//------------------------------// // Time Troubles part 10 Tirekverse: There is Such a Thing as Too Much Magic // Story: Within The Nightmare: Side Stories from the Living Nightmare universe // by Autum Breeze //------------------------------// Part 10 Tirekverse There is Such a Thing as Too Much Magic ___________________________________________________________ The moment we are let out of the portal, Twilight and I spread our wings and Twilight fires a beam, which impacting Starlight just as she’s coming out from hiding behind a cloud to ambush us again, trapping her in a crystal just like she did to us before we found ourselves in that world where the Changeling Invasion had succeeded. We fly over, Twilight glaring at Starlight as hard as I am. “Now more than ever I know how important it is to stop you!” she growls. I glare back. Now that I am whole, I can remember several normal ponies’ lifetimes worth of memories and, seeing all the peace in the past and knowing Starlight self-centred goals threaten that peace? Any hopes she had of redemption in my eyes is small at best. Even Discord never caused the havoc her actions have invoked. I may have helped those three other realities into a much more peaceful time, but many died in those worlds before we got there, all because Starlight wants to get revenge on Twilight for only stopping her from forcing a horrible existence on others. Suddenly there’s a bright flash and Starlight shatters the crystal, floating into the air with her magic. “Well, good luck!” She flies off quickly and we move to stop her. We chase after her though the clouds, but lose sight too fast. “The race!” I shout, turning into a cloud and shooting off towards where it’s happening, Twilight using her magic to keep up with me via teleports. But, just as we reach where the race is happening, as Dash passes by a cloud, a hoof with fur the same colour as Starlight pops out and causing the rainbow-maned filly to lose her balance and go careening downward in a spiral. We move faster, maybe we can reach Dash and get her in the air again in time to— Twilight’s cry causes me to glance back and see she’s quickly being pulled into the time portal again. Growling under my breath, I turn back and shoot over to her, returning to physical form as I’m pulled in with her, dreading what we might find next. ___________________________________________________________ We drop out of the portal and I’m once again left feeling the wrongness of the world around us. But my thoughts are quickly drawn to the shaking ground and sounds of destruction. Looking up, we all pale. Tirek is a giant and using her magic to blast at the Everfree. I pause for a moment, cocking an eyebrow. That’s honestly something I never got, even after Twilight explained how Tirek’s attack happened. Why, after getting all the Alicorn magic, had he just started destroying things? Then again, my new old memories from the centuries past show many would-be conquers who would just destroy stuff for the sake of destroying stuff. “Let get out of here!” I glance back to see Spike holding up the rolled up scroll. I glare at both him and the purple Alicorn he’s riding on. “Belay that action, Twilight Sparkle,” I say with an authoritive tone. “We will leave once I have dealt with Tirek.” “What?” they both cry. “How are you possibly going to stop Tirek?!” Twilight eyes widen at me. “Since I wasn’t an Alicorn in this timeline, the princesses never got a chance to hide their magic. He no doubt took it along with all the magic in Equestria!” I smirk. “Indeed. He does have my mother’s magic inside of him. But, would his body cope with twice its power?” “Huh?” they both cock an eyebrow. “Just watch and enjoy the show,” I grin, before glancing back with a firm expression. “And that is a royal order, Princess Twilight, by the authority of my mother. Do not interfere with what I’m about to do. Equestria’s fate depends on it... probably. Unless I’m wrong, in which case, we can kiss our plots goodbye.” With my piece said, and some trolling that would make Auntie Tia laugh proud done, I fly off towards the rampaging centaur. I’m going to enjoy watching this. Without Discord’s magic, as I doubt he has been freed, thus Tirek couldn’t steal Discord’s Chaos Magic, this will work for me. ___________________________________________________________ Tirek couldn’t wipe the grin from his face as he destroyed the forest around him. After he had taken the princesses’ magic, it had been trivial to take the magic from every single pony in Equestria. Sure, he didn’t have to destroy the forest, but he wanted them to witness his new power and know beyond a doubt that this was their reality. He was now their ruler and would control their whole way of life and there was nothing they could do about it. In fact, when the other nations foolishly tried to come to Equestria’s aid, he would revel in defeating them and taking age of their races’ magic as well. One could never have too much magic, after all. “Hey! Tirek!” He blinked, before stopping his magical fire and turning, only to blink in confusion. Hovering before him was a small black filly, with dragon-like blue eyes and a mane and tail that looked like they were made of stars. However, it was that, the fact that she was flying and that she had wings and a horn that took his attention. “What?” he frowned in confusion. “There’s a fourth pony princess?” The little filly smirked at him, she actually smirked at him. “Uh-huh. But you can’t take my magic. You can’t handle it.” At once his eyes narrowed as he sneered, grabbing the filly in his magic and holding her in place, where she started squirming against his hold. “Wrong, little princess,” he chuckled. “I have already taken the magic from every pony in Equestria, including the three princesses. A fourth Alicorn’s magic is nothing to that.” He activated his spell, opening his mouth and breathing in, but he was not breathing air. The filly grunted and whined as her dark-blue magic was drained out of her. Interestingly enough, once he had taken all her magic, her mane and tail disappeared. Not caring, he grabbed her in his hand as he grew even larger than he already was, shuddering as he felt her magic flowing into him to join the pool of magic he’d obtained. He laughed. “What made you think you could stop me from taking you magic, foolish equine?” he sneered. “Did you really think a foal like you could stop me, when even the older princesses, who have lived far longer than you, could do nothing to stop me?” The now bald of a mane and tail filly struggled against him for a few moments, before she stopped, grinning at him. “You really are dumb for a centaur.” He blinked. That was not the reaction he’d been expecting. Crippling fear and begs for forgiveness were what she should be experiencing and doing. Why was she still so cocky? The filly just laughed. “Do I not look a bit familiar, Tirek? Another Alicorn, with a black coat and blue, dragon-like eyes? Does that not ring any bells?” He blinked for a few moments, before his eyebrow rose a bit. “Nightmare Moon?” The filly shrugged. “Eh, kinda. Sorta am, sorta not.” He laughed. Her ease about the situation was rather amusing. “It would seem all those years on the moon and then separating from your host upon return has done a number to your mind, Nightmare.” “At least I’m not the one dumb enough to put mine and my mother’s magic together.” Her snark retort caused him to pause, before glancing down to her in confusion. “Mother?” She sighed, as if in disappointment. “Wow. You’re lot thicker than I was told. It’s a shame. You could’ve been amazing.” Suddenly, Tirek felt something churn lightly inside him. He glanced down at his stomach, where the well of magic he’d taken was pooled. “What?” The filly Nightmare Moon smirked. “Gotcha.” ___________________________________________________________ Twilight and Spike just gaped as they watched what was unfolding. Tirek stumbled back, letting go of Stellar and clutching at his stomach, before letting out a gut-wrenching scream, before magic exploded from his mouth, pouring out into the sky, before separating into billions and billions of differently colours steams of magic. Both dragon and Alicorn just stared, watching the fireworks displace the likes an beauty of which would never been seen by another soul, not its meanings felt so powerfully. As they watched, Stellar landed before them, her mane and tail back to normal, her magic returned, just as the rest of Equestria was receiving its magic back. “What... what did you do?” Spike asked, his eyes still on the countless sparkling, multi-coloured lights soaring across the skies. Stellar rolled her eyes. “I’d have thought Twilight would’ve figured that out by now.” “I... I think I understand,” Twilight said, though her voice was filled with uncertainty. “Then, by all means, please enlighten our draconic friend, big sister,” the younger Alicorn smirked at the drake. “Luna and Stellar are separate beings, so their magic is also separate. However, their magic is still very similar to each other’s own. When the similar powers collided, both recognized the other and wanted to get away, one thinking the other was going to corrupt it, the other confused by the first’s presence. This resulted in an unstable magical surge within the great pool of magic within Tirek, forcing his body to reject it all.” Spike blinked, before he wore a cross between a deadpan and disgust. “You mean... Tirek barfed magic vomit? “A... little more unsettling a way to think about it than I’d like to think,” Stellar said, looking a little green. “But, yeah, Spike. That’s the gist of it. Though Twilight isn’t completely accurate with her guess.” The older Alicorn turned to the younger, cocking an unamused eyebrow. “Oh, yeah? Well, what did I get wrong; little miss I’ll Just Go Let Tirek Take My Magic Without Explaining it to My Big Sister, When That Could Have Ended Horribly?” The dark filly smirked. “Are you forgetting the super charge my magic got thanks to the Elements back in that Nightmareverse?” Twilight frowned. “No, why?” Stellar rolled her eyes. “Come on, Twilight. You’re smarter than that. It means my connection to the Elements, despite moving to another timeline again, is really strong, because I share yours and all the other Bearers’ blood inside me. Sure, what you said about mine and Mama’s magic interacting the way they did is true, but it’s also that my magic was super charged thanks to the Elements and connected to them all. You really think Tirek’s body could’ve handled that kinda power?” Twilight blinked. Then she blinked again. then she wilted a bit, shuddering. “Um... let’s just go back now to stop Starlight, shall we?” Stellar nodded. “Yeah. This ain’t like before. From what I can guess from Tirek’s words, Mama’s not Nightmare Moon in this timeline, so we can leave them all no problem. Besides, after Tirek’s attack, learning about two new Alicorns, one with a Cutie Mark that looks like the Element of Magic and another that looks like Nightmare Moon, would probably cause more problems for us. So, let’s go.” “Hey, Stellar?” Spike asked as they got onto the table and Twilight took the scroll, ready to cast the spell. “Yeah, Spike?” the filly asked, looking to him innocently. “What’d you do with Tirek?” Stellar smirked. “With my magic freshly returned, I connected to the Elements here briefly and used their power to send him back to Tartarus. Cerberus will be keeping a very close eye on him from here on out.” With that, the portal opened and they were whisked back in time once again. ___________________________________________________________ What the three did not know, is that they had not gone unnoticed. Though her magic had been taken when she and the other pegasi the Wonderbolts had assembled to stop Tirek, Rainbow Dash had made her way back to her hometown of Ponyville, hoping to warn her friends of the incoming threat. However, when she got there, Tirek was already there and taking everypony’s magic. She’d watched helplessly as her friends all had their magic taken away right in front of her. She was the only pony who remained outside as Tirek decided to just start destroying the Everfree Forest. However, when she saw a filly fly up and confront him, she’d feared for the filly, especially when it became clear her magic was being drained out of her. What she hadn’t expected was for Tirek to scream as magic poured from his mouth. As the magic had left him, he’d shrunken until he was out of sight from the treeline. With her Pegasus magic back, Rainbow Dash had taken to the air at once to feel the wind beneath her wings, never wanting to lose her ability to fly ever again, before she began searching the direction she estimated Tirek had been in. As she flew over the partially destroyed forest, she saw no sign of Tirek. However, she did spot the little filly flying over to a pair of others. Looking closer, she was shocked. The filly and the mare were Alicorns and the other one was a small purple dragon. At once, she went into a dive to get to them in time, but the purple Alicorn had cast some kind of spell after the three had hopped up onto what looked like a table with a map of Equestria on it. There was a flash of light and, as Rainbow landed, she had to blink. The table and the two Alicorn and dragon were gone. Just, gone. It was like they weren’t ever even there. “The princesses have to know about this!” she said to herself, before flying off in the direction of Canterlot. Several hours later, Princess Celestia, Luna and Cadance had convened in the location of where Rainbow Dash claimed to have seen the three strangers. When she had described the Alicorns, Princess Luna had become very alarmed. The younger Alicorn had sounded a lot like Nightmare Moon’s description. Cadance had been curious when the older Alicorn’s description was told. It reminded her of her sister-in-law, Twilight Sparkle, the librarian at Canterlot Castle. “Are you sure this is the place, Miss Dash?” Celestia asked, glancing to the cyan mare as they neared the spot which seemed like any other bare spot in the area where Tirek had gone of a magical rampage. The Pegasus nodded. “Affirmative, Your Highness. This is where they disappeared. I don’t know where they went, or why they were even here. All I know is, after Tirek took the filly’s magic, it all came pouring out of him and he wasn’t around when I went searching.” "Interestingly, I checked in with Cerberus and it would seem Tirek is back in his cell in Tartaus. He was curled up in a ball, rocking back and fourth, mumbling something about never wanting to touch magic again." “I don’t understand,” Luna shook her head, frowning at the ground. “If Nightmare Moon has returned, does it mean she has taken over another pony, a foal?” The Pegasus shook her head. “I know the story of your transformation, princess, but that filly was definitely an Alicorn and there are no other Alicorns save the three of you and the one currently growing inside Princess Cadance.” The pink Alicorn squirmed. “I wish you’d worded that differently. You made my pregnancy sound... icky.” “Besides,” Dash went on as if Cadance hadn’t interrupted, “if that really was Nightmare Moon controlling another filly, she’d have lost her hold the moment Tirek took hers and the filly’s magic. On top of which, I know the Nightmare changed you, but I doubt it could turn a pony who wasn’t an Alicorn into one and give it the same Cutie Mark you did after she took over you, princess.” Luna nodded, frowning. “True, the Nightmare cannot turn ponies into Alicorns. Such a spell does not even exist, save the failed attempt by Starswirl the Bearded. But, in that case, it stands to reason that, somehow, Nightmare has gained a physical body of her own. How? And, if she has her own body, why save Equestria when she could have simply killed Tirek, leaving nopony to stand in her way?” “And why was she with an Alicorn that looked like my sister-in-law?” Cadance asked, frowning in confusion. “You even said she had the same Cutie Mark as Twilight. How is that even possible?” Their little conversation was halted. Celestia had just stepped into the centre of where Rainbow Dash and said the table was, and her eyes were wide. “Sister?” “Auntie?” Both younger Alicorns and the Pegasus moved closer, wondering what was wrong. “The tree,” Celestia murmured. Rainbow Dash cocked an eyebrow, but Cadance and Luna glanced at each other, an uncertain understanding entering their eyes. “Sister, you do not mean...?” Luna asked, moving over to stand next to Celestia, but gasped herself when she felt the magical pull. “I do,” Celestia nodded. “You sense it too, don’t you, Luna? Somehow, the Tree or Harmony’s magic is strong, but also faint in this stop. Whilst I cannot say what exactly has happened, the Tree of Harmony had a part to play.” “Do you think they’re still out there somewhere?” Cadance asked, coming over to her aunts, Rainbow Dash just giving a raised eyebrow at the slightly three-sided conversation that she was being left out of. Celestia frowned. “I am uncertain, my niece. However, I think it would be wise to find these three and thank them.” She turned and nodded to one of the Royal Guards, a white Pegasus with a blonde mane, that were all standing in a circle around the area. “Lieutenant?” “Yes, Your Highness?” he said, stopping in front of her and saluting. “I want a team assembled of several of your most skilled knowledge gathers. They are to be assigned to the task of finding these two Alicorns and their dragon companion at once. Equestria owes everything to them for stopping Tirek, however they did it.” The Lieutenant saluted again. “At once, Your Highness.” With that he left, flying off back towards Canterlot to arrange for the team. “We must find them,” Luna said firmly. “I wish to know why Nightmare did not harm our subjects now that she has her own body.” “And I wouldn’t mind speaking with this Alicorn double of Twilight,” Cadance said, a thoughtful expression on her face. “Whilst I do wish to thank them for what they’ve done, I’ll admit, I am mainly curious about the small dragon you said was with them, Miss Rainbow Dash,” Celestia gave a small smile. “From your description, it was a baby dragon. I will also be sending a time to speak with the Dragon King to learn if he has allowed anymore of his kind into Equestria. For a dragon to be so comfortable around two Alicorns, it is curious.” “Yeah. I wouldn’t mind testing my speed against that purple Alicorn, myself,” Dash smirked. “Maybe I finally found a pony who can keep up with me.” With that, Dash returned to Ponyville, whilst the princesses returned to their castles, waiting to learn about these two new Alicorns and their dragon companion.