“So, that’s what we’re up against; a near omnipotent ancient beast with the ability to conjure up phantasms and lightning?” Spike paused, processing the story he had just heard. “Forgive me Princess Celestia, but ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?”
“Spike, darling, do calm down. Keep in mind that the Elements of Harmony turned that fiend into stone, and can surely do so again.” Rarity said calmly. Discord shook his head once more.
“Actually, Spike has a right to be scared stiff. If you recall, I, Discord, the most handsome of all draconequus, was able to single…uh…paw-ed-ly destroy the bond of friendship between you all. With you all ‘Discorded’, if I may, the Elements had no effect. Also, you all had to be present and focused in order to imprison me in stone.”
“The bond was needed, but being present and focused? I’m not so sure those are legitimate reasons.” Twilight said as she unfolded her wings, stretching them out. Discord let out a gasp and grabbed Celestia’s crown, placing it on his head. Clearing his throat, he let out his impression of the Royal Canterlot Voice.
“HOW DARE YOU QUESTION MINE LOGIC? FOR MANY MOONS, I HAVE DRAWN BREATH. YET THY IGNORANCE totally makes you forget I know more.” Discord said as he returned the crown to a shocked Celestia.
“That didn’t prove anything! All it did was give me a headache! What was the point of that?” Twilight said as she placed her hoof on her temple, massaging it.
“Twilight dear, I’m Discord. I don’t need to have a point when doing things. But you’re right. So to answer your question, I’m going to need to get a stick.” Discord snapped his lion paw, creating a zipper afloat in mid-air. Sticking the slider up his nose, he removed his head, allowing gravity to act on it. Slowly, the slider descended, revealing that within the zipper, was a rift in reality.
“Discord, was that really necessary?” Celestia asked.
“Shut up, Celly. I don’t need some magical pony telling me how to get a stick. Now where was I?” Discord reached in to the rift, pulling out his head, while his head was still on the stone floor with a slider up his nose. Placing on his head, he gazed into the rift, and proceeded to pull random items out.
“No. No. No. No. N-Oh! That’s where the cookie went! Been looking for that. No. No. Ah ha! There it is!” Discord triumphantly pulled out a stick. Then he gazed down at his head. Shrugging, he kicked it into the rift, causing it to disappear. Discord looked at Pinkie and dragged her by the tail in front of everyone. He kicked her, causing a projector to come out her mouth. Turning it on, he began as Pinkie just sat there at his feet.
“Alright, here, we have the five discorded mares plus one confused Spike wielding the elements. Notice the lack of Rainbow Dash,” he said, pointing at the photo, which happened to be a poorly drawn chicken-scratch picture. “Now, watch as you attempt to use the Elements of Harmony,” the picture became animated and showed that there was indeed no effect.
“Next scenario. Here, we have you six mares about to turn me to stone. Notice when Pinkie gets distracted, you girls don’t use your elements until she is focused,” he pointed at the scene, “and that’s why attendance and focus are of the utmost importance.”
“Disregarding the oddness of explanation, Discord has a point. The Phantasm Kirin knows who you are and what weaknesses you bear. It is imperative that you all stay focused and stick together.” Celestia said. Suddenly, something came to Spike’s mind.
“Celestia, I’ve been meaning to ask you about the dragons standing guard at the throne room door. What’s that all about?” Spike asked, although he didn’t care for the dragons themselves.
“Well Spike, the dragons-“
“Happen to belong to a dragon bounty hunter who was hired to take down the Phantasm Kirin with us because he’s been hunting it down ever since the beginning and you’re paying him with a large amount from the Castle Treasury and those dragons are his helpers?” Pinkie Pie interrupted with a large smile. No one questioned it. Pinkie Pie was Pinkie Pie.
“Neat trick, pony.” Everyone turned to see a large onyx scaled dragon. His eyes matched the glow and intensity of rubies, and he had a scar that run from the top of his head to the bottom of his jaw. His spines had the appearance of webbing and his tail ended with a fin-like tip. Standing on his hind legs, he was twice as tall as Spike when he stood up.
“I’m Leviathan; top rank bounty hunter and ruthless killer.” He gazed at Spike. “Nice to see another dragon that doesn’t look like another meal.” Spike gulped.
“Celestia, I will say it one more time. ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND? I mean, you hired a bounty hunter! They’re only in it for the money! Not for the good of others!” Spike went from intimidated to hysterical. Snarling, Leviathan grabbed Spike and drove him face first into the wall.
“You’re right. I am only in it for the money, but without me, you all might as well dig your grave and write your pathetic will. You can either take my help and I get my payment, or die. Pick your poison, and drink the hell up.” Leviathan held Spike there for a moment.
“Well, I’m waiting. We haven’t got all day.” Spike nodded vigorously. “Good. Now shut the hell up and sit your hide down.” He tossed Spike onto the ground beside Rarity. Leviathan turned around to face Celestia. Snarling once more, he dashed at her, stopping in front of her.
“As for you, your ‘highness’, I’m only doing this because the pay is so high. If this was any other day, I would’ve enjoyed gutting you and devouring every last part. Now we’re gonna hunt the damn beast my way, and then I’m gonna kill it. I don’t give a damn if you wanted it alive to keep as a statue.” Twilight and her friends all took a large step back.
“Alright, we hunt in two hours. Grab your measly trinkets, ponies, and as for the dragon,” Leviathan turned to face Spike, “get the hell up and come with me. You’re not as feral as you need to be.” Spike scrambled to his feet as Twilight and the others watched him walk with Leviathan up the stairs.
“Well, he was a treat. You sure know how to choose ‘em Celly.” Discord said as he ascended the stairs along with Twilight and the others.
“I couldn’t take the chance that the Phantasm Kirin would be able to overcome the Elements. It had to be done.” Celestia said as she too ascended with the group, with Luna following soon after. As they exited the corridor, she muttered the phrase again, causing the throne to relocate back to its original spot.
“Twilight, you and your friends should grab the Elements of Harmony and get ready. This shall be your greatest challenge yet. Good luck, my little ponies.” Nodding, the gang headed off to prepare for the battle.
“I sure hope Spike is doing okay. Leviathan had no smile and I don’t think he wanted to help Spike nicely.” Pinkie Pie said as she clipped on her necklace.
“Ah hope so too, sugarcube. Spike’s a plenty dragon enough,” said Applejack as she brushed the dust of her hat. That room needed to be cleaned.
Soon, all the girls had their element equipped. Twilight did a head count to be certain all were present. Honesty, Laughter, Loyalty, Kindness, Generosity, and Magic were all together. When she was certain they were all there, she walked toward the window, taking in the view. If they failed this, Equestria would be terrorized forever. Sighing, she continued to stare at Equestria.
“We have to succeed. There’s too much at stake to fail, but what do you do when you have a weight of this magnitude on your shoulders?” She felt a hoof on her back. Turning, she saw Rainbow Dash.
“You stop carrying it alone.” Her friends all smiled, calming her down. Twilight looked at the clock, and then back at her friends.
“We have a lot of time to kill. So girls, any ideas?”
Spike followed Leviathan to the training ground. There, he saw two other dragons. Both appeared just as fearsome as Leviathan. Both dragons eyed him, exposing their teeth as they growled. Even though Spike was big by pony standard, he was nothing more than a leaf compared to the two hulking monsters. He did notice that one dragon was a lot more massive than Leviathan and the other one.
“Alright fresh meat, these are my boys. The smaller one’s Ripper. Mess with him, and his razor-sharp claws will decapitate you, no problem. The hulk of muscle over there’s Titan. Though I’m the most vicious, Titan is the most destructive. His tail can break mountains like twigs.” Leviathan said as the two stepped forward.
“Oh, lookie here. Thin little guy, aren’t cha? But the spines are aggressive. I like it.” Ripper said as his eye twitched. He was smaller than Leviathan and Titan, but with the combination of red scales and orange spines and horns protruding everywhere but his face, he looked like a mental patient.
“Scrawny piece of meat. Looks easily broken. But I won’t question Leviathan. He’s never made a wrong call on a dragon.” Titan had horns similar to a bull and the hardened skin on his back looked like a large shell. He came in grey with gold accents.
“What about the dragon guards?” Spike was still curious. Ripper cackled.
“You mean today’s meal?” Spike gulped heavily at those words.
“I never did catch your name.” Leviathan said as he growled. Spike said nothing since he was too scared to even blink. “Oh for the love of-, JUST GIVE ME A DAMN NAME.”
“Sp-sp-Spik-ke-ke….”
“Speak up and stop stuttering before I have Ripper here gut you like a turkey!”
“SPIKE! My name is Spike…sir.” Leviathan walked up to him, staring right into his eyes.
“Spike…not a bad name, if you were a pony. But you’re a dragon. A bloodthirsty beast at the top of the food chain. Do you even know what species of dragon you are?” Spike shook his head. For his entire life, he never knew what type of dragon he was. Titan looked at him for a moment.
“He’s an Amethyst Poison-Tip Dragon.” Spike was surprised at Titan’s knowledge, throwing any stereotypical personality he thought of out the door. However, it was his classification got him interested.
“Poison-Tip?” Spike asked Titan, slowly getting more accustomed to their presence.
“That explains how your spines grow and why your tail is a sharp spade. You are a balance between attack and defense. The poison your kind produces is highly potent, easily able to kill ponies and even some dragons in less than ten minutes. The poison does not develop until the adult stage.” Titan shifted his look to Leviathan, who began to circle around Spike. Small growls were heard as Spike looked at him, realizing that Titan was the nice one.
“Poison-Tip, huh. There may be hope for you, dragon food. But half the dragon is in the name.” Leviathan grabbed a passerby bird, driving it into one of Spike’s spines. On contact, blood flowed from the bird. It slowly began twitching as its eyes went green with toxins. In a matter of seconds, the bird was dead.
“Seems little Spikey just killed his first creature. The poison’s still lame compared to my claws.” Ripper said as he brandished them. Leviathan turned to him and growled.
“Shut it Ripper. Titan, go grab a bigger creature. Let’s see how this dragons fares on his own.” Titan jumped off into the Everfree Forest as soon as Leviathan gave the order. He then clutched Spike be the neck and raised him off the ground. “You’re going to kill whatever Titan brings back, and I don’t care if you like it or not.” Just as he finished his sentence, Titan came back with a bear.
“I won’t kill an innocent creature. I don’t care if you want me to. You intimidation won’t make me kill this bear.” Leviathan laughed at Spike’s stand, only to roar in his face.
“Perhaps I didn’t make it clear enough. You’re going to kill the damn bear. I didn’t ask if you wanted to. I said you had to. Now stop wasting time and get some blood on you claws!” Spike sank back. What would they say if he went through with this? No, that wasn’t an option.
Spike rose up, growling as he glared at Leviathan, “Maybe I didn’t make myself clear. I will not kill the bear. Now have Titan bring it back before I dig my tail into your heart…” Spike paused as he listened to what he just said. Leviathan cracked a small smirk as Titan launched the bear in the direction of the forest.
“That’s the beast I was looking for,” he said as he placed a claw on Spike’s shoulder. “It felt good to get the aggression out. You enjoyed it, and you want to do it again. You still have dragon blood in you, Neurotoxin.”
“This cannot be good.” Spike thought as he saw two, long, gruesome hours ahead.