//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: The Sacrifice // Story: A Secret Admirer 3: Spike's Sacrifice (AU) // by 1jckuhn //------------------------------// Canterlot, Equestria October 12, 2019. 2:35 P.M. “Enough!” yelled Queen Chrysalis. “Or the dragon’s wings get plucked!” Before Spike could even react, he was violently lifted off the ground by his wings and placed on display for his friends to see, with Cozy Glow holding Grogar’s enchanted bell keeping Spike in place. Tirek and Chrysalis both smiled with callousness at one of their enemies in pain. Anger was replaced with horror on Twilight’s face as she saw her drakefriend in excruciating pain. “No! Don’t hurt him!” she practically begged. "Please, he's just a kid!" Spike was in unimaginable pain as he felt his wings about to be dislocated from their sockets, but he put that aside. He knew that Equestria’s fate was worth far more than his wellbeing. “Don’t worry about me! Just save Equestria! Just remember that I love all of - Argh!” The purple dragon was abruptly cut off by another jolt of pain. Spike mustered up the energy to open one of his eyes just a little bit, only to find his six harem members standing down. He then felt himself being thrown toward his friends; the wind felt cool as he flew through the air. The feeling of falling was quickly replaced with a pair of hooves surrounding his small body as his friends all formed a protective huddle around Twilight. “Turns out that the magic of Friendship proves to be your greatest weakness,” Tirek taunted. “A fitting end to your pathetic story.” The villains grinned wickedly as they charged up their magic and prepared to finally rid themselves of their burdens once and for all. In that moment, Tirek’s final seven words hit home as the group of girls realized just how much trouble they were in. Spike suddenly felt all his pain vanish as he looked up and saw his marefriends’ horrified faces. "I'm so sorry, girls. I'm so sorry, Spikey," Twilight whimpered. "I don't we'll be making it out of this one." The adrenaline raced through Spike's body at lightning speeds, and everything slowed down when he heard Twilight say that. He knew that his lovers needed to be saved and he was the only one to do it. Without another moment to spare, he broke free of Twilight’s grasp and flew as fast as he could towards the object that nearly cost him the use of his wings. Twilight was shocked at what she saw, her friend turned lover was flying toward the monsters at breakneck speeds and had successfully nabbed the bell from their grasp. The next few seconds were a blur to Spike. One second, he was on the ground. The next, he was in the air, nabbing the enchanted bell from the monsters’ grasp. His adrenaline levels were through the roof. Never in his life had he ever felt more determined on a mission to save his friends turned lovers. If he was in pain before, he sure didn’t show it now. His wings, however, weren’t as mobile as before, no doubt in Spike’s mind that they were likely broken due to the severe abuse they received no more than one minute ago. The villains were furious. “Give that back, you repulsive, little brat!” Chrysalis spat as she prepared to zap Spike. Out of pure instinct, Spike stuck Grogar’s bell out in front of him, and the green jolt of magic hit it. Somehow, the bell absorbed the magic blast, which avoided further injury to Spike. Spike looked at the bell and noticed It was lined with cracks and faintly glowing a moderate shade of green. He had no doubt in his mind that Chrysalis’ magic had damaged it. He then quickly laid out a plan in his mind to defeat them. For this to work, he’d need to trick them into zapping the bell several times to overload it with magic and then fly it toward them at the last second before the enchanted object exploded. He already figured it would likely kill him too, but for Equestria it was worth it. “You want this bell so bad?” Spike taunted from above. “Then come and get it.” Cozy Glow growled. “Challenge accepted, lizard.” The evil Pegasus turned Alicorn flew after the pre-teen dragon and fired another magic blast at him. Spike once again stuck the bell out and blocked it. It looked more cracked and was glowing a bit brighter. “Spike! What are you doing?! You’re going to get hurt!” Rainbow Dash yelled. “Don’t worry about my safety, Rainbow! Just get out of here. All of you!” Spike called back as the third blast of magic hit the bell and made it glow even brighter. Spike’s adrenaline was starting to wear off and he began to feel the pain in his wings return as the fourth blast of magic hit the bell. It was now badly damaged with cracks much larger lining the surface of the enchanted object, it was now glowing a very vibrant shade of green, and it was giving off a low hum. “One more blast should do it,” Spike said, his adrenaline and newfound strength gradually waning. The little dragon's eyes seeked out his targets like two green missiles until they finally fell upon them after no more than two seconds of looking. He flew toward the fiends with all the strength he had. This was it. This was the climax of the plan; destroy the bell and render Cozy Glow, Chrysalis, and Tirek useless. Everything seemed to slow down even further for Spike as his vision narrowed down to the three beings that he zeroed toward. Less than 50 feet away, Twilight and her friends watched the scene with horror. They had easily put two and two together and knew Spike was trying to sacrifice himself to save them and Equestria. They immediately huddled together. “We can’t leave him,” Applejack said. “He can’t lose his life because he’s trying to save us. He's got so much to look forward to his life, more than just with us.” “Agreed,” said Rarity. “We can’t leave Spikey-Wikey to die at the hands of these monsters.” "C'mon," Rainbow Dash said. "Let's get a plan together and save-" Before Rainbow Dash could say anything more, her friends and she heard an ear-splitting explosion. They turned around only to find a huge, white beam of light shoot towards the sky. All six ponies felt their hearts sink and fresh tears welled up in their eyes as they knew full well that they were too late to save their lover. Their hearts simultaneously shattered inside them. The sound was almost audible to the outside world. Equestria’s residents and allies from other kingdoms had a large, steep hill in their sights. They knew, on the other side of it, were the Elements and Spike. They were nearing it when a loud explosion shook the ground and a huge, white beacon of light shot into the sky. Everyone watched in awe as Celestia, Luna, and Discord felt their magic return to them. “Alright!” cheered Smolder. “You three got your magic back! The girls and Spike must’ve defeated the villains. Come on, everyone!” Everyone picked up the pace as they neared the foot of the hill. They raced up the slope of the hill, Smolder, Starlight, The Crusaders, and Gabby all felt their hearts pump faster and faster as the giddiness inside them to see the other half of the harem and the Dragon they all loved more than anything became greater. They were three-quarters to the top when Celestia called out. “Wait!” she called. “The Legion might still be fighting them, even without their powers. I want every unicorn to charge up their horns for a shield spell.” Smolder, the Crusaders, Gabby, and Starlight all let out disappointed groans at having to wait for every Unicorn to charge up their horns, but knew it was for the best. After what seemed like forever, they were ready to push the last quarter of the slope to the peak of the hill, unaware that an unpleasant, gruesome surprise awaited them on the other side. They were right before the hill before all the Unicorns released their magic into the air. It went into the sky before taking a sharp dip downward toward the ground. As it touched down on the grass, the large crowd of creatures finally reached the top of the hill. Thorax and Ember took the lead as the hard running had finally caught up with the other six girls, leaving them somewhat out of breath, and running at a slower pace than usual, but they still kept pace with the front of the pack. As Spike sped towards his targets, Cozy, Tirek, and Chrysalis powered up another blast of magic each. This time, instead of firing individually, they unleashed their blasts all at once. The three separate blasts quickly connected with one another, and it formed the biggest blast of magic that the three evil doers had ever seen in their lives as it raced toward the teenage reptile. Right as the blasts connected, Spike stuck out Grogar’s bell once more, and the villains instantly realized that they had screwed up. The blast hit the bell, it detonated, and was blown to smithereens and enveloped all four of them in a huge surge of magic. Spike felt all his strength and adrenaline finally fade away as the bell exploded, and it enveloped him in its overloaded magic surge. The bright, white light was too much for Spike's eyes to handle and he shut them tightly and gritted his teeth. Whatever pain he had felt before was nothing compared to what he felt now. Fragments of the bell lodged deep into the crevices that divided his Lavender scales. Other parts of his body had their scales ripped off like paper by much larger fragments, lining his under-scales with deep cuts. The surge of magic tore throughout his immune system and internal organs. The skin and muscle tissue on his wings was charred instantly and began to slowly flake away. Revealing his cracked and slowly crumbling wing bones, which were also losing pieces fast. He began to feel an extremely awful burning sensation on every centimeter of his small torso. The adolescent had lost the ability to smell and taste due to his sinuses being fried almost instantly and his ears rang loudly. He hit the ground on his back with a small thud. The second Spike did hit the ground, his already badly cracked wing bones finally shattered to pieces, and it sent another enormous rush of pain through his destroyed nerves. However, every bit of pain he felt reminded him of his heroic deed. “I did it,” Spike thought as the magic beam began to fade. “I saved my friends, lovers, and Equestria. I know I'm done for, but as long as they're all safe now. There's nothing more I want more in this world than that." He looked at the now clear, blue sky and the afternoon sun. "Such a beautiful sight," Spike thought as he closed his eyes and waited for death to fully grasp his small body. Twilight and the girls could only show horror as the giant, white beam gradually faded away. All was eerily quiet afterward. With the bell destroyed, the villains had lost their powers and now lay unconscious on the ground. Cozy Glow had turned back into a Pegasus, Queen Chrysalis was stripped of her enchanted body armor and head crest and her teal mane was singed at the end, and Tirek’s rejuvenated state had vanished. He was now the old, frail Centaur that Twilight and her friends had run into in Tartarus. The ponies didn’t care about what the state their assailants were in, they wanted to find Spike and see, if by some miracle, if he was still alive. They soon found him lying on his back near where the center of the magic blast had erupted. The tears that had been welling up in their eyes now slowly oozed down their faces and it took all their strength not to throw up when they saw their terminally wounded drakefriend. The lavender dragon was impaled by several shards on the bell, with red blood already seeping out of the many cuts that lined his body, the entire front of his abdomen was dark grey and smoking, and he was barely breathing. Pieces of his outer scales, small bits of scorched, smoking tissue, and shriveled up, blackened flakes of skin which used to be on his wings that had been ripped off by the shards of the destroyed bell now lay scattered around him. Large pieces of bones that were once the structure of his new wings also joined the pile of debris that consisted of pieces of Spike's body and Grogar's Bell. The group of ponies felt like the ground beneath their hooves grow very wet. They looked down and instantly froze as their breath hitched their throats upon seeing the grass and dirt that lay beneath Spike beginning to grow saturated and bearing a reddish tint from the increasing amount of blood that was slowly seeping out of Spike’s mangled body. They wanted to move out to it, but couldn't bring themselves to do that as that would mean leaving their little lover to suffer alone. The pool of red only grew wider and wider as each agonizing second passed. Spike felt a drop of water hit his forehead as sniffles and whimpers began to replace the harsh ringing inside his ears. He reopened his eyes just a crack and saw the girls he loved more than anything looking down at him, not a single eye was dry on the six ponies as they looked down on their sweetheart. Spike wanted nothing more than to get up and wrap them in a hug, but his injuries were preventing even the slightest movements. It was nothing short of a miracle that he was still alive, but Spike knew it wouldn’t be that way for long. “Girls,” Spike croaked before coughing up thick, dark, red blood. Twilight and the others almost lost composure when they heard how terrible their other half spoke. in addition to how he looked. They all knelt down beside his body as Spike grew weaker. “We're here, honey. You're going to be okay now,” Twilight managed to say between cries. "We all love you, Spike. Please, you're not in any more danger. Don't quit now." Spike felt sorry listening to Twilight's optimism. He knew that no matter how much she hoped or tried, she couldn't make him better. “If only that were the case. It looks like this is the end of the line for me,” Spike wheezed, sounding even worse than before. “I had a good run with you girls. Thanks for helping me experience love at such a young age.” Twilight felt her whole world crumbling around her. Her best friend that had been with her since the beginning and who had managed to capture not just her heart, but the heart of eleven other girls, was on the ground, moribund and accepting his fate. Her friends, as much as they hated to do so, realized that this was the end of their Spike that had saved them all from certain death and Equestria from certain defeat. They all cried silently at the fact. Twilight, however, didn't seem to be on the same boat as they were. “Spike, don't talk like that! You're going to be fine! Please just stay awake and hang on! Don’t go,” Twilight pleaded as she finally broke down in a fit of sobs. “I can’t lose you, please! You can't die! Not this young!" The other five element bearers could only watch through their tears as Twilight repeatedly begged for Spike to stay awake, before she turned her attention towards the sky as if to beseech anyone up that was up there to keep Spike alive. "Please, Celestia. Don't take him. He's just 16! I'm begging you! Please let him live through this!!” Twilight cried looking up at the sky with fresh tears still in her eyes. Seeing Twilight, as well as her friends, like this made Spike feel worse than all his injuries combined. He knew he had one shot to hopefully provide them with some type of consolation to ease their grief about his passing. “Twilight, there's nothing you can do. We both know I won't make it, but it's okay. I don't care about my safety,” Spike rasped as he coughed up more blood. “As long as I know that Equestria is safe, more importantly, as long I know that you’re all safe, there's nothing more I'd want to know in my last moments than that. Listen, please don't be angry at Discord for this. He never intended this to happen.” Spike felt his vision start to go blurry. He knew he had a few seconds left to croak out one last thing to them all. “Listen,” the dying dragon choked out. “Please, promise me one last thing before I go.” “What is it?” Rarity asked through her tears. Spike found it harder and harder to speak as the last few seconds of his short life passed. It was becoming more of a challenge to even breathe, he felt a numbing sensation starting to move up his body, and fatigue was starting to slowly overwhelm the tiny being. " Please make sure Smolder...*gasp*...the Crusaders...*cough*...Starlight...*cough*...and Gabby...*gasp*...know that...*wheeze*...I love them,” Spike wheezed out, his message barely audible to the ponies around him. No sooner did he say his last word, then did the numbness finally spread all the way up his body. His eyes slowly fluttered shut as his last breath left his nose. He did it, he had saved Equestria and his lovers and friends were out of harm’s way. He was now at peace as the last of his senses faded away. According to Spike, he couldn’t have asked for it to turn out a better way. He was disappointed that he could no longer have a future with his harem, but, at the same time, was happy that they were safe. The Element Bearers, however, didn’t seem to share Spike optimism. They all began to bawl uncontrollably as their drakefriend finally passed on. Even Applejack, who was always known for crying on the inside, was a sobbing wreck. Seconds felt like minutes and minutes felt like hours as they unleashed their sorrowful cries. They were soon surrounded by a clear, dome-shaped forcefield as their allies and the Princesses crested the top of the hill. With Grogar’s bell destroyed, the Princesses and Discord had now gotten their magic back. The heartbroken girls paid no attention to their allies’ arrival as they continued to grieve for the loss of their lover. Thorax and Ember were at the front of the pack. Behind them were Gabby, Smolder, the CMC, and Starlight. They saw the villains still unconscious, and the ponies sitting and hunched over someone or something. They flew down and inform the rest of the group. “Tirek, Chrysalis, and Cozy Glow are knocked out. They don’t seem to have their enchanted powers anymore either, and Twilight and the girls seem fine, but they’re hunched over someone or something,” Thorax relayed. “Can we head down there to see what the fuss is about?” Ember asked. Yes, we can go with you,” Princess Celestia said. “My Sister and I will have our guards subdue these creatures before they can do anymore harm.” "We're coming too," Smolder announced. "The Crusaders, Starlight, Gabby, and I have been away from our Spike for far too long." With the company of the Princesses, Ember and Thorax flew down to the Element Bearers. Smolder scooped up the Crusaders and Gabby scooped up Starlight and they made their way down to the other harem members. As they got closer, they heard what sounded like crying coming from the ponies. “Thorax, it sounds like they’re crying,” Ember said. “Yeah,” Thorax replied. “I wonder what’s got them so upset.” "Ehh," Smolder shrugged. "They're probably crying out of happiness. Probably because Spike saves the day yet again." Celestia and Luna broke off with their guards to restrain the villains, while Ember and Thorax landed behind the ponies, followed be Smolder and Gabby. The dragon and Griffon set down the three other fillies and Unicorn before they turned their attention toward the still sobbing Element Bearers. The ponies didn’t acknowledge the arrival of the Dragon Lord, Changeling King, and the other half of the harem. They just continued to sob hysterically. At first, they were confused by their conduct. Then, they noticed the ground beneath where the ponies were sitting bearing a rather odd, reddish color. They felt uneasy at the odd sight and gave each other worried looks. Immediately, they walked at a brisk pace around the force field to get a better look at what got them in such a hysterical state. As they made their way around, they could hear the agonizing wails of the Element Bearers grow more vivid. They were halfway around when they glanced at the ground and now had a better look at the large pool of red on the ground. Then, through the crowd of ponies, Gabby noticed a small patch of purple with some green with streaks of dark red peppering it. The others took notice of what she was looking at and instantly, the worst-case scenario started running through all their heads. "You don't think-" Gabby started to say before a lump formed in her throat, making her unable to finish her sentence. The eight creatures went from a brisk walk to sprinting. The millisecond they got to where they were facing the ponies, their eyes widened, and all, but one, let out a horrified gasp. The one who didn’t gasp was Smolder, who let out a loud, blood-curdling scream. The ponies stopped crying and looked up at the new arrivals. By this point, Twilight had scooped up Spike's body and was now softly cradling him. On instinct, Starlight stuck her hoof out in front of the view of the Crusaders, trying to prevent them from observing the grisly sight before them, but her efforts were too little too late. The three fillies knocked her hoof away and raced to the force field, banging on it frantically. Everyone else just stood and stared at the scene before them as the reality of the situation quickly began to sink in. “N-No, i-it can’t be,” Thorax sputtered. “I-Is he d-dead?” Ember asked, hesitant to say the last word of her question. "Y-Yes,” Rarity managed to choke out between sobs. “S-Spike’s d-dead!” Ember and Thorax felt tears welling up in their eyes as they saw the dragon that had helped them get into the position they were in now. The tears on the faces of Smolder, Gabby, Starlight, and the Crusaders had already welled up in their eyes and were now seeping down their cheeks and falling like sorrow rain onto the ground at the sight of the magical, little Dragon who had successfully won their love, now reduced to nothing more than a bloody mess. “Celestia! Luna!” screamed Thorax, trying his best not to break down and start sobbing right then and there. “What? What's wrong?” Luna asked as she and Celestia ran over to them. “Spike’s gone! He’s dead!” Thorax cried as he finally broke down. Celestia and Luna ran over to where the sobbing Element Bearers were, saw Spike’s limp body, and quickly flew up to the hill crest where all of Equestria was waiting. “Deactivate the forcefield, now,” Celestia ordered, starting to feel nauseous from the gruesome sight of Spike's corpse. “What’s the matter, Princesses?” Chancellor Neighsay asked. “Spike is dead, we need to get a better look at the damage to him,” Luna said trying her best not cry. Without another word every Unicorn’s horn stopped glowing. The forcefield vanished instantly. The second it did, Ember, Thorax, and the other half of Spike's harem bolted to the huddle of ponies and joined them. Once they got a good look at their fallen friend and lover, they almost passed out. They immediately noticed how Spike's little torso, arms, and legs were impaled by so many shards of Groger’s bell, how his body was drenched in about 70 percent of his blood volume from all his deep cuts and scratches, how his entire torso was burnt almost to a crisp, the only thing on his wings that remained were two bloody, fleshy, stumps on his back, how there were burned pieces and bone fragments of him that peppered the grassy field under and around him, and how the ground beneath him was soaked in red from the the other 30 percent of his lost blood. His eyes were peacefully closed. If it weren't for all his horrible injuries, they would've thought he was sleeping. “Spike, no,” Ember choked out as she felt tears starting to ooze down her cheeks. "P-Please, no." She put a finger on Spike left wrist, which was surprisingly undamaged, to somehow hold out hope that he was still alive. She didn’t feel a pulse. It was at this moment that Ember and Thorax knew that Spike, the dragon that had helped clear Thorax’s name for him to be accepted into Pony kind, the dragon who had melted Ember’s walls and had helped her reach the Bloodstone Sceptor in order to become the new Dragon Lord, and the dragon who had captured the hearts of a dozen girls, was no more. The Princesses, after what seemed like forever, flew down to join the other 14 lamenting creatures. Garble also followed them down there. He knew that his sister needed him more than ever to get through this event. All 17 creatures were all overcome with grief looking down at Spike's destroyed body. The villains were defeated and Equestria was safe from the Legion of Doom, but at what cost? Spike, a kid, had given up his life for his friends, his marefriends, his family, and his home. “Twilight,” whispered Celestia, her eyes starting to fill with fresh tears. “What happened?” After hearing this, Twilight stopped crying and got the composure to speak. Celestia felt heartbroken staring down at her pupil’s sad, red-rimmed, puffy eyes. The lavender Alicorn tearfully explained how Spike had grabbed the bell, had taunted the Legion of Doom into chasing him, and how he tricked them into destroying the object that was responsible for all their powers. She found it harder to speak as she went into detail about finding him in the rubble, how he had already accepted his fate, and in his final words to them saying that as long as his friends and Equestria were safe, that was all that mattered. She then told the other half of Spike's harem about how he told Element Bearers to let them know that he loved them. The thought of reciting the awful scene to the Princesses, Ember, Thorax, and the other six harem members made the Twilight and her friends cry even harder. Thorax, Starlight, the Princesses all silently cried. Smolder, Gabby, and the Crusaders began to bawl hysterically. None of them said a word. Ember, however, was a different story. “No! No! No! This isn’t fair! THIS ISN'T FAIR!!!” Ember screamed as she fell to her knees, repeatedly punched the ground, and finally began crying hysterically looking at the destroyed body that was once her best friend. “Spike didn’t deserve this!” From the hillcrest above, Dragons, Ponies, Changelings, Griffons, Hippogriffs, Yaks, Buffalos, and Kirins all began to cry silently. No creature had peeled their eyes away from where the Princesses, Element Bearers, Dragon Lord, and Changeling King were all huddled around their fallen comrade. Equestria hadn't lost an ordinary hero that day, it had lost its savior that day. There was one creature, however, that felt the saddest and guiltiest out of them all. Discord. “Oh, Spike,” he whispered to no one in particular, tears stinging his eyes. “I did this. I’m so sorry.”