Malafear's Restoration
Spike, Flicker and First all stared with wide eyes at the apparition in front of them. Silverbolt floated there, a big smile on his face as he leaned down at them. He wasn't as big as the version of him from the memories, barely an inch taller then Flicker.
The three were silent as they continued to look him over, only for Spike to break the silence as he asked the question they all wanted answered, "How...how are you here?" Flicker and First nodded, "You're not just another memory. You're really here, talking to us."
"That's right," Silverbolt chuckled.
"How?" Spike repeated as Silverbolt drifted to the floor and landed while getting down on one knee.
"I've always been here, within you son." He pointed at Spike's chest, "Right here." Spike tilted his head at this, Silverbolt chuckling again. "Before I gave your egg to Starswirl, I placed a tiny piece of my own soul within you." Flicker and First went wide-eyed at this, Spike now remembering that scene as Silverbolt surrounding the egg with lightning. He had thought it was connected to passing the guardianship rights to another as his father continued, "I've been asleep within you ever since that day, awaiting the day I would be needed."
"And that's today?" Flicker asked, getting a nod from Silverbolt.
"The second Malafear awakened and took you over, it sent out a magical shockwave across the land. Only another Mystic Dragon could sense it," he turned to Spike. "You probably thought it was a weird body reaction, feeling a chill up your spine. But that was when I awakened, and since then, I've been biding my time and connecting myself to you in order to finally communicate."
Spike looked down at this, staring at his claws, "So it's true. I was the egg that you gave Starswirl. You're...my..."
"That's right Pyro," Spike glanced up with a raised eyebrow as he continued, "And I'm sorry I had to show you that and everything else, but it was necessary for you to understand the past in order to stop Malafear in the present."
"So those were your memories we were watching," First added.
"That's right. In order for Pyro to learn as much as possible about the situation and why his egg came into the possession of ponies."
"Why do you keep calling him that?" Flicker asked, "His name's Spike, not Pyro."
Silverbolt shook his head at this, "Sorry, force of habit." He turned to Spike, "That was the name your mother was going to give you if you were a boy that used fire. She had a whole bunch of names at the ready for you," he then let out a long sigh, "But she was taken before she ever got the chance to call you that...and I'm sorry you had to see that."
Spike grimaced at this, his memories now going back to the scene of his mother's death. Now that he knew for sure that she was his mother, the memory stung even more. That is, till he saw Silverbolt place a claw under his chin, "Look at you...you have your mother's eyes. I can see her within you." Silverbolt let out a long sigh at this before leaning back up, "But I can't look back at that right now. We have more important things to discuss." Spike then stared up at him. "Thanks to you being in this space, I can communicate with you more directly. Malafear has returned, and from what I heard from within Spike, he's transforming ponies into dragons."
"But why?" First asked, "Why change Heather?"
"Because he needs a Wood Dragon, the same way he needs a dragon of Light, Metal, Crystal and Lightning."
Flicker gasped at this, "The mural...he's going to undo the seal holding his body!"
Silverbolt nodded back, "Your body can hold his consciousness and allow him to wield a minor amount of his magic, but it couldn't handle all his power. It would burn out in seconds. It's likely he would have tried possessing Spike if he had managed to hypnotize him. Only a Mystic Dragon's body can hold the full power of its soul. That's why he's trying to regain his own body."
"So what do we do?" Spike asked, "How are we supposed to stop him from within here?"
"You need to escape," Silverbolt replied, "And you can." He knelt down and placed a claw on his shoulder, "You have the power to free yourself."
"How?"
"A Mystic Dragon's magic comes from their soul. As long as your soul is stronger then Malafear's, your magic can overcome his. And your soul is stronger than his. You just need to direct the power in the right way and you'll be able to escape with First."
"What about Flicker?" Spike turned to his dragon friend, seeing the frown on his face.
"I'm afraid Flicker will remain trapped in here until Malafear is defeated. His soul was extracted from his body and placed into this book. If he tried to escape, he'd be nothing but a spirit. And with Malafear inhabiting his body, he wouldn't be able to return to it. He needs to stay here until Malafear is defeated. Only then can he be free to return to his body."
Spike glanced back at Flicker, only to see the dragon shake his head, "Spike, don't worry about me. You need to warn the others about what Malafear's after. If you don't, there's no way they can stop him...and then I'll be stuck in here forever. Leaving me here is helping me."
The drake sighed at this, nodding, "Alright," he turned back to his father, "What do I do?"
"It's like I said, a Mystic Dragon's soul is their power. And a soul is nothing more than a collection of memories. So find the memories that make you strong. What one thing in the world makes you feel like nothing can stop you? Think about that and remember everything about it and you'll completely blow the seal holding you here."
With that, Silverbolt's body turned back into smoke and ash that flew into Spike's body. The little dragon took a deep breath as he felt the essence fly into him, shivering at the feeling. "That was weird."
"So...do you know the answer Spike?" First then asked.
Spike glanced over at him, tapping his chin in thought, "What makes me strong?" He snapped his claws, "Of course! My friends!"
Twilight could barely believe what she was seeing, the dragon that once was her boyfriend glared down at her along with the other ponies turned dragons. Malafear laughed at the sight, landing on Flash's head as he exclaimed, "I finally have it. The last piece I need to regain everything taken from me."
"Hey!" He then heard Springer yell, the dragon turning to the jakhowl. "Flash did what you wanted, so let Heart go!"
Malafear raised an eyebrow, everypony staring at the dragon until he turned to the Lightning, "Very well." Lightning nodded back and kicked the cage, sending it flying.
"YAAAH!" Heart yelped from within, the crystal cage landing a few feet from the ponies and shattering upon impact. "WHOA!" He was thrown out, Twilight managing to catch him in her magic and pull him down, "Twilight!" He hugged her before looking back at his mentor, tears beginning to swell up, "I'm so sorry."
"It's okay," she patted his side, "We'll get him back."
"Indeed." Celestia added as she walked up beside Twilight. "I won't allow you to get away with what you've done. You may have taken my subjects over, but we will get them back."
Malafear just cackled at this, "Oh, you won't be getting anything back. Now that I have everything, I don't have to worry about hurting the ponies I need, so my dragons don't have to hold back." He pointed his staff at the group, "Show no mercy! ATTACK!"
The smaller dragons all unleashed a flurry of fire, the unicorn and alicorns putting up a shield. And as this happened, several dragons stopped as new ones took their place and fired again. "Ahh!" Trixie cried, "This is getting really hot!"
"Keep it up Trixie," Luna told her, "You can do it!" But then the flames stopped, making them look up and see the dragons pull back and fly away...right into a giant portal. "They're leaving?"
"But not before taking you all down," Malafear replied as his five dragons lined up.
"Oh no," Twilight whispered as she saw a light begin to glow in Flash's mouth. "Flash! Don't do this!" But the dragon didn't even seem to hear her as he, Iron, Lightning Heather and Ruby unleashed their breath attacks. A laser, lightning bolt and tornadoes of metal, leaves and crystal shot out, the ponies keeping their shield up as Springer used his shield to reinforce it, but even that didn't seem to be enough. The five elemental blasts slammed into the barrier, pushing them back. "Please hold," Twilight grunted as she and the sister strained their alicorn magic to the limit.
Malafear smirked at the sight, raising his staff as magic from the book went into the gem. He then pointed it at the barrier, magic blasting out and hitting the shield.
KABOOM!
The shield shattered, the ones inside now getting blown back as they screamed, all skidding along the ground. Malafear laughed at the sight, a smoke cloud appearing as he gestured for his elemental dragons to fly through the portal. When only Flash remained, he was able to see his opponent's fate as the dust faded. The ponies, dragon and jakhowl were all littered around the rocky area, all knocked over.
"Huh," Malafear chuckled, "Didn't think you'd all survive that. I guess you ponies aren't completely pathetic after all." He pointed his staff at them again, "One last blast should be enough to finish this."
Inside the book, First and Flicker watched as Spike closed his eyes.
"Alright," he told himself, "You can do this." He put his claws on his head, "Remember..."
As he said this, memories of his life began to flow through his head. Everything he had ever been through. Being hatched by Twilight, growing up with her and Flash, going to Ponyville and meeting all his friends there. The many wondrous adventures he had survived through: The Battle of Canterlot, Discord, the wedding, saving the Crystal Empire. He remembered helping Twilight and Starlight against the evil Flash, and even helping Ember become Dragon Lord.
And as this happened, his body began to glow. First and Flicker stared at the sight, soon seeing the light shoot off Spike's body and burst into flames, the fireball floating in the air and showing images in its flames. Images of Spike's life. The little drake continued to remember, now thinking back to all the small things. The days he spent helping Twilight with her studies, the board games he, Flash and Shining played when he was younger. The many times he laughed and enjoyed his life with the ponies that had made him family, and every time one of those memories flowed through his head, a fireball shot off and showed the images.
And then a single image appeared. One of him taking a picture with all his friends during his last birthday. The dragon had never felt so happy than at that moment.
In that second, his eyes shot open, his body moving on autopilot. He took a deep breath in, the flames around him getting sucked into his mouth. He then breathed out a powerful green stream of fire, which exploded in front of him and began to burn through the white void.
Malafear shined the biggest grin, ready to attack the ponies...only for his book to suddenly burst into green flames. "What?!" He yelped, not feeling any heat from the flames. As this happened, the flames continued to pillar, making him yell, "What is happening?" And as he said this, the green fire exploded, blinding the dragon. "AUGH!"
As this happened, Spike regained control of his body, now staring at the blazing portal in front of him. He turned back to First, "LET'S GO!" the knight nodded while Spike glanced at Flicker. "We'll free you. I promise!" Flicker nodded back before Spike and First leapt into the portal, the pair getting out like a cannon.
"WHOA!" They yelped, flying out of the flames from the book. They barely got a second to celebrate before they found falling down, "GYAH!" Spike screamed, but First grabbed him in his magic and teleported them down. They skidded a good fifty feet as they hit the ground, moaning as they rolled along the ground and came to a stop.
"Ow..." Spike moaned before they sat up, only to see a giant shadow above them, now seeing the Light Dragon and Malafear.
"You!" He growled before pointing his staff at him, "How did you escape?!"
"With a little help from my father," Spike replied as he picked himself up. "You know him by the name of Silverbolt."
Malafear went wide-eyed, only to let out a long hiss, "So you're his little spawn. That explains a lot. But it matters not. You will not survive what happens next!" Spike blinked at the sight, only to see the elemental dragon beside him.
"Flash?! He got you?!"
Malafear chuckled at this, "That's right. You may recognize him, but he doesn't recognize you. Now attack!" The dragon prepared to fire a laser, only for a barrage of magical blasts to fly past Spike and smash into the dragon. It roared in pain and staggered back, Malafear being thrown off his head and now having to take flight.
Spike turned to this and saw his friends, either standing, laying or somewhere in between a few meters away. "EVERYPONY!"
"Spike!" Twilight cried as she, Celestia, Springer and Luna fired another beam at Flash. The attack knocked him back again, making Malafear hiss.
"I don't have time for this. You've already lost." He turned to the portal and flew through it, "Come!" Flash stared at the ones littering the floor for a second, only to fly through as well.
"Wait!" Spike yelled, only for the portal to vanish as Flash went through. "Flash! Come back!"
But as he said this, his body suddenly froze up, a massive burst of exhaustion washing over him. "Uh..." was all he could mutter before falling face first into the ground.
"Spike!" Twilight pushed herself back to her hooves and ran over, First getting there before her.
"Is he-"
"He is fine," First interrupted, "Looks like he passed out from exhaustion. I guess freeing us from that prison was too much for him."
"First Aid," he turned to see Celestia and Luna, quickly bowing as she continued, "I am glad to see you are okay. I assume you have a basic idea of what's going on."
"More than a basic idea," First replied as he looked back up, "I know who Malafear is, what he is after, and why he wants to fulfil his goals." This made everyone go wide-eyed, First then grimacing, "I suppose we need to exchange notes."
Meanwhile...
After Malafear flew through the portal with Flash behind him, he went to the mountain the larger dragons were digging into.
"I assume you've found it?" He asked before the dragons turned to glance at a section of the mountain, Malafear flew up, now seeing the final circle. This one had the ancient dragonic word for light, making him chuckle, "Hahaha," His laughter began to explode into a deranged cackle. "AHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!" He continued to laugh for several minutes, only to stop and command the Elemental Dragons to get into place. Each dragon hovered in front of the mark with their elements, the five of them beginning to build up power. "This will likely take several hours, but it's not like anyone will come and interrupt me." He pointed at the mountain, "DO IT!"
The dragons all roared, unleashing their breath attacks and slamming them into the circle. As the attacks collided with the stone, they were absorbed into the mountain, causing the markings to glow.
Malafear watched as this happened, the dragon crossing his arms as he noticed tiny cracks appear in the rock that slowly began to spread around the rest of it. "Yes...unlock it. Return my body to me and let me take my true form. Then, this world will suffer for the indignity I was subjugated too."
An hour had passed since Malafear and his dragons left. In that time, First had begun treating everypony's wounds while explaining what Malafear was after. To say they were all shocked by what First and Spike had learned was an understatement. "And that is why he went after ponies with those elemental affinities," he finished as he used a healing spell on Rainbow's leg. "He needs dragons whose elements are the same as the ones that sealed him away so that he can undo the seal holding his body captive."
"Then he can return to his body and have full access to his magic..." Script gasped, "That kind of seal is possible?"
"Indeed." First nodded before stopping his magic. "How does that feel?" Rainbow put her weight on it and smiled when she didn't feel any pain.
"Awesome. Thanks."
"No problem," he replied before turning to Ember. "You sure you do not want me to heal you?"
"I'm fine," Ember growled, "I'm a dragon and we don't run away from injuries." She then leaned back onto a rock, "I'm more interested on what you said about those dragons. I had no idea there used to be real dragons that had elements other than fire. We don't have any history on something like that."
"Perhaps they migrated somewhere else."
"That is possible," Luna added, "But it's also possible they couldn't get their numbers back up after Malafear's massacre." Ember gave her a slight glare at this, "Sorry. That was out of line."
Ember shook her head, "It's fine. Whether they're alive or not isn't my concern. I'm the Dragon Lord of the Flame Dragons. That's who I need to focus on."
As she said this, Twilight stared at the sleeping Spike. His head was in her lap, the alicorn brushing her hoof on his head. "I can't believe Spike met his father. And that he has his own type of magic." She turned to Celestia, "I always thought his powers came from the way I hatched him."
"I wonder why he hatched with you?" Fluttershy asked, remembering what First had said about Mystic Dragons hatching for a purpose. "Was it to just be Twilight's assistant?"
"Who knows," Applejack chimed in, "Ah guess it's like a pony's cutie mark. Yah never know what it is until it happens."
The others nodded at this, Pinkie walking up next, "So...what do we do now?"
"Good question," Trixie replied before glancing over at Springer. The jakhowl was currently sitting on the rock Ember was leaning against, in a lotus position as he let out a long breath. "Any luck?"
A blue flame flared around the jakhowl, only to sigh as he opened his eyes. He shook his head, "No...I'm not picking anything up. I think Flash being a dragon now might be...messing up his aura, just like the rest."
Twilight turned to Heart, the colt silently sitting with his eyes staring at the ground. "Heart?" He glanced up at her, "Do you have any idea where Malafear might have taken them? You were here for a while."
Heart looked away again, "Um...I might."
"Really? What is it?"
"Well uh...I don't know where it is, but I do know where I ended up when I first went through the portal wasn't here. It was another mountain."
"What mountain?" Ember asked as she stood up, "Tell me. I know the mountains around here."
Heart blinked at her, only to close his eyes before doing a small nod. He grabbed a stick in his mouth and started drawing in the dirt, "Well, there was a really big mountain that the dragons were digging into." He drew a circle in the ground, then moved a few inches away from it, "I think I saw a crater in the ground a half mile or so away. I think there was a lava lake as well...but I don't know. I know last night that there was something glowing in the distance, showing some kind of light I've never seen before."
"Hmm," Ember tilted her head a bit, "I think I might know what you're talking about." She pointed to a part of the drawing on the left. "Were there a line of mountains on this side of the mountain?"
"Yeah," Heart nodded.
"I think I know where this is. I can't be sure, but there's a place he's describing that I've been too before. Well...been near before." Ember grimaced at her next words, "This mountain he's talking about is one that dragons avoid."
"Why?" Pinkie asked.
"It's hard to explain," Ember hummed. "It's just...someplace we don't like to be. We just get a bad feeling around that mountain. Heck, there's a bravery game young dragons like to play where they see how close they can get to it before freaking out and running away."
"Who wants to bet that's where Malafear's body is?" Grand chimed in, everypony nodding back.
"Then what are we waiting for," Skybreaker replied as he stood up, "Let's go and take Malafear down!"
Ember shook her head at this, "It's not gonna be that easy. The place I'm talking about is on the other side of the Dragon Lands. It's at least a day's travel from here, and that's constantly flying at max speed." But before she could say anything else, Twilight floated Spike onto her back and sparked her horn. In a flash of purple light, the group suddenly found they were in a completely different spot.
"Ahh!" She gasped, almost falling over as Rarity and Pinkie caught her. The rest saw what had happened, now realizing this was where Rarity, Heart and Ember had seen Torch pass the title of Dragon Lord onto Ember. "How's this?" She asked Ember, "Any closer to the spot?"
"Much closer," Ember responded, "It should only take use two or three hours now."
"I'd teleport us all if I could," Twilight moaned as she rubbed her head, "But moving this many at once is just too taxing, especially over a long distance."
"Then let's not wait around anymore," Rainbow took to the air, "Let's go find and save our friends!" The others all cheered before Ember took the lead. They flew like the wind, zipping through the sky at high speed as they knew this was the last chance to stop Malafear before he could run rampant in the world at full power.
And as the next hour and a half, they tried to come up with ways to stop Malafear. "There has to be some way to get the others free from him." Rarity started.
"I think we should try and get either that book or the sceptre away from him," Ember added, "I suggest the sceptre since he couldn't control the dragons until he got that."
"I already tried that," Heart moaned, "But he's just too fast."
"Maybe we can knock the brainwashing out of them," Pinkie chimed in, reaching into her mane and pulling out a giant red, white and blue mallet. "A quick whack with this bad-boy and I'm sure they'll be back to normal!"
Ember rolled her eyes at this, "I doubt it. Dragon hides are super tough." Pinkie huffed and returned the mallet, only to then hear a moan coming from Twilight's back.
They all turned to the princess, now seeing Spike beginning to wake up, Twilight gasping in joy. "Spike!" she pulled him off her back, "You're okay!" She quickly hugged him, Spike moaning at how tightly she squeezed him.
"Yeah," Spike nodded, "I think I'm okay." She pulled away, both now staring in each other eyes, "Listen...there's something I gotta tell you."
"We already know," Twilight interrupted, "First told us everything you learned when you were trapped in that book." Spike turned to the pony in question, who nodded back. "And we know what Malafear's after...and he's close to achieving his goals."
"Really?!" Spike asked, "But that means-"
"He turned Iron, Lightning and Ruby into dragons as well," Rarity chimed in, "Flash was the last one to fall into his clutches, and now we're heading to where we think they are."
"No think about it," Springer added as they all turned to him, seeing his eyes closed and ear dangles floating. "We're close enough for me to sense Flash's aura. He's in the direction we're heading." Everypony went wide-eyed at this as he continued, "I'm also sensing the other ponies' auras. They're all in flux because of the transformation, but I can lock onto them. They're all together, but they're still a long ways off."
"Malafear must be using them to undo the seal," First sighed.
"But if he does that," Fluttershy started.
"He'll get his body back," Spike finished. "And as soon as he's back in his body, he probably plans on stealing Flash and the other's souls to get their elemental powers."
"Then we gotta pick up the pace!" Rainbow yelped.
"Maybe I should teleport us there," Twilight suggested.
"No Twilight," Celestia replied, "As much as I want to get there fast, it'll be pointless if we use up all our magic doing so." Twilight sighed and nodded, the group continuing to fly as Springer began to lead them to where he sensed Flash and the others, Celestia and Luna having to still fulfil their duties and replace and sun and moon when the time came. And before the sun's last rays fell below the horizon, they saw something in the distance.
Malafear watched as the dragons continued to unleash their elemental fury at their designated spots. They had been doing this for hours, the dragons all heavily breathing as Malafear's control made them unable to stop. The cracks from their attacks had spread across the entire mountain, almost about to connect to one another.
But as he stared at the dragons, one of his other dragon minions saw something in the distance. "RAAAAAH!" She roared, making Malafear turn to her...and see the ponies, jakhowl and dragons in the distance.
"What?!" He yelped, "How did they find us?!" But as he asked this, he remembered Heart and Ember, "No...it can't be! Stop them!" He ordered, the dragons taking to the sky, "Don't let them anywhere near this mountain!" The dragons all roared in obedience as they charged at their enemies.
"Incoming!" Rainbow yelled as they saw the oncoming attack.
Springer leapt off the pony he was riding, morphing into his Mega Mode and summoning his avatar. "Raaah!" He roared as he formed a Bone Breaker, batting several of the larger dragons away with a single swing.
While this happened, Heart ignited his body and charged into one of the dragons, pushing it away as Twilight, Trixie and First formed magic shields for everypony. Script, Celestia, Luna, Grand and Skybreaker all fired at the dragons, knocking the back as Rainbow and Ember slammed multiple ones downward as Applejack lassoed them up. And while this happened, Spike, Pinkie, Rarity and Fluttershy zipped behind a nearby rock and hid behind it.
They glanced over it, Fluttershy and Rarity flinching at the sight of their transformed loved ones. While this happened, Spike stared at the area they were in, knowing that though it had been over a thousand years since that time, he was able to recognize it was the spot Silverbolt and the other dragons and fought Malafear in.
"So this is it," he whispered. "If we don't stop him now, we're done for."
"The seal is almost broken." Spike went wide-eyed at this, his eyes daring around as he knew he had heard a voice. "If it breaks, Malafear will likely use the Bloodstone Sceptre to channel his entire essence into one of those cracks."
"Silverbolt?" Spike asked, making the mares beside him turn to him, "What is-" He didn't finish as the ghostly form of his father appeared besides him. "Whoa!"
"Spike?" Rarity asked, "Are you okay?"
Spike opened his mouth to reply, only for Silverbolt to raise a claw, "Don't bother kid. Only you can see me. Remember, my soul lives within you."
"Oh...right." Spike replied, only to see a huge frown appear on his father's face, "What's wrong?"
"I had hoped this would never happen. But at this point, it might be too late."
"There has to be something we can do."
But as he said that, the dragons continued to fire at the seal, the cracks that had already formed now beginning to fill with light. Dark light seeped through them, the mountain now shaking as Malafear shined a huge grin, "At last...it's happening!" It was here that the mountain let out a single violent shake, causing the cracks to suddenly grow again. At the same time, a pulse swept across the land, making everyone gasp.
"What was that?" Twilight asked as she dodged a fireball.
Silverbolt sighed, "It's happening." The elemental dragons stopped their attacks, moving away as the mountain shook again, "The seal has weakened enough for the body to awaken. It's going to break free."
Then, the mountain shook again, the cracks now joining together...and it happened.
KABOOM!
One side of the mountain exploded, creating a large hole that the dark light blasted out. This made everyone turn to it, now seeing the hole as the mountain continued to shake. And within was a pair of bright red eyes.
"AHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!" Malafear cackled, "FINALLY!" He and his body locked eyes, a growl now escaping from the mountain. "After a thousand years, what was done can now be made right!" With that, he held up the book as it began to glow. That light then flew up and into Flicker's body, flowing into him like a river of energy before holding up a staff and the light began to transfer into it.
"NOOO!" Spike yelled, "We have to stop him!" The others heard this and all tried to push passed the dragons, the magic users teleporting behind them.
"Stop them!" Malafear ordered, the Elemental Dragons all turning to the ponies.
"Flash!" Twilight yelped, "Don't do this!" But the dragon didn't listen, his mouth filling with light and unleashing a laser right at her. She barely managed to put up a shield in time to block the attack, but still felt the laser, "Ahhhhh!" She cried as she struck back, her hooves digging a trench along the ground while the other Elemental Dragons began to attack. At the same time, Lightning fired bolt of electricity at Script while Heather tried to whip First with her vines. Ruby swung her gem mace tail at Luna and Trixie, and Iron tried to flatten Celestia by rolling up into a ball and charging at her.
And as this happened, Malafear finished the transfer, the last specks of light from the book flying into him. "Finally," he exclaimed before dropping the book, "I am...RESTORED!" With that, he threw the staff like a javelin into the mountain. A trail of light connected the two, and it then pulled itself free of Flicker's body, the dragon began to fall toward the ground.
Ember gasped and shot down, managing to catch him before he hit the dirt. First saw this, remembering what Silverbolt had said and used his magic to teleport the dragons and the book over to Spike. And as this happened, the staff flew into the mountain's hole as a loud roar rang out.
"It's happening," Silverbolt sighed as the mountain shook itself apart, "He's synchronizing with his body."
"So what do we do?" Spike asked him as the others stared at Flicker.
"Come on!" Ember shook him. "Wake up! I thought once Malafear left-"
"It doesn't work like that," Spike spoke up as he walked up and grabbed the book First had warped over to them, "Flicker's in here. And he won't be able to get out as long as Malafear's still around to keep the spell working."
"So we have to beat Malafear to free him?" Pinkie asked, Spike nodding. "But that's..."
"Impossible," Ember finished as she stared at the mountain. In that moment, five clawed fingers poked their way out of the hole, now scratching at the sides. By the size of them, Ember knew this would be the biggest dragon she had ever seen. "How are we supposed to fight against that and the Elemental Dragons?"
"She's right," Silverbolt nodded. "If you wanna stand any chance against him, you need to take the Elemental Dragons out of the equation."
"What are you talking about?" Spike yelped, "We can't do that! Those are our friends!"
The others stared at them, wondering who was talking to as Silverbolt replied, "I didn't say take them out. I mean you need to free them."
"You know how to do that?!" Spike gasped.
"Sure. You've already done it once." He gestured to Ember, Spike glancing over to her as they stared back at him, "You managed to free Ember, and you can free the others the same way."
"What do you mean?" Spike asked before looking down at his claws, "You mean with-"
"No," Silverbolt shook his head, "You being a Mystic Dragon wasn't what freed her. And it wasn't what allowed you to fight off his control either. It was something that you, Ember and the Elemental Dragons have that all the other dragons don't. Something you should be quite familiar with."
Spike blinked at this, only to hear a loud crashing sound. They turned to see the mountain being pulled apart, the Element Dragons still attacking the others as Spike stared at the scene. And as he watched them and glanced over at Ember, it struck him. "We have friends."
"Spike?" he turned to Rarity as she frowned at him, "Are you sure you're okay? You keep talking to yourself."
"I know how to free Flash and the others from Malafear's control." This made her go wide-eyed, only to hear Twilight cry out and crash into the ground close by. Several Flame Dragons charged in to attack her, but before they could, Heart appeared and kicked them all away. "Twilight!" He gasped as he ran out from behind the rock, Ember going with him.
"Spike?" Twilight looked up at him. "What are you doing? It's not-"
"I know how to free Flash!" He interrupted as they reached her, Ember taking over for Heart and knocking the dragons away. "Listen, when Malafear was taking me over, it wasn't my magic that let me fight him off. It was because I heard my friends calling out to me. And I was able to free Ember because we're friends too."
"So you're saying we can free the Elemental Dragons if we just...talk to them?" Ember asked as she kicked another dragon away.
"We've already tried that," Twilight pointed out. "Flash didn't respond to me at all."
"Maybe he just can't hear you?" Spike replied, "I know what it's like to have Malafear control you. It's like...every other sound is blocked out. When I heard the others, it was barely a whisper, and they were yelling at the top of their voices. If they hadn't been so close, I might not have heard them."
"So we just gonna get up close and scream into their faces?" Heart asked as he turned to the Light Dragon, "How do you know it'll even work?"
"I don't," Spike responded, showing a confident glare, "I just...believe it will."
Heart raised an eyebrow at this, only for Twilight to get up, "Spike's right." She turned to her boyfriend, watching him fire a laser at Celestia, "I know Flash is strong enough to break free of the control. We just need to get to him."
"But that's-" Heart tried to say, only to remember what had happened with Iron that morning with him. "Huh. Maybe it might work." he turned to Twilight, "Let's do it." She nodded back before they spread their wings and flew up to Flash. They zipped past the smaller dragons, quickly getting to Flash as he turned to them and fired a barrage of small light bullets.
"FLASH!" Twilight screamed at the top of her lungs as she summoned a barrier, blocking the attacks.
"STOP IT!" Heart added, shooting a fireball at Flash's laser.
"RAAAAAAAAAAH!" He roared before beating his wings, created a powerful air blast that pushed the two back. And as it smacked Twilight away, Heart expelled fire from all four hooves.
"FLASH!" He yelled as he pushed through the wind, slowly getting to his mentor as he flew up and grabbed the horn nose of Flash's dragon form. "Flash! Please snap out of it! It's me!" The dragon roared and swung its head, trying to throw him off. "FLASH!" He screamed as he held on, "Wake up! I know you're better than this! You found me and my sister, took us in and gave us a home! You showed me I could do something amazing with my life! You trained me! SO PLEASE WAKE UP!"
The dragon reached up to try and claw him off, only to stop as he heard those last words. The claws remained stuck in place, Twilight taking this moment to teleport inches from the head and grab the horn. "FLASH! It's me, Twilight!" The dragon roared again, only for the alicorn to clench onto the horn, "You were my first friend, and I was yours! You can't just ignore me after everything we've been through!" The dragon began to swipe at her...only to come to a stop again as she yelled, "Please come back to me!"
"Everypony in Ponyville is waiting for you!" Heart added, "Soul, Scootaloo, everypony!"
"You can't let this monster turn you into something you're not!" Twilight finished, "You're not his servant! You're a Royal Knight of Equestria!"
Springer then swatted a dragon away before turning to Flash, "You heard him! Come on!" He yelled, sending out his aura into the dragon. But as he did this, he could only see one or two mental images, finding the dragon's mind unfocused as he sent the images of the past. "Wake up Flash!"
"RAAAAAAH!" Flash roared as he slammed his claws into the ground, making the earth shake.
"You're my teacher!" Heart went on, "You're my friend, and a friend to so many! A brother! A protector! The Knight of Friendship!" It was then that all three both screamed out in unison, "YOU'RE FLASH SENTRY!" The words echoed into the dragon's ears, making it shake as the ground shook around the beast. And then, it let out a mighty roar.
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The sound echoed throughout the land, causing everyone to cover their ears. And as he roared, his eyes lot the redness, slowly changing to the eyes Twilight knew and loved as she whispered, "Flash?"
"Uhhh..." the dragon groaned as he slumped down, "What...happened?"
"FLASH!" Twilight and Heart cheered, hugging his oversized head. "You're back!"
"Have I been somewhere?" He asked before his eyes went wide, "Wait...why are you two so small?" He then glanced down at his claws, "Wait...am I a dragon?"
"Yes," Twilight nodded, "And you were under Malafear's control, but we managed to free you." As she said that, another roar made him turn to see Lightning charging at them. "And now we have to free the others!"
"Right!" Flash yelled as he prepared to counter the dragon, only to glance back at Twilight, "How?"
"By getting those closest to the dragons close enough for the real them to hear."
"Alright," Flash replied as the rest of the Elemental Dragons attacked. "I'll try and hold them off as long as possible. You two go tell the others what we're doing." They nodded, only for Flash to glare at his apprentice, "And Heart?"
"Yeah?"
"You're grounded for running off before."
"WHAT?!" Heart yelped, only for Twilight to grab him and hopped off Flash. "Wait! Why am I-"
"Later Heart!" Twilight yelled as an iron and crystal tornado slammed into Flash, pushing him back as they saw Iron and Ruby charge at him. As this happened, Heather let out a roar, leaves slamming into Flash's side before he turned and opened his mouth, firing a light laser through the leaves and knocking her back.
Flash then turned to Iron and Ruby and tackled them as he roared, "Come on you two! Wake up!" Lightning fired a bolt at Flash, the dragon ducking under it before firing a light laser back at the dragon.
While this happened, Twilight got to the others as she asked, "Do you all understand what you have to do?" The group began to reply as Celestia made a barrier to protect them from the dragons while Springer, Heart, Rainbow, Applejack and Ember held off the beasts as well. Spike, Grand, Luna, Trixie, Rarity, Script, Fluttershy, First, Skybreaker, Pinkie and Flicker were there, Pinkie opting to stay and watch Flicker while the others were all told what they needed to do.
"Are you sure this'll work?" Fluttershy replied.
"It worked on Flash," Twilight responded, nodding, "And I know your connection to them is just as strong. You can do this."
"Then what are we waiting for?!" Luna yelled, "Let's get our friends back!" The others nodded as they prepared to charge, the princess of the night turning to her student. "No matter what, one of us has to get to her." Trixie nodded back.
"I'll protect you," Skybreaker assured Fluttershy. "Get to Iron and wake him up." Fluttershy nodded as Rarity turned to Grand and Script.
"I know the two of you haven't always seen eye to eye, but-" She stopped when Script raised his hoof.
"For Lightning, I'll do whatever it takes." He and Grand shared a glare, Script sighing as he turned back to Lightning, "We'll save him."
"I will save you," First added as he stared at Heather.
"Alright," Celestia yelled as she and Twilight dropped the shield, "GO!" The group charged at this, Twilight teleporting Pinkie and Flicker back to safety while the others began to avoid the dragons, Trixie using her illusions to make herself invisible whilst First and Script teleported Rarity and Grand. Luna and Skybreaker flew near Fluttershy, keeping the dragons away from her with their magic.
Flash saw them coming and knew he had to keep the dragons in place, deciding to focus on Iron first. He avoided his wrecking ball tail and managed to pin him to the ground, "NOW!" Skybreaker and Fluttershy zipped up to his head, landing as Flash let go.
"Iron!" Fluttershy cried, "We're here!"
"Come on kid!" Skybreaker added, "Snap out of it!"
Flash then flew over to Lightning, dodging a thunderbolt before tackling the beast and grabbing him by the horns. "Script!" He yelled, the unicorn grabbing Rarity and Grand in his magic before he teleported onto Lightning's head.
"Lightning!" Rarity screamed, "Stop this now! This isn't who you are anymore!"
"You're stronger then that psychopathic dragon!" Script continued.
"Wake up!" Grand roared, "Fight it!"
Flash flew over to Heather as she unleashed another leaf tornado, but the Light Dragon raised his claws, blocking the attack with a yelp of pain. He then fired a laser into her wing, making her cry out as First teleported over to her head.
"Heather!" he yelled, "I am sorry. It is my fault this happened to you. But please, hear me. You can free yourself from this tyrant. Just hear my voice!"
Flash then turned to Ruby as she began firing crystal spikes at him, the gems knocking him in the head. "Augh!" He yelped as the dragon rammed into his chest, "Oof!" Ruby pinned him down next, only for a beam of light to strike the back of her neck, forming a leash-like ring that pulled her back.
Flash glanced up at this, seeing Celestia wielding the light ring as she yelled, "NOW LUNA!"
Luna and Trixie teleported onto Ruby's head, Trixie exclaiming, "Ruby! Can't you hear us?! Can't you see us?!"
"You've been through a lot of hardships in your life," Luna told her. "More than your fair share. But those hardships have made you strong. Strong enough to fight against whatever spell Malafear has you under!" The four dragons thrashed around, trying to get their unexpected passengers off of them. But no matter what, they stayed on, continuing to call out to them.
And within each of their minds, their trapped consciousnesses began to shake and tremble. Their bodies slowly ceased their mad thrashes, their riders all smiling as continued to talk to them. And as this happened, Flash got up and took a deep breath. "PONY DRAGONS!" He roared at the top of his lungs, "WAKE UUUUUP!" This final roar echoed through the land, and a final crack shattered the mental chains.
"Huh?" Iron grunted, blinking his eyes as he saw Fluttershy and Skybreaker staring at him.
"What happened?" Heather asked as her eyes stopped glowing, "First?"
"Gramps?" Lightning added as he saw the three on his head. "Rarity? Script? How'd you get so small?"
"Luna?" Ruby whispered, "I'm...confused. What happened?" Everypony smiled at the sounds of their voices, the dragons then glancing down at themselves before gasping.
"You're back!" Fluttershy hugged Iron's head, tears in her eyes.
"Thank goodness." Rarity added as she rubbed Lightning's side.
Luna tried to hug Ruby as she said, "I'm so glad you're back, old friend."
"I have not failed yet." First continued as he began to explain what was going on to Heather.
"What's going on?" Iron asked, the others turning to each other and nodding.
"This might take a bit. We'll just give you the really short version." Skybreaker admitted before the group began to explain the situation.
"Ooookay," Lightning commented, "Clearly we've missed a few things since we were knocked out."
"Oh, you didn't miss anything." Flash added as he flew over with Twilight, Heart and Spike on his head. "I've still got the bruised from the beatdowns you gave me." The dragons stared at him as Flash pointed to the mountain behind him, "We'll catch up later. Right now, we've got bigger fish to fry."
As he said that, the claws digging into the rock broke off, creating an even bigger opening as a giant leg went through. This broke away even more rock, allowing another leg and even a head out. "I'M FREE! AHAHAHA!" Malafear roared at the top of his lungs, causing the ponies and transformed dragons to pull back. "BOW BEFORE MY MIGHT! BOW BEFORE MALAFEAR, THE GREATEST DRAGON OF ALL!"
"Talk about a blow hard," Lightning scoffed.
"Don't take him likely," Ruby added, "We have to stop him before it's too late."
"YOU'LL STOP NOTHING! DRAGONS...ATTACK!" The dragons still under his control began to attack again, the bigger dragons aiming at Springer's avatar and the Elemental Dragons while the smaller ones went for the ponies.
"Wow!" Iron yelped as he dodged a fire blast, Fluttershy and Skybreaker almost being thrown off. "Sorry." And as another dragon charged at him, his instincts kicked in and he spun around to smash his tail into it. "Whoa! How'd I know how to do that?"
The other ponies turned dragon all found themselves in similar situations, able to move their new bodies like they had them all their lives. Heather unleashed a vine attack without needing to think, Lightning finding himself adept at flying despite never having wings before while Ruby effortless used her crystal claws. But despite this, the sheer number of dragons was quickly becoming a problem.
Ember kicked away another dragon at this, only to see a new dragon land in front of her, "No...dad!" Torch, the former Dragon Lord, raised a claw at her, "Dad, don't do this!" But before he could attack, Flash tackled him away. "Dad!" She watched as her father was pushed away, flinching at the sight before turning to stare at her subjects. She was supposed to protect them, but all she could do was fight them. "What do I do?"
She turned to glare at Malafear, seeing the dragon continue to try to get out of the mountain. And as he did this, she saw something sticking out of his chest: The Bloodstone Sceptre. "That's it!" She gasped, flaring her wings before charging at the dragon.
"What's she doing?" Twilight asked from atop Flash's head, the others now noticing her.
"Ember!" Spike gasped, only to spot the sceptre in Malafear's chest. "That's it!" He looked down at Flash, "Ember going for the Bloodstone Sceptre! You gotta distract Malafear!"
Flash nodded and let out a roar, "Everypo-er...everyone! Focus on him!" He pointed at Malafear, the giant dragon hissing back as Ember flew under his vision. "Flash FORCE!" Flash unleashed a laser at Malafear's head, the giant dragon raising a claw to block the attack.
"Iron Lance Fury/Crystal Shot!" Iron and Ruby swung their tails, firing spikes at Malafear's legs, the metal and crystals digging in and making him roar in pain.
"Gatling Spark!" Lightning added, firing multiple thunderbolts.
"Bloom Force!" Heather unleashed a tornado of leaves, striking Malafear's side while the lightning bolts struck the other.
And as this happened, Ember reached Malafear's chest as she yelled, "I'm taking my title back!" Malafear glanced down at this, gasping as she got to the sceptre.
"NO!" He roared as she yanked the staff out of his chest, causing the magic surrounding it to break. And as she did this, the other dragons all suddenly froze. "Give that back!" Malafear yelled as he took a deep breath, but Heather wrapped his mouth up in vines before Iron and Ruby encased his feet in their elements, allowing Ember to fly away.
"DRAGONS!" She screamed while raising the sceptre, "YOU'RE FREE!" As she said that, what felt like a wave of power washed over the dragons, the creatures all blinking as the red mist disappeared from their eyes.
"Yes!" Spike cheered.
"What happened?" One of the teenage dragons asked, only to hear a mighty roar, all turning to see Malafear. Most of them gasped at the sight, now seeing the massive dragon tower over everyone.
"Ember!" Torch yelled at his daughter, "What's going on?! What is this?!"
Ember pointed at Malafear as he broke free of Heather, Iron and Ruby's hold. "That dragon used magic to brainwash us all, turning us into his mindless minions. He wants to rule and destroy us all." She then turned to the others, pointing to Spike on Flash's head. "But my friend Spike and the ponies of Equestria helped free us all." This made every dragon go wide-eyed, only for Ember to point at Malafear again, "Now! Let's make him regret turning us into puppets! OPEN FIRE!"
The dragons didn't need to be told twice, fireballs and flame streams now flying out of their mouths as the Elemental Dragons, unicorns, alicorns and Springer's avatar all added to the attacks. Malafear quickly found himself being barraged, roaring at every impact.
"ENOUGH!" He screamed as a cloud of shadows spat out of his mouth, blocking the attacks. "You think you've won because the dragons are all on your side?! Pathetic! I don't need any help to destroy you. I have all the power I need to make you suffer!" He took a deep breath, "Feel my poison!"
He breathed out...but nothing happened.
The others blinked at this, Rainbow asking, "Uh...was something supposed to happen?"
"What?!" He yelped before taking another deep breath, "ICE!" He breathed out again, but nothing happened. "FIRE!" Nothing. "WATER!" Zilch. "WIND!" Nada. "WHAT'S HAPPENING?!" He breathed out and another shadow cloud flew out, but everyone was out of range. "MY ELEMENTS!"
"They're gone..." Spike whispered. "How?"
He then heard some chuckling, turning to see Silverbolt appear again. "So that's it." He glanced over at Spike, giggling at his confusion, "The time he spent sealed away has allowed the elements he stole to fade from his body." He looked back at Malafear, "If he had beaten us in the past and kept stealing dragon elements, he probably would have needed a steady supply of them to keep using those elements. Stealing the power doesn't give him the ability to generate it. They simply remained stored in his body, and during his time locked away, those elements faded."
"So now he can only use his shadow powers?" Spike asked, Silverbolt nodding. "Awesome! We can beat him!"
"Don't get too cocky," Silverbolt replied, "Malafear might only have one element, but he's still a Mystic Dragon." In that moment, a young dragon tried to fly in close, but the shadow dragon swung his claws into the dragon, smacking him away before launching a shadow blast. Luckily, Celestia teleported over and used a shield to protect the dragon.
"How are we gonna beat him?" Spike asked, "There has to be some way!" Twilight, Heart and Flash all glanced at the young dragon, seeing him talk to nothing.
"There is a way. But...no, I can't ask that of you."
"What?"
Silverbolt turned to him, glaring at him, "Lock him away again, using the elemental seal like I did."
Spike's eyes went wide, slowly saying, "But...how?! I know for a fact Twilight doesn't know a spell that can pull his soul out of him, and a doubt Celestia and Luna know one either."
"You don't need to do that," Silverbolt responded, "The only reason we removed his soul is because we didn't think the seal would be strong enough with all the elements he had. But now that he's back to only one element, the seal will hold him."
"But what if he breaks out again in a thousand years?"
"By then, he'll be dead." Spike leaned back at this as he continued, "I can form the cage so he continues to age, even while locked away. Then in a hundred years or so, he'll die of old age. Even if someone does managed to free his body, it'll be nothing but a corpse."
Spike nodded, glancing back at the battle. The giant dragon fired a shadow blast that knocked several dragons way, then clawed at the ground to try and get low flying ones. He then looked over at Twilight, then Heart and Springer as the jakhowl's avatar avoided a claw and shot several Aura Blasts at Malafear.
The Shadow Dragon fired back, pushing Springer away before Lightning charging at him. However, a blast of shadow breath hit the dragon, Spike hearing Rarity's cry as she tried to hold onto the dragon. He spotted Rainbow and Applejack next, the pegasus Sonic Rainbooming at Malafear while the earth pony bucked a bunch of rocks in his direction. Malafear simply swiped them away, only to see Celestia shield them both before he could counter.
Iron continued to run around and fire spikes form his tail, Skybreaker launching air blades from his head while Fluttershy cheered them on from behind one of Iron's metal plates. Pinkie Pie was still behind the rock with Flicker, using her party cannon to fire at Malafear. At the same time, First was healing any creature he could, trying to keep everyone in the best condition possible.
On the other side of the fight, Grand fired rocks from Lightning's head while Script tried planting runes on Malafear to make him heavier, trying to make him become a living lightning rod. Luna and Trixie blasted him from atop Ruby's head, using ice and illusion magic to freeze the beast while Ember continued to lead the dragons, coordinating their assault against the monstrosity. But no matter what any of them did, Malafear just brushed off their attacks as he continued to pulled himself out of the mountain some more.
Silverbolt floated behind Spike, talking over his shoulder. "I can help you cast the spell, but you know what using it will do. What is required to create the seal."
"I know," Spike nodded. "But..." He looked around at the others again, remembering everything they had ever done for him. Celestia and Luna, who protected his egg for so long. Twilight and Flash, who took him in and raised him to be the best dragon he could be. Rainbow, Applejack, Pinkie, Fluttershy and Rarity, who were kind to him, looked out for him and treated him with as much respect as any pony. And Springer, who had stood by him through so many situations.
He then turned to Ember and Flicker. The dragons who had accepted him as their friend, helping him learn what it really meant to be a dragon.
His memory then flashed back to Equestria, to the other friends he had. Shining, Cadance, Soul, Thorax and so many others. Despite being a dragon, Equestria was his home. One he refused to let Malafear destroy.
"But I won't let what happened a thousand years ago happen again." This made Twilight, Heart and Flash turn to him, "I know how to stop him."
"How?" Twilight asked.
"It's...complicated." Spike stuttered out, only to shake his head, "But I'll need everyone's help to pull it off."
"No problem," Flash replied before closing his eyes, mentally talking to the one person he knew could help, 'Springer, Spike needs you to connect him to every creature. Pony and dragon.'
'No problem,' Springer mentally replied before unleashing a burst of aura, connecting to every mind except Malafear's. 'Alright Spike, you're good to go.'
'Everyone listen!' Spike's voice echoed through their heads, 'I know how to stop him, but we need to work together. Every dragon needs to fire at Malafear and hit him with the most powerful elemental blast you can create. And no matter what, don't stop.'
'Why?' The dragon named Garble barked back, 'What good's that gonna do? We already tried it and it didn't work!'
'Don't question him!' Ember hissed, 'If Spike has a plan, then I say we follow him. Unless any other dragon has any better ideas?!' Mental silence followed this, 'Good! Then do as Spike says and get ready to turn up the heat!'
"Alright," Spike called out, "Then let's do this!"
"We'll give you an opening!" Twilight yelled as she leapt off Flash's head, Celestia, Luna and the other unicorns all warping to the ground. They all appeared around Malafear and started firing blasts of magic, the dragon trying to swat them away.
"Dragons, surround him!" They followed Spike's orders and began to circle around the mountain, Malafear now firing shadow blasts at the ponies. The unicorns all leapt back, but Celestia and Luna shielded themselves. And when the shadows faded, they unleashed streams of magic that wrapped around his front legs before flying back, pulling the magical ropes with everything they had.
"RAAAAAGGGGHHHHH!" He cried, falling over as Twilight flew behind his head. She then shot another magical rope that wrapped around his neck. "AUGH!" He yelped as she flew up and pulled the rope, choking him as he tried to breath, only to scream, "What are you doing?!"
"Taking you down!" Spike roared as Flash flew in close. "NOW!"
The electrical dragon was the first to unleash his attack, "Lightning!" He shot a thunderbolt from his horns, hitting Malafear in the face.
"Wood!" Heather unleashed a tornado of leaves.
"Crystal!" Ruby did the same, this one full of gem shards.
"Metal!" Iron roared out a spiral of shrapnel.
"Light!" Flash fired a laser, hitting Malafear at the same time as the three tornadoes.
"FIRE!" Ember screeched as a massive barrage of flames hit Malafear, soon covering every square inch of Malafear along with the other attacks.
"Augh!" He cried, his body slowly moving, "This is pointless! You really expect to destroy me with such weak attacks?!"
"We're not trying to destroy you!" Spike yelled before closing his eyes, 'I'm ready.'
"I know you are," Silverbolt told him before he turned to smoke that flew back into Spike's chest. "And I am so proud of you." As he said that, Spike's entire body began to spark with electricity. This made everyone turn to him, seeing Spike take several steps back until he reached the back of Flash's head.
Malafear's eyes went wide at this, the Mystic Shadow Dragon screaming, "NO! DON'T YOU DARE!" He roared, only for the magic ropes to pull him again, "NO...NOT AGAIN!"
"SPIKE!" Twilight called out, "What are you doing?!"
"What I was hatched to do," Spike replied, staring down at Malafear as the pair locked eyes. "I know now that my destiny is the same as my father. To stop you from destroying everything precious to me!" With that, he began to run, soon leaping off of Flash's snout before Heart could stop him.
"SPIKE!" Everyone cried as they watched him fall toward Malafear. Rainbow shot up and tried to grab him, only to fall back as the heat from the dragons' fire that continued to hit Malafear. "SPIKEY-WIKEY!" Rarity screamed, Fluttershy and Pinkie covering their eyes as the others just watched in horror as he continued to fall.
"SPIKE, NOOOOO!" Twilight cut the power to her spell and shot down, magically shielding herself as she tried to reach him before it was too late. And as she did this, Malafear's free head thrust itself at Spike.
"You think you can seal me away?! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!"
The baby dragon shined the most confident smile he had ever created. He knew who he was. "I am Spike...Pyro Dragon, son of Silverbolt and Fira!" As he said that, the lightning around his body sparked, now shining brighter and brighter. "AND I SEAL YOU AWAY!" With that, the lightning exploded off of him and shot out in all directions.
It engulfed both Spike and Malafear before exploding in a brilliant light, blinding everyone as a shockwave knocked them back. And as the light consumed them, they group began to feel themselves begin to black out as they heard Malafear's screams.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
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Glad they were able to free them. But how they gonna change em bac?
Looks like that evil dragon is done for, this been a wild ride but looks like its coming to a end.
Twilight is not going to let Flash off for all this bet she will be keeping him close for a while
OH MY GOD! I hope Spike is okay after what happened to him! There's no way he can come back from that spell! It's Suicide spell!
Please, don't die, Spike!
At least, he got his payback at Malafear for what he did to his mom.
Here's highlights
Fira didn't deserve to die in a brutal way! Malafear will be paid for this!
Definitely Heart's "My god, What have I done?" Moment.
Yeah!
Typical Pinkie.
As for anime film, Perfect Blue? Maybe?
Man, it's heartbreaking to see Knight Dragons attacking their loved one.
Oh, Crapbaskets.
I knew Flash has enough of Heart's shit!
Sorry Heart but you brought this on yourself, next time... no more of those Leeroy Jenkins stuff!
Yeah, put your personal grudge aside for the sake of Lightning, Script.
YEAH!!!!!!!!
YEAH!!!!!! It's go time!
In other words, Malafear didn't think this through, did he?
Uh oh
No no no no no no no no no!!! Spike! Don't!
Yea—— I means SPIKE!!!!!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Everyone's reaction
End of an era? *triggered PTSD flashback from Infinity War and Endgame*
Man, this is so awesome! Where do I even begin?
For starters, I loved Spike's talk with his dad. It was actually cool to hear that Silverbolt and Fira had multiple names planned for Spike, depending on his gender and what element he used. "Pyro" is a pretty cool name, even if I hope he keeps using "Spike". Maybe he'll be able to use both occasionally like how Goku has his Saiyan name "Kakarot" and Clark Kent also goes by "Kal-El" at times. Also, Silverbolt's spirit being able to communicate with Spike even after he escaped the book was a nice touch. I kinda hope he stays with Spike this way for the rest of the series, so we can see more of SIlverbolt and his father-son dynamic with Spike.
The way they freed the Elemental Dragons was awesome and heartwarming. Just like how Spike freed Ember, they just needed to reach out to them and let them know they're friends were there for them. They were so busy fighting them physically they never tried appealing to them. It was heartwarming how everyone who shared the closest bond with who was changed were the ones to reach out to them. Then they put their dragon bodies to good use against Malafear. Ember reclaiming her title and freeing the dragons was especially epic.
Then Spike's sacrifice. Doing what his dad did to stop Malafear once and for all. In all honest, I doubt Spike is actually going to die, but that doesn't diminish the lengths he is willing to go to to keep his friends, family, and everyone he loves safe.
So epic! Spike using both of his names to finish the evil that his dad once faced for good.
Sweet fight against this jackass, course Spike has to be ok at the end there! (still needs to meet & hang out with a certain dragon big sister
) Now I can't wait to see how all of this wraps up on the final chapter of this tale! Also love the name Silverbolt/Fira had in mind for Spike, hope he keeps it as a second name after this tale's over! 
As we're wrapping things up, here are some Highlights to keep you busy! :
You & me both, good name though!
Yep that's quite enough of your bullcrap Jackass dragon!
Denied Jackass, denied!!!
Sorry Pinkie, that only works on Looney Tunes!
Course, power of Friendship & all that jazz!
Sorry Heart, YOU don't get to question Spike's idea after all of your mishaps on this tale alone!
Sorry boyo, you had that one coming & you knew it!
Well said Lightning!
Also sorry Jackass, floor's a bit dirty! 
About time someone shut Jackass up, even for a little bit!
Also heck yeah, time for all dragons to wail on Jackass's sorry backside! 
HA HA!!!!
Oh heck no, Spike's too cool to be done like this, especially against this loudmouth Jackass!
Pretty epic scene, plus quite the sneaky nod to another cool purple dragon there!
Next Tuesday cannot get here fast enough for me after all of this, great work Banshee & Joey! Looking forward to the final chapter!
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End of an era? *triggered PTSD flashback from Infinity War and Endgame*
What I meant was that this joint project between Banshee and myself. We've been working on this for two years after all. Remember what I said awhile back about the last joint project that fell through? This felt like I was redeeming myself for that, and working on this was the most fun I had since that project.
I'm glad you everyone else loves story as much I do.
10862265
Pyro will be his middle name.
10862372
That works for me!
I'd give it a 1.9 out of 5 on the intensity scale, it really wasn't that enjoyible. As for Spike's plan, given that the next entry will be the first episode of this take on Season 7, it won't cost Spike all that much if anything unless you're gonna nerf him back to being like he is in the show, which defeats the whole point of making him Mystical to begin with.
... Yeah... not really
Sincerely, I could have been even more critical, but I am not one of the two that dislike. But yeah... this entry has pretty much been
just state it already
10862372
Heck yes, I dig that! 🥰
10862352
Oh! I see!
Thank.