The Sun, shining warm. The moon and its cool glow. The heavenly bodies are side by side as they did when the Everfree Forest made its march on Ponyville. Half the sky is blanketed in the golden light of a rising morning. Its other battles against its celestial brother with violet bathed in stars.
A dragon soars among the special forms, its leathery wings cast a shadow over Ponyville. Emerald eyes gaze upon the down, scouring carefully. Buildings sit quietly, lights doused. Not a pony can be seen. Nor are there any creatures like the birds or insects. It is as if natural forces have compelled them to flee. The town is utterly abandoned.
Leathery wings block out both the sun and the moon, casting a huge shadow that swallows the town. The great beast folds the wings against his own body, and falls from the heavens. He descends like a meteorite, and like a cosmic rock, he smashes into the ground with such force that a crater dimples the land just outside of the town. Fire spews forth, igniting nearby trees. Flames consume until there is nothing more than blackened husks. Once the embers smolder out, the Eclipse Dragon climbs out of the crevice. His violet scales glisten, dancing with stardust.
Meeting him at the edge of town is an alicorn whose flowing mane is also touched by the stars. Her wings are touched with multiple colors in the form of speckled crystals. Upon her head is an old crown that holds a brilliant star-shaped crystal. The gem has is drained of color, left in a grayish hue.
“Is that you, Twilight?” Spike squints, as if he hopes it will change the image of the pony standing in front of him.
“It is, Spike,” she answers in a regal tone.
“You are looking even more like Celestia,” he feigns a smile. “You must be so happy to have this strength.”
“Not in the least,” she lowers her head.
“Oh?” he cocks his head.
“I have never felt like this before,” she keeps her eyes focused on her hooves. “It is like I could raze Equestria to the ground with one hoof, and then rebuild it with the other. This feeling, I is overwhelming.”
“This kind of strength is nothing more than a burden.”
“It,” her eyes swivel as her thoughts race, “It almost sounds like you don’t want this power either.”
“I don’t,” he answers. “You are right to feel the way you are. This power, this god-like feeling, it is not something I particularly enjoy.”
“Then please, return the magic to Celestia and Luna…”
“It is not theirs!” Spike roars, the force of which causes the ground to quake. Twilight Sparkle becomes guarded, but then sees the dragon take a deep, calming breath, “You must believe me, Twilight, this burden is a lineage that belongs only to me.”
“You said that before, but never explained yourself,” The Empress of Friendship speaks calmly. “How does alicorn magic belong to you?”
“That is because it is not alicorn magic,” he answers sharply, his eyes flare with golden fire. “When you fought against Tirek, you must have realized how different the princesses’ magic was to yours.”
“Well,” Twilight shies away, “I will admit it felt strange.”
“It felt vicious, consuming,” Spike remarks, fanning his wings. “Like it would burn your very soul.”
She says nothing.
“Dragon magic is quite ferocious,” he answers, “Only a beast as equally terrifying would be capable of handling this magic. No pony can wield its destructive power to its fullest.”
The empress lifts her head, “You, you’re right.”
“You’ve had this magic too, and yet the power I have now eclipses anything you could muster.”
“Then this magic,” she pauses. “It is yours.”
Spike smiles.
“But how did Princess Celestia and Princess Luna come to have it?’
The smile fades, “They betrayed the trust of my father. When the previous Eclipse Dragon gifted his great power to the sisters, it was his hope to pass it back to me. Celestia and Luna sought to keep the magic for themselves, robbing me of my birthright. In fact, I doubt I would have ever been hatched, if not for you.”
“This,” Twilight shakes her head, “Then this is all wrong. I shouldn’t be fighting you, Spike. I never wanted to, it just didn’t feel right. We can put a stop to this. Celestia will have to admit that she made a mistake.”
Twilight turns her back on the dragon, but as she opens her wings he calls out to her, “Twilight, no.”
She stops and looks, “What? But why?”
“I have given a lot of thought about my actions. If I were to pull the veil off of the ponies, they would never trust the princesses again, including you. I am afraid that showing them a harsh truth would utterly destroy Equestria.”
Spike glances at the town behind the empress, giving a sorrowful smile.
“And while my kind lie beyond these borders, Equestria has always been my home. I do not wish to see it destroyed.”
“Then put a stop to a fighting,” she pleads.
“Sadly, that will not put an end to this,” Spike bawls his claws into fists, “Not as long as Celestia and Luna wrongfully attempt to claim this power for their own.”
“Then what will?”
“I will continue the role as villain,” he glowers. “Twilight Sparkle, in any scenario, my existence poses a threat to Ponyville, to your friends, to all of Equestria.”
“Spike,” Twilight looks disheartened, as tears well in her eyes.
The Eclipse Dragon puts on a brave face, overshadowing his sad smile, “Empress, I will not stop until I see Celestia and Luna pay for their wrongdoings. I made my promise. Three days has passed. I will continue my rampage until Equestria is a smoldering pile!”
“Then,” she closes her eyes, tears streaming down her cheeks, “Then I will stop you. Eclipse Dragon, I will put an end to this madness once and for all.”
A smile crosses his scaly jaw. The Eclipse Dragon suddenly curls himself up, wrapping his own wings about his body. Starlight flutters across his body, growing blindingly bright. Then, darkness swallows his body, filling the air around him and expanding toward the mixed heavens. The blackness takes grows bigger, casting its shadow over Twilight and the rest of Ponyville. Empress Twilight opens her wings, allowing for the quickening winds to carry her back.
Safely away, she watches as an arm sprouts from the billowing black. Then another. Wings burst from the back. The scales become clouded with stars, as if a galaxy was born. Towering over Ponyville appears a giant dragon. Its eyes open with a glowing violet. Wisps of purple spew from the sockets. Jagged lines tear across its face until a mouth snaps open. The titanic Eclipse Dragon reigns back its head, opening its maw. Empress Twilight Sparkle watches as the sun and moonlight seems to seep away from the rest of Equestria, funneling into the back of Spike’s throat.
Stomping her hoof into the dirt, magical lines become etched around her in the shape of her six-pointed star. Stone pillars break free of the soil, forming at the points. Each is colored like the former Elements of Harmony, with her friend’s cutie marks etched into the rock. The stone-gray jewel on her crown is brought alive again in a vibrant of colors.
The growing collection of solar and lunar light finally stops when Spike bites down upon the stream. Digging his claws into the ground, he wretches his head forward, and opens. A stream of heavenly fire bursts from the maw, dancing in black and white magic. It is met with a rainbow of colors as a beam shoots out of Twilight’s horn. The magic collides, causing Equestria itself to quake in the might of these two gods.
In that brief moment, the spells consume one another. The magical force explodes outwards, swallowing up the empress and the beast as well as the rest of the town. Smoke and debris scatters about, as a billowing cloud strikes at the sky. Ponies for miles around can witness the climbing smog as it forms the head of a mushroom.
In that dirt and destruction, the town of Ponyville is completely levelled. Buildings are turned to rubble, with barely remnants of structures left. There is nothing living in sight. No pony. No dragon.
But then, rocks begin to shake, as one rises from the doom. They stand victorious.