“Do you have a strategy?”
Princess Twilight Sparkle stared at the green stallion, with a mane as black as night, sitting before her with a seemingly emotionless, yet stern expression. The office, located in the interior of Canterlot Castle, has been occupied by the Princess of Friendship for the past three weeks, and it was beginning to look more and more like the one back at her own castle in Ponyville. Her desk was almost a mirror image of what half the city of Canterlot looked like now after his first attack, littered with debris, only instead of buildings and various goods and household belongings, the desk was covered in books and scrolls that all talked about the Elements of Harmony and their function. However, the lavender alicorn was not currently sitting at this desk. No, she was currently sitting on a couch in the room's center, with only a small coffee table separating her from the stallion she was currently speaking to, who was sitting on a couch directly opposite of her own.
“For what?”
“For processing everything?”
The Princess of Friendship looked like a shell of her former self, and even she couldn't disagree. She hadn't slept in days, with bags under her eyes so large that they could easily be mistaken for eye black. Her mane, despite the fact it belonged to an immortal alicorn, seemed to show age, as it's purple color looked slightly faded, and the feathers of her wings looked like they were in desperate need of preening. This isn't to mention the mare's current facial expression, which traces of depression and anger seemed like a cross between losing a loved one and finding out your role model was actually a scumbag (Rainbow Dash could relate to that latter part).
“What’s there to process?” She replied.
“The story you tell yourself about what happened with…”
“I know exactly what happened,” The lavender alicorn sternly interrupted.
“Well, there’s what happened…,” The stallion, Dr. Beck, explained. “…and your consciousness of it.”
Twilight trained her eyes downward as she began to reminisce.
One month Earlier
The Princess of Friendship awoke with her mentor’s sun. She had to get up quickly, for there was much preparation to be done.
After managing to make herself look presentable and putting on her royal regalia, a habit she picked up from her three fellow alicorns, she exited her chambers and made her way to the castle’s dining hall.
Along the way, she passed three guards, Flash Sentry of the Crystal Guard, Baked Bean of the Solar Guard, and Slip Stream of the newly formed Lunar Guard. All of which gave the exact same greeting of, “Morning, your Highness.” She gave a “good morning” in return then continued on her quest for nourishment.
Once she arrived at the dining hall, she found several ponies waiting for her. Her fellow Princesses, Celestia, Luna, and Cadence, who looked like they haven't aged a day since they defeated Tirek a couple decades ago. However, time has begun to take its toll on her brother, Shining Armor, as well as her friends, who, along with herself, only arrived in Canterlot just yesterday from their respective realms of Equestria over which they ruled.
Rarity, who was responsible for the state of Litore, which encompassed the cities of Baltimare, Fillydelphia, and Manehattan, was still as fabulous as ever. The only difference body-wise for the unicorn was some slight wrinkles around her joints. Her mane and tail have begun to lose some of their color as well, so she heard, but knowing Rarity, she was probably using some mane and tail dye. She's also added some glasses to her regular attire, as she's begun to need them for much more than fashion purposes, something she had little time for with her new position, however. Luckily, that wasn't much of an issue, as her boutiques slowly rose to the height of the fashion world over the last few decades. She's had time to attend many fashion shows and design one dress or so here and there, but never as often as she was able too in her younger years.
Applejack, who was currently chowing down on an Apple breakfast tart she'd brought with her, was the second-most youthful of the Element Bearers in terms of appearance after a couple decades, aside from a certain athletic pegasus who had still not shown up yet. This is most likely due to continuing to physically contribute to her family's business. Aside from a few grey strands in her mane and tail, and her coat being a slightly darker shade of orange due to being exposed to hotter temperatures, she looked exactly as she did in her youth. Even the stetson she always wore remained perched on her head.
The farm pony now mainly lived and worked in Appleoosa due to her hometown, Ponyville, being part of Twilight's territory, Amicitia, which also included the Everfree Forest and all land north of Canterlot, south of the Crystal Mountains, east of Galloping Gorge, and west of Litore. Instead, she presided over the state of Patriam, which included the aforementioned Apple-producing town, Dodge City, Macintosh Mills and the Badlands. As for Sweet Apple Acres, Big Mac took over for Granny Smith after her passing. He was assisted by his wife Sugar Belle and the youngest of the Apple siblings, Apple Bloom.
Pinkie Pie, to the shock of all who knew her, actually began to mellow as she aged. Sure, she still knew how to throw a party like nopony's business and was still the upbeat Earth Pony everyone loved, but she seemed less... hyperactive than she was as a youth. Her mane has lost a bit of its puffiness as time went on, and, like Rarity, she was beginning to get slight wrinkles near her joints. The Party Pony ruled the smallest amount of Equestria, the state of Gaudium, but considering it included Rockville, her hometown, and Las Pegasus and Applewood, two cities that threw more parties than they knew what to do with, she couldn't complain. She also presided over the San Palomino Desert, which, to her disappointment, wasn't a land of cotton candy and ice cream.
None of the Element Bearers had been in the same place for quite some time. With an era of unprecedented peace and borderline overwhelming paperwork that comes with their jobs, not to mention their other extracurricular activities that come with their nongovernmental occupations, there just wasn’t time to simply hang out and have fun as a group.
All of her friends and family were already at the breakfast table, aside from Spike, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, the latter ever the late riser. Shining Armor and Flurry Heart were also absent, as they were scheduled to arrive later in the day due to Flurry Heart finishing up Final Exams at Pranceton University. They were insistent that the party was allowed to commence without them, not wanting everyone else to have less fun due to something neither of them could control.
“Morning everypony,” Twilight greeted. “Are you all ready for later today?”
Knowing exactly what she meant, everypony gave nods of confirmation.
“I know I’m ready,” A voice from the hallway Twilight had emerged from a moment ago said, which turned out to be none other than Fluttershy.
“Morning, Fluttershy,” Everypony greeted the yellow pegasus.
The shy pegasus also was, to the befuddlement of many, also very similar to how she looked in her youth. Granted, she walked with a lot more confidence than she normally did, despite retaining some shyness, and she was beginning to wrinkles near her joints, though less than Rarity and Pinkie Pie, her coat still retained a vibrant yellow color. Her territory, the state of Naturae, was mostly untouched by Pony-kind, stretching south to the White Tail Woods, and north to Vanhoover, it's most populous city, and Galloping Gorge, the latter serving as the state's border with Amicitia. It was also agreed that if ponies settled any land in the Undiscovered West, it would also belong to Naturae.
“Oh darling, what happened to your mane?” Rarity asked. “Did someone forget to brush it this morning?”
Fluttershy, whose mane, indeed, was slightly unkempt, with some strands sticking out wildly as if she’d tried to make her mane presentable, yet failed at doing so, almost immediately went on the defensive. Her cheeks reddened, and she stammered to find the perfect excuse for why her mane was in such condition.
“Oh, y-yes. I guess I did forget. How silly of me,” the Element of Kindness berated herself.
“Nonsense, darling, it happens to the best of us,” The Element of Generosity excused. “Luckily for you, I have just the thing for this type of emergency.”
Rarity’s horn lit up as a comb emerged from…. Pinkie’s mane.
“What in tarnation?” Applejack said in surprise, though Pinkie herself, who was carrying a conversation with the orange Earth Pony continued on like nothing had happened.
“Oh yes, I guess I forgot to mention this,” Rarity said. “After I discovered Pinkie’s mane had the capability hold some small things inside, I placed a couple of things in there in the event of emergencies just like this one while we’re here together.”
The white unicorn proceeded to fix Fluttershy’s mane. Just then, Rainbow Dash emerged from the same hallway Fluttershy came from, her mane also in an unkempt manner, though this wasn’t exactly rare during their get-togethers.
“Honestly, Rainbow, do you even listen to anything I tell you?” Rarity grumbled, not even looking at the cyan pegasus.
“Come on, Rarity, it’s just breakfast,” Rainbow Dash explained, taking a seat next to Fluttershy, almost trying too hard at acting cool. “It’s not like any dignitaries are going to be here. I think I can get a little leeway with a messed-up mane once in a while.”
Rainbow Dash was easily the youngest looking of the Element Bearers, looking nearly identical to her appearance as a youth, aside from a few scars from injuries she's had while flying and/or working. Unlike the rest of her friends, she didn't rule over any land. Instead, she ruled the skies, specifically Cloudsdale. Due to the fact that the city was in the clouds and a central component to Equestria's weather, the city moved around Equestria to any place that needed it. This proved convenient, as it allowed the pegasus to usually take work with her, as she balances ruling Coudsdale with being the Captain of the Wonderbolts since Spitfire's retirement a few years back. Even the Wonderbolts Academy and HQ had moved to the Cloud-based city, seeing as they can simply tour Equestria at the same pace the city does.
“But today is a special day, darling. It’s our dear Spikey-Wikey’s birthday, and we simply must look our best on one of our best friends’ special day,” Rarity countered as she finished with Fluttershy’s mane and moved on to Rainbow, who reluctantly allowed her to fix her mane.
“On that note," Twilight interjected, every pony now had their eyes on her, besides Rarity who was listening as she fixed Rainbow’s mane, “here is the plan Pinkie and I have jointly devised for Spike’s party.” The lavender alicorn magically transported a blackboard into the dining hall that detailed the plans for Spike’s birthday celebration.
After about five minutes of going over her plan on a mobile blackboard, the birthday drake finally arrived at the dining hall. Not wanting to blow the party’s details to him, Twilight quickly wheeled the blackboard into a nearby hallway, different from the one that led to her, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash's rooms.
“My leg!” A guard had cried out in pain, which caused everyone at the table to wince at Twilight’s little mistake.
“I’ll go tend to him,” Cadence said, excusing herself to go help the injured guard. "I shall return shortly."
“Morning everypony,” the adolescent drake greeted as Cadence exited the dining hall.
“Happy Birthday, Spike (my son),” the table (Celestia) replied.
Twilight couldn't believe how much the drake had grown over the years, gone was the shrimpy baby dragon and in it's place was a taller adolescent drake. He had even surpassed her in height and she swore he'd be taller than his mother in about a year or two. While his color scheme remained the same, the drake had also acquired some scars over his time as General of the Royal Guard, one of which was even over his left eye, and his muzzle also protruded farther outward.
He took his own seat at the table between Twilight and Celestia, the latter placing a wing around the drake in a hug, something the dragon leaned into wholeheartedly, and patiently waited for the Castle Cook to bring him his breakfast.
"I take it you slept well, my dear?" Celestia asked.
"Why can't you just ask Aunt Luna that question?" Spike asked, knowing full well what his adoptive mother's response would be.
"I could, but then that'd mean I couldn't have a quality conversation with my son, now could I?" The Princess of the Sun replied.
The drake fondly rolled his eyes, a smile never leaving his face. "No, I guess you couldn't. I slept fine if you must know."
With everyone now in the dining hall and Cadence having returned from tending to the injured guard quite quickly, everyone was served their breakfast. Spike had his usual helping of gems, while Twilight had some cinnamon toast, a delicacy she had become quite fond of over the past year or so. The sweetness of the cinnamon combined with the feel of the underside that still felt like bread was simply an amazing feat of food science that she must get around to researching how it was done someday.
Once she had finished her meal, she went to excuse herself to execute her portion of Spike’s party’s preparation, but before she could leave, said drake had also finished his breakfast.
“I think I’m going to go ahead and catch up on the comics I’ve missed out on while you guys prepare,” Spike stated, and in a move that would befuddle Twilight for years, he went around the table and wordlessly hugged every single one of its occupants, saying the same thing every time, “Thank you for everything.” While some said nothing, not thinking anything of it, others replied back, like Applejack. “Don’t go thanking us yet, Sugercube. The party hasn’t even started yet.”
Luna had also given a reply. "You are quite welcome, dear nephew."
The drake had left Twilight and Celestia for last and he seemed to linger on each of them for longer than the others.
"Thank you for everything, Twilight," Spike thanked. "You're the best sister any dragon could ask for."
“You’re welcome, Spike,” Twilight said as she embraced the drake. They soon separated and the drake then moved on to Celestia.
"Mom, I don't think I'm overstating it when I say I couldn't be who I am today without you. Thank you for everything. I love you," the drake said as he embraced the large white alicorn.
“You are very welcome, my beautiful boy” Celestia replied, Spike still surrounded by both her wings and hooves, a practice they had both called a "Double Hug" throughout Spike's childhood.
“Moooooom,” Spike grumbled, annoyed at his mother’s insistence at referring to him in such a way, eliciting giggles from the rest of the table's occupants.
Once he and Celestia had separated, Twilight watched as Spike left to go to his room.
It was the last time she saw the dragon she knew and loved.
It had all happened so quickly.
Everypony had gathered in the castle gardens, all except for a certain drake, who was told to arrive there shortly. Everything had been ready, from the purple and green streamers to the purple and green party hats, to the purple and green cake that featured a dragon on top, to pin the cutie mark on the pony, heck, there was even some cider that Applejack managed to save from the previous season.
Suddenly, that’s when the first crash was heard.
She had been patiently waiting for Spike to arrive in the gardens, but the sound of a building crumbling to the ground, not unlike hearing an explosion from a spell gone wrong, forced her to take action, along with the rest of her friends.
“Go,” Celestia had said. “I’m sure Spike would understand.”
Another crash. There was no time to lose.
“Twi, Rarity, teleport on over there and try to help as many as you can.” Applejack suggested. "We'll catch up."
The alicorn and unicorn nodded as they lit up their respective horns, which directly transported themselves to where they could effectively call a war zone. Rubble was scattered everywhere, dozens of ponies calling out.
“Somepony! Anypony! Help Me!” One mare cried as she was trapped behind several bent I-beams.
“Please, I have a wife and foal to take care of!” A stallion cried as one of said I-beams the earlier mare was trapped behind was also laying on top of his barrel, slowly crushing his internal organs.
“I’m too young and rich to die!!!” A particularly spoiled stallion cried out as he attempted to flee the area where Twilight heard more buildings being toppled to the ground like dominoes.
“Princess Twilight, help me!” A shrill voice, that of a filly, cried as she tried to ignore the fact her two back hooves had been crushed under a piece of a wall of a collapsed edifice.
The screams and pleas of these ponies, innocent ponies, would haunt the duo for some time to come. They went straight to work with lifting the rubble off of the ponies who had been crushed under it.
“What…. happened?!” The Princess of Friendship, stunned at all the destruction, asked one stallion with golden fur, a brown mane, and cutie mark that depicted a white star surrounded by a blue heart she managed to free from under several thick wooden beams.
“He happened,” the stallion replied venomously.
“Ummm, Twilight, darling, you might want to come see this,” Rarity called, who was the first of the duo to witness the being responsible for the destruction that surrounded them.
“I always knew he was trouble from the moment of his appointment. I knew he’s been capable of this, but did Princess Celestia listen to me when I warned her? NOOOOO!!” Twilight left the stallion to rant to himself as she approached the Element of Generosity. Following her gaze, she saw the beast. It stood almost as tall as the castle, it’s ankle had a circumference that could swallow a schoolhouse, and its green scales stuck out a distance that could have been the height of a building in and of itself.
“SPIKE?!” Twilight yelled in panic, going right from anger at the creature responsible to concern.
“Well well well, it’s about time you showed up, Twilight. I’ll be honest, I thought you’d get here quicker,” The enlarged drake said as he stopped his warpath and focused his attention on the lavender alicorn. Just as he said this, a cyan blur flew up to him, stopping once she got close.
Twilight noticed the pegasus had said something to Spike, but seeing as she was so high off the ground, she couldn’t hear her.
“Don’t worry, Dash, nothing happened to make me this way, well, that wasn’t my own doing at least.”
While Rainbow responded to the dragon’s reply, which included a few gesticulations with her front hooves, the rest of the Elements arrived at the scene via chariot.
“Oh no, is Spike….” Fluttershy began to ask, on the verge of tears at the display before her.
“Doesn’t Spike know there’s a party waiting for him back at the castle, why’s he all the way over here?”
“We don’t know, Rainbow’s talking to him now,” Twilight responded.
“Wow, he’s bigger than last time,” Applejack commented.
“You don’t get it, do you, Dash? Well, then again, I guess you weren’t always the best at reading what ponies say, were you?” The sting of the insult hit Rainbow like a ton of bricks, but Twilight noticed the pegasus was trying not to insult the dragon back, her gestures suggesting she was still trying to talk him down.
The drake sighed in exasperation. “Oh, for Celestia’s sake,” he said as he drew back his hand and slapped the unsuspecting pegasus out of the sky, eliciting gasps from her five friends.
“Rainbow!!” The yellow-furred pegasus yelled as she took off after the falling Rainbow Dash, her fellow Element Bearers close behind
“Rarity, you need to knock some sense into Spike,” Applejack said.
“But he already got over his feelings for me, remember?”
“You have to try. There’s got to be some way to be some way to calm Spike down or whatever’s causing this,” Twilight added.
Rarity sighed. “Alright, I’ll do it,” she said as she trotted up to the giant purple drake.
“Dashie, please, speak to me!!” The lavender alicorn heard from around a corner of a building at the end of the block.
She hurriedly galloped over to around the corner to find Fluttershy hovering, both literally and metaphorically, over a banged-up Rainbow Dash.
Twilight could have sworn the Element of Loyalty croak out, "I am now," but she wasn't sure and, frankly, didn't have the capacity to care, as concern for her friend currently outweighed her curiosity.
“Rainbow Dash, are you okay?!” The two pegasi flinched as the unicorn, alicorn, and earth ponies came towards them.
“W-when did you get here?” Rainbow Dash said hurriedly.
“Just now, are you okay?” The Princess of Friendship checked.
“Nothing too bad, just landed on my wing,” Rainbow gestured to her left wing, which was contorted in an angle that would more than likely make some more sensitive ponies squeamish. In fact, Twilight was amazed that Fluttershy hadn't averted her eyes from her fallen friend just yet.
“Spike-Wikey, what’s happened to you?” The Princess of Friendship heard the white unicorn begin to try and work her charms that have managed to work on many a stallion before. She flipped her mane up slightly in order to highlight her eyes, which she tried to make as doe as possible.
“Do you really think your charms can work on me now?” The six ponies heard Spike bellow, louder now that they were right up under him to the point where the dragon had to crane his neck downwards in order to see them. “You’re nothing but a slave-driving, conniving little horse that puts her own needs ahead of those who should be her friends. Element of Generosity, my tail!!”
Both pegasus and alicorn eyes widened at Spike’s word choice, though Rarity seemed to have taken it worst of all, as tears were beginning to leak from their ducts. Even worse, the sound waves being caused by Spike’s voice alone was beginning to cause tremors that threatened to topple buildings before Spike could ever get to them.
“I need to get back up there,” Rainbow Dash said, attempting to flap her wings only to wince in pain.
“Wait,” Twilight cautioned. “Let me heal your wing first, we need to be at full strength for this.”
Fluttershy looked at Rainbow, tears streamed down her face over the condition of her friend since fillyhood, a friend who sported a visage of impatience. The rainbow pegasus sighed as she relented.
“Fine, but make it quick,” Rainbow grumbled.
As Twilight placed her horn in front of Rainbow’s injured wing, she heard Applejack take a shot at trying to appease the dragon. Due to her concentration on Rainbow’s injury, she could only hear a couple of words clearly, one of them being “family,” but it apparently served as good a use as Rarity’s attempt, as she heard Spike once more, his booming vocals forcing her concentration on Rainbow’s wing to falter.
“Well isn’t this pot calling the kettle black. You may not be as bad as the little horse, but you aren’t so innocent either, Miss Apples this and Apples that. Celestia, if I have to hear you talk about your precious apples one more time I am going to burn that orchard till it’s nothing but ash!!” Spike threatened.
“Twilight!!!” Rainbow called out, in pain. It was then Twilight regained her concentration and renewed her efforts in healing the injured pegasus.
“I’m going as fast as I can, Rainbow,” Twilight insisted, lying slightly in order to keep the pegasus calm. Luckily, she didn't have to do for very long, since as soon as she finished saying it, she completed the spell.
"Okay, that should do it," the lavender alicorn said as Rainbow Dash flexed her newly healed wing.
“Thanks, Twi, now it’s time to kick some dragon….”
“SPIIIIIIIIIIIIKE! Why are you over on this side of Canterlot when your extra special birthday party’s over at the castle?! Are you angry because you thought we forgot?! We wouldn’t forget your birthday, Spike! You’re our friend!” Pinkie Pie stepped in, and with one look at Rarity and Applejack, the Princess of Friendship could see why. The two ponies looked like Winona if she had been kicked, only with more liquid on their faces.
“And look who speaks at last,” Spike responded, almost stubbornly, once more to an attempt by an Element Bearer to talk him down. “Why don’t you get with the program, you pink menace. Nopony cares about your Celestia-forsaken parties!! All you do is get into everypony’s face, ignoring all social boundaries that your parents should have told you about and take control of their lives for however long you want to toy with them. I think I’ll enjoy incinerating you most of all.”
The dragon did not get passed “Celestia-forsaken parties” before Pinkie too was beginning to tear up at just how hurtful Spike’s words were hurting her.
But just as soon as Spike was finished with admonishing the pink earth pony, a softer voice, but no less a powerful one was heard standing up to the drake.
“That is no way to talk to your friends, Spike!” A smaller voice shouted out to the enormous drake.
Twilight and Rainbow, who were preoccupied and still slightly shocked at Spike’s words to Pinkie Pie, whipped their heads around and noticed the spot that Fluttershy once occupied was now empty.
Spike didn’t even utter a word before he took action. With a simple flick of his big toe, he sent the meek pegasus barreling into the walls of one of the many white buildings that were beginning to show cracks just from the sheer vibrations generated by Spike’s footsteps, if they weren’t outright destroyed already.
“Flutters!!!!” Rainbow cried, and while later she explicitly denied it, Twilight swore she saw Rainbow’s eyes begin to water as well as she took off towards her fillyhood friend who undoubtedly needed her.
Even the Element of Kindness couldn’t get through to Spike.
Twilight was about to take off to check on Fluttershy as well, but Spike began to speak again, causing the pegasus to freeze like a deer in headlights.
“Your Friend? Your Friend?! I was never your friend!” He shouted, seemingly responding to Fluttershy’s earlier question. It was this admonishment that finally got through to her. The relationship she’d shared with Spike with so many years was like a piece of paper, and that one sentence was the drake tearing it to shreds.
“Since Day One, I have been planning this day, my day of reckoning. I had to be patient and wait, I had to learn ALL about you so I could defeat you. Now, you can’t stop me, NO ONE can stop me!” he laughed darkly. “And you know why? Because I am your ‘friend’ and you would NEVER harm a friend, A HAHAHAHA!”
“Spike, why are you doing this? This isn’t you!!” Twilight yelled, trying to believe, with all the faith she could muster, that this wasn’t Spike’s fault, that he truly didn’t want to hurt them.
“Wow, so you still think this still some kind of greed-related thing, huh? Alright, if THIS,” he gestured to the destroyed buildings around him, “doesn’t get through your thick skulls, then perhaps this will.”
The gargantuan drake made an about-face and made his way toward Canterlot Castle, leaving a trail of destruction in his wake. Twilight’s eyes widened as she realized what Spike was about to do.
“Spike, NO!! There’s no coming back from that!!” The lavender alicorn yelled as she activated her horn and teleported to the castle.
Upon arriving at her desired destination, Twilight immediately burst her way through the castle in search of Celestia and Luna.
“Hello, mother, auntie,” The Princess of Friendship heard Spike bellow as he had, from the sound of it, located the Alicorns of Night and Day.
Not as soon as she heard Spike greet Celestia, it felt like the castle had been struck by an earthquake. Twilight picked up the pace as she galloped towards where she heard Spike’s voice coming from.
Soon, she finally found Spike, standing in the burnt remains of what used to be in the throne room, currently swatting at a dark blue bur that was Luna, attempting to subdue him. However, Twilight could not see a blur of white and rainbow that harkened the participation of Celestia in the fight. As it turned out, she didn’t need to look far, as Twilight trained her gaze to the singed floor to find the Princess of the Sun, motionless.
“Celestia!!!” Twilight called as she rushed over to her. Once she reached her, she found she was, as she suspected, unresponsive. Luckily, upon putting her hoof on her neck, she felt a pulse, meaning she was merely unconscious.
The lavender alicorn then heard a teleportation pop behind her. “Twilight!" She heard Applejack say as she too saw the toll of Spike’s attack on his parental figure, eyes widening in both shock and terror.
Soon, a concerned looking Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, with an injured Fluttershy on her back, and an exhausted Rarity, in such a state due to the strain of teleporting herself and the other four, also entered her field of vision.
The Princess of Friendship gave her friends defeated looks.
An uncomfortable silence settled in between the Element Bearers, as all of them knew what had to be done, but none of them wanted to vocalize it.
“You know what we need to do, Twi?” Applejack finally verbalized the thoughts of all six of them.
Twilight felt the tears leak from her eyes. “I know, Applejack. Will you be up for it, Fluttershy?”
“I-I think so,” the pegasus shyly grunted in pain.
"Then let's do it," Twilight said, then turned skyward. “Luna! Fall Back!”
Understanding what the purple alicorn had planned, the Princess of the Night retreated, but once she turned her back on the skyscraper-sized drake, he opened fire, literally. A stream of fire consumed the black alicorn. Once she was visible once more, she plummeted to the ground, landing unceremoniously beside her sister.
The Elements Bearers shut their eyes began focusing on their elements, the artifacts themselves lighting up in response. In a similar manner that they defeated Tirek, the Bearers were taken airborne, and, reluctantly, but still purpose, they sent the power of the Elements toward Spike. Upon descending from the ground and opening her eyes, however, the lavender alicorn was stunned to find that Spike had been unaffected.
The Elements had failed.
For a brief shining moment, Twilight swore she saw Spike mirroring her shock, but it only took a split second for Spike to flip back to a visage of intimidation he'd been wearing prior to the Elements being used. This time, however, Twilight could detect a hint of smugness as well.
“Was that it?” Spike gloated, chuckling. “Was that all you could manage to throw at me?”
A smirk crossed his lips. “What will you do now, Twilight? The Elements are rendered USELESS against me!”
“No….NO! This can’t be right! The Elements have never failed us before!” She looked back, expecting to find her friends also expressing looks of shock.
“How could it--!?” But instead, she gasped as she instead found them unconscious. “My friends!”
The weight of the situation hit her like the moon had been dropped upon her shoulders. “.......No,” the lavender alicorn whispered in defeat.
“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I have defeated the Elements of Harmony! After years of careful planning, I have done it!" Spike reveled in his victory. “There is nothing that can stop me now! Say your prayers, Twilight Sparkle!” He said as he opened his mouth, ready to launch a fire stream against her. And yet, with death staring her right in the face, all the lavender alicorn could do was weep.
“I’m sorry girls, Princess Celestia……..everypony” she closed her eyes, accepting her fate, ready to receive the final blow, “I failed.”
Only it never came.
Instead, Twilight felt the pain of Spike pulling her up by her mane, but she only felt her body rise about a few feet, about where Spike’s eye level was at his original height.
“This was too easy. I was expecting more of a challenge, you know?” Spike said, with less of an echo. It was obvious now that'd he'd shrunk himself back to normal, but Twilight didn’t want to find out. She couldn’t stare into the eyes of who was once like a brother to her.
“Tell you what. I will give you a month. At the end of that month, I will return, and this time, I hope you can be able to provide me with a real challenge, my dear friend.” Twilight shut her eyes tighter as she unintentionally pictured Spike burning Canterlot to the ground, bodies of all her loved ones littered around him.
Spike released her mane, letting her hit the floor harshly. Once she did, she dared to open her eyes to find that, indeed, Spike was not only back to his normal size, but now airborne, fire flowing out of his claws and eyes. The Princess of Friendship gritted her teeth in frustration, which only elicited a smug smile from the drake.
“Equestria, The Crystal Empire and eventually everything else will be mine. Try to stop me, use your precious ‘friendship’ against me, it won’t work. See ya in a month!” He shouted as he flew away in the direction of the Dragon Lands, laughing all the way.
“He attacked Canterlot and vowed to bring Equestria to its knees,” the Princess of Friendship finally replied.
“That’s who’s responsible,” Dr. Beck said, knowing full well who Twilight was speaking of. “My question is: Who do you blame?”
The sound of a large explosion startled the little filly, but as she heard it, something seemed to awaken within her, a power she never knew she had.
Thinking quickly, the filly harnessed that strength and funneled it directly into the purple spotted egg that lay before her.
The egg began to glow due to the sheer volume of magic that was poured into it, and not moments after it levitated off of the hay that had originally been its resting place, it burst open, revealing a light purple infant dragon.
“I should’ve been able to see it,” she admitted softly.
“Pardon?”
“I should’ve been able to see it!” She said, trying to not let tears fall as her body bend over, her head facing the floor. “I was by his side since he hatched, if anyone could have seen this coming, it would have been me.” Silence permeated the room for a second, as The Princess of Friendship processed what to say next. “I was fooled by him, and now Equestria might be doomed, and it’s all my fault. How can my friends, the Princesses, or all of Equestria’s allies trust me when I’m not sure I can trust myself?”
Another moment of silence passed as both Princess and psychiatrist let that statement sink in.
“Perhaps Equestria might be doomed, Princess, but you cannot place the blame squarely on yourself,” the psychiatrist pony explained.
Twilight rose in her seat, opened her eyes and stared at the stallion, her silence indicating for him to continue.
“It was Spike…”
“Typhon!” Twilight interrupted, a look of anger flashing across her face..
“Sorry?” Dr. Beck asked, slightly confused.
“That was not Spike. The Spike I know was selfless, always willing to help his friends. The dragon that attacked Canterlot last month was not, Spike. That was Typhon, Typhon the Traitor.” The lavender alicorn explained, as the anger gradually depleted until she was back to looking melancholic once more.
3 weeks earlier
“What was that thing?!”
“It destroyed my house!”
“My wife has been in the hospital in critical condition all week because of that thing. Why aren’t you telling us anything?!”
“Calm down, everypony. The Princesses and the Elements are being discharged from the infirmary shortly and will answer any questions you may have!” Shining Armor said to the agitated populous.
He and Flurry Heart had arrived shortly after Spike's departure, but they had no time to be shocked. Shining Armor and Cadence, who had, to the relief of many, not been in the throne room at the time of Spike's attack, had been tasked with maintaining Canterlot's government while Celestia and Luna were indisposed. At this sudden arrangement, Flurry Heart had been immediately escorted back to the Crystal Empire to look after things there in the absence of her parents.
Right as he said that, the three previously injured princesses, as well as Princess Cadence emerged from the hallway on the far side of the throne room.
“Princess Celestia," a pony with a reporter hat said. "What do you have to say about the monster that attacked…..”
“SILENCE!!!!” The solar monarch commanded in what has been dubbed by the media as the “Royal Canterlot Voice,” shocking all within hearing distance except for the three alicorns flanking her and Shining Armor.
An unsettling quiet settled in the throne room. While the “Royal Canterlot Voice” has been a common thing out of Luna, no pony could remember the last time Celestia had used it. Thus, if she was, it was either a very serious matter or that time of the month.
“My Little Ponies, the creature that attacked Canterlot, as well as myself, my sister, and the Elements of Harmony was a dragon known as Typhon the Traitor, formally known as General Spike Solaris,” Celestia revealed. Some small gasps were heard from the crowd that either didn’t recognize Spike from his rampage or simply didn’t know who the dragon was aside from his relation to the Elements of Harmony. “Princess Twilight has informed me that he plans to return to Canterlot in approximately three weeks time to finish what he started in his last rampage. The Crystal Empire, the Changeling Kingdom, and Griffonstone have agreed to supply us with troops and firepower in our time of need, but we need to do our part as well. Typhon will be coming. We need to be ready for him. Now, any pony that has any questions may ask them one at a time.”
As each pony had their chance to ask, the Princess of Friendship simply sat in silence. It didn’t take a mind reader to see that something was bothering her.
“Fair enough,” Dr. Beck said. “It was Typhon who went rogue and destroyed half of Canterlot. It was Typhon who left the Princesses, the Elements, and yourself, hurt in more ways than one. It wasn’t just you that trusted Typhon. You all did. Tartarus, even I did, and I didn’t even know him. He did everything right. He didn’t just fool you. He fooled us all.”
Dr. Beck glanced at the bottom of his clipboard, where five black and white school pictures of ponies that looked no older than Apple Bloom could be found.
“Take it from somepony who’s had to shoulder his fair share of blame for other’s tragedies, all you can do is get up and try to make it right. What “making it right” means, however, varies from pony to pony,” the green stallion explained, turning his gaze away from his clipboard and back to the lavender alicorn. “So, tell me, Princess, what is your definition of “making it right” here today?”
“Not letting Typhon win,” Twilight softly replied.
“Perfect. Then go out there, and make it right.” Dr. Beck encouraged. “You can’t doubt yourself now, Princess. No matter what happens, your friends need you. Equestria needs you.”
The princess let out a calming sigh, the same maneuver she’d learned from Cadence many years ago.
“Thank you for coming, Doctor. I needed to hear that,” the lavender alicorn thanked, raising from her spot on the couch.
“Think nothing of it. You asked for my help, and here I am. Besides, it’s not every day one gets to have a conversation with a ruler of Equestria,” the green stallion joked. “I only wish it were under better circumstances.”
Just then, the door to the office burst open.
“Twily!” Shining Armor yelled as he entered.
“Shiny, what’s wrong?!” Twilight asked her BBBFF.
“It’s Typhon,” Shining Armor said, causing the Princess of Friendship’s eyes to widen. “He’s here.”
The siblings dashed away to deal with the imminent threat, leaving the psychologist behind. Despite the news he just heard, he let out a sigh of contentment.
“It’s good to be helping,” he said as he took his leave to go find a place to duck and cover.
Author's Note
All the Thanks in the world goes to Ekhidna for permitting me to create this story. Seriously, go check out "Friendship" and some of his other stories. Also a big thank you goes to Sipioc for being my editor.
Also, for those of you that might have gotten Deja Vu during this story, I did have two big inspirations for this story's framing device. One is the opening scene in the Designated Survivor episode "Grief," and the other is a conversation between Lance and Allura in the Voltron: Legendary Defender episode "All Good Things." Finally, the phrase at the end of the chapter is the catchphrase of a prominent Brony Youtuber, "Doctor Wolf." Just seemed to fit the moment.
Also, be sure to leave a comment telling me what you thought of this story. This is the first story I've written in some time, so feedback would be greatly appreciated.
I originally conceived a Part 2 for this story, so if you want to see it, DM me.
