Come Dawn or Darkness

The shadows closed in tighter and tighter, the last ray of light narrowed until it was no more than a pinprick in the sky above. He could feel them all around him, creatures hidden in the darkness, their eyes focusing upon him with terrible hunger. It's ok, it's ok. As long as there's still some light they won't come out... Still wish I could see what's out there though... A growl emanated from the vast darkness that lay around him, reverberating off his armor and causing his heart to pound far more rapidly than he would have liked. Uh... Ok, maybe not... Might be better if I don't see what that is...

The light continued to shrink, further depleting his already minuscule sanctuary. The growling became louder, closer, and he was Crain that he could make out the silhouette of something slithering just beyond the veil of shadows. Oh... Why did ever agree to this?! I can't fight that thing; as soon as the light goes out I won't be able to see an inch in front of me! Images came flashing through his mind of what horrors might be waiting for him just beyond the pale ring of light he had been left in. After thinking about the for a few seconds he suddenly wanted to scream and had to fight the growing urge to close his eyes and run. No, NO! That'll only attract more of them... I can't scream and I can't go out there without some kind of plan. Now -gulp- what was it he said about this place? About the things that live here? He concentrated, thinking back on his conversation with the wizard as they had made their way down to the mirror.

That walk had been the longest of Spike's short little life. Torrent had gone from the entryway of the library down to the cavernous basement below, all the while carrying the little dragon with one of the coiling tendrils that his cloak had shifted into. He had tried to fight is way out, but his struggling only made the cloth grip him tighter. Biting and clawing had done little more to help him. The walk to the basement had dragged on for what seemed like hours, the wanderer talking to him the whole way as if it were all perfectly normal. A wide hearth of shadows walked with them, far more than could have been cast from either of their forms. They danced along the walls and trailed behind them as the made their way to the mirror. He hadn't been certain what the sorcerer was planning to do with him exactly. The only thing he was certain of was that he was about to die, whether by the wizard's hand or in the jaws of something beyond the mirror.

Even that had proven to be beyond his ability to predict, however. As they came face to face with the mirror, Torrent's grip had loosened, allowing Spike to slip free. "What do you want with me, huh? What are you going to do?" He had tried to sound brave, but it had all come out in a quivering voice only slightly better than a whimper.

The wizard was a long time in responding, instead merely staring into the swirling unlight that filled the mirror. Finally he turned to the little dragon, who had just begun to realize that the door they had come through was no longer there. "Do with you? No, no Spike, you misunderstand the situation. I'm not going to do anything with you. In fact, I'm going to do something for you." As he turned, Spike saw that the wanderer's hand had turned into a claw, similar to his own except in color and size. He reached down and pulled a long black dagger from beneath his robes, its blade dripping with a bright green fluid that he was unable to determine the source of. Torrent knelt down, made as if to hand over the weapon, and then with one fluid motion, slashed Spike across the chest and replaced the dagger beneath his cloak.

Spike fell backwards with a scream. "GAAAAAAHHH!?" He had laid there for a moment, certain that this was the way it all ended. However, after a minute passed by and death's embrace still ill used him, he sat up and rubbed his chest. As he looked down at the cut, which seemed to have done little more than pierce his soft belly scales, the green liquid that had been on the blade began to pulse within the wound. A second later his scales began stitching themselves back together, leaving nothing but a thin emerald line running diagonally down his chest. "What... What was that? What did you do?"

"I gave you a gift. One that, with a little practice, you might be able to use to repay my kindness some day."

The cut had began to burn, yet still lacked the sharp, seething pain that Spike had been expecting from such a wound.

"Immortality probably means little to a dragon, but the raw power that I've just imbued you with should peak your interest."

All at once the sheer magnitude of the energy being released into his body had forced Spike to the ground, his muscles buckling and convulsing as newfound strength coursed through them. "Wh-Ahhh... Why?" It wasn't pain that had forced him to cringe and squirm, but a feeling he was unable to describe; the feeling of pure, unmitigated power being pumped through his body in a way that nature had never intended. "...why, me...?"

"Why?" He crouched back down to the Spike's level as the little dragon slowly began to stand again. "Because, Spike, you impressed me so much back there with what you tried to do. Coming to tell Twilight what happened, knowing full well what the consequences of your actions might be, took some real courage. Blind, careless, stupid courage, but courage none the less. If I had been your real enemy here I could have destroyed you right then and there, or made you watch as I destroyed everything that you loved, leaving you powerless to stop me... So rather than leave you brave but powerless, I thought I'd even the playing field for you a bit."

He had waited until Spike was back on his feet before he continued. "You were so focused on protecting Twilight that you did not hesitate to put yourself in harm's way in order to warn her about me. That kind of dedication and loyalty must never go unrewarded. For that reason, I am granting you this small fraction of my own power; so that you may continue to protect my student from whatever may threaten her in the future... And, to that end, there's one last thing I have for you..."

The tendrils of the sorcerer's cloak parted, allowing him to draw a small wooden case from the depths of their folds. He held it out for Spike to take, but the little dragon hesitated. "Not that I'm not grateful and all, but... how do I know this isn't some kind of trap? Everything you just said could have easily been a lie."

A smile crossed the wanderer's face for a brief moment. "That's exactly what I'm talking about. I want you to stay suspicious, constantly on the lookout for anything that might prove to be a danger to Twilight and her little friends... And then I want you to use these," he opened the box to reveal a pair of metallic claws and a strange, reptilian helmet, "to tear said danger limb from limb."

Spike had stared at the "rewards" for a good minute or two before he finally realized what was being asked of him. "W-Wait, I just wanted to warn Twilight, I wasn't about to try actually confronting you or anything! I mean, I can't fight or anything like that, I wouldn't know how to even begin using these things!"

"Use them no differently than you would your own claws. These pieces are made from a special type of metal, they will bind to you, grow with you, become a part of you whenever you put them on. The helm was made specifically for you, the claws are old heirlooms from an friend I once had... whose name I'm afraid I can no longer remember..."

Spike looked at the gifts once more, still reluctant to accept them. "Wh-what about the others? Applejack or Rainbow Dash, their bigger than me and a whole lot stronger, you should be arming them, not me. I'm too small to be of any real use in a battle!"

The wanderer sighed, his cloak extended out around him, and the shadowy arms of the cloth pulled Spike closer to him. His voice dropped to little more than a whisper. "They will receive their own armaments when the time is right... All of them. For now, though, you are the one who needs these the most." He grabbed Spikes arm and encased it in one of the cold metal claws. "You are the one who needs to be prepared to protect Twilight." He fastened the second one to the dragon's other arm, the steel became warm and began to mold itself to him. "You are the one who needs to be ready for the approaching storm." The helmet came last, covering his head with a light layer of iron. Through the slitted eyeholes filled with two carefully-cut gemstones he could suddenly see darkness gathering behind the sorcerer, forming into a doorway as the tendrils of his cloak moved to rapidly shape the shadows. "You are going to need to be the one who stands up to the spreading dark... But you are also going to need the most practice of all."

Before he had a chance to object or even register what was happening, Spike had been thrust toward the shadowy door. He tumbled through the darkness, the wanderer following close behind. He had hurtled horizontally along the floor before reaching the doorway, but as he passed through he quickly became conscious of the fact that he was falling vertically. Falling straight down until a dark patch of earth rushed up to meet him.

Before he could impact on the surface, however, one of the wizard's cloak tendrils caught him, holding him in the air by the tail and then gently putting him down. "What is this? Where are we? This... This isn't the Void is it? We didn't even use the mirror, what happened?!"

Torrent lowered itself down, the strips of cloak extending and growing thinner as they brought him down from the wide opening above. "Its not the Void, don't worry. This is essentially my own little pocket dimension, where I keep some of my books, treasures, and other things that I find interesting... That said, its also where I like to train, so there are some things in here best left undisturbed. Beyond that, though, feel free to look around and enjoy the scenery." He wandered over to a small pedestal standing in the middle of the open abyss. Upon it rested a book with a pale, foggy aura emanating off of it. "That is, once you've dealt with... these!"

He brushed his hand over something on one of the pages, though Spike was still to far away to see what it was exactly. The aura grew brighter, the suddenly faded as a three small figures began to emerge form the ground around the pedestal. Standing on three insectile legs, with claws and mandibles clicking loudly in the dim light shining from above, the creatures turned to face Spike, screeched, and charged headlong at him. Taken aback by the sudden danger Spike quickly backed up, turned, and ran... only to bump into the wanderer. Now absent from his spot behind the pedestal, the old knight had somehow made his way behind Spike in the second that it took for him to turn around. "Afraid not, no running from this. Stand and face them, little one. Make them fear you!"

Spike turned around as his attackers, swallowing back a silent scream as the first of the three parasites defended upon him. Suddenly, without thinking about what he was doing, he jabbed forward with both arms, stabbing out with the awkwardly heavy metal claws mounted over his own. His arms suddenly locked as a massive force impacted upon his outstretched limbs. A metallic screech erupted, followed by a more natural sounding shriek of pain. As he allowed himself to open one of his eyes, the outline of one of the creatures came into view, its form impaled upon a foot and a half of steel projecting from his arms.

The blades that made up his weaponized claws had grown while his eyes had been closed, extending to be more than a foot in length, catching the beast a moment before Spike would have been in any actual danger from its own scorpion-like claws. "Excellent, looks like you've given the other two something to think about." The first creature's companions had ceased their charge and were instead cautiously circling the pair, attempting to find the most opportune position to strike from. "Why not take the fight to them before they have a chance to strike at you as one. Their already at a disadvantage in that you can stand in this light and still retain your strength; anything created from that book will be severely weakened by light. Its not just this particular light, either. Even the tiniest spark could strip them of their power for a brief moment or two."
* * * * *

Spike suddenly snapped out of it as the last of the light faded from existence, his little circle of protection disappearing as the opening overhead finally closed. Even the tiniest spark, huh? The other creatures he had been practicing against had been small, weak, and were easily defeated by the powerful strikes his steely claws were capable of delivering, but whatever was waiting in the darkness now, this latest monster he had summoned forth from the book, was clearly bigger and smarter than they had been. Something tells me I'm going to want more than just a spark to deal with this one...

In one split second he was plunged into perfect darkness, his eyes might as well have been closed for all the good they were doing him. The creature stalking him was moving closer, growling deeply as it prepared to descend upon its prey. The little dragon stood perfectly still, unmoving against the approaching, unseen monstrosity. A roar exploded from a few yards away; Spike answered it with a hiss as he drew in breath. Come on, just a little closer.... just a little closer....

An explosive roar buffeted Spike from only a few inches away, even in the perpetual darkness he could almost see a massive set of jaws flashing open before him. And then, with every last bit of breath he had in him, he opened s own jaws and let a torrent of emerald fire erupt from the back of his throat. The jet of flames illuminated the area, revealing outlines of bookshelves, chests, and treasured all standing in an empty region of churning shadow. The green fire caught the creature dead in the face, its papery skin bursting into flame as the heat spread, consuming its face in a viridian inferno. For a moment it still seemed determined to close its monstrous jaws around its tiny assailant, but in a the blink of an eye the dragon was already out of its path and making his way to its exposed underbelly. Razor-sharp claws dug into the large creature's exposed flesh, avoiding the patches of metallic plate that covered its most vital organs.

Spike ran along the parameter of its stomach, one claw constantly buried in the monster's side. He let loose another burst of flame, igniting the surface, super-heating its armor, and filling the freshly-made wounds with bright green light. "Ha! You still want to make a meal of me? Well come on, I'm right here!" The monstrosity twisted its neck around to follow him, but the strain upon its charred form caused a large section of its jaw to fall to the ground. Spike kept running, clawing at the beast and burning away more and more of its defenses. Chunks of flesh and metal were beginning to slough off its bones, revealing the traces of its skeletal frame underneath. Finally, with one last tormented roar, the behemoth fell forward and smoldered out of existence, slowly disintegrating until nothing but a pile of ash remained. The little dragon dug through it for a moment until his claws brushed against an untarnished hunk of metal. He pulled it free of the dust and began to walk back to pedestal where the summoning book sat. As he did, the steel chunk began to reform itself, wrapping around the exposed section of his right arm until it was completely encased in the same flexible metal that his helmet was made of. So that takes care of both arms, both legs, my tail, and the left side of my back and stomach... Just a few more and I should have a full suit. Huh, maybe if I get a few more after that I can make a sword or something out of it... Although, I guess these claws are good enough weapons; they just don't make me feel like much of a knight, is all.

Light returned to the book, a pale aura cast from the words and illustrations, each representing a different creature the author had come in contact with during his travels. "Well, that wasn't so bad once I remembered I could breath fire. I wonder how I could have forgotten something like that in the first place... Oh well! I guess I must have been more scared than I thought! And now I'm talking to myself, so... there's that to think about too." He walked back to the book to select a new opponent, being careful to only choose one which had a picture of said creature next to the words. "That's the last time I pick one without checking what it looks like first. Now lets see here... "

Light was slowly flooding back into the area as the sky opened up once more, as it did every hour or so in the dark little world he had found himself in. He scanned through the words in the book, recognizing none of them as being from any language he had ever seen before. The illustrations depicting the bizarre menagerie that the wanderer had come across in his travels were what was really attracting his attention. "Let's see.... How about... You!" He was just about to pass his hand over the caption below an image of a large spined bear-like creature, activating the spell and summoning the beast from the living soil below the pedestal, when the light shining down from overhead suddenly increased in intensity.

During his entire stay in the darkness the light in the sky had never grown brighter than the light cast off the moon on a clear night. Now, however, it was as if the sun was rising and growing larger ever second. Suddenly a voice echoed through the shadows, seeming to come from every direction at once. "Spike, time's up I'm afraid. Going to have to cut this little exercise short; it would seem your absence hasn't gone quite as unnoticed as we would have liked."

"T-Torrent? Whats going on? Where are you?"

"Up here, Spike. Best hurry, I'm not entirely sure how long their going to let this go on based on my word alone..." His voice was clear and calm, but there was a certain urgency in the words he was saying that immediately put Spike on edge. "Their not likely going to believe the rest of my story until they see you so..."

"But... But I uh... I can't get up there. The portal's in the sky from where I'm standing, remember?"

"Didn't bring down any of the creatures that had wings then, I take it? Alright, not a problem. Give me a moment..."

Wings! Thats what I should have gone for! I'd gladly have given up all this protection on my arms if it meant I could have gotten wings off one of those things... Oh well, next time then... Sure hope there's going to be a next time now...

It took a few minutes before anything happened; suddenly the light shrank and disappeared from the sky. A few minutes later a new doorway opened a few yards away, standing vertically at ground level so that the little dragon could walk through on his own. As he did so, he realized that the light on the other side was not the same as the light the portal overhead had been casting. He emerged into a world shrouded in the hazy shadows of a new morning, the sun just barely starting to rise behind the trees. Before him stood one of the strangest sights he had laid eyes on in a very long time.

Directly in front of him was the wanderer, his cloak divided into tentacle-like appendages a once more, this time holding open a the portal he just stepped through. The sorcerer himself, however, was on his knees surrounded by Princess Celestia's royal guards. Heavy chains bound his arms and legs, their links glowing with dazzling pale blue light. An iron collar sat around his neck, connecting the chains together. An azure sphere surrounded the area where he, the guards, and the portal Spike just stepped out of all stood. As the little dragon looked further inspected his surroundings, it became saw that the sphere was Shining Armor's work, the chains were being formed by a group of cloaked unicorns wearing the royal colors, and that the Princess herself was standing just outside their force field with Twilight and Rarity by her side.

"What... What's going on here?" He had meant to say something more profound, but it was all he could get out before a ghostly set of chains wrapped themselves around him, dragging him to the ground. "Hey!"

"Silence, creature! Wizard, you were told to produce evidence against the accusations, not summon one of your little pet monstrosities!" The guard was a massive stallion, his head completely masked by a blue hooded cloak that draped over a gold helmet. The earth pony's voice shook the very air as it reverberated from within the confines of the gilded facemask. "Explain yourself, demon!"

"I, but, I didn-"

"He means me, Spike, don't worry." Torrent finally stirred beneath the mass of chains, shifting just enough cause them to clink loudly against one another. "Now then, inquisitor, if you would be so kind as to remove my little monstrosity's helm, I think you'll find all the evidence you require... You didn't really think that was face did you?"

One of the pegasi guarding the wizard moved behind Spike and bit down on one of the jagged spines protruding from the center of his helmet. As the cover was lifted off him, Spike suddenly felt the other pieces of metallic armor he had collected detach themselves from his scales.

"SPIKE! YOUR ALIVE! Oh thank goodness! Shining Armor, please, let me through!" As Spike's eyes readjusted after having the gemstones in from too them for so long, he could just barely make out the shape of a pair of unicorns running through the barrier. He could hear Rarity in the lead, rushing to his side as two more figures slowly entered the sphere.

"Guards, unchain him. He's the one we were waiting for, you can see for yourself that this one isn't an illusion." Twilight's voice this time; somehow even more comforting than Rarity's had been in that moment. "Spike, where have you been? What happened to you?"

Slowly the chains began to drop away, their massive weight leaving him uneasy as he tried to stand once more. "I... I'll tell you in a minute. First thing's first though, what happened to all of you?!" He had never seen Twilight so battered or Rarity so impossibly happy to see him. Add to that the fact that Twilight's new teacher was being held down in chains by her old mentor and half her personal guard force, there was no way to deny that something was definitely wrong here. Just how long was i gone for? What did I miss?!