Tirek smashed through wall after wall in the changeling hive, destroying each structure with ease as he tunneled his way through the confusing interior. He growled and grunted with each terrifying punch as he pummeled entire sections of the hive, eventually finding himself at the center foyer once more. He raised an eyebrow in confusion before looking back at the path of destruction he'd caused, finding that the walls were simply closing and changing after he'd passed through.

Letting out a growl of frustration, Tirek whirled around and looked up to the higher floors of the hive.

"Discord!" He shouted, his ears flicking as he waited for a response.

Silence replied, making him grit his teeth in ever mounting fury.

"You'd better find whatever it is that's limiting our magic in here fast... I'll burn this wretched hive to the ground if I have to." Tirek muttered, clenching his fists.

With nothing else to say, the tyrant progressed forward, only for a white figure to move in the corner of his eye. he instantly turned to find Celestia gliding across one of the holes on the wall and galloped toward her. His hooves sent booming reverberations through the hive structure as he quickly closed the distance between him and the relatively slow-moving alicorn. However, just before he reached her, another hole opened in the wall before her and she vanished into it.

Tirek reached out to grab her tail, but she disappeared into the hole, just out of reach. Said hole closed just as Tirek's fist made contact, stopping it from closing completely but also preventing him from grabbing the solar alicorn. He aggressively ripped his hand out, tearing chunks of material along with his fist.

"Get back here you whorse!" Tirek screamed, before punching the wall over and over, blasting material away and making the entire structure shake.

Up above on the third level, Anon, Phoenix, and Cornicle struggled not to fall over as their entire floor shook with each punch from the titan.

"Are we sure he isn't gonna tear down the whole hive?" Anon whispered, looking over to Cornicle.

"I don't know! The hive wasn't built to stand up to a creature wielding half the magic in Equestria!" Cornicle frantically responded.

"Well at this rate, he's gonna beat this hive into submission in a matter of minutes." Phoenix added, struggling to stay on his hooves.

Tirek continued to punch into the wall, each hit cleaving off entire sections as he unleashed his wrath. Seeing that the hive was being destroyed piece by piece, Luna quickly darted out from her hiding spot and fired a beam of green magic at Tirek's back. The hit, while barely enough to even startle the titan, did make him turn his head and fix his eyes on the lunar alicorn flying a few dozen feet way from him.

Without giving her a moment to speak or attempt to retreat, Tirek lunged toward the night princess, his hands just barely missing her as she darted upwards to the third level of the hive. Tirek, only further enraged by her slipping through his fingers, jumped onto the stairs leading up to the top of the hive, his hooves crushing the steps and digging into the material as he climbed.

The hulking form of Tirek was much too large to fit onto the comparatively diminutive staircase, which made it neigh impossible for him to climb them as any normal creature would. Tirek immediately took to using his fingers as makeshift climbing spikes as he physically shoved them through the spire and climbed.

"Okay, now we definitely have a problem." Anon muttered, looking out over the edge for just a second.

"Got any ideas?" Phoenix asked him.

"We need another distraction." Anon replied.

"Ocellus is on it." Luna whispered, looking back to them for just a second.

Anon nodded as Tirek lunged up another dozen feet, just for Luna to suddenly dive and zip past him. Much like Celestia, she managed to evade Tirek's grasp by just a few scant inches, a fact that made the already furious titan, absolutely livid. With a savage cry, Tirek leapt from the spire and through the air in an attempt to catch the lunar alicorn. However, just as with the last few times, he just barely missed and slammed into the ground, hard.

The entire structure vibrated from the force of the centaur's impact, but he was back on his hooves in a matter of seconds, just in time to see Luna disappear into another hole in the wall. He quickly whirled around, barely in time to see Cadence flapping her wings to dart from the second level back to the first. Seeing another opportunity to seize one of the alicorns he needed so badly, Tirek galloped as fast as his hooves could carry him.

He quickly covered the entire foyer of the hive but much like the previous two princesses, Cadence was able to reach a hole just as he reached out to grab her. Tirek desperately grasped at the fleeing pink alicorn but it was to no avail. As with the last two alicorns, she slipped through his grasp, leaving him grasping at nothing but empty air.

Throwing his arms up in righteous fury, Tirek screamed a feral scream of pure rage. He turned on his hooves and smashed the first thing he could see: The staircase. With each punch, he took entire segments of the material off and shook the very foundation of the hive. His raging voice echoed and reverberated so loudly that it almost drowned out the sound of his destruction.

"Starting to think this plan is just gonna piss him off." Phoenix muttered, fighting to maintain his balance.

"God I hope not." Anon muttered, looking over the edge.

"He's not in position yet... at this rate, he'll destroy the hive before they can lure him into the right spot." Cornicle added, frantically looking back and forth between Anon and Tirek.

Tirek continued to scream and shout, ripping sections of the wall away with each second of wrath, but even still, he managed to notice the bright pink color of Cadence as she fluttered out of her hole in the wall and toward another hole on the opposite side of the structure. Unlike the previous encounters, Tirek managed to react much quicker this time, and whirled around on the pink alicorn so fast that he was already reaching out to grab her before she was even half way across the foyer.

"Oh shit, she's not gonna make it!" Anon gasped, standing up in alarm.

Unfortunately, Anon was right, and just as she made it to the half way point, Tirek's hand reached her tail and grabbed hold of it, halting her in her tracks. He pulled her back, grabbing her with his other hand and immobilizing her in place. Cadence appeared completely startled by the new development, and a look of fear and realization dawned on her face as she stared up at the titanic form of Tirek, looming over her.

Cadence didn't have time to even gasp in fear as Tirek's absurdly strong grip squeezed the air out of her lungs. He opened his mouth, the blackness of his eyes almost acting as a window into a view of death itself. Cadence was so immediately petrified that she failed to maintain her disguise, and an aura of green flames quickly enveloped her, revealing Ocellus.

Startled by the sudden flash of green fire in his hand, Tirek paused, looking down at the small changeling now held in his grasp.

"A... changeling?" Tirek asked, his momentary confusion quickly being replaced by fury once more.

However, before he could squash the little bug horse in his hand, another voice cried out from above, making him glance upward.

"Now!" Anon shouted, and just a fraction of a second later, the support beams for the ceiling suddenly exploded, raining down a hailstorm of chitinous material all over the titan. The entire hive shook with the force of the detonation, and the ceiling promptly caved in, falling down in perfect alignment with Tirek as he stared up in surprise.

"Ocellus, make yourself small!" Pharynx barked, no longer wearing his disguise as he appeared from one of the various holes in the wall.

Ocellus managed a shaky nod and quickly disappeared in a flurry of green flames. Tirek instantly found that he no longer had any purchase on her body, and he stared in astonishment as a small beetle simply buzzed away from him toward Pharynx. With no more time to react, and no options, Tirek braced his arms over his head to stop the majority of the debris from crushing him.

The falling rooftop collided with the massive centaur with a massive *crash* and *boom*, completely burying him in black rubble in milliseconds. Dust, ash, and smoke filled the foyer so quickly that it blanketed the air in smog, making it impossible to see. Anon coughed and covered his face with his shirt as he waved the air in front of him to clear it of the dust particles. Phoenix followed suite, although since he had no shirt, he opted to just cover his muzzle with the crook of his foreleg.

Slowly, the air stilled and the dust settled, allowing everyone in the room to finally move from their hiding spots to see the massive pile of debris and destruction on the first floor.

"Everyone alright!?" Anon called out, receiving many shouts and confirmations from his rag-tag group.

"Do you think that got him?" Phoenix asked, looking over the edge.

Anon looked over as well and slowly shook his head, "I don't know... I hope so." He replied, before turning and making his way down the stairs.

Phoenix and Cornicle followed closely, and within a minute, they were all at the first floor, just a small ways away from the massive pile of rubble atop the titan. Pharynx, Thorax, and a very shaky Ocellus walked out from their hole on the second level, both male changelings trying their best to console their little sister.

"Hey, you did great, Ocellus. Really." Thorax offered, hugging her close.

"You listened when I told you what to do. That's good. You'd most likely be dead otherwise." Pharynx added.

"Pharynx, you're not helping." Thorax whisper-shouted, leaning toward his older sibling.

Before Pharynx could reply, however, Anon called up to them, "Hey! You guys alright? Is Ocellus hurt?" He asked, the concern clear in his voice.

"She's okay. A little shaken up but she isn't hurt." Thorax called back.

Anon nodded, "Alright, good work guys. I think we can maybe take things from here. You should get Ocellus back to the rest of the hive. Thanks for all your help." He called back, giving a gentle smile to Ocellus as she shook in her brother's embrace.

"What about Tirek and Discord?" Pharynx questioned.

"Discord isn't going anywhere any time soon... Actually, that's a good point. Do you think-" Anon began, before a rumble made the rubble move.

"Okay, tell me I'm not the only one who felt that." Phoenix muttered, his wings flaring slightly.

"You most certainly are not." Anon replied, stepping back as the rubble moved again.

"Oh, I don't like this." Cornicle muttered.

Another second passed in complete silence, only to be destroyed as Tirek erupted from the rubble, sending debris flying in all directions. Almost all of the ponies, minotaurs, griffons, and changelings present were knocked off their hooves by the sheer force of the titan's return. Anon fell on his back, the wind forced out of his lungs as he impacted the hard chitin.

Tirek emerged from the pile of rubble, bits of black falling off of him as he stood too his full height, towering over the creatures all around him. The minotaurs, griffons, thestrals, and unicorns all stepped back, aghast looks on their faces as they stared up at the massive centaur towering over them. Stunned silent, they all hesitated, unsure of what to do as Tirek stared down at them.

Eventually, it wasn't a voice that broke the silence but a battle cry, as Phoenix darted forward, his wingblades gleaming in the sunlight now shining down on them through the massive hole in the ceiling. Tirek reacted quicker than any of them expected, dodging back as the pegasus lunged at him and narrowly avoiding the sharpened steel of his blades. Phoenix flew past him and skidded over the debris just past the titan, quickly spinning on his hooves and throwing a hoofful of small beads that exploded as they connected with Tirek's torso.

Seeing their comrade taking the initiative, the rest of the released convicts raised their weapons and charged at the centaur. Swords and spears raised, they assaulted the centaur, as ferociously as they could. Swords cut at his flesh while the spears poked at him as hard as they could.

Unfortunately, the blades simply failed to penetrate deep enough into Tirek's skin. Over and over again, the convicts swung, their weapons bending and denting as they tried their hardest to inflict any measure of damage against him. After nearly thirty seconds of savage beating and cutting, they slowly stepped away, all of their weapons either broken or their edges rendered dull from the iron-like hide of the centaur.

Smirking down at the creatures surrounding him, Tirek allowed himself a dark chuckle.

"My turn." He announced, before reaching out and grabbing the two unicorns nearest to him.

Tirek opened his mouth and syphoned the magic from the two unicorns, effortlessly throwing them away once he was finished with him. One of the minotaurs tried to fight grab him and take him to the ground, but Tirek simply kicked him away with his leg, sending the bull flying through the air and into the wall so hard that he punched right through it. The remaining creatures, seeing their comrades so effortlessly beaten, scattered.

What started as a group effort to defeat the villain, quickly devolved into a game of cat and mouse, only there were quiet a lot of mice, and one very, very hungry cat. One by one, he caught them, syphoned whatever magic they held in their bodies and threw them away as if they were nothing but garbage to him. It only took a few minutes of running around for there to only be the three sibling changelings, one griffon, Phoenix, and Anon, left.

"This isn't working!" Pharynx shouted.

"He's too strong. We need to fall back!" Phoenix added.

"This way!" Thorax called, turning and galloping to a hole in the wall.

The remaining party quickly ran after the changeling, making their way into the tunnel just as Tirek finished draining Cornicle and turned to them.

"Oh, just where do you think you're going?" He questioned, a sinister smile on his face.

Tirek charged at the wall, slamming into it with the force of a hurricane and breaking entire sections off with his brute strength. The impact shook the entire hive, knocking almost all of the group off their hooves or feet as they struggled forward in their cave. They managed to reach the exit before the cave could collapse on them, however, and jumped out into the hive throne room just before it was too late.

"Fuck me! This is bad." Anon grumbled, placing his hands atop his head.

"What are we gonna do? Conventional weapons don't do enough damage." Phoenix questioned.

"I knew this was a bad plan." Pharynx muttered.

"Pharynx. Not. Helping." Thorax replied, giving his brother a deadpan look.

"Maybe if we leave while he's destroying the place, we can get back to Canterlot in time and the princesses will have a solution figured out?" The griffon suggested.

"Just how do you expect to do that? There isn't a way out of here that doesn't involve us going through him, now." Pharynx replied.

"Everybody just calm down. Let me... lemme think." Anon spoke up his brow heavily furrowed as he struggled to find the right course of action.

"We can't beat him. This was a suicide mission from the very beginning." The griffon muttered, pacing in place.

"It's not a suicide mission. We can get out of this. We just need to buy more time." Anon replied, turning to the griffon.

"More time!? We didn't even last thirty minutes against him! He's too powerful! I thought you said that this throne would stop his magic!" The griffon angrily asserted.

"It is stopping his magic. He can't cast any spells. It doesn't stop the magic inside of him from making him freakishly strong though. It just prevents outward uses of magic." Thorax explained.

"Clearly not! He just sucked the magic out of all of them! He's gonna do that to all of us... we... we gotta get out of here!" The griffon continued, panic settling into his voice.

"Calm down. We ain't beat yet." Phoenix ordered, but the griffon would hear none of it.

"Forget this! What good is freedom if you're not alive to experience it?!" He shouted, before turning tail and bolting for one of the holes in the wall.

"Wait! You have no idea where you're even going!" Thorax shouted, but it was too late.

The griffon disappeared into a hole in the wall that closed a few seconds later. The group stared after him in silence for a few moments, all debating on whether or not to follow him and try to bring him back, but they made up their minds fairly quickly when the heard a sudden scream through the walls.

"Looks like Tirek found him..." Phoenix muttered.

Anon turned to the wall, nervously gulping, "Alright... looks like this is it then. We have to hold him here as long as we can. I don't think he knows what's stopping him from using his magic yet, but it won't take long for him to figure out it's the throne. Once he finds that out, he'll destroy it and then Discord will just teleport him back to Canterlot. We have to stop him."

"Agreed." Phoenix replied, standing beside Anon.

"I-I'm scared..." Ocellus whimpered, still shaking as she rocked on her haunches.

Thorax quickly hugged her close, "I know... we'll be okay. Promise." He comforted, quietly.

A powerful vibration shook the very ground they stood on as Tirek beat on the wall. Cracks formed and stalactites fell from the ceiling, their bases snapping from the force of the titan's fists. The very foundation of the hive trembled as Tirek pounded on the wall again and again, breaking pieces away and nearly knocking the room's occupants of their hooves.

Finally, after almost a minute of the horrible sound, Tirek's fist broke through the wall, crumbling the chitinous material with ease as he used his newfound entrance to force his way into the room. His long horns ground against the ceiling, carving deep gashes in the material as he casually strode forward, his eyes locked on the equines and human before him.

"Nowhere left to run. Nowhere left to hide." Tirek announced, grinning a wicked grin as Anon, Pharynx, Thorax, and Phoenix prepared to fight.

Each step the massive centaur took brought him closer, and only served to highlight the dramatic different in stature between him and even Anon. Now on equal footing without rubble in the way, Anon found that he barely stood at Tirek's waistline. All the same, he clenched his fists and squared his shoulders to the behemoth, a nervous bead of sweat dripping down his cheek.

As he approached, Tirek casually glanced at the changelings also present with Anon. He paused, just a stone's throw away from the group and smirked.

"Changelings really have teamed up with Equestria. I would say I'm shocked, but after your queen made her position clear, I suppose this was to be expected. I'm rather ashamed to admit you fooled me as long as you did." Tirek announced, crossing his arms.

"What have you done with her!" Pharynx demanded, a ferocious snarl on his face as he buzzed his wings in defiance.

"I would show you, but my magic doesn't seem to work properly in this wretched hive. If you would kindly shut whatever it is that's inhibiting me off, I'll even let you speak with her." Tirek offered, bowing his head in a mock show of respect.

"Don't listen to him, Pharynx. He's full of shit." Anon asserted.

Tirek raised an eyebrow as he looked down at the human standing before him, "Ah... I had heard that the princesses were married to some... ape thing, now... I suppose that makes my next move quite simple."

"Just what the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Anon growled.

"You'll find out soon enough. As for you changelings, it really is in your best interest to do as I ask. You can't run. You can't hide. I count three of you. That means that I can safely kill two of you and still get the answers I seek." He noted, with the calmness of one simply observing the weather.

Ocellus's eyes shot wide open and she trembled in place. It was clear to everyone in the room that Tirek's words have having an immediate effect on her.

Smelling blood in the water, Tirek quickly lunged forward, grabbing Pharynx in his hand and immobilizing him before he could fly away.

"Pharynx!" Anon cried out.

He tried to run toward the changeling and help him, but a simple backhand from Tirek sent Anon flying across the room. He hid the ground and skidded to a halt nearly thirty feet from the centaur, his ribs and torso bruising almost immediately.

"Prince Anon!" Thorax cried, opening his elytra and taking off to help the downed human.

Phoenix leapt forward, throwing another hoofful of small explosives at Tirek while Thorax rushed to Anon's side. The small beads exploded harmlessly against Tirek's arm, but they did provide a small smokescreen that the pegasus stallion used to rush in and slash at his fingers. Unlike the skin of his legs, arms, and torso, Tirek's hands weren't so heavily armored that they couldn't be damaged, and he grunted in pain as Phoenix's blades cut into his flesh. A small stream of blood leapt from the skin, following the tip of his blades as the pegasus landed, instantly whirling around and darting in for another attack.

Meanwhile, Thorax reached Anon's side, gently cupping his back in his forelegs as he tried to sit upright. Anon gasped and coughed out a small measure of blood, prompting a frightened look to form on Thorax's face.

"I can do something to numb the pain, but I don't know enough about your biology to fix you." Thorax explained, quickly looking back to see Phoenix dodging under Tirek's grasp and cutting his fingers once more, earning an enraged snarl from the centaur.

"D-do it..." Anon managed through his tear filled eyes.

Thorax hastily ignited his horn, a small green glow encompassing the appendage as well as Anon's chest. For a few seconds, a gentle humming sound could be heard over the fight happening just behind them. Slowly but surely, the pain withered and ebbed away, leaving a pleasant feeling in Anon's chest and allowing him to breathe easier.

"Ah... t-thanks, Thorax." Anon said, giving a grateful look to the changeling.

"It's what friends are for, right?" Thorax smiled.

Unfortunately, it was at that moment that they both realized they could no longer hear the sounds of fighting, and as Thorax turned around, they both saw Tirek holding Phoenix by the tail, draining the last of his magic out before tossing him aside. He strode toward the man and changeling while Pharynx continued to writhe and fight in his grasp.

"Thorax, go! Get out of here!" Anon ordered, struggling to get to his knees.

"But you aren't in any shape to fight!" Thorax protested.

Before either could get another word in, Tirek stomped on the ground, knocking Thorax off his hooves as the floor caved in slightly beneath them. Anon struggled to right himself as he nearly fell into the crevice opening at his feet. Thorax managed to get away before he fell in, but that only put him in closer proximity to Tirek, a fact that he was made unfortunately aware of as massive, bloodied fingers wrapped around him.

"Thorax!" Anon cried, but before he could move, the ground crumbled beneath him. He managed to grab onto the ledge as he fell in, just barely keeping himself from falling to his death.

Now holding Pharynx and Thorax in his hands, Tirek strode over to Ocellus, smirking to himself at the fact that the terrified little drone hadn't moved at all. She stared up at him, terror written all over her face as he stopped just in front of her, both her brothers held in his grasp.

"Now, which one do you like more?" Tirek asked, holding each changeling out before her.

"D-don't tell him anything, Ocellus!" Pharynx exclaimed, struggling against Tirek's hand.

"I-I..." Ocellus began, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

"How about this. Tell me what is stopping me from using my magic, and I might let them both live. Keep me waiting..." Tirek trailed off, squeezing Thorax and Pharynx in his hands.

The sight of her brothers squirming and writhing in pain as they were crushed under Tirek's impossible strength made the damn break. With tears streaming down her cheeks, Ocellus struggled to breathe.

"P-please... don't-"

"You have five seconds." Tirek cut her off.

Ocellus looked back and forth to her brothers.

"Five."

She looked over to Anon.

"Four."

She looked back to her brothers.

"Three."

She glanced over to the throne.

"Two."

"Alright! Please! Stop!" Ocellus cried, sobbing into her hooves. She pointed to the throne as she looked down at the ground, "The throne... it's the throne... please..."

Tirek released his iron-like grip and followed Ocellus's hoof to the throne in question. He smirked to himself as he dropped the two changelings in his grasp and walked over to the spikey structure. With ease that frightened everyone in the room, He tore the throne from its place in the hive and threw it at the wall. The impact destroyed and entire section of the hive while the throne simply kept flying for hundreds of meters, landing somewhere out of sight in the badlands.

Anon stared in horror as Tirek's horns lit up in an orange hue. A moment later, Discord appeared, still covered in slime. Said draconequues quickly popped out of the green substances, shaking himself as if he was traumatized from the experience. A moment later, Tirek snapped his fingers, and a bubble appeared beside him, containing none other than Chrysalis.

"Let this serve as a reminder to you that I am a centaur of my word." Tirek smirked, gesturing to the captured queen.

"M-my queen!" Pharynx gasped, struggling to fill his lungs with air.

Chrysalis planted her hooves against the inside of the bubble, her face a mix of terror, relief, and fear, "Pharynx! Thorax! Ocellus!" She cried.

"Mom!" Ocellus cried out, reaching out for her.

"Ah, ah, ah." Tirek smirked as he strolled over toward Anon, "Maybe once I've won, you'll get to see her again. For now, I'll let you three be my little messenger pigeons. Run along and tell the rest of your hive that if they don't submit to me and appear before me when I take Canterlot, I will execute your Queen." He announced, casting a baleful gaze down at the three changelings.

Anon continued to struggle to get over the ledge, but he quickly found an orange aura wrapped around him, lifting him into the air and over toward the massive form of Tirek.

"Anon!" Chrysalis cried, her eyes wide as the man struggled in Tirek's magical hold.

"Now, I believe you wanted to see my next move, is that right?" Tirek questioned, leaning in until there were precious few inches between him and Anon, "Discord. Why don't you take us back to Canterlot. I have a feeling those princesses never really left... and, well... if they did, then we now have the perfect bait to lure them back."

Anon's eyes widened in horror, but before he could say or do anything, Discord snapped his fingers, and they were suddenly in the throne room of the castle.

Oh boy, Anon's plan did not go quite as well as he was hoping it would. I wonder how our heroes will get out of this one! Only one way to find out! Tune in next time for more All's Fair 2!

Oh! For anyone interested, I have finally made a discord server! If you want to chat with me, hang out and play games or watch me stream art and such, feel free to join :D

https://discord.gg/zSB8EUuA