The group all headed back for the surface. They had collected Pinkie Pie with much less effort than they were expecting. Actually, there was really no effort at all. Pinkie pretty much took out the Darkmare herself and walked out. Now she was bouncing around and hopping and talking with all the others. There was one thing that made her stop, though. Just one thing.
Fluttershy and Discord. They were unusually close and Pinkie noticed. She called them out on it, and nopony or dragon would ever forget her response.
“Wha?! You? Discord?” Pinkie gasped a mighty Pinkie gasp as she reeled back. She came down seconds later, still wide eyed at the pair. “It's about time. Everypony has been waiting forEVER for you two to finally get together.”
Even Discord didn't see that one coming. He and Fluttershy just blinked momentarily. “Did everypony really know?” Fluttershy shrank as far as she could into her mane. Discord was about to join her, but then he thought that maybe their relationship was not quite to that level yet.
“Yep! All the ponies in Ponyville were talking about it last time I was there. It was almost as big as Spike's relationship with Luna.”
This time it was Spike who shrank. At least, he would have if he could have. He didn't have a mane to shrink into, though, and his own spikes were a bit uncomfortable when you got that close to them. He just sighed and kept bringing the platform up. He told the ponies that they would have to get off as soon as they could. He couldn't hold it up forever.
Moments later and they found themselves at the surface again. They were never so happy to see the sun again, especially Pinkie. She leaped off the platform and kissed the sands. As the light breeze swirled them around a bit she saw something in the distance.
“Hey, I thsee sumpthin ova there,' Pinkie said with a mouth full of sand that she proceeded to spit out.
The others disembarked the platform quickly, and Spike let his spell go. The rocks fell apart and disappeared into the darkness of that hole. Then he looked to where Pinkie was furiously spitting. Something was out there, and it was much closer than Pinkie thought.
The hear of the sun caused the very air to shake. It distorted the image, but a large holographic pony rose up from the sands. It was a dark stallion with evil looking eyes and a wicked grin to match. He grinned down at the group and announced himself.
“So, you are Spike the Dragon? My daughter has told me much about you, and your powers. Nice to finally meet you.”
“Hold on, who is your daughter?” Twilight asked the image.
“Ebony Thorn.” Spike hissed the name, to which the image just smiled more and chuckled.
“Yes, Ebony is my daughter, but I have been rude. Allow me to introduce myself. You can call me King Bloodthorn.”
“You are their ruler,” Spike spat out through gritted teeth. Instinctively, he let loose a powerful breath of dragon fire. The image was unaffected as it was just an image.
“Yes, and you have meddled into my affairs for too long. My daughter has failed to deal with you, so now I must do it myself. While I am just a projected image, you can be assured these ponies are not. The pain you will feel will be quite real.
The image flickered and vanished into the desert sun. Spike lurched forward in a desperate attempt to grab anything he could. All he got were empty claws. He dropped to his knees and roared out in anger.
Figures appeared all around them as he stay there. He noted each of them. At least a couple of dozen. If they were ooze forms like the Black Colts he used to deal with then he could have easily taken them out, but they were not. He was not so lucky. Yet he rose up, ready to defend his friends. They really didn't need defending, but he wanted to be more involved in the fighting. He was tired of sitting back and just reacting to whatever move was played by the enemy. Now was his time to fight. If Discord could do without seriously hurting anypony then he could to. But Spike was never given that chance.
A shadow zoomed by overhead. It was small and fleeting. Spike barely even registered it as it happened. Desert vultures were common around these parts and he wasn't going to let his attention be drawn away from anything unimportant. Then it zoomed by again, only lower this time. Then again, and again. By now, Spike had his eyes on the sky. This was no desert vulture. That he was sure of.
The shadow zoomed by again and Spike tried to see just what it was. The glare of the sun was making it difficult for him to do just that. That, and the speed at which it was going. It was only there for seconds at a time. All the while something was happening around him. He was too preoccupied to notice, but the rest of them did.
Even though the shadow seemed to only be targeting the Mad Ponies the whole thing was frightening Fluttershy. She huddled up closer to Discord and nuzzled her face into his chest fur. He stroked her mane and kept her calm. Pinkie was baffled when she saw this. She understood it, but it was still kinda weird to see her and Discord so. . . close. Pinkie looked around for a pony she could get close to. She saw one and hopped over to her.
Pinkie got right up close and personal with her. She even shuddered a bit and threw her hooves around her. Applejack was stunned at first, but then saw the other pair over Pinkie's shoulder. She sighed, smiled, and stroked Pinkie's mane. After all she went through, all she wanted was the comfort of her friends.
The shadow zoomed by, and pony disappeared. In an instant a Mad Pony vanished as fast the shadow did. Then another. Each pass took another pony. Some went away silently. Some of them were able to get one last scream out before they vanished. And yet, Spike could not get any more than a glimpse of this thing. However that was all he needed, as the glimpse he got showed him a lot of blue with a few other colors dashing away from the sands.
Spike turned his eyes to skies. He wasn't focusing on just one thing anymore. He was looking up the whole sky now. And he was calling out to the whole sky as well. “You can come down now.”
The shadow overhead slowed down to glide. Everypony looked up, but still nothing could be seen clearly. It was just the silhouette of something against the sun's harsh glare. It passed by a few more times but didn't land.
“I make no promises about Pinkie Pie, but the rest of us won't bite.”
“HEY!” The shout echoed from both Pinkie Pie and Discord. It would seem they were both a bit upset at what Spike said, but for different reasons. Spike shooed them off while keeping his eyes on the sky. If he was right any comment of his would be forgiven.
It didn't even matter to him that there were still more Mad Ponies around them. The shadow had only taken about ten. That did enough to scare them a little, however. They were keeping their distance.
Spike was glad to see as the shadow approached, too, that it was slowing down and stopped just above them. With a quick move the shadow dived down in the middle of them, causing a gust of sand to erupt and cover them all. Spike used a spell to clear the air. It revealed a pony standing there in all her glory.
“So, you miss me?”
All jaws dropped. Discord picked his up and screwed it back into place. He was going to taste sand for the next three days, but he could live with that. For as the dust cleared, and the sands parted they could all see the pony standing there. It was none other than Rainbow Dash.
No pony, dragon, or Discord there could believe their eyes. She was here. Rainbow Dash was here. The pony who took on the Mad Ponies, and paid the price for it. She was standing before them, tall and proud and in all her multicolored glory. But how?
“Rainbow Dash,” TWilight said with a quivering lip, “Is it really you? Are you really here?”
“Yeah, Twilight. It's me.” Dash said back.
Twilight's eyes started to water. Tears filled her eyes and before another second passed they started to run down her cheeks. “But how, how can you be here? I was there. I saw what happened to you. How can you be standing here now?”
“I woke up in a hospital bed,” Rainbow Dash said, “Strangely enough, Luna was there with me. She told me whats been going on, and I came to help as soon as I heard. Took me a while to find you though.”
As she explained what happened to her and her awakening to the ponies, Spike saw something else. His magic flowed strong within him, and it was this connection and his connection to Rainbow Dash that allowed him to see it. A glow filled his eyes, the same glow that appeared whenever he was looking into the souls of others. What he saw in Dash's was nothing short of miraculous.
“Tears,” Spike said, “A circle, formed from those closest to you. A tear, fallen from a place of sorrow and sadness. Together, they will undo what was done and mend a broken soul. From the brink of the abyss shall you be saved and live once again. This is the power of friendship.”
“Whoa, Spike, you okay there,” Dash asked, “You're kinda talking funny.”
“I was something I read in a book once,” Spike said, “Dash, you were saved by the tears shed by all your friends. Fluttershy, Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack. They brought you back.”
“That's all well and good, but we still got a problem surrounding us,” Dash stated. “We can talk after we take care of that, okay?”
“Understood,” Spike said.
He tossed Dash a pair of goggles to help her see in the sandy lands of the desert they were in. She gladly took them and slipped them on. Not as good as the pair of Wonderbolt goggles she had, but they worked. A bit snug, though. As Spike did this, he also had a plan forming in the back of his mind.
“Discord, watch over everypony,” He said, “Rainbow Dash, you're with me.”
“Awesome!”
There were no arguments given. There was no arguing with Spike, especially when he got like this. Focused, determined. His eyes got that same glow they always did whenever he was about to do some pretty intense magic. This was one of those times.
Spike rolled his shoulders forward as his wings erupted from his back. They extended far out to either side. Spike roared into the sky as he took off with Rainbow Dash into the skies above the sands. Dash zipped about in any direction that allowed her to stay moving. Spike just hovered where he was, nearly seventy feet above the same spot he was standing. This was going to be a bit of a repeat performance, but with a bag dashing twist.
Spike's hands shot out to the sides. The sands below him reacted. It was as if he was pulling on the strings of a very large puppet hidden in the sands. Little by little the sands themselves rose up to meet him. He flapped his wings to keep himself righted. The sands did rise, rise up to meet him. Around him the sands shifted and swirled. The Mad Ponies watched the same trick they had seen before. What they didn't know was that Spike left a small magic upgrade in the goggles he tossed to Rainbow Dash. It was up to her now.
A familiar shadow soared above the sands. The ponies and Discord watched from below with awe as the sands rose once again to answer Spike's call. Dash flew around and around, stopping to watch a few times as she flew. She had not seen this nearly as much as the other ponies. It was also the coolest thing she had ever seen since she woke up. Dash slid the goggles over her eyes and that was when the fun truly began.
Dash flew around and around the swirling mass of sand that Spike had created. She saw and marked in her memory where each and every one of the Mad Ponies was. Now it was time to get down to business.
“What are you waiting for,” The image of Bloodthorn angrily spouted out, “Get them! Bring me that dragon!” And with that, the image vanished.
The Mad Ponies that could fly shot skyward from the sands. Eight of them in all. Six of them were Pegasi, and the other two were Unicorn floating on a mass of sands. They shrieked in a mad anger at the sands swirling around Spike now and the Unicorns attempted to blast through it.
“Not on my watch,” Dash shouted to the winds.
She came around from the other side faster than Pinkie Pie at the sounds of candy, and much faster than other could react to. Dash slammed into a Pegasus pony guarding the Unicorns. She barely slowed down as she carried the the poor pony off. A moment of silence passed before Dash came back with empty hooves.
“You wanna try that again?” She said.
In response to her teasing them so several more of the mad Unicorn on the ground fired off magic blasts up at her. She moved quickly to avoid the blasts, but ended up taking one hit. A small blast that did little to harm her, but forced her through the sands that Spike had. She almost hit him, but didn't.
“Dash, I'll make the openings. You take them. Got it?”
“Can you even do that, Spike?”
“That sands answer to me for now,” Spike said.
Before Dash could even respond she saw the sands shift even more as a hole appeared there. It was just big enough for Dash to fly through. So this is what he meant by openings. This gave Dash and idea. Or maybe she was just finally catching on to Spike's idea. Either way, she was ready. She corrected her goggles that had become slightly crooked from the hit and then darted through the hole.
Dash darted out and began circling the sands around Spike once again. Around and around she flew, gaining speed as she went. She was just doing what came naturally to her. Eventually, after a few passes she came around the side but took a wide turn before heading back faster than ever. Only this time, she was heading right for the sands around Spike.
“What is she doing?” Flake Frost asked.
Everyone got the answer as Dash flew toward the sands at highs speeds. And just as she was about to meet the shifting sands they parted. A small hole opened up mere seconds before Dash got there. And in less than a second another appeared on the other side. Dash flew through and managed to get another of the Mad Ponies. Unfortunately, now they had seen the trick and were able to adapt. Dash circled around a few more times and got a few more ponies, but it wasn't enough. It wasn't that she wasn't hitting them. The problem was she wasn't hitting them hard enough. Each and every time they managed to move just enough at the last second to avoid any serious hits. Combine that with the fact that the ponies on the ground were still pestering her with their own magic. The Earth ponies were kicking sand up to try and blind her. Would have done it too if she wasn't wearing goggles.
“Fluttershy,” Discord said as he watched all of this unfold, “Would you care to dance?”
“What the?!” Applejack said, shocked, “Really, now? Do ya really think this is the best time to be asking Fluttershy if she wants ta dance?”
“Yes, AJ, I do,” Discord said. Something in his voice and in the way he looked at her told to not question him any further. Discord looked back at a still somewhat confused Fluttershy. “Well, Fluttershy. Would you like to dance?”
“Yes, Discord. I would love to dance,” Fluttershy replied.
“Huzzah!” Discord hollered. He raised a hand and snapped his fingers. The ground beneath them shook as a floor rose from beneath the sands. It rose up right under the rest of the Mad Ponies on the ground. The floor lifted them up just above the rest of the sand.
“Let's boogie,” Discord said confidently. Another snap of his fingers and he and Fluttershy were on the dance floor, and dressed to be there. Together, they danced!
Discord lead the duo as they moved their way across the dance floor. They waltzed, they tangoed, they did the Salsa, and so much more. They spun, they dipped, they, bowed, they shook their hips, and they tapped their hooves. Everypony, Mad or otherwise watched as these two moved to the beat of the music that seemed to be coming from the air itself. The Mad Ponies shook off their shock shortly after the dancing started. They were also on the dance floor, and they moved into to start a tango of their own!
The Mad Ponies moved in, but didn't get very far. Discord and Fluttershy were dancing them away, literally. A twirl here, a kick there and the Mad Ponies were forced back. One by one or all at once, it mattered not. The pair were just too good. Discord's lead was excellent, as well was his form. Fluttershy's sense of rhythm could not be matched. And the frills of her dress were rather distracting. Together they could not be stopped as they took on the Mad Ponies stuck on the ground with them. While they danced the enemy away, Rainbow Dash continued her attack from the air. It didn't take long for all the Mad Ponies to be defeated and left in the sands.
“Wow, Fluttershy,” Dash said as she came down for a landing, “I had no idea you could dance like that.”
“Discord taught me a while back,” She said with a blush. “I had never danced in front of others before now.”
“Well, that was darn good hoofwork there, Fluttershy,” Applejack said.
“Yeah!” Dash blurted out, effectively ending the discussion on Fluttershy's dancing skills, “We showed them a thing or two, didn't we?”
“We did?” Flake asked, “What did we show them? I'm completely lost here.”
The sands fell back town to where they were supposed to be as the ponies spoke. Spike glided down on his own dragon wings and landed next to his young filly friend. He smiled as he saw how Dash and the rest of the girls were so happy.
“What we showed them, Flake, was a dash of defiance,” He said.
“Oh, okay,” She replied, “So what comes next?”
Spike closed his eyes and took a deep breath. What were they going to do next. There really was only one thing to do, but it sure wasn't going to be easy. He had seen the happiness that Rainbow Dash brought everypony, and he wanted all the ponies of Equestria to feel that once again.
“First of all, we go and find Rarity. After that, we take the fight to this King Bloodthorn pony.”
“Hold up, did you say something about Rarity?” Dash asked to Spike. She clearly didn't know what happened. Had Luna not told her?