Spike’s jaw went limp as he looked upon Lord Sandro’s face. His entire body was paralyzed with shock and disbelief from the stallion standing right in front of him. He wanted to say something, but could only speak in gibberish. The purple pegasus wanted to think this was all some sort of joke, but he knew deep down it was the truth. He didn’t want to believe it, but it was him of all ponies.
He managed to get some words out. “It…it can’t be.” Spike said in a small voice. “It just can’t be you. How can you be Lord Sandro?”
“It’s all very simple actually.” The once hooded stallion said sinisterly. “You just need to wear a mask over yourself to fool your enemies. My position in Equestria and my deceitful tactics ensured that nopony would ever look at me twice and think I was doing anything wrong.”
Lord Sandro stepped out of the shadows and his face was illuminated in the moonlight. “After all, who would look at a pony such as me and think I was the one?”
Spike looked up to see it was all true. The pony standing above him gave a sinister smile as he chuckled. His shock quickly turned to anger as he desperately tried to move. He feebly grabbed on to the hooded pony’s robe, but he kicked him away. He gave a cold laugh as he approached Spike. He looked up again to get one last clear look at the pony in front of him.
It was Prince Blueblood.
He couldn’t believe that the pony that ruined Rarity was now standing next to him. The pony he wanted to give a piece of his mind to. He was standing right above him and could barely move his body. Spike wanted to grab him and beat him for what he did, but his wounds crippled his body. He tried to think of something to do, but there were too many ponies and he could barely move to do anything.
“Why…why you of all ponies?” Spike asked. “There’s no way a prissy jerk like you should be Lord Sandro.”
Blueblood kicked “Sparky” again in anger. “First of all, you will not insult me like that. Secondly, I just needed to fool everypony into thinking I was the prince of Equestria. It’s so simple when you are born so handsome like and have such charm on everypony.”
“It doesn’t make sense though.” Spike argued. “Princess Celestia would’ve found out about you and stop you.”
The white unicorn laughed and shook his head. “Oh, don’t you understand anything at all? Why would that aged white simpleton look at me, her very own nephew, and think I was evil?”
“Because you’re the prince of Equestria! You’re also the prince of being a real pain in the flank.”
Prince Blueblood held back another kick and growled in anger. “If you’re going to keep asking that same thing constantly, then I guess you do deserve an explanation. Besides, it’s not like you’re some kind of threat to me now with your injuries. However, I can’t really have you just being left on the floor. Why don’t you rest on that spare bed next to your yellow pegasus friend?”
Spike was lifted off the ground and was levitated towards the stone slab near Fluttershy. He was placed on his back and had his legs extended. Prince Blueblood’s horn glowed and encased “Sparky’s” hooves with black energy restraints. Spike tried to use what energy he had left to move his hooves, but the restraints were too tight on him. He saw a shadow loom over him and looked to see Prince Blueblood giving a wicked smile at him.
“What do you want to know?” The white unicorn asked. “How I managed to fool the princesses in their own castle? How I managed to mask myself for so long?”
Spike looked up and narrowed his eyes. “I want the whole thing about your plan.” He spat. “How did you do all this?”
Blueblood smirked and said, “Very well then. We have some time to go down memory lane.”
‘He stills acts so ego…ego…uh stuck up as Lord Sandro.’ Spike thought to himself.
“It all started twenty years ago in the Everfree Forest.” Prince Blueblood said. “The Disciples of Nightmare Moon had set up a town called Nocturnal deep in the forest. Living in that town was truly a nightmare for many. There was always some creature that threatened us and we had to fight to survive. I remember hearing someponies asking how that town was around for well over a thousand years. We were all taught that by sheer power and brute force, we would live to see another day.”
“I was the son of two members of the previous lord’s inner circle, Lord Gavin. I was like every other unicorn when they reached the age of three; we underwent rigorous training for the disciples’ army. Day in and day out, I studied dark magic and had to duel other students who were training as hard as me. We were taught how to survive in a hostile environment such as ours. We learned spells that were beyond what Princess Celestia’s students learned. We even learned melee combat to preserve some magic aura.”
“As a foal, I amazed my teachers and caught the attention of the inner circle itself. My skills exceeded the expectations of the other students. I learned complex dark spells that as usually reserved for only older trainees. My fighting skills resulted in every student being defeated by my own hoof. I even took command of the group I was with in survival training and didn’t lose any members to the creatures of the forest.”
“What truly made me stand out though was an act that made me a hero to the town. A manticore had attacked the town and injured many of the guards. It caught sight of me and was charging to attack me. Instead of running away, I used my magic to levitate the beast by its neck. I did more than that though, I used the grip on him to slowly tear his head off and presented it as a trophy to my instructors. They were so impressed with my actions, that Lord Gavin himself chose me as his next apprentice and successor to the throne.”
“From there, I learned more complex spells and how to be a leader for the disciples. Lord Gavin even taught me three techniques that would help become what I am today. I learned how to keep my power at a low level, so I wouldn’t attract any unwanted attention. I was then taught how to manipulate and use ponies to my will. The last thing was learning how to mask my presence by taking on the identity of another pony and even acting like some other pony. It really came in handy when it came to dealing with that insufferable Celestia and those Canterlot snobs.”
“Isn’t that right you foal?” Blueblood asked in his haughty Canterlot accent.
“What’s your point to this?” Spike asked.
“The point is this Sparky.” Blueblood said without his accent. “I was able to learn the necessities needed to begin my plan.”
“What do you mean?”
“Four years had passed since I became Lord Gavin’s apprentice. I was summoned by him one night to inform me of my mission. He had a vision about the Elements of Harmony returning and the return of Nightmare Moon. He told me that it was time to set what he called his ‘final plan’ into place. He wanted me to go to Canterlot and infiltrate the castle to find them and destroy them. He knew if Nightmare Moon was returning, then the elements would return to destroy her for good.”
“I decided to use my disguise skills to make myself look like an orphan on the streets. Lord Gavin also informed me that there would be a contact in the city so I could relay my information to him. He told me that he would know where I was and not worry about looking for him. I was able to use what information was gathered from spies to sound like one of those Canterlot ponies. I was also tasked to know everything about the castle, so that when the disciples came, they would know the secret passageways to use. I soon left for Canterlot and began my lord’s mission.”
“Thanks to a few maps of the forest, I made my way from the darkness of the Everfree Forest and into Canterlot itself. As I reached the castle itself, I pretended to be a beggar to the guards and asked to see the princess herself for help since my parents died. I caught a lucky break as Princess Celestia herself was approaching from a speech in the town square. She noticed me at the gates and I told her that I was in pain. She took pity on me and decided to take me in herself.”
“When she asked about my family, I told her that my family was dead and that I’ve been scrounging the streets for most of my life. I put on quite a performance for her and managed to convince her to take me in. She didn’t take me in just for pity, but she said she was lonely that she had no other family member since her sister was banished and needed a companion. I used my mother’s maiden name, Blueblood, as a new name for myself and to cover my identity. As such, I became the ‘son’ of Princess Celestia, but she decided to instead name me her nephew. I decided to make myself the opposite of what I really am. Instead of a dark and brooding commanding figure such as myself, I made others see that I was some chivalrous and well mannered prince.”
‘As if his ego wasn’t already big enough.’ Spike thought to himself as he rolled his eyes.
“As I started to learn from Princess Celestia, I used my free time to search the castle for the Elements of Harmony. It seemed though no matter where I looked, the elements were nowhere to be found. I spent weeks navigating and learning my way around every crook and cranny in the castle. It soon reached the point that I asked Princess Celestia herself about where the Elements of Harmony were. To my surprise, she told me that they have been inactive for the last thousand years and were no longer needed, but she never told me where they were.”
“I soon became frustrated and confused about my mission. I figured my best way to tell Lord Gavin about my findings was to locate the contact he told me about, but I never knew where he was. However, it seemed the fates smiled upon me that day as I was walking in the garden to find any secret passageways in there. I was approached by a pony and saw him present the symbol of the Disciples of Nightmare Moon. I knew that it had to be the contact Lord Gavin was talking about. He told me that he was posing as a messenger in Canterlot and wanted to know about what was going on. I informed him about the information I learned and that the elements were not only nowhere in sight, but inactive as well.”
“That next day, I received by a letter from the contact himself and was told it was Lord Gavin himself. The letter stated it had some troubling news about my mission. He said that he had another vision of the future not only about Nightmare Moon’s return, but for some reason it was about the fall of the Disciples of Nightmare Moon as well. He said that he knew that in a couple of years, the stars would our queen escape from her imprisonment, so he changed my mission plan. I was now ordered to stay at my post as a prince to Equestria and that when the time came, he would contact me again.”
“Thirteen years later, I made everypony believe I was Prince Blueblood, one of the rulers of the land and was quite popular with my looks.” Blueblood noticed “Sparky” giving a look of disgust, but ignored it. “On the night before the Summer Sun Celebration, I was received my final command from Lord Gavin. He told me that about how he was going to finally get Princess Celestia to leave us alone.”
“How so?” Spike asked.
“He was going to send a large army to the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. The plan was to fool Princess Celestia into thinking that every member of the disciples would go there to meet with our queen. However, Captain Sanderson along with three hundred trained ponies would meet with me secretly on the outskirts of Canterlot. I was also given command of the disciples and informed of something that had been kept a secret for well over a thousand years.”
Spike’s eyes widened and said, “You…you don’t mean…?”
“That’s right Sparky.” Blueblood said. “A group of scouts was hunting for food one day. One of them fell down a hole and died, but the others found an underground library that we believe was part of Princess Celestia’s private archives. In it, we discovered some tablets and managed to get one of the first of many translators to translate them. Before he ‘left us’ with his griffon marefriend, he translated it to discover something about another Element of Harmony as well as some other spells. As such, Lord Gavin began for the search of this seventh element, but he had a vague idea where it was.”
“He believed that there was only one place that the seventh element could be hidden, in the old castle of the royal pony sisters. The problem however was that he sent a scout out to find them, but when he did find them, they were nothing but stone spheres and there were only six. Lord Gavin instructed me to find any fragments of Nightmare Moon’s spirit should she be destroyed. If she was going to be destroyed, then there should at least be a part of her spirit left. He also instructed me that when the royal guards moved out, I use my men to build a base at the castle and start looking for the seventh element. He believed that it had to be underground in some sort of vault and to start an archeological dig there.”
“On the day of the Summer Sun Celebration, I stayed in Canterlot Castle and waited for some kind of signal about what to do next. Throughout the extended night, I looked around pondered about what to do now that Lord Gavin was most likely dead along with his army. It wasn’t until an hour after the sun had risen that I was visited by Captain Sanderson. He had snuck into the castle and informed me that the remaining army was currently awaiting the remainder of Princess Celestia’s army to leave the forest. He wanted me to come meet the guards and get them settled into our new base. Since the princess was celebrating the end of Nightmare Moon, I convinced the guards that I was going to join her as well.”
“I met the guards near the ruins of the old castle in the Everfree Forest and assured them that our time would soon come to take down Princess Celestia. I wasted no time in getting the men to work on reconstructing the castle like this and to get started on the archeological dig underground. For a few weeks, I snuck out of the castle and oversaw the fortification of our castle and the dig sites that were going on. We started to trick those who knew Ancient Equestrian into thinking they were being offered a new job to help themselves. Even though I had to use ‘The Decapitator’ on a few of them when they discovered the truth, we were able to find out something through the use of a series of star maps that were translated. One event in those star maps really caught our attention. In fact, that event is going to occur tonight.”
“What do you mean?” Spike asked.
“I’ll get to that in a minute Sparky.” Blueblood said. “This event needed to occur at a specific time and it would require all the Elements of Harmony, including yours. I started to place spies in Canterlot Castle and study the mechanics of that door that held the Elements of Harmony. I planned for the spies to be guard the vault where the elements were kept. I then used my magic to bypass the lock and retrieve the elements without the princesses knowing.”
“A few nights before we captured the Elements of Harmony, I sent out Captain Sanderson and Private Jordan to scout Ponyville to assure you all were there. I figured if that’s where one of the bearers were, then the rest would be there as well. From there, I slowly began to trap you all with those ‘royal guards’ your friends encountered and took them away. It may’ve cost Jordan and Sanderson their lives, but it was worth it. I was more surprise that I was able to find the holder of the seventh element. I guess fate played a hoof in letting this all happen.”
“So what is this plan anyway?” Spike asked.
“There is a spell that will ultimately bring the end of Princess Celestia.” Blueblood said. “It’s a spell that can resurrect a dead spirit and allows it live in a host body. Princess Celestia banned this many years ago due to its dark magic and necromantic ties. Despite it being banned though, Lord Gavin managed to find the spell in the vault near Nocturnal. The records kept for this spell showed that it was used only twice. It seems whoever used it last caused the spirit possessed body to destroy a town before it was taken down.”
“So why the Elements of Harmony?” Spike asked. “If you needed all seven, then what would you’ve done if you never found it in the first place? What if I wasn’t the one?”
“Still your tongue and let me finish.” Blueblood said in a threatening tone. “The spell here called for six Elements of Harmony to be used. They would use the dark powers in the elements to help call the spirit and resurrect it. The reason the seventh one would be needed is that this spell from what I’ve read can really cause one of the bearers to be sapped of all their life force and be die. The seventh wielder however would act as a bit of ‘insurance’ to allow the ritual to go on without causing a rift in power and cause the sacrificed pony to die. That’s why the first attempt was a failure.”
“There’s no way Twilight and the others are going to use their elements to help you!” Spike shouted. “They’d never do something like that!”
“They have no choice in this matter. I am using one of my spells to feed on their fear and anger. The longer they stay in that state, the more corrupted their elements will become. In fact, I think the spell is starting to work now. Look at their elements.”
Spike looked around to see each of the elements. He noticed that in the moonlight, the gold holding the elements were turning silver and the colors of each element were turning pitch black. The purple pegasus looked at his element to see it was still in stone. An idea suddenly clicked inside his head.
“There’s nothing you can do to me Blueblood. My element is still in stone, so you can’t use it against me.”
“So it would seem…if that was the case.” The white stallion said as he smirked. “I don’t plan for you to use your element to try to defeat me. What I will do is that I’ll use the same spell on these other ponies to fill your mind with all your fears and hatred. Soon, your element will reform, but into its corrupted state. It’s then just a matter of doing the chant at midnight to bring back the spirit of Nightmare Moon. She’ll soon have a new host body to use and reign over Equestria.”
“How can you all resurrect her spirit? She was destroyed by the elements.”
“This is how we’ll do so.” Blueblood held out a broken blue helmet with a hole in the center for unicorns. “This helmet survived the rainbow blast that destroyed our queen. Her spirit lingers on in this very helmet and will be used to help bring her back.”
Spike looked at Rarity in the middle of the others and a dark thought hit him. “Who is this host anyway?”
“That would be the generous Rarity here.” Blueblood said with bitterness in his voice. “She really is the Element of Generosity if she’ll give up her body for Nightmare Moon.”
“No! You can’t do this to her!” Spike yelled as he struggled to break free. “Why her of all ponies!?”
“As I have told you Sparky, I was quite popular as Prince Blueblood. Mares from all over the land came to see me and would do anything to be with me. I was what they called a Prince Charming to them. However, I knew if I was going to use the resurrection spell, then I’d need a powerful enough unicorn mare to be the sacrifice. It wasn’t until that fateful night at the Grand Galloping Gala that I saw her.”
“You mean Rarity?”
“Correct, I saw Rarity on the night of the Gala and she looked at me with a love struck expression. I knew then and there that I had found my mare to be the host of Nightmare Moon. It was even better that she was an Element of Harmony herself. I figured that she couldn’t resist my act and how charming I looked to her. It seems though I got a little too confident with my actions.”
“At the end of the gala, Rarity barked at me for being one of the rudest ponies ever. I was taken aback by how she managed to resist my charm and wit. I have a special talent in leading others and having them follow my orders. She alone is the only pony to have ever resisted me and my charisma. I really couldn’t believe that a damn commoner scum like her was able to act that way to me. It took all my restraint to not lash out and burn her right then and there.”
“Despite all that though, I received a report from Captain Sanderson later that made me smile. The event known as Lunar Cosmos was next week.”
“Lunar Cosmos?”
“It’s the event that I have been telling you about Sparky. I knew it was time to accelerate my plans so I just needed to see if I could take Rarity away. I saw Princess Celestia go off towards that doughnut shop and I followed her secretly. I saw that Rarity and her so called friends were laughing and having a good time. She even went on to insult me more and this little dragon said he wanted to beat me up for what I did. It’ll be a dark day for that pest when I find him and skin his scales off his body. He’ll know true suffering along with all of Equestria.”
Spike couldn’t help but tremble in fear. He could see Blueblood’s eyes narrowing and his teeth gritted at the mention of him.
“So that’s when it all started to come together until this point.” The white stallion said. “I planned this whole thing out and now we’re one step away from bringing back the queen. I fooled those Canterlot nobles, Princess Luna, and best of all, Princess Celestia. All of them never knew and now it’s too late. Princess Celestia’s sun has set for the final time and it’s time for us to take our rightful place as the leaders.”
Blueblood looked up at the ceiling and used his magic to open a hole in it. The ceiling rumbled as a large hole opened up and moonlight started to pour into the room. Spike looked up to see the moon and was starting to glow brighter than usual.
“We’ve wasted enough time down memory lane though.” He said. “It’s time to finally bring an end to that bothersome white alicorn and bring her down along with her kingdom.” Blueblood turned to Spike. “It’s time you played your part in bringing back Nightmare Moon. Don’t worry, when I’m through with the other elements, you all can serve me and Nightmare Moon as our loyal Elements of Darkness.”
“No way will I or any of us will serve you!” Spike barked. “You’re going to pay for what you did to all of them and for hurting Rarity at the gala! She didn’t deserve somepony who uses her as a shield from a cake!”
Bluelbood raised an eyebrow upon hearing that last statement. “How do you know about what happened at the gala? I never saw your face at that event.”
Spike’s eyes widened in fear. “Uh…I…um was away at the time. She told me about it later.” He grinned sheepishly.
The white stallion’s eyes narrowed. “You lying little pony.” He said in a threatening tone. “Private Jordan told me that you were being welcomed to Ponyville. He stated that you didn’t know any of them. How can you know something like that? Only one of her…friends…would…know…”
Blueblood stopped speaking for a minute to think. He gritted his teeth as he started to piece something together and looked besides himself. He looked back at Spike who had a terrified expression on his face.
“What’s…your…name?” He asked with anger in his voice.
“M-my name is S-Sparky.” The purple pegasus responded with fear in his voice.
“LIAR!” Blueblood boomed. “There’s no way in Tartarus you could’ve been told! You couldn’t have been told about that and you couldn’t have known what I did to her! Now tell me again! What’s your name!?”
Spike was shaking violently at this point and tried to keep his cool. He could feel Blueblood’s glare penetrate him and sent shivers down his spine. The next thing Spike knew, he felt Blueblood place his horn on his head.
“Let’s see who you really are Sparky.” He said. “This memory reader spell can tell whether you’re telling the truth or not.”
Before Spike could protest, Blueblood’s horn glowed and felt thousands of images flood his sight. He could see the first time he tried to help Twilight carry a book in the Canterlot Library. Then, there was an image of him meeting Twilight’s family for the first time. The images soon turned transitioned from Canterlot to when he first arrived in Ponyville. There was a memory of him first meeting all of Twilight’s friends. Then to Spike’s horror, the memory of the night after the Grand Galloping Gala came up. He could see him and Twilight talking about something and prayed it wasn’t what he feared it would be.
“If I ever saw that Prince Blueblood, I’d give him a piece of my mind!” Spike shouted. “That uptight snob needs a firm slap in the face! Let me go find him right now and show him a thing or two!”
“Spike!” Twilight scolded. She used her magic to lift the dragon into the air. “Let it go Spike. The princess has told me that she’ll take care of Prince Blueblood for what he did to Rarity. Do you know what would happen if you did anything to him? You’d be banished! Maybe even put in a dungeon! Probably even banish and…"
“Okay Twilight, I get it! Now can you let me down?”
Twilight released the aura surrounding Spike and placed him down on a seat.
“Spike, I know you’re upset by what Prince Blueblood did to Rarity, but you can’t just act that way. Let’s just forget about him and have a good time.”
Spike crossed his arms and scowled. “Alright Twilight, but if that snobbish jerk comes here, I’m giving him everything I’ve got!”
The memory faded away as well as the flow of images in Spike’s head. He could feel a bucket of ice drop in his stomach and looked at Blueblood. He could see the white stallion had a furious look on him that made Fluttershy’s “stare” look tame in comparison. Spike felt Blueblood’s hoof press against his head.
“You…you’re no pony at all.” The white stallion said coldly. “My greatest adversary and a year of searching have led me to a dragon of all creatures. How can a dragon, a little dragon such as you be the one?”
Spike tried to say something, but the furious look on Blueblood intimidated him and couldn’t speak a word.
Blueblood took a deep breath and glared at Spike. “If you really are an Element of Harmony, then you’ll serve your purpose. I’ll be doing the same thing that I did to your friends. You’ll experience your worst fears and nightmares. For this to work though, you need to be unconscious. I’ll save some of my magic and use a better alternative for the likes of you.”
Spike was about to ask what it was, but Blueblood stomped his hoof on his chest. The purple pegasus cried out in agony and cringed from the impact. He suddenly felt Blueblood punch him several times in the face. He then proceeded to punch him in the mouth a few times. The white stallion continued to hit Spike until he was bruised and was bleeding from his mouth and nose.
Spike was breathing very shallowly and could feel himself slipping into an unconscious state. He kept telling himself to stay awake and try to ride it out until midnight came and went. The purple peagasus’ efforts proved to be futile though as one last punch knocked him out and darkness encased him. The last thing he saw was Blueblood with a triumphant look on his face.
“Not bad for somepony who’s an uptight snob I would say.” The white stallion said.
Blueblood looked up at the sky and noticed the moon was getting closer to the center tablet where Rarity was. He then turned to seven black hooded unicorns who were bowing before him. The white stallion gestured to them to rise and face him.
“Time is running out, we must finish the ritual as soon as possible. I’ll get the spell working on Sparky or in this case, Spike. When he finally succumbs to the fear and hatred, his corrupted element will form and we’ll use it to help resurrect our queen. All of you are to get to your positions and prepare the chant.”
“It shall be done Lord Sandro.” The unicorn stallions said in unison.
The hooded stallions turned and went to stand behind Spike and the others. Blueblood turned towards Spike and his horn glowed a black aura.
“Let’s see what fears and hatred drive you Spike.” He said sinisterly.
Spike was flying through a wormhole. He could hear the screaming and yelling of various ponies as he flew faster down the tunnel. He could see at the end of the wormhole a pitch black hole waiting to swallow him. As he entered the hole, Spike heard somepony cackle manically.
The next thing Spike knew, he landed on a hard marble floor. He groaned as he slowly got up and looked around. The purple pegasus’ eyes widened as he looked upon the sight before him. He noticed the sky was black, but yet lightning flashed and thunder boomed. He was standing upon a familiar marble floor and looked up to see the stained glass of him was shattered and the altar was destroyed. The sounds of ponies shrieking in terror rang out in Spike’s ears and made him felt intimidated. He tried to find somewhere to go, but the only thing he saw in the distance were pieces of the altar floating in the air and a black pit below him.
He then looked at himself and noticed he was back to being a little dragon once again. He cursed in anger as he lost his ability to fly and now had no place to go. He sat on the floor and tried to think of something, but every possibility he came up with wouldn’t work.
“What do I do now?” Spike asked himself.
“Over here.” A voice whispered.
Spike looked around frantically. “Who’s there?”
The dragon heard hoofsteps close to him and looked to see something that made him jump a little. It was the same white hooded stallion he saw a few days ago.
“It’s you again.” Spike said. “What are you doing here anyway?”
“There is little time to answer questions Spike.” The stallion said. “You’re currently in your mind again, but this time it’s been corrupted by the spell used by Lord Sandro or Prince Blueblood as you call him. There is one way to actually wake up from this nightmare is to face your fears the things that terrify you the most. There are some certain fears you have to overcome.”
Spike was taken aback by this. “How will I know what to do then? I’m just a little dragon after all. I know I’m not strong and my fire breath can only stun somepony.”
“You’re stronger than you look Spike.” The voice said. “You’ve come all this way and made it through a lot of trials and tribulations, but yet you’re willing to give up here and now?”
“Hey it’s not that I’m giving up, it’s just that I can’t do anything at all. As a pony, I could use my wings and strength to win. Now I’m a tiny dragon, but I’ve barely got any muscles and no wings. How can I go against something or somepony who can squish me like a bug?”
“You don’t understand. Your strength wasn’t what truly defeated those who harmed you and your friends. It was your quick thinking and cunning skills that saved you.”
“I’m not following you.”
“Think about it Spike, you’ve done a lot to help overcome your adversaries. You used Captain Sanderson’s sensitive hearing to your advantage and managed to overcome him. What about in that apple field when you used the trees to commit a sneak attack that nearly defeated your attacker? Now you made it into the castle without being detected and you fought valiantly to not succumb to Lord Sandro’s spell. You’ve done so much and you can’t just admit defeat right here and now. You’ve got to fight not only for Equestria, but your friends and the one you love most.”
Spike raised his head upon hearing this. “Rarity.”
“Yes…I know you must’ve felt heartbroken by what happened, but you can’t just give up on her or any of your friends. They are now counting on you to save them and put an end to Lord Sandro’s plans for good. You may be just a dragon, but after everything you’ve done, you’re more than that. You’re a dragon who has the spirit of a hero and can defeat any obstacle that gets in his way. Fight for your friends Spike and fight for the one you love.”
Spike looked down for a few seconds and took the words in. He felt a surge of power run through his body and his fear melt away in his body. He looked back at the hooded pony with a determined look on him.
“You’re right…I can’t leave them all.” He said sounding confident. “I’ve always wanted to give Blueblood a piece of my mind and I will do so.”
The hooded stallion smiled and said, “Then it’s time to get started now.”
He turned around and used a the unicorn horn under his horn to glow. The pieces from the altar slowly came together and formed into a marble staircase. At the end of the staircase, a bright beacon of light formed.
The hooded stallion turned towards Spike. “Your finally journey awaits you. Go now and bring this all to an end. I will be watching you Spike.”
The dragon suddenly felt something he needed to ask. “Wait…before you go. Can you at least tell me who you are? I want to at least know that.”
The hooded stallion only gave a small smile. “Like I said, there is little time to answer questions. When this is all over, you’ll know the truth at last behind me. I promise you that much for all you’ve done.” All of a sudden, the stallion started to disappear slowly. “There is little time left, hurry Spike.” He said before vanishing completely.
Spike looked down and felt disappointed about not knowing who this stallion was. He quickly put those feelings aside as he slowly made his way up the steps and towards the beacon of light. He could hear the whispering of ponies slowly start to build up until he was standing right in front of the beacon of light.
“There is nothing for you to gain by doing this.” A demonic voice boomed. “You’re only delaying what is to come anyway. Turn back this instant, or suffering and pain will await for you.”
The voice let out a demonic cackle that shook Spike a little. The dragon shook his head and looked at the beacon of light. He could hear the whispers grow louder until he could hear some of them warn him to turn back. There were other voices mocking him for being a coward and laughing at him. Spike ignored the voices and took a deep breath. He stepped into the light and then with a flash, he was gone.