//------------------------------// // Dawn of a New Day // Story: The Legend of Spike: Discord's Mask // by DiabloGuapo //------------------------------// Dawn of a New Day The flash ended and Spike found himself outside the southern gate of Clock Town. The dragon was small again, but he still wore the Elements of Harmony. Beside him were his Trotinan counterpart, Big Macintosh, Soarin, and Princess Luna. Before they could say anything to each other, Princess Celestia landed in front of them and stood face to face with her sister. The two majestic mares stared at each, not showing any emotion. Princess Luna’s horned glowed with blue magic and the moon returned to orbit and then below the western horizon. Princess Celestia’s horn glow gold and the sun finally rose in the east. They continued to stare at each without any sigh of emotions after they had completed their respective duties. Suddenly, tears filled both Alicorns’ eyes and they rushed to each other. The two sisters nuzzled each other as they wept tears of joy after being separated for a thousand years. “My dear Luna,” Celestia whispered lovingly to her younger sister. “I have missed you so much.” “I have missed you too, big sister,” Luna said as she smiled up at the white Alicorn. “I’m so sorry. I know that I was being controlled by Nightmare Moon, but I still feel responsible.” “I never blamed you,” Celestia told hear as the tears continued to flow. “And you shouldn’t blame yourself either.” The princesses then turned to the four heroes that were witnessing their reunion. “I’m so proud of all of you. You have saved Trotina from certain destruction and return my beloved sister to me. Thank you all.” “It was all Spike… er… that Spike,” the counterpart Spike modestly said, pointing to said other dragon. “Yeah, we only helped,” Soarin added. “Eeyup,” agreed Big Macintosh. “Don’t discredit your own efforts,” the Solar Princess countered. “It wasn’t for your assistance; Spike wouldn’t have been able to stop Discord’s Mask.” “Speaking of which, where did the blasted thing go?” asked Spike. The group looked around and saw it laying a few paces off to the side. The mask now resembled the merged entity of Discord and the Nightmare Spirit. They also saw the Earth Pony merchant with the foreign cap leaning over it. “Oh, thank goodness,” he sighed with relief and reached down to pick it up. “You recovered my mask, now I can keep it safe and…Ah!” The merchant was surrounded with a blue aura and lifted off the ground before he could even touch the evil mask. Everyone looked with surprise as an angry Princess Luna levitated the pony over to her. The pony floated upside down and had a terrified look on his face. “You!” The Princess of the Night roared at merchant in the Trotinan equivalent of the Royal Canterlot Voice. “Thou art to blame for all of this madness!” “Luna…” Celestia said as she tried to calm her sister, but Luna’s rage couldn’t be contained. “We had hid the mask away so that its dark powers could not be used!” Luna continued. “If thou had not meddled with powers that thou could not possibly hope to comprehend, Nightmare Moon would have never been able to use the Powers of Chaos to nearly destroy all of Trotina!” She tossed the merchant to the ground and he crawled away from the furious Alicorn. “Be gone, and never let me see your face ever again!” The frightened Earth Pony didn’t need to be told twice and he quickly ran from the princess’s presence. “Luna, was that really necessary?” Celestia asked. “The meddlesome fool nearly doomed us all,” Luna answered. “Of course it was necessary.” The white Alicorn laughed and shook her head as she turned back to Spike. “Spike of Equestria,” she addresses the young dragon. “We are all in your debt. How can we ever repay you?” “I just want to go home,” he told her. “Very well,” she said with a nod. “The Elements of Harmony have the power to send you back to your world. However, they will not be able to follow you to your world. They are bound to this world and are unable to crossover. You cannot be wearing them.” “Then how do I use them to get home?” Spike asked. Celestia looked to her sister, the other Spike, Big Macintosh, and Soarin. Using her magic, she removed the Elements from the young dragon and placed them on the others and herself. The Elements of Honesty and Kindness attached themselves to the Trotinan Spike’s neck and right arm. The Element of Generosity attached itself to Big Macintosh’s left foreleg. The Element of Laughter attached itself to Soarin’s right hide leg. The Element of Loyalty attached itself to Luna’s left hind leg. The Element of Magic landed on top of Celestia head. “We will use them to send you home,” the Solar Princess explained. “We all are connected to Elements of Harmony. We were all connected to you when you recovered them. Your friends were dwelling within you when you completed the Element’s challenge. You unlocked the portions of my power with each one you recovered and they traveled inside of you. Even Luna was connected to you when she felt the Elements break through the curses that were placed on the kingdom.” “So… This is it, isn’t?” Spike asked. He was desperate to go home, but he will miss his new friends. “I’m afraid so,” Celestia answered. They circled Spike and the Elements of Harmony started to glow. “But do not be sad. Do not think of this as goodbye. Rather, think of this as ‘see you later.’” Spike smiled as he remembered the similar words the mirage Pinkie Pie had told him during the Test of Laughter. He slowly circled in place to look at each of his friends and they smiled back at him. He had gone through so much with them. They had strengthened him in times of need. They guided him through his adventures. Some of them even dwelt within his mind. One by one, he said his farewells. “It was kinda cool meeting another Spike,” he told his alternate version. “Even if you were a Unicorn most of the time.” “Better than being stuck in a tree,” the other dragon told him. “Be sure to hug your Twilight for me.” “Likewise,” he said in return before facing Big Macintosh. “I hope you go home to your family. They need you.” “Eeyup,” agreed the red stallion. “Ah’m sure that yours is missin’ you.” “Soarin,” Spike addressed the Pegasus. “Take care of Dash and Scootaloo.” “Will do,” Soarin responded. “Princess Luna,” he said to the midnight blue Alicorn. “Remember to not blame yourself for what has happened. Be happy, for me.” “We will try,” she said in an archaic dialect. “Princess Celestia,” he said to the elder sister. “Make sure she does.” “I will, Spike. I will,” she reassured him as she shot a loving glance at her little sister. “Well… See you later,” Spike told to them. “See you later,” his counterpart said. “Yeah, see ya,” Soarin said in a sad tone. “Take care, Spike,” Big Macintosh told him. “Thank you for helping my family.” “We thank thee, valiant Spike,” Luna said to him. “We shalt never forget thee.” “Be safe, Spike,” Celestia told him. “Thank you for everything.” A rainbow colored light emitted from the Elements of Harmony and circled around Spike. The magic wrapped around the young dragon and enveloped him a bright light. After a blinding flash, Spike was gone and those who remained felt a little empty inside. They looked down at the ground, saddened by the departure of the brave dragon. “Take heart,” Princess Celestia told the sorrowful group. “Do not mourn. He has returned to be with his loved ones. Come, let us join in with the festivities. The Summer Sun Celebration has arrived.” The Wonderbolts soared over an adoring crowd. Spitfire, Rainbow Dash, and Soarin led the team as they performed their aerial show. Scootaloo cheered as she watched them fly overhead. Soarin looked over to his marefriend and then down to her adopted sister. He was doing what he loved most alongside his special somepony. The only thing he could do was smile. Rarity and Sweetie Belle were busy clearing the palace of the Unicorns of the dethroned Prince Blueblood’s horrid artwork of himself. Sweetie Belle was beside herself with amusement as she watched her elder sister tore up portraits and smashed statues with blind fury. When Rarity saw the painting of herself clinging to Blueblood as his concubine, she pulled out an axe and screamed in outrage as she hacked away at it. A certain gray Pegasus happily floated around the city as she delivered the mail. The Doctor was showing star charts to Babs and the other Cutie Mark Crusaders. The Flim Flam Brothers were trying to con some ponies with some stolen goods. However, they failed to notice the guards standing them with warrants for their arrests. They quickly found themselves in the dungeon with a strange pony wearing a dragon costume. Applejack, Apple Bloom, and Granny Smith were busy setting up the buffet for the upcoming wedding. As they prepared, Applejack spotted her elder brother, Big Macintosh, walking towards them. The Apples ran to him and hugged the large stallion, happy to be reunited with him. Pinkie Pie was happily throwing a party for the returned Crystal Ponies. Even her family joined the party. The Crystal Ponies had been gone for a thousand years and they never had the opportunity to experience one of Pinkie’s awesome parties. The pink mare was determined to remedy that problem. Outside of the western gate, overlooking the bay, a wedding was being held. Captain Shining Armor had been returned to his adult self and was standing before Princess Celestia at the head of the aisle. Princess Luna stood not far off to side. With her were Mayor Night Light and Madame Twilight Velvet. The parents of the groom couldn’t be prouder. Princess Mi Amore Cadenza was headed down the aisle in a beautiful wedding gown. When she took her place by Shining Armor, Princess Celestia began the ceremony. However, somepony was missing from the wedding. In a cave beneath Clock Town, Twilight Sparkle and Spike stood before a dragon shaped tree. He had told her all that happened to him and how he had went on an adventure with another Spike from a world called Equestria. After finishing the story, she hugged the dragon and cried tears of joy for his safe return. ***** Spike appeared by a hole in the middle of the Everfree Forest in a flash of light. He looked down at the hole that he had fallen through after he was chased by Timberwolves many days ago. It felt strange to be back after being lost in another world for so long, but it also felt so good to be home. Even though only three days had passed, it was eighteen days for the young dragon. Eighteen long, danger filled days of adventure. Eighteen days of fighting monsters, overcoming obstacles, and conquering dungeons. Eighteen days of no sleep. Spike had depended on a magic blue potion to keep him awake and rejuvenated as he traveled through Trotina. Now it was gone. In fact, he returned only with the two items that he had with him when he traveled to the parallel world: his flute and the now useless amulet. Spike took the amulet hanging from his neck and thought how it was the key to his success in saving Trotina. He looked up from the watch and looked around the woods, trying to remember which way was the path to Ponyville. He looked around the forest for any familiar sign that might indicate which way he should go. So far, he didn’t see any distinguishing features. Okay, let me think, Spike pondered. He half expected for one of the Mask Spirits to come to his assistance, but his heart sank when he felt nothing. Wow, they’re really gone. It was weird having voices in my head all the time, but I’m really going to miss them. Well, I guess I can’t dwell on that forever, I need to get out of here. Let’s see, I need to retrace my steps. I was headed down the trail to Zecora’s hut. She lives south of Ponyville. The Timberwolves chased off the path. I went to the left, so that will be east. So I need to go northwest. Okay, which way is that? Spike looked through the trees and saw the light from the morning sun. He knew that the sun rose in the east, so west would be in the other direction and north would be to the left. Getting his bearings, Spike headed northwest. After a few minutes, he came across the trail that ran through the Everfree Forest. Spike cheered in triumph and headed up the now familiar path back to Ponyville. He ran down the path, excited at the thought of seeing his friends again. Friends that will abandon you someday… a dark voice said in the back of his mind. Spike nearly stopped when he heard it. Was it real or just a product of his imagination? It couldn’t be real. There were no more spirits hanging out in his head. Maybe he was just tired. After all, he was awake for eighteen days straight. As he thought about it, he could feel the strength leaving his body. He tried to continue to run down the path, but his legs were getting heavier. It was like they were made of lead and he was running uphill waist deep in molasses. He was desperate to get home and the greatest obstacle in his way was his own weary body. Twilight Sparkle sat in her bedroom in her home, Golden Oaks Library. She had a look of sorrow on her face and she was preparing to go to the memorial service in a few minutes. She looked over to a perch that was beside her bed. Her pet, Owlowiscious, sat on the perch along with a phoenix chick, Peewee. The owl placed his wing around the baby phoenix and hooted comfortingly. The chick had been upset that he hadn’t seen his master in three days. Peewee looked around confused, looking for his draconic owner. Twilight went over to the phoenix and baby bird looked up at the lavender mare. “He’s not coming back,” she said in a strained voice. She wasn’t quite sure if she was telling it to the baby phoenix. Maybe she was trying to tell herself the tragic truth. “He’s not coming back.” The infant phoenix looked up at Twilight Sparkle and chirped in confusion. She held back tears as she turned to head to the stairs. As she made her way across the floor, she looked over to the desk and saw a picture. Seeing it made her pause and she took a closer look at the photograph. As soon as she saw it, a pang of guilt struck her heart. It was a picture of her and her friends. In the corner of the frame was a taped on picture of Spike that the dragon had cut out and placed it next to the rest of the group. That was when Twilight Sparkle realized that she didn’t own one picture that included all of her friends and Spike. She thought back at all of the times she had gone on adventures with her friends and had left Spike behind. She also thought of other events that she had left him out of. She thought about the Grand Galloping Gala. All he wanted to do was to spend time with them and they had left him behind to pursue their own desires. It turned out that all of their plans fell through and the gala was a nightmare. When the animals that Fluttershy tried to befriend went on a rampage through the ballroom, they made their escape. As they fled, they remembered that they had forgot about Spike. They found him in Donut Joe’s, eating donuts by himself. All he wanted was to have fun with his friends, but ended up alone in a donut shop. However, the event that stuck out the most to the Unicorn was her birthday. Rarity was staying in Canterlot at the time so they decided to have the party there instead of having it in Ponyville. The six mares had a great time during the party, but when she returned home late that night, she found Spike asleep in the living room. There was a cake, confetti, presents, and a banner that read, “Happy Birthday Twilight.” She left in such a hurry that she forgot to invite Spike. When she came home, she discovered that her young charge had fallen asleep while waiting to throw her a surprise party. She couldn’t look at the picture anymore and headed down the stairs and out of the library. A solemn assembly gathered in Ponyville Cemetery. The weather was ironically pleasant for such an unpleasant event. Rainbow Dash considered changing the weather schedule to have an overcast sky with maybe a slight drizzle to match the mood of the funeral. Princess Celestia stood at a pulpit that was beside a headstone. There was no casket, but there was a picture of Spike at the foot of the tombstone, surrounded by flowers. In the front row, Twilight Sparkle sat along with her friends and her family. To one side of her was her mother, Twilight Velvet. The silvery mare draped her foreleg across the shoulders of daughter, who was leaning into her while she cried. The service hadn’t even begun and Twilight was already sobbing. Her father sat to her other side. He too had placed a comforting foreleg around her daughter. Next to them were Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor. As soon as they heard of Spike’s passing, they were on the next train to Ponyville. A collection of Crystal Ponies had accompanied them to also pay their respects to the dragon, for he was a hero to them. It was him who had delivered the Crystal Heart to Cadance so that they could use it to defeat King Sombra. Princess Luna was also present. Even though she wasn’t as close to Spike as her sister was, she still cared for the child. Also in attendance were the other Elements of Harmony and their families. Fluttershy, being the gentle soul that she was, was crying almost as hard as Twilight Sparkle. Rainbow Dash was able to fight back her own tears by allowing Fluttershy to cry into her shoulder. Pinkie Pie’s mane was flat and her trademark smile was nowhere to be seen. Applejack had taken of her hat and placed it over her heart. Beside her were Granny Smith and Big Macintosh, who had a solemn look on his face. Apple Bloom sat with her fellow Cutie Mark Crusaders, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. The three fillies were shocked to their cores that someone who was only a few years older than they were could so suddenly die. This was perhaps one of their first encounters with the concept of mortality. Sweetie Belle’s elder sister, Rarity, wiped her tears with a handkerchief. She was trying to maintain her composure and poise, but was fighting a losing battle and was steadily crying harder with each moment that passed. Around her neck was the fire ruby that Spike had given her. Surprisingly, she wasn’t wearing an extravagant outfit for the occasion like she would on any other day. She did wear a black dress, but it was simple and plain in design. Princess Celestia’s eyes scanned the crowd of sad faces and closed her eyes while taking in a deep breath. She opened her eyes and proceeded to start the service. “Today, we are gathered to remember a dragon who held a special place in our hearts…” Spike raised a shaking claw and opened the door of Golden Oaks Library. He walked in to an empty library. He looked all around his home, but couldn’t find Twilight. Maybe she’s out looking for me, he thought. Maybe she’s out having an adventure with her friends, a cynical voice said in his head. She probably doesn’t even care that you were gone. Maybe she didn’t even notice that you were missing. Maybe she doesn’t care. Maybe she never cared. You were just her assistant, a servant, a slave, a mere convenience to make her life easier. What did she do? She made you write letters for her and send them. She made you clean and reorganize her oh so precious library while she trotted off to have fun with her friends. You were nothing but a pet to her! Why do you think you sleep in a basket!? Spike gripped the sides of his head and shook it, trying to clear it of the negative thoughts. The only thing this accomplished was to make himself even more dizzy than he was before. The room spun around and he nearly fell over. He braced himself against a bookshelf and then headed out after regaining his balance a bit. Maybe they’re at Sugarcube Corner, he thought as he headed down the street. That and the library seem to be their headquarters. They’re always hanging out there. Hanging out without you, the voice told him. Spike grimaced as he tried to suppress the voice. As he walked down the streets, it felt like he was walking in slow-motion. Each step seemed to take forever as he made his way to the bakery. As his eyes looked around the town, the images blurred and left afterimages as his line of sight moved. Despite the disorientating vision, Spike noticed that the streets were empty. When he made it to Sugarcube Corner, he found it was vacant as well. He looked around the store, but nopony was there. Not even the Cakes and their foals were home. Spike headed back outside and looked around the seemingly deserted town. Where is everypony? Spike asked himself. Suddenly, blurry images of ponies came to view. Ghostly ponies trotted down the street, going about their daily business. As Spike watched the ponies, he could see that were rapidly aging. They grew older and older until they turn into skeletons and crumbled into dust. The dragon blinked and rubbed his eyes and the images were gone. After finding himself alone again, Spike continued to look for any sign of the citizens of Ponyville. He wasn’t sure why, but his feet was leading him outside of Ponyville and to the cemetery. Maybe he was in the Test of the Element of Laughter again. In that vision, the streets of Ponyville were empty as well. Perhaps he was indeed in another vision. The world that Spike was in felt unreal enough to him to be just an illusion. Spike was certain he would find six graves on top of the hill in the cemetery. However, when he arrived at the graveyard, Spike saw a gathering of ponies. He closed his eyes and opened them again. Sure enough, there were ponies in the cemetery, attending a funeral. Spike wondered who had passed away that caused most of Ponyville to come and pay their respects. Well, Ponyville was a small town and everypony knew each other. Each life was connected to another in small communities such as this. What surprised the young dragon was that Princess Celestia was giving the eulogy. “I am sure that we will always remember…” The Princess stopped her speech and gasped as saw a small, purple figure walking up the aisle to the headstone. The mourners noticed the shocked look on the white Alicorn’s face and turned around to see what had made her gasp. Even though they were at a funeral, they didn’t expect to see the recently deceased to walk through the cemetery, heading to his own grave. The way his feet and tail dragged along the ground, the way he slouched, and the way his eyes were glazed over made him look like a zombie. “Spike…” Twilight Sparkle whispered as she saw the young dragon. She jumped out of her seat and ran to him, her friends following her. He stopped and fell face first into the ground. “Spike!” Twilight shouted in alarm. She rolled him over and held the unconscious dragon in her forelegs as her friend huddled around her. She shook him desperately, fearing the worst. “Spike, please wake up! Please, I can’t lose you again!” Spike cracked opened his droopy eyes and looked up at the lavender mare. “Hey there… Twilight…” Spike weakly said to her. The six mares that surrounded the dragon sighed in relief that he was still alive. Twilight wrapped her forelegs around his neck and smothered his face with kisses. “Oh Spikey-Wikey, we were so worried! We all thought you were dead!” Rarity told him. “Who said I was dead?” he said in a hollow tone. He dimly noted that she was wearing the fire ruby he had given her as he wondered why she wasn’t in Canterlot with Count High N’Mighty. “Princess Celestia tried to send a letter to you, but it didn’t go through…” Twilight told him as she cried tears of joy. “She said that it meant you weren’t in this world anymore.” “I was in Trotina…” he told her wearily. “Trotina?” Rainbow Dash said as she raised a brow. “Where the hay is that?” Applejack asked. “You were all there… but you weren’t you… you were another you…” Spike tried to explain through deliria. “Another us?” Fluttershy looked to the others in confusion. “What do you mean, Spike?” Pinkie Pie asked, her mane curly again. “How can I not be me? Unless you used the mirror pool, but I would have to be there too.” “I think Spike is trying to say that he somehow traveled to a parallel world,” Princess Celestia explained as she approached the group. “That would explain why I couldn’t contact him; he had literally left this world.” “Spike, how did you…” Twilight started to ask, but she interrupted when Spike placed the amulet in her hoof. She noticed that the enchantment that powered the time travelling watch had worn off. “Eighteen days… No sleep…” Spike said as eyes started to close. “Eighteen days?” Twilight asked in astonishment. “You were gone for eighteen days?” “Twilight, I’m so tired…” he told her as he drifted back to sleep. The ponies in attendance watched in amazement as the small dragon had seemingly come back from the dead. Many of them were touched by the scene of the six mares hugging the young dragon. Twilight Sparkle lifted his sleeping body onto her back with her magic and headed to her home with her friends and family following her.