“Come on! You big coward!” Twi cried at the large Draig, praying down on the terrified Vinyl Scratch. When the dragon glared at her then turned back to the DJ, who squealed in fear, Twi screamed! “HEY!” She sent a large potted plant flying at the dragon, the resulting smash of pottery on his skull infuriated the large dragon and sent him raging towards the purple pony.
Twi stood strong. Waiting for the large creature to get closer. With a snarl, the dragon’s mouth swung open, his green eyes filled with fiery rage. Still Twi stood, waiting. The dragon began to pass a large house, set just ahead of the purple unicorn. Still Twi stood, waiting. With a roar, Draig opened his mouth even wider, ecstatic at the easy meal he was about to receive. “NOW!” Shouted the unicorn.
Spike lunged from the roof of the house, soaring down towards the large beast. He landed perfectly, slamming into the creatures thick head. Draig stumbled, and Twi jumped aside as the two creatures toppled to the ground. Spike kept on wrestling with the struggling beast, trying to keep ahold of his mighty head to stop it from biting off one of his hands. “Grab it!” the dragon yelled. Immediately snapping into action, Vinyl and Twi followed the plan they and Spike had devised moments ago. Using all the magic they could muster, they held the large dragon’s limbs tight to his body with a mixture of purple and blue tinted magic.
Spike hopped off and came full circle, stopping be the eye that stared up at the sky on the side of the beasts head. “You tried to hurt Rarity!” Exclaimed the slim dragon. “You tried to hurt Twilight! All of my friends! You almost killed me! You almost killed them!” He pointed at Twi and Vinyl furiously, trying to make this hulking monster see the light. “I should end you! Just end you, here and now!” He dropped to his knees beside the monsters head. “But.” He continued miserably. “I’m not a murderer like you.”
Spike looked to Twi and Vinyl, both of whom already had beads of sweat trickling from their brows at detaining such a hulking creature. With sorrow in his eyes, he whispered. “Let him go.” Twi stared in shock. This wasn’t the plan! The plan had been to capture the beast so Spike could finish it. It was a good plan! The best chance any of them –or anypony in the kingdom of Celestia- had ever had at destroying the empress’s disastrous pet once and for all. Now, when he needed to be cold and objective, this slim dragon; their only hope at success, had grown a conscience?
Spike waited, and when neither unicorn responded, he shouted. “I said let him go!” Vinyl jumped in surprise, her magic breaking instantly. Beneath Spike, Draig groaned happily at the release of his hind legs. He relaxed and sighed with relief, but then looked down to his arms. He gave a grunt, wordlessly asking the dragon above him to be released.
Spike nodded slowly at Draig, he looked back up at Twi. “Trust me, he won’t hurt you.” Twi hesitated for a moment, and then, against her better judgement, she let the cloud of magenta magic around the large dragon’s arms die away. Draig grunted, pulling himself to his feet. Spike stood as his other dragon did so. Giving the large lizard a miserable smile, Spike asked “Are you going to leave now?” Draig nodded slowly and began to turn. For a moment, he seemed earnest. But with the speed and treachery of the devil, the large dragon swiped Spike away, causing yet another mouth full of blood to spew out from the battered dragon's mouth. The vicious creature then charged on Twi and Vinyl who had now come together.
Twi screamed, unable to bring her magic up to protect her in time. The two unicorns shrank away in fear from the approaching creature, but they needn’t have worried. Before Draig made it halfway to the two girls. A slim snakelike creature slithered up his back and reached around to his bottom jaw. Wrenching it open roughly, Spike gave a deep breath, hesitated for only a moment...and -with the misery only one can experience from killing when knowing it could all be avoided- breathed a giant green plume of scortching fire into the monsters gaping mouth and throat.
Immediately Draig fell to his knees. Making some gurgled noise close to a scream as his lungs filled with the almost liquid like feeling of the flames. He screamed and rithed in tortured pain, biting down so hard a tooht in his jaw cracked and splintered into his gums and jaw. But terribly, like a monster from a movie, it wasn’t enough. The monster began to get back to his feet, trying to reach the waiting unicorns who watched on in horror as the screaming beast aproached. Spike didn’t hesitate this time, he now knew that this creature wouldn't stop, he was beyond all reasoning and help. So he took in another lungful of emerald flame, and hurled it down the monsters throat. This time the large monster stayed on it's feet, as the scales of it's belly glowed as the fire tore apart his insides, the monster let out a terrible, primal scream that shook the very ground. The yell lasted for what seemed like a century, with Spike still clinging tightly to the shoulders of this seemingly unstoppable beast.
The scream lasted until finally, with a horrible noise almost like sizzling meat over an open fire, the large dragon became silent as his vocal chords snapped and melted in his throat. With his insides melting away with the stink of cooking flesh; Draig collapsed to the floor, throwing Spike from his shoulders with his momentum. The ground thundered at the impact of the beasts deathfall dust exploded from the ground and coated the still beast. Spike tumbled and rolled several feet before coming to a halt just ahead of his two unicorn allies. He gave a horrible cough, spitting out mouthfulls of dried blood as he clutched his ribs painfully.Twi and Vinyl rushed to help the injured dragon, both terrified for his wel being after such a long and horrible ordeal.
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Empress Celestia’s resolve faltered, her strength that had been pushing the princess back up to this point seemed to dwindle away, though still posing a very prominent threat, Princess Celestia was sure she could push her back to an even footing now.
With their eyes so close, Princess could see something behind her opponent’s red ones. Was it fear? Why was she afraid? Finally gaining the upper hand in the dual of horns by pushing the empress a few feet back, Celestia took a quick glance around. Since her last look into the battle everything had changed.
Whereas her subjects had been in a losing battle, falling to the overwhelming horde of the other world; the surviving few were now fending off their attackers. It broke Celestia’s heart to see such devastation and destruction, so many lives just thrown away without warrant or need. As the princess scanned the field of battle, she saw her captain still fighting strong, fighting alongside a new entry into the battle that she recognised as the farm pony Big Macintosh! She was glad to see that friendship and co-operation was still thriving even within this dark setting.
She saw him, fighting with no malice in his eyes, he simply swept away the enemy like a great ocean, taking tens of enemies at the same time single handed. Discord truly was a force to be reckoned with, but to see him fighting on the side of Equestria filled Celestia’s heart with hope, he was by far their strongest here today, and he was showing it in every movement he made.
Finally her pale pink eyes returned to the red ones of the empress. “Your forces are failing.” The princess reasoned with her other self. “It’s not long now until you are the only one left! Stop this now and go back to your home!” The empress looked around trying to find some weakness she could still exploit, she found none.
“What has you so scared?” Asked the princess, now only holding back her opponent in the name of self defence. The empress’s eyes snapped back to her opponent’s.
“The only one who should be scared is you! When I Get Draig to- When my commander”- The empress looked lost. Celestia realised what was wrong with the ruler of the other world. she could sense her side was losing, and she could also sense that two of her strongest pawns were now lost.
The tables had turned, now if only they could defeat this evil empress once and for all. Equestria was beginning to fight back, and were now beginning to win!
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When Spike finally struggled to his feet with the aid of the shoulders of his friends and gazed at the creature before him, he saw that Draig was dead. Smoke billowed out from the dead creatures gaping maw as the fire raged inside his stomach and lungs, burning him from the inside out. The creature's thick scales would act like an oven, cooking his insides for hours before finally the fire would either die out or burn intesnly enough to destroy the thick slivers that covered the creature.
Spike turned away bitterly, not wishing to look at his monstrous handy work. “I-I’m sorry you had to do that big guy!” Comforted, Vinyl. Spike stopped at the unicorns words. His face was gaunt and horrified by what he had done. He looked at Twi, who looked on in misery at what she and her friends had brought to this world.
“I-I... I had to give him a chance!” Spike explained, the magenta pony wasn’t sure who he was trying to explain himself to, her or himself. “He... He was me! I had to see if he’d leave.” Twi looked on, speaking in a whisper.
“You knew he wouldn’t though... didn’t you?” The dragon nodded bitterly. And then, with his legs shaking uncontrollably, he broke down to the floor and gave in to tears, cupping his hands to his face as he wept over what he had done. He had killed! How could he ever look anypony he loved again, knowing they knew he had finally done it!
He had finally given in to the monster he was, he had finally given in and become a vicious... monstrous...murderous...Dragon. Long gone was the Spike who had run around Ponyville happily as a child, the one who would almost be sick at the very mention of violence. That dragon in the gemstone... that was the only place he resided now, that and in some corner of Spike’s mind, taken over by the instincts of a stone cold killing machine! Could that little kind creature ever be a part of who he was now! He had taken a life! That of one of his own kind! How could he ever go back?
‘Rarity’ he thought; the face of his beloved swimming into view against his dark purple palms, her brilliant white coat was almost blinding, like some sort of angel. His angel, his only salvation if there was such a thing! The only one he could listen to, the only pony in the world who had a chance at making any of this seem ok. ‘Forgive me Rarity! Please... forgive me!’