”S-Spike?”
Twilight was frozen in place. What had Discord done to her brother? His emerald eyes scanned the three in front, assessing their strengths and weaknesses.
Rainbow Dash and Applejack recovered from their shock, and began to step forward to shield the others. But before they could, the orange drake took off, before landing on a nearby hedge.
”So this is the mighty elements of harmony. I’ve got to say, I was expecting more. I mean, half of you are already corrupted? That is pathetic.”
He flew to another hedge nearby, before lying down. As the corrupted elements shot him a dirty look, he continued his monologue.
”To think, I was hoping for a big fight. Ah well, at least this will be easy. I just keep you three from the elements, and I’ll be back home in no time! Yharim will never know I was gone.”
Upon hearing this, Twilight’s mind kicked back into action. Yharim? Wasn’t that… oh no.

”Y-your not Spike, are you?”
”Hmm? Ah, you’re the mage I’ve heard so much about. Calamitas would be jealous, knowing there was any creature that could rival her. Even if you’re just an equine.“
”Hey, no need to be rude ya varmint!”
”That was not my intention. However, it is my intention to stop you from gathering those gems. So I’m afraid your journey ends here.”
”You won’t stop us! We’ll beat discord, and bring back our friend! No matter what!”
”Oh I’d like to see you try. Especially if one of you is dead.”

”WHAT?!”
”You’re surprised? After all, you cannot use the elements without all of the bearers. So I just take at least one of you out, and poof! No more magic weapon! And then I’ll be able to go back home.”
”Not if I can help it!”
”Oh? And what do you plan, Sparkle?”
Twilight sheds one more year, a look of determination on her face, before lighting her horn.
”Just this.”
Suddenly, her horn flashes, blinding the drake. When he regains his sight, the six were gone. However, he only chuckled at this, an evil glint in his eye.
”Run, hide, do it all! It all just makes the hunt more fun.”
With that, he flies off, looking to catch the scent of his prey.

With a flash, the six mares appear in the center of the library, several feet off the floor. As they this to the ground, Thorax comes down the stairs, a relieved smile upon his face.
”Oh thank Celestia, you’re all here! These pink clouds started to appear, raining down bouncing balls, and the town hall suddenly sprouted legs! Plus I’ve suddenly got this pounding headache. Are you alright?!”
Applejack quickly rolls out of the pile, eyes swirling around, before uttering a single word.
”Nope.”
Thorax takes a better look at the six, before noticing that half of the mares were suddenly grey. Not only that, but Twilight was… crying? And where was Spike?
”What… happened?”
Rainbow Dash is the next to roll out of the pile, dry heaving a bit before getting up.
”Discord got us. He… changed those three. And he…”
”Where’s Spike?”
As Thorax asks the question, neither Rainbow nor Applejack look him in the eye. He runs to Twilight, tears becoming to form in his eyes and desperation in his voice.
”Where’s Spike?!”
Twilight continues to sob, before looking to Thorax.
”Discord got him too.”

”W-what?”
”Discord did something to him, and now he’s being possessed. I… I don’t know how to get him back.”
Thorax’s mind halts, and his vision begins to swirl. He suddenly collapses to the floor, eliciting a surprised yelp from Twilight. She quickly runs over to make sure he’s okay, as a faint sobbing emanates from him. As she gets to him and kneels down, she places a hand upon his shoulder, offering some comfort.
”I know, it hurts. But we can’t give up. He wouldn’t want us to. There could still be a way to get him back. But we need to get the elements, and uncorrupt our friends.”
Thorax looks to his old friend, before sniffling and getting back up.
”You’re right.*sniff* We need to get the elements. I’ll start the process of breaking the brainwashing, while you go find the elements.”
”Thank you Thorax. Please, stay safe. I don’t know what I would do if I lost both of you.”
Twilight hugged Thorax, letting a few more tears flow, before turning to her two uncorrupted friends.
”Alright, the three of us will split up to look for the elements. Applejack, you get the farm and Fluttershy’s house. Rainbow, you get your house and the boutique. I’ll get sugar cube corner, and we all meet up back here to grab the last element. All the while, Thorax breaks the spell on the others. Got it?”
Applejack and rainbow give a quick nod, before the three rush out of the library. Unbeknownst to them, an orange dragon had been watching them from on a cloud, before flying off towards the farm.

Applejack runs through the town, dodging tap-dancing flying fish and somersaulting trees along the way. As she gets to her farm, she stops upon seeing what became of her home. The apple trees had all dug themselves up, and were playing croquet, and the barn had sprouted eyes and a mouth. Shaking off the surprise, she ran towards the farmhouse, ignoring the disturbing shrieks of the Now screaming barn . As she gets inside, she begins to look for her family. She looked everywhere, but no matter where she looked, she couldn’t find any trace of them. She even managed to find her element before finding them. Worried for them, she headed outside, determined to look in the barn. But what greeted her outside froze her. There, in the middle of the farm, was Yharon. And he had his talons around Apple-blooms throat.

”Look at what we have here. You managed to find your element! But sadly, you’ll never get the chance to use it. Hand it over, or I rip out your sisters throat. ”
Applejack looked to her little sister, panic filling her eyes.
”Applebloom?”
”Applejack! What’s goin on? What’s wrong with Spike? Ahm scared!”
Yharon tightens his grip around Appleblooms throat, letting a low growl escape his mouth.
”Another mention of this Spike character, how queer. He must share a similar physique to me. No matter, what is your choice farmer? Your world, or your family?”
Before the farm mare can answer, a cyan blur comes from the sky, ramming into the dragon. While Yharon flies back, the cyan blur quickly grabs Applebloom from his arms and flies away. As it flies away, Applejack can hear a feint yell coming from her savior.
”Run AJ! I got your sister!”
Upon hearing Rainbow’s cry, Applejack snaps out of her stupor, fleeing the farm. As she leaves, Yharon quickly recovers, spitting out some blood before grinning.
”Well then, the chase is on! Let’s see if you can our pace me, little equine.”
And with that, Yharon takes off into the sky, following the rainbow trail left by his next target.

Rainbow quickly drops Applebloom off at the farm house, shoving her inside.
”Hide. Now.”
Before the young mare can even respond, she takes off again, rushing towards Carousel boutique. She already grabbed her element, and now she needed to quickly grab Rarity’s. But as she built up some speed, she began to notice how warm her legs were feeling. Looking back, her eyes shrunk to pinpricks: Yharon had already caught up to her, and he was getting closer.
”You may be fast, but you’re not fast enough!”
Rainbow quickly began to push herself further, adrenaline coursing through her veins. She flew lower, weaving between the buildings of Ponyville, hoping to lose him. But he just kept on her, slowly gaining on her. As Carousel boutique comes into view, a plan begins to formulate in her head. She gets even lower, before suddenly flaring her wings out, reducing her speed dramatically. As Yharon flies past, she lands, and quickly runs to the boutique. Before he even realized what had happened, Rainbow had already managed to get inside, before he could see where she went. Upset that he lost another target, he flew off, giving Rainbow the chance to find generosity.

Twilight was in a pickle. She had made it to sugar cube corner, and was about to go inside. But before she could do anything, the building suddenly sprouted wings and took off. She had tried to lasso it with her magic, or teleport inside, but for some reason, she couldn’t. Frustrated, she kicked at the dirt, mumbling cursed to herself. Until her hoof hit something metallic. Cursing again, she cradled her injured hoof, before realizing something: the had hit a handle of some kind. Curious, she dusted around where the handle was, until she uncovered a trap door. Of course! Sugar cube corner had a basement! There was no way that could fly away, and the element could be inside! She quickly opened the hatch, rushing inside, before freezing. What the hell was she looking at? Inside there was all matter of strange contraptions and artifacts, such as A weird hammer thing
And a Crystal ball for some reason. Quickly regaining her focus, she began to look for the element, quickly finding it. She quickly came back out, ready to head home and put this all behind her. But as she exited the basement, she froze. Standing right there, was Yharon. He quickly hit her over the head, and knocked her out. The last thing she heard before going completely under was a sinister laugh.

Thorax was becoming worried. He had managed to quickly break all three out of their spells, before putting them to bed to regain their strength. Then, he began to wait But as the minutes passed by, the girls were not returning. Trying to pass the time, he picked up a book, and began to read. Before he could get even one page in though, Rainbow Dash blasted through the door, two elements in hand.
”Done! I got loyalty and generosity. Oh hey the girls are back to their normal colors. Thorax, did you already break the spells?”
”Yeah, it was pretty easy. Just show help them remember who they are, and blam! Spell broken.”
Suddenly, the door flies open again, and a disheveled Applejack rushes in.
”Ah got em! Dash, yer back too, thank Celestia. What happens to mah sister?!”
”I put her in the farmhouse before leading him away.”
”Good, ah was worried for a minute. Looks like the spells already broken, so now all we gotta do is wait for Twilight.”
”Yeah, I hope she’s alright.”
Before anyone else could say anything, a knock sounded at the door.

The knock woke the three sleeping mares, causing them to jump. Thorax slowly creeped towards the door, before looking out the peephole.
Nothing.
Unnerved, he slowly opened the door, looking around to see if anything was hiding. As the door finally fully opened, nothing was revealed. But as he was about to close the door, something landed in front of the library, about thirty feet back. Thorax jumped at the sudden landing, before freezing. The other girls, confused as to why he stopped, crowded to the door, and looked outside. As they saw the scene in front of them, though, they froze as well. For in front of them was Yharon: and he had Twilight.
”Check mate.”

”You did well, but not well enough. Now, you’re going to watch your friend die, and with her, any hope of stopping Discord. And with that, he will finally send me back home. You lose.”
The girls were frozen: what could they do?! Before any of them could do anything, Thorax took a step forward.
”S-Spike?”
Yharon scoffed, ready to reply, but froze when he looked at who spoke. This tall, lanky green equine… stirred something within him, but he didn’t know why. Who was he? And why did he feel like this? Shaking his head, Yharon regained himself.
”You would do well to stay back. One more step, and I will rip out her throat.”
Instead of listening, Thorax takes another step forward, much to the dismay of the five mares behind him.
”You’re not like this. Please, Spike. You can fight this.”
Another wave of emotion strikes the jungle dragon. What was he doing? Why is he so conflicted suddenly?
”I said stop! I will end her miserable existence, and her blood would be on your hands!”

But Thorax kept going.
”Please, don’t do this. We need you. I need you. I love you Spike. Don’t let whatever is controlling you throw your life away.”
Yharon couldn’t move. Deep in his soul, something reeled out, trying to break free. Yharon fought it, scared of what could happen to him.
”Enough! I will kill her, what don’t you understand?!”
But Thorax continued. He was now face to face with the resplendent phoenix.
”No, you won’t. Because deep down, you care for her. Even if this Yharon is controlling you, you’re still you, Spike. And you could never hurt your sister. Or your friends. Or me.”
Yharnam tried to speak again, but was intercepted my a pair of lips upon his own. No, not his lips: Spikes lips.
”I would walk through Tartarus itself for you Spike. I love you.”
Within Yharons soul, something broke free. And with that, he was engulfed in a bright light, blinding the six mares. And if one listened close enough, you could even hear an ethereal voice cry out in anguish.

As the light began to die down, one could make out two figures within, locked in a passionate embrace. Purple wings extended, and blue eyes opened. Spike had returned.
”And I love you more than I could ever say, my little love-bug.”
Suddenly, the two were embraced by a third.
”SPIKE!”
”Hey, Twi.”
One by one, the other’s sauntered up, glad that their friend was back.
”Good to have you back big guy!”
”I was so worried that you weren’t gonna come back! This deserves a partyyy!”
”Now hold on Pinkie, let’s wait until after Discord is beaten.”
”I concur. I’d much rather celebrate after the ruffian whom hijacked all of our minds was imprisoned.”
”Welcome back Spike.”
”Thank you all. If it hadn’t been for you, I might have never come back.”
“Boooooring.”
Suddenly, the lord of chaos appeared.
“Seriously, I had hope-“
”Just blast him.”
“Wait wha-“
And before he could utter another word, he was engulfed in a beam of pure rainbow.

After he was imprisoned, everything returned to normal. All buildings that were displaced returned to their original spots, and any creature that was changed returned to their original form. As soon as they returned to Canterlot, plans for a celebration in the castle were already being put into effect. Pinkie, of course, was ecstatic, and began hopping from wall to wall, throwing up decorations. Food was made, games were set up, and guests were invited. When it came time to the party, almost all of Ponyville and Canterlot were there. And while every pony was enjoying the party, two slicked away, to a nearby balcony.
”It sure is beautiful tonight.”
”It really is. But nothing can rival your beauty in my eyes.”
Thorax blushed, playfully pushing the drake.
”I could say the same for you. Anyways, what did you want to talk about?”
Spike gave off a slight sigh, before adjusting his wings.
” When I first met you, you were hurt, and scared. And I knew from that moment, that I would do anything in my power to prevent you from being hurt. And for years, I have. But today… I could have hurt you. Yet despite that, you believed in me, and brought me back. You really do mean the world to me, Throax.”
As he speaks, Spike slowly opens one of his wings, and reaches within the feathers.
”Which is why I want to do this. Before either of us get hurt again. We may have only been dating for a few months, but that doesn’t matter. We’ve known each tiger our entire lives. I know that I love you, and I know I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
Spike takes something out, and gets down onto one knee.
”Thorax, will you marry me?”
Thorax, tears of joy welling up in his eyes, tackles the dragon, planting a kiss upon his lips.
”Yes.”

Far away from Equestria, within a throne room, the Jungle tyrant rages.
”DAMN IT ALL! I was so close to getting him back!”
”Whats the matter? I thought you wanted to let him live a better life.”
”That purple thing is not him.”
”Does it really matter?”
Sighing, the jungle tyrant walks over to his throne.
”Yes it does. Because if the dragon is loyal to Equestria, there is almost no chance I would be able to cleanly take their dimension. “
”I still don’t know why you want Equestria. I mean, what is it that it has that makes it so important.”
”You know why.”
The tyrant growls, before suddenly chuckling.
”After all, you come from there Calamitas. Or should I say, Sunset? ”
Calamitas’s heart skips a beat, as Yharim continues to talk.
”I would have thought though, that with your hatred of your mother, you would have loved to see it burn.”
”Don't you DARE call that sun bitch my mother, or ever say my birth name again. Besides, even though I hate her, I do not want them to suffer. They are too innocent for the horrors we would bring them.”
”Then they had best get used to them, Calamitas. Because I will have their realm.”
As Yharim sits into his throne, a golden glow surrounds him.
”And when I do, none shall have the power to challenge my rule. The rule of corrupt gods shall come to an end. And they, are the key.”

Author's Note

Sol filiam suam amavit, sed nimis prope volavit. Filia, per proditione indignata fugiens, in sulphure conversa est.