Five years, eleven months after meteor...

The crude campfire filled the cavern with a smoky smell. Orange flames reflected off a few scattered pieces of gold, the moist walls, and the dragon’s slick green scales. One of the burning logs popped and splintered in half. The sound of it rang in both the pony and dragon’s heads.

She said his name again, slowly, carefully. “Spike?”

He towered over her at least the length of two ponies. His spines and snout had grown longer, and all of him had grown larger in kind. It seemed he had gone through an amazing growth spurt in the years since Fluttershy had seen him last.

Sounds came from the dragon’s throat but no words were formed. His claws flexed and relaxed seemingly without thought. Emerald green eyes jumped from Shy’s blood stained fur, her cut hair, and her missing wing. Finally he was able to speak a single word. His voice was deeper than the pony recalled. “Fluttershy?”

Shy was too exhausted to become enraged by the dragon’s mistake. Still, she couldn’t help responding, “That’s not… ” She couldn’t complete her correction. The ground suddenly came rushing up to meet her and the world went black.

Hours later…

Agonizing pain shot up Steel’s body from his leg. His eyes shot open. “Gah! Fucken’!”

“Shut up!” came a male voice followed by a swift hoof across his muzzle. Steel grit his teeth and growled. In the dim light his pitch black eyes focused on the pony standing over him with its teal fur and long horn. The ground he lay on was hard and cold but wasn’t dirt. Stone walls around him rose high into the darkness. I’m inside the castle…

A swift hoof kicked his stomach. “Stand up, dog! The Prince wants to see you.”

Steel bit down his pride and tried to stand. His torn leg wouldn’t support his weight, however, and he tumbled back to the ground. He growled in pain. “I can’t walk, pony!” he spat.

Grumbling, the unicorn turned to another of his kind. “Get a medic. I’m not carrying this filth.” The pony he spoke to huffed but did as he was told, walking leisurely away.

It was several minutes before the medic came. While he waited, Steel took the chance to examine his surroundings further. He was in what appeared to be a guest bedroom of the castle. From the way the carpet was pushed and his body felt, he realized he had been dragged in. There was a bed a few paws from him that no one had bothered to toss him onto. The window was boarded up with magical precision.

The unicorn medic sneered the entire time he was bandaging Steel’s leg. After a less-than-satisfactory wrap and splint, the medic turned around without a word and left. At the glare from the teal unicorn, Steel tried to stand again. This time his leg supported him, though it felt numb and dead.

It’s going to have to go… fuck…

“Walk, dog!” came the command from the unicorn. Steel hobbled towards the open doorway, the unicorn behind him. When they got into the hall the stallion laughed softly. “You’re a pretty good dog, you know that?”

Steel growled but kept hobbling forward. So much stone… if only I could get outside… underground…

The Iron Dog’s thoughts faded away as he took in the situation around him. Morning light streaming through boarded up windows was aided by fire floating by magical means. It revealed dogs of all statuses as Steel was guided through the castle. Some lay dead on the cold stone, blood oozing from cuts so fine no blade could have made them. Some could be heard sobbing behind curtains accompanied by the sounds of exertion. Most huddled together in the castle’s dark corners in vain attempts to be invisible.

It chipped away at Steel’s failing morale. Is this what we are reduced to? Freedom given and denied?

His stallion guard escorted him deep into the castle to what Steel knew was the throne room. He had seen it drawn in a few different books but the sheer size of it made him slow his step in awe. The stained glass windows were still in perfect condition along with the carpet and throne itself. Light streamed through these windows in greater volumes than the rest of the castle as if the glass absorbed it. Sitting on that throne was a stallion with the whitest fur Steel had ever seen. Though he was not as large as Celestia, his presence filled the large seat as well as the room.

Using a hoof to push his blond hair to one side of his horn, the stallion locked his blue eyed gaze on Steel. Alarms rang to life inside Steel. He stopped. The unicorn behind him started to yell at him.

In a smooth motion that ignored every ache and pain he felt, Steel lifted his arms up and stepped backwards. He brought his arms down around the stallion’s neck and whipped them out in an instant. The sound of the unicorn’s neck snapping rang to the rafters.

Steel was spinning around towards the door before his victim’s body fell. The massive double doors he had come in through glowed white and slammed shut. The dog spun again, arms up and ready.

He was alone in the throne room with the white furred stallion. “You are Steel, yes?” the unicorn asked quietly. A shiver ran down Steel’s spine.

Something isn’t right! What the hell are you, pony?

The stallion let out a scoff. “I suppose I shouldn’t assume you know the difference between a pony and a stallion. Come closer, would you kindly?”

Worms started crawling through Steel’s brain. His claws came up to his head but he resisted digging through his own skull to get them out. There’s nothing there, that isn’t happening!

Eye’s widening, the stallion cocked his head to the side. “Interesting, you’re resisting. Only one other pony was ever able to do that.” His blue eyes looked over to one of the stained glass windows. “Well, not a pony. Her dimwitted pet…”

Steel, teeth grit with the mental strain of not killing himself, followed the stallion’s eyes to a stained glass depicting six ponies. With them was a small, green dragon.

“Of course,” the unicorn continued, “He’s got the element they all want.”

Meanwhile…

A coughing fit that shook her body woke Shy. Her dry throat cracked and she spat blood onto the cave floor. Something shuffled next to her. She rolled to her side to quickly see what it was. A bucket sat a hoof beside her.

“It’s water… ”

The pony arched her body to see where the voice had come from. Spike sat where she had first seen him upon entering the cave. Embers rose from the remains of the fire in front of him. It gave off just enough light to make out his outline.

So it wasn’t a dream…

Slowly, keeping her eyes on the dragon, Shy got to her knees and drank from the bucket. He kept his eyes on her as well. She noticed his claws continuing to clench and relax. It was then she realized why. He’s deciding whether to kill me or not.

A wealth of emotions filled Shy at that moment; Fluttershy’s shock and disbelief, Celestia’s anger, Shy’s own confusion. There was too little information for her to make sense of the situation, but she knew if she didn’t say anything the dragon would make up his mind without her.

“Why are you here?” she asked when her throat was thoroughly wet. It wasn’t the most well thought out question, but Shy wasn’t going to start pretending to be Fluttershy to get emotional points.

The dragon answered automatically as if having been asked the question before. “I don’t like camping with the army.” He cringed at his own response upon hearing it.

Shy ran her tongue over her teeth. You’re not watching your words, are you, Spike? “The army is here? Where?”

“Canterlot,” came the instant response, but this time Spike stopped himself from saying more. His claws clenched tightly.

Shy gambled on what could have been her final question. “Why do you think you need to kill me?”

Spike’s eyes widened. “I don’t… I’m not going to hurt you, Fluttershy!” The dragon visibly relaxed, his claws running down the sides of his scaled legs.

Saying and doing are two different things, Shy thought.

“I just… ” Spike ran his claw over his head and neck, his spines folding over and flicking back up as he did so. “How are you alive? I thought everypony… ”

Shy had to fight back the retort. “I was lucky,” she answered truthfully. “Or unlucky, depending on how you look at it.” She stood up straight on her back legs. “A lot has happened.”

The dragon looked at her skeptically. “I can see that… A lot has happened for me too, but… ” Again Spike began to look nervous. “I think you should come with me, Fluttershy.”

Celestia’s voice whispered into Shy’s ear, no. For once, the pony agreed with the alicorn. “And what if I don’t want to?” she said in return.

Spike’s face turned down. Shy thought he looked a bit heart-broken. His right claw thrust out at her, a purple glow surrounding it. Instantly, the glow surrounded her as well, covering her head to hoof. It locked her in place, giving her just enough space to breathe.

Magic?! The alicorn inside her head hissed and raged but stayed within the confines of the pony’s mind. “Spike, what are yo-”

Before she could finish her sentence the world warped around her. Her stomach almost brought up the water she just drank. Within the span of a heartbeat she was suddenly somewhere else. The morning sun warmed her body and the smell of fresh rain filled her nostrils. In front of her rose a high gate that blocked out row after row of building.

Canterlot!

The purple glow dissipated from her, allowing her to turn around. Thrusting high into the sky stood the Canterlot Castle. Spike stood to her side, right claw raised. His voice was devoid of any previous sentiment and his eyes were steeled. “Come.”

Shy shifted her weight towards the gates. The purple glow returned around Spike’s claw and the pony felt resistance against her.

“You cannot run. Come, now,” the dragon commanded.

The stallion’s voice deeply growled to his right, just out of sight, “What does he want? Why is this happening?”

The same voice, though quieter and harsher, came from his left, “How does he know what I’m thinking? What magic is this?”

“No magic,” answered Prince Blueblood from the throne. “You yourself have a similar power, if only you knew how to use it.”

By this time Steel’s sanity was unwinding. The stallion was all around him and within him, answering his thoughts without the dog making a sound. I have to get out of here! I need... I need earth!

A tremor shook the castle for an instant. Blueblood looked up at the falling dust. “Earth? I see…” The mirror images of the stallion dissipated from around Steel. The crawling things inside his head abated. He fell to his knees, drained. The Prince continued, “An element of harmony has taken up residence inside you. I don’t know why it chose you, no pony does, but you have been given a rare gift.” He held out his hoof. “Join us, Steel, and become a part of the new Elements of Harmony!”

Steel stared up at the stallion in utter confusion. He spoke between gasping breaths, “The… the elements are a pony story… pony magic… I can’t have one… ”

Blueblood laughed mockingly and shook his head. “We were all told such lies too keep us complacent. The elements of harmony, as we call them, are older than any civilization on this planet, as old as gods. They choose anyone or anything to represent them. And the element of earth,” he pointed his hoof at the dog, “chose you.”

Slowly getting to his feet, Steel kept his gaze locked on the Prince. “And you have one as well?”

Prince Blueblood’s smile sent a shiver down Steel’s spine. “Yes, I do. Each element has a mirror, a counter if you will. I hold the counter to her pet’s element… ”

Dogs of all shapes and sizes were being violated all around them as they walked through the castle. Shy kept her eyes forward, Spike behind her ready to counter any move she made. A few of the stallion guards gave her strange looks as she walked on two legs with blood still staining much of her. None approached, however, seeming to want to keep out of Spike’s way.

Her situation held her complete attention. He can use magic… that’s impossible, dragons cannot use magic. That purple glow as well…

The pony looked over her shoulder, “How are you using magic? A leftover from Twilight’s power?”

Spike’s face twitched at the mention of his former surrogate. “No… how much do you know about what’s been going on?”

“Little to nothing. My only contact to the outside wasn’t very talkative.” An image of Zecora popped into Shy’s mind. She was sad, scared. Not now.

Shy heard Spike stop walking. The pony turned around and looked up into his face. The dragon looked confused. “Then you don’t know about the Red Queen? Or the reason this all happened?”

Both Fluttershy and Celestia rustled inside Shy’s mind. Answers! “No, I don’t,” Shy said as calmly as possible though she wanted to burst. “Tell me.”

Spike looked off to the side, searching for words. They had stopped on a balcony walkway overlooking Equestria. Clouds spread to the horizon, glowing from the sun. Only a small stone railing, crumbling with age, separated them from a sheer drop to oblivion. “Celestia… lied to everypony. She used her magic and the elements of harmony to keep herself alive for over a thousand years. The meteor killed her once and for all, setting everypony free… ”

For a moment Shy stood quietly processing everything the dragon had revealed. Then, she burst out laughing. “Free? You call this free?” She raised her hooves to the castle around them, voice rising with them. “Ponies raping and slaughtering as they see fit!”

“Celestia kept us from moving forward!” Spike yelled back, his words sounding repeated. “She kept everypony complacent so she could keep ruling over us all, taking over the bodies of the ones she needed! Twilight would have been next!” Tears streamed down his face. “She loved Celestia, and she was just using her!”

And suddenly everything made sense to Shy. Inside her mind, Celestia smiled. The back and forth between them was instantaneous.

You’re… really Celestia. You’ve been trying to take over this body this entire time… Shy thought, shocked.

Celestia laughed softly. Caught!

How? How are you here if you needed Twilight?

The former princess seemed to lean in closer. Who said I needed Twilight? It’s impolite to underestimate your betters…

I can tell them you’re inside me! They’ll-

They’ll kill you, Shy, Celestia spoke with a tone of finality. They’ve killed thousands already to try and kill me once. They’ll realize I’m within you and kill every element of harmony for the rest of time.

Every… Shy looked down from Spike’s face to his claw. Element… “You’re the Element of Magic, aren’t you, Spike?”

The dragon nodded slowly. He wiped his eyes with the back of his claw. “After Twilight… died… I was able to use magic the way she could. The Red Queen explained to me that the elements needed hosts, and that I had been chosen as one.”

Kill every element…

Fire… lightning… earth… magic…

…water…

A tremor shook the castle for an instant. Spike lost his footing and leaned forward. Within that instant, Shy sprang. She hit the dragon’s midsection as hard as she could. There was an audible crack from the impact against his soft underbelly and the dragon doubled over. Shy followed up with an uppercut to Spike’s lowered face. The blow whipped the dragon’s head up but the weight of his body kept him falling. The pony would have been crushed underneath him had she not continued the uppercut motion and spun away.

Spike lay unmoving on the cold stone floor. Shy, breathing rapidly now, reminded herself that she was inside a castle filled with soldiers on the dragon’s side. I really wish I could fly right now, she thought, her one wing flexing. She turned towards the entryway.

“You’ve changed, Fluttershy… ”

The pony froze. Behind her she heard scraping as Spike lifted himself up. She turned, front legs raised defensively. The dragon just kept slowly getting his legs under him, his eyes glowing purple. “You never would have hurt me or anything else,” he said slowly. Something snapped back into place inside his chest.

Shy grit her teeth. It can never be easy, can it? “I am not Fluttershy.”

Spike’s claw snapped forward. Purple surrounded Shy, constraining her. “You’ll tell me and the Prince what happened to you. Walk!” Magic forced the pony to turn and walk.

Prince Blueblood combed over the knowledge he had acquired from the dog’s head. His past did not concern him except for one recent exchange. “You fought with some kind of monster on the way back from Ponyville, yes?”

The dog, Steel, nodded wearily. “Something attacked us. I don’t know what.”

“Interesting,” the pony mused. He leaned his back against the throne. “We encountered nothing on the way here. It was dreadfully boring.” His smile went from ear to ear. “Until we got here and found all this fun.”

Steel growled. “You want me to join you after what you’ve done? You’re insane.”

Blueblood laughed. “I wish I was! It might make it somewhat easier to use these powers of mine. Ah, well.” His horn glowed radiant white. “I’ll at least be able to tell her I tried.” A knock on the throne room doors echoed through the hall. With a sigh, the Prince dispersed his magic. “Enter!” he yelled.

One of the doors creaked halfway open and Spike shuffled in. Steel moved away from the imposing dragon. Blueblood sneered at his elemental counterpart. “What is it? I do not like to be interrupted!”

“Apologies, my Prince,” Spike said, eyes meeting the stallion’s. “But I believe I’ve found another element of harmony.”

Blueblood’s ears pricked up. “Have you? Send them in!” Now I’ll have no problems killing the troublesome one, he thought.

Spike gestured through the door. From around the hardened wood walked a pony on two legs, yellow fur stained red in patches, pink hair cut short. Her vibrant pink eyes met Blueblood’s. The Prince smiled and focused on her, wanting to delve into her mind and break her quickly.

A soft, cold voice whispered into his ear. “What are you doing in my chair?”

The stallion on the throne screamed. It was no scream of pain as Shy had heard many times. It was a scream of pure, undiluted horror. Beside, whom Shy could only assume was the Prince Spike had spoken of, stood Princess Celestia. Before anyone could do anything, she pushed the Prince down the steps of the throne with her front legs. He crashed down them and lay in a heap at the bottom, his scream dying off.

No one in the hall could move, shock gripping them. Celestia, as if nothing was out of the ordinary at all, calmly sat down in her throne and gazed down at them all. “There, much better.”

Yelling in rage, Prince Blueblood’s eyes blazed white. One of his legs transformed into a snake tail and whipped out at the Princess. The appendage broke the throne in half with a crash but passed right through the alicorn. She smiled down at him mockingly. “This seat was far too large for you anyways,” she taunted.

Again and again the stallion whipped the snake tail out until the throne was nothing but dust, and yet still the Princess remained. Chest heaving, the Prince turned around and looked directly at Shy.

“You!” Scales of black and red and orange began covering the stallion’s body. His back left leg grew longer fur and claws, his right grew talons. His tail flicked and split, teeth growing inside. Pale blue eyes became paler in a face slowly turning dragon-like. “She’s within you!”

All eyes turned on Shy in that instant. The steel dog a few steps from her slowly backed away. Spike stood frozen. Shy realized she would get no better opportunity than this and turned to run. Spike’s claw shot out as if possessed and grabbed at her, his fingers wrapping around her remaining wing. She screamed in pain.

“Die!” Blueblood yelled from across the hall. His tail whipped out at her faster than anyone could see. Shy jerked away from Spike as hard as she could.

The razor sharp teeth lining the tail cleanly severed her wing from her. Shock rocked her body. Her legs failed her and she tumbled to the stone floor onto her stomach. A loud ringing in her ears drowned out Spike’s yell and Blueblood’s charge. Shy stared straight ahead, unable to move or think.

Slowly, the ringing faded until there was no sound at all. Everything seemed to slow down to a crawl. Celestia leaned down into her view, her face so close Shy could see the every detail of her pale, magenta eyes. “You don’t look so good,” the alicorn said softly.

Shy tried to speak but no sound came out. Her body wouldn’t move.

“Your body? Is that what it is now?” Celestia came closer. “It was never your body. You shouldn’t even exist. If that yellow Pegasus hadn’t gotten in my way that body would be mine!”

Desperately, Shy tried to move away, tried to lash out and make the larger being tell her everything she wanted to know. WHAT AM I!?

Before the alicorn could speak again, Shy felt another presence outside of her vision. Fluttershy spoke directly to Celestia, her voice squeaking, “You’re wrong. That body is hers now, I gave it to her.”

In a un-princesses-like response, Celestia rose and growled at the pony. “You are my subject! You will do as I command!”

Shy felt Fluttershy’s uncharacteristic mirth. “If you had the power to make me, you would have. You’re just as powerless now as I am.”

“Then it’s time for her to choose!” Celestia again bent close to Shy. “I am Celestia, ruler of Equestria. She is Fluttershy, a wingless Pegasus lording over a graveyard. Choose.”

“Celestia, now is not-”

“SILENCE!” Rage filled the alicorn’s eyes. “I have waited years for the moment I may return to form, and at every step you have denied me!” Celestia shook, her words pounding in Shy’s head. “I WILL HAVE WHAT IS MINE-”

A spike of red blood extended from Shy’s back and pierced Celestia through her body. Her words caught in her throat, blood rising to replace them. Slowly, Shy brought her face closer to the alicorn, their eyes locked. “Go to hell,” the pony said.

Celestia took a step backwards and stumbled out of sight. Shy felt something melt away inside her mind. In moments, the last vestiges of Princess Celestia were gone.