//------------------------------// // 62 The Lord in Black // Story: Errant Finale // by Doug Graves //------------------------------// April 1st, 1001 Domina Solaria The loud clomp of a boot hitting the ground accompanies the soft crack of a teleport as Doug finds himself in the center of Manehatten Square. It isn’t quite as… chaotic as he imagined, as the only ponies moving about just after midnight are pegasi guards in blue or gold hovering at least two stories in the air. They patrol around, two immediately spotting him and flying closer, though they dip no lower. He chose not to wear his armor, opting instead for light boots, pants, jacket, and gloves that would give him better mobility and speed. His hand goes to the bandoleer across his chest, fingering the two vials inside he got from Zecora. One, thin glass surrounding a blue powder, he did not know what would happen if used. The other, an ugly green liquid inside, he at least knows what to expect, and hopes Tirek doesn’t. Hopefully he doesn’t look too intimidating, with no other visible weapons, just a concealed ordinary dagger and coil of rope. “Halt!” one yells, both mares identical looking in their golden armor. They have abandoned their common spears for heavy crossbows that look to be drawn on the fly, though neither is pointed at him at the time. Though he imagines that could very easily be rectified. “Princess Celestia sent me,” Doug yells back, more guards watching them but not abandoning their patrol routes yet. “She wants me to go after Tirek, and try to talk him down.” How, exactly, I have no idea. “You’re Doug?” one of them asks, glancing to the other and noticeably relaxing. “Go, report to Captain Armor. At least we have one item of good news to report.” “It’s bad?” Doug says, nervously looking around. One guard flies off while the other nods, though comes no lower. “Tirek continues to go after our evacuation groups, those who gathered at ground level. Pegasi are safe, until he shows his face above ground and anyone caught in the open…” the guard looks away, holding a hoof to her muzzle. “...suffer just like the others. And if it’s a pegasi in the air…” “Got it,” Doug says, and he can’t help but wince as well. Twenty feet probably isn’t enough to kill them, depending, but without their innate magic helping them it could easily go very badly. “Where was he last?” “That way,” she points vaguely. “We’ve set up barricades wherever we could. Whenever it was reported elsewhere, and it was… safe. They don’t slow him down, but he is pretty noisy breaking through them.” “Well, I guess I better get started, then,” Doug says, taking a deep breath and shuddering. “Celestia protect you,” the pegasus whispers, her voice carrying against the unnerving quiet of the city. Meanwhile, in Canterlot Castle, Celestia maintains a tenuous hold over the ponies in the room as the debate turns to how best to stop Tirek without causing too much collateral damage, either to the city itself or the ponies trapped inside. Rainbow Dash is the only non alicorn paying much attention, the rest a tad sickened at Tirek's actions. “I can’t believe you are sending some ape on this mission instead of me!” exclaims Discord, paws crossing across his chest and pouting. “I could bring Tirek here with a snap of my claws!” Everypony gasps and dives for cover as Discord raises a clawed arm to the air; Celestia even teleports outside the room, her horn lit as she flies outside.  He doesn’t actually snap them. “But no! I thought we were friends!” “We are friends,” Fluttershy coos, flying up to stroke Discord on the back. The rest of the ponies slowly come out from behind the various objects in the room. “Well, apparently ‘friends’ ignore each other’s useful talents!” Discord flicks his head to the side, away from Fluttershy. “It’s like you don’t trust me to do anything!”  “Well,” Fluttershy says gently, “we just haven’t been friends for very long, and it takes time to build up that trust. I’m sure you understand.” Discord sighs, lowering his arm and looking dejectedly at the floor. “I just wish there was something that I could do that would get you to trust me. It's as if you just want me to sit here on my hoof and do absolutely nothing to help." "Actually, Discord, that would be right nice of you," Applejack says, her smile somewhere between a smirk and sincere. Back in Manehattan, it doesn’t take long before terrified shouts and screams echo off in the distance. I can’t believe I’m running towards this. And yet, Doug’s pace increases from a jog to a sprint. He passes storefronts and carts, none with any lights on, just the dim illumination from the streetlights. It’s easy to find which way to follow, given the ponies galloping the other direction, and none pay him any notice as he slips closer to his quarry. In seconds the ground is deserted but for the moans of a half dozen or so ponies on the ground. Pegasi hover above, waiting for somepony brave or foolhardy to be the first to check. Or for screams to come from somewhere else.  “Hey!” Doug yells to one of the hovering guards, the pegasus raising an eyebrow but coming no closer. “Where’s the nearest sewer entrance?” “Sewer?” the guard says, her startled expression quickly turning to one of horror. “You can’t be thinking of going after him!” “Yeah, well,” Doug says with a look of grim determination, “I’m going to try to reason with him.” “You can’t reason with a monster,” the pegasus states matter-of-factly. “Even Tartarus is too good for him.” “Even so, I’m going to try.” Doug’s hands go to his hips. “Which way?” “Your funeral,” the pegasus replies curtly, pointing. Doug looks to the sky as he heads to the indicated door. “Fifteen minutes after midnight.” The pegasus cocks an eyebrow. “In case they need to come looking for me.” She merely shakes her head, but makes a note of it. The entrance to Manehattan’s sewers is much cleaner than Doug would have expected. And easier to get inside, since ponies don’t care for manholes (ponyholes?). The sewers themselves are spacious enough, a single-pony wide walkway next to a several foot deep channel of water, through he has to duck to avoid hitting his head on the ceiling. It looks like they didn’t build to accommodate Princess Celestia (or a minotaur), unlike in Canterlot, merely a short unicorn or large earth pony. Likely the latter. The worrisome thing is the lack of sound. Except for the splashing of his own boots in the cramped but surprisingly well lit corridors, he would have expected at least the scurrying of rats away from the enchanted torch in his hand. One of the few items that responds to voice commands instead of unicorn magic, being made for earth ponies. Even if the maximum brightness setting isn’t much more than a large bonfire, it might be unexpected enough to buy a split second or a missed spell. Then, Doug realizes why, as a lifeless rat floats down the channel. The shadows along the walkway, that he thought were rocks, are the bodies of animals that Tirek must have passed close enough to drain. Then, he gets to a section where the roof seems to have been partially destroyed, and twin lines gouged into the ceiling suggest Tirek no longer fit as easily. He takes a deep breath, the air starting to get quite pungent, as he follows the trail. Discord, meanwhile, has moved over to the planning section, much to Celestia’s dismay. “What’s this one do?” he asks, pointing at a figurine. The tiny pony stands, prancing around on the map.” “It is supposed to be Baltimare’s guard contingent,” Luna snaps, a cobalt aura failing to suppress the dancing. “And we do not appreciate your efforts. Perhaps there is something useful you could do?” “Like what? Teleport him here?” A miniature Tirek appears next to Discord, disappearing just as quickly. “No, you already nixed that brilliant idea. Maybe I could just strap him to a piece of wood like the Romares?” A piece of wood in the shape of a ‘T’ appears, hovering in the air, before it too goes away. “Nooo, you want him captured and contained, not crucified like a commoner.” “Cru-ci-what-now?” Applejack says, though Twilight’s gasp of horror tells her all she needs to know.  “Or maybe I could just detect his magic and tell you exactly where he is? Ugh, there is simply no pleasing you!” Discord huffs, crossing his arms across his chest and pouting, staring into the northeast corner towards Manehattan. “Wait, you can do that?” Rainbow Dash says, only half-paying attention as she does laps around the room. “The detect magic thing?” “Can I detect his magic?” Discord holds a paw to his chest, offended. “Of course I can! I was busy tying everypony’s shoes together in Ponyville when I heard you were talking about me! Such a massive outpouring of energy is so easy to detect even a foal could do it, as long as you know the right frequency!” “And you can do that now?” Applejack says, eager despite her attempt to contain herself. “You could help Doug right now?” “I could do it as easily as-” Discord says, readying his fingers. “Hello?” Doug calls as he hears the sounds of a barricade being destroyed. The deep, triumphant howl of what can only be Lord Tirek echoes just around another bend. “Lord Tirek?” The muffled screams from above cease as Doug comes around the corner, able to behold Lord Tirek in all of his terrible glory. The centaur’s dark gray body and black torso stands at least a head above Doug’s already tall frame. His dark horns, if he wasn’t hunched over, would add another two feet on top of that as they twist to the ceiling. Each of his massive red arms is at least as thick as a pony’s barrel, with steel bindings on his wrists. The blood red face turns, black eyes regarding Doug first with apprehension and then amusement. “I am,” he booms, flashing his sharp teeth in a wicked smile. “Come to try and stop me?” His hands curl into fists, pounding them against each other. “I doubt I could,” Doug admits, managing to not sprint away as fast as he can, “and yet here I am. Would you like to talk?” “Hoping to stall me? Get me to spill all my secrets, and find a way for those pathetic ponies to defeat me? HAH!” Lord Tirek scoffs, his deafening laugh echoing and sending Doug reeling. It takes several seconds for Doug’s blurry vision to clear, only for Lord Tirek to have taken a couple steps closer. “I am curious,” Lord Tirek says casually, shattering the walls and ceiling with his might as he stretches to his full height. “Oh?” Doug asks, eyes widening and hand going to the blue vial. “I cannot detect your magic. But that means nothing, because it is MINE!!” Lord Tirek opens his mouth, a blue beam shooting out directly at Doug’s chest. Discord snaps his claws. Doug pulls his arm back, the beam doing nothing to him, only to stop as Lord Tirek begins choking. He still keeps his arm raised, ready to throw, but can’t tear his eyes away from the sight in front of him. Lord Tirek’s massive hands go to his throat, then his mouth, sputtering as he tries to block the blue beam. Yet it goes right through them, his eyes full of the same terror he inflicted on the ponies he was draining. His bulk shrinks, his skin losing the blood red and turning darker, ending up a mottled brown. His horns recede, no longer twisting spires but thick cones, then no larger than a finger.  Powerless, Tirek’s eyes roll into the back of his head, limply flopping off the walkway and into the water. “If this is a trick,” Doug says as his arm stays readied, waiting several long seconds. Then a mass of bubbles breaks the surface, the listless body drifting on the bottom. “Celestia damn it.”  Doug replaces the vial, quickly dropping down into the sewer. His feet easily reach the floor, Tirek still not moving. He crouches down, staring through the murky depths, seeing Tirek’s mouth hanging open, his eyes unfocused. He maneuvers himself underneath the centaur’s frame, now about his own size, and releases a primal roar. Water explodes outwards as Doug lifts Tirek out of the water, sputtering and shaking his head.  “You…” Tirek weakly ekes out, the centaur’s voice barely a whisper, his head sagging. “You can shut the fuck up. You’re lucky Celestia wants you alive.” Doug turns, glaring at Tirek, though he doesn’t seem conscious any more. “Well,” Doug says to himself as he turns, dropping the dead weight onto the walkway. He pulls the rope out, debating how best to hogtie the centaur, especially if he’s going to have to carry him out of here by himself. “That was easy.”