Flurry Heart's Story: Tirek vs Scorpan

Chapters

1. Tirek Attacks
2. The Absorption Stone
3. The Titans Begin to Duel
4. Scorpan Victorious
5. Tirek's Eyes Opened
6. The First Step to Redemption

1. Tirek Attacks

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!”

2. The Absorption Stone

Everyone stared in horror at the image of the Midnight Kingdom peninsula with the bow glowing over it.

“What?! That can’t be right!” shouted Starlight.

“Why the hay would the map call Flurry in the place where Tirek is? Who even has a friendship problem there?” Stormy asked.

“Stormy, don’t you get it? The friendship problem is Tirek!” Flurry said, nervously.

“But you can’t just go there, Flurry. It’s too dangerous,” Pound said, worriedly.

“I agree, Flurry,” Sunburst added. “If Tirek wants us all to leave him alone, it might be best.”

“I know, but don’t you understand?” Flurry continued. “Tirek and Scorpan just need to make up. Maybe I can go talk to them. I just don’t know how I’m going to do it. What I can say to them…”

The holographic bow then transformed into a small orb and floated away out of the room.

“What? Now where’s it going?” Flurry asked as she followed after it.

The orb led them all down to the cellar of the palace. They walked down the steps until they saw the orb floating in front of a nearby crystal wall. It shone brightly for a few seconds and then phased through the wall and disappeared.

“Oh great, we’ve lost it,” Stormy said.

“I think it’s trying to show us something in there,” Flurry said, putting her hoof on the wall. “But what could it have to do with the Midnight Kingdom?”

“Well, you did just get done asking how you were going to get Tirek and Scorpan to listen,” Pumpkin reminded her. “Maybe there’s something in there that will help out with that? Maybe like a really nice treat or pie or something to give to Tirek?”

“Pump, come on. This is no time for jokes,” Pound scolded his sister.

“What? It worked on the buffalos.”

“There has to be a reason why it’s showing us this wall,” Flurry continued. “I just wish I knew what it was.”

“I wish I could sense where that thing is. Well, only one way to find out!” Discord said as he donned a boxy-looking outfit with a square helmet and a pickaxe that appeared to be made of pixels.

He began swinging the pickaxe at the wall as it came apart in chunks of crystals.

“Too bad Spike isn’t here,” Annie joked as she watched the crystals fall to the ground.

“Well by the time we find that thing, I hope we aren’t too late,” Starlight said.

“GUYS!” Trixie called as she rushed down to meet everyone.

“Trixie?” Starlight and Sunburst responded.

“I’m guessing you already know about Tirek?”

“Well, it's funny you mention that. We’re getting a signal from the map to go solve a friendship problem in the Midnight Kingdom,” Starlight told her.

“You are? Well, I wouldn’t worry about that right now. The mayor just got an update from Twilight: she’s sending in some of the teachers with the Elements.”

“Already? I thought the teachers were on vacation?” Sunburst said.

“So did I, but I guess Sandbar and Ocellus haven’t started theirs yet.”

“So does this mean Flurry doesn’t have to worry about the friendship problem then?” Chip asked.

“No Chip, I have to go. The map is calling me,” Flurry told him.

“Are you sure, Flurry?” Pound said, landing next to her. “I’m sure the Elements have got this.”

“We saw what happened with Cozy Glow. The Elements didn’t work on purpose because they knew I could stop her with the Safeguard Bracelet. The Tree of Harmony connects both the map and the Elements, so if the map is calling me, the Elements must know I can help again. Trixie, we have to stop Twilight and the others.”

“Sorry Flurry,” Trixie sighed. “They’ve already left. Twilight just teleported them there.”

“They’ll be fine. They've got the Elements with them,” Discord called as he wiped the sweat off of his brow. “Twilight knows a secret entrance into the catacombs that Scorpan showed her. Right now, I suggest we all pitch in and find this thing.”

Discord snapped his fingers and made little shovels appear in front of everyone.

“Let’s spread out and see what we uncover. And be careful not to hit it with the shovels!”

“Come on, let’s give it a try!” Pound said as everyone else joined in and started chipping away at the wall.

Twilight, Spike, Sandbar, and Ocellus walked cautiously on a path in the mountains just behind the castle town in the Midnight Kingdom. They were heading towards a cave that was a secret entrance into the palace Twilight had been shown. Sandbar and Ocellus were wearing their Element necklaces. Spike looked nervous but stuck close to Twilight in case he needed to defend her. He was more worried for his old friend than he was for his own safety after what happened in the throne room earlier that day.

“So Discord can’t even stop him?” Sandbar asked.

“Tirek took all the guards’ magic and I’m guessing he stole Scorpan’s right after we left. He’ll find the Absorption Stone and take the magic out of that next I fear.”

“So Tirek can take magic from non-living beings then?” Ocellus asked.

“His ability to steal magic is limited. He can absorb residual energy from a living creature, but objects like the Staff of Sacanas and the Absorption Stone are meant to have energy transferred to and from them so it’s actually quite easy for Tirek to do the same with them.”

“I sure wish the others were here,” Sandbar said, nervously. “I feel like this would be a lot easier with all six of us.”

“Remember, Sandbar: where two or more are gathered in the name of Harmony, so shall Harmony be with them,” Twilight reminded. “The Elements worked for Celestia and Luna don’t forget.”

“She’s right, Sandbar,” Ocellus told her friend. “This will work out fine…that is unless the Elements choose not to work again.”

“Well if they didn’t wanna work against Cozy because there was another way to stop her, what other way could there be to stop Tirek?” Spike asked.

“I’m not sure,” Twilight responded. “Celestia told me that Tirek might have been the most powerful creature on record when he absorbed all my magic, at least in the past few thousand years. There won’t be anyone else who can stop him so I’d like to think the Elements will work this time.”

They finally got to a spot with some trees and rocks that Twilight directed them to. The cave was barely visible but Twilight lit up her horn to show them the way.

“Here it is. We’ll have to be as quiet as possible. I would teleport us to the other side of this tunnel, but I haven’t actually been there and have no image in my head of what it looks like.”

“Yeah, every time we visit, we use the front entrance,” Spike added.

“Keep your necklace on in case anything happens, Ocellus,” Sandbar warned his changeling friend.

“Right. I’ll be ready,” she replied.

Meanwhile in the castle town, every single citizen of the Midnight Kingdom had already heard about what happened with Tirek. Although none of them were in favor of his kingship, they had no choice but to comply. Several town criers had walked around with scrolls, anxiously telling the citizens the news of Tirek’s new assumption of the throne. They were warned to not attempt an uprising or they would have their energy drained and be forced to work in the mines for life. Tirek had demanded everyone gather for his speech in the center of town while he would stand atop the balcony just outside of the main entrance.

As the weary guards stood on both sides of the balcony, Tirek walked down the steps slowly, now wearing an enlarged and redecorated version of Scorpan’s crown. He was now in his fourth form with his bracelets having broken off of his wrists and sporting white hair on top of his head. His size was formidable and towered over everyone else. No one would ever dare stand up to this tyrant. Tirek was now the most powerful creature in the entire land and possibly even the world. He strode to the edge of the balcony and began to speak.

“CITIZENS OF THE MIDNIGHT KINGDOM!” Tirek hollered as everyone stood still in fear.

“Many of you may be too young to remember, but I am in fact the oldest son of your former King Vorak. I am Lord Tirek, formerly a prince, but I now stand before you as KING Tirek, and I will forevermore be addressed as such!”

The guards shuddered under the weight of Tirek’s booming voice. The other centaurs, gargoyles, and storm beasts in the crowd below looked up in terror at their new leader.

“I know you are not prepared for this transition of power, but make no mistake, my kingship is what King Vorak originally intended. Unfortunately my father was overcome with weakness and treachery when he allowed me to be imprisoned in Tartarus for over a thousand years and gave the throne to my brother. To make matters worse, your new King Scorpan betrayed me to the king of the ponies. You have bowed down to Scorpan since then, and while I see this country fairs better since my youth, I can and will make it grander. This transition will see it through, and if you dissent to my authority, be warned that any attempts to overthrow me will be met with dire consequences! UNDERSTOOD?!”

“YES, KING TIREK!” everyone murmured in unison.

As Tirek continued his speech, Twilight and the others had finally made it through the secret tunnel. In the catacombs of the palace, a door shaped like a large stone slab began to move as it was covered in a magic aura. Twilight moved the stone aside and Spike, Sandbar and Ocellus stepped out of the tunnel behind her.

“Alright, here we are,” she said quietly as they crept through the catacombs.

“Is this a dungeon?” Ocellus asked.

“I’m not sure, but we may be close to the dungeon. We have to rescue Scorpan first and then you two can take on Tirek.”

“I’m afraid it’s too late for that,” said an elderly voice nearby.

They all looked to the side to see a dungeon cell down at the end of a corridor where a torch was lit. They carefully walked towards the source of the voice and saw a shadowy figure inside the dungeon.

“I tried to take revenge on that foolish centaur myself, but he was already too powerful and threw me in here,” the shadow said, miserably.

“Tried to take revenge on him?” Spike asked.

“Wait, who are you?” Twilight asked.

“Who do you think taught Tirek that spell to begin with?” said the shadow as he walked into the light.

“You…you’re…Sendak the Elder?!” Ocellus said.

“That is what they used to call me,” Sendak said.

“What are you doing here? You were turned to stone and left in the forest for centuries!” Twilight said.

“Ah, so that’s where they put me. Well whoever turned me into stone in the first place must have had this all planned out rather well. When I was released from stone, I was elsewhere in Equestria and the year is now 1989 AH. Interesting.”

“Where is Tirek, Sendak?” Twilight asked, firmly.

“Why should I bother telling you? You’ll only meet the same fate of all those other guards.”

Sendak pointed behind them and they all turned to see hands reaching out of bars with weak voices calling for help.

“Twilight? Twilight Sparkle, is that you?” called one voice.

“SCORPAN?!” Twilight called back as she rushed to find him.

Spike began melting the dungeon locks with his fire breath to release the guards who had been imprisoned.

“Twilight! I told you to leave!” Scorpan called to Twilight as she reached his cell.

“And I told you I wouldn’t give up on the Midnight Kingdom, Scorpan,” she said, proudly.

“Don’t worry, Scorpan,” Spike told the gargoyle king as he put his arms around Sandbar and Ocellus. “We’ve got the Elements of Harmony with us this time!”

“We’re going to stop Tirek,” Twilight said as she used her magic to break the lock and set Scorpan free.

“Your highness!” said the captain of the guard, rushing over to see his king. “We need to get you out of here immediately!”

“No, Captain,” Scorpan replied. “I need to stay with Princess Twilight. Go find everyone you can and start the evacuation once we have Tirek distracted. And keep it quiet.”

“Forgive me, sire, but I don’t feel right leaving you.”

“I am the king. I need to stay here and defend my people. If the Elements of Harmony don’t work, I am going to stop Tirek myself. I have a way to do it. Go now!”

“Yes, sire.”

The guards all began to file out of the room and went up a stairwell leading to the first level of the palace. Scorpan was still weak from having his magic drained so Spike wrapped his arm around him and helped him to walk.

“Thank you, Spike,” he said, gratefully. “Thank you all for coming for me. Now before you confront Tirek, I need you to take me somewhere.”

“Where are we going?” Twilight asked.

“The stone. I need to get to the stone.”

“The Absorption Stone?” Spike asked.

“Yes. Tirek hasn’t gotten to it yet. Only I know where it is. I must get there quickly.”

Everyone left the dungeon with Scorpan. All the cells had been emptied except for Sendak’s who was still far back at the end of the corridor, left to his imprisonment.

“Oh don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine right here,” he said under his breath as he glanced back at the secret entrance Twilight emerged from.

As they all made their way up the stairs, Scorpan stopped them before one door and made them turn. They entered an underground vault with pillars containing weapons and artifacts. Some of the weapons were on the ground, broken or appeared to be drained of their energy. Tirek had most likely already found this vault and stole all the energy from them.
On the walls were ancient glyphs showing some of the history of the Midnight Kingdom. Twilight noticed one mural that depicted Tirek’s first defeat in Equestria. Pictured here were younger versions of Celestia and Luna using the Elements to stop Tirek by using their power to break his horns and drain his magic. Scorpan was behind Tirek, lifting a large glowing stone in his hands that was taking the magic while Starswirl the Bearded watched behind him. This was undoubtedly the Absorption Stone.

“Over there, Spike,” Scorpan said, pointing to a nearby portrait of King Vorak and Queen Haydon.

“Is this where the stone is?” Ocellus asked.

“This is it.”

Scorpan walked forward slowly and placed his hand on the bottom of the frame of the portrait and spoke to it.

“Father, Mother, please help me. Allow your love to guide me.”

The frame glowed around the edges and started to move to the side to show a doorway with a room inside.

“Are the spirits of the king and queen in that portrait or something?” Sandbar asked.

“Far from it,” Scorpan replied. “What I just said was simply the passcode. Something Tirek could never bring himself to say if he knew it.”

Spike helped Scorpan into the room where there was a small pillar coming out of the ground and holding the stone on top. The Absorption Stone looked like a glowing translucent rock with various colors shining through. It was making a humming sound similar to the sound a unicorn’s horn would make when they used magic.

“This is the Absorption Stone,” Scorpan told his friends. “Tirek hasn’t touched it yet which means I can still use it in case the Elements fail.”

“How are you going to use it, Scorpan?” Twilight asked him.

“After what my brother did in Equestria the first time, I took it upon myself to learn the absorption spell. It took years to master, but it worked. I have vowed to never steal magic from an innocent being though, and I only use it in case something happens to the Staff of Sacanas, which is what I usually use to capture magic. You see, the stone cannot cast a spell to absorb magic by itself; you must use either the staff or your own magic to do so and then transfer it to the stone. The stone serves as a massive storage device. The staff’s gem is derived from the same mystical element this stone comes from, so they work in tandem rather effectively, but I must use my own powers this time.”

“How much magic is being stored in it right now?” Sandbar asked.

“Very much. My father and his father before him used it to take magic from criminals and weapons of war over the years. This stone is loaded with energy and I think it might just be enough to take on my brother. I do not want to do this, but I have no other choice.”

“Scorpan, I think we can get the Elements to work on Tirek,” Twilight said, placing her hoof on Scorpan’s arm.

“I hope you are right, Twilight, but I do not want to see my brother turned to stone or sent to Tartarus again. I feel like it’s up to me now.”

“We’ll go out first and use the Elements, your highness,” Ocellus told him.

“Yeah, Ocellus and I got this,” Sandbar added as he put his arm around Ocellus.

“Thank you. I would be happy for your help. Go now. Quickly.”

They all turned to leave the vault as Scorpan reached down to lift the stone. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply. This was not how he wished to confront his brother, but he was already out of options. He turned and walked out slowly with the stone in his hands.

“Tirek, please don’t make me do this,” he said.

3. The Titans Begin to Duel

“The Midnight Kingdom is on a road to progress, my friends,” Tirek stated as he continued to speak to his people. “Whatever damage was done under the previous leadership will be mended. No one will dare stand up to us, and if they do, I will protect you at all…wait…what is that?”

Tirek stopped his speech once he noticed several figures in the distance. They had just walked up over the hilltop in front of the castle entrance several hundred yards away. Tirek looked closer and noticed Twilight with Spike and two other creatures he did not recognize.

“Princess Twilight,” Tirek grumbled before pointing to them. “My friends, we are being invaded! Allow me to show you all what happens to those who oppose my will!!”

Tirek removed his crown and placed it on the floor next to him. He then crouched down and leaped forward with all his might. He soared through the air and landed right in front of Twilight and the others, causing Spike to tumble and fall while Sandbar and Ocellus nearly lost their balance.

“Princess, I thought I told you to stay out of here!!” Tirek shouted at Twilight.

Twilight closed her eyes and stood against the wind in her face from Tirek’s breath. She then opened them again and looked grimly at him.

“Tirek, I wouldn’t come back here if I didn’t have a way to stop you,” she told the angry centaur titan. “I’ve brought the Elements of Harmony with me.”

“All I see are two pathetic creatures over there with the Elements. You couldn’t even bring all of them at once!”

“We’re all that’s needed, Tirek!” Sandbar shouted as he held Ocellus’ hoof and their necklaces began to shine.

“GET OUT OF MY KINGDOM NOW!!!” Tirek shouted even louder.

Sandbar and Ocellus began to levitate and a magic aura spun around them. Tirek gritted his teeth and charged up his magic. Twilight was about ready to cast her own protection spell but the Elements seemed to have already created a canopy around all four of them. Tirek retaliated, but his blast had no effect. He shot beam after beam at them and tried smashing the shield with his fists or hooves, but it did no good. Ocellus and Sandbar had their eyes closed the whole time, expecting the Elements to blast Tirek with the rainbow, but nothing was happening. They opened their eyes and looked around, confused.

“Is it working?” Ocellus asked.

“Well it’s definitely protecting us,” Sandbar replied. “I’m trying to concentrate.”

“So am I.”

“Think maybe the Elements are refusing to work again?”

“I’m afraid so. Twilight, I don’t think we were meant to use these on Tirek!”

Twilight was huddled up next to Spike as she watched Tirek try to break through the canopy. She already looked defeated.

“I don’t understand! Why aren’t the Elements working?” Spike called to Twilight.

“There is another way. There must be,” Twilight replied. “Spike, we need to retreat!”

“Well we’ve already made him mad! He’ll just follow us to Equestria now! We never should have come here!”

“Ocellus, maybe Twilight’s right!” Sandbar said. “Clearly the Elements want us to approach this differently!”

“YOUR PRECIOUS ELEMENTS HAVE FAILED YOU!” Tirek shouted.

“You can hear us?” Ocellus asked.

“Of course I can hear you, you pesky gnat! All four of you leave now and I will one day find a way to make an example of Equestria! No one stands up to the all-powerful Tirek!”

“There is one, brother!” shouted a voice in the distance.

Tirek turned back to the castle town and saw Scorpan walking down the steps to the balcony. He had just finished absorbing all the power from the Absorption Stone via his mouth and Tirek was too late to stop him. He began to grow in size till he was about as tall as Tirek. His pupils turned into slits, his ears became longer and his fingertips were more claw-like. His wingspan increased by a tremendous amount. Scorpan was now prepared to take on his brother. The citizens in the crowd all cheered loudly as Scorpan crouched down and then took off with his enormous wings. Scorpan landed in front of Tirek as Twilight and the others scrambled for cover.

“SCORPAN!!!” Tirek shouted angrily as he turned to face his brother. “Know your place and stand down!”

“Brother, this ends now!” Scorpan replied as he pointed to Tirek. “I don’t want to fight you, but I am the king and I will protect my people!”

“Oh I do, brother. I do want to fight you very much…”

Tirek’s voice became softer but very threatening. He cracked his knuckles on both hands and stood still to strike fear into Scorpan, but Scorpan did not turn away from him. They stood for a few moments, clenching their fists, waiting for each other to make a move. After nearly an entire minute, Tirek’s eyes widened quickly and he shouted as he threw his fist back and dashed for his brother.

Scorpan did the same and their fists collided, sending a wave of energy cutting through the air and creating a carving on the ground between them. What happened next was a series of fast-paced punches and parries as they both grunted and winced with each movement. Their arms moved as fast as lightning and were nearly impossible to see. They started to teleport all over the battlefield while fighting, leaving behind a burst of orange energy and reappearing elsewhere over the ground. Tirek finally managed to land a blow on Scorpan’s face but Scorpan did the same and they flew back simultaneously. They landed several hundred yards away and wiped their lips with the elbow of their wrists. Tirek then charged up his magic between his horns and Scorpan opened his mouth and did the same. A small orb of bluish energy appeared on front of his snout and grew bigger as they both prepared to blast each other. Finally Tirek shouted and shot his beam at Scorpan while Scorpan opened his jaws even wider and blasted Tirek. Their beams met in the center and pushed against each other. The brothers both continued to exert their magic until there was an explosion that knocked them both back. Scorpan tried getting up but saw Tirek leap in the air, attempting to crush him with his powerful fists. Scorpan leaped out of the way just in time and flew to a safer distance. Tirek fired a continuous beam at his brother as Scorpan took flight to evade it. The beam cut through some mountains and trees. Fearing the beam was too dangerous for anyone in this vicinity as well as the castle town, he finally stopped and crossed his arms to block the beam. Tirek pushed harder and harder till Scorpan could no longer take it, so he teleported behind Tirek and put him in a chokehold.

“TIREK, THAT’S ENOUGH!!!” he shouted.

Tirek gagged and then elbowed Scorpan in the stomach. He then tried to punch Scorpan, but Scorpan was quick and dodged it. Scorpan then lifted his leg and kicked Tirek in the face. Tirek grabbed Scorpan by his leg and swung him down into the ground, creating a large crater. He tried doing it again but Scorpan teleported them both away into the air. Scorpan spread his wings and stayed afloat. Tirek began falling, but then used his magic to remain airborne. They both took a moment to catch their breaths until Tirek hollered and dashed towards Scorpan. They both met in midair and grabbed each other’s fists and pushed hard against themselves with energy emitting from their bodies. They gritted their teeth and pressed as hard as they could until they finally separated. They put their hands to the sides of their bodies and charged up energy. They then put both hands forward to send powerful blasts at each other. Scorpan underestimated the power of Tirek’s blast and his was disintegrated while Tirek’s blast came through and pushed against Scorpan, sending him far into the sky. Scorpan teleported back to the earth below, but Tirek noticed this and put his finger skyward and charged up a large ball of energy. He sent it hurtling down and Scorpan blocked it with his hands, not wanting it to do damage to the land. He threw it back at Tirek and Tirek teleported to the ground where they continued their battle.

Twilight and her companions ran through a nearby forest, dodging rocks and debris that would fly in their direction every so often. A huge beam shot across the ground and carved a ditch right in front of them, just barely missing them. Ocellus transformed into a giant eagle and picked up Sandbar to carry him over the ditch while Twilight and Spike spread their wings.

“THIS IS NOT WHAT I SIGNED UP FOR!” Spike shouted.

“We need to get to a safer spot!” Twilight replied. “That mountain up there looks good!”

They all flew to a mountain with a cliff at the top where they could spectate the battle before them. Once they landed, they were far enough away from the brothers.

“Well this did not go as planned,” Ocellus said as she transformed and started panting.

“So are they just going to keep fighting until Tirek gives up?” Sandbar asked.

“I’m not sure. They seem to be about equal, but Scorpan is holding himself back. I’m guessing he’s trying to get Tirek to calm down and talk.”

“Well I don’t think Tirek’s gonna listen,” Spike said. “We need to figure this out before Tirek flattens the entire peninsula and ends up moving into Equestria.”

Back in the crystal castle, everyone continued digging but were getting nowhere. The only thing they were able to uncover was mostly dirt with some crystals, which became harder to find the further they went. They started branching out to widen the hole, but it did no good. It had been nearly an hour since they started. Discord took off his helmet and took a rest to catch his breath.

“Find anything yet?” he asked.

“We haven’t found squat!” Stormy called back.

“Just a few large crystals every now and then,” Starlight added as she used her magic to pick up some rather dull gemstones.

“None of them have any power though. I don’t know if we’re even supposed to be looking for an artifact,” Sunburst added.

“This isn’t getting us anywhere, Flurry,” Trixie said as she set her shovel down and took a rest.

“Can the map at least tell us what it is we’re looking for?” Annie asked.

“Maybe it wants us to find out for ourselves,” Pumpkin added.

“There’s got to be a way to know…wait…” Flurry said as she started to notice something.

Everyone else turned their heads and saw that the wall she was in front of had a glow emanating from it. There were some cracks in the dirt with rays of sunlight breaking through.

“That must be it!” Discord said.

“Keep digging, Flurry!” Stormy told her.

Flurry took her shovel and used her magic to dig faster until she hit something in the dirt. She could feel her shovel stop the moment it happened.

“Hear that? I think I found it!”

Some dirt fell down and the orb that led them downstairs earlier was visible right over where Flurry was digging. It floated out and moved down to where her shovel was directed. Flurry finally uncovered a large crystal rock with keyholes in it.

“It’s…It’s the box for the keys of harmony!” Starlight shouted.

“The one that gave Twilight and the others the rainbow magic to stop Tirek!” Sunburst joined in.

“That was what gave them the power?” Trixie asked.

“I thought the keys were on the outside though. Where did they go?” asked Discord.

“Hold on, I think it can be opened!” Flurry said as she plucked it out of the ground with her magic.

The top half of the box flipped back like a lid and inside were all the items that transformed into the keys during Twilight’s battle with Tirek.

“THE KEYS!” Discord, Trixie, Starlight and Sunburst shouted in unison.

“That must be Mommy’s Wonderbolts pin she got from Spifire!” Stormy said as he picked the pin out of the box to marvel at.

“Fluttershy’s flower from the Breezies! It hasn’t wilted at all!” Discord said as he took the flower and held it close.

“And that’s Rarity’s thread spool she got from Coco Pommel!” Sunburst said, using his magic to take the thread out and show it to Starlight and Trixie.

“And Mom’s coin that Silver Shill gave her!” Chip said as Annie took the coin.

“Oh my gosh!! Pound look! Pinkie and Cheese are going to be so happy to have Boneless #1 back!” Pumpkin said as she shook the rubber chicken around with her magic.

“Guys, look!” Flurry said.

She took out the final key: Scorpan’s necklace. The orb was glowing over the necklace and then finally died out. At last they had found the relic the map was leading them to.

“This is what the map wanted us to find. Scorpan must need to give this back to Tirek!”

“Wait, Flurry…that’s no ordinary necklace!” Sunburst said as he adjusted his glasses.

“THE PENDANT OF RESTORATION!!” he and Starlight said excitedly.

“Wait, hold on a minute… that’s the Pendant of Restoration?” Discord said, confused. “I thought it was just some ordinary relic from King Vorak’s family!”

“It was made under his rule,” Sunburst began to explain. “King Vorak’s father Oltok made a lot of bad decisions during his reign and regretted them in his final days when Vorak took the throne. Vorak had his best sorcerers make a pendant that had the ability to fix disorder: a pendant that no villain would ever covet for they would only seek to destroy, not rebuild. He gave it to a dying Oltok so he could undo the harm to the Midnight Kingdom that he had caused, but sadly Oltok passed just as he began to hold the pendant and Vorak was tasked with solving it himself. I don’t know if the pendant was ever used at all.”

“Why couldn’t King Vorak just use the pendant after that?” Pound asked.

“Because it can only be used to fix things by the very person who did the damage in the first place,” Starlight answered.

“And now Tirek is the one who has to use it,” Flurry said. “That’s why Scorpan left his brother with this pendant when he was sent to Tartarus! He believed that Tirek could change one day and use this pendant!”

Flurry’s bow began to glow again as the pendant shone with a green aura surrounding it. Flurry looked up at her friends with a determined face.

“I have to get this to Scorpan. He has to be the one to give it to Tirek, not me,” she said as she put the pendant around her neck.

“Well if you’re going, we’re coming with you!” Stormy said, excitedly.

“Hold on now, Stormy!” Pound said, trying to calm his friend down. “Do you have any idea how much trouble we’ll be in if we go into the Midnight Kingdom with the way things are over there right now?”

“That’s right, Stormy. I can’t allow any of you kids to go there aside from Flurry or your parents will have our heads,” Trixie told him.

“I think we should stay here. It’s too dangerous,” Annie said, timidly.

“Yeah, Mom would kill us if she found out,” Chip added.

“Ditto,” Pumpkin chimed in.

“Awww, but I wanted to see a really cool battle between Tirek and Scorpan!” Stormy whined.

“Look Stormy, this is Flurry’s mission,” Discord explained. “When the map calls you somewhere, you’ve got to go do it. I’m sure Shining Armor and Cadance will understand. Right, Flurry?”

“They’ll understand,” Flurry said. “But you’d better come with me to keep me safe.”

“Well I have no choice. I can teleport you and I’m probably your best bet at defense against Tirek if it comes to that.”

“Can we at least see what it looks like real quick? Pleeeease?” Stormy begged Discord.

“I suppose I could open a portal in the field outside of the palace real quick, but hopefully there isn’t a battle happening at the moment,” Discord said.

“All right, but we have to be quick, Discord,” Sunburst said.

Discord straightened out his lion arm and pointed his index finger forward. He spun his finger around once and a small magic circle appeared. It grew into a larger circle and showed what was happening on the other end. Right before their eyes appeared Tirek and Scorpan as hundred-foot-tall titans fighting each other. Scorpan was throwing punches at Tirek as Tirek deflected them with his arms.

“WHOOOOA! SO AWESOME!” Stormy said with his hooves pressed against his cheeks.

Tirek suddenly punched Scorpan in the face and Scorpan flew off behind the spot the portal was in. Tirek then fired a laser at the ground and it was moving right to the portal. Everyone screamed and Discord immediately closed the portal just as small rocks and dirt began to fly in through it. Discord stood completely motionless with a shocked face.

“Okay, that was a bad idea,” he said.

“Discord, maybe you two should wait till they calm down,” Pound suggested.

“Pound, if we wait any longer, Scorpan might not be around! It’s a friendship problem. I have to get both of them to make amends.”

“She’ll be fine with me, Pound,” Discord assured the young pegasus.

“Just…be safe is all,” Pound said, cautiously.

Discord and Flurry took one look at each other and back at all their friends who looked very worried.

“Don’t worry, everypony,” Flurry said. “I promise you I’ll come back…and with good news.”

Discord took a deep breath and snapped his fingers. In a flash of light, they were both gone.

4. Scorpan Victorious

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.

5. Tirek's Eyes Opened

Tirek opened his eyes and saw a completely different world fade in before him. He was standing atop a familiar balcony in the castle he remembered from his childhood. The sun was shining brightly and the land around him was more of a desert with little to no vegetation. He had been sent back in time to the Midnight Kingdom. As his eyes adjusted to the light, he saw Scorpan standing in front of him, appearing in his base form before taking any magic from the Absorption Stone. Scorpan had his hands behind his back and a warm smile on his face. Tirek noticed there was a faint magic aura surrounding the two of them.

“Brother…what… what have you done?” Tirek asked. “Where are we…or rather, what year is it?”

“This is the age of our childhood when the kingdom was still undernourished. Look.”

Scorpan pointed to his left. Tirek glanced over to see himself as a young centaur colt romping around with an even younger Scorpan running after him.

“HAHA! Try and catch me, Brother!” young Tirek called to the little gargoyle.

“Hey, slow down!” young Scorpan called back.

Tirek could not believe he was seeing this. He had rather faint memories of his past and barely recognized his younger self. He could already tell Scorpan had used a time-travel spell, but no one could see either of them, so it was likely a visual one. Tirek then noticed his parents King Vorak and Queen Haydon by the balcony entrance. Haydon smiled at the sight of her sons playing. Vorak had his arms crossed but was also smiling. He then walked out to his boys to speak with them.

“I’VE GOT YOU, BROTHER!” called Scorpan as he jumped on top of Tirek.

“Hey! No flying!” young Tirek called back.

“Alright, that’s enough, boys. Come over here. I’d like to show you something,” Vorak told his sons.

The king walked over towards the balcony and Tirek followed him while Scorpan flew over and landed on top of the pedestal railing.

“Is this all going to be mine one day, Father?” young Tirek asked.

“All of this, Tirek, but don’t forget, your brother will become a ‘lord’ when you are crowned and will be part of the court as per the royal traditions.”

“I can’t wait to be king, Father! I’m going to rule with an iron fist! Just like you do!”

“Now, now, my son,” said the queen as she walked in and put her hand on Tirek’s head. “A king must rule with strength, but remember what we told you about your grandfather.”

“King Oltok made lots of mistakes. I know,” said young Tirek, rolling his eyes.

“That’s right. We must be careful to not repeat what he did.”

“My father took too much that did not belong to him to build up his palace. We lost much of the forests when he borrowed magic from the plant-life. We are still recovering from those dark times. But grandfather Oltok was no longer beholden to his greed in his last days.”

Off to the side, the real Tirek and Scorpan looked on as the conversation continued. Tirek was listening but he had a stern look on his face like he was trying hard not to speak out of line.

“Right from the beginning, both Mother and Father wanted what was best for us,” Scorpan explained. “You were the heir to the throne, brother.”

“Then why am I the lord now and you’re the king?” Tirek replied.

Scorpan put his hand up and the scene around them panned rapidly to the side. They were now in a training regimen where young Tirek and Scorpan were practicing their fighting skills and magic powers. They were slightly older from the last vision. Tirek’s horns were starting to grow sharper and pointing upward while Scorpan’s tail and wings were longer. Scorpan practiced his martial arts and magic in a rather balanced manner. He fired beams from his mouth and palms to land direct hits on some nearby targets. Tirek, on the other hand, was reckless. He would shatter targets with his fists, kick them with his hooves, or obliterate them with unnecessarily powerful blasts.

“This was our training,” Scorpan said. “Do you notice a difference?”

Tirek scowled and refused to answer the question, until he saw something from the corner of his eye. King Vorak was watching both of them. He was satisfied with Scorpan’s training but did not appear happy with what he saw Tirek doing. He finally walked over to Tirek to speak with him.

“Tirek, my son…” he said until Tirek began bragging.

“Father! Did you see that?! I’m getting faster! Soon I’ll be clearing each course in record time!”

“Yes, that is impressive, but you’re pushing yourself too hard. This test isn’t about speed or strength. You should be more concerned with accuracy here. These targets don’t need to be destroyed. You just have to land a hit as close to the center as possible.”

“So? I’m already good enough with my aim! I’ll be more powerful if I train as hard as I can!”

“Son, I know you want to be powerful, but this isn’t about power. A king must never react impulsively.”

“What if the kingdom is ever in danger? I can’t be a weak king, father.”

Tirek levitated more targets over and began to blast them again. Vorak put his hand up as if to say more, but Tirek had already started. He rubbed his forehead and sighed deeply. Behind him was Scorpan, looking concerned for his brother. Vorak shared a glace with his younger son, shook his head and left the room. Off to the side, the real Tirek rolled his eyes and finally spoke.

“Alright, so I was big-headed. I was a child,” he said. “I had a point though. The kingdom couldn’t have a weak king.”

“Do you remember when Sendak came into your life?” Scorpan asked.

Tirek didn’t answer and continued to scowl. He knew what Scorpan was trying to do. The scenery changed again and they were outside where a more adolescent Tirek and pre-teen Scorpan were walking towards a cave with a skull-shaped entrance.

“But Tirek, you know what Father said about visiting the Nether Lands.” said young Scorpan. “And mother will be summoning us for supper soon and-”

“Then I suggest you go back home to Mommy,” younger Tirek replied. “I have more important things to attend to than supper.”

They walked on until they got to the cave and entered. Sendak the Elder was standing by a cage with a cloth draped over it.

“WHO GOES THERE?!” shouted Sendak. “Tirek, is that you? My prodigy, I did not expect you so soon. And I sense you have not come alone.”

“It is only my younger brother Scorpan, who frequently follows,” replied younger Tirek. “A slight nuisance, nothing more. He would never betray me.”

Outside of the cave, the real Tirek cringed at hearing those words.

“Never betray me…” he grumbled to himself.

“I don’t know how much of this part you might recall since Discord erased your memories of Sendak teaching you that spell, but I’m sure you remember this,” said the real Scorpan.

“I remember this, brother. I know what you’re trying to do and it’s not going to work. Reliving this part of my life does not make me feel good.”

“Do you remember later that night then?”

The scene changed to the royal dining room where Vorak and Haydon were waiting for their sons to attend dinner. They had already started eating when Vorak began to interrogate Tirek.

“Where were you and your brother earlier?” he asked sternly.

“Just out for a walk, Father,” younger Tirek said before munching on a grape.

“Two royal princes walking towards the Nether Lands?”

“What makes you think we would go there? There’s nothing interesting in the Nether Lands.”

“Nothing except that old hermit Sendak apparently.”

“Tirek, just be honest with your father. Please,” Haydon begged her son.

“Look, I just wanted to visit him to catch up, all right?”

Vorak picked up his glass and drank from it while keeping his eyes on Tirek. He put it down and continued.

“What did Sendak have to say?”

“Just…I just wanted to see if he was in the mood to teach me a new spell.”

“Did he tell you what he was doing in Equestria?”

“No, I didn’t know that’s where he went.”

“Tirek, I want you to stop seeing Sendak. There’s a reason he was excommunicated from the council years ago.”

“Father, there’s nothing wrong with him, I swear. You’re just still afraid of me becoming too powerful.”

“TIREK! You will never see that old centaur again. I’m not joking. If this continues, I will have to order the guards to keep you confined to the castle and have them supervise you when you go out. Is that understood?”

“Yes, Father.”

Vorak returned to eating his food while Haydon and Scorpan ate theirs. Tirek sat still, refusing to finish his dish. He left the table without asking to be excused. Haydon was about to ask him to stay but couldn’t find the strength. She looked back to her husband. Vorak looked at her sternly and shook his head.

While the real Tirek and Scorpan were watching, the former grew angrier at what he was seeing. Scorpan waved his hand and showed what happened later that night with young Tirek’s attempt to sneak into Sendak’s cave and steal the magic from the unicorn he had captured. Neither of them spoke while this was happening and Tirek just stood still with his arms crossed. The next scene showed King Vorak confronting his son the next day over the incident, but the real Tirek could no longer take it.

“Do you really think showing me these events is helping me?” he said. “You know after the whole incident with the unicorn that I tried harder at pleasing Father.”

“Yes, that is true, brother.”

Scorpan skipped ahead much further and showed Tirek and Scorpan the way they looked right before traveling to Equestria. Young Tirek’s horns were now fully grown in their signature S-shape and he was far more muscular while young Scorpan stood taller and had larger wings and longer ears. There were more buildings around the castle now with a small town starting to form and the castle had some additions to the base to improve its stability. Despite the improvements of the castle and its neighbors below, the land was growing more desolate and barren. There was no vegetation visible for miles aside from tumbleweed rolling on the ground every now and then. The Midnight Kingdom was becoming more inhospitable with each passing year.

“Scorpan, look, if we don’t do something right now, there won’t be a Midnight Kingdom,” said younger Tirek, pacing about. “I think the only option is to travel to Equestria for help. We’re not going to steal anything. We just need to ask for magic so we can use it to replenish the land.”

“I don’t know, Brother,” said younger Scorpan. “Do you think King Solmidas will really listen to us?”

“Why shouldn’t he? Is Equestria not a society focused on helping others?”

"Well, he hasn't exactly forgotten what you did with the unicorn years ago."

"Just leave that to me. I'm ready to apologize to him personally for that."

“They’re also having issues with the griffons. I’m not sure this is the best time.”

“Maybe if we help with that, the king will reward us.”

“All right, I see your point. Perhaps it can work. I can ask Father if we can bring the Staff of Sacanas.”

“We might as well bring the Stone instead. We will need a lot of magic.”

“That’s what worries me. Will there be enough for the kingdom?”

“It’s a start.”

Next, they appeared before an older King Vorak and Queen Haydon, petitioning to let them travel to Equestria to ask for help.

“While I do think this is more of a job for ambassadors, Tirek, it pleases me to know you want to go and make amends for the incident with the unicorn,” said Vorak, walking to his son.

“Thank you, Father. I won’t fail you,” Tirek replied.

“Just be as diplomatic as possible. Sol is not in the greatest of moods right now with what is happening with the griffons and that dragon. Even his daughters have failed him so he might need that magic for himself.”

“We will do our best, Father,” young Scorpan said. “We’ll take the Absorption Stone with us and we will only use it if and when Sol comes to an agreement on magic transfer.”

“I hope he agrees to something. The crop blight is getting worse. Good luck to you both and be careful. There are dangerous beasts in Equestria.”

Time stood still now. The real Scorpan took a moment to speak with his brother.

“You see what was happening here? Father was already warming up to you because you were behaving,” Scorpan explained. “Unfortunately this was just the beginning of your heel-turn.”

“Well I was helping, wasn’t I? After we saw what Discord had done to Equestria, we returned with the staff to use it against him, but Celestia and Luna had already turned him into stone, so our plans changed. Feel free to just zoom right through these blasted events. I’m getting tired of hearing them talk.”

Tirek was getting irritated, so Scorpan allowed the scenes to play while he spoke instead.

“When we came back, I suggested we just stick to the original plan to negotiate a magic transfer. With all their earlier problems now solved, Sol would have had no issues with it. He was even able to overlook your past transgressions. Everything was going as planned until you decided to turn your back on me and plot to take the magic by force.”

“Well it wasn’t enough, Brother. He did not meet our needs, so I took matters into my own hands. I did it for Father. I did it for the kingdom!”

“You defied Father! He told you to be diplomatic. Did you really think our citizens would have been happy to know we saved them at Equestria’s expense?”

“Oh, don’t give me that. They didn’t need to be told where that magic was coming from, and Solmidas could have easily found ways to get magic back.”

“It would have started a war between the Midnight Kingdom and Equestria!”

“I DIDN’T CARE ABOUT EQUESTRIA!!”

Scorpan chose not to reply and watched as Tirek lost his temper. Tirek stood, taking deep breaths until he continued talking.

“I never stopped thinking about my training as a colt! How I wanted to be a strong king! Ever since that incident with Sendak happened, I always harbored a grudge on Father and I wanted to prove to him my worth, and I would go to any lengths to do it, even if it meant stealing from those pitiful equines! The centaurs were bold in the ancient times! Father went soft and clearly so have you!”

Scorpan stared sternly at his brother for a few moments until it was time to move the scenes along. They saw the moment from over a thousand years ago where a younger Celestia and Luna overcame younger Tirek with the Elements of Harmony. His horns were being shattered by the rainbow blast and all the magic he had stolen was returned to where it belonged, but his own base magic had been taken out and transferred into the Absorption Stone so he could not fight back. Scorpan was holding the stone, with tears in his eyes as the magic entered it. Tirek then fell to the ground, completely weakened. His body had not been altered, but his horns were not long enough for him to use his centaur powers anymore and all of his magic had been drained. He could still use the absorption spell, but with very little success, and now he was surrounded by royal guards.

“Why are you showing me this?!” the real Tirek barked.

“You need to see all of these things, Brother,” the real Scorpan replied.

“No I do not! You are toying with my emotions!!”

Scorpan turned violently to his brother and finally snapped at him as Tirek walked back, surprised.

“YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN WHO YOU WERE, TIREK! YOU PROMISED TO BE A GOOD KING AND LOOK WHERE IT GOT YOU!!”

As Scorpan shouted, the next scene was of younger Scorpan going to visit younger Tirek one last time in Tartarus before returning to the Midnight Kingdom. The real Scorpan was crying but tried to calm himself down. They both turned to look at what was happening.

“What do you want, traitor?!” asked younger Tirek, chained between two stalagmites in the underground prison.

“Tirek, I tried to warn you. I’m sorry it came to this,” younger Scorpan said, sullenly.

“Oh I’m sure you are! Thanks to you I will rot in this prison for all eternity!”

“King Solmidas is furious with what you have done. You terrorized his people and wreaked havoc on his kingdom. He’s right to imprison you. There’s nothing I can do. If I get involved, I risk very bad relations with Equestria. He’s not keeping you here forever. You may be released in another thousand years or so. The magic of Tartarus will keep you alive and your horns will heal, but they will not grow back to their full size. Even if you can somehow break free of those chains, Cerberus is ever watchful. Please don’t make any attempts, Brother.”

“I am the heir to the throne! What will the kingdom do without me? Don’t tell me Father will appoint you as king instead!”

“I didn’t want this, Tirek, but you left us with no choice. I still have faith that you will come to your senses again. This is all I can give you for now. My only hope is that one day you will use it to undo what you have done.”

Younger Scorpan removed the Pendant of Restoration and put it around Tirek’s neck. He then turned to leave as Tirek continued to rage.

“I do not accept this gift! What am I going to do with this stupid pendant?!”

“Good bye, Brother.”

“Scorpan?! SCORPAN! I WILL GET OUT OF THIS PRISON ONE DAY!! DO YOU HEAR?! I WILL TAKE MY REVENGE ON EQUESTRIA, AND THEN I’M COMING FOR YOU! SCORPAAAAAAAAAN!!!!”

The real Scorpan put his hand up and stopped the vision. Everything around them turned dark this time. Tirek watched as Scorpan wept bitterly and pounded his fist on the ground. He was still angry, but Scorpan’s reaction was now superseding his. For the first time in over a thousand years, Tirek began to pity his brother. Scorpan stood up and faced Tirek once more.

“Do you think that was easy for me to do, Tirek? Do you think it was easy being the king after all that? I had so much trouble when Father first gave me the crown. It took a hundred years till anything green showed up in the Midnight Kingdom again, and the citizens didn’t have much confidence in my leadership. It was because I let the ponies keep you in Tartarus that I earned the trust of the Equestrian royal family. They did in fact help us with revitalizing the kingdom.”

“But why? Why didn’t you try harder to stand up for your own flesh and blood?”

“Perhaps I could have. Believe me, not a day went by that I regretted it. I wanted so much to rescue you from there and face Sol’s wrath, but you had become a monster and I was afraid to even deal with you anymore, so I had no choice but to side with Equestria on this. I had to leave you there to think about what you had done. It was the only way.”

Tirek almost started to believe his brother, but he could not let go of his hatred just yet. He still had everything from before in the back of his head. He could not block out his memories of how Vorak favored Scorpan above him and how hard he was on Tirek. He started to realize that maybe he was in the wrong this entire time, even if he did it partly for his own people. Even then, the hatred in his heart lingered.

“Maybe you’re right. Maybe I do not have the makings of a king, but whose fault is that? You were always Father’s favorite. He did this, and Mother let him do it. I’m sure my imprisonment was a huge relief for them.”

“Is that really what you think?”

Scorpan lifted his hand and they saw the throne room to the Midnight Castle once again. Younger Scorpan was with Vorak and Haydon. They all wept bitterly over what had happened to Tirek. Haydon and Scorpan hugged tightly as Vorak stood against the stained glass window of Tirek. He had his right hand against the window, while his other hand covered his face as he sobbed.

“I tried to warn him, Mother,” younger Scorpan said, continuing to embrace Haydon. “I really thought he had come around. I thought he would listen.”

“I know, my son,” she replied. “You did everything you could.”

“It’s my fault,” Vorak interjected. “I was too hard on him. I never should have let this happen. The kingdom has lost its heir and it’s all because of me. Why…why was I so foolish?! Oh, Tirek…my son…I’ve failed you…”

The three of them came together, still weeping. The real Scorpan had his eyes closed, fighting back more tears. Tirek on the other hand was mortified at what he was seeing. He trembled at the sight of this and tears began to form in his eyes as well.

“Father…Mother…what have I done?”

He backed away slowly. His breathing grew faster and his lips quivered. He couldn’t take it any longer.

“No…NO! I WANT OUT! END THIS NOW, BROTHER!! PLEASE!!!”

He ran away in the opposite direction as everything around him turned dark. He was blinded by the darkness until he woke up and was back in his own physical body, sitting in the palm of his titan-sized brother. He looked up to see Scorpan had tears streaming down from his face. Scorpan opened his eyes. The giant, forlorn gargoyle no longer looked like a large fearsome monster.

Tirek panted slowly and stared into space. He sniffled several times as real tears formed in his eyes. He finally let out a loud bawl and buried his face in both hands. Now he had finally come to realize his errors and broke down. He continued to wail until at last, he apologized.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I was wrong! I just wanted to please Father and I failed him. I should have known he cared deep down. All those years…all those years of thinking of myself…”

He wept for several minutes. As he wiped his tears away, his breathing slowed down and he calmed himself. Scorpan waited as long as he needed for his brother. Tirek sat still and let his face dry. He bowed his head and began to speak again.

“You were right, Scorpan. I was selfish. I let my desire to impress Father ruin me. I’m glad you showed me all of that.”

“I spent over a thousand years thinking of the day I would hear you say this, Tirek. I had no idea it would go the way it did, but I did all of this for you. The magic coursing through my veins will be returned. It has served its purpose to show you what you needed to see.”

“I just wish I could apologize to Father and Mother.”

“You still can. They are waiting for you down there.”

“What?”

“Mother preserved herself and Father in stone centuries ago. They told me to wake them up when you came around.”

“They’re alive?”

“They are. They entrusted me to bring you back.”

“But the others…how will they ever accept me? How will I ever make up for everything I did today?”

“With this.”

Scorpan lifted his right hand and opened his palm. The Pendant glowed and floated towards Tirek. His eyes widened and he held out his hands.

“The Pendant…you’ve found it?”

“It was brought to me by Princess Flurry Heart.”

“The princess? She did this…all for us?”

“She was called to solve this feud. She had faith your heart could be healed. She will be pleased to know it now has.”

“I see. Such a kind girl. I really have treated these ponies awfully. I now see why Father wanted to keep good relations with Equestria.”

“Are you ready to return to the Earth below?”

“Yes. I might as well get started. I will use the Pendant of Restoration to mend the land I have ravaged in our battle. There are many apologies I need to make. Will you help me?”

“That is what I am here for, Brother.”

"Thank you."

The brothers smiled to one another, and Tirek put the pendant around his neck. Scorpan put his right hand over Tirek to protect him and made his way down past the atmosphere to return to the Midnight Kingdom. Tirek sat inside Scorpan’s hand, peacefully reflecting on that day. It started out with a thirst for revenge, but ended with his heart completely transformed. For the first time in his life, Lord Tirek was free from his inner demons and on a path to redemption.

6. The First Step to Redemption

An hour had passed since Scorpan’s departure. The storm clouds were gone, and the sun was already near the western horizon. Everyone was still waiting for the king of the Midnight Kingdom to return with his brother, but some were getting very worried. The townsfolk had come out of the gates of the castle town and waited around the entrance to see what would happen. Many had already grown impatient and were starting to take bets on whether Tirek would be convinced or not.

Flurry waited next to Twilight. She kept looking to the sky where Scorpan had disappeared. She sighed and bowed her head. Twilight put her wing around her.

“He’ll be back, Flurry,” she said.

“I wish I could help up there,” Flurry replied.

“You think Tirek will listen, Discord?” Sandbar asked.

“I don’t know,” Discord answered. “I sensed Scorpan using a very powerful spell earlier. Could be a memory spell. I hope they’re okay. They haven’t had a chance to talk like this since Tirek was first sent to Tartarus.”

“Wait… guys, look!” Spike called as he pointed to a flying object in the sky.

“He’s coming back!” Ocellus cheered.

Everyone’s ears perked up at the sound of this news. Nearby villagers got up and looked to see a large winged object entering the atmosphere with a fireball in front of it. Scorpan was using his magic to keep the shield up to protect himself and Tirek from the reentry. With his huge wings still flapping, he descended until his feet touched the ground. Everyone waited for him to speak. His face appeared to be more relaxed than when he was last seen. He smiled and nodded his head. The multitude before him instantly knew what this meant.

“I…I think it worked,” Flurry whispered to her aunt.

The villagers murmured to one another as Scorpan knelt down and opened his left hand in front of a nearby rock that had been overturned during the battle. Tirek could be seen wearing the Pendant of Restoration. The crowd let out a collective gasp. He stood for a moment and looked at everyone and then walked off of Scorpan’s fingers onto the rock. He took several steps forward, just a few yards away from Twilight and Flurry. He closed his eyes and sighed deeply. Without saying a word, he cupped his hands around the pendant. It glowed brightly and filled his body with a greenish aura. Several streams of magic emitted from his hands and touched many spots across the land. The pendant’s magic was being put to use for the very first time.

Large craters and carvings in the ground began to fill in with the unearthed rocks and dirt around them. Fallen trees stood up and returned to the holes where they were once rooted. Broken trees instantly came back together. Rocks and other debris floated around until they were placed back where they belonged. The spire to the palace and some nearby mountains were mended. Much of the crowed had already started cheering for what was happening. Scorpan smiled warmly and then opened his mouth to return the magic. Tons of colorful orbs flew to their rightful places. The guards and other palace subjects that had their magic stolen were reenergized once the orbs flew back into them. Their eyes opened and had regained their color. On the balcony where Tirek was speaking earlier, the Absorption Stone had its magic returned. The only magic that was not returned to anyone was the magic Tirek had stolen from Sendak. A nearby guard picked it up to return it to the vault.

As Tirek had just finished using the pendant, he looked back to see Scorpan shrinking down to his regular size as all of the magic was being expelled. One last orb flew out and went into Tirek. Tirek felt a slight shock of electricity and stumbled a bit as he grew taller. His muscles instantly bulked up, his white hair grew back, and his horns took on their fully-grown length. He appeared as he did in his fourth form, but he stood as tall as his second form. Tirek’s body had been set back to normal and had his base magic restored: the same magic he had before he first attacked Equestria and was defeated by Celestia and Luna. It was as if he had never stolen any magic or went to Tartarus.

For a moment, the crowd went silent as Tirek examined his body. Scorpan sighed contently and open his eyes. Tirek and Scorpan glanced at one another deeply. Tears formed in both of their eyes. They rushed forward to hug as the crowd erupted in applause.

“YES! HE DID IT!” Flurry said as she pumped her hoof in the air.

Sandbar and Ocellus danced together, while Spike fainted into Discord’s arms. Flurry walked over to Twilight and hugged her tightly. Twilight already had tears rolling down her cheeks.

“I knew he could do it, Twilight!” Flurry exclaimed.

“All thanks to you, little one,” Twilight told her niece.

The crowed continued to cheer as Tirek and Scorpan kept hugging. After they parted, Tirek wiped away his tears and then turned around to face Twilight. Twilight smiled and walked towards him, as he knelt down to speak to her.

“Princess, can you forgive me for everything I’ve done?” he asked.

“Of course I will,” Twilight said as she bowed politely.

“Oh, and Princess Flurry Heart,” Tirek said, turning to Flurry.

“Scorpan told me you found the pendant. I guess all he and I needed was to talk. Thank you.”

Flurry smiled and bowed. Scorpan walked up behind Tirek and put his hand on his shoulder.

“It’s time, Brother,” he told him.

“You mean for Father and Mother?” Tirek asked.

“Yes. There’s a cave not too far from here where they were petrified.”

“Good. Take me to them.”

Later that night as the sun began to set, Scorpan took Tirek with him to the cave in the mountains where Vorak and Haydon’s statues resided. Twilight, Flurry, Discord, Spike, Sandbar and Ocellus followed them close behind. Inside the cave were pillars along the corridor and an altar near the back with two statues in the center. Vorak was standing there with his eyes closed and his hands folded together. Haydon had her right hand on her husband’s shoulder while her left hand was over her heart. She too had her eyes closed. Scorpan walked towards them and undid a spider web between his father’s antlers and brushed off some small leaves and dust that had gathered on top of the statues over the years. He then stood still and took a deep breath. He placed his hand on his mother’s shoulder and used his gargoyle magic to communicate with her.

“Mother, it’s time,” he told her through telepathy.

Tirek swallowed hard and watched as the stone around Haydon vanished. She began to move as the stone disappeared from Vorak’s body. They both appeared as he remembered, though Haydon’s hair was now greying and her face had more wrinkles. Vorak’s beard had grown and he was no longer wearing his crown or robe since they had been passed on to Scorpan. He now wore a smaller crest and a different robe that resembled the outfits some of the court members had. They took a moment to allow their eyes to adjust to seeing again and then froze as soon as Tirek was in view. Scorpan smiled and stepped aside to allow his brother to meet them. Haydon put both her hands to her mouth and Vorak stared. He almost did not recognize his son at first. They hadn’t seen him in several hundred years, but Vorak knew immediately who this was. Tirek was wearing the Pendant of Restoration and no longer appeared angry, but somber: a clear sign of his redemption. Vorak walked forward slowly and put his hand against Tirek’s face. They locked eyes for a moment until Tirek spoke.

“I’m sorry.”

Vorak was so overcome with joy; he could not find the words to say. Tears began to stream down his face and his mouth shuddered. Haydon watched with a smile on her face as father and son embraced one another. After nearly one minute, Vorak let go and Tirek hugged his mother as she joined him in crying. Scorpan joined in and the royal family was reunited at last.

Near the entrance, Twilight watched while holding Flurry.

“So what did you learn today, Flurry Heart?” she asked her niece.

Flurry thought for a moment and then looked to the royals as they talked amongst each other. She found her answer and began to recite a friendship report.

“I learned that turning your back on your family can bring you to a very dark place. Refusing to talk to and understand them can cause you to do foolish things, but if you admit to your wrongdoings and know that deep down they care about you, you will find happiness. Even a villain like Tirek can change, and it’s all because he remembered that.”

As she finished, Scorpan turned around and smiled to Flurry. He bowed his head to her and thanked her while Flurry did the same. She looked up to see her bow blink one more time and then finally fade out. Her mission was complete.

Behind them, Spike started to cry. Discord made a box of tissues appear and lent them to him. The blubbering dragon thanked him and blew his nose into one of the tissues as Ocellus and Sandbar giggled.

“I knew not everyone was beyond redemption,” Discord said.

Epilogue

The next day, everyone returned to Ponyville. News had already gotten out of Tirek’s reformation. Newspapers on the doorsteps had headlines that read “Lord Tirek Redeemed?! Promises to ‘Fix’ Everything!”

“Look at this!” said a male unicorn as he held up the newspaper to one of his friends.

“Oh there’s no way that can be true! A villain like Tirek? You’ve got to be joking if you think he’s reformed!” said a female earth pony in disbelief.

“Wait…THERE HE IS!” shouted another pony as others started to run back into their homes. Twilight was walking through the town with Tirek next to her, still wearing the pendant. He appeared rather timid and unsure of being in a place like Ponyville after everything he had done.

“This is going to take some time,” Tirek sighed.

“After what you plan to do today, I think they’ll start warming up to you,” Twilight assured him. “Here we are.”

Twilight pointed to a random empty lot in the middle of Ponyville. Off to the side was a plaque that had an image of the Golden Oaks Library tree that Tirek had destroyed during his battle with Twilight years ago. Tirek walked out into the middle of the lot.

“Is this a good spot?” he asked.

“That’s perfect,” she answered.

“I had no idea I destroyed a tree that grew from one of our seeds. Our palace grew from the same plant.”

“Scorpan told me that he gave Starswirl one of those seeds as a parting gift before leaving Equestria. I guess that seed grew to be the tree that would later be known as Golden Oaks Library.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to use the pendant to bring back the original tree?”

“That won’t be necessary. My friends took the roots of that tree and made a chandelier out of it for me. I think we’ll be fine with a new tree to replace it.”

“That makes sense. I guess I won’t be able to fix every single thing with the pendant, but this is a start.”

Tirek knelt down on his horse legs and used his fingers to dig a spot in the ground. He took out a small green seed from a satchel he was carrying and carefully placed it upright in the hole. He then covered the hole and firmly pressed down. After the seed was buried, he stepped back and concentrated his magic into an orb of green energy between his horns.

“I hope this works. Grandfather Oltok taught me this spell long ago,” he said.

He put his hands together and concentrated his magic as the orb grew bigger. The orb finally zapped the pile of dirt and beams of light shone from it. The light faded out and a green plant started to grow out of the dirt while rumbling could be heard underneath the ground. Twilight and Tirek stepped back a few yards. The plant grew faster and faster as it branched out in several spots and grew leaves. The base grew much thicker than a normal tree. In just under a minute, a new tree had grown about the height of Golden Oak’s Library. It was not the same exact shape of the old library, but it was just as big and had a hollow center just like the trees of the Midnight Kingdom that creatures could live inside of. There was plenty of space inside and even some of the branches had hollow bases for extra room. These trees were so strong; they could have some of their wood chiseled to make more room inside and it would not hurt them. With the right preparation, this tree could have some carving done to give it an interior like the library.

Nearby ponies opened their windows and started to come outside to see what had just happened. Tirek smiled and sighed contently.

“I hope it suffices,” he told Twilight.

“It looks beautiful, Tirek,” Twilight replied.

Flurry flew in and happily examined the tree. She then flew down to where Spike had been watching on the other side of it. Next to Spike were Pound, Pumpkin, Chip, Annie, and Stormy, all with their mouths hanging open and their eyes wide. Flurry proudly landed next to Pound and closed his jaw.

“Yup. That’s Tirek. Good as new,” she said.

“Did…did he just…” Chip replied while pointing his hoof.

“He just brought back the old library tree Mom told me about!” Pumpkin exclaimed.

“But that's not the same tree, is it?” Annie asked Flurry.

“It’s not the same tree, but it’ll be a great replacement for it,” Flurry answered.

“Flurry, what are we gonna do with it?” Pound asked. “We already have a new library.”

“Well, I dunno about you guys, but I think it would make a nice clubhouse. What do you say, Stormy?”

“Oh man…that would be awesome!” Stormy said.

THE END