If enchanted comics exist, why doesn't Celestia just trap Tirek in one?

[EmeraldStar04 250]

Really, all she has to do is trap him in one, then laminate it with plastic then put it in a box then put that box in another box and put that box in a bigger box and mail that box to herself then transmute it into a brick and hide it in the walls of the royal bathroom.

 

Meanwhile Tirek either burns in a hell worse than Tartarus or suffers in a cutesy world tied in a cocoon forced to watch happy ponies he can't hurt.

[Castle Bleck 19,440]

Might qualify too much for the "forbidden magic" category for her to be willing.

[cmarston1 5,962]

Apparently Celestia just ins't pragmatic enough to do something like that.

Or the show being rated TV Y and a toy commercial wouldn't allow any of its characters to be given a fate worse than death.

[EmeraldStar04 250]

Apparently Celestia just ins't pragmatic enough to do something like that.

Or the show being rated TV Y and a toy commercial wouldn't allow any of its characters to be given a fate worse than death.

We're talking about the Celestia that sealed the still-conscious Luna in the moon for a thousand years and sealed the still-conscious Discord in stone for a thousand years. The Celestia that sent Tirek to Tartarus.

 

She has zero mercy when stuff gets serious.

[Red Cedar 1,408]

Celestia would have ethical issues in sending Tirek to terrorize innocent comic book denizens.

[Castle Bleck 19,440]

We're talking about the Celestia that sealed the still-conscious Luna in the moon for a thousand years and sealed the still-conscious Discord in stone for a thousand years. The Celestia that sent Tirek to Tartarus.

 

She has zero mercy when stuff gets serious.

 

Those were with the Elements -- i.e., non-forbidden magic -- though.

[EmeraldStar04 250]

Celestia would have ethical issues in sending Tirek to terrorize innocent comic book denizens.

When the mane six entered the superhero comic, they got superpowers.

 

Ergo, when Tirek enters an emo sad comic about a sad world with horrible tragedies and a powerless protagonist that loses fights every day, he'll lose his powers.

 

Or get trapped in a cocoon by happy fairy-pony inhabitants way stronger than him, and be tied up for years and forced to watch them dance and sing and hug while all he can do is scream.

Those were with the Elements -- i.e., non-forbidden magic -- though.

Have we seen forbidden magic on-screen? If magic comics are banned, where did Spike get one?

[GrimGrimoire 4,973]

She does not have to, he is already trapped in Tartarus. For all intents and purposes Tartarus as far as we know is inescapable for the most part... unless of course the writers of the show (or comic) need a villain. If he was trapped in a comic, the same writers could find a way to release him from there as well with only a few swipes of a pen.

 

Also how do we know there are any other magical comics like the one spike got a hold of? I would imagine there are possibly, but it seems odd to me that anything that was able to suck you against your will into a magical universe would be freely available to the public to just walk in and pick up as Spike apparently did. I can see magic tomes to a degree since only powerful magic users can utilize them, and the more powerful ones are supposedly under some sense of guard... but that comic seems strangely out of place.

[EmeraldStar04 250]

but that comic seems strangely out of place.

Yeah. It makes you wonder... are world-comics popular? Are they sold normally? Did the salespony enchant that one as a joke/prank? Did Spike get it from the magical black market?

[Ganondorf8 11,691]

Those enchanted comics do have some loopholes, something Spike found out the hard way, so it wouldn't take Lord Tirek that long to break free. Also, I'm going to assume that all enchanted comics in Equestria have ponies in them, so he could simply absorb their magc and escape just the same. Celestia herself might not be willing to jeopardize such worlds--no doubt she is aware of how enchanted comics function--so imprisoning Lord Tirek in Tartarus was a wise decision.

[Swifty 249]

Cuz she can't. Superman Syndrome and that's why even Pipsqueak could beat her.

[Widdershins 9,964]

  Wow, that's actually a pretty brilliant question & alternate option! Never even thought of that! Works as a far better option then stoning your enemies! You give them an alternate world to play in, something they can DO without effecting the outside world. Something I have heard of in some several other sci-fi movies about putting criminals in a sort of permanent drug trip. They won't want to escape if their happier there, eh?

 

Yeah. It makes you wonder... are world-comics popular? Are they sold normally? Did the salespony enchant that one as a joke/prank? Did Spike get it from the magical black market?

Yes, Yes, No, No.  See, we joke about Spike being completely useless but there is a kernel of truth there. They're certainly not throwing Spike appreciation days in Ponyville & at most he's only about as much a fixture around town like any other ponyville citizen. Only place that comes close to seeing him as a hero or anything special is CrystalTown (I'm never going to remember Cadence's city...) so it is somewhat likely that it could have been some powerful relic that a fan of his from there sent him or he convinced a shopkeeper from there to let him it have for free.  There's really only two ways spike could get his claws on something that magical, well, besides it being something Twilight left laying around. Either he stumbled on it like he did that gruesome grimoire that possessed Rarity, or he outright just bought it. Considering how colorful its cover & contents were, it is clear it was first & foremost intended to be a product meant for a wide target demographic. Especially so since I think its been mentioned several times since then that others know of the Power Ponies characters as if they were an in universe franchise like the Avengers.

 

 

Those enchanted comics do have some loopholes, something Spike found out the hard way, so it wouldn't take Lord Tirek that long to break free. Also, I'm going to assume that all enchanted comics in Equestria have ponies in them, so he could simply absorb their magc and escape just the same. Celestia herself might not be willing to jeopardize such worlds--no doubt she is aware of how enchanted comics function--so imprisoning Lord Tirek in Tartarus was a wise decision.

Hmm, Let me just close a few of those loopholes for you there!

#1 As it is writing, we can probably hazard that not EVERY  story is purely pony. We write stories of aliens on distant planets so its not much of a stretch to assume that there would be a few stories populated by beings without the same intrinsic powers that Tirek can manipulate.

#2 We're assuming of course that the powers gained are permanent. Our heroines certainly didn't take their newfound powers out with them once the world/story was over did they? In fact, didn't they all come right back out into the same room they went in? They all could have very well had their consciousnesses transplanted into the book while their bodies were left behind comatose. I would liken this to the example of SwordArtOnline anime, but that would require me actually knowing anything about that show! Lol!

   Believe it was said in the episode that they couldn't get back out of the book unless they finished the story. As Tirek is known for wanting his own way, he likely would attempt to take over this new world, but as that would go contrary to the pre-written plot he would still be stuck in there due to not fulfilling the spell's criteria. Therefor, the more magic he gains, the stronger the spell trapping him is! Forever ensorcelled to remain as the villian in constant battle against a fictional foe!

   But that raises another point! It seemed that when you go in, all you have is your memories of before. Once you are in the book, you ARE that character you are substituting. Even if the seven characters had gone about telling every citizen of that bookworld different, they would have likely been ignored. It seems as if all that is you is wiped out & replaced with the body & powers of who you are replacing. In all likelihood, Tirek's abilities would be wiped leaving only his personality & consciousness.  In essence, it would serve as a slightly less harmful version of the Matrix.

#3 Eh, some merit. While they are seperate worlds, they exist from a standpoint of being fictional to their world. That world getting demolished spares this world so...uh, balances out?...    Worst scenario, Tirek has a hayday in there and just eats everything up. He certainly is probably the most nihilistic villain we've had so far. (though I fully expected his plan to fall though when he sucks in so much magic that he just bursts like a balloon.) but those characters are just imaginary to an extent. This timeline storyline may be ruined but there's another copy of the same book out there where the same world and beings are still going according to the original plan.  It is sort of like the rabbit hole we go down when we start thinking about the movie Groundhog Day. That timeline where he dies still does exist, but it gets reset again anyhow.

    Until the trapped villain acquiesces & goes along with playing along with the story, they'll never get out. Sure, the biggest plothole (I feel weird saying that term in reference to this fandom somehow...) is that the villain immediately catches on and agrees to cooperate only long enough to get released. But it IS still a spell, so you could just erase that little clause.

                  ...still more ethical then Twilight's mutterings about a "reformation" spell for Discord. Least this gives its victim a sandbox to play in.

[EmeraldStar04 250]

Cuz she can't. Superman Syndrome and that's why even Pipsqueak could beat her.

You mean the Worf Effect, right?

Wow, that's actually a pretty brilliant question & alternate option! Never even thought of that! Works as a far better option then stoning your enemies! You give them an alternate world to play in, something they can DO without effecting the outside world. Something I have heard of in some several other sci-fi movies about putting criminals in a sort of permanent drug trip. They won't want to escape if their happier there, eh?

 

Yes, Yes, No, No. See, we joke about Spike being completely useless but there is a kernel of truth there. They're certainly not throwing Spike appreciation days in Ponyville & at most he's only about as much a fixture around town like any other ponyville citizen. Only place that comes close to seeing him as a hero or anything special is CrystalTown (I'm never going to remember Cadence's city...) so it is somewhat likely that it could have been some powerful relic that a fan of his from there sent him or he convinced a shopkeeper from there to let him it have for free. There's really only two ways spike could get his claws on something that magical, well, besides it being something Twilight left laying around. Either he stumbled on it like he did that gruesome grimoire that possessed Rarity, or he outright just bought it. Considering how colorful its cover & contents were, it is clear it was first & foremost intended to be a product meant for a wide target demographic. Especially so since I think its been mentioned several times since then that others know of the Power Ponies characters as if they were an in universe franchise like the Avengers.

 

 

Hmm, Let me just close a few of those loopholes for you there!

#1 As it is writing, we can probably hazard that not EVERY story is purely pony. We write stories of aliens on distant planets so its not much of a stretch to assume that there would be a few stories populated by beings without the same intrinsic powers that Tirek can manipulate.

#2 We're assuming of course that the powers gained are permanent. Our heroines certainly didn't take their newfound powers out with them once the world/story was over did they? In fact, didn't they all come right back out into the same room they went in? They all could have very well had their consciousnesses transplanted into the book while their bodies were left behind comatose. I would liken this to the example of SwordArtOnline anime, but that would require me actually knowing anything about that show! Lol!

Believe it was said in the episode that they couldn't get back out of the book unless they finished the story. As Tirek is known for wanting his own way, he likely would attempt to take over this new world, but as that would go contrary to the pre-written plot he would still be stuck in there due to not fulfilling the spell's criteria. Therefor, the more magic he gains, the stronger the spell trapping him is! Forever ensorcelled to remain as the villian in constant battle against a fictional foe!

But that raises another point! It seemed that when you go in, all you have is your memories of before. Once you are in the book, you ARE that character you are substituting. Even if the seven characters had gone about telling every citizen of that bookworld different, they would have likely been ignored. It seems as if all that is you is wiped out & replaced with the body & powers of who you are replacing. In all likelihood, Tirek's abilities would be wiped leaving only his personality & consciousness. In essence, it would serve as a slightly less harmful version of the Matrix.

#3 Eh, some merit. While they are seperate worlds, they exist from a standpoint of being fictional to their world. That world getting demolished spares this world so...uh, balances out?... Worst scenario, Tirek has a hayday in there and just eats everything up. He certainly is probably the most nihilistic villain we've had so far. (though I fully expected his plan to fall though when he sucks in so much magic that he just bursts like a balloon.) but those characters are just imaginary to an extent. This timeline storyline may be ruined but there's another copy of the same book out there where the same world and beings are still going according to the original plan. It is sort of like the rabbit hole we go down when we start thinking about the movie Groundhog Day. That timeline where he dies still does exist, but it gets reset again anyhow.

Until the trapped villain acquiesces & goes along with playing along with the story, they'll never get out. Sure, the biggest plothole (I feel weird saying that term in reference to this fandom somehow...) is that the villain immediately catches on and agrees to cooperate only long enough to get released. But it IS still a spell, so you could just erase that little clause.

...still more ethical then Twilight's mutterings about a "reformation" spell for Discord. Least this gives its victim a sandbox to play in.

I agree. Also, SAO is horrible, almost as garbage as Steven Universe. I hate SAO because it could have been epic but the writer ruined it by being dumb.

[cider float 2,539]

Well Celestia doesn't seem to know about that comic and no pony seems to know how it really works. The thing with magic is that it's very chaotic in nature and you shouldn't mess around with it too much. 

[KillerKingBakudan 702]

I can't see Celestia doing this unless she found a comic book world that was completely devoid of life for Tirek to destroy. That includes plant life. He would need to be in total isolation on a planet resembling the barren wasteland from the Cutie Re-Mark's alternate future for this to resemble a form of punishment, let alone one that he couldn't escape from. The only question is, who's writing these magic comics, and would they be willing to write one that's literally about nothing?

[EmeraldStar04 250]

I can't see Celestia doing this unless she found a comic book world that was completely devoid of life for Tirek to destroy. That includes plant life. He would need to be in total isolation on a planet resembling the barren wasteland from the Cutie Re-Mark's alternate future for this to resemble a form of punishment, let alone one that he couldn't escape from. The only question is, who's writing these magic comics, and would they be willing to write one that's literally about nothing?

Honestly, if I could create whole worlds by writing about them, I'd specifically make a lot of stuff. If you think a human isn't capable of that, look at the freaky stuff humans make in Spore or Sims as jokes. Now imagine worlds where what they create can be interacted with!

[Unlikeable Pony 2,700]

To be honest, the premise of the power ponies episode is absolutely horrible and breaks immersion; While I LOVED the power ponies episode for the premise and the way it flows, the EXPLANATION that it was due to the comic is terrible and I try to ignore it.


It would have been better if it had been something like Discord had zapped them in like the RPG episode.

[Swifty 249]

You mean the Worf Effect, right?

Yup. SS is just the lame justification for it. At least it hit Twilight, Cadance and Luna simultaneously in the latest finale, so someone else could shine.

[GrimGrimoire 4,973]

To be honest, the premise of the power ponies episode is absolutely horrible and breaks immersion; While I LOVED the power ponies episode for the premise and the way it flows, the EXPLANATION that it was due to the comic is terrible and I try to ignore it.

 

 

It would have been better if it had been something like Discord had zapped them in like the RPG episode.

 

This ^

 

I loved the Power ponies themselves and liked the fun of the overall episode, but the whole comic set up bugged me. Not so much being in a comic itself, but how the comic all came to be and how Spike go a hold of it and how simple it was to activate it. There was no explanation before or after the episode to explain any of it... just the casual comment that is came from the "House of Enchanted Comics" which is nothing to go on. Is that an actual comic store, do they literally sell comics that suck in their readers? I would say that would count as heavily forbidden magic. Was it just a rare anomaly that Spike found, and if so, how many other rare anomalies are out there?

 

It would have been better to have had either Discord beam them into it, or have some spell mishap by Twilight or another character cause them to get beamed into the comic. I do know if I ever get to go to Equestria though, not to touch any of their damn comics.

 

 

 

 

In fact, didn't they all come right back out into the same room they went in? They all could have very well had their consciousnesses transplanted into the book while their bodies were left behind comatose.

 

In the episode they are very clearly pulled physically into the comic book itself, and very unceremoniously tossed out of it on completion. Maybe that is why no one is reporting it, the victims are still all trapped in some comic somewhere.

[Widdershins 9,964]

Well Celestia doesn't seem to know about that comic and no pony seems to know how it really works. The thing with magic is that it's very chaotic in nature and you shouldn't mess around with it too much. 

   Nah, nah, nah. Magic may be by its essence the unexplained, but that doesn't mean it lacks a form & rules. Magic is, and especially in Equestria where its wielders have grown special channeling organs to better utilize it, a force of will & concentration. We know what it does because it has done what it was made to accomplish, more on this later.  To quote, Jaya Ballard, I think it was: "Spontaneous combustion is a myth. If your on fire, someone wanted you on fire." Magic isn't chaotic, its created. Magical powers are, but wild magic is a different, much more elaborate topic.

   Besides, I'm quite sure Celly knows very well about it. Something that transfers consciousness would no doubt need some sort of regulations & undoubtedly had to be shuffled past Celly at some point even if she just gave her hoofstamp of approval and moved onto the next paperwork.  That, and the Ol' Filly has her own brand of humor so I get the feeling she reads funny books in her down time in her lil' beddybye chambers.

 

 

He would need to be in total isolation on a planet resembling the barren wasteland from the Cutie Re-Mark's alternate future for this to resemble a form of punishment, let alone one that he couldn't escape from.

   Well, that still doesn't change the fact that this new "world" we shunt him into doesn't technically exist. That isn't really "lives" he's destroying while he's in this realm, it basically amounts to locking him into a room full of training dummies. Even if he does go around killing everypony in there, those same characters are still safe in another book of the same issue. Something I covered when I brought up that these books are open for public consumption. That is, of course, insinuating he even needs to be "punished" at all. Really, we just need him somewhere that he can't do us any harm, and if he's happy there, he won't really care to come back, right? Say we write him a story tailor made for him, the story of Tirek ruling the world, and we just keep him busy in there. Better then petrification, because as Discord brought up that he was still conscious like that, least this gives its victim something to do.

   When it comes down to it, Discord wanted to play with everything, so his punishment was not being able to do anything. Tirek seemed hurt. That he felt everyhorse else had what he needed & was willing to hurt everyone to make sure he was the only being left standing. So we put him somewhere where he can keep hurting everything until he comes to terms that hurting others won't accomplish anything or make him feel any better.

 

 There was no explanation before or after the episode to explain any of it... just the casual comment that is came from the "House of Enchanted Comics" which is nothing to go on. Is that an actual comic store, do they sell comics that literally suck in their readers? I would say that would count as heavily forbidden magic. Was it just a rare anomaly that Spike found, and if so, how many other rare anomalies are out there?

 

In the episode they are very clearly pulled physically into the comic book itself, and very unceremoniously tossed out of it on completion. Maybe that is why no one is reporting it, the victims are still all trapped in some comic somewhere.

 

 

   Way I see the whole tamale going here...is that this is basically the same case of that sci-fi fad back in the...80s? 90s? of all the stories about Virtual Reality. Essentially just an transplanting of the mind. That's why its open for being widely distributed, no harm ever can come to its user, despite what might have been said during that escapade. It's just their mind in there, should the program fail in anyway their mind just gets put back in their body. Sure, some instructions or warnings would have been nice, but Spike likely disregarded such and as Twilight had nothing else to go on (she is one to panic & see doom where another pony wouldn't after all) she only assumed they'd be trapped forever if they didn't finish the story. I ,for one, fail to see any harm in this at all, its just a game! As dependent on abusing magic as we've seen unicorns be, levitating things across the room when their lazy tails coulda just gotten up to get it, its no small wonder they would create some game to craft a believable world around you.

   It's like Jumanji. Kind of trapped, but your also not. Like, I'm sure the users are given a warning of telling their parents that they'll be essentially sticking their head in a bucket of sand for a few hours & going limp & to come get them if they don't come out after a while. Long as you have someone to depend on to snap you out of it....like a bad drug trip....and those VR comic books very rarely turned out nice....Well it IS dangerous, but its a widespread diversion that likely has precautions on it, but in this case that we saw, it didn't as everypony did wind up getting sucked into it.

       I know there's a ton of mental-transference sci-fi movies I could reference as an example, but I just can't think of any now.

[GrimGrimoire 4,973]

 

 

Way I see the whole tamale going here...is that this is basically the same case of that sci-fi fad back in the...80s? 90s? of all the stories about Virtual Reality. Essentially just an transplanting of the mind. That's why its open for being widely distributed, no harm ever can come to its user, despite what might have been said during that escapade. It's just their mind in there, should the program fail in anyway their mind just gets put back in their body. Sure, some instructions or warnings would have been nice, but Spike likely disregarded such and as Twilight had nothing else to go on (she is one to panic & see doom where another pony wouldn't after all) she only assumed they'd be trapped forever if they didn't finish the story. I ,for one, fail to see any harm in this at all, its just a game! As dependent on abusing magic as we've seen unicorns be, levitating things across the room when their lazy tails coulda just gotten up to get it, its no small wonder they would create some game to craft a believable world around you.

 

Which is all fine and good. IF that were fact.

 

But we don't know. As I said, there is no explanation anywhere about this... just a single line to sum it all up. For all we know this may have been the ONLY comic of it's kind. But what we do know is this:

 

Spike had a comic with a missing page at the end. It had a spell that required a magnifying glass to read, but other than that, no experience or skill required... just repeat what it says and BAM! you are sucked into the comic. If any of us picked up a comic and found this, we too would be getting magnifying glasses or what not to make sense of what the hell was going on with this story we clearly want to know what happens in. Spike is no magician nor unicorn, so clearly the spell required NO magical skill to cast.

 

The characters were sucked into the book. Not just mentally, but physically. You explicitly see them pulled into it and after their victory they are expelled just as roughly. It is quite possible you could have come and torched the comic at that time and either killed them or trapped them forever in the book. We just have no way of knowing.

 

The characters took the place of existing archetypes in that world. We have no idea what would have happened if spike had been reading a Pony version of the Fantastic Four (2 less places for a character to superimpose over) and not the Avengers/Justice League.

 

They completed the story and got transported back to the real world. What would have happened if they chose to ignore the Mane-iac and just not participate in the story? What would they have done if Spike had been captured with them and the Mane-iac had completed her plan? We just don't know.

 

Although Twilight questions where he got the comic from, no one is all that surprised when Spike tells them. So is this a common thing then? Do ponies always find themselves getting sucked into these magical worlds? And if so does that mean there are fail-safes so as no one gets hurt? And if they are common, why was everyone so mystified that this happened? And if there are fail-safes couldn't they just opt out and get back home? It is just a circle of confusion honestly.

 

In the end it is just a poor plot device to give us a Power Ponies episode, and you really can't go beyond that... because to do so just creates enormous questions about how exactly powerful magic is treated in Equestria and the safety of its citizens who are just looking to read a fun story. They put what basically amounts to an incredibly dangerous item in a very casual situation, since you have to imagine, a lot of younger ponies are probably reading these things far more than adults. Like I said, perhaps it was the only one, but if that is the case I would think there would be a lot more questioning on where the hell it came from, instead of a lot of bemusement instead.

[BlinkZ 1,151]

Well i assuem those enchanted comics were liek one of thoes oncea  year stores like they do around chirstmas maybe? eh ims sure htose comcis have fail safes like restarting the story if you fail or something.

[Denim&Venöm 20,340]

Because Tirek isn't stupid, and all he would have to do is play along until he was set free, just like the mane 6 + spike did. 

[KillerKingBakudan 702]

   Well, that still doesn't change the fact that this new "world" we shunt him into doesn't technically exist. That isn't really "lives" he's destroying while he's in this realm, it basically amounts to locking him into a room full of training dummies. Even if he does go around killing everypony in there, those same characters are still safe in another book of the same issue. Something I covered when I brought up that these books are open for public consumption. That is, of course, insinuating he even needs to be "punished" at all. Really, we just need him somewhere that he can't do us any harm, and if he's happy there, he won't really care to come back, right? Say we write him a story tailor made for him, the story of Tirek ruling the world, and we just keep him busy in there. Better then petrification, because as Discord brought up that he was still conscious like that, least this gives its victim something to do.

   When it comes down to it, Discord wanted to play with everything, so his punishment was not being able to do anything. Tirek seemed hurt. That he felt everyhorse else had what he needed & was willing to hurt everyone to make sure he was the only being left standing. So we put him somewhere where he can keep hurting everything until he comes to terms that hurting others won't accomplish anything or make him feel any better.

 

You're not wrong, but at the same time, this solution doesn't take into account how Celestia would feel. Condemning an entire population of ponies to die, fictional or not, might not be something she'd want on her conscience for the simple fact they're self-aware, even by means of magic. Just look at how people in the Star Trek universe treat holograms. Everyone knows they're not real. That doesn't make the Doctor any less a valued member of the Voyager crew. And it didn't stop Janeway from explaining the Fair Haven characters' entire existence to them when failed subroutines caused them to become aware of everything outside their holodeck program. She could have easily deleted them all when things got out of hand; she chose not to because like real humans, she had too much respect for them.

 

And assuming there are other copies of the same books for these pony characters to thrive in, you can easily compare them to clones. Sure, you can have multiple copies of yourself, but having the ability to create more clones that are aware doesn't provide any moral justification for killing one, directly or otherwise.

 

Now, if this was a video game universe where you could simply reset everything to default conditions at any time, I don't think Celestia would have any qualms sending Tirek there to terrorize ponies until he changed his ways. But until some unicorn does create such a game, I don't see this kind of reformation happening.

[Widdershins 9,964]

You're not wrong, but at the same time, this solution doesn't take into account how Celestia would feel. Condemning an entire population of ponies to die, fictional or not, might not be something she'd want on her conscience for the simple fact they're self-aware, even by means of magic. Just look at how people in the Star Trek universe treat holograms. Everyone knows they're not real. That doesn't make the Doctor any less a valued member of the Voyager crew. And it didn't stop Janeway from explaining the Fair Haven characters' entire existence to them when failed subroutines caused them to become aware of everything outside their holodeck program. She could have easily deleted them all when things got out of hand; she chose not to because like real humans, she had too much respect for them.

   Aye, you're quite right. Where does the line end when it comes to where humanity begins? (Wait, can we call it humanity if we're referring to ponies? Don't want to be speciest and leave out entire kinds!)  Even if they can't exactly be killed, its still not a moral choice exactly. Though sacrificing a smaller, city-sized pocket dimension at the expense of an entire planet getting eaten & demolished does sound like the kind of tough choice Celestia has had to go though before.  And no doubt because she has, is why she wouldn't again.

 

Because Tirek isn't stupid, and all he would have to do is play along until he was set free, just like the mane 6 + spike did. 

   Yyyyye-...yeah....One would have to rewrite the spell to not let him back out then if it came to that, but then it'd be pretty much an entirely different spell that way so.....  Fizzle & Pop. This plan's gone to pot!

         ...What was that Arnold Schwarzenegger movie where they put their violent prisoners into essentially mind control virtual reality? That's gonna bother me now...