That's how long she had until it was done; until the waiting, the planning, and the manipulating would finally end. One thousand years of isolation, separated from the one pony she could truly call family, with only mortal life to keep her company; life that lasted but a mere candle's lifespan of time compared to her own. She had set the board to the best of her ability: all the pawns were in place, the pieces set, and soon the dice would be cast. What would happen in the next couple of hours would determine the fate of not just the entire kingdom of Equestria, but the entire world of Equss as a whole.

Soon Princess Celestia would finally be rid of the monster that took her sister from her, and said sister would return to her side.
The white alicorn's golden horseshoes clopped against the stony floor, the noise echoing softly through the walls of the canyon, as she stopped in front of the cavernous opening of the hidden cave. She stood there for a minute, simply staring into the darkness, as centuries of emotions cascaded upon her mind like a raging waterfall.

It had been so long ago since she and Princess Luna had first discovered the tree...so long ago since they harnessed its incredible power to defeat Discord, and finally free the land from his influence...yet the memories still burned as brightly as ever. All the times she had to call upon the elements to save her kingdom and her ponies. All the times they had both saved the lives of hundreds...yet damn the lives of just as many.

The laughter of madness under the influence of chaos.

The cries of despair under the chains of an enslaved empire.

And the screams of absolute horror along with the ringing of that accursed bell...

And it was all about to begin again.

It was a natural event, just as predictable as the rising and setting of the sun: every time the elements awakened and chose new bearers, a new era of discord and conflict would arise; it was as though the elements could predict the approaching conflict, and awakened to see ponykind through it. All the evils locked away eons ago were finding their cages weakening with time. Nightmare Moon would be only the first in a long line of threats and evils who threatened her home; the spell Sombra cast was almost at its end as well, and Discord's statue was looking weak from age.

And only Faust knows how many others, both old and new, would arise.

She had done all she could to insure things would go better this time. The ones chosen by the tree were on their way to the ruins this very moment, and she had left many clues for them to find that would lead them to their destiny. Now, there was nothing left for her could do but pray: Pray that her student would be successful, and revive Equestria's greatest weapons for the years to come.

And maybe, just maybe, she would finally get her sister back.

As she stepped into the cave, she lit her horn up with a brilliant golden glow, lighting up the cave as if the sun entered it. The great, gleaming crystals of sky blue lining the walls and floor lit up in the glow, casting glimmers of rainbow light across the rocky surfaces. Celestia paid the beautiful display no mind as she continued forward, her wings folded protectively against her sides; she was here for a reason. One last measure, one of last resort, to the source of her sister's and kingdom's salvation.

And soon she reached it, standing before her at the very back of the cave, glowing with its own magical light like a great star: a massive glowing crystalline tree, larger than a full grown dragon. It's crystalline trunk twisted out and about, branching out at the top into five main branches ending in a solid, spherical end, forming out into an almost star-like shape, along with dozens of smaller branches, from which grew beautiful, glassy leaves and long vines strung with bead-like crystals. It's mighty base split into dozens of strong roots, anchoring it deep into the very planet itself, and within the trunk over said roots formed out three symbols: the symbols of a blazing sun, a crescent moon, and in the center of the branches, a great six-pointed star.

The Tree of Harmony. From which the Elements of Harmony, Equestria greatest means of defense against darkness, were found.

Celestia gazed upon the great crystal tree with an air of nostalgia, memories and emotions of times long past playing in her mind. Her feelings about it were torn: one side of her wanted to hate it. She wanted to believe that the tree was directly responsible for banishing her sister to the moon instead of simply purging her of the dark magic of Nightmare Moon...but deep down, even if that was the case, she couldn't.

What happened was Luna's fault; the crimes she had committed, against Equestria and the natural order itself, had to be brought to justice. And Celestia had come to accept this long ago.

But soon, in but a few hours, the millennia-long wait would finally be over: the seal cast over the moon was broken, and the lost princess had escaped from her celestial prison, still concealed in the black darkness of Nightmare Moon. Would her student find the means to awaken the elements and free her? Or would the black magic that trapped her in that wicked form hold out and result in another eon of loathsome separation?

She would soon find out.

Which was one reason she chose the tree's cave to wait out Nightmare Moon's return, ironically right under the feet of her corrupted sister: one last prayer to the one power in this world that could bring her sister back.

"I know I have no right to ask for anymore than I already have," Celestia said as she laid herself down among the roots, tucking her limbs under her body, wings folded against her sides. "You've done so much for my people, and my kingdom...but I have to ask for this one last favor, even if it is just in mere longing."

The tree gave no response, neither physical or magical, though Celestia expected this. It was but a tree, after all.

"For a thousand years, I have waited for this day," She said solemnly, her voice level yet sincere. "For ten centuries I've been alone. Separated from the only family I have left: the only one I have to endure my time in this realm with. The mortal ponies, as much as I love them, can give no comfort or companionship that I can truly accept, for their lives are comparable to the flame of a candle, and they are gone before I know it."

She placed a hoof over one of the roots, feeling the smooth, glass-like texture of the crystal against the soft flesh in her inner hoof. A gentle, otherworldly warmth flowed into her touch; a powerful magic that predated all of Equestria, and perhaps even pony-kind itself.

And then...she wept.

Princess Celestia of Equestria, bringer of the sun and guardian of day, the pony many believed to be an unmovable goddess of unbreakable power and resolve, broke down and cried her heart out. The facade she had been holding up for all these years shattered like glass, and the world saw the alicorn for what she truly was.

Flesh and blood. A living pony, like the rest, and lonely beyond comprehension.

"Please...I beg of you," She whispered in a desperate tone, curling in on herself. "If there is any way for you to bring Luna back to me...to undo the mistake I made so many years ago...please. I can't handle another era of disharmony on my own; if there is anything out there that can help me protect my ponies from those who wish them harm...

Bring it to me...Please."

DragonThroat Mountain.

There are not many in Equestria who know that name, and even fewer who remember it.

Deep within the heart of the Everfree Forest, far beyond the boundaries of what little was mapped by pony civilization, stands a enormous mountain. This magnificent landmark was once proud and fiery volcano in ancient times, famous for erupting with a ferocity and rage comparable to only the largest and most powerful of dragons. Though now it had long since gone dormant as the fire within its belly cooled; many today would not recognize it at all, but those with extensive knowledge of it would recognize it as the mountain where a certain group of legendary pony heroes rose up and defeated the Dragon Lord Torch and his dragons, who once lived in the mighty volcano, driving them out of the pony-lands and saving Equestria. That legend, however, faded into obscurity during Nightmare Moon's reign, as did many stories and records of that era, when the night alicorn destroyed the royal archives during her and Celestia's final battle.

But tonight, under the light of the first mare-less moon in a thousand years, DragonThroat Mountain would bring forth one last dragon upon Equestria.

One that would change the face of the very planet forever.

High within of the mountain's top, overlooking the smoking black crater, was a large cavernous opening big enough to hold full grown dragons inside. Within this cavern stood a set of ruins of their own. Very ancient ruins, large and strong, bearing signs and markings of an age and civilization that had past on long before pony hooves ventured down from the north. Towers of carved stone stood tall, regardless of wear and injury, some even torn banners and flags with dragon-themed symbols. The ground was paved in hundreds of smooth rocks, smashed into the earth by heavy dragon feet. There was even the broken remains of a massive bridge that once spanned the mountain's opening, though now it was simply too entrances on either side, the bridge itself having long given way.

But there was one structure that stood out from all the rest: located far back, barely touching the wall of the cave, stood a single lone structure. An arching gate of stone. It was large enough for a full grown dragon to fit through, and carved from a dark volcanic rock. It had long streaks of indigo rock along its flat sides, and five large emeralds fused into the rock in the symmetrical pattern of a star: one gem on the top, and four along the sides. The most peculiar thing about it was it's location: against the far wall, with no opening in the rock for it to tunnel into, and at the end of the stone path. It was if it was suppose to be a door, but there was no entrance for it to be a door to.

Good thing it wasn't really a door then.

For the first time in over a thousand years, the dirt of the ground moved; around the base of the mysterious gate, the ground shifted and churned, until a number of roots sprung from the earth. These roots were not of normal plants, however; their crystalline forms grew up and about the gate's bases, spreading across the surface like weaving snakes, forming spider webs of glowing crystal roots. The tips of the roots dug into the rock, burying themselves in, before the whole thing came to a halt.

Then, with pulses of multicolored light, pure arcane energy began to flow through the roots. Flow up from the very earth itself, pulsing across the ground like ripples on a pond, into the gate. At first nothing happened, but as more magic began to channel into it, it began to change. It was if the clock was turned in reverse; the very dust of the earth floated back up and fused into the rock, sealing away the cracks and breaks in the stone, which began to lose it's whithered look and regain a freshly polished sheen. The magic was most effected to the emerald gemstones, which began to fill with magical light, taking on a fresh green glow on their own.

Suddenly, beams of light shot forth between the green gems, connecting all five in the center on the gate's arc, crackling with the dangerous growl of electricity.

Then, with a clap of thunder, the very air in the arc was torn open, and sunlight from an alien star filled the cavern as a long-closed portal to another world was open for the first time in eons.

For a few silent minutes, with the exception of the pulsing hum of the portal, the caverns remained silent...

...then the water-like surface of the portal ripped, and, with a bit of effort, the head of a curious purple-scaled dragon pushed its way through the portal and into the world of Eqqus, taking in the world with gleaming lavender eyes.

How does one define a Hero?

It isn't a hard thing to do; they've been immortalized in stories and legends dating back to the dawn of time, and I've seen them all. They are usually thought of as strong, fearless, and, as the title implies, heroic. They always fight for the right cause and do so with a heart unwavering and pure, never giving into evil and bringing hope to those most in need of something to believe in.

That is the very definition of a hero.

Which is why, when they are truly needed most...heroes are worthless.

You heard me.

Worthless.

It is for these very reasons a true hero cannot be counted upon when someone has to fight: their purity and sense of right are the very reasons they cannot be the ones to rely upon.

A hero's greatest attributes are often also his greatest weakness.

And when a hero falls to his own morals, who will save you then?

Sometimes, more often than not, to truly protect the ones you care about and do what is needed, you have to do the unthinkable and the unforgivable; it's not always the easy thing to do, nor the best thing to do. Hell, many times it's not even the right thing to do, but it's what needs to be done...and a conscious will only get in the way. Which is why a hero, who fights with a pure heart, cannot bring himself to do such evil, and never win against such odds...but one who doesn't can do what a hero cannot and crush the opposing force, and live with the consequences, unaffected by the blood on their hands...or should I say claws.

Sometimes a hero is the last thing you need to save the day.

Sometimes...

You need a Monster.

TyrakaReborn Presents

A rebooted and rewritten Fanfiction Series created completely by Timothy L. Meinsen

THE SAGA OF SPYRO

THE QUEST FOR HARMONY

(A/N): Some elements of this prologue are based off of episodes that, of this date, have not been released yet and will be updated when said episodes are released.

Alright, here we go again. Third Time's the Charm, evidently. Life for me has been rough recently, with the whole finding a job I like and trying to gain a foothold of independence in the world. Not a whole lot of time or motivational stuff to get me in the writing mood. But with the upcoming movie and potential Spyro remaster, I finally feel like I can start writing fanfictions again.

Once again, this story idea has been rewritten and re-executed to fit with the franchises they take from: while I'm sticking to the more 'Dragon-ish' Spyro I designed, his character will try to match that of the original games more so than the last versions. This time around, though, I'm going to try and keeping the chapters short (under 10,000 words each). So I can get them out more often than last time.

Also, as some of you may have noticed, I've changed the title of my story. Why? Because 'The Snakeasaur Saga' and the original characters I made in it have been repurposed for my officially original fantasy novel series I'm writing which uses the same name.

So, for the third time in four years, and hopefully the version I stick with, here's The Saga of Spyro: The Quest For Harmony.

2. War of the Night - Part 1

CHAPTER 1: WAR OF THE NIGHT - PART 1: ENTER THE DRAGON

Let sleeping dragons lie.

A message that many should take heed, and just what he expected as his right.

Deep within the darkness and rock, half-buried within a bed of gleaming gold and sparkling gemstones, he slumbered. His powerful chest rose and fell with every breath, each breath out crackling between his teeth with a low flame, as he laid curled upon his hoard; his long tail wrapped around the base of the pile of gold, protectively guarding it as he slept, while his limbs remained tucked at his armored sides, talons lightly scrapping against the gemstones. His fiery-red wings shifted in his sleep, creating small gusts of wind strong enough to scatter the loose coins, while his horns scrapped against the pile as he grind his head against the gold, eyes closed in dreamless sleep.

Yet despite all the warnings, despite all the implications of a slow and agonizing demise by fire, there were those who were either too brave or too foolish to heed them. Those who thought themselves above judgement and fully capable of tell living forces of nature when to sleep and when to rise. Many had tried and many had met a horrible demise.

Yet there was one, who despite staring the living avatar of death and destruction in the eyes, would arrogantly step forward and:

"Rise and shine, sleepy-head~! I made breakfast~!"

A deep growl of pain and frustration escaped Spyro's lips as a brilliant light suddenly flooded his chambers, and a melodic yet currently obnoxious voice flooded his ears; both were like the blows of a gnorc's mace to his skull, pounding his brain into mush. With the shimmering shift of gold coins, he forced himself up on his front legs just long enough to roll himself around, back against the light and intruder, before dropping back down with a heavy thud that shook the room, curling his limbs and tail in on himself. A musical giggle reached his ears, and he heard the clip-clop of hooves approaching; he gave a half-hearted warming growl, but that accomplished nothing. He felt a weight plop itself down next to his head, and a soft hand with hooved fingers reach behind one of his ears and start scratching away.

He gave another groaning growl as he rolled his head over, pressing against a soft furry thigh, and cocked open a bleary eye, looking up at the pretty, coyly-smiling face of Elora the Faun: the only creature in the entire world that would not burn for disturbing the slumber of Spyro the Dragon.

"The sun better be at it's peak..." He grumbled, his voice rumbling with a saurian growl. "...or someone's going to be ash." He paused, giving it little thought. "Moneybags. Definitely Moneybags."

Elora giggled again, caressing his head between his horn and frill. "Well, if by peak you mean the peak of the eastern mountains, then yes. It's at a peak." She told him, smirking.

"UUUURRRRRRGGHH!" Spyro groaned aloud, rolling his body over onto his plated stomach and letting his tail flop over and slam into the floor with a crash; the room shook slightly from the impact, dust and loose pebbles raining from the ceiling. "Why do you do this to me...?" He asked, glaring up at her with pupils slited. "...and after all I've done for you mammals, too."

The faun gave him a knowing look. "Out late with Hunter fighting the Earthshapers of Fracture Hills again, weren't you?" She asked. He only grumbled in response, to which she playfully scowled. "I'm sure my sisters and her friends were very grateful to you as well."

Spyro moaned, tucking his head deeper against the faun's thigh. "If I never taste Satyr Ale again..." He snarled. Elora nodded sympathetically, gently caressing his pounding head.

"Well, you'll feel better once you get some food in your stomach." She told him, pushing herself off the pile of coins and standing up; the dragon whined in objection, but she merely motioned for him to follow. "You can stay and rest if you want, but I ask you: do you really want to sleep through pancakes and mutton strips?"

He paused, the very words suddenly making a certain hollow feeling in his gullet ring forward, in the form of a hungry grumble.

"Your penance for disturbing my slumber is accepted."

Elora merely rolled her eyes, but watched with a content smile as the purple dragon tucked his legs under his sides and pushed himself up into a standing position on all fours; the treasure gathered on his back and wings flowed off like waterfalls of gold coins and gemstones as he stood, flexing his wing fingers to dislodge any pieces of his hoard from them. Then he gave a truly tremendous yawn as he stretched his body like a giant cat, popping out all the kinks in his limbs, digits, and spine, shaking himself like a dog afterwards. He then quickly pawed the sleep from his eyes before hopping off his hoard and following the faun to breakfast...a bit clumsily, bumping into the walls as he staggered against his unwanted hangover. The sunlight fazed through the pillars of the outer wall, making him squint with a hiss, but even then he was able to make out the surrounding lands of the Autumn Plains, a beautiful forest land forever bathed in the magical yellows, oranges, and reds of eternal autumn.

It was hard to believe that, only a decade ago, this and the entire land of Avalar was a war-torn wasteland of ash and fire, its inhabitants driven into near-extinction by a sadistic, self-worshiping sorcerer. Hard to believe that Elora, the happy, playful, and kind-hearted faun was once one of the last three survivors fighting to save their home and people; so desperate to win they risked everything in one final move to bring forth an even bigger threat to fight the one ruling over them with an iron fist.

Lucky for them, the bigger threat turned out to be Spyro himself.

He remembered it well, and was reminded nearly every day of it, even with the occasional hangover: heck, it wasn't even the first time Spyro was familiar with saving entire realms and defeated horrible threats; that could be traced all the way back to his humble beginnings.

Even as a pup, living his with father Ignitus in the Artisan Realm, the young dragon was exceptionally strong, of body, fire, magic, sheer will, and heart, despite his small size. His father always said his power was connected to the coloration of his scales, for no other dragon in all five Dragon Realms had purple scales like him; his power and will would be put to the test when Gnasty Gnorc, the leader of the orc-like warriors of the wastelands, used a spell to transform all of dragon-kind into statues and conquer their lands. Spyro avoided the spell thanks to his small size and unique magic, and ventured across all of the Dragon Realms, restoring all the transformed dragons to their true forms, and single-handedly defeating Gnasty Gnorc and his entire army, driving him back to the wastelands.

Then, only a year later, fate would make him a hero again...but for a land in much greater need to his help; while trying to get to Dragon Shores, he ended up in the land of Avalar, a land so distant and out of touch with the rest of the world that it had never seen a dragon before. It was here he met Elora, Hunter, the Professor, and all the rest, for they were the ones who brought him here, out of sheer desperation for a savior. The saurian sorcerer, Ripto, had long conquered and enslaved Avalar and those who lived in it; a sadistic and murderous monster, he had long been torturing and exterminating the people of the land for many, many years, believing himself and his kind superior. What few forces they had on their side were currently fighting each other in a petty feud, and what few resistances had been torn apart and tortured to death for their crimes. Elora's group was, literally, the last remaining people standing against him, and they were seconds away from being caught and destroyed. By chance, they had learned that Ripto's greatest fear was Dragons, so out of sheer desperation they used a makeshift World Gate to bring a dragon to Avalar to stop Ripto.

Had it been any other dragon, they would've died that day, by either Ripto or the dragon itself.

But Spyro was a born hero; he took one look at those who begged for his help and jumped right into the fray; it would take over a year, and through many hardships and suffering, but Spyro would rise up, defeat Ripto's army and kill the wicked sorcerer in battle, freeing Avalar and its citizens from a tyrannical monster.

And life had been good for Avalar and it's citizens ever since. True, there was a lot to rebuild and recover from, but it would be the first steps to recover from a decades long nightmare,and after a few years life in the dragon-less lands returned to the way it had been long ago. As for Spyro, he would be hailed as a hero from sunny shores to wintry mountain tops, and would find a home in between in the castle of Autumn Plains; his life of heroics would also continue and take him to many other lands across the Dragon World, some new and some long forgotten, but he would always have a warm spot for Avalar and the friends he made there. And for the past year, he and said friends enjoyed a rare span of peace and quiet, as most of the troubles of the world seem to have either died down or taken their business elsewhere.

And this is what put Spyro on edge.

Call it paranoid, or call it a dragon's natural instincts, but for the past couple of days the purple dragon had a constant nagging feeling in his stomach. It was like that feeling you get in your gut when you know something important is going to happen, and happen soon, but he didn't know what it was or when it would happen. Normally, it would be something many would ignore and move on from, but experience had brought him to call it his 'hero's itch': it always...ALWAYS happened when a big adventure was about to happen. It happened hours before Gnasty Gnorc cast the spell. It happened the day before he was sucked into Avalar. It happened the night of the Year of the Dragon celebration, just hours before Bianca and her goons stole the dragon eggs and took them to the forgotten worlds. Every time a big event happened that require him and his friends to step up and be heroes, the hero's itch always tugged at his insides.

And it was a welcome feeling to have. He really enjoyed the adventures and battles he would partake in, and things had been quiet for a long while now; he was due for another round of saving the world, and the itch meant it was happening and happening soon.

The questions were: when would it happen? Where it would take him and his friends this time? And who, or what, needed to be saved?

Questions that only time would answer.

"Messing around with Fauns and Ale...honestly!"

"I don't want to talk about it..."

"Well, that's obvious. I'm genuinely surprised you didn't kill yourself last night! I'm mean, really: challenging Spyro, a DRAGON, to a drinking contest?!"

"Does sound a bit of a risk-taker, and that's coming from me, old boy."

"Please stop yelling..."

"I'm not yelling! THIS IS YELLING, YOU IDIOTIC TESTOSTERONE-FUELED EXCUSE FOR A FELICIA!"

"RrRoOoWwWoOoRrR..."

Were it not for his own headache, Spyro would've been laughing his scales off at the sight that greeted him and Elora when they exited the castle and stepped out into the open grounds. Instead, he gave another groan of pain as the voice of a very angry rabbit tore through his own grey matter like a weed-eater. The food smelled good, though, and his stomach rumbled as the scent passed across his nostrils.

Sitting around a large stone table standing in the center of the autumn garden, sitting upon seats made of polished tree stumps, were the rest of Spyro Avalarian friends, each either eating breakfast or dealing with something. Hunter the Cheetah laid across his part of the table, looking worse than a rotting zombie, mewling in pain as he rested his pounding head upon his plate of venison, fish, and other varieties of meat. Bianca the Rabbit was sitting across from him, too busy giving him the berating of a lifetime to tend to her bowl of salad and carrots. Moneybags the Bear was sitting on the far end of the table, already dressed in his business suit, indulging himself with this morning's Dragon Realm Daily while politely munching on his breakfast of salmon with honey-spread toast. Professor Mole was sitting next to Bianca, too busy tinkering and puzzling over readings on one of his devices to partake in his grubs and worm pasta. And finally Zoe the Fairy was lounging cross-legged on a plate (thanks to her small size), watching Hunter and Bianca's one-side argument with a truly sadistic smirk as she tore off pieces of a giant loaf of bread and dunk them in a bowl of nectar.

Seeing Spyro's discomfort, Elora cleared her throat with a loud *Ahem!*. Everyone at the table turned to watch them approach.

"Oh, Spyro!" Bianca chirped, covering her mouth with a paw. "Sorry. I didn't see you there."

"Sure, you give him a gentle touch, but me?" Hunter grumbled, holding one of his venison strips to the side of his head.

The rabbit wizard glared at him. "Oh, I'm not done with you yet." She hissed quietly. "I'm simply caring for Spyro's well-being."

"You were the one who issued the challenge." Elora said as she sat herself down across from Professor Mole, while Spyro sat himself down in front of the other end of the table. "And unlike you, Spyro didn't know any better about your poor alcohol tolerance."

"Not until you emptied your stomach down the front of Krista's dress." Spyro stated absentmindedly.

The cheetah simply murmured something about 'floppy-eared monsters' and 'hoof-legged terrors' under his breath and buried his face into his plate, not caring for the mess he made over himself.

Spyro almost felt pity for his best friend, but his attention was more devoted to other things: namely the tray of steaming-warm dragon-sized pancakes with chunks of mutton in them, slathered in a heavy coating of meaty syrup. Elora barely had time to sit down to her own plate of waffles and strawberries before the dragon tore into his breakfast with ferocious gusto; she flicked a small pulse of magic to protect herself from flying bits and crumbs as she calmly helped herself to a slice of waffle, unfazed by the sloppy pancake massacre happening next to her. Zoe, however, was not so lucky as a slab of pancake batter as big as she was was sent flying across the table and smacked into her, knocking her head-over-heels into the nectar bowl with a splash that soaked the tablecloth around it.

"HEY!" She shouted as he heaved herself out from under the nectar, pancake glop still coating her upper half. "Eat it, don't fling it, you overgrown salamander!"

Spyro paid her no mind and quickly swallowed multiple pancakes worth of batter and meat down in a single gulp; almost instantly, the moment the food hit his stomach, it was like a wave of relief washed over his head. The pounding headache quickly washed away, leaving him outright purring with relief and satisfaction.

"So the hero of Avalar decides to join the day." Moneybag's said in jest, using a spoon to spread honey over his toast. "I do say, after that little celebration over the Earthshapers last night, I was beginning to think you wouldn't wake 'til noon."

Spyro grunted, pausing to using his long, serpentine tongue to lick up all the food caking his lips. "You have Elora to thank for that not happening." He stated, giving the faun an accusing glare; said faun merely closed her eyes and stuck her tongue out at him in response. The dragon snapped up another pancake with his jaws, this time eating it at a slower, less ravenous manner. He eyed the newspaper in Moneybag's paws. "...please tell me our drinking contest didn't make the front pages."

The bear smirked. "Not this time, old boy." He assured. "That story's on page three." He flipped the pages closed to read the front. "No, there's more going on in the world than a bunch of drunken heroes causing a fuss. Big story this time is the electoral debate of the Forgotten Worlds." Bianca's floppy ears slightly perked at those words, and she paused mid-bite to listen. "Seems no one can decide on what to do with the crown, seeing that the Sorceress had no heirs to her throne before Spyro cooked her alive."

"Thank Akatosh." Spyro grumbled, mouth full of pancake. "That bloodline's tainted to the core."

"Some say the Dragons should reclaim their rule, as they were the original owners of the land and had their eggs stolen in its name." Moneybags continued. "A number of loyalist to the Sorceress says that an heir should be chosen from her army." He scoffed, which sounded more like a bear's gruff bark. "Charming thought; a rhynoc general appointed King of the Forgotten Worlds..."

"Five gems says Agent 9 commits regicide less than a week into that reign." Hunter stated, grinning despite his headache.

"Ten says three days." Zoe backed up.

Professor Mole finally glanced up from his work, smirking coyly at the cheetah and fairy. "Please. I know Agent 9 better than any of you; I patched him up and enhanced him, after all..." He turned back to his device, turning the knob and making the machine 'beep-boop' in response. "A thousand gems says less than an hour."

"...Wow." Hunter stated flatly.

"...Dayum." Zoe said with wide eyes.

"Like I said, I know the monkey." Professor said flatly.

"Apart from that, there are over a dozen different candidates from the numerous civilized species debating and competing for the crown. You truly know how to make a mess, Spyro." Moneybags stated; the dragon gave a proud huff, puffing his chest out in victory. "And then they're..." He paused, stunned, before sitting up to get a better look. "...my goodness!"

Every head at the table turned to looked at him in confusion. "What? What's wrong?" The Professor asked.

The bear cleared his throat, clearly still trying to process what he had just recent. "...there are those, in the Forgotten Worlds...who say Spyro should be the new king."

That bit of news hit everyone like a punch to the face, but none more so than Spyro himself.

"WHAT?!" The dragon all but roared; the word drummed through the trees, shaking loose the weaker leaves from their branches.

The next sound was that of Zoe bursting out in gut-wrenching laughter, the fairy guffawing so hard she fell backwards into the nectar bowl again.

"PFFFHAHAHAHAHAA! Ki...Ki...King Spyro?!" She squealed, before bursting into laughter again, even more so at the dragon's deadpan stare. "That's...That's...T-T-Th-HAHAHAHA!" She pulled herself out of the bowl, stumbling forward before doing a mock curtesy to Spyro with her soaked dress. "Oh good day, your majesty! Sheriff Moneybags is here to collect the taxes! Shall we send him to the dungeon or the gallows?!" She flopped over, clutching her stomach and laughing ever harder. "HAHAHAA-!

*FLICK* went the dragon's claw, sending the fairy soaring through the air, still laughing all the way over the castle wall.

"Hilarious..." Moneybag's grumbled, flipping the paper open and burying his scowling face in it.

Elora shook her head in disbelief, rubbing her right temple with her fingers. "Honestly, what are they thinking?" She asked aloud. "Spyro, a king?"

"They're thinking Dragon's Law of Conquest, that's what." Professor Mole guessed, adjusting his glasses. "When two dragons fight for territory or possessions, the winner claims everything from the loser by defeating them in battle: by stealing the eggs, the Sorceress indirectly challenged the dragons, and Spyro answered that call. When he defeated and killed her in one-on-one combat, by dragon law, the Forgotten Realms she ruled over became rightfully his." He hummed in thought. "You know, in that regard, Avalar would be his too after defeating Ripto."

"Except Ripto was never the true king..." Hunter growled, glaring at the article in the newspaper from where he sat, while ripping off a bite of venison with his teeth. "And I doubt the Sorceress was the true queen either."

Bianca shook her head. "No, she was. I served as her assistant for years; plenty of time to read through the royal archives." Her expression turned flat. "But yeah...Spyro? King? Not happening."

Spyro paused, looking up from his breakfast with a frown. "And why not?" He asked.

Everyone else at the table chuckled. "You know exactly why." Elora said, eating a strawberry. "Your idea of ruling a kingdom is 'burn all the cities down and steal all the food and treasure for yourself'."

"Not to mention you know absolutely nothing about government, politics, taxes, written law, or pretty much anything about civilization as a whole." Moneybags added. flipping through the pages.

The dragon stared at them for a moment. "I'd find that insulting to my kind and my intelligence..." He then simply turned back to his tray with a growl of pride. "...if I didn't agree with it completely." Using his teeth, he tossed up a slab of mutton into the air and caught it back in his mouth, like a bird eating carrion. "Besides, the Forgotten Worlds were already Open Land to begin with; neutral ground for dragon kind as a whole. I couldn't claim it for myself even if I wanted to."

Bianca cocked an eyebrow. "You can tell what kind of land it was when you were there?"

"Yes. I could sense the mark the moment I came out your rabbit hole." Spyro told her. "Be it a minute or an eon; we dragons remember."

The rabbit looked impressed. "Remind me never to play Battleship with you." She stated...then she smiled. "Still, for what it's worth, I think you'd make a good king, even for a dragon."

Spyro closed his eyes with a purr of appreciation. "Thank you." He absentmindedly scratched his stomach, his claws raking against his scales in a clatter. "But I don't want to be a king; I already have my destiny as a hero and I'm happy with it...speaking of which..."

Everyone paused what they were doing and looked at the dragon with varying expressions.

"Oh, don't tell me..." Elora groaned.

Spyro 'hmphed' in confirmation. "Hero's Itch."

The reactions were varied throughout the others, ranging from excitement, to exasperation, to confusion, and even devious scheming.

"Finally! It's about damn time!" Hunter exclaimed, reaching beside the table to grab his trademark bow and quiver. "I've been dying to actually do something for months!"

"And just when I was beginning to relax..." Elora moaned in sorrow.

You could practically see the dollar signs shine in Moneybag's eyes. "And that's my cue to leave." He got up, placed the paper on the table, and tipped is non-existent hat. "I do thank you for breakfast, my dear faun, but as you now know I have a future 'business' plan to begin investing in. Those gems won't collect themselves..." And with that, he turned away and left, already preparing a plan on a small checklist.

Bianca, however, simply scowled with her arms folded. "I still refuse to believe that your 'Hero's Itch' actually means anything." She said. "I mean, how does it even work?!"

The Professor shrugged, though he was already gathering his toys and devices and stuffing them into his case. "For your own sake, young wizard, I'm going to advise you simply drop the matter and accept it." He warned her. "Those who have worked with Spyro and his 'adventures' have come to learn that his instincts are always on par with the future, no matter how ridiculous it may seem."

"Instincts, I can believe." Bianca said. "But this implies predicting the future! Through 'gut feeling'! How?! Where's the magic behind that, and how does it work?!"

"My original words exactly, though it was 'science' instead of 'magic'..." Professor Mole stated, slowly shifting himself off his seat. "I speak from experience: don't try to figure it out. It's not worth the frustration."

"Or the life-threatening injuries?" Elora asked, smiling despite the situation.

The old mole grumbled something under his breath, but ignored the faun as he waddled away to his shop.

The rabbit still didn't looked convinced. "B-But how do you even know something's happening? Or where? Or how to even get there?"

Spyro shrugged his wing shoulders, shifting his body and standing up on all fours. "I can't control when it happens. It just does." He told her, looking about the grove. "The itch just appears, and that means I'm about to start another adventure to save the world again." He then looked at his remaining companions. "As for where and getting there...well, I just wait."

"Wait? Wait for what?!"

"For something to happen that will guide him to where he needs to go." Hunter answered, slipping his quiver belt around his torso and clipping it in place. "A sudden urge to go to Dragon Shores...A portal appearing in the middle of the Dragon Realms..." He turned to his girlfriend with a truly feline smirk. "...a group of egg-thieves that just so happened to make their tunnels just big enough for only him to fit through?"

Bianca stared at him, her eye twitching, when realization smacked her in the face. "I...Bu...eh...HOW?!" She shrieked. "THAT'S IMPLYING WORLDLY WORKINGS INTO ITS FUNCTIONS! THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!"

Spyro beamed. "It's my destiny." He told her. "That's why it-"

"NYAH-NYAH NY-NYAH-NYAAAAH!"

The dragon suddenly froze on the spot, rigid as a statue, face flat and eyes wide; his pupils contracted into thin slits, and his face twisted into an tooth-baring snarl of truly unholy rage. Everyone else paused, watching in concern, as the dragon slowly turned to glare in the direction of that infamous...god-forsaken...hell-spawned SOUND. There, standing on the outer wall of Autumn Plains Castle, cloaked in a turban and tunic of blue and tauntingly waving a bag of stolen gems, stood the a member ever-grinning being known simply as Thieves. Said thief spat a long raspberry before turning around and hopping down the outer wall, laughing all the way.

Hunter and Elora slowly sank in their seats and slipped under the stone table, the former grabbing Bianca's arm and pulling her down with them.

The very ground around Spyro trembled, softly at first but quickly growing as the dragon's scale lit up with fiery runes across his scales. Then the very air around him exploded into open flame as he reared back and roared in sheer, unadulterated rage; Elora, Hunter, and Bianca clutched their ears as the roar pounded through their very skulls, while the flames blazed through the nearby branches and even splitting the rocks of the path. With his very scales blazing with fire and his face twisted into a hate-filled snarl, the dragon leapt into the table, tensing to pounce; the dishes, silverware, and remaining food grew hot and melted under the sheer heat of his body.

With another roar of anger, the dragon leapt from the table with enough force to split the structure in two, rocketing through the air like a flaming meteor over the same castle wall the thief stood mere seconds ago.

The flames were still burning through the trees as the three finally poked their heads out from their hiding place.

"Looks like we found our something." Hunter stated.

THIEVES!

FIRE!

MURDER!

These thoughts and more rang through Spyro's mind as he chased after the wretched, twisted, wicked, filthy BASTARDIZED FREAK! Flames licked across his scales as he charged through the forest at full speed, expertly weaving in and out of the trees like a serpent through stones; the flames covering his body left a burning trail behind him, which was quickly beginning to spread through the autumn woods, but he paid it no mind. At that moment, his mind was locked, focused on one thing and one thing only.

REVENGE.

Every mocking laugh. Every sneering jeer. Every ounce of frustration, pain, and humiliation brought upon him and his pride...all of it worth seeing them BURN.

There was very little in this or any realm Spyro hated more than these blue-robed bastards. It was instinctual for dragon to despise any form of thieving creature, but these particular ones went out of their way to send any dragon who saw them into a blind rage. Whether it be stealing simple bags of treasure, to outright stealing eggs from their nests, it was as if they existed purely to be a constant thorn in the hides of dragons everywhere.

And Spyro was no different; the purple dragon had more than his fair share of experiences chasing down the wretched beings. Back in his earliest days, they were a constant source of never-ending frustration, as he was young, slow, and clumsy. But time had blessed him with speed, experience, and skill, to the point where he was a legend among their kind (to the point where one actually asked him for help when their land was overrun by Ripto's sorcerers); this thief was either very confident in his thieving ability, or (more likely) very stupid and had no idea whom he was stealing from.

Given that he simply waved the bag in his face and ran off, deliberately goading a chase, made his case lean to the latter.

Said chase led through the winding forests of Avalar's Autumn Plains, which covered a good third of the entire inland continent; said chase could go on for weeks if Spyro let it, and they'd still be seeing autumn-colored trees everywhere. But the dragon had no intention on letting go on; he wanted blood, and he was going to get it.

And get it soon, for he quickly caught up and spotted the blue blur darting and weaving through the trees. eyes burning with elemental energy, he dropped the serpentine approach altogether. Fire flooded across his entire body, engulfing every inch of scale and skin is a furious blaze, as he charged forth and plowed through everything between him and his target.

The last thing the thief ever saw were the eyes and jaws of living flame given form, exploding from the forest with a earth-shaking roar.

Only after the blood of thief spilled across his tongue did the overwhelming rage quickly die down, and the fire of his power snuff itself out with a whoosh of air, revealing the purple dragon with steaming scales. The burned, mangled body of the thief hung from his jaws, while the bag of treasure it was carrying laid spilled across the forest floor, revealing numerous gemstones of varying size and color. A simple swish of his tail and they were magically reclaimed, turning into different-colored orbs of light and disappearing into his Hoard Space.

Personally, Spyro thought a thief bold enough to break into his palace would've tried to steal something more valuable than a couple gemstones. Didn't even touch the meat stash, for crying out loud!

And they call themselves skilled thieves...

...

...Huh.

Never been to this part of the forest before.

Dropping his latest kill, the purple dragon stood up and looked out over the land; he stood on the edge of a clearing in the trees, it which a small hill formed. And decorated across this hill were the scattered stony ruins of what appeared to be a temple. Said temple had long collapsed eons ago, the walls and pillars long fallen and scattered throughout the grass, leaving short, root-covered bases shaping out what was once the building's foundation; the stone tiles that made up the floor were also scarce and missing, either buried beneath the soil or scattered across the surface. On it's own, it wasn't anything special; Spyro had seen ruins like this all over Avalar, old remnants of a civilization long past.

No. What caught Spyro's attention was not the ruins themselves, but what stood in the exact center of them.

Tip reaching the top of the trees, sides as thick as their trunks and carved with ancient ruins, stood what had to be the biggest World Gate Spyro had ever seen.

The dragon couldn't help but gape a bit as he stared up at the massive structure before him; he had seen many World Gates through his travels, all varying in size and shape, but none he had seen before even couldn't even compare to the size of this behemoth. It was large enough for even the largest of dragons to fit through! Too bad it was closed, though; the inner arc, which would normally show a view of the sky on the other side, was hollow and revealed only the back on the ruins and forest behind it.

Spyro couldn't imagine what kind of creature used a World Gate this big, or what kind of land it led to. Shame, too; any realm that a gate this big led to had to be at least interesting, if not super exciting. Well, it wouldn't be a total loss; the professor would be thrilled with such a find, and finds that made the professor happy meant reward snacks! He could taste the bacon bites alrea-

"Please...I beg of you..."

He froze mid-step as a ghostly voice whispered through the stones.

"If there is any way for you to bring Luna back to me..."

The emerald gemstones of the World Gate, which had remained dull and mana-less for centuries, began to fill with magical light, taking on a fresh green glow.

"...can help me protect my ponies from those who wish them harm... "

And the Hero's Itch in Spyro's stomach suddenly tensed...before relaxing with a blooming heat, just as the very air in the gate was torn open with a clap of thunder, and the brilliant light faded away to reveal a dark, starry-night sky.

"Bring it to me...Please..."

Spyro the Dragon stared at the newly opened portal, first in bewildered confusion...until his lips curled up into a saurian version of an excited grin. He had found it...he had found it! The Hero's Itch! It was gone, and an eager fire had replaced it in his belly! The adventure was about to begin! The thief...he looked back at the body of the dead trespasser, realization striking him like lightning; it was the something! Finding these ruins was not an accident: that thief led him here! To his next adventure!

It was destiny, just like he said! Bianca was going to throw a fit over this one.

He took a few steps forward, but paused mid-step halfway to the gate; should he tell his friends about this? Would they know what to do or even how to get here? He glanced back in the direction he came from...and could almost feel the sweat drop hang from the back of his head; Yeah...if a tunnel of charred trees and ash didn't led them here, nothing would. They could follow that, and once they saw the portal they would know what to do. They were smart, or at least Elora was, and she could make sure the others knew what was happening if they couldn't figure it out.

What was next? Well, that was obvious. The door to another world-saving quest had just been opened before his eyes...literally! There was only one thing to do at this point:

Answer the call.

The Everfree Forest.

Since the founding of Equestria, this dark and foreboding forest has haunted the dreams and legends of ponies and all other races everywhere. It was the largest section of untouched wild land on the entire continent, covering more than a fourth of Celestia's entire kingdom, slithering in and stretching to cities throughout the land and going far beyond the borders and the horizon itself.

So why did the ponies avoid it instead of take advantage of its natural bounties? Fear of the alien.

And what was so alien about this forest?

It was completely normal.

As all those who live in Equestria know, this planet's natural cycles are manually taken care of by the ponies that inhabit it: Unicorns use their magic to change the seasons, Pegasi move clouds and create weather patterns, and Earth Ponies tend to the growth of plants and care of animals on the ground. But the Everfree Forest was different: it did all this by itself. Unlike the rest of this planet, the Everfree was perfectly natural in comparison with other worlds: the weather and seasons changed on their own, plants grew and thrived without the help or interference of ponykind, as did the animals that lived in it. To most outsiders, this would be perfectly normal, but to ponykind's blind innocence, it was downright terrifying. Even more so thanks to it's appearance and inhabitants.

From above it was a sea of green, stretching on for all eternity and resembling pretty much any regular forest...but beneath the canopy, it was a terrifying place; trees and plants beneath the branches fought and strangled each other over even the smallest patches of sunlight: a rare necessity in this dark land, leaving the smaller, weaker saplings to starve and die in the dark undergrowth. Down there, several hundred feet below the suffocating canopy, dense vegetation thrived on the dank forest floor and carpeted the putrid dirt with its tentacle-like web of roots, providing miserable but sufficient hiding-holes for the many creatures which inhabit this forest.

The creatures of the Everfree were even scarier and more savage than the forest itself. Many of Equestria's most horrible and feared monsters lurked in the darkness of this forest, eagerly awaiting for a foolish outsider to set foot in it: Dragons were among these, though they were far and scarcely spread. Manticores, great lions with bat wings and scorpion tails, were a more common threat to travelers. Timberwolves, canine-like beasts made and grown from the trees they live beneath, hunted in packs to bring down tougher prey. These were but just a few of the many mythical and monstrous beasts living in the Everfree. And then even the beasts themselves could succumbed to other predators, though they not be animals. The lower vegetation itself was alive with poison and toxins of all kinds, from the infamous Poison Joke to their carnivorous cousins the Fang Floras.

From the smallest of critters to the largest of beasts, from the top of its canopy to the roots of its trees, the Everfree Forest is definitely, by all accounts, a deathtrap for the inexperienced and unprepared...which is why the secrets that laid inside its borders have remained untouched by civilization for centuries, including a famous yet mysterious relic of a time long past:

The Ancient Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters, the former castle of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.

And the very ruins that six everyday ponies were currently trekking through the most dangerous forest in all of Equestria to find; where the Elements of Harmony, the only known magic that could stop the recently-freed Nightmare Moon, had been hidden for a past thousand years.

Twilight Sparkle, youngest child of House Sparkle and student of Princess Celestia, was not happy with the situation she found herself in. When she had woken up that morning, she figured the worst she would have to deal with would be other students trying to interrupt her studies with their social activities, but instead she found herself out here, trudging through the Everfree Forest of all places, with a group of weird ponies who were under the delusions of being her 'friends', in a desperate attempt to find possibly mythical items and stop who was pretty much the Goddess of the Night.

Perhaps it was best to start at the beginning:

For as long as anypony could remember, Equestria had been ruled by the beloved Princess Celestia, whose powerful magic raised and lowered the sun and moon every day and night...but it wasn't always just her. According to the legends, there were originally two alicorn princesses that ruled Equestria: Celestia herself, and her sister, Princess Luna. Celestia raised and set the sun each day, while Luna raised and set the moon each night, and thus the natural solar cycle was kept in Equestria. All was well at first, but overtime Luna became bitter and resentful: ponykind lived and basked in the grand light of Celestia's day, but slept through and shunned the dark beauty of her night. Eventually the growing darkness in Luna's heart consumed her, and she transformed into a wicked mare of darkness: Nightmare Moon. Celestia pleaded for her sister to come to her senses, but Nightmare Moon would not have it: she swore to plunge Equestria into Eternal Night, first by refusing to lower the moon for day, and then by destroying the one who rose the sun.

The heart-broken Celestia was left with no choice but to summon forth Equestria's greatest force of light: The Elements of Harmony, and, with their incredible power, banish her own sister from the very planet itself, sealing her within the moon. Celestia then took up the duty of both Day and Night, and the rest was history...

...however, some say that in a thousand years from that day, when the stars are aligned just right, Nightmare Moon would escape from her celestial prison and return, and this time would bring forth night eternal.

And that's where Twilight came in. This year's upcoming Summer Sun Celebration would mark the thousandth's year of Celestia's solo reign, and thus it was the night of Nightmare's return. As Celestia's most trusted student, she knew something had to be done; most ponies probably would've just laughed at the idea of the old legend being real, but if there was one thing Twilight had learned from her years of studies under the princess herself, was that legends can sometimes be very real...and if that was the case, then there was but one thing to do:

She had to find the lost Elements of Harmony, and reawaken them so their power could defeat Nightmare Moon.

She didn't waste anytime contacting Princess Celestia about her recent discovery; the young unicorn was certain that the princess would take immediate action, always putting true faith and trust in her student...so imagine her surprise when Celestia responded by telling her she 'simply must stop reading those dusty old books'.

From that point on everything just went downhill: first Celestia decided Twilight needed to get out of the castle, so she sent her and her assistant Spike to the distant rural town of Ponyville, to oversee the preparations for the celebration; Twilight originally wasn't going to let that stop her from researching the elements. But her attempts to speed things along and get to work were all but halted by the wild antics of these back-town crazies (the same crazies she was stuck with at the moment)! And when she finally could pull herself away from their constant pestering, it was already too late. The stars aligned and the image of the mare in the moon vanished, and soon after so did Celestia. The frightened ponies watching barely had time to register these events before the black alicorn, shroud in a mane of blue magic and wearing armor forged from starlight, appeared before them and announced her conquest over Equestria, saying the night would last forever.

And that led to where the lavender unicorn was now: from what little information she could gather in the town's local library, the last known location of the elements was the Castle of the Two Sisters. Thus she resigned herself to venture into the Everfree to find the castle, retrieve the elements, and use them to stop Nightmare Moon and bring back the daylight.

No military training, no magical combat training, no post-failure preparations, no supplies, not even a map to the ruins. And the only allies she had with her were the five ponies that drove her crazy the day before: the cowgirl Applejack, the meek Fluttershy, the crazy-ball-of-sugar Pinkie Pie, the fancy Rarity, and the tomboy Rainbow Dash.

This was shaping up to be a truly memorial adventure.

Admittedly, now that she was actually traversing the dark and creepy overgrown forest, Twilight was somewhat glad of the company at least; trying to do this alone would have been outright suicide. She had already nearly been killed when the cliff they were traveling across gave way beneath them; had it not been for Applejack and the two pegasi, she could very well have died then and there.

Didn't stop one of their constant bragging about it any more bearable, though.

"...and once Pinkie and Rarity were saved, whoosh! Me and Fluttershy loop-de-loop around and WHAM! Caught you right in the nick of time!" Rainbow Dash bragged, complete with the 'whoosh' and 'loop-de-loop' motions performed mid-flight before landing and strutting proudly.

Twilight fought the urge to roll her eyes. Annoying braggart or not, this was one of the ponies who saved her from becoming a pony-shaped crater at the bottom of a cliff. " Yes, Rainbow, I was there, and I'm very grateful, but we gotta-" She was interrupted when a heavy paw slammed into the path. There, standing in the path that continued between two rock formations and blocking the way, stood a very angry-looking-

"MANTICORE!" Twilight shouted, just in time for said Manticore to raise up on its hind legs, spread its wings, and roar at the top of its lungs.

What followed was an entirely one sided fight to get past the creature. Rarity (the last pony Twilight would ever expect) not only dodged the first pounce by the lion-like monster, but also delivered a solid buck to its nose; though a roar at point blank range was all it took to send the fashionista running. Applejack took the opportunity to leap astride the much larger animal and proceeded to ride it like a bull at a rodeo, whooping and hollering until she was sent flying off, past an already eager-to-fight Rainbow Dash. The pegasus darted straight at the beast and proceeded to fly circles around it in an effort to confuse and disorientate, the rainbow colored after trail left in her wake forming a cyclone wall. All of which merely annoyed the Manticore, who swatted her aside with the stinger of its tail.

Anger and frustration clouded Twilight's mind, her hoof already pawing at the ground and a snort of condensation escaping her nostrils as the other mares formed a battle line beside her (save for a worried-looking Fluttershy, who had been trying to call their attention through the whole fight).

They readied to charge, pawing at the ground, when at the very moment they made to move, a new sound boomed forth through the forest and sky. A sound that made Twilight's limbs lock in place and heart freeze cold.

A roar.

This was no simple animal cry like that of the Manticore. This was a roar; a roar of pure rage and ferocity, ancient and powerful. One that should've been silenced eons ago with the birth of sapient life; no mortal creature that existed on this planet could ever create such a horrific cry of pure primal rage. A fury so fierce...so ancient...so powerful...it shook her to the very core, as well as sent her and her friends tumbling across the path by the sheer strength of its ear-tearing volume.

And no sooner did they tumble forward did a massive purple form plunge down from the sky like a comet of fire and scales, landing on all fours with a powerful crash between them and the now terrified Manticore.

A form of a large purple dragon.

And Equestria would never be the same again.

3. War of the Night - Part 2

CHAPTER 1: WAR OF THE NIGHT - PART 2: OF DRAGONS AND PONIES

Spyro had always taken great pride in his roar.

The roar of a dragon has been the source of many, many legends, dating as far back as the ancient times; a force as powerful and deadly a weapon as their breath, capable of warping the world itself when the right words were spoken. Spyro had gained and was using his roar at a young age, when most dragons were still trying to find theirs; his father contributed it to the power of his purple scales, though the training the guardians gave him to hone and perfect it certainly helped to give it the strength it had today.

And thus, when he spotted the group of colorful mammals facing down a Manticore and unleashed his voice at the top of his lungs, it filled him with pride to see not only the chimera-like monster cower in fear, but the very forest itself fall silent in dreadful respect.

The purple dragon slowly paced back and forth across the path, claws carving grooves in the earth and wings spread menacingly, the Manticore to his front and the group of what he assumed to be equines to his back. His face twisted into a truly murderous snarl as he growled long and deep, fire cracking in his throat and licking the sides of his jaws; his glaring eyes glowed with their own fiery light. In the darkness of night, the dragon looked like a demon straight from the bowels of Tartarus itself.

And yet, despite a clearly stronger threat growling it down, the Manticore refused to back down. Not for lack of fear; the beast looked ready to piss itself out of pure terror, cowering against the ground with its wings folded against its sides and its tail tucked between its legs, and the sheer aura of fear radiating from its body was almost as strong as one of the equines behind him...but it couldn't move...until-

The dragon gave a pause mid-step, his snarl softening slightly as he cocked an eye-ridge in confusion; something wasn't right. He watched as the Manticore began to twitch and seize in pace, snarling and gargling unintelligibly as its body shook and moved, almost against its will, and a strange 'feeling' filled the air around it...almost like...

Then its eyes turned blue.

Spyro's face immediately hardened again, and he instinctively jumped back; he recognized the smell and feel of magical influence anywhere, even with this peculiar kind.

All at once the Manticore stopped struggling, and all traces of fearful emotion disappeared instantly. Irises now glowing with a sparkling blue light, the beast's lion face twisted into an angry snarl of its own and, with a defiant roar, charged. Spyro quickly spat of roar of defiance himself before he charged as well, horns sharp and ready to gore. Like runaway locomotives the two massive creatures charged each other down in the world's deadliest game of chicken, neither giving ground or showing fear...until, at exactly the last moment, the Manticore suddenly dodged to the right, barely missing being speared in the guts by Spyro's horns, and swiped a paw across the dragon's neck as he rocketed past.

The claws barely scraped the surface of the dragon's armored hide; Spyro scoffed as he skidded to a halt some distance away and whipped himself back around, tail cracking the air like a whip with the motion. He pawed at the earth, snorting twin streams of smoke before leaping at his foe in a pounce, roaring loudly with jaws wide open and claws extended to full length.

Anticipating the charge, the Manticore braced its hind legs for the coming impact with his claws bared, only for Spyro to suddenly halt and spin his body mid-charge, swinging his tail in a wide arc and slamming the tail-blade into the beast's side; the sheer speed and force of the blow sent the Manticore sailing across the clearing before slamming into the rock face of the cliff with a painful, bone-breaking 'crash!'.

Spyro skidded to a halt, body tensed in preparation to pounce, waiting to see the result of his attack...and blanched in surprise when the Manticore stood back up and roared in defiance...despite one of its limbs hanging limp and bloodied, clearly broken. And eyes glowing brighter than ever.

That only confirmed it; this creature was a simple predator, of the kind motivated by instincts and hunger. A creature like it would not stay and fight against a larger, stronger threat, especially if it meant receiving life-threatening injuries like that; a fully mangled arm would ensure certain death for it, yet it was still fighting regardless! Something was forcing it to stay and fight against him...or someone, if the magic in its eyes were anything to judge by.

His eyes narrowed into dangerous silts, a dark growl escaping his throat. Looks like he found his newest arch-enemy.

The Manticore roared and ran at him again, stumbling on three legs, only for Spyro to leap over to the right at the last second; as he leapt, he flipped around and swung his tail at the passing beast, slashing the exposed flesh between the rings at it ran past. Roaring in pain and frustration, the creature swung its scorpion tail up and struck the dragon's exposed belly; the clubbed stinger smashed into his belly scales, knocking him off kilter and sent him rolling across the ground.

Tumbling several yards, Spyro stumbled to a stop and shook his head to clear it of the stars flickering across his vision, growling under his breath in frustration; normally he enjoyed nothing more than battle, but this was not that: this opponent was nothing more than a puppet hiding one too cowardly to face him themselves. It was neither honorable, nor fulfilling, nor even enjoyable!

He was not going to take part in this dance any longer; he had a world to save, and the enemy was making him waste time!

Time to end this pathetic little distraction.

He righted himself up and faced the almost zombie-like monster, which gave another roar and ran at him as fast as it could, mouth foaming and eyes blazing with blue magic...just as the dragon's chest began to glow between his chest scales with a deep orange light. Said light flowed up the underside of his neck, lighting the inner overlaps of his scales like beams of sunlight, while the light in the back of his throat and deep in his eyes grew steadily brighter.

And the Manticore was only half-way through its pounce when the dragon's jaws snapped open and unleashed a compressed blast of white-hot flames at point blank range. The area of the Everfree Forest lit up as if it was day, and the roar of flames erupted up over the nearby trees and into the open night sky; when the fire ended and his jaws closed, there wasn't even a skeleton left behind. Only a pile of ash that sprayed across the path, along with a few crumbling chunks.

Spyro glared at the scattered remains and gave a dragon's version of a 'tsk'; a soft, garbling snap of a bark.

Not even worth a victory roar.

Twilight found herself unable to speak.

Was it out of fear, or shock, or maybe even awe, she couldn't tell.

She doubted it mattered anyway. There were little ways to describe what she was seeing at the moment; 'Force of Nature' was one fitting example. The sheer level of pure, unadulterated power that went into that breath of fire was so strong its presence was overwhelming! Not even regarding the temperature the air spiked to when this dragon breathed (her coat was soaked to the skin with sweat), but the sheer level of elemental energy behind it was enough to make her horn vibrate with magical reverb, and she wasn't even casting any spells!

And part of her was thankful it was so powerful and quick: she doubted she would've been able to stomach watching an animal die in any other way than a quick 'poof!' into ash.

Well now they were out of the frying pan and into the fire...quite literally. The manticore was gone, but now they had this purple dragon to deal with; from what little she knew about dragons, this one was much smaller than an adult, but it was also considerably larger than ponies and most teenage dragons. A late-teen perhaps; one that was just started that massive growth spurt that would rocket it to the size of a mountain.

It wasn't the size that had Twilight so frightened and confused; it was the appearance. It was clearly not a species of dragon she was familiar with, nor did it match any from the royal archives either. It's body was slim and almost feline in nature, as opposed to most pot-bellied dragons of Equestria, and its appearance and features were far more 'fearsome'; the sharpness of its horns, the strength of its body, the edge of its scales, the deadly blade of the tail, the wicked teeth and talon-like claws, the fiery, snake-like eyes...everything about it just felt more dangerous and fiercer than their dragons. That, couple with it's overwhelming roar and sheer destructive power of its breath, all screamed 'unnatural'. At least by Equestrian standards.

What was this dragon? Where did it come from? And how did it get here from there? And why was it here?

"Are you all just going to stay in the bushes?" The dragon suddenly spoke in native equestrian, turning his head to look in their general direction. "Or does anyone want to tell me how to save this world?"

Twilight's ears perked up in surprise. Wait, what?

"Go away!" Rainbow Dash shouted from her hiding place. "You're not gonna eat us, you monster!"

The dragon, however, simply scoffed a puff of smoke from his nostrils. "Be honest: If I wanted you dead, I would've left you to the manticore." He stated; he then glanced at the bush the voice came from, sniffing the air slightly. "That's poison ivy you two are hiding in, by the way."

"GAH!/YIPE!" And with that yelp of alarm, the rainbow-maned pegasus and pink earth pony jumped out of the same bush, shaking their bodies desperately.

Spyro cocked his head to the side as he took in the sight of the natives of this land for the first time; he had never seen their kind before. The small, almost plushy-looking beings resembled small, brilliant colored horses with large eyes and faun-like faces. One of the two dancing about in front of him was bright pink with a really poofy mane, while the other was cyan blue with a rainbow mane and a pair of small feathered wings on her back. Judging from the scents, all six were female and young adults.

But the bizarre new species did at least confirm his suspicions: he wasn't in Avalar anymore.

He glanced over at a large tree just behind the bush of ivy. "You want to come out now too, orange pony?" He called.

"What the-?!" Came the surprised voice of Applejack, who looked out behind said tree in surprise. "How'd ya know I was hidin' here?"

"Multiple ways." Spyro stated as he laid down saurian style of the ground, legs tucked under his body, just as the two ponies in front of him stopped dancing and tensely faced him. He raised a paw, counting off with his fingers. "I can smell you, detect your body heat, perceive your electrical stimuli, sense your life-force, hear both your breathing and your heartbeat, and taste your magical aura..." He then lifted the tip of his tail and pointed the tailblade to another tree. "White unicorn..." To a rock. "Yellow bird-pony..." And finally to Twilight's hiding place in another bush, which had also been enchanted with a ward spell. "...purple unicorn."

Twilight's jaw all but hit the floor as she, Rarity, and a trembling Fluttershy poked their heads out of the predicted spots. How...but she...she used cloaking magic!

Pinkie looked equally impressed. "Wow. I'm never playing Hide and Seek with you." She stated in awe.

"Pinkie, get away from that beast!" Rarity cried, using her magic to pull the party pony away by the tail. "It's dangerous!"

"But he just saved us from the mean manny-core!" Pinkie objected as she was dragged away. "What kind of person saves somebody only to hurt them right after?"

"That's not a person, Pinkie; that's a monster!" Rainbow Dash growled, her glare never leaving the dragon.

It took a serious amount of Spyro's willpower not to prove the winged pony's point and crush her right then and there. Akatosh above, what the hell was these creature's problems?! The way the ponies were looking at and speaking about him, you'd think he murdered a beloved relative or something!

...Oh, crap, were these one of those dragon-hating races? Those that viewed dragons are evil monsters based on appearance and behavior alone? Gods, he certainly hoped not; first adventure he had in almost a year and THESE were the people he was going to being saving? Those who would rather see him slain and mounted on a wall than accept his help? He'd rather take another shot at Tree Tops again! At least the pink one had the right idea, but one voice did not speak for every mouth.

"But he saved us!" Pinkie objected.

"Oh yeah? How do we know it's not trying to trick us?" Rainbow Dash challenged.

"Really, now?" Applejack spoke up. "We'd be Manticore food if it wasn't for him. If it wants to help, I say let 'em."

"You can't be serious, Applejack!" Rarity piped up herself, standing bravely in front of a trembling Fluttershy. "It's a dragon! We'd be stupid to trust the likes of it! The moment we let our guard down it'll steal out valuables and burn us to ash like he did that poor creature!"

"That 'poor creature' that was just trying to kill us?!" Pinkie squealed. "You're loco in the coco, Rarity! And that's me talking!"

And with that the ponies fell into a heated argument, each yelling over each other in an attempt to make their point known. Spyro found his patience quickly draining, ears twitching against the squealing of these petty creatures; half were determined to damn him for being his kind, while the other half gave him the benefit of the doubt, yet weren't bothering to refer to him as anything but 'it'.

Well, if they wanted him gone so bad, he was seriously considering doing just that and leave: he chose the path of being a hero...and he could just as easily choose leaving the ungrateful to their fate...

"Wait!"

The arguing immediately fell silent, and all heads in the clearing turned to she who had called out. The purple unicorn stared at Spyro with a cautious look on her face, her eyes hesitant yet hopeful as she slowly approached him. She passed her friends and stood before the dragon, whose sheer size made him loom over them like a great monster, even when laying down on his stomach. Then, quietly and with a soft glimmer of hope, she spoke.

"Have you really come to help us save Equestria?"

It took all of Spyro's willpower to keep a straight face, and even then his eyes widened slightly in shock as her words reached his ears. That voice...

Long, flowing hair as black as ebony...glimmering fish scales that shimmered a peach-flesh pink...warm sea-blue eyes that could stare into his blazing draconian eyes, and show only trust, respect, and love...

He shuddered as he was pulled back into reality, his body shivering as if exposed to great gold, and he shook his head in an animalistic manner to clear the images that the small unicorn's voice pulled up from his memories. He looked down at her, his draconian eyes meeting her almost-human ones. Did he see fear in them? Yes, but not of the same kind as the others: No malice, no judgement, no discrimination. Just respectful caution.

And hope.

"Yes. I will save Equestria." All was he needed to say.

Twilight's eye widened in surprise and awe as those words, short and simple, burned through her mind like fire. While the words might have held little weight on their own, it was the sheer strength, determination, and resolve in his eyes, driven and unbreakable, that drove the point home, filling her heart with a truly wonderful hope.

'I will save Equestria'...that was not a claim, or a promise.

It was fact.

This dragon was going to save Equestria.

And with that fact firmly planted in her mind, she couldn't help but smile.

"Okay then." She managed to say. Spyro gave a grumbling purr of satisfaction as he stood back up on all fours, wings shifting to his sides and tail swishing through the air. The other five ponies stared in awed silence, having experienced the same overwhelming force of resolve and blooming warmth of hope their friend had.

Finally, after what felt like full minutes, Rainbow Dash managed to speak. "...what are you?" She asked, still reeling from the thoughts and feelings coursing through her body.

The dragon cocked his head in an animalistic manner. "I'm Spyro."

"...and then he went all 'RAAAAAR'! And the monster lion was all 'GRRR'! And then he took a deep breath and 'VOOM!', and the monster lion went *poof* into ash, and he was all like 'you ain't worth my time, buster'! It was sooooo cool!" A certain pink earth pony rambled on, bouncing around excited as the six ponies continued their trek through the forest. "Didja see how cool he was! Didja? Didja? Huh huh HUH?"

Twilight merely closed her eyes and took a deep breath, mentally reminding herself that using Level 4 Petrification Spells on sapient life outside of self-defense was forbidden and punishable by ten years in the royal Canterlot Dungeons. "Yes, Pinkie, I saw it." She told her. "Every bit of it..."

"Can you believe this?" Rarity asked, eyeing the skies in wonder. "I certainly wouldn't have if I didn't see it with my own eyes."

"I know!" Pinkie exclaimed. "Who would've thought? A friendly dragon? It's super duper awesome!"

"Ya say that as if he's an ordinary drag'n." Applejack stated flatly, pausing as a large shadow whooshed over the path. "Which I'm pretty sure we all know he ain't."

Twilight looked up as Applejack did; just in time to see a large draconian silhouette fly across the star-filled sky high above their heads, wing membrane gleaming like giant rubies in front of the moonlight. He had been doing that ever since they continued after the encounter with the manticore, soaring overhead like a great guardian angel, calm and silent in the dark, yet ready to reign down the fires of wrath upon all who challenge him.

She honestly wondered if she was always this poetic, or did this amazing creature awaken some glory-praising side of her with his presence.

"He's impressive, alright." She said aloud. "Even with what little ponykind knows about dragons, we at least have records of the different breeds and types out there, and yet he's of a kind nopony has ever seen before. A completely new species; one with incredible power and a wide variety of abilities, no less."

"And super friendly!" Pinkie Pie chirped up. "He's really nice helping us take on that meanie nightmare pants!"

"I still can't believe we're all okay with this." Rainbow Dash spoke up, watching the dragon circle overhead, not in glaring distrust, but confused awe. "He's a dragon; we shouldn't trust him like this..." She looked ahead, shifting her wings. "...and yet, when I heard him say he was going to save us...I just...believed it. I still do now."

Twilight nodded in agreement, a shiver traveling up her spine as she recalled that moment. That one claim, simple, calm, and straight-forward...yet never before in her life had she ever felt such truth. If was though he was forging a pact of blood and steel, one that secured the future itself. He said he was going to save Equestria, and she realized she believed it to the core, unable to doubt it even if she wanted to. Nightmare Moon had already lost, and victory was as good as his.

Was this some sort of magic? A mentally-warping ability this dragon breed had to make one believe?

Or were they simple words spoken by a true hero, with such conviction and determination that it could be shared physically and emotionally, giving hope and strength to any who heard them?

"It's really odd, al'ight. But honestly, I'm just glad we got somethin' as big an' strong as a bonafide dragon watchin' our backs." Applejack told them, kicking a rock to the side as she walked. "Considerin' this Nightmare Moon gal's suppose to be a alicorn princess like Celestia, I was kinda worried we were gettin' over our heads here."

"Agreed." Rarity said. "At the very least, we'll have something to chase off any other monsters that might cross our paths." She then paused and looked back at Fluttershy, who had been quietly staring at the ground since the fight. "What do you think, dear? You've always been terrified of dragons, and yet here you are; did his words make you feel any different?"

Fluttershy suddenly and deliberately stopped. The others stumbled to a stop as well, looking at her in confusion.

"Fluttershy, are you okay?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"...he killed him."

The voice was barely a whisper, and one that the others weren't entirely sure they had heard correctly. "Pardon?" Applejack asked.

Teal orbs hardened like stones as they glared up at the circling dragon accusingly. "The manticore! He killed that poor manticore! He never meant to hurt anypony, and now he's gone! Oh, the poor little kitty..."

"Little?"

Dash's sentiment echoed Twilight's precisely, though she choose to remain silent and let the pegasus vent her grief.

"No offense sugar cube, but that there manticore was fixin' to hurt us something fierce, whether he meant to or not." Applejack stated, playing the voice of reason. "And these everfree critters ain't like those little ones ya take care of. If Spyro there hadn't turned up, who knows what could've happened."

"Don't accuse me of taking pleasure in killing a defenseless puppet." Spyro's voice boomed across the forest, just as the dragon swooped down and landed before the six, his wings kicking up a powerful gust as he flapped them quickly to slow his landing. He looked down upon Fluttershy with a soft glare, who lowered her gaze in a mix of discomfort and bitterness. "If you want to blame someone, blame the Nightmare princess; she's the one who forced that creature to fight against its will."

Twilight's eyes widened in surprise. "You mean she used an Astral Possession Spell to control the manticore?"

Spyro looked at her and nodded. "If that some sort of mind control spell, then yes. I originally intended to scare it off when I first arrived, but then she forced her will upon it to fight a battle it knew it couldn't win." He told them, turning back to Fluttershy. "If you are a real Beast Master who knows the ways of animals, then you know this is true."

"But don't you feel anything for that poor creature? He was being forced to do bad things!" Fluttershy insisted. "There could've been another way! A way to save him, without spilling his blood!"

Spyro's glare turned hot with fire, the flames licking his eyelids. "What do I look like to you, a wizard? I don't know how to unravel spells or break curses, so don't act l had the option to break the spell and instead chose death out of pleasure." He snapped, his voice taking on the dangerous crackle of fire, cowing the timid pegasus in place. "I am a dragon! When I or those I seek to protect are threatened, I fight to defend them, as that is what I do! And I am not going to stand idly by and be accused of heartless cruelty when we both know I had no choice!"

He gave her credit; at least she had the sense to look guilty for her rebuttal. "I...I know. But it...it just hurts, ending a life."

"To save yours and those of your friends." Spyro said, unfazed in the slightest. "Beast Master or no, not even a hundred animal lives are worth one sapient life. So, do I feel shame or guilt to knowing I did what I had to do to upload that? No. I don't." He turned away, his body and tail curling in a serpentine manner as he did so. "All life is precious, true, but all life is not equal; I'd kill a million beasts if it meant saving one innocent Soul Bearer..." He glared at the pegasus over his shoulder. "...and if you call yourself a Soul Bearer as well, you'd do exactly the same if the time called for it."

Fluttershy looked torn, glancing between the dragon's eyes and the ground, unable to meet his eyes...until a splash of red and hiss of smoke caught her undivided attention, as if someone flipped a switch.

"You're hurt." She said worryingly.

Spyro paused, he and the others around them following her eyes: where the manticore's tail had struck him in battle, on one of the large belly-scales covering his chest; said scale was cracked in the center from a heavy impact, tiny trails of hot blood seeping through the cracks, hissing against the grass as they peppered the ground. "It'll heal in time." He stated, looking away. "I've received much worse before."

But the pegasus wouldn't hear it; taking to the air she zipped back and forth through the undergrowth, searching for and gathering armsful of various herbs and leaves in her forelimbs. She put them in a small pile next to the dragon's feet, and went to work; Spyro at first looked ready to object and step away, as he most likely didn't need healing for what he viewed as a minor wound, but with a stare that was half-pleading half-demanding, she managed to coax the dragon to lay on his side and let her tend his wound: using a old turtle shell she found as a makeshift bowl, she grind the leaves and herbs together with pink berries to create a smooth fruit-like paste before gently applying it to the impact area.

"T-The herbs will help stop the bleeding, and the berry mush will keep the cracks sealed until they heal." She told them. "Try not to get anything stuck or smeared on it until it dries..." She then remembered who she was talking to, and a timid 'meep!' escaped her lips. "I-If you w-want to, t-that is."

Spyro, meanwhile, didn't know what to make of this. "And here I thought you despised my very existence." He stated, voice sharp as a blade.

Fluttershy looked horrified at the thought. "W-What? No! I d-don't hate you!" She stammered, before looking downcast. "I just...I-I don't like seeing anyone get hurt, and I'm still really sad about the manticore..." She swallowed. "B-But I understand why you do it. I don't like it, but it was to save our lives, and I know you have no choice..." She turned to look at him with pleading eyes. "...b-b-but when you do, please let us try to help both of you first?"

The dragon merely cocked his head slightly to the side, and then gave a grumbling grunt of acknowledgement.

"Come." He stated, rolling back over on his stomach and standing up. "With every second we waste, the closer the Nightmare Princess comes to damning this world." And with that, he spread his wings and took off into the night sky once more.

After his shallow victory over the chimera beast, the unicorn called Twilight Sparkle had filled him in on what was going on: after ten centuries of banishment, a corrupted Princess called 'Nightmare Moon' had returned to this land of Equestria, magically stole away the ponies rightful ruler and casting a dark spell on the sun itself, preventing it from rising, in a mad quest to bring forth eternal night.

Spyro was familiar with lands that were suspended in a certain time of day: the Forgotten Worlds four main kingdoms were each enchanted to exist in a continuous state of eternal Morning, Midday, Evening, and Midnight respectively. Those kingdoms, however, had powerful magical forces that kept them at life-sustaining light and temperature...but even then, there was an underlying sensation that things were not right: the plants in the midnight realm always look weak and sickly, even when growing in moonlight, and the air was always borderline uncomfortably warm in the midday realm.

Then he defeated the Sorceress, the one who had cast the enchantment to begin with, and with her death said enchants broke, and all hell burst loose as all those centuries of suppressed effects came rushing back all at once; the midday realms outright erupted with a kingdom-wide column of fire that blazed high into the sky, the midnight mountain was split in half by the enormous iceberg that burst from the earth beneath it, and the two borderline kingdoms barely made it out alive of being warped beyond natural recognition.

The experience made it quite clear in the dragon's mind; using magic to alter the natural changes of the world, no matter how powerful and careful you think the spells you cast are, never worked in the end. And now this new, apparently insane magic-wielding royal had decided to give in to true darkness; surely as one of the two who maintained this world's solar cycle, the Nightmare Princess would know the consequences of removing the sun, dying crops and freezing nights being only two of them. Was she truly so arrogant that she didn't know the cycle she herself controlled...or was the suffering and death her intention all along?

Another magic-wielder who sought to damn the entire world to a long suffering death for their own desires...this song and dance was sounding very familiar.

Thankfully, there was tell of a way to stop this crazed princess before she could go too far: the studious Twilight Sparkle told him of six ancient artifacts called the Elements of Harmony which, combined, had been used to bound the evil maleficar to her otherworldly prison before, and was believed to reside in the ruins of an ancient castle deep within this forest. It was these six artifacts these ponies sought, and the Nightmare Princess was trying to prevent them from getting.

He stared up at the moon high above him, the symbol and source of this new sorceress's power, and grinned in a draconian manner. The adventure had truly begun: The stakes had been set and set high, and the task laid out before him. He had comrades to protect, an unrelenting foe, and a clear objective before him.

And the next challenge presented itself, as the screams of his comrades rang through the night sky from the canopy below.

The comfort and hope of their unexpected guardian's presence quickly faded from Twilight's heart as the stars disappeared behind a blanket of leaves, and the watchful eyes along with them; the path to the ruins took them through a deeper swamp, where the canopy grew thick and closed off the view above completely, and with it the light level dropped quickly, to the point where she could barely see in front of her face.

Just in time to jinx Rarity's complaint. "Ugh, my eyes need a rest from all this icky muck!" She whined, just in time for what little light to fade, leaving the six in almost complete darkness. "Well, I didn't mean that literally..."

Twilight groaned in frustration as she struggled to put one hoof in front of the other without running into something. "That ancient ruin could be right in front of our faces and we wouldn't even know it!"

Had she been able to see, or at least looked down at her hooves at the last moment, she might've seen a sparkling mass of dark-blue mist slither ahead of them, slipping its presence into the roots of the trees surrounding them...

"Hang on." Applejack suddenly spoke up. "I think I stepped in something."

That statement barely even registered in Twilight's mind when Fluttershy suddenly let out a terrified scream.

"It's just mud..." Applejack stated, frowning in confusion, until she turned to come face-to-face with a row of outright demonic teeth and a snarl straight from Tartarus.

With a yelp of fright, the orange earth pony jumped back to the others, just in time for the entire grove to erupt into an army of monsters; all around them, the trunks of the numerous trees transformed into twisted effigies of faces, with demonic glowing eyes and gaping maws filled with sharp thorn-like teeth. They seem to burst out of the shadows, growling with an unnatural savagery, cutting off all escapes and leaving the panicking herd of six crowding together, screaming in fear.

Well, herd of five that is.

The five terrified mares were snapped out of their screaming panic when they realized the poofy-maned Pinkie stood several yards away, pulling faces and making goofy noises at the possessed tree in front of her, giggling all the while like a little filly.

"Pinkie, what are you doing?! Run!"

Twilight's cry only elicited a soft giggle from said earth pony, who simply shot back a...smug smile over her withers. "Really, Twily? Have you really forgotten who's out there with us?"

Seemingly from the ether around them, music began to play; Twilight could only watch in disbelief as the pink pony suddenly appeared before them, completely dressed in a tavern bard's dress of all things, styled with candy, bubbles, and pink, strumming across a party-themed lute as she began to sing what could only be described as a shanty.

~Gather all ye Gentlecolts, and Fillies you as well~
~It might just save your flanks, this story I will now tell~
~For at this very moment, soaring high above the trees~
~He's out there~
~A true monstare~
~The Beast of Ever-Free!~

As if on cue to the music, the darkness of the forest vanished into oblivion as the blinding light of white-hot fire blazed through the night. The trees right behind the singing pony were completely vaporized off the map by a column of flame so thick it was compressed into a solid beam that tore the very earth itself, leaving a long tear in the dirt. Twilight and the others were nearly blown off their feet from the blow, yet the squinting unicorn could see just enough to spot the tail of a purple dragon whoosh past, an angry roar tearing through the night sky, his flames leaving behind a brilliant orange light that Pinkie used to make shadow puppets for her song.

~Some say he's a monster from an age long ago~
~Who ate up all the dinosaurs, and mammoths of the snow~
~His teeth are sharp as daggers, and his claws they are like knives...~
~And if you think he's spooky, wait 'til you see his insides!~

~Oh, hide your treasure, hide your mares, and keep yourselves inside!~
~For if he sees you out here, you'll surely not survive~
~He'll swallow you in one big bite, so best you better flee...~
~heed this song, and all beware The Beast of Everfree!~

~Some say he's a demon that escaped from Tartarus~
~Who seeks to eat the evil souls of all of known Eqqus~
~Some say they don't believe it, but for me I gotta hunch...~
~Cause there use to be some bad guys here...but he ate them all for lunch!~

Another explosion tore through the forest as another groove of demonic trees were obliterated from existence; those watching could've sworn the evil snarling faces twisted in absolute terror milliseconds before they were consumed by Dragon Fire. This time Twilight saw Spyro fly overhead, face twisted into an angry snarl, teeth bared and glinting in the light; perhaps it was a trick of all the fire around them, but she could've sworn she saw actual flames blazing from his eye sockets, licking the edges of his eye-ridges.

~Lord of Chaos, you know Discord, he came to Everfree~
~To spread his wicked magic with a dark sadistic glee~
~He flew into the forest, to taint its very heart...~
There was a ROAR, and a SCREEEAM!
And that is why Discord is made of replacement creature parts!~

~Oh, Starswirl the Wizard, you know why he's revered~
~It's mostly for the big majestic grandeur of his beard~
~He saw the beast and now nopony's in awe of him because...~
~His beard fell out and all agree he looks like Chrysalis!~

Another pass and another section of trees were destroyed, but this time not without retaliation; one of the trees shimmered in blue briefly before one of its branches twisted into a gruesome clawed arm. With a bark of defiance, the tree swiped its new limb at the dragon as it flew past, managing to slash open a tear in his left wing membrane before it was incinerated. Spyro gave an animalistic yelp of pain as he stumbled mid-air, left wing flapping erratically as he struggling to stay airborne. In the end, though, he was forced to land, forcefully flapping his wings to reach the top of a large rock, landing roughly as he grabbed onto the peak with all four limbs. As he stretched out his torn wing to inspect the damage, Pinkie's song took on a somber tone.

~And when the sun set from the sky, over our little town~
~The little ponies gathered there all began to frown~
~For their beloved princess vanished, and descending from on high~
~adorned in armor of the stars, was the Mare of Nightmare Night~

~Her fur as black as ebony, and her eyes as cold as ice~
~She told them all she was now the one who held the dice~
~And from his home within the trees the Beast heard them all cry~
~'Save us all, and find the sun, or we're all doomed to die...'~

~So with a growl, and a leap, he flew into the air~
~To find the missing sun and end the ponies' great despair~
~And in his woods he found six mares, who all sought harmony...~
~And they will sing his song to all, the Beast of Everfree!~

With a flash of gold, the tear in his wings healed, and he took to the skies once more, flying higher and higher until his body was silhouetted against the moon: time to end this. His chest and jaws glowed with fire before a blast of fire exploded from his jaws; This time, the flame burst into separate fireballs and rained upon the forest in explosive fury, destroying every tree within a hundred meters of the mares. All of Nightmare Moon's scare puppets were erased from the land, never to scare anyone again.

~Oh, hide your treasure, hide your mares, and keep yourselves inside!~

As he hovered in the air, Spyro spotted a blue mist slither away from one of the trees, as if trying to escape...

~For if he sees you out here, you'll surely not survive~

With an angry bark, his claws formed the very essence of wind around his right paw...

~He'll swallow you in one big bite, so best you better flee...~

He slashed his arm through the air, flinging a blade of wind at the distant fleeing mist.

~heed this song, and all beware-~

The wind-blade tore through the ground and caught the mist, slashing through its side like a blade through butter; the mist howled a ghostly scream of rage and agony, and continued screaming as it disappeared into the forest.

~-I should know; I wrote it here!~

Spyro landed on all fours on the edge of the clearing facing the fleeing mist, reared back on his hind legs, spread his wings, and he lifted his head back before letting loose a powerful draconian roar. A roar of victory that echoed across the land, forever sealing his mark upon it, as well as sending a message that all would come to learn and heed with utmost caution.

~heed this song, and all beware The Beast of Everfreeeeee!~

4. War of the Night - Part 3

CHAPTER 1: WAR OF THE NIGHT - PART 3: TALKS OF DESTINY

"...and that's why you should never use honey as a make-shift estrus reliever!" Pinkie finished happily as she skipped along.

The rest of the ponies around her looked ready to either collapse in a dead faint or empty their stomachs across the forest floor from Pinkie's tale; a tale that would be more at home in a bastard love child book of Howard Pony Lovecraft and Equina Mitchell. Twilight herself looked ready to do both.

"W-Well...this is a first for me..." The unicorn muttered weakly, pausing to swallow the building bile back down. "I-I've learned something I never needed to know about."

"Welcome to the club then, sugarcube." Applejack groaned, fighting to walk straight.

Spyro, as a true veteran of facing down events and creatures that would drive mortal minds insane, was only slightly fazed by the horror story come to life. "If your sister was that desperate to relieve herself of her heat, why didn't she just find a male to bed?" He asked with all the bluntness of a rusty shovel.

Twilight gaped at the dragon, horrified by the sheer bluntness of his suggestion, only for Pinkie to shrug. "Well, all the stallions in town left because of heat season. Mostly to escape from my other sister Maud; last couple years she sent a bunch of 'em to the hosptial and-"

"Can we PLEASE talk about something other than people's personal livelihoods?" Rarity asked, using a handkerchief to fan her tomato-red face.

Spyro cocked an eye-ridge questioningly. "Alright then, I've got a question. One I've been meaning to ask ever since we met." He turned his body to face the six mares. "What the pit are you doing out here?"

Twilight frowned. "We're trying to find the elements of harmony." She told him. "There the only things that we have that can stop Nightmare Moon."

"I know I know, I get that part." Spyro said, waving a paw down. "What I meant was: why you?" At their confused looks, he continued. "You said it yourself. This Nightmare Princess was one of the two Alicorn Rulers of old, each wielding power great enough to move the celestial bodies themselves! They're practically gods compared to you mortal ponies; heck, many of you ponies actually worship them as said gods. And this event of her return has been prophesied for over ten centuries; a prophecy that says she will win and doom the world to another ice age unless she is stopped. So my question is: why, out of all the ponies this world has to offer, are six unarmed, untrained, and unprepared fillies traversing the most dangerous forest in this world to face off against one of the most powerful magic casters alive?"

Twilight opened her mouth to answer...but found herself short an answer. And the more his words sunk into her brilliant, logical mind, the more her face sunk into a stunned stare of surprise and even indignity as she found herself asking the very same question.

"...a-actually, he's right." The timid Fluttershy spoke up. "I-I mean, I'm just a pet-keeper that lives in Ponyville. I d-don't know anything about a-adventures or f-fighting b-bad guys or anything like t-that..."

"And I'm a fashionista who seeks to make a name in Canterlot." Rarity said herself. "I'm certainly the last pony anyone would expect to be chasing after legends in icky, monster-filled forests." She coughed politely, sheepishly turning away from Spyro. "No offense, darling."

"No, I'm with you on this one." Spyro stated promptly. "This prophecy of the Nightmare Princess is one that has been expected for ten centuries. Ten. Centuries. And not once has your Princess Celestia done anything to prepare for it? Where's the armies of trained soldiers ready to defend the cities from Nightmare's monsters and armies of evil? Where's the substitute ruler to keep order in the public during their princess' absence? Is there even a system for emergency long-term food supplies to feed ponies should Nightmare's spell last long enough to kill the crops? Even if Nightmare Moon is defeated within a few days, that's more than enough time for dangerous results of her spells to affect the world and cause chaos within a populous."

Twilight couldn't believe her ears. It wasn't though this all didn't make sense...in fact, it made perfect sense! Where was the guard? The supplies? The ruling absence? All the things needed in kingdom-threatening emergencies?

"But...but this is Princess Celestia we're talking about!" The unicorn objected with a nervous laugh, her long-forged, borderline obsessive idolization of the sun alicorn forcing its hoof down. "I-I sure she has a l-larger plan than all this; maybe we don't need all those f-fancy supplies and stuff, because Nightmare Moon will be dealt with b-before all these things take place!"

To that Spyro cocked an eye-ridge. "So let me get this straight: you're saying the alicorn princess with centuries of experience under her belt, whose wisdom and brilliance is unmatched by mortal minds, is absolutely sure a group of ordinary teenagers can find a set of long-lost items that only she could use in the past and defeat her equal in power and experience all in one night?! Without any sort of backup plan should her first one fail?!"

Twilight gave a horrified gasp, prompting the dragon to cock his head in confusion. "I-I'm sorry..." She apologized, laughing in a disturbed tone. "...b-b-but it sounds like you j-just said Princess Celestia's plans could f-fail!" Her laugh took on a slightly broken tone, a few stray stands of her mane springing up. "B-B-But that's impossible! I mean, it's Celestia! She's n-n-never let anypony down b-before, let alone h-her most t-trusted student?!"

"Err, Twahlight?" Applejack hesitantly interrupted, against her better judgement, seeing the unicorn's eyes begin to dilate. "I d-don't think he meant any disrespect. Besides, he is right; I mean, nuttin' downright cert'in. Even Celestia could make a mistake every now and-."

"I'M NOT READY TO LIVE IN A WORLD WHERE PRINCESS CELESTIA IS ANYTHING BUT A PERFECT GODDESS WHO CAN DO NO WRONG!"

*BONK!*

Her descent into crazed insanity was promptly interrupted when a fist as large as she was struck the top of her skull with an audible impact; the blow was strong enough to knock her flat on her rump, her ears was left ringing from the impact, as a large meaty bump popped out from under her mane.

"OoOoOoWwWw..." She whined pitifully, cradling her head in her forehooves, before shooting a glare at the dragon, who's fist was still hanging over her head. "What the buck was that for?!"

"For being an idiot." Spyro spat, pulling his fist away. "And because I felt like it."

"Can I get a punch in too?" Rainbow Dash asked, hoof raised as if in class.

"Sorry..." Spyro sneered, his eyes taking a sadistic gleam. "This nerd, and her precious princess, are mine."

Twilight could only give a pathetic whimper, shying away from the larger being. But for all his threats, the dragon simply placed his paw back in his four-legged stance, giving her a warning glare.

"No single plan, no matter how thought out and prepared, is completely fail proof." He told her and the other five. "Especially those where living individuals take part in, for individuals are fallible by nature. It's one thing not to have any backup in case of failure, but the fact Celestia knew about her sister's return for ten centuries and has only now acted on it with a last-minute makeshift quest is gravely inexcusable, even if does have destiny on her side."

That caught Twilight's attention. "Destiny? What do you mean?"

"Come now, Twilight Sparkle, use that brain you're so proud of." The dragon stated, lowering his head down to meet her eye level while tapping a claw against her forehead. "I know you can see it: Six Elements of Harmony. Six Mares. Each of whom possess a strong quality of one of the elements, or is Fluttershy's kind heart and Pinkie's joyful laughter mere coincidence?"

It only took a moment for realization to kick in, and when it did it was like another punch to the face, leaving the unicorn gaping like a fish.

"Oh my Faust..." She whispered aloud.

"Now do you see the truth of the situation?" Spyro asked, pulling away. "She didn't send you away because she doubted your words; she knew you are to be the bearer of the sixth element, and she sent you to Ponyville so the other five would gravitate toward you and together you would form a new set of bearers. It was all set up from the beginning, by Celestia herself no less."

"Wait a minute..." Rainbow Dash spoke up, raising a hoof. "You're saying that we're legendary heroes destined to save the world?" Her eyes lit up like the lights of christmas tree. "Awesome!"

"Yet none of you have been prepared for this day; one where your very lives mean the difference between saving the world or damning it." Spyro all but growled. "Look at you, the destined heroes: a farmer, a baker, a vet, a fashionista, and a racer. No training, no combat-skills, no preparations...not even any supplies like food, weapons, or even a map to the ruins we're stumbling around the most dangerous forest in this world to find!"

He looked to Twilight, who was looking more conflicted and even sad by the minute. "They are somewhat excusable, as perhaps Celestia didn't know which ones were the known five. You, on the other hand, she knew was not just a bearer, but the central bearer! The one who will bearer the mystery sixth element! And yet you were given nothing to prepare for this day; she simply threw you into the middle of a random town and left you to pick up the pieces on your own without so much as a single instruction to help you."

Twilight remained silent, internally mourning over the shattered remains of what was once the image of a perfect, flawless teacher and goddess that was Celestia in her eyes.

"Well, it's good thing you're here then, huh?"

All eyes turned to the pink earth pony, who was looking up to Spyro with a knowing yet warm smile.

"Like you said, it's no coincidence that we're all the ponies here, but methinks that goes for you too, doesn't it? After all, we're the fancy elements of harmony destined to stop that meany Nightmare, and yet we were never given training or supplies for the job." Her smile turned coy, but kept its friendly aura. "So, can anypony say that the arrival of a powerful dragon with tons of experience as a world-saving hero is just a coincidence as well?"

Were it not for his willpower, Spyro would've looked just as dumbfounded as Twilight...and even then, he couldn't stop his lips from curling into his own grin to match hers.

Touche, young filly. Touche indeed.

"What do you think we should do then?" Twilight asked the dragon quietly.

Spyro looked down the path ahead, perking his ears into an upright position; he could hear the sound of rushing water and an almost feminine voice wailing pathetically beyond the trees. "I hear a river up ahead; I recommend stopping there for rest and water before moving on." He told them. "Whether Celestia was wise in her preparations of not, it doesn't change the fact that you six are the destined bearers of the elements we seek. So we need you six to make them work. Once we get to the ruins, you six will find the elements, take them to a safe place, and find out how to use them to free your princess."

The six ponies all spoke in agreement, talking among each other about their new destiny and task on hand. Twilight, however, looked concerned.

"And what about you?" She asked.

Spyro's eyes hardened, pupils thinning into slits and golden flames flowing out of his sockets. "I will face the Nightmare Princess myself. One way or another, I promise you: she will never threatened this world again."

He stepped forward, his new found allies gathered around him. "Now, let's save the world!"

As a dragon, Spyro had a talent for controlling his expression of emotions; it was something all dragons possessed, as a skill to make them more intimidating to opponents; many a knight, hero, and dragon slayer found themselves in the terrifying position to stare down eyes filled with nothing but primal rage, or a reptilian face as strong and cold as stone.

That being said, for all his skill and focus, even he couldn't stop the eye-twitching scowl of pure irritation at the sight before him.

'A rousing plan and declaration to save a world, and this is the first thing since then to hinder our quest...' He grumbled mentally, unamused and unimpressed at the sight of the large, indigo-scaled, golden-maned sea serpent, a creature easily twice his size and multiple times his body length, bawling its eyes out over the loss of half of its facial hair. His companions did little to help in the matter, as the white one Rarity was set-fast on babying the overgrown eel like a mother with her spoiled offspring, insistent that a ruined mustache was something the fate of the would could wait for, leaving the rest of them waiting for her to fix the problem.

He scratched at the ground with his claws, leaving long grooves in the moist dirt; along with his irritation, it did leave him with a number of questions. Such as why the Nightmare Princess didn't try mind-controlling this creature like she did the Manticore? Pathetic as it was as an individual, a sea serpent would've proven a much stronger and more dangerous opponent, so why only set it up to throw a fit under its own power?

Perhaps the mind-control ability didn't work against Soul Bearers as it did with mere animals?

Or was there something else at work; something else that would give their foe reason to skip on a decent chance to be rid of her only threat?

A soft grumbling reached his ears, snapping him out of his thoughts and drawing his attention to Rainbow Dash, who plopped back on her rump and held her stomach with her hooves. "Ah, man...I get what you meant by supplies now..." She groaned. "I was so excited for the Summer Sun Celebration that I skipped supper."

Spyro himself was suddenly made aware of his own stomach's hollowness. "Ugh. Don't speak to me about food right now; I barely had any breakfast before coming here." He grumbled. He appreciated Elora's intentions, he really did...but that faun severely underestimated how much food dragons needed per day.

The pegasus scooted away from the dragon, glaring at him. "Hey, don't get any ideas, buster. I'll have you know we ponies are very poisonous and stuff."

Twilight looked confused. "No we're not."

Rainbow Dash merely face-hoofed with an audible smack.

Spyro rolled his eyes with a snort. "Please. Even if you were more than bite-sized snacks, you look more like gummy bears than actual meat." He stated. He glanced at Pinkie, who was happily chewing on her own tail. "I bet she alone would give me diabetes."

"Ma always said I was sweet as sugar!" Pinkie confirmed happily.

Stomachs rumbled even louder. "Agh! Stop talking about sugar, Pinkie!" Rainbow whined; she shot an impatient glare at Rarity. "How much longer with the crybaby, Rarity?!" She shouted.

"You cannot rush a traumatized heart, your ruffian!" Rarity shouted back, using her magic to mend the mustache.

'Traumatized heart, my scaly ass!' Spyro mentally grumbled. 'Not even Coco is this fussy about her physical appearance!'

Still, despite his annoyance, he watched intently as the unicorn's horn glowed with a sparkling aura, as did the focus of her telekinesis spell as she lifted her own seared-off tail and magically wove it into the serpent's snout, effectively creating a lop-sided makeshift mustache.

And though he didn't notice it, his own horns were beginning to crackle with an aura of their own...

He coughed a puff of smoke, finding his throat dry. "I'm getting a drink." He stated, stepping away from the circle and making his ways to the bank of the river; he made sure to take his drink upriver of the serpent, as not to get a face full of rapid waters and snake tears, dipping his snout into the water and drinking heavily. At least the water tasted the same-

He bristled angrily, eyes blazing hot and hardening into narrow silts as an angry growl erupted from his throat, scaring everyone in the grove. He paid them no mind as he glared across the river, eyes locked on this unwanted newcomer:

Standing on the bank across the river from them was another pony; a filly, if the size was anything to judge buy. Her coat was a light-gray while her mane and tail were orange with yellow stripes. Her face was what had Spyro on guard; completely dull and emotionless, eyes staring at them hollowly with pupils glowing a eerie yellow. And on her flank was the mark of a magnifying glass; something that felt it held significance to her existence.

"What's wrong Spyro?" Twilight asked, evidently unable to see what he was. "What's over there?"

Spyro knew better than to look away from the foal to glance at her; he knew the moment he did, she would vanish from sight. He stood firm, un-moving and teeth bared, waiting for the filly to make the first move or leave.

In the end, the glowing-eyed foal simply walked backwards into the foliage, disappearing from sight.

And the moment she was no longer in view, Spyro felt her presence vanish. He stopped growling, his face still hardened into a scowl, and turned back to the ponies with a softening expression.

"I heard something in the plants across the river." Was all he told them, glaring at the far bank. He continued to glare at the spot until Rarity had finally calmed the serpent, whom they learned was named Steven Magnet, and they were able to cross the river and continue through the forest.

"There it is! The ruin that holds the Elements of Harmony! We made it!"

Those words were hymns of salvation to Spyro's ears; at long last, he thought they'd be wondering through this gods-forsaken forest until the end of this eternal night! The dragon wasted no time shoving his way out of the tree's edge, stepping out onto the root-tangled remains of what had once been a cobblestone path. There, across a mist-shrouded gorge, stood the remains of The Ancient Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters.

A true testament to the strength of the ancient era, this fortress of a castle had stood strong against the ravages of time, as well as the many wars it had seen through its existence; even as age and the forest fought to claim it, the ruins still stood as strong now as it did then, even if reduced to a dirty, broken, rubble-scattered shell of its former glory. It stood on a large plateau in the middle of a large circular canyon, enshrouded by mist, with the full moon shining brightly behind it's skeletal towers.

He gave a silent pause for respect; chances are their wouldn't be much of it left after tonight.

"Come on, everypony! There's no time to lose!" Twilight said before taking off for the ruins.

"Who are you calling pony?" Spyro snapped with a glare.

"Dangnabit Twahlight, wait for us!" Applejack called after her. The purple unicorn paid neither of them any heed whatsoever, galloping onward and leaving the rest of them to catch up. She was so focused on finally completing her mission that she didn't notice the gorge splitting the path in half until she tumbled over the edge; she was spared splattering over the chasm floor only by the quick-acting Rainbow Dash, who grabbed her by the tail with her teeth and yanked her back before she fell.

"What's with you and falling off cliffs today?" The pegasus asked.

Twilight only groaned in response.

Pinkie gave out a sigh, turning everyone's attention to the their newest problem. "Now what?" She asked, her voice echoing across the ravine.

"Ah bet Spyro could carry us all across." Applejack offered.

She was shot down by an angry hiss. "Not in this lifetime, pony." Spyro snapped, giving her the stink-eye. "In all my decades, only one has earned the right to mount my back, and she is not you."

"Okay, okay." Applejack stated. "Sheesh, sorry ah even brought it up."

"Don't worry, guys." Rainbow spoke up, fluttering her wings. "I got this." And with that, she took off and dove into the mist enshrouded gorge, grabbing the dangling ropes on the loose ends of the bridge and flying up to land on the opposite side...but just as she was about to tie the ropes off, a whisper floated on the wind, causing her to whip round in surprise.

"Rainbow~..." The voice called, musical and taunting.

Rainbow Dash blinked in surprise. "Who's there?"

"Rainbow~..." The voice called again.

"I'm not afraid of you!" The pegasus declared, standing up on her hind legs and boxing at the air. "Show yourself!"

"We've been waiting a long time for you to come, Rainbow Dash..." The voice spoke, this time full and clear. "It's been so long since there was one worthy of the title Greatest Flyer in Equestria..."

Ever hungry for praise and admiration, the inspiring Wonderbolt to be 'squeed' with excited pride. "Well, yeah. I am pretty awesome, aren't I?" She said proudly. "Hey, uh, you wouldn't mind telling the Wonderbolts that, would ya? 'cause I've been trying to get into that group for like, ever!"

The siren-like voice laughed, as if told a funny joke. "The Wonderbolts?" It asked. "They would never truly appreciate one as skilled as you." The fog seemed to flow in across the plateau, as Rainbow spotted three forms appear within the sliver clouding. "Why join the Wonderbolts when you can join us?" And these three forms stepped forward, revealing a trio of pesagi, two stallions and one mare, in what were darker, night-themed versions of the Wonderbolt's famous flight suits. "The Shadowbolts!"

And that's when Rainbow's smile fell.

"We are the greatest aerial team in the Everfree Forest," The mare in the center told her, in the same voice she heard before. "And soon we will rise up to challenge the Wonderbolts and become the greatest flight team in all of Equestria, but first, we need a captain."

"Really?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"The most magnificent-"

"Yep."

"Swiftest-"

"Yes."

"Bravest flyer in all the land."

"Yep, that's me!"

"We need...you. "

"Not happenin'."

The 'Shadowbolts' barely had time for this response to process in their 'minds' before the rainbow-maned mare spoke again, giving them a glare that would make Spyro proud. "I might not be an egghead like Twilight over there, but I'm not stupid." She stated. "I've seen this a hundred times before in the movies; this is totally the part where the bad guy tries to tempt the hero to their side! I can see this coming a mile away!"

The center Shadowbolt faltered briefly. "What's a 'movi-'?" She suddenly tensed, as if something grabbed her, and the two stallions vanished in puffs of blue as the bright-blue glow of draconian eyes became visible behind her googles. "And you would rather trust your future to the likes of Celestia when I can give you so much more than she ever will?" A different voice spoke from her lips; one she heard before from a certain black alicorn. "Join my side, pegasus; forsake the miserable sun and I will give you everything you could ever desire. Fame, fortune, adoration; it can all be yours. All you need to do is simply forsake this quest and break the bond of the elements, and allow me to take my rightful place as Equestria's one true princess."

"But that's the problem." Rainbow told her. "You're asking me to break my bond; something I can't do, as I never leave my friends hanging. Besides, you're not Equestria's one true princess; you've gotta sister to share the throne with."

The alicorn-turned-pegasus bristled with a inner fury, and for a brief second the calm dignity of her princess facade vanished in her eyes, and for just a glimpse something else was visible...

Then Rainbow continued, smirking coyly. "Besides, if I did turn my back on them and joined you, I'd have him to deal with." She said, pointing a hoof to her left.

Nightmare Moon's avatar turned in the direction of the pegasus' hoof, wondering what on earth she meant, only to find herself being glared down by twin glowing pools of gold and amethyst. The dragon stood upon one of the ruin's outcroppings, his massive body and long tail coiled around the stone like a massive serpent, wings held overhead to emphasize his size, while a deep, rumbling growl escaped his throat.

"You've forced me to waste my fire ending a life that didn't need to end..." Spyro growled, the sheer cool fury in his voice punching straight through the wall of courage around the hearts of all that heard it. "You've toyed with me with tricks, and wasted my time making me deal with them. I have thoroughly ruin out of patience for you and your self-worshiping cause. So, I promise you, when we finally meet in the flesh..." His gaze hardened even further, and the rumble of a distant volcano thrummed from his throat.

"I will put you down like the bitch you are."

And thus the shadowbolt fell silent.

Rainbow Dash shivered as Spyro slid down from his perch in a serpentine manner. "Sheesh! That sent chills down even my spine!" She squeed. "Man, I'd hate to be in Nightmare Moon's horseshoes right now."

Spyro scoffed, giving the pony a reptilian smirk as he held the bridge rope in place with a paw. "Personally, I'd think anyone would hate to be in her position." He stated as Rainbow began tying down the rope. "Locked in complete and perfect isolation for a full eon, completely and utterly alone with nothing but her hate and guilty conscious for company, only to return after all that time as the world's most hated monster for less than two hours, and then met her gruesome end by my hands, be it through purging of her darkness or straight-up death when I burn her to ash."

The pegasus looked dumbfounded. "Man, it really sucks to be her, huh? All that waiting, just to lose."

"More than you can ever imagine." The dragon growled in sadistic humor...

...both completely forgetting and unaware of the Shadowbolt still standing behind them, listening to every word the dragon said.

The avatar of false flesh remained standing there, silent as the grave, as the two continued talking back and forth; for a while it seemed perfectly lifeless, considering how still and quiet it was...until a cold wind blew across the plateau, and the shadowbolt slowly lifted her head to reveal nothing but blackness. Eyes that were pools of tar-black emptiness, filled only with a murderous hatred, and two slits of bright-blue light that were pupils filled with white-hot emotion. They were eyes that were nothing but pure, unadulterated darkness: hate, spite, jealousy, wrath, bloodlust, all and more...either dripping from her sockets in black tar, or blazing bright-blue like a thousand distant stars.

Her magically-constructed body began to shake, softly as first, but growing with every ragged breath, as her face outright twisted into a tooth-bearing snarl.

And for the first time in Equestria since the first day of Celestia's solo reign, a pony's heart (false or no) was filled with the intent to murder.

Spyro barely had time to glance back when Nightmare Moon flashed her murderous glare at the unaware Rainbow Dash; the space in front of her forehead glowed with a dangerous blue aura that materialized a crystalline scythe, and before Rainbow Dash even had time to turn around, the glowing-eyed avatar screamed with rage as she swung the bladed weapon at the pegasus with all her might...

...only for the blade to abruptly halt in thin air, less than an inch from Rainbow's neck, before the dragon and pony had time to even flinch.

Spyro's eye narrowed at the sight, namely at the magic holding the scythe: Only his dragon's eyes could see the very, very faint difference between the colors of the two different magical auras holding the weapon's hilt, each pulling against the other.

"Do not do this...!" The avatar growled in pure murderous hatred, her voice shaking as if struggling. "We are so close. DO NOT DO THIS!"

"You will not harm her!"

"We are SO. CLOSE!" She snarled, not taking her glare off the pegasus. "Just one has to die! Just one! Then the world will be mine!"

"You will not harm her!"

"Why won't you just die?!" Nightmare Moon yelled in fury. "This is my body! My dream! My birthright! Just die already and let me win!"

"You will not harm her!"

"RRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!"

With a outright demonic scream of hate, anger, and frustration erupting all at once, the Shadowbolt's body all but exploded back into that sparkling mist that was Nightmare Moon's corporeal form. And she continued to scream long until she disappeared into the ruins, ranting and raving madly until her voice faded into the distance.

Spyro continued to stare after the mist, even as Twilight and the others galloped across the bridge as fast as their hooves would carry them. He ignored the others asking questions and coddling the shaken Rainbow Dash in favor of scratching the side of his lower jaw in thought.

That was interesting. Interesting, indeed.

The looming archway that made up the entrance to the palace was one of the few structures on the front of the castle still miraculously intact, including the towering, partly-rotted oak doors, which gave off an ominous creaking sound as Spyro pushed them open with his horned head, allowing the ponies to go through before pushing the rest of the way in himself. A good portion of the ceiling was missing, leaving the pale full moon's light to illuminate the interior, revealing musty flagstone floors and what were once stained glass windows, now shattered and corroded by the ravages of time. And in the center of the main hall was a huge multi-tiered plinth overgrown with moss and vines, with slender arms holding several ornately carved stones.

"There they are..." Twilight whispered, eyes sparkling in awe at the sight of the stone orbs. "The Elements of Harmony."

"Whoa..." Applejack breathed, before quickly regaining her senses. "Come on, Twilight. Isn't this what you've been waitin' for?" She asked.

"You better get them ready soon." Spyro stated as he stepped around the ponies and into the open foyer. "If the Nightmare Princess' pawns were waiting for you at the bridge, than her true body is most likely in these ruins as we speak." He then crouched down and stretched his body and wings out, much like a giant cat, popping out all the kinks and remaining stiffness in his joints. "I'll fight her into submission, and when she is too weak to resist, use the Elements on her."

"Sure thing." Rainbow Dash agreed, and she flew up to grab one of the elements from its hold. "Come on, guys. Let's get these things ready."

As the five Ponyville mares used their wings, magic, and even hooves to gather the elements from their hold, Twilight turned her gaze to the purple dragon, who had laid himself down and was staring out one of the broken windows, taking in the starry horizon. A gentle warmth and mystic awe filled her chest at the sight of the great creature resting there, scales glimmering in the moonlight, chest glowing with an inner fire, and a content acceptance in his face as he watched the stars with calm yet readied eyes.

He continued to watch them, his breath softly crackling like a campfire, as the lavender unicorn approached and quietly sat down next to him, staring up at the stars herself.

"Hi." She said awkwardly.

Spyro grunted in acknowledgement, but not in a way that was mean or dismissive.

Twilight awkwardly poked at the ground with a hoof. "...I..." She began, before turning away with cough; the dragon glanced down at her with a coy smirk, which prompted a soft blush to spread across her cheeks. "...I mean...well...Thank you. For helping us find the elements, I mean." She finally said. "Even if you had no business doing so."

"I'd like to think keeping the entire planet from freezing to death is pretty much anyone's business, considering if they live on it." Spyro stated.

"But that's just it. It wasn't your business." The unicorn objected; when he gave her a confused look, she bashfully looked away and continued: "This isn't your world; your home would be unaffected if Nightmare Moon wins. What happens to us ponies is really no concern of anyone from your realm." She looked back up at him, gratitude in her eyes. "But you went out of your way to come to our world and help us, regardless of never even knowing we existed until just a few hours ago. That's one of the most selfless things I've seen anyone ever do."

She looked conflicted. "Though I must know: why are you helping us?" She asked. "It might sound racist or mean, I know, but why would a dragon like you come out of his way to help us ponies? Our species aren't the friendliest with each other, as I'm sure you saw when you first arrived...so why?"

Spyro had stopped watching the stars by this point, and was watching her with a calm, amused look. "Why?" He repeated. "Many often ask that to anything that happens. To every decision made." He glanced down in thought. "As for mine? Well...I chose to follow this path because I believe it to be a part of my destiny."

Twilight blinked; that wasn't what she was expected. "Destiny?" She repeated.

Spyro grunted in confirmation. "Do you believe in destiny, pony?" He asked. "Do you believe that there is a reason for why we are a certain way? For why we have the gifts we have, or do the things we do?" When Twilight answered with a mere shrug of the shoulders, he turned his gaze back to the sky, smiling with a nostalgic warmth. "I do. I believe I was given these purple scales and the great power that comes with them for a reason. A purpose."

"Is your scales being purple something important in your world?" Twilight asked.

Spyro looked back down at her. "I think you already know this, given what you've experienced with me tonight, but I'm not an ordinary dragon, by your world's standards or my own." He told her, and she easily agreed with that statement. "I am what my kind calls a 'JenDovah', or 'Purple Dragon' in your tongue; a legendary breed born once every ten generations of dragon kind." He scoffed a laugh. "And by my kind's standards, that time gap is nothing to take lightly."

Twilight listened with a fascinated expression, learning a tale from the mysterious culture of dragon kind; something ponies have been seeking to understand for ages. "And what's so special about you purple dragons."

To that, Spyro simply closed his eyes...and unleashed the fire within.

Time itself seemed to stop around the unicorn's body as an overwhelming amount of power thundered out from the dragon, banishing all thought from her mind and making her freeze where she sat. That power...that sheer level of power...it was like a dormant volcano: possessing the immovable strength of a mountain, yet quite capable of becoming an eruption of sheer destructive force should it be aggravated. It was like standing directly in front of a giant fire; the sheer magical force radiating from the dragon's body was blazing like the sun itself, pushing like a physical force down upon her from all sides...but mostly upon her horn; she could feel the power coursing through it, vibrating through her skull.

For what felt like an eternity, Twilight didn't dare move or speak; she remained frozen on the spot, not daring to make any sort of movement. Her heart was now pounding furiously in her rib-cage, her breaths coming in quiet panicking gasps as she fought to keep conscious; it felt as if someone was driving a red-hot nail through her horn and into her skull, both of which were now visibly vibrating, the humming audible in her ears. Even Celestia herself, for all her celestial glory and magic, paled in comparison to such presence.

She squeezed her eyes shut and gritted her teeth, whimpering in pain as tears ran down her cheeks; so much power...too much...too much...

Then all at once, it stopped: Spyro simply absorbed and compressed his power back into his body, slowly draining it out of the space around them and disappearing back into the dragon altogether; the pressure on Twilight's body and humming in her horn vanished completely. The aura of strength still surrounded Spyro, but the force of it was gone, 'compressed' and stored away inside itself.

Twilight flopped over onto her stomach, drenched in sweat and gasping for breath. Shakily raising her head, she saw that she wasn't the only one affected: all five of the other ponies had collapsed on the floor in varying positions, all either shaken and wheezing for air as she was, or collapsed across the floor. Poor Fluttershy was outright knocked unconscious, complete with rolled-back eyes and foaming at the mouth.

"Sorry if that hurt." Spyro apologized. "I didn't let release so much elemental power all at once."

Twilight continued to wheeze for breath, staring at the dragon as if she had just seen him for the first time (and given the circumstances, she just might've done that for real). "What..." She gasped. "What...are you?!"

Spyro grinned, a draconic glimmer of pride shining in his eyes. "I am the Purple Dragon, Master of Time and Wielder of the Elements." He told her. "What you just felt was but a portion of my sheer level of elemental and magical power; to take on its full strength would crush your bodies to paste and make your brains blow out what remained of your skulls." He lifted a paw, from which he channeled a smaller portion of his power, which took on the form of a purple flame engulfing his lower arm; Twilight felt her horn vibrate again, though softer this time.

"My powers and abilities are great in strength and almost unlimited in variety: whereas most dragons can only master a single of the Dragon Elements in their lifetime, I can master and wield all of them at my will, along with all their different forms, attacks, and so forth." He explained, watching his own power crackle around his arm. "Not only that, but I possess the physical abilities and traits of all the different dragon species of the world; that's the reason I have so many sensory organs and abilities at once to find you all with back in the forest: most of them are results of my omni-hybrid blood." He then glanced at the sky. "But perhaps my greatest power of all is that over Space/Time itself: at my will, I can slow down or speed up the very flow of Time, and even bend the fabric of reality itself to my desire, if only for a short while at a time." He turned to look at the ponies, snuffing his flames with the closing of his paw. "This is the power I possess, and it will only grow as I do."

The lavender unicorn was at a complete loss for words, eye wide and filled with mixed emotions of awe and terror. "Y-Your mana levels alone..." She whispered. "...if w-what you s-say is t-true..." She swallowed. "...t-then your p-power is on par with the likes of the Ancient Alicorns themselves! Even Princess Celestia, the most powerful magic wielder on Eqqus, wouldn't even be half as powerful as you!" She stumbled in place, fighting hard against the urge to run from the living force of nature sitting next to her. "...w-what kind of c-creature are you?! Why would any one being possess so much power at once?!"

"That's the very question I've been asking myself since the day I first learned of my legacy."

Twilight paused, blinking in confusion, as Spyro calmly stared as his own paw. "Why? Why was I granted such power and strength? Dragons seek to be strong, true, but even by our kind's standards, mine is serious overkill...and I never understood why. Was it pure coincidence, that out of all the eggs of my generation, I was the next purple dragon in line? Just happenstance that I possessed such overwhelming strength?" He looked up at the moon above. "Or was there a reason for it? Did I have purpose as the Jendovah? A duty to wield the power that only one before me has been recorded to? I truly did not know.

"Then one day, when I was just a pup just entering my teen years, the Dragon Realms were attacked." The ponies, who had recovered, reacted with gasps and squeaks of alarm. "An old enemy of ours, a gnorc clan leader we knew as Gnasty Gnorc, cast a powerful Gem Crafter spell across the land, transforming all adult dragons into crystal statues. Out of all the dragons that were considering of the adult age or entering it, I alone was spared thanks to my purple dragon's aura, which was strong enough to naturally resist the spell. Of course, that meant I alone was the only dragon anywhere near adult age to watch as the Gnorc invaded our lands...destroyed our homes...stole our treasure...and enslaved our defensive hatchlings. What eggs that haven't hatched were now free game for any thieves who noticed the adults were absent, while our once beautiful home was being dragged down by the chains of conquest."

"At first, I felt though I couldn't do anything against one who could curse the entire dragon race, so I simply lived in hiding in the Dragon Temple, where the statue that was once my father still resided." His paws clenched into angry fists. "I cowardly hid in the dark as the rest of my home suffered, thinking only of my own survival...then, one day, a small group of hatchlings fled into the temple for sanctuary, pursued by a slaver's caravan." His gaze hardened into an angry glare. "It was when they had the gall to invade the temple...sacred land of my people...that I finally gave into my rage and attacked; I turned half of them to ash on the spot, saving the hatchlings and scaring the rest into fleeing...and during the commotion, I accidentally touched my father's statue with my tail...and before my very eyes, the crystal shattered and he was freed. I was stunned; all this time, and my touch alone had the power to break the curse!"

The dragon's glare of anger turned into one of nostalgic determination. "I realized then and there what I had to do. With my father's training in my mind and my fire burning in my belly, I set out across the Artisan Realm, freeing every dragon I found while slaying every gnorc stupid enough to fight back. My powers and abilities were strong even then; strong enough that I was able to take on Gnasty Gnorc's entire army single-handedly, along with any monster he threw my way. I didn't stop there either; I continued across the other five realms, until I was at the Gnorc King's doorstep. The battle I fought against him was hard and brutal, but in the end I won, and I threw him into the lava surrounding his fort." He grunted in satisfaction. "His death broke the curse over the rest of dragon kind, and the Dragon Realms were restored."

"It was after his defeat, when I returned home, that I realized my purpose; the reason for my powers." He concluded, grinning a reptilian grin at the memories. "To return to the cheers of thousands...the happiness of loved ones reunited...the overwhelming gratitude to the one who saved them...the amazing sensation of success and victory in my chest as I was carried off by the celebrating crowd. I knew then and there that my color and powers were given to me for a reason: I was to use it to stand up and fight for those who can't defend themselves. To take on overwhelming odds that no other can face without great loss, and spare countless lives the fate of war. To be the hero that people need in times of dark and misery; one they know can rid them of the darkness of evil and return them to the light."

"That adventure was only the first of many more I've had saving worlds from evil and disaster, and your Equestria is the current one I'm one." He told her, looking down at the unicorn. "That is why I'm here: to follow my destiny as the purple dragon."

Twilight gazed up at him with awe and wonder. "...well, as far as destinies go, yours is one I could come to really like." She said warmly.

Spyro closed his eyes with a fond draconic purr.

"Hate to ruin the inspiring moment of awesomeness over there, but we gotta problem." Rainbow Dash suddenly spoke up. "We've only got five elements here!"

Both dragon and unicorn turned away from the windows to look the way of the others: sure enough, there were only five stone orbs, gathered in a small pile near the base of the plinth. "Did the book say anything about the sixth element being hidden elsewhere?" Spyro asked as he stood up and turned himself around, facing the ponies as Twilight approached the pile of elements.

Twilight shook her head, lowering herself onto the floor with a frown of concentration on her brow. "The book said: 'When the five are present, a spark will cause the sixth Element to be revealed'." She told him.

Applejack scowled at the nonsensical riddle. "What in the hay is that supposed to mean?" She asked.

Twilight scratched the side of her head with her hoof. "I'm not sure...but I have an idea. Stand back; I don't know what will happen." She warned the others, her horn lighting up with magic as she prepared a spell.

Then the orange farm pony decided it was a good idea to separate the group.

"Come on now, y'all. She needs to concentrate." She said, leading the other ponies back.

Spyro could've smacked her upside her cowboy-hatted head; didn't these females realize what was going on?! Even if they didn't have the ability to sense the approaching magical force, they should at least have remembered his warning about Nightmare Moon being in the runs and NOT SPLIT THEMSELVES UP! Yes, he knew she was coming; he had sensed her essence since they arrived, hiding in the shadows of the nearby halls, waiting for the right moment to pounce. Now that the elements were found and the ponies separate, she pounced. The dragon whipped his head around to see the viscous bluish-purple mist flowing through the air, and before anyone else could react, she condensed her form into a spinning vortex that sucked the stones right up.

"No! The Elements!" Twilight cried out, jumping straight into the swirling mass of pure magical energy.

Spyro was going to smack them both.

But for now, he simply jumped forward faster than the eye could follow and dove in after her, just as the vortex exploded in a blast of pure white light.

"Oof!"

Twilight fell flat on her barrel with limbs awkwardly outstretched, coughing lightly and disorientated as she tried to get her bearings. She was thankful that she had mastered the Level 5 Teleportation Spell and had conditioned herself to it, otherwise the experience of being pulled instantaneously from one point in space to another would've been extremely unpleasant. Even then, she felt her head spin from the effect of teleportation travel, and it made it hard for her to think straight.

But even then, she could make out just enough of the room she was in to realize her location. From the sheer size and open space of the room, along with the old columns forming out the walls' windows, she concluded that she was in the very Throne Room of the castle. The place where Celestia and Luna once ruled all of ponykind side by side.

And there, standing in front of a newly-restored throne of darkness, was the fallen princess herself: Nightmare Moon.

The legendary mare of darkness looked just as the legends described, and how Twilight had always pictured her: both angelically beautiful yet dark and terrifying. Her coat was as black as the darkest night, And her mane was a swirling mass of blue magic lit up with a thousand sparkles, like a star-filled galaxy floating around her head. Her body was adorned in sleek, sapphire-blue armor, the suit made up of a helmet, chest-guard, and horseshoes. And her eyes were like those of a dragon: a striking sky-blue with silt snake-like pupils. Truly a mare of nightmares.

A low, dark chuckling reverberated throughout the room, gradually shifting into malicious laughter, as Nightmare Moon noticed the unicorn for the first time; the stone elements were hovering around her head in mid-air, suspended in the grasp of her ethereal mane.

"So, you're the one my sister sent to retrieve the elements and stop me?" She asked, her dark voice just as beautiful yet terrifying as she was. She then scowled, a dark gleam crossing her eyes. "Pathetic. I knew my sister wouldn't have the gall to stand up to me herself, but I assumed she'd actually try to put up an effort to prevent my return."

Heart thumping in her chest, Twilight's face hardened into a frown of determination. The elements...they were so close! So close! Without them, any chance of saving Equestria from eternal darkness would be lost. She thought about her home...her family...her-...the mares crazy enough to get themselves involved in this mess, and yet still stuck by her side regardless. Everything was counting on them! Eyes narrowing in determination, Twilight pawed at the cold flagstones with-

"Don't. Even. Think about it."

And just like that, all the courage and determination was snuffed from her heart, and the poor lavender pony froze on the spot as the very shadows themselves blackened into nothingness, stretching slowly and menacingly across the walls and floors. And as the shadows grew, so did the dark imposing presence of she who wielded them, her mane changing from blue to a swirling storm of blue, red, and purple; a cold, icy grip clutched at Twilight's heart, and her eyes widened with horror, as the mare of the night morphed before her very eyes. The feathered wings grew dragon-like and leathery, teeth grew into long fangs, hooves sharpened into claws, horn twisting into a crooked blade, and eyes emptying into twin pools of blue hate-filled fire.

In other words, a nightmare.

"I've had the patience to wait within the moon for ten centuries for this night..." Nightmare Moon said calmly, her voice the horrible echoes of a thousand hissing serpents. "...and yet, in only a few hours, I have found it completely dried out dealing with you and your wretched dragon friend." Her form seem to grow in size, towering over the whimpering Twilight, who laid trembling yet frozen in fear. "For too long I have waited for my chance. Too long I've long to not only be free of the moon, but she who holds it and me back...and I will not let you or your pathetic little herd and that overgrown lizard ruin it for me!"

"Then put some strength behind your words and fight for your cause!"

With that mighty roar, the icy-cold dread was snuffed out completely, and a blazing hot determination flooded in as Spyro the Dragon stepped out of the darkness behind Twilight, his glowing eyes and chest scattering the shadows of the room like frightened mice.

Twilight couldn't be happier to see a dragon other than Spike before. "Spyro!" She cried happily.

Nightmare Moon's brows tightened with a dark fury, eyes glowing blue. "You..." She all but snarled.

Spyro's own glare hardened, his pupils narrowing into dangerous slits. "It's about time I finally met the ass I'm about to kick." He all but growled, glancing past the alicorn head at her body. "Or at least finish kicking."

The black alicorn expression became downright apoplectic, and she shifted her body where she stood to favor her left side. It was then, in the light of the dragon's fire, did Twilight finally see what he was referring to: a large, blooded gash carved into her flank, ripping right through her left cutie mark. Realization smacked her in the face, her eyes widening: that was from when he slashed her in her mist form during Pinkie's song! He actually managed to injure her in when she was in that form?!

"Never before...in all my years...has my body ever taken harm by the claws of a lowly beast." She growled, body almost shaking with fury.

"That makes this a first for both of us." Spyro stated calmly, not even slightly fazed by her murderous expression. "This is the first time I've ever fought a unicorn before." He paused, cocking his head to the side as he eyed her wings. "Or are you a pegasus? Both? Pegacorn? Unisus?"

"Alicorn." Twilight couldn't resist correcting, despite her condition.

"Thank you." The dragon responded.

"DO NOT TAKE THIS IN JEST, YOU WRETCHED ANIMAL!" Nightmare Moon screamed. "I have waited over a thousand years for my chance to take my birthright! A thousand years I waited for the stars to align, with nothing but rocks and dust to keep me company, suffering an empty nothingness of body and mind the likes of any of you can never even comprehend, all because my wretched sister couldn't stand to share the glory that was rightfully mine!"

From her body a cold blackness billowed forth, engulfing over her body, as her mane took on swirling red, blue, and purple colors once more. The black fog-like shadows flowed out of her form, coiling back around like great serpents to fuse into her skin and armor: her fur darkened even deeper, her wings turned from bird-like to bat-life, her armor molded into deadly spikes, and all across her body mystic glowing runes and arcane symbols lit up in a bright night-blue; the same color her eyes magically glowed.

"BUT NOW I HAVE FINALLY RETURNED, TO DESTROY THE ELEMENTS OF HARMONY, TAKE MY RIGHTFUL PLACE AS EQUESTRIA'S ONLY PRINCESS, AND BRING FORTH AN ERA OF GLORIOUS ETERNAL NIGHT!" She roared, not screamed...roared, in absolute fury, the echoes shaking the very foundation of the ruins. "I AM THE ONLY ONE WORTHY OF EQUESTRIA'S LOVE, AND YOU WILL GIVE ME THE RESPECT I DESERVE!"

As the echoes of her screams faded, Spyro mere stood there, watching her with a calm yet stern glare. Then he turned and approached the stunned-silent Twilight; the small pony said nothing as the dragon lowered his head down and grasped her by the scruff of her neck with his teeth, gently lifting her up like a small kitten, and carried her over to the far wall. He set her down near the doorway of the stairwell; well out of the way of what was to come next.

He stared at her for a moment before giving a slow crooning nod, his gaze soft and reassuring, before turning around and facing the alicorn.

Then, before anyone could say or do anything more , the orange fiery blaze within his chest erupted across and throughout his entire body, running through the gaps between his scales like veins through skin; his dorsal spines began to glow with a fierce orange, like metal heated to near-melting points, as did his eyes, the gold and purple turning orange. Then, with a flash of wind and the roar of open flame, his wings snapped open to reveal glowing, rune symbols of fire blooming across the membrane, resembling a pair of glowing butterfly wings made of pure flame. The temperature in the room spiked several dozen degrees, the fiery orange light so bright it forced Twilight and Nightmare Moon to squint and cringe away, and the sheer predatory wrath of his narrowed glare would've been enough to kill a weaker mortal on the spot.

"I will give you the same level of respect I've given all that I've faced before in the past." He growled as he stepped forward, his voice rumbling like a earthquake; the walls trembled against the sheer strength of his voice, the loose rocks and pebbles raining down from the ceiling. "A brainless warlord who couldn't take petty insults like a normal person and move on with his life. A sadistic sorcerer so obsessed with his species' superiority that he nearly drove an entire land to extinction. An petty empress who sought to force her dying kingdom to kidnap and murder unborn children just to give herself immortality. A cowardly sea witch who drove two kingdoms into lock down and imprisoned a dear friend of mine in her own home over petty sibling jealousy. A prideful dragon elder who wanted a legendary power given only to a chosen few. And a petty magic-wielding imp who seeks to enslave the sky for no other reason but to feed his ego.

"All of these and more I've faced. And all I've treated just as they deserved, just as I will treat you:" He stopped and jumped into a battle-ready pose, wings spread, tail raised, and eyes steeled. "As a joke. Now SHUT UP AND FIGHT!"

5. War of the Night - Part 4

CHAPTER 1: WAR OF THE NIGHT - PART 4: SPYRO VS NIGHTMARE MOON

A black alicorn against a purple dragon.

Glowing cyan eyes locked with flaming orange ones.

The darkness of space itself struggling against the light of dragon fire.

Night vs Fire.

And this was merely the stand-off prologue of the battle. Both alicorn and dragon stood firm and unmoving, glaring each other down with stares that would fry anything that would enter between them to a crisp; the swirling mass of darkness clashed with the blazing light of dragon fire across the walls, the two elemental forces fighting for supremacy...though given the natural of light and dark, it was easy to see that Spyro had the upper hand in that regard; the light easily beat back the shadow, leaving the room safe from her touch.

Finally, Nightmare Moon broke the silence, her voice shattering the tense silence as she straightened herself out, all of her previous rage and bloodlust fading almost instantly as she took on a stern calmness. "I'm curious." She spoke. "Before I end your wretch life, I must know: how did you come here from the realms?"

Spyro paused, cocking an eyebrow in interest. "You know of the Dragon World?" He asked.

"Of course." She responded calmly. "Where else do you think the dragons of our world originated from?" She frowned knowingly. "However, all the known World Gates were destroyed during the Great Cataclysm, so the only way you could've arrived here was through one that we are unaware of."

"The one in the volcano." He stated. "About fifty miles to the south-west of here."

Nightmare Moon blinked in surprise, before groaning in exasperation. "DragonThroat Mountain..." She groaned, face-palming with a wing tip. "Of course there would be one in the holy land of dragons, wouldn't there?" She lowered her wing, giving the purple drake another dark glare. "What business does an Artisan have within Equestrian borders? I have no interest in your homeland or your treasure; you have no reason to be here interfering with matters that don't concern you."

Spyro merely smirked, a gleam of pride filling his eyes. "I heard a call for help and I decided to answer it." He told her. "Simple as that."

"Then you put yourself between me and my birthright." Nightmare Moon snarled, her glare hardening and the glow of her eyes shining brighter; her horn lit up with magic, and from the air in front of her materialized a long crystalline broadsword glowing with magical runes. "Believe me: there is nothing more I would love to do than drive a blade through your heart for scarring our flesh...but I'd also rather not face off against a dragon if I can help it." She pointed the sword at the dragon. "So I'll offer you a deal: you leave now and I'll forget this ever happened: we'll part ways and never bother each other again; you return to your life back in your home world, and I rule over my kingdom and subjects in peace."

The dragon's gaze lingered on the sword hovering between them for a while before returning his glare at her...then he hissed a dark, cruel laugh, a draconian coldness filling his voice.

"You mean your sister's subjects."

Any hesitation Nightmare Moon felt was burned to cinders in her flare of her own rage, her eyes briefly flashing white with the emotion.

"Don't act so undignified; it's nothing you don't deserve, Traitor." Spyro growled the last word, the glow of his eyes flaring in response. "I know what you've done and why you did it." He waved a wing toward a hole in the ceiling, through which the full moon was visible. "One. Thousand. Years. Of the greatest form of torturous exile that I've ever heard of, and you've learned nothing! You are every bit as spoiled and petty as the day you betrayed your kingdom and tried to murder your own blood!"

"DO NOT ASSUME YOU UNDERSTAND THE REASONS FOR MY ACTIONS THAT DAY!" The night alicorn roared angrily, wings flared and eyes blazing. "A mere wyrmling like you could never comprehend what it was like! To toil non-stop for those ungrateful masses! To work myself to the bone creating a night so beautiful and safe, worthy of any world, only to be shunned and discarded like trash in favor of my sister, who did nothing to earn their adoration other than bask in the light of the sun! The sun that was handed down to her on a silver platter by our father; she never lifted a feather to earn anything she gained, and yet they all had the gall to worship her as if she was Faust herself!"

"I think I understand the situation completely!" Spyro snapped back, flexing his own wings. "A spoiled little princess who lacks the universal fear of the dark gets mad nobody pays attention to her creepy hobbies, so she throws a fit and tries to force everyone to pay attention by getting rid of her competition! If you can't have what you want, then no one else can, is that right?!"

"SILENCE!" Nightmare Moon shrieked; with a flash of white, her sword rocketed through the air at incredible speed, intent on impaling the dragon's head.

Acting on reflexes faster than mortal creatures can comprehend, Spyro lunged forward with even greater speed and snatched the sword with his mouth mid-flight, like a snake catching a mouse. With a predatory snarl, he then proceeded to crush the sword between his jaws with a mighty crunch; the crystalline blade shattered like glass between the dagger-like teeth, scattering to the floor before dispelling into blue arcane dust.

The alicorn didn't even have time to recover from her broken spell before the dragon spun himself a complete 360 degrees, swinging his entire body and tail as a living weapon by his arms and wings, tearing out the entire walls of the castle tower with a powerful rumble. So fast and powerful was this attack she couldn't even react before she took the full force of his thick, saurian tail slamming into her.

In that one split millisecond, time seemed to slow down as the tail smashed into her; a thick column of muscles stronger and more solid than stone, covered in diamond-hard scales, being swung at her with a speed and force that no Equestrian creature could match: a force strong enough to pulverize an alicorn's bones. Pain of the kind she hadn't felt before tore through her body like lightning as the blow shattered all the ribs, right limbs, and pelvis along her right side, and smashed all the organs along that side into paste; it took all she had to keep from passing out of the spot, even as the breath was forced out of her lungs in the form of a loud, ear-tearing, soul-rending scream of agony.

This all happened in one split second.

At normal speed, there was a brief explosion of red and blue before the alicorn was sent rocketing through the far wall at the speed of a fired cannonball; from outside the palace, the wall appeared to explode outwards in a blast of stone, dirt and wood as she came through, careening through the air above the courtyard before crashing into the stony path a good couple hundred feet from the tower like a meteor. The ground exploded in a continuous flurry of dirt and cobblestone as she tore through it in a skidding fashion, only stopping when she crashed into the far wall with a powerful slam.

What remained of that section of the castle's roof and walls exploded forth as the dragon came barreling through, bounding down from above and landing upon the wall overlooking the courtyard like a leopard leaping from a tree. As his claws clamped upon the stone, his inner fire once again exploded forth from his chest and spread across his body and wings, transforming him once more into a demonic fiery beast with rune-covered wings.

He barely had time to look around before the pile of rubble exploded with a blast of blue magic, and a furious nightmare erupted into the sky, spreading wings formed from the mist of her mane, eyes blazing with hatred and murderous intent. Before the dragon's eyes, the mangled limbs and caved-in ribs snapped back into shape as they were engulfed in magic, the wounds healing completely.

He snarled angrily, eyes glowing. "You want attention, well you got it! Time to reap what you sow!"

Another explosion shook the castle, sending Twilight tumbling backwards like a ball of purple fur. The unicorn barely had time to recover before the castle shook again; a blur of black and blue soared overhead at high speeds, following quickly by a much larger blur of purple, gold, and orange, the latter firing fireballs after the former. She flattened herself against the wall, heaving for panicked breaths, as alicorn and dragon continued to fire off blasts of magic and fire respectively at each other above, lighting up the night sky with explosions of blue and orange.

This was bad. This was very, very bad! She couldn't see how things could get even worse right now!

This was suppose to be a steady, straight-forward mission! Go to the ruins of the castle, find the Elements of Harmony, activate them with the spark, and use them to defeat Nightmare Moon and save Equestria. Simple, direct, and easy to follow. Sure, they might run into Nightmare Moon (and she did), but it was nothing quick thinking and her long-studied arsenal of spells couldn't fix...but now...now it had exploded into full-out war! An actual battle to the death, the first Equestra had seen since the Reign of Discord, between the goddess of the night and a living force of nature was taking place that very moment, and she and the others were caught in the middle of it!

This was all too much! She didn't have any training or this! Or tests to prepare for war! What was she going to do! She was going to fail! She-

As if her body acted on its own, she slapped herself across the face with a hoof. 'Get it together, Twilight!' She mentally screamed at herself, fighting for control of her lungs. 'You DO have a plan! Spyro gave you the plan: find the elements and activate them while he holds her off!' She scrambled to her hooves, looking around in panic, as the explosions continued above. 'Find the elements find the elements find the eleme-THERE!'

Lying across the base of what remained of Nightmare Moon's throne laid the stone orbs, scattered across the ground; a few cracks were visible in them, but nothing too threatening to their condition. Making sure to avoid the falling debris, Twilight ran as fast as she could to reach them, gathering them up with her magic and huddling them into a close pile.

"Just one spark!" She whispered to herself, firing up as much magic as she could pour into one Static Spell; the orbs glowed with her aura, crackles of magical energy jumping between them. "Come on, come on!"

ZAP!

The unicorn cried out in both pain and alarm as she was sent flying backwards by the clap of magical energy, throwing her against the walls. The elements began to vibrate and sparkle as the mana flowed through them, and for a second she was confident they were awakened...only for the mana to fade out with a pathetic *fshh*, the stones lying still and lifeless once more.

Twilight couldn't believe her eyes, the hope building in her dying in an instant. "I...I don't understand! Where's the sixth element? The Spark should've-"

"Come now, Twilight Sparkle, use that brain you're so proud of...I know you can see it: Six Elements of Harmony. Six Mares. Each of whom possess a strong quality of one of the elements, or is Fluttershy's kind heart and Pinkie's joyful laughter mere coincidence?"

Realization, mixed with a good bit of panic and horror, socked her right in the brain with the force of Spyro's fist. "The elements..." She murmured, eyes dialating as hope refilled her. "...we are the elements! We are the bearers!" She scrambled back to her hooves, gathering the stones again and turning her attention to the exit. "We have to awaken them together!" She said as she turned tail and bolted for the doorway to the stairwell, carrying the elements with her in her magical grasp...mere seconds before a beam of blue magic sliced through the ceiling above, carving a long tear in the floor with a dusty explosion.

Twilight stumbled from the tremors but stayed standing, shaking her head to clear it before jumping down the stairs. "I have to find the others!"

With a painful-sounding 'CRACK!', the bloodied Nightmare Moon slammed against the far wall, screaming in pain as she fell to the stony floor. She barely had time to blink before the dragon burst into the grand hall after her, roaring with fury. With a flash of magic, she quickly teleported out of his path, re-materializing down another hallway just in time to hear the wall explode from the impact, an angry roar bellowing through the ruins.

Gasping for breath as she laid upon the floor, she poured everything she had into the most powerful healing spells she knew, gritting her teeth as bones snapped back into place and flesh sealed shut with smoke; even then, her body was torn and bleeding all over. The only armor that remained from her original shut was three of her horse-shoes and half of the helm; the fiercely bleeding gashes lining her chest and torso showed how brutal the dragon grabbed and tore her barrel-plate from her body, the metal carving her up like a griffin's venison feast.

This...this was not possible. She was the goddess of the night! The most powerful being in the universe, even more so than Celestia! Entire kingdoms fell to her might! Dragons the size of mountains trembled in terror in her mere presence! She moved the very celestial orbs of the cosmos themselves!

And yet here she was, crippled upon first blow and reduced to a floppy, bloody ragdoll by this dragon, who wasn't even half the size of a full grown adult!

Anger (and fear she would not admit to feeling) gripped the alicorn's heart as a dark growl rumbled through the hall; she whipped her head around just in time to see Spyro slither around the corner like a massive serpent, his claws leaving long groves in the stony floor, and his reptilian eyes and inner chest glowing with fire. Giving a yell of rage, Nightmare Moon materialized a cloud of crystalline daggers and sent them flying at the dragon, melting away into the shadows of the wall as quickly as her magic would allow.

The blades shattered against his hide like shards of glass against the metal hull of a minotaur war-machine, the fragments scattering to the floor; Spyro recoiled from the attack all the same, raising his wings to shield his face and eyes, lowering them just in time to see she her vanish into the black.

"How long will you continue to flee like the coward you are? He hissed as he pawed at his face like a large cat, clawing away at the magic dust, before glaring at the shadows in anger. "Or have you finally admitted defeat to your greater?"

"I do not intend to lose this fight yet!" Nightmare's voice snarled from all around him. "We will not...be beaten by the likes of you!"

Spyro gave a dark laugh, his head swinging back and forth as he looked about for a sign; a sliver in the dark...a warping of a shadow's shape...anything to give her position away. "You think this is even a fight to begin with? Please! You claim to be a god, and yet you're losing to one you claim to be beneath you?"

The dragon paused and shifted back, sitting on his haunches and coyly observing his own claws with a nonchalant expression. "I can understand, though; I've fought a lot of enemies in the past, and each one was always going on and on about how great they were. How much more powerful they were. How I was a puny worm compared to them." He scratched the back of his head behind his ear with a hind paw, much like a dog would. "You're just the most recent in a long line...though you are a first in one regard: not even Kaos is as petty and insecure with himself as you are."

That got a reaction; the very shadows pulsed and writhed with a tense, thrashing anger, the echoes of furious growls bouncing all around him. "Insecurity? It is not petty insecurity that drives me, dragon." Her voice snarled from all around him. "You cannot even begin to fathom the suffering we endured that led us to accepting the darkness! We tried hard to resist this path; to find another way to earn what I deserved, but in the end the ungrateful hearts of ponykind drove me to accept it, even with the great cost!"

"Drove you?! HA!" Spyro barked bitterly. "You willingly gave yourself to the Nightmare, knowing full well its intentions of death to your own sister! Intentions born from your very emotions! You chose this path of evil! You chose to give up to the shadows, even if it meant you'd turn against your own kingdom and try to murder your own sister! I don't know how that works here, but that seems pretty cut and paste evil to me!"

"Be that as it is; I have come to accept that long ago." The shadows shifted and coiling, taking on the looming shape of a winged unicorn. "I care not for the ponies' petty desires or praise anymore! If they will not love me, then they will fear me instead. Either way, I will have the respect that is my birthright!"

This time Spyro really did laugh: a loud, powerful...horrible laugh; cruel and monstrous, one that stabbed even more fear into her already-pounding heart. It echoed throughout the halls of the palace, shaking the very walls with the rumble of an earthquake, knocking down furniture and raining down a shower of dust and stone. It was the laughter of wrath. The laughter of death.

It was the laugh of a true dragon.

"Respect?! Birthright?! You petty, pathetic fool! Do you really think that anyone would respect you?!" His laughter died down into a low chuckle, his eyes glowing with a more amused fire than an angry one. "Respect is not given by 'rights'; it is earned. Your sister earned her subject's love and affection: she has cared for, mothered, guided and protected Equestria as a whole like it was her child. Even during your banishment, through the worst centuries of her life, she stayed to love the ponies that tore her apart from you, when by all 'rights' she should've destroyed them long ago. That is why mortals respect and love her."

His amusement vanished into rage as his sneer became a snarl of anger.

"You, on the other 'hoof', are nothing more than a spoiled brat: where your sister has gone through hell and back to earn her love, you lazed around in your tower demanding mortals to give you what you want on a silver, silk-clothed platter, without doing anything to prove to them that you and your night was trustworthy. And when you didn't get it, you threw a fit and try to kill whoever denied you, even when it was to help you!"

There! With those final three words, he charged full throttle the distant wall; he spotted the shadow of one of the pillars bulge as something traveled through it. Horns connected against flesh, and with a sound like pushing through tar, the dragon slammed into and wrenched the screaming Nightmare Moon out of the shadow plain and together they went crashing through the far wall...and plummeted down into the darkness below.

"Ah, Dammit!" He barely had time to yelp as he fell into the hidden room. He barely had time to spit another curse before he collided into the solid stone floor, creating a massive crash as he tumbled forward, smashing through row after row of old, termite-eaten pews, reducing them to splinters as he slid to a stop.

...what was this place?

Head still spinning from the tumble, he lifted it to take in the surroundings of the room he entered. It was vast, in both size and height, the broken ceiling standing high above him. Lined up across the room were four sections of pews (one of which he was sitting in the rubble of), all facing a stone altar at the far end of the room. As he stood up, he stepped on paper; he looked down to see dozens of worm-eaten hymns and scrolls covering the floor like piles of snow, the long-faded scribblings of song and music still visible to his eyes. He looked up to the altar, which he saw stand beneath what was once a grand glass window, still surprisingly intact: it was the image of a beautiful white alicorn, wing spread in flight, with a crown like the sun upon her head and the heavens behind her back, shining beams of light through her feathers upon all the tiny ponies happily dancing below.

And beneath the image were scribbles carved into the window's base, and the Magic Crafter part of his mind went to work translating them; soon said scribbles turned into words before his very eyes, and they spoke of this message:

High Praise to Solus Celestia. May her light shine upon her blessed foals, and may all darkness perish to her glory.

"They did not just adore her and ignore me, you know."

Spyro turned around to see Nightmare Moon step forward; her body bore the marks of his horns upon her side, yet she still stood strong...but her glare was not aimed at the dragon. It instead sent hatred and jealousy to the image of her sister, which even in the dark seem to shine with a god-like glory.

"What is this place?" He asked.

"The grand church of The Order of Celestial Light." Nightmare Moon hissed, spitting the name as if it was poison. "The ponies did not just admire my sister; they worshiped her as a goddess. They wanted someone to put all their love, adoration, and dependence into, and they chose my sister; the one they viewed as the pony who single-handedly defeated Discord, who brought them the light of day they loved so much." She looked down at the floor, grinding a hoof against the rotten pages beneath it. "At first they were harmless enough; they simply lived their lives to their little religion and simply encouraged others to do the same, so my sister didn't object; she even allowed them to build this church in one of the castle wings, as a means of easier communication with them."

Her glare hardened, and for a second Spyro spotted a flash of true emotion in those draconic eyes. "But then they grew out of control. Their numbers and influence spread across all of Equestria, and as they grew so did their religion's lore: they decided that if Celestia was the light, there had to be someone else to be the dark. The evil to face off against the good. A Devil to pair with their God."

Spyro didn't need to be as smart as Bianca or Elora to know where this was going.

"You."

Nightmare Moon stayed silent, then spoke with a heavy voice. "Yes. Me." She spat. "They began to turn on me like I was the worst monster to grace Equestria. They began to blame me for everything bad that happened, no matter how small and petty: they claimed I was the source of all evil, and that all suffering and misfortune in the world was thanks to my 'taint' of night. It got so far as they would prosecute me whenever I left the castle, and even the servant staff avoided me like the plague." She looked up at Celestia's image, a mix of hate yet despair filling her eyes. "Celestia tried to dissuade their beliefs through mere words, but the roar of the crowd simply drowned out hers, and she refused to take any further action...no matter how much they tormenting me.

"It was during the Summer Solar Celebration that the last straw fell. As I stood to lower the moon to make way for the sun, the high priest of the church approached my sister and I and declared to the whole world that I was a demon in disguise. He preached out that I had tainted and possessed Celestia's sister in my mother's womb and that I sought to overthrow her and bring forth Eternal Night." She barked a hollow laugh. "Ironic, isn't it? Celestia tried to speak against his words, but everything she said was ignored completely; he claimed that she was simply being deceived by the 'demon's poisonous tongue'."

"They ignored the words of their own so-called goddess?" Spyro asked, cocking an eye-ridge.

"In one ear and out the other." The alicorn snarled in hate. "He then led the crowd in a 'prayer' against the evil, claiming that all suffering and misery in the world would not end until Celestia vanquished my evil presence from the world and brought forth a glorious era of Eternal Day, where everyone would live in peace and happiness under their goddess's light. It was when they started throwing stones that I left in tears...while through it all my sister simply stood there and did nothing!"

"And the following night was when you took on the persona of Nightmare Moon?" Spyro asked.

Nightmare Moon merely nodded. "I decided that if they wanted a monster, they would get one. If my sister would not do anything to halt their words, then I would force their mouths shut by giving them the Eternal Night they so dreaded!" She was yelling by this point. "There could only be one true princess to rule Equestria, and that princess was me! I swore then and there that Equestria would be mine, even if I had to kill everyone in my path to get it!"

The dragon's ears flicked up at those last words.

"That night I refused to lower the sun for my sister, and we did battle for the crown; while she may have been older and wielded stronger magic, she had always been soft and bleeding-hearted, and years of peace had made her weak! Far too weak to stand against my newfound power! But even then...even then...I LOST! THAT BITCH USE THE ELEMENTS OF HARMONY-MY ELEMENTS OF HARMONY-AGAINST ME AND SEALED ME WITHIN THAT ACCURSED ROCK FOR A THOUSAND YEARS!"

With that angry scream, she fired a blast of magic at the window; with a great crash, it shattered into a million pieces and rained down across the church interior. Spyro whipped up a wing to shield his face from the shards, lowering it to see the full moon standing out against the night sky where the image of the sun use to be.

"But I have returned...after waiting, training, and planning for this day for ten centuries, I have finally returned to Equestria! The elements have lost their powers, and my pathetic sister has fled into hiding. The only thing that stands in my way are those six mares..." She sent the dragon a glare that would kill a lesser being. "...and you."

She took a battle ready stance, wings flaring open and horn lighting up with magic, as her mane turned into a swirling mass of thunderous cloud. "You are the only true threat that stands between me and the throne of Equestria. You may be strong for a wyrmling, but mark my words, drake: I will not lose to the likes of you! I will slay you like the beast you are, destroy the elements of harmony, and you and your little friends will never see your precious princess or your sun again!

"THE NIGHT. WILL LAST. FOREVER!"

Lightning flash through her mane, bringing claps of thunder to roar alongside her wicked, maniacal laughter. Spyro stood there, watching the alicorn with eyes narrowed in thought, studying the alicorn under a suspicious gaze...until he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and whispered three little words.

"Rii Vaaz Gaaf!"

Nightmare Moon's laughter turned into an outright demonic wail of agony, a warped, echoing wail of dozens of voices screaming at once, as a wall of black tar-like fluid was ripped from her body and thrown into the air, only to be yanked in place by ghostly blue chains. And Spyro merely stepped back and took in the sight of his shout's work, while Twilight Sparkle entered the room in a hurry, only to skid to a halt and gape in horror at the sight before her.

The true form of Nightmare Moon.

Long tendrils thrashed and fang-filled maws gnashed angrily as the giant mass of black magic as large as Spyro thrashed and struggled against its binds, roaring and screaming with demonic voices filled with pure hatred and malice. It's form was made of a thick liquid substance that resembled pitch-back tar, mixed with the swirling mass of blue and purple magic that was her other form's mane, and extended in numerous dripping tentacle-like tendrils as weaved and whipped about like angry snakes, tearing at anything they could reach. Huge, skeletal bat-like wings flapped furiously, trying to pull away from the spot, flinging dark liquid across the floor with each flap. The form had three heads formed from larger tendrils, each resemble the skull of the horse, snapping and roaring with wide jaws filled with sharp sword-like teeth, a long blade-like horn mounted on each of the skulls' forehead, and the six eyes were balls of ghostly-blue flame.

As horrifying as the sight was, it was the sight of what stood between the monstrous entity that shook Twilight to the core.

Standing where Nightmare Moon once did, struggling to stand firm despite her obvious agony, was the lost Princess Luna herself. She was trapped within a swirling storm-like mass of the Nightmare's mane, no bigger than Princess Cadence, and in horrible condition. Her body was covered in scars, gashes, cuts, and bruises from hundreds of injuries, and the ones Spyro had dealt were nowhere to be seen; she had brutally beaten and tortured regularly, and she was very weak. her face twisted in horrific pain and dozens of tear streaks coating her cheeks. But what stood out the most were the chains: giant, ghostly chains formed of pure night magic, wrapped around her neck, barrel, and limbs and their cuffs nailed in place with bloodied pikes, held taught between herself and the mass above her...but as Spyro realized, it was the monster that was struggling against them, not her.

"So, the truth comes out at last." Spyro growled, tense and on guard for the first time he started the fight. "Now, who are you really? What is your true name?"

The monster's tendrils continued to thrash and struggling, but all three head turned their demonic gaze to the dragon, glaring down on him like a mutant black hydra, and when they spoke it was comparable to listening to a choir of demons.

"We are the Nightmare Forces." They answered in unison. "We are the ones who hide in the darkness of a child's bedroom. In the shadows of a forest. In the hearts of the wicked. We are the children of Fear."

Twilight was beyond terrified now; she wanted to run. Wanted to hide. Wanted to get far far away from that thing...but she couldn't. She was locked in place, unable to move, every bit of fear and terror she had ever felt in her entire life all rushing forth in sheer horror.

"We approached the princess during her darkest hour, as we do to all ponies: we also seek to rid ourselves of the accursed light, so we revealed ourselves and offered her the power to gain her desires, in return for ridding us of Celestia." They continued, their thrashing slowly to a minor struggle. "She accepted, and we infused our essence into her emotions, and together we became Nightmare Moon."

Spyro scowled. "I bet you didn't say anything about the whole 'possessing her body and turning her evil' bit when you offered her free power. huh?"

"She made a deal with us!" The Nightmare snarled, wings flaring. "We offered her power, and she accepted. What happened afterwards was her fault and her fault alone! How did you know of our existence, and how have you separated us from our host?!"

It was then Twilight finally managed to take a single step backwards...only to bump against a hall table set next to the door, knocking over and breaking an ancient vase with an audible crash. All three heads whipped their gaze to her direction, eyes blazing with murderous intent, and before the poor unicorn could scream in terror, they launched themselves at her with roars of hatred and bloodlust.

"NO!" Luna cried, and with a sickening tear of flesh, she pulled with all her strength; the chains went taught, and the heads screamed in rage as they were yanked back just inches away from ending one of the bearers. "You will not harm her!"

"BLOOD! GIVE US BLOOD!" The Nightmare roared, thrashing against its chains. "DO NOT DENY US BLOOD!"

"You will not harm her!" The princess screamed, her skin tearing against the pikes and fresh blood running down her neck and limbs.

"ONLY ONE NEEDS TO DIE! JUST ONE!" They roared; their tendrils whipped around and began striking the alicorn in a desperate attempt to get to Twilight, who was already scrambling back down the hall. "THEY ARE THE ENEMY! THEY DESERVE SUFFERING! WE WANT BLOOD!"

"You will not harm her!" Luna repeated, standing strong against the beating.

"DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!"

"YOU WILL NOT HARM HER!"

With a final pull, the nightmare was forcefully yanked away from the hall, and the smaller pony escaped back into the depths of the castle. The nightmare gave a truly monstrous scream of rage before turning it's full wrath upon the alicorn it was forcefully bound to, whipping forth over a dozen tentacles to brutally beat down Luna, splattering the ground with her blood. "DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!" It continued to scream over and over, each strike more forceful than the last. Yet Luna stayed strong, even as her blood stained the earth and her bones broke, and refused to cancel the spell binding them together in chains.

"That's how I found out about you." Spyro spoke up, his voice punching through the screams like a thunderclap. "It was only a suspicion when you didn't possess Steven Magnet, a Soul Bearer, in the same manner you possessed the Manticore, but the clincher was when you attempt to murder Rainbow Dash back out near the bridge, but stopped at the literal last second." He grinned triumphantly. "You can't actually hurt anyone, can you?"

All three heads froze, raising their now outright apoplectic glares at the dragon. "Silence, Bastard!" They barked.

"Oh, you want to hurt people. No doubt about that." He continued, unfazed by the eyes of hell staring him down. "If you had your way, you wouldn't have settled on mere scare tactics and obstacles blocking the ponies' quest to stop you. No, you would've gone all out: you would've drenched the forest floor with their blood. You would've beaten them within an inch of their lives, ripping their bodies apart limb from limb, and relish in their dying screams as you left them for the beasts...but for all the hate and bloodlust you embody, you can't harm a single hair on their heads!"

"I SAID SILENCE!"

"Because no matter how wrathful or sadistic you are, you are still bonded to Luna and her emotions, just as you said!" The dragon outright roared back. "And in the end, all she wanted was to be loved by her subjects as much as she loved them! For all her bitterness, for all the poison she endured by this church, in the end she still loves her subjects, and she simply made a mistake believing you would help her gain their love in return! And as long as even a part of her remains in that monster you call Nightmare Moon, even if you attack her day after day, she would rather die than allow you to hurt a single pony!"

"A-And if..." Luna suddenly choked out, coughing up a mouthful of blood. "...I-I do face d-death...for my c-crimes..." She glared up at the nightmare in defiance. "...I'll drag you t-to Tartarus with me!"

At that something snapped, and the Nightmare Forces roared...not yelled-roared...in absolute anger and hatred before turning into a wave of shadow that struck the princess head on, swirling around her as they forcefully fused back together, her light-blue fur turning back to black.

"Dragon!" Luna cried desperately as she tried to stay afloat, the shadows dragging her back into the void. "Y-You must stop me! Please! Stop me before it's too late!"

That was all she managed to get out before she was pulled under, and the shadows burst forth to reveal the restored Nightmare Moon, glaring dagger of unadulterated malice at the purple dragon, and even then she managed a grinning sneer. "I may be unable to harm ponies thanks to my softer half..." She growled, and with a flash of her horn dozens of large, crystalline swords materialized from her magic. "...but her love for them does not extend to your kind, so there's nothing stopping me from mounting your head on a pike!"

The swords shot forward, rocketing toward the dragon with trails of sparkling blue magic. This time, though, Spyro dodged the enchanted weapons, leaping away with the nimbleness of a deer, before leaping forward in a pounce with an angry roar. Nightmare Moon barely avoided being torn to pieces by his claws as they slashed at her; she flapped back out of reach and sent the swords after him again. Spyro quickly spun around to face them and threw his wings up, crossing them in front of himself like a mighty shield. The swords exploded against the fiery-glowing membrane with bright bursts of magic, lighting up the church ruins like dozens of fireworks.

Through the thick smoke and flashing lights, he retracted his wings and leapt forward with another pounce, body still flaming as he roared in rage. This time, however, Luna dodged by quickly taking to the skies; she wasn't going to let her guard down this time, and with her body healed, she was now at full fighting form.

The ground shook as long, bronze-colored claws punctured through the stony floor, barely missing the pony's tail by a split second, the sheer mass of the beast crashing upon the earth with the force of a small meteor. His head whipped up after the air-borne alicorn, snarling with primal rage; his enormous wings snapped outwards before he too leapt up with a might flap, taking flight with the wind-lash of a small twister.

It is well known that dragons, while strong, are rather slow flyers; their sheer size and weight, combined with their massive wingspans, made them creatures that calmly soared through the sky, only moving fast when diving prey. So it's easy to understand why Nightmare Moon, someone who had out-flown the sluggish lizards before, was caught off-guard as Spyro tore past her with speeds that could surpass Rainbow Dash. And precision too: as he rocketed past her, he slammed into her with incredible force with his head, catching her with one of his horns just enough to strike her without knocking her for a loop. It took all the alicorn had to keep from screaming in agony as the horn gored her left side and tore clean through, spraying the air and dragon in her blood.

She gritted her teeth in pain as she fought against it, struggling to keep herself airborne; each flap of her wings sent a burst of blood gushing from the wounds, staining her right side and thigh red. She looked up as the dragon descend back down from above, stopping his descendant to hover before her. His great glowing wings beat with the strength of a tornado. His mighty tail swished back and forth like a great river. His glowing chest burned with the fiery power on an erupting volcano. His impenetrable scales shone in the light of her moon. And his fiery eyes burned upon her with the anger and vengeance of the very world itself.

It was clear who was the greater of these two beings.

And she hated him. Those burning, power-filled eyes stared down upon her as if she were a but a child throwing a tantrum. Eyes that looked down at her and all her regal glory and power, yet saw nothing more than a foal trying to make herself out to be a mare. Eyes of a wretched, disgusting, damnable creature who viewed her not as the divine almighty goddess she was, but as a simple, spoiled mortal trying to put on a show of pride and greed.

Eyes that she had once seen long, long ago, on the one she knew as family.

With a cry of anger, she summoned more swords and shot them forward: He merely swatted them aside with a lash of his tail, not even flinching. He snorted afterwards, his glare hardening.

Gritting her teeth even harder, she tried casting a spell that would turn him into a mouse: The magic washed over him briefly before a surge of power erupted from within him, tearing her magic asunder. He bared his teeth slightly as a soft growl rumbled from his throat.

Her face twisted into an almost animalistic snarl as she just dropped the artful approach and simply fired solid magic energy, a beam of what resembled blue, sparkling fire erupting from her horn: the furious magic crashed against and washed over his chest, flowing over him like water. This time he was pushed back a bit, but he recovered with a grunt of effort, merely putting more strength into staying in place, not taking any damage other than a few cracked scales. His eyes seem to glow even brighter and angrier in response, as if absorbing her magic for himself.

"You truly believe you are divine, don't you?" He asked, his tone that of someone insulted. "Even now, when you have fallen to the most primitive form of magic just to try to make me flinch."

"WE ARE A GOD!" Nightmare Moon screamed in fury, her eyes briefly flashing white. "WE MOVE THE VERY CELESTIAL BODIES THEMSELVES! WE SET THE VERY CYCLE OF NIGHT AND DAY INTO MOTION! LOOK UPON THAT AND TELL US WE ARE NOT OF DIVINE POWER!"

With another flare of her horn, great chains of black crystal and blue gemstones erupted from the earth far below; they tore through the air, their mighty links rattling with the sounds of clashing metal, intent of ripping the dragon limb from limb. This time Spyro did dodge the attack, skillfully evading the numerous chains with fast and almost graceful spins, flips, and aerial maneuvers that would certainly impress the wonderbolts; it almost looked as if he was dancing in the air. And the whole while, he moved in a way that allowed his tail to cleave and tear through the chains as he dodged them, the mighty links shattering and falling to the ground in long ropes or shattered fragments. This continued on for a good few minutes, before he spun to a stop, every chain destroyed.

"The act of moving the sun and moon would be impressive, were they not corrupted." The dragon spat as he resumed simply hovering in front of her, not at all winded by his extensive movements. "Had this world not been twisted by chaos, the ability to do such would be impossible."

Nightmare's nose wrinkled in righteous disgust. "What slander are you speaking this time?"

Spyro's eyes narrowed. "That is none of your concern anymore, nor will it ever be again..." He hissed with a reptilian cruelty; the tone of his voice told her that he was tiring of this little game. "Do you know the damage you are causing to this land through your actions? Are you even aware of the sheer level of evil you brought upon this world?"

He extended a hand out, motioning the extensive view of the land. "This isn't just about you trying to kill your sister: it's also about you killing off your entire home. You and Celestia control the very solar cycle itself: I know you understand what would've happen during your Eternal Night. The crops dying and ponies freezing is only the sugar-coated version of the story: without the warmth of the sun, the world would freeze over, growing colder and colder by the minute. Soon, even if they had the means to make fire, even the dragons wouldn't be able to resist freezing to death, if they hadn't starved to death already, and even then it wouldn't stop. The world would enter an Ice Age of the likes never seen before, and would only go colder and colder until it would be as cold as the space the planet floats in, and not even bacteria would survive. But did you care? No! You nightmares are aware of this, and yet you deliberately tried to kill off an entire world in the slowest, coldest, most horrible way imaginable! And why?"

With those final words spoken, The Nightmare Princess finally snapped:

"Because no one was stupid enough to go out into your death-filled darkness to stare up at the stars!"

"DAMN YOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUU!"

With an enraged roar, the alicorn erupted with power and soared up into the air, blazing with the power of a thousand stars; Spyro hissed in pain as the increasing magical energy force him to hover back a few flaps. Nightmare Moon continued to scream as her horn blazed with the full might and force of her alicorn-hood; the moon shone brightly in the night, as if pouring its power into her body, the very air vibrating from the blue and white fire blazing from her horn, and any mortal witnessing the sight would've believed that a god had descended upon the land in all her glory.

And with one final, furious scream, she blasted the dragon with every spark of her nightly magic in one, single, solid, giant, fiery beam of pure alicorn power.

*BOOOOOMM!*

Celestia's heart all but stopped when she recognized the signature of the explosion of magic.

...The dust billowed around and fill Nightmare Moon's vision as slowly stumbled through the air, clumsily flapping her wings as she fell from the sky and collapsed to the ground in front of the ruins. Her body was drained, physically, mentally...and magically: she had poured every last drop of her magical aura into that one final attack: a sheer magical blast that she obtained by tapping her power into the very moon itself. It was an attack that was meant to be used in extreme emergencies only, fore it would be another good hundred years before she have the strength to use it again...and the damage it would cause was a danger to Equestria as well as its enemies:

The beam had leveled everything within its path. Stretching far out deeper into the Everfree was a massive canyon now torn into the earth, measuring over two hundred feet wide and almost twice that in depth, extending for what could've been miles into the forest. The trees lining the crumbling-fresh edges of the canyon were blazing with blue flames, smoke billowing into the skies, while a blizzard of ash floated down from above, covering the trees for miles or disappearing into the new depths below.

...and yet, she felt nothing but satisfaction, and from her chest bubbled a truly wicked laugh of victory. She had done it: she had blasted that wretch of a dragon clean off the face of the earth! Equestria was hers for all eternity, and the night would finally last forever-!

*SLASH!*

Pain...unlike anything she had ever felt before rocketed through her skull; it felt as though someone had taken a red hot poker and shove it directly through her horn, all the way down to her brain...only, she realized from the blood gushing down it face...she didn't have her horn anymore.

Her explosion had silenced all ambiance in the forest, and thus it was perfectly quiet...

...meaning there was nothing to stop the soft clink of her blooded, decapitated horn from echoing across the plateau as it landed in front of her.

"You filthy whore. That HURT."

'No...it...it's not...possible...!' She thought as tears of horror came to her eyes It...it couldn't be...that...that had been her strongest attack! It was all her magic! Her godhood! Every last bit of the power that RAISED AND LOWERED THE VERY FORCES OF THE COSMOS ITSELF! HOW?! HOW COULD HE STILL BE ALIVE?!

As the dust and ash finally began to settle, revealing the dragon standing before her, and she screamed in horror.

Spyro stood before her, having been barely pushed back by the blast...or what remained of him. Hollow eye sockets stared down at her with a skeletal grin of sharp teeth, the bones of his neck rattling together as he shifted his body awkward. His head, neck, right shoulder and arm had been completely stripped of flesh, leaving nothing but his skeleton blackened by magical energy burn. The flesh where the burn off began was charred and smoking, blood running down his torso in rivers; she could hear the faint beating of his mighty heart now that the flesh sealing it away was open top-wise, and he continued to breathe despite lacking a throat.

"H-How..." She whimpered, terror and pain filling her voice. "H-How are y-you s-still a-alive?!"

The skeletal jaws opened and closed as he spoke, despite lacking a larynx. "You missed my heart."

What happened next was truly horrific, and would haunt Luna's dreams for years to come; the dragon's bony jaws opened and he gave a beastly roar of pain as the flesh of his wound burst with a fiery glow. As if by magic, the glowing blood flowed up his bony limb and neck in thick columns of red, wrapping around the bones and shaping out what had been burned away. Sickly pops and tears of meat sounded across the plateau as the red fluid form out flesh and muscle, the bones disappearing as flesh, tendons, nerves, and eventually skin and scales grew back over them. His sockets filled with fire before turning into new eyes, and his flexed his lips and tongue as the last touches grew back, leaving the dragon fully restored.

"Regenerative powers I inherited from the Hydra Dragon." Spyro explained, flexing the fingers of his newly-formed paw. "As long as my heart is intact, I can regenerate from any wound, no matter how grave. Still hurts like hell, though."

*CRACK! FLASH!*

Both alicorn and dragon looked up as the very sky itself seem to crack as if made of glass; for a split second, a spider's web of glowing-white cracks formed in the air with a crack like shattering glass, only to disappear in another flash of light.

"What was that!" Nightmare Moon demanded, even as the blood ran down her face.

Spyro cocked his head. "Looks like someone's been using Reconnaissance Magic to watch us from afar." He told her. "Princess Celestia, if I had to guess, watching her little chess game from her hiding place. My body's natural aura acts as a barrier against such magics, however, so she's probably been blind since I first arrived."

Nightmare Moon looked stunned, staring up where the magic was with a hollow dread. "My sister...was watching me?"

"Yes." Spyro stated, turning his glare at the broken alicorn. "And I'm done playing. Rii Vaaz Gaaf!"

The shout blasted through the alicorn at full force, and once again the echoing wail of the Nightmare's dozens of voices roared out as the dark spirit was separated from its host; the massive writhing form of black life roared and thrashed, desperately trying to pull itself away from the struggling body of Princess Luna, but remained in place as the ghostly chains of Luna's magic held it down.

But those chains would go taut for the last time, for the purging of Princess Luna began as Spyro lit up his tailblade with the golden element of Light and, with a roaring battlecry, slammed it into the first chain full force. The magically-forge material shattered almost immediately under the blow, and the first head thrashed free, screaming in shock and fear.

"W-W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Luna cried. "YOU'LL SET IT FREE!"

"And separate it from its power source, so I can end it with my own claws!" Spyro roared, eyes blazing, as he swung again, shattering the second chain.

"The Nightmare must be destroyed!" The princess pleaded weakly, her body going limp as her burdens shattered one by one. "Please! I have to do this! I have keep Equestria from suffering for my actions!"

"Leave that to me." Spyro assured her, his gaze softening at her for a split second, before turning hard as stone once more at the final chain. "I was brought here to save all of ponykind, and that includes you!"

And with that final cry, he swung his tail and shattered the final chain. And for the first time in a thousand years, Princess Luna was finally free...and the Nightmare Forces barely had time to attempt to flee before the purple dragon slammed into them and carried it off in flight.

Folding his wings outwards, Spyro jerked out into a high-speed glide only a few meters from the earth, tearing across the plateau and alongside the outer palace wall at incredible speeds. The thrashing, roaring mass didn't have any time to prepare before it was slammed into the wall with an explosion of rock, dirt, and blood; it could only scream long and loud as it was dragged along the structure, bringing it down with a continuous spray of rock and dirt as they tore through, ripping it's mass apart and spraying the ground with its black ooze. Spyro gave a monstrous roar as he did so, his eyes glowing so brightly that his pupils were barely visible.

He then tore away, flapping hard as he bolted back up into the sky, flying higher and higher, and continued to go higher until he and his captive breached the cloud barrier. Flashes of lightning lit up the inside of the cloud, revealing the rolling black forms.

Spyro gave a stern bark of a growl before he promptly threw the flailing Nightmare into the sky; the dark spirit barely had time to give a garbled scream before it was slammed by the dragon rocketing past at full force, tearing out its left side in the process. The three-headed darkness didn't even have time to recover from the first blow before the dragon came at it again, coming out from the other side and crashing into it head on, sending it spinning through the air as he disappeared into the clouds. He then came at it again, and again, and again, and again! It was as the monster was being attacked by twenty dragons at once, all working in unison to rip it apart piece by piece as they tore past, disappearing just before the other appeared. Like a bolt of purple lightning he attacked again and again, pounding and tearing at the blackness from every angle without mercy, until the very clouds began to stain black with its body. His teeth flashed lightning as he tore into the shadows. His roar bellowed louder than any thunderclap. Ans his eyes burned with pure white fire found only in hell.

Then it came, the final attack: in a brief let-up from the beat-down, a bloodied and mangled Nightmare screamed in rage, its form thrashing wickedly as it attempted to flee into the night. "YOU THINK YOU'VE WON?!" Its three heads roared in promise of revenge. "WE ARE BUT LEGION, FOR WE ARE MANY THROUGHOUT THIS WORLD! WE WILL RETURN! WE WILL FIND A NEW HOST! AND YOU WILL RUE THE DAY YOU STEPPED FOOT IN OUR WORLD, SPYRO THE DRAGON!"

Spyro glared after the fleeing demon, eyes glowing white...and then grinned a draconian sneer as the glow of rainbow light shone down from below.

"Not THIS time." He growled as the Elements of Harmony fired their magic up into the sky...and struck the dragon full force.

The rainbow-colored energy struck him directly in the chest, where it fused into his fire and spread out across his body, running through the gaps between his scales like veins through skin; his dorsal spines' glow changed from orange to alternating flashes of rainbow, while his wings snapped open to reveal the glowing rune symbols blooming into a blinding brilliance of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple across the membrane. His eyes glowed a brilliant white, and the flames in his mouth began to crackle and swirl with the magic of Equestria's greatest power.

'So, these are the Elements of Harmony.' He thought to himself.

The nightmare flapped harder and harder, writhing through the air in panic, but was unable to flee or fight as the dragon unleashed the fury of the elements; from his mouth erupted a column of dragon fire infused with the power of Equestria, roaring brightly with all the colors of the rainbow. With incredible speed and range, the rainbow fire was upon the black mass in seconds, and the three heads could only scream as the Nightmare Forces were erased from existence itself in a fiery blaze of white.

Spyro landed on all fours on one of the castle's towers, watching as what remained of the nightmare rained down in a flurry of ash and smoke, never to harm anyone again. He felt it bubbling up from deep within, rising up his throat with gusto; with the light of the rising sun, he reared back on his hind legs, spread his mighty glowing wings, lifted his head to the sky, and released the loudest, strongest, most ferocious victory roar the world of Equestria had even heard, echoing across the land for all the world to hear.

Nightmare Moon was dead. Luna was freed. And Spyro the Dragon had won.

6. War of the Night - Epilogue

CHAPTER 1: WAR OF THE NIGHT - EPILOGUE: SUNRISE

"He did it..." Twilight whispered as she watched the dragon roar, standing out against the rising sun, and before she knew it she was grinning from ear to ear with joy as night turned to day before her very eyes. "Faust on high, he did it! He defeated Nightmare Moon!"

The six ponies cheered happily as the morning light stretched over the Everfree Forest, turning the once dark domain into a forest of green and wonder, and the fog receded into nothingness as the nightly chill was quickly replaced by the delightful warmth of morning. Pinkie Pie was happily bouncing up and down while hugging Fluttershy, making the poor pegasus' eyes spin, while Rainbow Dash flipped mid air with a whoop of victory. Rarity was gleefully fussing over her newly-grown tail, which the element of harmony had restored, while Applejack threw her hat into the air with a classic 'yee-haw!'

"That was the most awesome thing ever!" Rainbow Dash cried, her own element of harmony glimmering against her chest. "Spyro took down that freaky shadow monster like it was nothing!"

"When he got hit by that last attack, I honestly thought he was gone for good." Rarity stated; she then shuddered at the memory of the dragon's skull, grin and all. "Let us agree never to speak of that again."

"I-I-I vote f-f-for agree." Fluttershy whimpered, having wiggled out of Pinkie's grasp and looking ready to faint from fright.

Rainbow Dash cringed, sticking her tongue out with a 'blech'. "Okay, that I can agree on..." She admitted. "...but the rest of it was totally awesome! He totally kicked that monster's butt!"

"Speakin' of said monster..." Applejack began, putting her hat back on her head. "...does anypony have any idea what the heck that three-headed shadow thing was?!"

"A Nightmare." Twilight answered as she stared into space, her voice quiet as she recalled the sight of Luna struggling against it...the snarling head snapping and thrashing, the princess being beaten and torn...she shuddered, turning her attention to the farm pony. "They're said to be evil spirits who hide in the dark and torment ponies, usually with nightmares." She scratched her head. "I thought they were only a myth."

"Evidently not." Spyro stated; with almost cat-like grace the dragon leapt down from the tower landed on the doorway of the wall, his clawed feet and wing-claws grabbing onto the stone as he lurched on the spot, his lithe body shifting and long tail lashing out as his serpentine neck followed the ponies to beneath his perch. "The Nightmare said it was only one of many, but at least there's one less of them now."

"That's true." Twilight admitted as she watched the dragon drop down again, landing on the ground on all fours in a feline-like manner, wing flapping slightly. "Do you think the other Nightmare Forces will try to avenge their friend?"

Spyro barked a laugh. "Friend? Hardly. But they will retaliate one way or another." He told her. "Not only have they lost their strongest weapon in the war against light, but they now know there is something out there that can kill them: Me." His expression fell, and he turned his gaze away. "Speaking of said 'weapon'..."

Twilight followed the dragon's line of sight until she saw her, lying unconscious in a pool of her own blood: Princess Luna, freed from the Nightmare's dark powers and now small and light-blue, but now threatened by the jaws of death. Her body still bore the countless gashes, cuts, and bruises from her beating from both Nightmare and Dragon, some very old and some brand new, and her horn was no more than a broken jagged stump. With a soft growl, the dragon stepped away from the six ponies and approached the fallen alicorn, looking down with a somber expression.

"What do we do...?" Twilight asked.

Spyro glanced her way. "Do you ponies have healing spells of any kind?"

The lavender unicorn blinked, suddenly looking very nervous. "W-Well...y-yes, yes we do...but even Level 5 healing spells only mend broken bones at best, and they're only suppose to be a temporary fix!" She explained. "Even with my magical knowledge, I doubt I have the magic to heal this."

"What if you had a stronger magic?" With those words, he lifted his paw and began channeling a familiar rainbow energy. "I still have a little left over from the fight." He said, looking back down at Luna. "Maybe it can help."

Twilight squeaked in alarm, eyes widening. Did he have any idea what was he asking?! Sure, there were Level 5 healing spells that could restore lost limbs, and Twilight knew how to weave and cast them, but to manually weave outside mana into a spell while it was being cast on a person?! That was ten whole levels of crazy and dangerous!

If Princess Celestia knew that she had done something so reckless...to her own sister, no less!

But before she could object, Spyro gently placed his hand over the injured pony's chest, and a soft twinkle of magic resonating through the air as the rainbow light flowed down his arm and into her body. Twilight gave a surprised yelp before reaching out with own magic, putting her mind into weaving the elements into a healing spell; the sheer magical level of the rainbow energy was almost as strong as Spyro's, and she felt her horn vibrate from its power.

Yet despite her worries, and before the amazed ponies' eyes, the princess of the night began to glow with the magic of the elements; slowly but surely, the mana washed over her form in waves of colors, and her injuries began to disappear: her cuts and gashes sealed shut, while her bruises cleared up and vanished, leaving her skin and coat once again flawless...almost. The largest scars remained, faded and shrunk by the healing magic, but still would remain as permanent reminders of this time. Then the dragon focused the energy toward her horn; this would be the hardest to restore, as it meant replacing lost bone and tissue rather than simply mending it. Twilight felt the sweat run down her brow as she focused her all into a spell, her horn glowing pure white from how much mana she was using.

Her eyes clenched shut, her teeth grinding together in a pained grimace, and her mind worked overtime to keep the magic working in a spell. One false move, and the sheer mana expulsion would tear the princess' body in-

"It's done."

Wait, what?

Twilight did a double-take, her horn snuffing out on its own accord, when she saw that her spell had indeed been a success: Princess Luna's horn had been completely restored, the break only visible where the old faded keratin gave way to the new fresh keratin. Spyro nodded in approval, and began to pull his paw back...only for Princess Luna to awaken and grab hold, desperately clinging to the paw with a forehoof.

"The sun..." She whispered weakly to the dragon, her voice scratchy and dry. "...is the sun free?"

Spyro stared at the princess for a moment before looking up to the distant horizon; the sun was already beginning to peek out from behind the horizon, bathing his purple scales in an almost flame-like glimmer, and to all the ponies around him, he appeared to be glowing with a fiery light.

He smiled a dragon-ish smile at the sight, his eyes gleaming with a warm light of their own. "Yeah." He told her. "It's free."

At his word, the blue alicorn seem to melt against the ground, a smile of pure relief spreading across her face as her tired eyes became wet with tears. "Free..." She repeated quietly, resting her head against the ground as her eyes closed, tears running down her cheeks. "...free..."

"Is she going to be okay?" Fluttershy asked.

Applejack trotted over next to Spyro, giving the unconscious princess a look over. "Yeah, I reck'n she'll be just fine." She assured the pegasus, running a hoof over the spots where her injuries were. "Though to be sure, we best git her to a doctor to give her a more thorough check-up. Spells or not, that was one heck of a beatin' she took."

"You have no idea." Twilight confirmed, watching them with a forlorn look, "And I don't mean Spyro either: ever since her first defeat, she's been fighting to keep the Nightmare contained, even as it keep attacking her over and over again. She endured it's beatings and torture for a thousand years, all in the name of keeping us ponies safe. This has to be the first time since in ten centuries that she's actually been able to rest." She smiled. "I'm just glad it's all finally over."

"Don't be so sure, Twilight Sparkle."

It was then, when the sun finally climbed over the horizon to take its rightful place in the sky, did the pony responsible for its light finally appear in its rays, stepping out onto the grassy plateu: Princess Celestia, alicorn of the sun. Though the rest of the ponies bowed in respect, Twilight was far too relieved to see her teacher again, and leapt forth into her warm embrace.

Spyro's reptilian eyes narrowed dangerously. "So, Equestria's 'brilliant' princess finally crawls out of hiding." He stated, voice dripping with accusing venom. "You're sense of timing is almost as bad as your planning skills."

A loose strand of Twilight's mane shot up with a 'Sproing!' "Oh Faust, please no..." She whimpered under her breath.

Celestia's own eyes narrowed just as dangerously, meeting the gaze of what had to be the first Artisan Dragon she had seen since she was a foal, during the Great Cataclysm. "So you're the reason I lost track of Twilight and the others." She said calmly as she approached, though her voice was as cold as ice. "I expect you're the one who forced my sister to drain herself of her magic."

"I believe you mean to say: 'Thank You'," Spyro responded, stepping away to allow her to move to Luna. "Arrogant of mind and of heart? And I thought the Nightmare was a bitch."

Twilight didn't say anything, for she had fainted dead away.

Celestia, meanwhile, kept her stony gaze upon the dragon in front of her. The area fell silent, not a single pony daring to speak. All eyes were now glued on the sun princess, some shocked and some terrified as they waited for her response. Seconds passed by like minutes as the silence hung in the air. Then the stone broke away, and she lowered her gaze in humble submission.

"I do not approve of your methods, dragon." She said calmly, her eyes soft and even warm. "But not only did you protect my little ponies during their journey to the ruins, but you also freed my sister from her curse and destroyed one of the monsters that took her from me. And for that...I thank you. Truly and humbly."

Spyro stared at the white alicorn for a few more tense seconds, but in the end simply nodded back in respect, a soft grumbling croon bubbling from his throat.

Celestia then used her magic to lift her unconscious sister onto her back, resting her between her wings; as she looked on her sister, for the first time that night, her calm stoic mask cracked, revealing a storm of emotions underneath: guilt, sorrow, relief, joy, happiness, and many more.

"I will take my sister back to Canterlot, and see to it that she gets the medical attention she needs." She told the ponies; she then leaned her head down to Twilight, who had been fanned awake by Rarity's handkerchief. "I want you and your new friends to return to Ponyville and wait for my return."

"What about Spyro?" Pinkie asked. "He's got a 'Welcome to Equestria!' and 'Thanks for saving our Cutie Marked Butts!' party coming his way!"

Celestia looked back at Spyro, who had taken a moment to gnaw at an itch on his wing. "Do you wish to return to us to Ponyville? I'll see to it you are welcomed and rewarded for your efforts." She offered.

Spyro stopped preening his wing and folded it back against his sides, glancing over to the gathered ponies. "I have things I need to do first." He told them. He the shifting his body around, tail whipping out straight behind him. "I left my friends behind when I came here, and I need to go find them and tell them how to get here when they're ready."

The alicorn nearly choked on her own tongue at those words. "Wait, there's more of you-?!" But it was too late; with a snap of his wings, the dragon leapt into the air and took off into the sky. Celestia watched the dragon grow smaller and smaller as he flew to the south-west horizon, no doubt returning to the surviving World Gate...and when he returned, there would be more of his kind and his world with him.

She wasn't sure if she liked that thought.

"Things are taking a turn in a completely different direction; only time will tell if it's for the best or the worst." She turned to her student, who still had a foreleg raised to shield her face from the wind the dragon's wings kicked up. "If he returns to Ponyville, notify me immediately, and then keep an eye on him until I decide what to do."

Twilight frowned at the princess's voice; it sounded so cold and non-trusting...that wasn't like Celestia at all. But orders were orders, so he nodded in acceptance and turned her gaze to where Spyro had disappeared off to...

...and the world felt a little darker already.

With a final flap of his wings, Spyro finally flew out of the edge of the Everfree Forest and landed in the open plains in a quick bound. His paws touched down on grassy ground as he finally got the chance to spread his wings and stretch his spine to full length.

A deep thrum of satisfaction rumbled from his throat as he stretched his body and wings out like a cat or dog would when waking up, his joints cracking their kinks loose...finally; he thought he was never going to see the end of that wretched forest! It was good to finally feel the sun on his scales, and to finally stretch his wings out! For the first time since arriving here, he realized. Already he could feel the heat of morning seeping into the membrane of his wings, flowing through his veins into his already toasty body.

As he warmed himself, he lifted his head up to take in the surroundings of this new world. With the forest behind him, the open plains and grassy hills rolled on for miles, covering the landscape in a warm green and a rainbow of colorful flowers; It held a sort of calm innocence and joy that the young dragon could appreciate, but at the same time the male in him couldn't help but feel a little queasy at the sight. Would it kill this world to add some darker colors and rougher edges?

Spyro looked back the way he came, spotting something in the distant mountains that caught his interest: on the side of one mountain was what he first mistook for a large castle, but the sheer size, number of towers, and expansion along the edges of the mountain's cliff-side revealed it to be a city...a large, gaudy, and overly-proud and pompous city, every bit as overly clean and 'pure' as the world beneath it. He could literally smell the stink of pride, greed, and delusional power poisoning the very air for over a hundred miles, even far out here.

That must've been the capital city of Canterlot that Twilight told him about.

His eyes narrowed into a dark, almost sadistic glare as his lips curled back with an deep, predatory growl...one that purred with anticipation.

So big...so wealthy...so glorious...

He would enjoy burning it to the ground...and for a city on the side of a mountain, that would be a long way down...

...speaking of burning things to the ground.

"You better have a damn good explanation for being here." He growled, turning his gaze to the forest. "And even then I might find myself unmoved."

The bushes near the edge of the Everfree Forest rustled softly, and out from them stepped the same gray filly with the orange mane/tail he had seen at the river; in the shadows of the trees, from which she stayed standing in, her eyes glowed the same eerie yellow as before, though even their glow couldn't hide the look of surprise in them...and in the light of the morning sun, one could see that her body was transparent, the vegetation behind her clearly visible through what was once flesh.

"You can see me?" She asked in a voice that echoed along the wind, almost musical in quality, but as hollow and lifeless as her expression.

"Yes, I can." Spyro growled, standing up and turning around to face her, eyes burning with a judgemental fire that held no pity. "Now, tell me...spectre...what business does the dead have to remain in the land of the living?"

7. Village of the Damned

CHAPTER 2: VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED

If there was one thing Spyro had zero tolerance for, it was the dead that wouldn't pass on.

As a dragon, Spyro was born and raised into a culture that revered life as a sacred force; at one point of their history, one of their greatest had gone as far as to master the art of reviving the dead of their kind using the legendary Thu'um, which could restore a fallen dragon to true life. Not as a reanimated corpse...not as a reincarnated newborn...not as a patch-work Frankenstein...but to fully and truly revive the dead: to restore them to life and let them continue living. This was thanks to the nature of Dragon Souls, which were immortal and powerful enough to be weaved back into living flesh, however the only dragon who had mastered this shout had been slain eons ago, and the shout had been lost to time.

Still, as a result of its existence, dragons understood just how sacred life was; their kind had once stared into the other side of the world and learned the true difference between life and death, and what it meant to bridge the gap between both realms.

Thus any form of undead or any lesser attempt to create artificial life was considered a blasphemous disgrace to life itself. It was a violation of the most sacred of forces, and no amount of purpose of grief was enough to justify making a bastardized mockery of it. There was a reason Spyro sought to wipe out as many undead as he could whenever he encountered them; zombies and skeletons would fall to his flames in the hundreds, while any ghost he encountered would quickly learn what it meant to feel fear of the dead.

So it was understandable he refused to feel anything for the ghost of this little filly he was currently glaring down, regardless of how old she must've been when she had died. Was it a pity that a child had died? Of course, but nothing justified soiling the land of the living with her undead aura by refusing to pass on.

It was also the first time that he was able to get a good enough look at the filly to really see what she was: her tail and mane were styled in a way that was similar to Twilight's, although not entirely identical. Her coat was a pale shade of gray while her mane and tail were vibrant shades of yellow and orange, each patterned in vertical stripes. Her colors reminded up of candy corn, which only made his hungry stomach rumble even more. Apart from being semi-transparent, another giveaway to her undead nature were her eyes: the pupil and iris of each eye were identical shades of yellow, glowing with a ghostly yellow light.

"Now, tell me: what business does the dead have to remain in the land of the living?" He asked the filly, fire crackling in the back of his throat as he spike. "The fact that you've left your physical body yet haven't passed on tells me that something is prompting you to stay bound to the earth. A petty emotional reason, I'm sure, but that's what I've come to expect from you mortals by now."

The filly's face remained completely emotionless, but even then the dragon saw a small prick of emotion in her eyes.

"I can't move on." She said, plain and simple.

"Of course you 'can't'." Spyro growled, not at all phased by the ghost's hollow spectral voice, turning away and pacing the forest's edge. "So, what is it for you? Vengeance against a murderer? A final message to a loved one? A lost belonging you refuse to leave behind? I highly doubt you're a damned soul on the run from judgement, given your eyes glow yellow, but that just make the fact you're still here even more infuriating...you do realize I'm only asking out of jest; I have yet to hear a reason not to force you into the afterlife myself."

"You don't understand." She said calmly, visibly un-phased by the thinly-veiled threat. "I can't move on."

"BULLSHIT AND YOU KNOW IT!"

The sheer volume of his roar had the very trees for miles shaking as if from an earthquake; birds and bats scattered from the canopy in the hundreds, shrieking and squawking in panic.

"You are dead, filly! DEAD! Your continuing existence is a disgrace to what it means to be alive! Fully and truly alive!" He snarled, eyes blazing with power that made the dead filly take a step back. "You think you're the first soul who didn't want to ascend? The first who had unfinished business on the mortal plane? Every single mortal in the universe will face death eventually, and no matter what they are bound by Universal Law to leave the land of the living, for they no longer have a place in it."

He stepped back, closing his eyes to calm himself. When he spoke again, it was in a calm yet dark tone, his glare never leaving her gaze.

"Every second you spend in this realm is a second you spend breaking the very law of the universe itself; the laws that control the very forces of existence. Laws that even gods are bound to." He told her, unflinching and without pity. "And you risk angering powers that you can't even begin to comprehend. So I will ask you one last time..." He lowered his head to where his face was mere feet away from hers, eyes locking. "Why are you still here?"

The filly stared at him in silence, those few tense seconds feeling like miniature eternities. Then, without a word, she turned around and began walking back into the forest. Spyro was just about to outright explode with rage when she stopped and looked back, staring at him expectantly.

The message was clear: Follow Me.

Spyro was not a happy dragon.

Not a happy dragon at all.

He stormed through the Everfree in a mood, thoroughly fed up with this accursed forest; tiny lifeforms of this world's native fauna (and maybe flora) scrambled to get out of his path, his paws slamming into the earth with more force than necessary. The sun had long risen above the mountains and into the sky, though it would still be climbing for a few more hours; his stomach was growling for food, and his feet were sore from all the walking he was being forced to do, his wings bound to his sides thanks to these damn trees.

All around him, the forest slowly began to awaken; birds chirping in the trees, frogs croaking from distant water sources, and insect sounds coming from all around them. Though they were mostly distant sounds; those of creatures nearby quickly fell silent as he passed, then started up again when he was a good distance away from them.

The dragon grunted in satisfaction; at least the nature of this world knew to respect its new alpha...

...or perhaps they were all naturally fearful of his ghostly guide, who continued on without a word or sound; even her footfalls made no sound, and left no footprints. Made sense; animals had a sixth sense to avoid unnatural dangers, and nothing was more unnatural than the walking dead.

This was not how he wanted to spend the first day of his new adventure. First days usually dealt with introductions to a new land, new friends explaining who was the bad guy and telling him how to begin the quest, and maybe gathering local treasure to pay Moneybags so he could continue to the first world gate; hell, he already had plans to head back to the first World Gate to find the others and bring them back to...Pony Town, was it? Instead, after dealing with a 'mini-boss' straight from the start, he was immediately following after a ghost and preparing to deal matters of the other side, all in the same morning!

He really regretted not taking Celestia's offer to head back to pony town with Twilight and her friends. Hell, Pinkie was making talk about a party! A party! To celebrate the return of a lost princess; that meant it was going to be of a grand scale! Food, drink, music, and women! ...Actually, forget the women; he had seen what female ponies had to offer, and it was more than a little disappointing. Still, he was hungry before the fight! Maybe if he was lucky, he could make it back in time for the party, if only to get some food if nothing else...

His next step landed on dirt, and the dragon found himself stepping out of the trees and onto a dirt path that led into the forest. He caught sight of hoofprints in the dirt and realize he was back on the path that Twilight and her friends had used to traverse the Everfree before he arrived (he could tell it was before; there was a distinct lack of his own dragon footprints near theirs).

He and the ghost continued down this path, and he was beginning to think he was being lead back to the ruins, when they reached the groove where the Nightmare had cursed the trees (now sporting a huge, smoking hole in the middle), when the filly suddenly turned to the left and pushed her way through the bushes, revealing a hidden path that led deeper into the denser part of the forest.

Spyro cocked an eye-ridge; he hadn't seen that before. Then again, he was airborne when the mares had entered this part of the forest, so anything under the canopy would've been missed.

But that was something to contemplate later, and he pushed his way through the undergrowth and stepped out onto the new path.

Almost immediately he realized something was wrong, for when he stepped out onto the muddy ground he heard nothing...no birds, no frogs, no insects...nothing. Not even the wind through the trees. Everything was too quiet and still, like death. He could also feel something off in the forest around him; the essence of mana and life-force in the trees and plants around him...it felt...stagnant. There was no flow of magic through the earth and through the branches. He couldn't taste or feel the presence of aura in any of them...or of...

...THAT UNDEAD BRAT!

The dragon gave an angry roar and slammed his tail on the ground, sending an earthquake booming through the forest. The ghost filly had completely vanished from his senses; he couldn't see or feel her anywhere nearby, no matter how hard he focused! She was gone! Disappeared out of his range! When he caught up to that little sneak, he was going to exorcise her so hard she would be running laps around the afterlife for centuries!

But she had led him to where he needed to go. Pheh, leave it to ghosts to be all silent and cryptic...

He walked along the new path for a few minutes, his entire body tense and his mind on edge; this whole area had a bad aura about it, and he could feel something was very wrong. Like the very forest itself didn't want anyone coming this way, and did its best to drive off any would-be adventurers. But Spyro was not phased by mere tricks and bad vibes. He would get to the bottom of this, and see to it that whatever was the source of this filly's haunting was dealt with, one way or another.

And it looks like he would find the source of it soon enough, for further ahead he spotted the light of day shining through the trees at the end of the path. Eyes gleaming with determination, he trudged forward and made his way to the light.

The dragon stepped out of the trees and into the open to find himself on the edge of a small village, located in the large clearing in the forest, surrounded on all sizes by a thick wall of trees and plants. The village itself was very small, with only eight visible straw-roofed buildings in total and a few scattered gardens of vegetables, all connected by a single dirt street that circled the entire area; the main population was that of ponies, obviously, but he only spotted five scattered about. They appeared to be celebrating a party of their own, the entire town decorated in lights, streamers, and banners, along with tables set out with food and drink.

He only took a few steps forward into the village's entrance when one of the ponies approached him, grinning brightly, and wasting no time in greeting Spyro.

"Hi there, stranger! Greetings and welcome to Sunny Town!" He said with a smile that didn't quite look right; he then gave Spyro a look over. "Well, look at you! We've never had a dragon visit our little town before!" He then stepped back, holding out a hoof. "Gray Hoof at your service. Celebration planner extraordinaire!"

Spyro, however, remained silent and still as he studied this strange stallion. He certainly lived up to his name; his coat was completely grey in color, brightening into light grey down his legs, while his mane and tail were almost pitch-black. His eyes were an icy shade of blue, and there was something about the look in them that kept the dragon on edge. And finally the mark on his flank was...

...wait a minute, where was his mark?

Every pony Spyro had seen up until that moment had a brand-like symbol on their flanks, each differing between ponies...but Gray Hoof had none, his flanks being just...blank. He looked among the other ponies gathered in the party area and saw the same: every single one had blank flanks as well, not a mark to be seen.

Something about this lack of marks was making his instincts sound alarm bells in his head.

Gray Hoof's smiled faded when he noticed how quiet his new guest was being. "Is something wrong?" He asked.

Spyro blinked, jerked out of his train of thought. "Huh? Oh, it's nothing." He quickly lied, thinking up an alibi on the spot. "I'm just surprised to find a town of ponies this far out in the Everfree; you ponies never struck me as the 'living in danger' sort."

The stallion's smile returned with a understanding laugh. "Ah, we get that from everyone who comes through here." He stated, waving a hoof over the town. "You see, our town was founded during the age of Unicorn Dominance, and our ancestors were earth pony slaves who had escaped their masters, and so they fled into the Everfree to hide from them. After that, they just never left and built the town you see before you."

"I see..." The dragon stated. "The name's Spyro, by the way."

"Well, it's good to have you with us, Spyro." Gray Hoof said with that unsettling smile. "You've arrived just in time actually, the party just started! Feel free to help yourself to anything, make yourself right at home."

"A special occasion?" Spyro asked.

"Why yes! Today we're celebrating the town's founding anniversary, the most important holiday of our town!" The pony told him. "You're more than welcome to join us; Have some food, some drink, and enjoy yourself!"

Spyro nodded. "I will, thanks." He said before stepping forward; Gray Hoof nodded in approval himself before turning away to tend to some nearby lamps.

As he followed the road through the buildings, he studied the few other ponies he could see. There was a stallion had a faded yellowish orange coat with a cobalt shade of blue for his mane and tail, looking longingly at the mare with a snow-white coat and a mane and tail of a scarlet-orange hue. Further in town he spotted two more ponies; one was a stallion with a brownish green coat and a faded orange mane and tail, and the other was a mare with a leafy green coat, her mane and tail an even deeper shade of green. And just like Gray Hoof, all these ponies had blank flanks, not a mark to be seen.

And yet, despite all the warm smiles, bright colors, and pleasant personalities around him...Spyro found himself on edge, unable to relax. This little town seemed nice enough, but there was something about it...something he couldn't see or hear...but could definitely feel. There was a strange cold in the air, like the chill of a dark night, despite it being morning; it was clearly magical in nature, radiating off every building, object, and pony around him. There was something about this town that said 'you shouldn't be here', and his flight-or-fight instincts were on full-throttle, ready to leap into action.

Making his way to one of the table, he took notice of the white mare with the orange mane; she was looking off toward one of the houses with a longing expression; her orange mane shadowing her white face and giving her a mournful appearance.

"He hasn't said a word to me all night…" the pony sighed, looking longingly to the side; Spyro followed her gaze until he caught sight of the yellow/orange stallion with the blue mane. His snout wrinkled in knowing disgust; he knew that look, and the emotions behind it never failed to make him queasy.

"If you desire him, then just tell him so." He stated bluntly.

The mare looked up at him in shock. "Oh, no no no! It wouldn't be proper." The mare responded with a hint of distress in her voice, almost as if doing that would break some law.

The dragon could only groan with a roll of his eyes; why did mortals always have to make such a big deal out of the emotional mess that they called love? If you found someone attractive, you should just say so and get it out of the way; their answer would be the same no matter how long you waited before speaking. No one gained anything from all the fuss of the waiting, etiquette, traditions, and emotions that was the mortal's version of a mating courtship. So much trouble for something that shouldn't be trouble...

Normally, he would've ignored it and moved on, but instead he decided to fix it for them and get it out of the way; something to do to keep his mind distracted from the bad vibes this hamlet was sending him. So he left the white mare and approached the yellow stallion, who looked up at him in confusion.

"So, what's your name and what's the problem between you two?" He asked with the bluntness of a rusty hammer.

The pony looked surprised at the sudden bluntness of the question, but answered all the same. "My name is Roneo, and…well…see that mare over there?" He pointed a hoof toward the white pony. "Her name is Starlet, and I was planning to give her a gift tonight, but somehow I lost it! Now it's somewhere in the town and I won't be able to..."

"What was the gift?" Spyro asked, interrupting his trip of self-pity.

Roneo blinked, once again surprised by the forward bluntness of the dragon's questions. "I-It was a gem. Red; I think a ruby, maybe? I found it back when-"

The rest was lost to the wind, for Spyro had already turned away and began heading into town. The goal was obvious enough: find the shiny gemstone so the male could work up the courage to act and give it to the female. Classic mortal courtship tactic.

Well, this should be simple enough: dragons were experts when it came to finding and gathering gemstones and precious metals; they could spot a valuable fem from over six-thousand feet! He scanned the area with a sharp gaze, his dragon's eyes working full-throttle, all six optic nerves viewing lightwaves and colors on multiple levels that mortals couldn't even begin to comprehen-THERE!

The cluster of bushes behind the far building did a pathetic job hiding the glinting surface of a palm-sized ruby from the dragon's sight, and before one could count to three, he had made his way over and scooped up the gem with his claws, tearing out a few branches of the bushes in the process.

Mission accomplished...still...the way the ruby was lying underneath the bush was...odd. Had he had dropped the ruby in the bush, it would've gotten stuck in the branches and never made it to the ground, and even then it would been crooked and offset. But instead, it was lying perfectly flat on the ground, with no bent branches of folded leaves to say it had fallen through. Also, it was set in a very odd place: far on the edge of town directly behind a building set on the edge of the forest. Why on earth would someone be messing around in a out of the place like this that had nothing but overgrown vegetation with a giant ruby on their person (especially for a race that didn't have the appendages or magic to hold something like this)?

If was as if someone purposely hidden it back there...

"Oh my goodness, you found it! You found my gem!" Roneo exclaimed with joy as Spyro returned, the stallion leaping to his hooves as he spotted the ruby clutched between the dragon's fingers.

"Here." Spyro stated, simply tossing the gemstone in front of the pony's hooves. "There's no excuses holding you back now; get to the swooning and face-sucking already."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Roneo praised the dragon, completely ignoring the jab at his feelings; he then grabbed the gemstone in his mouth and galloped over to Starlet immediately; the white mare looked overjoyed just to be in the stallion's presence. Spyro grimaced as the shout of joy she gave at the sight of the present tore at his sensitive ears, even from a distance. The pair crossed their necks against one another, embracing in what he guessed was a pony's version of a hug, nuzzling and even peppering each other with kisses.

Spyro could only look away, grimacing in disgust. Why did he even bother getting involved again, knowing this was going to happen?

He was seriously just considering leaving when a new sound reached his ears, one he didn't expect to hear in this town of over-the-top smiles and cheer: sobbing. Heart-broken and guilt-ridden sobbing, coming from the same building Roneo had just been standing in the doorway of.

Well then. Perhaps he was finally onto something...now, to actually get in the building whose door was too small for a dragon.

The dimly-lit and dust-covered state of the warehouse matched the mood of its single inhabitant: an earth pony mare, lying on the ground with her head resting on her forelegs. Her mane and tail were crimson red; both were fairly long as it extended past her shoulders, styled in a wild yet attractive manner. Her coat was almost the same shade as Gray Hoof's and, like all the other ponies of the town, she lacked a cutie mark. However, she stood out from the others: unlike the other ponies outside, who were over-the-top happy and friendly, this mare looked absolutely miserable, her rusty-red eyes swollen and wet from countless tears.

Mitta must've heard Starlet's cry of joy over a million times by now, over all the centuries she had lived. The same cry of happiness and acceptance, as Roneo confessed his love to her, the same day over and over and over for who knows how many years. And yet, no matter how many times she had been forced to hear it, it never got any easier to bear, as it tore into her heart again and again, bringing forth a fresh new wave of tears.

But that was the nature of their state of being, wasn't it? The fate that they had brought upon themselves so long ago.

A fate they all deserved.

"I had a feeling something was up." A voice she had never heard before spoke up. "Everyone outside was too pleasant."

She was on her hooves in an instant, bristling with tearful rage. "GO AWAY!" She screamed angrily. "GET OUT AND LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"Not until I get some answers." The voice spoke again, this time with a crackling rasp like fire. "And so far you're the only one in this town that's willing to acknowledge what's going on."

She blinked, a cold realization entering her mind and gripping her heart. "You don't sound like anypony from outside." She whispered, voice full of dread.

"That's because I'm not from this town, nor am I a pony."

The large crates stacked around her shifted, their heavy mass creaking along the floor, and from between the cracks slithered in what had to be the most peculiar-looking serpent Mitta had ever seen. It was big, easily twice as long as she was, so she first assumed it was a python, but the viper-shaped head with tiny dragon horns said otherwise, as did the purple and yellow scales. A trail of dorsal fins ran down its length, starting at its forehead and ending at a small blade-like rattle at the end of its tail. It looked like a tiny dragon snake, and its eyes held an sharp intelligence that was not found in normal animals.

"What...what are you?" She whispered, backing away instinctively (though there was no real reason for that; it wasn't thought it could harm her in her state...or so she thought).

The serpent coiled around and lifted its head like a cobra, until his gaze was level with hers. "My name is Spyro, and I come seeking answers." It spoke in that same crackling voice as before. "I was brought to this village to find the reason of a ghost's haunting, and I'm not leaving until I get what I want."

"You…followed somepony...?" Mitta trailed off, a strange look on her face. She sat there in silence for a moment, her eyes scanning the snake up and down; her eyes narrowed dangerously. "...Who exactly did you follow here?"

"The ghost of a grey filly with a orange and yellow mane, mark of a magnifying glass on her flank." The reptile stated; he then gave her a quick look-over himself, and his own eyes gleamed with understanding. "...a relative of yours, wasn't she?"

The change struck the mare as if it was lightning: the suspicious glare turned into a wide-eyed look of horror and despair, and with a soft thump she crumpled, legs quivering as her shoulders shrank forward: in one fluid motion she collapsed back onto the floor in a torrent of sobs, outright wailing in sorrow. "It's not fair!" She cried between sobs. "It's just not fair!"

"What isn't?" Spyro asked.

"All of this!" Mitta cried, waving a hoof over the dusty building around her. "The same thing happening again and again and again! To suffer pain of death without giving in to its sweet release! It never ends!" She continued to lie there and cry, covering her face with her fore-hooves. And the while Spyro started at her motionless, minus the occasional flicking of his tongue, and a thoughtful look on his face. She noticed the look he was giving her, and she glared at the dragon with a hateful look. "Are you sure you need answers, or are you only here to add to my suffering?" She asked.

"I'm here because your sister cannot pass on without you, and thus is putting her soul in danger." Spyro snapped.

Mitta's sobs stopped immediately, and she looked up in shock and fear. "What do you mean by that?!" She demanded. "Ruby is dead! There's nothing more that can happen to her that hasn't already!"

"Death is not always the sweet release or escape you mortals believe it as." The transformed dragon told her. "There are forces that control and judge those who pass through it to the other side, and await every mortal's turn when they're time comes. Your sister's soul remains bound to this earth, and every second she spends in the living plane is a second longer she spends defying those forces and risk provoking their wrath. And if that happens, then her first death will be mere child's play compared to the punishment they will have in store for her."

He slithered closer to the earth pony, glaring her directly in the eye. "If you wish for a happy eternity for your sibling in the next life, then you will tell me everything you know about her death so that she can pass on in peace At least give Ruby that much."

Mitta stared at this...'snake' in wide-eyed silence, a hushed awe filling the hollowness of her chest where her soul once resided. This was no ordinary serpent; that much was quite obvious by this point. The fiery yet calm strength in his voice...the sheer power radiating in his presence...and the blazing determination in his eyes. She looked into those eyes, saw the sheer strength of his resolve in them, and for the first time in many centuries, she felt something she hadn't dare try to feel.

Hope.

"...I...I can't tell you about it myself." She finally said, lowering her gaze. "...but if you want answers, there's a house located on the north-western edge of the clearing, far out of the way of the rest of the town." She reached behind herself and presented Spyro with a gift; a rusty-old crank handle. "You'll find your answers there."

Spyro wordlessly took the handle in his mouth, nodded his thanks, and slid back between the gaps in the crates.

"But a word of advice," Mitta called out to him just before he disappeared. "You do not want to be in this town when the lights go out." She lowered her gaze, tucking in on herself as she rested her head on her legs. "That's when the our crime comes out for all to see..."

The shadows of the trees engulfed Spyro as he followed the path into the woods; the glow from the town's lanterns illuminated the exit the fully-restored dragon had taken, but the rest of the thicket was dark. Only sparse illumination from the sun above managed to pierce the canopy in places. The dragon staked forward carefully, like a panther on the hunt, ready to jump into battle at a second's notice; soon the glow from the town had vanished behind the trees and the forest became shadows.

'When she said this building was out of the way of the village, she wasn't kidding." Spyro thought to himself, eyeing the trees around him in annoyance; he was truly and thoroughly fed up with this damnable forest. He could've been enjoying a victory celebration back in Pony Town, complete with food, friends, and fun. Instead, he was literally chasing ghosts through this putrid swamp of wild magics.

And that ghost was that of a filly...a child, by these ponies standards. That in itself only turned his annoyance to anger; what events that were her death were so horribly unforgivable that she couldn't leave? And how was 'Sunny Town' involved that it would be affected in such a manner?

Was she killed by the forest...or were these ponies responsible?

His brow furrowed into a dark glare; if they were, then no force or nature or magic that this village had would protect them from his wrath.

He finally reached the end of the trail, and stepped out into a smaller clearing; there, standing at the end of the dirt path, was a large log cabin with two windows in the front, on either side of a single wooden door. The building had clearly long been abandoned, and its condition showed it; the wood of the logs was worn, riddled with termite holes, and covered in moss. What few shards of glass that remained stuck to the aged window frames were covered in dust so thick and dirty it looked like dirt, the frames themselves boarded up from the inside. Next to the building sat an old well, whose crank was missing its lever.

But what caught Spyro's attention the most was an low, ominous red light that glowed out between the gaps in the window's boards. It looked almost like the glow of fire...but who was maintaining a fire in a place like this?

He stepped up to the front door and lowered his head down under the roof's edge, reaching a hand out to gingerly finger at the rusty old doorknob. It shook with a clank, but refused to turn.

Locked. Of course.

A glimmer of something shiny caught his attention, drawing it to the well. He stood up on his hind legs and lifted his head up high, it easily reaching over the height of the cabin, allowing him to look down into the well from his position. His telescopic dragon's vision zoomed in on what he realized was a rusty old key, sitting at the bottom of the shallow well. So, that's what the crank was for; to pull up the key and unlock the door.

...and since when did he ever unlock the door?

*BOOM!*

With a massive explosion of wood, stone, and glass, the entire front wall of the cabin blasted apart as two tons of dragon bone and muscle charged into it, horns first, with the force of a runaway freight train. He purred in satisfaction, pawing at his face to remove the dust, as what remained of the front of the building crumbled into giant piles of debris. The inside of the building shook from the impact, but nothing fell or broke...mainly because there was nothing at all.

The entirety of the cabin had been completely deserted and cleaned out, not a piece of furniture or decoration in sight, while the walls were bare and featureless, no other windows or paintings or anything to give them any life, and the floor was covered in a layer of dust so thick it felt like he was stepping on cotton. As he stepped through the opening he made, lowering his head to avoid hitting the ceiling, he couldn't see anything that stood out at all. The only thing in the room that stood out at all was a brick fireplace built into the far wall, its coals glowing an ominous red.

Well there was that mysterious light he had seen through the boards of the windows. But how were the coals still burning? This building hadn't been entered in decades, maybe more. Normal coals would've burned out long ago.

And what was that sitting amongst them? Logs? Or something el-

...no...

"Sweet Celestia...the m-mark! S-she has…she has the Mark!"

No...

"She is a threat to the ponies and this town! We can't let her spoil the party or infect any of the others!"

No...

"Think about the other fillies! Think about your families! Think about Starlet! They are all in danger of the curse if we don't go through with this, right here, right now! Now hand her over!"

NO...!

"MITTA, HEEEEELP MEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAGH! IT HURTS!"

NO!

"It is done. She will never ruin another party again."

"MURDERERS! YOU BUCKING MURDERERS! DAMN YOU! DAMN YOOUUUU!"

...so...that's what it is, then.

A dark silence had fallen over the forest, not a sound to be heard; Spyro sat there, still as a statue, as his gaze remained locked on the sight of what laid the fireplace, motionless among the coals: the skeleton of what was once the filly Ruby...murdered by the residents of Sunny Town.

"We were told those marks were an evil curse."

The dragon solemnly turned his gaze to the ghostly filly standing next to him, leaving no hoofprints in the dust, as she stared at her own remains as she spoke. "A long time ago, they came in a plague that covered everypony's body like sores, forcing them to do what they represented. Dozens of ponies died from exhaustion, while others died as their bodies collapsed. Gray Hoof's grandfather, the original mayor of Sunny Town, died when one part of his body went one way while the other went the opposite, tearing him in half. Since then, the survivors had feared the marks as a curse."

That explained the look in his eyes; one whose mind had been broken by the trauma of death.

The filly's face twisted with dread, showing emotion for the first time he had seen her. "I-I was always good at finding things; from finding lost gems, to finding friends for others O-One day, during the big party, I-I found a g-gem that Roeno lost, and t-t-then there was t-this light, and then the m-m-mark a-appeared o-o-on my f-f-flank, a-and-"

"Don't." Spyro told her, his voice clapping the silence, despite its low, somber tone. "You don't have to say anymore...I know how this story goes."

Ruby nodded, eyes full of gratitude. "After they did...t-that, the forest got really angry and cast a terrible magic upon Sunny Town and everypony in it." She turned her gaze to the path. "This town...it's cursed. By day, they're forced to live the same day of the party over and over again, but they look and act normal...until night, or when the lights go out. That's when their true punishment is shown: forced to spend all eternity as zombies, magically trapped in this forest, unable to feel anything but pain."

"And what of you, ghostly walker?" Spyro asked, turning his head to meet her gaze, for the first time in pity and understanding. "Does the curse keep you here too?"

"My sister Mitta tried to stop them, so the forest spared her." Ruby told him. "She is only bound by it because she allows herself to be; she blames herself for my death, so she allowed the curse to affect her." Her face turned sad, and a sad hollowness filled the cabin. "Now she's trapped here, taking blame for what those other ponies did, and we can't pass on until the curse is broken."

The dragon stared at her in silence, before turning back to the bones; gently, he reached out a paw and gingerly ran the tips of his claws against the smooth surface of the skull, being careful not to damage the bone, before covering the eye sockets with his fingers; it was as if he was respectfully closing the eyes of the dead, even as he lowered his own head in a respectful bow for the dead.

"I get it now." He said aloud.

Ruby blinked in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"My mission, the reason I came to Equestria...it's not completed yet." He explained, pulling his paw away from the fireplace. "At first I thought Nightmare Moon was the only one, and by defeating her my adventure would end. It was a really short and simple adventure, and that confused me: why call one of my strength for only one task...but now that I've seen this town, and the crimes that taints it, I've realized the truth. The Nightmare was only the first; there are going to be many more bad guys, threats, and other disasters for me to protect the ponies from; some will come in time and will be very scary, and some are already hiding in plain sight waiting for me to find them. Either way, with those element gems awakened, Equestria's era of peace is coming to a close."

The ghost remained silent, running these words through her head, before asking: "What are you going to do?"

And to that, Spyro gave her a playfully-confident grin. "Same thing I've done since I broke the spell over my father: save the day, of course."

"...do you think you could save me and Mitta too?"

The dragon gave pause, starting at her for a brief moment, before turning his gaze away. "On my own, no." He admitted. "I don't know how to break a curse other than destroying the ones cursed, but I have a friend who does." He stood up, his footsteps shaking the floor as he turned his body to face her. "I know you've suffered long and hard, and I wish I could help you right away...but there are more dangerous things coming than a cursed village; things I have to deal with to help many other ponies before I can help you and Mitta."

He lowered her head down to her eye level, his lower jaw almost touching the ground. "All I ask is that you two wait just a little while longer." He told her. "Can you do that for your sister?"

Ruby stared at him with glowing ghostly eyes, silence as the grave, until she nodded with a smile. "Yeah." She told him. "I can do that."

Spyro nodded, standing back up to full height. "I promise I will come back for you one day, and you and your sister will be free, before the powers on the other side get impatient..."

He then snapped his head toward the direction of Sunny Town, and like the rumble of thunder a dark growl erupted from his throat, pupils narrowing into vertically-thin silts in pools of blazing red fire.

"...but before that, retribution will finally be yours."

"GRAAAAAY HOOOOOOOOF!"

The sheer volume of the roar made the windows of Sunny Town's buildings rattle loud and dangerously; the trees shook and branches bent outwards as the sound-waves boomed through the hamlet, the very ground shaking from both the force of the dragon's roar and the slams of the dragon's footfalls as the beast in question stormed into the main opening, eyes blazing with bright crimson fire.

Gray Hoof felt a threatening weight press against his mentality, but forced it down as he turned to face the guest who was approaching him, oblivious to the trepidation in his fellow ponies and the sheer murderous rage burning in the dragon's eyes.

"Hi Spyro!" He said cheerfully, smiling innocently as the scales of Spyro's chest began to glow a dangerous orange. "How are you enjoying the part-?"

"Dur Bex Koraav."

It those three words, a pulse of power boomed across the town; the lanterns exploded in showers of sparks and glass, plunging the entire village into a darkness like nightfall, while Gray Hoof and his fellow ponies screamed in flesh-tearing agony as the shout forced them and their town into their true forms:

It was as if the town had been plunged several centuries forward in a single instant, having gone from a bright little community to the ruins of the dead in a flash: The buildings were in complete shambles, rotting and broken; few remained standing as time-withered skeletons of termite-eaten bark, while the others had collapsed in on themselves, nothing more than piles of dirt and moss covered lumber and trash. The crops had long withered away, and the ground was dry and lifeless, the grants and plants sickly and scattered. The rotten, insect-eaten remains of the party decorations hung like vines from the trees, while the food on the tables had long rotted away into blacken filth. It was truly, in all senses of the word, a ghost town.

But the town was nothing compared to the ponies bound to it.

To call them walking corpses would be generous; they were little more than skeletons at this points, rotten flesh and entrails hanging from their bones as they staggered clumsily about, greasy strands of hair and meat remaining of their manes and tails; their bones and flesh were solid black in color, and shimmered in the dark, as if they were covered in tar, but their dark forms were illuminated by the evil red glow emanating from their rib-cages, blazing up their throats and from their eyes, which were now twin balls of boiling red light.

"The Damned..." Spyro muttered under his breath, an angry horror filling his heart.

The 'Damned' that was Gray Hoof shook violently with rage before he screamed in absolute fury, his wail like the screech of a dozen banshees. "YoU fUcKiNg BaStAaAaAaAaArD!" He shrieked, eyes blindingly bright with anger. "YoU've RuInEd My PaRtY!"

"Do not speak to me about your worthless 'parties'!" Spyro growled, his voice booming like an earthquake and crackling with fire, his throat glowing a hot orange. "Do not even speak to me as a fellow Soul Bearer! You lost your right to call yourself one when you deemed your 'party' worth murdering an innocent child for!"

"SHUT UP!" Gray Hoof screamed as more Damned began to emerge from the ground; more than what Spyro had seen when he arrived. "That bitch had the mark! She would've killed us all if I didn't stop her!"

Spyro instinctively took to the sky, hovering out of reach of the cursed's dark touch. "SHE WAS A CHILD! A FOAL!" He roared.

"SHE RUINED MY PARTY!" Gray Hoof shrieked back.

"YOU MURDERED HER IN COLD BLOOD!"

"SHE RUINED MY PARTY!"

The dragon stared at him, wide-eyed with disbelief. "Are you serious right now?" He asked, the fire dying in his voice. "You have been damned to a living death for murder, and the only excuse you have is that she ruined your stupid party?! What the hell is wrong with you?!"

It was the word 'stupid' that finally snapped the final thread of what was Gray Hoof of Sunny Town's already fragile mentality.

"Stupid...?" He whispered, wide-eyed and starting into nothingness...as the red glow in his chest all but exploded with a roar of his own.

"STUPIIIIID?!" He screamed in absolute hatred and madness.

Spyro gave pause as he hovered in place. Not at his words, but at the sight of the other zombie ponies suddenly giving pause themselves, all eyes locking on the stallion now standing still and rigid as he wordlessly screaming his lungs out. Even as nothing but skulls, he could see the surprised uncertainty and even nervous fear flash across their faces.

"I AM THE GREATEST PARTY PLANNER IN ALL OF EQUESTRIA!" The skeletal monster that was once mortal bellowed in absolute hatred. "MY PARTIES ARE PERFECT! THEY ARE FIT FOR ROYALTY! THEY-!"

"They are nothing but a distraction of reality, aren't they?" Spyro asked as he landed on a nearby building, cutting him off mid-sentence. Gray Hoof snarled, body and expression twitching dangerously, but the dragon remained unfazed, glaring down in dark judgement. "I've seen your type before; too weak to handle the weight of reality, so they submerge themselves in distractions so they don't have to acknowledge it." He lifted his fingers to count them off. "Internet, Video Games, Movies, and so on. I've seen plenty of mortals that have become dependent on escapes to function in their lives, and that's fine...but you're a completely different case altogether! I bet you can't go more than a few hours without a party before your brain snaps and you go crazy!"

"SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!"

"Gray Hoof..." One of the cursed ponies, the one that once the mare that had a green coat and mane. "...Calm down; i-it's not that big a deal."

"DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO, YOU FILTHY BITCH!" He roared at her; she quickly cowed in fear, her bones rattling as she shook. "NO ONE TELLS ME WHAT TO DO! NOT YOU, NOT THIS LIZARD ("Hey!"), AND NOT THIS DAMN FOREST!"

"Oh, but we can." Spyro snarled, a sadistic sneer twisting his snout as he loomed over the damned ponies like the reaper himself, wings spread outwards. "You can deny it all you want, but denial cannot and will not change what is simply truth." He pointed an accusing claw at Gray Hoof, who looked ready to explode. "And truth says the marks are not evil, this curse is your punishment for murder, and that your precious parties are nothing more than a worthless distraction to enable the denial of watching your grandfather tear himself in half!"

"MY PARTIES ARE MY LIFE ITSELF!" The zombie's jaws looked ready to snap apart from how long he was screaming. "THEY ARE EVERYTHING TO ME, AND NOTHING ELSE MATTERS! NOTHIIIING!"

"...Even the lives of your fellow ponies?" He asked, suddenly calm and quiet. "Even the life of a child?"

The stallion gave the dragon the most hateful, wicked, and mentally-broken glare he had ever seen in his entire life.

"I WOULD BURN A THOUSAND FOALS TO DEATH IF IT MEANT SAVING JUST ONE OF MY PARTIES!"

...

Silence.

The echoes of Gray Hoof's final scream disappeared through the trees and died completely, leaving the area in complete silence. The stallion heaved for breath, wide-eyed and foaming at the mouth, until he let out a heavy yet hollow breath as he came down from his angry high, still twitching dangerously...until he blinked at the silence, and looked around himself...only to find terror staring back.

All the other cursed, Gladstone, Roeno, Three Leaf, Starlet, and all the others that had risen from the earth were staring at him as if seeing him in a new light. Some were glaring at him in hatred, while others only stared in gaping horror, as if he were a horrible monster.

Then Gladstone finally spoke. "You monster."

Gray Hoof smiled nervously as he backed away as the other damned approached him. "W-What's wrong, G-Gladstone? B-Buddy?" He asked in a shaky voice, only to bump into another group. "W-Why are y-y-you a-all looking at me l-like t-t-that?"

"You know why..." Three Leaf growled, eyes burning. "You don't care about our town, did you?!"

"You only wanted your dumb party!" Another mare cried. "You murdered Ruby, you sick fucker!"

"No! Nononono!" Gray Hoof yelped as the zombies circled him and began to slowly close in on him; dozens of glowing red sockets and jaws glared him down as they marched ever closer, dark forms moving like an army of shadowy demons. "I-I-I did i-it f-for the t-town! F-For the p-p-ponies! T-The m-mark is e-evil!"

"LIAR!" Roneo shouted. "You've always lied to us! You killed her just for your stupid party!"

"Mitta was right all along!" Starlet shouted, both in anger and sorrow. "We're monsters! We deserve this curse!"

"You killed Ruby! No, you made us do it for you! And now we're all damned because of you!"

"Damn you, Gray Hoof! Damn you to the fires of Tartarus!"

"I couldn't agree more."

A bright light of fire lit up the area, and the ponies returned to their normal forms in it, but they quickly took one look in the direction it was in and bolted for the trees, leaving the restored Gray hoof rigid once more, eyes widening as his mentality snapped again...only instead of unbridled anger, it was crippling terror.

He looked up at the looming, burning form of Spyro the Dragon, who glared down on him with eyes that had gone completely red themselves, while his spread wings blazed with the moth-like runes of dragon power. He stood there, completely quiet, not making a move or a sound, as if he had been turned to a giant statue of stone...until he wordlessly open his jaws...

...and Gray Hoof's entire word turned into FIRE.

*VOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM!*

The ponies had suffered long and terribly for their actions; the condition of their zombie forms was not merely of appearance. As Ruby had said, they spent every night of their cursed lives feeling nothing but pain, and that included the pain of the dead: every night they had to endure the flesh rotting from their bones, the icy wind blowing through their exposed ribs, the maggot and insects eating away at their insides, and the burning red of their own hearts. Every night for over five hundred years, unable to escape into the sweet release of death. Truly a fate to be feared.

None of it, not even five hundred years worth, even began to compare to the sheer burning agony that was being consumed by Dragon Fire.

The scream that erupted from the stallion's throat would haunt the other Sunnytowners for all their unlives, as the column of flame engulfed and reduced him to a skeleton on the spot...and that skeleton continued to scream the curse restored his flesh, only to get eaten away again by the flames; a never-ending cycle of eternally feeding the fire. He kicked and thrashed, rolling around on the ground and throwing himself in a mad, screaming panic, desperate to put out the flames, but the fire refused to give out, and all he could do was flop about like a dying fish, all the while shrieking in pain.

"Believe me, nothing would give me more pleasure than to end your life and send your soul to the abyss right here and now." Spyro growled as he stepped down from his perch, slinking around the thrashing screaming blaze that was Gray Hoof as we made his way back to the town entrance. "But since I can't, I will simply add to your curse. From this day forward, every time the lights are restored, you will endure the full wrath of my flames again and again, even in the light."

He glared down at the stallion, the boiling eyes of the damned meeting eyes that literally burned with their own fire. "You took pleasure in seeing her suffer in fire, didn't you?" He snarled in hate. "Then this is only poetic justice at its finest." The dragon then turned away from Gray Hoof. From the Village of the Damned that was named Sunnytown. From the frightened eyes of the dead that once again knew fear.

"This is not the last time we'll cross paths." He told them all, looking over his shoulder with eyes glowing bright. "I'll come back one day, and when I do I will break the curse, and then your souls will be freed." He turned away, gaze downcast, as the town was plunged once more into darkness. "I can only hope you all find redemption before then."

He then pushed his way through the trees and out of the town, disappearing back into the forest...but not before the cries of Gray Hoof reached his ears one last time.

"I HATE YOOOOU!" He roared, his voice the shriek of a thousand demons. "I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU! I'LL GET YOU FOR THIS! YOU HEAR ME?! EVEN IF I HAVE TO WAIT ANOTHER FIVE HUNDRED YEARS! I GET YOU ONE DAY AND DESTROY YOU AND ALL YOU LOVE, SPYRO THE DRAGOOOOON!"

Elora paced back and forth, gnawing on her finger as she paced nervously back and forth, worry clouding her face; the clip-clop of her hooves on volcanic stone echoed through the crater of Dragonthroat Mountain, thoroughly driving the rest of their companions to complete and utter annoyed frustration.

"Would you calm down?" Bianca moaned, too busy covering the bases of her ears to properly prepare her spellbooks. "Spyro's a dragon; he can take care of himself."

"I know, I know..." Elora said, though she didn't seem to pay attention. "But I can't help it! Spyro should've been back by now, telling us all about his big first victory." She stopped her pacing and threw a hand up to the sky. "But it's been almost half a day, now, and we haven't seen or heard back from him yet! Not that I'm a hundred percent sure about that, given the weird solar cycle of this world, what with it still being night when we came and suddenly jumping up into day..."

"Well, at least pace somewhere that doesn't make your hooves sound like sonic booms, please?" The rabbit asked, readjusting her book on her lap. "I'm trying to adjust my wand to this world's mana flow..." She lifted said wand up to the sky; it began to vibrate and glow a swirling mass of blue and gold. She blinked in confusion. "Huh...strange: this blue color wasn't here a few moments ago."

Both girls were interrupted as the portal's bubble-like barrier rippled, and soon Hunter stepped out into the volcano, completely clothed in his Avalarian garments and carrying a large sack of supplies over one shoulder, his trusty bow hoisted over the other by the string.

"Ah good, you're back." Elora sighed with relief, stepping forward as he set the sack down with a loud thump. "So, is anyone else coming?"

"Not for a while, no." Hunter huffed as he plopped himself down, wiping his brow with his wrist. "Shelia and the other Forgotten Worlders have their hands full dealing with the election debate in the papers. Master Eon is also dealing with his own problems: something about a prison breaking and some 'doom guys' getting out, but he promised to send some Skylanders to help once he got that under control, as a favor to Spyro for his help in the Cloudbreak Islands." He pulled his bow from his back, unwrapping it from his arm as he got to work adjusting the strings. "The Bandicoots are on their way, though; they'll be here in about a week."

"A Week?!" Elora squeaked indignantly.

The cheetah frowned at her. "Hey, give 'em a break; Wumpa Island is pretty far off, and they don't have World Gates to just jump over two hundred miles of ocean." He snapped.

"She's all worried about Spyro because he hasn't gotten back yet." Bianca stated flatly, not even bother to look up from her book.

Hunter, however, merely cocked an eyebrow and looked past Elora. "Isn't that him right now?"

Eyes widening in surprise, the faun spun around on the spot just in time to see the purple dot in the distant quickly grow into the purple dragon himself. She gave a truly relieved sigh and a grateful smile as Spyro swooped down into the chasm, landing gracefully on all fours...though her frown returned when she saw his face: downcast and quiet. A far cry from the usual proud excitement he was normally known for.

"Spyro?" She asked hesitantly. "Is something wrong?"

"Oh, hey Elora. Glad you could make it." Spyro said, stepping into the sheltered warmth of the cavern. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just had a run in with a few Damned before I got here."

All three of his friends tensed at his worlds, staring at him with wide eyes. "Damned?" Hunter asked. "In a world like this?"

"Yeah, weird I know." The dragon stated, scratching at the ground for a bit. He then perked up. "Buuuuut, I also manged to fulfill an ancient prophecy, rescue a long imprisoned princess from a shadow monster, and met six new partners to join us in our new quest to save Equestria from the realm of chaos."

Elora just stared at him in surprise and confusion.

Hunter scoffed a laugh. "Like we told you: never doubt the Hero's Itch."

"I will skin you into a rug." Bianca snarled between her teeth, eye twitching slightly.

"Oh! I also got us invited to a party!" He told them...before grimacing in what looked like physical pain.

"Are you okay?" Elora asked in alarm as he gagged.

He coughed, burping up a little pool of burning bile. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine." He shivered, shaking his body like a wet dog. "It's gonna be a while before I can say that word again...so, who wants to go eat cake?"

8. Life In Ponyville Shimmers - Part 1

CHAPTER 3: LIFE IN PONYVILLE SHIMMERS (OVER A FIRE) - PART 1

It was the light of the morning sun that aroused Derpy Hooves from her sleep, the sunlight falling directly over her closed eyes. She frowned, squeezing her eyes tightly in an attempt to hold onto her rapidly-fading muffin dream, but she soon lost the battle. She yawned widely while stretching before she slumped back into bed, a cross look adorning her face as she stared at the ceiling.

It had been blueberry muffins too...

Oh well, no use pouting over imaginary muffins; she had a job to get ready for.

She rolled over to roll out of bed, but once again misjudged the distance from the center of the bed to the edge; she rolled over too far and, with a squeal of surprise, fell out of bed with a soft *thud*, pulling down all the sheets on top of her. The silly-looking mass under the sheets kicked and struggled while murmuring muffled words of surprise before she finally poke her head out at the top of the pile, gasping comically for air. She giggled as she pulled herself out of the sheets, accidentally tripping over one and falling one again onto the floor.

"Whoops..." She giggled again as she gathered herself back up. Dusting herself off with her tail, she trotted merrily over to a mirror in her bedroom. She looked left, then right, and then back to the mirror; giggling like a little school filly, she makes a couple of funny faces in it, which were only made funnier by her silly-looking eyes; 'laugh and find joy in your own flaws and they won't be flaws anymore', her grandmother always told her...

...that way, when people laugh at you, it won't hurt as much.

Pushing aside those memories, Derpy continued her day; she quickly hopped into the bathroom, taking a quick shower and brushing her teeth...though she got the soap and toothpaste mixed up again, resulting in a nasty surprise. After rinsing the bubbles from her mouth, she reached down to the drawer with her brush, grabbing the handle with her mouth and pulling.

Nothing.

She pulled again, harder this time.

It wouldn't budge.

Scowling at the drawer and determined to open it, she steadied her footing and heaved; this time the drawer gave way, suddenly dislodged by the force of her yank. Derpy herself was sent flying backwards into the wall on the other side of her room, yanking the drawer out of its place in the process, the pegasus slamming up against the wall with a thud. Birds could be heard chirping merrily as she recovered from her tumble; shaking her head, her eyes focused for a brief moment to inspect the carnage that now surrounded her. The contents of the drawer had spilled all around, the brush she was looking for now laying at her hooves.

'Rats, not again...' She groaned mentally, sighing in frustration. 'I'll clean this up later; I don't have time now.'

After a quick brush of her mane, she trotted down the stairs to the kitchen; she grabbed a large brown bag from a nearby chair and went to the pantry, opening it up to find, in her opinion, the most beloved creation ever made by pony-kind.

Muffins.

There was just no mortal words that could describe them. Muffins were probably the most marvelous food ever created by pony chefs. So many different kinds and choices, beautiful explosions of flavor, yet with such humble and ordinary appearances. Muffins were truly a gift from Faust herself...but so little appreciation! Most ponies would take pies, cakes, or Pinkie's cupcakes over a good muffin any day! Honestly, ponies just don't know how to appreciate a good thing when they have one!

After she stuffed her bag full of muffins, she flew into the living room to fetch her professional mail-hat and mail-bag. To her surprise, she found them sitting on the couch just waiting for her to pick them up: a classic-looking mail-hat and a large brown bag full of letters and packages. Along with her things, there was also a note lying next to her hat, drawn out in the red crayon scribbles of a young filly; setting her muffin bag next to her mailbag, she picked up the note with her hooves and read it aloud.

Deer Mom

Alrudy at scholl

Dinky

Derpy smiled; it seemed like it was only yesterday she was just a baby filly with bright eyes and a wonderful little laugh...they grow up so fast, don't they? Oh well, it was good that Dinky could go to school on her own and still be safe during the day; it was tough earning enough money to feed yourself and your baby girl when you're only a mail-mare, who has to get up early to get to work and couldn't afford the time to take your kids to school. She was lucky enough to get that job to begin with, let alone keep it all this time, thanks to her...conditions.

Whistling a familiar tune to herself, the pegasus mare set the note aside and put on her mail cap; smiling proudly, she then reached for her mail bag...

...oh.

There were two brown bags on the couch. One has mail, the other has muffins. How to find out which one has which?

Mail...or Muffins?

Derpy stared intently at the two bags, trying to decide which one she was suppose to take. How on Equestria was she going to find out which bag had the mail in it?

*BONG...BONG...BONG...BONG...BONG...BONG...BONG...BONG!*

The bell tower struck eight: She was late for work! Just choose and go! Squeaking in surprise, the pegasus grabbed one of the bags and bolted through the front door, the breeze caused by her taking off sending a single letter floating out of the remaining bag...

Ah, Ponyville...the bestest best home in the world! She loved this town ever since she moved here with her own mommy back when she was a itty-bitty filly. Everypony here was always so nice, even when she messed up and broke things every now and then...except for Rainbow Dash, who always got crabby when she accidentally got the weather schedule wrong, or when she played with the fun thunderclouds. She couldn't help it though; thunderclouds were so much fun! Always going 'Zap!' and 'Boom!' whenever she bounced on them, even if things always went 'Kaboom!' if she bounced on them too close to tall things like buildings and trees.

But bouncing on thunderclouds would have to wait until after lunchtime; she had to do her job as a mailmare first! As a mailmare, it was her job, duty, and pride to make sure everypony in Ponyville got their mail delivered on time! As the saying goes: neither rain, snow, sleet or hail, would ever stop the pony mail!

...but...where were the ponies who needed their mail?

For that matter, where was anypony?

For as far as Derpy's crossed eyes could see, the entire town looks deserted; she was currently standing in the middle of the market place, one of the busiest places in all of Ponyville, and yet there wasn't a pony to be seen. Since it was early morning, it would make sense if the shoppers weren't around since they were all still getting ready for the day, but even the stalls were closed, boarded up and sealed shut. Not a single pony to be seen.

Weird.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when something grabbed her by the tail and yanked hard; hard enough to trip her off her hooves and pull her across the ground. Derpy yelped in surprise as she fell to the ground, landing with an 'oof!'; she didn't have time to straighten her spinning eyes before that something began pulling her across the street! She looked back but, to her fear, there was nopony there!

It was The Invisible Pony! The Invisible Pony was kidnapping her!

"HEEEEELP!" She screamed in fright as she was dragged toward one of the houses, leaving long groves where she tried to grab at the dirt. "I don't wanna be molesteeeed!"

"Derpy! Get down and be quiet!" A familiar voice hissed between its teeth as she was yanked into the front door, landing in the main hall on her back as the door slammed shut. The golden glow around her tail faded as she was suddenly jumped by a unicorn, who pinned her to the floor and covered her mouth.

"For Celestia's sake, Lyra!" Another familiar voice shouted before 'Lyra' was shoved off of her. "Get off of her before you smother her to death!"

Derpy sat up in confusion, finding herself surrounded by numerous ponies huddled up inside; Lyra was wrestling angrily with her assaulter, a beige earth pony with a pink and blue mane, while everypony else were huddled together or peaking around the edges of windows. Many of the = ponies here she recognized: there was Lyra, Bonbon, Berry Punch, Colgate, Sea Swirl, Carrot Top, even her second daughter Amethyst.

"Derpy! Thank goodness!" Carrot Top exclaimed as she pulled the confused pegasus in a tight hug, squeezing her until her eyeballs spun. "We thought you were a goner!"

"Mmmmmm..." Derpy moaned, her snout buried in Carrot Top's chest fluff. "Mmmwaff mmoming mon?"

Carrot Top released her grip slightly, looking down at her in disbelief. "Where have you been? The entire town's in hiding and you're out delivering the mail?!"

A lightbulb clicked in Derpy's head. "Ohhhhh! So that's why nopony's outside! Who are we hiding from?"

The other ponies started at her as if she had grown a second head...well, more so than usual.

"...are you kidding me!" A ruffled-up Lyra shouted. "You mean you don't know what's going on?! Half of Ponyville was woken up by that armageddon-ish roar and you slept through the whole thing?!"

"I went to bed early-"

"Why can't I sleep that hard?!"

"Lyra!" Bonbon snapped, bonking the unicorn over the head with her hoof. "For Celestia's sake..."

"Celestia had abandoned us!" One of the ponies, Daisy, shouted in fear; one of the flower trio, who were all huddled under the dining room table. "We're all gonna die while she does nothing!"

"We're doomed! Doomed, I tell you!" Roseluck sobbed in a comical way.

"We're all gonna be violated!" Lily screamed.

A magenta-colored hoof bonked all three of them over the heads. "Would you three shut up?!" Berry Punch hissed as they all whimpered, cradling the fresh bumps on their heads. "She's gonna find us at this rate!"

"Who's gonna find us?" Derpy asked, still tucked in Carrot's Top grip.

"The Priestess." Sea Swirl whimpered, tucking herself into a ball.

"She came in just the other night, from Sugarcube Corner." Colgate whispered, peeking out the window. "Said a dragon was coming to Ponyville today, and she's been preparing a celebration for it."

The gray pegasus paled, her eyes straightening out for a brief moment. "A D-D-Dragon?!" She squeaked, she and Carrot Top shivering violently.

"Her eyes are like balls of fire!" The unicorn continued, eyes her full of dread. "Her m-mane a mass of t-t-tentacles, and her h-hooves forged from the s-steel of t-t-tartarus itself! The s-skull of a p-princess covers her f-face like a m-m-mask, and a s-staff made from the t-torn-out s-s-skull and s-s-spine of a Draconequus w-w-wields the p-power of the d-dragons to her very whim! She's come to welcome the dragon to our town! To welcome the apocalypse upon all of Equestria!

"And to do that, she needs...n-n-needs...t-!"

*BANG!*

The door to the house was slammed open with a loud crash, the wind from outside blowing forth in a strangely sinister and frightful manner for a perfectly sunny day. The light of said sunny day silhouetted the form of a hooded figure wrapped in a dark yet strangely sparkly cape that billowed in the wind of a perfectly still day, a staff held to the side with one hoof; her face was concealed by a mask, yes, from which two bright baby-blue eyes could be seen giddily staring at them, locks of pink mane poking out from said hood and hanging over the candied top of the mask.

She pointed her evil staff at them with the horrifying, demonic sound of a squeaky toy, and with but one sentence, made all of Ponyville scream in absolute terror.

"I have come for your Virginity!"

Derpy screamed alongside the others; looks like she was going to be molested, after all.

It was all perfect...it had to be perfect.

If it wasn't perfect, then Equestria could be doomed...but that was silly, 'cause this was perfect!

It had to be perfect!

Though something told Twilight that it wasn't, no matter what; thank goodness this was the one time where her lust of organization was a weapon that would see her and her new friends through.

Pinkie Pie had truly, and she meant truly, outdone herself; the average Nightmare Night and even Hearth's Warming Eve festivals of Canterlot paled in comparison to what could only be described as its very own amusement park. Streamers, food tables, balloons, food stands, bounce-houses, and even a Ferris wheel had been erected to make this a spectacle to behold. Twilight also noticed that everything this time around was especially dragon-themed, in honor of their hero: the cookies were shaped like little dragons, with purple and orange icing. The balloons were all clustered in the according colors of purple, indigo, yellow, and orange, matching Spyro's colors perfectly. Paintings and paper cutouts of dragons doing different things, like breathing fire or hoarding treasure, were everywhere; on the stalls, the tablecloths, the balloons, and just about anywhere she could stick a paintbrush. And finally, she even went to make a large, makeshift table in front of Town Hall (made out of wooden crates organized in an altar-like shape with yellow tablecloths spread over them, said blankets painted to have cartoony runes and symbols lining the edges), on which sat a truly enormous plate and dish lid; Faust knows what was awaiting the dragon's stomach underneath it.

"Hiya, Twilight!"

'Speak of the little pink devil.' Twilight thought to herself. She had seen some silly things in this town, but like the party, Pinkie's outfit took the cake: A long, wavy, bright-pink cape with yellow candy wrapper tassels dragged behind her, with a matching turban-like hood tucked around her head, allowing the front of her mane to squeeze out over the smiling skull-shaped mask that she had currently pushed up to her forehead to show her face. Her upper body and forelimbs were dressed in robes that matched her cape, cookie-style plating serving as shoulder and upper arm armor, and in one hoof she gripped a tall, streamer-wrapped staff with a goofy-looking paper-mache dragon skull on top, googly eyes sticking in opposite directions.

It took all of Twilight's willpower to keep herself from pinning the earth pony down and ripping that monstrosity clean off her body.

It took her another moment to realize just how dirty that sounded.

"Ooooh, I'm so nervoscited!" Pinkie Pie squealed as she bounced to a stop next to the unicorn. "I could barely sleep this morning, so I went on a planning spree to make this the bestest best celebration a dragon could enjoy!" She whipped out a long list from within her cape, which promptly rolled a good fifty feet in front of both ponies as she read the top. "Okay, we've got all the essentials down, checked over, re-checked over again, and given a complete overhaul for good measure, from cookies to creampuffs! All we're missing is the guest of honor and friends!"

Twilight wished it was that simple. She truly, truly wished that.

Earlier That Very Morning:

The mayor of Ponyville was, admittedly, an interesting mare; Ponyville was her first priority and she ruled it with a calm and soft hoof. Feats of loyalty towards the community got rewarded and she always had the right words to motivate the inhabitants. But right now, she seemed... different. Currently she was giving Twilight, a young unicorn from Canterlot who had appeared the same time Nightmare Moon had, the patented 'hoofs-together-just-below-the-lips-and-right-over-the-edge-of-the-glasses' stare.

Oh, how Twilight envied ponies with glasses! They could do so many great things with them! Curse her perfect 20-20 vision!

"Now let me get this straight…" Mayor Mare began calmly. "A dragon-"

"Spyro."

The earth pony paused for a moment, then continued: "...A dragon named Spyro defeated Nightmare Moon and fulfilled an ancient prophecy from the days of Starswirl, and Princess Celestia has instructed you and five of my citizens to watch over him and his other dragon friends as they live in Ponyville, possibly for a few years?"

"Exactly, Miss Mayor." Twilight answered the beige mare with the elegant glasses. "Order from the Princess!"

The mayor stared at the unicorn in silence for what felt like an eternity, before simply sitting back and nodding in acceptance. "Thank you for informing me so quickly. I think we can avoid a panic if we just call in a big announcement." She even gave a heavy sigh. "I guess I should have prepared for this a little better; my predecessor left me that note and map for a reason."

"Map?" Twilight asked.

"Yes. Wait a second." The mare stood up and disappeared behind a closet door for a while; there was the sound of rummaging through paper before she returned with a rather long tube. "Most ponies in higher positions have one of these. Luckily Equestrian Dragons tend to brag a lot if the borders change."

Twilight watched with interest as the mayor opened the tube and produced a rolled up piece of old parchment. Unrolled, it showed a rather basic map of the continent that Equestria and the surrounding nations were part of. Cities, as well as other landmarks, were shown, but the borders were different entirely. Most of them ran as double lines with no space between them, but some had small pockets. Mountain tops, cities, small forests, swamps...it all seemed random at first, but after a short while of looking, Twilight understood:

This was a map of the basic territorial lines of dragons that lived on the Equestrian Continent. They each had about the same amount of space and were all the same distance from each other; most of Equestria's populated areas were blank, no doubt thanks to the Anti-Dragon Military Patrols of the Royal Canterlot Army, but edges of the kingdoms and wild lands were mostly taken up. The territories had names, colors, and genders in their center; Some were very long, but others were quite short.

She glanced at Ponyville: Empty. Right at the border of the Everfree Forest was a line showing the end of a green dragon's territory. Perfect; if she played her cards right, she could avoid getting Spyro involved with the local dragons. They weren't as friendly or understanding as he was.

"As you see, we are neutral here." The mayor explained, pointing to the town's location. "And I was warned that this might lead to a dragon staying here. But honestly, they live so long, I don't think the town was half of its current size when the last one rested here." She sighed quietly. "I will set up an announcement in the afternoon. Do you have any...tips how we should tackle this problem?"

Twilight swallowed and focused her thoughts. "They are very..." She paused, shaking her head. "Nonono, that won't work." She sighed. "Spyro is so different than everything ponies believe about dragons that I don't know what to make of him. Most dragons are suppose to be greedy and territorial, but Spyro's nothing like that: he's brave, kind, smart, and just." She smiled warmly. "He's a real hero...and a good friend."

The earth pony cocked an eyebrow. "...when he arrives, should I prepare a room in the estrus stables for you two?" She asked with a coy smirk.

The lavender of her now wide-eyed face turned bright red all the way up to her ear tips. "W-W-W-What?! N-NO!" She squealed...before an idea suddenly hit her and her blush faded. "...although a maiden sacrifice might be something he'd appreciate, being a dragon and all."

The mayor's smirk immediately faded as she went wide-eyed herself. "I was only joking!" She almost shouted. "Please tell me you're not serious!"

"I DON'T KNOW, OKAY?!" Twilight finally exploded, throwing her hooves into the air. "Ponies know next to nothing about dragons, and everything we do know or have theorize for the past thousand years, he has defied just by being himself!" Her mane began to unravel as her eyes became unfocused. "And that's only regarding him, but what are his friends like?! Are they like other dragons or like him? Or are they mixed with both?! How many friends is he bringing back?! Can Ponyville even support feeding and sheltering one dragon, let alone an entire pack of them?! The entire future of Equestria's relationship with the rest of the universe could depend on this single visit, and all we've got to show for it is an old farming town full of party streamers and carnival food!"

Were it not for the gravity of the situation, Mayor Mare would've taken insult to that jab at her town, but instead she asked: "Then why don't you host it in Canterlot? Surely they are more qualified for something of this importance."

And that was the issue of the situation that had given Twilight pause from the start:

"Princess Celestia ordered me in her own worlds: 'keep Spyro and his friends away from Canterlot and all other major cities'."

Mayor Mare blinked in surprise. "Is that so?" She asked, tapping a hoof against her chin. She then shrugged. "Perhaps she felt it was best to keep a flock of dragons in the most isolated areas around, rather than throw them directly in the heart of all Equestria, where all the big and important ponies live."

The unicorn didn't answer; she simply scratched her head with her hoof.

"Miss Sparkle...how old do you think I am?"

Twilight's eyes turned to the size of saucers, completely caught off-guard by the question. Her mouth opened, but no words left it.

"Not that old, I can proudly say." The mayor told her. "I already had a grey mane when I was born, but I have seen my share of issues in this town. I have held this position for almost half my life, you know. Do you know what an election is?" Twilight nodded. "I also assume that you know how the mayor of a small community, like ours, is chosen?"

"Wait, y-y-you were elected?" She suddenly stammered. What a weird way to run such a small town!

"Yes, I have earned this job through actions and decisions." The earth pony explained. "Not by having the 'ruler' cutie mark and not by birth. I got elected. And every two years, I have to face my voters and see if I did well."

Twilight was slightly confused out by the concept. Politically, Canterlot was such a simple place: you had nobility and commoners on the one hoof and Princess Celestia, who ran the place basically by herself, on the other.

"To make this clear: For several years, I didn't even have any enemies. Ponies thought that my work was so good that they wanted me to keep doing it. That changed three years ago: for the first time in almost a decade, I had to fight hard during an election! And don't get me wrong, Miss Sparkle, I do not want to get re-elected just because I crave power or because my ego needs the stroking." A hollow look of unbridled horror filled her eyes. "I want to be re-elected because I have seen the alternative! And I refuse to allow Ponyville, the town I worked so hard to make the best I can, be turned into the chaos capital of Equestria!"

Twilight swallowed. Who could possibly be such a bad choice? And who would vote for them? "Who...?" she asked carefully.

"Think for a moment! Who has the most friends, knows almost everypony, is loved by every soul in town...?"

Hers face changed color again, this time a ghostly white. "NO, not...!"

"YES! It's either me or her!" The Mayor snapped, pointing to the map. "I would give my life to protect this town! And Miss Sparkle, if Ponyville goes down in the flames of these dragons or if you cost me the next election (which would have basically the same result), I'll make sure you go down with me! Understand?"

"Y-Yes, ma'am!"

Back to the Present:

Twilight had made up her mind: she would fake her own death, go into hiding and live as a traveling book sales pony on the run; even if she and Spike got robbed on a daily basis and ate things she found on the ground, it couldn't be any more stressful than her life as Celestia's lackey!

Speaking of which, what would Princess Celestia tell her in a situation like this?

The hard face of her mentor and teacher appeared inside her head: "Twilight, if you don't keep up that insane degree of diligence and borderline OCD, I will personally punish you! And not in the way you sometimes dream of! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"NOOOOOO!" the purple mare suddenly wailed to the heavens.

"Fine! Then you don't like my roses!" a disappointed Roseluck whined, turning to change the perfect bouquet behind her.

Twilight had walked right into the preparations. Awkwardly, she moved on. "Princess Celestia is your teacher and cares about you! She would never say something like that!" the nervous mare told herself.

Celestia appeared in her mind again: "Twilight, you are my most faithful student and I only give you such difficult tasks because I know that you can succeed where others would fail. So don't disappoint me, or I will kick you out of school and turn you into my personal slave! And not like in that other dream of yours! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"I have issues..." Twilight decided aloud, blocking out any other mental images of her beloved teacher.

It seem that nopony else really got the sheer level of what was at stake here: It would've been bad enough it had been a visit from a native dragon, thanks to the natural animosity the two races held for each other, but not only was it a dragon but a dragon from another world. Spyro may not had realized it, but by joining up with them, he had made them the first encounter between two completely different worlds...not only that, but between worlds that had once been connected in the far past (if Nightmare Moon was right); one that was full of extra big, extra powerful dragons! This was the first time their two sides had connected and interacted since the days of Dream Valley itself, the land and time that saw the very origin of ponykind, and the ones heralding their reunion and acting as the non-official ambassadors to the World of Dragons was the small, rustic, out-of-the-way town of Ponyville.

A stray hair went *boing*; she hoped Spyro and his friends really liked carnival food.

"Are they here yet?"

Twilight jumped slightly, not expecting anyone to speak to her; she turned to find Spike walking alongside her, carrying a rolled-up list under his arm. "Oh, hi Spike." She said. "I thought you were helping Pinkie with the decorations."

Spike waved his free hand dismissively. "She wanted to use my 'shedded scales' for makeshift streamer pins, whatever that meant." He frowned in confusion. "I don't even I can even shed my scales like that..." His frown turned to worry. "Another thing I might mess up, I guess."

Twilight frowned in concern. "Are you okay?" She asked, turning around to face him. "You've been acting strangely since we came back."

The baby dragon stared at her for a moment, and then gave a heavy sigh. "...I'm about to meet another Dragon, Twilight." He told her. "The first time I'll meet another dragon, another of my own kind, ever!" He stomped around a circle, going into a very Twilight-like rant. "And I have no idea what to do! I don't know anything about what it means to be a real dragon! I live in a library, for crying out loud!" Spike said, stopping dead in his tracks. "I'm the servant of a PONY!"

"You're no servant, Spike." Twilight stated, but the little dragon wasn't listening.

"They're gonna fly into Ponyville and the first thing there's going to see is a small, squishy dragon who doesn't even have his wings! I can barely breathe fire, and that's only to send Celestia letters! I don't have a hoard; every gem I can get I end up eating! I don't have any territory to speak off; dragons consider Canterlot as Celestia's turf! If I can't find a way to impress them, to show them that I'm a real dragon too, I'll be the laughing stock of my race!" He grabbed the purple unicorn by the mane and pulled her face-to-face. "MY LIFE IS OVEEEEER!"

'Is this what I look like during my freak outs?' Twilight asked herself, trying to ignore the smell of burning gases that was Spike's dragon breath.

"Spike..." She said calmly, resisting the urge to magic-slap him, as she pushed his hands out of her mane. "I understand that you're worried, and that you want to make a good impression. It's the exact same feeling I got when I began studying under Celestia." She ruffled his spikes fondly. "And I'm sure meeting Spyro and his friends will go just as well as mine did. Spyro's a nice guy; I'm sure he'd be pleased to meet you."

"You're about to get your chance! Here they come, everypony!"

Every eye in main square turn as a large shadow was cast over town, cause by a large...round?...shape with large dragon wings descending from above, darkened by the sun behind it. As the shape grew closer, along with the sound of distant flapping wings, the blackness faded to reveal the large purple dragon himself, who turned out to be the two wings...but what was that large shape behind him. It looked almost like...

Twilight's eyes widened when realization hit her; at the same time the medium-sized hot-air balloon came into view, carrying a basket full of different non-dragon creatures. The balloon was big, easily twice the size of Ponyville's local balloons, and weaved with vibrant colors of gold, orange, and blue. The basket was equally as vibrant, rimmed in fool's gold with colored threads weaved into the fabric; looped through two the basket's corner hoops were two extra ropes which Spyro was currently pulling the balloon with, the rope looped around between his teeth like a bridle's bit.

With a quick flurry of wing flaps, Spyro touched down on the large red-and-white target Pinkie had painted on the street in front of Town Hall, landing of all fours. Behind him, the balloon slowly drifted down to land with a slight thud, and out from the basket climbed or fluttered a number of different creatures: a cheetah beastman, a female half primate-half goat creature, a rabbit beastwoman, and a small insect-wing humanoid, all of whom looked about the town with varying expressions.

'Wait! So his friends aren't dragons themselves?' She asked no one in particular.

"Honored guests!" The mayor began, breaking the silence. "As the mayor of Ponyville, It is my honor to welcome you to our humble village! We have announced the day of your arrival to be a day of celebration and hope that you enjoy your stay in this fair town! While here, Twilight Sparkle, the personal student of Princess Celestia, will tend to your needs and Lyra Heartstrings, our local bard, will welcome you in the traditional music and story-telling style. Now, I will give the stage to her; have a wonderful stay and please enjoy yourself."

The mint-green unicorn levitated her harp in front of herself and took center stage; she was just about to start, when Spyro suddenly intervened.

"So..." He started with a cold voice, the very space around him darkening and trembling under his power. "You think that you can appease me with this obvious attempt to make me feel special? Fly in the best celebrity you find, turn my arrival into a carnival and tell everyone to have a good time, just so I am more inclined to behave? This is a very obvious and manipulative attempt to get on my good side, I have to say..."

With the last syllable and a loud 'SHING', he held up his right paw and extended the claws to full length.

The word silence does not even begin to describe what followed. It was as if the air simply refused to carry sound. There was no wind, no insects, nothing.

Twilight didn't feel the eyes of every pony around her burning into her body, and even if she had felt them, she wouldn't have cared. She felt her body dying of fear; she couldn't hear her heart beat, her lungs didn't fill themselves, and she was sure that her neural system was shutting down as well.

And it was wonderful! She could experience death in the way every scientist wished they could: completely aware and thinking! She would leave this world with knowledge that was in no book! Happily, she accepted the embrace of the pale horse...

...until she noticed the expressions of the other creatures watching him; the cheetah, the rabbit, and the bug-humaniod were all snickering behind sealed lips and puffy cheeks, struggling to keep from laughing out loud, while the goat-ape groaned while silently face-palming in embarrassment. Meanwhile, Spyro slowly lowered himself into a prone position and extended his arm toward a stand of apple-based treats. Coldly, he ignored the trembling mare tending the stand as he stabbed a caramel apple, before leaning back and popping it into his mouth.

He held his stern expression for about three seconds before he and the three others burst out into deep-bellied, teary-eyed laughter.

"Akatosh above, you think I'm being serious!" He guffawed, wiping a tear from his eye with a claw. "I was just messing with you all!" He grabbed another handful of treats, lifting it as if to toast. "Your princess has returned and the sun has been restored; a time celebration if I ever saw one, so let's celebrate already!"

The entirety of Ponyville either exhaled in relief, laughed with the joke, or cheered at the dragon's worlds; Twilight felt life returning to her flesh, and Fluttershy's animal friends were able to CPR their caretaker back into the world.

Let the train-wreck begin!

9. Life In Ponyville Shimmers - Part 2

CHAPTER 3: LIFE IN PONYVILLE SHIMMERS (OVER A FIRE) - PART 2

Hunter never cared much for cute things.

That wasn't to say that he hated such things, or held any animosity to any race that was considered such. As a male, he simply didn't hold the same kind of borderline-crazy enthusiasm for 'cute' things as females usually did. He wouldn't be able to live up to his name if he allowed every set of big shiny eyes and trembling lips keep him from making a kill, after all.

That being said, even he had to admit, these 'ponies' did have a charm to them, and he found himself content in their company.

The celebration had actually been going very well, despite Spyro's 'prank' shaving off more than a few years from everypony's life (the old green pony's face was now beginning to sag off her skull, and not in a natural way); ponies were dancing, playing games, and enjoying treats as if it was just another one of Pinkie's town-famous parties, regardless of their alien visitors. Spyro himself was seated at one of the largest food tables the ponies had set up, greedily devouring the large pile of food and snacks before him with ravenous gusto, blissfully ignoring the lavender unicorn ranting at him non-stop, while the others had gone to mingle.

The cheetah himself was currently leaning against the side of one of the buildings, absentmindedly sipping at a cup of punch he held as he watched Bianca and Elora fuss over the ponies as if they were a box full of puppies; whenever he had time to celebrate, he preferred his drinks with hearty amounts of alcohol, but he doubted there would be any in a world this...cub-friendly.

Oh well, it was something he could do without; it left him sober for what was truly important...

"So, you're a cheetah, huh?"

Hunter cocked an eyebrow as he glanced up, his teal eyes meeting the magenta ones of the cyan pegasus...Rainbow Dash, he believed her name was...hovering upside down in front if him, her wings flapping awkwardly as she held her place in the air.

"I am." He answered simply.

Rainbow Dash flipped around right side-up with an excited grin. "And it's true that cheetahs are the fastest beastmen in the world?" She asked, tail wagging.

"It is."

"Awesome!" She exclaimed. "Race you to the big barn over there! One two three go!" And with that, she took off toward the barn in question so fast that she left a rainbow trail behind her.

The cheetah, however, didn't move from the spot. He simply closed his eyes and flattened his ears as the gust of her wings whipped in his face; he waited for the whoosh to die down before opened his eyes again; he grumbled a cat's growl under his breath as he rolled his eyes, turning away and taking a sip from his punch. He was still drinking when the pegasus returned in another rush of color, looking very cross.

"Hey, what gives?" Rainbow Dash asked, crossing her forelegs. "We're having a race here!"

"You're having a race." Hunter stated as he lowered his cup, swishing the punch inside absentmindedly. "I never accepted your challenge, nor do I intend to."

The pegasus gave a disappointed pout. "Awww, come on!" She whined. "Why not?"

"I'm saving my energy." He told her, taking another sip.

"For what?"

The cheetah paused mid-sip, silent as the grave. He then swallowed what he had in his mouth before lowering his cup and looking the pegasus directly in the eye. "For the Hunt."

Rainbow Dash outright recoiled in surprise, not at his words, but at his eyes. They held a familiar glint to them; the same she had seen in Spyro the previous night. Focused, determined, and cunning, as if they were locked on to a target in their sights. However unlike Spyro's eyes, which always had a wild, ferocious blaze in them, this cat's eyes were cold and steeled, his emotions and urges held down and focused through sheer mental control. It was similar to how Rarity's cat Opal looked when she was stalking a mouse, but on a much stronger, deadlier scale.

They were the eyes of a big cat on the hunt, and Rainbow realized what it felt like to be a gazelle in the long grass.

"Predators cannot simply run about like crazed monkeys expecting food to just sit there and be eaten like your herbivores do." He told her, his gaze never breaking away from hers. "Our lives are spent on the move; the very jungle itself works against us to keep itself and its prey safe...but it also works against our prey to keep them in permanent danger, so we must be ready to overcome and conquer every obstacle it throws at us, and to use what it gives us to our advantages to feed ourselves and our cubs."

He took another drink. "Our bodies are our weapons, thus we must keep them in prime condition. Every ounce of energy wasted only adds to the chances of our prey escaping or being stolen by another predator, and a single move could mean the different between feast and starvation." His eyes glinted with a deadly light. "Take or be Taken, Kill or be Killed; that's the life we predators live. The Life of the Hunter."

And with that he finally turned away, allowing Rainbow Dash to snap out of the awed trance his eyes had put her in.

"Woah..." She finally said before shaking her head to clear it. "That is like...insanely cool!" She flew around to meet his face again. "Do you live like that all the time?"

"Most of the time, yes." Hunter told her. "The lands of Avalar are a primal one; most races that live do so in tribes, and just as many still have connections to our primal roots." He gave her an questioning look. "I assume yours do as well, as you all don't wear clothing to cover yourselves."

Rainbow Dash looked confused. "To cover what?" She asked.

"Exactly." Hunter stated simply.

Rainbow simply shook her head again; this cat was good at leaving her stupidly confused. "Well, do you have to hunt in Equestria?" She asked, flying over to a nearby barrel and sitting on it. "I mean, we got food here in town, like this party; I don't think you have to go chasing deer and rabbits all over the Everfree."

"This party will not last forever, nor will the food that can be eaten by us carnivores; not even the pigs will last feeding after several weeks." The cheetah told her, waving an arm out over the crowd. "This is herbivore land; one that is not prepared to welcome carnivores. Elora and Bianca will be fine in this town, but I imagine Spyro, Moneybags and I will be hunting for prey quite often in your 'Everfree'." He then looked up, drawing his attention to the dragon in question. "And he won't be 'chasing deer and rabbits'; dragons need large prey to feed, and those are often the kind that fight back." He smirked. "I imagine you ponies will see a steep drop in your local monster population soon enough."

"Sounds good to me; Ponyville's always had a bit of a monster problem, being on the edge of the Everfree Forest and all." Rainbow Dash said, pausing to preen the feathers of her right wing.

There was a brief silence before the pony spoke again: "... so what's it like? The Hunt, I mean."

Hunter gave pause, the question catching him off-guard; very few herbivore races could even tolerate the idea of eating the flesh on another creature, let alone ask what it meant to be a predator. But it was question he took pride in answering.

"Imagine a chase after a weaker creature, or a battle against a strong one, but not once is it judged or determined by the thoughts or emotions of a sapient mind. Not once is a true Hunt determined by emotion or desire; not from petty anger or revenge, nor from sadism or wickedness. A truly pure battle, unstained by sapient thought; the truest form of exhilaration one can feel; one that no natural herbivore will ever feel, fore nowhere else in life, from the beginning of the chase to the moment you finally sink your teeth into your prey's throat, will you ever feel more alive."

Once again, Rainbow Dash found herself entranced by those teal-blue eyes; as sharp and focused as their owner's claws, they stared her down as if she were but another potential target in his sights, one that he would chase to the ends of the earth to catch. Suddenly, for a brief moment, the pegasus was no longer in Ponyville; instead, she was deep in the heart of the darkest jungle, the plants rushing past her as her claws tore the earth, her heart pounding, eyes gleaming, and fangs glistening as she chased down her next meal. All of this happened in a single instant, but to the pegasus it felt like another lifetime altogether.

A lifetime as a hunter.

Then, in another instant, she was back in her normal body, gasping for breath as her heart pounded in her ribcage. Staggering from the mental rush, she found herself splayed across the ground at the feet of the beastman, who stared down at her with a unreadable expression.

"There are very few amongst herbivores who ever learn what it means to be truly alive." Hunter told her. "But one day, should nature be willing, you might join the hunt yourself." He then turned and walked away, but not before looking over his shoulder. "If that day comes, and you choose it, then I look forward to hunting together."

And with that, he flicked his tail and walked away, leaving Rainbow Dash sitting in the street; for once in her life, the pegasus found herself unable to move.

Hunter of Avalar
Gender: Male
Species: Beastman, Cheetah
Hailing from the forest and plains of the Valley of Avalar, this Cheetah Beastman lives up to his name entirely: a near-otherworldly master of both jungle warfare and wielding all manner of melee weapons, he can easily match the skill and killing potential of a hundred modern warriors. While his greatest abilities are his speed and agility, he is just as strong and durable as he is cunning and instinctive; his body and mind have been honed to physical and mental perfection, making him a living weapon of the deadliest variety, able to stand side by side with the purple dragon.

By the forest, these ponies were just too precious!

Unlike her cheetah friend, Elora was very fond of cute things, and these ponies were almost too much for her to handle; she knew they were a sapience race, and therefore most were not as sweet and innocent as they looked, but that didn't mean she appreciated it when she could! Of all the worlds that Spyro had answered the call to save, this was turning out to be the best yet!

The faun was currently sitting on a bale of hay, watching a group of ponies trying to play 'Pin-the-Tail-on-the-Pony', unable to stop herself from laughing at their antics as they stumbled around and missed the target; one, a white unicorn mare with a spiky blue mane/tail, even ended up sticking the tail on the rump of another, a grey earth-pony mare with a sleek, near-black mane/tail, earning herself a pained yelp and a stern reprimanding from her friend, as well as an uproar of laughter from the crowd watching.

As her own laughter down, she found herself smiling warmly at the sight of these ponies, just laughing, playing, and just enjoying life. There was a light, child-like innocence of this race, and she appreciated it; knowing there were places in the deep dark universe that succeeded in fighting off the darkness and could allow themselves to hold onto the light of blissful ignorance...

...which only made their own presence in this world a worrisome one; if someone had called out for help, and it was Spyro the Dragon that heard the call, then dark times must be right around the corner. She remembered what he had said about running into the Damned: souls tainted by the black abyss, as punishment for horrific crimes.

If they existed in this world, then the fragile innocence of this world was threatened by forces that lurked in the shadows.

"My word! What a charming little top!"

Elora blinked in surprise, snapped out of her thoughts, and looked down to see a white unicorn with a fancy purple mane and light-blue eye-shadow staring up at her with wide, sparkling eyes; a look that the half-goat uncomfortable.

"Such a simple, basic design..." The unicorn...Rarity, she believed it was, gushed in a froofy, lady-like manner. "...yet it's the simplicity that adds so much character! And the colors! That lovely shade of green compliments your rich-brown fur perfectly!" She reached a hoof up and ran it across the surface; Elora bit her lip to keep from bursting into giggles as the hoof ran across her stomach, hitting all the ticklish spots. "And the smooth texture of the fabric is absolutely divine! It feels and bends like silk, yet is strong and shape-holding like leather!" She pulled her hoof back, looking up to Elora. "I simply must know where you got it! Such a new fabric would revolutionize the fashion world!"

Elora was left speechless, her mouth hanging open slightly in confusion. "It...it's nothing special." She finally managed to say. "It's just a corset."

"Just a corset?!" Rarity almost outright shrieked. "Darling, this is more than 'just a corset'; this, and that delightful outfit your bunny friend is wearing, are the first pieces of clothing to enter Equestria from another world! The very culture and art of another universe has been presented before us, and as an aspiring fashionista it be criminal for me to turn away from such a opportunity!" She gave the faun a pleading look. "I don't suppose you'd be willing to part with it? I'll pay your handsomely for this contribution to society."

The faun's eyes went wide, and she instinctively wrapped her arms around her torso as her cheeks went red. "What?! No!" She squeaked. "I'm wearing it for a reason, you know!"

Rarity looked confused; she understood the desire to wear fashion, no doubt about that, but what could possibly compel her to wear something so simple and plain (yet still fabulous) non-stop? It couldn't possibly be to keep her furless upper body warm; her arms, shoulders, neck and upper back were completely bare, meaning heat was not its function. Perhaps it had something to do with supporting those two large mounds on her chest?

"Might I asked its purpose?" She finally asked. "I can't imagine it being much use for things like warmth and fashion."

"That's because it's not." Elora snapped lightly, arms still instinctively wrapped around herself. "It's..." Her blush deepened, and she found the road very interesting. "...It's to keep my 'mother parts' covered."

The unicorn looked even more confused "'Mother parts'? What are-?" Realization struck her and struck hard, making her blush all the way to her ears. "Oh!" Her gaze fell on those chest mounds. "Ohhhhhhhhh..."

Elora gave a sheepish smile, looking away. "Y-Yeah. Those."

"Oh dear Faust, I am soooooooo sorry!" Rarity squealed, bowing her head so low in apology she almost bonked it against the ground. "I-I had no idea those were y-your...m-m-mother parts!" She cursed herself mentally, smacking a hoof against her forehead. "Honestly, what was I thinking! What else would something so simple yet fabulous be for?! Oh, of all the worst possible things to happen, this is. The! Worst! Possible! Thing!"

Her horn lit up, and before the baffled Elora's eyes, a large fancy couch swept up right next to the white mare, allowing her to perfectly yet gracefully fall upon it with a dramatic flair, hoof raised over her forehead as dramatic tears burst from her eyes. "Oh, to think that I, Ponyville only example of the higher lifestyle, would forever marr the relationships between two worlds by disgracefully asking one of their first ambassadors to strip down and flash her unmentionables like a lowly stable mare!"

One could almost see the giant anime-style sweat-drop form on the back of Elora's head. "I'm pretty sure you just made a common mistake..."

"THE TIDES OF WAR ARE UPON US ALL, AND ALL BECAUSE I COULDN'T RESIST FABULOUSNESS WHEN I SAW IT!" Rarity outright wailed, mascra running down her face. "OH, WOE IS ME-HE-HE-HEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

'Okay, this is just getting silly.' The faun thought to herself, and with that she raised a hand and snapped her fingers, fingertips glowing green. "Quia non ascendent super cor accentus pace!"

And just like that, a wave of sparkling green magic washed over Rarity like a breeze through the forest, illuminating up her body with a green glow. Rarity was too busy fussing over her mistake to notice her body being encased in a green aura of magic...but soon she was silence as she all but melted from sheer bliss as her body was suddenly exposed to the most amazing sensation ever! Every ounce of physical tension, mental weight, and emotional turmoil was stripped from her body and mind, her muscles turning into melted butter and her brain feeling light as cloud. She gave an almost orgasmic sigh as she sank into the cushion of her couch; so this was what heaven felt like...

Then it stopped; Elora closed his hand into a palm, snuffing out the magic on her fingertips. The magic aura around the unicorn disappeared with a puff of green mist, and Rarity blinked as her mind came back into focus. Her body was fully relaxed and the stress of last night's adventure was completely gone.

"There you go. Consider that an act of good will between worlds." Elora said with a warm smile.

Her efforts for peace were interrupted as the pony outright engulfed her head like the world's cutest face-hugger, staring almost manically into her eyes. "Teach me that spell, and I will be yours forever!"

The faun sweat-dropped again with a nervous muffled murmur; her opinions about ponies being cute and innocence were quickly going downhill. With a bit of effort, she managed to pry the unicorn off her face, gasping for air, holding her out at arms length to keep her grabby hooves away. "Sorry, but I can't." She admitted. "It's a Nature-Elemental ability. You're not a Nature Elemental, so you can't learn it."

Rarity hadn't felt this disappointed since the time her parents told her Santa Colt wasn't real (mainly because it meant the gifts under the Hearth's Warming tree weren't free). "Oh, phoo..." She said with a pout. "Do you have any idea how much a spell like that would be worth to the spa industries?! You should really consider yourself a career in full-body massages."

It was this simple comment that finally gave Elora pause, and before a confused Rarity she gave a heavy sigh as she set her down, ears folding down against the sides of her head. "Was it something I said?" She asked.

The faun stared at her for a moment, and then, with a sigh, she motioned with her hand to the purple dragon at the center of the square. "When Spyro answered our call for help, it was to save us from the enslavement of a tyrannical sorcerer...and it wasn't a quick matter, either: many stories and games made after Spyro's adventures make it seem that we dealt with Ripto just as he arrived, but that couldn't be further from the truth: Avalar suffered long and hard under his claws, for many, many years. Hundreds of people were tortured on a daily basis, and just as many killed on that monster's whim; those that weren't were forced to slave away nonstop on his empire, while those who actually had the means to fight back were too busy squabbling in their own petty feud to even bother helping.

"It was THIRTY years before we finally got the savior we prayed for so long for, and only because the last remaining members of the Resistance, which Hunter and I were a part of, were desperate enough to summon what could've been a even worse monster than Ripto just so we could finally be rid of that...saurian. We were astronomically lucky that it was Spyro we snagged mid-portal jump, Hero's Itch guiding him or not."

Rarity stared at the faun, wide eyed in disbelief. "...this 'Ripto' was truly that horrid?" She asked.

Elora didn't need to speak to answer that; instead, she reached behind her neck and pulled back her long hair, revealing her upper back that her corset left exposed. Rarity frowned in confusion...but that confusion turned to horror when she saw what covered the once flawless skin:

Scars. Dozens of them, ranging in all sizes and shapes...including those made by claws.

"A-Are those..." She began.

Elora simply nodded, her eyes turning hollow. "Sometimes it was punishment for messing things up, like his drink being too warm or too cold, and other times it was just because he felt like spilling blood."

The unicorn felt ready to puke.

"And now it's happening again; even if it's just beginning, events are coming that this world felt it necessary to ask Spyro of all heroes to deal with them." With a sigh she let her hair fall back in place, and she tucked her legs up before resting her chin on her knees, arms wrapped around her shins. "...I just can't help but worry something terrible is going to happen to you all; you ponies are just so peaceful and happy, more concerned about things like fashion and massages, even after just facing the threat of Eternal Night...I know what it means to truly suffer, and it's a fate I wouldn't wish on anyone."

Rarity honestly didn't know what to say in response. Honestly, by this point, her fussing over the girl's corset and magic spells did indeed seem rather ridiculous...no, they were indeed very ridiculous. After all, she now saw that she was talking to a victim of war and conquest; one who's home and life had been ruined by the wicked desires of one with power. She couldn't even imagine what life must've been like for her; to be so desperate for freedom from evil that they would risk bringing in an even bigger one.

Desperate, indeed...

In the end, all she could do was sit herself next to the faun. "...well...for what it's worth, darling, I'm glad Spyro answered the call."

And despite her mood, Elora couldn't help but smile. "Yeah...I am too."

Elora SpringGlade
Gender: Female
Race: Unrecorded, "Satyr/Faun"
Born from the tribes of the Fracture Hills, many consider Elora to be the weakest of the group; while her legs are strong and fast, her physical strength and magic diversity are lacking, leaving her often standing in the back during a fight. However, what she lacks in magical diversity she makes up for in great intelligence and powerful magical specialty: her skills in the Nature Element and Restoration Magic know no equal, making her a powerful Forest Mage. Thus she serves as the team's healer on the sidelines, able to mend wounds and cure poison even in the heat of battle.

Bianca was not enjoying herself as much as she wanted to.

That wasn't to say that she was displeased with the festivities; in fact, it looked like one of the most enjoyable parties she had ever seen. Most celebrations of the tribal Avalar were akin to a Nordic mead hall or Dwarven feast: full of booze, food, women, and song; truly a good time, but a little too wild and primal for her comfort. On the other paw, parties of the more civilized Forgotten Worlds were mostly grand balls and royal galas for the rich and the privileged; certainly more civil, but a greater snooze-fest could not be found. This was her idea of a party: a fun friendly celebration with games, snacks, music, and dancing; fun enough to be enjoyable, yet civil and family friend enough to keep everyone sober.

This Pinkie Pie pony really knew how to throw them.

And yet, as much fun as the game of bobbing for apples she was currently watching looked (she laughed out loud at the sight of the the mint-green unicorn ending up with a crab on her nose, making her scream and run around in circles), she just couldn't bring herself to join the festivities.

She just couldn't shake off the weird vibe she was getting from this world's mana. Or more precisely, the mana's flow.

Her grip on her wand subconsciously tightened as she stared into space, her mind clouded in deep thought, an equally-deep frown twisting her features; she just couldn't get the feeling something was wrong out of her mind.

'Mana', also known as 'Aura', 'Life Force', or 'Essence' was the very fuel of the realms. It was what every magical/elemental creature, item, or force drew energy from to fuel their spells, powers, etc; even non-magical creatures generated a tiny bit of it, in the form of the life-force that allows them to live, while magical, elemental, and supernatural creatures (like Dragons) generated their own unique kinds of mana to fuel their powers and abilities. Every world in existence had what was called a 'Essence', from which life and natural magics drew from; it flowed throughout the lands, through the forces of nature itself, fueling both living beings and magical sources, and without it both the magic and life dependent of it would cease to exist.

This was basic Wizardy 101; anyone striving to be a magic caster would know this as basic magical knowledge.

So Bianca knew that there was something off about this world's Essence. The way it flowed through everything; through the plants, the weather, the earth, and the ponies themselves...it just felt off. Unnatural. Contained. Deliberately Directed. It was as if something was forcefully bending the flow of mana in unnatural ways, controlling how it and the world worked.

This was NOT a good thing; just as diverting the flow of a river could have dastardly consequences to the land, diverting mana from its original flow could have grave consequences on the entire planet as a whole. Hell, the Sorceress herself did the exact same thing: the dragons were vital to the mana levels of the Forgotten Worlds, thanks to their naturally high and fast mana generation; when the Sorceress banished them to the other side of the world, the Forgotten Worlds lost their largest source of mana and over the years the magical sources and very life of the land slowly dried up and shriveled away to almost nothingness.

And it was this very loss of mana that would lead to the Sorceress commanding the rabbit beastwoman to kidnap the dragon eggs and start the whole fight against Spyro. Her greatest regret.

So seeing this world doing something similar, intentionally or not, was not something she was looking forward to dealing it.

"Uhm...e-e-excuse m-me..."

'There she is.' Bianca thought to herself, her face softening as she turned to look down at the pony who spoke: the cream pegasus with the pink mane and butterfly markings. The young wizard in training knew this pony had been watching her for a while now, but not in a way that made her uncomfortable. So she had simply waited until the adorable pony worked up the courage to speak. "Hello there. Can I help you with something?"

Upon being addressed, the poor mare gave a startled 'Eep!' before dashing away and diving into a nearby barrel.

There was a 'SPLOOSH' as thick brown syrup gushed over the rim, soaking the barrel's outside and the ground around it. A pitiful "Eww..." came from inside, followed by a syrup-soaked head, complete with a 'I'm-about-to-cry-I'm-so-pathetic' face and teary eyes.

Bianca gave a pitying smile. "Well, that was unexpected, huh?" She asked kindly; she then lifted her wand, which began to glow with magenta runes and sparkles. "Here. Let me take care of that real quick."

Fluttershy, who was seconds away from running off in tears, squeaked in surprise as she was engulfed and lifted into the air by a magical aura almost identical to a unicorn's levitation spell, except the spell was not being cast by a horn, but by the wooden wand in the beastwoman's hand; from the handle up, the wand was glowing with the same magical aura that a unicorn's horn does when casting spells, along with glowing ancient runes carved across the length of it.

"Y-Y-You can u-use m-magic?" Fluttershy asked, genuinely surprised.

Bianca winked. "Wizard in-training." She told her. "Now hold still; this next part's going to be a bit trickier to cast..."

What happened next was something Fluttershy could only describe as a work of art: with a shower of sparkling magic, the rabbit waved her wand in quick, board strokes, sweeps and swirls, as if painting a picture. Even the magic-less pegasus could see that she was not just waving it around wildly; the movements were direct, focused, and intertwined with each other perfect as woven string...in fact, that's what she realized she was doing: she was literally weaving a spell right before her very eyes.

"Corpus sordibus mundi." Bianca said aloud, and with a burst of light a 'pulse' of magic washed over the pegasus; Fluttershy instinctively cringed in fear, but was completely unharmed as the spell passed over her without harm. The sticky syrup, however, dissolved off her body like sugar crystals in water, leaving the pony's fur and feathers completely clean and untarnished; even the feeling of stickiness disappeared. And with a sharp tap of the wand, the magic was abruptly cut off and Fluttershy was set back on the ground, squeaky clean.

"There. Feel better?" The magic-caster asked.

Fluttershy ducked her head bashfully, hiding her face behind her mane. "Y-Y-Yes...t-thank you." She murmured.

Bianca couldn't help but smile. "You know, there are better ways of talking to someone than throwing yourself into a barrel of pancake syrup." She told her as she hooked her wand back on her tunic's belt, sitting down on her heels to look the pegasus in the eye. "If there's something you want, feel free to ask. I won't bite."

Fluttershy stared at her for a while in silence, her eyes darting back and forth in anxiety. "W-Well...uhmm..." She began, sweat running down her forehead. "...i-i-if you w-wouldn't m-mind...I...w-well..."

"Yeah?"

The poor pony was outright shaking by the time she finally spoke. "I-I...C-C...CanItouchyourfurplease?!"

Bianca blanched in confusion. "Come again?" She asked awkwardly.

Fluttershy covered her face with her hooves, her face red all the way to her ear-tips. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to come off as a creepy pony!" She wailed with the force of a butterfly's wing-flap. "I-It's just I have a pet bunny and take care of animals for a living, and I've never seen beastfolk before, so I was curious how much like a normal bunny you are!" She turned away, covering her head with her wings as well. "I didn't meant to offend you in any way! I should've known better; comparing you to a simple animal must be so insulting! I'm so sorry! Please don't hate me!"

"Hey now, wait a minute." Bianca spoke up, reaching out to the whimpering pony. "I never said I was mad. Your question just caught me off guard, that's all; I take no offense at being compared to what I am."

Fluttershy dared a peek. "Honest?"

"Completely." She held her arm out. "Here: you can feel it if you want."

The pegasus hesitated, staring at the outstretched limb with uncertainty...but eventually curiosity won over trepidation, and a hoof as light and gentle as morning dew ran across her silky rabbit's fur.

Bianca blinked in surprise at the touch, not because she expected it to happen, but how the hoof felt against her own skin: it wasn't hard and bony like normal horses hooves; yes she could feel that the hoof was solid like normal, but there was a padded layer of flesh and skin covering the bone. The underside of the hoof was flat enough so that it could function with the intended design, but was covered in a single soft padding like a paw. An unusual trait for a hoofed mammavian.

It was as if the species deliberately had this trait to avoid hurting anyone with their hard hooves, even if they wanted too...

...another unsettling trait of this strangely-wired world.

"It's so soft..."

The awed voice brought her out of her thoughts, and she gave a smile to the sparkling-eyed pony. Odd or not, she couldn't deny how cute they were. "Only the top brand-line shampoo and conditioners for this rabbit, thank you." She told her.

Fluttershy managed a small giggle at the joke, smiling softly herself as she let the bunny's arm go. "T-Thank you for letting me do that." She said softly, her timid stutter almost completely gone. "When Spyro said he was bringing friends, we all thought he meant more dragons." She closed her eyes happily. "I think you all are a much nicer surprise."

Bianca actually laughed herself at that one. "Yeah, I think so too." She said, standing back up. "To be honest, though, Spyro's never gotten along with others of his kind. It would be normal if he was only aggressive toward other males, as that's mere instinct, but apart from his father and the other guardians, he doesn't click well with any other dragons at all. Not even females of his age group." She turned her gaze to the dragon in question, who was still simply ignoring Twilight's rant. "I've theorized this might be normal for purple dragons, but I'll never be sure unless we find another one to compare it with."

"Another one?" Fluttershy asked, following the wizard's gaze to Spyro. "He showed us his 'purple dragon' stuff before he fought Nightmare Moon." She shuddered at the memory. "He's extremely powerful."

"And extremely rare." Bianca stated. "You know that his kind are born once every ten generations, correct?" Fluttershy nodded. "If you think those odds are crazy enough, the birth rate of purple dragons are incredibly low as well: the chances of more than one purple egg being laid are comparable to the chances of finding a real Wishing Star."

The cream-colored pegasus looked outright horrified. "Wait, doesn't that mean...?"

Bianca nodded solemnly. "As far as we know, Spyro is the only member of his species in all of existence."

Fluttershy looked ready to cry. "T-That sounds horrible." She whimpered.

The rabbit shrugged. "Given how he acts toward other dragons, I doubt he feels that way." She stated. "I believe that this is an intentional trait of nature; having more than one purple dragon could upset his purpose, so being a single member of a subspecies is something he's probably hardwired to." She then smiled. "I have to admit, though: I'm kinda glad that he is. He wouldn't be the dragon we know if he wasn't: a dragon who actually cares about us mortal races."

Fluttershy's teal eyes widened in realization. "Oh..." She murmured, covering her mouth with a hoof. "...I guess we have more in common than I first thought, huh?"

Bianca's smile turned into a grin as a laugh escaped her lips. "More than you know."

Bianca Arcarrot
Gender: Female
Race: Beastman, Rabbit
A foreigner in the lands of Avalar, Bianca Arcarrot hails from the more advanced and civilized Forgotten Worlds, where the forces of magic are more abundant and further researched than the rest of the Dragon World. As a wizard in training, she has full access to the knowledge of their magical advancements and can cast high level spells and incantations of all classes with ease, specializing in Alteration and Conjuration magics. According to the reports, she was once the personal assistant and apprentice to the Forgotten Worlds' former tyrannical ruler, whom she betrayed and help Spyro defeated and slew in battle. Caution advised with this one.

"...and of course you just had to leave us hanging in the middle of the Everfree without any sort of context or confirmation! Oh, suuuuure; just announce that you're bringing a bunch of friends over to a town full of bite-sized ponies for lunch without telling us otherwise! Do you have any idea how much of a panic you nearly caused?! You had us thinking a whole flock of dragons was coming to Ponyville, hungry and ready to eat! And after all the preparations and precautions you forced us through, you show up with a balloon basket full of normal beastmen, a giant breezie, and whatever that goat girl's suppose to be! What the bucking hay, you purple-scaled jerk?!"

Zoe had to give the purple pony credit: she had an impressive set of lungs for such a small creature. She hadn't seen the pony take a single breath since she started this rant.

She also was impressed by the sheer size of those solid-steel balls she was sporting; there were very few individuals that had the backbone to mouth off Spyro like that, and even fewer who survived the experience. Even Elora, who was the closest to Spyro out of all of them, never raised her voice at him anymore than a light scolding (a poor example, honestly, as Elora was a major softie who never really yelled at anybody); even if he was a friend, he was terrifying when he got angry, so the fairy tipped her non-existent hat to anyone who could pull it off without getting flambéed alive.

It also would've be impressive of Spyro that he was tolerating it...were it not for the fact that she knew why he was: even with the nerdy undertone, the almost-identical resemblance to her voice was very unsettling...

"It's called a joke." He stated with his mouth full, speaking up for the first time since she started, chocolate crumbs and bits of pink icing peppering her face. "You should learn to calm down and take one."

Twilight paused (finally taking in that huge, much-needed breath) and wiped the mess from her face with a hoof. "In case you haven't noticed, you're a fifty-foot long, two ton, ridiculously powerful dragon!" She almost shouted. "You are the last creature in the world that should be tossing around jokes about being displeased about anything! Do you have any idea of the sheer panic you could've caused?!"

His scaly purple lips twitched into a cheeky grin. "Oh, I don't just know it. I saw it." He told her, giving her an amused look. "It might've been a trick of the light, but I could've sworn I saw your soul vacating your body for a split second."

The ponies around them began to laugh or giggle at the now red-faced unicorn, who merely gave a huff of aggravation. "Well, at least you could've told us that your friends weren't dragons like you." She continued. "You had a lot of ponies panicking, thinking we'd have to deal with an entire flock of overpowered dragons instead of just one."

"Not once did I say my friends were other dragons." Spyro stated simply.

"You never said they weren't other dragons either!" Twilight snapped back. "How were we suppose to know that you don't like hanging out with others of your kind?!"

The dragon simply gave her an unamused look. "Because the majority of other teenagers of my kind are boorish, hot-headed, violent-tempered monsters that any sensible-headed creature would want to avoid like the plague, and everyone knows it?" He asked; this statement left her gaping with disbelief. "Do the math, Twilight: Dragon + Teenager. Could there be a worse combination?"

"Throw Dragon-Nip into the mix and see what happens then." Zoe quipped, cheekily taking a fairy-sized bite out of the cookie she was holding like a bicycle tire, crumbs peppering her face and cheeks. Spyro gave her a dangerous-looking stink eye, but the fairy simply winked in response; Twilight wasn't the only one who had an super-strong pair, after all...

"Are you done?" Spyro asked the huffing pony.

Twilight nodded, gasping for breath. "Yeah...I'm done." She wiped her brow with a hoof, flicking off a heavy amount of sweat. "Still, from now on, please don't go around freaking ponies out like that. Most ponies can't take that kinda spook without going into a panic."

Zoe's eyes narrowed. "Sounds like to me you ponies need to toughen up instead."

The unicorn frowned, turning her attention to the small winged humanoid, who was currently sitting on the table next to Spyro's dish, having made a seat out of an upside-down cup. "Excuse me?" She asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" The fairy asked, waving a dismissive hand with closed eyes. "You ponies live in a world populated by dragons and other monsters, and yet not only do you have almost no counter measures for them but panic and run like frightened gazelle at the first sign of what could be danger? Sounds like to me that ponykind's a bit spoiled by fortune and an incompetent powerhouse of a ruler to be this oblivious and unprepared for danger."

Twilight bristled with indignity. "Hey! That's Princess Celestia you're talking about!" She snapped angrily. "The wisest and most powerful pony in Equestria! Thanks to her solo rule, Equestria's been in perfect peace and harmony for a thousand years!"

Zoe opened one eye to give Twilight a condescending glance. "You mean during the long Era of Harmony destined to already happen before each brief Era of Disharmony? And remind me how 'Celestia' handled the first villain to appear in this new age, again?" She asked, making Twilight cringe. "Oh that's right! Hiding in a cave while sending six everyday fillies untrained and unprepared to deal with it!" She gave the ever-agonizing slow clap. "Oh, bravo, Celestia; you handled that one like a champ! I can't wait to see your plans when the next villain shows up: is it 'flee the kingdom while your attack-kittens face off against a literal god of chaos'?"

From within his stone prison in Canterlot, a certain spirit of chaos cursed his predicament: his nose had been turned to stone, and he had developed the desperate urge to sneeze.

"How dare you belittle the princess like that!" Twilight outright shouted in anger. "Who do you think you are, and what could you possibly know about an era that hasn't happened yet?!"

To that, Zoe stood up and gave a mock curtsy. "Oh, pardon me, 'most trusted student', we haven't been formally introduced. The name's Zoe, Spyro's personal Dragon Fairy? The one whose mom all but raised him from an egg with my help?" The fairy stated, jabbing a thumb at the dragon in question. "Yeah, I've been with this purple dork since day one, and I promise you: if your Elements of Harmony believe it necessary to call for his help, then Equestria as a whole is already in for one hell of a time. A time your princess will not be able to handle herself, no matter how magically powerful she is."

Twilight opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off when Spyro rose his hand in a halt. "Don't bother engaging her arguments; Dragon Fairies are a naturally stubborn and loud-spoken breed, and my fairy is particularly infuriating amongst her sisters." He told the unicorn, earning a sour puffy-cheeked pout from the fairy in question. "For your own sake, just take what she says with a grain of salt and don't encourage her any further."

"You only say that because you haven't won an argument yet without resorting to brute for-HEY!" Zoe barely managed to cry out before the dragon set an upside-down bowl on top of her, covering her completely, before setting a pie on top of that as a weight. "See what I mean?! This just proves my point, you scaly bastard! Get this thing off me before I take my wand and shove it up your-"

"She does make a point that I would take into thought." Spyro stated as he ignored the cup shifting back and forth while swearing in muffled words. "If your elements called for my help, then the threats that wait on the horizon are something that even Celestia cannot stand against."

Twilight still looked unconvinced. "But the Era of Disharmony has happened before, and Celestia has handled everything she ever faced then. What could be so different with Equestria's threats than those before?" She asked.

The dragon stared her directly in the eyes, his own gleaming with a fiery light.

"Who says we'll only be dealing with the threats from Equestria?"

That made the unicorn pause, and a dark realization made itself present in her mind

With a clatter of glass and steel, Zoe finally pried herself out from under her makeshift prison, dusting off and smoothing out the wrinkled petals of her dress as she stood up. "Did you honestly think the World Gate we used was the only one to open, and only to allow Spyro to come through?" She asked, all sarcasm and mockery gone from her voice. "That's not how World Gates work; the fact that one opened at all is proof that there are more throughout your world, and they all function in unison."

"So if the portal you all used is open..." Twilight whispered in growing dread.

"Then so are all the others, and for the first time in thousands of years our worlds have been reconnected, and anyone and anything in either one came come and go to the other as they please." As Zoe spoke, Spyro shifted his weight back to sit up straight, towering over the crowd with wings spread and tail uncoiled, only emphasizing his massive size and driving home the fairy's words to everypony listening. "The very course of both our histories have changed; how you ponies will come out of this 'Era of Disharmony' will depend on how willing you are to adapt and prepare."

"PONIES AND GUESTS, MAY I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION, PLEASE? THE MAIN EVENT IS ABOUT TO BEGIN!"

Everyone quickly turned away in favor of Pinkie Pie's announcement, the earth pony herself marching through town in her makeshift Dragon Priest robes, followed by two stallions pulling a large wagon, which was carrying a huge cloche dish large enough to hold a pony inside.

Spyro, curious as to what this was, got up and stepped over the table, he and the rest of the crowd all heading toward the middle of the party area, where Pinkie was setting up the wagon's contents on the makeshift altar she had built.

The fairy regarded Twilight's frightened face with a dull look. "But for now, you have a rare moment of peace between threats, so enjoy it. Enjoy all these moments when they come, because now they hold weight like they never had before." Her wings fluttered with purple pixie dust as she took to the air. "So make sure to make the best of them when you can."

And with that she turned and followed after her dragon, leaving Twilight standing there, wondering what on earth would become of her and her friends.

Zoe Autumnleaf
Gender: Female
Race: Unrecorded, "Fairy"
Fairies are a mystical and important race in the Dragon World and others of magical nature, as they tend to nature's many elements and control the changes of the seasons, much like how ponies do. Zoe Autumnleaf is a Dragon Fairy, who are considered giants in the fairy world, and whose natural job is to care for dragons and help them magically develop when young; Zoe is Spyro's personal fairy, and thanks to their magical bond she possesses full immunity to all but the most powerful and complex of magical spells and castings, as well as the ability to fuse his essence to 'safe locations' and revive him there should he fall in battle.

"Come one, come all!" Pinkie Pie announced to the crowd, standing on her hind legs as they gathered about in curiosity; the skull of her staff had folded away on a hinge, revealing a microphone underneath. "Today we are all here to honor the brave dragon who stopped that meanie-pants Nightmare Moon and saved our all flanks from eternal night! Now let's put our hooves together and give a big round of applause to Spyro the Dragon, the Beast of Everfree!"

Spyro couldn't help but swell a bit with pride and victory as a hearty cheer rose from the crowd, the ponies stomping their hooves on the ground in their form of clapping. It was moments like these that he lived for: the cheer and gratitude of those he saved, the rewards and love of the rescued, the praise of a hero. It was always the third best part of the adventure, second being the battles and first the adventuring itself. It was even more rewarding to see his friends standing throughout the audience, clapping themselves with looks that said 'you did good, Spyro, and we're proud of you'.

It never failed to make his fire warm and happy.

He was also very curious as to what Pinkie Pie had planned with this altar and hidden treat; he had already been pleasantly surprised that the pony had managed to make a Dragon Priest outfit, and equally impressed she even knew what those were, let alone how to make her own goofy version of their ceremonial robes. With those robes and that altar, whatever she was planning must be good for a dragon.

The clapping died down as Pinkie beckoned Spyro to the altar, motioning him to sit down in front of it. As Spyro settled himself down, tucking his wings to his side and stretching his tail out, the two stallions worked together to lift the cloche dish off the wagon and carry it to the altar, setting it down on top in front of the drake.

"So, without further ado, I present you this sacrifice as thank you for saving our butts, from Nightmare Moon and every jerk who comes after!"

Spyro's tail began wagging like that of a dog's with excitement; the long saurian extension of his spine whipped through the air dangerously, making ponies nearby scramble away in fear. But Pinkie paid it no mind as she grabbed the cloche lid and lifted off with a fluid swipe.

"Bon Appetit!"

"WHAT THE BUCK?!"

"OH, THE HORROR! THE HORROR!

"THIS IS AWFUL!"

"PINKIIIIIIIIIE!"

"WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!"

"IS THIS EVEN LEGAL?!"

"OH, THE PONIANITY!"

"WHYYYYYYYY?!"

And all Spyro could do was stare, unamused, before abruptly face-palming so hard it sounded across the main square.

There, strapped to the plate, was an earth pony mare with magenta-purple fur and a bouncy light-pink mane and tail with even lighter-pink highlights. She was wearing a innocent-yet-revealing white dress, along with a woven crown of flowers, though the appearance of innocence was harshly killed by the thick ropes indignity hogtying her in place. Speaking of hogs, she was also lying upon leaves of lettuce and had an apple stuffed in her mouth, muffling her words as she wriggling and squirmed in place, trying to get free of her bonds. The pony took one look at Spyro before going wide-eyed and freaking out, wriggling frantically like a stuck worm while squealing muffled curses through her apple.

"Pinkie Pie..." Twilight began, eyebrow twitching dangerously. "...what the BUCK?!"

Pinkie, however, just looked innocently confused. "What? It's Spyro's virgin sacrifice!" She stated, motioning to the struggling pony. "Haven't you every read a book? Everypony knows that when a dragon shows up in a town, you offer a sacrifice of an innocent virgin maiden to appease him so he doesn't eat the livestock!"

Twilight's eye twitched dangerously; ever read a book, indeed...the fact she actually had the gall to ask HER such a question...oh wait, she had a pony to save from becoming lunch.

"First of all, what time do you think we live in, the Hearth's Warming ages?" The unicorn asked, waving a hoof toward Spyro. "Secondly, do you think is even a bit morally questionable? You're only, oh I don't know, OFFERING A FELLOW PONY TO GET EATEN! We don't even know if those stories are real or not!"

"Oh, they're real." Spyro spoke up. "But we don't eat the maidens. We play with them: have them sing songs for us and pleasure us with their flesh until we are content and happy...and then we eat them." He then frowned, poking at the bound pony with a claw, enticing a squeak of alarm. "But it matters not; I won't be eating her."

While everypony looked relieved, Pinkie Pie looked worried and even scared. "B-But I went through all the trouble to find the oldest yet fairest virgin in town! I went through all the mares I could find and checked them all myself. Personally." The tied pony, whom the other ponies recognized as Cheerilee, stopped her struggling to give Pinkie the ugliest stink eye Spyro had ever seen, a muffled growl on indignation escaping through her apple; not only that, but there was mass blushing, a few indignant hoof stomps, and even low exclamations of anger throughout many of the mares standing throughout the crowd. "I even went ahead and picked out the crème of the crop for you. On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd rank them 'would totally tap dat'!"

Spyro blinked in confusion. "Did...you just come out of the closest in front of the entire town?" He shook his head, clearing out that mess. "The answer is still 'No'. I don't want her for a sacrifice." He stated as he pushed the plate and the pony on it away from him.

Pinkie, however, didn't give up. "Why not?" She asked, pushing the plate back toward him.

"You ponies aren't my type." Spyro snapped, pushing the plate back again, this time with enough force to knock Cheerilee off the plate; the ropes came undone, and the moment they fell from her body she bolted, disappearing into the crowd.

"Hey, come back!" Pinkie yelped, reaching out after her, but to no avail. She gave a huff, puffing her cheeks out, before taking a calm breath and letting her features relax. "...okay then! If that doesn't satisfy you, then I'll something that will! In that regard..." The earth pony gave the dragon the most serious, focused, and determined glare she could muster, and in a voice that was just as steeled and ready, she asked a single question:

"What...is your fetish?"

The silence that followed could not be described in words.

And was only broken by the hysterical laughter from Hunter and Zoe, both of whom cackled so hard they clutched their stomachs and fell backwards, the former into a nearby table, and the second into a bowl of punch.

Spyro's expression was decidedly blank as a wooden board. "What."

"What is your fetish?!" Pinkie repeated, zipping around him excitedly. "What is it that gets your party pumpin'? Lights up that fire in your belly? Gets you feelin' funky? You say the word and I'll get you a maiden that'll make stallions worldwide weep with envy! I will not let this party be a disaster!"

She hopped over to the crowd, pulling out an entire dozen of surprised, outraged mares. "So! What is it about those 'pleasures of the flesh' that you like best?" She asked coyly, making weird gestures with her hooves. "Is it the big bouncy butts?" She slapped Derpy across the flank, making the pegasus' eyes go wide and straight. "Is it the long luscious legs?" She ran a hoof down Bonbon's leg, making the earth pony's fur bristle. "Or are you into one of those thingies?" She pumped Lyra's horn and yanked Carrot Top's tail at the same time, making both mares blush and squeak. "You say the word and it's yours. What do you like in girls? Butts? Legs? Horns?"

"Breasts."

Pinkie blinked. "What?"

"You asked what I like." Spyro spoke again, his face still straight. "And I like Breasts." Pinkie still looked confused. "Boobs? Tits? Melons? Knockers? Bajongas?"

Still confused as ever, Pinkie instead turned her attention to Elora, who was standing a few feet away; when the faun's eyes met hers, she motioned to Spyro with an expectant look and a head shake. Elora rolled her eyes at the whole situation before cupping her own (impressively large) breasts with her hands, bouncing them for emphasis.

Pinkie's face lit up with realization. "Oh, you mean udders!" She exclaimed happily.

The dragon gagged with a reptilian gurgle, jaws open and forked tongue sticking out. "Ugh, hell no! Gross!" He snapped, shooing the pink pony away with a claw. "Like I said, you ponies aren't my type."

Pinkie Pie looked ready to cry "B-But...butt...!"

Bonbon raised her hoof. "So let me get this straight: you never wanted a maiden sacrifice to begin with, and as a result of Pinkie going overboard, half of Ponyville has been violated beyond therapeutic recovery by that pink monster for nothing?" She asked.

To that, Spyro simply nodded with a saurian grumble.

The beige pony nodded. "I see..." She stated. "...well, if we aren't needed anyone, please excuse us..." She then turned to Pinkie with a look that could cook ice; identical to the rest of the faces of the dozens of other mares that quickly surrounded the suddenly worried element bearer.

"N-N-Now, wait a minute girls!" Pinkie began with a nervous grin, sweating profusely as the violated ponies began to close in, glaring at her with vengeance. "C-Can't we just f-forget this e-ever happened? I-I-I mean, no h-harm no f-foul, right?" Her words fell on deaf ears, some even beginning to beat their hooves together. "A-A-And don't forget! It was for the g-good of the kingdom! I-I'm sure Princess C-C-Celestia NOT THE FACE!" That was all she got out before she was dog-piled by over thirty angry mares, all yelling insults and profanities as they tackled her, kicking up a classic fight-cloud, comical-sounding punches, honks, slaps, animal cries and noise makers coming from within as they tumbled down the street, sweeping up everypony in their path up into the chaos.

Twilight and Spyro could only share an exasperated glance before both face-palming so hard they bruised their foreheads, both mourning the slow loss of their future sanity...both completely unaware of a mysterious pony hiding in the bushes just next to them, taking down notes on a piece of royal canterlot parchment.

"Spyro. Gender: Male. Race: Dragon..."

10. Life In Ponyville Shimmers - Epilogue

CHAPTER 3: LIFE IN PONYVILLE SHIMMERS (OVER A FIRE) - EPILOGUE

"...The leader of this group and a famous hero of the Dragon World, 'Spyro the Dragon' was the one that answered the call that the Tree of Harmony sent out, and who defeated Nightmare Moon INSTEAD of the Element Bearers originally sent. Impressive in size, strength, and cunning for his age group, his magical and elemental levels are off the charts; by far perhaps the highest magical reading ever recorded. This makes him incredibly powerful and extremely dangerous, comparable to the likes of Tirek at full power. Full caution advised when engaging him."

Celestia's frown only furrowed even deeper as the spy finished his report, the alicorn looking none-too-pleased. "Well, at least I can take solace in the fact that he's the only one of those monsters I have to deal with." She said, voice dripping with venom, as she rose from her throne and stepped down from it. "A few beastfolk and other mortals won't too much of a problem."

The dark-gray unicorn frowned himself, still winded from magical exertion. "You'll have to get past the dragon first, and I promise you that won't be an easy task." He stated. "I had used just about every multi-cloaking spell in the book to hide; sight, scent, mana, and even pulse, and he still nearly blew my cover! The sheer strength and level of his natural aura was strong enough to tear through everything I had! I was constantly having to cast the spells over and over again just to keep from blowing my cover! And that was just his aura!"

"Your point, Stealth Step?"

The answer was given not by the stallion, but by the white unicorn mare who was standing next to the princess. "His point, Princess, is that the Tree of Harmony has given us the trump card to end all trump cards, and you plan to rid Equestria of what could potentially be our strongest ally against evil yet." She stated in a simple, logical tone.

Celestia bristled, the fur on his back standing straight up, as she poured all her willpower to keep from snarling like an animal.

The action was not missed by the mare, her secretary Raven. "Princess, with all due respect, you are making a terrible mistake." She insisted, who stepped in front of the princess as she tried to turn away. "Yes, the dragon's involvement in the original plan was unexpected, and his methods are a bit...unorthodox, but even you can't deny the results his actions have done for the kingdom as a whole!"

The alicorn outright froze, going stiff as a statue. "Results...?" She whispered...before her mane outright exploded into roaring golden flames. "RESULTS?! MY SISTER WAS BUTCHERED LIKE A HOG BY THAT MONSTER! SHE LAYS HELPLESS IN A HOSPITAL BED BECAUSE OF HIM, AND WILL BEAR THE SCARS FROM HIS CLAWS FOR ALL ETERNITY! DO YOU INCLUDE THOSE IN YOUR RESULTS?!"

The sight of a furious Celestia even had the guards, for all their training and hardened stances, trembling with armor-wetting fear. So high praise to Raven, who only flinched briefly from fear even when begin glared down by the wrath of the sun incarnate.

"A-A small price to pay for freedom and returning to your side, isn't it?!" She shouted against the roar of the flames, her brown mane quickly becoming drenched in sweat. "Yes, if Twilight and the other bearers had gone alone as originally planned, they could've freed your sister, but the Nightmare would've only been removed and set free to tempt anypony else!" Celestia's eyes blazed an even brighter yellow, turning almost white. "But thanks to Spyro, not only has your sister been freed and can still live a normal life, but he has accomplished what we could never have even dreamed of doing on our own!"

Celestia flinched as she was forced to acknowledge this fact, her flames only flickering slightly.

So Raven pressed on. "Don't you see what a miracle this is?! That dragon killed a Nightmare! Removed it from Luna, without the aid of the elements, and then completely erased it and its darkness from the world! Something that ponykind has been trying to accomplish since the days of Dream Valley itself!" She exclaimed. " It's...it's outright mind-blowing! Even Starswirl the Bearded couldn't kill one; he and the others would've been able to save his squire if they could! Now, thanks to this Spyro, the Nightmare Forces have been permanently reduced in numbers! Think about it! We could finally be rid of the darkness your ancestors cursed our world with forever!"

"And what will become of Equestria in the meantime?!" Celestia spat, her eyes losing their glow, revealing pupils that held a hollow fear and burning hatred. "How many innocent lives, both pony and otherwise, will be lost in the sea of fire and darkness their battles will bring?" She closed her eyes, forcing her anger down and letting her mane return to its original form. "I have seen the wrath and ruin True Dragon Fire will bring; I have seen the death and destruction his kind will reign upon the land! The Nightmares are a force that must be dealt with, I agree...but if we allow a purple dragon to take center field, there won't be an Equestria left when he is done."

"You don't know that for sure." Raven objected.

"My final decision still stands." The princess concluded, turning away from her secretary and looking out one of the grand throne room windows; the town of Ponyville was visible in the distance, appearing so simple, small, and innocent, completely unaware Equestria's ultimate threat was within its borders. "Send these orders to the three captains of the Royal Armed Forces; I want three squads of all three races with no less in two hundred guards patrolling Ponyville's borders at all times. I also want a dozen agents hidden within the town's population to record and report everything that goes on."

She materialized the scrolls with the orders on them and handled them to Raven. "I already have a team from the Canterlot Arcane Table studying the spell the Tree used to reactivate the World Gates, as well as the means it granted 'Spyro' to slay the Nightmare; if we are lucky, we can find a way to stop the Darkness without destroying half the planet to do so." She stomped her hoof in finality. "Until we find a way to send it back and close the portal behind it, that beast is not to set one foot outside of Ponyville; if he tries to leave, then force him back in by any means necessary. Is that clear?"

In the end, the unicorn could do nothing but sigh in defeat and nod her head.

"Crystal." She said solemnly, taking the scroll with her own magic and leaving the throne room, with the silent Stealth Step following. Celestia used her magic to close the doors, taking a deep sigh as she did so.

"I'm retiring to my chambers for the day." She told the guards. "Postpone all scheduled matters of the Solar Court until tomorrow and inform the guard that I am not to be disturbed until then."

They barely had time to nod in confirmation before the alicorn teleported away in a blink of golden light...

...but not to her chambers as she had claimed.

When Celestia opened her eyes again, she found herself surrounded in darkness. She frowned, and with a flash of her horn, thousands of giant purple crystals lit up as the caverns beneath Canterlot Mountain lit up for the first time in centuries. Celestia remembered these caverns well; it was once been a prosperous mining community run my a family of nobles called...what was their names again? Oh yes, the Diamond Hoof family.

She frowned at the memory; Lord Diamond had been as greedy and selfish as they come, with no regard for anyone else's life but his own. Hence the sheer rage he went into when she had ordered the mines to close when the founders discovered that the mining was weakening the mountain, thus threatening the entire foundation of Canterlot itself. He had fumed and spat and cursed and stormed like a rabid animal, until he finally rampaged out of the room, cursing Celestia's name over and over again. In hindsight, she should've found it suspicious that he suddenly moved his entire house and all his belongings out of Canterlot only a few days later, but it was only thanks to Nova Sparkle, an inspiring astrologist, who overheard at the local tavern that Diamond had started up the mining again in secret and warned Celestia, just in time to prevent the entire mountain from collapsing. Lord Diamond was stripped of his title and banished from Equestria, and Star Nova was rewarded the former lord's estate and wealth, thus paving the way for House Sparkle.

As for the caverns themselves, they had been abandoned and most of them filled with stone, all known entrances sealed off...but a few caverns remained clear, forever sealed away from the surface and untouched by civilization since Diamond's time.

Making it the perfect place to hide something very large and very dangerous from the world.

Celestia swallowed as a cold yet burning fear filled her heart as she saw it; a fear ancient and permanently fused into her mind. Even after all this time, it still blazed with power. A dark, horrible, sheer overwhelming power; it was enough to make her horn vibrate, and push against even her own alicorn magic with enough force to crush a mortal pony into a bloody paste.

And to think it was only a small piece that had been broken off...

There, laying across a large round pedestal the size of a swimming pool, it lay motionless, and yet was more dangerous than anything she had faced before: more than Discord, more than Tirek, and even more than its successor in Ponyville:

A horn.

A single dragon horn, laying motionless on its pedestal, or just half of one...but even half of it was larger than the Ursa Minor itself, looming over Celestia like a great wall of solid bone; the dragon it once belonged to was the largest she had ever seen, dwarfing even the mighty Dragon Lord Torch...and even now, after all these years, it radiated a dark and horrible power; one that enveloped the chamber in a wicked darkness so black and thick with was like tar, broken only by crackles of red and purple magical discharge.

The same colors that the horn itself was: starting purple at the broken base, but bleeding into a dark bed as the tip.

"I do for sure, little pony..." Celestia growled, her eyes turning hard and cold as steel. "...more than you could even begin to comprehend..." She turned away and quickly left, leaving the relic of the past alone once more; the sheer darkness in the room was effecting her already, making her eyes flashed between purple and round to orange and silted.

"...because it seems they share other qualities besides that of their color."

11. Draconic Troubles

CHAPTER 4: DRACONIC TROUBLES

BOOKS FALL AND YOU DIE

A Pony Role Playing Game

It is a sunny day, the sky is clear and the sun is at its peak. You see a tree with glass windows, a door and a balcony: The Golden Oaks Library of Ponyville. Spike the dragon is rumored to be inside.

Do you wish to start the adventure?

Yes? - No?

Player Twilight Sparkle entered the game as Sorceress class.

Checking inventory:
Saddlebag: Gemstones, Scroll to Princess Celestia (sealed), Smarty Pants
Small bag of bits: 15 bits

You stand in front of the door. The Mayor had given you the key, since Princess Celestia had given you ownership over the library as your place of residence. Spike may or may not be inside yet.

Twilight uses "knock" on the door.

Twilight rolls listen: 15

You hear nothing moving inside. There are some sounds around you, but nothing out of the ordinary. The wind is gently blowing and the town is just as busy as it usually is at this time.

Twilight: "Hmm...I guess he's out getting his stuff from the chariot. I'll get started setting the place up."

Twilight cast 'Simple Levitation' on the door.

The door opens with a creaking noise.

Twilight triggered a trap! - Rolls Reflex Save: 20

You see a small rope on top of the door disappearing upwards; quickly you jump backwards, as an enormous wreath, about as big as a wagon-tire falls out of the leaves above. It is covered in tree sap, ribbons and other things that were probably supposed to be decorative. The final result seems to be begging for a box of matches to put it out of its misery.

Twilight: "Is that my old Hearth's Warming wreath?! Did Spike seriously booby-trap the library?! I knew he was having issues with Spyro, but this is ridiculous!"

Twilight enters the library.

Twilight rolls spot: 10

The library is quiet and dark. Rows of books surround you. You decide the middle space would be a perfect working place and study hall. All windows are closed and shutters are closed.

Twilight takes 20: Search!

There appear to be no more traps on this floor.

Twilight: "Spike must be really scared to go to such measures. And if he thinks that Spyro would fit through the door..."

You move towards the door.

Twilight: "I better be on the save side!"

Twilight rolls search: 13

Trap detected: One of the bookcases on the second floor is tilted and a rope is going away from the top of the door. If opened, the bookcase would probably empty itself on the person below.

Twilight uses "Levitation" on the bookcase.

Twilight triggered a trap! - NO SAVE!

The little legs on the back of the bookcase were missing! As soon as it is upright, it falls over, pulling on the rope. The door is slammed open with extreme force! You find yourself between door and wall.

Twilight is slammed into the wall: 10 blunt damage!

Twilight gets the buff 'Flattened!'!

Twilight: "...Ugh...Touché, Spike! But if I trigger one more trap, I'll have Rarity turn your tail into a dragon-scale belt! It will go nicely with the boots she'll make from the rest of you!"

You slowly remove yourself from the wall.

Twilight: "SPIKE! It's me, Twilight! Get your scaly butt out of the basement so we can talk! I don't feel like being smashed into any more walls, thank you!"

A shivering baby dragon slowly crawls out in the darkness.

GAME OVER

You gained 2800 EXP

Level up!

Wisdom +1
7 Skill Points obtained!

You obtain Lore: "Dragons are naturals at booby traps!"

There were many things currently on Twilight's mind. Among the first, foremost, and least appropriate were 'HAVE YOU LOST YOUR BUCKING MIND?!', 'WHAT THE HAY IS WRONG WITH YOU?!', and 'You should be glad I can't banish people to the moon!".

And these were the gentlest of all of them.

But not a single word left the unicorn's lips. She wanted to say all of them and a lot more, but the sight of a trembling, teary-eyed Spike crawling up the stairs like a frightened foal, claws chewed on and tail-arrow still a little damp from sucking on it...it just vaporized all her anger. She had never seen the little dragon looked more pathetic in his entire life than he did at this moment.

'He's just a baby dragon! Half my age at most!' She thought to herself, frowning with concern. 'I forget that because he talks, walks around, and can do adult stuff for hours. But in the end, he's still just a baby dragon! I never really gave it much thought...until another dragon shows up and gives me some real perspective.'

"Spike..." Twilight began in sympathy as the dragon finally dragged himself out of the stairwell, wringing his tail nervously. "...H...How are you doing?"

Spike sniffed a bit. "N-Not very good..." He stuttered lamely. "...I-I tried to stay and talk to S-Spyro, and I wanted to! But w-when I saw him: saw how big he was, and how scary-looking he is, I...I just freaked out!" He made the motions with his hands. "So I hid in the library, and set up all these booby traps to keep me safe...as if they would work against someone as big and strong as he is" His stammering turning into a shuttering sigh and he slumped over. "...I must be the lamest dragon in the world..."

Twilight's heart clenched in her chest; not just out of pity, but also out of guilt. After all, it was mostly her fault he was the way he is. Ever since she hatched the dragon pup from the egg, she had done her best to care for and raise him the best she could; being only a few years older than him, it was her parents that did most of the 'raising' (hence why their relationship felt more like sister-and-brother than mother-and-child), but the young unicorn did her absolute best to care for a baby dragon to the best of her knowledge.

Unfortunately, that knowledge had always been very limited: Despite the many encounters the two races had, ponies knew next to nothing about dragons, as they were far too dangerous and scary for the timid-hearted ponies to try to talk to or study. Even Princess Celestia herself knew very little about them, as all of her encounters with them had been on the battlefield to prevent them from destroying Equestria.

As a result, the best she and her family could do was raise them the only way they knew how: as a pony.

And thus that led him to become the dragon he was today, though in reality the title 'dragon' was in body only. Everything else was clearly pony in nature: he talked like a pony, thought like a pony, felt emotions like a pony, socialized with other ponies like a pony...and most of all, lacked the survival instincts of dragon-kind like a pony. By all reason and logic, he was a pony in a dragon's body. And Twilight always knew that one day this would mean trouble when he would have to interact with other dragons.

She just never imagined that day would come so soon.

"Spike, look at me." She told him firmly, holding his shoulders with her hooves as he did so. "Now listen. You are not and never will be any less of a dragon just because you were raised by ponies. You may not know how to act like a dragon raised by other dragons, but that doesn't mean a thing! You were born a dragon, and you be a dragon for your entire life, and no one can tell you otherwise."

"But-" Spike began, only to be cut off by a hoof.

"No! No buts." Twilight insisted. "It's true: you aren't as big or scary or ferocious as most other dragons, but that doesn't make you any less of what you are." She patted him on the head. "And even if the other dragons can't see that, you'll always be a real dragon to us, and that's what really matters."

Even that managed to get the little drake to crack a smile. "You think so?" He asked.

"I know so." She assured him, giving him a warm squeeze. "I have a letter to send to Princess Celestia; you go ahead and send it, and then we can go and meet Spyro together." Spike wiped his nose with his arm and nodded; thus Twilight handed him the scroll, which he blew his green fire on, turning it into magic smoke and sending it on the wind to Celestia.

"There we go." Twilight said, taking his hand with her magic. "Now let's-"

"*ROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAARRRRRRR!*"

And that was how Twilight discovered dragon urine burned as much as their breath as poor Spike promptly pissed himself, his 'mess' eating a hole through the library's wooden floor.

The very building itself shook from the force of the roar, which knocked a number of books across the floor, following by heavy tremors and the screaming of ponies as the sounds of a full blown rampage sounded through the walls. Twilight barely had time to ask what was going on before a blur of yellow and purple zoomed through the front door: the blur turned out to be Zoe, who quickly spun around and slammed the door behind her, barely missing getting crushed by a flung table.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US YOU HAD A DRAGON OF YOUR OWN?!" She angrily shouted at the top of her lungs.

"I-I was going to introduce you!" The unicorn stammered, freaking out as Spike flopped over, frozen in fear. "Why, what's wrong?!"

"Your pipsqueak's little 'flame letter' just triggered the most complex and ferocious of raw primal instincts, that's what's wrong!" Zoe snapped, fluttering up to Twilight to glare her in the eye (which was easy for her, as she was as tall as a pony herself); a massive crash outside, followed by another earth-shaking roar of rage, shook the library again. "Don't you ponies know anything about dragon social nature?!"

Twilight could only shake her head in confusion; Spike settled for curling up into a ball and rocking back and forth, sucking his tail-arrow like a pacifier.

The fairy face-palmed. "Who am I kidding, of course you wouldn't!" She muttered under her breath, before taking a breath and throwing a hand toward the door. "Look. This is neutral ground, unclaimed by anyone; that means it's up for grabs by any dragon who can either take it for themselves, or have it given to them by the local race!" She explained in a stern tone. "When Spyro arrived and you welcomed him with that ridiculous sacrifice of yours, you ponies unwittingly signed an unspoken contract: you've officially given Ponyville and the land surrounding it to him as a new extension of his territory! Ponyville's land and everything on it is his now!"

She pointed to the comatose Spike, who was shaking so hard his scales were falling off.

"Which means that any other dragon in Ponyville's boundaries without being allowed in first is officially trespassing on his land, and to dragons that's an act of WAR!" She outright yelled at the alarmed pony. "Your little 'assistant' just challenged Spyro the Motherfucking Dragon to a fight to the death!"

"W-W-WHAT?!" Twilight shrieked. "B-B-But that's absurd! Spike's just a baby dragon! And why would Spyro do such a thing?! He's not like that at all!"

"These are dragons we're talking about, Twilight Sparkle! Male dragons, no less!" Zoe snarled, rapping the unicorn's forehead with a fist. "You cannot even begin to comprehend the forces that go on inside their heads! Instincts forged and burned into their brains through millions of years of supernatural evolution and adaptation! Thoughts and reasoning that fire on levels far above anything mortals can ever reach! And enough testosterone and hormones pumping through their bodies to make teenage boys look as celibate as bricks!"

"Well, Wh-wh-what do we do, then?!"

Zoe fluttered back from the unicorn a bit, tapping her chin in thought. "It's too late to sneak him out now; Spyro's already sensed his magical essence in his fire breath." She told her. "So that leaves us with only one other option."

Twilight's ears and Spike's fins perked up with hope. "Yeah? What's that?" The former asked eagerly.

Zoe turned to look her dead in the eye, and the unicorn could outright see her higher brain functions shutting down behind them in preparation of what was to come.

"Spread 'em."

And with that, Twilight's mentality cracked. "...excuse me?"

Zoe rolled her eyes before whipping out her wand and swiping it in her direction; with a blast of light and shower of pixie dust, Twilight gave a yelp as she was thrown head over heels before landing backwards on her back, her bottom half facing the fairy. She barely had time to squeal in shock before two glowing hands made of magic grabbed her hind legs and, as the fairy ordered, spread them wide.

"W-W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" The unicorn shrieked, face going bright red. But Zoe had already grabbed the wide-eyed, pale-faced Spike, pinning his arms to his sides as she hoisted him up.

"You'll both thank me for this one day." She told them both as she took aim, lining up the baby dragon's head with her target...

Spyro swung his tail with the force of a runaway freight train, smashing yet another hut into the ground with an explosion of splinters and pebbles. Fire poured out the sides of his mouth is blazing rivers, his eyes burning with both physical fire and inner fury as she stormed through the town, roaring at the top of his lungs and destroying anything that drew his attention. Ponies scrambled about the street like mice, screaming in panic as his footfalls shook the ground, but he paid them little mind. He was on the warpath, and both his pride and his territory were on the line!

The sorrow and longing he had felt before was long gone, replaced by a new focus and purpose: so, they thought they could sneak in and steal his land while he was drowsy on a full stomach?! Typical, borderline-cliche youngster move; trying to sneak in and steal treasure from a sleeping owner! Well, that trick wasn't going to work here!

You want my land, or my treasure, you better be ready to fight for it! TO THE DEATH!

"SNAP OUT OF IT!"

With that yowl, Hunter pounced from the roof of a nearby building, latching onto Spyro's head like a facehugger, wrapping his arms and legs around it to force his jaws shut, thus cutting off his fiery rage before he could burn anything. "You're going crazy over nothing!" The cheetah yelled, even as the dragon violently thrashed his head back and forth in an attempt to throw him off. "There's no dragon in this world strong enough to challenge you!"

No sooner did these words leave his mouth did something clamp onto Spyro's tail; Rainbow Dash held onto the thrashing extension of his spine with all her might, trying in vain to pull it and him backwards. "Seriously! Chill the buck out! Spike's not trying to steal anything from you; he's just a baby dragon!" She yelled at him/

But their words fell of deaf ears, and with a rumbling grunt, Spyro finally dislodged Hunter's grip, and with a fling of his head sent him flying through the air with a very cat-like caterwaul; the cheetah ended up crashing headfirst into a nearby stall of carrots, where the yellow mare with the bouncy orange mane could only wail in despair as her goods were crushed. The dragon then lifted his tail and whipped it with a lashing 'CRACK', sending the pegasus soaring over the buildings, landing with a scream into a fountain with a heavy splash, soaking all the ponies standing nearby.

Rainbow groaned and rubbed the newly-formed bump on her head, but Hunter was back on his feet immediately and drove right back into the chaos. Grabbing the tarp of the smashed stall in his mouth, he ran up to the rampaging dragon on all fours and took a running leap; in that single motion of the jump, he flipped over Spyro, snagged the end of the tarp on his horn, and flipped around, swinging around under the dragon's jaw and back up around. Spyro didn't have time to react before Hunter landed on the back of his neck and pulled the tarp taught, wrapping his head up like a mummy in a makeshift muzzle.

Spyro roared against his muzzle, both blinded and jaws clamped shut, as he swung his head and stumbled about, trying to claw at his bind; his tail whipped sideways as he spun in place, tearing through the walls of numerous buildings lining the road with loud crashes, sending the ponies inside fleeing out their back doors in panic.

For all the thrashing, Hunter remained clamped to the dragon's neck, holding the tarp taught. "For crying out loud! Going into a rage on the first day?!" He growled, not at all amused by the situation. "And you wonder why their princess gave you shit from the start!"

With a warbling bark, Spyro threw his head up with enough force to dislodge the cheetah again and send him skywards, flinging off the tarp with a sharp 'RIP' as it was torn off his horn. Hunter flipped back around as he fell to land of his feet, only to see a pair of saurian jaws open wide below, and the fiery orange glow of his throat turn into an icy blue.

"Oh, you BASTA-!" That was all he got out before a beam of bright-blue energy erupted from Spyro's mouth, engulfing him in a frosty blast and sealing him in rapid-forming ice instantly. When the beam stopped and the jaws closed, a giant chunk of ice fell onto the roof of the hut, the cheetah suspended solid inside.

Rainbow Dash recoiled in shock. "What the hay was tha-ACK?!" Was all she got before another beam of icy-cold engulfed her as well, freezing her and the fountain solid.

Snorting in approval, Spyro then continued to storm through the town, looking to all the world like a miniature kaiju on a rampage, locking his sights on where he detected the intruder use his fire-breath: that large tree building toward the west.

Of course his friends tried to stop him; tried to get him to see the 'logic' and 'reason' to this decision. Bah! What did they know?! They were mortal! Weak! Frail! Simple-minded! They could never understand the sheer level of audacity this wingless whelp had dared wrought upon his pride and honor as one of the sons of Akatosh! The grievous mistake it had made defying his dominion over this world; defying the law bound by the sacrifice of virgin blood! Mortal's petty sympathy and mercy held no place in the matters of dragon kind!

The intruder's blood would paint the ground red, and his honor as Jendovahzoor would be restored once he sent his foe's soul to the void!

He was still breathing heavily, a sudden weight descending over his mind, when his next obstacle got in his way, in the form of Elora and Rarity running up alongside him on his left and right respectively. "C-Come on, Spyro, this is getting ridiculous!" Elora tried to coax in a friendly manner. "You're Jendovahzoor! The purple dragon! Surely there are more important things to do than to make a fuss over one little hatchling, right?"

"Indeed, darling!" Rarity said herself, looking as nervous as the faun was. "Certainly a big, strong, handsome dragon such as yourself can afford to overlook such a simple mistake, can't you?"

An angry hiss that rattled everyone's bones was all they got as an answer.

Elora gnawed nervously on the back of her finger, eyes darting left and right as she tried to think of any way she could get the rampaging dragon to stop. This was getting crazy; she knew that it was the instinct fueling his rage, but the ponies were going to get hurt if he kept this up! They had to stop him before he did something that he wouldn't be able to fix; something that would forever scar his reputation with the world he had to save.

But how? The instincts were the drive this time; unbending to reason and their bearer too strong to be stopped by brute force...

...so maybe instincts would fall to ever stronger ones.

Ones she knew, with a coy smile, he couldn't resist.

"~You know, Spyro..." The faun began coyly, adopting a flirtatious look. "I heard what you said about you like in women back at the sacrifice. If that's what you like..." She wrapped her arms around her lower torso and learned forward invitingly, both actions making a certain pair of her anatomy appear to swell in size. "...~well then, there's a nice big pair right here, just for you ."

That got Spyro to halt mid-step, finally breaking his gaze away from his target.

Rarity nearly tripped over herself, caught so off guard she stumbled mid-step. "A-Are you seri-?!"

"~That's right..." Elora purred, slowly sashaying backwards in a sensual manner, hunching her shoulders in a way that pressed her breasts closer together, making them bloom out of her corset just shy of indecent exposure. "...how long has it been since I embraced you with my flesh? Since you experienced the warm, soft, fullness of your most valuable treasure? I certainly know...and I must say..." She bit her lip, running her hands up her torso and tensing as an outright orgasmic moan escaped her lips. "...it's been far too long ."

Rarity's jaw dropped so hard it dislocated with a painful-sounding crack.

Yet for the sheer audacity of the situation, it was working: Spyro, even in his animalistic haze, was visibly struggling between the two instinctual drives fighting against each other in his mind. The raging urge to tear the other dragon's flesh clashing with the steadily growing fire of lust; the more he watched his faun friend move, her silky-smooth skin gleaming in the sun and her pronounced curves swaying and bouncing hypnotically, the more the outrage of his violated territory faded, and the space left behind rapidly filling with an ancient and powerful desire...

...and behind her sultry expression, Elora gave a mental whoop of victory as the dragon finally gave into the temptation and turned to pursue her, the fire in his eyes fading into a deep glow as they locked onto her form. He followed her to the side of the road, allowing the ponies hiding on the other side to escape and flee to safety.

"~That's a good boy, Spyro..." The faun moaned, beckoning him with seductive motions. "Forget about that silly little hatchling; what good is wasting your energy over something so small and petty, anyway?" She reached her arms out, ready to take the dragon's head in her arms. "All that truly matters is just You. And. M-YIPE!"

*CR-SPLAT!*

Unfortunately, she was so focused on the dragon that she lost focus of her surroundings and back right up into a compost wagon. Arms flailing, she fell back into the wagon with enough force to break one of the wheels, sending her and the wagon flipping over onto the ground with a messy crash of breaking wood and a splash of vegetable munch, which buried her with a gross-sound 'sploosh'.

And just like that the magic was broken; at the sight (and smell) of Elora drenched in goop and covered in rotten plants, Spyro snapped out of his trance, gave her a disgusted 'blech!', and turned away with a frustrated snort, returning to his warpath to the Golden Oaks Library.

Rarity waited for the dragon's tail to slither out of the way before rushing to the faun's side. "Oh my goodness, are you alright?" She asked, using her magic to pick and remove bits of compost from her hair. "That was quite the unfortunate fall."

Elora sighed, peeling a sticky piece of rotten lettuce out of her cleavage. "Were this meat or baked goods, that would've done it: Spyro would've forgotten about your friend, and we'd be going at it like rabbits right now." She said flatly, giving the piece she was holding a glare.

"That was truly a brave thing you did there." Rarity told her as she continued cleaning her. "I mean, risking your very innocence to that beast, just to save us Spikey-Wikey from his wrath! I mean, just imagine what he would've done to you if you hadn't fallen into this mess!"

However, instead of cheering it up...she only made the faun pout even further, giving a pathetic whine as she did so.

I am..." She told the unicorn, staring longingly after the dragon. "I truly am..."

The houses in front of the Golden Oaks Library exploded with a fury of fire, wood, and stone as Spyro plowed through them like a runaway freight train, roaring with a fury that had reached even greater heights. Now he was truly enraged: his land had been trespassed, his pride as a dragon violated by an intruder, and now he had been blue-balled by his favorite female! His patience and tolerance had been completely and thoroughly wrung out and dispelled to the winds. He stepped out into the open street, the Golden Oaks Library just across it from him.

His eyes burst into flames once more, changing color from purple to red.

He wanted the intruder's blood and he wanted it now!

With an angry roar that shook everything around him, scattering the birds to the air, he stormed forward and stomped across the street...but barely made three steps in before a blinding burst of sky-blue magic erupted in front of him, making him recoil with a pained shriek, before that burst engulfed the area around him and solidified into ancient runes. And before he could react, giant magical beams burst from the runes and connected above him, flattening out and fusing to form a large hemispherical bubble of semi-transparent magic, trapping him in place. He roared angrily, his tail whipping behind him and striking the side of the bubble; it crackled with a burst of arcanial discharge, but remained solid.

"That is enough!" A familiar voice shouted, and he turned to see Bianca standing on the outside of his prison, hands outstretched with runic circles floating around them; from her palms poured a constant stream of magic into the bubble, keeping it strong and solid. "You're completely out of control and not thinking straight! You have to calm down!"

Spyro roared in defiance, backing up as far as he could go before charging into the shield with enough force to level an entire building. There was a solid crash, and a huge burst of discharge; the shield cracked in the spot of the impact like glass, the splits forming out like a spider web, but remained firm.

Bianca cringed as the blow resonated through her magic, almost making her knees buckle from the force, but she gasped for breath and held firm. "You're going to hurt people if you keep this up!"

He slammed into the side of the bubble again, making the cracks spread even farther.

"Please! Don't do this!" She cried. "I don't want to fight you!"

It was the sheer desperation in her voice that finally reached the dragon, and he stopped mid-charge, stumbling on the spot. His breath heavy and labored, he turned his head to look at her with an expression of confused aggravation.

Seeing her chance, she cautiously she stepped forward, approaching the weary dragon until her palms touched the bubble's pulsing surface, which she leaned against to look him directly in the eye. Spyro stared right back at her, his eyes sharp as his teeth and his pupils narrowed into perfect slits, and his jaws hanging open as his breath came in labored and heavy, his body weak from exhaustion.

"Look at you: frothing like a rabid animal and on the point of collapse." She spoke in a firm yet sympathetic tone; she motioned to the dragon with a toss of her head, frowning in disapproval. "You think this is what a hero is suppose to look like? You think this is what it means to follow your destiny? To endanger the ones you swore to protect and destroy their homes like a crazed monster?"

Spyro growled glaringly as he tensed for a pounce...

"You are above instincts, Spyro!" The rabbit continued, unflinching and eyes hard as stones. "Above the barbaric urges of your dinosaur ancestors! That 'trespasser' you're hellbent on killing? He's just a hatchling! A baby, with no intention or desire to steal anything from you! You probably didn't know that before, but now that you do, are you really going to go through with killing him? Do you really consider murdering a helpless infant to be an honorable, heroic thing to do?"

The dragon opened his mouth, his throat beginning to glow orange...

"Because Ignitus certainly didn't."

The change hit Spyro like a lightning bolt, every muscle in his entire body locking up and his fire snuffing out instantly as her words punched through his clouded mentality and awoke memories old and powerful, his eyes flashing with recognition as a strangled reptilian gurgle escaped his throat.

Bianca's eyes softened, and she placed a hand up higher on the shield, as if to pet him on the head. "When Ignitus found you amongst the other eggs the thieves stole, an outsider amongst the rest, he could've followed his instincts and crushed you before you even hatched...but he didn't." She gave him a warm smile. "He fought against what his very blood was commanding him to do and took you under his wing, and because of that we're all here now...I'm here now, fighting by your side instead of following the Sorceress' footsteps. Isn't that good?"

Spyro gave a soft warbling croon as he shifted back out of his defensive stance, wings folding against his sides, his pupils slowly widening to their original shape as the sparkle of his true self began to return in them.

"That's right. It is." She continued, and despite everything in her head screaming otherwise, she cautiously withdrew her hands and allowed the shield to lower and disappear...and it paid off; Spyro remained standing where he was, no longer focused on reaching the library. "Your dad took a chance on a lost egg, when anyone else would've smashed it, and the entire dragon world has become a better place for it."

She reached a hand out, holding it up to show it held no weapon or magic; Spyro tensed slightly, his mental state still on the animalistic side...but in the end he won out against his inner beast, and lowered his head to allow his friend to gently pet him on the end of his snout.

"You've helped me find a better way; let me help you do the same..." Bianca told him, running her paw up to his forehead...which lit up with a sky-blue rune. "Somnum."

With a burst of bright-light, a cast of magic pulsed out from her palm directly into Spyro head, flooding his brain. The dragon wrenched his head away and rose up with an startled, upset roar...which quickly trailed off into a wheezing garble as he stumbled to the side. His legs were trembling, wings and tail falling limp and dragging along, and his bleary vision faded into black as the physical exertion of last night and the morning all came rushing in at once like a tsunami of pure exhaustion.

He took one shaky step forward...another stumble of a step...and with a drawn-out groan, the exhausted dragon finally caved in and collapsed to the ground with a earth-shaking crash that rumbled through the entire town.

Bianca waited long after the shocks faded into the distance, watching the motionless saurian form with baited breath...until a deep rumbling snore broke through the tension, allowing her to give a truly deep sigh of relief. Running a paw through her hair, she lowered herself next to the sleep Spyro's head and shifted her legs beneath her, sitting on her knees; smiling fondly, she softy patted the dragon's scaly brow.

"You once saved me from doing something I would've regretted for the rest of my life." She told him in a gentle voice. "Now I've gotten to return the favor."

*BANG!*

With a slam of a door against wood, the Golden Oaks Library door burst open as Zoe zoomed back outside, carrying a sticky and hollow-gazed Spike in her arms. "Okay, I got Spike here ready for incorporation; now we just need Spyro to-!" She trailed off when Bianca sent her a death-glare, motioning to the sleeping Spyro in question with a clear 'shut the fuck up' expression. "...hold on...you actually knocked him out?!" He hissed in a whisper. "How?!"

Bianca sighed, gently petting Spyro's head again. "When I trapped him in my shield rune, he tried to break out; at full strength, he could've easily punched through even my strongest barrier...but when he hit it once, he just managed a small crack." She turned to look at the fairy with worried eyes. "He was barely able to stand when I finally cast a sleeping spell, which took effect almost immediately...he's exhausted, Zoe."

Zoe frowned in concerned, setting Spike on the ground before fluttering up to the sleeping dragon; she unhooked her wand from her belt and held it over Spyro, resting one hand against his scaly forehead while using the other to slowly wave her tool back and forth across it. "Let's see..." She began under her breath, her one pulsing with different colors. "...vitals...natural reserves...mana level..." Her wand suddenly flashed red, and her eyes widened in alarm. "How in the Tree...?"

"Are you KIDDING ME?!" The sheer volume of Twilight's scream made the two flinch in fear, especially at the sight of Spyro shifting in his sleep. "After all that you did...after putting Spike and I through...T-THAT, and YOU PUT HIM TO SLEE-?!"

The unicorn barely made it two steps out the library door before she was outright tackled by Zoe, who knocked her against the dirt and forced her down with magic; Twilight began to scream in alarm, but was abruptly cut off when the fairy jabbed her dangerously-crackling wand against the base of her horn, glaring her down with outright murderous intent as she stood over her.

"Talk! Now!" She demanded. "What happened during the fight with that Nightmare Princess?!"

Twilight remained frozen, eyes wide with genuine fear. "W-W-What's going on?! Why are you-?!" But was cut off again as Zoe bonked her head with her wand, which she pulled away from her and pointed to with her free hand.

"You see this?!" She outright demanded, pointing to its red glow. "This tells me Spyro's physical and magical reserves are CRITICALLY LOW, to the point where we could knock him out with a single sleeping spell! He never reaches this level unless he was forced to do something incredibly drastic to drain both his strength and magic completely dry!" She pointed the wand to her again, the tip crackling with lightning. "So talk! What. Happened?!"

"I-I don't know!" Twilight cried, shielding her face with her hooves from the magical sparks. "He seemed just fine after the fight! I mean, that last attack did blow his head and arm off, but he grew them back! Hydr-"

The color drained from Zoe's face. "HIS ENTIRE HEAD AND ARM?!" She shrieked in horror as she spun back to Spyro, the emotion clear in her expression and eyes; she slapped her face with her free palm, gritting her teeth in anger. "Spyro, you fucking idiot! No wonder he gave into his instincts and went berserk!"

"We can worry about that later! We have to get him some help!" Bianca cried.

Zoe nodded in agreement. "Get Hunter and Elora out of whatever messes they've gotten themselves into; I'll stay here and get his mana back up to where he can actually wake back up." She shook her head in exasperation as the bunny bounded off, giving the sleeping dragon an outright indignant glare as she fluttered back to him and began working her magic.

Twilight hesitantly stood back up, looking nervous and worried as she watched the fairy pour two streams of raw magic from her hands, which were being absorbed into Spyro's chest. "I-Is there anything we can do?"

"Gather as many unicorns as you can to help me give mana so Spyro's heart doesn't lose the strength to pump blood and force him to go into hibernation." Zoe told her, not looking up from her work. "Once he's stabilized, we need to get him indoors and so Elora and I can give him proper treatment." It was only then she briefly looked up. "We'll explain everything when we get there."

The unicorn looked torn, but nodded and galloped off to find help all the same.

Spike remained sitting where he was, his body stiff and immobile yet trembling and chattering, his mind thoroughly broken by the acts of sheer unspeakable horror he had been forced through...all in the name of living to see the light of tomorrow, and avoiding a fiery, wrathful demise that even the worst monsters of Tartarus didn't deserve...

Nope. Still not worth it.

Nurse Redheart had seen a lot of weird patients come into the Ponyville Hospital during her time.

Ever since she first graduated with full honors from Canterlot Medical School, and eventually was sent to work at Ponyville Medical Center as Doctor Stable's personal nurse (mainly because, despite her near-perfect grades and performance record, the unicorn nobility of Canterlot had made some very vocal complaints about an earth pony working in medicine: a normally unicorn-only job), she had seen her fair share of a wide and diverse crowd. Thanks to Ponyville's location on the Everfree Forest, the town was famous for a near-daily amount of monster attacks and other natural disasters; and as a result, many ponies came in on a similar basis to have wounds, poisons, illness, and Faust knows what else fixed and/or cured.

And over the many years and many monster attacks she had endured, she had seen just about everything Equestria had to offer: the most common patients were earth ponies, due to Ponyville originally being an earth-pony town, but she had also seen her fair share of pegasi and unicorns as well. And she had seen plenty of non-ponies that either lived here or came to now via trains. Cows, donkeys, mules, and horses were the most average non-ponies to visit, but she had also tended to griffons, deer, boars, a buffalo or two, and even once set a cast for a thestral, the rarest of all Equestria's races.

Yet for all the different races she had seen and treated, she never imagined she'd one day tend to a dragon.

But there he was, lying his side on the tarp they had laid out across the hospital room they had cleared out to fit him in, body curled up in a loose hoop like a giant cat, snoring away in a deep, enchanted slumber. The group of Beastfolk and...miscellaneous help add to the uniqueness of the situation, along with a number of ponies watching from the side: the cheetah beastman and Rainbow Dash, the latter a more common patient, were set up on the other side of the room, teeth chattering and noses red from cold as they sat half-submerged in large tubs of steaming-warm water, bundled up in heavy blankets and looking just as upset as the goat-thing, rabbit beastwoman, and breezie creature did.

"His entire head, and an entire limb on top of that..." Elora muttered aloud as she ran her hands over Spyro's side, spreading a green, nature-element magic (the magical sparkles took the form of glowing leaves) across his body in deep pulses. "I'd smack him when he wakes up, but I'd doubt he'd actually feel it."

"That's not stopping me." Zoe growled as she sat on Spyro's head, sending her own magic directly into his brain. "He's done dumber than this in his time, and I didn't let him forget it then either." She sent a glare to the ponies watching. "Though I'm pinning partial blame on the horses: oblivious to the world and arrogant to boot."

"Now just one moment here! How were we suppose to know we were giving Ponyville to Spyro with that sacrifice, or that dragons didn't tolerate each other on a level of outright genocide?!" Rarity objected in their defense. "A sacrifice, need I remind you, that SOMEPONY orchestrated behind our backs without our knowledge or consent!"

"Hey, I was only trying to make my party as dragon-friendly as possible!" The thoroughly bruised and battered Pinkie snapped, still nursing the wounds she got from the mob of vengeful virgins she provoked. "I didn't know it had any deeper mumbo-jumbo dragon meaning! I mean, come on! It was a party!"

"And that's why I blame you." The fairy said, giving them a condescending look. "Dragons have shared your lands for eons nows, and the average population doesn't even have what we of the Dragon World consider basic knowledge; things you should know if you insist on sharing a word with them." She snapped at them. "I'm guessing that your ancestors made bad first impressions with dragons, or perhaps that dragons are different in this world, and either way you never achieved the means to obtain this knowledge...but fear is not and never will be an excuse for enabling blind arrogance."

"*AH-CHOO!*" Rainbow Dash sneezed, before blowing her nose of a tissue one of the nurses levitated to her. "*Sniff*...Oh ye'h? W'll, if yoo're soo sm'rt, why dougn't yoou toll us w'at the bock happened oot there?" She moaned through a stuffy nose.

Zoe gave a heavy sigh, rubbing the bridge of her nose with her fingers. "Well, we are going to be working together in the future...what do you all know about the Law of Arcane Compensation?"

Twilight's ears perked up. "Spell Casting 101: 'For ever magical action taken, an equal magical payment must be given'." She quoted, almost on pure instinct. "It's basic knowledge all unicorns learn about casting magic: even the smallest and simplest of spells, like basic Levitation, has to be 'fueled' in order to cast. It works in the same way physical strength does: we need energy to move and act, and we use the energy in our bodies whenever we do. When unicorns cast spells, we fuel it with our natural mana, and when we use it all up we 'exhaust' ourselves and can no longer cast magic until we replenish our supply."

"Dragon powers, both physical and elemental, work the same way." Zoe explained. "When Spyro uses his power, he fuels it with his own natural energy as well. Normally this isn't a problem: a purple dragon's energy reserves are so large and quickly-refilling, that he normally doesn't even notice he lost any before it's recharged itself...but last night he was forced to use it in a drastic manner that drained it past the point of natural regeneration."

"You mean when he had to regrow his head and arm when he was fighting Nightmare Moon." Rarity concluded. "But he healed himself just fine, and won the fight right afterwards."

"All Power comes at a Price, even dragon power." The fairy directly pointed out. "Spyro might have the hydra dragon's ability to regenerate lost and damaged tissue, but the larger and more fatal the wound, the more time and energy it takes to completely heal it." She placed her hand on Spyro's forehead, gently patting the scaly skin. "There were two ways he could handled it: He could've either waited for it to slowly grow back over time and save himself the energy, or he could tap directly into his physical and elemental reserves to force his flesh to grow back at a much faster pace. Given that he was in the middle of a fight, I think it's safe to assume he chose the latter, and in doing so with wound that large drained both his physical and elemental energy to dangerously low levels, but not to the point of collapse."

"He told us all about his adventures after dealing with Nightmare Moon." Bianca explained as she worked her own magic; the rabbit beastwoman was sitting on a chair next to Hunter, using a heat spell to warm him and Rainbow Dash. "If he had just rested a bit after his fight, or speed up his regeneration drawing energy from the elemental forces around him, he could've regained his strength there and moved on without consequence...but then everything else happened."

Zoe nodded in agreement, giving a heavy sigh of disapproval. "Encountering the damned...flying hundreds of miles back to the mountain to pick up us, and then making the trip back to Ponyville with all of us in tow...and finally his rampage after that pup of yours, all without stopping to rest or recharge even once."

"Not bad for a first day, I suppose..."

All eyes in the room went wide, and every head turned to Spyro just as he opened his eyes and shifted his head around to look at them, looking tired yet content.

"Yay! Spyro's awake!" Pinkie cheered with a happy bounce as the other ponies all exclaimed their surprise and relief.

Elora was in front on him in seconds, dropping down on her knees and cupping his lower jaw with her hands to tilt his gaze up to hers. "Are you alright?" She asked him in a worried tone, her face a mix of emotions. "How do you feel? Any pain or fatigue?"

Spyro's body tensed as he gave a small stretched, opening his jaws and baring his teeth in a soft, warbling yawn. "Tried, and a bit sore, but you know I've been through much worse." He told her.

"Good to know." She stated, the faun giving a satisfied nod...

*Wa-POW!*

...before she promptly slugged the dragon across the forehead. Spyro gave a warbled bark, more out of surprised than actual pain, as he shifted backwards from the blow; his tail swished across the floor, almost knocking over Hunter's and Rainbow's buckets, as he rolled over onto his stomach and pawed at the spot of the punch, one eye closed and the other meeting the searing glare Elora was giving him.

"What the heck were you thinking back there?!" She snapped angrily. "Of all the times to go into a rage, you had to choose being mentally exhausted to do it!" Her frown faltered with worry. "Why didn't you tell us what happened during your fight?"

Spyro gave her a glare of his own. "Because none of you needed to know." He snapped, raising his head up to its default height to look about the room at everyone. "I've dealt with much worse than simply getting tired, and I was handling it just fine..." His glare broke away from his friends and cast its fiery light on the crowd of ponies nearby, namely the purple unicorn in the front. "...until someone decided to defy Dragon Law and allow an trespasser onto my territory!"

"Now hold on just one moment there!" Applejack bravely objected, only backing up slightly when his narrowed gaze landed on her. "W-We had no idea that Pinkie's mess meant we were handin' ov'r our town to ya!"

"And Spike was here before you even knew Ponyville existed, and he never meant any 'defiance' or disrespect!" Rarity added. "He's just a baby dragon as well!"

"Irrelevant." Spyro growled darkly, completely unmoved and unswayed, the area around his form rumbling darkly as his chest glowed a dangerous orange. "You may have been arrogant to our kind's ways, but you willingly gave yourselves into its binding power none the less. Ponyville is MINE now, along with everything in it; Bianca may have helped me see reason, but as long as our deal remained bound, I will not tolerate those who defy my rights as a Dovah!"

"Now...where is this 'Spike'?"

"Right here, big guy!" Every pony in the room gaped in shock and disbelief as Zoe promptly entered the room, the wide-eyed and struggling Spike in her arms, whom she promptly plopped down in front of the larger purple dragon. "Here lies the one who defied your rule and tainted your land. Go nuts!"

Spyro stared down in an almost animalistic silence at the dragon pup, who stared back up with eyes wider than dinner plates while curled up into a nervous ball and shaking like a leaf. His face was calm and expressionless, and for a moment it look as if everything was going to be fine...

...until his pupils narrowed in thin slits, and his face slowly twisted into a murderous snarl, teeth bared and eyes glowing as a dark growl rumbled from his throat.

Twilight's heart seized in her chest, a cold horror washing over her, as Spyro shifted his body up, his wings spreading as much as the room would let him as he towered over the now terrified Spike like an glowing-eyed angel of death, his eyes and mouth glowing with fire. Rainbow Dash tried to get up and stop him, but her legs gave out and she fell back into her tub, shivering with cold. Applejack looked ready to jump forward herself, but was held back by a confused Pinkie Pie, who had been there to catch Rarity as she fell in a dead faint. Fluttershy had collapsed onto the floor, shaking like a leaf herself. A deep emotion took hold of Twilight's mind, and her horn fired up with purple electricity...

...until Zoe stopped them all with a single word:

"Wait!" She ordered, not looking away as she and everyone else remained frozen as Spyro lowered his head down to Spike...bore his teeth...opened his jaws...

...and then suddenly stopped mere seconds from eating him whole.

Spike cracked an eye opened, just in time to see Spyro's face falter as the larger dragon inhaled the air through his nostrils. Spyro closed his jaws, his face changing into a frown of confusion, as he stared down at Spike with narrowed but no longer anger-filled eyes; he then cautiously lowered his head down, the sound of crackling flame in his breath as he sniffed the baby dragon, like a dog sniffing something that caught his attention. Everyone watched with baited breath and varying expressions as Spyro stared at Spike for what felt like an eternity...

...until he finally gave a simple grunt of acceptance, turning away from the hatchling and laying back down on the tarp; his eyes had barely closed before he started to snore again, announcing to everyone in the room that he had once again descended into slumber.

Allowing Spike to give a single wheeze of a breath before falling backwards in a dead faint.

"...Ok'y, wa're oll thunking it, soo I'b gunna say it..." Rainbow Dash spoke up as the other ponies all but collapsed from sheer relief. "...whut the BUCK?"

Zoe gave a smug grin, arms folded in victory. "Sense-based Imprinting. A common trick used with animals to get them to accept other members of their species." She explained, petting the worn out Spike on the head. "When Spyro first sensed Spike's fire breath, he automatically assumed that he was an outside dragon sneaking into Ponyville, and that's what made him so aggressive." She motioned to Twilight, who had scooped up her assistant in a tight hug of relief. "But while you all were keep Spyro distracted, I was preparing Spike by covering his body in her scent: when Spyro smelled Twilight on him, his brain made the click that he was Twilight's relative and therefore not an intruder, but an official member of the pack, so to speak."

"That's a trick I sometimes use to get nursing critters to accept orphan babies as their own." Fluttershy stated proudly...well, as proud as Fluttershy would express herself. "It's a means of tricking an animal's brain into thinking another animal is a member of their family based on scent." She then frowned in confusion. "But wouldn't Spyro be too smart to be fooled by such a trick?"

"It's not so much a trick when it's the truth, now it is?" Zoe asked smugly. "Spike is technically a member of Twilight's family, and Spyro's sapient enough to realized this himself; the whole scent-based ploy was to make sure it fully clicked with his bestial parts so something like this doesn't happen again."

"So, this means I'm good with you guys, then?" Spike asked.

Elora gave a warm laugh, squatting on her knees to give him a warm smile. "Kiddo, you never were against us to begin with." She assured him, gently ruffling his scales. "Spyro simply didn't know that until now. But he does now, which means everything's alright now."

"Now hold on another minute!" Applejack suddenly spoke up again, stomping a hoof on the floor. "Are ya'll serious?! In case ya'll forgot, Spyro wrecked half of Main Street throwin' that tantrum of his! Nopony got killed, thank Celestia, but a lotta homes were wrecked and a lot of us got all banged up out there, and ya'll are sayin' everythin' alright?!"

"I'm not apologizing for being what I am." Spyro stated as he awoke to the farmpony's voice, cracking open one eye to give her a glare.

"And we don't expect you to." Bianca told him, folding her arms and giving the dragon a stern frown. "But we do expect you to make up for scaring those you swore to protect and destroying their homes." She pointed knowingly. "You're a hero, remember? And real heroes set things right when they mess up, and that's exactly what you're going to do."

"Agreed." Elora stated. "For now, you're going back to sleep until your strength is completely restored, and tomorrow you're going to do your part to clean up your mess." She closed her eyes and folded her own arms in thought. "I don't expect you to apologize, because getting you to admit you're wrong is harder than giving Hunter a bath, but the repair fees for all the damage you caused is coming out of your hoard."

Spyro bristled with indignation and lifted his head, dragon's greed taking front seat as his hoard was brought into the mix. "You dare to-?!"

"Ap!" He was cut off by the faun's snap, accompanied by her making the 'shut up' motion with her hand. "I don't want to hear it: you made the mess, you do what you can to clean it up. Fair?"

For a tense moment, the dragon looked fit to go on another rampage, but after a stern glaring contest between the two, he finally cave in with a grumbling sigh. "Only for my land. Nowhere else." He told her, turning away and laying his head back down.

Fluttershy frowned in confusion. "One other thing I don't understand." She spoke up. "Sense Imprinting usually works when the infants have the female's embryonic scents on it, like the smell of the yoke from the eggs, to identify them as their own. So how did you...?" She trailed off when she saw Twilight's face, pale and full of traumatic reflection, while Spike suddenly heaved, wrenched himself out of the unicorn's arms, and bolted across the room for the nearest bucket.

And Zoe the Fairy grinned in a way that reminded the ponies of Nightmare Moon herself. "Let's just say I gave the brand title 'Bad Dragon' a whole new level of meaning." She stated coyly.

"YOU CANNOT IMAGINE THE THINGS I ENDURED TODAY!" Twilight finally shrieked in horror.

"YOU CANNOT IMAGINE THE THINGS I SAW IN THERE!" Spike cried between emptying his lunch into the trash can.

"IT WAS MY FIRST TIME! MY FIRST! TO MY ASSISTANT'S LITERAL HEAD!"

"THE WALLS...FLESHY...CLOSING IN AROUND ME...SQUEEZING...AND STICKY!"

"I'VE BEEN VIOLATED IN WAYS YOU CANNOT IMAGINE!"

"IT TASTED LIKE GRAPES! I GET WHY, BUT...WHY?! WHY GRAPES?!"

"Doode, thut's hurdcoore." Rainbow Dash stated.

Spyro's eye cracked open one last time for the day. "That reminds me: I remember what you offered me, and I'll be claiming them when I'm wake up." He told Elora, who went stiff and pale as he closed his eyes and nodded off with four simple words: "Your 'big juicy ones'."

Bianca gave the faun an unamused look. "You really went there, huh?" She asked flatly.

Elora could only squeal in embarrassment.

And Nurse Redheart, who had been watching the whole thing from outside the doorway, officially concluded that these were indeed the most unusual patients she had ever tended to in Ponyville Hospital.

She also concluded she'd be spending the evening at Berry Punch's place trying to forget it.

12. BONUS: Never Con a 'Bags

CHAPTER 4: BONUS - NEVER CON A 'BAGS

Later that afternoon, Elora and Bianca found themselves sitting at a small mushroom table of a pony restaurant, enjoying some much-needed coffee while watching the ponies work on setting up a construction site on one of the buildings Spyro had damaged during his rampage; they were halfway through their mugs when they heard a most peculiar set of sounds: honking, beeping, and all sorts of other bizarre but clearly mechanical sounds firing off in an almost musical pattern.

They and the ponies nearby looked up to see something large and red coming up over the hill and rolling into town. As it made its way up to the restaurant, it revealed itself to be a large vehicle of some sort: it resembled a giant sleigh mixed with a car locomotive, with a cow grate on the front, two giant wooden-spoke wheels in the front and two smaller metal wheels suspended in the back on extensions. It had a large, almost factory-ese machine built into the back, which had two steam stacks, a number of hollow glass containers and electric bulbs, and a large golden funnel attached to a hose and barrel akin to a giant vacuum. And in the front of the machine, set between the two giant front wheels, was a fancy red couch to seat the operator of the machine.

And seated in that very couch, his rump big enough to use the entire thing as a single chair, sat the pleased Moneybags at the wheel (which looked as if it had been built in outside of the machine's plan), wearing a hat straight from Coney Island and surrounded by giant bags stuffed full of bits.

"A fine afternoon to you, ladies!" He announced as he pulled his newfound machine up next to their table. "This is certainly a charming new world, is it not?" He eyed the building nearby. "I see Spyro's making a name for himself already!"

Elora and Bianca could only gape in speechless confusion.

Until the former shook her head clear of the distractions, giving the Ursa a stern glare. "Where in the realms of Tartarus have you been?!" She exclaimed. "We could've really used your Dragon-Proofing skills just a few hours ago!"

Moneybags gave a chuckle, taking a handkerchief to his monocle. "My dear Elora, you should know me well enough by now to answer that yourself." He stated as his cleaned his trademark looking glass, placing it back over his eye when he was done. "When we found the World Gate, I wasted no time scouting out the new world and all the wealth it had to offer. I found train tracks that led me to Manehatten, a grand city, and learned quite a bit about this world and its workings, which I'm sure Spyro will find very useful."

Bianca cocked an eyebrow. "And that misshapen carnival ride of yours?" She asked.

"Well, while in Manehatten I came across a presentation hosted by two unicorns showing off their new invention." He patted the wheel cover next to him. "They called it the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000, a machine capable of producing large amounts of high-quality apple cider. The two were obviously con-artists; fast talking, fancy words, excited charm, all the works. They took one look at my suit and tried to swindle me into a business venture with profits split in a way that wasn't even remotely fair." He scoffed a laugh, smugly brushing his knuckles against his top. "Amateurs to a fault if I ever saw them."

Elora knew Moneybags well enough to know that the fact he had the machine was proof that those amateurs had made a bad mistake. "So what did you do?" She asked.

The bear looked astonished, placing a paw over his chest. "Why, my dear! What do you think I did?" He asked with a grin. "What any true business man would do in the situation: turned the tables and gave them a taste of the their own medicine." He laughed deep and hardily. "Smooth-talked them into a game of dice and won everything you see before you: their machine, their bits, even the clothes off their backs!"

The faun scowled. "Of course, not once did they realize you were using enchanted dice, did they?"

Moneybags smirked coyly. "Consider it a lesson that they desperately needed to learn." He told her, tapping the side of his snout with a finger claw. "Never con a 'Bags."

That following night, In the back alleys of Manehatten on a bed of dirty newspaper, a naked unicorn wearing a barrel suddenly sat up with an epiphany. "I do believe that bear was using enchanted dice." He told his twin.

"Oh, shut up and go to sleep, brother." The second unicorn snapped bitterly.

13. The Real Ticket Master

CHAPTER 5: THE REAL TICKET MASTER

"Thank ya kindly Twilight for helpin' me out." Applejack thanked Twilight with a cheerful hop, bouncing the apples in her saddle basket for emphasis. "I bet Big Macintosh I could get all these golden delicious in the barn by lunchtime." The farm-pony grinned cheekily. "If I win, he's going to walk down Stirrup Street in one of grannie's girdles!"

"No problem at all, Applejack." Twilight told her, glad to hear that food was waiting for them at the end of the workload. "I'm glad the goal is lunchtime. All this hard work is making me hungry!"

"I know, right?" Spike interrupted; the dragon was currently seated on Twilight's back, going through the apples in the unicorn's own baskets.

Twilight gave him a mean stare. "Pu-lease, Spike; you've been lounging on my back all morning while we worked!"

"Exactly!" The dragon said, unfazed. "You guys were taking so long that I missed snack time!" The sheer mention of food make Twilight's stomach growl hungrily, and she found herself regretting skipping breakfast before meeting up with Applejack. Meanwhile Spike, continued sorting through the apples in the baskets, tossing out ones that he didn't like.

"Nope...no...worm...no...A-HA!" He announced, pulling out the biggest, reddest, most perfect-looking apple Twilight had ever seen.

Her mouth watered at the sight, prompting her to lick her lips. "Oh, Spike! That looks delicious! I-"

*FWIP! SPLAT!*

In a streak of pink, a long slender tongue shot down from the sky and pierced the apple through the middle, punching out the core in an almost perfect cutaway. The forked tips hooked around the base and, before Spike could yelp 'HEY!', the tongue yanked the fruit out of the baby dragon's hands and back into Spyro's waiting jaws. Twilight could only gape in shock before the dragon's jaws closed with a clap, splattering apple juice through the air with a noisy *crunch*.

Spyro purred happily as he swallowed what had to be the best apple in his entire life, his large wings flapping up a powerful gust as flew down from above and hovered to a stop on the road, landing on all fours with a light thud; the shock-wave sent a few apples tumbling from nearby trees, landing neatly in the baskets waiting below.

"My compliments to the gardener." He stated, stepping around to steady his footing as he licked the apple juice from his gums and lips.

Applejack tipped her hat, which she had grabbed to keep from blowing away in the wind. "Much appreciated there, Spyro." She said with a grin. "What brings ya ta Sweet Apple Acres?"

"Your brother asked me yesterday if I could come over and help him win a bet of some sort." He told them, pausing to scratch an itch behind his ear with his hind foot's claws. "Something about gathering the most red delicious before..." He trailed off, suddenly aware of Applejack's deathly glare boring a void into his soul. "...Ah...I see..."

As the farm pony promptly chewed the bemused Spyro out with a long rant full of countryisms and insults toward her brother, Twilight took a moment to contemplate the situation: a large, scary dragon causally flying down to a pair of ponies, and said ponies greeting him just as causally without any fear or anxiousness whatsoever; it was still just as baffling now as it had been when he first came to them in the forest to say he was there to help.

Three days had passed since Spyro defeated Nightmare Moon and the visitors from another world had made their home in Ponyville, and things had been going surprisingly well. Pinkie's party had done wonders in getting the ponies of the town to accept their guests (even after Spyro's explosion over Spike's presence; the gems he gave to help repair the town had gone wonders with regaining everypony's trust and respect), and now they barely gave the dragon a second glance when passing him on the street or when his shadows cross the ground as he flew overhead. It was almost surreal, seeing ponies so accepting and calm toward a member of what many ponies considered their sworn enemy race.

Ponyville was truly a different town than the likes of Canterlot, she acknowledged with a thoughtful look.

But soon home came calling: just as Applejack was nearing the end of her rant, panting for breath as she did so, Spike suddenly heaved with swollen cheeks before burping up a puff of green flame, which outright launched him off of Twilight's back; said flame condensed and transformed into a scroll.

"It's a letter from Princess Celestia." Twilight stated.

Spyro looked confused. "Who else would it be from?" He asked as Spike grabbed the scroll. "I mean, does anyone else have the spell to use Spike as a living mailbox as she does?"

Twilight opened her mouth to answer, but come herself coming up short, so she simply closed it and let the dragon mailbox in question open the letter and read it aloud:

"*Ahem*... " Spike cleared his throat before reading the letter's contents out loud. "Here ye, Here ye! Her grand royal highness, Princess Celestia of Equestria, is pleased to announce the Grand Galloping Gala to be held in the magnificent capital city of Canterlot on the 21st day of…yadda yadda yadda…cordially extends an invitation to Twilight Sparkle, plus one guest!"

Both Applejack and Twilight gasped with joy. "The Grand Galloping Gala!"

Spyro could only cringe as their excited double-layered cheers dug into his eardrums like vocal knives; gods, he hated it when people talked full sentences in perfect unison. "I'm guessing this Gala of yours is a big deal, then?" He asked to keep them from going any further.

"Are you kidding?" Twilight asked. "The Grand Galloping Gala is one the biggest events in all of Canterlot, if not all of Equestria! It's and extremely high-class event, and tickets are very hard to come buy if you're not a member of one of the noble houses." She beamed with excitement. "So getting a direct invitation is a once in a lifetime event for anypony, and from the princess herself, no less!"

Spike, however, seem to try and make a point looking annoyed and stuck out his tongue in disgust...until he heaved again and burped out a pair of shiny golden tickets. "Look! Two Tickets!" He announced.

"Wow! Great!" Twilight said excitedly. "I've never been to the Gala myself, have you Spike?"

"No! And I plan to keep it that way! I don't want any of the girly frilly froo-froo nonsense." Spike replied.

"If you're trying to impress us with an act of cliche testosterone-based manliness, it's not working." Spyro stated, scratching his claws against the dirt, making Spike slump over in embarrassed shame. "A royal ball is nothing to stick tongues at; many opportunities can be presented at such events, especially if all the rich hot-shots of the kingdom attend."

"You got that right!" Applejack agreed. " Do you have any idea how much business I could drum up for Sweet Apple Acres if I could set up a stand of apple goods at a big fancy event like that? Why, with all that money, we could do a heap of fixin' up 'round here: We could replace that saggy old roof, and Big Macintosh could replace that saggy old plow, and Granny Smith could replace that saggy old hip!" That last image made Spyro stick his tongue out in disgust, regardless of the earth pony's dreamy-eyed stare. "Why, I'd give my left hind leg to go to that gala."

"Oh… well in that case… would you like to-"

"Are we talking about the Grand Galloping Gala?" A certain rainbow-maned pegasus asked excitedly.

And just like that, the rest of the day's events were revealed in full, and Spyro shook his head in exasperation as a borderline-cliche routine straight from a 90s morning cartoon reared its predictable head: five girls, plus one extra ticket, equals an all out war for a chance to go to some fancy dance. Sure enough, Rainbow Dash went on this big, excited talk about how she could use the gala as her chance to make connections with the Wonderbolts (which, as far as Spyro knew, were some sort of fancy flight performance team posing as military figure heads), and no sooner did she finish were she and Applejack fighting over the ticket via hoof wrestle. He also knew it was only a matter of time before the other three learned about it and voiced their own desires to go, and soon it would be a war of favors as each one tried to bribe Twilight for victory.

He had seen this dozens of times before, and each was just as infuriating to watch as the next.

"She only sent one extra ticket?"

Spyro nodded, absentmindedly tapping his claws against the mushroom table he was sitting at (though to one of his size, it was barely big enough to be a plate). An hour later, he had met up with Elora, Hunter, Bianca, Moneybags, and Zoe at a local restaurant for lunch. It had only been a few hours since he had left Sweet Apple Acres, and just as he predicted, the other three ponies had learned about the extra ticket and now it was a five-way war for a single prize. "I find the idea of a pony-based dance ridiculous, but these ponies seem to think this gala is a big deal, and so it falls to Twilight to decide who goes with her." The dragon told them.

Hunter scowled, crossing his arms. "This whole thing feels off." He stated with a growl. "This 'Princess Celestia' knows Twilight has at least five friends, so why only send two tickets, one already resigned for Twilight, a pony who is her prized student and probably could attend the gala by default?"

"Perhaps the tickets are in limited supply?" Bianca offered. "Most big events are usually catered to a certain class, and there are usually prepared to only host a certain number of guests. Thus there are only a certain amount of tickets?"

Moneybags, however only scoffed. "Please, this is Princess Celestia we're talking about." He told them in a serious tone. "She is literally worshiped as a goddess by the majority of ponykind, and has not only the authority but the ability to pick and choose as many guests as she pleases. If she wanted to host a ball for all of Equestria, she has the power to order it so, regardless of the serious hole it would make in the kingdom's wealth; I'm willing to bet she can magically create those tickets on a whim."

"Which doesn't excuse her miscounting." Spyro said in a dark tone, his brow furrowing. "And means this whole thing is a deliberate set-up."

Zoe cocked an eyebrow. "You figured that too, huh?"

"Isn't it obvious?" The dragon asked. "Those six mares are the elements of harmony, the ones who helped me save Luna and destroy the Nightmare, and Celestia knows it. She knows there were six heroes that day, those deserving of her gratitude for her sister's freedom...so this action is a deliberate ignorance of that fact." He scratched an itch on the side of his jaw. "Which means three things: 1: she doesn't believe the five 'lesser' elements are deserving of the praise she's saving for her precious student. 2: this is all one big joke she's pulling on Twilight for some sort of sadistic laugh. Or 3: this is some sort of test she's putting Twilight and the other five through for whatever bullshit 'deeper reason' she thought up on the spot."

"I'd say option three." Moneybags stated. "I've heard a lot of Princess Celestia in Manehatten, and it sounds as though she holds ideals of friendship in an almost obsessive light. 'Friendship is Magic', I believed they put it."

Spyro scoffed, puffing a cloud of smoke from his mouth. "I value allies as much as anyone else..." He stated. "...but mere playground friendships cannot solve every problem in the world, especially if the other side refuses to listen." He lifted his tail and slammed it into the ground, creating a soft tremor that startled the ponies nearby. "Strength, planning, and determination: those are what gets a race through the trials of nature; counting on friendship, a completely sapient ideal, to do so alone is naive to the point of being outright childish."

"Be that as it may, they are the ideals Equestria has been holding for thousands of years." Elora warned him, patting his paw with her hand. "They aren't just going to give them up just like that. Right now, let's handle them as they come and see how that works out before taking it full throttle."

Spyro nodded with a grunt. "If you say so-"

"I CANT DECIDE!" He was cut off when a familiar voice suddenly shouted across the outside dining area.

Spike gave Twilight, who had just shouted loud enough to disturb the entire restaurant, an unamused look. "Twilight, he just wants to take your order…" He told her, pointing to his own menu.

Twilight blinked. "Oh…" She stated lamely, before telling the waiter her order. "I would love a daffodil and daisy sandwich."

"Do you have any rubies?" Spike asked, to which the stallion gave him a flat look. "No? Okay…I'll have the hay fries; extra crispy!" He finally settled; the waiter nodded and took their menus, leaving them to wait.

"Still having trouble with the tickets, huh?" A sheer wave of relief passed over the lavender unicorn as she turned at the sound of Spyro voice, just in time to see him and his friends approach. "Mind if we sit with you?"

"Of course not." Twilight told them; the dragon and the other non-ponies nodded before settling themselves down around her table; the little pony couldn't help but stare in awe at how much bigger they were than ponies, each of them tall enough to force Twilight to look up at them, even when they were sitting down. "I could really use someone to talk to who isn't trying to get these dumb tickets from me..."

Spike rolled his eyes. "I've been telling her to just let it go all day, but she's worrying about it non-stop." He told the others. "I mean, can't you just-"

"Guys, LISTEN!" Twilight all but shouted, jumping up and slamming her hooves onto the table. "How do I choose? And when I do choose, will the other four be mad at me? I mean I can give up my ticket and give away two, but that would still leave three disappointed ponies! What if I-"

"Here's you food."

The unicorn perked up as the waiter set her daffodil and daisy sandwich in front of her; Spike was already digging into his hayfries, scowling as Elora playfully swiped one from his plate and ate it herself. "Oh, thank you; this looks so good. I'm sure everything will be much clearer once I eat." She lifted her sandwich and readied to take a bite, when the waiter asked the oddest question.

"Em, madam? Are you going to eat your food in ze rain?"

Twilight blinked in confusion. "It's not raining."

*BOOM!*

Sure enough: no sooner did those words leave her mouth did the skies split open and a genuine monsoon come rushing down in buckets...expect in the one spot where there was a single hole in the cloud: right above her table. "What's going on?" She asked in confusion, looking upwards...

"Hi there, best friend forever I've ever ever had!" An overly happy and cheerful Rainbow Dash called down from above. "Enjoying the sunny weather?"

Twilight scowled. "Rainbow Dash, what are you doing?" She asked questioningly.

"Whaddya mean?" The pegasus asked innocently. "I just saw the smartest, most generous pony about to get rained on, so I thought I'd kick a hole in the clouds to keep her dry so she could dine in peace, that's all."

"Rainbow, you're not trying to get extra consideration for the extra ticket by doing me extra special favors, are you?" Twilight asked, eyes narrowed.

"Me? No no no, of course not!" Rainbow Dash said cheerfully; the sun itself was shining behind her head, giving the impression of a glowing halo around it.

The unicorn looked unconvinced. "Uh-huh."

"Seriously, I'd do it for anypony."

"A-HEM." Came a dark growl of a cough. Twilight looked back down and immediately had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing: Spyro and the other five had been sitting just outside of the hole Rainbow made, and as a result had been caught in the full brunt of the storm. The dragon himself sat there with his head lowered and ears hanging down, water running off his scales like a river over pebbles. Hunter, Moneybags, and Bianca looked outright miserable, their fur hanging in dripping clumps and their clothing thoroughly soaked; a pointedly feline growl was coming from the cheetah. Elora's hair hung over her eyes, leaving a stern frown visible as she covered her breasts with her arms to hold her soaked and sagging corset in place. And Zoe could only sit there, arms folded, and pout as her insect wings sagged and shriveled in the water. All six were of them were giving the pegasus a look that would set her on fire if looks could kill, making her giggle nervously.

"I speak for all of us right now." Spyro growled. "Close the hole."

"I agree with Spyro." Twilight said firmly. "I am not comfortable accepting unwanted favors, so I'd appreciate it if you close up that rain cloud right now."

Rainbow dropped the innocent act, huffing in disappointment. "Ugh, Fine!" Was all she said before closing up the clouds.

"That's better." Twilight stated, opening her mouth to finally eat...only to get herself and her sandwich drenched as her only escape from the weather was literally closed off. Her sandwich flopped to the table with a soggy splat, and her ears dropped to the sides of her head as she gave a frustrated growl.

And it would've continued much like this...

"Alright, that's it." Had Elora not put her hoof down, using a hand to hold the hair up out of her face. "I'm putting an end to this before it begins."

Spyro cocked in eyeridge. "What do you have in mind?"

The faun stood up, beckoning Twilight to do so by gently pulling her up by the hoof. "You go gather your friends and have them all meet us at the Golden Oaks Library. There, I'm putting an end to this nonsense...after we clothes-wearers change, of course."

Twilight looked confused, but nodded in agreement all the same.

The air in the Golden Oaks Library was full of an underlying tension...at least between the five other ponies there. Twilight could only watch nervously as she and everyone else waited for Elora to come back downstairs. As the faun had told her to, she had gathered all five of her friends and brought them here, and now they were all sitting about in a line next to Spyro (who was so large he was laid out along the wall of the first floor of the library, his long body and tail looping all the way around the circumference of the room at least once) and the others, who had all been seated next to the dragon and waiting.

But it was hardly a comfortable wait; Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy were all shooting glares back and forth at each other, each silently sizing each other up as they waited for the final decision to be made, completely oblivious to the stressed nervousness in Twilight expression as she watched them. She wished she could be as calm and cool about this whole mess as Spyro and the others were; heck, the dragon himself had laid his head down and closed his eyes, appearing to be taking a nap.

The tension was broken when the door to the upstairs opened (prompting Spyro to wake up and lift his head) and Elora came back down, wearing a green t-shirt and with her hair wrapped up in a towel. "Sorry that took so long." She apologized, tugging on the rim of her new clothes. "It took me a while to make something that fit."

Twilight's ears perked up when she saw the shirt. "Wait a minute, isn't that one of my curtains?"

"I'm impressed a library of all things had enough fabric material to make something to fit around those monsters, let alone the rest of you." Spyro stated with a smirk.

Elora rolled her eyes, smiling coyly. "Hush, you." She scolded, giving his head a playful shove as she passed. The faun then turned to address the crowd, coughing into her first to get their attention. "Now, let's get this started. We all know why we're here, so let's not waste anymore time and energy."

"I know why ya'll are here, alright..." Applejack spoke up tensely. "It's all because these'ns are trying to make off with my ticket!"

"For the last time, it's not your ticket!" Rainbow Dash snapped back.

"Doesn't mean it's yours either..." Fluttershy grumbled.

"It must be mine!" Rarity cried out. "We're talking about true love here! I outright deserve it!"

"You don't even know the guy's real name!" Pinkie Pie objected. "It's a party! It should be mine by default, because it's a party!"

And just like that, the five ponies devolved into a mess of arguing and bickering, leaving a miserable Twilight to sink to the floor. Elora, however, would not let it stand.

"Spyro." Was all she needed to say.

*POW!* *WHAM!* *SMACK!* *BONK!* *SQUEAKY!*

The descent into maddened arguing was promptly interrupted when Spyro once again unleashed the fist of bullshit-breaking upon their skulls, striking all five of them in directly order with audible impacts; the blow was strong enough to knock them all over, their ears ringing from the impact, as large meaty bumps of varying sizes popped out from under their manes.

"OoOoOoWwWw!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, rubbing her sore head with her hooves. "Faust, that hurts!"

"Not so funny when it's your head being beaned, is it?" Twilight muttered bitterly, taking a bit of satisfaction knowing they all now knew the pain of spewing BS in Spyro's presence.

"Thank you, Spyro." Elora said politely; with a glow of her fingers, she magically pulled Twilight's wheel-mounted chalkboard over to her side, levitating a long pointer stick to her hands, which she held like a teacher ready to whip disobedient students. "Now then, this whole squabble over Twilight's extra ticket has been going on since this morning, and with only one act of kissing-up for extra consideration has robbed me completely of my patience." She told everyone in the room. "Now, I know that this 'Grand Galloping Gala' of yours is, evidently, a pretty big deal for ponies, but I highly doubt it is worth squabbling over with."

Rarity politely laughed at her words. "A 'pretty big deal'?" She repeated, tittering into her hoof. "Elora, darling...I don't believe you're fully grasping the weight of the situation. This isn't just a gala; this is the gala. The Grand Galloping Gala is, by far, the single most amazing, brilliant, and important night in all of Equestria! Only the highest of the high ponies even get a chance to see the dance from a distance, let alone step onto the palace grounds themselves, and only ponies who are anypony will be able to attend. You don't understand: to actually receive a ticket for the gala, let alone one directly from Princess Celestia herself...it's truly a once in a lifetime opportunity!" She elegantly bounced her mane with a hoof. "So of course, being that it's the only chance I'll ever have to meet my one true love, it should be given to me by default."

"Spyro."

*POW!*

And thus the white unicorn received another bump on the head. "EeEeEeEeEe..."

"And that's the issue forcing my hand." Elora told them with a stern glare. "This gala is such a big and important event that you five are literally at each others throats for the chance to go; like watching a pack of wild dogs fighting over a scrap of meat. It's genuinely disgusting." She turned to face the chalkboard, picking up a piece with her fingers while levitating three others with her magic. "So, since Twilight's too pressured by her desire to make all her friends happy, I'm going to choose who gets the tickets, by going through you all one-by-one until we find the best candidate based on the reasons why they want to go."

What happened next was a thing of beauty; with almost supernatural precision and skill, the four pieces of chalk turned into a blaze of white as they quickly drew numerous images on the chalkboard in perfect unison, completing what would've taken a few minutes at best in only a few seconds.

Twilight internally whistled in impressed surprise. 'I wonder if she can teach me that spell.' She mentally stated.

The faun then turned back around and stepped to the side, revealing her handy work: across the chalkboard, almost filling up all the space, were thirteen drawings of smiley-face pictures of all thirteen individuals in the room: Spyro, Hunter, Elora, Bianca, Moneybags, Zoe, Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and even Spike.

At this revelation, Twilight suddenly gasped. "Oh gosh...I'm so sorry."

Moneybags cocked his head. "Whatever for?" He asked.

"All this time, I've been so focused on my pony friends I didn't even think that any of you might want the ticket." She explained. "I didn't think that you would be interested in the gala, but you might and I-"

"You don't have to apologize." Elora assured her with a smile. "You had enough on your plate as it was." She then turned back to the crowd. "Now then, let's get the easy part out of the way first: who here doesn't want to go to the gala?"

"Me." Hunter, Bianca, Moneybags, Zoe, and (with a bit of reluctance) Spike all said in unison, raising their hands.

Elora nodded, moving to cross out each of their smiley faces with her piece of chalk. "Though to be clear, let's hear why you all don't want to go to the gala before I remove you from the list."

"The Sorceress use to throw grand balls and galas all the time when she ruled the Forgotten Lands; usually as a means to indulging her vanity and ego." Bianca explained with a cross look. "And as her apprentice, I was required to attend them with her, whether I wanted to or not. I've been to enough of those fancy, high-class 'parties' to last a dozen lifetimes."

"I am a predator of the wilds; what I call a good time is taking part in The Hunt." Hunter told her next, face one of unamused focus. "I have no business nor desire to be in the middle of an event of restricting civilized life."

"I myself am one the richest bears in all of Ursa Woods. My wealth outranks more than half of Canterlot's noble families." Moneybags assured her with a raised paw. "If I want a ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala, I'll buy one myself."

"And if I get forced into another Barbie dress for the sake of a fancy event, I'm going to claw someone's eyes out with my bare hands!" Zoe outright shouted, bristling with indignity.

"I thought that Cinderella dress was a cute look for you." Spyro stated with a smirk.

"Bite my glowing pixie ass!"

Elora ignored the fairy's bickering as she crossed out each of those who had spoken up with large, fat X-s. There was a moment of silence, then she turned to give a nervous-looking Spike an expectant look. "What about you, Spike?" She asked. "We're waiting for your answer."

Spike twiddled his fingers, a nervous sweat running down his forehead. "W-What else is there to say?" He stammered slightly. "Galas are all girly, fru-fru stuff! Guys like me don't like stuff like that! We're into big, tough stuff!"

"Like those Superhero comic books you have stashed under your basket?" Elora asked with an smug tone, leaving the poor baby dragon to wilt in boyish embarrassment as everyone else chuckled/giggled at his expense. "If that's your final answer then I'll leave it to you; just remember, once you're crossed off the list, there's no going back." When Spike didn't object, the faun simply said "Very well..." before crossing Spike's face off the board. "That takes care of everyone but you five and Spyro."

"I'll go last." Spyro stated, resting his head on the floor again. "I want to hear their reasons first."

Elora nodded. "Suit yourself. We come to the main issue of this whole mess, so let's deal with it one pony problem at a time." She turned her attention to Applejack. "Since you're the first pony to learn of the ticket, you can go first: why do you want to go to the Gala?"

"Fer the same reas'n I said before: ta sell Apple Family goods ta them city folk and make a whole lotta money to fix up the farm and stuff." Applejack told her proudly. "A might good reason if any, if I say so mahself."

"A good reason, indeed." Elora agreed with a thoughtful nod. "So you have the permit for it already then, right?"

The farm pony gave pause. "Excuse me?"

"...Applejack, this isn't a potluck where everyone brings something to the table: this a formal gala being hosted by Princess Celestia herself; she has used royal funds to have the gala catered by the finest services in all of Canterlot, including the food. The finest chefs and bakers from all across the city, and even from the palace itself, will be hand-picked and permitted by the princess to sell their goods to the highest of pony classes, and are likely being paid heavily to do so; thus it would be illegal for anypony without one of these permits to sell their own food on the palace ground, as that would interfere with the business of those already working there." The faun explained in length. "And even if it wasn't, I'm pretty sure that no one will eat your food: these are the nobles and upper class of Canterlot, who frown upon anything made by whom they perceive as a 'commoner', no matter how good it is. Not only that, but the food prepared at the gala is free; no one will buy from you when they can eat a buffet in the other room."

By the time she was done, Applejack's expression had fallen into one of disappointment. "So ah can't sell anythin' at the Gala?" She asked solemnly.

Elora shook her head. "I'm sorry, but unless you buy a permit from Celestia, which would be crazy expensive as it is, it's not only unlikely but illegal." She lifted her piece of chalk and crossed out the earth pony's face on the board. "I am sorry; I know you had plans."

Applejack sighed and lowered her hat, but nodded. "Ah understand, and I don't blame ya..." She murmured. "...but dang if it ain't disappointin'."

Elora nodded, turning her attention to the next pony in line: a suddenly-unsure Rainbow Dash. "If I recall, you wanted to go for the Wonderbolts, correct?"

Rainbow Dash, suddenly not too sure about her own chances with the ticket, forced down her nervousness and presented an excited grin at the name of her idols. "Well, duh! The Wonderbolts perform at the Grand Galloping Gala every year. I can see it now: everyone would be watching the sky, their eyes riveted on the Wonderbolts...but then in would fly...Rainbow Dash! I would-!"

"Stop." The goat-hybrid suddenly interrupted, holding up a halting hand. "I'm gonna stop you right there: I know for a fact that's illegal." She gave the indignant pony a scalding glare. "You just can't fly into the middle of the professional air-show and disrupt the whole thing just because you want to show off! It'd be like if a big Broadway show was going on, and in the middle of the act some random person in the audience just climbed up on stage and started singing to try and get into the play!" She told her. "It doesn't matter how 'awesome' you think you are; not only would that sully your name with the Wonderbolts, but you could get yourself arrested and sent to jail!"

Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to object, only for Twilight to speak up before her. "She's right you know. And these are professional stunt-ponies we're talking about, who rehearse their performances for days before a show: not only would it be heavily guarded to the point you probably couldn't enter the air space of the arena, but you could endanger the fliers by disrupting their rehearsals; they could get seriously hurt, if not worse."

"And there are other means to earn the Wonderbolts' attention." Moneybags spoke up with a raised paw. "Surely you know the Best Young Flyer's Competition is only a few weeks away, correct? That would be a much better way to introduce your talents, as they will actually get to see what you can offer them."

The pegasus could only stammer in objection. "But...but...awesome!" She finally squeaked.

"Is not enough to get you through life, no matter how much you have of it." Elora said in a final tone, crossing off Rainbow's face from the chalkboard. "Sorry, but I'm crossing you off for your own safety, knowing you have other means to accomplish you dreams without making yourself a endangerment to the public." In the end, Rainbow Dash could only turned away with a frustrated huff and forelegs folded across her chest, pouting like a child as her self idealism was effectively shattered. The faun merely shook her head in annoyance before turning to Rarity. "We all heard your reason: you want to go to meet some Prince Charming?"

Rarity looked outright offended."Ugh! This is not just some 'Prince Charming' we're talking about!" She said scathingly. "This is the most handsome, sophisticated, amazing, eligible unicorn stallion in all of Canterlot! Prince Blueblood himself!" What followed was the most ridiculous, self-idolizing, and an absolutely fantasy explanation anyone in the room had ever heard as Rarity described how she would enter the ball, win the hearts of everyone there with her grace, and make such a sensation with the princess, and be married to Blueblood by the end of the day.

Elora took a moment to recover her sense of reality, shaking her head and snapping her mouth shut in the process. "Okay...just...wow." She began, truly unable to get a grip on what she just heard. "...even if the greatest of Canterlot's elite tolerate the presence of what they view as a worthless peasant girl from a mud wallow of a town, do you really think Celestia would be moved by your presence enough to actually ask for your solo audience? Hate to break it to you, but you're really nothing special compared to them."

The unicorn recoiled as if she had actually been struck, her eyes wide and her face contorted with sheer indignity. "Uh! Why, I never!" She exclaimed. "I am not some 'worthless peasant girl'! I am Rarity the Unicorn-!"

"A name that holds no weight amongst the most famous and influential ponies in all of Equestria, and which Celestia has only just come to know." The faun stated with a the blunt forwardness of a sledgehammer. "If you'd take a moment to stop kissing your own flanks and look at the event outside of your fantasy, you'd realize this to be true."

Rarity's jaw dropped with enough force to dislocate it.

"That being said, if you're really serious about meeting this prince, you already have the means to do it: them." She pointed to Twilight and Spike. "Spike is a living hotline directly to the princess herself, and Twilight is her prized student with personal connections with her. If you want to meet her nephew, just ask with their help. If Celestia is as kind and open as you ponies claim her to be, then I'm sure she'd be more than happy to arrange a meet-and-greet for you; maybe give you some pointers for a date with the guy."

"But...B-But...it has to be the gala!" Rarity exclaimed, jaw quivering as her eyes went big and teary. "Glamour! Fame! Notoriety!"

"You don't need the gala to complete your main goal. So you're off the list." Elora said in a firm final tone, and with that crossed out Rarity's image, leaving the unicorn to sob dramatically in the corner, fountains of water erupting from her eyes. "The same can be said for Fluttershy."

The cream-colored pegasus blinked in confusion. "Huh?"

"Just like Rainbow Dash, you're using the gala for a means to an end. Heck, you don't even plan to attend the gala: you wanted to visit the Private Royal Gardens, correct?" Fluttershy nodded. "Normally, this is a logical action, as Moneybags has informed me that the night of the gala is the only time the gardens are open to the public. But you don't need the gala for this either: just like Rarity, if Celestia is as you ponies say you are, I'm sure she'd let you visit the gardens anytime you want; maybe even have some of the animal handlers accompany you so you don't frighten off animals that aren't use to other ponies on the grounds. It'd also be a private visit, where you can enjoy it without hundreds of other ponies visiting at the same time."

Fluttershy blinked again, this time in realization as the faun's words registered in her mind. "...you know...you're right." She finally concluded with a firm nod. "I-If Celestia wouldn't mind it, I-I can go some other time; i-if anyone else wants the tickets, I-I guess they can have it."

"MINE!" Rarity screamed at the offer.

*POW!*

And received a third bump on her head for her trouble. "It's not fair-air-air-aaaaaaiiiirrrr..." She bawled to herself, cradling her head while waterfalls ran down her cheeks.

With that, Elora turned to the last pony on the list, who had been surprisingly silent and still since her first bump. "And finally we come to you, Pinkie." She told the pink earth pony. "Out of all the ponies, you have the purest and most direct reason to go: for the Gala. No other motives, no using the gala for your own means, and certainly no outright criminal activity: you want to go to the gala for the gala. The greatest party in Equestria, right?"

Pinkie Pie said nothing, but her face perked up as Elora flipped her hand up, the extra ticket held between two fingers (much to the surprise of Twilight, who checked her person for wear she had just been holding it).

"I'd say that's the best reason so far, don't you agree?"

It was like watching the launch of a rocket: Pinkie's pupils expanded to take up her entire eyes as she began to tremble on the spot; the trembling began to build and build and build until she finally exploded with a blast of pink smoke, rocketing off the ground and through both the second story floor and ceiling, screaming across the sky with drawn-out 'WOO-HOOOOOOOOO!'

"Aw, man!" Rainbow Dash groaned. "I get why she gets it, but even without the Wonderbolts I really wanted to go."

"For once we agree on something." Rarity whimpered, nursing her bumps as well as the shattered remains of her self-image. "Even without Blueblood, the Grand Galloping Gala is the dream of every mare throughout Equestria."

"It would be nice to actually attend." Fluttershy admitted.

Spyro gave a rumbling snort. "And that's why I'm putting an end to this game here and now." He growled aloud, turning his gaze to Spike. "Get ready to send a letter, pipsqueak."

Princess Celestia had just settled down to a delicious-looking lunch when a swirling cloud of green flame and silver magic came through the Royal Dining Hall window, floating over to her and turning into a scroll with a poof of sparkles. She blinked in surprise; she hadn't expected Twilight to write back so soon. Setting her fork down on her plate, she took the scroll in her magic and unfurled it to read its contents, only to find an unfamiliar handwriting.

Greetings, Sunbutt! How's the daily ass-kissing today?

Celestia's brow furrowed in a stern glare; she had a good idea who this was from. She was half-tempted to throw it away then and there, but she decided against it since it was the first time he was contacting her.

I'm going to cut to the chase: I don't know what kind of game you're trying to play here, but I'm not going to stand for it. Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about: the Grand Galloping Gala? Only one ticket for five other ponies? I know you're aware of their existence, and that they have ties to Twilight, so you can't claim ignorance. Whatever you're trying to pull making them fight amongst each other for it, I'm not going to allow.

Maybe this is something I'm not getting: maybe this is some sort of bigger test or deeper meaning, or maybe it's some sort of sick joke for shits and giggles. Either way, none of us appreciate watching our new friends going at it like rabid animals just for this one night. Especially since it's you pulling this stunt: need I remind you owe these five a debt of gratitude that you will never be able to truly repay.

I know you remember The Elements of Harmony? Nightmare Moon? A certain lost princess? It's thanks to them I was able to save her the way I did; without them...well, let's just say I would've had to take more...drastic measures.

The guards in the Dining Hall all jumped at the loud 'CRACK' as the tile beneath Celestia's hooves split with a large crack, the very mountain shaking with a deep rumble as the princess's expression turned outright apoplectic.

So here's what you're going to do: you're going to pull the stick out of your ass, send the heroes who saved your sister's life all the tickets they need, when the Gala comes you're going to make sure they have the time of their lives. And if you ever pull something like this again, I will ram your own horn up your ass. Are we clear?

"Breathe, Twilight. Just breathe." Bianca said consolingly as she rubbed Twilight's back; the unicorn was outright hyperventilating, heaving her breaths into the large paper bag she was holding in her hooves. Needless to say, she hadn't take what Spyro had written to Celestia all that well. "It's not that big a deal."

"NOT THAT BIG A DEAL?!" Twilight shrieked, her hair suddenly bursting into a frazzled mess and making everyone jump back in surprise. "DID YOU SEE WHAT HE JUST SENT TO THE PRINCESS OF EQUESTRIA?! THE MOST POWERFUL AND INFLUENTIAL PONY IN THE ENTIRE WORLD?!" She began rocking back and forth on her flanks, holding her tail close while stroking it. "Oh sweet Faust, what have you DONE?! Nopony has ever spoken to Princess Celestia like that before!"

Spyro looked completely unfazed, staring out the window while waiting for Celestia's response, eyes locked on Canterlot. "Well, I'm not a pony, am I?" He asked flatly. "So that status goes unbroken."

"It did seem a bit...much." Fluttershy spoke up nervously.

"A BIT MUCH?!" Twilight outright screamed in her face, making the poor pegasus go stiff-legged and fall over. The unicorn paid her no mind and grabbed the bag again, heaving into it. "THIS...THIS IS A DISASTER!" She screamed between breaths. "IT'S A ONE WAY TICKET TO TARTARUS FOR ALL OF US!"

Spyro finally turned away from the window to give her a bemused stare, and he opened his mouth to say something, only for Spike to suddenly heave and burp up Celestia's reply, which landed in the middle of the room with a world-silencing flop. Twilight didn't move to pick it up; she had frozen on the spot, staring wide-eyed at the rolled-up paper as if it was a deadly serpent readying to strike. The other ponies stared at it with uncertainly, darting looks between each other as each of them waited for someone else to respond. In the end, Spyro rolled his eyes and picked up the scroll between two of his finger claws, unfurling it to read a single worded message:

Crystal.

There was a poof of magic, and with the shimmering of gold, five more tickets popped out of the scroll, each signed with a name of the remaining four ponies and Spike. Spyro grinned a toothy saurian grin at the sight. "I knew she'd see reason." He hissed smugly, flicking the scroll out in a way that sent the tickets fluttering toward their owners.

Rarity was outright ecstatic as she caught hers and pulled it close. "Now we all get to go to the gala!" She squealed with joy, hugging hers to her chest.

Elora stared at the celebrating ponies, eye twitching slightly, before giving a flat look and tossing her piece of chalk and pointer stick over her shoulder. And just like that, everything I did was a complete waste of time. Forget I ever said anything. Yep." She stated just as flatly, stomping away in silent frustration.

Twilight sat there, mouth agape with disbelief. "We're...we're all still alive?" She whispered uncertainly. "No banishment to the moon? No imprisoning in Tartarus? She actually let that slide?"

"Just be glad it's finally over." Hunter stated, stretching his body and limbs out the best he could in the cramp library. "Now, I believe someone wanted to eat? Anything to get out of this room."

"Allow us to treat you to dinner!" Rarity offered Twilight as everyone made their way out the door, the ponies and Spike carrying their own tickets with them. Twilight looked dumbfounded at first, but eventually gave a weary sigh and followed, silently glad the mess was over. Soon only Spyro and Elora were left in the room; the dragon got up to slither out through the small door, when Elora stopped him with a hand against his side.

"You never said your reason for going to the gala." She told him, giving a expectant look. "I'm curious, why did you want to go?"

Spyro stared at her for a moment, pupils thinning slightly, before turning away and sliding his mass through the library door...but not before speaking in a voice that rumbled with fire.

"To make good on the promise I gave her in the letter."

14. Apple H-Yuck Season

CHAPTER 6: APPLE H-YUCK SEASON

"Alright, where's the Calamity Jane rip-off?" Spyro called as he and Bianca entered the southern fields of Sweet Apple Acres, the dragon looking none-too-happy.

Twilight gave a sigh of relief as she spotted the two approaching, waving a hoof to call them over. "She's back here." She stated, motioning to the pony who had just got done trying to kick apples from a dead tree. "Sorry if she caused any problems for you."

Spyro snarled animalistically, giving a draconian glare to the bleary-eyed farm pony; the orange mare looked like a full-blown zombie, with frazzled hair, vein-riddled eyes, and enough bags under her eyes to go grocery shopping with. "If she wants to kill herself over a self-perceived challenge, that's fine. But when others start getting hurt by it, that's when I put my foot down." He growled.

"Ah am not goin' to take help from any pony!" Applejack yelled back at the dragon.

"I don't recall giving you a choice in the matter!" Spyro snapped harshly. "You poisoned part of Ponyville's population, not to mention gave Rainbow Dash a concussion! You are in no shape to continue working or helping Fluttershy, if all you're going to do is cause even more trouble."

Bianca herself frowned, though more out of confusion than anger. "I have mixed feelings about Fluttershy's role in life and that's unsettling..." She muttered.

"Ah have mah pride! Ya said Ah cannot do it on mah own! Well, Ah will manage! Ah will prove to ya and everypony that Ah can gather all the apples on mah own!" Applejack said with a tired but determined voice, making it clear she wasn't going to budge on the situation.

Spyro's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Not if there's no apples left to pick."

Twilight's eyes widened in alarm, and she about to ask what he was going to do, when the length of his tail and tailblade began to glow with an earthly green aura. Shimmering with glowing leaf-shaped particles that swirled around his tail as if in the wind, a deep earthy hum filled the air, along with the rumbling of moving stone and dirt as strong, solid forms of elemental energy formed across its length, resembling tightly packed rocks and dirt. Infused with the power of the earth itself, Spyro's eyes glowed bright green as he lifted his tail and, before anyone could react, slammed it down on the earth with tremendous speed and force.

Like ripples on a pond, the earthquake following spread outwards in all directions like a shockwave, spreading far across the countryside; the ripple wasn't that powerful in strength, but it was far-spreading, just strong enough to shake the apples from the trees without uprooting the trees themselves. Like a wave of red, the wide circle of red pulsed outwards, falling from the trees like rain, into the buckets waiting below, all the way to the very borders of Sweet Apple Acres, until every single tree on the property was cleared clean.

Applejack gaped, bloodshot eyes wide in disbelief.

Twilight stared, whistling in surprise.

Bianca rolled her eyes, mentally calling Spyro a show-off.

Spyro gave a snort of victory, nodding in satisfaction as he admired the view of green trees, not a single piece of red in sight...

...expect the red of rage suddenly filling Applejack face, which twisted into a tooth-filled snarl. "YA FILTHY, LOW-DOWN, BACK-STABBIN' VARMIT!" She outright screamed, spittle flying from her mouth as she hopped up and down with fury. "I TOLD YA I DIDN'T NEED HELP! YA GOT NO RIGHT STICKIN' YA SCALY SNOUT IN MAH BUSINESS OR MAH PROPERTY, YA SLIMY, FIRE-BARFIN', MEAT-EATIN', TREASURE-HOARDIN', WOMANIZIN', OVERGROWN SALAMAN-!"

"Somnum."

With that single word and a flick of blue magic to the forehead, Bianca send the earth pony falling face-first into the ground; the dust her collapse kicked up didn't even have time to begin settling before heavy snores filled the air, the cowboy hat flopping over onto the ground in front of her.

"You're welcome." Was all a sarcastic Spyro said in response.

15. Boast Blazers - Part 1

CHAPTER 7: BOAST BLAZERS - PART 1: THE GRUMPY AND PARTY-HATING TRIXIE

"Come one, come all! Come and witness the amazing magic of the Great and Powerful Trrrrrixie!"

And for once in his life, Spyro was at a genuine loss for words.

When Ponyville started the day to find numerous posters of a magic act coming to town plastered everywhere, the dragon wasn't sure what to make of it; in a world where magic was common place and used for everyday tasks, how could one impress anybody with it? Maybe a unicorn preforming to a town of earth ponies (which Ponyville originally was), but that sounded rather exploitative in his opinion. Or perhaps it was one of those trickster magicians; ones who used simple tricks of the eyes to give off the illusion of magical ability? Those were fun, genuinely entertaining and leaving real wizards scratching their heads trying to figure out simple games on the mind.

"Watch in awe as the Great and Powerful Trixie performs the greatest feats of magic ever witnessed by pony eyes!" The blue unicorn with a mane and tail that reminded Spyro of toothpaste of all things declared to the world, standing on her hind legs as fanfare blared and fireworks exploded about the stage, which miraculously didn't catch on fire.

But now, seeing this stage performer with his own eyes, he was completely unsure what to make of it.

Everyone had their own style, he supposed, but this felt like it was a bit much; the sheer stench of self-idolization smacked his sinuses like a slap to the face, no doubt all in the name of supporting a fragile ego...but if this mare could deliver as she promised, then he was ready to see the show.

Evidently, though, none of his pony friends saw it the same way, for no sooner did the fanfare die down did the criticisms come flowing. "My my my...what boasting!" Rarity commented, frowning in disapproval.

"Yeah," Spike added as he stood next to her. "Nopony's as magical as Twi-!" He suddenly stopped, realizing just who he was talking to. "Twi…oh, uh…h-hey, Rarity…I-uh…mustache!" He finally shouted, speeding off while Rarity looked on in confusion.

"There's nothing wrong with being talented, is there?" Twilight asked.

"Nuthin' at all," Applejack responded, giving Trixie a frown of her own. "'Cept when you're showin' it off like a school filly with fancy new ribbons."

"Just because one has the ability to perform lots of magic does not make one better than the rest of us." Rarity told her fellow unicorn, causing her to look away in shame. Spyro groaned when he saw the light die in her eyes; there goes another evening of peace having to deal with what he had quickly come to dub as 'Pony BS'.

Rainbow Dash puffed up with pride. "Especially when you got me around bein' better than-!"

"Hey, down in front! Shut your traps!" Zoe shouted from directly behind the pegasus, making her cut her off with a jump and surprised whinny.

"Yeah, we're trying to watch the show here!" Hunter added, giving a scalding glare to the ponies who had spoken.

Trixie, who had caught on to their conversation. "Well well well..." she said haughtily. "It seems we have some neeeeeiggh-sayers in the audience!"

"Hey, we actually want to watch your performance." Elora spoke up with a raised hand. "And not once have we said anything against you, so don't clump us non-ponies with these buttholes." This earned looks of disbelief from the three hecklers, and more than a few giggles from the audience.

"And Trixie appreciates your acknowledgement of her superiority, Miss..." She suddenly blanched, looking Elora over with a puzzled look. "...uhmm...Miss goat-monkey thing?" She shook her head to clear her confusion, ignoring the indignant gape the faun was giving her. "But none the less, The Great and Powerful Trrrrrrixie's magical ability has been challenged, and she must face it! Do these ruffians not know that they are in the presence of the most magical unicorn in all of Equestria?!"

Rarity scoffed. "Just who does she think she is?" She asked.

"Yeah!" Spike interrupted. "Since we all know Twilight is the-!"

A rock beaned the baby dragon in the back of the head, making him shout 'OW!' as a certain fairy causally tossed another up and down like a baseball. "That was just a warning!" She exclaimed sternly. "If you don't like the show, then leave it for those who do!"

Rarity gave the Dragon Worlders a disbelieving stare. "How can you all support her like this?!" She asked in a scolding tone. "Have you been hearing all the arrogance she's been spouting?! She absolutely unbearable!"

"She's more puffed up than a rooster in matin' season!" Applejack agreed.

"A complete showoff!" Rainbow Dash (ironically) snapped.

"Trixie can hear you all, you know..." Trixie grumbled aloud.

"Yeah, and she's a stage performer." Hunter stated, arms folded across his chest. "I'm pretty sure being a puffed-up braggart is part of their job. You know, the way of life by which they earn a living?" His eyes narrowed, feline pupils narrowing into slits. "And I wouldn't talk about being show-offs if I were any of you, Rarity the Unicorn..." Rarity coughed nervously, looking away with a light blush. "...Pony of the Year..." Applejack grimaced, lowering her hat to cover her face. "...and I don't even have to say anything for you, potential huntress..." Rainbow Dash huffed in embarrassment, pouting like a child.

Twilight felt a tap on her shoulder, and turned just in time to see Elora motion to the three ponies. "This here, Ladies and Gentlemen, is what the wise Master Eon refers to as 'Novice Envy', a common occurrence amongst heroes who have just recently earned their titles." She told the lavender pony, though in a way so that everyone around them could hear. "When most rookie heroes become official and receive praise, they have a tendency to get swept up in the attention and praise; to become the center of their own worlds, and view themselves as the greatest things since sliced bread. So, when a new source of interest enters the picture, such as a new rookie, a fancy event, or anything like that they tend to feel threatened, and usually get all offensive toward the newcomer in an attempt to hang onto their previous glory."

"You all know the story: a big brave hero has become the biggest hot shot around, thanks to doing something that made them famous, or at least well known amongst their peers." Zoe continued, pointing to the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. "Hasn't been on the job for very long, though, and thus doesn't have the experience or humility of the more seasoned heroes. So they tend to cling to the attention, making it their everything, and feels like the most special person in the world. But then one day, somebody new shows up and starts stealing all the precious attention, and soon the hero isn't feeling all that special anymore." She pointed to Trixie, who was tapping her hoof impatiently.

"Then the original hero gets all offensive toward the newcomer, usually embarrassing themselves to the public, until eventually trying to prove their original worth by doing something reckless and dangerous." Bianca finished up, waving a paw dismissively. "Thus when it backfires, the event acts as the slap upside the head from reality and they learn a valuable lesson, usually becoming either friends or rivals with the newcomer."

Twilight was impressed, and she found herself nodding in agreement; she had seen that classic trope in many a piece of fiction herself.

"Sounds like you guys speak from experience." Pinkie Pie stated, giving Spyro a questionable look.

The dragon gave the pink pony a defensive glare. "Hey, I was GLAD to see there were other heroes besides myself!" He told them all. "It means other people were handling the smaller stuff and I can take a break every now and then! By the time I joined the Skylanders, I had saved the world SIX TIMES on my own, and only twice during those times did I have actual help!" He jabbed a clawed thumb at a certain beastman. "If you want to find the Novice Envy, there's your cat."

Hunter rubbed the back of his head as if out of embarrassment, though his face was a little too serious-looking to be just that. "It was more out of obligation than petty envy." He admitted solemnly. "Let's just say I felt like I should've been the one to clean up the mess."

"At least you didn't try to outright sabotage my efforts...or get eaten by a mutant rabbit monster in the process." Spyro added admittedly, giving a certain rabbit a playful sneer.

Bianca blushed heavily, pulling her ears up to cover her face with them. "You had to bring that up, didn't you?" She groaned. "I still haven't gotten the smell of monster vomit out of my old cloak."

"What's your guy's point?" Rainbow Dash asked impatiently.

The dragon snorted. "Our point is get off your high horses (so to speak) and let the side-character have her twenty-two minutes of glory." He stated, ignoring the indignant look Trixie was sending him. "You're complaining about her being a show-off, and yet the only ones I see that have a problem with that are you three, who just happen to be Ponyville's resident glory-hogs."

Rarity looked ready to explode. "H-H-H-HOG?!" She shrieked. "How dare you!"

"Do you all mind?! Trixie is trying to perform here!" Trixie shouted over the laughter of the crowd.

"Oh, don't let us stop you. We're just discussing things with our friends here." Hunter told her, waving her off with a dismissive paw. He gave her a questioning look. "Though I feel inclined to ask: under what circumstances did you earn the greatness you boast about?"

Trixie sneered, tipping her hat to the beastman. "I'm glad you asked; because only the Great and Powerful Trixie has magic strong enough to defeat the dreaded Ursa Major!" More fireworks lit up and depicted a scene reminiscent of neon signs of a blue bear-like creature dotted with stars. Several ponies in the audience gasped in shock, while Spyro's eyes narrowed dangerously at the image of the creature. "When all hope was lost, the ponies of Hoofington had no one to turn to. But the Great and Powerful Trixie stepped in, and with her awesome magical abilities, vanquished the Ursa Major and sent it back to its cave deep within the Everfree Forest!"

A deep-rooted heat suddenly swept the area, sending hot shivers running up the spines of everypony in the area, and Trixie suddenly came to realize just what was in the audience as a outright demonic glare pinned her in place under the smoldering hatred of an angry dragon.

"So, you're a Monster Hunter then." Spyro growled, his voice low, yet it rumbled with the fury of an earthquake.

The crowd went perfectly silent. Recovering from her shock of realizing he was a dragon, Trixie quickly objected. "W-What? N-No! I'm n-n-not a M-Monster H-H-Hunter by t-trade!" She stammered, breaking from addressing herself in the third person out of dread. "I-I was just p-passing through H-Hoofington at the t-time and s-stayed to help! And I-I didn't kill i-it either; just s-sent it back t-to the forest! I-I don't intend to s-slay you or your f-friends, I swear!"

Spyro glared at her in silent thought, his eyes overlooking her every feature, until he closed them with a satisfied nod of his head.

"For now..." He growled, giving her one last warning glare before settling back down, the fiery heat cooling back to the day's natural temperature.

Trixie flicked the sweat from her brow with a heavy sigh of relief. "A-Anyway, that's Trixie's claim to her high-set superiority: still doubt Trixie's greatness? Well then, I hereby challenge you Ponyvillians: anything you can do, I can do better!" The magician looked over the audience. "Any takers? Anyone? Or is Trixie destined to be the greatest equine who has ever lived?!" And with that, she stood on her hind legs as more fireworks exploded behind her.

Spike promptly threw himself Twilight's hooves. "Ple-e-ease! She's unbearable! You just gotta show her, Twilight! You just gotta!"

"There's no way I'm going to use my magic now, Spike." Twilight told him in a hushed voice. "Especially since—"

"Alright, that's it!" Applejack suddenly snapped angrily. "Ah can't stand fer no more-a this!"

The cowpony stepped onto the stage, somehow bringing a length of rope out of nowhere and tying one end to her tail. Trixie looked on, unimpressed. "Can yer fancy magic do this?" Applejack said as she began performing some rather impressive lasso tricks. The crowd oohed in amazement as Applejack suddenly threw the loop of the rope towards a nearby apple tree, plucked one of the fruits off the branches, and pulled it back into her mouth all in one movement. The crowd went wild. Applejack swallowed and clicked her hoof against the ground. "Ha! Top that, missy!"

Trixie smirked. "Oh, ye of little talent…" Her hat floated off her head, showing her horn and confirmed that she was a unicorn to the Dragon Worlders. "Watch and be amazed at the magic of Trixie!"

Suddenly one end of Applejack's rope lifted up and started waving in front of Applejack like a serpent, mesmerizing the farm pony. While she was distracted, the other end stretched over to the apple tree and pulled another apple from its branches. Suddenly, before Applejack could blink, the rope wrapped itself around her legs, tied them together, and threw her on her back, with the other end stuffing the apple in her mouth. The crowd laughed as Applejack awkwardly left the stage.

"Once again, the magic of Trixie prevails!"

Rainbow then got in her face. "There's no need to be showing off like that!"

"Oh?"

"That's my job!"

Rainbow then sped off, spinning around a nearby windmill to gain momentum before catapulting into the air, penetrating a row of clouds before stopping in front of the sun for a moment. Then she sped back down through the holes she had made in the clouds, gathering moisture around her body as she reached the windmill and spun on its blades some more before catapulting back onto the stage. She suddenly came to a screeching halt as a rainbow appeared above her. "They don't call me Rainbow and Dash for nuthin'!" she boasted, the audience cheering for her.

Trixie sneered. "When Trixie is through, the only thing they'll call you is loser."

A beam of magic shot out of Trixie's horn and hit the rainbow above Dash, causing it to spin rapidly and trap her in a colorful tornado that began spinning through the air, sending her screaming through the sky for a good while before finally coming to rest on the ground and leaving the cyan Pegasus faceplanted in the dirt eyes spinning dizzily. "Ugh…I think I'm…gonna be sick…"

"It seems anypony with a 'dash' of good sense would think twice before tussling with the great Trixie!" Trixie announced with a flash of her horn. Suddenly, a small storm cloud appeared behind Rainbow and struck her in the flank with a lightning bolt, causing her to cry out in shock. The gathered ponies laughed in amusement.

"What we need is another unicorn to challenge her!" Spike stated, nudging Twilight expectantly. "Someone with some magic of her own."

"Yeah! A unicorn to show THIS unicorn who's boss." Rainbow Dash agreed.

"A real unicorn to unicorn tussle." Applejack added.

"Uh..." Twilight hesitated.

"Oh, for the...WHAT NOW?!" Trixie exclaimed as Elora raised her hand to get her attention. "Trixie is trying to do her job here!"

"Sorry, I just had to ask..." Elora told her, lowering her hand as she spoke. "But, really? Greatest equine who has ever lived? The most magical unicorn in all of Equestria?" She asked disbelievingly. "A bit much for mere stage tricks, don't you think?"

The blue unicorn looked genuinely ticked, her eye twitching slightly. "Oh, really?" She grounded out. "And you know better? Who in all of Equestria could possibly be better than the Great and Powerful Trixie?"

Elora tapped her chin with a overly-sarcastic thinking face. "Hmmmm...well, apart from the Alicorn Princesses, that's obvious..." She began, before giving a fake 'lightbulb moment'. "Starswirl the Bearded comes to mind. You know, the pony famed for the creation of modern magic?"

"STARSWIRL IS AN OVERRATED HACK AND YOU ALL KNOW IT!" Trixie shrieked, a button clearly pushed, her face twisted into a snarl of indignant rage. "THAT DUSTY PILE OF BONES AND CHEAP BEARD CONDITIONER ISN'T FIT TO POLISH TRIXIE'S HORSESHOES!" She trailed off into incoherent snarling, her hooves attempting to strangle the air.

"Well, he must have some worth to his magic, because you've been using spells he invented for your performance." Bianca suddenly spoke up, twirling her own wand in a taunting manner. "I know; as a sorceress myself, I've done my research on this world's magic." The rabbit then frowned in disapproval. "And I can also tell you that all the 'grand feats of magic' you've shown so far are, in fact, the 'basic knowledge' set of spells are unicorns learn in order to pass Magic School. Telekinesis, Light Manipulation, even minor Pegasus Storm Generation: all part of the final exam collection. Very basic stuff."

"...What are you implying?" Trixie asked in a slow, borderline dangerous manner.

There was a silent pause, everyone staring at her with varying faces, until Moneybags suddenly spoke up with a disapproving frown of his own: "You came to Ponyville counting on the idea that the common pony would be impressed by any form of magic, didn't you?"

The unicorn froze, suddenly caught in very uncomfortable headlights, as the audience suddenly took on a dangerous aura of its own, prompting the stage magician to break out into a nervous sweat. "Well...when Trixie looked up this town, it was classified as an...earth pony town." She admitted with a sheepish grin.

"Wow. Racist, much?" Spyro asked.

"As if you're one to talk, dragon!" Trixie snapped indignantly.

The audience began to boo and hiss, raising a fuss against the stage performer, only to be instantly silenced when Spyro raised his own paw with a single "ENOUGH." that boomed through the sky and across the main square. He then stared Trixie straight in the eye, his draconian eyes piercing through her bravo like a sword through paper. "I accept your challenge."

Trixie gulped as the dragon hopped up onto her stage, the wooden floor and support creaking dangerous under his saurian weight. "N-Now hold on! If you're planning to challenge Trixie to a fire-breathing contest, then forget it!" She snapped with surprising bravery. "Trixie's lost enough wagons to dragon flames as it is!"

Spyro cocked his head curiously. "There's all sorts of questions I could ask about that statement." He stated as he sat down in a dog-like position. "But no. I've got something else in mind." He turned his gaze to his rabbit friend. "Bianca...bring it over."

Bianca blinked in confusion for a moment, but then her eyes lit up in recognition...before an exasperated look crossed her face. "Seriously? That's what we're going to do?" She asked. When Spyro continued to simply stare at her expectantly, she gave a sigh and began to cast what Twilight recognized as a minor Portal Spell: with a swirl of her wand, a glimmering hole of golden magic expanded the space before her, opening a tunnel into a black void beyond it. Her face still one of exasperation, the beastwoman continued to swirl her wand as she made a beckoning motion with her other paw, magically reaching into the void and pulling out-

A TV.

The lavender unicorn blinked, cocking her head as the large flat-screen TV floated through the air and set itself on Trixie's stage; a confused murmur swept over the crowd as more items floated out one by one: a black video game console, two classic controllers (one normal sized and another pony-sized one for the dragon's larger hands), and a game case with colorful characters on a board-ese world on the cover.

Trixie blinked in confusion as the smaller controller was floated to her, subconsciously taking it in her magic. "...A video game?" Trixie asked incredulously. "That's your challenge?"

Spyro took the larger controller in his hands, as the TV turned on with a flash of light. "You said it yourself: 'anything we can do, you could do better'." He gave his own controller a playful toss, which was impressive considering it had to be over a hundred pounds. "And I fancy myself quite the master at Mario Party."

Elora huffed, blowing a tuff of hair out of her face as she folded her arms. "Only because you keep winning all the Mini Games and earning the bonus stars." She grumbled with a pout.

"Sore Loser is not a good look for you, fuzzy legs." The dragon stated in a lofty tone as the console's logo tumbled across the screen with a fun-sounding jingle.

"WAIT!" Pinkie Pie launched herself out of the crowd and latched onto Spyro's face, wide blue eyes staring into his surprised golden ones. "There are video games all about partying?!" She outright squealed. "I wanna play I wanna play I wanna play!"

Spyro promptly peeled the pony off his face, tossing her aside with a squeaky-toy sound. "Bring out the other controllers." He told Bianca, who did so with a nod. The dragon looked out over the crowd. "Does anyone else want to be player four?"

"ME!" Hunter shouted quickly, paw raised. "You owe me a rematch from out last competition!"

"THIS IS RIDICULOUS!" The stage magician finally snapped, tossing her controller aside. "Trixie's challenge was to prove her magical strength and knowledge, not to indulge the childish games of an inter-species bunch of man-children!" She turned away with a flurry of her cape and began walking away. "The Great and Powerful Trixie is above such nonsense; either give Trixie a talent that lets her use magic, or get off her stage!"

"What kind of stage performer makes such a boastful claim, only to expect the conditions to be weaved in her favor?" Spyro asked, popping open the case and gingerly placing the small CD he plucked from inside into the console as the TV lifted into the air and turned to face the audience, growing in size as it did so. "You gave the challenge to take on anything, and yet you turn down any that that doesn't meet your expectations?" A truly draconian grin spread across his snout. "...truly the sign of a coward, wouldn't you say?"

Trixie froze mid-step, going stiff as stone. "...what was that?"

Spyro's grin widened even further. Hook, Line, and Sinker...

"No, Trixie doesn't want to purchase any orbs! She's lost enough coins already to that stupid red space!"

"Oh come on! I didn't even have a chance to read the instructions! How is Trixie going to win these minigames if she doesn't know how to even play?!"

"Wait! Trixie didn't land on the turtle's space! Why is she being forced to play the minigame?!"

"NOT ENOUGH COINS?! NOT ENOUGH COINS?! IT'S ONLY ONE FREAKING COIN DIFFERENCE!"

"WHY DID IT PUT ME ALL THE WAY BACK AT THE START?! TRIXIE WAS THIS CLOSE TO GETTING THAT DAMN STAR! THIS IS BULLHAY!"

"Place your bets here! Who will triumph in the ultimate party match of the century! Long time reigning champions from the dragon world? Or the newcomer party animals of Equestria?"

"HEY, WHO SAID YOU COULD PLACE BETS ON OUR GAME?!"

"DON'T YOU DARE USE THAT ON ME! DON'T YOU DARE USE THAT ON ME! DON'T YOU DARE USE THAT ON M-YOU SON OF A DIAMOND DOG!"

"YOU WANNA DIE, YOU LITTLE SHITHEAD OF A TURTLE! TRIXIE WILL RIP THE SHELL FROM YOUR VERY SPINE AND TURN IT INTO A CHAMBER POT!"

"BONUS STARS?! WHAT KIND OF HOOEY ARE BONUS STARS?!"

"I win again!" Spyro's triumphant roar boomed across the crowd, and he tossed up his controller in victory, as his green dinosaur character did a 1st place victory dance on top of the castle tower; the majority of the crowd (those that had bet on him) gave a great cheer as they collected their winning from Moneybags, while those that hadn't could only mourn their losses as they handed over their bits.

"BUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!" A thoroughly ragged, fuming, and driven-to-the-edge Trixie outright screamed as she threw her controller to the ground in rage, her pink-dressed princess character sagging in defeat in 4th place.

Hunter huffed in annoyance, simply tossing his controller to the side as he watched his character, the tall purple man with a evil moustache, stand in defeat in 3rd place. "Okay, I expected to lose halfway through the match with Spyro's star-count..." He admitted with a feline's growl. "...but how in Avalar did I lose to the pink one?!"

"Because I am the master of the party, no matter what form it takes!" Pinkie announced, nodding in acceptance as her character, the funny man with the big nose and red hat, was listed in 2nd place.

"To be honest, I was certain I was going to lose for a bit back there." Spyro admitted, tail swishing back and forth. "I think I only won thanks to the bonus stars, otherwise Pinkie would've beaten me back there."

"That was a ton of fun!" Pinkie said cheerfully. "We totally gotta play it again!"

"NO!" Trixie shrieked, firing up her horn with an outraged look on her face; Spyro, Hunter, and Pinkie could only catch themselves as they were magically tossed off the stage one by one. "No more parties! No more stars! No more Orbs! And NO! MORE! BOWSER SPACES!" The TV flashed off as the unicorn then outright ripped all the parts and cords out of their sockets and tossed the entire thing after them in one throw; A flash of magic had the same portal from Bianca's wand open up in front of its path, catching it all before it could hit and ground and closing with a clap of air. "You have embarrassed and driven Trixie to madness enough for one day! Take your stupid game and get off of her stage!"

The dragon only snorted as he rolled back right-side up. "Evidently Sore Loser is a popular face brand in this world..." He stated simply, and then shrugged with a smug glare. "...but what do you expect from a Starswirl Copycat?"

That hit the final nail in the coffin, and the toothpaste-ese pony bristled before whirling back on the dragon, mane dis-shelved and eyes dilating. "THAT IS IT! TRIXIE HAS HAD ENOUGH OF YOU, YOU OVERGROWN IGUANA!"

She stomped her hoof, cape furling in the wind, and with a dramatic pose she pointed to the dragon and shouted aloud:

"Trixie challenges you to The Starswirl Sorcery Standoff!"

Every unicorn in the audience gasped loudly in wide-eye shock and even horror, hushed whispers and alarmed words spreading through the crowd like wildfire. The color from Twilight's face drained, her eyes wide as the words registered in her brain.

Applejack, along with just about every other earth pony and pegasus in the audience, only looked confused. "What's a 'Starswirl Sorcery Standoff'?" She asked.

"...A-An ancient unicorn custom, dating back to the reign of Princess Platinum." Rarity answered for her and everyone else who was thinking the same question; she was also staring at Trixie in disbelieving horror, her hoof covering her mouth in shock. "It's a spell-casting duel that unicorns partook in to settle disputes or petty rivalries, mainly between noble families to prevent long-standing feuds."

"The two unicorns would meet at a set time and place outside of civilized areas..." Twilight continued, still staring in horror at the unicorn and dragon currently glaring each other down. "...there, each unicorn takes turns casting spells on their opponent in an attempt to defeat them: the match ends when one unicorn surrenders, can no longer stand up, or is magically drained, or is enchanted beyond spell-breaking...or worse. It's considered a sacred tradition between unicorns, and outside interference from anyone else, unicorn or otherwise, is strictly forbidden."

Rainbow Dash blanched. "Yeesh...sounds awesome, but yeah; two unicorns zapping each other until one's no longer moving? No thanks."

"It's dangerous enough on its own, but challenging a dragon of all creatures is outright unheard of...but there are no laws saying you can't, so I guess it's legal." Twilight swallowed nervously, sweat running down her brow. "We can only hope that Spyro's doesn't accept her challenge, and then-."

"I accept your challenge."

"Of course he does..." The lavender pony groaned, slapping her hoof against her forehead.

Trixie grinned with approval. "Excellent." She said with confidence, brushing her hoof against her gemstone. "As the Challenger, I rightfully have choice of combat for the match. And thus, I choose all-class magics ranking anywhere throughout levels 1 through 3. No elemental powers. No physical attacks. And for Faust sakes, no VIDEO GAMES!"

Bianca raised her hand. "And that's good, but don't try to play Spyro's arrogance to your advantage: as the Challenged, Spyro rightfully has choice of time and place of the battle, as well as choice of referee." The rabbit reminded her, earning a tsk from the unicorn. "As I've said, I've done my research."

"Referee?" Fluttershy asked in confusion.

"A third unicorn is chosen to watch over the match as referee and judge, to make sure the two competitors stay within the required rules of the duel." Twilight explained. "As breaking the set rules by using illegal spells can result in disqualification."

Spyro nodded in confirmation himself. "Very well. There's a clearing on the edge of the Everfree to the south-west, outside of Ponyville's borders. We'll hold the duel there at nightfall. Around nine o' clock." He told the blue unicorn...and then turned his gaze to the lavender one. "And I choose Twilight Sparkle to be referee."

Twilight's eyes went wider than dinner plates. "WHAT?! ME?!"

"You're a walking encyclopedia of magic spells straight of out Celestia's Schools for Gifted Unicorns." Spyro told her with a cocked-eyeridge. "One taught directly by Princess Celestia herself. If anyone here knows which spells are legal or not, it's you..." He grinned sneakily. "Or would you rather trust someone else to categorize the list of spells...?"

Twilight stiffened, the word 'categorize' locking in place in her brain. "...that was a cheap shot." She grumbled under her breath. When the dragon continued to stare at her expectantly, she hung her head in defeat. "Fine...I accept the role of referee."

"Then the challenge has been forged." Trixie said, raising her hoof in a grandeur sweep. "Anypony wanting to watch is more than welcome-"

"No."

Trixie blinked at the now-glaring dragon, who spoke in a voice that rumbled like an earthquake. "No one is to seek out this fight for petty entertainment." He announced aloud for everyone to hear. "What you will see tonight will be for your eyes and Twilight's eyes alone, and will change your life forever." The crowed muttered to each other as the Mane Six and Spike glanced worriedly at one another. "Edge of the Everfree. 9:00. Be there."

And with that, Spyro's wings snapped open and he rocketed into the sky, kicking up a flurry of wind and dirt that knocked every one nearby off their hooves.

Night had fallen, and the sound of hoofsteps could be heard in the Everfree Forest...

...but they were not the hoofsteps of the Great and Powerful Trixie.

There were many that would consider ponykind a rather stupid race, or at the very least arrogant to the world. Some say it's because they were a species babied and softened by an overly-protective immortal ruler who had done all she could to keep the darkness of the real world from touching her kingdom and people. Others say it's thanks to being a herbivorous herd species who knew nothing but 'panic and run' when confronted with anything even slightly intimidating. And a few, who are well-read in ancient text, say it was thanks to a mentally-unstable member of the leading race, who used powerful magic to try and warp the world into their image, thus leaving the ponies unable to be anything but arrogant children.

In the end, though, no matter which story is true, it is common knowledge throughout the world of Eqqus that ponykind is not the brightest or mentally strongest species in the universe...

...and even they would shake their heads in shame at the current two colts wondering the most dangerous forest in the dark of night.

Every town had a village idiot. Ponyville had two of them, and they were still only children: Snips and Snails. They must've missed the day Faust handed out the brains to her little ponies, because you couldn't find a dumber pair of idiots, both in looks and in intelligence, or lack there-of in this case. Snails, a tall, lanky colt with a almost giraffe-like appearance, was dumb enough to the point of being retarded, making bricks look sapient by comparison. While Snips, a short, buck-toothed colt with a marshmallow-shaped physic, was just smart enough to cook up ideas that led them into all levels of trouble.

Needless to say, thanks to their combined IQ of negative-five, they were immediately swept up into Trixie's over the top grandeur performance, believing every word she spoke and revering her as a queen amongst peasants. It was Spike, the voice of reason, who managed to chip a fracture in their idolized image of the magician by questioning the proof of her claims of defeating the Ursa Major; he claimed that unless he saw Trixie defeat a Ursa with his own eyes, he wasn't going to believe her claim.

Thus that lit a tiny, withered puff of a spark of an idea in the rusty, cobweb-covered gears of the walnut that passed Snips' brain: to go into the Everfree Forest, find an Ursa Major, and lead it pack to Ponyville for Trixie to fight and prove themselves right.

"How'ja think we'll find da Ursa in dis place?" Snails asked with a dull voice, watching the trees around him with an almost dead expression.

"Well, Trixie said da Ursa lives in deep in da Everfree Forest." Snips said in a voice that wouldn't be out of place on a mouse. "So, we'll just go deep into da Everfree and we'll find it eventually!"

Truly a master plan worthy of the greatest minds in Equestria.

A plan that would receive a rather unexpected interruption.

The darkness of the forest was suddenly lit up with a flash of blue light and the crackle of thunder. Both colts nearly jumped out of their skins, the nearby trees suddenly swaying in forceful winds, as reality itself was torn asunder before their very eyes: with crackling bolts of blue electricity, the air in front of them warped as an orb of shimmering, almost water-like space bloomed out of nothingness. The winds whipped and lightning flashed as the orb grew in size, growing bigger and bigger until it was twice the size of the average pony; deep within the rippling sphere was a window to another plane, one deep in blues and greys...

...which suddenly turned into orange as something large, furry, and lanky suddenly jumped out of the portal, tripping over its large sneakers as it fell to the forest floor with a "WOAH!"

Snips screamed like a little girl.

Snails screamed like a little girl.

The orange humanoid mammal screamed like a little girl.

All three took off in different directions, screaming the entire way. "Hey! Get back here, big brother!" An actual female voiced called after them, but to no avail.

Equestria was about to get crazy.

The Saga of Spyro - the Quest for Harmony

by TyrakaReborn

Chapters

1. Prologue - A Desperate Wish