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.