The Legend of Spike: Dragon Quest

by DiabloGuapo


The Final Offering

Midnight awoke to the sound of heavy footsteps. Opening her eyes, she found herself still in the grasp of the cyclops that had abducted her from own home through the portal the gremlin had opened. As the cyclops marched, Midnight saw a sight that reminded her of what she and her friends discovered in the sea cave. There were robed ponies chanting and luminous green fog rising from venting in the floor. Ahead of her was a platform with a collection of frightened looking ponies chained up before a large vat of glowing ectoplasm that rested before the altar. From what she had witnessed in the cave, she knew immediately what fate awaited them. Horrified at the thought of being sacrificed, she tried to pull away in an attempt to make a break for it, but she couldn’t wriggle herself free from the giant’s massive fist.

The cyclops reached the altar and held her out to the blue Unicorn wearing an ornate headdress. Standing on either side of him were two Unicorn mares, one beige and one white. But what caught Midnight’s attention was the purple ape demon from before and the pony he was restraining.

“Father!” she cried upon seeing Flash Sentry. Her horn flared with yellow magic, but it was immediately extinguished as the cult leader levitated a black inhibitor ring and slipped it onto her horn.

“Ah ah ah. None of that now,” Hargon scolded.

“Midnight, no!” Flash Sentry shouted upon seeing that his daughter had also been captured. Turning to Hargon, he yelled, “Let her go!”

“Hm, no. I don’t think I will,” Hargon said mockingly, grinning triumphantly down at the bound Pegasus. “We’ve come this far, and I’m not about to let it all slip away. Chieftain Atlas, set her down.”

As soon as the cyclops placed Midnight on the platform, she tried to run to her father but was held back by Nightingale's magic. Hargon then stepped forward to the edge of the platform and addressed his followers, “Brothers and sisters! The hour of our god’s ascension has come! The Great Malroth has delivered the final offering into our hooves! First, we shall summon General Zarlox and the barrier separating this world and the next shall fall! Then the Great Malroth will rise!”

“Hail Hargon! Praise Malroth!” the crowd chanted.

“These two,” Hargon said, pointing a hoof to Midnight and Flash Sentry, “the kin of the princesses, their blood will be the final offering!” Then he pointed to the ponies chained up at the base of the platform. “And as for these faithless heretics, Master Malroth will use them to summon the rest of his army to purge the world of the corruption!”

“Hail Hargon! Praise Malroth!”

“You won’t get away with this! You will answer to Princess Celestia for this!” Midnight definitely declared.

“Your faith in your princess is almost admirable. I too once believed in Celestia, but my eyes were opened and I saw her for what she really was.”

“What are you talking about?”

“As a colt, I looked up to Princess Celestia. I believed she could do anything. Protect us from any danger. The Summer Sun Celebration was my favorite holiday. I looked forward to it every year. Ah, she looked so majestic as she raised the sun, how the morning light shined off of her pure white coat. She was a Goddess of the Sun.” As Hargon reminisced, Midnight and Flash Sentry listened on in confusion. Hargon paced about the length of the platform while he continued, “I was devastated when my parents told me we were moving away from Canterlot. It would mean moving away from my hero. We relocated to a small, backwater town. You may have heard of it…” Looking back to his prisoners, he said with a grin, “Ponyville.”

“You used to live in Ponyville?” Midnight asked, stunned this revelation.

“For a time.” He then continued with his monologue, “Imagine my joy when one year I learned that she was coming to Ponyville for the celebration. It just so happened to also be the longest day of the thousandth year since the banishment of Nightmare Moon. The mayor announced the Princess, my Princess, but instead, the Mare in the Moon appeared to usher forth a never ending night. My young mind couldn’t process it; how could anypony get the better of the Princess Celestia?

“But that wasn’t the only time, was it?” Hargon then turned to his followers and asked again, this time louder, “Was it?!”

The answer from the crowd was a resounding, “No!”

“Of course not, my brothers and sisters! Not too long after, another crisis arose when the Spirit of Chaos returned. And where was Celestia?”

“Hiding in her castle!” a voice cried out from the crowd, causing the congregation to roar in angry agreement.

“Instead of saving us from the insanity that befell us, she sent her errand filly to do her job!” Hargon claimed, egging on the crowd. “She was able to stop Discord before, why not this time?! I’ll tell you why! She had lost her connection to the Elements of Harmony when she had used them on her own sister! And why did she use them on her sister? Because she was possessed by dark forces due to Celestia’s neglect! Her own blood was slipping into madness under her own nose, and she was too caught up with herself to notice! She created Nightmare Moon!

This caused the angry mob to boo and hiss, cursing the name of Celestia.

“And that’s not all! After Twilight Sparkle and her friends turned Discord back into stone, did she take a sledgehammer and smashed him into a million pieces?”

“No!” the crowd responded.

“No, she befriended him! The Spirit of Chaos! Even after was reformed, he betrayed her! First it was with the plunderseeds! Not one year had passed and Princess Celestia found herself at the mercy of a trap that he had set ages ago. If he was truly reformed, he would have disposed of them before they even had a chance to run rampant through my home!”

Hargon took a moment to recompose himself, taking deep breaths. Though he resumed his charade of self control, Midnight had seen his true face and the insanity that laid within. However, his disciples were taking in everything he said, fanning the flames of their own discontent. Speaking more calmly, Hargon continued, “I guess I should thank Discord. After all, if it wasn’t for him, I would have never discovered my god. Ponyville was covered with those vines and I had ran from my home for safety. Just as I was about to give up hope, I was contacted by a voice. It promised to give me the power to save myself if I agreed to serve it. Power entered into me and I was able to drive the thorns away. That is also how I gained my cutie mark.” He gestured to the emblem of the bat that adorned his robes.

“When the Tree of Harmony was temporarily weakened, it allowed a portion of Malroth’s essence to slip through the void. Through the connection with my master, he showed me such sights. All of Celestia’s shortcomings were revealed to me: Nightmare Moon, the multiple Changeling Invasions, her stupid decision to trust Discord to apprehend Tirek, and the equally stupid decision to give all of the Alicorn magic to your mother instead of striking Tirek down when he was still weak, that little incident with Tempest Shadow and the Storm King... The list goes on and on. And now, Celestia and her fellow princesses will finally reap the consequences of their own ineptitude. Soon, everypony will see them as the frauds they truly are as they are cast down and forgotten.”

“You’re wrong!” Midnight shouted over the noise of the crowd’s incited cheering. “The princesses are not gods nor are they perfect. They never claimed to be! You keep focusing on the negative and blame them for your own shortcomings while ignoring all the good they have done. They have provided peace, prosperity, and harmony for thousands of years!”

“And those itty bitty negatives…” Hargon said in a mocking tone before yelling back in Midnight’s face, “are the ones that nearly destroyed us all!”

“And this is how you respond? By summoning a demon god to destroy everything?” Flash Sentry asked, pointing out his hypocrisy.

“The kingdom they have made can’t be saved. If the foundations of a house is unstable, it’s doomed to fall no matter how many times you repair the roof,” Hargon explained, ignoring Flash’s criticism. He turned to the podium and removed a cloth, revealing the ceremonial dagger. “But none of that matters anymore. Soon, Celestia and the rest of the false gods shall be cast down and the world will bow down and worship Malroth.”

“You won’t get the chance. My mother will stop you!” Midnight insisted.

“It’s too late for fancifully thinking,” Hargon mocked, looking over to her. “The princesses will never find you in time to stop us now. They have no idea even where we are.”

“That’s what you think,” Midnight said under her breath.

What Midnight knew that Hargon didn’t was that Twilight Sparkle was already leading a rescue team through the Crystal Mountains headed in the direction of Rhone. With her was Spike, Princess Celestia, the Element Bearers, Midnight’s friends, and a patrol of yaks and Crystal Ponies led by Prince Shining Armor and King Rutherford. Using the directions given to them by Dragon King Ryuo, they used triangulation to locate the valley where Hargon was holding Flash Sentry and Midnight.

The party made their way through the howling wind and snow up the mountainside, Mount Everhoof rising in the distance. With Yakyakistan to the west and the Crystal Empire to the east, Rhone had to be just on the other side of this peak. With adamant determination, Twilight pushed onward until they reached the top of the incline. Upon reaching the summit, they were greeted by a wall of white and the roar of a raging blizzard. The entire valley was enclosed by a massive, swirling dome of cloud and ice.

“This is it, ain't it?” Applejack asked over the roar of the wind as she walked up next to Twilight.

“It is,” Twilight confirmed, her horn glowing magenta as she scanned the area. “The storm is meant to keep outsiders from finding the dragon graveyard.”

“But Hargon decided to move in and use it to hide his activities,” Princess Celestia added.

“So let’s go down there and crash his party!” Rainbow Dash said, more than ready for action.

“Patience, Rainbow Dash. Luna will be along shortly.” At Celestia’s insistence, they waited. Though it was only for a few minutes, the cold made it feel like hours. But after a while, there was a flash of magic and Princess Luna appeared along with some familiar faces.

“Thorax!” Spike laughed upon seeing the leader of the reformed Changelings. The green insect-like equine flew down and the two greeted each other with a friendly hug.

“It’s good to see you, Spike. When Princess Luna told us what happened, we gathered as many fighters as we could.” As Thorax explained, a darker Changeling with purple eyes flew down and landed next to Thorax.

“We’re ready to fight,” Pharynx declared, his next generation of the Changeling Guard saluting behind him. With the addition of the Changelings, they all felt a little more confident. They didn’t know how many cultist were waiting for them or how demons they had already summoned, but they had three Alicorns and a dragon with them.

“Thank you, King Thorax,” Celestia said as Luna landed next to her.

“Yeah yeah. Can we move it along? We’re all freezing here, and we have a world to save,” Rainbow Dash said, shivering as she hovered nearby. All the other ponies were in agreement, all of them huddled together next to Spike, who was using his high body temperature and wings to make a makeshift insulated tent. The only ones not bothered were the yaks with their shaggy coats.

“Quite right. Spike, will you do the honors?” Celestia requested. Spike nodded and stepped forward, leaving the ponies without their heat source. Concentrating, Spike focused on the storm before unleashing a mighty roar. The sound carried on the wind, amplified by the power of a royal dragon, and the snowy vortex began to slow. The white clouds started to dissipate, eventually exposing a green valley below. They also saw a castle with two towers, one of which was illuminated by a familiar green glow.

“We must hurry,” Celestia told everyone. “They’ll soon discover the barrier has been lowered and be alerted to our presence.” She then turned to Shining Armor. “Shining Armor, when the battle inevitably starts, I want you to linger back.”

Shocked and confused by the order, he replied, “But Princess, you’ll need me in the fight.”

“What I need is for you to protect Fluttershy and Posey,” she said, motioning to the noncombatants. “If we fail and Malroth is summoned, he’ll summon a portal and unleash Tartarus upon the world. I want you to promise me that you’ll get them back to the safety of the Crystal Empire.”

“Princess…”

“It’ll be up to you and Cadance to rebuild Equestria. Now promise me.”

Shining Armor looked from Celestia to Twilight, who silently urged him to comply. Taking a breath, he answered, “I promise, but let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”

“Thank you. I hope so, too.” Celestia felt a little guilty by holding him to such a promise. She knew that even the impressive defenses the Crystal Empire possessed would eventually fail to an unending onslaught by a demonic horde, but there was the small hope that they may yet discover a way to survive and drive back Malroth and his army. It wasn’t much, but even the tiniest light of hope shone bright in the darkest of times.

In the Temple of Malroth, the sound of Spike’s roar caught everyone’s attention. Hargon looked to Bazuzu, who left Flash Sentry and flew to the window to investigate the noise. “The barrier is gone! The Sun Princess has discovered us!”

Hearing this, a murmur spread through the congregation. Just as the followers of Hargon began to panic, Hargon called for their attention, “Children of Malroth, we must not let them interfere! The ritual must be completed!” Calling upon his magic, Hargon summoned more gremlins and his bat familiars. “Go now! Stop the interlopers!”

Bazuzu screeched with bloodlust and Atlas bellowed a warcry. The winged demons flew through the windows and out to the valley below while the cultists followed the giant down the tower to confront those who would dare to try to stop their leader. All who were left in the temple was Hargon, Nightingale, Honeysuckle, Flash Sentry, Midnight, and the captive refugees.

Outside, Twilight Sparkle headed the charge on the castle, desperate to save her family. They ran across the grassy field, but as they drew close to the front doors, they opened and cloaked ponies ran out. Twilight skidded to a stop, the others stopping behind her as the cultists formed a line, barring them from entering the castle. A screech was heard as a winged ape demon swooped overhead along with a swarm of gremlins and bats.

Twilight’s gaze was drawn up when she heard a bellowing war cry. A giant leapt off of the bridge that connected the towers of Rhone and landed with an earth shaking thud. The ponies and even the yaks were temporarily unbalanced by the impact. Twilight looked up at the cycloptic demon, who had reached over and grabbed a tree. Uprooting it, the demon wielded it as a makeshift club.

Making the first move, Atlas raised his club over his head and brought it down straight at Twilight. But before it could drive her into the ground, a golden yellow dome of magic shielded Twilight. The club bounced off of the barrier, sending ripples across its translucent surface and knocking Atlas off balance. Princess Celestia stepped forward, her horn glowing, and stood beside Twilight.

“Get to the tower. Stop Hargon,” Celestia admonished her former pupil before sending a yellow beam of magic at the giant. A blue beam joined Celestia’s as Luna joined her in driving the cyclops back. Following the princesses’ lead, the ponies and yaks rushed into the fray. The yaks used their superior size and strength to overpower the much smaller cult ponies while the Changelings took to the air, taking on the gremlins and summoned bats. Following Celestia’s orders, Shining Armor and the Crystal Guard lingered back and formed a protective circle, protecting the noncombatants.

Seeing her friends clearing the path for her, Twilight took off and made her way to the tower. Spike saw her ascending, and turned to his daughter. “Amethyst, hop on!”

After taking one more shot at a cloaked pony, Amethyst climbed on her father’s back and he took off after Twilight, intending to give her back up. As they rose above the battlefield, the bats whizzed by them. With each zap from the Changelings’ horns, the little minions vanished in a puff of purple smoke.

However, the main obstacle in their path was Bazuzu. The purple ape demon shrieked at them as he began to summon strong winds in attempt to keep them interrupting the ceremony. Twilight shielded her eyes from the stinging winds and struggled to stay airborne. She was never the strongest flyer and the generated winds certainly weren’t helping.

As Twilight began to strain herself, the winds suddenly stopped when she heard the demon howl. Opening her eyes, she saw that Thunderbolt had landed a flying kick into Bazuzu’s side, knocking the demon down. Rainbow Dash swooped in front of Twilight and said, “Go for it! We’ve got your back!”

Rainbow Dash darted off to join her son in combating Bazuzu, allowing Twilight and Spike to continue up to the tower. They landed on the bridge, Amethyst jumping down from Spike’s back, and they ran to the entrance of the Temple of Malroth. Once inside, they saw Hargon on top of the platform holding a dagger in his magically grip, advancing towards Flash Sentry and Midnight with it.

He stopped in front of Midnight, holding the blade up to her face. She nervously looked down at the point, which was dangerously close to her nose. When he heard footsteps, he looked towards the door, frustrated that his followers had failed in stopping the intruders. At first, he glowered at them, but then he grinned most sinisterly when he locked eyes with the Princess of Friendship. With a quick thrust, Hargon drove the dagger into Flash Sentry’s chest.

The orange Pegasus gasped from the sudden pain and Midnight screamed, “Dad!”

Noooo!” Twilight wailed, holding out a hoof as she helplessly watched her husband slump to the floor. Spike and Amethyst watched on in horror, both too were paralyzed by the sight.

Midnight struggled against Nightingale’s magic as she and Honeysuckle chanted:

“Ad gloriam Malroth.
Ad gloriam Malroth.
Malroth venerit mundum purget.
Sol in tenebras.
Luna in sanguinem.
Amor morietur.
Amicitia deficient.
Venit, Zarlox.
Venit, Zarlox.
Venit, Imperator Ignis.”

As Flash Sentry’s eyelids drooped, Hargon walked to the edge of platform. “You’re too late,” he gloated as he held out the knife, allowing the blood to drip into the ectoplasm. The glow of the slime changed from green to red as a demon took form within.

*****

Within the void, the wall between dimensions final shattered as another demon broke through it in its escape from Tartarus. Now there was nothing holding Malroth inside his prison. All he needed was for someone to open the door for him.

*****

The basin of ectoplasm shook as something large emerged. Red slime dripped off its body as it crawled onto the floor before standing to its full height. It was a bipedal creature covered in gold scales with a spaded tail. Its head was shaped like a bull’s and two large bat wings jutted out from its back. With its features, it resembled a minotaur crossed with a dragon and was similar in size to Spike.

“General Zarlox,” Hargon called from behind the horned demon. “Kill them.”

Without saying a word, Zarlox held out a hand and a trident appeared in it in a flash of fire. He then pointed the trident at Twilight, Amethyst, and Spike. A ball of energy formed at the end of the central point and began to grow. Recognizing the imminent threat, the three dove out of the way as the orb launched pass them and exploded in a huge ball of fire. Twilight and Amethyst landed to one side and Spike to the other.

Zarlox took aim at the Alicorn and the Kirin and prepared another attack, but Spike had scrambled to his feet and charged. Before the spell could be launched, Spike tackled the demon, trying to wrestle the trident from its grasp. Due to the struggle, Zarlox’s spell was cast prematurely, sending the orb of destructive energy to the ceiling. The blast rocked temple, sending dust and debris raining down on the platform.

Twilight and Amethyst recovered and rushed to the platform. Amethyst saw the ponies in chains at the base calling out for help. Using her magic, she busted the locks and shouted, “Make for the exit!”

Within the dust cloud covering the platform, Hargon coughed and looked up to see his offerings for Malroth escaping. He ignored them for there were many more lives that could be offered, the most important being Midnight. With the dagger in his possession, he advanced on Midnight. But he was surprised with a yellow wall of magic expanding out to meet him. The dagger was sent flying, clattering as it slid away on the stone floor.

When the debris had fallen, Nightingale had released her holding spell on Midnight in order to shield herself. Realizing she was free, Midnight slipped the ring off her horn and dove to her father’s body. Holding him, she created a barrier spell and pushed Hargon, Nightingale, and Honeysuckle away along with the dust cloud.

Twilight Sparkle and Amethyst rushed to Midnight’s side, standing together against Hargon and his cohorts. Amethyst recognized Nightingale as the former Mayor Skinflint’s assistant. Hargon glared at the mares, growing increasingly frustrated by second.

“I don’t care who it is, but I will have blood from one of you!” Hargon yelled as he shot a red beam at the three. With a magic barrier generated by Twilight, the blast was blocked, but Twilight winced. It was taking a surprising amount of effort to repel the attack. Not even when Twilight dueled with Starlight Glimmer had she felt such power from a Unicorn. She could also feel that his magic wasn’t normal; it was being backed by another power.

Nightingale and Honeysuckle joined in the assault, causing the magenta dome to start to crack. Before it could break, Midnight and Amethyst added their magic to Twilight’s spell, reinforcing it. The two sides were in a stalemate until Amethyst teleported out from the safety of the shield and reappeared adjacent to Nightingale. Taking a breath, Amethyst spat purple flames, causing the Nightingale to stumble and topple over Hargon and Honeysuckle as she scrambled to evade the flames.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Midnight and Twilight sent blasts at their foes. Hargon teleported away, leaving the mares to be hit by the spells. Honeysuckle was encased in a yellow crystal, Nightingale likewise in magenta.

Materializing, Hargon saw that his most faithful followers were immobilized. “No!” he snarled. He then was facing three of the most skilled students Celestia had ever trained all by himself.

As Hargon was outnumbered three-to-one, Zarlox wrestled with the dragon. Zarlox managed to push Spike onto his back and stomp down onto his chest. Zarlox raised his trident and brought it down aimed at Spike’s neck. Spike caught the prongs just inches above his scales. From his supine position and with the weight of the demon on top of him, Spike struggled to keep from being skewered. Amidst his struggling, Spike shot a burst of green flames at the archdemon’s face. The flash succeed in blinding Zarlox, who roared in rage as he covered his eyes. Using his tail, Spike whipped Zarlox’s legs out from under him. With the tables turned, Zarlox was now the one on his back with a snarling beast on top of him.

Streams of red, yellow, purple, and magenta lights darted back and forth intermingled with the flashes of teleporting. Hargon was panting. Even with Malroth’s power bolstering his own, he couldn't fight three opponents at once. He backed up to the window that overlooked the valley with the three forming a semicircle around him, their horns still glowing.

Hargon couldn’t speak, only seethe with hatred as he looked around. On the stage, his wife and daughter had been imprisoned in crystal. General Zarlox had been pinned by the Dragon King’s son. Chancing a glance behind him, he looked out the window and saw that the princess was right. The gremlins and bats had been dealt with. His followers had been rounded up by the Crystal Guard. Even Bazuzu and Atlas were on their last legs.

“This is for Ponyville!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she and Thunderbolt swirled around Bazuzu, striking the batboon in coordinated flyby attacks

“And this is for Evening Star!” Thunderbolt added as he landed another blow.

“Ready for the big finish?” Rainbow Dash asked her son.

“You know it!” he replied. Looping up into the air, the Pegasi built up their speed as they came back down, a mach cone forming around them. In a burst of color, prismatic for Rainbow Dash and blue and gray for Thunderbolt, twin sonic rainbooms thundered as the duo sped at the fatigued demon at supersonic speeds. As their flying hooves struck Bazuzu, he exploded into a shower of ectoplasm.

Below where the batboon once was, Atlas lethargically swung his makeshift club at Luna just to have Celestia blast him in the back. He changed targets and swung at Celestia instead only to have Luna blast him as well. At his feet, Applejack and Sour Apple ran around him with ropes, lashing his ankles together. With one more blow to the head from the princesses, the dizzy giant teetered back and forth, dropping the club. With his feet tied up, Atlas fell forward.

“Timber!” Applejack shouted as Atlas did a faceplant, shaking the ground with his massive bulk. The collapsed giant began to dissolve, his artificial body exploding into a wave of ectoplasm.

“Surrender, Hargon. You’re outmatched,” Hargon heard Twilight order from behind him. “Your minions have fallen, and you’ll pay for murdering my husband!”

“No,” he whispered. He turned to face the Alicorn, refusing to back down. “No. No no no no no! This wasn’t supposed to happen!”

“Surrender,” Twilight repeated.

“Never!” He shot a desperate blast at Twilight, but she flew above it and countered with a spell of her own. As the spell made contact, magic swirled around Hargon’s horn and the red aura surrounding it fizzled out. Hargon focused, but nothing happened. He tried again, but the magic wouldn’t come.

“W-what did you do?!” he demanded, panicked by his lack of magic. He could still feel the power of his god within him, but he couldn’t unleash it.

“A magic suppression spell,” Twilight explained as she walked towards the powerless Unicorn. Coming face to face with him, she narrowed her eyes. “You won’t be harming anyone ever again.”

“A little help here!” With a snap of her head, she saw Spike still wrestling with Zarlox. Twilight turned to help her son, blasting the golden archdemon with the help of Midnight and Amethyst. Zarlox gave one last roar before he too exploded into ectoplasm, covering Spike with the slime.

“Ugh,” Spike gagged with disgust as he wiped the goo off.

“Dad! Are you okay?” Amethyst asked as Spike rolled back onto his feet.

“Yeah, I’m okay,” he reassured. He turned to Midnight. “Are you okay.”

“Yes, but…” Midnight’s eyes filled with tears as she looked to the altar, everyone following her gaze to Flash Sentry’s unmoving body. Solemnly, they gathered around the fallen stallion.

“I’m so…” Spike started to say, but his words failed him. Tears streamed down Twilight’s face as she took Flash’s body in her fore legs. She was joined by Midnight.

“Isn’t there anything we can do?” Midnight asked desperately, but her mother sadly shook her head. Midnight’s heart sank, but asked anyway, “Please? Can’t we try anyway?” Twilight looked at Midnight, ready to say "no," but stopped when she saw the glimmer of hope in her daughter’s eyes. “Please?”

“Okay,” she said quietly. Closing her eyes, Twilight concentrated. Midnight followed her mother’s example and both of their horns illuminated. Their manes flowed as the air around them began to swirl. Amethyst and Spike joined in, adding their own magic to the spell. Flash Sentry began to glow white as the magics entered his body. The wound on his chest closed before he slowly started to breathe again. Meanwhile, the crystalline sprout of the Tree of Harmony flashed magenta as the sixth and final Element of Harmony was restored.

Outside, Princess Celestia looked up to the towers of Rhone and saw a white light shining from one of the windows. Feeling the harmonic magic, she smiled knowing that not only had Hargon been defeated but something wonderful was about to happen. Flapping her wings, she ascended to bear witness.

With their focus on Flash Sentry, the family didn’t notice Hargon as he tried to slip away. He almost reached the exit, but a white Alicorn appeared before him. The white light reflected off of her coat and wings, and for a brief moment, he felt like a colt again as he admired her beauty. She was the same glorious sun goddess from his fondest childhood memories.

But the moment passed, and he shrank away from her judging eyes. As he backed away, his hoof kicked something. Looking down, he saw the dagger. Looking back up at Celestia, he saw that her attention had shifted from him to the altar. Hatred burning in his heart, he discreetly reached down and scooped up the dagger.

Flash Sentry gave a loud gasp as he opened his eyes and looked around. “Twilight?”

“Flash!” Twilight happily sobbed as she embraced him.

As he held his wife, he looked to his daughter. He was amazed to see that she was still haloed by a pure white light. When it faded, he smiled and said, “Wings look good on you, Midnight.”

“Wings?” she asked. She then saw the admiring look on her family’s faces and looked behind her to see what they were looking at. She was greeted by the sight of a pair of wings attached to her side. “I’m… I’m…”

“An Alicorn,” Princess Celestia finished for the speechless princess. “I always knew you could do it.” She landed next to her, smiling down at Midnight as she explained, “Through your dedication to saving your father and by working together as a family, you were able to turn back time and save your father from an unfortunate fate. The faith you’ve shown has proven that you were ready to fulfill your destiny and become the Princess of Family.”

Midnight’s family encircled her, showering her with congratulations and praise, until they were interrupted by cynical laughter. Looking to the source, they saw Hargon standing by one of the vents in the floor. “Oh, what utter tripe. The ‘Princess of Family?’ You all disgust me.”

“Say what you will, Hargon. But you can’t hurt anyone anymore,” Midnight said, stepping forward. “The magic of the love we share is stronger than the evil you planned to bring into this world.”

Hearing this, Hargon laughed maniacally, “Is that what you believe? Love will conquer all, even the unstoppable? Fools! I have planned for this day for over twenty years! You cannot stop this from happening!”

“All of your plans have failed. You have nothing left.”

“On the contrary, I still have one last ace up my sleeve.” The mad sorcerer then revealed the dagger.  Raising it in the air, he shouted, “Oh God of Destruction, Malroth, I sacrifice myself to you!”

Alarmed, they moved to stop him, but Hargon thrust the blade into his own chest. He grimaced at the pain, but looked up at the onlookers. Seeing their horrified faces, especially Celestia’s, he gave one last triumphant sneer and said, “Checkmate,” before falling backwards into the vent, his laughter fading as he disappeared into the glowing green vapors.

When Celestia and the others reached the edge of the vent, they peered down through the haze at the subterranean lake of ectoplasm. It remained green for a moment but then the glow changed to red as an enormous shadow formed within the ectoplasm. Massive claws burst forth from beneath the surface and began scaling the walls of the inside of the tower, causing the castle to shake violently.

“We must go!” Celestia shouted, everyone following her lead. They all flew from the tower, Spike carrying Amethyst, and escaped as the tower began to crumble. They landed next to their friends, who ran to greet them.

“Sister, what is happening?” Luna asked urgently.

Her answer came in the form of a towering monster exploding out of the eastern tower of Rhone with a roar. The beast resembled a dragon, having dark blue scales with a contrasting orange underbelly, red bat wings and ear frills, and a head adorned with horns. However, its face was shorter, more apelike, and it had four arms instead of two. At the end of its tail was the head of a snake that hissed as it writhed around. Around his neck was a chain adorn with a pendant of a skull.

The titanic Demon Lord stepped out of the chasm, crushing part of the castle with his massive foot. The ponies, yaks, and Changelings backed away, craning their necks to look up at the terror before them. Announcing his arrival to the mortal plane, Malroth reared his head back, stretching his four arms to the heavens, and roared, “I live!