Awakening of the Rogue Gods

Discord was able to rescue Ground Dasher and Spark Wave from certain death. During the time that the two were recovering from their battle with Tirek, the gang decided to wait for them to wake up. But during the time they waited, Twilight confronted Eternal Flames about his gruesome plans that Heat Wave had told her about. Eternal just gave his younger brother a straight-faced look, he wasn't mad because he knew it would come out eventually. He then turned to Twilight and gave her the gruesome details of his scarred past.

"Alright, Twilight, since you know why I have these ambitions, I might as well explain." Eternal began. "You see, back when I was probably about 15 or 16, Tirek had tried to take over our kingdom once before. However, mostly all of the citizens were immune to having their magical energy absorbed because of their powers they inherited from our ancestors, most of them ended up getting killed in a most gruesome way."

"Wait, was Tirek already at full power?" Twilight asked.

"Yes, he was. During the war against him, he ransacked our towns, our cities, and some of our homes. But the worst he did that really ticked me off was some of the citizens he murdered. Some were stomped, some were strangled until they couldn't breathe or until their they felt their bones crushing their internal organs, sometimes both. It tore me apart inside. I was so mad that I wanted to give him the same kind of suffering he gave all those innocent ponies. I couldn't live with myself for letting him get away with such a heinous crime. Eventually, though, we overpowered him with the help of my older brother and my dad. I wanted to deliver the killing blow, but my father instead sent him back to Tartarus where apparently he broke out a couple of years later." Eternal explains.

"Oh dear...I...I didn't know you went through such an ordeal when you were still that young. But surely there must be another way to stop Tirek without killing him." Fluttershy says.

"She's right, darling. There's just no sense in committing a crime that you'll regret later." Rarity says.

"We know you're hurtin' inside, Sugarcube, but murder'll just make matters worse. That's not what the Prince of Equestria would do in order to save the lives of everypony and all of Equestria." Applejack says.

"This isn't what they'd want you to resort to, babe. You're better than this. Tirek may be evil, and it's true that he's taken countless lives of your citizens back home, but they wouldn't want you to murder a villain in cold blood just for their sake. They'd want you to fight for the real right reasons now that you're a prince of higher stature. Don't you agree?" Sunset explains while holding her fiance's hoof.

Eternal's eyes flew open after hearing what Sunset just said. In all his years as a prince, he never once thought about what the deceased citizens would think if he killed Tirek to avenge their deaths. He started to think it over very carefully while Sunset just watched him turn his head to the ground with his eyes closed. Eternal then opened his eyes and took a deep breath and  finally spoke.

"Maybe you're right, hun. It just wouldn't feel right if I killed Tirek." Eternal says, calmly. Sunset looked at him with a warm smile and hugged him tightly while he hugged her gently. "We'll send that monster back to Tartarus."

"Only one problem." Rainbow said. "That monster creamed you guys and you need to save your strength. Just leave it all up to us and we'll have Tirek's flank sent back to Tartarus in no time."

"Hang on...babe." grunted Spark Wave, as he slowly walked towards her. "I got some bad news."

"What is it?" Eternal asked.

"Tirek spoke to me about the Tree of Harmony before he left us thinking we were dead. He said that now that we're out of the way, he's going to destroy the Tree of Harmony and then he's coming after you girls!" Spark explains

"WHAT?!" shouted the girls.

"But that means we can't enter our rainbow powered forms and if we don't have our rainbow powered forms, Tirek won't be sent back to Tartarus and he'll take over all of Equestria!" Pinkie rapidly said.

"Then let's not waste anytime. We must form a plan of attack!" Eternal proclaims.

"But you and your friends aren't at full power yet." Twilight says, concerned.

"That doesn't mean you guys can't work together to formulate a plan." Heat Wave says.

"Hang on, you guys go on ahead, I gotta stay here with Ground Dasher until he wakes up. From what I can tell, Tirek really gave him a beating even though he's been treated of his injuries." Eternal says.

"No, Sugarcube, it's best that Ah look after him. Y'all can go ahead without me." Applejack implied.

"Very well then, but when he wakes up, hurry on over to the map." Eternal says.

"Ah will."

"Take care."

With that said, the gang followed Twilight into the room that had the Map of Equestria while Applejack stayed by Ground Dasher's side, waiting for him to wake up. Applejack gently stroked his mane away from his eyes. She could see that he's peacefully asleep, even though he wasn't smiling.

"Please wake up, Ground Dasher, sugar. We all need ya. More than anythang in the world." she said, softly. "I'm so sorry, Ground. I shoulda went with ya!" Applejack began to tear up and bury her face into Ground's neck. She quietly sobbed on him. It was shortly after that Ground Dasher began to twitch a bit and slowly opened his eyes. He felt something wet on his neck. He lifted his head to see his fiance, Applejack, sobbing on him. He decided to wrap his hoof around her to comfort her and start stroking her mane. Applejack soon looked to see Ground Dasher wide awake, giving her a warm smile.

"I ain't kicking the bucket just yet. Not while I have a promise to keep." Ground said, softly and confidentally. Applejack lunged at Ground and hugged him tightly. Ground hugged Applejack gently to keep her comfortable. "It's alright, AJ, just let it all out."

"Ya had this gal worried sick! Ya could've been killed out there hadn't Discord yound y'all!"

"We got careless, AJ. But we're alive and still kicking. As long we got breath in our lungs, we ain't gonna let that bastard get away. Only this time, we're gonna need your help. If we fight Tirek, we fight him together!"

"Alright, Ground. Let's head over to the Equestrian Map with the others, they're waitin'."

Applejack gave Ground Dasher a little lift over there, even though he could walk fine, he still felt a little wobbly from the aftermath he felt earlier during the fight. They made it to the room where the gang was waiting for them.

"Welcome back, Ground Dasher. We're glad you're alright." Hurricane said.

"Thanks, bud." Ground replied.

"Alright, now that everypony is gathered around, let's get to work." Eternal says, seriously.

"Right, so what do we know so far?" Twilight asked.

"Tirek had already absorbed enough magical energy from pretty much almost every place on this map." Hurricane said.

"During the time when we split up to search for him, he found US instead and ambushed us, overpowering us." Ground says.

"Yes, however something doesn't add up." Spark said.

"What do you mean, darling?" Rarity asked.

"When Tirek first invaded Rogue Mountain, even at his strongest, we were able to overpower him, even if we were only fighting as individuals when we barely had any experience in battle. But now, this time, he took us down without even using more than 3% of his power at the time." Spark explains.

"I could definetely tell when we fought him over at the Crystal Empire. When he and Shadow Force were locked in a battle of dominance between a magic blast wave and Shadow's "Dark Destruction Wave," Tirek's magic blast had more force and concentration. It almost seemed like it had more force than even alicorn magic." Eternal explains.

"But the only creatures that could produce concentrated force in their attacks are..." Twilight paused and then gasped.

"You must know, too, huh Twilight?" Sunset asked.

"Yeah." Twilight replied.

"Dragons." Twilight and Sunset said in unison. The others had the look of shock on their faces, minus Tidal Wave.

"It's just as I suspected. Then he must've absorbed the dragons' energy at some time after I left the Dragon Kingdom in order to gain the upper hoof so he wouldn't have much of a problem handling us." Tidal explains.

"Tirek is really using his head, that's for sure." Rainbow says.

"There's also the matter of him going after the Tree of Harmony." Fluttershy said.

"And if he destroys the Tree of Harmony, along with the Elements of Harmony, the magic'll be lost forever. Not to mention the fact that chaos and destruction would fall upon Equestria!" Heat Wave says.

"We've got only 2 alternatives. One: We guard Ponyville while you girls head over to the Tree of Harmony and fortify yourselves. Or two: We all escort you over there. This way, in case he arrives, we'll have a better advantage." Eternal implies.

"It's too dangerous for you guys to guard the town on your own. So the only option is for you guys to come with us." Twilight implies. "This'll prevent you guys from getting another surprise attack."

The Rogues didn't object to Twilight's suggestion and just nodded in approval.

"The princess has a point there, chief. The next time we meet Tirek on our own, he's really gonna kick our ass. But I got a feeling that with the help of the girls, we're gonna overpower Tirek." Ground explains to Eternal.

"Yes, from now on, when we face Tirek, we face him as a team." Eternal says.

"Then what are waiting around for? Let's get going!" Rainbow says, hastily.

Meanwhile

Tirek had arrived at the city of Canterlot only to see that it's completely deserted. But he wasn't too worried about it since he feels like all the citizens will be in the castle. He wasted no time and flew up to Princess Celestia's castle. Upon arriving, he was struck by a fireball the size of his entire body. He blocked it with ease using his arms in a cross-arm block style. He lowered his arms to see who fired at him and sees a group of not only the princesses of night and day, but an alicorn with orange fur, red mane, and sapphire eyes. But he also saw that there were two other alicorns beside them. Both were taller than the princesses and the fiery alicorn.

"Who the hell are you three!" Tirek exclaimed

"Why don't I enlighten you a little bit so you'll remember." said Royal Blaze. He summoned yet another fireball onto his horn and shot it at Tirek who quickly countered it with a magic blast of his own.

"Well, I certainly remember you, Royal Blaze! But I'm not worried about you or your pathetic little son, now that he's out of my way for good, Equestria will be mine for the taking!" Tirek boasted. Royal Blaze, rather than look shocked, he gave Tirek a confident smirk and a light chuckle like he was amused. "I guess you're amused that he's gone. Pity!"

"Maybe I should give you a little lesson in Rogue history. Whenever a Rogue passes away, we can't sense their powers anymore, whether they're ones of our own element or somepony elses. As of right now, I can still sense his powers, which means my son, Eternal Flames, is far from dead, he's very much alive." Royal Blaze explains.

"WHAT?!" Tirek shouts in disbelief. 'No matter, I'll just finish the job once I find them again. Then I'll destroy the...' Tirek's self talk in his mind is cut off by one of the bigger alicorns.

"...Tree of Harmony. Am I right, or not." asked Queen Galaxia.

"What the?! Just who the hell do you think you are?!" Tirek asked, irritated.

"Queen Galaxia." she replies.

"King Cosmos." says the male midnight blue alicorn. Tirek then looked more interested after hearing their names.

"So, you're the legendary parents of the princesses of night and day. Wonderful, this'll be interesting." Tirek said to himself.

"You want our parents, you have to go through me!" Royal Blaze said as he stepped forth.

"Honey, be careful, he'll absorb your energy!" Celestia shouted.

"There's no need to worry, my dear, as long as my Rogue blood and my powers run within me, I can't be absorbed. It's one of the basic facts that Tirek overlooked when he ravaged my kingdom long ago." Royal Blaze said with confidence. He soon engulfed himself in a ring of burning blue flames, stronger than his oldest son's natural blue flames. All Tirek did was burst out laughing.

"Your little firework display isn't going to do you much, Royal Blaze! I hold only 95% of Equestrian magic, and if I can get a hold of the king and queen's magical energy, I'll take over the entire UNIVERSE!!!" Tirek boasted.

"What a shame. Now I understand why Scorpan wanted you to be stopped." Royal said

"SILENCE!!! I DON'T EVER WANT TO HEAR MY TRAITOROUS BROTHER'S NAME EVER AGAIN!!! He's dead to me!" Tirek says in anger. "Now enough of this talk, I'm going to destroy you once and for all!" Tirek then charged straight at Royal Blaze, who also did the same in which the two collided with each other.

As they collided, they took to the sky and started launching their attacks at each other. Neither the centaur, nor the former Rogue king could connect their attacks at the speed they're going at.

Over at the castle, the King and Queen never took their eyes off the battle, but it didn't stop them from asking their oldest daughter this one question that sparked interest in them.

"Tell us, Celestia. That stallion. Who is Royal Blaze and why did you call each other pet names?" Queen Galaxia asked.

"He's my husband, my dearest mother." Celestia replied, still gazing at the battle in the skies.

"As with me, dear mother, I was never married, but I was blessed with a child who's just as powerful and just as precious as my dear sister's own three sons." Luna adds.

"We're well aware of the situation of being grandparents, but we weren't aware that we have a total of 4 grandchildren. But we can say we're very proud of you both." King Cosmos says.

Royal Blaze and Tirek were still trying to launch an effective blow on each other but were moving too fast. Fireball after fireball and magic blast after magic blast, the blasts landed in on most of the buildings and the city grounds. Countless amount of damage and destruction laid in the city of Canterlot. Royal Blaze and Tirek weren't getting anywhere and decided to rely on their physical strength and charged at each other once again. It seemed like they were evenly matched, but Tirek gained the upper hoof and lifted Royal Blaze over his head getting ready to launch another magic attack. Just as he was about to fire, Royal Blaze teleported behind Tirek unharmed while Tirek had let his guard down, which in turn gave Royal Blaze the chance to launch another fireball at him. This time, Tirek took it at full force and was knocked down into the ground below.

Royal Blaze kept lauching fireballs until it looked like Tirek was unable to move. It seemed like he was in the clear, so he descended towards the ground level where it looked like Tirek was unconcious. He couldn't see straight with all the smoke. As he got closer, one of Tirek's claws got a hold of Royal Blaze's neck. Tirek had gotten up on his hooves once again.

"You've certainly gotten stronger." Tirek said, calmly with a smirk. He then tossed Royal Blaze up into the air and blasted him back into the castle with so much force and speed. "But you're not strong enough."

Royal Blaze had crashed into the entrance head first and had bruises all over his body. Celestia and Luna saw this, along with their parents and went to go get him.

"Oh dear! Quick, we need to get him out of here as soon as possible!" Celestia said in a panic.

"What, and ruin all of the fun? Not until I get what I've come here for!" Tirek said as he arrived shortly after.

"Don't you dare lay another claw on my husband! You'll have to go through me!" Celestia said, angerly.

"With pleasure." Tirek replied. He wasted no time in absorbing Luna's and Celestia's magic energy, but he was quickly interrupted by a magic blast from both the king and queen, sending him straight out of Canterlot.

"No pony absorbs our daughters' energy! Not even you, Tirek." King Cosmos said, with a serious look on his face. "My dear, we have to get them to safety as well."

"I know, but where can we hide them?" asked Galaxia. Immediately afterwards, Discord had reappeared in front of them,

"Why don't you two follow me, there's a secret hideout right behind the Castle of Friendship in Ponyville that you can all take shelter in until all of the smoke blows over." Discord implies.

"Are you sure we'll be safe there, Discord?" Cosmos asked.

"But of course, it's the safest place to be."

"Alright, we'll follow you."

"Splendid!" Discord snapped his fingers and teleported all the alicorns with him to Ponyville behind Twilight's castle. At first glance, there was nothing there, until Discord lifted the giant door up from the ground. The king and queen were a bit impressed and proceeded to carry their daughters and son-in-law down towards the secret hideout. Once they were out of sight, Discord lowered the giant door until it was fully closed and well hidden. "There, all taken care of."

Twilight and her friends had made it into a certain part of the Everfree Forest where there was a tiny chasm. There was a tiny pathway leading down into where the Tree of Harmony was. The gang walked down and surely enough, they found the Tree of Harmony, still flowing with a lot of magical energy.

"So this is what the Tree of Harmony looks like. It certainly is a sight to behold." Eternal said. "Alright, Twilight, you and the girls should take the time to turn into your rainbow powered forms. I'll go back up and see if Tirek is coming. But before you jump to conclusion, I'm not going to fight him on my own, I'm just going to shout out to you guys letting you know he's here."

"As long as you know what you're doing, I won't try to stop you." Twilight said.

Eternal nodded and headed back up to the surface. He looked over towards the open grass field. It was all quiet at first...a bit too quiet, it kept Eternal at the tip of his hooves. He never stopped scanning the area around him as well as the areas far out of his reach. 'He has gotten stronger as well as used his head. This could be one of the toughest challenges I've had to take on. I won't let you down, Equestria, no, WE won't let you down, Equestria.' Eternal thought to himself.

While he was scanning the area, Discord had poofed in front of Eternal. he looked up at the draconiquis slowly after he arrived thinking he might have something to say.

"I'm here to alert you of the sudden events that took place in your beloved mom's castle. Tirek has just left from there after a grueling battle with your father. Let me tell ya, he sure put up an amazing fight. My eyes could barely keep up with him." Discord explains.

"My father fought Tirek?! Is he alright? What about mother and aunt Luna?!" Eternal asked all worried.

"Don't worry, young prince, your parents are still breathing. So is Luna and your grandparents." Discord reassures.

"Phew, thanks for telling me, Discord. I was worried tha-" Eternal stopped himself and looked at Discord with dumbfoundedness and confusion hearing that one word echo in his mind. "Wait, did you just say my "grandparents?" he asked.

"Oh, did your brother forget to tell you?"

"Discord, my grandma died when I was barely 4 and my grandpa died when I was 15. How can they still be alive?"

"Oh you must be talking about your father's parents, the ones I'm talking about are your mom's and aunt's parents. As far as I can see, they are very much alive and well. Not to mention that they rule the entire universe. If you don't believe me, you can meet them later on after the fight with Tirek is over." Discord implies.

"I'd be most grateful if I had the chance. But you're right, we have to take down Tirek first."

"Speaking of Tirek, he's almost here. I can sense his magical energy and he's regained his full power back 100%. Are you sure you can take him on all by yourself?"

"No, I'm not fighting him all by myself this time. This time, the whole gang and I are going to take him down once and for all. I might not be the strongest in Equestria, but it doesn't mean I won't go down without a fight. This is our home!" Eternal says, sounding serious. "I'm going to alert the guys and the girls. It's time!" His facial expression turned into a look of anger and determination. He sprinted back to where the others were and saw the little gap in the chasm. He could see the Tree of Harmony and the gang. Without so much as a thought, he jumped through the crack in the chasm and landed near the gang, startling them and landed on all fours.

"You could've used the slope behind us to approach us!" Shadow Force implied in surprise.

"There's no time to argue, Shadow, I just got word from Discord that Tirek is near! We have to come up with a stradegy if he gets here before we have a chance to attack him at full throttle." Eternal said.

"He WHAT?!" Shouted all of the girls.

"This'll be bad, it's going to take us a solid 10 minutes to get our rainbow powered forms! I can't believe I have to say this, but you'll all have to create a distraction for us!" Twilight implied.

The guys looked at each other to see if they all had any objections, so far, they all nodded in agreement and jumped out of the crack of the chasm and landed onto the surface.

"Just like the old times back in the Rogue Kingdom, huh, cousin?" Shadow Force asked with a grin.

"You know it." Eternal Flames replied, also grinning.

"I was hoping it didn't come to this, but there comes a time when evil just won't sleep." Hurricane Blitz says.

"This could be one of our toughest challenges yet." Tidal Wave says.

"This time, we're not gonna take this lightly!" Spark Wave says.

"I've been meaning to give Tirek a healthy dosing of whoop-ass! Let's nail the bastard!" Ground Dasher says, grinning.

The Rogues stood their ground, waiting for the evil tyrant centaur, Tirek to show up.