Snakeasaur Saga - The Quest For Harmony

CHAPTER II: A Real Dragon Quest - Part 2

"But it is one thing to read about dragons and another to meet them." ― Ursula K. Le Guin, A Wizard of Earthsea

For a brief moment, Twilight found herself unable to speak, even as she craned her head upward at the sight before her in speechless awe; her mind and heart were a jumbled mess of thoughts and emotions alike. Just seconds ago she had been cursed and kicked out by her friend for causing their misfortune, and now she stood before what was the very definition of sheer primal strength and power. The other-worldly dragon, which had referred to itself as Spyro/Jendovahzoor, stood before her in silent patience, waiting for her to make the first move, his glowing eyes of calm ferocity and ancient experience looking down upon her with amusement.

On the other side of the spectrum, Jendovahzoor watched with a reptilian smirk as the small, wide-eyed unicorn continued to flap her mouth open and shut like a gasping fish, the only sound coming from it being quiet squeaks. If he were a mortal, he would've found the sight of the silly little mammal to be endearing and, as mortals put it, 'adorable'...but he wasn't a mortal; even though he was capable of feeling such things, he knew better than to indulge in them.

Still, it was very amusing.

"...wha...I...y...meh...bleh..."

His amusement soon turned to annoyance, once it become clear that she wasn't going to respond anytime soon; his presence alone had broken her brain...he could only imagine what his power would do. He growled, allowing a bit of his power to leak back into his voice, returning it to it's previous supernatural tone.

"Stop that."

Twilight squeaked, jumping a bit as she closed her mouth with a snap.

"Are you done pretending to be a dying fish?" He asked, still keeping his draconic voice; she nodded silently as she cowered in place, her ears flattening back against her head. "Good..." His voice shifted back as he lowered his head down to her level, stopping no more than a few inches from her face. "...then perhaps we can both get some answers."

It took all of Twilight willpower to fight against the shaking in her legs as his head slowly hovered just in front of hers, and even then she was still trembling with...fear? Was it fear she felt...no...she wasn't afraid. Excited? Yes. Nervous? Definitely...but Frightened?

No.

For some strange reason, she didn't feel any fear toward the dragon before her. It was similar to how she felt around Princess Celestia: Nervous, yet trusting. The sun alicorn was powerful enough to crush her underhoof without a second thought, but Twilight knew that she would never do such a thing to her, and therefore, other than the usual nervousness whenever taking a test or friendship report, she was perfectly comfortable in her presence. It was almost the same with this dragon. She was nervous as heck in his presence, but at the same time, as she stared into the reptilian eyes that had seen other worlds entirely, she felt...safe.

She wasn't afraid of him.

Most likely because she knew that, if he wanted her dead, then she would've been long ago.

Despite no fear, she still shivered as she felt the dragon's scaly snout gently yet roughly push against her forehead as he sniffed her mane, taking in her scent; she bit her lip, fighting to keep as still as she could, as the hot air blasting from his nostrils threaten to sear the tips of her ears; a deep, rumbling purr of thought drummed up from his throat and vibrated through their contact, nearly rattling Twilight's brain...yet she felt strangely content with the physical contact.

"Who are you?" She asked...again; she blushed a bit when she realized this, though she kept calm as the beast continued to nuzzle her in curiosity. "I-I mean, what k-kind of dragon are you...and w-why are you here?" She watched her tone, making sure it didn't sound rude, despite her confusion.

The purple dragon retreated back a bit, lifting his head back up and spreading his wings slightly, making him appear even bigger than he already was. "My name, as I've said before, is Jendovahzoor, though the mortals of my home realms know me as Spyro." He told her again. "...as for why I am here, I was expecting you to answer that."

"M-Me? Why would I-"

"Weren't you and yours the ones who summoned me here to begin?" 'Spyro' asked, turning to the side and moving around the unicorn, slinking toward and hopping up onto the platform where Nightmare Moon had stood before Twilight all those years ago. Twilight shook her head, unable to speak through her confusion, earning a disappointed, gurgling huff from the beast of fire. "Figures...though you're all obviously here on my account; why else would you come to these ruins right after witnessing the MiiraadziemSovaarre?"

Twilight blanched a bit as he moved past her, confused by the alien word. "Mar-..Mi...Miiraadi...I'm sorry, what was that last one again?" She asked sheepishly, stumbling over her own hooves to turn around to face him again.

"The MiiraadziemSovaarre, or the 'Doorway Through Realms' in your tongue," He told her, turning back around on the platform and standing before her like some great dragon god, Luna's moon illuminating his scales like stars. "The portal that opened above these ruins, and no doubt alerted you to my arrival. The MiiraadziemSovaarre is how we Dov access and travel through the different realms, either through gateways carved in enchanted stone or by powerful portal spells conjured out of a great magical force, the latter of which being what you witnessed recently."

Twilight blinked; the idea that dragons traveled through worlds willingly seemed far-fetched at first thought...but when she realized it, it actually made a lot more sense, as well as answered a few questions. "T-That does make sense, because there are dragons in this world as well," She told him, relaxing a bit as her desire to share knowledge took hold. "I even have one as an assistant. His name is Spike, and-"

"No, you don't."

She stopped when she heard his voice revert back to a draconic growl; that dormant volcano had reignited and was bordering on a small eruption, just daring her to say something that would set him off. His face was twisted into a dark glare of calm anger, his teeth slightly bared and glistening in the moonlight, but the fire in his eyes were burning even brighter as they looked down at her with disgust and offense.

Now she realized why Zecora had been so hysterical.

"I knew the moment you called me a 'dragon' that your kind knows of ours, despite the evidence saying otherwise, but don't even think for a moment that the 'dragons' of your world are even comparable to true *Dov,"* He snarled with a deep, rumbling growl of anger and hate, just ready to erupt into a roar; to think that this little...rodent...even dared to compare her disgraceful 'lizards' to his kind! How dare she! "If this pathetic salamander *willingly serves a mortal like you, then he has long given up the right to be called a Dovah."*

Now it was her turn to be offended. "Now wait just a minute!" She snapped, jabbing a hoof at him; she didn't care if he was Tirek himself: no one spoke of her assistant like that. "First off, don't talk about Spike that way! Secondly, He's just a baby dragon...or Dovah...whatever you call it! It's not his fault he's not like you! He's not even the same kind as you! In fact, you're not even from this world, so who are you to say what our dragons should be like?!"

Spyro was, admittedly, impressed by this mortal's fire, but far be it from him to be outdone by a mere beast of burden, magical or no.

"Watch your tongue, horse. You have no idea *who you're talking to."* He hissed, teeth bared, tail swishing to the side irritably; Twilight flinched at the sight, what bravo she felt extinguishing like a match flame. Once she cowered, he stopped snarling, though his glare remained. "As for judgement: all Dov were born from the mighty Vidovahrah, and my kind are directly descended from and retain the might of our ancestors; any kind of 'dragon' that cannot match my kind have lost their connections to our ancestry and the right to even be called *Dovah."*

"...It's still not Spike's fault he's like that..." Twilight murmured with a 'stern' pout, though something clicked in her head. Vidovahrah; where had she heard that word before...?

Spyro snorted animalistically as he rolled his eyes, not at all impressed with her rebuttal. "My, what a compelling argument..." He stated, voice heavy with sarcasm; Twilight pursed her lip in angry embarrassment, her face flushing, though it only served to make her look even more adorable. "...but we've gotten off topic." He approached Twilight in a serpentine manner, his long, lithe body and tail slinking across the room like a giant cat or lizard, wings grabbing the columns and piles of rubble as he moved along. "You knew I was coming some how; how, I don't know and frankly don't care. Right now I wish to know more about where I am: I've never been to this world, nor have I smelled one of your kind before." He stated, giving her a suspicious, side-ways glance. "Who are you, and what are you equines called, may I ask?"

Twilight's anger faded as he, once again, lowered his head down to her level, meeting her gaze; she felt a familiar shaky nervousness return to her legs as his flaming eyes bored into her own.

"T...Twilight..." She finally squeaked, huddling timidly on the floor. "M-My name is T-Twilight...and I-I'm a pony."

'Suvulaan...vostvon.' The purple dragon thought to himself; it was indeed fitting, giving her appearance. As they merely stared at each other in silence, he took the moment to, once again, study the confronting side, analyzing her body and mind for future purposes...whether it be as ally or enemy.

The name Twilight matched her perfectly, if names were given according to appearances in 'pony' culture. Her soft, silky fur (which was like that of a cat or hare, unlike a normal horse's tough, leathery hide) was a lightly-faded lavender-purple, much like the shades of purple during a sunset, while her mane and tail were a much darker shade of deep blue/purple, like the fall of night; running down both her mane and tail were stripes of different color that ran alongside each one, one being a faded purple and the other being a bright magenta. She truly was colored like the twilight sky. Her body, while in decent shape and fitness, was not very muscular and strong at all; her form was lean yet not sculpted, and her fur and mane (though now a bit ruffled thanks to her trip down the hidden chute) was clean and well kept. Her mane and tail-hair were both styled to match each other with a trimmed, straight, 'orderly' look, suggesting a decently strong sense of organization and tidiness. Her horn was the same color as her fur, and curved just slightly upwards, while her tail was long and almost lion-like, tipped with the same style of hair as her mane, and her cloven deer-like hooves were a solid purple in color. Her eyes were also purple, though of a much sharper, clearer tone, and were full of intelligence and a longing to learn, if the wonder and confusion they held as they looked up to him were anything to judge by. And finally was the...marking...on her flanks, which matched each other symmetrically: It resembled a starry burst of magenta magic, if he had to guess, with numerous white sparkles surrounding it.

Conclusion: this 'pony' was a socially-awkward bookworm, one who was smart enough to keep herself fit enough to be healthy (and smart enough to show respect to a purple dovah), but preferred to spend her days inside a library reading books and studying things rather than going out and making a chaotic mess of her life. She was incredibly smart and knew just about everything you could read about, but didn't know a thing about interacting with others on a social level; her gentle and open yet respectful nature toward him (not counting the spat about her 'assistant'), and that she had come with a small group, suggested that she was the type that tried to be friendly and social, and had a few close friends, but often winded up making a dorky goofball of herself.

Intelligent yet friendly.

She was perfect.

Too perfect.

Of all the 'First Encounters' he had received in a while, this was by far the most fortunate. Last time he had been whisked away to another world, he had been dumped into the middle of an ocean, miles from any kind of shore; nothing he couldn't handle, but it was days before he had managed to drag himself out of the water and find a dovah-friendly race who could tell him what he needed to know. Compared to that, this was a real treat.

...though awful...convenient...

"How did you know I was coming?" He asked, eyes narrowing in suspicion.

For the first time since meeting him, Twilight was able to tear her gaze away from the dragon; she searched the floor around her until she spotted the book laying on the ground near her tattered saddlebags. Her horn lit up as she used her magic to grab the book, which floated to her and dropped free into her waiting hooves. She use her unicorn's tail as a makeshift duster, brushing away the dirt and dust from its cover.

She then held it up to look at it, and the symbols adorning its front; her friends together, under the protection of the dragon, who matched Spyro perfectly.

She smiled softly, a warmth blooming in her chest; the book was once again her beacon of hope. 'I never should've doubted you,' She thought fondly.

As she retrieved the book, Spyro's attention was drawn from her face to the glow of her horn. He could sense it: her inner magic that he had detected before, channeled out of her body through her horn, like a sorcerer's magic through his wand, manipulating the world around her as she willed. He expected this, though: not only had he sensed it before they had met, but Unicorns and magic were pretty much symbiotic in all the tales and songs that the mortals made of them.

"This book," Twilight suddenly said, holding it up for him to see. "It told me that a great, world-changing event was happening right now, and that my friends and I were all involved...and seeing how you're on the cover, I think that 'event' is you."

She was honestly not nervous at all this time as Spyro leaned down and lowered his head to where it was only a few feet from her hooves and the book in them, his eyes narrowing in deep thought as he studied the cover intently. The only sound he made was the deep, reptilian gurgling as he breathed naturally, his tail shifting from side to side like a great snake. His saurian face remained emotionless and neutral, but his eyes revealed both surprise and interest, studying the book to its-

"I've seen this symbol before..." Spyro finally said, lifting his right foreleg and pointing a claw toward the image of Twilight's cutie mark; he lowered his leg as he lifted his head back up, leaning to the side to look at her from an angle. "...it's the same symbol on your flank."

Twilight blinked. "What? Where?"

"On that crystal tree beneath these ruins." He told her, motioning with his head to the windows, mainly toward the canyon surrounding the plateau.

"Cr...Crystal Tree? What Crystal Tree?"

The dragon cocked an eye-ridge. "You don't know? It has your symbol on it."

"I-I wouldn't know! I've only been to these ruins once before, and then we were only there for a few hours!" She exclaimed.

He flicked a wing claw toward her tiara. "You should: It radiates with the same magical signature as the jewel in your tiara does."

"You mean my Element of Harmony?"

"Indeed...let me guess: The Element of Magic, perhaps?"

"Yeah, but- wait...H-How do you about the elements?"

"The tree showed me."

"The t-tree...showed you?"

"It showed you six 'bearers' were coming down the path in the forest; that's how I knew you were here to begin with. It can always tell where the wielders of its elements are or what they're doing."

"...bu...how...its elements?"

Spyro simply made a so-so gesture with his folded wings. "Of course; it was the one that created them after all." He stated.

An awkward silence filled the room.

Twilight just sat there, staring into space, through anything between her and the edge of the universe; Her face was blank, other than the weird, twisted, pursed-lip smile and wide-eye stare. Two thin streams of smoke were coming out of her ears, along the rather delicious smell of scrambled eggs. With a comic 'Boing!', her mane sprouted a couple dozen loose strands, adding the final touch to the 'Broken-de-Brain' look.

Spyro stared at her for a while, cocking his head in confusion...was she okay? He gingerly reached a wing out to her and, being as gentle as his draconic strength could be towards a mortal body, poked her forehead with the back of his finger claw.

She tipped backwards, collapsing to the floor with a comical 'thud', limbs splayed out in almost painful-looking positions.

He stared blankly at the broken pony, unsure of what to do next; he hoped there was a way to fix this...but hey, when you can shatter someone's very sense of logic and reality to the point their brains and bodies lock in place, then it's a good first day in a new world.

A thoughtful look crossed his face as he laid down across the platform like a big cat, resting his head on his forepaws as he watched the frozen pony, waiting for her to reboot, his own mind heavy with thought; huh...how long had it been since he had last been to a realm that he had not known of? Being the JenDovah and a Skylander at once meant traveling throughout the many Dragon/Dovah Realms and Skylands Islands was an almost daily event...but traveling to other worlds entirely? That was something that he didn't experience often, but hadn't unheard of.

How long had it been since there was a need too? The realms had been very peaceful of late, with only a few skirmishes scattered here and there; the last big thing to happen was when the imp-like sorcerer Kaos tried to 'Evilize' Skylands by poisoning Mt. Cloudbreak with Dark Crystals (which was also known as the 'Blood of Malefor'), an event that took place almost 10 years ago, and that Spyro himself, along with the Skylanders and other allies, had stopped.

Twilight was right: Spyro/Jendovahzoor was no ordinary dragon, even by his kind's standards. He was a rare and legendary breed of purple dovah that was born once every ten generations (and by dragon standards, that was a long time) known as the JenDovah, his namesake, which means 'Purple Dragon' in mortal tongue. The power of the JenDovah was the greatest of all dovahkind; whereas most Dov only had one of the numerous Dovahian Elements (Fire, Ice, Lightning, Water, Earth, Magic, etc), the JenDovah had power tenfold: not only were they able to master and wield all the elements at once, but they also possessed power that even most deities could not, including the power to bend reality and control time, just to name a bit.

And Spyro was no exception...though even he paled in comparison to his legendary, if not malevolent, successor.

The story of the purple dovah was one that started over 50,000 years ago, during the reign of the mighty Malefor, the first known purple dovah in history...and the worst; if Malefor had a dovahian name, he had long since abandoned it, for mere titles meant nothing to this god of a beast. He was considered by many to be the most powerful dragon in history, as well as the most monstrous; legends say that he was descended from the great Alduin himself, the most feared of the Great Wyvern Ancestors of Nirn, and was said to have inherited his father's dark power and evil ambition. Much like Alduin, Malefor sought to destroy the Dovah Realms and create it anew by 'cleansing' the worlds of all mortal life, whom he had deemed mere microbes fit for extermination. The monstrous Dovah was too powerful to be killed, though; it was only through the combined powers of the Dovahian Elements and Skyland Magic were the Dovah Guardians and Portal Masters able to seal him away in the Realm of Convexity, but not before most of their once-beautiful home was destroyed in his reign, which had lasted for over 10,000 years.

In the following eons after Malefor's banishment, the worlds of the dragons had recovered from his touch and most races completely forgot about the legends of purple dragons...but it was not to end there. About 1,000 years ago, up in the hills near one of the three ancient GevildomiiraakSkuldde (Castle of Portal Gates) of Alavar lived Grahahyolos (Battle's Flame) and Oblaansulfaad (Sunset's Warmth), two young dragons who were patiently awaiting the hatching of their first batch of eggs, though a bit worryingly. It is well known that most first-time clutches usually fail for most dovah; since it's the female's first time conceiving and laying eggs, her 'untrained' womb may fail to create or carry the first brood successfully. At best, only one or two eggs would hatch, and that was a rarity in itself...

...a rarity that was, thankfully, blessed upon this pair.

Out of a batch of seven eggs, one came through...though it was a strange one, even by dovah standards. Instead of the usual shell colors of red, yellow, blue, green, or white, this one had a purple shell. A shell that, like others, represented the dragon inside; after three long years of waiting, the purple egg hatched into a healthy young male dovah. The first purple dovah since Malefor himself.

As had been told before, most races had forgotten the stories of the purple dragons, though the dovah were not amongst them; Grahahyolos and Oblaansulfaad were well aware of the legend of Malefor, though they didn't think much of it. Dovah were not shallow and petty mortals where they would kill an innocent, defenseless hatchling out of blind fear of a similar monster. Grahahyolos was concerned at first, remembering the tales his own parents had told him when he was younger, but Oblaansulfaad reassured him and put his fears to rest; this was just a child, after all...her child, and she would defend him to the death. They were also a pair that lived far from the Dragon Realms, where they could raise their first batch in peace, far from the dangerous swords, teeth, and spells of their mortal enemies or rival dovah.

So, for the first few decades of his life, Jendovahzoor lived under the love and protection of his parents, living life just as a normal dragon would, completely unaware of his true power and destiny. His parents never told him the legend in full, but still showed pride in their son; in fact, his very name representing his heritage: 'Purple-Dragon-Legend'.

But his story was one to be told another time. Right now he had more important things to do in this new world than reflect on past memories.

But why was he summoned to this world? From the looks of this world, the worst that probably happen here would be a magical prankster breaking a few rules and earning himself a time out.

From within his stone prison in Canterlot, a certain spirit of chaos cursed his predicament: his nose had been turned to stone, and he had developed the desperate urge to sneeze.

Or was there something even bigger going on here? After all, he wasn't the one who had opened the MiiraadziemSovaarre...he glanced down at the mysterious book laying on the floor at a comatose Twilight's hooves, the image of him and the elements of harmony sending a strange vibe through his mind...

Hmmmmm...

He could wait for the moment; his home-world was safe and well guarded, and for some reason this strange new world and these elements needed him. At the least, there was an entire new realm full of new beings and magic for him to explore beyond these ruins...but first, to deal with his newest companion of the dusk.

The unicorn was still laying on her back, her face still locked in that psychotic grin; one hind leg was in the air, twitching slightly ever so often, while her...oh, please, foaming at the mouth now?

Spyro sighed mentally, his face set in a deadpan stare; this was the problem for being 'the brains of the outfit': you've got knowledge and know how for you and all your companions, but once that knowledge fails you, you don't have much left to work with. Either you panic or, like this girl...mare?...has, you just lock up.

Mortals...unbelievably frail...

He turned his attention to the side of the room, where the ruins of an indoor fountain stood carved into the wall, no doubt a former part of this castle's architecture; it's basin was full of stagnant rain water, which had probably collected during the storm caused by the MiiraadziemSovaarre.

His eyes lit up with a soft blue glow as he tapped into his Element of Water, his chest glowing through the crevices of his scales with a matching glow. The water in the basin rose into the air through his will and power in the form of a long tendril, weaving slightly in place like a dancing serpent...until he shot it forward and promptly dumped it over Twilight's head.

Twilight immediately snapped out of her funk when a torrent of ice-cold water struck her in the face, soaking her entire head and upper body to the bone. She quickly whipped herself upright, gasping for breath before coughing and spluttering the water from her mouth.

"Are you done pretending to be a dead fish?" Spyro asked, a touch of humor in his voice. Twilight pushed the wet mane out of her eyes to see him sitting there, looking down on her with a face of amusement.

"Y-Yeah, I'm f-fine." She muttered, shivering slightly from the cold. "Brrrrr..."

Spyro gave a cat-like purr of amusement, his face becoming a look of calm fondness; a surprising warm smile of fondness formed across his snout, his stance no longer possessing any suspicion or judgement. His very eyes seemed to just 'change', from the predatory stare of a scary reptilian creature to the friendly gaze of a fellow sapient being.

They filled Twilight with a warm, inviting feeling, and in turn, she managed a small smile of her own.

"So, what now?" Spyro asked, cocking his head slightly.

Twilight paused, realization hitting her hard; yeah...what now? "I...I'm not really sure, t-to be honest." She admitted, her horn glowing as she used her magic to dry out and smooth out her mane and fur, as well as gather her book and saddlebags, placing the former in the latter. "I guess the first thing I gotta do is find my friends and make sure they're okay, and then we'll-."

She paused when she noticed Spyro wasn't looking at her anymore; his smile was gone and his gaze was focused behind her, his eyes widen slightly and ears perked. It reminded her of how a cat or hawk would look when searching for the hidden prey...he was hearing something she didn't. She was about to ask what was wrong when she picked up the faintest voices echoing. She looked back toward the stairwell (the same one her friends came up when she first felt the spark all those years ago), where the voices were slowly getting stronger by the moment, along with the clopping of multiple sets of hooves.

"...ver do that again, I swear I'll beat you within an inch of-"

"Oh, shut yer trap! It's yer own fault for landin' on me ta begin with!"

"Well, you didn't have to go and insult my-"

Twilight's ears perked up. "AJ? Rarity! Are you guys okay?!" She called, cupping her forehooves to her mouth.

"Hey! What about me?!" Pinkie Pie's voice answered back.

"Twah'light?!" Applejack's voice called afterwards, and the clopping of hooves increased in speed. "Oh, thank Celestia! Are Rainbow and Fluttershy up there with ya?"

Twilight felt a twinge of sadness at the mention of the rainbow-maned pegasus. "No...we got separated a while back...but I found the creature!"

"What?! Hang in there, Twah! We're comin' ta save ya!" Applejack shouted back, her voice getting louder as they got closer.

"That was subtle..." Spyro deadpanned, not at all amused at being referred to as a 'creature'.

Twilight grinned sheepishly, blushing softly. "S-Sorry, just...give me a moment to explain things to my friends, please?" She asked; Spyro snorted in response, but stepped back into the shadows of the ruins, while Twilight approached the stairway entrance to meet her friends halfway.

Within seconds Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie all raced up the steps, looking ready to kick some flank...and Twilight blanched at their appearances. All three ponies looked as if they had just dragged themselves out of a bar-room brawl; even Rarity's mane was wild, unkempt, and dirty, as were the other two ponies, all three with messy fur and scuffs all over their bodies.

"Twilight!" They all exclaimed at once (to which Spyro mentally gagged), all glomping her in a group hug. Twilight, while surprised and confused, felt her throat tighten in the sheer relief being back with her friends, and happily accepted the hug, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears.

"Hey, everypony." She whispered softly, earning another silent gag from the watching dragon. She then, a bit reluctantly, pulled away from the group, her face becoming one of question. "What happened to you girls?"

Applejack and Rarity fell silent, making a point not to look at each other, while Pinkie Pie decided to tell the story. "We had the biggest, most funnest game of dog-pile I ever played!" She said happily. "It started when we fell down the spooky chute and landed in the also-spooky hall of pony armor..."

The normally death-like stillness and silence of Armor Hall was broken by a quiet screaming...which grew louder and louder until Applejack came plummeting down from the chute above in the ceiling, crashing into the stone floor and making the ancient armor displays rattle from the impact. With a pained groan, she attempted to stand back up, only to have Rarity follow suit and come crashing down on top of her, flattening her against the floor.

"Oh! Well, of all the uncivilized...!" The snow-white unicorn scoffed. "I agree with Twilight when it comes to not charging in like a bunch of barbarians, but this is by far one of the most ungrateful aliens I've ever met!"

"...Ah can think of somepony else that's 'ungrateful'..." Applejack growled from underneath her.

Rarity glanced down before quickly hopping off, blushing with an embarrassed grin. "Terribly sorry, darling. I wasn't exactly expecting to fall down a hidden trap door, but I'm thankful that you broke my fall." She said, using her magic to pick up and dust off Applejack's fallen hat for her. Applejack merely huffed as she began to stand up...only to have Pinkie Pie come down upon her with a painful crash.

"OH, FER THE LOV-A APPLESAUCE!" The cowgirl roared in anger. "ANYPONY ELSE WANNA USE ME AS A LANDIN' PAD?!"

Pinkie Pie giggled. "Don't be silly, Applejack! Landing pads are for Airships!" She said cheerfully, bouncing playfully off of Applejack, who in turn quickly rolled out of the way just in case before picking herself up.

"Well, how do ya think it feels, havin' Rarity's thunderin' flanks crashing down on top-a me?" She asked, taking her hat and nearly slamming it down on her head.

Rarity recoiled as if she had been struck. "Wha...bu...y...THUNDERING FLANKS?!" She screamed, her face flushed with anger. "I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW THAT I KEEP MY POSTERIOR IN PERFECT SHAPE AND FITNESS!

"Yeah; in the shape and fitness of a pumpkin." Applejack quipped smugly, tipping her hat coyly as she trotted down the hall, Pinkie Pie giggling hysterically as she followed close behind. "Seriously, Rare; ya could kill a drag'n with those monsters."

"MY FLANKS ARE THOSE COLTS WOULD KILL FOR!" Rarity shouted, galloping after them, face getting redder and redder by the moment.

Then Applejack hit home. "Colts would kill themselves in order ta escape from those giant marshmallows!" She called back.

"I'LL SKIN YOU ALIVE!"

With a strangely elegant roar of rage, the fashionista threw herself at the farm pony, tackling her; the two ponies went rolling across the floor, batting at each other with their hooves and tearing at each others manes. Pinkie Pie shouted something along the lines of 'Dog Pile!' before diving into the tussle herself, dragging in most of the armor with her and creating a huge fight cloud.

"...and that's how Equestria was made!"

"Please tell me this is some sort of crude joke."

All tension or obliviousness between Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity instantly vanished when the thunderous growl thrummed through the room, silencing all arguments or conflict. Twilight briefly glanced about the room, looking for the source of the draconic growl that she was now comfortable with...but found nothing. For a creature the size of a small Canterlot manor, he was surprisingly stealthy, and good at staying hidden when he wanted to.

"...Twilight Sparkle. What. Was. That?" Rarity hissed between her teeth.

Twlight frowned a bit at the fashionista's rude choice of words. "He is the 'creature' we were looking for; his name is Jendovahzoor, or Spyro if you want."

"Nonononono, Twilight! That is not some creature!" Rarity nearly shrieked, whirling onto the lavender mare, making it clear that she was about to break into panic. "I know 'creatures': they're wild, but tame! They're dangerous, but easily chased off! Timberwolves and Manticores are creatures; that...that is-!"

"Right behind you."

If Rarity's face had even the tiniest hint of color to it, it vanished completely as the blood drained from it; Twilight glanced over the white unicorn to see Spyro's golden and lavender eyes glowing in the darkness, his barely-visible snout just inches from Rarity's back. The color from Applejack's face did fade as she paled, her wide eyes dilating in horror as she stared frozen yet trembling at the demonic balls of flame burning silently in the darkness. And Pinkie Pie...has seemed to have disappeared...what?

"Go ahead. Tell us: What *am I?"* Spyro growled as the frozen unicorn worked her head around to face him, the dragon's voice full of dark promise. When he spoke, the back of his inner mouth and throat glowed with the light of a fire, like a light at the end of a dark tunnel, silhouetting his long, dagger-like teeth; his chest was also glowing, through the crevices of his scales, as if a great fire was blazing deep within him, providing just enough light to reveal his size and a bit of his form hidden in the shadows. "I'd love to hear the opinion of a mortal like you...*"*

Rarity did no such thing; in an act of sheer survival instinct, her brain subconsciously locked her mouth shut, preventing her from speaking even if she wanted too.

"Wise move." The dragon hissed; the fire within his chest died down as he pulled his head back up to full height, allowing the mortals before him to realize his true size, even when hidden.

"W...what a-are ya...?" Applejack whispered, her trembling voice barely more than a squeak.

Spyro turned his gaze to the orange earth pony; his face was pretty much invisible in the shadows, but the way his glowing eyes shifted told Twilight he was cocking an eyebrow...or eye-ridge...at the earth pony. Spyro, on the other claw, was experiencing a flashback at the sight of the 'cowgirl' before him; a flashback involving Space Cows and dragonfly-barbequing farmers. "I could ask you the same question..." He asked, grabbing onto a nearby pillar with a wing claw to support himself as he lowered his head out of the darkness, revealing himself to the ponies before him. "...but I think you know the answer. Your friend did, after all."

Applejack blinked in surprise, her trembling stopping on a dime. "Yer...yer a drag'n?" She asked, greatly confused; the fear in her voice wasn't nearly as great as it had just been, but caution still laced her tone. "...but...but yer suppose ta be from another world. How-?"

"We 'Dragons', as you mortals call us, are as universal and widespread as the stars." Spyro told her, his head just a few feet from the group before him. "There isn't a realm in existence that has not, at one time, been visited and inhabited by us Dovah." Applejack opened her mouth again. "Dovah is our true name, if that's what you're about to ask." She shut it again, the faintest touch of red spreading across her cheeks.

With the rolling of her jaw, Rarity finally managed to work the feeling back in her mouth. "Twilight...dear...may we have a moment?" Her voice was full of sugary sweetness and posh, though the vice-like grip of her magic on Twilight's ear spoke otherwise.

Twilight squeaked as she was dragged away. "Yeah, uh-Ow! Give us a moment, please? Ow, ow..."

Spyro just sat there, staring in confusion, his face twisted and eyes full of the emotion. With a snort of exasperation, he simply slinked away from the middle of the room and back toward the throne platform...only to pause when he nearly stepped on a certain pink mammal...

Meanwhile, Twilight found herself dragged over to the opposite end of the room, where she was promptly dropped in front of Rarity and Applejack, who had her pretty much cornered against a broken support pillar's stump. "Twilight, sweetheart..." Rarity began sweetly, using her magic to quietly smooth her own hair and fur back down. "...I do trust that you know what you're doing, but I must ask, and pardon my rather crude language: what the buck is going on?!"

Twilight huffed, taking the moment to dust herself off with her own magic. "Well, since you asked so nicely..." She said with heavy sarcasm. "...Here's the quick version: Spyro is a special dragon that was summoned from his home realm by the Elements of Harmony for a reason that will change Equestria for all time and his arrival has been foretold by Celestia herself hundreds of years ago."

The looks she got in return were the ones she was expecting: blank stares of confusion.

*BOOM!*

The floor suddenly shook from an impact-created force, throwing the mares off balance and causing them to tumble to the floor. Twilight looked up in a panic, fearing the worst...only to do a double-take at the sight before her. Jendovahzoor, the dragon of otherworldly power and might, the being that existed on a level higher than maybe even Celestia herself (okay, maybe she was exaggerating at that point)...was laying spread out on his back like a large dog, legs curled up in the air and right hind leg kicking slightly, and purring a deep, rumbling thrum as Pinkie Pie sat on his stomach, scratching his scaly belly with her hooves.

"Awww, who's a scary alien dragon from another world? Yes you are! Yes you are!" The earth pony cooed, scratching even faster, making his hind leg kick just as quickly. "He's cute! Can we keep him?" She called to the others.

With a roll of her eyes, Twilight ignored Pinkie as she got up and used her magic to pull out the Dragon Book from her saddlebag, letting it drop into her hooves, which she then used to hold it out to the others, showing the cover of Spyro encircling the images of their Cutie Marks. "Perhaps this will clear things up." She told them, handing the book to Applejack. The farm mare looked at it oddly, but took it anyway, sitting up to read it while Rarity stood behind her, looking over her shoulder as they opened the book. They remained silent as they read, but their faces revealed all Twilight needed to know; the stern looks of concentration slowly fell, and in their place conflict, confusion, and even dread slowly formed.

"This...this can't be real." Rarity finally stammered.

Twilight sighed; she knew the feeling. "I know. I thought the same thing when I found it."

"...where did you find this?"

"Back behind the shelves of the library, which I know I cleaned out just the other day." The unicorn stated with a hint of frustration. "When I went back to get my saddlebags and pack for the trip here, I went ahead and ran a Decipher Spell over the library and the book just to be sure. Someone, and I think we all know who, planted that book there and cast a Concealment Spell on it to keep it completely undetectable until whenever the caster set the date to...and if my spell is correct, this book was placed there about 500 years ago, roughly the same time when the Golden Oaks Library was first carved into its tree."

"But...but that can't be..." Applejack finally said, tears of fear and confusion coming to her eyes. "That means...she...she knew..." The scared, desperate tone in the earth pony's voice cut at Twilight's heart. "This whole time... she knew...but how?"

Twilight put an arm around the orange mare's shoulders, her own eyes shimmering. "I don't know..." She whispered sadly. "...I really don't know."

Spyro glanced up from his position on the floor at the sound of Twilight's sad voice, now ignoring the pleasant scratching on his stomach; despite his relaxation under the pink mare's ministrations, his draconic ears had picked up the entire conversation...and what they had said had made it all even more interesting. Looks like encountering the perfect batch of companions was too convenient to be coincidence after all.

"They don't hear their elements anymore."

He glanced at the pink mare...Pinkie Pie, was it?...who (he disappointingly noticed) had stopped scratching. She was watching the others with a sad, almost motherly look on her face, like a mother who knew what a child's inner turmoil was, but couldn't say or do anything without making it worse. It was rather odd seeing her like that; for the first time since he saw her, she actually looked serious. He also noticed that her crazed mess of a mane wasn't as 'poofy' as before; as if just a little piece of the life had been sucked out of it.

"What do you mean?" He asked, cocking his head.

Pinkie Pie turned her gaze to him, and he almost recoiled in surprise; her eyes no longer held that youthful sparkle of childish innocence and joy that they held just a few seconds ago. Instead, they looked heavy and aged with the weight of reality, though not hollow and drained by it. They were the eyes that all people would eventually reach in their lives, and that he had seen plenty of times before; they were the eyes that had seen the cruel truth of the world around them, and came to accept it. Gone was the safe, beautiful realm of innocence that this world seemed to glow with, but there was still life and happiness to be found out there, even if the void of the past hurts just a bit every now and then.

"Our Elements; they speak to us...though not like normal ponies do." Pinkie Pie explained, her voice calm and comforting. "You can't hear them with your ears, but they still speak through your heart." She explained; she paused for a moment, giving a sad sigh. "Just a little while ago we were attacked by a big evil meanie-pants named Discord. He did many terrible things to us and our home, and tricked us into becoming bad versions of ourselves. I became really mean and grumpy, 'cause Discord made me think that the world is a mean, bullying place and people in it only laugh when laughing at you...and when we turned back to normal and beat that big meanie Discord, the world stayed changed; we all still saw the truth...and it hurt..." Tears came to her eyes, and she squeezed them shut. "...I thought I would never smile for real again."

Choking back her tears, she placed a hoof over the golden necklace resting on her collarbone, the bright-blue gem shaped like a balloon and flowing with power. The Element of Laughter, if Spyro had to guess.

"Then...then a few days later I remembered the real truth, when I saw some fillies playing in the park the other day...and I saw them laughing with real happiness, not at anything at all: yes, the world can mean and hateful sometimes, but that doesn't mean it is always. Yes, there are people who laugh at you, but they are also still those that laugh with you, or laugh because they're happy. My friends love and care about me, and even if we fight and say mean things sometimes, they will still love me, and making them smile is enough for me to smile myself."

She smiled softly at the dragon, her eyes once again full of that twinkle of joy; it was a real smile, regardless of its small size, one not full of arrogant blissfulness, but of true happiness. "I think my element told me that: in a world full of meanies and hurt, there's still reasons to smile; you just have to find them, and I found them in my friends...and I got my smile back."

Despite the silly and childish explanation and overall existence she gave off, Spyro felt a strong sense of respect for this young mortal. Being cheerful and happy all the time was something he usually disliked, and he found people who acted that way pathetic and disgusting; in his eyes, either they were too stupid to see the truth of reality, or they were so cowardly and desperate for the bliss of childhood they tried choking down their pain in arrogant defiance...but this mare knew, and she still smiled. Her happiness was not of simple idiocy or weak deseperation, but of acceptance and experience; it was something he could both appreciate and relate too.

He was going to like her.

Her smile faded as she turned her gaze back to her friends, and the dragon followed suit; the orange mare, Applejack, was openly weeping now, frightened and confused by all the chaos, her simple views of life no doubt ruined by all that had transpired over the weeks and this night; the message in the book had simply been the final straw that broke the camel's back. Twilight and the white unicorn, Rarity, were huddled around her in a comforting hug, both hugging or stroking Applejack, trying to soothe their sobbing friend; tears were beginning to silently run down Twilight's cheeks, and were forming in Rarity's eyes, but both remained silent.

"I found my smile again, but my friends haven't." Pinkie Pie said sadly, a longing tone filling her voice. "What happened with Discord hurt us all really badly, and we all learned things we wish we didn't: truth can be the most painful thing ever, the kindest of hearts can become cruel, greed can consume even the most generous, the strongest of loyalties can be broken...in all the chaos Discord threw at us, we all lost sight of our elements, even Twilight. They can't hear them anymore..."

It was at her words that Spyro noticed something about the Elements around their necks and on Twilight's head: each one of the gems on their elements seemed different than the one on the pink mare's. Whereas hers was bright, sharp in color, and full in life, theirs were dull...and faded, as if the very life and spirit had been sucked from them.

Poisoned by the darkness of this 'Discord'.

She looked down at her element. "I found mine again when I found laughter in all the sorrow, but they still haven't found theirs yet; they're scared, lost, and the pain of Discord's tricks won't go away until they do. I-I tried to tell them what they need to do to get them back, to show them how to be happy again, but they don't listen...you..." She turned back to the dragon, hope filling her eyes and voice. "...that's why you're here, isn't it? To help us find all our smiles!" She leaned forward pleadingly. "You can help us find them."

Spyro remained silent for a while, staring at her with a conflicted look, and then he closed his eyes; twin streams of smoke shot from his nostrils in a stern, disappointed sigh.

"I don't know why I was summoned here, but I know it's not to help you ponies find inner peace." He stated flatly, shifting himself around and using his right fore-claw to push the pony off of him; Pinkie Pie slid off his stomach and back onto the ground as he rolled over and stood back up on all fours. "I am a warrior, not a light-bringer; you regaining happiness is not my duty nor my concern." He stated, turning away from the group and heading toward the platform, tail slithering behind him.

"Then why are you here?"

The dragon paused, turning his head slightly to glance back. It was not Pinkie Pie that had spoken, but the white unicorn, Rarity; that posh, sophisticated accent both grated on Spyro's ears and called to something within him. He detested the upper-class mortals of the civilized world...and yet it reminded him of home. The three mares that had been crying and huddling to themselves were now watching him, the streaks of tears matting the fur under their eyes, looking to him for the answers they needed.

"If you are so certain of what your duty is, then tell us why is all this happening." The unicorn continued; her voice was bold, yet cautious...and pleading. "Our homes were nearly destroyed, and many of us got hurt in the process; our lives are being turned upside down, and if Twilight's book is right, then it's only going to get worse, and you're the only one who can fix it. You must know something about what's going on. Please..."

Spyro stared at her in silent thought for what felt like an eternity to the mares before him, before he simply huffed in defiance.

"You *tell me."* He stated simply, his voice taking on a primordial growl. "Your *elements summoned me here."* He then climbed back up onto the platform, turning himself around and sitting down on it couchant-style, facing the ponies before him. The position reminded Twilight of the lion statues posed in front of the Canterlot Natural History Museum: head held up high, wings folded and legs tucked against his sides, and long tail coiled around the base of his makeshift throne; the moonlight shone off his scales once more, adding an almost majestic aura to the great beast.

**"But how I was brought to this world and why this is all happening is, at the moment, unimportant; I'm here as some sort of life-changing event for your world, and it involves all of us as a whole, if the book is anything to judge by..." He leaned to the right and rested his chin against the knuckles of his lifted right claw, resting his head of his elbow-rooted arm while narrowing his eyes at the mares. "...so stop whimpering in the dark like frightened infants and let's get this party started, shall we?"

Pinkie Pie suddenly gasped in amazement, bouncing off the ground with a sudden 'poof' of energy. "And he starts parties?! Best Alien Dragon EVER!" She cheered in excitement. Spyro, for his credit, didn't blanch in surprise at her sudden flip between moods; what just happened to the mare he saw mere second ago...? Note to self: keep a close eye on the pink normal-looking pony.

"He's right." Twilight told the others as she stood up. "We all have questions, yes, but we can save them for later. Right now, we better just settle for getting our homes fixed and our town back to normal..." She helped Applejack to her feet, using her magic to help clean up her and Rarity, before taking the farm mare by the hoof and leading her toward the dragon. "...and we can start by getting to know one another better."

Applejack instinctively put on the brakes, her fearful eyes locked onto Spyro's narrowed ones. "T-Twah, I-I-I-I can't-...h-he-...I-I-"

"Hey, hey, shhhhhh...calm down...it's okay..." Twilight whispered to the farm-mare, giving her hoof a reassuring pat. "...he's here to help us. Girls, this is Spyro." She then turned to the dragon in question. "Spyro, these are my friends: Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie."

"Hiyas!"

"H...H-Howdy..."

"Yes, uhmm...charmed, Mr...uh...Spyro."

Spyro, however, remained silent, staring down at the mortal being before him, his tail flopping up and down on the ground in a lazy manner; his eyes were narrowed in thought, his mind having entered analytical mode again. So, these were to be his new allies...well, let's see what made them up, and how to use that to his advantage.

The first was Pinkie Pie, the pink normal-looking pony: It was painfully clear why she's called 'Pinkie Pie'; every inch of her bouncy, energy filled body was a shade of pink in color. Her fur, which (unlike Twilight smooth silkiness) was more of a poofy, almost-feathery texture, and was a bright baby-pink in color, while her mane and tail were both a darker tone, almost magenta. Neither her body nor her mane/tail had any special stripes or colors to it; just solid plain pink, which stood out almost blindingly amongst the dreary ruins around them. Her body was by no means strong and sturdy like her orange counterpart; quite the opposite, in fact. She could only be described as bouncy and squishy, and was a bit rounder in the gut than the other ponies (no doubt a result of numerous sweets and pastries, if the scent of sugar was anything to judge by); she wasn't greatly overweight, just a tiny bit and nicely spread out, to where she was 'pleasantly tubby'. Her mane and tail were both an untame-ible mess of crazy natural curls, and could only be literally described as a mix between cotton-candy and a coiffure's worst nightmare, as if charged with her near-insane cheerfulness; Spyro doubted she was capable of brushing it down even if she wanted too. Her hooves were solid and single, like the hooves of a normal horse, and the same color as her mane, and as well as fur, she also had a layer of smooth feathery down covering her chest, shoulders, back, and flanks (perhaps the result of pegasi ancestry?), making her seem even poofier. Her eyes were possibly the brightest baby-blue he had ever seen, and seemed to sparkle with unlimited happiness, energy, and excitement, which was backed up by the symbol of her flanks: a trio of party balloons, the middle one yellow and the others blue.

Conclusion: This pony was a fun-loving party animal, and could find entertainment in just about anything. She had an boundless amount of energy and enthusiasm, which was by no means tampered by expectations, if her reactions to him were anything to judge by; she was the type that loved to just have fun doing just about anything, if only for the sake of having fun and being with her companions, and got along with everyone she knew. Downside of all this was most likely an inability to know when to stop and taking it too far, or the inability to see the situation past her own child-like fantasy; Spyro doubted she was even truly aware of the situation she and her companions were in...though that side he had seen before suggested something deeper...

Then he turned his gaze to 'Applejack', the other 'normal' mare, who shied slightly under his glowing gaze; apart from the marks on her flanks, how did she ever come around to being called something of Apples? Her fur was a bright orange in color, and showed the life of a hard worker; while not filthy, it was slightly rough and dusty in texture, most likely the result of working out in a field most of her life. Her sandy-blonde mane and tail were both long and unkempt, the former covering her head in a shaggy 'cowgirl' look while growing back almost all the way down to her hooves; it was the hair of a mare who had never been to a barber shop, and the only thing keeping them from going haywire being the matching red bands tied off at the ends of her mane and tail, turning them into long ponytails. Her body was that of someone who's natural lifestyle was hard, outdoor work; while she still had the natural slimness and squishy-ness that all these ponies seem to have, Spyro could just make out some of the larger of the strong, rock-hard muscles lining her body and limbs. Her hooves were solid, like Pinkie's, and were a sandy-yellow in color, coarse and rough from hard work; covering her lower legs were 'socks' of long, white hair, the hair on the back nearly reaching the ground. White freckles peppered the sides of her face, adding to the 'outdoorsy' look, and her flank markings were of a trio of bright red apples. Her eyes were a faded apple-green in color, and while currently full of wariness toward him, also carried a down-to-earth humbleness, wisdom, and steadfastness...and finally, atop her mop of messy hair, sat a brown cowboy hat, old and worn away by both time and the elements, completing the classic cowboy/farmer image in the dragon's mind.

Conclusion: This one was, for lack of a better word, a 'cowgirl'. He had seen it plenty of times in his life, and thus recognized the signs whenever he saw it; the dirty fur, the strong body, the unkempt mane, the musky scent, the 'country accent'...she was a hard worker of the land, a toiler of the fields, and fed herself and her family with the fruits of her labors. She also most likely understood the value of hard, honest work and that therefore molded out an honest, if not stubborn and headstrong, personality..and her Element of Harmony, apparently. The fact that she was terrified of him, even after her friend's reassuring, revealed a down to earth wisdom; she knew he was a threat, and was wise enough to respect him for it, if only out of fear. Once she got past that, she'd make a likeable companion, though her courage could use a bit of work.

And finally his gaze came to rest on Rarity, the other unicorn...and almost immediately his snout wrinkled in disgust; it was almost impossible to detect her true bodily scent underneath the multiple odors of shampoo, perfume, hairspray, and other such accessories for artificial beauty. And he doubted she even needed them anyway: her silky, flawless coat was a beautiful pure snow-white in color, and had an almost crystalline quality to it. Her rich plum-purple mane and tail were both combed and styled down to the last hair, ending in long, bouncy curls that gave it a touch of stylish grace; unlike the orange farm mare, this girl spent a good deal of her time styling her mane and keeping herself as fresh and lovely as possible. Her body, while as slim and elegantly attractive as an equine could be, was by no means strong and sturdy like Applejack's; with the exception of Twilight, she was most likely the physically weakest of the four present. Her horn was the same color as her fur, but unlike Twilight's, it was perfectly straight, though she still had the long, lion-like tail and cloven deer-like hooves, the latter of which being the same color as her mane; she was the one who resembled the unicorns of old mythology the most. Her (false) eyelashes were long and curled elegantly, and her eyes were a darker shade of sapphire-blue, the eyelids colored with a light, sky-blue eye shadow. And finally, her cutie mark was a trio of bright-blue diamonds, which oddly seemed to glimmer like real jewels.

Conclusion: This pony was of the kind...that Spyro despised: a nobility whore. The exact opposite of Applejack. The elegant, snooty, upper-class hot-stuff that always strutted about in fancy dresses with their noses in the air, fattened by the work they stole from the 'commoners'; probably never worked a decent day in their life, always looking down upon the lesser privileged like dirt, which they screamed bloody murder over. He hated those types, and at first glance he knew he would come to hate this prissy slut just as much...until he realized what she was doing. The fact that she had come with the others into a feared (and mud-and-bug-filled) jungle right after a world-shaking cataclysm like the MiiraadziemSovaarre spoke otherwise...perhaps she was just a 'lady'; one who acted with elegance and grace out of simple etiquette, and not because she was privileged. One who would be willing to go against everything of her class for her companions. Rather...Generous. Okay, so maybe he wouldn't immediately judge her right away...but he would keep an eye on her until he knew for certain.

So, that covered Magic, Laughter, Honesty, and Generosity...that left only Kindness and Loyalty left: four down, two to go...the two pegasi...

As if on cue, he heard it coming: the whistling of wind, as if something was moving through the air at breakneck speeds. It started softly at first, but grew louder and louder until it-

He suddenly ducked so fast, that Twilight didn't even see him move, other than a blur of purple, gold, and orange; the very moment he moved, a blazing streak of rainbow shot through the air from the doorway, missing the dragon's head by mere milliseconds. Said rainbow streak continued through the air faster than the eye could follow until he braked to a grinding stop just inches from the far wall.

"GET AWAY FROM THEM!" Rainbow Dash roared as she whirled upon him, her eyes smoldering with anger.

Spyro, for his part, looked only slightly agitated, as if dealing with a ranting child. "Yes, yes, the whole 'Stay back, you Evil Monster' speech!" He spat; Twilight could tell from his reaction that he had put up with this more times than he cared to count. "Any other *petty mortal cliches you'd like to get off your chest while you're at it?"*

The cyan pegasus snarled in rage before bolting forth again, creating a mini sonic boom where she once stood, shooting straight toward the dragon with everything she had.

"RAINBOW, WAIT!" Twilight cried, just as Spyro's eyes began to glow purple...

Then it happened; something that Twilight, for all her knowledge and magic potential, could not explain or comprehend. One second Rainbow was streaking toward Spyro with the intent of breaking his skull in half, and then there was this...pulse of power bursting forth from the dragon; it wasn't magic, but more like a kind of 'energy'. It only happened for a snap of a second, and when it did the entire world around seemed to flex and blur...and then it blinked away, revealing the dragon in a completely different position: one second he was rolling away the approaching pegasus to the side, and another millisecond later, he was facing her, standing of all fours, and holding Pinkie Pie (who seemed to blink out of existence next to Twilight) in front of him by his wing hands, stretching her mouth open to impossible lengths, wide enough to...oh dear.

Rainbow Dash didn't even have time to shriek in alarm before she disappeared down the party pony's gaping throat. It was like a cartoon; Pinkie Pie's body suddenly stretched out like elastic by her tail, which had stretched out itself the shape of the speeding pony, before snapping backwards...only to have Spyro clamp Pinkie's mouth shut before then, trapping the pegasus inside and dropping the now bloated earth-pony to the floor.

The responses from Twilight and her friends were as expected:

Lots of horrified screaming.

The only one laughing was Pinkie Pie, though not out of the humor. "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! S-S-Stop, D-D-Dashie! T-T-That t-t-tickles!" She gasped between guffaws, her legs kicking the air furiously as she hugged her bloated belly; muffled moans and squeals could be heard coming from within as it bulged and squirmed rapidly, the pony trapped inside struggling to escape.

Spyro couldn't stop the grin from curling his lips up; so, she was a Reality Bender after all...

"SHE ATE RAINBOW DASH!" Rarity screamed.

Spyro glanced back at her from the with a lop-sided stare. "Oh, calm yourself, unicorn." He stated simply, though the humor in his voice was evident. "Both of them are unharmed; be thankful your pink friend's power."

"SHE ATE RAINBOW DAAAASH!" She screamed again, ignoring the dragon's words, before collapsing back into a dead faint.

Spyro could only groan in annoyance.

"M-M-My m-mane!" Pinkie shrieked with giggles, rolling about on the floor as Rainbow Dash struggled harder, dragging them back and forth across the stone. "I-I-In m-my P-P-Pinkie S-Space! F-F-Find s-some s-s-soda!"

"Huh?" Spyro grunted animalistically, confused at first...until he caught on. "Ah." He reached a claw forth and stuff a few fingers into the pink mare's mane; for a moment Twilight though he was going to impale her head, until she saw the claws and whole fingers, which together were longer as a pony was tall and as thick as tree branches, disappeared into the pink fluff. The unicorn could only gape in disbelief as the dragon dug his fingers around, fishing about until he found and pulled out an entire liter of Coke-a-Clopa from Pinkie's hair, pinched between his claws. Pinkie, who was struggling to keep still as her entire stomach bulged out in numerous directions, quickly snatched the bottle from his hand with the end of her curly mane and, after popping off the lid by squeezing the bottle, promptly chugged the entire thing down in four large gulps, spitting the bottle away afterward. Her belly suddenly stopped moving, it's inhabitant no doubt surprised by the sudden dousing of fizzy, bubbling liquid pouring...oh...

Twilight (dragging a confused Applejack and Rarity with her) quickly took cover behind one of the fallen pillars as Pinkie's stomach suddenly began churning, a deep bubbling coming from within as it began to swell larger and larger. Spyro instinctively took a few steps back as the bubbling grew louder and louder until-

*BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRPPP!*

The resounding belch shook the entire room; Pinkie's mouth blasted open with the thunderous boom, erupting with a shower of spittle, soda fizz, and a half-drowned, sopping-wet, wide-eyed Rainbow Dash, who was sent tumbling across the floor like a technicolor, vomit-soaked tumbleweed.

For her own record, only one of Twilight's eyes began twitching.

Pinkie Pie sat up and licked around the inside of her mouth, her stomach once again back to normal size. "Hey, whadda'ya know? You do taste like Skittles, Dashie!" She giggled happily, completely unaffected by what had just happened.

The same could not be said for Rainbow Dash; the pegasus laid there on the floor, whimpering softly, curled up into a shivering slime-covered ball in a puddle of the earth pony's stomach fluids. What bravo and rage she had when she attacked had been completely extinguished, like a candle in the wind; her eyes were wide and disturbed, and her face was twisted into a horrified grimace, as if she had just witnessed her worst nightmare for real.

Spyro snorted in satisfaction, twin jets of smoke erupting from his nostrils as he did so; not so high-and-mighty now, are you, mortal?

He took the moment with her down to analyze her as well, either as a friend or foe. One look at her, and the choice for her name was painfully obvious: her smooth yet furry coat and feathery down were as cyan-blue as the sky, and her messy, unkempt mane and tail were every color of the rainbow; they were set in separate stripes, each lined up to match that of an actual rainbow, as if her mane and tail were their namesakes incarnated: her mane had red, orange, and yellow covering her head, with green, blue, and purple running down her neck to her shoulders, while her long tail was all six at once. Her body was fit and muscular like her orange earth companion, but much slimmer and streamlined, no doubt built for speed and agility. Her mane and tail backed up that theory: both were wild and wind-blown, as if lashed about by high-force winds, both now hanging downwards in a messy, almost tom-boyish look. Her most notable features were undoubtedly her feathered, bird-like wings, as they would be for most pegasi; they and their feathers were mostly cyan blue (and kept in very good shape and health, even for most bird-like creatures), but the primaries and secondaries on both wings were colored the same as her mane, red outside and going in accordingly. Her breast and shoulders were also larger and more developed to her than the other ponies, no doubt with the specialized breast-bones and muscles needed for powered flight; she also had a layer of smooth feathery down covering her chest, shoulders, back, and flanks. And finally, from her hips just above her normal pony tail, jutted out the tail structure and feathers needed to steer; they were colored in the same manner as her wings, the reds being on the ends and going inwards accordingly. Her hooves were solid, like the earth ponies', and colored a dark, sapphire blue. Her eyes were a ferocious magenta-red in color, and finally her cutie mark was that of a cloud blasting forth a bolt of multicolored rainbow lightning, completing the speedster look.

Conclusion: this mare was an athlete and a tomboy; an interesting (and familiar) combo. Unlike Applejack, whose strength came from her natural lifestyle, this one purposely forced herself fit through training and exercise, most likely to compete in sports or other such events (perhaps a flight team of sorts?) specializing in speed and flight. The fact that she had the nerve to charge and insult a full-grown dragon like him spoke leagues of her character: brash, cocky, arrogant, and certainly bad-tempered; clearly an ego-maniac. The type that dove head long into danger without thinking, confident they were 'great' enough to handle anything thrown their way, and always attacked first and asked questions later. If she felt that she could take on a living Jendovah all by herself, then she was certainly one of the biggest fools he had ever met...then again, perhaps it was out of the desire to keep her companions safe; that was something he could respect, even if it was fool-hardy. Like a dog, almost; blindly loyal to her companions...Loyal, indeed.

Such vitality...such spirit...

Spyro could only wonder just what all that bravo was hiding underneath.

Rainbow Dash groaned in pain and disgust, cradling her spinning head with her wings as she weakly rolled over onto her own stomach; now she knew what it must be like to be a pastry from SugarCube Corner. As she struggled to stand on her hooves, only to slip on the vomit and fall to her belly again, she swore to herself never to fly at high speeds anywhere near Pinkie Pie ever again.

She was pulled out of her thoughts and off the ground by her tail, leaving her to hang upside down by it; she looked 'up' over her belly to see the dragon looking down at her with amusement, his mouth clamped onto her rainbow-colored hair.

"Let me go, you big jerk!" She shouted, flailing about in a feeble attempt to hit him. "I'll beat you into a pulp! Let me go!"

Spyro, for his part, couldn't stop his lips from curling up into a saurian's grin, unable to take her insults seriously; this was unbelievably cute, watching her trying to be tough and brave. So tough and ferocious, yet so soft and squishy; it was like being threatened by a living teddy bear! Even her attacks were cute, poking him in the chin with her hooves...oh, right, sorry: kicking him in the jaw as hard as she could.

Pain shot through Rainbow's hind legs, causing her to cry out as she pulled them to herself, cradling them in agony as she swung back and forth. 'What the hay?!' She mentally shouted, hissing in a breath. 'I feel like I just kicked solid rock!' She then yelped in surprise when the dragon released her tail, only to let her drop in his awaiting claw, which grasped her firmly and held her up to his gaze. She squirmed violently, trying to wriggle free, but it was of no use; his grip was stronger than even the toughest Cloudsdalian Steel.

Spyro snorted. "Please. I've swatted flies that bite harder than you." He stated flatly, before his voice took on a fond tone. "Besides, I hardly find the threats of a stuffed animal worth while." He purred with a draconic growl, using a finger to gently pet her head.

She snarled angrily at the insult and touch, though her heavy blush killed the effect, her blue fur turning her face purple. "Hey! I'm not some toy! I'm one of the Elements of Harmony!"

"And that's suppose to be any better?" He asked, cocking an eye-ridge, his voice taking on a heavy sarcasm. "Congratulations; you're a bearer of one of the six magical jewelry pieces of friendship, peace, harmony, and rainbows. A truly awe-inspiring honor, believe you me."

The raging red adorning her face spread all the way to her ears, glowing even more so under the snickers and giggles coming from the other ponies below.

Twilight had to admit; when he put it that way, it did sound admittedly girly.

"Why do you dragons always have to be such jerks?" Rainbow Dash tried to growl, though it came out as more of a whine.

Spyro frowned. "You want to talk stereo-types..." He continued darkly as he set Rainbow Dash down amongst the other ponies, shifting back into an imposing stance. "...why are you mortals always so petty and shallow? I know exactly what you all were thinking the moment you saw me: big, terrifying dragon equals evil, bloodthirsty monster. I'm also willing to bet that if I was a small, endearing baby dragon like that 'Spike' of yours, you'd react differently to me, isn't that right?"

"Well, to be fair..." Rarity spoke up, a bit cautiously. "...you dragons do have a bit of a unpleasant reputation, or at least the dragons of our world do, and you are a lot scarier and more dangerous-looking than any dragon I've ever seen."

"The dragons of your realm are pathetic slugs that wouldn't know true strength if it ripped their tails off." Spyro growled flatly, resting his chin against his knuckles again. "There are nothing compared to true Dovah like myself."

"That just proves my point!" The pegasus snapped with a smug confidence. "What was I suppose to think when the spawn of Tirek himself was towering over my friends?!"

An almost deathly silence filled the ruins as the dragon simply stared at her in silence, his face set in an stern, predatory stare...until it turned into a glare of cruel amusement, a deep, primal chuckle rumbling from within his chest. "Friends...quite the change from the tune you were singing just moments ago."

His horns lit up with a sinister purple energy which resembled a combination of magic and electricity; the familiar vibration of power began to hum through Twilight's and Rarity's own horns again. With an electronic crackle a beam of the energy formed between his horns, forming out a bar similar to the scopes on electronic music equipment, like DJ-PON3's Turn Table...but the warbled voices that played forth was no tune to dance to.

"...You did this, didn't you? This...this is another one of your spells-gone-wrong, isn't it?! You read that book and caused that storm! You summoned that monster! Didn't you?!"

All bravo and smugness in Rainbow vanished immediately, replaced purely with horror. "I...how are you...I..."

"I...I...I don't know! I-I was just reading the b-book's first page and t-then the storm happened! I-I don't know if it did or not! And I didn't mean to if it did! I-I-I'm sorry!"

The look of sheer shame and sorrow on the cyan mare's face nearly broke Twilight's heart a second time.

"I don't care! I just don't! bucking! care! Our friends are in danger and our home is in ruins, all because of your stupid spell! Again! I've put up with you stupid ideas and freaky magic long enough! You wanna endanger our lives just so you can have a 'friendship report' to send to the princess? Then, buck you, Twilight Sparkle!"

"Buck! YOU!"

With a crack of thunder, the scope-like beam between his horns snapped, vanishing in a flash of purple, plunging the room once more into dark silence.

Spyro eyes seemed to glow even brighter with a primal malice. "Quite the different tune..."

The ponies, however, remained in shocked silence. Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie could only stare in disbelief at their winged companion, unable to believe what they had just heard. Rainbow Dash herself huddled against the floor, struggling to keep the tears from spilling from her eyes, choking down her whimpers of shame. Twilight, however, stared at the pegasus with pity and concern; she knew the truth behind the mare's words...and even she, who had been on the lashing end of them, couldn't find it within herself to hate her for them.

"Rainbow..." Applejack finally whispered. "...why-?"

"I-I'm sorry." Rainbow Dash whimpered, struggling to keep from sobbing right then and there. "I-I-I didn't mean it. I was...it was all s-so confusing, and I-I..."

"Fear."

"What?"

The dragon got up and turned away from the group, making his way off his makeshift throne and toward one of the glowing crystal formations jutting out of the wall to the left of the platform. "You were scared, *and thus took it out on the one you believed to be responsible for your terror."*

Even when in guilt, Rainbow bristled with indignity. "I-I wasn't scared! I'm not scared! I was just...just...!"

"Don't bother denying it!" Spyro snarled angrily as he whirled upon them, his deep, primal growl of a voice thundering through the ruins; the glow of his eyes erupted into a blazing inferno, the flames licking all the way up to the base of his horns. The ponies recoiled in horror, scrambling away like panicking animals before huddling together for protection against the far wall. "My kind can smell fear when our prey feels it, and you REEK of the emotion!"

He briefly turned back to the growth of crystals before him, turning his gaze down to a smaller batch that glowed with an almost-fiery blood-red, and with a swipe of his wing, he grabbed and broke off the largest chunk with a loud 'CRACK!', said chunk being about the size of a full grown stallion. "At yet, you choke back your true feelings, no doubt in a desperate attempt to cling to the image of self-esteem you've made for yourself; even now, at your lowest, your blind sense of arrogant pride still *prevents you from admitting your fear, so you take it out on the assumed source in order to keep the feelings buried within."* He continued as he approached them, crystal in claw, his blazing eyes locked onto Rainbow's tearful ones. "It matters not whose heart you break or how many friendships you destroy, does it? So long as you and the world believes you to be strong and unbreakable...when in reality, you've broken what made you strong long ago."

He lowered his head to down to her eye-level, his snout only inches from Rainbow's fear-stricken face...and at that moment, his blazing eyes were the eyes of vengeance itself.

"You are right, mortal: I am a monster, as are all of my kind are by nature, more so than any of your kind will ever be...but at least I'm honest *about it."*

And with those final words, Rainbow Dash broke. She didn't cry. She didn't even sob. She outright bawled as she threw herself to the floor, tears pouring from her eyes. "I'm sorree-hee-heeeeee!" She wailed, covering her face with her hooves. "I didn't mean it! I...I didn't..." But it was no use; every excuse she tried to think of only ended up sounding worthless, for the words of the dragon had been burned into her mind. So instead, she simply curled up on the floor and sobbed away, consumed with guilt and sorrow.

Spyro's snorted animalistically in approval, twin streams of smoke shooting from his nostrils.

Underneath all that bravo, indeed...

"You in-pony beast!" Rarity shrieked angrily, her lovely face twisted with rage. "How could you do such a thing?!"

The saurian narrowed his eyes dangerously at the unicorn. "She brought my judgment upon herself." He snarled, his voice echoing with a dark power; he transferred the crystal from his wing-hand to his arm-hand, which he lifted to deposit the gem into his opened jaws, biting upon it in an animalistic manner. The familiar sounds of a dragon chewing gems reached Twilight's ears as his powerful jaws crushed the crystal, giving off a burst of red, magic-like energy from between his teeth before he swallowed, settling his body down on the ground before them. "You'd be wise *not to tempt the same."*

"Can't you see the poor filly is frightened beyond her wits?" She continued desperately, standing tall despite her fear. "Do you honestly think crushing her soul would make it any better?!"

As her fellow unicorn continued to berate the dragon, who merely rolled his eyes at her words, Twilight turned her attention to Rainbow Dash; the pegasus looked absolutely miserable, curled up into a ball of the floor, whimpering softly as the tears rolled down her cheeks. Applejack and Pinkie Pie sat on either side of her, the latter wrapping her in an one-armed hug in a futile attempt to console her.

It was foreboding...and even a bit frightening...seeing the brash yet strong Rainbow Dash driven to such anguish...but it was even comparable to the fact that she...believed it.

She was shocked with herself for even doing so; those words that Spyro had said about her were beyond cruel, but deep down...she felt as if they were right. That what he said about her was true; that Rainbow Dash was indeed a worthless, petty, undeserving coward...no! NO! That's wasn't true! She knew that wasn't true! But why...why did it feel so?

This was the power of the voice of a dragon; the voice of an ancient force of nature and power on mortal ears.

"How dare you..."

All ears in the room perked up at the newest voice; it had been so soft, that Twilight wasn't even sure if she actually heard it...but if she hadn't, then Spyro certainly did. The dragon's ears perked up briefly before he turned his head to stare past the ponies and towards the door. "It's about time *you decided to crawl out of the shadows."* He growled.

"How dare you!"

And with those three words, the last member of the elements came out of hiding; from out behind the doorway stormed Fluttershy, marching up to Spyro with what the dragon could only describe as the most adorable warpath he had ever seen.

"Who do you think you are, able to just go around and traumatize ponies like that?!" The creamy-yellow pegasus demanded as she stomped up to the dragon, taking flight to hover in front of his face. "Just because you're a big, scary, fire-breathing, alien dragon from another world does NOT mean you get to pick on and bully people smaller than you!"

Spyro resisted the urge to correct that little statement, and instead turned his attention into studying the final pony of this little group. She was a pegasus like Rainbow Dash, but practically different in every way imaginable. Her fur and feathers were as gentle and soft as silk, and were a light creamy-yellow in color, like vanilla pudding, and her very long mane and tail were a gentle baby-pink in color; everything about her color and form whispered comfort and sweetness. Her body was the exact opposite of her fellow pegasus: whereas Rainbow Dash looked strong enough to fly through a storm, this pony here looked frail and delicate enough to break apart at the slightest breeze; Spyro could probably crush her body between his fingers without effort. She was very slim and delicate, and probably as lovely as these ponies could be; a fragile beauty, like a small yet beautiful flower. Her mane and tail were the longest out of all the ponies, the former nearly touching the ground on both ends and the tail dragging across the earth behind her when she walked; they both were simple and plain, as if not to draw attention, and the front of her mane cascaded like a waterfall down the right side of her face, as if to hide behind it. Her wings were larger than Rainbow Dash's, but they were considerably weaker, while the breast bones and flight muscles were small and weak to the point of being nearly invisible within her body; she was most likely a glider at best, one who couldn't sustained powered flight for long. The primary feathers were creamy-yellow as well, while the tips were a sparkling pink, matching her mane; her small, delicate hooves were also the same shade of pink as her mane, and were solid like an earth pony's. Her eyes were a soft, yet deep teal-green in color, almost blue, and while gentle and timid, held an inner strength within. And finally her cutie mark was a trio of pink, almost exotic-looking butterflies.

Conclusion: this pony was, in a sense...a butterfly. A small, timid, and fleeting beauty of nature. A person as frail in courage as she was in bodily strength; even now, with all of her righteous anger, she looked ready to bolt from the room at the first sign of danger. It was hard to reach much of her body-language and determine her mind-set, as due to her obviously shy and reclusive nature, she hid it well; thiswas someone who had spent her entire life afraid and awkward around others, and had mastered the art of keeping her inner self hidden to perfection. However, if she was the elements of Kindness, as he had narrowed her down too, she was probably a very kind and gentle person; the shy-yet-sweet girl that was probably really good with animals and kids, but awkward around others of her 'group'. That kindness, however, was just a glimpse at an inner strength that was more than strong enough to break through her fear should someone violate it and those she cared for badly enough.

That strength, however, would be her downfall.

"I can't believe someone could be so cruel as to do something like that!" She continued on in her almost whisper-like voice, pacing back and forth in front of him while doing what Spyro could only guess was ranting her head off. "Can't you see that she's already sorry enough before you crushed her spirit?! Oh, you are so cruel and mean, I, I-I could just scream!"

And that's exactly what she did.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahh...!"

It took all of Spyro's willpower to keep his poker face, let alone not burst into laughter. Apparently her butterfly-like nature was not confined to her appearance and name; seriously, he'd heard snails vocalize louder than she did.

"Now, I understand that being a dragon means you're suppose to be scary and dangerous, but this is crossing the line!" She flew right up to him, her nose booping the end of his snout. "You need to apologize to Rainbow Dash; say you're sorry for hurting her!"

"No."

The pegasus recoiled, backing away a few feet. "What?"

"I will not apologize, fore I am not remorseful for what I did, nor do I desire the worthless forgiveness of an equally-worthless mortal like her." He stated flatly, using a paw to brush absentmindedly at his face, much like a cat would when grooming, his eyes remaining locked on the cream-colored pony before him when open. "She allowed pride and fear to blind her, and got exactly what she earned and deserved."

Fluttershy gaped at him for a moment, her mouth flapping like a fish's, before she frowned. "Oh, no you don't! You're not just going to pin all of this on us and leave it at that!" She then forcefully poked him in the snout with her hoof. "You apologize to her right now...or I'll use 'The Stare'!"

Spyro cocked an eye-ridge and tilted his head in confusion. "The what-now?"

He got his answer, in the form of what many ponies believe to be a weapon bestowed upon the fair-maiden Fluttershy by Faust herself...a power not of this world that could tame a full-grown dragon and out-stare the petrifying gaze of the cockatrice: The legendary and almighty Stare.

Twilight instinctively shielded her eyes with a hoof, though she still cringed; even when not looking at it, she could feel the sheer force of it bearing down on her, a feeling she knew all too well. It was the same feeling she remembered during her visit into the Everfree, when she disturbed a sleeping cockatrice and got herself turned to stone; even then, when her entire body was nothing more than solid rock, and her conscious all but non-existent, she still remembered the incredible force behind that ability, strong enough to stare down even the most powerful of-

"What are you doing?"

The unicorn dared a peek at the confused voice of the dragon, and her jaw nearly hit the floor. There Spyro sat, his face no more than a meter away from Fluttershy's full-force stare, completely unaffected. His eyes darted between the pegasus and her own, as if waiting for an explanation. Fluttershy faltered briefly, stunned by this as well, before resuming with twice the force as before; it was almost beginning to hurt the other ponies physically, the sheer force of it pressing down on their bodies...and still he didn't even so much as flinch.

Spyro cocked his head in confusion, unable to make heads or tails of the situation. What was she trying to do, anyway? Laser Vision? A Gorgon Gaze? Some sort of strange mind-control power or super-beam ability from her eyes? He couldn't sense any sort of energy radiating from it, nor did he feel affected or assaulted in any way...but judging how the other ponies recoiled in what could've been pain, there must have been something going on...but whatever it was, he couldn't feel it; as far as he was concerned, she was only giving him a double stink-eye. Not very effective at all.

"No, seriously, what is she doing?" He asked Twilight, flicking a claw toward his 'assaulter'. Twilight, however, could only gape in disbelief, once again taking on that silly 'gasping fish' face.

With a snort of frustration, he turned his gaze back to Fluttershy; the pegasus was straining to do...whatever she was doing, her dry, bloodshot eyes almost bugging out their sockets, sweat running down her body like a waterfall. He stared at her for a moment before lifting a paw, waving it in front of her face...to no avail.

Finally, Fluttershy could no longer hold the stare and broke it off, gasping for breath as she snapped her eyes shut, rubbing them with her hooves to get the feeling back in her eyes. "H...How...How did you...?" She gasped, chest heaving, her eyes watering as she looked up at him. "That...that was my Stare. But...but no creature can resist the Stare..."

Unwittingly, the pegasus had made a fatal mistake: no sooner did those words leave her mouth did the temperature in the room suddenly plummet multiple degrees; as if his mood effected the world around him, both Spyro and the air around his body seemed to darken with an almost icy fury...yet inwardly glow with a growing inferno of rage, his face twistinginto a furious snarl...but what was worst of all were his eyes.

All the warmth and familiarity he had shown Twilight seemed to just vanish, as his pupils narrowed into perfect slits, leaving nothing but a blazing and primordial anger in their place. The look of his eyes were those of a creature whose rage and blood-thirst knew no bounds, that could kill an entire nation of ponies on a whim by nothing more than pure animalistic fury, and feel absolutely no guilt or regret for his actions afterward.

They became the eyes of a predator...the eyes of a true dragon.

He growled, giving her a dark, predatory glare, his lips curling up slightly to reveal his teeth. "So you think I'm just some dog that you can just glare into submission, do you?"

Now, it's an obvious fact that Fluttershy is not the bravest pony in Ponyville; most ponies there barely even see her around, thanks to her skills with stealth, and her dracophobia was certainly the strongest fear she ever felt. But deep down, she's always been able to pull through for the sake of her friends...thanks to the Stare. It had always been her inner strength; even when facing down the full-grown dragon or the petrifying eyes of a cockatrice, it had always been there to help her pull through.

But now? It was worthless.

Then Spyro got up, keeping his dark glare on the pegasus as he rose up onto his legs, lifting himself up to full height. He towered over the ponies, his wings spreading to make himself look even bigger than before, and a deep, reptilian growl rumbled from his throat, drumming through their bodies with the force of distant thunder, his still animalistic eyes blazing with golden fire.

Fluttershy could only whimper tearfully as she cowered away, falling to the floor where she trembled with fear; tears began to run down her cheeks, her wet eyes reflecting his blazing ones. Her worst nightmare come true had conquered her completely, stare and all, and now she was completely powerless.

And she, in her entire, shy, reclusive life...never felt such terror.

"The natural order is universal, equines...*"* He growled, his lips pulling back even further in a growling snarl as his shackles rose with inner fury. "In every realm that exists, one law stands above all: the strongest rule the world..." From deep within his chest a strong, fiery light burned through the crevices of his scales, as a great fire began to build within. "...and I*...am the strongest......OF THEM ALL!"* He rose back on his hind legs, and then lunged forward with a roar!

"RUN!" Twilight screamed, and on instinct, all six ponies bolted for the door with seconds to spare; the floor shook as Spyro smashed his full body into it, shaking the ruins with dangerous force; entire walls gave away, crashing against the crystals surrounding the room. They barely had time to recover before the dragon was upon them, the ground shaking from his footfalls as he smashed his way through the narrow doorway, tearing through the wall of stone like it was mere paper. Scampering like frightened rabbits, the six mares tripped and tumbled over each other down the stare-way, just a few feet from begin crushed by the storm of collapsing rubble and the beast smashing through it.

"The Gods of Humanity are dead!" Spyro's roar boomed through the ruins, the far wall exploding as he smashed through it, the impact sending the girls tumbling down the spiral stairs like ragdolls. "I killed them myself! My flames consumed their creations, like a plague throughout the land!" His tail whipped around the tower, tearing through the wall and nearly carving it in half; from outside blazed in a torrent of rain, the dark thunderclouds clouds forming under the sheer amount of primal anger radiating off his body. The dragon snarled with fury as he watched them tumble out of the tower door and into the main hall below, all scrambling to their hooves and running toward the throne room. "I kill *where I wish, when I wish! And NONE can escape my wrath unless I deem it so!"*

He spread his massive wings, arching his back like a panther ready to pounce. And with that, he leaped from his weakened perch; the force of him pushing off was all the crumbling tower needed, and like a great tree, it toppled over and fell to the earth.

*BOOM!*

The impact shook the land surrounding the ruins, shaking the burned and damaged landscape even more and sending a thunderous crash echoing across the land. The girls felt the ground beneath their hooves rumble with the force, nearly throwing them off balance...only to have the monstrous form of the dragon come smashing through the roof above them, his wings tearing through the walls like knifes through melted butter. Twilight, thinking fast, grabbed all five of her friends with her magic and dove beneath a large slab of the wall that had fallen during the storm, which leaned against the wall it had torn through.

With almost cat-like grace he landed upon a fallen wall, his clawed feet and wing-claws grabbing onto the stone as he turned around on the spot, his lithe body shifting and long tail lashing out as his serpentine neck followed the scent of the ponies to beneath his perch. The six mares huddled down beneath the fallen wall as they can go, cuddling against each other in fear as the blazing eye glared hatefully at them.

"Wait! Please!" Twilight cried; it had been going so well...why did this happen?! "We're sorry, we're sorry! W-We don't mean any harm! We didn't mean to disrespect or attack you; we were just trying to defend ourselves and our home!"

This, however, only made the dragon angrier. "So, your companions pin the blame for the MiiraadziemSovaarre on me, *do they?!"* Spyro snarled angrily as he lifted his head back up, his voice slicing through the room, making the ponies cringe in both fear and pain. "Obvious Mortals; always pinning the blame for your actions upon a scapegoat!"

No more different than the humans had been...

That all these equines really were: four-legged humans...arrogant...stupid...absolutely infuriating humans! Those worthless, cowardly primates, with their pathetic self-beliefs of godhood and importance! Always scurrying about in their seconds-long, purposeless, parasitic lives, which they wasted away hording material possessions of no worth, pleasuring themselves in their own filth and excrement, and slaughtering all that they could in their path! They were no more than a bunch of gluttonous cockroaches under his kind's feet...and even then they actually believed themselves to be above everything else; always thought themselves to be the center of the universes, up to the point where they could violate the natural law and cheat their way up the thrones of nature and the food chain! And when put down in their place, they even had the audacity to call those who truly ruled the universe the lowly, animalistic monsters!

Filthy, damnable apes...they deserved to burn under Tyrone's fire!

The fire in his eyes were now blazing infernos of animalistic rage, lighting up the darkened room like day. "Listen well, you filthy whores, for I'm only saying this once: what happened tonight was YOUR FAULT! All six of you! It was the power of your elements that opened the portal and brought me to this world! Whatever happened to your home, whatever damaged or injuries you and your kin may have suffered...they were YOUR *doing and your doing alone!"* His pupils narrowed even further before his long, serpent-like tongue flicked forward with an angry hiss. "I will not take part in a sssssingle amount of blame! Not! One! Drop of it!"

And with a swing of his powerful tail, the ponies all screamed in fear as their shelter was suddenly ripped from its base and thrown across the throne room; the once beautiful and ancient thrones of Equestria's greatest rulers were smashed into piles of twisted gold and shattered crystal...a symbol of what was to come in the following days.

At that very moment, the orange fiery blaze within his chest seemed to spread throughout his entire body, running through the gaps between his scales like veins through skin; his dorsal spines began to glow with a fierce orange, like metal heated to near-melting points, as did his eyes, the gold flame turning orange. Then, with a flash of wind, his wings snapped open to reveal glowing, rune-like symbols of fire blooming across his membrane, flaring open to resemble a pair of glowing butterfly wings made of pure flame...and then these 'runes' and the veins of power burst into flame, turning what most of the ponies believed to be nothing more than another draconic intruder into what he truly was:

A Jendovah...a god amongst dragons and mortals alike.

He roared in pure rage, the very plateau shaking from the sheer might and now near-demonic warping of his voice, which pounded upon the mortal bodies of his prey; with a slam of his claw, lightning flashed through the sky, and with a strong flap of his glowing wings streams of fire lashed forth and danced through the air like great serpents around the beast, his eyes blazing white with enough power to level the entire mountain of Canterlot.

Stupid, mortal grass-munchers; and to think they thought they could defy him like that!

These ponies were no better than man...in fact, they may very well be even worse! Not only did yet another race of weak, short-lived mortals decide to defy the natural laws, but a race of self-arrogant herbivores, no less! That defied the laws of nature and evolution on so many levels...and no doubt their cultures and beliefs automatically targeted meat-eaters as monsters, regardless of their true nature, including Dovah...he did not care what foolish deity thought himself good enough to deny the laws set since time's beginning.

NO ONE DEFIED THE DOVAH, THE TRUE RULERS OF ALL!

NO ONE!

"I AM THE VERY INCARNATION OF PRIMORDIAL POWER AND ELEMENTAL MIGHT! I AM A GOD AMONGST RODENTS! THE NEW ALPHA PREDATOR OF THIS WORLD, AND YOU WILL SHOW ME RESPECT*!"*

By the time the distant echoes of his final roar of a word had begun to die down, and the blazing fire of his power died back down into nothingness, the entire forest had clammed silent in fear. Not a single note of the normal night ambiance was to be heard: no insects, no frogs, no birds, not even the wind.

Dead silence.

Expect for the...whimpers...and...sobs...

He looked toward the ponies he had confronted, and a bit of the red in his vision faded in response. All six of them had backed up against the far wall and pressed themselves against it as far as their bodies and the stone would allow; they were all huddled together, clinging desperately to each other like a group of frightened children, staring at him in absolute terror, or wrenching their eyes shut in the emotion as they tried to shrink in on themselves. The fear in their eyes was that of a child who had just stared death in the eyes for the first time; most of them were actually crying in fear, tears running down their cheeks and sobs bubbling from their throats. It was truly a pitiful sight.

At first, Spyro found it satisfying, knowing he had cowed these wretched mammals in their place; let them drown in fear. They would never again even think about crossing that line again...

...but then his eyes met those of the first pony he met. Twilight's eyes.

And they struck him hard.

They were full of fear as well...but not just from an angry beast. Her eyes...they were the ones of someone who had just been attacked by a friend. Someone who had been offered warmth and comfort, only to receive pain and hatred. Confusion...Despair...Betrayal...but most of all...Hurt...

A mixture of feelings he was too familiar with himself.

"For the love of the Ancestors, you're the wearer of the amulet, you whore! YOU DON'T GET TO BE EVIL*!"*

He recoiled and stumbled backwards as the flashback surged painfully through his mind, making him snarl with frustration as he shook his head in an animalistic manner, as if to shake it clear from the unwanted thoughts; the memories of that day were the last thing he needed and wanted at the moment. He looked at Twilight once more; the look in her eyes was undeniably familiar...and for the first time in a long, long while, he felt remorse from what he did. She...she didn't deserve that...not at all...

She was the one who had tried to help him, not herself...H-He didn't really need the help, but even then...

Oh, who was he kidding?

The purple dragon closed his eyes took a big, deep breath through his mouth, before exhaling calmly yet forcefully through his nostrils in a deep, heavy sigh, forcing himself to calm down; twin streams of flame blew forth from his nasal passages, and the fiery glow in his chest died down into nothingness as the runes began to fade away once more, as if he was releasing his anger through his breath. When he finished, and the room returned to its darker gloom, and stayed that way for a while until he opened his eyes (which had once again receded down to a calm glow) and finally spoke:

"I..." He seemed having trouble trying to speak. "...I'm...*sigh*...I'm sorry." He spat the word out as if it was poison, though the remorse in his voice was still clear and true. "...to you...Twilight, was it?"

The ponies remained frozen in place, but looked up in confusion, especially Twilight. "W-W-What do you-?"

Spyro snorted a heavy sigh once more, though this time only smoke exited his lungs. "Don't mistake my meaning." He warned them. "I am not sorry for making my point to you who blamed me..." He then glared at Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, his eyes glowing just a bit more brightly as he did so. "...Nor do I feel remorse for putting you filth *in your place..."* He growled, making the pegasi whimper in fright. He then huffed, forcing himself calm. "...but in my anger, I indirectly attacked one who willingly helped me instead of judge or fight me." He lowered his head slightly in a respectful manner, his eyes once again having that open, intelligent warmth to them, though now soft and apologetic.

"And for that I apologize, if only to you."

Twilight and her friends remained silent, both still afraid and unsure of what to make of it, though the fear on the lavender unicorn's face softened slightly with pity. The dragon then turned away from the mane six, moving away from them before he lowered himself down and laying down on the stony floor couchant-style, turning himself so he faced away from the ponies.

"Go home." He stated flatly, his face now stern and uncaring, though his eyes were distant and full of thought; it was the face Twilight had seen on Celestia sometimes, when dealing with the more despicable members of the Solar Court, though it was rare of her as well. "Our business is obviously over. Return to your village and spread the word: no one is to approach these ruins unless I allow them to." He then turned his head away, laying it on the ground. "Now go, before I change my mind."

For what felt like an eternity to some of the girls, Applejack finally found the courage to speak. "L...L-Let's g-go, y-y-ya'll." She whispered as she shakily rose to her hooves. "W-While we s-s-still c-can."

No words were needed to agree with that; the six mares quietly got to their hooves and made their way to the exit, their hooves clopping as quietly as they could make them as they slowly and silently shuffled out...until something within just made Twilight stop, and look back.

She wanted to leave, to get away; what she had just witnessed had shaken her to the very core, and anypony in their right mind would put as much distance from that...beast as they could. That had been, without a doubt, the most terrifying event of her entire life; not even the dark Nightmare Moon or chaotic Discord could even begin to compare. This wasn't just some crazy, malevolent warlord with the urge to twist Equestria into their image; this monster was of an entirely different level than them...

..but the way he looked...that distant gaze...stern, yet conflicted...longing...

...alone.

She bit her lip, her eyes darting between the dragon and the door; every once of common sense she had was telling her to run, and to keep running, and don't look back until she had the princesses and the entire royal army behind her...but that soft little voice in her heart said otherwise. This dragon was by himself in a strange new world, without any known way to find or even contact his home and family, if he even had one. He was, truly and by every thinkable definition possible, alone.

Just like she was a few weeks ago.

"...I'm staying."

"WHAT?!" All five of her friends shrieked at once. Even Spyro, though he didn't make a sound, turned his head slightly to glance back in a surprised manner. Twilight swallowed; she was slightly unsure about it herself, but it was something she needed to do.

"You girls head back and calm everypony down..." She told them, looking back toward the purple dragon. "...I'm...I'm going to stay here with Spyro for the night."

"W-With that monster?! You can't be serious, Twilight!" Rarity exclaimed, looking aghast. "For Faust's sake, he just tried to kill us!"

"Only because Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy provoked him!" Twilight snapped at her fellow unicorn. She then closed her eyes, taking a calming breath. "Look, I met and spoke with him before any of you even showed up; I've seen what he's really like. He's a reasonable creature, and I trust him."

'Then you truly are a fool.'Spyro thought to himself; still, the gesture was nice.

"Twah', listen to yerself!" Applejack nearly shouted. "Look, yer were right 'bout that book of yers! Ya win on that...but dagnabit Twah'! That thing's a demon! Yer gonna git yerself killed!"

"And that book is another reason I have to stay!" The lavender mare said firmly; she then levitated her bags up, which she had miraculously managed to grab during the chaos, taking the book out and showing it to them. "Spyro's here to stay in our world, possibly for a very long time; you don't think he's going to spend that entire time in the ruins, do you?" She asked, earning looks of surprise and concern from her friends.

"I'm not." Spyro stated in response, turning his head slightly to look at them out of one eye. "I leave these ruins and set out to establish my new territory tomorrow."

Twilight nodded as Spyro turned back away. "Which means he'll find Ponyville." She told them; this earned a silent gasp from Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy, and a cringing grimace from Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash, the images of their family, homes, and friends flashing through their minds. "He's going to encounter other ponies besides us, maybe even the princesses and Canterlot. If your encounters with him were any example of what will happen, then Faust knows how many ponies will get themselves hurt, or even killed, tomorrow!"

She paused, taking a moment to close her eyes and calm down; when she opened them again, they were hardened with resolve and determination, just as they were when they confronted Discord for the final time. "Somepony has to teach him the ways of our world, and since I'm the mare who has the book and his trust, I'm the one who has to do it."

"...then...then let us stay with you!" Rainbow Dash stammered desperately. "Don't do this alo-!"

"NO!"

*SLAM!*

With another thunderous impact, Spyro lashed his tail around and slammed it upon the floor near the ponies with dangerous force, sending the ponies scrambling about and effectively separating Twilight from the group. He turned to face them, his eyes burning once more with an angry blaze as he glared at the two pegasi, Applejack, and Rarity.

"You four have made your hearts clear enough, and are no longer welcomed here..." He growled with as much primal fury as he could muster; his tail hovered in the air, like a serpent's head, just waiting to strike. "If any of you so much as approach these ruins again, you'll die*!"*

"Y-You animal!" Rarity exclaimed in fear and righteous anger. "You can't just separate us from her like this!"

"Let's test that theory, shall we?!" He challenged.

Applejack pawed at the ground angrily. "We're not letting you take our friend from us!"

"Do you wish *to die, Grass Muncher?! For I am more than happy to oblige that desire!"*

"STOP IT! ALL OF YOU!"

It was not Spyro who had shouted those last words, but the volume and force they carried could've matched a dragon's voice easily. All eyes in the room tore their gazes from each other and turned, almost in robotic synchronization, to Pinkie Pie, who was panting for breath.

"...Twilight's right." The pink pony said. "She has to do this...and she can do this."

"Don't tell me you're agreeing with her!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "This is crazy! She can't do this!"

Pinkie Pie, however, simply gave them a soft glare, which looked and felt very out of place on her face. "I take it that means you girls don't think that Twilight, the mare who both faced Nightmare Moon and resisted Discord's tricks, can handle herself?" She challenged with a surprising amount of harshness in her tome. "We, who let that jerk trick and corrupt us all so easily, can't trust the one pony who didn't fall for his mind games until after we tormented her until she finally broke?" That hit a sore point, that was for certain, as they all actually looked ready to cry when she brought it up.

The party mare's face softened with kindness, but remained firm and strong. "I have faith in Twilight." She said as she turned to the unicorn; tears began to run down her cheeks, but even then she still truly smiled. "She has done amazing things, and has always seen us to the end." And with those words, her own Element of Harmony seemed to glow brighter. "This will be no different."

Twilight was unable to stop her own tearful smile, a soft hiccup escaping her lips. "T-Thank you." She sniffed softly.

Spyro didn't say anything; he simply watched them with a thoughtful stare; huh...guess this world's illusion of perfection was false after all. Normally, such overly-sugary 'morals-of-the-day' moments made him gag, but after what they had just gone through, even he was impressed with their bravery and kindness.

Maybe...just maybe this could work out...

The unicorn wiped her eyes with her hoof. "B-Besides, you girls have an i-important job too." She told them. "I-I need you five to go back and tell everypony at home what's going on." She motioned toward the doorway, from which the path home was visible. "Make sure everypony knows just how dangerous this is going to be, and to stay low and hidden until we can get the princesses' help. And please let Spike know that I'm okay...can you all do that for me?"

Her friends remained silent, unable to bring themselves to speak, but all nodded in response...

...all but Rainbow Dash.

"...Twilight...?"

Twilight looked at her, looking slightly surprised that she even addressed her to begin with...until she saw the cyan mare's face, and the tears running down it. The poor pegasus looked absolutely defeated and broken; every trace of the strong, brash Rainbow Dash she knew had been crushed and beaten to death by Spyro's cruel words, leaving nothing more than a hollow shell of guilt and shame in it's place...

...and was it just the lighting of the room, or did her coat and hair seem a bit faded?

"You have ten minutes." With those words, Spyro abruptly stood up, flexing his wings tiredly. He then lumbered tiredly toward the doorway on the right, which led down toward the northern wing of the palace. Before he entered it though, he glanced back with a stern glare. "You four say what you will and be gone by then; until you've proven yourselves otherwise, only Twilight and the pink one may come and go as they wish."

He then noticed their were only five of them in sight; his eyes scanned the room for the missing sixth...until he spotted her long pink tail tucked around a fallen pillar. She peeked out from behind the rock, ducking back with a whimper when their eyes met.

Spyro snorted in disgust.

"Coward."

And with that, he slinked off into the shadows; the ponies watched him go until his long tail slithered into the darkness and disappeared from sight, leaving them alone in the ruins. Twilight didn't waste a moment; no sooner did the fact they were away from the dragon click in their minds did she step forward and wrapped Rainbow Dash in a tight hug. Rainbow immediately stiffen from the contact, but the unicorn refused to let her pull away.

"W...What are...?"

"It's okay, Dash...I forgive you."

The pegasus stiffened even further, her body shaking in shock. "W...W-What...?" She whispered, her voice hoarse.

"What you said in the hall, before we got separated..." Twilight explained, still holding her and using her magic to smooth out their fur and dry her friend's cheeks. "I know you didn't mean it. Like Spyro said: you were just scared, and took in out on what you thought was the cause of it...and to be honest, I was kinda blaming myself too; I mean, I did read the book, after all.

"The point is: I don't blame you for being scared, and I know that's why you said those things..." She pulled back, looking her friend in the eye. "...yes, it hurt, but I know you enough to know you didn't truly mean it. So...I forgive you, Dash. All's forgiven."

The six girls remained silent, all waiting for a response, as Rainbow Dash stared at Twilight; her face was the very definition of surprise and disbelief...until it twisted into the definition of anguish and heartbreak.

"...Why...?"

"Rainbow, come on, I..."

"WHY AREN'T YOU MAD?!" Rainbow Dash screamed, angry tears pricking her already bloodshot eyes.

Twilight recoiled at the angry question. "What?"

"WHY AREN'T YOU MAD AT ME?" The rainbow-maned mare shrieked, shaking Twilight's shoulder roughly as hot tears ran down her cheeks. "WHY AREN'T YOU YELLING AT ME; TELLING ME WHY I'M SUCH A H-HORRIBLE PONY?! THAT'S W-WHAT YOU'RE SUPPOSE TO DO! WHY?! WHY A-ARE Y-YOU F-F-FORGIVING MEEE-HE-HE-HEEEEEEEEEEEE?!"

For the second time that night, the normally strong and brash Rainbow Dash was reduced to a wailing, tearful mess as she clung to the unicorn, bawling her eyes out...and for once, she and her friends were perfectly fine with it. Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie all gathered around their pegasus companion and engulfed her and Twilight in a big group hug, tears of their own running down their faces.

The deed was done and the punishment had been carried out; now it was time for the damage to be healed.

Applejack was the only one who didn't join the hug, for she had seen them in the darkness above: a familiar pair of glowing yellow and lavender eyes.

"...Ya knew this would happen..." She murmured to herself as she stared up at the eyes, a small, half-hearted smile of realization spreading across her muzzle. "...this whole time...ya did that ta Rainbow so she and Twah'light would make up...didn't ya?"

And as if to answer her, one of the eyes winked.

Spyro stared blankly down from her perch up in the north wing of the palace, watching the five ponies leave the palace and head back down the path back to their little village. His body was laying down on the torn pile of ancient mattress stuffing and bedsheets, positioned in a slightly inward curl of rest, like a proper dragon on his hoard, his head lifted up to watch the leaving equines with...'interest' was the best way to describe it; what he had witnessed previously had left him confused and full of thoughtful questions.

Forgiveness was a concept he had never been strong with; even for a Dovah, he was legendary for his temper and vengeful nature...which, admittedly, were the causes to his previous explosion, but that wasn't the point. He, personally, would've physically and mentally crushed that rainbow-maned pegasus for what she had done, if he had been in Twilight's position...yet she shrugged it off like it was nothing; even opened up once more and brought her back into her heart, even after the damage she had done to it.

What kind of bond possessed the strength to make it through that?

He was brought out of his thoughts by a timid knocking sound behind him, and he turned his head to see his newest ally standing just outside the door, hiding slightly behind it; she still felt fear toward him after what she had witnessed before hand, and he wouldn't blame her for running away in fear at the sight of him...and even still she stayed, if only to protect her friends and home.

"You are either very brave or very foolish to stay after what you had just gone through." He stated, almost in an amused manner. "Which is it, I wonder?"

The purple unicorn swallowed softly as she stepped forward, but still smiled sheepishly. "A-A little bit of both, I guess..." She admitted softly. "I can only imagine what my mentor is gonna say when she finds out about this..."

Spyro gave a small snort of amusement as she approached, stopping about ten feet away from his position. "You're dedication to your herd and home is admirable, I'll give you that much." He stated truthfully. "Many in your position would've fled the first chance they got."

"...well, it wasn't just Ponyville I was thinking about." Twilight told him as she used her magic to take off her saddle-bags and Element of Magic, laying them on the floor next to her. "...look...I want to apologize too." This earned a confused look from the dragon. "For my friends' sake. I know you're sorry about attacking us, and so am I: I'm sorry my friends came up and just ran their mouths off at you, as well as tried to attack and stare you down. I can see why you'd get mad at that."

All she got in response was a cocked eye-ridge. "Still doesn't explain why you stayed."

There was a moment of almost sad silence, with Twilight staring off to the side, until she worked up the courage to say it. "...well...I stayed for you." She told him.

That made the dragon pause; stayed...for him?

" I wanted to leave...more than anything, really." She admitted, looking slightly guilty. "You really scared me back there...but when we going to...I saw how lonely you looked." Spyro looked confused; he wasn't lonely...until Twilight explained. "You've been transported into a completely alien world, separate from everything you know and all your friends and family; maybe that's something you're use to, given how calm you seemed at first...but you're still alone...just like I was when Discord tore us apart. I know how that feels, and I think that even you'd be a little scared...so I'm gonna stay, because you look like you could use a friend."

Friend...

She was mistaken to think that he was afraid or longing for home. He was a Jendovah, one of the most powerful beings in all of existence. There was no mortal beast, weapon, or force that he couldn't defeat and conquer, and no force of nature or the supernatural that could stop or destroy him if he wanted to go home; if Twilight's friends were anything to judge by, being the so-called Elements of Harmony, then there was nothing in this world that would bring forth any real danger to his power. As for being homesick, dovah didn't feel such petty mortal longings; the entire universe was his domain, and its wealth his hoard. He was as much as home here than he was in the Dragon Realms, and here he would find a new world to explore and conquer.

No, it was the final word that really stuck in him; something that he hadn't been called in a long time. Friend. Huh...he hadn't heard that word, let alone been called it, in centuries, at least not from a mortal; in his homeworld, the term more often used was 'ally' and 'companion', or at least the Dovah equivalent for it, for allies and companions, while close to you, usually first forge out of common goals and needs for one another strength. Every ally Spyro made, while close on a personal level, had become so out of need in battle and adventure.

But this mare...she owned him nothing, and had nothing to gain from staying; if anything, she had ever right to leave and never come back. The prophecy may have said they were all in it together, but it had nothing to do with them helping each other outside of it. All they would have to do is see it through and then leave and never deal with him again...and yet, despite what he did to her: attacked and traumatized her and her friends...and she actually opened her heart to him, and wished to call him-

"Friend?" He repeated, his tone both amused...and even a bit hopeful. "After all that I've done to you...you actually see me as a friend?"

Twilight paused only for a second, taking the thought to mind...before nodding confidently with a warm smile. "Yes. Yes, I do."

The dragon stared at her for a while in silence, pondering her words; it looked as though he wanted to say something more...but in the end he simply laid his head on the old stuffing like a pillow,  his reptilian gaze never leaving hers.

"Very well, then." He stated. "If that is what you wish."

Twilight couldn't stop the grin from breaking out on her face.

Her grin soon turned into an awkward one as another lapse of silence began, waiting for him to say something else. Spyro, on the other hand, merely laid there, watching her with an almost animal-like curiosity again, waiting for her to make the first move or decision. They stayed like that for a good couple minutes, with Twilight's eyes darted around nervously, her hoof tapping softly against the floor, while the dragon continued to stare motionlessly, waiting for her to speak.

Finally, the unicorn broke. "...sooooo...what are we doing?" She asked, slightly embarrassed.

"I'm about to go to sleep." Spyro stated, still watching her. "Tomorrow's my first day in a brand new world; I'd like to be fully rested for it."

"Right! Sleep..." She agreed...only to suddenly swoon on the spot, almost collapsing onto the floor. "Ohhhhhh..."

It was by his words did she realize a certain fact she had completely forgotten in all the chaos: she hadn't gotten a single wink of sleep since yesterday night, thanks to Spike keeping her up to search for his history...more than a total of 24 hours. That little period of unconscious from the storm couldn't be counted, being no more than an hour's worth, and this time she didn't have a restaurant's supply of Coffee and Donut Joe's to keep her up.

The exhaustion of surviving a super-hurricane, trekking for miles through the Everfree Forest, and experiencing the encounter with a god of a dragon rushed into her at once. Her legs instantly turned to gel and held out for about three seconds before they gave out and she fell to the floor.

Only for Spyro to lash out his tail and catch her on the flat of the blade-tip before-hand.

Twilight only groaned sleepily as she was scooped up by the dragon and lifted off her hooves; Spyro, on the other hand, purred a dragon's version of a chuckle as he lifted her over and gently laid her down onto the pile of stuffing with him, so that she laid next to his arm; His tail then laid back out on the floor, and curled back around, circling them both like a great serpent, as the little unicorn seemed to melt into the fluff as she snuggled softly into her make-shift bed, eyes already closing with a satisfied coo.

It was a scene that seemed straight from a fairy-tale: a mighty dragon, the bestial incarnation of power, fire, and destruction, guarding and nesting with a tiny unicorn, the very symbol of innocence and grace, by his side. Spyro watched as his new little companion, one whom he had hadn't known for even an hour, relax and fall asleep against his wrist, near the claws that could tear her apart without effort...and yet trusted he who wielded them completely.

Heh...was this bravery, foolishness...or perhaps something else? She was an interesting one, that was for sure.

He turned his head to look out the hole in the wall, the night sky clearly visible above them. Even the stars and moon looked differently here, their light almost inviting, like thousands of tiny suns; even the celestial bodies above seemed 'changed' to fit the 'aura' of this realm's childish existence.

His a satisfied grunt of a sigh, he turned back to bed and laid his head near his paws, next to his new...friend?

He paused. Did he consider her that, even after just one hour of knowing her? She may see him as hers, thanks to whatever foolishly innocent beliefs she carried in her child-like heart. The girl who had openly welcomed him, despite what he was, and even after she had seen what he could become...the first mortal to do that in a long time...

...

Yes.

Of course she was, he decided with a exasperated smile of his own. A silly, naive, and and far too trusting for her own good friend...but definitely a friend.

A new yet good friend.

He went to sleep that night with a small smile on his saurian face, looking forward to what the following day and days after that would bring forth in his journey here, unaware yet that, in those following days, he would bring forth the dawn of a brand new age to the magical world of Equestria.

The adventure had begun.