//------------------------------// // 28 - Tirek Strikes Back // Story: Chasing Treasures // by Yukito //------------------------------// Daring Do and Doctor Caballeron moved through the ship without much difficulty. For whatever reason, the crew had been receiving false information about where the intruders were located, which gave them plenty of chances to either sneak past, or to surprise their would-be assailants. Whenever they were ambushed, the weapons they stole from the armoury made quick-work of their enemies. Together, the two had reached the controls for the launcher fitted onto the freighter. And there, they were greeted not to a team of armed soldiers prepping the launch, but to a single man, his laptop hooked into the console amidst a sea of corpses. “Who are you?” Daring Do asked, pointing her gun at the man. “D-Don’t shoot!” the man cried. “I would raise my hands but I’m kind of busy at the moment!” “You are one of Tirek’s men, if I am not mistaken,” Caballeron said. “‘Dexter’, correct?” Dexter adjusted his glasses, nodding as he glanced at his laptop’s screen for just a moment. “I work for Scorpan now. He and Tirek had a er… ‘falling out’, and Scorpan forced me to help him sneak into their ranks!” Dexter sighed. “If Tirek ever found out, I’d be killed for sure!” “So what are you doing here?” Daring Do asked. “Isn’t it obvious? I’m rigging the launch so that it will hit Tirek.” Daring Do gasped. “No! You can’t do that! You’ll hit innocent civilians, too!” “A small price to pay to ensure Tirek’s death,” Dexter argued. “And Scorpan’s, too. Then I’ll be free!” Daring Do shook her head, her finger inching towards the trigger of her gun. “Stop the launch, now. Or else.” Dexter moaned. “Come oooooon! The people there are dead anyway! There’s no way they can beat Tirek!” Caballeron hummed in thought. “A small price to pay for Tirek’s demise, indeed.” “Don’t you dare, Caballeron!” Daring Do warned. “However, there is no guarantee of success, and so I would rather you not squander this resource.” Dexter’s clenched fists trembled as he reviewed the data on his laptop. “It’s worth a chance though, right? Even if I miss, there’s still a good chance he’ll be caught in the blast! Tirek’s a monster! There’s no way I can pass up a chance this great!” Daring fired at his leg, causing him to fall to the ground. “Thanks for helping us get here. Cutting the power and sending out those fake reports. We’ll take it from here.” “Fools! You don’t know what you’re getting yourselves into! You don’t! Tirek will come for you next, and he’ll kill you both! Don’t you see that?! GAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!” Daring Do approached the laptop, and motioned for Caballeron to do his thing. “I’ll take my chances. I’ve come out of bigger gambles alive.” She smiled. “And this time, I even have one hell of a crew.” Sunset stared in absolute horror. Bon Bon’s aim had been perfect, she could tell that much. But a glint in Tirek’s eye at the last second alerted him to the coming shot, and he ducked just in the nick of time, avoiding a fatal blow, but still sustaining damage to the top of his head. As Tirek rose once more, Sunset saw that his anger had been increased tenfold. His eyes glowed red, his body was coated in a black aura, and the ground trembled beneath him. And then, he laughed. “You… tried to kill me? Tried, to kill… me?!” Tirek’s aura exploded, and he reached for something inside of his jacket. “FOOLS! INVALIDS! I will show you the folly of your ways without mercy!” From within his jacket, Tirek pulled out a small brown bag. He opened it, and Sunset felt a great force from within pulling him closer. “W-What is-” “ALL OF THE WORLD’S MAGIC, BE MINE NOW! I, Lord Tirek, command it!” Bon Bon fired another shot, but this one was deflected by a shockwave fired from Tirek’s mouth. Tirek then lowered the bag, faced the tower, and opened his mouth… A blast of magic shot forth from his mouth, and it destroyed the tower. Sunset watched as it crashed-down in a blazing glory. “BON BON!” “And now, your magic!” Tirek shouted, opening the bag and pointing it at Sunset. Sunset felt herself being pulled towards the bag, and suddenly felt her power being drained. She fought to pull it back, and resisted the pull of the bag, but she could feel herself slipping. She looked at Tirek, and noticed that he was growing bigger with each second that passed. Sunset pointed her gun at Tirek’s face, and he narrowed his eyes. She knew that he would not be able to defend himself so long as he kept the bag open… so she fired. Tirek closed the bag, bringing his hand to his face and deflecting the bullet with a shield. Sunset took the chance to run away, staring at the pistol in her hand. “Wow. I guess you really did save my life, huh?” He wasn’t about to let Sunset leave just like that, though, and so Tirek opened his mouth, firing a beam of energy that chased Sunset, tearing-up the ground behind her and forcing her to fall to the side as it caught-up. Picking herself up, Sunset found that Tirek was now standing over her. He pointed his bag towards her once more, ready to open it. But he never did. Instead, he jumped back, avoiding the white light that came crashing down from above. Sunset looked up, and found two figures descending. They landed, and both Celestia and Luna stood facing Tirek, their horns flaring and their wings spread-out. A spotlight joined them, keeping Tirek illuminated as Shining Armor hovered above him in the helicopter armed with armour-piercing rounds. “Give it up, Tirek,” Shining Armor said, his voice carried by a megaphone. “You’re surrounded.” Tirek looked behind himself, finding Cybil approaching him with an army of his own dogs, tamed anew by the beastmaster. He wondered where his men were, only to find his answer as he saw the golden-armoured ponies subduing what remained of his fighting force. Shining Armor glared at the man below, his finger twitching over the gun controls. “Princess Celestia, this is your land. Therefore, I require your permission to kill.” Tirek turned to the two horses, his blood boiling. The white one nodded, and his eyes widened. “NO!” he shouted, opening his bag and sucking in the latent magic all around himself once more. “Permission to kill!” Celestia shouted. Shining Armor pressed the switch, and the gun fired, but with the turbulence created by Tirek’s magic-vacuum, his aim was not true. He struck the ground and a few buildings, but Tirek escaped unscathed. “Blast!” “Good idea,” Tirek said with a grin. Closing his bag, Tirek took in a deep breath… and then, all at once, he released the magical energy that he had absorbed, creating a shockwave that spread around himself and produced explosive results. As the smoke cleared, Sunset looked around for survivors of the attack. She found Celestia and Luna, surrounded by a barrier created by the latter’s magic, whilst the former had used her magic to pull in Shining Armor and Cybil. She gasped, and turned to the clock tower. “Bon Bon…” “Don’t let him get away!” Shining Armor shouted, wincing and clutching his bleeding shoulder as he fell to his knees. Sunset turned around, and found Tirek - now back to his normal size - fleeing to a jeep. He jumped into it and started the engine. “After him!” “But-” “They will be fine!” Luna shouted as she released her barrier. “My sister and I can tend to their wounds! We will be right behind you!” “GO!” Shining Armor repeated, and Sunset nodded. As the jeep left, Sunset raced towards a motorcycle and hopped onto it. She turned the key that was in the ignition and sped off after Tirek thankful that Equestria had no concept of speed limits. Thought their roads certainly left a lot to be desired. As she chased Tirek, she saw him going into the Everfree Forest. She chased him inside, using her magic to blast away obstacles and clear a path. She gritted her teeth, slowing down as she realised his sturdy jeep was better-suited to this rough terrain than the bike she had commandeered. Still, even as she lost him, she knew where he was going at this point: the portal. She sped towards the large pillar of light in the distance. Back to the other side. She reached the portal and crossed through it, arriving on the island that housed it in the other world. To her horror, she noticed that the entire black ops team that had been assigned to guard it had been killed, and to make matters worse, the Sage’s Stone was missing from the pedestal that stood at the foot of the portal. “Sunset Shimmer!” Sunset turned to find Daring Do approaching the island in a speedboat. She hit the shore and embarked onto the land, approaching her friend. “What happened in there?” “We failed to kill Tirek, but we did force him back to here.” Sunset looked around. “Where’s Caballeron?” Daring Do shrugged. “We got separated when we fled the freighter. He does this all the time.” Daring Do shook her head. “Forget about that! Tirek came back through here and he fled, taking the warhead with him!” “Where did he go?!” Daring Do pointed out to the sea, and Sunset narrowed her eyes to find the freighter in the distance. “I was just about to find out. You in?” Sunset grinned, shaking Daring Do’s hand. “Oh, I’m in. Let’s finally end this once-and-for-all!”