• Published 14th May 2012
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The Dragon that Would be Pony - The Dragon Warlock



Spike is desperate to win Rarity's heart, and decides to take a potion that turns him into a pony.

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Nightmares

In the throne room of the Disciples of Nightmare Moon, Lord Sandro, now revealed to be Prince Blueblood, was overlooking the captives in his ritual circle. He kept a close eye on Spike and smirked at the fallen pegasus. The white stallion saw out of the corner of his eyes a forest green pegasus guard approaching him. He turned towards the guard and saw him bow before him.

“What do you have to report guard?” Prince Blueblood asked.

“My lord, the ritual chanters are in place and are ready.” The guard said as he got up. “One of them did state they are worried that Sparky, or whoever his real name is, won’t be ready in time. We only have an hour left until Lunar Cosmos.”

“I am aware of how long we have guard. You and the chanters don’t need to worry about Sparky, or in this case Spike, being unprepared for what’s to happen. I’m willing to bet that like his friends, he’ll try to break free of the Nightmare Spell I’ve placed on them. He should be able to put up a better fight than that sniveling yellow pegasus.”

“What shall we do Lord Sandro until midnight strikes?”

“Keep a small group of guards out in the castle. I was already shocked enough to learn Spike here is that worthless dragon and I don’t need any more surprises. When the time comes, all guards are to come to the throne room. We will all witness Nightmare Moon’s return and we’ll begin our final assault on Canterlot.”

“What about the Elements of Harmony?”

“We’ll have to see what will happen to them. We can either use them as their corrupted state to aid us, or if they become rebellious, we’ll silence them for good. I’ll be keeping a close eye on each of the bearers. Now go and send those orders out lieutenant.”

“Yes my lord.” The guard saluted.

The guard turned and headed to do his duties. Prince Blueblood looked back at Spike and smirked to himself.

“Let’s see what you can do Spike.” The white stallion said. “I expect nothing more than for you to fail quickly. Just like how you failed to save your friends.” He watched Spike’s element floating overhead still in a stone sphere and grinned.

Spike felt a bright light hit his eyes and opened them to see where he was. He looked around to see he was in the Ponyville Library of all places. He got up and saw he was not only a dragon, but in his bed as well. He couldn’t help but think about past events, but everything seemed to be a blur to him. He remembered something about a hooded pony and some voices, but everything else made his head hurt for some reason. He made his way to the foyer of the library and saw Twilight humming as she put some books away.

The lilac unicorn heard her assistant coming and turned to give him a smile. “Good morning Spike, I’m glad you’ve calmed down after how you acted at the party.”

Spike eyes widened upon hearing this. “What do you mean party? There was never any party, or from what I can remember.”

“It’s okay Spike, you must be very tired from the wedding celebration for Rarity yesterday.”

“W-wedding!? What wedding for Rarity!?” Spike panicked.

Twilight held up a newspaper and said, “The wedding celebration for Rarity and Prince Blueblood remember? You were sad that Rarity got married to him and I had to take you home shortly after the party began. Why are you asking?”

Spike snatched the newspaper away and saw an eerie image that sent shivers down his spines. The front page had a blue stallion priest in between a happy looking Rarity and Prince Blueblood. He felt like he’d seen this before, but couldn’t put his claw on it. A ringing noise rang out in his head as he tried to remember the image and hurt his head. He yelled in agony and covered his ears as the ringing rang out.

“Spike, are you okay?” Twilight asked in a concerned tone. “Do you have some sort of headache?”

The dragon got up and shook his head. “No Twilight, this can’t all be true at all. I…I love Rarity. Why would she go out and marry somepony like Blueblood?”

“Spike, you need to calm down.” Twilight warned him. “You’re starting to act like yesterday at the party.”

“But…this feels wrong somehow.”

“Spike, there’s nothing wrong with this at all. Rarity met Prince Blueblood at the Grand Galloping Gala and they had a great night together. The two went out for a couple months until Prince Blueblood asked to marry Rarity. They’re very happy together and love each other.”

Spike shook his head in agony. “This just doesn’t feel right though. I…I think something different happened, but every time I try to remember, my head just hurts.”

“It’s probably some sort of headache Spike, but that’s not the point. The point is that this fascination you have with Rarity has got to come to an end. I know you must feel a little upset, but it’s time to move on and probably find some dragon girl to find. Now let me get you some medicine to help with that headache. I promise you that everything will be okay once you have some.”

Twilight left to fetch a potion, leaving Spike in disbelief and sorrow. He couldn’t believe his dreams had come crashing down like that. He felt a faint voice yell at him for something, but yet he couldn’t tell what it was saying. All he did know is that something felt very wrong about this whole situation. He tried to remember back to the wedding and to the Grand Galloping Gala, but each attempt made his head feel like it was bashed with a sledgehammer.

“Are you sure Rarity found her Prince Charming?" A voice rang out in Spike’s head.

The dragon looked around to see who it was, but he couldn’t find anypony. He heard the words clearly in his head and felt something click inside his head. He tried to remember back to the gala again and could hear the ringing again. He ignored the pain and tried to uncover the fog in his memories. He could vaguely see Rarity in a doughnut shop and looked sad. Something started to piece together inside his head. The pieces soon started to form a clear picture in Spike’s head and felt the ringing in his ears die out.

Twilight returned with a small test tube full of red liquid. “Here Spike, this potion will help with that headache. It does make you very drowsy, so I’ll put you to bed after you take it.”

Spike held up a claw at the lilac unicorn. “Twilight, before I take the potion I want to ask something.”

“Uh…sure Spike, what is it?” She asked sounding hesitant.

‘Here goes nothing.’ He thought to himself. “What do you remember about the night of the Grand Galloping Gala.”

Twilight was taken aback by this question. “Um…well it was the best night we ever had. We all had a great time there.”

“Do you remember what you did or any of the others?”

“O-of course I do!” She shouted in panic. “It’s just been so long since we talked about it. I got to spend plenty of time with Princess Celestia and talk to her about our past friendship reports.”

Spike raised an eyebrow upon hearing this. “So what was one of those friendship reports about? Which one did you tell the princess about?”

The lilac unicorn started to sweat a little. “Erm…uh…friendship and its magic.”

Spike simply smiled upon hearing this. “Twilight, you’re just like Applejack. You can’t tell a lie to save your flank.”

Twilight gasped upon hearing this. “Spike, what do you think you’re…?”

“I’ll tell you what’s going on Twilight, if that’s even you’re real name.” He said. “I remember the night of the gala and how miserable you and the others. You all had the worst night ever until we met up at Pony Joe’s. You didn’t even get to talk to Princess Celestia until after the gala was over.”

She flinched a little. “Well…um…you see…”

“Oh, and I know how Blueblood truly treated Rarity that night. I know since she told all of us. She considered him to be the rudest pony to ever exist on the face of Equestria. Why would she marry some snob like him who’s a complete jerk?”

“Don’t you dare talk like that about me!” Twilight barked in a contorted voice.

Spike smirked upon hearing this. “You really think you can fool me Twilight, or is it Prince Blueblood?”

The lilac unicorn looked livid and held up the potion. “Come on Spike, it’s time for your medicine.” She said in a contorted voice. “You’re really sick and this medicine will make you feel all better.”

The dragon smacked the test tube and sent it falling to the ground. He looked at an infuriated Twilight and said, “Sorry, but I’m feeling all better now.”

Twilight roared in anger and erupted into a large ball of black fire. The library disappeared into a fog and the flames died out. Prince Blueblood glared at Spike and could see the dragon looking confident. The white stallion was about to charge at Spike, but a thought stopped him in his tracks. He started to chuckle to himself until it became a cold laugh that echoed in the fog.

“You’ve lost even in your little victory Spike.” He said sinisterly.

“What do you mean?” Spike asked.

“I saw in your memories that Rarity rejected you. She didn’t like you at all and she will never love you. You’re nothing but a bothersome pest to her and she considers you to be out of her league.”

Spike looked down and took the words inside him. He didn’t want to admit it, but Prince Blueblood was right. Rarity didn’t like him at all, not as a dragon friend and most likely not as a friend. He could hear his confidence shatter like glass and sat down on his haunches. His nightmare had come true already and there was nothing he could do to counterattack the truth.

“You see? You already lost.” Prince Blueblood said in a mocking tone. “She’s better off with somepony like me, not some love struck dragon.”

An idea clicked in Spike’s head upon hearing Blueblood’s words. He looked up and said, “W-well…at least she won’t end up with you.”

The white stallion raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean by that?”

“I…I was always afraid that Rarity might reject me, but I think I know something worse than Rarity not accepting my feelings. It’s being with somepony like you.”

“You have a lot of guts talking to me like that.” Prince Blueblood said coolly.

“I know that Rarity and I will still be friends even if she doesn’t accept me. As long as she’s found a pony that truly loves her, then I’ll be happy for her. She doesn’t need somepony like you who’s selfish and a jerk.”

The white stallion’s left eye twitched a little. “Fine…so you made it through. However, I can assure you that you will never escape from me. Sooner or later, you will serve me and call me King Sandro. If you want to continue to suffer, by all means continue. It’ll be good to see you squirm in pain for all the trouble you’ve caused. Let’s see how far you can truly go before you can no longer delay the inevitable.”

Prince Blueblood faded away and a bright beacon of light appeared. Spike approached it and took another deep breath. He stepped into it and with a flash was gone again.


Spike suddenly landed on what felt like a bunch of rocks. He looked around to see he was in a desolate wasteland with a lot of jagged rocks around and some mountains in the distance. The rumble of thunder roared across the sky. Spike saw in the distance what looked like something flashing. He gulped a little and headed towards it cautiously.

As he made his way towards the flashing source, Spike heard some whispering and looked around. He couldn’t help but feel that there was somepony watching him in the distance. He put those thoughts to rest as he got closer to the flashing source. The dragon got a closer look at the object and saw it was a stone sphere with a gem in the center. Spike realized he was looking at his own Element of Harmony and grinned with delight. He charged after it without giving a second thought to the matter. His hopes were quickly dashed as the sphere suddenly disappeared in a cloud of smoke and somepony laughed coldly.

Spike heard a loud roar echo across the area and could feel his spines shake in fear. He was about to look around, but then he was two black dragons head towards him. He tried to run for it, but the dragons landed right in front of the direction he was running and covered him in a dust cloud. Spike waited for the dust to settle down before getting a better look at the dragons.

He could see that each one of them were as tall as Ponyville Library and had large wings. They each looked identical with the same yellow eyes and dark purple spines. The only difference Spike could see was that the one on the right had a reddish scar on his right eye. The one on the left had the same colored scar over his left eye.

“Well, look who’s back for more.” The dragon on the left said coolly.

“If it isn’t the pony lover from before.” The dragon on the right said in a voice similar to the left dragon’s voice. “It seems you’ve gotten a little shorter since we last saw you.”

“Maybe he actually realized that he would outgrow those ponies sooner or later.”

“Hmm…you have a point there brother.” The dragon on the right turned towards Spike. “Tell me Spike…have you finally realized the truth?”

The dragon shook in intimidation, but managed to get some words out. “W-what do you mean the truth?”

“You’ve realized that you’ll never fit in with other ponies and that you’re better off with us. We’re happy that you’ve come to realize the truth. You’ll be learning a lot from us about how dragons really act.”

“Who are you guys anyway?”

“I’m Smash.” The dragon on the right said.

“I’m Thrash.” The dragon on the left stated.

“We’re known as the Bruiser Brothers in the Dragon Empire.” Smash said. “We’re better than any dragon in this land. We can beat any creature from dragons to ponies.”

“Our skills are perfected, just like the two of us.” Thrash said. “If you stick with us, you too could be a perfect dragon like us.”

“My brother has a point Spike. You’re a tiny puny dragon now, but if you come with us, you’ll become just like us. You’ll be famous in this land as one of the most fearsome dragons of all time.”

“So how about it Spike?” Thrash asked. “How would you like to learn from the best about dragons? I’m sure you will prove to be one of us once you get the hang of the basics.”

Smash and Thrash each held out their claw to shake. Spike looked at them with doubt in his eyes. He knew what they were saying was true. Sooner or later he would be forced to leave the others in Ponyville and live life amongst other dragons. He thought about how the others would react to his decision. He could see all of them looking sad and disappointed that they’ve left him. His thoughts then drifted to Rarity and thought about how she would feel if he left.

He knew that he no longer had any chance with her, but yet thought that she would be distraught if he left like this. He thought that everypony who knew him would be upset to see him leave. He wasn’t a pony, but yet they still loved him. Twilight and the others had helped him along the way and he knew how much they meant to him. He looked back at the Bruiser Brothers who were smiling sinisterly.

“Well Spike?” Thrash asked.

“No…I’m not going to be like any of you.” Spike responded after a few minutes. “I may not be a pony or anything, but those friends of mine are family to me. They’d never forget me and they’d never make me feel left out. I don’t need any of you to teach me something. I already learned a lot from my pony friends.”

The two dragons looked at each other and smiled sinisterly.

“Very well then Spike.” Smash said. “If you’re so content with your pony friends, then you can die with them.”

“There’s no way you can fight against us with how tiny you are.” Thrash said. “In fact it seems as if…”

“You’re quite at…” Smash continued.

“A small disadvantage against us.” The two said in unison.

Spike looked at himself and frowned. ‘No wings and my fire breath is too weak to hurt them.’ He thought to himself. ‘How am I going to beat two dragons who are as tall as the library?’

“We’ll make your demise quite easy Spike.” Smash said. “Stay still and let us show you what we’re capable of.”

The little dragon took a few steps back nervously. All of a sudden, a thought hit him. ‘Wait…if this is all a dream, then I shouldn’t be able to get hurt. I’ll wake up and take out Prince Blueblood.’

Thrash took in a deep breath and prepared to let out a huge blast of fire at him. Spike stood his ground and prepared for the worst.

“Spike, get out of the way!” A voice shouted in Spike’s head.

He didn’t know who said it, but Spike instinctively ducked behind a jagged rock. He reached the rock in time as a large blast of black fire hit the rock and nicked Spike’s tail. He grabbed his tail and clenched his teeth in pain.

“That hurts…wait a minute, that hurts?” Spike asked. “How can I be hurt? This is all a dream.”

“This isn’t any normal dream Spike.” The voice stated. “These nightmares can kill you in your own mind.”

Spike suddenly recognized the voice. “Hey…it’s you again. You’re that pony again.”

“Glad to see you finally remember me. I was worried that the first nightmare you encountered would’ve made you forget everything.”

“Well at least you’re here. How come I can’t wake up from this nightmare? I thought you couldn’t get hurt in dreams.”

“As I said before, this isn’t a normal nightmare. Right now, you’re fighting to shake off Lord Sandro’s spell. If you die in any of these nightmares, you’ll lose the will to fight and your mind will succumb to the spell placed on you. You’re just as alive here as you are in the real world.”

“What do I do now? I can’t fly and those guys are giants. How can I get away from them?”

“They seem to be very vain and boastful about their skills. See if you can find a way to turn it against each other."

“What kind of answer is that? I don’t need this confusing riddle stuff.”

“This is a straight answer. When the time comes, the opportunity will present itself to you. That will be your moment in taking down these dragons. Hold them off as long as you can and don’t let them catch you.”

“Wait, how can I outrun them if I’m so small?” Spike heard no response from the voice. “Oh man, this is not good. How can…” He was suddenly interrupted by a loud roar and looked to see Thrash flying down towards him.

Spike ran as fast as his legs could go away from the black dragon. He tried to find some place to hide, but he could see no caves in sight and the barren terrain seemed to be endless. The dragon tried to run towards a fog in the field, but as he got closer, he had to stop himself. He looked beyond the fog to see a cliff with a pit at the bottom. Spike suddenly felt a fireball whiz past him and into the pit. He looked up to see Smash joining his brother in catching him.

“You might as well give up now Spike!” Thrash warned. “Your pony friends aren’t here to save you from us!”

“There’s no way a dragon your size can hope to best us!” Smash shouted. “You’re better of either surrendering to us, or you’ll be burning in Tartarus!”

Spike ignored the warnings and continued to run in hopes of finding a place to hide. He heard several fireballs crash into the ground and left craters near him. He was starting to get tired fast, but to his relief, he found a pile of rocks with a hole in it big enough for him to crawl in. The dragon took this chance to run towards it, but Thrash suddenly landed right in front of him. The black dragon raised his foot in an attempt to stomp on Spike. The baby dragon jumped to the side to avoid the foot and ran under Thrash.

Smash then landed behind his brother and used his tail to knock Spike away from the cave. The baby dragon was thrown across the field and landed right on the edge of the cliff. Spike used all of his strength to pull himself up the cliff hastily. He got up and saw Smash getting ready to punch him. Spike quickly leaped to the side to avoid it and ran off to the cave. He looked behind as he ran to see Smash chasing after him and trying to grab hold of the baby dragon.

A loud roar caught Spike’s attention and looked up at the sky. Thrash was swooping down from the sky and took a deep breath. The dragon let out a huge blast of fire directly at Spike and spread it all across the field. Spike ducked behind one of the jagged rocks and could feel the intense heat of the fire surround him. He looked around and saw to his luck the cave just within his reach.

The baby dragon wasted no time as he rushed over to the cave’s entrance and hid himself in it. As he made his way deeper into the cave, he heard the roaring sounds of both Smash and Thrash outside. The cave started to shake and rubble fell down upon Spike. He realized that the dragons were attempting cause a cave in and trap him inside. He was conflicted on what to do now at this point. He knew if he went outside, Smash and Thrash would ultimately burn him with their fire breath. If he stayed inside the cave, it would give way and most likely kill him.

Before Spike could think more on what to do, he saw a giant boulder drop to the ground in front of him. He looked around to see that the cave was now collapsing and had no other choice. He quickly made his way back to the entrance of the cave while avoiding the debris coming down. As he made his way out, he saw to his surprise and relief that Smash and Thrash were too busy destroying the cave to notice him. He quickly darted past them and tried to look for another cave.

Spike thought he was in the clear for a moment, but then a loud roar echoed across the field. He turned back to see Smash charging at him. He heard another roar and looked up to see Thrash flying towards him. The baby dragon tried to outrun the brothers, but before he could even take more than five steps, he was grabbed by Smash. He was slammed against the ground and was held down. Thrash soon joined his brother and both had triumphant looks on them.

“You see Spike, we tried to warn you.” Smash warned. “You already lost before this whole thing started.”

“We’ll commend you for at least showing some minimal resistance.” Thrash said. “However, my brother does have a point. Your efforts were futile and now there’s nothing you can do. None of your pony friends are here to rescue you after all.”

“You should’ve realized that you could never defeat us.”

“We are perfect in what we do and we are the best in this land.”

“I shall now do the honors.” Smash said.

“What about me brother?” Thrash asked. “We did this together after all.”

The black dragon smiled sinisterly at his sibling. “You have a point there. Let’s destroy him both together.”

Spike saw the two dragons each take a deep breath in. He scrambled to think of something, but he couldn’t think of anything. He suddenly felt something click inside his head and realized something. They were boasting about being perfect, but yet they still have disagreements. He remembered back to what the voice said and believed this was his chance.

“STOP!” Spike shouted in desperation.

The two black dragons stopped what they were doing and looked at Spike.

“What do you want?” Smash asked.

Spike gulped a little and said, “Well…I just wanted to ask you all something before I die.”

The two siblings looked at each other and then at Spike. “Speak and be quick about it.” They said in unison.

“You all say you two are perfect, but I really have to know. Which one of you is the best?”

“I am!” They shouted together. They both looked at each other in shock. “What did you just say!?”

Spike held back a smirk. “Come on, only one of you can really be the best. Who really is the better one?”

“I was the first to hatch.” Smash said. “That makes me the better one.”

“Don’t give me any of that.” Thrash shot back. “I learned from those mistakes you committed in your youth. You made many faults, but I learned from them and became better as a result.”

“You have a lot of nerve talking to me like that!”

“It’s not my fault that some of you stupid attempts at besting King Thorn got us exiled from the land! You were always the one who made such idiotic ideas and got us in trouble!”

“You’re no better at all you fool! You always think you know everything when you really don’t! Do I need to remind you of when you couldn’t catch that one mule!?”

“You’re really asking for it!”

The two dragons growled at each other for a couple minutes. The next thing Spike knew, Thrash tackled his brother and was freed from Smash’s grasp. He watched as the two hurled insults at one another and threw punches at each other. The two pushed each other around and locked themselves in a tight grip with one another. They were so busy fighting each other that they didn’t see the cliff nearby.

Spike watched as the brothers tumbled over the cliff and out of sight from each other. He heard a loud booming noise and saw a large flash of light from over the cliff. Spike let out a sigh of relief and sat on the ground to rest. The desolate wasteland faded away into a fog and a beacon of light appeared in front of Spike. A part of his mind told him that he couldn’t take it anymore, but another told him to press on. He rested for a minute to regain his bearings before getting up and walking into the beacon of light.


Spike walked out of the light and looked to see of all places, Ponyville. He wanted smile upon his home town, but yet everything looked different about it. It was nighttime, but yet the moon was closer to Equestria then normal. The trees around the town were devoid of leaves and were dead. There were no flowers in sight and the grass seemed to be dead as well. The town itself looked like a wind storm hit with the buildings looking damaged and abandoned.

He started to make his way into Ponyville and looked around. There wasn’t a pony in sight and a lot of buildings were boarded up. Spike then came across something that made his heart sink and his jaw drop. There was a monument to Nightmare Moon towering over him. He looked around and saw flags showing a crescent moon hanging from the light poles. He tried to make his way out of the entrance he came from, but there was a tall black metal gate blocking his path. He suddenly heard the hoofsteps of a pony and turned to see none other than Prince Blueblood.

“What are you doing here?” Spike asked in an icy tone.

“That’s no way to talk to your future ruler and leader.” The white stallion stated. “I merely came to congratulate you on your accomplishments.”

“What do you mean?”

“You made it this far and you continue to try to stop what’s to come. Stuff like what you’re seeing now is the future of Equestria.”

“This…this is the future?” Spike asked in disbelief. “There’s no way this can all happen.”

“That’s where you’re wrong Spike. What you see in front of you is what’s to come for all of Equestria. Your efforts are in vain you foal and you’ll never escape from me. Everything you’re trying to do will be in vain. Even if you break free from my spell, there’s nothing you can do to stop all this.”

Spike shook his head in anger. “You’re wrong! There’s no way I’ll let this happen to Equestria!”

Prince Blueblood smirked upon hearing this. “Very well…if you’re so keen on trying to stop me, then you shall suffer the same fate as your friends and everypony here.”

Spike was about to ask what he meant, but he suddenly started to hear some moaning. He looked around to see a large group of ponies surround him. They all looked very pale, some of them were missing eyes, there were body parts missing from a few of them, and there were deep gashes and cuts on them.

The baby dragon turned towards Prince Blueblood. “What did you do to this town!?” He demanded.

“This is what happened to this town when they refused to acknowledge me and Queen Nightmare as the new rulers. We wanted to send a clear message to those that disobeyed us. I used dark magic to create an army of the undead. They showed no mercy to the inhabitants of this town and quickly overran everypony. They tried to fight back, but the very few remaining fled town. Now my undead army now guards this town and will be used against anypony who dares to challenge me. Oh…they also aren’t too fond of dragons either.”

Spike saw Prince Blueblood disappear and give a cold laugh. Spike looked around to see several of the zombie ponies were starting to close in on him. He looked to see there was an opening to his left and bolted past the zombies. As Spike ran through the town, he saw hooves popping out of the ground and doors to buildings collapse to reveal more of them. He tried to go faster, but there were more zombies around every corner of the streets.

He son started running around aimlessly to avoid the zombies closing in on him. His carelessness caught up to him as he accidentally ran into something. He shook his head and saw something that made him scream in terror. It was the Cutie Mark Crusaders, but yet they were different now.

Applebloom had most of her skin ripped off, one of her eyes was dangling, and her bow was ripped. Sweetie Belle’s horn was cracked, she was showing mostly bone around her torso, and was missing a leg. Scootaloo no longer had wings, half of her body was skinned off, and her eyes were missing. Spike stepped back in fear as the three fillies each give him a creepy smile.

“Hi Spike…we missed ya so much.” Applebloom said in a creepy happy tone.

“Why did you leave us Spike?” Scootaloo asked in a voice similar to Applebloom’s. “We just wanted to say sorry.”

“We want to play with you Spike.” Sweetie said in the same voice. “We want you to stay with us…play with us…you can be our friend.”

Spike backed away slowly as the crusaders got closer. He decided to turn around and run away from them. He could see a few zombies try to grab him, but he narrowly avoided them. He looked behind to see the crusaders chasing after him slowly, but they somehow got closer to him. The baby dragon suddenly heard a cold laughter and instantly knew who it was.

“Look around you Spike, everypony is dead and a servant of mine now.” The voice of Prince Blueblood said. “There’s no use in fighting this any further. You’ll never escape from what is to come.”

Spike ignored the taunts of Prince Blueblood and continued to run. He saw an alley to his right and ran into it. He tried to run down the alleyway, but he saw in front of him more zombies ahead. He panicked and looked to the side of a building to see a fire escape ladder. The baby dragon quickly climbed the ladder and ran up the stairway of the fire escape. Spike continued to run up the stairway until he reached the roof.

The baby dragon let out a sigh of relief as he looked down at the crowded streets of zombie ponies. He decided to look around to find a way out of Ponyville, but the moaning zombies crowding the streets made it hard to find one. Spike then looked towards Ponyville Library and saw something that caught his eye. The second story bedroom had a bright flash of light glowing from the window. The baby dragon noticed the library wasn’t too far away and decided to see what was in it.

Before Spike could think of a way to head towards the library, he heard moaning sounds behind him. He looked to see there were pegasi zombies flying slowly towards him. He panicked and tried to find someplace to escape, but the streets were still crowded with zombies. Spike saw that the building next to him had an open window and decided to jump towards it. He took a deep breath and began to sprint towards the window. The baby dragon jumped with all his might and stretched his arms out to grasp the window’s edge. He crashed halfway into the window and quickly crawled into the building.

Spike shut the window and could barely see anything inside the room. The only thing he could see was some dusty furniture, a rectangular mirror on the wall, and a silver sword hanging over a fireplace. The baby dragon smiled as he went over to pick up the weapon. Just as he was about to pick up the sword, it suddenly disappeared.

“Ah, ah, ah…you don’t have any weapons in this nightmare Spike.” Prince Blueblood’s voice rang out.

Spike suddenly heard somepony banging on the door to the room. There was a loud banging coming from the window he shut. The baby dragon heard the door crashing down and the window shattering. He saw the zombie ponies start to close in on him and backed into a bookshelf. The books fell the ground and sent dust up into the air. The baby dragon took some of the dust up his nose and started to feel funny.

“Ah…AH!” The baby dragon shouted as he held his nose. “ACHOO!”

Spike let out a large blast of green fire as he sneezed. Some of the zombies got caught in the sneeze and were lit on fire. The zombies started to scream in horror as they ran around trying to put out the flames on them. The other zombies started to back away from their lit comrades and ran away from the fire. The zombies collapsed to the ground and died from the flames while the others fled. Spike couldn’t help but smile as he found a new weapon, himself.

The baby dragon ran out the room and made his way down to the streets of Ponyville. The baby dragon saw a group of zombies closing in on him. He took a deep breath and let out a let out small blast of fire. The flames hit a few zombies and made them run around in terror. The zombies tried to get rid of the flames, but the flames sparked and started to light buildings and other zombies on fire. The zombies were now running in terror as they looked for a way to remove the flames. The more they ran around, the further the flames started to spread until Ponyville was burning with green flames on all the buildings.

“STOP YOU IDIOTS!” Prince Blueblood’s voice barked. “DON’T RUN AWAY! GET THE DRAGON AND STOP HIM NOW! STOP RUNNING AROUND AND KILL HIM NOW!”

While Prince Blueblood tried to get the zombies under control, Spike made his way towards the Ponyville Library. The baby dragon passed by the panicking zombie ponies and several pieces of falling debris from the buildings. He used his fire breath to scare off the few zombies that were still chasing him. He soon came across the library and busted down the door. He wasted no time and ran up to the bedroom. He opened the door to see another beacon of light and ran towards it.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders suddenly came out of the shadows and blocked his way.

“Come on Spike…play with us.” Applebloom said.

Spike shook his head and said, “Sorry, but I like my friends to be a little more alive.” He took a deep breath and sprayed a green fireball at them.

The three fillies were hit and started to scream in pain. They ran around in panic and started to spread the flames to the other places of the library. The crusaders’ bodies soon burned to a crisp and collapsed to the ground. Spike was about to sigh in relief, but the sound of flames crackling snapped him out of it. He saw the room was on fire and the beacon of light fading away. He quickly passed by the flames blocking his path and headed for the light.

“NO!” Prince Blueblood’s voice shouted.

A group of zombie pegasi broke the window and poured into the bedroom. They all charged at Spike as fast as their broken wings could take them. Before they were even close, Spike stepped into the beacon of light and out of Ponyville.


Spike stepped out of the light and found himself on a circular platform that was midnight blue. He made his way to the edge of the platform and saw a thick fog at the bottom. The baby dragon had a feeling the fog led to a bottomless pit. He suddenly heard the hoofsteps of a pony and had a suspicion as to who it was. He turned to see his suspicions were correct, it was Prince Blueblood again.

“My patience with you has run out.” The white unicorn said in an icy tone. “You’ve only gotten through by luck only. I can assure you that what you’re about to face is something even you can’t defeat.”

“So what else are you throwing at me?” Spike asked. “I’ve been able to beat the guys you sent. What more could you have now?”

“I have them.”

“Them?”

Spike’s question was answered immediately as he saw a group of ponies step out. His confidence faltered and his jaw dropped from the sight of the ponies in front of him. It was Twilight and the others each giving a cold stare at Spike. They were all gray like when Discord corrupted them. The baby dragon took a few steps back and rubbed his eyes to see if what he was seeing was true.

“Twilight…and my friends?” Spike asked in disbelief. “What happened to them?”

“They’ve fallen under my control.” Prince Blueblood said. “They each tried to fight off the spell like you have, but they all failed and now serve me with no hesitation. Your friends are now mine to use for my own gains. So what are you going to do Spike? Are you willing to hurt your friends in order to try to defeat me?”

“I…I uh…” Spike said hesitantly.

Prince Blueblood smirked and said, “This should be interesting then. Let’s see what’s more important to you Spike. Is it your love for your friends, or trying to kill me?” He turned towards Twilight and the others. “Wipe him out my servants. I want him to understand what happens to those who oppose me.” The white stallion disappeared and a cold laugh echoed in the arena.

Spike turned towards his friends and felt lost on what to do. He could see them give glares that sent shivers down his spines. He was afraid that if he destroyed their spirits in his mind, then he would ultimately kill them in the real world. He decided the only way to do this without hurting them was through talking. He figured if he brought up past adventures, that it would help the others remember him.

He slowly went over to Twilight and cleared his throat. “Uh…hey Twilight, it’s me Spike, your friend.” He heard no response and was only met by an icy stare. “Twilight, you have to listen to me. Prince Blueblood is the one doing all this. He’s the…”

A swift punch from Twilight cut Spike off and sent him flying. He crashed to the ground and rubbed his sore left cheek. He looked up to see Twilight and the others shadowing over him.

“Why would I be a friend to a dragon like you?” Twilight asked in an icy tone. “The only reason I keep you around is to do my work.”

Spike couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “W-why would you say that Twilight? I’m your number one assistant and friend.”

“The only thing you’re number one at being is a complete loser.” Rainbow said in a cold tone.

“Not to mention yer nothin’ but a useless dragon t’us.” Applejack said. “We ain’t friends with a dragon who can’t do anything but eat, sleep, and go on about his crush.”

Spike’s heart froze up upon hearing those words. “Hey…you all can’t…”

“Oh, stop that insufferable complaining.” Rarity said. “You’re nothing but a creepy dragon and a foal. Your crush on me is not only disgusting, but nothing more than a complete waste of time. What made you think a pony of my prestige would fall for a dragon like you?”

Tears started to build up in Spike’s eyes. The tears ran down his body as he collapsed to the ground.

“Aww…is the little baby dragon going to cry?” Fluttershy asked in a mocking tone. “Are you upset that your crush hates you?”

“You got that right Flutters! He’s such a crybaby!” Pinkie shouted as she laughed harshly.

The others soon joined in with Pinkie. The baby dragon couldn’t find the words to counter what his pink friend said. He looked around to see each of them laughing and pointing at him. He curled up into a ball and felt helpless on what to do. He thought that maybe what they were saying was true. He was rather useless to them most of the time. He didn’t really do anything aside from write the letters.

He started to feel helpless and a gray aura shined around him. He looked at himself to see his body was turning gray like the others. He wanted to fight it, but a part of him told him to just give up.

“Spike…you can’t give up yet.” A faint voice whispered in his head.

The dragon instantly recognized the voice and said, “What’s the point? I am useless to them after all. I couldn’t save them in time from the disciples. I’m nothing but a failure to them.”

“Those aren’t your friends speaking at all. It’s their corrupted states wearing your morale down. Your friends would never say anything like that to you. They need you now more than ever to save them. Don’t listen to what these ponies are saying to you. They’re being controlled by Lord Sandro.”

“But…but even if it’s true, I don’t want to hurt them. They’re my friends after all.”

“There’s more than one way to fight them. You just need to wait for the opportunity to present itself.”

Spike looked up at Twilight and the others again. He saw them all laugh at him and oculd’ve sworn he heard Prince Blueblood laugh at him as well. He shook his head in anger and gritted his teeth. He got up and glared at the others.

“I’m not useless in the least bit!” He shouted in defiance. “You all are not even close to the friends I know. I won’t be made fun of by a punch of ponies like you!”

The group stopped laughing and gave an icy glare at Spike.

“So be it then you foal.” Twilight said. “You’ll soon understand your mistake.”

Twilight shot an energy blast at Spike, but he jumped aside to avoid it. Before he could recover from the jump, Spike was met by a swift punch from Applejack. He was sent flying for a few seconds before being grabbed by somepony. He looked to see it was Rainbow carrying him towards the edge of the arena. He panicked and looked to see Rainbow’s leg near him. He bit the leg as hard as he could and was met by a loud cry of pain. The sky blue pegasus released him and was sent crashing to the ground.

Spike saw somepony’s shadow over him and looked up to see a cheerful looking Pinkie. He got up and readied himself for any punches, but she still smiled at him.

“Hiya Spike! Would you like make some cupcakes?” She suddenly pulled out a large carving knife from her mane and threw it at Spike.

The baby dragon ducked in time to avoid the knife and felt his heart racing. He looked up to see Pinkie had pulled out more knives from her mane. He quickly got up and ran away as the pink mare threw the knives.

“Aw come on Spike, you’re not being a good baker’s assistant.” She said in a creepy tone. “I need your help in the last ingredient for my cupcakes…you silly.”

Spike didn’t get too far away from Pinkie as he slammed right into somepony. He looked to see an angry looking Fluttershy. She tackled Spike to the ground and held him down. He heard the hoofsteps of another pony and looked to see Rarity approaching him. The white unicorn glared at him and charged her horn up. Spike took a deep breath in and let out a small burst of green flames at Rarity. She and Fluttershy jumped in surprise and allowed Spike to run off from them.

He continued to run off, but everywhere Spike turned, his corrupted friends were there ready for him. He suddenly saw a blue blur and a punch hit him in the face. He walked around in a daze as he tried to shake off the pain, but before he knew it, another punch hit him in the face. Spike tried to find who was punching him, but all he saw was a blur. Just as he started to regain his bearings, he saw a lasso coming right at him. He ducked in time to avoid it, but he saw another energy blast coming right at him. He jumped to the side and heard Rainbow cry out in panic.

“Hey, watch where you’re aiming Rarity!” The sky blue pegasus shouted. “You bruised my side with that spell!”

Spike suddenly felt something click inside his mind. He looked to see Rainbow rubbing what looked like a burn mark on her left side. He then looked around to see the others circling around him to contain him. Spike looked back at Rarity as she charged up another energy blast. An idea went off in his mind and smiled.

“Hey Rarity! I bet you can’t shoot a moving target!” Spike shouted as he got up and ran.

The white unicorn glared and shot out a lightning bolt in Spike’s direction. The baby dragon saw this and ducked in time to avoid it. He suddenly heard Fluttershy screaming out in pain and looked to see she was hit by the bolt. The yellow pegasus collapsed to the ground in pain and groaned a little.

“You’re going to pay for that you little OOF!” Rarity was suddenly cut off by somepony tackling her. She looked to see an infuriated Pinkie.

“You meanie pants! You hit Fluttershy!” The pink mare boomed in anger and started to punch Rarity.

Spike watched as the two ponies fought each other and shook off the guilt of hurting his friends. He turned around and was met by a swift punch from Applejack. He groaned a little as he steadied himself and regained his bearings. Spike heard a whooshing sound and saw Rainbow flying towards him. He looked back to see Applejack charging at him and got an idea.

He waited for the two mares to come close to him. He looked at Rainbow to see she was getting closer and then back at Applejack. He readied himself as the two mares got closer. Just as Rainbow was about to hit Spike, he jumped out of the way in time. The sky blue pegasus suddenly realized she was on a crash course with Applejack. The two tried to stop each other, but it was already too late. The two mares screamed in pain as they crashed into each other hard. The two of them collapsed to the ground unconsciously.

Spike grinned to himself as he looked upon his defeated opponents. He looked around to see Fluttershy was still knocked out and Rarity and Pinkie still going at it. The baby dragon heard hoofsteps and turned to see Twilight approaching him. His smile faded away as he realized he had no way to defeat her without hurting her. He slowly backed away and tried to think of something he could do. He thought of only one thing that he tried before, but he knew it was his only shot.

“Twilight please…it’s me, Spike.” He said in desperation. “You’ve got to remember something about me…anything at all. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“That’s too bad…because I want to hurt you.” The lilac unicorn spat. Her horn glowed as she charged up a lightning bolt.

“No Twilight! You can’t do this! You have to remember that I’m your friend and assistant to you! Think about Princess Celestia! Your family! Anypony to help you remember who you are!”

Twilight flinched a little, but shook it off. “You’re only trying to distract me.”

“That’s not true Twilight! Remember when you first hatched me at your entrance exam at Princess Celestia’s school? What about when I first started calling you Sparky when I was learning how to talk? You have to remember Twilight! You have to fight it!”

The lilac unicorn felt something ring in her head and gritted her teeth. She screamed in pain as some memories started to flow through her mind.

“Ignore what that dragon is saying.” Prince Blueblood’s voice boomed. “Finish him off this instant.”

“No Twilight, don’t do it!” Spike shouted. “You have to fight his control over you! You’re better than this! You defeated an Ursa Minor after all! You can’t just let Blueblood control you forever! Think about your adventures with me and the others! You have to snap out of this!”

“Kill him now! You must obey me and serve me!”

Twilight groaned in pain and held her head. She could feel more memories like her first encounter with the others zooming past her. She remembered her own brother and how they used to do everything together. The lilac unicorn screamed as the grayness around her body shattered and collapsed. Spike saw that her body was now lilac and her mane and tail were colorful again as well. Twilight groaned as she opened her eyes to see Spike standing over her with a concerned look on him.

“S…Spike? Is that you?” She asked in a small voice. “What happened to me? Where am I? What’s…?” She was suddenly cut off by her assistant as he hugged her tightly and had tears running down his face. “Spike, are you okay?”

The baby dragon nodded and wiped off his tears. “I’m fine Twilight, but there’s really no time to explain right now. Do you remember that spell you used to free the others when Discord turned them evil?”

Twilight nodded and said, “Of course I do. Why do you ask?”

“You need to do that spell again…now.” Spike pointed to her knocked out friends. “There’s not much time Twilight!”

She nodded and her horn glowed a purple aura. Each one of her friends started to glow a purple aura. They all grimaced as Twilight concentrated on her spell and was starting to get tired from using so much magic. Each one of her friends started to groan as the grayness around their bodies faded away. Eventually, the others were back to their normal selves and groaned as they all got up.

“What in tarnation is goin’ on here?” Applejack asked as she looked around.

“Where the hay are we?” Rainbow asked.

“How did we get here anyway?” Rarity asked.

“Please…can we just go home?” Fluttershy asked in a fearful tone. She held onto Pinkie and felt her hold her tightly.

Before Spike could come forward and say anything, a frustrated yell shook the arena. The group saw a bright flash of light and saw Prince Blueblood looking vivid.

“Hey! What are you doing here!?” Rainbow demanded.

The white stallion said nothing and shot an energy blast at Rainbow. She narrowly avoided the spell and gritted her teeth in anger. “Silence you incompetent commoners!” He boomed. “I have no business with you foals! I am here for that dragon!”

“Dragon?” Twilight and the others asked in unison. They heard a cough and looked to see Spike waving at them. “Spike!?”

“What in the name of Celestia is goin’ on here?” Applejack asked.

“What are you doing here Spike?” Rarity asked. “We thought you were in Canterlot on royal business.”

Prince Blueblood laughed coldly and shook his head. “You mean he didn’t tell you all?” The group looked at him with confused looks on their faces. “He was never on royal business! He’s been in Ponyville this whole time. Isn’t that right Spike…or should I say, Sparky?”

“WHAT!?” Rarity, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow asked in disbelief.

“You mean to tell me that I thought Spike was cute looking as a pony!?” Rainbow clapped her mouth shut upon asking that. She looked around to see the others were just as shocked as her.

“You mean that Spike’s been Sparky the whole time?” Rarity asked. “This has got to be some kind of joke.”

“Oh, I assure you it’s no joke at all. Spike here has been lying to you all the entire time. He’s been a pony for nearly a week and has fooled you all with being Sparky.” The white stallion turned to Spike. “Shall I tell them why you turned yourself into a pony?”

Spike’s eyes widen in fear. “No! You can’t tell them at all!”

“He did it for you…Rarity.”

The white unicorn stood in disbelief. The arena was silent with the exception of the breathing of the group. Rarity finally managed to get some words out. “Spike…is this true?”

The baby dragon felt tears run down his face. “Rarity, it’s not what it looks like! I…I only did it because…because…” He couldn’t find anything to say to her as he looked into her eyes.

“Well…this little reunion is certainly off to an interesting start.” Prince Blueblood said. “You may’ve freed your friends in your mind Spike, but they still aren’t free from the spell I’ve placed on them.”

“What spell? What are you talking about?” Twilight asked.

“You’ll want to talk to Spike about that. He’s the one who knows everything after all.” He then turned to Spike. “I’ll be waiting for you Spike…you and I have something to settle after all. You want to try to fight me so badly…I’ll give you one last shot at beating me. Even though it’ll be in vain, I’ll have fun tearing you apart limb from limb.” The white unicorn laughed as he disappeared.

The others watched as Prince Blueblood vanished from sight before turning to Spike.

“Spike…what’s going on here?” Twilight asked.

The baby dragon looked around to see his friends had fearful looks on them. He filled them in on how Prince Blueblood was the leader of the Disciples of Nightmare Moon and how he was going to bring back Nightmare Moon. He went on to explain that he needed them for use in a resurrection spell and how Rarity would be the host body. As he finished, he saw the entire group was in shock and said nothing for a minute.

“You’ve got to be kidding us.” Rainbow asked. “”You’re not only Sparky…but that Blueblood guy is the leader? I didn’t even think he had it in him.”

“He’s been living a lie Rainbow.” Spike explained. “He fooled all of us, even the princesses, with his act.”

“Forget all of that for a minute!” Rarity shouted in horror. “You mean to tell me that insufferable dolt is going to turn me into the new Nightmare Moon!?”

“Simmer down there Rarity.” Applejack said in a reassuring voice. “We ain’t gonna let some hoity toity pony do that to ya.”

“She’s right Rarity!” Pinkie shouted in an optimistic tone. “We won’t let Prince Evil McEvilpants there do that to you!”

“Girls, calm down.” Twilight said. “We’ll find a way to get out of this. If Prince Blueblood wants to use our elements to bring back Nightmare Moon, then we need to think of a plan.”

“Hey…I just realized something.” Pinkie said. “Why was Spike captured by Prince Blueblood?”

“Well…it’s kind of hard to explain.” Spike said.

“What do you mean Spike?” Fluttershy asked.

The baby dragon took a deep breath and said, “It’s because I’m an Element of Harmony. Blueblood wanted me because I’m the last element.”

The entire group said nothing again and took in the words. Fluttershy fainted to the ground, but was caught by Pinkie. The others felt their jaws went limp and looked at each other in shock.

“Okay, my mind is officially blown to bits.” Rainbow said. “First Blueblood is evil, then Nightmare’s coming back, and now this. What’s next?”

“Let’s not ask that Rainbow.” Twilight said. “Spike…how can you be an Element of Harmony? I never saw it when I read any books regarding it.”

“I know it sounds crazy, but you have to trust me.” The baby dragon said. “You all have to believe me when I say that I am an Element of Harmony. Just ask Princess Celestia and she’ll tell you.”

“Princess Celestia? What does she have to do with this?” Twilight asked.

Before Spike could say anything else, a beacon of light appeared to his left. He could’ve sworn he heard Blueblood snicker as the light glowed in the dark arena.

“There’s no time left Twilight. I know you all want to ask me a lot of things, but I need to stop Blueblood before it’s too late.”

The lilac unicorn looked at her friends and saw they all looked worried. She then turned back to Spike. “All right Spike…you go on and hold off Blueblood for as long as you can. We’ll fight off this spell that’s holding us and join you.”

“Thanks Twilight…I’ll show that snob what happens when he messes with us.”

“Go git him Spike.” Applejack said. “Y’all give him a good buck in the face fer us.”

“Save some fighting for the rest of us.” Rainbow said. “I want to kick that royal flank straight to the moon.”

“Take him down Spike style.” Pinkie stated. “Oh wait, I don’t think you have any type of fighting style.”

“What Pinkie meant to say Spike is you can do it.” Fluttershy said.

“Spike…you’ve done a lot these past few days, but I know you can do this.” Twilight said. “We promise that when we free ourselves from the spell, we’ll come and help you.”

Spike then turned to Rarity and saw she looked indifferent. “Rarity, I know you’re…”

“Darling…we’ll talk about this after you take care of that uncouth prince.” The white unicorn said. “I just want you to promise not only me, but the others that after this is over, you tell us the truth.”

The baby dragon nodded and said, “I promise Rarity…I’ll tell you all everything.”

Twilight and the others smiled as their bodies started to disappear. They looked and noticed what was happening, but they showed no fear. They only gave Spike a warm smile before vanishing completely. The baby dragon gave a hopeful smile and turned towards the beacon of light. He jumped a little as he saw the white hooded pony from before standing near him.

“Well done Spike…I knew your wit would best Sandro’s treachery.” He said. “However it’s not time to celebrate yet. You know what must be done to bring this all to an end.”

Spike wearily nodded and said, “I know…but there’s one problem. I can’t fight Blueblood when I wake up. I could barely move my body when I saw him.”

“You won’t have to worry about that.” The hooded pony said. “Your body has been in stasis for a while now and has been recovering. Lord Sandro needed you at full health for the resurrection ritual.”

Spike looked at the beacon of light and gulped. “It’s time then I guess.”

“You have nothing to fear Spike. Just stick to what you’re best at and you’ll find a way to defeat Lord Sandro for good. You have little time left before midnight, so you’ve got to hurry. Now go…I’ll watch over you and help you whenever I can.” The hooded pony disappeared and left Spike alone.

The baby dragon looked back at the beacon of light and gulped. He wanted to finally take down Prince Blueblood, but yet he felt a little intimidated by how powerful he was. He decided to shake off those doubts and walked over to the beacon of light. He gritted his teeth in determination as he walked into the light and out of his nightmare.