Friendship is Magic - Part 2
Everypony panicked and ran as flames fell down around them. Everypony but the tall, blazing alicorn looming above them on the second floor, raining down heat and hatred as she cackled at their collective terror.
“Seize her! Only she knows where the princess is!” The mayor yelled, directing a squad of batpony guards as they rushed past her, silvery armor shining like bronze in the light of the roaring flames.
“Yes, fly directly towards the living inferno while wearing heavy metal armor.” Nightmare Star berated, her eyes glowing pure white as fireballs flew from her mane, striking the lead guard and knocking out the entire squad in a single, powerful explosion that shook the building and woke the filly sleeping peacefully on Spike’s back.
“What’s... going on?” Twilight asked drowsily. It didn’t take long for her to notice the menace ablaze above them.
“Ah, the idiocy of youth. Are you tinfoil covered foals truly the peak of Equestria’s defense? How absolutely pitiful.” Once again, the crimson flames contracted and wrapped around the demonic mare and she rushed through the air as a stream of living flame. She crashed into and burned her way through the doors, leaving them as nothing more than scorched splinters limply hanging off of their hinges as she slunk off into the scorching scarlet sky.
Spike ran around the building as ponies fled, putting his fireproof scales to use to smother the small red flames and embers. Twilight used her magic to do the same, extinguishing several flames at once, as well as all the ones that Spike couldn’t reach himself.
Spike’s mind raced as he worked. Where was Princess Luna? What kind of dark magic did Nightmare Star use to turn into such a monster? How was someone supposed to defeat something that could turn into sentient fire? His frustration only built further when he finally left the Town Hall. Even as a dragon, a creature with resistance to high temperatures, he could feel the heat in the ground burning into his hands and feet as he walked.
He was relieved to feel a refreshing burst of icy cool air as he opened the entrance to the Golden Oak Library. He quickly rushed in and closed the door, quietly thanking the building’s owner, and possible arborist, for their foresight in installing a cooling device for hot summer days. He also wondered if it was magical or mechanical in nature, something he didn’t get the chance to check as when he turned around to face the room he was suddenly confronted by a familiar, angry, short winged, orange pegasus.
“You seemed to know an awful lot about that ‘Nightmare Star’ jerk.” Scootaloo stated accusingly, jabbing a hoof into Spike’s chest. “What are you two? Spies? Do you even have a name, dragon boy?” Before she could probe further, she was yanked back by her tail by Apple Bloom. “Whoa!”
“Simmer down, Scoots. They ain’t no spies.” Apple Bloom defended, though she looked to Spike with concern. “But he sure knows what’s goin’ on. Ain’t that right?”
Looking around the room, Spike met the eyes of each of his guests. Zephyr Breeze, Maud Pie, Sweetie Bell, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo. All the ponies that the princess sent him to talk to, with the addition of Maud. Sighing, he began to explain. “The other night, before I came into town, Princess Luna recounted two stories, and told me that they somehow made this year’s Summer Sun Celebration important. I thought it was just a couple myths, like the ones Twilight reads all the time, but it looks like I was wrong.”
“Did these stories happen to mention how to beat her?” Scootaloo asked. Spike nodded.
“In the story, Nightmare Star’s sister used some mysterious objects called the ‘Elements of Harmony’ to banish her into the moon. As far as I’m aware, they’re the only things that can stop her.” The dragon explained, recalling the stories that Princess Luna explained.
“Easy, then! We just find these element things and send her to the moon again! Simple as one, two, three!” Sweetie Belle cheered.
“There’s just one problem. I don’t know what they are, or what they do. I don’t even know how to find them!” Spike explained, panic growing as he realized just how dangerous and untouchable the tyrant princess was.
“I was reading about them earlier.” Maud said suddenly. She trotted over to a nearby shelf and gently grabbed a book with her mouth, carrying it over to Spike. The same red, gold covered book that was open on the table earlier last night.
“The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide.” He read from the cover as Twilight tiredly floated the book out of Maud’s hold with her magic, placing it in Spike’s claws. “Why were you reading this, of all things?”
“Mr. Paleo studies a lot about ancient culture. He told me about them once when he was reading about different myths throughout the world, so I got curious.” Maud explained.
“Huh.” Cracking open the book, Spike scanned through the pages for relevant information. As soon as he found something he began to read its contents aloud to everypony in the room. “There are six elements of harmony, but only five are known. Sympathy, Composure, Benevolence, Trust, and Dedication. The sixth is a complete mystery. It is said that the last known location of the five elements was in the ancient castle of the royal pony sisters.” A flicker of light caused Spike to glance towards the window. Seeing nothing but the rose red sky, he continued. “It is located in what is now the Evermute Forest.”
“The Evermute Forest?!” Repeated Zephyr, terrified.
“That’s what it says. Is that bad?”
“It’s the most dangerous place in Ponyville!” Zephyr exclaimed, prompting Scootaloo to roll her eyes. “I live right next to it. It doesn’t work the same as Equestria. The plants and animals take care of themselves, the weather changes on its own, and the few paths that exist seem to change anytime someone enters or leaves. It’s like the place is alive.”
“It’s a forest, Zephyr. Of course it’s alive.” Scootaloo chided. “Wait, why do you live so close to the Evermute if you’re afraid of it?”
“It’s super low maintenance. Plus the scary stuff tends to stay deeper inside the forest, where I’m assuming this castle is considering the fact that the only building I’ve ever seen near the place is my cottage.”
“Look, you should all get home while you still can. It’s probably gonna get a lot hotter before it gets any cooler. Until it does, I’ll head out to the Evermute to look for the castle.” Spike explained, closing the book and walking past the group, beginning to head up a set of stairs carved into the wall.
Walking through a second door, he gently slid his exhausted sister off his back and onto a massive bed.
“You’re not really gonna go off to fight Nightmare Star, right?” Twilight asked worriedly.
“I’ll find the elements of harmony and beat her as fast as I can. Even if I don’t find them, I’ll beat her. I’m a dragon, remember? I’m fireproof, she can’t hurt me.” Spike reassured, tucking his sister under the covers. The poor exhausted filly passed out before he even turned off the light and closed the curtains.
Walking back out of the room and quietly closing the door, he noticed the others still hadn’t left. Scootaloo climbed up the first step and looked Spike in the eye and told him, without a hint of hesitation they were going to join him. “We’re going too, Flame.”
“No you’re- wait, Flame?” Spike asked, bewildered.
“It’s a nickname, since you still haven’t told me your real one.”
“Oh, right. Sorry about that. It’s Spike.”
“Too little too late. Your name’s Flame now.”
“Ugh.”
“You seriously don’t have to come with me.” Spike tried to dissuade the group as they approached the forest’s entrance. All the ponies darted beneath the shade of the trees as soon as they could. Spike stood freely in the blazing sun, mostly unbothered by the heat. “This could get seriously dangerous if we’re out here too long. We might not even find the castle.”
“All the more reason to bring us along.” Scootaloo countered. “More eyes means a higher chance of spotting the big stone ruins among the greenery, right?”
“Well, yes, but-” Sweetie Belle hushed the drake before he could continue arguing.
“We’re not going to leave you to fight some ancient magic monster on your own. That’s not what a friend does.” She told him.
“We just met last night.”
“It doesn’t matter. You’re here to help. So are we.” Sweetie turned and began to march into the forest, followed by the others. Spike sighed in defeat as he too began to follow.
The group decided it would be best to search high, to get as large a view as possible over the trees. It wasn’t particularly hard to find a hill large enough to fulfill that goal, spending mere minutes climbing the path up a shallow incline. Spike felt odd as he scanned the horizon though, feeling as though it was a bit too easy to climb above the treeline. He stepped out of the shade provided by the hill, approaching the edge of the path and peering downwards to the ground below.
“Jeez.” Spike said, awed by the sheer height of what he could only assume was a full on mountain, something he should have been able to spot walking into the forest but hadn’t. “How long have we been walking again? It really doesn’t feel like we should be this high up already.” He asked. Just as he turned around to return to the group, he heard Apple Bloom gasp. He was caught completely by surprise when a wave of crimson fire slammed into the ground with enough force to set it loose beneath him.
Reacting quickly, he jumped forward as he fell, kicking off the crumbling stone and clawing desperately at the dirt. He found no safety in his grip however as he slid rapidly down the newly created slope, narrowly missing getting hit by pieces of the once solid path rolling past him and over the edge. Not that it helped much.
His heart leapt into his throat as he crossed over that final border of safety. He tumbled over himself as he fell off of the cliff, getting a glance of the horizon as he fell. Despite being unable to fully process it, Spike thought that something didn’t seem right with the view. It didn’t look quite right to him.
Suddenly he felt something wrap around his tail and give a painful yank, sending the drake swinging straight into the face of the mountain with a loud thud.
“Aghk!” Spike yelped as he hit the wall. Shaking his head free of the dizziness, he pushed himself off of the stone and looked down, or up he supposed, at his savior. Apple Bloom, with a pink cloth wrapped tightly around her forehoof, stood in the hot sun. She’d used her bow to lasso his tail as he fell. His elation was soon cut short however when he heard the sound of thread snapping. “What do I do?!” He panicked, silently vowing to start taking climbing lessons if he made it out of his situation.
“Just stay there!” She yelled down. Turning her head, Apple Bloom scanned the group. Scootaloo had caught Sweetie Belle as she started sliding, digging her back hooves into the earth and using her wings to keep them both from sliding down the edge. Though rattled, Sweetie had done something similar with her magic, impressively grabbing all three of the other ponies with her magic. Apple Bloom had broken free of it though in order to save Spike, and Zephyr was obviously a non-issue, so Sweetie had released her grasp in order to focus her hold on Maud as Scootaloo dragged them both back up to safety.
“Zephyr!” She yelled. “I can’t drag ‘im up if my rope’s gone! Get down there and catch ‘im!”
“I’ve never lifted anything more than a bunny or two while flying before!” Zephyr called back, pale as a ghost. “I won’t be able to pull him back up here.”
“Then fly him down!” She ordered. Steeling himself, Zephyr rushed over the edge and hovered next to Spike, hooves outstretched but still trembling involuntarily.
Spike eyed the scared stallion’s shaking limbs with distrust before looking back up at Apple Bloom. “Are you sure about this?” He asked, hesitant to place his life in the hooves of a pony who looked like he was seconds away from just passing out from the heat and shock.
“You’re not gonna fall, honest.” Apple Bloom tried to reassure, her bow turned lasso starting to tear loudly under his weight. “Zephyr might not look like much, but he’ll get you down safer than I can.”
Taking a breath to calm his nerves, Spike reached for Zephyr’s embrace. As soon as the pair got a hold of each other, the bow snapped, forcing Zephyr to instantly bear the entirety of Spike’s weight. The pegasus strained as they drifted to the ground, only barely able to keep them both from plummeting into the rubble below as the full heat of the day beat into him.
He just about collapsed as they touched the scorching ground. Unable to stand on his own, Zephyr leaned onto Spike, who practically dragged the exhausted stallion beneath the shade of the nearest tree. They both sat together and rested, doing their best to steady their shaking bodies.
The group reunited after about ten minutes passed, Maud finding the two boys almost passed out together in the shade of the canopy.
“Ya’ll alright?” Apple Bloom asked the pair as they peeled themselves off the grass.
“Yeah, we’re fine.” Spike responded, finally untying the torn ribbon from his tail and handing it back to the mare. “Sorry for doubting you. And Zephyr Breeze.”
“S’alright, Hun. We all do fool things when we’re scared. I ‘bout near fell off myself when I went to catch ya.” Taking the ribbon back, she retied it into her hair, drawing her mane up from her neck and putting it into a big red bun.
Standing up, Spike took a step away from the small herd of ponies. “I think I might’ve saw what we’re looking for.” He explained, pointing deeper into the Evermute. “I’m not sure about it, but this way might be worth checking out.”
“Nice!” Sweetie cheered. “One step closer to getting out of this heat!”
“It’s still gonna be hot, even if we beat Nightmare Star.” Maud corrected. “It’s still summer.” Sweetie Belle let out an irritated cry towards the sky. The last thing she expected was for the sky to cry back.
A roar echoed off the trees, followed by the sound of large wing beats drawing closer and closer. Crashing through the trees appeared a massive, bat winged lion with a scorpion tail and dark spots all through its mane. A manticore. It swung a paw at Spike as soon as it landed, sending him flying through the air.
Crashing into the ground, Spike skidded a few inches. Dazed, he hadn’t realized the manticore was already over him, tail poised to strike as he tried to get up. As soon as he saw the beast’s tail in the air, stinger pointed at him, he felt a familiar heat well up in his chest. As quick as possible he took the deepest breath he could and let out a burst of emerald flame, forcing the beast to reel backwards and adorning it with yet another black mark. As Spike slowly rose, drawing in another, deeper breath, Zephyr flew between the fighters.
“Wait!” He yelled, shoving a hoof into Spike’s open maw. “Ow. You have sharp teeth.” He winced, quickly withdrawing. Spike coughed out a couple embers painfully as he backed away from the crazed stallion.
“What are you doing?!” He scolded.
“Look.” Zephyr said, carefully approaching the wild manticore. The beast stared at Zephyr, confused and hesitant, as he pointed to the black spots along it’s mane. “These are scorch marks.” He explained.
“Good. I should burn off all of the thing’s fur for attacking like that.”
Zephyr shook his head. “No, they’re all scorch marks.” He clarified as if that meant anything, the manticore eyeing him curiously as it glanced between him and Spike, slowly lowering its wings and tail. “Poor thing got hit with more than just your fire. And I’m willing to bet the flames that did this were more red than green.”
“What do you mean?”
“When Nightmare Star showed up, she set fire to the Town Hall. Then, as soon as we start looking for the elements in the Evermute, a fireball with a color that matches her mane just happens to fall from the sky?”
“She’s trying to stop us!” Spike exclaimed.
Zephyr nodded, looking up at the manticore with sympathetic eyes, gently petting its burnt mane. “You probably got targeted by her flames too, didn’t you?” Slowly it studied the cyan pegasus, nodding after a moment, seeming to have calmed down. “He must’ve thought you attacked him first, Spike, since you literally breathe fire.”
“Guess Nightmare Star didn’t count on my magic fire.”
“You’ve got magic fire, Flame?” Scootaloo asked suddenly. “Is that why it was green?”
“Ugh! Can we not talk about fire in the middle of a heatwave?” Sweetie growled, trotting deeper into the dark, cool forest. Carefully passing the manticore, the rest of the group followed after.
The canopy thickened as they traveled further in, to the point that it almost completely blocked the sun’s light and granting the six a blissful respite from the unending heat.
“We should take a break.” Maud said as a warm breeze flowed through the leaves. “We can spend more time in the sun if we take this chance to let our bodies cool off.”
The group didn’t hesitate to sit down and rest, letting the shadows absorb their unbearable warmth. Spike sighed as he leaned against a thick tree, mossy roots acting as a sort of cushion beneath him. He scratched at his sides, picking out twigs and pebbles from between his scuffed, violet scales. “I don’t think I’ll be playing knight with a manticore anytime soon.” He muttered, eliciting an amused snort from Sweetie Belle.
“What’re you on about?” Apple Bloom asked, confused.
“He doesn’t wanna get wailed on anymore.” Sweetie translated.
“Ah.”
“Historically, it was the pegasus’ Royal Legion that fought with dragons. Armored knights were mostly a unicorn thing.” Maud said, carefully using a hoof to dig through the dirt. Dragging a rock from out of the ground, she carried it over to the aching drake and presented it.
“Uh... Cool rock?” He said, eyeing it. “Very grey. Matches your frock.”
Slowly, she placed it on the ground in front of him and placed her hoof on top of it. She seemed to adjust the angle of her knee for a moment before drawing back and striking, cracking the stone in half to reveal that it wasn’t only hollow, but lined with several blue gems as well. “It’s a sapphire geode. I heard dragons eat gemstones. I thought you might be hungry.”
“Whoa.” Spike said, impressed by her utter ease in cracking stone with her bare hooves. “Yeah, I do. Thank you. How did you find this?”
“Maud sense.” She told him in that same bored monotone, walking away to lay next to her own tree without any further explanation.
Still confused but lacking the energy to follow it up despite his haunting curiosity, he happily raised one of the two halves to his mouth and blew a small green flame into the makeshift bowl, heating the gems to make them easier to eat. Before he got the chance to get too deep into his snack however, another red flame blasted through the leaves and into the grass between the group. Another attack by Nightmare Star.
The flames spread unnaturally fast above them, traveling down the limbs towards the base of the trunks, forcing everypony away from the trees that were just protecting them. Branches fell and flames roared around the six, trapping them in a circle of flame. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo tried to kick up dust towards the fire, while Zephyr panicked and tried to put them out with a breeze from his wings, as though he were trying to blow out a candle.
As a branch crackled and burned above Sweetie Belle, Spike quickly jumped over her, shielding her from the flaming limb as it fell from the canopy. Terrified for her own safety, she darted from under Spike, away from the flaming branch.
Calmly and gently, Maud trotted over to Zephyr and grabbed his wings to stop the ineffective breeze he was creating.
“What are you doing? We have to put out the fire!” Zephyr yelled as Maud held down his wings.
“You’re fanning the flames.” She explained. “That’s only going to make it grow more.” Letting go of his wings, she turned to Sweetie Bell. “Can your magic keep the leaves and branches from falling on us? She asked. Sweetie nodded and closed her eyes, igniting her horn in a green aura and generating a wide, transparent shield.
“You said you have magic fire.” Maud turned to Spike, looking him in the eyes. “Do you think it can put out the grass?”
“Not quite.” Spike admitted. “But I can send it away.” With a nod from Maud, he went to work, spewing emerald flames over the burning plant life beneath them, instantly burning it away into a lightly colored, sparkling smoke that contracted and disappeared. Moving to work on the ring around them, the ponies all rushed through the dirt path he created, Sweetie dropping her magical barrier. As Spike repeated the process one final time on the leaves above, Zephyr smiled at the grey earth pony.
“That was some good thinking Maud. I never would’ve thought to fight fire with fire.”
“We didn’t. We fought fire with magical fire.”
“Technically we didn’t fight fire at all.” Spike interrupted, breathing heavily. “We just sent it somewhere else.”
“Where?” Maud asked.
“The ocean. Well, the beach I visited last year on vacation, but still. Really hope nopony was there today.”
“At least the fire’s dealt with.”
Letting out an amused huff, Spike smiled. “Yeah. Fair enough. Let’s get moving before that happens again.”
As the group walked up to an odd sight, a bubbling river, they stopped. Slowly, Spike dipped his tail in the foaming water, immediately withdrawing with a short hiss. “It’s boiling.” He explained as he gently shook his tail dry, careful to not splash the ponies.
“You can breathe fire but you have issues with some hot water?” Scootaloo asked, perplexed.
“My scales are fireproof, but I think it’s a magical thing. Natural enchantments don’t tend to do well against stuff they didn’t specifically evolve to handle. Learned that the hard way when I fell asleep sunbathing. I can still resist the heat well enough though. I might be able to carry all of you across if Zephyr helps keep things steady.”
“Keep things steady?” Zephyr asked.
Pushing off from the ground, Spike stood fully upright on his hind legs, towering at nearly twice the height of the ponies around him. Slowly, he walked into the boiling river, moving all the way to the other side without the water even coming up to his waist. “If you all climb on my shoulders, I should be able to bring you over one at a time while Zephyr makes sure nopony slips off.”
“Isn’t that gonna hurt? If you’re in the water too long you could get burned, right?”
“I’ll be fine after a shed or two. Besides, it shouldn’t be a problem in the first place if we hurry up.” Spike assured as he waded back over to the others. Sure enough, they each climbed onto Spike’s shoulders, Zephyr holding them steady and adjusting each time someone began to slip. The moment the last pony, Apple Bloom, was lowered to the ground, a wail sounded from down the river.
Without a second thought, Sweetie Belle ran off, following the current towards the pained sound. Following the unicorn, the group stumbled upon a writhing purple serpent as he tried to crawl his way from the river. “We have to do something!” Sweetie pleaded as she conjured another green barrier to shield her from the splashing water as she approached.
“I don’t think I can lift that much weight.” Spike said, stopping Sweetie.
“We can’t just leave him like that!” Sweetie urged, worry plain in her eyes. Searching around the forest, an idea suddenly struck her. “Wait here!” She rushed away from the river and up into the trees. After a few moments, and a few concerned looks shared between the group, Sweetie rushed back with several long vines, running past the group and tying the plants around the serpent like ropes.
“Everyone, grab a vine and pull!” She instructed, chomping down on the closest one to her and using her magic to float the ends of the five other vines towards each of the five creatures. Following Sweetie’s lead, everyone bit down on a vine and pulled with all their remaining strength. Slowly but surely, the serpent was dragged out of the boiling water onto the dry, if still hot, shore.
“Oh, I can’t thank you all enough!” The serpent celebrated. “I was starting to prune in there.”
“What?!” Scootaoo yelled. “You were screaming because you were starting to prune?!”
“Well of course! Do you think I want to look like a wrinkled old sea monster?”
“What are you even doing in a river in the Evermute Forest anyway?”
“I don’t think that’s any of your business, you rude little chicken.”
“Why you-” Sweetie shoved a hoof in Scootaloo’s face, shushing her before she could pick a fight.
“I’m glad you’re alright, Mister..?” She trailed off.
“Steven. Steven Magnet.” The serpent answered, giving a small bow towards Sweetie Belle. “Now for you, my little pony, I’d answer any question.”
“It’s alright, Mister Magnet.” Sweetie said, giving a small, satisfied smile. “Oh, wait, I do have something to ask! Would you happen to know where the ‘castle of the royal pony sisters’ is?”
“Doing a bit of sight seeing in the summertime are we?” Steven asked, giving a small laugh as he rose from his bow. “We’re right next to it. Keep heading west and you’ll come across an old rope bridge that you can use to get across the chasm, then it’ll just be another five minute walk.”
“Thank you very much for you help, kind sir. We’ve mostly just been moving on blind hope up until now.” Sweetie bowed to Steven before rising and leading the group once again into the forest.
True to Steven’s word, the ponies and drake stumbled upon an old rope bridge as they continued on their path. There was only one problem. The rope had long since come undone.
As the group turned to Zephyr, the stallion backed away, shaking his head. “I couldn’t tie a sturdy knot to save my life.”
Groaning, Scootaloo dragged up the bridge, plank by plank, on her own, tying the loose rope to her waist, and revving her wings. Before anyone got the chance to ask her what she was doing, she darted off the edge of the cliff at high speed, launching herself almost entirely across the chasm. Almost. Everyone gasped as they watched her fall.
Scootaloo scrambled for a grasp as the rope around her began to tighten. She needed a hold on the other side if she wanted to repair the bridge. The weight of the planks pulled her further down into the fog. A rock nicked the tip of her hoof as she was dragged away.
With a massive burst of energy, her wings pushed her forward just enough to cling to a single stone. A sun bleached rock that burned her hoof with its heat. With that hold, she pulled herself onto the face of the cliff, and began to ascend, the violent rays of the furious sun beating down onto her exposed back. Sweat caused her hooves to slip, forcing her to readjust her grip several times as she made her way back up the side of the wall, feeling as though she were being dragged down into the ocean depths by the tentacle of a mighty kraken.
Clambering her way back over the edge, Scootaloo rolled onto the solid ground with an exhausted sigh. Even on the ground, it felt as though she were being weighed down by cinder blocks. With an irritated sigh, she undid the rope around her waist and approached the stone post where it had been originally tied, looping it around several times before pulling a knot tight. Pulling up the other side of the bridge she repeated the process with the other rope before turning around and marching on towards the castle.
Quickly making their way into the shaded ruins of the ancient castle, the group instantly found the fabled elements. A pedestal in the center of the room held five stone spheres, each as big as the ponies’ heads. Carefully, Sweetie Belle used her magic to lift each of them off of the display, placing them in a circle in front of the group.
“One, two, three, four, that’s five.” Sweetie counted. “Where’s the sixth?”
“The book said that when the five are present, a spark will cause the sixth element to be revealed.” Maud recited, looking towards Spike.
“What in the hay is that supposed mean?” Apple Bloom asked.
“I’m not sure.” Spike said, taking a step towards the elements. “But stand back anyway. I wanna try something.” Taking a breath, Spike let the warmth of his fire well up in his chest. Slowly, he allowed controlled orange embers to flood and fall from his mouth, pooling around the element boulders in an attempt to ignite them with a literal spark. The ponies backed away, watching as the flames built.
In an instant, the flames changed to a deep red color and swirled, carrying the elements into the air in a crimson twister. As the ponies gasped, instantly recognizing the inferno as it rose, Spike leapt into the fiery winds, unwilling to allow their only weapon to be stolen from their grasp. In a flash of light, everything disappeared into thin air. The flames, the elements, and Spike.
Suddenly Spike found himself in what appeared to have once been a throne room. Across the room before him stood Nightmare Star, each of the five elements floating in her fiery grasp, cackling maniacally as she placed the stone spheres down around her.
Without a word, Spike glared and lowered his head, dragging a hand across the ground as though he were about to charge the tyrant unarmed.
“Oh you’re kidding, right? Please tell me I didn’t just spend the last few hours trying to send you away, just for you to charge at me headfirst like a fool.”
Once again feeling the warmth in his chest, Spike indeed charged. With a sigh, Nightmare Star lowered her horn to the level of his head and began to run as well. Spike needed to get to the elements. It didn’t matter what she did if he could get the sixth element to appear. As the pair approached each other, Spike let loose a gout of ocean blue flames, though they didn’t seem to carry his momentum. As Spike charged through his own fire, feeling their heat wash over his scales, he suddenly found himself on the throne that Nightmare Star had been taunting him from just moments before.
He didn’t have time to figure out what happened. He looked down and let loose another jet of bright orange flames. History only seemed to repeat itself though as his flames once again turned red, condensing together and blasting him backwards with a powerful explosion.
The tyrant princess laughed as Spike flew past her, slamming into the ground hard enough to crack the already crumbling stone. Slowly, she trotted back onto the throne, standing in the middle of the now shattered elements. “You pathetic little whelp. Did you actually think you could defeat me? Now, you will never see your precious princess, or your moon. The day, will last, forever!” Cackled Nightmare Star. “Aah-hahaha ha ha!”
Spike stared up at the corrupted princess, defeated. Suddenly, the voices of the others approached from the entrance and Spike’s heart swelled in joy. Not only were they safe, but they were coming to help him! As their figures galloped through the doorway, a realization dawned on Spike.
“You think you can destroy the elements of harmony just like that?” He asked, pushing off from the ground and staring down the flaming tyrant with renewed passion. “Too bad for you that the spirits of the elements of harmony are right here!” He exclaimed as the ponies huddled around him. The shards around Nightmare began to glow and rise from the ground as he spoke, gliding over to each of the five ponies around him.
“What? Hang on, no! I already won! that’s not fair!”
“Apple Bloom, who believed in Zephyr when both he and I were in doubt, represents the spirit of Trust! Zephyr Breeze, who ended a fight with the manticore with his attentiveness and compassion, represents the spirit of Sympathy! Maud Pie, who guided us out of danger with clear thinking, is the spirit of Composure! Sweetie Belle, who saved a writhing serpent from a boiling stream without a moment’s hesitation or any benefit to herself, is the spirit of Benevolence! And Scootaloo, who leapt a burning chasm so that we could complete our quest, is the spirit of Dedication!” Spike monologued, the element shards circling the ponies and glowing brighter with each word. “The traits held by these five ponies got us through every single challenge you threw at us.”
“You still don’t have the sixth element! The spark didn’t work.” Nightmare sneered.
“But it did! A different kind of spark.” Spike said, turning to look at each of the ponies that came and helped him on this mission. “I felt it the very moment I realized how happy I was to hear and see you all safe. When I realized how much I cared about you. The spark ignited inside me when I realized that you all...” He told them, tears welling up in his eyes. Taking a moment to wipe away the waterworks, he turned back around, ready to confront Nightmare Star. “Are my friends!”
A flash of white above him prompted everyone to look into the air. Everyone stared in shock at the floating stone, emblazoned with a six pointed star, a spark, floating above. In an instant Spike realized what it was and continued.
“When those elements are ignited by the spark that resides in the heart of us all, they create the sixth element. The element of Chivalry!” With that, the shards transformed with a bright flash into gems inlaid into platinum necklaces around everyone, each of the six gems having a unique shape. All but the last, the stone, that glowed and morphed around Spike’s head into a gem inlaid into a platinum crown. A rosy red apple for trust, a topaz feather for sympathy, a lavender boulder for composure, a pastel pink star for benevolence, a magenta wing for dedication, and an emerald green flame for chivalry. Almost the same colors as their manes. Or spines, in Spike’s case.
Magic radiated from the gems, enveloping their bearers in a prismatic light that sparked and twisted. As their wills ignited, so too did the fury of the elements, spewing forth into a rainbow of color and pure arcane force. Nightmare Star shrieked as the magic blasted her, washing away the stain of her vile form in a crumbling silhouette.
“Ugh... My head...” Scootaloo groaned as she peeled herself from the floor.
“Everypony okay?” Sweetie Belle called.
“I’m good.” Apple Bloom responded, followed by Spike and Zephyr.
“Where did this come from?” Maud asked, looking down at the element around her neck.
“It looks like your cutie mark.” Sweetie pointed out.
“So does yours.” Replied Zephyr, already examining his own.
“Gee, Spike. I thought you were spouting a bit of nonsense back there for dramatic effect, but I guess we really are the spirits of the elements.” Apple Bloom admitted, eyeing the crown above the dragon’s head.
“Indeed you are.” A voice confirmed as a shadow washed over the room. Looking to the nearest window, everyone could see the sky returning to a natural shade of blue as the sun released the moon’s shadow and began to lower back beneath the horizon, bathing the land in the cool shade of the night as stars began to dot the sky. A single moonbeam began to shine brightly through the aging, broken glass, and as it slowly faded it revealed the form of the missing princess.
“Princess Luna!” Spike called, rushing over to the dark blue alicorn as the ponies bowed.
“Spike The Dragon, my faithful assistant. I knew you could do it.”
“I thought you said it was all an old ponies’ tale...”
“I told you this year’s celebration would be important, nothing more than that. I might’ve implied something more, but I certainly didn’t say anything. I saw the signs of Nightmare Star’s return, and I knew it was you who had the magic inside to defeat her, but you could not unleash it until you let true friendship into your heart.” Luna explained. “Now if only another will as well.”
As Luna approached the ruined throne, everyone moved their gaze to follow, landing upon the crumpled form of a small white alicorn with short, pink hair, shattered gold and broken jewels scattered all around her.
“Princess Celestia.” Luna called. The smaller alicorn flinched and opened her eyes, gazing up to the princess in fear. “It has been a thousand years since I have last seen you like this. It’s time to put our disagreements behind us. For our sakes, as much as theirs.” Luna said, extending a wing to gesture to the six Equestrian citizens and crouching next to the cowering pony. “We were meant to rule together, little sister.”
“Sister?!” The onlookers all gasped in unison.
“Will you accept my friendship, and my apology?” Luna asked, rising.
Tears welled in Celestia’s bright pink eyes as she rushed forward, falling into Luna’s embrace. “I’m so sorry, big sister! I’ve missed you so much!”
“I’ve missed you too.” Luna said. Her horn ignited in its bright blue glow, and in a flash of moonlight everyone was out of the Evermute once again, finally free of that horrid place. Luna and her sister began making their way back into the town together when Luna stopped, noticing the gaze of Spike as he watched the pair with sorrow in his eyes.
“Why so glum, my faithful assistant?” She asked. “Are you not happy that your quest is complete, and you are free to return to your home in Canterlot at your leisure?”
“That’s just it, Princess. Just when I realized how wonderful friendship can really be when it’s embraced, I have to leave all of the ones I’ve made here.” The dragon explained.
Pondering for a moment, Luna tilted her head and chuckled. “You really are quite dutiful, aren’t you? How about this then; I, Princess Luna, hereby decree that the dragon known as Spike The Dragon shall take on a new mission for Equestria.” She announced, turning towards the group of friends, the bearers of the elements of harmony, and flaring out her wings. “He must begin to study the magic of friendship and report to me his findings, from his new home in Ponyville, no longer as my faithful assistant, but as my personal student.”
As Spike bowed in reverence, his friends cheered for him. “Thank you, Princess Luna. I’ll study harder than Twilight does for an upcoming test.”
“Wait, hang on a second, is ‘The Dragon’ part of your full name, Flame?” Scootaloo asked, snickering.
“I’m going home now.” Spike rolled his eyes, opting to ignore the fact that his ‘name’ was more of a title. “I’ve got a report to write.”
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If we want a real specific color to describe Zephyr by, the My Little Pony Friendship is Magic wiki lists his coat color as a pale aquamarine.
Interesting idea to have the Mane 6 replaced by their siblings, even though when I started reading this, I didn't expect you would reverse their ages as well. And Spike is Luna's assistant in this. I'm interested to see how will you handle more episodes. You have gained a follower for this story.
Can't wait to see what's next.
Amazing story keel up the great work
Again, wonderful job on the action, exchanges, characterizations and future chapter set-up in all the right places. Certainly liked the logical, in-universe reasons for Maud to know about the required book as well as Zephyr to have that cabin right by the Everfree. The logical alterations to the trials were good too. On another note, I DID enjoy Twilight helping Spike out in keeping the fires from Nightmare Star's initial attack under control. So, Filly Twilight is already seeing at least slightly more of the action than canon Spike did at this time.
I also caught the detail that, even though Spike IS at the age that he should have already undergone the molt, he doesn't have his wings yet. Of course, that would have made both the rockslide and the bridge non-issues, so that's acceptable. Plus, he'll probably be getting them toward the end of the Season Three finale anyway.
Definitely going to be looking forward to more of this series.
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You read that faster than I could finish the song on my youtube playlist. You terrify and amaze me.
Read your first comment not ten minutes ago dude, what the heck
Not a bad start, I like how you reworked the challenges to account for the new characters.
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Well, to be fair, I did pick up some stuff I missed in the earlier review so I added that. Plus, those were the second time I read both chapters.
Maybe the analogue to the "Ticket Master" could involve Luna giving Spike and all of his new friends each two tickets to the Gala as a reward for stopping Nightmare Star/reuniting her with her sister and the plot could then involve each of them helping the others in finding somebody trustworthy to give their extra tickets to (except for Spike and Sweetie Belle, who are already taking Twilight and Rarity respectively).
The "Dragonshy" analogue could involve the gang being introduced to Shining Armor and Cadance as Spike tries to help reason with the bigger dragon, well, dragon-to-dragon and Luna sent the latter two as she feels that the Alicorn of Love would have the best chance of reasoning with the dragon peacefully and Shining Armor could set up a force field strong enough to protect his adoptive little brother and his fillyfriend in the event of the negotiations going south.
And the "Bridle Gossip" analogue could involve Spike and his friends shaming most of the town for their fear of a Zebra (Zecora actually already being a friend of Apple Bloom's and has taught her a fair bit about potions and Maud, at least being level-headed enough to not believe the insane negative gossip about Zecora) causing them to treat an actually rather pleasant individual like she is literally worse than Nightmare Star.
Though I will respect if you already have other/better ideas and will profusely apologize for wasting your time.
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That would explain your speed. I'm shocked you'd read this thing more than once though. Thanks!
I'm actually halfway through the first draft for 'The Ticket Master' already, but I might rework the entire episode and use that idea for it instead. I kinda wrote myself into a bit of a roadblock with the premise I've got now.
I haven't thought too much about 'Dragonshy' or 'Bridle Gossip' yet. I've got, like, two notes each for how the events might play out. I'll definitely look into those ideas when I get around to writing those episodes.
You don't need to apologize for writing a comment dude, I love reading 'em, and hearing your ideas.
Interesting take with Spike as the main character here, looking forward to see how the other S1 episodes change with this dynamic!
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Thanks very much. Actually, here's a possible dialogue idea for the "Boast Busters" analogue:
Scootaloo: As an aspiring professional stuntpony, I understand the need to sound as cool as possible and get the crowd worked up, but let's wait to see if she has the talent to back up the bragging. Because it's one thing to talk yourself up, it's another to be able to actually do the things you claim to.
Sweetie Belle: As a professional musician, I have to agree with that, Scoots. Admittedly, the music business has SOME differences from the world of stage magic, but the rules about working up the crowd and having the skills to do what you claim to still apply.
Maud: Well said, girls. If nobody has any objections, let's just sit back and enjoy the show. If it's good, then it wasn't a complete waste of our time. If it isn't good, then at least we only saw it once.
And a possible idea for the "Griffon the Brush-off" analogue (possibly called "Griffon the Green Light"): One of Scootaloo, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle's shared old friends, Gabby comes for a visit while she is also griffon-sitting her adopted cousin Gilda. Gabby, of course, is an extremely good-natured sort - ESPECIALLY for a griffon - though her younger cousin Gilda has had issues with getting picked on by bullies and Gabby is looking for somebody to help her build Gilda up both physically and mentally (so this also combines minor elements of "Call of the Cutie" - as Twilight, Rainbow, Applejack and Rarity all hang with Gilda and try to help her and coming together as this universe's Cutie Mark Crusaders counterparts -, "One Bad Apple" - as it involves helping out a bullying victim - and "the Fault in Our Cutie Marks" - as it involves helping a griffon make friends).
Another possible idea could involve Rainbow Dash (after she, Twilight, Applejack and Rarity come together as the Cutie Mark Crusaders) pulling a wagon to transport her friends (she can already fly pretty well for a Pegasus filly, but hauling around the combined weight of her friends and their supplies builds up her strength and stamina with Rainbow hoping to train herself up well enough to one day make her wings strong enough to break the sound barrier [which doubles as a Mythology Gag AND foreshadowing]. Plus, it allows her to share her love of flying with her three best friends).
It suddenly occurs to me that people might not know who Nightmare Star is or why I didn’t use Daybreaker. NS is an old nightmare version of Celestia from the MLP trading card game. I used her instead of DB because she’s supposed to be the real Celestia, where DB was a figment of Starlight’s unconscious mind.
I might bring Daybreaker back in place of the tantabus though. Might not. Depends on if I figure out how, tbh. I really wanna give her a cameo.
Here’s the card she’s from in case anyone is interested.