The New Generation of Spike the Dragon

Chapter 1: The Beginning

By SonicMlpGamerandArtist

I sighed as I stood in front of a weak wooden door. The house that I stood in front of was dilapidated and dirty, with a scorched rooftop and broken objects around it. The other houses surrounding this particular one wasn’t much better. It was quite a ghastly neighborhood, one that likely didn’t have the resources to be patched up decently after the disaster. Random objects were strewn around on the ground, and it was pretty empty. It was such an odd sight. Canterlot was once such a prosperous and beautiful place that practically bustled with high class ponies. The buildings were beautiful, the streets were always clean, the place seemed to shine and could enrapture any visitor. Yet in only one day, it’s glamour and glory had been crushed and burned in the flames of anger and despair. Now, it reduced to a dull, unsafe town that was covered in rubble and could barely support itself.

With many experiences, regrets, and misfortunes, this was all that was left. Lost hopes and dreams, broken families, and struggles that seemed to be getting even harder. Nopony would have thought such a tragedy would have happened in the happy, peaceful land of Equestria. We had princesses who were mighty and powerful goddesses along with six heroes who had been defending this country better than anyone else ever has. However, without them, we are left to ponder, who will save us? When our strongest defense yet has failed, what or who could possibly aid us enough to protect ourselves?

The answer has not yet revealed itself, unfortunately. The resistance is doing nothing but getting themselves and others hurt repeatedly. Darkness’ ‘children’ were either loyal to him, or not strong enough to put a scratch on him. The princesses were elsewhere, possibly dead or dying.

There are some who try to stay optimistic. They do their best to live their lives as if nothing has happened. Of course, they can’t deny what is surrounding them, but they help others in need, patch things up the best they can, and they use this experience to really bond with others in such a dark time. Many envy those ponies. They can look past all of this, and muster a smile. Everyone else is either broken, terrified, or have given up on happiness. It’s a mixed, chaotic world we all live in now…

I forcefully pounded onto the weak door. With a sad groan, it finally opens up to reveal a pair of old, tired eyes. The yellow eyes stared suspiciously.

“Who goes there?” asked the stallion with a baritone voice.

“A member of The Adversary.” I stated coldly. “I am here under the order of Lord Darkness.”

He gasped lightly. A scowl covered his face and he opened his mouth to say something. I simply
forced the door open some and let myself in.

“You are under arrest for going against the Adversary.” I said, tackling him to the floor. “All who goes against Darkness’ forces shall be punished immediately. If you try to escape, death shall surely come to you.” With a grunt, I kept him onto the ground and tied some rope around his back hooves. He tried kicking but it was no use. I was specially trained for these kinds of situations.

A mare, presumably his wife, cowered in the corner of the room, covering a foal. I sighed and walked over to the mare. She held her child tighter, shaking her head.

“Hoof it over.” I commanded.

“No, no, no, please!” She shrieked. “Show mercy! Show mercy!”

“You shall hand him over to me, or else face the consequences.” I told her and glared at her. “Hoof. It. Over.”

She simply continued holding her foal tightly, repeating the phrase “Show mercy, don’t take him…”. I stared at her for a long time, waiting for her to give up. She didn’t.

“Run.”

“W-what?” Her eyes filled with shock. She stayed there.

I pulled out a knife.

“Run.”

With a shaky gasp, she hurried and grabbed her son. Within only seconds, she had fled away from the house, crying and trembling the whole way.

I sighed, picking up the rope and dragging the stallion outside. As I closed the door and began walking, the stallion spoke up.

“Why’d ya do that?” He asked.

“Because I can.” I replied.

“But you’re on the side o’ that monster. That there jus’ screams ‘no good’. I bet it was a trap. Ye have some o’ dem other good-for-nothin’ fools waiting for her? You jest wanted to see her have hope for a secon’ before she got caught, didn’t ya?” He said, with a deep frown embedded upon his face.

“I and only I was sent by Lord Darkness on this particular mission. The criminal ran away. I couldn’t catch her. Too busy dealing with her husband. He put up a good fight.” I said. That’s what I planned on reporting to Mister Darkness.

He had an awestruck look on his face. “Well I’ll be damned…”

The walk to the castle was a long one. Run-down buildings and hazy skies surrounded us for the entirety of our trip. Every once in awhile, we’d see some ponies who stared at us as we made our way through the broken city. This particular method of carrying him to the castle was meant for public humiliation, yet there were looks of pity, sympathy, anger and sadness on most of their faces. Others simply ignored it and took care of their own business. One stallion could be heard saying “Just another average day in this hellhole” as he took a moment to watch the poor pony being drug down the dirty road. Unfortunately, this was a common sight. I was just happy that I wasn’t surrounded by petrified ponies, their faces showing absolute fear.

We arrived at the castle gates, which were the shiniest thing around. The castle area didn’t look too bad. Things were maintained decently, even though it didn’t have the bright, polished aura it once held long ago. The guards who were resting at their posts gave a knowing look and opened the gates.

The two large throne room doors that we reached eventually were tall and imposing. With a deep breath, I walked through them to face…

Him.

He, like the doors, towered high above us. His scales shined lightly with the sunlight that poured through the large windows on either side of the room. A scowl was glued to his face, and his eyes held unrelenting anger with a twinge or insanity. He opened his wings, as if trying to make himself seem bigger. It was apparently working since the pony seemed to shrink back in fear. The ruler of this country looked down upon him with the rage from his past that never seemed to go away.

“So...what do you have to say for yourself…?” He questioned in a deep, sinister voice.

“I.. I have no idea what you’re-”

Slam!

“I have no time for your games, excuses, and lies…” He growled out. He had flipped the stallion backwards with a flick of his finger. “What do you have to say for yourself?” He asked once more, slowly crushing him with his magic.

“Ahg! U-ugh… I’m not a part of them…” The stallion rasped.

“Stop lying to me.” The mad dragon said. “I know you’re with the resistance.”

“S-s-so what?” He was practically choking his words out now. A tear fell down his face.

“Tell me everything you know. Or it’s death.” He commanded.

“N-n-never!” He yelled and spit in the dragon’s face.

“Say your last words.”

“I love-”

There was a sickening crunch as Darkness tightened his grip around the pony.

“Too slow…”

“I advise not killing him.” I commented.

He dropped him and the pony gasped desperately for breath. The dragon looked me in my eyes. He had definitely expected the comment, which was proven by the look of exasperation on his face. He held that stare and I stood staring back. He sighed and deflated at my stubbornness and closed his eyes for a second.

“What do you suggest I do then?” He asked.

“Torture him until he opens his mouth.”

We stared at each other intently as he began to carefully weigh the pros and cons. After a moments, he let out a loud huff. Those eyes of his flickered back and forth, almost as if he were having a mental debate with someone else inside of that head of his. His wry facial expression told me what he really wanted to be doing rather than sparing the stallion’s life.

“Get the traitor outta my sight.” He said finally.

I nodded and pulled the stallion away. As we walked through, a few of the guards here and there chuckled. While it did suck for the pony being dragged, it was a bit funny for some ponies that I was shorter than most ponies. Meaning I was just some short pony pulling around a large stallion like it was nothing. I suppose it could be a little funny. But every time? I huffed and walked a bit faster. At least a couple ponies had warmed up to being here. Though most of them quietly did their job, made little to no friends, and occasionally tried to rebel in their own little ways. It saddens me to see that even when they know they’ll be punished horribly, they still try. I sighed and shook my head, opting to look around at the large, familiar halls of the castle rather than think about it.

Within minutes, I made it to the dungeon’s door. My friend Con looked at me with a raised eyebrow. I was the only person who could tell when he did that, despite his hair covering most of his face.

“Another one?”

“Another one.”

“Jeez, you’re good at keeping these ponies alive.”

“Well, I do my best I guess.”

“So, what did this one do to piss off the almighty dragon?”

“He’s working for the resistance….”

“So that means…”

I gulped and looked away.

“Yep.”

Con sighed. “You know, I almost can’t see the point in saving these poor guys when they’re gonna be broken anyways…” He mumbled.

“Well…maybe he’s…different.” I said, knowing my words were absolute crap.

“He’s just like the rest of them. He will resist, and resist, until his mind gives up on him... “ A cackle could be heard from the dungeons, as if to prove his point. “And I will have to stand here and hear that all day. Just louder. And more numerous…”

I stayed silent and stood there for a moment before slowly shaking my head and opening the heavy steel door as I began to drag the stallion once more. Several prisoners either stared in fear, let out an animal-like snarl, or began crying. After so long of going through this situation, I had learned to tune them out. Finally, the prisoner and I reached the dank jail cell. With an inaudible sigh, I grabbed one key from the many other ones dangling on the shiny ring that was once hanging on the wall outside and opened the slightly moist, rusty bar door. As usual, I roughly pushed him into the cell, slammed the door shut and locked it.

“You have anything to say?” I asked, giving him a chance.

“...I have a diary in my home.” He mumbled so quietly, I almost couldn’t hear him.

Almost.

I nodded and simply walked away. As I walked outside of the dark and smelly room, Con glanced at me

“Do you really think he’ll be different?”

“Yes.”

“Tis a wonderful day of celebration!”

“Ahem… I was supposed to do the speech…”

“Oh lordy, don’t you two start again!”

“I swear, if you guys do this crap one more time…”

Con wore his signature smile as always, despite the chaos that threatened to erupt from the table. He had stood up and spoke, and my other friend, Strong Will, had made a comment that would turn something simple into a big deal. He glared at the chuckling pony, his irritation growing rapidly. Midnight Jade had been the first to interject and Rapacity had, of course mumbled under his breath as always. Off to the side were Harmonic Zeal, Lemon Zest, and myself, quietly watching the scene unfold in front of us.

“Oh really? Did you honestly think I’d let the boring grump handle this job?” Con retorted. Will was getting angrier by the second.

“Con I swear to god, if you don’t leave me alone and let me do my job!” Will yelled. The short tempered stallion was like a ticking bomb.

“Alright, alright, I’m sure you’ll do fine. Even better if you take the stick outta your ass!” Con began laughing like a madman.

“GRRRRRR…”

“I don’t mind who does it, just get on with it so I can eat my damn cake!” I interjected.

The two stared at each other for a second, and Con finally huffed and sat down. “Fine, you do the speech..” He muttered, faking a pout.

Will cleared his throat, then began. “As our wonderful friend has pointed out, it is indeed a day for celebration. For our great friend, Love charm, has gotten one year older…”

“Waiting for those grey hairs to start popping up!”

“And since we all love and appreciate her so much, we will gather today and have some fun-”

“Pfffff-hahahaha! You’re just gonna frown all day.”

“Shut it… Ahem, and have a wonderful feast! I’m hoping that the b-day girl will love what we have in store for her. Now, let’s eat this damn cake.” Will finished, grabbing a knife.

Immediately everyone began shuffling around the table, Trying to get the closest to the cake as Will began cutting slices of it and hoofing out to the rest of his friends. Murmurs could be heard, most of which was “Finally” and “Leave it to Will to let me starve” or something along those lines. When everypony got their cake, there was a moment of silence among us. All that could be heard was the clattering of plates and forks as we all stuffed our faces.

“Oh, am I not invited?” Asked a deep voice behind us. I looked up to see Mister Darkness with a claw to his chest and a look of fake hurt.

“Of course you are, Pops! You’re always invited!” Con said immediately, smiling up at him. It always made me happy that Con was one of the few ponies to warm up to Mister Darkness. He even went so far as to call him ‘Pops’, as if he were like a father figure for him.

“I was missing you for a while, Mister Darkness! I was wondering when you’d come around.” I told him, also smiling at him. He smiled back at me and cut himself a slice of cake with his magic. With a tilt of his claws, the fiery aura pulled the plate towards him, and he began eating the cake. Despite being huge, he ate just like anypony else. It looked slightly awkward though, as his fingers covered nearly the entire fork and the plate was tiny in his hand. After swallowing, he turned over to Will.

“Well, you’re baking has gotten much better over this year! Been practicing?” He asked.

“Um… yeah, sir.” He said, just loud enough to let him hear. Will didn’t take a liking to Mister Darkness at all. It was for a good reason, but it still upset me a bit. It didn’t get in the way of our friendship, so it didn’t bother me so much.

Rapacity spoke up. “You guys gonna eat that?” He asked, looking at what was left of the cake. There was still half of it left.

“God dammit, go ahead and eat it fatass.” Growled Midnight. Rapacity happily scooped the rest into his mouth, and Midnight face-hoofed.

Midnight was very indifferent about the situation she got dragged into. She neither liked nor hated Mister Darkness. Instead, she opted to listen to her commands and do whatever she had to do. The purple mare often spent time either talking to others, or blowing her soft blue mane out of her face. She was fairly social and friendly, though at times could be a bit reserved.

I looked over to Lemon Zest, who was busy glaring at Midnight. He was a bit accepting of the dragon, yet was also a little wary of him. Though most of the time, he was just a happy-go-lucky sort of stallion, he was still a great friend to talk to when things got rough. If he wasn’t laughing and talking to others, he was playing his guitar on one of the many balconies in the castle.

Then was Zeal, who was the perverted jokester of our group. He had his up moments and down moments, and when he wasn’t laughing or joking, he was always frowning and keeping to himself. He could be annoying at times, but he was still a good friend and I Iove him the same as the rest of my friends.

The day went by quickly with all of the fun distracting me. As we all ate, drank, played and joked the day away, I could put everything else behind me. I could almost forget that tomorrow, I’d have to hurt innocent ponies, steal the things and ponies they hold dear to them and be a cold-hearted representative of a large group that’s main goal was to kill and destroy everything and everyone. It was something that somewhat troubled me, but it was nice to have a break from it all every once in awhile.

Unfortunately, as all good days end, I know that I have to wake up to the same thing again.

And as usual, I fell into fitful, uneasy sleep, knowing what tomorrow had in store for me.

Author's Notes:

Aaand here it is! Finally, after so long, I'm able to get this out. Please, send as much constructive criticism as possible.