//------------------------------//
// 2 
// Story: Ruin 
// by Undermine 
//------------------------------//

...3.

At 5:30pm the glowing dragon is gone and Spike recoils in shock. He looks down at his body. Only a minute ago he saw his legs bent in three directions and forearm was snapped in two. Now they're all rigid again. Only bruises remain. And the pain.

At 5:31pm Spike cries. He is laying fetal on the ground and is holding his head in his arms.

At 5:36pm he sits up and wipes his eyes. The bruises on his wrist cause him to wince. He takes in a deep breath. And another. And one more...

At 5:38pm Spike remembers the glowing dragon. He turns his head around. It's gone. Just like...it said. What did it say? He doesn't remember any words spoken. But he remembers it said...something. His breath is still fast but his thoughts are coming back. There is so much pain.

At 5:40pm a breeze rolls over Spike's scales and it causes him to flinch. He remembers she had to leave him. It...no. She? Yes. She had to leave after she fixed his bones. Why? Why did she have to leave? What else did she say?

At 5:41pm another breeze blows by. She was visiting...and she was worried. And...about...someone else. Who? None of them were ghosts, she said. Why was she worried? Who else is here?

At 5:42pm a pebble behind Spike rolls towards him and pauses a half meter away. He doesn't see it. More thoughts are coming back now. She said a lot to him in their brief time together. It didn't feel brief, he recalls. It felt like a long time. It felt so long in that pain. Pain that was far worse than the pain now. She was worried about him.

At 5:43pm Spike stands up. He realizes that he's surrounded by ruins. The ruins he and Rarity were going to find gems in. But, there was something the glowing dragon wanted him to find in these ruins. What was it? Another thought came back. She said he hit his head. Really clocked it, she said. He reaches up and presses a massive bruise on his forehead. The pain is so intense he sits back down. His vision goes red and his eyes vibrate. A sound like a ringing bell echoes in his eardrums. Breathing through his teeth, he waits for the wave of pain to subside.

At 5:42pm the breeze returns on his back. He turns around and sees the pebble behind him. He also sees the desert past it and a broken stone archway, what seems to be the entrance to these ruins. He squints, there's something in the distance. Could it be the balloon? Rarity...Rarity is there. He has to get to her, he thinks, but the glowing dragon told him to go somewhere else. To an archway. This one? No, this one...is broken.

At 5:43pm the pebble moves closer just as he remembers what he needed to find. She also said not to stay in this spot, Spike realizes. He stares at the pebble. It's not moving but he definitely saw it move. He doesn't want to break eye contact with it. Someone might find him, she said. Someone...

At 5:45pm a noise behind Spike jolts him around. Another pebble. In fact, six pebbles are surrounding him. She said...someone not as kind might find him. Spike stands up and the pebbles turn over. No. Eyes. Six eyes are surrounding him, and they are staring at him.