A Human, a Pony Princess, and a Mistake
Chapter 34: Harmony's End
The Games had gone wonderfully, but now it was time for all the commoners to go home. This presented an excellent opportunity to the rulers of the respective nations of Equuis to gather and discuss politics. Discussions to which neither Tom nor Twilight were invited. Neither was very happy about being excluded when Twilight was ostensibly a princess with equal authority to Cadence, Luna, and Celestia. How many times had Celestia told Twilight that because they were equals now that she didn’t need to refer to the Alicorn of the Day as ‘Princess Celestia’?
No, instead the pair had been demoted to lawn decoration, made to sit around and look pretty without even getting paid for it. At least Twilight was able to rant and rave about the injustice of it all while Tom pretended to be a perfect perky powerful purple pony princess. Try saying that five times fast. Twilight even got to run color commentary on what she thought of all the dignitary’s outfits and didn’t have to worry about an accidental snort of laughter. Some people get all the luck.
Finally, after two agonizing days, the final pair of dignitaries, who hailed from Saddle Arabia, were ready to return home. With a final polite bow to the two Saddle Arabians, they were out the door and Tom collapsed into an ungraceful heap.
“You alright there, Tom?” Cadence asked.
“If you think I’m ever going to stand around for sex appeal for two days while the “adults” talk shop again, you are all sorely mistaken,” Tom growled from his heap.
“We apologize, to both of you. Twilight is an equal in princesshood and if the end of the Games is any indication, Tom will soon be joining us. However, the other nations of Equuis will be slow to recognize your authority. It would have been…troublesome to force the issue at this juncture,” Celestia apologized. That took all the wind out of Tom’s sails.
“I don’t like it, but I understand,” Tom sighed as he summoned the body double for the first time in nearly a week.
“I understand too,” Twilight said softly, “I just…am I really an equal princess? I don’t rule over anything, except maybe Golden Oaks Library and I feel like all I ever did before I became a princess was write friendship reports and act as your personal problem solver for whatever magical mishap occurred that week.”
“We have considered giving you Ponyville as your own personal fiefdom, but Tia tells us that such practices fell out of favor over the course of my banishment,” Luna confessed.
“I imagine that was before the Changelings moved in?” Tom asked.
“Yes, it was. Twilight, to be honest with you, being a princess may seem like it’s all about the land you rule or the people you command, but in truth it is all about helping the common person to the best of our ability. I admit, it is something Tia and I have been able to do less and less of as the years have gone by. I can at least still offer help in the Dream Realm, but Celestia is almost entirely trapped in royal politics. Caged by what is or isn’t considered “proper” for a princess,” Luna let out a melancholy sigh.
“Luna is unfortunately correct. It was an insidious thing that started slowly, but as the first generation of Equestria passed away, we both became placed on pedestals that have only grown more and more distant from our citizens. Luna’s banishment helped her break free of that, at least somewhat, but it is hard to break what is, at this point, millennium of tradition,” Celestia shook her head sadly.
“But you, Twilight, are perhaps more a princess than either of us. Together with Tom, you have continued to aid your fellow beings even after your ascension,” Luna encouraged.
“I haven’t done all that much. It’s mostly been Tom,” Twilight said with a blush of embarrassment.
“And I wouldn’t have been nearly as helpful as I have been if I didn’t have you to teach me and offer me counsel. You’ve never steered me wrong Twilight and you would’ve helped others just the same if I had never wound up in control of your body. Celestia and Luna are right, you’re a true princess by every measure that matters,” Tom insisted.
“They’re right, Little Spark, anyone who can’t see the wonderful mare you’ve become is blind,” Cadence added, throwing in her old nickname from when she took care of Twilight as a filly.
“Thank you all, so much,” Twilight said thickly, overcome with emotion at the outpouring of love and support. Then somewhere a clock struck the hour.
“Sounds like it’s almost time for bed for all of us of diurnal persuasion,” Celestia remarked, “How you work the shifts you do, Luna, I will never know.”
“The Dream Realm sustains me well enough,” Luna shrugged.
“Good night, all,” Tom bade as he and Twilight headed to the room they were staying in.
It was the dead of night and a lone Unicorn stallion was walking down a dark alleyway in Canterlot. He thought he was alone, until he almost plowed into a cloaked figure.
“Very sorry, you came out of nowhere,” The stallion apologized.
“Is he friend or is he foe, the Pony wonders… I can assure you, I am no friend. I am Lord Tirek!” The figure pulled off his cloak, revealing a centaur that appeared half again as big as the Unicorn he was speaking to and with a fair set of muscles, “I will take all that should have been mine long ago!”
Tirek opened his mouth and a jet of Magic came pouring out of the Unicorn’s horn and into Tirek’s waiting maw. Soon the Unicorn’s Cutie Mark vanished and the Unicorn collapsed. Tirek grew slightly bigger and his already well defined musculature became even more intimidating.
Celestia bolted upright in her bed. Luna burst into her room an instant later.
“Luna, I just had the most terrible dream,” Celestia gasped out.
“Why do you think I am here? It was no dream,” Luna reported solemnly, “It was a vision. Somehow Tirek has freed himself of Tartarus and has already regained far too much power.”
“How could he have taken so much Magic already? Surely it would have been reported if Ponies started losing their Cutie Marks!” Celestia fought against her rising panic.
“You know as well as I do that sometimes people slip through the cracks. If a child who just got their Cutie Mark was ambushed while rushing off to tell their parents, if a homeless beggar is drained dry and killed before the body is disposed of…” Luna shook her head, “There are too many ways in which this could have gone unnoticed for as long as it has.”
“Then we must gather Cadence, Tom, Twilight, and Discord. It is our only hope,” Celestia said gravely.
Soon thereafter, all of Equestria’s Princesses, Discord, and Tom were gathered and told of the tale of Tirek and Scorpan.
“We believe he escaped when Cerberus left his post at the Gates of Tartarus,” Luna told the others.
“But that was over a year ago, why are we only hearing about this now?” Twilight asked.
“Tirek is as cunning as he is cruel. We can only guess he has been very careful when selecting targets to drain of their Magic. It is only by the blessing of my vision that we even know now, before it becomes too late,” Celestia answered.
“We don’t have the physical Elements, but we should still be able to channel Harmony Magic, let me and Twilight-”
“No, Tom. As Tirek is currently, I fear he may even be able to consume your Magic. It is too risky to send you and the Elements after him. In this matter, we must place our trust in Discord,” Celestia announced.
“Me? You- are you really saying that you’re placing your trust in me?” Discord sounded incredulous.
“Since your reform, you have been exceedingly helpful already and you have used your Chaos Magic only for harmless pranks and games. You and Fluttershy are particularly close. What reason would we have to distrust you?” Luna asked plainly.
“Well, Ponyville is already strange enough that I hardly have to do anything to liven it up,” Discord protested weakly.
“You act as if you haven’t been assisting the people of Ponyville with their various small troubles,” Luna said patiently.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Discord summarily denied. Luna snorted in amusement. He may try to be subtle, but Chaos Magic tended to be as subtle as a jackhammer to someone who could sense it.
“Discord, please, tell us straight, what’s bothering you?” Tom requested.
“I’m not afraid of Tirek, if that’s what you’re asking. No, I’m afraid I’ll somehow let you all down. Before, when I was ruler of all the lands and all that rot, I thought I had everything I ever wanted. Then Fluttershy opened my eyes. I realized I had always missed one thing: I was lonely. Sure, I could talk with the Tree, but she’s so boring that I couldn’t stand to be in her presence at all,” Discord laughed, “If you had told me millennia ago that I would be concerned over what a gentle Pegasus who might as well be the Tree’s Avatar thought of me, I’d have thought you crazier than I was. Why is Fluttershy different? Why do I get along with her and not the Tree, even though she is mortal?”
“I think you just answered your own question, Discord. Fluttershy is mortal. She’s more than just one note. You’ve done an exceedingly admirable job of breaking out of your basic nature, but the Tree has probably seen no reason to do so herself. You’ve evolved beyond what you were because Fluttershy showed you that no one is truly trapped by their nature,” Tom replied. Discord grew a faraway look.
“Alright, I’ll do it. I don’t know if I’ll succeed, but I owe it to my friends to at least try! Oh, and before I forget, the Tree was being her usual ‘Holier than thou’ self and asked me to give this to you. As if she couldn’t do it herself,” Discord grumbled something under his breath before handing Tom and Twilight the Friendship Journal, only it had been marked under certain segments: Rarity’s Fashion Week, Rainbow’s clash with the Wonderbolts at Rainbow Falls, Pinkie’s showdown with Cheese, Fluttershy’s misadventure with the Breezies, and finally Applejack’s encounter with the Flim Flam Brothers.
“What does this mean?” Twilight asked.
“I haven’t the slightest. The Tree refused to tell me anything, probably worried I would spill the beans before she wanted them spilt,” Discord then knocked a few beans out of his ears, “Although, to be fair, I totally would’ve just to get on her nerves. The only thing I know is that it’s somehow related to that box she sprouted a couple months ago.”
“Something we can deal with after Tirek is safely back in Tartarus,” Tom decided.
“Probably for the best. Who knows how many years it’ll be before the Tree intends for you to crack that mystery,” Discord cracked a few eggs before scrambling them and throwing the whole thing, bowl and all, out the window to become a flock of pigeons.
“Now we just play the waiting game. Once Tirek drains another, Discord should be able to sense it and go capture him,” Luna was clearly unhappy about that, but there wasn’t much they could do. They had no idea how out of date Celestia’s vision was.
A couple of nights later and Tirek was growing bolder. He had just finished draining an unsuspecting Unicorn and spotted another who hadn’t seemed to notice. With a wicked grin, he approached the Unicorn, only for it to reveal himself to be Discord!
Tirek’s mind raced. He was strong, but not yet quite strong enough to steal pure Chaos Magic from Discord himself. A plan quickly began to formulate in his mind. He could only hope Discord was as big a fool as his brother.
“Discord, wait, before you take me back to Tartarus, there is something I must say!” He shouted quickly.
“And what would that be?” Discord knew he held all the cards, so didn’t feel a pressing need to see Tirek back to Tartarus. If the corrupt centaur wanted to say something, then he could do so.
“I was blind when I turned away my brother Scorpan. I thought I alone deserved power, but my years in Tartarus have allowed me time to think. I could have had all the power I ever wanted if I had become friends with the Ponies instead of trying to conquer them,” Tirek was lying through his teeth, but if there was one thing he was good at, it was lying.
“And the Unicorns you’ve been draining dry of Magic?” Discord asked with a raised eyebrow.
“I subsist on Magic as Chrysalis and her Changelings do on Love. It has been over a thousand years since I had eaten when I escaped Tartarus. I was starving,” That wasn’t even a lie. Tirek had altered his own biology with his Father’s Magic to be able to feed on Magic and grow ever more powerful with it, “My hunger demanded I be fed and I regrettably went overboard. I swear, when I am stable, I will return what I have wrongfully taken.”
Discord was uncertain. It had all sounded so very cut and dry when Celestia and Luna had explained it. However, he himself was a prime example of how someone could change for the better. If a Greater Spirit could change his very nature, then why couldn’t a mortal cursed with eternal life come to regret his actions? Could he really consider himself worthy of his friends if he turned away someone who needed help to get back on the right path?
Tirek sensed Discord’s hesitation. It was time for the finishing blow.
“Discord, would you or Chrysalis be here, enjoying the lives you currently enjoy, if someone hadn’t taken a chance on you?” That did it, Discord was won over.
“Very well, I will take you to Celestia and Luna, where-”
“NO! I fear what my hunger may make me do in the presence of such powerful…enticing Magic. Please, allow me to interact with twenty or so Unicorns, that I might passively sate my hunger enough to meet the Princesses without fear,” Tirek requested.
“I…suppose there would be no harm in it,” Discord replied.
“Thank you, Discord, you are a true friend,” Discord lit up at that, the fool. Tirek reached into his cloak, “Please, take this. It once belonged to Scorpan, my brother. Let it serve as a reminder of our friendship.” He pulled out an amulet and gave it to Discord. The idiot was positively beaming as he placed it around his…neck? Body? Whatever.
“Well, friend, let’s get going! The sooner we get you fed the sooner you can meet the Princesses! I’m sure you’ll get along famously!” With a snap of Discord’s claws, Tirek found himself in a field overlooking Manehatten. He also saw twenty or so Unicorns looking around in confusion with Discord facing away from him.
“What’s going on?!” One of the Unicorns shouted.
“Everyone, please remain calm. I just wanted to request your services in helping a friend,” Tirek opened his mouth, “Allow me to introduce- Tirek, what are you doing?!” It was already too late. The Unicorns provided just enough power that he was able to start draining Discord as well. Discord tried to fight it, but his surprise allowed Tirek to easily overpower and drain him dry.
“Thanks for your help friend,” Tirek sneered.
“You…lied to me,” Discord actually sounded hurt, how cute. Tirek laughed in his face.
“Why have a little power when you can have Absolute Power? I would’ve thought the Lord of Chaos of all people would appreciate that?” Tirek taunted. Discord laughed weakly.
“If you think draining this world of Magic will give you Absolute Power, then you are in for quite the nasty surprise,” That seemed to be all the energy Discord had left in him and he passed out. Tirek put Discord’s words from his mind. Now that he had eaten Chaos Magic, nothing could stop him! He would be God of Everything! His hulking frame turned to Manehatten. It was time for the feast to truly begin.
The day found the whole gang in the library of the Castle of the Two Pony Sisters. With Discord taking care of Tirek, Tom decided to get started on the mystery the Tree had presented them with. Everyone was happily chatting while reading various books.
It hadn’t taken long for the brain trust to realize a pattern had emerged in each of the marked passages. In each instance, they had gotten some kind of memento or keepsake. The thread from Coco, The Captain’s Badge from Spitfire, Boneless from Cheese Sandwich, a picture of Seabreeze’s family from Seabreeze, and an empty bottle of the fake tonic. Now they were just looking into how those items might tie into unlocking the box the Tree had produced.
“Maybe if we bring the items to the Tree, she’ll tell us something?” Moon Dancer suggested.
“It’s worth a shot. We haven’t exactly been swimming in ideas,” Rainbow remarked. So the items were all gathered and placed before the Tree. Each one had a rainbow pass over it, but that was all they did.
“You know, if you wanted to be cryptic, you could at least do so in a way that doesn’t completely stonewall us!” Tom grumbled.
“COME ON BONELESS, GIVE US THAT KEY!” Pinkie shouted while vigorously shaking the rubber chicken. Boneless got away from her and smacked directly into the Box. Suddenly a beam of energy snatched up Boneless and he transformed into a key! The beam then pulled the key into one of the locks.
“I can’t be the only one who feels like the Tree is cheating, right?” Moon Dancer asked.
“I feel the exact same way,” Tom agreed, “How in the Nine Circles of Hell were we supposed to know to mash the decidedly not key shaped items into the keyholes?!”
Whatever their personal feelings on the matter, they all placed the items on the Box and they were all transformed into keys and slotted into their keyholes. Of course, there was a single key still missing.
“How was I supposed to have an adventure of self discovery related to my Element when I’m stuck with Tom in control of my body?! How would I even have a moment of self discovery related to Magic?! Am I supposed to suddenly love learning Magic even more?!” Twilight was understandably frustrated. The Tree remained silent.
“We know you can talk, you withered old stump! Answer her!” Rainbow growled.
Before anything else could be done or said, Spike burped up a scroll from Celestia. Discord had failed in his task to stop Tirek. Reports said Discord’s limp body was being carried around by Tirek like some kind of sick prize.
“How could Tirek have overcome Discord?!” Luna shouted in surprise. It made no sense unless Celestia’s vision had been very behind the times. Had they sent Discord as a lamb to the slaughter?
“No time to worry about that now, we have to get to Canterlot!” Chrysalis exclaimed.
“You girls stay here, alert Ponyville, make sure everyone knows what’s going on,” Twilight instructed.
“Roger that!” Applejack replied. Twilight, Tom, Luna, and Chrysalis teleported to Canterlot together and the rest made full speed back to Ponyville.
“What do we do, Celestia? None of us are able to stop Tirek now that he has acquired so much Magic!” Luna asked of her older sister.
“You are correct. No one of us can stop him and he is on his way here to collect our Alicorn Magic. However, there may be two who can stop him,” Celestia’s gaze upon Tom and Twilight left no doubt as to who she was talking about.
“You don’t mean..?” Luna trailed off. Certainly Celestia wasn’t that crazy! But the more Luna thought about it, the more she was certain they didn’t have a lot of choice in the matter.
“I’ve talked it over with Cadence. It is our best chance to make it through this conflict,” Celestia said firmly.
“I’m feeling a little out of the loop. What are you planning to do?” Tom asked.
“When Tirek arrives in Canterlot, we cannot have the Alicorn Magic he is looking for. So, we will simply hide all our Magic away in you, Tom and Twilight,” Celestia revealed.
“Is that even possible? Won’t we, you know, explode?” Twilight asked pointedly.
“You are the Alicorn of Friendship, an aspect of Magic. Tom is likely also going to be an Alicorn of some aspect of Magic. If any are capable of holding the raw power of four Alicorns, it is the two of you,” Celestia explained.
“I won’t do it unless Twilight agrees to it. This is her body and I promised Shining Armor to protect her to the best of my ability,” Tom stated resolutely. The eyes in the room turned to Twilight.
“I think you should have a say, as you’re the one taking most of the risk, Tom, but if you insist that it’s my call, then I’ll agree to do it,” Twilight decided.
“Very well, we will leave everything up to the both of you. Twilight, you have proven yourself capable of saving Equuis before and Tom, I have no doubt you’ll prove just as able. Take our power and confront Tirek as you see fit,” Celestia, Luna and Cadence’s horns all lit up.
“Ah, to Tartarus with it, I’m not an Alicorn, but I’m sure every little bit will help,” Chrysalis spoke up for the first time just as she lit her own horn. All four of their eyes flashed white. The combined Magical power congregated in a huge orb hovering above Tom and Twilight before siphoning down into his horn.
Neither Tom nor Twilight knew what to make of this. It was simultaneously pleasure and pain, agony and bliss. Tom felt every muscle twitch involuntarily and randomly as the huge amounts of Magic tried to acclimate itself to his body as he floated just above the floor. He couldn’t see it, but his mane had gained the ethereal quality that Luna and Celestia’s manes had. Or did have, as the case was.
Removed from their Alicorn Magic, Luna and Celestia both diminished. Luna looking just like the day she had been freed of the Nightmare and Celestia shrinking to match her sister’s size and her mane becoming nothing more extraordinary than a bubblegum pink color, just like one might find on so many other mares across Equestria. The only thing that still set them apart was the presence of both wings and horns.
Cadence and Chrysalis were the least effected visually, but they still looked dead on their hooves. All three Alicorns had lost their Cutie Marks.
Eventually, the Magic inside Tom calmed down enough for him to land on his hooves, but his mane and tail still flowed in an invisible breeze. Twilight bade him to hug those that had just lost their Magic and he complied.
Tom and Twilight returned to Ponyville with the moon high in the sky. It was incredible how easy it had been to teleport from Canterlot to Golden Oaks. His desire had barely registered as a conscious thought before he was outside the door.
“You should raise the sun soon,” Twilight noted as she looked at the clock.
“It’s a good thing Luna taught us how to move the moon. It shouldn’t be too hard to do the same for the sun,” Tom realized he had just jinxed himself as his horn sparked, sending things flying everywhere.
“Tom, Twilight, what happened to you?” Moon Dancer called out as she flipped on the lights.
“We don’t have much time to explain. Luna, Celestia, Chrysalis, and Cadence all poured every bit of their Magic into me. Tirek is sure to come looking for it. We have to evacuate the whole town, immediately!” Tom told her. Moon Dancer grew a hard look on her face.
“Understood, I’ll go wake Spike and get to work alerting Ponyville. You two just do whatever it is you need to do to stop Tirek,” Moon Dancer bolted up the stairs and seconds later came back down with a groggy Spike in tow.
Tom looked up into the sky and focused on the connection with the moon Luna had helped him build. As carefully as he was able, he started to lower it. Suddenly he felt something else surge within him. He could only guess it was Celestia’s Magic. It fought to be used as Luna’s Magic was being used. Tom tried to rein it in, but the sun and moon skittered across the sky like they were drunk for a good few minutes before he was finally able to regain control.
“You have to get better control,” Twilight told him.
“Stating the obvious, Twi, but I can’t do that here in Ponyville. We’ve gotta head out to the Everfree if we even want to let a fraction of this power free without hurting anyone,” Deciding teleporting was too risky in his current condition, he opened his wings. That proved to be a bad idea. Alicorn Magic included a Pegasus component, and with all that extra power, Tom was fast enough that even Rainbow couldn’t keep up when she spotted the flying Alicorn.
Eventually Tom managed to land and surprised himself and Twilight both by not crashing horribly. He did leave a skid trail a few meters long behind him though. He also wasn’t outside Ponyville yet. He took long enough trying to climb out of the hole he made without having his Magic go wild that the Elements caught up to him and Twilight.
“What happened?!” Fluttershy asked.
“Yer mane is actin’ like Celestia and Luna’s!” Applejack observed.
“Hasn’t Moon Dancer told you all to evacuate yet? Never mind, she’s just one pony. Long story short, the Alicorns gave me and Twilight all their power and Tirek is sure to be on his way. Get everyone out of Ponyville before it becomes a war zone!” Tom begged.
“Ya’ll heard him, let’s get to it!” Tom felt a surge of gratitude for the farm pony as she and the others charged off in different directions to warn Ponyville. Tom took off toward the Castle of the Two Pony Sisters, fighting random teleports the whole way.
The Elements plus Moon Dancer and Spike were just seeing the last of the townsfolk to safety when a ground shaking stomping drew near. They all turned and for the first time beheld Tirek. He had grown gigantic with wicked horns sprouting out of each side of his head. He could easily hold three ponies in the palm of his hand. They were afraid, but turned to face him with courage. Discord was limp and lifeless, floating along in a bubble beside Tirek.
“You aren’t going to win, you ugly bastard!” Rainbow snarled.
“You think your precious Twilight Sparkle will save you? Ha! I will take the Magic that is rightfully mine and my takeover of this pitiful world will be complete! She is only delaying the inevitable. Not even my Father will be able to stop me when I am done here!” Tirek declared.
“Sounds like someone had daddy issues~!” Pinkie chirped. Tirek seized her roughly with his Magic.
“Enough of your pointless prattling!” With that, he drained them all dry.
Tom was doing his best to control all the power that was now within him, but between nearly burning down half the Everfree and random teleports across all of Equuis, he hadn’t been able to do much. Now he found himself grumbling in the fissure of a rock.
“I feel like I’m starting all over again in Magic, only instead of a calm ocean of power, I’m saddled with a raging hurricane!” Tom groused.
“Well, complaining about it won’t get anything done,” Twilight sighed.
“PRINESS TWILIGHT, YOU HAVE SOMETHING THAT BELONGS TO ME!” Tirek bellowed
“Ah, shit, we’re outta time,” He used his enhanced strength to burst free of the rock and into the skies. This time he had a better idea of what to expect, so he didn’t go careening out of control.
“You are going to give me what I want!” Tirek ordered as Tom flew circles above his head.
“If I were a pigeon I’d take a shit on your head right about now! I’m not, so I guess I’m going to have to content myself with a hardy FUCK YOU!” Tom shouted. Tirek let loose a blast of magic and Tom accidentally teleported out of the way. He wound up on the bird’s nest of Golden Oaks where Twilight kept her telescope.
Tom got his bearings just in time to see Tirek fire off another blast.
“OWLOWISCIOUS!” Twilight screamed. Tom could sense the owl in the library too. Taking an incredible gamble, he teleported to grab the bird and then teleported out just an instant before the library was consumed by flames.
“He destroyed our home,” Tom said quietly.
“He destroyed one of the most important places on Equuis to both of us,” Twilight felt a fury like nothing she had felt before overcome her. That library represented so much to Twilight, so many good times with friends, a complete break from the anti-social mare she had been before. It had been Twilight’s home for over a year. To Tom it meant even more. It was the only place he had to call home on Equuis. Now it was nothing more than burning splinters. Tom shared in her righteous anger. They were of one mind. Tirek needed to pay.
Suddenly it was like the Magic had never disobeyed him at all. Their combined rage gave the Magic focus. The Magic of four Alicorns and a Changeling Queen sang in every fiber of their shared being, down to their very Souls.
Twilight supplied the spells and Tom the moment to moment battle plan. Together they threw everything they had at Tirek. The intellect of one of Equuis’ greatest minds mixed with the brutality of a vengeful Human.
Tirek didn’t stand a chance. He was battered by spells, assaulted by Rainbooms, and pummeled by bare hooves. He tried to fight back, but every blast of his was met with equal force, canceling it out. Every time he tried to swat at the annoying Alicorn she either teleported away or slammed into him. Finally Tirek was on the ground and Tom let loose a beam of pure Magic, drilling Tirek into a crater.
Unfortunately, while Tirek couldn’t fight back, Tom and Twilight couldn’t seem to inflict lasting damage either. Not without actively trying to kill him. They were furious, but not ready to kill.
“It would seem we’re at an impasse,” Tirek admitted sourly, “How about a trade?”
He summoned bubbles containing Moon Dancer, Discord, Rainbow Dash, Spike, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Applejack. They looked like they had been beaten. Tom and Twilight both instantly saw RED.
“You care for your little friends, don’t you Princess? Then their safety for-” Tirek never got to finish his offer.
Tom and Twilight Surged as One and their only purpose was to end Tirek. They roared in an unearthly voice.
"NO ONE HURTS MY FRIENDS!"
The bubbles containing them popped as Tirek fell under attack. They all fell to the ground, but none were hurt by the fall. They looked up and they all stood spellbound as they watched their friend ruthlessly attack Tirek. Discord was the first to snap out of it.
“I’m sorry I let it come to this. I let him trick me,” Discord said sadly.
“We can talk about it later! Right now Tom and Twilight need help!” Moon Dancer was about to say more when the amulet Discord was wearing shimmered with a rainbow.
“ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!” Everyone shouted.
“When this is all over, I am going to have a strongly worded chat with that overgrown weed!” Discord swore as they all rushed to the Tree of Harmony. Discord placed the amulet on the Box and sure enough, it became the last key they needed.
The Box opened and Harmony Magic enveloped Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and to everyone’s shock and to the horror of one draconequus, Discord was also enveloped.
When the light faded, they all came out looking like toys for small fillies. Even Discord. The Elements weren’t too bothered by it, but Discord looked downright furious.
“If this is your idea of a joke, Tree, then you need a new sense of humor,” He said sourly. The Tree then whispered something in his ear that made absolutely no sense. What did she mean ‘Magic is Missing’?
“You two can have yer spat later; we gotta help Tom and Twilight!” Applejack called out. Following her lead, the group rose up to find Tirek still getting pummeled.
The centaur looked very much worse for the encounter. His horns were cracked in several places, his nose was bleeding profusely, maybe even broken, and he looked like he had lost more than one tooth. That wasn’t even getting into the litany of other injuries scattered across his body.
“Hey, Twi, Tom, the cleanup crew has arrived!” Rainbow called out, but they didn’t seem to hear her. The Elements shrugged and let the Harmony Magic do its work. Tirek was unable to defend himself and he rapidly shrunk down into a weak, elderly looking form.
Even with the centaur defeated, the purple Alicorn descended on Tirek and began to wail on him with their bare hooves.
“Darling, he’s beaten, it’s over, and you can stop now!” Rarity cried out.
“NO! NOT UNTIL HE GIVES THEM BACK!” Came the hoarse screaming reply. Something was deeply wrong here. Applejack and Rainbow forced the purple Alicorn away from Tirek’s battered form. As soon as they were away from him, the purple Alicorn broke down in what sounded like soul rending agony. They were howling in anguish and tears flowed freely from tightly closed eyes.
“Tom, what’s wrong?!” Fluttershy asked.
“They’re gone! They’re gone!” Was the wailing answer she got.
“Who’s gone?” Rainbow asked in confusion. Suddenly Discord got a horrible feeling. He Looked and what passed for his blood ran cold. The Tree’s message suddenly made horrible, grim sense.
The Alicorn’s eyes snapped open, one green, one purple, “THEY’RE DEAD!”