//------------------------------// // Rise from the Ashes // Story: The Dragon that Would be Pony // by The Dragon Warlock //------------------------------// Spike looked at Prince Blueblood with a hesitant look on his face. He finally had the one who caused so much chaos and was close to death. Yet despite all that he did, Spike was conflicted on whether or not to kill him. He had the chance to finally end it all and avenge Twilight and the others for their deaths. He wanted to do it, but a part of him kept telling him to not kill Prince Blueblood. He decided to weigh his options and the possible outcomes. On one hoof, if he killed Prince Blueblood, then he would never return again to hurt him or any other pony. The Disciples of Nightmare Moon would be all but finished forever. He would never have to worry about him ever again. There seemed to be no repercussions if he killed Prince Blueblood. Another part of Spike’s mind though warned him about what would happen if he did commit the act. If he killed the white stallion, it would probably prevent him from figuring out how to save the others. Would Princess Celestia be upset to know that he killed him, even if he was a traitor? He then thought back to the vision he saw of when Leon became the same thing he is now. He thought of the carnage and destruction the beast caused throughout Equestria. Spike looked at his paw and saw it was poised directly above Prince Blueblood’s head. He looked down at his opponent and saw he was breathing very slowly now and was knocked out. His mind went into overdrive with what to do. The voices in his head were almost screaming inside his head now. He let go of Prince Blueblood as he covered his head and roared in agony. “THIS LITTLE WAITING GAME IS OVER!” The demonic voice boomed. “KILL HIM NOW SPIKE! HE DESERVES DEATH FOR ALL HE’S DONE!” “Spike, you know you can’t do this.” The gentle voice said calmly. “I know that you’re angry and want revenge for what happened, but your friends can still be saved. They wouldn’t want you to act this way.” “DESTROY HIM NOW SPIKE! HE’S TOO DANGEROUS TO BE KEPT ALIVE AND YOU KNOW IT! THERE’S NO USE IN KEEPING HIM ALIVE ANYMORE!” “You would only become a monster if you do this. Let Princess Celestia and the law decide his fate. She’ll find a way to bring your friends back and you can be with them again.” “WHAT IF THE PRINCESS DOESN’T FIND A CURE? YOU WOULD FOREVER HAVE TO LIVE WITH THE FACT THAT THEY’RE GONE! HE KILLED YOUR FRIENDS AND MOST IMPROTANTLY, HE KILLED RARITY! YOU CAN’T LET HIM LIVE FOR HIS CRIMES!” Spike roared again in agony and shook his head. “QUIET ALREADY!” He shouted in a mixture of his normal and demonic voice. “I…I…I NEED TO THINK THIS THROUGH!” The shadow timberwolf looked back at Prince Blueblood, who was still unconscious. As Spike took a step towards him, he felt something damp on his right paw. He lifted it up and saw in the moonlight that it was blood. He looked around the ruined throne room and his eyes widened in shock. Corpses littered the entire room and their blood poured all over the floor. Some ponies were crushed under the large slabs of marble from the ceiling. There were other ponies that were missing body parts and had terrified looks on their faces. “THERE’S NO NEED TO BE SO HESITANT ABOUT THIS.” The demonic voice boomed again. “THOSE PONIES WERE NO BETTER THAN THAT SO CALLED PRINCE. SHOW HIM THE SAME TYPE OF PUNISHMENT THAT YOU’VE DEMONSTRATED TO THOSE GUARDS.” Spike’s eyes slowly drooped into a glare and closed them. He took a deep breath before opening them again and nodded slowly. “You’re right…he doesn’t deserve to live anymore.” He said coldly. He began to move back towards Prince Blueblood with anger in his eyes. As he got closer to the white stallion, he felt his head buzz. He tried to shake it off at first, but the buzzing got louder and his head started to hurt. The shadow timberwolf howled as he felt his mind racing all of a sudden. He closed his eyes and started to see various images of Twilight and the others. The memories of his friends and loved ones rushed through his mind. All the times he spent with Twilight and the others. The time they all had after the Grand Galloping Gala. The flashback of when the Cutie Mark Crusaders told him he was their friend. All of them came rushing into his mind. The voices inside his head became garbled and were drowned out by the various voices of his friends. Spike thrashed around wildly as the memories continued to whiz passed him. He let out a deafening roar that shook the entire throne room for a few seconds. He looked over at Prince Blueblood once more and slowly made his way towards him. He raised his right paw and pointed his claws right above his opponent’s chest. He glared at him for a few seconds before he made his choice. He closed his eyes as he sent his claw down towards Prince Blueblood’s chest. CRACK! Spike panted and opened his eyes to see something that nearly made him jump. His claw had missed Prince Blueblood’s chest and instead collided to the floor nearby. He wanted to try to see if he could possibly do it again, but he couldn’t find the strength. The shadow timberwolf tried again, but something in his head held him back from doing so. Spike looked back down at the white stallion and lowered his head in shame. “I…I CAN’T DO IT.” He said in a calmer demonic tone. “I CAN’T KILL HIM. WHAT WOULD I GET BY DOING THIS?” He looked around at the corpses again and felt guilt overwhelm him. “I’VE ALREADY KILLED SO MANY…AND I DON’T WANT TO BE SEEN AS SOME MONSTER.” “NO YOU FOAL! YOU CAN’T DO THIS!” The demonic voice barked in his head. “YOU COULD’VE KILLED HIM! YOU’RE NOTHING BUT A COWARD! YOU’LL REGRET THIS DECISION!” Spike paid no mind to the demonic voice, but slowly heard it screaming in agony. He began to concentrate on his friends and all the happy times that had together. He thought more than those, he thought about the promises he kept to the Cutie Mark Crusaders and his friends. The shadows around Spike slowly died out along with the demonic voice. He shrank down to his size as a pony and his colors started to appear. The shadows soon disappeared around Spike and was his pony self again. He panted for a couple minutes and felt a little dazed from his monstrous rampage. The sound of groaning and panting suddenly echoed throughout the throne room. Spike turned around to see Prince Blueblood was coming to his senses again. Despite all his injuries, he was able to roll back onto his stomach and slowly got up. He panted for a few minutes as he regained his bearings and looked up. He glared at Spike for a few minutes before finally being able to find some words. “Why…why did you spare me?” He asked in a painful voice. “Y-you had me in your grasp…and yet you let me live.” Spike lowered his head and said, “I can’t do it…as much as I hate you for what you’ve done, I won’t kill you.” “Why? You could’ve had revenge at what I’ve done to your friends.” “I realized something when I was about to kill you. I made a lot of promises to my friends and I will see them through. I know that they wouldn’t want me to act this way and I know they can still be saved now.” “You’re friends are in a deep stone petrification spell.” Prince Blueblood spat. “They’re forever trapped in stone and there’s nothing you can do about it.” Spike said nothing and trotted over to the statues of his friends. He placed a hoof on each of them and lowered his head on them for a few minutes. He turned back towards Prince Blueblood and was met by a lightning bolt hitting him in the chest. He fell to the floor and landed between Applejack and Twilight’s statues. He groaned and looked to see Prince Blueblood limping back towards his black robe. The white stallion reached from something in his robe, but Spike couldn’t see it. He turned back towards the purple pegasus and said, “You forgot the first rule of fighting Spike. You never turn your back on your opponent.” He suddenly pulled out a large vial full of red liquid from his robe. “The second rule of fighting, always make sure you come prepared for battle.” Prince Blueblood popped the cork from the vial and downed the contents of the potion. As he drank the potion, Spike saw to his surprise of the effects it had. All the wounds around Prince Blueblood’s body were disappearing slowly until they were all gone. He steadied himself and moved his head around a little. The white stallion took a deep breath and let out a satisfied laugh. “Ah…that’s better.” He said sinisterly. “There’s one last rule you have to learn Spike. You never leave your opponent alive.” “But…but how did you do that?” He asked in disbelief. “You were almost dead from what I did to you.” “You can thank Princess Celestia for that. This little potion here came from some of the tablets she left behind in that vault near Nocturnal. It’s capable of healing any wound and replenishing a unicorn’s magic aura. I’ll have to thank her as well before killing her.” Spike poised himself to fight, but he felt dizzy and tired. He stumbled a little and tried not fall over. He could hear Prince Blueblood laugh coldly at him. “Aw that’s too bad Spike.” He said in a mocking tone. “It seems unlike me, you’re still injured from our first fight. I on the other hoof am more than capable of finishing what I started.” Prince Blueblood suddenly disappeared for a few seconds before teleporting in front of Spike. He punched him in the face hard and made him stumble around. Before he could recover from the sudden attack, Spike was hit in the back of the head. He cried out in pain as he fell to the floor. He suddenly felt a hoof slam against his head and held him down. He opened his eyes to see Prince Blueblood with a triumphant look on him. “It’s over now Spike.” He said coldly. “You’re friends are dead and you’ve failed to save them. The last thing you’ll see is me delivering the final blow.” Prince Blueblood’s horn glowed with energy and aimed it at Spike’s head. He was ready to fire the spell, but he was suddenly punched in the right cheek. The white stallion stumbled back and saw Spike was getting up. He charged towards his opponent, but Spike moved out of the way in time. He screeched to a halt and shot a glare towards Spike. “I…I won’t give up.” The purple pegasus said in a weak voice. “I’ll still save my friends and I’ll beat you.” Prince Blueblood roared in anger and used his magic to levitate Spike. He brought him close to him and slammed him against the marble floor. Spike grunted in pain as he felt his back protest in pain. His head was adjusted to look up at a livid looking Prince Blueblood. Spike tried to move, but saw he was being restrained by four magical chains at his hooves. “This has gone on far enough!” Prince Blueblood barked. “You’ve done nothing but ruined everything I’ve planned all for your so called friends! Once you’re out of the way, I’ll find a new way to become King of Equestria!” “I don’t care if you do become king.” Spike spat. “Nopony will ever obey you and I will beat you before you become one.” Prince Blueblood punched Spike hard in the chest and looked beside himself. “You’re mindless babbling ends right now! You’re arrogance and disrespect has worked my last nerve! All you keep on wasting your breath on is your so called friends! You’re not a pony like them! You’re a freakish dragon who thinks he can be friends with ponies! What do you see in them!? Why do you think they’re worth saving!?” Spike caught his breath and said “I know I’m not really a pony, but they’re still my friends. They taught me everything I know now. I learned right from wrong from them and they raised me like a pony. I know I’m different from other dragons, but I don’t care, I still have my friends here and I’ll do whatever I can to help them.” Near the stone slabs where Spike was being held, a stone sphere started to rattle slowly. Neither Prince Blueblood nor Spike noticed this though. “They treated me like I was one of them.” Spike said. “I learned so much from them and made friends with them. They gave me a lot of things and I’m always ready to help them. My friends all taught me everything that made me who I am and I’m glad they did. If it weren’t for them, I may’ve ended up like the other dragons.” The stone sphere started to rattle a little faster and glowed a faint white light. Nopony paid no mind to it again. “My friends each showed and taught me about their elements.” Spike stated. “Kindness, laughter, generosity, honesty, loyalty, and magic. I learned all that from them and their adventures. They’ve come to love me and helped me when I needed it. I don’t care if I die or anything, as long as I can save my friends, then I’ll be happy to know they’re okay! They never left me when I needed somepony and I won’t let them down!” The stone sphere glowed brightly now and was shaking violently. Spike and Prince Blueblood noticed the white light glowing and saw the sphere floating. The white stallion approached the sphere in curiosity and reached his hoof out. An electrical shock coursed through his body and was sent flying for a few seconds before hitting the ground. Prince Blueblood groaned as he got up and saw the stone sphere hovering across the room. Spike noticed the sphere was headed towards him and gasped a little. As the stone sphere hovered above Spike’s head, a bright light flashed throughout the throne room. Prince Blueblood shielded his eyes from the flash, which lasted a couple of seconds. When the flash died down, he looked to see something was glowing from Spike. He lowered his hoof and was shocked to see what happened. The stone sphere holding Spike’s element was gone and replaced with what his Element of Harmony looked like. Resting on top of the purple pegasus’ head was a shining circular golden crown with seven long spiked edges. Each spiked edge had a small circular shaped purple gem in the middle of it. On the edges right above Spike’s forehead, there was a large green crystal in the middle that was shaped like a flame. Prince Blueblood was in disbelief from what he saw and felt a little intimidated. Spike looked at Prince Blueblood with a look of triumph on him. “It…it’s not possible.” The white stallion said nervously. “There’s no way this can happen.” “It is happening Prince Blueblood.” Spike said in a confident voice. “There’s one more reason why I love my friends. They taught me to never give up when things looked really bad. They never gave up on me and I won’t give up now!” “Regardless of your Element of Harmony, your friends are still trapped in stone! They can’t be used if one of them is dead! There’s no way you can use them now!” The green crystal from Spike’s crown suddenly glowed very brightly. A large beam of green light shot out of the crystal and right towards Twilight and the others. The light encased all six statues and glowed brightly. The stone around each statue started to crack slowly and chipped away around their bodies. Twilight and her friends started to come to as the stone around them chipped away. The light soon died out and the six mares were freed from their stone prisons. The entire group groaned and felt a little dazed from their freedom. “What!? That’s not possible!” Prince Blueblood shouted. “Ugh…where are we?” Rainbow asked. “Ah feel like Ah was trampled by a stampede of cows.” Applejack said. The entire groups saw in the corner of their eyes a bright glow and looked towards it. They were shocked to see Spike standing there with a crown on his head. “Spike…is that you?” Twilight asked in disbelief. “Is…is that your…your…?” “It’s my Element of Harmony Twilight.” The purple pegasus said. “Hurry and get the others. It’s time to take Prince Blueblood off the throne.” The group nodded and looked around for their elements. Twilight saw in a smile pile of rubble, the elements were amongst them and urged her friends to follow her. Just as they reached the Elements of Harmony, a dark energy ball flashed in front of them. The group shielded their eyes in time and looked to see a vivid Prince Blueblood. “Get away this instant you commoners!” He barked. “You won’t be using those Elements of Harmony ever again!” “Why I ought to…” Rainbow said. “I’ll take care of him.” Spike interrupted. “It’s time he knew that I’m more than some dragon.” “Are you sure Spike?” Twilight asked. “If he is as powerful as he says he is, then you need our help.” “I’m sure Twilight. I’ll take care of him and make him pay for what he did.” Twilight hesitantly nodded and said, “Alright Spike, but be careful. We’ll be right here to bail you out if things are looking bad.” Spike gave a nod and looked towards Prince Blueblood. “It’s you and me now you royal pain in the flank.” The white stallion laughed upon hearing this. “This is too rich! How are you going to beat me!? You can’t even touch me!” “We’ll see about that.” Prince Blueblood teleported right in front of Spike and raised his hoof to deliver a punch. Spike moved his head to the side as the hoof went passed him. He raised his hoof in retaliation and punched Prince Blueblood right in the snout. The white stallion stumbled a little and grunted in pain. He shot an icy glare towards Spike. “Lucky shot!” He spat. “Let’s see you dodge this!” He shot out a large blue ball of energy at Spike. The purple pegasus moved to the side nonchalantly and heard the ground sizzling from the spell. Prince Blueblood growled a little and shot out a lightning bolt. The bolt did hit Spike, but it was redirected towards his green flame shaped crystal. Prince Blueblood’s eyes widened from what just happened. “What they buck happened to my spell!?” He demanded. Almost immediately after asking that, a lightning bolt shot out of the green crystal. Before Prince Blueblood could react, the bolt hit him square in the chest. He cried out in pain and fell to his knees. As he caught his breath from the sudden attack, Prince Blueblood heard galloping and saw Spike charging towards him. He steadied himself and prepared to do a teleportation spell. He was about to do the spell, but Spike caught up to him and punched him in the right cheek. Prince Blueblood was sent to the ground and groaned in pain. He heard hoofsteps and looked up to see Spike towering over him. The white stallion got up immediately and tried to punch his opponent in the face. Spike caught the hoof though and forced Prince Blueblood to his knees again. He tried to regain the upper hoof, but Spike started to bend his hoof back very slowly. He cried out in agony as his hoof was bent backwards and used his other hoof to beat Spike up. The purple pegasus shrugged off the pain and continued to bend it back. CRACK! Prince Blueblood screamed in pain as his hoof was broken and dangled. He used his magic to teleport away and reappeared on the far side of the throne room. He saw his black robe and in it another vial of red liquid. He limped over to the robe and tried to get the vial, but Spike suddenly galloped past him and blocked him. The purple pegasus looked down at the robe and then back at Prince Blueblood with a smirk. “No! Don’t you dare…!” Before Prince Blueblood could finish, Spike stomped on the robe with his left hoof and shattered the potion vial. The white stallion roared in anger and shot out a flurry of small fireballs out of his horn. Spike charged towards his opponent and dodged the fireballs in the process. When he reached him, he raised his hoof and punched him in the jaw, nearly breaking it in the process. He cried out in pain as he fell to the ground again. As he lied on the ground, Prince Blueblood saw Spike wasn’t too far from him. “Give it up already.” He said. “You’ve already lost at everything. Your so called plan is done for and my friends are safe.” “I…won’t…yield to you.” Prince Blueblood spat. “I am King Sandro…leader and new ruler of Equestria. I refuse to surrender to you and I will be back for revenge.” “Not this time you royal traitor!” A voice shouted. Spike and Prince Blueblood looked to their right and saw Twilight and her friends. Each mare had their Elements of Harmony and had triumphant looks on their faces. “Spike, come over here!” Twilight shouted. The purple pegasus nodded and galloped towards his friends. He stood between Twilight and Rarity and saw them give a nod of approval. “Let’s do this then!” Spike shouted. A very bright glow of light filled the throne room up, blinding Prince Blueblood. Spike and his friends each levitated into the air and their elements started to glow. Each Element of Harmony glowed and shot out a ray of light that corresponded with each element’s color. The rays of light shot directly into Spike’s flame shaped crystal. The sound of electricity humming echoed throughout the room as it charged up. After a couple of seconds of charging, the green crystal shot out a large rainbow and headed right towards Prince Blueblood. The white stallion saw the rainbow and his horn glowed. “No! I won’t be taken down that easily!” He shouted with a bit of panic in his voice. He shot out a large beam of black energy to counter the rainbow. The two magical energies stubbornly pushed each other back and forth for what seemed to be an eternity. Eventually, the rainbow beam got the upper hoof and pushed back the black energy. Prince Blueblood panicked and tried to put more magic into pushing it back, but it was to no avail. The rainbow beam soon reached its target and covered it in a bright flash of light. “NO! THIS ISN’T HAPPENING!” Prince Blueblood barked with a panicked look on him. “YOU CAN’T DO THIS TO ME! I AM YOUR KING!” The rainbow beam started to create a white energy ball that grew bigger and swallowed the castle up. It kept growing until the dark castle was completely covered in the dome. The energy then exploded and sent shockwaves rattling throughout Equestria. A beacon of rainbow colored light shot up into the sky and started to spread its colors. All across Equestria, the night sky was lit up with a flurry of colors while the ground shook violently. In Ponyville, Shining Armor was barking orders at his guards to evacuate civilians. Some of the citizens though took pleasure in the sight of the night sky. Princess Luna and Princess Cadence both tried to maintain order in Canterlot, but the citizens there were running and screaming in fear. In Appaloosa, Braeburn helped control the cattle they had along with getting citizens out of their homes. In Manehattan, the city descended into chaos with crowds of ponies running around. Among them were three terrified fillies being held by an elderly orange pegasus stallion with a short white mane. The shaking soon died down after a couple of minutes as did the beacon of rainbow light. Spike and his friends slowly drifted to the ground until their hooves touched the ground. He opened his eyes and was shocked to see what had happened. The dark forbidding throne room now had pristine white rounded columns and marble floors. The room itself reminded Spike of how the castle looked when he was in Princess Celestia’s memories. Spike heard the sounds of groaning behind him and looked to see his friends. Each one of them looked tired, but gave him a small smile. The purple pegasus smiled warmly as he ran over and embraced Twilight in a tight grip. The others soon joined in a group hug and stayed like this for a couple of minutes. Twilight was the first to break the hug and looked around at the castle with awe. Her friends soon joined in with her and were shocked by what they were seeing. “Where are we?” Twilight asked. “This almost looks like Princess Celestia’s throne room.” “It’s the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters actually.” Spike said. He was met by all six mares staring at him with curious looks on their faces. “It’s kind of hard to explain, but I know this is it.” BANG! The throne room’s doors suddenly busted open and made everypony jump. The galloping of hooves and shouting echoed loudly throughout the room. Spike and the others turned to see a large group of royal guards had arrived. The guards lined up against the red carpet leading to the doors and bowed. Before Spike could ask what was happening, Princess Celestia suddenly came in with a look of concern on her face. The seven ponies bowed down in respect to their ruler for a couple of seconds before getting back up. “Princess Celestia!” Twilight cried out in joy. She ran over and embraced her mentor. “Twilight Sparkle, it’s good to see you and your friends are okay.” The white alicorn said in a gentle tone as she returned the hug. She broke the hug after a few seconds and looked towards Spike. “Spike, I’m very proud of what you’ve done. I knew you could do it.” The purple pegasus couldn’t help but blush upon hearing those words. “Thanks princess…but if it weren’t for my friends, I think I wouldn’t have made it.” Princess Celestia gave a small smile and looked at Spike’s crown in awe. “So this is the Element of Nobility. It’s been so long that I’ve seen it that I forgot what it was.” “Pardon me princess, but what exactly is the Element of Nobility?” Twilight asked. “There’s nothing I’ve read that mentions it.” “You deserve an explanation for this Twilight, including your friends. The story is a pretty long one, but you must understand that…” “Princess Celestia! We’ve got another pony here!” A white unicorn stallion shouted. “He seems to be barely breathing.” The white alicorn along with Spike and his friends hurried over towards the fallen pony. A small group of guards surrounding the pony moved out of the way. As they reached the other pony, the entire group was taken aback by who it was. Lying on the ground was none other than Prince Blueblood. Spike figured something would’ve happened to him from the rainbow beam, but not something like this. The handsome and proud white stallion was now reduced to a mere shadow of himself to the point where he was barely recognizable. His entire body was literally nothing but skin and bones now. His mane and tail were both singed and burnt to the point where they smelled like smoke. His face was covered in massive green warts and his eyes were bloodshot red. Prince Blueblood breathed shallowly and tried to say something, but it was too weak to hear. He tried to move, but he was so weak form the lack of strength. He screamed in agony from the attempt at moving and just stayed in the same spot. “Is…is that Prince Blublood?” Princess Celestia asked in disbelief. “What’s he doing here?” Spike looked at his friends and saw they were looking a little intimidated. He decided to take the plunge and said, “Princess…I know this is hard to believe, but Prince Blueblood is actually Lord Sandro.” The white alicorn gave a surprised look to Spike. “It…it can’t be, it can’t be Prince Blueblood. He’s a member of the royal family and there’s no way he would ever…” “Princess, you have to believe me.” Spike interjected. “He’s been fooling you and only wanted to use you for the Elements of Harmony. He told me about that story about how you took him in and how he became prince.” “He ain’t lyin’ princess.” Applejack spoke up. “Ah hate t’say it, but yer nephew over there is nothin’ but a thievin’ and lyin’ scoundrel.” “He used his army to hurt Fluttershy!” Pinkie shouted. “He turned us into stone.” Fluttershy stated. “He was going to use me as the new body of Nightmare Moon!” Rarity yelled. “Princess, I know this is hard to accept, but Spike is telling the truth.” Twilight said. “I know you don’t want to believe it, but it’s true. He captured all of us to use as a sacrifice for Nightmare Moon.” Princess Celestia gave no response and went over to Prince Blueblood’s body. She could see him looking directly at him. Even though he gave a pleading look, the white alicorn felt shivers run down her spine just from looking at him. She placed her horn on his forehead and it started to glow. Everypony watched and wondered what she was up to and waited patiently. After a few minutes, her horn stopped glowing and she lifted her head. She turned back towards Spike and his friends with a solemn look on her face. “What did you do princess?” Twilight asked. “I did a memory reader spell on him.” She said with sadness in her voice. “You all were right…it’s really him. He is Lord Sandro after all.” “Princess, I’m so sorry you had to find out. I know that he meant a lot to you and we’ll be here to help you out.” Spike nodded with the others, but started to feel really tired all of a sudden. The next thing he knew, he fell to the floor and everything went black. Twilight and the others noticed this and rushed over to help him. “His wounds seemed to have finally gotten the best of him.” Princess Celestia said. “Guards, bring a medic here this instant to tend to his wounds. I want you to also prepare to transport Prince…I mean Lord Sandro towards my castle.” “Yes your highness!” Two guards shouted in unison. Twilight and the others looked at Spike with fear in their eyes. “Hang on Spike.” The lilac unicorn said. “You’re going to be alright, we promise.” Spike felt a bright light hit his eyes and opened them slowly. The first thing he did was look at himself and realized he was a dragon again. He then noticed he was lying on some grass and got up. The area was very similar to a meadow in Equestria with rolling green hills, flowers blooming everywhere, and trees with bright green leaves. He looked to his right and saw in front of him a set of golden gates with horizontal thin golden bars. His mind suddenly raced with questions and felt panic running through his body. “Am…am I dead?” He asked nervously. “No Spike, you aren’t.” A gentle mare’s voice said. Spike jumped in surprise from the voice and turned to see who it was. In front of him was a white alicorn who was as tall as Princess Celestia. She had a mane and tail almost similar to Twilight’s style, but the color was a darkish red. Her eyes were blue and seemed to radiate with love and compassion. Spike couldn’t find any words to speak and didn’t want to in fear he may offend her. “You don’t have to be afraid around me Spike.” The mare said. “I’m not going to hurt the wielder of the Element of Nobility.” The purple pegasus broke out of his trance and was taken aback from what he heard. “How do you know about me?” He asked in a small voice. “I know everypony that ever lived in the land of Equestria. I know all about you from the time you were born to when you drank that potion to become a pony.” Spike was once again taken aback by this. “Who…who are you anyway?” “You can call me the Queen, watcher and protector of my fellow ponies. You can ask me anything you want to know.” “So where am I? Am I now….*gulp*…dead?” “Not yet Spike, but the wounds you received were so bad, that it’s placed you on the verge of death.” “I don’t want to die though!” He shouted in a panic. “I don’t want to leave behind Twilight or any of my friends!” “Calm yourself Spike, you aren’t dead yet and you can still choose as to whether you want to live or pass on through the gates.” “Then why else am I here? I want to go back.” “There’s a certain pony who wants to speak with you.” Before Spike could ask what she meant, he heard hoofsteps. He turned around to see to his surprise, the white hooded pony he met so many times. He could see even under the hood he was smiling warmly at him. “Hello again Spike, it’s good to see you.” The pony said. “I was worried about whether you’d go down a path that would lead to only death and destruction. I’m glad to see you made the right choice.” “What are you doing here anyway? Who are you?” Spike asked. “You keep on talking to me, but I don’t know anything about you. You even warned me not to give into that…thing.” “Think about it Spike. Who do you think knows more about that beast than me? I think you should know…you did see me after all.” “What are you talking about? The only pony who became what I was…somepony…” Spike suddenly felt a realization dawned on him and his eyes widened. “…You…it’s you.” The stallion took off his hood and smiled. “Me.” There standing in front of Spike was none other than Leon. He noticed he looked a lot older than when Spike saw him. His black mane and tail was now white, but it was still kept neat and tidy. He had a goatee growing on his face. He almost seemed unrecognizable now from how he looked in the past. “But…but I don’t get it.” Spike said in awe. “How…how did you talk to me? Princess Celestia said you just disappeared and you were never seen again.” “She is correct on the fact that I was never seen again, but she’s wrong about me vanishing off the face of Equestria. I never left the land I fought for valiantly in my years during the Griffon War. I merely went into exile and spent the rest of my life in solitude.” “How were you able to talk to me then? You were dead for over a thousand years.” “The story is a bit long, but I’ll keep it short for you Spike. In my time in exile, I stayed away from all other ponies because I felt I failed them. I was looking for a way to redeem myself after what I did. I wandered into a deep part of Equestria where there was nothing but an endless dense forest and no settlements. I figured maybe I could live out the rest of my life here, but that was before I met her.” “Who was it?” “It was actually the Queen herself.” “Wait, you mean the Queen standing right before us?” “That is correct Spike. She actually led me to a sacred grove where her spirit resides strongly. She knew of the pain and guilt I felt when I became that beast and offered to help me. In return of accepting her help, she trained me an ancient form of magic that very few have mastered, Spiritual Magic.” “What’s that?” “It’s a very advanced form of magic and very few can master it, much less get the basics. It involves using your very own soul to be able to become one with the Elements of Harmony themselves. It may sound simple, but the training I went through was very rigorous and took me five years to master the basics. Each Spiritual Magic apprentice also had to face up to their own personal demons in the past. As you know, mine was killing so many and losing my own family. I had to come to grips that I wasn’t in control of myself during those dark times and let it go.” “I managed to talk to those who I killed and my own family. They held no anger towards me and they knew that it wasn’t truly my fault. They only asked that I lead a more peaceful life from now on. I happily took their advice and I felt at peace for what happened. For the first time since that incident, I felt like everything was going to be okay.” “Over the years, I mastered each one of the elements’ origins from magic to loyalty. I studied and went through more rigorous tests and challenges about the elements. It wasn’t until fifty years later that I finally mastered Spiritual Magic. I thought I was ready to finally be at peace, but there was one last message from the Queen. It involved my own Element of Harmony.” “Wait, you don’t mean that…?” Spike began. “Yes, it was about the Disciples of Nightmare Moon.” Leon finished. “She didn’t tell me about them exactly, but warned that another conflict would occur and my element would be in the middle of it. The only problem was she didn’t know what the outcome would be. She gave me one last order, to use a powerful Spiritual Magic spell that allows me to stay connected to my Element of Harmony after I pass on.” “I knew about the incident involving Nightmare Moon and that the castle was now abandoned. Since I lived in the castle for most of my life, I knew about the vault that was underground in the ruins. Although the castle ruins held many traps, I managed to make my towards the vault holding my Element of Harmony. I couldn’t get into the vault itself sadly, but I did manage to do something else. I knew my time was coming to an end, but rather than give up, I let my spirit leave my body for good.” “Wait! What!?” Leon chuckled from Spike’s outburst. “I know this sounds crazy, but it’s another use of Spiritual Magic to leave my body for a short period of time. I knew I would no longer need it for what was about to happen. With my spirit free, I was able to go past the vault’s doors and saw my Element of Harmony lying on a pedestal. Using the last bit of magic I had, I left a part of my spirit in my element and departed for the afterlife.” “How were you able to find out I was the new Element of Nobility?” Spike asked. “If you were dead, then how could you know?” “I can explain that Spike.” The Queen said. “Since Leon had left a part of his spirit in the Element of Nobility, I kept him up to date about what was happening. I let him know about who the next bearer of his element was, but informed him that the conflict wouldn’t happen for a thousand years. So for years, he waited for the battle to come and who the next bearer would be. While he waited, he met with his old friends and family and rekindled the friendship he had with them.” “So how did he find out about me?” Spike asked. “I was told that because of the element’s lack of use over a thousand years, it became weak.” “That is correct Spike, but an Element of Harmony doesn’t truly die out.” Leon stated. “While the lack of use of my element resulted in it becoming weaker, I still had a connection to it. As I was going through another day of waiting, I felt some sort of disturbance. The Queen came to me and let me know that the time had come. The conflict was coming and that I would need to guide you to avoid a similar fate to mine.” “So…you’ve been watching me all this time?” “In a matter of speaking, yes I was. Although I was watching you, my link to you was pretty weak at first. As you grew stronger and went through so much, my connection to you grew. I knew you were the next Element of Harmony as did your one friend, but I didn’t have the heart to tell you. I feared that you would’ve ended up just like me and suffered my same fate.” Spike said nothing for a few minutes as he took it all in. “I did hear about what happened to you.” He said after a few minutes. “I’m sorry about your family. If it helps, I never knew my parents. I don’t even know what they look like.” “You don’t have to be sorry Spike. As for your family, wherever they are, I know they would be proud of what you’ve done. You’ve proven yourself time and time again that you won’t give up and that you’ll do anything for your friends.” “So what’s going to happen now? I mean this whole thing is over now. What will happen to you?” Leon looked up and smiled. “I believe this is where we must part ways Spike.” He said with a tinge of sadness in his voice. “My time in Equestria is over and it’s time for me to finally rest.” “W-what? You can’t leave though!” Spike shouted. “What if I need you again?” “There’s no need for me anymore Spike. You’ve proven yourself again and again how resourceful you are. You’ve done so much and learned to overcome those fears you had. You even managed to avoid a fate similar to mine. I’ve waited for well over a millennium for this to happen and it’s time for me to finally rest.” “What happens if I become that beast again though? I don’t want that to happen to me.” “Just do as you did before Spike, remember those who care for you and never give in. No matter how bad things get, you’re never truly alone, you’ll always have a friend right there for you.” Spike took the words in and slowly nodded. “Thanks Leon…I really couldn’t have done it without you.” “No Spike, on behalf of me and all my friends.” The green unicorn saluted him. “Thank you, for all you’ve done and for finally ridding the taint in my element. Although we’ve only been friends for a while, you have a really good heart and your friends raised you well. You’re a good friend and ally. Farewell, my dragon friend.” As his body slowly disappeared, Leon gave one last smile to Spike. Spike couldn’t help but smile a little as well and waved goodbye to him. The green unicorn returned the wave and continued to do so until he disappeared from sight. Spike stopped waving and smiled as his newfound friend was at peace at last. He then turned towards the Queen with a hopeful smile on him. “So what do I do now?” He asked. “I’m ready to go back and see my friends.” The Queen said nothing and her horn glowed. A tall elegant blue door with golden trimmings suddenly appeared right in front of Spike. The door opened to reveal nothing but a bright white light that blinded Spike a little. “This is your way back Spike.” The white alicorn said. “You can go see your friends now and be with them again.” Just as Spike was about to step through the door, a thought suddenly hit him. “Excuse me…um your highness. Can I ask one last thing?” “Go ahead Spike.” She answered. “Well…I have a friend, but he’s kind of well…sad because he lost his special sompony. Is it possible to…?” “You need not say anymore Spike. I know who you’re referring to and how he feels. He goes to see her annually and I can arrange something with his lost friend.” Spike smiled at this. “Thanks you your highness. I hope things go well with my friend.” “You’re welcome Spike. Oh, be sure to tell Princess Celestia and Princess Luna that mom says hi.” “Okay, I’ll be sure to…” Spike stopped speaking for a second to take the message in. “Wait, you mean to tell me that…?” He looked up and saw that the Queen was now gone. Spike shrugged it off and said, “I guess I shouldn’t be that surprised, she does remind me of the princesses after all.” Spike looked at the door and still saw nothing but light there. He took a deep breath before steeping into the light and vanished. The door shut behind him and vanished from the air. The Queen watched secretly as Spike went away and couldn’t help but smile. After a thousand years, the last Element of Harmony returned and she couldn’t have been happier. AUTHOR'S NOTE Well everypony, the story is coming to an end now and it's time to wrap up everything. Before I do that though, I want to ask you all something. I've been thinking of how to end the story and what will become of Spike. I don't know whether to keep him as a pony or he should return to being a dragon. Each ending sounds pretty good, but I want to know what would be better to you, the reader. So what shall it be? Should Spike remain a pony through the use of magic, or stay as a dragon? Or should it be solely up to me? Please let me know in the comments. Thanks!