Chapter 25: Heart Attack (Part 2)
Spike sat miserably on the turquoise colored train seat, his little legs and tail hanging lazily over the edge. Next to him was a brown back pack full of scrolls, comics, quills and several bags of gems for snacks. His shallow eyes stared sorrowfully at the floor.
“I’m so sorry mom. I didn’t want it to come to this, but I just can’t keep doing this. I feel alone all the time…even when I’m with the girls. It’s like I’m an afterthought. I know we’ve had good times, I know we’ve made lots of great memories, but right now, it’s like all my mind can picture is the times you guys left me behind,” he said solemnly.
The whistling engine of the train surged to life. Spike felt the train car vibrate; preparing to depart from the train station.
Rarity…I’m sorry my love wasn’t enough...maybe…maybe you would have been better off if I never-
BOOM!
A thunderous explosion shattered Spike’s dreary delusion. Ponies started gasping and yelling, they rushed to the windows to see what had happened. Spike also found himself gripped with curiosity. He gasped in horror at what he saw. The school bell: destroyed! It was blown off like someone detonated dynamite inside of it.
“Wha-what the heck is going on? What could have done that?” he mused frightfully.
“SPIKE THE DRAGON! Please, some pony help me, I need to find Spike the dragon!”
The purple fire breather turned towards that voice. He didn’t recognize it, and he knew every pony in Ponyville like Pinkie did. There was a yellow Earth pony at the train’s boarding door. He wore a small green cap, had dirty blond hair and a pair of deep, royal blue eyes.
“Um I-I’m Spike the dragon, who wants to know?” he asked timidly.
Crowe looked at Spike and nearly jumped out of his fur. He rushed towards Spike, scrambling his jittery hooves across the train floor. He grabbed Spike and shook him vigorously.
“You gotta get off this train. Some metal faced psycho is attacking Ponyville; all of your friends are in danger!”
“W-w-w-wait, what, who’s attacking Ponyville? Who are you? How do you know my friends are in danger?”
“There’s no time! If you don’t hurry, Princess Twilight is going to die!”
“She’s going to WHAT?!?”
Crowe had said the magic words. Spike grabbed his things and ran off the train without hesitation; Crowe followed. The conductor announced they’d be departing for the Crystal Empire immediately before the attacks reach the station.
“Oh man, oh man, oh man, I sure hope she’ll be able to read this,” Spike said nervously. He scribbled an emergency S.O.S note for Princess Celestia, his claw jerked erratically as he was writing it as he was running. Once finished, Spike incinerated it with his fire breath and sent it off.
“Just keep going that way, you’ll run into them eventually,” Crowe instructed.
Spike thanked the mysterious pony for his help and dashed off in search of his adoptive mother and his friends.
The yellow colt wiped his brow with his hoof. “Good, that ought to throw a monkey wrench into bucket head’s plan. Now, I’ve get back to the cave before Khan or any of his freaky pets see me. If he finds out what I’m-”
OOF!
A light purple unicorn mare crashed into Crowe. She has dark purple eyes and a long, dark violet mane with a crystal blue stripe in it. Her cutie mark was a purple star with a sea green wisp floating above it.
“Hey, watch where you’re going you-” Crowe said; attempting to protest.
“YOU watch it loser! I’m getting on the last train out of here and I don’t need dead beats like you slowing me down,” Starlight Glimmer snapped.
The mare’s terrifying response abruptly silenced Crowe’s complaining. He shivered like a frost bitten dog, nodding weakly at the unicorn. Crowe ran off without looking back and vanished into the chaos.
“Get this heap moving already!” Starlight shouted; climbing onto the train.
“Okay okay, I get the picture,” the conductor replied.
Starlight planted herself in Spike’s vacant seat. She stared out the window at the chaos breaking out across Ponyville, monsters and ponies were scrambling everywhere. The mare sighed angrily as she looked towards the sky. Khan and Twilight were fighting with dueling magic beams.
“I can’t stay in this dump any longer. I’ll have to come back once the heat’s died down,” she muttered vindictively. Her eyes stayed locked on Twilight as she battled Khan. The train started to move and the image of Twilight began to drift away. “You better not lose Twilight. I’ve got unfinished business with you and rest assured, I will be back to get my revenge on you.”
Twilight Sparkle and Chimera Khan circled each other in the air. Their horns and eyes locked firmly on one another, blasting beams and spells in rapid fire fashion. The beams burst into an explosive array of colorful flashes like fireworks. Neither pony appeared to have an advantage over the other. Sounds of rampaging monsters and shrieking ponies continued to distract the princess during the battle. She wanted nothing more but to end this duel and go help her friends and neighbors, but Khan wouldn’t let her go without a fight. She had no choice but to defeat Khan if she wanted to save every pony from his tyranny and his army of mind controlled monsters.
Khan’s armor unleashed a barrage of multicolored beams from every gemstone and talisman on his body. The beams lunged out at Twilight; like a hurricane of deadly rainbow beams.
The princess flashed a purple, oval shaped shield in front of her. The beams splashed upon the surface of the barrier; spilling off from the sides like a waterfall. “Ugh, no matter what you do or what you throw at me, I swear on my life as a princess I WILL protect my friends and my home,” she fiercely declared. Twilight pressed her hooves against the barrier to ensure it withstood the onslaught of beams.
The masked villain rocketed himself on fiery wings towards Twilight’s barrier. He grunted savagely as he drilled his spiraling Sombra horn into her barrier. The horn sliced through the barrier like it was glass. She gasped in horror. The sizzling, blood red horn was inches from her muzzle and drilling closer and closer. Cracks spread along the barrier’s structure. Khan stared menacingly through a fractured portion of the barrier, his masked face pushing closer.
“You know, I used to admire the miraculous powers that Alicorns possess; it was one of the many things that inspired me to work for Princess Celestia,” he said; chuckling morbidly. “But seeing your performance now, I finally realize how overrated you wretched creatures are. You must be such a disappointment to her.”
Anger surged across Twilight’s face. She cried out and unleashed a powerful blast, shattering the barrier and forcing Khan back with a violent shove. The mare fired another beam towards Khan. He snickered, preparing to absorb another spell into his chest plate. At the last second however, she cleverly redirected it towards one of Khan’s Phoenix wings. The beam sliced through the fiery wing; dissipating it. The wing reformed almost instantly.
“And I thought you were supposed to be the smart one!”
Khan lunged forward and head butted Twilight. She cried out at the blinding, searing pain erupting in her skull. The metallic mask made it feel like she got hit by a sledgehammer. She swayed in the air; dizzy and off balance. Eventually, Twilight dropped to the ground; cringing as the ground made her head feel even worse. She could feel a small trail of blood running down alongside of her right cheek.
Khan swooped down like a vulture towards Twilight, his anvil like hooves ready to squash her into a purple grease stain. She looked up in enough time to see him coming and teleport a few feet back; dodging his attack completely. Though wounded, the princess shook off her dizziness and quickly launched a counter attack.
SPLAT! SPLAT!
Two large raspberry pies splattered across Khan’s face. Twilight smirked confidently. She knew he wouldn’t have seen that coming. His eyes intensified; clearly irritated and confused by her peculiar means of spell casting.
“Your spells are stupid as they are juvenile,” he coldly sneered.
“Wait for it,” she replied.
Twilight summoned two more objects: two ball shaped creatures with wings and great big, green eyes. Khan recognized them as Parasprites. The adorable looking insects leeched onto Khan, voraciously devouring the remains of the pie as well as chomping into his armor. The Parasprites multiplied mid meal. Soon, more and more of the colorful munchers began to spread and swarm over Khan’s body; eating more and more.
“GR, Argh, g-g-get off of me!”
“That won’t hold him for long. I’ve got to focus if I want this spell to work. I’ve never used it before like this, I just hope it works.”
The princess closed her eyes and channeled all of her energy into her horn. A neon, pinkish glow shined brightly from the princess’s horn.
Khan glowed as bright as the sun before creating a powerful heat blast that incinerated the Parasprites in a blinding white light. Though his armor had a few dents and dings, the creature’s unyielding appetite failed to effectively penetrate the enchanted metal. He powered up his horn to fire an attack of his own. Suddenly, green vines sprouted from the ground and lassoed his horn; jerking it downward. More and more vines slithered out like snakes; they grabbed Khan’s neck, tail and all four of his hooves. The tyrant was bound to the Earth and struggling belligerently.
With Khan temporarily restrained, Twilight moved onto the last step. She fired a beam next to her side and created a tire shaped swirl; it was cinnamon brown and whirring rapidly. Her eyes flashed open. The swirl fired a concussive stream of sand out like a ruptured fire hydrant. Twilight pummeled Khan with her condensed sandstorm attack, increasing velocity and intensity to its maximum. The masked villain was engulfed in the all-consuming sand attack. He dug his hooves into the ground to try and anchor himself from being pushed back, but the vines made it difficult for him to maintain a steady stance.
Twilight smirked. It was working; he can’t absorb this kind of attack or stand up to it. Maybe she’s got a chance after all!
Red swells appeared in the blur of the sand attack. Khan’s phoenix wings emerged; slicing away the vines and acting as a shield against the sand. His clanking hooves started to stomp forward, the fiery wings were slowly pushing back the sand attack. The red swells eventually exploded in a monstrous fire ball. A stream of fire soared like an arrow across the sand; slicing through it and incinerating it in an eye scorching flash of light. A startled gasp escaped Twilight’s lips. Her sand attack had been transformed into a sparkling sea of razor sharp glass shards.
“I don’t believe it! The sand’s been turned to glass. His wings actually heated every grain of sand into glass. The Phoenix gauntlet could never make temperatures THAT hot. It’s like his armor is somehow making the artifacts magic even stronger than before,” she thought frantically.
Khan’s aura enveloped the glass shards like a blanket of twinkling embers. He launched the shards at Twilight while she was still stunned. She screamed in agony, the blades slicing dozens of tiny cuts along her body. Khan had not only countered her spell, he turned it against her and wounded her far deeper than any attack she’s struck him with.
“That is but a mere sampling of the butchery your witch of a teacher inflicted upon me. I want her to feel every scrap of agony I was forced to endure. What better way to do that then to mercilessly tear you, her beloved princess pupil, into a thousand, broken, bloody pieces?” he growled venomously. The hatred raging in his sunset eyes knew no boundaries.
Twilight panted heavily. Her body racked with pain, red marks littering her purple body like red zebra stripes, even her wings had slash marks. “We must be talking about a different princess. Because the Celestia I know, the Celestia I care about, would never do that to another pony, certainly not one who claimed to be her friend,” Twilight bitterly replied.
“Don’t you DARE question the validity of my vengeance, you pitiful puppet. If you even knew half of the horrors I’ve experienced thanks to that cow’s treachery, you would not speak so protectively of her. She deserves every bit of savagery that comes her way…and so do you,” he hissed; seething with toxic hatred.
“Good. I’ve got his attention locked on me and me alone. I’m not strong enough to beat him now, not with so many innocent ponies that could get hurt in the crosshairs. If I fly far enough away, I can lead him from Ponyville and minimize the chances of anyone else getting hurt. Considering how angry I’ve just made him, it shouldn’t be too hard convincing him to follow. I just hope I can keep him away long enough for my friends to evacuate everyone safely,” she thought to herself.
The thickly scaled Cragadiles chomped into Sugar Cube corner as if it were an actual gingerbread house. Their dark green, armored bodies barreled through chairs and tables; biting towards the cowering ponies inside. The Cakes backed up from the snapping beasts as far as they could; they clutched their children tightly against their chests.
“Don’t worry Mr. and Mrs. Cake, I’ve got this,” Pinkie declared boldly. She stood on top of the counter with boxes of pastries stacked beside her. “These guys may be frosty customers, but I know a cakewalk when I see one. They’re gonna be creamed, whipped and baked real good.”
The Earth pony couple looked at each other nervously.
“You get it? Cake puns! You know, because I said frosty customers and it’s like frosting-”
“YES PINKIE WE GET IT!”
“Oh um, s-s-sorry to interrupt but if you don’t mind, we really need you guys to get to higher ground,” Fluttershy intruded.
Pinkie quickly regained her intense focus on the rocky reptiles. She pelted the Cragadiles with every cake, pie, cupcake and pastry she could grab her hooves on. Fluttershy assisted the Cakes and their babies up the stairs to get to the highest point in Sugar cube corner; safely away from the ground based Cragadiles.
“Take that, and some of this, and some of those, and sprinkles and jelly beans, and maybe some chocolate brownies too if we didn’t run out of them this morning,” Pinkie shouted.
The beasts snarled as their faces were being drowned in thick cake frosting and cream filling, their eyes and mouths drenched in every flavor of every baked good. One Cragadile chomped at Pinkie’s hooves; biting part of the counter off with a loud chomp. Pinkie flinched, scooted back and blasted the Cragadile in the mouth with her party cannon. The creature gagged and wheezed as confetti and streamers spewed out his clogged throat.
Mr. and Mrs. Cake were making it to the second floor when a Cragadile burst through the window. The couple screamed; instantly turning their backs to the beast to protect their children.
“Leave them alone you big, dumb, rock headed meanie!” the Pegasus shrieked.
Fluttershy grabbed the snout of the Cragadile and wrapped all 4 of her hooves around his mouth. Her wings flapped furiously against the beast’s face; temporarily blinding him. Mr. and Mrs. Cake moved to help the yellow mare, but she shook her head and shouted for them to move forward. Hesitant to leave her all alone, the Cakes nodded and left for higher ground. Fluttershy continued to struggle holding the beast’s jaws shut; knowing she’d be an easy meal once they were free.
“I don’t know why you don’t understand me or why I can’t understand you. One thing is clear though: I am not letting you hurt ANY pony, not on my watch buster,” she fiercely growled.
Fluttershy flapped her wings downward and flew directly up to the top of the window. The croc’s snout went with her, his head bashed into the windowsill; forcing him to lose his grip. She released her hooves and allowed the creature to fall back down to the ground level. A loud thud signified the creature’s landing. The nature loving mare curiously peeked outside the demolished window. The Cragadile was gone. What’s more, there were dents and cracks in the side of the building that the creature made when it climbed to the second floor window.
“That’s strange; Cragadiles don’t know how to climb. They usually stick to either the land or in the water. How in Equestria did he learn to do that?” she mused worriedly.
As Fluttershy went back downstairs to help Pinkie combat the remaining two Cragadiles, the rest of the Mane 6 struggled with their own animal adversaries.
“GET OUT OF THE WAY” Rainbow shouted thunderously.
The junior Wonderbolt flew across town like a cyan bullet. The Phoenix’s followed her in hot pursuit, blasting streams of fire from their beaks. Rainbow evaded as best she could, but with each blast their flames grew closer and closer. Some of the blasts struck buildings and the ground; scattering more ponies across the landscape.
“Hey what’s with you guys? I thought we were all cool when Spike brought your egg back, why are you acting nuts all of the sudden?” Rainbow called out.
The birds stared lifelessly on their colorful target, their eyes glowing with a zombie like daze. No sign of emotion or self-control in their glassy orbs. The Phoenix’s split up and each one positioned themselves on one of Rainbow’s sides. They spewed their scorching fire directly towards the cornered Pegasus.
She gasped and soared even higher into the skies; narrowly dodging the colliding flames. Rainbow spotted a few clouds drifting in the sky. An idea formed in her mind.
“If I can get one of those clouds to downpour, I can fizzle those featherheads right out of business,” she schemed.
As if anticipating her plan, the female Phoenix swooped up past Rainbow and blocked her from reaching the cloud. The mystical bird spread her wings and blinded Rainbow with a blinding burst of light. The male Phoenix took advantage of Rainbow’s distraction. He snuck up behind her and slashed his scorching talons across her wings and spine, Rainbow cried out in pain. The female Phoenix joined her mate in attacking Rainbow’s backside. The two striking birds forced Rainbow down to the ground. Her wings were full of cuts and burn marks.
“Ugh! I used to think I was hot stuff, but not like this,” she joked.
The Phoenix’s flew into the sky and circled back; descending down towards Rainbow’s location. Their speed and velocity were increasing at an alarming rate. Rainbow knew she wasn’t fully prepared to get back up in the air again, and even if she was, she couldn’t reach her top speed. The burning birds barreled down upon her like two meteors hurtling from the heavens.
Rainbow could roll off to the side but they’d catch up on her in a heartbeat. She looked around for something she could use to help fight them off. She spotted something directly behind her. “Okay, that could work but I’m only going to get one shot at this. If I miss it then I’m toast for sure,” she said.
Once the Phoenix’s came into range, Rainbow sprung her trap into action. The speedy mare squatted down on her tail, pulled her legs back and as soon as the fiery birds appeared, she bucked them over her head; splashing them directly into the fountain behind her. The birds writhed in sizzling agony as the water doused their flames into harmless sparks. They splashed about, smoke spewing from their flapping bodies. The Phoenix’s limply fluttered off in retreat once they escaped the fountain.
“Hot, hot, hot, HOOOOOT!” Rainbow shrieked.
Her hind hooves were burning bright red; heavily burned from kicking the mystical aviaries. Rainbow leapt into the fountain and quickly doused her sizzling hooves in the cold water. She lay on her back and sighed contently. The water quickly cooled off her burning hooves as well as her singed wings. Unfortunately, she didn’t have long to recuperate.
Another figure landed in the fountain. Rainbow felt a slight tremor from the force, followed by a splash and a roar. The colorful mare looked over her belly to see a pair of Cragadile teeth snapping right for her. She squeaked and kicked her burnt hooves at the beast; trying to give herself some distance. Rainbow tried to jump out but cracked her head on one of the layers of the concrete fountain. She cried out and dropped back down into the water. The Cragadile was directly on her now. The beast opened its flesh hungry jaws and prepared to devour the grounded Pegasus. Rainbow vainly raised her hooves up and closed her eyes tightly.
Suddenly, a pair of muscular grey pony arms latched onto the monster’s rocky tail and hurled him out of the fountain into a nearby dumpster. The beast landed with a clattering clang as the lid closed shut.
Rainbow slowly opened her eyes to see what had happened. What she found was that her savior’s face was one she knew all too well: Arrowhead.
“A-Arrowhead? Oh man, am I glad to see-”
“What the HELL is your problem?!? Are you trying to get yourself killed? You should have been able to get away from that thing easy,” he snapped viciously.
“Hey what the…are you serious?” she said defensively. Rainbow sat up on her elbows in the water, her soggy face was riddled with disbelief.
“Your damn right I am! If I hadn’t stepped in, you’d be nothing but bones in his belly right now,” he argued.
“Hey he caught me off guard; otherwise, I would have had him. Besides I’m trying to thank you. There’s no need to bite my head off about it,” she countered bitterly.
“I don’t want your thanks, and I don’t want anything else to do with you either. But that stupid ego is going to get yourself killed if you don’t keep it in check,” he growled hatefully.
“Ugh this is SO not the time to bring this up! There’s a huge invasion going on here, can’t we just-”
“NO, there is no we anymore, got that? You’re so full of yourself; you can’t even see what’s going on around you.”
“No, that’s not what I’m trying to say. Will you please just listen?”
“Just watch your own ass because I’m done caring what happens to you!”
Arrowhead and Rainbow’s argument was interrupted by a chorus of animal roars. They turned to see the Chimera creature baring its claws and fangs towards the bickering ponies. The beast charged towards them but Arrowhead rushed out to tackle the monster half way. Arrowhead traded blows with the Chimera, striking tiger claws with pony hooves. The two rumbled and rolled together in a blur of grey and striped orange colors.
Rainbow felt even more devastated after hearing Arrowhead’s merciless words. She knew he wanted nothing to do with her anymore, but she couldn’t just leave him like this. She quickly approached the two brawlers.
“NO,” Arrowhead’s voice quickly stalled Rainbow’s advances, “I told you I don’t need your help.” He grunted and groaned as he struggled against the menacing claws hovering above his jugular. He bit into the snake tail as she failed to bite him, she hissed in pain and recoiled to the backside of the creature’s body. “Just get out of here and go help someone else, I’ve got this, you hear? Now GO!”
The speedy mare felt like her mind was tearing itself apart. If she left to help others or go find help, Arrowhead may lose his life, but if she tries to help then Arrowhead will never speak or go near her again. This argument that was clouding their judgments all stemmed from her and she had to set it right, without losing him or his life. Bottom line; she had to trust him.
“All…all right…I’ll do it,” she muttered hopelessly. As much as this decision twisted every part of her up inside, she felt that the only way she was going to get on better terms with him was to trust him. Even in a situation like this. “You better not die on me, you hear? You can hate me all you want, but you’re going to live to see more of me…whether you like it or not,” she added. Rainbow turned away from the colt she loved and flew off to help others.
Meanwhile, at Sweet Apple Acres, the Apple family was fending off a vicious horde of Timber Wolves and a flock of Vampire Fruit bats. The creatures had swarmed over the farm like storm clouds. They cornered the Apple family at the farm, edging closer and closer.
“Ah don’t know what got into these timber wolves or the vampire fruit bats, but one thing is for certain, they ain’t here for no apple harvest,” Applejack said through clenched teeth. She wielded a shovel in her mouth, swinging it at any wolf or bat that dared to take a bite out of her or her family. “Just keep ‘em back as best ya can, Ahm sure Twi is already cookin’ somethin’ up to deal with…whatever the heck this is.”
The 4 ponies were positioned in front of the barn’s front door. Applejack and Big Mac stood at the forefront of the invasion, while Granny Smith and Apple Bloom stayed behind them. Granny Smith launched projectiles at the wolves with a sling shot. She fired rotten apples, rocks, horseshoes; anything Apple Bloom handed to her.
“This is crazy! Timber wolves and vampire fruit bats don’t work together, but now they’re attackin’ us like they’re good buddies or somethin’. We gotta get Fluttershy over here to talk to ‘em,” Apple Bloom whimpered.
“Sugar cube, Ah don’t even think Fluttershy can calm these critters down,” AJ grunted; smacking a timber wolf upside its head.
A pair of vampire fruit bats zeroed in on Apple Bloom. She squeaked in fear and started pelting apples at the flying beasts. The bats ignored the red projectiles; not even showing interest in eating them. They bared their fangs and went right for the young filly. One bat bit into her tail while the other clamped it’s fangs over her head. Apple Bloom screamed out loud, her limbs flailing wildly.
Big Mac grabbed the two bats and pried them off of Apple Bloom like rusty nails. He smashed them into a crumpled up, bat ball and tossed them over his shoulder. Apple Bloom smiled gratefully to her brother.
“BIG MAC, WATCH OUT!”
AJ’s warning came a split second too late. Four timber wolves attacked Big Mac from behind, they dug their fangs and claws into the back of his body and limbs. The burly colt growled angrily in pain. He dropped onto his back and smashed 3 of the timber wolves into rotting driftwood, a quick hoof punch to the face got the 4th off his neck. The red Earth pony quickly got back to his hooves and grabbed a pick axe with his mouth. He charged into the wolf and bat infested battlefield; wildly swinging his weapon and mowing down any creature in his path.
The busted fragments of the fallen wolves glowed bright green and started to move on their own. In a matter of moments, all of the slain wolves had reformed and reassembled to join the fight once more.
“Ugh! Yer doin’ a bang up job big brother, but it’s just not enough,” she grunted; kicking the wolves into splinters with her bucking legs. “These varmints are harder to bust than a buckin’ bronco at a black eyed bull fight. They just keep comin’ and we can’t-”
Applejack’s words suddenly stopped. She felt a painful, piercing sensation tingling in her flanks. The strange feeling was spreading up her spine and hind legs. She turned to see a ghastly gaggle of vampire fruit bats sinking their fangs into her body as if she were a juicy apple. Oddly enough, the bats seemed to be drinking her like she was one too!
“Get yer filthy fangs off mah flank ya flyin’ rats!” she barked.
She bucked and thrashed her heart out like a freshly branded bull. The bats dug their fangs deep and held onto their pony beverage as long as they could, eventually being flung off her body like fleas. The bats hissed at the orange mare with blood covered fangs. They greedily slurped their lips, visibly enjoying the taste and smiling sinisterly.
“Ah have seen some wild things in mah life, but Ah ain’t never seen a vampire fruit bat drink a pony’s blood. What in tar nation is goin’ on here?” Granny said blusteringly.
Applejack stumbled to keep her stance. Her legs wobbled like bowls of jelly, eyes grew heavy and sluggish. The bats took more out of her than she realized and it was taking its toll on her. Stubbornly, she refused to fall and prepared her bucking hips once more.
The bats collectively snickered. They rubbed their leathery wings together, grinning gleefully at the sight of such easy prey. The fanged mammals started to zero in on the weakened blond. The timber wolves started to encroach closer, their jaws dripping with fowl smelling green liquids and sharp wooden fangs.
Even with Big Mac swinging at full steam, losing Applejack would make it impossible for the family to remain guarded. She was a weak spot the monsters fully intended on exploiting and there wasn’t much he could do about it.
“Thou shall not touch thy fair maiden or thou will have to answer to ME!” a voice called out.
The bats and wolves turned reactively towards the source of that voice; it belonged to Hopeful Romantic. He was wearing a large backpack and wielding a rake he found in the fields as he soared over. The red Pegasus dive bombed the attacking horde, swinging the rake like a baseball bat against the creatures and pushing them back from the cornered Apple family. He swooped back for another dive and strike before landing protectively in front of Applejack.
“Next beast that lays one claw on my maiden or her family, I’m gonna send you screaming towards the heavens,” he snarled fiercely. The young poet mustered every drop of venom in his voice towards the menacing creatures.
Though tired and drained, Applejack sported her most pride filled smile at her hero’s bravery.
“T-t-t-thanks there Sugar. Yer timin’s better than a rooster’s alarm clock, though yeh sure were cuttin’ it mighty close. What took ya so long?” she teased weakly.
He shifted his head back; motioning to the bag. “I wanted to write you something extra special for Hearts and Hooves day. Unfortunately, I couldn’t decide which one to read to you so I just packed them all. Of course that meant it took me a bit longer to get here than I planned,” he said bashfully.
“Awwwww, now ain’t you just the sweetest thing Sugar? Tell ya what, let’s fix these critters wagon and Ah’ll listen to every single poem ya’ll packed,” she gushed warmly.
“Are you sure you’re okay to keep going fair maiden? Those bats looked like they took a lot of out of you,” he cautioned.
A timber wolf lunged towards Hopeful’s throat. The colt gasped and defended himself with the rake, jamming the wooden base into the beast’s mouth before it could reach him. The wooden wolf thrashed violently against the pony’s improvised shield, he struggled to keep it steady. Drool and fowl smelling breath dripped alongside the base of the rake.
Applejack grabbed a nearby apple, squeezed it’s juicy innards into her mouth and guzzled down the juice like a shot. She reared back her legs and bucked the menacing monster right between its glowing eyes. The wolf’s body split completely down the middle and collapsed into pieces.
Hopeful and Applejack looked at each other with revitalized passion in their eyes. They embraced a brief but loving kiss; running their hooves along each other’s cheeks. Much to their regret, the two separated.
“Ya’ll hit em high and Ah’ll hit em low?”
“I take the bats and you take the wolves? Sounds like a solid plan fair maiden.”
“Solid as an apple oak in buckin’ season; Sugar.”
“Let’s do it then…together!”
Hopeful and Applejack bravely charged the horde head on, not one trace of fear or doubt in their burning hearts. The Pegasus swatted away the bats with his rake while the orange mare bucked any timber wolves into broken clumps of wood with her legs. Big Mac protected Granny Smith and Apple Bloom; a shovel in one hoof and a pick axe in the other.
Twilight continued to battle with Chimera Khan. The princess’s spells were unable to inflict any damage on the masked villain, however. Anything she blasted him with was deflected, dodged or absorbed into his chest plate. She battled him on the ground and in the air but he proved to have no apparent weaknesses. He was unlike any foe she had ever faced before.
The pair circled each other in the air, both eyes locked squarely on the other.
“You’re getting sloppy, princess. The longer we continue this pointless dance, the more tired and drained you become. Your power fades while mine is everlasting. Why not cease this pitiful performance and simply face your end with some pride and dignity? We both know you’re not going to last for much longer,” Khan coldly stated.
“He’s right, I’m running out of gas and spells,” she panted heavily. She scanned for any stragglers out of the corner of her eyes. Twilight knew she couldn’t beat him, but at least she could give her friends and the other citizens of Ponyville more time to escape. “I don’t know much longer I can stall him, but I’ll keep going until every pony makes it out of here okay.”
Khan soared full speed ahead towards Twilight. His armor gleamed like a pony sized knife coming right for her. Twilight gasped and forced out a spell out of panic. A massive black smoke cloud formed; engulfing the purple princess and the approaching Khan as well. He sliced portions of the cloud in half with his energized horn. Khan snarled angrily, failing to find Twilight in this suffocating cluster.
“Quit hiding behind your defensive tricks and fight me head on like a real pony! You’re not going to make it out of here alive unless you hit me with everything you’ve got,” he snarled.
Khan eventually cleared away the smokescreen and found no sign of Twilight anywhere. He looked to the skies and spotted a purple mare flying away in the opposite direction. Her tail waved to him like a flag; making sure he would chase after her. The metallic tyrant sneered bitterly. He felt insulted by such a cowardly tactic; he couldn’t believe she was this spineless. Khan soared after Twilight without a second thought.
Twilight kept flying faster and faster; trying to get as far away from any other ponies as possible. Khan suddenly materialized right in front of her. She squeaked in panic. Twilight forced her wings into full brake mode, stopping just short of running into the masked villain.
“You’re not the only one who can teleport, you know?”
Twilight didn’t know what to say. She didn’t know how to respond or how she was going to get around this guy, she decided to just keep on trying. She teleported away and started to fly in a completely different direction, but Khan quickly cornered her; just as before.
“Why don’t you cease this pointless running and hit me?”
Again and again and again, Twilight popped herself all over the sky in varying angles and directions. She made it a little bit farther from Ponyville with each teleport. Khan kept up with her every zap of the way. Everywhere she turned he was there, confronting her, blocking her escape with ruthless precision.
“Hit me, hit me, hit me; HIT ME!!!”
Twilight couldn’t stand the relentless harassment any longer. In a state of panic, she powered up a shield like blast and launched it towards Khan. The villain expectedly absorbed the attack. He swung his horn like a hammer and blasted Twilight down to the ground. She cried out as she smashed into the Earth with a violent, shattering crash.
The fallen princess lay twitching within the crater she created. Khan materialized in front of her, leering down upon her with a glare of disappointment. Twilight quickly rushed to her hooves. Her eyes nervously darting from side to side; making sure the other ponies were still able to escape.
Khan’s menacing gaze noticed the princess’s erratic attention. He followed her eye movements and observed her awareness of the other ponies. The realization dawned on him; he knew now what Twilight had been doing.
“Oh I see…that explains everything…such a noble little princess, aren’t you?”
“W-w-w-what are you talking about? We’re fighting, aren’t we? I’ve been trying to put a stop to you.”
“Come now, let’s not kid ourselves princess. You’ve been stalling so your frivolous friends could make it out safely. There’s no point in continuing our battle now, you’re far too distracted to focus. You leave me no choice but to rectify this matter before we can continue.”
“Rectify? What exactly do you mean by that? What are you saying?”
Though she couldn’t see his face, Twilight got the unnerving sense that Khan was smiling behind that gruesome mask. He turned his back to the princess and started clanking his armored limbs back towards the center of town. She could only think of one thing Khan might do to free up her distractions, just thinking about it took her imagination to a terrifyingly horrific place.
“No, No, no! YOU CAN’T!”
Twilight leapt after the villain, her hoof extended and her horn charging up another spell. Without looking back, Khan mentally blasted Twilight back into the ground. The princess felt like she was being flattened by some sort of a gravity spell or mental paralysis spell. She couldn’t move; she couldn’t teleport; she couldn’t even flap her wings.
“PLEASE! You don’t have to do this. I’ll fight you right now! We’ll duel to the death, use weapons, whatever you want; just PLEASE…please…leave my friends alone,” she achingly pleaded. Tears dripped from Twilight’s eyes, her face being mushed into the ground by the force.
Khan stopped, turned around and looked curiously at the grounded Alicorn.
“Sigh, look at you, your just like her…you still don’t get it,” he coolly replied.
“What-what don’t I get? What are you talking about?” she cried out. Her eyes filled with fear, longing to free herself from this powerless position.
“The most valuable lesson you will ever learn, princess: friendship isn’t magic…friendship is suffering,” he hissed hauntingly.
Khan vanished with a small pop. The physical hold on Twilight vanished the instant Chimera Khan disappeared. She looked around frantically for any sight of him, despite knowing she knew he was going after her friends. Twilight was drowning in an ocean of fear. She didn’t know who Khan was going after. It could be one of her close 5 friends, it could be Cheerilee; it could even be one of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Worst of all, she was too worn and depleted to track him down. He could be anywhere, attacking anyone and she didn’t have a clue where to begin.
“I never thought I’d say this but I hope Spike left Ponyville. The last thing I need to do is worry about what that monster might do if he gets his hooves on Spike,” Twilight said fearfully.
Rarity ran fervently through the chaotic town. Ponies and their pets were running in every direction, some were being chased by those dreadful creatures. She hated seeing such madness. She loved this town and she loved the ponies she had befriended here. Despite all the fear and franticness of the situation, she had to focus, focus on the one person she had been searching for even before all this began: Spike.
“For my sake, I hope Spiky Wikey didn’t get on that train and is still here somewhere in Ponyville. But for his sake, I hope he did get on that train and is far away from this horrible nightmare. I would never forgive myself if something…if something happened,” she started to say. The fashionista stopped in her tracks and shook her head. “No, I can’t think like that now. I mustn’t let my fears get the best of me. I have to keep going until I am certain of his location.”
Rarity resumed her dragon hunt mission. She tried her best to drown out the screams and roars that echoed all around her, as well avoid the beasts causing those awful noises. Amongst the screams for help, Rarity recognized a very familiar, squeaky female voice.
“What the… is that…Sweetie Bell?!?” Rarity shrieked.
Out of nowhere, the unicorn’s pink and purple haired sister came running into view. Her eyes closed shut, tears dripping from her screaming lips. Sweetie Bell recognized her sister’s voice. She opened her eyes and spotted her; running immediately to her and wrapping her hooves around her in a powerful hug.
“Rarity, Rarity, thank Celestia I found you!” she wept.
“Sweetie Bell, what in the world are you doing out in this-this insanity? I thought you were with Scootaloo and the other school ponies,” the mare asked.
“We were, but our class was attacked by the Bug Bear. Miss Cheerilee told us to run and-and I got separated from Scootaloo. I tried to find her or the other school ponies or Miss Cheerilee, but I couldn’t find anyone,” she sobbed miserably.
Rarity comforted her sister as best she could. They couldn’t stand there long though, the wild beasts attacks were getting closer and closer to their location. As much as the fashionista wanted to continue searching for Spike, she couldn’t leave Sweetie Bell like this.
“I’m so sorry Spike but I’m afraid I must put my search for you on hold until I know my sister is safe,” she thought to herself.
The snow white sisters started moving towards the back end of streets and homes; they figured it’d be more discrete. While crossing over towards another back alley, Sweetie Bell mistakenly went left while her sister went right.
“No, Sweetie Bell that’s the wrong way, we’ve got to-”
A vicious Manticore suddenly appeared between the sisters; cutting them off from each other. The creature snarled and swiped his razor sharp claws at the two unicorns. Sweetie Bell kept looking around the beast; trying to find some means of escaping to the other side with her sister. The Manticore couldn’t decide which pony it wanted to attack.
“Sister, darling, stay RIGHT there and don’t move! I don’t want you going anywhere near this beastly brute,” Rarity warned.
The Manticore hissed wrathfully at Rarity for that unpleasant comment. He lashed his scorpion tail at the pampered pony. She squeaked in fright; hastily making a weak shield with her magic. It was enough to deflect the attack but she knew it would not withstand another. Rarity’s magic had almost never been used for any kind of offense or defensive spells, a fact she was instantly regretting at this very moment.
“Hey you big ugly monster, leave my sister alone!” the filly barked.
Despite her sister’s warnings, Sweetie Bell refused to sit there and watch her sister get assaulted. She levitated a busted soda can she found on the ground and chucked it at the monster. The can clinked as it bounced off the creature’s lion head, a small lump formed where it struck. The Manticore turned its attention towards Sweetie Bell. His eyes widened with blood thirsty rage, his claws and fangs’ gleaming sharply in front of the filly’s terrified green eyes.
“Sweetie Bell, run, run for your life NOW!” she shrieked desperately.
The frightened filly found herself unable to move. Rarity watched in horror as the Manticore lunged towards her younger sister; unable to do anything that could stop him in time. Before the beast could sink his claws and fangs into the tiny unicorn, Fluttershy suddenly appeared in front of Sweetie Bell and shielded her with her body.
“You stop right this second, mister!” she firmly scolded.
The monster’s eyes took on an eerie orange glow. Some strange, foreign force was suddenly afflicting the creature. A demented voice started speaking inside the Manticore’s mind, it boomed like thunder.
“NO, NOT HER! YOU CANNOT HARM HER!”
The Manticore stopped dead in his tracks, he immediately lowered his paw. Rarity gasped in utter disbelief. She knew Fluttershy was good with animals, but she’d never seen her calm a beast down so instantaneously like this. Fluttershy hovered defensively in front of Sweetie Bell. The misshapen monster stared blankly at the pink haired Pegasus; like a zombie under a spell. Chimera Khan’s voice continued to echo in the beast’s mind.
“Blast it! I thought for sure she had left town per my warning. This is troubling, most troubling indeed. I cannot abandon my campaign now…but permitting any harm to this sweet girl would be unfortunate. I’ll have to work around this as best I can. I shall deal with this inconvenience at a later time.”
“That’s it, now follow me, keep your eyes locked on me and no pony else,” Fluttershy instructed. The Manticore hypnotically obeyed her commands; flapping his bat wings and following her every move. Fluttershy slowly backed away with Sweetie Bell. “I’ve got this under control Rarity. I’ll make sure Sweetie Bell gets back with you as soon as I shake him off. You go on ahead; we’ll catch up with you.”
“You do as Fluttershy says Sweetie Bell. I’ll be joining you shortly, there’s something I must do first. Fluttershy knows what she’s doing; I trust her and you should too,” Rarity anxiously stated.
Sweetie Bell didn’t like leaving her sister alone like this, but she had made up her mind and Fluttershy had never steered either one of them wrong before. She nodded and followed the Pegasai’s lead. The mesmerized Manticore followed obediently. It seemed more curious with Fluttershy rather than harming her or Sweetie Bell.
Rarity let loose a hefty sigh of relief. With Sweetie Bell under Fluttershy’s protection, she knew her sister would be safe from that dreadful creature. Now she could resume searching for Spike and quickly return to her family and friends as soon as she found him.
She headed down the alleyway she was originally heading towards when the Manticore first appeared. Her hooves rapidly clopped against the ground as she ran down the alleyway. Another turn took her down another alleyway, only this time, she ran into something far worse than a mind controlled Manticore: Chimera Khan.
Rarity gasped so suddenly, she felt her voice leave her body like a detached spirit. Her whole body went numb all at once. Never in her life had she seen such a face, such a ghastly, unsettling face such as his. The blood red color on the cold, murderous armor froze her blood in her veins. She didn’t know who or what this thing was but one fact was evident: he was not friendly.
“Hello,” he said flatly.
“Oh h-h-h-h-hi there,” Rarity squeaked in reply. She gulped slowly and loudly, she felt her flesh crawling just by looking at him. She didn’t know if she should run, stand there or try and fight the masked villain. Fear had frozen her legs solid.
“Goodbye,” he said with a newfound coldness.
Khan’s eyes burned brightly, as if he had two suns boiling inside of his sockets. He blasted Rarity up against the wall with his eye beams. Rarity screamed in agonizing pain, her limbs flailing and writhing. The beams electrified every muscle, every cell in her body; as if every strand of fur and blood vessel were simultaneously bursting into flames. Khan squinted his eyes and intensified the beams. Rarity screamed even louder and harder, tears starting to drip down her eyes.
“Please stop! ARGH AUGH! It hurts…I can’t stand it, it hurts so much,” she wailed in agony.
Khan remained silent. No emotions or concern could be seen on the masked colt’s face. He continued blasting Rarity with his eye beams; ignoring her screams. He would not stop until she laid dead at his hooves.
As the pain intensified throughout her body, Rarity feared this would be the end for her. She was going to die…alone in an alleyway…and there was nothing she could do about it. As the blinding light of Khan’s beams grew brighter, her final thoughts drifted to those she would never see again.
“Girls, I’m so sorry but I’m afraid this is the end for me. I’ll never be able to make another dress, not for you or any pony else. Mom? Dad? I love you both so much. Thank you for letting me be the pony I wanted to be and always supporting me. Sweetie Bell, dear sweet little sister, keep on growing. I know you’ll be a beautiful, talented singer one day. I just wish I could have seen it. And Spike…my beloved Spiky Wikey… I am so terribly, unimaginably sorry for what I did to you. You didn’t deserve me…you deserve better than me. Of all the regrets that I have, my biggest one is not telling you how much I truly-”
“GET AWAY FROM THE WOMAN I LOVE!” a bold voice shouted.
Khan looked around for the source of that voice. It was coming from high up from one of the homes they were behind. There, standing on a window ledge, was Spike the dragon.
The purple dragon leapt at the metallic pony. His green eyes blazing with rage, nostrils flared from baring his fangs in a feral manner. Spike clamped his fangs directly into Chimera Khan’s left eye. A sickening squishing sound came from the masked pony’s face.
Khan’s energy beams stopped immediately. Rarity dropped to the ground in exhaustion, she coughed and wheezed achingly.
“GRAAHHH! GET IT OFF, GET IT OFF!” he screamed violently.
The dark colt thrashed around wildly; trying to throw Spike off. His screams roared like a wounded wolf. No matter how hard he moved or how much he struggled, Spike’s jaws remained firmly clamped on his eye. It felt as if the dragon was crushing Khan’s eye in a razor sharp hydraulic press.
Slowly, Rarity started coming back to her senses. Her legs still wobbled and her head and vision were still hazy, but she was starting to come back to full strength. Her diamond blue eyes adjusted to a familiar blob of purple and green that was dangling from Khan’s face.
“What the…Spike…is that you?” she wheezed out.
Spike finally released his jaws from Khan’s mangled eye. He crawled over his armored body like a spider; hacking and slashing his claws against any possible weak points. “Don’t you ever touch her again!” he snapped.
Before Khan could grab the wily dragon, Spike chomped a large bite into the metallic pony’s neck; right near his right shoulder. The metal crunched loudly under the weight of Spike’s shark like bite. Another violent scream erupted from Khan’s lips. He tried once more to pry the purple dragon off. He stomped his hooves and flapped his fiery wings, but Spike refused to let go no matter Khan did.
“What is going on here? Who is this and what in blazes are those things made of? I can actually feel him puncturing through my armor. I’ve got to get him off of me before he tears anything else off,” Khan thought.
“Run Rarity, you’ve got to get out of here right now,” said Spike; pausing briefly from his attack.
“Wha-what? I can’t just leave you here Spike, there’s just no way,” said Rarity. Her voice trembled just thinking about such a ludicrous request.
Khan capitalized on Spike’s distracted state and electrified his body with a powerful surge of magical energy. Spike was blasted off Khan’s body; like an insect after colliding with a bug zapper. His metallic hoof crushed against Spike’s stomach. The young drake was pinned to the ground, he struggled to free himself. Khan stared murderously down at the struggling dragon, looking down with his one eye and bloodied, empty socket.
“You meddlesome wretch, do you have any idea what you’ve done?!?” Khan scowled. Sombra’s horn started whirring like a spiraling drill. Red, fire like energy surged across the blood red base of the mystical unicorn horn. He bent down towards Spike’s head and attempted to impale one of his emerald eyes. “Well, you know what they say: an eye for an eye.”
“Get your filthy hooves off my Spiky Wikey!” Rarity bellowed.
The fashionista charged towards the armored villain like a rampaging bull. She lowered her head and rammed into him; plunging her horn deep into his only remaining eye. Khan threw his head back and screamed once more. Blinded, he was reduced to flailing wildly against the air; screaming and attacking without rhyme or reason. Rarity suddenly realized what was stuck on her horn. She squealed in utter disgust; shaking her head and repeating “eww” over and over again. The liquefied, bloody remains of Khan’s eye fell to the ground with a sickening plop.
Spike coughed freely now that Khan’s hoof was no longer crushing his lungs. He staggered back to his feet, his concern instantly fell on the whimpering beauty that had saved his life. “Rarity, Rarity! Are you all right?” he asked; breathlessly. He ran to her side, his claws running over her body in search of any wounds. She gently cupped his rubbery claws and placed them down. The mare assured him she was fine. “I can’t believe you just did that. That was awesome, gross but awesome! You totally saved my life, thank you” he said gratefully.
“Only after you saved mine darling, thank you,” she replied; nuzzling his cheek softly. When this was all over and done with, she was going to spend many hours in her shower scrubbing down her horn. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you. I feared we had lost you for good,” said Rarity.
“Oh yeah…that,” Spike said glumly. In all the chaos and madness, he almost forgot he was running away from Ponyville. Despite Rarity being the primary reason for his abrupt exit, he felt he owed her an explanation for saving his life. He opened his mouth to speak but Rarity quickly stopped him.
“Please, don’t say anything. You don’t even have to apologize for leaving. I should be the one apologizing. That’s why I came to find you, so we could talk about…us,” she said lovingly. Spike’s eyes widened in unparalleled shock, he couldn’t believe what she was saying. “I was wrong darling, so very wrong about all of this…about you. I just hope I’m not too late to-”
“Whoa, whoa, just wait a minute. Are-are you saying what I think you’re saying?” he asked hopefully.
Chimera Khan cracked his armored head against an alleyway wall. He screamed savagely, maddeningly moaning in agony. With no vision to guide him, the villain was just lashing out randomly at anything within his immediate proximity.
“Um perhaps we can continue this conversation after we figure out what to do with him?” she inquired. She cringed in revulsion upon looking at the armored villain. Even before he was so crudely blinded, she felt mortified looking at him.
“What, are you kidding me?!? You can’t leave me hanging like that. Besides, he’s blind, it’s not like he can do much. What’s he gonna do, grow his eyeballs back?” Spike teased.
Khan’s thrashing and screaming eventually stopped. His eerie, stone like silence sent even more shivers up the spines of the unicorn and dragon. Khan’s back started to glow, dimly at first but brighter and brighter with each passing second. The crudely assembled assortment of feathers, gemstones and talismans produced a vibrant bouquet of dark colors. A pair of blindingly white lights emerged from Khan’s empty sockets like headlights. Within a few moments, both of Khan’s eyes magically regenerated. He glared loathingly with his new eyes at the stunned pair.
“Uh I-I was only joking, I didn’t think he could actually do that!” Spike gasped, gulping loudly. Rarity and Spike clung to each other protectively.
“That. Actually. Hurt! If it wasn’t for the combined magic of the Phoenix gauntlet and the various Phoenix feathers I acquired, I would be permanently sightless,” Khan hissed cruelly. He stomped his hooves in a charging stance. Multiple energies surged over his body like electrical serpents. “For this transgression, I’m going to send both of you screaming to the gates of Hell!”
Khan took one step closer. As if on reflex, both Spike and Rarity stepped forward and extended a protective arm over the other’s chest. They looked at each other; slightly surprised at how instinctual their desire to protect each other was.
“If you so much as ruffle her fur, I’ll bite your head off and burn it until there’s nothing left,” Spike fiercely growled.
“And I’ve said this before but I’ll say it again: I’ll rip you to pieces if you touch one little scale on his cute little head!” Rarity threatened. She raised her hooves up like Rainbow Dash would; preparing to fight with everything she’s got.
“Don’t insult me! I’m more powerful than even an Alicorn. You really think some runt in an enchanted dragon costume and a second rate seamstress can stop the likes of me, just because you got in a few lucky shots?” Khan scoffed angrily.
“HEY NOW, who are YOU calling second rate? I’ll have you know my fashions have been featured-”
“Whoa, wait a second; did I just hear you say…dragon costume?” Spike asked curiously. Rarity also expressed genuine bewilderment at the villain’s statement; after ignoring his slanderous remarks about her fashion skills of course.
The two looked at each other strangely and then looked back towards Khan. The young dragon examined his limbs and scales, trying to see what it was that made him look like a costume. Khan remained unconvinced that the drake was the genuine article.
“You actually think this is some kind of costume?” Spike asked; sounding almost hurt in his defensiveness. “Isn’t it obvious that I’m a real-”
“SILENCE! I will not waste one minute longer on this pointless prattling. If the two of you are so disgustingly fond of each other, then perhaps you’ll find some comfort knowing that neither one of you will live to see another day again!” Khan sneered.
Khan stepped to the side and revealed a surprise companion he had hidden behind his back. The Cockatrice creature emerged from the shadows; flapping its scaly wings and flashing its Medusa like eyes towards the duo.
Rarity gasped in horror. She had never seen such an ugly, repulsive creature like this. This beast was even uglier than those rancid Changelings. “What in Equestria is tha-” her voice trailed off whisperingly. A stone like wave froze her lips permanently in mid-sentence. The curse of the Cockatrice was spreading down her face and head, slowly turning every inch of her to stone.
“NO RARITY…no,” Spike called out; his claw longingly reaching for her. She was gone, frozen in an ever expanding block of stone. Her voice and face were locked permanently in that shocked state. Spike tried to move his legs but found no feeling in them; even his tail had gone completely numb. “Oh no, it got me too,” he grimaced. Spike looked back and saw the lower half of his body was already turned to stone. It was crawling up his belly and towards his neck.
Everything was turning out wrong…just when it seemed to be turning out right. He came back in time to save Rarity, and she was willing to talk things out with him. Who knows what could’ve been if this hadn’t happened, what might have changed if it weren’t for this? The world was turning grey faster and faster. Spike watched in gut churning horror as Rarity’s mane turned to stone, her white fur was vanishing and being replaced with cold, rough, unfeeling stone. Very soon, neither one of them would ever feel or think anything ever again; forever locked in an escapable stone prison.
Spike looked to his beloved purple haired goddess one last time. He felt so devastated seeing her like this; he could cry. Spike’s last thoughts were filled with grief and regret.
“So…this is how it all ends, huh? Frozen forever by the pony that broke my heart. Sad as it may sound, that doesn’t sound like a bad way to go. If I had run away, I wouldn’t be here with her now. Sigh, I only wish I knew if she had really changed her mind or not. I’ll never know if she realized she loved me or not, or if we could have patched things up. Sometimes…I really hate being a dragon. I’m supposed to be this fierce, fire breathing, scary force of nature, and yet, here I am: losing everything because I’m a weakling…just like Slick Charmer said.
“What’s the point of being born a dragon if I can’t do anything real dragons do? Why do I have to be so small and worthless, why do I have to sit here and watch the love of my life turn into a soulless hunk of rock? Dragons are supposed to be strong, dragons are supposed to be fierce. So why can’t I save the ponies I care about, why can’t I do anything right? I can’t take this anymore! Just once, I want what makes me different to make me strong. Come on you scaly, ugly body, do something for a change! Help me help her, please, just let me do something right! PLEEEEEEEEAAAASE COME OOOOOOOOON!”
The grey curse stopped just below Spike’s green scales atop of his head. An emerald glow emanated from within Spike’s petrified body parts, the glow grew brighter and stronger as it spread across. The stone shell cracked like an egg. More and more emerald green light came pouring out from the cracks, consuming every inch of Spike.
Chimera Khan and the Cockatrice stared baffled at the amazing display. Neither one knew what was going on or how to stop it. The light grew so powerful, they had a hard time keeping focused on it.
FASCHOOM!
Spike’s body was enveloped by a roaring, emerald green fire. The stone flesh cracked off like a second skin; shattering into pieces on the ground. The petrification spell had been broken. Spike had grown larger, taller, and stronger; right before Khan’s eyes. His neck was slightly longer, his arms and legs had grown lanky and stretched, even his tail and green spines had grown. Spike had somehow aged into the first form he grew into when he was overloaded with dragon greed on his birthday.
Without even thinking, Spike sucked in his newly aged chest and blasted Khan and the Cockatrice with a monstrously large wave of fire. His primal rage and fury could be heard in his demonic roar, his savage attack continued to flow freely from his scaly lips.
A second blinding flash sparked vividly. Khan’s chest plate successfully absorbed the flames, leaving the armored villain unharmed. The Cockatrice however, had become blinded by the fire. It screeched in unimaginable pain. The beast ran off, smoke and magical sparks sizzling from its blinded eyes.
Once the smoke had cleared, Spike had finally learned his attack proved useless against the metallic pony. However, something was definitely different about him. Khan was displaying an emotion that Spike assumed he rarely ever showed: fear. Chimera Khan was unimaginably terrified of Spike. His orange eyes were twitching anxiously, his armored chest rising and falling with intense breathing. He looked like he had seen death himself. Khan hadn’t even noticed the Cockatrice had run off; too busy shaking in his clanking boots.
“D-d-d-d-d-d-dragon, y-y-y-you’re a r-r-r-r-real d-d-dragon,” he babbled senselessly. Khan felt overwhelmed by a crippling wave of anxiety. Nightmares of smoke and fire ravaged his thoughts. He remembered the horrifying sight of the dragon that burned him, how it nearly had killed him and how it permanently scarred his body. “No…no…n-n-not again…that fire…that horrible green fire. No, make it stop, please make it stop. J-j-j-j-just m-m-make it all STOP!” he shrieked.
Khan turned and ran, he ran so fast he couldn’t even tell he was moving. The psychic link connecting to him to all the monsters spread his fear to them like wildfire. All across Ponyville, the creatures were fleeing the town; screaming and running.
Several ponies stared at the monsters as they left. They scratched their heads, looking to one another for some semblance of an answer or reason for this sudden change of events. Not a soul had a clue what had happened or who had actually saved them.
“What was that all about? And more importantly, what happened to ME?!?” Spike gasped. He had been so lost in his rage, he hadn’t realized he had transformed into a taller, lankier, more adult looking dragon. His voice had changed as well. The drake examined his body, wondering how this had happened or if he was going to keep on growing like last time.
CRACK!
Rarity’s stone shell cracked and collapsed into dozens of fractured pieces. Her eyes briefly fluttered back to life before closing them, her voice whimpering faintly. Rarity collapsed to the ground. Spike rushed in and grabbed her with his new longer, larger arms. Her purple curls never even touched the ground. Spike held her delicately in his claws, holding her as if she were made of glass and would break if she left his embrace.
“Rarity, Rarity, please, say something,” Spike pleaded. He looked at her longingly, tears swelling up in his enlarged emerald eyes.
Seeing her so weak and fragile like this, it broke his heart. She was always so glamorous, so passionate. Rarity was filled with more spirit and imagination than any pony he had ever known. He didn’t know what was wrong or what he could do to help her, all he knew was that he wanted to see those luminous eyes of hers open up again. He longed to hear her melodious voice again, just so he knew she was okay.
Rarity moaned sleepily. Her eyes fluttering open; slowly adjusting to her new surroundings. She felt warmth caressing her body, like the sun had arms and it was cradling her like a foal. “What the…wha…Spike, what happened?” she asked anemically. Her eyes opened up all the way; finally getting a full view of the new Spike.
“Rarity, oh thank Celestia, your all right,” he beamed ecstatically. The sound of his new voice caused Rarity to raise her eyebrow in confusion.
“Spi-Spi-Spike? You look so… you look so…ugh,” she moaned; passing out once more.
Spike sighed miserably; closing his eyes in shame. He figured his new look was probably too scary for her. At the very least, he was happy that she was all right.
Meanwhile in the far reaches of the jungle…
Ahuizotl rested comfortably on a golden throne, leaning back in it like a lawn chair. He and his minions had amassed a wealth of stolen treasures and artifacts. They were pooled around the jackal creature’s throne. He rested his paws comfortably on top of the petrified statue of Daring Do; using her as a foot stool.
“Ah, now this is the life,” he mused; slurping loudly out of a straw inside of a mango fruit.
Daring Do’s statue suddenly exploded; blasting off the rock shell in a surge of mystical light. Ahuizotl was thrown off his chair. He gasped; sputtering his drink and coughing heavily.
“Ay Dios mio!” he exclaimed. His eyes widened, he stared horrified at the frighteningly familiar sight of a bronze colored mare standing before him.
“AHUIZOTL,” Daring Do screamed; her nostrils flared like a wild boar. Her stare looked like it could drill right through a diamond.
“Oh no.”
Daring Do leapt at the pilfering criminal and started wailing on him.
Chimera Khan and the animals continued fleeing Ponyville. Twilight, Applejack, Arrowhead and the other ponies stared in wonder as the beasts scattered like roaches in the light. The flying creatures flew off into the sky, while others either dove into rivers and lakes or scurried into the Everfree forest. The last one to leave was Chimera Khan himself.
Khan soared through the clouds on fiery wings. He looked back at Ponyville; grumbling bitterly that his invasion failed because of one puny dragon. Flying past Khan’s left side was an elite convoy of armored Pegasai. They were wearing golden armor, golden helmets with blue tops and carrying multiple diamond tipped spears. Flying just behind the cadre of royal guards was their leader, and the one they were sworn to protect: Princess Celestia.
Khan and Celestia passed each other slowly, their eyes briefly locking with one another as they crossed paths. The ponies felt as if time had slowed down at that very moment, as if destiny itself was forcing their eyes to make contact. Celestia and Khan both halted in midair. The guards stopped. They had no clue why their princess had stopped but intended on staying by her side no matter what happened next.
“No…it can’t be…is it really you?” Celestia gasped. Her voice was so shrill, so stunned; the words almost didn’t slip past her lips.
Khan shook his head, his eyes darting around anxiously. He immediately regretted his decision to halt in front of Celestia. “No…n-n-n-no…this-this wasn’t supposed to happen. You weren’t supposed to see me yet, not like this,” he babbled erratically. The armored pony didn’t know how to process this encounter. His eyes strained under his crippling confusion.
“It is you! I’d recognize those eyes anywhere. I can’t believe it. You’re alive after all this time, Sir-”
“DON’T YOU EVER SAY THAT NAME! That pony is dead. He died years ago when you abandoned him and wiped his name from existence.”
“B-b-b-but I don’t understand old friend. I would never do such a thing. You must tell me what has happened to you. Whatever it is, I can help.”
“There is no point old friend. This was a mistake, it could cost me everything. I’m afraid I have no choice but to help you forget this entire conversation.”
Before Celestia could ask what her ghost of a friend meant, the crystal orb in his mask fired a metallic blue energy beam. The beam struck Celestia’s forehead. She screamed in excruciating pain, the beam felt like it was drilling right through her skull and into her brain. Her wings and limbs flopped around wildly.
“Colton’s third eye will erase this meeting from your memory. This wasn’t part of the plan, but now that you know it’s me, you could use your knowledge of my background against me; giving you an advantage. This is something I cannot allow,” he said grimly.
The Pegasus guards launched their spears at Khan. Most of them bounced off his mystical armor like they were pebbles, but one spear struck Colton’s third eye directly. The orb shattered into several chunks, they plummeted to the ground. Khan reeled back his head and snarled at the skull splitting pain. The beam stopped instantly. Celestia gasped as she collapsed, several of the guards flew in and caught her before she dropped any further.
“Don’t celebrate yet you fools, this is FAR from over,” Khan declared.
Chimera Khan turned to the sky and flew off into the clouds. He disappeared.
“Princess, princess, are you all right?” one of the guards asked.
“Ugh…I uh think so…ugh but my head…feels like it’s on fire,” she weakly mewed.
“Forgive us your majesty but, who was that masked pony?” another guard asked.
Celestia stared blankly at the spot where Chimera Khan once was. She looked as if she was in a dream; lost in a transparent sea of fractured thoughts and hollow memories. She raised her hoof to her head and rubbed it. Everything felt hazy and clouded.
“I…I’m not sure…I thought I knew him but…I’m just not sure,” Celestia said; quivering.
To be continued…