//------------------------------// // The Road To Recovery // Story: Rise of Equestria 2: Cannon Fodder // by Israel Yabuki //------------------------------// The group near the castle watched in horror as their dear friend, Spike was making his way towards Canterlot City and there wasn't a single thing they could do to hold him back. Twilight and Sunset tried to come up with some sort of plan to at least stall him or draw his attention back towards them. But it was difficult to stradegize when they were in a state of panic. "He's too tough!" Spark Burst said. "We can't out-fight him, even as a group. "Yeah, no kidding!" Shadow Force replied, watching the dragon walk away from them. "This is bad! We need a new plan. Brute force just isn't working on him." Heat Blitz said. "If there's anything I know about dragons that are Spike's present size, it's the fact that they're much too strong to fight in a head-on assault. However, they don't go into battle with a well-planned stradegy, and while some of us have outsmarted him, it only served to further his anger. If we keep toying with him like we did before, he'll only grow more furious and Spike might not ever be able to come back." Twilight explained. "But what can we do? We tried to talk to Spike and convince him we're not a threat, but that only made him more mad and I don't think there's anything else we can do." Fluttershy said, looking sad and about to cry. "Don't say that, Fluttershy!" Hurricane Breeze said, patting her gently on her back. "I'm sure there's a way to bring Spike back from his hypnotized state, we just need to figure it out." he said with confidence. "You really think there's a way?" Pinkie Pie asked. "There should be, or at least I hope so." Hurricane was well aware that even he doesn't know how to stop Spike and bring him back and he certainly didn't have the right amount of knowledge on dragons to boot. But suddenly, he finally got a clue. "Wait a second! I might not know if there is an antidote, but I bet you all that somepony else we know might know the cure, or even better, has the cure!" "Are you talking about Melodia?" Spark Burst asked. "Of course! Melodia's the only one who might know of a way to bring Spike back!" Fluttershy said. "But, what if she doesn't know?" Rarity asked, worried. "There's no time to doubt it. Unless you can come up with another plan that could stop Spike, this is probably the only shot we've got! There's no other choice left!" Hurricane Breeze said. He spread out his wings and took flight, heading towards the giant, rampaging dragon. The others thought this was a crazy idea, but Hurricane made a valid point about Melodia. If she does have the cure, she's their only hope." "Hey, that's right! Since Melodia probably knows the Song of Dragons, she probably knows the reversal song, this actually might work!" Heat Blitz said. "Now that you mention it, she was the daughter of the first dragon lord. But I don't know if I would go so far as to just assume she knows how to fix all of this." Sunset said. "She's right, what if we're just grasping at straws?" Rarity asked, worried. "Unless you have a better idea on how we can stop this, Melodia might be our one and only chance in putting a stop to Spike's major rampage." Hurricane said to Rarity. "Come on, the sooner we reach Melodia, the sooner this nightmare might be put to rest!" With that said, Hurricane extended his wings outwards and flew off towards Canterlot with Fluttershy, Spark Burst, Heat Blitz and Twilight close behind. The rest of the group had no choice but to run towards the city. Melodia's eyes drifted to where Hurricane and the other pegasi and Twilight were and flew in their direction until she got close enough to block their path. "What do you think you're doing?" Melodia asked. Without warning, Spike's eyes locked on the group that was airborne and blasted a stream of green flames, which almost hits them. But, thanks to being part unicorn, Melodia used her horns to conjured up a shield that blocked Spike's attack before it reached them. "We just want to know if you have ny idea on how to stop Spike, like maybe some type of song spell that reverses the Song of Dragon's effect." Twilight said, with desperation in her eyes. "Hold your tears, princess, I got the cure. Now hurry up and get out of here, or there's gonna be a major barbeque with you guys on the menu!" she told them with a glare, still holding off Spike's attack. "Wait a second, who are you to threaten us?" Twilight asked, offended. "Just get outta here, already! And for the record, if I wanted to roast you, I would have done it long ago when I came back from my icy prison! But I'm not, I'm trying to help you, now get everypony out of here before your dragon friend here roasts you all! HURRY!!!" Melodia yelled. Twilight didn't say another word and just nodded at what Melodia said. She and her friends all flew away from Melodia and landed in the city in search of Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Ground Breaker. Everyone found them in the southern part of Canterlot, trying to put out the flames that were reaching the buildings where the nobles were being looked after. Everyone else on the ground found them and regrouped with each other to break the news to each other. "What in the hay are y'all doin'?" AJ asked. "Melodia's found out about a song that can reverse the Song of Dragons!" Twilight said. "You mean there's a chance she might bring Spike back?" Rainbow asked, shocked. "Yes, she confirmed it to us. The only thing we have to worry about now is putting out the fire! Now come on, let's grab us some buckets and maybe with a little luck, we'll pull this off!" Heat Blitz said. "That won't be necessary, son." said a deep male voice. Everyone's eyes looked upwards and saw Blaze Burn and Princess Celestia flying down and landing in front of them. "I'm proud of you all for your hard efforts, but I think it's time Blaze Burn and I took it from here. You'd best go help Melodia out, she can't do this on her own." Celestia said. "Wait! What about my brother?" Heat Blitz asked, worried. "Are you guys talking about me?" asked a male voice. Heat Blitz gasped and saw his older brother, Eternal Flames, walking up to the group, looking like he was never hurt to begin with. "What are you doing here? You're suppose to be in bed!" Sunset said, worried. "I'm fine. I've rested up long enough. Look I don't have time to argue on whether I should still be resting or not, but like mother Celestia said: Melodia can't fight this alone." Eternal said. "How are we going to do that?" Fluttershy asked. "There's only one way we can do this. We have to weigh down Spike, which is normally impossible due to the current circumstances right now. But there is another way." Eternal paused, right as he stopped in front of the group, making them feel curious. "Sunset, Twilight, do you two know how to cast a gravitational spell that weighs down anypony no matter what their size is?" "Well, yeah, but it requires a lot of concentration, even with the two of us." Twilight said. "True, but it's not going to be just you two. I'm capable of casting such a spell. Now, what I want to know is what exactly is it that you guys have planned?" Eternal asked. "We might have found out a way to bring back Spike! But the only one who's cut out for the job is Melodia, since she knows the Song of Dragons and the reversal song!" Sunset explains. Eternal blinked in surprise and turned his attention to the pony/dragon hybrid princess, watching as she kept maneuvering and dodging Spike's flames. Eternal looked back at the group and nodded. "I see, then we'd best act fast, if we combine our magic together, we'll have a better chance of holding him off." "Will it work?" Rarity asked. "By my calculations, if what Eternal says is true, it has an 80% chance of succeeding. Now, the only way to find out is to put our plan into action. Let's go, everypony!" Twilight commanded. Right on cue, the entire group ran in the direction of their dragon friend, but then Eternal ran up to the Princess of Friendship. "Eternal, now's not the time for you to apologize to me. We've got bigger problems." "Twilight, I--" Eternal said, but gets cut off. "You can worry about that, later! Just focus on the task at hoof, no questions asked!" Twilight commanded out of frustration, finally shutting him up. The rest of the group remained quiet until everyone finally got close enough to the giant purple, rampaging dragon. Although, he was too distracted with Melodia to notice the group of ponies standing in front of his feet. "It all comes down to this, doesn't it?" Sunset asked. "Without a doubt. Now, Sunset, Eternal, on my signal." Twilight said, looking up at the hypnotized purple dragon before closing her eyes. Eternal and Sunset both did the same thing and soon, the three of them lit up their horns, casting a big, magic circle underneath Spike's feet. The glow from the magic circle was enough to catch their hypnotized friend's attention and glare down at the two unicorns and alicorn. Altogether, the three of them focused all of their magic and casted the gravitational spell. The giant dragon roared as he was being forced down onto his knee and claw. Try as he may, the gravitational pull was too strong, even for his maximum size. Twilight, Sunset and Eternal could feel the gravity affect them, too, but they couldn't let the pressure overwhelm them. Melodia was caught in the magic circle as well, but she made use of her magic casted a protection spell on herself to keep herself airborne. Although, the gravitational spell was working on Spike, she had to wait until he was completely down onto the ground. She could see Spike, struggling in vein to stand back on his feet and pretty soon, the raging dragon shot his flames at Twilight, Sunset and Eternal, but even his attacks were pulled straight down, accidentally hitting his toes. That single shot caused him to roar in pain and lose his footing, sinking completely sinking down onto the ground. "I didn't ask for help, but I suppose thanks are in order. Now watch me work my magic!" Melodia gloated with a confident smirk before flying down to one of Spike's ears. The others watch as Melodia starts vocalizing while Spike struggled to break free of the spell. But soon, as Melodia kept on vocalizing into Spike's ear, Spike's struggling began to deteriorate. Twilight, Sunset and Eternal were struggling to keep the spell going and were starting to lose their hold on it. Luckily for them, Spike was becoming less violent and was slowly shrinking back down to size. All the other ponies watched in awe, seeing the once giant purple dragon lose his hostility and finally, revert back to the good ol', teenage dragon they knew and love. Simultaneously, Twiligh, Sunset and Eternal gave into the sheer pressure and collapsed, completely exhausted. "Ah can't... believe it!" Applejack said. "They actually did it!" AJ was shocked to see how their plan had become a complete success, even against all odds. She and the rest of the group were taken by surprise the moment they saw their dragon friend struggled to rise to his feet. Spike somehow managed to stand up, but his legs were wobbly and his arms were limp. His head was hung low and his eyes were locked onto the ground, but no one could see if they were open or closed. Even Spike's tail was limp. Rarity took this chance to run over to Spike. He fell forward, but was caught in time by Rarity. She held him in her hooves, keeping herself supported on her hinde legs. "Don't move, Spike. You're hurt. I'm here, okay?" she told him, reassuringly. But when she looked directly at his eyes, she let out a gasp, feeling the tears in her eyes swell up. "Oh no! ...S-Spike! Oh no, what have I done?!" she asked herself, getting all choked up. Spike's eyes weren't slidded, but they were completely void of any sort of life, no spark in those emerald eyes of his whatsoever. Rarity was afraid of whether or not she had really lost Spike, even after all that trouble. She leaned her ear towards his left chest. To her relief, she heard Spike's heart still beating steadily with life. She only got even more choked up and held Spike in a warm embrace. Eternal got up slowly and walked towards Spike and Rarity. One look at Spike's eyes and immediately, he closed his eyes and tilted his head down. "He's out cold. Nothing keeping him up but sheer willpower," he said in a calm manner. While Rarity cried over her unconcious friend, the others witnessed Princess Celestia and Blaze Burn use their combined magic to lift the flames off the grounds of Canterlot. After that, Celestia uses her magic to cause the flames to vanish slowly into the sky, leaving no trace of it left. Thanks to the princess and Blaze Burn, the nobles of Canterlot and the city were safe once more. Now that the job was done, Celestia and Blaze Burn flew down and checked up on the unconcious teenage dragon, who was buried in Rarity's hooves. The princess tapped Rarity's shoulder, but Rarity still kept holding Spike in a warm embrace. "Rarity, perhaps we should bring Spike to my castle." she said. "Can I please sit by his bedside until he wakes up?" Rarity asks, not turning around. Celestia was taken by surprise by how Rarity chose to now be there for Spike. But Rarity didn't stop there. "I'm the reason Spike changed from a sweet dragon to that giant, rampaging dragon! Melodia was right, this was all my fault for being blinded by my own pride and brushing off Spike's affections for me like it was some little crush. So, is it alright with you if I watch over him until he wakes up?" This time, Rarity looked at Celestia with tears of sadness. Princess Celestia let out a sigh and smiled at Rarity sadly. "I don't see any reason why you shouldn't." It felt relieving to hear the princess approve of Rarity's request. Princess Celestia watched Spike's eyes slowly close and felt his entire body go completely limp. With the nightmare over for now, everypony helped Twilight and Sunset back up on their hooves and guided them back into the Canterlot Castle. Twilight still couldn't believe that the plan actually worked and that Spike was no longer under the spell of the Song of Dragons. By the time they all arrived inside, Twilight and Sunset stood on their own and walked the rest of the way down the hall with the others. Just then... "Twilight," Eternal said, getting her attention. "What I said earlier back in Ponyville... It wasn't right for me to lose my temper and snap at you like that. I was so upset about how Spike was being treated all those years when you were raising him. I apologize for my rude behavior. Can you forgive me?" he asked, sincerely. "...Yes, I forgive you. Also, I think I should let you know that those weren't the only times I wasn't being fair to Spike and I really need to get this off my chest." Twilight said, looking down. "Alright, and you have my word that I will not snap at you." Eternal said. Twilight nodded and kept walking down the hallway until Princess Celestia came to the room on the far left and opened the door. Celestia looked at Rarity, who had Spike on her back. She gestures Rarity to carry him into the room, which she did so willingly and laid him carefully on the bed. Rarity took the blankets and placed them over Spike's body, leaving only his head uncovered so as not to suffocate him. Even though he's unconcious, Spike looked so peaceful. It still brought tears to Rarity that she was the one that made Spike change into from a sweet dragon to a rampaging monster. Rarity wrapped her hooves around Spike's neck, never leaving his side. With her busy looking after the knocked out dragon, everypony else walked out of the room to let her be and closed the door right before Celestia says to the group "You've all done very well. This battle was not easily won, but now it's time for all of your to rest up. You'll all need your strength for when we go after Zoor, and just so we're clear, no pony is to act on their own. But I'm happy to say that I'm very proud of all of you for your courageous deeds, including you, Melodia." Now that she was done with her speech, the entire group walked into a few of the rooms on each side of the hallway while the princess teleported herself and Blaze Burn back into her chambers. In one of the rooms, Shadow Force wasted no time in slamming himself on one of the beds and drifted off into the dream realm to relax. But the other four, Eternal Flames, Heat Blitz, Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer didn't have time to lay down and rest. Twilight still had to get something off her chest and Eternal had to listen to what she had to say. "Alright, Twilight. What did you want to talk about?" Eternal asked. "Well, there was this one time when I had volunteered to help out on my very first Winter Wrap Up, which is a tradition that involves cleaning up all of Winter and making way for Spring. We got the job done, but then Applejack pointed out how Spike fell asleep on a block of ice in the middle of the lake and we all just laughed it off like it was some sort of prank. He caught a cold when we fished him out. It was funny at first, but I realize now that what I did wasn't right. I was suppose to rescue him before he fell into the water, maybe then I could have stopped him from getting that cold." Twilight admitted with guilt. "True, but tell me, when did that occur?" Eternal asked. "A few years ago, back when Spike was probably 10 or 11. I know, it wasn't smart of me to leave Spike out there all alone like it wasn't any of my business. I wouldn't blame you if you thought I was a bad guardian." "I'll save the lectures for later. For now, I'd rather hear what else you have to say." Eternal said, calmly. Twilight sighed in relief that he kept his word. "Okay, there was also a couple of times we left out Spike and even to this day, I feel like such a jerk." she said, looking at the floor. She turns her attention back to Eternal, who just gave her a patient look. "A few years ago, we went to Canterlot for a dessert contest and Spike loved cakes and such, just like Princess Celestia, but we didn't take him with us. I guess I was so caught up in going that I never stopped to think how Spike felt when he was left out on the trip." "Does he still have these dessert cravings, or is he outgrowing them?" Eternal asked. "He... well, I don't really know. Maybe after he wakes up, I'll ask him. But right now, there's still one more thing I left Spike out of. It was back when Pinkie Pie first introduced us to her big sister, Maud Pie. Spike always loved making new friends with other ponies." Twilight said, getting choked up. Heat Blitz went over to her and patted her gently on the back, doing his best to comfort her. "I ended up having him at home and clean up when I should have given him a break and let him join us so he'd meet Maud Pie." "Shhhh, there there." Heat Blitz said. Twilight sniffled. "Thanks, Heat Blitz." she said with a sad smile. "Well, now you know, Eternal. That's everything off my chest so now you can go ahead and yell at me." "Bro, you're not going to, are you?" Heat asked, worried that he might flip. "No no, not this time. I've got this to say: While, I am relieved that you're remorseful about leaving him out on some things, you need to understand that Spike was still growing and needed to get out more and see the world with you, and yes, Spike is growing up more and acting his age, but he's still your little brother and as an older sibling, you do what needs to be done to make your little brother happy, just so long as he's not spoiled rotten, which I'm certain, Spike's no spoiled brat." "So in other words, Spike is still like family to Twilight and she has to start treating him as much?" Sunset asked Eternal, earning a nod from him. "Yes, family is the most precious gift to all living things. It doesn't matter how different your species is, nor how distant you may be from each other, family is still family. Which is one of the reasons why we should cherish it for as long as we can. We've only got one family, and a big one at that." Now it was Eternal's turn to look down at the ground, his bangs covering up his eyes. But that wasn't enough to hide a single tear dropping from his left eye, "Believe or not, Spike is like my little brother, too. He could even be a brother to all of us and we can't lose him, like I lost my grandfather." even more tears flowed from his eyes. Just after he spoke his heart out, Sunset placed a hoof on his shoulder, making him turn to face her. "I understand now, the way you act so strict and why you snapped so rudely at Twilight before. You did this because you didn't want Spike to suffer a terrible fate like your grandfather." "I... I'm sorry." Eternal tightened his eyes closed, trying to hold back the tears. "I'm truly sorry I snapped back at the castle in Ponyville, I was way out of line!" he said, choked up, with his whole body shaking. Sunset got a little closer to Eternal and wrapped her hoof around him. "Shh, just let it out. Don't keep it bottled up." Sunset whispered. The commotion was enough to wake up Shadow Force. He sees Eternal getting all teary-eyed and gets out of bed, walking up to Eternal. "So, the big guy's finally come out of his shell. I'm both surprised and relieved to see him finally show how he really feels." "You know about this side of him?" Twilight asked. "No doubt about. He kept his emotions bottled up for so long, I thought he had gotten rid of them, but this is the first time in years that I've seen him cry. First, he ends a bad relationship with this mare he thought he was in love with, then he loses his grandfather. It's like life was trying to make him feel miserable, and to be honest, he never really catches a break. What really gets me the most is how he'd constantly put himself in any sort of danger to keep his friends and family safe. He never showed any fear." Shadow explains. "I can see why he's the spirit of the Element of Courage." Twilight said. "Well, I think he's done enough. He can't keep on doing this on his own. In fact, he's never gonna be alone, because he has all of us, now." Sunset says. Eternal hears what they say and cracks a small smile. Meanwhile, back in the room Spike was sleeping in, Rarity still sat at his bedside, she would pat Spike's claw as her own way of telling Spike he's not alone. Even though he was still out cold, she began to speak her heart out to her favorite dragon. "Spike, I'm so sorry." Rarity began. She let out a sigh, "I kept saying how I needed you... but I never stopped to realize that it was you who needed me more. You've done so much for me and my friends, never expecting anything in return, well, other than a few jewels, but... I guess the only reason why you didn't expect anything in return is probably because of... your immense love for..." Rarity couldn't finish her sentence and felt her eyes water up and soon, she leaned up to Spike and told him the one thing she wanted him to hear. "You're my most favorite dragon, Spike. And I will always love you." With nothing more to say, she hugs his unconcious body, weeping quietly. As she kept crying, Spike could somehow hear her, but didn't know if he was dreaming or not. Deep in his unconcious mind, Spike was drifting around in a void of darkness, his eyes closed and his body weightless, nothing could be heard but the sound of Rarity's sobbing. 'Rarity... please, don't cry.' Spike thought, 'I wouldn't be able to live with myself if you cried over me like this.' She couldn't hear what he was saying in his mind. Somehow, deep in the void of darkness, Spike's eyes opened up to see a light, shining so bright. It gave off a warm vibe unlike any other. Was it a good sign, or was it a bad sign and was it going to bring him back to his friends, or to the other side? There was only one way to find out. Spike had to drift towards it and find out for himself. He drifted towards the bright light and found out it lead into a trip down memory lane. Each even that had taken place in his life, both good times and bad. Spike was filled with different emotions as he watched the life he lived, with his feelings ranging from happiness, to sadness and anger, as well as guilt, embarrassment, and one emotion that he never knew he'd let take over him: pure rage. He never pictured himself as the spiteful type of dragon, despite his dragon heritage. If he was enraged, what was it that fueled his rage? Could it be that it was all connected to how and why he heard Rarity sobbing over him for some reason? If so, what was the reason? All the events that have taken place up until Spike warned the others about the Song of Dragons was a blurr to him. Spike doesn't know what had happened to him. It was like everything went completely black. But one thing he knew for certain was that he wasn't dead. If he were, his heart wouldn't be beating. But, Spike's heartbeat was loud and clear as the sobs coming from his lifelong crush. Spike wanted to know what was happening, but something was preventing him from opening his eyes. He didn't know what it was, but he had every intention of finding out why he can't wake up. While Spike still layed in bed unconcious, Rarity took her time to talk to him about pretty much everything they had done together throughout the years. "You know, Spike, even after all these years, you still never stopped thinking about me. I thought that you would eventually give up on me entirely and find someone new to love, but no, you still chose me. You've done so much for me and all our friends and yet you never expected anything in return. I guess the only thing you ever wanted was for me to accept your feelings towards me. I realize now that you don't just have a crush on me, your feelings for me are genuine and I was too blinded by my pride to see it." she explains, calmly. "Spike, if you can hear me, I want you to know how truly sorry I am for making you suffer like this. I should have never been so cruel to you or your feelings towards me." she continues. In his unconscious state, Spike was only able to hear part of what Rarity was telling him. A certain warm feeling in his heart was telling him to forgive her, but his mind was telling him to forget about her. No matter what his mind was telling him, he never stopped listening to his heart. Deep down, he still loves Rarity and when he wakes up, he plans to make his feelings known to her. Not just his crush on her, but his true genuine feelings for her, even if he feels like he'll get rejected. 'Rarity... hold on... I'll come back... just hang on... a little longer...' he thought. Meanwhile, back in the room where Sunset and Twilight were, Eternal Flames had calmed down after letting his tears run down his face. Sunset stayed close to Eternal just in case he teared up again. Eternal didn't mind, but thought that it was unecessary for her to be doing this. Although, he should rest up for the next battle, his mind's too focused on Zoor. Somewhere in some other part of Equestria, her dragon army is probably wreaking havoc, destroying homes and villages and he can't do anything. Eternal never likes being a sitting duck while something bad is happening. Sunset isn't sure how, but she can actually feel how frustrated Eternal feels. She puts her hoof on his back, getting his attention. "We'll find her eventually, just have a little patience. What we really need to do is rest up and wait for Spike, he'll eventually wake up, but I don't know when," Sunset says. Eternal just gives her a nod before he walks over to the window and looks up at the sky. "Eternal, if things start to get serious, there's no shame in relying on your friends to help you out." "I'm not ashamed to rely on my friends, Sunset. But it doesn't mean I don't worry about them. They're the reason why I will keep on fighting," Eternal says, still looking out the window. "That's fine, I completely understand. You worry about your friends' safety and that's natural, but you shouldn't have them sit out in every fight they get involved in. Just think back to earlier when Spike was still a giant, rampaging dragon, he almost destroyed the city, but your friends helped us out and even though they recieved a few bruises and such, they never gave up hope and kept on fighting. If they see you as a leader, then they obviously know they're in good hooves." Sunset explains to the prince. "I don't know how she found out, but it's true," Shadow Force says, "You're a great leader, Eternal and I can respect that you care about us, but we're all a team! This entire mess isn't something one pony can do on their own, this is gonna take all of us to put a stop to that monstrocity." "They have a point, Eternal," Heat Blitz says, "Take it from me, I'm a pacifist at heart, and I'm okay with that and there were times I wanted to handle things on my own growing up, like standing up for myself when I got bullied, but because no pony would take me seriously, I felt like I was all alone and no one would help me, but you found out somehow and would always come to my rescue. My point is: if you're not ashamed to rely on your friends, then prove it by letting them do their job. They're a part of your team and they're always there for you just like you're always there for us, do you understand?" There was a long pause between the 5 ponies in the room. But after at least 12 seconds, "To think that I would be learning my lesson from you, my little brother. Same goes to you, Sunset and Shadow Force. You guys are right, this war can't be won by one pony alone. When the time comes, we'll plan our attack, but first I think it's time we rest up a bit." Eternal says, looking at his comrads with a calm smile. Everyone in the room lets out a sigh of relief, now that the whole "I work alone" thing is settled. Now the only thing left was to wait and rest up. When the time comes, they'll know if Eternal Flames is able to keep his word and let his friends take on their foe by witnessing it with their own eyes. But for now, Twilight and Sunset climb onto one of the couches, and as a kind gentlestallion, Heat Blitz takes out a big blanket from one of the drawers and covers up the two mares with it. "Thanks, Heat Blitz," Twilight says. "Yeah, thank you," Sunset adds. "No problem," Heat Blitz replies. With the girls safely tucked in the blankets, Heat Blitz walks to the bed where his older brother rests. Shadow Force is able to sleep anywhere without much of a fuss, even a rock, but in the room, he chooses to sleep at the foot of the bed with his head hanging off the edge with a goofy smile on his face. It's a relief to get to all the friends getting some rest, but they won't be resting easy for long when they all have to deal with the dragons that are still lurking around Equestria and their evil leader who has them under her control.