Espirit struggled to get a grasp on what was going on, though it didn't seem to be working. She'd left Tirek, drawing all the aether she could with her and forcing her way out through the very way she'd come in. It hadn't been comfortable and much of the aether had been left behind, but she'd made it through.

She'd surged out of the centaur and landed amidst her ponies, her companions. The army of all the free species who remained to face against Tirek and the centaurs. Her body had formed and she felt more powerful than she ever had before. All that aether had bundled up inside her and she had held it close, gathering it around herself to give the strength she'd needed.

Then the next thing she knew, she was talking and standing against the tyrant. But she wasn't saying the words, they were coming out of her mouth, but she wasn't saying them. Then she felt Luna's power flowing through her, then Celestia's and finally Cadence's. One by one the alicorns changed her body, altering it slightly to their whims.

Then the threat. Espirit's blood ran cold. 'What do you plan to do? Stop this! This is my body!'

'Is it not obvious, child?' Celestia's voice rang through her head. 'We will eliminate the centaurs, then the dragons, the changelings, the minotaurs, the griffons, the yaks. One by one we will eliminate these impure creatures until only the glory of the pony races stand supreme, under the guidance of the true rulers of Equestria.'

'You can't! They're my friends! They're fighting with us! They are doing everything they can to help!'

Celestia's laughter echoed through her mind. 'Be silent, child. You have given us the chance to wipe this... creature from our realm. For that, we are thankful. But we will not put up with your incessant prattling.'

'You... you can't! I ummm... I'll incessantly prattle forever! I'll make sure you're always annoyed and miserable no matter what happens because I'm always there! Give me back my body!'

Espirit received no response. Instead flames enveloped her body and she surged forward at Tirek. The centaur lifted both arms to form an X over his chest, taking the blow. He didn't fall, but he skidded along the ground through the ranks of centaurs, scattering them like flies as he went. The zebra didn't stop. Meteors erupted from her mane, slamming into the creature before she flew back into the air.

“Tirek! You and your armies are NOT WELCOME HERE!” the mare yelled. She then raised her head up and a great ball of fire formed overhead. “Incinerate in the flames of Tartarus!” She lunged her head down and the fireball followed suit. The fires enveloped the centaur, hiding him from view as the spectators watched on with wide eyed horror. The other centaurs that were unfortunate enough to be too close were caught in the blast, vaporized to ash in moments.

After a few moments the fires exploded, sending a ripple through the ranks, hurtling the soldiers like dolls. Tirek, however, merely stood there, wrapped in a bubble of yellow light. It popped in a moment. “Indeed, this does bring back memories. Though last time I did have the power of Discord as well. I'm still more than strong enough to defeat the likes of you!” His horn glowed with yellow light and a beam shot out at the alicorn. She let out a yelp and her flaming wings wrapped around her. Even so, she was sent hurtling down to the ground, crashing to form a small crater.

Slowly she got to her hooves, shaking the dust off. “Tirek, I know not of what insanity you speak, but I will destroy you and your pitiful armies!” She then grinned and took a step forward. “Or maybe you'd prefer to destroy them yourself.”

The centaur sent out another beam of yellow light. The alicorn dove to the side, letting the beam tear through the ranks of ponies behind her. “Ahhh ahh ahh ahhhhh,” she gently called out, her soft song pulling through the air as her horn began to glow. “Come now my children, I'll sing you a song.”

Tirek chuckled as he looked down at the alicorn. “Now you sing at me? You ponies have truly become desperate!” He lifted his hands and a ball of yellow magic formed in them. However, suddenly there was a clang as one of the centaurs raced forward and slashed their sword against his legs. It bounced off, but it drew the attention of the massive spirit. “What are you doing you fools?”

More of the centaurs raced forward, attacking him with their weapons. He waved a hand dismissively, vaporizing the centaurs in his yellow magic. “Pathetic. You think I care about these--”

“TIREK!” the emperor roared before getting to his hooves and stepping from his throne, glaring up at the creature. “What are you doing? These are my soldiers! I forbid you to destroy them! They-- hey! Put me down!” The centaur was raised up, wrapped in a bubble of yellow magic.

The spirit glared down at the much smaller centaur. “Put you down? Why would I do that. I am the most powerful being in existence. As soon as I finish with this paltry miss mash of spirits, I will have no beings who could even dream of opposing me. And yet, you believe that you can order me around?”

The emperor struck his scepter against the shield. “Tirek, have you forgotten who brought you back? I was the one who ordered you formed around your horn! I was the one who gathered the crystals and brought you pony after pony, to drain their magic! I--” The last of his words were cut off as he clutched at his throat. Tirek stared down at him with a dismissive glare.

“You have a strange sense of your worth, centaur. To me, you look like nothing more than another mouse that believes it has the right to rule. But there is only one ruler in my world now.” There was a crack and then the bubble popped, dropping the body of the emperor to the ground. He then turned towards the alicorn. “Now, where we--” His head recoiled as a pillar of crystal slammed into it. More pillars of crystal rose from the ground, surrounding the centaur and holding him in place.

“This ends now!” Espirit yelled from above. She held up her hooves as a great fire ball of white flame formed overhead. “You will burn to ash!” Her mane began to glimmer with twinkling stars as well.

Tirek laughed and struck out with his arms, shattering one of the pillars. “You stand no chance, pony! I have brought your country to its knees, you will be no different! I will--”

“YOU WILL DIE!” Espirit screamed again before hurtling the great ball of flame down at him. Shooting stars erupted from her mane, raining down on the centaur as the fires enveloped him. The crystal pillars exploded, pelting the creature in dazzling shards. The crowds could do nothing but look away as the assault persisted, making the ground shake with the sheer ferocity of the magical might the alicorn was unleashing on the centaur.

By the time Espirit was finished, dust filled the air and she dropped to the ground, sweat across her body and panting heavily. She flapped her wings and parted the dust, revealing nothing but a few specs of aether and a massive crater that went at least thirty feet deep.

The alicorn chuckled as she glared down at the centaurs. “And so your mighty hope has fallen.” her wings grew larger. “The rest of you will fe--” Her words were cut off as she was pulled back into Tirek's chest, his powerful arms wrapped around her neck.

“That... actually hurt a little,” Tirek said with a low chuckle. His hair was singed and breastplate was cracked. A little aether flowed from his right arm. “But not enough. Now, princesses, how about you come home?”

“Let me go!” Espirit screamed, thrashing about as her wings enveloped the centaur. He cringed, but opened his mouth none the less. Pink aether flowed off her horn, flowing into his mouth. Within a few moments it disappeared. “I-impossible!” She yelled, before another shooting star came from her mane, knocking the centaur away and giving her freedom.

The centaur merely chuckled and grinned down at her as his wounds began to heal. Crystals formed over the broken pieces of his chest plate. “I've already won, princesses. Surrender and accept your future inside of me.”

“We'll never accept you as our ruler!” Espirit screamed, flame enveloping her body. Rather than racing towards him, however, she took off in the opposite direction, burning through his soldiers as she fled. The centaurs tried to flee to avoid the searing flame, but many were trampled and those who came too close felt her fire. She took great pleasure in eliminating the smaller creatures, even if they weren't the actual centaur she wanted to kill.

Suddenly Tirek appeared in front of her. His hands were together and he lifted them up, before slamming his gripped hands down against the mare, sending her violently into the ground. Espirit groaned from her crater, but quickly started to get to her hooves.

Pillars of crystal suddenly rose up, encapsulating her body. The centaur appeared above her again, his horns glimmering with yellow magic before a beam of it lanced out, slamming the mare into the ground. Tirek stomped his hoof down on her tail, the pillars moving down to hold her pinned on the ground. He opened his mouth and the aether began to leave her body, sliding up into the centaur and filling him with her power yet again.

Espirit's mane turned its normal green. She let out a scream and fire erupted out from her body, shattering the pillars and knocking the centaur back, decimating any of his soldiers who were unfortunate enough to be near. She spread her flaming wings and took to the air, fleeing back the way she came.

The army of centaurs fled in every direction, trying to escape the wrath of the titanic power houses. She just tried to flee, racing towards the army of ponies and other creatures that opposed Tirek. Her eyes focused on the dragons, their massive bodies coating the western part of the battlefield.

She was flying over the diamond dogs when Tirek was suddenly above her. His hooves lashed out and hit her in the back, slamming her down to the ground. Pain coursed through the spirit's body and made her groan, though she tried to keep crawling towards the massive creatures. But the centaur landed in front of her, gazing down with a wide, arrogant smirk. “Ah, now this brings back memories. The princess of the sun, kneeling before your betters.” He reached down and picked her up by the throat. “Were you the real princess, I would drain you and banish you to Tartarus yet again. There'd be no student to save you, this time. But I'll just have to settle for draining you.”

Espirit groaned, clutching at his hand. “P-put me down, y-you filthy c-creature!” she said, flame rising from her horn and striking out to burn the centaur. He didn't even flinch.

“You're too weak now, Celestia. You have the power of one. While I have two.” His hand tightened and the mare let out a whimper. His mouth opened and he slowly drew the flaming wings to himself, absorbing the last princess' aether and leaving Espirit to her body.

The zebra groaned, every inch of her hurt. Not only from the fight, but from channeling all that power from the three princesses. But even that hadn't been enough, her last ditch effort had done nothing more than slaughter part of the vast army that threatened their land. Tirek was still strong enough to enslave all of her people by himself, he didn't need their help. There was just too much aether in him.

She stared up at him and tears began to go down her face. “Oh, is the little pony going to cry now?” he taunted. “Don't worry. You've proven yourself a bit of a problem, this time I'll be much more careful when I absorb you. I--”

“Put her down!” Steelhorn's voice rang out. The changeling was standing in front of the centaur, her shield resting against her front. “Leave Espirit alone!”

The centaur glanced down only for a moment, before his horn began to glow. A yellow bubble wrapped around Espirit. “I'll take my time with you this time.”

Steelhorn charged, ramming her shield against the centaur's legs. He rolled his eyes and gave her a quick shove with his hoof, sending the changeling flying back.

“Put pony down!” Grounder yelled before charging forward with his axe. He slashed against the leg, though he met a similar fate. Espirit looked down as the soldiers around him slowly began to get up, those who could, and charged him. All those she had fought besides, even those who weren't really capable of fighting without their magic. Swipes, Clearpond, Tempora, Mirage, Ganry, Diamondtip. Heck, even Larry the crafter mule was taking a swing with his blacksmith hammer. Those she didn't even recognize were throwing everything they had at her, cutting at his legs and shooting arrows at him.

The centaur finally raised a fist. “ENOUGH! You pathetic wretches will learn who your master is!” Yellow magic gathered around his horn before it exploded, a sphere of magic expanding out and enveloping those surrounding him.

Espirit was protected in the small orb that Tirek had imprisoned her in, but she could see out once the ball finished expanding. The field was littered with the groaning bodies of those who had opposed him, knocked back. The ground was torn apart, the grass gone to leave nothing but dirt and rocks. None could stand against Tirek. Slowly she looked up at the monster.

“There. Now, let's see you escape me again, little spirit,” the centaur said before opening his mouth. Espirit lowered her eyes as she and her prison were slowly absorbed. Tears fell from her eyes as she felt all that aether, gathered inside the spirit.

It was like those portals they'd gone through. Except it was only one way. The world around them was empty and void, hollowed of all its magical power. Instead all that aether was trapped inside Tirek, moving freely around him, never to return to where it had--

Espirit's eyes widened and she looked up. She could feel it, all that aether inside him. She could also feel where it belonged. She put her hooves against the barrier. “I... I see it now. I understand.”

Tirek didn't respond, but he did freeze as the aether he was absorbing suddenly started coming back up. He coughed and hacked. “Y-you... stop that!”

Espirit grinned and pushed her hooves forward as she drew out the magic. “No. I was wrong before. I wasn't meant to fight you alone. To use this power. I was meant to send it back where it belonged.” Great sparkles of aether rose up from the mare as her body turned clear, but she didn't stop. She pushed closer, her hooves reaching towards the centaur as the aether started spilling out of him, spreading out through the air. He reached out, gripping the orb holding the zebra and crushing it down, making her eek.

“Stupid pony! Stop fighting me!” he yelled, opening his mouth wider and taking a deep breath, drawing the streams of aether back to him.

“N-never!” Espirit screamed. She closed her eyes and gripped the aether in her magic. She was a conjurer, she could feel where the aether was, where it belonged. Where it would return if it was given the opportunity. She drew what she could from the centaur, sending it out into the air as quickly as she could. Tirek tried to stop her, to hold her back, but there was too much of it. For every stream he stopped, she could easily summon two more from within. He tried closing his mouth, stopping the flow, but it couldn't be stopped now. As her own essence was drained away, his was drained all the faster and sent back out into the world. Back to where it belonged.

“S-stop it!” Tirek choked out around the streaming aether. “I will not be stopped! I am Tirek, ruler of all!”

“I am Espirit! The hero of... I AM GOLDENSEED!” she screamed, pushing against the bubble as it popped. Her hooves reached out and grabbed him around the head, even as his own shrinking hands wrapped around her. “I am a conjurer! A guardian of this land! A spirit of protection! I am not just a pony, or a zebra, or a mage! I am a hero and I, we, will defeat you!”

Tirek let out a scream as his mouth was forced as wide as it could go, the aether being drawn out in thick rivers of power, the centaur struggling and trying in vain to hold it back. Espirit let out a scream as the aether flowed out, enveloping the two and shooting out, glimmering in the air around them like a fountain of fireworks. Dust filled the air, blocking the two from the view of the soldiers.

An explosion shook the world and Espirit was sent flying through the fireworks and dirt, slamming into the ground and skidding a few yards as small sparkles of aether lifted from her body. The sky glowed with a swirling mass of aether, before it began to shoot through the air, raining down on the armies and the prisoners. One by one those drained of their magic had it returned, their strength returning as their magic surged within them. The great dragons slowly began to rise, lifting their heads to the sky and shooting out small bursts of flame. Those with wings spread them, slowly lifting themselves into the air as they could once again feel the current of the aether in the air.

And those locked in cells smiled as they began to break open their cages, using the magics once again at their disposal to free themselves.

Steelhorn limped besides Espirit, a grin on her lips. “E-Espirit, you did it. All that aether. You freed it! We're back, our magic, it's returning!”

The zebra groaned and slowly sat up, staring at the dust cloud. “N-no,” she whispered. “I-I could s-stop the princesses. R-return them to the earth. But he... he's... a-ahh!” She was enveloped in a yellow glow and lifted in the air. She flew through it, towards the dust cloud.

She finally stopped when she hit Tirek's hand, the centaur wrapping his hand around her throat. “You have hindered me for the last time, pony,” he growled.

However, the centaur was changed, only a shadow of his former self. He was only a few feet taller than a normal centaur and his once thick, bulging muscles were now withered and gone. He was nothing more than skin and bones, old and frail looking. Weak. Slowly the armies began to rise around him and he looked around. He let out a curse, before tossing the zebra away and galloping away, towards the armies of centaurs.

“This ends today!” Grounder yelled, lifting his axe into the air. “Defeat centaur! Defeat centaur spirit! Free our brethren! Save all!” There was a massive cheer from the army as more and more of them rose as the waves of magic returned to their owners. The two armies stood against each other, a spirit with each. The final battle would start again.