8. Communions of Darkness and Light
Dark and pronounced against the swirling storms of dust, Tirek sheltered his eyes beneath his bicep. He could see the end of this tiresome weather now, just over the valley's towering walls. A rich green canopy beckoned to him through a film of sand, promising reprieve.
The Forbidden Jungle, in all its glory, appeared to still be alive.
The centaur trudged forward, unbothered by the shifting dunes and scorching bedrock beneath his hooves. Like a bloodhound following a trail, he closed in on this sinister magic with every step he took. It was a scent of power and decay like no other, and it had consumed his thoughts. It was the power to wipe away life like a stain from fabric, and he had to have it. Whether through direct control or influence, he would have it.
The thought brought him a smirk.
Bending his legs, the centaur stretched out his arms as if to balance himself. With a mighty thrust, he leaped from the desert storm and broke through its ceiling, landing again on the overseeing cliffs above. Turning to face his progress, he brushed his body of clinging particles.
The pompous city of Canterlot was a mere speck, an abnormal growth on the side of Mount Equus from these desolate outskirts. The Everfree, once so vast and pale up close was now obscured from view entirely by the girth of the Macintosh Hills. Even his trek through the Badlands seemed so long ago, hidden beneath the blanket of twisting wind and debris below.
Tirek surveyed the forest. He rolled his shoulders until they cracked, and he drank in the smell of damp earth. It masked a far greater scent, one which wafted faintly from above the trees.
His target had retreated to the depths of the jungle, far from pony civilization.
Tirek chortled to himself as he disappeared behind a curtain of foliage. He sympathized with this creature more and more with every passing minute.
"So I see. In the end, my fears were not baseless. Never have I wished to be more wrong."
"Sister, do not blame yourself," urged Luna. "No one could have predicted this chain of events. Tirek is cunning—it is not so easy to predict his movements."
"Your sister is right," Starswirl added. "We were all caught off guard by Tirek's appearance, and it did not occur to me that his powers could extend to even petrified beings until it was too late. All we can do now is move forward with what we know. What we know is that Tirek can influence these statues, and so I have every confidence that the process is reversible."
"Even so, I feel responsible. I will personally look after Fluttershy and the others until this situation is resolved."
"Please, tell us of what happened, Starswirl," Luna probed. "What is this creature, and what have you all learned of it?"
Starswirl nodded. "It is more similar to Tirek than I expected, which only grows my concern. It seems to absorb the life force of living things through its innate magic. This magic, this parasitic absorption, is likely how it feeds. This would explain how the entity has retained a means of petrification never before seen in our world. The ability is directly linked to its survival, so it remains unchanged, even across dimensions."
The sorcerer nodded to Twilight and her pupil. The three of them shared a moment of unspoken understanding.
"Anything afflicted by this magic is left petrified, save green plant life, which is disintegrated entirely," Starswirl went on. "I do not yet know the limits of its powers, but considering it rendered the Everfree sterile in mere minutes upon arrival in our dimension, the scale is frightening regardless of how you look at it."
"What does it look like?" Luna followed up.
"It looks a bit like a vulture, but it's the size of a roc," Starlight offered. "It has two wings and a tail, but they're indistinguishable from each other and all end in massive claws."
"When we found it, it was in a cocoon," Twilight picked up. "Not one of silk or chitin, but formed by its wings and tail folding over itself. It looked far too specialized to be a random event. I think it might be a natural part of its behavior."
"And you said upon being attacked by Tirek, the beast emerged from this cocoon," Luna led. "Tirek framed you and then fled?"
"Yes, but he did not flee very far," replied Meadowbrook. "He was hiding in the trees. He let us take the brunt of the animal's aggression, then made himself out to be some kind of sympathetic party when he freed it from our efforts. He made the thing think he was its ally through being a mutual enemy of us."
"Tirek is opportunistic before anything else," Mistmane said gravely. "He is more powerful when he manipulates others than he could ever be, alone. He was two steps ahead of us the entire battle."
"The power to drain magic and the power to drain away life," Celestia uttered. "We cannot let Tirek take control of this creature. If we do, all of Equestria will be in peril."
Parting leaves and vines, Tirek emerged from the jungle to the sight of a brilliant temple shimmering in gold. The scent of destruction in the air was intoxicating now, and he could see streaks of decayed grass marking the entire area.
Curiosity getting the better of him, the centaur knelt on four hooves to run a palm through the dust. Like an hourglass, he let it run through a hole between his fingers.
He grinned. There was a struggle here, and where there was a struggle, there was his next meal lying in wait.
He explored the perimeter of the pyramid-esque temple once before approaching the entrance. It was an archway covered in an ancient tongue, composed of massive golden bricks. Tirek passed through it and ran his palm along the walls, marveling at the architecture. How not a single brick had been taken by thieves and pilferers over the centuries was even more fascinating.
Of course, he was about to discover why.
He stepped on a brick and it depressed, and so a flurry of arrows sprung forth from the walls. They shattered to splinters against his form. In striking an arrogant pose, his elbow depressed a second brick along the wall and an imposing saw blade fell from the ceiling. His eyes flaring, Tirek grasped the trap by its sides and stopped it fast. He chuckled, amused, before breaking the saw from its mount and dropping it to the floor with a clang.
Booby traps. How quaint. Certainly enough to keep away the lesser bugs, at least.
Advancing through the temple's bowels, he came upon a hallway lined with sphinx. The statues, born from clay and earth, were no victims of the creature, but something about them was off. Of sixteen pedestals, only eight housed a statue.
Tirek curiously looked down the hall. A figure appeared to be standing at the end. As the centaur moved closer, his horns crackling in preemptive response to further traps, he came to see the figure for what it was. His insatiable grin returned.
Posed in a moment of cowardice, a tall ape-like creature stood petrified in the center of the room. A single ray of sunlight came through the decrepit temple's ceiling and highlighted his fate. His tail, ending in a monkey's paw, curled pathetically around his legs. He covered his elongated head with his thick arms, which Tirek vainly compared to his own with a few flexes.
This must have been the temple guardian. He'd heard tales of a strange creature overseeing the ruins of the Forbidden Jungle, but never thought much of it.
The centaur opened his mouth, and the statue's soul of magic fell forth. Chuckling, he wiped his jaw. Evidently, their visitor from another world didn't think much of it, either.
Tirek turned to find a gaping hole in the side of the room, likely where a doorway had once been. Even as he watched it, he saw pebbles and larger chunks of wall dislodge themselves and tumble to the floor—a telling sign of fresh destruction.
Drawn towards that beckoning aura of power, Tirek left the light of the sun and embraced the void beyond the doorway.
"What of Flash Magnus's shield?" Luna asked. "You mentioned his bravery in saving Mistmane, but neglected to go farther. Can it truly block more than flames?"
"When wielded by one who possesses a pure and courageous heart, the shield can block anything," Starswirl explained. "It was merely renowned for its prowess against fire during the Great Dragon Wars."
"That sure sounds useful," said Starlight. "He held off a blast by himself for half a minute, at least."
"A testament to his strength," Rockhoof commended. "Flash is second only to me in raw power. The shield can block anything, but if its wielder can barely pull a wagon, they'll be overwhelmed right away."
"I'll hang onto it for him," Dash offered. "You know, until we can bring him back from being stone. I'm strong and courageous, just like him!"
"Y'all don't need a shield, Dash," Applejack refuted. "Your head's so hard it'll stop that bird's attack cold by itself."
"What was that, farm pony?"
"Considering Rainbow Dash is Flash's counterpart, I think her hanging on to the shield does make sense," said Twilight. "We have a bigger problem here, though. Princess Celestia, with Fluttershy petrified, the Elements won't work. We have no way to summon Discord without them, and he's our best option to return this creature home, and possibly to restore our friends. Do you have another way to summon him, or get his attention?"
Celestia sighed. "I do, but I'm afraid it's been ineffective since this catastrophe began."
"What do you mean?"
"As we've mentioned before, Discord has the ability to sense great disturbances in magical power," Luna picked up. "Through taking turns transferring our magic to one another temporarily, my sister and I can effectively alert Discord and get his attention from wherever he may be. We have told him that when he feels this, we need to speak with him."
"...that's pretty clever," Starlight muttered. "And probably something that's only possible with princesses."
"Perhaps, but it has not worked today, and we have tried several times," Luna replied.
"Could it be because he's in the other dimension, returning creatures?" Starlight put out. "I was worried about something like that happening with the Elements. Obviously, we didn't get the chance to see."
"It was our first thought," said Celestia. "But after several attempts at different times of day, it looks less and less likely."
"Well, what would the alternative be?" asked Twilight.
"Discord may have the ability to selectively ignore certain fluctuations in magic," Celestia explained. "This is just a guess, but I would not put it past Discord to tune out Luna and I on purpose."
"We were rather hard on him over this fiasco, even before things began to escalate," Luna added. "Talking to us is likely the last thing he wants to do."
"But he still should have sensed this thing when it emerged from its cocoon, right?" Twilight spoon-fed. "Or when Tirek started absorbing magic? Even if dimensional travel interferes with his senses, there's no way he could have missed all of that."
"I wish I had the answers, Twilight, but right now, everything is uncertain," Celestia said apologetically. "For now, we do not know where Discord is, and so we must assume that he is unaware of what has happened within the Everfree Forest. Until a time where he voluntarily returns to update us on his progress, we must act on these events ourselves."
"...which means it is time to look to limbo for our solution once again," came Starswirl. "This time, with no hesitation."
Tirek's hooves crunched on broken stone as he walked, but as he looked around, he began to realize it was not debris from the fallen wall. Meticulously painted eyes and face paint littered chunks of hard clay, scattered about the floor. Fiendish claw marks larger than himself had scraped and torn the floor and walls in wild patterns, slicing through these statues—and everything around them—like hot butter.
Tirek dawned a wicked smile. So this is where the remaining sphinx had gone. It'd been a while since he'd seen an animation spell—or the fallout of one, anyway.
Stepping over the remains of the temple's true guardians, Tirek came to hear a familiar, echoing cry from the hallways beyond. His heart rate quickened. His tongue insatiably danced around his lips. He was close, and he could quite literally taste it.
His pace slowed and his movements grew more precise as he went on. He peered around corners carefully, watching for the familiar glow of red. More than once, his search brought him to quiet, empty rooms and dead ends, and he was forced to backtrack. The beast's cries bounced off the walls and seemed to come from everywhere.
But then Tirek stopped dead in his tracks. Rounding a bend, he saw a flicker of movement from the far end of the hall. Too shrouded in black, he could not make out the shape of it, but he didn't need to. Its dark aura enveloped him, clawed at his mind to insight dread and fear even from this far away, but the centaur had none to show. He braved the corridor even as the grim reaper beckoned from the other side.
A piercing howl shook the temple, but still, Tirek walked. Indistinguishable forms twisted and writhed just ahead, but the centaur's pace did not falter. Two menacing eyes emerged from the darkness to watch him, and he met them with calm resolve.
"We have run out of options."
"I know, it's just that, Fluttershy tried so hard to send this animal home without agitating it further. I know having concerns for its well-being might seem trivial in light of everything, but...isn't it the right thing to do? Isn't doing the right thing what we're supposed to do?"
Meadowbrook beseeched the table with her words and her eyes. She garnished sympathetic looks, but no further voices would speak out.
Truly, the only pony who would do so now sat in the corner of the room, cold and still.
"Do not let Tirek's mind games get to you," Starswirl advised. "We cannot save or protect everyone and everything from every angle or consideration. What we do, we do for the greater good."
"I thought that too, or at least acted like I did. But when I saw Fluttershy risk everything for what she believed in, it stirred something in me. I can't explain it, but I feel this deeply, Starswirl—if we could just manage to calm it, I think we could avoid banishment altogether. We may even be able to reverse Tirek's onset relationship with it."
Again Meadowbrook looked around the table. Uncertainty grew within several faces.
"What proof do we have that it isn't docile when not provoked?" she continued. "You said it yourself, Starswirl. This doesn't appear to be some scheming villain. It's a wild animal with animalistic intelligence. Fluttershy approached it at the wrong time. I hate to say it, but it's true. It had just been fighting all of us, and her neutrality in that matter did not stop it from seein' her as a threat. If it acts upon instincts, we should be able to interact with it peacefully once we know the patterns."
"I do not know why this is such a point of contention after our friends have been petrified," Starswirl grumbled, motioning a hoof to the corner of the room. "You know as well as I do that limbo is a place of nothing, storage space between realms. Agitating it? It will not be able to think within limbo, let alone feel slighted. We can displace it, and return to it at our leisure—once Discord has returned, and we've discovered an effective counter-spell for its magic."
"Is destroying the Elements such an easy toll to pay?" Meadowbrook countered. "The magic that allows our seed to govern the Everfree Forest? Brush off my concerns for morality if you must, but please don't stake our only loss in it."
"The Elements can be recreated if need be, and there is a newer generation to see to it, if we cannot," Starswirl dismissed. He looked at Twilight. The alicorn smiled weakly, and the rest of the table mirrored her.
Starswirl sighed. "This situation has grown fiercely difficult in the span of a single day. I do not mean to come across so curt, Meadowbrook. You and Fluttershy harbor a love for nature so often overlooked, and I recognize that."
Meadowbrook smiled, and so did Twilight, far more genuinely. Learned lessons now unfolded before all of their eyes.
"But if our goal is to protect Equestria, to protect its citizens from the same fate the Everfree saw, then we must first regain control of the situation. Against an animal this toxic to the environment, we cannot continue to risk the lives of ponies on the premise that it can be made docile through strategic interaction, as scientific an approach as that is."
"I'm afraid I must agree with Starswirl," Celestia said, breaking the argument with a sorrowful look. "It may seem morally cruel to lock away this creature, and it may prove to be a burden on the Tree of Harmony to sacrifice the Elements, but these are short-term problems when compared to the destruction this creature is capable of. Emergency situations never grow easier, even after millennia of experiencing them."
Celestia cast a look at her sister. Luna nodded, and with a reassuring hoof, patted her side.
Meadowbrook sat back in her chair. "I understand. I agree—the safety of our citizens has to be our priority. I'm just so torn up. This whole mess could have been avoided if not for Tirek's meddling. That creature is a victim in its own way, just as our friends have become victims of its rage."
"Which leads us to the crux of the matter," Starswirl replied, standing from his seat. "While I work to prepare my spell for limbo, we must track down these threats and contain them, keep them busy. Chasing them across Equestria will be to our disadvantage, for time passed equates to power grown. We must find them immediately and stall them however we can until our spell is finished."
Grim nods acknowledged the stallion's words, but fear lingered still in every face. It was Rarity who spoke up first, clearing her throat and steadying her voice.
"...do you really think Tirek will be able to rally the beast to his side?"
The room fell quiet. Starswirl alone left the table, walking to the tall windows overseeing the Canterlot Gardens. He scrutinized the gathering of storm clouds beyond the Macintosh Hills—a desolate region far beyond the reach of pony magic.
"I believe Tirek will do whatever he can to use it to his advantage," he replied. "I fear he may have already learned something vital through our first encounter."
Tirek stepped into the room. What he had perceived as walls began to shift and flex as massive wings. A spear-tipped beak grew from the darkness to examine him, giving restrained caws. Soon the creature unfolded itself entirely, placing its claws along each side of the chamber.
"You remember me, don't you?" Tirek asked softly, sitting upon the aged stone floor. "You remember how you saved me from those equines? I remember. I had to come and thank you."
The creature maintained its stance, neither relaxed nor threatening. It stared at the centaur as if waiting for something. It stretched its limbs, and its talons scraped along the floor, leaving gashes as wide as small tree trunks. It cawed again, more loudly this time, and Tirek scrunched a curious brow.
All through this, those eyes did not stop watching him, eerie and patient like a predator in the brush. Tirek smiled.
"That pegasus truly didn't understand you, did she?" he began. He crossed his arms, shrinking his posture in the process. "She got right in your face, expecting calm tones and physical contact to soothe you. But you're a clever beast, aren't you? You identify your prey with something far more subtle than sight."
Tirek expelled a haggard breath. Vivid thoughts of his untimely end raced through his head, but he ignored every one.
"You can sense fear, can't you?" he cooed, that familiar twinkle of confidence coming to his eyes. "You dig for it, and when you see it, you pounce. You saw it in that pegasus, and as soon as she turned away, you made your move. I'm right, aren't I?"
The beast's wings raised from the floor and dug into the ceiling. Dust rained down on them in streams. Tirek chuckled. Nothing could deter his smug smile or his gaze.
"It's a commendable technique. I believe we're more alike than you know. Magic tastes the best when it's taken from ponies putting up a fight."
Worn down by impatience, the vulture reigned in its wings and again huddled itself up within the dark. When those violet eyes grew distracted and looked away, the thoughts besieging Tirek's mind finally ceased, and he gave a light sigh.
Stratagem or no, he could not rule out luck entirely. He'd already won the beast's favor on the battlefield, and so it likely didn't see him as a threat. No amount of mental preparation, he suspected, would save him as an unknown intruder in its nest.
"What a cozy hideaway you've found," he said, examining the stone walls. "Stylish, too. Though I'm disappointed the gold only coats the exterior."
The vulture regarded him absently, attracted by his voice. It lifted the fold of one wing and began to dig its snout into it. Tirek chuckled.
Was it preening? It had no visible plumage. Perhaps it was an itch. Perhaps even reapers were plagued by grievances of the mortal plane.
"I hope you weren't planning on going back to sleep again," Tirek began, slowly getting to his hooves and drawing the vulture's full attention. "Not when your vengeance remains unfulfilled. Wouldn't you like to get out there and stretch those wings? Wouldn't you like to go out there with me and get something to eat?"
His words meant nothing, but his interaction had meaning. He knew it did.
The vulture abandoned its preening. With rekindled interest, it crawled from the shadows in two motions of its claws, its beak coming mere yards before Tirek's face. Even in his semi-empowered state, the centaur barely matched the beast's head in size. He cautiously raised a hand on instinct, to catch the snout before it reached his face. There, he held it aloft a moment, watching the creature closely.
With trepidation, Tirek outstretched his hand, the cool temple air suddenly thick and weighted. When he felt a cool, smooth surface break the sweat of his palm, his smile blossomed to a wicked grin. Chuckling, he rubbed along that deep black shell and admired his reflection within it.
"...yes, you are a gorgeous beast, aren't you?" he whispered.
End of Part I
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They can't send it to Limbo! Discord, get your butt out here and help them before I give you something to whine about!!
*Ahem* All in all, a wonderfully written chapter and a great way to end Part 1! I can't wait to see what you have in store for us next!
Marked as On Hiatus, but updated today?
10850962
Not in that order. :) Updated, then put on hiatus. Have plans to finish and physically print one of my other stories before I go any further with this.
10841517
What the heck are you talking about?!
Xerneas DID reverse it!!! She saved Ash, Pinkacu, and their Friends from Yveltel's Petrification of Death. Didn't you see Pokemon Movie: Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction????!!!!
10850950
Agreed! What the heck is taking Discord NOT to answer their distress??!! Shouldn't he be super depressed and furious that Fluttershy was possibly "killed"???!!!
10851077
Yeah!
NavelColt likely has a plan for Discord though, so best not to make too big a fuss at the moment
10851051
Xerneas didn't save Ash but Nintendo
They chained him to life support and made him a 10-year-old forever.
Also, pokemon are inherently more interesting when child protection, plot shield is turned off and realism is on
Also when idiot ball trope is turned off too
10851085
Kinda hypocritial, since you also made a fuss about it yourself?! But, very well then.
10851090
Dude! No need to put up that old meme with Ash's questionably eternal youth, and be very dark about it.
10851100
That was just a joke, I wasn't being serious, but whatever
I can’t tell if Tirek genuinely cares about Yveltal or if its just a show to gain trust.
I know he’s using every tactic against the ponies, but this chapter makes me think if maybe he’s starting to care slightly. Just slightly.
10851438
I am 90% sure he's doing this purely to get Yveltal on his side, and when the times comes, drain it.
10852137
I have to agree with you.
Are you going to finish this story? I'd love to see where it goes...
11304779
For now leaving it on hiatus because I don't want to decisively abandon it, but I'm also not sure when I'll be returning to it.
I might, I'm not sure as of right now to be honest. All the characters involved in this story are still interests of mine, but I've had other writing projects taking priority since I began this. This was also written on a bolt of inspiration, and I haven't been able to recapture that, since.
10851438
Yeah, I definitely see a Pokemon Conquest type bond going on.
11552910
Tirek always came off as one of the more level-headed of the major villains to me, so while extremely vain and selfish, a lot of his perspectives aren't objectively wrong, they're just tinted through an extremely selfish lens. I'm glad he comes across this way for you.
You'll be excited to know that I'm in the middle of doing some edit runs on this story, then aim to start Part 2 by May.
11553073
Good to know. Thanks.