//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: The Truths We Deny // by volrathxp //------------------------------// The Truths We Deny Chapter 1         The smell of brimstone assaulted Celestia's nostrils.  Her coat flushed pink at the feeling of hot flames licking her at every part of her body.  The heat was unbearable.  She struggled to stand, but couldn't.  Heavy chains weighed her down, ensuring that she could not escape.         The white alicorn looked across the platform.  Laying at the far end was Princess Luna and Princess Cadance.  They both appeared to be unconscious.  Celestia struggled to remember what had happened and how she had gotten there.  A single word formed in her mind.         Tirek.  Yes... Tirek had banished them to this place.  Celestia and the others had given their powers to Twilight, in hopes that the centaur would not find their alicorn magic and rule over Equestria.  Twilight would prevail where they could not.  Celestia knew it in her heart to be true.         At least... she hoped it to be true.  She felt doubt creeping in where hope should have been, filling her up until she could no longer look up.  The silhouette of Lord Tirek stood over her.         Celestia glanced down at her hooves in defeat.  She could not defeat Tirek.  She couldn't save her little ponies.  She was a failure.         No.  You aren't.  Your faith is strong, Celestia.         Celestia's eyes darted upwards.  The voice... it was familiar to her somehow.  What was it?  Who was it?  The shadow of Tirek grew larger, the centaur's magical powers growing with each essence he consumed.         The Princess of the Sun grimaced and coughed as the heat intensified.  The flames had reached her.  She didn't have much time.  She struggled to hear the voice again, but it had become lost over the crackling of the fire.         The flames grew hotter and hotter until finally... they consumed her entirely. *****************************         Celestia awoke in a cold sweat.  The Princess of the Sun shivered slightly as she realized that she had been dreaming.  Not just dreaming, but having a nightmare.         Celestia frowned.  She hadn't had any nightmares in a long time.  And yet, in the past week alone she'd woken up screaming every night.  While her sister usually acted as the steward of dreams, Celestia had always respectfully asked that Luna allow her to control her own dreamscape.  In truth, Celestia didn't want her sister to know certain things.  She hated to keep them from her, but Celestia had placed those truths in her past, and wanted them to stay there.         Dredging up the past always led to hurt feelings, and hurt feelings led to a lot of pain.  It would do no practical good to bring those things up.  They would only hurt Luna, and Luna needed to be surrounded by love and affection, not pain.         Like... Serenity.  Celestia sighed.  She had wondered why she had forgotten one of her own sisters.  The Solar Princess grimaced as she remembered reading that book with Twilight.  What she had failed to tell her former student is that she knew exactly what had happened between Tirek and Serenity, except for the minor fact that she didn't know where Serenity had gone afterwards.         Celestia stood, pushing herself out of her bed.  It was late at night.  Luna would still be up, watching over the dreams of the citizens of Equestria.  Perhaps it was better that she was busy with her duty.  She wouldn't notice Celestia when she left.         Celestia stepped towards her balcony.  This particular dream had been a sign, she was sure of it.  It was so vivid, reminding her of the agony she and the others had spent during their time in Tartarus.  Only one creature in the world of Equestria was capable of such a feat as to give her visionary dreams, and that was Tirek.  She'd experienced visions of him when he returned, before Twilight had defeated him.         She pushed open the balcony door and walked calmly out into the cold night air.  Breathing deeply, she looked up at the moon.  It was fuller and brighter than she had ever seen it.  Luna’s reborn passion for Equestria showed in it’s incredible presence.         Celestia returned her focus to the city below her.  Canterlot had fully embraced the idea that there was beauty in the night more so than any other city in Equestria, save Manehattan.  Past the mountain range, Celestia's eyes drifted to the hamlet of Ponyville, where the crystal towers of her former student's castle could be seen glittering in the moonlight.         “Twilight, Luna, Cadance,” she said softly to nopony in particular.  “I'm sorry for this.  But I must do this on my own.  There are bigger things at work here, things that even I do not understand.  Please don't look for me.”         The ancient mare's horn glowed softly, turning her words into a written message.  It flittered into the Princess's bed room and sealed itself inside an envelope bearing the cutie marks of Equestria's three other Princesses.  They would understand, even if they didn't quite know it yet.         Celestia paused, considering the vision she'd had.  The voice had told her that her faith was strong.  Could it have possibly been her?  Was Serenity trying to reach out to her from wherever she ended up?  Or was it a trap, one that she was doomed to fall into?         Celestia sighed and made her decision.  Her horn blazed with golden light and with a faint *pop* she disappeared from Canterlot Castle.         She reappeared in the middle of an old and forgotten glade.  In the center of the glade sat a set of gates, a portal that led to a place that Celestia hated.  A place that was necessary for the purposes of maintaining a balanced world... Tartarus.  The place where the souls of the damned ended up, and where the most heinous of Equestrian villains had been sent to burn for eternity.         Celestia trotted up to the gate and stopped.  Her horn glowed softly, pulling it open.  She stepped inside and closed the gates behind her, locking them tight.  She shivered at the chill that ran up her spine.  The upper layer of Tartarus was a frozen and barren wasteland.  The chambers that she sought were deeper, further inside the fiendish realm.         The Princess of the Sun took a few steps forward before being forced to stop by a loud and overpowering growling noise.  Celestia turned to see the black form of Tartarus' ever-present guardian, Cerberus.  The massive three headed dog sniffed the air and finally caught sight of the alicorn.  It's three heads growled as one.         “Now, now, Cerberus,” Celestia said softly.  “I'm merely here to check on something.  Will you permit my passage into the lower layers?”         Cerberus growled again.         “I'm aware that you are attempting to make up for deserting your post last year, but honestly... what reasoning would I have to make trouble in Tartarus of all places?” Celestia replied.         Cerberus growled questioningly.         “That's correct.  I'm here to see him,” Celestia said.  “And I would appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone else that I was here.”         Cerberus stayed silent, and only nodded.  The three-headed dog grunted and turned.  It pointed to a set of stairs in the center of the frozen wasteland that would allow Celestia to descend to the lower levels.  Cerberus growled again.         “You have my word as a Princess of Equestria,” Celestia said.  She started walked past Cerberus towards the staircase.  Her coat shivered as the winds of Tartarus' top layer assaulted her.  Finally she made it to the massive set of stairs.  Heat radiated from the lower levels below her.         Celestia paused for a moment to regard Cerberus.  The great beast had kept pace behind her, watching her every step.         “Thank you, Cerberus,” she said, spreading her wings and bowing her long neck gracefully. Cerberus huffed and bowed in return, settling to the ground watchfully as Celestia started to descend into the furthest reaches of the pit. *********************************         Elsewhere, in the shining heart of the town of Ponyville, another Princess lay restless.  Princess Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship, lay in her bed looking up at the crystal ceiling of her new abode.  She sighed, rolling over on her side to try and find the rest she was missing.         “Ugh... why can't I get to sleep?” Twilight said to the otherwise empty room.         Twilight had still been trying to get used to the castle.  In many ways it was an incredible place, but at the same time it wasn't home the way her library had been.  And with her friends only there during the day, and Spike away at a Cutie Mark Crusaders Sleepout, the castle felt... lonely.  Empty.         “Don't dwell on it, Twilight,” the purple mare said to herself.  “You'll see the others tomorrow.  You just need to calm down.  It's not like there's anything in the castle that's going to get you.”         A faint glow at the door to her bedroom caught her eye.  Twilight blinked and stared at the glow before lighting her horn and throwing her covers back, ready for whatever resulted.         “Okay, maybe there is something that's going to get you,” she said, chuckling nervously.         The glow brightened, a stream of magic twisting through the keyhole and winding its way to Twilight’s desk, where it popped into the shape of a scroll.  It bore the seal of Celestia’s cutie mark on the wax seal adorning it.         “Oh, it's a letter from the Princess.  That's weird, she never sends letters this late,” she said.         Twilight made her way over to the desk and picked up the letter.  It was sealed, and the magic surrounding the seal suggested that the letter was only intended for a Princess to open.  She grimaced.  That meant the letter required alicorn magic to read.  Twilight's horn sparked, bubbling forth magic until a bolt of pure purple surrounded the letter.         The letter exploded in a burst of golden fire, startling Twilight.  After a few seconds, Celestia's voice lingered in the air.         “Twilight... Luna... Cadance.  I'm so sorry for this.  But I must do this on my own.  There are bigger things at work here, things that even I do not understand.  Please don't look for me.”         Twilight's eyes widened.  Celestia was... gone?  What had happened to her?  Was it Discord?  Did Tirek return?  Nightmare Moon?         Twilight put out her front hoof and took a deep breath, calming herself down.         “No, this must be something else,” she said aloud.  “Discord's reformed and living in Ponyville with Fluttershy.  Tirek is in Tartarus.  And it couldn't possibly be Nightmare Moon, since she mentions Luna by name.  She didn't sound distressed so it's likely it's not an external threat...”         Twilight grimaced.  She couldn't wait until the morning to act on this.  Wherever Celestia had gone, it was likely because she was in some form of danger, and Twilight owed it to her former mentor to save her.         Twilight made her way out of her bedroom and down to the throne room, where the seven thrones of the Friendship Council lay dormant in their circle.  Each of them bore the cutie mark of either herself or one of her friends, save the smallest one closest to her own.  That one belonged to Spike.  Twilight sat down on her own throne and focused her magic on the star in the center of the circle.         “Girls... I need your help!” ************************************         Celestia coughed.  The deeper she had gone, the fouler the air had become.  Tartarus was an unforgiving place to any being.  Celestia remembered well the time she had spent here during Tirek's rampage across Equestria.  The dreams had freshened her memories of the event greatly.         Celestia continued deeper until she reached the very end of the stairs.  The lowest layer of Tartarus was boiling hot, reserved for the most heinous of villains and evils.  Some of these evils ran freely amok in the lowest layer, the magic of the place keeping them in check as each tried to rule the rest of Tartarus from their seats of power.  Celestia was going to have to be vigilant.         The Princess of the Sun started forward, heading towards the prison area.  The ground beneath her hooves was molten to the core, singing her with every step.  Celestia paid no attention to it.  It had nothing to do with her target.  The alicorn marched forward, her attention all around her even as her posture remained focused on her goal.         “Pray tell pony, where are you going?” a hissing voice said.         Celestia stopped and looked to the side.  A winged bat-like creature commonly known as an imp was lazily flapping alongside her.  Celestia grimaced.  She had no time for distractions.  She had to accomplish her goal here and then leave this accursed place.         “Nowhere that concerns you, imp,” Celestia said harshly.  “Begone from my sight before I send you away myself.”         “Now, now, that's no way to speak to a native,” the imp casually replied.  “You should really watch your tongue.  You're speaking to an important representative of the great lord Daxis.”         “I see.  Well, then... oh great representative,” Celestia replied, rolling her eyes.  “Please leave me alone.  I am on an important mission here, and do not wish to be disturbed.  I hold sovereign rule over your lord as Princess of Equestria.”         “A Princess?  No wonder you looked important,” the imp said.  “We don't get many of your type down here.  What you in for?”         “I'm not...!” Celestia said indignantly, her cheeks flushed.  “I'm not here because I was exiled here.  I'm here to see a specific prisoner.”         “Oh, a visitor.  We don't get many of those down here either,” the imp replied lazily.  “So, who you here to see?  Maybe I can take you to them.”         “I do not believe you will wish to follow me,” Celestia said.  “From what I've heard, not even the dregs of Tartarus will go near him.”         The imp's red eyes widened slightly.  “You don't mean...?”         “Yes, I do.  I am here to see Tirek,” Celestia said. *****************************************         “So... you're sayin' that Princess Celestia just... up and left?” Applejack said.         The others murmured at the thought of it.  They were all sitting around the Council of Friendship, even Spike who had been overjoyed at the thought of escaping a Cutie Mark Crusaders Sleepover.         “That appears to be the case,” Twilight said.         “Why would Princess Celestia do such a thing, darling?” Rarity asked.  The white mare appeared very distraught.         “I'm not quite sure,” Twilight said.  “All she said in her message was that she was sorry and had to do something on her own.”         “Well, why don't we just go and find her and ask her why she ran away?” Pinkie interjected.  “Then she can tell us, and we'll know why she did what she did before she knew what she did.”         “Huh?” Rainbow Dash said from her own throne.  “Pinkie, we don't even know where she went in the first place!  She could be miles away by now!”         “Rainbow is right,” Twilight said.  “We don't know where Celestia has gone.  That's why we've gathered here.  I've contacted Princess Luna and Princess Cadance as well.  They should be arriving any --”         *pop* *pop*         The double flash of magic that heralded the arrival of Equestria’s other two Princesses was no less bright for being expected.  Princess Luna appeared fraught with worry, bags under her normally bright eyes.  Princess Cadance appeared much the same.         “Princess Twilight,” Luna said sharply.  “I certainly hope that you can shed some light on this most befuddling situation, and help us understand where my dearest sister has gone.”         “Luna, Cadance,” Twilight said calmly.  “I trust both of you received the same message that I did?”         “We did, but I didn't quite understand what was going on until you contacted me,” Cadance said.  “Is Auntie Celestia really gone?”         “I'm afraid so,” Luna interjected.  “Celestia is no longer present in Canterlot Castle, or indeed in the city as a whole.”         “I've asked you all here so that we can try to find Princess Celestia,” Twilight announced.  “With the magic of the Tree of Harmony, we should be able to tap into the primal magic belonging to every pony in their hearts, and use that force to locate the Princess.”         “Are you certain that this will work?” Princess Luna said, raising an eyebrow.         “Yeah, Twi.  I mean, we know this is the Friendship Council and all but I thought this thing only helped us find friendship problems, not lost Princesses,” Rainbow Dash said.  She motioned at the star in the center of the floor.         “I'm afraid I must concur with Rainbow, darling.  I thought that the Princesses were no longer connected to the Elements of Harmony due to that nasty business with Nightmare Moon,” Rarity replied.  She glanced over at Luna.  “No offense of course.”         “None taken,” Luna replied, not shifting her intent gaze from Twilight.         Twilight smiled.  “Just because the Princess can no longer wield the Elements doesn't mean they're no longer a part of her.  The magic of Harmony is something that's inside us all.  All we're doing is picking out her magical signature and finding out where it is.”         “For what it's worth, I believe you can do it, Twilight,” Fluttershy uttered.         “Thank you, Fluttershy,” Twilight said, beaming.  “Now... if you'll all gather around, we can begin the ritual...” **************************************         “Well, this is it,” the imp said, a sharp grimace on his face.  “I don't know why you want to see the likes of him, but here you are.”         Celestia looked up the set of stairs.  They jagged every which way, leading ever upwards to a massive stone platform that stood out above the fire and brimstone of this level of Tartarus.  The Princess of the Sun knew this place well.  This same prison had been where Tirek had imprisoned her and the others during his escape.  At the top of this rocky spire, Tirek alone remained.         “Thank you,” Celestia said coldly.  “You may go now, imp.”         “Hey, I got a name you know,” the imp replied indignantly.  “They don't call me Pixalagoricax for nothing, you know.  But you?  You can just call me Pix for short.  If you need anything, just call my name.”  The imp said shot a look at the top of the spire.  “Just... be careful.  I’ve heard that guy’s real dangerous.”         “I will take that under consideration,” Celestia replied.  She grimaced, steeling herself for the climb.  Pulling away from the imp, she started her way up the jagged stairs.         The climb felt like it took forever.  Several times, the alicorn felt as though she would fall into the fires below, but she pressed onwards.  Celestia was panting by the time she reached the top of the stairs.         The Sun Princess's eyes drifted to the center of the stone platform.  It was no regal affair, just a simple cage made of enchanted metals.  The cage itself was bound to the platform by magic, and could not be removed without the use of alicorn powers.  Sitting calmly in the center of the cage, bound by chains made of the same metal, was a frail and old looking centaur.  His eyes glinted black in the darkness that surrounded them both.         Celestia took a few steps forward, her hooves clipping softly on the stonework.  Tirek shifted in his cage.         “Do my eyes deceive me?  Has my most hated enemy come finally to gloat over her victory?” the centaur uttered.         Celestia pressed on, saying nothing as she made her way in full view of Tirek.  She slumped to her haunches and regarded the centaur.         “Well?  Nothing to say for yourself?” Tirek said.  “You must be very proud of yourself for defeating me, even if you weren’t the one to make the final blow.  I must admit I wasn't expecting the rainbow cannon at the end.”         Celestia continued to say nothing.  She grimaced.  Here was the one who would know why she was here.  Here was the one who would know where Serenity was.  She hated him for what he had done to ponykind, and yet she needed his knowledge.  She hated that too.         “Where is she?” Celestia finally said, her calm voice belying the rage underneath.         “Where is who?” Tirek said.  “I'm afraid that I simply don't know what you are talking about, Princess Celestia.”         Celestia stood angrily and stomped a hoof.  “Where is she?!  You know where she is.  You must tell me!”         Tirek frowned.  “If you are referring to Princess Twilight, she's probably living it up in Ponyville with her friends.  But... I have a feeling that's not who you're talking about.”         “Please... I must... I must know,” Celestia said, her anger once again rising.  The Solar Princess was furious with the centaur.  He knew where Serenity was, he just had to know.  Celestia steeled herself and set her gaze upon Tirek.  She spoke with a calm clear voice so that Tirek could never mistake why she was here.         “Where is Princess Serenity?”