The ponies of Equestria and the dragons of The Dragon Lands are waging war with one another. The battles are long and brutal with the Equestrians being on the losing side. When the officials gathered together, they figured out a possible solution to their problem. They lacked knowledge of the dragons and seeing as to how no dragon was willing to tell them how they worked, Equestria decided to take the knowledge by force. Join Test Subject SP-1K3, formally known as Test Subject D-1043, and other dragon test subjects as they try to escape their lives as lab rats.

Twilight Sparkle and Spike save a dragon girl from a savage attack, and the girl is grateful, but her gratitude turns to suspicion and bitterness when she gets a glimpse of how dragons are treated within Ponyville. This sets off a long journey of challenge and discovery for Spike, and all of his Ponyville friends, that could change the fate of two nations forever.

Edited by CarcinoGeneticist

What Spike saw in the doorway of King Sombra's crystal palace hasn't left his mind. The fear of Twilight abandoning him haunts him through recurrent nightmares. Anxiety taunts him when he's at his most vulnerable, reminding him of all his failures, all his inadequacies, all his wounds.

One night, this fear and anxiety manifests itself in a full-blown nightmare, dragging Spike face-to-face with his greatest fear. What if Twilight never needed Spike in the first place?

Takes place right after the Season Three opener (before Episode Three).

Thanks to RGLloyd for editing.

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Rated Teen for some dark elements.

Spike is separated from his friends when he falls through a hole created during an earthquake. Deep beneath the earth, he finds a forest teeming with life, both breathtakingly beautiful and breathtakingly lethal. Unfortunately, many of its inhabitants would like to make a meal of him. Now, Spike has to find a way to contact his friends while avoiding monster bugs. Somehow, he must survive and not succumb to his baser instincts.