Chapter 1
The castle town of the Midnight Kingdom was full of citizens in the streets that day. Gargoyles flew around, sometimes stopping to buy produce in the marketplace or converse with their centaur brethren on the ground below. Powerful centaur guards would keep watch for any suspicious activity, while the citizens lived their normal lives. The palace stood proudly in the center where King Scorpan resided with his subjects. He was in the middle of an important meeting with Princess Twilight Sparkle and Spike. They were in the throne room discussing matters involving Tirek. They all sat at a table with Scorpan sitting at one end and the Staff of Sacanas leaning against his chair.
“So he really has forgotten the spell then,” Scorpan said, pressing his fingers together.
“I saw Discord erase his memories of the spell before letting him run off,” Spike told the king. “I guess he didn’t want Tirek turned to stone again or go to Tartarus.”
“My brother has served his time long enough. I was preparing for Discord to release all three of them next year and attempt to reform him, but someone out there decided to do it early and cause us trouble. At least Tirek had the sense to turn himself in, but now I can see even Villains Anonymous wasn’t enough. He needs to be sent before me.”
“I haven’t heard anything about him since he was let go,” Twilight said. “And what of his old master Sendak? Could he teach Tirek the same spell again?”
“The last thing I heard about Sendak is that he was turned to stone while working in the mines. It couldn’t have been from a gargoyle jailer because none of them were able to undo it. That was over a thousand years ago. We placed the statue in an undisclosed location in the forest where it remains, covered in thick foliage. Tirek will never see his master again. No one will.”
“What about the Stone? Will it be safe from him?” Spike asked.
“The Absorption Stone? Of course it will. His old magic still resides in there since the day Celestia and Luna stood up to him, but if he has forgotten his magic-absorbing spell, he will not be able to use that or even the Staff of Sacanas. By the way, tell Tempest Shadow I’m still grateful to her for returning the staff.”
“I won’t forget to tell her,” Twilight said, politely.
“It feels like it was just yesterday when the Storm King invaded my land and took this staff. I thought we were done for until he was petrified in obsidian and his empire immediately fell. It was tough repairing the damage and allowing dissident storm beasts to integrate with our society, but we couldn’t have done it without Equestria’s help.”
Scorpan smiled to his friends, gratefully. He then grabbed the staff and got up out of his chair as Spike and Twilight did the same. Some nearby gargoyle subjects came in to take the table and chairs away.
“So how have things come around with that child?”
“We’re still looking for Cozy Glow,” Twilight answered.
“And the Queen?”
“No word yet. I’ve been hiring more guards lately and they’ve been patrolling all over the land for changelings. Starswirl is also working on an artifact that should allow me to detect changelings anywhere.”
“If Chrysalis dares come near Pinkie and Cheese’s wedding, we’ll spot em’ lickity-split,” Spike added.
“It sounds like we’re all up to date then. Well I guess that concludes this meeting, my friends,” Scorpan said, giving them both a hug.
“Always happy to help, Scorpan,” Spike replied.
“We’ll keep an eye out for Tirek, and let us know if you see him around here,” Twilight added.
“We’ll all be on the lookout for my brother. Thanks, both of you.”
“Till next time, your highness.”
They bowed politely before exiting through the doors that Scorpan’s guards had just opened for them on the other side. After both doors had closed, Scorpan turned around and walked back to his throne. He used his magic to levitate the staff over to a nearby stand for storage as an attendant came by with some paperwork and a quill for him.
Suddenly, Scorpan heard shouting just outside of the stained glass windows behind his throne. His ears perked up and the two centaur guards nearby drew their spears. For a split second, Scorpan could see the silhouette of another guard against the middle window. The window shattered and the guard crashed through the throne and slid on the floor. The attendant ran off and the guards inside both ran quickly to the window while Scorpan rushed over to check on the injured guard.
“What happened?!” Scorpan asked him.
The guard on the ground was still conscious, but he couldn’t speak. He was so weak, he could barely move and his eyes were milky and white as if they had been drained of their color. Scorpan knew right away what this meant. He then realized his other two guards were in danger, but he was already too late.
“No! WAIT!”
Two beams of fiery energy blasted the guards and knocked them back. They then began to shine with an orange glow around their bodies. Slow moving beams emitted from their horns and traveled in the direction of the broken window. Finally they dropped to the ground, barely able to move. Another centaur walked through the window with his mouth open and then closed it after the beams died out. It was Tirek! He was in his second form with his muscles starting to take shape and his horns jutting out and curving upwards. While this wasn’t his most powerful form, it would certainly rival Scorpan in his current state. Tirek stopped and locked eyes with his brother. He then gritted his teeth and walked forward, grabbing pieces of the throne and tossing them aside.
“Scorpan,” he growled, ominously.
“Tirek?!” Scorpan said, horrified.
“You have no idea how many centuries I’ve been waiting for this day, brother.”
Scorpan’s eyes glanced quickly at the Staff of Sacanas. Tirek also noticed it. They stared at each other for a moment until Scorpan acted quickly and used his magic to bring the staff towards him. Unfortunately, Tirek did the same. They both pushed hard with their magic, with the staff right between them. With their power levels equal, there was no telling who would win this game of tug-of-war. Tirek finally shot a beam of energy at Scorpan, knocking him back with his crown rolling on the floor. Tirek grabbed the staff as it magnetized to his hand. He quickly ran over to his brother and stepped on him with one of his front hooves to keep him down.
“BROTHER, NO!!!” Scorpan grunted.
Tirek opened his mouth and began to absorb all of the magic contained from the gemstone at the tip of the staff. His muscles grew thicker and his height increased dramatically. His horns began to curve up until they were shaped like an S. He was now in his third state and far too powerful for Scorpan to take on alone. Just as he had finished absorbing all the magic, the doors burst open and several centaur and gargoyle guards arrived on the scene. Tirek closed his mouth and tossed the staff aside. He then focused on all the guards who were racing towards him with their spears drawn. While still standing on Scorpan, he used his magic to lift the first two guards and throw them against pillars. The next two had their spears shattered into a million pieces with psychic energy. Tirek lifted them in the air and began to absorb their magic until a beam of pink energy shot him in the face.
“TIREK!” shouted Twilight with Spike standing next to her.
“Princess Twilight!” Tirek replied, now sporting a deeper voice.
He rubbed his face and threw the guards aside. Suddenly, he felt something creep up his leg that he hadn’t felt since the day he turned into stone. He looked down and saw a grey sculpture of his brother underneath his foot. Scorpan had used his gargoyle magic to petrify himself. Gargoyles had the ability to control their own petrification to act as a defense mechanism, but they could also do it to any being they were touching at the moment. Tirek charged up his magic to cancel the petrification and Scorpan’s spell was reversed. Tirek reached down and grabbed Scorpan by his neck. He then spoke to Twilight.
“As you can see, Princess, this kingdom now rightfully belongs to me once again.”
“Brother…please!” Scorpan begged.
“SILENCE, TRAITOR!!” Tirek hollered in Scorpan’s face, before throwing him aside.
“Tirek, I’m ordering you to stand down, now!” Twilight shouted.
“ORDER?! Foolish girl, did you not hear what I just said?! I am the king of this land!”
Twilight charged up her magic and then lunged forward, blasting Tirek as he put up a shield. A brief battle ensued between them, while Spike rushed over to Scorpan to check on him.
“Scorpan! Are you alright?” Spike asked.
“Spike, run! It’s me he wants!” Scorpan said, weakly.
“Don’t worry, Twilight’s got thi-”
Twilight then flew backwards onto the ground, already defeated by Tirek. Spike looked to the side to see Tirek stomping towards him. Spike ran in front of Scorpan to protect him, but Tirek used his magic to lift Spike and then toss him aside. Twilight was just getting up when Spike landed on top of her.
“SPIKE!” Twilight squeaked, trying to crawl out from underneath his scaly blubber.
“Sorry, Twilight!” Spike said, getting up and checking on her.
“Princess Twilight, I am only going to tell you this one more time: leave now!” Tirek scolded. “I have no more interest in Equestria. I am only here to take back the Midnight Kingdom and exact my revenge on my brother, now I suggest you and your rotund dragon friend go before I change my mind.”
“Scorpan, I promise I won’t give up on the Midnight Kingdom!” Twilight said as Spike helped her up.
“Do as he says, Twilight. For the good of Equestria,” Scorpan told her.
Twilight and Spike both flew out of the throne room to head back to Equestria. Tirek opened his mouth again and absorbed Scorpan’s magic along with all the guards. He grew taller and larger but was not at his fullest power just yet. He then used his magic to lift his brother in front of him and tear off his kingly robe.
“It’s been over a thousand years since you stabbed me in the back, brother,” he told Scorpan, sternly. “Ever since you let King Solmidas cast me into that prison guarded by that three-headed beast, not a day goes by forgetting what you did. I only regret that I wasted so much time trying to take Equestria for myself when it was you I should have pursued!”
“How...how did you learn to steal magic again?”
“I found my old master Sendak. He taught me everything, and then when the time was right, I turned on him and took his magic.”
“What? How is that possible?! He was turned to stone over a thousand years ago! I had his statue placed in the forest!”
“No matter. He is of no concern to me any longer. Now that I have you, I can finally reclaim the throne I deserve!”
“Tirek, please listen! I only wanted to-”
“SHUTUP!”
Tirek used his magic to create chains of psychic energy to wrap Scorpan in.
“You will experience the same pain I did all those years in your own prison cell! The Midnight Kingdom will return to greatness under my rule as Father originally intended!”
Outside of the castle, Twilight and Spike continued to fly. Twilight was still weary from the short battle with Tirek and could not fly all the way back so she conjured up what little magic she had left to teleport them both to Canterlot.
“Hang on Spike,” she said. “We need to get back right away! I’m going…to…”
Her horn glowed brightly. In a flash, they were back in the throne room of the Canterlot palace. She could see Tempest Shadow and Grubber the hedgehog in her throne room, talking to each other until they both noticed Twilight and Spike.
“TWILIGHT! What happened?!” Tempest said, helping her up.
“It’s…it’s Tirek. He’s returned and taken the Midnight Kingdom...” Twilight said, wearily.
“TIREK?! That guy’s back already?!” Grubber cried as he helped Spike.
“We have to put all of Equestria on high alert.” Twilight continued. “Tirek still says he’s not interested in our land, but I don’t believe a word of it. I saw him enter and take the magic from the Staff of Sacanas. I wasn’t even a match for him!”
“The Staff of Sacanas? Yikes! That’s bringing back bad memories,” Grubber said.
“Wait, I thought he couldn’t absorb magic anymore!” Tempest said, confused.
“He’s relearned the spell somehow,” Twilight responded. “It doesn’t matter how, we’ve got to act quickly! Spike, take a letter. I need to contact Discord.”
“Twilight, what if it’s already too late?” Spike asked.
“Then we turn to the only other thing that can possibly stop Tirek: the Elements.”
Down in Ponyville, Flurry Heart and her friends were inside the Crystal Castle, playing a card game in the library. Starlight and Sunburst were watching them while Spike was busy with Twilight. None of them knew yet what had just happened in the Midnight Kingdom.
“BOOM! I win again!” Stormy gloated.
“Alright now, Stormy. Let’s not get too smug,” Starlight said as she began to clean up the table. “How about we play a different game, kids?”
“Can we play ONO?” asked Chip.
“No, I wanna do more Go Wish!” Stormy demanded.
“Storm, you just keep winning at that game,” Pound told him.
“I know! I’m just so good at it!”
“Stormy, come on. We gotta try something different. ONO is pretty fun too and you’re not so bad at that game,” Flurry suggested.
“Ugh. Fine.”
“Alright kids, ONO it is!” Sunburst said as he went over to a nearby bookcase to look for the game.
Right before he could get close enough to the bookcase, a flash of light shone momentarily and a rather panicky Discord appeared in front of him.
“Discord? What are you doing here?” Sunburst asked.
“Everyone! I’m so sorry for the interruption, but all of Equestria is on high-alert!” Discord said, frantically.
“Oh great. What’s going on now? Is it Chrysalis?” Starlight asked.
“Worse! Tirek just invaded the Midnight Kingdom and overthrew Scorpan!”
Everyone in the room gasped collectively.
“WHAT?!” Starlight and Sunburst shouted.
“Oh no! Can you do anything, Discord?” Flurry asked.
“Sadly I’m too late,” Discord said as he showed a holographic image of Tirek going through his phases. “Last time we saw Tirek, he was in his weakest state. Earlier he absorbed all the magic contained in the Staff of Scanas and grew to this third form here. Now he’s as powerful as he was back when he took my magic.”
“So now he’s the one with the white mane-do and the freakishly big arms?” Pumpkin asked, pointing to the largest figure.
“That’s the one.”
“He looks so awesome!” Stormy said before all his friends looked at him angrily. “Er, I mean he’s not doing awesome things, he just looks cool is all.”
“Wait, Discord, I thought you erased his memory so he couldn’t remember the spell?” Starlight asked.
“I did. I have no idea who taught him again.”
“So you can’t even stop him now?” Sunburst asked.
“I’m afraid not. And I dare not go near him or he’ll just absorb my powers and only get stronger. He’s taken the magic from the staff, Scorpan, and all the guards. He’ll probably find the Absorption Stone and take that next.”
Discord walked away, appearing to be rather stressed from the situation.
“What’s the Absorption Stone?” Chip asked.
“That’s an artifact in the Midnight Kingdom,” Sunburst explained. “Back when Celestia and Luna first took on Tirek, they used the Elements to take away all of his magic. The magic he had stolen from ponies was returned where it rightfully belonged, but his own base magic had to be contained somewhere, so it was put inside the Stone. His father King Vorak had used it in the past to take magic from criminals like Sendak and then imprison them. Tirek was sent to Tartarus and the Stone was placed under lock and key in the palace.”
“Wha…what are we going to do if Tirek comes here?” Annie said, shivering as Chip put his arm around her.
“He said he’s not interested in Equestria anymore which is also the reason I’m not going to antagonize him, but Twilight and Spike are going to try getting some of the teachers together to use the Elements,” Discord answered as he had himself propped against a wall.
“Oh, well that’s good news! The Elements can stop him!” Pumpkin cheered.
“Yeah! Just like they stopped that changeling guy, Skuttle!” Stormy added.
“His name is Scutellum, Stormy,” Flurry corrected.
“Yeah, sure. Skuttlebutt. What she says.”
Flurry rolled her eyes as Pound and Pumpkin snickered.
“Well I hope the Elements actually work on Tirek,” Flurry said. “We saw how they were reacting to Cozy recently.”
“Um…Flurry? Does your bow normally do that?” Chip pointed out.
Flurry noticed light reflecting in the room off of some of the crystal walls and then realized the source was behind her head.
“My bow? Is it glowing again?”
“It was doing that the night Scutellum attacked!” Sunburst said.
A small glowing image of her bow then floated off of her head and hovered out the door. Flurry ran first to chase after it and the others followed her. They ran through the corridor and took a few turns, going wherever the bow went. It finally led them to the map room. They entered and saw the bow moving around in a circle over the map.
“What’s happening, Flurry?” Pound asked.
“I guess it’s calling me to solve another friendship problem,” she answered. “But where?”
The hologram on the map lit up and the map moved to show a peninsula on the Southwestern tip of the Equestrian continent. It zoomed in and the bow rested on top of the peninsula. Flurry was shocked.
“Oh no…that’s…the Midnight Kingdom!”
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Wow what an action-packed prelude, and we're only at the first chapter!
Can't wait to see Flurry's role into this tale, hopefully with a better outcome than last time! 
Starting this story off with a bang, I see. Tirek wasted no time usurping the throne and overthrowing Scorpan. And now Flurry's being called for a friendship problem...in the very place that's become a hotspot of danger. I think I already have a feeling as to who she needs to solve it between...
I vote we send Discord with her this time. That'll be interesting. Anyway, very great start!!
Pretty epic beginning. Wonder if Sendak will play any important role in this story besides getting his magic drained.
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I'm not sure if the real battle between Scorpan and Tirek will start in chapter 3 or 4, but that will come later and boy will it be insane!
Flurry will play a big role in this as well and the outcome will be far different for sure!
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It may not be the chapter where things really ramp up between Tirek and Scorpan, but I did want to really bring some energy to their first encounter in this chapter. When the chapter for their battle comes, it will get really serious!
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Well Discord is the only one who can send her there with his teleporting, so he might have to.
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I actually didn't have Sendak's appearance in the draft for this story. I could come up with something at the last minute, but I am also thinking ahead for a story he will appear in later on and I'm not sure I can have him show up this time, but we'll see.
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True
That's why they need to catch him as well and have discord make him forget the spell as well because that's just a never-ending situation
Yeah about that...... 😥
Tirek you son of a Guns N Roses you won't get away with this
So you backstab your own Master despite that he was going to help you the irony of the situation
Yeah because unfortunately you don't have Celestia Luna and Cadence Alicorn power and we don't have the Mega Evolution rainbow power either so we were really unprepared
Yes the young 6 they can help out the situation and probably the main 6 as well just in case we need more help
Wow what a way to start off your story with a big bang Okay so Twilight and Spike went to the midnight Kingdom to meet with Scorpan about information of his brother Tirek it's free and out there which that's a huge problem but he still thinks there's still some good in him but I highly doubt it but anyway things got really bad because Tirek attack the kingdom and what makes things worse he knows the absorbing power which that makes it more dangerous than ever since he drained some of the magic of his kingdom and even the staff and he's always too strong for Scorpan even with Twilight's help it's still no use he's way too powerful and unfortunately Twilight and Spike had to make the Hasty Retreat to get help and now Equestria is in high alert because he could attack them as well meanwhile back in Ponyville flurry heart and the others are just playing games until Discord gave them the bad news and Sunburst and starlight a worried that this could escalate it badly with Tirek around they need to figure out how they going to stop him hopefully the Elements of Harmony will be enough but it looks like the tree of Harmony is calling flurry heart to help with the Friendship problem and it looks like she's going to the midnight Kingdom now how in the world is she going to do this is she going to do this alone or is she going to be with help I guess we'll find out next time
As I want to see Flurry complete her friendship Quest, I have a feeling she'll make it worst. Reason the death of Cozy's fake parents. Yeah, it was dark but actions have consequences
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This time will be different!
Awesome to see you back again. It’s fine that you can’t bring us awesome art works. I rather have the story first before the art which I want you to at least have fun!
Btw does Flurry have a cutie mark? Kind of forgot
Wow, just the first chapter and we already have a lot of action right out of the gate. Tirek has reclaimed his stronger form already and overthrown his brother Scropan. I was certainly surprised to hear that Tirek had already betrayed Sendak off-screen.
Now Flurry is being called by the map for a Friendship Problem in Midnight Kingdom. This is going to be a tricky one. I have a feeling this one is going to be a much darker and action-packed story, similar to Dreams of Alicornication.
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Thanks for understanding. :)
Not yet.
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This one will be more action-packed for sure, but the outcome will definitely be different (albeit still tear-inducing).
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Who knows, sometimes authors write it different from they intended. I should know, I'm one of them.
Poor Tirek, even when he said outloud that he don't want to come to Equestria, Equestria come to him LMAO
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I'm one of them as well.
Goodness gracious. Talk about starting with a bang...
Well, I guess it's more like a crash, and it wasn't a literal start given that there was a meeting between Twilight, Spike and Scorpan before Tirek started wrecking everything, but as others have said, things certainly got intense fast and early.
I'm a bit surprised Tirek relearned the absorption spell so fast, but it's possible that he was just that good a student, and perhaps Discord, despite messing around in his mind, didn't erase his muscle memory, which could have retained enough knowledge that he got that skill back faster. That said... I kind of feel Tirek is coming across as a bit of a hypocrite. He's upset at Scorpan for betraying him, but then he reveals he betrayed Sendak himself. Like... he might want to look at himself in the mirror, especially when the alternative to Scorpan betraying Tirek was Scorpan letting him drain (and possibly kill afterwards) hundreds if not thousands of innocent ponies, while Tirek betrayed Sendak for mere personal gain.
At least he seems willing to leave Equestria alone for the time being, so unless he's lying and up to something, that should give them some time to get ready to strike back. Which is good indeed, because if he's too powerful for even Discord to deal with, he'd be trouble indeed if he just launched an attack. Now the question is if there is some sort of 'underlying countdown' before he becomes the rampaging brute seen in one of Starlight's timelines who destroyed everything without rhyme or reason.
On a nicer note, I liked the closer look at Scorpan and his interactions with Twilight and Spike. The scenes with the latter in particular reminded me of G1 Scorpan and Spike, and it was a great touch. Seeing Tempest and Grubber again (I do know the former already appeared, but I don't think we've seen the latter yet) was nice too.
Also, the card game the children were having with Sunburst and Starlight was both well done and a nice touch, and it transitioned well to the bad news and the discussion on what is being done. And I admit, I chuckled a bit at Stormy having trouble with Sacanas' name. I thought it was just Anatankha, but it seems he has trouble with names in general.
And speaking of trouble... Flurry may end up in quite some big ones, considering the map just summoned her for a solo friendship mission in a very dangerous place. Granted, Spike will likely go with her, but considering Tirek is currently powerful enough that even Discord wants nothing to do with him, and not meaning any disrespect to Spike, that's likely to be a small help if Tirek finds them and decides to get serious from the start. Hopefully Flurry will just solve the friendship problem before anyone can get hurt.
All in all, a great start to this new episode! Looking forward to the next part!
What to do, what to do. Carry out the Friendship Mission and risk all out war with the Midnight Kingdom or not?
Well, that was a quick victory for Tirek.😲
I still remember how powerful this guy was back at the end of Season 4. If he's already at his final form, then I can only think of one thing to stop him. Then again, you might have something else in mind.
Also, a Friendship Problem at the Midnight Kingdom that Flurry has to solve? Things are just getting better, aren't they?
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Believe me, it’s quite amazing how they manage to stop him this time around!