Honouring the vow

by Denchik

Chapter 1: Different choices yield different results.

Equestria, Ponyville

After warning the final citizen of small village, which was located to the South-West of Canterlot, Applejack began making her way towards the spot where the Mane 6 (minus Twilight) and Spike agreed to meet after they had finished their task.

After the orange earth pony arrived at the destined place, she noticed that her friends have also finished their task of warning Ponyville’s ponies of Tirek’s return.

“Alright, y'all. I think we've warned everypony to stay inside.“ Said Applejack while looking at Rarity, Pinkie pie and Fluttershy.

‘‘I'm sure Discord will catch Tirek and this will all be over soon!“ declared the yellow pegasus, confident in the draconequus‘ abilities.

‘‘I'll bet he takes his sweet time.‘‘ scoffed Rainbow Dash, not as confident in Discord‘s abilities as her friend Fluttershy.

‘‘Or perhaps these things just take time.“ Said a familiar voice that was pretty close to the ponies and the baby dragon. They turned their heads to see the draconequus smiling at them. Fluttershy smiled and began flying towards Discord.

‘‘You're back! Did you bring the cucumber sandwiches?“ asked the yellow pegasus while hugging her friend. Fluttershy then let go of the draconequus and began looking into his eyes.

‘‘I did.” Said Discord, making a plate with multiple cucumber sandwiches appear on his hands.

“I imagine they'll be your last decent meal for quite some time.“ Stated the draconequus, dropping the sandwiches near the ponies and Spike. He then snapped his fingers, which made a pretty big cage appear and trap the citizens that were in front of him.

This caused the captives to be really surprised. They began to objectify Discord’s decision, but to no avail. Meanwhile, Lord Tirek began to get closer and closer to the cage. Eventually, he made it to the spot and was greeted by the draconequus.

“Ta-da!” exclaimed Discord happily, proud of himself for successfully trapping the ponies and Twilight’s number one assistant.

“Have you gathered up all of them?” asked the centaur, placing his arms on the cage.

“And her little dragon too!” replied the draconequus, pointing at the baby dragon. Spike tried to bite Discords finger, but the spirit of disharmony managed to get his paw out of the way just in time.

“Why are you doing this? I thought we were friends!” choked out Fluttershy. She was hugging and crying into Applejack’s belly, distraught from Discord’s betrayal.

‘‘Oh, we were. But Tirek offered me so much more than just tea parties. Surely you saw this coming.“ Admitted the draconequus, not showing any sign of regret for his actions.

‘‘I didn't. I really didn't!‘‘ said Fluttershy, still weeping. After taking her eyes off the yellow pegasus, the orange earth pony began to glare daggers at Discord.

Tirek then began to use his magic to bring the cage with its captives closer to him. The centaur then began to absorb their magic, increasing his humongous power even further. After he was done absorbing the magic, Lord Tirek then dropped the cage near the draconequus. Thanks to the newly added powers, the centaur began to grow bigger in size and has managed to grow a mass of white hair, that matches his beard and tail.

‘‘You really think she'd do anything for them?‘‘ wondered Tirek, unsure if Twilight Sparkle would attempt to save her friends and number one assistant.

‘‘If Twilight has magic to give, it will be yours. Soon there won't be a pegasus, earth pony or unicorn who will be able to stand up against us!“ happily exclaimed Discord, which made Tirek grin maliciously.

‘I could steal all of his magic right now... No, he can still be pretty useful. I could make him my puppet and exploit him for my own cause when I take over Equestria...‘ thought the centaur, deciding whether or not to betray his ‘friend‘.

‘‘Yes, no creature will be able to stand up against us after I absorb Twilights magic!“ boasted Lord Tirek, grinning maliciously.

-Equestria-

While the centaur was absorbing the magic from Twilight Sparkle‘s friends, the purple alicorn was sitting on top of a cliff, trying to get the teleportation spell right. To the purple alicorn it seemed like a rather difficult task, thanks to all of the magic she had acquired.

“I can do this.” Said Twilight Sparkle with a great deal of determination in her voice. She closed her eyes and began focusing really hard on performing a teleportation spell. Her horn was coated in a strawberry red and violent aura, signalling that she began to use her magic.

When suddenly, she disappeared from her previous place of location and appeared on a different cliff. After teleporting, she looked behind her and smiled, knowing that she has finally got the teleportation spell down.

“See? Ha! Perfectly controlled teleportatio-“ began Twilight Sparkle, but was cut off by her teleportation spell going a bit bonkers. She began teleporting around Equestria, much to her annoyance. She suddenly teleported into a tight crevice of rock that has been split in two. As a result of the last teleportation, the purple alicorn began groaning in frustration.

“PRINCESS TWILIGHT!” howled a very rough voice with the intent of calling out the young princess. Twilight Sparkle gasped when she realised who that voice belonged to.

“Lord Tirek…” said Twilight with a hint of fear in her voice. She was a bit unconfident in facing the magic absorbing centaur due to her limited control over the tremendous power that she received from Princess Luna, Celestia and Cadance. Her horn was enveloped in a strawberry red aura once again, which meant that she was about to cast another spell.

“You have something that belongs to me!” declared Lord Tirek impatiently. The centaur was yelling from a rather short cliff that was to the opposite side of the crevice which the new princess resided in. When suddenly, the centaur saw a split rock exploding with Twilight Sparkle flying out of it.

She flew past Lord Tirek and began searching for a place that may give her an advantage in the upcoming bout. She tried to land, but her newfound speed made her landing very difficult. The alicorn only came to a complete stop when she bumped into the centaur’s front hoof. Upon realising what she bumped into, Twilight Sparkle began backing away from the towering villain in front of her.

“You’re going to give me what I want!” stated Lord Tirek. He began gathering magical energy between his horns, with the intent of sending a magical blast at the purple alicorn. She dodged it by teleporting to the Golden Oak Library, much to Tirek’s surprise. He stopped charging the blast after he realised that Twilight Sparkle left him.

When the princess appeared on the top of the library, she began to use her telescope to look at the centaur from a distance. Lord Tirek saw what Twilight Sparkle was up to and sent a pretty powerful blast towards her. She saw it and quickly teleported inside of her home to save Owlowiscious. She grabbed her assistant and began to head out of The Golden Oak Library. But before the purple alicorn could get out of it, the blast managed to connect with the tree, resulting in a huge explosion.

Twilight Sparkle barely managed to teleport out of the explosion, shielding the owl with her body. She landed near it, hugging Owlowiscious. When she looked at the damaged library, the purple alicorn was horrified to see that it had been destroyed by the blast. She let go of her assistant, which resulted in Owlowiscious flying off.

Twilight Sparkle stood up, infuriated with the centaur’s actions. She cast a teleportation spell and appeared behind Lord Tirek. Whilst gritting her teeth, the purple alicorn began to charge up an extremely powerful blast. While gritting her teeth, she launched a giant wave of destructive magic at the centaur. Lord Tirek noticed this and put up a barrier to defend himself from it.

Little did he know, however, that the barrier would not be able to defend him from the upcoming attack. When the blast connected with the barrier, it broke and engulfed the centaur. After the shield had been broken by the raw force of the blast, Twilight Sparkle poured much more magic into it, increasing its destructive power significantly.

When the magic wave connected with a hard surface, it resulted in a colossal explosion and a giant mushroom cloud. The purple alicorn landed on the pathway that the massive magic blast had produced and began taking a closer look at the damage she has inflicted. Tirek’s body had multiple burns on it, coupled with a few cuts and bruises.

“Now I understand what the princesses had done…” said Lord Tirek, now realising why the alicorn in front of him managed to inflict so much damage to him. The centaur also began to realise that he was fighting a losing battle against Twilight Sparkle. The young princess began to power up, which caused the ground to shake a bit.

She then began to fly up high into the sky. After the purple alicorn was high enough, she began to fly towards Lord Tirek. The villain saw this and sent a blast towards Twilight Sparkle. The purple alicorn saw the upcoming attack just in time and teleported out of the way. She appeared near Lord Tirek and sent a powerful energy blast at him. It connected with his shoulder and went right through it, leaving a huge hole in it.

The centaur’s cries echoed throughout Equestria. The wound began to bleed heavily on both sides, which greatly complicated things for the villain. His horns began glowing , this time he managed to engulf his opponent in an orange aura. The centaur then sent the princess at a nearby mountain. Twilight Sparkle barely managed to get out of his spell, which resulted with her escaping the crash. She saw Lord Tirek flying towards her, with the intent of headbutting her through said mountain.

The purple alicorn dashed out the way, making the centaur crash through the mountain. Lord Tirek stopped flying after he noticed that his plan had failed to work. He then began looking for Twilight Sparkle, but to no avail.

“Where in Tartarus is she…” thought the villain, scanning his surroundings. No matter where he looked, Lord Tirek had no luck in finding his opponent!

“Right here!” said a voice behind the centaur. He looked behind and was greeted by a very powerful kick from the purple alicorn. The force from the attack sent him flying towards the ground. Eventually, he crashed into hard dirt, which resulted in a pretty big crater and a broken nose. Twilight Sparkle landed near him and began walking up to him.

“What have you done with the princesses?” inquired the purple alicorn with a hint of venom in her voice. Lord Tirek got up and began grinning.

“I have banished those pathetic princesses to Tartarus, the only place where they belong!” spat the centaur, looking Twilight Sparkle straight in the eyes. This infuriated and shocked the purple alicorn. She furrowed her eyebrows and sighed, which calmed Twilight Sparkle down a bit.

“What about my friends? What happened to them?” wondered the young princess, hoping that her friends were safe and unharmed.

“They are imprisoned by Discord. I would imagine that they are in a pretty big cage that is located in the middle of Ponyville.” Blankly stated the centaur. This calmed the angry alicorn further, but it also increased her resentfulness towards her opponent.

“Well, I guess I just have to beat you and free them. Sounds simple enough, doesn’t it?” said the purple alicorn, scaring Lord Tirek. He began backing away, but not before throwing another blast at Twilight Sparkle. She casually deflected it by creating a small barrier and began walking towards the centaur, intimidating her opponent even further. She then teleported near him and sent a mighty punch at the villain.

“This is for the princesses!” shouted Twilight Sparkle. The punch connected, which managed to send Lord Tirek rocketing into the sky. She then caught up with the villain and sent a kick towards him with her back hooves.

“This is for my friends and family!” yelled the purple alicorn. The kick connected with the centaur’s ribcage, breaking it upon contact. Lord Tirek began flying towards a pretty big mountain at a big speed. He crashed into it and groaned.

“Damn you, Twilight Sparkle!” shouted the centaur, his voice harbouring frustration and pain. He knew that death was knocking at his front door and Lord Tirek did not like it one bit. The villain saw that his opponent began charging up a very powerful attack, which made him really nervous.

“AND THIS IS FOR ALL OF EQUESTRIA!” screeched Twilight Sparkle upon releasing the massive energy wave. It was heading towards the centaur at a very tremendous speed. Lord Tirek braced himself and closed his eyes, expecting a very painful death.

When suddenly, the covering villain felt someone grab him. He opened his eyes and found himself far away from the mountain. He looked at it and saw it come in contact with the magical blast. This resulted in a huge explosion, which completely erased the mountain. Lord Tirek saw Discord looking at him with a rather disappointed look.

“I told you that you won’t be able to take her on alone! But noooo, you didn’t listen to me and went to face her by yourself.” Scolded Discord while enveloping his friend in a green aura. The centaur felt his wounds disappear completely. The draconequus was healing him! The centaur smiled that his ‘friend’ had saved him from a rather horrible death.

“Yes… I may have underestimated her a little bit…” admitted Lord Tirek. He got up on his hooves and began to stretch his healed shoulder. He then looked at the general direction where the remaining princess may be…

---

“I did it…” bitterly smiled Twilight Sparkle. She then began teleporting to Ponyville with the intent of liberating her friends. She appeared not too far away from the cage in which her friends were trapped.

“Girls, look! It’s Twilight!” exclaimed Spike. The mares turned around and saw their friend mostly unharmed. All of them smiled and began cheering.

“Did you give Tirek the good old one two?” grinned Rainbow Dash, to which the purple alicorn smiled and nodded. She then used her magic to teleport her friends out of the cage, which made them a little bit dizzy. They recovered rather quickly and began making their way towards Twilight Sparkle for a group hug. The Mane 6 and Spike began hugging each other quite affectionately.

After a few moments, the group hug was broken up. Twilight Sparkle began to wear a serious expression. She began to look around and didn’t see anyone but her friends.

“Uhm, Twilight, Whatr’ya lookin’ around for?” inquired Applejack, confused as to why the purple alicorn began to scan her surroundings.

“Do any of you girls know where Discord went?” asked Twilight Sparkle, addressing the chaotic elephant in the room.

“I know! I know! He took off after saying ‘Wait here, I have some business to take care of.’!” Said Pinkie Pie, trying to imitate the dragonequus’ voice. The purple alicorn nodded and put her hoof on her chin.

“Darling, how were you able to beat that Tirek brute?” wondered Rarity, amazed at her friend’s previous display of power. Twilight Sparkle knew that this question was going to eventually come up.

“Well, girls, you see, the princesses gave me their magic. Thanks to it, I grew extremely powerful and was able to beat him.” Said the purple alicorn, earning pretty surprising gasps from her friends.

“So THAT’s why you were teleporting everywhere and acting strange!” concluded Spike, to which Twilight Sparkle nodded once again.

“Man, no wonder Discord ran away! He’s too scared to fight you!” said the cyan pegasus, placing her hoof on the purple alicorn. At first Twilight Sparkle grinned for a second, but then her expression became serious once more.

“There is one problem though, the princesses were banished to Tartarus by Tirek and I have no idea how to reverse that…” frowned the purple alicorn. Her friends were shocked to hear what the centaur had done with their beloved rulers.

“That’s… very horrible…” whispered Fluttershy, shocked that Lord Tirek would so something like that.

“But Twilight, don’t you have a spell to upon up a portal to Tartarus?” asked Spike, with lots of curiosity behind his voice, to which the princess just shook her head.

“No… I don’t… Tirek also blew up The Golden Oak Library… So I can’t read up on it there…” answered Twilight Sparkle, which greatly shocked Spike. The baby dragon frowned and hung his head, to which the purple alicorn wrapped her hoof against her number one assistant to hug him.

“Don’t worry Spike, it’s all going to be better… I just need to get Celestia, Cadance and Luna out of Tartarus… they will know what to do!” cooed the princess, successfully calming down Spike. When suddenly, she felt the baby dragon disappear. She, along with her friends, was extremely confused by this new development. Twilight Sparkle then noticed her friends disappear one by one. First was Applejack, then Rarity, then Rainbow Dash, then Fluttershy and finally, Pinkie Pie.

“Trust me, Sparkle Butt… It won’t get better.” Stated a voice behind her. She quickly turned around and was greeted by the sight of a grinning draconequus, which made her scowl.

“Discord… What did you do to them?!” aggressively inquired the purple alicorn, to which Discord let out a laugh.

“Jeez, calm down! I just sent them do a dungeon, chained them up and gave them an orb which will showcase our little skirmish.” Truthfully answered the draconequus. Twilight Sparkle furrowed her eyebrows and began glaring at the traitor. When suddenly, Lord Tirek landed near Discord and began glaring at the purple alicorn with enough strength to burn a hole right through her.

“But… how? I saw him go down!” anxiously uttered Twilight Sparkle, bewildered by the sight before her. She thought that the blast had finished off the evil centaur, but here he was, virtually unharmed.

“I saved him before he could get hit by that little blast of yours. I also healed him a little bit.” Admitted the draconequus, which made Twilight Sparkle even more anxious. She had her doubts about taking on Discord, but she is completely unsure now if she could beat both of them at once.

“It’s time for round two, Sparkle…” chuckled Lord Tirek, punching his own palm…

Author's Note:

So yeah, a new story. Comment your thoughts on it!

Comments

[MidnightTwister]

Now that I've finished, I feel the story has some potential, but I feel that there are some issues to be worked out. For one, I feel you could use stronger word choice to emphasize or exaggerate a moment. Also, I have the sense that the writing itself could be better.

The kick connected with the centaur’s ribcage, breaking it upon contact. Lord Tirek began flying towards a pretty big mountain at a big speed. He crashed into it and groaned.

This is just one example. It's okay, but it could be better. Try saying, "Before he could counter, Twilight's kick met his rib cage with terrifying force, shattering it instantaneously. The force sent Tirek flying at ever increasing speeds towards a nearby mountain. The conqueror crashed into the mountain side, and he let out a great cry of pain." This not only emphasizes the intensity of the attack, but greatly exaggerates it and makes the reader feel more involved.

Those are just some issues I had, but for what it's worth, this is pretty good, you've caught my interest.

[Denchik]

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Thank you for your input, I'l see what i can do to work on it