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!"