//------------------------------// // Raiding the Crystal Empire // Story: Spike the Fairy // by PonyJoel //------------------------------// Spike arrives at the Crystal Empire. Princess Celestia sent a letter alerting Princess Cadance about Spike moving in for a few months. Twilight (Sc-Twi) promised Spike to visit from time to time. Flurry Heart is happy to have Spike; so are the Crystal Ponies. They know that Guardian Dragon is far different than the Brave and Glorious. The Crystal Ponies cheered loudly and helped Princess Cadance set up the Crystal Faire. Spike receives a warm welcome. Hearing the chants of Guardian Dragon is overwhelming. Flurry Heart tackle hugs Spike; she's happy to see him. "Flurry Heart," Princess Cadance trots up to her daughter, indicating to let Spike go. "Sorry, Mom," Flurry Heart giggles and flies off Spike. Spike gets up. He turns to see the Spike Statue with the chest missing a piece. "Uh, what's with the void?" "Our sculptors want to carve the new tattoo of yours. Then piece the crystal into the hole," Princess Cadance points to the empty chest piece. "Also, I love the design of the shield. Shining Armor would be jealous." "Oooooh," Spike now understands about the new Spike Statue. He saw one in the Districts with the Fairy Tail Emblem on it. "Thanks for the compliment." Many Crystal Ponies approach Spike and take pictures with him. Spike signs a few autographs and embraces the attention. Then, all of a sudden, many Crystal Ponies start getting sleepy. Princess Cadance notices her guards succumbing to slumber. "I don't.., want to go.., to..." Flurry Heart yawns and falls asleep. Princess Cadance grits her teeth. She knows who's approaching, but the spell is heavier than anticipation. Her eyes flutter up and softly collapse. Spike is left clueless. He doesn't understand why every pony has fallen asleep. "The Crystal Heart?" Spike flaps his wings and flies to the Crystal Heart, guarding it with his life. Grogar, in his disguised form, enters the Crystal Empire's fields. He sees many Crystal Ponies falling ill to his magic. "Perfect. No one will topple me when I claim my prize." Grogar proceeds to stroll to the Crystal Castle. Grogar enters the streets of the Crystal Empire. All Crystal Ponies are soundly asleep, snoring, having nightmares, and talking in their sleep. Like the first time, he senses immense magic power within the Crystal Castle. He chose not to retrieve it due to the mirror's importance. Now, he's in dire need of the power source; In case of a mutiny caused by Sadistic Spike Knightwalker. Approaching the Crystal Castle's boundaries, Grogar senses the Crystal Heart and a different magic power he doesn't recognize. Grogar's eye widen, seeing Spike patrolling the Crystal Heart. "How is that Dragon not asleep? Something is amiss with his magic capability." Spike keeps his guard up and notices a pony wearing a cloak. He stands still, reading the pony's body language to determine whether or not the pony is a friend or foe. "Grogar." The only creature to come to his mind ever since the alignments of planets came some time ago. Grogar knows to save this Spike for Knightwalker. However, he sees a critical error that he must fix. There is no Fairy Tail Emblem on Spike's chest. That would ruin his plans if Knightwalker fought him. "I need to rearrange his chest piece to secure Knightwalker's trust despite his weapon overpowering my magic bubble earlier." Grogar fears what Sadistic Spike Knightwalker could do to him if the truth came out. He thought he knew the real side of Sadistic Spike Knightwalker but was severely wrong. He never understood the real sadistic side of Knightwalker and wondered who controlled his actions. "I KNOW WHO YOU ARE, GROGAR!" Spike shouts at the top of his lungs as he points at him. His claws ignite in sparkling green flames. Grogar snarls and uses his magic to teleport the cloak away. He disposes his disguise, for he has other plans. "Stand aside or die." "DIE!" Spike conjures energy wings and flies at Grogar. "YOU WILL DIE!" "Strong words from a baby dragon!" Grogar gallops toward Spike with the evil intention of subduing him to some degree. Spike's left claw and Grogar's right hoof collide. The impact of the collision sends every pony asleep away from the Crystal Heart. Grogar's magic catches Spike and electrocutes him. He wails until he breathes fire at Grogar. Grogar releases his hold due to the scorching flames, rubbing the fire away from his only eye. Spike lunges at Grogar. "Take this!" He jabs his index finger into Grogar's left empty eye socket. "AAAAAAAH!" Grogar zaps Spike away with his magic. The sting reminded him of Knightwalker shooting him. He pants while blood starts dripping. "SCREW IT! I'M ENDING YOU NOW!" "I hope this works." "Exploding Cataclysm!" Spike imagines dozens of sparkling orbs beneath Grogar's positioning. "What?" Grogar looks down and gets bombarded with explosions. He groans in pain from the impact and coughs due to the smoke. "What the hell is wrong with me?" It hits Grogar. The incinerating red gemstone has more drastic effects than Knightwalker led on. Not only can it pierce magic, but it can eradicate it too. "NO!" Spike waits until the smoke clears from his spell. Grogar still stands but looks fatigued. "Still standing, huh?" Spike starts getting cocky. He believes he can finish Grogar before armageddon begins. Grogar underestimated Spike's prowess. Although the incinerating bullet helped, the magnitude of the spell is fearsome. He couldn't detect the exploding orbs underneath. "I see you copied the Fairy Dragon's magic." Spike grits his teeth angrily. He hates the comparison to the Fairy Dragon. Grogar notices Spike's demeanor and smirks. He's going to use Spike's emotions for his benefit. In a fit of rage, Spike flies at Grogar. Grogar jumps to his left, evading Spike's tackle. Spike crashes into a home of a Crystal Pony. "You've become sloppy, Fairy Dragon!" Grogar sneers. He charges his magic for a powerful spell. "SHUT UP!" Spike's body blazes in a sparkling green aura. He lunges at Grogar with ferocity. "Guardian Dragon Demolition-" Spike tries to withhold his punch when Grogar lifts Princess Cadance's body to use as a shield. "Gotcha," Grogar unleashes a malevolent sphere at Spike. He encases Spike within and drains his magic power painfully. Spike screams and holds his insides. "You should have gone through to stop me!" Grogar laughs. He lifts Spike's containment and throws him far away with his magic. "Now, to claim my prize!" Grogar uses his magic to follow the trace of the unmeasurable source of magic power. Spike breathes heavily while the agonizing pain suffocates him in the sphere. He remembers watching the footage of Fairy Dragon using his fire breath to teleport himself to places or away from danger. He focuses on the last location of the Crystal Empire and breathes fire. Instead of teleporting himself, the sphere vanishes, freeing himself from captivity. However, Spike crashes into a school full of Crystal Fillies and Colts. Spike shakes off the rubble and looks at the drawing board. He sees many pictures depicting Spike the Brave and Glorious. It also has the Guardian Dragon of the Crystal Empire. "I need to spend time with all Crystal Ponies after vanquishing Grogar!" Spike solemnly swears as the protector of the Crystal Empire. He takes flight and flies straight to Crystal Castle. Grogar walks upstairs and remembers the corridors where Midnight Sparkle and Fairy Dragon brawled. He trots closer and locates a crystal shard King Sombra would use. The crystal shard is the immeasurable power of Demon Curses and Pure Cleansing. "You're what I sensed the first time. Even after rewatching the Fairy Dragon's memory, you are Fairy Law contained by a Demon Curse. The right power source for my army and more." Grogar puts the shard in his bag and prepares to leave. "Time to go. By now, that Fairy Dragon wannabe should be dead within that containment." Grogar walks back to the Crystal Heart. He's decided to exterminate the Princess of Love and drain the power of the Crystal Heart. He can weaken the empire and remove an ally of United Equestria. A few minutes later, Grogar exits the Crystal Castle and approaches the Crystal Heart. He sees the sparkling green flare left behind by the Fairy Dragon. Grogar reaches for it when his hoof starts burning intensely. He draws back and examines the prowess of the Heart's defense mechanisms. "The Fairy Dragon cast a Ring of Defense on the Crystal Heart to ensure its' safety." Spike returns and sees Grogar flinching when the Crystal Heart repels his advances. Spike extends his claw, sparkling green aura shimmers, powering up a maneuver he practiced. Grogar attempts to strike the Crystal Heart when he sees Spike in the reflection. He turns to see him powering up. "So, you escape." It's too soon for him to get busted. Spike extends his claws forward. "RADIANT SHINE!" Spike unleashes an explosive beam of energy at Grogar. It's sparkling green with shimmering lights: a combination of fire and lightning. Grogar eludes the attack swiftly in hopes of Spike's attack destroying the Crystal Heart. "You doomed the Crystal Empire!" Grogar sinisterly laughs. "SHIT! I CAN'T STOP MY ATTACK! I FAILED..." Spike failed to use finesse with his attack. He carelessly conjured much magic power to kill Grogar but flopped when he needed more stability. It becomes too erratic for Spike to turn off. Spike closes his eyes and embraces the humiliating defeat and the demise of the Crystal Empire. Grogar laughs. He uses his magic to conjure a magic energizer beam of his own. "This is how you execute magic to tame your enemies, Fairy Dragon!" Grogar insults Spike with another comparison. He's charging his spell to annihilate Spike where he stands. The Crystal Heart absorbs Spike's energy beam. Another feature the Crystal Heart now has is seeking to attack those with evil intent. It found the source of dark magic. "OH, SHIT!" Grogar sees the Crystal Heart spinning rapidly. Spike opens his eyes, and his jaw drops. The Crystal Heart continues to spin and bloom with crystalizing purification shockwave. Grogar gets hit and hurls far away from the Crystal Empire. He screams as he loses the battle. Grogar lands in the snowy region of the Crystal Empire. Due to the Crystal Heart's defense protocol and disposal of Grogar, Spike gets a crystal coating, his scales glimmering in the radiance of absolute beauty. Also, every pony that Grogar put to sleep wakes up. They themselves are coated in Crystals. "Wh-What happened?" Every pony around asks while they wake up. Princess Cadance wakes up dumbfounded. She senses the awesome power of the Crystal Heart and acknowledges the sudden increase in magic power. Spike flies up to Princess Cadance and explains the events that took place. She couldn't believe that Spike stood up to Grogar and won with the aid of the Crystal Heart. Also, the mention of Grogar having one eye is skeptical. Grogar is known as the Father of Monsters and is very durable. Not many powerful foes can injure Grogar, so something is amiss. When the Crystal Ponies heard about the tale, they wanted to continue with the Crystal Faire and hold a feast with the Guardian Dragon. Grogar gets up and hobbles a bit. "Knightwalker's bullet has extensive capabilities that would slow anyone down. Color me impressed," Grogar admits and finds Sadistic Spike Knightwalker's weaponry more fierce than he could dream of; it's evident Grogar has a newfound respect for Sadistic Knightwalker's genius to wear down any creature in the aftermath of a conflict. Grogar uses his remaining magic to reestablish his disguise as he wears his cloak. He has a long travel to the mines. Hours later. It's 7:37 at nighttime. Grogar expels his disguise and sees his army asleep from another day of brutal training. Lord Tirek is leaning against a pillar with his arms crossed. "Any progress on these minions, Lord Tirek?" Grogar asks. "Pst," Lord Tirek replies bitterly. "These weaklings won't be ready when we storm their capital. Might as well throw in the towel." "On the contrary, I have the solution to help amplify our army with strength, power, and endurance unlike any other," Grogar unveils his prize, a demonic crystal shard. "What is that fossil?" Lord Tirek senses familiar magic within the crystal. "Midnight Sparkle contained a powerful spell the Fairy Dragon used. Fairy Law." Lord Tirek is in shock by bearing witness to the shard. Knowing the eminence of Fairy Law and the properties within made him weary of the spell backfiring. From the movie nights, Fairy Law used to take out who the caster sees as an enemy to extreme proportions. "I plan on using my Scepter to extract the power and enhance it on our brethren. Then, they'll be more omnipotent to train and fight. I'll increase your mass and strength to defeat the Princesses. I'll singlehandedly extinguish the United Species' guild. Leaving Spike Knightwalker to defeat the Guardian Dragon." "Guardian Dragon?" Lord Tirek raises an eyebrow. He's confused by the title. "Fairy Dragon," Grogar added the quotation marks with his tone and flicking of his two front hooves. "So, where is Knightwalker?" "He went out on patrol, searching for trespassers to further his research. He told me he's nearly done with e-suits. Something suits that he's modifying." "E-suits?" Grogar wonders what kind of project e-suits are. "What about the gemstone bullets? Any info on those?" "He finished that project an hour ago. He detailed the right gemstones to use on dragons and magic wielders. Those who don't use magic are easier to slay with his e-suits. Once completed, he'll need a quicker process to copy." "I'll need to have a private discussion with Knightwalker later," Grogar goes to his quarters and rest from today's success despite suffering a humiliating defeat in a battle against the Guardian Dragon and the Crystal Heart.