Clear and Present Danger

by Bloody Hell

In The Air Tonight

Moonlight was about the only illumination in the large chamber. A single candle lit the rolltop desk of as the room’s occupant sat before it. The quill, surrounded in a golden radiance, scribbled furiously to keep up with its wielder's stream of thought. The desktop, large enough to comfortably seat any of the citizens of the land with room to spare, was littered with tomes; a number of them a large as a pony’s head.

The largest, the compendium of Royal Acts and Edicts, was as thick as the writer's leg and as heavy as a small filly. It was the codex of all the laws ever passed, reversed, and revised in the nation the writer called home. The rest of the chamber, obfuscated within the shadows, would have spoken to its occupant being more than worthy of the noblesse of the land. The compendium lay open to a page closer to the end than the beginning.

As the quill reached the bottom of the parchment, the instrument, a remnant left over from a phoenix’s molting period, was moved towards its place on honor on a holder fashioned of gold and rubies. Created and gifted to her by the Zebrican Federation, it was among her most valued possessions; not because of the material worth—though considerable in that regard—but because it was given as a memento after the first treaty between the two countries those millennia ago.

The writer shook her head to break her momentary fascination. She looked to the wording on the parchment to ensure everything was accurate.

On August Second in the year Three Thousand and Fourteen of the Royal Equus Calendar, it is hereby decreed that the centaur known as Lord Tirek is charged and deemed guilty of crimes against the Crown; including but not limited to:

1.) Grievous theft of the innate magic of equinekind through sorcery forbidden under Article 10 of the Codex Arcanum and R.A.E. 7-10-8d;

2.) Attempted usurpation of the Thrones of the Sun and the Moon, and by proxy, of Love and Friendship in violation of the Accord of the Three Tribes, Section 9; and relevant Royal Decrees in amendment to the same governed by R.A.E 12-2409-10a and 7-3013-8a;

3.) Assault and unlawful detainment of the Bearers of the Elements of Honesty, Kindness, Generosity, Laughter, Loyalty, and Magic in violation of the Protection of Harmony Edict, R.A.E. 2-3010-72c;

4.) Attempted escape and flight from lawful imprisonment within the realm of Tartarus, in trespass of the Acts of Criminal Reformation and Incarceration, R.A.E. 4-1509-6a.

For these transgressions, foremost among the many crimes committed by the named party, it is hereby deemed that subject referenced in this Decree presents a continued clear and present danger to the realms and citizens of Equestria and her neighbors. As such, the Crown is authorized, and indeed justified, in taking such measures actions deemed necessary in neutralization of the same.

Signed,

Princess of Equestria, Regent of the Sun, Sol Invictus, et. al

The only thing that was left was for her signature. It had been a month since Tirek’s brief reign of terror was ended. The cadre known as the Elements of Harmony had once again proven themselves. Celestia mused that is why she sent them, along with her sister, on a goodwill of her homeland. While she had originally intended the Elements, as they were still known, on the tour-slash-extended vacation at the Royal Sister's expense, Luna had practically begged to join them once Celestia brought it up as part of the usual round of rewards that had become all too common for the group.

Celestia mused it may have something to do with her sister's nearly nightly visits to the confectionery that the Element of Laughter called home. But the solar alicorn also realized that with her sister otherwise indisposed and Cadence returning to attend to matters in the Crystal Empire, Celestia was left quite alone and to her own devices. As the nation returned to a sense of relative normalcy, she figured the governing of her nation could attend to itself to a few days.

She stared at the parchment containing the decree penned in her own hornwriting. She mused once more if such was really needed. The solar alicorn tapped a hoof against the desk and shook her head, causing her pastel auroral mane to wave against some unseen wind. She turned her head towards a bookcase holding most prized mementos and books, the most recent addition being a compendium of her faithful student-turned-princess’s Friendship Reports. The alicorn called forth her magic once more and moved the parchment over without so much as a second look.

After a quick cough to clear her throat and a sip of her tea, she willed the First Edition of the Twilight and Company’s research towards her desk. The candlelight still flickered in the otherwise tenebrous room as she set the large tome down. The ancient alicorn flipped through the pages and settled on the first entry she cited mostly to herself.

Dear Princess Celestia,

I wanted to share my thoughts with you. I didn't learn anything! Ha! I was right all along! If you take your time to do things the right way, your work will speak for itself. Sure, I could tell you I learned something about how my friends are always there to help me, and I can count on them no matter what, but truth is, I knew that already, too.

Your loyal subject,

Applejack

The solar alicorn chuckled silently to herself. Perhaps it wasn’t applicable to the situation, but Applejack was the Element of Honesty for a reason (if not for her occasional smartass remarks). The solar alicorn took the meaning of the letter as to always trust yourself. She had even penned a commentary when the compendium was published stating as much, to which Applejack finally agreed after a lengthy debate and many glasses of “special” cider. She hoofed over another few pages and found one from the Element of Kindness.

Dear Princess Celestia,

Sometimes it can be hard for a shy pony like me to stand up for myself. When I first tried it, I didn't like the pony I became, but I learned that standing up for yourself isn't the same as changing who you are. Now I know how to put my hoof down without being unpleasant or mean.

Sincerely,

Fluttershy

Ever was Fluttershy the gentle soul. The animal warden and caretaker was perhaps a bit naive in some ways, but her heart was in the right place. Celestia kept that thought in mind as she hoofed to the next page.

Dear Princess Celestia,

Seeing the Great Dragon Migration made me wonder what it meant to be a dragon, but now I realize that who I am is not the same as what I am. I may have been born a dragon, but Equestria and my pony friends had taught me how to be kind, loyal, and true. I'm proud to call Ponyville my home, and to have my pony friends as my family.

Yours truly,

Spike

The Solar Diarch let that thought sink in. Her nation was a special place, almost a utopia. It was a place where friendship was easy to come by and ideas of Justice and Redemption were the rule rather than the exception. Almost without deviation, any major threat the country had faced recently been subdued. Her sister was redeemed by the Elements of Harmony. Even with his most recent betrayal aside, Discord had kept himself in check. She meant to deal with the draconequus personally after Tirek was defeated. But seeing his regret was sincere and Fluttershy vouching for the Lord of Chaos, she had decided to let him be. There were other matters to attend to anyway.

Celestia willed the book closed and moved it back to the case. She switched her magical grip to another, more recent tome. This one, which was in the process of being reviewed for inclusion into the Royal Archives, was the journal the group had kept when the Tree of Harmony had grown once again. She flipped to one entry she kept at the forefront of her thoughts.

Being honest sure gets hard when it seems like the truth might hurt somepony you care about. But I think believing a lie can end up hurting them even more. Maybe some ponies don't care about that – but I sure ain't one of them.

The alicorn had memorized the lesson, both as a reminder and a safeguard. She rehearsed it as a mantra. She mused if perhaps her impending actions were, indeed, honest. She had watched the assault fall upon countless subjects that looked to her for guidance and protection. She had watched as her closest family were drained to the point where the simple act of standing presented a nearly insurmountable encumbrance. She watched as her own innate magic, her very spirit was torn away from her without remorse. Her dignity and that of her subjects were violated in most heinous ways possible.

Celestia was quite aware that she had been accused in recent years of a certain passivity as the events of the world moved by her. Where one had access to the Elements of Harmony, she would send the bearers of those artifacts to deal with her past mistakes rather than do it herself. But that wasn't the truth. When Nightmare Moon had returned, she had hoped to reason with her sister inside the demon. She only found an existential crisis while residing inside the sun for a brief time. The Elements of Harmony, which no longer responded to her call, were the only things that could contain the impish draconequus was loosed upon the world. Her failure against Chrysalis had more to do with facing off against an alicorn-like being amped up on the power of another alicorn and her own Captain of the Guard than a lack of power or prowess.

The truth was a more complex thing than assumption and most would certain choose to disregard that fact. As such, she didn't bother proffering an explanation and the whispers would hush in the face of time. Another tick on a larger clock.

Returning to her current dilemma, she decided that she would offer the centaur a chance, of course. It would be the same deal she had offered his brother. But she suspected, that, in his hubris, he would not accept it. If so, it didn't matter. She gave a slight shrug. It simply was what it was and it wouldn't change the more she thought about it.

She snapped the journal closed and used her magical grip to set the journal back on its shelf. Without a second thought, she unrolled the parchment once more. With a quick glance to the quill, she seized it in a minor effusion of energy. She dipped the feathered instrument into the inkwell and quickly scribbled her signature. After setting the quill back upon the holder, the alicorn rose and took a step back from her work desk. She winked out in a quick spell, needing to make a quick stop before summoning the gate to Tartarus

The candlelight still flicked to the corners of the large space. But even as air rushed in to fill the void left by the solar alicorn, the candlelight winked out.

Tirek paced out his cell as the craggy landscape of Tartarus still filled his vision and thoughts. The centaur had recovered little of his strength in that time since he was reinterned within the plain where he previously spent the previous who-knows-how-long. As was his wont, he began to set his mind to finding the answer to his dilemma. When he last escaped, it was only through sheer chance that Cerebus left his post which in turn dropped the magical wards that held and drained him. How the Royal Sister's managed to tie it to the mongrel's presence, he knew not.

But he knew that it wouldn't likely happen again. Even now, he felt the magical wards work against any energetical manifestation he tried, much like before. Whether it was the cage he was now in or something else was, at that moment, irrelevant. But with that in mind, his mind started towards the destination that he hoped would provide an answer. Without devouring the life force of such energetically inclined beings, he was a weak thing. As he fed, he grew powerful.

After all, it was one of the few certainties in life that the strong would dominate the weak. Nature was ever a harsh mistress in ensuring her rules would be abided. And who was he to really argue with her?

At his full potential, Tirek was a ton of muscle and physical hazards and the cage would pose no real obstacle. But even with his great physical strength, it was all secondary to his magic. Aside from being able to bleed any being of its innate magic, he could call upon the magic of the very heavens if sufficiently empowered. Indeed, he had been able to! He clanged a bracer against one the metal bars and grunted in frustration.

But with his centuries of scheming, he did not take into account the Tree of Harmony. In most scenarios he ran through, he figured Celestia, or some creatures in her stead, would utilize the Elements of Harmony. With that in mind, he figured to simply consume enough power to overcome even their prismatic light. But the Tree? That was a different matter.

Tirek shook his head. He would be smarter next time. Do his homework, as it were. If he could find a way to neutralize it before tackling the alicorns...

One thing he was sure of was that he would have to do it himself. His first attempt had failed because of his brother's betrayal. It didn't matter as he was weak. Even back in Gehenna, he was always weaker. Tirek remembered the fidelity he had with Scorpan, even going so far as to exchange the worthless little amulets they had as children. Though the younger of the two, he was always the stronger. When Scorpan attempted to talk him out of his "foolhardy plans", Tirek could not believe what he heard! Love and light and friendship?

Tirek hit the bars once more, but his fist did not make as pleasing a sound as that sound of metal on metal. It didn't matter.

When Tirek dismissed his brother from his sight, it wasn't long before Celestia and Luna showed up. He didn't expect the endgame so quickly as that rainbow light enveloped him and dismissed him without so much as a thought. After coming to on his home away from hell, he spent that expanse of time planning. He reminded himself that patience was the virtue of the strong. Regardless of whatever strength he possessed or lacked, he was a timeless thing. As such, he mused and sat and pondered. Not that there was much else to do.

When his chance came, he decided to bide his time and build his strength. Slowly at first while he caught up to the world that moved on without him. As he learned of the modern world, he kept reciting his litany of patience. When he had finally felt confidant of his plan, he played through it step by step. That was until Discord found him in an alley. A brief magical demonstration revealed he was nowhere near strong enough to subdue the Lord of Chaos. So he played upon the draconequus' natural hubris.

As it turned out, chaos is predictable if you know the equations. That brought a smile to Tirek's face as he finally regained enough of his strength to subdue the alicorns and even the draconequus himself. That was until Twilight Sparkle and the Tree of Harmony managed to toss the wrench in his plans. The rest was another stained glass window and celebration of the pony spirit.

The centaur paced about the edge of the cage that would serve as his confinement for the next who-knows-how-long. He whacked a metal bracer one more time against the bars, the loud ting cascading in up and over the sides of the mountain top that was his home yet again. The one thing he could console himself with was that there would be a chance. There always was another chance. In the games the immortals played, time meant nothing and patience was a virtue. But when?

“How long will it be this time?” he muttered to no one in particular. “A century? Eon?”

So the grey furred, red skinned creature continued to clop around the perimeter of his confined kingdom. The metal was warded against nearly all magic and, in his current state, he couldn’t muscle his way through the bars. As it was, he was left with nothing but time. It was little problem beyond boredom and a rock named Wilson.

The centaur was about to seat himself in the center of his demesne when he heard the telltale clopping of hooves against stone. Initially dismissing it as a trick of his mind, he laid upon the hard stone and rolled to his side, facing the pathway leading up to this stony little fiefdom. As the sound grew louder, he decided against acknowledging the visitor with any movement whatsoever.

As the tip of an alabaster horn crested into view, he shook his head from his horizontal position. He figured he’d see her again; just not so soon! As the solar alicorn came into view, she wore more of a grim look than he remembered before. Even when he robbed her of her very spirit. Aside from her saddlebags, he noted two daggers sheathed about her shoulder; each had a black hilt and crossguard. A round ball of purest onyx sat in the pommel of each. The centaur lost himself for a moment as he tried to place the familiar designs in some image from his memory. A cough broke his fascination before it went too far.

“Welcome to my kingdom. Have you come to gloat?” the centaur grunted. The alicorn stood at the edge of the circular area, looking with measure of apathy reserved for few. Minutes passed before he continued. “Well?”

The alicorn’s magic sparked on the tip of her horn.

“Oh please.” the centaur dismissed. He waved a hand and moved to roll over.

He never even got to his back. His vision was clouded with a golden glow even as he felt his body being lifted. Indeed, his prison was warded against most magic. Except for those of an alicorn. His vision was turned to face the alicorn, even as his form was thrust forward against the bars. After his body crashed against the unforgiving metal, he found he could not turn away from the alicorn. She had his undivided attention.

The alicorn stepped slowly towards the trapped prisoner, her magic producing a scroll she had recently penned. Unfurling it with her telekinetic grip, she shoved it forward until it was within his reach. After a few beats, he took the cue and grasped the waiting parchment. When his fingers closed around the document, the alicorn none too gently shoved the centaur back towards the center of the cell before releasing him from her energetical grasp. He landed with an undignified thump on his haunch.

“Am I supposed to read this?” the centaur quipped. The alicorn kept her glare to the centaur in response. Seeing no confirmation forthcoming, he gave a dark chuckle before shifting his eyes to the document.

“...Tirek is charged...crimes against the crown….usurpation of the….assault...attempted escape… authorized to…” the centaur mumbled. After reaching the end, he closed his eyes and gave a deep chuckle. He crumpled up the paper and gave the jagged ball an underhanded toss towards the alicorn. “This means what, exactly? Are you going to kill me, Celestia? Hmm?" he taunted.

Her magenta eyes didn’t even blink as willed forth another parchment from her saddlebag and moved it towards the centaur. As he grabbed it, the alicorn’s aura died away.

“Terms of Release?” Tirek muttered to himself, almost wanting to laugh. His hands moved to dismiss the first document in the same manner as the first. A golden glow disabused him of that notion before he was again suspended in the grip of the alicorn’s magic. With something of a harrumph, the centaur closed his eyes.

Celestia shook her head before slamming the centaur against the bars again. The collision caused his eyes to open again as the air was blasted from his lungs. The document hung before him yet again.

“Fine, fine,” the centaur muttered again. The alicorn moved closer to the centaur, keeping in mind the reach of the beast. His white irises skimmed over the wording of the paper.

Terms of Release:

The Crown hereby authorizes the release of the prisoner known as Lord Tirek from his confinement on the plane of Tartarus under the following conditions:

The prisoner is to be released at a time suitable for the Crown, or Designate therein, at the edge of the realm of Equestria, chosen at the sole discretion of the Crown. Whereupon the prisoner shall leave the realms of the same at the most practical moment.

The prisoner shall never again return to the lands of Equestria under any circumstance, accidental or otherwise.

The prisoner hereby agrees that he shall never again take up arms against the Crown, the lands under jurisdiction therein, citizenry, or others at the sole discretion of the sovereign ruler of the Equestria.

The prison shall not harm an ally or neighboring Kingdom, Republic, etc., or citizenry of the same.

Failure of the prisoner to act in accordance of these terms will result in a punishment decided at sole discretion of the Crown or Designate therein; up to, and including, pain of death.

Signed,

Celestia
Princess of Equestria, Regent of the Sun, Sol Invictus, et. al

Tirek looked back to the royal alicorn. There it was.

She released the centaur from her magical aura and slowly walked back to the edge of the open area atop of the mountain. She turned around and called forth her magic again. As it were no more than a pillow, she seized the entire cage in her grasp. A slight shift of her eyes betrayed her target as she tossed the metal structure of the lip of the encompassing rock. The metal clanked off the rock face for a few moments before the sound disappeared.

Tirek looked to the alicorn, his expression a mask of indifference.

“Am I supposed to agree to this?” Tirek growled in response. “And if I do not, what will you do then? Banish me to the Sun? Encase me in stone?” He finished with a bark of laughter.

The alicorn only stared in response. Her muzzle wore no smile, nor did it frown.

“Should I give you then, oh quiet one, my response?” Tirek said though a slight smirk. Free of the cage, he felt his magic building again. Adjusting his gaze to the paper, he craned his head back slightly. As his magical field built within his horns, he opened his eyes and craned forward suddenly. The magical focus between the tips of his stunted knobs on his head glowed before loosing a beam of energy onto the paper. As the parchment lit, he dropped it dismissively before rising to his hoofs.

“You can never be rid of me, Celestia,” Tirek spoke plainly. “Unlike my brother and that simpleton of a draconequus, I can’t be turned. So I can never be forgotten. Most of all, by you.”

“And that’s the difference between us,” The centaur smirked as he began to saunter towards the alicorn. Celestia stood dispassionately, appearing unimpressed by his show of bravado. “I can do what those others could not; Discord, your little sister formerly called Nightmare Moon. They were weak because they lacked patience, they lacked the will. They saw that easy road and took it.”

“It’s all a lie, you know. ‘Walk in the light of Harmony, Friendship, and Love, and you shall be redeemed!’,” the centaur spat as he threw his arms up. “You don’t offer freedom. You offer a tyranny disguised as benevolence, so long you remain in control of it all. Your idea is the only true road, right?”

“After I left here, I took some time to read, to catch up on the world. I happened across the works of your poet, Frogbert Frost. He wrote about fairly unimportant things. But he did write something that stuck with me. ‘I took the road less traveled, and that has made all the difference’.”

“With that in mind, should I remind you why it is the destiny of the strong to dominate the weak? The others were weak, your ‘little ponies’ are weak, you are weak.” the Centaur spoke as anger laced his voice. “Scorpan was weak! Unlike them, you can’t ever be rid of me because your conscious couldn’t stand it. You could never live with it! Your decree, your ‘on pain of death’ declaration is hollow thing, as are you. Why? Because you lack of will. You are a fraud, Celestia! I can wait where the others would not.”

Celestia finally broke her gaze. She closed her eyes as if processing everything the centaur had said. Tirek broke into a grin as he quickly willed his magic once more. There was no way he could be this lucky! He opened his mouth as the sphere of energy quickly built between the stubs on this head. He only needed a little shot.

He never got a chance.

Faster than he thought possible, the alicorn opened her eyes. The tip of her horn sparked as she manifested another spell. Even as the centaur loosed his draining magic, he found his vision shot upwards as the beam broke harmlessly upwards into the blackness of the ceiling. Another second and his whole body was encompassed in a golden glow. His vision never shifted as he was thrust backwards into the rock face. The breath was blasted from his lungs again from the force of the impact, as was the focus needed for his magic.

“You were right about one thing.” Celestia said quietly as she casually walked over towards the pinned creature. “I didn'toffer freedom.”

The centaur shifted his gaze downward. He gulped as he tried to find a way to break the enchantment about him. He tried to call forth his energy once more, but found there was avenue to channel it. The field he was in had seen to that.

“I offered forgiveness,” the alicorn spoke evenly as she continued to approach. “I offered you a chance to find your own redemption.”

The alicorn stopped only a few inches from the centaur, her cool gaze peering into his black eyes as if she was searching his soul. Even as he tried to muster his voice in some form of defiance, he found his tongue stick in this throat.

“There are things I can forgive, Tirek.” Celestia spoke in a tone that could freeze water. “I can forgive you draining ‘my little ponies’ of their very being. I can forgive your actions against my student and her friends. I can forgive you for draining me. I can even forgive you for draining my sister and niece.”

Celestia closed her eyes and craned her neck forward. Her brought muzzle to within a fraction of an inch for from his ear.

“So I shall take the road less traveled. I forgive you,” she whispered almost seductively into his ear. Tirek shifted his gaze downward. Celestia opened her eye just then, her magenta gaze meeting his.

“But what I will not do is forget.”

Even then, the pair of blades came out of their sheaths on the majestic alicorn's shoulders. Tirek found himself awestruck as they quickly turned and moved to the base of his horns. For the first time in a while, he felt as if he were a puny thing, a foal caught against wake of destiny. The solar alicorn’s irises grew to pinpricks as she held him in that awful gaze.

“I can’t forget,” she said in hushed finality, her even tone finally breaking. His red skin grew pale even as the blades shot upwards. The last thing he saw was those horrible eyes before his world grew black.

“I will never forget!”

“Are you awake yet?” The blazing pain in his head only grew more intense as he opened his eyes. Even as his brain tried to claw out of his ears, he moved his hands to the side of his head to try and keep it in.

Where he felt the flat base of his horns.

An electrical jolt coursed through his body as he held his palms there. He looked over and found one of the stubs, the flat side burnt as if it were held to a torch for hours.

“Oh good, you are awake!” the melodic voice carried through the searing pain in his skull. He felt a titillation of energy. The centaur closed his eyes as he felt the pain in his skull begin to subside. He relished the magic for what precious time it was there. But all too quickly, the glow subsided. The searing pain became a dull ache. As he began to recollect his wits, he felt about himself his hands. At least the enraged alicorn didn’t take anything else. It was then he fell within himself, to feel something. Or a lack therein.

His eyes shot open as he began to realize the emptiness inside. The currents of his magic were go. His brain raced to finish the equation. Something was terribly wrong.

“I want to tell you a story.”

He rolled his head over to see the alicorn sitting at the edge of the walkway. Her normally tranquil smile resumed its place on her muzzle, albeit smaller by a measure.

“What did you do….” Tirek moved to speak.

“It would be wise to simply listen now,” the alicorn interrupted as her smile was replaced for the briefest of instances. ”Your questions shall be answered shortly and you, frankly, do not have much time.”

Tirek, formally the envy of the kind, nodded meekly. The centaur felt weak. Weaker than ever before, even after being hit with the Rainbow of Light. He moved to right his form, but found himself lacking the strength, as if all power had flown from his muscles. A golden glow wrapped about his form as he looked to the alicorn. Celestia gently moved the weakened centaur to a sitting position. As his haunch met the hard ground, the alicorn released her hold.

“Are you listening now? Good,” the alicorn spoke calmly, as if she were addressing one of her subjects. She called forth her magic once more, summoning forth a small box from her nearby saddlebags. She continued as she lowered the box gently to the ground. “There is a story you need to hear.”

“Once upon a time, there were two brothers who came from a faraway land. They were intent on stealing Equestrian magic. The older of the two brothers soon met a unicorn wizard, who deduced what they were trying to do. The wizard tried to reason with the elder brother, but the brother would not listen. The wizard tried to make him see the light of friendship, the true magic that all Equestrians held in their heart. But the brother still refused to listen.”

“So it went that two, the elder brother and the wizard, came to blows. The battle lasted for a full day, with neither the brother or wizard tiring in the least. Seeing they were evenly matched, the battle waned they realized they were at an impasse.”

Tirek blanched as he understood the references in the story, but it wasn’t the story he was told or had read. Celestia cleared her throat as she hoofed open the box.

“It was then that the alicorn sisters descended from the sky. The brother realized that his position was untenable and so he sought to bargain with the sisters. After the unicorn wizard recalled the brothers’ plans for Equestria, the younger alicorn wished nothing more than to obliterate the elder brother from the face of the land.”

“However, the elder alicorn put a hoof to her enraged sister’s shoulder and bid her calm. The alicorns and brother discussed the situation at length. In the end, it was agreed he would leave the lands, never to return, but not before trying to talk reason into his brother. As a sign of the compact, he gave the sisters some of his prized possessions. One a worthless little bauble, other than what it meant to him.”

Even as she finished, the solar alicorn willed her magic forth. She glanced down into the box and seized its contents. As the trinket came out of the small chest, she put a hoof to the lid and closed it. Without looking to the centaur, she dropped the bauble into her hoof and tossed it his direction. The trinket clanged as it bounced along the ground.

Tirek didn’t even to look down as he trembled. After all, it was his amulet.

“The others were fearsome weapons. Sharp blades that could drain anypony of their very essence. Where the younger brother had long ago mastered the darkest of arts, the elder sibling found he lacked that skill, no matter how hard he tried. His brother fashioned the blades as a sign of their allegiance, imbuing within the metal the very same spells he bore naturally.”

Celestia willed her magic to the daggers sheathed at her side. A quick pull showed the obsidian blades in all their wicked glower. She sheathed them one more with a thought. The centaur moved to speak, but found the words died in his throat. He remembered those events as clear as day. Or he thought. Where he believed his brother had betrayed him by seeing a new leaf, he now understood differently.

“So the elder brother, Scorpan, tried to reason with his brother. But his younger brother, Tirek, would not listen to reason. In his prideful arrogance, he believed his plan could succeed with or without his brother. Scorpan returned to the two sisters and unicorn wizard and told them of his failure. But the alicorn sisters were forgiving of his failures. Seeing that his regret, or perhaps fear, was genuine, he was allowed to leave Equestria under his own power, free to live his life without any interference from the sisters provided he never returned to Equestria.”

Celestia looked to the centaur now with that trademark smile, honed of a thousand years of practice. Tirek came a lot of realizations then. His plans, his brother’s betrayal, everything he understood was a lie. Celestia moved to her hooves before fixing her gaze upon the centaur.

“You see, Tirek, though we may in fact be immortal and witness ages that come and go as so much sand in the hourglass, the world, our world, does not change. Despite everypony’s best efforts, the lands sometimes flow with grief and sometimes beings commit wicked deed upon wicked deed. You and I know this.”

“But it isn't the destiny of the strong to rule the weak. Not as long as somepony will bear the sins and comfort the fragile ones.” Celestia continued as she eyed the centaur. A familiar golden glow came to the tip of her horn. “You see, it’s in the nature of some to commit sin. And no matter how they struggle, they seemingly or willingly cannot escape that fate. And in most times, the heavens must maintain their silence lest they become as cruel as that which they defend against. But in extremis, it is the duty of the truly strong to soil their hoofs for the sake of Harmony, to protect those who are able to listen to the better angels of their nature.”

Tirek gulped a bit of saliva as watched the alicorn rise in her terrible glory. Her wings spreading to full as her magic lifted her from the ground. “What...what are you going to?”

“Sin.” Celestia finished as she summoned for her full reserves. In place of the golden glow, a pure white light grew from her eyes as well as her horn. The ground began to quake. For not the first time that day, Tirek felt himself a puny thing as the alicorn broke the very chains of the sky.

A crackling sound started to come from behind the centaur. Willing what was left of his courage, he turned about. A laser of white light seemed fight for existence. As the light grew in intensity, the width of the beam began to grow. Tirek threw an arm to shield his eyes from the terrible glow and crackling sound.

As the sizzling died away, he dared to look back to there the beam originated. In its place was a portal. The air was filled with an inky blackness while smoke rose from various fissures in the ground. It was akin to Tartarus’s landscape, but more ominous. There was no light, not even the faint glow of the moon. He knew the plane.

Gehenna. His home.

“You see, what you called weakness, I call strength,” the solar alicorn spoke, snapping the centaur from his daze. “What you call a lie, I call the truth.” The alicorn’s eye still held that terrible white light as she approached the centaur. He gave something of whimper. “What you call tyranny, I call salvation.” Her horn shifted from the white glow back to its normal golden aura. Once again, Tirek found himself levitated off the ground while the Solar Diarch landed lightly. The alicorn’s muzzle was barely an inch from his face.

“What you call control, I call a choice.” Celestia whispered again. “And if you ever set one bucking hoof into my country ever again, I will not forgive you.”

Tirek watch the alicorn withdrew her head back. He got her meaning. As if to add emphasis to ensure there was no misunderstanding, Celestia reared on her hind legs and craned her head down, allowing the centaur to behold the very face of the sun. It was then that his cheek exploded in pain and vision clouded with stars. The solar alicorn’s right hoof rocketed the centaur through the gate. As the centaur finished arcing through the portal, Celestia closed her eyes and willed the portal away. As the white glow died down, she portal quickly shrank into the nothingness from whence it came.

Whatever frustrations that didn’t leave with her punch, the alicorn breathed out slowly. It would be a long walk out of Tartarus, but she had time. She collected her baubles by hoof and moved them back into the small chest. Ensuring everything was where it was supposed to be, maneuvered the container back into her saddlebag. She made an easy pace down the trails towards where a snoring Cerebus was at his post. She was spent, but halfway down the trail, she found herself humming a tune as she set an easy pace.

Luna trotted through the halls of Canterlot Castle in a rather ebullient mood. Her saddlebags filled to bursting with all matter of sugary delivery systems as she approached the large double doors to her sister's apartment. Nodding once to each of the Royal Guards that stood to either side of entrance, she entered with a minor manifestation of her magic. "Sister, we are home!"

Celestia laid out comfortably on a long rug set before her fire place, casually sipping from a teacup she held within her telekinetic grasp. As the doors opened, a casual grin creased her muzzle as she set the cup aside. She stood and quickly embraced her sister. "Mmm. Welcome home, Lu."

"Oh we have so much to tell!" Luna said as broke the embrace. She looked her older sister in the eye with a sparkle that made the elder alicorn almost want to giggle. "But how are you."

"Oh, same as always."