Join Spike the Dragon as he and his seven mares set off on an epic adventure and defeat an evil Dragon Lord.
While on his Honeymoon, Spike is informed that the evil Count Lucius, the former heartless ruler of the Dragons, will be returning upon the next eclipse. Realizing Equestria will be in danger, Spike and his Mares head out on an adventure to stop the Count and to learn about the mysterious Drago Fangtooth. Who is he and what connection does Spike have with him? Will Equestria be saved? Find out! (Rated Teen just in case)
In the world of Equestria, everypony plays an important role. Whether it be Princesses Celestia and Luna, who raise the sun and the moon, or even a simple Earth pony tending to farm work, everyone is special in their own ways. But there is one character who has a much more important role than all of them put together without even realizing it. And his name is Spike.
Now, Spike isn't a pony like everyone else. He’s a baby dragon that has spent his life raised with ponies from the day he was hatched. Despite the differences between him and the other ponies, Spike has done many brave things in his life, such as the time where he helped to save the Crystal Empire from the evil King Sombra, or when he rallied the other ponies to save Rarity from the Diamond Dogs, and especially when he saved Applejack’s life from a giant Timberwolf. But he has also had his share of random and confusing moments that sometimes turn out to be blessings in disguise.
Some time ago, Spike had made a love potion out of curiosity. Unfortunately for him, the Mane 6 drank it by mistake and fell in love with him. After some wackiness and random moments, Spike was able to cure his friends of the potion. But the antidote wore off causing them to love him again. Also another mare named Trixie also drank the potion and fell for the little dragon. After making sure all 7 were cured, Princess Celestia had Spike marry them. No one has idea why it was allowed, but Celestia seemed like it would involve something very important. But for what purpose does Spike play in all of this? Why was he married to the Mane 6 and Trixie even though they were cured? These questions and many more will be answered when the time is right. But now, it is time to begin with this story.
Far away from Equestria, in a Dark Castle, A group of dragons made their way to the center of a craggy old tavern. In the middle of it was a cauldron full of fire. The lead dragon of the group stepped forward. His scales were a shade of dark crimson and he appeared to be missing an eye as it was covered with a patch. In one claw, he held a small pile of spice.
“Oh great Count Lucius,” he said, slowly approaching the cauldron, “Speak to us from the beyond!”
And he threw the spice into the cauldron. Suddenly the flames shot high into the air! The dragons had to back up to be on the safe side. The flames then spread into the shape of a large circle. Then they seemed to part in the middle, like a door to another world. As they parted, a large, angry dragon was seen looking at them. His scales were as black as soot, and his eyes were the color of anger and hatred.
“What is it, Darkblaze?” said a voice. It seemed angry and bitter.
“Wonderful news, your greatness,” said Blaze. “The next eclipse will be coming any day now. You will be free!”
“And my body? Has it been fully recovered yet?”
Darkblaze was a bit timid. “Well,” he began. “Not quite…”
”WHAT?!” The angered voice echoed around them, causing the room to shake as rubble fell from the ceiling. “I have been trapped in this world for years!” snapped Lucius. “My resurrection is coming soon and you have yet to finish repairing my original body!” He glared tightly at Darkblaze. “Need I remind you what happens when you fail to obey my orders?”
Darkblaze covered his missing eye in fear. He didn't want to lose another one to this mad tyrant. “F-fear not, oh great one,” he said, regaining a small bit of courage. “We only are in need of 6 more pieces of your body.” He turned his back to show what looked like a broken statue of a dragon. It was cracked in places and seemed to be missing the head, the legs, the tail, and the arms. “But they will be very easy to locate as long as none of us has the intelligence of a fruit salad.”
“Excellent,” said Lucius, seeming to calm down. “Maybe I was wrong to be so doubtful of you, Darkblaze.” He then turned towards another direction. “After being trapped in this dimension for years, I will finally be free! And then I shall take revenge on Drago Fangtooth for imprisoning me here in the first place. Then no one will be able to stop me as I begin my quest to rule the world!”
Then a short fat dragon with a missing tail stepped forward. ”Uh, actually your greatness,” he said, “I think that there’s someone who probably can stop you.”
”What? Who would dare stop Count Lucius, the most powerful dragon ever created?”
“Some dragon named Spike,” said the short dragon. And he showed him a picture of Spike. Lucius stared down at the picture.
“A baby dragon?” he said, starting to chuckle. “A baby dragon defeating me? That is just simply outrageous!”
Lucius started laughing louder. The other dragons began to laugh a bit nervously. Suddenly, Lucius stopped laughing as he looked closer at the picture.
“Wait a minute,” he said. “There’s something about this young dragon that gives me an uneasy feeling.”
“We do believe,” said Darkblaze, “that he may be the chosen one.”
“The chosen one?!?” Lucius let loose a furious roar! “Find him! Make sure this dragon does not interfere with my plans!”
The dragons bowed to their master. They opened their wings and flew off into the dark skies to do as they were told. Lucius glared down at the picture on the floor.
“It won’t be long now, Drago Fangtooth”, he said darkly. “Soon, I shall be free to seek revenge on you for imprisoning me here. Then I shall finish what I started before. No one will be able to stop me! Not you, or this Spike. We’ll see just how powerful this chosen one is!”
The wicked dragon cackled ferociously as the flames began to slowly die. He then faded from sight and the fire went back into the cauldron as if nothing had happened at all. Then, the only sound that filled the room was the scurrying of rats as they hunted for food.
At that moment, back in Equestria, Spike, the Mane 6, and Trixie, were on a train bound for the Crystal Empire for their honeymoon. They would be staying at the Motels, where Shining Armor and Princess Cadance told the staff they were to be given complementary services.
“Isn’t this exciting?” said Pinkie Pie, who was bouncing around with joy. “We get to be treated like Royalty just for marrying Spike!”
“Calm down, Pinkie”, said Twilight. “I’m not actually sure that this marriage should even count since it was arranged by Princess Celestia.”
“I don’t think it’s so bad”, Fluttershy said. “Maybe marrying us to Spike will be a good…”
”But Fluttershy”, interrupted Twilight. “Don’t you think it’s unfair that the wedding wasn’t out of love?”
Spike could overhear them and knew how they felt. “I’m not sure that they would even love me anyway without the potion”, he said to himself. “I’m just a puny little dragon with no knowledge of his actual parents.” He looked out the window and could see the Crystal Empire coming in the distance.
”I still don’t know why she had to include Trixie”, said Rainbow Dash. “Don’t you remember everything she’s done?”
”Easy there, Sugarcube”, said Applejack. “Trixie may have messed up in the past and got us all mad at her, but that don’t mean we can’t learn to forget and forgive. Right Trixie?”
There was no response. Suddenly they heard a very loud scream of excitement. The only times they would hear that sort of scream was when Rarity was surrounded by something that made her really happy, such as a giant jewelry store or a warehouse full of fashionable ensembles. But the scream didn’t come from Rarity. It came from Trixie.
”THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE!” she cried in excitement when she looked out the window. “I’ve always been dreaming of when I’d get to actually see it with my own eyes!”
In no time, the train came to the station. Just before it could fully stop, Trixie dashed out of the coach to explore. She raced down the streets with a huge grin on her face. She seemed more excited than Pinkie Pie at a new amusement park. “I’m in paradise!” she cried in delight. “This is a dream come true!”
Spike and the Mane 6 got off the train with their luggage and went to look for the Motel.
“Shouldn’t we go after Trixie and make sure she doesn’t hurt anypony, or herself?” asked Spike.
“I’ll get her”, said Applejack. She marched over to Trixie and dragged her to the others by her tail. Presently the gang arrived at the Motel. They could see Cadance and Shining Armor there already. Twilight and Cadance then did their little dance.
Sunshine, sunshine, Ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves And do a little shake!
“I just can’t believe it”, said Cadance. “You’re actually married now.”
“My little sis keeps growing up so fast”, commented Shining Armor. A tear was beginning to form in his eye.
“Liquid pride?” chuckled Twilight.
”Liquid pride”, answered Shining Armor. Then he noticed Trixie and seemed a bit cross. “Aren’t you that mare who caused an Ursa Minor to attack Ponyville and cheated in a Magic Duel against my sister?”
Trixie lowered her head in shame. Spike spoke up.
“Yes that’s her”, he said. “But that Ursa Minor thing wasn’t her fault. Snips and Snails were the ones that lured it in. She also feels bad for what she did. Let’s just let bygones be bygones and enjoy ourselves.”
Shining Armor looked hard at Trixie. “Alright”, he said. “But if you do anything to harm my sister, so help me…”
”Shining”, interrupted Cadance, “calm down. Twilight is in good hooves, er, claws. I’m sure Spike will keep her safe.”
So the gang followed the Bellhop up to their room.
”We were informed that you 7 are to be given complementary services”, said the bellhop. “So we took the liberty of making a special room for all of you.”
At last they came to the room. The Bellhop opened the door and they could not believe what they saw. The room looked more amazing than the actual throne room. It seemed to be divided in different sections. Each section was to the likings of the 7 mares.
”This is amazing!” cried Twilight. “It’s like they took bits of our homes in Ponyville and mashed them together into one place!”
”And they left us gift baskets!” said Pinkie Pie bouncing around.
Spike gave the bellhop a tip and joined his Mares. Their gift baskets included fruits, chocolates, and for Spike, some gems to munch on. But he shared them with Rarity out of generosity, earning himself a kiss on the cheek.
“I can’t believe we’re being treated so special just for marrying Spikey-Wikey”, giggled Rarity. “Maybe we should have done so earlier.”
Once they were unfinished packing, now came the time to look around. The Motel was unlike anything they had seen. Everywhere was so shiny and magnificent. There was an indoor swimming pool, an entertainment center, and even a dinning area.
“Now this is what I call fancy”, commented Applejack.
Suddenly, Trixie jumped onto a nearby table and put on her famous hat and cape.
“Citizens of the Crystal Empire!” she called to the staff. “You are all lucky for today, you have come face to face with the Great and Powerful Trixie!”
The Crystal Ponies all looked at Trixie as though she was crazy. Twilight put a hoof to her forehead in annoyance.
“Here we go again”, she said. “She’s gonna start her boasting and try milking this marriage thing for all it’s worth.”
“As I am married to the one and only Spike the Dragon,” Trixie continued on, “I require special treatment. Firstly, I want my pillows to be extra fluffy. Second, for breakfast I want French toast with the purest maple syrup. And finally, I expect a hoof pedicure every hour on the hour even if I happen to be asleep! If you refuse to meet my demands then I shall…”
Twilight covered Trixie’s mouth with her hoof before she could say anything else.
“Don’t worry, everypony”, she said. “Trixie is just teasing. She won’t do anything to harm you.”
The group then got their meals and sat down to eat.
“I wonder what gave Celestia an idea like this of having me marry all 7 of you anyway”, commented Spike.
One Week Earlier
In the Royal Castle of Canterlot, Princess Celestia was enjoying an early morning cup of tea. Suddenly she received a letter by magic, the way it was done by Spike’s fire breath. But this letter was different than the ones sent by Spike. Attached to it was a single rose. Out of curiosity, she began reading it. As soon as she was finished reading, Celestia brought a hoof to her mouth and her cheeks turned a bright shade of pink. She then let out a soft chuckle. At that moment, Princess Luna came in and heard this.
“What is it sister?” she asked. Celestia just looked at her with a smile.
”He’s back”, she said.
”Who is back?”
“Drago Fangtooth.”
Present Time
Celestia looked back down at the letter she had received. As she smiled, a single tear began to form in her right eye.
Back at the Crystal Empire, the gang went back to their rooms to get their swimwear. They intended on trying out the pool. Rarity was already on her blow up raft with a smoothie. Fluttershy was wearing spring green water wings on her hooves. She dipped her front hoof into the water and backed away slowly, squeaking a bit.
“Relax, Fluttershy”, said Twilight, putting a comforting hoof on her friend’s shoulder. “It’s just water. It’s not going to hurt you.”
“But Twilight,” squeaked Fluttershy, “I just saw my reflection in the pool water, and I realized how adorable I am! What if somepony notices this and their heart explodes twice just by seeing me doing something cute?”
“No one’s heart is gonna explode twice just because you do something cute, sugarcube”, said Applejack. “I don’t think it’s even possible for something to explode twice.”
“You all know how adorable Sweetie Belle is, right?” asked Rarity. “Well, nopony’s heart has exploded just for seeing her be cute. So there’s nothing to worry about, Fluttershy.”
Fluttershy felt great relief upon hearing this and slowly dipped into the pool.
“It’s cold when you first get in”, she shivered. “But you get used to it after a few seconds.”
On the diving board, Rainbow Dash was getting ready to jump.
“Who’s ready to get splashed?” she called down.
“You couldn’t get all us wet even if you did a Sonic Rainboom before diving!” laughed Applejack.
“Want a bet?” Rainbow Dash’s eyes squinted with determination. She positioned herself carefully before taking actions. Slowly, she began to jump. Her jumps became higher and higher before finally she dove into the air! Her wings allowed her to reach the ceiling.
“CANNON RAIN-BALL!!!” she cried. Before anypony could react, Rainbow Dash curled into a ball and spun around at a great speed with her wings before zooming down towards the pool with a rainbow streak right behind her. The impacting soaked everyone that near the pool at the time. This included Rarity.
“Rainbow Dash!” she snapped. “You get me wet!”
Rainbow Dash couldn’t control her laughter. “Well what did you expect was going to happen at a pool?” she laughed.
Pretty soon, the gang got out of the pool and went back to their room. When they got to the door, a bellhop was waiting for them. On his back was a long, rectangular package.
“Excuse me”, he said. “Which one of you is Spike the Dragon?”
Spike looked up at the confused pony. “Isn’t it obvious?” he said.
The bellhop gave Spike the package and Spike gave him a couple coins.
“What do you think it is?” asked Fluttershy.
”Maybe it’s a giant chocolate cake with strawberry frosting on it!” Pinkie Pie bounced in excitement. “It’ll also have ‘Congratulations’ on it in whipped cream and…”
“Pinkie,” interrupted Twilight, “the box is too small for that kind of cake.”
Spike looked at the box. There was a letter on the side and he began to read it.
Dear Spike,
Congratulations on your marriage to 7 mares. Please consider this a late Wedding/Birthday present.
Spike looked back at the letter. There was no signature.
“That’s odd”, he said. “It doesn’t say who it’s from. Oh well.”
Spike took the package into the room and began opening it. With the wrapping paper gone, Spike slowly opened the box, and could not believe what he saw. Inside the box, was a sword. The handle was golden and had the initials “D.F.” inscribed in it. The scabbard that held the sword was a bright purple color painted to look like dragon scales. Spike appeared mesmerized by what he saw. The other ponies looked over his shoulder.
“What did you get?” asked Fluttershy.
“It’s a sword”, said Spike, still mesmerized. “I got a sword.”
Twilight peered closer at the sword.
”That’s not just a sword”, she gasped. “That’s the sword of Drago Fangtooth!”
Spike and the other ponies looked at Twilight with confusion.
“Who in tarnation is Drago Fangtooth?” asked Applejack.
Twilight went to her bookshelf and pulled out a large book. On the cover was “Historical Encyclopedia of Equestrian Heroes”. She flipped through the pages until she found what she was looking for.
“Aha!” she cried. “Here we are. Drago Fangtooth.” She showed the page to the others. On it was a picture of a purple stallion with a green mane and tail. He had dragon-like features, such as his eyes, wings, and tail. His cutiemark was a “D” consisting of a curved dragon shooting a downward flame. Twilight cleared her throat and read.
“Drago Fangtooth came from a race of ponies that had the ability to transform into dragons. These ponies were referred to as dronies. According to legend, Drago used to live in Canterlot long ago. But because of his power, he and his family were feared by normal ponies and despised by normal dragons. However, he was able to prove his worth by aiding Princess Celestia in many battles, including the defeat of Nightmare Moon. When he was full grown, Drago traveled to the land of dragons and ridded them of their previous ruler; Count Lucius, a coldhearted dragon who saw the dronies as an impure breed and wanted to exterminate them all and take over Equestria. After this he was never seen again.”
Twilight closed the book. The others looked at her with surprise.
“Whoa,” said Spike. I never even knew there were ponies that could turn into dragons.”
“Neither did I until I got bored and eventually found this article,” said Twilight. “None of my other books contain anything about Drago Fangtooth or his species.”
“It could be because of how much everypony was afraid of him at the time,” said Trixie. "That’s the only explanation I can think of."
“You make a very good point Trixie,” put in Twilight.
“Of course I do,” boasted Trixie. “After all, I am The Great and Powerful Trixie!”
“And right now you’re giving me a Great and Powerful migraine,” muttered Rainbow Dash, rubbing her hoof on her forehead.
Suddenly Fluttershy looked out the window and screamed. “Dragons!” she cried.
Everyone else looked out the window as well. In the skies, they could see a large pack of dragons soaring.
“That’s odd,” said Twilight. “The Great Dragon Migration isn’t supposed to happen yet.”
”Um, I don’t think they’re part of the migration Twilight,” said Spike, hiding behind Rarity.
Down below in the town, the Crystal Ponies saw the dragons and began to panic.
“We’re under attack!” they cried. They all ran off in terror to avoid being eaten by the dragons. Shining Armor came outside when he heard the commotion and saw the dragons.
“Oh no you don’t!” he called. With that, Shining Armor channeled his magic and shot a magical beam at the dragons, causing them to be binded with magic chains.
Inside the hotel, Cadance burst into Spike and the Girls’ room.
“Quick, get out!” she cried. “We’re under attack!”
The gang quickly got out of the hotel. Shining Armor was doing his best to keep the dragons from attacking. Unfortunately a couple of them were able to get out of their chains and continue their pursuit. During the chaos, a Crystal Filly was trying to find her mother but got grabbed by the short fat dragon. He looked mighty hungry. He was about to go in for the kill when he was stopped by Darkblaze.
”Put her down, Tubbo,” he said sternly. “We’re on a mission, not for food.”
“But I’m hungry!” wimpered Tubbo.
“You’re always hungry!” snapped Darkblaze, slapping the glutton upside the head. This allowed the little filly to escape. Shining Armor soon caught up with the dragons. He was weakened from his earlier move.
”I’ll never let you harm the Crystal Ponies!” he declared. And he aimed his horn at them.
”We don’t want your stupid Empire,” retorted Darkblaze. “We’re looking for a dragon by the name of Spike. Now where is he?”
”Even if I knew where he was, I’d never tell you,” Shining Armor replied, bravely.
Darkblaze glared at the stallion. “Big mistake,” he said darkly. He readied his claw and was about to strike when…
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you!”
Darkblaze looked around. Behind them was a mysterious stallion. He wore a black robe and his hood kept them from seeing his face. The dragons all laughed at the stranger.
“Oh no,” mocked Darkblaze. “Some pony with a robe is gonna beat us up? Whatever shall we do? Teach him a lesson, boys.”
The remaining dragons circled the stranger menacingly. The stranger just stood there, unfazed by what was about to happen. Just as the dragons went in for the kill, he leaped into the air just at the last second! Then he kicked one of the dragons upside the head with his back hooves and sent him soaring straight into the ground. Next he grabbed another one’s tail, swung him around and threw him at two more, knocking them down as well. The Shining Armor just watched in amazement. He had never seen a pony fight like that before. Suddenly remaining dragons decided to end the fight by roasting the stranger alive with their fire breath. But just before the flames hit, a shield of green flames surrounded him, protecting him.
”What kind of pony is this?” asked Darkblaze. “Forget him, let’s just go search another land.”
The dragons took off and left. Shining Armor was very pleased.
”Thank you very much…” but the stranger had disappeared. At that moment Cadance arrived.
“Are you alright, honey?” She asked, placing a hoof on Shining Armor’s forehead in worry.
”I’m fine,” said Shining Armor. “Just a couple of scratches and bruises, but besides that I’m fit as a fiddle. Where’s Twilight and the gang?”
“I got them out before the dragons could try and attack them. The Palace Guards say that the dragons didn’t try to attack the castle.”
Shining Armor looked at her worriedly. “They weren’t after the Empire,” he said, grimly, “they were after Spike. He’s in danger.”
Meanwhile, Spike and the 7 Mares were still running.
“What do you think those dragons wanted?” asked Pinkie Pie.
”I’m not sure,” replied Twilight.
”Why are we running away?” retorted Rainbow Dash. “I say we go back there and fight them!”
”I agree with Rainbow Dash,” said Trixie. “The Great and Powerful Trixie could easily defeat those evil dragons!”
“I… I think it was best that we ran while we had the chance,” squeaked Fluttershy.
“I can see the Train Station up ahead,” called Spike. “We’re almost there!”
But suddenly the winds began to pick up.
“I don’t remember the winds around here being this strong,” commented Rarity, trying to avoid being blown away.
Suddenly, the wind lifted all 8 of them off the ground and carried them off into the distance! Where they were going, they had no idea. But it was bound to become an adventure. Unknown to them, the stranger who had assisted Shining Armor earlier, was watching this and followed off in the direction the winds had blown.
At last, the winds died down. And the group fell to the ground, only to be protected by magic at the last minute.
”Phew,” said Twilight. “That was close.”
“Where in tarnation are we?” asked Applejack.
They looked around. Everything seemed very different. The weather felt warm and dry, and the landscape looked like a desert canyon with lava filled pools.
“This must be the land of the dragons,” commented Spike. He had only been here at least once when he met up with those teen-aged dragons on a journey of self discovery. Fluttershy gulped and hid her face with her mane.
“D-d-dragons?” she squeaked. “Oh I hope we don’t run into any of them. Especially if they’re hungry for ponies!”
”Relax Fluttershy,” said Rainbow Dash. “If we do come across any dragons that want to snack on us, we’ll be ready for them!”
“Girls, girls,” interrupted Rarity. “Shouldn't we be more focused on finding a way back home?”
”I agree with Rarity,” said Twilight. “We’d better find a way back home before something dangerous happens.”
“Just one problem,” put in Spike. “Where IS home?”
None of them knew.
“Well,” said Applejack, “looks like we’ll have to walk.”
”But why can’t we just use our magic to get home?” asked Trixie. “It would make a lot more sense.”
”What fun would that be?” said Pinkie Pie.
So the gang had to make a long, dull, walk through the land of dragons. It didn't help that Pinkie Pie kept saying “Are we there yet?” every five seconds.
“Can’t we find shelter?” whined Rarity. “I’m getting sweaty!”
“We’re all tired,” said Applejack. “But we still have no idea where home is!”
”Can’t we ask for directions?” asked Pinkie Pie.
“Pinkie Pie, what are the odds that if we ask a dragon for directions to Ponyville that we don’t get eaten alive?” asked Twilight.
“Good point,” said Pinkie Pie sheepishly.
“Well I say we should fine a Rocket Car!” said Rainbow Dash. “That way we’d get home AND be about 500% cooler at the same time! That would be awesome!”
“The Great and Powerful Trixie agrees with that plan!” proclaimed Trixie.
“Just one problem with that,” put in Applejack. “How in tarnation are we even supposed to FIND a Rocket Car to get home?”
“Where’s your sense of imagination?” asked Rainbow Dash.
Suddenly, Spike noticed something.
”Uh girls,” he said, “the sword is glowing.”
And it was. The sword was glowing a bright green. Suddenly it flew out of Spike’s clutches and into the woods.
“After it!” cried Spike.
They chased after the sword as fast as they could. Deeper and deeper they went into the forest. The twisted trees seemed to come closer and closer to them as if to grab them. This scared Fluttershy the most.
”Let’s just go back”, she squeaked.
“We can’t without my sword!” called Spike.
”It must be guiding us somewhere”, agreed Twilight.
Eventually, the chase ended. The sword was right in front of them, hovering in place.
“That’s odd”, said Applejack. “It’s just floating there. Not doing anything else.”
Spike reached out and grabbed the sword. Then he noticed something.
“Look where it lead us”, he said.
The sword had lead the gang to the entrance of a mysterious looking cave. At the opening on both sides were identical dragon statues. The entrance to the cave was blocked by two stone slabs which were frozen in a thick wall of ice.
“Maybe we can find a way home in there”, said Rainbow Dash.
“But how do we get in?” asked Rarity. “The entrance is blocked."
“I’m gonna try to use a flame spell on the ice”, said Twilight. “Stand back.”
Twilight steadied herself and prepared to cast the spell. Suddenly a fiery blaze shot out of her horn towards the wall of ice. After seconds, the flames disappeared. But to everyone’s surprise, the ice didn't melt.
“That’s odd”, said Twilight. I've never seen ice not melt from fire.”
“Let me try”, said Applejack, walking up to the wall. “I’ll buck that ice to cubes.”
Applejack reared her back hooves as best as she could, and kicked with all her might! But the ice wouldn't budge.
“This is the most stubborn wall of ice I've ever seen,” commented Applejack.
“Let me try this”, said Rainbow Dash. She flew about 50 feet into the air, dove down, and aimed herself to kick the wall as hard as she could. But instead, she was bounced off of the ice and crashed into a nearby tree.
“Are you alright Rainbow Dash?” asked Fluttershy, who was worried about her friend. The cyan Pegasus got out of the tree and shook the dizziness off.
“That was nothing”, commented Rainbow Dash. “I've survived worse.”
“I have an idea!” Pinkie Pie bounced in front of the wall with a determined look on her face. She rolled up her non-existent sleeves and threw her hooves into the air.
“Open Sesame!” she cried, shoving her hooves to the wall. But nothing happened. “Well I’m out of ideas.”
“The Great and Powerful Trixie does not believe in giving up like this”, declared Trixie. Then she turned towards the others. “Twilight, Rarity, I say that all 3 of us shall combine our might into the Flame spell again.”
“I’m afraid I’m not familiar with that type of spell”, said Rarity. “I usually use my magic for fashion.”
“Very well”, said Trixie. “Twilight, we shall have to do it ourselves.”
The two unicorns faced the wall, charged up their magic, and fired the flame spells as best as they could.
At last, they grew tired and stopped. But to their bewilderment, the ice still didn’t melt.
“Oh, bother!” pouted Trixie.
“How are we going to get in now?” asked Fluttershy.
During all of this, the hooded stallion had been watching them.
“I hope you know what to do, Spike”, he said quietly.
While the mares were trying to figure a way to melt the ice, Spike had been paying close attention to the statues. On both Pedestals was a hole large enough to fit a small gem inside.
”I wonder”, he pondered.
Spike reached into a bag he had brought with before the winds had carried him and the 7 mares to the land of Dragons. Rarity noticed this.
“What are you doing, Spikey-Wikey?” she asked.
“I’m seeing if I've got some gems”, Spike answered.
“Spike, this is no time for a snack”, said Twilight. “This is a time to find out how to open this cave.”
”Who said anything about a snack?” Spike showed them the two holes. “If I can find two gems that look the same, maybe we can get in. Aha!”
At last he pulled out two small sapphire gems. He was feeling tempted to eating them, but he knew that eating them would prevent them from opening the cave. Spike then handed one of the gems to Rarity.
“Here. Now go to the other statue”, he told her. “Then when I put my gem in the hole on this one, you put yours in the other hole.”
So Rarity went over to the second statue. As soon as Spike inserted his gem, Rarity inserted hers. At first nothing seemed to happen. Suddenly…
“Look!” cried Fluttershy. “The statues’ eyes glowed!”
And she was right. The eyes of the statues glowed a bright red once the gems had been inserted. Then they began to slowly rotate.
“They’re moving!” cried Trixie.
As soon as the statues were facing the ice wall, they stopped. Then their mouths slid open and fire blasted out from them!
“Hit the deck!” shouted Rainbow Dash. They all took cover as the fires were blasted towards the wall of ice.
When the flames died down, the ice had been completely melted. And the doors slid open.
“It worked!” cried Spike. “The ice has melted and the doors have opened!”
“Great work Spike!” said Twilight.
“A very impressive maneuver”, complimented Trixie.
“Hoo Doggy!” said Applejack. “That there was some quick thinking, Spike!”
“That was so awesome!” said Rainbow Dash, as she gave Spike a noogie.
“This calls for an ‘I just helped my friends melt ice and open a cave door’ party!” cried Pinkie Pie.
“Yay!” said Fluttershy in her usual quiet self.
“Isn't he just the most magnificent little dragon we have?” gushed Rarity as she nuzzled Spike. This caused him to blush.
“Ah shucks”, he said. “It was nothing, really.”
“Let’s go inside!” said Pinkie Pie.
So the group bravely headed inside the cave.
“This seems like the beginning of a super amazing adventure movie”, commented Rainbow Dash. “Would be cooler if Daring Do was here too to help us out. That would be…”
“Let me guess,” interrupted Rarity. “It would be awesome?”
“How’d you know what I was gonna say?” asked Rainbow Dash.
“Just a hunch”, piped in Pinkie Pie.
As they did, the hooded stallion watched them and grinned.
“Good work Spike”, he said, “You were very quick to find the solution to the puzzle. But I’m afraid that things will not be this easy from here on out. Stay strong and never give up.” And with that, he followed after them, making sure he was not too close.
The cave was long, curvy, and sloping. The walls were damp with moss. Around the corner, the group was having a talk.
“And you’re actually okay with knowing that this marriage wasn’t out of love?” asked Rarity. “And that we still only think of you as a friend?”
“Of course I’m fine with it”, said Spike calmly. “A little disappointed, but I’m okay. Besides, it doesn’t even count since it was only an arranged marriage in the first place.”
”Well we’re surprised by how well you’re taking it”, commented Twilight.
“Were you expecting me to get super upset and turn into a heart broken monster dragon?” retorted Spike.
“Actually we kinda were,” admitted Rainbow Dash, “but we’re glad you’re being mature about this.”
As the group continued along, the cave grew darker. Fluttershy was scared.
“I don’t like this”, she whimpered. “Everything is getting too dark to see. Let’s just turn back.”
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a green flame erupted from the handle of Spike’s sword.
“Whoa!” he cried as he held it out like a torch.
“That’s much better”, said Twilight. “That sword must be magic to be able to summon a flame like that.”
They soon reached a corner. On the wall was a basket full of torches. Spike grabbed a couple and ignited them with the fire on his sword.
“That should help”, he said as he passed the torches to the others.
As they continued along, they reached a dead end. They could not go any further.
“I can’t believe it!” complained Applejack. We wasted all that time for nothing!”
As they began to turn around, Rarity stepped on a tile which sank.
“Oops”, she said. “I hope nothing bad happens.”
”What do you mean nothing bad happens?” Objected Rainbow Dash. “In adventure movies, stepping on a sinking tile means you’ve set off a booby trap!”
Suddenly they heard a rumbling. Then a part of the wall began to slide up. When the rumbling stopped, Trixie saw something.
“What’s that?” she asked.
Everyone else looked. In the section of lifted wall was a gold medallion. It had 6 purple triangles on it.
“It looks pretty”, said Fluttershy. “I wonder who it belongs to.”
”We’d better take it with”, said Spike. “Just in case it helps us.”
Spike took the Medallion and put it around Rarity.
“I think it would look better on you Rarity”, he said.
“Why thank you, Spikey-Wikey”, said Rarity. “You’re always being so thoughtful.”
“Hey there’s something else there too”, pointed out Pinkie Pie.
And there was. In the spot where the Medallion was stood a scroll. Spike picked it up.
“It’s in some sort of ancient language”, he said. “I can’t understand what it… wait a minute!”
The words on the scroll glowed green.
“I can understand it!” cried Spike.
”What does it say?” Asked Trixie?
Spike read the scroll.
Prepare yourselves, brave travelers. The first of the many dangerous Trials await you. Beyond this door, you shall be put to the test and pushed to your very limits. Good Luck.
“And what door?” pointed out Rarity. “We’re at a dead end.”
”No we haven’t”, pointed out Spike. With that, he approached the wall. On it was a slot. He carefully slid the sword into the slot. Suddenly with a rumble, the wall rotated away. “See?”
“Spike, when will you ever quit surprising us?” chuckled Twilight.
They walked through the doorway through another corridor. Out of this corridor, they came across a fork in the path. In front of them were two doors.
“What now?” asked Trixie.
“I say we take the right door”, said Rainbow Dash, about ready to head off.
“Well I say we should take the left one”, said Trixie.
“Left is so boring!” argued Rainbow Dash. “I say we go right because it’s the ‘right’ way!”
Pinkie Pie laughed at the joke. Eventually all 7 Mares were arguing over which way to go. Spike rested his claw on the wall and noticed one of the stones was loose.
“Anypony got a file?” he asked.
“I have one”, said Rarity, levitating it out with her magic. “Do you need a manicure?”
Spike took the file, and slowly jimmied the stone out until he was able to pull it out. He then reached his claw in the hole and pulled out another scroll.
“Another scroll”, said Twilight.
“What does this one say?” asked Fluttershy. Spike opened the scroll and read it.
Insure you choose the correct door Here in this empty room. For choosing incorrectly Will surely seal your doom.
To make sure you make it out safely tonight, Follow your heart and you’ll always be right.
“See?” said Rainbow Dash. “It means to go right.”
She was just about to fly off when Twilight held her down with her magic.
“Were you even paying attention to the scroll?” she asked. “It said to follow your heart. The heart is located on the left side of the body. So it means to actually go left.”
So they went through the left door. They could see that if they had chosen the right door, they would have fallen down a bottomless pit.
“That was quick thinking, Twilight” complemented Spike.
Twilight put a hoof to her cheek to hide a hint of blush.
“Thanks”, she giggled. Spike had complimented her on her smarts before, but for some reason, this time it felt a little bit different.
Just as the reached the next room, they could see another door.
“This’ll be easy”, said Pinkie Pie. “Lets go!”
Just as they got close to the door, it closed!
”Hey what gives?” said Rainbow Dash. “Let us out!” and she began banging on the door. Then Fluttershy screamed.
“Monsters!” she cried.
Crawling out of holes in the ceiling flew an army of ice goblins with batwings.
“Ew!” groaned Rarity. “Their breaths reek!”
The ice goblins fired Ice balls at them, but suddenly, Spike’s sword glowed again and surrounded the group in a shield of green flames.
“Man I love this blade!” cried Spike.
“Let’s show these critters who’s boss!” called Applejack.
They charged at the goblins for a counter attack. Spike sliced on in half with his sword and it vanished in a puff of smoke.
“Weird”, said Spike.
Twilight, Trixie and Rarity shot some more down with their magic, Pinkie Pie blasted them with her party cannon, Rainbow Dash and Applejack kicked them, and Fluttershy hid and squeaked in fear.
“I wanna go home!” she wailed. No matter what they did, more and more ice goblins kept reappearing.
“How are we supposed to get out?” asked Applejack.
“They just keep coming back!” said Rainbow Dash.
Another Ice Goblin came up behind Spike and was about to attack when Spike sneezed and fire flew out. The Ice Goblin backed away in panic. This gave Spike an idea.
“Fire!” he cried. “They hate fire!”
Quickly Spike reached into his bag and pulled out a small bottle of hot sauce. He drank it, and suddenly let loose a huge ball of fire! The Ice Goblins shrieked as the fire reached them. Within seconds they melted and the fire went down. Suddenly the doors opened.
“Yay!” cried Pinkie Pie.
“That was amazing, Spike!” cried Fluttershy. She raced over and locked Spike in a hug and nuzzled his cheek. When she realized what she was doing, she set him down and blushed.
“If you’re done cuddling,” said Applejack, “we gotta keep going.”
So they went through the door. Upon entering a larger room, the doors behind them closed. Rarity shivered.
“Goodness!” she cried. “It’s getting colder. And me without my scarf!”
”We’ve got bigger problems than that, Rarity”, shivered Twilight.
And she was right. Their hooves were incased in ice.
“I’ve always heard I was a cool mare,” shivered Rainbow Dash, “but this is ridiculous.”
Suddenly, there was a rumbling. Then an icy mist filled the room and manifested into a giant Ice Creature. He had icy wings shaped like bat wings, razor sharp teeth, and cold eyes that could freeze you on the inside if you looked directly at them. On his body was a suit of armor fashioned from ice and snow. And behind him was another door, which was closed and had a keyhole.
“I am the Ice Guardian”, he said in a raspy voice. “If you wish to obtain what you seek, you must first defeat me.”
Spike looked back at his friends as the ice below them began to grow higher.
“If it means also saving my friends,” he said bravely, “then I’ll do it.”
Spike pulled his sword out and charged at the Ice Guardian. But to his surprise, the Guardian countered him with an Ice Blade. Then the Ice Blade became a double wielded one.
“That’s no fair!” argued Spike.
”I’m a magical ice being,” said the Guardian, “what did you expect?”
The Ice Guardian then attempted to strike, but Spike blocked with is sword and it only knocked him back.
“Spike!” cried the mares. They were worried for their friend’s well being. Slowly, Spike got up.
“I’m fine”, he said. “Don’t worry about me.”
“If my hooves weren’t frozen I’d kick that Ice Guardian into the next century!” complained Rainbow Dash.
The Ice Guardian then turned his ice sword into a mace and charged again. Spike had to stay on the defensive.
“Oh man”, he said to himself,”He’s too strong.” Then he looked back at his friends. They were now up to their necks in ice. “And my friends will become icicles. And it’ll be all my fault.”
Spike hated himself now that his friends were in danger. But he was not going to stand by while they freeze to death.
“I don’t even care if it costs my very life”, he said with determination. “I have to save my friends!”
Suddenly, the blade on Spike’s sword ignited in green fire. Then he began to twirl it. Slowly at first, then faster, and faster, and faster! The blade now looked like a flaming ring.
“Go Ring of Fire”! shouted Spike. And he threw the sword with all his might! The Ice Guardian prepared to counter, but the sword went right past him.
“Call that a move?” he asked. “It didn't even hit me.”
”Who said it was aimed toward you?” Spike smirked. The flaming ring circled around them all. As it went faster, the flames rose higher.
”The ice!” cried Pinkie Pie. “It’s melting!”
Indeed it was. The ice they were incased in was slowly melting. But that was not all that the flames affected. The Ice Guardian’s sword was also melting.
“Hey!” he complained. “No fair!”
”Who said it had to be fair?” grinned Spike. Then without any warning, he jumped into the air and whistled. The sword flew out from the blaze and into his claws. As he touched the ceiling, he sprinted off and charged down towards the Ice Guardian. As he struck, he split the armor in half and sent the Guardian soaring right into the wall with a crash! The crash caused a part of the ceiling to fall over him. The flames died down and the remaining ice on the mares broke off into chunks.
”We’re free!” they cried. And without any warning, they pounced on Spike and started kissing him. When they realized what they did, the got off of him, feeling very embarrassed. Spike, who’s face was covered in kiss marks, went to see if the Ice Guardian was alright. The Guardian rose from the rubble and kneeled to Spike with honor.
”You may proceed”, he said. And with that, he turned to snow and vanished. In his place was a small key shaped from ice. Spike picked the key up and used it to open the door.
“That was pretty intense, Spike!” commented Rainbow Dash. “Just when he thought he’d beaten you, you used that Ring of Fire and boom! Where’d you learn a move like that anyway?”
”I’m not sure”, replied Spike. “I was just so concerned about my friends and wanted to save you girls that I just used what I could come up with.”
As they passed through the door, they came into a smaller room. Just ahead was a pedestal under a beam of light. On the pedestal was a sack.
“What do you suppose is in that sack?” asked Fluttershy.
“I bet it’s full of candy!” shouted Pinkie Pie in excitement. She bounced up to the pedestal, opened the sack, and frowned. “Never mind”, she said with disappointment in her voice. “It’s just a stone tail thingy.”
The tail looked smaller in the bag as Pinkie Pie took it out to show the others. Suddenly, a beam of light shot out of the medallion and engulfed the tail. When the light faded, the tail had disappeared. And in its place was a map.
“Look!” Rarity gasped.
Everyone looked where she was talking about. One of the purple triangles in the medallion had turned red. And in the Red Triangle was a brief message.
You have obtained Count Lucius’s Tail
As soon as the message disappeared, Twilight realized something.
“Wait a minute!” she cried. “Remember when I told you about Drago Fangtooth?
Everyone listened in to Twilight as she began.
“Well, Count Lucius vowed to return for revenge after being defeated. But his body was turned to stone by a Council of Elders, split into different parts, and hidden away to make sure that he could never return. But even though his body was gone, his spirit remained. He placed a curse on the land that was once his kingdom which would cause any dragon that entered to go mad and become one of his servants.”
“Oh my”, said Fluttershy quietly.
“The only way to lift the curse,” continued Twilight, “is to gather the parts of Lucius’s body, put him back together, and vanquish him once and for all.”
”How many pieces do we have to get?” asked Trixie.
“The medallion must act as some sort of storage device for the pieces”, examined Spike. “There’s 6 Triangles in it, one turned red, so that means we have to find 5 more pieces.”
“I bet the dragons that were attacking the Crystal Empire were working for Count Lucius”, suggested Rainbow Dash. “They were probably looking for those pieces too.”
“Then what are we waiting for?” asked Applejack. “Let’s find those parts before those other dragons do!”
Spike examined the map. On it, a large red checkmark had been placed on a certain location. And a trail to another location formed.
“The red checkmark must indicate where we already are”, he said. “The map is showing us where we need to go next.”
Suddenly, a flight of stair appeared before them, ascending towards a light.
“A way out!” cried Pinkie Pie. “Let’s go!”
They ran towards the stairs. Spike was in front, but he moved to the side.
”Ladies first”, he said politely. This earned him a few giggles, but he paid no attention. Although, he was a bit curious as to why they had kissed him earlier. As soon as they had gone up the stairs, he followed them. The stallion who had followed them down and witnessed the battle was very impressed.
“Good work Spike”, he said. “Even when things look grim, you refuse to give up until a solution arrives.” And with that, he followed them up the stairs.
High in the air, Darkblaze and his team had been searching for Spike. In his pocket was a map similar the one Spike had. Suddenly Darkblaze felt the map glow.
“What the?” He pulled it out to take a look.
”No!” he gasped as the red checkmark appeared. “They’ve already gotten to one of Lucius’s parts before we could!”
”That don’t sound good”, put in Tubbo. Darkblaze smacked him upside the head.
“Of course it’s not good you dunce!” he roared. “Count Lucius is not to know about this. Now come on!” And they raced off to get to the next body part before Spike and his friends could.
After ascending the stairway, the gang found themselves back in the open sunlight.
“That’s much better”, said Fluttershy, feeling relieved. “I prefer being out in the sunlight than in the scary dark.”
“Now how are we gonna get to our next destination?” asked Rarity. “I don’t think it would be best to walk all the way. My hooves would get all cramped.”
Suddenly, there was a rush of wind and a random piece of paper flew past them. As they watched the paper dance in the wind, they spotted a boat on a nearby river.
“There’s your answer”, replied Rainbow Dash.
They boarded the boat and Spike did the rowing.
“Now this is what I call peaceful”, he said. “Just me sailing down the river in a boat full of beautiful mares. I must be the luckiest dragon in the world.” Spike was only joking, but he heard some giggles from the mares. At last, they came to their next destination.
”Stop the boat!” called Twilight. “We’re here!”
Spike stopped the boat on the shore and the gang hopped off. No sooner had they done that when the boat vanished in a bright light.
“Aw man!” complained Rainbow Dash. “That was our ride!”
“I do hope we find another means of transportation for the next spot”, said Rarity. “It is not like a lady to be sweating.”
Up ahead was another cave. This one had no statues by it this time. And on the door was what seemed to be a board with markings on it.
“Anypony know what we have to do here?” asked Applejack.
“I bet it’s a riddle asking who the most awesome Pegasus in the world in”, said Rainbow Dash. “That would be me!”
”That’s not what it is, silly filly”, chuckled Pinkie Pie. “It’s another puzzle!”
Before anyone could say anything else, Pinkie Pie darted up to the puzzle and began rearranging the tiles.
“Pinkie stop!” called Twilight. “It might be a trap!”
“It’s not a trap, Twilight”, said Pinkie Pie. “It’s a fireball. Tada!” Pinkie Pie turned away from the puzzle, showing it to now look like a fireball.
Suddenly, the fireball glowed bright orange and sank into the slab. The slab then moved away, opening the cave.
”Pinkie Pie, you’re a genius!” cried Spike. And he ran up to give the pink mare a hug.
“Aww, no I’m not, silly Spikey,” giggled Pinkie Pie, nuzzling Spike’s cheek. “I’m an Earth Pony.”
As they entered the cave, Pinkie Pie stepped on another loose stone. A part of the wall slid out and inside was a small treasure chest.
“Ooooh”, said Pinkie Pie in bewilderment. “I wonder what’s inside.”
She opened the chest and it filled the cave in a bright light. When the light faded, hovering above the chest was a rather strange looking bow. Its handle looks like it was carved from ice and the string looked more like a strand of snow. In the chest was also a scroll. Twilight took it out and read it.
You have obtained the Ice Bow. This powerful weapon can turn even its strongest target into a block of Ice by firing the ice arrows at it.
“We got a weapon!” Pinkie Pie jumped in excitement. “Let’s see if it works!”
”Pinkie Pie, it’s not a toy”, scolded Twilight. “It is a serious weapon that should only be used in emergencies.”
“Aww”, grumbled Pinkie Pie. “You’re no fun.”
“Twilight’s got a point, Sugar cube”, put in Applejack. “You can’t just go taken things and playing around. It could be dangerous and somepony could get hurt or worse.”
“You have a point”, said Pinkie Pie. “What fun is it if somepony gets hurt and doesn’t have any fun at all?”
The friends continued their way through the cave. The hooded Stallion was about to go after them when suddenly he sensed something. He turned to the skies and saw Darkblaze and his rookies.
“They’ve already gotten to the cave”, said Darkblaze. “Come on!”
The Hooded Stallion stomped his front hooves and a force field of green fire blocked the cave entrance.
I’ve bought you some time, Spike. The Stallion thought. But I’m not sure how long it will last.
Just like the last cave, this one made Spike and his friends feel like they were going down. Suddenly they came to an opened door.
“Well that was easy”, said Twilight. “Come on, let’s…”
Suddenly the door slammed shut.
“Now that,” said Trixie feeling rather annoyed, “is what I call False Advertisement.”
Just then another scroll appeared before them. Spike picked it up and read it.
Let’s test your memory, shall we?
Find where the fireball is hiding and you shall pass.
Just as Spike finished the scroll, a table rose in front of the door. On the table were 3 identical cups. One lifted up, revealing a small fireball underneath.
“So it’s just a memory game?” asked Rainbow Dash. “Easy as pie.”
The cup covered the ball again. It then began swapping with the other cups slowly, then getting faster until they stopped.
“Alright”, said Twilight. “We have to guess what cup the ball is hiding under.”
”I say it’s the middle one”, said Applejack.
“No way”, objected Rainbow Dash. “It’s the one on the right.”
”I hate to have these arguments,” put in Rarity, “but it’s the one on the left.”
As the other mares started arguing, Pinkie jumped up.
”I know the answer!” she cried. “The fireball is under… that small rock!” and she pointed to a nearby small rock about the size of a golf ball. Suddenly the three cups began to rise.
“Oh great”, moaned Trixie. “We got it wrong.” But her attitude changed when they could see under the cups.
”Look!” said Spike. “The cups are empty. The ball wasn’t under either of them.”
And then the small rock lifted up, revealing the little fireball. Spike and the other ponies were amazed.
”How did you know where the fireball was?” asked Twilight in bewilderment.
“Just a hunch”, said Pinkie Pie. The door then opened again, allowing them through.
Back outside, Darkblaze and his lackeys found the cave blocked by the force field.
“The cave’s got some force field around it, boss”, said Tubbo.
“No really?” said Darkblaze sarcastically. “I had no idea.”
“How are we supposed to get in?” asked a third dragon. Darkblaze suddenly saw the Hooded Stallion.
“You again?” he growled. “Why don’t you quit butting into our plans? We have orders from Count Lucius to make mincemeat out of that dragon!”
”Your plans are nothing more than running errands for the spirit of a ruthless tyrant so that he may live again and harm innocent ponies”, snapped the Stallion. “I shall not let that happen. And I will not allow you to harm Spike or his friends either!”
“Why do you care about that pipsqueak?” asked Darkblaze. “You his dad or something?”
This caused the rest of the dragons to laugh. The stallion narrowed his eyes.
“And what if I am his father?” he asked threateningly. “You got a problem with that?”
“Makes no difference to me”, said Darkblaze. Now drop the force field and get out of the way!”
“If you want to get to Spike,” said the stallion, “you have to get through me.”
“Suit yourself”, said Darkblaze. “You won last time, but now you’re going down.”
Darkblaze gathered half the other dragons beside him. The rest were busy trying to take down the force field.
You’d better hurry, Spike. The stallion thought. The force field might not last long.
As Spike and his friends passed through the door, they saw that their path was suspended over a lake of fire. Fluttershy gulped.
“One wrong move,” she whimpered, “and we’ll be fried!”
The only one not worried was Pinkie Pie, who was roasting marshmallows over the flames.
“On the plus side,” she said, “they’re great for making s’mores.” With that, she put the marshmallows on some graham crackers with chocolate and ate them in one bite. “Sorry”, she said with her mouth full. “Did you want some?”
They carefully started to go across the path, trying not to slip into the fires below. Upon getting to the other side, they came to a row of stones. As they got closer, the stone in front of them sank into the fire. About a few seconds later, it came back up while the stone in front of it sank. The pattern extended to the whole path.
“Fluttershy and I could fly over easily”, said Rainbow Dash. “Too bad the rest of you can’t.”
Spike observed the pattern of the sinking stones, steadied himself, and charged forward. As soon as he landed on the first stone, he jumped to the next one as it came up. Soon he was on the other side.
“See?” he called to the mares who were worried about him. “You just have to take it easy and time your jumps.”
So the rest of the gang did what Spike did. The only one left was Fluttershy.
“Come on, Fluttershy!” called Applejack.
“I-I can’t!” cried Fluttershy. “I’m too s-scared!”
Spike jumped back to her.
“Would it be alright if I carried you?” he asked.
“But won’t you hurt yourself?” asked Fluttershy.
“Don’t worry about me”, replied Spike. “You’re my friend.”
So carefully, Spike started to jump back across the stones with Fluttershy in his arms. The others watched with worry. At last, Spike made it to their side.
“It’s okay”, he said to Fluttershy, who had covered her eyes. “We’re on the other side now.”
Fluttershy opened her eyes and right away felt relief.
“Oh thank you, Spike!” she cried, grabbing Spike into a tight hug and kissing his forehead.
“You wanna save the cuddling for after we get out of here?” asked Twilight with a hint of jealousy in her voice.
”Oops”, said Fluttershy sheepishly as she let Spike down. “Sorry about that.”
”Never mind”, said Spike. “Let’s keep going.”
Through this door they saw a long row of cold water that went from one end to the other. On both sides of the water was the fire.
“I say we swim across”, said Rainbow Dash. She dunked her hoof in the water but immediately brought it back out shivering. “Too cold!”
“Well how are we supposed to get across now?” asked Applejack. Suddenly, Spike had an idea.
“Give me the ice bow”, he said to Twilight. So she did. Spike loaded his arrow, aimed at the water, and fired! No sooner had the arrow hit its target when the water became a large slab of ice.
“There we go”, Spike said triumphantly. “Now we can just walk across.”
So the gang slowly made their way across the ice so they wouldn’t slip off. At last, they made it to the door.
“Too easy”, said Rainbow Dash. And they continued on.
Back outside, Darkblaze looked as his fellow cronies lay unconscious on the ground before the hooded stallion.
“He’s… too strong”, mumbled one of the dragons before going unconscious as well.
“Hopefully by now you’ll have learned not to pick fights you can’t win, Darkblaze”, said the stallion.
Darkblaze just growled.
”You may have beaten them,” he said, “but you can’t beat me!” And he charged at the stallion with a flame on his fist. The stallion effortlessly dodged the assaults and landed a swift punch to Darkblaze, knocking him out as well.
“That’ll teach him”, he said. “Now I’d better go see how Spike is holding up.”
The stallion looked at the dragons one last time before dropping the force field and going into the cave.
As Spike and the others entered the next room, they could see a large square suspended by lava blocks on the side in the center of the room over water. The door on the other side had a key hole.
“How do we get across to that?” asked Applejack.
Suddenly a large flame erupted on the square. From the flame came a fiery creature. He had red skin, a large flame whip, a fiery turban on his head, and green eyes. The only thing about him that wasn’t intimidating was the turban and his Buddha Belly.
“I am the Fire Guardian”, he said in a rather deep voice. “If you wish to obtain what you seek, you must first defeat me.”
”Very well”, said Spike, pulling his sword out of the scabbard. With that, Spike backed up and ran towards the gap between him and the Guardian.
“Go Flaming pole-vault!” he shouted. Suddenly green flames shot out of Spike’s sword as he struck the ground with it, catapulting him and the blade all the way over to the Fire Guardian’s square. “I just keep learning more moves every second, don’t I?”
“The rules to this battle are simple”, explained the Fire Guardian. “Whoever knocks their opponent into the water first wins. And you cannot have any help from your friends.”
“That’s no fair!” objected Twilight.
Spike steadied himself and prepared to strike. The Fire Guardian did the same and cracked his whip, causing a small fire to shoot out from it.
“Okay that was a bit intimidating,” admitted Spike, “but I’m not scared!”
And with that, he charged at the Guardian at full force. Their weapons countered each other and knocked Spike back.
“Spike!” cried the mares.
“I’m fine!” called Spike. “Don’t worry about me.”
Spike charged back towards the Guardian and summoned a green flame to his blade. Then he jumped into the air and shot the flames towards his opponent! But the guardian just laughed.
“Shooting flames at me will only make me stronger!” he laughed. With that, his flame whip’s flames became larger as he cracked it again. Spike launched another attack, but the whip just threw him towards the end of the square. Spike grabbed the edge just in time to avoid falling into the water. The mares watched in suspense.
“I can’t look”, said Applejack, covering her face with her hat.
Poor Spike was in a terrible pickle. One hand was keeping him from plunging into the waters below, and the other held his sword.
”Oh man”, said Spike. “What now? If I try pulling myself up, I could lose the sword. But if I throw the sword into the air and try to grab it, I could loose my balance and slip off. This is what I call a lose-lose situation.” And he appeared to slip into a nap.
Don’t give up, Spike.
“Huh? Who said that?”
Spike looked around. He appeared to have drifted into his own subconscious. Then he saw the hooded stallion from earlier.
”The secret to passing this trail lies within the sword you bare”, the stallion said.
“Who are you?” demanded Spike. “Are you one of Lucius’s spies here to stop us?”
”No”, answered the stallion. “I am opposed to that tyrant and am here to aid you in destroying him.”
”Then tell me what to do!” begged Spike. I need help, please!”
“Use the sword’s hidden powers so you may fuse with the elemental weapons”, explained the stallion.”
“Elemental weapons? What are those?”
Before Spike could get an answer, the stallion had left.
When Spike woke up, he found himself back in the same predicament.
”Hang in there, Spike!” cried Twilight. “You can do it! We believe in you!”
Spike looked back and saw the mares cheering him on. Then he looked down at his sword.
”If my instincts are correct,” he said to himself, “then I know what I have to do.”
With that, Spike managed to struggle his way back onto the square.
“So you managed to hang on”, said the Fire Guardian. “Impressive. But you stand no chance of winning.”
”That’s what you think”, muttered Spike.
With that, he raised his sword into the air as it glowed a bright blue.
“Ice Bow!” called Spike, “Join with me to become one!”
Suddenly the Ice Bow rose from the mares and turned into a sphere of blue energy which circled around Spike until he was completely covered and a bright light filled the room.
When the light vanished, Spike had gained a suit of armor shaped from ice, he had grown to the height of a teenaged dragon, and had gained a pair of wings on his back. The mares could not believe how much Spike had grown. Even the Fire Guardian was surprised.
“How did you do that?” he demanded. “I said your friends couldn’t help you!”
”That’s true”, answered Spike. “But they didn’t help me.”
The Fire Guardian spun his whip in a large circle as a flame began to build up. Then he cracked it towards Spike! Spike just raised his arm and a wall of snow appeared, blocking the attack. Then Spike ignited the sword with a blue flame and began to spin it faster and faster.
”Aw yeah!” cheered Rainbow Dash. “Here comes the ring of fire!”
“Don’t make me laugh”, sniffed the Fire Guardian. “Performing such a move will only make me stronger.” But Spike kept spinning his blade.
”Go Ring of Cold Fire!” He cried. And he hurled the blade just as he did when performing Ring of Fire. The blue flame circled around them. The Fire Guardian wasn’t laughing anymore.
”What’s going on?” he shivered. “W-w-why am I shivering?”
”Because,” explained Spike, “this is the Ring of Cold Fire. Unlike regular fire, this makes its surroundings colder. But that’s not all.”
Spike was right. The cold fire had spread to the lava blocks. Slowly they began to turn to ice.
“Unbelievable!” cried Rarity. “I’ve never seen fire freeze anything before.”
Then Spike jumped into the air, grabbed the blade, and tossed it like a boomerang towards the ice blocks, causing them to shatter. Without the blocks, the Fire Guardian had nothing to keep him from falling, and he plunged into the waters below while Spike used his Ice Wings to keep him from falling. There was a tremendous splash and everyone looked down. The Fire Guardian was splashing around in the water and his fire turban had been extinguished from the waters.
“Very well”, he said, kneeling towards Spike. “You may proceed.”
Suddenly the guardian burst into flames and ejected a key shaped from lava to Spike. Then with a rumble, a huge stone path rose from the waters. This allowed the mares to cross safely just as Spike powered down, causing the Ice Bow to return to its original form.
”Spike, that was so awesome!” cried Rainbow Dash. “How’d you learn that trick?”
”Some pony came in my head and told me to use my sword to fuse with the elemental weapons”, explained Spike. “I guess that the Ice Bow was one of them.”
”Oh my Spikey-Wikey!” cooed Rarity. “You’re such a magnificent little warrior.” And she started kissing him.
“Hey no fair!” objected Pinkie Pie. “I wanna kiss him too!” With that, she jumped on Spike and started kissing him too.
“Hey save some for the rest of us!” said Rainbow Dash. Soon all 7 mares were kissing Spike.
”Uh girls?” said Spike. “Not that I’m complaining, but we have a mission to do.”
This caused them to stop their kissing and feel a bit awkward.
“Sorry about that”, said Twilight, trying to calm herself down. “We got a little carried away in the moment again.”
Spike was starting to get more suspicious of their attitude, but brushed it off and unlocked the door. Inside was another pedestal with a sack. Just like before, a beam of light shot the back and took it back into the medallion as another triangle turned red.
You have obtained Count Lucius’s Left Leg
“Two down,” commented Rarity, “four to go.”
Spike looked at the map and another red checkmark appeared, marking a trail. Suddenly a flight of stairs ascended before them, just like last time. They ran up the stairs and found themselves high above next to a spiraling waterfall. There appeared to be no way down.
“Now what?” asked Trixie. Before anyone could say anything, Pinkie grabbed the Ice Bow and shot it at the waterfall. Within seconds, the waterfall turned to thick ice.
“Who’s up for ice sledding?” asked Pinkie Pie in excitement. She didn’t need a response, for the whole gang jumped onto the frozen waterfall and slid down.
Back at the cave opening, Darkblaze had woken up. He held his head in pain and tried to recount what had happened. Suddenly he looked down at the map and saw it glow.
“No!” he roared, picking the map up and examining it. “They beat us again!”
Angrily, Darkblaze stood up and forcefully woke his comrades up.
“Wake up!” he snapped. “That punk Spike beat us yet again!”
”5 more minutes”, yawned Tubbo, trying to lie back down. His nap was short lived once Darkblaze kicked him upside his head.
“Come on stupid!” he snapped. “We have to stop them before Count Lucius finds out!”
Too late for that!
The dragons gasped as Count Lucius’s voice echoed around them.
“Count Lucius!” cried Tubbo. W-w-what a surprise!
I’d like a word with you idiots. The voice said firmly. Suddenly, a huge wall of flames engulfed the dragons. Within minutes, the flames died, and the dragons were gone. And in their places was the scorched ground where they stood.
Down, down, down the friends slid. The icy slide made the trip a lot more fun and safe. At last, they came to the very bottom and collapsed in a pile. As they got up, Spike found himself dangerously close to kissing Rainbow Dash on the lips.
“Gah!” Spike cried as he slid back in embarrassment. “I’m so sorry, Rainbow Dash! It was an accident!” But Rainbow Dash let out a chuckle.
“Trying to taste the rainbow, are we?” she said teasingly. Then she playfully gave Spike a noogie.
“I tasted a rainbow once”, said Pinkie Pie, recounting their trip to the Young Flyers competition. “Way too spicy.”
”The Great and Powerful Trixie finds these random chats to be pointless”, said Trixie. Nopony else cared though.
“Girls”, said Twilight sternly. “Focus.”
As Spike stood up, the ponies noticed that he wasn't actually back to his baby dragon form; his head was now level with theirs. This caused them to almost swoon a bit before regaining control of themselves.
“Twilight’s right”, he added. “We've got to focus and find out where I have to get the next piece of…”
“Hold on there, sugarcube”, interrupted Applejack. “What do you mean by you finding the next piece?”
”I have the sword of Drago Fangtooth, don’t I?” commented Spike. “That means I have to do it.”
”But that doesn't mean you have to pretend that we’re not here, Spikey-Boo”, said Rarity affectionately. “We only wish to help you.”
“Yeah!” said Pinkie Pie. “Friends help each other and have fun together.”
“I’m sorry,” said Spike, “but I can’t have you helping me.” The mares were surprised.
“Why in tarnation not, Spike?” asked Applejack. “
“You just wouldn't understand”, said Spike.
“Of course we would”, objected Twilight. “Now tell us why we can’t help you.”
Every one of them looked at Spike, waiting for an answer. Spike looked a bit hesitant before finally regaining his voice.
“I can’t!” he cried. “I just can’t!” and without any warning, Spike raced off with the sword in his grasp, leaving the others surprised.
Back in Count Lucius’s castle, the Tyrant Spirit was giving his followers a few strong words on their failure.
“You blithering idiots!!” he roared, causing the walls to shake for a moment. “So far you've allowed them to obtain two parts of my body!”
”It wasn’t our fault!” snapped Darkblaze. “They've been finding short cuts to the locations!”
”Yeah!” added Tubbo. “Besides, we would have caught up if it hadn't been for that hooded stallion guy.”
”Don’t you go playing the Blame Game!” shouted Lucius. “You were given a very simple task, and you can’t even get it right! Now, find that Spike, and destroy him!!”
”Yes sir”, said Darkblaze. “We won’t fail you.”
”You’d better not”, grumbled Lucius. “I’m so mad, I’m not gonna bother watching you anymore! Now go!!!”
With that, the dragons took off into the skies. Lucius watched them until they were out of sight.
”Fangtooth…” he muttered angrily.
Meanwhile, Spike was walking through the jungle on his own.
“It’s got to be this way”, he said to himself. “I've got to do it alone. They just wouldn't understand.”
Suddenly, Spike sensed that he wasn't alone and raised his sword to defend himself.
”Who’s there?” he called. Nobody answered. “Show yourself! I’m not afraid!”
Within seconds, Darkblaze and his fellow Dragons appeared out of nowhere, causing Spike to fall back in surprise!
“Whoa!” he cried. “It’s you! The dragons that were attacking the Crystal Empire!”
”Very clever. Didn't take you very long to remember us”, said Darkblaze. “I guess it’s time we got properly acquainted. The name’s Darkblaze. You of course must be Spike. My how you've grown.”
“What do you want with me?” asked Spike, trying not to sound afraid.
“We’ve been ordered by Count Lucius to destroy you before you can find all 6 pieces of his body”, replied Darkblaze. With that, he unsheathed a sword that he was carrying on his back. The blade was longer than the blade on Spike’s sword, and the handle was black and jagged looking.
”You don’t scare me”, said Spike bravely, unsheathing his sword as well. “Let’s do this!”
Meanwhile, Twilight and the Gang were looking for Spike.
“Spike-Wikey?” called Rarity. “Where are you?”
”Come on, Spike!” called Rainbow Dash. “This isn't funny!”
“Maybe he’s planning a surprise party for our birthdays”, suggested Pinkie Pie.
“Pinkie Pie, it’s nowhere close to our birthdays”, pointed out Trixie. “Second, if he were planning a party, then why would he race off looking upset?”
”I dunno”, shrug Pinkie. “Sometimes that’s how they keep a secret.”
“It just ain't like Spike to run off like that sayin’ we can’t help him”, added Applejack.
“There must be a good reason for it”, said Fluttershy. “Maybe he doesn't want us to get hurt.”
“Even if it’s true,” objected Twilight, “that’s still no reason why we have to sit back and watch him face everything himself. We’re his friends, and friends look out for each other.”
”And what if those other dragons found him?” asked Rarity, sounding worried. “He’d be out numbered!”
”Then we've got to find him!” said Twilight urgently.
”I’ll hit the skies and see if I find him”, said Rainbow Dash. With that, she took off into the sky faster than you could say Pinkamena Diana Pie.
Back with the dragons, Spike’s battle against Darkblaze was about to begin. Tubbo held up a flag, waited a few seconds, then waved the flag and scrambled out of the way. The fight had begun. Darkblaze charged at Spike with his sword, ready to strike, but Spike countered with his own blade, blocking the attack.
“Not bad for a beginner,” commented Darkblaze, “but let’s see how long you keep up!”
Darkblaze jumped and swiftly kicked Spike to the ground. Spike got up, regained his balance, and charged.
This will be easy. He thought. I was right saying I didn't need the others helping me. This’ll prove it.
Spike’s swift moves caused Darkblaze to be knocked to the ground.
”Now’s my chance”, said Spike to himself. He raised his blade and prepared to strike, when Darkblaze muttered something while holding his sword. Just as Spike’s sword hit Darkblaze’s side, instead of cutting it off, the sword passed through him! And in the spot it hit was a black flame.
“What was that?” cried Spike in surprise.
”How do you like my Dark Flame Illusion?” smirked Darkblaze, standing back up. “Quite a handy little trick for when you’re about to be struck down.”
”I've dealt with tougher opponents on my own”, said Spike, feeling a bit cocky. “And I can more than likely take you down!” With that, he spun his blade and prepared to perform Ring of Fire. But no matter how long he spun it, no flames appeared.
“What the?” cried Spike in confusion. “What’s going on?”
”It looks like your sword doesn't wanna play anymore”, smirked Darkblaze. “But mine still does!”
With that, Darkblaze’s sword ignited with black fire and he twirled it similar to how Spike did.
“Dark Flare Cyclone!” he cried, letting the blade fly towards Spike.
“Uh oh!” cried Spike. He held up his blade to shield the attack, but the flames went right around it and surrounded him in a spiral fashion.
As the spiral went higher into the sky, Spike became weaker from the flames that tormented him. He desperately tried to fight back with his sword, but alas, there was nothing he could do. At last the flames died down and Spike fell to the ground, barely struggling to stand. Darkblaze held his blade into the sky as it glowed black fire again and slammed it into the ground. This resulted in a flame shooting out from a fissure and slamming Spike into a tree! Spike handed on his back in the dirt. He was too weakened to get up.
“All right boss!” cheered Tubbo. “Finish him off!”
The other dragons cheered at their leader’s victory and waited for Darkblaze to finish Spike off. It looked rather simple. All he’d have to do was strike him with his blade, and it would be over. But to their surprise, he but the sword back in the scabbard.
“Fallback”, he said to the other dragons. They were puzzled by this but did as they were told.
“But boss”, interrupted Tubbo, “why didn't you finish him off like we were told to?” “Count Lucius said…” But he was cut off as Darkblaze grabbed him by the neck.
”I said ‘Fallback’!” he roared. “Count Lucius isn't around. That means I’m in charge and what I say goes. And when I say ‘fallback’, I mean ‘fallback’! Do I make my self clear?”
“Y-yes boss”, Tubbo gulped. With that, Darkblaze tossed Tubbo to the ground and watched him go after the other dragons. Then he turned to look at the unconscious Spike.
”We’ll meet again”, murmured Darkblaze. Then he took off after the others. No sooner had the dragons left when Rainbow Dash came into view. She gasped when she saw Spike and called back to the others.
“I found him!” she cried. “Come quick!”
They wasted no time in arriving.
”Spike!” they cried. They rushed up to him. Twilight held her hoof in front of his mouth.
“He’s still breathing”, she said in relief.
“Who could have done this to our Spikey-poo?” asked Rarity.
“Might have been those dragons”, said Applejack.
“I know what’ll fix this”, grinned Pinkie Pie, randomly causing her Party Cannon to pop out. “A Get Well Party!”
“He’s unconscious”, said Trixie. “I doubt a party would bring him out of it.”
”Um, maybe we can cuddle him”, suggested Fluttershy bashfully.
“As much fun as that sounds, how is cuddling him gonna get him awake?” asked Twilight.
“I don’t know for sure”, admitted Fluttershy. “I just really wanna cuddle him adorably.” Her wings then opened all the way as her face blushed and resulted in her having the most adorable squeak you’d ever heard.
“Yay cuddling!” shouted Pinkie Pie.
Suddenly they heard a groan. Spike opened an eye and slowly slouched his back up against a rock.
“He’s awake!” cried Rarity in delight.
”We were so worried about you Spike”, said Twilight, wrapping her hooves around Spike in a tight hug. This caused the rest to do the same. “What happened?”
”It was those dragons”, said Spike weakly. “One of them was called Darkblaze and challenged me to a sword fight. I fought as best as I could but…”
He looked back at his sword. “I couldn't use the sword’s powers. I lost.” He lowered his head in shame.
“We don’t care if you lost”, said Fluttershy. “What’s most important to us is that you’re still alive. That’s what we really care about.”
The others agreed. Spike looked up at the sky. The sun was beginning to set.
“It’s gonna be dark soon”, he said. “Should we go to the next spot on the map, or find a place to camp out for the night?”
”After what just happened,” said Twilight, “let’s just rest for the night.”
”I agree”, put in Rarity. “We can continue our quest in the morning once we have enough strength.”
”Then we’ll be even more awesome”, added Rainbow Dash.
“I guess it would be fun to have a camp out”, said Fluttershy. Usually she would be afraid of being in an unfamiliar place at night, but since she was with her friends, she felt braver.
”So it’s settled”, concluded Applejack. “Tonight we rest up. And tomorrow we continue the hunt.”
Spike tried to stand up, but immediately fell back down clutching his side in pain.
“I hurt too much for me to stand up”, he groaned. “Darkblaze must have done more damage to me than I thought.”
”Don’t worry about it”, said Rainbow Dash. “We’ll carry you.” With that, she got one of Spike’s arms around her, and the other around Applejack.
“Now don’t y’all get any silly ideas, ya hear?” asked Applejack in a teasing voice.
And with that, the gang set off to find somewhere to stay for the night. None of them were aware that the hooded stallion had been watching them.
By the time the gang found a place to camp for the night, the sky had already turned to a beautiful evening shade of orange and red. The spot they found wasn't exactly much, but it would have to do. It was nestled in between 2 large rocks next to a small river. A small forest was also nearby
“At least we’ll have fresh water”, suggested Twilight. “And some fruit from those trees.”
“And plenty of room to party!” Pinkie Pie cried in excitement. Suddenly without any warning, she scrambled through her mane and pulled out various camping necessities; tents, sleeping bags, campfire snacks, etc.
“How is it you keep all that in your mane?” asked Trixie.
“It’s easy when you have the ability to break the 4th wall”, grinned Pinkie Pie.
With that, they set to work setting up their campsite. All the while, Spike stayed silent. Rarity tried to start a conversation with him.
“Doesn't it seem rather peaceful this evening?” she asked.
Spike just nodded and said nothing.
“Spike darling, it’s rather rude not to properly answer a lady when she asks a question”, Rarity added.
“Sorry”, Spike said softly. “I guess I’m not really in a talkative mood right now.”
“Well at least you’re talking now”, Rarity smiled. “You know, we were rather worried about you when you ran off like that. Fighting those dragons on your own.”
“I know”, Spike said softly. “I’m sorry.”
Rarity smiled. “Apology accepted.”
At last, the camp site was finished.
“Everything looks good”, said Twilight. “Now who wants to go collect nuts and berries in case Pinkie Pie eats all the snacks?”
“Hey!” Pinkie Pie felt insulted. “That was only one time! Alright actually it was twice, but I couldn't help myself.”
“Has anypony seen Spike?” asked Applejack.
The ponies looked and noticed that Spike and the sword had gone missing.
“Oh not again”, groaned Rainbow Dash.
In the forest, Spike held the sword and looked at it.
”What’s going on?” he asked. “Why didn't you help me in that fight?”
But of course, the sword didn't answer.
“Maybe you’ll work this time”, Spike thought. “I’ll give it a try.”
“Spike concentrated his sights on a nearby tree. He began to twirl the blade faster and faster.
“Go Ring of Fire!” he shouted, throwing the blade with all his might! But all that happened was the blade fell to the ground with a clatter. No flames, no ring of fire. Spike picked up the sword and tried something else.
“Flaming Pole vault!” he cried, charging towards a tree. He stuck the blade into the ground, but there was no fire to boost him up over the tree. Instead, he lost his grip and crashed into it. Spike became very annoyed.
”What is your problem?” he snapped at the sword. “First you wouldn't help me during that fight with Darkblaze, and now you won’t even work for me at all? I lost a fight and it’s all your fault!” losing control of his anger, Spike punched the tree with all his might! The punch caused a large coconut to drop from the tree and bonk him on the noggin. Spike became dizzy and collapsed to the ground.
Meanwhile in Lucius’s castle, the dark ruler was doing some thinking.
“Let’s see how tough this chosen one is when I fill his head with the worst nightmare he could ever imagine!” he decided. With that. He closed his eyes and muttered some sort of spell. This resulted in a small purple shadow emerging from his cauldron and flying off in the direction of the forest. Count Lucius laughed wickedly at his plan.
Spike suddenly found himself in an unknown location. The area had thick amounts of fog.
“Where am I?” he thought. “Why is everything so dark and foggy?”
“Spike…”
“Who’s there?” Spike jumped back in surprise. The voice sounded despairing.
“Spike…”
“Twilight? Is that you?” Spike raced in the direction of the voice. The closer he got, the louder the voice grew. Suddenly he heard more voices calling him.
“It’s the rest of the gang”, Spike said.
Suddenly Spike found himself engulfed by a large fog cloud. When the fog disappeared, Spike was shocked at what lay before him.
It was Ponyville, his home. Only, it looked different. The skies were grey and cloudless, the fields were barren of grass and crops, and homes were in ruin.
”Oh no!” cried Spike. “What happened?”
“Spike…”
Spike turned again and was horrified.
There before him, were his friends. All of them were bound in chains and looked very weakened and sad. Even Pinkie Pie’s crazy mane had deflated.
”Hard to believe, isn't it?” asked the weakened Applejack.
“We didn't stand a chance”, the weakened Rainbow Dash coughed.
“I didn't even get to giggle at them”, the weakened Pinkie Pie mourned.
“I knew this was a bad idea”, said the weakened Fluttershy.
“We should have just let Spikey-Wikey do this on his own and gone home”, moaned the weakened Rarity.
“The weak and feeble Trixie agrees”, said the weakened Trixie.
”We’re sorry Spike”, the weakened Twilight said sadly. “We failed you. And now we must pay.”
”Take the prisoners to the dungeons!” a loud, threatening voice called. Spike turned in the directly of the voice and saw that it had come from a large dragon in battle armor. The dragon was Count Lucius and he was grinning evilly.
“Well what now, so called ‘chosen one’?” he asked cruelly to Spike. “Your friends have failed, and I've won. Equestria is mine!”
With that, the evil tyrant laughed evilly. Spike could bare this anymore and raced away. Every time he tried to get out of the nightmare, he was cornered by one of Lucius’s henchmen until he was backed against a crumbling wall.
“Get back!” Spike shouted as he reached out his sword. “I‘m not afraid of you!”
Suddenly, the sword disintegrated into a small pile of green embers.
”It can’t be!” Spike cried. “This can’t be how it all ends!”
”I’m afraid it is”, said a menacing voice. Spike turned fearfully around and noticed the crumbled wall had transformed into Count Lucius again. He raised his sword devilishly and prepared to strike! Spike threw his arms over his head in hopes of blocking the hit. And just as the blade was about to slice into him…
“Hey you!!!”
A flash of green flames surrounded Spike and as they cleared, there stood the hooded stallion. Surrounding him and Spike was a shield of green flames. Then holding out his hoof, the remains of the sword floated into the air and reassembled into the blade. The blade then ignited in green flames.
“This young drake’s mind is no place for the likes of you, Lucius”, the stallion said with his voice echoing. “Return to the dark realm from whence you came!”
The flames from the blade then spread out towards the vicious dragons, causing all but Lucius to instantly vanish.
“We’ll meet again!” Lucius cried before finally disappearing too. Before long, the surroundings also changed from the ruins of Ponyville back to the area of fog.
“Hey, you’re the stallion who helped me out against the Fire Guardian”, Spike said. The stallion turned to him.
“Indeed”, he said.
“What just happened?” Spike asked.
”Count Lucius appears to have used some of his dark powers to infiltrate your mind and give you that terrible nightmare”, the stallion explained. “So I decided to put a stop to it.” Then he noticed the troubled look on Spike’s face. “Also I could not help but notice something was troubling you.”
”You see,” Spike began, “I haven’t been able to use the sword’s power ever since my battle against Darkblaze. And now it won’t obey me.”
”I understand”, the stallion said. “The sword will not obey you because your over confidence with yourself is in the way.”
”What do you mean?”
”Every since you defeated the Fire Guardian”, the stallion explained, “you felt that you no longer needed the help of your friends to overcome problems. And because of that, the sword simply refused to listen to you anymore. It only obeys those who are not so confident in victory that they deny help from others.”
Before Spike could say anything, the stallion started to disappear.
”Wait don’t go!” Spike called out. But it was too late. The stallion was gone.
“Spike!”
“Huh?” Spike suddenly heard his name again. This time it sounded like it was above him. Suddenly, a bright light enveloped the space he was in.
When Spike opened his eyes, he found himself back in the forest, lying under the tree where the coconut had bonked him in the head. He could see the mares looking down at him concerned.
“Are you okay?” Twilight asked putting a hoof to Spike’s forehead. “You've got such a large bump.”
”A coconut hit me on the head”, Spike explained. “I should be okay.”
“Where’s that mean old coconut at?” asked Pinkie Pie. “I’m gonna give it a piece of my mind! And a piece of cake while I’m at it.”
The group just sighed at Pinkie Pie’s silliness. Before long, they brought Spike back to the campsite and started with their sleepover.
“Forgive me if I don’t seem too into this”, said Trixie. “It’s just that I've never actually been invited to a sleepover before.”
”That’s alright Trixie”, said Twilight. “I've only thrown a sleepover once.” She remembered the time when she, Rarity, and Applejack had a sleepover during a storm and of how things didn't really go as planned.
As they sat around the campfire, roasting marshmallows for s'mores, the mares looked over at Spike, who just twisted the stick his marshmallow was on in his hand. After a bit, he spoke up.
“I’m sorry for how I was acting”, he said. “About how I didn't want any of you to help me.”
”You never told us why though, Spikey-Wikey”, Rarity said.
“You’re right”, said Spike. “It’s just that this place is very dangerous. Especially with Count Lucius’s goons after us. You girls are my best friends aside from Trixie since I haven’t known her that long. I just didn't want to risk losing you. If anything bad happened, like you were captured and tortured by those dragons, I could never forgive myself."
Spike hung his head in shame. Suddenly he felt a comforting hoof on his shoulder. He looked up and saw that it came from Twilight.
“It’s alright Spike”, she said. “It’s nice that you’re worried about us, but we’ll be okay.”
”Absolutely, darling”, added Rarity.
“You’re not alone, Sugarcube”, said Applejack. “The reason we made it this far is because we worked as a team.”
”Not only that,” said Pinkie Pie, “but you’re super fun to hang out with.”
”Um, you’re also very caring, if you don’t mind me saying so”, said Fluttershy.
“What Fluttershy means is that you’re an awesome friend”, said Rainbow Dash. “Not as awesome as me, though.”
The group looked towards Trixie.
“I got nothing”, she shrugged. “I've never actually done something like this before.” So, she just patted Spike on the head.
“Thanks girls”, Spike smiled.
“So how about it?” asked Twilight. “No more talk of you trying to do this quest by yourself?”
”Deal”, said Spike. With that, the girls gave him a large group hug.
“It’s getting dark”, said Twilight, “We’d better get some sleep. We have a big day tomorrow.”
The friends exchanged good nights and went into their tents for the night. Spike couldn't exactly sleep. He just looked up at the top of the tent.
“I’m not alone”, he said to himself. “In every adventure we've been on, we succeeded because we worked as a team.”
With a smile, he slowly closed his eyes and drifted off to dreamland. He awoke suddenly when he heard a stirring in his tent. But it was only Fluttershy with a blanket on her back.
“Oh, sorry for waking you,” she said timidly, “but it was kind of dark and scary in my tent. So, I was wondering if I could spend the night here. Um, that is if you don’t mind.”
Spike smiled.
”Sure you can spend the night”, he said.
Fluttershy made herself comfortable and snuggled next to Spike as she dozed off. In Spike’s eyes, she looked very adorable.
“Good night”, Fluttershy said softly.
Spike was just about to say goodnight as well when Rarity came in.
“Oh, Spikey-Wikey!” she said. “I just had the most horrible nightmare. Could I possibly sleep here with you, please?”
”Well,” said Spike, not wanting to sound rude, “Fluttershy got scared and I let her sleep here. There might not be enough room for all 3 of us.”
”That’s alright”, said Rarity. “I’ll make room.”
With that, Rarity used her magic to merge her tent with Spike’s.
“There we are”, she said cheerfully. “Nice and roomy.”
Suddenly Pinkie Pie bounced in.
“Why wasn't I invited to this sleepover?” she asked.
Before anypony could say anything else, Pinkie Pie jumped in the air and landed on Spike with her hooves around him.
“Is anypony else going to come in?” Spike asked uncomfortably.
“I might have told the others that there was a sleepover going on in Spike’s tent”, Pinkie giggled.
Suddenly Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Twilight, and Trixie trotted in with their sleeping bags.
“Now what’s all this ‘bout y’all havin’ a sleepover in yer tent and not invitin’ the rest of us?” asked Applejack.
“There’s not enough room for all of us”, said Spike.
Suddenly Twilight used her magic to merge all of the tents together.
“Now there is”, she said cheerfully.
Spike shrugged as everyone got into their sleeping bags. They exchanged good nights and went to sleep.
Outside the tent, high on a rocky cliff, Darkblaze and the other dragons were looking down at them.
“Let’s attack while they’re sleeping!” said Tubbo. But Darkblaze held his arm to stop him.
“No”, he said. The dragons were confused. “That wouldn't be fair to attack in their sleep.”
“But we have orders to take him out”, said Tubbo.
“Yes,” said Darkblaze, “but I’m in charge. And I say no one makes a move until I say so. Understand?”
With that, the dragons flew off in search of their own place for the night.
Back in Count Lucius’s castle, the evil dragon lord was fuming.
“I was so close!” he sneered. “So close to destroying that little worm! Then that stupid stallion had to ruin all my fun! Well next time, he won’t be able to stop me. No one will!”
And he cackled maniacally as the flames died, causing him to disappear again.