The Crystal Emperor

by Ekhidna

Rating: everyone
Tags: Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Sad, Spike, Tragedy
Length: 3079

When all you love is lost, what is left to do? Do you move on? Do you despair? Do you endure? Spike found an answer.

"Despite his ferocious appearance, Emperor Spike is a kind and fair ruler."

"Our Lord may be a dragon, but he united us under a single banner and protect us from harm."

"You can only rule with either fear or love, he took the hard way and chose to rule with love."

Spike, The Crystal Emperor, is loved and respected by all his subjects, rightfully so. But what drove him to become what he is today?

*If you are feeling generous you can buy me a Ko-Fi!!

*Short One-Shot*
**Cover Art doesn't belong to me but I had the permission to use it, go visit the creator and the artist that color it**

Published 2014-10-03 00:40:01 UTC
Last updated 2014-11-10 03:09:49 UTC

One-Shot (Expanded)

Do to a large number of requests I decided to expand this one-shot just a little bit, enjoy and I hope all of you like it!

“Good morning, Lord Spike, and happy birthday!” a pegasus maid said happily.

“Why thank you and good morning to you, too.” Spike said sweetly waving his claw at the maid.

“Are you heading out for your daily walk, your majesty?” a unicorn guard asked near the entrance of the castle.

“Of course. I have a very important meeting later today and I need to clear my head, at least for a few minutes.” Spike said as the guard whistled making two other guard walk next to him. Spike sighed. “This again. I can take care of myself, you know?”

“I know, sir. But it’s our duty and honor to protect you from any and all kinds of dangers, no matter how dangerous or insignificant they may be.” the unicorn guard said proudly.

Spike kept his gaze upon the guard for a few seconds before smiling widely. “I know.” Spike said with an almost tangible sadness. Before the guard could say anything else Spike walked out of the castle with his two guards right next to him.

Spike was greeted by the warm rays of the sun, looking up he saw said celestial body directly and hummed thoughtfully. Rising up his right claw, a golden shimmer enveloping it, he pointed it to the sun for a second or two. The shimmering stopped and he smiled again, nodding as if approving something.

“Is everything alright, sir?” one of his guards asked.

“Mmm? Ah, yes, sorry. It seems I didn’t use enough force to rise the sun completely this morning. I just gave it enough juice to keep moving until dusk.” Spike said nonchalantly retaking his walk.

The guards didn’t say anything but nodded nonetheless. For little over an hour the daily walk went mostly uninterrupted, except for the briefs salutes and congratulations from the citizens to their Lord. The daily walk of their Lord was something of a mystery to, well, everypony actually. He didn’t had a route for each day, he would just walk through streets and enter shops of any kind almost aimlessly. But every one of his guards and subjects knew the only two things that were a constant on his walks.

His attentive personality to all his subjects, often helping them with their mundane tasks or helping an old mare cross the street, nothing was too small or too insignificant for their Lord.

The other was that he would always visit the city's central plaza. The place they were entering now.

As Spike and his guards walked into the plaza they were greeted by even more ponies and the occasional griffon, zebra or donkey, in honor of his birthday. Spike suddenly stopped as a group of fifteen or so fillies and colts blocked his path.

“Happy birthday, Lord Spike!” the foals said in cheerful unison as a larger group of ponies, certainly their parents, smiled at the dragon.

“What a nice surprise!” the dragon said full with glee. “Even the most little of my subjects come to wish me a happy birthday, how cute!”

“I’m not little.” murmured an earth pony colt making the rest of his friends, and Spike, laugh a bit. “I’m not! I’m a big colt now!” said the blushing colt.

“I suppose you are!” Spike said kneeling only to grab the colt with one of his hands, bringing him up to his eye level. “But to me, you are little. My little pony.” the dragon smiled broadly as the colt crossed his forelegs and huffed in annoyance. The foals and their parents laughed as Spike dropped the colt to the ground gently. “But it’s not so bad to be little, I should know, I was little once, too.”

The foals giggled and snorted for a few seconds making the dragon curious. Then, a blue coat and yellow curled mane unicorn filly used her magic to bring up a folded paper above them.

“We made a you a birthday present, Lord Spike!” the filly said as she and the rest of her friends sat on their haunches, eager to see the expression of the dragon.

“Is that so? Well, let’s see what it is.” Spike said taking the folded paper in between his hands, never losing his smile.

Opening the folded paper his smile vanished as soon as his eyes saw its contents. The world around him faded away and everything turned to white.

“But why!? Why must it be you!?” Spike shouted as rivers of tears ran down his eyes.

“Please Spike, try to understand.” Twilight said softly to her number one assistant.

“I do, I understand! But why it has to be you!?” Spike roared at her big sister figure floating in the air just a little above him, the rest of the Element Bearers around her. “I….I don’t want to be alone…..I don’t want to see you all die!”

“Spike,” the tender motherly voice of Celestia called him at his side. Spike turned his head to see the sun goddess in a similar position as Twilight and the rest of the girls, only difference was that only Luna was at her side. “I know you’re afraid, we all are, but we need you to be strong for all of us.” Celestia leaned down to kiss his cheek softly.

“M-mom.” Spike said through his sobs.

“Our sacrifice will ensure the existence of not only Equestria and the Crystal Empire, but the world as well.” Shining Armor said at his other side. “Cheer up lil’ bro, we’ll be watching you from the gardens of heaven.”

“And you won’t be alone, Spike, the Crystal Empire will always welcome you.” Cadance said at her husband’s side.

“As will Equestria, young Spike.” Luna said.

Spike sniffled as more tears ran down his face. “W-why can’t I die with you? Why must I be left behind now!?”

“Oh for goodness sake!” Discord called from behind him. “Can we get this over with and leave the mushy stuff already? I have an entire afterlife to live for.” Everypony glared at him except from Fluttershy who only sighed. Discord smiled ignoring them. “Besides kid, someone has to tell our tale.” he said petting his head a couple of times.

“B-but--”

“They’re coming!” Rainbow shouted making everyone turn to face the ice demons heading their way. “And they look very, very pissed!”

“Get ready girls!” Twilight called to them.

“No……” Spike whispered in horror.

“Ready!” the five mares said in unison.

“Please don’t.” he begged.

“Princesses?” Twilight asked as she closed her eyes.

“Ready.” both sisters replied.

“Don’t leave me, please!” he pleaded.

“B.B.B.F.F.?”

“Whenever you are, Twily.” Shining said as both him and Cadance united their horn tips.

“Take me with you!” he implored.

“Discord?”

“As ready as I can be, my dear.” Discord said smiling maniacally. “Let’s teach those Windigoes who is uncle!”

Twilight looked back at the dragon and shed a tear. “We love you, Spike.”

Spike was about to shout something when the combined powers of the Elements of Harmony, the Royal Pony Sisters, the Crystal Heart and Discord shot up to the skies dragging their owners with them before exploding in a beautiful and blinding colorful light show. Then, a massive ball of energy shot itself against the hordes of Windigoes in the distance.

Spike opened his eyes just in time to see the massive ball of energy smite the ice demons creating a gargantuan explosion. The shockwave came first throwing him off balance. A couple of seconds later the sound of the explosion and the unworldly wails of agony of the Windigoes echoed around him, a few seconds later strong winds hit him almost sending him flying backwards.

Sounds of stone and ice hitting the ground all around him were the only thing that could be heard, but for the dragon everything was silent, he forced his eyes to stay open to watch the destruction the explosion had done. Taking a few steps forward he saw that, as hoped, the Windigoes were no more, Equis was finally safe from the Windigo threat forever.

Tears filled his eyes again as he fell to his knees. He had trained so hard, tired of being useless, becoming a powerhouse on his own right, finally fighting alongside his dear friends against the evils of the world. Until they returned, wanting to turn the whole world into ice. The Windigoes were gone once and for all. But so were his friends, his family and those he loved and cared for, now only he remained. Truly alone for the first time in his life. The dragon fell to the ground completely and wailed until he lost consciousness.

“..ir, Sir? Is everything alright?” a concerned voice said.

“Huh?” Spike turned his head to face the owner of that voice, one of his guards. His brain soon reminded him where he was and looked forward, finding several colts and fillies sitting in front of him, all of them looking at him nervously or worriedly.

“S-sorry.” the little blue coat and yellow curled mane filly directly in front of him blurted out.

Spike looked down to where his hands were and found a drawing where he was barely out of his baby form. Around him in the drawing were all those he lost that fateful day years ago smiling and happy. A smile appeared on his lips as he used one of his hands to clean away the tears falling from his eyes. “Don’t be, little one. You’ve done nothing wrong.” Spike kneeled to pet the filly a few times, reassuring her he wasn’t mad and everything was okay. “Thank you, all of you. This is the best birthday present I’ve received in years.” Spike got up towering over everypony present, if he remembered correctly he was a head taller than princess Celestia.

His blue crystal armor and crown shining brightly against the rays of the sun. The big purple star at the center of his chestplate giving away a dim but beautiful contrast to the rest of his armor. That combined with his claws, spines, stature and shimmering scales only served to give him an air of power and might that made his enemies cower.

The colts and fillies smiled in pride at the complement of the dragon. “You should be very proud of your sons and daughters.” Spike said to the crowd of ponies behind the foals. “Thank you all, again.” the dragon smiled a toothy grin before turning around and walk towards the castle as cheers and ‘thank you’s’ erupted behind him.

Once he and his guards were a good fifty hooves away from the crowd a guard spoke. “Sir, if you don’t mind me asking. What happened back there?”

Spike didn’t answer for few seconds, without looking at the guard he answered. “Just memories, private. Good and bad.” he looked down to the drawing making his smile disappear. “You can go back to the barracks and have the rest of the day off.”

“But sire, we must guard and protect you at all moments.” the other guard said.

“It’s alright, I’m heading back to the castle anyways. Here,” he said tossing a small bag of bits to them, one of his guards catching it with his magic. “have a drink or two on me.” Spike smiled down at the guards who looked unsure what to do but eventually saluted and walked away.

As he walked several of his subjects bowed before him and wished him a happy birthday, some of the younger and bolder ones waved at him, he in turn waved back. A few foals were brave enough to approach him and congratulate him in person. It made him laugh and smile how cute and honest foals could be.

Arriving at his castle the gates blocking the entrance magically opened for him to enter. Making his way to the throne room he ignored most of the guards he passed by, until he reached his destination.

“Ah, my Lord, it’s good to see you.” a yellow unicorn mare with blue mane wearing glasses said. “You’re a bit early this day, your appointment with lord Iron Fist is due in another twenty minutes. He should be arriving any moment now”

“I know Swift Write, thank you. Make sure everything is pleasing to our visitor.” Spike pushed a door to the throne room open. “I’ll be here if anypony needs me.” he said as the mare bowed and turned around.

Spike step inside his brilliant and spotless throne room, closing the gate behind him he took off his crown careful not to damage the piece of paper in his right hand. He sighed before looking up to his throne, beside it at either side stood a stain glass. The left one showing Cadance and Shining Armor with the Crystal Heart below them. The right one showing princess Twilight in the center of it her cutie mark in the background and five colorful circles showing each a different face. Orange for Applejack. Pink for Pinkie Pie. Purple for Rarity. Yellow for Fluttershy. Blue for Rainbow Dash.

Stepping closer he looked up to see above his throne another two stain glasses. The one directly above him showing a very smiling Discord with upside-down cotton candy clouds and chocolate rain in the background. And finally above it a stain glass divided in two parts. The upper part was yellow with a big sun on the very top of it, inside it the image of princess Celestia was showed. The bottom part was dark blue with a big moon on the very bottom of it, inside it,much like the sun above, the image of princess Luna was showed.

Arriving at the throne he put down the crown alongside the drawing and smiled up to the stan glasses. “A group of foals surprised me today during my daily walk, you know? For my birthday you see. They draw me a truly amazing recreation of the painting in the great museum.” silence met him.

“It made me cry for the first time in, ten years I think. But that’s not really important,” he chuckled. “or at least I think it isn’t. It made me remember you guys, that what’s important.” silent met him again. “I miss you, so damn much it hurts the same as six hundred years ago. I don’t think it will ever stop to hurt. Good, it means I’ll never forget any of you.” tears formed in the corner of his eyes.

“But…..are you guys proud me of me? Are you seeing me from the gardens of heaven? I know I say this every time I break, but......” a moment of silence followed. “You should’ve seen how devastated everypony was when I returned a week later. Scootaloo never forgave me for not trying to save you, you know Rainbow Dash? Don’t be harsh to her up there.”

“Mom, aunt Luna, Cadance. Was it the right choice to unite Equestria and The Crystal Empire into one nation? Am I a tyrant for turning them into the Equestrian Empire?” silence answered him again. “I've tried to follow in your hoofsteps, even after…..after linking myself with the sun and the moon I still can’t control them properly, it’s way harder than I thought.” Spike looked up to the stain glass of Discord and smiled. “You must be laughing your tail off right now for that little gift, huh, Discord? You were always too smart for your own good.”

Spike fell to his crystal armored knees as he covered his face with his claws. “Y-you should’ve seen ‘em, all of your subjects desperate to find a way to locate you or bring you back to life, crying for months to end, some of them blaming me for your deaths, by Faust, I wanted to die right then. But in the end they turned to me for guidance, I-I still don’t understand why they did. Was it because I told them the tale of your last stand and sacrifice? Was it because they were desperate? Or maybe they just took pity on me?” silence offered him a cold shoulder to cry on.

“But how could I say no when I saw th-their eyes? Their sadness was even greater than mine, saying no would mean turning into a monster. So I did and still do my best to rule as you did, as all you did, but I know I’m not nearly as good as any of you.” he put his hands against the armrest of his throne, freeing his face. “At least I managed to make sure your deeds will never be forgotten and stay true, that my subjects don’t owe their lives to me, but to all of you. I’m just sitting in this throne until your rightful heir appears.” silence whispered. “Are you proud of me?”

Silence meet him one last time before he got up grabbing his crown and putting it back on, he grabbed the drawing and sat on his throne wiping away the remains of his tears. Opening up the drawing again he smiled as he saw the masterpiece only foals could be able to create. “I love you all, I miss you.” he said as he stared at the drawing for several minutes until he heard the gates opening. Putting the drawing aside he regained his composure and frowned a little to put a serious expression.

Swift Write walked in followed by several guards and what appeared to be a reporter or journalist. His personal assistant nodded and the reporter approached using one of his wings to support a camera. Once he was in front of him the reporter bowed.

“My Emperor, may I take a photo of you to commemorate your birthday and for use in our newspaper tomorrow?”

Spike nodded. “Be quick, please. I have an important meeting in a few minutes.”

The reporter smiled and held the camera up. “Smile for the camera!”

The End.

Author's Note

Thank to everyone who read this!

I know I have some other projects going on and I am sorry for my lack of updates but rest assure, I will update soon now that I'm free. Thanks for reading again!

Slight expansion

As stated, just a small expansion at the beginning of the story, just to make it a bit more complete.