The moon rises for another night, and shines its ghastly glow through the barred window. Spike looks out at the nightly sky, a small grin creeping on his draconic mouth. He finds a comfortable bed in the hay on the prison floor. The emerald eyes seem to be getting heavy, but they flash open when he hears a heavy iron door swing open. Slowly rising from his bed, he sees that Shining Armor has graced his presence, standing on the other side of the bars.
“What do I owe the honor?” Spike says with a smile.
“Silence your tongue, fiend,” Shining scowls at the dragon. “What are you planning?”
“Whatever do you mean?”
“Why did you surrender?”
Spike smiles, “You ponies have proven that I am no match if you work together. You and your wife made that abundantly clear in Ponyville.”
“I will be watching you…”
Shrugging, the shadow dragon walks back to his hay bed, “Watch as much as you wish, but I am quite tired. Say goodnight to the princess for me. Oh, and your sweet child.”
As the dragon curls up in his bed, the stallion storms out of the dungeon. The door slams shut behind him with a rusted screech. Closing his eyes, Spike falls into a trance-like sleep. In the depths of his dreams, he finds himself standing in the midst of a forest. Towering before him is a huge castle left in ruins. Roots have taken refuge within the stone halls and moss crawls up the walls. Walking inside, Spike stands in the Castle of the Two Sisters, finding it as decrepit as its real world counterpart.
Yet in the throne room, there appears to be more life in the dream world. Banners depicting a nightmarish alicorn line the walls. Torches spew sapphire flames, basking the interior in a haunting light.
“It must be in here,” he says aloud, searching vigilantly. “Somewhere…”
Climbing the steps up to the throne, a broad smile reaches his fanged face. Rather than a seat of power, it is a prison. Chains hang from the floor and ceiling, ensnaring a creature within the dream realm. It is a living shadow taking the form of a regal alicorn. A starry body thrashes against its restraints without any yield of the bindings.
“Tantabus,” Spike says aloud.
Suddenly the creature turns in his direction, and attempts to attack, but the chains pull taught.
“Rage,” he smiles, “I know that feeling all too well. But it will do you no good to lash out at everything that you come across.”
The Tantabus stops its thrashing, staring at the dragon that infiltrates its domain.
“You must focus that anger to a goal. I will offer you freedom, but only if you lend me your power.”
He watches with a broaden smile as the creature nods.
“Good…”
Unfurling his sharpened claws, he slashes at the cuffs, breaking the bindings. The Tantabus shakes off the remaining chains, and proceeds to leap into the shadow dragon. Starry night merges with burning darkness. Laughter erupts from the combined beast. The talons on his hand turn an eerie violet and slashes through the air. It creates a rift in space. Transforming into a wisp of black, it dives into the opening.
And emerges in a dream world of the Crystal Empire, taking the shape of the dragon once more. Searching, the beast snakes across the land, until it finds the only pony in this dimension. Spike finds Princess Cadence, yet she has taken the form of a more youthful version of herself, back when she sat for Twilight Sparkle. The little alicorn is alone, quietly sitting on a swing set.
Appearing before her, he takes on the form of his ponied version. A black colt with a fiery red horn and blazing emerald eyes. Casually, he trots over to her, finding an empty space on the swing next to her.
“Who are you?” she fails to recognize him.
“I am Thorn,” he says. “And you are Princess Cadence, correct?”
She nods.
“You miss having the freedom to do as you please?”
She nods again, “I am grateful for everything that I have, but it does get busy. Sometimes I wish I could be a filly again.”
“But those days are gone, you have a daughter, after all.”
She smiles, “Yes.”
“She seems to be a handful, all that destruction at a young age. And it only will get worse, you know.”
“No,” Cadence shakes her head, “Sunburst took care of that for us.”
A smile snakes on his face, “Do you truly believe that hack of a wizard is capable of containing the powers of an alicorn? It will not last. Her power will grow uncontrollably, and that, my dear, will be her undoing.”
“What do you mean?” Cadence scowls, her filly self rapidly ages to her adult form.
“Absolute power corrupts absolutely,” he states, climbing off the swing. “She will use that power to harm others, even those you love.”
“No, you don’t know that,” she shakes her head. “Flurry Heart is just a baby.”
“King Sombra was just an innocent babe once upon a time. History has a way of repeating the same actions. I am afraid the seed of destruction has already been planted in your daughter. But, there is a way to stop her.”
“How?”
The shadow dragon chuckles under his breath as the Tantabus splits from his body, snaking just behind him. It slithers like a serpent around Cadence, swirling in anticipation.
“Let it in…”
At once the Tantabus attacks…
In the dead of night, Princess Cadence awakens from her bed, leaving her husband sound asleep, neighing peacefully to himself. Meanwhile, his beloved wife hypnotically walks down the hall. Slowly, she pushes open a hoof to the baby’s room. As she stands in the moonlight, her coat turns to a dark shade of purple. Stars dance across her mane. Suddenly, armor materializes all over her body. She smiles, her teeth sharpened to fine points. Nightmare Cadence stands over the crib of her daughter, a fearsome smile falls over her face.
Back in the bedroom, Shining Armor is awakened by the crying of Flurry Heart. He leaps from the bed, and storms through the halls to the bedroom. There, he sees a dark figure holding his daughter by means of dark magic.
“Let go of her!”
He fires a beam of blue light at the intruder, striking her in the chest, and knocking free the baby alicorn. As she falls, he makes a desperate dive for his daughter. Managing to encase her in a small sphere she bounces harmless off the ground, giving him enough time to catch her in his hooves. Putting her on his back, he stares down the attacker, who has gotten back up.
“Let go of her, my love,” the attacker says, her tone split, “She will be the destruction of us all.”
Looking hard, Shining Armor gets a sinking feeling, “Cadence?”
“Hand our daughter over to me,” she says in a dark voice. “She is too dangerous to let be left alone.”
He shakes his head, “Honey, you are not thinking clearly.”
A flash of anger runs across her eyes as they glow a soft crimson. Opening her wings, she takes flight, blasting a hole through the ceiling. Shining Armor goes after, standing out under the moonlight. A barrier on his back protects his beloved daughter. Meanwhile, her mother is aloft, circling the two. From above comes a violet-pink beam of energy that strikes inches from him. It crafts a crater that drives feet below the crystal.
Looking back to his daughter, who has settled down, Shining Armor says, “I have to get her out of here.”
Running at full gallop, he dodges the energy beams from above, as the onslaught continues. He turns one direction, but a ray slices in front of him, so he turns in another direction. Another beam shoots too closely, nearly hitting Flurry Heart. Shining Armor stomps his hoof and turns to face his wife, who attacks again. This time, he throws up a magical shield that repels the spell back. It misses her, but delays her next strike, giving him time to escape.
“Maybe that will do it.”
Turning in direction, he makes his way toward the palace once more. Swooping down from the sky does Nightmare Cadence give chase. Beams of energy rocket closely to her husband, but he manages to avoid them by inches. He runs faster, only until his wife slams her hoofs to the earth. Blackened crystals shoot upwards and block off his path. Turning back, he sees her approaching, her horn aghast in a blood red light.
“Cadence, please stop…”
The nightmare version of his beloved roars in rage, firing a blast aimed for him and their child. Closing his eyes, he puts up a shield that intercepts the attack. That is when a bright blue light shines forth, as the Crystal Heart starts to spin wildly. The light envelops him. A dome appears from his body, and slams against Cadence, propelling her away. She is sent flying from the Crystal Empire. Shining Armor watches his wife disappear, and a single tear falls from his eyes.
Nightmare Cadence is caught in a snowdrift several miles outside the empire. Furiously, she blasts a hole in the snow.
“You lack the power to stop her,” a voice hisses.
“Who is there?” Nightmare Cadence looks around.
From a mound of snow, the shadow dragon emerges, free from his prison, “I can give you the power to fulfill your wishes.”
“You can?”
“Yes, but come with me, there are some matters I need to take care of…”