Celestia looked down at Cadence, who was sitting just to the right of the throne. “Don’t worry Cadence, Twilight will know what to do,” she whimpered as she heard her sister, Luna, sigh.
“But what if she can’t control that much magic? You saw the way she was twitching,” replied Cadance.
“As well as the sun and moon go wild in the sky,” Luna added quietly.
Hearing hoof steps and feeling the foundation of the castle shutter under his footsteps, they all knew who was there and why. Celestia rose her head proudly, waiting for Tirek’s entry. Only a matter of seconds later, the door began to open, only to be destroyed. Tirek smiled as he gripped two large shards of the shattered door, tossing them away like garbage.
Tirek wasted no time, walking towards the three alicorns and gripping Celestia in his dark magic. She was picked off her throne as Tirek attempted to drain and consume her magic. but with no magic to be found, Tirek seemed surprised. Looking at Celestia, “What have you done?”
Celestia only offered him a sly smirk in reply.
Tirek dropped Celestia and attempted to absorb the remaining two alicorns’ only to earn a glare from Luna and a shudder from Cadence.
Dropping the three of them on the floor; his anger obviously boiling, “Where! Is your magic?!” He shook his head as he climbed up onto the throne and took a seat. All three of the alicorns sat at the base of the throne and just glared at him.
“Getting rid of your magic, so I can not take it from you. That was your plan?”
Celestia rose her chin, but none of them answered him.
Tirek stood smiling, “How does it feel, knowing that every pegasus, unicorn, and earth pony will bow to my will and that there is nothing you can do to stop it!”
“You will not prevail, Tirek,” Celestia said, trying to hold her voice steady.
Opening a doorway to Tartarus, Tirek sent the three alicorns through it. “Give my regards to Cerberus,”
Celestia watched closed her eyes as the door closed behind them. As they floated down to a platform spire with a thin winding staircase of which was guarded by the large black three-headed beast known as Cerberus. Tirek’s magical grip released her, letting her fall. Spreading her wings to try and slow her fall. She hit the ground, feeling pain shoot through her legs and up into her chest. She heard a click and looked down to see her hooves had been shackled. Celestia glanced at Cadence and Luna, both of them had both been locked down as well.
“Sister, what do we do now?” Luna asked weakly, laying where she landed.
“I do not know,” replied Celestia, knowing exactly how her sister felt. She looked at Cadence who was laying on her side, mouth open and eyes closed. No matter how much Celestia wanted to help her, to make sure she was alright, she couldn’t. Without her magic, she couldn’t break free of the bonds that kept her where she was.
Celestia looked out over the landscape, Tartarus was a desolate landscape of tall thin towers, each housing a prisoner. Not all had staircases, and many different beasts guarded the spires, some in the air, and some on land. Large stalactites and stalagmites riddled the blackened sand floors of the cavern, some of them met and many were taller than the pillars that were home to the prisoners.
A low groan caught her attention. Celestia swung her head towards Luna, who met her eyes before nodding towards Cadence. Her eyes cracked open, “What happened?”
“You must have hit your head when he dropped us here,” said Luna.
Cadence looked around, beholding the ancient cavern. “Oh…Well, what now?” she asked sitting up. Her head hung low between her shoulders as she looked from Celestia to Luna.
Celestia didn’t know what else to say, “Cadence, did you know that Twilight and her friends had once faced Cerberus?”
“I didn’t know that, when?”
“It happened only a few months before your wedding. Like I said before, I think that’s when Tirak escaped. I can only wonder how.” Celestia noticed that her own voice echoed here, even when speaking in a quieter voice. While thinking about it Pinkie Pie and her high pitched voice floated through her thoughts and the pink pony made her smile.
Luna looked at Cadence, “It would appear, my sister has lost a marble.”
Before Cadence could reply, “No, I haven’t. But I remember a letter Twilight had sent to me shortly after your return Luna. Twilight had explained how Pinkie Pie became the Element of Laughter. You may remember this, though I doubt so, Apparently, Nightmare Moon had manipulated trees in the Everfree Forest in order to scare them.” Celestia paused, but Luna only nodded. “Pinkie Pie sang for her friends, teaching them to laugh in the face of fear and to smile when scared.”
“Are you suggesting we tell jokes and laugh until Twilight beats Tirek?” Luna asked cocking her head to one side.
“It sounds like a good idea to me,” Cadence said with a smile. “Pinkie Pie was always a fun pony, why can’t we learn from her the same way Twilight has learned from us?”
“Celestia, did you know Rarity’s younger sister, Sweetie Belle, had almost spoiled her sister’s hard work for Sapphire Shores?”
Celestia nodded, “And the way you handled the situation was effective but crude.”
“Crude? Why do you think this?”
“Yes, you made her realize her wrongdoing, but you used fear to do so, by showing her an over dramatic vision of your own creation.”
“Actually, it wasn’t false. Rarity is just a dramatic pony,” Luna laughed, “I simply gave Sweetie Belle a taste of her sister's insanity.”
“You still need to learn some control when it comes to helping fillies. They have enough nightmares of you as it is.” Celestia smirked, watching Luna and Cadence gasp.
“Sister! At least, I’m not playing riddles with Twilight’s mind!” Luna countered with her eyes narrow and half a smile.
Cadence rose her head and straightened her neck, “You two are such sisters. I remember when I was a foal-sitter for Velvet and Nightlight, Twilight would either be reading a book or trying to figure out a puzzle of some sort. She never had a problem spending four to five hours at a time on one puzzle, and even when she got frustrated, she didn’t give up. She won’t give up now, I know it, she always figures out something and knows how to fix it.”
“Well said, Cadence. Speaking of Twilight and puzzles, did you know that Pinkie Pie had rediscovered the Mirror Pool?” Celestia laid down and tried to get comfortable, she folded her hooves in front of her and laid with both rear hooves pointed outwards towards her sister.
“Didn’t know that, but I remember the legends,” Cadence lifted her chin as she recited the legend she had heard.
“In magic, a pool of mirrors is hidden. Lost deep in the depths of darkness. It’s purpose lost to time and usage; forbidden.The Mirror Pool creates a new conscious.”
“My mother once told me of it, I don’t quite remember why, though.”
Celestia laughed, “That legend has so many variations by now. Though, Pinkie had heard a more detailed tale, which led her straight to it. I have no idea how she managed to find it, though, based off a legend she heard as a filly.”
Luna chuckled, “We’re talking about Pinkie Pie. One of the few ponies who have dreams I avoid at all costs.”
Cadence tilted her head and glanced at Luna, “Wait, why avoid Pinkie Pie’s dreams?”
“Because, the last time I entered her dreams, she spotted me before I even made my presence known. Immediately afterward she turned her tail into cotton candy and offered it to me. Much less her dreamscape is a labyrinth of sweets and sugar. Her dreams are crazier than Discord’s.”
Cadence turned towards Celestia, “So what happened after she found the pool?”
“She made copies of herself, so many in fact that Twilight and her friends couldn’t tell which one was the original Pinkie Pie. According to Twilight’s letter, She made all the Pinkie Pie’s watch a wall of paint dry. If any of them so much as glanced away from the paint, she sent them back to the mirror pool,” Celestia said, as she readjusted how she was laying. Her hooves still hurt a little from the rough landing.
“Oh yeah, I do remember hearing about that. I had overheard two guards talking about it as they left my chamber,” Cadence laughed. Celestia noticed that all three of them were laughing.
As several hours passed, Cadence had had fallen asleep, “Sister, about how long have we been waiting?” asked Luna finally. They had discussed what would happen if Twilight failed to defeat Tirek, the short conversation was followed by a very prolonged silence.
“I’m not quite sure by this point,” Celestia said glancing at the ceiling, hoping to see the sun or moon overhead.
“I estimate at least six to eight hours now, how long could it take to have defeated Tirek?”
Cadence rolled over, her mane was a little messy looking from sleeping on the damp ground. Her chains clattered across the stone as she moved, their sound echoing throughout the darkness of the cave.
Celestia watched the mare carefully, her breathing was a little quick, but beyond that, nothing seemed to be wrong with her. She’d been worried about Cadence since she had landed the hardest when they fell earlier. Without any magic to simply check over her, it was a bit more difficult to see if any prolonged injuries were caused.
“Luna, trust in Twilight, she’s a very powerful pony, I’m sure she’ll prevail.”
Cadance’s head moved up, “Twilight has never disappointed when her shoulders carry the balance of Equestria on them. I’ll stay awake for now and keep an eye out because you both need to rest.”
Celestia watched as Luna nodded and yawned, she yawned as well. They both laid down at the same time and Celestia crossed her hooves, lying her head on the top of them. She immediately felt her body shiver and relax making her eyelids heavy and her ears began blocking out the noises of the surrounding platforms.
Feeling the haze of sleep lift from her mind, Celestia sat up rubbing her eyes clear. She heard the scraping of metal on stone and glanced around her, Oh yeah, Tartarus. Well, how long had we slept? She looked over and noticed Cadence sitting, facing outward over the massive cavern they were imprisoned in.
“Cadence, how long have we slept?”
“Only a few hours, perhaps five or six so far,” she didn’t turn around as she spoke. “Did you explain to Twilight what your powers involved?”
“Actually, no. Though I’m sure she’ll figure it out. I have faith in her,” Celestia smiled.
Celestia watched as Cadence turned towards her and laid down, bags had formed under her eyes but she smiled. Celestia copied her by lying down and smiled. They both closed their eyes. A few moments later she felt a sudden surge of power rush through her. A hot warm feeling gripped her horn and began to spread through the rest of her body. She smiled and unhatched the clamps that gripped her ankles.
She watched as the other two princesses also removed their bindings. Smiling big to one another, They took off, flying high over the stone spires and sand dunes of Tartarus, the underworld prison. She led the others through the vast cave until they could feel a massive updraft pulling them forward. Shortly after the draft began, Celestia spotted the only exit of Tartarus. She flew upwards into the steep cavern, the thick, earthy smell filled the walls.
Celestia used a simple light spell to help lead their way and as the light of the sun filled the tunnels entrance. All three of them burst from the cave at the same time, she took a deep breath and smiled. “Good job, Twilight.”
