The cell was dark. Not pitch black but rather a gloom that seemed to dim the light. Signs of disuse littered the place, The rusted iron bars and the moss covered stones, so ancient that in places they were cracked and broken. In fact the only new things in the dismal place was the occupant and the chains he bore. Head bowed and kneeling down the bipedal creature was so still he could almost be mistaken for a statue. Almost.
"Sister?" A voice questioned. Celestia turned sharply, Luna was staring at her, wide teal eyes bored into her own.
"My apologies Luna it is just..."
"Go on" Luna prompted, giving her sister a comforting nuzzle.
"I have never seen his kind before, but"
"We have heard legends of their existence" Luna finished for her. "Angels" she breathed "It seems they do exist". Celestia stared at her sister briefly then turned her gaze back to their...guest of sorts. "Strange he did not resist when we chained him" Luna stated, head cocked to the side and curious expression gracing her face.
"We panicked" Celestia replied "And reacted accordingly, our citizen's safety comes first." Celestia resumed staring. Then the Angel spoke.
"Death" The voice was harsh with beauty, as if the heavens themselves had warped and twisted.
"What?" Luna asked, startled.
"I...I wish for death" the angel whispered, his voice was layered with pain. The two sisters looked at each, confusion adorned their features.
Celestia spoke first. "Why? Why would you wish for such a thing?".
"Especially one such as you!" Luna contributed. "If you are indeed like the legends of old..." she trailed off unsure of what to say next.
"I am not like the legends young one" the angel whispered, bitterness tinged his tone.
"but...but you are divine!!!" sputtered Luna. "A being who has walked the cosmos since the dawn of time!"
"And I am"
"Tired" Celestia finished for him. His head turned sharply towards her. Celestia stared back, his eyes were ever changing a kaleidoscope of colours and in them glimmered an ancient wisdom that revealed just how much he had bore witness. Luna gasped. Leaning forward she saw that a long vertical scar marred the surface of his face. Finally he turned his head away.
"Yes I am...tired. so very tired. The eons have taken their toll" He briefly strained against his chains. The sound of his black, jagged armour moaning in protest at its treatment. "These chains are nothing, nothing, compared to the sins that burden my very soul." Celestia and Luna glanced briefly at each other, noticing the angel chuckled a bleak grimace twisting his features. "Did your legends tell you of the fallen?" He asked, a glint of malice shone bright in his eyes.
"....Yes" Luna admitted, "Legend did tell of angels who fought, though against what we do not know. That part was lost to time. All it states is that some angels turned...bitter and dark and abandoned their calling to aid the light". A tremor was heard in her voice and Celestia hurriedly placed a wing over her sibling and drew her close. Luna knew all to well the danger and consequence of turning to the dark.
The angel relaxed and slumped back down into his kneeling position. The sound of dripping echoed in the silence. "Yes" he muttered "We turned our backs from the light...our brethren...ourselves." Looking up he stared at the royal sisters before him. "Our lord created a race of beings. He called them mankind and his love for them was vast." Celestia and Luna settled down, both motioning for him to continue as they prepared to hear his tale.
"They were shaped after him and given gifts. But one of our own, an archangel no less, saw them as inferior. When God commanded us to bend knee and swear our allegiance to mankind. To aid and protect them...the archangel refused." He gave a brief sigh and a look of anguish briefly flashed across his face, the scar pulling taunt and his teeth slightly bared. "So Lucifer The Morning Star began the rebellion. Brother fought brother as did sister fight sister as we warred across heaven and the cosmos. Golden ichor stained the ground and the sounds of death rang out amidst the clashing of sword and shield. Yet Lucifer still fought." The angel sighed slightly and stared off, seemingly able to see something tangible in the otherwise plain dungeon wall.
"Go on please" Luna asked riveted. Celestia glanced sharply at her, subdued Luna abashedly settled back down the blush clearly visible on her dark coat.
"He was beautiful you know." the angel stated. "Lucifer I mean, he held an ethereal beauty even for our kind. Adorned in his generals armour. His wings splayed out as he roared orders... In the end though the light prevailed. On our knees bruised and bloodied Gods banished us."
The angel rose, the chains scraped with a screeching sound as he strained against them. At full height he dwarfed even Celestia. But that wasn't what caught their attention. Wings. Gigantic wings black as night were nestled close to his back. The remaining light was drawn from the room into the dark void that his feathery appendages created. Spreading them out he angrily boomed, "And so as we fell our wings turned black with bitterness, our hearts and souls turned dark and the smell of brimstone and hate filled our nostrils as we were tossed down into our new home." He slumped back down the rage disappearing, as if it had never been there in the first place.
Luna had tears in her eyes. His tale had struck a chord in her heart, she knew of his burdens. Celestia maintained her royal mask calmly looking on, however inside she was in deep turmoil. Her emotions clashed filled with sympathy but angry at the same time. \what kind of monster wages war for a such a callous reason such as deeming a race beneath them.
"So we found ourselves in our new home. Hell." The angel carried on, his voice sounding tired. "And for centuries we plagued mankind, enticing them to the path of sin and dooming them for eternity. The occasional clashes between gods warriors and the fallen happened of course." he laughed darkly "we even staged a second assault on the gates...that ended badly" He winced. "Eventually I grew tired, I realised what I had become, the path I had taken."
"The tale is sad and certainly tragic, but you do not tell us what you require of us or why you are in this land" Celestia asked. The angel looked up once more. His eyes held a sadness to them. they were old eyes. Eyes that had seen much and wanted to see no more. Luna gave a sharp intake of breath. Celestia glanced at her but Luna's attention was fixed on the face shrouded in the shadow.
"You...y-you want us...to kill you" Luna whispered. The angel nodded. "...But why?"
"I am weary. I asked Lucifer to release me from my burdens. To give me the peace that comes with oblivion. But he would not and it is forbidden for a divine to extinguish themselves. So in a last desperate attempt I searched the cosmos for a being other than Lucifer and God who had the power to end me." Trailing off he pointedly stared at the stunned sisters.
"And you discovered us" Celestia stated, disbelief and horror etched on her face. "We cannot we will not end your life, it is...it is unthinkable!!!"
"Sister" Luna nuzzled her sibling "I know too well of his burdens, do not forget I know first hand of the dark that twist and corrupts. I was lucky in my" she hesitated "Situation, I had you to help me through it, look at him he has no-one. We...we should help him" she finished with a gulp, swallowing the lump in her throat. Celestia lowered her head.
"Are you certain? Do you truly want this?" Celestia asked. The angel stood. Unfolding his wings the chains suddenly snapped. Staring at Celestia and Luna he nodded.
"Please" The request came out in a shaky tone. Tears in their eyes the two sisters stood together and crossed the horns. Their eyes glowed with light and rising into the air they released a stream of pure magic. Amidst it all they both heard one last sentence, two words. But this time not burdened with the tired tone and weary sighs. Two words that would last forever in their minds, and as they gently touched the ground and nuzzled each other they saw a single black feather float to the ground. An Angels Feather. In the silence as the feather drifted in the air they heard his last two words.
"Thank you."
