The Dark Cave

by B_25

The Light in the Distance Will Only Lead to Despair

The mane six fell in defeat to the shadowy beast.

Who towered over their beings and threw their bodies into a black cage.

Out from the darkness of the cave, a baby dragon emerged.

Scared of the beast itself, but more so for his friends who could no longer save themselves.

He picked up a stone and threw it at the beast, only for it to phase through its existence.

The shadowy beast took notice of him, thinking the creature useless and left him be, but found something more lurking behind the scales. “My my! I left you be for your cowardice would ruin the divine plan, though it seems you have spirit indeed.”

Spike picked up a lone stick and charged, not at the beast, but at the cage filled with his friends that began to float away. He tried to tear apart and awaken his friends, only for his own body to be torn apart.

“Very interesting indeed!” said the beast. “Very useful as well.”

It was as if the darkness of the cave had gained sentient consciousness, oozing through the ground and dripping from the ceiling, coalescing underneath Spike and flooding upward around his being. Undesirable pain course through his limbs – he dropped the stick.

Spike tried to scream; the black liquid filled his lungs. His scales burned as they lost his color; the fire of his being dimming. Some of the mane six roused from their pain-induced slumber, confused at the sight of the metal bars, but more so their little brother dying past their confines.

They began to yell; they began to cry. Some beat on the bars, whole those closest reached out their hooves in the gaps of the bars. No matter how far they tried to reach, saving the one they loved was just unreachable.

“Don’t you give up Spike!”

“Hold on for just a little longer!”

“We’ll break this cage and then save you!’

“Just ignore the pain, Spike! Close your mouth and your eyes!”

“Oh no, Spike…”

“Spike, please!”

The weight of darkness was too heavy for his shoulders. The dense black liquid could no longer support the baby dragon’s form as he fell forward, feeling the substance consume his body and bring him to its depths.

He reached out to the distant image of the six, who all reached back in return.

Then nothingness became of him.

The shadowy beast looked down at the pool of his own creation, his subject completely submerged. “Here I thought having a dragon under my control would make dealing with the others easier. It seems his flame was still too fickle to survive even an iota of my power.”

The girls cried at the death of their friend. The world seemed unreal. They shouted their love as they were taken away from the dark cave. But inside the darkness itself, a little green flame burned.

-----

Spike heard his name whispered in the darkness, coming to stand on absolutely nothing. He saw a fickle green flame in the faux middle of his strange world, and, not knowing why, began to walk toward it.

He stood before the flame.

“What...what is this place?”

The flame replied, causing the drake to leap into the air.

“Inside yourself, of course.”

Spiked needed a moment or two to calm down, and when he did, he fired off a series of questions. “What is this place...who are you?”

“This plane of existence is you in of itself,” explained the flame in a dying voice. “Light used to shine here as memories played, until corruption itself washed over your being and stole yourself away.”

“And you?”

“I am your spirit, once burning with the passion for assisting your friends.”

A wave of sadness washed over the drake. He remembered the fate of his friends, who cried and scream at watching him die, before being carried off to a fate more than likely worse than his own.

“Had I been your normal spirit, then the darkness would’ve wiped me out completely. But I also burned with the magic Twilight imbued into you at birth; it is for this reason alone I am able to burn despite the absolute corruption enshrouding us.”

Spike sat down before the flame, crossing his feet and putting forth his claws to enjoy the faint heat. “So what’s going to happen to us now?”

“The next day, we shall be dead,” the voice answered, letting all the weight of the darkness truly set upon the drake’s shoulders. “But whatever happens today is of your own choosing. The power of darkness may crush you and me, but for the time being, it’s still under your control.”

The darkness was upon him again, the black substance sticking to his being and trying once again to suck him in its depth. He struggled and thrashed.

“It’ll do anything to claim your being, and if it succeeds, you’ll become a dark beast like the world has never seen – right to the intention of the one who has stolen away your friends.” Spike's eyes’ widen upon hearing this tidbit, the darkness ceasing to consuming any more of him. “But as long as your spirit still burns, there is light to keep the darkness at bay. You can use this power to become a beast and remain intact just long to save your friends, but once that is done, you’ll have to either meet your end or doom the world to your quake.”

Spike reflected on that his end was near, but he rather his own than those of whom he loved. He heard the alluring voices of the darkness soothing him into submission, of the power ingrained in the black liquid lapping against his scales.

But his love for his friends was powerful enough to keep all its temptation at bay. He rose out from the darkness, and embraced his own spirit by walking into the flame.

-----

Spike awoke in the dark cave. There was nothing inside it. No rocks to be perceived. No lights from his friend’s horn. It was so dark that he could not even see his own form, despite having purple scales that would sometimes shine in the moonlight.

Then, he saw light itself awaiting him at the end of the cave. The voice of girls rang off the walls.

Spike then limped out the cave.

The world outside the cave felt hollow to him – maybe because it was an afternoon without friends. Maybe because he knew that he would no longer be in this world tomorrow. He paid these thoughts no mind, except studying the plane of trees below him where many great creatures lurked.

Then to the mountain that looked like a trek to the top.

Finally, the light coming from the top of the mountain, where he saw a distant figure land atop. He knew it to be his final destination, where he would reach by nightfall, save his friends, and ultimately, meet his end.

An intense pain struck the drake, who fell unto his knees, and was forced to peer into the scales of his palm. The purple was fading from him; being replaced by the color of gray. There was a pain, but it brought him a stranger pleasure, like power flooding through his veins.

It almost overloaded his senses, until he felt a burning in his chest. He knew that the flame was slowly being covered by the darkness, but so long as it burned with the hope of saving his friends, that he would be control of this absolute power.

Spike rose once again, feeling slightly taller than when he first had entered the cave. He looked out to the distant mountain top with a clenched claw. “So I’m going to slowly become a monster during the course of this journey, allowing me to beat all that stands in my way and save my friends, only to die by its end?”

A smile struck across his face. “Fine by me...as long as the girls are safe after I’m gone.”