Escape.
He had been down in this pit for so long, time had become meaningless. Age was meaningless. There was nothing but the darkness, and the chains heavy upon his wrists. Those manacles held him, bound him to this miserable prison. Once he sought to escape, biding his time and building his magic, but he was thwarted by Cerberus, and returned to his shackles once more, spent and weak from duelling with the three headed beast.
Escape was meaningless.
Tirek inhaled, the cloying dampness of the prison filling his chest with heavy air before releasing it again. Breathing was one of the few of the joys left to him, each breath reminding him of a time when he galloped free in meadows with his brother, unaware of the treachery and wrong choices that awaited in his destiny. He had spent decades wandering the halls of his memory, reliving his past and lamenting the future that had been the prize for his greedy efforts. How long had it been since he had last felt the sun? Felt more than the firm floor of this wretched prison beneath his hooves? He had spent so long basking in his hatred, embracing and cultivating his malice and cruelty that when he had finally relinquished it, he had found himself nought but a hollow shell of failures and remorse.
His chest tightened and hitched, a dry sob that gave no tears, for he had none left to shed. He was a small wizened old centaur, filled with nothing but regret and an unending solitude, for death did not come for those condemned to an eternity in Tartarus.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Inhale.
Clink.
Tirek paused at the noise, flicking his ears. There was nothing down here but his chains that would make that noise, and his chains were bound to the Elements of Harmony, the strongest magic in Equestria, bound to Luna and Celestia, those who had trapped him in this unending hell.
Clack.
Bewildered, he stared at his wrists. These chains were forged by the Elements, and yet through the darkness he could feel them beginning to crumble to ash. He was confused, these manacles could only be broken by strong magic, or released by those who had imprisoned him.
Crack.
The manacles, his constant companions through time, fell from his wrists and pooled at his hooves like a twisted snake. Tirek’s eyes widened in shock as he realised he could actually see the manacles. There was light! From where? His grizzled head whipped around, seeking out the precious source of sunlight that was brightening the prison he thought to be his tomb. Was he being freed? Was he forgiven? Would he be permitted to live his moments on the outside world, beneath the gift of the stars and the moon? The sliver of light was blinding, but he relished the pain.
Tentatively, he stepped down the path towards the entrance. He allowed the warm light of hope to begin in his grizzled heart, a desperation for the gift of forgiveness and freedom that he was being offered by those he had wronged. His hooves quickened upon the trail, some of his youthful vigor returning with the joy of seeing the sun again. His stooped and arthritic back straightened, his mane seemed fuller and for the first time in long memory, he began to smile.
Faintly, he heard Cerberus whining, a high keening yowl that raised the mane on his neck in a primal grief and fear, slowing his steps and wiping the smile from his face.
The howl came again, before being cut short followed by a thump. He heard no more movement from the entrance, only now noticing the ground trembling beneath his hooves. What had silenced his eternal guardian? Where were the Princesses? He paused, feeling the ground trembles increase. Behind him, a few stalactites dropped from the ceiling, shaken loose and crashing loudly against the ground. Tirek was uncertain at what was outside, but whatever it was it was destroying this prison. He had to flee, if only to live. Perhaps that was why he had been freed? An act of mercy in the face of a greater foe? Or perhaps, they needed his help to save them? An old pride reared its head within his chest. Could this final act of bravery wordlessly begged from him be this old centaur’s chance at redemption?
‘Courage,’ he whispered to himself, his tongue slow and clunky in a mouth that had forgotten how to speak. ‘Have courage, Tirek. You will taste the sweet air, regardless of the fate that awaits you.’
The false determination his words gave him spurred his hooves forward once more, and he began to approach the entrance, albeit slower and with a heavy reluctance. He could see more of the precious light, but it was muted, as if streaming through heavy clouds instead of a clear sunny day.
With a tremendous rumble the ground began shaking. The cave behind him beginning to collapse in earnest, great heavy chunks of ceiling smashing down upon the pathway behind him. Fear grasped his heart and he fled towards the entrance, breath rasping in desperate gasps within his chest, his hooves aching as they pounded against the hard ground. The entrance came into view, pebbles and dust streaming down from the mountain above, shaken loose by whatever tremendous beast was attacking the land of Equestria. Tirek’s heart skipped a beat in his chest as he saw Cerberus dead under thedust with his head crushed by a large boulder, but still he forced his exhausted body to push onwards, galloping past the companion of the past eternity and out into the sunlight.
He screamed, the brightness assaulting his eyes. Tirek sank to his knees covering his face, his eyes watering after being in the dark for so long. Blinking blearily, he lowered his hands to see why he had been called forth from his confinement. Puzzled, he looked around. There was no beast, only flashes on light upon the horizon, green and menacing. Perhaps a creature from the stars had finally rained down upon the land? The sky was overcast with thick, dark cloud, not even a sliver of the sky he yearned for could be seen. Something tugged at his mind, and he hesitated. Tirek had studied magic for many years in his youth, all kinds of magic from pony to zebra and had become a great magician in his own right. Now that he had his bearings, he could feel a great wrongness in the air, as if the very soul of Equestria was sickening. Whatever was going on was about as bad as it could be. He looked towards Canterlot, the eternal city upon the mountainside, and he understood why he had been freed. Even at this great distance he could see the necromantic magical energy pouring off the city in a nauseating glow, looking like a large pink bubble surrounding the mountain.
The ancient and wizened old centaur sank to his knees, hearing the distant roars of the mountain collapsing before him. He hadn’t been freed for forgiveness, redemption or because he was needed to help. He had been freed because those who held the keys to his prison had perished.
Tears, hot and painful, finally welled up in his eyes, spilling down wrinkled cheeks and soaking into his greyed beard. He reached out his mind, seeking the magical connections that all powerful creatures could sense. Sure enough, there was nothing bound to the moon, no comforting presence of silver beauty. Only a cold emptiness remained. Turning to the sun, he reached out again, only to recoil in fright. Where there should have been a glowing warmth symbolising Celestia’s connection to the sun, was instead a raging inferno of grief, pain and panicked fear. And it was getting hotter. Tirek opened his eyes, seeing that the bubble around Canterlot had burst, spilling it’s befouled poison upon the denizens that had thrived in it’s shadow. A sparkle arced towards him in the sky, glowing as hot as the sun itself. This wasn’t what he had craved to feel all this time, this was an alicorn maddened with rage and despair. Tirek noticed that he had begun to quiver in fear, a deep instinct telling him to run, yet his hooves remained bound to the earth, too weak and unwilling to carry his decrepit body any further. He heard a whistling behind him, and he turned to see strange silver logs flying through the air, trailing puffs of magical smoke that propelled them towards Canterlot and the glittering alicorn flying towards them. She seemed to pause at the sight of the strange implements, before a shriek of fury ripped across the sky. Celestia sped towards the cylinders, flying faster and faster until even Tirek could barely see her. The cylinders were enveloped in a golden hue and they slowed their path, turning instead down towards the forest where he was standing.
Tirek shouted and waved his arms, trying to attract Celestia’s attention, to stop whatever she was about to do with those strange silver logs that reeked of magical malice and destruction, but it was futile. He was too weak, too small. An alicorn who had been consumed by her power wouldn’t even register his presence now. He lowered his arms, suddenly exhausted. He had fled from his prison only to see the land he had once dreamed of ruling defiled and poisoned. He did not know what had caused such a calamity, but he knew that the moment those objects were released from the glow of Celestia’s horn upon the tranquil woods that Tartarus was hidden within, his journey would end. He could only watch as she ripped the silver objects asunder, spreading their toxic contents far and wide. She was in a frenzy, her eyes streaming with tears of loss. Tirek found himself crying with her, his heart finally feeling the pain of the loss of his brother that he had hidden behind a wall of anger and betrayal.
Together, the two beings sobbed, one unable to comfort the other, and the other unable to comprehend the sorrow and regret of what had once been her greatest foe. Tirek could only watch as she hurled the remainders of the objects to the earth, spreading his hands towards her in a futile embrace.
In the final moments, he whispered the words he had ached to give to her all this time.
“I’m sorry.”