Dusk of the Centaurs
The journey back to Orionopolis was slow and grim. The creatures of the valley had killed nearly half of the legion. Their supplies mostly destroyed and now needed severe rationing. The wagons were filled with the injured and dying. Most succumbed to their wounds, which were so bad that the medics never noticed a few had new stab wounds.
Pandora's Box was pulled on the newly built wagon. It was heavily guarded, but they gave it a wide berth. The horror it had caused fresh in their minds, and just being close to it gave them feelings dread that even the bloodiest battle couldn't inspire.
Tirek had been stoic and silent as a statue. No one dared approach him after the loss of Scorpan, for fear his grief would turn to rage. When they camped one night, the Moochick took a chance. He found the prince near the edge of the camp just before sunset.
"Prince Tirek?" The elf hesitantly spoke up.
"What do you want now?" Tirek didn't even turn to face him.
"Nothing, Your Highness. I just thought you could use someone to talk to."
"Why would I?"
"I know that you want to keep a stiff upper lip, but...I figured you might need to talk about what happened to your brother."
Tirek finally turned to the elf, but his expression was unreadable. "He's dead. That is all there is to say."
"Your Highness, it's alright to be angry or sad or confused or anything else you might be feeling."
"I feel nothing."
"Oh, I see. You're still in shock from the experience. Well, when it does hit-"
"No, Moochick, I feel nothing because I don't care."
"Your Highness, I think we both know that isn't true."
"Scorpan is dead. He was a weak, stupid fool who got himself killed and left me alone to deal with worthless creatures like you. Why should I shed tears for that?"
"Your High- Tirek, that's the grief talking. It's all right to feel angry, but you know you loved him. I know it hurts, but-GAH!" The Moochick gasped as Tirek grabbed him by the throat.
"Don't you EVER! Presume you know what I feel," Tirek hissed as he shoved the elf off his feet.
"I'm sorry." The Moochick coughed. "I can't imagine the pain you must be in, but please, do not let yourself be consumed by it. Just look around you."
They had camped near a field that they had burned earlier in the journey to quell the spread of the smoss. The plants were charred and blackened, and the air was still thick with the smell of smoke.
"This land was consumed by the mystical plague and then by fire. It would seem there is no coming back from it. But there is still hope. It will take time, but it will heal, just as you will."
As if on cue, a loud neighing was heard. A herd of Earth Ponies trotted out into the field. They had been driven out by the smoss infestation destroying all the edible plants and now finally came back to see that it had been destroyed, sadly along with all the plant life.
They began galloping in circles around the scorched earth, and slowly, their Earth Pony magic began turning the ashen dirt rich and brown, and seedlings sprouted amidst the blackened grass. Before long, they had caused a large patch of grass to grow.
"You see? Hope springs eternal, especially with the right help." The Moochick smiled. "If you need a friend."
No sooner than the Earth Ponies had created the grass then a pair of Unicorns appeared. They had been using their magic to dispel the remnants of the dark magic from the area. It wasn't enough to bring back food, but it was enough to drive out the atmosphere of dread.
They teleported into the midst of the grass and were immediately set upon by the Earth Ponies. The herd crowded around the unicorns, bucking and kicking the intruding ponies. The Unicorn stallion took the worst of the beating. He stabbed another stallion with his horn and both fell to the ground, stuck together and were both trampled. The unicorn mare teleported out of the circle of ponies and began firing bursts of magic, killing five of the Earth Ponies, but sheer numbers caught up with her and she was forced to teleport away severely injured.
"Hope spring eternal, indeed!" Tirek laughed. "Perhaps I should send out a few Pegasi to make it even more interesting."
"Tirek."
"I don't need your help, Moochick. I don't need anyone." Tirek went back to his tent, leaving the Moochick sighing in defeat.
-
"Amazin' he hasn't knocked that jerk's head off!" Applejack grunted.
"Indeed, Randall had amazing patience, and patience is key for his ilk. His future hopes rested on reaching Tirek."
"Why? Tirek wasn't the boss, his pa was."
"Chiron was important, but even with the changes he'd made, old age would take him. The Moochick knew that Tirek would succeed his father, every teacher knows that the future depends on his students."
"Uh, no offense, but couldn't he see Tirek didn't give a darn?"
"He hoped he could help the prince could overcome those faults. He saw some potential in him, same as my sister saw in Twilight Sparkle." I didn't mention the more apt Sunset Shimmer. That is for Celly to tell.
"Well, yeah, Ah suppose he might'a seen somethin', but it ain't really the same."
"Like how Trixie and myself 'weren't really the same?' But still overcame our demons?"
She tripped over her words as she looked into my eyes.
"It isn't as farfetched as it seems. I imagine at your first meeting, you never imagined Trixie would be a Magic Bearer. All depends on whether one acts on their potential, some never do."
-
The army's survivors were welcomed back with cheers and accolades. Pandora's Box was pulled through the streets as a trophy of conquest, and received a raucous ovation despite none knowing what it was or why it made them uneasy. Chiron himself met with Tirek, the Moochick and the officers on the steps of the royal palace and threw a feast in their honor.
"You've done well, sons of the Empire!" Chiron smiled. "Where is Scorpan? I would see both my sons celebrate their victory!"
Tirek was silent, and the Moochick bowed his head.
"I'm sorry, Your Highness..." The Moochick solemnly removed his cap. "But I'm afraid Scorpan fell in battle."
"We battled a giant spider and he got himself eaten," Tirek added, emotionlessly.
"He was amazing, Your Highness," The Moochick offered a sad smile. "He died fighting, as any warrior of the Empire would."
Chiron couldn't speak. He closed his eyes and breathed deep. He repeated to himself that a warrior never cries.
"Then he shall be enshrined in the Hall of Heroes," Chiron announced when he collected himself. He pointed to the Box in the city square. "Take this trophy to the vaults. Tonight, we feast to victory and memory of our fallen!"
"Father, we must speak about this trophy," Tirek began.
"We shall speak after the festivities," Chiron shortly replied.
Tirek hated every moment of the feast. Seeing all the people happy and celebrating the end of the crisis turned his stomach. And worse was what he viewed as the people's insincere grief to his brother's death, not that he gave a care to who also gave their lives.
That night, he was finally able to speak with his father privately in his study.
"Father, we need to speak about that box we returned with." Tirek sat at his father's desk.
"There will be no need to do that." Chiron replied tiredly. "Moochick Randall has already explained what it is and how it caused this disaster. We will keep it in the vaults until we can find a way to dispose of it."
"Dispose of it?! Father, the power it unleashed is greater than anything we've ever seen! We must harness that power!"
"Harness it? Are you mad?! The plague, the creatures, and all the devastation it caused clearly show that such a thing cannot be controlled!"
"No, Father, it can! I know, I already have!"
"What do you mean you already have?"
"Oh, the Moochick didn't tell you? Well, let me tell you what he left out." Tirek smirked as he relayed the story of how he used dark magic to kill Lahb.
"So, you see why we need to harness the box's magic! The undirected power altered the laws of nature! When under control, it was more powerful than any weapon ever conceived! And we haven't even begun to explore the its uses! We could create weapons that could conquer nations in seconds! We could build armies created by magic! We could take command of the weather or the land itself! The possibilities are endless! We must begin at once to study the-"
"NO!" Chiron snapped Tirek from his rant and gave him a stern glare. "We will do no such thing!"
"Why not?!"
"It is too dangerous!"
"Since when has danger ever stopped centaurs?! We became the greatest nation ever by killing dragons! This is no different!"
"We have killed dragons, but we knew we could not tame them!"
"This is not an animal to tame! It's a force to be controlled! We use fire to warm ourselves, cook our food, forge our steel and destroy what we need it to, this is no different!"
"And how many ages past from the time our ancestors discovered fire to when we were finally able to use it? How many died attempting to control it? How many died when it went out of control?"
"You'd have us huddle in caves instead?!"
"This is infinitely more dangerous and unstable!"
"You let Scorpan's death cloud your thinking!"
"We could destroy the world in our attempt to conquer it!"
"Then we'll rule over the ashes and rebuild it better than before!"
"Tirek, a plague born of this magic killed our people! Its creatures killed our men, including your brother!"
"What better revenge than to bend their destroyer to our will?"
"There is no honor in allowing it further opportunity to cause destruction!"
"Destruction is inevitable, the difference is only in how and where it's focused! With it I destroyed Scorpan's killer!"
"That's another thing! Do you even realize that drinking in that power might have killed you?!"
"It didn't!"
"And for that you should fall to your knees and thank Lord Helios!"
"I was in no danger!"
"You don't know that, Tirek! Even the Moochick does not understand this magic and he taught you everything! You've no idea what that power could've done! It might've changed you into something monstrous!"
"That didn't happen!"
"Being lucky does not justify it! I would not congratulate you if you jumped off a mountain and survived!"
"I survived because I can control that power! I survived because I'm strong! I will not stand here and be called a fool for thinking of the Empire and being the centaur I was born to be!"
"I call you a fool because you're acting like one! Your reckless disregard for your life and your willingness to endanger yourself and others are not the markings of a strong Emperor! Scorpan is dead because of the power you wish to make your toy! You dishonor your brother's memory with your arrogance, and any who would do such a thing is no son of mine!"
The room went deadly silent. Tirek stumbled back staring wide eyed at his father, too stunned to speak. Chiron stared in dawning horror as he realized what he had said to his son. The loss of Scorpan was too raw for the both of them, and grief has the habit of making us say things that we'd never otherwise say.
Chiron took a step forward and tried desperately to form some words of apology. "Tirek, please, I didn't-"
"No. It is done and I will hear no apology. If you were not Emperor, I would kill you where you stand." Tirek didn't look or sound angry. It would've been comforting to Chiron if he did.
Tirek turned and walked out of the room, without even emotion enough to slam the door. Chiron tried to go after him, to say something, anything to apologize, but he just couldn't move. He sank into his arm-couch and put his face in his hands.
Tirek's temper slowly burned as he stalked through the palace. He needed to kill something, his only release, but he was smart enough not to kill another centaur within the palace walls. Instead, he went to the gardens, found a few pigeons, and made red smudges. Finally, he went to the one place left where he could speak his thoughts: his mother's tomb. Lady Myrrha was laid to rest in the royal tombs adjacent to the palace. The prince would always command the guards to leave, shut the doors and address her.
"Hello, Mother. Still here, eh? You should get out more. Heh."
To the centaurs, a mother dying in child birth was as glorious and honorable a death as any soldier on the battlefield. A plaque above the tomb signified her sacrifice with the words engraved:
"'Died in glory.' Ha. You know, Mother, I've...I've never understood that belief. A mother is a hero for dying and abandoning her child the moment I'm born? I fail to see how that is heroic.
"You weren't there to raise me alongside Father, like Scorpan's mother. And she's a gargoyle! Women are the weaker gender, but how could a lowly gargoyle prevail where a centaur couldn't?
"And now...Scorpan has left me too. Heh, I guess I should have seen it coming. He was a lazy, frivolous, sentimental idiot. I trusted him, and he got himself killed! And for what? To protect the Empire? A nation of parasites who deserve to die like the insects they are! Why...why is everyone around me so damn weak?! What is wrong with m-YOU?!"
The tomb remained silent as ever.
"Well, no more! Things are going to change! I'll make everyone see what you and Scorpan were too weak to be here to see: that I'm the only worthy son in the gods-forsaken Empire!"
As Tirek left the tomb, on the other side of the palace, Chiron had been looking for him.
"Good evening, Your Highness." The Moochick smiled.
"I'm afraid it isn't, Moochick. Tirek and I had another fight, and...I said something in the heat of the moment that I shouldn't've. I need to find him."
"Then I'll help you find him. I'm sure we can smooth things over."
"I don't think it'll be so easy. Scorpan came up and...and..." Chiron punched a wall.
"I know, Your Highness. It's all right to be sad."
"A centaur does not let pain show. A centaur is stronger than that."
"It's not weakness to mourn," The Moochick replied as he gave the Emperor's free hand a squeeze.
"I shouldn't have sent them," Chiron whispered brokenly. "I should have let one of the generals or someone with more experience. I should have...My little boy is gone. I can't lose Tirek too."
"You won't. We'll find a way to-" The Moochick gasped and fell backwards against the wall.
"Moochick! Are you all right?" The Emperor stooped and helped the elf to his feet.
"Ooh, this is not good." The Moochick looked around panicked. "I felt a disturbance in the palace! It was the same power as in the valley. But...Where did you have that box locked up?!"
"In the deep vaults."
"We have to get down there now!" The two of them sprinted down a corridor towards the lower halls of the palace.
The royal vaults were hidden unguarded deep under the palace, seven enchanted locks on each door so they could not be forced open. Their keys held only by members of the royal family. When the Emperor and Moochick got to the vaults, one door was wide open, which led to only one conclusion.
They raced inside and heard the sound of metal hitting metal. The Moochick shuddered as dark energy stirred with each clang. The Moochick raised his walking stick and lit up the chamber. They both gasped as the light revealed Tirek standing atop the Box, trying to pry it open.
"Tirek, what in the name of the gods are you doing?!" Chiron yelled in alarm.
"Proving a point." Tirek grunted as he wedged his sword into the box's opening.
"Tirek, don't!" The Moochick cried. "If that thing opens and the magic is released-"
"I'll control it!" Tirek finished.
"Tirek, even if this magic can be mastered, it can't be mastered as is!" The Moochick warned. "It's too raw and concentrated! Even my magic would too dangerous in this state!"
"And yet I used it to destroy that spider! I controlled it! I will control it!"
"Tirek, stop! You aren't thinking clearly!" Chiron stepped in. "You don't have to do this!"
"Yes, I do!" Tirek ranted. "All my life you drove me past my limits, preparing me to be Emperor, but it was never enough! You only ever saw failure in me! You enjoyed belittling me, tormenting me, refusing to acknowledge I am a worthy son! You were just waiting to find an excuse to replace me as your heir! And now you use my brother's death as an excuse and have the nerve to call me dishonorable!"
"Replace...Tirek, you can't honestly believe that!"
"Why shouldn't I? When have I ever been shown the contrary?!" Tirek roared as the metal groaned beneath his hooves.
"TIREK, I'M SORRY!" Chiron yelled urgently. "I wanted to be strong for you after we lost your mother! I thought I was doing what was best and I was wrong! Tirek, please come down from there. Myrrha and Scorpan are gone, and I can't lose you too!"
Tirek just stared in confusion at his father, but his gaze hardened. "Oh...I see. You can't lose me. You think I'll fail. You think I'll die if I do this. Despite your claims, you still think I'm too weak!"
"Tirek, just come down from there."
"I will, once I show you exactly the kind of power you're throwing away."
"Tirek, get down from there, now!"
"No!"
"I AM YOUR Emperor AND FATHER!"
"AND I AM NOT WEAK!" Tirek slammed the sword into the surface of the Box and it burst open.
A plume of dark magic rose out of the box, but Tirek merely lunged into the opening. He fell into the abyss and in the darkness, he saw a vision of a golden centaur bathed in light. To him, it was glory and power incarnate, and vaguely reminded him of himself. The vision smiled in approval at Tirek. The figure whispered, but it sounded as loud as a thunderclap in the darkness. The voice he heard was his own, and it told him exactly what he wanted to hear.
"Do as thou wilt."
Tirek obeyed. He used the Mana Transfer and began absorbing the dark magic. The box began to shake, causing the floor to crack.
"GET HIM OUT OF THERE!" Chiron ordered the Moochick as they rushed to the box.
The Moochick grabbed the side of the box, but leapt backwards from the heat. The box glowed red and sparked with lightning from the dark magic cloud gathering over it.
"Oh, no, no! Tirek what have you done?" The elf gulped.
The released black magic was sucked back into the Box. The Box groaned and began buckling and bending. They watched in horror as the box collapsed in on itself. The room shuddered as the accursed cube imploded until it finally dissolved into a pile of dust with a deathly still centaur buried among it.
The Moochick and the Emperor ran forward and pulled Tirek free. They gasped at the sight of the prince. The magic of the Box had changed him. His rich brown skin had become a blistered red, his dark grey fur had changed to a deep greenish black, and his head was crowned by a pair of horns that would make a minotaur envious.
"Oh gracious! The magic's mutated him!" The Moochick gasped.
"No...Please, dear gods who rule all things, please don't take BOTH my sons!"
The Moochick leaned over the prince's chest. "Oh thank goodness, he's still breathing!"
The elf whipped his hat off and fumbled for his medicines and potions. He was about to raise a bottle to Tirek's lips, when the prince bolted up with a gasp. The centaur looked around in blind panic at his surroundings. In the dim light, they could see that his eyes had gone from a deep blue to a bright yellow. He tried to speak, but he just bent over wretched on the floor.
"Tirek, it's all right!" Chiron urgently patted his son as he lost the contents of his stomach.
Tirek panted as he finally seemed to get his bearings, "F...Father? Moochick Randall? W-where are we? H-how did we get here?"
"You don't remember?" The Moochick asked.
"I...I remember we were in the valley and there was the box of magic and the giant spider and SCORPAN!" Tirek tripped over himself trying to stand. "Scorpan! That spider killed him and I...I...I don't remember anything else."
"You killed the spider, Tirek." The Moochick put a hand on his shoulder.
"Scorpan is avenged."
"But, then how did we get here? Where are we? And..." Tirek's eyes widened as he looked at his newly red hand. He stared down at his darkened fur and reached up to feel the horns sprouted from his head. "What happened to me?!"
"Well-" The Moochick began, but Chiron cut him off.
"We are in the vaults. You captured the box of magic and it was brought to the vault as a trophy. But it began to open and you came here to destroy it. You were able to stop it, but you were changed in the process. You saved us, my son. You saved the Empire again."
"I...I did?"
"Yes, you did." Chiron pulled his son into a hug, and did not see the look the Moochick gave him.
They brought him to the healers, the Emperor still telling the story that Tirek had tried to save them all from the box opening. The palace healers and the Moochick helped to check him over for injury. He was under their care for days, but they found nothing wrong with him.
"Well, he's healthy as ever. The color change don't seem to be any danger. The horns don't seem to have damaged his head." The healer informed the Emperor, his wives, and the Moochick.
"Can we see him?" Hermia hoped.
"Oh, of course, he's..." The healer didn't even finish before the centaurettes and gargoyle rushed past him and into the ward.
"Tirek, are you all right?"
"What were you thinking, going down there and facing that evil thing by yourself?!" Helena practically screamed.
"Don't you ever scare us like that again, young man!" Arachne cried hugging him.
"I think Tirek would rather be back on the battlefield right now," Chiron joked, getting a light chuckle from the healer.
"I'll mix a few medicines to help him sleep." The healer excused himself, leaving Chiron and Randall alone.
The Moochick turned to the Emperor. "He may seem fine, but his short term memory loss worries me. His body is soaked in that magic. I tried to perform the Mana transfer to withdraw it, but it won't work. Even when I had Tirek try to expel it, nothing happened. It's almost as if the magic itself were resisting, or Tirek is somehow keeping the magic from being extracted. I honestly don't know which worries me more."
"Well, he seems fine, so we shall thank the gods and put it behind us." Chiron nodded.
"Why did you lie to him?"
Chiron stared warily at the elf. "Randall, my son is lucky to be alive. If word spread that he nearly freed the evil that ravaged the countryside, they would call for his head. I cannot allow the honor of my son and heir to be questioned."
"I see. And what is the other reason you lied?"
He gave the elf a hard look. "I am Emperor Chiron the Strong. I do not need to explain myself to anyone, much less a foreign elf."
"No, you don't, but this 'foreign elf' is your friend. and friendship means telling a friends if they make a bad choice, even if they are royalty. Because they care enough to risk their friend's wrath to protect them."
Chiron had no answer. The truth was that Chiron did fear losing his remaining son, but not only to the backlash over what had almost happened in the vaults. If Tirek didn't remember anything since the battle with Lahb, then he did't remember the argument from earlier that night. He did not remember his harsh words against him, and his son would not be lost to him in heart.
"Please, Your Highness, we need to discuss this. Who knows what effects that magic may have on him!"
"Thank you for your opinion, Moochick Randall, but I believe I have this well in hand. I also believe that the Western Forest Elven Kingdom needs you more than I do, so you are hereby free to return home."
"Your Highness?"
"I wish you well, even though your business will likely not bring you back to the Empire." Chiron gave him a look that made it clear this was not up for discussion.
"I see," The Moochick replied, miffed at being dismissed. "Very well then, Your Highness. I shall leave in the morning."
"I will have a chest of gold prepared for you, as well as a medal of thanks for all your service to the Empire."
"Thank you, Your Highness. I pray for your family's happiness, and my condolences for the loss of Scorpan."
The Moochick left the following day, and he indeed never returned to Orionopolis. Life went on, but the loss of Scorpan left the palace a much quieter place. However, the royal family had little time to grieve.
Six months after the debacle with Pandora's Box, a plague started in the South. They'd it 'the Mad Rot'. It would seem like just a common cold, but within days, the skin would be covered in open soars and gangrene would set in. The fever would drive them into violent madness and attack anything in their path, which spread the disease even further. Most of the afflicted died from others acting in self-defense than actually succumbing to the sickness. Strangely, it only seemed to spread to centaurs.
Despite the efforts of the Empire's best healers, they could not find a cure for the Mad Rot. By the year's end, one in five centaurs in the southern Empire had died from the plague. All they could hope for was containing the disease. The Emperor had to build a great wall across the land to keep anyone from the plague ridden areas out. The wall was patrolled by archers under orders to turn back centaurs trying to flee the plague, and kill those who tried to climb the wall. It was not Sunnytown Applejack, their actions were indeed a last resort.
Thirteen kingdoms seceded from the Empire in or around plague infected areas and they had no choice but to let them. This caused further devastation to the economy, and spread their resources thin. Chiron never forgave himself for ordering troops to fire on citizens of the Empire. He had never been much of a drinker, but after this, he almost always had a glass of wine in his hand.
The next three years were disasters. A fires destroyed several cities, killing hundreds of people. Then came the worst summer they ever had, as monstrous storms blew through the land that destroyed a full third of all crops and a ruthless winter. Ships with precious cargo were lost at sea, water supplies were contaminated by floods, two island cities were totally destroyed by a hurricane, and more calamities just kept coming.
And desperate centaurs did increasingly desperate things.
Life in the Empire had never been so chaotic, and the Emperor was at his wits' end trying to fix the problems. Tirek had personally gone all over the Empire to deal with most of these disasters first hand. The war council meetings were increasingly grim.
"The satyrs only managed to give us a 10% tribute this harvest. Their queen says they'll starve if they give us anymore."
"Wonderful." Chiron groaned. "What about the-"
The meeting was silenced by the doors being flung open. Tirek trudged in, accompanied by two haggard centurions.
"Father, the Southern Wall has been breached!" The prince desperately informed the Emperor.
"Plague carriers have made it past the wall?" Chiron stood in alarm.
"No, Your Highness, it's something else!" One of the centurions panted.
"Your Highness, I know this will sound like madness, but I saw them with my own eyes. We were attacked by Reptilians," The second soldier added.
"You ran all the way here to tell us the Empire is under attack by the monsters under children's beds?" One of the councilors pinched the bridge of his nose.
"I saw them myself!" Tirek growled at the councilman. "We even brought proof."
The centurion placed a burlap sack on the council table and opened it. The other centaurs gasped as the bag fell and they saw its contents. It was a severed head, covered in hardened scales fitting of a crocodile. A pair of long yellow tusks jutted from its huge mouth, streaked with blood. For the centaurs, it was seeing a scary picture from a storybook brought to life.
"They climbed the wall and attack our camp!" The second centurion recounted. "I thought I was seeing things myself, but there they were."
"They came by the thousands. In all my years, I have never seen such a host in battle," The first centurion went on. "We were hopelessly outnumbered and we were losing. We were forced to retreat here to warn of the attack when it was clear there was no hope of victory."
"How many of them were there?" Chiron inquired.
"Their hordes seemed to stretch from one horizon to another, and more kept coming." Tirek gave his father a haunted look. "It had to be 60 or 70,000 strong...at the very least."
For a moment, all in the room were struck breathless.
"We must mobilize immediately." Chiron proclaimed. "Call up troops and prepare for attack."
The ensuing conflict was the bloodiest in Empire's history. The centaurs sent five legions against the Reptilian force from the South, but it barely slowed them down. Before they could even recover or send more troops, another Reptilian army attacked in the East, then another in the North. The centaurs fought harder than they ever had before, but they were overwhelmed by the seemingly limitless numbers of the Reptilians. The war council was never as grim.
"Our spies can't make sense of the Reptilians' command structure. They all look alike and wear no sign of rank. There have only been whispers that they worship some 'Dark Lord of All' and are waging the war at his command," General Memnon read the reports to the assembled generals, the Prince, and the Emperor.
"Wonderful, our nightmares have found religion," Tirek scoffed. "Any word from General Posiecles and his men at Furietti?"
"Furietti has fallen." General Achilles slammed his fist on the table. "Twenty centurions made it back to our lines."
"Twenty centurions out of 5,000?" Tirek demanded.
"What about Drac'thanos?" Asked Pholus, who like his brother Nessus, had risen to the rank of general.
"Everyone from there is missing or presumed dead," Talos answered.
"What about our allies? The Elves, the Penma, the Raptorians; some of them must be able to spare some help!" Nessus offered.
"And we received word from the Elf Kingdoms this morning. They're under attack from the Reptilians as well. And we can't get word to the Penmas or the Raptorians without breaking through the Reptilians' lines. We are on our own," Pholus answered.
"Alright, what about the other nations in the Empire? Humans, ogres, satyrs, gnomes? Are they under attack too?" Nessus asked, growing more agitated.
"Reports differ." Memnon answered. "A few of their cities have been sacked, but most surrendered. Some are being used as slave labor to power their war machine with their children as hostages. Spared only if every centaur in their lands was handed over."
"There's also accounts of the Mad Rot breaking out in places near the Reptilians. I guess they brought it with them."
"HELIOS' FLAMING BEARD!" Nessus shouted in indignation. "We can't keep taking these losses if we expect to win this war!"
"Well, what do we do, Nessus?! Look!" Tirek demanded, gesturing to the map of the Empire and how much of it was covered by Reptilians. "They've taken over half of the Empire, they have superior numbers, and we are running out of territory, resources, and manpower! If you have a plan, I'd love to hear it!"
"It's about to get worse. Our spies have confirmed that the enemy is starting to marshal an army near the mouth of the Celadon River," General Talos grimly announced.
"Less than sixty miles west of us," General Memnon realized. "They're going to attack Orionopolis."
Never once had an enemy breached Orionopolis' walls, if it fell, the empire fell with it.
"So, the Reptilians march to our doorstep. Then we will be ready for them." The Emperor stood and addressed his war council with a fire they had not seen in the old centaur for years.
"Send word to every corner of the Empire that still stands free to mobilize! Soldiers, civilians, men, women, children and even non-centaurs! I want every last citizen of the Empire to reach the city within a week! Leave only ashes for the enemy. Call up every man able to lift a weapon, whether they've been trained or not! We will make our stand here! This city has stood since the days of Orion the Hunter, and by the gods, I will not see it fall to the monsters of children's nightmares! Let them come, and shatter on our swords and shields!"
The next few days were spent making all the preparations for a siege. Centaurs came by the thousands to Orionopolis, all prepared for the battle. The fortifications were set. The river now circled the city. Every weapon was set and manned. Every strategy planned, checked and rechecked. The Emperor and his generals would oversee the battle from the roof of the palace, where they could see everything and send orders and warnings of enemy movement. They had set up a system of flags and horns to relay commands to the troops, allowing maximum communication and control of the city defenses.
"Everything's ready, Father." Tirek nodded as he donned his armor. Chiron did not respond. "Father?"
"Tirek, before this battle begins, I need to show you something." Chiron motioned for his son to follow.
They walked through the palace, now stuffed with the city's women and children. Chiron's wives had taken charge, keeping them all calm.
"It's all right, dear," Arachne comforted the crying boy. "Our husband and son will defeat these scary monsters and we'll all get back to normal."
"You really think so, Ladyship?" The boy asked.
"Yeah, really?" Asked the boy's little sister.
"Of course, sweethearts," Hermia said, hugging her. "Nobody is stronger than our boys. They'll save us."
Helena stopped Chiron and Tirek as they walked past. "We're trying our best to keep them hopeful, but...Chiron, tell me the truth, what are our chances?"
"On my life, I will not let them hurt you, or anyone else here," Chiron answered.
"And I promise that when this is over, we'll be knee deep in dead enemies and our family will be together until the end," Tirek added determinedly.
Helena smiled, seemingly encouraged. Chiron and Tirek went down into the lower levels of the palace, even deeper than the vaults. Chiron stopped at a dead end hall.
"This is the last secret of the palace, son." Chiron pulled out a key and stuck it in a crack on the wall. He turned it and the wall opened to reveal a long tunnel.
"Where does it go?" Tirek asked, stunned.
"It leads through the mountains and into a secluded valley that lies under a protective enchantment and isn't on any maps. It was meant to be an escape for the royal family if the city ever fell," Chiron explained.
"And you think the city will fall?"
"Any other time, I would say no, but this is not like any war we have ever fought. They seek to murder, not conquer. If the city falls, it spells the end of our people. If it comes to that, I need you to take the palace guards and take your mothers and the other women and children out through this tunnel. There are a series of devices further down that will collapse it behind you."
"What about you?"
"I'm old, Tirek. My time is past. Your time has come to be the Emperor, and ensure that our people survive. You and the guards will raise the next generation and teach them our ways. Be the kind of father to our people that Orion was. The kind of Emperor that I've always known you could be."
Chiron handed him the key. Tirek and Chiron shared an understanding look. One way or another, this siege would be the end of the reign of Chiron the Strong.
Night fell without sign of the moon or stars. The only light was the distant torches of the approaching Reptilian host. Storm clouds rolled across the sky, roaring with thunder like a great beast. It was as if nature itself knew a much worse storm was coming. The city's defenses were manned, their weapons readied, and every able-bodied centaur ready for a fight to the death.
The centaur forces sounded the alarm as the reptilian army arrived near midnight. Rank after rank of cold blooded killers, moving in such perfect synchronization, they seemed almost machinelike. In the dark, their numbers seemed countless.
The Emperor himself came out to address the city, in full armor and trappings as any soldier of the Empire.
"This night, we face an enemy with the face of children's fears! We have fought and conquered in countless battles for generations, and we will not be cowed by an appeal to childhood nightmares! The Centaur Empire will stand against this storm and when the sun shines again, it will find us bloody, tired, but victorious! This battle will be remembered by our people forever more! We are the centaurs! For the Empire!"
The centaurs cheered and raised their weapons in united pledge of victory. The Reptilians roared in response and charged.
The first wave was downed by pitfall traps. Hundreds fell to their deaths on wooden spikes buried in the dirt. Many more were caught in snare traps and trip wires, leaving them crushed underneath their comrades.
The archers along the city wall fired into the invading horde as they waded across the moat. The Reptilians' hide was tough, it took two, even three arrows to put one of them down. A few made it across, but the hail of arrows still came down upon them. However, soon the moat filled to the top with dead Reptilians, allowing their comrades to run across on their bodies.
The invaders made it to the wall and began raising ladders or climbing the wall itself.
"Give these overgrown geckos a bath!" Nessus roared as the boiling oil was poured over the Reptilians.
"Don't forget their bath toys!" Pholus shouted, as his men rained huge rocks down on them.
The Reptilians that made it to the top of the wall were met with swords and spears. The centaurs fought hard, their enemies' hides denting their weapons if they did not hit the right places. To their shock, the Reptilians fought as well as their own soldiers, and the battle was surprisingly even. For hours the wall held and no Reptilian made it past the wall guards.
As the sun began to rise, the Reptilians finally got their battering rams to the main gate. Four huge tree trunks, each crowned with a carved dragon head smashed into the gate. As strong as the doors were, they would not hold out for long.
In the first rays of the sun, the centaurs finally saw the extent of their enemies' forces. Many flinched in alarm at the sight. Even with the night's casualties, the Reptilian ranks numbered at least 200,000.
"We are outnumbered, Your Highness." General Memnon observed. "Should we start Phase Two?"
"Not yet. Signal the Commander Hur and Bensala; Hold until they breach the gates. Then, take them!"
The catapults fired stones deep into the enemy ranks. Dozens of the creatures were crushed beneath the boulders that rained down on them. The centaurs on the wall cheered, until Nessus saw the enemy ranks parted and revealed catapults of their own. The Reptilians sent several huge rock sailing right back over the wall.
By midmorning, the Reptilians finally broke the gate, and the trap was sprung. The gates opened and the enemy force was met by a full chariot charge.
"Welcome to Orionopolis!" Commander Hur roared as he rode his chariot over the first Reptilians through the gate.
10,000 armored chariots pulled by their biggest and strongest Earth Ponies charged the Reptilian ranks and broke them. The charioteers drove wildly, scattering the enemy formations, while the archers riding with them sent flurries of arrows at the retreating foes.
The Reptilians hurriedly attempted to reorganize and attack, but then came the sound of trumpets signaling the second charge. Over 20,000 Pegasi pulled chariots across the enemy's left flank, closing the pincer around the Reptilians and destroying their formation. Half went on ground and continued to mow down enemy soldiers, while the other half took to the sky and began shooting at the ranks further ahead. The fields outside Orionopolis soaked red as the battle turned into a massive, wild melee.
The Reptilians closest to the city charged the gate, but the troops inside had formed a strong shield wall and beat back the Reptilians who tried to advance past the gate. The mounting bodies of the lizard men around the gate were practically serving as a second shield against their living comrades.
Hours passed, and it seemed that the centaurs would win if they continued to whittle down the enemy army. Hope turned to ash as Reptilian reinforcements arrived, numbering well over 500,000. Their air support had arrived. The stories told that Reptilians rode dragon-like creatures called Stratodons, and they had finally shown themselves in droves of thousands.
They swooped through the air and engaged the centaurs' air chariots. Panicking pegasi. Reptilians jumped from the backs of the flying horrors right into the chariots, killing the riders or cutting the Pegasi loose so they'd fall to their doom. A mere swipe of the Stratodons' claws or their tails enough to shatter chariots.
With the chariots out in the field in chaos, half the Stratodond attacked the city. They picked men up and dropped them from the sky. They smashed the catapults and dragon weapons as they flew. Many just threw themselves into buildings to bring them crashing down on the centaurs with no regard for their own lives.
Bellerophon, one centaur among many, once a dragon slayer, rod his two-pegasi chariot, pulled by his beloved mares Medley and Firefly. Firefly sired by Lightning Strike himself. Yes Applejack, these were the first pegasi to bear those names.
He slew several Stratodons, and many Reptilians who tried to board his chariot. They rained from the sky around him. When his chariot was cut, he rode on the two pegasi themselves, until he was tackled by a Reptilians off the saddleless ponies. His ponies were unable to save him, though he managed to kill his enemy before he hit the ground and moved no more.
The enemy ignored Firefly and Medley like they were nothing as the panicked animals blindly fled the battle.
The centaurs tried to rally, but the fresh wave of enemy troops and their new air force had taken the wind out of them.
"There are too many of them, and our defenses are gutted," General Achilles sighed. "We may hold them off for a while, but the capital will fall."
Chiron bowed his head in defeat. "So be it. We may not be victorious, but we can face death with honor."
"I always hoped I'd die fighting." General Memnon unsheathed his sword.
"Tirek, go to the palace. Get your mothers and the rest of the women and children out through the escape tunnel. Take them out the mountain pass and head to the safe haven. It may take decades, but you will be able to lead next generation in rebuilding our way of life and-"
"No, Father. I will not leave."
"Tirek, you are the Empire's only hope! You need to survive!"
"I will not leave!" Tirek turned towards the edge of the roof. "This has gone on long enough. I will see this day end in victory. I will see my enemies destroyed to the very last man!"
"My Prince, there is no way!" General Achilles protested.
"On the contrary, General" Tirek smirked. "There is one way."
He raised his hands and a monstrous flash of dark magic erupted from his horns towards the city wall. It hit above the main gate with all the force of a tornado, blasting a hole in the wall a hundred hooves across. Then the dark magic surged along the rest of the wall, collapsing it as it went. The centaurs watched in horror as the wall fell and the Reptilians surged into the city like a flood over a broken dam.
"No," Chiron gasped as the invading army breached the city.
"Prince Tirek, what have you done?!" General Memnon demanded in righteous fury.
"I have claimed victory." Tirek grinned back. "My army will now be victorious, and my enemies shall die...like the pigs you are."
"TRAITOR!" General Memnon charged the prince with his sword drawn.
Tirek swung his own sword with such force that it broke the general's blade. He punched Memnon with such force that he went flying over the wall.
"No. By all the gods, please say my eyes deceive me." Chiron muttered in disbelief.
"How like you to deny reality, Father."
"The...that box! The dark magic! It turned you into this-"
"If you'll excuse me, Father, I'm going to join the battle, so let's talk later."
Tirek unleashed a dark magic blast that engulfed the generals and Chiron.
When Chiron awoke, he was bound in chains held by Reptilians. He saw he was in his own throne room, filled with Reptilians guarding every entrance. Arachne, Hermia, Helena, Nessus and Pholus were chained to the wall not far from. An altar stood before the throne with a sheet covering something on it. To his horror, he saw Tirek sitting in his throne, presiding over the horrific scene.
"So glad you've come around, Father." Tirek smiled cruelly. "I was just about to hand down my first decree."
"Tirek, what have you done?! Please! The box's magic has possessed you! For our family please fight it!"
"The farce is over father. I told you I could control it, remember? I've always been in control." And he was, as much as I, Chrysalis, and now Sweetie Belle control this magic and does not control us. No surprise? Oh yes, you were there as she was taught.
Chiron's blood was ice. "You . . . remember? When?"
"Since always."
"Why have you joined these creatures?!" Chiron demanded.
"Join them, Father? I created them!" Tirek answered. "I brought their entire race into existence. They were once mere lizards, rats, birds, snakes, squirrels, insects, and I made them warriors that have no will but to serve me."
"Hail Lord Tirek!" The Reptilians chanted. Know this Applejack, because they were created with the minds of machines doesn't make them unliving. Being a threat needing to be put down does not mean they felt no pain. Because they were mass produced does not mean they were not victims of Tirek as well. Even witches have more empathy for their creations.
"You're the Dark Lord," Pholus said.
"LORD Tirek. Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? So much more fitting than Emperor."
"I always knew you had a swelled head, Cuz, but having them call you 'Lord' like you're Helios Come To Earth? That's nuts."
"No, Nessus, it's entirely appropriate. With the powers I now possess, the world is mine for the taking. I can command the skies, the seas, the land, and the creatures in the dirt or in the air. And I have just brought down the greatest nation in the world. The throne of the Emperor would be a step down, and what crown could be more majestic than this?" Tirek gestured to his horns. "I am the ultimate power in the world now. So, I feel the need to rid myself of the vestiges of my former life."
The evil prince stood and ripped the sheet from the altar. The remains of a centaurette lay on the altar, one who had been dead for decades. Chiron nearly fainted as he recognized the burial gown and jewelry on the corpse.
"Ah, Mother dear! I'm tempted to call this a very happy family reunion, but I must admit, you don't look so well." Tirek addressed the corpse. "I always was a little angry with you for dying moments after I was born. I've thought many times that it was somehow my fault you died. And then the truth struck me like a bolt of lightning. OF COURSE, I killed you! You were weak, just like all the supposedly strong centaur people. I've been ridding the world of weakness all my life, and now I realize I started at the very beginning. I can't blame you for your nature. Though, I suppose I should thank you. After all, you fulfilled your purpose in bringing me into the world. So, thank you for doing one thing right, Mother. And don't fret, because you will soon have plenty of company. Goodbye."
The space between Tirek's horns glowed and the altar burst into flames, burning the remains to ash.
While the rest of his family glared at his son, Chiron tried to find the strength to speak. "Tell me, son, exactly how long have you been planning this?"
"Oh, I'd say it truly began back when you sent me amongst the commoners." Tirek shrugged. "When I saw the kind of feeble minded, weak willed cretins that populate the Empire, I knew things had to change."
"So...you planned to kill most of our citizens and start over?" Lady Arachne tried to understand.
"Oh yes indeed, but now that plan has changed. Now all of them will die." Tirek smiled.
"Tirek, please. You are the victor, this is pointless." Chiron pleaded, but Tirek just went on as if he never heard him.
"I originally planned to kill only those who were unworthy of living under my rule; the weak, the sick, the stupid, the deformed, those who wouldn't abandon the old gods, those too old to be of use, and those who would defy me. However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that my list of undesirables merely listed the entire population. In my heart, I always knew there was only one way this would end: kill them all."
"You gelded bastard!" Nessus spat at his cousin.
"Oh, Nessus, I can always trust you to open your fat mouth." Tirek smirked.
"Call off your pals here and I'll show you what else you can trust me to do!"
"Oh, so brave, so defiant in the face of death! It's so...irritating. You still think you are meant to be Emperor, don't you?"
"I never wanted to be Emperor! All I have wanted was to serve our family and the Empire!"
"And yet you just couldn't do it when the moment came. When my assassin came for you, you just couldn't roll over and die like the martyr I needed to start the war with the satyrs."
The room was speechless, except for Nessus who sputtered, "You...your assassin?! You sent...YOU!"
Nessus burst from the guards' grip and grabbed a sword. He swung and lopped the heads off three of the Reptilians and charged at his cousin, who made no move to stop him.
"TRAITOR!" Nessus roared and plunged the sword into Tirek's chest.
The room gasped, Nessus glared at his cousin, waiting for him to spit blood and fall over dead. And as the seconds past, the more Tirek's smile grew.
"Oh, cousin," Tirek laughed, looking down at the sword in his torso. "You aren't dealing with a mere centaur anymore."
Nessus was flung across the room and imbedded in a wall. Tirek walked towards him, pulling the sword out of his chest as he went, not even a wound.
"Your weapons cannot harm me any longer. I am beyond such things. You on the other hand are sadly still very..." He thrust the sword into Nessus' chest and twisted until his head lolled lifelessly to the side. "Mortal."
"NO!" Pholus broke from his own captors and ran for his brother.
"Oh Pholus." Tirek grinned and turned to his other cousin. He caught Pholus by the throat and lifted him off the ground, his hind legs kicking and trying to get traction on the floor.
"Tirek, please-" Chiron attempted to speak.
"Silence, Father. I need to teach my cousin a lesson in power." Tirek tossed Pholus to the floor.
His horns glowed and manacles shot from the floor and attached to Pholus' arms and legs. "Argh! You coward! Can't stand up for yourself without parlor tricks?!"
"It is you who can't stand up, Pholus. And why? Because I will it to be so. That is true power, cousin. Power is making the world fit your rules, not making rules to fit what others think the world should be. I say that you shall be down at my hooves and so you are. And this power did not come easy. I've been training, growing stronger as I refined it."
"Oh, I'm so impressed."
"You should be. After all. It isn't just anyone who could bring on storms that destroy cities, droughts that ruin harvests, or a plague like the Mad Rot. I think you should experience it firsthand."
Tirek grabbed Pholus' forearm, and his skin began turning a sickly green. Pholus gasped in horror as his arm broke out in lesions and open soars. He doubled over in pain, as the sickness spread. He fell to the floor screaming in agony as he felt his muscles and organs shriveling. The plague ravaged him, doing weeks' worth of damage in seconds. He mercifully succumbed after a full minute of the torturous sickness.
"NO! Tirek, you're sick and you need help! Just let us send a message to the Moochick and-" Arachne was cut off by Tirek punching her in the face.
"You will not speak in the presence of your better, gargoyle. With luck, that stunted fool elf is dead now."
"Tirek, plea-" Arachne started again, but was struck again.
"SILENCE! Why is it so hard for women to follow simple instruction?"
"Tirek, stop it!" Chiron bellowed in indignation.
Arachne sniffled at the pain spreading across her face.
"And here come the tears. If you think that will get your way, you are sadly mistaken."
"Tirek, please, you don't have to do this. Just stop and think for a minute!" Hermia begged.
"Oh, is this where you offer to do whatever I want if I'll just spare you? Sorry, but my tastes are nothing like Great Uncle Oedipus, so you can shut your mouth."
"So...not only are you behind these monsters, but you plotted to kill your cousins to start an unjust war, caused all the disasters in recent years, and unleashed the plague that has killed tens of thousands." Chiron coldly addressed his son.
"Indeed, it was one of my first great achievements. It made you cut off half the Empire's lands so I could have space to build my army. And if, by chance my troops missed a few stray centaurs, the plague will get rid of them."
"So, what now?" Chiron asked rhetorically. "Kill us and start building your own empire out of the ashes of the one you just burned down?"
"Not yet. There is one thing left before that." Tirek grinned savagely at his father. "Guards, take them to the royal box in the Colosseum."
The Reptilians marched the royal family to the Colosseum, letting them see the invasion's aftermath. Orionopolis ruined. Buildings were burning, the streets were filled with garbage and debris, and dead bodies were everywhere. The jewel of the Empire shattered.
Centaur prisoners marched in chains under the whips of Reptilian slave drivers. The wounded and maimed were dragged away screaming, dead centaurs were hauled off in wagons. The royal family grimaced at their people's fate, but the worst was yet to come.
Tirek had his parents chained in their seats in the royal box in the Colosseum, the arena now filled with hundreds of tables. Reptilians entered the arena with the centaur prisoners and dead bodies in tow.
"And what sort of 'show' are you planning for us, son?" Chiron asked furiously.
"Well, my army performed so well in battle that they've earned a good meal. An army marches on its stomach, and now we have a ready supply of meat."
"You wouldn't!" Chiron gasped in horror.
"Tirek, you can't!" Hermia screamed as she saw the Reptilians begin strapping centaurs to the tables.
"Oh gods above." Helena vomited at the first sounds of screams and bones breaking.
"I'm only god that will hear your prayer, and it pleases me that you should watch the end of your vermin race," spoke the half-fiend centaur.
For days, centaurs were brought into the Colosseum to be butchered and eaten by Tirek's army endlessly. As soon as they finished with one group, they brought in another. Arachne, Hermia, Helena and Chiron endured the sight of every last centaur, from the oldest to the youngest, being apart and devoured. They begged Tirek to at least kill the people before they started cutting them up, but he would not even give that mercy. The only ones spared that agony were those already killed in the battle, and they were butchered alongside the living.
"Waste not, want not." Tirek laughed.
At long last, when the last of the prisoners was slaughtered, then he turned to his parents.
"Bring my father's sluts, I want the pleasure of their deaths myself." Tirek grinned as the Reptilians dragged the ladies away.
"Tirek, please!" Chiron pleaded.
"This is whining getting tiresome, Father. Gag him," Tirek ordered.
Chiron screamed in rage as the lizards stuffed a gag in his mouth. He watched helplessly as his wives were marched onto the arena floor and strapped to the butcher tables.
"Any last words, 'Mothers'?" Tirek mocked.
Helena, Hermia and Arachne looked between each other, tears dried on their faces.
"Being cruel doesn't make you strong, it means you're weak," Helena defiantly told him.
"I feel sorry for you, Tirek. Now you'll always be alone." Arachne looked on her stepson with pity.
"I'm glad Myrrha is dead, because seeing what you have become would have killed her. May the gods have mercy on your soul, Tirek." Hermia turned her face from him in shame.
"Typical insipid girlish sentiments," Tirek scoffed.
I will give no details of what Tirek did to them. All I will say is that Arachne, Hermia and Helena were braver and stronger than any realized. Despite the agony inflicted, they never made a sound. They could not stop the tears, but they denied him the satisfaction of screams or pleas for mercy. Even when finished and the Reptilians took away the pieces, they'd never screamed.
Tirek frowned annoyed, but cracked a smile at his father's horror. Chiron slumped in his seat with his head down and his shoulders shaking. Tirek ordered Reptilians to bring fallen Emperor to him. The old centaur was tossed in the red dirt at Tirek's hooves, and glared up at his son.
"Humbling, isn't it? The Great Centaur Empire. The beacon of civilization, the bastion of life, centuries of history. All to be forgotten, I'll leave no trace. Orion's name will be erased, and mine worshipped forever."
"How did it come to this, can you at least tell me that? How could I have prevented it? Did I forget to say I loved you once too often? Did my efforts to prepare you for the throne only make you hate me, your family and your people all the more? What could I have done to keep this evil from devouring you? From failing you?"
"Tears from Chiron the Strong? The great hero and leader of his noble people is weeping like a woman? That's just sad."
"What do you want from me, Tirek?! You've destroyed the Empire, killed our people, and slaughtered our family! What else could you want?!"
"Take heart, this'll soon be over. Give him his sword."
The Reptilians bowed and unchained Chiron. The old centaur gawked in surprise then rose, watching the Reptilians for any sudden moves. One stepped forward and offered back his ancestral sword.
"What is going on, Tirek?"
A Reptilian brought out a sword like Chiron had never seen, forged from the melted shavings of Pandora's Box. Tirek named it Eclipse, signifying he had eclipsed all opposing powers, even the gods themselves.
"The Empire is dust, the Centaur race is no more, your family is dead, all you have left is vengeance." Tirek grandly raised his sword. "Now, we battle."
"Battle?" Chiron gazed at the sword in his hand.
"It's was all building to this, Father. I always knew you wanted to deny my destiny. We shall finally see who is the better man! Father vs. son, an Emperor against a god, the last two centaur warriors facing each other for honor and glory in the ruins of the Great Centaur Empire! Our duel will be remembered forever as the end of an age and beginning of my-"
"No."
Tirek stopped and turned to his father. Chiron starred him down and threw the sword clear to the other side of the stadium.
"'No'?"
"I won't fight you." Chiron crossed his arms.
Tirek raised an eyebrow. "You won't fight me? Chiron the Strong, Emperor of the Great Centaur Empire, refuses to defend his pride? What about your precious honor?"
"There's no honor here. I've nothing to fight for. I cannot save the Empire, my people, my nephews, my wives, nor my sons. If anything was at stake beyond empty pride, this battle is over before it begins."
"So, you choose to surrender? To die without defending yourself?" Tirek smirked. "You truly are a coward."
"You're a coward. You'd only face me now that you are immortal, have magic tricks, and an army at your back. You want me to pick up that sword and put up a struggle to feed your ego. So you can pretend that you are the better man. Well, I will not be a puppet for your amusement. I will die, but I will not give you that satisfaction. And despite all you've done, I'll not kill my son."
"I am not your son!"
Tirek had wanted his father's approval all his life. When that was no longer an option, he chose to prove that he was superior to his father in combat. Now denied that he settled with making his father's end even more excruciating than his wives' deaths. By the end Chiron no longer looked like a centaur, but a mass of mangled, bleeding flesh. He never made a move to fight back or defend himself. He held the tortured husk that was his father by the neck and raised his sword.
"I'm going to kill you now, and never give you a moment's thought again. You'll be forgotten with the rest of your feeble race."
Chiron spoke his last words, gasping through unspeakable pain. "One day, someone will rise against you. One stronger and greater than either of us. We'll meet again in Tartarus, my son, and serve our just punishment toge-"
Eclipse cleaved him in two, and Tirek set both halves aflame.
"Victory is mine! I've cleansed the world of a weak degraded people! The world was mine from the moment I clawed out of the darkness, and now its ignorant inhabitants will know! All shall be united under the Lord of Darkness! The Day of the Centaur is ended, and night has come. MY night has come, and it shall be the longest, darkest night the world will ever know!"
-
I magically held Applejack's hair as she bent over my waste basket and lost the contents of her stomach. When she finally stopped, she was still shaking. I cannot blame her.
"How? How-how-how could he?! They were his people! They were his family! They raised him, they loved him! They..."
I pulled her into my embrace and wrapped her in my wings. She shuddered as I held her, and I knew this would not be the last time this story would distressed her so deeply.
"Why?" She asked again in the same voice I used as a child when I sought comfort from my Parents.
"What would you like me to say? Because I can give you any number of reasons why he did it. From his bad relationship with his father to his sense of paranoia to his hatred of his own weakness to his lust for power, they all played a part. There is no answer that would make it anything other than a wanton act of savagery, or any way to explain why he did it that any decent or sane being could accept."
"All those centaurs...all of 'em dead 'cause he didn't want 'em around no more." Applejack raggedy muttered. "He didn't even see 'em as people with their own thoughts and feelin's."
"I know, it's horrible. My sister and I have hoped that ponies never again have to see such things."
"Ah've already seen it, Princess."
"I beg your pardon?" I jolted at her revelation.
"Ah...Ah looked into myself after meetin' The General, wonderin' if the world he wanted WOULD BE that awful. Ah saw Equestria in a full out war with the Changelings. And...we destroyed who we were. Rainbow treated killin' changelings like she was playin' a game scorin' points. Rarity tried her darndest to feel nothin' while she sniped changelings and was scared that she was gettin' better at it as she watched us become monsters. Pinkie was loaded up with so many drugs that she became a happy-go-lucky war machine who killed with a smile. Fluttershy was only a medic, but she'd seen so much bloodshed and pain that she couldn't sleep from the nightmares and barely make it through her days from everything she witnessed. Twilight tried to kill herself a bunch of times because she convinced the rest of us to join the guard and go to war. And...Ah, Ah just didn't CARE. It was all duty to me. Responsibility. Ah was part of a mortar team. Ah didn't care if it was changelings or rocks Ah was blowin' up. Why should Ah? It was for my squad mates. My friends. My family. For Equestria! And Ah wasn't the only one. My cousins were there. Thousands of ponies were there, killin' Changelings, gettin' killed by Changelings, dyin' in ditches, gettin' burned to death, gettin' buried alive, thousands...hundreds of thousands. So Ah thought about the lovin' and kind Equestria we have here instead."
She didn't use Truth when she looked at me, but I still staggered at the shame and horror in her eyes.
"Ah need ya to promise me that we won't ever be like that. Ah need to know that ya and yer sister won't let ponies end up that way. Ah can't...Ah can't let myself become that. Ah can't let Applebloom become like...Please promise me ya won't let us end up like that."
I held her tighter in our embrace.
"My sister and I cannot see every possible future, but we do what we can. However, there is something that I believe there is something else that will prevent such a world from coming to be." I looked into her eyes so she knows that I speak the truth. "I believe in you. Ponykind has seen its share of horrors and its share of ponies that would fit better in that sort of world, but you have overcome them every turn. If Celestia and I, despite our efforts can't prevent such an outcome, I know that ponies like you will."
It took a few moments for Applejack to recover. The story of Tirek's rise was enough to unsettle the most hardy of ponies, and the story was not even half over. Least now I could share with my little moonflower how her ancestors had bloomed from the ashes.
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Meh. It's your average non-pony, AJ. Out of everypony, YOU should be the one most familiar with it, seeing all truth, including just how cruel and horrible someone can be.
This Tirek was bad, yes. But he wasn't the worse. He killed them all, and while they did die horribly and in pain, then did eventually know release and went back to 'heaven' to be reborn. Tirek could have done much much worse, AJ. There are things worse than death. Far, far more cruel and horrible than death.
5837397
Tirek just hasn't figured them out yet.
5837397
Your author's warning is on the wrong side of the chapter. Any of that 10k you cut going to be part of another chapter or not?
5837541
Condensed it.
5837569
That's fine. Have problems answering more specific questions about the entire series?
5837541 Nope. The next chapter will be totally it's own material.
5837464 in the series? The shadows of Nothingness, I think they are called. The black empty shadows that fill up the Black Queen/Mother, Nothingness, that is a fate worse than death. Being Discord's plaything when he is cruel. That is worse. Oh wait, I know something that is so bad, it's not even in this series!
In this series, the Top 4 can 'erase' their kids. When you can't say their full names,
and they talk like this. But they DID exist at one point. Beings before they were erased remember them, and they still play out in events. But there is worse, where all traces of them existing, Where memories, the universe, time, EVERYTHING changes to there never having even been a "________" at all. No memories, no name, no mention, no traces period, no matter inside or outside of time by any being that exists or doesn't exist.For example, insted of the Top 4, there used to be a Top 5, but now there isn't. And no one knows that, because it just doesn't exist or happens. It's like with the Dream/Fear Monster shining fought. When he won, Time changed, but he, Cadance, and a few others still remember, and those outside of time and gods and such still remember. There are splits of time where that guy WON instead of lost.
It would be like that, except without ANYBEING remembering him, not even the Top 4, where all time was rewritten and he never existed, no written words, nothing. It being like he NEVER even EXISTED at all.
Now THAT, in my opinion, is the cruelest of 'fates' there is. Because anything else, and you can still be remembered, even if only by the gods, or old books, or just by 'time'. But being stricken from everything? You leave nothing behind, you never were, everything you ever did was for nothing and has no impact on anything at all, your own parents/friends/enemies no longer know you once existed.
I honestly can't think of anything worse than that. Even the most evil and cruelest of torture, still leaves an impression on the tormentor, even if just a little footnote of being Prisoner #31C8-41Z49.
5837578
No.
5837673
Actually, Havoc just WILLS HIMSELF BACK INTO EXISTENCE, if he's ever erased by his wife.
5837673
So no, it's always been the Big Four, because if there was a Big 5 they'd have instantly been back in existence.
And the lights of existence of those erased are born again to live and experience again, their empty shadows inhabit Entropy's realm.
5837699 5837686 True, but even then he is still remembered by everyone and to 'will himself' there still has to be something there.
I am talking about true total exponge of everything related to them at all, as if the entire exist/reality/whatever you want to call it, changes and have that person just never exist at all. As if everything restarts from the very beginning, and that person just never existed anymore where he did before. And no one, not even Havoc or the other 3, ever remember that "_____" existed.
That, just in my opinion, would be worse fate possible for someone.
5837717
">> Alex Warlorn >> Alex Warlorn True, but even then he is still remembered by everyone and to 'will himself' there still has to be something there."
Actually no, there isn't. Don't both trying to wrap your head around it.
5837717
A volcano can kill more people than a serial killer, but a volcano is doing as nature intended, it has no malice, it is doing what it must for nature. Tirek is making a conscious choice!
You just ate a ton of dark magic, which while not evil by nature, you're grieving, you didn't eat it in a very positive mindset and I think it's gonna start screwing with your head.
Rescue at Mdnight Castle and Twilight's Kingdom Part 1 disagree.
Moochick, you're a smart guy, leave him alone before he does something he'll regret. Please.
Because he's your brother.
I tried to warn you.
If only you knew.
Huh, so they did have magic even when they weren't quite sentient yet.
Or maybe they are semisentient.
I probably would have snapped already.
Yes, but Chiron is getting old. Was. Whatever.
Yeah, I am starting to see a parallel between Sunset and Tirek, but Sunset has a nicer singing voice by default as Tirek has never sang, Tirek is older, and Sunset is a lot nicer, and even at her worst, was never as bad as Tirek.
In a sense.
I suppose.
Tirek. Stop being such a
hole.
He's right.
He's right.
There's a difference between fire, and dark magic straight from the source of it all.
You're either insane or stupid.
He's right, and even though it didn't that was pure luck.
Dude!
Hm.
...
This won't end well.
I doubt it.
Tirek's there isn't it?
Correction, being dumb.
You could, if ti weren't for it being the source of raw dark magic and even if you weren't immediately overwhelmed by it, it's dark magic in it's purest form, NOBODY short of Amiticia who is Magic itself could control it, and even she might struggle.
He's right.
You moron.
It appears Morning Star appears to a centaur in the form of one.
Behold, Lord Tirek, Master of the Rainbow of Darkness.
And here I thought you didn't like these sorts of twists.
Or it's become a part of him.
Ah.
I wonder if it's caused by the Dark Magic?
I can imagine.
Poor guy.
Apparently, yes.
Now you know how Twilight felt when she saw Nightmare Moon. Er, no offense, Princess Luna.
Dark Lord of All. If Morning Star were Evil at this point, I'd say it's him, though maybe Tirek? Also, Memnon, his first name wouldn't be Aga would it? As in Agamemnon from the Greek Tragedies?
Wait, humans?
Oh dear.
Ah.
Clever.
Cool.
Which would be?
Called it.
Monster?
I see.
A trick.
Oh my.
I see.
I'm reminded of Anakin realizing Palpatine is the Sith Lord.
He's a madman.
Yep.
Oh my.
It was him? Damn, I suspected he was behind this but, yeesh.
He's not.
Very clever.
Thank you.
Talk about pretentious.
And said power is the Rainbow of Light which obliterated him the first time, and the Rainbow Power which sent him to Tartarus the second time.
Nor can I.
He was insane.
Sounds like your typical warfic.
Not if I have a say in it, and considering I would like to think I'm a good friend of Alex, I do these play by plays and have read every last chapter of this fic, I would like to think I do have a say in it.
I don't doubt it.
Moonflower? Were this a shipfic, I'd say Luna has a crush on AJ.
(Well, this happened, very dark, very gory, as you just said. I'm glad you didn't give too many details and that when it comes to more, gruesome things, my imagination isn't as vivid and that these play by plays slightly break the feeling of immersion, which certainly helps. In the meantime, this is ShadowLDrago, singing off.)
5839847
They're still just obeying their instincts. Like a deer clearing the snow away from the grass in winter.
5839923
Ah.
5839847
"Now you know how Twilight felt when she saw Nightmare Moon. Er, no offense, Princess Luna."
Didn't think of it that way. YOU'RE RIGHT! It IS like the boogy mare herself came to life!
5839847
Humans were about the lowest of the low at this point in time. But the introduction of magic would change that VERY much.
5839962
Considering Nightmare Moon essentially was the pony equivalent to the Reptilians, yeah. Like with the Crystal Ponies and Sombra, OK, bad analogy, they KNEW he was real.
5839847
"A trick."
You were right, I do hate those twists.
5839971
How low we talking here? Neanderthal?
5839979
You are a clever little, author.
5839847
"I'm reminded of Anakin realizing Palpatine is the Sith Lord."
Ironically wasn't thinking that at the time.
"Sounds like your typical warfic."
For the sake of good taste, I won't share the title.
"I don't doubt it."
:-)
5839952
Yes and no. Comment deleted.
5840001
Huh.
I was once told that my muse is not fettered by such inhibiting factor such as taste. I took it as a compliment. But thanks. Not really into warfics/grimdarks. Why do you think I'm probably the only Brony never to have read the various pony grimdarks? I've read about them on TV Tropes, but that's as far as I go.
:)
5839984
Meant they're not considered much of anything.
5839988
This chapter was written by wolfram-and-hart.
5840016
I officially like you.
5840184
Thanks.
5839847
Oh yeah.
Dude it's Tirek. You really think he'd regret it?
Yep, even back then.
True.
Yeah, even Chiron knew that was too far.
It did not.
Yep. The Alicorns appear differently to everyone.
Well... not quite yet.
He doesn't this is a subversion.
Mmmmmaybe...
Well, it's a appropriate comparison.
Yes and yes, that's who he was named for.
Yeah, they were around, but kind of lost in the shuffle.
Thank you.
Yep!
Except this time, he doesn't do the stupid thing and try to join the evil guy.
You're just getting that now?
Yeah, Tirek's kind of a jerk.
Thanks.
Yeah, pretty much.
Megalomania does have a tendency to bring out the drama queen in us all.
Glad you like it.
Yeah, it was.
No shipping. That costs extra.
5837679
Which stories(besides this one) feature Applejack in a pivotal(passive or aggressive) role?
5840818
Hard to say, all the Mane Six get important roles in the story at one point or another.
5841563
I meant beyond the expected. That it focuses on Applejack more than usual.
5841589
I guess the Butterflies 'season' comes the closest in that regard since she's the only one away of their reality besides Pinkie Pie breaking away from the heart world (canon) and being Pinkie Pie's shoulder to help support her. And AJ having to face a lot of truths WHEN it happens.
5840448
Considering the stuff was right from the source, I'm not surprised.
Point taken.
Though I'm a tad confused as to how the unicorn would teleport, we've seen a total of 3 ponies teleport in the show, Twilight, Celestia, and Sunset, all very good at magic, so, yeah. Maybe an ancient ancestor of Sunset or Twilight?
And Tirek's first appearance was received better than Sunset's first appearance in EQG.
Sadly, it didn't do much.
I was afraid of that.
Figures.
Give him time.
I know that now.
The cryptic is strong in this one.
Both started good, but eventually turned to evil with a plan of Eternal Night and got Rainbowed for their troubles. Except Luna turned good again. Tirek, didn't. He did however get a magical Kamehameha to the face.
Sweet! Reading a lot has once again helped!
I see.
You're welcome.
Dang it, I wanted to make that joke.
Figures.
True.
Nah. I got it a while back.
He really is.
No problem.
Tirek's, not right in the head, is he?
I suppose so, look no further than Miss Nightmare "The Night shall last forever!" Moon. Hilariously hammy.
I did.
Hm.
How much extra?
5842988
"Though I'm a tad confused as to how the unicorn would teleport, we've seen a total of 3 ponies teleport in the show, Twilight, Celestia, and Sunset, all very good at magic, so, yeah. Maybe an ancient ancestor of Sunset or Twilight?"
NOPE! Teleportaton for G1 ponies was a COMMON TALENT! In fact, a G1 pony was considered 'having trouble' if they couldn't teleport!
5843037
I see.
5905661
On behalf of wolf, thank you.
5905661 Thank you sir!
5839847
(What? I for one, think Eclipse is a PERFECTLY acceptable name.)
6179950
She sees herself as now being better than Luna and Celly together.
6210352 That's exactly why I made him Tirek's father. The sane voice of reason getting killed by the insane demigod.
There's a lot for me to comment here:
1) that false-flag operation that started the war with the Satyrs...you can imagine my surprise when Tirek revealed that the Centaurs were unwittingly the aggressors and the Satyrs were the victims, which made what happened towards the end of the war all the more horrifying. And the worst part, this hits close to home in more ways than one.
2) ....out of all the atrocities that Tirek committed, the one that was like a huge punch in the gut was when he dishonored his mother's corpse...how much of an evil person do you have to be to desecrate your own mother's body, especially when she died during childbirth and did you no wrong.
3) As for Applejack's reaction towards the end:
War changes people, most of the time in worst ways. There was a time I came very close to joining the Military, out of a sense of duty to my country. Looking back in hindsight and seeing how our veterans are treated and the consequences those wars bring both at home and abroad, I would have come home a damaged man. I give thanks to God for preventing me from making what would have been one of the worst mistakes of my life...so yeah. War. What is it good for? absolutely nothing.
9148194
1. I wanted to show that Tirek was smart enough to manipulate whole nations and was doing evil things WAY before he became a demonic overlord. Plus, the worst thing I could think of for him to do is make corrupt the Empire by making them unknowingly enact a dishonorable war for his own gain and amusement. And his petty grudge against his cousin.
2. Yeah, Tirek's really messed up in the head. He hates weakness and thus treats death as the ultimate act of weakness. That's why he's so dismissive of Scorpan after he dies, and of his mother. They "failed" him by being weak, so he has no use for them anymore.
Though, the genocide of his own people via slaughter, plague, and cannibalism is probably a close second.
3. Very true. War always sucks. Glad you're hear too, man.