Rain gently sprinkled down upon the dreary land, as an alicorn stood silently on a hill far outside the walls of Canterlot, a hill that she had visited far too often in the year since the day Harmony fell. On the top of a hill stood a single tree with eight tombstones beneath it, eight ponies that had been closer to her than most others laying in the dirt.
'First, my daughters, now the Elements of Harmony and my personal student...why am I cursed? Why does everypony I care about die before me, while I am powerless to stop it?' Celestia questioned herself as her tears and the rain mixed together, but both streamed down her face falling freely. "I do not know if any of you can hear me in the afterlife, but know that I am truly sorry for failing to protect you." She hung her head and remained in the rain, not counting the minutes as she grieved. The faintest sound of flapping wings gained her attention and she slightly turned her head to see Luna landing beside her.
"What do you want?" she asked with more scorn in her voice than she wanted. Luna looked hurt for a moment, before she walked forward and sat beside her sister, placing a flower on each of the graves.
"I have gone around this past year and checked on all the other evils that we sealed away, just to make sure that they have been secured," she informed Celestia. "Fortunately for us, none of the other evils have managed to even crack the enchantments that hold them at bay." Celestia nodded once again, and the two sat silently beside each other, until Luna dared a question she hadn't asked in nearly a year. "Have you...seen or heard from Black Adam at all?"
"No. I have not," Celestia spat. Luna knew that the tone wasn't directed at her, but she still felt guilt stab at her heart, still not able to get the image of the Elements out of her mind after what Adam had done to them. "And I tell you now that he is no longer welcome in this land, not as long as I still protect it."
"I am so sorry, Sister. I wanted so badly to show you who Black Adam really was, and I foolishly thought that simply exposing him to the Elements would be enough to prove how evil he was," Luna said with self-loathing choking her words. "But I truly believed that the Elements could overpower him, yet I forgot just how ungodly his power was. It is my fault that the Elements of Harmony are dead." Celestia wrapped a wing around her sister to comfort her, though her thoughts were on a different wavelength than her sister's.
'Yet, I do not believe that it was truly Teth's...Black Adam's...intention to kill them either,' Celestia silently thought to herself. 'I saw his face before he flew off to sister-knows-where, and he looked...devastated, even more so than me or my sister. But even if it were an accident, that does not change what has done.' The two remained silently besides each other, until both of them lifted their heads in confusion, both of them sensing that something was wrong.
"Sister, am I mistaken or does it feel like...ponies are losing their magic?" Luna asked Celestia, whose eyes were closed as she did her best to sense the disturbance. Her eyes snapped open, as a thought of who it could be flashed across her mind, and she spread her wings to take to the skies, Luna following her as the sisters flew back to Canterlot as fast as their wings would carry them.
"It feels so wrong, but it reminds me of a magic that I have not felt in a lifetime," Celestia said with fear, as she and Luna arrived back at Canterlot, barely having time to land in front of the castle before the guards threw open the doors to let them inside, and told them that Shining Armor was waiting for them. Upon reaching the throne room, the two princesses discovered both Shining Armor and Cadence waiting for them, fear in both of their eyes as well.
"Princesses, thank Faust that you're back!" Shining cried out as he rushed over to them, visibly shaken by something. "Reports are coming in from all across Equestria that ponies everywhere are losing their magic, with extra reports saying that some sort of monster is the cause of all the trouble!" All three princesses shared the same horrified glance before Luna rushed out of the room, yelling to every guard in the palace to prepare for battle. "Cadence, Celestia? What's going on?"
"There is only one monster throughout history that has had the power to absorb magic on such a massive scale," Cadence explained to her husband as Celestia ran into a back room. "He is called Tirek, and he can consume any magic from any pony that he comes into contact with, no matter what species or power they have. We sealed him away a lifetime ago, but somehow he is back."
"That must have been when Cerberus escaped two years ago," Luna explained as she entered the room again, a large number of guards behind her. "And in that time, we were so focused on Black Adam that we never sensed his presence! And without the Elements, I am not sure if we can defeat him again! Darn it all!"
"But we will fight him."
All eyes turned towards Celestia, who was now wearing regal golden armor and had a fire in her eyes that Luna had not seen since the death of Radiance. "Because we beat him once and we can do it again, but only if all of Equestria stands together against this threat. Tirek will be coming for us soon; for our alicorn magic. So this is where we will draw the line. Shining, evacuate as many of the ponies as you can and recall every guard station wherever they are. For now, we wage war!"
S=H=A=Z=A=M
There were no sounds where the fallen one rested...no sounds of laughter, no sounds of speaking; not even the sound of his own breathing could be heard. Yet there was the sound of thunder that echoed across his mind and the screams that followed it, the screams that refused to leave him alone. But there was still no sound, for one cannot make sounds on the surface of the moon.
For the past year the moon had been his prison. Not a prison in a sense that he could not escape it, for nothing could truly contain him, but it was his own prison, where he had exiled himself after his failing--after he valued revenge more than the lives of those closest to him. So now the moon was his prison, his own self-imposed exile.
A year alone meant nothing to the god, though. Once, he had flown for five thousand years to return to Earth with only himself as company. A year on the moon passed in the blink of an eye. He had filled that time much like he had filled his flight back to his home, with thoughts about his family and what life had been like living as their ruler, their protector. But there were no thoughts of revenge. He did not deserve revenge.
He had teased the idea of leaving the planet below, of heading back to his own birth planet and trying to repair the damage that had been done, to try and make his once great nation even greater again. But his guilt held him back, the same guilt that prevented him from returning to the surface below. So for a year he sat, with only his guilt and the voices of those he loved.
'Why do you remain here, my beloved?' the voice of Isis whispered to him, only for him to shut it out once again, as he had done so for the past year. 'Please let me speak to you, Teth. You are so lonely up here by yourself. Please, let me guide you like I did all those years ago.' He would have pushed her away, just like all the other times, but this once he let her in, despite knowing better.
'What do you wish to say to me now?' he thought, with hints of rage that quickly fizzled out. 'Have I not done enough for you?'
'You have yet to avenge your nation, Teth,' she whispered into his ear, but all it did was enrage Adam again.
'I am tired of revenge. For over five thousand years revenge has been my goal, my purpose. My revenge has already claimed enough lives, most of them ones who did not deserve my wrath,' Adam berated, mostly to himself. 'I care not what sweet words you try to convince me with...I do not deserve justice. I see that now. I am the monster that the wizard and the princesses see me as. In my quest for revenge, all I have done is claimed those whom I sought to protect.'
'But there is still the evil that claimed us all back on Earth,' Isis reminded him. 'There are still the monsters that killed an entire nation to get to you. How many more will they claim, if you do not go back and strike them from the Earth? You have a duty to us Adam, to me! Avenge us, do not let our deaths be forgotten so easily.'
'Forgotten? I wiped out the neighboring country when I discovered they housed the criminals that took you from me! When our nation was destroyed I ripped the United States apart with my rage!' Adam reminded her, then realized that he was talking to a ghost once again. 'I do not know why I bother. You are not real and will never be real. I am speaking with nothing more than a hallucination.'
'Does that mean you wish for me to leave?'
'...No. But maybe it is time that I leave,' Adam thought as he silently rose up, kicking up a small amount of moon dust when he rose to his feet. He looked off into the stars and crouched down to leap off before he stopped himself, taking a moment to look one last time back at the planet of Equis.
'You cannot go back. You know that after what you did there, they will never accept you again,' Isis reminded him.
'Yes, I know. But I still do not know if I wish to leave them as I did,' Adam thought with a hint of regret. 'I promised them that I would protect them, and despite what I have done I always keep my word.'
'But you have already broken your word. You failed to protect Radiance and Sunnysmiles,' Isis said. 'And then you went and wiped out the Elements of Harmony. Your word is as broken as your morals. It is time to go, Teth. Time to go back home.' The ghostly image of Isis vanished into the vastness of space, as Adam rose off of the moon, taking aim at the stars in the far off realm of space. Before he shot off into the unknown, he turned back one last time to look at the planet below, narrowing his eyes for just a moment. Then he rocketed off into space, planning never to return.
S=H=A=Z=A=M
Celestia kept her calm, despite seeing the numerous fires by which Canterlot had been consumed, knowing that almost all of her ponies had been evacuated from the city. 'But Tirek no longer needs their magic, it seems,' Celestia thought as she looked down at the giant centaur that marched up to the gates of the palace, driving both of his fists through the golden doors and ripping them off of their hinges. Beside Celestia sat Luna, who wore dark blue armor that matched Celestia's golden defense.
"Do you have a plan, Sister?" Luna asked Celestia, who remained silent as Tirek disposed of what guards had chosen to remain behind to defend their leaders. "I do not wish to seem negative, but he is far more powerful than the last time we faced him. Are you certain that it was wise of you to send Cadence and Shining away?"
"We cannot risk him consuming all of the alicorn magic at once. If we fail here, then at least Cadence will have a chance to prepare another plan," Celestia said with steeled resolve as she drew her blade, fire that burned like the sun erupting along its edge. "But if we fall here, then I will be with my daughters today." Luna nodded and drew her blade, which chilled the very air around it. Both princesses looked down upon the monstrous titan that approached them, his chuckles shaking the ground beneath their hooves.
"Celestia; Luna," Tirek said with mirth in his voice as he clenched his fists, both princesses backing up slightly as they felt his power. "It has been far too long. How many years was I trapped within Tarturus, again?"
"Not nearly long enough," Luna snarled back. "How many ponies did you drain of their power to reach the state you are in now?"
"All of them, my dear Luna," Tirek laughed in response as he glared at the two princesses. "Now then, come down off of that wall and face me! Or do I have to bring it down myself and drag your bodies from the rubble?" Luna and Celestia nodded to each other before they spread their slightly-armored wings, taking to the skies around Tirek. Celestia let loose a burning storm of fire around Tirek, who raised an arm to shield himself from the consuming fire with a chuckle.
"I was truly hoping that it would be more of a challenge than this to take your powers from you," he teased before inhaling a massive breath, which he then unleashed upon the flames with enough force to extinguish them instantly. The flames had just gone out when ice shot out of the ground around Tirek's hooves and began to crawl up his leg, beginning to encase him in ice. The titan laughed at the effort, before he smashed both of his fists into the ice, shattering it into nothingness. "Luna, you are far more of a weakling than I remember. Now both of you come down and face me!"
"He truly is stronger than the last time we sealed him away," Luna snarled as she flung herself at Tirek, rolling out of the way of his hands that shot out to grab her, while slicing his side with her blade. Tirek growled in pain as his hand shot out and struck Luna in the wing, sending her skidding across the ground.
"And now your power belongs to me," Tirek said with a chuckle as he reached down to grab Luna, but a flash of fire caused him to retract his hand with a yowl of pain. Celestia grabbed her stunned sister with her magic and lifted her off of the streets and onto the balcony of one of the towers.
"Ugh, he's even faster than I remember," Luna groaned as she was helped to her hooves. "This isn't working, Tia, we can't fight a monster like him with magic, at least not on the level we have. Do you have anything that...might..." Celestia turned to where Luna was looking to see another tower sailing through the air straight towards them. Both princesses took to the sky with only seconds to spare before the other tower crashed into the one they had been standing upon, bringing them both down.
"I warned you that your walls would not be able to strop me from getting to you!" Tirek roared at the two from the gardens, tearing up statues which he then threw at the princesses, his anger growing with every miss. "Very well, if you will not willingly come down to my level, I will bring you down!" The princesses gasped with horror as he began to channel the magic he had stolen from all of Equestria into the space between his horns, creating a black and red sphere of power.
"FALL!" An energy blast of absolute magic shot through the air directly for the two. Celestia and Luna threw themselves out of the way to avoid the attack, but the buildings behind them were erased from existence by the power. Luna recovered first and threw herself at Tirek, her blade flashing with pale light as she weaved under his legs, her sword biting into each one of them.
"Am I as weak now as you remember, you overgrown parasite?" Luna snarked at Tirek who clutched at his legs, glaring daggers at the Princess of the Night. He turned towards her with a roar before crying out in pain as Celestia's blazing blade struck him in the side, the pain driving the titan to his knees.
"He is weakening sister! Hurry, before he has a chance to recover!" Celestia and Luna both cried out as they flung themselves at Tirek again, both of them driving themselves into his chest. Their combined forces were enough to knock the titan over, where he roared with pain as the two drove their blades through each of his hands, pinning him to the ground. "Now Tirek, it is time to return the magic you stole from this land to those who need it!" Luna and Celestia crossed their horns in the air and began to channel their magic between them, creating the same rainbow sphere that had sealed him away all those years ago.
"Tirek, for the pain you have caused to Equestria along with stealing all of the magic in the land, we hereby banish you back to the depths from whence you came!" Luna decreed. But when the sphere of rainbow magic was at its fullest did Tirek act. He roared as he shot a beam of dark magic from his horn, a beam that struck the princesses in their horns. They cried out as their spell exploded on them, hurling the sisters onto the streets below. Tirek chuckled as with an effort he pulled the blades out of the ground and then out of his hands. With a smirk he turned to face the princesses, who were still trying to get vertical.
"We...cannot give up now," Celestia grunted as she drew her blade with her magic once again, but her horn flickered and with a cry of pain she dropped the sword to the ground. Luna tried to grab her weapon with her own magic, but she never even got her horn to glow. All both of them could do was watch with fear in their eyes as Tirek lumbered over to them, a wicked smile on his face as he looked down at the weakened princesses.
"Will you still try to resist me?" he asked them with a bellowing laugh, which grew even louder when he saw the fire in their eyes. "You do not know when you are beaten! Allow me to teach you the meaning of impossible!" He drove his fist into Celestia's chest and sent her flying into one of the castle walls, with enough force that her golden armor cracked. Celestia slid to the streets where she slowly began to cough up blood.
"LEAVE HER ALONE!" Luna roared before taking her blade in her teeth and driving it into Tirek's leg, causing the centaur to cry with pain, before he looked down at Luna with a look of wrath. He lifted one of his hooves and slammed it upon her, driving the alicorn into the ground. He lifted his hoof and drove it down upon her again. Luna screamed in pain as she felt her ribs give out.
"Now then, Celestia," Tirek said to the white alicorn, who had just risen to her hooves with blood trickling out of her mouth. "I give you an ultimatum! Surrender your magic to me and I will spare your sister!"
"No, Sister, do not do it!" Luna weakly cried from under his hoof. "He knows that he is not yet strong enough to force the magic from us, so he must...GAH!" Tirek pushed down on Luna with more force to prove his point. Celestia looked at her sister laying under the centaur's hoof with horror in her eyes, realizing that there was nothing she could do to stop Tirek from killing her. Nothing except...
"Very well. Take it," Celestia whispered. Tirek laughed with victory as he inhaled deeply, sucking the very magic out of Celestia and into himself. Once he was done consuming her magic, Celestia staggered on her hooves with spots blinking before her eyes. Tirek then bent over and sucked the magic out of Luna as well, growing far bigger than he already was.
"The power! The absolute power!" Tirek laughed out loud as he walked over to the castle, removing his hoof from Luna. Celestia raced over to her sister, tears forming in her eyes to see the state she was in. "I have never felt this powerful before! The sun and moon are mine to command! I am now the strongest being in the world!" Tirek laughed as he held both hands to the sky. Then he slowly turned his gaze back to Celestia and her fallen sister, a sinister smile growing on his face.
"And now that I control the sun and moon, there is no longer a need for the two of you," Tirek said with evil mirth as he narrowed his eyes. "I could do to you what you did to me, but Tartarus is far too good a place for the likes of you two. So I'll send you to hell instead!" Celestia's eyes widened in fear as she watched the magic begin to form between Tirek's horns, knowing that neither she nor her sister would be able to survive the blast. But she had to try.
'Forgive me, Luna,' Celestia thought as she threw herself over her unconscious sister, closing her eyes as she struggled to summon whatever magic she could reach to protect her sister. With her eyes closed, all she could hear was the charging of the spell that would mean her end, and the mad laugh of Tirek, the laugh of a being that now ruled over the ponies. But then to her surprise there was another sound, one she had not heard in a long time. And when she heard it, she opened her eyes and spun around, her eyes locked to the sky.
She had heard the sound of divine thunder.
Tirek leaned forward to fire his spell when a column of lightning descended from on high, striking him with all of its magical might. He howled in pain as the electricity rooted him in place, his spell firing into the sky as the power forced his head back. Celestia barely had time to register what had happened, when she blinked and found both she and Luna on the outskirts of Ponyville, where a large crowd of ponies had been watching the fight. But all eyes turned towards one figure who now stood beside Celestia, a figure none of them had expected to see again.
He wore a pitch black suit that hummed with magical power, complete with two golden gauntlets on his arms and twin polished grieves on his legs. Nearly everypony, though, was looking at his chest, a chest that had in its center a single, golden bolt of lightning. But Celestia was looking into the face of the man who had just saved her, disbelief in her eyes.
"Teth?" she asked weakly as she felt herself being lowered to the ground. Black Adam placed her injured sister beside her as gently as he could. He then rose back to his full height and turned toward Canterlot, crouching down as he prepared to launch himself towards it. "Teth wait! What are you doing here! Why did you save us, after what--?"
"Because Celestia, I gave you my word that I would protect you no matter what," Black Adam said to her with conviction in his voice, Celestia's eyes widening at his words. "And I never go back on my word." With the sound of thunder shaking the air, Adam threw himself at the city, reaching it a moment later. He came to a stop above the centaur, who looked up at him with shock and awe in his eyes.
"And just what are you?!" Tirek yelled up at him.
"I am Black Adam," Black Adam responded as he crossed his arms, black thunder clouds overhead swirling around him. Lightning flashed behind Black Adam, turning his eyes pure white for a moment. "And I am your reckoning."