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“Dashie! Dashie! Down here!” Rainbow Dash paused in her flight to look down towards the calling voice. Recognizing one of her mothers, Frost, the alicorn dropped down to land by the unicorn mare on the outskirts of Ponyville.
“Momma Frost?! What are you doing out here?! Don't you know how dangerous it is around here right now?! Wait, don't tell me dad is here, too?!” Rainbow Dash looked around anxiously for her father while her mother tried to shush her.
“Yes, I know that. That's why I was out here waiting for whoever was heading out here to warn them. Your mom and father have already left the area with Bella and the last stallion facing that monster. Princess Aegis Flare though...” She paused as she looked back towards where she had last seen the mare with a shudder.
“What?! Did something happen to Flare?!” The two looked up to see the rest of the princesses, minus Luna, coming in for a landing near them. Twilight's question was answered by a crashing sound as a nearby building's wall was torn open as a pair of bodies went flying through it.
“Get off of me you crazy mare!” With a roar, Tirek threw the bat-winged alicorn off of his head and away from him. Aegis Flare quickly recovered as her wings spread out to catch herself before diving right back into the centaur's face once again, biting and slamming her hooves into it. The two were soon lost from sight again as they went back in through the hole they appeared from, leaving the other princesses sunned in shock.
“No... Not again. Not another Nightmare.” All eyes widened as they turned to Celestia who was staring at where the two had disappeared to.
“What?! That can't be! There's no way that she would become something like Nightmare Moon, right?!” Celestia didn't answer Rainbow Dash, she only kept her fearful gaze on the building. She didn't even turn when she heard the sound of another pony landing nearby, signaling the arrival of the last member of the group.
“Again with that spirit nonsense sister?! I am sick of your attempts at trying to spare my feelings sister, but everything that happened back then was because of my own choices, not some imaginary Nightmare Forces that you invented!” Celestia made to argue as her head whipped around, but was blocked by her sister's hoof over her mouth.
“We will talk about that later, but for now just know that appears to be an attribute all alicorns have. I still only have a theory on it, but it appears to be a berserk state focusing on what you view as your enemies that draws upon your magic to boost your abilities.” She pauses when the bat-winged mare cam into view after being smashed through another building further away, to land at the base of a tree. The other princesses gasped when they saw one of her wings bent back in a way it shouldn't before it snapped back into place again. Luna frowned when she saw this, as well as when she saw the tree she landed under starting to blacken as if from an intense flame.
“I at least hope that I am right about one thing. The Elements of Harmony may have brought me back, but with them not being an option now it seems that defeating Tirek is the only way to end her state. The sooner the better as it does not look like her transformation is complete, and she may not have enough magic to even do so safely. It is a good thing that I brought this.” The others looked worried for their friend, though Celestia's eyes widened as her eyes locked on an object wrapped in paper seals as Luna removed it from her back.
“What are you thinking?! What could possibly possess you to take Megan's Lament from the Royal Vault?! Do you not know what happened the last time it was used?!” The younger princesses looked at the object as it was revealed, to find that it was a sword of some kind.
“That will not happen, sister, I do not plan to miss like that time.” Cadance looked around at the other mares before stepping between the two sisters.
“Um, just what is this Megan's Lament and how is it so dangerous that it was locked away in the Royal Vault? You always talked about how dangerous all the artifacts in there are, yet you never did tell me what any of them were.” Celestia glared at her sister as she explained to the others.
“Megan's Lament is one of the most dangerous artifacts that we have stored in the vault, as well as one of the oldest. The one time it was used, it created the Badlands and is one of the few weapons that can kill an Aspect of the world. Which makes me wonder just why my sister brought it.” The other princesses gasped at just what the sword could do as the solar princess once again turned a glare on her sister. Rolling her eyes, Luna just pulled out a scroll from under her wing.
“This is why I brought it with me, and I am sure that you will agree with me that Tirek has been given enough chances. It was dropped by Princess Aegis Flare before she flew out of Canterlot.” Celestia grabbed and unrolled the scroll in her magic and began to read over it. She wasn't sure exactly what she was reading at first as all she was seeing was a bunch of names and numbers. It wasn't until she rolled to the top of the scroll that she understood, causing her to drop the scroll in shock.
“No. It can not be.” Her sister just shook her head as the others looked at her with worry.
“I am afraid it is. Already now there have been hundreds that have lost their lives because of Tirek's actions. Almost all of them the elderly and foals.” This drew gasps from the rest of the princesses, causing Fluttershy to grab the list herself to stare at.
“What!? But why would he be killing ponies if he is wanting their magic!? It just doesn't make any sense!” Luna shook her head sadly at Twilight before she looked towards her frozen sister.
“I can not say for sure, but it is likely that many of the deaths were due to him draining the magic from hospitals. Many of the foals are noted as being age zero, and if their magic was taken at the wrong time there would be little chance of survival as the medical staff is incapacitated.” Celestia whimpered at hearing of how some of her ponies were lost, while the rest of the alicorns looked sickened.
“Tirek needs to die.” All jaws dropped at this, especially as it came from the least likely pony to say it. Even Celestia was pulled out of her shock as they all turned to look at Fluttershy who had the scroll crumpled up in anger between her hooves.
“How many times has he been imprisoned just to escape now? This is at least the second time, yet nothing has changed with him and he is even hurting others now. He's even worse than a rabid dog who at least doesn't know what they are doing. It's not like I want him to die, but if we imprison him again and he escapes, then he has shown that he will not change his ways. Then it isn't just his fault for killing others, but ours as well for not stopping him when we know he is going to do so.” The entire time her wing was stroking the sheathed dagger at her side, trying to reassure herself that this was the right decision. The other princesses looked at each other silently before a crashing sound drew their attention once again as Aegis Flare was sent flying through another building into a tree. Gasps of horror soon followed as the dust cleared and they saw the mare's wing hanging limply, hanging by a strip of flesh, and her legs twisted at odd angles. Yet Luna's attention was focused on it as it slowly began knitting together while the others focused on Tirek as he stomped into view once more.
“I am starting to get tired of your struggling, so just stay down. I would rather not risk having to kill you and not obtain your magic if I stopped holding back anymore.” The only response Tirek got from the downed mare was a snarl of rage which only caused him to tilt his head out of curiosity. Not once had the mare said anything after her initial assault, which he found odd for a pony. Deciding to brush off the issue, especially as the mare was starting to heal up rapidly, he opened his mouth and prepared to drain her magic.
“Not so fast buddy!” Before he could latch onto the bat-winged alicorn's magic he was knocked to the side as a cyan blur impacted the side of his head. Before he could recover he the blur whipped around and slammed into the other side of his head as he felt a strong impact on his flank from the opposite side, sending him flying in a spin into the wall of a nearby building. Growling at the interruption, he rose back to his hooves to face those interrupting him just to find two more alicorns.
“Well now, two more alicorns have finally decided to show themselves. I take it from your actions that neither of you plans to surrender either?” Rainbow Dash and Applejack snort in disgust at the centaur.
“Of course not ya mangy varmint. There is no way that we are gonna let ya hurt our friend or our home.” Rainbow Dash nods along with Applejack, while Tirek's eyes narrow as he focuses on the farm princess.
“Wait, Applejack! How many times do I have to- Gahh!” The centaur was cut off as his face was once again assaulted by the berserk alicorn as Aegis Flare had finished healing in the time he was distracted.
“Hey, do you know this guy, AJ? He seems to recognize you from somewhere.” The farmer shook her head as she cracked her neck to the side.
“Ya know that there is no way for that ta be possible. He's probably just imagining things. Now, ya keep hitting him high and ah'll go low, can't let Flare have all tha fun.” The cyan mare nods though she still had to wonder just how the centaur knew her friend's name as she took to the air.
“Ugh, those two! Why do they have to be so reckless, and at a time like this!?” Celestia started pacing back and forth by the other princesses, all but Twilight looking at her with worry. The purple mare was instead looking at her friends that were currently facing down the enemy aspect.
“Why isn't he just draining their magic? He had ample opportunity to get Flare's so why...” The librarian princess' eyes narrow as she watched as the three took on the centaur, the darker orange one at all available opportunities and the other two whenever they had an opening. In fact, she noticed that Tirek was actually trying to do so when he saw an opening, but he was always stopped as one of the others slammed into him.
“Princess Luna? Just how long does it take for him to drain a pony of their magic?” Her question caused Celestia to pause in her ranting as all eyes turned towards her. The night princess looked thoughtful before peeking around the corner at the battling quartet.
“Hmm, it should be a near instantaneous transfer as soon as his mouth opens wide. He can even drain multiple ponies at once as long as they are all in front of him.” Twilight brought a hoof up to her chin as she considered the information she had.
“Hmm, that means that he may not be strong enough to just pull it all out at once. But he was already strong enough to drain Discord, so why can't he drain an alicorn yet. Unless... could it be that something with Discord's magic is interfering with his ability? Or maybe it hasn't been fully absorbed yet and is fighting against his other magic? There are still large parts of Equestria he hasn't drained yet so he isn't at full power yet and...” She started muttering to herself for a second before her eyes widened and she looked up at the other alicorns.
“He's gotten overconfident and overestimated his capabilities after having drained Discord! He must have come straight here without bothering to go to any of the major cities from where he was found! If that's true then this might be the perfect chance to stop him!” Quickly turning back to the other princesses, Twilight pointed a hoof at Pinkie Pie.
“Pinkie! I need you to go help Rainbow and Applejack, give Tirek the full Pinkie experience and keep him from draining the magic from anypony else!” The pink mare saluted before disappearing in a cloud of pink smoke. Moments later the sound of a party horn could be heard from where the fighting was happening, along with a yell of frustration from Tirek.
“Cadance, Rarity, and Fluttershy! Try and support the others however you can and make sure that they are moved somewhere safe if they get hurt and treat any injuries they get. Try not to draw Tirek's attention too much if you can. Princesses...” Twilight paused as she realized what she was doing when she looked at Luna and Celestia. As the other three alicorns took off at her orders, the sun princess shook her head sadly as she brought her hoof under the purple ponies chin.
“Do not be ashamed of taking charge in an emergency when you see a solution, Twilight. I have been ruling alone for so long that I have forgotten that I do not always have the answer. Despite my reservations of using that weapon, I will follow whatever plan you think is best.” The younger mare looked over towards Luna who nodded along with her sister's words before she took a deep breath and went through the motions Cadance had taught her. Steeling herself, her eyes hardened as she looked up to her mentor.
“Right, right. While the others are up and close keeping him distracted, we will stay back and hit him from afar with everything we can. We want to keep him off balance while your sister... well...” She feebly waved a hoof towards the wrapped sword being held by Luna. The princess of the night nodded as she started to unwrap the seals from it.
“As soon as an opportunity presents itself I will finish the battle. I will not miss.” Twilight slowly nods in response as she turns back to the remaining princess before inhaling slowly.
“As for us, I suggest that we stay at long range and hit him with our magic whenever we see an opening. He doesn't seem to handle being hit from multiple angles that well and in different ways. He's barely even holding off Flare and Applejack at close range with Rainbow diving in on him, with our magic we should be able to stop him, hopefully without needing to resort to that weapon your sister has.” Celestia watched as her fellow princess moved to find a position to attack the centaur from. She felt a surge of pride at seeing her former student finally stepping forward like she did, yet saddened that it had to be from a situation that may require the death of another being.
As Twilight suspected, Tirek was having enough trouble keeping the three alicorns facing him down off of him. When the one wasn't in his face, one of the other two was either slamming into him from above or sending him flying to the side with powerful kicks. That only got worse when the pink one joined in and started hitting him from unpredictable angles. He wasn't even sure how she got under him after throwing her across the town. As all the attacks were purely physical so far, he was surprised to be peppered with a swarm of telekinetic bolts followed by a large beam that sent him sliding across the ground a few feet. Looking in the direction the attacks came from he found two more alicorns, one that he recognized.
“Ahh, Celestia, how nice of you to finall- GAH!” The large centaur was interrupted once again by the bat-winged alicorn as she flew into his face once again. Reaching up with his fist he ripped the mare off of his face, leaving scratch marks which quickly healed up again, before throwing her to the ground and sitting on her.
“Now cut that out! Now as I was saying-” Tirek froze up with a look of pain on his face as his mouth opened wide, yet no sound came out of it. Fluttershy winced as her ears flattened atop her head as Tirek stood up once again and flailed backwards with his rear hooves sending something flying into a nearby building, causing the wall to collapse.
“How dare you do that to me! You, you!” The centaur's voice would have been hilarious with how high-pitched it was, if not for the wet pool spreading from below his rear legs as one of his front ones appeared to be clutching between them. Aegis Flare climbed out of the building she was thrown into, which happened to be Canterlot Boutique, shaking her head rapidly before a dark sack flew out of her mouth to the side. Tirek glared at her while the other alicorn's looked at the object in disgust, barring Rarity whose attention was elsewhere.
“Did, did she really just tear off his...?” Rainbow Dash trailed off with a gag, especially as she looked towards the centaur's rear legs where the flesh began knitting itself together.
“You are starting to get on my nerves, pony! Never has anyone dared to do something so humiliating to me! I will not stand for this any longer!” Rarity's eyes narrowed as she shook herself out of her shock and glared at Tirek.
“Not stand for it? Not stand for it?! You dare say that after destroying my home?! Oh, it. Is. ON!” The yelling of the alabaster alicorn drew the centaur's attention, as well as the glow of her horn as she began to reach across all of Ponyville. On seeing her, his eyes widened in shock, as well as a little bit of terror.
“You! How can you be here! I made sure that- Grah!” Once again he was inflicted with a case of bat-to-the-face as the berserk alicorn blindsided him. This distracted him from Rarity and her magic which start sifting through the rubble in her boutique, as well as through the many homes around Ponyville. By the time Tirek managed to clear the crazed alicorn from his face it was too late to stop her as he was surrounded by hundreds of needles, scissors, and other sharp objects she scavenged up that she used in her profession.
When he caught sight of the swarm surrounding him, his pupils shrank before they came swarming in on him. While he brought his arms up to protect his face, it did nothing to protect the other sensitive locations on his body, some of which were still sore from being regrown. While most of the needles did little more than irritate the centaur, those hitting his tender areas were enough to enrage him.
“ENOUGH!” Sending out a burst of his magic, Tirek sent the surrounding alicorns flying back to crash into Cadance, Rarity, and Fluttershy. Twilight and Celestia quickly moved to catch the others, though they were unable to catch Aegis Flare as she was sent flying opposite the others. Glaring at the alicorns, the centaur began to focus his magic into a ball between his horns that steadily grew.
“It seems that I was a bit hasty in coming here and not draining more ponies. Too bad for you that just means I will have to stop holding back and get serious. A pity, since I doubt all of you will manage to survive and- GRAAAAAH!” Once again he was blindsided by an orange blur as he was focused on the larger group. Aegis Flare darted in on a direct course for his right horn and, using her momentum, slammed Tirek's head into the ground. She didn't give him any further time to respond as she got a good grip on the horn and wrenched it sideways, snapping it off at the base and causing him to shout in pain. She wasn't done there though, as she flew around behind him and proceeded to reunite him with his horn below his tail, point first. This caused his shout to become a shriek, and the other alicorns to wince at the sight.
“No! You fool! What have you done!?” Through all of this, the magic that Tirek had been gathering was bulging out of the perfect sphere that it once was. At his words, the other alicorns noticed this and their eyes widened in shock. Before any of them could react, the ball of magic shattered, sending bolts of energy flying across Ponyville. The local princesses stared in shock as they watched their home get pummeled by the interrupted attack, before they turned to glare at the centaur, realizing that if it had enough power to do that now, what would have happened if he had actually finished his original attack?
“That is enough!” Face full of rage, Tirek reach back to remove his horn before clubbing the bat-winged alicorn away into the others.
“You! You ponies! I am getting tired of all this! Don't you know who I am!? I am the Lord of all Magic! Do you really think that you can defy me!? Well, I have had enough of all of you getting in my way and denying me what is mine! It is time to end this!” As Tirek's rage began to burn brighter, a chill went through him as a voice whispered behind him. One that he recognized and realized that he had not yet seen.
“Yes, indeed it is time to end all this.” Tirek's eyes widened before he felt a sharp pain in his back. Moments later a length of steel erupted from his chest, one that he was familiar with.
“What? Where did you get-” His words dissolved into a fit of coughing as he collapsed to his knees, having lost all feeling in his legs. As he fell, Luna leaped away from him, detaching herself from his shadow where she had ambushed him from.
“At last it is done. No more shall you harm our ponies with your greedy ways.” Tirek blankly watched as the Princess of the Night slowly walked around to in front of him. Suddenly, the dying behemoth began to laugh.
“Heheh. Hahaha! You think that this will be the end of things!? You do not know the horrors that are coming for you now. Not only that, but I will be back for you all, and there is nothing you can do to stop me!” With a final gasp, beams of light began to erupt from the areas pierced by the sword. As the skin around his wounds began to bubble, small globes of light of varying colors began to emerge. After hovering momentarily, they quickly shot off in the direction that Tirek approached the town from. The alicorns quickly realized that these were the magic from the ponies that Tirek had drained in his attacks around Equestria. Some of the orbs didn't fly off like the others and instead dissipated into the air, hinting at the grim ends that some ponies had faced.
“It's over now, isn't it?” The other princess looked at Fluttershy, and Twilight was about to nod when Aegis Flare collapsed to the ground. The mare had seemed fine a moment ago as she had prepared to attack Tirek again, yet now she seemed unresponsive which confused the purple alicorn. Quickly moving to check on her friend she gasped at what she had found.
“This isn't good! She's barely breathing and her heartbeat is extremely faint!” Her diagnosis drew gasps from most of the others, though Luna only calmly nodded as she walked over to the group, leaving Tirek's body behind.
“It is as I had expected. While she was using an alicorn berserk state, her body was nowhere near mature enough to handle such a state. I had noticed that she was giving off intense heat when we arrived, enough to scorch the area around her, yet as the battle continued it steadily eroded away. Yet, the entire time she had a high rate of regeneration, meaning all her magic was focused on that, and possibly even more.” It took a moment, but they all realized that she meant that she was using her very life to power the ability.
“But what do we need to do to help her? Can't we just give her some of our own magic?” Celestia shakes her head as she moved to stand next to Rainbow Dash.
“It is not that easy. Your magic is very personal and without proper care, it could cause more harm than good. As well with how weak she is she would not be able to handle the most basic of mana potions, let alone what it would take to heal her.” They all looked at the downed mare with worry, until a chuckle sounded from above them.
“Well, why don't you just take her to the Tree then? I mean why else would little old me have given you that book if not to use it? A short walk there and, bam! Everything is back to normal again.” The group looked up to find Discord hovering above them all, back to his usual self again. Applejack stomped her hoof as she glared at him.
“Now just a cotton picking minute here. Just how is that Tree of Harmony gonna help us with healing Flare? And what book? Ya never gave us any book ta use!” Discord blinked in shock for a moment before he opened a flap of skin at his hip.
“What? But I was sure I gave it to you before I left. I mean...” He pauses as he pulls out a book that looked very familiar to the Ponyville princesses.
“Well, would you look at that. I guess I didn't give it to you. It must have slipped my mind when SOMEPONY distracted me before I went to find Tirek.” He shot a short glare that quickly vanished when he saw the state the mare was in.
“Now hurry up and figure it all out so I can bring you all there in a jiffy.” Twilight took the book and found that it really was the friendship journal she and her friends had been writing in. Shooting a look of annoyance at the draconequus for taking it without permission, she looked more closely at it and found that six of the pages had been marked. Checking each of the marked pages she stopped to ponder them all before noticing something about each of them.
“Girls! I think I might know what he is talking about. Each of the marked pages has one thing in common. You all learned a very important lesson, and also gained an item that represented that lesson. I think that those may be the keys to the chest at the Tree!” The girls remembered the items that they had received somewhat recently, though the quickly realized a problem.
“Wait, but what about your key as well as Flarie's? Neither of you got any gifts from somepony that you helped.” Twilight shook her head at Pinkie in response.
“Actually, I think that Flare already has her key, and has somehow had it for years. The crown she showed us that she got with Daring Do, I'm sure that is her key. As for mine...” Twilight trails off as she looks at the friendship journal closely as a shimmer passes across it.
“I think I have an idea on what my key is going to be.” The others look at her in confusion before slowly nodding and each heading off to retrieve their items, leaving the three elder princesses to watch over the weakened mare. Twilight went to retrieve the crown but was shocked to find that her friend's house had collapsed, having been hit by on of Tirek's stray magic bolts. Luckily she remembered where the item was and was able to clear out enough to find the miraculously undamaged case that it was stored in and retrieved it. Soon everyone was gathered back at Discord with their items, as well as some sad news.
“I can't believe how much damage Tirek did in so short of time. Half of the buildings in Ponyville have some sort of damage to them, even my home by the Everfree Forest wasn't safe. I am just glad that Angel was able to evacuate all the animals in time.” Rainbow Dash nodded to Fluttershy's comment before speaking up herself.
“Yeah, even some of the cloud homes were hit by him. On the way back I flew by the shelters. It sounds like everypony was evacuated to them safely, though one had a scare when it was hit by his attack. Luckily we made sure that they all could stand up to anything the Crusaders could throw at them.” Sighs of relief passed through the group as they hadn't thought to check up on the townsponies, having trusted that the local guards could handle keeping them safe.
“Well, now that you are all here, how about a little change of scenery?” With a snap of his fingers, Discord teleported the group from where they were to the cavern containing the Tree of Harmony. The princesses quickly moved to surround the strange chest by the tree, while Discord's attention was on the tree itself as he tried to recall something.
“All right girls, if I'm right these items should be the keys to this thing. Now, how we just need to figure out how they work.” The six princesses set the items down by the chest and began to examine them. Looking over Flare's crown, Rarity's spool of thread, Pinkie's shawl, Fluttershy's dagger, Rainbow's Wonderbolt jacket, Applejack's pear-apple bonsai, and Twilight book revealed nothing to them.
“I don't get it.” Rainbow Dash said as she put on her jacket.
“How are we supposed to get the keys to this thing anyways with these?” As she started poking at the box, her hoof slipped off to the side of it causing her sleeve to come into contact with it. Suddenly it started to unravel from around her before forming into a key shaped like her cutie mark.
“Seriously? All we had to do was touch it? But did it really have to turn my jacket into the key?” Rainbow Dash grumbled about losing her jacket, as the others looked warily from their items to the chest. After only that moment's hesitation, they quickly touched the rest of the items to it, their friend being much more important than what their gifts represented. Soon they had a stack of keys in front of them which they all placed into the box in front of them.
“All right girls, on three we all- Discord what are you doing?!” Twilight glared at Discord as he used Aegis Flare as a puppet, marionette wires and all.
“What? What? You have to turn all the keys at the same time, don't you? And do you really want to trust that it will allow one of those three to turn it? Celestia always runs from fights, and her sister can't even face her own fears. Though Lovebutt there might actually have a chance.” This earned a glare from the pony in question, which quickly turned thoughtful. Twilight just rolled her eyes at his antics, though mentally she had to agree with him on this probably being the best way, not that she'd tell him that.
“Fine, then as I was saying. Three!” While the exact three count wasn't clarified, Twilight's shout was enough to startle most of them into turning their key along with the others. Each of the keys turned in their slot, though the one puppeted through Discord was a bit stiff. They all stood there waiting, yet nothing happened.
“Discord? Didn't you say something was-” Fluttershy would have said more, but her eyes, along with the other six, began to shine with a rainbow light. Discord and the others began to back away as the seven began to float off of the ground and gather in front of the Tree of Harmony.
“Well now, isn't this interesting? This is nothing like what I was expecting.” The three mobile alicorns look over at the draconequus questioningly.
“And just what is it that you were expecting, Discord?” He glanced over at Luna before gesturing to the floating group.
“Well, certainly not this. At the very least that thing should have opened by now. Something else feels off as well. Something... Familiar for some reason.” At that moment the center of the chest began to unfold and a wave of rainbow sparkles began to flow out of it. It all gathered in front of the princesses in a fog before it started to condense into a winged, bipedal form as tall as Cadance.
“It cannot be. Is that an angel?” Celestia stared in awe as the wings unfolded from the figure's back, though she couldn't see much else as the figure was a mass of rainbow light.
“An angel? What's an angel?” The figure appeared to look over the three princesses before it stared at the sword carried by Luna. As it reached towards the blade, Celestia replied to Cadance.
“Not much is known about them, even when we were younger. Legends say that they gifted ponies with many secrets long ago...” She paused as the figure reached out and touched the sword, causing it to dissolve into nothing.
“...As well as take them away when they are no longer needed.” Luna didn't react to the loss of the weapon as she also stared in awe as the angel walked away from the princesses and stopped in front of Discord. He tilted his head as he looked at the figure before he winced and clutched at his head with his claw.
“Do... Do I know you?” The figure didn't respond, yet a feeling of sadness radiated from it, as well as a sense of caring for the draconequus. Slowly it leaned forward and planted a kiss on his cheek before moving on. Discord's paw slowly rose up to rub at the spot as tears began to fall from his left eye unnoticed.
The angel moved to stand in front of the seven floating princesses where it stopped and appeared to stare at them. Waves of surprise and grief radiated off of it as it looked at them which intensified when it looked upon Aegis Flare. Something fell from its face, and upon impacting the ground blossomed into a purple crystal hyacinth.
“Is it crying? Why?” Neither of the other princesses could answer Cadance as the angel rushed over to embrace Aegis Flare in a full hug, wings and all. Moments later the wings pulled back to show the creature apparently planting a kiss on the mare's forehead, causing her mane and tail to begin taking on the appearance of gently rolling flames before slowly settling down. The mare was then set gently on the ground where the others could see that her breathing was no longer strained and her coat had gained a lively luster to it again.
The angel moved along the line hugging, though with less enthusiasm, and placing a kiss in the same spot of the other six alicorns, causing their manes and tails to flare up as well. Rarity's gained a crystal sheen to hers, while Applejack's looked like golden wheat in the wind. Fluttershy's took on the appearance of having leaves blowing through it, and Rainbow Dash's kept her colors while having arcs of lighting appear to pass through it. Pinkie Pie looked as if she had a party going on in her mane with the look of confetti raining through it, yet Twilight's was more the opposite by looking like a void with streams of purple and raspberry colors flowing through it.
“Sister? Is the angel doing what I think it is doing to them?” Celestia slowly nods slowly to Luna as she watches on.
“Yes, it appears that their alicorn abilities are being more fully awakened. I do not know how much more, but I believe that they may be on par with Cadance now. Let us just hope that it is never needed to be tested.” The other two nod as they watch the last of the princesses settle onto the ground. The angel slowly turns, surveying them all, before nodding once and dispersing in a burst of sparkling motes. That wasn't the end as they all poured back into the chest which began to sink into the ground. The ground continued to rumble but slowly calmed as if the disturbance was slowly headed towards Ponyville.
“Ugh, what just happened?” Looking over from where the chest was, the three alicorns saw that the others were starting to stir as Rainbow Dash was shaking her head while stumbling to her hooves.
“I don't know, but can anyone tell me why I can barely move?” Heads shot up quickly at the voice as all heads turned to see Aegis Flare laying there with her eyes open and feebly twitching her limbs.
“Flare!” Her eyes widened as a stampede started in her direction and she was caught up in a massive group hug. She had a bit of issue breathing as Pinkie had made it there first and was squeezing the hardest out of them all.
“You idiot! What did you think you were doing back there with Tirek!? You almost got yourself killed fighting like that!” The bat-winged mare could only blink as she tried to look at Twilight and attempt to figure out what she was talking about.
“What are you talking about? Last thing I remember was getting my mother away from him and, well, nothing for some reason.” The group glanced at each other for a moment before nodding.
“We'll tell ya later. Right now we should get back ta Ponyville and make sure everypony is all right.” Nods were exchanged all around though two of them were distracted, one by how distracted the other was.
“Discord? Is something wrong?” Fluttershy looked over to where Discord was still rubbing his cheeking and staring off into the air. Hearing his name, the draconequus shook his head and looked over at the group.
“No, no! Everything is fine! Right, we're done here then? Back you go then!” Before they could say anything Discord snapped his claws, teleporting the alicorns back to Ponyville. With one last glance over at the Tree of Harmony, he vanished as well back to his home to think.
<><><><><><><>
“Next time we see Discord, remind me to hit him with a lightning bolt?” Rainbow Dash shook herself dry, being the only one to land in the fountain when they were teleported back.
“Ah think we have bigger things ta worry about right now. Like getting Flare here over ta the hospital. She may not be in danger, but she still isn't moving much.” Applejack gestured with her hoof over to the mare who was on Fluttershy's back, the shy mare having refused to let any of the others carry her cousin. Before they could actually decide on a destination, a rumbling drew their attention towards the edge of town and their jaws dropped at what they saw.
“What is it?”
“It's so beautiful!”
“It's sparkleriffic!”
“It's tacky...” The group of alicorns turned away from the crystal tree that was suddenly growing on the edge of Ponyville to look at Aegis Flare. She raised an eyebrow, one of the few things she could reliably move, at their reactions and tried to shrug.
“What? It might look good in the Crystal Empire, but do you really think it has any business in Ponyville? It would even look out of place up in Canterlot and you know how fancy nearly everything there has to be.” Looking back at the tree, now appearing to have a building built within it, the others took a more critical view of it. While it was still pretty, even Rarity had to agree that it didn't really fit in with much of Ponyville, even with the odd buildings scattered throughout it.
“Right, we probably should split up then or else nothing will get done. Princesses Celestia, Luna, Cadance, and I will go to check that out and try to figure out what is happening. Fluttershy and Rarity should focus on getting Flare over to the hospital to get checked out, while the rest of you let the town know that everything is clear. I have a feeling that today is far from over.” The others nod to Twilight and take off for their suggested duties while the four remaining princesses turn towards the crystalline structure. Glancing around at the damage she saw to the town, Twilight really hoped that it was as much of a building as it appeared to be as she suspected that many ponies were not going to have a home to go back to for the foreseeable future.
And done. This chapter took way too long, and really I was probably expecting more for the fight. Still, it's done now sow have at the comments. Try to spot the references I may have left around. 
Next up: Rebuilding, the Map, and one of the Best Ponies. 
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Yay! A update! I have a question, how do you feel about using other peoples OCs in your stories?
I'm always glad when this updates, defiantly one of my favorites.
Agreed, on all points made by the yellow one
You might also want to pump Celestia for information on all other beings that she has imprisoned over the years and how many times she has been forced to reimprison them again and what they did in-between their escape and capture.
Oh and also get information on the artifacts in the royal vault, since it would be good for you too know what's in that place just in case something happens to Celly and Luna
The answer to your question Tirek is: "Never again"
Ahhh, he pulled a Frieza
................................... wow
This line is suprisingly funny
He's not wrong
I am most intrigued in why Discord remembers the original timeline.
Evidence of time alteration? By Twilight or someone in Equestria’s reality? Or something like the watcher in the prologue?
Did all of the bearers lose their homes? Will they all move into the castle or will some like Applejack try to rebuild their old places?
Lots of G1 references from the sword’s name to Tirek mistaking Applejack for her ancestor (mentioned by Granny Smith at the coronation) and Rarity for (Majesty?)
CUTIE MARK CRUSADER SAFETY TESTERS YAY!
And there was much
rejoicingtree sap.Good point will they get their items back?
Why does this feel important?
Is the angel Megan? (Did the alicorn sisters ever meet her? Or know she was human?)
What did she do for Discord? Un block his memory?
I wonder what horrors Tirek is foreshadowing?
It feels a bit like a cop out. A big fight suddenly over quickly? I sense something huge looming over the horizon.
Will we see Sunset in the next chapter? Given that rainbow rocks happens while Twilight is stocking the carstle library.
Will any of he other bearers visit the human world this time? (Maybe Flare as she does not have a double.)
The wait is always worth it!
9210910
More like Cutie Mark Crusaders Demolitionists, Yay! And somehow they end up making it even harder to destroy the shelter.
9226538
CMC AAR #436 (aka Bunker Demolition Testing)
Number of kilotons of explosives used - 24
Number of shell shocked bystanders- 13
Number of damaged bunkers - 0
Number of gallons of tree sap found in said bunkers- 42
Number of broken trees found- 1 (minor damage)
Number of disappointed cutie Mark Crusaders after cleaned of sap - 3
9227175
24 KILOTONS OF TNT?! Where did the get that?! And who’s crazy enough to let the CMC play with High Explosives?!
9336563
As it was the Crusaders I wouldn’t be surprised if they made their own.
I generally tend to stay away from "seventh element" stories, as they usually end up as wish-fulfilling self-inserts. But despite the rather unpolished description, this seems to have a suspiciously high rating.
And as usual, I take way more time deciding to read a story than it takes to actually read the first chapter. That's my personal problem.
But anyway, going to check it out. (Don't worry, I'm not a person to hate a story because of grammatical errors. And I have read wish-fulfillment stories that I have actually enjoyed.)
Any chance of more chapters soon?
9432453
Ehh, maybe? Really just having trouble motivating myself to do more writing again. Have been half-way through another story's chapter for over a month now. Yet every time I sit down to write, I stare blankly at the screen for a few minutes before getting distracted by something else. Once that chapter is finished though this story is next as I have been planning to derail some sunbutt plot for a while now.
9435915
if you see yourself losing motivation maybe it's time to think a suitable ending? Or leave a open ending so that if your motivation or inspiration return, take it as a sequel.
vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/0d660ba9-5afe-44ea-a1d4-44ffa6b3cd72/scale-to-width-down/800
Furthermore, it kind of has a villain's palette
The Equalizator is coming... I guess they don't have more Alicorn training? I could think maybe Aloe and Vera could help with the earth pony part.
.....I now Patent The Instant Neuter.