Dawn of the Final Day- 24 Hours Remaining
Spike ascended from the catacombs and into the palace of Princess Celestia. The morning sun had just begun to shine through the stained glass windows of the castle, painting the room in a variety of colored light. The stairwell had led the young dragon from the underground tombs to the castle’s interior. Exiting the stairwell, Spike found himself at the end of a hallway. The architecture of the palace resembled that of Canterlot Castle. The floor was titled with a checkered pattern of white and navy blue and an elegant red carpet extended down the length of the halls. The walls were a light purple and trimmed with gold. Colorful tapestries and pots of beautiful flowers adorned the walls. The tall windows were arched and alternated between normal planes and stained glass between the white pillars that were supporting the ceiling. The stained glass windows depicted valiant heroes and historic events. There was one of Spike delivering the Crystal Heart to Princess Cadance back home in Canterlot.
Do you think that we’ll get our own window here when we’re done with our quest? Spike asked his compatriots.
Focus. We got a job to do here, reminded his Trotinan counterpart. Pushing the thought of his own stain glass window out of his mind, Spike walked down the hall of the castle. He rounded the corner and saw evidence of Sombra’s occupancy of the palace. In the main hallway of the castle, dark crystals were growing out of the ground and up the walls. The corridor started to resemble a cave with the jagged crystals hanging from the ceiling. It was only a matter of time before the palace resembled the tower that was behind it.
I don’t get it, remarked Spike. Why did Sombra move into this castle when he already has one right next door?
It’s to show that he’s conquered his enemy, explained Soarin.
Twilight is the scholar, not me, but I did pick up a lot by helping with her research, the other Spike said. During the war, Sombra built the tower to be his headquarters during his uprising. His goal was to take the palace as his own and then the rest of Trotina. Without Princess Celestia here, there’s no pony to stop him.
There’s us, Spike corrected. A dragon and three spirits that are ready to kick his flank!
Eeyup, agreed Big Macintosh.
As the dragon made his way through an archway, he saw a peculiar sight. It was so strange and out of place, the four heroes couldn’t help but to gawk at it. There were four Crystal Pony zombies in front of the large double doors that led to the throne room. They didn’t let out their ear-piercing shrieks. They didn’t lunge at the dragon. Instead, they were dancing.
What in tarnation? exclaimed Big Macintosh. One corpse spun on its hooves gracefully and preformed pirouettes.
Sweet Celestia’s technicolored mane, Spike thought flabbergasted. Another zombie stretched its forelegs out and struck a pose and Spike’s eye twitched when it did so.
What… I don’t even… The Unicorn Spike couldn’t develop a coherent thought. Another zombie ran up to another who lifted it up and balanced its partner on one hoof in a dramatic stance
You gotta be kidding me, Soarin remark in bewilderment. The four zombie ponies then lined up and stood on their hind legs, supported each other with interlocked forelegs, and started to kick their hooves in synchronization. It was at this point when Spike had sneaked around the dancing zombie pony troupe and entered the doors to the throne room.
As Spike entered the throne room, he only saw an empty throne on top of the dais. The light from the sun illuminated the chamber as it shone through the eastern windows. The young dragon walked along the red carpet and then he noticed a basin beside the throne. A plush pillow laid on it as though something important belonged on it.
“You, follower of Celestia,” a dark, gravelly voice echoed throughout the throne room. Heavy curtains materialized and covered the windows of the chamber, blocking out the light from the rising sun. A black fog filled the room and swirled around the throne. “You dare intrude in my castle, seeking the Element of Loyalty.” A shot of dark magic came from the fog and knocked Spike’s mummy mask off his face, shattering it. A pair of eyes appeared in the shadowy fog. They were a glowing green with red irises and a purple aura flowed from them like a flame. The face of a Unicorn appeared from the darkness. His coat was a dark gray and his mane appeared to be the black fog. A red, curved horn adorned his head along with a spiked crown. As the Unicorn emerged from the darkness, Spike saw that he wore a metal breastplate, bracers on his legs, and a red cape. The dark Unicorn sneered, bearing his fang like teeth at the young dragon. “You won’t find it here. I have placed it in my tower.”
“Sombra,” Spike addressed the dark unicorn.
“King Sombra!” the usurper roared. “You will learn your place, whelp. I am the ruler of this castle now! Bow to me and I might spare your life. Who knows? Maybe one day you will be of use to me. A dragon would be a powerful ally to have.”
“Forget it!” Spike shouted defiantly. “I have to get the Element of Loyalty. If I don’t, Nightmare Moon will destroy the world!”
“Insolent fool!” Sombra growled. “Nightmare Moon freed me from my prison and she has promised to bring about a new era! I will see to it that she does and I will eliminate any one dares to oppose us!”
The pretender king’s body dissolved back into fog and filled the room. Spike looked around the swirling darkness, searching for a sign of the Unicorn. From behind the young dragon, an armored hoof bucked him in the back, sending him to the ground. As Spike started to rise to his feet, another hoof smacked the dragon across the face and knocked him back down. Spike groaned and Sombra laughed at his pain. Spike once again attempted to stand, but Sombra kicked him in his stomach. Spike moaned in agony, but he tried to stand again despite the pain.
“Why bother to rise?” mocked the dark voice. “You are where you belong…” A hoof came down and pinned Spike body to the floor. “… Under my hoof!” Spike struggled to remove the crushing hoof, but it refused to budge. Sombra laughed at his attempt to free himself. “Is this the might of the legendary dragons? Ha! You’re a pathetic lizard!”
Spike gritted his teeth as he groaned under the pressure. His vision started to darken and it was almost impossible to breathe. He had to do something and he was running out of time. He would have tried to breathe fire at the Unicorn that was crushing him, but he couldn’t get enough air. Desperate, Spike latched his teeth onto the gloating tyrant’s leg and bit it with a bite force that could crush diamonds. Sombra roared in pain and pulled his hoof away from the dragon. Spike rolled away from the Unicorn and gasped for air. He called upon the power of the Unicorn Mask and transformed.
After Sombra recovered from being bit, he glared at the Unicorn that now stood before him. Spike’s horn glowed green with magic and Sombra’s glowed with dark magic. Spike shot a blast of magic at the tyrant, which shot a powerful blast at him in turn. The two spells collided in the air, but Sombra’s easily overpowered Spike’s. The force of the black magic sent the Unicorn colt flying across the throne room.
Spike collided against the wall and Sombra became the dark mist again. Spike called upon the power of the Pegasus Mask and changed into Soarin. He took to the air and started to flap his wings to generate a gust of wind. The area immediately in front of the Pegasus was cleared of the dark haze, but the amorphous shadow flowed around the funnel of wind and slammed against Spike. He fell to the floor and Sombra reformed his body to gloat at the fallen Pegasus.
Spike used the power of the Earth Pony mask and became Big Macintosh. The red stallion charge at the laughing Unicorn and rammed into his chest. The assault succeeded in knocking the usurper down. Sombra might have been uncommonly large for a Unicorn, being even larger than Big Macintosh, but the Earth Pony’s tremendous strength was able to match the Unicorn’s magically increased strength. While the tyrant rose to his hooves, Spike bucked him. The impact knocked the dark Unicorn down, but before Spike could follow up with another attack, Sombra shot another blast of magic. The bolt of spiraling black, green, and purple magic struck Spike in the chest.
Spike’s body went sliding across the titled floor and stopped underneath one of the covered windows and changed back into a dragon. The thrashed dragon looked up and saw the dark Unicorn walking towards him, dark energy swirling around his red horn. Spike looked up at the curtain that Sombra had summoned to block out the light. Spike took in a breath and shot a jet of green fire at the curtain. The green flames consumed the magically summoned curtain, and light pour onto the evil Unicorn. Sombra howled in agony as his body was consumed in flames. The rays of the morning sun dissolved the dark Unicorn as light banishes a shadow.
Spike slumped against the wall and exhaled in exhaustion. With a shaking claw, he pulled out the flask of blue potion and took a drink. The flask was starting to feel light as it was nearly depleted. After his strength returned, Spike stood up. A door behind the throne opened and Spike headed for it.
“Dragon, wait…” a voice called. Spike turned around and saw Sombra’s ethereal head floating behind him. “You have defeated me in combat… I must congratulate your efforts… The misery that has befallen this valley is my doing… My lust for power has corrupted my soul and the Crystal Ponies had to pay the price for my sins… I cannot undo what I have done… But you can… I hide that which you seek in the tower… To obtain it, you will need the aid of the souls that reside within you… As a parting gift, I give you the power to summon a warrior that has no soul… Listen and learn the ‘Elegy of Emptiness’…”
The ghostly head sang seven notes of music. Spike mentally recorded the notes for future use and asked, “What does this song spell do?”
“It will create a shell of the form that you are currently in…” Sombra answered. “… Use it atop of the tower after changing into your other forms so that they will stand on the three pressure plates so that you can move on… A door will open and you must walk through it… My time has come… I can already feel the darkness of Tartarus coming to claim me…”
The head began to fade away. Curious, Spike pulled out his flute and played the song. He felt dizzy and he staggered around a bit. His head soon cleared and saw that there was a statue where he had been standing. It looked like Spike with it being a small, purple dragon with green spines. It stood complete upright in a rigid stance, its arms flat against its sides and its legs together. However, the face was unsettling. It appeared to be smiling, but it was so forced that it seemed like it was bearing teeth at Spike like a vicious animal. What were even worse than the smile were the eyes. They were so empty, so lifeless, yet they seemed to be able to see into your soul.
Dude, that’s creepy, Spike shuddered as he looked at the statue.
I don’t like the way it’s staring at us, Soarin remarked.
Eenope, Big Macintosh agreed.
Let’s get out of here, the other Spike requested. Spike turned away from the disturbing statue and headed to the open door. The statue remained where it was, facing in the direction that Spike had gone. The ethereal head of Sombra briefly materialized again and looked down at the statue.
You shouldn’t have done that… Sombra commented to the absent Spike as he faded away again.
The tower of dark crystal reached towards the heavens and Spike was already making his up the winding staircase. It reminded him of the time when he went with Twilight to find the Crystal Heart that his world’s King Sombra had hidden. They had to climb down a huge flight of stairs just to climb up another huge flight of stairs when they reached the bottom. These stairs spiraled along the interior walls of the tower, leaving a huge opening in the center. A balcony could be seen at the very top. After a few minutes of climbing, Spike’s legs began to burn.
How much further? he asked as he stopped to look up at the balcony.
I would think that you’re almost halfway there, answered the other Spike.
Why do villains always insist on having towers or fortresses? Spike muttered as he continued to climb.
You know, nopony is making you climb. commented Soarin. You could fly.
Oh yeah, Spike said and smacked himself. He changed into Soarin and tried to take off, but a black and purple force kept pulling him back down. Of course, he thought sarcastically as he continued to walk up the stairs. It can never be that easy.
Spike eventually reached the balcony. He collapsed on the ground and his tongue rolled out of his mouth as he panted from his long trek up the tower. After he had rested, he saw the three pressure switches.
Well, Soarin, it looks like you’re up first. Spike said as he stood on the first switch. After having some trouble getting accustomed to playing a flute with hooves, he played the Elegy of Emptiness.
The feeling of lightheadedness returned and Spike stepped off the pressure plate. He put a claw to his head and then noticed that he was a dragon. He looked back and saw a statue of Soarin standing on the plate. It was just as rigid as the creepy dragon statue, but the eyes seemed to have warmth to them like it was alive. Also, Spike couldn’t sense Soarin in his head anymore.
“Soarin?” the dragon called to the Pegasus statue.
“I’m here, Spike,” the voice of the Pegasus echoed from inside the statue. “This is weird. I can see and hear you, but I can’t move. This body feels… hollow.”
“The song must have turned your mask into a statue,” Spike surmised. He looked to the other plates and repeated the process with the other Spike and Big Macintosh.
“While it’s good to have a solid form again, I wish I could move” the Unicorn Statue remarked.
“Spike,” Big Macintosh’s statue called to the dragon. “Look.”
Spike turned around and saw that a panel was slowly sliding open in the floor of the balcony. He went over and looked through it, but only saw the floor of the tower very far beneath him.
“He said to go through the door, but it’s just a hole in the balcony. I’d fall to the bottom!” Spike yelled.
“It must be a test of courage,” the other Spike guessed. “You have to do it.”
“But…” he started to protest.
“There’s no other option. It’s the only way!”
“Fine, but I’m using the watch if I start falling!”
“You have to make a leap of faith,” Soarin told him. “You can do it!”
“Be brave, Spike,” encouraged Big Macintosh. “You can do it.”
Even though he had doubts, Spike took a breath and place one foot over the hole. Closing his eyes, he leaned forward. He felt gravity take over his body, but he came to a sudden stop when his foot made contact with a surface. Startled, Spike opened his eyes and found himself standing on the underside of the balcony. He looked up and saw what used to be the floor above him.
“I made it!” he called back to his friends. “I’m walking on the ceiling!”
“Do you see the Element?” called the alternate Spike. The young dragon looked around and saw a doorway at would have been the top of the staircase. He went over the doorway and saw a dark stairwell leading back to the bottom of the tower. “What do you see?”
“Stairs, lots and lots of stairs,” Spike answered, quoting what Twilight Sparkle had told him when something like this happened to them in the Crystal Empire.
“Don’t worry,” Soarin called to him. “We’ll be here when you get back.”
Spike groaned, but pressed onward and headed up the stairs to, oddly enough, the bottom of the tower. The staircase led to a room that was beneath the floor of the tower. Inside was a basin that held the Element of Loyalty. Spike ran up to it and placed his claws on it.
Spike found himself in the all too familiar black void. Rainbow Dash zoomed in and hovered before. Even in mirage world, the Pegasus mare preferred her wings over her own hooves.
“Hey kid,” the illusion greeted the young dragon. “I’m impressed you’ve made this far. That took guts.”
“Thanks Dash,” Spike said to the blue mare.
“Let me guess, you’re here for this,” the rainbow maned mare asked as a red gem hovered beside her. “Let’s cut to the chase, shall we?”
“What, no speech on loyalty first?” Spike dryly asked.
“Nah, I’m not the one for speeches,” she replied as she waved a hoof. “Besides, the way help Twilight around the library, how you stood up to those jerky dragons, and even your dedication to this mission is proof enough that you’re loyal.”
“Then why don’t you just give me the Element?” Spike asked.
“Because I need to see how loyal you really are,” she answered. “Ready or not, here it comes!”
Spike found himself in a field at night. In the distance he could see Clock Town. Above the city was the moon and was about to crash into the planet! Panicked, Spike reached for the amulet that hung around his neck, but it wasn’t there. He looked down and noticed that he didn’t have anything on him; no flute, no flask, no Lens of Truth, no Elements of Harmony, and no amulet. He desperately looked around for the watch, but it was nowhere to be found. A light suddenly appeared beside him and he looked into it. It was a portal and he could see Twilight Sparkle lying on her bed crying on the other side.
You can go home if you want, a voice said in his mind. Just forget about this world and save yourself.
Spike prepared to dive through the portal and run to his crying caretaker, but he stopped himself. Princess Celestia, this world’s Spike, Big Macintosh, Soarin, and everypony else was counting on him. He had made promises to ponies like the Apple Family. He couldn’t just run out on them, but what could he do? The moon was literally moments away from destroying everything.
“I made a vow. I’m not going anywhere,” Spike declared to the portal. The portal closed and Spike turned to accept his fate.
Flames rose along the sides of the moon as it entered the atmosphere. The colossal celestial body crashed into the surface on the planet with Clock Town being in the center of the point of impact. A mountainous cloud of debris was launched into the air by the disastrous collision. Spike could feel the wind start to pick up until it was greater than a hurricane. Spike shielded his eyes with his arms and he saw a wall of flame rushing towards him with a deafening roar. Spike screamed as he was blown away into oblivion. The last thing he saw was a pair of mismatched yellow eyes and he heard a giggling voice ask, “You’ve met with a terrible fate, haven’t you?”
Spike opened his eyes and he was back into the tower again. He looked down and saw that the Element of Loyalty was now on his left leg as a golden greave with a gem in the shape of a lightning bolt on it; he had passed the test. He turned around to head back down the stair to rejoin his friends, but he collided with something, causing him to fall down. He looked up and saw the creepy dragon statue from before standing over him.
“The statue? How did it get here?” he asked himself. Without warning, the statue slowly looked down at the dragon with its forced grin, its dead eyes staring into the dragon’s. “Whoa!”
Your soul… a hollow voice whispered. The statue’s hands reached for the dragon. … Give it to me…
Spike shouted as he scrambled away from the advancing statue. He stood up and backed away.
You have a soul… The dragon statue was walking towards him with its claws stretched out. The face remained unmoving and dead. I want one too..
“Stay away from me!” Spike shouted as he tried to evade the thing. However, the statue grabbed Spike and started to choke him with its cold claws.
I want your soul… the creature whispered as Spike dropped to the ground, struggling to breathe. The creature bent over the dragon, starring with those lifeless eyes. I want your soul…
Spike placed a foot on the statue’s stomach and flipped it over his head. The statue hit the crystalline floor and its surfaced cracked. Spike got up and saw that the statue started to rise as well, but it fell back down when both of its legs shattered. Spike could see through the cracks that the evil statue was hollow on the inside.
Your soul… the thing whispered as it crawled towards Spike. Give me your soul…
Spike took a breath and incinerated that statue with his green dragonfire. The statue fell apart and crumbled into ash as it made its last attempt to reach the dragon. Soon, it was no more than ash and Spike ran down the stairs.
He reached the balcony and repeated the process of falling through the hole to return to the other side.
“Spike, are you okay?” the Unicorn Statue asked. “We saw that freaky statue walk up the stairs and follow you through the door!”
“Yeah,” Spike answered in a quiet voice. “I took care of it.”
“Are you sure?” asked Big Macintosh. “What did it do?”
“It wanted my soul,” Spike told the Earth Pony Statue.
“What did you do about it?” asked Soarin in a concerned tone.
“I toasted it,” Spike told the Pegasus Statue and then shuddered. “I really don’t want to talk about.”
The others didn’t pry any further. Spike then wondered about what to do with his three friends. He couldn’t leave them here like this. He reached forward and touched the Unicorn Statue and it disappeared in a flash. Once again, Spike could feel the power of the Unicorn Mask within him. He did this same with the other two statues.
After making his way out of the tower, Spike heard a sound and looked back and saw the crystal tower shrinking. With the Element of Loyalty recovered and the tower conquered, both Nightmare Moon and Sombra’s curses lifted. Spike exited the castle to see a host of revived Crystal Ponies gathered outside. They shook their heads as though they just had woken a very long nightmare. The Pie Family was also there with Octavia and Vinyl Scratch.
“Oh yeah!” Vinyl cheered. “Way to go, kid!”
“Well done, my friend,” congratulated Octavia. “You have saved us all.”
Spike smiled at the scene of the freed ponies. He looked around the valley and noticed that grass and flowers were growing again. He looked to west and saw the moon. He thought to himself, No I haven’t, not yet. He pressed the button on the watch and traveled to the past for the last time.
Ponyville- Day 3, 6:00 P.M.
It was unusual to see the two Royal Alicorn Sisters walk down the street of Ponyville. The inhabitants of the town would stare in awe at their presence and then bowed as they passed by. The white and midnight blue Alicorns made their way to the residence of Twilight Sparkle. When they reached the library, they saw a group of melancholy ponies waiting outside. This didn’t surprise the princesses at all. They looked at the mourning faces of five of the Elements of Harmony and the Cutie Mark Crusaders. When the glum group saw the approaching royals, they somberly bowed.
“She isn’t talking to anypony?” Princess Celestia stated more as a fact rather than a question. They eight ponies sadly shook their heads. “I thought as much.”
Celestia took flight and flew to Twilight’s balcony as Luna tended to the sad group. She gave a sympathetic look as she saw the lavender mare weeping on her bed, her face buried into her pillow. Celestia gently knock on the window and Twilight looked up. Seeing her mentor, she used her magic to open the glass door. She walked up to the white Alicorn and then sat on her haunches. Tears were flowing from her eyes and Celestia wrapped her large wings and forelegs around her comfortingly.
“My dear Twilight,” Celestia said softly. “I am so sorry.”
“H-he can’t be gone. He just can’t be,” Twilight cried as she leaned against her secondary mother figure’s chest.
“I wish it wasn’t so, but I can’t change the truth.”
“But… But he was just a baby… He was my baby! I raised him, cared for him, and loved him. He was my son. I finally came to realize what he really meant to me and he was taken from me! It’s not fair!”
“I know, my little pony, I know. It isn’t fair. It is an unfortunate part of life that inevitably happens to all living beings. At least you have the comfort that one day you will be reunited with him. My sister and I have to endure the curse of immortality.”
“The curse of immortality?” Twilight asked as she looked up to her teacher with teary eyes.
“Yes, unlike you mortals, we have to stand watch over Equestria as the centuries pass by, forced to watch as our subjects are born, grow, age, and die in the blink of an eye. Each time one of my dear ones pass on to the next world while I remain here weighs heavily upon my soul. The hardest time of my very long life was the thousand years that Luna was banished, for I had to endure the pain without the only one who shared my suffering. What made it worse was the fact that I was to blame for it.”
“But, didn’t you banish Princess Luna for trying to bring about eternal night?”
“Yes, but it wasn’t her fault,” Celestia explained. “Years of neglect and ingratitude from our subjects drove her to despair and made it possible for the Nightmare Forces to corrupt her mind and her heart. I am to blame, for as her elder sister I should have noticed my beloved Luna’s pain before it was too late. I had failed, both as a princess and as sister, for while I tended to the needs of the ponies of Equestria, I neglected to see suffering of the one who needed me the most. However, that is all in the past and there is nothing I nor anypony else can do about it. All that we can do is to learn from that past and continue to move forward until our time comes.”
“Will you die, too?”
Celestia looked down at her faithful students worried face and said gently, “Yes, but not for a very long time. When my time finally comes, I will finally be able to be reunited with all of my loved ones. I know better than any that death is painful, but remember, it is not the end. It is just the next step. You will see Spike again. You will be with your son again.”
Princess Celestia words gave comfort to Twilight Sparkle’s grieving heart, but the pain was still there. The Alicorn helped the Unicorn to her bed and then left to prepare a memorial service for Spike the Dragon.