Armak's spell finally ended, and Spike put his barrier down. "That was definitely Armak's Dark Magic."
"But ah thought you blocked his magic? How is he using it?!" Apple Bloom asked.
"My spell should have been over my now, but Twilight and the others should've locked him up somewhere. Somewhere he couldn't use his magic against Equestria. What were they doing?!"
"I don't know, but now it looks like Armak's free." Sweetie Belle said nervously.
Spike thought for a second. He looked nervous for a second, but the nervousness turned into determination.
He started to walk.
"Spike? Where are you going?" Sweetie Belle asked.
Spike stopped and turned around. "I'm going to Canterlot. I need to check if Armak defeated Twilight and the others."
"But... what if Armak didn't defeat them? What if Twilight sees you?"
Spike got that nervous look again. "I-I have to go. I couldn't live with myself if they got defeated, Armak took over Equestria, and I didn't do anything about it." He continued walking.
"Then I guess we have to go too!" Scootaloo said. "Come on crusaders!"
The three fillies followed Spike, who didn't object them because he was too deep in thought.
1:00 - Canterlot Castle Roof
"Yes! I won! There's nopony in Equestria left to stop me now!" Armak was enjoying himself when suddenly he felt something. "Wait, what's that? I feel it very far away, but it seems... wait, that's Spike's magic! How could this be?! He didn't get trapped in the Crystal World?!" Armak squinted his eyes. "Hmm, I need to look at this a bit closer." He went down to the throne room and with a flash of darkness a blue crystal appeared. Armak took a look at the crystal, and an image of Spike and the CMC walking appeared. "So it is Spike! It seems he somehow protected himself along with those three fillies. Where is he off to?" Armak looked in the direction where Spike was heading. "So he's coming here, but why? Anyhow, I must comfort myself in the new Equestria."
1:10 - On A Trail Headed To Ponyville
The CMC wasn't far behind Spike, but far enough for Spike not to hear what they were saying. They were walking towards Ponyville.
"Even though he's been through so much, he still cares about his friends... He still wants to help them even after what they did ta him." Apple Bloom said.
Sweetie Belle smiled. "That's why I love him. He's always a good friend." She frowned. "But I feel sorry for him. He does so much for others, and this is what he deserves?" Sweetie Belle sadly said.
Spike and the three fillies soon arrived at Ponyville. It was quiet, there was no pony around.
"After all the fighting was over I was sure that all of the ponies would come back. Where are they?" Spike asked himself.
"There's not one pony around." Sweetie Belle said.
Spike then saw how Ponyville was a mess. Buildings were destroyed, smoke coming from the active flames, random creatures from Fluttershy's cottage were running around.
He saw how the Library was still intact, but the other's homes were completely destroyed.
"H-How could I do all of this?" Spike started to form tears.
Sweetie Belle reached over and wiped the tears from his eyes. "Hey, don't you remember? That wasn't you. That was Armak! He caused all of this."
"I-I know... But just looking back at all the destruction I caused... nopony will ever forgive me."
Sweetie Belle didn't know what to say.
"It's okay... let's just go to Canterlot. The sky's still dark, so Armak still hasn't been defeated yet."
Spike and the CMC continued off to Canterlot.
Unknown Time - Unknown Area
Every pony in Equestria was in a very large room. All around was red Crystal. The floor, the walls, the furniture, everything. All the ponies looked around confused. Where were they?
"W-Where are we?" Twilight asked.
Twilight's friends were all around her. Celestia, Luna, and Cadence were all fine, even though they took hard hits back in Canterlot. It seems that they were healed when they were transported here.
"I don't know, but I have to admit, this is divine!" Rarity said.
"Don't be fooled. This is a prison that Armak put all of us in."
Twilight and her friends turned their heads to where the voice was coming from. They all saw Discord.
"Discord?! Where have you been?" Celestia asked.
"I've been here ever since Armak attacked Cloudsdale. It looks like he trapped all of Equestria in this dreaded Crystal world."
"What?" All of the ponies around said in shock.
"Yes. It is impossible to use magic here, and there is no way out of this room. We're trapped in here while Armak is free out there... He's raining chaos..."
"What was that Discord?" Celestia asked.
"I said that he's raining chaos! That's my job!"
"I've heard rumors about this world at the Crystal Empire, but I thought it was a myth so I didn't look much into it," Cadence said.
"B-But, if we're all trapped in here, then that means there's nopony left to stop Armak!" Twilight said.
All of the ponies put their heads down. They lost.
Suddenly, multiple red Crystals appeared floating in the air. They held random images of the outside world.
"There they are! I was hoping when they would come back!"
"When what will come back?" Pinkie asked.
"These floating crystals. They disappeared after Spike blocked Armak's magic. We can use these to look at the outside world. Just touch it, and think of something, somewhere, or somepony, and it'll appear." Discord said. He soon had a very angry face. "I was trying to watch my television! But it cut off at the best part!"
Ignoring Discords agony, Celestia spoke. "Let's take a look at what Armak's doing," She said as she flew up and touched the Crystal with her hoof. She closed her eyes and thought of the Dark Magic wielder. Just then, all of the Crystals showed Armak sitting on the Canterlot Castle throne.
All the ponies in the room who saw the images in the red crystal gasped.
1:40 - Canterlot Castle - Throne Room
"Ahhhh, this is way better than that old throne back at the old castle. I could get used to this." Armak was relaxing on Celestia's throne. "I can't wait to thank Spike for helping me get into the Canterlot Castle, even though it wasn't his true intentions. Nevertheless, the princesses never expected such a thing." Armak started to laugh.
1:50 - Canterlot
"Okay, now I know something's up! We never attacked Canterlot, so why is there nopony here?" Spike asked himself.
Spike and the CMC checked all around. Some buildings, shops, and streets. There were nopony to be seen. They soon gave up and started to head to the Castle.
Oddly, there were no guards at the castle. Now Spike was certain that Armak did something, and that he's still free. Spike and the three fillies sprint to the throne room.
As they approached the giant door to the throne, Spike said, "Alright! You three need to stay back, I don't want any of you getting hurt!"
They stopped at the giant door and the CMC all nodded.
Spike slammed the door open and they saw Armak sitting there. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo didn't enter, but peaked into the room from the doorway and watched as Spike faced Armak with gritted teeth.
Crystal World
All of the ponies were looking at the Crystals which showed the throne room.
"Spike?" Twilight was surprised.
Apple Jack and Rarity were surprised to see their sisters, and Rainbow was surprised to see Scootaloo.
Meanwhile
"Oh! So the blank flanks don't get trapped here! But we do!" Diamond Tiara shouted, causing many Canterlot ponies to nod in agreement,
However, other foals from Ponyville didn't approve and gave her a glare.
"What?"
Pony World
"Ahhh, so nice to see you, Spike. How's it been?"
"What happened here? I thought Twilight and the others dealt with you!" Spike was angry.
"Oh, they tried, but they took their sweet time in doing so."
"Where are all the ponies? What have you done?!"
Armak chuckled. "They're all safe and sound."
Spike growled.
"I'll give you one more chance Spike. To get your revenge!"
Spike raised an eyebrow. "What...? What are you talking about?"
Armak made the big red Crystal appear. "This is the main gateway to the Crystal world, where I trapped every single pony in Equestria. If this Crystal gets destroyed then there's no way to get out. I know dragons like to eat gems like this one."
"W-What are you trying to say?"
"Eat this Crystal, and the ponies will never see Equestrian light again. They'll starve, and live their lives in that prison. You'll get your revenge along with a tasty snack!" Armak started to laugh.
Spike widened his eyes.