Days had passed, and while the royal twins and Professor Brain were busy preparing the complicated potion, which required several days to perfect, training continued for every single one involved in the upcoming battles.

One night, they all had adjourned to bed after a long day of training, but Spike and Rarity were still feeling a bit awkward towards each other since she saw and heard his song and ultimate confession of his feelings.

Spike even placed his basket a little further away from Rarity’s bed in their suite at the palace. “Um… goodnight.” he said not even looking at her.

“Oh… uh… pleasant dreams?” she stammered, but not looking at him, and they both went to bed, but lay with their backs facing each other’s back. It took a while for them both to fall asleep, and Rarity began to dream of memories of the past, of all the nice things Spike did for her and how he was always there, and other things too. “No… this can’t be.” she kept saying to herself “Is Spike really the one in my heart?”

There he was, standing in that area of space again, where the royal twins made their appearance. “What am I doing here again?” Spike wondered. “Hello? Is anyone out here?”

Then, he could hear a voice calling to him. “Spike… Spike…” followed by a mystical light shining. “That voice…” peeped Spike, and there before him stood the spirit of the original Dragon Knight.

“Thanks…” Spike said “But am I really seeing you, or is this all just a dream.”

“Both actually; I am only communicating through your dreams because I have something very important to tell you. Do listen closely.”

“As you know, in life I was a dragon of nobility, and when I saw that you were the same in heart and in spirit like me, I chose you to be the bearer of my powers, and I can see you have used them most wonderfully.”

“But there is something you must know-- how and why I donned the magic armor and became the warrior I was.”

The Knight explained how there was a time, long, long ago, when he was a very powerful dragon, very rare and unlike any other dragon-- A Majestic Dragon with a body that glowed like the stars, and possessing extraordinary powers. The problem was this power was very dangerous, and somewhat unstable; much like Lightning’s Enticorn powers. Even with his good intentions, the Majestic Dragon’s super powers ended up causing more disaster whenever it fought.

It was then the dragon decided to conjure up a special suit of magical armor to conceal his awesome powers deep within, and only unleash them when the timing was absolutely vital. That was how the Dragon Knight truly came to be.

Spike could hardly believe any of this, and almost forgot how to blink his eyes. “Such power…”

The Knight nodded “As I have stated, you have mastered and used my powers well, and I only tell you all this now because I feel the time will come when you shall require all you will need and more to face the toughest of adversaries.”

Spike stood tall and proud “You got it.” but then he felt a little awkward “Oh, but… how do I unlock this power?”

The Dragon Knight’s spirit began to glow brightly as he faded away. “I’m afraid my time here is near its end.”

“Look inside your heart.” Those were the final words hear before the dream scene completely faded away…

…and Spike woke up, in a soft wince to find he was still in his and Rarity’s suite. He could already tell that was no ordinary dream. “Look inside my heart…” he said softly, still unsure of what that meant.

In the future, Tnaig appealed to the Dark King his latest plot to wipe out the ponies. “Is this wise?”

“I believe so, sire.” said Tnaig “All our previous efforts have been tried and failed miserably and hopelessly, but perhaps the best way to wipe them out would be to fight them on our own grounds, and my removing them from their appropriated places in time—think of the incredible advantage we will have.”

The Dark King thought it over. “Very well, you may continue. However, you must not underestimate our enemies and their resourcefulness. All the others met with this misfortune, and it cost them dearly. I do not wish there to be anymore constant blunders, Tnaig.”

Tnaig grinned sinisterly “Fear not, my king…” he held up his cardinal. The last one! “This time there will be no mistakes.”

This was the day. The royal twins had announced that the potion would be ready by midafternoon. The time to head for the future was near!

Never had the heroes been so incredibly excited, and so incredibly afraid at the same time. As the royals twins had said, this would be a battle unlike any other.

Even the Grand Ruler and the Queen were freaked out by all this, especially Grand Ruler, knowing that the Dark King’s creation was because of him and his legions. Now he was as equally determined as the others, if not then more to put a stop to all this.

He and the queen trained a lot together. Princess Luna trained with them, as did Shining Armor and Cadance, but of course it was also decided that Luna and Shining Armor would have to stay behind when the time came to head for the future. There was no point in risking everyone, and the planet in the present would still need protectors if more attacks came.

Still, that didn’t mean training would halt. Nobody wanted to venture forth and be unprepared especially Lightning. He knew his Enticorn powers would be desperately needed after the images the twins had shown him, but there was still the problem and worry of him going berserk again. Still, it was widely believed all he had to do was control his anger and rage.

But still, Lightning tried and tried all he could, but he couldn’t seem to transform properly now. He tried for what had to be the hundredth time since training began. “Okay, stand back…” he told everyone, and he concentrated as hard as he could, without getting to mad. He began to glow brightly and brighter still. His body began to change slightly into his Enticorn form, but then it just faded out, and he collapsed to his knees.

“Lightning!” cried Starla as she dashed over to help him up. “Are you okay?”

“Ohh… I think I strained my head a bit.” groaned Lightning. “It’s no use. I just can’t get enough power going without my anger flowing.”

The others didn’t know what to say or do about this, but everyone was fresh out of ideas. Lightning even tried to consult the royal twins for a clue or anything that would help him, but sadly neither of them knew much about Lightning’s Enticorn powers either.

“Well, who knows… maybe we won’t really need them.” said Buddy Rose, but the others were never more unsure of anything in their lives, even he himself felt that was silly what he had just said.

Pinkie left up and down thrusting her fists in determination. “Just let me get my hands on him. I’ll give him a one-two, and three-four…!”

Artie was staring out the window at the world all around. The Spanish twins joined him, both feeling the same as he did. “It’s so calm and quiet out there.” said Artie.

“And to think, we’re about to leave it, and we might never see it again.” said Dyno.

“But if we don’t, it’ll probably all collapse anyway.” said Myte “We just can’t let that happen.”

The others couldn’t help but overhear them, and finally began to full absorb just how incredibly serious this would be. Fluttershy felt very nervous “What if some of us don’t make it back? What if we get destroyed?”

Rhymey comforted her, though he was just as scared himself, he had to think positively.

“As probable as it is, we cannot think that way.
We should all keep our faith, that’s what I say.”

Everyone agreed with him. Whatever came their way, they would be sure to fight with everything they had. The future, the present, everything was depending on them.

“No pressure, huh…?” Krysta joked. The others couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Either that or Spike’s still claiming to his story about what the Dragon Knight told him in his dreams.” added Rainbow. Spike had told them all earlier about his dream, and the whole Majestic Dragon stuff, and the others…

…They didn’t question it at all, and were already well behind Spike’s belief. After all, they had already made so many magical discoveries and unlocked many sort of strange and wonderful powers before; why would this be any different, and it did make some sense as to why there was no information on the Dragon Knight before he actually came to be within history.

Suddenly, they could see Spike, one level below in one of the solarium. They could see him through the glass roof, just sitting there, almost meditating.

Rarity was near there, taking a walk around the palace to clear her mind, still concerned about Spike, and also about the thought of leaving for the future soon.

His eyes were just ever so tightly. He was muttering softly “Look inside my heart. Look inside my heart.” His concentration increased harder and harder, until he felt something inside him snap, and he keeled over.

Everyone dashed down when they saw Spike faint, but he was alright, and got onto his feet when they arrived. “I think I blew out one of my brain cells.” he groaned.

“Maybe I’m not trying hard enough.” said Spike, but he didn’t feel much like trying anymore after that. “Take it easy, Spike.” said Starla “You don’t want to hurt yourself before the battle begins.”

Spike didn’t want that, but he admitted he really wanted to unlock this new power of his.

“Remember Spike, we’re still not a-hundred percent sure it’s even real.” said Krysta.

“She’s got a point.” said Applejack “But even still, don’t be knockin’ yourself out.”

Rarity was especially happy to hear him say that, but she still said nothing and quietly slipped away. Spike noticed, and hung his head a little low. Everyone else just sighed with dismay.

Later on, the royal twins held a meeting in the throne room. “Our labors have been completed.” said Castor. “Behold, the protection potion.” He held up a flash of plain liquid; practically identical to ordinary water.

“Ahh, but you forget the rules of magic; Things are not always what they seem.” said Leilani, and she explained how while the work was completed, the potion still needed another whole hour for the magical qualities to start working.

“At the moment, no.” said Professor Brain “But their highnesses inform me, that it shall be ready. I must say, I have found their ingenuity to be most fascinating.”

The twins felt flattered, and their parents felt proud they had spawned two such powerful and creative ones.

Castor a Leilani informed everyone that even when the potion would be ready to use, its effects would only be temporary. Once they entered the future, they would have to keep this well in mind.

“I guess it’s nearly time.” said Lightning. Everyone else nodded with excitement and determination. “The time for the final showdown with the Dark King has arrived!” said Castor.

Goldwin looked around out the window with his telescope. “I can’t see anything. Wait…!” he paused “It’s a dragon!”

“I better go get the ponies in the village out of here.” said Krysta, and she flew off like a shooting star. Lightning gazed at their majesties, and then nodded telling the team to get going. “Let’s go!” shouted Lightning.

This dragon, known as the cardinal Dragoon, was unlike the usual breed found in United Equestria. It was the size of a house, and had dark scales, sharp claws, horns, fangs, a blade-like fin going across his face up to his head, and a mace head at the end of his tail. The worst of it was it could attack with dark electrical light, not fire.

That snarling beast struck fear in everyone’s eyes. Krysta and her fairies worked their hardest to warp the civilians to safety, but they just weren’t moving fast enough. “We need help!” one of the fairies cried.

Many other Starfleet fighters tried their hardest to stave Dragoon off, but as expected, without the special powers that were given to Lightning and the others, they didn’t have a chance. They got bashed, they got pummeled, and some even got a taste of the dragon’s light blasts.

Several of them were knocked down, and the dragon loomed right over them, ready for the kill, but the dragon suddenly got blasted by a strong beam of uniforce, knocking it back hard. Lightning and his team leapt down from the skies and dashed over to help their fellow fighters up. “We’ll handle this. Go help the civilians.” said Lightning.

Soon, all the civilians were warped to safety. The other fairies warped away with them, and Krysta headed back to the palace.

Dragoon stared the team down and snuffed angrily. Fluttershy felt her knees quivering, but she stopped them and acted as brave as she could.

They all charged at him! Dragoon launched his dark light at them, but thanks to all their intense training, the friends were able to evade every shot with ease. One-by-one, they struck the beast hard.

Dragoon swung his mace tail, but Spike caught it in his bare claws. “Catch a dragon by the tail.” He joked as he whirled the beast round and around and slammed him hard on the ground. “And this is supposed to be a challenge?”

The others felt the same, and managed to fight the monster with ease, it was then they began to feel the fight was going just a little too easy, even for their training. Still, they decided now would probably be the best time to finish off the dragon while they had the chance.

“Fall in line!” shouted Lightning, and everyone stood together, preparing for their formation attack.

Up in the palace, the others could see it all. “I can hardly believe this.” said Shining Armor “This is like their easiest battle ever. It’s creepy.”

The others agreed, feeling it was too easy for their tastes as well. “The Dragoon is the Dark King’s most powerful cardinal.” said Castor. His sister nodded “Even though our forces have trained well, the fight should not be as easy as this.”

The team stood tall and proud, with their magic and weapons glowing brightly “Ready… FIRE!!” shouted Lightning. The magic all combined into the huge force, and was launched straight at the dragon, but suddenly it was intercepted and blocked off by another force of magic.

Then they could see why. It was Tnaig. He was standing right near dragon and snickering deeply at everyone.

Tnaig didn’t answer directly and just grinned wickedly. He zapped them all hard. Sparks and small explosions flew everywhere.

“And just what do you mean by that?” snapped Rarity. She got her answer when Tanig and his cardinal began to glow, and in bright flashed of swirling light, they merged together!

Tnaig’s body was bigger, and dark in color. He had scaly skin, dragon wings, claws, fangs, even the mace-head tail. “He’s merged with his cardinal!” cried Dyno “I see it, but I hardly believe It.” added Myte.

“Oh, believe it!” hissed Tnaig. His voice sounded snarly and raspy. “There is a reason I was the leader of the Dark King’s minions. I told you before; I knew more about the darkness than either of my fallen comrades had ever hoped to master. Until now, it was not necessary that my true power be revealed to you, fortunately my comrades proved useful in exposing your abilities to their finest.”

The friends thought that was sick. He sounded as though he was using his fallen teammates like pawns in a game. To which Tnaig cared nothing about. “I am a creature of darkness…” he roared “Compassion and understanding is for the weak and spineless who dwell in the light.”

“All right, we’ve heard enough out of you!” growled Lightning “Strong or not, we can take you like we did all the rest.”

They all stood ready for battle, and Tnaig felt he was really going to enjoy this.

Lightning charged forth, and aimed a huge punch at Tnaig, but he swiftly zipped out of the way causing Lightning to miss, and then he got hit hard by the mace tail, knocking him hard into a wall of a house, crumpling it.

“Lightning!” cried Starla. Now she was really steamed, and armed her bow. “STARLIGHT ARROW” her attack hit him full force, but did absolutely nothing. Tnaig snickered, and then dashed straight at her, tripping her up and then socking her hard, sending her skidding along the ground.

All the other friends charged at him, and they all got bashed, pummeled, even blasted a few times by Tanig’s super power “DARK LIGHT ATTACK” now it was ten times stronger than ever and caused massive explosions.

Rarity summoned up all the power she could in her horn and fired a huge burst at Tnaig, but all he did was stomp straight onward as if he felt nothing, and he finally reached her and kicked her hard.

“Rarity!” cried Spike. Now he was really mad, and pulled his sword out “Let’s make this interesting; dragon to dragon.”

Spike growled fiercely and charged forth roaring loudly. He swung his blade all over, but Tnaig dodged his every swing, and actually caught the sword in his claws. Spike struggled all he could, and lost his temper hard. “DRAGON FLARE” blasting his fire right in Tnaig’s face, the result was explosive and caught him a little as well.

“SPIKE!!” everyone shouted. Spike was alright, but when the smoke cleared he and every else gawked in shock when they saw Tnaig still had hardly a scratch on him. “You really ought to watch your temper.” he hissed.

Spike gasped in shock as Tnaig leapt right for him, and knocked him ever so hard out of the field like a baseball. “SPIKE!!” cried Rarity.

Grand Ruler quickly used his magic to halt Spike in midair just inches away from the window. “Are you alright, Spike?” he asked.

The battle was getting so intense. “Let’s get down there and help them.” said Celestia. The others agreed, and left Goldwin to watch over things.

Down below, the fighters continued to get bashed about until they were all huddled together in one spot. “Exactly, where did we lose control here?” groaned Rainbow.

“Oh really…?” hissed Tanig “Then perhaps it’s time we took this battle elsewhere, or should I say… when.”

Everyone was confused, and before they could react, or even make a sound, Tnaig enveloped them all in a dark wave of magic currents. They all screamed and yelped, and then vanished in a bright flash.

…only seconds before the royal gang had arrived. “Lightning!” cried Krysta.

“Where did they go?” asked Cadance, but her cousins had their suspicions. “Oh, no!” cried Castor. “That was time-warp magic.”

The ponies screamed as they felt themselves swirling through a dark vortex. Pinkie Pie felt she was going to hurl, and suddenly they crash landed. “Wipeout!” groaned Rainbow.

Everyone got onto their feet and took a look around. The skies were stormy with extreme darkness and shadows. The whole area was a wasteland of ruin and destruction. Fluttershy was shivering more in fear than the coldness. “Oh! I don’t like it here.” she squeaked.

Rhymey comforted her, but felt equally as feared, and then something glowing caught his eye.

Everyone gazed in awe and in shock. “That stronghold, I recognize It.” said Artie “The royal twins told us about it.”

Applejack swallowed hard “Then… that must mean that we’re… we’re…!”

“...Welcome!” thundered a deep dark voice, making Rarity jump! “Oh! What was that?!”

“...You have entered a world of impenetrable darkness where the light never dwells, and evil reigns supreme over all. This is your future!”

Ever so slowly, the ponies turned round, and saw him. Many of them gasped hard and whimpered madly.

“I am the ruler of this world, and all the worlds beyond. I am the Dark King!”

The Dark King’s sinister laugh echoed all across the darkness as he gazed down at the helpless ponies.

In our next episode; the ponies fight with all they have, but soon discover how ineffective their powers are in the future, which ultimately forces Lightning to overcome his fears of his Enticorn magic, but just as the battle goes smoothly, due to their premature arrival, the friends soon suffer from slow decomposition.

Meanwhile, the royal party must act swiftly to reach the future to aid their dying friends, but can they reach them in time?

Don’t miss the next exciting episode of “Starfleet Magic!”

(Next episode: “Part 2: A Dark Duel”)

My Brave Pony Starfleet Magic: Season IV

by DakariKingMykan

Episode 24: Part 1: The World of a Dark Tomorrow