Author's Note

Enjoy and Happy New Year! I hope my arrival on FIMfiction has been to your liking, and I hope to continue writing a story or two.

Here is Tirek.

The trio of fillies nodded, but Spike snapped out of his romantic thoughts, realizing that the group was oblivious to the current situation. “AAAHHH! THAT’S RIGHT! TIREK IS STILL OUT THERE!!!”

Everyone heard his terrified scream, wondering what he was talking about, except for Rouge. No one but them knew about Tirek. Sonic walked up to him and looked at him nonchalantly. “Who is Tirek?”

I’ve started to like these things to divide what happened before for the next chapter. Three days until New Year's

In the last encounter, the new 'Sonic team' met Rouge outside the Crystal Empire. There were introductions and many questions to ask. Now, everyone was focused on Spike, who was having a panic attack as he remembered that Tirek was still on the loose, and the last thing he knew about Twilight was that they needed her in Canterlot. He was now pacing back and forth, holding his head, thinking of the worst-case scenarios while talking to himself. The others watched as he fell into madness, having little idea of the situation.

"This is bad, very, very bad! I don't know anything about Twilight! The princesses haven't written back, we don't know if Tirek was stopped by Discord or not!"

Caught in his panic, he ignored the words of his friends around him.

"Spike." Scootaloo tried to call his attention.

"Spike!" Now it was Sweetie Belle who tried, standing in front of him, but he avoided her as he was too focused.

"Spike!!!" Now Applebloom confronted him, but he turned around, walking back the way he came, ignoring the Crusaders.

Sonic and Rouge watched the scene. They didn’t know what was happening, but it didn’t sound like anything good. Sonic approached and stopped him by putting a hand in front of his head, making him stay in place. Then he lifted him into the air, and his whole body shook uncontrollably.

"WHAT'S GOING OOOOON!?" Sonic was shaking him quickly, hoping to snap him out of his thoughts. After the fast movements calmed down, Spike's feet hit the ground again, slightly dizzy, trying to find his balance as he staggered away, his body completely off balance.

"Did you have to be so rough?"

"He’s a strong dragon, he can handle it, right?" Rouge and Sonic watched as Spike took a few more steps, getting closer to the Crusaders before suddenly turning and falling flat on his back while they looked at him.

"Ugh... six... nine Crusaders...?" His visual perception was so off-balance that he saw two of each pony.

The Mobians approached the young dragon, who was now calm and recovering. They just needed to ask the questions.

"Alright Spike, what has you so upset? And who is this 'Tirek'?"

He shook his head quickly, recovering, and then looked at the fast hedgehog, kneeling down to meet his height.

"Well... I’ll start with how we found out about him. Twilight was called to Canterlot to speak with the other princesses. Apparently, Princess Celestia had a vision about Tirek and told her that he was an evil centaur who was locked up in Tartarus many years ago. He felt his brother betrayed him by becoming friends with the ponies and their culture. Then the princesses defeated him and left him in Tartarus, but he escaped again."

"That Tirek... is the one a guard told me about in the Crystal Empire. Is he really that powerful?"

"I don’t know... Twilight said that Princess Celestia told her that he steals the magic of all the ponies, and I guess also that of dragons..."

"But didn’t you say something about Discord stopping him or something like that?" Applebloom joined the conversation.

"Princess Celestia told Twilight that Discord was tasked with stopping him, but even being a god of chaos, his magic can alter everything around him at will."

"Sounds like an interesting guy. What do you think, Rouge?"

"If his magic can do anything, then he’s someone better to have on your side."

"He could literally change his mane like you change clothes on a mannequin. None of his magic makes sense! But right now, he should be stopping Tirek, and I have no idea what’s happening while we’re here."

Spike was starting to get worked up again. He began walking away to clear his mind. "Girls, keep an eye on him and try to calm him down. Rouge and I need to come up with a plan, okay?"

They all nodded and started following Spike. Scootaloo directly charged at him, knocking him to the ground, followed by her friends, one on top of the other, to prevent him from walking away again.

"Okay... we need to catch up quickly! We already know how you ended up here, I fell in the middle of a fancy event and all the guards tried to stop me, accompanied by a winged unicorn princess, but I managed to escape and made friends with some fillies, traveled around a bit, and saved them from a gigantic wooden wolf that became stronger with a Chaos Emerald that I now have."

"Well, that's already a big step, and the best short version. I was on Eggman's ship, waiting for the chance to steal the Master Emerald. You arrived, did whatever you did, and I was there until last night when I escaped. Right now, he's probably on the moon, or he might have already repaired his base and is waiting for the opportunity to invade this planet."

"That's probably it. The Chaos Emeralds are here, and I'm sure I sent the Master Emerald home. Now that we’re caught up, we need to save some ponies, then explain my innocence about being the supposed 'blue threat' so they feel secure that we’re not looking for trouble. Afterward, we split up and look for the rest of the Chaos Emeralds."

Rouge carefully thought about the very 'well-planned' plan, it was simple and direct, very much her style. "But what happens... if even after helping them, they refuse to help us?"

"Well... I guess the blue streak and Mobius' best thief will have to work together to recover the Chaos Emeralds without resorting to violence."

Rouge, hearing this, showed a surprised smile and approached him, playing coy. "Oh, what's this? Is the hero thinking of changing sides and becoming a thief? Because let me tell you, if that’s the case, I’m more than willing to give you some lessons in thievery. After all, I’m a professional."

"Heh, only in case the emeralds are in someone’s hooves or claws and they don’t want to help us. Otherwise, we’ll go the traditional way."

Rouge shrugged and sighed, pulling away. "As you say, hero, but now we need to find where that Tirek is and make sure no one gets hurt."

Sonic nodded and approached Spike, who was still pinned under the Crusaders. "Alright, girls, mission accomplished, the whole plan is set. Now I need Spike."

They stepped aside, allowing their dragon friend to catch his breath and stand up. Once he regained his composure, he looked at Sonic, who was smiling and extended a hand to help him up. Spike hesitated but quickly accepted, being lifted with ease.

"Thanks, Sonic... I’m sorry for how I acted. I’m really worried about Twilight, the princesses, and the girls..."

"Don’t worry, buddy. When my friends are in trouble, I worry too. But since I know them well and know what they’re capable of, I’m sure they’ll be fine on their own, or until I get there." He gave a thumbs-up, lifting Spike’s spirits. Spike smiled, feeling reassured and relaxed with those words.

"Great! Now that you’re calm! Tell me where this... Canterlot is, I’ll look for the princesses if Tirek hasn’t reached them yet, and if he’s already there, I’ll take care of him so he doesn’t hurt anyone."

"Eh!... it’s easier if I tell you that it’s the whole way you took and then you go back to the castle you jumped out of the night you arrived."

"Perfect! Crusaders, the trip to the Crystal Empire is canceled due to a certain event where your captain has to face a crazy centaur to save his loved ones. Rouge, take two with you, I’ll take the other two." With that said, he turned to look at Spike and the fillies. "Alright! Who’s coming with me to Canterlot?"

He smiled, pointing to himself with a thumb. Immediately, Applebloom jumped into his arms, and he held her under his left arm. Sweetie Belle jumped behind her and was supported under his right arm. Now with two ponies in each arm, only Spike and Scootaloo were left for Rouge.

"We’ll see you there, Rouge! Let Spike guide you!" Before she could speak, Sonic was already gone, leaving behind everything they had packed for a fun and safe journey, now turning into a speed and rescue mission at a much faster pace than before.

Rouge looked at Scootaloo and Spike, both smiling, waiting to be carried. She bent down, picking them up in her arms before opening her wings and flying in the same direction Sonic was heading.

Twilight VS Tirek

On the other side, while Sonic, Rouge, and the Crusaders were learning about what was happening with Tirek thanks to Spike, Twilight, after receiving the magic from the other princesses, kept herself away from the rest of the town. So much magic from three princesses and herself being one, she wouldn't be able to control it easily. So, staying outside of Ponyville was her best option. But between flying and using spells, nothing was going right. Flying peacefully? She ended up landing and leaving a long trench in the ground with her hooves, trying to stop. Teleporting? She went from moving a few meters calmly to ending up in the sky, falling from a great height. Then, she appeared behind a waterfall, flew over Appleloosa, and then ended up right where she started. She tried to turn a rock into a table but ended up making the rock explode, and every piece of it in different sizes became tables with different shapes and amounts of legs.

"Ugh... this is becoming impossible... I can't even do a simple spell!" Her mood was not the best, and trying to pull a rock toward her made it fly in the opposite direction, thrown who knows where. "I wonder if Spike and the girls are okay... the blue threat hasn’t shown up again... hopefully, only Celestia knows where in all of Equestria they are right now. Now that Discord betrayed us, everything is going from bad to worse... I don't feel sure this has any solution..."

She looked into the distance, noticing Canterlot on the side of the mountain, worrying if the other princesses would be okay when Tirek got to them. The other ponies were also losing their magic, and now only she and her friends were the last line of defense. As all her thoughts about whether there was any hope in this situation swirled, the voice of someone unexpected snapped her back to reality.

"PRINCESS TWILIGHT!!!" A deep voice was calling her, and it sounded very close to her location.

Twilight turned toward the source of the voice, seeing Tirek pushing his way through the trees, towering over them. His appearance was now more muscular and powerful, his horns much larger, his facial hair and mane grew even more. His physical strength and magic had increased significantly since Discord had found him. Now, with the magic of many ponies from every race, and the chaos god’s own power, he had more than enough to make sure no one could stand against him.

She let out a gasp, frightened, as she saw him approaching. "AH! Tirek!" From afar, he looked powerful, but facing him up close would be a huge risk. If he managed to steal her magic, he would become invincible. She stared at him with fear, her heartbeat quickening, as the idea of being defeated seemed much worse than failing Celestia on one of her tasks. She focused her magic, hoping her teleportation spell would take her far away from him.

"YOU HAVE SOMETHING THAT BELONGS TO ME!" With that, he leaped towards her, seeing the magical disaster and noticing how she didn’t seem able to fully control the massive amount of magic she now possessed.

"aaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!"

A desperate scream caught his attention, and he lifted his gaze, seeing the princess he was after flying at full speed towards him. Without giving it much thought, the powerful centaur gathered magical energy between his horns. Twilight, seeing that he was about to attack her mercilessly, had to act and invoked a protective spell, managing to form a shield bubble around her. As Tirek fired a massive magical cannon at the princess, an explosion sent her flying through the sky, landing near the ruins of the old Castle of the Two Sisters in the Everfree Forest.

She landed inside her protective bubble, bouncing off trees until the spell dissipated, letting out a soft groan of pain from the impact of the magic Tirek had used to attack her. Barely able to get up, she noticed how everything suddenly darkened. She looked up and saw Tirek already above her, plummeting towards her, intending to crush her under his four hooves. She barely had time to react, teleporting just in time, causing Tirek to create a massive earthquake with a powerful shockwave that toppled trees and destroyed the ground. The ground shook under his hooves, but Twilight managed to avoid it, reappearing above him and releasing a massive magic burst, much like he had done to her, enveloping him in the magic. The force of the magic set the trees on fire and damaged the grass. Tirek, however, managed to shield himself with his arms, creating a magical barrier around them and extending his hand, breaking through the magical beam, trapping Twilight in his grasp and halting her continuous attack.

Twilight tried to break free, but his grip was tight enough to hurt her, preventing her from concentrating. She felt the urge to scream from the pain. Tirek held her tightly and threw her towards a mountain, causing her to crash into it. Fortunately, Twilight managed to create a force field to cushion the impact. She glared at the centaur with anger and frustration, but her eyes widened in shock when she saw him charging at her with his horns, carrying her through the mountain and out the other side.

Exhausted from his relentless and merciless attacks that never gave her a chance to breathe, she quickly recovered and gathered a large amount of magic, disappearing and reappearing beneath him. She fired a powerful magical beam with all her fury, sending the enormous centaur soaring past the clouds, eventually falling face-first to the ground. The impact, like a meteorite, created a massive dust cloud, as though an explosion had gone off.

"Is it over...?" She landed softly, but the ground began to tremble around her. Tirek managed to grab her by surprise, but she quickly shot at his hands, forcing him to release her. Now out of his reach, she used her magic to grab large rocks from the surroundings and hurled them at him, hoping that one would pierce his body. The unexpected attack barely fazed him, but Twilight reacted as quickly as she could, forming a shield bubble. Tirek, however, took one of the rocks and used his magic to mold it into a massive hammer, lifting it above his head and smashing it down onto the young alicorn, burying her into the ground. The damage was so great that her bubble cracked, surprising her. Not hesitating for a second, Tirek took the opportunity to transform the hammer into a spear and attacked, cornering her.

The bubble shattered, and Twilight's concentration faltered when she realized she was facing his destructive power. Her spells were no match for his. The spear pierced the bubble and drove deep into her right wing, causing intense pain. She couldn't focus on her enemy anymore, as her ability to fly was compromised with such a grievous wound.

In her state of pain and weakness, Tirek pulled her towards him with his magic. She resisted, teleporting to a safe distance and assuming an attack posture, her horn glowing, ready to continue the fight.

"You have a lot of courage, wanting to continue after I broke your wing. I admit you're harder to defeat than I thought, but you won’t be able to keep up with me forever, Princess Twilight."

"N-no... I won't give you... my magic... if you want it... you'll have to take it... from my defeated body..."

Tirek grinned and began laughing, seeing how determined she was to keep fighting. He knew she wouldn't be able to keep up in her current state. "HA HA HA HA! You're in no condition to keep facing me! But if that's what you want, I can be generous and let you live in exchange for your magic... or else..."

"Or else... what!?" She glared at him angrily, squinting her eyes, holding back the intense pain. With a bit of concentration, she cast a spell to numb her gravely injured wing, but she couldn’t stop the bleeding. A healing spell, perhaps? But she had no time to stop and use something so important, especially in front of someone who wouldn’t let her breathe.

"I offer you a deal... your friends in exchange for your magic." He snapped his fingers, and six bubbles appeared, each showing Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Discord, all trapped inside. They appeared drained of strength and color, their magic stolen by Tirek.

Seeing them, Twilight stopped charging a magic attack and stared at her friends, who were all pleading for her not to give Tirek anything. They would rather fall themselves than let their friend, the princess, face this alone.

Twilight quickly thought it all through. Weak, injured, and with her friends in danger, she looked at her wing, visibly wounded, and her eyes showed fear, on the brink of tears, terrified of being so close to death. It was obvious that Tirek had attacked her wing on purpose.

"Fine... I'll give you my magic, but first... free them!"

He smiled, and hearing her, he simply threw the bubbles away between the trees, until they finally broke when they reached the trees, releasing her friends. But Discord was still trapped.

"Release him too!" she shouted angrily, realizing he hadn't freed him.

"What? You still consider him one of your own after he betrayed you?"

She looked at him firmly, but Tirek only glanced at Discord and repeated the same process he had done with the others. While Twilight watched where Discord was thrown to ensure he was okay, she was stopped by Tirek's magic, which pulled her back towards him. With a devilish smile and a glint in his eyes, he opened his mouth, ready to steal her magic. She closed her eyes, unwilling to see how everything she had worked for would be lost.

"Friends... Princess... I'm sorry..."

She started feeling her magic leave her body, leaving her completely empty of magic. Tirek grew physically larger, his body and muscles becoming ten times harder to damage, and his magic, fueled by the magic of hundreds of ponies and four alicorns, was overwhelming. After his drastic and powerful power boost, he dropped the already defeated princess to the ground, grinning wickedly as a magical sphere formed between his horns, aimed directly at her. Defeated, hopeless, wingless, and with no one left to save her, she closed her eyes, waiting for her end, a single tear falling from her cheek.

"GOODBYE, PRINCESS TWILIGHT!"

Everything seemed over… but suddenly, she felt a strong gust of wind against her body. Even with her eyes closed, she could feel someone carrying her, and she heard Tirek groan in pain as his voice grew distant.

When the wind stopped, she dared open her eyes and noticed her savior carrying her in his arms. His blue eyes, a calm smile, and a focused gaze on her were unmistakable. Looking directly into his eyes, she saw tiny sparks of blue, like little lightning flashes within his iris.

It took her a moment to realize what had happened, but once he lowered her, there he was—the blue menace had saved her life. He had escaped from her, fought a Timberwolf to save the CMC, and now reappeared to save her. She had no idea what had just happened or why he was even there to save her.

"Are you okay, Princess?"

That was his first question. He wanted to know if she was alright after everything that had happened between them. "Well, let's skip the part where your wing is half-broken and you seem to have just suffered a major depression blow."

His calm humor remained even in this situation, his confident and serene gaze, his warm smile to ease her troubled heart. He was definitely not the threat everyone thought he was. Twilight was still processing everything, but he walked away to face Tirek, who was recovering from the attack to his eyes that had saved Twilight.

"Mmh, so that’s Tirek, huh?"

"Yes... yes... Why are you here? Why did you save me?"

"Relax, princess. Your good friend Spike told me everything. Now, relax and take a seat while I! deal with the bad guy of the day."

With that, he disappeared in a flash of blue light, heading straight for his new target.

"Thank you..."