Chapter 52- Too Late
Sleep did not return easily that night. With news of Tirek's return weighing heavily on their minds, Celestia, Twilight, Sol, and Discord were all shaken with unease. Having to return home to Fluttershy and Eris to be there for them and tell them what's going on, Discord bid everypony a goodnight and teleported himself back to Fluttershy's cottage. Since they were already there, Sol and Twilight, after both sharing a hug with Celestia, retired to Sol's room there for the night. As the two laid there in bed, neither could fall asleep easily, even in the comforting embrace of each other. It wasn't until an hour had passed that Twilight and Sol agreed that a sleep spell was in order, courtesy of Twilight. While they would have asked Luna for help, she was busy with other matters.
After she left, Luna found Captain Night Wing and informed him of the situation. Keeping it short and to the point, she told him about Tirek, ordered him to deploy his scouts to try and find where he was, and double the guard around not just the castle, but all of Canterlot as well. Once Luna was done with Night Wing, she made her way over to the throne room and took her place on the throne for her shift. After an hour had passed with nopony coming to see her, Luna lit her horn and entered the dreamscape. It barely took her any time to find Iron Guard's dream and enter it, informing him about what had happened, and that she wanted him to double the day guard first thing in the morning. Keeping it short and to the point like with Night Wing, Luna was finished with the captain within a minute, and afterwards decided to check in on the dreams of her sister, Sol, and Twilight.
As expected, all three of them were having troubling dreams, most likely about Tirek. What surprised her, though, was that she could also sense three similar dreams coming from somewhere outside of Canterlot. Making sure to take care of her family and Twilight first, Luna then went to investigate who these dreams belonged to. When she did, she was surprised to see that the nightmares were coming from Fluttershy, Discord, and a third who she guessed was Eris. But, after looking into their dreams, Luna saw that all three of them were having the exact same dream.
I see. So they are having a shared dream, Luna thought to herself, watching the dream for a moment longer before unraveling it onto something more peaceful for the three. It's understandable, considering that Fluttershy and Discord are sharing a bed together like Sol and Twilight. But for Eris to be there as well... she must have gotten spooked, and they let her stay with them for tonight.
With her job done, Luna left the three be with their new dream. Now that her family and friends had been taken care of, Luna expanded her reach across Equestria, searching for the dreams of anypony who might give her an idea as to where Tirek might be hiding...
… a search that would end up fruitless.
The next day proved to be rather tense. With no sign of Tirek having been found overnight, those who knew were starting to become anxious. As they said they'd do, Twilight and Sol returned to Ponyville. But, while Twilight gathered her friends to talk, Sol was off talking with Steel Hoof and his guards about what was going on, and to have them keep a vigilant eye out until Tirek could be located. As for their friends, none of their friends were understandably pleased to hear the news, though since Fluttershy already knew about it, she took the news better than the others.
Rarity, despite feeling distraught about the news, agreed that it would be for the best if she and Sweetie Belle were to head on up to Canterlot for the time being. Besides, this also gave her a chance to work at the Canterlot Boutique for a while and to check up on it. After some talking with her earlier that morning, Discord convinced Fluttershy, albeit hesitantly, to go to Canterlot with Eris. Rainbow, despite wanting to stay in Ponyville and help keep an eye out from on top of a cloud, was eventually convinced that it would be better for her to stay in Canterlot with the other, just incase they needed to be together so Twilight could teleport them to the Tree of Harmony to use the Elements once again. However, Rainbow made it a point that she would not leave Ponyville without taking Scootaloo with her as her growing worry about her little sister grew.
Their responses were about what Twilight had expected, but to her and the others' surprise, Spike decided to stay behind in Ponyville, along with Starlight and Discord. After all, if Tirek were to show up, they would need somepony fast to get the news to Canterlot, and when it came to delivering messages, there was nothing faster than Spike's ability to send mail. Though he did want to stay within close proximity to Rarity and keep her safe, Spike couldn't deny that they would need a fast and reliable way to send messages between Ponyville and Canterlot if Tirek did appear. As for Starlight and Discord, they agreed that if Twilight and the others were all in Canterlot, then they should stay behind to help provide some extra support for the villagers if they had to escape. It was also agreed that if worse comes to worst, then with Discord being there, he could teleport everypony to someplace safe away from Tirek.
Unsurprisingly, Applejack was being stubborn about leaving her farm. Her family was born and raised on Sweet Apple Acres for generations, and she didn't feel right about abandoning it like this. It was then that Rainbow brought up the 'what if' scenario of Apple Bloom, Big Mac, Sugar Belle, Granny, and Grand Pear all getting caught by Tirek because of her stubbornness. It struck a nerve with Applejack how Rainbow would use her family against her like that, but she also knew that, whether she liked it or not, Rainbow was speaking the truth. It was after a moment of muttering and a few curses under her breath that Applejack said that she'd talk it over with her family after this meeting.
With that last exchange with Applejack, the meeting came to an end and everypony left to prepare to leave or Canterlot. Within an hour, everypony and their families, including Pinkie's sister Maud, and the Apple Family, had gathered in front of Twilight's castle. With everypony ready to go, Eris used her magic to teleport her and the others back to Canterlot, save for Discord, Spike, and Starlight.
Twilight and her friends stood before the throne as Celestia and Luna stood atop of the dais. Two days had passed since they retreated up Canterlot Castle, but still, none of the scouts had reported any sighting of Tirek so far, and they were growing more nervous by the hour.
"Has there been any sighting of Tirek yet?" Twilight asked, this time getting a look that was a mix of a smile and sad frown.
"I suppose in a way, we did," Celestia replied.
"Really?! So the scouts found him?!"
"Not exactly," Luna spoke. "The scouts didn't find Tirek, but instead a group of refugees that had managed to slip away from Tirek."
"Where are they now? Are they okay?" Fluttershy asked.
"They appear to be unharmed, and are currently on a train heading for Canterlot."
"Did they say where they were from?" Twilight questioned.
"They did. It appears that they came from Las Pegasus." A frown formed on Luna's face. "I would also like to point out that, as Celestia and I thought about it, we may have, in fact, been able to avoid this all together. When that guard you and Sol sent to Las Pegasus didn't return, we should had known that something wasn't right and investigated it."
"Well it's not like we can change it now," Rainbow bluntly said, earning an agreeing nod from Celestia.
"Which is why we will do what we can now to try and fix this problem before it can get too far out of hoof. I have ordered Spitfire and the Wonderbolts out to search for him."
Rainbow gave Celestia a weird look. "If the Wonderbolts are out there, then why haven't I been deployed as well?"
"Because, Rainbow Dash, I need you here with the rest of the Elements incase you should be required to wield them again."
"But Ah thought that the Tree of Harmony couldn't survive without them," Applejack reminded. "If we were ta go and use them, we could lose the tree for good."
Celestia shook her head. "Not exactly, Applejack. If Sol were to remain with the tree while you six wielded the Elements of Harmony, he could keep the tree alive for a few hours while you all deal with Tirek."
"It could work, but I don't think Tirek would allow Sol that time," Twilight pointed out. "I still remember how angry Tirek was with Sol the last time he broke out of Tartarus, so if anything, as soon as he finds out that Sol is here, he'll be going straight for him."
"Don't forget too, darling, that Tirek will also try to exploit any of his weaknesses," Rarity spoke. "After all, he did use us against you, so what's to stop him from trying it again with Sol?"
"Nothing."
Hearing the voice and accompanying heavy, metallic steps, everypony looked back to the doors to see Sol walking in. With his shield strapped to his back over his cloak, hammer hanging on the right side of his belt, and body covered in his armor, Sol looked like he was ready for a fight. Rainbow even made a comment the day before about how Sol's entire getup reminded her of something that a paladin from one of their O&O campaigns with Spike would wear. Unfortunatly, while most found Sol's look to be inspiring, including the guards and townsponies, Twilight couldn't help but feel uneasy, knowing how serious the situation was for Sol to be walking around armed and armored, even within the castle walls.
"If given the chance, Tirek will not hesitate to find a weakness and exploit it to the fullest." Sol walked up alongside Twilight, seeing her unease and giving her a short nuzzle before he looked over everypony else. "Did I miss something?"
Celestia gave a small nod. "We were just discussing these six wielding the Elements of Harmony again."
"However, the Tree of Harmony suffered an attack during your slumber, so it is weakened and cannot survive without them," Luna added.
Sol arched an eyebrow. "The Tree was damaged? How?"
"When Tia and I faced Discord, he had subtly planted corrupted seeds that were meant to attack the Tree of Harmony, but were unable to get close enough to harm it. Unfortunatly, Discord had forgotten all about them, and the Plunder Vines attacked the Tree of Harmony and nearly killed it."
"Of course it would be his fault," he grumbled. "Alright then. If the Tree can't survive without the Elements, then how can they be wielded without it dying?"
"We believe that if you were to stay with the Tree of Harmony and use your magic to help sustain it, then Twilight and the others could take the Elements for a short period of time, use them to weaken Tirek, and send him back to Tartarus. However, Twilight disagrees, saying that Tirek wouldn't allow for you to have the time to keep the Tree alive."
"And she would be right. If Tirek does find out about me, which I have no doubt he will, then he won't allow me any time."
"Tirek has also seen where the Tree of Harmony is, and probably knows that it is what helped power my friends and I during our last encounter," Twilight spoke.
"But if Tirek's seen the Tree, then wouldn't ya think that he'd go after it first?" Applejack wondered. "Ya know, ta take out before it can be used against him again?"
"As strategic and plausible as that would be, we don't need to worry about that," Sol said. "During the earlier days of creating the Underkingdom, father helped me with placing a set of runic circles around the Tree of Harmony. While the Tree does have its own safety measures, if Tirek should cross the threshold of the Tree's cave, or even come close to it, the runes will activate and teleport the Tree of Harmony away to a safe and secured location."
"Where to?"
"To the castle garden in the Underkingdom. Tirek will never be able to reach it there."
"But that doesn't answer our question if this plan could even work or not," Rainbow pointed out.
"If Tirek can be distracted for long enough, then it could possibly work. Otherwise, it would never work. To keep the Tree of Harmony alive would require all of my attention, so I wouldn't be able to fend off Tirek should he catch me with the Tree. Besides, as soon as I began, Tirek would sense my magic and no doubt be lured to me."
Just like last time after I surrendered my magic to him, Twilight thought.
"Is there anything else I should be aware of?" Sol asked.
"No. I believe that is all for now, Sol," Celestia said.
"Alright. In that case, I'll be heading out for a while again. The train carrying the refugees is due to arrive today at sundown, and I need to finalize the arrangements with the hotels that'll be housing them during their stay." As Sol turned to leave the room, he paused and looked back at the group. "Before I forget, I should inform you that I sent carriages to Rainbow's and Fluttershy's parents in Cloudsdale, and that they should be arriving back within the hour. I've seen how nervous everypony has been lately, so I hope that having them nearby in the castle will help put an ease to your worries."
Fluttershy smiled. "Thank you. Knowing that mom and dad will be safe does help... but..."
"But what?"
"... what about my brother?"
Sol blinked in surprise. "Wait. You have a brother?"
Fluttershy nodded, but with a noticeably displeased frown. "Yes, I do," she sighed.
"His name is Zephyr Breeze, and he's a bit of a tool," Rainbow said with a hint of disgust. "Seriously. The guy doesn't know how to take 'no' for an answer... and he won't stop hitting on me, either."
Sol frowned at Rainbow's description of him, and was surprised when nopony in the room made any attempt to even try and correct her. Even Fluttershy looked as though she agreed with her, which bore the question...
"And this guy is your brother?" he incredulously asked Fluttershy.
"Yes, he is."
"... not exactly what I expected to hear of the Element of Kindness' brother."
"I know. With how he usually acts, I sometimes wonder how we're even related. But please, don't get me wrong. He's not a bad pony, he's just... Zephyr."
"I see..."
With a heavy sigh, Fluttershy rubbed her head of the oncoming headache she was getting from thinking of her younger brother.
"Now that I think about it, you probably won't need to send a chariot back to Cloudsdale to get him."
"Yeah. He was probably already bumming with Fluttershy's parents again when the guards picked them up," Rainbow said, rolling her eyes.
Sol eyed the two pegasi. "... very well then. Well, if it turns out that he didn't make it, just ask and I'll see about sending some guards to escort him here."
"Alright. Thank you."
With a nod, Sol left the throne room to oversee preparations for the refugee ponies.
Later that day, the sun began to set. With Celestia currently up at the castle with Luna to rotate the heavenly bodies, Sol and Twilight were at the train station with a contingent of guards to greet the ponies who escaped Tirek. As they waited, they saw the smoke from the train rising in the sky, singling its approach, along with the sound of the engine rumbling and the train wheels on the tracks. A few minutes later, the train came screeching to a halt at the station. As the doors to the front train car opened up, Sol and Twilight were greeted by a light-green unicorn mare with a two-toned green mane and teal eyes, and a bulky, red and black pinto unicorn stallion, with a silver mane and beard, and yellow eyes.
As the two left the train car, a wave of ponies followed after behind them, funneling out and spreading across the platform.
"Welcome to Canterlot," Twilight greeted them with a polite bow. "I hope that your trip was peaceful?"
"About as peaceful as we could hope for, considering what happened," the mare said, bowing in return.
"I understand. Now, if you will follow us, Sol has acquired some rooms in some of the hotels for everypony to stay while you're here."
"Thank you, Princess."
"Hmph."
Hearing the stallion's rather audible harrumph, Twilight and Sol turned their attention to him. When they did, they both saw his hate-filled eyes focused solely on Sol.
"Is there something I can help you with?" Sol asked, feeling something off-putting about this stallion.
"I do not need help from the likes of you, you half-breed whelp," the stallion sharply replied, his words taking Twilight and the guards by surprise and making them flinch.
However, while they were surprised by his sharpness and harshness behind his words, Sol noticed something different... and familiar. Feeling his heart skip at the sound of the eerily familiar voice, Sol's eyes narrowed into a glare as his horns glowed faintly with his magic.
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me, Spawn of Celestia!"
Sol's eyes widened, not because of what his words implemented to those around him, but because there was only one other creature in existence who spoke to him like that.
While Sol was temporarily distracted, the green mare cautiously walked over to the red and black stallion and placed a hoof on his shoulder.
"Hey, easy there. We-"
"No!" he bellowed, his yellow eyes seeming to glow with his growing rage. "I am going to end what was started-"
Before he could finish, metallic chains shot up from beneath the ground, wrapping themselves tightly around the stallion before they started shining in a golden light. Feeling the sting from the light-infused chains, the stallion roared and struggled as he tried to thrash in place. A moment later, a purple aura encompassed his horn to prevent him from using his magic.
With his horns shining gold with magic, Sol stood up on his legs and drew his shield and hammer. Taking a defensive stance, he then placed himself between the stallion and Twilight, who too figured out who this was from listening to him speak and recognizing the voice.
"You may have changed your appearance, but it was foolish of you to not disguise your voice as well... Tirek!"
The stallion's thrashing ceased as he grinned and chuckled darkly at the name. Seeing this coupled with hearing his name, the guards all ran up in front of Sol and Twilight. As they surrounded Tirek in a circle with their spears pointed at him, one of the guards pulled the green mare back behind them. While Sol, Twilight, and the guards restrained and surrounded Tirek, everypony else who was watching the exchange started to scream and flee in terror of Tirek having snuck into Canterlot. However, while most of the ponies who arrived on the train ran or flew deep into the city, a few dozen of them, along with the green mare, stayed behind to watch.
"You will receive no quarter, Tirek," Sol warned. "This time, you will not escape your imprisonment. I will see to that."
"You're outpowered and surrounded, Tirek," Twilight said, her horn alight with a spell at the ready. "Just do yourself and everypony else a favor and surrender quietly."
What happened next, nopony expected as Tirek began to chuckle, which quickly grew into full-blown laughter.
"Hahahaha! You equines truly are stupid!" he laughed. "Did you honestly believe that I would risk coming here without a plan?"
As Twilight and Sol shared a brief look of concern, neither of them, nor the guards, noticed the green mare and other ponies who stayed, slowly closing in around them.
"You see, I'm not the one who's surrounded..."
"… you are."
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Aw yus
...and so it begins.
Weeeeeeeelllllll ASS!
.............Crap..... 😱
ah here goes world war equestrian
Oh, snap. By the way, is Tirek going to explain to Sol about how he nearly succeeded last time because of Discord and Celestia? Just curious. After all, Celestia did put her son in danger during that incident.
9011203
Yeah it was rather obvious
Ahem... Mass Teleport everyout out, Celestia Solar nukes the mountain. Win.
... Crapbaskets!!
This is why you should have but all the civilians in the under Kingdome. But noooooo.
9011211 Sorry. I hadn't planned on it, so he won't be doing that.
9011610 ...yeaaaahhhhh. As easy a fix that would be, I don't think that Celestia or the others would actually do it.
9012849
True, but can you at least come up with a reason why Eris or Discord doesn't just snap their fingers and wipe Tirek out of existence?
The show had Discord switch sides then lose his powers to Tirek, and had Chrysalis with a magic canceling throne to keep Discord depowered. So what you going to do to limit their powers, so they don't just win instantly?
9012849
Darn it. Oh, well. Still looking forward to more.
9012939 Don't worry. I've already planned ahead for that long ago.
i can say this is a vary good story that i am vary happy to have found.
now to this chapter i often wonder just how smart the princess's rely are i mean come on they cant find the tree for the forest.
My OC would be helpful.