//------------------------------// // 65 // Story: Seven Lights // by Fresnor //------------------------------// “Are you sure that the name you read was Tirek?” Aegis Flare looked over towards Applejack as they sat in the chariot flying them to Canterlot. While they could have easily flown themselves, a trio of chariots were sent by Celestia to pick up the seven once they were ready to leave. As they were the ones knowing the most about what they were called to Canterlot for, the two orange mares were paired up in one of the chariots. “Yup, and Celestia looked mighty shaky about it, too. Ah don't think I've ever seen her look actually scared about anything before.” The two looked at the approaching palace in worry at what was coming. “That's not good. I've been keeping an eye on everything coming in about him and it's not good. A couple days ago I sent out a Requiem order on him, but if Celestia is worried then that may not be enough. I just hope that what mom gave them will be enough.” On landing the seven alicorns were quickly escorted into the throne room where the other three princesses were and the guard quickly vacated the room. Once the room was clear Celestia's horn lit up as she scanned the room to make sure it was clear as well as putting up a privacy screen around the room. “Thank you all for joining us here, especially with the passing of your granny.” Applejack sadly nodded to the princess before the white mare began explaining the story behind Tirek. As she finished her tale about the centaur and her brother she paused for a moment, allowing one of the other princesses to speak up. “If Tirek is back, then shouldn't we ask his brother for help? He already helped ponies once, so wouldn't he do it again?” Celestia shook her head at Aegis Flare's question before Rainbow Dash snorted. “Would he even be alive? This all happened over a thousand years ago right? So how do we know he hasn't changed if he's even around?” The princess paused for a moment as she looked at the orange mare curiously, as she spoke as if she knew he was around, before answering. “Scorpan is still alive as, like Tirek and alicorns, he is an aspect of the world. As such killing him is nearly impossible. Yet it is impossible to ask for his help as relations between him and Equestria have been strained. No, he is not the one to deal with Tirek.” The rainbow-maned alicorn just smirked before stepping forward. “So where do you need us then? And should we bring the Wonderbolts as well?” Aegis Flare nodded as well and stepped forward to stand by her friend. “The Black Guard is also prepared as well. I've already sent out the orders and select members have already been armed with doses of Alicorn's Bane.” Twilight gasped as she heard the name and turned a gaze of disbelief on the bat-winged alicorn. “What!? But that's the most powerful poison known in the world! Not only that, it is banned as it is said to be able to kill an alicorn, hence the name!” Her exclamation was met with a roll of her friend's eyes. “Mostly banned. My mother is one of the few allowed to even know what goes into it, let alone make it. Though I'm not sure if even that will be enough if he's truly immortal.” Luna snorted as she glanced sideways at her sister. “Poisons alone would not be enough to stop an immortal. I have been shown this so-called Alicorn's Bane, and at the most it would temporarily disable our magic and make us sick. To truly slay an Aspect, it takes a magic of such strength that they are immediately locked away when found.” Glancing around the other mares nodded to her before a quiet voice spoke up. “Um, does that mean that you have something like that?” All eyes turned to Fluttershy, who shrank away from the sudden attention, before looking back at Luna. Her gaze went to her sister who subtly shook her head before taking over the conversation again. “As for what we need you to do, right now that would be nothing. We have a much better choice of who shall deal with Tirek. One whose skills are more fit for finding the imbalances caused by him draining magic from ponies.” As if her words were a sign, a chuckle flowed through the room. “Oh, is it my turn now? I am honored that you are leaving this mission to me.” The mares could only stare as Discord appeared in the room above them. They weren't sure what to think at first and one of them spoke up on that issue. “Um, not to question your judgment, but are you sure that Discord is the best choice? I mean he is easily distracted and his horrid sense of humor often causes more problems when something goes wrong than they solve.” Discord huffed and turned away from Rarity, looking offended, but froze when another voice spoke up. “I trust him.” Rarity rolled her eyes at the comment. “Well of course you trust him, Fluttershy. I mean, you and Pinkie are always around him and know him better. But he is always such a hassle whenever he shows up at the Boutique.” Fluttershy just shrank down before Pinkie put a hoof on her back. “Um, Rarity? Fluttershy wasn't the one to say that.” The fashionista did a double-take as she turned to see everyone staring at Aegis Flare, Discord with his jaw on the ground. The orange mare returned their stares and shrugged before answering their unspoken question. “What? He brought my mother back to me when he could have just left her, lost and alone, on that island. After that, there is little that I wouldn't forgive him for. I don't even mind if a hangs around my sister because I know that no matter what, he won't do anything to hurt her because, at heart, he really is good.” They all were silent at her words, though none were quieter than Discord. He quickly tried to recover as he crossed his arms and turned away. “Well that- I mean- I- But- I have work to do.” Unsure of how to react, the draconequus vanished off to search for Tirek, leaving the others behind. While Pinkie and Fluttershy treated him as a friend, even they hadn't given words that heartfelt and he was unsure how to deal with it. With his disappearance, the group looked at Aegis Flare. “Are ya sure that ya know what ya are doing trusting him? Ah mean ya always are complaining about him and how he keeps bothering ya all the time. Ah would have thought that ya trusted him the least.” The darker orange alicorn shook her head at the lighter coated one. “Eh, it's really not all that bad. Sure he's annoying, and loudmouthed, and could learn to take a hint. But he really is a good being at heart. Though there is something off about him that I just can't figure out.” The interest of the other princesses is piqued as she says this while she continues. “After he first escaped and we sealed him, I spent a lot of time researching him and the nature of chaos, yet one thing never added up. When he tried to stop us he changed all of us with his traps he succeeded with all of us except Fluttershy, yet instead of allowing the chaos of his plan failing, him having a plan odd in the first place, he forced her to conform with what he envisioned. That should have been completely impossible for him as it would have been against his nature as the Aspect of Chaos. I just could never figure out why he seemed so off before we used the Elements on him a second time.” The others looked thoughtful at her words, though Celestia and Luna more-so than the others. They had seen some oddities in the draconequus before, and just hoped that they wouldn't cause any trouble with his search for Tirek. ---------- “I can't believe that ungrateful fool would kick me out. If it wasn't for me that so-called business of his wouldn't have gone anywhere. Who was it that made connections with nobles, who found deals to sell, and who practically ran the place? Me! That's who! And he just tosses me aside for that hick family and their blank-flank foal!” Spoiled Rich grumbled as she marched down the streets of Manehattan, glaring at anyone that neared her. As she passed a dark alley, her ear twitched as she heard a sound from it causing her to pause and look towards it. “Hello? Is somepony there? Ugh, I can't believe that I'm doing this, that Tartarus-cursed stallion and ungrateful whelp are making me question my sanity.” Cautiously the mare walked into the dark alley in search of what she heard. Soon she came across a unicorn collapsed behind a dumpster, causing her to let out a huff of annoyance. “Great, just some drunken bum. Why did I even bother coming back here anyways?” As she turned to leave she was confronted by a cloaked figure who grabbed her around the throat and lifted her up to his face. “What is this? An earth pony weak enough to fall for my attractor spell? Well, I'm not one to turn down a free snack when it shows up unannounced.” The earth pony's eyes widened at being labeled a snack. “Wait, wait! You don't want to eat me! I can help you with all the connections I have. Just name it and I can get it for you!” Tirek's eyebrow rose as he slowly closed his mouth that he had started to open. “I highly doubt that there is anything you can do to gain me the power of the three alicorns of this pitiful country.” As he began opening his mouth, the mare smirked and said two words. “Ten alicorns.” Tirek froze before once again closing his mouth. “What was that?” The mare's smirk grew as she knew she had him by the horns, which she could see propping his hood up. “There are ten alicorns now. Seven of them live in Ponyville along with their entire families. I'm sure you can think of some way for that information to help you, so how about letting me go?” The centaur looked thoughtful before turning his gaze upon the mare who smiled sweetly at him. “Oh, I'll let you go already, but not before I drain you of your magic!” As his mouth opened wide the mare's face took on an appearance of horror as she started to struggle. Yet, due to her sedentary lifestyle, she was unable to summon up the strength to break lose, despite his weakened condition. As a stream of magic slowly flowed out of her into his mouth, her struggles began to die down until she hung limply in his grasp. Once he had finished draining her he looked at her with disgust. “That was the worst tasting magic I have ever found a pony to have.” As he was about to drop the mare, a chuckle echoed through the ally. “Well, that's what you get for sampling Spoiled goods Tirek my boy.” The centaur's eyes narrowed as he recognized the voice and tossed Spoiled Rich to the side, her head impacting the nearby wall hard. “Well if it isn't my old friend Discord. I'm surprised that you are up and about since Equestria is rather normal. Could it be that you are losing your touch? Or did you only now escape?” Discord appeared above the cloaked figure with a frown on his face, his skin crawling at the sight of the centaur. With a snap of his fingers, Tirek was bound in chains, causing him to frown. “What is this? I would think that you would have been happy to see me after all these years.” The draconequus just turned away from him as he crossed his arms. “Well for your information I've been out for a while now. Also, my touch is just fine as you can see, you are way too dangerous to let be especially if your goal is going to hurt dear Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie.” The centaur's eyebrow rose at the names. “Fluttershy? Pinkie Pie? Don't tell me that you are friends with ponies?” The chimera spread his arms towards the captured figure. “Surprise!” Tirek frowned as he looked at the chimera. “So the mighty have truly fallen then? The once King of Equestria has now been reduced to being Celestia's obedient attack dog? What happened to the one that once had the whole world in his iron-clawed grip? I am surprised that someone with your intellect does not see this 'friendship' is but a new form of imprisonment. Clearly you've had to abandon your true nature to stay in their good graces.” Discord just snorted and turned away. “I have done nothing of the sort!” The centaur's smirk widened as he got under the draconequus' skin. “Oh, please, I've seen this before. But he was always weak minded. You are Discord, you are legend, you cannot fall into the same trap that claimed my brother! Help me to grow strong, and be rewarded with something far greater than friendship. Freedom. Once I've stripped these ponies of their magic, nothing would give me greater pleasure than to see their world turned upside down. Who better to do so than the master of chaos himself? Join me, Discord, and reclaim your greatness. Unless, of course, 'pony errand boy' is the role you've always wanted to play in this world.” Discord looked thoughtful and prepared to give his answer before a voice rose up within his mind. “I trust him.” While he recognized Aegis Flare's voice, there was another one just below hers that sounded both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. Along with the voices, came a feeling that he was unfamiliar with that came bubbling up from deep inside himself. He had never really had reason to hate anyone before, yet that was the only way he could describe what he was feeling. “No.” The centaur shook his head in disbelief at what he heard. “What? Are you saying that instead of being free you would rather be a slave to the ponies? A veritable dog?” Discord started growling at the bound being in front of him. “I don't know, but I do know that there is something in me saying that you are the last thing in the world that I would ever work with.” He was about to continue until a sharp stabbing sensation was felt from his head, causing him to clutch at it from the pain. vvvvvvvvvv “Twilight! No!” “Please! Help them!” “No! Get away from them you monster!” “Please Discord, whatever happens in the future. Remember us.” ^^^^^^^^^^ “Who said that? Remember who? Why can't I remember!” Discord dropped out of the air and slammed his forelimbs into the grounds, blasting out a ring of energy. Tirek just stared at him as his eyes slowly widened before narrowing again calculatingly. “What is this? Can the seal be breaking? No, not yet. But soon. If he remembers, but no that will not happen.” The centaur straightened up and pulled the front of his cloak open, revealing a bright red gem in a dark gray necklace with an alicorn adorning it. Focusing, his eyes began to stream a red smoke as the gem began to glow, and the chains around him shattered. “What?!” Feeling his magic shattering was enough to snap Discord out of his fit, but it wasn't enough to save him as his entire body was grasped in a red aura. Moments later his mouth was forced open and his magic was pulled out of him in a stream of black and purple energy. As Tirek drained his magic, his size began to grow until he stood over twice the size of Celestia. As he finished draining the chimera's magic, the gem in the amulet around his neck shattered causing him to lift his hand up to it. “It was a good thing that I found this on that traveling merchant. I was hoping to save it in case the princesses found me before I was ready, but to stop you the sacrifice is worth it.” Discord weakly tried to lift his head, but the strain of being trained kept him down. “Still, you could still be a threat if you should remember, so I'm afraid that we must say farewell.” At that, Tirek's horns began to glow with power as he stood over the draconequus. But before he could fire, he was pelted with darts from multiple directions, causing him to stagger as his magic flickered and went out. “What is this?!” He staggered back a few steps before falling to a knee as a dozen figures appeared around him. “Black Guard! Take him down!” The group swarmed the centaur, only for them to be knocked away as he swept his arms around him. A minotaur in the group quickly recovered and charged in again, only for Tirek to slam his he into his, sending him crashing into the ground below. As the group fought, Discord felt himself lifted up onto the back of another figure. “Let's get you out of here and somewhere safe. I was worried when he made his offer, but I am glad to see that your friends trust in you wasn't misplaced.” Thorax spread his wings as he took off out of the area with Discord draped over his back. The chimera weakly coughed before lifting his head towards the changeling's ear. “Please, take me back to the princesses. They have to know before he reaches them. I can't lose them, not again.” He slowly fell into delirious mumbling as he was carried off by the Black Guard member. Glancing back at his passenger, Thorax slowly nodded before changing course as an explosion rang out behind him from the alley the others were left. ---------- “So that is the last issue of the day. Now, while we are all here we should discuss what to do about Tirek when Discord finally brings him in.” Luna looked around at her fellow princesses as they were gathered in Canterlot for a quick meeting. Since they had learned of his escape they had been meeting up every other day to keep up to date on what was happening. Aegis Flare's wings twitched as she looked at a scroll next to her while Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “How do we even know that Discord's even looking for him, huh? We haven't heard anything from him for two weeks now so how do we know that he is still looking?” Fluttershy sighed at her friend as she had been questioning the decision to send the draconequus for the past week now. “He knows how serious this is, especially since Tirek may even be a threat to him. I know that he can drain magic from ponies, but do we know if he can drain the magic of any other races? Or if Discord having pony parts would be enough for him to be drained?” Nobody could answer the shy mare's question, and they moved on to the main issue. “So what should we do about this terrible creature then? Can we even do anything about him other than toss him back into Tartarus if he is immortal?” Rarity's question was a good one that most of them couldn't answer, though the bat-winged alicorn frowned at that. Celestia remained tight-lipped, and after staring at her for a moment, Luna rolled her eyes. “There really is not much that will work on an immortal, but there might be something else that can be done, is there not, sister?” Celestia looked at Luna for a moment before her eyes widened in realization. “Luna, no! You know what happened the last time it was used so that is not an option!” The others looked at the two in confusion before Aegis Flare spoke up. “Wait, you have something that may be able to kill Tirek? If so then I think we may have to resort to using it.” Gasps rang out from her fellow princesses, while the two elders looked at her in confusion as they heard the hostility in her voice. None of them would have the chance to respond as the doors to the room slammed open, revealing the form of a familiar changeling with a serpentine figure draped over his back, eyes glazed. “Princesses! Sorry to interrupt, but I think we have a problem.” Turning to the side he revealed Discord's form and they gasped at how weakly he seemed as he tried to lift his head. “I'm so sorry. I couldn't stop him. The alicorn amulet, he somehow found it.” Twilight and the two older alicorns gasped at hearing this as they knew about the artifact. “But where could he have found that?! It's a Black level artifact due to its curse and the massive amount of power that it grants!” Aegis Flare frowned at Twilight's words before looking thoughtful. “There was a merchant in Canterlot that ran away before he could be arrested, along with a good amount of his wares. I don't think he was ever caught and if Tirek found him first then that may be where he found it. We may have problems if he has an amplifier like that along with Discord's magic.” Thorax cleared his throat as he settled Discord into a nearby chair. “Well, you won't need to worry about it anymore. The gem on it shattered after he drained Discord. If you haven't heard anything yet then he must still be alive, despite taking a full dozen darts full of Alicorn's Bane. We should send a rescue team out to Manehattan to check on the agents that were facing him while I brought Discord here at his request.” Eyes widened at hearing about the destruction of a powerful artifact, especially with no catastrophic effects to accompany it. Applejack frowned as she thought about the rest of his report. “Wait, Discord asked ta be brought here? Now, why would he go and do that?” Her question was soon answered as said draconequus gasped from where he was sitting as his eyes cleared a bit. “Ponyville! He knows! Spoiled Rich told him everything before he drained her.” His words were met with more gasps as the residents of said town rose to their hooves. Moments later a guard ran in through the open doors, panting in his haste. “Princesses! It's Ponyville! Something is attacking it! You can see the explosions from here!” Alarm rippled through the room before all the occupants were thrown off their hooves from a shock-wave. When they recovered they noticed that one of their number was missing. “Where did Flarie go?” Heads shot up at Pinkie's question as they all looked at the door, and the guard sprawled outside of it. “No! She couldn't be going to fight Tirek on her own, could she?!” Celestia's question was met with deadpan looks from half the other mares at her surprise. “Ya know how she is about her family, and if it really is Tirek then she won't be alone. Tha only reason ah am not after her right now is because ah'm feeling a tad dizzy after her exit.” The others nodded as they collected themselves and prepared to leave before Celestia stood between them and the door. “But you can not go after her! If Tirek really has Discord's magic then he may be able to drain an alicorn now! We must not allow that to happen!” Rainbow Dash growled as she stalked towards the larger princess. “Then what do you expect us to do? Run? Hide? Abandon our friends and families to whatever he has planned for Equestria? If he is strong enough now then that means he wasn't before when you first called us. If you sent us back then, then we wouldn't be having a problem now and I for one am not leaving Flare to fight him alone. I'm going!” With that, she brushed by the shocked alicorn and was soon followed by the others, though Twilight paused to sadly pat her on the shoulder as she passed. Soon only Celestia and Luna were the only alicorns left in the room. “I was wondering when this would happen, sister. I knew that they would eventually overturn one of your decisions like this, I just hoped that it wouldn't be because of a problem that we had thought buried. There may be much that they do not know, but they still may need our help against him.” Sadly the alicorn of the sun nodded to her sister and slowly walked out of the room after the other eight alicorns, trying to catch up to them. Luna moved to do the same but paused as her hoof kicked a scroll that was on the ground. Curiously she picked it up in her magic and realized that it was the one that Aegis Flare had been carrying with her earlier. Opening it for a quick glance, her eyes widened when she realized just what she was looking at. “Oh, no! Is it really that bad?” Looking up from the scroll she frowned before making her way deeper into the palace, making a small detour before following after the others. ---------- “So what are we going to do to try for our cutie marks today? Bonsai tree growers didn't work out that well yesterday. Big Mac wouldn't even let us near the one at your home, Applebloom” Spike rolled his eyes as he followed the Cutie Mark Crusaders through Ponyville, doing his best to keep them out of trouble. He found he often didn't need to do all that much other than let an adult know what was going on, but he still stuck around just in case. The town was rather quiet at the time, even for the early morning, and they were about to find out why as a pair of eyes followed after them as they walked along. Tirek had interrogated a few ponies around the town before draining them and had found that the three fillies he had his eyes on were relatives of four of the new princesses. With them held hostage, he was sure he could easily drain them of their magic in exchange for their safety. He ignored the dragon, though there was something about him that bothered him as he opened his mouth wide in their direction. “How about we try...” Scootaloo stumbled as she suddenly felt weaker before she collapsed onto her side, followed by the two other fillies. Spike's eyes widened as he ran over to their sides and placed a hand on their shoulder. “Hey, hey! Are you three all right?” As he shook them, the ground trembled as the centaur walked towards them. Soon the young drake felt the disturbance and looked up, eyes widening as he saw the figure. “Don't worry, they will be fine as long as their sisters surrender like planned. Of course, you may not be around much longer, something about you just reminds me of 'him' and I can't even the thought of 'him.'” Many looked down on Spike due to his age, but he was much smarter than they gave him credit for. So as the centaur spoke he was easily able to connect the dots. “You! What did you do to them?! You had better undo whatever you did or else you will be sorry!” The centaur's response was to laugh in his face, which was the wrong answer as Spike started to growl. Tirek's laughter stopped when he noticed the dragon start sparking with green flames as he began to grow in size. With a frown, he realized just why the young dragon annoyed him as he was exactly like the one he remembered so long ago, before raising his arm and swatted the growing dragon away towards a nearby building. Before he could hit the building, Spike was intercepted by a red blur, slowing him down. Tirek's eyes narrowed when he noticed the dragon being caught by a large red earth pony, but before he could react he felt the impact of multiple darts in his side, causing him to cry out and fall to his knees. “Argh! Again with these tricks?! Who is it this time with this infuriating poison?!” Looking around he found a unicorn mare, riding with her back half in a cart and a front leg replaced by a peg, emerge from another nearby alley, followed by dozens of other ponies. “So, you must be the infamous Tirek I've been hearing about. Welcome to Ponyville, too bad that this is the last place you will ever see.” Bella Donna nodded to the various guards-members that she had gathered up when she had gotten word of Tirek approaching the town. The ones there were some of the best, while there were many others that had been evacuating the townsponies into safe areas in case the battle started damaging the town. Through all this, Spike didn't take his eyes off the centaur as he kept growling, until a hoof came down atop his head, causing him to wince. “Stop that. Don't worry about him, we'll handle him. You take the girls and run to the farm's storm shelter.” The dragon growled at Big Mac, before slowly nodding and focusing his attention on the trio of fillies. Returning the nod, the earth pony put his weight on his back hooves before kicking off towards the centaur, who was distracted by the approaching guards. Because of that, he wasn't ready for the red missile that collided with his hind legs, sending him off balance and giving the dragon a chance to rush in and scoop up the three fillies. Feeling the claws around her, Applebloom blearily opened her eyes and saw the larger dragon carrying her. While Spike had changed, she easily recognized him after all the time she and her friends had been around him. While her mind was foggy, she had heard much of what was said and to find the dragon protecting them she felt something in her chest just. Yet she was too tired to figure out what it all meant and jet lay her head against his chest as he ran towards the farm with her and her friends. As the dragon was running, the guards-members were doing their best to stop the centaur, but even with the poison coursing through him he easily overpowered them. He didn't try to use his magic right away, yet twenty minutes into the fight he finally reached out and drained one of the unicorns fighting him before throwing him into a nearby building. Bella Donna frowned in thought as he reached for another target before making a split second decision and shot him with another dart, causing him to roar in pain, throwing the pony into the ground instead of draining him. “So it may not kill him, but it does stop his magic. Good to know. Big Mac, how long do you think you can stand up to him?” The large stallion frowned as he picked himself up from next to her as he tilted his head to the size, releasing a large popping sound. “I don't know. I may have picked up a few things from watching Miss Bon Bon, but I still don't know much of what I've been doing. But as long as you can keep him from using his magic I'll do my best.” The mare grinned as her horn lit up and she started summoning her tools from where she had them hidden in her home, as well as a multitude of signal flares. “That will have to do then until help arrives. We're going to need everything we can get to bring him down.” With a nod the stallion charged in once again as the mare fired off every flare she had into the air, hoping that someone in Canterlot was paying attention before circling around the centaur and harassing him from afar while the stallion worked in up close. Despite the advantages of numbers and stopping his magic, the battle steadily went into Tirek's favor as he took out one Equestrian after another. Even with the poison managing to disable his magic, it was only a temporary solution and if the timing was wrong of reapplying a dose, or the dart missed, it allowed him to drain a pony. One by one the ponies fell to Tirek, and the non-ponies were knocked out or worse until there were only two remaining. Big Macintosh and Bella Donna panted as they faced down the giant centaur, being the last two standing, or half standing as the mare's cart had been smashed. They knew there wasn't much time left as the unicorn had unloaded the last of the poisoned darts she had into the monster, leaving them on a clock until their effects wore off. Yet, the didn't have time to worry about this, as the magic eater soon charged in and back-handed the red stallion through a nearby wall, before grabbing the mare's throat with his other hand and lifted her bodily off the ground. “You two have been a thorn in my side long enough. I am beginning to tire of all these apple ponies I have met over the years, always more trouble than they are worth. And there always seems to be an apple pony interfering with my plans, I should just wipe out their entire clan and be done with them. But you? You're different.” The centaur stared into the mare's eyes as she glared back at him defiantly. “It isn't often that I find a pony that is more predator than prey and to actually create a poison that could hinder an immortal? You have my respect for that. Which is why I can't allow you to live else you may actually create something that would actually cause me harm. So this is where we say-” His words were stopped as a whistling sound reached his ears and he slowly began to turn his head towards it. He didn't get very far though as something impacted the side of his head with a shout of rage. “LET HER GO!” An orange blur struck the side of Tirek's head, sending him flying across the street into the building opposite Big Macintosh. Bella Donna barely had time to realize that she was falling before she was scooped out of the air and set down next to Big Mac as he tried to climb out of the building. Looking up she stared right into the panicked eyes of her daughter who tried to reassure herself that her mother was all right. “You two! Get down here! Get my mother and Big Mac out of here, now!” A nearby cloud shook until is disgorged the forms of Rainbow Dash's mother and father who quickly swooped down to carry off the two ponies, leaving the alicorn alone to face off against Tirek. The unicorn groaned as she rubbed at her bruised neck while glaring at the pegasus mare holding her. “I thought I told you two to get out of here?” Eventide only silently chuckled as Tack Harness flew nearby with Big Mac. “Did you really think that we would let you go out there and leave us behind? We may not have been trained like you have, but at the very least we can get ponies out of the area. With help from a couple Wonderbolt trainees, we were able to get all the injured ponies out of the area while you distracted that thing.” Glancing back at the building Tirek was thrown into he watched as it collapsed as the centaur crawled out of the wreckage. “Just what is that thing? And does the princess even stand a chance?” Looking back, the unicorn frowned at her daughter as the ground beneath her began to blacken. “I hope so, or else all of Equestria will be doomed.” ---------- Tirek slowly stepped out of the building he was thrown into as he massaged his jaw. While it hadn't injured him at all, the sucker punch he had received had actually stung a bit, which was a surprise even if he had been weakened by the poison. Glaring around the area, he frowned as he noticed his targets escaping until his eyes alighted on the one that had struck him. The mares back was turned to him, but the horn atop her head and her wings were easily visible to him, which explained just why he had gone flying. “So, it seems that that mare wasn't joking when she said there were more alicorns and that they would be drawn in if I attacked this town. So, may I have the pleasure of knowing the name of the first alicorn that shall be surrendering her magic to me?” He waited for an answer, yet none seemed to be forthcoming as she just stood there. He frowned at the lack of reaction and took a step forward. “Well? Answer me, or do I have to... What?” He stopped when he noticed the ground below the alicorn starting to blacken as if burned by an invisible flame. His question came in though when black flames began to pour out of the mare's hooves, and she turned her red, slitted-pupils on him and let out a ferocious hiss of anger.