Spike's head throbbed, his body was sore, and his muscles were stiff. He was laying in the remains of the CMC's clubhouse with a giant branch hovering above him. Unsure if he should move or just let it crush him. His breathing was shallow and rough like he needed a drink of water. But that was nothing compared to the sheer panic bottling inside him.

He couldn't understand what had just happened. Did something attack him? What happened the clubhouse? And how did it crash into the Apple Farm of all places? Was it just happenstance or intentionally a direct attack on him? Was this place even safe for him? If he was attacked once, would he be attacked again?

The only thing stopped his racing thoughts was the shine from the Fire Ruby's remains. It pulled him away from the branch and over to the feather in his hand, being held out in the same direction. Slowly it took him a moment to remember why he grabbed it.

"What... no..." His eyes widened upon the feather's shape not matching that of a pegasus at all. The tip was too long and pointed just like a griffin. "Gabby..." He pulled it close to his chest out of reaction. The tears formed in his eyes again. "She was here too... but now she's gone!" His heart raced, his hands shaking as he gripped the feather tightly. "First Twilight, Rarity... now Gabby." The other names almost didn't matter anymore.

The griffin met just as much to him as Rarity did. The mare always a little jealous of his relationship with the bird. His emotions were so strong for the two of them that he couldn't choose just one and they both understood that. But now she was gone too.

Seeing the feather in the same view as the Fire Ruby made things all the harder to deny. All the pieces were right in front of him, but he didn't want to accept the truth. He rolled out from under the tree branch and slowly out of the rubble. The dragon crawled over and picked up the fire ruby, clutching it in the same hand as the feather.

"Where did you all go..." Spike's voice shivered and cracked. "Did you abandoned me? Were you tired of me?" His words were barely louder than a whisper. "Were you trying to get rid of me?" His gaze turned over to the castle. This was the home he shared with his sister Twilight. But it wasn't the first home they had. A library, long burned down was their former home. "Am I being replaced just like that was?"

Tears flowed freely from his eyes, soaking the grass and ground below. Spike's mind was racing. Trying to find some kind of explanation for everything but the more he thought about it the worst it got. Fears turned into assumptions and slowly into facts. They did abandon him, there was no doubt about that. The Fire Ruby was proof. A symbol of his love for Rarity, destroyed, just like his hope in this moment.

"Why... why would you all do this to me?!" Spike screamed as he smashed his fists into the dirt. His tears turned into rage. "What did I do wrong? Am I really not good enough for anypony? What did I do?!" His voice echoed, the only sounds that filled the town. No pony answered his questions. His cries fell on deaf ears, not a soul around.

"You were my best friends..." He whispered softly, rising off the ground. "I loved you all..." His legs wobbled under him. His balance was barely holding together but he didn't care anymore. "I wanted to stay with you..." His stance straightened toward the crops. "And you took my happiness away..." He wrapped the chain of the Fire Ruby around his neck, the broken gem hanging off his chest. Taking the feather firmly in his hand, he ran forward. "All of you abandoned me!" His pace was slow at first, but soon he was sprinting through the massive farmland, not even caring to look back.

******

Once he was just out of sight again, the monster fell from the sky. It's massive body tore up the ground on impact and destroyed the remains of the CMC clubhouse. The debris went flying into the air only to be quickly grabbed by the tail. The monster never wanted its presence to be known. It's tail moved at incredible speed, taking even the smallest particles to rebuilding the CMC clubhouse into a nearby tree.

The smoke from the crater settled and both it and the mess was gone like it never happened. It didn't care if this wasn't the original spot for the treehouse. As long as its presence in the world seemed unaffected. Leaning back, it seemed to admire it's near perfect work. The place looked brand new. New was how the monster preferred thing to always be. It turned its gaze back over the apple crops, searching for Spike.

It's black orbs shifted left and right, but the dragon was nowhere in sight. Somehow this dragon had evade it once more. It couldn't understand how this dragon was so clever or lucky. It had done this routine several times with other ponies that had stumbled upon it, but this target kept escaping. It's neck cracked out loud again, showing it's only sign of emotion.

"Frustration... Good." A strong voice echoed behind it.

The monster turned around, the black abysses widened at a stallion charging at it. It was Big Mac, somehow he also escaped the assault on Ponyville. Clearly due to his lack to speak much at all, Not really a problem in the end for the monster.

"For Applejack--?" he was stopped as his pitchfork broken against the surface it's skin. The weapon was useless against it. It's tail swung around, impaled the heavy stallion into the base of the tree. The new CMC clubhouse shaking from the force of the hit. As quick as Big Mac appeared to show the ponies hadn't been defeat, he was silenced once more. This time far more permanent as the strike was so exact and fast he didn't even react to the penetration of his heart.

All Big Mac did was slouch over as the creature's tail retracted. His body fell to the ground, motionless and his face showed no pain, not even a chance to be shocked. Usually the creature showed no emotions toward the torturous demise, but the dragon's whereabouts were still unknown. It needed to make sure that just like with the treehouse, it gave no appearance that it was ever here.

Walking over quickly, it opened its jaws so wide that it swallowed the large stallion up with ease. It's stomach wasn't used to holding such a big meal, but that didn't matter. The belly would have to work fast to digest Big Mac as quickly as it could, making sure to leave behind the best pieces for it's collection. Meanwhile, it slurped up any blood stains, the last remnants of the stallion gone in seconds, just like all its victims.

Now finished, the beast turned away from the treehouse and leaped into the air, leaving the area. Such a sized meal only a day after the alicorn and unicorn would prove troublesome in the hunt for the dragon. It would come back for the dragon in a week or so. For now it knew exactly where to rest.

Seconds later it landed on Rainbow Dash's cloud lot on the far side of town. Once there, it stretched its tail into the home, giving it one more check-over in case it missed another pony. But it's efforts proved fruitless. There wasn't even a single item that belonged to a living pony. Just like the other houses, all the old stuff belonging to Rainbow Dash had been removed. Only the new stuff remained, leaving it with relief.

Pulling the tail back it clawed into the cloud fluff, able to walk on the surface just fine. It's body curled up, forming a tight ball. Closing its eyes, the beast entered a state of mild hibernation, allowing its body to process the multiple meals. Its belly was already showing signs of shrinkable back to its boney form.

******

Author's Note

Yeah... I did consider killing Thunderlane here, but this point of this season finale is just how overpowering and ultimate the beast is. Spike is realizing that everyone is gone, not just the joke characters.

Beside, I kill Thunderlane later on...

For now, this confirms, much to Spike's dread. Not everypony is gone... just yet. Can the survivors find him in time before he is truly alone? Find out next season. It will be dropping in September.