Chapter 4
Discord teleported himself and Flurry to a small forest outside of the castle town. The sky had darkened with clouds and a storm appeared to be on the rise. There didn’t seem to be any danger at the moment until they heard a loud booming sound in the distance. They saw Scorpan flying by after being punched by Tirek. Scorpan got up and turned himself into stone for defense right before Tirek blasted him with magic. Tirek then jumped forward and punched the stone, causing it to shatter and knocking Scorpan back. A quick fistfight ensued and they began teleporting across the scenery.
“Oh dear. It’s worse than I imagined,” Discord said.
“They look like they’ve been fighting for a while now,” Flurry added. “How much longer do you think they’ll go?”
Flurry looked to the side to see Discord dressed in a blue spandex uniform with white armor and yellow shoulder pauldrons and skirt flaps. He had spiky, black hair that was standing on end and a small sightseeing device attached to his left ear that he quickly removed.
“I’m not sure Scorpan can even beat Tirek, Flurry! TIREK’S POWER LEVEL IS OVER NINE…well, you get the picture. He’s really powerful,” Discord said before throwing the device aside.
“Uh, okay. Should we get somewhere safe?”
“Yeah, probably a good idea. Let’s see…that should be good over there.”
Discord snapped his fingers and they both teleported to a nearby cliff to look down on the battle scene. They could see Tirek and Scorpan still zipping around and blasting each other. Flurry watched nervously, while trying to figure out how she would get to Scorpan.
“Discord, what do I do? They just keep moving around all over the place. How do I get the pendant to Scorpan?” she said.
“I’m not sure,” Discord replied. “I’m afraid to get too close. If Tirek sees me and takes my powers, then we are all truly doomed.”
“Flurry Heart?!” called a voice off to the side.
Flurry and Discord looked to see Spike flying in towards them with Twilight, Ocellus and Sandbar behind him.
“Spike! Twilight!” Flurry shouted as she rushed to meet them.
“Discord, what in Equestria are you doing here with Flurry? Do you have any idea how unsafe this place is?!” Spike scolded.
“Sorry Spike, but the Cutie Map called Flurry to the Midnight Kingdom to solve a friendship problem!” Discord explained.
“Guys, the friendship problem can wait later! We have to stop Tirek right now!”
“Spike, the friendship problem is between Tirek and Scorpan!” Flurry told Spike.
“Well…I mean that makes sense, but how can you be so sure it’s for them?”
“The map led me to this down in the crystal castle cellar. We dug it up earlier.”
Flurry put her hoof underneath the pendant as it still hung around her neck. Twilight walked in beside Spike and stared at the pendant.
“The Pendant of Restoration…you’ve found it!” Ocellus exclaimed.
“And I have to get this to Scorpan, because-”
“Because Scorpan needs it for Tirek!” Twilight said.
“We tried the Elements earlier and just like with Cozy Glow, they’re not working,” Sandbar stated.
“And we’ve been wondering why and now we finally have our answer!” Ocellus added.
“Twilight, I don’t know,” Spike said, nervously. “I get that this is what the Elements were asking for, but this isn’t exactly the ideal time to talk to either of them.”
“Then we wait until one of them is down,” Twilight replied as she looked back at Tirek and Scorpan as they fought on. “Once we have the chance, Flurry, you go to Scorpan and give him the pendant.”
“But what if Tirek just keeps at him? What then?” Sandbar asked.
“I have an idea,” Discord said as he held out his hands and the Staff of Sacanas appeared right in them.
“The Staff of Sacanas?” Ocellus asked. “But I thought Tirek drained all the magic from it.”
“Tirek took the magic that was stored inside it, but it still has its ability to take magic. If Scorpan and I could do it at the same time on opposite ends of Tirek, we might be able to successfully rid him of his power.”
“And then Scorpan can finally get Tirek to listen,” Flurry added.
“How exactly is he going to do that though?” Sandbar asked.
“Scorpan may be the only one who can talk to Tirek,” Twilight answered. “He told me everything about Tirek in his youth: how he was very greedy and selfish as a boy, but he might have started to come around later. It was his constant need for approval from his father and his desire to steal Equestrian magic that became his undoing. Tirek needs to remember his brother loves him. He’s been so blinded by his hatred from all those years in Tartarus and this fighting is not going to help that.”
“Well I just hope Tirek listens,” Spike said.
For nearly an hour longer, the mighty brothers continued to duel. The clouds grew thick over the land and thunder could be heard. Tirek and Scorpan kept using the martial arts they were trained in and the magic blasts, but Scorpan was already growing tired of the fight. Tirek on the other hand was furious and not losing much of his strength. They kept at it until finally Scorpan landed on a nearby mountaintop and Tirek landed on another one a few hundred yards away. They were breathing heavily and sweating. Tirek grimaced at his brother. Scorpan appeared more concerned than angry. He did not want this fight to go on any longer. It was already scaring the land around them.
“I hate you, brother,” Tirek said. “I’ve hated you ever since you ratted me out for those stupid equines.”
“Tirek, please…”
“You knew I was going to help father. You knew it was for the better.”
“Tirek, you were stealing Equestrian magic! Father wasn’t going to let us come back with stolen magic to help the kingdom!”
“I was actually willing to do something about it! You got too close to that wizard and then you went soft!”
“Let’s not do this anymore. Please. Do you not remember what it was like before any of that? When we were young?”
“I remember you were always Father’s favorite. That’s why he ended up making you king!”
“Tirek, we need to stop fighting now! You need to listen to me! This will get us nowhere!”
“SILENCE!!!”
Tirek lunged for Scorpan, threw him into a nearby mountain and pushed him right through it, creating a gaping hole. They penetrated more mountains until Scorpan finally regained his composure and shoved Tirek away. Tirek zoomed back to him and threw his own punch, only to have hit blocked by Scorpan. Scorpan tried to hurl fireballs at Tirek, but he did not realize they were headed right for the castle. He turned around just in time to see the tip of the spire and tried to fly out of the way, but Tirek forced him into it. Everyone had already been evacuated from the top of the castle, but large chunks of rock and metal began to fall into the town below where there were still some guards and other citizens out in the open. Scorpan blasted Tirek away and returned to use his magic to stop the debris from reaching the ground. Some centaurs and gargoyles scattered but Scorpan came just in time to save them. He levitated the debris to a safer spot where it would be cleared away later. Some of the townsfolk began to cheer for their king until Tirek came back and tackled him. They both flew back out into the open field, which had now been reduced mostly to craters and ditches from their fighting. Scorpan kicked Tirek off and Tirek retaliated by firing another beam. Scorpan fired his own beam but Tirek’s quickly came through. Scorpan felt the heat and force of the blast and landed on the ground. Just as he tried to get up, he felt his tail being pulled and then felt himself flying through the air. He then landed against the ground with even more force. It happened again and again. Tirek had grabbed Scorpan by the tail and was swinging him back and forth in the ground like a ragdoll. Scorpan was so badly beaten he could not concentrate enough to teleport or fight back. Tirek threw him one last time and finally stopped as dust began to settle. Scorpan was in so much pain he could barely move.
“Stay down, brother,” Tirek said.
Scorpan coughed and groaned as he opened his eyes to see Tirek pointing to him.
“You are banished from the Midnight Kingdom. Return and you die.”
The centaur titan turned around and walked back to the town to continue his reign. Scorpan was still too weak to get up but began to open his eyes and saw something small walking towards him.
“King Scorpan?” a voice called to him.
“Huh…who?”
“King Scorpan, it’s me. Princess Flurry Heart.”
“Flur…Flurry Heart? Princess of the Crystal Empire? What are you doing here?”
“The map from the crystal palace called me here. I’m supposed to solve a friendship problem between you and Tirek, and I found this.”
Scorpan then noticed what she had around her neck and she began to remove it with her magic and place it in front of him. He could not believe what he was looking at.
“The Pendant of Restoration... But I thought it was transformed into a key used to defeat my brother.”
“The keys all turned back to their original forms and the map led me right to this one. You’re supposed to give it to Tirek. You and your brother have to talk this out.”
Twilight and Spike walked in next to Flurry as she spoke.
“I can’t overpower him. He’s ahead of me,” Scorpan continued.
“I’ll help with that, Scorpan,” Discord said, holding the Staff of Sacanas in his hands.
“Discord?”
“Start absorbing his magic and then I’ll get on the other side of him and do the same.”
“Well…alright. I’ll do it. Thank you, Princess. I thought I had lost this pendant. I know now what I need to do.”
Scorpan groaned and slowly got up while holding the pendant in his right hand. He fought back the pain all over his body and stood. Flurry and the others ran back to a nearby forest and Discord teleported so Tirek wouldn’t see him.
“Tirek!” Scorpan called to his brother.
Tirek stopped walking and turned around. He glared at Scorpan.
“I’m not done with you yet, brother,”
Tirek began to charge his magic and Scorpan turned his left hand into stone. Tirek fired a beam, but Scorpan blocked it with his stone-encased hand. It pressed against him and caused him to slide back on the ground, but Scorpan found the strength to fight it and started walking forward. He opened his mouth and started to take in some of Tirek’s magic essence. Tirek tried pushing harder with his magic, but felt that something was changing in him. He started to feel weaker. He then noticed what was happening and tried to retake his magic, but the aura went back around him. He turned his head to see Discord with the Staff of Sacanas. He was absorbing the energy as well. Tirek panicked and tried taking his magic back, but he had already lost enough to put him just below Scorpan. He could not focus on both of them at the same time and was out of options.
“NO! YOU FOOLS!” he cried.
Discord noticed that the magic that was going into the staff was being redirected into Scorpan’s mouth. Scorpan was taking all of the magic for himself.
“Scorpan? The magic! What are you doing?” he asked.
“I’ve got this, Discord,” Scorpan called back as his voice grew deeper and more monstrous.
Tirek grew smaller in size. His horns went down till they were just tiny horns protruding from his skullcap. His muscles disappeared and his arms were thin and emaciated.
“NOOOOOOOOOO!!!”
He cried out one last time before the absorption spell was finally over and he fell to the ground. Scorpan reached out with his hand and caught him. Tirek felt himself land on his brother’s hand and noticed the fingers were getting bigger and bigger. He looked back to see Scorpan growing even larger. His eyes were now glowing white and his face became more monstrous and almost reptilian. Scorpan’s feet grew so big they pushed back dirt and his wings spread out so wide, they could have scraped a nearby mountain. Everyone in the castle town watched as their gargoyle king grew to gargantuan size.
The transfer was complete and Scorpan threw his head back and let out a deafening roar. In the forest, Flurry and the others watched in horror. Discord appeared very shocked. He had never sensed power this great in his entire life. Scorpan’s power was so high; it might have been just as high as Tirek’s after he took the alicorn magic years ago, perhaps even greater. Flurry wasn’t sure what Scorpan had in mind now, but she hoped that perhaps he had a plan to use all this power.
“Twilight? What’s Scorpan doing?” she asked her aunt.
“He has something planned,” Twilight responded.
“I sure hope so! No creature should have all that power!” Discord added.
Scorpan stood for a moment and flapped his wings. His tail, moved about, but he was careful to not knock over any trees. Despite how powerful he had grown, his mind was still unchanged and he was not going to use this power for evil purposes. He looked down in his left hand to see a tiny weakened centaur cowering in fear. Tirek then looked back to his brother angrily and began to scream at him.
“GO AHEAD! DO WHAT YOU NEED TO! YOU HAVE THE POWER NOW!”
“NO, BROTHER.” Scorpan said as his deep voice echoed across the land. “I HAVE BETTER PLANS FOR YOU.”
Scorpan closed his fist, but he left enough room for Tirek so he would not be crushed. He then crouched down and spread his wings. With a mighty leap, Scorpan took off flying to the sky. His wings flapped so hard, they sent dust and leaves flying everywhere. Twilight created a canopy around everyone to keep them safe from the debris while the villagers hid behind buildings to escape the wind. Scorpan flapped harder and moved faster through the sky. He flew past the dark clouds where the sun was visible. He continued on past the stratosphere and used his magic to form a protective shield so they could breathe. He continued for several minutes until he finally reached the edge of the atmosphere and was in outer space. Once he got where he needed to be, he stopped and opened his hand to allow Tirek to see. Tirek had his head covered but slowly removed his arms. He looked around, confused.
“What? Where have you taken me?” he said as he stood up and walked towards the edge of Scorpan’s hand to look.
“This is the world before us, Tirek. I thought we could use a more secluded zone to talk in.”
“Oh, is that what you want? What more is there to talk about? Am I not a threat that needs to be destroyed?”
“Tirek…”
“Don’t try to act all merciful on me, brother! You betrayed me once, you might as well do it again!”
“I’m not going to let you be imprisoned again.”
“Then what will you do?! Even if I am to be stripped of all my power, I will never stop hating you for what you have done! How can you convince me otherwise?”
“If you will not listen, then I will have to show you. There’s a reason why I took all this magic for myself, and it is not to fight you anymore. It was to do this…”
Scorpan closed his eyes and Tirek saw everything fade to white.
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What's Scorpan doing?!
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You'll see. Next chapter reveals all!
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Can't wait!!
Ooh, now this is interesting! Not enough to drain Tirek of the magic he stole, but to have Scorpan absorb it all and become a kaiju! Luckily he kept his mind after absorbing that much magic; he really must be incorruptible, which is a huge relief. I can't wait to see what he'll do with it now that Tirek's powered down and at his mercy.
Nice DBZ reference with Discord, too, lol
Well... a lot definitely happened in this chapter, beginning with a near-introduction of a power-scaling system due to Discord referencing a certain meme. Good thing he actually cut himself off before he said 'what were the nine', or that might have the fans try to determine exactly what's the power level of each character, and a certain other fanbase shows how that can devolve into ugly debates. Though I will confess that, for my own fanworks, I've tried to determine how many armies each alicorn is worth, if the four of them total a hundred armies according to Tempest, so even if I never mention that value in-narration, I'm not exactly one to talk. XD
Anyway... back to the chapter, I liked Flurry and Discord meeting with the others, and also the plan that they came up with to drain Tirek's powers and actually put him in a position where he just has to listen. And goodness, that was quite the intense follow up to the previous chapter's fight scene! Good thing that so far it doesn't seem to have caused actual casualties, but it was definitely a close call overall. And well... in its own way, it's kind of sweet that Tirek had enough morals to at least give Scorpan an out, though it's admittedly quite marred by the fact he threatened to kill him if he returned. Also, it seems that Tirek still doesn't get why Scorpan betrayed him, or even why his own way of helping the Midnight Kingdom was wrong in the first place.
Fortunately, Twilight and the others found Scorpan on time, and their plan worked. That definitely seems to be a good thing for the most part, because now Tirek does have to listen, but at the same time, forcing someone to listen can have very bad results. Whatever happens next, though, props to Scorpan for actually managing to take in all that magic and not be on a 'countdown to madness', at least for the time being. Hopefully he can stay that way for as long as it takes to have a proper conversation with Tirek.
However long that is, though, the way he seems set to do it is very clearly unconventional. Looking forward to learning all the details behind whatever spell Scorpan is using to have the conversation Tirek needs to hear.
Whatever said details turn out to be, though, another great chapter! I loved it, and look forward to the next!
I think what you meant was Tirek, not Discord.
Also, way to end on the ultimate cliff-hanger!
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Yeah, someone else pointed it out earlier. It's changed now.
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And Scorpan will put that magic to good use!
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OK maybe I used the wrong choice of words. But on the other hand I think I was looking too much into it.
Dragon Ball Z reference nice especially the classic quote
That's what I said but unfortunately Harmony has different ideas
Whoa once again a pretty Epic chapter so flurry heart and Discord finally made it to the midnight Kingdom while the two brothers are still fighting each other but they meet up with Twilight and the others and told them about the necklace they found and apparently it returned to his original form and maybe hopefully flurry heart can give it to Scorpan speaking of which the battle rage on and Tirek thinking he defeated his brother but it looks like the others has an idea while Scorpan distracting his brother they use the staff to absorb Tirek power and transfer to Scorpan and now he has all the power but luckily he has strong-willed mind not to be consumed by so much power and showing his brother of his error hopefully whatever he's planning it better be worth it because we need a miracle to change his mind guess we'll find out next time
That was close. Thanks to Flurry and DIscord, Scorpan got a much needed power boost just as Tirek started to overpower him, and grew to a kaiju level size, similar to Tirek was when he was at full power. Now Tirek's fate is literally in his brother's hands.
That meme will never get old, will it?
Talk about a close fight at the end there, wonder what Scorpan has in mind now that he has Tirex on the ropes!
I love the awesome twist this chapter.
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Well the real twist has yet to come.
DID HE SERIOUSLY MAKE THAT JOKE?
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Yup. That’s Discord! XD
I'm glad you didn't take it all the way. The internet has made me sick of that quote.
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It’s Discord so I figured he’d do something like that but i had him stop himself as a comical effect like he knew you’d have that reaction. Also Flurry wouldn’t get the joke and she was the only one around. XD