> Rise of Equestria 2: Cannon Fodder
>  by Israel Yabuki
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> A Slight Problem
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Twilight and her friends continue to venturing back to Ponyville, an awkward silence fills the carriage and not even Twilight and Sunset are in the mood to read any of the books they brought. 

Rainbow Dash was still upset about Zoor taking Spike away from them. She promises herself that when she gets back to Ponyville, the first thing she'll do is some extra training over at the Wonderbolts Academy in order to become stronger and take Spike back and give Zoor a payback beatdown.

Applejack has no other plans, other than to start her daily chores at Sweet Apple Acres. Even now, Applejack isn't really looking forward to heading home without Spike. She can already tell that the other girls feel the same thing. Watching Spike being controlled like that was like watching their little brother being manipulated and taken away against his own will. One way or another, AJ and the others vow to bring Spike back and bring down Zoor once and for all.

Rarity, however, feels the most affected by the whole incident. She hopes that wherever Spike is, he's safe for now and that Zoor wasn't doing anything else to hurt him. Rarity has always been well aware that Spike has had his eye on her since he was a baby dragon. She never allowed him to advance for personal reasons but right now she only wants to make it up to him by saving him from Zoor's clutches.

Fluttershy also can't get Spike out of her mind. She can't recall the many times he has been there for her and her friends when they needed him the most. From small things like helping look after the animals to big time missions like the Gauntlet of Fire and saving the Crystal Empire from King Sombra. Now it's Spike who needs everypony's help and Fluttershy wasn't going to rest until he's brought back home.

Pinkie Pie began to drift off in her own mind. She did not feel the urge to smile or cheer up her friends. Even if she wanted to it'll only make things worse. She can feel her poofy pink mane start to deflate and who could actually blame her? Spike is under the control of an evil pony and it was going to take a real group effort to bring him back and take Zoor down at the same time.

Twilight however was the most effected by the whole incident. She has known Spike ever since the day he hatched from an egg when she was a filly. He was the whole reason why Princess Celestia took Twilight under her wing and helped her become the mare she is today. Twilight loved Spike as her own little brother ever since she raised him into the teenage dragon he is now. Now that he's been brainwashed, she will never give up on Spike and make sure that he's reunited with his friends again.

Sunset can just tell that Twilight's feeling tense and just let her be. Sunset barely knew much about Spike, other than how he was and always will be one of the kindest and most loyal dragons she has ever come across and to see him being controlled like that was a real heartbreaker.

The tension inside the carriage was getting worse once Rainbow began ranting.

"Ugh, can't this carriage move any faster?" she asks, "How are we suppose to bring Spike back if we're moving at 3 to 5 miles per hour?"

"You have to be patient, Rainbow Dash," Sunset says, "And plues how are you going to match up against Zoor if she's got powerful magic and possibly a strong dragon army by her side? You have to think rationally or else you'll just get hurt."

"On top of that we don't know where to start looking," Twilight adds, "However there is still a chance we might be able to find out more about Zoor. There should be a book about her or even her master Starswirl the Bearded in the library."

"Well Ah hope y'all know where to look," Applejack says. "It's gonna take a miracle to find the right in that big fancy library o' yours, Twi."

Twilight nods. She's fully aware of the many books she has in her library. But with Sunset to help her out, it'll be a slightly easier task for her to accomplish. An even bigger plus is the princesses helping out by digging up some info about Zoor in the Canterlot archieves at the castle.

Meanwhile in the other carriage, things weren't so quiet with Melodia snoring loudly on Tidal's shoulder and most of the boys tried plugging their ears. Celestia began giggling at the sight.

"Aww, I think Tidal has foundd himself somepony special," Celestia says.

"Whether I like it or not she's stuck with me," Tidal Wave shrugs.

"I think attached is a more accurate assumption," Spark Burst says.

"You can put it however you want but believe it or not I think I can get use to this," Tidal says, "Besides I could never leave Melodia's side even if I tried." Tidal Wave began to stroke Melodia's mane and she started purring and swishing her tail.

"If she's suppose to be part dragon then how come she acts more like a cat?" Hurricane Breeze asks.

"Relax I'm sure that it's normal for a mare to purr when they're being pet like that. Call it a hunch but something tells me that Blaze Burn use to do that to Princess Celestia when they had barely gotten married 20+ years ago, am I right?" Shadow Force asks.

Celestia and Blaze Burn stat blushing and look away with smiles on their faces. Shadow Force laughs.

"Oh come on now Shadow," Ground Breaker says, "You know it's rude to embarrass royalty."

"There's no need to stick up for us but we do appreciate it, Ground," Celestia replies.

"Hey mom," Heat Blitz says.

"What is it, my son?" Celestia asks.

"What's Ponyville like? Is it anything like the village?"

"All I can say is that Ponyville has had its fair share of non-stop dangers in the past up 'till now. But thanks to Twilight and her friends the whole town is peaceful. I can guarantee Ponyville will make you feel at home just as much as the village has, my son."

"Wow! I can't wait to see it! What about you bro?" Heat Blitz asks his brother. But Eternal Flames didn't answer back and looks like he's lost in thought. "Eternal did you hear me?" Heat asks again. His brother doesn't respond to him again. Then for some strange reason, Eternal begins glaring down at the floor of the carriage and places his hoof under his chin. "Oh no I've seen that look before." Heat says, nervously.

"Hmm? Is there something wrong?" Celestia asks.

"Eternal acted like this once before," Blaze Burn says, "He was only 14 when he started acting like this. He stayed locked up in his room plotting some kind of "revenge plan" because of these kids who went and made Heat Blitz cry because they insulted and assaulted him for being a pacifist."

"What?! How dare they! If I had been there to stop them--" Celestia says.

"It wouldn't matter now. Eternal already put an end to the problem, but in a way where he ended up landing those bullies in the hospital. I was frightened by how much of a loose cannon he became that I ended up giving him a scolding or two, as well as straightened things out with the bullies' parents. As of today, no pony has ever insulted Heat Blitz or tried to hurt him anymore."

"That's good to hear. I know I've been away for so long, but I just wish I could've been there to stop all the foolishness for my boys' sake."

"I know, dear. But the past is the past. Right now, the sooner we drop off Twilight and her friends at Ponyville, the sooner we can get to Canterlot."

"Uhh, I hate to butt into your conversation you two, but there's a slight problem," Shadow says, "Where exactly are we going to stay until it's time to find Spike? We don't even have the budget to find our own place to live in and it's going to take even longer to find decent jobs."

"Shadow makes a good point, your highness," Tidal says.

"There's no need to worry, Tidal Wave," Celestia says, "I'm already planning ahead and making arrangements for you boys to stay at my castle temporarily."

"Really?" Hurricane Breeze asks, "Are you sure it's alright for us to stay at your castle?"

"Of course. There's nothing wrong with offering a little hospitality to my sons and their friends."

"Cool! Thanks, princess," Shadow says.

"You're very welcome," Celestia replies. Now that she has that situation under control, she turns her attention to Eternal Flames who still keeps glaring at nothing. She isn't afraid of her son's intimidating look in his eye, she's actually afraid of what might happen if he acts too rashly. If Eternal is still a loose cannon, she'll have to keep him under constant watch when she gets home.

Eternal's glare gazes at the floor of the carriage as a way of stradegizing what he should plan. He knows it's too risky to fight Zoor head-on considering how powerful she is. Even if he wants to fight her alone, there's still a chance that she's already assembled a dragon army. If that's the case, Equestria might already be in danger and the only option he feels is necessary is to do a little researching himself.

With that last thought, his glare disappears. His eyes lock onto his mother who keeps looking at him. He doesn't know why she is looking at him, so he let her be and he closed his eyes so he can rest.





Later that night, as the carriages both stay still and everypony is sound asleep, Twilight starts to have a nightmare about her friend, Spike. In her nightmare, she sees Spike as a rampaging dragon just like how he once became back in Ponyville 5 years ago. Right now in her nightmare, most of her friends are badly hurt except for her and Rarity but Spike isn't holding anything back.

"Spike! Please don't do this! You can't let her control you like this!" Twilight shouts. Her words only seemed to anger Spike even further and he let out a furocious roar. It became so deafening that it started to make her and Rarity cover their ears. "You can't let her win, Spike! You're stronger than this! You could even be more stronger than Zoor if you just listen to me!"

But no matter how many times she tries, Spike kept roaring and breathing fire everywhere. Right now, she thinks that Spike might never return to her. Spike's roaring soon stops and he slowly approaches Twilight and his "former" crush, Rarity and looked down upon them with his predatorial eyes.

"Spike..... WAAAAAAAAAANT!!!!!" he roars.

The horrific sound of Spike's only two words causes Twilight to wake up in the middle of the night. She gasps and starts panting and felt sweat dripping down her body. She looks around to see Sunset and the others resting comfortablly and snoring lightly. Twilight can already feel her heart racing and breaking at the same time and layed back down, turning away from everypony.

Her face grew wet from the tears in her eyes. She still feels guilty about losing Spike like that, but there was nothing she could do back at the village. She buries her face in her forehooves and cries softly so she doesn't wake her friends up until she cries herself back to sleep.

Rarity on the other hoof, her dream is slightly different. In her dreams, she's watching visions of her the past events she had with Spike. Most of it was all just having Spike dig up jewels for her work, using his tail as a pin cushion, and one memory that really broke her heart: The day when she was "given" the fire ruby by her little dragon friend and in return was given a peck on the cheek.

The memory in question makes Rarity cry to this day. Spike has always been there for her, even when the task got a little too difficult for him.

"Oh, Spike! I'm so sorry," she says quietly to herself. But just as she is about to break down in tears, she feels a familiar claw touch her shoulder. She gasps and looks up to see the young teenage dragon Spike, looking down at her with his kind and caring smile. His mouth starts to move, but no words come out and yet Rarity automatically picks up on what he's trying to say to her.

It's almost like he's saying "Don't cry, Rarity. I promise you that I'll come back. I can't imagine how worried you all feel about me, but don't lose hope. I'll always be with you."

Rarity's lips start to form a short smile on her face and she nods. Spike leans down and wraps his claws around Rarity and she wraps her hooves around him. She knows this is all a dream, but the Spike she's hugging right now feels too real to not want to hug. Her body starts shaking as she sobs quietly. Pretty soon, the whole dream world around her starts to slowly disappear in a blinding white light.

She wakes up and notices the light from Celestia's sun shining through the carriage window hitting her face and she groans as she sits back up and yawns. She looks down on the floor, pondering about the dream she recently just had last night. It felt so real yet it was all an illusion. But real or not, she feels like it's a sign that's telling her that there is still hope in bringing Spike back.





Later on at around 1:00 in the afternoon, Twilight and her friends finally reach Ponyville. Twilight and Sunset still remember what the princess ordered them to do back in the village. Without skipping a beat, Twilight and Sunset teleported back to the castle and began their research on Zoor and/or Starswirl. Rarity walks back to the Carousel Boutique, but does not open up the shop.

Rainbow Dash flies off to find out if Spitfire needs her to train for anything. Fluttershy flies back to her cottage to continue caring for the animals who are sick and/or hungry. Pinkie Pie surprisingly walks back to Sugar Cube Corner instead of hopping like she usually does. Applejack walks back to Sweet Apple Acres to get a head start on her chores and wait for the "go ahead" to go and find Spike.

However, the boys only exit out of one of the carriages to move to the now empty one the girls sat in to have a little more room to move. Now Princess Celestia sits in a carriage with her husband Blaze Burn and her two sons Heat Blitz and the loose cannon, Eternal Flames. She gives the order to the guards to take off to Canterlot and set their coarse back to the richest city.

The trip doesn't take long and everypony steps out of the carriages in time for Celestia to teleport the carriages back to where they belong and she gives the guards the rest of the week off. Princess Celestia looks at everypony with a smile and signals them to follow her. They did so without question.

Walking closer to the castle, the boys mouths gaped open.

"Talk about a fancy life to live! The place is enormous!" Tidal says. He kept his excitement under control.

"Almost anypony would give anything to live in this castle. Almost anypony," Melodia says.

Ground Breaker let out a whistle. "It's like living in a giant's house," he says.

"If this is where the princess lives, consider me officially dumbfounded," Spark Burst says.

"It's just so beautiful," Hurricane Breeze says.

"Heh. I don't know if I can get use to this place. It's big, but I feel like an ant in this place," Shadow Force says, "You sure you live here by yourself, princess?"

"No I actually live here with my little sister Princess Luna," Celestia says, "We also have the royal guards patrolling and guarding certain parts of the castle. You're all welcome as my guests here but keep in mind that there are a few areas in my castle that are off-limits."

"Meh, I guess I can respect that," Melodia says without a care in the world.

"That includes you Melodia," Celestia says. Melodia still has that same uncaring look on her face. "Now follow me everypony and I'll show you all to the guest rooms."

Celestia climbs up the stairs and everypony else follows her close behind. All the while, Eternal keeps his head low as his eyes scan the inside of the castle. Melodia quirks an eyebrow at the young prince and walks next time, deciding to have a little fun.

"What's the matter your highness, does this big castle make you feel small and weak?" Melodia asks, trying to trigger the young prince.

"Do not call me "your highness" I have an actual name and I don't want to be overlooked," Eternal tries to make his point across by giving Melodia a slight glare.

She gasps, "I had no idea! Who knew that an actual prince had a name!" she replies, but she's not in the least bit surprised and keeps milking it, "So what is your name, "your highness?"

"Melodia, I allowed Tidal Wave to spare you from my wrath but if you push me any further, I'm not going to hesitate to go berserk on you!" he warns. Melodia stuck her tongue out, smiling.

"Puh-lease, I'm way stronger than you. You actually think you can take me down all by yourself? I was only holding back my strength when you and your friend tackled me down the mountain. You seem to forget that I'm the daughter of the very first dragon lord." she retorts while nudging his shoulder. Eternal feels like he's about to blow his top off and flip out on her. This starts to even annoy Melodia and says, "Look, I know your friend was taken and all but moping and complaining about it isn't going to do anypony good. So stop acting like a bratty little colt and just think it through rationally or you'll end up biting the dust and who are who'll be to blame for that?"

Eternal flinches from Melodia's words and backs off on his threat. He turns away from her and sighs. "Your words can really cut deep, you know that?" 

"Not as deep as the scars that Queen Galaxia inflicted on me. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a stallion that needs me so take it easy "your highness," Melodia gives Eternal a small slap on the back of his head almost knocking him off his hooves. He regains his balance and composure and watches her climb back on Tidal Wave's back and Eternal can see the look of annoyance in Tidal Wave's eyes.

"How he puts up with her I'll never know," Eternal says to himself. 

He gets so side-tracked by his thoughts on Melodia's randomness that he bumps into his mom's leg and he shakes his head to straighten his vision. Celestia turns to face him.

"You okay my son?" she asks.

"I'm fine." he replies.

"Well if you're done being lost in thought, you'll be happy to hear that we've arrived at your guest rooms," Celestia points to the last four doors on the right hoof side of the hallway. "Now while I sort things out in my chambers, I'll want you to and your friends to make yourselves at home. After we've gotten everything settled for you and your friends, my husband and I will bring along Luna to check the archieves."

"Princess Celestia, when you say "get things settled" does that mean finding us a home in Ponyville?" Shadow asks, "If that's what you mean, then I say I'm in!"

Celestia giggles, "Of course Shadow. Now go on inside and make yourselves at home."

"Thank you princess Celestia," the boys and Melodia say.

"Thanks, mom!" Heat Blitz says

"Thank you for the hospitality, mother," Eternal says. Eternal and Heat Blitz walk into the same room together and were about to close the door until,

"Hey hold up! Need an third roomate?" Shadow asks.

"Of course Shadow. Come on in," Heat Blitz says. Eternal just nods and tilts his head towards the room and steps aside, allowing Shadow to enter. Shadow Smiles and walks inside the guest room with the two royal brothers before they finally close the door. Right after that, the other boys and Melodia all head into their rooms and close the doors behind them.

Now with that out of the way, princess Celestia escorts Blaze Burn with her to the archieves and finally begin their search on any info that might lead to anything about Zoor.





Meanwhile back in Ponyville, a familiar fashionista spent most of her time locked up in her room, staring out her window and watch all the happy ponies go about their daily lives. But for Rarity, there's nothing for her to be happy about and nothing could stop the pain inside her heart. Not even a dozen tubs of ice cream can help cure her in this predicament.

She turns and looks at the drawer next to her bed. She lights up her horn and opens up the top drawer and takes out the very same fire ruby necklace she still keeps even after the years went by. Her eyes begin to tear up and she holds the necklace close to her chest, crying.

"I promise I won't lose hope, Spikey!" she says. She still feels choked up about it.
> A Request From The Princesses
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

For nearly 4 days, Twilight and Sunset have gone over at least a hundred books in the library and haven't found and trace of evidence linking to the mysterious alicorn known as Zoor. Though they did find a few books about Starswirl the Bearded, the books only had magic spells and potions he created. Sunset feels like she's not going to be able to find much about Starswirls past, but Twilight keeps on searching book after book from each and every bookshelf in the library.

Twilight refuses to rest for even one second and sometimes forgets to eat. During times like this, Spike would have jumped in and have her take a break if he were there right now. Hour after hour, her mane starts getting a little messy and unkempt and almost feathered out. However Sunset knows her limits and when it's time to relax for even a few minutes before she would resume helping Twilight out. With Spike gone for the time being, she fills in for him by giving Twilight a pillow and some food.

But there was another reason why Twilight refuses to sleep. She's afraid that she might have that nightmare where Spike is a full grown rampaging dragon and attacks her. She's even afraid that Spike is probably transformed back into that very same dragon right now. If Twilight ever starts to get paranoid it becomes a difficult challenge for Sunset to help try calm her friend down. Nevertheless, Sunset never believes in giving up on her friends especially when Twilight and her friends once saved her back in the human world.

But something strikes Twilight as odd and casts her paranoia aside for now. Her curiosity gets the better of her when she realizes something about Starswirl. Something she overlooked. She dashes over to one of the bookshelves and finds a book about Starswirl's real former apprentice. Sunset goes over to Twilight, still concerned about her friend and how she refuses to sleep.

"Twilight, maybe I should do some research on this. You haven't slept since we started this task." Sunset says.

"I don't have any choice, Sunset!" Twilight replies in a cranky mood, "This is the only book in my library that'll maybe help us get a lead on Starswirl!"

Her attitude makes Sunset back off a bit. "Sorry Twilight. I'm just worried about you. I'm worried about you just as much as I'm worried about Spike. Just go and get some sleep and I'll take over with the research for a while, you'll feel better when you've rested up your eyes. It's not healthy to stay up countless days researching and give your brain a chance to recover."

"But... the nightmares!"

"Just take a cup of water with you to your room. It helps to at least sooth you when you go to bed."

Twilight wants to argue back, but she lets out a yawn, too exhausted to even try now. She agrees to take some time off of her research and teleports to the kitchen and gets a cup of water. She teleports into her bedroom soon afterwards and climbs into bed, taking a few sips of her water before tucking herself into her soft, comfy pillow, falling asleep quickly.

Now that Twilight is asleep, Sunset grabs the book Twilight found and reads it from page to page, being careful not to miss any important info she might miss. She only hopes that the princesses are having much better luck at finding info on Starswirl the Bearded than she is.





Of course, in the city of Canterlot and inside the archieves of princess Celestia's castle, she and Blaze Burn are steadily going over each book related Starswirl. However they can't seem to find any books or records whatsoever on Zoor, but they have learned to grow plenty of patience over the years. The same can be said for Celestia's sister, princess Luna, whom was introduced to Blaze Burn before they began their search.

"Honey, I've got a question," Blaze Burn says.

"What might that be?" Celestia asks.

"Exactly how much is known about Starswirl? Forgive me for "living under a rock" but I hardly knew much about the stallion since I've lived in the village since birth."

"Starswirl was a very gifted and very talented unicorn who created and mastered over 200 spells. He even convinced our old enemy Scorpan to help stop his evil brother, lord Tirek. He was also able to help banish these three sirens from Equestria and into another world."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. My sister and I were there to witness it all. I could tell you more, but we've still got to find out more about him and if he had Zoor as his apprentice."

"But I just can't understand it! If he had an apprentice, then why can't we find anything about her? There has to be some kind of clue we're overlooking. But I still can't quite put my hoof on it." Blaze Burn says

"That's because Starswirl never took on Zoor as his apprentice," Luna says, "His former apprentice was a unicorn named Clover the Clever, one of the founders of Equestria. If you're going to have any luck finding out about his real apprentice, you should start your search on Clover. This might be a hunch, but I think Clover might actually be the main cause of Zoor actually existing!"

"Are you sure about this, Luna?" Celestia asks

"As I said before, it's just a hunch," Luna replies.

Celestia feels as if her sister might be telling the truth and considers the possibility. She walks over to the shelf where there should be past records of the founders of Equestria. She finds a few files on Clover the Clever, but most of them are just records about her personal life and how she was under the guidance of Starswirl until the day when her time came to breathe her last breath.

'Strange... why do I somehow get the feeling Clover was hiding some kind of secret from us that she didn't want anypony to know about? Could it be that she might have done something that she wasn't suppose to and if so, what could she have possibly done?' Celestia thinks to herself.

Just then, Luna thinks of an idea that might possibly give them a lead and addresses Celestia, "Sister, perhaps it would be best to send in Twilight and Sunset to have a look at our previous castle, there could be some books about Clover that we have yet to find out about."

"I've already asked Twilight and Sunset to do research in the library at Twilight's castle. However, I think I'll have two of our new guests explore the castle. Do you think you can act as their guide?" Celestia asks.

"Of course. When they're ready, I'll be waiting for them by the castle entrance," says Luna. She walks out of the archieves and disappears in a flashing light.





In one of the guest rooms, Shadow Force can be heard snoring heavily on one of the guest beds. Eternal Flames and Heat Blitz think he's probably having some kind of nice dream or the bed is just that comfy, but they can't concentrate on their own things with him snoring so loud.

"Heat Blitz, you got a spare pillow I can use to quiet down that blasted snoring of his?" Eternal asks.

"No and isn't he going to suffocate if you muffle his snoring?" Heat asks back.

"I've been covering his snoring mouth for years and every time I put a pillow over him, boom! He never seems to run out of air, so I'm sure he'll live through it."

"I hope you're ri-" Heat says before he's cut off by Shadow's loud snoring. "Ugh! If he snores any louder than that, he's most certainly gonna blow out my ear drums!" he says, slightly annoyed.

"That makes two of us," Eternal replies.

Thankfully, there's a knock on their door, waking up Shadow from his little nap. He adjusts his eyes until he can see better and gets off the guest bed. He walks over to the door and opens it. Eternal thinks it's something important the moment he sees that it's his mother Princess Celestia.

"Eternal Flames, can you come over here? I need to ask a favor of you and Shadow Force. This might require some help from the both of you," Celestia says. Eternal walks over to the doorway towards his mother and Shadow Force curious of what she wants from him and Shadow. "Your father and I are still looking for some info on Starswirl the Bearded but all we've found is some history about him and his former apprentice, Clover the Clever, who was once one of the founders of all Equestria. I need you and Shadow to go to this old castle in the Everfree Forest with Luna and find out as much as you can about either one of the two ponies I mentioned so can I count on you to do that for me, son?"

"Yes mother!" he replies immediately.

"Hey, as long as I get to do something useful, I'm game," Shadow shrugs.

"Excellent. Follow me to the entrance and I'll let Luna take over from there. After all, you still haven't met her yet and it will be a great experience to get to know my sister." Celestia says, slightly joyful. The two stallions follow the princess through the castle and made their way down towards the main throne room and near the castle entrance where the two stallions eyes lock onto a beautiful midnight blue alicorn mare. 

Eternal and Shadow walk up to Luna and bow to her. "So you're Princess Luna?" Eternal asks. Luna nods with a small smile and earns a bow from both stallions. "It's an honor to meet you."

"We're very pleased to meet you, princess," Shadow says.

"I'm flattered by your respectful manners, but perhaps we can skip the introductions and move forward. The clock is still ticking and we must hurry to me and my sister's old castle!" Luna implies. Eternal and Shadow stand up and walk closer and get taken by surprise by her whistling. A pair of Royal Guard pegasi arrive with a carriage and land in front Luna, Eternal and Shadow Force. "Hop on," she says.

The stallions obey and get onto the carriage with Luna. She tells the guards to take them to the entrance of the former castle of the royal sisters. Their wings spread out wide before finally taking off as fast and steadily as they can, trying not to knock any of the passengers over. On the trip, Luna can't help but glance at Shadow Force and sees a strong resemblance to King Sombra in him. From his dark gray fur to those red eyes and black mane, there's no doubt in her mind that Shadow Force is King Sombra's son. It only becomes more clearer to her about who his actualy mother is, but she chooses to stay quiet about it.

Luna decides to cast her worries aside for now and just focus on taking the boys to the abandoned castle but casting aside her worries is a task easier said than done. Shadow can tell that Luna's feeling stressed and whispers to Eternal mostly because he thinks Luna doesn't feel like explaining some personal problem that probably doesn't concern him whatsoever.

"Psst, Eternal," Shadow whispers.

"What?" Eternal whispers back.

"Something's up with the princess. She just gave me this look for no reason."

"What kind of look?"

"I don't know how to describe, but it's kind of the same as the one you get from a mother who's worried sick about her child's well-being or something."

"Well, Shadow, I just don't know what to tell you, maybe the moment she layed her eyes on you made her go on a trip down memory lane. It never hurts to at least ask her what's wrong."

But asking Luna will have to wait as the carriage comes to a complete stop at the entrance of the abandoned castle and just the sight of it makes Shadow's and Eternal's jaw drop. Luna taps both of the stallions on the shoulders, getting both of their attentions immediately.

"We can do a little sight-seeing some other time, but right now you boys should follow me, I'll take you to the archieves and you can start your search there," she says.

"Of course, princess," Eternal and Shadow say in unison.

Luna leads them inside the castle. The two young stallions eyes scan the entire place around them. The floors were covered with small amounts of rubble and large boulders. The walls had torn up banners like there was struggle a long time ago. Eternal Flames' curiosity couldn't be ignored, but at the same time he can't ignore the princess' orders so he keeps on following Luna farther into the castle.

They start walking up a flight of stairs and come across a room full of old books and some lost personal records of some of the deceased ponies in Equestria. None of the records have any info on Starswirl naturally, but none about the one who calls herself Zoor.

Luna stops in the middle of the room and turns to the boys.

"Now, boys, as my sister has already told you, if you find out anything about Starswirl or Zoor whatsoever, let us know and we'll be on our way here. I wish you both the best of luck." Luna bows her head to her nephew and his friend before teleporting back to the entrance and gets on the carriage and orders the guards to fly straight back to the Canterlot Castle. They obey without question.

With the princess of the night getting back to her business, Eternal Flames and Shadow Force take the liberty of going over the archieves. Well, mostly it's just Eternal. Shadow barely gets through half of a book and after that, he just yawns and slams himself on the floor with a loud thud, snoring.

"Blast it all, Shadow, this is no time to be napping on the job now get up!" Eternal shouts. Shadow's eyes shoot wide open and lifts his head up quickly and accidentally hits his head with Eternal's.

"AAH! Sweet Celestia that hurts!" Shadow shouts, rubbing his head.

"Well next time, control those sleeping urges when you pick up a book!"

"I can't help it if I always fell asleep in class when I was younger! Reading is boring!"

"Maybe so, but it can sometimes kill time if you've got a creative mind."

"Kill time? Yeah right! Sleeping and training kills time! Not like you'd understand with your overworking flank!"

"My flank?! You dare speak of a prince's FLANK?!"

Shadow stands back up and locks his forehead with Etenral's. The two stallions growl and glare at each other for a moment until they realize they're getting worked up over nothing. They back away from each other and take deep breaths and look at each other.

"Sorry, bud. I guess I'm still exhausted and a bit cranky. It's difficult for me to keep my eyes open after that long trip from the village, you know?" Shadow says.

"I know. I've been on edge, too. Although I'd say I'm always on edge almost all the time. I guess I'm just concerned for Spike and hope he's unharmed. When we were coming to this brand new place, my body was tired and wanted to sleep in the night, but my brain was just working into overdrive. But it's no excuse for me to lash out on you, so I apologize for my rude behavior, Shadow."

"Hey, no worries about it. We all get cranky sometimes. But right now, I think since you're practically always up, why don't you sleep in and I'll get to work on the books."

"No, Shadow. You haven't had much sleep either, I can handle a few more hours of reading."

"Uhh, I don't think so "chief," you're gonna sleep and that's that. If I end up passing out again, then at least I tried to do my part and the books'll be all yours to read until I wake up."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. Now take a nap, buddy. You've earned a little brake."

"Very well then. I'll leave it up to you for now." Eternal's reassurance make Shadow nod. Eternal kneels down and lays on the floor and slowly closes his eyes. Shortly afterwards, Eternal emits these semi-loud snores which only meant he had stayed awake that long last night.

"Poor guy." was all Shadow could say. He lights up his horn and levitates a book up to his face. The book he's reading has some info on Starswirl and a few hidden and forbidden spells he had created. Shadow Force himself is well aware of these forbidden spells being that he once used a few of them back home. Even now he wishes he could take it all back but the past is the past and he paid for his mistake.

He can feel his eyes getting heavy with each page he was reading, but with sheer determination, he managed to somehow brush off his drowsiness. Cover after cover, he still tries hard to search for any clues about Starswirl or Zoor and comes up with nothing.





At the Castle of Friendship, Twilight Sparkle still sleeps soundly up in her room. The advise she got from Sunset earlier has somehow done the trick. But with Sunset, she still can't find any leads on Starswirl in the book Twilight had picked out and was getting frustrated by the minute.

"Ugh, I just don't get it! How am I suppose to find any solid clues if all I'm reading about his Starswirl's personal life, what in Celestia's name am I overlooking anyway?" Sunset asks herself in frustration. Then by some miracle, an idea finally hit her. "Wait a second! Maybe the answer isn't hidden in Starswirl's peronal life at all, but maybe it's hidden somewhere in the spells he and his apprentice created long ago. I don't know if that book is in here, but it's still well worth trying to find it."

Luckily for Sunset, Twilight was very organized with her library books and had them all marked down from A to Z among other things. Thank to that, Sunset finds the book on the many spells made by Starswirl and the additional spells made by one Clover the Clever.

Sunset begins to read the book from page to page. She was making sure not to read the spells out loud, aware that some of them are activated when reading them aloud. Some of the spells were very dangerous if they were read very carelessly like Twilight did before she became a princess.

For the first 45 pages, Sunset found nothing too serious until she came cross the page that said "Warning: Forbidden Spells, Do Not" but the rest of the warning was smudged. Sunset could already guess that it was warning her never read any of the spells out loud. As a precaution, she heeded the warning and read the page inside her head very carefully.

Some of the spells had different magical strength enhancements that could either strengthen a unicorn's physical and mental abilities, but the price was a near death experience that almost took Starswirl the Bearded's life a few years early when he was still alive. Other spells either had the ability to increase magical abilities, but would corrupt the user's mind. A spell very similar to the Alicorn Amulet's abilities.

Minutes later, Sunset was about to read the last page in the book, but finds out there's a page missing and a message that was written by Starswirl himself.

To any future readers out there

I strongly suggest you do not find the missing last page to this book. I've lost my apprentice because of this terrible spell she had created. If you know what's good for you, you'll leave it alone. I did this to protect the lives of innocent ponies both in my time and the ones in the future. All I ask is for you ponies to stay away from this hidden spell, not for me, but for your own safety.

Signed Starswirl the Bearded

"What kind of spell was he talking about and how did it make him lose his apprentice? Maybe I should alert the princesses about this. I've got a terrible feeling this is all linked together somehow. I don't know how it is linked together, but I can just somehow feel it." Sunset says to herself. She didn't want to lose the book, so she brought it along with her upstairs and into her bedroom. She sets the book down on her desk and grabs out a sheet of paper and a quill, writing down her message to the princesses.





Meanwhile, out in the dragon kingdom, the dragons spent most of their time eating from their gem hoards or bathing in a pool of hot lava or just plain rough-housing. But their day was interrupted by one alicorn and her hypnotized dragon slave. All of the dragons recognized Spike, but became hostile and territorial and approached the pony that was with him.

"And just who do you think you are?!" One dragon said.

"Yeah, what makes you think you can just trespass here without permission from Dragon Lord Ember?" Another dragon asks, gripping Zoor. The dragon was replied by a grip to his neck by Spike's claw and was blown back by Spike's roar and increased fire breath.

"Hey! Just what do you think you're doing, Spike?! She's the enemy!" The dragon said, getting up. Zoor looked at them with an evil grin and chuckled to herself. "Quick! Alert the dragon lord!" he said.

Three of the other dragons unfolded their wings and flew off to the castle.

"Oh, I don't think so," Zoor says. She opens her mouth, vocalizing her voice. Her voice created a frequency that reached all the dragons in the area. They all covered their ears, trying to drown out the sound with their roaring, but it was no use. Spike was already hypnotized so the didn't affect him at all.

Within moments, every single dragon had fallen under the spell of the Song of Dragons and gathered around their new sinister leader, Zoor. She lets out a menacing laugh as the dragons, including poor little Spike, all bowed down to Zoor.

"All hail Zoor!" the dragons chanted.

"That's right! BOW BEFORE YOUR MASTER!!!" Zoor shouts, grinning at her new dragon servants.
> Forbidden Secrets
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The minutes have turned into hours and so far, Twilight was still fast asleep, but once again she began to have one of her nightmares but this time, in her dreams, she wasn't alone. She and all of her friends, including the guys and the princesses were in it. 


Inside Twilight's Dream


Twilight and her friends were surrounded at the Canterlot Castle by a Spike, who was once again a giant rampaging dragon, only he was able to fly this time. He stood at the top of the castle staring down at Twilight and her friends, who all had both the Elements of Harmony and the Elements of Freedom on them. Spike roared a vicious roar, deafening to mostly any pony who were close enough to see him.

The princesses were flying around the dragon in a circular motion, launching their magical attacks at Spike, but it only seemed to irritate the fire-breathing beast. He opened his mouth as wide as he could and shot his green flames at the princesses with every intention of burning them to a crisp. 

Luckily, because of the princesses being immortal, they could never be destroyed, but that didn't stop Spike from dealing massive damage with his dragon flames. Princess Luna was struck in the back and was sent crashing down, but was saved by Shadow Force and Rainbow Dash. Princess Celesta took a blow to the wings, sending her spiraling out of control and falling rapidly towards the ground.

Eternal Flames acted quick and ran to catch her. But the moment he did, he landed hard against the ground using his back as a cushion to save his mother. She was alright, however the same couldn't be said for the young prince who was badly injured and temporarily immobilized. Sunset ran over to the fallen princess and her son and proceeded to heal them both. But it was going to take a while before they would be fully recover, so Twilight and the rest of the Mane 6 were on their own for now.

"T-Twilight!" Eternal called out with a grunt. "You have to use the... Elements of Harmony!"

"What?! No! I can't do that! Spike is our best friend, I can't turn him to stone!" Twilight calls out.

"There's... no time for arguements, Twilight! You've gotta do it now or he'll get the drop on you!"

"No, I can't!"

"Twilight, watch out!" Rainbow shouts, pointing up at Spike. Twilight looks up and sees that he's jumped off the castle and is now diving straight towards her. Rainbow Dash flew up to at least buy some time for Twilight to escape, but Spike swatted her out of the way with a swat of his mighty arm. Rainbow collided with the hard surface of one of the castle pillars and dropped to the ground, injured.

Spike's next move catches her off-guard. He opened his mouth as wide as he could and prepared to blast her at full force with his green flames. Twilight couldn't find the courage to conjure up a shield to protect herself as she was stricken with fear and sadness.

"Spike, please no! DON'T DO THIS!" she shouted.

But nothing got through to Spike in his massive, greedy form. He finally shoots his flames at Twilight and she lets out a loud and massive scream, covering herself with her hooves. She waited and waited for the attack to hit her, but to her surprise, they never did. When she looked to see where Spike was, all she saw around her was a humongous white void and nothing else in sight.

She scanned each and every part of the void, breathing heavily like she ran through a marathon. It was a hollowed victory for her, however. She failed to reach Spike with her words and had put her friends in serious danger when she couldn't make the one decision that would break her heart. She just can't even stand the thought of turning Spike into stone, even if he was a rampaging dragon.

She kneeled down and placed her hooves up to her face and surrounded the front of her body with her wings and began to sob quietly to herself. She just didn't know what else to do.

Suddenly, she felt a very familiar scaly claw make contact with one of her wings. She lifted her head up and gazed into the eyes of Spike, but not in his monstrous greedy form. He was in his original form, young and friendly as he was before he was hypnotized.

"S-Spike?" Twilight asks, not sure if it was for real or not. Spike nodded with reassurance in his eyes and his smile and started mouthing out his words, since this was still a dream. But Twilight could understand everything that was coming out of his mouth.

He mouthed out the words "Don't give up, Twilight. I know you girls are strong enough to stop her. You've done it before with other villains and you can do it again. I have faith in all of you. It doesn't matter if the odds are stacked against you, because I know you can win, don't be afraid." and then, he gave Twilight a warm hug, and it felt like he was actually there.

Twilight let loose more tears out of her eyes and hugged Spike back. "I promise, Spike. Just hang in there a little longer and I'll bring you back home to us! I'll never give up on my little dragon brother. Neither are any of our friends, and that's a promise I'm going to keep!" The words coming out of her made her feel more courageous and felt a slight weight fall off her heart afterwards. Pretty soon, Spike vanished in a ray of light, disappearing back into the white void of her dream.





For a few brief moments, Twilight began to stir and checked her clock on her nightstand. It was already 8:00 in the morning and she was well rested. She got out of her bed and walked out of her room and down to the library where Sunset was. But to Twilight's surprise, Sunset was conversing with Princess Celestia. She ran into the library, getting the mares' attention.

"Twilight, you're up! Are you feeling okay now?" Sunset asks.

"I'm fine. And I feel rested up, thanks to your advise." she replies. "So, Princess Celestia, what's going on? Did you find out anything about Starswirl or Zoor?"

"Actually, Twilight, Sunset was the one who discovered something about them. She found it in a spell book that Starswirl and Clover wrote together." Celestia replied. "And to make things more interesting, Sunset found out that there was a page torn out of the book and a message written by Starswirl himself." Celestia levitated the book and opened up the last part of the book where a page should be. 

Twilight walked up and read the message Starswirl left. She became curious of what Starswirl was trying to hide and even more so the reason why he chose to hide the page. Finding the missing page was going to be an even bigger challenge for the Princess of Friendship. But then, a question struck Twilight.

"Princess Celestia! Have you and Princess Luna discovered any kind of torn pages in the archieves of the Canterlot Library or anything like that? There's a strong chance that the page might actually be lost somewhere in the archieves and we might have missed it."

"Afraid not, Twilight. Sunset already explained it in every detail and so far, Luna, Blaze Burn and I have not found anything of the sort. My hunch strongly suggests that the page might actually be in... oh no!" Celestia says in shock, finding out what she had done. "Twilight, gather your friends! I have to head back to Canterlot and alert the other Elements of Freedom!"

"What's wrong, Princess?" Sunset asks.

"All I can say is this: I know the spell and it isn't good!" Celestia replied. She lights up her horn and teleports out of the castle without another word and leaves the girls feeling more curious about all this. But with Celestia sounding seriously worried, she heeded the warning and ran out of the library, heading straight out of the castle with Sunset following her close behind.

Sunset and Twilight were uncertain of what Celestia figured out about what was written in the missing page of Starswirl's and Clover's spell book. As they finally left the castle, the two of them ran as fast as they could, going over their plan.

"Listen Sunset, If we want to hurry, we'll have to split up. I'll go and get Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Rarity while you get Pinkie Pie and Applejack! Celestia's gathering the guys back at her castle."

"Got it. Aterwards we should wait by the fountain in town square once everypony's present and accounted for, does that sound alright?" Sunset asks.

"Sure, that'll do. Now let's go."

Twilight and Sunset nod and searched all around Ponyville for their friends. 





Down at Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack was out in the orchard, harvesting the apples for the farmers market with the help of her older brother, Big Mac. But of course, Applejack's heart just wasn't in it, even though she was forcing herself to work. She had told her family earlier about Spike being taken from her and her friends by this new threat who had the ability to control dragons.

Applebloom stayed in the houe with Granny Smith, helping her prepare lunch for her family. Applebloom had gained more experience in cooking thanks to the guidance of her sister and Granny Smith. Even though AJ's little sister was becoming a lot more grown up, she was still sad that Spike was dragonapped and she was afraid that Spike would come back, but as she knew him.

The only thing Applejack could do was give her sister some comfort when she done with her chores. Big Mac insisted that if Applejack was feeling down, she should take a brake and spend some time with her friends or at least some time up in her room so she could think clearly. Applejack, being the hard-working pony she is, refused to stop working even if she was still "under the weather."

Big Mac didn't approve of his little sister pushing herself like this, but her choices were her own and he had to respect her decision and went one with the chores. 

Moments later, Sunset Shimmer had arrived at the farm and ran up to Applejack who was carrying her 2nd bucket into the barn and unloading it into a barrel. "Applejack! Twilight and I got orders from the princess to come and get you and the rest of the girls! She might have found a clue about Starswirl and Zoor, but it's urgent we get the other girls ready so she can explain the rest!" she said.

"So then why does she need all of us together if she won't explain it now?" Applejack asks.

"I think it's so she won't have us repeat ourselves when we tell you the whole story, otherwise if we did, the dragon invasion would probably begin and there'd be no way to stop Zoor!" Sunset explains.

"Ah see. Alright, just gimme a minute to let mah family know where Ah'll be!"

"No need." Big Mac called out. Applejack and Sunset looked and saw the reassurance in his eyes. "Ah'll tell Granny Smith an' Applebloom where you'll be so she won't feel too worried."

"Oh thank you, Big Mac." AJ replies.

"Eeyup."

Sunset and Applejack wasted no time and ran out of the barn and out into Ponyville. Applejack was unsure what it was that Princess Celestia found, but keeping her in suspense wasn't exactly helping her and it certainly did not stop her curiousity from going into overdrive. Sunset felt the same way because of how vague the princess gave her that specific info.

Once there, Applejack followed Sunset over to Sugar Cube Corner where Pinkie was sitting on one of the tables and was eating a triple deluxe ice cream sundae, but she didn't have a smile on her face, in fact, she was actually feeling rather sad. Who could blame her? Especially with what happened.

"Pinkie Pie!" AJ called out. Pinkie sat straight up and zoomed up to the two girls, nearly inches away from them with a big grin on her face.

"Did you find anything about ol' Swirly-Beardy what's-his-face?" Pinkie asked, hyped up.

"It's Starswirl the Bearded, and yes. I found out a clue in this spell book Starswirl and his apprentice wrote and I showed it to Princess Celestia as soon as I made the discovery, but she wants me and Twilight to get you and the other girls together. Afterwards, we'll meet up at the water fountain near town square and have Princess Celestia meet us there as soon as she gets the guys."

"Ooh, mysterious! Okay, so what about Twilight, where is she?" Pinkie asks.

"She's getting Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Rarity at the moment. She asked me to get you two. Now, come on, Twilight probably be waiting for us at the fountain by now." Sunset ordered.

Applejack nodded and followed Sunset out of the building. Pinkie, on the other hoof, took her ice cream sundae and gulped it down in one big bite and then followed Applejack and Sunset afterwards. 





Carousel Boutique has still remained closed as usual and Rarity was locked up in her room, laying down in her bed and gazing in the fire ruby Spike had given her. The more she kept staring at it, the more her heart felt like it was breaking into tiny little pieces. She didn't even have the appetite to munch on any tubs of ice cream, nor did she have the leftover change to purchase any.

She felt like she wanted to weep in misery, but it seemed as if her tears had completely dried up. Even if they didn't dry up, Rarity wouldn't care if it messed up her mascara. She kept the blinds to her room shut so she wouldn't have anypony peek in and eavesdrop on her.

The memories of her little dragon friend had brought her so much happiness in her life and for her to not anticipate Spike being hypnotized by that creature who calls itself Zoor was enough to even make her feel angry at the creature and even more mad at Melodia for giving Zoor the abilitiy to control any and all dragons with that mysterious melody she never did hear herself.

Suddenly, there was a knock at her front door. She sighed, knowing there was nothing better for her to do, other than to answer the pony who was knocking. She got out of bed and walked out of her room, descending down the stairs and making her way to the front door.

"Forgive me, sir or madam, but the Carousel Boutique is closed at the moment." Rarity called out, nearly inches away from the door.

"Rarity, it's me, Twilight! I need you to come with me!" Twilight called out from the other side. The tone in her voice made her sound like it was urgent. Rarity was concerned and opened up the front door and faced the Princess of Friendship eye to eye.

"Twilight, darling. What seems to be the problem?"

"Princess Celestia told me to get you and the rest of the girls. She and Sunset have found something out about Starswirl and is gonna explain it to us!"

Rarity's eyes lit up, thinking they might have found a way to bring Spike back. "Oh, thank Celestia, I thought it was going to take longer than expected, but you work fast, darling!"

"Sunset was the one who found out first, but you can thank her after we've gotten Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash and then we'll meet up with the others at the fountain in town square."

"R-Right of course." Rarity said nothing else and locked up her house before head out with Twilight. Both mares trotted a bit hastily away from the boutique. Though Rarity didn't like being rushed, she wasn't given much choice and right now, she didn't really care. As of right now, she was in much of a hurry as Twilight was to find out what the princess and Sunset have both discovered.

In just a few minutes, Twilight an Rarity reached Fluttershy's cottage, but due to the recent round trip to the Freedom Village and back to Ponyville, Rarity was a bit short on breath. True, she did spend most of her time up in her room, but she hardly got any sleep. Twilight approached the front door of the cottage and knocked on Fluttershy's front door three times. She backed up and waited patiently for the shy pegasus to answer.

The sound of hoofsteps grew loud as they approached the door and then Fluttershy opens it up to see Twilight and Rarity waiting outside.

"Hello Twilight. Is there something I can do for you?" Fluttershy asks.

"Actually, Fluttershy, we need you to come along with us. Celestia and Sunset may have discovered a lead and wanted me to get you and the other girls together so she can explain it to us. I've already told Sunset to get Pinkie Pie and Applejack and have them meet us at the fountain in town square." Twilight explains.

"Oh, I see. But the only problem now is getting Rainbow Dash, but she's told me that she's currently training over at the Wonderbolts Academy. And I can't get inside because the new rules prevent me or anypony else from entering during training hours."

"Why's that?" Twilight asks.

"It was because of the time when we arrived at the training area to deliver Rainbow's package and we ended up crashing into the ground from the twister. They put up those rules to prevent any further casualties to anypony who's either authorized or unauthorized."

"While that is understandable, darling, you could've just flown with ease. You are a pegasus." Rarity says.

"I was too scared to fly. I was still afraid of heights back then. It's true, I've gotten over my fear of heights now, but I was way too scared back then. I'm sorry, girls." Fluttershy says, genuinely.

"It's alright, Twilight. It's all over and done with. We'll wait for Rainbow Dash to finish her training session and then we'll meet up with everypony else at town square." Twilight says, reassuringly.

"You don't have to wait for me that long..." Rainbow Dash called out from above. Twilight, Fluttershy and Rarity all looked up and saw her with her usual confident smirk. "...I'm right here! So what's going on and why do you need us all to meet at town square?" she asks.

"Princess Celestia and Sunset might have found a lead and need us all to be together so she can thoroughly explain the details to all of us. Come on! We have to hurry! Sunset and the others are probably waiting for us at the fountain right now!"

"Seriously? Wow, you girls work pretty fast!" Rainbow complimented in surprise. "Well then, how's about we hurry up and head into town? Can't leave our friends hangin'."

"Alright then. Come on." Twilight said. The girls followed the lavender alicorn down the path and trotted into the town of Ponyville, making their way to town square. Rainbow Dash, like the other girls, was curious about what Princess Celestia and Sunset found out. She was excited that they had discovered some leads, but at the same time, she was worried about whether or not if it would bring Spike back.

Moments, later, Twilight discovered Sunset, Pinkie Pie and Applejack all waiting by the fountain. The girls all regrouped with each other and waited for the princess to arrive with the others.





Back in the abandoned castle, Eternal Flames was finally well rested up and Shadow Force had exhausted all of his strength and is now taking a nap. Thanks to his ambitious attitude, Shadow Force had gone through at least 3 books involving Starswirl, but sadly, none had any leads. It didn't matter though, as long as he tried his best, but now it was Eternal's turn to bust his back doing research.

Eternal picked up an old spell book and read it out of curiousity, wondering what kind of spells Starswirl and Clover wrote back when they were still around. All of the spells were pretty harmless in the book he was reading, but as he turned one of the pages, a single sheet of paper fell out of the book.

His curiousity got the better of him so he put the book down and levitated the page that fell out. The sheet looked like it was torn out or something, but he didn't know why it was torn out. Eternal Flames' eyes caught sight of the message above the spell that was written. The message said "Warning: Do not read out loud or..." But the rest of the message was either scribbled or cut out. He quirked an eyebrow at that and wondered why this certain spell was so dangerous.

Because his ancient pony latin was a bit rusty, he could barely make out the words. He was unsure of whether or not he should heed the warning or not. His clear conciense was telling him to not do it, but his curiosity was telling him to unravel the mysteries. Though, he wanted to see what it can do, he heeded the warning and placed the page back into the book. But that doesn't mean that he wouldn't keep an eye on it.

Just then, Eternal had second thoughts and his curiousity had taken over him. He levitated the book and opened it, turning it from page to page until that one torn page fell out again. Eternal put the book down and levitated the torn page up to his face and read it in his mind, barely making out the words.

About halfway into the spell, he feels his magic become uneasy and his mind began to get cluttered with dark thoughts and he stopped to try to calm himself down for a bit. At that moment, Celestia walks into the library and sees her son and Shadow Force in the library and gasped. But it wasn't from the large amount of books they went through, it's the fact that Eternal was almost done, reading the forbidden spell.

"ETERNAL, NO, STOP!!!" Celestia shouts.
> A Cold Truth Best Untold
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Celestia ran over to Eternal Flames, snatching the torn page from him with her magic and held him in her hooves, trying to stop the dark magic from taking her son. She had her son face her eye-to-eye and was stunned at the sight of his eyes blinking and changing colors from sapphire blue to a very nasty crimson red, meaning the dark spell almost had him. The princess of the sun lit up her horn and casted a purification spell, driving out all negativity from Eternal Flames and saving him from a terrible fate.

Eternal Flames groaned, placing his hoof over his head. "M-Mother, what happened?" he asked. He was clueless on what the spell was doing to him, but now that the spell was no longer trying to control him, he was now able to come to his senses. He looks up at Celestia, thinking she was pretty upset with him for what he almost did and hung his head in shame. "I apologize for this." he says wholeheartedly.

"We'll talk about it later. Right now, I need you and Shadow Force to come along with me. And we'll bring along this page so the others'll know what's going on." Celestia replied, levitating the torn page close to her. Shadow Force wakes up from his nap and stretches his hooves out with a yawn. He looks in the direction of the princess, curious of why she's here and so he walks up to her.

"Heya, princess. What's going on?" Shadow asks, half-asleep.

"Sunset has made a discovery about Starswirl. I've asked her and Twilight to gather the girls together while I went to get you and the rest of your friends. The others are waiting outside the castle. Now follow me and I'll explain everything to you all." She ordered. Eternal and Shadow nod and approach Celestia. She lights up her horn and in a flash of light, she teleports herself and the two stallions to the entrance outside.

There, Eternal's other friends, including Melodia, were all patiently waiting for them. With all of the stallions, including their pony/dragon hybrid friend, now gathered around, Celestia teleported herself and the entire group back into Ponyville and end up surprisingly in town square. Celestia's eyes caught sight of Twilight and her friends all waiting near the fountain. Celestia signals the group that's with her to follow her and did so without speaking one single word.

"Twilight." Celestia calls out, closing in on her former student. Twilight looked over at the princess and walked over to her with Sunset next to her.

"I've gotten everypony with me, Princess. But what is it you wanted to tell us?" Twilight asks. Celestia says nothing at first and shows Twilight the missing torn page from the spell book Sunset had found. The sight of the torn page made her gasp. "Princess Celestia, is that the...?"

"Yes Twilight. It is the missing page. And I think it's time I told you all the truth." Celestia starts off. Both Twilight's and Eternal's friends all gathered together, opening up their ears to what she has to say. "You see, this particular spell, which was discovered by my son, Eternal Flames, is actually an alicorn transformation spell created by the one and only Clover the Clever, one of the co-founders of Equestria."

"WHAT?!" the guys asked, surprised.

"A long time ago, Clover had developed this particular spell against her former master's orders. When she had completed and performed the spell herself, the results to her brand new form had brought more conflict to everypony, especially with Starswirl the Bearded. Because of this atrocity, there was no way to change her back, nor could the darkness be driven out of her. As a result, Starswirl had expelled her as his student, but it didn't matter to her, for she felt like she had all the magical power she needed in order to take control of the entire kingdom of Equestria for her own selfish desires." Celestia keeps explaining.

"But if there wasn't a way to bring her back, what did Starswirl do?" Twilight asked.

"While she couldn't be changed back into who she once was, Starswirl did find a transformation spell that also acted as a containment spell. But he wasn't strong enough to do this on his own, so he asked for me and my sister to put an end to Zoor's rein of destruction. Altogether, my sister, Starswirl and I combined our magic to seal Zoor away into her tiny Alicorn Amulet prison. Since then, she was seen or heard from ever again. And as of earlier today, Eternal almost made the same mistake back at the castle."

Eternal hung his head down in shame with his eyes closed. Even he regrets listening to his curiousity. "Again, I deeply apologize for my reckless actions. If it weren't for my mother, I'd have become a monster just like Zoor is right now." Eternal says, wholeheartedly.

"It's alright son, but I want to ask you: Did you read it out loud or in your mind?" Celestia asked.

"Hmm, I definitely read it in my mind." he responded.

"I see. Well I should let you know, the message was actually trying to warn you not to read the message out loud OR inside your mind. The result will always be the same. Now you know that this magic spell is extremely dangerous, it's time that I dispose of it... like so." Celestia's horn glew and let out a spark of fire, near the page she still had in her magical grasp and used her fire magic to burn the page until nothing but ash remains.

"Well, now that we've taken care of that problem, what should we do now?" Eternal asks.

"There is one thing I'm planning on doing. But first, I'll have to bring you and the other boys back to the castle before I take your father with me to the Dragon Kingdom." Celestia replies.

"What?!" everypony shouts in shock and surprise.

"You can't be serious! Those dragons might be hypnotized already! If you go there, you'll just end up getting your biscuits burnt to a crisp!" Ground Breaker says.

"He's right, Princess Celestia! It's just not safe to travel to the Dragon Kingdom. Even if Blaze Burn is coming, you'll just get yourselves hurt." Fluttershy implies.

"I understand your concerns for me, but I have to do this. There's no telling what kind of scheme Zoor might be planning with her new army. That's why I'm taking Blaze Burn with me to the Dragon Kingdom to observe them from a distance. Do not worry, I'll be sure to make it back." Celestia replies.

"And what's the plan if we find out what they're up to?" Spark Burst asks.

"It all depends on what Zoor wants. In the meantime, all of you can head back to your homes. That's all the information I can give you all for now." Celestia says.

"B-But, Princess Celestia, what about Spike? Was there anything in that page that gave you a hint on how we can bring Spike back to us?" Rarity asks.

"No. I'm sorry, Rarity. If I did, I'd tell you without hesitation." Celestia says, regretfully. Rarity felt like her heart had been hit by a ton of bricks. With no idea on how to break the spell, Rarity felt the tears flowing out of her eyes, ruining her mascara. Twilight walks over to Rarity and gives her a comforting hug.

"I know it's a hard to take in. Even I'm upset about it. But still, I know for a fact that Spike doesn't want us to give up on him or lose hope." Twilight says. Rarity said nothing but gave Twilight a simple nod and a weak smile, still unsure of whether she was right or just trying to comfort her. It might seem like she's leaning towards the latter, but at least she was being a good friend about it.

The whole time, Eternal witnessed Rarity's behavior and got curious if Spike was actually the one crushing on her or if it was the other way around. One thing's for sure, he wanted to know the whole story and there was only one pony who would tell him the whole story.

"Twilight, I'd like to have a word with you if it's not too much trouble. Something's been peeking my curiousity and I need to get it off my chest." Eternal explains. Twilight wasn't sure what he wanted to ask.

"Umm... sure, I guess." Twilight says, unsure.

"Alright. Mother, if you don't mind, I'm going to be staying in Ponyville for a bit longer than expected. You can go on ahead and take the guys back to the castle without me." he says.

"Uh, Eternal, is there something troubling you?" Tidal asks.

"Just a few questions I need to ask Twilight. It's nothing too serious, I can assure you." Eternal replies.

"Hmm, strange, because the last time I checked, with you, everything's serious "Your Highness." Melodia retorts, walking up to Eternal Flames with a smirk. Eternal glared at Melodia.

"Do NOT call me "your highness!" My name is Eternal Flames, so get it right or ELSE!" Eternal threatened.

Melodia gasped dramatically. "I had no idea a royal young prince like you even had a name! Let me offer my thousand apologies, "your highness." she replies with a chuckle.

"WHY I OUGHTA...!!!"

"Both of you stop it right now!" Celestia scolded. "You can bicker about these silly arguements later when we're not in a moment of crisis, do you understand?" Eternal flinched and backed away from Celestia while Melodia rolled her eyes, giving off her usual smile.

"But of course, princess." Melodia replies without a care in the world.

"Y-Yes mother." Eternal replies.

"Mama's boy." Melodia said, quietly. Celestia still heard her and levitated her up to her eye level and Melodia stared into the eyes of the angry and frustrated sun princess.

"Melodia, you are treading on very... thin... ICE!" Celestia warned. Melodia sighed.

"Oh alright, I'll lay off." Melodia replies.

"Good. Now Melodia, you and the rest of the boys will come with me back to the castle. And Eternal, whatever it is you wish to speak to Twilight about, let me know via message whenever you're done with your little chat and I'll go ahead and send a chariotte for you."

"Fine by me. But keep in mind, I might be talking with her for a quite a while, so I might be arriving back at the castle a little later than expected." Eternal responds with a straight face. Celestia nods and goes over to give her son a small hug before she signals the others to come up to her. Melodia and the guys approach the princess and watch as she lights up her horn, and in a sudden flash, she teleports them back to the castle while Twilight's friends all went back to doing their usual things.

"Eternal, why did you want to talk to me?" Twilight asks.

"I'd rather not say out in public. If you don't mind, I'd like to talk to you back at your castle. I just need to clear up a few things with you about Spike." he replies.

"Oh. Well, if that's all you needed to know, I don't see why I shouldn't fill you in. Come on and follow me, I'll fill you in on all the details you need to know." Twilight turned around and walked down the path with Sunset next to her and having the young stallion follow her close behind. As they walked back to her castle, Twilight was filled with several different questions.

For one thing, she was curious about why Eternal wanted to talk about Spike. He could've just asked Princess Celestia a few things about Spike. But then again, Twilight easily forgets that Eternal's well aware of how Spike spent the majority of his life being cared for by her. For another thing, she's curious of whether or not it might help him and the others find a way to snap him out of his hypnotic trance.

But that idea was probably unlikely. However, she still remained open-minded on what he had to say. Moments later, they reached the castle and opened up the door, stepping inside and closing the door behind them before walking over the library and took their seats at the table.

"So, what'd you want to know about Spike?" Twilight asks.

"Well..."





Back at Canterlot Castle, everypony was in their guests rooms, unsure of what they could do. Everypony except for Tidal Wave and Melodia, who took their time to read a few books on Equestrian history. Tidal Wave was a pretty fast reader, so it didn't take long for him to keep his eyes on the same page for long periods of time, unlike his close friend, Melodia.

She took on a more patient approach and would picture the events as she was reading through the book carefully even though she hated reading. She lets out a sigh of boredom as she turned the page and began reading in her usual pace until her eyes locked on a sentence that jolted a past memory.

"Tidal, take a look at this!" Melodia says, pointing at the sentence in the book. Tidal looks at the part of the book that the pony/dragon hybrid was point at. He becomes confused of what Melodia was trying to show him and of course he's a bit curious about it.

"What's this about?" he asks.

"Ugh." Melodia says, annoyed. "Here, let me explain it so you'll understand! This entire page tells about the main reason why so many dragons fall under the hypnotic spell of the Song of Dragons. For obvious reasons, it affects dragons because of how their hearts are driven by greed. While it is unsurprising that over 98% of dragons easily become bound to whoever sings this tune, only the very first dragon lord, and possibly an heir have the ability to use this singing technique."

"I can understand that. I can even understand that you're the daughter of the very first dragon lord, but what else did you want to tell me?" Tidal asks.

"There was only one other time and ONLY once when a dragon was overtaken by anger from the Song of Dragons, not by his own greed... but a broken heart. It's a very rare occasion that only happens when there was somepony they fell in love with but never got the chance to be their destined one. No pony ever knew who this one dragon was, but the result of the Song of Dragons caused that one dragon to not only fall under the spell, but also let his anger cause havoc and destruction around him."

The shocking truth the both of them found out gave Tidal Wave a bad feeling . "Melodia, do you think Spike could be the second dragon to fall under the 2nd effect of the Song of Dragons?" he asks.

"I don't know, but it's a strong possibility. But I think it's best we let Princess Celestia know about this. We can't just keep this secret between us."

"You're right. I'll go alert the princess about this."

"Excuse me, but what makes you think you'll go on your own?" she asks, offended.

"Okay fine, you can come along, will that satisfy you, dear princess?" he retorted, annoyed. Tidal gets pulled into Melodia's grasp and got a noogie from her. "OWOWOWOWOWOWOW OUCH!!!"

"Be careful with what you say, my little pony. You forget that I'm still the daughter of the first dragon lord!"

"Well excuse me, princess, but this happens to be a serious matter!" Tidal rubbed his head. "Now would you kindly please let go of my neck, I can't BREATHE?!" Melodia didn't even reply, she just chuckled at his expression before releasing her grip on him. "Sweet Celestia, you almost choked me to death!"

"But you're still alive right?"

"Just barely, but don't ever do that again! Now come on, we're wasting time here." Tidal Wave walked over to the exit of the room and opened up the door. He stepped out of the way, allowing Melodia to walk out before him and followed her throughout the castle.





"Well, Twilight... I want to know everything there is to know about him and everything that's happened up 'till now and I want to know the whole story." Eternal says to the Princess of Friendship.

"If you say so." Twilight says, before she begins. "I had hatched Spike from a little dragon egg when I was just a filly because he was part of a test to become Princess Celestia's pupil. When he was hatched, he was always raised by me and Princess Celestia at the time. I guess you could probably say he was like my little brother and Princess Celestia was like his mother. He's always been there for me, growing up and becoming my number one assistant back in Canterlot and in Ponyville."

"Go on..."

"When we moved here to Ponyville, he was so high-strung about me making new friends like Princess Celestia wanted me to back when I was just a unicorn. Back then when we first met the girls, he just couldn't stop falling for Rarity even though I thought he wouldn't have a chance with her."

"Why? Because he's a dragon and she's a pony?"

"Well... I guess so."

"He's probably not aware that a pony loving a dragon isn't a taboo. It use to be thousands of years ago, but it's considered a blessing now."

"How do you know, Eternal?"

"I might not be able to do the spells that you can do, Twilight, but I've done my homework on the history of Equestria when the war between ponies and dragons took place and after it ended. Anyways, enough about that, has Spike ever gotten into any kind of trouble when he was little?"

"Well... there was this one time when I had Owlolicious help me out on a few things. My friends all thought he was being left out or replaced, but I just blew it off like it's nothing because I know he's a great big help and he could never be replaced. Of course he ended up giving into his jealous and was trying to pin the blame on Owlolicious and I told him I was disappointed in him."

That's when Eternal felt a bit upset, but kept his anger in. "Twilight, if you were so confident about that, why didn't you just sit him down with you and talk to him instead of trusting your instincts? If you had sat earlier and talked to him beforehoof, he wouldn't have given into his jealousy! You were suppose to be his legal guardian and yet you failed to do something so simple to any parent/older sibling."

Twilight felt offended. "Hey! I apologized to him after me and Owlolicious saved him from this bigger dragon that lived in a cave when he ran away."

Eternal felt more angry, but tried not to blow off on her. "You nearly got your so-called little brother killed and that's hardly something to brush off! I might not know Spike all that well, but I do know that when a younger sister or brother is feeling like they're being replaced, events like what you told me can easily be avoided if you had just sat down and explained him: Spike, you should know that I could never replace you, you always have and always will be my number one assistant."

"I DID tell him that!"

"That was AFTER he ran away! NOT BEFORE!"

"Both of you, stop fighting!" Sunset got in between Twilight and Eternal before they went at each other's throats anymore than they were now. "Now, I'm not taking one side but will point things out: Twilight, Eternal has a point when you should have talked to Spike before you made him feel replaced."

"I... I didn't mean to." Twilight had never felt so much regret in her entire life.

"Finally, somepony who agrees." Eternal sounded less irritated, but still a bit mad. Sunset looked over at him with a stern glare in her eyes.

"No so fast, Eternal. While you do have a point, you can't just go ranting on, telling her she's a bad guardian, I mean yeah, I would be upset if she let Spike get killed by this dragon, but she still made an effort to save him in the end and straightened things out with him, so drop it." Sunset scolded.

"Ugh, fine. But I don't have to like it. Go ahead and continue, Twilight." Eternal replies, a bit calmer.

"Good." Sunset says.

Twilight sighed. "Well, there was also the time when we first went to the Grand Galloping Gala."

"The what-now?" Eternal asks?

"It's a big fancy party that's held in Canterlot once a year. Spike had plans for how to celebrate the best night ever, but of course, the girls and I... well... please don't blow off any steam when I say this, but me and the girls all split up and left him behind to do our own things." Twilight stopped and saw Eternal twitching his left eye, trying his best to hold in his anger.

"Explain." he says through his teeth.

"Pinkie wanted to party hard like she usually does, Rainbow Dash wanted to spend her night hanging out with her idols, the Wonderbolts, Fluttershy ran off to the private garden to see those exotic animals, Applejack went to set up her food stand to raise money for the farm, Rarity went to see Princess Celestia's nephew and tried to win his heart and affections while I wanted to stay by Princess Celestia and talk with her about all the things I've learned about friendship."

Eternal took a deep breath and spoke. "I can understand why Applejack needed to do what she needed to do, what the others did was inexcusable. Still..." Eternal's curiosity overcame his anger for the moment about what Twilight mentioned. "Since when did mother have a nephew?"

"I'm not even sure, myself. But I do know he's a spoiled brat. Rarity told me how he would always think about himself and hated common foods. He even hates to get his hooves dirty. I believe he went by the name of Prince Blueblood if my memory serves me right."

"He calls himself a prince, yet he's a selfish spoiled brat." Eternal says unamused. "What a pity. Even my little brother could make an even far better prince than him, even though I've never met him. But back on the subject at hoof, when this Grand Galloping Gala starts, the guys and I are going there with Spike and..."

"Let me guess, you're not leaving his side like my friends did? If it'll calm your nerves, we spent the last our time with him at a donut shop." Twilight said, annoyed.

"Maybe you did, but we're spending the entire night at the Gala with Spike."

"Why are you so upset with me? I've made mistakes, I'm not gonna lie, but you don't have to rub it in my face to get your point across."

"I'm just saying what my heart's telling me: Spike is like my little brother, too."

"Anyways, there this one time back when I asked Princess Celestia to let Rarity stay at the castle for a while until the day my birthday was coming. Rarity made me a dress by the time me and the girls went to Canterlot to check up on Rarity and she was really surprised."

"Did Spike tag along for the party?" Eternal asks.

"No." she said casusually, only later realizing what she just said. She let out a groan. "Go ahead and yell, I'm not even going to stop you."

"What kind of a sister doesn't invite her little brother to her own BIRTHDAY PARTY?!?!"

"I'm sorry, okay? I really am!"

"What did you have him do while you left him?!"

"I... I..." Twilight paused and let out a sigh of defeat. "I had him clean the library."

Eternal said nothing. Nothing could even begin to describe how angry he was at Twilight. But in the process, he said nothing and walked out of the library, making his way down the stairs to where the front door was, unaware that Sunset followed him close behind.

"Wait, Eternal!" Sunset says, making him turn with a glare. She backed up. "Twilight loves Spike, she never had any intention on hurting her little brother."

"Little brother?" Eternal asks through his teeth. "PAH! Sounds more like he's been treated like a slave than anything else, I'm done listening to reason." He opens up the door and starts walking away.

"Wait! Where are you going?"

"I'm going to the Dragon Kingdom. I can't stand being here for another second! Not after what she did to him and all the good things he's done for her and her friends!" with those last words, he ran off into the distance, leaving Sunset speechless about what he said. In a fit of anger, she slammed the door shut and went back over to the library where Twilight was, to her suprise, not reading a book, but instead, looking over a photo album of her and Spike when they were growing up.

Twilight had tears running down her cheek. Some of her tears landed on some of the pictures. She sniffled as she slowly turned each page.

"Twilight... I'm sorry if he hurt you." Sunset says, hugging her.

"No, he's right. I shouldn't have been so cruel to Spike." Twilight replies, choked up. "He's done so much for me and my friends and what did I do?"

"Well for one thing, you gave him a home." Sunset was trying her best to cheer Twilight up, but she still felt like she had betrayed her little brother. "Twilight, listen to me. You and Spike are like family and no matter how hard life has been for you and him, he never stopped loving you just as much as you never stopped loving him up to this day and you should never doubt yourself."

Her kind words seemed to calm Twilight down a little, but she still had tears in her eyes. She looks at Sunset and gives her a sad smile before she begins sobbing uncontrollably and hugs her. Sunset didn't mind it at all and wraps her hooves around Twilight, letting her get it out of her system.





Over in the Dragon Kingdom, Zoor had her dragon army assembled and stood at the top of a tall rock with all the dragons' eyes looking at her. She stares down at the hypnotized dragons with an evil grin and lets out a wicked chuckle before she finally speaks.

"At long last, Equestria will finally be all ours for the taking and all of you are going to help me turn that dream into a reality, AM I RIGHT?!" Zoor boomed the last part out loud.

The dragons all roared, breathing out fire from their mouths. But a certain dragon next to her shot out the mightiest breath of green flames as he roared. Zoor looked up to her right at the dragon in question, who had purple and green scales with dark green spikes that went from the top of his head to the tip of the tail and had grown quite a bit from his uncontrollable hatred and greed,

He seemed to reached half the height of the former Dragon Lord Torch. This was Spike. Zoor was pleased that he was first to grow so tall in such a short amount of time. "Very good, my little slave! Now all of you, take flight and wreak your havoc and destruction upon the world of Equestria! But I only want you..." she says to Spike "... to only bring destruction to the city of Canterlot and Ponyville!"

Spike roars out loud, unfolding his wing and taking to the sky. The rest of the dragons all took flight as well, splitting up into large groups, ready lay destruction upon Equestria. Meanwhile, Zoor stayed behind while her dragon army went to do her dirty work. But when Spike took to the sky, he immediately went after a secret treasure hoard hidden inside one of the dragon's caves and ate up every last bite and felt his size grow even bigger until he became the same rampaging dragon he was years ago.

He lets out another frightening roar and flies into the direction of his hometown. On the way there, he catches the attention of a certain white and red unicorn who was on his way to the Dragon Kingdom, but soon, Eternal stop and sees what has happened to him.

"HEY!" Eternal shouts. Spike stops and looks down in his direction. He emits a low growl and roars at Eternal before he sped down towards him, roaring and shooting his mighty flames. Eternal tries running out of the line of fire, but Spike kept on shooting his flames in Eternal's direction until they hit their mark, or in his case, grazed him and left him with a singed mark on his left side. "AAGH!!!" he shouted in pain.

Spike wanted to finish the job, but spared him and kept flying into the direction of the rich city. Eternal barely managed to stand up and was barely able to walk. "Gotta... get back... to town! Mother! Father!" he struggled to say as he walked back.
> A Close Call
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The princess of the sun laid in her chambers on her bed enjoying a cup of tea while Blaze Burn, her husband, paced the room, trying to come up with the right strategy to put a stop to all this madness. He glares at the floor as he paces room more impatiently as his mind kept drawing a blank. Nothing was really coming up in his mind and neither was anything coming up in the princess', mostly because of the impatient stallion. She feels like if he becomes more impatient, he'll grow angry and probably lash out at somepony. Most likely her.

She sighed and got off her bed and approached Blaze Burn without fear. "Please, dear. You need to take a little break or else you'll just end up throwing a temper tantrum and hurt somepony. It doesn't do any good to dig through your own mind in a state of frustration. Take a brake and relax with a nice hot cup of tea, you'll feel better and more focused this way, it's helped me before." she explains.

Blaze Burn looks at Celestia for a couple of seconds before sighing in defeat. "I suppose you're right about that, my dear, I have been overworking myself that I'm getting a little stressed. I do apologize if I caused you any worry or anything, it was not my intention." he says sincerely.

"No need to apologize, dear. Here, have a drink." Celestia levitated levitated the teapot over one of her cups and poured hot tea inside of it and set the teapot down. She levitates the cup of hot tea to Blaze Burn and he uses his magic to grasp it and brought it to his lips, taking a few sips.

"Ahh, thanks dear." he says. Celestia nods with a smile and sits back on her bed. Blaze Burn stays standing and takes a few more sips of his tea. Somehow, the princess was right, Blaze Burn felt like he was able to think more clearly and his body felt less tense afterwards. Whatever tea she gave him, it did the trick, which meant he could now come up with a strategy without overworking his mind.

However, he was interrupted by a knock on the door. Celestia got out of her bed and walked over to her bedroom door and opened it, revealing Tidal Wave and Melodia, both looking worried. "Princess Celestia, we've got some extremely bad news!" Tidal says.

"Come in, you can explain everything to me inside." Celestia says without hesitation. She moves to the side and allows the two of them to enter her chambers before closing the door. She turns around and walks over to the center of her room and looks directly at Tidal and Melodia. Blaze Burn also gave them his full attention, curious about what they found out. "What's the bad news?" she asks.

"It's about the Song of Dragons!" Tidal says.

"The song has a bit of a darker effect on a small percentage of dragons who have broken hearts! Those who are effected it can barely be under its control before going into an uncontrollable rage! They don't care who gets in their way, they'll just immediately attack without mercy! It may be a long shot, but I think Spike might actually be the 2nd dragon who'll end up giving into his anger and..." Melodia says.

"He might come and target the city, or Ponyville! Or quite possibly BOTH!" Tidal says in a panic. The situation sounded very serious and Celestia instantly felt her natural instincts kick in. She marched out of her chambers and right as she stepped outside into the hallway, she teleported out of their sight. Tidal realizes that the other guys are still unaware of what they have discovered. "Quick! To the guest rooms!" he says, running out of the room, but is immediately stopped by Blaze Burn's magic grasp.

"Now hold on, Tidal Wave, you've barely arrived here at the Canterlot Castle, I'll take you and Melodia to the guest room and we'll round up the boys." Blaze Burn says. Tidal stops resisting and his let go by the former king before the three of them are teleported to the hall where the guest rooms were. Princess Celestia had apparently beat them to it and all the guys were clueless on what was going on, but they still felt like it whatever it was, it wasn't good news.

"Hey, what's with that look on your face, Tidal? You look like something's about to go wrong, Is there something you're not telling us?" Ground Breaker asks.

"We've picked up a darker effect about the Song of Dragons!" Tidal Wave says.

"Most dragons who are effected by it are usually easy control if they're greedy, but if they're not and they have a broken heart instead, they'll lay havoc an destruction everywhere they go! They'll do even much more damage than those who are prone to greed! And I think Spike is the likely candidate and he might be on his way here right now and we have to stop him before it's too late!" Melodia explains.

"WHAT?!" the guys asks in shock.

"She's right. We have to get everypony to safety! In the meantime... Blaze Burn!" Celestia says.

"Yes, dear?" Blaze replies.

"I need you to travel to Ponyville and retrieve Eternal Flames and the girls! We're going to need all the help we can get if he ever does show up!"

"Hold on a second! What if Spike ends up going to Ponyville instead?!" Heat Blitz asks.

"Heat's right, we can't just leave Ponyville unguarded! Somepony has to look after the town in case Spike ever goes on a rampage over there!" Spark Burst says.

"I'll do it!" Blaze Burn says, determined.

"Honey, are you sure you can handle this on your own? A fight with a full-grown dragon prone to greed isn't like any other fight you might have experienced. You could en up getting hurt." Celestia says, worried.

"It's alright. As long as the other ponies don't get hurt, that's all that matters." Blaze Burn says. "I can't just sit around and watch from the sidelines, that's not who I am, this place is no different than the village, this kingdom is my home just as much as it is your home."

Celestia didn't want him to get hurt, but the look in his eyes just couldn't be argued with. She nods and approaches Blaze Burn face-to-face. "Just promise me that no matter what, you'll keep everypony safe in Ponyville and return home safely, okay dear?" she asks. Blaze Burn nods and hugs Celestia before he runs down the hallway and disappears from hers and the other ponies sights.

"So what are we suppose to do, princess?" Spark Burst asks.

"You and the others will stay with me here in Canterlot and defend the city. In the meantime, I'll have all of the royal guards in the castle evacuate the citizens to safety and keep them under protection. But be warned, boys, there could be a chance that Spike has already reached his monsterous dragon form, and if he has, you'd do well to be careful since you might not have faced a full-grown dragon before. Can I place my trust in you all to work together and help me defend this city?" the princess asks.

"Psh, you don't have to ask us twice, Princess. I don't care if I have a choice or not, I'll defend this city even if it costs this stallion's life." Shadow says confidentally.

"The same goes for all of us. This might not be the Freedom Village, but it still holds meaning the ponies who live and grew up here." Hurricane Breeze says, determined.

"Yeah!" Ground Breaker exclaimed.

"Good, when all is said and done, I'll make sure you boys and Twilight and her friends are rewarded for your bravery and that's a promise." Celestia says wholeheartedly. Without another word, Celestia walked down the hall with Melodia and the boys all following her close behind. The group walked through each different parts of the castle until they eventually came to the royal throne room.

But as soon as Celestia arrived there, she felt an uneasy feeling in her heart, like something was wrong. And something told her that it involved her son's safety. All Celestia can do right now is to pray for her son to make it back to her unharmed, but unknown to her, coming back unharmed wasn't the case.





Out in the wide open grasslands, Spike was almost out of Eternal Flames' sight, but if it was not been for the young injured stallion's bold words, the rampaging dragon would be long gone. "What's the matter, Spike, can't stop and fight me for one more round?!" he shouted. Though he wa pretty far, he quickly turned himself around and came flying towards Eternal Flames with his jaws wide open.

The rampaging dragon blasted another stream of fire at Eternal. The burnt stallion rolled out of the way, which proved to be a very bad idea, what with his burnt injury. He grunted in pain and struggled to stand up and looked up into the sky, staring at the dragon cirling around him. His fierce opponent growled at him, snorting out smoke from his nose and looking at him with those slitted green eyes of his.

"Just... gotta keep him here a little longer." he panted. Eternal knew he can never match up to Spike in his current state and thought he might not make it out of there alive. Spike flew down towards him and shot another stream of green fire at him, Eternal dodged, but his left hinde leg was burnt.

He wasn't sure how long he could keep him distracted much longer. Then, to his surprise, Spike came down closer and right at the last minute, he moved out of the way and swung his tail at Eternal, sending him about 50 feet away from the dragon with an audible thud. Spike took to the sky again and roared victoriously and viciously before getting back to his mission and flew off to Canterlot. Eternal used up the last bit of his strength to stand up, beaten and bruised and grabbed the tip of Spike's tail.

Eternal held onto him Spike for dear life, grunting in pain from the bruises and burns on his body. But with the fate of all Equestria at hoof, letting go of Spike was not an option. Soon, Eternal decided to grab hold of the green spines that lead from Spike's tail to his head. He steadily kept his grip on Spike and kept moving up towards him until he finally grabbed a hold of the largest spike on his head.

Thankfully, Spike was too focused on his rage to even think about who was on his head. To Eternal's horror, Spike's flight speed was guiding them to Canterlot a bit too fast. Eternal gasped, getting Spike's attention, and not in the good kind, that's for sure. Spike stopped in mid-air and tried shaking off the stubborn, injured stallion off of him, but Eternal kept holding on for dear life. The giant, purple dragon was growing angry very quickly and reached up to grab the young stallion off of his head and roared at him.

"Guess... this is it." he said to himself. But when he thought he was gonna eat him, Spike flew off to Ponyville and held the injured stallion tightly in his grip. "N...NO!" Eternal grunted.





Back in the Castle of Friendship, Sunset was still rocking her friend, Twilight, back and forth, trying to ease her pain and was still very mad at the way Eternal Flames acted towards her. She could understand why he was trying to make his point, but that didn't excuse him to go off on Twilight and put the young alicorn princess down like that and discredit her as a sibling. However, casting that aside, Twilight's sobbing didn't seem to stop, but Sunset didn't mind, she just keeps on rocking her friend back and forth.

"Just let it all out, Twilight." Sunset says quietly and genuinely. With Sunset's help, Twilight's tears finally stopped and her breathing returned to normal. She looks up at Sunset who was smiling at her. A smiled formed on Twilight's face shortly after that.

"Thanks, Sunset. But still, Eternal was right. If I had made the right choices back then, Spike wouldn't have felt left out or been left out of anything. I'm not even sure whether or not I can call myself a sister after all the times I treated him unfairly. I guess I deserve this." Twilight says, feeling down again.

"Twilight, don't go doubting yourself like this!" Sunset says, a bit irritated. Twilight was startled.

"Now you listen to me, you're a great sister to Spike. You hatched him from an egg, right? And you gave him a home and raised him with the help of Princess Celestia at first, right?" Sunset earns a nod from Twilight. "Well, if Spike ever felt like something was troubling him, he'd come to you for advice, right?"

"Not after that one time when he thought I was replacing him with Owlolicious."

"Well then, you can still make up for that by being there for him now. Because right now, he's under the control of that evil alicorn and it's our job to bring your dragon friend back home where he belongs. So don't beat yourself up too much just because some stallion said you didn't do your part." Sunset's words of wisdom somehow made Twilight feel a little bit more relaxed and calm.

"How'd you learn to be so strong-hearted?" Twilight asks with a smile.

"I learned from my mistakes, too, Twilight. And I have you to thank for that." with nothing else to say, Twilight and Sunset gave each other one last hug. But it didn't last long as they heard multiple knocks coming from the front door downstairs. Twilight teleported her and Sunset to the front entrance and opened up the door, revealing Blaze Burn and the girls all standing behind him.

"Y-Your highness, what's going on?" Twilight asks, a bit worried.

"Celestia has sent me here to let you all know that she needs you back at the Canterlot Castle! There's a high probability of your friend, Spike, coming to destroy the city, or possibly even this town!" Blaze Burn says. Twilight and Sunset both felt their bodies stiffen from the shocking news.

"Girls, quick! We've gotta get to the train station, and fast!" Twilight told her friends, a little panicked.

"No! You'll never make it in time! I've prepared a few chariots for you all." Blaze Burn points to his right, showing three of Celestia's chariots. "You can use them to fly over to the castle faster than taking the train, now hurry and go, we don't have much time!"

"Your highness, before we go, you have to know that Eternal went off to the Dragon Kingdom to get Spike! He could be in serious danger!" Sunset says, nearly panicking. Blaze Burn felt like a stone had dropped onto his heart when he heard that.

"WHAT?!" He shouted. He closed his eyes and growled in frustration. "That foolish boy! Alright! All of you take the chariots to Canterlot while I go look for my son! Now GO! GO!!" he ordered. Twilight and her friends all hitched a ride on each of the chariots and held on tight as the royal guards carried them all back to the rich city, meanwhile, Blaze Burn took to the sky, flying off in the direction of the dragon kingdom in search of Spike and his son, Eternal Flames, worried for his son's safety.

A lot of questions filled his mind like "is he going to be alright," "why did he have to act so hastily," and even the biggest question every parent fears: "what if it's too late and he's already been killed?" That last question almost caused him to lose his sanity. Just the thought of his son dying like that worried him. And yet, somehow, he knows that even though Eternal is rash and reckless sometimes, there's no denying that Eternal is strong enough to hold off against any foe, maybe even a full grown dragon.

The only problem with that is that he's never faced off against a full-grown dragon. And if Spike is his first dragon to fight against, he only hopes he's still alive. Blaze Burn flew faster into the distance, but then heard the sound of a loud roar coming from his left. Blaze closed his eyes and gathered all of his focus into his hearing so he'd find out what was coming his way. The sounds of large wingbeats filled his eardrums, causing the stallion to open his eyes and look into the direction of where he heard the sound. In the distance, he sees a strange purple dot coming towards him almost too quickly.

Upon closer inspection, he sees that it was Spike. As he got closer, Blaze Burn's eyes shrunk from the sight he didn't want to see, but it wasn't the fact that Spike had become so big and terrifying. It was the fact that he had Eternal Flames in his grasp and he was bruised and burnt pretty badly. Blaze Burn was filled with sorrow that his own son was badly injured and even angry that Spike showed no mercy.

Blaze Burn flew over to the giant purple dragon at the same speed as Spike. In a fit of anger, Spike roared and shot his green flames at the alicorn stallion, but Blaze Burn breezed past him by using his magic to conjure up a shield to protect him from the blast. He swoops over to one of the claws and shoots a magic beam at it, in which causes Spike to roar out loud and lose his grip on Eternal. Blaze Burn grabbed his son and carried him off to safety, but Spike wasn't ready to let Blaze off the hook.

Spike chased after him, shooting his green flames at the former king, but every time he breathed his mighty flames, Blaze Burn dodged them and flapped his wings faster in an attempt to escape his rampaging foe. Spike wasn't going to let him get away that easily. The giant purple dragon flapped his giant wings faster, catching up to the alicorn stallion and opened up his jaws once again.

Blaze looked back and gasped, seeing how Spike caught up with him. Spike was getting ready to breathe out more of his green flames, but it he was too close to dodge it. In order to protect him and his son, he lit up his horn and casted a shield around them just before Spike shot out his flames. The impact of the attack surprisingly coated the shield in a green fire stream, giving Blaze Burn the chance to teleport him and Eternal Flames back to the Canterlot Castle safe and sound.

Eternal Flames was then placed on his father's back and carried into the castle. It was then that he opened his eyes and saw his mother coming out from one of the corridors. Just as Princess Celestia caught sight of Eternal's condition, she stopped dead in her tracks, gasping at what happened to him. She ran to her son and levitated him onto her back as the princess conversed with Blaze Burn.

"It's just as Tidal Wave and Melodia predicted, isn't it?" she asks, worried. Eternal began to stir. He grunted in pain from the brutal beating he took from Spike. Princess Celestia looked behind her and noticed Eternal waking up, leaving her relieved and heartbroken at the same time. "Don't move, son! You have to rest! Just what in the name of all creations made you think you could stand against a dragon?! He could've destroyed you at anytime and yet you act so recklessly!" Celestia scolds him.

"I... wanted... t-to... stall for time." Eternal struggles to say. "I... I know I wasn't strong enough. But I... I only wanted to ensure the... the safety of... the ponies!" he grunted. "I... I'm sorry... mother."

Celestia teared up and nuzzled her injured son. "Let's just get you all patched and rested up. Blaze Burn, see to it that the others stay on guard outside the castle! We can't allow Spike to do anymore damage." Celestia ordered, earning a nod from Blaze Burn. Celestia teleported out of sight and right on cue, the others arrive from one of the corridors and ran up to Blaze with concern.

"Hey, what's going on?! Where's my brother? Is he alright?" Heat Blitz asks.

"He's been badly wounded in his fight with Spike." Blaze Burn replied. Heat Blitz took a few steps back and slumped down on his hinde legs, feeling his heart break in two. "Don't worry. Your brother has fought in countless battles time and again. All he needs is a little healing and rest."

"I tried to warn him not to act so reckless, but does he listen? No!" Melodia. "Jeez, why is it that boys are so thick in the head and never think clearly?"

"HEY!" the guys shouted.

"Oops, did I say that out loud?" Melodia asks, chuckling.

"That'll be enough, young lady." Blaze Burn scolded.

Melodia scoffed. "Excuse me, but I happen to be older than you."

"And yet you still rant on like a little filly. Now pay attention, all of you! Eternal has been injured and we've only got a short amount of time before Spike arrives."

"Spike?! Our Spikey-Wikey is coming back?!" Rarity asks, nearly jumping with tears of joy.

"Yes, but not as you know him. He's grown incredibly big and he's considered to be highly dangerous. I need you all to stay focused and make sure that Spike is stopped. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir, but I have one quick question." Twilight asks

"Go on ahead, but make it snappy." Blaze Burn replies.

"Does this mean that... we... have to hurt Spike?"

". . .You must do whatever it takes to stop him." Those words made her gasp.

"Wait, dad! Isn't that a bit too harsh?! Spike's been around with the girls for so long! Are you suggesting that they should have him... k..." Heat Blitz couldn't say that one word that always made his heart ache. But luckily, he didn't have to say it as Blaze Burn finished his sentence.

"No son. I don't mean it by that at all. To make it more clear, do whatever it takes to stop him... and bring him back to us in his original form."

"That's easier said than done, in your dragon friend's case." Melodia says.

"W-What do you mean?" Rarity asks, worried.

"How about you let her explain it on the way outside instead of standing around." Shadow says, impatiently.

"Yeah, I'd have to agree with him. We can hear the details on the way outside." Sunset adds. The entire gang walked to the exit of the castle closely behind Blaze Burn. All the while, Rarity was still curious of what Melodia was talking about earlier when she said getting Spike back to normal was "easier said than done."

"Melodia, deary. What did you mean? Is it not as easy as it sounds getting Spike back?" Rarity asks.

"Yes. You see, there is a more devastating effect to the Song of Dragons that caught Spike." Melodia replies. Rarity nods, wanting to understand what she's talking about. "In truth, almost the entire dragon race easily falls for the Song of Dragons due to the pure greediness in their hearts. But in Spike's case, it's much worse, because it's not his greed that the song took advantage of, but his broken heart. And when a dragon with a broken heart falls under the Song of Dragons, they are blinded by rage."

"W-What?! B-But if that's true--"

"Then it'll be impossible to reach out to him in his present state. Mostly due to the fact that he was never given the chance to prove to the one he loves that he could offer her so much more. Even if his crush were there to help him out right now, it wouldn't matter anymore."

Melodia didn't even know that Rarity was the one Spike's in love with, but Rarity felt an even heavier stone fall upon her heart feeling like it was all her fault. She looked down and started sniffling. Melodia looks at Rarity, widening her eyes a little bit and figured out exactly why the fashionista was upset.

Back in Celestia's chambers, she concentrated her magic and coated Eternal Flames in a glowing yellow light, in an attempt to heal his wounds with a healing spell. Her son grunted slightly, bearing the pain for as long as he could until they slowly went away. The burns and bruises on Eternal's body were slowly disappearing, and the young stallion slowly started to open his eyes. Once the yellow light around him faded, he gasped and sat up, looking all around him to see where he was. Celestia gentley hugged him into her soft fur, shushing him in an attempt to try to calm him down.

"It's okay son, I'm here. You're safe now." Celestia says, comforting him. She could feel her son about to go into full panic mode, but she wouldn't let that happen. She kept rocking her son left and right in a warm hug using a combination of her hooves and wings. "You're okay."

Eternal's heavy panting was slowly growing lighter and more steady. "T-Thanks mother." he says, calmly. "But now I have to go back out there and help the others out." He climbed off the bed and walked over to exit out the front door, but Celestia teleported in front of him, blocking his way. "Mother, this is a serious matter, I have to go and help my pals, or they won't stand a chance!"

"You will be doing no such thing!" Celestia said, sternly. "You were barely able to survive when you had recklessly wandered off to try and stop Spike on your own! I will not have my son act so rashly like that again, you are to rest up and save your strength until further notice."

"Mother, I'm not a little colt! I can't just sit here and rest while I watch from the blasted sidelines! He might have gotten my buns toasted, but you have to understand that--" Eternal was stopped by his mother placing her hoof on his muzzle, telling him to be quiet. Celestia kept looking at Eternal with her stern glare. Her glare seemed so powerful, she sent chills down her son's spine.

"Rest... Now!" she said in a low, yet calm, angry tone. Eternal backed away and glared as he leaped back onto the bed, his pride shot out the window.

Celestia walked over to him and laid down on the bed, hugging her son warmly. "I don't get why you want me to do this, mother, I mean, this kingdom means a lot to me as much as you." he said, not making eye contact, "And yet, for reasons I'm not aware of, you insist on keeping me here and not let me do my part. So I ask you: why can't I help you protect this entire kingdom alongside with you?" he looks up at Celestia.

"Because... you're my son. I may be a princess and the ruler of Equestria, but I'm a mother first. Your father risked his life out there to save you and brought you home in one piece. I know you're an adult, and that you're a fighter for peace, but I can't allow you to go into battle all on your own!" She explained, trying her best in holding back the tears. 

His mother's words touched his heart deeply. Yet for some reason, Eternal couldn't feel any tears swelling up in his eyes, but he still felt his heart grow heavy. However, he did return his mother's love for him by hugging her, earning a hug from her in return. Her body started shaking. He could hear her sniffling. Eternal didn't like hearing his own mother cry. But he knew it was his fault because he now realized that his actions nearly costed his life and this left Celestia heartbroken from the thought off losing him.

"I'm very sorry mother." He said quietly. Celestia sobbed quietly. "It wasn't right for me to worry you like that, so if you want me to rest up, then so be it."

"Y... You and your brothers are my whole world, Eternal." Celestia says, choked up and hugging him tightly. "And I will always love you." In addition to hugging him with her hooves, her wings wrapped around him again and this time, Eternal wasn't gonna break free from her warm embrace. 

". . . I'll always love you, too. . . mom." Eternal says, genuinely.
> Not So Friendly Fire
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Silence was filled throughout the entire rich city of Canterlot. The nobles were all escorted into their homes and had all of the shops and restaurants on lockdown for the time being. Every building that ponies were inside and on lockdown were under the protection of the princess' Royal Guards. They all stood their grounds and looked all around them for any sign that their threat has arrived. All they could hear was the sound of the wind howling and brushing against their golden armor and fur.

The guards all looked on each and every inch of the city, looking for any trace of their vicious foe. With the safety of all the ponies at stake, they had to be on their guard at all times. Even though there were few guards protecting the castle, Twilight and her friends had that covered. It was going to be a tough job to fight against Spike, even moreso with Eternal Flames having to rest up in Celestia's chambers.

But even without Eternal, the group was still strong enough to hold their own against Spike. From what Blaze Burn and his own son witnessed, there was no doubt it was going to take everything they had in order to bring back their dragon friend. Blaze Burn only wished his son didn't have to suffer such a beating, but he still wondered why Eternal wandered off like that and not wait like the others. The only ones that knew why he left was the Princess of Friendship and Sunset Shimmer. He looked over to the two mares and walked over to them, getting their attention and addressed them with concern.

"Twilight Sparkle, Sunset Shimmer, I hope you don't mind me asking you this, but can you please tell me why my son had run off to the Dragon Lands earlier?" Blaze Burn asks. Twilight was hesitant to tell him what happened, but Sunset wasn't afraid to tell him. She took a couple of steps forward and explained everything.

"Eternal and Twilight got to talking about Spike. Everything was going alright until Twilight mentioned these events that had left her heartbroken. He scolded Twilight for not acting like a good sister. Mostly for not being there for Spike right when he needed Twilight the most when he felt like he was being replaced by her pet owl and ditching him at the start of the Grand Galloping Gala. But he just grew so angry when he found out about Twilight inviting all of her friends to her birthday party at the Canterlot Castle years ago."

Blaze Burn's eyes shrunk for a second before he let out a big sigh. "I was afraid of this." Blaze says, facehoofing himself and trying to keep in his frustration in check.

"What do you mean, sir? Has he ever done this before?" Sunset asks. Blaze Burn nodded. "Does he even know the meaning of "hitting below the belt?!" I'm starting to think he just likes putting others down. He didn't even shed a single tear when he ran off to the Dragon Lands after what he said that Twilight treats Spike like her own slave instead of her little brother!"

"WHAT?!" The other guys asked in shock.

"That blockhead! Why'd he have to go and say something like that?" Shadow asked, irritated. He looked at the other guys thinking they might have the answer.

"Hey, don't look at me, I was born an only child!" Spark Burst says.

"So am I! If you're looking for answers, then try asking Hurricane Breeze or Tidal Wave." Ground Breaker says, gesturing to the minty-green pegasus and aqua blue earth pony.

"Hey, why are you putting us on the spot like that?" Hurricane asked.

"I'm not exactly sure why he'd run his mouth in the wrong direction. If anypony knows anything about Eternal Flames, then I say you should ask Heat Blitz. He might know more than I do." Tidal says, gesturing to the light yellow pegasus.

"Hey, you can't just put him in the spotlight like that!" Rainbow said, glaring at Tidal.

"No, Rainbow. It's alright, I'll tell you guys what you need to know." Heat Blitz said, hanging his head down. Twilight looks at the young pegasus stallion with orange and light yellow fur with concern in her eyes, curious of why he looks so ashamed. Heat Blitz let out a sigh. "During one of those times when I was always bullied and my brother taught them a lesson, the bully confessed that he had an older brother that claimed he wouldn't like him unless he acted tougher around others. It made Eternal snap. He tracked down the bully's older brother and Eternal scolded him relentlessly, saying that he was a disgrace to older siblings everywhere and that if he was to ever sick his little brother on me again, he'd... he'd..." Heat stops.

"He'd what?" Twilight asks.

"..... Eternal would deal with him by himself or report it with dad. It scared him so much that he practically begged Eternal  to not get him into trouble and even tried to make a deal. Eternal refused and he went a bit too far by saying to him "now you know what it's like to feel weak and helpless! You think it's cool to indict fear into the hearts of other young ponies who are probably younger and smaller than you? You're gonna take this punishment and you will learn to never diss your little brother or bully anypony ever again, do I make myself clear, you pathetic excuse for a brother?!" And yes, he did say that." Heat finishes.

"Sweet Celestia! That's just plain heartless." Twilight said, pitying the pegasus.

"But hear me out. Eternal's harsh, I know that. But deep down, he's always concerned about me because I made a vow to always show peace instead of fight. He's afraid that others might take advantage of my kindness and hurt me, or worse. I keep telling him that's no excuse to put them down like that. And yet he tells me every time "I'm an uncle as much as I am a son and a brother."

"I get it." Fluttershy says, getting the group's attention. "He's harsh because he cares about his friends and family too much to see them get hurt. His love for his family is probably what makes him keep on fighting all the time, but I have to agree with you all. He shouldn't be going around putting other ponies down and lecturing them on how to act like a real kind and loving sibling."

"It's rather pathetic when it comes to stallions losing their tempers." Melodia says.

"Melodia, now's not the time to be throwing out insults." Tidal Wave says, calmly.

"Hey, he brought it upon himself to get his biscuits burned out there. He lost control of his anger and this is the price he has to pay. If anypony's to blame, it's him." Melodia says, like it's no big deal. "He made this choice out of his own free will and that decison only got him into more trouble. If you ask me, he's nothing but a liability and should just stay out of the way from now on."

"STOP IT! JUST STOP IT, ALREADY!!!" Heat Blitz shouted, glaring at Melodia with tears.

"How are you gonna do that, punch me? I doubt it. Last time I checked, you can't hit me because you're walking down the path of a pacifist. But, then again, even if you could slug me, you'd just be as weak and feable as your older brother, Prince Heat Blitz, was it?" Melodia retorted, unamused and staring back at him.

"Maybe he's choosing not to fight." Rainbow Dash said. "But..." then in a blue blur, Rainbow Dash flew straight at Melodia and struck her in the face with her right hoof. "That doesn't mean any of us made the same vow he did, so stop picking on the little guy!"

"Rainbow's right! You should watch your mouth when you speak. I already know that deep down, Eternal's really worried and he cares a lot about his friends and family. But that's no excuse for him to be so harsh and put down other ponies for the mistakes they made. And it's certainly no excuse for you to pick on his little brother who made a promise not to fight against anypony!" Sunset scolded Melodia.

Heat Blitz turned away, still feeling hurt after what Melodia said. He jumped in surprise when she felt a hoof on his back, making him turn to see Twilight. "I'm really sorry you have to hear this. I know you love your older brother so much and that's fine. I can relate to you because... well... I have a big brother myself and I love him very much, too."

"It's alright, Twilight. I know the truth had to come out eventually. To be honest, I was actually expecting Melodia to say something like that." Heat Blitz says, hugging Twilight back. "And I'm very sorry for the horrible things Eternal had said to you earlier."

"You don't have to apologize for something your brother said." Twilight said.

"More like he can't apologize for what Eternal said to you, Twilight." Ground Breaker said. "Apologies hold no meaning if you don't get 'em straight from the horse's mouth. Umm... no pun intended. But anyways, the point is, unless Eternal himself apologizes for his own actions, there's just absolutely no point in accepting apologies from somepony else."

Heat Blitz looked down, not even bothering trying to deny that fact. Though his heart was in the right place, he wasn't the one to blame for hurting Twiligt. Ground Breaker walked up to the young prince and patted him on the back, showing him sympathy for at least trying. Heat Blitz put on a sad smile.

But their little arguement soon stopped to the sound of a bone-chilling roar coming from the distance, giving the guards in the city a jumpscare and had their weapons ready. Everypony at the entrance of the castle stood their ground and watched carefully for any signs of Spike. In the midst of all the silence, all that could be heard was the small breeze from the wind and the sounds of large wing beats. The large wing beats grew louder and were coming closer and closer to the city.

"Stay on your guard, everypony!" Blaze Burn said. "Remember, Spike is not the dragon you once knew, so give it all you've got, but above all... we bring him back alive!" 

Everypony in the group nodded and waited patiently for their foe to arrive. They all listened carefully to the sounds of the giant wing beats growing closer towards the city. They could also hear the sound of a mighty, vicious roar and finally, out of the blue, "DRAGON!!!" shouted a guard. A stream of searing, hot green flames blew towards the city, leaving a trail of fire as Spike had finally arrived and landed on one of the streets, towering over the buildings and letting out a huge, thunderous roar, fueled by his anger.

"NOW!!!" Blaze Burn commanded. The most of the group ran through the streets of Canterlot into Spike's direction, while the pegasi traveled by air. Spike's eye locks onto the pegasi: Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Hurricane Breeze and Spark Burst, who were charging straight at her.

The giant dragon breathed out fire into their direction, but pegasi broke up into four in order to dodge the attack and flew in until they were close enough to cirlce around the dragon's head. Spike roared and swung at the pegasi, trying to swat them away. Thanks to this distraction, the others got close enough to the rampaging dragon without worrying about getting attacked in the process.

"Spikey, please stop! Don't you remember your friends? Please, snap out of it!" Rarity called out. She had hoped that by at least trying to talk him out of this, he'd come back to his senses. However, calling out to the giant-sized dragon only proved to either be useless, or a big mistake.

Pretty soon, not long after, Spike's tail lifted up and slammed onto the ground, leaving a huge crack in the street and made Twilight and some of her friends lose their balances. Half of the gang fell to their sides and immediately caught the giant dragon's attention. Spike growled as he stared down at Ground Breaker and opened his jaws and blasted out an enormous stream of green fire at the stallion.

Ground Breaker made a futile attempt to lessen the damage and hopefully survive. But he didn't need to, due to Twilight and Sunset putting up a barrier that shielded Ground Breaker from the blast. Once the fire stream has subsided, Spike had once again returned to swatting the pegasi circling around him.

While the giant dragon was distracted, Ground Breaker ran up to Spike and attempted to use his Element of Respect, but it didn't do a thing. In that failed attempt, Spike's giant, long tail swung and hit Ground Breaker face first and knocked him 40 feet away from the rampaging dragon. Rainbow Dash was nearly struck with a devastating blow by the dragon's razor sharp claws, had it not been for Spark Burst pushing her out of the way and taking the blow instead, causing him to fall flat onto the ground.

Rainbow Dash got worried and flew back down to the ground to get Spark Burst out of the way. "Hey, Spark-o, are you okay there, buddy?" Rainbow asked.

"Nngh! Ouch! He's got a killer right hook. But I'll be alright, I just need to-- AAGGHH!" Spark shouted in pain. He tried to get to his hooves, but his body was injured from both the strike of the blow and the fall, leaving him completely immobilized and helpless. But then, Tidal Wave ran in and carried the injured pegasus out of harms way and took cover in one of the alleys and laid Spark down. Spark Burst knew he was in no condition to fight alongside with the others.

Meanwhile, Spike still went on his rampage and is suddenly taken by surprise by Pinkie Pie, who floated up to Spike's face using her balloons and fired her party cannon. Some of the confetti landed in his eye and Spike's rage was further provoked by the party pony's surprise attack.

But this proved to be a big mistake as Spike swung his mighty claw at the party pony, only hitting her balloons and sending her falling to the ground. Before she could even land with a solid thud, Shadow Force grabbed her in the knick of time with his levitation magic. "Thanks, Shady!" Pinkie said to Shadow. He gave her a confident smirk and a nod before teleporting the two of them out of the way of Spike's giant, swishing tail. 

Rainbow Dash took to the skies again and struck at Spike's blind spot with a solid kick. Spike growled in pain and nearly snapped his jaws onto Rainbow. Luckily, she was too quick for the mighty beast to touch at the moment, but his blind spot didn't last long. His eye opened back up, but it was red.

The giant dragon unfurled his wings and took to the skies, flying over to the castle. Twilight gasped. "Quick, everypony back to the castle!" she called out. A few of the ponies followed Twilight while a couple of other ponies stayed behind in order to help treat their wounds. At their top speeds, they all barely managed to catch up with Spike, and soon got shot at by his green flames. Everypony dodged out of the way, except for Ground Breaker who only got grazed by the dragon's flames.

"GROUND!!!" Applejack called out. She ran up to him to check if he was okay. Ground Breaker grunted a little from the burn on his back. "You alright?" she asks.

"Just a minor burn. I should be okay." Ground Breaker replied. Spike then let out a thunderous roar, getting the others attention and saw him standing at the top of the castle, glaring down at them. He opened his mouth again and shot his flames at the group. Everypony either flew, teleported, or ran out of the line of fire and soon, Twilight, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash all flew up to Spike.

"Spike! You've got to stop this right now! We're your friends and don't want to hurt you! Please, you have to listen to us and come to your senses! We know you're still in there!" Twilight said, looking straight into the giant purple dragon's emerald green eye.

This only made the monstrous foe growl in anger. "Please, Spike! Listen to Twilight! We're all your friends and we don't want you to suffer anymore! Please, come back to us! You can still fight these urges and free yourself from the Song of Dragons! Please, Spike! You have to try! Try for us!" Fluttershy pleaded.

"Come on, Spike! You're stronger than this! Put all you've got into this and fight off your greed! Show us that you're still our favorite dragon!" Rainbow called out.

The mighty dragon clenched his claws into fists and threw his head up in the air and roared as loud as he could, flaring his wings out wide. The others thought that their words were reaching out to him and it looked like it, but even Melodia was surprised that the girls might actually pulled it off. However, when he stopped roaring, his eyes became more slitted and his fangs flashed in a nasty frown. Spike opened his mouth again and almost got Twilight, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, had it not been for Twilight's quick thinking, conjuring up a magic shield large enough to protecting them.

Melodia flew up to the sky and tackled Spike's lower jaw, shutting his mouth and saw smoke emitting from his nostrils and the opened part of his mouth. He growled and snarled in agony and pain from the intense heat that exploded inside his large mouth.

"How do ya like that, big guy?" Melodia asked in a gloating tone. Spike let out a nasty snarl and turned his attention directly at the over-confident pony/dragon hybrid. He swatted at her, but she teleported on top of his head just in time before he could get to her. "Sorry Big Guy, but you're juuuuuust a little too slow for my pace. And besides, we both know how this is going to end. So, I suggest that you give up the hope of an idea you have of winning against ME in that whiney, childish tantrum attitude of yours and start, BEHAVING! knocks him down or something?" she asked, checking her claws.

Spike was growing angrier and more impatient by the second and slammed his fist at Melodia again, but at the moment of impact, she teleported again, and Spike only struck himself. Melodia was now behind Spike for a few seconds until she flew up to Twilight. "What are you doing?! We're trying to help Spike, not turn himself into a giant-sized punching bag!" Twilight scolded Melodia.

"I thought knocking some sense into that cranium of his would do the trick." Melodia shrugged, having her back turned to the dragon behind her. "And you should be thanking me. Because now..." Melodia paused and coated both of her dragon horns in a magical aura, teleporting Twilight, Rainbow and Fluttershy back down to the ground before Spike blasted a larger stream of green flames. The flames missed the ponies, but it landed on a few flags that were scattered around the city.

"Uh-oh!" Rarity said, seeing the flames get bigger. "Everypony, LOOK!" she pointed. Twilight and her friends looked at the city and all gasped. "We've got to stop the fire!"

"Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Ground Breaker! You three get over there and do what you can to put out that fire, we'll stay here and see what we can to save Spike" Sunset ordered! "Spark Burst, Tidal Wave!" she called, but said ponies weren't in their sights. Sunset then realized. "Oh no, I forgot! Those two are still in the city somewhere, we gotta get them out!" she said in a panic.

The moment Melodia heard Sunset say that, her pupils got more slitted and made a dash for the city and searched for her trusted friend. "Tidal! Tidal! TIDAL! Where are you!" Melodia called out!

She heard the sound of coughing from down one of the streets and flew to where she found smoke coming out of an alley and found her light blue stallion and his bright yellow injured pegasus friend, Spark Burst, who had bandages wrapped around his waist. Melodia wrapped both stallions in a magical aura and flew them back to the castle, setting them at the front entrance. "Stay there!"

Tidal nodded and watched the dark purple pony/dragon hybrid princess take off to the sky and confronted Spike with a nasty glare. "You were a fool to think you could outmatch me, but an even bigger fool to nearly take my Tidal Wave away from me!" she snarled.

"Melodia, DON'T!" Rarity called out. "Please, you mustn't hurt Spikey-Wikey anymore than he already is, he needs our help to bring him back!" she yelled from the stairs. In the attempt of trying to console with her, Melodia glared down at the fashionista unicorn. She teleports down to the ground out of Spike's reach and just kept on staring at her until she finally exploded on her.

"Spikey wikey this, spikey wikey that, spikey wikey, Spikey Wikey, SPIKEY WIKEY!!! SHUT UP!!! YOU KNOW, IF IT WEREN'T FOR YOU HE WOULDN'T BE IN THIS CONDITION! IF YOU HAD MAYBE SWALLOWED YOUR UNIVERSE OF PRIDE AND ACTUALLY LISTENED TO YOUR FRIENDS HE COULD'VE MAYBE RESISTED ZOOR'S CALL!!! BUT OOOOOH HOH NO! IT'S ALL," she says in a pompus tone trying to sound like Rarity, "They don't understand, I know myself best! They could never be as wrong!" Well swallow this PRINCESS, YOU'RE WRONG!!! W-R-O-N-G WRONGO!!! SO SHUT UP AND ACTUALLY TRY TO HELP INSTEAD OF EITHER PITYING YOURSELF OR JUSTIFYING YOURSELF MAYBE YOU'D SEE WHAT HE REALLY NEEDS, HOW HE REALLY FEELS! HOW BLIND, STUBBORN, AND USELESS CAN ONE PONY BE?! I GUESS THE PHRASE SHOULD BE STUBBORN AS RARITY INSTEAD OF STUBBORN AS A MULE!!!" Melodia sighs with a big huff in satisfaction as she then turns and walks off to help the others.

Rarity's heart felt like it was ripped out of her when Melodia snapped at her, not because of how her anger was clouding her mind, but because of what she had said to her. No one ever had the gull to tell Rarity something so cold, yet truthful at the same time. It was a cold hard truth live with, but Rarity had to accept the fact the Melodia was right. Spike had always had his eyes on her. Even after all these years, he's never given up on her, but she never took his affections seriously and in turn, resulted in a broken heart that caused Spike to fall prey to the Song of Dragons against his will.

But, Rarity didn't have time for feeling sorry for herself. Spike was still under the spell of the Song of Dragons and he needs everyone's help, including his crush. Whether it was a mistake or not, Rarity took a deep breath and called out to the giant, rampaging dragon. "SPIKE!"

Spike hears her and glares dagger at her. He didn't seem to recognize her, or if he did, his anger would probably be a lot more instense. He folded his wings and climbed down the castle and stomped his giant clawwed feet onto the castle steps. He lowered his head down, growling at the fashionista. Rarity could see nothing but anger and hatred in his eyes. It broke her her heart more than it scared her.

"I know I never understood how you truly felt, but I want you to hear me out! I'm sorry! I'm sorry for being so cruel to you when I should have been there for you when you needed me the most, even when you never asked for anything in return. If I had the power, I would stop all of this from happening, but instead I was a terrible friend to you, I just want you to say I'm so very sorry." she explained.

The whole time she told him this, her eyes were teared up, looking directly into his predatorial, emerald eyes and had her hooves on both of the large dragon's cheeks. She wanted to show him that she really meant every single word she said and hoped that her words got through to him. Spike's eyes, became less slidded for what felt like a few short moments, but in that moment, a sad smile formed on her face. His growling became soft and Rarity could almost make out the one word she hoped he'd say.

"R... Ra... ri... t... y..." the giant dragon whispered.

Rarity nodded and felt like she might have broken the spell, but the worst had come so shockingly as the dragon's pupils had returned to their slit form and he growled loudly and deeply. Rarity backed away from her humongous friend and was about to launch another fiery blast at Rarity. She could feel the heat coming from deep within the dragon's mouth, but she was too scared to run away.

But then, Sunset jumped in and knocked Rarity out of the way before Spike's green flames hit their mark, therefore, only striking the air. "Rarity, are you crazy?! He could have killed you!" Sunset scolded.

Rarity stared at Sunset with her tearful eyes. "I... I thought I could reach him." Rarity then turned her attention to the ground knowing that she had failed to reach Spike. "I thought that my voice could reach him and hopefully reverse the effects of the Song of Dragons. But, it seems I was dead wrong, again."

"Don't say that! We haven't completely lost him yet!" Sunset replied, looking at the raging dragon. Spike stood tall on his hinde legs and spread out his giant wings, roaring loudly in anger, almost completely deafening the ponies all around him.

"Nnnngh!!! That roar of his is becoming a real pain in the ears!" Shadow Force said with his eyes closed tight, not being able to take the roaring.

Once he stopped, Spike set his eyes on the city and flashed a nasty grin. He had no time to fight the ponies in front of him and so he began a slow walk towards Canterlot.

Melodia's ears heard the sound of his giant steps moving towards the city. She sees him coming and he was ready to burn the city to the ground, judging by the look in his eyes. "Looks like the big, scaly reptile still wants to play, well I'm done with these games! Playtime's over!" Melodia said, spreading her wings out and flying towards Spike, but she starts hearing the sound of her father's words.

'Melodia, my daughter. The Song of Dragons may be hazardous to all dragons, but just remember that there is only one way to break the spell.' echoed her father's words. Melodia's eyes widened from the moment she realized the one basic weakness the Song of Dragons has.

'Blast! To think that I'd actually forget something so important.' Melodia thought. "Well, I suppose I'd better use it as soon as possible or we're in for a royal barbeque!" she said to herself. The former dragon princess high-tailed it towards the giant dragon as quickly as possible. Melodia's only concern was making it on time to stop him or lose the city and her friend Tidal Wave.
> The Road To Recovery
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The group near the castle watched in horror as their dear friend, Spike was making his way towards Canterlot City and there wasn't a single thing they could do to hold him back. Twilight and Sunset tried to come up with some sort of plan to at least stall him or draw his attention back towards them. But it was difficult to stradegize when they were in a state of panic. 

"He's too tough!" Spark Burst said. "We can't out-fight him, even as a group.

"Yeah, no kidding!" Shadow Force replied, watching the dragon walk away from them.

"This is bad! We need a new plan. Brute force just isn't working on him." Heat Blitz said.

"If there's anything I know about dragons that are Spike's present size, it's the fact that they're much too strong to fight in a head-on assault. However, they don't go into battle with a well-planned stradegy, and while some of us have outsmarted him, it only served to further his anger. If we keep toying with him like we did before, he'll only grow more furious and Spike might not ever be able to come back." Twilight explained.

"But what can we do? We tried to talk to Spike and convince him we're not a threat, but that only made him more mad and I don't think there's anything else we can do." Fluttershy said, looking sad and about to cry.

"Don't say that, Fluttershy!" Hurricane Breeze said, patting her gently on her back. "I'm sure there's a way to bring Spike back from his hypnotized state, we just need to figure it out." he said with confidence.

"You really think there's a way?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"There should be, or at least I hope so." Hurricane was well aware that even he doesn't know how to stop Spike and bring him back and he certainly didn't have the right amount of knowledge on dragons to boot. But suddenly, he finally got a clue. "Wait a second! I might not know if there is an antidote, but I bet you all that somepony else we know might know the cure, or even better, has the cure!"

"Are you talking about Melodia?" Spark Burst asked.

"Of course! Melodia's the only one who might know of a way to bring Spike back!" Fluttershy said.

"But, what if she doesn't know?" Rarity asked, worried.

"There's no time to doubt it. Unless you can come up with another plan that could stop Spike, this is probably the only shot we've got! There's no other choice left!" Hurricane Breeze said. He spread out his wings and took flight, heading towards the giant, rampaging dragon. The others thought this was a crazy idea, but Hurricane made a valid point about Melodia. If she does have the cure, she's their only hope."

"Hey, that's right! Since Melodia probably knows the Song of Dragons, she probably knows the reversal song, this actually might work!" Heat Blitz said.

"Now that you mention it, she was the daughter of the first dragon lord. But I don't know if I would go so far as to just assume she knows how to fix all of this." Sunset said.

"She's right, what if we're just grasping at straws?" Rarity asked, worried.

"Unless you have a better idea on how we can stop this, Melodia might be our one and only chance in putting a stop to Spike's major rampage." Hurricane said to Rarity. "Come on, the sooner we reach Melodia, the sooner this nightmare might be put to rest!" With that said, Hurricane extended his wings outwards and flew off towards Canterlot with Fluttershy, Spark Burst, Heat Blitz and Twilight close behind. The rest of the group had no choice but to run towards the city.

Melodia's eyes drifted to where Hurricane and the other pegasi and Twilight were and flew in their direction until she got close enough to block their path. "What do you think you're doing?" Melodia asked.

Without warning, Spike's eyes locked on the group that was airborne and blasted a stream of green flames, which almost hits them. But, thanks to being part unicorn, Melodia used her horns to conjured up a shield that blocked Spike's attack before it reached them.

"We just want to know if you have ny idea on how to stop Spike, like maybe some type of song spell that reverses the Song of Dragon's effect." Twilight said, with desperation in her eyes.

"Hold your tears, princess, I got the cure. Now hurry up and get out of here, or there's gonna be a major barbeque with you guys on the menu!" she told them with a glare, still holding off Spike's attack.

"Wait a second, who are you to threaten us?" Twilight asked, offended.

"Just get outta here, already! And for the record, if I wanted to roast you, I would have done it long ago when I came back from my icy prison! But I'm not, I'm trying to help you, now get everypony out of here before your dragon friend here roasts you all! HURRY!!!" Melodia yelled.

Twilight didn't say another word and just nodded at what Melodia said. She and her friends all flew away from Melodia and landed in the city in search of Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Ground Breaker.

Everyone found them in the southern part of Canterlot, trying to put out the flames that were reaching the buildings where the nobles were being looked after. Everyone else on the ground found them and regrouped with each other to break the news to each other.

"What in the hay are y'all doin'?" AJ asked.

"Melodia's found out about a song that can reverse the Song of Dragons!" Twilight said.

"You mean there's a chance she might bring Spike back?" Rainbow asked, shocked.

"Yes, she confirmed it to us. The only thing we have to worry about now is putting out the fire! Now come on, let's grab us some buckets and maybe with a little luck, we'll pull this off!" Heat Blitz said.

"That won't be necessary, son." said a deep male voice. Everyone's eyes looked upwards and saw Blaze Burn and Princess Celestia flying down and landing in front of them.

"I'm proud of you all for your hard efforts, but I think it's time Blaze Burn and I took it from here. You'd best go help Melodia out, she can't do this on her own." Celestia said.

"Wait! What about my brother?" Heat Blitz asked, worried.

"Are you guys talking about me?" asked a male voice. Heat Blitz gasped and saw his older brother, Eternal Flames, walking up to the group, looking like he was never hurt to begin with.

"What are you doing here? You're suppose to be in bed!" Sunset said, worried.

"I'm fine. I've rested up long enough. Look I don't have time to argue on whether I should still be resting or not, but like mother Celestia said: Melodia can't fight this alone." Eternal said. 

"How are we going to do that?" Fluttershy asked.

"There's only one way we can do this. We have to weigh down Spike, which is normally impossible due to the current circumstances right now. But there is another way." Eternal paused, right as he stopped in front of the group, making them feel curious. "Sunset, Twilight, do you two know how to cast a gravitational spell that weighs down anypony no matter what their size is?"

"Well, yeah, but it requires a lot of concentration, even with the two of us." Twilight said.

"True, but it's not going to be just you two. I'm capable of casting such a spell. Now, what I want to know is what exactly is it that you guys have planned?" Eternal asked.

"We might have found out a way to bring back Spike! But the only one who's cut out for the job is Melodia, since she knows the Song of Dragons and the reversal song!" Sunset explains.

Eternal blinked in surprise and turned his attention to the pony/dragon hybrid princess, watching as she kept maneuvering and dodging Spike's flames. Eternal looked back at the group and nodded. "I see, then we'd best act fast, if we combine our magic together, we'll have a better chance of holding him off." 

"Will it work?" Rarity asked.

"By my calculations, if what Eternal says is true, it has an 80% chance of succeeding. Now, the only way to find out is to put our plan into action. Let's go, everypony!" Twilight commanded. Right on cue, the entire group ran in the direction of their dragon friend, but then Eternal ran up to the Princess of Friendship. "Eternal, now's not the time for you to apologize to me. We've got bigger problems."

"Twilight, I--" Eternal said, but gets cut off.

"You can worry about that, later! Just focus on the task at hoof, no questions asked!" Twilight commanded out of frustration, finally shutting him up. The rest of the group remained quiet until everyone finally got close enough to the giant purple, rampaging dragon. Although, he was too distracted with Melodia to notice the group of ponies standing in front of his feet.

"It all comes down to this, doesn't it?" Sunset asked.

"Without a doubt. Now, Sunset, Eternal, on my signal." Twilight said, looking up at the hypnotized purple dragon before closing her eyes. Eternal and Sunset both did the same thing and soon, the three of them lit up their horns, casting a big, magic circle underneath Spike's feet. The glow from the magic circle was enough to catch their hypnotized friend's attention and glare down at the two unicorns and alicorn. Altogether, the three of them focused all of their magic and casted the gravitational spell.

The giant dragon roared as he was being forced down onto his knee and claw. Try as he may, the gravitational pull was too strong, even for his maximum size. Twilight, Sunset and Eternal could feel the gravity affect them, too, but they couldn't let the pressure overwhelm them.

Melodia was caught in the magic circle as well, but she made use of her magic casted a protection spell on herself to keep herself airborne. Although, the gravitational spell was working on Spike, she had to wait until he was completely down onto the ground. She could see Spike, struggling in vein to stand back on his feet and pretty soon, the raging dragon shot his flames at Twilight, Sunset and Eternal, but even his attacks were pulled straight down, accidentally hitting his toes. That single shot caused him to roar in pain and lose his footing, sinking completely sinking down onto the ground.

"I didn't ask for help, but I suppose thanks are in order. Now watch me work my magic!" Melodia gloated with a confident smirk before flying down to one of Spike's ears.

The others watch as Melodia starts vocalizing while Spike struggled to break free of the spell. But soon, as Melodia kept on vocalizing into Spike's ear, Spike's struggling began to deteriorate. Twilight, Sunset and Eternal were struggling to keep the spell going and were starting to lose their hold on it. Luckily for them, Spike was becoming less violent and was slowly shrinking back down to size.

All the other ponies watched in awe, seeing the once giant purple dragon lose his hostility and finally, revert back to the good ol', teenage dragon they knew and love. Simultaneously, Twiligh, Sunset and Eternal gave into the sheer pressure and collapsed, completely exhausted.

"Ah can't... believe it!" Applejack said. "They actually did it!" AJ was shocked to see how their plan had become a complete success, even against all odds. She and the rest of the group were taken by surprise the moment they saw their dragon friend struggled to rise to his feet. Spike somehow managed to stand up, but his legs were wobbly and his arms were limp. His head was hung low and his eyes were locked onto the ground, but no one could see if they were open or closed. Even Spike's tail was limp.

Rarity took this chance to run over to Spike. He fell forward, but was caught in time by Rarity. She held him in her hooves, keeping herself supported on her hinde legs.

"Don't move, Spike. You're hurt. I'm here, okay?" she told him, reassuringly. But when she looked directly at his eyes, she let out a gasp, feeling the tears in her eyes swell up. "Oh no! ...S-Spike! Oh no, what have I done?!" she asked herself, getting all choked up. Spike's eyes weren't slidded, but they were completely void of any sort of life, no spark in those emerald eyes of his whatsoever. Rarity was afraid of whether or not she had really lost Spike, even after all that trouble. She leaned her ear towards his left chest. To her relief, she heard Spike's heart still beating steadily with life. She only got even more choked up and held Spike in a warm embrace.

Eternal got up slowly and walked towards Spike and Rarity. One look at Spike's eyes and immediately, he closed his eyes and tilted his head down. "He's out cold. Nothing keeping him up but sheer willpower," he said in a calm manner.

While Rarity cried over her unconcious friend, the others witnessed Princess Celestia and Blaze Burn use their combined magic to lift the flames off the grounds of Canterlot. After that, Celestia uses her magic to cause the flames to vanish slowly into the sky, leaving no trace of it left. Thanks to the princess and Blaze Burn, the nobles of Canterlot and the city were safe once more.

Now that the job was done, Celestia and Blaze Burn flew down and checked up on the unconcious teenage dragon, who was buried in Rarity's hooves. The princess tapped Rarity's shoulder, but Rarity still kept holding Spike in a warm embrace. "Rarity, perhaps we should bring Spike to my castle." she said.

"Can I please sit by his bedside until he wakes up?" Rarity asks, not turning around. Celestia was taken by surprise by how Rarity chose to now be there for Spike. But Rarity didn't stop there. "I'm the reason Spike changed from a sweet dragon to that giant, rampaging dragon! Melodia was right, this was all my fault for being blinded by my own pride and brushing off Spike's affections for me like it was some little crush. So, is it alright with you if I watch over him until he wakes up?" This time, Rarity looked at Celestia with tears of sadness.

Princess Celestia let out a sigh and smiled at Rarity sadly. "I don't see any reason why you shouldn't." It felt relieving to hear the princess approve of Rarity's request. Princess Celestia watched Spike's eyes slowly close and felt his entire body go completely limp.

With the nightmare over for now, everypony helped Twilight and Sunset back up on their hooves and guided them back into the Canterlot Castle. Twilight still couldn't believe that the plan actually worked and that Spike was no longer under the spell of the Song of Dragons. By the time they all arrived inside, Twilight and Sunset stood on their own and walked the rest of the way down the hall with the others.

Just then...

"Twilight," Eternal said, getting her attention. "What I said earlier back in Ponyville... It wasn't right for me to lose my temper and snap at you like that. I was so upset about how Spike was being treated all those years when you were raising him. I apologize for my rude behavior. Can you forgive me?" he asked, sincerely.

"...Yes, I forgive you. Also, I think I should let you know that those weren't the only times I wasn't being fair to Spike and I really need to get this off my chest." Twilight said, looking down.

"Alright, and you have my word that I will not snap at you." Eternal said. Twilight nodded and kept walking down the hallway until Princess Celestia came to the room on the far left and opened the door. Celestia looked at Rarity, who had Spike on her back. She gestures Rarity to carry him into the room, which she did so willingly and laid him carefully on the bed. Rarity took the blankets and placed them over Spike's body, leaving only his head uncovered so as not to suffocate him.

Even though he's unconcious, Spike looked so peaceful. It still brought tears to Rarity that she was the one that made Spike change into from a sweet dragon to a rampaging monster. Rarity wrapped her hooves around Spike's neck, never leaving his side.

With her busy looking after the knocked out dragon, everypony else walked out of the room to let her be and closed the door right before Celestia says to the group "You've all done very well. This battle was not easily won, but now it's time for all of your to rest up. You'll all need your strength for when we go after Zoor, and just so we're clear, no pony is to act on their own. But I'm happy to say that I'm very proud of all of you for your courageous deeds, including you, Melodia."

Now that she was done with her speech, the entire group walked into a few of the rooms on each side of the hallway while the princess teleported herself and Blaze Burn back into her chambers.

In one of the rooms, Shadow Force wasted no time in slamming himself on one of the beds and drifted off into the dream realm to relax. But the other four, Eternal Flames, Heat Blitz, Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer didn't have time to lay down and rest. Twilight still had to get something off her chest and Eternal had to listen to what she had to say.

"Alright, Twilight. What did you want to talk about?" Eternal asked.

"Well, there was this one time when I had volunteered to help out on my very first Winter Wrap Up, which is a tradition that involves cleaning up all of Winter and making way for Spring. We got the job done, but then Applejack pointed out how Spike fell asleep on a block of ice in the middle of the lake and we all just laughed it off like it was some sort of prank. He caught a cold when we fished him out. It was funny at first, but I realize now that what I did wasn't right. I was suppose to rescue him before he fell into the water, maybe then I could have stopped him from getting that cold." Twilight admitted with guilt.

"True, but tell me, when did that occur?" Eternal asked.

"A few years ago, back when Spike was probably 10 or 11. I know, it wasn't smart of me to leave Spike out there all alone like it wasn't any of my business. I wouldn't blame you if you thought I was a bad guardian."

"I'll save the lectures for later. For now, I'd rather hear what else you have to say." Eternal said, calmly.

Twilight sighed in relief that he kept his word. "Okay, there was also a couple of times we left out Spike and even to this day, I feel like such a jerk." she said, looking at the floor. She turns her attention back to Eternal, who just gave her a patient look. "A few years ago, we went to Canterlot for a dessert contest and Spike loved cakes and such, just like Princess Celestia, but we didn't take him with us. I guess I was so caught up in going that I never stopped to think how Spike felt when he was left out on the trip."

"Does he still have these dessert cravings, or is he outgrowing them?" Eternal asked.

"He... well, I don't really know. Maybe after he wakes up, I'll ask him. But right now, there's still one more thing I left Spike out of. It was back when Pinkie Pie first introduced us to her big sister, Maud Pie. Spike always loved making new friends with other ponies." Twilight said, getting choked up. Heat Blitz went over to her and patted her gently on the back, doing his best to comfort her. "I ended up having him at home and clean up when I should have given him a break and let him join us so he'd meet Maud Pie."

"Shhhh, there there." Heat Blitz said.

Twilight sniffled. "Thanks, Heat Blitz." she said with a sad smile. "Well, now you know, Eternal. That's everything off my chest so now you can go ahead and yell at me."

"Bro, you're not going to, are you?" Heat asked, worried that he might flip.

"No no, not this time. I've got this to say: While, I am relieved that you're remorseful about leaving him out on some things, you need to understand that Spike was still growing and needed to get out more and see the world with you, and yes, Spike is growing up more and acting his age, but he's still your little brother and as an older sibling, you do what needs to be done to make your little brother happy, just so long as he's not spoiled rotten, which I'm certain, Spike's no spoiled brat."

"So in other words, Spike is still like family to Twilight and she has to start treating him as much?" Sunset asked Eternal, earning a nod from him.

"Yes, family is the most precious gift to all living things. It doesn't matter how different your species is, nor how distant you may be from each other, family is still family. Which is one of the reasons why we should cherish it for as long as we can. We've only got one family, and a big one at that." Now it was Eternal's turn to look down at the ground, his bangs covering up his eyes. But that wasn't enough to hide a single tear dropping from his left eye, "Believe or not, Spike is like my little brother, too. He could even be a brother to all of us and we can't lose him, like I lost my grandfather." even more tears flowed from his eyes.

Just after he spoke his heart out, Sunset placed a hoof on his shoulder, making him turn to face her. "I understand now, the way you act so strict and why you snapped so rudely at Twilight before. You did this because you didn't want Spike to suffer a terrible fate like your grandfather."

"I... I'm sorry." Eternal tightened his eyes closed, trying to hold back the tears. "I'm truly sorry I snapped back at the castle in Ponyville, I was way out of line!" he said, choked up, with his whole body shaking. Sunset got a little closer to Eternal and wrapped her hoof around him. 

"Shh, just let it out. Don't keep it bottled up." Sunset whispered.

The commotion was enough to wake up Shadow Force. He sees Eternal getting all teary-eyed and gets out of bed, walking up to Eternal. "So, the big guy's finally come out of his shell. I'm both surprised and relieved to see him finally show how he really feels."

"You know about this side of him?" Twilight asked.

"No doubt about. He kept his emotions bottled up for so long, I thought he had gotten rid of them, but this is the first time in years that I've seen him cry. First, he ends a bad relationship with this mare he thought he was in love with, then he loses his grandfather. It's like life was trying to make him feel miserable, and to be honest, he never really catches a break. What really gets me the most is how he'd constantly put himself in any sort of danger to keep his friends and family safe. He never showed any fear." Shadow explains.

"I can see why he's the spirit of the Element of Courage." Twilight said.

"Well, I think he's done enough. He can't keep on doing this on his own. In fact, he's never gonna be alone, because he has all of us, now." Sunset says. Eternal hears what they say and cracks a small smile. 





Meanwhile, back in the room Spike was sleeping in, Rarity still sat at his bedside, she would pat Spike's claw as her own way of telling Spike he's not alone. Even though he was still out cold, she began to speak her heart out to her favorite dragon.

"Spike, I'm so sorry." Rarity began. She let out a sigh, "I kept saying how I needed you... but I never stopped to realize that it was you who needed me more. You've done so much for me and my friends, never expecting anything in return, well, other than a few jewels, but... I guess the only reason why you didn't expect anything in return is probably because of... your immense love for..." Rarity couldn't finish her sentence and felt her eyes water up and soon, she leaned up to Spike and told him the one thing she wanted him to hear. "You're my most favorite dragon, Spike. And I will always love you."

With nothing more to say, she hugs his unconcious body, weeping quietly. 

As she kept crying, Spike could somehow hear her, but didn't know if he was dreaming or not. Deep in his unconcious mind, Spike was drifting around in a void of darkness, his eyes closed and his body weightless, nothing could be heard but the sound of Rarity's sobbing. 'Rarity... please, don't cry.' Spike thought, 'I wouldn't be able to live with myself if you cried over me like this.'

She couldn't hear what he was saying in his mind. Somehow, deep in the void of darkness, Spike's eyes opened up to see a light, shining so bright. It gave off a warm vibe unlike any other. Was it a good sign, or was it a bad sign and was it going to bring him back to his friends, or to the other side?

There was only one way to find out. Spike had to drift towards it and find out for himself. He drifted towards the bright light and found out it lead into a trip down memory lane. Each even that had taken place in his life, both good times and bad. Spike was filled with different emotions as he watched the life he lived, with his feelings ranging from happiness, to sadness and anger, as well as guilt, embarrassment, and one emotion that he never knew he'd let take over him: pure rage.

He never pictured himself as the spiteful type of dragon, despite his dragon heritage. If he was enraged, what was it that fueled his rage? Could it be that it was all connected to how and why he heard Rarity sobbing over him for some reason? If so, what was the reason? All the events that have taken place up until Spike warned the others about the Song of Dragons was a blurr to him.

Spike doesn't know what had happened to him. It was like everything went completely black. But one thing he knew for certain was that he wasn't dead. If he were, his heart wouldn't be beating. But, Spike's heartbeat was loud and clear as the sobs coming from his lifelong crush. Spike wanted to know what was happening, but something was preventing him from opening his eyes. He didn't know what it was, but he had every intention of finding out why he can't wake up.

While Spike still layed in bed unconcious, Rarity took her time to talk to him about pretty much everything they had done together throughout the years.

"You know, Spike, even after all these years, you still never stopped thinking about me. I thought that you would eventually give up on me entirely and find someone new to love, but no, you still chose me. You've done so much for me and all our friends and yet you never expected anything in return. I guess the only thing you ever wanted was for me to accept your feelings towards me. I realize now that you don't just have a crush on me, your feelings for me are genuine and I was too blinded by my pride to see it." she explains, calmly.

"Spike, if you can hear me, I want you to know how truly sorry I am for making you suffer like this. I should have never been so cruel to you or your feelings towards me." she continues.

In his unconscious state, Spike was only able to hear part of what Rarity was telling him. A certain warm feeling in his heart was telling him to forgive her, but his mind was telling him to forget about her. No matter what his mind was telling him, he never stopped listening to his heart. Deep down, he still loves Rarity and when he wakes up, he plans to make his feelings known to her. Not just his crush on her, but his true genuine feelings for her, even if he feels like he'll get rejected.

'Rarity... hold on... I'll come back... just hang on... a little longer...' he thought.





Meanwhile, back in the room where Sunset and Twilight were, Eternal Flames had calmed down after letting his tears run down his face. Sunset stayed close to Eternal just in case he teared up again. Eternal didn't mind, but thought that it was unecessary for her to be doing this. Although, he should rest up for the next battle, his mind's too focused on Zoor. Somewhere in some other part of Equestria, her dragon army is probably wreaking havoc, destroying homes and villages and he can't do anything.

Eternal never likes being a sitting duck while something bad is happening. Sunset isn't sure how, but she can actually feel how frustrated Eternal feels. She puts her hoof on his back, getting his attention.

"We'll find her eventually, just have a little patience. What we really need to do is rest up and wait for Spike, he'll eventually wake up, but I don't know when," Sunset says. Eternal just gives her a nod before he walks over to the window and looks up at the sky. "Eternal, if things start to get serious, there's no shame in relying on your friends to help you out."

"I'm not ashamed to rely on my friends, Sunset. But it doesn't mean I don't worry about them. They're the reason why I will keep on fighting," Eternal says, still looking out the window.

"That's fine, I completely understand. You worry about your friends' safety and that's natural, but you shouldn't have them sit out in every fight they get involved in. Just think back to earlier when Spike was still a giant, rampaging dragon, he almost destroyed the city, but your friends helped us out and even though they recieved a few bruises and such, they never gave up hope and kept on fighting. If they see you as a leader, then they obviously know they're in good hooves." Sunset explains to the prince.

"I don't know how she found out, but it's true," Shadow Force says, "You're a great leader, Eternal and I can respect that you care about us, but we're all a team! This entire mess isn't something one pony can do on their own, this is gonna take all of us to put a stop to that monstrocity."

"They have a point, Eternal," Heat Blitz says, "Take it from me, I'm a pacifist at heart, and I'm okay with that and there were times I wanted to handle things on my own growing up, like standing up for myself when I got bullied, but because no pony would take me seriously, I felt like I was all alone and no one would help me, but you found out somehow and would always come to my rescue. My point is: if you're not ashamed to rely on your friends, then prove it by letting them do their job. They're a part of your team and they're always there for you just like you're always there for us, do you understand?"

There was a long pause between the 5 ponies in the room. But after at least 12 seconds, "To think that I would be learning my lesson from you, my little brother. Same goes to you, Sunset and Shadow Force. You guys are right, this war can't be won by one pony alone. When the time comes, we'll plan our attack, but first I think it's time we rest up a bit." Eternal says, looking at his comrads with a calm smile.

Everyone in the room lets out a sigh of relief, now that the whole "I work alone" thing is settled. Now the only thing left was to wait and rest up. When the time comes, they'll know if Eternal Flames is able to keep his word and let his friends take on their foe by witnessing it with their own eyes. But for now, Twilight and Sunset climb onto one of the couches, and as a kind gentlestallion, Heat Blitz takes out a big blanket from one of the drawers and covers up the two mares with it.

"Thanks, Heat Blitz," Twilight says.

"Yeah, thank you," Sunset adds.

"No problem," Heat Blitz replies. 

With the girls safely tucked in the blankets, Heat Blitz walks to the bed where his older brother rests. Shadow Force is able to sleep anywhere without much of a fuss, even a rock, but in the room, he chooses to sleep at the foot of the bed with his head hanging off the edge with a goofy smile on his face. It's a relief to get to all the friends getting some rest, but they won't be resting easy for long when they all have to deal with the dragons that are still lurking around Equestria and their evil leader who has them under her control.
> Healing Broken Hearts
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The castle was as quiet as could be. Both the Elements of Harmony and Elements of Freedom were all resting up for the biggest challenge that lies ahead. They've won the battle to free Spike from his hypnotic trance from the Song of Dragons, but they have yet to win the war against the evil Zoor, whom is probably almost completing her goal to take over Equestria with her entire dragon army. Nothing could be done to stop her, at least not right now, the battle with Spike had all but tired out the group.

Inside one of the guest rooms, Rarity still sat at Spike's bedside, waiting for the young dragon to open up his eyes and hope to see their life-like spark like she did way before he fell prey to Zoor's power. It sickens her to think that such a cruel pony would do something to one of her dearest and closest friends, but it's more heartbreaking to find out she was the one who caused Spike to turn into that giant rampaging dragon.

Throughout all the years, Rarity has always seen Spike as nothing more than a dear friend who's grown up to be every single trait of the Elements of Harmony. He's always so kind to his friends when they need comfort and even nowadays, he does it not to gain anything fancy, but to show he cares. His honesty had also improved, including the time when he saved Rarity from that forbidden spell book. Anytime his friends needed a good laugh, he would tell funny jokes or just act all goofy for absolutely no reason. His loyalty to everyone is only matched by that of Rainbow Dash's, especially after their trip to the Freedom Village where deep down, he was actually worried about his friends and chose to travel along, even though he had no choice.

"Spike, darling. Please wake up. I can't stand to watch you suffer anymore. It's all my fault you ended up turning into that giant rampaging dragon. It should have been me who should be under that spell, at least then, you would have still been in complete control. I don't know if you can hear me, but if you can't, please wake up so I can finally tell you how sorry I am!" Rarity begged.

In truth, Spike can only half hear what she's saying. Spike can hear only part of what she's saying as he was watching his own memories up until the point where he warned his friends of the dangerous magical powers that alicorn monster now possesses after absorbing them from Melodia. But up until he warned them, everything in his mind went black. Spike can't remember anything after that. No matter how hard he tries, his mind keeps drawing a blank.

Then, in a blinding light, an alicorn silhouette appears and approaches Spike. For some strange reason, Spike can somehow feel that this figure approaching him is friendly by nature. Spike also approaches the alicorn silhouette, but at a slower pace than its own.

Spike makes out the alicorn to be none other than Princess Luna. Instead of having a happy face, Princess Luna has a more concerned, worried look. Spike feels confused. "It seems you have a lot of questions waiting to be answered, am I not right, dearest Spike?" Luna asks.

"Yeah, I don't know what's going on. One minute I'm with the others at the Freedom Village and the next, I lost conciousness and ended up here. So what exactly happened, Princess Luna?" Spike asks.

"My sister told me everything, but I don't think you're ready to hear the news. You must think carefully on whether or not you want to hear it. If you do choose to hear it, then I must warn you, you'll be in denial of the horrendous acts that have occurred while you drifted off into darkness. However, if you choose not to hear it, I will completely understand and refrain from speaking. But that doesn't mean your friends will keep this terrible secret from you. Now, I'll ask you once more, do you wish to hear what happened?" she asks.

"Well, first I want to know if my friends are okay! They're not hurt, are they?" 

"A couple of them did recieve a couple of scratches and bruises, but they're still alive and well. They should all be fine with a little rest, Spike." 

Spike lets out a sigh of relief. "Thank Celestia. Okay, I'm ready for you to tell me what happened, and I want to know every single detail."

Luna nods. "Very well, Spike. But keep in mind, I did try to warn you." Luna inhales and lets it all out, "You see, Spike, by the time you lost conciousness, you became hostile and nearly burnt one of your friends alive and it was all because you fell prey to the Song of Dragons. Normally it wouldn't have affected you because you never let your greed take a hold of you, but from what the others told me, there was another reason why the song affected you and in turn, it caused you to be more hostile than other dragons."

Spike backs away, not sure if he wants to hear the news. But he did say he wants to find out every single detail and he's going to see this through to the end. "What happened?"

"The reason why the song affected you, too, was because of your broken heart. You held a strong amount of affection for lady Rarity, and because she never returns your affections, it left you heartbroken to the point where you were vulnerable to the spell, which caused you to gradually transform into a giant rampaging dragon in which not even Zoor could control for long."

Spike felt his heart drop at this shocking news. "N-No, it can't be..." he says in denial.

"I'm afraid it's true, Spike. Zoor even sent you to destroy all of Canterlot and Ponyville. Eternal Flames was so determined to stop you himself that he ended up getting injured and almost got burned alive, but thanks to Blaze Burn, he saved him from certain death. Twilight and her friends heard of you coming to Canterlot and prepared themselves for a grueling battle. Canterlot had almost burnt to the ground had it not been for young Twilight and her friends, including my sister and Blaze Burn, too."

Spike kneels down on his knees, looking down at the pit of darkness. "S-So... it's my fault, then."

"No, Spike. It was an accident. None of us knew this would happen up until too late when the battle took place, but thanks to Twilight and her friends, including Melodia, they all managed to bring you back to your old, kind and caring self, and now they're all resting up and waiting for you to wake up to them, including the one mare who's captured your heart. In fact, lady Rarity is waiting by your bedside so you'll be able to open up your eyes at this very moment."

Spike lifts up his head and looks straight into Luna's eyes, His own eyes fill up with tears. "How am I suppose to face all of my friends after that whole event? I almost got them killed because of my actions, I'm not even sure if I can look at Rarity the same way I did over the years." he says, depressed.

"Nonsense, Spike. Why did you think your friends risked their lives to save you?" she asks. Spike doesn't answer her, so she answers for him. "It's because deep down, they all still care about you. Think about it, you've been friends with Twilight and the others for a long time ever since you arrived in Ponyville years ago and made yourself lots of great friends. Even if the road got a little bumpy, you and the others never forgot about the strong friendship you've built. They would never even think about leaving you."

Luna's words of encouragement seem to have some effect on Spike. He wipes his tears off of his face and sniffles a little before standing back up on his feet. "Are you sure they'd forgive me?" Spike asks.

"Your actions were not your own, Spike. They would definitely forgive you from the bottom of their hearts, that I can assure you is the truth." Luna nods. Although he hesitates at first, Spike walks up to Luna and hugs her, earning a hug back from the princess of the night. With nothing else to say, she lights up her horn and causes the darkness around Spike to vanish for only a brief moment.

Outside of Spike's unconcious mind, Rarity keeps Spike's claw held in her hooves. Just then, she feels Spike's claws twitching and moving. Rarity's eyes shoot wide open as she then turns towards Spike's eyes. The young dragon begins to stir and rise up from his bed.

Slowly, his eyes open up and show signs of life. The spark in his beautiful emerald eyes has finally returned and best part of it is that Rarity has witnessed it herself. Spike turns to his right, locking his gaze with his lifelong crush and speaks out only one word. "Hi, Rarity." he says, weakly.

Rarity's tears flow out of her eyes like waterfalls, yet she puts on a smile. "Oh, Spike!" she exclaims. Rarity lunges herself at Spike and wraps her hooves around him, catching him off guard. However, he immediately smiles warmly and wraps his arms around Rarity.

"I'm so glad to see you're alright, Rarity. I'm sorry I made you worry." Spike says, softly. Rarity doesn't reply, she just keeps sobbing on Spike's shoulder, letting her mascara run. Spike opens up his wings and wraps them around Rarity, giving her a more comforting hug. Rarity feels the warmth of her favorite dragon and the way it calms her down as she looks directly at Spike with a sad smile on her face.

"No, Spike. It's I who should be sorry. I'm the reason you ended up under that alicorn's spell. I should have paid more attention to your feelings and acknowledge that your love for me was genuine and not just some crush, instead of brushing them off. If anypony is to blame, it's me." Rarity says, rubbing Spike's cheek.

"Rarity..." Spike pauses and places his claw over her hoof, which she placed on his cheek. "I'm not even sure if the others will look at me the same way they did before all of this happened. It's true that I love you, even though you never returned my feelings, but I don't want you to feel like you're completely at fault her, I'm to blame for this just as much, I almost lost you and my friends. If anything were to happen to you and my friends, I just wouldn't be able to live with myself."

"Spike..." Rarity says as she climbs on top of the bed, sitting next to Spike. "...you've been there for your friends through thick and thin, and yes, there were times when you caused an accident, but no matter what kind of predicament we're in, we're still friends."

Though, he still feels a hint of guilt for almost bringing havoc and destruction to Canterlot and his friends, Spike can already feel a huge stone fall off his heart. His love and respect for Rarity soon reaches new heights and in turn, he puts on a sad smile for Rarity. Rarity smiles back at him and places her hoof on top of Spike's claw, giving it kind and affectionate rubs and works her hoof up to Spike's shoulder. Spike's face burns up from embarrassment from Rarity's bold move.

"I... I just... I don't know what to say, Rarity." and he was right, Spike cannot find the right words to tell Rarity how he truly feels right now.

"Hmm, I think I know what to say. Spike, your actions earlier today were not your own, if anyone is to blame, it's that alicorn creature for hypnotizing you from a sweet, gentle dragon to a giant rampaging dragon, and as I explained before, it was also my fault for being so cruel to you. Like any true friend, you're always lending a helping hand and in return, I, along with my friends failed to show you how truly grateful we are, so please Spike, cast all of your doubts away and look at yourself as the same kind and loving dragon that your friends know and love... the same dragon... that I love the most."

As much as he tries to deny what she said to him, his ears heard her loud and clear. Rarity leans in a little closer to Spike and soon feels her other hoof being gently grasped by Spike's claw. "R-Rarity..." is the only word he can say at this point.

"Spike..." Rarity replies.

Both the young dragon and the fashionista unicorn feel their faces heat up and lean in close to each other, their lips almost about to touch. Time seems to be moving at a slower pace to them.

Sadly, their little moment ends all too quickly when they hear a knock on the door. Their hearts skipped a beat as their most precious moment is cut short. Spike was about to get up, but Rarity allows him to lay down while she gets off the bed and walks over to the door. She opens it up and sees Princess Celestia and Twilight Sparkle standing right next to her.

"Sorry to interrupt, but Twilight said she wanted to see if Spike was okay, may we come in?" Celestia asks.

"I don't see why not, come on in, ladies." Rarity replies, moving aside and opening up the door a little wider, allowing both alicorns to enter the room. The two princesses glance at Spike. Celestia's reaction was a huge gasp, but Twilight's gasp lasted longer as her little dragon brother is wide awake. Twilight's older sibling instincts kick in and she flies onto the bed, wrapping her hooves around Spike.

"SPIKE!!!" Twilight shouted. Spike is caught off-guard when Twilight did that. Twilight soon starts crying and tightens her grip on Spike's neck. There's nothing to hold back the tears. She continues to cry and cry, apologizing to Spike, but she gave no explaination to why she was apologizing.

The commotion from inside the room somehow echoes throughout the hall and the doors to the guest rooms open up as Twilight's friends exit out and follow the sound of their crying friend. One by one, each of her friends enter the room and notice their dragon friend awake and recovering from the fatigue.

"Well, Ah'll be darned, Ah'm so glad to see you're awake, Spike." Applejack says, putting on a sad smile and taking off her hat and placing it towards her chest.

"Spike, are you okay, we were so worried! I hope you're not too hurt after what happened." Fluttershy says like a mother worries for her child.

"It just wasn't the same without you, Spike." Pinkie Pie says.

"Don't you EVER scare us like that again, you hear me?!" Rainbow shouted, trying to fight back the tears.

"Rainbow Dash, Spike wasn't the one at fault here, he was taken from us because we didn't act quick enough to save him from that alicorn tyrant's clutches. If it wasn't for Melodia, Spike would've gotten seriously hurt, or... somepony else, but the point is... we got him back." Sunset says.

Afterwards, Rainbow Dash's ears droop down while she looks at Spike. Soon, Eternal Flames makes his way to Spike, though no one knows what he's planning to do. But then he opens up his mouth and speaks, "Spike, it's good to see you're back to your old self. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if we couldn't save you, but now that you're back, I suggest that you take it easy and rest up for a little while." says Eternal.

Without even waiting, "What? No! I want to help you guys take down that creature!"

"Spike, Zoor is far more stronger than you think. She possesses all the magical abilities that she absorbed from Melodia and has an entire dragon army under her command. If you end up becoming a giant rampaging dragon, the results won't end the same as they have before. We'll be outnumbered, fighting impossible odds, it's not wise to go into battle without a carefully planned stradegy. And besides, when Melodia sang the song that reversed the Song of Dragons on you, you could barely stand up."

"I can stand up just fine, watch!" Spike argues, getting out of bed. Sadly, his legs start to wobble and almost falls to the floor, had it not been for Rarity.

"Spike, save your strength, for once, he's telling the truth. You're not in any condition to fight. You have to rest up so you'll have more energy to help us. I know how you feel, Spike, but you mustn't act so rashly, otherwise you'll end up turning into a rampaging dragon again. I want you to stay here and rest, because I'm worried about you and I don't want to see you suffer like before." Rarity explains.

"She's right, Spike. Twilight and her friends risked their lives to save you. If you go out there in the state you're in right now, you'll only hurt yourself even more." Celestia implies.

As much as he hates to admit it, they're right. Spike hangs his head in defeat and climbs back onto the bed and lays himself down on the pillow. "So what's going to happen now?" Spike asks.

"Hmm, let's see." Twilight says, trying to think. "Well, as far we know, Zoor is still out there, attempting to conquer all of Equestria with her dragon army. A direct assault isn't any good."

Just then, Sunset gets an idea. "Melodia." she says.

"Hmm?" Melodia asks, keeping her sassy expression the way it always is.

"This is very, very important. Is it possible to take control of the dragons by singing the Song of Dragons?" she asks, earning a deadpanned expression from the pony/dragon hybrid. "Just hear me out. We already know that Zoor has the entire dragon kingdom at the tip of her hoof, but is it possible to use your Song of Dragon to turn them against her and bring them over to our side?" Sunset asks.

Melodia stares up, stroking her chin with her claw. "I'm not sure. I never tried it out. No pony's ever tried singing the Song of Dragons in the way you described it. But I am willing to give it a try." she says, smirking.

"Then, why don't we test it out right now?" Rainbow asks.

"Because, it might be too dangerous. We can't afford to risk anymore ponies getting hurt if this theory were to be proven a success, we have to move to a more secluded area." Tidal explains.

"I believe he has a point. Now, Twilight, Sunset." Celestia says. "Take the others with you and head straight for the far outskirts until you can't see the town and one other thing: If you ever want to succeed in defeating Zoor, you're going to need the Elements of Harmony for this. I fear that the Elements of Freedom won't be powerful enough to stop Zoor from taking over Equestria. Can I count on you to do this task?"

"Of course, princess." Twilight says, determined.

"What about Spike? Is he going to be alright?" Sunset asks.

"There's no need to worry. I'll watch after Spike until he's all rested up and ready to go." Celestia reassures.

"I-I think I should stay here and help you look after Spike." Rarity is hesitant at first, but also feels like she this is something she has to do.

"Rarity, without the Element of Generosity, the rest of the Elements of Harmony won't work. "Your friends need your help right now. Like I said, Spike'll be fine." Celestia insists.

"B-But, Spike was put under that spell because of me. I can't leave him!" Rarity persists.

"Oh boy, here we go again." Melodia says, rolling her eyes.

"Rarity, don't worry about me." Spike says. "The others are right, they need you more than I do right now and it's probably going to take every ounce of strength you all have to beat Zoor. She's a lot more powerful than you think, so please, I ask you as a friend to go on and help them out."

"A-Are you sure you'll be okay?" Rarity asks.

"I'm positive. If I recover quick enough, I'll join up with you guys as soon as I can. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." he Pinkie promises. There's no talking her way out of this. Rarity now understands this more than anyone, so she accepts Spike's decision and gives him one last hug before following her friends out of the room and walk down the hall, where suddenly, Eternal gets curious.

"Excuse me, Twilight, I'm still curious, though. What are these "Elements of Harmony?" Are they sort of like the Elements of Freedom, or do they work differently?" Eternal asks.

"The Elements of Harmony are almost like your Elements of Freedom, but they work differently. The Elements of Harmony were used to protect Equestria from any evil that threatened to take over our land. Back when Celestia and Luna ruled the land, they used the elements to turn Discord into stone. Discord was the former evil lord of chaos and disharmony, but now he's reformed. A little over a thousand years ago, the Elements of Harmony were also used to banish Princess Celestia's sister to the moon." Twilight explains.

"Why would the princess send her own sister to the moon? Isn't that a little too extreme?" Heat Blitz asks.

"It was because Princess Luna grew jealous when the ponies all slept through her beautiful night. Fueled by her anger and jealousy for Princess Celestia, Luna turned into what she calls "Nightmare Moon." Princess Celestia tried to reason with her, but it was no use. She was left with no other choice but to send her sister to the moon for a thousand years." Twilight says, looking down.

"Gee, I can't even imagine the guilt the princess had to live with for a thousand years." Hurricane Breeze says, placing his wing tip over his heart.

"I'm sure that deep down, she wished there was something more she could have done to prevent all of this while she still thought of whether or not Luna was okay." Ground Breaker says.

"So then, what happened next?" Heat Blitz asks.

"After a thousand years passed, Nightmare Moon returned. My friends and I worked together to stop her, thanks to the Elements of Harmony. Only when we used them, they expelled the dark magic from within Princess Luna and reverted her back to her normal self. We also used them to turn Discord back into stone when he escaped his stone prison when he was still the bad guy."

"How did he reform himself?" Tidal asks.

"Oh, that was all because of me." Fluttershy says. "I volunteered to help Discord turn over a new leaf and we've been best friends ever since."

"That's pretty impressive." Ground Breaker says.

"I was impressed by it, too. Although, I don't think anypony else could have done it better than Fluttershy, being that she's the Element of Kindness." Twilight says, making Fluttershy blush happily.

"Oh, so the elements have names just like ours?" Eternal asks.

"That's right. The Elements of Harmony are known as Generosity, Honesty, Laughter, Kindness, Loyalty and Magic, and all of us are the chosen wielders. Now back on the task at hoof, we have to go and get the Elements of Harmony as fast as we possibly can."

"Twilight's right, there's not much time left before Zoor takes of Equestria with her dragon army!" Sunset agrees, as she runs ahead of the group. The rest of the group runs with her out of the castle.

"Where are the Elements of Harmony right now?" Heat Blitz asks.

"They'e being kept safe in the Tree of Harmony, I'll explain the rest later until we get there!" Twilight says





It has taken quite some time, but Twilight and her friends progress onward after they had reached Ponyville, but as of now, they are traveling on hoof the rest of the way to reach the Tree of Harmony. But, walking down the path in the Everfree Forest doesn't bode well ease their worries.

"Is it always like this in this forest?" Eternal asks, checking his surroundings.

"Afraid so. The Everfree Forest is always dangerous to other ponies. It's even far more dangerous when night falls because of all the nocturnal predators that are hunting here. But we don't have any other choice, this is the safest path in the forest that'll lead us to the Tree of Harmony." Twilight says.

"I'm surprised your cottage is so close to this scary place, Fluttershy." Hurricane says with concern.

"The forest always makes me feel scared, but it's still like a backyard to me. It's never easy for me to go in there anytime my animals run off. I always have to force myself to run into the forest just to bring back my animals, most it's my chickens who run into the forest." Fluttershy explains.

"I don't know, this forest doesn't feel all that intimidating." Melodia shrugs. "I mean, if I were attacked by any predators in here, I can easily fight or scare them off."

"Melodia, as believable as that sounds, this is no time to be gloating. We get that you're probably the stronge pony/dragon hybrid in all of Equestria, but you don't have to act all high and mighty." Tidal says.

"Do ya ever think about anypony but yerself?" AJ asks.

"If there was ever a meaning to the word "modesty," I highly doubt the little princess would understand it, let alone take it into consideration." Eternal sasses. He ends up getting kicked by Melodia's hind legs. He gets sent so flying out in front of the group, almost out of sight.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I hurt the wittle pwince?" Melodia asks, giggling.

"Dear sweet Celestia, you have to control that temper of yours, Melodia! You could have killed him!" Tidal says, staring at Melodia all frustrated. Sunset runs up ahead to check up on Eternal. "And I know it might have hurt you in some way, but you can't let your hubris overtake you like that. When all of this is said and done, I'm going to have to teach you a little thing called "self-control."

"You're overreacting, Tidal. I barely even tapped him with my double kick." Melodia replies.

"Then learn to control your powers. You might think he's alright from your little assault, but what if he ended up landing in some kind of spiked chasm?" Tidal persists.

"Ugh, alright fine. You don't have to chew me out, sweetie." Melodia retorts. She brushes her tail against Tidal's chin while she moves ahead of him.

"Everypony, over here! We found it!" Sunset calls out. The group runs/flies in the direction of where Sunset and Eternal are and come across a pathway leading into this cave.

"Okay, everypony follow me and no pushing." Twilight says. She and her friends walk down into the cave before the guys and stumble upon this amazing crystal tree that seems to be emitting strong amounts of magical energy from within it.

"So, this is the Tree of Harmony you mentioned earlier." Eternal says. "I cannot even begin to describe what kind of secrets it holds. But it doesn't seem to give off the same kind of dangerous vibe our Elements of Freedom possess, it feels warmer and more inviting."

"That's because we use the Elements of Harmony for healing magic." Pinkie Pie says. "I bet if our paths were different, you would be the wielder of the Element of Magic."

"Uhh... I think I'd rather stick with my Element of Courage." Eternal replies as he backs away from Pinkie.

"I'm so ready to kick some dragon butt!" Rainbow says.

"I'm still shocked that we have to use the Elements of Harmony after all these years. But, due to the situation at hoof, I'd say it's all for a good cause. Are you ready, girls?" Twilight asks.

"You betcha!" Applejack says, confidentally.

"Ready and waiting!" Rainbow says, grinning.

"Yup Yup!" Pinkie says, all chipper.

"I will not tolerate what that evil witch put us through!" Rarity says, clenching her hoof.

"I suppose." Fluttershy says, unsure.

"Alright girls, here we go." Twilight lets out a sigh and lights up her horn. A magic beam connects with the center of the Tree of Harmony. The tree emits a bright glow and bring out six different colored jewels. Each jewel was shaped to look like part of Twilight and her friends' cutie marks. Five necklaces wrapped around Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rarity, while a crown with a pink star in the middle placed itself on Twilight's head before the tree's light finally dims.

"This is it, everypony. Let's go." Twilight says
> The Ultimate Battle Royale
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

With the Elements of Harmony back under the control of Twilight and her friends, the gang soon heads out of the cave and travels farther and farther away from Ponyville. As they have explained before back in Canterlot, there is a slight chance of taking control of the dragons who were hypnotized by the Song of Dragons. Whether their plan does or doesn't work, the gang can't risk putting Ponyville and Canterlot in danger.

In order to insure the safety of the ponies, both the Elements of Harmony and Elements of Freedom travel into a vast wide open valley where only a few mountains in the distance are in their sights. Once they've reached a far enough distance from the town, Sunset approaches Melodia.

"Melodia, this is it. We should be good to go out here. Go ahead and use it," Sunset says. Melodia smirks and walks in front of the group and stops just a few feet away from them. Melodia unfolds her wings and takes in a deep breath before she vocalizes her voice as loud as she can. Everyone watched in anticipation, holding their breaths in to see if their plan to take control of the dragons is really working.

One thing they can say, though, is that Melodia's voice can hardly go unoticed. One might say it can even be heard by those who might be deaf. However, that's beside the point, for it seems like their plan doesn't seem to be working, no matter how long Melodia keeps this up.

Just as the gang is about to hang their heads down... "Everypony, look up there!" Fluttershy exclaimed, pointing her hoof at the sky. Their eyes dart upwards and notice a flock of dragons in the distance all heading in the group's general direction. "Sunset, the plan's working! The dragons are under Melodia's command now!"

"True, but now the tricky part comes into play: now that I've got control over the dragons, I'll need you all to cover me while I snap these weakings out of their hypnotized state. Put up a barrier if you have to, because this will probably take a while," Melodia explains.

"Alright. Sunset, Eternal, come here," Twilight commands. Sunset and Eternal both approach Twilight. "You heard her, let's put up a barrier so she'll be able to concentrate." the two unicorns nod and tap their horns together, lighting them up and aiming the spell close to Melodia. A beam shoots in her general direction on the ground and splits into two more beams, circling around her and the dragons. Once the magic beams connect, a clear dome of magic forms around them, protecting Melodia and the dragons.

"As long as one of us is still still standing, the barrier won't break. We've also made sure to soundproof the barrier so Zoor won't take control of the dragon again," Twilight explains. Even though Melodia can't hear her, she can still read her lips and gave Twilight a nod before getting to work.

Right on schedule, Shadow Force's body tenses up when he senses Zoor's magic. "Get ready, guys. She's getting close, I can sense it," he said, gazing at the sky. Twilight and Sunset turn their heads to the sky and notice a black dot appearing out of the sky. As it grows bigger, the group instantly recognizes the same alicorn menace that hypnotized Spike and turned him into a giant rampaging dragon before.

They all recognize Zoor, formerly known as Clover the Clever. She lands on the ground with a loud, audible thud and folds her wings. The evil alicorn glares at the group with her glowing, red eyes. No pupils can be seen, just 2 red glows that seem to go on for an eternity.

"How dare you miserable ponies take away my dragon army! The whole world would have trembled in fear and bowed to me if you hadn't got in the way! You think you can stop me just because I'm without army? If so, then I'm afraid you're sadly mistaken. Even without those pathetic creatures, I still have plenty of magical energy I absorbed from that hybrid creature and those silly trinkets you have on you!" Zoor monologues.

"You might have an unmeasurable amount of magic inside of you, but there's a big difference to having it and being able to control it. As far as I'm concerned, you're just calling your bluff," Eternal replies.

"And don't even bother trying to take back the dragons. As long as that barrier is up, you can't lay a hoof on Melodia or the dragons, and you definitely can't take control of them! That barrier is soundproof, so how do you like that, Zoor, or should we call you... Clover the Clever?" Rainbow Dash asked, smirking.

"No pony... and I mean NO PONY... calls me by that name anymore! That pony is long gone and she's going to stay gone for all of eternity! I am Zoor now!" Zoor snaps.

"Whether you're Zoor or Clover the Clever, one thing is certain: You went against Starswirl's wishes and used that spell to transform yourself into an alicorn for your own selfish desires! Starswirl sealed you away as the alicorn amulet once before and we're going to do the same!" Twilight replies, determined.

Zoor laughs at Twilight, unfazed by her threat. "If you think you can seal me away, then be my guest!" she challenges with an evil grin.

Twilight raises her left forehoof up in the air and points it at Zoor. Right away, the stallions all charge at the evil alicorn, who yawns at their reckless and predictable assault. Zoor lights up her horn and aims it at them, shooting off small sparks of assault magic at the guys. The Elements of Freedom split up into two teams, circling around Zoor and hold their positions, staring directly at her. 

"I know what you're all up to..." Zoor says. "You're planning to use the stallions and their trinkets to hold me down while you girls use those little trinkets of yours to banish the evil from within me right. Your efforts amuse me, so I'll allow you one shot to "stop me."

"Boast all you want, but the end result is the same: You're finished before you could even start!" Eternal retorts as he lighs up his horn. Using his magic to boost the crown atop his head and the necklaces around the other guys, the group all aimed six white magic beams at Zoor. She grunts a bit from the pain. Zoor still holds her ground, enduring the pain coming from the Elements of Freedom. "TWILIGHT, NOW!" Eternal shouted.

"Alright girls, let's give these guys a helping hoof!" Twilight says. She lights up her horn and levitates her and the rest of the Mane 6 up into the air. She and her friends shoot out a magic rainbow, trapping Zoor inside of it with no way for her to escape from their clutches.

But then, Sunset gets this uneasy feeling in her gut like something's wrong. Inside the rainbow tornado, Sunset can still see Zoor and her glowing red eyes. Another thing that catches her eyes is another faint red glow coming from the small jewel embedded in Zoor's necklace. 

"Everypony, stop!" Sunset yells out. But it's too late. In a slow-glowing flash of light, the whole group is blinded and they all stopped using their elements.

What they see next leaves them all shocked: Zoor still stands strong and looks as if they didn't faze her at all, like it had no effect on her. What seems more disturbing is the ruby embedded in her necklace as it blinks bright red before it fades and simmers down. Zoor chuckles lowly, slowly getting louder and turned into a full-on evil cackle with her wings springing out wide and menacingly.

"No... it... it can't be!" Twilight says, shocked and backing up.

"But... how? How's it possible?" Rarity asks, feeling just as shocked as ever.

"Everypony, watch out! I think she must have absorbed our magic!" Eternal warns.

"You catch on quick, young stallion," Zoor says. Then, with a swift flap of her wings and a spark from her horn, Zoor blows the whole team away from her using a magic sonic wave. Everyone is completely knocked off their hooves, but are only taken by surprise and are completely shocked at how much Zoor's magical power has grown, despite their best efforts to expel the evil from within her.

Zoor turns her attention to Eternal Flames. The young prince is seen getting up on all fours, keeping his glaring gaze locked on the alicorn as she approaches him with an evil smirk. "Come near me and I'll--" Eternal says, before Zoor cuts him off.

"You'll do what, assault me with your magic? Don't push your luck, little colt. Any magic that you use on me will only make me grow stronger. I've absorbed more than enough magic to destroy you easily with just a tap of my horn and no matter how many times you try to stop me with those trinkets, I'll always absorb the magic and grow stronger than ever before. So why don't you make it easy on yourself and just surrender to me as your new ruler of Equestria?" Zoor boasts.

"I bow down to no pony!" Eternal growls through his teeth. Zoor chuckles and swats at Eternal, knocking him 32 feet to the side and walks over to him again.

"Perhaps I should rephrase that question and change it into an order: bow down to me!" Zoor orders, but Eternal Flames gets up and glares at Zoor as she approaches closer to him. "You still choose to defy me? Do you not value your life, you simple-minded fool?" she asks, growing impatient.

"Hey, back off, you crazy old nut!" Shadow Force calls out, charging at her.

"WHAT WAS THAT?!" Zoor shouts. She looks at Shadow and blasts him with her magic. The magic makes contact with his body and creates shock waves throughout his entire body. He yells in pain, standing on his hinde legs before collapsing to the ground with an audible thud.

"Shadow!" Ground Breaker calls out.

"Oh no!" Fluttershy adds.

"No pony... absolutely NO PONY INSULTS ME LIKE THAT!!!" Zoor yells, enraged.

"Twilight, you go and get Shadow Force, I'll provide some cover for Eternal!" Sunset says. Twilight nods and rushes over to help Shadow Force. Sunset takes this opportunity to help Eternal out. She rushes over and gets in front of Eternal, standing strong and glares at Zoor. "Hey you!" she calls out.

"Do not address me that way!" Zoor shouts at Sunset.

"I'll address you any way I want. Now listen up: If you think you can take over Equestria just because you absorbed some of our magic, then you're sadly mistaken! It doesn't matter how much magic you have at your disposal, because as long as we have each other, we'll put a stop to your madness once and for all, so be prepared to face the music, Zoor!" Sunset says in her determined voice.

Zoor's anger is then replaced by her evil laughs. She doesn't say a word as her horn begins to emit dark magic sparks and the ground below everyone starts to shake. Zoor points her horn up in the air and launches several magic blasts into the air and aims them at the gang.

The blasts come crashing down and the gang scurries around, trying as hard as they can to avoid getting hit. Then, in the midst of the scurry, Rainbow Dash and Spark Burst flew up to Zoor, ready to attack. Zoor immediately sees them coming and flies up into the air, avoiding their team attack. Zoor wasn't quick enough to dodge and attack from Hurricane Breeze, so she blocked him using her hooves. She grabs Hurricane by the neck, attempting to squeeze the life out of him.

Fluttershy isn't liking what Zoor's doing to him and feels a hint of rage surge through her body. She charges straight at Zoor and flies up to her, delivering a direct hit to her right side with her hinde legs. Zoor's grip on Hurricane loosens up and the evil alicorn is knocked to the ground.

Hurricane falls down, kneeling just to keep himself from completely collapsing. He grips his throat, coughing a little bit from the stranglehold. Fluttershy flies down to help Hurricane.

"Thanks, Fluttershy," Hurricane says.

"It's no problem. You really need to be more careful!" Fluttershy implies.

"I'll be sure to take a note of that," Hurricane replies.

"INCOMING!" Ground Breaker calls out as he jumps over Hurricane and Fluttershy and lands in front of them and then locks his forehooves with Zoor's as she comes back. "Both of you... clear the way!" he shouts. Hurricane and Fluttershy fly out of Zoor's grasp while Ground Breaker still tries to get a firm grip on her. "I don't know what pushed you to change into this, but I do know this: you won't rule Equestria!"

"Silence! I will not allow an inferior earth pony tell me what I can or can't do!" Zoor shouts. In a fit of anger, Zoor lights up her horn and levitates Ground Breaker off the ground before she slams him back down.

Ground Breaker grunts in pain from the impact, but he gets back up on his hooves. Applejack rushes over to help him gain some of his strength back. "Easy there, sugarcube, ya might have gotten a couple o' broken bones, ya have to rest up a bit," AJ implied.

"I'll try, but holy Celestia, that hurt!" Ground breaker grunts. He nearly stumbles back down, but AJ catches him just in time before she lays him down gently.

"Ya'd better rest up fer a fer minutes. Ah'll take care o' tall dark 'n gruesome," AJ says confidently. She runs up to Zoor and gets out her rope. AJ twirls it around and throws it in Zoor's direction, wrapping her rope around Zoor's hooves as she was distracted by her bitter anger. With one huge tug, AJ causes Zoor to lose her balance and slam to the ground hard. "How do ya like them apples?" she asks. But Applejack later regrets asking that question as Zoor shoots a glare at Applejack with her red eyes.

Zoor's horn lights up again and quickly breaks the rope and stands back up on her feet. "You inferior ponies are starting to try my patience. You have trifled with my powers for the last time. I was merely going easy on you and your pathetic friends, but now I'm going make you SUFFER!" Zoor shouts.

In the midst of her angry outburst, her dark magic surrounds her and widens gradually. Her overwhelming strength causes some of the group to be weighed down and lose their breath a bit. But her magic stops and returns to her right after Eternal Flames runs up to her, turns around and kicks her 10 feet away with his powerful hinde legs, thus being able to break her concentration.

Everyone is able to breathe again, but Zoor is now more furious than she was before. She teleports in front of Eternal and traps him in a magic stranglehold by his neck. Eternal futily squirms to break free of her grip, but to no avail and he can't even concentrate enough to perform a spell.

"ETERNAL!" Tidal Wave shouts. The aqua blue earth pony runs up to Zoor and tackles her to the ground and breaks her concentration, freeing Eternal from her grasp. Tidal Wave helps him back up on his hooves right before Zoor grabs Tidal Wave with her magic and slams him to the ground over and over and then throws him against a boulder, causing him to shout in pain before collapsing.

The entire group gasps at what she has done. But the one who was affected the most was Melodia. She had just finished breaking the spell of the dragons who were under Zoor's spell and Melodia doesn't like what Zoor has done with Tidal.

With a low growl and a small flash of her sharp teeth, Melodia steps out of the barrier while the dragons stayed inside under Melodia's orders. She slowly approaches Zoor, flaring out her wings while her pupils became more slit than before. "Alright then, your highness. Let's get something straight: You can go on your temper tantrums all you want. You can blab about being a pretend ruler for all I care. You can even go on a power-hungry rampage like the brat that you are. But when you hurt the one stallion I care about the most, you've just landed yourself into a world of pain!" Melodia says.

"You! I absorbed your magic once, I can do it again!" Zoor replies. Both mares glare at each other, each was brimming with magical energy. The group begins to think that they should move out of the way and watch as the two mares begin their epic clash.

In a blur, Melodia and Zoor take to the sky and attack each other with all their might. Being part dragon, Melodia shoots out a stream of fire at the evil alicorn. Zoor dodges and fires a magic beam, which Melodia dodges with ease and counters with some magic blasts of her own. Despite what happened with the others and how they tried to use magic to defeat her, she still insisted on using it. Zoor does not waist time and absorbs Melodia's magic, but only a portion of it while some of it injured Zoor.

Zoor returns fire with heat-seeking magic missles. Melodia soared through the skies, trying to outrun the pursuit of Zoor's attack until... Melodia teleports in front of Zoor. "W-What the?!" Zoor asks in surprised, backing away out of surprise and grits her teeth.

"For the record, that was to milk on my performance. Now how about we see if you, the so-called soon-to-be ruler of Equestria can absorb your own magic," Melodia says before teleporting at the last minute and let's Zoor absorb the blow. She shouts in pain and plummets to the ground. "Aww, too bad, and I thought you would make a fine henchwoman, or even my right hoof pony. It would seem that you can only absorb magic that's not originally your own."

And it seems like Melodia's mind tricks are working against the evil alicorn. If she plays her cards right, Zoor will be playing in the palm of her claws. 

But then, Zoor lowers her head, covering her face with her mane. Melodia thinks Zoor iss accepting defeat, but sadly for her, she's mistaken. Instead, Zoor can be heard laughing in a low. It starts off low and quiet, then quickly turns into a loud and evil cackle. Zoor's head is thrown high into the air as she laughs her evil laugh like a derranged lunatic. Once she stops, she catches her breath and looks at Melodia, her nasty grin returning to her even nastier than it was before.

"Do you actually think it's that easy? Play me like a fool to let my guard down? Sorry, but I'm not going to be taken down so easily by the likes of you!" Zoor says calmly.

"You have no say in the matter! You can take all the magic I possess in my body, you can blast me off after I have nothing more to give, and you can even insult me, I do not care! But when you slammed my stallion all over the ground and into that boulder like some rag doll, that's where I draw the line! If he so much as go into a coma, I won't hesitate to tear you to ribbons with my own 4 claws!" Melodia threatens.

"Hmm, so the so-called former dragon princess does have a weakness after all! I never expected the former princess to be so attached to a measly earth pony! You truly have gone soft!" Zoor gloats.

"Soft? Oh... I'll show you soft!" Melodia says in a deep, dark tone. In the next instant, she lights up her horns and fires her magic straight at Zoor. The evil alicorn doesn't even move an inch, she just stands there, chuckling evily and braces herself. Melodia's magic makes a direct hit, but Zoor absorbs it. Nevertheless, Melodia still keeps pressing on her assault, hoping to at least damage Zoor. But the evil alicorn is unharmed and lets out a yawn and watches in boredom as Melodia continues her useless assault.

Zoor's power begins to grow stronger by the minute. Growing more bored with Melodia's assault, Zoor covers herself in a magic aura coat and charge straight at Melodia. She knocks her back and slams her against a tree, but she kicks Zoor off of her and rises to her feet.

But Zoor is far from done with her. Just like Tidal Wave, she lifts Melodia up in the air with her magic and slams her down to the ground repeatedly like a rag doll and throws her to the boulder. She grunts and collapses next to the unconcious Tidal Wave and tries to get up. She stares at Tidal Wave's unconcious body and feels her eyes swell up with tears and hugs the earth pony.

"Forgive me... I tried," Melodia whispers into the stallion's ear. The unconcious stallion is unable to hear her, but the evil alicorn approaches her, grinning menacingly. With a little effort, she moved herself over Tidal Wave in order to use her own body as a shield to protect him.

"Aww, such a sweet moment between two helpless little FOOLS!" Zoor shouts, slamming her hoof on Melodia's back, which makes her grunt. "You were a fool to challenge me! You and your pony friends are nothing to me, even with your silly little magic trinkets! All of Equestria will be mine! And to make sure it does happen, I will completely immobilize you... for good!"

Zoor lifts up both of her forehooves while Melodia braces herself for the pain that's to come. But suddenly, the one who cried out in pain was Zoor.

"Wha-?" was the only thing that comes out of Melodia's mouth. She looks up and sees Eternal Flames standing on his front hooves as his hinde hooves slammed hard on Zoor's neck where her amulet necklace is, making the corrupt alicorn back off from her assault. "Eternal?"

"Don't just stand there, get Tidal Wave out of harm's way!" he orders. Melodia would mostly act on her own, but this time, she makes an acception and takes Eternal's friend with her.

"How dare you strike your ruler!" Zoor snaps. Her injuries aren't fatal, but she's quite raving mad that Eternal interfered with her. Eternal turns around and looks at Zoor to see if he did any damage. The only thing he can see as far as damage was done was the red jewel embedded in her silver necklace. The jewel in question seems to be letting out small sparks of magic from it.

Twilight and Sunset are curious of whether or not Eternal's actions gave them a chance to counterattack, or if he has made everything worse. One thing's for sure, though, the battle is just getting started.

Sunset Shimmer takes a calculated risk and fires off a magic blast at Zoor. Twilight gasps at what might happen, then gets caught off guard when the magic blast ultimately sends Zoor flying a couple of feet instead of being absorbed like she usually does.

"I... how did...?" Twilight asked, surprised.

"It must have been that kick Eternal delivered! I think we've got a chance now! Twilight, try to use the Elements of Harmony one last time! With a little luck, Zoor might be vulnerable to magic now!" Sunset implies. Twilight nods and gathers the girls back up for another group assault.

"No... No... NO!!! I will not be beaten by a bunch of inferior ponies!" Zoor bellows in anger.

As the Elements of Harmony now stand together, Twilight lights up her horn and feels herself, as well as her friends levitate off of the ground. Twilight locks her eyes on Zoor, who has her sights on a certain red-maned stallion for kicking the jewel on her necklace. With Zoor's rage distracting her, Twilight and her friends unleash the power of the Elements of Harmony straight at their target.
> Zoor's Last Stand
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight and her friends launch their attack at Zoor, ultimately hitting their intended target. However, Zoor makes a swift movement at the last minute before she's blown back. She lets out a yell as the Elements of Harmony not only do some damage on her, but also destroy the jewel that was embedded in her necklace, rendering her magic-absorbing powers completely useless. Now all that Zoor has to aid her is her own magic, which might turn out to be more hazardous than the group might think.

Zoor picks herself up and glares at Twilight and the others, snarling menacingly at them. "For what you have done to me, I will show you no mercy! You and your friends will never see the light of day!" Zoor says, approaching them group slowly while she coats herself in a black magical aura.

"How about you zip your lip for once in your life! It's us who should be angry at you! First, you take our friend, Spike, with that blasted song you stole from Melodia, then you turn him into a giant rampaging dragon, and now you've injured some of our friends! If you think you're above everypony else just because you grew yourself a pair of wings, then think again!" Rainbow calls out in frustration.

"You could have become a hero to your village, the ponies who looked up to you, even your old teacher, Starswirl the Bearded, but all that you cared about was becoming an alicorn!" Twilight scolds.

"Silence, I will not allow you to talk about my so-called master after what he did to me! He's nothing but a useless memory and a pathetic old fool! In fact, maybe after I finish you all off, I'll find a spell to travel back in time and destroy that old fool once and all!" Zoor says with a nasty grin. At that point, Twilight felt like her pride ha been struck when Zoor talked badly about her idol like that.

"You have no right talking about Starswirl the Bearded like that! He was an amazing unicorn who came up with so many spells for the sake of helping everypony out! For you to insult him like that, you are obviously a glutton for punishment!" Twilight says in a low tone.

"Twilight, wait! Don't lose your temper, she might use it against you!" Sunset warns. "I know how much Starswirl mean to you and I know he was a great unicorn, but you can't let insults like that get to you." As hard as she tries to convince her friend to not lose her cool, Sunset finds herself being lifted in the air by a black magical aura and is blown back.

"This does not concern you!" Zoor shouts, making Sunset land on her side, grunting in pain. "Anypony else have something to say?!"

Watching Sunset get tossed to the ground by Zoor was too much for both Twilight and Eternal to stomach, causing Eternal to growl. "Zoor must be stopped... no matter that cost," he says in a low tone. Without thinking, Eternal charges towards Zoor as he coats himself in his red magical aura. However, unlike the last time when he lost his temper, Eternal succeeds in controlling his anger, allowing him to think more clearly.

Zoor notices the young prince coming towards her and fires multiple dark magic blasts, but Eternal dodges them all, jumps up and over Zoor and lands behind her before firing his own magical shots. Zoor takes the hits, but doesn't give in and uses her wings as shields.

Once Eternal stops firing, Zoor fires a longer magic blast, but Eternal blocks it with his magic shield. But his shield cannot take too much punishment, so at the last minute, before Zoor's attack reaches him, he teleports behind her and sweeps her hooves, causing to lose her balance. Eternal tackles her and slams her against the boulder she slammed Melodia and Tidal Wave into. She shouts in pain and collapses to the ground, then looks up, annoyed at the prince and his assault. 

"One shall stand... one shall fall," Eternal says, looking down on Zoor.

"Why throw away your life so recklessly?" Zoor asks, picking herself back up.

"That's a question you shoud ask yourself, Zoor," Eternal replies.

Suddenly, Eternal's magic glows brighter, slightly inflicting fear inside of Zoor. She backs up and growls, "No, I'll crush you with my bare hooves!" although she says that, she does not just use her hooves. Zoor tackles Eternal, yet he stands his ground and latches onto the dark alicorn to keep his balance. The fight becomes too intense for some of the ponies to just watch, so Shadow Force and Rainbow Dash charge in to lend Eternal Flames a helping hoof, worried for his safety.

"Hang on, buddy!" Shadow calls out, rushing in.

"Don't leave me outta the action!" Rainbow calls out.

"Rainbow, no!" Twilight says, but Rainbow doesn't listen.

"Stay away, Shadow! That's Eternal's fight!" Spark Burst yells out, but Shadow doesn't listen either. Both him and Rainbow watch at first, noticing Eternal and Zoor pushing themselves away from each other. Eternal's magical aura still surrounds his body as he once again charges at the corrupt alicorn. But Zoor prepares for the young prince's assault this time and fired a dark magic shot at him. She manages to hit him on his left side, in which Eternal lets out a grunt of pain.

Despite the minor damage he took, Eternal continues to charge at Zoor and traps her in a headlock, their horns emitting strong magical sparks from them. Rainbow Dash and Shadow Force decide it's now or never and join Eternal in the epic clash and surprisingly overpower the alicorn, pushing her back even more, much to Zoor's annoyance and anger.

"I will not let a bunch of weakling ponies get the better of me! I am Zoor, I will be the one to make all of Equestria bow down before me!!!" she shouts. Her magic explodes and blasts everyone in sight flying back, except for Sunset who jumps in and uses her magic to form a shield in front of her. Eternal joins in and combines his magic with hers, strengthening their magic shield and press on.

"That's where you're wrong, Zoor! Equestria was never yours to rule over! You abandoned Equestria for your own selfish desire to become an alicorn and betrayed Starswirl The Bearded's trust! I once had respect for you, but now you have replaced it with pity!" Sunset calls out.

Zoor hisses at Sunset and readies another magic attack. "I could care less about your pathetic pity! You'll never be able to understand my ambitions! This world does not deserve to live peacefully, not after everything was taken from me by that senile old fool! But now that the old fool is gone, no pony in the world will ever stand in my way of becoming the true ruler of all of Equestria. Not even you!" she says.

"And to think..." Twilight says, getting up and then walks up to Zoor. "...that aside from Starswirl, you were one of my most favorite idols! I looked up to you and you betrayed us all! Eternal, I didn't want to say this, but...  go and use the Elements of Freedom to vanquish her," she says in a low tone.

"Sorry, Twilight. But Tidal Wave's still unconcious, so without him and his Element of Knowledge, we can't proceed use the Elements of Freedom! You'll have to use the Elements of Harmony in order to finish the job!" Eternal replies. Twilight only grows more agitated, which only makes her friends worry about her more. "This is no time to be arguing or letting your anger cloud your judgement!"

And thus, he makes a valid point. Twilight still feels frustrated, but she goes along with the plan, "Girls, let's finish this off for the last time!" Twilight commands.

The bearers of the Elements of Harmony all join together in front of Zoor. The evil alicorn hunches back and readies one of her magic blasts. Her horn emits black sparks of magic. Twilight and her friends combined their powers and launched a magic rainbow onto Zoor. Meanwhile, as they launch their attack, Zoor launches her own beam of magic energy. Both sides are evenly matched. 

"Melodia, please tell me Tidal's okay!" Sunset begs, keeping her eyes on the battle.

"If he were awake, I would have said something by now!" Melodia replies. The pony/dragon hybrid stayed in the sidelines, not because she's too exhausted, but because she's trying to revive Tidal Wave. The way Zoor slammed him against that boulder wasn't something she wanted to see happen to him. "Come on, you fool! Get up, your blasted friends need you! I need you!" she begs.

Melodia never begs for anything and hasn't done so in over a thousand years. Perhaps it was all because of the kindness that she was shown by Tidal Wave back when she was tossed aside by Zoor who had absorbed her powers and yet, despite her evil plans, he forgave her the most.

She doesn't realize it yet, but somehow, Melodia has grown more attached to Tidal Wave in ways she isn't used to, yet she embraces it. Perhaps to her, this is what it feels like... to love someone. She holds the unconcious, light blue earth pony in her claws and whispers in his ear. "Please wake up," and soon, her tears begin to leak out of her eyes and her body shakes. One tear falls from her face and lands on Tidal Wave's closed eye, which causes him to suddenly twitch his eye and open it.

"W-What happened?" Tidal asks, weakly.

Melodia's weeping ceases and she holds the earth pony in her arms. "Tidal, you idiot! Just what were you thinking trying a stunt like that?!" she shouts. Tidal is unable to say much due to Melodia hugging him too tight.

"C-Can't... breathe!" Tidal struggles to say. Melodia loosens her grip on the injured stallion. Tidal Wave gasps and starts to pant heavily. "Melodia, what's going on?" he asks.

"The girls are putting everything into their power to stop Zoor, but the Elements of Harmony are barely matching up with Zoor's magic by half," Melodia replies. She also mentions what transpired after Tidal Wave got knocked unconscious, even the part where she went berserk on Zoor. Though, she doesn't mention that she cried for him to wake up since he already saw her leaking tears. After Tidal gets up to speed with everything that transpired so far, he was about to enter into the battle, but Melodia stops him.

"Melodia, wha--?" he asks.

"You go out there, you'll end up getting slammed against that boulder like last time! What do you think will happen if your little stallion friends watch you lose, not just the battle, but your life as well? You think that's going to solve anything, well guess what, you're dead wrong!" she say.

"This is a war we're in! Against a one-pony army now who's got the strength of hundreds of pony soldiers, maybe even over a thousand pony soldiers! If I don't get in there right now, we all lose!" Tidal argues.

"Don't be a fool! You nearly had your skull cracked open the last time! As long as I'm kicking, you're not going anywhere and that's final! Hate me if you want, but my point still sta-" Melodia rants on, but she is stopped by Tidal Wave in a way she had not expected him to. Her lips are being silenced by his own lips for only a few seconds, but it's enough to stop her from talking him out of the fight.

"Why would I hate such a beautiful creature for caring so much for my well-being?" Tidal asks, causing the hybrid to blush out of embarrassment. Another thing she's never done in a long time.

"J-J-Just... make it back here alive or I swear I... I'll drag you back myself," she stuttered. Tidal nods and runs back into the battle and re-joins the other Elements of Freedom. But there was no time for a happy reunion, as the group of stallions assist the Elements of Harmony. First, the guys circle around Zoor close enough for their magic to reach her, yet far enough to not get caught in the blast.

"Altogether, now! No holding back!" Eternal calls out.

"Right!" the other stallions call out in unison. Concentrating all of his magic into the Elements, Eternal causes his and the other Elements of Freedom to glow with powerful magic. 6 magic beams appear out of the elements and all connect with Zoor, weaking her by just a bit. Despite being outnumbered, Zoor's determination keeps her from giving into the pain she feels from the 6 magic beams being fired at her. She bellows and puts in her remaining strength to pushing back the magic coming from Twilight and her friends.

"You've got to be kidding me! Even with the Elements of Freedom, she still won't give up?" Sunset asks herself, watching in amaze the battle that takes place before her very eyes. "Maybe another push oughta do the trick, let's hope I can help out at least a little bit."

Sunset runs a little closer towards Zoor, but keeps a safe distance from the gangs. She finds an opening and readies her magic as she takes aim at Zoor. She gives out a loud battle cry and fires her magic at Zoor, causing it to surge throughout Zoor's entire body. She screams in pain, nearly losing her grip on her concentration, but it's still not enough. Sunset doesn't give up, nor does Zoor.

"YOU PONIES HAVE BECOME A THORN IN MY SIDE FOR FAR TOO LONG! I WILL ERADICATE YOU DISGUSTING VERMIN IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO!!!!!" Zoor bellowed in a fit of anger.

Her rage somehow increased her magic, not one she's using to hold off Twilight and her friends, rather the magic she emits all around her, trying to push the Elements of Freedom back and break their attack. Eternal and a few of his comrads felt the force of Zoor's magic trying to break off their assault. They do everything they can in order to keep their hooves from being flown off the ground.

Zoor's laughter returns, only this time, her laugh becomes more psychopathical. The pressure from the magic she emits becomes almost impossible to bear for the stallions on the ground. 

But then... in their darkest hour, a ray of light shines upon them. Or in better terms, a burst of green flame from above and it lands on Zoor, cancelling out her magic wave she emitting. Hey eyes dart up in the sky and she catches the sight of a very familiar purple and green dragon. Much to her dismay, Spike has entered the battle and he's back feeling better than ever.

"YOU FOOL!!!" Zoor shouts in annoyance. But this soon becomes her undoing as her concentration breaks completely and soon feels Twilight and her friends use the Elements of Harmony, trapping Zoor in a rainbow tornado, which gives Eternal and the rest of his gang to clear the way.

Zoor's screaming and shouting echoes over the sound of the rainbow vanquishing the evil that lurks inside of her and all the others could do was watch in awe. Never in Eternal's life has he ever witnessed such power that benefits the needs of all Equestria and neither has his friends. Melodia just shrugs and gives off a blank stare, like she can do better than that.

Moments later, the screaming stops and a flash of light blinds the group for only a split second. Once their eyes adjust, they all see the evil Zoor, lying on the ground. Everyone gets in closer and sees that dark magic seeps out of her entire body in the form of black mass.

"I don't think anypony's gonna come back after getting hit by a group assault that powerful," Spike says. Of course, just after he says that, Rarity lunges at the young drake and brings him into a deep hug. "Oof!" he exclaims, spinning around, getting a little dizzy. "Hey, hey, take it easy, Rarity."

"Spike, you shouldn't be out here, it's dangerous!" Rarity says, concerned for the young drake.

"On the contrary, he's the reason your flanks are saved in the first place. If he hadn't gotten Zoor distracted with that fire of his, you'd all would have been crushed. So really, you should show some gratitude for little scaly here for sparing you from a miserable defeat," Melodia commented, keeping her cool.

"I hate to admit it, but she's right. We'd all be beaten if it wasn't for Spike's help," Eternal adds.

Though she is eternally grateful, Twilight still worries for Spike. "Spike, I'm glad you saved us. You're not still exhausted from what happened to you earlier, are you?" she asks with concern. The young hugs Twilight and the rest of the girls jump in for a group hug.

"No need to worry, Twilight. I'm in much better shape than I was before. Are you guys okay?" Spike asks.

"We're fine, thanks to you. Now that Zoor's no longer a threat, I think it's safe to let down the barrier. It's time for all of the dragons to be set free," Twilight replies. Sunset and Eternal nod and approach the dragons. Their horns light up and cause the barrier to light up and instantly disappear. The dragons all wake up from their slumber, scanning their surroundings. Their eyes lock on the ponies and they are not exactly feeling comfortable being around the gang one bit.

"Hey, what's going on, why am I here?" Dragon #1 asks.

"Why don't you ask the measily little ponies, I bet they might know," Dragon #2 implies.

"Are you trying to start something with me, Pepper Breath?" Dragon #1 asks, growling.

"Who are you calling "Pepper Breath," "Pepper Breath?" Dragon #2 asks, about to start fighting. But the two are stopped by Melodia, who grabs them by the back of their heads and bonks them on each other's heads and then breaks them both up. The two dragons growl at her, but she makes them both back off with a sinister smile and her glowing, yellow eyes.

"Now, for the record, you dragons should feel lucky that we even saved your sorry hides. If we hadn't stepped while you were in snoozeville, all of you would still be under the spell of an evil alicorn who would have used you in order to take over all of Equestria," she explains.

"And what makes you so sure of tha-" Dragon #3 steps in, but is soon cut off by the ground shaking underneath their feet, followed by the sound of loud rumbling. The dragons look in the direction of where Zoor still lies motionless, but find that the ground underneath her body has cracks. "You know what, I won't even bother with this, I'm not sticking around this place any longer!"

All the other dragons nod and spread their wings out before flying off to their home, back to the Dragon Lands, leaving the gang to fight off Zoor... one last time.

Speaking of which, the evil alicorn struggles to her hooves. Her whole body still shakes from the last attack she took from Twilight and her friends. Her eyes dart in the group's general direction and growls deeply. She mumbles Pony Latin with her gaze fixated specifically on none other than Eternal Flames himself. With her last, remaining strength, she turns into a puff of smoke and screeches as she enters Eternal, causing the young prince to shout in agonizing pain.

"What in the blasted blue blazes?!" Shadow Force exclaims.

"Eternal, NO!" Heat Blitz calls out to his older brother. Eternal stumbles to the ground, trying his hardest to fight off the evil that's invading his body. He can feel the dark magic coarsing through him. He once felt dark magic trying to enter him before back at the castle of the royal sisters, but this was far worse and much more painful than anything else. Soon, black magic coated his neck. To everyone's horror, the magic around his neck transformed into the infamous Alicorn Amulet.

A few seconds after the Alicorn Amulet wrapped around his neck, Eternal stands back up with his head hanging low and his mane covering his eyes. Everyone in the group either backs away or stands where they are, except for Heat Blitz and Sunset Shimmer, who approach Eternal slowly.

Once they were 5 feet away from him, Eternal lifts his head up, his eyes closed for only a second. But when he opens his eyes, Eternal's eyes flash from normal sapphire blue to crimson red.

"Now you will face my wrath once again! You may attack me all you want, but know this: If you strike me, your weak-minded prince will take the punishment, not me!" Eternal speaks in a distorted voice. Twilight and the other Elements of Harmony recognize how he sounds similar to Chrysalis.

"Are you sure you want to go down that road?" Shadow asks. He hides his eyes underneath his black mane and puts on a kind of creepy smile. 

"Uh-oh, this doesn't look good!" Ground Breaker says, backing away.

"What's going on, is something wrong?" Spike asks. "Why is Shadow talking like that?"

"I'll tell you why: Anytime somepony ever pushes his buttons like Zoor just did, the foal gloves come off and he goes on a complete rampage!" Hurricane Breeze says, feeling worried.

"And there's no sense in talking things out with Shadow. His anger clouds his judgement to the point where he won't even care who gets in his way! Our only option now is to get out of the line of fire," Spark Burst adds as he's backing away from his infuriated friend.

"But there has to be something we can do!" Spike says, though he is unable to come up with the right plan as his mind draws a blank.

"Why don't we just use the Elements of Harmony on Eternal? It gave Zoor a serious wallop, maybe it'll work the same on Eternal, you never know," Rainbow implies.

"We can't, Rainbow. We've used up all the magic from our last attack. The elements have to recharge. Our only hope is if maybe Shadow can bring him back." Twilight says, worrying.

"First, you steal the magic from our elements when you were brought back, then you steal my pal's entire body just to gain the upper hoof? You're even more dispicable than the crimes of what my old man committed long ago and for what you have done..." he pauses for a moment before jolting his head up. His red eyes were covered by a green magic aura with purple mist flowing out, exactly like King Sombra. Now Twilight and her friends grow worried. "I will STRIKE YOU DOWN!"

"EVERYPONY, OUT OF THE WAY, NOW!" Tidal warns.

The others do just that right before Shadow Force's begins his brutal assault. Dark crystals emerge from his shadow and make their way towards his possessed friend, who doesn't move a muscle, only gives off a sinister smile before the crystals burst into tiny shards from his magic. Without thinking straight, Shadow charges at his friend, lighting up... or in more diabolical terms... coating his horn in a dark, magical aura similarto his father's magic and wraps Eternal in a black mass, trapping him.

But, the harsh red light coming from the magic at the tip of Eternal's horn slowly vanquishes the dark magic that tried to trap him and sends Shadow flying backwards with a burst of his magic.

And before he is able to hit the ground, Eternal teleported behind Shadow and slammed his hinde legs against Shadow's back, causing him to arche back and then hits the floor. Eternal flashes a nasty grin, his eyes flashing red and blue as if he's trying to gain control over himself. Unfortunately, Shadow's rage, along with his dark magic clouds his judgement as he charges in for another assault. Eternal fires at Shadow with a few of his magic blasts, but Shadow evades them, teleporting from left to right, successfully dodging them.

"That's it! I'm not just gonna stand here and watch them end up killing each other! I'm putting a stop to this once and for all whether you girls want to or not!" Sunset exclaims, growing a bit frustrated.

"No, Sunset! It's dangerous! It's one thing for the guys to try and stop Shadow from going on a rampage, but it's another when you're trying to stop two of the most powerful unicorns we knew back in the Freedom Village, plus what if you end up getting hurt?" Heat Blitz tries to warn.

"I have to at least try!" Sunset insists. The sunny unicorn runs up to the two brawling stallions and fixates her sights on the possessed one with the Alicorn Amulet. At the moment Shadow Force rams him and sends Eternal flying backwards, Sunset tackles Eternal to the ground.

"STAY OUT OF THIS!!!" Shadow's voice echoes. His horn becomes coated in a dark purple magical aura and almost fires off a beam of magic at Sunset. However, Spike's quick reflexes cause him to speed up in front of the blast, using a highly effective cross-arm block while using his wings to shield Sunset from the blast. He takes a deep breath and shoots a large stream of green fire at Shadow to hold him off.

"Oh no, Spike!" Rarity exclaims.

"Come on, girls! We can't let Sunset fight this battle on her own!" Twilight exclaims, but she doesn't know how she and the girls can help. But then... "Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, you girls aid Spike and help him calm down Shadow Force while Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and I help Sunset with Eternal! Now hurry, the sooner we calm down them both down, the sooner we can be rid of Zoor once and for all!"

"You got it, Twi!" AJ agreed.

"No problem, Spike's in good hooves!" Rainbow adds.

"Hold on, Spike! Help is on the way!" Rarity exclaims just as she rushes into the battle. Rainbow Dash and Applejack follow her close by and approach Shadow as swiftly as possible.

Due to Shadow unable to defend himself from other attacks, Rainbow Dash soars down from above then tackles him out of the line of fire, breaking his concentration. Spike pants heavily, barely standing. Rarity runs up to the young drake, obviously concerned about him.

"You're not hurt, are you?" Rarity asks.

"Just a little exhausted from all those flames I shot out to keep Shadow at bay, but I'm fine," Spike reassures the fashionista with a smile. Rarity sighs in relief and the two swiftly rush to help Rainbow and AJ with Shadow.

"Hey, mind givin' a gal a helpin' hoof over here!" AJ calls out. The apple farmer had tied up Shadow with her rope and is struggling to keep him from breaking free.

As he struggles to gain back control, his eyes set on the mares as well as Spike. His menacing grin and twitching eyes don't bode well for the four friends, or any of the other ponies, excluding Melodia.

Speaking of which, the pony/dragon hybrid joins in on the "fun." As she starts circling over the young stallion, Shadow looks up, still twitching his eyes. Shadow feels provoked and so his horn glows dark purple, unleashing dark crystals from underneath his shadow and up towards Melodia.

Melodia chuckles in amusement in his futile attempt to trap her in the dark crystals, but she breaks out with a magic spell that explodes in a flash of bright light, sending him flying away from her. Shadow's body rolls around the grass until coming to a halt in a patch of dirt. Melodia remains in the air, checking the back of her claws, yawning from the immense boredum she felt.

"Shadow, you are hopeless. You need to keep your head together or you'll end up just like that useless dad of yours and you don't want that, right?" Melodia asks, unamused.

His temper was no longer in effect, but his head is still spinning. "Huh? Silly princess, dark magic is for losers, and Shadow Force is WINNER!" Shadow says, still dizzy before he slumps down, knocked out. Melodia shakes her head from his stupidity and floats down.

"Moron," Melodia groans. 

With Shadow no longer under the control of his own dark magic, the other stallions look after him while the girls go and help Twilight, Pinkie and Fluttershy with their possessed friend, Eternal. The situation seems grim as Eternal struggles to lift Sunset off of him, despite having intense strength. But thanks hers and Twilight's skills in advanced magic, they combined their magic to bind him by the limbs onto the ground and it seems their group effort proves to be very effective.

"YOU'LL NEVER GET RID OF ME YOU PATHETIC PONIES! YOUR FRIEND IS DOOMED," the possessed Eternal shouts in his distorted voice.

"I beg to differ, Zoor. I happen to know of a way to banish you from Eternal's mind and I'm gonna make sure you don't harm anyone else in the process. Now sit back, relax and enjoy your permanant exile," Twilight argues back with a confident and determined smirk. "Sunset, look directly into Eternal's eyes and whatever you do, don't take your mind off of him."

"Huh? What are you planning, Twilight?" Sunset asks.

"I'm going to use a spell that'll transfer you inside of Eternal's mind. If it works, it'll be easier to rescue him, but keep in mind that you have to keep your mind focused on him, otherwise, the spell won't work. I know this is asking a lot from you, but really need your help," Twilight explains.

"Twilight, isn't that dangerous?" Fluttershy asks.

"Why don't you just send all of us into his mind, that way we can get him out no problem," Pinkie says.

"True, but the mind transfer spell can only transfer one pony into another pony's mind at a time," Twilight shakes her head, explaining to Pinkie.

"It's fine, I can get him out of there myself," Sunset says, determined. "I'm not gonna sit around and do nothing while I let Zoor have her way." Sunset moves a bit and stares directly at Eternal. The possessed prince growls and glares daggers at Sunset, yet she remains unfazed by his intimidation. Twilight lights up her horn, concentrating all of her magic and aims it at the two ponies staring at each other. Sunset keeps her mind focused on Eternal, who lets out a battle cry before he and Sunset both pass out.

"W-What happened?" Rarity asks, worried.

"Sunset's inside of Eternal's mind. It's all up to her now," Twilight says, watching as the two ponies lay there, neither of them moving even a single muscle. The area around them has now grown quiet, but the real battle has just begun from within.
> The Element of Forgiveness
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunset's eyes adjust slightly as she tries to regain her sight. Once she can see clearly, she nearly panics when she realizes that she's standing on water. But there's something strange about the water, like something doesn't seem right about it. In fact, nothing seems right with what's going on in Eternal's mind. Everything around her is nothing more than an endless dark abyss from which no one can escape. But the worst has yet to come when she notices Eternal Flames lying on the surface of the water.

"Eternal!" Sunset calls out. She runs towards the motionless stallion and stops in front of him to check and see if he's alright or not. Thankfully, he's still kicking. "Eternal, you have to get up and fight back! You can't let Zoor take over your mind and body so easily!"

"How... can I?" Eternal asks, struggling to get up. "I tried my hardest to fight her off, but even at my strongest point, I still couldn't match up against her," Eternal's legs begin to wobble and nearly stumbles onto the water, but Sunset catches him and helps him stand up properly. "Thank you. But how am I going to stop Zoor if she's already got complete control of my mind and body?"

"I think the real problem is that fact that you try to fight these battles on your own. That’s probably one of the flaws that lead to Zoor taking over your mind. You feel like the fate of the entire world is in your hooves and your hooves alone when it's really not," Sunset explains.

Somehow, Sunset figured it out. Eternal's expression changes the moment she says that. "I only meant to follow my code of what it means to be a prince. And that is to protect the ponies and the land I hold dear to me, including my family, yet I failed to even save myself from being captured. You're right, Sunset, I've been trying to get rid of Zoor on my own because I thought it was my duty alone to stop her, but all I've really done is jeopardize all of Equestria because of my arrogance," Eternal says.

The once proud prince groveled in misery, slamming his hooves onto the surface of the water. Eternal's frustration begins to sink in, but Sunset stops him before he had the chance to sink into a deep depression.

"Eternal, this is no time to be beating yourself up! Don't you see, this is exactly what Zoor wants you to do: make you feel weak and helpless. If she wins, you might not be able to come back to your friends! Is this really the choice you want to make after everything you've done for your friends?! You're a better pony than this, so pick yourself up off the ground show Zoor how strong you really are!"

Suddenly, Sunset hears an evil chuckle and gets sent flying 10 feet away from Eternal. "Don't flatter yourself, my little pony, this buffoon will never be able to overpower me. Face it, he's given up and there's nothing he nor you can do anything to stop me," Zoor says, as she is appearing out of the black mass that erupts from the surface of the water underneath.

Her gloating frustrates Sunset and prepares herself to launch an attack. "Gloat all you want, but I'm gonna make sure you never enter his mind and body ever again. But first, I want to know: Our of all our friends, why did you choose to possess Eternal Flames? Tell me!" Sunset orders. Zoor stands very close to Eternal Flames who still blames himself for not being able to protect Equestria like a real prince would.

"Hmph, fine. Since you're so high strung in finding out, here it is: The benefits I have of possessing other ponies is that I can probe their minds for a weak spot. And this fool's was so obvious, it gave me the perfect opportunity I needed to take control over him," Zoor explains. "To think that he holds a high amount of love and respect for his grandfather. Pathetic if you ask me."

Sunset now feels fumed when she spouted that out. "You cold-hearted witch! What in Celestia's name did you say to him about his grandfather?!" Sunset was ready to blow her top off, but she knows it won't solve anything unless she gets the full truth from her seemingly unstoppable foe. Zoor merely laughs in amusement, thinking that Sunset alone can stop her. Zoor keeps her smug grin and approaches Sunset while she explains exactly what she said earlier that made Eternal mad at himself for his "failure."

"You would be in the same position as he is if you were told how your own grandfather is looking down at you from up in the heavens... disappointed," Zoor gloats.

Just hearing Zoor boast about it makes Sunset want to explode on her, but she knows she doesn't stand a chance against Zoor all by herself. But luckily, she doesn't have to just glare at Zoor. "You mean like how the great Starswirl the Bearded's looking down at you, disappointed? But now that I think about it, if anypony's to be ashamed of you, it should be you. What was the point of actually becoming an alicorn if all it was gonna do was consume you through the dark magic?" Sunset asks.

Now it is Zoor's turn to glare. “I’ve said this before and I will say it for the last time: Never… EVER… mention the name of the decrepit old fool in front of me ever again! All he ever did was hold me back from the true power that should have been rightfully mine and no pony else!” she shouts.



“That’s not true power! You’re being controlled by the dark magic in your heart! If you knew what was actually good for you, you’d have stayed away from that particular spell and be happy with what you had before!” Sunset argues.

“SILENCE!!! NO PONY TALKS TO ME LIKE THAT! NO PONY!!!!!” Zoor shouts and in a fit of rage, she takes her anger out on the stallion she broke down earlier. She aims her magic at Eternal Flames, charges up her horn and shoots magic directly at him, but Sunset wouldn’t let that happen. In an attempt to save him, she teleports in front of Eternal and blocks Zoor’s attack using a magic shield.

“Come on, Eternal! You gotta get up…!” Sunset grunts. Eternal only catches a glimpse of Sunset as she still tries to hold off Zoor’s attack. But she can barely keep the shield up for who knows how long. 

“Why? I’m a failure as both the Element of Courage… and as a prince,” he says, looking back down in shame. “You heard what she said about my grandfather and I wouldn’t put past the fact that it might be true.”

“That’s not true! I overheard you talking about your grandfather and how he was a great leader of your village! If he saw that his own grandson was suffering, he’d want to do everything in his power to help you stand right back up on your hooves! You loved him and he loved you! He still loves you! You have to dig deep inside yourself and ask if he’s really disappointed in you for… becoming a true hero!” Sunset exclaims.

Eternal’s eyes widen as he remembers the memories of his grandfather when he was just a young colt. 




*Flashback to 12 years ago*


The sun was shining brightly over the mountains in the faroff distance from the Freedom Village and looking out from atop a hill in the valley, a young Eternal Flames stood next to an elder unicorn stallion who had crimson red fur with an orange mane and tail. His cutie mark resembled a fireball shooting downwards and had sapphire eyes.

As the two stood on top of the hill, the young colt looked up at the elder unicorn next to him with curiosity.

“Grandpa?” the young colt said, getting his attention.

“Yes, what is it?” the elder asked.

“If my big brother, Blue Blaze is gonna take over as king of the village one day, then where exactly does that leave me and Heat Blitz?” he asked.

“Hmm, that’s a good question,” he responded, stroking his chin. “In my honest opinion, the best thing I can tell you is this: This world is a whole lot bigger than you think. There’s more to life than what goes on in the village and the valley. One day, if you decide to do so, you and your friends will get to experience the wonders of the many great things life has to offer. Though, it’s a little too soon for you. But just remember this: no matter what you do, no matter how hard it becomes, just remember that I’m always going to stand by your side, both in body… and spirit.”

Eternal smiled at his grandfather and nodded before giving him a big hug.

“Thank you, grandpa,” he said.

“You’re welcome, Eternal. You and your brothers have always made me so very proud from the day that all of you were born… always,” his voice echoed as the memory fades to white.





As Eternal regains his confidence, he looks up and notices the shield cracking up, almost about to break anytime now. Sunset’s concentration is barely hanging by a thread as it is. He turns his attention over to Zoor, who’s ready to turn up the heat by adding more power to her attack.

“Say goodbye, my little pony!” Zoor shouts. At that moment, Eternal’s adrenaline kicks in and he teleports directly above Zoor, then slams his hind hooves on her back. She screams in pain and loses concentration. Sunset starts panting heavily, finally able to let the shield disappear.

Eternal runs back to Sunset and helps her regain her balance. “You were right, Sunset. You were right all along, my grandfather was never disappointed in me and he never will be. I let that tyrant mess with my head and almost allowed her to win over me. And I hope you can forgive this sorry excuse for a--” he says before Sunset cuts him off.

“No doubting yourself! We all make mistakes, but it’s up to us to make up for them and keep moving forward. Now stand up like a true prince and let’s finish off Zoor!” Sunset says, encouraging Eternal.

He nods and prepares himself as does Sunset. Zoor, on the other hoof is getting back up and she is not looking too pleased with the two unicorns.

“I will wipe you both off the face of the earth! No… I’ll wipe you both out of existence!” Zoor threatens.

“Save it, Zoor! You’re down to your last remaining strength and we’re going to take you down, even if we have to go past our own limits to do it,” Sunset replies. The evil alicorn doesn’t seem to be fazed by what she said and just laughs it off.

“You struggled so much to take me down when you attacked me in groups. Now, all of a sudden, you think you can beat me with just the two of you. Hah, not in a million years, but if you insist, then I’ll be more than happy to take you both down and destroy you myself,” the corrupted alicorn says, hunching back.

The three ponies stare each other down for a solid 10 seconds before Eternal and Sunset charge straight at Zoor in a zig-zag pattern, focusing and channeling their magic and then shoot at Zoor. She blocked with her wings and flies up high then fires out two heat-seeking magic bullets. Sunset and Eternal block the attack by putting up shields, which break from the moment of impact.

The two unicorns get sent flying a few feet away from each other. Zoor flies down at blazing speed and flies towards Sunset. She’s unguarded and is about to get grabbed when suddenly, Eternal teleports in between Sunset and Zoor, then grabs the alicorn’s horn using his teeth. He spins her in a circle and throws her out of range then fires off another magic shot. Zoor gets sent flying back even further.

Eternal helps Sunset back on her hooves and the two run towards Zoor. The alicorn is picking herself up and then teleports out of sight. Eternal and Sunset try to look for her and see where she’s hiding. They’re caught off-guard as Zoor appears behind Sunset, then traps her in a magic stranglehold, electrifying her. Eternal goes in to try and save her, but Zoor sends him flying with a magic sonic wave.

In order to keep him away from Sunset, Zoor conjures up more of her magic and creates a clone of herself. Eternal knows he has to act fast.

“HANG IN THERE, SUNSET! I’M COMING!” he shouts.

He rushes over to her, but the cloned Zoor puts up a deflector shield, sending him flying back a few inches. She does it again and again and again, not giving him a chance to advance towards Sunset. She struggles to break free, but Zoor’s hold on her remains strong and doesn’t seem to be stopping.

Soon, Eternal’s rage begins to build up and lets out a battlecry. His magic intensifies and it sends Zoor’s clone flying several feet away. But something seemed strange with his magic. What peeks his curiosity is his surroundings. On the ground he can see burning flames and on his horn, it was on fire, but it didn’t seem to hurt him, not in the slightest bit. That’s when he realized what he has done.

It has taken him so long to achieve this goal, but it’s finally happened. Eternal Flames can now control fire magic, just like his mother, father and his older brother. And now he is going to put it to good use.

He runs forwards but is confronted by Zoor’s clone again, but he turns the tables on her and then shoots three magic fireballs at her. He keeps firing more at her until he’s close enough to jump up and land a solid blow right on Zoor's face using his forehoof. She loses her concentration and Sunset is free, but the fiery unicorn mare is still feeling the pain. Eternal summons an even bigger magic fireball and blasts Zoor with it, knocking her far away from Eternal and Sunset.

Eternal rushes to Sunset and helps her up. “Don’t you give up on me now!” he says. Sunset nods and follows Eternal close behind as they chase after Zoor. The corrupted alicorn stands herself up, but she doesn’t react fast enough to knock both unicorns away from her. Eternal rushes behind Zoor, turns around and then blasts her with a stream of magic flames from his horn.

Zoor lets out a scream of agony while Sunset shoots magical bullets at Zoor and sends the alicorn flying a few feet off the ground and is about to com crashing down. Zoor flaps her wings and zooms far enough away from Sunset and Eternal. Her horn becomes shrouded in dark magic, she growls in a predatorial manner. Eternal and Sunset are unsure of what Zoor has up her sleeve for them for a comeback. They soon regret their decision on waiting when their entire surrounding is covered in pitch black darkness.

To make things more difficult, the darkness around them begins to light up with dark magic bullets, ready to fire at any time. With nowhere to run or hide, Sunset and Eternal resort to the next best thing.

“Now… BEGONE!!!” Zoor shouts. 

And soon, from every direction, the dark magic bullets start hurling at the two unicorns, but they manage to protect themselves using their combined magic to form a shield that was strong enough to resist the attacks thrown at the dark magic bullets. Zoor’s attack is still going strong while Sunset and Eternal try their hardest keep up their defenses. However, due to the damage Sunset has taken from that magic stranglehold, she can barely keep her shield up as it is.

The attack doesn't seem to stop and it seems as though Zoor has no intention of stopping. Just as Sunset is about to reach her limits, Zoor's attack finally comes to an end and the shield breaks. Sunset and Eternal are both feeling exhausted, but don't have time for breaks. Zoor's next move a simple force of magic to knock Sunset back, making Eternal gasp. He turns around to see if Sunset is alright. That was a big mistake. He is then levitated into the air and Zoor is about to unleash another attack.

"Bye bye, your highness," she provokes. But she makes the mistake of letting her guard down when Sunset makes a hasty decision and delivers two heavy blows to Zoor's face. Sunset grabs Eternal using her forehooves and uses her back as a shield just as Zoor delivers a kick from her hind leg.

Sunset feels the sting from that kick and grunts in pain. Eternal moves in front of Zoor, lights up his horn and slams her with a full-body tackle and a relentless barrage of punches and then an upwards kick. Eternal runs over to Sunset and helps her back up. Her legs are shaking and her whole body is completely rattled after all those punishments she took.

"Sunset, we have to finish her off once and for all! Quick, give me your hoof!" Eternal holds out his hoof as says that, and even though she wants to do this, Sunset is too worn out.

"I... I can't. My magic is too weak, I can't even perform a levitation spell," she says, barely able to stand, but Eternal connects his horn with hers via the tip. Sunset then feels half of his remaining magic transfer to her, giving her just enough strength for one last blow. "E-Eternal... you..."

Eternal doesn't say a word, but does give her a nod. She nods back and connects her horn with Eternal's, both are getting ready to launch their attacks.

Their horns glow and a surge of magical energy coarses through their bodies. Zoor can see what's happening and feels threatened by what they're about to unleash. With all her speed, she rushes at the two unicorns and readies an attack of her own. Though she does rush in, she isn't quick enough to dodge as Sunset and Eternal a golden magical beam of light straight at her. Zoor screams out in agony as the attack not only weakens her, but also drains her of her dark magic.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!" she shouts as she collapses after the beam of light fades away. Now, Eternal and Sunset have no magic left to use. Eternal and Sunset walk over to check on Zoor. She's alive, barely breathing and the darkness around her body begins to flow up and out of her.

The darkness evaporates as soon as it reaches way above the two unicorns' heads. Eternal lifts up one of his hooves and glares down at the fallen alicorn. "I'll make sure you don't suffer anymore. Close your eyes and clench your teeth while I finish you off," Eternal says.

"N...No... please! I... I beg of you! H-H-Have mercy!" Zoor pleads.

"You... who are without mercy... now beg for it? I thought you were made of sterner stuff," Eternal says, feeling disappointed while glaring more intensely at Zoor. Eternal proceeds to slam his forehoof on Zoor, but Sunset stops him by getting in front and grabs him by the shoulders. "Sunset, what are you...?"

"It's over! She's had enough! Zoor has no more strength to fight on. We've done what we needed to do, there's no point in killing Zoor," Sunset says.

"After what she's done to our friends and almost all of the creatures in the world?! What reason does she even have to live after all the torment and pain she's caused others?" Eternal asks.

"Ask yourself this, Eternal: Are you a noble prince who fights for justice or are you a murderer? The choice is up to you, so choose wisely," she replies, looking him deep in the eyes.

Eternal widens his eyes and backs away for a few seconds and then walks back up to Sunset. "I won't betray myself or the ponies I vow to protect. You're right, I'm not a killer, I'm a prince. Even though I don't like being referred to as one, it's still a part of who I really am," he stands down. Now that he's calmed down, Sunset smiles and looks at the defeated alicorn and leans down to her.

"Now, there's something I want to know..." Sunset says. Zoor nods in response. "Was it really worth giving up your sanity and title as one of the founders of Equestria, Clover the Clever?" 

Zoor, or in this case, Clover the Clever is filled with sadness and regret, rather than regret. "No... the truth is... all I ever wanted was for my master, Starswirl to finally acknowledge that I was growing, not just in magic, but as a unicorn, too. I guess I really disappointed him big time when he found out about what I had done to myself and probably still hates me even after all these years," Clover says.

"Is that all you wanted? Starswirl's admiration?" Sunset asks.

"That's only half the story. Back then... I had a little sister who was sick and needed treatment right away, but we didn't even have the right medicine you probably have today. She was dying and... I was getting desperate, so I had to resort to giving up everything I ever worked for by chanting that spell. I saved my sister, but... I never got to see her grow up into a young mare or attend her funeral. I just... I didn't know what else to do once I regained my body, thanks to your hybrid friend," Clover says.

Sunset can see the pain in her eyes and in her heart. She sits down and lifts up Clover by the head. "I understand now, why you resorted to such a dangerous spell. Believe me, I went through a similar experience just like you a couple of years ago," she says.

Eternal listens in on how Sunset actually tried to take over not just a school, but also Equestria, had it not been for Twilight and her friends pulling her out of the darkness. In reality, even though she wanted to have all the Equestrian magic to herself, she was actually lonely and felt isolated and tried masking it with her lust for power and greed. 

In that moment, Zoor's once menacing red eyes fade away and become a bright lavender color. Tears fall from her eyes and run down her face as she hugs Sunset tightly, apologizing left and right.

"It's okay... I forgive you," Sunset whispers. Just then, Clover's body is wrapped up in a warm light and a beautiful white stairway is shown behind her. She turns around, Eternal and Sunset look up, however, they don't see what Clover sees. What Zoor sees next makes her gasp. At the top of the stairway was a young unicorn mare who had the same eye color as her, minty green mane and a light gray fur coat.

And right next to her is a grey unicorn stallion with a long white, swirly beard and had on a blue cloak and wizard's hat, both clothings were decorated with yellow moons and stars.

"I guess even I was wrong at some point. Forgive me for my ignorance, Clover. Please, come back to us so that we can finally patch things up," the eldest unicorn says.

"Clover, I want you to know that I appreciate what you did for me centuries ago. Are you ready to finally come home to your little sister?" the young mare asked.

Clover's eyes fill to the brim with tears of joy. She picks herself up off the ground and walks up the stair case, but to Sunset and Eternal, it looks like she's floating and disappearing. Before she's completely gone, she looks over at Sunset with a warm smile. "Thank you... for setting me free," she says. Finally, Clover completely disappears from Sunset's and Eternal's view and reunites herself with her master and little sister.

At long last, the terror known as Zoor is no more. The battle is won and Equestria is safe once more. Now that they've done their job, Sunset looks over at Eternal with a warm smile and tears running down her eyes while Eternal nods with a warm smile of his own.

With nothing left to say, the two unicorns conjure up their tiny bit of magic and exit out of Eternal's mind in a bright and glowing white light. 





Outside of Eternal's mind, the young prince and Sunset still haven't opened their eyes. Twilight and her friends only hope that Sunset has succeeded in her battle with Zoor. 

"Twilight? Do you think they're gonna be okay?" Fluttershy asks.

"I... I don't know, Fluttershy," Twilight replies.

"They have to... They just gotta be okay," Heat Blitz says, extremely worried about his brother. "I just can't even bare the thought about losing him!" Heat Blitz feels his whole body shaking. Twilight goes to comfort him, hugging him with her wings and her hoof.

As much as she wants to tell him he'll be okay, she just isn't sure if that's the case.

"Hey, everypony! Look at this!" Pinkie says. Everyone in the group looks at what Pinkie is seeing. The Alicorn Amulet shakes violently and soon, the entire amulet begins to light up in a bright white glow and soon, it levitates itself away from Eternal's neck and up in the air. The group is blinded slightly, but they begin to see movement from the two unconcious unicorns. Sure enough, Sunset and Eternal open up their eyes and pick themselves up, rubbing their heads and groaning.

Heat Blitz and Twilight gasped. 

"ETERNAL!!!" Heat Blitz shouts.

"SUNSET!!!" Twilight shouts.

Sunset gets group hugged by the girls while Eternal gets dog-piled by his group of buddies. He grunts as each stallion pile on top of him, ranting on about how he's finally back. Eternal struggles to get back on his hooves, but the battle left him too exhausted to even get just one of them off of him. Eventually, everyone allowed their two unicorn friends to catch some air and turn their attention to the still-glowing amulet.

The group watch in awe as the silhouette of the amulet slowly disappears into the bright light while taking on a different shape at the same time.  None of them know exactly what's going on, but one thing was for certain, Sunset feels something strong, like the light was drawing her towards it.

Naturally, the girls take notice of Sunset's actions and try to stop her. "Sunset, stop!" Twilight shouts, but Sunset doesn't listen to them and she keeps moving towards the light. Once she's close enough to the light, its rays blind everyone, as well as Sunset. Yet for some reason, she still makes an effort to see what's going on and it was a good thing she did. As the light faded, she notices that the Alicorn Amulet has taken on the form of a golden crown with her cutie mark embedded on it.

Sunset gasps and watches it float towards her. She blinks in surprise and looks at the others. She feels confused over how and why the amulet changed into a crown.

"Ah'm Ah the only one goin' crazy here, or did the Alicorn Amulet turn into a crown?" AJ points out. "Ah thought there was only 6 Elements o' Harmony? Or is it one o' the Elements o' Freedom?" Applejack brings up a valid point, but even the guys never heard of a 7th Element of Freedom. Everyone seemed puzzled and confused, all except for their hybrid friend.

"I know exactly what it is," Melodia says. "That crown she's holding right now is actually the Element that links both the Elements of Harmony and Freedom together. Some ponies only thought it was just a waste of time going on a wild goose chase or a make-believe fairy tale. To put it simply so you no-nothings can understand, that crown right there... is known the Element of Forgiveness."

Everyone put on their own surprised expressions finding out about this amazing new element and that it was the perfect element that best describes Sunset's forgiving personality. However, "I... I don't know, everypony, I'm not so sure if I really deserve this crown to begin with. Are we even sure this crown even belongs to me and not to somepony else?" she asked. In that moment, the memories of her jaded past came flooding inside her mind like a bad omen, making her shiver. All the pain and torment she caused others, just because her former teacher, Princess Celestia wouldn't turn her into a princess.

Just then, she feels a hoof being placed on her shoulder. She looks to see who it is and it's of course Eternal Flames, like he was giving her some confidence.

"Sunset, listen to me very carefully. Our elements chose us for a reason and yours is no different. You were chosen to be the sole bearer of the Element of Forgiveness because of what you did for Clover. You found it in your heart to forgive her as I could not. It was because of you that you set her soul free from the darkness that lurked within her damaged heart. Had it not been for your heroic actions, she might not have been so lucky and to be honest, I'm glad that it was you who made the right choice. So embrace your new element and hold your head up high because even if you don't think it, you've always been and always will be... one of us."

And in those words of encouragement, Sunset's eyes light up with confidence and a sense of peace, just as Eternal has made it clearly, this was her Element. And whether it was before or after receiving she always has been and always will be a part of the group.

So, with great pride and joy, she lifts the crown up and places it atop her head. In that moment, the crown begins to light up with Equestrian magic so powerful, she didn't know what to think of it. Surely, she feels her exhaustion and injuries begin to fade away. A beam of light shoots out from the crown and connects with the Elements of Harmony and Freedom before a bright light blinds everyone. They slowly regain their eyesight after the light disappears and the skies become clear again.

"Whoa, what just happened?" Spike asks.

"I have no idea, but it feels like my body's fully recovered. Is that even possible?" Eternal asks.

"Maybe that's one of the special abilities of the Element of Forgiveness," Heat Blitz says.

"That might be true, but before we start second guessing ourselves, I think it'd be best if we return to Canterlot and report to the princess about our successful mission," Tidal Wave implies.

"Good idea, Tidal. But first, we've got to return our elements to the Tree of Harmony," Rarity says. "After what happened last time when those vines nearly destroyed the tree..."

"That's also true. Come on, everypony. Follow me and let's head back," Twilight commanded. Everyone nodded, except for Melodia, who rolled her eyes and just flew on ahead of them at blazing speed, definitely planning on spreading the word to the princesses and Blaze Burn. 

Now that the terror known as Zoor has not only been vanquished, but the lost soul known as Clover the Clever has finally been set free.

Having finally been reunited with her little sister and her former master, she can now happily look down at the kingdom of Equestria she and her other companions founded over a thousand years ago. And the future is only about to get even better for the group of friends once they finally reach Canterlot.
> Home Sweet Home
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After a long walk and a bit of chattery was exchanged between the group, Twilight and her friends make it back to the Tree of Harmony and safely put the Elements of Harmony back where they belong. Though, their strengths were replenished thanks to Sunset's new element, everyone still feels exhausted after that long battle and feel like they all need some relaxing, well-deserved rest. However, they know they have to report to Celestia, Luna and Blaze Burn about their successful mission in specific detail.

So, everyone exits the caverns and walk down the path in the Everfree Forest. Not one pony says a word and can everyone can feel the excitement and relief around them. Not only that, but a strong bond between two individuals makes itself known as they walk closely together, side-by-side. 

That bond is none other than the one Spike and Rarity feel for each other right now. The girls all notice their two friends and can't stop thinking how the impossible became possible. And all it took for the fashionista and the honorable dragon to be close to each other was all thanks to the harsh words of Melodia. It hurt that Rarity got snapped at by her when she tried to snap Spike out of his trance earlier, but she knew it would happen eventually and she was thankful for that. Ignoring his feelings was probably the worst mistake she ever made and it's one she'll never make again for as long as she lives.

Eventually, everyone reaches the exit of the forest and make it back to Ponyville. "Alright, everypony, it's obvious that it's going to be too much of a hassle to buy more tickets, so I say we head back to my castle and rest up while I write a letter to Princess Celestia," Twilight says.

"For once, I agree with you there. My wings are killing me and I'm just about ready to hit the sack. By the way, you guys were pretty awesome out there!" Rainbow comments at the guys. "If I had known you guys had mad skills like those, we would have put you on our team years ago!" After she praised them, she turns her attention to Spark Burst and asks him a question he hasn't heard in a while. "So, Sparky, have you thought about wanting to join the Wonderbolts Academy?"

The blonde, spikey-maned pegasus strokes his chin, thinking it over. It's very rare that he's ever been invited into any sort of academy in his life. But after a lot of time and consideration he gives his answer. "I suppose I could give it a try, see what kind of program they have to offer," Spark nods.

"YES!!! Wait until Spitfire hears about this, she is gonna FLIP!" Rainbow says. As she's about to fly up high and perform a loop-de-loop, her wings cramp. "OOF!" she exclaims as she falls down. "Ow... but first, I think we should head back over to Twilight's and rest up." Rainbow gets up and reaches over to massage her cramped wing as she follows everyone else. She can barely contain her excitement and can hardly wait for Spark Burst to show how well he can fly Wonderbolt style.





Everyone finally reaches Twilight's castle and walk inside. Twilight shows everyone to the guest rooms while she goes into her room with Spike following her. She takes out a piece of paper, a quill and some ink and gives it to her #1 assistant.

"Spike, take a note," Twilight says, slightly exhausted. Spike nods and writes down every word she says, "Dear Princess Celestia, I have some very good new for you. As of now, the evil alicorn known as Zoor is no more, Equestria has been saved once again. However, after we defeated the dark alicorn, we soon came across an object that none of us have ever seen before, let alone even knew it actually existed. According to Melodia, what we now have is a new element that connects the Elements of Harmony and Freedom together, which is known as the Element of Forgiveness, and it belongs to Sunset. If you ever get the chance, feel free to stop on by my castle so we can discuss more about this rare finding. Signed, Princess Twilight Sparkle," she says.

"P.S The fight became a little more dangerous when Zoor took over Eternal's mind and used him to try and hurt his friends and potentially try to hurt himself. too. We have Sunset to thank for saving his life, along with everypony else's, so now we'll be at my castle awaiting your arrival." she adds.

After writing down the last word, Spike rolls up the paper, ties it up and then breathes his fire on it, sending it to Princess Celestia in a puff of light purple magic smoke. "Okay, it's done. Is there anything else you need me to do before I rest up?" Spike asks.

"No, but there's... a couple of things I want to talk to you about," Twilight says. Spike seems unsure of what Twilight has to say to him. He doesn't see any problems with it, so he accepts. She and him sit down on the edge of her bed and then get on with their talk. "Spike... do you think I'm a bad sister?"

Spike tilts his head, confused. "Why would you ask that?" he asked.

"Because I feel like I've really let you down. For instance... do you remember the time when it was my birthday and we all went to Canterlot to celebrate it, but you didn't show up?" Twilight asks.

"Yeah, I remember. I was pretty bummed out that I didn't get to go. But it was mostly my fault for oversleeping, so I had nothing better to do other than sweep up the library," Spike confirms.

Twilight's heart felt like just got jabbed when she heard him say that. "I'm sorry, Spike. I... it was all my fault, I was in so much of a hurry that I failed to realize that I left you out of all the fun. You have every right to be mad at me for that," she says, looking down, sad. A couple of tears fall from her eyes and hit the floor, but Spike stops her from shedding even more tears and turns her to face him.

"Listen, Twi. We all mess up, I get it. But you shouldn't beat yourself up over one birthday party I missed since I got to go to your other parties," Spike says, patting her on the back. But it doesn't help. Twilight tries to hold it back, but failed and starts sobbing in her hooves.

"You don't understand, Spike! It's not just my birthday that I messed up in! There was also the time back when I brought Owlolicious in, you got so jealous and thought he was taking your place and I didn't sit you down and talk to you about it! I was so oblivious of your pain that I scolded you and almost got you killed! Or that time when you were asleep on that little iceberg and I just laughed and waited for the ice to melt so I could fish you out, or even the times when we left you out of that bakery competition or meeting Maud Pie! And then there was the Grand Galloping Gala, which I still hated myself for ditching you like that! All those adventures and all those mistakes I made that I can NEVER undo!" she sobs.

Spike became surprised to hear what Twilight said. Even though he still feels bummed out about not being able to travel with her friends all the time, he doesn't get angry. Instead, what does is pull Twilight in for a warm hug and patting her gently on her back.

"Twilight, I will admit, I was disappointed back then, but I've gotten over them. I mean, hey, if I were in your hooves I would probably be doing the same things you were doing... probably. But you can't let those bad memories get you down, we can always make some more new memories, good ones. Now, I hope that you don't mind me changing the subject a bit, but why did you want to talk to me about these bad memories all of a sudden, did something happen to you?" Spike asks his sobbing sister.

"Eternal... he told me how I messed up as an older sibling. I wanted to talk some sense into him about being a good sibling, but how could I? He loves his brother so much and looks after him," she said with a hint of despair and defeat, looking down, feeling sad.

"He did WHAT?!" Spike asks, now showing a hint of anger.

"D-Don't, he's already apologized for what he said earlier," Twilight assures him.

Spike calms down a bit and sighs. "Even so, it was way out of line for him to do that. But I do know that you've looked out for me ever since you hatched me when you were a filly. You and I made some great friends, gave me lots of tasty food to eat, but most importantly... you gave me a home... and a life. A life that I'm happily living with you and our best friends," he says with a smile. Twilight looks up at the teenage dragon with disbelief, having being shown kindness and forgiveness from him so easily. She can't stop herself from putting on a sad smile and hugs him, sobbing on his left shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Spike. I'm so sorry!" she sobs still. Spike hugs Twilight back and rocks her left and right, helping her feel a little more at ease. He allows her to continue crying on his shoulder for as long as she needed to until she was finally more calm and all out of tears.

And with the two siblings now finished with their chat, Spike takes his leave and heads back to his room for a nice long rest to replenish his tired body. Twilight sighs, still unable to believe that the baby dragon she once knew was all grown up and he's learned to be a more respecting and kind young dragon. Twilight's only regret was that she wish she had gotten to hold that very same baby dragon in her hooves one last time.

Meanwhile, in one of the guest rooms, Eternal is resting his head on a pillow on a nice, comfy bed, but his eyes are open, not wanting to sleep one bit, even if he did earn some rest.

"Eternal, you really need to sleep. You gotta allow your body to rest," Heat Blitz says. Eternal hears what he's saying, but he can't seem to close his eyes. It's like something is preventing him from sleeping. Sighing out of impatience, Eternal forces his eyes shut. He powers through the will to wake up and soon, his body listens to him and he eventually grows tired. With Eternal sleeping, Heat Blitz turns his attention to Sunset. The tired unicorn is resting up, curled up like a ball like how dogs do when they sleep.

"Thank you... for saving my brother's life," he says quietly before laying down on the couch. Heat Blitz was really scared throughout today. Saving Spike from going off on a rampage as a giant dragon was pretty scary, but when his big brother, Eternal got possessed by Zoor earlier, he really lost it. To him, Eternal is his pillar of strength, possibly the definition of what courage is all about.

To lose that pillar of strength would break his heart into a million pieces. He's been there for him ever since he was just a young colt. Heat Blitz had always been the timid, shy type back then. He didn't like the idea of violence and still doesn't. Bullies picked on him because of that. It was a huge slap in the face for him and he didn't want to fight back because deep down, even to this day, he's a pacifist. And Heat Blitz was going to do everything that he could in order to stay that way.

As much as he admired the idea of his brother defending him from those bullies, he never wanted him to hurt them with his hooves or his magic. Just a simple talk and two would've been enough. He still remains gratefull for his brother, but deep down, he wanted to make things right.

With the bullies too scared to pick on him, Heat Blitz did the one thing he never regrets. He made them all hoof-crafted "I'm sorry" and "get better soon" cards.

Because of those thought pondering within his mind, Heat Blitz hopes that one day he can become a true hero just like his brother and his friends. Then maybe one day, everyone will acknowledge his heroics, but for now, the only thing he wants is to bask in the victory and take a nice long nap.





A couple of hours later, Twilight wakes up to the sound of the front door being knocked on. She teleports out of her room and straight in front of the front door. She opens it up and sees Princess Celestia, acompanied by Blaze Burn, both looked pretty worried.

"Twilight, would you please lead me to where everypony is at? I wish to see our sons," Celestia asks. She can understand why she would want to ask to see her sons. Twilight did mention in the letter that Eternal got possessed by Zoor and nearly got himself and the others hurt. It's a normal reaction for any parent to want to check on the well-being of their children. Even Twilight's own parents had gotten worried a few times about her brother and herself when it was time to leave home.

Not wanting to keep Celestia waiting, Twilight leads her and Blaze Burn throughout her castle and shows them to one of the guest rooms that Eternal and Sunset were resting up in. She opens the door and shows the two alicorns their children, who are both waking up to the sound of the door opening.

Eternal feels a little drowsey from his nap, but his body tells him to wake up. Heat Blitz wakes up and sees his mom and dad standing at the doorway. Both Celestia and Blaze Burn have their hooves to their mouths as if they were in shock to see their boys still alive and in one piece. Eternal notices his parents and opens his eyes up fully, then sits himself up on the bed and stretches. The moment he does, Celestia gasps. She runs over to Eternal and Blitz, scoops them both up in her hooves, then hugs them both.

Blaze Burn walks up inside and gives his two sons a hug and a pat on the back. He can hear his wife crying and quivering in utter disbelief. He can't help himself but want to shed a few small tears himself.

"I'm so relieved to see that you boys are okay! I'm so sorry I left you out on that field all alone! If I had known the fight was going to end up that dangerous, I would have stepped in!" Celestia rants. "How could I have allowed this to go so wrong?" she continues on. Heat Blitz gives his mom a big hug and even tries convincing her that it's all over and he and his brother are finally home. Eternal sheds only a single tear and hugs his mother, apologizing to her for letting himself get careless. Celestia sheds even more tears and soon, Blaze Burn joins in on the group hug with Celestia and his sons.

Sunset watches the warm embrace Celestia gives to her family and feels a sense of peace knowing that the princess is happy that she got her boys back.

After calming down, Celestia lets her boys go. Celestia turns to Sunset and walks up to her. "Sunset Shimmer, thank you for saving both of my sons. I would've been so lost if they hadn't made it. I am truly grateful for your kind act of bravery, my former student," she replies. "And I'm also very proud to see that you've become the bearer of an element. So this is the Element of Forgiveness."

Sunset nods. "Yes, princess. It chose me to bear it after Eternal and I freed Clover the Clever from the darkness that once lurked within her heart," she explains.

"Technically, it was you who freed her. Also, Clover's soul was freed, not just her heart. But yes, what Sunset just told you is the truth. Zoor is no longer a threat to us anymore and peace has finally been restored, so now everypony can rest easy," Eternal says. "So now that we've finally completed our mission, what do you suppose we should do now?"

"I KNOW!!!" Pinkie shouts, popping her head up out of nowhere. Eternal jumps backward, nearly feeling his heart jump out of his chest.

"Pinkie Pie, you scared the blazes out of me!" the fiery unicorn prince says. "And when exactly did you even get here in the first place?" he asks.

"Since 5 seconds ago," Pinkie shrugs casually.

"B-B-But how?!"

"Eternal, it's best you don't question Pinkie Pie," Sunset implies.

"I'm just curious of how she gets around, that's all. What's so bad about that?"

"That's just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie," Celestia and Sunset say in unison. Both mares blink in surprise and look at each other in surprise, then laugh about it. 

"Okie dokies. Now fillies and gentlecolts, as I was saying, there's only one thing left to do now that we've saved all of Equestria from certain doom," Pinkie says. Everyone's attention in the room focuses on her and then she shous out loud "A BIG PARTY!!!"





In no time flat, Pinkie set up a huge party in town square and invited everyone. The ponies were unsure of what the party was for. But when some of them realized the incident with a giant dragon that flew over to Canterlot, followed by a lot of battle noises coming from the distance, they finally understood.

Now, Twilight and her friends, including the guys start partying and having the time of their lives. All except for Eternal, as he is sitting on a bench, drinking his punch. He watches his little brother and his pals having fun while trying to conquer another problem he has to face. Eternal's eyes scan the town for something, which piques his mother's curiosity. Celestia walks towards Eternal and sits down next to him.

"Is something wrong?" Celestia asks.

"Kind of. I feel like I'm in a tight spot and I blame myself for not realizing it sooner," Eternal replies.

"What's the problem?"

"I'm just gonna cut straight to the chase: I've got to find someplace for me and my brother to live so I can settle down for a while because I don't plan on heading back to the village and neither do the guys. I'm also a bit worried over where they're gonna sleep," Eternal explains.

"There's no need to worry, Your friends took care of that problem. I'm going to help Spark Burst and Hurrican Breeze find a nice house up in Cloudsdale, Tidal Wave is going to look for a place to stay in Ponyville and Ground Breaker was invited to stay over at Sweet Apple Acres with Applejack," Celestia says.

"But that still leaves me, my brother and Shadow Force to find homes for ourselves. On top of that, we still have to find us some decent-paying jobs. Now let's see, what kind of job should I get that pays well and also matches what I'm best at?" Eternal asks himself. Though, what Celestia has in store for him. his brother and his life long friend is going to leave him completely speechless.

"I've got that covered as well. If you'd like, you, Shadow Force and Heat Blitz can always come live with me and your father at the castle," Celestia offers.

"What? The castle?" Eternal asks, making sure he's not hearing things. Celestia nods. "I... I don't know, mother, I'm not sure if living in a giant castle is the right lifestyle for me. I'll consider it, but do I still get to find some decent work so I can make my own living?"

"If that is what you desire, then who am I to deny you of that privilage," she says with a nod. At first, Eternal thinks this is too good to be true. Living in a huge castle was something he's only heard about.

While he did stay in the guest room of his mother's castle, he never made his final decision to stay since he was so focused on saving Spike and stopping Zoor. Now, he's given a chance to not only live inside the Canterlot Castle, but to also be able to earn his own living. Eternal was never the type of stallion who wanted to be spoiled, but as the old saying goes: to the victor go the spoils. He takes a deep breath and exhales, then looks up at Princess Celestia with a small smile.

"Alright, I accept," he agrees. Celestia smiles back at him. "But... do I really deserve it?"

"Eternal, I can understand why you would ask me that, but rest assured, you earned this. There will always come a time when even a prince has to settle down and rest his tired body after a long exhausting day, whether it's from work or from a rough battle. You displayed a lot of heart and courage today and helped your friends save all of Equestria and I couldn't be even more proud of you than I am now. All of the ponies of Equestria owe you and your friends their gratitude," Celestia explains, hugging her son.

With his mother's kind words, a huge burden is lifted from Eternal Flames for the time being. The young prince hugs his mother right back, thinking about what he can't believe.

For the first time in his life... Eternal Flames now has a place he can call "Home Sweet Home."