The ponies ran as fast as they could as the dragons descended from the sky, unleashing bursts of fire that burned everything it touched. Iron, Grand, Lightning, Springer and even Applejack were trying to get anypony away, pushing dragons back as the town was sent into a huge panic. And while this happened, Flash, Skybreaker and Rainbow were now fighting the many skyward dragons, unable to push them back as they kept getting past the three.
"Flash Cutter Barrage!" The Knight of Friendship swung his sword while spinning, firing a volley of energy blades.
"Sky Grinder!" Skybreaker morphed into a wheel of air that rammed into five dragons, knocking them all back. As this happened, Rainbow zipped around, delivering a series of flying kicks to the face to every dragon she could. But every time one dragon was knocked down, two more took their place.
And the same was true for the ground forces. "Gatling Spark!" Lightning yelled, a barrage of electric bullets now flying out of his horn, zapping a group of dragons.
"Grand Impact!" Grand slammed his hammer into the ground, causing a pillar of rocks to fly into the dragons, only for more to appear, destroying the rocks. "Not good..."
"Iron/Aura Force!" Iron and Springer fired their force attacks, the aura laser and iron tornado flying through the air and knocking out several dragons. But again, they just kept coming as Springer yelled, "Why are they doing this?! I know dragons can be mean, but they've never this aggressive!"
"I thought that new Dragon Lord promised peace between our kingdoms?" Iron asked as he used his weapon to smack away a dragon. In that moment, there was a flash of light, both turning to see Twilight, Starlight and Script appear.
"Princess!" Grand called out, "Do you have any idea what's going on here?!"
"No!" Twilight shook her head before using her magic to shield herself from a burst of dragon fire, "I have no idea why this is happening. But right now, our main focus has to be saving the citizens." The ponies nodded as Applejack threw her lasso at a dragon that had cornered Amethyst Star, grabbing the end of its tail before pulling it away. "Springer, connect to everypony in town and tell them to head for the castle! It's the safest place for them!"
"But it's made of crystals," Starlight added before shooting a dragon with her magic. "And dragons eat crystals."
"I can fix that," Script replied, "But I'll need a few minutes."
"We'll give you the time," Lightning chimed in before turning to Rarity. "Go with Script!"
"Not until I find Sweetie Belle."
"And ah need to find Applebloom!"
"They're already on their way to the castle," Springer told the pair as he scanned the town. "Scootaloo's with them."
"What about Heart and Soul?" Twilight asked next.
"Pinkie said she was gonna take them to the castle along with the Cakes," Springer responded before putting his paws together, closing his eyes as he took a deep breath. "To all ponies. Those that haven't already must get to the Castle of Friendship. Plans are underway to fortify it against the oncoming invaders. Please be careful. We will do our best to protect you, but stay calm and do what you can to stay safe." The entirety of Ponyville heard this and began to make their way for the castle, Rarity, Fluttershy and Applejack moving over to Script as he flashed his horn.
"Please be careful," Fluttershy told Iron before the four vanished.
With them gone, the other ponies turned back to the dragons as Twilight called out, "Everypony, let's push them back! Then we'll find out why this is happening!"
"Yes Ma'am!"
At the castle, Spike had heard Springer's announcement along with the jakhowls as the ran to the front doors. They opened them up, now seeing the first of the ponies arriving. "Come on!" The baby dragon yelled, "Hurry! You'll be safe inside." The ponies ran in, Spike spotting the CMC, Pinkie and the twins amongst them. "Hey!" They turned to him, "What the heck is going on?! Why are dragons attacking?!"
"I don't know," Heart replied, "Somepony pulled me away before I could ask!" He glared at Pinkie, who was helping Mrs. Cake calm the Cake Twins.
"She was right to!" Soul added, "Your fire's useless against dragons!"
As she said that, a flash of light caught their attention, now seeing Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity and Script appear. "Applejack/Rarity!" Their sisters cried out as they ran over to them, hugging the two. As they did, Script began firing some magic at the ground before walking in a circle around the castle, his magic moving with him as a ring of runes slowly began to appear.
"Script is going to make a spell to protect the castle. We can't let the dragons distract him," Rarity told the others. "Let's protect him as best as we can." They all nodded as a group of dragons began to descend upon them.
"Alright!" Heart leapt up, igniting his body. One of the dragons charged, Heart noticing this one was smaller than the others. She was not small as Spike, but somewhere in-between, the dragon being female and was orange with a yellow front and mouth with a purple fin running down its head and on the tip of its tail. The dragon unleashed a burst of fire, only for Heart to fly right through the flames, "Nice try!" He laughed before throwing a punch, hitting the dragon in the face. And as he pushed her back, he saw the dragon's expression not change, not showing pain or anything. Instead, it just stared at him with glowing bright red eyes, "Huh?!"
As this happened, the others also saw the glowing red eyes, Spike now asking, "What is that?" But as he said this, another dragon landed in front of the castle, one he knew all too well. "Ember?" He yelped as the blue dragon stared at him, showing the same glowing eyes, "Something's controlling them..."
"How?" Starlight asked as Twilight realized the same thing.
"I don't know," the princess fired a blast of magic that trapped several dragons in bubbles that they couldn't break through. "But that means this isn't their fault." She looked up and saw Flash and Skybreaker fighting at full force. They hadn't seriously hurt any of the dragons yet, but it was only a matter of time. "FLASH!" She flew up to them, bubbling any dragon that got near her.
Flash saw this and yelled, "Twilight, what are you doing?!"
"The dragons are being controlled," Twilight replied, "This isn't their fault. We can't hurt them."
"What about them hurting us?" Skybreaker asked as he roundhoused a dragon in the jaw.
"Yeah! How are we supposed to stop these things if we can't hurt 'em?!" Rainbow yelled as she flew up to them while dodging a fire blast.
"If we can just figure out what's controlling them, then-" Twilight tried to say, only for Flash to interrupt her as he turned to the first dragon that appeared through the still open portal.
"HIM!" He yelled, charging up there as Twilight followed him. They both raced up, blasting any dragon that got in their way, only for Twilight to go wide-eyed.
"Wait...that's Flicker!" Flash turned to her with raised eyebrows, "I'm sure of it!"
"What?! That's the dragon you befriended in the Dragon Lands?" Twilight nodded, "I thought you said he was a good dragon!"
"He is...or was." They then reached Flicker, who simply stared at the pair, "Why are you doing this?" she asked him. "Flicker, I thought we were friends." She then noticed the staff he was holding, "Wait...that's the Bloodstone Scepter."
"That's right," he laughed, "And as long as I have it, the dragons are mine to control." He smirked at them, then pointed the staff at Flash. "You. You will be coming with me."
Flash raised an eyebrow at this, "I'm not going anywhere with you except to send you to prison." He cracked his hooves, "You're gonna pay for attacking our town."
"We'll see," Flicker held up the scepter as the book in his other claw glowed. The light travelled though his body and into the staff before he pointed it at Flash, the gemstone exploding with light that shot right at Flash.
"WHOA!" Flash barely managed to hold up his sword and block the blast in time, though it pushed him back, "What the...magic?!"
"That's...that's impossible!" Twilight exclaimed, "Dragons can't use magic!"
"Can't we?" Flicker chuckled, "Maybe you ponies have just been underestimating us."
Flash held up his sword at this, "Doesn't matter. You're not the first magic wielding psychopath I've fought. Against Twilight and me, you don't stand a chance!"
But as he yelled this, Flicker raised his staff again. "Maybe. But magic and smaller dragons isn't all I have." The gemstone glowed, making Twilight and Flash brace themselves, only to see something new come out of the portal, the sight making them go wide-eyed. The rest of the town did the same, everypony seeing the being slither out of the hole.
It was a dragon, the biggest dragon anypony had ever seen. Its head was about the same size as Torch's, but it had a long serpentine body that appeared to be covered in green 'fur', everypony now realizing it was actually grass and had several differently colored flowers growing on it. Its hair on the back of its head that was made of leaved twigs and long vines, and it had two a pair of T-Rex-like arms. Its claws were made out of wood, and its wings looked like a pair of giant leaves that somehow kept it aloft.
The beast let out a mighty roar, shaking the ground around it, forcing the ponies to cover their ears. But one member of Ponyville's citizenship fought through the sound to look at the dragon above. Spike. The young drake stared at the beast, a memory of his dream flashing through him as he gasped, "That's....one of the dragons from my dream."
Meanwhile, the colossal dragon stared down at Flash and Twilight as Flicker flew up and landed on its head. "Let me introduce you to my ultimate weapon. The wood dragon." As he said that, the beast opened its mouth, taking a deep breath. Seconds later, it let out a mighty roar, this one firing a powerful blast of wind that was filled with leaves and twigs.
The princess flew in front of her boyfriend and summoned a shield, the barrier deflecting the leaf tornado. However, she let out a scream, "Gyah!" as the shield kept getting hit, Flash grimacing at this as he flew in front of her just as the roar stopped.
Flash caught Twilight as he shield disappeared, seeing her gasping after doing the barrier. "You okay?"
"I'll...be fine." Twilight replied as she looked up at him, "Get 'em!"
"You got it!" He spun back to Flicker, only for the dragon to point his staff at him. A beam of magic flew out, making Flash point his sword, "FLASH FORCE!" The laser exploded out, both connecting with the other. The two attacks pushed against one another, Flash feeling himself falter since one of his hooves was holding Twilight.
As this happened, he cut the attack and pulled away from Flicker's attack, the beam flying past him and hitting the ground. Growling at this, he flew down and landed, putting Twilight down just as several dragons surrounded them. He ignited his blade, firing a barrage of Flash Cutter attacks, knocking them all back. And as this happened, Twilight slowly got up, clutching her head as she looked up at Flicker. She saw the giant grin on his face, now seeing nothing but greed in his eyes as she whispered, "Flicker...what happened to you?"
Back at the castle...
"We can't keep this up forever!" Heart yelled as he flew through a dragon's fire blast, body checking the beast while Applejack bucked another away. He then glanced over at Script, who was getting close to forming a complete circle around the castle.
Soul was also doing what she could against them, using as much magic as she could control to pick the dragons up and throw them away. Fluttershy had also grown three times her usual size, now beating her wings enough to blow any dragon that got close away.
Meanwhile, Spike had been writing a hasty letter to Celestia, Cadance and anyone else he thought might come and help. There was a chance they already knew, given the size of the growing portal, but he knew he had to try everything. "Spike!" He heard Script call out, "Get inside! Once this rune circle's complete, no dragon's gonna be able to get through it!"
"Almost done!" He replied before rolling up the scroll and breathing fire on it, the paper disintegrating with the ash flying into the air. But as he did this, Flicker's head popped up.
"What was that?" He asked, his eyes narrowing at he felt a shiver down his spine, "It can't be...could it?" His vision swept over the town, only to focus on the castle, zeroing in on it with a fierce expression on his face. "There." He jumped off the dragon's head and glanced back at it, "Find them."
"HEY!" He turned to the voice, now seeing a charging Rainbow with Skybreaker behind her. "You're not going anywhere!" She tried to tackle him, only for one of the vines from the wood dragon's hair suddenly extended. The root quickly snagged the athlete, wrapping her up instantly. "HEY!"
"Hang on!" Skybreaker yelled, readying his weapon to slice the vine. But before he could, the dragon swung one of its wings down at him. "WHOA!" He yelped, barely managing to avoid it. But in the wing's wake, a powerful blast of wind slammed into him. "GYAH!" He went flying, slamming into a house before the dragon threw Rainbow into another house.
"AUGH!" she screamed, Flicker laughing at the sight.
"Ha!" Flicker then pointed at the castle, "Now, find them! I will take care of the rest!" With that, he hopped off the wood dragon as it stared down at the ground, now seeing the ponies that remained to fight against Flicker's army.
And as it flew down, Springer looked up and saw the approaching beast, "Look out!" He yelled as Iron, Grand, Lightning and Starlight now saw the dragon.
"Not good," Lightning whispered, "How the heck are we supposed to take that thing down without making it crush the town?!" As he said that, the vines that appeared to make up its hair began to move, now thrusting down. The four got into a battle stance as the vines swung down, Iron being the first to react by making a giant sword blade on the tip of his staff, swinging it at the roots.
But as soon as the vine was cut, more just grew out of it. Seeing this, Lightning took out several knives and Springer activated his Steel Paw, the two beginning to slash at the vines. Starlight simply blasted them, cutting them up while Grand swung his hammer into the roots...only for the vines to instantly wrap the end of his hammer.
"Oh no." he grimaced as he felt the vines now try to pull his weapon away from him. "Hey! Let go!"
As this happened, Iron slashed several more vines away before leaping back, then slamming his spear into the ground. "Armorize!" In a flash of light, Piecemaker merged with Iron and transformed him into his upgraded form.
"Mega Mode Power!" Springer yelled as he was engulfed by light, transforming into his evolved form. His Steel Paw claws even extended, now slicing through the roots while Iron swung his sword tail around, firing iron spikes from the sides of his body. At the same time, Lightning supercharged his knives as he slashed the vines, hoping to cauterize them. But they continued to grow, all the attacks seemingly pointless.
Meanwhile, Flash continued to defend Twilight as she finally managed to pull herself back to her hooves. "I'm okay," she told him as she spread her wings, now building up magic again. As she did this, Flash leapt above her, flying straight up as she unleashed a wave of magic. The wave knocked all the dragons back, pushing them away as Flash now saw Flicker heading for the castle.
"Twilight!" He pointed at the dragon, Twilight nodding as she tried to teleport them both. But as she did this, she clenched her head, Flash flying down too her. "You okay?"
"No...I used up too much magic at the start."
"Then we gotta follow him." Flash helped her up and they both took to the air, now seeing a group of dragons charging at them. Both nodded to each other, quickly blasting through the group with a burst of energy blades and magic.
But while they charged through, Flicker had a larger lead on them, about to get to the castle as Script finally finished the rune circle. "It's done!" He yelled as the ring of symbols began to glow. Spike had gotten behind the circle, now seeing a barrier to appear and form a dome around the castle. "Get in!" He exclaimed to the ponies outside the circle, Heart, Soul and Applejack turning to run away from the dragon and jump through the barrier while Fluttershy shrank back to her normal size.
They watched as the dragons began to charge at the barrier, only to bounce off it. The dragons followed up with a series of claw slashes and flame breath, but the shield stood against it all. "Nice one Script!" Applejack commented, the others nodding as they let out sighs of relief.
The only one not happy was Spike, who stared at Ember as she tried to get through the barrier. Watching the dragon he considered his friend was making his heart eat himself, only for his legs to start moving.
"Spike!" Heart called out as Spike ran up to her.
"What are you doing?!" Rarity added as he stopped in front of the blue dragon.
"Come on Ember!" Spike yelled, "Whatever this is, you can fight it! You're the Dragon Lord!" The blue dragon continued to claw at the force-field, "I know you! You're stronger than this!" He moved up to him, just inches as she kept slashing the barrier, "You don't wanna hurt us. You don't wanna hurt me." Ember's eyes glanced down at him, her claws slowing down as he said, "We're friends." Ember's claws came to a stop, though they were still touching the barrier. And as he saw this, Spike's eyes narrowed at the sight.
"SPIKE!" Everyone cried as they saw the dragon reached a hand through the barrier and grab Ember's, the group fearing Spike would be pulled outside the barrier and be ripped apart. But Ember didn't do that. She stared down at him, only to slowly grab his.
But as she did this, she suddenly let go, instead putting her claws to her head. She let out a scream of pain as she fell to her knees, "Ember!" Spike watched her scream, shaking her head back and forth, "Ember! You have to fight it!" She let out another screech, only to come to a stop. Spike went wide-eyed, only to slowly ask, "Ember?" The dragon opened her eyes, blinking as they the red glow disappeared from them.
"Spike?"
"You're okay!" Spike cheered, only to hear the sounds of the other dragons still slashing at the force-field. He pointed to the horde, "Quick, get them to stop!"
Ember slowly turned to them, letting out a groan of pain, "I can't," she got up. "They're being controlled and..." She looked down at her empty hands, "I'm not the Dragon Lord anymore. I lost the sceptre in combat."
"To who?" Spike asked.
"TO ME!" Everypony and dragon heard the voice, all looking up to see Flicker flying above them.
"Flicker?" Spike yelped, Heart, Soul and Rarity all staring at him with wide-eyes as Ember growled at him.
"That's not Flicker!" she pointed at him. "It might be his body, but not his mind." She shivered, "I could feel it when it took control of me. Some kind of...darkness has corrupted him."
"And you'll soon be feeling it again," Flicker laughed as he flew straight down. And when he landed, he slammed the sceptre into the ground as energy flew into it from the book. The energy then exploded out into a wave, which struck the barrier and caused it to shatter, the runes being swept away like leaves on the wind.
"WHAT?!" Script screamed at the sight, unable to comprehend the sight of his runes easily being destroyed, "Impossible!"
"You ponies are so weak," Flicker cackled. "Back in my day, runes like that were hatchery level learning." He raised the staff again, "Now to add you both to my collection." He slammed his staff into the ground against and unleashed another wave of energy.
This time, the energy struck only Spike and Ember. The two dragons clutched their heads and cried out, the ponies gasping as they screamed, "SPIKE!"
A long groan escaped Spike's mouth as his eyes blinked open, soon focusing as he suddenly found himself in a white void. "Huh?" he whispered, "Where-"
His words were interrupted by a sudden dark light exploding in front of him, the darkness spreading all around the white void. And as it did this, black chains shot out of the darkness, quickly wrapping around the young drake, "What the-Aaaah!"
He clenched in the chains, feeling them tighten until a roar of laughter rang out. Looking up, he saw a dark shape appear in the void. It was a giant dragon head, which glared down at him with bright red eyes full of pure malice. "You are mine now. And you will obey me."
"Who...are you?" The dragon laughed again, the sound sending shivers down Spike's spine.
"I guess you might as well know the name of the world's most powerful dragon and future ruler of all dragonoids and ponies while you remain here. Look upon the all mighty king of dragons! The Mystic Shadow Dragon...MALAFEAR!"
"Mystic Shadow Dragon?" Spike yelped, only to then flinch as the chains tightened around him. "Ow!"
But as he felt the pain, he heard something else. Voices. First he heard Heart's voice, then Rarity's, Pinkie's, Soul's, Applejack's, the CMC and so many other ponies. His friends, who could yelling as he felt the chains pull at him. And as this happened, a click went off in his brain before yelling, "NO!" He pulled at the chains, "I won't...let you...control me! AHHHHH!"
The dragon's head raised an eyebrow at this, only to shake his head, "Don't bother. All dragons will submit to my-" His words came to a stop as a crack appeared in the chains, "What?!" A snort of fire blew from this nostrils at the sight, summoning more chains that wrapped around the little dragon. But before they could hit Spike, a sudden silver light appeared, shielding the drake as the chains bounced off the barrier.
"What?!" He roared as he fired more chains, only for them all to reflect off the shield. "Impossible!"
The chains began to turn to smoke, the light now shining even brighter before changing shape. It slowly morphed into a type of humanoid dragon, Spike not noticing due to this eyes being closed. But despite this, Malafear hissed at the being, glaring at the energy field as a pair of green eyes appeared on the head of the energy construct.
"You..." Malafear growled, only for Spike to give one final pull as the sounds of his friends echoed through the void.
"Let...me...GO!" With that, the chains shattered, the silver energy exploding out as it burned away the darkness. Malafear roared as this happened, the dark figure vanishing from the mind space.
"Ahh!" Flicker staggered back while Spike stumbled, barely able to keep his balance. He glanced up next, now seeing Ember still clutching her head.
"EMBER!" He yelled as he grabbed her, shaking her as the dragon began to blink. When she did this, her eyes returned to normal. "Come on!" He pulled her over to the castle, the pair joining the others before they heard the sound of wings.
"SPIKE!" Twilight exclaimed as she and Flash landed in front of him, "are you okay?!"
"I'm fine," he replied before seeing the pair stare suspiciously at Ember. "It's okay. Ember's on our side." He then turned to Flicker as he stood up. "But something's controlling Flicker! Some kind of evil spirit."
"An evil spirit?" Flash asked.
Spike nodded, "He said his name was...Malafear."
Flicker groaned as he held his head, only to glare at the small purple dragon. "I knew it," he hissed, "You may have changed your appearance, but that power is something I'll never forget!" He pointed his staff at Spike, "You won't stop me this time...Silverbolt."
"Silverbolt?"
"Teaming up with ponies again?!" Flicker roared, "You truly are a disgrace to the Mystic Dragon race." He turned to the ones under his control, "GET THEM!" The dragons charged again, Flash, Twilight, Applejack, Script, Heart and Ember running in front of the drake.
And as they began to push the dragons back, Spike just stared at Flicker, whispering to himself, "Silverbolt?"
Meanwhile...
The other defenders and Starlight were still fighting the wood dragon. The serpent had stopped firing vines, instead swinging its tail around. Its tail tried to swipe into them, Starlight yelping, "Look out!" She formed a shield with her magic, only for it push them back. Springer then slammed his paws together, forming a second barrier around Starlight's that managed to hold them in place.
"I didn't wanna do this in the middle of town," Springer growled, "But it doesn't look like I have much of a choice." With that, the shield reshaped into his head and began to grow. Slowly, he formed his aura avatar and stood tall against the wood dragon. "Take this!" He reached down and grabbed the tail before pulling at it, allowing the others to leap out of the avatar and unleash blasts of metal, earth, lightning and magic. The dragon roared as the blows hit, only to pull its tail free before slamming it into the avatar. Springer staggered back, doing his best to not fall into a building. But as he did this, a barrage of vines suddenly wrapped around the construct.
"What the-augh!" He screamed as the dragon pulled him, the being flying up and yanking Springer along with it. And with a great swing of its head, the vines whipped Springer around before letting him go. "GYAH!" His friends gasped as they watched the avatar fall, Springer quickly dispelling the construct before crashing into a roof of a building.
"Springer!" Starlight cried before the dragon turned to them, she, Iron, Lightning and Grand staring up at the beast. But before it could attack, a loud boom filled the air, something slamming into the dragon's head. The beast roared in pain, staggering back as a certain pony appeared over the dragon.
"Oh yeah!" Rainbow cheered as she flew back, "That's payback for earlier!" The dragon growled at her, firing more roots at her, only for another voice to call out.
"Sky Cutter Barrage!" A volley of wind blades shredded the vines, Skybreaker appearing by Rainbow's side, "Give up beast! There's more where that came from!"
"Now everypony!" Grand told the others, all now firing blasts at the dragon. Skybreaker helped while Rainbow flew out of the firing range, the dragon getting hit by a barrage of wind, earth, lightning, iron and magic. It went on like this for several minutes, the dragon falling back more and more.
Back at the castle, everypony was still pushing the dragons back. And as they kept knocking them away, Flicker began firing several magical blasts from his book and staff, but Twilight countered each with several quick beams. But as this happened, they all noticed the wood dragon take a a deep breath in.
"Oh no," Twilight whispered as Flicker smirked.
Before anyone could do anything, the dragon unleashed a blast of air from its mouth that was full of leaves. The leaves flew through the area, firing a tornado that pushed all the ponies that were pushing the wood dragon back. Screams rang out as the leafy wind went straight for the castle, Flash gasping as he saw the attack coming for them.
"WATCH OUT!" he yelled, but it was too late. The wind scattered the defenders, knocking them into buildings as Flash charged at the tornado. He morphed into his Flash Driver attack, colliding with the whirlwind.
And as he cut the wind attack in half, Flicker turned to the other ponies. "Gotcha!" He laughed as he slammed the sceptre into the ground, unleashing a burst of magic which grabbed the ponies and dragon facing him before throwing them all away.
"AHHH/GYAH/AUGH!" They all cried, all hitting the sides of the castle, one last blast hitting the distracted Flash.
The only one not thrown away was Spike, who was instead lifted into the air. "Spike!" Twilight screamed as she saw this, only for Flicker to put up a barrier around the two. "NO!" She fired a beam into the shield, only for it bounce off. "Let him go!"
"I won't let you get in my way this time," Flicker growled as he held up the book, "This time, you'll be forced to sit and wait to see the damage done by your failure!" With that, he opened the book, unleashing a bright light that suddenly consumed Spike.
"GYAH!" He cried out, only for the light to pull him to the book.
"SPIKE!" His friends all yelled, Twilight continuing to blast the shield, others trying to join her until the other dragons landed in front of them. All they could do was watch as the light was sucked into the book, the pages acting like a portal as Spike's feet touched it and phased into the paper.
"What's...HAPPENING?!" Were Spike's last words before his entire body was sucked inside, Flicker slamming it chuckle before dissolving the barrier.
"Vengence is so sweet."
But as he said that, a purple light made him turn to see Twilight glaring at him, her horn exploding with purple lightning. "Bring. Him. Back!" she hissed.
"Oh, I don't think so," Flicker chuckled before Twilight screamed as a blast of magic flew out of her horn. But Flicker just opened a portal like the one they had arrived through, the magic going through it before another portal appeared in front of her.
She gasped as a beam of magic slammed into her, making her scream as she went flying. "TWILIGHT!" Flash screamed before turning to glare at Flicker, "That's does it!" He charged with his sword ready, Flicker quickly countering with his staff. The two locked weapons, the pegasi pushing him back, "I'm gonna make you pay for all you've done."
"No, you won't," Flicker laughed as black lightning sparked around the gem of his staff. "Very soon, you'll find yourself working with me."
Before Flash could ask what he meant, the lightning shot off the staff, hitting the defender. "AUGH!" He cried, pulling back, but the lightning remained.
"FLASH!" His friends screamed as they tried to run up to him, only for the dragons to appear in front of them again. Flash continued to scream as his entire body felt like it was getting ripped apart, Flicker chuckling at the sight.
"Yes," he whispered, "You're mine." But in that moment, Flash's eyes shot open, both glowing bright gold. "What?!" He responded as the light spread to the rest of Flash's body, then exploded as a burst of light hit Flicker, "GYAH!" He cried, only to feel a hoof slam into his face. "AUGH!" He was thrown back, only to be caught by some of his dragons, barely able to hold onto the sceptre and his book.
He stared at the light, now seeing Flash armorized, wearing his Shining Guardian suit. He glared at Flicker, the dragon growling before both heard something. They turned to see the wood dragon using its vines to rummage around in the remains of some destroyed buildings before pulling something out.
"Well, we're closer to our goal." He glanced back to Flash, "Enjoy this reprieve, as we will meet again." With that, he shot up with the rest of the dragons.
"HEY!" Flash yelled, "Get back here!" But before he could do anything, Flicker spun around and fired a blast of magic, this one exploding and suddenly spreading out, forming a dome around the castle. Flash instantly pushed against it, only to bounce off as the dragons phased through it without issue.
As this happened, the dragons all flew toward the portal, flying into it before disappearing. Flicker reached it along with the wood dragon, who was holding a pair of ponies in its vines. "Excellent."
But as he said this, a shattering sound rang out. He turned to see Flash having shattered the dome like glass with his blade, "Impressive." he turned to the wood dragon, "Go."
The wood dragon began to fly through the portal as Flash saw what the dragon was holding. "Iron...Lightning!" The two ponies were unconscious, Iron still armorized as both had vines around them. "NO!" He yelled, opening the ends of his wings and using his Sacred Light to increase his speed. But the dragon disappeared through the portal with his friends, Flicker following with a smirk.
"Until we meet again," he bowed before disappearing through the portal. No sooner had he done so, the portal blinked and shrank down to nothing, vanishing instantly.
"No!" Flash screamed, the portal gone just moments before he reached it. Seeing it was gone, he came to a stop, his body shaking as he whispered, "Spike...Iron...Lightning." He then let out a ear-piercing roar towards the heavens, "RAAAAAUUUGGGGHHHHH!"
Somewhere else...
Spike's eyes slowly opened, letting out a moan as he blinked. His body creaked up, smacking his lips as he sat himself up, "Ow...what happened?"
HIs eyes glanced around next, only to go wide-eyed. He was now in a pure white void, completely devoid of anything. "Where...where am I?"