid you in your quest to regain your long-lost happiness and I will put their trust in your own hooves.”
“They’re called hands, actually,” Harold replied with a slight smile.
“Oh! My mistake!” Celestia chortled, following with a slight giggle. She looked past over his head to Twilight and her friends, all looking back with bewilderment and surprise. “Twilight, I will be leaving young Harold in your care for the time being. I trust that you and your friends will take good care of him and make him feel welcome into our community.”
“We’ll do our best, Princess,” Twilight said, turning to her friends. “How about you, girls? Are you up to the challenge?”
“Oh, yes,” Fluttershy said.
“You bet!” Pinkie Pie chirped.
“Eeyup,” Applejack replied.
“It would be rude of me not to,” Rarity declared.
“Meh. Whatever,” Rainbow Dash muttered.
Celestia smiled, humming lightly while doing so. “Then it’s settled. Harold Gabriel DeMatt shall remain in Equestria until he has found the magic of friendship and true happiness in his heart,” she declared. With that said, five of the Mane Six cheered out loud and trotted around him. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes with disapproval but she reluctantly joined the group gathering.
Harold stood where he still stood, surrounded by ponies who welcomed him, gently patting him on his shoulder and told him about all the stuff about Equestria that he was going to love. He looked around him, then slightly tilted his head upwards. For the first time in nearly a month, Harold did something he never thought he would do up until now.
He smiled.
Once more, his tears of joy leaked down from his eyes. As if the heavens above had granted him a second chance, Harold also felt something he never felt before in his life. Salvation. Hope. Redemption. These blessings were all he needed to open a new door, a door leading on into a better life. That open door also presented himself with an opportunity to finally fulfill his promise to Lana.
But right now, all Harold wanted to do was soak in his unearthed feelings and chuckled.
==================================================================
Unbeknownst to the nine, two enemy spies listened in on their entire discussion. These two spies were disguised as pegasi in the Celestia’s Royal Guards, thus the real guards were wrapped up in a cocoon somewhere in the deepest, darkest recesses of the castle’s drink cellar. The spies had gained easy passage into the castle earlier that morning for infiltration by orders of their queen. When Princess Luna assembled the guards and informed them of the 24/7 watch, the spies hid themselves in the hallways of the castle using their invisibility spell.
For hours and hours, the spies stood by as they waited for Princess Celestia, Princess Luna and the Elements of Harmony to pass through these halls and inform them of an oncoming threat. Eventually, those ponies passed through those hallways, unaware of their presence hidden along the walls. What they did not account for was a naked bipedal creature wearing rags on his body walking amongst them.
Its appearance was repulsive, even to these spies. It was like watching a shaved monkey being led to its cage, the only hair on its body being on its head. Its clothing was wrinkled, stained with dirt, grass stains and body grease.
And ponies said they (the spies’ species) were ugly to look at.
As the ponies trotted down the halls, the invisible spies followed suit, listening carefully and taking careful mental notes. They saw what they needed to see. The creature, the entrance to Star Swirl the Bearded’s study, the door that was opened by the power of the alicorns’ magic. The information they gathered was so interesting, one of the spies couldn’t help but giggle impishly. That was when Celestia heard that laughter echo off the walls.
When the group of ponies led the creature into the deep, dark pits of Canterlot Mountain, the spies followed them silently. Unfortunately, Celestia had been prepared for any intruder who wanted to use this opportunity to peek inside the Chamber of Forbidden Times and put up a magic barrier around the entrance to prevent them from sneaking inside.
It was also unfortunate that she didn’t consider putting up a soundproof barrier along with it. Every word they heard with the use of their sound-amplifying spell made more the easier to eavesdrop on their discussion. When the meeting was over, the spies retreated outside to the castle, though it took precise timing to sneak past the guards. Once they were out of sight and in position, the spies undid their magic and appeared once more with the same disguise they wore before. Then, with a flap of their wings, the two “guards” quickly flew off, out of sight from the other guards.
It was time they shared their report to their queen.
==================================================================
The first few steps outside of Canterlot Castle to Harold was like walking with legs made of Jell-O.
It was a natural reaction to the real nerve-wracking experience of meeting royalty up close, especially if it happened to be Equestrian royalty. Having to defy Princess Celestia’s options of being sent back to Earth or be turned into stone took a lot of courage for him to muster up. But, in the end, everything turned out better than anypony expected. Not only had Celestia given him a reprieve and granted him permission to stay, but now he was one step closer to fulfilling his promise. With five of his newest friends beside him, Harold felt that the scales of fortune were finally tipping in his favor.
If only Rainbow Dash had put her trust into him; then his friend count would rise to six.
“So, Harold,” Twilight said, grabbing his attention. “Now that Princess Celestia agreed to let you stay in Equestria for the time being, what do you want to do?”
Harold pondered for an answer for only a moment. In a split second, he immediately realized what he wanted to do. “I don’t know. Maybe... maybe you can show me around Ponyville?” Harold asked, cracking a nervous smile.
Twilight herself also beamed with a smile. “Alright. If that’s what you want, then we’ll take you on a tour of Ponyville,” she said with high spirits. “So where do you want to go first? We can always start at the Golden Oaks Library where I live. I hope you like reading a book once in a while, because I have a bunch of them stacked on my shelves. I have fiction, non-fiction, fantasy, how-to-do books..."
Before Twilight could say another word, a delicate a-hem was heard, the posh voice belonging to Rarity. “Pardon me for the interruption, Twilight, but I believe that he still has an appointment due to spruce up his appearance,” the alabaster unicorn informed. “I simply cannot let a young colt like him walk around Ponyville. Not while he looks like a living ragamuffin.”
Harold immediately recalled what Rarity told him when they first met just after Twilight’s magic burst. He was subjected to her criticism about his current state of being a nomad, a wandering human who paid no attention to dirt for the past few days. It was understandable. Not having a decent shower in days and sleeping in the grass with a backpack for a pillow would do that to someone like him.
Twilight turned her attention back to Harold. “What do you think, Harold?” she asked. “Do you want to go with Rarity? She’s the best at making clothes, and I’m sure she won’t be having any trouble with making you a new set of clothing.”
Harold looked down and around himself. Since he never had a decent shower in the past few days, he felt himself become increasingly greasy and breaking out in little zits at his hairline. His clothes, once a fashion of sleep clothing that he found comfortable to wear, were wrinkled and stained with dirt and smears of grass green. In addition, his hair was starting to grow over his eyes, blocking some of his view and shimmering with nearly a week’s supply of hair grease.
There was no doubt in his mind. Harold needed a good wash and a new set of clothes.
“Alright. I go with you to your shop, Miss... Uhhh...”
“Rarity,” the unicorn introduced herself. She stood up on the tips of her hooves and patted the human on the head. “Oh, and there’s no need for the formalities, Harold. A polite young colt such as yourself should know by now that we are now officially friends, so there’s no need to label us as ‘Miss.’”
Rarity drew her hoof back and looked at it with disgust. Her delicate white hoof was stained with a smear of brownish-yellow, presumably the unwashed grease from Harold’s hair. Both the human and the unicorn sheepishly smiled at each other. It took Rarity all of her resolve to prevent herself from going about her usual ranting about dirt, for fear of offending the already sensitive Harold.
“Uuugh... let’s refrain from making physical contact until you’re all cleaned up. Deal?”
“Deal.”
With that said, Harold boarded the chariot with Rarity, both wheeled vehicles waiting outside of the castle. Twilight and Fluttershy joined in with them, with Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Pinkie Pie boarding the other chariot. Harold closed his eyes, seeming calm and smiling on the outside, but thinking and leaping for joy on the inside. He had dreamed of the day when the silver lining finally cracked through the grey misty clouds that formed in his depressed soul. It had taken one month and four days for him to wait until he had finally felt the blanketing warmth of salvation wrap around him.
As the human became lost to wonders of finally smiling again, he became blissfully unaware that the chariot started smoothly towards the edge of the cliff. The chariot, pulled by the armored pegasus stallions, began to descend towards Ponyville. Harold was too deep in thought to notice that he was traveling a thousand feet above the land, despite his vulnerability to his acrophobia. It was also natural for him to block out all other senses while he was under his blissful spell, like the ponies conversing with one another and the feeling of a slanted downwards motion.
Harold opened his eyes to the vast blue sky.
Then he looked down at the bottom of the chariot where the ground had been. His blood ran cold as he saw and finally felt himself dropping down in the chariot. His breathing rate shortened, becoming shorter as he let out a scream that rivaled that of Rarity’s shrill screech or Luna’s Royal Canterlot Voice.
“AAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”
==================================================================
Celestia and Luna watched from their main hall windows as they saw the Elements of Harmony and their new human friend, Harold disappear down Canterlot Mountain. The two alicorn sisters were alone. It was the opportune time for Luna to speak her concerns with her sister, growing suspicions plaguing her mind ever since the human walked through the doors to the castle.
“Sister, are you sure that letting him go is a wise decision?” Luna questioned. “You know that the human is the creature that was said to bring Him back from Tartarus.”
“I cannot say myself, Luna. I know the decision I made has considerable risks to it.” Celestia kept her stoic gaze to the window for a moment. She turned and walked along the hallways to her chambers, her sister following close. “But Harold has felt loneliness for most of his life, despite the company of his now late sister. I have the upmost confidence that Princess Twilight and her friends can help him find the magic of friendship he sought for so long. Once he has, then we may be able to send him back before the return of Tirek can come to pass.”
Luna looked at her sister, raising an eyebrow of disbelief. “Is that why you let him stay in Equestria?” she asked. “Or was it because there was something else about the boy that peaked your interest?”
“What is it that you’re referring to, Luna?” Celestia asked gently.
“Sister, we have lived over a thousand years and I know that you keep secrets hidden from me, despite how much you try and hide it,” Luna said, leaning over into Celestia’s personal space, her narrow eyes spelling distrust. “I saw your eyes widen when you read that letter sent from Twilight Sparkle, not to mention how surprised you seem when the boy introduced himself to you. Let us not forget that moment when he and Twilight Sparkle felt that crippling fear when we entered the Chamber. How is it that you knew how to counter the effects of that fear, when nopony else felt it? Is there something you are hiding from me, Celestia?”
Celestia ceased her regal trotting. She knew her sister was onto her and her little secret whenever she called her by her own name. Luna had the amazing ability to uncover her subjects’ deepest, most secretive secrets inside and out their dreams, and Celestia was no different. All she could do now was sugarcoat the truth, but that still wouldn’t stop Luna from discovering her secret.
Celestia sighed. “I am not keeping any secrets from you, Luna.”
Luna narrowed her eyes. She knew that Celestia obviously lied to her; she was nervous, so she would pause for a moment before she came up with some ridiculous excuse or a false statement. Whenever she did, she would trot as daintily as she could to her chambers to separate herself from her own subjects. Nopony, not even Twilight Sparkle knew of her nervousness like Luna did. Even when Celestia tried to put on a straight face, the Princess of the Night could smell a coverup from a mile away.
Celestia resumed her walk down the halls, leaving Luna behind to stare as she disappeared around the corner. With a deep sigh, Luna shook her head with disapproval. “I know you are not trying to keep your secrets from me, sister,” she said to herself. “That is why I will determine what you are truly hiding and why you were hiding it for yourself.”
Luna turned and trotted back to her chambers. After a hectic day like this, she needed to catch up on her sleep.