It has been a couple of years after Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends gave up the Elements of Harmony to save the Tree of Harmony. After Discord's failed attempt to destroy the tree a thousand years finally taking action, then failing again, peace seemed to return to Equestria...or so they thought.

One night, as Twilight slept after going through another of her late night study sessions, she had experienced a nightmare unlike anything she had ever had. She looked at the nightmare around her, finding the landscape dark and decaying, the scent of blood filling the air. Littering the ground, she gasped in horror as she saw the bodies of all her friends, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and even herself, all dead and killed in different, gruesome ways. She looked up as she heard maniacal laughter above Celestia's body, a unicorn stallion wielding an ethereal sword of darkness in his dark red aura.

His coat was black, as well as his mane and tail. His hair reached down to his shoulders, as wild as his insanity. His eyes were blood red as well as his horn, which was curved upward to a sharp point. This stallion almost seemed to resemble King Sombra, the evil unicorn king who attempted to take the Crystal Empire, using the same dark magic as he did, his eyes leaking a green aura from the corners. He looked younger than Sombra though, and he seemed a lot more sane despite using arcane magic at his disposal. His cutie mark was a red skull, the eyes stabbed through by two daggers.

With the dark broadsword held above the deceased princess's body, he willed it to slash down, cleaving through Celestia's neck. He began to laugh harder as the dark unicorn held the alicorn's head above him, triumphant at the carnage he had unleashed.

Twilight felt sick to her stomach, wanting to wake up from this terrible nightmare, or have Princess Luna save her from this torment. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, a light began to shine out in the distance. Both ponies looked in the direction of the unexpected light, rising up like the sun. Within that light was the silhouette of a pony, hovering forward as its wings flapped strongly. As the pony moved closer, he revealed himself as an alicorn.

His coat was pure white, his torso protected by a golden cuirass, gold gauntlets that covered his forelegs, and a helmet of the same color that covered most of his face. Through the holes in the helm, Twilight saw a pair of eyes as blue as a clear, cloudless sky, determined though troubled. From underneath his helmet, she saw his mane, a bright gold that shimmered like the rays of the sun, which the light seemed to form and brighten the landscape. His cutie mark depicting a rising sun, with five small white stars in the rays of the sun and part of a large purple star in the center of the semi-circle, almost like her own.

She heard the unicorn growl, dropping his "trophy" unceremoniously on the ground. The white alicorn sped off at breakneck speeds, faster than Rainbow Dash could if she pulled off a Sonic Rainboom, flying toward the madpony. Thousands of ethereal swords and daggers appeared from the unicorn's arcane magic, each blade shattering to pieces as the alicorn punched through them, his hooves a blur at the rapid pace he threw them. With one final punch, his hoof glowed brightly, smashing through the wall of weapons protecting the unicorn and hitting him hard in the chest. As the stallion flew, he screamed in agony as his body began to crack from the light, shattering to pieces.

The light expanded, dissolving the dark landscape and rejuvenating the land, bringing it back to its peaceful state. All around them, Twilight could hear the sound of cheering from an invisible crowd of ponies. It was like a celebration was being held for the savior, but when she turned to look at him, he wasn't as excited as the crowd. He sat in front of her dead body, slowly taking off his helmet, revealing his tear stained cheeks as he looked down at her in sorrow.

"I hope you're proud of me...mom," he said, confusing Twilight. "If only I was able to see you alive...just once..."

Before she was able to ask him who he had meant, Twilight woke up, the nightmare still fresh in her mind like a memory never forgotten. When she had requested Luna's aid, being the Princess of the Night and able to travel through dreams, she was told that she did try to see what her dream was, only for some kind of barrier to keep her out. It was a clear sign that this was some kind of vision of the possible future. Doing what she did best, she began looking up everything she could about who the two stallions were and what she and her friends can do to prevent this disaster from happening.

From the research she had done, all she was able to find any information on was the black unicorn, who was named Lucifer. Ironically, he used to be an ex-student of Celestia's, showing incredible magical prowess at such a young age. When he reached his teens, he craved more power and sought out the illegal arcane spells hidden away in the Castle of the Two Sisters, where the Everfree Forest now took over. He learned these spells behind the princess's back, and grew dangerous. Lucifer confronted Celestia, attempting to dethrone her, under the control of the dark magic he wielded. She was able to stop him, but didn't have it in her heart to kill him. So his punishment was not death, but a millennium long sleep, hoping the darkness would dissipate in time.

When Twilight spoke to Celestia about Lucifer, she had admitted that his history was kept locked away, along with his body. He was her first student, her first companion a few months after she fell into a depression from banishing her sister to the moon when she turned into Nightmare Moon. Nearly a thousand years have passed since he was forced into unconsciousness, and it was a matter of time before the Elements' spell broke, where he would wreak havoc anew. Using the knowledge she had gained, all she needed to do was find who this heroic alicorn stallion was supposed to be. But the big question that baffled her was who he was, and why did she feel like it was her he was talking to?

It had been over a year since Twilight had that vision, and the time of Lucifer's vengeance was close at hand. A lot of planning had been dealt with, but everything is set in motion, especially for Equestria's future savior. Leaving her friends back in Ponyville, for their safety, she stayed in Canterlot Castle with Luna and Celestia, the three of them waiting in trepidation at Lucifer's arrival.

"If only we still had the Elements of Harmony," Twilight said, disappointed to not have the relics that saved their home from many deities who wished to destroy the kingdom or the world. "We would be able to stop him easily."

"There is nothing that can be done, Twilight," Celestia assured her former student. Even though she was stoic and stood her ground, on the inside, she was just as worried as her sister and ex-pupil. "The Tree of Harmony still needs to recover after Discord's attempt to destroy it. It's better if we don't have to rely on them too much."

After a moment, the silence became unbearable. Then, they heard noises coming from outside the castle, magic being fired left and right and spears the royal guard carried clattering to the ground outside. More silence. The guards with the princesses stood their ground, spears aimed at the large double doors of the throne room. The doors were blasted open with a powerful spell, sending them off their hinges and flying at them. Celestia caught them in her magic before they could hit them, tossing them aside as she leered at the entryway. Standing in the hallway was the dark stallion himself, as old as he was when he was left in a comatose state, unaged by time.

"Well, well, well," he said, slowly making his way inside, blood soaking his body and the black cloak he wore over his body. "It has been a long while, princess." Lucifer's gaze fell on Luna and Twilight, chuckling to himself at Celestia's backup. "Your sister and...new princess should have fled, or at least hid away."

"We do no such thing, foul brat. Give yourself up, or you shall face our wrath," Luna said, her body unmoving, but gravely terrified on the inside.

The stallion laughed, hearing Luna's poor use of the word "our". "Even after being asleep for a thousand years, that way of speech is completely out of date. And after being banished in the moon, still conscious, I though you would have learned a thing or two."

Luna wanted nothing more than to kill Lucifer after insulting her grammar, but Celestia held her back before she lost her temper.

"Lucifer, I do not wish to fight you again. You are not yourself," Celestia pleaded, hoping to avoid a second confrontation with the colt she saw inside of the dangerous stallion. "The dark magic you wield has clouded your judgement. You will be just like Sombra, mad with power and destruction."

"Sombra?" Lucifer laughed louder, brushing a couple of his bangs out of his face. "You think I will lose my mind like that pathetic unicorn king!? Neigh, Celestia. Unlike him, I am in full control of this power." He summoned forth an ethereal sword, one of the same kinds of dark weapons Twilight saw in her vision. It was shaped like a katana, a weapon used in the countries far to the east of Equestria. "At first, I felt mad with power, but I was able to keep it from making me lose myself. I wield it like my own magic, and my reasons back then were sane.

"I wanted to take control of the throne, Celestia. You were in no shape to run it, seeing as you kept causing mistakes that nearly destroyed Equestria. Thinking that you can rule a utopia will eventually lead to its downfall, where somepony bold enough, or beings like Discord and Nightmare Moon, will rebel and do everything they can to cause chaos and havoc." Lucifer looked at the two guards, both of them ready to charge as he moved closer. "You two blindly follow a mare who claims to be a goddess, when she's really a worthless pony, given a title that means nothing but disaster with her kind heart."

"Silence!" the guard on the right of Lucifer shouted. "Don't speak ill of the princesses!"

Lucifer stared blankly at them, stepping forward once more. The guards rushed at him, not intending on letting him get any closer. As they reached him, in the blink of an eye, two slashing sounds were made, the guards running past the unicorn, only to stop a few feet away from him. Slowly, Lucifer summoned a sheath for his blade, slowly inserting the sword inside. As the hilt rested and the katana was fully sheathed, as soon as the sound echoed, blood began spurting out of the guards' necks, their heads cut clean through, rolling off their bodies as they collapsed, limbs twitching and blood pooling around their corpses.

The three princesses stared in horror at the sight, unable to believe the speed he moved at. Twilight nearly threw up, experiencing death outside of her vision, the scent of blood growing stronger as Lucifer slowly made his way toward them.

"Amazing skill, isn't it?" Lucifer mocked them, his power far greater than all three of them combined. "You three have no idea how much I've grown while I was asleep. Seems as though your fail safe failed you, Celestia. It only delayed the inevitable."

"Y-You monster," Luna stammered, growing more angry despite the fear in her heart. Not wanting to let this villain kill anymore of her subjects, she decided to act, using her magic to call forth her ethereal weapon: a black and blue scythe, the curved blade a bright silver that reflected the moon's light. "Your reign will not begin over our dead body!"

She flew at Lucifer, scythe at the ready, but the stallion didn't even budge, not even pulling out his weapon. Luna swung her weapon, only instead of making contact with his body, it hit some kind of invisible barrier, mere inches from the blade slicing through his neck. He began to laugh, practically enjoying the shocked expression on the night princess's face.

"How cute." Lucifer held out his hoof, grabbed the scythe, and shattered the weapon into nothingness, knocking Luna back in a daze. Before she could get back up, she let out a grunt of intense pain, the malicious stallion instantly teleporting on top of the alicorn, a large knife stabbed through her abdomen. "You die first. I'll enjoy watching your sister mourn over your loss while I cut you open like a science project gone wrong."

Not even giving her a chance to breath, Lucifer sliced up Luna's torso, the long blade cutting through her organs. She spluttered blood out of her mouth, already feeling the embrace of death as the crazed stallion cut through her like a dead frog. Celestia screamed in horror, sadness, and rage, her mane and tail flaring up and turning into fire. Twilight had to back away, the heat coming from her being so intense that it felt like the sun was inches away from her. The infuriated alicorn rushed at Lucifer, summoning forth a longsword made entirely out of flames, slashing at him blindly.

Lucifer laughed as he blocked the rush attack with a large ax, easily deflecting each fury induced swing Celestia made. Sparks of flame and ethereal magic danced around them, neither weapon threatening to break. The stallion eventually grew bored, parrying the next swipe, tripping Celestia up, and hacking his weapon through her forelegs. She yelled in pain, the flames around her barely effecting Lucifer, collapsing on her stomach as she writhed in pain. Before she was given a break, she felt her hind legs being chopped off as well, screaming in agony as blood spurted out from her stubbed limbs. The flames in her hair died down, tears streaming down her face in fear, sorrow, and pain, desperately trying to crawl away from the pony she once taught.

"Heheheheh. Look at you, cowering in fear at one of your best students," Lucifer taunted, relishing in her terror. He kicked Celestia hard in the side, knocking her on her back and the wind out of her lungs. To keep her from squirming, he pressed his front hooves down on her chest, holding the ax above her neck. "Now, hold still. I don't want to mess this up."

Celestia watched in horror as the ax hovered over her head, unable to utter a word in the amount of pain she was in. In one clean swing, Lucifer chopped the blade of the ax down hard on her neck, beheading her and killing her instantly. Twilight screamed in fear, watching her mentor being killed before her, too terrified to fight back or run away. She didn't want to see anymore of this. She wanted this nightmare to end.

Underneath her, dark magic swirled beneath her hooves, tendrils wrapping themselves tightly around her limbs, keeping her from moving where she stood. She struggled to break free, even trying to use her magic to teleport away, but the arcane magic sealed any use of her magic as long as she was underneath the pool of mana she stood on. Lucifer began to walk toward her after tossing Celestia's head aside, making Twilight's inevitable end torturous. She whimpered, feeling her body being lifted up slightly, turning her gaze away from the monster who would kill her.

As he stood before the quivering alicorn, he began to caress her cheek, making her wince at his touch. She dared to open her eyes, tears of fear beginning to roll down her face, gazing into his blood red eyes staring at her with lust. She could smell the blood of his victims permeating over him, sickening to her stomach as her face was soiled by what might be the princess' blood on his hoof.

"Then there was one," Lucifer said, a hungry look in his eyes. He inched closer until their muzzles touched, making Twilight gag at the stench of blood invading her nostrils. "As much as I wish to end the lives of every alicorn to show they aren't gods of any sort..." He moved his head back a little, licking his lips. "I might offer you a deal if you are willing to behave.

"If you don't want to suffer the same fate as our mentor and her sister, then you must agree with my terms. You will be my little slave. I shall do what I will with you, whenever I please, and you will not disobey. Do so, and you'll be spared. Ignore my commands, and you may be severely punished. What do you say? Live and obey my every whim, or die like the rest of the world who dares to defy me?"

"N-Never in a million years w-will I be your t-toy," Twilight stammered.

"...And I thought you wanted to live," Lucifer sighed, shrugging his shoulders. "Oh well. It's a shame to ruin one who's beauty is also expressed with her mind and prowess. Today marks my day as Equestria's king, surpassing the futile attempts made by Nightmare Moon, Discord, even Tirek."

Lucifer summoned forth his katana once again, pressing the blade against Twilight's neck. As he was about to slit her throat and watch her choke to death, she began laughing, confusing him and halting his kill. She looked down at him, still holding fear in her eyes, but she was smirking, like she was the one who had triumphed over him despite her bindings and inevitable death.

"Your reign...will end sooner than you think," Twilight said, mocking Lucifer. "The alicorns are not extinct yet. There are two left in Equestria."

"What!?" Lucifer began to lose his nerve, not knowing that there would be other alicorns aside from Celestia and Luna. "Tell me where they are!"

"...One of them is my sister-in-law, Cadence, the Princess of Love. As long as you wield dark magic, the Crystal Heart will protect her and everypony inside with its power." Twilight continued laughing, mostly out of fear, but if it meant getting the last laugh, she was going to lose her mind before Lucifer was satisfied ending her life. "And the other, you'll never find him. When the time comes, he will find you, stopping your tyranny and save us all from your power on the throne..." Twilight leered at him, relishing in his frustrated expression, wanting to kill her, but holding back to try to get anymore information out of her. "It's not over, Lucifer. He will eradicate your place in history as Equestria's greatest villain! You may have won now, but the war between good and evil still rages on, and evil will eventually fall to good with time! You will never win!"

Twilight finally lost it, laughing as maniacally as the dark stallion in her vision, mocking Lucifer in her uproarious guffawing. His eye twitched, the princess's laughter echoing in the large throne room. She would never answer him and reveal where this other alicorn was hidden. Lucifer let out a roar of frustration, his magic summoning forth thousands of blades aimed at Twilight, flicking his head down fast and sending his ethereal weapons raining down on her. Her body was skewered by the swords, knives, and daggers, silencing her laughing and killing her where she stood.

The dark magic underneath the slain alicorn's body disappeared, making her drop unceremoniously to the floor, blood pooling under her from the several stab wounds. Lucifer stared at Twilight's body, chastising himself for losing his temper too soon. Sighing, he left the bodies of the former princesses where they were, walking toward his new throne. He sat in the comfortable seat, staring at his handiwork, feeling as though Twilight's claims of another alicorn taking him down was somehow true. His magic was able to protect him from one of the princess's magical weapons, but he began to grow wary of being beaten, and by a male alicorn she mentioned the hero as a he.

"She must be lying. There is no possible way a male alicorn can exist..." Lucifer couldn't get the warning out of his head. He fidgeted in his throne, hearing Twilight's words ring in his head, his ears twitching as he heard her laughter. Growling, her words finally made him snap in a blind panic, not wanting to lose to this hero who would stop him. "Damn it! She got to me! We'll see who has the last laugh once I find the alicorn stallion! My reign shall rule for all eternity!"

Far out in the mountain range miles away from the small town of Ponyville, the sun had already set and the night sky glimmered with bright stars. Traveling on the mountain trail were Twilight Sparkle's friends and her number one dragon assistant: Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Spike. In the young dragons arms was a small bundle wrapped in a lavender blanket. Everyone had an uneasy look, knowing that their best friend and newest princess would have to face off against the unicorn from her dream. It was hard enough for the remaining Elements of Harmony to have Twilight fight with the princesses, leaving them behind with another task. Out of all of them, the one who took it the hardest was Rainbow Dash, being the Element of Loyalty, she can't leave anyone to do something this dangerous on their own.

"I can't take this anymore!" Rainbow shouted, quickly being shushed by the others. "Twilight can't do this by herself! I gotta do something!"

Before she was able to fly off, Applejack lassoed the pegasus before she could speed off in the direction of Canterlot.

"Rainbow, stop!" Applejack quickly pulled down on the rope in her teeth, slamming Rainbow hard to the ground. "Ah know ya can't help seein' others in trouble, but there's nothin' we can do!"

"But she -" Applejack quickly shoved her hoof in Rainbow's mouth before she could protest.

"Ah know...We all know." Applejack looked back at the others, all of them knowing the outcome of the fight back at the castle. "Twilight left us with another task, sugarcube. To make sure that the pony who'll save us is safe until he's old enough to fight that Lucifer stallion."

Rainbow wanted to argue further, but she knew it was a lost cause. After getting untangled by Applejack's rope, she huffed, hating how she felt useless while one of her best friends would end up sacrificing themselves just for Equestria's future.

Suddenly, the Element bearers' heads all perked up, feeling their bond had lightened, shattering to tiny pieces. They looked out on the horizon, where Canterlot Castle stood on the mountain many miles away, their hearts sinking as they felt their friend's life faded away. Their bond, connected with the Elements of Harmony, was broken with the Element of Magic's willing sacrifice to save the others.

"...No...She's gone..." Fluttershy uttered, tears already welling up in her eyes, the others feeling just as upset as the timid yellow pegasus.

Spike saw the broken looks on their faces, tears falling and sobs the only sounds they made. True, the dragon may not be bonded by the Elements like his pony friends, but it was just as painful for him, being a surrogate sibling to the alicorn he always worked hard for. In his arms, the bundle shifted and crying was heard underneath the blanket. The little form inside squirmed as it cried, unveiling its little head. In Spike's arms was a foal, but it wasn't just any foal; it was Twilight's foal.

From its constant cries for its mother and trying to wriggle out of Spike's hold, it shifted its blanket until it revealed more of himself. An alicorn colt, tiny wings at his sides and a small horn on its forehead, his coat a pure white and a small tuft of hair on his mane a bright gold color. He was crying out for Twilight, able to sense what the other mares were able to feel. Spike tried to calm the colt down, knowing he would grow tired after a while.

After a moment to mourn for their loss, they continued up the mountain, the alicorn foal's cries growing quieter as Spike continued to rock him back and forth. They finally reached their destination: a cave hidden out of view from any wandering hikers, or mad tyrants who wish to find Twilight's child. This was the last thing Spike will do for Twilight as her number one assistant: be the best uncle for his nephew's sake, make sure he never leaves until he's old enough, and guide him to his destiny.

Pinkie and Rarity had carried some saddlebags with them on the long trek up the mountain, carrying food for the foal, diapers, some toys, just a few things to keep the colt happy or entertained. Spike could handle himself fine, knowing there might be some gems hidden along the range he could scrounge up.

"Are you sure you can look after him, Spikey?" asked Rarity.

"Yeah. Just bring the rest of the stuff tomorrow." Spike looked back at the cave, far bigger than any dragon den he had seen. "Our new home away from home. I'll get used to it, but I'm not sure he will."

Spike looked down at the colt, sleeping soundly in his arms. His eyes widened when he felt a kiss on his cheek, coming from Rarity.

"You are so brave for doing this, Spikey-wikey." The fashionista pulled the little dragon into a hug, still shocked at the kiss he was given by his crush. "Please be careful."

"...I-I will..." Spike stammered, finding a new resolve not to mess this important job up. After saying their farewells, the mares headed back to Ponyville, leaving the baby dragon behind with his nephew. Looking back in the dark cave, Spike pulled out a small crystal from one of the bags, lighting it with his fire breath and casting a dim glow around them. Picking up the saddlebags and placing them on his back, he walked through the cave, the crystal lighting their way. "Let's see if we can make some renovations tomorrow. For now, let's get some sleep, Solaris."

The colt opened his eyes slightly, hearing his name. His eyes were a bright blue, just like Twilight's savior in her vision. He closed his eyes again, drifting back to sleep as Spike wandered around to find their "rooms".

Author's Notes:

Okie-dokie-loki! First story coming to life!

I had actually made this story a couple years ago, but I wrote it out of boredom when I had nothing to do. Finally, after reading many fics on this site, I decided to bring this up, recreate the old story to make it better than what I had originally made it, and see if anyone likes the prologue. If many of you like it, great! If not...then I recommend not reading anymore of the future gore. Don't worry, because there is a good ending. You'll just have to wait and see what comes next.

So if you want more, I'll post the rest of the story when I have the time, and maybe a few others I already made if some of you are interested. If anyone is a harsh critic, don't chastise me harshly. Writing isn't my forte. Just something to do if I don't have anything to do.