Chapter 16

"Tirek's Execution"

It was already morning by the time that crowds of ponies were already gathering at the execution platform for Tirek's execution. It seemed that everypony wanted a front row seat for this moment, especially after the hell that this monster had put them all through. In her guest chambers, Twilight could hear all that was going on as she got herself prepared to oversee the execution along with her fellow princesses as well as her friends. All of them were going to be wearing the dresses they wore at her coronation not too long ago because according to Equestrian tradition, the princesses must look authoritive when it came to executions. As Twilight finished with her hair and stepped into her regal shoes, she heard a knock at the door.

"Hey, Spike," she asked her dragon assistant, who was in his tuxedo. "Can you answer that for me?"

"Sure, Twilight," replied Spike who then walked over to open the door and reveal a pair of royal guardsponies standing in the doorway. They walked over to Twilight and bowed down in front of her, much to her discomfort. She was still going to have to get used to this eventually, despite the fact that she was just plain old ordinary Twilight Sparkle

"We are awaiting your orders on the prisoner," said one of the guardsponies. "Princess Celestia has asked you to tell us when it is time for the execution to begin."

Twilight could see that the time was drawing nearer for the execution and after thinking for a moment, she gave her answer to the guardsponies. A look of determination came onto her face when she was asked this because she was mere moments away from giving the order to kill the creature that destroyed her library and harmed her friends.

"Is everypony else ready?" she asked, adjusting her crown slightly.

"The crowds are getting restless," said the second guardspony, looking up at Twilight. "They want an answer from you."

"Then you may bring him up," replied Twilight firmly. The guards then saluted Twilight and left her alone to retrieve Tirek from the Canterlot caves.

Later, Twilight and Spike walked over to the balcony overlooking the castle courtyard where her fellow princesses and her friends were waiting for her. They could all see the crowds were indeed becoming restless just like the guards had said to Twilight.

"I've never seen the crowds like this before," remarked Applejack, looking down on the crowds below. "This is even crazier than the Apple family reunion from a few years back."

"I completely agree," added Rarity, who had her opera glasses out. "It's bad enough to witness somepony killed, but to see ponies excited for it, ooh!"

"Why shouldn't they be excited?" remarked Pinkie Pie, who was munching on a bag of popcorn. "This is more entertaining than any party that I've ever thrown."

Still, while Twilight was happy for this moment, she could see that killing Equestria's most wanted criminal was only the beginning of the healing process for her and her friends. Tirek had done much more than steal magic and Twilight knew it.

Just then, a pony cried out that Tirek was coming and the crowds turned to see Tirek being wheeled out and tied to a pole, his arms and legs freed from the shackles that bounded him. A pony then spat on him and that was the signal for the crowds to pelt food, trash and anything else that they could throw at Tirek. The monster growled at this and gave a hateful look to the crowds that were booing and jeering at him.

"He's mine now," thought Lock Down sinisterly as Tirek was being wheeled in to the courtyard.

After a few moments, Tirek was brought to the platform and the guards then dragged Tirek up to the platform where Lock Down and his assistants were waiting for him. Once Tirek was pushed onto the platform and presented before the crowds, Lock Down raised his right front hoof to silence the crowd.

"Now behold the true evil of Equestria!" he called out to the crowds who responded with a loud roar, then he turned his attention back to the beaten and bruised Tirek.

"You will fall to your knees now," he ordered, using his magic to pull a tarp over a series of tools that he was going to use against Tirek. "Declare yourself the princesses' loyal subject and beg their mercy."

Finally he pulled off the tarp to reveal a large axe that Lock Down used for beheadings and Tirek knew that Lock Down was going to kill him. Even with his life most likely in the balance, Tirek was not going to go down like the sniveling coward that several enemies of Equestria came before him. He then looked up towards Twilight and her friends and gave them a cold stare, then turned his attention back to Lock Down, who could see that Tirek was not going to talk.

"Rope!" he called and the crowds cheered as the assistants pulled Tirek over to a large noose of rope and placed it around his neck. Lock Down gave the order to them and the assistants pulled the rope up as it began to choke Tirek, causing the centaur to struggle for air.

"That's it!" said Lock Down, watching Tirek go up and seeing his legs move wildly. "Stretch him! That's it!"

For a few good minutes, Tirek was dangling from the air by his neck and after a few moments, Lock Down motioned the assistants to release the rope and Tirek fell back onto the platform hard as the crowds let out a wild cheer.

"Pleasant, yes?" remarked Lock Down as Tirek continued to lay down on the platform for a moment. "You will rise to your feet now, kiss the royal symbol of Equestria on my cloak, and you will feel no more."

He put the symbol of the princesses in Tirek's face and this caused the centaur to merely scowl as he tried to raise himself back onto his feet. Seeing him rise to his feet shocked everypony, including the princesses from up in the balcony.

"Impossible!" gasped Luna, placing a hoof to her mouth. "How could he not be weakened by that, sister?"

"He is strong willed," replied Celestia, looking down at him and not her sister. "It's going to take more than that to break his spirit."

Lock Down then looked back at Tirek and decided to move on to the next phase of the execution which was the rack.

"Rack him!" ordered Lock Down as he walked away while the crowds cheered. The assistants then pulled Tirek to a pair of large poles and tied his wrists to one set of ropes and tied his four legs to another set. Lock Down then gave the signal and the assistants pulled on the rope, flipping Tirek onto his back and into the air as the force of the pulled ropes weighed down on him.

With each time that he was stretched tighter and tighter, the louder the crowds became. Tirek could feel his bones starting to break and began to buckle under the pressure of being pulled in this manner. Lock Down then looked up to him and smiled mockingly at him.

"Enough?" he asked and looked up to see how tight the rope had become. Seeing that it had reached it's potential, Lock Down ordered his assistants to lowered Tirek back onto the ground hard and at that moment, they dragged him back to the center of the platform where two more assistants had set up a large curtain with the front of a large table sticking out.

"Celestia, what's going on here?" wondered Twilight, turning over towards her mentor. "Why are they setting up that curtain?"

"It's another part of Tirek's punishment," she replied to her youngest equal. "The hanging was for his crime of stealing unicorn magic and the racking was for his crime of stealing Pegasus magic."

"The next part of the punishment is for stealing the earth pony magic," added Luna. "He will be disemboweled, but because of how repulsive it is, we have to keep the actual process out of the view of our subjects."

This made Twilight's stomach turn over hearing something like this, but knew that this was all part of the process that would avenge everything that Tirek had done to her and her friends. At that moment, two assistant rolled Tirek onto his back and the shadow of a large knife was placed into the hands of one of the assistants and Tirek gasped loudly as the knife was placed into his stomach and the third part of Tirek's punishment began. Lock Down looked down at Tirek as he continued to stay resilient despite what was happening to him at that moment.

"Tirek," he said coldly to him as Tirek continued to gasp loudly. "You are like all evil creatures of Equestria; like little foals, always fighting and making a mess out of Equestria, and then I've got to clean it up. There is one way you survive, surrender yourself of your evil ways and pledge your allegiance to the princesses."

Feeling his stomach being pulled out, Tirek raised his eyes up at Lock Down and with one final ounce of his strength, said his final words to him.

"Never," he said weakly and Lock Down prepared to issue the final part of Tirek's punishment as he ordered an assistant to bring out the large axe which would behead him. Gripping the axe tightly, Lock Down positioned the axe in the right spot of Tirek's neck and with one heavy swing he chopped off Tirek's head and it rolled onto the platform to the delight of the crowds, knowing the most evil creature in Equestria was now dead.

"Let this serve as a warning to all who desires to destroy this great land!" shouted Lock Down, raising Tirek's head for the entire crowd to see. "You attack these ponies and steal the alicorn magic of our rulers and you shall suffer the same fate as this creature!"

The crowd roared loud again and Twilight looked down at the deceased creature's head from up in the balcony and let out a large heavy sigh.

"My library and my friends have been avenged," she whispered quietly, a tear of relief streaming down her face, knowing that her greatest enemy was dead.