Blood Ties

Chapters

Strange Figure
A Story to be Told
Reluctance and The Passion of Days Past
The Journal
The Journal: Part 2
The Whole Truth
Spike
Stalking the Truth
The Other Journal
Behind the Scales is a Broken Heart
Old Friends, New Friends
A Dragon's Journey Home
Phoenix Pony
The Outpost
The Villain of the Story
Blood Ties

Strange Figure

The hour was half-passed six on a warm spring afternoon. The sky was clear and the ponies of Ponyville were leaving work, hanging out with friends, shopping for dinner, going out on dates, or finishing up their day by talking with their five best friends and dragon companion while sitting around a large table/magical map of all Equestria.

"So what's new at the boutique?" asked the princess. The four other ponies present also turned and faced Rarity.

"Well, I've received a new order from a very promising client living in Hoofington. I knew my newest design would bring some new interests, but I had no idea that ponies had heard of my humble shop from such a distance away!"

"How many dresses do you have to make?" asked Fluttershy.

"Well that is just the thing. This one client is asking for two weeks' worth of dresses, but I only have four days to make them all."

Rainbow Dash casually waved her hoof, "So what, you've taken on bigger projects than that. I bet you'll finish with time to spare."

"Well normally I would agree, but this latest design is particularly detailed and must be prepared with extreme caution and attention."

"Do you need any help?" offered Fluttershy with a smile.

"Oh no no no. I knew what I was getting into when I started the boutique. I cannot burden my friends with my responsibilities," she turned back to Twilight, "What about you, dear? Any friendship disasters in need of remedy?"

"[sigh] Nope, everything is quiet."

Pinkie Pie turned her head sideways much like a confused dog would, "What's wrong?"

"Well to be honest things have begun to get a little dull around here. The map," she said pointing, "hasn't called any of us in a while and I guess I'm just starting to get a little bored."

Pinkie grinned, "That's easy! We'll just have to do something super exciting and amazing."

"Like what?"

Spike jumped up on his mini-throne next to Twilight, "I've got it! We could- [ggrrrrrrrr]"

The ponies all raised an eyebrow, "Uh Spike, was that your stomach?" asked Twilight.

"I uh...I- [burrrp]" Spike's mouth spat fire and threw out a scroll. The ponies watched as the sealed paper flew from the dragon and onto the table.

"Huh, looks like ya got yer wish, Twi," chuckled AJ. Twilight lit up her horn and unsealed the letter with a smile on her face. As she read her eyes began to move faster and faster, eventually her smile faded and when she was done she was in a sweat.

The rest of the mane six and Spike straightened their faces. "Everything okay?" asked Dash.

She stared at the page. The other ponies glanced at one another.

"Ahem," grunted AJ.

Twilight slammed the scroll down on the table, "We have to get to Canterlot now!"

Rarity stood up from her throne, "Darling, calm down. Whatever it is-" before she could finish Twilight lit up her horn again and surrounded everypony in a large orb of magic. Then, before anypony knew what was happening, POOF.

The next thing they knew, the ponies and dragon were standing outside the throne room in Canterlot castle. "Everypony here? Good, let's go!"

"Wait, wait, hold on. Go where? What're we doing here, Twilight?" asked Dash.

Twilight quickly ran and burst through the doors of Celestia's throne room. "That is what we're doing here," she pointed.

The ponies looked in and gasped. Celestia was in mid-air, locked in a magical duel with a hooded figure. The princess of the day was sweating and losing her edge. The ponies looked to the ground; Luna was trapped in a large cage of blue magic, laying on her side unconscious. Spike retreated back into the hall. He glanced around to find the castle guards subdued on the ground in a dark corner, their eyes shut. The mane six burst into action: Dash zoomed forward while Fluttershy headed to Luna's aid. Twilight shot beams at the assailant while Rarity tried to counter the magic of Luna's cage. Applejack sprinted towards the enemy while Pinkie Pie tried to dig a tunnel under Luna to allow her to escape, she was after all an expert at breaking through rocks much like the rest of her family.

The ponies charged forward; the stranger let go of his lock with Celestia and jumped out of the way of the yellow magic. Dash missed her attempt to tackle the assailant and flew back around for another go, Twilight continued to shoot at the pony, and Applejack gained ground on him. The pony fired back at Twilight, sending her on the defensive with quick miniature force fields blocking his strikes. Celestia landed and collapsed out of exhaustion. Dash and AJ were right on top of the stranger, but before they could get to him he shot a large beam of magic at Twilight, giving him the opening he needed to create a shield around himself. Dash slammed against the magic and AJ turned to buck the bubble with all of her might.

The shield glowed brighter and burst outwards, sending the Pegasus and earthpony back. The shield was gone and Twilight had regained her balance, she seized the opportunity. She zoomed forward and fired several shots in quick succession. The pony used his glowing horn to block as many shots as he could, but Twilight was faster than he. Eventually a shot broke through his defense and blasted his shoulder, flinging him back. He let out a squeal and clutched the blackened, smoking wound. Twilight, Dash, and Applejack ran forward. The three of them jumped at the attacker all at once, but he lit up his horn and poofed out of harm's way. The ponies missed and looked behind. The hooded pony fired off more magical shots, limping toward the door. The friends were busy dodging and they couldn't advance.

The attacker was almost out the door when a sudden cloud of yellow magic erupted in the doorway and Celestia appeared to block her attacker's escape. He tried to jump out of the way but was too slow, Celestia shot a beam of magic and knocked the assailant on the ground; he stayed down and remained still. The magic around Luna disappeared and she soon woke up. The panting ponies surrounded the stranger and Twilight tore his hooded cloak from his body, finally revealing his face.

He was a large stallion unicorn; brown with a silver mane and a small scar running up his snout. "Who is he?" asked Fluttershy.

"Yeah, and why was he trying to kill us?" added Dash.

Celestia tried to catch her breath, "He...is somepony I had known....a long time ago...Come," she gestured, "bring him to the dungeons under the castle." Twilight lit up her horn and levitated the strange pony above her head as she followed Celestia.

Pinkie shot up her head, "Wait, this place has a dungeon!"

As they walked, Luna limped her way up to her sister. Twilight saw the two begin to whisper something, Luna turned and glanced toward Spike who had rejoined the group. The princess of friendship stopped walking, "Okay, what's going on? Who is this?"

The other ponies stopped as well. Luna and Celestia looked at one another and sighed. "His name is Lennox," began Celestia, "and many years ago he betrayed Equestria and tried to take the throne."

Luna spoke up, almost seeming to attempt to cut her sister off, "We managed to banish him to the pits of Tartarus, but it seems we underestimated his capabilities, our cage was inadequate."

"But if that is true, and you two faced him together, he would have to be over one thousand years old. He hardly looks any older than us." asked Rarity.

"Time works differently in Tartarus, even we do not truly understand such a place."

"What does he want? Is he still after power?" Twilight asked.

Luna looked down and paused. Celestia answered for her, "I can't think of anything else he would be after. Now we must hurry, before he wakes up!" Twilight hesitated, glancing up at her captive with a raised brow. She turned to Spike and scratched her chin, but eventually followed along. The rest of the ponies nodded and continued to the dungeons.

The ponies trotted further down to the lower levels of the castle. Soon enough the maintained and pristine state of the rest of the castle disappeared and the walls became bare rock. The ponies slowed their pace and continuously glanced around at the walls as if they were closing in on them. Celestia and Luna walked on with no signs of discomfort or hesitation. Eventually the rock walls led to a stair case down which ended at an old wooden door with black iron locks. "We're here," said Luna.

She lit up her horn and the door glowed with magic as it creaked open. On the other side was a never-ending darkness which filled the room in front of everypony, the size of which no pony could guess. Celestia slowly walked in and sent a large orb of light through the darkness, eliminating the shadows. Once the room was in sight the ponies could clearly see a long hall featuring cell after cell on each side. Before they walked on, the ponies paused and listened; there was no sign of any activity, just a piercing silence that made you feel as though you were being watched. The friends gulped and followed Celestia and Luna to the farthest cell on the right. As they walked, Celestia's light followed, sending the shadows back behind them and making the doorway disappear. The cell had a large wooden door as well, very similar to the one leading to the dungeons.

"There," she pointed to a pair of shackles latched to the back wall in the damp and dark cell.

Twilight hesitated yet again, taking another look at Lennox, "Are you sure about this, princess?"

"Twilight, please."

"But-"

"We don't have time!" Twilight sighed and did as she was told. She walked through the door with her former teacher and wrapped Lennox's legs with the iron shackles. "These are magically enhanced, they will hold him here until we can prepare another, stronger, cage for him in Tartarus where he belongs."

Twilight looked back; Luna had stayed outside the door with the rest of her friends. She noticed the princess of the night's behavior: she refused to look at the prisoner and spent most of this time looking down. "How long will he be down here?"

"Not long, it should only take a few days or so. Now let us go back up and find you all a place to stay for the next couple of nights."

"What? We're staying here?"

Celestia turned and began to walk back out, "I hope it's not too inconvenient, but I thought it would be best if you and your friends stayed here until we completed his new cell. If he were to escape before it was done, I may not be able to send another letter for your help."

"I suppose you're right," she walked out with Celestia and watched as the light inside of Lennox's cell slipped away as the door closed. The ponies exited the dungeon and took a room for the night.

As they were laying in their beds later that night, Twilight couldn't help but stare at the ceiling...thinking. "Does anypony else think something strange is going on?"

"Twi, you keep askin' us that and we keep tellin' ya it's nothin'," answered AJ.

"I just have this feeling. Why was Luna acting so strange?"

"Maybe she and this Lennox guy have bad blood between them," said Dash, "All I know is he better think twice about trying something like that again, because next time I'll be ready for him."

"Well why hasn't either Celestia or Luna mentioned him before. If he was able to take on both of them at the same time, and win, you would think they would at least do that."

"Like they said, he was in prison. They thought he was locked away for good. And why does it matter anyway? You saw him, he nearly fought off US. As far as I'm concerned he'll go back to prison and Equestria will have one less power-hungry psycho to worry about."

"Well since when has any pony had to make a 'new cell' in Tartarus? I was under the impression that Tartarus had several prisons too spare."

Rarity slid her sleeping mask over her eyes, "Darling, if you keep getting yourself all worked up, you'll never be able to sleep."

"[sigh] I guess you're right." Twilight turned over in her bed. The rest of the gang closed their eyes for the night, sleeping somewhat soundly, somewhat confused, and somewhat curious.

When she was sure everypony else was asleep Twilight turned back around and stared at the ceiling once more. "There's something off about this entire situation.... And I'm going to find out what it is."

Author's Note

Opinions in the comments :moustache:

A Story to be Told

Twilight looked back and forth to the different beds her friends occupied. She listened for their snores and deep breaths. She looked down and could just make out Spike's small bed next to her, he was sound asleep. The princess of friendship slowly removed her covers and sat up, still listening for any movement however dim. She lifted herself up, carefully stepping over Spike, and placed one hoof after the other onto the ground; holding her breath all the while. It took several minutes but at last the final of her hooves warmed the frigid crystal floors. Twilight took a deep breath and set her sights on the door. She creeped onward until she could feel the large doorknob in her grasp. The door swung open with no more than a faint squeal and Twilight placed her first hoof outside.

"[yyyyaaaawwwn]" Twilight whirled her head back and peered into the darkness. Her heart pounded in her chest with every breath and her eyes widened. There was a rough waving of covers and then the room returned to silence. Twilight's breathing slowed and she continued out the door until she could safely close it behind her.

"[Phew]" She wiped her brow and glanced around; the hall was clear and calm.

The way down to the dungeons was still fresh in Twilight's mind and she made her way to the rock walls with little effort. She silently trotted along until the dated stair case was at her hooves. She made a reassuring nod and traversed down. Unfortunately, as she made her way down, there was a light, a torch, perched on the wall next to the large wooden door. Two castle guards stood watch for any intruders. Twilight cursed under her breath and turned back.

"Who goes there?" one of the guards demanded. Twilight rolled her eyes and sighed. She made her way down the stairs and into the guards' view. "Princess Twilight? What are you doing down here?"

Twilight's eyes dashed back and forth, she had to think of something. "P-Princess Celestia sent me down here to check on the two of you and the prisoner."

The two looked at one another, "The princess sent you to check on us? She has never done that before."

"Well...this is....a special case. The princess is extremely cautious of THAT prisoner and I must be sure he has no chance of escape. Now please let me pass."

The guards scratched their heads and thought, but eventually shrugged and stepped aside. Twilight entered the dungeon and closed the door behind her. She lit up her horn and produced a ball of light much like Celestia's. The room was damp, dripping from the ceiling. Corrosion ate away at the walls and the cells themselves. The many doors at each side of the hall were dark and in disrepair. Twilight walked on, feeling the slick, oily ground under her hooves. Finally, she stopped at the last door to the right.

Before opening it she hesitantly placed her ear to the wood and listened. Inside there was a faint breathing, "I know you're there," a voice said. Twilight jumped back and gulped. The door opened and twilight stepped inside, her light illuminated the shackled pony's scarred face. He looked at the princess and smirked. "I hadn't expected to see you so soon," his voice was rugged and coarse.

"But you expected me."

"Heh, you couldn't have thought Celestia was powerful enough to actually harm me; or even anypony for that matter. You on the other hoof..." he rubbed his shoulder where Twilight's blast had made contact earlier.

Twilight once again felt her heart pound and she could feel her hind leg edging towards the door, "Y-You were awake the whole time?"

"I had to have time to come up with a way to escape. I hadn't accounted for the possibility of another princess being coronated. How many are there now?"

"Four."

"Has so much truly happened?" he asked himself, looking to the ground, "I had forgotten just how long I've been away."

"Over one thousand years." Lennox sighed and his ears lowered in grief. Twilight felt her heart slow and her legs remained firm. "How did you know I would come?"

His glowing yellow orbs looked passed twilight's own eyes and into her being, "I could always see curiosity in a pony, it is plain as day. You are wondering just who I am exactly and what I did."

She moved a bit closer, "Yes."

"It is a long story, but I will shorten it as best I can.... How well do you know Celestia and Luna?"

"Celestia has been my teacher since I was a filly. As for Luna, my friends and I....helped her....and taught her how to fit in with the ponies of Equestria; we're close."

"After so long, Luna still had not learned to live among the ponies she helped rule?" Lennox spoke to himself and twilight suddenly realized he had no knowledge of Nightmare Moon; how could he, Luna had been banished to the moon after he had been to Tartarus. Lennox shook his head and stood up; he approached Twilight, her eyes widened as she heard the rattle of the shackles attached to his hooves. "Do not be fooled by Celestia's words or false emotions of friendship, she has performed terrible acts..... That dragon you travel with...."

"Yes, I saw Luna look at him after her and Celestia whispered something."

"He does not know who his parents are or where he comes from, yes?"

"Yes...but what does that have to do with the princesses?"

"Many years ago, the ponies of Equestria and the dragons of the land beyond found one another. Each side attempted to use the other's land for their own purposes. Naturally the dragons became enraged and began attacking the ponies; the ponies, in turn, retaliated. After many years of fighting, it was declared that the dragons had cut their losses and gave up, we had won. At least, that was the story that Celestia fooled the populous into believing."

Twilight shook her head, "I've never heard this before."

Lennox grinned, "It is not surprising that she would eventually let this story die....for that was entirely different than what truly happened."

"What did happen?"

"I was an adviser to the two princesses, a type of....foreign diplomat if you will. The truth is that Equestria's royalty had known about the dragon's homeland far before the general public did. I was tasked to travel there and become the pony representative. There was relative peace; as you can imagine, dragons are not the most manageable of creatures. But I did my best to keep the peace. Until one day..."

"Yes?"

"One of the dragon families, a poor laborer and his wife, sought audience with the dragon lord. They told of a small hooded creature sneaking into their home and stealing their new egg. They said that the creature was in the shape of a pony. Naturally I told his majesty that no pony alive would ever do something so unprecedented. But they did not believe me, and thus after a few heated arguments and exaggerations about what this one act could mean about all pony kind, the fighting began."

Twilight sat down and rubbed her head in disbelief, "That's impossible! None of us would steal a baby!"

"I felt as you did, so I fled the dragon's land and pleaded with the princess for help. Unfortunately, war was inevitable, the dragon lord could not forgive the ponies for stealing one of his own kind. We fought and the ponies of Equestria suffered greatly. I was desperately trying to talk to the dragon monarch, but it was no use. So, I tried to get Celestia to stop this war, show them that we are a peaceful race and we couldn't possibly do something so horrible. Luna joined me in the endeavor, but even the two us together could do nothing to sway the oppressive voice of Celestia."

Twilight began to put the pieces together: Luna's behavior, Celestia's reluctance to talk. The only thing still a mystery was....,"No i-it couldn't possibly be..."

"One day," Lennox continued, "I figured I would make one last try with Celestia, so I entered her room, but it was empty. As I turned to walk out I heard a strange noise. I couldn't describe it, but it peaked my curiosity, so I investigated. I searched her room until I came across a small wooden case, the inscriptions told me that a powerful magic effected whatever was inside. Against my better judgement I opened it and what I saw stopped my heart."

"No."

"Yes."

"No, she wouldn't. Celestia would never take a-"

"Dragon's egg."

Twilight stood up and faced the door, "You're lying! Celestia is my teacher and my friend, she would never steal a baby!"

"I saw it with my own eyes! I, too, didn't want to believe it. I ran from Celestia's room and consulted her sister; I showed her as well. She assumed that this was all some plot by the dragons to frame Celestia, I believed that....until Celestia arrived and caught the two of us standing over the case. When we confronted her, she replied with 'It is to secure our future.' "

"Stop, I'll not have you lie to my face about my own mentor!" Twilight stomped towards Lennox and lit up her horn.

"When you saw his egg, was it green and purple?" Twilight stopped in her tracks and stared at him.

"........"

"I thought so."

"It....can't be.... Spike was abandoned and Celestia took him in as an egg," she spoke more to herself than to Lennox.

"When I first showed Luna the egg, she identified the inscriptions as those which can alter time. The egg was frozen in its current state until Celestia saw fit to hatch it."

Her horn dimed and the magic vanished from its tip. She sat down; her mind was in frantic chaos: her exam to get into Celestia's school, had Celestia known she would be the element of magic all along? Did Spike's egg still have the time magic then? So many questions, so many unbelievable details. It couldn't be true; Celestia wouldn't lie to her throughout her entire life, she's a good pony, a good princess who taught her everything she knows.

"I know what you're trying to do. You won't turn me against the other princesses. I won't allow it!" Twilight jumped up and ran through the cell door. She grabbed it with her magic and shut it tight. However, just before the door shut completely, Twilight could make out Lennox's final words:

"Visit Luna, she will tell you the rest of this tale. Maybe then you will accept the truth."

The door was closed and Twilight collapsed on the ground half way through the hall. She breathed harder than she ever had before and her hoof rubbed her head raw in an attempt to banish her dizziness. Her mind raced with hundreds of emotions and thoughts.

It took several minutes for her to calm down. But once this was done, she stood up; her eyes were fixed on the door leading out of the dungeons. Soon enough she was out and heading up to Luna's room with fire in her eyes.

Author's Note

Opinions in the comments. :coolphoto:

Reluctance and The Passion of Days Past

"Twilight, you're here already." Luna sat outside her room on the balcony, watching over Equestria as is here nightly duty. Twilight stood strong and prominent in the door way, puffing from her run up from the dungeons. Luna turned and glanced at her face, illuminated by the shine of the moon overhead, "I can tell by your expression that he has told you everything about that time long ago."

"Not everything, but enough......Please tell me he's lying," her ears fell and her face featured both sadness and desperation. "Please tell me that Spike was not egg-napped by my own mentor, please tell me that Celestia did not start a war with the dragons. please-"

"Twilight...." Luna stood up and walked to Twilight's side. " Walk with me." The two went into Luna's room and sat at a small table in front of a large window which could have been confused with a constellation map. Twilight hesitated every step of the way and shook at her seat. Luna, on the other hoof, was composed and collected like she had a grand speech prepared for this very situation. "Many years ago, my sister and I were young, just as you and your friends are now. We made many mistakes and have many re-"

"Just tell me if it's true!" snapped Twilight.

"....Yes, it is true. Celestia thought that taking Spike was the most beneficial act at the time. She-"

"How could she do that?! How could Equestria possibly benefit from starting a war with the dragons?!"

"She didn't know she would start the war. Believe me, my sister is many things but a warmonger is not one of them."

Twilight was not satisfied with Luna's response; she lowered her head and her eyes had begun to glisten. "My entire life, I was being lied to by one of my closest friends." She shook in disbelief and despair.

Luna reached across the table and placed her hoof on Twilight's. "She had her reasons at the time. She needed a dragon's egg but with our standing with them being fragile already it was near impossible by any conventional means."

At those words Twilight rose with even more questions. "What do you mean? Why did she need an egg? What would make her desperate enough to steal one? Tell me."

"I cannot begin to rightfully explain what my sister was thinking, but at the time the both of us kept our own journals. I know she must have written about this event in hers. Go to the castle of the two sisters in the Everfree and find her journal, it will explain more than I ever could."

"Why are you so reluctant to say anything about this?"

"Twilight, please."

"Tell me more about what happened," her voice became bitter at Luna's silence.

"......."

"Fine! Keep the truth from me even longer." She stood up in a fury, "I can't believe this! This whole time you and Princess Celestia knew who Spike's parents were and you didn't tell him; you hid this horrible thing from me and everypony else for years....." She couldn't find the words to finish the point she was trying to make; she was too devastated and betrayed. The princess of friendship turned and stormed out of the castle. Leaving her friends and belongings still in their room.

After she was gone Luna sighed critically and stared out the window in a daze. She slowly closed her eyes and a tear creeped down her cheek, leaving a glowing line, and dripped onto her hoof. She lowered her head and through her minor sobs a faint whisper escaped her lips, "Forgive me."

"There is nothing to forgive," a voice said from the shadows. Luna rose and starred ahead into a dark corner of her room. Two yellow eyes lit up from the desolate. Luna stood up and approached the figure walking into the light. "You have never done anything that required forgiveness," Lennox said, sincerely smiling.

Luna and Lennox approached one another. When they were close enough to touch, Luna glanced into his eyes and at the scar on his snout. She sank to the ground and another tear flowed down her cheek. Lennox quickly kneeled next to her and gently wiped Luna's face of the sorrow; he smiled and put his foreleg around her head. He brought her closer and the two pressed their brows together and shut their eyes. Luna's lip quivered and she suddenly threw her forelegs forward and embraced Lennox. "Twelve-hundred years....."

He starred off into the distance and felt relieved at finally feeling Luna in his hooves once again. "I know, I know."

"I can't tell you how hard it has been without you. The....things I've done."

"[Shhhh] Don't worry about any of that. I'm here now and I'm not going anywhere."

Luna suddenly realized, "Oh no," she ended the hug and grabbed Lennox's shoulders, "I-If Celestia finds you here, she'll-"

"Do nothing. We all know she can't put me back in that cage by herself, and I didn't see the elements anywhere while in the court room."

"The court room! All I remember is a loud noise and then nothing, just black. When I woke up, you were on the ground, surrounded."

"I do apologize for that; I couldn't hurt you, so I cast a spell to subdue you for a short while. I was going to wake you up once I had.... Anyway, there is not much to be done now. The only thing that matters right now is us."

"What do you-" Lennox leaned in and kissed Luna. Her eyes grew wide for just a brief moment before closing. Her hooves embraced Lennox once again and the two passionately fell over on their backs. After several minutes, the two separated. They smiled and starred into one another. "I-I have-" They kiss again.

They break, "I know, my love. I know. But don't worry about anything at all right now. Forget your sister and your friend who just left. Forget about all the time we spent apart; none of it happened." She knew there was too much going on to give in, but her feelings from the past had come back to her so suddenly that she couldn't fight it. Luna smiled with tears once again in her eyes and the two stood. She took Lennox's hoof and led him to her bed for a night both of them had been awaiting for a very long time.

Author's Note

Opinions in the comments. :pinkiecrazy:

The Journal

Twilight ran from Luna's chambers and back toward her and her friends' room. She did not bother to tell them what she'd discovered nor did she even wake them up. She sprinted passed the door completely and did not stop until she was out the castle gate. She finally halted in her tracks on the steps outside, the castle entrance wide open behind her. Twilight stood there, huffing and puffing hoof-fuls of air into and out of her lungs. She took a second to calm herself and wiped her face and eyes. "Okay...okay, fine. But there has got to be a reason. I've known Celestia most of my life; I know she would never do something so horrible without a justifiable reason. The journals.... Luna said to search the journals. There has to be something written on those pages that explains all of this, there has to be." So, Twilight focused on uncovering the truth and lit up her horn with the castle of the two sisters in mind. She had decided to stop acting like an emotional filly and start behaving like her true, rational, methodical, and level-headed self.

Her body suddenly poofed away in a flash of magic and reappeared in the Everfree Forest. When she had completely materialized, Twilight zoomed around and scanned her surroundings with a wide gaze. Her eyes motioned to her tail, "That was weird, could have sworn something touched me." She looked around for another good minute or so but eventually turned her attention back to the task at hoof. With a creased brow and an increasing heart rate she trotted inside the decaying castle.

It had been quite a while since the princess had been in this place, so it took her some time to get her bearings. After five wrong turns, three trap doors, one rotating wall, and much ruble, she finally found her way to the tower she had found with Spike some time ago. She entered the small room and memories of sitting with dozens of ancient books surrounding her while her friends panicked and ran about downstairs filled her mind. But now was not the time to reminisce. Twilight quickly started sifting through her fellow princesses' records and personal items long forgotten. She had read Luna and Celestia's personal journal before, but it did not mention anything of the matter in question. Luna must be referring to another kind of journal, one which would have been hidden so the random pony could not ever find it. So, Twilight search even more vigorously than before; turning over tables, curtains, beds, and of course, dozens of bookshelves. She had been looking for what seemed hours when she had finished checking every book in the room. Her composure was beginning to break once again as she threw the last book in her hooves against the wall in frustration. As the tattered parchment made contact with a far wall, Twilight heard a scuffling behind her.

She rushed her head around, "Who's there?" She asked, irritated and startled. But only silence ensued. She glanced around for a few seconds before turning back and beginning to attempt to search one more time. But just as she was starting to turn, Twilight noticed something that had not been there before. A misplaced stone in the floor which looked to have been disturbed recently. Twilight tilted her head and approached cautiously. When she got close, Twilight could see something beneath the stone, but she could not speak as to what it was exactly; so, she reached with her hoof. But when she made contact with the stone, a great burst of magic shot forth and burned her foreleg. Twilight screeched and jumped back, but she felt no anger or irritation, for she knew she had found what she had been looking for.

She approached the stone once more, but this time she stepped with her head down as to be prepared to block the magical blast. But the stone did not shock her this time around. Instead, when she was just a few inches away, a magical beam flew up from the ground and covered Twilight's horn. She panicked and struggled to get free, but nothing worked. She attempted to blast the grip of the stone away. So, she lit her horn up with a deadly glow. As soon as she did so however, the magic of the stone absorbed Twilight's power and changed to a bright white color. The ground shook beneath her as Twilight's horn began to heat up. Suddenly the magic of the stone receded and released Twilight and one quick motion; Twilight was sent flying back, landing on her back among a pile of discarded books.

She quickly rose and gazed into the now calm hole in the floor where the stone had once stood in her way. Twilight rushed to the formerly protected compartment and looked inside where she saw two old leather-bound books each with an impressive lock across the cover. She slowly removed the books one at a time due to the possibility of more protective measures. When she was sure it was safe to proceed, Twilight examined the two fruits of her effort. One book was Labeled "Celestia" and the other "Luna." Beneath the label, each book featured a riddle: "This ledger may only be opened by the owner's stem of knowledge." The words echoed in Twilight's head for several minutes but she could not make sense of it. She repeated them over and over, "The owner's stem of knowledge? Must be a metaphor, but what is it referring to?"

As she was thinking, Twilight rose and began to walk to the door. As she exited the room she heard a loud impact behind her. She was so focused on the books, as she turned to investigate the noise, Twilight slammed the side of her head into the doorway. She dropped to the ground rubbing her head and face. She looked up to see a table had been knocked over and was now on its side. twilight was getting more and more sure that some pony else was here and watching her. She began to sweat and stood up once more, still rubbing her head. When the pain had subsided, she took a glance at her hoof. Twilight's eyes suddenly grew twice as large as before and she gasped, "Of course!"

And with that, Twilight lit up her horn with the books in her grasp and poofed away back to Canterlot castle. When she reappeared, Twilight had once again felt something grab her tail, but she was too focused to notice enough to react. She simply ran through the castle gates; she knew what she needed.

Author's Note

Opinions in the comments :heart:

The Journal: Part 2

The doors to Celestia's chambers slide open and a shadow snuck in with little more than a breeze in the air. The dark figure crept along steadily until it cast itself over the princess of the sun. Celestia's chest rose and fell in heightened intervals and her brow creased as her head turned this way and that; light illuminated the bed and Celestia's twisting body. There was a pause before a ray of magic traveled passed her face and targeted her pillow, quickly retreating back into the darkness thereafter. The shadowy figure floated back out the way it came and the door closed, leaving only silence.

From the hallway, the shadow rushed onward until it reached the Canterlot library, where few ponies would venture this hour. Once passed the entrance and secured in a far corner away from any chance of detection, the figure lit up the area once again and brought out two old books with impressive locks. The light revealed the pony's purple coat and main. Twilight set the books down before her and held up her hoof. She stared at the weightless string of pink, yellow, and blue she held. Magic coated the hair and placed it within the lock of the journal inscribed with Celestia.

When she did so, the book snatched the hair from Twilight's grip and it disappeared. The book began to lift from the ground and vibrate vigorously, it appeared to possess its own source of magic as it lit up the entire room with an impressive display of colors. After a few seconds the book ceased its movement and fell back to the floor in a small heap of smoke and dust; the lock now open and the pages free to explore. Twilight took a deep breath and closed her eyes in preparation for what she would discover. As she began to read, the rest of the world faded from thought and sight.

"Entry 1,

I don't quite understand the reason for this journal or why it has such a complicated lock attached, but I guess I should use it since it's here. Mother and father are having the guard and other, more foreign ponies teach Luna and me how to behave as worthy princesses should. How to speak when addressing your betters as well as those which you rule over. Which if you ask me is a load of manure; all thou's and thee's and 'we' instead of 'I'. I don't get it but mother says it's required so....yeah........"

Twilight smirked at the sight of a frustrated and rebellious young Celestia writing in this journal, but knew that this was not where she needed to be; so she pressed on through the pages.

"Entry 37,

Today is our birthday. A joyous occasion most years, but this particular celebration will be more than cake and congratulatory guests. Mother and father will announce thy role as a princess and many responsibilities thereafter. We doubt it will be as extensive as mother and father's duties, they mustn't think a mare as young as thyself could handle the entire day and night cycle. However we don't presume to think it will be an easy task either; we are, after all, going to rule one day.........."

"Entry 70,

This marks the day of thy dear sister's ascension to her royal duties. We remember our day long ago and are fully aware of the anxiety and nervousness that is attached to this fateful birthday celebration. It brings joy to our heart to see our young sister growing into a fine mare and taking on the world as we have done.........."

"Entry 100,

It seems that the never-ending list of responsibilities and niceties associated with the royal title of princess is just that, endless. Luna and thyself have been exhausted for the past three weeks and we haven't the slightest clue as to why we are working so diligently. The guards say that this is an important time in thy life, but we fail to see the significance of the situation. Perhaps mother and father will provide a better explanation."

"Entry 135,

It has taken us quite some time but we are finally getting rather skilled at the increasingly difficult tasks being presented to us. We are also glad to see thy sister faring just as well. We believe that, based on what mother and father told us some time ago, Luna and thyself will be stepping into a 'new league' as it were, in our titles of princess. And yet we fear that there is more to what mother and father told us than meets the eye. The sound of their voices was......concerning; we can't say for sure but we suspect something else is going on."

"Entry 137,

We are sure of it now, something important is happening. The entire castle is talking about.....something. Nopony seems eager to tell Luna or thyself no matter how hard we press them. But we will not be so easily dissuaded; the truth will be revealed in time, a very short amount of time."

"Entry 140,

Mother and father have passed."

"Entry 141,

It has been quite some time since my last journal entry; I could not bear to put my thoughts to ink for they would surely cause this book to wither and decay, as Luna and I have at our great loss. The both of us have continued our studies, learning how to take over the day and night in our parents' place. And we have continued to speak proficiently in public, something I have come to despise and refuse to do in this journal anymore. It seems that the ponies of Equestria feel the loss of their rulers, but only for the span of a funeral. They expect my sister and me to show no weakness from this event. No sign that anything has happened at all. I can't stand to look at any of them at the moment."

Twilight couldn't imagine the feeling of losing a parent, let alone two at once. Her ears lowered themselves as she envisioned the two sisters going about their duties every day, hiding everything they felt just to save face. It does not surprise her in the least that the two sisters chose never to tell her about this; it was hard to imagine even coming up with the words. She read on.

"Entry 182,

I would be reluctant to say that things have gotten easier but what I will say is that Luna and I have ceased our crying and carrying on when we are alone and have become more focused with the present, not the past. I now realize that we need to focus on our duties to help Equestria; after all, a ruler should live not for themselves but for the ruled. At least that is what we are told by our advisors."

"Entry 190,

Our lives have become a routine which I desperately seek refuge from. Every day is the same as the previous and every day things become more and more tedious. Official greetings, public appearances, brunches with local ponies and aristocrats, all boring and monotonous. And to top it all off Luna has started to take her job more seriously as well; it seems as if we never see each other anymore. She is either working through the night or she's sleeping; if by chance I do manage to see her during daylight hours, she is quiet and her eyes are bloodshot. If that is not enough, we have been told that our workload will be increasing soon and we will need to appoint a replacement head advisor since our current one is in bad health and must retire. I can already see a difference in the amount of time between these very journal entries."

"Entry 195,

Finally, everypony has come to an agreement on this new advisor; I swear this entire ordeal has been a nightmare and no pony is trying to make things simple. So much time put into appointing a unicorn to stand next to us in court and whisper unimportant details in our ears. Well, I hope he finds his new job more exciting than I do; Luna and I are supposed to get better acquainted with this Lennox tomorrow to assess how he will be put to the most use."

"Finally," Twilight thought; now we get to the real story of these pages. Now we will know exactly what happened and why.

"Entry 210,

More an more changes every day; I don't even recognize this place anymore. Ponies are bombarding my sister and me with so many annoying little details that need to be changed: more advisors in the court, more surveyors to scour the land and expand the territory, more of what is effectively propaganda in the everyday goings-on. I can't take it any longer; I swear I'm this close to just throwing everypony out so it's just Luna and myself. And speaking of Luna, I can see that all of this is weighing her down as well; she seems constantly annoyed by who knows what and spends more and more time away from the court, can't say I blame her. And to top it all off, I've been having these strange dreams as of late and I can't make sense of them. For the past few nights I've woken up in a cold sweat; just a bunch of images clouding my mind. I don't know what they are or what they're about but I have a feeling that they are some sort of nightmare. There was one time recently when I could focus on one of the images long enough to begin to see it clearly; I saw a winged creature flying overhead. I don't think it was a pony but again I couldn't make out much of it. I think I just need a break."

Twilight stopped to think. "Strange dreams?" she wondered. "Winged creatures? Dragons?" Like the words on the page, Twilight could not make sense of what was going on, but she knew she was just a few entries from the truth. She read on.

"Entry 215,

Finally, things have calmed again and I have some time to think and relax. No pressing matters, no crises, nothing urgent at all and it feels great. And I'm not the only one who's happy at the quietness of the court; for the first time in a long time, I actually saw my sister laugh. She and Lennox were having lunch and talking earlier today...as a matter of fact, it wasn't the first time I've seen the two together. Well, if I do say so, it is about time Luna found a friend to spend her time with; she was never one to be overly social when we were growing up so it's good to see. I just hope this peace and quiet will last; my visions are getting more detailed and I have a small fear that they are trying to show me something terrible, and besides that, a surveying team hasn't reported in in a while. This is normal but some ponies are beginning to worry something has happened to them. But I won't allow myself to be brought down by these details, I'm going to make this warm feeling of calm last as long as possible."

"Entry 216,

I had totally forgotten about this book; it's been so long since my last entry. After we sent ponies out looking for our missing surveyors and ended up finding the dragons I had no time to think. I just had to focus on convincing the creatures not to eat us all, but things have come to a relative peace between our two species, a peace I hope we can continue. These dragons are rough, angry, unruly beings and sometimes it seems like all they want to do is fight and steal gold and gems...The court has suggested that we send one of our own to serve as a foreign diplomat. The first choice was Lennox and I would agree based on his temperament and personality but Luna disagrees. She posed some good points for another pony, a member of the royal guard, but I think she just doesn't want to say goodbye to her closest friend. Anyway, the decision is practically made already and Lennox will soon depart for the dragon homeland."

"Entry 217,

FORTHEGOODOFEQUESTRIATOSECURETHEFUTURETOESTABLISHTHEELEMENTSFINDITTAKEITFINDITTAKEITSECURETHEFUTUREFORTHEGOODOFEQUESTRIAFINDITTAKEITFINDITTAKEIT

What the buck happened to me last night! I woke up with this book next to me and this strange writing in it. I'm scared and confused. Did I write that? Did something make me? I had another vision last night and I think this time it was more than just flashing pictures and sounds. For the good of Equestria, to secure our future, what is that suppose to mean? Find it, Take it? what? I don't know what's going on or what these visions are supposed to mean. And the scariest part of all this is I can't bring myself to tell anypony else no matter how much I want to. It is as if something is keeping my lips sealed; I wonder if it is some kind of magic or spell that has been cast on me. I don't know what to do anymore but hope all this stops and goes away, but I have a strong feeling that won't be the case."

As twilight began to read the next few entries, her mind soared with possibilities, theories, hundreds of different emotions, and above all curiosity. As her eyes zoomed from left to right, again and again, they grew in size. Twilight's mouth gaped and her brow creased, her hooves fiercely gripped the journal until the cover creaked in stress. After a few moments, she threw the book away in a huff and stood up panting and rubbing her head. She looked around to see if anypony was around, "I have to tell them," she said to herself. She ran from the library and burst through the doors of the guest room her friends were sleeping in, very effectively waking them up with quite a fright. "I know what happened!" she screamed.

"What who where why?!!!" Rainbow jumped from her bed in alarm.

"Twilight?" Fluttershy wearily said, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

Twilight continued, "Everypony follow me, I think I have the whole picture now; I know what happened."

"Know what happened? Darling, what are you talking about?" Rarity asked.

"I'll explain once everypony is together, now come on," she beckoned with her hoof and zoomed away to wake the princesses while her friends stared at one another in confusion and mild annoyance.

Author's Note

Opinions in the Comments :coolphoto:

The Whole Truth

Twilight sprinted down the crystalline halls until she reached Celestia's door. She busted her way in, "Princess! I need to t-"

"Twilight, you're back so soon." Lennox stood tall, his eyes glowing through the darkness like two small candles. He stood next to Celestia's bed, glaring down at her with unmoving eyes. Twilight began to sweat and nervously inched closer to the Princess who appeared to be unconscious, twisting and turning, panting and grunting in some sort of nightmare.

"What's wrong with her?"

"[sigh] Don't worry, just a small spell to keep her sedated. But I can tell by your tone that you don't approve of this."

Twilight took a step toward him, "Lennox, listen to me."

He did not move his gaze, "I thought after learning the truth you would understand; understand that she must be stopped." He looked at Twilight and moved between her and the bed, "She started a war to satisfy her own personal goals; a war I lost friends to, friends on both sides. When I asked her to stop the fighting she brushed me aside like I was some filth to be scraped off her hooves." He creased his brow and waved his horn; Celestia squealed in pain.

The rest of the mane six arrived at this point and each gasped in horror. They readied themselves for the fight and moved in. Lennox took notice and lifted Celestia above her bed, "Stay where you are; I don't have anything against you."

"It's too late for that, put the princess down now or else!" shouted Rainbow.

Twilight knew that a frontal assault would put Celestia in too much danger, "Rainbow, stop," she cried.

Lennox took a step forward, "Don't you understand? Do you really want to be ruled by a pony who steals children from their beds and sends ponies to their graves in a struggle they don't even know the cause of? Think about it."

Twilight's friends looked at one another in confusion. "Twi? What's he talkin' about?" asked AJ.

"He's lying, don't listen to him!" growled Dash.

Twilight Took a step forward, "Listen to me, things did not go the way you think."

"What are you talking about?"

"Celestia had no choice, she didn't want to start the war but she couldn't give up the egg either," she took another step, "She had to choose th-"

"No choice?! Everypony has a choice! She could have chosen to stop the fighting, the horror, but she didn't." Twilight was close now, close enough to make a move. Lennox watched as her eyes shifted from him to Celestia. "She made her choice long ago, and now I make mine."

"No, wait!" A second later and Lennox poofed away in a ball of magical smoke. When it cleared Twilight looked around; they were nowhere in sight.

"Which way did they go?" asked Pinkie.

"We gotta find'em before it's too late," added AJ.

"I think I know where he took her." The mane six turned around to find Luna standing behind them.

"Where?" pleaded Twilight.

"Gather around." And the mane six did so, and Luna poofed them away in another burst of smoke. When they reappeared, the six gazed at the large field they stood in. The moon was full in the dark sky and there was a gentle breeze swaying the grass. "There!" Luna pointed. Lennox was standing next to a small mound of dirt with his prisoner trapped in a magical cage next to him. Everypony ran for him, stopping only because they collided with a large barrier surrounding their target. Lennox turned to face them and as he did so, he revealed the gravestone above the mound.

The six regained their "footing" and shook the dizziness from their heads. "Lennox...let princess Celestia go. Please, you don't understand,"again pleaded Twilight.

"Then make me understand. Try and explain why my best friend had to die for this..." he looked at Celestia.

Twilight stood just behind the barrier looking into Lennox's eyes, "The elements of harmony."

"What about them?"

"Me and my friends represent them, we were chosen to uphold th-"

"That's your explanation? A stupid prophecy!"

"It's the truth. Celestia needed a dragon's egg so that I would become the element of magic. But she couldn't simply ask for one, the dragons would never have allowed it."

"With good reason. And if this is all you have to say then you're wast-"

"But there's more to it than that. Around the time you all found the dragons, Celestia started to get visions of the future. As time went on, they got more and more intense; they showed her what would happen if the prophecy was not fulfilled. She knew that if she did not get an egg, Equestria would become a wasteland and ponies would be doomed."

Lennox turned to his captive, " If this is true then why did she stay so quiet about it?"

"Because she couldn't tell anypony else about what was happening."

"What? Why not?"

"I have a theory about that. Celestia said in her journal that whenever she tried to talk about her visions or about why she needed a dragon's egg, she would suddenly lose her voice and could barely breathe. I think this was the doing of the elements themselves. The elements have always been somewhat of a mystery and I think they possess their own magical source. My theory is that the elements needed Celestia to fulfill the prophecy but they couldn't risk her revealing their plan and jeopardizing the future. So, they cast a spell on Celestia to keep her quiet about what was happening. They showed her what was going to happen if she didn't get her hooves on an egg. In the end she had no choice but to steal one. However, she did not know that she would start a war, and I'm sorry that it was unavoidable."

"You speak as though the elements of harmony are sentient beings. They are nothing but magical batteries, used to gain an edge in case of emergency."

"Lennox, please, you must believe me."

He shook his head, "No, I-I don't believe you. You think that crazy story about visions and the future is going to persuade me to forget what really happened? No. You're lying to me, and I'm done listening." He raised his horn to Celestia.

"Lennox." He turned at the sound of Luna's voice. "I believe Twilight's story; she would not make something like this up. Please let my sister go."

He stared into Luna's eyes, "You of all ponies know I can't just walk away from this."

"Yes you can," she stood up against the forcefield Lennox had surrounded himself with. "If you stop now, they will not put you back in that cell, I promise." Lennox softened his brow and the forcefield grew slightly more transparent. Luna slowly passed through it and approached him.

He looked at Celestia and then back at Luna, he turned to the grave of the fallen friend. "I tried to save them..."

"I know you did."

"And for that, I was locked up for twelve hundred years." Luna raised her hoof and touched the scar on Lennox's snout.

"Back then, I had to choose between you and my sister. I was confused and scared. I didn't know what to think."

"I told you, I don't blame you for giving me this," he took her hoof.

Luna stepped back, "But now we know the truth and I'm asking you not to make me choose again."

"...I want to believe this story, but...If I stop this...You don't know what it's like to be trapped in a dark place, with no hope of escape, for years."

She looked at the ground, "...Yes I do."

"What?"

"I have made many mistakes over the years. One mistake was...more severe. I allowed myself to be taken over by a dark force and I had to be...dealt with."

"What? You were-"

"I spent a lot of time away, but when I was saved I understood that we can all come back from our pasts."

"You were imprisoned by your own sister even after you chose to follow her through that war. I can't..." He looked at Celestia. "How could...No, I was right all along." He stiffened up and teleported to the other side of the barrier, trapping Luna and Celestia within. "This fantasy story is all a lie, Celestia is nothing but a power-hungry curse who would stoop so low as to banish her own sister when she began to speak her mind. I do see the truth now and now I will finish what I started so long ago and save Equestria from itself before another war is started."

The mane six had absolutely no idea in hell what was going on besides Twilight, but they understood when Lennox readied himself that it was time to put this threat down. "Come," he said, "I see I must deal with you all first or I will never be free to do what is necessary."

They did not need a second invitation and everypony jumped into action. Twilight, regretting that things turned out the way they did, flew forward alongside Dash and Fluttershy; Rarity, AJ, and Pinkie followed close behind them. Lennox Ran forward and sent several shots flying after the six. "Watch it," Dash warned; and twilight dodged with little effort. But as the blasts traveled pasts the ponies, they stopped in mid-air and changed course.

Rarity looked behind the group, "It's coming back!"

Twilight watched as the missiles turned and swayed. "They're homing shots; everypony spilt up, try to shake them." And so, the six suddenly broke up, each going a separate direction except for Twilight, who continued to run at Lennox head on. The two collided and Lennox summoned a sword of magic to slay the princess. Twilight responded with a shield and deflected blow after blow, waiting for an opening.

The rest of the ponies were trying their best to outrun the balls of magic following each of them. The magic was quick to turn and advanced fast, closing the gaps. "I got an idea!," AJ shouted to the group, "Everypony, watch me and do what I do." AJ began to run in a circle every so often and gradually moved closer to where Twilight and Lennox were hashing it out. The rest quickly got the idea and did the same thing, slowing getting into position.

Twilight blocked yet another hit of Lennox's sword, this time bashing him back. She quickly shifted her shield to a spear and thrusted forward. Lennox rolled to the side and spun, swinging for her legs. Twilight jumped and her spear turned into a warhammer, barrling downward toward lennox's head. He surrounded himself with a bubble to absorb the blow, then sent the force outward. But Twilight would not be fooled by this trick again; she poofed away, leaving Lennox confused. When she appeared, she was behind her opponent ready to strike while his back was turned.

"Twi!"

Twilight turned to AJ and quickly took notice of her friends' positions. She smiled, "Got it," and took her position as well. The mane six were almost there and each ran one last circle in their path. The blasts chasing them followed their movements and as the ponies stopped circling, the missiles gained speed to hit their targets straight ahead. Just as they were about to meet their ends, the mane six jumped over the magic. "Now," Dash shouted, and Twilight fired her own shot at Lennox. Six shots zoomed passed the ponies, who had formed a tight circle around Lennox. The old unicorn looked around and realized he had been surrounded and was about to be defeated by his own magic. He did the only thing he could do and put up another bubble shield.

The shots had no room and no time to turn back around and bombarded Lenox's defenses; he struggled and grunted trying to hold the shield together. When the dust cleared, his magic disappeared and he glanced around. "What...What is this?!" The mane six were glowing with magic; their manes, hooves, eyes, all multicolored and luminous.

"I told you," said Twilight, "The prophecy is real; we represent the elements of harmony, and they are much more than just mere batteries."

Lennox began to sweat, "No...You're bluffing!" He fired off more shots, in all directions, but it was no use. The mane six lifted their heads and the rainbow appeared and surrounded them all, linking them together. "No! NO!" The rainbow joined above them, arching and quickly showering down on Lennox. "Stop! Stop this!," he looked back to Luna, "Help me!" The barrier and the cage trapping Luna and Celestia disappeared as Lennox's body began to harden and turn to stone at his hooves. Luna ran toward them all, tears in her eyes, but she did not help him. Lennox screamed in anger and fear as his body grew stiff; he screamed until he could scream no more and only a statue was left.

The rainbow withdrew from him and disappeared, returning the six to their normal states as it went. Luna approached her frozen love with a wet face and remorse in her eyes. The mane six panted from exhaustion and revelled in their victory. Off in the distance, soft moans erupted. "Princess Celestia!" Twilight called as she ran over to her friend.

The princess slowly opened her weary eyes and Twilight helped her to her hooves. "Twilight? What...What happened to me?" Twilight helped Celestia to the statue, explaining the events that transpired on the short way over. "I see," she said when Twilight finished. Celestia seemed to be able to walk by herself now and approached Luna. "I am sorry, my sister, but he ga-"

"I know," Luna answered, "It's just..." She wiped her face and straightened up as best she could. Celestia comforted her sister and turned to address her saviors, "Thank you all once again for risking your lives for our sakes. I know I should have come up with some way of telling you about all this, Twilight but as you have read, something was...affecting me, I'm sorry."

"You don't have to thank us, princess. Now I have to find some way to tell Spike about all this. I'm afraid of how he'll take it."

"I will personally help him in anyway I can, you have my word. Now that this matter is settled, I think the spell will dissipate and I will be able to speak on the war and how I came to possess Spike's egg."

"Thank you, I think he will appreciate hearing your explanation," Twilight smiled nervously.

The ponies all looked at the petrified Lennox with his furious expression and twisted body. "What's gonna happen to him?" asked Dash.

"I think I know where to put him...Until the time comes."

The ponies raised an eyebrow to Celestia, "When the time comes?" Twilight asked.

"Lennox...is not a bad pony," Celestia looked to her sister, "I believe you all will be able to convince him to stay with us in time." Luna smiled and nodded; her sad expression fading.

Twilight smiled in agreement and the ponies poofed back to Canterlot Castle with the statue in tow. When everything had been squared away, Twilight immediately began looking for her dragon companion. She first checked the guest room, "Spike?" she called, but he was not there. She checked Luna and Celestia's rooms, "Spike, are you in here? I need to tell you what going on; it's important," still no answer. Twilight grew nervous and started checking more and more rooms more quickly, more frantically. "Spike!" she yelled, but no answer. She grew desperate and ran to her friends. "Have any of you seen Spike, I can't find him anywhere."

The mane six and the princesses shook their heads and Twilight shook in fear. "Oh no, what if he...I have to find him."

"Don't worry, dear," said Rarity, "He couldn't have gone far; we'll find him and tell him everything, you'll see."

Twilight took little comfort in her words, "Where could he be?" she said to herself.

Author's Note

Opinions in the comments :pinkiesmile:

Spike

Twilight looked back and forth to the different beds her friends occupied. She listened for their snores and deep breaths. She looked down and could just make out Spike's small bed next to her, he was sound asleep. The princess of friendship slowly removed her covers and sat up, still listening for any movement however dim. She lifted herself up, carefully stepping over Spike, and placed one hoof after the other onto the ground; holding her breath all the while. It took several minutes but at last the final of her hooves warmed the frigid crystal floors. Twilight took a deep breath and set her sights on the door. She crept onward until she could feel the large doorknob in her grasp. The door swung open with no more than a faint squeal and Twilight placed her first hoof outside.

As the door closed, Spike was startled awake and yawned once more. He blinked his hazed eyes and took a sleepy glance around the room; everypony was still in their beds, sound asleep, except for one that was. Spiked rose his head to get a better look at Twilight's empty bed, "Twilight?" he looked left and right but she was not in the room. Then Spike remembered what woke him and slowly dragged himself from his small bedding to the door, peeking outside. He could just get a glimpse of Twilight's tail as she disappeared around a corner. Now, Spike knew Twilight better than anyone so it shouldn't have been a surprise to him that she couldn't leave well enough alone and take the other princesses at their word. So, he figured he better follow her before she gets herself into any trouble.

Unfortunately, as Spike turned the same corner Twilight did, she was nowhere to be found; she must have picked up the pace once she got away from the guest room. Spike rubbed his head for he did not have the path back to the dungeons memorized as Twilight no doubt did. So, he took his time, trying to remember which turns to take and which stairs to descend. But eventually he succeeded in finding the stone walls that painted the way; and not soon after did he find the guarded door of the dungeon that held this mysterious Lennox.

Spike approached the guardsponies slowly as to not alert them, "Oh great, another one," one whispered, "Halt, who goes there?"

Spike stepped into the light so the guards could get a good look at him; He pointed to the door, "Is she in there?"

"Oh, Spike. Yeah, been in there for a few minutes now, said Celestia sent her."

"[sigh] Alright, I'll go get her." The guards nodded and opened the door for the young dragon. Spike walked through the darkness of the dungeon until he could make out Twilight's orb of light. He quickly made his way closer to the cell that held the strange pony, as well as lennox. But as soon as he got close, Spike began to make out what the two were saying to one another.

"No."

"Yes."

"No, she wouldn't. Celestia would never take a-"

"Dragon's egg."

"You're lying! Celestia is my teacher and my friend, she would never steal a baby!"

"What?," Spike whispered to himself. He kept listening.

"...Until Celestia arrived and caught the two of us standing over the case. When we confronted her, she replied with 'It is to secure our future.' "

"Stop, I'll not have you lie to my face about my own mentor!"

"Case...baby?" Spike whispered again; a few memories stered.

"When you saw his egg, was it green and purple?...I thought so."

Spike's eyes widened; Twilight had told him the story of her entrance exam and how she first met him. "My egg was green and purple, I was kept in a small case..."

Lennox continued, "When I first showed Luna the egg, she identified the inscriptions as those which can alter time. The egg was frozen in its current state until Celestia saw fit to hatch it."

"Time...magic?" His mind soared every which way, not knowing what to think. Were they talking about him? Could that be possible?

Twilight suddenly zoomed from the cell, but Spike was kneeling beside the door and Twilight did not notice him at all as she ran. Spike watched as his oldest friend collapsed on the ground in the middle of the room. He thought at first to approach her and try to make some sense out of all he had heard. As he took his first step toward her, Twilight stood up once more and bolted out of the dungeons. He was about to try and follow but before he could do so, "I know you were listening," said a scary voice from within the cell.

Spike halted in his tracks and turned to the cell door, he slowly creaked it open and saw nothing but two glowing yellow eyes. "The very topic of conversation," Lennox said.

Spike's heart rate doubled, "What do you mean? Who are you?" He demanded his answers as best he could and Lennox chuckled at the young drake.

"Take a seat, young one...though, not as young as he appears," he laughed again, "I have a story to tell you, one that I am sure you will want to hear." And so, Lennox told his twisted version of the story to Spike in an attempt to turn the dragon to his aid; to make him see the "truth".

When he was done, Spike reacted as we all would expect, "You expect me to believe any of this? No, I've lived with these ponies my whole life; I know them better than anyone else."

"Do not be so naive; what reason would I have to lie to you? I am trying to help you, I want you to be able to get the revenge you deserve."

"Revenge?"

"For stealing you away from your real family For-"

"Twilight is my real family!" Spike interrupted in a scream, "I owe everything to her and she trusts Celestia. So, I trust Celestia."

"Are you sure about that part?" Spike's words halted, his eyes shook just a bit. "After I told Twilight this tale, she chose to believe it in only a few minutes, of course she needed one other pony to confirm my story, but that doesn't change the fact of the matter."

"You're lying, the princesses were right about you; you just want power."

Lennox sighed, "I can see you also need another to confirm all of this...very well. I'm sure your dear Twilight will investigate this to the fullest, so by all means, follow her. Learn the whole truth and come find me again once you have done so. I have a feeling both of you will see things my way soon enough."

Spike wanted to say more but he had no words to do so; after all, the unicorn was probably right about one thing. Twilight will get to bottom of this mystery, and he must know the truth. "Even if any of what you say is true, I will never turn against Twilight." And with that, Spike hesitantly turned to catch up to Twilight; to find the whole truth.

Author's Note

Opinions in the comments :raritystarry:

Stalking the Truth

Spike ran as fast as his little legs would allow him; unfortunately he did not overhear where Twilight was heading, so he backtracked to the guest room where the remaining mane six were still asleep. Spike stopped in front of the door and reached a claw out to the doorknob. He stopped; should he bring the rest of them into all this before he knew the truth? They could help him find answers, help Twilight, but he stopped. "No," he said to himself, "I need to find out what happened myself." Spike backed away from the door and continued down the hallway in search of Twilight.

He ran until he came across one of Luna's night guards. "Spike?" the bat-like pony questioned, "What are you doing here at this hour?"

"I need to find Twilight; have you seen her?" He wasted no time.

The guard rubbed his head, puzzled. "I believe I saw her running towards the main gate; can't imagine what she was doing."

Spike's face lit up, "Thanks." He bolted it outside, fearing he would be too late to catch up to her. But to his relief, when Spike ran through the open doors to the courtyard, he saw Twilight staring up at the night sky. Spike let out a sigh and caught his breath before walking forward. As he was slowly making his way to her, Twilight's horn began to glow. "What? No no no." Spike began sprinting once again before Twilight could teleport away from him.

He got closer and closer but the magic was getting brighter on Twilight's head he had only a couple seconds. He jumped for it, claw outreached. A bright spark blinded his vision, and he could sense nothing but a silky texture in his grasp. When the light faded, Spike blinked his disoriented eyes and looked around at the castle of the two sisters which lay in front of him.

"Huh?" Twilight said. Spike quickly let go of her and jumped for his life into the nearby shrubbery. Twilight's eyes motioned to her tail, "That was weird, could have sworn something touched me." She looked around for another good minute or so but eventually turned her attention back to the task at hoof. With a creased brow and an increasing heart rate she trotted inside the decaying castle. Spike watched as she disappeared; he emerged from his hiding place and stared up at the castle. He knew that if Twilight saw him here she might not let him continue this quest; or perhaps she would, he was not willing to take the risk. He needed answers just as much as she did.

Spike hurried inside and followed Twilight, being sure to stay behind corners, pillars, and other such cover. It had taken quite a while but Twilight finally found her way to the tower she had found with Spike some time ago. Spike stayed outside the doorway and watched as the princess began to search the room. He did not know for what she looked, but Spike was growing all the more nervous as Twilight continued to fail in finding it. Eventually, she appeared to be giving up the search and threw a book against the far wall. Spike took this as his opportunity to get in there and start looking for himself; anything related to what Lennox told him would be invaluable and he knew something had to be here.

He ran for it and dove behind a clutter of books and shelves Twilight had knocked about. Twilight rushed her head around, "Who's there?" She asked, irritated and startled. But only silence ensued. She glanced around for a few seconds before turning back and beginning to attempt to search one more time. But just as she was starting to turn, Twilight noticed something that had not been there before. Spike's eyes glowed with anticipation as Twilight approached a loose stone in the floor. She reached with her hoof, but when she made contact with the stone, a great burst of magic shot forth and burned her foreleg. Twilight screeched and jumped back.

Spike was speechless at this point, simply watching, wondering what Twilight had found and how it would help them. She approached the stone once more, but this time she stepped with her head down as to be prepared to block the magical blast. But the stone did not shock her this time around. Instead, when she was just a few inches away, a magical beam flew up from the ground and covered Twilight's horn. She panicked and struggled to get free, but nothing worked. She attempted to blast the grip of the stone away. So, she lit her horn up with a deadly glow. As soon as she did so however, the magic of the stone absorbed Twilight's power and changed to a bright white color. The ground shook beneath her as Twilight's horn began to heat up. Suddenly the magic of the stone receded and released Twilight in one quick motion; Twilight was sent flying back, landing on her back among a pile of discarded books.

Spike panicked and ran closer to her, making sure she wasn't hurt. Twilight shook her head and appeared to be fine, but this did not stop Spike from worrying. No matter what she had found, it was not worth getting hurt for, he thought.

Twilight returned to the hidden compartment and lifted two books from the hole. Spike was too far away to see any label but he did manage to see Twilight's expression. She seemed confused, and mumbled something to herself; it must have been something written on the cover of the books. Twilight suddenly began walking out the door; Spike's gaze followed the books in Twilight's possession and his feet took a step toward the exit. Unfortunately, he was not watching where he was going and a discarded old tome blocked his way. Spike tried to catch himself as he tripped but it was to no avail and he fell loudly into a nearby table.

As Twilight turned to investigate the noise, she slammed the side of her head into the doorway. She dropped to the ground rubbing her head and face. Twilight looked up at the table and Spike held his mouth shut, sweating. She stood up once more, still rubbing her head. When the pain had subsided, she took a glance at her hoof. Twilight's eyes suddenly grew twice as large as before and she gasped, "Of course!"

"Of course? Of course what?" Spike said to himself and stood up from his cover. Twilight had turned away and was about to teleport once more. "Not again," he whispered. And once more, Spike ran and barely grabbed Twilight's tail in time to be teleported with her. When they reappeared, Spike let go of her and was prepared to jump to cover again. But to his surprise, Twilight ignored his grasp and ran through the castle gates. Spike knew the answers he sought had to be in those books. He had to keep following her and finally find the truth.

Author's Note

Opinions in the comments :facehoof:

The Other Journal

Spike diligently tailed Twilight from the shadows until she arrived at Celestia's bedroom. She pushed open the door with a gentle nudge and crept inside. Spike was confused to say the least; did Twilight intend to confront Celestia about this whole situation? She was unwilling to tell the truth before, why would it be different know? It had to be those books Twilight found; Spike had to get his claws on them. So, he followed her into the darkness and hid in the corner of the room. Twilight crept along steadily until she was over the princess of the sun. Celestia's chest rose and fell in heightened intervals and her brow creased as her head turned this way and that; light illuminated the bed and Celestia's twisting body. There was a pause before a ray of magic traveled passed her face and targeted her pillow, quickly retreating back into the darkness thereafter.

"Huh?" Spike whispered. Twilight appeared to touch Celestia's pillow with her magic, but why? Did she do something to the princess of the sun? Spike had too many questions to attempt to solve the mystery by himself. He followed his friend back out from the bedroom and all the way to the canterlot library, where few ponies would venture this hour. He stayed near the entrance of the restricted section after Twilight stepped in. He simply observed and hoped to finally get some clue as to how he could find the answers he now desperately wanted.

Twilight lit up the area and brought out the two old books with impressive locks. she set the books down before her and held up her hoof. She stared at the weightless string of pink, yellow, and blue, and Spike did the same; he squinted to see what Twilight held. "Is that a...hair?" The young dragon had no idea what the young princess was going to do with a hair, but she had to be on to something. Suddenly, Twilight's magic coated the hair and placed it within the lock of one of the journals. When she did so, the book snatched the hair from Twilight's grip and it disappeared. The book began to lift from the ground and vibrate vigorously, it appeared to possess its own source of magic as it lit up the entire room with an impressive display of colors. After a few seconds the book ceased its movement and fell back to the floor in a small heap of smoke and dust; the lock now open and the pages free to explore.

"It's unlocked," Spike mumbled, impressed. He watched as Twilight began to do what she does best: read endless amounts of pages for a slither of information. And Spike knew that he had to do the same. However, he could not simply take the book away from Twilight; he had to find some other way to get what he needed. Then, Spike glanced beside the alicorn to the other journal. Perhaps, this second book was a continuation of the one Twilight was reading, he could not know until it was in his grasp. So, Spike took advantage of the distracted Twilight and tiptoed closer, making sure to stay behind her as much as possible. He took calculated step after step until he could hear her lips move as she read. Spike looked down at the unoccupied journal and back up at Twilight, to the journal, to Twilight. He reached in, stretching each of his claws and holding his breath. Eventually he could feel the leather on his scales and he took hold of the book ever so gently. Spike lifted the tome and slid it back behind Twilight and firmly into his possession.

At last, he finally held what he believed to be a valuable piece of this convoluted puzzle in his claws. Spike snuck out of the library with the book pressed against his chest and ran until he put enough distance between him and any prying eyes. When the coast was clear, Spike took a closer look at what he had taken. The book was very old to be sure, leather-bound, and featured an interesting inscription: "This ledger may only be opened by the owner's stem of knowledge." This "owner" appeared to be listed above; Spike read the well-crafted name of "Luna." "Wait a minute," he said, "Twilight opened her book with one of Celestia's hairs..." Spike turned his head in the direction of Luna's bedroom and suddenly began sprinting down the hall. "That's gotta be it! This book has to be opened by one of Luna's hairs; it's the only thing that makes sense."

The little dragon huffed and puffed his way to the chambers of the princess of the night. When he got close he could hear... "Snoring?" Why would Luna be sleeping, he wondered; she usually stays up all night, helping ponies overcome their problematic dreams. Spike opened the door and found it slightly lit by a few candles. He ventured further in and made his way to the princess. "What the..." When Spike approached, he immediately recognized the pony laying beside the princess and gasped despite his better judgement; the noise echoed forward. Suddenly, Lennox's glowing yellow orbs revealed themselves, blinking several times.

Spike began to panic and he looked around for a solution, a way to escape. "You?" the unicorn questioned with his coarse speech. It was too late to run.

"H-How did you get out of your cell?"

"Shh!," Lennox looked over at Luna as he sat up, "Don't wake her." Spike raised an eyebrow and took a step back. "And don't worry, little one."

"What?"

Lennox got out of the bed and came face to face with the dragon. "I will not harm you," he placed a hoof on Spike's shoulder. The Unicorn then shifted his gaze to the book Spike had taken. "What is that?"

Spike instinctively held the tome tighter, closer to his chest. "N-Nothing!"

But Lennox saw through this petty lie, "Ah...You think that book will tell you what you need to know." Spike began to sweat as Lennox extended his hoof. "Perhaps I can help you to search through it."

Spike jumped back, "No! Stay back!"

Lennox chuckled, "Very well, little dragon. I will leave you to discover the true past by yourself. But, at least tell me why you have come to see Luna."

The drake was hesitant at the very least, but he figured if Lennox was going to hurt him, he would have done so by now. Spike looked over to the sleeping princess, "I need...one of her hairs." The unicorn turned his head and raised a brow but decided not to question Spike; he gently plucked a long blue string from Luna's head and handed it to him.

Spike took the hair and inched toward the door. Lennox remained still, "As I said before, I do not wish to hurt you; quite the opposite actually."

"I wonder if you'll keep saying that after I wake up Celestia and tell her and Twilight where you are." Spike could not believe the words coming out of his mouth; his mind screamed at him to just shut up before he made the pony angry.

But Lennox did not seem to react much, "We both know you will do no such thing."

"Why not?"

"Because a part of you believes what I am telling you, despite all of your instincts and experiences. You see, I have always been able to sense curiosity in others, it is clear as day, and you, baby dragon, are curious to see how much of what you know is a lie. So, go now and read your book. Find what you seek, and when you learn that I speak the truth, come to me and I will help you."

Spike did not reply, he did not know how after feeling the impact those words had on him. Was Lennox right? Did he doubt his friends, his life? Spike ran from the room with the hair and book; his mind said no! He lies! It is all a plot to turn everypony against one another so he can come out on top. And yet, Spike still had to read Luna's journal, had to be certain. He did have doubts in his heart, whether he wanted to admit it or not. He ran back to the guest room where the rest of the mane six rested. He quietly made his way inside and took a candle from the top of a dresser. He then climbed onto Twilight's empty bed, dug underneath the covers to create a dragon-shaped tent, and lit the candle. He stared into the keyhole on the lock and lifted Luna's hair to his eyes. Before he could react, the book sucked the hair in and it disappeared. Like its sister tome, this journal vibrated and shook before coming to a steamy halt. It felt warm in Spike's claws as he unbuckled the now free lock and opened the pages that held his salvation.

Author's Note

Opinions in the comments :ajsleepy:

Behind the Scales is a Broken Heart

"First journal entry...excited for...no." Spike flipped a few pages, "Entry 20...celebration...not this one," [flip flip flip] "Entry 50, today big sis is finally a real princess, yeah yeah yeah..." Spike sighed as he grew impatient with sifting through the endless diary entries of the princess of the night's youth. "Entry 100, Tomorrow i'll finally be crowned a princess! No more taking orders from Tia, no more being treated as just a normal pony...not this one either." As Spike's frustration grew, he began jumping ahead by claw-fulls of pages, searching for what he needed to know. "Entry 250, No pony is telling me what's going on, they think I wouldn't take the news well. But I already figured out that mother and father are sick; it's the only explanation..." Spike paused as he read the next few entries.

"Entry 251,

The guards stay outside our doors at night, but I managed to sneak out once. I headed to mother and father's room to confirm my suspicions and I was right. I saw them laying in their bed, both of them pale and sweating. There were healers surrounding them, wiping their brows and poking them with medical instruments. I don't think Tia knows yet; I don't know if I should tell her or keep her in the dark. Eventually a guard found me peeking through the doorway and escorted me back to my room; he didn't say anything, just nudged me to bed and slowly shut the door behind him."

"Entry 252,

I didn't cry, is that wrong? When they told Tia and me, I simply stood there but I did not cry. Does that make me a bad pony, a bad daughter? Tia locked herself in her room for days until the guards forced her out. They said we did not have the time to grieve properly; we had work to do now that we were the sole leaders of Equestria. I don't know why I didn't shed a tear, perhaps it was because I already knew that this would happen soon. Maybe my heart didn't allow me to feel the pain fully because it would have killed me to face my emotions. Maybe I am just a monster for not feeling the loss."

"Entry 253,

Today was the first time since we got the news that I felt my pain. Celestia came to me in my room; she said nothing, but hugged me tight and let her tears fall onto my back and wings. It was that hug that broke the wall I had apparently built around my heart. The two of us cried together for as long as we were allowed to. Until the guards said we had to get back to our duties..."

Spike could feel the emotion imbedded in these words and pages and he did feel for the princesses, but he could not let curiosity or unnecessary interest in unrelated events hold his attention any longer. He moved on.

"Entry 300,

The past few days have been a constant routine for both my sister an me, but I think Tia is about to crack. With every meeting and public appearance she grows more and more frustrated with the royal members of the court. But I can't say that I fully blame her; for countless nights, now, I have been fending off nightmare after nightmare and yet our subjects seem to pay no mind to my work and give little thanks. Their dreams are filled with playful sunny days and only seem to feature the night when they're being chased by something..."

Spike would find no answers here, he flipped more pages.

Entry 350,

It would seem that the court has at last agreed on our new advisor, a unicorn named Lennox..." Spike's eyes widened, he was getting close, just a few more entries onward.

"...Made formal introductions...seems smart and determined...smiled at me earlier today...I think he's going to ask me to lunch..." Spike read through many entries describing the relationship between Luna and Lennox as it grew more serious, turning into a hopeless romantic's dream story. But this hardly interested the little drake. However, after passing all the filly-in-love talk, he did find something he was searching for.

"Entry 400,

Dragons, large reptilian creatures from beyond Equestria; I could hardly believe it, and I wouldn't have had I not seen the new species for myself..."

"Finally!" Spike said, trying to keep his voice down so as to not wake the ponies sleeping around him. Unfortunately, that would unavoidable as Spike suddenly heard hoofsteps galloping towards him. Spike new this had to be Twilight returning and quickly blew out his candle. As she got closer, Spike shut the book with his claw holding his place and layed down in Twilight's bed, trying to make himself unnoticeable.

Moments later, Twilight burst through the doors of the guest room, very effectively waking everypony up with quite a fright. "I know what happened!" she screamed.

"What who where why?!!!" Rainbow jumped from her bed in alarm.

"Twilight?" Fluttershy wearily said, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

Twilight continued, "Everypony follow me, I think I have the whole picture now; I know what happened."

"Know what happened? Darling, what are you talking about?" Rarity asked.

"I'll explain once everypony is together, now come on," she beckoned with her hoof and zoomed away.

The rest of the mane six looked to one another and shrugged their shoulders. "Should we follow?" asked AJ.

Dash sighed, "I don't think we have a choice." The ponies agreed with sleep deprived nods an got out of their beds to follow their crazy purple friend.

Spike was still lying prone on Twilight's bed, watching everything. Should he follow Twilight as well? She said she knew the truth, but what if she was mistaken; got the story mixed up? Spike did not doubt Twilight's ability to effectively decode a text, and every instinct he had said to trust his friend and believe every word of her explanation. Yet his body did not move, he did not join the mane six as they chased after the princess. Instead, Spike sat up and lit his candle once more; he opened Luna's journal and continued to read.

"Entry 405,

Why him! Why did they choose him to be the pony representative. My choice was much more suited for the job. Is it not bad enough that my own subjects do not appreciate me and my domain. Now they want to send away the only pony I feel comfortable talking to, the pony I ever... It is not fair..."

"So he was the representative," Spike whispered. It seems that Lennox's story had at least a slight truth to be based on. The dragon kept reading entries until he at last came across the one passage he had been searching for.

"Entry 415,

After all the talk, all the rumors, the accusations by the dragons, I find that what they say is true. Lennox came to me and showed me my sister's dark secret; he showed me the egg. I could not believe that Celestia could do this but when we confronted her she did not seem to even try to explain herself. 'To secure our future' she said. She would not give us more than that. After everything Lennox, myself, and the nation as a whole has gone through with this war, that is all we get. I don't know what to think of my sister right now, but...I want to believe that there is a reason why she has done this. I must believe that."

Spike halted, staring at the words, reading them again and again. It was true, Celestia took Spike from his parents as an egg and kept him magically suspended in time until Twilight hatched him. There was a war between the dragons and the ponies, a war with no discernible reason other than those words of Celestia: "To secure our future." Spike looked around the room as if he would find somepony who could help him understand all of this. Then he turned his attention back to the book; surely the next few entries would shed more light on this, give some form of answer as to why Celestia did what she did. But as Spike kept reading, he only found loss; the loss Lennox felt as his friend fell, the loss Luna felt at having to banish the pony she loved to tartarus, his own loss.

Spike had read enough; he threw the journal against the far wall and ran from the room. Twilight said she knew the truth; she must have found Celestia's reason in her book. Spike ran and ran, holding in the tears pushing against his eyelids. He ran until he reached the throne room, where he heard the voices of his friends. Spike peeked in through the doors and could overhear their conversation.

"So, let me get this straight," said AJ, "Celestia did actually take Spike?"

"Yes, but she had no choice. The elements needed me to hatch Spike, needed us to become who we are." It was then that the newly-made Lennox statue came into Spike's view. He had fought the ponies and lost.

Spike listened to his closest and oldest friend defend his egg-napping, the war against his kind. His mouth gaped and he took a step back, closing the door. Spike fell to his knees in anguish, tears fell down his cheeks. How could Twilight support this? How could she be okay with what was done to him. He lived his entire life knowing in his heart that Twilight would never harm him, but this appeared to be another lie. Spike's sense of self, his being, had been broken. He did not know what to do, how to react to this, so he ran. He ran from the castle as fast as he could, leaving a wet trail behind him. He did not stop until mid morning, hiding in a back alley at the edge of the city.

The broken dragon sunk to the ground and buried his face in his knees, sobbing. "What's wrong little fella?" asked an old earth pony, passing by. Spike lifted his head and the pony knelt down to wipe his face. "Are you lost?"

"Y-Yes."

The pony smiled, "Where are you from and how did you get here. Perhaps I can help you find your way home."

Spike looked down, "I-I...okay."

"Spike, are you in here? I need to tell you what going on; it's important," Twilight called into the guest room. The princess grew nervous after failing to find Spike in any of the rooms nearby. She went to her friends, "Have any of you seen Spike, I can't find him anywhere."

The mane six and the princesses shook their heads and Twilight shook in fear. "Oh no, what if he...I have to find him."

"Don't worry, dear," said Rarity, "He couldn't have gone far; we'll find him and tell him everything, you'll see."

Twilight took little comfort in her words, "Where could he be?" she said to herself.

The mane six returned to their room and sat on their beds, tired from the fight. Twilight was still worried about her missing dragon and decided to have a quick scan of the room for clues. Eventually, her eyes glanced upon a lone book on the floor. The book seemed familiar and she approached it. When she was close enough, Twilight gasped and grabbed the discarded journal. She quickly read a few entries, looking for what she was afraid Spike had read. After a minute or two, she dropped to book and the rest of the mane six turned to her.

"Darling...are you alright?" asked Rarity.

Twilight slowly looked off into the distance, "Oh no."

Author's Note

Opinions in the comments :applecry:

Old Friends, New Friends

"Now, tell me your name." The elderly earth pony, who featured greyed hair and a wrinkled blue coat, sat at his dining table across from Spike. The dragon looked around nervously at the strange apartment.

"I'm Spike."

The old stallion gasped, "Not the Spike, Princess Twilight's friend?" Spike looked at the ground and said nothing. His host watched as he held back his emotions. "Ah, I see; something has happened. Between you and the princess?"

Spike wiped his face, "You could say that."

"Care to tell me about it? It might help if you express your problems openly. And perhaps I can be of assistance as well."

Spike looked at the pony, he was smiling gently and seemed genuine, but the dragon hesitated for what he had learned was big news for anypony. What if the story spread? Yet, his heart yearned for help and his spirit felt fractured. "I don't know if I should say."

"Well, that's completely up to you."

He looked around again and rubbed his claws together, "You may not believe me."

The pony leaned in, "Try me." He did not break eye contact for several seconds.

Eventually, Spike gave in, "[sigh] Okay." He told this stranger his tale from beginning to end, leaving out no detail and sparing no emotional response. It had taken some time but once he had finished, Spike leaned back in his chair and took a breath. "So?" he said.

The pony put a hoof to his chin, "Hmmm," he expressed to himself, thinking. "A peculiar situation indeed."

"What should I do?"

He took a deep breath, "What do you want to do?"

Spike's face softened, "I want to go to Twilight and apologize for running away; I want to forget I ever heard any of this."

"So why don't you go to her?"

"I...can't. I don't know why but I just can't; not right now." Spike closed his eyes.

The pony put his hoof on Spike's shoulder, "No matter how hard we may wish it sometimes, we cannot forget what we know. We must face the truth and come up with a plan for how to deal with it."

"A plan?"

"Yes. You wish to be with your friend, the princess, yes?"

He nodded, "Yes."

"But deep down you know you cannot simply ignore these things Princess Celestia has done."

"....Y-Yes."

He raised his hoof, having received an epiphany. "So, here is what I think you should do." Spike sat up and listened to every word the old stallion had to say and afterwards, had made his decision.

"I don't see any other way," said the dragon.

"Good. Now, we shouldn't delay too long or you will miss your chance. Tonight you will start down this path you have chosen."

Spike knew now that he had to do what he had to do, but one thing jumped into his mind after all that had been said. "Wait, after everything i've just told you, you don't seem that surprised o-or confused."

The pony pushed his chair back and stood up, "Let's just say that I am known for my open mind."

But this answer did little to satisfy Spike's curiosity, "Who are you?"

The day was progressing fast and Twilight and the rest of the mane six still had no clue as to Spike's whereabouts. They searched high and low throughout the castle, but he was not there. By now, Twilight knew for certain that Spike had learned some version of what she knew and could only guess how he reacted; although it was pretty clear he did not take it well. She paced back and forth in the guest room with her friends, "I should've told him everything as soon as I learned the truth. I should've taken him with me to the dungeons, the castle of the two sisters. He deserved to hear it from me, not from an old book."

Her friends tried their best to console her, "It'll be okay, sugarcube. We'll find Spike and explain this whole thing. He'll understand if it comes from you," said AJ.

Twilight continued pacing, "What if it's too late for that? When Princess Luna wrote in her journal, she didn't know everything; Celestia's reasoning for doing what she did. She would have been confused, sad, angry. Now because Spike read her Journal, he probably feels the same way. What if he doesn't forgive me for keeping him in the dark too long?"

"Listen to yourself, Twilight. This is Spike we're talking about; you two could never be separated," Rainbow reassured.

"This is different...this is bigger," she stopped pacing, "I've got to find him now! We haven't searched the rest of the city yet; even if he's not in the castle, he's probably still in Canterlot. I won't stop looking until I find him." The rest of the mane six agreed to help search the city along with the princess. For hours they went from door to door, checking shops, houses, alleys, and every crevice large enough for a small dragon to fit into. Eventually, the day's light began to fade and the six became desperate and afraid for their little companion.

"The time is nearly upon us, my little dragon friend. Are you ready?"

Spike took a deep breath and stepped with his old host toward the front door of his apartment. He tried to calm his mind, "I'm as ready as I'll get."

He chuckled, "Good, let us-[knock knock knock] huh?" He looked through his peephole to see who visited him at this hour. "It is the princess and her friends," he whispered to Spike.

"Really?!" The dragon put his claws together and bit his lip, "...Open the door."

"Go hide first," he beckoned as Twilight knocked again.

Spike's resolve faded quickly with his friends so close, "What? No, forget this plan, let them in."

The stranger looked to the door and back at the dragon, "Do not give up so easily, Spike. If you go with them, you will never get what is due to you. You still do not know everything, as you have told me; don't waste your only opportunity to get the truth, to get justice."

Spike inched closer to the door, claw outreached, "But...B-" Spike lowered his arm and ran behind a nearby wall.

The earth pony nodded and answered the door, "Yes?"

"Sorry to bother you so late, sir, but have you by chance seen a small dragon somewhere in the city. Spike is his name."

"You are princess Twilight aren't you."

"Well, yes, but that's not the point right now. I need to find Spike."

"Oh, I am sorry, Princess. I would tell you where he is if I knew."

Twilight sank down a few inches, "Are you sure you haven't seen him? Please think."

"I wish I could help you, but I'm afraid I have not."

Twilight sighed as did the rest of the mane six. "Sorry to bother you," she said as she turned to go.

The stallion closed the door and turned back to Spike. "They are leaving."

Spike came out of hiding and ran to look through the door's peephole; he watched his friends move away. "I shouldn't have done that! I should've gone with them!"

The pony put a hoof on his shoulder, "It is done and now we have to go; the time has come to put the plan into action." Spike looked to the pony, frustrated, but he made the decision to keep going, thinking to himself it was a mistake. He followed his new friend out of the apartment and into the night, his face low with anger towards himself.

They made their way through the city until the castle gates were in front of them. Spike led the way up to the guards, "Halt, who...Spike? Everypony's been looking for you; where have you been?" asked the pony on duty.

Spike hid his emotions to speak clearly, "I've been around the city. I know I should have told somepony where I was going, but there was no time." The guard seemed to be fooled by his explanation. "This," he gestured back, "is a friend of mind, we need to get back into the castle."

The guards nodded, not questioning the honesty of the dragon. "We'll let Princess Twilight and the others know you're here when we see them again," and they let the two pass.

They made their way inside and into the empty throne room. "Okay," Spike said, "This is the last place I saw him. I don't know where they took him from here."

The elderly stranger looked around for a few seconds, "Hmm? Perhaps...this way, " he pointed to a large set of doors which hid a long hallway behind them. The two trekked onward, eventually making their way to a set of locked double doors that seemed rather menacing but strangely enough were not guarded. "I have a feeling that which we seek is in here."

Spike looked up at the pony, "How do you know that?"

He put his hoof on the lock, "I don't know for sure, but I have my suspicions." Once again, Spike's wonder was not satisfied. The pony felt out the mechanism, "I think I can open it, I just need to... what is that?"

"What?"

He looked down the hallway, "Do you not hear that?"

Spike followed his gaze and listened carefully, "...No."

"I think somepony is coming." Spike took a few steps away from the door to look but after a bit, had seen no one. "Nevermind, I think I got it."

Spike heard a loud click and the doors suddenly creaked open before him. "What? How did you...I didn't even see a lockpick."

But the pony brushed him off, "Do not worry about that, focus on the task at hoof." Spike's suspicions grew.

As the two entered the room, they could see all manner of artifacts, magical items, and of course their goal: the petrified Lennox. They approached the statue and the pony put his hoof to it, he seemed to be reflecting. Spike watched on in confusion as the old stallion began to chuckle and turned to face him. "Now, my little friend, I will show you something amazing."

"What do you-" Before Spike could finish, the elderly earth pony he had befriended suddenly became engulfed in a sort of flame, covering his body from head to hoof in a bright orange glow. Spike raised his arms to block the heat and the light. When the fire had lowered and simmered out, the pony that stood before him was a young, fit unicorn with a red coat and orange mane; he opened his eyes to reveal two glowing yellow orbs much like the ones Lennox himself sported. Spike took several steps back, "Y-You're..some sort of...changeling."

The unicorn took a deep breath, "No, my friend. Much more like...a phoenix being reborn from the flame; so too am I able to be reborn as someone new."

Spike had had enough of this mystery, "Who are you, how did you know where to find me in the city and this door? You knew this was where they would bring Lennox, didn't you. Did you just use me to get passed the guards? Tell me!"

"I have had many names, call me what you like. But know that our goals do align; I would not be so cruel as to simply use you. Now, enough of this, we still have work to do."

Spike wanted more than ever to escape this complicated puzzle of a situation and go back to the way things were before, but it was too late for that now. This Phoenix figure lit up his horn and touched it to Lennox's frozen body. The statue shook and cracked from the magic; soon, pieces of stone began flying away. More and more brown fur being revealed until Lennox was finally restored to flesh fully. His eyes were closed as he fell to the ground, his body still awakening. Spike and the Phoenix stepped closer, waiting. Suddenly, Lennox began taking in heaps of air and his eyes flew open; he looked around, "Where?...Where am I?" He noticed Spike, "You?...You saved me?"

Spike became even more nervous as he wondered if he had just made a most terrible mistake. Lennox then turned his attention to the new face. "Who are you?"

The phoenix offered a hoof and helped Lennox up, wobbling. "I am a friend and I know your cause."

The scared unicorn looked to Spike for confirmation but he offered little. He cleared his throat, "Very well, What is our next move?"

"We need to get out of Canterlot and formulate a plan to take the princesses by surprise."

Lennox thought, beginning to recover from the de-solidification process. "We could try one of my old outposts in the dragon territories. Though, I am not sure it still stands after all this time."

"That will do nicely."

"Stop!" Spike yelled, interrupting the two ponies' talk of battle strategy. "Enough of this, we aren't going to hurt anypony! I-I don't want to be a part of this anymore."

"Spike," said Lennox, "You have come this far, which tells me you have found at least some part of the truth. You cannot simply turn back now and forget all of this." Spike looked at the two menacing unicorns before him, his eyes trembled as he saw now means of escape.

"Spike!" The dragon zoomed his head around at the sound of his name. The mane six stood in the hallway behind him.

"Twilight!"

She stepped forward, "The guards at the front gate told us you came back. We heard you scream." It was then that Lennox and the Phoenix stepped into view. Twilight's ears lowered in shock and fear as did Spike's eyes, but out of guilt and shame instead. "Spike, get behind me," commanded Twilight.

Spike instantly took a step forward but was stopped by Lennox's hoof. "Don't," he said.

"Let him go, now!" the princess ordered.

"I am trying to help him," Lennox pleaded with Twilight.

At this point the two sister princesses entered the scene, following the noise of commotion. They too, gasped at the sight of Lennox reanimated and this new figure beside him. "How did you get free? Who opened this door; it was supposed to be impenetrable without the key," Celestia asked in panic.

But Twilight was too busy arguing with Lennox to acknowledge the other princesses. "You want to use him. I tried to tell you the truth, but you were too stubborn to listen to reason."

"The truth?! You said you and your friends fulfilled the prophecy, yes? Well, if I am to believe in your view of the elements, the prophecy states that they will choose ponies to uphold their values and spread harmony throughout the land. Tell me, Princess Twilight, do you truly believe that these same elements would force the eggnapping of a baby dragon? Does that sound like harmony to you?" Twilight paused at his words. "Your reasoning to defend her," Lennox pointed to Celestia, "is just a rough theory. You must accept the possibility that your theory is wrong and Celestia made everything in that book up to justify her selfish act of tyranny."

"Princess Celestia is no Tyrant!"

"No? Than let her defend herself now," he turned to the princess of the sun, "Tell us why you have done this horrible thing." The room fell silent as everypony looked to Celestia to answer. But the princess said nothing, she put her hoof up to her mouth but could not speak. Lennox chuckled, "Yes, a very convincing answer indeed."

"You don't understand, she must still be-"

"Under that spell the elements cast on her. Be realistic, Twilight, she stays quiet because she knows there is no justifiable reason for her acts...[sigh] I do not wish to be your enemy, you can still make the right choice here."

"Don't listen to him!" shouted Dash.

"Twilight," Spike said softly.

The princess looked to her first true friend and smiled, "Don't worry, you're gonna be okay."

Spike pushed Lennox's hoof aside and took another step toward Twilight. "Spike," said Lennox, "You must now choose," he looked to Luna, "...as must you, my dear. You can choose to live a lie for the rest of your days, or accept reality." Spike's face became wet with tears. "Come with me; I will show both of you where all of this began. Together we will uncover everything and finally change this world for the better."

"Do not ask this of me," said Luna, "Do not follow this path. Simply stop fighting and we can be together, here."

"Is that a no?"

"......."

Lennox creased his brow, "I see; so my love abandons me a third time...very well."

He turned to Spike next. "I cannot go...without Twilight," the dragon said.

Twilight was shocked, "Spike," she softly said.

Lennox nodded, "Then Twilight may come if she wishes, but if she does not, you must be able to move on and come to terms with the fact that she values Celestia over you." He spoke more to himself than to Spike.

"That is not true." Twilight's eyes became misty as she spoke to Spike.

"Then prove it and join us," Lennox offered.

Twilight looked to everypony and then to Spike; desperation filled her mind as she feared to lose her friend forever. Sweat dripped down her forehead as she lifted her hoof. Spike took a step towards her once again. The two of them each began to outstretch a hoof and claw. They almost touch, "I'm sorry for everything," Spike said.

Twilight was about to speak when suddenly, "Enough of this!" Rainbow Dash flew forward, charging at Lennox in an effort to spare her friends. Spike took the opportunity as Dash was just about to tackle the unicorn to the ground to try and make a run to the embrace of his friends, but the Phoenix jumped between him and Dash with an ominous smile. He lit up his horn and a great eruption of smoke exploded, sending Dash into the dark room in front of her. She crashed into a few tables of artifacts. When the dust cleared, everypony looked around to find Spike and the two unicorns. But the room was empty, they had escaped.

Author's Note

Opinions in the comments :twilightoops:

A Dragon's Journey Home

When the dust cleared, Spike's claw remained outreached, attempting to grasp that which was nowhere to be seen. He stood for a few seconds as if frozen in place; refusing to believe he had been separated from Twilight. What had he done? Why had he chosen to help a stranger over his friends? What did this mean for him and his values? Was his love for Twilight so shallow that he abandoned her the first chance he had? Spike's mind tore itself apart from guilt and shame as he questioned himself. He lowered his arm and fell to his knees, staring out at the mountains and scorched earth that painted his native lands. Lennox and the phoenix approached from behind, "Where are we?" the former asked.

"Southern border; should be relatively quiet around here. Where was this outpost you mentioned?"

He took a look around to attempt to find his bearings, "If I assume the borders haven't changed much since last I was here, we should head north a ways until we see two mountain ranges converging into one another."

The phoenix nodded, "North it is then." He looked to Spike and gestured.

Lennox approached the small dragon gently, "We need to go, Spike." Spike bowed his head and said nothing. "You cannot sit here forever."

"Twilight will come for me; she will find me."

Lennox shook his head, "No, my friend, she will not. You saw her back at the castle, she would not have joined us...We both have been abandoned by those whom we thought loved us. Our only option is to unite and make those responsible pay for their crimes."

"You mean Celestia."

"She caused the deaths of our old friends and families and has managed to turned our current loved ones against us."

"You're wrong; Twilight would have come with us. She would have followed you and proved you wrong every step of the way."

Lennox took a deep breath and turned back to the phoenix, "We're not going to the outpost right away, " he looked to Spike, "I will show you where this all began, where she took you." Spike looked up at him as Lennox offered a hoof. Seeing as though he did not have much of a choice, Spike followed the unicorn and saw what he had to show.

Twilight searched the artifact room desperately but Spike was gone, stolen by Lennox and his mysterious red friend. She turned to the rest of the mane six and the princesses, "I'm going to get him back."

Rarity stepped forward, "We are going to get him back." She smiled and Twilight smiled in return.

"Any idea where they might have taken him?" Everypony looked to Celestia and Luna.

Celestia put a hoof to her chin, "Lennox mentioned showing Spike 'where this all began'. Perhaps he meant-"

"Why don't we just ask him?" Pinkie said cheerfully.

Everypony turned their heads to her in confusion, "What do you mean?" Luna asked.

"Just send Spike a letter and he can answer us on the back of the paper. Come on, guys, it's not that hard to figure out," the bouncing pink pony chuckled.

Everypony looked at one another in surprise at the simple yet effective plan. They all rushed to Celestia's writing desk in her room to fetch a feather, ink, and paper, and prepared what to say.

"Keep it short and to the point; ask him where he is and where they're taking him," Twilight instructed. Celestia quickly wrote the questions with a hurried penmanship, and sent the letter to the dragon. They all waited, wondering if Spike was being watched close enough that the letter would simply be taken and destroyed. But to their relief, the letter came back a few moments later in a small poof of flame. They turned to the backside of the paper to find Spike's message scribbled in some sort of dust resembling charcoal. "Dragon lands. South border. Parents' house." Twilight read the words out loud. They fetched a new page. "Ask him if they're hurting him," Twilight's emotions were getting to her, but Celestia did as she said and sent the letter. And the message returned much sooner than before. The ponies quickly viewed what Spike had to say. "Outpost. Two mountains meet." Twilight paused as what came next was only an illegible scribble. She then looked below it to find two words that sent confusion and fear into her heart. "PHOENIX PONY." Twilight read the large words, hastily written and turned to the other princesses. "Does that mean anything to you?"

Celestia and Luna looked to each other and thought for a moment. "Perhaps...it could be..." Celestia wondered.

"I thought he failed his experiments," Luna added.

"Tell us," Twilight demanded in a huff.

The sisters nodded to one another, "Follow me," Celestia said.

"What have you done?!" The phoenix screamed at Spike after seeing him send the message to his friends.

Lennox approached, "It is too late now."

"They know where we are."

"So be it. We will simply have to deal with them when they catch up to us. This was inevitable." The phoenix growled but accepted this outcome. "By any means, we are here." Spike took a look around once the phoenix backed off. The area had been abandoned for a long time, but he could discern the remnants of a small settlement amongst the broken remains. Huts and homes were scattered about, each kept a reasonable distance from one another, dragons being rather territorial and not keen on sharing space. Spike followed the unicorns through the town until Lennox stopped in front of a small heap with a collapsed roof. The assemblage of rock, wood, and cooled obsidian left from the once flowing lava was foreign to Spike, but, nonetheless, something in his stomach felt off. "This, my friend, is where you come from," Lennox waved a hoof at the home as he lifted the roof with his horn, roughly reassembling the structure.

Spike gazed up at his parents' house and slowly approached. He lifted a claw and touched the door; it still felt warm despite that being impossible. He pushed it open and took a look inside. There were cold, empty pools lava once filled; places to relax and enjoy the warmth on a cold day. Broken pieces of storage containers littered the ground in what was probably some sort of kitchen; some still appeared to hold a few gems for a snack. Then, Spike saw two large stone chairs against the back wall. Between them, a bundle of rocks and old gems; a small gruve had been traced around it where a gentle stream of lava would have flowed. This was Spike's crib. The dragon made his way toward the stone crib and knelt down to get a closer look. He reached out and put a claw in the middle where his egg would have sat. Suddenly Spike's mind erupted and his vision disappeared, his hearing was muffled and his limbs were restricted. Spike pushed out, trying to get free, until he felt a casing that surrounded him. "Look," said a familiar voice. Spike looked up and tried to find the source of this voice. "It's almost time."

The dragon gaped his mouth, for he knew this sound well, "....D-Dad?" Spike mumbled, he struggled even more, but could hardly move.

He heard another voice chuckle, "He's ready to get out, isn't he," Spike turned to the opposite direction as the voice came closer, "just a little longer, now."

His eyes watered as he recognized this sound as well, "Mom?" Then Spike's vision began to improve just slightly, as he felt something touch this shell that encased him. Spike looked up and could barely make out the shape. It was a large claw, the claw of his mother, gently touching his egg. Spike tried his hardest, lifting his arm to the roof of his egg; he put his small claws in the shadow of his mother's. Spike could feel her on the other side of the shell.

There was a sudden knock on the door and the two voices hushed. Spike could hear steps moving away and a creaking noise. "What the?" There was a loud sound of impact and Spike shuttered. "NO!" Someone screamed as another impact sent shockwaves through Spike's body. The dragon wiggled and kicked but was powerless to help his parents. He could feel himself being lifted into the air. "Don't you dare!" His mother warned. But before anything else could happen, Spike heard a poof and then nothing.

"Spike," Lennox put a hoof on his shoulder.

Spike shot open his eyes, gasping for breath. He looked around rapidly, "Where? W-What?" He turned and looked up to Lennox, "I saw...no...I heard"

"This place has awakened some of your oldest memories. You heard Celestia break into your house and take you away while you were still in your egg. Tell me, did it seem as though she was there to spread harmony?" Spike looked back to his crib and his parents' chairs; tears fell from cheeks. "Your friend, Twilight, chose to follow this horror over you."

"No...no. I don't believe you."

"yes you do," Lennox said softly, "You just don't want to admit it."

Lennox offered a hoof and helped Spike to his feet, "Come, there is still more I wish you to see." The two left the house and Lennox released his magic. The structure came tumbling down once more and Spike watched as his past was destroyed. Spike took one last glance back before the two unicorns teleported him away.

Author's Note

Opinions in the comments :rainbowhuh:

Phoenix Pony

The mane six eagerly followed Celestia to the archive section of the canterlot library. The princess stopped in front of an old and dusty section labeled "IBM Admissions," and began rummaging through the dusty records. Twilight squinted at the bookcase, "I.B.M.? What is that?"

"The Institution of Bright MInds," Luna answered, "It was meant to serve as a center of invention, problem solving, and complex thought for those gifted ponies whom we believed could make a difference in Equestria." She gazed at the many binders, notebooks, and records on display; forgotten. "Our parents had created it for the upper class and when my sister and I came into our positions, opened it to the public. Of course there was a very strict admission process."

Celestia raised her brow, having found the folder she sought, "We found it difficult to manage all the problems of the country by ourselves. So, we figured that the best and brightest Equestria had to offer would help move things in the right direction." She flipped through the profiles until she came upon the subject in question. Celestia turned the folder over to Twilight and the rest of the mane six.

Twilight gazed upon the red unicorn she had met only moments ago. "Corona Blaze," she read aloud, "Wait a minute...how...this application is hundreds of years old."

The sisters looked at one another, "Corona Blaze came from a relatively poor family, some of whom had died due to disease," Celestia explained, "When he entered the institution, he sought to create new medicines and prolong the average pony's lifespan."

"But?" Twilight assumingly added.

"But," Luna continued, "his research quickly shifted into using magic to become immortal. He was particularly interested in uncovering the secret of my sister and I's prolonged lives."

"When Luna and I refused to share our gift with him, he turned to experimentation. It only got worse from there: studies into mind control and manipulation; trying to force the body to stop aging. Eventually, it resulted in pony test subjects and casualties."

"After that, we were forced to banish him with punishment of imprisonment or death on his return. We stripped him of his resources and funding and he swore his revenge."

"When word got out about this, the institution lost support and eventually had to be shut down."

Luna looked to her sister, "We thought that was the end of it...but it seems Corona did succeed in finding a way to make himself live forever. And now he is using Spike and Lennox to exact his vengeance upon us."

Twilight read through the rest of the profile. She squinted, "This date..." her eyes shifted back and forth in thought. "Spike called him Phoenix Pony, why?"

Celestia answered, "When he failed to get any secrets out of us, he searched for other creatures that may hold the formula to immortality. Eventually, his sights set on the phoenix; continuously being reborn through fire and ash, never truly dying."

"So he found a way to implement this cycle himself." Twilight's mind began to sing with theories and explanations to the still unanswered questions surrounding the situation, but she had nothing concrete. "What else do we need to know about him?"

"He is a very skilled unicorn, not in the ways of battle, like Lennox, but in the art of alteration and illusion. Do not underestimate him."

Again, Twilight's inner monologue proposed ideas as she looked down with a hoof to her chin. When she was done, she turned to her friends, who were standing behind her, hearing all of this as well. "Now we know what we're up against."

"Don't worry, Twi, we've faced worse than these guys and won no problem," Dash spiritedly said.

Twilight nodded with a smile, "Okay, gather around." And so they did, and Twilight raised her horn. "Where is this outpost where two mountains meet?"

"It has been quite some time, but as I recall it was not too far from the southern border. You all should not have too much trouble finding it," Luna answered.

Twilight took a deep breath, "Alright, then we're headed to the southern border of the dragon lands to pick up Spike's trail. When we find him, we'll try one last time to talk with Lennox and Corona. If that doesn't work..."

"We blast the lot of them to stone," Rarity concluded.

The six nodded to each other and Twilight lit her horn, "I'm coming, Spike," she said softly. And in a great poof of magical smoke they disappeared from the castle.

When Spike reappeared, he found himself in the middle of a jagged field of stone brightly lit by the full moon in the night sky. The ground was littered with large cracks, chunks of discarded rock, and stains burnt black; even for the dragon lands, this place seemed barren. As he breathed, Spike could smell the rotten dust in the air. "This is where many a battle took place, where ponies and dragons alike fell by the dozens."

Spike knew that war was not a pleasant or simple affair by any means, but he had to wonder, "Why are you showing this to me? If you want to turn me to your side why not just make some place up to look like Celestia had done something terrible there?"

Lennox stared out onto the field and took a deep breath, "Because I am not trying to trick you. I am only showing you the truth. Besides, this is where Celestia did something terrible." Spike squinted with questions and Lennox closed his eyes. "After the war between the dragons and ponies broke out, I was called back to serve in the army itself. I fought many battles here on this very field, among my brothers and sisters." Spike's ears dropped a bit. "Many of my friends died before my eyes, in my hooves. Yet I kept fighting because I believed that our two species could someday see that it was all just a misunderstanding. I thought that everything would eventually go back to normal...But one day I watched my best friend fall in battle. I had known him for years; we were very close, like family, and i could not save him. I could not stop the war before it was too late."

Spike could not help but feel sorry for the pony. Perhaps, he thought, he was not as simple as Spike hoped. "What happened?" he asked.

Lennox cleared his throat, "That friend...was a dragon. I killed him myself."

Spike jumped back, "What?! Why?"

Lennox looked to Spike with watery eyes and a creased brow, "Because I am a pony, not a dragon, and we were at war! I was forced to choose between my personal feelings and the safety of my country. I chose my country, I chose to follow Celestia. And when the battle was over, and I was broken, I went to Celestia's room and that is when I found your egg. Luna and I suffered through a brutal war and after everything I had done: blindly following her orders because I thought it was for the good of the country, Celestia said nothing but 'It is to secure our future'. I just wanted some justification, some reason for killing my friend, but there was none. The war, everything, it was all pointless. Celestia wanted power, and was merciless in acquiring it."

Spike took a few steps back and gazed out at the field once more. The area suddenly had a different feel to it, a heavier feel. He began to imagine the battle that took place; the dragons and ponies clashing into one another. Fire, magic, falling feathers, rocks thrown through the air; Spike saw it all in his mind and his heart quivered. "I...I'm sorry."

Lennox cleared his face of the moisture and regained his posture, "Don't be, it is no use. Now, there is only one thing to do."

Then, Corona Blaze approached the two. "Enough of this wondering about. We need to start planning our attack. Take us to the outpost."

Lennox ended his lamentation and his mind began to fill with questions, questions he probably should have asked some time ago. "Tell me again; what is your stock in all of this? Why do you seek the fall of Celestia?"

Corona grew irritated, "Is it not enough that we share the same goal? Enemy of my enemy and all that."

Lennox grew more suspicious and took a few steps toward him, "It is not enough. Tell me who you are."

Corona growled and reluctantly answered, "I was originally called Corona Blaze. Celestia humiliated me for trying to do nothing but further our race. I sought to heal the sick, make ponies...better than we were. And for that, I was banished from my home! The princess was afraid of what I could do; she thought I would try to take her authority. I've sworn vengeance ever since."

Lennox raised a brow in thought, but eventually nodded his head slowly at the strange unicorn. "Very well," he said, "Come close, then, and I will take us." As the red unicorn did this, Lennox turned his back and pulled Spike closer to him. "I don't trust him," he whispered, "He's hiding something; keep an eye open." Corona came close and the three of them soon became engulfed by Lennox's teleportation bubble; in an instant, they were gone and the field was empty once again.

Author's Note

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The Outpost

"Here we are," Lennox gestured toward the thin but tall outpost built into the claustrophobically close mountain cliffs on either side. The front gate, which served as the only way in or out from this side, was an impressive assemblage of wood and iron several hooves thick. An invading force would have no choice but to enter no more than two at a time, shoulder to shoulder; all the while being subject to the archers, spellcasters, and rock chuckers posted on the walkway above. In the outpost's prime, dragons and/or pegasi could patrol the air above the gate, stopping any brave flyers from bypassing the ground entrance. Overall, the sharp spikes, gate chains, and slimy-looking rock walls made this structure a perfect fit for the dragon lands.

The two ponies and young dragon approached the miniature fortress with haste until they were stopped by a rather foreseeable problem. "The gate's closed," Corona said.

Lennox took a few steps forward, nearing touching distance of the gate. He gazed up, "If you can make it over, you'll find the mechanism to open the door to the right, inside the small tower leading up to the battlements." Corona lit his horn, following Lennox's eyes, and began levitating himself over the high walls. When he was no longer in sight, Lennox turned to Spike, "We need a plan in case he turns against us."

Spike raised a brow, reviewing what little he knew of the shapeshifting unicorn. "We still don't know what he really wants."

"Exactly. I've been through enough to realize when somepony is using me for their own benefit...Which is why when the fighting starts, I'll separate us from him. We will deal with Twilight and her friends, and he will take on Celestia and Luna."

Spike shook his head and paused after hearing Lennox refer to the mane six as a separate force, no longer a part of Spike's family. But Spike did not share this sentiment; not yet. "He won't be able to fight both of the sisters alone."

Lennox glanced back toward the gate as he heard the large chains begin to rattle, "I know, but he may be able to weaken them enough that we can finish the job."

"Weaken them enough before they capture him."

"Yes. We will force him to outlive his usefulness to us before we outlive our usefulness to him."

Spike squinted at this mind set, "You want to betray him first because you think he's planning on betraying us?" Spike paused again, this time at his own choice of words. Choosing to use 'us' seemed to be the same as proclaiming his allegiance with Lennox. Perhaps Spike was subconsciously coming to the unicorn's side in all of this; perhaps the word meant nothing at all, simply referring to Corona betraying the both of them individually. The dragon was unsure.

"It may sound wrong to strike first, but sometimes that is what is necessary to survive. You cannot honestly trust Corona."

Spike knew the red unicorn was suspicious, and he did not trust him to keep his word. But Spike had been taught that it is always better to resolve conflict, rather than start it. "Maybe..." The sound of the chains came to an abrupt halt as the gate finished opening and Corona Blaze appeared inside, waving the two to hurry along.

Lennox quickly knelt down to the dragon one last time, "Just be ready and stand close to me when I give the signal." The pony trotted off and Spike hesitantly nodded before following. All three disappeared as the gates were closed once more, eager to plan the details of their final assault.

After half an hour or so, the group found themselves atop the battlements of the outpost; the two unicorns discussed strategy and ambitions of victory while the dragon simply stared out at the landscape. His mind was too busy deciding his place in all this to focus on anything else. Was Celestia truly to blame, and if so, how should he feel? Spike was a dragon after all, his parents were dragons, he would have been raised here in the territories had his egg not been taken.

And yet his egg was taken, and he was raised by ponies, loved by ponies. Should his heart follow heritage or reality? Which ties were stronger: those of experience, or those of blood. The dragon rubbed his weary head and sighed. Suddenly Spike saw something move on the ground, at least he thought he did. The dragon squinted and the rocky surface below him became clearer. His gaze focused on a group of large boulders several meters away. "Was that...?" He turned to Lennox and Corona; the two were still distracted. Spike looked back to the rocks below and his eyes narrowed again. "Twilight?" he whispered.

"I think he saw us," the princess said.

The rest of the ponies peeked at the tall structure before them, trying to get a quick glimpse at the small dot of Purple that was Spike. Then the group noticed their enemies not far from him. "How'r we gonna handle this, Twi?" AJ asked.

Twilight stepped out of cover ever so slightly to ensure Spike knew it was her, here to rescue him from his captives. "We should wait for them to drop their guard. If they see us coming in broad daylight, they might simply teleport away again and we would be back to square one." The ponies nodded and decided to wait for the cover of night when they could sneak in, secure Spike, and then safely deal with the unicorns.

Back atop the battlements, Spike saw the image again; this time he was certain it was his friend. Spike whispered a gasp and his eyes shifted to the unicorns, to Twilight, and back again. This was his chance to be back in the embrace of his purple caretaker; his chance to return to his simpler life...but was it going to be the same as before? No, he thought, things would never be the same again; he knew too much, had seen too much, just to forget it all. Spike wanted to be with Twilight, that would never change, but was he still willing to abide the connection he had with Celestia if it was her that day? Twilight was unaware of all this, just as he was, when everything started; surely if she was shown everything Spike had been, she would not just forgive the crimes of her mentor.

The dragon closed his eyes in uncertainty and agitation. He couldn't give up his friends, it would put them in danger. But he couldn't simply go back with them either. Spike decided to allow Twilight and the mane six to carry out whatever plan they had come up with. Hopefully, he would find a way to satisfy both sides of this internal conflict.

The day passed into night and the ponies were ready to make their move. They approached the gate, using the shadows to hide their advance. Dash silently beat her wings up to the top of the walls, scanning for anypony while her friends tried to decrease their profiles. She glanced left and right; the coast appeared to be clear for the moment and she waved. Twilight suddenly poofed into view with the rest of the group. They all scanned the open courtyard between the wall on which they stood and the similar structure leading out the other side of the pass. There was a small cubic building connected to the far gate, "They must be in there," Twilight gestured.

"Huh?" The voice came from the watchtower staircase. The ponies quickly descended the inner side of the wall; the winged members of the group carrying the wingless. They barely managed to escape Corona as he walked out investigating the noise. The ponies below let out a sigh of relief at their not being discovered and quickly trekked to the barrack-like structure.

Once inside, they finally found Spike sleeping in one of the beds scattered throughout the resting chamber; he seemed to be alone. "[Psst] Spike," Twilight whispered. The dragon slowly sat up, looking around. "Spike." He turned to the door and Spike's eyes lit up as he saw the mane six had at last come for him. He jumped from his bed and ran to them; Twilight wrapped her forelegs around him as the two met. "Are you hurt?" she asked when the hug had ceased. Spike shook his head and smiled, and Twilight looked around. "Where is Lennox?"

Spike's smile faded, "He and Corona are on the gates, watching for you. Twilight, I need to tell you something."

Twilight became concerned, "What is it?"

Spike looked to the ground, "I-"

"Have seen the truth," said a voice from behind. The ponies turned to find Lennox standing behind them. "I thought I saw somepony crossing the courtyard."

Twilight guided Spike behind her with a hoof, protecting him from the dangerous unicorn. "Listen to me."

"I've listened enough." Lennox's horn glowed and with a large puff of magic he sent everypony outside. The six stood in the middle of the courtyard, gasping in alarm. Lennox put a hoof to his mouth and whistled, informing Corona of the intruders. And not a moment later, the red unicorn quickly appeared next to him.

Corona Blaze smirked, "Quicker than I expected."

The two groups stood apart from each other in a stare-off with Lennox and Twilight at the front, "This time you will not be so fortunate," he said.

Author's Note

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The Villain of the Story

The moon climbed its way up the night sky, struggling to overcome the high cliffs that blocked its light from reaching the courtyard of the outpost in which the mane six stood ready for battle. Eventually, a sliver of silver slipped passed the peak and shone on Twilight and Lennox. Spike pushed his way to the middle of the two ponies, "Wait," he begged.

"Spike, it is no use. She refuses to see things our way; you must let her go."

Spike pleaded with the ancient pony, "You didn't show her what you showed me."

Twilight's expression weakened, "What do you mean?"

"Twilight, I saw my parents' house; I remember what happened." Her mouth gaped slightly. "Twilight...maybe Lennox is right."

"Spike..." Twilight's eyes shifted down and she shook her head, "...Tell me."

"My parents were attacked by a pony; she came in, shot them, took me, and teleported away before anyone could do something about it."

Twilight took a step forward, "'A pony?' Did you actually see that it was Celestia?"

Spike hesitated, "Well, no...But Who else could it have been; she was the one that hid me away in her room."

She knelt down and put her hooves on Spike's shoulders, "What if it wasn't her that attacked your parents?"

"This is madness," Lennox said in a huff. "You said yourself it was Celestia that took Spike's egg."

She stood up, "Yes, Celestia took Spike; but I know she would have done so without violence. To openly attack someone else...it's out of her character, and she never mentioned doing so in her journal. Can't you see something is out of place?"

Corona had become fed up, "Are we simply going to stand here and debate Celestia's morals, or are we going to finish this once and for all?" The mane six readied themselves.

Lennox looked to Spike, "I am truly sorry, but he is right; the time has come."

"No, wait," Spike tried.

"No more words, my friend. Ready yourself." Twilight grabbed the young drake and tossed him behind the ponies. Corona advanced slowly, lighting his horn. "You have the first move," Lennox told him.

Corona smiled and from his horn came a stream of thick mist that covered the area. Twilight squinted around as her vision began to disappear and only the mist was left. She could feel the vapor rest on her coat and wet her mane. Twilight called to her friends, "Remember what the princesses said; it's only an illusion." Suddenly a lightning quick blast of magic zoomed for her head. Twilight leaped out of danger and looked around to find the shooter; her eyes struggled, but the fog was too heavy.

"Yeah, but knowing that doesn't exactly help much, does it?" Dash irritatedly said from some indiscernible location. Three more blasts came for Twilight's head; she dodged left and right. The last beam she failed to evade, and Twilight felt a strong burning in her chest as she was pushed back with a shout. The other ponies tried to help but could not find her.

"What is this? What do you think you're doing?!" Everypony suddenly heard Corona yelling in the distance. The mist suddenly became more transparent and Twilight could make out her two enemies. Lennox's head was glowing, and Corona took a few steps back.

"I will handle these ponies, you have the more important job."

"What? Don't you dare!" Lennox pointed his horn and with a large blast, teleported Corona away with a hateful scream.

The mist disappeared and the mane six regained their barings. "We will fight this war on two fronts." He faced the ponies and ran to attack.

"No!" Corona reappeared in Canterlot castle. He looked around at the two thrones in front of him, "If he has ruined my chance for revenge, I will-"

"Luna!" Corona quickly turned to see Celestia standing behind him, quickly joined by her younger sister.

He growled in anger, "Very well, I guess it's time I finally address the problem head on; no more puppets, no more games." He walked toward the sisters, "Have you any idea the shame you two have caused me? After you banished me with nothing more than the clothes on my back, I couldn't find work or even a place to stay for that matter. Every one of my loved ones had heard the monstrous rumors you had spread, and I was shunned; completely alone. But after everything, I couldn't just give up. I managed to continue my search through many long and painful experiments; I had to use myself as a test subject more times than I care to remember. Eventually I did finally succeed, but even then, I found that the effects couldn't be duplicated to give any other ponies this gift. You had robbed me of what would have been one of the greatest public services Equestria would have ever known; not to mention the opportunity to clear my name in the public eye and have my picture in the history books...And now, after almost a millennium and a half, I finally get to see you two get what you deserve."

The sisters stepped forward to confront him. Luna began, "You may pretend your motives were just, but the truth is you wanted nothing more than to save yourself from death. You wanted to be more than anypony around you, to have more power than them. If you truly cared for you fellow pony, you would have taken your banishment as a lesson and worked to better our kind in a peaceful way. Instead you waited fifteen hundred years for a chance at revenge."

"You say these things to me given your past," Corona let out a laugh.

"I have been forgiven for my past. Look at where you are compared to me."

"Do you mock me?" he lit his horn, "I will show you just how wrong you are about my...situation." His head glowed brighter, creating a blinding light.

"Luna!" Celestia called, "Don't look!" The dark princess quickly closed her eyes.

"It is too late," Corona said, his voice full of smug.

Luna suddenly felt a rush of cold surround her as all light disappeared. She slowly peaked open her eyes to find she was standing in an open vacuum of black; her only sensation was the feeling of a rough breeze. "Sister?" she called, but there was no answer. Luna looked around and shivered, "Hello?" This time she was answered by a low giggle somewhere out of sight. "Who's there?" The laughter got closer and the princess turned around to a figure of white smoke. "What is..." the smoke giggled again and suddenly took the form of Luna's younger self; smiling and curious.

"Who are you?" the young blue filly asked innocently.

Luna's eyes widened in wonderment "I-I am you."

The young 'Woona' turned her head, looking her older self up and down, "No you're not; you don't look anything like me."

"Yes I d-" Luna glanced downward to find her coat had turned black to match her surroundings; she was wearing light blue armor and her voice seemed deeper than normal.

She looked back to the 'other' Luna who had changed into a young mare; she was sitting down, crying. "I can't keep doing this again and again. Every night alone, every night facing monsters and ridicule."

Luna took a step back, "No..."

Her younger self suddenly looked to her, "You are the only one that understands."

"No," she looked up speaking to somepony out of view, "I will not be subjected to this willingly." Luna lit her horn and sent a beam of magic out in all directions. Her power lit the dark vacuum, fighting off the spell that had taken hold of her.

"Stronger...than I thought you would be," Corona sounded as though he was struggling.

Luna's horn became brighter, "You will not win; I am far too experienced in destroying ponies' inner demons."

"Argh! We will see!" The princess's eyes began to glow to match her magic and with a large final effort, she sent a bright wave of light outward, eliminating her dark prison. "No! Impossible!" Corona was pushed back and his hold on Luna had vanished as she opened her eyes, back in the land of reality. She turned to find Celestia on the ground, eyes shut and contorting herself in horror and rage. A string of magic connected her head to that of Corona, who had recovered from his shock. "Very good, princess. But your sister is not faring as well as you. Do you plan to fight me alone?"

Luna squinted, "No, I do not." She lit her horn again and from her head zoomed her own magical string; she linked herself with her older sister as she had done with the many ponies of Equestria every night. Luna sent a surge of power into Celestia's mind and she suddenly disappeared from sight. She reappeared inside the sun princess's thoughts; surely the two could work together to free themselves and take Corona down. But what Luna saw was a situation more desperate than she had anticipated. Celestia was chained to a wall in a cell of Tartarus; her head hung low and her body looked weak. "Sister!" she called.

Celestia glanced up, "Luna, wait." Evil laughter erupted from all around as more chains sprung up from underhoof, taking hold of Luna and pinning her up beside her sibling.

Corona entered the mountainous, blue and black realm in a puff of fire. He smiled at the sight of his captives, "You are both far too easy to manipulate," he laughed, "I almost feel sorry that little dragon had to put up with you for this long." The sisters struggled but it was futile, they had both been led into a trap. "Don't worry, though. With you two out of the way, I will be sure to finish raising him the right way. He will believe we rule as two halves, but ponies and dragons will all answer to me; Spike listening and doing exactly what I say to secure the loyalty of his kind. I will show everypony that I am a far more suitable ruler than you all when I make Equestria the greatest empire in the world, with ponies being the dominant race."

"You're forgetting about Twilight and her friends, not to mention Lennox. Do you think they will allow you to carry out this plan?" Celestia seemed sure in her words.

"Lennox thought he had defeated me by forcing me to fight you two alone; I myself was nervous but he is a fool. He will no doubt take down the other princess and her lackies, and when he comes here expecting to find me locked up, I will deal with him as I have dealt with you. All that will be left is me and Spike."

"Spike will never listen to you," Luna shouted.

Corona smiled and chuckled, "I know...but he will listen to you two."

He lit his horn and Celestia's brow creased; her head began to sweat as she resisted the magic. But eventually she gasped, "I admit it, I attacked you parents, Spike. I stole your egg using any means I deemed necessary. The lives of a few dragons mattered little when it came to the prophecy of the elements of harmony."

The sisters both gaped their mouths, "It was you; you were the one to cast a spell on my sister. You kept her from being able to speak about that day, not the elements....You were the one that attacked Spike's parents."

Corona laughed again, "Imagine my surprise at how easy it was to set up your guilt," he spoke to Celestia, "All I had to do was take the egg, leave it in the middle of nowhere for you to find, fabricate visions of the prophecy in your dreams, and poof, you did the rest. You even went through a war because you thought everything was justified. Ha!"

"I tried to give the egg back once I found out it belonged to a family."

"But I couldn't allow that. And Lennox! I didn't even have to manipulate him into hating you; I sat back and watched as he did half my work for me. Years spent planning and everything now seems to have worked out perfectly."

"I wouldn't speak so soon." Corona widened his eyes at the familiar voice and he disappeared from his illusionary prison and came back into the reality of Canterlot castle. He saw Lennox standing before him with a creased brow, breathing heavily.

Corona suddenly realized his villainous ranting had cost him, "It's too late, you can't stop me. And when you fall, Spike will be mine."

"No!" Corona turned to yet another familiar voice. From behind the thrones came Twilight and her friends, including the young dragon, "Spike will never belong to you."

The villain unicorn's gaze switched between Lennox and the mane six, "What? What is this? You were supposed to destroy them."

"And I almost did."

Lennox shot blast after blast of magic at the mane six; each of the ponies dodged and ran for their opponent. Twilight collided with the unicorn, two lasers of powerful light pushing against one another. Each of their horns burned as they stood in a stalemate, neither gaining the advantage in this magical duel. Suddenly Rainbow and AJ came from behind Twilight and leaped to tackle Lennox. But the unicorn jumped up, ending his link with the princess, and shot two orbs from his head. Dash and AJ were hit and the magic exploded into a glue-like slime that pinned them to the ground, out of the fight. Rarity, Pinkie, and Fluttershy stood at Twilight's sides as she lit her horn. Lennox stood as Rarity appeared above him, bucking his head before being teleported away again. Pinkie popped up behind him, grabbing his hind legs and forcing him to the ground. He tried to get up and deal with her, but she had been teleported away as well. Next, Fluttershy came from his right side and punched him in the face while he was down. Lennox swung back at her, but only hit air. With one magical poof of smoke after another, Twilight sent her friends into and out of battle, taking potshots at the unicorn until he was worn down.

"Enough of this." He rose to all fours and teleported away.

Twilight looked all around but could not find him. Suddenly Rarity let out a scream and Twilight turned to find her friend pinned to the ground much like Dash and Applejack. Twilight kept looking but she did not see where the shot came from. "There!" Pinkie informed, pointing to the battlements atop the far gate. Lennox stood and shot two more restricting orbs outward. Pinkie and Fluttershy had not the time to react and they too fell prey to the traps. Twilight creased her brow as she saw all of her friends subdued, struggling to get free.

Lennox poofed away from his vantage point and appeared behind Twilight. "It is just you and me now." She turned to face him. "You would have made a grand ally in the times to come, but you simply refused to listen."

"I was listening, and now I admit that you were right about a few things."

Lennox readied his horn, "I am afraid it is too late to talk your way out of this."

"You were right about the elements." Lennox's mouth gaped and the magic on his horn dimmed. "You said that the elements of harmony exist to do what their name suggests, spread harmony throughout Equestria and the lands beyond. You said that my theory that the elements had forced Celestia to steal Spike had holes in its logic because of this fact. I now see you were right. The elements would never do something so horrible as force a kidnapping. So, I began to look for another theory."

Lennox's horn grew dormant, "Very well, I will bite. What have you come up with this time?"

"Corona Blaze shows up just after you escape from Tartarus, knows where to find Spike, how to free you from the element's stone, and is willing to help you take down Celestia and Luna immediately; you can't think that's all just coincidence."

"He has told me his story."

"Did he tell you he learned the secret of immortality; his experiments in the matter are what caused his banishment. He's older than you. In fact, at the time Spike was being taken and the war was beginning, he was still banished from Equestria, wanting to get revenge on the princesses."

He raised a brow in curiosity, "...What are you saying?"

"If the elements of harmony didn't make Celestia take Spike, then somepony else must have. And since Celestia wouldn't have attacked Spike's parents, somepony else must have done that too."

"You are saying Corona orchestrated everything?"

"It is the only thing that makes sense. He took Spike from his parents, somehow Celestia got him and held him through the years."

"You are forgetting the war."

"Once Celestia knew Spike belonged to a family that wanted him back, she would have tried to return him. Is it so farfetched to think that Corona could have used magic to stop her from doing it? He obviously had a strong hold over her already. And if that was the case, war couldn't be avoided."

Lennox looked to Twilight, "I cannot believe you were right."

Twilight saw her two fellow princesses trapped within their own minds, "We can talk about that after we finish with him."

"You let this little girl get inside your head. All you had to do was finish the plan. Now you've ruined everything!"

Lennox exploded with pure rage, having finally learned the whole truth, "You started all of this. The war was your doing; everyone I lost, everything I suffered through...It was because of you that I was trapped in a cage for twelve hundred years."

"And it was I who let you out of that cage! Do you honestly think you escaped on your own? You owe your freedom to me. Now stop this childish whining and do what you promised. Help me defeat the Princesses and we can rule this world; would we not be better for all ponykind? Don't you think you could advance Equestria further than the Princesses? Think of all the good we could accomplish."

"Every word that comes out of your mouth is a lie." His horn glowed with a bright, vengeful light, "And I will better Equestria, right now, by deleting you from it."

Corona took in his situation: on one side stood Lennox, a powerful and battle-tested unicorn, on the other, a younger, brighter alicorn princess and five of her famously determined friends. Defeating the sisters was child's play compared to what he would have to do to beat these odds. The red unicorn grew nervous as he saw few options that ended in his favor. "You think you've won already," he eventually growled, "But this is far from over." Corona prepared to teleport to safety when he was brutally interrupted by a powerful blast of Lennox's magic. Corona screamed in pain as his shoulder smoked and he fell to the ground. The line of magic keeping the sisters in torment faded and the two twitched and blinked open their eyes. They slowly rose to their hooves and hobbled over. Corona was surrounded by his enemies.

"It is over," Lennox said, "You will not cause any more havoc."

"Wait," Twilight interrupted, "Don't kill him."

Lennox winced in anger, "Why not? After everything he has done to us." He lifted Corona into the air with his magic, "You ruined my life. You killed my friends and family. You manipulated everyone."

"We don't kill our enemies," Twilight again pleaded, "We're better than that."

"If we put him in jail, he will simply break out and do more damage."

Luna put a hoof on Lennox's shoulder and the unicorn turned to face her. "Don't do it," she asked.

Lennox grinded his teeth, his body screaming to take revenge. But his magic disappeared and Corona fell to the ground. "Throw him in the darkest place that exists, somewhere he will never see another soul, never taste food or water again, never feel warmth."

Corona gazed around and growled, "No!" His horn burst with a blinding light that burned everypony's eyes. They all lifted their hooves as shields from the rays. When the light disappeared, they all looked to find their prisoner had gone with it.

"He escaped," Celestia stated.

Lennox felt as though his chance for closure had been taken from him; the end of his tiring journey of life would not come soon it seemed. "I told you we should have ended him. I told you he would get away." The unicorn quickly turned, making his way to the door.

"Where are you going?" asked Twilight.

"I will not let him recover from this loss; I am going to find him before he comes up with another plan," he stopped and looked back, "And then I will finish this." He was about to walk out the door when Lennox suddenly remembered. He glanced at Spike, standing next to Twilight. "Come with me, Spike."

Twilight instinctively put a hoof in front of the dragon. "No, he will have no part in this."

Lennox did not address the princess, "We know the truth now. We both were manipulated into fighting the wrong pony. Aren't you angry for all the pain, all the conflict he caused you. All of this was his doing. Help me put an end to him."

Twilight knelt down, "Spike, taking revenge doesn't solve anything; it just makes things worse. I know you know that after everything we've been through."

"Do what you think is right. Do what you think is just."

Through this entire scene, Spike had remained silent. Do what is right? What was right anymore? What was just? In one moment, all the doubts and worries, all the tears and anger, all the...challenging of his life was blown away by Corona admitting his deeds. This seemed anticlimactic somehow. Should the dragon feel happy at knowing his friends were innocent. Celestia only took his egg when she thought it was abandoned and tried to give him back after she found out otherwise. Or should he follow what Lennox was saying and seek revenge. Corona had caused the deaths of his mother and father, the past few days have been full of internal torment. All the while the culprit was right next to him, lying to his face and laughing about it. Twilight had raised him to be a forgiving creature, full of love and friendship. But Spike had now seen a much darker side of life, he has seen manipulation and evil far worse than any of the other, blunter, villains the mane six had faced. This series of events had changed him, his mindset was not the same as before, and he did feel anger inside. Anger so pure, so full, he could feel it course through his body. Revenge to satisfy his rage, to avenge his kin. Forgiveness to follow Twilight's teachings and show the world the capability of a dragon to spread harmony. Follow or stay, revenge or forgiveness. Which ties were stronger, those of experience or those of blood.

Author's Note

Opinions in the comments :twilightangry2:

Blood Ties

"Spike...please." Twilight had her hooves on the dragon's shoulders, pleading with him. Taking revenge was something she had not taught him, she discouraged him from believing in it as a legitimate answer. He was to be a gentle dragon, not like most of his kind; he would be just and take value in life and friendship. Revenge was for those who either enjoy hurting others, or have lost who they really are. Twilight did not believe her friend was that for gone; he couldn't change so drastically in a few days. Of course, she understood what Corona did was monstrous and she did not expect Spike to forget. But the thought of this little boy she had helped raise becoming something else, something hateful, it made her heart ache. So she begged him to find the strength to stay with her.

Spike held his eyes closed, thinking on this decision. After at least a few minutes, Spike finally huffed a deep breath and looked Twilight in the eyes. He raised his arms and removed Twilight's hooves from his shoulders. Spike cleared his throat and walked passed the purple pony and to Lennox. Twilight and the rest of the mane six gasped and hung their heads low, their ears dropped. Spike looked up at the pony who had been hurt by Corona the most besides himself. Spike's gaze was hard and unmoving; pain and conflict had chipped away the weakness of his personality. He now knew better than ever that he was not a pony. He did not believe in a philosophy of unlimited forgiveness; always hoping that his enemies would someday see the truth and become reformed. Corona did not deserve to be reformed, he did not deserve to experience friendship and compassion. But Spike also knew that he was not entirely a proper dragon either. He did not seek isolation from his kin, he did not enjoy blindly hurting creatures smaller or weaker than he, and he did not hate those he did not know.

For these past few days, Spike followed others and listened to what they wanted him to believe. He had been manipulated, used, treated like an object to be bartered with. He had seen new feats of evil and vengeance, as well as hope and love. The little dragon decided here and now that he was done following others, believing what they believe because he is told to. Spike was not a pony, not a dragon; he was a dragon living amongst ponies. From now on, his personality would show both halves of who he was, and so would this decision.

"I will not go with you," he told Lennox, "I can't trek all around Equestria and who knows where else on a long search for revenge. I just don't have that much hate in my heart." Lennox sighed but gave a gentle nod. Then Spike suddenly pointed a claw at the pony, causing him to take a step back in surprise, "But I will say this: when you find Corona Blaze, I want you to bring him to me. I want him to understand what he did, and he will be sorry for all of it."

The room fell silent at Spike's words; Twilight stared at him with widened eyes. "Then?" Lennox asked.

Spike lowered his claw, "Then...I will decide what to do with him, no one else."

With these words, Twilight understood that Spike was no longer just a baby to be taught and guided. He was not someone who needed to be shown the truth or told of the ways of the real world. Lennox nodded, "Understood." He looked to Luna, then to Celestia, "I...am sorry." He lit his horn and cleared his throat, "I will return when I have him in chains." Luna took a step toward him, almost reaching a hoof out to stop him from going. But she did not; she knew she couldn't persuade him. The two had waited centuries to truly be together again; what was a little while longer. That is what they both told each other as Lennox disappeared from the room; his new quest had begun.

The ponies knew now that there was nothing more they could do. No one knew how long it would take for Lennox to find Corona and bring him to justice. So, for now, this story seems to be over. It was a bit strange; do they simply leave and go on with their lives? The things they found out in this endeavor were big, Spike had changed a lot, Twilight and Spike's relationship had been tested like never before. How can they just leave it at that and wait for the final result.

But this train of thought was interrupted by Spike himself. He turned back to Twilight, "I wanna go home now," he said.

Twilight slowly walked to him and put a hoof around him; Spike took it in his claw, "Okay," she said softly. Twilight addressed everypony else in the room, waiting for her to tell them what to do next. "I have no doubt that Lennox will find Corona and bring him to...justice. Until then, I think we should all go home and try to enjoy ourselves as best we can after everything that's happened."

And like many encounters with the ponies' villains, this series of events has ended with them running away to plan their next attack, while the mane six returned to Ponyville.

Twilight led Spike into the castle and to his room. The dragon looked around at the crystalline walls, his bed, the window beaming light into the space, all of it. The dragon took a few steps in and suddenly dropped to his knees; Twilight ran to him and embraced him in her hooves. Spike buried his face in Twilight's chest as she held him tight, "I'm sorry, Twilight. I ran away from you; I thought..."

"No, Spike. I am sorry; I should have told you everything from the beginning of this. It's my fault you went through everything you did." Her face grew wet as tears dropped from her eyes.

Spike lifted his head as his eyes leaked as well and looked at Twilight, "You have always been my family. You are my mom, my dad, my sister..."

Twilight smiled through her tears, "I love you, Spike." And the two hugged again, embracing each other and vowing never to doubt their relationship ever again.

FIN

Author's Note

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