Power lies deep within

After Twilight had realized that her brother was alive, she jumped on him, hooves around his neck.

"Shining Armour! I... I thought I'd lost you", she said, tears still in her eyes.

"I'm alright Twily", he responded in a soft tone and a with smile while putting his own hooves around her.

"I'm alright".

As Shining Armour got up, the atmosphere in the room went from shocked to worried. Everyone has the same questions on their mind.

What had just happened?

Who is that creature?

What's a human?

Why is he here?

Celestia knew she would have to explain, so she took a step forward.

"Everypony! Please, calm down”, she said. Shining Armour is alright. All guards, except for Shining Armour, leave us"

This caused much mumbling and disagreement, but they listened, knowing better than to disobey an order of their princess during such times.

"You six should also stay", she said to Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie.

They gathered into a circle and sat down. The human was very big compared to the rest of them while standing, but while sitting down the difference was only about the size of it's head.

He was back to his calm self again. As if nothing could bother him, his face only gave away a little sadness. He sat down with his legs crossed, his arms in rest on top of them. The other's could not keep their eyes away from the, in their eyes, dangerous creature.

After some time, completely unexpected, Fluttershy was the first to ask the human a question.

"Um... excuse me", she whispered.

"Could you... um... tell us what kind of creature you are?"

She quickly added "If you want to", while turning her head away, as if she expected him to explode in fury against her.

"No!", Celestia interrupted.

"Tell me why you are here. You promised me to never set foot in Equestria again"

The others were surprised about that last sentence. Clearly this human and the princess had a history.

The human nodded. He bowed his head, as if he was deep in thought.

"I never stayed far away of Equestria", he spoke.

"We know", Celestia said.

"Then you also know about my countless battles against your enemies", he responded while looking Celestia right in the eyes.

This time Celestia looked down, as if she was ashamed.

"I know", she whispered, "I meant to thank you one day, I really did."

"I never asked for your gratitude princess", his tone became deeper, more emotional, “all I ever asked for was a place in this land, something you denied me."

These words seemed to touch Celestia deeply. For the slightest of moments, she showed deep shame.

"I was afraid", she said. "I was afraid that, even though you were noble and honest, your past would taint us eventually. It was a risk we could not take."

"I know my flaws princess", it replied. "You made your decision and I accepted it. But even though I was rejected, my promise from before compelled me to keep this land safe."

Celestia replied with a bit of disbelief in her voice.

"You mean to say that you held your promise, even though we broke our end of it?"

"Yes", he simply replied.

A moment of silence followed. No one knew what to say, or to whom. For the six, none of their questions had been answered. No, they only had more questions now.

What was the human's relationship with Celestia? She clearly knows him and has dealt with him before.

What was he doing all this time?

What did he promise?

What are his intentions?

"I will tell you why I came here, and then I will leave", the human finally spoke. "You do not seem to have changed your mind, even after all this time".

Celestia's face didn't show her emotions. She knew that this man would never have come here if it was not crucial. She had to know why before she would respond to his accusation. She had to know for the sake of her subjects.

"I fought an old enemy two weeks ago in the desert lands to the south of Equestria", he said.

"Atum Ra"

This was something that clearly upset both princesses.

"That can not be", Luna claimed.

This was the first time she spoke during the whole ordeal.

"He was defeated more than two thousand years ago! You yourself locked him in his eternal prison beneath the desert sand"

Her voice and face expressed fear. It seems that this was an enemy that even the two rulers of Equestria were afraid of. Apparently even more than of the human that sat in front of them.

"This is terrible news", Celestia spoke to the six. "An ancient evil that we had locked away, has returned"

"You said you fought him", Rainbow Dash directed her question towards the human. "You showed us your strength just a minute ago, you must have defeated him".

Even though she said it as a statement, the doubt in her voice showed that it was more of a question.

"What you saw was nothing like my true strength", the human said. "But even with all my might, I could not hope to defeat an ancient creature like that".

He bowed his head, carefully considering his next words.

"I managed to imprison him in the southern desert once again, but, I was badly injured during our fight, and I could not imprison him for long".

Celestia and Luna knew exactly what the human was about to say.

“He will return, and it will be sooner than later".

A moment of silence followed.

"When he is freed, he will be much stronger than he was two weeks ago, and I fear that I will not be able to stop him again"

"If nothing is done, Equestria will be destroyed when he returns"