Past Actions, Future Consequences

by Rill

Ch.2 Tartarus is Real - Part 1

“Celestia?”

The princess in question sat at her desk, frozen like one of the many statues in the garden outside. Her mind had ground to a halt trying to comprehend the news. How was this situation possible? Shortly after the treaty had been signed, she had made sure that that spell had been erased from existence. Her magic had seen to that. The copy of the spell she had with her at the time disappeared when she cast her magic that day a thousand years ago. That had satisfied the Fire Sprite delegation and they had returned to their realm shortly after that.

“Celestia.”

It didn’t take much effort for the solar diarch to imagine what could soon happen. If the general was right, then the Sprite council might decide that the treaty was no longer in effect. If that happened… Celestia’s heart stopped for a brief second. She didn’t need to imagine the destruction that could result. Despite her best efforts, she could still remember what had happened in the past. She could smell the stench of burning homes; feel the thick smoke from the burning fields and forests that choked the sky as she raced from one town to the next with the Royal Guard behind her. If she closed her eyes, she could feel the overwhelming heat of the fires that ravaged the young nation and hear the screams of innocent ponies who couldn’t escape in time. Sometimes, looking out from her balcony at night, she could see the orange and yellow glow of the horizon as her nation burned. Even after all those centuries, she still had nightmares about those months.

Fortunately, most ponies thought that those fires were only legends, fanciful anecdotes of how troubled the young nation had been shortly after the Lunar Rebellion. Celestia had never denied those assumptions and had even fueled them on occasion. If history was about to repeat itself…

“Celestia!”

The princess’s head snapped back up, her eyes focusing on the flaming creature in the fireplace that had shouted her name. He looked back at her, concern and fear battling for supremacy behind his black eyes. Fear of what, she didn’t know, though she could make a few guesses. Shaking her head, she lay down in front of the creature so that they were eye to eye with each other, an act she knew the Sprite ambassador appreciated.

“What’s happened General?”

The raging green flames around the creature slowly shrank, calming as the general took a moment to collect his thoughts. “About an hour ago, a pony tried to create an opening between our realms using that spell. Our mages detected it as it formed, but it collapsed before they could close it. Needless to say, the council was immediately informed, and it couldn’t have happened at a worse time. A few of the older members retired a couple years ago and their replacements are younger, more aggressive and hotter headed. They are a vocal minority who resent the treaty and would like to see it ended. The council was in session during the attempted incursion and, well, you can guess what happened next.” Celestia didn’t need to. “Needless to say, I was called before a council that was demanding an explanation I didn’t have. When I couldn’t answer them, they immediately ordered an attack, though I managed to temper it by convincing the younger members that a limited incursion was better than a full invasion of the pony settlement. I came here the first chance I got.”

“Thank you for your efforts General” Celestia said as her mind raced. Would this placate the council or would they demand more? Would they consider the treaty void and this act just the first battle of a new war? Grabbing a map, the princess floated it across the room to her side, laying it out between her and the ambassador. “Do you know where the spell was cast from?”

Nodding, the general looked over the sheet of paper. “How old is this map?” He asked as he looked it over.

“A few years.”

“Are all of your colonies on here?”

“We haven’t had a new colony in almost two hundred years, General. Why do you ask?”

“I ask because if this map is correct, then the attack originated outside of Equestria.”

For the second time that night, Celestia’s heart stopped; outside Equestria? How was that possible if there weren’t any pony settlements outside of her nation? If a new town had been established, how had she not heard of it? More importantly, how had they gotten their hooves on this spell? “General, if the spell wasn’t attempted by one of my citizens then the treaty is still valid, since it only applies to me and my citizens.” Before she could continue, the princess noticed a small tongue of flame growing from an unburned piece of wood in the general’s fireplace. Seconds later, a bright orange Sprite emerged, its color contrasting with the older General’s green. Falling to one knee, the younger creature spoke quietly and quickly to the ambassador, casting the princess a look of barely contained terror before leaping into a nearby log and disappearing.

“My apologies Princess; that was a messenger from the council, the attack ended a few minutes ago. Three ponies were killed. Unfortunately I’m needed back at the council; otherwise those young hot heads might cause more trouble. I will keep you updated as best I can.”

Celestia nodded to the ambassador who vanished a moment later, the green flames around him flashing to orange and yellow the moment he disappeared. Staring at the now unoccupied fireplace, the solar princess found herself gripped by a sense of nervousness and fear that she hadn’t felt in centuries. As she got up and stretched, she realized that things weren’t going to be quiet for quite some time. Slowly striding over to her desk, the princess was already thinking about her options. If the general was right, then the treaty had a good chance of surviving this incident. A feather quill slowly rose from the inkwell it had been sitting in, its pointed tip scratching out a message under the princess’ gentle magic. Two more letters later, the solar diarch set the quill aside. Picking up the three sheets of paper, Celestia reread them one last time. With a burst of magic, two of the sheets burst into clouds of golden smoke before rocketing away from her. One would find itself in front of her sister Luna in less than a minute, the other would shortly be read by her advisor, Lord Fancy Pants. The final sheet gently floated in the air next to her. Rolling it up, Celestia gently set it aside, praying that she wouldn’t have to use it to summon her former student and her friends. She would have sent out a fourth summons, but the new Captain of the Royal Guard was with his wife who had given birth to their first foal that morning and Celestia didn’t want to tear him away so soon. She would tell him the situation when he returned to duty in a few days, since there wasn’t much they could do at the moment.

Moving to a dusty cabinet, the princess gently opened the wood and glass doors, a half full bottle of hard cider gently floated out to pour itself into a waiting glass. Replacing the bottle and closing the cabinet’s door, Celestia slowly walked out onto her balcony, her memory drifting back to the fires all those centuries ago. Taking a sip of the golden liquid, she could feel it burn as it went down her throat. She relished the feeling as she admired the beauty of her sister’s night sky, a quality that had been sorely lacking during Luna’s absence. As one, the stars pulsed brighter for a brief moment, a not-so-subtle sign that Luna had gotten the letter and read it. Sighing, the princess gulped the rest of the cider in one shot as she returned to her room, wincing as fire poured down her throat. This was going to be a long night.

---

Despite his age, General Cinder could move when he wanted to. He had long ago learned to keep his true abilities hidden, so others would underestimate him. It brought the aging Sprite no small amount of satisfaction to see the two guards at the closed entrance to the Council’s chambers hastily snap to attention as he appeared. Snapping a quick return salute the general paused, half faking the need to catch his breath. “How’s it going Private…”

“Crisp, sir; so far, everything’s been quiet out here.”

“Inside?” The private’s sigh told him everything. “Big surprise; keep up the good work you two.”

“Thank you, sir.”

The general returned their salutes a final time before walking through the open door. Across the room, he could see that the council’s two factions were barely restraining themselves as both sides sniped at the other across the black solid stone table that dominated the room. Channeling a trickle of energy into his hand, the elder Sprite tossed the handful of grape sized balls of flame behind him. With a smirk, General Cinder snapped his fingers, the sound of the exploding fireballs echoing around the room. “I hope I’m not too late, I got here as quick as I could.”

“Not at all, Sir” one of the younger council members replied. Cinder looked at the colonel who had spoken. No Sprite in the room missed the unspoken message behind Colonel Ash’s reply.

“That’s good to know. After thirteen centuries, I’m still surprised I can move so quickly.” The general mentally noted the colonel’s barely concealed eye roll. “How much have I missed?”

“Just the usual bluster and posturing” The lime green Sprite next to the general said, holding up a clawed hand to forestall the inevitable backlash from across the table. “As much as I enjoy… debating as the next Sprite, I am curious about what the princess had to say.”

“Celestia denied any connection to tonight’s event and after consulting with her, I believe her when she says the spell was attempted outside of her country.”

At the general’s words, the opposite side of the table erupted, “How convenient!” The ambassador to Equestria looked over to the colonel who had been promoted – despite his objections – to be his Second in Command a year earlier. “Of course she would say that it happened outside her territory. She doesn’t want us to think she broke the treaty, so naturally it happened outside Equestria.”

Holding up a hand for silence, General Cinder looked over his Colonel, “So what do you suggest, Colonel?”

“As far as I'm concerned, this farce of a treaty has hobbled us for too long.” Several of the council members slowly nodded at this. “This attack, while a failure, clearly shows that Celestia lied a thousand years ago about wiping that spell from existence! I have lived my entire life with the threat of our annihilation hanging over our heads. This attack could be just the first shot in a war against us, and I say we strike back before she can try again!”

“Says the biggest war-mongering failure in the history of the council” The room fell silent at the quiet muttering of the dark green Sprite a couple seats to the general’s left.

“Excuse me?” No Sprite missed the barely concealed anger in the colonel’s voice.

“Have you gone deaf? Everyone here knows your assault was an utter failure.” The elder Sprite looked unflinchingly at the much younger officer. “You and your strike force attacked a single pony house and managed to kill two adults and a filly. Two of the dead were pegasi and the other was a unicorn stallion whose magical signature didn’t match the one detected during the attempted breach. Unless I am wrong, that would mean you managed to kill three innocent civilians, while letting your real target slip through your claws.”

“Enough” The highest ranking officer in the room said, preempting his Second-in-Command’s reply. “Colonel Ash, you are young and your flames burn hot,” General Cinder gestured to the melted section of stone beneath the younger officer’s hands “so I will chalk up your suggestion to youthful exuberance… but know this: I have been leading Sprites since before you were a thought. I personally witnessed the devastation we caused to Equestria during the war; hell, I helped cause some of it. I know for a fact that Celestia is still haunted by her memories of that time and has no desire to see it repeated. If we attack, she will not hesitate to carry out what she threatened to do a thousand years ago. As head of the military, I will not order a full scale assault or an invasion until I have all the facts. I will not casually throw away a treaty that cost numerous lives on both sides, just because you think that Princess Celestia is lying. If and when I get enough evidence that this was a deliberate attack, I will reconsider. Until then, you and your forces are to keep an eye out for the pony responsible. Hopefully they'll stay outside Equestria and we find them.”

“If we do?”

“Kill on sight.”

“And if we find them in Equestria?”

“Celestia wants this treaty to stay intact as badly as I do. If we find them in her territory, she'll capture them for us. Then, we'll deal with them.”

---

The sun slowly rose over the mountains, its light casting the valley below in hues of gold, as the shadows retreated for another day. Already ponies were in the streets, talking to each other and gossiping about the source of the noise that had rattled windows and woken up half the town. Off in the distance, they could see a thin plume of smoke rising into the air, which only added to the mystery and the ensuing gossip. Among the tree covered foot hills, the mayor stood, surveying the smoldering, charred remains of what used to be a house. Looking up, he watched as a pair of pegasi moved a cloud into position before jumping on top, drenching the remains below and casting another plume of steam into the air.

On the other side of the clearing, he could see a pair of cloth draped bodies lying under a tree. They had been burned beyond recognition but everypony knew who they were. The fact that they were a unicorn and a pegasus and had been found together only confirmed their identities. Even if they hadn’t been found together, they were the only mixed tribe couple on the island. Hearing a twig snap, the mayor turned his head. Behind him, a pair of yellow eyes stared back for a second before their owner stepped out of the still dark forest. The thestral appraised the earth pony before moving to his side.

“We found another body” She stated matter-of-factly.

“Who?”

“Star Gazer.”

“How?”

“Does it matter?” She growled, not looking at the mayor.

“Yes.”

She sighed; “Burned to death. Doc says it would have been quick, thank Luna. Not that you care” She added.

“I do care, Eclipse…”

The thestral whirled in place, grabbing the earth pony’s tie and pulling his face within an inch of hers “Don’t you fucking dare give me that manure!” The black mare hissed; her eyes ablaze with anger. “Thanks to you, three innocent ponies are dead. Thanks to you, your town and my colony are going to suffer if we don’t get a competent alchemist before winter. When I agreed to this, you promised me that only Shadow would die. Thanks to you, their blood is on my hooves as well, and now I have to go home and tell my son that his best friend and his family are dead. On top of that, I have to look him in the eye and lie to his face!” She finished, letting the stallion’s tie go, only to punch him in the face a moment later. Without a second glance, she leaped into the air, her bat-like wings digging into the still cool air as she flew away.

Glancing up, the mayor watched the Night Guard’s figure retreat into the distance. Probing his jaw with his tongue, he could feel a few teeth shift in their sockets. Lowering his gaze, he watched as a unicorn gently laid the young filly’s body next to her parents’ before covering her remains with a sheet. Leaving his spot, the earth pony started the long walk back to town. Eclipse had been wrong; he did care. He was sorry that an innocent pony had been killed because of a choice her parents had made over a decade earlier. She deserved better but her parents had decided to marry, breaking the unspoken rule that had existed for centuries. Ultimately, she died because of their actions, not his. Pausing for a moment, he felt a little sorrow for Willow and Silver Maple. The head of the Night Guard had been right when she said they would suffer without an alchemist, but that was already being dealt with. He was also going to miss the maple syrup Willow was known for. The pegasus had somehow known when to tap the trees to get the best syrup possible, and this year’s batch had been the best yet. Shaking his head he continued the trek back to town, already composing what he would tell the town. While they hadn’t found Shadow’s body, the mayor figured it was only a matter of time. They’d find his remains in the charred ruins of the house, and everything would be closed.

As the gravel crunched beneath his hooves, the mayor knew he’d have to honor the promises he’d made to the librarian. That old mule of a unicorn hadn’t wanted to part with his precious tome, even after being shown Shutter Speed’s photos. To him, the book was ‘too valuable’ to sacrifice. It was only after promising more funding for the library, among other thing – and putting the promises in writing no less – that the stubborn unicorn had parted with the book – after magically erasing a few notes left by whoever had copied the book from the original. Allowing himself a quick smile, the mayor turned onto the main road through town while the words of what he was going to tell his town began to form in his mind.

---

Shadow slowly felt himself awaken. Groaning, he opened his eyes, wincing as the morning light stabbed at him while every part of him ached. Looking up, his vision was blocked by a large brown trunk that seemed to scrape the sky above. Slowly sitting up, the young alicorn leaned against the nearby tree, trying to remember what had happened. Yet, try as he might, he couldn’t. He could remember the day before, from the moment Star woke him up to just after the spell backfired, but anything after that seemed to be locked behind a stone wall in his mind.

Getting to his hooves, Shadow only got a few paces before collapsing. Looking down, he saw patches of charred fur and angry red skin on his back legs. Channeling some energy into his horn, he focused on his legs, the spell gently soothing the tortured flesh and temporarily banishing the pain. For a while he lay there, letting the spell do its work. Shadow knew it wouldn’t heal the burns, but it would have to do for the moment. As he lay there, the young colt looked himself over, gently pulling numerous thorns and stickers from his coat.

An hour later, he let the spell slowly end, the pain having been reduced to a dull throb. Gingerly picking his way out of the dense thicket he had woken up in, the young colt could feel the bushes’ thorns pulling at his coat. Out of habit the colt stopped, trying to see if he could hear anything, despite the ringing in his ears. His parents had warned him and his sister about going into the forest alone. There were creatures that would see him and his sister as a tempting meal, they had said. Pushing back a clump of branches, Shadow stopped for a moment to stare at the scorched piece of wood hanging from a tree ahead of him before continuing.

Not trusting his ears, Shadow slowly exited the thicket while looking around nervously. Ever ready, his imagination happily took over. Mental images of wolves made of stone or wood flooded the young colt’s mind. Barely hearing a branch snap behind him, Shadow threw himself into a nearby bush, images of his mangled body flashing across his mind. Twenty feet away, a small rabbit quietly leaped out from behind a small bush.

Mentally chiding himself, Shadow crawled out of his bush, the nearby rabbit watching him. Looking at the animal for a second, the alicorn turned to leave. Involuntarily jumping as another branch snapped, he turned to glare at the light brown ball of fluff who was laughing as it snapped another branch. A moment later, the creature found itself flying through the air as Shadow released the spell he had used to lob the annoying rodent into a nearby stand of thorn covered bushes.

Leaving the rabbit to shout at him, Shadow turned to slowly make his way home, wincing as a small headache started to grow at the base of his horn. This wasn’t the first magic induced headache he had gotten. They usually happened when he had over exerted himself while casting a spell, which left him wondering all the more what had happened that night. He could remember picking himself up off the floor after the spell Mrs. Pie had given him failed, but doubted that it was the cause of his headache, since it had just appeared. What happened last night? Did I cast a spell in my sleep again? He snerked at this; it wouldn’t be the first time something like that had happened. Neither was this the first time he had woken up in the forest after falling asleep in his bed. Shaking his head, he laughed a little, figuring that his mom and dad were probably freaking out. Fortunately, it was a long weekend so he didn’t have to worry about school.

Turning left at a particularly gnarled oak, Shadow could see a familiar low rise that hid his house from view. Breaking into a slow trot, Shadow looked up through the forest canopy at the light blue sky above. Through the leaves, he could see a pair of pegasi pass overhead. At this, the young alicorn flared his wings slightly. It was a habit he had picked up that reassured him that his vest was in place. Feeling more movement than normal, the young colt dashed beneath a large pine when he realized that he didn’t have his vest on. Shedding his saddle bags, he knelt down, touching his horn to the clasp of one of the bags. Allowing a small amount of magic to build, he released it into the clasp, breaking the magical seal on it. Reaching inside, he gently pulled out the ancient book that his vest was wrapped around. A minute later, a young pony stepped out from under the tree, a unicorn as far as the world was concerned. Breaking into a trot, Shadow smiled as the distance between him and home shrank. His mom was probably flying a quick search over the forest looking for him, while dad was likely at home in case he came back on his own. Wouldn’t they be surprised when he trotted in? This would probably be a new record distance for him.

Reaching the top of the rise, Shadow stopped in his tracks. His house was gone. The entire building was gone. Where his home should have been was a blackened hole. In the center was what had once been the basement, the large stone blocks that made up the walls were now shattered and cracked rubble. Looking around, he could see a group of unicorns lifting mangled wreckage from the forest floor. What happened? Who were all these ponies and where were his parents? Where was his sister?

Across the clearing, he could see a trio of objects under sheets beneath a tree. Nearby, a lone unicorn stood, as if guarding them. Why would they have somepony guard debris? Was it debris? As he watched, the guard glanced at the three sheets before sadly shaking his head as he wiped his eyes with the back of a leg before regaining his composure. Shadow could feel something grab his heart and squeeze. Why would a pony shed tears over debris? They wouldn’t unless… Shadow felt his legs weaken. That wasn’t debris, that was… is… As if on cue, a sudden gust of wind whipped down from the nearby mountains, hitting the clearing and blowing at the sheets to reveal a blackened pony-shaped body.

Whipping his head around, Shadow bolted into the nearby forest. As he ran, his mind decided to betray him yet again. He could see it all. He could see his room seemingly burst into flames as he jumped from the open window. He could feel the blistering heat around him as his flesh burned. Despite the ringing in his ears, he could hear his sister scream in agony. Not watching where he was going, Shadow didn’t see the root that snagged his hoof, sending him crashing into the ground. Like a nightmare he couldn’t stop, Shadow watched his house explode, his shield disappearing right before being thrown into the woods like he was nothing. Over and over, the scene repeated itself. Through it all, the only thing the young orphan heard was the sound of his sister’s screams; the bone-chilling sound seemingly stuck on a vicious, never ending loop.

Shadow wept.

He lay where he landed, not moving from that spot as he curled into a ball and cried. He cried for his family, for his cat, for his life which he knew he could never go back to. He knew that he couldn’t go back. If anypony saw him, he knew that they’d blame him. It wasn’t exactly a secret that he was rather gifted when it came to magic. They would see him alive, his family dead, and it wouldn’t take them long to discover his secret. Despite his ten years, Shadow was under no impressions about how the town would react when they discovered that he wasn’t just a unicorn.

As he lay there, the names of three of the greatest villains in the island’s history slowly grew in his mind. Sombra had killed his entire family, stepping over their bodies on his way to the throne. Celestia had banished her sister to the moon for a thousand years, only to kill her when she finally escaped. Star Trail had tried to take over the island, killing and enslaving any who stood before her. One was an alicorn; two had tried to become one. One had succeeded. The town would see his wings, his horn, and he’d be lucky if he didn’t live to see the sunset. They had never shown him much mercy when they saw him as just a unicorn, and they wouldn’t show any if they caught him.

As he lay there, Shadow could feel himself begin to panic. Gripping his head, he barely bit back a scream as he felt a knife stab itself into his mind. What was he going to do? Where was he going to go? The two questions swirled around in his head while his mind replayed the previous night’s events over and over. Fire. His sister’s screams. An explosion. Each one taunting him, while twisting the knife in his head every time they appeared. Barely able to catch his breath, Shadow looked up at the clear blue sky. “Luna” he managed to croak, “Help me. Watch over me and guide me. Help me to see my family again. What do I do now my Queen? Where can I go now?” Above, a breeze stirred the trees around him, their leave rustling under the late spring sun. Unable to stop it, Shadow felt the darkness which had been gnawing at his vision finally claim him.

Comments

[TheCommunistDog]

Oh dear.