Set to Burn

Ten years. Ten years of fighting. Ten years of killing his friends over and over on top of everything else. Spike was at his rope's end. All the power in the world couldn't shove down the guilt he felt inside, all the self-loathing. All he wanted to do was sleep.

A shadow cast itself over the dragon's form while he rested beneath a tree near the castle.

"Spike...? Are you okay...?"

He opened his eyes.

"Hey, Twilight."

"You look down."

"Sorry..."

Twilight sat next to him.

"You wanna talk about it?"

"I don't know..."

"Keeping everything down will only kill you sooner."

"Maybe that wouldn't be so bad..."

"Spike..."

"I'm a weapon of death, Twilight. That's been my purpose this whole time. How am I supposed to feel?"

"How do you feel now?"

"Sad. Sad and angry. That's all I've felt for a long time."

"...Do you remember when Starfall was born? You were so happy."

"Yeah...She was so small and frail. You guys thought she'd never stop crying."

"Yet when you held her in your arms, what happened? What does it say when a newborn foal trusts you with her life more than her own parents?"

"What are you trying to get at?"

"It's because of everything you've done that her birth was possible, the births of all our children."

"It's funny. You sound a lot more like Celestia these days."

"She's a wise teacher. She knew right away who the most worthy protector of our planet was."

"I'm scared, scared because I like that feeling. Having power over someone else's future is a rush like nothing else."

"There's a reason you feel that way."

"There is?"

"Around evil, you no longer have to restrain yourself. They're not fighting for beliefs or ideologies. Their only purpose is to kill as many people as possible. Letting yourself redirect their own bloodlust towards them is what makes you so strong. In a kill or be killed situation, guilt will only weigh you down. It's when you harm the innocent that it becomes a problem, and I seriously doubt you would ever take it that far."

"So that's why..."

"We all have darkness inside of us. It's how you use it that makes the difference."

"But where does it end? When should I show mercy?"

"Have you met a single enemy that's begged for it?"

"Now that you mention it...No."

"Mercy can only be granted to those with intent to change. Once someone's crossed the line into murder, rape, and torture, there's no going back. You have to give mercy to receive it."

"Maybe you're right, but still..."

"Show me."

"Show you?"

"The depths of your power. I want to see what you can really do."

"I can't."

"Don't worry about me. My magic is strong enough to keep me alive."

"What if it's not?"

"Then I died for a worthy cause."

"Sometimes you're a little too invested in your research, you know that?"

"You know I won't stop bugging you until you listen."

"All right. You asked for it."

Spike stepped away from the tree and closed his eyes. The wind gained pace as clouds gradually engulfed the sky.

"You've grown fond of the lightning element, I see."

"I'd move out of the way if I were you."

Twilight shot away from the tree. A single strike of black lightning incinerated the plant.

"This was the first magic technique I ever used, even before the transfusion."

"So this is the power of an archangel."

"Lightning is faster than water or fire, and just as destructive as both, but there's a secret variation even you weren't aware of."

"Dark electricity."

"All the speed and force of a black hole. Even light can't escape."

"Maybe I did get a little over my head on this one."

Spike vanished, rematerializing behind his sister.

"Told ya."

"I think I get the picture."

The clouds cleared without a trace.

"You should go back inside. Flash probably is probably freaking out right now."

"What are you going to do?"

"It's time I came clean to the others. They deserve to know what I've been up to all this time."

"Are you sure that's really the best idea?"

"Maybe not, but it's been weighing on me for a while, and it's not fair to hide it from them. It'll take longer than my lifetime to finish what I started. Maybe one of their kids will pick up the slack when I'm gone."

"Somebody will have to."

"Not a prayer in the world will save those monsters from the hell we'll rain down on them."

"We'll wipe them out one day."

"And an eternal utopia will begin."