Author's Note

Ahhh this chapter. SO satisfying. Not in a furthering the plot kind of way, but a "getting justice feels great" kinda way. So yeah. I had fun with the way this turned out. It was nice.

Special thanks to you awesome reviewers. I love you guys!

Enjoy Wind Rider's punishment! Celestia knows I did!

Seemed Different Yet Exactly The Same

Wind Rider had spent the time the Princess was away trying to figure a way out of here. The door was out of the question. The two guards would easily best him. Flying was also not an option, considering one of his injuries happened to be to his wing. He could attempt to go through the walls, but considering that he didn’t know what would be on the other side, that opened a whole new slew of problems. There was no closet to go through, no window to open, not even a basement to hide in.

To put it simply, he was stuck. Just stuck.

The reality of the situation was quickly crashing down upon him. If there was no way to escape, then there was no way out of this situation. And even if he did escape, there was nowhere he could go without the princesses finding him. He was screwed. With this perspective, he was able to see enough that he had thrown his life away. Oh, he still did not regret his actions, but he regretted where it had landed him. He did not get to the point where he could be angry at himself. Instead, he projected it onto Rainbow Dash and Spitfire, alongside the princesses. If they hadn’t done what they had, he would have never been in this position! And the princesses- how dare they imprison him with the worst criminals Equestria had ever seen. It wasn’t fair. It just wasn’t fair.

He stewed in his anger for a long while, but eventually the burning anger was reduced to a flickering ember. With his body still recovering, staying too long in one emotion took it’s toll. He was left with an intense sense of indifference. Numbness, more specifically. Every emotion that could have been there, went through him, and left him with a deep nothingness. His outlook was, well, bleak. He may as well have been sentenced to death, because losing his freedom was worse than being dead in his eyes.

He didn’t have time to dwell on it much more. The Princesses entered his room, and he knew he was enjoying his last few breaths of air as a free man.

“Wind Rider. Thy time has come. It is time for you to pay for your heinous crimes.” Said Luna. Her gaze was unrelenting.

She looked to her sister. Celestia spoke. “You will be transported to Tartarus immediately.”

“What about my medical needs?”

“They’ll heal in time.”

“What about-“

“Your affairs are in order. We have taken care of everything. It is time.”

The blazing gazes of the Princesses were on him, and it finally sank in that he had caused their ire.

“I’m sorry.” He said. Their eyes stayed locked on him. Nothing seemed to divert their gazes. It was clear that they did not believe them.

“Come on.” Celestia said.

Wind Rider got up. He took a step toward the princesses, and felt that he was stepping deeper and deeper into the endless void of life ruining despair. He had not noticed that first step into that void, nor the ones that followed, until it was too late, and he was drowning.

Just as he got up to the princesses, he saw Spitfire and Rainbow Dash enter. Spitfire looked on with a satisfied smirk, while Rainbow Dash was rigid at her side. She looked blank. Her eyes were empty. To Spitfire, it seemed that she had shut down emotionally, wether in distress or in shock, she did not know. She wrapped Rainbow in her wing. That seemed to shake her from her daze a bit, and she looked up at her Mama. Mama was looking down at her and nodded, trying to convey a message with her eyes. Apparently it was received, because Rainbow relaxed marginally.

They both turned back, and the Princesses had converged on Wind Rider, Luna’s guards there too.

They all formed a circle around the accused, and he had just enough time to give Rainbow Dash and Spitfire a look. Neither of them were sure how to interpret it. He looked woebegone. But where that came from, out of fear, hopelessness, or perhaps even remorse, remained to be seen.

Once they were gone, Spitfire led Rainbow back to her room.

Celestia, Luna, Wind Rider, and the guards all arrived outside the gates of Tartarus. Celestia used her magic to open the doors. Inside were cages, full of violent criminals. Cerberus was respectful toward the princesses, and even the guards, whom he had seen before. But at the sight of Wind Rider, he snarled. He had a nose for criminals, after all.

Celestia and Luna marched past the cages, ignoring the criminals there. Wind Rider only recognized two of them. A bugbear that had apparently attacked Ponyville at some point (and he only knew that because he read the paper) and Lord Tirek, who had once stolen his ability to fly. Wind Rider scowled at him, but it wasn’t much of a victory. This Tirek was thin, bony, and emaciated. Hardly a challenge compared to the muscular, horned Goliath that had taken the magic of virtually all Equestria. Even the princesses had fallen victim to his tyranny. That in itself was something to admire. But now, looking at him, the word that came to the Pegasus’ mind was pathetic.

Though, he mused, Tirek would likely say the same about him.

For Wind Rider, the trek to his new home seemed long and tiresome. That may have been because all of the criminals he passed. Each of them gave him dirty looks, and the reason why was understandable. Though the princesses were known to come here, it was only to drop off criminals. They never stayed. For him to have been escorted here by both princesses meant that he had to have done something that was worse than kidnapping, murder, torture, and rape combined. At least, that was their opinion. They didn’t know the truth, and the princesses, and certainly not Wind Rider himself were about to correct that misconception.

After walking for what seemed like an eternity, they came to a cage that was separated from the rest. It was isolated, on a higher planed rocky expanse that put it above the rest, like he was looking down on them all. The cage itself was bland. Just metal bars and steel floors meant to fit him. Luna’s guard ponies stationed themselves on both sides of the cage, and Celestia opened the door. Wind Rider hesitated, and Luna gave him a nudge forward. There was nowhere to run, and even if he did, the cage was the safest place for him. With all these criminals running around, there was nowhere safer. He stepped in. The metal was cold against his hooves, and slick underneath them. A clanging sound indicated the door had been shut. Celestia and Luna both were looking at him.

“Welcome home.” Said Luna sarcastically.

“We hope you’ll be very happy here.” Celestia added. Then, the two royal sisters flew toward the exit, leaving Wind Rider with his shame, fear, and broken pride. He had lost everything. Now, there was nothing left to do but sit and wait to die.

The thought didn’t scare him as much as he’d anticipated, and he sighed. It was going to be a long eternity.