There are many places in the world that a pony might never find themselves. It could be some faraway, exotic city, perhaps some famous monument, or maybe even it's glittering jewel of a capital, Canterlot. But these are good places, the kinds of locations where, though they may never see them, they would cherish the chance to do so. And then, there are the other places they'd never see. The kinds that they'd thank their lucky stars that they'd never have to set eyes upon. Places like the darkest regions of the Everfree Forest, the hives of the Changelings or the dangerous caverns beneath the earth where the Diamond Dogs roamed.
Then there is the worst place of them all. A place that old mare's tales would say could bring insanity even to the most hardened of ponies just by gazing upon it. A place so foul and dark that it was the stuff of nightmares.
Tartarus, the eternal prison.
But while most ponies were too scared to even dare speak it's name, there was one who now walked it's paths willingly. Princess Celestia, one of the four alicorns of Equestria, and ruler of the sun. She had important business to attend to here, though she'd like nothing better than to be as far away from this place as possible. Though she had, over the centuries, gained a passing familiarity with this place, there were many things she would never understand. Who forged this place? Where did they go? How vast was it's seemingly endless borders? She doubted if she would ever find answers to such questions.
All she knew was that this place was the realm of the condemned. The place where those whose hearts have been darkened went to suffer an eternity of imprisonment. Who made the call of which creatures were sent here? Again, she did not know, nor was she all too keen on finding out. Mostly as it had not been too long when she and those closest to her had been sent here, though not for any crime of theirs. No, they had been sent here on the whim of the most cruel and notorious despot Equestria had ever seen. One who, ironically, had been a prisoner of this place himself. Her eyes narrowed as she dwelt on that thought, for it was he that she now came here to find.
As she walked along the stony path, where not even the tiniest blades of grass could grow, she soon came upon her destination. A spire of rock, jutting out of the landscape like a sore thumb, and fronted with a cracked and ancient staircase. Taking further steps forward, it was not long before she happened upon a familiar sight. There, at the base of the stairs, was a massive beast, a dog whose fur was as black as night. But the most striking thing about him were his heads, all three of them. It had been a long time since Celestia had first seen this creature, but she knew that, as imposing as it was, there was nothing for her to fear from it.
When she drew near enough, the beast began to growl menacingly, though Celestia did not falter. As the giant dog began to sniff the air around her, it's expression became softer, and it backed away slightly, leading to Celestia's own expression becoming less harsh.
"Hello to you too, Cerberus."
Cerberus, the immortal hound, forever tasked with safeguarding this realm and preventing it's denizens from escaping into the mortal world. Nopony truly knew how long he had been set to this task, only that none had ever escaped on his watch. Well, almost none. And that thought hardened Celestia's gaze once more, as she looked past the great beast to the staircase behind him. Taking a deep breath, she continued moving forwards, with Cerberus almost whining at the sight of her determined face. With every step upwards, she felt an icy chill in the air, as if the very warmth was being stolen by the creature she sought to meet. If that was truly the case, it would not surprise her.
Eventually, she made it to the top of the stairs, and her eyes narrowed again when she saw what lay at the top. A simple cage of iron, barely larger than she was, though far stronger than it would appear to most. Within that cage though was the true purpose of her visit here. A creature unlike anything in Equestria, though nopony would ever want it to be otherwise. It was laying on the ground, whether tired or asleep, Celestia could not tell. It was, to those unfamiliar with him, the same shape as that of the legendary centaurs, with a torso and arms above a set of four hoofed legs. The creature's head bore a pair of tiny horns, barely bigger than that of an infant goat, and it's red face, whose nose bore a simple golden ring, was adorned with a bright white beard.
As Celestia approached, the creature, who lay clad in a mere black robe, began to stir. Rising as best it could, it looked upon the approaching Princess, and it was here that Celestia's face betrayed the anger she felt within, for it was here that she finally caught sight of it's eyes. Those black, terrible eyes, so devoid of pity or remorse. As she came within a foot of the cage's cold iron bars, the creature's face twisted into that of a deep hatred, it's teeth now bared as it let out a growling sound, though far less than what Celestia knew it had once been capable of. As she sighed, she spoke.
"So this is where you have come back to...Tirek."
The creature, to Celestia's surprise, lashed out from his sitting position, his clawed hands bared, as if to strike at her. But he did not even come close, as this lunge revealed his shackles, attached to chains which secured him to the bottom of the cage. Again and again he pulled at them, the hate in his eyes ever more apparent, and all the while, Celestia merely watched him. It was hard to imagine that this being, Tirek, was once the most feared and despised creature in all of Equestria, and one that she had faced herself not so long ago.
He had been a prisoner of this accursed place for many countless ages, long enough for his name to have been forgotten by most. But, during a once-in-a-thousand-year chance, he managed to both break free of his chains and escape Tartarus, all while Cerberus was elsewhere. In this one moment, a terrible force had been unleashed upon hundreds of thousands of innocent ponies, for Tirek wasted no time in stripping those lives of their magic, their flight and their strength, all to feed his boundless hunger for power.
In an effort to thwart him, Celestia and all the other alicorns had sacrificed their own vast magical power, storing it away within the latest of their number, Twilight Sparkle, in the hopes of keeping it out of Tirek's hands. But, he found her anyway, and the two engaged in a great battle that had scorched much of the region outside of Ponyville. If it had not been for the involvement of the newly-discovered "Rainbow Power", gifted to Twilight and her friends by the Tree of Harmony, Equestria might well have fallen that day.
Now though, that same tyrant was here before Celestia, his stolen powers now back in the hooves of all of Ponykind, herself included. If you were to ask any one of her citizens, they'd say that they wanted nothing more to do with Tirek, to leave him rotting in Tartarus where he couldn't hurt anypony again. In truth, there was quite a large part of Celestia that couldn't help but agree with that sentiment. However, she had her reasons for being here, and nothing, not the advice of her people, nor the apparent hatred this creature felt for her, was going to deter her.
And so, she simply waited for Tirek to stop what he was doing, watching him as he tried again and again to break free of his chains to get at her. But it became quite clear that nothing he could do would ever make that happen. Those chains were, after all, forged by the Rainbow Power, and he was without his great strength. That meant those binds would be on him for a very long time, and soon enough, he began to tire of his efforts at long last, panting and puffing a great deal, even buckling down to his four knees as he tried to catch his breath. There was very little strength left in him after his failed conquests in Equestria, and it seemed that he'd expended much of it in this futile effort.
As he kept on with his heavy breathing, he looked up at the Princess, his eyes narrowed, and only now did he finally speak.
"I suppose I should be grateful. After all...the great mistress of the sun has chosen to grace my humble cell with her oh so glorious presence."
His glare continued as he looked up at her in earnest.
"Why are you here, Celestia? To gloat? To enjoy seeing a broken opponent?"
Ignoring his harsh and hateful words, Celestia finally spoke.
"Tirek...you have done much to the ponies of Equestria. You stole their powers, harming them in a way that nopony has ever known before. You attempted to claim our land as your own, tearing it apart to do so. There is not a single mare, stallion or foal that has not felt your dark deeds."
The dark creature looked up at her, his face partially hidden by his hood, as he squinted his eyes narrowly at her as she continued speaking.
"However...though you have done many terrible things, you are not the only one who has done such horror over the years. Those people have been given chances to atone for their crimes. As such..."
Her mouth twisted slightly, and she had to almost fight with herself to get her words out, as there was a very real chance that merely speaking them would make her ill.
"...you deserve the same chance they got."
Tirek raised an eyebrow at that.
"That's what you are here for? To give your defeated foe a chance at redemption? A chance to make his way in pony society? To be brought down to being nothing more than your trained animal, to be paraded as a victory trophy?!"
The bile in his voice was clear, and his words led to Celestia stepping forward, her eyes filled with a blazing anger and her wings spread out in an intimidating manner..
"We do not do such things! Equestria is a land of peace, of friendship, and more importantly, of second chances. I came here to give you a chance to make up for all the terrible things you have done to my people!"
Tirek looked away from her and snorted.
"Terrible things? My oh my, what high opinions you ponies have of yourselves. You think yourselves masters of your world? You think your kind is so wonderful? You are a fool, Celestia, Without the magic that lies at the heart of each and every one of you, your world is beyond your ability to control. I proved that when I claimed it as my own."
Celestia frowned at that, as it was obvious to anypony with ears that he took no remorse in the things he had done. But she did not answer back, and instead carried on listening to him as he spoke again.
"You call my deeds terrible? Nay. My actions were a means for the one true ruler of this world to come forth. Myself. You ponies are nothing, good for little more than grazing in fields, and serving as playthings for my amusement. I am Lord Tirek! I am the rightful ruler of your world! I am...!"
But he did not finish his sentence. Instead, he began coughing uncontrollably, instinctively covering his mouth with his hand, as though that would somehow make him better. Celestia looked upon him, at this weakened creature before her, with a feeling of almost pity. But it was not there completely, for that pity was tempered by the memories she still bore, of how he'd callously hurt both her and the people she had sworn to protect. His weakened state may have left him incapable of being a true threat anymore, but he was still the same hateful person she'd seen cast her into this place.
Eventually, Tirek stopped coughing and looked up at her again.
"You are deluded, Princess. You think a kind word and an offered hoof will make everything better? You gave Discord a second chance, and look how that served you."
Celestia looked away, neither confirming nor denying his words. That had, perhaps, been Tirek's greatest victory against Equestria, turning Discord against them. With the spirit of chaos and disharmony on his side, Tirek's conquest of Equestria had been embarrassingly easy, rounding up anypony who could not flee with ease so he could steal their power. But, like with everything else, Twilight and her friends had undone that influence, and Discord had once more been brought to their side, albeit with frequent chiding from his friends.
But, regardless of Tirek's pride in having done what he did, she knew she could not falter in giving him this opportunity, even though everypony she knew would most likely be screaming at her to just leave him right now. She would have made her offer again, had it not been for Tirek looking at her and speaking in his angered voice.
"Just what makes you think I can be what you want me to be? What makes you think I can be, as you so eloquently put, atoned?"
Even though she knew she was probably going to kick up a massive hornet's nest by saying this, she knew that if anything was going to get him to pay attention to her, it would be what she now said to him.
"Because your brother did."
That had done it. Tirek looked upon her, his eyes widened, clearly enraged, and he finally gathered enough strength to get back to his hooves, though he was still shaking as he did so. As he took a few wobbly steps forward towards her, he spoke.
"Do not dare mention Scorpan in my presence, mare! He stopped being my brother the day he turned against me. He would have been part of something glorious, to be a mighty conqueror alongside me, his own flesh and blood! Instead, he turned away from that, and chose to aid your kind instead of me."
His eyes narrowed even more once he reached the bars of his cell, gripping them with both hands.
"I will never forget that it was your kind who took him from me."
Celestia's expression softened, as she began to realise, if only a little, why Tirek hated ponies so much. All those thousands of years ago, he and Scorpan were set to attack and conquer their land, and rule over it with an iron fist. Had that happened as planned, they would have probably regarded the ponies with little thought. But then, Scorpan turned away from him, and then, things became personal. Perhaps that is the true reason why Tirek hated them so much, or maybe it was simply something he kept saying to himself to justify his actions to himself and others. Regardless, it was unlikely that he would ever really explain himself to her.
However, she felt the need to speak her piece on the matter.
"You're wrong, Tirek. We did not take your brother from you. We became his friends. We showed him that there was more to life than conquest, or hate. Scorpan learned to love his friends, and see the beauty of the world. You could have had such a life. Instead, you chose to hate, to do harm to others, even rejecting your own brother, even in spite of him begging you not to go ahead with your plans."
But it was clear to Celestia now that Tirek had no interest in listening to her, as he turned his face away from her and began to walk to the far side of his cage, his cloaked back now facing her completely. Her expression hardened at the sight of him ignoring her like this, but it softened again as she let out a long sigh. She came here for a reason, to make him an offer that few would ever get in their lives. An offer of a second chance. Tirek had mocked her, insulted her and made it clear that he had no interest. But even so, she felt that she had to make that offer one last time. So, standing tall, she spoke in a loud and commanding voice.
"Tirek! I, Princess Celestia, offer you a chance to return to the mortal world, to live a life of peace and friendship. What say you?"
There was a dead silence between them as Tirek remain motionless in his spot, with Celestia keeping her eyes locked on him. After a great deal of time had passed, she finally saw him move, as he turned around and looked at her, his expression that of a person deep in thought. However, that look soon broke into a smile that sent shivers down Celestia's spine, though she did well to hide it. With that sickening smile still on his face, Tirek finally spoke up again.
"What do I say? I say...have you ever taken another person's magic as your own?"
Celestia narrowed her eyes.
"That was not my..."
But she was prevented from finishing that sentence as Tirek interrupted.
"It's quite an experience. To mingle your power with another, only to rip it out of them against their will. The fear, the dread, the sheer helplessness they feel in those moments. It's quite intoxicating, if I do say so myself."
Celestia said nothing, merely watching as he began to take slow steps towards her.
"These chains will not hold me forever, mighty Celestia. There will come a time, perhaps not today, perhaps not tomorrow, but one day, when I will break free of them. And on that day, this will all start all over again."
The Princess frowned at him, a look which made his smile look even more wicked as he carried on.
"I will do far more than what I have done to your people before. Taking their power will not sate me next time. Oh no. I will unleash an age of suffering the likes of which they would never conjure up, even in their darkest nightmares!"
He let out a chuckle, the sound of which disgusted Celestia a great deal, before continuing.
"And as for you? You, your sister and your niece will bear far more than your brief stay here in Tartarus from last time. I will bind you in chains so heavy that even the heat of the sun itself could not burn them away. I will hang your broken and powerless bodies from the highest tower in all of Canterlot for all to see, so that everypony knows what happens to those who cross me!"
Celestia had to fight the urge to strike him here and now for threatening her family like that. But the last thing she wanted to do was let him know that he had got to her in such a way, and so instead chose to endure his vile rantings.
"And Twilight? For her there will be no mercy. I will take everything from her. Her home, her friends, her family. I will leave her nothing but an empty, shattered shell of the alicorn she was."
He raised both hands and held onto the bars of the cage once more, poking his head out from between them as he looked right into Celestia's eyes.
"Do you hear me, Celestia? I will make your beloved ponies, your beloved Equestria, into a place of misery and despair! I will never change, I will never atone and I will never, EVER, accept your kind as anything but the vermin they are!"
Celestia had heard enough. One look into those empty eyes, so filled with hate and revilement for her and her kind, made it all too obvious, even to the most dimwitted of ponies, that Tirek meant every word he said. He did not simply accept the kind of person he was, he revelled in it. Spreading pain and suffering were what he lived for now, and no amount of time here, nor offers of friendship and freedom, were ever going to make him anything other than what he had been for thousands of years.
She gave him one last look, his expression still so hateful, before turning away in silence. There would be no final words from her, no statement of disappointment, she would simply leave. But, as she made her way down the ancient stone steps, she heard the clanging sound of Tirek railing against his bars, and the sound of his voice as he yelled out to her.
"DO YOU HEAR ME!? I WILL NEVER STOP!!!"
Those words echoed along the vast and empty stone forms of Tartarus for as far as the air would carry them, almost to the point where she could feel her very bones shudder with them. But she did not wish to hear them, only to leave this terrible place as soon as possible. She made her way past Cerberus, who did little to even acknowledge her as she passed, and back the same way she had travelled here. It took a while, but she finally reached the great gates that separated Tartarus from the outside world. The moment she stepped outside, she took a deep breath of the fresh and sweet air that greeted her, and smiled as she looked up at the sky, so blue and bright with her sun.
It was hard to imagine that two very different words could be seen with just a step, but no matter, for she was back where she belonged, and that was all that mattered. However, she was interrupted from this wonderful moment of relief from being out of Tartarus by the sound of somepony trying to clear her throat. Turning, her face softened to see that it was none other than her beloved Sister, Luna. Flanking her was her niece, Cadence, and her long-time student, Twilight. All of them had gathered here at her request, to be here in case her plan had managed to succeed.
Now though, that was not going to be the case, and her face morphed into one of sadness as she looked upon them all. The three alicorns all looked at each other, clearly knowing from looking at her that something was wrong. After a long and uncomfortable silence, it was Twilight who stepped forward and spoke.
"Well? What...what did he say?"
There were times when Celestia hated the truth, and this was most definitely one of them, as she hung her head low before giving Twilight her answer.
"Exactly what I should have expected him to say."
