Spike woke up to sounds of ponies shouting and screams of panic.
He quickly got dressed and armed himself.
Then he peered out into the hallway.
He saw a earth pony and unicorn run past him.
"Run away! That thing is going to kill us!" The unicorn shouted as he ran past Spike.
Spike stepped out into the hallway and decided to see who or what was causing all this panic and chaos.
What he saw both surprised and terrified him.
He saw a tall dragon that was clad in armor, it was carrying a long sword and seemed to be unbelievably fast.
It cut down fellow classmates in front of him like butter, swiftly moving from one victim to another.
As Spike ran down the hallways to the main entrance, he turned around once to get a good look at this beast that was going on a rampage through the academy.
What he saw then made his blood run cold.
He recognized the purple skin as the light shone upon it.
And the thick green scales that ran down it's back.
The sharp claws and the sharp looking snout.
It looked like him.
"Where are you going whelp? I thought we were just starting to have fun!" The dragon said in a crazed tone as he turned a corner.
Then the dragon laughed.
That sounded a awful lot like Spike's laugh.
Spike still denied it though, he couldn't accept that this... this monster was him.
I gotta find Sunset and Gummy. Spike thought as he went outside.
Spike ran to the female living quarters.
"SUNSET!" Spike yelled out.
"What's going on?!!" Sunset said as she ran out to Spike.
"We gotta find Gummy and get outta here! There's some crazy dragon on a rampage!" Spike explained.
"Ok, let me get my things." Sunset said as she hurried back to her room.
A few minutes later Sunset appeared fully dressed and ready.
"Let's go." Sunset said as she and Spike ran out to find Gummy.
"Gummy!" Spike yelled out.
"Gummy, where are you?!" Spike said loudly.
Suddenly a roar was heard and the dragon appeared sprinting at them.
The dragon sprinted towards them and raised it's claws ready to strike.
Spike glared at it.
Trying to put up a brave front in the face of utter demise when suddenly the dragon stopped.
Spike and Sunset looked confused.
They heard slashing noises coming from behind the dragon.
It growled and turned slashing at their rescuer.
"Go away you foul beast!" Gummy said as he dodged the slashing claws and hacked at the dragon with his sword.
Gummy ran towards Spike and Sunset.
"Run!" He shouted as Spike and Sunset.
All three of them ran away from the dragon.
As Spike was running away, he turned back one last time.
He saw Princess Celestia blasting the beast with her magic.
"Princess! Run! It'll kill you!" Spike shouted.
"Do you fear Spike. I will save others after I am done dealing with this thing!" The princess said as she continued to fight the dragon.
"No!" Spike said as he tried to run back.
"SPIKE NO!" Sunset screamed as she saw Spike trying to run back to help Celestia.
Luckily Gummy grabbed Spike and kept running.
"No dude! Let me go! I gotta help the princess!" Spike said angrily.
"It's too late to help her Spike! Save yourself!"
"But-"
"You don't want to add to the body count! Do you?!" Gummy questioned, looking at Spike.
"No..." Spike said defeated as Gummy let him go.
Spike started running again, a sad look on his face.
Eventually they made it up the hill that overlooked the academy.
They took a couple minutes to catch their breath.
"So, what do we do now?" Sunset asked.
"I dunno, Gummy you got any ideas?" Spike said looking towards Gummy.
"We wait. Then we will know if there are any survivors." Gummy said, surveying the damage.
Suddenly a flash of light appeared before them.
The smoke cleared and a bruised Celestia stood before them.
"Celestia!" The gang cried out.
"Hello my students." Celestia said.
"Were you able to save anypony else?" Spike asked.
"Yes, Spike. I've teleported them to the nearest hospital."
Spike and Sunset let out a sigh of relief.
"So princess... what do we do now?" Gummy asked.
"I want all of you to travel around Equestria."
"Gather up enough allies to help rebuild the academy and stop any new threats to Equestria."
"What about the dragon?" Sunset asked.
"I defeated it and took it to Tartarus."
"Can I count on the three of you for this important task?" Celestia asked the gang.
"No problem!" Spike and Sunset said excited.
"Consider it done." Gummy said.
"Wait, what about Twilight?" Spike asked worried.
"Is she ok?"
"I didn't find a body so I assume she is safe."
Spike then smiled.
"I'm glad she made it out."
"So princess where should we go first?" Spike asked.
"I'll teleport you all back to Ponyville."
"After you have gathered your belongings, meet up at the train for the badlands."
"Good luck my little warriors."
Celestia then teleported the trio back to Ponyville.
Spike ran to the Golden Oak Library.
"Twilight! Are you here!" Spike asked worried.
"Spike! is that you?" A somewhat weak voice answered.
"Oh no Twilight!" Spike said as he ran over to Twilight.
Twilight then collapsed to the ground.
"NO!" Spike said as he ran over to her sobbing.
Spike then calmed down enough after a few minutes and checked her pulse.
"Oh good, she's still breathing." Spike thought as he felt for a pulse.
He carried her upstairs and put her on her bed.
Then he went to his room and looked at his belongings, deciding on what to take.
"Flashlight?"
"No."
"Book?"
"No."
"I'll take the map of Equestria."
Spike said as he rolled up a small sized map of Equestria.
He also took his half full coin purse.
Spike filled it with a couple more bits.
He decided that he would take a lantern too.
Spike put it in his travel sack.
He then carried that and headed out the door.
Be safe Twilight Spike thought as he headed towards the train station.
Spike made his way to the train station and brought his ticket.
He stood at the train platform waiting for Sunset and Gummy to arrive.
Sunset came a few minutes later.
She wore a simple hat and carried a pouch with her.
"Hi Sunset. Got everything you need?" Spike asked smiling.
"Hey Spike, yeah I've got everything. I'm just so excited! We get to travel around Equestria!" Sunset said as she tried not to squee.
*Squee*
"What was that?" Spike asked with a confused look on his face.
"N-nothing." Sunset said with a nervous smile.
Spike just looked at her once more and shrugged.
Then Gummy appeared.
"Hello fellow travelers." Gummy said in a neutral tone.
"Gummy! Glad you made it dude! You got everything you need?" Spike asked happily.
"Yes Spike, I am prepared for the journey ahead." Gummy said still not showing much emotion.
"Awesome man! I'm so excited! What about you?" Spike asked enthusiastically.
"Yes, I am rather excited as well. So much uncharted territory in Equestria. Oh what adventures we will go on." Gummy said trying to sound excited, but still coming off a little dry.
"You're getting there buddy, we'll make you emote more eventually." Spike said with a even bigger smile than before.
"Our train approaches." Gummy said as he prepared to get on.
Spike and Sunset got ready too.
They found some available seats.
Gummy sit across from Spike and Sunset.
"So, are there any restaurants in the Badlands?" Sunset asked, more hungry than curious.
"Let's see..." Spike said as he pulled out the map.