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

by kahnac

The Fall of a Crystal Prince

Shining Armor, and his companions looked around the newfound battlefield with worried looks. Though it seemed like he, and his group might just have been able to at least hold their own against Tirek with a whole garrison of guards on their side........the demon had other plans as he knocked every last one of them unconscious with his magic alone, and then instantly drained them of theirs. Thereby increasing his power even further than before. Now, as Soarin quickly pointed out, things seemed much bleaker than before.

"Guys: this crazy dude just took down the whole royal guard without even breaking a sweat. We're in serious trouble, now."

"Calm down, Soarin." said Blade Dancer, trying to keep the tension from rising, "We can't just give up now. We're the only ones left standing between him, and the princesses."

"Yeah, i know....but, how are we gonna win, now? All these ponies couldn't stand up to him, and he's only gotten stronger! We're seriously outclassed!"

"Please: don't let any of that stop you idiots from attacking me all at once. I could use some more exercise." Tirek said in a very challenging tone.

Suddenly, his staff lit up with magic in the same manner as Tirek himself, and he thrust it towards the four ponies, allowing a beam of dark energy like his own to fire at them all. Quick to respond, the four ponies quickly leaped to the right, with Soarin pushing Shining Armor away on account of how tired he was, dodging the blast before it could hit them. They were fast to recover, with Blueberry Frost picking up one of the guard spears so as to arm herself for combat once more.

"Alright: looks like it's up to us, now. Our only chance is to hit him fast, and hit him hard. Prince Armor: stay back, and let us handle this. We'll try, and keep him at bay."

"But-" Shining armor protested, before Blueberry frost cut him off. :You have to. You've already given as much as you can to stop this monster. Let US handle it from here."

The prince wanted to argue, but deep down he knew Frost was right. His strength had diminished greatly, and he wasn't sure he could last any longer if he kept trying to fight. He hated having to sit on the sidelines when he wanted to keep fighting his troops. But he knew this was the only way: and he relented.

"Okay. Just be careful-that's an order."

*grin* "Yes, sir....Captain Armor. *turns back to Tirek* Alright troopss: attack!"

With that, the Trio went on the offensive, while Tirek positioned his staff in a defensive pose, with the top pointing to the left, and the bottom opposite. Captain Frost made the first strike, as she swung her spear in rightward while leaping in the air. Tirek easily parried the blow, and the two began dueling with their respective weapons. The captain's skill was good, but so was Tirek's, and his height gave him a major advantage. The pegasi duo tried evening the odds by attempting a larriette, only for him to sense them coming, grab their front legs, and then slam them together before tossing them away. Captain Frost tried to stab him while he was distracted, but he managed to catch it beforehand, and throw her towards the others. But they got back up just as quickly. Soarin came in first, delivering a series of hits to Tirek's chest, all while the latter simply stood there, and shrugged the blows off with ease. He then delivered a swift, but strong slap to the side of Soarin's head, sending him crashing into a nearby wall. Blade Dancer was next as she prepared to cut Tirek with here wing-blades. But the centaur side stepped two attempts before channeling his magic through his hand, and sending her flying across the field, and being given a rather rough landing.

He turned to face who he believed would be his final opponent, but was surprised when a spear was suddenly thrown directly at his head. Had he not blocked it with his magic, it might've gone right through his skull. This momentary distraction gave the Captain enough time to buck him in the torso, and actually push him back a few feet. At times like this, it was good to be an earth pony. But Tirek quickly retaliated with a beam of his fiery magic shooting from his horns only a few inches from her muzzle, and the force of it knocking her down. The attack knocked the wind out of her, and she had a hard time standing back up. Tirek soon began approaching her, intent on finishing her off. But a sudden flash of bright blue caught his attention. As did a sudden strike to his face. It didn't really hurt, but the surprise of it caught him off guard. Another punch soon came: then another, then another, then another. The pony was moving so fast, Tirek was having a hard time keeping up. Then he realized it was the stallion pegasus, trying to use speed to overcome Tirek. And to Soarin's credit, it was working. Tirek was having a hard time, which proved to be quite useful for the other ponies. Blade Dancer managed to get back up, and was once again slashing away at Tirek, who was once again dodging her moves. A few moment's later, Captain Frost, who had finally caught her breath, had grabbed another spear, and was back in action. The combined attack seemed to be working, as the 3 ponies now had the demonic centaur on the back hoof. It seemed like they would now have a chance at winning.

Until, in the midst of the barrage, Tirek's horns glowed with magic once more. But instead of simply charging a magical beam of some kind, the magic instead was being channeled in Tirek's staff: building up Dark energy until it began glowing brightly. Once it was bright enough, and just as the 3 charged him all at once, Tirek let out a loud roar as he slammed his scepter into the ground, and released a mystical pulse that struck the 3 of them like a hammer, and threw them aside with ease. When the smoke cleared, Tirek was the only one still standing: the battered, and beaten forms of the 3 ponies lay scattered across the field, defeated. As he looked at them, Tirek let out a grunting sound as he tossed aside the scepter, which vanished in a flame once he discarded it, and he now had a look of disappointment on his face.

"So much for exercise."

He wasted in time in using his magic to lift up the 3 ponies, who began stirring while in his grasp, and huddle them together, as he prepared to finish things up. Before anything else, he began draining the 3 of their magic, devouring every single drop of it until they were finally empty. Once that was done, he just dropped them back down to the ground. The colors in their eyes now filled wit pale, blank, colorless pupils. Yet in spite of his weakened state, Soarin still had enough strength to speak before falling unconscious like the Captain, and Blade Dancer.

*Weakly* "Well....at least.....we bought.....shining some....time."

Believing himself victorious, Tirek decided to mildly gloat over his victory before going after a certain unicorn prince.

"And that settle's that. As much as i've had a good time swatting around flies, i have more important things to do. So where, oh where is-"

"THAT! IS! ENOUGH!"

At first, Tirek was a bit surprised when he heard that shout - so full of anger, and aggression. But he also recognized that shout as belonging to his quarry, who he saw standing at least a few feet away from where Tirek himself was: a look of pure anger in his eyes, and his horn charging with magical power. While Tirek wasn't sure what Shining Armor was building up his magic reserves for, but he payed it no mind, as the stallion was too weak to be of any real threat to him. A fact he wanted to rub in before he got his hands on him.

"Ah, so the noble prince stays to protect his subjects! How pure of you! A shame you're in no condition to stop me. Or fair any better than these worthless nags did."

Shining Armor, for all intents and purposes, didn't respond to the remark. All that was on his mind was letting as much magic as he could muster build up in his horn for his idea to work. He knew he was only going to get one shot at this, so it needed to count.

"Hahahohoh, come on, now!" chortled Tirek in amusement. "Please say this is a joke! With your level of magic? After what i already did to you several minutes ago? Be realistic! No amount of magic you have is enough to challenge me as i am now! Besides, look at you: you're certainly no siren, no draconequus.......and certainly no alicorn! You're just a simple unicorn."

"Yeah?!" Shining yelled, the frustration and anger evident in his voice. And as he spoke, his eyes began glowing brighter, and brighter. "Well, you know what?! Buck magic levels, buck Draconequus' AND BUCK YOU!"

Right at that moment, he unleashed all of the magic he had built up into an immense wave of magic very similar to the kind he, and his wife had used to rid the city of the Changeling Invasion a while back. It rushed outwardly like a massive explosion, or enormous pulse of energy. Tirek had little time to react as the wave came flying towards him. And just like with the wedding-the wave brushed over the whole city, and briefly engulfed it in a flash of light. A few moments later, the light faded away, and the glow from Shining's horn faded. Now the prince was left panting heavily while his head was lowered as he felt the effects of such a powerful spell being used. Normally, he had no problems creating a barrier of any kind: but releasing a mystic wave like he did once before, without Cadence to help channel such magic? In the long run, it was taxing on his body, AND his stamina.

*panting* "Okay....never....try that...again....without Cadence. *Deep Breath* But at least it's over now."

"Indeed, it is."

Shining's eyes widened, with a feeling of dread falling over him. He slowly raised his head to see, much to his despair: Tirek was still standing where he had been. Only with a rather large shield having been cast over him. But now, it quickly receded, as Tirek had a less than amused expression, as he began slowly approaching Shining Armor.

"In more ways than one."

"No! That's-That's impossible! Nopony's ever been able to-

"No pony. Clearly you underestimated my power......and overestimated yourself. Though i admit: now i truly am impressed by your tenacity. But i've wasted enough time as it is. So why don't you just stand up straight, bow your head, and stop wasting everyone's time?"

In a last ditch effort to fight back, Shining once more tried lighting up his horn to attack. But all he got in exchange was the painful feeling in his head that comes after such an expendage of magic is used. After one last try, and another jab of pain to his head, his expression changed from determination, to complete, and utter defeat. Yet also a clear sign of sadness, as well as he suddenly dropped down onto his stomach, and lowered his head in shame. Accepting what was to come, next.

"Princesses....Cadence....please, forgive me: i failed."

"Well. It appears that i've finally broken both your body, AND your spirit. How amusing. Though if you really want to know if your precious princesses forgive you.......*grin* we can both find out once we reach them."

"Just shut up, and finish it, already."

"Oh, come now, dear boy!" Tirek said in mock-offended tone. "Haven't you been paying attention before? I have plans for you, even after i take what little magic you have left. After all: having a prisoner of my own should make this game even more fun."

At the mention of the word, Shining's expression hardened, and he quickly darted his head up at Tirek, and yelled, "A game?! This is all just a game to you?!"

"Hehehahahah! Don't be ridiculous. If this were really a game: that would imply i was having fun. But unfortunately, there IS no fun to be had swatting aside pathetic, little equine nags who are undeserving of their power. All i'm doing is establishing the status quo as it should be: with only ONE supreme being in equestria, keeping fools like you in their place. And with Discord by my side, my reign of terror will be remembered for ages to come: long after the Princesses are finally dead, and dust."

"And what about me?" Shining asked, as an eyebrow raised in curiosity.

"Well......every Lord needs entertainment of some kind. And with my power, i can stay that way with you for a long time." *Grin*

Shining's jaw clenched hard as he glared at the sadistic monster with complete defiance in his eyes.

"You sick, twisted monster! You might think you'll win: but the truth is you will NEVER succeed! There will always be somepony to stop you! No matter HOW strong you get. And when they win, and when you lose.....noone will ever have remembered you!"

"And who might these "someponies" be? The Princesses? Fool. In a few moments, their fate will be the same as everypony thus far."

In a flash of moment, Tirek grabbed Shining by his muzzle, and held him in place as he continued grinning in delight, while Shining still glared defiantly at the monstrous demon.

"As will every, single, pony in Equestria."

Then his nightmarish maw opened, as he drained the magic right out of Shining Armor's horn. A process which looked exceptionally painful for Shining, as his eyes quickly widened, and a strained, grunting sound could be heard as the process went on. Finally, Tirek finished up, and released the prince from his grasp. With a light groan, Shining nearly fell to the side as all of his strength completely vanished. But just before he hit the ground, Tirek quickly grabbed him in his hand, and held him around his torso from behind. Holding him like he was a small prize he had just claimed. He then looked towards the palace entrance, and suddenly vanished in a flash of fiery light.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

All the while, Discord had been perched on a couch sofa he had conjured just as soon as the action had begun. As it went on, he also made a bunch of items show up, as well: a pair of 3D glasses, a bag of popcorn with soda, a "Number 1" hand glove, and a red, and block striped shirt with a white logo that said "Team Tirek". The chaotic clash was much more entertaining than the chaos spirit had figured it would be, and he treated it like the greatest spectator sport in the world. But while he enjoyed the chaos that ensued: he was secretly glad Tirek spared the ponies as requested. he wasn;t sure why, but part of him felt concern for the little equines. Guess the mane six rubbed off on him a bit more than he figured. Needless to say, he was surprised when he saw Tirek disappear in a flaming flash. At least, until he heard a "whoosh" sound but a few feet next to him. When he turned, and looked, he saw Tirek with his now captive prisoner. A sinister smile etched on his face. Once he saw his new friend had come back, Discord sighed disappointingly before snapping his fingers, and making everything he made disappear.

"Oh, poo. I was hoping that could've lasted a little longer. I was really enjoying the show, it was so much fun."

"Relax, my friend: now is the part where things become TRULY interesting. I think it's time i finally paid the princesses a visit, at last."

"Hmm, sounds good. But what about him?" Discord asked, pointing to the barely conscious Shining Armor hanging helplessly in Tirek's hand.

"Ah, yes. Believe me: what i said before was true. I believe this one may be quite useful to us. But for now, i'll just leave him here. In case i may actual require....leverage."

Tirek then dropped Shining down to the ground, in a rather ungraceful manner. Discord was a bit startled with how quickly Tirek dropped the prince, and with such carelessness. But he quickly got over it. Though as Shining lay himself down, and weakly rose his head back up, his seemingly blind gaze meeting the Draconequss' own, he had only one thing to say as he finally succumbed to unconsciousness.

*groggily* "How....could you....d-do..this?"

As the Prince passed out, Discord looked at him in a rather confused manner. He was actually pretty confused about Shining's words: like he couldn't understand why Discord did what he did. There was no way. Nopony except Fluttershy had such faith in him. How could anypony else actually do? Before he could question the matter in his mind any further, he felt the muscular arm of Tirek wrap around his own, as the centaur addressed his mismatched companion.

"Why don't you go, and have a little fun? I won't stand in your way."

He then turned back to Shining Armor, and with a wave of his hand, cast a barrier of his own magic around the unconscious form of the prince. Now, his captive was firmly, and safely secured. While Tirek looked to the rest of Canterlot, chuckling deviously as he thought of the chaos he was now going to wreak, Tirek made his way into the castle. His objective waiting just inside.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Within the throne-room of the castle, the 3 princesses rested. Still weak from having rid themselves of their own magic, and then giving it over to princess twilight for safe keeping. They knew that a terrible risk came with this plan, but they were more than willing to take that chance to keep the rest of equestria safe. Soon enough, they heard, and felt, the fierce stomping of hooves rapidly approaching the room. Suddenly, Tirek burst into the throne room, ripping both doors out of the walls, and tossing them to the side. He then strode right on over to where the princesses were, donning the same devilish grin he'd been wearing all day. His magic swiftly took Princess Celestia to Tirek's eye level, and he attempted to drain her magic. But when he did, he was shocked to find nothing was happening. Yet shock quickly turned to anger as he demanded: "What have you done?!"

The only response Celestai gave was a determined expression which also held a sense of triumph to it. This caused Tirek to wonder about something. He quickly tried draining Luna, and Cadence respectively: but only ending in the same result as before-no magic, and a now enraged centaur.

"Wheeeere is your magic?!!!"

Comments

[kahnac]

7352999 *sigh* I'm guessing there are spelling mistakes in the frickin thing?