Snakeasaur Saga - The Quest For Harmony

CHAPTER IV: Life in Ponyville Shimmers (over a Fire) - Part 1

Twilight Sparkle was not a happy pony.

Not a happy pony at all.

Even the heavenly glow of the Tree of Harmony did little to soothe the poisonous dread brewing in her chest as she laid huddled amongst the crystalline roots, trembling softly as she wept into her hooves; her fur and bandages had been smeared in dirt when she had scrambled into a pocket beneath the tree, and she had lost her saddlebags in the rubble, but that was, right now the furthest thing from her mind.

And the only things remaining burned into it were the images of an alicorn princess reduced to shredded paper...and the blood-drenched jaws of a flaming-eyed monster.

Why? Why did it come to this? Why did this happen? Where had it gone so horribly wrong?

When Princess Luna went and provoked Jendovahzoor to attack, that's how, a voice in the back of her mind told her: she warned...no...pleaded to Luna not to confront him...but she would not listen. She didn't understand what she was dealing with, even arrogant to it, going as far as to punish her before leaving the dream realm; any future attempts to stop this fight before it happened were prevented for good, thanks to that spell cast upon her before she could wake up.

It had been a surreal experience...trapped within subconsciousness, knowing something was going on outside...and yet...she didn't really know or care enough to try and wake up. Like she was aware while also in a strange 'trance'; a trance that left her going in and out of her awareness of the real and dream worlds. Was it real...or a dream? She didn't know the difference between those words at that moment.

In the end, it turned out to be very real once a powerful magical force tore into the spell over her and ripped it apart, yanking her out of her own mind and into the waking world. She opened her eyes to find herself held above the earth by the glass-like leaves of long branches made out of pure, beautiful crystal, which seemed to glimmer and glow with every color of the rainbow, the heavy yet muffled rumble of the Ancient Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters echoing around her as it finally collapsed into rubble...one of the oldest remaining relics of Equestria's pre-discordian history...and the place where she felt friendship for the first time in her life...finally losing the battle against outside forces and joining the rest of the ancient world in ruin.

But the sorrow of losing the place of one of her most treasured memories paled in comparison to the sheer horror of what she saw next.

Jendovahzoor, the dragon she fondly thought of as Spyro, revealed as what he truly was: a monstrous, murderous saurian. His jaws, claws, and forehead drenched and dripping the blood of his prey...and that prey was, indeed, the now bloodied, broken Princess Luna.

She knew it was going to happen...sort of, at least: she knew that, if Luna tried to force Spyro to leave, he would fight back...but to actually see it for herself. Claws made for tearing flesh...jaws designed to crush bone...and a thirst for blood that drowned out every single drop of remorse or mercy, if there even was any to begin with in the heart of a living killing machine.

In the heart of a predator.

Predator. The very concept of such a thing was one that most ponies went their entire lives without even hearing about outside of a horror novel or monster movie, let alone see or experience for themselves. The concept of eating meat, let alone killing another living creature for it, was so taboo and unspoken of that only the most horrible and hellish storybook monsters were capable of such an act.

But poor Twilight...poor, innocent, bookworm-ish Twilight...waking up just in time to see it for real, and not only in the most gruesome, monstrous way possible, but to one of the two most important ponies of her life.

Princess Luna...sister of the Princess Celestia, one of two ponies that the entire world of Eqqus saw and sometimes even worshiped as gods. One of the two ponies with everlasting immortality and the power of the very celestial bodies themselves...beaten into a carcass and teetering on the very edge of death by this monster. And not simply either: her body looked as if it had been shoved through a paper shredder, all of her limbs, ribs, and just about every bone in her body broken and twisted in unnatural shapes and positions. Her flesh had been torn and ripped apart by numerous lacerations, clearly made by large claws, to the point where only a few strips of blue, blood-soaked skin remained attached; even some of her organs were visible. The dragon had clearly taken his sweet time and energy to deliberately torture her; to make this the most painful, agonizing event of her entire life, and took great pleasure in making her scream.

But worst of all, in Twilight's opinion, was her wings and horn: the very symbols of an alicorn's might and supposed god-hood, ripped clean off her body and thrown aside like the garbage he saw them as, revealing to the world what she and her sister had been all along:

Mere mortals.

A heavy sob burst out from her lips as a fresh wave of tears poured down her cheeks, and she cried heavily into her hooves; where had it gone so horribly wrong? This had become a nightmare, far worse than anything that Nightmare Moon or Discord had brought; the mere sight of Luna laying there, reduced to a pile of bloodied flesh, and Jendovahzoor growling in predatory anger with blood dripping from his maw, had almost been enough to make her empty her bladder on the spot. Horror unlike anything she felt shot through her at the sight of those reptilian eyes, burning with a primal fury and bloodlust as he went as far as to taunt Luna one last time before readying the kill...and the following words that he spoke would forever haunt her for the rest of her life.

"How do you choose TO DIE*?!"*

Die.

Princess Luna was going to die.

She was torn out of her thoughts by the heavy yet gentle footfalls thundering through the ground she lay upon; she bit down on her sobs, forcing herself quiet as terror gripped her heart like a vice. Even when fighting to stay silent, her rapid breathing came in the forms of quiet whimpers as a purple saurian forepaw stomped down in front of the opening of her makeshift hiding hole. The bronze claws of the other forepaw gripped around the gap in the tree's roots as the source of her trauma lowered his head down to peek through the opening; his eyes had lost its predatory ferocity and rage, but their reptilian stare little to comfort the unicorn.

"You're still adamant about hiding from me, aren't you?" He asked in his mortal voice...which wasn't any less of a primal and animalistic growl than his dragon voice.

Twilight's only reply was to cover her face with her hooves, whimpering louder.

The dragon pulled away with a rumbling snort of disappointment, and without a word simply moved away from the tree, slinking toward the distant pile of rubble that was once the ancient library in a feline-like manner. He spared a quick glance back toward the tree before bounding up to the top of the pile and digging through it like a dog digs for a bone; long claws and thick paws tore through stone and wood as if it was mere dirt, ripping out and scattering rubble across the dirt-ridden ground, pausing every now and again to grab something and toss it aside into a pile. He had been at that for a while now, ever since she hid under the roots after Luna vanished...the length of time since then escaping her mind; the night sky was slowly fading away as the distant glow of dawn began to creep over the horizon.

Sunrise was just around the corner, and when it came, the entire world would learn and fear the name Jendovahzoor.

He prepared himself for rejection.

Twilight's ears perked up in surprise. What was...

He knew the moment Luna entered the ruins that you would reject him for his predatory nature; that all your words of 'friendship' had no true strength behind them once you learned the truth. Didn't make it any less painful to bear, though.

The crystal ceiling and roots surrounding her pulsed with a soft yet powerful aura, the current glow lighting up the night like a thousand stars shining all at once. And when that glow passed over Twilight, it was as if the very universe itself reached out and brushed its fingertips against her skin.

So powerful, and yet so gentle...it was nothing less than the very hand of existence itself.

"Who...who are you?"

We are Balance. We are Harmony.

Twilight's eyes widened in awe and disbelief, and for a brief moment her current woes were banished from her mind.

"You're...you're the Elements of Harmony."

The tree, however, seemed to pulse with a negative vibe when she said those words. If that's what you prefer to call us, then you may.

"How...?" She asked, watching the aurora-like light flow amongst the crystal roots in front of her face. "You're sapient...many of Starswirl theories suggested that the elements had a mind and will of their own...but they were never proven."

Starswirl was a brilliant unicorn, like you, but he was far more open-minded and optimistic toward the world that most. He wasn't mentally bound to the point of not simply believing in something if he didn't see it for himself. This made him far stronger than most of you ponies, and more open to others, such as to the winged demon that visited these lands long ago...funny that you find yourself in a similar situation, isn't it?

*VOOOOM!!!!*

A scream of fright tore from her mouth as a powerful blaze of light and heat erupted across the plateau; she whipped around to spot Spyro hovering in the air before a pile of burning books and artifacts he had been gathering from the rubble, his massive wings beating powerfully as he breathed a continuous torrent of brilliant yellow and orange flame upon the pile. Not even the magical wards protecting the tomes and trinkets could withstand the Dragon Fire of the Jendovah, and the air was filled with the pained, raging screams as the evil artifacts and their toxic powers were burned out of existence, never to harm anyone ever again. The dragon then huffed in satisfaction, giving his wings an extra-hard flap to scatter the ashes and embers of the pile to the wind, before landing gracefully on all fours.

See that?

"Y-Y-Yes..." Twilight whimpered, trying hard to keep quiet.

The light-like magic flowing over the tree's roots formed out into shapes with a twinkling vibration; Twilight watched in timid fascination as the magical energies formed out hollow images of the objects Spyro had burned, including a sinister-looking tome, carved out of withered, scratched-up stone with a ring of dangerous-looking spikes surrounding the center of a strange, burst-like symbol. Another image was that of a sliver and red amulet that resembled the spread wings and proudly held head of an evil alicorn, with rubies for angry red eyes glaring at the world. These were but two of many dark and sinister objects that the tree showed her, each worse than the one before.

The relics that Jendovahzoor just destroyed were amongst the most dangerous and destructive evil artifacts of ancient Equestria. The Tome of Toxicity, The Alicorn Amulet, and many more forged by the blackest of hearts and most evil of magical forces. Their very existence threatened Equestria on many levels, just waiting for a wicked heart or innocent soul to find them and abuse their power...so why has it taken us having to summon one as powerful and destruction-loving as the *Jendovah himself to finally see them destroyed?*

"...Cel...Celestia." Twilight finally answered. "She...she told me she use to collect artifacts like that in the past...hoping to one day use their power for good and-"

She 'told' you a lot of things during your time as her student. The 'voice' took on an angry feel in her mind. When one tells a lie long enough, one starts to believe it for themselves, though in this case her intentions were what you believed...we'll have a lot of things to set straight for you in the future.

Twilight's head and heart alike were hurting from the conflict raging through both, a fresh batch of tears threatening to escape her eyes.

"So you did summon Spyro here from his world...Why?" She asked in a whisper. "Why did you bring someone like...like...him here? Why is he even here?! We defeated Discord, and the Magic of Friendsh-."

DON'T. SAY. THOSE. WORDS.

The sheer, dark, horrible, *powerful*** force in those words shook Twilight's very soul in terror; the gentle light and color of the tree took on a very dark yet fiery fury, rage and hate filling the very air around it. Even Spyro, who was lazily picking through the scattered remains of the ruins, perked up in alarm as the crystal changed from bright bluish-white to a dark reddish-black.

Then, as soon as it happened, it stopped, leaving one very shaken unicorn whimpering into her hooves.

And after a moment of silence, the following words would shatter Twilight's view of the entire world forever.

We are only going to say this once, so get it through your head now: *there is No. Such. Thing. As the 'Magic of Friendship'.** There never was and never will be.* The sheer rage from before had died down, but still burned bright in the magic flowing through her mind. The element you bear doesn't even have anything to do with a bond of any sort. It's just that: magic. The rest are simply the factors that keep the bond between bearers strong.

"...No...n-n-no." Twilight stammered, the tears finally running down her cheeks once more. "T-T-That can't b-be...I-I felt the spark! I-I gained the e-e-element after r-realizing my friends!"

Friend, Ally, Sibling, Parent, Lover, even Pet! It doesn't matter. All that is needed for our elements to work is a strong-enough bond of spirit between the bearers. Friendship is simply the easiest of bonds to achieve between individuals...yet also the easiest to break; even now, the bond you have with the other bearers is weakened, thanks to the mental torture Discord put you all through, it having weakened your 'friendship'. You should know this, or was Loyalty's outburst last night caused by a mere thorn in the frog of her hoof?

Twilight paused, the painful memory of Rainbow's anger pinching at her heart...she couldn't deny it; after what happened during Discord's reign...friendship may have driven them to victory, but not without a heavy price.

"But...but Celestia..."

Celestia *LIED** to you. She's been lying all this time; the sweet little whispers of 'the Magic of Friendship' she's been filling your head with are nothing more than fabrications to make you become what SHE WANTS YOU TO BE.* More images flashed before Twilight from the tree's magic, displaying familiar images from a familiar book she read at the very beginning of her journey...down a path of lies, it now seems. Images of the sun alicorn and her time as the bearer of elements.

Celestia and her sister were once the bearer of our elements; one of the first in many, many eons. We allowed her to take our power and use it against the monster that was twisting her land, and to ensure balance and harmony for the broken world he left behind...but she abused it; she used it to twist the world into what SHE wanted. Celestia is not the strong mare she appears to be; she may seem unbreakable, but under that mask is a petty, broken-willed mare who wants nothing more than her own perfect little reality to hide away in...and she used our elements to achieve that reality: by taking the broken Equestria and twisting it into what she wanted, not what it is suppose to be, and brainwashing the ponies that lived there into her vision. Equestria may seem like a paradise, but only because she wanted it to appear as such.

"That's not true!" Twilight snapped, a flare of strength bursting in her heart, despite the seed of doubt now inside it. "Celestia is a great leader! She's led ponykind through centuries of peace and happiness, and protected us from evils both outside and inside Equestria! Her rule has changed the world for the better!"

At what cost? She could almost feel the tree raising an non-existent eyebrow at her. What has her actions brought to the lands outside of this 'perfect little paradise'? How many times has both your home and those in lands other than it suffered under her arrogance? How many 're-purposed evils' that she stashed away out of sight and mind have come back to bring pain and suffering to both your people and the people of the other kingdoms? You should know; you and your fellow bearers went through it just a few weeks ago, and her response was to memorialize the torture you went through as a victory before shoving any trace that it ever happened under the rug completely...when a strong enough blow to a certain statue would've prevented it all from ever happening to begin with.

"Statue? What do you..." Twilight began, only to trail off as the horrific meaning sank in. "...you...you mean...k...ki-"

KILL Discord. Murder. Slaughter. Destroy. Execute. Exterminate. Annihilate. There must be one that Celestia hasn't brainwashed you into thinking to be pure hellfire incarnate. The same goes for Nightmare Moon: Did you ponies believe that purging the dark magic from her body would pardon her crimes? Do you really think a simple apology would bring justice to one who plunged this world into war, and tried to murder her own blood, all out of petty jealousy? Celestia has poisoned your minds to avoid violence and harm to the point where even self-defense and justice are considered evil...did you know that banishing Nightmare to the moon was not Celestia's original intent when she used us for the last time?

Twilight's ear perked up, eyes widening in surprise.

Yes. When she tried to force us to all work for her against her fellow bearer, she believe that we would simply 'purge the evil' from her body, and everything would go back to normal...that's not how we work. Another image appeared before Twilight, showing the legendary painting of Nightmare Moon being banished in the moon. Understand this now: we are not just a force of 'correction'. We are a force of justice and judgement. The traitor Luna had violated the natural world in one of the most horrendous way possible, and committed hundreds, if not thousands of crimes that would leave lives destroyed forever...in reality, she got off easy. Many have been damned to Tartarus for *less*. We allowed Celestia to activate our power one last time to stop her sister from doing anymore damage, and tonight, thanks to our new champion, the world has finally sated a bit of its first for vengeance, and Nightmare Moon has been brought to justice for what she's done.

"W-What does all this have to do with me?" She asked calmly, glancing past the roots at a now-resting Spyro. "...and him?"

Luna may have been petty and spoiled, but at least she had the strength, resolve, and understanding when it came to dealing with a threat, which honestly makes her stronger than her sister in mind and heart. The images of Equestria's most evil villains appeared, each in their different fates or prisons. Chase them off, and they'll come back when the heat dies down. Lock them away, and they'll find the means to pick said lock. Try to 'reform' them to fit your needs, and it's only a matter of time before the nature of their existence calls them back to Oblivion...and when that happens, there's only one option left:

With a flash of light, the images shattered into a million glass-like shards, banished into oblivion.

Remove them from the picture...permanently.

Twilight remained quiet.

To be snuffed from existence...exactly what Luna faced this very night...and what countless others would no doubt fall to in the near future. Death was a concept she was familiar with in her studies, but the mere thought of it made her chest heavy and her stomach churn with unease. It was known as a basic fact of life, but the idea of actually taking a life was on a level of taboo surpassed only by dragons themselves.

It was only natural: ponies were not predators. They were herbivores, and with herd mentality at that; they knew how to defend themselves, but so ingrained into their very DNA was the value and need for social interaction and a peaceful lifestyle that snuffing out any sort of life frightened all but the most hardened of ponies. Heck, battles for land and disputes between rival herds were fought over using food fights with pies or cake, while pestilence and vermin were simply removed from the area via non-violent means, such as Pinkie's music to herd Parasprites and such. There was a time that ponies did fight in true wars, but those were the barbaric, primitive eras of a darker Equestria, before the reign of Celestia and Luna...

Before Celestia and Luna...

...still, despite her incredible unease...their words did make sense in her mind. The prison of stone that had originally held Discord was believed to be permanent, and yet all it took was a simple argument between fillies to break it (1). Perhaps it was also thanks to the original spell wearing off over an eon of constant use, but the fact that he could break out was now confirmed, and how long would it be until it happened again?

A passing quarreling couple, a few guards cussing each other out, kids on a trip getting into a squabble over a toy, even something as simple as two birds fighting over seeds...

...when, in truth, all it would take would be to de-...destroy him while he was a statue, perhaps with a simple swing of a sledgehammer, and then she would never have to worry about the god of chaos putting her friends through that nightmare.

Ever. Again.

You can see the truth to our words, so we know you're not blind to them. What happened with Discord was simply the final straw for our patience; for too long has the natural order and magic of this world suffered under the arrogance, greed, and stupidity of its mortal caretakers or evil individuals. Too long have our elements been made a mockery by their bearers, constantly sweeping their problems under the rug until they have no other choice, and often at the expense of those ponykind view lesser than themselves. And too long have the unspeakable deeds of evil and injustice gone unpunished by a bleeding-heart ruler and her cowardly subjects, thanks to their petty beliefs in the 'magic of friendship'.

That all ends now.

We are done. Done hiding in a cave. Done watching you ponies tear the world and magical order apart for your own benefit. Done watching injustice after injustice go unpunished for one pony's mere personal comfort. And done having our elements and chosen ponies become nothing more than puppets at the end of the alicorn's strings. We have brought forth a new champion, one who possesses the strength, power, will, and resolve to crush all who oppose us in his path, and bring forth a new age of this world: an age where the corruption and imbalance of this world, caused either by chaos or ponies themselves, will be cleansed in Dragon Fire and reformed anew...in his image.

Listen well; this is something you need to hear now for all that's to come: Everything you've known before tonight, forget it. All the means you have won by so far, change them completely. And all the manure your mentor has filled your head with, drop it all and curse her name. Everything you've known has changed, including the battlefield; your ridiculous beliefs of 'The Magic of Friendship' are all but destroyed, and will only get you and your herd killed should you cling to their remains.

The pony looked like she wanted to object, but at the same time was torn about his words, lowering her gaze in silent thought.

We'll take your silence as acceptance...and one final thing before we leave you to your new duties, something you won't like but have to swallow: People, including ponies, are going to die. Twilight's gaze immediately shot up in horror. DON'T give us that look; you've seen that Jendovahzoor's very presence in this realm spells death for those who oppose him. Nightmare Moon was simply lucky you're of a forgiving heart, but she was just the first of many. His duty...the very one we've summoned him for...is to restore this world's strength and order, not to keep ponies' deluded ideals of 'Harmony', and there are going to be many that don't want the changes he will bring; many will seek to oppose him, stop him, and even force him to their will...and they will BURN.

"B...But...w-what if t-they're g-g-good p-p-ponies?!" Twilight stammered, her throat tightening. "T-They c-c-could b-b-be c-close friends! H-Have f-f-families! H-H-Heroes to Equestria and t-their children!"

That, young Twilight, is where you and your fellow bearers come in. Just remember: friendship has held you six together up until now, but now you all have a far stronger bond to connect through, one that will last you all forever...and that bond is Jendovahzoor.

"...huh?"

But she would receive no answer; before she could even react, she was seized by long, crystalline vines with gem-like leaves, which shot in through the opening of her hiding place and coiled themselves around her barrel. She couldn't so much as squeak before she was pulled out from under the tree and promptly tossed out into the opening, landing stomach-first onto the dirt with a soft 'oof'. The ground shook as the tree then buried it's roots deeper into the earth, tucking it's stump in deeper and cutting the pony off from her hiding spot, leaving her out into the open to face the dragon himself.

And Twilight lifted her face out of the dirt, only for her gaze to meet the reptilian, scaled-covered snout of Equestria's newest alpha predator. Her heart leapt in her mouth and she scrambled back with a panicked yelp, falling over on her back. Spyro, however, merely snorted in annoyance as he lifted his head back up to its normal height; he then merely sat down in front of the frightened pony, his wings folded slightly outwards and tail tapping patiently as he waited for her to respond. The top of the sun had already began to peek out from behind the horizon, bathing his purple scales in an almost flame-like glimmer, giving her the impression that he was glowing with fire.

Just remember: this world needs great help, and we have brought Spyro to give it. If you don't like it, that's your choice...but the least you could do is thank him for last night.

Twilight paused before looking up, her eyes finally meeting the dragon's for the first time since Luna vanished.

"...Why?"

Because if he didn't accept the task, then you would've been the one with Nightmare Moon's blood on your claws tonight.

Luna laid sprawled across the dirt of the plateau, nothing more than a fleshy, blood-drenched, mangled carcass of her former self, her limbs either twisted into unnatural shapes, or even missing altogether, while what tiny patches or strands of hair and feathers had been ripped off; her wings and horn alike were nothing more than bloodied stumps now, both being torn from her body, the parts that once symbolized her supposed 'god-hood' for gone. Fire blazed around the plateau, like a hellish storm from the dark lake, consuming the remains of the castle and any pony who tried to stop this from happening.

Somepony landed upon the earth in front of her, and she managed to force her eyes open to meet theirs. Standing before her were the very ones who had reduced her to this state: The Bearers of the Elements of Harmony. The very ponies that had once released her from the Nightmare.

But they were no longer the ponies she remembered: gone were the warm smiles and open arms, and in their place were demons straight from Tartarus itself. Their bodies had been mutated into savage, demonic copies of their old selves: the pegasi now sported large, deadly, dragon-like wings resembling curved blades that had torn out from their old wings, while the unicorns had long, curved spikes that pushed their way out of their bloodied foreheads, splitting the original horn in half. All six ponies' hooves had been ruptured painfully by long, curved talons like those of a griffin poking out of the flesh, while the hair of their manes and tails were now sharp and blade-like, cutting against their own necks, blood running from all areas of the crystalline 'adaptations' to their forms.

And yet, despite the fact that they were in excruciating pain...they grinned. Even as the tears poured down their cheeks like waterfalls from their cruel, narrowed, draconic eyes, they continued to grin smiles lined with sharp, crystalline teeth...to grin with the dark lust for vengeance of the elements, which glowed with a dark power from their necks and crown.

Luna couldn't muster the strength to even scream, let alone fight back, as the Tree forced its new lavender puppet to lift her clawed hoof above the alicorn's head...

And slam it down.

Jendovahzoor was not a happy dragon.

Not a happy dragon at all.

But rather than dread and trauma, the purple dovah felt intense displeasure and aggravation as he stormed through the Everfree in an rage; tiny lifeforms of this world's native fauna (and maybe flora) scrambled to get out of his path, his paws slamming into the earth with more force than necessary. His newest companion now laid on his head, nestled in between his horns and upon his folded-down head fin, whimpering softly under her breath as she trembled like a leaf in the wind; even after all the tears she had wept that night, she had managed to squeeze a fresh batch out of her system, which were audibly 'plinking' against his scaly armor.

How many tears could one mortal have in that small of a body?

But who could blame her?

He growled audibly as he snarled at the sky, envisioning that dumb tree in his mind; were it not vital for this world to exist, he would've smashed it into a million pieces for what it did. Was showing her that TRULY necessary?! That was cruel, even by his standards. He had been trying to soothe her fear, not make it worse! Who knew what level of trauma had broken her mind tonight...this entire world's ideals of morality was a whole new kind of sick and twisted.

Just another thing to add to the long, long list of things he was going to have to fix.

He cast a glance up toward the pony on his head, his face briefly softening into a rare look of concern and deep thought. It was actually very impressive: the cultures of the herbivorous races of the Dragons Realms (Fauns, Centaurs, Mermaids, Rabbits, Kangaroos, etc) always tended treat death as a dark taboo, thanks to never having to kill prey for meat...but even then they still understood the need of war, even if most of them didn't agree with it.

What sheer level of peace and obliviousness had this world entered, for a race to not only become downright traumatized at the mere sight of death, but to never even think of the very concept?

And if this kingdom...Equestria...had achieved such a level of peace and harmony, why would the elements of these very virtues want it to change?

Because that peace has been obtained by the raping of the natural world...and at the expense of those trapped outside this 'Illusion of Eden'. Jendovahzoor growled, glancing up at his passenger; one such pony who had suffered to keep that very illusion intact. There were things in the universe that were not meant to be changed, regardless of motives...and those who have dared to do so will burn, alongside their twisted creation.

He had a lot of work to do in the upcoming years, so it was best to get started.

As the sun slowly began to rise above the horizon, the forest slowly began to awaken; Jendovahzoor had long left the burned blast radius of ash and dirt, and was now slinking beneath the jungle-like canopy. All around him were the sounds of nature awakening from a hellish night; birds chirping in the trees, frogs croaking from distant water sources, and insect sounds coming from all around them. Though they were mostly distant sounds; those of creatures nearby quickly fell silent as he passed, then started up again when he was a good distance away from them.

The dragon grinned in a draconic satisfaction; at least the nature of this world knew to respect its new alpha.

One sound didn't die when he approached, though: the sound of rushing water. It was a sound that made the dragon's dry mouth and throat tingle with anticipation; it hadn't had a drop of water or scrap of food since his arrival. He quickened his pace until he reached the banks of a large river stretching across the ancient path to the former ruins; purring in satisfaction, the large saurian approached the river and stepped into its shallows, the water crashing against his ankles, before lowering his snout into the clear liquid.

Twilight was stirred out of her quiet, almost trance-like numbness by the sound and feeling of the dragon drinking; she could feel the water being sucked into his mouth and swallowed down by powerful esophagus muscles beneath her. She was suddenly aware of her own parched thirst, despite her emptiness.

Jendovahzoor paused drinking and glanced up as the unicorn scooted down from his forehead, staring at the river with longing as she tried to reach it. A small, surprisingly-warm smirk crossed his face before he gently tipped his head forward. Twilight squeaked with surprise as she slipped forward down his snout and slid into the water with a splash. She came up a second later, spluttering and dripping with water, mane soaked and hanging over her eyes.

She pulled her mane out of her eyes with her hooves, looking up at Jendovahzoor, or 'Spyro', who pulled his head back to smirk with a playful, almost animalistic mischief, his eyes no longer possessing a raging, predatory fire, but a soft, warm glow...

...and despite all she went through by his hand...she found herself unable to stop a giggle from bubbling in her throat, her own smile spreading over her face.

She then practically melted into the water as he simply backed up and laid down upon the shore like a large cat, watching her as she eagerly drank up her fill until her stomach felt like bursting; her thirst sated, she briefly dunked her head under the water again, using her hooves to scrub at her face, cleaning away all the dirt, ash, tears, and gunk from last night.

A night that she would certainly never forget.

"Feeling better?" Spyro asked.

Twilight nodded softly. "Yes." She admitted. "A little...I feel a bit sick, though." She then feel silent, continuing to clean herself off in the river.

"She hurt you."

Twilight paused, eyes widening slightly. "...what?"

"She threatened to take your title as your ruler's student, and in doing so ruin your life." His voice was soft and sympathetic, as was his gaze; he looked genuinely sorry and even fearful for her, as much as any dragon could. This sympathy, however, quickly hardened into a hateful glare, though the hate wasn't directed at her. "She wanted to ruin you, for nothing more than simple pride! Despicable whore! After all you did for her she-"

"Wait, waitwaitwait...!" She interrupted as she sat up, motioning to slow down with her hooves. "You mean...you did all that...for me?"

At those words he shifted uncomfortably, looking conflicted; he then turned away from her with a grumbling growl, sitting down so he faced away from her, practically humphing like a child.

"She hurt my friend." He growled darkly, though the concern still laced his voice. **"I wanted her to suffer as you had. To show her what it meant to be the mouse for once. Besides, she needed* the slap from reality; Goddess of Night,* indeed...that, and I did warn you all that no one was allowed in these ruins expect you and the pink one; they should've taken my warning seriously..."

As she stoop up and approached him, she couldn't stop her lips from forming into a small smile. It grew even more as she watched him quickly glance at back her occasionally, shifting in place to avoid meeting her gaze directly as she approached, tail-blade tapping nervously on the ground; it reminded her of a nervous dog when confronted about tearing up the newspaper or something naughty, or of a child when being praised for something he was embarrassed about; heck, he was behaving just like Spike did when questioned about his 'secret crush', only missing the raging blush across his face!

It was so silly...almost cute even.

She almost forgot that this was the same creature who nearly killed one of the two most powerful beings in this entire world.

"Then what was all that talk about 'Nightmare Moon was unforgivable!' and 'You will pay for your crimes, Nightmare Moon!', and all that stuff? That had nothing to do about helping me?"

He tensed angrily and gave a warning hiss, and Twilight respectfully backed off; apparently his limit to having his buttons pushed was much shorter than Spike's was. "Not entirely." He stated, becoming serious. "I was summoned here to restore this world, was I not? And it's about time Nightmare paid for her crimes...though for the most part, I only said those things because I knew they would hurt her, just as she hurt you. To make her pay for what she did."

Twilight nodded softly. "I know...I know..." She assured him. "...It's just...*sigh*...I'm scared..." His face actually softened upon hearing those words, and he cocked his head slightly in question. "I-I know that you're a dragon, and fighting and...k-killing is what you do. It's even why you were brought here for, isn't it? To do with the elements what we ponies can't, right?"

He nodded slowly with a soft, rumbling croon.

"But that's just it; I'm a pony. I've never deliberately hurt anyone in my life! And it scares me to even think of it! What I saw last night...it scared me...so much..."

Spyro simply exhaled a deep aggravated sigh from his nostrils, sending two burst of flame jutting forth, as he simply turned his head away, staring at the distant mountains with a flat, emotionless stare.

He knew it was too good to be true. He knew it was foolish to take an interest in these ponies and get his hopes up, but even then he had expected and prepared himself for it. Typical mortals; so full of cowardice and trepidation. So easy to jump back on their words when things started getting too dangerous. He knew from the very start that, for all her talk and praise in the so-called magic of friendship wouldn't hold out. He could see it in her eyes: Fearful. Worrisome. Dreading. All it takes was one big-enough scare and...

"But..."

...what?

"...I know why you did it. You did it for me, even if I think it was wrong...but...either way...if you didn't answer the Elements' summoning and brought justice it when you did..." She paused, gathering the courage to say what would've been "...t-then my friends and I would've been forced to do it."

Spyro didn't say anything, but simply looked down at her in quiet understanding.

Then she didn't something he really didn't expect; shakily and with water spilling off her fur, she stood up, waded over to him and gently placed her hoof over his paw. It was through this contact, seeing her own small hoof dwarfed by his massive paw, that Twilight realized just how big he really was. How easy it would be to simply squash her underfoot as if she was nothing more than a mere bug.

And yet, despite having only known her for less than a day, he saw her as someone worth fighting for.

"I admit, I'm still a bit scared of many things...but I know you're a decent dragon, and I still want to know that dragon." She began, her eyes meeting his warmly. "I just need a little time to become a bit braver. Please...be patient for me?"

Spyro's response was silence...and then a pleased purr.

Maybe there was hope after all.

"I am a dovah. I'll live as old as the mountains and am just as patient." He stated, tucking his legs under himself before standing up. "I think I can wait."

Twilight grinned, giggling softly. She made a move to get out of the water, only to squeak in alarm when she felt a sudden slosh in her lower abdomen...

...Spyro made a move to step into the river, but was thankfully stopped with a pungent odor suddenly hit his saurian nostrils, making him quickly react his arm. He knew that smell; he had sniffed it out plenty of times, usually when he activated his full power and roared in might during a battle...the smell originating from the groins of his foes. He glanced down at Twilight, who had lost all traces of positive or negative emotions and was desperately trying to keep a straight, innocent face, her eyes darting about nervously and her cheeks a rosy red.

He narrowed his eyes.

"...did you just pee in the river?"

Twilight squeaked, her already glowing blush spreading all the way to her ears. "I...I-I...I couldn't hold it in anymore!" She wailed in embarrassment, covering her face with her hooves. "I hadn't gone since the portal's opening! I've been holding it in for the whole night!"

"Daar Los Krastovon!" Spyro all but roared, quickly stepping away from the bank while whipping a paw over his nostrils. "You couldn't have waited just a little more until you got home?!"

He was going to say more when the water behind Twilight exploded in a geyser as a large form erupted from the river, rearing back like a great beast and...screaming the girliest, most ungodly feminine squeal the dragon had ever heard from a male voice.

The water fell away to reveal a massive sea serpent, easily twice as large as Spyro and four times as long, forcing the young dragon to crane his head upwards to look at his face. His entire body and tail was long and serpentine, and covered in deep bluish-purple scales, like a great snake, minus a pair of almost human like arms located higher up the body near the head, leaving the neck relatively short compared to the rest of it's body. Said head was saurian yet crocodile-like in nature, almost like that of a spinosaurus, with eyes set on top of the head, extended nostrils mounted on the end of its snout, sharp crocodile-like teeth...and the gaudiest, most flamboyant mass of golden-orange hair, styled in a ridiculously-fabulous manner, with a large, curly mustache to match.

"OH CELESTIIIIIAAAAAAA!! IT'S EVERYWHEREEEEEEEEEE!!" The sea monster screamed in a prissy voice that was male, though barely, almost weeping with trauma. "WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT IN SOMEONE'S HOME?!?!"

"I'm sorry-he-he-heeee! I-I thought the river w-would just w-wash it away!"

"IT'S IN MY GILLS!! OH, SWEET FAUST IT'S IN MY GILLS!!"

"I DIDN'T MEAN TOOOOOOOO!!!"

"IT BURNS!! IT BURNS LIKE FIIIIIRE!!"

"I COULDN'T HOLD IT IN ANY LONGER-HER-HER-HEEEEEEEEEEEEERRR!!!!"

Spyro merely sat there on the river's edge, fighting the urge to bang his head against a non-existent wall as the serpent continued to scream and thrash and the unicorn continued to sit in the water and wail her head off, their comical cries echoing throughout the twilight of dawn.

It was going to be one of those adventures.

"I'm really, really sorry for what happened, Mr. Magnet." Twilight apologized yet again as she and Spyro sat on the opposite river bank, using her magic to wring her mane out. "I forgot you lived here, and I didn't think he would've noticed."

"Oh, don't fret a bit, young lady." The serpent, who had introduced himself as Steven Magnet after Spyro finally cut the panic fest short with an angry roar, assured her. "To be truthful, it certainly did wonders for clearing out the sinuses and gills; I just ask that, next time, do it downstream of my riverbed, if you'd please."

Twilight grimaced, cheeks turning an even rosier red. "D-Don't worry, sir. I-It won't happen again...ever again."

Steven Magnet tittered in the most feminine way Spyro had ever heard; a way that made him want to cringe in disgust before ripping the snake's organs out and setting them aflame. "Ohohohohoho! Do stop with the 'sir's and 'Mr. Magnet'; I am but a simple sea monster citizen of this forest, nothing more than that..." He tuttered a bit before turning his gaze to the dragon himself. "...No, the one you should be focusing respect to is this fellow."

Spyro's gaze narrowed. "You knew I was coming."

"Ohohoho, my good dragon. I'd say it's about time you showed up." Steven Magnet chuckled, shifting his coils in the water. "You certainly would've been useful a few weeks ago when that Discord fellow returned. A bit late to the party, wouldn't you say? But I suppose if the Tree wanted you here to fight that old coot, it would've summoned you when he came around."

Twilight's eyes widened in surprise; he knew about him too?! Celestia wasn't the only one?

The dragon growled, his haunches rising threateningly. "I'm never 'summoned'." He snarled, his voice rumbling through the pony's flesh like an earthquake's tremors. "I chose to answer the call, not come here against my will; I bow to no one, *not even your tree."*

The purple serpent put his hands up in surrender. "Calm down, good sir. I meant no disrespect." He said coolly, without losing any of his charm or glee. "I'm just glad you've finally arrived; after waiting in this river for over five hundred years (3), I was beginning to think Celestia was crazy."

"Wait, what? What do you mean?" Twilight spoke up.

Steven looked surprised. "...What? You mean you don't know?" He asked. "You're suppose to be her most prized student, aren't you...you mean to say that, after all these years, she never told you anything?!"

"To...study...the Magic of Friendship?" She offered, grinning sheepishly.

Steven Magnet stared at her for what felt like an eternity to the unicorn...before he slapped his forehead in a hand version of a facehoof, groaning as if in pain.

"Okay, what is going on?" Twilight exclaimed, frustrated. "Why is this happening? First Celestia and her stupid book, then the tree of harmony and the elements, and now you of all creatures?! What is going on with my life?! Why-?!"

Her panic attack was stopped when a large, scaly finger poked itself against her snout, closing her mouth.

"Sh-h-h-hhhhhh. Calm down." The aquatic reptile said in a soothing tone before removing his finger and leaning back into the water. "Everything's going to be fine...*sigh*...you were suppose to have known about this from the moment you got the element." He stated, pointing to the Element of Magic laying next to her saddlebags. "...but Celestia had other plans. Plans that I told her wouldn't work, but looks like she went for them anyway."

He paused, massaging the bridge of his snout.

"You already have the book that Celestia left you, so you already know the truth: she knew you and your friends were the element of magic from the very beginning, and that Jendovahzoor himself here would come and bring forth a new era for Equestria. How she knew this, she never told us, but she wanted to be prepared for his arrival, so she commissioned the construction of a town on a patch of land just outside the Everfree for him to live in and 'rule over'; sort of a 'welcome gift', for lack of a better term, to earn his favor when he arrived. Oh, you know those Dragons; always wanting nothing else than a kingdom's worth of gold and sacrifices! Anyway, said town was built when Celestia 'gave' the land to the Apple Family, including that lovely young mare, Apple Smith; you know...green earth pony? Apple pie cutie mark? Discovered the Zap Apple Trees?"

Twilight was ready to rip her mane out by the roots. Now Granny Smith was in on this?!?!

"Around the same time that old tree was craved into our charming little library, Princess Celestia suddenly arrived without any head-ups or decree; simply just waltzed into the library, hid your book back in the lower shelves, and cast a spell that would make it disappear until only you or one of your little friends found it." Steven continued, expressing his words further with motions of his hands. "After that she gathered a small group of us, including myself, my dear friend Cranky, Mrs. Smith, Stinkin' Rich, Mayor Mare's grandmother and a few others, telling us all about this prophecy of hers: when the elements are reborn and Nightmare Moon defeated, a dragon of purple scales would arrive from 'the realm of flame' and bring forth a new era of restoration to our entire world. It was something bigger and fancier than that, though, but...oh, drat; it was such a long time ago that I can barely remember it. I was just beginning to grow my glorious mooustache!" He gave said 'mooustache' a twirl with his fingers. "Anyway, our job was to prepare our town to be as dragon-friendly and welcoming as possible; a place where even a dragon would feel at home. The fact that your little Spikey fellow lives there without anypony going all 'KILL IT WITH FIRE' proves that we've succeeded at that part, though given just what kind of dragon our friend is here, things might be trickier than anticipa-COCKATRICE!!!"

Twilight didn't even have a chance to react to his scream of fear before a pair of clawed feet slammed into her back with an angry 'Bwraccckk!', knocking her onto her stomach. She cried out as she hit the ground painfully, just as the attacker leapt off her back and landed in front of her, revealing itself to be a familiar serpentine avian with green scales, bat-like wings, a long snake's tail, and a rooster's head.

The cockatrice whirled upon the pony with an angry glare, one that she avoided by quickly covering her eyes with her hooves; she may have learned from their last encounter, but the yellow pony wasn't around to stop him this time! Not even the giant sea monster was enough to discourage it.

His tiny chicken brain only had room for one thought: Vengeance!

With another angry brawk, he leapt up and grabbed at the pony's bandaged forehooves with his talons while pecking at her face; it's sharp claws and beak dug into her flesh, drawing blood. Twilight sobbed in fear and pain, scrambling backwards while flailing her hooves around wildly, still keeping her eyes squeezed shut even as he flapped away.

"GO AWAY!!" She screamed in terror,  firing blinds shot of magic in desperation as he flew around her, his wings fluttering a gust.

"Get out of here, you little beast!" Steven exclaimed as he swiped his hands around the riverbank with his own eyes closed, trying to chase the reptavian off. "Shoo! Leave her alone! Shoo!"

But the cockatrice wasn't deterred by the wild flailing of both creatures, their aims really off. He had been waiting six months for this moment: the ability to turn its prey to stone was the ultimate source of power and pride of its kind, what made them stand strong against against even the likes of a hydra or manticore! And that yellow pony not only defeated it at its own game, but forced him to releasing prey! Releasing prey! No cockatrice alive had ever done that, by will or force! It had been disgraced as one of its own kind for that; he was the laughing stock of all other Cockatrices everywhere! A loser! A failure! No hens would even think of laying his eggs now!

And it was all thanks to that stupid yellow pony and her friends!

With an angry war brawk he leapt through the air at the panicking Twilight, his talons outstretched to full length; if she would not open her eyes and meet his gaze, then he would rip her eyelids off!

Revenge would be his toda-!

*CRUNCH!!*

Twilight went stiff as a sickening crunch burst forth and the cockatrice's cries were abruptly silenced; something warm and wet splashed against her cheek as more sickening breaks and crunches reached her ears, making her stomach churn. There was also a sudden smell that hit her nostrils like a train, causing bile to build in her throat.

It smelled kinda like...

...she dared to crack an eye open, and immediately wished she hadn't.

She had opened her eye just in time to see Spyro crush the bloodied corpse of the cockatrice in his mouth, spilling blood down the sides of his lower jaw. Spyro grabbed the hanging tail before pulling, and the horrific sound of the dead reptavian's spine breaking and flesh ripping filled the air as he tore his snack in half; a sea of crimson erupted from the split belly, painting the grass red. He snapped up the half in his mouth much like a crocodile snapping up chunks of meat, swallowing it down nosily before popping the other half in after it; more blood ran down his bottom jaw as he finished his bite-sized treat, licking the blood off his fingers afterwards...

...the same kind of blood that was currently coating her cheek.

Her eyes rolled back into her head and she promptly flopped over in a dead faint.

Spyro paused from cleaning himself, looking down at the unconscious pony on the grass, confused; her hindleg only twitched once in response.

Steven Magnet also stared dumbly at the pony on the ground. One could almost see the massive, anime-styled sweatdrop forming on the back of his head.

"Yes, things will be much trickier than anticipated." He muttered aloud, scratching at his scalp.

It was the light of the morning sun that aroused Derpy Hooves from her sleep, the sunlight falling directly over her closed eyes. She frowned, squeezing her eyes tightly in an attempt to hold onto her rapidly-fading muffin dream, but she soon lost the battle. She yawned widely while stretching before she slumped back into bed, a cross look adorning her face as she stared at the ceiling. It had been blueberry muffins too...

Oh well, no use pouting over imaginary muffins; she had a job to get ready for.

She rolled over to roll out of bed, but once again misjudged the distance from the center of the bed to the edge; with a squeal of surprise, she rolled over too far and fell out of bed with a soft *thud*, pulling down all the sheets on top of her. The silly-looking mass under the sheets kicked and struggled while murmuring muffled words of surprise before she finally poke her head out at the top of the pile, gasping comically for air. She giggled as she pulled herself out of the sheets, accidentally tripping over one and falling one again onto the floor.

"Whoops..." She giggled again as she gathered herself back up. Dusting herself off with her tail, she trotted merrily over to a mirror in her bedroom. She looked left, then right, and then back to the mirror; giggling like a little school filly, she makes a couple of funny faces in it, which were only made funnier by her silly-looking eyes; 'laugh and find joy in your own flaws and they won't be flaws anymore', her grandmother always told her...

...that way, when people laugh at you, it won't hurt as much.

Pushing aside those memories, Derpy continued her day; she quickly hopped into the bathroom, taking a quick shower and brushing her teeth...though she got the soap and toothpaste mixed up again, resulting in a nasty surprise. After rinsing the bubbles from her mouth, she reached down to the drawer with her brush, grabbing the handle with her mouth and pulling.

Nothing.

She pulled again, harder this time.

It wouldn't budge.

Scowling at the drawer and determined to open it, she steadied her footing and heaved; this time the drawer gave way, suddenly dislodged by the force of her yank. Derpy herself was sent flying backwards into the wall on the other side of her room, yanking the drawer out of its place in the process, the pegasus slamming up against the wall with a thud. Birds could be heard chirping merrily as she recovered from her tumble; shaking her head, her eyes focused for a brief moment to inspect the carnage that now surrounded her. The contents of the drawer had spilled all around, the brush she was looking for now laying at her hooves.

'Rats, not again...' She groaned mentally, sighing in frustration. 'I'll clean this up later; I don't have time now.'

After a quick brush of her mane, she trotted down the stairs to the kitchen; she grabbed a large brown bag from a nearby chair and went to the pantry, opening it up to find, in her opinion, the most beloved creation ever made by pony-kind.

Muffins.

There was just no mortal words that could describe them. Muffins were probably the most marvelous food ever created by pony chefs. So many different kinds and choices, beautiful explosions of flavor, yet with such humble and ordinary appearances. Muffins were truly a gift from Faust herself...but so little appreciation! Most ponies would take pies, cakes, or Pinkie's cupcakes over a good muffin any day! Honestly, ponies just don't know how to appreciate a good thing when they have one!

After she stuffed her bag full of muffins, she flew into the living room to fetch her professional mail-hat and mail-bag. To her surprise, she found them sitting on the couch just waiting for her to pick them up: a classic-looking mail-hat and a large brown bag full of letters and packages. Along with her things, there was also a note lying next to her hat, drawn out in the red crayon scribbles of a young filly; setting her muffin bag next to her mailbag, she picked up the note with her hooves and read it aloud.

Deer Mom

Alrudy at scholl

Dinky

Derpy smiled; it seemed like it was only yesterday she was just a baby filly with bright eyes and a wonderful little laugh...they grow up so fast, don't they? Oh well, it was good that Dinky could go to school on her own and still be safe during the day; it was tough earning enough money to feed yourself and your baby girl when you're only a mail-mare, who has to get up early to get to work and couldn't afford the time to take your kids to school. She was lucky enough to get that job to begin with, let alone keep it all this time, thanks to her...conditions.

Whistling a familiar tune to herself, the pegasus mare set the note aside and put on her mail cap; smiling proudly, she then reached for her mail bag...

...oh.

There were two brown bags on the couch. One has mail, the other has muffins. How to find out which one has which?

Mail...or Muffins?

Derpy stared intently at the two bags, trying to decide which one she was suppose to take. How on Equestria was she going to find out which bag had the mail in it?

*BONG...BONG...BONG...BONG...BONG...BONG...BONG...BONG!!*

The bell tower struck eight: She was late for work! Just choose and go! Squeaking in surprise, the pegasus grabbed one of the bags and bolted through the front door, the breeze caused by her taking off sending a single letter floating out of the remaining bag...

Ah, Ponyville...the bestest best home in the world! She loved this town ever since she moved here with her own mommy back when she was a itty-bitty filly. Everypony here was always so nice, even when she messed up and broke things every now and then...except for Rainbow Dash, who always got crabby when she accidentally got the weather schedule wrong, or when she played with the fun thunderclouds. She couldn't help it though; thunderclouds were so much fun! Always going 'Zap!' and 'Boom!' whenever she bounced on them, even if things always went 'Kaboom!' if she bounced on them too close to tall things like buildings and trees.

But bouncing on thunderclouds would have to wait until after lunchtime; she had to do her job as a mailmare first! As a mailmare, it was her job, duty, and pride to make sure everypony in Ponyville got their mail delivered on time! As the saying goes: neither rain, snow, sleet or hail, would ever stop the pony mail!

...but...where were the ponies who needed their mail?

For that matter, where was anypony?

For as far as Derpy's crossed eyes could see, the entire town looks deserted; she was currently standing in the middle of the market place, one of the busiest places in all of Ponyville, and yet there wasn't a pony to be seen. Since it was early morning, it would make sense if the shoppers weren't around since they were all still getting ready for the day, but even the stalls were closed, boarded up and sealed shut. Not a single pony to be seen.

It had been deserted yesterday too, but that was because the Dragon Migration thingy was happening; she herself had to be very strict with Dinky that day when she wanted to go outside and play. No daughter of hers was going to go outside when big, scary dragons were flying all around the place! She could've been eaten! And then she would definitely be a little muffin, and not in a good way!

But that was already over, and the dragons were gone...so where was everypony?

Weird.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when something grabbed her by the tail and yanked hard; hard enough to trip her off her hooves and pull her across the ground. Derpy yelped in surprise as she fell to the ground, landing with an 'oof!'; she didn't have time to straighten her spinning eyes before that something began pulling her across the street! She looked back but, to her fear, there was nopony there!

It was The Invisible Pony! The Invisible Pony was kidnapping her!

"HEEEEELP!!" She screamed in fright as she was dragged toward one of the houses, leaving long groves where she tried to grab at the dirt. "I don't wanna be molesteeeed!"

"Derpy! Get down and be quiet!" A familiar voice hissed between its teeth as she was yanked into the front door, landing in the main hall on her back as the door slammed shut. The golden glow around her tail faded as she was suddenly jumped by a unicorn, who pinned her to the floor and covered her mouth.

"For Celestia's sake, Lyra!" Another familiar voice shouted before 'Lyra' was shoved off of her. "Get off of her before you smother her to death!"

Derpy sat up in confusion, finding herself surrounded by numerous ponies huddled up inside; Lyra was wrestling angrily with her assaulter, a beige earth pony with a pink and blue mane, while everypony else were huddled together or peaking around the edges of windows. Many of the ponies here she recognized: there was Lyra, Bonbon, Berry Punch, Colgate, Sea Swirl, Carrot Top, even her second daughter Amethyst.

"Derpy! Thank goodness!" Carrot Top exclaimed as she pulled the confused pegasus in a tight hug, squeezing her until her eyeballs spun. "We thought you were a goner!"

"Mmmmmm..." Derpy moaned, her snout buried in Carrot Top's chest fluff. "Mmmwaff mmoming mon?"

Carrot Top released her grip slightly, looking down at her in disbelief. "Where have you been? The entire town's in hiding and you're out delivering the mail?!"

A lightbulb clicked in Derpy's head. "Ohhhhh! So that's why nopony's outside! Who are we hiding from?"

The other ponies started at her as if she had grown a second head...well, more so than usual.

"...are you kidding me!" A ruffled-up Lyra shouted. "You mean you don't know what's going on?! Half of Ponyville was destroyed in that armageddon-ish storm and you slept through the whole thing?!"

"I went to bed early-"

"Why can't I sleep that hard?!"

"Lyra!" Bonbon snapped, bonking the unicorn over the head with her hoof. "For Celestia's sake..."

"Celestia had abandoned us!" One of the ponies, Daisy, shouted in fear; one of the flower trio, who were all huddled under the dining room table. "We're all gonna die while she does nothing!"

"We're doomed! Doomed, I tell you!" Roseluck sobbed in a comical way.

"We're all gonna be violated!" Lily screamed.

A magenta-colored hoof bonked all three of them over the heads. "Would you three shut up?!" Berry Punch hissed as they all whimpered. "She's gonna find us at this rate!"

"Who's gonna find us?" Derpy asked, still tucked in Carrot's Top grip.

"The...T-The Priestess." Sea Swirl whimpered, tucking herself into a ball.

"She came in just the other night, from Sugarcube Corner." Colgate whispered, peeking out the window. "Said a dragon was coming to Ponyville today, and she's been preparing for it."

The gray pegasus paled, her eyes straightening out for a brief moment. "A D-D-Dragon?!" She squeaked, she and Carrot Top shivering violently.

"Her eyes are like balls of fire!" The unicorn continued, eyes her full of dread. "Her m-mane a mass of t-t-tentacles, and her h-hooves forged from the s-steel of t-t-tartarus itself! The s-skull of the p-princess covers her f-face like a m-m-mask, and a s-staff made from the t-torn-out s-s-skull and s-s-spine of a Draconequus w-w-wields the p-power of the d-dragons to her very whim! She's come to welcome the dragon to our town! To welcome the apocalypse upon all of Equestria!

"And to do that, she needs...n-n-needs...t-!"

*BANG!!*

The door to the house was slammed open with a loud crash, the wind from outside blowing forth in a strangely sinister and frightful manner for a perfectly sunny day. The light of said sunny day silhouetted the form of a hooded figure wrapped in a dark yet strangely sparkly cape that billowed in the wind of a perfectly still day, a staff held to the side with one hoof; her face was concealed by a mask, yes, from which two bright baby-blue eyes could be seen giddily staring at them, locks of pink mane poking out from said hood and hanging over the candied top of the mask.

She pointed her evil staff at them with the horrifying, demonic sound of a squeaky toy, and with but one sentence, made all of Ponyville scream in absolute terror.

"I have come for your Virginity!"

Derpy screamed alongside the others; looks like she was going to be molested, after all.

Outside of the now-panicking Ponyville, Spyro finally emerged from the edge of the Everfree Forest and into the open plains in a quick bound. His paws touched down in grassy ground as he finally got the chance to spread his wings and stretch his spine to full length.

A deep thrum of satisfaction rumbled from his throat as he stretched his body and wings out like a cat or dog would when waking up, his joints cracking their kinks loose...finally; he thought he was never going to see the end of that wretched forest! It was good to finally feel the sun on his scales, and to finally stretch his wings out! For the first time since arriving here, he mentally realized. Already he could feel the heat of morning seeping into the membrane of his wings, flowing through his veins into his already toasty bod-

"HOOOOOOOT!!" A certain unicorn suddenly squealed; with a burst of magic, Twilight disappeared off his head and reappeared a few yards in front of him, doing a silly little tippy-toe dance to put out the smoke rising from her underside. "Hothothothothothot!!"

Damn; he forgot she was there. Oh well...

Spyro snorted in amusement before turning his sights up to behold the landscape before him. With the forest behind him, the open plains and grassy hills rolled on for miles, covering the landscape in a warm green and a rainbow of colorful flowers. Lining the sides of the horizon were large mountains, the ones on the right being the larger and more expanded ranges of the two; and sitting in the middle of the field, with the opening between these two mountains directly behind it, was a decently-sized village of straw-roofed houses and numerous larger and more unique buildings. The most notable of these buildings were a large, three-story tower in the center of town, a giant gingerbread house, a fancy boutique that resembled a carousel, and a tree that had been carved out into a library. The entire town and land before him, even the very sky, was so bright, so overly clean and colorful...sickeningly so.

Still, it held a sort of calm innocence and joy that the young dovah could appreciate, if only because it meant these 'ponies' were a young race; one that had not been exposed to the darkness of the universe, both supernatural and moral, and therefore could be led to grow away from both in the future.

Or at least this town was.

Spyro looked upwards toward the horizon, spotting something in the mountains that caught his interest: on the side of one mountain was what he first mistook for a large castle, but the sheer size, number of towers, and expansion along the edges of the mountain's cliffsides revealed it to be a city...a large, gaudy, and overly-proud and pompous city, every bit as overly and wrongly clean and 'pure' as the world beneath it. He could literally smell the stink of pride, greed, and delusional power poisoning the very air for over a hundred miles; it was a downright miracle this little town was unaffected.

His eyes narrowed into a dark, hateful glare as his lips curled back with an deep, predatory growl...one that purred with anticipation.

So big...so wealthy...so corrupted...

He would enjoy burning it to the ground.

And for a city on the side of a mountain, that would be a long way down.

But that would have to wait, along with a few other things. He could also smell the baked goods and fruit punch from here; the 'Pinkie' one had a celebration prepared and awaiting in his honor, and he was still hungry. So he grabbed Twilight's tail in his mouth and lifted her up, causing her to squeak in surprise; snorting again in amusement, the purple dovah headed toward the town he would come to call home soon enough.

It was all perfect...it had to be perfect.

If it wasn't perfect, the town would perish...but that was silly, 'cause this was perfect!

It had to be perfect!

Though something told Rarity that it wasn't, no matter what.

This was the one time where Twilight's lust of organization would've been perfect to have...but the one time it was, and she was not here. So they had to settle for Rarity's unhealthy obsession for perfection.

'Nice to know my purpose to the town is a pathetic Plan B.' Rarity grumbled to herself as she stood in the middle of town square, overseeing the last touches of preparation as she fumbled with the large list that trailed behind her.

Pinkie Pie had truly, and she meant truly, outdone herself this time; the average Nightmare Night and even Hearth's Warming Eve festivals paled in comparison to what could only be described as its very own holiday. Streamers, food tables, balloons, food stands, bounce-houses, and even a Ferris wheel had been erected to make this a spectacle to behold. Rarity also noticed that everything this time around was especially dragon-themed, in honor of their soon-to-be arrival...and possible overlord: the cookies were shaped like little dragons, with purple and orange icing. The balloons were all clustered in the according colors of purple, indigo, yellow, and orange, matching Spyro's colors perfectly. Paintings and paper cutouts of dragons doing different things, like breathing fire or hoarding treasure, were everywhere; on the stalls, the tablecloths, the balloons, and just about anywhere she could stick a paintbrush. And finally, she even went to make a large, makeshift altar in front of Town Hall (made out of wooden crates organized in a altar-like shape with gray blankets spread over them, said blankets painted to have ancient runes and symbols lining the edges), on which sat a truly enormous plate and dish lid; Faust knows what was awaiting the dragon's stomach underneath it.

"Hiya, Rarity!"

'Speak of the little pink devil.' Rarity thought to herself. She had seen her wear some silly things from time to time, but like the party, Pinkie's current outfit took the cake: A long, wavy, bright-pink cape with yellow candy wrapper tassels dragged behind her, with a matching turban-like hood tucked around her head, allowing the front of her mane to squeeze out over the smiling skull-shaped mask that she had currently pushed up to her forehead to show her face. Her upper body and forelimbs were dressed in robes that matched her cape, cookie-style plating serving as shoulder and upper arm armor, and in one hoof she gripped a tall, streamer-wrapped staff with a goofy-looking dragon-shaped skull on top, googly eyes sticking in opposite directions.

It took all of Rarity's willpower to keep herself from pinning the earth pony down and ripping that monstrosity clean off her body.

It took her another moment to realize just how dirty that sounded.

"Ooooh, I'm so nervoscited!" Pinkie Pie squealed as she bounced to a stop next to Rarity. "I could barely sleep last night, so I went on a planning spree to make this the bestest best celebration a dragon could enjoy!" She whipped out a long list from within her cape, which promptly rolled a good fifty feet in front of both ponies as she read the top. "Okay, we've got all the essentials down, checked over, re-checked over again, and given a complete overhaul for good measure, from cookies to creampuffs! All we're missing is the big ol' New Overlord Conqueror of Equestria himself!"

Rarity frowned. "Don't you think that's going a bit overboard? Yes, we're all in a tight pickle here, but really? Overlord Conqueror of Equestria?"

"Well, duh!" Pinkie exclaimed, looking at Rarity like she was an idiot. "Didn't you read that mysterious mystery book Twilight found? 'Something very important is about to happen near you, something that will forever change the very face and future of Equestria'? If a giant, super-powerful dragon brought in from another world by the elements of harmony themselves isn't important or face-changing, sister, I don't know what is!"

"Well, that I can understand, but what makes you think he's going to take over Equestria?" Rarity continued.

"Because he's a dragon? Duuuuh!" Pinkie rolled; seriously, how oblivious could Rarity be?! "That what they do! It's like their trade-mark thing!"

Rarity humphed haughtily, giving her curls a bounce with her hoof. "I thought their trademark thing was steal treasure, breathe fire, and be absolute brutes." She quipped deadpanningly. "That's certainly all I've seen them be-"

She was cut off when Pinkie beaned her over the head with her staff, with the sound of a squeaky-toy combined with a *bonk!*.

"OUCH!"

"That attitude there is exactly why I've had to make this party extra big and extra special!" Pinkie snapped irritably, jabbing her staff toward the cringing unicorn, who was currently gripping her head with her hooves. "I can't believe you girls: Spyro came here to help us ponies out of the niceness of his heart, and all you guys do is be mean to him!"

Rarity looked as if Pinkie had insulted her and her ancestors. "Excuse me?! I'm the one being mean?!" She all but shrieked. "Do you even remember what happened last night! He almost killed us!"

Pinkie, however, would not back down; she wasn't going to let Rarity or anypony else be mean to her new friend anymore. "Because you girls were mean to him first!" She snapped. "Twilight and I were getting along with him just fine, until you guys showed up, tried to kick him in the face, and stare him down like some dumb puppy for no other reason than he was bigger and scarier-looking than you!"

From within her hiding place in Carousel Boutique, Fluttershy suddenly felt the urge to reprimand somepony for being mean to puppies.

"I will not be put in the wrong here, Pinkie!" Rarity shouted angrily, jabbing an angry hoof at a glaring Pinkie; never before had she been so insulted! How dare she put that animal above her in this argument! How dare she?! "He's the dragon! He's the monster here! All of this chaos and destruction here is his fault, not mine! I only responded as any sensible pony would! I'm not the bad one here! He is!"

"You really *don't know when to keep your mouth shut, do you?"*

Rarity could feel the blood drain from her face and limbs as her heart locked in dread; Pinkie, however, look past Rarity and her face lit up with a happy gasp brighter than a thousand suns. A collective gasp of fear sounded throughout the main square as all the ponies gathered around town hall or working on the decorations stopped what they were doing and, as a whole, turned to stare in absolute fear, wonder, and dread.

The unicorn swallowed nervously before turning around to meet her fate...and the nose of her fellow unicorn, which booped against hers as the owner hung upside down by her tail.

"Hi." Was Twilight's only reply.

It did little to comfort the fiery, powerful glare of the dragon towering over the town as a whole, boring a cold yet blazing fury into her very soul. A powerful and angry growl suddenly drummed forth from behind his bared teeth, thundering through the very sky and earth and shaking the town like an earthquake.

All of it directed at the offending unicorn.

Rarity's eyes rolled back into her skull before she flopped over on her side in a dead faint...right into a muddy puddle with a sloppy splash, to which Spyro snorted in satisfaction before he gently lowered Twilight down to the ground, releasing her tail from his mouth; the unicorn gave an 'oof' as she rolled over onto her back, looking a bit puzzled.

"You came, you came, you came!" Pinkie Pie squealed with joy, bouncing up and down excitedly to Twilight and scooping her up in a hug, to which Twilight returned tightly. "I'm so glad you're safe, and that you came!" She said as she let go of the purple pony and turned to the purple dragon, wrapping her forelegs around his paw and pulling it, prompting him to follow her. "I've got a great party planned just for you; I'm gonna make you feel right at home here in Ponyville!"

As Pinkie led Spyro through main square, Twilight was alerted by a familiar voice calling her name.

"Twilight!"

She whirled around at the voice to see Spike running toward her as fast as his stumpy legs could carry him. A powerful rush of relief and joy filled her heart, and the first tears of happiness that day had to offer pricked at her eyes.

"Spike!" She cried in pure relief, arms opening out just in time to catch him in them as he promptly tackle-hugged her. The force of the impact sent both of them toppling over, but Twilight couldn't care less; she laid on her back with her baby dragon hugged tightly against her, letting her final batch of tears of this day run down her cheeks in bliss and release.

She was back home.

The nightmare was over.

And never before was she so glad to be back in Ponyville.

"Is that him?"

The relief filling her body lessened greatly at those three words; Spike was watching the much larger and stronger dragon past her shoulder with a mix of wonder and wariness. She loosened her hug slightly and followed his gaze with her own; even as Pinkie led him to the makeshift altar, the very earth trembled in fear and respect under the footfalls of the mighty beast. And for a brief second, those fiery reptilian eyes met theirs in a sideways glance as he looked back at them, before turning away to follow the pink mare toward town hall, where Mayor Mare was nervously awaiting and ready for him.

"Honored guest!" The mayor began, breaking the silence. "As the mayor of Ponyville, It is my honor to welcome you to our humble village! We have announced the day of your arrival to be a day of celebration and hope that you enjoy your stay in this fair town! While here, Twilight Sparkle, the personal student of Princess Celestia, will tend to your needs and Lyra Heartstrings, our local bard, will welcome you in the traditional music and story-telling style. Now, I will give the stage to her. Have a wonderful stay and please enjoy yourself."

A mint-green unicorn levitated her harp in front of herself and took center stage; she was just about to start, when Spyro suddenly intervened.

"So..." He started with a cold voice, the very space around him darkening and trembling under his power. "You think that you can appease me with this obvious attempt to make me feel special? Fly in the best celebrity you find, turn my arrival into a carnival and tell everyone to have a good time, just so I am more inclined to behave? This is a very obvious and manipulative attempt to get on my good side, I have to say..."

With the last syllable and a loud SHING, he held up his right paw and extended the claws to full length.

The word silence does not even begin to describe what followed. It was as if the air simply refused to carry sound. There was no wind, no insects, nothing.

Twilight didn't feel the eyes of every pony around her burning into her body, and even if she had felt them, she wouldn't have cared. She felt her body dying of fear; she couldn't hear her heart beat, her lungs didn't fill themselves, and she was sure that her neural system was shutting down as well.

And it was wonderful! She could experience death in the way every scientist wished they could: completely aware and thinking! She would leave this world with knowledge that was in no book! Happily, she accepted the embrace of the pale horse.

Meanwhile, Spyro slowly lowered himself into a prone position and extended his arm toward a stand of apple-based treats. Coldly, he ignored the trembling mare tending the stand as he stabbed a caramel apple, before leaning back and popping it into his mouth. It disappeared in his jaws and left a grin on his face.

"Excellent! It's about time you mortals started doing your homework! You may continue to stroke my ego!" he said with satisfaction.

The entirety of Ponyville exhaled in relief, Twilight felt life returning to her flesh, and in Carousel Boutique, Fluttershy's animal friends were able to CPR their caretaker back into this world.

"Spike..." Twilight told her assistant. "...take a letter."

The nightmare was over, but the adventure had just begun!