CHAPTER 1: WAR OF THE NIGHT - EPILOGUE: SUNRISE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"It's done."

Wait, what?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

She wasn't sure if she liked that thought.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

...speaking of burning things to the ground.

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

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

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

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