Crystal Savior

Chapters

Shattering Dark Crystals
False hero and family moments
Dark memories and Redemption
Twenty years is all I need; A covenant with Death
Bargain with Creation; Traitors

Shattering Dark Crystals

Spike was desperately trying not to cry, clenching his mouth shut in fear, remembering what she said.

Twilight Sparkle, the leader of the Elements of Harmony, the vanquisher of many dark threats, and even the top student of Princess Celestia... as well as Spike’s best friend and secret crush, was in center of the Golden Oak Library, organizing the books like every day these past three years.

Ponyville itself was cold, the trees were barren of leaves, even the sun seemed to refuse to shine this day. The only ponies that were out were Derpy and Dinky who ignored the cold, cruel, bitter weather to have a bit of fun... if nothing else.

Spike, himself, stood out on the front yard as he watched the lavender unicorn move books to and fro, his heart was filled with shame and regret as he glanced at his claws, wondering why he didn’t just take his own life with them.

Surely that would be a better mercy then the very mare he had fallen in love with rejecting him to his face. ‘You’re not needed’ she said, ‘nothing more than coward and a weakling. Nothing more than a slave... or a pet I could use for tasks I could do myself... there was no more need for such a pathetic, scroll, fire breathing baby dragon like you.’

As he curled his claws into a fist and angrily lashed out his pointed tail, he felt hot, fresh tears run down his face, his mind was losing all thought but what he saw before his eyes.

“Twilight does not love me anymore.”

With that dark, sad, and heartbreaking thought, he swallowed a large glob of spit in his throat and turned away, his mind focusing on one thought alone. One that would forever haunt him and rob him of something he would never thought could ever happen in his young life.

“Twilight Sparkle does not love me... anymore.”

“Spike? SPIKE!” A loud, hysterical, and frankly very concerned voice shattered the drake’s dark thoughts as he blinked his eyes.

His tears were still running down his face as he tried to wipe them away with both his claws, his eyes turned to his left as he looked into the violet eyes of the very mare who tore out his own heart to his face and stumped on it, calling him a monster, telling him that he was as cruel, evil, and harsh as the rest of his kind... saying that she had no need for him anymore.

He gritted his fangs in anger as she looked into his eyes before looking at the wall that held the door itself.
The dark, mesmerizing door that taunted him with his worst fears, mocking him with something he could never have... robbing him of the only thing he truly loved and had left.

This... demonic door. This... Nightmare Realm, was something that needed to be destroyed, something that never had any right to exist.

Spike the dragon vowed on this day that he would never allow such darkness to grip his soul again, that he would never allow the villains that challenged him and Equestria to win... that he would do whatever it took to win Twilight Sparkle's heart... no matter the cost.

Suddenly, he felt her warm, tender embrace around him, feeling her warm, soothing voice over his head and gladly returning the embrace, telling her what he saw inside of that... demonic door... most of it anyways. She promised him then and there that she would never, ever, cast him away... and that she would always love and stay by his side forever.

Spike couldn’t help but smile and enjoy the short, but very meaningful embrace with the one he loved, watching her remove that demonic door, and followed her to complete their mission, but he couldn’t stop thinking about the one responsible for that vile vision, the one that made him see his worst nightmare come true. ‘He’s still out there, wanting to bring not only the Crystal Empire, but all of Equestria, and maybe the entire world down to his hooves.’

Spike clenched his fists hard, so hard that small drips of blood fell onto the stairs they were climbing, his gaze falling to Twilight’s back, and just for a brief second, tried to imagine what would happen if Sombra succeeded... but he couldn’t, he knew she would defeat him. He knew Sombra was going to fail. He knew that he would do anything to make sure Twilight achieved victory and completed her mission.

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Twilight Sparkle had battled against Nightmare Moon, defeating her with the Elements of Harmony while finding her true friends. She had defeated an Ursa Minor with pure magical strength, distracted a Hydra that was charging at her and her friends, and even fought against the very God of Chaos himself, as well as play an important role in defeating the changeling invasion.

She had even seen her worst nightmare come true: failing to complete a task commanded by her tutor, Princess Celestia. But nothing, not even all the battles she had been in, not Discord, not Nightmare Moon, not Chrysalis, not even her worst Nightmare could compare to the hate, the sadness, and the utter powerlessness she felt when she saw Spike, her number one assistant and life-long friend... the one she loved, crying in immense fear before her.

She held him close to her, trying to calm him down and to let him feel her concern and her love for him. She looked at that nightmarish door with hate beyond her reason and banished it, but still, the one responsible was still out there, trying to destroy the Crystal Empire once more.

Twilight climbed the stairs as fast as she could, biting her lower lip painfully as she decided to not only defeat Sombra, but see to his destruction personally for making her beloved Spike cry.

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They had finally reached the top of the blasted tower and Twilight, in her eagerness to get the heart, failed to check for traps and thus triggered an alarm, trapping her inside a dark crystal prison. She tried to teleport out of it, but was teleported back inside by the dark magic of the prison, and in her desperation, she turned to Spike and commanded him to deliver the Crystal Heart to Cadence and save the Crystal Empire.

“Hey, up here! I got the Crystal Heart!” Spike yelled from a top of a dark crystal peek.

“*Snarl* That is MINE!” Sombra yelled as he dove to the ground, creating many dark crystal spears and peeks on his way as Spike ran as fast as he could down the tower with the precious Crystal Heart over his head when Sombra created the biggest dark crystal peek of all, himself riding the tip of it “*GRUUUUUAAAAA*”.

Spike tripped down the peek and lost his grip on the Crystal Heart, falling right in the way of King Sombra’s path. Sombra licked his lips in anticipation, his prize was so close to him that he could already feel its power, his shadow body turned to his original form and smiled darkly, seeing the vain efforts of the dragon before him, trying desperately to get back the Heart. The Crystal Heart was so near within his reach when a sudden pink blur passed right before him and snatched both the Crystal Heart and the dragon away from him.

“Behold! The Crystal Princess!” One random crystal pony yelled.

Sombra frowned and used his magic to create a massive crystal peak just before the ‘Crystal Princess’ landed, knocking them off in mid air, making everypony gasp.

Cadence landed harshly on the ground and tried to stay conscious, but she was so very tired to do anything else at this point and passed out in the floor with an injured wing. Spike, on the other claw, landed without any damage, thanks to his thick dragon scales, and ran to the Crystal Heart, grabbing it and running towards the center of the fair when a dark cloud suddenly landed in front on him and formed the now corporeal body of King Sombra.

“Did you really think it was going to be so easy, lizard?” Sombra asked with a wicked smiled.

“You won’t get away with this!” Spike yelled, clenching the Crystal Heart tightly with his arms and protecting it with his body. “I will never let you get the Heart!”

Sombra laughed at him and the rest of them as Shining Armour and the other Elements of Harmony arrived at the center of the fair. “Look around you, you worthless lizard. I have already won!” Spike opened his eyes, looking at the crystal ponies, seeing them shake in fear, bowing to Sombra.

“There is nothing you can do. Only that ‘Crystal Princess’ can use the power of the Heart against me.” He said, pointing at Cadence with his left forehoof. “But it seems that she is indisposed at the moment.” He couldn’t help but release a small chuckle. “Now give me the Heart, or I will take it by force, not that I have a problem with that”

Behind him, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Shining Armour all charged at him: Rainbow from the skies, Applejack from his right and Shining from his left, but Sombra just stood there and smiled. Shining and Applejack jumped with all their might to tackle him, but the body turned to a cloud of darkness and ended up tackling each other harshly, Rainbow tried to hit his still solid head, but Sombra chuckled darkly and turned his entire body to a massive cloud of darkness that started to swirl around like a tornado.

Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, and the rest of the crystal ponies heard the painful screams of Applejack, Shining, and Rainbow. The screams became louder and all the more painful as the tornado swirled with greater force until, without warning, the tornado stopped and literally launched them through the skies, landing just hoof steps away from the other three Elements, who screamed at what they saw.

Rainbow was lying at the top of the heap with cuts over all of their bodies, with her wings twisted in unnatural ways atop Shining just under her with his horn cut clear off as blood and magic sparks gushed out from its stump while Applejack was by far the worst, her cuts were much deeper and her back legs were clearly broken.

Thankfully the three of them were already unconscious as not to endure the pain.

The dark cloud formed Sombra once again and turned his head to where the dragon was, only to find a yellow furred, pink maned pegasus staring at him with all her might.

“HOW DARE YOU!” she screamed, Sombra felt her gaze on his very soul, and in all truth, her sight scared him. “HOW DARE YOU HURT MY FRIENDS YO---“ a single thread made of his dark cloud caught her by her neck and started to suffocate her. Yes he was scared by her gaze, but he was not powerless.

“Out of my way, scum.” He said to her as she started to cry, trying desperately to free herself as gasp for air as the painful grip only tightened around her neck with him smiling at her pain, clearly enjoying it. He suddenly he tossed her away with all his strength, smashing Fluttershy against one of the fair posts, making it fall over her with a cloud of dust. When the dust settled, Fluttershy was laying unconscious on the remains of the post, a deep cut could be seen around her neck as many bruises layered over her body and a small pool of blood was forming below her mouth.

Sombra then turned his attention back to Spike, who just stood there watching in disbelief at what Sombra has done. Sombra used his magic to lift Spike into the air together with the Crystal Heart and turned him around to face him.

“See what I did to them? That is NOTHING compared to what I will do to you, if you don’t give me the Heart.” Spike clenched it harder against him as Sombra gave a dark chuckle in response. “So be it.”

The dark magic aura around Spike turned even darker as small black thunders formed around it. Spike snapped his eyes open as unbelievable pain scourged through his entire body, it was so painful that he could have sworn that his very soul was suffering too. It was by far the most painful thing he has ever experienced, except for one. He remembered the illusion that the door made him see; his personal, worst nightmare. Just remembering what it felt like, what that ‘Twilight’ said to him, was a pain so great that he wished death showed mercy and ended his life there and then, only to make his pain cease. It was a pain that tormented his very heart and soul, and compared to that, this torture was nothing.

“Give me the Heart!” Sombra commanded, seeing that his torture was not making Spike squeal in pain and agony, begging for mercy or even making him cry. On the contrary, he was holding the Heart even stronger now, his mouth clenched tight, refusing to scream. “YOU WORTHLESS PIECE OF SCALES, GIVE ME THE HEART, NOW!”

“HHHNNGGGG--- BUCK YOU!” Spike shouted back at him, insulting Sombra with both his words and his actions, forcing him to triple the magic on the curse, this time making Spike scream in pain.

“YIIIIIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” clenching the Heart to his body even more while he screamed his heart out with his eyes open as wide as they could be as his entire body contracted from the tormenting pain.

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Twilight was trying to find a way to free herself from her prison, but no matter what she did, nothing seemed to work. When she heard the crystal pony yell, ‘Behold, the Crystal Princess!’ She thought it was finally over, but after a few seconds of silence, nothing happened... until she heard it.

The cries of pain from two of her friends and her big brother made her cry in frustration and double her efforts to get out as the screams ended after several agonizing seconds, only to be replaced by the clear shout of Fluttershy, who was also cut mid sentence.

Desperate to aid her fallen friends, Twilight charged her horn as much as she could to try to destroy the black prison around her, only to do seemingly nothing against it. She was starting to freak out when she heard something that made her blood run cold in her veins and spine freezing her where she stood, a scream that literally blinded her with fear and almost made her pass out. The next second the coldness turned to boiling hot anger, for the first time in her life she felt true unrivaled hate.

“He is hurting Spike......... Sombra is hurting my Spike!!!!???” She thought and yelled inside her head as her coat turned bleach white, her eyes turned blood red, and her mane turned to fire, surging through her and out in all directions, destroying her prison and from primal instinct alone, ran out of the tower and flashed her way to the bottom of the city.

“SOMBRA!!!!!” Twilight screamed ramming herself against him and launching him away from Spike, who fell to the ground with a loud thud, still clinging to consciousness. “You are going to pay for hurting him!” She shouted as she shot out a beam of pure magic.

Sombra took little effort to turn into a cloud and evaded her attack as Twilight launched herself at the cloud, getting enveloped as soon as she got near it, but quickly countered with bright flashes and the occasional screams of fury, forcing screams of pain from Sombra. Shining Armor awoke from his slumber in great pain, barely able to stay conscious as he saw the battle before him as Pinkie and Rarity were crying and unmoving at the sight.

Fluttershy, also woke from to the loud screams and explosions from Twilight’s spells, limply made her way to Spike to make sure that he was fine, watching the battle in amazement. The cloud started to swirl into a tornado and, as he did before, the spells came to a halt with a single scream from Twilight as a fiery projectile was launched from the inside of the tornado. The projectile crashed against the floor with immense force, revealing Twilight turning back to normal with a great number of cuts all over her body, breathing harshly against the floor.

The swirling tornado moved towards her, stopping just a meter from her, and turned into a panting Sombra whose cape was burnt and body had a few cuts himself.

“I must admit *pant* you are a worthy foe, you even used the legendary ‘Flame Armor’ spell only few unicorns are able to use, fueling your rage into a spell and attacking. Incredible. Alas, it is only temporarily and *pant* all you did was make me mad. Now it’s time to pay for your insolence, you filthy insect!” Twilight spat as hard as she could towards him, landing one right on his horn.

“GRAAAAAHH!!” He screamed, using his hooves to punch and hit her with all his might, making Twilight scream and cry over the sound of each blow that seemed to echo throughout the entire Kingdom, making the crystal ponies shudder in pain, fear, and shame for not being able to do anything.

“T-T-Twiliey.” Shining tried to scream, but only made out a light whisper as his body failed to move.

“Somepony stop him! He is going to kill her!” Rarity yelled, trying to move through the paralyzing fear, flinching as a particularly loud and hard crack echoed through the air, accompanied by a piercing yell of pain.

Sombra finally stopped, revealing a brutally injured Twilight below him. Some of her teeth were gone, her left eye was closed, several ugly bruises adorned her body, and her right foreleg was broken “now, *pant* DIE!” Sombra yelled, lifting his left foreleg to give the final blow.

Nopony wanted to watch, they all turned away, waiting for the hit to land. Even Twilight closed her one good eye, awaiting her end. “I’m sorry Spike…… I wish……… I wish I could have told you...”

*POOOOOAAASHHH*

The hit landed straight and hard on its target, or so Sombra thought. He had strikken something purple, he was sure of it: the little claws of fur--------- “CLAWS?” He thought, tilting his head a little to the right, seeing none other than Spike, holding out his right claw, stopping his attack. He had his head down, not revealing his face to Sombra, who, on the other hoof, noticed Spike didn’t have the Heart anymore, and wasting no time he mo---

“What the hay? Why can’t I move my hoof?” He asked, following his arm to where Spike was holding him tightly, trying to move his hoof again, but it didn’t even stir. “H-how can he have such a strong grip over me?” He even tried to turn his body back into a cloud, but as Spike turned his head up to face him, Sombra nearly screamed in fear.

Spike’s eyes were full of... Something. Yes, he could see the hatred in them, but there was something else, something he couldn’t decipher. Something he has never seen in his entire life…… and it scared him more than anything.

Spike snorted out a green smoke through his nostrils as he, to Sombra’s terror, began to grow. His chubby body and puny legs thinned out, stretching him to a size taller than Sombra himself, as his body gained enough muscle to prod through his thickened scales which turned to a deeper shade of purple, while his tail stretched and moved around behind him, showing both grace and power to his most dexterous appendage, as his spines grew as well, growing sharper by the second. Everything in his body grew in proportion to his now taller, slender, stronger, and more agile body.

This time, Sombra was the one looking up at the dragon with his mouth agape in both astonishment and fear as the dragon opened his mouth, revealing powerful, sharp fangs as he suddenly lifted Sombra up by the grip on his hoof and gave a mighty punch to his stomach, resonating a sound throughout the Empire, making everypony turn to them.

Saying that everypony was stunned by what they saw was an understatement, seeing Sombra in mid air with his eyes almost shooting out of their sockets and his open mouth dripping with blood, as well as the one responsible for his pain, who was, up to that point, the adorable baby dragon they all knew and loved, who had just retrieved his claw from Sombra’s stomach, only to hit him square in the face with the other, breaking his horn to release a blood curdling scream of pain.

“THAT WAS FOR MY FRIENDS!” He yelled with his deeper voice, roaring at volumes only rage can produce, making almost everypony flinch in fear. And before Sombra had the chance to fall to the ground, he grabbed him by the neck with his powerful tail, swirled him around, and smashed him against the floor with such brute force that it cracked.

“THAT WAS FOR THE CRYSTAL PONIES!” He yelled at the still conscious Sombra, who almost beg for mercy when Spike fell upon him, grabbing him and sending him airborne, giving him the chance to turn himself into a cloud, but the pain was far too great for him to concentrate as he fell. And seeing that, Spike jumped with a spin and kicked Sombra square on his back with all his might, forcing the last ounce of air from of him as he tried to scream, crashing down against the cracked floor once more.

“THAT WAS FOR ME!” He said as he landed, grabbing Sombra by the neck and lifting him as high as he could, clenching his claw and readied another strike as Sombra, still conscious, truly tried to beg for his life, yet not possessing the strength to even move his mouth, the pain was too great, and he knew Spike was pleased by the pain he was feeling.

“And this.........” he said, barely whispering, as he brought up his right claw, turning from a fist to a claw-spear, Sombra knew what he was going to do. “This...... is for hurting............. THE ONE I LOVE!!!!” Spike threw his claw-spear at Sombra, piercing him from side to side.

Sombra couldn’t believe what was happening, Spike’s claw was drenched in his blood as the dragon snorted green fire through his nostrils, sending him flying and coating Spike’s scales with his blood, landing just a few steps away from the Crystal Heart, making him smile. He stretched out his hoof, trying to touch it. If he could get the Crystal Heart, then he would heal and show this dragon a lesson. He was so close it glew in anticipation, but he stopped and turned to see Spike standing over him as panic struck him and doubled his efforts to get the Heart.

“But this...” Sombra heard him say and turned again to see him raise his right leg up, moving it right above his head. “This... is because you did something even worse to her.” Sombra began to cry in desperation. The Crystal Heart was just before him. It was less than a single hoof away. It was taunting him, mocking him. “This......... is......... FOR MAKING HER CRY!”

And with that, Spike stomped Sombra’s head with all his might, making an awful crunching noise as Sombra’s hoof stood trembling in the air for some moments before falling down at the same time the Crystal Heart stopped its glow. Spike had won, and he let out a mighty roar of power, shooting his green fire to the skies, immersing the land with with its glow that shattered the dark crystals that lost their power.

Spike turned around and walked towards Twilight, who was watching in disbelief with her one good eye. Her number one assistant... her little Spike... her Spike... had just killed the mighty King Sombra before her and everypony’s eyes, she could hardly believe it.

Suddenly, she felt his warm arms around her; he was small once again and crying stains into her fur. “I- I’m so glad *sniff* you are alright, Twi. S-so glad.” Spike said in his normal childish tone.

Twilight couldn’t help herself and began to cry with him, holding him as close as she could with her good foreleg. “I’m gladsh you are okeitsh too Shpike” She finally replied, giving him a small kiss on his forehead. “sho glad.”

The two of them embraced each other close until exhaustion caught them and sent them to sleep.

Author's Note

This story was WAY to long in the making, I'm just very glad I could make it and that my author brother, both of them could really help out. I'm honestly hoping you all enjoy, we worked hard on this story.

False hero and family moments

The dragon’s eyes shot open and he gasped for air, panting for the oxygen he so desperately needed, when he felt needles attempt to embed themselves into his flesh, making him screech in pain, scaring the ponies near him.

Feeling his arms strapped by long, thick black ropes used to subdue its patients, Spike assumed he was in a hospital, though not of his own free will.

Letting out a growl from the back of his throat, he gritted his fangs, narrowed his eyes, and sighed loudly as the nurses and doctors tirelessly did all they could to heal him, even though he wasn't seriously injured, unlike his friends.

Forty five minutes passed waiting on his blue bed before the ponies around him stopped fussing, undid the straps, and left, leaving the drake alone with his thoughts.

“I protected Twilight, my friends, the crystal ponies, and even saved the Crystal Empire. But what sort of a hero kills his enemies without remorse or hesitation? What sort of a hero does that make me? Am I even the hero? Cursed to die as my victories are washed away from the spotlight of other creatures attempting to salvage their own glory for the time being? Or am I portrayed as the villain? Lost in the malice and screams of those I slaughter without pause?” The drake thought with a groan as he felt exhaustion overwhelm his tiring body before he closed his eyes and slept.

Spike was awoken two hours later by frantic hoofsteps, jolting him out of his slumber when the brown door to his hospital room shot open by Princess Celestia with a worried and slightly alarmed expression dawned on her face before she replaced it with a neutral and calm demeanor, but her eyes still held the worry she could not contain, betraying her true feelings.
“My son... Spike, you’re awake?” She called out slowly, hoping she did not interrupt the reptile’s moments of slumber before he nodded, causing her to sigh softly.

“Mom, are you ok? What happened to Twilight and the others?” He spoke gently, reminding himself not to panic or jump to any conclusions as the Alicorn moaned and shook her head, not knowing such an ordeal would take place or the crime that her own adopted son would commit, though she could hardly blame him, as Sombra did drive him to go, for a lack of a better term, berserk.

“I’m sorry, Spike, I truly am.” She attempted to say, but her voice was trembling with tears looming to emerge, but quickly wiped away with her hoof, cursing herself for her light heartedness in front of her own injured child, but looking into his eyes, she found the strength to continue. “The damage that Sombra has caused was, unfortunately, very great. It seems that he has harmed two of our friends so badly that they will, most likely, never walk again. Shining Armor has already started to get accustomed to his wheelchair, but Applejack still has much recovery to do before anything else. It’s a miracle they are still alive... but... I am hesitant to say... but it seems that Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash did not survive their injuries. They did everything they could... but they... passed on, almost an hour ago. I’m so very sorry, Spike.” She whispered sincerely and quietly, leaving no trace or sense of humor in her tone as the dragon knew she was speaking the truth; his mother would never lie to him about something like this.

Curling his claws in outrage, he shut his eyes as hard as he could, giving himself a small headache before gritting his fangs so hard he could feel the copper taste of blood on his tongue making him grimace as he let out a dry, hollow chuckle, then another, making the co-ruler of Equestria next to him look very puzzled.

Spike let out another chuckle, laughing at the irony that two of his friends, his love’s best friends, were violently slain, undoubtedly leaving behind a broken hearted Big Macintosh and an enraged Thunderlane.

Yet, a supposedly wonderful ex-captain of the Royal Guards of Equestria and vigilant husband of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, who many of her companions referred to as Cadence, had actually strived and bartered with Death, it seems, and lived... how very ironic.

Spike hated Shining Armor, even when he was still a hatchling. The colt turned stallion never did trust him, constantly accusing him of breaking items in the house the two lived in or openly scolding him with ridicule and spite... almost as if he had something against Spike himself, rather than the poor drake’s species. Eventually though, as the two grew older and Shining Armor was sent away from their home, Spike tuned out the emotional and mental wrath that the stallion had influenced into his mind and held resentment to the famous unicorn.

He had never struck out at Armor in a physical aspect, he had never bothered to slander his name with cruelty and rage, yet he would be lying if he had said that he hadn't, in more than one occasion, wished the stallion dead.

When he attended Shining’s marriage, the very idea made him want to vomit his guts out, he even had thoughts of setting the husband to be on camera with a sleazy prostitute for blackmail, yet he never bothered to provoke his silent threats with action because he was too young, but even more so because he knew for a fact that Shining Armor would never fall for his schemes, he was too clever.

And now, after ignoring his own little sister and calling her a monster when she tried to reveal that ‘Cadence’ was actually an imposter and giving her some halfhearted, shit smeared apology and treating her as family once more, the noble and heroic stallion had persevered through the brutal onslaught of the dark king known as Sombra, while his own honest, caring, and nurturing friends had perished. It made him sick of the thought almost as much as the heartless thoughts of taking the stallion’s life as it once again phased through his mind.

As much as he thought Shining Armor deserved it, he knew it would only cause more fear to be installed into the ponies around him, more than they already had at any rate. His own satisfaction and desire for revenge would be pointless and unjustified if it meant causing his best friend more pain and suffering then what she was already going through now, though Spike could be content that Shining Armor would die in a century and that he should not dwell on any plans of murder for the time being, at least.

Sighing loudly, Spike looked at his adopted mother and saw the pain and shame in her eyes, knowing that the Goddess of the Sun felt tremendously guilty for the pressure she had placed on the ponies she chose for a duty she could not correct herself. She eventually bowed her head and wept all the tears of regret and distress she had brought to the creatures whose very lives depended on her. She had failed in her responsibility to protect her subjects. Spike could see it in her eyes as clear as if she herself had spoken them, there were no need for words, only honest and open emotions on display, as a mother and son should feel necessary to lay out towards one another.

The silence rang throughout the small, bland room before Celestia sat on the tiled floor, placing her forehooves on the bed near her son, laid her head on his chest, mindful not to prod him with her horn, releasing all her pent up exhaustion, fear and shame on her son as he cradled her head in his claws, sitting in the silence that had become their theme, together.

An hour later, a mare came into the room to inform her sovereign, who was eating lunch with Spike at the time, that she was needed for a meeting with the ambassadors of Prance, and that she was terribly sorry to interrupt with an apologetic smile and a bow before she left the room without another word.

Princess Celestia sighed loudly before finishing her meal, looking at Spike as he sipped his fruit punch before standing and kiss his forehead, telling him that he’s always welcome to stay with her and promising him that they would continue their talk later, to which he smiled and nodded, hugging her firmly before watching her trot out the door and hearing her speak to the doctor in charge of him, telling him to not let anything happen to him and that money is no issue before ordering a guard to stand post by his room, to which the mare saluted and obeyed without question as the door to the reptile’s room closed and the solar matriarch was gone.

Letting out a yawn, he scratched his rear and stretched, feeling his bones and joints pop loudly as he smacked his lips and slowly got off the bed, ignoring his remaining food and feeling guilty that two of his friends had been killed, he felt that it was a shame that two of the most noble of Pegasus were emasculated so cruelly under the hoof of the dark king, so for that reason, he felt no shame in taking his life.

Intending for a walk, he opened the door and saw the mare guarding him turn her head and calmly nod in his direction before silently trotting alongside him without a word, Spike slowly walked through the hall hearing a garbled, muffled voice to the right of him though a door that was slightly ajar. Opening it, he was shocked to see Applejack laying in a blood soaked bed, her hind legs completely limp and useless, held up by long swings supporting her rear legs.

The Earth Pony was attempting to rip open her I.V. bag and swallow the fluids inside, causing Spike to freeze in shock that his dear friend would try to commit suicide and screamed loudly, surprising her as he rushed forward, knocking the half empty bag away from her hooves, ordering his guard to get some help as he bellowed at her to stay away, but the drugs were taking immediate effect as her head dropped to one side, her eyes half shut.

The employees sped quickly to work trying to revive the mare and shoved both Spike and his guard out the door as soon as they could, but Spike couldn't help grip his ear fins as hard as he could with his claws, feeling the strong desire to scream, but held back as his protector lowered her head in shame, only to put more guilt on the drake.

Slightly perking his ear fins, he caught the voice of a news reporter on the radio in the room next to him, apparently they were talking about the incident at the Crystal Empire and what happened from the heartless slaughter that King Sombra had performed, to the defeat of the Crystal Princess and finally, the transformation of Spike and the death of the fallen king.

He was surprised by how much the ponies revered him and his friends, how they had sworn to give their very souls to Princess Cadence, but would defend and aid Spike with even more.

Spike was truly touched by their sincerity, wiping away a small tear with his tail before standing up and going outside for some fresh air, simply to rest just outside the entrance. But they were not alone in their spot, a familiar gray coated Pegasus by the name of Derpy Hooves stood near the two with a Diseased Stallion cigarette in her mouth, calmly inhaling and then exhaling the gray smoke from her nostrils.

The mare watching over the reptile was wary of the Pegasus before Spike told that her she was a friend, then quietly asked Derpy what she was doing at the hospital. She explained that her little sister had a bad case of the Pony Pox and was forced to undergo an emergency vaccine process in the E.R., causing her to be on edge, hoping her sister survived the treatment before taking another drag to calm herself with a sigh.

Taking in a breath of fresh air, the mare then took in another drag as Spike felt his ear fins drop from the depressing news, as if his life was not already bad enough, now one of his best friends was in the hospital because of a flu. This was just cruel of Fate and made him tense with anger, squeezing his eyes shut, curling his claws and lashing his tail, wondering just what it was the Gods did to help the ponies in so much agony.

Breathing out a slow, disappointing sigh, he knew that pointing the blame on the Gods wasn't fair, and that perhaps it was just the bad luck some creatures were given. He opened his eyes and looked towards Derpy, asking if he could maybe have a cigarette.

Derpy looked confused at the dragon, but shrugged and did as he asked, having no reason not to help the poor drake out in his time of need as he nodded and smiled.

Breathing his green embers onto the tip of the tobacco roll, he inhaled it slowly, making sure not to cough and breathing out the smoke soon after in a cloud of gray smoke. The guard next to him didn't say a word, even when he accidentally blew it into her face and apologized.

As the three sat there in silence, Spike had begun to tell Derpy what happened yesterday, from entering the kingdom to him slaying the dreadful dark king, making her gaze at the dragon in awe and respect before he told her that neither Fluttershy nor Rainbow Dash survived their injuries, causing her to stomp her forehoof in rage before the sadness of the loss took hold.

Turning away so she could weep in private, Spike finished his tobacco and flicked it to the side while exhaling the smoke from his nose, making a mental note to buy his own pack as he found that he enjoyed it as he patted the mare on the shoulder softly, saying that he was sorry for the loss of her friends and prayed that her little sister would be well before turning back to the hospital with his escort, leaving the Pegasus alone with her thoughts.

Coming to the realization that nopony seemed to notice or even care that he was gone, Spike then asked a stallion working the counter what room Twilight Sparkle was in and grew a big smile when he knew she was safe. He ordered the guard to stand watch over his room and she obeyed without question as he set off to see his dear friend, praying to any of the Gods that would listen that she was not seriously damaged.

Bracing himself for the gruesome sight he was able to witness, Spike opened the door and was surprised to see not only her parents and Cadence, but Princess Luna there as well, making him question if all the Gods came to see him and his friends before he saw Luna look at him with narrow eyes and turning back to the unicorn in question.

Wringing his tail in his claws, he stepped farther into the room and saw that she had long, deep gashes all over her body, her horn was slightly cracked, and her face was mauled with cuts and bruises, causing Spike to recoil in disgust at how her own battle was lost.

Sighing loud enough to catch the visitors’ attention in the area, he walked only to stumble near the bed before Twilight’s mother, Velvet Sparkle, caught him and helped him to reach it as he laid his claws on the blanket she was tucked in with.

“Come on, dear. I think Spike wants to be alone with her... and Spike. For what it’s worth, you proved yourself to be a hero in our eyes, and from what I understand, the Crystal ponies hold you in great regard as well... they even gave you a title: the Crystal Savior. I’m proud of you, my son.” Velvet spoke quietly, planting a small kiss on his cheek before she and her husband, Nightlight, left the room, making sure to bow before the Goddess of the Night as they left, followed shortly by Candace who only nodded to Spike and Luna.

Spike placed his forehead onto Twilight’s cheek, whispering sweet nothings into her ears as he cried stains into her fur, not truly believing how close yet far he was from her. His mind sank into the thoughts of her, the times they had, the adventures they shared, the friends and family they held dear, and even now, her own mother chooses to call him her son. Whether or not it was from seeing his bond with Twilight or seeing him as the boy she would love to care for, it didn't matter. She accepted him as her family, as a part of Twilight’s family.

But as the thought strolled through his head, the princess grew impatient and cleared her throat, startling Spike as he turned to her with teary eyes as she lowered her head and sighed.

“As you can see, she is well for the time being. Nothing bad will become of her, though I am worried that you may be very troubled with the news of Fluttershy’s and Rainbow Dash’s deaths... I am sorry. But take heart, knowing that YOU were the one to end the tyrants reign, it is thanks to you alone that thousands of lives are free from the iron hooves of King Sombra, my child. As events have played out though, you have been given a very grave title, Spike. One not used in centuries and which comes at a very dangerous price, for it attaches to the kingdome the most prized possession of all, your life. This puts the Crystal Empire, you, and even the Gods in a great predicament.” She said in a hollow tone, as if she was not used to giving such awful news, at least not for such a long time.

Spike blinked and wiped his tears away, asking what she meant before she replied with the last words he thought to hear.
“The title was to be given only to the ponies with the most heart, courage, wit, strength, and endurance. It was given during the times we now call the dark ages: a time of casual betrayal, malice, and lies; where many of all the creatures were filled with spite and thoughts of murder just to be given a simple loaf of bread, it was a very harsh period within life, even many of the Gods were tainted with this way of thinking.

“The deal for those offering up their lives in the Crystal Empire and other countries were fine riches, fresh food, the loyalty of that country, and their God’s oath to aid in battle in times of war and strife. It is a very serious title. He is even the one to offer their opponent’s head on a pike to their Gods after battle, to prove they had secured their country’s future for the time.

"They only did this challenge once every fifty years, and only if they were positive they would turn the tides on their enemies. And I tell you this horrifying tale, Spike, so that you will be aware that many creatures still hold firmly to that tradition even now, and that war still exists outside of Equestria. Be warned, Spike. The weight of an entire country’s fate rests on your shoulders and though many centuries had passed since the Crystal Empire vanished, many races will demand you to prove your worth to defend your kingdom. I am sorry, Crystal Savior, you will only have a few years to prepare, but then... you are on your own. Even the Gods cannot show favor to their most promising creature.” She whispered slowly, trotting towards the crestfallen dragon before placing a hoof on his shoulder, and without another word, left the room.

His mind and body were empty of any thought save for the unicorn before him, having a suspicion that Luna’s words were true, making him all the more depressed as he squeezed Twilight’s hoof, praying to his mother that she would have a safe recovery, his body feeling sluggish and exhausted as he slowly leaned forward and without a second’s hesitation, kissed her lips, pausing for only a second before seeing a smile appear, making him chuckle.

“I love you, Twi... I always have. And even though I’m now chained to protect the Crystal Empire for many years to come, I know I’ll have the strength to overcome it, so long as I have you by my side. I’ll visit you again soon, I swear. Nothing bad will ever become of you... not anymore.” He whispered softly into her ears, hoping that they would reach her and she would awaken, but it seemed that it was all for not. So he contented to just sit by her side as long as he could, cuddling as close to the unicorn of his desire as he was allowed, wondering about what roads to travel with all of this knowledge as well as his dilemmas. Was he truly a hero to bestow upon the empire until he relinquished his mantle onto another?

Or was he the villain, who relayed false hope and injustice towards the newly released ponies of their cruel fate until he burned the entire nation down with his own flames?

On which side did he hail from? Or of what at this point in time did it truly matter?

For now, his main focus was caring for the well-being of his love, of his heart and affection, of the very unicorn who he would gladly lay down his life for, as long as she was safe.

He didn't care about Luna’s promise of what other species demand of him because of some ancient bargain, all he cared for was showing Twilight how much she meant to him, and he was going to defend her very honor with everything he had... but all he could do now, was be patient and wait for her to wake. Then, at last, he could finally tell her of his true feelings.

Author's Note

Believe it or not, I wrote this entire chapter myself, surprised? Yeah, so am I, always needed to expand my vocabulary anyway. Thanks to my editor for the huge polish of this chapter is it now given to you, next one to be posted soon, so don't start screaming when the next one coming out, ok? Enjoy.

Dark memories and Redemption

Spike was sitting on the edge of his bed, watching the sun begin its daily journey. He had been awake for some time now, thinking about the changes that occurred in only these few days.

Looking back, it really shouldn't have to end so... twisted.

It started as a simple mission to stop the bad guy, then everything turned darker and darker until they found that blasted door, then he had to take Twilight’s place with the Crystal Heart, and then finally, the fight that costed two of his friends their lives, another severely injured, who tried to commit suicide, his love still unconscious, and his brother-in-law now trapped in a wheelchair for the rest of his life making the drake chuckle softly while he sits in his own personal room in the Crystal Castle doing nothing but remember the words Luna said to him about his new unasked title and the consequences it would bring for him and the Empire.

Spike wasn't stupid, in fact he was more intelligent than most unicorns by a great margin, he also he knew about most of royal and political issues having to do with ruling or just holding a very important position of power.

So he knew that there was no way he could slip away from being the “Crystal Savior”, since it was a title given to heroes and champions of the kingdom, the only way out of it was to serve under it or to die in battle.

He had also thought about talking to Cadence and the crystal ponies about it, try to tell them that it was a mistake, that he didn't even know how he had gained that strange power, which was true.

But the crystal ponies were blinded, the foals treated him like a hero, the elders bowed when they saw him, and everypony else simply waved at him, HE was their hero, their hope, and their champion, if he denied the title and ran away, then not only the crystal ponies would be devastated, but the entire empire would be open for invasion without a heroic symbol to protect them.

So everything came down to a simple question: Leave like a coward and forget the Crystal Empire, or stay and be their Crystal Savior; their hope and hero?.

“The one who killed Sombra,” Spike said, looking to the rising sun through his window. “Am I really a hero? Can I really be called a hero? I killed him without a second thought. Soldiers always say that their first kill is the hardest, but it... ...it felt good.” Spike looked down at his claws, “can a hero really be a hero if he enjoys killing, even if he killed a dark, tyrannical monster like Sombra?............ Can I really be the Crystal Savior the crystal ponies deserve, or am I just an even bigger monster waiting to be freed?”

Another hour passed in silence before he jumped from his bed and walked outside the room, he had come to a decision.

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Cadence was sitting in front of the empire’s counsel, currently discussing the budget to repair the destroyed parts of the Empire, rebuild farms and other food sources, and expand the territory as well as many other things. She was thankful her aunts decided to sign an alliance treaty the second she was crowned as the Crystal Princess and for their enormous aid teleporting half the Canterlot hospital and supplied with them to treat the wounded and the sick.

But even then, her problems only seemed to grow more and more. The Crystal Empire had returned just a week ago and several kingdoms, such as the Griffons, the Diamond Dogs, the Antlers, and the Ursais, were already demanding an encounter between champions.

Only a week and war was already at their doorstep, again Celestia and Luna had interfered and was slowing down their protests and demands.

It pained her greatly that her husband was now in a wheelchair, she had talked to him about their need for a champion the first day they had arrived to the Empire and he had agreed to become their hero and she had put so much faith in him, he did his best, she knew it, but it hadn't been enough.

To make matters worse, her subjects had acclaimed her favorite dragon as the Crystal Savior. She knew Spike had a pure heart and he would make a great champion if he agreed, but only in the future, he was still a baby dragon.

“A baby dragon that managed to kill Sombra effortlessly.” Cadence whispered.

“Indeed your majesty” an old looking mare by her side said, making the current discussion die down “I, as many in this room, were there when it happened, barely a week ago”

“I was thinking out loud again, wasn't I?” Cadence asked, smiling a bit earning some giggles around the room. “Now that I think about it, I haven’t heard what happened, I know Spike killed Sombra but how did it happen?”

“After you fell, your majesty,” a stallion clad in armor said. “Sombra tried to get the Heart from Spike, but your husband and two of the element bearers charged in, only to be done within an instant.”

“Then another of the element bearers charged in, sadly she was also defeated by that bastard, after that...... he... began to torture our hero.”

“But he fought back valiantly!” A guard chimed in, “the Crystal Savior fought back against Sombra, cursed be his name, until he enraged the monster and made his torture increased, only up to then did our savior scream, but not before defying the lunatic!”

“Then his mate came down to save him and fought against the mad king, freeing our savior from his torture.” The mare was silent for a moment before continuing, “The mad king struck down on her, I couldn't watch the merciless attack upon the mate of our savior, only her screams of pain could be heard.”

“The tyrant was about to give the final blow, our Savior holding the Crystal heart hard against him before I, and everypony else, turned away and everything went silent. I don’t know how long it was until I heard a sound similar to thunder striking the earth, making me turn back to the onslaught.”

“And there he was,” an elderly stallion said, tears falling from his eyes. “The hero of our kingdom, delivering the punch of justice and rage upon the maniac. He was taller, stronger, and faster than the maniac, he was the hero we had awaited for.”

“He showered Sombra, damned be his name, in his fury and booming voice; he made him feel the pain of his friends, our pain, his pain, and the pain of his mate, piercing him from side to side.”

“The Crystal Heart was forgotten and our Savior tossed the tyrant next to it, to mock him and show him he was weak, and at the mercy of our Savior, he showed him none. Our hero, our Savior smashed the head of the tyrant in the name of his mate, ending his life against the dirt just inches away from his prize.” The elderly mare said, trying to hold back her tears of joy.

Cadence was speechless, not only by the short tale of Spike but the sheer happiness, and even to a point, devotion and gratitude her subjects felt for him. Even the higher merchants, nobles, and military heads felt the same way. But there was something she still didn't understand.

“H-his mate? What do you mean by that?”

“The head of the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, Twilight Sparkle, and our Savior said so himself, she is the one he loves.”

Before Cadence could say or even think of anything to say about that matter, the door of their private room opened. She looked up and saw Spike standing in the doorway, his expression hard to read and he was looking right up at her.

“Spike!” She said, happy to see him out of his room and at the same time worried for whatever reason he might have for entering the way he did. “Is something wrong?”

Spike took a look around the room; he could see some guards and a bunch of elderly looking stallions and mares as well as some nobles and, from what he could easily tell, some high ranking officers of the military. He took a deep breath before looking at Cadence with full determination and kneeling before her and the rest of the ponies inside.

“Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, nobles of the Crystal Empire, and all those who are present, I present myself before you humbly.” His voice was soft but firm. “It has come to my knowledge the full weight of the title you so gratefully placed upon myself without my acknowledgement.” the nobles and everypony else flinched for a second, their faces clearly fearing something dreadful.

“I am most grateful and honored for your confidence and trust by naming me, a stranger, and one not of your own, one not even a member of your own species, as the champion of your entire kingdom............” a full minute of silence passed in the room, nopony moved an inch nor made any kind of sound aside from the occasional gulping, then Spike got up and smiled warmly at Cadence. “...... And I accept with open arms, the title; I shall embrace it and fulfill my duty as your champion, The Crystal Savior.”

Another round of silence fell in the room before Spike turned around “I will be in the library if anypony needs me.” Then he left the room, the closing of the door marking the beginning of cheering inside the room.

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Spike was sitting alone in a desk in the library, five thick books were scattered around the table he was at while another one was held in front of him by his little arms, and he was so engrossed with his reading that he didn't notice the pink Alicorn behind him.

“What are you reading, Spike?”

“GAH!” Spike screamed, dropping the book he was reading back on the table, looking behind he saw Cadence lightly laughing. “Oh…hi Cadence, didn't hear you come in, so what’s up?” He asked taking up the book he was reading again.

“I asked, what are you reading?”

“History of the Crystal Empire mainly, if I’m really going to be the Crystal Savior I might as well know what I’m going to be getting into”

“Spike,” Cadence sighed. “You don’t have to do it, my subjects were reckless when giving you the title like that. You’re barely a child!”

“I’m eighteen, thank you very much. In dragon years that’s nothing, but I’m already an adult in pony terms, and since I live in Equestria, well, the Crystal Empire now, I have my citizenship documents AND I’m officially the son of the sun Goddess... I think that whole, ‘you are just a child,’ thing won’t work on me. Besides,” his voice turned a little somber, “what kind of child kills and enjoys it?”

“You were not you, Spike.” She said, putting a hoof over his shoulder, “You are sweet, loyal, and pure. You have the biggest heart of gold I have ever seen, pony or dragon.”

“Heh,” he chuckled. “Don’t be fooled, Cadence. I was VERY awake and I knew exactly what I was doing. The only thing that wasn't me was the power that made me bigger, but that didn't change anything inside me.”

“Spike, please. I’m trying to help you get out of this, I know little about the battles and what your title fully means, but I do know it is very dangerous for you. Not all champions died in battle, some were assassinated or worse by opposing nations.” Cadence spun Spike around, forcing him to look at her in the eye. “Just tell me you want to quit right here, right now, and I will do everything I can to get you out of this mess, this is not your home or duty, Spike.”

For a couple of seconds Spike just sat there hold in place by Cadence before smiling sweetly at her.

“Too bad for you, Cadence.” He gave out a little laugh, “Luna already told me what my title means; I can’t back out, at least not without pretty much giving away your life and the lives of the crystal ponies.” Spike’s face turned angry, “I won’t be responsible of that just to save my own scales. I won’t! I will stay! I will fight! And I will win! I will embrace my title with pride and honor!”

Cadence let go of him as he finished his little speech, she grimaced at the thought that this title literally meant he had to fight or the kingdom would die at the claws of another kingdom, nation, or foe who saw fit.

Finally she could understand a bit of the full weight of the title, it wasn't just an honor or a way to call a champion, and since the title was given by the subjects to the one they saw as their hero, she couldn't do much from the beginning.

She looked down at the dragon that had turned and continued his reading; her newly found subjects had branded the little drake as a shield, a sword, a symbol of hope and morale, something vital for them.

The kingdom was a pyramid, she may be on the top of it now, but Spike...Spike had become the base, and without the base, the pyramid was doomed to fall.

Cadence tried to say something else, but nothing came out, even if she hated to admit it, Spike was right, there was no way to evade this. Turning around, she left the dragon alone with his reading, knowing full well there was really nothing she could have done.

-------------------------------------------------------------************************************

Much later, after the sun had dipped beyond the horizon and the dark grip of night swept the land, Spike sat quietly at Twilight’s side, talking to her as if she could talk back.

“So yeah, I went into the room Cadence was in and pretty much said I was going to be the champion of the Empire and tried to do it...you know, look cool and all,” he gave out a small laugh. “Oh, that reminds me. Once you wake up, we are so going to the library, you know how much I hate history books, but damn the Crystal Empire history is wicked cool! You wouldn't believe just how much they really deserve the title ‘Crystal’, can you believe it started as a simple mining town that was a lot like Ponyville?” Twilight remained motionless.

“Yeah, me too. I was starting to read about some of their conflicts with the Diamond Dogs when Cadence came and scared me, I swear I almost had a heart attack!” Spike laughed at the memory, “she tried to convince me to not do it... you know, be the Crystal Savior and all... but I told her that I wanted to do it. And besides, there was no way to evade it in the end.” Still nothing.

“I think I’m going to be staying here after you wake up Twi, break the news softly to Big Mac and Thunderlane, will ya? Specially to Big Mac; he might be big and strong, but he has a heart as kind as Fluttershy. Also, you’re going to have to keep an eye open for Applejack: she tried to kill herself a few days ago, might have done it if it weren't for me.”
Spike was silent for a couple of seconds before holding her hoof tightly.

“I’m afraid, Twilight. So very afraid. Not for me, but for the Crystal Empire, the crystal ponies, for Cadence, and for you. Once you leave, the only thing that will give me strength is your memory and the promise that one day I will see you again, and maybe then I will tell you just how much I love you.” He climbed on the bed softly, “I promise you, I will be strong, I will learn, and I will fight for the Empire, for me, and for you. I love you, Twilight.” Spike leaned down and kissed her softly on her lips, tasting her and feeling her soft meaty lips against his scaly ones.

Twilight mumbled something in her sleep and sighed happily, Spike smiled at her reaction and then walked out of the room.

“Good night, Twilight”

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Celestia was watching the ceremony before her with mixed feelings: on one side, she was very proud of her little boy for saving the empire from such an evil tyrant, but on the other, she was worried that the crystal ponies had too quickly named him their Savior.

It had been two months of struggle for her, Luna, and Cadence, having to deal with other nations demanding a fight against the Crystal Champion; it was only thanks to diplomacy that an all-out war was evaded.

Cadence had stated that the Crystal Empire was still weak and recovering from their absence and their thousand year banishment from the very time line, thus couldn't afford any kind of gain or battle, so a treaty was made: for twenty years, the Crystal Empire would be off limits to give them time to recover; and in exchange, they asked for something dreadful, that sadly had to be agreed to.

Firstly, the name of the champion had to be given to them that instant, giving away the last hope for Spike. And secondly, since the battles were arranged in times of fifty years, and since the Crystal Empire had been gone for little more than a thousand, at the end of the agreed twenty years, the champion would have to battle twenty times.

Celestia was outraged at the beginning, but calmed herself down soon enough and ended up convincing Cadence to accept the deal, even if that meant putting an even bigger burden over Spike and the Crystal Empire army’s shoulders.

She only managed to convince her to accept by stating that those twenty years, while little and in a way a death sentence, were also a blessing, because in twenty years, Spike could train and prepare himself, as well as the empire’s army.

Celestia sighed as her little boy, her beloved Spike, rose up in front of the gathering as their official Crystal Savior, causing the crystal ponies cheered in unison for their new beloved hero. She was behind him with Luna at her side, Cadence standing to his left side with her now paralytic husband, secretly scowling at the drake, while Twilight was standing to his right, a shaky claw placed over her back.

Celestia smiled sadly, remembering when Twilight awoke; at first she cried like a mad mare over the death of two of her friends as Pinkie Pie had returned to Ponyville a week before her awakening, sad and in tears, only to return two days after she awakened, wanting to be at the side of her friends.

Rarity had also returned to Ponyville, but only for her belongings, she decided to move to the Crystal Empire, mostly because of the horrid nightmares she got regularly.

And Applejack was still in the hospital, recovering from various attempts to take her own life, never explaining why and never seeing her friends.

It took a slap and a makeup kiss from Spike to calm her down, slowly but surely Twilight and Spike talked about their feelings and what Spike was now chained to do, in all honesty Celestia had readied herself to stop a berserk Twilight, but to everypony’s surprise, she only stated that she would stay with Spike, saying she wasn't going to let anyone, not even Spike, take her away from him.

The two of them then started a somewhat secret relationship, the details were not to her knowledge but that did not matter, her son was happy at Twilight’s side and that was all that she cared for.

Celestia smiled widely as the cheering turned into a roar of happiness and prosperity.

“Why art thou smiling, my sister?” Luna asked, confused at her smiling face “Hast—I mean, did something happened that we are not aware of?”

“No Luna, is just that I have a strange feeling.” Her smile turned wider as Spike jumped off the balcony and was catch softly by the crystal ponies, “a feeling that’s telling me that the Crystal Empire and my son will be safe”

“How can you be so sure, my sister?”

“Motherly instinct.”

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Spike was sitting at Cadence’s left side on the council room, the noble houses heads and the leaders of the military were there too, discussing their economy, land, military force, defensive capabilities, offensive capabilities, everything that came up to mind and needed to be checked and what needed to be focused on.

“Clearly,” a stallion clad in crystal armor began, “we need to focus on our military strength: our numbers are too weak, our weapons, armors, and supplies are minimal at best. And don’t make me start talking about our current ‘veteran’ forces.”

“How dire is the situation, General?” Shining asked as Cadence sat at his right side.

“Absolute, Sir.” The general said. “At the moment, we only count with eight hundred active troops, ninety percent of which are recruits, and the ten percent that’s left have little to no experience.” His gaze fell to the floor, “when the tyrant attacked, we lost everything.”

“The only real veterans in battle and military formation are the ones before you, Prince Shining Armor. And you, of course,” said a colonel, pointing at the general and four other officers.

“So we have an army seven members big that are trained enough to really count as soldiers,” Shining groaned. “Can’t we ask Princess Celestia for reinforcements?”

“She has already given us too much freely, Shining! I will not ask for more, we have to pull through by ourselves!” Shining simply buffed.

“What news brings our merchant guilds?”

“Very good news, your majesty.” Said an elderly looking mare, “our Crystal Berry production will increase three hundred percent in the next few months and the selling prices are formidable. If we can maintain a steady line with Equestria and Griffonia, then we will be able to expand our guilds and our revenue will be much bigger than ever before”
“Other products show little progress, but they will also be fruitful in the long run,” another mare said.

“What about the Crystal Mines?” Cadence spoke, bringing a silence to the room, “I’m... I’m terribly sorry.”

“It matters not, your majesty,” the general said. “We can begin to...... ’work’ in the mines if you see it fit.”
“No, General, it was not—"

“I have a question.” Spike said, interrupting Cadence and saving her for embarrassing herself.

“Yes, Crystal Savior? What is your question?” The stallion asked.

“I read that before So—the bastard came, you had discovered a very special crystal... but I couldn't find anything else aside from that, what was it?”

“Ah, yes. The Red Moon Crystal; it is a very rare crystal found in the depths of the crystal mines. They are much different from other crystals: they are harder than diamond, they can withstand temperatures higher than lava itself, they are light as a feather, and they can be used to channel magic! Sadly ‘he’ came before we could find out more about it. Why do you ask, Crystal Savior?”

“Just call me Spike; I like how my name sounds,” the general laughed lightly. “Do you have some around? There is something I want to try out.”

“Of course, here!” The general said, taking off a necklace holding a small deep red crystal, barely big enough to fit on his claw, he tried to break it but couldn't do it, he tried to bite it, but almost hurt his own fangs, finally he scratched the pointy end against his scales and managed to do a light cut. “Fantastic! Even better than I imagined! Shining,” he said, turning to him.

“What?” the stallion growled at him with clear disdain in his voice as Spike rolled his eyes.

“Could you please channel a small, very small shield spell through the crystal?”

Shining glared at Spike but did as he was asked to, almost instantly the crystal glowed and a barrier five times bigger than what Shining had tried to do appeared at the other side of the crystal.

“Cadence, could you please fire a spell at the crystal, try to destroy it.” Cadence nodded, wanting to see what was Spike getting to, using a simple fire spell she fired it against the crystal on Spike’s claw, and before the fireball could touch it, the fireball disappeared and Spike smiled. “Even better than I imagined.”

Spike turned to the general, “I read these were very special crystals. Now I see why. They really are hard, impossible for a dragon to eat, I think, and sharp enough to pierce through our skin.” He showed the small cut over his left claw, “not only will they help defensive magic, but they can also negate offensive magic, though don’t know if it would work if we use offensive magic as defensive magic.”

Spike tossed the crystal into the air, masterfully catching it between two fingers.

“I have an idea. Maybe we can use these crystals to form an army; maybe some units with these as traditional phalanx units capable of outstanding defense and destructive offense! That would boost the army greatly once we get the bits to actually work on them!” Spike smiled and began to play around with the crystal, mimicking a spear.

“Just imagine it, spears made out of these babies! Or even better, armor, or even more! The Blood Phalanx... no, that sounds lame......I got it! The Crystal Phalanx!” Spike stopped, holding the crystal up triumphantly, finally noticing the expression of everypony in the room, “well... it’s just an idea, anyway.”

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Spike was walking towards the hospital happily to try and visit Applejack.

“‘Project Crystal Phalanx’! That sounds soooooo cooooooool!” he thought, smiling like a fool, barely noticing he had already arrived at the hospital.

He sighed loudly, drawing his claws over his closed eyes as he slowly grabbed a cigarette he had remembered to get from his room at the Crystal Empire, Twilight didn't mind it as long as he did not kiss her after he had one, and his mother had told him that he was an adult and that his choices were his own.

Being a dragon, he naturally breathed fire and smoke, so the effects on such a lung destroying, tobacco filled, stick of death-cancer had no effect on him as he spewed his green flames onto the tip and inhaled a lungful, exhaling out his nose with a sigh before leaning on the wall, confused on how he was to train so that he could gain the respect of not only his ‘subjects’, but his friends and Twilight.

He was feeling agitated at how he was supposed to appease all of the ponies who relied on him, how he was to gain the attention of his own species, and worried that he would fail the empire and all of those who depended on him, those who needed his support and inspiration to gain the allies of the ancient days, hoping he lived up to their exceptions.

Breathing slowly, he inhaled the last of his nicotine before extinguishing it out on the side of the building, glad he had something to calm his nerves as he went inside, surprised that she had not come out of her room after being revived from attempting to kill herself those many months ago.

Swallowing the spittle in his throat, he entered into the Earth Pony’s assigned room, nervous from what he would encounter, and glanced at the now stable, unconscious mare before him, glad to see that she was asleep, at least he hoped.

Grabbing a plastic chair by the door, he brought it close to the mare, sitting down near her bed as he watched her slumber, bemused that she could sleep so calmly after all that happened.

Frowning, the drake reached a claw towards her, feeling her soft, warm fur as he closed his eyes, praying to his mother that she would heal, be safe, and feel secure before he felt a shift in the mare’s bed. Opening his eyes, he saw Applejack staring at him with a blank expression, as if she was not in the least bothered that he had come to visit her, ever since he caught her... doing as she had tried, he had been worried about her.

Applejack was a beautiful mare, one not fazed by the cruel words other creatures had spoken about her and her family, not tempted by the pursuits that stallions and even sometimes mares had offered to her in order to court her, for she was afraid they only wanted the hard worked land and bits that had come from slaving onto the century old land rather than the mare who they had whispered sweet nothings and empty promises to.

That was why she had no mate, which always made her scared that she would pass from this life without knowing the love of another creature near her side, without giving birth to children of her own, or even adopting a child if Fate had pointed her heart in the direction of a mare.

Truth be told, a mare had captured her heart, a friend she had known for quite a long time, and she was embarrassed that she had tried to leave this world without revealing her feelings for her, terrified that she would be scorned upon and rejected like a sick, twisted old mare, though she was only twenty four.

She was in love with Pinkie Pie, even though the mare’s antics often annoyed her, as it did many around her, she loved her charm, her sense of optimism, and the smile that she always wanted to comfort her when she felt down. Applejack had always made excuses to go visit the mare whenever she could, being nervous of telling her how she felt, despite her stubborn pride that would normally force her to face her fears head on.

She could not tell the earth pony her heart’s desire, for she was far too afraid of what her answer would be... and yet, even though she was so depressed over the death of her friends and her broken hind legs that she had wanted to end her own life, even tried to, she could not let go of the faces that haunted her mind, of her family, her friends, of Princess Celestia, the Goddess she prayed to each day and night, and finally, of the heart broken mare who she had admired for many years.

She was honestly glad Spike had saved her that day, even though she could no longer walk, she still could not leave this life with regret, not after all she had been through.

Watching the poor, distressed drake in front of her, Applejack slowly chuckled, making Spike visibly jump in shock that she was awake and not sleeping with her eyes open like he thought before she spoke, her accent low but drawn out, forcing the reptile to listen very closely.

“Ah am... or rather, Ah was once in love with a mare, Spike.” She whispered calmly as he sat still and just allowed her to talk.

“After so long of longing after her, after fidgeting in my sleep like a scared rabbit, ah was prepared to tell her my honest feelings, of how ah had foolishly thought ah could do one last life or death defying mission with mah friends and come out unscratched like the last three times and then finally show her how much ah... how much she meant to me, ah never expected to travel down the dark road ah had chosen for myself, Spike. Ah’m sorry, ah’m so sorry.” She spoken slowly, tears trailing down her face, making Spike calmly wiped them away with his tail as he felt his own tears brim near the edge of his eyes and allowed her to continue, for he doubted this was all she had to say.

“In Mah family, suicide should never be used as a last resort, it should never even be brought to mind, and it’s evil, wicked and cowardly. Ah don’t know what ah was thinking, ah know that Celestia would never approve of such a dark action and yet... at that moment that ah did try to do it, ah was fully convicted ah was useless. Look at me, Spike. Mah hind legs will never work again, I’m not a single bit of help to my family anymore, and I can’t even give mah heart to the mare ah honestly love, more of a liability really then an asset. Ah don’t know what to do anymore, Spike. Farming and spending time with my family is all I have in my life, I don’t know anything else. Ah’m an Apple... all we know how to do is work.” The lonely mare sobbed, pouring her heart to her friend as he did not know how to comfort her, never knowing that she was merely like a dam ready to burst when she spoke of her emotions welled up inside of her.

It left him unprepared for when she wrapped her hooves around his body, making him by instinct stroke her fur and attempt to calm her down as she hiccuped and sighed loudly not even realizing the awkward position she had put her friend into as he cleared his throat loudly once she had stifled her cries, allowing her to back away from him with a clear red blush on her orange fur, causing him to chuckle.

“Ah am sorry, Spike... I don’t know what came over me, to be honest. Haven't cried that hard since... well, since my folks passed away. It’s of no concern to you, you were just being a dear friend, and that’s mighty fine of you, but I think that-” she was interrupted as Spike placed a lone digit on her lips with a soft smile.

“AJ, you’re one of my best friends. Your problems ARE my problems. I’m not going to abandon you just because you feel guilt over trying to kill yourself. It happens. It’s part of life, and I very much doubt your family would disown you for something that was not within your power to control. You had no idea King Sombra would overwhelm you, or any of us for that matter... what happened was not your fault. If any creature is to blame, it would be me for-”

“Now you wait just a gosh darn minute, little lizard. What you did was defend all of us and every single pony in there from that monster. You’re a hero, Spike. And I owe my life to you. I am in your debt-”

“Does killing one’s enemy truly make them a hero, Applejack? Do I really deserve redemption after taking the life of a-”

“Spike, stop. Ah mean it, stop right now. No need to make this into a complicated mess when it simply boils down to the fact that you saved lives, you gotten the mare of your heart, and you’re a national treasure. Any mare would be lucky to have you, and one seriously is... not even heroes can go all throughout life without doubt or regret, leave it at that... we all have our sins, little dragon.” Applejack whispered softly, making Spike bow his head and sigh loudly.

“You’re right, I should not dwell on the past, only look towards the future, Applejack. If you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to ask me.” Spike spoke slowly, causing the Earth Pony to offer a small smile in comfort.

With a soft chuckle, Applejack took him up on his offer, “allow me to serve you, Spike... until the end of my days.”

“Wha... what? AJ, what has happened to you was only-”

“Mah legs will never be the same anymore, Spike. Ah can never do the job of tending to the farm anymore because of this mess, I’m useless as far as being part of the farm goes. So... I want to become your personal guard, a soldier you can rely on, mind, body, and soul. Ah swear, Spike, if you just-”

“Applejack, I can’t allow you to do something so degrading as to serve me like some type of slave, it’s not right, it’s not who you are, and it’s not something I will ever allow. Please, AJ, just give it more-”

“There isn't anymore time for me, don’t you get it, Spike? Ah tried to take mah own life after being so down in the muck of despair. Ah can’t even tell Pinkie how Ah feel about her... please, allow me just this one opportunity to prove mah self... please.” She pleaded, tearing Spike’s heart in two at how mournful her voice sounded, breaking up as she began to sob.
Feeling like he was being speared through, Spike swallowed the large amount of spittle accumulated in his throat before he, with a heartfelt sigh, nodded.

“Very well, Crystal Warrior, I dub you worthy of serving me, the Crystal Savior, and our nation until the day that you pass from this life, or when you have fulfilled your obligation upon the empire... Applejack, you will be my most trusted and precious guard, but I will never ask you to do something you are not fit to do. And in exchange... you have to tell Pinkie Pie your feelings about her. And no delaying it... do we have a deal?” He asked with utter seriousness in his voice, giving rise to her pause before finding the convection to do what she had her heart set on and nodded.

“Yes, ah pledge my duty and honor to you, mah sword, shield, and armor are to be yours as you see fit, and ah... ah give you my word that ah will tell Pinkie how she holds mah heart in her hooves.” She answered without a single shred of doubt, while Spike nodded with a smile, glad she was as serious as he was about this.

With a firm pat on her hoof, he let her rest as he walked from the hospital, tears flowing down his face as he wondered just what it was that drove a pony to offer their lives to others, be they royalty, king, queens, or Gods, as he let out an emotionless chuckle.

“I guess any pony can have a heart of gold, so long as they have the right goals to chase after and the right path to take. I may not be much of a champion now, but I swear to the Gods... I will not let the Crystal Empire down.” He thought to himself as he felt a sense of pride swell up inside with a smile, before reaching to get another cigarette from his ear fin, bathing the tip in his flames, and inhaling it sharply, knowing it was going to be a long weekend, he could feel it.

Author's Note

Damn, this took a bit longer then expected, we are sorry. As it is....we give you a glimpse of what the future holds fellow fans.

Twenty years is all I need; A covenant with Death

*Year 0*

And what a long weekend that turned out to be.

First thing next day, the train from Equestria arrived with some much unexpected visitors, I wish I hadn't been there when it arrived, but I knew it was going to be me who had to deliver the news, even after two long months, I was not even remotely ready for what I had to do.

Big Macintosh was the first to step out, behind him was Thunderlane and the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Big Mac took me up and shouted, yes SHOUTED, at me, demanding to know what happened to his beloved marefriend.

If having five ponies in my face, demanding answers wasn't enough, soon came three other familiar faces as well; Winona, Angel and Tank. I couldn't hold it in and told them everything, no short versions or something soft, just the truth.

Once I was done, I expected somepony’s hoof in my face, shouting at me or anything but what happened, Thunderlane just stood there, paralyzed, before asking me where Rainbow’s grave was, and walked away slowly, followed by a bellowing Scootaloo. Soon afterwards, Big Macintosh hugged me, he actually hugged me and thanked me for saving Applejack’s life, but I could feel how devastated he was for the loss of his beloved Fluttershy, then he went on his way to visit Applejack in the hospital, followed by Apple Bloom and Winona. Sweetie Belle didn't say anything and just left to where Rarity was now living.

I don’t know if I should be lucky or not, but Angel Bunny didn't do anything to me, he just stood there, in front of me, crying his little bunny heart out for the loss of his master, and by the sounds of it, Tank wasn't faring any better.

I took Angel and told Tank to follow me, in an instant I adopted the pets of my two dear friends, I didn't even bothered to cover up my tears.

That night, while lying on my bed, I received a summons to see my mother. I rushed my way towards the meeting room and was greeted by hail of hugs and kisses.

She talked to me and tried to personally help me with my training, but I declined; Gods can’t interfere with the training or the trials of champions. Then she did something I thought was impossible for her; she begged.

My mom begged me to accept her proposition, to run away to Equestria, to ANYTHING other than to fight, and she told me why; not because there was an ultimate price to pay, or anything like that, but because she was afraid she’d lose me forever. Me, the child she could never have, and the one she had come to love as much as her own sister.

That night I slept with my mother, holding her close and comforting her, reassuring her that I was going to be fine and that I was going to win. I kissed her forehead goodnight before falling asleep surrounded by her warm, loving embrace.

The next day I went to see Applejack, just to make sure she was alright, and the scene I saw filled me with joy for the first time in months; Pinkie Pie atop Applejack, making out as if their lives depended on it. I took out one of my cigarettes and walked away, embarrassed as the situation turned out to be more intimate by the moment, after all, they at least deserved some privacy.

Later that day, while I was studying, a group of colts and fillies approached me, cheering me on to tell them the story of how I defeated Sombra. I took no pleasure in telling them the story, but they seemed to be just so fascinated by it, that I really couldn't understand it.

Also, even after these two months, I still found it hard to adapt to the amount of respect and... well, should I say gratitude from the general populace.

It’s rather strange to me, for all my life I've lived like a normal subject and not like the prince I am, doing chores, being an assistant, and a tag-along friend, but now I am bowed at and showed respect every direction I look. It’s, well... odd, to say the least, not unpleasant, but it sure is odd.

I saw an elderly couple before entering the castle that night, they trotted to where I was and showed me a crystal photo of a teenage filly, they told me she was enslaved instead of them and worked until her death in the crystal mines, she died just the day before mom and aunt Luna showed to stop Sombra. They thanked me for killing the bastard that took their daughter away from them and saved all the young colts and fillies from such a fate.

I couldn't sleep that night, so I went to the library to check the ‘labor’ files of the crystal mines. From that moment onward, I was finally glad I had killed that bucking monster; more than five thousand ponies died during his reign, and that night I promised to myself that the crystal ponies would never suffer such a fate again.

The next day my real training began.

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*Year 1*

It was a good first year.

The production of the crystal berries not only reached the expectations of the merchants, it surpassed it greatly! Far off kingdoms like Saddle Arabia and Ursania fell in love with the berries and became our two main consumers while the earning for them went up faster than a weather Pegasus during tornado duty.

The farms and the ‘defrost’ process of the original land of the Empire marched on swiftly, providing space for more homes, more farms, and more space for animals and plants to live.

When General Crystal Shine told us the army was weak, he meant it. We had few to zero troops, we barely had enough royal guards to fill the most important roles, and even they were still young and fresh. This was going to take some time to recover, thankfully Shining was still able to train rightful guards and soldiers, even if he couldn't move his hind legs anymore, he could still bark orders and perform great shields, he may be a complete asshole to me, but I had to admire his spirit for being true to his word, if anything.

Applejack has proven herself to be a tremendous fighter and a very fast learner, General Crystal Shine had took her under his care and was personally training her, while her hind legs would never have the strength and durability they once had, she could still deal terrible amounts of pain.

Her life in the farm proved to be a tremendous asset for her, she masterfully took three weapons: the whip, the spear, and the sword, all with deadly accuracy.

Furthermore, her relationship with Pinkie only seemed to grow with each passing day. Speaking of Pinkie, she decided to open up her own bakery in the empire, and needless to say, it was a total success, and with her being around proved to be a huge blessing, thanks to her happy attitude and personality, she had no problems keeping everyone happy and content.

Rarity’s case was something hard, to say the least, because earlier that year, Sweetie Belle had moved in with her, since Rarity’s nightmares were terrible. I talked with her about it and she told me that it was because she blamed herself for not trying to do something to save Rainbow and Fluttershy, and the news of Applejack’s attempted suicide only made it worse.

I told her that if she felt truly that way then she should do something about it, something productive, something to make them proud, and to always remember them as they lived, not how they died. She asked me how she could do that, I told her that was what I was doing.

Twilight continued her studies normally, wanting to be as ready as I was to face any future problems we would see. To say her presence was what I needed to keep going during my studies and training would be a dire understatement, for no matter what, I was going to fulfill my promise to the Cadence and the Crystal Empire, but Twilight gave me the strength to keep going each day.

Also, her studious and brilliant brain helped us deal with all sorts of problems, from the most mundane to the most critical ones, but I’m also worried about her. I don’t know if she can complete this ‘higher destiny’ that my mom always talks about, mainly because we both tasted a bitter part of friendship: the loss of a friend.

Even though our economy was growing greatly, we still lacked what we needed to start a proper army... All we needed to do was to work on the crystal mines, but the fear of the crystal ponies was still fresh and evident, just a clawful of ponies even dared to get near said mines, so it was no surprise workers for the mine were nonexistent.

I took a helmet, a pickax, a shovel, and a lantern, and went inside myself to dig out some crystals, we needed them directly or else we wouldn't have enough money or time to even prepare decent defenses.

The next day I went to the mines a group of five hundred crystal ponies were waiting for me, ready to dig at my side. I thanked them and went inside with them, to give them strength and the courage they needed to face that dreadful place. I dug with them for the rest of the year before the two thousand workers begged me to continue with my training.

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*Year 2*

Mathematics, philosophy, writing, literature, meditation, exercises, training, diet, astronomy, military tactics, and much, much more now filled my daily life. I barely had time to rest or eat, but I knew this was needed.

Cadence had brought forth the best teachers in each field she could find and I eagerly learned, that’s when I discovered just how much of an egghead I truly am, one that could give my Twilight a run for her bits. I literally sucked away every little bit of information that was thrown at me.

Aside from my training, there were also two major events that year.

The first one was that Big Macintosh came back, but not alone, alongside him came Granny Smith, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Thunderlane, and ALL of the apple family. With Applejack here and with Granny Smith too old to make any real decisions, Big Mac sold every piece of land owned by the Apple Family and decided to move to the Crystal Empire, bringing with them all the apple trees they could. They were received with open arms... or legs, as was the case.

This meant so much for the Empire, since apples were a real luxury here, most of the Apple Family spread out into different locations in the farm lands to start their own apple farms. Not only that, but the Zap Apples could be harvested monthly instead of yearly while in the lands of the Empire, thus providing the amazing Zap Apple Jam regularly and bringing our second highest income.

Thunderlane had graduated Wonderbolt training in record time and quit the very next day, giving us a great advantage on aerial tactics, since the Crystal Ponies have a very limited amount of Pegasus and unicorns; every single little advantage we can get is welcome.

Big Mac also joined the army and began to train alongside his sister, while he wasn't a very skillful fighter, aside from the spear, he has the endurance and strength that can even rival an Alicorn; in the words of Cadence, “He might just be the most powerful earth pony alive”, and don’t even get me started on his mathematical prowess. Let’s just say that with him in charge of our financial situations, we don’t have to worry about corruption or any ‘missing bits’, and thanks to him, my math lessons were soon dealt with.

The rest of the family that joined the army were also surprisingly talented in melee combat and had some military knowledge, it seems that in one point in the past, the Apple Family was the backbone of the Equestrian Army and that ancient knowledge passed down generation to generation, no wonder mom gave them the land of Ponyville without problems.

Thanks to them, we suddenly got good officers that were respected by the majority of the inhabitants and had enough training and skill to actually train decent soldiers in great numbers, the only two real problems now, were the equipment and the troops.

The former was that the extraction of the Red Moon Crystals came to a sudden halt, it seems like the crystal grows inside the cavern on a steady phase, albeit slow, it meant it would provide us with a great supply of said crystals in the future.

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*Year 5*

My training carried on normally, each day making me faster, stronger, smarter, and now deadlier. and soon enough, my daily routine included things like archery, brawling, deep meditation, swordsmanship, though I always preferred two swords held in reverse over one, craftsmanship, and smiting, but on my weekends, I was taught by a lion how to hunt, kill, camouflage, torture, psychoanalyze, and many other arts that would help to either escape from a sticky situation or gain the upper claw in a dire moment.

At first, it all seemed so dark and bizarre... but he explained why was this so necessary: usually the fights were held in a public arena or some designated terrain were the leaders of each country could see their display, but in some rare occasions, the champions were left alone in the wild, forcing them to hunt the other. It was rare, but the situation could arrive and it was better to be ready than sorry.

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*Year 8*

Project Crystal Phalanx was born this year, after many tests and experiments we could finally use the Red Moon Crystals as weapons. Sadly, the quantity was low and we couldn't form the army I had in mind, but something better was created.
My Crystal Phalanx Units were only six in number, but by the end of the twenty year period, they would become eight.

From the moment I read about these Red Moon Crystals, I knew they could be used as a weapon, a deadly weapon and a great armor, and boy was I right. A unit of Crystal Phalanx is a traditional formation of sixteen by sixteen ponies formed in the ‘Phalanx’ formation, but imagine this for a moment.

Imagine you are the enemy, imagine you are facing a single unit of my Crystal Phalanx; a deadly, literally unbreakable wall twenty two hoof steps long with crystal spear points in front of you, crystals that are harder than diamond, crystals that can pierce and cut through the scales and teeth of dragons, crystals that can dispel any kind of offensive magic.

Crystals that can also be used by unicorns to create powerful barriers around the unit from all directions without exhausting them in the slightest, making arrows, rocks and aerial assaults on them useless, said crystals can contain a limited amount of magic inside them to fire three short range bolts of energy powerful enough to break through a metal door easily, three for each spear.

Now imagine you are going to attack them, but the barrier is up and so they can’t be attacked from above, behind, flanks, or beneath them, but you can’t play the waiting game either, since the unit can still move towards you and leave enough space in the barrier to perform their frontal attack without troubles.

The Crystal Phalanx unit is at its strongest when formed up as the unit they are but imagine you somehow managed to disrupt them, forcing them to battle outside their unit they still have one more surprise, their armor is covered by a thin layer of said crystal, making all of your weapons useless against them, and a sword made of the same material, a very sharp-dragon-cutting material, plus the commanders of each unit carry a deadly weapon made specifically for them, the one they are most deadly with.

And that’s just one unit... ONE! And I’m in direct command of ALL of them; all of the six, soon to be eight, units. Each unit is lead by a personal friend or a great leader, and the troops of said units are mostly formed by the still young and still training soldiers of the Empire, soldiers that saw me defeat the tyrant that enslaved them all those years ago. Back then, nothing but colts and fillies were not becoming a great and powerful force under the direct command of the one they held as their hero and their beacon of hope and strength. Morale? I have it.

So, basically, you are facing a bristling hedgehog of deadly, harder than diamond sharp-dragon-cutting spear points, that you cannot go under, around, or over, and the ONLY way to attack it is from the front, where you most likely will not even reach inside of, and if you do, the soldiers are armored, armed, and trained to be a force to be reckon with, who will follow their hero, their commander, their prime general into battle without hesitation, fear or preoccupation.

NOW imagine you are facing eight units of Crystal Phalanxes, leading an even greater army that also have range support, healers, covered flanks and some aerial support, even if limited strong enough to hold their….errmmm, sky.

Why am I the General in chief of these powerful units whose only weakness is that they are very slow when using the armored barrier? Simple; I came with the idea, the formation, the tactics, the armor, the weapons, everything. I discovered what a tactical genius I am, and I will use it all to defend the place I have learned to call my home.

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*Year 13*

Twilight passed the test of mom and now she has become an Alicorn as well, GODS I’M SO HAPPY RIGHT NOW! As a gift, I promised my beloved that I wouldn't’t smoke for a month, hopefully she doesn't find out I have.

On the other claw, my body has FINALLY began to change: my arms, legs, and tail are getting longer and a lot stronger while my body is adapting as well, I’m now tall enough to look Cadence eye to eye.

Hey, compared to the small dragon I was for so long, this change is very welcome, now my training is easier and I am far more accurate with almost everything.

Also, I can’t wait to grow up a little more and finally try the nasty with my beloved, because seriously, we've been together for thirteen years now and we still haven’t had sex! Sure we've had our little touchy moments here and there, but my, let’s say, anatomy was still underdeveloped for proper intercourse.

(As a side note I can tell I’m getting muscles under my scales... looking good, Spike! Looking reeeeaaaal good!).

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*Year 15*

Last night, an assassin came into my room while I was sleeping, or so the idiot thought, and for the first time in years, I could see the payoff of my training, I ended the Zebra assassin in less than twenty seconds.

I did not enjoy taking his life, but I did enjoyed the feeling of seeing all my training and hard work in action like that, I felt excited to face my first opponent.

We have finally managed to gather the materials for four Crystal Phalanx units, but only one so far is ready for use.

The first one will be led by Applejack, now known as the “Orange Slicer”, known for her capability to give orders and think quickly, making her a great commander, not to mention that they are very respectful and loyal to her as well, no wonder she is my second in command.

In battle, she will be deadly, her ability with the tail-whip and her sword make her title proud and her skill with the spear could make her the best darn surgeon in the Empire. (on a side note I must congratulate her on the birth of hers and Pinkie’s first child. Also, must ask Twilight how was she capable of completing the temporal Gender-Swapping spell).

The second one will be led by Big Macintosh, known as the “Silent Strategist.” His leadership skills and authority makes him perfect for this position as well as my personal adviser and strategist.

The third unit will be led by Pipsqueak, the youngest commander in the army, and even younger than most of his own subordinates, he seems to be cute and innocent, playful and good natured but don’t let that fool you for a second, he was personally trained by aunt Luna for ten years, many fear him and they are right to do so, for he is the “Moon’s Shadow”. May our enemies remember his title; for it will be the last thing they’ll see, and I have to admit that I’m aiding the poor young stallion in his quest to win my aunt’s heart, I’m hoping it goes well for he asks her out soon.

The fourth will be led by Scootaloo, named “The Flightless Terror”, and is nothing to poke fun about, one of the few Pegasus in history without being able to fly she makes up for tremendous speed and agility, her weapon of choice is odd as well, a hammer.

I, personally thought she would take a whip or maybe even daggers, but she chose the hammer. At first, I thought it was a mistake, but after seeing her train with the thing, I realized it was the best mistake ever.

I have already decided who shall lead my other four units.

The fifth shall be led by Rarity, the only commander without a title, but it’s not necessary, she is well beloved among her soldiers, her ability to detect the weak spots on any kind of gear, armor, weapon, structure, or machinery makes her, by far, the most deadly for our enemies. I may have thought about the armor, but she was the one able to create it, as she says, flawlessly.

The sixth will be led by Apple Bloom, who’s not only a brilliant strategist and a wild fighter, but also loyal to death and hell bent on building the best of the best for our armies, named “The Master Builder”, she is the brains behind the Crystal Phalanx. Who do you think was the one able to forge the Red Moon Crystals?

The seventh will be led by Sweetie Belle, the “Voice of Life”, her talent as a singer is my secret weapon, the power of her voice is capable to reach the hearts of anypony or anything, able to strike doubt in just an equal amount, she will be my ace in the hole if an enemy dares to attack the empire during my fights or if I die in them.

The eighth will be lead Braeburn, aptly named “The Yeller” for his tendency to shout orders and some very unsavory things to enemies, his loud mouth and humorist nature makes him the most cheerful soldier you’ll ever see and the only one among my commanders who is more concerned about lifting spirits and joking than actual seriousness and training.

At first, I thought of Thunderlane to be one of my commanders, but instead, he will be the commander of our aerial forces since he is the only capable Pegasus to do so.

Our flags are all the same with some exceptions, the main army flag is a purple Crystal Heart, the archer units flag is a green Crystal Heart, the siege units flag is a red and black broken Crystal Heart, the aerial units flag is a rainbow striped Crystal Heart, the medical units flag is a blue Crystal Heart with three pink-yellow butterflies inside it and finally, the Crystal Phalanx flag, a red Crystal Heart with a smaller heart inside it, half green and half purple.

Our army, still small in comparison to other nations and barely thirty thousand strong, is an army of brave ones, now looking to the tomorrow I realize that only five years rest until the time limit expires, HA! I say, those who try to take my home, my friends and my family will perish at our doorstep, let their armies come, we will be ready, we still have time, we will prevail.

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*Year 17*

I like to call this year the “Year of Allies”, why? Some unexpected alliances were formed to the Crystal Empire, first were the Buffalo Tribes, portraying their admiration for my actions and my conviction, which we gladly accepted.

The short version of the proposal was that they promised economic and military help if we did the same for them.

The second one came from Saddle Arabia, since they were in love with our crystal berries and were unable to plant them in their own lands, they proposed to aid us military and economically if we lowered the price of the berries to fifty percent to them, in return they would lower the price of their coffee beans by thirty percent only to us. Only a fool would deny such an offering.

The third and final one was a total shock; the Changeling Empire offered an alliance proposal at the end of the year, they were a small and fairly weak empire that didn't even have the glory to have a champion for themselves, and ever since their failed attempt to take over Canterlot, they grew only weaker.

At first, I was doubtful, but after hearing their proposal, and despite the barking Shining did against it, Cadence and I came to a decision, we accepted their proposal.

It was a simple proposal; the Changeling Empire would merge with us, giving them free access of citizenship and be able to merge with the populace at free will, in return all their riches, lands and resources would be ours to take freely and they would also be able to join and help us in battle.

Queen Chrysalis, the Goddess of Illusions, as my mother explained to me, and her own little sister gladly signed the treaty and became one of the co-rulers of the Empire, much to Shining disgust. (as a side note I point out my concern at the speed Chrysalis, Twilight, and Cadence forged a friendship, it’s kind of scary what a ‘Girl Talk’ can achieve)

We mainly accepted because then our greatest weakness was dealt with; our aerial forces grew tremendously, plus the numerous magic wielders were gladly welcomed and the raw combat experience of the changelings was a vital key to finally complete our army, so to speak, strong offense, massive defense, good numbers, well trained soldiers, and a decent aerial force. We were ready.

--------------------------------------------------------------**************************************

*Year 18*

No amount of foreplay, sneaky getaways or some of our most daring acts of debauchery could ever prepare me for the real deal. Me. Twilight. Room. Alone. All I have to say is:

1.-Nocturnal vision is good, fangs are great, claws and fingers are a divine gift (you wouldn't believe what you can do with those to your partner, especially if they don’t have them!), scales couldn't be better, but if you were to ask me about my ‘Little Spike’ I would answer; thanks to all the Gods for dragon anatomy!.

2.-SEX IS AWESOME!

That is all.
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“Year 20, probably Final Annotation.” Spike said while writing on a small parchment. “Today is the day of my first fight, it will be held in the Shattersand Coliseum within the Diamond Dog Kingdom, and my opponent will be ‘Rex, The Earth Crust’.”

“I can already hear the cheering of ponies and dogs alike. Mother, you gave me the most valuable lesson of all, never be cocky, never think you’ve won until you have indeed won, never underestimate your opponent, and most importantly, never let power and fame get to your head, I will hold this lesson dearly, I love you mom.”

Spike rolled the piece of parchment and set it alight with his fire, sending it to his mother back in Equestria.

Spike walked slowly towards the open gates of the Coliseum. Since it was underground, the artificial lights provided little to none as he left the darkness of the tunnel.

The moment Spike appeared, cheers and jeers filled the air. Up in the royal seats, he could see Cadence, Chrysalis, Twilight, and the three diamond dog rulers and co-rulers, knowing one of them was a God of the Diamond Dogs themselves, one of six, if Spike remembered what his mother told him correctly, of her Godly family line.

The biggest diamond dog raised a paw, silencing all the viewers.

“Today,” he began in a raspy voice. “We have the privilege to face the champion of the Crystal Empire, Spike, the Crystal Savior, against the champion of our kingdom, Rex, the Earth Crust.” As he said so a massive diamond dog emerged from beneath the earth at the other side of the Coliseum, facing Spike in the distance.

The mountain of a dog was wearing the traditional Diamond Dog armor just made of diamond.

“The rules for this battle are as followed: first, there are no rules, everything goes, and second, the winner will be the one that kills the other first and presents their head to their Gods as ancient law decrees.” The diamond dog king smiled.

"Champions, get ready.”

Spike and Rex traded glances. “Get set.” Spike stood still closing his eyes while Rex crouched.

“BATTLE!”

Rex went underground at blinding speed while Spike just stood there, unmoving and uncaring, suddenly he moved to the side as a paw as big as him emerged from beneath the earth, Spike was now as tall as Celestia, so the paw was really impressive to look at. Spike jumped to his front rolling on the dirt just as another paw appeared from where he was standing.

Rex emerged and saw something that made him growl in anger, his opponent was sitting in a very particular position in front of him, his eyes still closed, his opponent was meditating in front of him.

Angered, Rex leaped towards him, but Spike didn't move. The moment Rex was over Spike, he used his gigantic paws to try and crush him, but found nothing but air. Landing skillfully, Rex scanned the area but didn't see his opponent.

“Diamond armor, heh?” A voice whispered behind him. “Too bad for you I’m a dragon.”

“AAAAWWWWUUUUUUURRRRFFFFFFFF!” Rex yelled as terrible pain struck on his back, moving quickly, he managed to grab the tail of his opponent and throw him away from him. Spike landed on the ground roughly but quickly stood up and closed his eyes again, this time adopting a fighting stance.

Rex fumed in rage as he charged against Spike.

Spike also charged with his eyes closed.

They were about to clash against the other when Spike suddenly stopped and with a quick and elegant spin evaded the charging mammoth.

Spike stood there for a moment before opening his eyes and bowing to the rulers of both kingdoms. “I have won.”

Behind him Rex stood up, ready to attack again. He snarled and ran towards Spike, only lasting two steps before he fell to the ground, squirmed for a few seconds, and then finally laid still.

Spike then presented his tail, adorned with red blood and the heart of the giant diamond dog.

The entire arena was silent, stares and mouths opened in shock, seeing the reptile before them, wounded but proud of his act to protect his kingdom, as it were, he then turned around and brutally ripped off the head of his fallen opponent, ignoring the blood flecking onto his scales as he then bowed before his rulers and his honored guest.

“As promised, the head of my fallen enemy, granted as a sacrifice to honor the agreement of the two kingdoms and their Gods.” He spoke softly, his head bowed in respect as no creature dared moved before it was violently shattered by cheers from his allies and jeers from his foes. Twilight was looking at her mate with sorrow at how he could so harshly take a life, even if it was only for the midst of a war soon to brew, if ever, but in time, as promised the Diamond Dogs would keep to their word... at least she hoped.

The king of the Diamond Dogs, Lord Gravel Vain, held up a paw, signaling his subjects to be quite. As all was once more in silence, he turned and waved a paw with grace towards his God, Lord Gemini, who scowled and narrowed his eyes in rage as small chunks of earth beginning to crumble to dust before Spike’s eyes, making both manner of creatures nervous and afraid, the three Princesses themselves starting to stand in case they needed to defend Spike before something unexpected happened, he laughed.

A full blown roar of laughter emitted from the God’s muzzle, holding a paw to his knee as he started to cough, and after wiping a tear from his eye, he chuckled at Spike with a sense of amusement.

“Ah, so, the rumors circling my fair country had not deceived me. You have proven your worth, reptile. Rex was a boastful, naive mortal anyway, and it was with great relief that he had been dealt with in a manner most appropriate... you, dragon…Crystal Savior, they named you. You may just prove us immortals with far more entertainment then we have yet perceived. Thank you for your service.” He spoke, his voice, though filled with mirth, was cruel, as he held out a paw and the heart and head vanished in a flash of white light before Spike’s eyes.

Dropping his arms, he looked at the God with an eyebrow raised, puzzlement on his features as to what he had meant.

“Entertainment? I just killed one of your own kind in a very violent manner, what kind of sick, twisted game do you play, you filthy-”

“That is enough, Spike. You have done your deed for the day, go and rest. Another challenge awaits you in three days times.” A harsh voice interrupted him as he looked to where Twilight sat and saw Chrysalis beside her, the queen of the changeling’s eyes were cruel and unrelenting as Spike snorted, spewing a small amount of green flames and narrowed his eyes at her before doing the same to Lord Gemini, whose smile was none gone from his face, a bored tone overtaking it as he casually waved a paw to a servant, who went to fetch a goblet of wine for the God.

As Spike turned around to do as he was ordered, he heard the Diamond Dog God yell out loudly, “your mother should have told you of our bargain, boy. It would make your death much more appealing to my family if you would have known and your spirit was crushed and lifeless, bah! Mortals, they never last.” He spat with another obnoxious laugh while Twilight and her ‘family’ glared at him, making him only smile and wink at the new Alicorn who recoiled in disgust.

Meanwhile, Spike stomped angrily to his tent, sitting down on his royal cot, his marefriend insistent on getting him with a loud sigh, rubbing his eyes with both claws to try to halt the tears brimming on the edge of his eyes as he closed his eyes and pondered the God’s words.

After taking a few deep breaths to calm down, Spike removed his claws from his face and wiped the remaining trace of tears that were trying to resurface as he grabbed a lone cigarette on the brown dresser to his right, igniting it with a wisp of his flames he inhaled deeply before blowing it out his nostrils, suddenly feeling a sudden weight on his spine as he turned his head to see his mother with her head bowed, her royal attire forgotten.

“I should have told you, my son. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, Spike.”

Spike cruelly swatted his mother’s wing away from him as he stood, narrowing his eyes in rage as he almost crushed the cigarette in his claw.

“You’re sorry, mother?” He spat, his voice near the point of breaking as he began to pace around the tent, taking another drag of his nicotine. “Oh, I’m sure that makes everything better, that my mother, Celestia herself is sorry to say that she’s sending out strong, brave mortals to their death for her own bucking amusement, I only assume-”

“Do NOT speak in that tone with me, Spike. I am still your mother and you will show me respect!.” Celestia shouted, causing Spike to freeze before looking at the Alicorn and seeing she had tears running down her furred face.

He sighed loudly, returning to his cot as he rubbed his temples and inhaled a larger drag of his cigarette, which was reaching near it’s end.

Exhaling it out his nose, he closed his eyes, rubbing his snout before placing a claw on his mother’s side.

“I’m sorry, mom. I didn't mean it. It’s just... I had no idea what was at stake with this competition. Why was I never told about any of this?” He questioned, taking one last drag of his cigarette and exhaling out the side of his mouth before flicking it to the dirt as Celestia closed her eyes, sorrow eminent on her features as she sat and told him the truth he deserved to know.

“We were young, foolish, and very arrogant at the time. For eons, we had known of no other creatures than immortals. When Mother, Fate as you call, or rather Creation, as her real name is, created the short living creatures who has the ability of free will we were in awe. As the years passed, they began to grow in knowledge and produce more of their kind. We Gods have never thought of having children of our own, being immortal so we could never understand what drove them to want a family to love and cherish.

Eventually, the mortals looked to us for guidance and aid, protection, strength, and love when they could not find any for themselves, we reveled in their prayers, those that did not, soon faded in body and mind as we had forgotten the curse Mother had bestowed upon us for defeating her second children, after Death of course, the Titans of Equestria, or the Windigos as you call them, but that is a tale for another time. In short, we spewed lies from our tongues to them, telling them that they could achieve victory in our names if they attacked neighboring countries. It worked, and they made statues and temples in our honor, then War, the second horse of the apocalypse was created.

After that, we never took into account how much mayhem and carnage the mortals would cause as they enjoyed taking other lives for their own benefit. We were not aware that they would need food, water, or medicine, for when they grew sick and they began to die before our very eyes. We could not allow the newly formed children of our Mother to go extinct, so we told them to steal from their enemies, they enjoyed that idea... more than they were willing to admit. Soon after, Famine and Pestilence were created, where Mother will send the four horses of end time to annihilate the world when she has grown tired of it.

With the Gods all but consumed with greed, revenge, and pride, we then formed an ancient bargain, the one you take part in today, my son. We were monsters, we had no idea what we would create, but now many are trying to make amends for our sins... unfortunately, Mother agrees with our dark deed and we can not go back on it, not to mention that many other, very ancient beings would not allow Cadence to forfeit, it would mean the end of the Crystal Empire and by extension, our allies.

I should have told you this from this beginning, Spike. But I was so ashamed of what you would think of me. I’m so sorry. I done so many evil things that can never be forgiven, I had my own sister thrown into the moon because of jealousy, I had my older brother, Discord imprisoned in stone for merely ruling our kingdom with an iron paw when I fared no better in the past, even though he created the Elements of Disharmony, six creatures that brought Equestria into a state of darkness that even a God would have had difficulty achieving, and now they are forced onto the mortals because I have lost connections with the Elements of Harmony. They have been dealt with and are now forever imprisoned into the jewels themselves until six mortals release them and I am still with my sins... I am the true monster, I can never be forgiven.” Celestia wept onto her son’s scales as he held her, shocked beyond comprehension of what he had been told.

He was not aware that the title he had been granted was permanent until he died as he pondered just how many more battles he could stand before he was slain in battle.

While Celestia finished her dark tale of her past, Twilight entered into her mate’s tent, followed by Cadence, Shining Armor, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Luna as they paused in shock at the sight before them, making Spike sigh loudly and clear his throat, causing Celestia to jump and slowly turn to see their guest, making her blush in embarrassment.

Turning her body away, she wiped her face with her hooves, ignoring the tears matting down her fur and kissed her son on his forehead before looking at her family and friends with a fake smile.

“I apologize for my sorry state, my friends. It was befitting of me.” She spoke slowly, her voice hoarse as she cleared it and put on a more serious demeanor before them while watching Twilight trot up to her mate and give him a deep, passionate kiss making Celestia smile as Pinkie Pie put her arm over Applejack’s shoulder who leaned into her embrace with a smile.

“I’m so proud of you Spike, you secured our alliance with the Diamond Dogs and they even agreed to allow us knowledge towards their felicities, think of all new history we could learn from their past.” Twilight grinned with a twinkle in her eyes causing the dragon to laugh before hugging his mate.

“Slow down, girl. We got centuries to learn of all the many different species around us, in ten thousands years we will no doubt learn everything there is in the world.” He chuckled, causing the Alicorn to giggle before Spike saw Cadence and Luna share an uneasy glance, making him frown at why they seemed so troubled.

“Is something wrong, Cadence and Aunt Luna?” He questioned, causing Cadence to turn her head away, a sad expression donning on her face while Luna sighed loudly.

“You did not tell him, did you Tia? Your own son and you never even told him of his species life span.” Luna spoke bitterly to her elder sister who closed her eyes and turned away, guilt all but apparent written all over her face.

“Tell me what? Mother what does she mean-”

“I had meant to tell you when you became a full sized dragon. But now it seems I have no choice in the matter, and it breaks my heart to tell you this... Spike, your species lives the longest of all the mortal races. Dragons lives up to ten thousand years, but not longer. If their age does not confirm their deaths, then either war, nature, or illness will. Only the Gods of your species live up to eons and even then... well, dragons by nature are extremely violent and impatient, if they do not kill each other, then they will fade, due to lack of faith from the mortals, which, to much regret, happens more often than you would think, never believing in more than one God at a time. I am sorry my son, but you and Twilight will not live forever as I know you hoped.”

Celestia’s voice was laced with pain as Spike’s body was frozen in shock from what he had been told. Twilight, being forced to hold him up as he almost collapsed to the ground, tears near the point of spilling on the corner of his eyes before he heard a snicker from Shining Armor who tried to cover it up with a cough.

Curling his claws in rage he pushed Twilight out of the way, and rushing forward punched the stallion square in the jaw who was thrown out of his wheelchair from the blow, blood dripping from his now busted lip who was about to crawl and ram the dragon with his horn but was held back by his mate as Spike was forcibly detained by Twilight and Rarity.

“You want to bucking open your mouth again, you cocky eyed bastard?!” Spike roared, flames spewing from his mouth as Shining Armor merely glared at him with hatred and was forced by Celestia to apologize to Spike who grunted after being told to do the same.

The two glared at one another, Celestia repeating her order to the two creatures, Spike even holding out a claw to shake in forgiveness before Shining spat blood into his face, causing the dragon to reach his claws out to tear the prince in half as Cadence angrily wheeled her husband away from the raging reptile.

“Buck your species, lizard!” Shining screamed as he and Cadence disappeared out of sight before Spike could rush out the tent to kill his enemy, not even noticing he was being restrained by Twilight, Rarity, and Luna’s magic.

It took twenty minutes and five cigarettes for the dragon to finally calm down, though it did nothing to stop the endless plans of how to kill the stallion from entering into his thoughts, each one more gruesome than the last as he wrung his tail into his claws, blowing smoke from his nostrils.

Just before he was about to summon Scootaloo and Pipsqueak to him to assassinate his most hated foe, he felt a worried, but loving hoof on his shoulder as he turned and saw Twilight, whose eyes held pity for him before she hugged him, allowing the drake to at last release all his rage in one long breath, knowing he could kill Shining at another point in time.

Hugging the Alicorn back, Spike then looked at his mother and apologized for his actions who merely smiled and said that Cadence is going to do much worse to her husband then he ever could, making him laugh.

Sighing loudly, he closed his eyes and fell back into his cot, exhausted by all the days events as he then remembered his mother’s words and lashed out his tail, almost knocking over the brownies Pinkie Pie had baked freshly for him after his victory with the Diamond Dog that rested on the nightstand at the edge of his bed.

Scowling, he then questioned what it took for him to be with his mate forever before getting off his cot and walking outside where his friends and family were conversing with other creatures around them.

Noticing his mother chatting idly with Chrysalis, he walked towards her and smiled as she hugged him and asked if he was alright.

“I’m fine mom, much better than before. I wanted to ask though, what will it take for me to be immortal?” he questioned seriously as the Alicorn’s smile began to slowly drop from her face and frown.

“Spike, you have no idea of the question you ask. It’s not for me or any creature to suddenly turn any mortal into one of us, it’s a very dangerous procedure and you may not even survive the process, I implore you, my son. To not ask questions you do not want to know the answers to.” She spoke sharply as her ears lowered along with her eternal flowing tail.

But Spike was persistent and very serious in this mindset of his, he would do whatever it took to be with his mate, no matter the price.

“Mother, I’m serious. I can’t bare the thought of Twilight living on without me, I’ll do whatever I have to in order to be with her... please.” He begged, taking her hoof and looking into her eyes with such focus and clarity that it broke her heart.

“Oh tell the boy what it takes, Celestia. After all, you should know more than anypony just how much our family enjoys ruining lives.” Chrysalis chirped darkly, causing Celestia to turn towards her and glare, her eyes even having edges of a golden glow to them, but she resisted her full Godly form for the sake of her child and all of the creatures around her with a sigh.

“Very well, but you must accompany me to a private location, Chrysalis.” She ordered, causing the queen to snort with a roll of her eyes. “And bring along the other three of our family, I suppose Twilight’s friends would also wish to hear this as well, go fetch them, will you, little sister?” Celestia asked with a wary smile while Chrysalis hissed and trotted away.

“It’s so enjoyable to tease family, come along Spike.” The sun Goddess spoke firmly as the reptile had no choice but to obey following his mother into the Crystal castle itself, standing on the left of King Sombra’s old throne before a flash of pink light blinded the two for a second and Cadence appeared on the throne itself with a tired look in her eyes.

“That unicorn may very well be the death of me, I dealt with foals less stubborn than him. Whatever you two must have done in the past, Spike may still have a dark imprint on him, I suggest you two make amends soon.” She spoke calmly while rubbing her tired eyes with her hooves.

Spike was about to open his mouth and retort but was interrupted by another flash of light, blinding him once more as Chrysalis appeared with Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack and Luna in tow as they walked towards where the other three were near.

“What’s going on, is everything alright?” Twilight started to ask frantically before Applejack put a hoof on her shoulder to calm her down as Rarity giggled.

“Everything is fine, my faithful student. Though it appears your mate is still troubled by the dark truth I was force to reveal for him and desires a way to... become immortal.” Celestia answered somberly, causing Cadence and Luna to gasp simultaneously in shock, their eyes widened as their mouth hung open as her words.

“You can’t be serious, Spike. You have no idea-”

“I had already warned him of the dangers, Cadence, and still... he is not fazed. Alas, if my son wishes to spend eternity with his mate, who am I to deny him? Who are any of us really?” She said softly causing the two Alicorns to rub their forehooves in shame.

“Ah don’t understand what the big deal is really, ya’ll made Twilight an Alicorn. What’s the difference with Spike?” Applejack questioned as Luna cleared her throat and answered.

“Simple; for one, Twilight had already defeated two Gods, normally a mortal would need to kill the God and gain the approval of another as well as the acceptance of Mother to be given the necessary ability to become immortal. Spike has done none of those, and even if he were to try to gain the approval of one of us, excluding Celestia, because she has already given Twilight her blessing and we can only grant Godhood to one creature every century, he still has yet to kill a God.” she spoke firmly with a gaze at the dragon who became nervous with all the eyes looking directly at him.

“But we have the Elements of Harmony and we did not-”

“The Elements of Harmony are very special weapons created by Mother herself, Rarity, made to imprison immortals, not kill them. She made them because she grew wary of our useless slaughter with one another and thought the creature the jewels would effect would learn their lesson in time, not that it did Discord much good. So the six of you are a very special case, other then that, other creatures must abide by the ancient laws.” Cadence interrupted sharply, making the unicorn frown and the four bearers to glance at one another nervously.

“So how do I-”

“Unfortunately my son, you do not have the strength to kill an immortal. While we could lend you our strength and deal the final blow to the creature, we are forbidden from intervening in mortal affairs, even such an event as this. In order to truly gain the power to kill your foe, you would need a blessing from Mother herself which I’m ashamed to say is not an easy price to pay.” Celestia answered slowly as Spike thought long and hard of the answer he had received.

Turning and looking deeply into his mother’s eyes, he curled his claws, breathed through his nostrils, and answered that he would pay any price to be with his mate.

Chrysalis let out a dry, hollow laugh before she grinned at the drake, who was not encouraged by the evil smile plastered on her muzzle.

“You are such a bold, brave soul. It’s a shame your demise will end so swiftly, reptile. In order to summon Mother to us in her physical form though, we must first summon the first creature ever created, Death himself. Are you positive that being with this... Egghead, here, is truly worth that sacrifice?” She asked harshly as Spike turned and looked at his mate, noticing the fear and admiration in her eyes for his life making him turn and nod seriously at the Goddess who scoffed.

“With the amount of love you have for the mare, I could feast on you for eons if you succeed, drake, but if you insist. And what do the rest of you think?” she questioned looking towards the other four Alicorns who glanced at one another before nodding at the Changeling Queen, Celestia holding her child in a tight embrace with her wing.

“Ha, a ritual not tried in eons is going to be performed at last, this shall be entertaining to see.” Chrysalis laughed cruelly before telling the mortals around her to turn away.

“Under no circumstances must you look behind you, Death never was one for visiting the physical realm unless he had to, if you look at his form you be turned into ashes in seconds.” She warned, a very serious tone in her voice as Twilight’s friends and Spike himself turned their backs and covered their eyes.

“I suggest you look closely at what you are about to witness, Sparkle. Death never visits the Gods unless they are dying, so this might be your only chance.” Chrysalis barked with a cruel laugh as she alighted her horn with magic, gritting her fangs she closed her eyes, spread her wings and even stood on the tip of her hooves as she channgled the spell to an even stronger magnitude, beads of perspiration even begun to slide down her forehead as she grunted then with a loud shriek shot a beam of her green magic directly into the ground before her.

Panting from the exhaustion of using such an ancient spell, the Alicorn dropped to the ground, trying to catch her breath, surprised when she saw a glass of ice cold water being slid towards her by Pinkie Pie who still had her eyes firmly shut with a smile making the queen chuckle with a nod that went unseen.

As Chrysalis drank her glass slowly to soothe her dry throat, she felt an icy cold shiver run down her spine and saw before her very eyes as the water in the glass and the glass itself started to freeze, it shattered a second later in the Alicorn’s hoof and rained onto the floor making her look before her to see a black clothed Alicorn skeleton with a large black wooden, silver curved scythe being held firmly in a glow of black magic above him as the queen was at a lost for words and inhaled sharply, seeing her breath start to form into mist before her as she exhaled, a thin blanket of white mist surrounded the entire area, causing all the living creatures in it to shiver violently.

“D-Death... it is good to finally see you after-”

“Of what purpose do you have the right to have me taken from my realm by force, Sun Goddess?” Death rasped slowly, his voice alone caused Celestia’s heart to beat rapidly in fear as she swallowed the spittle in her throat and stood her ground firmly, despite the fact her knees were visibly shaking.

Beside her, Twilight was hyperventilating, her eyes growing to their full size as her whole body shook in terror, she was afraid she was going to die from a heart attack at the immortal skeleton stared at her, his sightless eyes piercing into her very soul and shifting through her entire life without hesitation before he turned away, making her gasp out loud and look away, allowing her to curl into a ball and weep her heart out while Celestia continued her conversation.

“We request an audience with Mother.” She replied quickly, knowing that the immortal had no patience with any of the Gods and held her breath as Death gave an emotionless chuckle making her to wince.

“An audience with Mother, Creation herself? Such a daring soul you are, Celestia. Very well, if it will get you out of my cloak, I suppose I could amuse you by giving Mother your message. I suggest you mind your manners, you should be aware that Mother is not a very... gentle being, after all. Do not move and keep the mortals from looking upon her when she arrives, none of them are on my list for quite some time now.” He demanded, and though his voice held no emotion in it, Celestia could sense the threat in his tone as she nodded.

Death vanished into ashes before their eyes allowing Celestia to give the all clear, every creature in the room began to release a breath they had not known they were holding in, Twilight wiping the tears from her eyes.

“What... was that really-”

“Yes, Twilight, that was the very first creature that Mother had formed when she created the galaxy. I should have warned you that he has a habit of playing out a creature's life for them when they look into his... sockets, though you fared better than I had thought you would, Cadence and Luna both wet themselves when he first appeared before them. I myself did not do much better as I had vomited blood the second he has disappeared and then cried into my bed for a week. There is no a soul alive that can be around Death for long periods of time, just be glad that I had not wasted any time, the last time we had talked to him we lost an entire forest from multiple suicides as the animals in it could not handle his presence, even lost a dragon once, a shame really. If you are to ever meet his brothers though, they are much more... pleasant to be around.” She spoke softly, wrapping a wing around the new Princess and her son, shielding them from the fading mist as Cadence got up from her throne and hugged Applejack with her wings while Chrysalis did the same for Rarity and Pinkie Pie.

“What do we do now, mom?” Spike asked as she sighed loudly.

“Now we wait for the creator of us all to appear in a form I had not seen for eons, my son.” She answered emotionless as they could do nothing more than wait in anticipation and fear of what they had yet to witness.

Author's Note

Sorry for the delay, we've been busy with real life shit. The first half of this chapter was done by my co-author, the second part by me and edited by the both of us, enjoy, chapter five to be done soon.

Bargain with Creation; Traitors

The group huddled in anxiety, different expressions worn on their faces as they waited for the being that created everything to appear before them. Rarity started to pant, fanning herself with a hoof, as Pinkie Pie nervously began to eat cupcakes and other sweets she had taken from her mane, loaning them to Cadence, Luna, and Applejack while Chrysalis tapped her hooves impatiently on the ground, trying to keep a neutral look as she observed around her, seeing Celestia with her wings wrapped tightly around Twilight and Spike, both shaking in fear.

After waiting for over an hour, Spike got bored and lit up a cigarette Pinkie Pie had conveniently in her mane and sighed, the rest of the ponies around them starting to become bored as well with Cadence, Luna, and Celestia talking about something in the past while Twilight, Rarity, and Applejack starting a round of truth or dare with Pinkie Pie curled up on the floor trying to take a nap. Spike finished his nicotine at last and as he exhaled the gray smoke from his mouth, he flicked the butt onto the ground.

“Where is she?!” Chrysalis muttered angrily to herself, about to stand up from where she sat and speak with her sisters when every creature in the room felt an icy shiver run down their spines and all turned to see a creature they had not notice in the room before them.

The being before them was an Alicorn, taller than any of them had ever seen, she had a lavender coat but with an uncounted amount of little white dots that seemed to represent stars all over her body, constantly shifting, while her mane and tail were of the same pattern, but colored black with the stars blue, as they both shined their eternal radiance and waved with no air to move them. Her wings were enormous, even for an Alicorn, which she unfurled and flapped once, causing every creature to be blown back a few inches from the large gust of wind as she looked over them all with pure white eyes, no iris or pupil in them and no Cutie Mark on her form.

“Why have you summoned me, Sun Goddess?” Fate asked, her voice cruel and held no respect for any of her children as Celestia winced.

The Co-ruler of Equestria bowed before her mother, gesturing for all of the others to do the same as they bowed as low as their bodies permitted.

“It is an honor to be before your presence, Mother. I am Celestia, as you know and these are-”

“Do not try to mock my intelligence, Sun Goddess. For it was I who gave you it. I am not here to dabble in pleasures, tell me why you have requested my presence and do so now, I grow wary of insufferable creatures prancing around and telling me of their woes when I care nothing for them, which is why I have created you, immortal... though now it seems that may have been a mistake on my part I might just have to correct.” Fate calmly spoke with a flick of her tail, which accidently touched Cadence’s throne and instantly caused it to crumble into ashes before their eyes.

With a snort, Fate touched the specks of dust with her tail once more which caused the seat of power to be rebuilt automatically and swiftly making the throne appear brand new in seconds, as Pinkie Pie’s jaw dropped to the ground in shock.

“Wow, that was amazing Miss Universe, can you do it again, huh, can you, can you?” Pinkie spoke rapidly bouncing around the Alicorn before being caught firmly in a glow of white magic, Fate raised Pinkie Pie to her eye level, narrowing her eyes she reached a hoof out and touched Pinkie Pie’s snout.

The mare literally saw every event from past, present, and future before her eyes; from her birth to her death, but it flashed by so quickly that Pinkie Pie’s breath had caught in her throat and her eyes shrunk to the smallest of dots her pupils would allow, before she was dropped harshly to the floor.

“Pinkamena Diane Pie, a mortal bearer to the Elements of Harmony and one who is quite adapted to defying the laws of physics, of what reason do you have that I should not erase your entire existence from mortal and immortal mind alike for harassing your creator, mare?” Fate questioned in a monotone voice while Pinkie Pie was left shivering before her, accidently emptying her bladder as she yelped and started to cry.

“I... I meant no disrespect, Madam Fate, I... I just wanted us to be friends, I’m friends with almost any creature and-”

“I am not an Alicorn, this is merely the form I chose to make the creatures near me more suited to their mindset, and I am not your friend, Earth Pony. You have enemies, foal, I would suggest you become more serious of your life in the future.” Fate spoke emotionlessly as Pinkie bowed before the being in her own urine. “Erase this mortal’s memory and get her out of my sight, you disappoint me by wasting my precious time, Sun Goddess.” She spat darkly before Luna instantly teleported Pinkie Pie and her urine out of sight before Luna was gone herself.

Once more, every creature before Fate bowed as low as they were allowed, trying their best to be sincere, Celestia became nervous as she gulped loudly and cleared her throat.

“Mother, I am ashamed that you had to be subjected to that, I swear I will have a firm talk with Pinkie Pie as soon as you make your exit.” She said honestly while the Alicorn merely snorted.

“I am much ashamed myself for having such ill mannered creatures in my universe, perhaps this world is not yet ready for my presence as I had thought. Maybe I should quicken the process of this world’s end and allow the Four Horses of the Apocalypse to create anew as I had once pondered, would you not agree, Sun Goddess?” Fate wondered calmly forcing Celestia to shake her head firmly.

“NO! I... *ahem* I mean, no Mother, the end of the world should not be your concern now just because of a hyperactive pony such as Pinkie, she will be dealt with, I swear. Please, just allow the clock of end time to resume as scheduled, I beg of you.” Celestia pleaded as Fate raised an eyebrow and thought carefully of her daughter’s importune before she blinked, unswayed by the amount of emotion from Celestia.

“Very well, I will not speed up the clock’s process, but my patience wears thin, why have I been summoned?” She growled as Celestia gently pushed Spike forward with her wing.

“Mother, this is my adopted son, Spike, he-”

Not another syllable was allowed to leave Celestia’s lips before Fate touched the reptile’s nose with a hoof and as she had done with Pinkie Pie, Spike’s entire soul was torn from his body and reviewed by Fate causally, only it was of a slower process then she had done with the mare and Spike saw every event in his life, from birth to death on his present path, as Fate removed her hoof, causing Spike’s eyes to roll to the back of his head as he fainted, unceremoniously releasing both his bladder and his bowels on the floor before Twilight dragged him from the ground and tried to awaken him, the other ponies swallowing nervously as Fate snorted.

“Spike the dragon, now dubbed the title of the recent ‘Crystal Savior’ I’m surprised you still play that game among your family, Sun Goddess. I would have thought you would have disregard such a dark nature centuries ago. No matter, it is of no interest to me what the immortals wish to do to pass the time on their... short, meaningless lives. As it is, this drake has my caught attention... what is it that makes him so... ah, now I remember. He is a Demigod, or rather was.” Fate chuckled cruelly causing all the ponies around her to stare in shock, Celestia fuming with rage at the truth brought before her.

“A... a demigod, but... but you had always declared that no demigod should ever walk your earth Mother, you had-”

“I know what I had said, Sun Goddess... that is true of what you speak which is why I had torn the wings from your God of a brother, rendering him mortal and forcing him to fade swiftly into ashes before I had erased the female mortal dragon’s mind of the event. Death dealt with my traitor son as is his duty and I had sapped the hatchling of his Godlike power, all of it. If you or any pony in this room tell the drake of his past I shall wipe your minds so that you have the mind of nothing more than a foal, all of you, is that understood?” Fate threatened darkly as they could do no more than bow in fear and awe of the Alicorn.

“Why did you spare him then, Mother? You once claimed that Demigods could not roam your realm due to their nature of destruction and arrogance, saying that they would all be shunned and feel bitter about their curse as they would ruin your precious land.” Cadence asked softly and squeaked in fear as Fate turned her gaze to the Alicorn.

“That I did, Love Goddess but the reptile was no longer a threat and it will never come to pass of him learning of his abilities so I saw no harm in allowing him to be raised by his mother before Death had her name appear on his list and watched as she perished. Then as you are aware, Sun Goddess I given him to you. He is the first and last of his kind, but he is nothing more than a mere mortal dragon now so I see no harm in preserving his life. There shall never be another like him, I suggest you take that warning seriously, Love Goddess as you have so foolishly chosen to marry a mortal it appears.” Fate said slowly forcing Cadence to bow and swear that she would not have a child with Shining Armor.

“Now, onto the matter of which I’ve been called. The drake wishes to be a God, how very ironic that is. Why should I bestow powers that I had striped of him for you, Magic Goddess?” Fate questioned to Twilight, who swallowed and looked into Creation’s eyes as she began to hyperventilate again.

Using the technique Cadence had once taught her she calmly addressed her creator while passing Spike to Celestia who hugged him gently.

“He wishes to be with me. He would give anything in the world to share eternity with me, Mother,” Twilight paused before breathing deeply to speak again and chose her words carefully “I would give anything to do the same, please... I swear on my soul that not a single word of his past shall leave my lips if you only grant this one request... please.” Twilight wept, sitting on her flank as tears and snot trailed down her furred face.

Fate blinked slowly before allowing a gentle smile to spread across her face as she ordered Twilight to look into her eyes.

“Your story while unappealing and dull to me has given me thought of an idea that I have found of interest, Magic Goddess... very well, I shall grant the reptile temporarily strength to defeat a God, but he must do so in forty eight hours... now wake the dragon.” Fate spoke emotionless as Celestia slowly awoken Spike.

Groggy, and with a major migraine, Spike gripped his ear fins before opening his eyes and noticing Creation still before them.

“It was no dream then.” He whispered sadly before slowly standing up to face the Alicorn.

“It appears your... mate has allowed me to give careful consideration to what you have asked for, reptile. I have looked over your life cycle... heh, you are no hero indeed, despite what the mortals wish to call you now. You shall be given the strength of a God, drake, but you will only have forty eight hours to kill the God of your choice, choose your foe wisely, for my children are very well trained in the art of bloodshed and have eons of experience. In exchange though, my son, the Chaos God must be released from his prison and you are to put on a show that will catch my attention, can you agree to those terms, reptile?” Fate questioned harshly causing Spike to seriously think of his choice of action, he then turned and looked into Twilight’s eyes which were wide and frighten making him turn his head back and nod seriously.

“Yes, Fate….one question though, what if I fail?” He asked hesitantly as Creation gave an emotionless chuckle.

“Then I shall wash my hooves of you, mortal.”

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Once Fate had set her terms that Discord had to be released, as soon as she was gone, she transformed into her true form, forcing Celestia to shout for all of them, even her sisters and niece to avert their eyes before doing so herself as she felt steering hot white pain travel over her entire body which was gone as soon as it had appeared.

All the ponies looked at Spike, disappointed that he had been willing to agree to such a dark deal, but proud for standing up to their creator, and even more worried that they could never tell him of his past, with Fate’s threat looming over them knowing she was very serious about it.

Curling his claws in aspiration, he was determined to do the goals he had promised, walking towards the castle's entrance, he opened the door and was shocked to see Luna and Pinkie Pie, whose mane and tail were completely flat, he had only seen her in such a state once, many years ago, too preoccupied by the gems he had be given to comfort her, but now, he was just outright ashamed of himself.

“Pinkie, I’m sorry that you were traumatized by that experience and was forced to be-” He spoke softly to his friend before being rudely shoved out of the way by her marefriend who hugged her firmly as the earth pony wept into Pinkie Pie’s coat.

“I don’t know why you’re crying so hard, Jackie. Did you lose a family member or have thoughts of taking your own life again?” Pinkie asked confused, but held her lover close to her while Applejack continued to weep, Spike had forgotten that Fate had ordered her memory wiped.

“She must have forgotten everything since we entered the room.” The dragon thought to himself angrily as he glared at Luna, who could only turn away in shame before trotting up to speak with her sister.

Spike was about to go and give an earful towards the Moon Goddess before his mother stepped in front of him, she lifted a hoof towards the two mares and opened her mouth about to give her a stern speech about respect but Luna intervened and whispered into her sister’s left ear, causing the Alicorn’s ears to drop and her angered expression to vanish.

“Are you quite certain, Luna?” Celestia questioned, making the other Alicorn somberly nod.

“Yes, Mother had ordered all of her memory to be wiped, but I was uncertain of how much to clean, so I erased all of the events after Spike had won his first victory. It pains me to do such, but-”

“I understand, dear sister. We have to do as commanded. We are not allowed to disobey her, you are aware what-” Celestia then nervously glanced over at her son before waving her sister to follow further away, wishing to speak privately.

Confused by their secrets, Spike shrugged and sighed loudly, wishing he had a cigarette after the whole ordeal, questioning how he was to release Discord without the Elements of Harmony fully intact, with two of his friends and former bearers gone from this world.

“What’s wrong, Spike, darling?” Rarity asked softly, trotting towards him as he merely rubbed his snout and sighed.

“How can we release Discord without Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash?” He spoke quietly, causing a shiver to run through the unicorn’s spine as she tried to repress the dark thoughts that started to resurface into her mind, turning away from the reptile.

“I... I don’t know.” She answered honestly, forcing both creatures to remember what King Sombra had done to their lives and once more thankful that he was now suffering in Tartarus for his crimes.

“I might just have an idea to free him.” A voice replied softly, making them look and see Cadence with the other mares approaching.

“And pray tell, what is this clever plan you have in mind, oh little sister?” Chrysalis spat sarcastically at the younger Alicorn who glared at her while the latter rolled her eyes with a smirk.

“It is very dangerous and will not be an easier route than using the Elements of Harmony, but since we do not know who the two new bearers will be, unless we search all over Equestria, in which we have no time, we may have to make do with this plan. All Gods in their country have the ability to summon the remaining to their side by force, it should only be used as a last resort and will take all of us, even Twilight. But... Discord may still be corrupted by his own darkness and that may have a chance of infecting one of us if we tear it from his being, which could force Equestria into another state of peril. If we are able to purge the darkness from his system by force, it might end up killing him, this is why the Elements of Harmony were such a reliable opinion and could fully purge him without killing him, as it had done with Luna, I’m afraid.” She sadly answered causing all the creatures near them, even Chrysalis’s ears to drop.

“So... we either risk one of the Gods to be infected by Discord’s darkness, or risk killing him even if we do release him successfully?” Twilight whispered quietly, making Cadence nod sadly.

“I’m afraid we have no other option at hoof, dear.” Rarity answered with a flick of her tail.

“Can’t we just make a deal with Death and-”

“No, Applejack, we cannot for Discord is not dead and Death will never agree to freeing a God who is alive and not in his realm... Rarity is right, this could be our only option.” Celestia replied softly while Pinkie Pie looked at them all in confusion.

“What about asking Death if he could get Fluttershy and-”

“NO! We will not allow ourselves to meddle in Death’s affairs. It is too much of a gamble, I’m afraid, Rarity.” Celestia spoke firmly before taking a deep breath and sighing, seeing that Rarity was on the brink of tears, forcing the Alicorn to wrap a wing around her in comfort and apologize for being so strict.

“I know that you are still very much haunted with nightmares, Rarity, and want to make amends with your two friends, and I’m sorry they had lost their lives so tragically, but Celestia is right. Even Gods can not make such a deal with Death for two souls to be free from... wherever they had ended up. Mother would never allow it and even if she did, by some miracle, we are not certain if the Elements of Harmony would work with two of the bearers... deceased. I am sorry, but Cadence’s plan is the only one that has any real chance, for we had witness such before.” Luna answered calmly as she looked at the unicorn who began to weep into Celestia’s fur and felt her ears drop at the sight.

“So... how do we begin?” Twilight spoke with seriousness in her tone making Chrysalis, Luna, and Cadence nod in Celestia’s direction, eager to get started as the elder merely sighed loudly with a grim smile on her muzzle.

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It had taken hours for Cadence and Spike to explain to the entire Crystal Empire, the Crystal Phalanx and Shining Armor himself, who was forced to stay one hundred feet from Spike before one of them got into another brawl, why they had to leave the country.

After their speech to both the empire and their army respectfully, Spike nodded that he, Twilight, and Rarity were ready to go with the Alicorns, while Pinkie Pie was forced to stay because of a dreadfully long line that had appeared outside of her shop and needed the assistance of Applejack and many other able bodied workers to fill all the orders, while Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo watched their child, much to everyone’s worry.

Before they had left to free Discord, Spike was surprised to see Derpy, along with her sister and his best friend Dinky, trot towards them, prompting Spike to give them a firm hug.

“I’m glad you are alright, Dinky. It’s great to see you again.” Spike said to the unicorn warmly, who smiled and nuzzled his cheek.

“How could I ignore such a loyal friend who stood by me for so many years. I'm just thankful you remember my name after being so famous, Crystal Savior.” She teased, poking his belly with a hoof, making the drake laugh out loud and her sister to grin.

Derpy trotted towards the four Alicorns, who waited a few feet away from their friends, and bowed before them.

“If you will have me, I wish to join you on your journey, I am forever indebted to the Gods and my friend Spike for all you have done for us over the years.” Derpy spoke sincerely as each glanced at the other before nodding making the mare smile and take a cigarette out from her right ear which Spike happily lit.

Waving good bye to Spike and all the ponies, Dinky was nearly ran over by Pipsqueak as the young, strong, Earth Pony stallion ran straight up to Luna and planted a big, passionate kiss upon her lips giving the Alicorn a large, goofy grin on her face as he wished them luck before disappearing as soon as he had come, true to his title.

“Well this should be an interesting romance to watch over the years, Aunty Luna.” Cadence laughed, causing Luna to blush and punch her shoulder with a hoof softly telling her to shut it.

Without any more delay, Celestia and Luna lit their horns and basked the entire group in a white teleportation spell as they were whisked away to the Canterlot Garden.

Walking towards the statue of who was once their most hated foe, they could not help but feel pity that they were forced to imprisoned the God in such a state as they looked upon the once fallen ruler of Equestria.

“My brother, Discord, the God of Chaos and Disharmony. At one eon, he was a noble, bright and courageous ally to call upon; at another, a lover to share my bed through painful and lonely nights; and now... now he is known as a monster in children's storybooks merely because he grew... bored and became unaccustomed to seeing Equestria being so... peaceful. I’ll admit, even I sometimes have thoughts of the old ages, but the past should stay where it rightfully belongs, as ancient history. Come, Twilight, we will teach you the spell that just might be enough to release him, the rest of you, avert your eyes, mortals are not allowed to witness a spell not meant for them.” Celestia told the three creatures firmly before hugging her child once and kissing his forehead as Twilight gave her mate a passionate kiss, putting all trace of her feelings into what she hoped would not be her last.

Obeying Celestia’s orders, the three turned away, closed their eyes, and covered them with their limbs, fearful of what would happen next and worried that it would not be enough.

After memorizing the spell, Twilight alighted her horn with her signature purple aura and with the aid of the other four, shot a straight beam of magic towards the statue, using every ounce of their magical reservoirs to make the spell a success.

With a loud roar and an enormous multi colored light from each individual’s magic, the monument exploded with a tremendous force, causing high speed debris to rain everywhere and forcing Luna to protect the three who could not defend themselves as the Alicorns merely brushed the pebbles that has lodged themselves into their fur, unaffected and unharmed.

The mix matched creature before them yawned and stretched his limbs tiredly, snapping his eagle talon, lion paw, and even his tail all at once, causing an impressive amount of chaos around them, such as turning Spike into a pony, Derpy into a toaster, and Rarity into a dragon as all three simultaneously screamed, Derpy popping out burnt toast before Celestia ordered them all to be changed back that instant, making the Draconequus chuckle and do as commanded with a roll of his eyes, to which Derpy found herself with two pieces of toast and with a happy gasp ate one, offering the other to Rarity who refused.

“It... was a success, then?” Twilight whispered to herself quietly before running up to her mate and hugging him firmly, screaming into his face with glee that they had succeeded as he smirked.

Turning back to the creature they had freed, as Spike took Derpy’s offer of the other slice of toast and munched on it happily, the other four Alicorns looked over their brother with wary disdain.

“Ah, it is so good to be free. I must thank you all for your kind service and-”

“Spare us the tears, Discord. We did so only because Mother told us to, if you’ll recall she was also the one to first had you turned to stone when you hurt her ears with that awful opera display.” Chrysalis spat coldly with narrowed eyes, making the Spirit seem genuinely hurt by her comment.

“I had thought Mother enjoyed my performance. No matter, it is good to see all of you again my, loving family. Let bygones be bygones, now. Eh? I’m sure we can find some sort of... compromise, now. Can’t we?” He asked innocently at Celestia, who looked him over uncertain, before nodding towards her sisters.

“Yes, I am sure if you still do not have darkness tainting your soul and do not imprison me into the sun itself and my sister, Luna inside the moon as you done when you were free before we can get along as we have in the past, Discord. As I am sure you are aware, this is Twilight Sparkle, Mother has given me permission to make her an Alicorn which in turn makes her your sister, I know you will have a lot of stories to tell her later on. And I would like to introduce you to my son, Spike.” Celestia spoke warmly as she pushed Spike in the God’s direction who glanced him over with both his eyeballs popping out of his head and rolling around the drake’s entire body who laughed, forgetting that he was ticklish.

“Ah, you mated with a dragon God after all these years, Celestia. Well I always knew that you certainly had a ‘bad boy’ type.” Discord giggled, making Celestia fume before him angrily.

“NO! Spike is only my adopted son, not mine by birth. But it is because of him that you are free, so give him your thanks.” Celestia ordered lightly as Discord laughed, floating into the air before seeing the serious expression on Celestia’s face.

“Ah... you mean it, very well. Thank you, dragon for allowing my dear family to get me out of that prison block. And I remember you, Twilight Sparkle, it seems one of these eons we may have to test our wits and strength against each other and see who comes out on top, eh?” Discord sexually spoke to the Alicorn who blushed heavy forcing Spike to get into his face.

“Try anything with her and I’ll rip you in half! Immortal or not!” He threatened, allowing Discord to roll his eyes, create a bottomless hole, wrap Spike up in silver chains, and throw him down the hole before reappearing in front of Twilight with a grin as Celestia chased after her son.

“Your brother seems very protective of you, hm, Sparkle?” He asked darkly as Twilight smacked him across the face in rage.

“He is not my brother, he is my mate, my dragonfriend, and if you try that again, I’ll rip your wings off and shove them down your throat myself!” She raged as Chrysalis laughed harshly.

“Get in line, newbie. There are many other immortals who want a crack at this abomination first, mainly myself.” She growled as the God winked at her, causing her to hiss in disgust.

“You won’t even be able to get your chance after I am through with him, Chrysalis.” Celestia’s angry tone spoke from the hole before the Alicorn herself flew out with Spike held firmly on her back.

“Oh please, as if you would do any harm to me then what you have already done, Tia. Now do tell... for what true purpose has Mother allowed me to be released?” He questioned with an annoyed tone, making Spike step in front of him, poking his chest with a claw.

“She only had two rules for my term, for you to be released and for me to give her a fight that will catch her attention, fallen king.” Spike spat into Discord’s face angrily, who wiped his face with Spike’s own tail.

“And what, pray tell, is this fight that is supposed to catch the attention of Creation herself by a mere mortal?” He wondered as Spike grinned darkly.

“For me to kill a God in forty eight hours, you mix matched bastard.”

Discord smirked darkly pulling away from Spike “So I suppose that would also be me, correct?”

“No.” Spike said, making Discord raise an eyebrow, honestly confused. “I may be brash and hot heated sometimes, but I’m not stupid, I know facing you would be fruitless, you are far too powerful for me. Heck, you’re probably strong enough to take on the remaining Gods in this garden and win.”

“Well, well, well... it seems your brat of a kid has really taken a few things from you, dear Celly.” Discord smiled at Spike, almost in a proud manner, “but then, who are you going to fight against and how are you going to convince the God you choose to fight you?”

“There is no worry for that,” Luna chimed in. “My dear nephew only has to name the God he wishes to fight and he or she shall come, Mother has made sure of that... after all,” Luna chuckled darkly, “its for her own amusement.”

Discord looked around him and saw no lie or mischief in any of them, not even Chrysalis. He stood there in his spot unmoving for several seconds. “No kidding,” he said to no one. “Alright, if it’s for Mother, then I have no choice but to play along, but I do ask again; who, pray tell, are you going to ‘fight’ against?”

Spike smirked.

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Cadence was growing more and more worried by the second, waiting for Spike’s decision on who to fight against. She was a very young goddess, barely two hundred years old, but that didn't mean she was unaware of the power other Gods had; some were weak but had other traits that made them respectable or not to be played with, others had a special ability or strength that could be their ace or their doom, and others were strong in every way, except in humility.

And then there were the two unique kinds: the ancient, powerful ones and the ancient, merciless ones; Celestia, Chrysalis, and Luna belonged to the the first kind and Discord was a unique case, he was probably the strongest God after ‘The four’, but Spike’s opponent belonged to the second kind.

Cadence shuddered in fear and her worry simply ten folded; Gemini was known as one of the most powerful Gods ever, and one of the oldest, some even said he was older than Discord himself. The stories of the dark times were horrifying and his bloodlust unmatched, his abilities are a mystery to mortals, but from what Discord had told them a few hours after Spike said his name, Gemini’s powers focused on brute force and impeccable defense, not to say he was literally immune to magic.

Seeing her aunts were busy with their fellow Gods, and Twilight was with her friends, she took the chance to talk with the awaiting Spike.

“Spike,” Cadence said in a low voice, “are you really that in love with Twilight?”

“Yes,” Spike said without looking back at her. “I’m surprised you asked that, Cadence. Being the Goddess of Love and all.”

“I can see it, but I still had to ask you,” for a moment silence reigned between the two, until Cadence hugged him. “Please... please, be safe. Fight and win, I... I can’t lose you.”

“Why?”

“Because you have done something that no one thought possible: you made the Crystal Empire believe in you. They no longer fight or live for me, Shining, Chrysalis, or even my aunts, but for you. Because of you, I may be the princess and Chrysalis my co-ruler, but you are the beacon of power and hope for my ponies, our ponies and changelings alike, and most importantly, you are part of my family,” she nuzzled him affectionately. “I love you, Spike, my little cousin.”

“I love you too, Cadence.” Spike finally moved, returning the hug, “but I don’t think I deserve to be held in such a way, I pissed and crapped myself when Fate was before me and Death nearly gave me a heart attack.”

Cadence giggled “From what aunty Luna said to me earlier; you are the first mortal to hold her gaze for so long and not die afterwards, you held your ground proudly against the creator of all, don’t be sorrowful of it, be glad you endured.”

“I am glad, and I promise you, I will not lose. I will win, even if it kills me.”

Spike and Cadence ended their embrace at the same time, smiling at each other before the ground below them began to tremble.

“He’s here.” Discord yelled to all.

Just a few seconds later, the gray God of the diamond dogs, Lord Gemini, emerged from below the earth, strangely enough, not leaving a single crater or mark on the earth.

At least until his landing, which created a small earthquake around the private arena, just in the borders of the Crystal Empire. Gemini stood proudly, small chunks of gladiator armor all over his body, especially over his left chest side and right arm, his gray fur almost shining like a diamond while his powerful muscles promised undiluted pain to anyone stupid enough to make him mad, his fangs sharp and powerful, his claws ready to cut through anything and anyone and his tail, while short, it seemed to be similar to an overpowered war mace, one that could crush bones, gems and granite as if they were simple sugar cubes, his size was that the half of Rex, barely as big as Discord, but the aura around him made any doubt of his power banish and any weak minded mortal tremble just by looking at him.

Gemini scanned the area with his red eyes, his yellow irises narrowing in anger until they landed on his insolent opponent: Spike, the Crystal Savior.

Gemini sighed, “do you realize what you have done, reptile?” He said nonchalantly, “but if I have to guess, I would say no. But I do have to ask, why did you pick me?”

Spike got up from his sitting spot and walked towards the diamond dog God, stopping ten meters from him. “To teach you a lesson,” his answer made all the presents gasp in surprise and some in fear.

“A lesson?” Gemini replied. “You, a mortal, want to teach a God a lesson? I would laugh, I really would, if those words did not carry such insolence and disrespect to those who are superior to you, lizard.” Small chunks of earth levitated around Gemini, his voice was calm but his anger was palpable.

“Lord Gemini, dear brother” Luna called to him “first you must hear the rule-”

“I already know them and why am I here, sister, do not take me for a fool or a weak simpleton like some of our brothers and sisters”

“Such an arrogant beast, like always” Celestia thought.

“And now that I think of it, you should have called the name of one of the weaker ones, maybe then you could have stand a chance of winning.” Gemini smirked as Spike face showed his anger.

“Let’s not waste more time with petty talk, I wish to end this quickly!”

“Very well then,” Discord said as he snapped his fingers, creating a barrier around the arena. “You have one minute, Celestia.”

Celestia nodded and walked towards her son, hugging him with all her might and embracing him with her wings. “Please win, my son. Remember all your training and please don’t forget, you have the power to kill a God, not the strength nor the endurance.”

“I know mom, I love you too,” he embraced her with more force. “If I don’t make it, please take care of Twilight, please”

“Of course.”

“Can you two stop it?” Gemini said, breaking their touching moment, “I can’t believe you have grown so weak Celestia, I remember the good old days when your title was ‘The Tyrant’?”

Celestia’s eyes shined gold with anger, glaring death upon Gemini, he only laughed in return. “But I think I can understand a little, after all, you are about to lose your ‘son’... oh how much I will enjoy it.” Gemini licked his fangs as his paws formed fists, reducing to dust the chunks of earth around him.

“Win.” Celestia whispered to Spike’s ear fin as she departed, leaving a red gleaming helmet in his claws, a perfect match for his chest plate armor, leg plates, and forearm plates with the same color.

Spike turned around, placing the helmet over his head, facing Gemini, who was more than eager to start the fight, as Discord floated above and between the two of them.

“Remember, this is a fight to the death, there are no rules, everything is allowed, your fight nor any of you will be able to leave this barrier and nothing can enter it, the one that survives will be the winner. BEGIN.” Discord shouted as he teleported outside the barrier.

As soon as the shout left Discord’s mouth, Gemini launched himself at blinding speed directly at Spike, caughting him off guard and delivered a devastating punch directly over his abdomen. Spike’s eyes shot up in surprise and pain as he was sent flying back against the barrier, crashing against it and then at the floor.

Spike went on all fours and vomited over the floor, trails of saliva and blood mixing with his breakfast as he gasped for air, looking up he saw Gemini walking calmly towards him, he tried to get up but the stinging pain in his abdomen didn’t allow him to move at all. Just as Gemini was about to reach Spike he got up and shakily stood in an odd fighting position, one that he had never seen before.

“Wha--”

Before Gemini could finish his sentence a mighty hit at the left side of his head sent him flying a few meters to the right and crashing against the ground as yet another equally powerful blow struck him over his chest plate, a curtain of dust emerged around him for a second before using his tail to clear it, revealing the purple dragon over him, with no hesitation Spike began to deliver punch after punch all over his face and chest, hitting randomly all over he could reach.

Gemini’s eyes glowed yellow for a moment, then a great boulder hit the dragon, sending him to the other side of the arena. Gemini got up, attempting to dust himself off when he noticed something warm next to his face. Right on the left side, using his right paw, he touched his left cheek, discovering that it hurt him, quickly pulling away his paw, discovering a small tint of red.

“YOU DARE!?” Gemini shouted at Spike, who was trying to stand up again “YOU... DARE!?” Gemini shouted again, outraged and enraged that this mortal had actually managed to hurt him. “I was planing to make your death quick and painless, but now I will make sure you pay for your insolence!” chunks of earth levitated around him as his eyes shined golden.

Spike got up and spat some saliva mixed with blood to the floor. “This is a fight, remember?” Spike smirked at him.

Gemini grew more outraged than he already was. “This worthless piece of rotten shit is mocking ME?” he thought before launching himself against his opponent. This time whoever, Spike was ready and manage to move away from his trajectory just in time to make him impact against the very same boulder he had hit him before.

Spike covered his face from the hail of stone shards flying everywhere, thanks to his tail he could feel something below him and jumped just in time to avoid a claw made of stone grab him where he was standing. The claw disappeared and a dozen or so of the rocks that were left behind floated for a second before launching themselves at Spike.

Spike managed to avoid most of the rocks, but the last three hit him head on, one on the stomach, another on the head, and the last on his right leg, thankful for a moment he was a dragon and that his scales managed to absorb most of the damage, whoever his happiness ended as something behind him grabbed his left leg.

Before Spike could do anything, Gemini lifted him into the air and began to mercilessly strike the earth with Spike, as if he were nothing more but a warhammer.

In the front stage, Celestia and Twilight watched with horror from the brutal punishment Spike was receiving, everyone there was trying to keep themselves watching as the fight carried on through the screams of pain and the roars of anger echoing throughout the arena. Even Chrysalis was having a hard time watching the battle, a small chuckle at her right side made her tear off her eyes from it and see the one responsible of it. Shining Armor.

“Are you actually enjoying this?” She asked, partially outraged by his behaviour, it was no secret Spike and Shining didn’t get along but she never thought it could be something bad. “How can you enjoy it so?”

Shining looked up at her. “He is getting what he deserves, no point on not enjoying the show while it lasts,” he smiled as a particular loud scream echoed around them, “but why are you judging me? You don’t like him either.”

“I do like him, for your information, granted he isn’t my favorite dragon ever, but I do like him, especially his attitude and loyalness, plus I also respect him.”

“Respect him? Ha!, what could you possibly respect about him?”

“You know it very well, Shining, it was thanks to him that my changelings survived and it was his final vote what allowed us to merge with the Empire. Back then he didn’t trust us, he even hated us, and yet he showed he had a heart, something you seem to lack now, mortal.”

“Why yo---”

“AAARRRGGGHHH!!!”

Both Shining and Chrysalis turned their head back into the fight, the loud scream of pain from Gemini making them forget their dispute, at least for the moment, what they saw was not what they expected.

Spike was biting down as hard as he could on Geminis left forearm, drawing blood from him. Gemini let go of his left leg and tried to shake him off, but after a few second of trying he simply decided to use his other paw to grab his foe by the tail and pulled him with all his might, giving Spike a mouthful of his own blood, fur, and meat before throwing him against the barrier wall, just in front of Celestia and the rest of his family and friends.

The impact against the barrier made a horrible crunching noise, Spike fell to the ground and coughed some of his and Gemini’s blood, looking up he could see the charging God against him. Using his right leg, he managed to put himself together in a crouching position just as Gemini was less than three meters away from him and while using his strength, Spike jumped, barely avoiding the charging God, placing his claws over Gemini’s shoulders and maintained his balance over him.

Looking up, Gemeni was received by the combined knees of Spike over his face with just enough force to send him crashing to the ground again, forcing a muffled scream of pain from him as he collided with the ground before Spike landed on his chest, but unlike last time, he used his dragon fire to enfulge Gemini with it, earning screams of pain as the God rolled over the ground trying to extinguish the fire.

Spike didn’t lose time and connected a mighty combo of a punch, kick, tail swipe, and slash across Gemini’s burning face, his last attack injuring him over his right cheek. Just as he was preparing another combo, the two paws of Gemini grabbed him around his abdomen, giving him an insane amount of pain.

Gemini’s face was no longer on fire and revealed that aside from some burnt marks over his fur, he was fine, except for the cut over his right cheek, that was bleeding lightly. Gemini softened his grip a bit, giving Spike a moment to relax, only to give him a bear hug strong enough to break granite, making Spike almost faint from the tremendous amount of pain and the, undoubtedly, broken ribs it caused.

“I’m going to crush you, like the insolent maggot you are, lizard.” Gemini whispered, smiling sadistically at the symphony of Spike’s screams of pain and his vague attempts to get free, “then I’m going to crush your little Empire.” The force of the hug increased, “and all because of what? Love? You fool!” the hug ended and Gemini let go of Spike, letting him fall to the ground effortlessly. With a loud thud Spike fell, he tried to get up but a paw of the God around his head forbade him, slowly and torturously he dragged his face across the floor for several seconds until he lifted up just enough to allow him open his eyes.

Spike opened his eyes and for the first second all he saw was blur, until his eyes adjusted and he could see his mother and his mate screaming at him, crying for him. He couldn’t hear them, his eyes were focused on Twilight as Gemini spoke. “Look at her, do you think your so called love will last? Think again, she will eventually get bored of you and dump you, she will be eternal, unlike you who shall die this day, all because of a stupid decision, love is an illusion of the weak.” Gemini whispered behind his head, Spike could feel his hot breath against his neck.

Gemini rose Spike from the ground and put him at his eye level. “I don’t know what Mother was thinking when she granted you such power. No matter, I suppose, with this fight, I will show her.” he lifted Spike in the skies as a trophy. “Do you see, Mother!?” Gemini shouted, “I shall win this fight and I hope this shall entertain you enough to see that I, Gemini, God of the Earth, your Third child, am your rightful heir!”

“B-B... Buck you...”

Gemini looked up to Spike as a wicked smile formed on his lips and brought Spike once again to his eye level, his breathing hard and forced, then whispered, “But worry not, Crystal Scum, I will make sure to ‘entertain’ your mate properly after your death.” Gemini opened his maw ready to finish Spike off.

A sudden burst of energy exploded inside of Spike after hearing that last line, with all the strength he had left he delivered the most powerful kick he could muster against the chestplate of the Diamond Dog. The kick was so strong, that it shattered the chestplate, and made said God cough a sudden burst of blood, sending him flying backwards against the other side of the barrier.

Spike landed harshly on the ground, his right leg completely broken as the result of his attack, a curtain of dust emerged from the side Gemini impacted. Spike was almost lost in thought and time. He could hear voices, but didn't know what they were or what they meant, he didn’t know how long he laid there until a paw coiled around his neck and lifted him up. His vision returned to see a serene Gemini, who was huffing and coughing every now and then, as a small trail of blood descended from his mouth with one fang missing.

“I have to give you credit, reptile,” Gemini smiled, “that was the most powerful kick I have received in millenias.” He smiled wickedly at him, “sadly for you, it’s not nearly enough.” The grip around Spike’s neck tightened and Gemini decided to admire the body of his rival, a broken leg, his other leg fairing not far behind thanks to earlier treatment, there were cuts, bruises, and missing scales all over his body, at least everywhere that strange armor was not covering, his left arm was also broken thanks to the bear hug as several of his ribs shared the same destiny, and the horrible bruise in his abdomen promised internal bleeding and several damaged organs.

“I had fun, that much I can say... and also admit that if you had faced a weaker and incompetent brother or sister of mine, you would have, most probably, won the battle.” He opened his maw once again, placing the head of Spike inside it and then bit down.

“MMFFGG??” the diamond dog God released his foe’s head to discover some of his teeth were now chipped off, incredulous he looked at the helm of his foe and found some of his teeth encrusted on it.

“Well, well, well, it seems you get to live a few more seconds,” with his other paw he removed Spike’s helmet, throwing it to the ground. “This does provide me with a chance to ask you something,” the grip around Spike’s neck softened and made him look at him directly in the eyes. “What was the lesson you so wanted to teach me? hhhmmm?”

“...nnnngggghhhh...” Spike mumbled, barely conscious.

“Nothing, huh? Very well. Then die, Spike, The Crystal Fraud.”

Gemini opened his maw once again and brought Spike head inside it, but just as he was about to bite down, he froze in shock. For several seconds he didn't move until he removed the head of his rival out of his maw and saw him smiling cockily at him.

“I said *pant* n-never claim v-victory *pant* until you’ve won.”

Gemini slowly looked down to his chest and saw the tail of his foe......... piercing through his chest, right where his heart was. “W-what?... h-how? his tail should not be sharp enough to----” Gemini grabbed Spike’s tail, letting go of his neck, removing it from his chest. His eyes shot up in surprise as he saw a fine and thin, almost invisible line across the outer lanes of the tip of his tail.

They were red, same as his armor.

A sharp pain assaulted Gemini as he fell to the ground on all fours, letting free the tail of the dragon, his vision getting blurry as his blood dripped below him.

“Y-you bastard.” Gemini snarled followed by a shout of pain. “This was your plan, wasn’t it?”

“No,” Spike said firmly, as firmly as he could in his current state. “L-last second thought”

Gemini was left speechless “I... I lost...... just because of...... luck?” He didn’t know if he should be angry at himself or at destiny for such a cruel joke to his pride and power.

“N-NO!” Gemini shouted. “I will not die, I s-shall not fade into nothingness!” Gemini tried to get up, to move, but it was fruitless. The pain in his chest was spreading all over his body, proving too much to take, even for him. He looked down and saw with horror as his body slowly turned into stone. “MOTHER, SAVE ME!” Gemini cried, scared out of his mind. “I am your third, your most powerful son, I beg of you, save me!”

“Your time has come, Gemini,” a hollowing voice echoed around the arena, making everyone freeze in fear. Gemini on the other paw, was practically shivering in terror, “for long, I have awaited this day to come, brother. You did not lose because of luck, but because of your greatest fault: arrogance,” the voice whispered as dark tendrils surrounded the Diamond Dog God.

“D-death, please, don't ta--”

“I congratulate you, Spike the Crystal Savior,” the voice said. “We shall see each other again, in another time.”

Gemini screamed in terror as the black tendrils swarmed around him for a few seconds, then they disappeared, leaving only a stone figure of the once proud Diamond Dog God, Gemini; his face frozen in eternal terror and fear, his stone tears visible to all present as an invisible wind graced Spike before the stone figure crumbled and shattered into millions of pieces, turning into dust as the wind took it away.

“I won.” Spike said as the barrier began to fall, darkness surrounding him, driving the pain all over his body away. He saw one last thing before his fading eyesight succumb to dimness.

It was the face of Fate, or at least the face of her Alicorn form, it was smiling back at him, but it was a strange smile, it did not show happiness nor anger, sorrow or joy, regret or satisfaction, good or evil; it was, for the lack of a better term to him at the moment, a horrible smile that showed only a hollowed void of nothingness, with no promises or threats, a place that was neither alive nor dead, it was simply, an empty smile.

A smile he knew far too well would fill his nightmares for years. Only then, did shadows embrace him.

--------------------------------------***********************************

Twilight laid at the side of the still resting Spike, almost a month long rest, thankfully the Ursanian Empire had agreed to wait as much as needed until Spike recovered, mainly for three reasons: firstly it was their turn to call forth a battle, and since this was a unique occasion, no other country, kingdom or empire could take their place in line, secondly the Ursanian’s were well known for their battle honor (not to mention their addiction to crystal berries), and thirdly Ushi Gorzo, the God of the Ursas and of the Forests, was aware of the private challenge and decided to wait, mainly because he always hated his older brother, Gemini.

During the fight, Twilight was deadly afraid for her beloved mate; the battle itself was short, but it was brutal, mostly for Spike. A tear still managed to fall from her eye each time she remembered just how close Spike was to death and the way he won.

The three things that saved his life were his special Red Moon Crystal armor, his tail spear, and the arrogance of Gemini. If at any given moment he should had decided to simply end Spike, and not just play with him to ‘make him pay’ for hurting him, Spike would have had no chance against him at all. Thankfully that wasn't the case and Spike emerged victorious, but with a heavy price.

Spike was so beaten up that she tried to use dark magic on him to heal him, surprisingly it was Chrysalis who stopped her from doing so, warning her that while dark magic was powerful to create, destroy, and alter, it couldn’t heal anything. The look on her face and the hint of sadness on her eyes was all she needed to not do it.

But even with that there was still another problem, Spike won, but had he managed to please Fate? Her answer came when Discord closed his eyes and turned very, very serious, deadly serious even, the moment the barrier collapsed.

“Yes, Mother.” Discord whispered, his voice strange, not entirely his normal voice, but more like a raspy, almost choking voice. “Yes......... of course............... I know Mother, pathetic if I must say so myself,” a moment of silence “......... very well, Mother. I will...... Yes, of course, it shall be done as you say, goodbye.”

“What was that all about?” Luna asked “How could you---”

“I always envied you for that, Discord.” Chrysalis interrupted, “you always seemed to be the closest to Mother of us all”

“Pffff, do you really think Mother allowed me to be free because of something like that? I thought you knew better, Chrysy. The only reason I am free right now was, and is, because I can broadcast events, including the fight, to Mother without her ‘seeing’ it personally,” for a moment the five Gods shivered uncomfortably.

“She has two messages for us all: first, Twilight,” he said gaining her attention, seeing her efforts to heal Spike were in vain, and a little mad that no one, not even Celestia, tried to help her son, even if she was crying for him moments earlier. “This is another part of Mother’s test, Spike must heal by his own accord, the mortal way, we cannot interfere.”

Twilight was the youngest of them all but even she knew that if Fate ordered, declared or demanded something, then it was meant to be done and not questioned, even if that meant leaving her lover in the ground barely alive.

“And the second?” Celestia asked softly.

“Mother is ‘pleased’ with the results, I won’t go into detail, but even though it was far less from what she desired, it was more entertaining than she originally thought it would be. Mother may not be amused or happy with the battle, but she is indeed pleased,” Discord smiled a bit, looking at the almost beaten to death dragon. “Mother will not grant him Godhood, nevertheless if Spike survives and heals up, he will be granted immortality.”

“Rather generous from Mother, don’t you think?” Cadence said, happy and confused at the same time from such a decision.

“I agree,” Celestia said. “Mother does not grant such gifts so easily, and although I’m happy for my son,” Celestia smiled warmly at her son, using one of her wings to caress his unconscious face, “I can’t help but wonder why?”

“Indeed.” Chrysalis and Luna replied at the same time.

Twilight was surprised, almost not believing what she just heard “S-so that means...... Spike, will be with me......... forever?”

“Yes,” was all Discord said.

The celebration that followed, at least for her part, Rarity, Pinkie, and Applejack’s, was something she would rather not speak about, it was a bit embarrassing for her to remember it, but what mattered was that Spike managed to live and win, even if not what he desired, he had still won.

“I knew I would find you in here,” a voice said from behind. “You almost never leave his side.”

“I can’t, Cadence. What if he wakes up and I’m not here to be the first thing he sees?” Twilight smiled sweetly at Spike, who mumbled her name in his sleep.

“I know you must,” Cadence sat next to Twilight, seeing her cousin recovering from his injuries greatly, he was almost as good as new, he just needed to wake up now. For what felt like hours the two Princesses just sat there in silence, being vigilant of the dragon in front of them, until Cadence finally spoke. “Did you know the Crystal Empire was, in it’s early years, Chrysalis’s home and that she ruled it?”

“No, I didn’t. But how can that be, she is a Changeling!”

“I talked with her about it some time ago. I believe you noticed the way she acted around you when you tried to use dark magic?”

“Yeah, it was... odd.”

“There is a good reason behind it: In the old days, Chrysalis was known to be one of the most beautiful creatures on the planet; she had suitors everywhere, she was kind and very patient.”

“We are talking about the same Chrysalis, right?” Twilight questioned, “I mean, she is very attractive in her own way, but kind and patient?”

“I know it sounds hard to believe, Twilight, but auntie Celestia confirmed her story.” Cadence sighed sadly, “she was an Alicorn, just like us in those days, but the reason she turned into a Changeling and the reason she is the way she is now was because a mortal betrayed her.” She clenched her teeth and her frown was clear, “a mortal she saved from orphanage, a mortal she trusted with her life, a mortal that she was building to be a prodigy of virtue, justice and righteousness.

“Instead of obtaining what she hoped to achieve, that mortal betrayed her once he was powerful enough; once she had taught him all she knew about dark magic, even though she did not know much of it herself, being so innocent. He cursed her and those loyal to her to turn into Changelings, and in doing so, merging himself into darkness itself, becoming seemingly immortal. Chrysalis was unable to reverse the spell by herself because she did not have the knowledge, and none of her family would heed her pleds. Mother even said that it was fitting for her sins of giving the mortal such control over dark magic.” Her wings flared in anger.

“Chrysalis was forced to leave her country and live in the wilds, away from love, tolerance, and compassion by the one she had came to love as a son. From that day onwards, she promised to never trust a mortal, or anyone else, ever again.”

“Who was it?” Twilight asked, already knowing the answer, but even though her anger was equally matched with Cadence’s, she still needed to hear it.

“Sombra.” A voice in front of them said weakly, making them forget their anger for the moment and stay stunned.

“Now I really am glad I killed that bastard.” Spike chuckled darkly, barely opening his eyes.

“SPIKE!” The two mares shouted, throwing themselves over the drake.

---------------------------------------***************************************************

Just one more week was all it took for Spike to regain his strength and to be put to date with everything that had gone on during his ‘absence’, he was very grateful that his quick recovery was made possible thanks to the medical aid of the Buffalo tribes near Appleloosa, their medicine and remedies proving to be very effective on dragons.

Celestia told him of the results of his battle, and to her surprise, he was beaming with joy, confessing to her that he only wanted to be a God to be able to stay with Twilight for a long, long time. True he could now still die like any other mortal, with some minor differences, but time and illness were nothing to him now and he could take severe damage to his body and still live, along with his natural defences, such as his scales and venom immune system, were slightly better than before. A very welcomed gift on his part.

What really surprised her though, was when Spike kneeled and thanked Fate for her gift and happy that the fight, his pain, and the death of Gemini pleased her. That’s when she remembered another hidden trait of Spike, he didn’t show it often, but it was still inside him, Honor. He had honor, and thinking about it now, this was maybe the most powerful reason as to why Spike had decided to fight Gemini, for during his first fight Gemini had showed no honor whatsoever over the fight, practically saying his adoring subjects were nothing but scum and cannon fodder.

As soon as Spike could travel and fight, just two days later, his fight with the Ursani champion took place. This fight, unlike the last one, was very enjoyable to both parties as both sides were equally matched, where the Ursani champion (and the Ursani in general) had size, brute force, and reflex as their advantage, Spike had agility, control, and speed.

For the most part, it proved to be an even match, but eventually the Ursani champion fell, a last smile on his features as life faded out as Spike, bruised and bloodied, won his second fight, a proper fight fitting of his standards as a warrior.

Sadly, most of his next fights, over the course of two months, proved to be anything but honorable or worthy of a warrior. In fact, almost all of them seemed like a joke, in said fights their champions were clearly under trained and pretty much full of themselves, and in almost every case, leaved the ruling kings, populace and their Gods angry at him, not for the nature of the battle, but because of how easy it was for him, most of the time.

The only exceptions were his fights against the Minotaur champion and the Zebra championess, they proved to be an equal, if not greater, challenge than the Ursani champion, in fact, the Zebra championess almost beheaded him.

Those two fights showed a great and spectacular show for those lucky enough to see it, able to enjoy it even, and had also solidified good terms with those three countries, maybe not as allies, but good terms none the less. The only part he absolutely hated was the part when he had to decapitate his fallen foe and show his/her head as a trophy, it sickened him.

But aside from all that, almost everything was normal, except for his nights with Twilight, the way Shining, of all ponies, tried to be friendly with Spike, influenced by Cadence he was sure, and that Discord was actually behaving himself, proving he was free from his corruption, everything was indeed normal.

“There is no time for that now though,” Spike said to himself. “I must face my opponent for my twelfth battle, the Griffon champion, Metal Claw.”

Rubbing his snout, Spike heaved a loud sigh and closed his eyes, meditating on his inner strength and balance so to stay calm during this fight, shivering slightly from the crisp, autumn breeze that was approaching, breathing lightly into his claws and looking at the clear blue sky with his mother’s sun shining brightly above.

“Shit, are these battles ever going to end before I’m killed?” He questioned himself before taking another drag of his cigarette.
As he blew the gray cloud of smoke from his mouth, he saw his opponent he was to face, surprised to see the griffin was female, not that he was surprised of her gender but because of the fame that surrounded the champion of the griffons he had always believed she was a male.

After all gender didn’t mean anything in this matches, the zebra championess showed him that very thing.

Spike got up and took his cigarette out of his mouth, throwing it to the ground before the gryphoness stopped in front of him.

“Ah, so you are the rumored Crystal Savior, an honor young dragon to meet a challenger worthy of the title, I hope we both give it our best in the eyes of our rulers, eh, dragon?” She asked with a genuine grin, making him chuckle and nod “I have been studying your previous matches and I am truly happy to know you have a high sense of honor, like a true champion should.”

Spike nodded in agreement “Of course, it’s a pleasure to meet such a foe of respect,” he said, holding out a claw for the griffin to look at before firmly gripping it in her eagle talon and shaking slowly. “Though I have to admit I thought you were a male, there is very little information about you out there, hope it doesn’t offend you” Spike said as both released their shaking claws.

“A pleasure to you as well, and yes, my lord has always been very secretive about me, it is a common mistake many other champions have made” She said softly “by the way, Spike the dragon... I had forget to mention that my cousin, Gilda has visited your former town in Equestria, Ponyville I believe it was called years ago. She regrets to hear her former lover, Rainbow Dash’s life was taken in battle, but as a Griffin of birth, she is proud she died honorably. I am also sorry for your lost, though I doubt you’ll much care once we give it our all in battle.”

“Yeah, it was a hard pill to swallow, I always knew there was something between those two and after Rainbow’s death……”

“I know the feeling, Spike the Dragon” Metal Claw said “but I am curious, there are many stories about your deed all those years ago, I wonder what is the real version”

“What do you mean?” Spike asked confused, both of them sitting on the ground for comfort.

“Answer me this first, have you any idea who Sombra was?”

“More than I would like to know” Spike said as hatred for the dead tyrant emerged.

“Then you must know that for some your actions are those of a hero, to others those of another tyrant and to some even see you as the beacon of Fate herself, something like a sword of justice” Metal Claw said with a small smile on her beak.

Spike gave out an empty laugh at that last part “I can assure you that neither of those are true………..especially the last one”
“Then why you did it?”

“Honestly? For love.” Spike sighed and waited a couple of seconds, seeing Metal Claw making no sounds or movement he continued “Sombra was torturing me to get the heart, Twilight came to rescue me but in the end she was defeated by Sombra easily, at that time she was still a unicorn, seeing and hearing her cry out in pain snapped something inside of me, next thing I knew I was beating the ever living shit out of Sombra, but not only for her, I did it for my love of my friends, my family, the crystal ponies and my Twilight.”

“I see” Metal Claw said, the smile on her beak increasing “only my lord knows this” she began “but the reason I became a champion was because of something similar to what you went through, Spike the dragon, but in my case it was a trial to see if I was worthy” she stopped for a second “unlike many other kingdoms we griffons see the title of the champion as the greatest honor and service to our country and gods than anything else, the trial was simple, I had to kill my entire family”

Metal Claw smiled broadly “My lord himself gave me the trial…..and I accepted without hesitation, right when I was about to leave to perform my trial my lord hugged me, saying I had passed.”

“Sacrifice” Spike said shocked “the trial was sacrifice?”

“Yes”

A couple of seconds of silence later Spike broke it “I don’t want to fight you”

“You must” Metal Claw said “you fight not for yourself, you fight for your country, your friends, your family, your lover, just like I fight for mine.”

“We could have been very good friends”

“Ha, ha, ha! No doubt!”

Silence fell between again, this time however it was broken by the distant cheers and shouts from the spectators, the fight was about to begin.

“C’mon, Spike the dragon, we must get ready to fight” Metal Claw got up offering a claw to Spike “let’s give our Gods and countries a fight to remember, and if possible, a fight that shall echo in eternity.”

“With honor, with pride, as rivals, as friends” Spike said taking her claw to get up.

Without looking at eachother they turned around and walked away to their respective rooms in the arena.

Neither noticing the tears falling from the eyes of the other.

A large white marble platform was being levitated by forty Changelings as the stands were held in the air by both the remaining members of Chrysalis’s army and the Queen of the Changelings herself, who showed no stress in the spell she was casting, a proper place for her and her fellow gods to watch the match comfortably, once the platform was in place the Changelings holding it flew off and Chrysalis finished her spell to keep it floating.

Meanwhile Discord with a microphone in his lion’s paw was, for some strange reason, announcing the coming battle and, with no surprise, Pinkie Pie was right beside him with a megaphone in her hooves as well, screaming the menu for dinner tonight which only confused most of the griffons, ponies and Changeling waiting eagerly for the match to begin.

Spike was ready on his spot, ready to fight, suddenly a hoof touched his shoulder, whirling around, he saw his mate with a sheepish expression on her face before it morphed to a serious one.

“Nervous, Spike?” She asked softly as he only shook his head, taking Twilight’s hoof in his claw and rubbing it slowly.

“No, just saddened. My enemy is a relative to Gilda” he chuckled, making her ears drop and blink while he continued. “and to make matter worse, she’s... such a creature of respect, I never met anyone like her” Spike sighed sadly “Now I have to fight someone I really don’t want to fight, because she would have made a great friend.” He whispered making Twilight hug him firmly.

“I’m sorry, Spike.” She spoke sincerely as he only hugged her back.

With a kiss on the lips, he turned and stepped out and into the arena, becoming nervous and feeling his breakfast rising back up, instantly causing him to swallow loudly and forcing himself to not look down, he forgot this ‘arena’ was made of clouds and was in the air, just before Pinkie screamed at him the exact same thing, making him glare at her as she only smiled with a hoof rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly.

Ignoring the sensation of such a very far drop and the height, Spike looked towards his opponent as she glided across from the reptile, turning, she bowed before her ruler and the God of her country, one of four Spike remembered being told, as currently in the stands was Lord Sebastian, the God of Wind and Honor and the ruler of her country, Queen Ariel.

“May the Gods grant their servant blessing on this fight.” Metal Claw addressed them, making Spike glance around nervously, never knowing of a mortal who gave such respect towards her rulers as he only waved awkwardly towards his own, Shining Armor laughing hard before Twilight elbowed him in the ribs.

“Champions, are you ready?” Princess Cadence spoke with authority, making both of them nod, preparing for their fight.

“Get set…” Spike and Metal Claw shared one last look, both of them smiling at eachother “BATTLE!” Cadence screeched, forcing both to propel forward, one with their legs, the other with their wings.

As they raced towards one another, Spike swiped his left claw towards Metal Claw’s face but she maneuvered out of the way at the last second and flew past him, wrapping her tail around his throat and slamming him harshly onto the ground before pummeling him with her eagle talons, forcing him to protect his face before curling his claw and punching her hard in the gut as she wheezed in pain, stumbling a foot away before Spike stood up and headbutted her in the beak, hard.

Gripping her neck, he violently slammed her face into his right knee and punched her in the throat, making her cough blood onto his stomach as he gripped her right wing and twisted it as hard as he could, hearing a loud, sickly crunch as she screamed in pain right before he twisted it and tore her wing off completely, causing her to screech louder.

Before Spike could do anything else she grabbed his own tail and wrapped it around his neck, making his gasp as she tugged it harder, forcing him to drop to his knees, with her free claw she began to hit his face as hard as she could making him cough and spit some of his blood with each hit, a sudden kick right on her stomach forced her to let go and move away from him, panting as he coughed and sputtered on the ground.

Both got up and charged at the other, ignoring all the pain they collided with such force that the sound of the impact made more than a few of the viewers look away, then they started to trade blows, kick and anything they could think off.

“They are making it quick” Queen Ariel said “I don't get it, Metal Claw has never fought like this before.”

“It is because neither of them want to fight the other, but they are, so in honor of a friendship that could have been great they are showing their true strength in battle, no tricks, no plans, no strategies, just force and power, just honor” Lord Sebastian answered, making his fellow gods nod in agreement, as he watched the fight with a small smile on his beak.

A sound similar to thunder echoed all over the arena as the cheers and howling of the viewers, excited about the fight, filled the air “OH MAN! Now that has to hurt!” Discord and Pinkie yelled at the same time just a moment after Spike and Metal Claw made the other fly the other way with a tremendous punch.

Looking up again glaring at one another, Spike roared and swung his left fist hard into her jaw as she was knocked back and back taloned him hard across the face, tearing her beak hard into his stomach.

He had no other choice but to thrust his claws into her stomach and have her shout in pain before she headbutted him right in his nose, making him growl before jamming his claws into her left eye and forcibly tearing it out as she screeched loudly right before he stood up and elbowed her in the chest.

With no more fooling around, he got onto her back and, without hesitation, tore off her left wing, ignoring all the blood that stained his scales before wrapping his own tail around her neck and used the last of his strength to yank as she coughed and tried to speak with him, making him pause before leaning to hear her words.

“It was *cough* an honor to f-fight such a skilled warrior *cough* I am ready, Spike. Take my life, I am not a-ashamed to *cough* to die because of you.” She whispered, causing him to regret his choice before she nodded as he then pierced her heart with his tail, a final breath was the sign of the life that ended for his rival.

He was breathing hard through his nose as he crawled off her body and laid on the ground, panting, before looking into the eyes of his shocked foe, feeling guilt in his heart before he closed her eyes and muttered that he was sorry... he had no other choice. A second later cheers erupted all over the arena, it made him feel sick.

With the corpse of what could have been a friend laying beside him, he coughed out blood before looking up into the eyes of his comrades and his foes, glaring at both the Queen and her God, there was something more he needed to do, he still needed the head.

“I... I’m sorry, I never meant for it to end so violently... I’m sorry.” He whispered as the God turned towards the country’s ruler and nodded with a sad smile, rising his claw into the air, the arena became silent.

“Impressive, Crystal Savior. Now... as much as it pains me, the head of our fallen champion, if you please.” He spoke softly as Spike only shook his head.

“No... she did not deserve this... I... I never meant to take her life like this, I swear.” He uttered as Lord Sebastian frowned for a moment before giving a light chuckle.

“It is not your place to question ancient laws, dragon. Now please, if you will, the head-”

“Go buck yourself and your LAWS!” He screamed angrily, making the God frown before sighing as he looked over at Queen Ariel, who looked nervously at her superior and nodded.

“Spike, it is not your right to deny us of our fallen champion and you of your victory, now please... the head.” Lord Sebastian whispered quietly, Spike looked down to the corpse of the fallen champion, directly at her head and looking at the open beak which he softly closed, he refused once more.

All stood in shock at Spike’s refusal, yelling angrily that he won’t do such a thing to an opponent he came to respect, someone he could have called a friend.

The public cheered in awe at his declaration, the griffons being the loudest of all. The griffon God smiled, before turning his head towards Cadence and Chrysalis.

"Your champion is worthy and honorable, he has defied the ancient tradition just because he respects his fallen enemy and in doing so he insults the offering to the Gods and the nations." Sebastian smirked, "but I value honor more than anything else," the griffon God said softly as he bowed before them. "I would be very honored if you would accept us as your allies, Goddess of Love and Goddess of Illusions"

Cadence and Crysalis look at each other, then down to where Spike, who was walking towards a hot air balloon being sent his way to be taken out of the arena, before he was tackled out of no where by Twilight, crying hard onto his scales, who turned and smiled.

"We accept, God of Honor."

Before another word was spoken between the three, a messenger Changeling fell from the sky, making the three gods jump a little in surprise, the Changeling was breathing heavily as she bowed before her Goddess.

"They *huff* attack! *huff* Diamond *huff* Dogs *huff *near *huff* the *huff* Crystal *huff* Empire! ¨huff* few hours *huff* before *huff* arrival! *huff¨"

"HEAL THE CRYSTAL SAVIOR!" The Griffon Queen shouted to all the arena" AND READY OUR FORCES, WE MARCH FOR THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE AT ONCE, WE SHALL AID OUR NEW ALLIES!"

Cheers, shouts, and movement filled the arena as the Changelings lowered the arena and stands as quickly as they could before the Griffon God turned towards the pair of Goddesses.

"Can your Empire hold until we arrive?"

"Twilight, the Goddess of Magic, can teleport objects between great distances, she is still developing her strengths, but she has enough to send one single object from here to the Empire." Cadence answered as the queen Ariel looked puzzled at her.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

Cadence smirked, "How fast can your medics heal Spike?"

"Four or five hours minimum, why do you ask?" She questioned.

"And how long will it take us to arrive to the Empire if we part in one hour?" Chrysalis questioned, making Lord Sebastian answer her in annoyance.

"A day and a half, if we make haste. I fail to see where this is going, little sister."

"Please, heal Spike and then Twilight will send him to the Empire ahead of us," Chrysalis smirked before she growled darkly. "The Diamond Dogs, those filthy backstabbers, will be in for a surprise. I knew we should have never trusted the other Gods of that species to hold to their word," Chrysalis looked to her side “makes me wonder why didn’t our scouts see them until now?” she whispered to herself.

"If we are lucky," Cadence added, "we will arrive just in time to catch as many fleeing Diamond Dogs as we can."

The Griffion God was amazed by the confidence and cockyness his fellow sisters had...... or perhaps it was something else. "Do you believe that he will be able to hold the enemy that long and win the battle on his own?"

"We believe," Chrysalis said, "that the Diamond Dogs will know that Tartarus is a paradise after facing Spike and his army in battle."

"We may be the rulers, the Gods of our kingdom, for crystal ponies and changelings alike," Cadence said. "And if we were to lead the defense, we could still win. But if Spike is the one leading it...... well, lets just say morale won't be a problem for us."
"How can you be so sure?" queen Ariel asked calmly as Chrysalis laughed.

"At first it was hard for me to believe it," Chrysalis said. "But Spike is much more than a hero or a champion; he IS the heart of the Empire. He is the reason the Empire still stands today. Spike is the living hope, love, admiration, pride, and morale of the Empire and with twelve fights won already, including the death of a God, it has only increased by ten-fold."

Lord Sebastian was speechless, if this reptile meant so much for them, then that meant Spike was loved and admired as a GOD, but for what he saw, he was humble and very aware of such admiration and devotion but still he knew his place as a mortal and as a simple figure of hope and strength for his nation.

Lord Sebastian and Queen Ariel smiled proudly as Lord Sebastian laughed before saying.

"HA!, The first mortal to be regarded as a God himself by his subjects but doesn't allow such a thing to get to his head or blind his path and duty, a mortal who knows what his place and duty is, Fate would be proud of such a mortal, if she were sway to such affection that is.” He chuckled before Cadence spoke softly.

“Our empire is very heavy guarded, the question is who it was that allowed the brutes to get past our defenses without our knowledge. It would have to be a creature who knows our plans inside and out, a traitor to the very core... they will pay for what they have done.” She muttered darkly, making the other three nod as they stood to confront their enemy and the traitor hidden within it’s ranks.

As the platform was being lowered Chrysalis and Cadence could already see in the distance the movement of what promised to be a great army of griffons, barely getting ready and suited up for the long travel.

**************--------------------------------

Crystal Empire- Six hours later

In a flash of light Spike appeared in the great hall of the castle, surprising the moving troops around it, in just a couple of minutes he was filled on the situation, the Diamond Dogs were just at his doorstep, being held only by the barrier around the city, which was collapsing fast.

Spike barked orders to his troops and the generals, ordering them to assembly their battle positions, he asked where were his Phalanx units? One of the generals told him they were already in the front, being led by Applejack while the rest of the army secured positions and drive the civilians to safety.

A Changeling general approached for orders, ready to fight the dogs from above, surprisingly Spike ordered him and his troops to do no such thing, Diamond Dogs knew how to counter aerial attacks with deadly accuracy, instead he ordered him and his troops to reinforce the flanks and to send a special task team to infiltrate and capture their commanders.

With that said Spike broke into a run, taking him a couple of minutes to reach his Phalanx units, upon arrival Applejack and the rest of his commanders were already waiting for him, Pipsqueak told him that most of his troops were ready to fight the invaders when they arrived even without him, but when word came that he had arrived they were no longer ready, they were now eager to fight at his side.

Spike gave his orders to his commanders and his troops and the rest of the army who were now arriving to take positions. Looking at the Diamond Dogs at the other side of the barrier he could see they were lusting for blood and death.

Pewee landed on his shoulder, his phoenix pet also armed with Red Moon Crystals on his talons and beak.

“Soldiers of the Crystal Empire, ponies and Changelings, brothers and sisters, the enemy is right in front of us, ready to take our lives, the lives of our families and friends, to burn what we have accomplished in this twenty hard years” Spike pointed at the Diamond Dogs “those filthy backstabbers will fail, their numbers are greater, their purpose clear and they have the aid of three of their gods, but they WILL fail” Spike put on his Red Moon Crystal helmet “They are already gloating, tasting their victory, judging us inferior” low growls, neighs and screeches echoed around him.

“But what they fail to see is that we will make this their last meal, they think victory is theirs just because their gods are with them,” Spike laughed mockingly “little do they know that our goddesses are on their way to help us, our new found griffon allies are coming to aid us, all we have to do is to hold them back, to push them aside and away from the innocent”

“Or should we retreat and leave our duty unfulfilled? Should we let our families, friends and homes to die at their paws? Are we going to let our country fall!?” Spike shouted at the army, who began to hit the ground with their weapons “I say we will not, I say those filthy gem hoarders will regret the day they decided to betray and face us in battle, battle hardy Changelings are on our side, the eight units of the Crystal Phalanx will take the battle to THEM, AND I, YOUR CRYSTAL SAVIOUR, STAND WITH YOU THIS DAY!” cheers and shouts of glory and death filled the air.

Spike took his spear and sword and pointed the spear at the Diamond Dog army, the barrier around them starting to shatter before their eyes, his Crystal Phalanx charging up their shields and his commanders ready to to fight the enemy and lead their troops to victory “Know that they have come for our blood…... but they will drown in their own.”

“Fellow creatures, TONIGHT WE DINE IN TARTARUS!!!” He roared right before the barrier shattered two seconds later.

A hail of crystal arrows poured down on the Diamond Dogs, the Crystal Phalanx marching slowly at the mad charging enemy, Pewee took flight using his fire to turn to ash a dozen of charging Diamond Dogs.

The battle had started.

*******************--------------

Chrysalis, Cadence and Sebastian arrived at the battle field, seeing what could only be described as work of art performed by War himself, the city in front of them, for the sounds coming out of it, was filled with battle on each street, they could easily see Changeling, pony and Diamond Dog corpses all over the field, the Diamond Dogs taking a greater picture of it.

Sebastian shouted to his army to charge and aid their Changeling and pony allies. Taking flight he could see in the distance how the three Diamond Dog gods were performing heresy, they were battling against mortals, filled with rage Sebastian told the news to Cadence and Chrysalis who in return took flight themselves and lead the attack towards the enemy.

Spike and his forces were now scattered around the city and the castle, he had decided to pull back and separate his personal army into his planned units the moment the three Diamond Dog gods decided to join the fight themselves, while he lead the overall defense of the castle.

If there was one thing he was glad about this attack was that it proved the effectiveness of his Crystal Phalanx, for every troop of his units that died ten Diamond Dogs felled. Still it shocked him how easily they pierced their magic barriers, one of the captured enemy officers revealed they knew how to counter them. that only confirmed what he already knew, there was a traitor inside the very castle.

As he was shouting new orders he saw the three enemy gods arrive at the gates of the castle ready to destroy him, some of his guards, Changeling, pony and Crystal Phalanx units charged at the gods only to be slaughtered in seconds by them, only his Crystal Phalanx units standing a bit longer thanks to their special armor but even that was not enough to save them.

The three gods smiled and began to charge against the dragon, but before they were halfway to their objective each one of them was slammed by something equally powerful, Spike gave out a sigh of relief as he saw Sebastian, Cadence and Chrysalis arrive with the griffon army, who showered the streets in aid of the Changelings and ponies.

Looking to the arriving gods he saw them they were now engaged in fierce combat against the Diamond Dog ones, Twilight landed at his side hugging him happily, Spike told her that she needed to check on the civilians, there were no news from them for almost an hour, nodding she parted towards her new destination. All the while Discord simply stood in the air, looking at the battle below.
The battle raged on and Spike was forced to return to it, even though he was already heavily injured after almost a day of full fighting, he still needed to find the traitor, he knew the traitor would be near, limping through all the bodies that were to every side of him, Spike slowly dragged his sword through the massacre, almost being beheaded by a soldier before using his own sword to behead him.

Looking back he could still see Sebastian, Chrysalis and Cadence fighting against the diamond dog Gods, and it seemed they were losing, suddenly a piercing pain erupted from his left leg, sending him to the ground, looking up he saw Shining Armor trot towards him, in full armor with his eyes narrowed seeing his most hated foe before him.

“You are…….walking” Spike said, clenching his fangs “how?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Shining asked cockily “it’s amazing what an earth clone can do to fool somepony, doesn’t it?”

“It was you.” it was not a question “Why?”

“Because you took my rightful place as the champion” Shining snarled back at him “I had so many plans, but you had to come and ruin them, you! A pathetic, orphaned lizard that can’t survive without being baby sat” Shining smiled darkly at him “thankfully Terra, one of the diamond dog Gods restored my legs so that my plan could continue.”

Spike knew that Armor disliked him, hate him even, and the feeling was mutual, but he NEVER had considered him a traitor or that he could go so low, betraying his own kind, his country, his wife, his sister, this was a new low even he couldn’t properly name, Spike was outraged by how Shining Armor could simply betray them like that, out of jealousy and bitterness. How many had died just because of it?

He had always held resentment for the former captain of the Royal Guard but this was cruel, impulsive and made him sick, he knew that his mother would be ashamed to ever be associated with such a monster, Twilight even more so, just imagining the pain it would cause her filled him with rage.

With a roar of a full grown dragon, Spike charged, ignoring the arrow on his left leg and the wounds of his right, his sword wildly being swung to and fro to pierce through the armor but Shining Armor anticipated this and countered with an attack of his own, smashing his hoof directly into Spike’s snout forcing him to take a step back and look with anger at the crimson dripping onto his claw, which only made him tighten his grip on his sword and swing again, the stallion was forced to block the oncoming assault with his horn, eyes ablaze with malice as the two struggled to overtake the other, knowing that slipping or faulting even once could mean death.

“Yield.” Shining Armor command but the reptile only snarled and upper cuted his foe, causing the stallion to stumble as Spike quickly leaned back then with a turn of his wrist and a swung he stabbed Shining Armor’s unprotected left hoof, cleaning it from the muscle and tendon that held it as he dropped to the ground, gritting his teeth he screamed and stabbed at Spike’s face with his horn but the dragon merely slammed the hilt of his sword hard into his nose, a loud crack resonated throughout the area as the stallion dropped, panting as he watched with labored breaths at his foe who raised his sword, for a moment Spike was ready to kill him but in the end decided to not do it, there was someone who deserved that pleasure more than him.

As if calling the very goddess he was thinking of three heavily injured Diamond dog Gods fell near them, moments later the three gods, Sebastian, Chrysalis and Cadence landed next to Spike, all of them breathing heavily and bearing great injuries, but nothing fatal.

Cadence stepped forward, a stern expression was on her face as she alighted to the dirt below, her eyes cold and calculating as she looked over her ‘husband’, even though she was covered in blood, both hers and from her enemies, even though her royal garment were nowhere to be seen, those eyes showed her power, regalia and rage.

“You have dishonored your kingdom,” her voice matched her eyes, it was cold and held no love or compassion “more importantly you have shamed me, your own mate. We have been betrayed and overrun, twenty five thousand of our own lay dead because of your selfishness for the dragon, for Spike....why have you done this Shi--…...mortal.” She asked with a haunting edge to her voice making Spike shiver as he could only step back and watch.

“The Diamond Dogs thirst for revenge, they needed a pony bold and willing to do only what was necessary, I never intended for you or my sister to get hurt my love but I had to see the dragon dead!” He spat, spittle ran down his mouth and a savage rage was seen in his eyes towards Spike.

“I never met for you to have to suffer, my love” a moment of silence fell “I only wanted for us to rule, not as princess and prince but as Queen and King, it was my plan to expand and dominate all, we could have ruled all, we must do so to give proper order to th---”

“Your crimes are unforgivable, Shining Armor” Cadence looked disgusted, barely holding back her urge to vomit “What you have done is ruin the very foundation that crowned you their Prince, worse of all you have stained your family's legacy and you have made a mockery of the one you once called your wife….you will never escape the sins you have wrought today, my love.”

Cadence snapped harshly before she with a single thrust of her head impaled her own husband through the chest even through his armor, Spike was forced to watch as Shining’s very life was drained from his eyes, Shining Armor blinked once as he looked into his mate’s eyes and coughed blood before he fell to the side and with one last breath, laid still.

Spike was horrified at what had just transpired before him but he could not tear his eyes away from the body of his former foe, a stallion he had wanted to kill for so long and now that he had the opportunity at claw it was not by his claw that the traitor had been killed but his wife.

He was jolted out of his shock by the Griffon’s voice “You have done well, Spike….for a mortal. I am proud of you. It is best if you relay the news to your mate of her sibling.”

Cadence turned to Spike “Spike, please do leave me out of your words, I think it would be best if tales were written about your victory over the traitor rather than my own...come, there is still much for us to do.” She spoke cruelly, causing Spike to shiver before she flapped her wings twice and sailed into the sky. Spike knew it would take some time before Cadence could return to her cheerful, loving self, all thanks to Shining and his treason.

The Crystal Savior could not even form a contented sentence to the Crystal Princess before he noticed that she had vanished as well as the other two Gods, with his breath caught in his throat, he picked up his sword that had fallen to the dust, reversed its position and pressed forward to end the war swiftly that had been brought on by his claws alone. He didn’t even bother to take out the arrow from his leg.

It had taken at least a full day before Spike’s army could finally push back the invaders and locate their almost endless supply of troops, half of those troops were earth clones, no wonder their numbers were so vast, thanks to the aid by the Griffins and, to his great surprise, Zebra’s and Buffalo’s who arrived just a couple of hours later, it was no small feat that they had hold their ground against the Diamond Dogs by their own accord for so long. But in the end victory was achieved.

Though Twilight had weeped for her brother, she could not be sorry for his death, he had become a traitor and died as one, besides, there were plenty more to weep for. Victory had come to them in a high tax, thirty thousand soldiers died, almost seven thousand changelings and the rest from ponies, thankfully the civilians were safe and sound, their allies had suffered very low casualties, being over five hundred, the most numerous by the griffons.

Spike looked at the reports of the destruction and although it wasn’wasn't as bad for the structures, it did hit heavily on their army, almost half of it was gone, including the entirety of two of his Crystal Phalanx Units, Braeburn and his whole unit wiped out by the Diamond Dogs in a couple of minutes, they fought back valiantly and he would honor their sacrifice.

If that wasn’t bad enough he had also learn that Rarity had perished saving her own unit, Big Macintosh would never be able to go to war again, Spike was silently thankful that while his injuries were high, he would be able to walk again and Applejack had lost one of her eyes protecting one of the civilian bunkers.

Thankfully the rest of his commanders were alright, Scootaloo and Pipsqueak being the most fearsome and Sweetie Belle proving that she was indeed his secret weapon.

As he was walking around the battlefield trying to find any survivor, something behind him made him freeze.

“So much destruction all because of a petty rivalry, such a breath of fresh air from the harsh, stale air of Tartarus or the Nightmare Realm’s harsh light, not bad for a mortal.” A deep, uncaring voice bellowed beside Spike as he turned and saw an enormous red furred stallion whose eyes with as white as a snow though with no pupil or iris and his mane and tail were literally made of red flames, legs made of muscles as large as support beams clopped the ground as his hooves were as large as Spike’s head and he bore no Cutie Mark.

Spike was astonished at the mere sight of the stallion and could utter not a word before the horse turned and snorted flames in his direction. The flames covering him for a second, filling him with energy he didn’t have a second ago.

Spike did not even notice the large silver colored double edged sword strapped to the stallion’s back nestled under a blood red sheath until he had flicked his long tail.

“You are the one Mother had managed to appease, well...it is amusing if anything, I must congratulate you, for my brother, Death has not seemed so relieved to judge souls in eons, you are weak, pathetic and worthless, but then again, all of you mortals are compared to us, even your Gods tremble before our hooves...such a waste of life Mother has allowed.” The horse smiled at him, showing his fangs covered in fresh dripping blood “I await great masterpieces from you, Spike” With those words the stallion then burst into flames, forcing Spike to avert his eyes before the glare of flames blinded him and upon putting his claw down noticed that the stallion was gone.

Just before Spike could begin looking for the mysterious stallion Discord appeared before him out of thin air, his eyes holding excitement then dimmed upon seeing Spike.

“Aw, he’s gone already, he didn’t even say good bye...well, War was never the type for crowds anyway, such a shame. Oh, Spike, I believe Chrysalis wanted to see you, she’s on the edge of the Crystal Tower.” He spoke calmly before he disappeared as quick as he came leaving the reptile to only sigh and pluck a cigarette from his right ear fin, lighting it with his flames as he walked towards the castle amazed that he had met the second horse of the apocalypse, War and survived, even been thanked to a degree.

As the dragon trailed up the stairs lazily, he looked and saw that what Discord had spoken had not been misinformed for the Goddess of Illusions herself stood on her hind legs and looked over the sun set that had just begun to paint the sky.

Spike was horrified as he remembered just how effective his battle plans, strategies, formations, leadership and personal phalanx were in combat that had ensured, but he was also proud of it, he was not sick or angry with himself, but he actually felt……...successful.

Chrysalis’s eyes showed him for her part that she was at a lost for words, seeing such carnage for the first time in centuries, she seemed anguished that this battle had forced her to relive her past but it was still there, her ‘good and innocent’ side was still there...for the moment.

“I must say, I am...surprised such a battle had taken so many lives. Even more so that it was my little sister’s own mate who had allowed them passage into the city, an impressive twist. None the least despite all of it’s flaws and failures you have….done well, Crystal Savior.” She spoke softly as Spike leaned against the railing and with one last inhale of his tobacco, flicked it over the side, rested his arms and blew the gray smoke from his mouth.

“What are you talking about, you fought against the diamond dog Gods, technically you saved our asses” Spike huffed with a light laugh “now that I think of it, what happened to them?”

“They had trespassed a rule, Gods cannot fight against mortals in a war, much less be the power balance in the fight, they can only fight against other Gods, so there were judged by Discord with Mother’s authority” her eyes turned grim for a moment, smiling a bit.

“They were found guilty.”

“I see” Spike said, fearful to think of the judgment implanted “but we lost more ponies than I thought we would have, we never expected them to come from the ground like that, that they could break our shield so easily or that they were using clones and if we did not have reinforcements when you guys arrived….” he shuddered and took a deep breath.

“And what of you, reptile? Are you giving up? Do you think this is your fault? Have I been too hasty to rely on the aid of this kingdom, my kingdom to be exact to leave it in the claws of you?” She questioned to which he looked over to her, his eyes burning with renewed passion for victory and to see his family and friends safe.

“No, my queen, you have not, I shall make our enemies tremble before us in awe if they so much as sneer in revolt at our way, mark my words, Chrysalis….this war will be the first of many.” He answered and growled angrily as he realized that she had disappeared and he not been aware of it.

Spike the dragon looked at the descent of his mother’s sun, he pondered on the seriousness of his words and with a curl of his claws was resolved in the fact that he would not fail in this task, he would make Creation proud of him, or he would die trying.

Spike went and met his fellow allies, bellowing at them that they could not sit idly by and allow their foe to charge at them again, that it was time to go on the offense, with a roar of victory all the allies he had rallied up agreed to his plan and with that the dragon had set into motion the very events that would be branded onto creation for all eternity as he alongside his allies began to conquer everything, included those who had declared war on them, their first targets and then the other nations and Gods that had believed he cheated during his fights, the “Age of Spike, The Conqueror” had been born.

The matches were now forgotten, the treason of Shining Armor had caused a worldwide war, all of them fearing their neighbours and, in most cases, erupting the greed of others, only six nations stood strong as a bastion of alliance, The Crystal Empire, Equestria, Griffonia, Ursania, Zebrica and The Buffalo Tribes, all of them thriving for the same objective, reach true peace and to bring the long awaited justice to those brute and barbaric Gods in other kingdoms.

Spike became true to his word, after the war that had laid siege upon his country he sought to bring the fight to his foes instead of the other way around, laying waste to all who looked upon him, the now full grown dragon, capable to change sizes at will, with his faithful mate by his side and the very brute force of the Equestrian, Crystal Empire, Griffon, Ursa, Zebra and Buffalo Gods themselves ruled over nation, country, city and towns by Spike’s command.

All had come to fear the name of the very reptile who had caused King Sombra and Lord Gimni, one of the six Diamond Dog Gods to perish beneath his claw, he would become a legend written in the very marks of history itself, the Crystal Savior would be hailed forever more as a God among mortals.

A God that wasn’t a God but held such respect, loyalty and love that he stood side by side with true Gods and they in turn followed him, including mate and family, to war and victory, all under his command.

In the area in which five figures stood in which was as dark as night itself and held no sound or signs of life, as one of the creatures stood before a large crystal ball relaying events both past, present and future to which the figure looked upon carefully before looking around her to the millions of others scattered before the five, an unending mass of time was shown through all as the creature before the first ball grinned darkly.

“Well, my sons, I think I may have made the right decision with the dragon,” Fate said looking at the world filled with war, not barbaric like in the old days but an ideal war “I think he may provide me with enough entertainment for a long time” Fate smiled, focusing her sight on the starting battle against his own species “Yes, much enjoyment, I am sorry my sons, but this world is not yet ready for your arrival, it has turned into something worth of my interest.”

“Yes, Mother, we understand.” Four voices behind her spoke slowly, three of the four disappearing as Fate chuckled.

“So much amusement.”

Death stood calmly near Creation as her eyes roamed over all the events that would come to be because of this reptile.

“Are you sure Mother, that this….dragon actually catches your attention, what makes him so worth halting the Clock of end time for a few millennia?” He questioned, shivering as Fate turned towards his direction and blinked, causing him to fade into ashes for a second before he was reformed as Creation merely snorted.

“He is...an unusual soul, my child.” She spoke darkly before Death bowed and returned to his duties, the two never speaking of the drake again as time resumed it’s dark but normal schedule.

“So much amusement, indeed, for a mortal.”

Author's Note

Wait, wait don't leave, don't....DAMN IT! Ok, yes, there are OC's in this, that noted and yes I know I'm not normally one for them but I'll make an exception for this, it's Death and Creation itself, I very much doubt there would need to be a reason to make a background and shit for these two, come on.

Anyway, if this chapter seems a bit hard to read, it's because it was not edited, so we are sorry but the story is over, though we do hope you enjoyed it, very sorry it took so long.