Equestria Down

by Ultimus Pendragon

A Urge For One

Author's Note:

''Lessons are not given, they are taken.''

-Cesare Pavese.

A blast of hot air assaulted the plain in front of Spike and Sunset Shimmer as Twilight began to stir from her long slumber. After seeking out The Pony Of Shadows and its awesome power, the next idea that would follow Twilight's machinations would be something that the drake would just be completely ecstatic to find out what that would be her plan to. . .undo whatever Tirek held plans for the shattered Equestria.

At times, the longtime assistant of Twilight Sparkle wondered since that very first day arriving in Ponyville, was every action from that first day ever worth it?

The late nights, the periling adventures, lies, hurt, abuses of power, and so much more were given to the warriors of peace and friendship, though nothing like this had been seen before.

''Twilight. . why?; we don't know how the Shadow Pony's powers might affect you,'' Spike said, cradling her friend in his arms, checking on her temperature, and witnessing the eldritch force. It shaped her, clung to her as her own fur and mane. When the threat of The Pony of Shadows came to light, Twilight and their. . .friends and the help of The Pillars managed to do what needed to be done to return peace. ''Sunset, any idea of what we can do? You were Celestia's student before Twi, maybe something in all those ancient tomes can help us figure out what we're dealing with.''

For the moment.

Sunset ruffled her wings, shaking off loose dirt and grimacing as she tried to remember something; anything holding even a shred of hope to explain what the trio, or rather, duo in this case had to perform damage control when it came to Twilight and the actions that led the group to where they were currently. Princess Celestia's old notes about the primordial forces that birthed the world that everypony knew, certain ideas were given shape in the way of a crude telltale to blanket the mass of destruction and sorrow to bring forth the light that so many took advantage of.

Excluding Princess Luna, and perhaps a spat or two that Celestia informed the young and ambitious Sunset Shimmer about, there was very little she could immediately produce that would make Twilight's. . .process any easier. Taking a bit more time would be the only thing that she could do while Spike took the mantle of the group until things improved.

''No, and the more that I think about it, the more I come to the conclusion that the two of us should have exercised more caution and care with trying to convince Stygian to come to the fight versus what Twilight did, and all for the sake of her self-proclaimed mission to right-'' Spike laid a claw on Sunset's shoulder, causing the thought she wanted to finish to halt like the flame of a candle being blown out.

''-That was something that not one of us responsible for, and you know that,'' Spike said, his quick tone and glare doing little to affect her on the outside right away, but with his training, he could tell it made a blip of agreement sound from her soul. The difficult part was vocalizing rather than denying outright. ''I did all I could to train for something on this scale, but even being an Adept still did little; and even my Master would agree that Tirek, even with him being as powerful as is would do little.''

Sunset swiped away the claw, baring her fangs in a non-threatening gesture. ''Then why run off and train if it's essentially not up to par to Tirek?''

The same phrase, only worded differently from time to time from many different sources hiccuped within his mind; why did he venture off? Why go to Sandgen Village, take under the brutal and unforgiving training to become a true dragon? Tirek's influence over the broken Equestria was powerful, and while little remained to be 'proud' of, it still made the situation no better.

Spike. . .could not.

''I was too weak; Sunset, you know firsthoof. Even Twilight did. All of her friends, Celestia and Luna, Cadence, Shining Armour, every single creature who knew of me knew I was weak,'' Spike gripped his friend a tad tighter, but nowhere near close to hurt her. That was never his intention. ''I wanted to be more than the errand dragon; the little troublemaker who always needed saving. I wanted to be the one to do the saving.'' Spike said, exhaling as phantom pains emanated from his legs and wings, a distant reminder of the times where they no longer decided to shut down past the point of failure.

The crack of the constant whips, the grunts of anger from being tossed about like a ragdoll, the intense heat of the smelting pits, and the immense psychological torture that often distorted his reality to the point of being unable to tell up from down still failed to be enough.

Master Dai would always remind him otherwise.

Sunset clicked her tongue, watching her companion give her a lazy glance back as they continued onto shelter, narrowly passing by an undisturbed house that managed to be spared of any destruction, the drake soon making his mind up when he glanced upon the entrance, seeing the door slightly cracked open that compared to the narrow slit in his weary eyes, the look softening once he smirked to himself, gesturing for Sunset to follow inside. ''We should be safe for the time being.''

''How?'' Sunset asked, walking inside, her body posture alert for any sign of trouble. While not being entirely doubtful of the drake's words, it still possessed a sense to be sure. ''Let me guess-''

''-Training,'' Spike quipped back quietly, not wanting to rouse Twilight so soon. The inside looked to be somewhat decent in comparison to the carnage that ensued outside of the village. A few pieces of furniture strewn about, the plants that were once given life from sunlight and water now shriveled up and in fragments. The huge brown coffee table that stood in the center of the living room was the only thing untouched. ''This place. . .seems almost untouched.''

Sunset cast a look at a few of the portraits and pictures on the wall that displayed elegant interpretations of a regal figure dressed in golden attire, from the meticulously placed crown that displayed jewels that shined in the dust to the almost lavender purple cloak that draped the figure. Others were left haphazardly put in place, various corners being cut out or drawn out in a kind of marker. A breath of something in the air made her unsettled, though not enough to be on edge.

Finding a small loveseat to temporarily set his friend down, Spike sat on his behind and started to contemplate what the next move would have to be to gain any kind of ground. They couldn't stay here for long, and they could not keep running, only to be hunted like wild animals to be killed. They had to fight back for what they knew to be the right thing to do, as well as to start the long process to recover any semblance to a former life. ''We need help.''

''Maybe a miracle will fall into our laps,'' Sunset finished inspecting the rest of the house, sitting perpendicular to Spike as they both laid their eyes on Twilight cradled on the chair, her body shaking at random intervals, the shadows spreading throughout her body, coming often with violent pulses that nearly came out and attacked the pair, only to retreat back the downed Twilight, leaving the pair to internalize what was happening in their own way. Twilight would pull through, she always did when the worst had yet to come. . .

Hadn't she?

Spike and Sunset felt a pressure slowly come into the room with each second with the preception of seeing their friend sitting and more than likely suffering more and more come into question. Every blink felt longer than the last. The muscles used to do so felt pushed to their limits before their eyes both closed at the same time.

The eternity that passed before the next sight their brains could process was not what they saw before.

Then the shriek of pure terror and desperation came shortly after.

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