"How in Equestria could Tirek just escape?" said Twilight Sparkle.

After receiving the news from the Royal Guard, Twilight, Celestia, Luna, Silver Rush, and the Mane 6 convened in the war room. Every pony was still completely baffled by what was happening; Tirek, who was rendered completely powerless by Twilight and her friends, somehow found a way out of Tartarus and back into Equestria. It seemed impossible…

"Nothing is impossible," said Celestia, "but I share your shock completely. But there must be a reason as to why he was able to escape."

"Pardon me, but why are we still standing here?" Rainbow Dash spoke up. "We need to stop him before he can do any damage."

"The mere fact that Tirek has escaped again," said Luna, "means that something has changed. The only way we might be able to figure out how to stop him is to figure out how he got out again."

"Maybe he had a spare key," said Pinkie Pie. Every pony just looked at her.

"Actually, that might be possible," said Silver Rush.

"How in tarnation could Tirek get a spare key?" said Applejack.

"From the warden," said Silver. "Think about it; the overseer of Tartarus is Hades, right? Could it be possible that Tirek made a pact with the lord of the Underworld to allow his escape in return for a share of the magical power Tirek steals from the ponies of Equestria?"

Now every pony looked at Silver Rush. "That… actually makes a lot of sense," said Celestia. "But if that is the case, that might mean…"

"That it might not be possible to send Tirek back," said Rarity.

Every pony stood silent for a moment. "So what do we do?" Fluttershy finally spoke up.

"We finish the fight," said Silver Rush. "One last bout with Tirek, and only one walks away."

"Do you realize what you're saying?" said Twilight. "You're basically saying we need to destroy Tirek."

"Exactly."

"I'm sorry, Silver Rush," said Princess Celestia, "but we cannot risk that many ponies against Tirek. It would take half the ponies in Equestria to remotely hold him back."

"Then don't," said Silver. "Just send me."

Again all the ponies around that table fell silent. "Now I know you're crazy," said Rainbow Dash.

"Or hopeful," responded Silver. "I'm a Champion, remember? And frankly I'm not afraid of Tirek."

"You can't face him alone," said Luna. "What you're talking about is suicide."

"Look," said Silver, "if there's one thing that I've learned since I met you all, it's that I can always believe in you. Now I'm asking you all to believe in me. It may sound hopeless, but hope is one of the most powerful things we have right now. So don't let any pony else risk their lives except me."

"But…," Twilight started to say.

"No," said Silver. "No more buts. No more planning. No more standing around." Silver now walked towards the balcony adjacent to the war room. He stood at the railing and looked back at every pony. "Now is the time to act."

With this, Silver Rush flung himself over the balcony railing. Every pony gasped, but Silver immediately soared upwards back into view. Storm clouds had begun to form in the sky above the castle, and Silver zoomed straight towards them. A bolt of lightning came down to meet him, and in a flash he was gone.

Tirek was on the other side of Equestria at that moment, and moving fast. Not only was Silver Rush's theory correct, Hades had temporarily loaned Tirek some of his dark powers. Now Tirek was stomping around the countryside, stealing the power and energy of any and every pony he caught sight of. He felt invincible.

Then a mass of storm clouds began to gather over him. Tirek could hear lightning crackling on that otherwise clear day. Suddenly, the clouds opened and lightning rained down from the heavens, and where the fire of the heavens met the earth, Silver Rush, aka Maelstrom, appeared.

"What is this, a joke?" said Tirek. "Who sent this Matrix wannabee to fight me?"

"The name's Maelstrom, and if this were a joke would I have this look on my face?" Maelstrom gestured to his blank but serious expression.

"Enough of this," said Tirek. He began to open his mouth to absorb Maelstrom's energy, but he was met by a flash of white hot electricity. Tirek stumbled back, caught off guard.

"What kind of power is that?" said Tirek.

"It's called 'being a Champion' Mr. Big-and-Tall. Comes with quite a few perks."

Tirek's immediate reaction was tossing a ball of energy at Maelstrom's face. Maelstrom nimbly dodged out of the way, continuing to fire bolts of electricity at Tirek. Tirek met each of these with his own energy blasts, but now Maelstrom had closed the gap. Thanks to those lessons with Rainbow Dash, he knew exactly where to place his kicks. The trick, however, was executing them. Tirek caught Maelstrom in a suspension field and flung him off towards the mountains.

"Good riddance," Tirek said. But the fight was far from over. In an instant Maelstrom came flying in back from the mountains and, with his hooves charged with electricity, slammed into Tirek with enough force to send them both flying in opposite directions in a massive explosion.

Now Maelstrom lay in a part of the Everfree Forest, the explosion sending him far away from Tirek, or so he thought. Almost completely spent, he opened his eyes to see Tirek standing over him.

"Those were some fancy tricks," said Tirek. "It's a shame you won't be doing anything like that anytime soon." He then opened his mouth wide and began to drain Maelstrom's energy. Maelstrom could feel it all fading; his strength, his ability to fly, and every ounce of power was leaving his body. Soon Tirek's work was done, and he left Maelstrom lying there, broken and powerless.

'No…,' Maelstrom thought, '… this can't be the end….' He tried to stand, but all his power seemed to be gone. He glanced around frantically, at Tirek walking away, at the blue sky, at the trees bearing their colorful fruit.

'Wait,' thought Maelstrom. 'Are those…,' Zap Apples. The entire clearing him and Tirek were in was surrounded by Zap Apple trees. Now an idea was starting to form, and as Maelstrom thought, storm clouds began to gather overhead again.

"What?" Tirek said, looking back at Maelstrom now. "What is this?! All your power is gone! I took it all!"

Maelstrom, using every ounce of energy left in him, managed to stand. "You may have drained my strength and taken my flight. But my power comes from something even greater. My spirit. And not you, nor any pony else, can ever take that away from me!"

Now the storm clouds opened again, their lightning coming down to hit Maelstrom. His whole body surged with power, and he began to ascend into the air. More lightning came down now, this time striking the Zap Apple trees. All the trees now glowed with energy, connected in a ring of electricity around Tirek and Maelstrom. Suddenly the electricity shot out from these trees, striking Tirek from all sides, releasing their energy upon him.

"Ghaaa!" Tirek yelled. "Who are you!?"

"I'm just some dude from Ponyville," Maelstrom said. Then the final bolt of lightning struck, and Tirek disappeared in a flash of light. All his stolen power, released in shockwaves that echoed across the land, returned to their correct owners. And Maelstrom collapsed on the ground once more.

"I can't believe Silver Rush just flew off like that!" said Twilight, her and the Mane 6 galloping towards the storm clouds.

"He said it himself," said Rainbow Dash, "his powers were revealed now for a reason. More importantly, it was his choice to go after Tirek."

"That may be true," said Applejack. "But he didn't need to fight him alone. We had plenty of…." This last part was cut off by a massive explosion rocking the earth, and a massive dust cloud forming over the Everfree Forest.

"There!" yelled Rainbow Dash. "Come on, girls! Let's go!" Rainbow Dash then proceeded to fly off towards the dust cloud, with the rest of the Mane 6 right behind her. But when Rainbow reached the clearing, she stopped short. Silver, aka Maelstrom, was laying in the very center of the massive crater that was once the clearing. He laid there, motionless and not breathing, his sunglasses broken and flung off to one end of the crater. Rainbow Dash flew to him, lifting his head off of the ground.

"Oh man oh man oh man!" she yelled. "Silver, come on! Wake up dude, wake up! I know you can hear me, now wake up! Please!" Tears started to form in Rainbow's eyes. She loved him; her stubborn pride wouldn't let her admit it, but she'd had a crush on him since they first crashed into each other a few seconds after he arrived in Ponyville. Rainbow kissed Silver on the lips, her tears falling upon his face. Then Silver Rush slowly opened his eyes to find an angel standing over him in the form of one blue pegasus with rainbow-colored hair.

"Rainbow Dash?" he said, his voice barely audible.

"Silver!" she cried. Rainbow Dash hugged him even tighter, with Silver Rush hugging back now. They were locked in embrace, unable to let each other go, for Silver felt the same about Rainbow as she him. But eventually they did let go, and Rainbow Dash helped Silver Rush to his feet. Now the rest of the Mane 6 hugged him, nearly knocking him to the ground again. They all laughed together, all happy to be standing there with each other.

Now, a few days later, every pony was back in Canterlot. Princess Celestia, alongside Luna, Cadence, and Twilight, stood before a great crowd of ponies. Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity all stood with Twilight. As soon as the crowd was settled, Celestia spoke.

"Fillies and gentlecolts," she began. "Just a few days prior, it was discovered Lord Tirek had escaped from Tartarus again." This prompted some murmoring from the crowd. "However, one brave pony, by the name of Silver Rush, came forth, displaying great and extraordinary powers. It was him who confronted Tirek alone and stopped him once and for all. His valor and self-sacrifice, his willingness to risk his life for us, is monumental. So without further ado, I present to all of you, the new Champion of Equestria, Silver Rush!"

Now the great double doors into the hall opened, and Silver Rush stepped through. Every pony cheered as Silver walked down the center aisle to Princess Celestia. He bowed his head to the princesses and Celestia placed a golden medal around his neck. Silver walked over to his friends and turned to faced the audience again, which was still cheering for him.

"This is the most nerve-wracking thing I've ever done," whispered Silver to the Mane 6. "How do you all do it?"

"Years of practice," Rainbow Dash whispered back. Silver Rush did his best to stifle a laugh in the middle of the ceremony. Celestia continued to speak, a speech about bravery and self-sacrifice, but her words alluded Silver Rush and the Mane 6, who had listened to Celestia rehearse the speech multiple times.

"You know," whispered Twilight, "as a princess, I have the ability to form my own royal guard. Of course, I'll need a guard captain. Would you…."

"Say no more," whispered Silver. "I'd be honored. As long as I can still work on my writing on the side."

"Deal," whispered Twilight.

A few hours later every pony was back in Ponyville. The moon had risen, and every pony had begun to settle in. But not Silver Rush. His windows were still lit, and he was bent over a writing desk, sketching and taking notes, unable to sleep. Silver's mind was still alert, and for the first time in a while he was able to write and draw and put his thoughts and imagination into a form others could enjoy. He was so focused that he didn't see the blue pegasus standing in the doorway.

"So, how does it feel to be a hero?" Rainbow Dash asked. Silver Rush flung his pencil and sketches everywhere, startled by Rainbow's sudden appearance.

"How long were you standing there?" asked Silver.

"Not long. I saw that your light was still on and figured you were having trouble sleeping."

"Well, I can't sleep and write at the same time," Silver said, placing the papers back on top of his desk. "So what's up?"

"I believe I asked a question first," said Rainbow Dash.

"Honestly, I don't really feel different. In fact, I feel more like myself now than I have in quite a while."

"Because this craziness has finally toned down?"

"Exactly. Now I can move forward."

"I was surprised when you accepted Twilight's offer as guard captain," Rainbow Dash said, stepping farther into the room.

"Yeah. I didn't want to just sit around and not use my powers."

"No offence, but I really don't see many situations as Captain of the Royal Guard where your powers would be necessary. It's not like Twilight's getting attacked every other day."

"I guess you're right," said Silver Rush, turning to face Rainbow Dash again. "But then what should I do?" As he said these words, a scream sounded from below. Both Rainbow and Silver turned to the window, but Silver then turned to his closet door. He stood and walked to the door, immediately flinging it open to reveal the black trench coat that was his costume.

"Hey," said Rainbow Dash once Silver was dressed. She gave Silver a single peck on the cheek. "Go beat up some bad guys for me."

Silver Rush smiled, and he took off into the night to fight evil wherever it may rear it's head.

The End?