//------------------------------//
// The Conclusion 
// Story: Ember: Twilight's Search 
// by FallenLaughter 
//------------------------------//

Back in the present:


"You might be closer to your destination then you might think."  Twilight looked up. It was obvious she couldn't believe her ears. "Yes, I know about  the being you're looking for, my people know him well. We call him Ember, the old Dragon. He lives in a cave up on the mountain. Now and then we see him when he comes down to hunt." 

Twilights esyes twinkled with a new found vigor. "So can you tell me where i can find him?", she asked, her words nearly tumblig over each other so fast she talked. "Yes", the griffin replied, " I know where he lives, but you shouldn't go. It is much to dangerous to go there. Ember is old and has fought many battles, you wouldn't stand a chance againts him. Ah, but i see. I can't stop you. Your eyes are telling me that. You won't stop no matter what. Fine i'll tell you but under one condition." 

The old griffin stood up and walked over to the spears. "Take this with you. You will need it. Now rest while I'll draw a map for you. Tomorrow you can dress and start your search." Twilight nearly jumped up so excited was she to finally meet her goal. "Thank you so much", she said. "Don't thank me yet, thank me if you make it out alive."







It took Twilight a whole day to be strong enough to leave the tent and another half one to reach her destination, the cave at the top of the mountain. The cave the natives just called "The Gate". Preparing herself for the inevitable she walked into the cave.

She moved silently, all the time spent searching for her friend having improved her skills by far. Slowly she made her way around bouldesr and stalagmites jutting out of the floor. She drew closer, she could feel it. Every move she made increasing her tension until she felt like she would be watched at all times. Finaly when she thought she couldn't take it any longer she saw a light coming from the ceilling. Carefully she drew closer and closere and closer until...

There he was. Sleeping on an elevated plattform the dark dragon lay sleeping in his deep slumber. Twilight could feel her hatred boiling up for the monster that took away her beloved Spike. But she calmed herself remebering herself this wasn't the reason she came here. Continuing to look around she finally saw what she was looking for. There on small bed made out of stone he lay. Exactly looking like she remembered him. His purple and green scales visible in the dimm light, his spikes still as spikey as ever.

Twilight pulled down the hood of her dark mantle, hiding as much of her bright fur as possible so she wouldn't seem out of place. Taking great care not to wake the older dragon, she slunk closer to Spikes side, though of their happy reunion swirring around her head. Then she was by his side. Finally! They were together again. Nothing could stand in her way anymore. Absolute nothing.

She nudged the little dragon before her, eager to see his reaction when he would understand that he was finally save again.
But then something happened she didn't expect. The little dragon after clearing the sleep from his eyes, looked at her and something twinkled in his eyes Twilight never thought she would see. Fear! Spike was afraid of her for some reason. Before she could do anything to calm him down, he let out an infernal screaming its volume becoming even more hellish due to the echo. 

Twilight froze. If she was tense before, then now she was paralyzed with fear. She didn't dare to look behind her, a deep growl tellimg her all she needed to know. Ember had awaken.





Twilight instantly jumped to her side, a wise choice because only second later a massive claw came down were she was only a moment ago. She swirled around and saw the dragon reading a firey swall. If  she had been in this situation a while ago she would be dead. But Twilight had learned a lot during her travels. With a bright glow of her horn she brought up a massive shield around her, blocking the dragons attack completely. She allowed herself a grim smile. 

This was it! She never wanted to, but she knew she might have to face this monster in order to bring Spike back. so she trainened, prepairing for the battle that lay before her. She had learned many tricks and combat moves, but would it be enough to face down Ember? She supposed she would find out soon.






Twilight shot an energy ball in the face of her opponent. The dragon roared as the ball hit its head, but she knew all she had managed to do was to infuriate him even more. Next she shot a ball of energy towards one of the stalactites hanging above the dragon, planning for them to injure the great beast. But the dragon didn't even flinched, his tail moving like a lightning to shatter the falling object into tiny shards. But Twilight wasn't done with this either. Next she shot a bolt of lighting from her horn, aimed at the dragons eyes. Yet again the dragon didn't move so much. He just slid his left wing before him, the bolt just puffing away as it hit the obstacle.

Twilight gulped. She had  clearly underestimated the dragons fighting abilities, but she couldn't back out now. Not without loosing Spike again this time maybe forever. With a battle cry she run towards the dragon, swinging the spear the griffin elder gave to her. Clearly unamused the dragon lifted a claw, bringing it down right before as if to mock her, making Twilights hold of the weapon drop and making it bounce around the floor until it lay still.

Now it was the dragons turn to attack and he didn't hold back. Viscious strikes with claws and tail forced her to back of and swalls of fire thuundered against her barriers. It didn't look good for her. Not only did her body took some bruises from the attacks, her will to fight also started to trip away, only leaving fear of the predator she was foolish enough to face off again. 

While fearing for her live, she didn't notice how quite it had become. The moment she did notice however made her more anxious then she had ever been before. Where was the dragon? Why couldn't she hear him anymore. She didn't dare to move, even to breath out of fear the dragon might hear her. Suddenly the rock behind her exploded, sharp claws cutting through her cover, hitting her in the shoulder. Twilight screamed and rolled away, it didn't matter to her where she went to, just away from the enormous dragon looming above her.

Suddenly she pushed against something and spun around. There, behind a large pillar, was Spike hiding from the battle and fearing for his live. To see Spike in such a pittiful situation reigneted the last embers of Twilight courage. Even while wounded and clearly overpowered she wouldn't budge as long as she could protect him. Scanning her surroundings she had an idea. It was idioticall, suicidal even and probably a lot more things, but right now it was here only chance. Gathering the last of her strength she stood up and run towards the dragon. 





Ember hesistated for an moment. Was this little creature really dumb enough to attack him? If it wanted to die so badly so be it. He planned to end it with a final fire stream but just as the fire was about to hit her, the creature disappered.in a flash. Ember was confused. Not only because the creature disappeared, no. Something about this felt quite familiar. What happened next he couldn't have anticipated. A sharp pain shot through his body reaching from his right side all the way ro his left shoulder. Ember could fell the strength draining out of his body as he dropped to ground.





Twilight stood there in disbelieve. She couldn't beleive she had done it. When the fire was aout to hit her she teleported away, grabbed the spear and sliced at the beast. But she never expected it to have this outcome. She was sure she would die  and yet, there he lay, in a poodle of his own blood, the live slowly slipping out of him. She had won. She had really won. But it was still to early to celebrate. The beast while mortal wounded could still be a danger for her. She started to move over to him her spear ready for the final blow. She stood before him, she readied herself and .... let out a sharp gasp of horror.

She had seen something, something so terrible that she couldn't accept it. Because if she did accept it it would mean she just did the worst thing imaginable to her. Something so bad she would gladly give her own live to undo it.

There across Embers right wing was a scar. A scar he got when he was separated from his family as a child. A scar he got when a friendly mare took him in and nursed him back to full health. A scar that always helped him remember the only pony friend he ever had.

"Spike?", Twilight whispered. "No! How? You...?"  Slowly she removed her hood revealing her face for the first time since she entered the cave. She saw realisation flicker in the eyes of the great dragon, a sad smile, and then there was nothing. Spike was dead, killed by the mare that came to save him.

Twilight was unable to think or move. She just stood there doing nothig. Slowly she looked down, into the poodle of blod spilling on the cave floor, into her own relection. Her hair she always thought of as a dark purple was sprinkled with grey. Her face which look like twenty the last time she saw it, was now that of an old mare, wrinkled and worn out.
Unknowingly to her decades had passed since she last saw Spike. The time being lost for her in her constant quest to find him.

She didn't know what to do now. She came to save a friend and in the end she had killed him. Slowly she stood up, left the cave and walked into the sunset.














The dragon baby hid the whole duration of the fight, only coming out after he was sure it ended. He saw the creature standing before his dead parent. As the creature left the cave, he run over to the corpse of the great dragon.
Getting no response from him the baby dragon pondered what to do. In the end he deciede for one solution. He had 
no one left to care for him, so he did the only thing he could think of. He walked after the strange creature hopoing for a better tomorrow