As Twilight and I watch, arcs of black energy start forming around the site where the two clones met. A few of them hit the bridge supports and send one of the two down into the gorge below.
But that's not the least of our problems.
As the black energy dies down, it sends out a few waves right towards Twilight.

Twilight screams in fear, and time seems to slow down as I leap.

The energy hits me full in the chest, driving me backwards into Twilight, who grabs me before I hit the ground.
As she holds me, the energy dies down and the clone walks through both of us.

"Are you okay!?" Twilight asks, worry on her face.

"Y-Yeah." I say.

I look at my chest, where the lightning hit.
There's not even a mark on me.

"I'm fine." I say, surprised.

"What were you thinking!?" Twilight says, setting me down on my feet. "You could've gotten yourself killed!"

"I'm sorry." I say. "I just-"

"Thought I couldn't handle myself?" she interrupts. "I had at least three different shielding spells called up, and that was before that energy wave came at me."

I look down at my feet, shame evident on my face.
Twilight's hooves wrap around me and pull me into a tight hug.

"You didn't even know I was going to be fine the whole time, and you still jumped in the way."

I look up and see that she's crying.

"Sometimes, I think I don't deserve to have a friend as amazing as you, Spike." she says, hugging me again.

After a minute or two, she releases me.

"...But why am I fine?" I ask. "That thing looked deadly."

Twilight thinks about it for a minute or two, then her face lights up.

"Dragons are naturally resistant to magic." Twilight says thoughtfully. "You're starting to grow; you've no doubt developed at least some magic resistance."

"So I'm immune to magic?"

"Not quite yet, but in time you will be. I've read that some dragons can even use some types of magic!"

"That's totally awesome!"

As the two of us sit there smiling, a shadow falls over us...

I look up to see the clone that'd fallen into the gorge flying above us, looking down at Twilight.

"Get back!" Twilight says, her horn glowing as a forcefield appears around us.

The clone dives, landing neatly on top of the forcefield and looking down at us.
I finally get a good look at it, and I gasp.

"It looks different!" I say.

Normally, the things that've been following Twilight around have been a dark grey color, like smoke solidified into a pony, and they've had no facial features at all. But this...
Black as a night with no moon, with glowing white eyes, and shaped exactly like Twilight, it gazes at us silently.

"N-N..." it says.

"It talks?" Twilight asks in disbelief.

"N-Name..." the thing says.

"What's it trying to say?" I ask.

"Name me." the thing says, pressing its face against the forcefield.

"Name you?" Twilight asks.

"Name me!"

"What kind of question is that?"

"Name me! Name me! Name-"

The thing falls off of the forcefield, landing on its back. It waves its hooves in the air, like a downed turtle.

"Name me!"

The forcefield disappears, and Twilight laughs.

"It's finally gained sentience, and all it has to say is-"

"Name me!"

She facehooves.

"Well, we should probably take it back to Ponyville." she says. "We might be able to get it to say something other than-"

"Name me!"

'Yeah. That." Twilight says, rolling her eyes and picking the thing up with magic.

"That's odd..." she says. "It's as light as paper."

"Name me."

We start heading back to Ponyville, the thing in tow.

About three quarters of the way there, the thing falls silent.
I look back at it and see that it's stopped moving.

"Twilight..." I say, gesturing to the thing.

"What happened?" she asks, lowering it to the ground.

"Dying..." the thing says. "Name..."

"Twi, I think you should name it..." I say.

"I haven't thought of one yet!" she says, her voice worried.

"Name..."

"I don't know what to call you!"

"Well, think of something!" I say.

"I-I dunno!" Twilight says. "You're pitch black, so something like 'Dusk', or 'Eclipse', or 'Penumbra'! I've never had to come up with a name on the spot like this before!"

Suddenly, the things stops moving, lying on the ground.

"I don't think you came up with something fast enough." I say, turning to her.

"No duh, Spike!" she shouts, and I'm shocked to see tears in her eyes.

"Twilight-"

"No, Spike. Let me mourn for a bit."

After a brief silence, I summon my courage.

"Twilight, snap out of it!"

She looks at me angrily, and I return the glare.

"I know what you're thinking!" I say. "You're beating yourself up because you couldn't come up with a name in time!"

She looks away, still angry.

"Twilight, I know you." I say, placing a claw on her shoulder. "You're obviously going to take responsibility for this even though it isn't your fault."

At this, she starts laughing, staring straight up through the trees.

"Isn't my fault?" she says to the empty sky. "That's rich."

"It isn't! You had no idea it was gonna-"

"Going to gain sentience and ask me for help?" she interrupts. "Of course not. But I could've done something!"

A small, white light flares up from behind me, and I turn.

"I could've named it right away!" Twilight continues, still oblivious to what's going on.

"Twilight..." I say.

The thing's glowing softy, and soon it's completely covered in white light, glowing like a mini sun among the trees of the forest.

"I could've saved its life!" Twilight yells. "But nooooo! The Princess of Stupid has to take everything back to her lab for research before she can interfere!"

"Twilight!" I yell.

After a few seconds, the light gets blinding, and I have to cover my eyes.

"And now a brand-new life form gains sentience, and what's the first thing I do? I kill the thing!"

"Twilight!"

"What!?" she snaps, turning around, before gasping and covering her eyes.

After a few minutes, the light seeping through my claws fades, and I move them...

The thing - no, the stallion - is standing several feet in front of us, looking around as if seeing the forest for the first time.
His coat is a dark purple, almost black. His mane is jet black, like a sky with no stars. His horn and wings are exactly like Twilight's, and his eyes are a striking lavender.
He takes a step towards us...

And falls flat on his face.

"Ow." he says.

He struggles to his feet, walks over to us, and bows to Twilight.

"Well met! I am called Dusk." he says. "You've named me, and I owe you my life."