MLP:FIM Twilight's Kingdom (What if?)

by kahnac


An unexpected Challenge

It had already gone well into the morning in Canterlot. But the only thing was: the sun had yet to actually rise. For Shining Armor, who was currently on patrol with two guards after he had arrived with Cadence in regards to an international incident, this was a most peculiar thing. In all the years he had known Princess Celestia, and for the recent amount of time he's known Princess Luna: the prince had never known them to be so.....lacking in their duties as to let something like this happen. But he felt it best not to jump to conclusions. After all, with recent events going on, he figured it was possible that the solar, and lunar princesses may have been feeling a bit stressed out. And as such, simply forgot to begin their morning cycle immediately. His mind quickly relaxed once again, as he thought that it was no big deal, and the sun would be up in a little bit, even if it WAS a bit late. There was nothing to worry about.

Or so he thought, until he was met with a most peculiar sight as he, and his guards were moving to the exit of the castle: both the moon, AND the sun moved once more, but not as they should. Both moved around the sky as if they were illuminated points made from a unicorn's illumination spell, or a spotlight. After a few minutes of the celestial bodies just swishing, and flicking across the sky, the sun finally took it's proper place in the morning sky. Unfortunately, this did not alleviate Shining Armor's feelings. He was willing to believe that the lateness of the setting moon, and the rising sun was just stress - but now, after this display, he knew something was clearly wrong. And his mind raced with a single question which was now plaguing him endlessly: "What's happening with the Princesses?" As he kept looking up to the sun in thought, with a concerned expression on his face, something else suddenly happened behind him while he wasn't looking: his two guards began mysteriously floating up into the air, as if they had lost all control, or sense of gravity. A few moments later, and they disappeared into the air. Shortly after, Shining's helmet suddenly flashed in a bright light, much to his own surprise. But not long after, the culprit behind it was revealed as Discord: the spirit of chaos himself.

"Shining Armor! Why whatever are you doing here?"

The draconequus spoke in a mock friendly, curious tone, while he got in close with Shining Armor all while wearing the prince's helmet. But Shining himself was NOT happy to see the chaotic fiend: seeing as how he had turned against all of equestria, and joined forces with an evil being who had escaped from the realm of Tartarus, and thanks to Discord, had stolen the magic from nearly every pony in Equestria. By all accounts, he had betrayed all of them for something else. Shining quickly jumped away from Discord's grasp, and assumed a defensive stance while speaking in a rather threatening tone.

"Back off, traitor!"

"The only one Discord betrayed was himself!"

Almost as if on Que, a third person had just arrived on the bridge they had been standing upon. And although at this point, one pony were to look straight at him, they would at first mistake him for another pony, or at best, a bovine. But if they were to look up the massive, muscular form, they would be sorely mistaken. Because this being was unlike anything seen before in Equestria: he was tall, about Discord's height. Perhaps even taller. And like the disharmonious spirit, he was a mixture of a few different creatures with his lower half being that of a dark, blue horse with cloven hooves, and his upper half resembling a minotaur, except his upper body was pitch-black while his arms, and face were bright red. His horns were far longer than a minotaur, and were well-curved in their appearance while also looking as dangerous as they were. The burly beast also had a pure-white beard, and a silver brace/collar slung over his chest, and shoulders while a peculiar medallion was worn around his neck. And lastly, his eyes were black as night save for the piercing yellow pupils that showed pure malice within. Undeniably, this was the demonic centaur who had escaped from Tartarus itself, and had convinced Discord to join his side to take the magic of every, living being in Equestria: Lord Tirek. And as he finished draining the magic of one of the guards that had briefly vanished, his attentions soon turned to the former guard captain who now stood opposite of him.

"Abandoning his true nature to make "friends" with weak-minded equines who offer him nothing!"

Seeing the demonic entity standing before him, Shining Armor's expression hardened and he assumed a full-on battle stance. Cadence, and the Princesses had warned him of the monster that stood before, and that he was extremely dangerous. But the ever brave, and loyal prince didn't retreat, even though he was outmatched by the two fiends present. He stood his ground, and addressed the dark centaur standing before him.

"I take it you must be the one called Tirek?"

Tirek's eyebrow lifted in intrigue when he heard the "guard pony" referring to him by name. He imagined word must have already been sent to the princesses of his, and Discord's actions by now. Which he began to consider might mean they did indeed already expect them. And they might have been planning something for him once he arrived. Which means he may need to enhance his plans somewhat. And as he looked at the pony before him.....who did look somewhat "important", an idea popped into his head. One which made him grin with malice, as he spoke once more, humoring Shining Armor with his statement.

"Yes. I'm pleased to see that my reputation already precedes me."

"Funny: you kinda shorter than i imagined you to be."

Suddenly, Tirek's calm demeanor vanished for a moment as he quickly grew annoyed from the obvious insult. Already, he could tell this pony was a talker, and he didn't like that one bit. Though Discord couldn't help but chuckle a bit at the display, while he tried keeping it under control.

"Well, you certainly have some mouth to you, little pony."

Then, almost without warning, Shining Armor fired a beam of magic directly at Tirek with the hope of at least getting a shot in at the demonic centaur. Unfortunately, Tirek was far quicker, and actually caught the beam in his hand. Crushing it into a mystical ball, before eating it like it was some kind of candy. Another smile crossed his face as he actually took in the notion of this pony guard actually trying to not only take him by surprise: but actually take him on. Practically every pony who encountered either froze from fear, or pitifully attempted to flee for their lives. But not this one - this one had a fire in his eyes that burned with conviction, and determination, with a slight hint of anger. And when he saw that, Tirek actually seemed to be quite impressed, as he chuckled in amusement at the idea.

T"Oh, my. It seems you also have spirit for somepony so small. And i can see no hint of fear in your eyes: just a warrior's spirit. Good. I can appreciate that in an opponent. Now, little pony-"

"My name is Shining Armor, Monster!"

Tirek: "Heh. Very well: Shining Armor. Now, tell me something: who are you, specifically? Out of the other guards we've taken care of, you seem to wear a much more....sophisticated set of armor than the others. Perhaps that of a Captain, or maybe a commander. Clearly a high ranking, militaristic position. Is that it?"

This time, he was met with silence as Shining Armor simply kept up his defensive stance. It would appear that he was done talking now, and was prepared for any action which might occur. This did not go unnoticed by Tirek, as he decided to probe a little further.....and also try to get under his skin.

"Or could it be, perhaps, that you're merely some decorated soldier who only represents how truly weak this wretched nations defense truly is. Especially if YOU are what stands between us, and complete control over Equestria."

For all the talk of supposed weakness, Shining Armor refused to give Tirek the satisfaction of a response. He just kept his guard up, with his eyes slightly more narrowed than before, and his horn slightly charged for attack. And for his efforts, he was rewarded with a small growl which escaped from Tirek as his patience seemed to wear thin.

"Still you remain silent? Either you're at some loss for words.....or you're actually stupid enough to think you're somehow better than me. Well, "Shining Armor", i can promise that if you live to see what's to come: that mindset will bring you to a bad end. Maybe even sooner than you think."

"Oh, don't take it too personally, Tirek. He's just posturing to make himself seem tough. He did that with me when i first escaped my stone prison, and tried to pay Celestia a little.....visit. Though i could say that him now being a "prince" might have given him a bigger-swelled head than before."

After hearing this interesting bit, Tirek grew even more intrigued with the pony standing before him, who was now glaring at Discord for revealing who he actually was. Unfortunately, now Tirek's devious grin returned as he thought of just how perfect this was.

"Really? A Prince, is he?"

"Yep. Of the "great" Crystal empire, along with his lovey-dovey smoochums, princess cadence."

And then it clicked. As Shining Armor could worriedly see for himself, the wheels in Tirek's mind were turning, and he was now thinking of something Shining knew could not be pleasant by any means. His concern seemed to be more justified as Tirek let out a dark chuckle as he slowly made a mocking bow to the former guard captain while Discord openly laughed at the display.

"Well, then, "Your majesty", it appears that you may be far more useful to me than expected..........once i take your magic, of course."

Hearing the obvious threat presented to him, Shining Armor's horn surged with magical energy once again. Whatever Tirek had planned, he was NOT going to make it easy for him. Not by a long shot.

"Forget it! Whatever you have planned, i'm not gonna let you use me as part of it! As Prince of the Crystal Empire, and former Captain of The Royal Guard: i will take you down myself, here and now!"

"Hmm? Is that a challenge?"

"You better believe it is."

Suddenly, a bright flash appeared beneath Shining's body, and revealed a bunch of shackles clamped around his legs, and halted his movements. As he futilely struggled to get out of them, he heard a tsking sound which he looked to see coming from D"I should iscord himself.

"Sorry, Shining, but i think it's best we simply get this over with, and move onto the princesses already. After all, it's rude to keep them waiting like this when they're already expecting us."

Though his struggles lessened, the glare he now gave Discord did not.

"Let me go, traitor!"

"Now, now: you wouldn't want to hurt yourself, would you? You won't have your baby sister to come help bail you out this time."

Shining simply growled in response to Discord's jab at him, and he tried getting out once again. But before he knew it, the shackles suddenly grew red hot, somehow without burning Shining's fur and skin, before melting off him completely. Both he, and Discord were confused for a moment, before they turned to see Tirek, a glowing magical orb which resembled lava between his horns slowly vanish, while the centaur kept a neutral expression on his face. Of course, Discord was still a bit confused on Tirek's actions, not to mention the fact he could actually cast his own magic aside away so easily. Perhaps his power may rival even Discords own, and he had no idea. Nevertheless, he decided to address the issue himself.

"Uh...Tirek? What are you doing?"

"I should think it's obvious, Discord: the prince here has issued a challenge to fight me, and i am going to accept it."

Surprisingly, Discord actually felt a bit concerned about Tirek's proclamation. Even with the time he spent with him being short, Discord could tell Tirek was not a merciful individual. And if he was really going to do this, there was a chance he would seriously hurt Shining in some way. And even though he never really cared that much for him, even Discord didn't want any pointless harm to come to anyone. So, with the hope of not making Tirek suspicious of him being concerned, he decided to subtly question his motives.

"Oh, come on. You don't really want to waste your time beating up somepony like him, do you? Either one of us could deal with him so easily, it's hardly worth the effort."

But in spite of Discord's attempts to persuade him, Tirek was undeterred.

"Perhaps....to some. But i love a good challenge when it's given. Also, this one isn't all that weak: his power is higher than any of the average ponies i've drained so far. This MIGHT give me a chance to test a bit of my strength against one who isn't afraid to fight."

Of course, Discord wasn't willing to give up so easily, and tried once more to convince Tirek not to do this.

"But....the princesses are inside, waiting for us! We can't waste time on one, single pony who's hardly even a threat to us. It would be a waste to kill him."

At that, Tirek's eyebrow raised at Discord who wasn't sure what to make of it. If he was afraid Tirek may have suspected him, he was pretty good at hiding it.

"Who said anything about killing him? I simply intend to soften him a little before i take his magic. I never waste what could be of use to me. And besides: the Princesses aren't going anywhere. Especially since they know we would simply find them again, wherever they hid...........unless you still care for their safety, Discord. Is THAT why you're against this?"

"Wh-what? No! No, of course not!" Discord stammered "I just....feel that we have...bigger fish to fry, is all. But.....if you really want to do this, then go ahead. Just don't do anything drastic, please."

"Heh. Discord, my friend, you have my word that i won't kill the little pony.......but remember: you would be surprised what you can live through."

Upon hearing this, Discord silently gulped from worry towards the implications his companion just made. But nevertheless, he backed off, and stood to watch the spectacle about to take place. He did his best, and this would have to suffice. Meanwhile, Tirek returned his gaze to Shining Armor, who had just been standing around, listening to the debate between him and Discord. When he saw Tirek look to him once more, he returned to his battle-stance, with his horn charged up again. Seeing this, Tirek's dark smile returned, and he was quick to address the royal before taking any other action.

"Are you sure you still wish to do this, little pony? Oh, i'm sorry: "Shining Armor". While i am eager to do this, i assure you there's no shame in simply giving up. Stand aside, let me take your magic, and let me get to the princesses, and i promise to go easy on you."

"Do your worst! Even if it means i have to die, i won't let you pass. I will protect the princesses with my life. On my honor as a soldier, AND a prince."

After listening to Shining's words, Tirek's expression returned to a neutral one. Also, his head lowered so his face was obscured. Though he kept his guard up as best as possible, Shining still let curiosity get the better of him, and slowly approached the centaur. He wasn't sure what Tirek was doing, but he was a little eager to find out. Sadly, everyone knows what happens to those who are too curious - suddenly, Tirek glanced back up, a manic expression on his face, and his magic went off once more. Suddenly, Shining realized what was happening, and was about to move away as quickly as possible. But he was too late. He soon found himself in the grip of Tirek's own magic, and was soon suspended in the air, coming face to face with the demon's nightmarish expression.

"Then let the games begin!"

Quicker than Shining could tell, Tirek thrust him off of the bridge, and into a nearby building on the grounds below. Luckily, before he made impact, he activated his shield to keep himself safe. He was unharmed, though he nearly felt the wind get knocked out of him. To his shock, though, Tirek also was quick to come down, as he had suddenly slammed down into the ground, leaving a huge impact crater where he stood. Once the dust cleared, and Tirek had his sights set on Shining, he bore a look of anticipation for what he figured would be an amusing fight. Shining, meanwhile, was back on his feet, and was ready for combat. He had even conjured up a sword to help make things easier for himself. Which was good: because he would need all the help he could get.

Tirek made the first move as he fired a strong beam of magic at Shining. The stallion was quick to block it with his shield for a few moments, before he made a charge directly at Tirek. He made a huge leap in the air before swinging his sword down at Tirek's head. But the centaur was quick, and he blocked the blow with the brace on his arm. Shining then began swinging the blade several times hoping to hit Tirek at least once. Unfortunately, Tirek simply blocked the blows one after the other. It seems that in spite of his huge, brutish appearance, Tirek was actually much quicker than he seemed. And after he caught the blade in his hand during the last strike, he pushed his hand towards Shining, which seemed to glow with mystic energy, and pushed the prince backwards several feet. As Shining got back up to his full height, Tirek looked at the blade in his hand with an intrigued expression, before he tossed the sword back to its owner. He then spoke in a tone of genuine praise to his opponent.

"Very impressive, young one. Your skills are certainly more impressive than i assumed. It looks like not every one of you equines is as weak, and pathetic as i thought."

Though there was some praise, the insult Shining practically received far outweighed it. But then again: any praise from an enemy would be considered some form of insult. Nevertheless, he felt the need to rebuke the demons harsh claim concerning other ponies.

"Don't go underestimating us, monster! We ponies are alot of things: but we are NEVER weak! Something you find out soon enough."

Before Tirek could respond, both his, and Shining's attention was diverted by a distressed cry coming from the left. As it happens, a pony couple was seen out in the open, no doubt trying to flee when they felt Tirek landing. But when they looked, and saw the demon standing but a few feet away from them, they stood frozen in fear. They had never seen anything like this, and his appearance alone was enough to scare them. Tirek took pleasure in seeing them so terrified, but even moreso when an idea popped into his head as he looked back at Shining, with a cruel smirk on his face. At first, Shining was a bit confused. But as he looked from Tirek to the two ponies, his eyes widened in realization. Suddenly, more dark magic began flowing around Tirek's hand as he prepared to launch another attack: only with another target in mind.

"Unfortunately, you ponies do have a weakness in common: COMPASSION FOR OTHERS!"

Tirek suddenly lunged his hand towards the ponies, and another beam of his magic shot towards them. Shining let out a loud "NO!" as he saw the attack heading towards them. On instinct, his horn lit up once more, and he fired a beam of his own magic at the couple. But instead of an attack, it was a shield which managed to project itself before Tirek's attack could reach the terrified couple. The shield managed to hold off the blast, but the immense force of the blow caused it to crack, and had a rather painful effect on Shining Armor. His head pounded from the mental strain he went through holding up the shield against the not-surprisingly strong force of Tirek's attack. And he also felt himself grow exhausted from the effects, too. He had never used his shield against something THAT strong before, and the effects already hit him. Tirek quickly caught on to this, as he already suspected he would cast a shield spell to keep the couple safe. He just didn't expect it to be THAT strong. But it didn't matter: his opponent had grown tired from his efforts, and thus making it easier to finish this fight quickly. But Shining's attention was focused on the other ponies at the moment.

"GET OUT OF HERE! NOW!"

Snapping out of their fear induced stupor, the couple nodded to Shining, and did as he said. But while he was glad they were safe, he soon learned that no good deed went unpunished as he was suddenly blasted back by a beam of magic which struck the ground in front of him, thus causing him to roll over on the ground before landing on his side. He weakly got back onto his feet, while he was already heavily panting due to the shield's usage. While it was indeed his greatest skill: it proved to be his greatest weakness at the same time. He then looked to see Tirek beginning to approach him once more. A confident smirk etched on his face as he did. In defiance, Shining tried firing another beam of his magic at Tirek. But the centaur once more raised up his arm, and blocked it with his brace. Once he was close enough, Tirek loomed over the slightly weak Unicorn, deciding to gloat over his enemy if only because he felt like it.

"You see: your concern for others only brings you more despair. Listen to someone with experience: you would be better off if you only cared for yourself, and let others fend for themselves. You may live longer that way."

The only kind of response Shining gave was a hardened glare to show he would not give up. Even as Tirek prepared his magical draining ability for a finishing move.

"After all: it's not as if anyone cares enough to come, and save you."

As if fate was contradicting him, something unexpected happened: two shapes suddenly crashed into Tirek's abdomen, and pushed him back several feet, much to his, and Shining's surprise. Then, just as he recovered from that brief ambush, he took notice of a spear with quickly shot towards him like an arrow. Right before it could hit his face, his reflexes allowed him to catch it in his hand as it was mere inches from his eye. He gripped it hard, nearly threatening to break it. Then he turned back to where the culprits of this sneak attack had quickly appeared. There were two Pegasi, one was a stallion who was bright blue with a dark blue mane who also wore a wonderbolts uniform, and the other a mare with white fur, and a long, red mane wearing typical guard armor, but had duel blades on the ridges of her wings, both of whom made a landing in front of Shining Armor, side by side. And finally, a dark blue earth pony mare who wore armor identical to Shining Armor's. As he looked at them, he instantly recognized who each of them were: wonderbolt co-captain Soarin, Colonel Blade Dancer, and current Royal Guard Captain Blueberry Frost. Each of whom gave a happy glance to Shining, who was quite happy to see them, as well.

"Hey, bro! You okay?" asked Soarin. "Cause you don't look too good."

"Heh. I'm glad to see you too, Soarin. Don't worry about me: i'm okay."

"Not to be rude, your highness," Blade Dancer began, "but you look a little roughed up there. I'm guessing you've already seen some action?"

"...You could say that."

"Well, we're all pretty glad to see you doin' okay." said Captain Frost. "Hate to think what'd happened if we didn't show up in time."

"Same here. And....not that i'm ungrateful, or anything: but what are you all doing here?"

"Oh, you know: just followed the sound of crashing hooves, and loud explosions, and followed them here. Besides, i wasn't really doing anything after i got to warning the princesses about Tirek. So i was flying around when i saw you fighting that jerk. Found the Captain here, and the rest you pretty much know."

"Well, in any case: Thanks, guys."

The 3 ponies just gave him a friendly nod in assurance, before turning to Tirek, who was busy looking over the spear that Blueberry had launched at him. Once he was finished, his gaze turned to the now 4 ponies standing before him. His expression remained neutral as he examined them one by one. Nopony was certain what he was thinking, but it couldn't be good. A few moments later, a vile grin formed on his face as he spoke to all of them at once.

"More ponies come to their doom? How amusing. I would have figured Celestia would warn everyone to stay out of my way, lest they wanted harm to befall them."

"Save the threats for somepony who cares, you bull-headed reject!" Blade Dancer said in a threatening manner.

"Yeah! We're not scared of you! Cause we're gonna kick your flank back to where it came from!"

"Hardly. (looks to the spear) Interesting weapon you ponies have. But, i think it can be improved upon."

Before anypony could react, Tirek's magic suddenly kicked into gear, and the spear glowed in his hand with a dark, magical energy. Then, as the group watched, the spear suddenly began to do something unexpected: its whole appearance began changing from a spear, to what looked like some sort of staff that seemed to resemble Tirek somewhat. The base was long, and pure black, the hilt bore a bright red bull shape with two curved horns pointing out. Once he was done, Tirek held out the staff for the four surprised ponies to see.

"You tried to take me by surprise with one of your own weapons......it seems only fair i return the favor."

"We don't care if ye got any fancy tools, Centaur! 's far as i'm concerned, we're still gonna take ye down."

"Oh, is that so? You four are going to stop me? With what army?"

In response to Tirek's taunt, Captain blueberry simply gave a determined smirk, before whispering something only the others could hear.

"This one."

As if on Que, dozens of royal guard pegasi, and unicorns appeared from all around, surrounding Tirek in a circular formation. A multitude of horns glowing, with spears pointed to their target, poised to strike.

"Troops, listen up! Your target is the centaur standing right in front of ye! Make sure ya don't miss your mark, or you'll be dead!"

"Yes, sir!"

Yet, in spite of the seemingly overwhelming odds: Tirek was unafraid, nor was he intimidated by the numbers. In fact, he was quite calm in this situation. As if he knew that no matter what these ponies did, they couldn't harm him in the slightest. Not even the unicorns who were forming ranks in front of the armed guards, preparing to shoot him with paralysis spells in order to subdue him.

"Fire!"

All at once, the unicorn soldiers fired their spells at Tirek in a wave of mystic bolts surrounding him on every front. And he simply stood there, not budging an inch as they soared through the air towards him. So it seemed like he would be struck down in a few moments with no problems. But a sudden smirk he made quickly changed that notion. His horns suddenly lit up with his accursed magic, and a fiery shield formed around him, blocking the bolts before they could even touch him. Not even the spears being launched at him from above by the pegasi were rendered useless as they burst into flame upon contact with the shield. All the while, Tirek held a confident smirk while his arms were crossed over his chest, Staff in hand. Needless to say, everypony was more than a little disdained that this coordinated attack was also useless. Especially the four ponies still grouped together watching.

"Oh, man! This is NOT good!" Soarin said in a somewhat panicked tone.

"No kidding." Blade Dancerequickly said. "We have to find a way through this guys defenses if we want to beat him!"

"But.....how do we do that?"

"You can't! Because in the end, you pathetic equines are weak, and ignorant in how to properly use magic. But don't worry, because soon it will be used as it should be: in my capable hands. But first: allow me to demonstrate the full extent of what MY magic is capable of."

Confused by the statement, none of the ponies knew what to expect from Tirek. Until suddenly, his body began glowing with the same dark energy that flowed within him. His expression quickly changed to a maniacal grin, and his eyes began glowing brightly as the energy grew larger, and larger. Shining Armor's eyes widened with realization before he quickly formed a shield around himself, Soarin, Blade Dancer, and Captain Frost before shouting:

"HOLD ON!"

Tirek suddenly let out a thunderous, and savage roar before a massive wave of dark magic erupted from his body in a gigantic pulse which spread throughout the whole area. The guards panicked at the sight of this, but were too slow to get away. Every last one of them was taken by the pulse. And the whole area vanished in a bright flash of light as Shining struggled to maintain his shield through the powerful, magical pulse. A few moments later, and Shining Armor was able to drop his shield, though he quickly felt a sharp pain in his head from the shield, and his efforts to hold it during the attack. And the site he, and the others were met with didn't help in the slightest. Surrounding them on all sides were the unconscious forms of the entire royal guard, scattered across the area from the blast. And there, standing in the center of the crater he left, was Tirek: his body still glowing, but was now raising his staff in the air while swinging it in a circular formation. In response, the bodies of the royal guards began glowing the same color as him, while their own magical essence began flowing out of their bodies in a miasma which began rising in the air above Tirek. And just like before, the results were dozens of ponies who's cutie marks vanished due to the absence of their magic. Once all of the magic was gathered above him, Tirek proceeded to consume it all, and in the process is body grew further, and further as his strength, and power increased from the energy he claimed. While all of this went on, Discord remained up on the bridge, watching the spectacle below while eating some popcorn in his hand. Though he was worried at first for the safety of the ponies, his excitement on watching Tirek's fight was too much of an entertaining experience to pass up. And judging from what he just saw, it seemed Tirek was pretty chaotic in his own right. Further proof that the two would get along just fine. Meanwhile, Tirek was finally done with his magical meal, and was now several inches bigger than before. And the rush he felt was so exhilarating to him it was unbelievable.

*sigh* "Now THAT was exquisite. And it seems i proved my point, so...........where were we?"