• Published 4th Oct 2015
  • 15,926 Views, 1,779 Comments

Of Flame and Shadow - Garuda IV



Dark Flame was a young stallion of the mining village, Stonewall. But after a dragon thought to be of myth attacks, Dark becomes the only survivor and now attempts to remake his life. However, his past isn't willing to let him go so easily.

  • ...
77
 1,779
 15,926

PreviousChapters Next
Chapter 75- Don't Buck With a Dragon

Author's Note:

Yes, the title is a reference to Bayonetta's "Don't f*ck with a witch".

This wasn't how Spike had expected his day to go. What was suppose to be a relaxing day with his three fillyfriends had suddenly came to a grinding halt and turned completely around as he became locked in a death battle with Garble in an attempt to save Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo from him and his two accomplices. However, with the Dragon Code's rules of engagement, he would receive no help during this fight, leaving him on his own.

And at the moment, he was perfectly fine with that.

Charging at his friend-turned-enemy, Spike flexed his claws and added a little more speed to his step. While Garble had the advantage in size, strength, experience, and flight, Spike knew that he had the advantages of his smaller size which was complimented by his speed and agility. Not only that, but Spike also had the items in his belt, his retractable staff, and most importantly, his ability to use magic.

Closing in on each other, Spike dropped and slid beneath Garble's legs to avoid a swipe from his claws. As he slid between his legs, Spike took a swipe at them, barely doing any damage, but still gaining Garble's attention. Looking up, Spike's eyes widened before he quickly rolled off to the side to avoid the spiky tail that had come down where he had previously been. Getting back up on his feet, Spike hopped back as Garble swung his tail out at him. Dodging the attack, Spike then started dodging from side-to-side to avoid Garble's claw swipes. Dodging another claw swipe, Spike dashed forward where his fist met Garble's jaw in an uppercut, causing him to stumble back before Spike followed it up with a claw swipe of his own to his softer underbelly.

Making contact, Spike clawed at it a few more times to leave a solid mark. Unfortunately, he remained stationary for too long, allowing for Garble to swipe his claw across the side of Spike's face. Rolling across the ground, Spike came to a stop before quickly getting back to his feet. As he did, he winced as he felt pain coming from his cheek. Placing a claw against it, Spike felt something wet and brought his claw back to see four streaks of blood on his claw.

"I'll admit that that wasn't half bad," Garble said rubbing his jaw, "but you're gonna have to do a lot better than that if you want to live."

Growling, Spike reached into his satchel and pulled out a pair of smoke bombs. Lighting the fuses with a stream of his fire breath, Spike waited a moment before chucking them at Garble. When the exploded and covered the area in smoke, Spike reached for his retractable staff and pressed the button to extend it. Armed and having Garble lost and confused in the smoke cloud, Spike charged in to attack. Though it was difficult to see in there, thanks to the light from Celestia's sun, Spike was just barely able to make out the outline of Garble standing nearby him.

Using this to his advantage, Spike stayed low and quickly ran up to Garble. Targeting his leg, Spike swung his staff and hit him on the side of his knee. Hearing his roar from being hit, Spike quickly retreated back to avoid Garble's tail swipe before running back in and taking another swing, this one hitting his other leg in the shin. Repeating this action, Spike continued to assault Garble while using his speed to avoid getting hit again. Hitting him in the knee, Spike retreated back and was ready to strike again when Garble roared in fury and started breathing fire out all around him.

Even though he was fireproof, Spike didn't want to stay in there and ran out of the smoke cloud. Panting slightly for breath, he turned around and saw Garble's flames as they dispersed the smoke cloud. Moments later, he watched as Garble walked out of the fires with a small limp, and his fangs bared.

"You're going to pay for that, you little rodent," Garble growled.

Spike's brow narrowed as he spun his staff around and took a fighting stance.

"Then what are you waiting for? Get over here and fight me, you big red jerk," Spike snarled. "Or are you too afraid to fight me anymore?"

Falling to his provocation, Garble roared as he charged Spike. Once he was close enough, Spike leaped back and brought his staff down on Garble's snout. Though it hit, it didn't do much to Garble as Spike again found himself backing up. As he avoided Garble's claws, Spike waited for the next one that came his way. When it did, he used his staff to parry the strike before fluently following it up with a counter of his own and striking the side of Garble's face.

With his head knocked away and his eyes losing him, Spike jabbed one of the ends of his staff against Garble's knee, causing him to grunt in pain as said knee crumpled and forced him down to it. With him down on his knee and in somewhat of a blind spot, Spike then began to jab at the side of his exposed ribs. Getting a few hits in, Spike landed another one before Garble unfurled his wing and knocked Spike away. Using the momentum from his tumbling, he planted his staff in the ground and used it to send himself springing back up to his feet, while Garble flapped his wings to help him stand back up before giving Spike a murderous glare.

"You will die!"


Dark and Twilight were sitting in the throne room as they waited for the snow on the projection screen to clear and reveal Celestia on the other end. As they waited, Twilight began to shift around on her throne nervously while Dark stood beside her throne and rubbed her back in an attempt to calm her down.

"What's taking her so long?" she asked impatiently.

"She's probably on lunch break or something," Dark answered. "After all, it is that time of day."

"I know, but still, I wish she would've picked up by now. I don't want to stay away from Spike any longer than I need to."

"Neither do I, Twilight, but I trust Spike to pull through this. He might not have seen much in terms of combat, but between his weapons training with me, lessons from Pyre, magic lessons from you, and whatever he's been doing in the basement, I'm sure he'll be fine."

"I know, but I still want to be there for him."

"Be there for who, Twilight?"

Surprised by the new voice, Twilight and Dark both looked up to see that Celestia had finally returned and was sitting on her throne.

"Princess! Finally, you're here! Look, we've got a problem here in Ponyville!" Twilight said with a panicked tone.

"What is it, Twilight?" Celestia wondered.

"You remember Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo, right?"

"Yes. They're Rarity's, Applejack's, and Rainbow Dash's sisters, and Spike's three fillyfriends. What about them?"

"They've been foalnapped by dragons."

Celestia's concerned look turned shifted to a neutral expression. But, even though she wasn't showing it, Twilight knew that it was just a mask to hide her anger.

"Does anypony know who these dragons are?"

"We do, or, at least one of them. His name is Garble, and from what the Scaleless Dragons say, he's the son of King Inferno." Celestia's brow narrowed as Twilight continued. "But that's not all. Not only did he foalnap them, but he's also using them as bait to lure Spike out into what we figure to be a duel to the death."

"I wouldn't be surprised if they were already fighting right now," Dark added.

"In that case," Celestia began, "I'm heading off to meet with the dragon emissary and inform him of what's going on. After that, I'll head immediately down to Ponyville."

"Okay, but what do we do until then?" Twilight questioned. "According to the Scaleless Dragons, there's been a recent change to the Dragon Code which will allow for Garble to walk away after their fight without anyone interfering."

"That is if Spike doesn't beat him to red paste first," Dark pointed out.

"If their fight ends before I get there, do what you can to stall them from leaving and let me take care of the rest," Celestia told them. "I don't care about the changes to their code or if this Garble is Inferno's son, nothing comes into my kingdom and gets away with foalnapping my subjects and trying to kill another with my knowledge."

"We will do what we can, Princess," Twilight said, earning a nod form Celestia.

"Then I won't stall any longer. I'll see you all as soon as I can get there."

With that, Celestia cut the connection, leaving Dark and Twilight with a snowy screen again before they too turned their crystal off.

"Alright, let's go, Dark."

Running alongside Twilight, Dark followed her out of the throne room and towards the doors to find where Spike and Garble were fighting at.


Spike's fight with Garble had taken a turned against his favor. After swinging his staff at Garble, he grabbed it and yanked it out of his claws before knocking him away with his tail. With Spike groaning from the hit, Garble began superheating the metal with his fire breath before breaking Spike's retractable staff over his good knee.

His Hearth's Warming present and only weapon now destroyed, Spike growled as he stood up with flames licking the corners of his snarling maw.

"Hah! What now, runt?" Garble smugly asked, flipping the ends of Spike's broken staff around and holding them like a pair of stakes.

Snorting smoke out from his nostrils, Spike reached a claw back into his satchel for a smoke bomb. But, before he could grab one, Garble charged him and began to thrust the broken ends of the staff at Spike in an attempt to skewer him. While he was able to dodge the first few strikes, Spike slipped and fell backwards onto his back.

Facing up at Garble looming overhead, Spike watched as he raised both of his weapons. Annoyed and angry for him breaking his present and only weapon, Spike raised his claws in front of him and used his magic to unleash a wave of magic that knocked Garble back several feet away from him. Getting back up again, Spike kept his eyes on Garble as he too got up, albeit with a surprised look on his face.

"What was that?!" he demanded. "I know you didn't just use magic on me, so which of you puny unicorns interfered?!"

"It wasn't any of them," Spike said. "It was me."

A moment later, Spike's claws were encased in his magical green aura, causing Garble to gawk at what he was seeing.

"Wha- but how?! How can you do magic like that?!"

"As it turns out, my species of dragon don't get to have wings. However, what we do get in return is the ability to use magic."

Focusing on his magic, Spike began to take a page out of Dark's book and started to shape his magic. Seconds later, the magical aura around his claws had spread up to his elbows with a more solid and shimmering look. Looking over his Magic Claws spell, Spike snorted before he dashed over to Garble again. With his claws raised, Spike didn't even flinch when Garble thrusted his weapon at him. Instead, Spike took a swipe at the metal and slashed clean through it. Taking another swipe, Spike then managed to get a clean and good hit on Garble as his Magic Claws left four deep cuts on his chest.

As he clung to his chest in pain, Garble roared and took a swipe at Spike with his other weapon. Unfortunately, the claw that Spike had struck Garble's chest with was on the same side that Garble held his makeshift weapon, resulting in Spike being unable to dodge it as it found its way into his upper-right arm. Roaring in pain himself, Spike held his injured arm against his side and chest before taking another swipe at him, this time missing as Garble took to the air with his wings.

Holding back a pained whimper, Spike fell to a knee before he looked to the metal jutting through his arm. Clenching his teeth, he grabbed onto the metal shaft with his left claw, and in one pain-filled motion, yanked it out of his arm. Shouting from the pain brought with relieving himself, Spike fell to the round on his good side as he clung his wounded arm to his chest.

Reaching into his satchel, Spike, with a shaky breath, lit the two smoke bombs and laid them around him. Closing his eyes, he waited for them to go off. When they did, he waited a few moments for the smoke to settle in before he tried to steady his breathing. Feeling the blood trickling over his arm and down his body, Spike focused the magic in his left claw into a healing spell and placed it over his wound.

"Come on out and fight me you little coward!" Garble shouted.

Ignoring him, Spike remained where he laid as he continued to try healing his injury. While it seemed like he was managing to heal it, it was going too slowly and would need more time before he could fight with his arm again. Fortunately for him, that extra time came when two new watchers joined the crowd.

"Spike! Are you alright?!" Twilight shouted in worry, hearing Spike's scream as she and Dark came towards them.

"No, he's not alright," Garble chuckled, spitting a glob of fire onto his claw and smearing it against his wounds, causing him to hiss in pain as the fire cauterized his wounds to where they weren't bleeding as much anymore.

"Help us, Spike!" Sweetie Belle cried out.

"Get us outta here!" Apple Bloom shouted.

"Kick his plot, Spike!" Scootaloo cheered.

Hearing their cheering and cries for help, Garble snarled and breathed a stream of fire at the ground near their hooves.

"Shut up!"

Hearing a growl coming from near Twilight, Garble landed and looked over to see who it was, having noticed that Spike was still in the smoke cloud, and the Scaleless Dragons were off watching on another area of the crowd. Looking over to her, his eyes widened in fear as they fell upon Dark, who's eyes were red and glaring at him.

"D-Dragon Slayer Dark?" Garble gulped.

"I didn't know before that Inferno had a son," Dark said in a low voice. "Tell me, how does it feel having a dragon like him as a father?"

Garble put on a brave and cocky face. "Heh, pretty good actually."

"... you know that you won't be getting away from this, Dragon Code or not. After all, there's always a loophole, and trust me when I say that we will find one."

"Go ahead if you want," he dismissed with a claw, "by the time you do, it'll be too late and I'll be long gone back to my father's kingdom where you can't touch me."

"Have you forgotten already? In the end, death claims us all."

While Garble was talking with Dark, in his arrogance, he kept his back turned to the smoke cloud, becoming unaware of a green glow from within. Moments later, he became fully aware of it when he was blasted in the back by a beam of green magic that sent him colliding with a wall of one of the buildings. Groaning and slowly standing back up, he was met with yet another beam of magic, this one sending his upper-half crashing through the side of the house with his lower-half hanging out from the hole.

"Don't think that you can turn your back to me just yet," Spike said, holding his right arm to his side while his left was extended out with his magical aura surrounding his claw.

Grunting, Garble scrambled to stand back up. However, as soon as he managed to look at his attacker, his face was met with another beam of magic from Spike, causing his head to whiplash and send the rest of his body falling into the house.

Using this time, Spike began casting his healing spell on his claw and placed it on his would to resume healing it. As the seconds rolled by, Spike's gaze never left the hole in the wall. Watching with an intense glare, Spike soon saw a table flying out of the gaping hole towards him. Stepping off to the side and dodging it, Spike then saw movement as Garble began walking out of the house and into the light. When he did, though, he did so with a pair of longswords in his claws, wearing a belt with a sheath for both swords, and a heavy-looking bag tied to his side.

"Well, well, look at what I found in there?" he chuckled. "I don't know who lives in that place, but there's a lot of weapons and stuff in there."

"Hey! Those are property of the royal guard!" one of the guards shouted.

"Well, now they're mine. Oh, and speaking of which, look at what else I found."

Sheathing one of his swords, Garble reached into the bag and grabbed what looked like a hoof-sized bomb. Chuckling to himself, Garble lit the fuse with his fire breath and tossed it at Spike before taking to the air to get out of the blast radius.

Taken by surprise, Spike barely had any time to throw a barrier around himself. Unfortunately, with the rush of the spell, he didn't have much time to reinforce it, causing it to shatter from the force of the bomb's explosion. Crying out in surprise and a little bit of pain, Spike was tossed back a few feet before skidding to a halt on his back. Coughing, he looked up to see Garble having sheathed his other sword was and now holding a bomb in both of his claws instead.

Seeing what he was about to do this time, Spike raised both claws up and erected a barrier around him. Pouring more magic in to reinforce it, he waited for Garble to start bombing him. Moments later, Spike heard Garble laughing before he dropped the two lit bombs and went straight for another two. Bracing for impact, Spike stood and heard the bombs bounce off the top of his barrier before detonating a second later. Grunting from the force behind the two explosions, Spike fell to a knee while he maintained his now cracked barrier.

Seeing Garble lighting the two new bombs, Spike dispelled his barrier before firing a beam from both of his claws, each aimed for the two bombs Garble still held in his claws. Despite him missing his marks, it was enough to spook Garble as he flew higher above him. Unfortunately for Garble, thanks to him being distracted by Spike, he briefly forgot about the lit bombs he was holding. Seconds later, both bombs exploded in his claws, causing Garble to roar in pain as the force of the explosion sent him plummeting down out of the air.

Landing with a hard thud, Garble groaned as he tried to recollect himself. Slow to get up and in pain, he brought his claws out in front of him to see and hissed in both pain and rage upon seeing most of the scales on his claws had been blown off from the force of the bombs. Glancing down at his chest, he then saw that it didn't get away clean either as blast from the bombs had re-opened his cauterized wounds on his chest, causing them to start bleeding again, albeit slower than before.

With another grunt of pain, Garble sat his elbows back to sit up, but was quickly pinned down by a sudden weight sitting on top of his chest. Now between rage and worry, Garble looked up at Spike sitting on his chest with both of his Magic Claws raised above him. Instinctively, he brought his arms up to defend himself before Spike began clawing away at him. Roaring in pain, he tried to shake Spike off, but his placement on his chest, and his feet at his sides, prevented him from shaking him off or using his wings.

Feeling Spike's Magic Claws tearing through his scales, Garble roared as he retracted his arms away from protecting him and went for the weapons at his sides. Drawing the swords, he took a few swipes to his chest before he went to slice both at Spike's neck, only for him to grab the blades with his magical claws. Surprised that Spike had caught them, Garble tried to pull them loose, but his grip on the blades were too strong, and the magic covering them were preventing the blades from cutting into his claws. Seeing as how this wasn't going anywhere fast, Garble instead focused on his tail and flung it towards Spike.

Unknowing about what was coming at him from behind, Spike suddenly cried out in pain as he felt one of the spikes on Garble's tail puncturing through the scales on his left shoulder and collarbone. Reeling in pain, Spike's grip on the two blades loosened, allowing for Garble to pull them free before slicing them horizontally across his chest. Feeling the new source of pain, Spike brought his arms to the two wounds on his chest before crying out again as Garble brought his tail up with Spike still attached to it, and flicked him off.

Rolling to a stop covered in dirt and blood, Spike laid limply as he tried to stay conscious. Hearing a collection of horror-filled screams, Spike glanced off to his side to see Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo with tear-filled eyes as they all tried to struggle to get free. Gasping for air, Spike slowly rolled onto his stomach and laid there for a moment as he tried to get his breathing under control.

"Do you see it now?" Garble snarled, licking the bloodied blades as he limped closer to Spike. "You can't beat me, Spike. Even now after all of this time, you're still that weak, pathetic, little runt that I met at the Great Dragon Migration."

Whimpering from the pain, Spike managed to slowly get himself to stand on all four of his claws, all the while panting for breath.

"Yes..." he panted, "I am weak. Compared... to your strength... I am weak. But... in the end... you're the weak one..."

Garble paused. "What was that?"

"Unlike you... I have actually friends... who're always there for me." Feeling his breathing getting under control and the intense pain starting to fade slightly, Spike stood a little higher while remaining on all fours. "I have friends who care for me... who love me... and who I love in return. And now, Garble... thanks to the love and support of my friends and family to keep me going... I'm going to beat you!"

Sliding his arms out, Spike anchored his claws into the ground before they became encased in his magical aura. Ignoring the pain, Spike opened his maw and took in a deep breath while pointing it directly at Garble. Breathing in and grinding through the pain from his shoulder and chest wounds, Spike soon felt the magic in his claws begin to flow up towards a ball of magical energy gathering within his open maw.

While Spike was doing this, off to the side, Dark, Twilight, and Pyre all watched in horror at what Spike was trying to do.

What is he thinking?! Dark shouted in his head in a panic. He's going to destroy everything around here!

"Everypony run!" Dark shouted.

"It's not safe here!" Twilight shouted alongside him. "Everypony get away and get to cover!"

Noticing the clear tone of fear in their voices, everyone in the area started to run away. Even the two accompanying Garble took heed of their warning, figuring that if the Princess of Friendship and the Lord of Death were both shaken up by this, then this warranted listening to them. Dropping Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo unceremoniously on the ground, the two teen dragons took to the skies and fled.

With the Crusaders free, they were about to run up to Spike, but quickly found themselves enwrapped by Twilight's magic as she pulled them back with her, Dark, and the Scaleless Dragons as they fled.

"NO! We have to go back and help him!" Sweetie Belle protested.

"Not this time," Dark denied. "Spike's never done a spell like the Flare before. For all we know, he could very well botch it up and cause it to backfire and blow up the surrounding area."

"Then we should stop him before it's too late!" Scootaloo argued.

"It became too late when he started casting it. Once started, it has to be completed, regardless of whether it's successful or not."

"How would you know?!" Apple Bloom snapped, out of both fear and anger.

Dark ignored that, but winced as he remembered the first time he tried casting the Flare and tried to cancel it.

Not one of my best moments... or smartest, he thought, remembering the burns he'd sustained from that day. Good thing I had a fireproof spell on me at the time.

"Trust me, Apple Bloom. As the one who created the Flare, I know first hoof what happens with this spell."

Over on the abandoned streets, Spike continued to channel his magic while Garble spread his wings and flapped. Raising off the ground, he flew over towards Spike with his swords pointed outward, waiting to get close enough to take one last swing at him. Closing the distance, Garble was only twenty yards away when he felt his blood suddenly run cold.

Feeling something telling him to stop there, Spike ceased channeling his magic. Having enough air in his lungs, Spike pushed it all out in one go. When his fire breath hit the orb of magic he'd gathered, Spike was sent skidding back as he fired a single-story, house-sized beam of greens and purples that emanated a high-pitched sound as it ripped through the dirt road and towards it's target. Thankfully for Spike, with the angle at which Garble was flying at him with, he had to aim upward, allowing for him to fire his Flare without it hitting any of the buildings. However, being unused to the kickback that the spell packed, Spike's aim was thrown off, but didn't completely miss his target.

Not expecting this, Garble's expression turned to one of horror as he tried to alter his flight path and avoid the spell rushing towards him. However, it was too late for him as Spike's attack roared towards him. Feeling the heat and power of the spell, Garble silently roared in pain as his left arm, shoulder, and wing were consumed in the light. Unable to do anything at this point, his body began to lock up in shock before he dropped down to the ground.

Finally ending the spell, Spike slumped down to the ground as he tried to keep himself awake from the amount of magic and blood he'd lost. However, while he did hit Garble with the Flare, it wasn't a direct hit. Slowly and painfully, Spike crawled back up to his feet and trudged over towards Garble's broken form with his left arm clinging to the wounds on his chest.

As he approached, Spike kept his eyes on Garble's body, watching as his chest slowly rose and fell with each wheezing breath he took. Besides his breathing, Spike immediately noticed that Garble's left wing had been blown off, the remains of it still attached to him having been cauterized by the intensity of the spell's heat. Not only that, but Spike nearly blanched when he saw that Garble lost not only his left wing, but also his entire left arm and a chunk of his shoulder, which he was sure he would've died from blood loss if the spell hadn't cauterized that too.

Tearing his gaze away from the grievous wounds, Spike saw something glinting the sunlight off to the side. Turning to see what it was, Spike saw that it was one of the swords Garble had used. Extending his right claw, Spike used his magic and levitated the sword over into his waiting claw. Looking over it and seeing it covered in a mixture of dirt and his own blood, Spike growled as he held it over Garble's prone form and flipped the blade, holding the sword in reverse as it's blade was now pointed downward. Holding the blade over his body, Spike took one last look at Garble, noticing now that his eyes were glaring at him.

"Do it," he wheezed. "Come on... do it... you coward."

Snorting in anger, Spike raised the sword above his head as he readied to deliver the finishing blow. However, before he could, he saw that everyone who had fled before had started returning. It was then, to his own regret and sorrow, that he saw the horrified faces of Twilight, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo. Seeing the looks on their faces, it suddenly dawned on Spike just what he was about to do. Along with that realization, Dark's words from earlier started to replay in his mind.

"Sometimes during a fight, one can lose themselves in battle, causing them to do things that they wouldn't normally do."

Slowly, Spike lowered the sword in his claw and looked at it in fear.

What's happening to me? he fearfully wondered. I almost just...

"No, Garble, I won't do it," Spike said, tossing the sword off to the side before giving a heavy sigh of relief.

Garble growled, but it quickly led to him coughing. "How... weak."

"No. I'm not weak, and I'm not going to kill you." Spike stood tall and began wincing at the pain he was feeling now that his adrenaline was starting to die down. "You've lost, Garble. Before when we were fighting, I might've done it. But now that you're like this, there's no need to. I'm not a killer, and I'm never gonna be one."

With that, Spike began to slowly walk away from his defeated foe and towards his friends. As he did, Garble tried to get up, but was in too much pain to do so. So, instead, he hissed in pain and glared at Spike.

"So you won't finish me then?" he snarled, causing for Spike to stop and look around at him.

"No, I won't. Be thankful that I'm being merciful to you, especially after how you used my fillyfriends like that."

"... you know that I wouldn't have shown you such mercy, right?"

"I know."

Having no more of it, Spike turned his back to Garble and went to rejoin his friends and family. But, before he got to them, his strength began to leave him. Falling to a knee, Spike started to breath heavily as his wounds and the exertion of battle started to take their toll on him.

"Spike!"

Glancing up, his vision was filled by his three fillyfriends. Seeing the worried looks on their faces, he gave them a weak smile.

"Hey, girls," he weakly said. "Don't worry, I'll be fine."

"Not like this you won't," Twilight said walking up to him. Using her magic, she lifted Spike up alongside her. "I'm taking you to the hospital to get you some help."

"Can we come too?" Sweetie Belle asked, getting a nod from Twilight.

"Sure. Hang on, girls. I hope none of you get teleportation sickness too." Charging her horn, Twilight looked back to Dark. "Hey, sweetie? Could you take care of things here while I look after Spike and the girls?"

"Sure," Dark nodded, "you go on ahead."

Watching them teleport off, Dark waited for a moment before he turned his attention towards the wounded dragon. Walking up to him with the Scaleless Dragons following behind him, Dark stopped when he and the others were standing over Garble.

"King Inferno's son or not, Garble, you're not going to be getting away from this one," Dark stated.

Grunting, Garble turned his head to face Dark. "So what? Are you gonna kill me then?"

"No. Death would be too easy of a punishment. The Scaleless Dragons told us about the update on the Dragon Code, and according to the newest addition to the rules, they're meant for the victor, since the one defeated is suppose to be dead. And, seeing as how you're not dead, the Dragon Code's protection won't apply to you."

Garble's pupils were reduced to pinpricks as Dark continued.

"You were betting on beating Spike so much that you probably didn't consider the possibility of losing, or the consequences that would come with it. Now that you've lost and aren't protected by the code anymore, you'll be answering for your crimes."

"And he won't be the only one."

Turning their attention to the new voice, the guards saluted and the civilians bowed as Celestia landed a few feet away from Dark and the Scaleless Dragons. Following behind her, a group of royal guard pegasi landed with two familiar dragons in chains.

"I believe that these two are with that one down there?" she questioned.

"Yes, they are," Dark answered with a bow.

With a nod, Celestia took a moment to see the what damage had been done. "A bit subtle compared to what you usually do, don't you think, Dark?"

"... this wasn't me," he grumbled, slightly miffed that she would assume that it was his doing.

Celestia blinked. "Really?"

"Yes."

"Strange. I could've sworn that I saw you cast the Flare before we got here."

"That was Spike."

Surprised by the news, Celestia looked over the hole in the wall, scorched dirt, and the shallow curved divot in the ground.

"Really now? Spike?"

"Well, he was the one who figured out how to get the Flare to work properly," Pyre reminded her. "That, and considering that he has the requirements to cast it, I shouldn't be surprised that he would try it."

"And under our noses this whole time too," Dark added.

"... well, we can discuss that matter later," Celestia redirected as she used her magic and brought the two dragons over to them. "Right now, what I want to know is what you three are doing here in the first place."

"Like we'll tell you," Garble weakly said, earning him a cold glare from Celestia.

"If you want to be treated for those wounds, then it would be in your best interest to cooperate."

While Garble scoffed, the purple one stepped forward.

"We were originally sent here by King Inferno to keep an eye and Dark and the Scaleless Dragon Lords," he told her. "Our job was to keep track of him and report back to the king if we noticed anything unusual."

"So you've been sent as spies then," she concluded.

"Uh... I guess so?"

Celestia hummed to herself in thought. "Alright, what happened then to have gone from spying, to this?"

"Don't you say anything," Garble barked, earning him a warning look from Celestia.

Ignoring him, he began to answer her. "After a day here, Garble saw Spike and started getting mad at him. He then ordered us to change our objective from focusing on Dark, to Spike's three girlfriends. Once they were in a secluded place together, we went in and grabbed them to use as bait to lure Spike out for Garble to fight."

Celestia looked down at Garble's broken form. "I see that things didn't go quite as planned."

"No. I even told him that this wasn't a good idea and that it would be going against King Inferno's orders, but he didn't listen."

Nodding, Celestia looked over to the guards that had gathered around them.

"Guards, take this dragon and get him some medical attention. Once he's patched up enough and not in danger of dying, bring him to the dungeons in Canterlot."

"What?!" Garble shouted, cringing as his body was wracked in pain.

"You, young dragon, are an unwelcomed foreigner in Equestria, who's acted as a spy against us, foalnapped three young fillies, and tried to kill one of my subjects, who also happens to be a hero of the Crystal Empire. You will spend your days locked away in the dungeons until your sentence is fulfilled, or when we decide to release you back to Inferno."

With a hardened gaze, Celestia watched as Garble was lifted up by a pair of unicorn guards before they and a few others marched off with him. Once they were gone, she turned her attention back to the other two dragons that she'd captured.

"As for you two," she began, "you'll both be arrested for spying as well."

Nervously, the two dragons bowed to Celestia. "Yes, Princess."

Celestia's firm look took on a somewhat softer tone. "However, considering how you surrendered quietly, and your willingness to cooperate with us, I'm willing to go a little easier on you two than what I will be with him."

Nodding, the two surrendered themselves completely and allowed for the guards to escort them away. With them gone, Celestia looked around before finally noticing a few missing.

"Where are Spike, Twilight, and Soul?" she asked.

"Soul is over playing at the park with some of his classmates, so thankfully, he didn't get to see what happened," Dark answered her. "As for Twilight and Spike, Spike was really hurt during that fight, so Twilight teleported him over to the hospital."

"Unfortunately," Aero began, "Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo saw what happened, and went with them to support him."

Understanding, Celestia nodded. "In that case, we should make our way over there. Here, I'll teleport us all there."

Hearing those words, Dark's eyes widened, and before anyone knew it, he was already up in the air and flying towards the hospital.

"I'll meet you guys there!" he called back at them, wanting no part in being teleported by her again.


Twilight sat in the waiting room with the Crusaders sitting around her as they waited on news about Spike. Despite the fillies trying to put on a brave face, Twilight saw through it and pulled them to her with her wings in a comforting hug. Surprised by how quickly all three of them were to accept it, Twilight continued to gently hold them as she assured them that Spike would be alright. That was, until they were joined by Pinkie, Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow. Seeing their sisters there, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo all ran up to their embraces.

"Sweetie, darling, are you alright? Did they hurt you? Are you-"

"I'm fine, Rarity," Sweetie Belle said, cutting her sister off. "We're all fine."

"But Spike..." Apple Bloom sniffled and her voiced trailed off, causing Applejack to hug her tighter against her.

"Don't worry, sugarcube. He'll be alright," she said reassuringly.

"Yeah," Rainbow smirked. "Spike's a tough guy. He'll pull through. By the way, what happened anyway? All I saw was a really big beam of magic, kinda like Dark's Flare, but smaller."

"It was Spike," Scootaloo spoke. "We were foalnapped and Spike used that spell on the guy who took us and held us hostage."

Rainbow found herself immediately glaring as the fur on the back on her neck stood on end.

"Where is this guy?" she growled menacingly. "I'll show him what happens when he takes my sister away!"

"You mean you didn't see it?" Twilight questioned.

"None of did," Rarity spoke.

"Yeah," Rainbow nodded. "Applejack was at her farm, Rarity was in her boutique, Pinkie was working in Sugarcube Corner, and I was with Fluttershy. It wasn't until we saw the Flare fired into the sky that we all came to check out what was going on."

"And then we found out that you brought Spike and the Crusaders here, Twilight," Fluttershy said.

"Yeah. So, where's this punk that did this? I want a piece of him for what he did."

"Sorry, but you're too late, Rainbow," Twilight told her, gaining her attention.

"How so?"

"Spike hit him with the Flare."

"... so he's dead then?"

Twilight shook her head. "Not quite. Spike hit his left arm and wing, but it didn't kill him."

"Where is he now?"

"I don't know. I left to bring Spike here before I found out. Spike was in pretty rough shape when the fight was over with."

"Apparently if he's in surgery," Rainbow muttered. "But I still want to know what happened to that jerk who tried to hurt our sisters and almost killed Spike."

Before Rainbow could get an answer, a bright flash of light blinded everypony. When the light died down, they all saw Celestia standing in the center of the waiting room with the Scaleless Dragons.

"Princess! Finally. Hey, where's the guy who foalnapped our sisters so I can kick his flank?"

"He's been arrested and will be transferred to the dungeons beneath Canterlot," Celestia answered her.

Rainbow frowned in disappointment. "So that means no flank kicking then?"

"No, Rainbow Dash. He's already been beaten and will be serving time in the dungeons."

"Fine," she huffed, sitting down and crossing her forelegs. "Do we at least know the name of this guy?"

Twilight stepped forward. "You girls remember Garble?"

"That brutish red teenage dragon that we all met when we followed Spike during the Great Dragon Migration?" Rarity asked in clarification.

"The same."

"Yeah, I remember him," Rainbow said. "So, he's the one responsible then?"

"He is."

Further talking about Garble was silenced when the doors opened up with Dark walking in with Soul riding on his back.

"Hey," he greeted them. "Sorry I took so long. I decided to go get Soul from the park on the way over here."

"Is Spike okay?" Soul worryingly asked.

"I'm sorry, Soul, but we don't know," Twilight answered him before giving a small sniffle.

Letting Soul off of his back, Dark went over and draped a wing over Twilight as he pulled her into a comforting hug. Quickly after, Soul soon added himself too, both for Twilight's sake, and his own. As they all waited, hours had passed and it was starting to get close to sunset. And while they wanted to stay for Spike, the collection of growling stomachs were getting louder. Deciding that some would go out and grab everyone something to eat, Celestia, Fissure, and Pyre were about to leave when Nurse Redheart walked into the room

"Hello, everypony," she greeted them warmly and tiredly.

Immediately, she found herself confronted by three very concerned fillies.

"How's Spike doin'?"

"Is he okay?"

"Will he be alright?"

"Calm down, girls," Nurse Redheart told them. "Don't worry, the surgery was a success, and Spike is currently resting."

There was a collective sigh of relief.

"Umm... could we see him?" Sweetie Belle nervously asked.

"Of course you can. Right this way. Just remember that he needs his rest, okay?"

With a round of nods, Nurse Redheart led the group over to Spike's room. Silently following after her, they soon came to his room. Quietly opening the door, they walked in to see Spike asleep in his bed with his chest, left shoulder, and right upper arm bandaged up, and a gauze patch on his cheek where he'd been scratched. Along with those, there was also the heart monitor, and the I.V. providing him medicine to dull the pain. Seeing him like that, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo all ran up alongside his bed.

"Like I said before, he's alright," Nurse Redheart reminded them.

"Are you sure?" Scootaloo questoned.

"Yes. He just needs to rest and recover for now."

"How bad were his wounds?" Celestia asked.

"The two on his chest weren't too deep, but still needed stitches. The one on his arm, despite the shoddy healing job, we managed to get mostly healed, but will take a few weeks for it to heal completely. However, he got lucky with the puncture wound on his shoulder."

"How so?" Twilight wondered.

"The wound entered his left ribcage and came very close to hitting his vital organs. Fortunately for him, whatever caused it was angled just right that it stopped short just a half-inch away from hitting them."

Twilight began to shake at the thought of how close Spike was to dying. "It was a spike from a dragon's tail."

"Really?" Nurse Redheart questioned, getting a nod from Twilight and the others. "Well, sounds like there's quite a story behind this."

"There is, but maybe we should talk about it somewhere else," Aques suggested. "It's late enough as it is, and I wouldn't want to wake the poor drake."

"I suppose so," Rarity agreed before walking up to the Crusaders. "Come along, girls. Let's let Spike rest for now."

"We're not going anywhere," Sweetie Belle protested.

"Yeah," Scootaloo agreed. "We're staying here with Spike to help him when he wakes up."

"It's the least we can do after what he went through ta save us," Apple Bloom told them.

The adults all looked amongst each other before Nurse Redheart shrugged.

"It's up to you if they can or not," she said.

Rarity looked down at the three fillies. "You know that you three have school tomorrow, right?"

"We know, but we can't just leave Spike like this either," Sweetie said.

"Yeah," Scootaloo agreed. "Besides, how's Spike suppose to eat or drink anything if he can't move his arms?"

"Ah'm sure Cheerilee would understand," Apple Bloom said surely.

Rarity's eyes looked over them before they locked onto Sweetie Belle's. Seeing that she and the others weren't going to budge on this matter, Rarity sighed and pulled her into a hug.

"Alright, Sweetie," she relented. "You girls can stay as long as you follow Nurse Redheart's instructions and not wake Spike up. Provided that Rainbow and Applejack agree too."

"I'm alright with it," Rainbow shrugged.

"Ah suppose Ah could talk ta Cheerilee about it and tell her what happened," Applejack said. "That is, if she hasn't heard about it already."

"Thank you," the Crusaders answered in unison.

"In that case, I'll be back in a little bit to check up on you girls and Spike," Nurse Redheart informed them before taking her leave.

Satisfied with their answer, Rarity let Sweetie Belle go and made for the door to join the others. Once they were outside and closed the door behind them, they began to make their way out of the hospital to eat before Applejack stopped and looked back at the door to Spike's room.

"Something up, AJ?" Rainbow asked.

"It's nothin', sugarcube," Applejack said with a sigh. "Ah'm just a little worried about them is all. Ya know, after what just happened and all."

Seeing Applejack's discomfort, along with Rainbow's and Rarity's on the matter, Celestia walked up to them.

"If it would make you feel better, I could have a few guards posted at Spike's room, and have some assigned to watch over your sisters for a while."

"Sure, Princess," Applejack sighed in relief. "Thank ya kindly for this."

"Yeah," Rainbow agreed. "While I would normally trust Scoots on her own, it would make me feel better knowing that she has some extra muscle there with her."

"And for Sweetie Belle too," Rarity voiced in approval.

"In that case, you'll have to excuse me for a moment while I go and recruit some guards for the job. I'll meet you girls for dinner."

With a nod from them, Celestia teleported herself away to find some guards to watch over Spike and the Crusaders.


Over in Spike's room, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo each remained as they were beside Spike's bed. Watching him as he slept, their silence was soon interrupted by a small yawn coming from Apple Bloom.

"You sound sleepy," Sweetie Belle observed.

"Kinda," she replied, rubbing her eye. "Guess Ah'm just a bit tired from all the excitement is all."

"I hear ya," Scootaloo said with a yawn of her own as she eyed Spike's bed out. "You know, girls. We were talking about cuddling with Spike earlier today."

"Yeah?" Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom answered together.

"And even with his growth spurt, there's still a lot of empty space on the bed here."

Getting what she was getting at, the two nodded in agreement and began to ease their way into Spike's bed. With some careful maneuvering, they each managed to find a comfortable place to rest with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo cautiously taking Spike's sides, and Sweetie Belle curling herself around his head in place of his pillow. Giving him one last nuzzle, the Crusaders dozed off to sleep in the comfort of their coltfriend, happy to have this day behind them.


A few hours later after Luna had risen the moon, Nurse Redheart quietly returned to check up on Spike and the Crusaders with a spare bed in tow. Slowly opening the door, she walked in and made her way over to the bed. However, to her surprise, when she did, she saw the Crusaders all snuggled up against Spike's arms and head. Sighing and rolling her eyes, Nurse Redheart checked on Spike's heart monitor and I.V. before leaving the room to return the spare bed, muttering to herself.

"I swear, those fillies are spending so much time around Twilight that they're starting to pick up on her habits."

PreviousChapters Next