The assassin stood in the middle of the cavern with a smile on his face, muscles relaxed and arms spread wide.

“Well, what are you waiting for?” he offered. “You’re not scared of violence, are you?”

“I’ll search for the info we need. You keep him busy,” Twilight whispered.

“I got it,” Spike declared with a smile. “I just need a slight outfit change.”

“Don't tell me you actually want the maid uniform?” teased the other dragon.

“I have something better in mind,” Spike exclaimed.

Spike then inhaled, filling his lungs with fire, though he did not direct the flames at his foe, but rather down on himself. Bathing himself in a brief inferno, Spike emerged wearing a green spandex onesie, which showed off his meak body immaculately.

“What… what is this?” muttered the elder dragon. “Are you joking right now?”

“Tell me what you would do if you were to win,” Spike dared, the diminutive drake puffing out his chest triumphantly.

“Well, first I’d eat your souls, then I’d break the spell keeping me from waking. After that I’d probably slip away, start a cult, and work towards freeing my brethren. Then we’d take over the world. Why?” retorted the elder.

“I won't let you!” Spike shouted, his muscles bulging and growing until he stood twice as tall as he had been a second earlier.

“Wha-” was all the other dragon could mutter before Spike punched him so hard that he flew through the wall of his supply barn.

Wood and stone tumbled down onto the dragon’s prone form, pinning him beneath the wreckage. He didn't stay imprisoned for long, as mere moments later he emerged with an enraged snarl, seemingly no worse for wear.

“Impudent fool! I will teach you the true meaning of-”

A fist to the face stopped the elder dragon’s insult dead in its tracks, while also sending him sprawling across the ground. Spike didn't wait this time and leapt into the air before bringing his fists down onto the other dragon’s chest. Unable to breathe temporarily and struggling with a mountain of a drake on his chest, the assassin seemed helpless.

Giving Spike the chance to deliver a series of rapid punches to his foe’s face and head. Unfortunately, though bigger than he had been a second ago, Spike was still not nearly as large as his enemy, granting the elder dragon just enough wiggle room to fling Spike from his chest before trying to scramble back into a stand.

Spike didn't let him get far, and grabbed his foe’s forearms before twisting his entire body in a circle, the elder dragon suddenly finding himself airborne. Once, twice, three times they spun around before Spike finally released the other male, sending him flying across the cavern. The assassin’s flight didn't last long, as he swiftly hit the wall above the river and fell into the rushing water with a loud splash, sitting upright.

“Spike, smash!” cried the young drake before he leapt across the room and rammed his shoulder into the elder’s chest.

The two began to scramble madly while being pulled away by the current, their struggle sending water everywhere. It was a chaotic scene to say the least, but Twilight could tell that Spike had the upper hand, at least for now.

“Woah,” Twilight muttered.

“He is a quite formidable dreamer,” the Luna fragment remarked. “Though in the end it will not matter. He will lose, and he will die. Unless, of course, you leave while you still can.”

“We are not leaving without getting what we came here for,” Twilight stated. “Besides, we got you and completed one of our goals already. Now we just need the information he’s keeping locked away in his head.”

The shadowed pony sighed and shook her head. “You will not find it, and the only reason he even let you have me was in order to draw you deeper into his mind.”

“I don't care what he was trying to do,” Twilight shot back. “We are not leaving until I find the words of power he's keeping locked up in this thick skull of his.”

“You are stubborn,” the fragment remarked. “Fine then. Go to his home, search his library, and see for yourself that your quest is a fruitless one.”

“I will, and since you aren't helping Spike, you had better help me,” Twilight demanded.

“You will have all the aid I can offer you. For all the good it will do you,” muttered the fragment.

Spike’s clawed hands gripped tight the other dragon’s throat, his arms bulging as he strangled the assassin while holding his head under water. The combination left the elder with few options, save to struggle and attempt to throw off his assailant. Which he tried unsuccessfully for nearly a full minute before he got lucky and managed to shove Spike just far enough that a stalactite hit him in the face.

The brief moment of confusion when Spike’s vision went black gave his enemy all the time he needed to throw Spike off. Rather than land back into the rushing underground river,Spike found himself sprawled out on a cold rock floor. Above him hung dozens of stalactites, while a nearly identical number of stalagmites rose up all around him.

The assassin emerged from the waters a moment later, a snarl on his lips and hate in his eyes.

“You may have surprised me, but I assure you that--Oof,” the elder’s monologue was interrupted by a stalagmite slamming into chest with enough force to knock the wind out of him. “Would you stop doing that? It's so annoying.”

Spike said nothing as he leapt across the room and delivered a powerful uppercut to the elder’s stomach. Now wheezing and unable to breathe once again, the dragon was completely open. Allowing Spike to grab him by the hands and throw him clear across this new cavern, shattering dozens of rocky protrusions in the process.

Stone rained down all around them, covering the dragon’s black scales with a layer of dust and grey debris. The elder didn't even get the chance to make a note of this most recent insult however, as Spike was already upon him. With a rather sharp stalactite in hand, the drake swung downwards, aiming for the assassin’s eye.

The elder dragon had hundreds of years of experience however, and he reached up at the last moment, catching Spike’s hand in his. Their muscles flexed, arms bulging as the pointed rock shook profusely, not being pushed back, but also not descending any further.

“I must commend you,” remarked the black dragon. “You have quite the imagination, and with the proper training, you could have made for an excellent dream warrior.”

“Let me guess, you are going to offer such training?” Spike sneared.

The black dragon laughed. “Oh no. I’m still going to kill you. I’m just going to enjoy beating you within an inch of oblivion, is all.”

Then with a sudden burst of strength, the assassin heaved to the side, leaving Spike to overcompensate and topple forward. Dragon skull met dragon skull, and Spike was left dazed by the powerful blow, barely even aware of being tossed aside like a rag doll. What he could feel were the other dragon’s fists as they repeatedly impacted his face and chest with the force of a runaway locomotive.

Each strike sent shockwaves of agony through Spike’s dream body, threatening to make him revert to his previous form. Unwilling to let that happen, Spike reached out, grabbed a hunk of stone, and then slammed it into his enemy’s torso. The spiked rock shattered against the dragon’s black scales, though thankfully it carried enough force to give the assassin pause.

“Eat this!” Spike shouted before unleashing a torrent of fire into his foe’s face.

A scaled hand slammed against Spike’s cheak, causing his flames to flicker and die.

“Did you really think that would work? I’m a true dragon, for crying out loud!” shouted the assassin.

“No. I thought this would work though,” Spike retorted.

Spike answered the unasked question by slamming his knee into his enemy’s groin. Evidently the elder had not seen this coming, as his eyes briefly crossed, and his focus wavered. Now presented with the chance he was looking for, Spike jabbed his claws into his enemy’s eyes before scrambling out from under him as his foe howled in pain.

Leaping into a stand, Spike attempted to drive his advantage home and stomp the other dragon’s head into the ground. The elder was not so far gone as to not see this coming, and he rolled away just in time to avoid Spike’s scaled foot. He then attempted to push himself off the ground and stand once more, only for Spike to boot him in the midsection.

Don't let up, Spike reminded himself.

Spike twisted his body and swept the other dragon’s arms out from under him, keeping the assassin from rising for a moment longer. As soon as he had returned to a stand, Spike balled his fists, gritted his teeth, and brought his arms down on the other dragon’s back. Stone cracked, stalagmites were turned to dust, and the whole cavern trembled from the sheer force of the blow.

Over and over Spike repeated this action, each thunderous strike driving his foe deeper into a growing crater. For a moment between the fourth and fifth strike, Spike wondered if he had actually managed to gain the upper hand. Hope flickered briefly in his chest before being quenched a moment later when a long black tail wrapped around his neck.

With a twist, the drake was sent tumbling through a dozen or more stalagmites, his advantage gone in an instant. Tumbling end over end, Spike knew he had to stop himself immediately if he was going to have a chance of getting back into this fight. His hand gripped a stalagmite, arresting his momentum and allowing him to shakily rise back up to his feet a moment later.

Raising his fists, Spike readied himself for another bout, only to find himself alone in the uneven cave. He gazed down at the slight slope he had rolled up a moment earlier and saw the empty space where his foe had been lying not long ago. There were no clues or anything to point to his current location however, only a swath of shattered grey stone.

“Ran away already, huh? Where'd that confidence go?” Spike shouted.

“Have you ever seen what happens after a cat catches a mouse?” asked the elder dragon’s voice which emanated from seemingly every direction at once.

“It toys with its prey sometimes, duh,” Spike retorted. “Though you seem a lot more like a cat trying to look like a tiger.”

Rather than be annoyed, the black dragon merely cackled madly.

“Your confidence is commendable, even if it is ultimately misplaced. Don't worry, though. Soon, you shall respect and fear the darkness as all living things should,” exclaimed the assassin in a dark, sadistic tone of voice.

Spike raised his clawed hands. “Bring it on.”

Twilight walked cautiously around the large stone structure, her gaze fixed on the river, ears trained for the sounds of fighting. Yet the crack of stone, the meaty thump of flesh meeting flesh, and the splash of water were all becoming more distant. A part of her urged Twilight to run after the dragon and render what aid she was capable of, though she resisted that feeling.

“The entrance is just up ahead,” whispered the Luna fragment from within Twilight’s shadow. “From there you will find the library on the second floor.”

“How do you know where everything is?” Twilight questioned.

“If you think I’m some sort of double agent, then I would tell you to calm yourself,” remarked the fragment. “I don't know how, but you’ve made me a part of you, and I could no more lie to you than I could harm you in any way.”

Twilight hummed to herself while analyzing their connection.

Ultimately finding that it was nearly identical to the relationship she had with the nightmare, Twilight chalked it up to a reflex. Here in the dream world she had no shadow to command, so her soul, or whatever part of her which had been dragged into the assassin’s mind, had sought to remedy that fact. Or at least, that's what Twilight assumed had happened, as she didn't exactly have the time to make sure of that fact.

“That doesn't answer my question,” Twilight retorted in a softer, less inquisitorial tone.

The fragment sighed as it drifted along Twilight’s right. “My tormenter has been alone for over a thousand years. Despite his fearsome will and several millennia spent killing for money, he still craves company on occasion.”

“I think I see where this is going,” Twilight remarked.

The unicorn stopped in front of the enormous stone doors and used her magic to pull them open. There she found herself in a surprisingly comfortable entryway, complete with a carpeted floor, gentle candlelight, and even a hat rack. Paintings lined the walls, a small bar sat next to one side, and beyond that stretched a long hallway with over a dozen doors.

“Between bouts of torture and using me as a link to Luna in order to drain her power, he occasionally spoke to me. Sometimes he would reminisce about the old times, or describe a particularly grueling kill he had managed to accomplish. As sad as this may sound, I came to relish those moments of quiet conversation. At least then the pain stopped,” explained the fragment while Twilight quietly walked towards a distant set of stairs.

The unicorn didn't respond at first, as her attention was still fixed on her surroundings and the odd sights she beheld. Paintings of presumed relatives stood next to glass cases containing cruel daggers long enough to be a greatsword provided a pony wielded them. Nearly everything was either black, gold, silver, or a deep yellow color, giving the impression of opulence without ever becoming gaudy.

It was also strangely beautiful, as if someone had spent dozens or even hundreds of hours ensuring that everything was perfect. Each color flowed into its complimenting ones, while also taking into account what object hung from the wall before it.

“Twilight?”

The unicorn blinked. “Right, sorry. I just thought this place would be rather morbid, and not at all like… this.”

“When you live as long as a true dragon, you tend to develop a great number of skills,” the fragment reasoned.

“I suppose.” Twilight cleared her throat and began to ascend the stairs. “Right, now where is… oh my.”

Twilight stopped after turning at the landing, her eyes opening wide as she beheld a library so grandiose that she was momentarily stunned. It wasn't even the strange decor which gave Twilight reason to pause, but rather the sheer number of tomes arrayed before her. Though sized for an adult dragon, the print was small, or at least Twilight assumed it was, as the titles were all relatively compact.

She resisted the urge to grab one at random and, after climbing the last few stairs, simply inspected her surroundings a little closer. The open air fire pit in the center of the room was the more interesting feature, though that was a close call. As numerous rare, historical artifacts also vied for her attention, such as a helm apparently worn by what had likely been an alicorn.

I don't have time for this, Twilight reminded herself.

“Spread out, seek out any mention of the words of power,” Twilight commanded.

“As you say,” muttered the fragment before it slinked away at a slow, resigned pace.

Twilight was not enthused by her companion’s attitude, though she did not have the time or patience to address it at the moment. Instead she focused on scanning the titles and searching for any manner of reference that could help her find what she was looking for. When none could be located, she walked over and plucked one of the books from a shelf, hoping to discern more about its contents.

“What the…” Twilight muttered in confusion.

The clearly legible page she had seen a second earlier vanished the moment she focused on it. Looking around the page, every sentence she laid eyes on was blurry, yet out of the corner of her vision, it looked crystal clear. Worse yet, every time she was certain she had pieced together a couple of words, the letters quickly rearranged themselves.

Closing the book, Twilight looked to the title she had seen on the tome’s spine, only to find that it too was blurry.

“I remember seeing a title about…” Twilight trailed off when she realized that she couldn't actually remember what she had just read.

Twilight gnashed her teeth angrily and grabbed another book, then a third, and finally a fourth. Each one of which contained the same barely legible gibberish, the words swimming like oil on water. Sprinting across the room, Twilight grabbed a dozen or more books and threw them on the ground.

Yet, no matter how many she arrayed, the letters refused to sit still, even after she gathered nearly fifty of the books. No section was undisturbed, no area was represented on the wall of wiggly text, yet they were still unreadable. Luna’s fragment helped initially, though it quickly stopped and merely watched sadly from the sidelines.

“This is impossible. His subconscious should be giving me the answers I seek,” Twilight muttered.

“Who said we are even in his subconscious?” offered the fragment. “Furthermore, he has spent centuries building his mind palace, yet you think you could breach it in a few minutes?”

“He's distracted. Spike should be able to do that much at least,” Twilight retorted.

“My tormentor has millennia of experience in killing and mastering his dreams,” stated the fragment quite matter-of-factly. “While you two have what? A few years?”

“A few days,” Twilight muttered.

The fragment blinked owlishly, only to sigh and shake her head a moment later. “To say you are in over your head is to assume you ever had a chance in the first place.”

Twilight scowled and jabbed a hoof at the shadowed pony. “I don't appreciate your tone. I’ll have you know that Spike and I are quite skilled in-”

A sudden crash followed by the appearance of a bruised and beaten Spike sliding across the floor stopped Twilight’s retort dead in its tracks. She then turned around and scanned the room, quickly finding the hole in the wall Spike had made a moment earlier. There she saw their black-scaled foe slipping soundlessly through the jagged and shattered section of stone. Unlike Spike who was covered in injuries, and whose muscled form was returning to its natural more lithe one, the assassin was no worse for wear.

He almost seemed empowered by his recent scuffle with Spike, and the elder dragon’s eyes sparkled with life. Unlike before where those large dark orbs barely even seemed to perceive his surroundings, the dragon was now visibly excited.

“We gotta go, Twi. There's no way we can take him,” Spike croaked, stumbling to a stand.

“No, we have to save Ponyville. We need those words,” Twilight whispered.

“It won't happen. You’ll just lose,” added the fragment.

“Listen to your comrades, young one. You will find no victory here. Only desperation, panic, and then, finally, despair,” exclaimed the elder dragon in a low, mocking tone.

“We--fine. You two are right. We need to leave,” Twilight muttered, her broken horn beginning to glow faintly as a tiny window in reality started to open. “Luna’s fragment will have to do.”

“No. I am not done with you yet,” spat the dragon who stomped a clawed hand against the ground.

In an instant Twilight’s spell vanished, and she felt the magic slip from her grasp. Not only did her plan completely fall apart, but she and the rest of her companions could feel a sudden claustrophobia overcome them. In an instant their own distant bodies became so far removed that they were completely cut off from their physical shells.

“I told you this would occur,” muttered the fragment.

“W-what happened?” Twilight exclaimed in shock.

“I told you there was no escape,” replied the elder dragon in a flat tone. “You are fuel for my awakening, and I will not allow you to slip between my fingers.”

“What do we do, Twilight?” Spike asked.

“I don't know,” Twilight admitted.

“What you have to do is simple. Just lie down and die!” shouted the dragon a second before he leaped forward and snapped his jaws over where Twilight had stood a second earlier.

Pulled out of the way by Spike, the unicorn barely had a moment to think about what was happening before she had to dodge again. This time she had to avoid a shard of concentrated darkness which had burst from the ground and nearly impaled her. The Luna fragment blocked a shadowed claw that reached from the darkened remains of a shattered bookshelf and attempted to swipe at Twilight’s midsection.

Twilight herself felt a lot like a rag doll being dragged along as the fragment and Spike kept her out of danger. Danger which she barely even saw coming, as the assassin was so fast and his powers so numerous that it was almost impossible to tell what was going to happen. One moment the gravity reversed, the next the shadows had grown claws, arms, and tentacles while only a second later Twilight was being carried through a hole in the wall to safety.

Behind them, close at the small group's heels, was the elder dragon who swiftly leapt from the second story of his dream home. Unfolding his great black wings, the assassin seemed to blot out every last bit of illumination, all save for his eyes and the maleficence contained within. Within those twin pools of simmering hatred, Twilight saw no empathy, no respite, and no escape from an end that was all but predestined.

Then Spike hit him in the face with a magical hammer and stopped him before he could bite Twilight in half. The young drake pressed forward, swinging the frost-covered mallet down on the assassin’s nose before unleashing a blast of ice at their attacker. The elder dragon’s form was swiftly covered with deep blue crystals, though when Spike went to smash his frozen foe, the dragon was nowhere to be found.

“Get down!” shouted the Luna fragment.

Acting on instinct, Twilight threw herself forward a second before a pitch black maw clacked closed above her head. Twilight’s shadow then punched the assassin in the chin and tried to stab him in the eye with a lance-shaped hoof. It never managed to land the strike, as the elder dragon unleashed a torrent of acid from its open maw.

Forced to retreat, the fragment carried Twilight away just as Spike leapt back into the fray. With his hammer raised, the young drake tried to slam his weapon into their foe’s face, but was knocked back at the last second. Sent flying by a hardened mass of shadow, Spike tumbled through the air, only to be caught by Luna’s fragment who had turned herself into a shadowy net.

“You need to get us out of here!” Spike shouted.

“I can't. We’re locked in!” Twilight yelled back.

“Not out of his mind, but out of this cave!” Spike retorted.

“What? Afraid of the dark?” mocked the elder dragon.

Spike swatted aside a tentacle which attempted to wrap around his arm, but was unable to dodge out of the way when a sword swung at his torso. Legs now sunk halfway into the suddenly liquid stone, Spike could do nothing but raise his weapon and hope it was enough. Thankfully Twilight had enough time to conjure a portal under them both, allowing them to fall through into a familiar wooded area.

With solid ground beneath his feet, Spike quickly looked around, raising his frosty hammer above his head. Upon seeing that they were now alone, the young drake released a sigh and nearly collapsed to the ground.

“We need to get out of here. I don't think I can keep this up for much longer,” Spike muttered.

“I’m amazed you’ve done this much,” remarked the fragment.

“Look, we just need to try and get a word out to the nightmare, and it can create an opening. Though I still think we should take the chance to try and slip into his subconscious,” Twilight replied.

“What? After all that, you don't want to cut and run?” Spike shouted, throwing his arms in the air. “How could you even think that?”

“Yeah, that seems kind of dumb,” offered the Luna fragment.

“We need those words,” Twilight stressed. “Plus if we manage to get deeper into his mind, he won't be able to find us right away, thus he won't be able to trap us. Furthermore, Luna should be able to use her powers to get us out.”

“I’m not Luna, and… I doubt I could do that,” murmured the fragment.

“But you could try,” Twilight stressed.

“I mean, I could. Though I’m not sure if I would survive the attempt,” murmured the shrinking shadow pony.

“I still think-” Spike began, only to be interrupted when the sun suddenly vanished.

Without any illumination left, everything went black in an instant, shrouding the world in deep shadow and all-encompassing darkness. A deep, cackling laughter came down from on high, and the group looked up to find that the assassin’s eyes peered at them from the heavens. Above them, higher than even the clouds, sat the dragon, his enormous form dwarfing the moon he was using as a chair.

“Do you really think you can escape me? Do you think you ever even had that option?” he whispered, leaning down towards the Earth. “Your hope was an illusion, your free will, a figment of your own imagination. I wanted to be entertained, and now I have been.”

“We’re doomed,” murmured the Luna fragment, who sunk into the dark mass between Twilight’s legs and vanished.

“Yes, yes! Realize the depth of your folly and despair!” shouted the elder dragon who cackled madly from atop his throne.

“We need to-” was all Spike could utter before a dozen shadowy versions of himself emerged from all around him.

A moment later, Twilight found herself standing in a field of her own copies, each one of which sported the same eyes as their draconic foe. They were also taller than her, as were the Spike’s copies which stood a good head higher than the drake. They also sported either sharp, fully intact horns, or claws as long as daggers, and large, needle-like teeth.

“I don't think you quite understand how futile your struggle is. Allow me to educate you on this subject,” boomed the distant voice of their foe.

“Come down and fight us yourself, you--Yipe!” Spike yelped in surprise, jumping over a clone of his which had tried to tackle him to the ground.

Three more of the pitch black drakes attacked a second later, forcing Spike to think quickly lest he be eviscerated. Thankfully Spike was fast on his feet, and even quicker with his imagination, throwing his hammer into his first foe’s face. Spike then willed it to reappear in his hand before slamming the weapon into his second enemy’s chest and then spinning on his heel.

He came to a stop just in time to bat aside a swipe of the shadowed dragon’s claw before clubbing it across the cheek with a dual-handed smash. Each one of his attackers were either knocked to the ground or sent flying, their physical forms dissipating a moment later. Spike didn't have long to appreciate his victory however, as a half dozen more of the shadowed clones moved to attack him.

Knowing there were too many of them, Spike conjured a crossbow and fired a bolt into the oncoming crowd. With such close quarters, there was no chance the shadow could dodge, nor did it even try, simply dissipating the second it was hit. Its neighbors kept coming however, even as Spike continued to conjure a new crossbow immediately after ditching the first one.

The drake managed to get three shots off this way before his enemies had closed in, but that still left him with just enough time to react. Pulling a sword and shield from the very air itself, Spike lurched forward and bisected a shadow from left shoulder to just above its right hip. He then pivoted and attempted to ram the butt of his shield into his next foe’s chest, only to find that it wasn't there.

The creature slammed into Spike’s side a moment later, having moved into the drake’s blind spot as the dragon turned around. Though not enough to bring him down, Spike was still knocked off balance, left open to another swipe from his other foe. Spike wasn't going to give up though, and with a heave, he threw off his attacker and swiftly cut it down before doing the same to its ally.

Now breathing heavily, Spike looked around to find that the horde was already closing in on him. With a grunt, he summoned a suit of sparkling silver armor and readied himself for another round of attacks.

“Bring it on,” he muttered through gritted teeth.

Twilight was not doing nearly so well, as the unicorn had only been capable of moving with any degree of dexterity for mere months. She barely knew how to throw a punch, had only just become experienced enough to dodge, and barely knew what to do with her lanky frame. Her only saving grace was the fact that she had magic, and that the Luna fragment was assisting her.

She was still surrounded on all sides by a seemingly infinite horde of herself, each one of which had a glowing horn atop their head. Having only a second or two to react, Twilight conjured a soul barrier around herself before reaching into the closest shadow and trying to tear out its life force. She found nothing but emptiness and immediately chided herself for her poor choice of offensive spell.

Sure enough, a moment later she was pummeled from all sides by numerous types of magic from as many sources. Simple mana bolts flew over beams of white hot energy, and cones of acid which sputtered loudly when they hit her barrier. Despite the impressive onslaught, Twilight had faith in her barrier, and that faith was rewarded by an impenetrable wall that shrugged off all attacks.

Her foes were not limited to just magic however, and while some continued to launch a stream of the stuff, others sprinted forward with horns lowered. With her attention split between keeping up her barrier and fending off the newest wave of attackers, there was little Twilight could do. So it was up to Luna’s fragment for the most part, with the shadowed pony appearing beneath one of Twilight’s clones and knocking it high into the air.

The fragment then grabbed her airborne foe before it landed and used it like a club to bludgeon the next. She then threw the now inert shadow at another, only for the apparition to vanish a second before it would have hit its ally. Thankfully Twilight had the presence of mind to consider this possibility, and cast a split beam of negative energy which popped the shadows like soap bubbles.

Her relief was short-lived, as she barely had enough time to even look around before the next wave was already upon her. With Luna’s fragment already in motion, Twilight was fairly certain she could defend herself.

The only question was, for how long?

Spike slashed one foe, kicked the next, then stomped on a third’s foot and headbutted it a second later. He barely gave each enough attention to ensure they were down for good, as the crush of shadow clones was constant. Though the drake had managed to stop himself from getting squished by the ever-growing horde, it had been close.

Even imagining himself as the sterling knight from the stories he read as a kid only gave him enough of a buff to just barely stay ahead. Another stab, swipe, block, thrust, parry, and counterstrike kept him from getting boxed in, but it was getting closer with each second. The copies were coming faster and in greater numbers, abandoning the wave tactic and becoming instead a constant stream from all sides.

Arms wrapped around his waist and attempted to drag him to the ground, followed closely by a slash across his side. The shriek of metal was loud, though thankfully the drake didn't feel the bite of his foes' nails, so he focused on the first enemy. Though before he could do so, another clone attempted to tackle him from the front, only to meet the young dragon’s shield.

Spike then knelt down and willed his armor to grow spikes which shot out in all directions, spearing dozens of the clones. With their jobs done, the impromptu spears fell off, revealing that Spike now wielded an enormous hammer which he swung in long arcs. Two, three, sometimes four of the clones went flying with each sweep, yet Spike’s success lasted mere moments.

Four of his evil copies had lined up behind their allies and caught the weapon the second it blew apart the first wave of shadows. It was then wrenched from Spike’s hands, leaving him defenceless just long enough to be struck twice and then spear tackled. With the wind knocked out of him, and over a dozen clones scratching at his armor, Spike knew there was little he could do.

Fear gripped his heart, and for the first time since first awakening beneath the library, he felt true, palpable terror. The kind so potent that tears sprung to his eyes, and he couldn't help but flail his entire body in utter desperation.

Twilight had not been doing much better than Spike, for each attack she blocked drained her of another bit of energy. As the attacks continued unabated, Twilight could feel her internal mana pool growing smaller by the second. She tried to will this part of her to return to the way it was, but she was not the dreamwalker that Spike was.

So she could sense the end coming far before it arrived, though she fought on anyway, hoping against hope she would find an opening. While she searched for such an option, she continued to block incoming spells and the ever-present horde looking to attack her directly. Which thankfully wasn't super difficult with the fragment’s help, as together they were able to defeat most of them.

That didn't mean she came out unscathed, however, for as time passed, more and more foes managed to get in a hit or two. Some teleported in close and got a punch or kick in before being dealt with by a conjured shadow or a spell. Others were even less concerned with their own life and released a fireball immediately after breaching Twilight’s barrier.

Those burns were superficial at best, as Twilight could usually summon a shroud of unnatural frost before that happened. Even then, she was rapidly gaining more and more injuries, her body quickly racking up wounds. Twilight hoped to remedy this issue by using vampiric touch on those who got in close, but as she suspected, that didn't work.

The final strike came when a trio of shadow clones, who used a dozen of their allies as cover, entered the barrier. Immediately upon passing through, they unleashed a storm of electricity which struck their fellow copies as well as Twilight herself. Luna’s fragment attempted to block one of the bolts, but found that it passed straight through her and hit Twilight anyway.

The burst of pain and discomfort combined with all of her muscles spasming at once left Twilight completely open. She could do nothing but lay there and scream silently as she saw the great black dragon slink from his cratered throne and step gracefully upon the Earth.

“And just like that you fall,” he began, smiling broadly. “Do you feel that deep down in your hearts? That is true fear. Fear which only comes when you know that not only are you defeated, but a fate worse than death awaits--Grah!”

The dragon screamed in agony and fell to the ground, rapidly reverting to his normal size as every single clone vanished in a puff of smoke. Though there was no obvious reason for the sudden change, it wasn't hard to figure out what had caused his pain. For the way the black dragon spasmed, it was obvious that he was being electrocuted by some unseen force.

“Come on, Spike, follow me!” Twilight shouted, the unicorn having already cut a hole in reality after failing once.

“Right behind you!” Spike yelled back.

Now stripped of his armor once more, the drake eagerly followed Twilight, leaping into the portal a second after she did. The jagged hole closed immediately behind the unicorn, eliminating the only source of color for miles in any direction. A bit of info which made Spike realize that he was not, in fact, back in his own mind once more and hadn't even left the elder dragon’s consciousness.

“What did you do? We need to get out of here, not go deeper!” Spike shouted.

“It still wasn't enough,” Twilight muttered. “I tried to get out, but I could only go further in.”

“It won't matter. Either we die immediately, or die five minutes from now,” muttered the fragment glumly, her head poking up from the small shadow Twilight cast. “He’ll find us soon enough.”

“You are not helping,” Twilight hissed.

“You said you’d be able to get us out of here though, right?” Spike asked, glancing down at the fragment.

“I mean, maybe. But it would probably cost me my life to do so,” murmured the Luna copy.

“Let's just keep looking,” Twilight offered. “Maybe after we find the words, we can brute force our way out of here. One of them might even be dream or something like that.”

“Okay, fine, but as much as it pains me to say this, if we don't find anything in the next ten minutes, we have to leave this place. One way or the other,” Spike stated.

“That's okay,” murmured the fragment. “At least I’ll die knowing I stuck it to that monster.”

“That won't be necessary. We’ll find another way,” Twilight asserted somewhat emptily. “We always do, right?”

“I’m going to be frank with you, Dusk, your optimism is usually endearing, but now it's just annoying,” Spike deadpanned. “Now come on. Let's get moving.”

Twilight sighed and did just that, trotting slowly along Spike’s side as they walked in a seemingly random direction. The blank, white expanse around them remained devoid of any features for over a minute before they could suddenly make out what looked like distant towers. Most of these slightly off-white buildings rose high into the sky, while others seemed to go on forever.

None had any obvious method of entry, though that changed after they hit the five minute mark. For by then the structures were more numerous and less chaotic, falling into a pattern one might find in a large urban city. Wide boulevards were flanked with towering pillars of white so tall that their top floors seemed to bend towards one another.

Just as they were nearing the ten minute mark, they found an anomaly.

Amongst the numerous other shapes, there stood a single door which opened onto the street they all stood on. Though the building bore no sign, nor was there any indication as to its purpose, it was still their only lead. So without a word passing between them, the group made their way toward it, with the assumption being that they would leave if nothing was found.

After pushing through the oddly weightless barrier, they stood in awe at what appeared to be a massive library. Though as devoid of color as everywhere else, they could just barely make out the hundreds of rows of off-white books. These tomes adorned shelves that climbed up the walls of the structure and continued that way until they were no longer even visible.

“This must be it,” Twilight reasoned.

“Seems kinda empty to me,” Spike remarked.

“I don't know. This doesn't feel right,” added the fragment.

“You would have said that regardless of what we found,” Twilight retorted.

“I mean, he's still going to find and kill us, after all,” murmured Luna’s weakened copy.

“Come on. Let's get searching. I’ll start with this infinitely large stack, while you handle that side,” Spike offered, gesturing first left of the door, then to the right.

“Right,” Twilight answered. “Help me grab a bunch of those higher ones, and we’ll work our way back down.”

The fragment meekly did as she was told, extending herself up the wall, and pulling several tomes down to ground level. Where Twilight opened them and immediately grinned from ear to ear at what she beheld. Real, readable information, which, although detailing the process of making a meal out of a pony, was still something.

“This is it!” Twilight remarked. “Keep searching for anything that mentions the words or talks about abilities which are not wholly natural.”

“Glad you’re having more luck than me. These seem to all recount various kills he's done,” Spike replied, sticking out his tongue in disgust. “In gruesome detail, mind you.”

“Then go to another book. We’re finally on the trail of something important,” Twilight retorted.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m on it,” Spike muttered as he tossed the book over his shoulder.

That single discarded tome quickly grew into a mound, which swiftly became a small mountain. Spike contributed relatively little, though Twilight and the fragment swiftly scoured hundreds of volumes in little time. Despite their quick pace, the library still felt infinite, and just when they were about to give up, Twilight located something.

“Words of power, volume one,” she read aloud.

“Oh, thank the stars,” muttered Luna’s fragment. “I don't know if I could have flipped through another book describing all the ponies he's killed over the millennia.”

“At least you didn't have to read about his bowel movements,” Spike muttered.

“Shh,” Twilight hushed.

Flipping open the first page, Twilight began to read aloud.

“I have ventured deep into the jungles of the plague wilds in search of secret knowledge left buried by a paranoid old baron. Beneath this cloying mass of vegetation and endless hordes of twisted abominations, there lies a word of power. More than that, it contains gold, jewels, and valuables of all kinds. Or at least that's what I’m going to say it does.” Twilight stopped for a moment before continuing, “For you see it actually contains nothing, and the entire reason I am writing this is purely to give the unicorn and her slave a tiny shred of hope…” Twilight trailed off, staring at Spike with wide eyes.

“Hope which I will extinguish when I make my presence known,” announced the assassin from seemingly everywhere at once.

The group immediately pulled together, putting their backs to one another as they stared at the walls of the structure.

“Do you think he's just messing with us again?” Spike whispered.

“I don't know,” admitted Twilight.

“Oh, I am, though my patience has finally run out,” stated the elder dragon.

Twilight followed the voice up and to her right, where the dragon’s enormous eyes peered intently through the library’s wall. His body was huge, eclipsing even the enormous building by several orders of magnitude. Not only that, but the elder dragon also seemed to hold the entire structure aloft in his grip, as if it were little more than some meaningless toy.

Which he lifted up into the air, causing the floor to shift and the group to slide into the mound of now blank tomes. There they quickly regained their footing and stared up just as the assassin inhaled a lungful of potent acid. Which he exhaled in a stream across the top of the library, melting away all but a few feet of the walls and the bookshelves attached to them.

“You have to get us out of here!” Spike shouted, turning to the fragment.

“F-fine,” it stuttered.

“No. It still won't be enough. He's too powerful and too focused,” Twilight retorted.

“Then what do we do, just sit here and wait to get melted?” Spike exclaimed.

“No. I’ll attack his soul directly while you keep him distracted and Luna opens the portal out,” Twilight replied.

“It's cute that you think that will work,” boomed the black dragon. “I have seen your patchwork spirit, and I do not fear what you are capable of, little slave. In fact, I invite you to try. The look in someone’s eye when all their hope dies is a pleasure I have not been able to indulge in millennia.”

Twilight snorted and stomped a hoof. “Let's prove him wrong, guys.”

Spike summoned every bit of strength he had left, becoming a towering figure adorned in bright silver armor. In his right hand he wielded a hammer covered with sparkling frost while in his left he hefted a shield larger than Twilight was tall. Looming over his companions, Spike was still dwarfed by the black dragon hovering over them all.

The Luna fragment was less concerned about looking intimidating and focused instead on being as small as possible. Having risen only partially from Twilight’s shadow, the sentient shred of Luna’s soul weaved her hooves together while chanting and casting a spell. Twilight didn't know what was being spoken, but the effect was clear, as a sparking, blackened circle had sprung into existence and hovered in the air.

As she assumed, the black dragon’s will was too strong, and try as the fragment might, a portal could not be created. Instead it continued to spark and send white hot embers flying to the sides, their heat dissipating immediately upon hitting the ground. Luna’s tortured essence did not waver, nor did she press her luck, merely holding the circle at its current level and waiting.

All while Twilight stood with eyes closed, her mind running through all the knowledge she had gained over the soul. She recalled her experiences traversing the expanse below existence and glimpsing the terrible, yet familiar creature which lay beneath all. She thought of all her near death experiences and felt empowered, but nothing gave her more strength than thinking of her friends.

This strength only grew and became pride when she looked upon the side of Spike’s brave face. More than anything, Twilight wanted to protect the young dragon and fulfill her past self’s desire to give him the life he deserved. With all those things in mind, as well as the soul drain spell matrix, Twilight reached down deep inside of herself and pulled.

In that moment, she did not just speak the word for soul, but rather it became her. Every last fibre of her being vibrated with its meaning and sang with its purpose. Twilight both past and present looked through their eyes and with two wills made one, struck at the foe who would end their legacy.

The fragment’s spell nearly faltered, her faint teal eyes opening wide as she beheld her master in a new and terrible light. Purplish blue light bright enough to nearly blind the shadowed pony emanated from within the necromancer. So great was this energy that Twilight’s flesh vanished, leaving only her bones and the blazing inferno that was her soul.

In an instant the shadows were wrested from their former owner’s control and now swirled beneath Twilight’s glowing form like a horde of ecstatic worshippers. Frost sparkled across the ground, and the very air was sapped of its warmth, drained of the flickering life that heat promised. With a pulse, a wave of cold circled out from around the unicorn, creating a rune soon glowing with the same energy as its creator.

This conduit tore at the fragment’s gaze, pulling at her meagre soul and whispering promises of oblivion into her mind. Just looking away from the word was a task the wayward spirit could only barely manage in time before its very existence was undone. Spike could feel this unnatural presence, as well as the yawning abyss opening behind him, yet the young drake did not falter.

With hope held tight in his breast, the dragon stood tall, then raised his shield and readied his weapon. For his foe’s expression had morphed from one of amusement, to confusion, before finally settling on abject terror.

“No. That's impossible. Just what the hell are you?” he muttered, his voice only a tenth the size of his body.

“Death,” replied Twilight and the tiny shred of her former self in perfect unison.

Her word was undeniable, her strength absolute, and with its utterance, the dragonic assassin’s scales began to lose their color. Whisps numerous in their presence and terrible in their nature, emerged from the black dragon’s form. For a moment the elder’s will stayed their progress towards the entity calling them, but that did not last long.

Surging across the empty white space, the grasping tendrils sunk into the rune beneath Twilight’s hooves. There they delighted in their destruction, falling into the endless void that would become their new home. Still connected, the great dragon quailed at what he sensed beyond the veil of his mind, and in that instant he was taught true fear.

Such knowledge did not burden him so greatly as to make him give into panic however, and a plan soon formed within him. Dropping the now strangely floating library, the dragon recoiled, his hands weaving into a complex series of symbols. Words spoken with desperation only known by the damned were uttered by the former tormentor in rapid succession.

Words, which once spoken shattered mind and spirit alike, causing an enormous crack to run down the sky. Despite the ten thousand needles now jammed into his very soul, the black dragon continued, a mad grin spreading across his face. This time when his spell was completed, there were no speeches, nor tirades of mockery and hatred.

Only the cold understanding that this was it.

The dice had been cast, and unless he was able to kill those who had intruded on his mind, the elder would bring his very being to ruin and end them all. None were shaken by this, as all could feel his desperation as clearly as they could sense the dragon’s burning hatred.

A hand fifty times Spike’s size swung down at him with strength great enough to level mountains. Still, dread dare not grip his soul, and with a calm, careful motion, the young drake raised his shield high into the air. With a dull boom so loud that it would have shattered the eardrums of all who heard it, the strike was blocked.

Held back by a great ethereal barrier conjured by his stalwart foe, the elder dragon blinked in confusion. Giving his diminutive enemy the chance to strike back and slam his hammer into the assassin’s palm with enough strength to send his hand flying. The elder dragon was not done quite yet, and he reared back, filling his lungs with acid so potent that it burned his own dream-conjured body.

Again, Spike raised his shield, and though his armor had lost some of its luster, and there was a lethargic nature to his movements, he showed no fear. Unlike his foe, who had so little experience with the emotion, that he could not help but reveal the depth of his terror. This unfamiliarity with panic and weakness inadvertently gave Spike exactly what he needed, hope.

So when the black dragon’s head lowered, and a tsunami of acid surged towards them like a thousand angry hurricanes, Spike did not budge. Instead, he held his shield high before him and extended one leg back, bracing himself for what he knew was coming. Again the great purple-green barrier sparked into existence and again it turned aside the monstrous weight of his foe’s attack.

Like a single staunch schooner lost amidst an ocean so great and terrible that it eclipsed the night sky in its breadth, the library held. Spike’s body shook, and though his arm began to tremble, the drake’s jaw held firm, his will as unbreakable as the very bones of the earth. Sheltered beneath a barrier that turned aside a torrent so great that it would have flooded the world, stood the fragment.

Who for the first time in her entire existence, understood the nature of bravery so intimately that the word was burned into her own insignificant soul. Deep green acid cascaded in a single never-ending wave across the drake’s shield, its emerald depths containing a thousand clawing hands. Each of which reached out with vindictive cruelty and sought out those few who would dare to hope when they should know only terror and death.

Twilight saw all this and did not bat an eye, her faith in Spike absolute, and her focus on the spell unchanging. Even as her soul began to swell past the point of what should be possible, Twilight still continued her assault unabated. Power flowed through her, and though she felt as though she were capable of nearly anything, she could do nothing.

She needed to stay the course, to hold on, and to keep trusting Spike to keep them safe while Luna’s fragment opened a way out. A possible future that was quickly becoming real, as the shadowed pony’s portal had started to flicker, revealing a tiny island floating on an ocean of pitch which Twilight recognized as the shared dreamscape of hers and Spike.

All she needed was a bit more time, yet it seemed as though time itself was working against them. For when the curtain of acid fell, it brought forth not relief, but a renewed sense of urgency. With their view of the dragon’s mindscape now unblocked by the torrent, the trio could see how dire things had become.

The white expanse was gone, replaced by a greyish black emptiness so riddled with cracks that its very existence teetered on a knife’s edge. The black dragon himself did not fare much better, as his color had almost completely faded away, with only his eyes containing a spark of light. Which gazed down upon the trio with all the hatred a dying person could direct at their would-be killer.

That look told Twilight that the dragon welcomed the end happily, knowing that he would not go into the cold dark alone. Then, a flicker, and the portal opened completely, solidifying just as the final crack crawled its way down the inside of the elder dragon’s mind. In a flash, Twilight stopped her spell and began to stumble towards the exit Luna’s fragment was holding open.

She only made it a few feet before a whooshing sound grabbed her attention and made her look skyward. To where an enormous hand was descending upon them with the fury of an angry god. Spike responded immediately, raising his shield and selflessly protecting everyone from imminent doom.

The scaled hand of doom did not recoil however, and instead wrapped about the library, squeezing down on the final bastion of existence within the assassin’s crumbling dreamscape. Unable to strike back, Spike stumbled and went down to one knee, though he continued to hold his shield implacably over his head. Twilight glanced to the nearby portal and the fragment’s pleading expression before turning back to Spike.

“Hurry! I’ll cast a barrier!” Twilight shouted.

“There is no time,” Spike muttered through gritted teeth, his armor falling off of him in large chunks. “Forgive me… mother.”

Twilight didn't get the chance to ask what there was to forgive, for a hammer was already spinning towards her. The head of which slammed into her chest, and drove both her and the fragment through the portal. Landing with a thud on the island, Twilight immediately leapt back up and sprinted towards the dream window.

A spell formed, and she reached back through in order to pull Spike to safety, only for the passage to vanish. Leaving behind only the sound of shattered glass and one final vengeful laugh of victory that rang hollowly in the unicorn’s ears. There was no hesitation in Twilight, and she spun towards the fragment and grabbed her by the throat.

“Open it!” She bellowed.

“I-I can't. Theres n-nothing to open to,” she muttered back.

With a scream on her non-existent lips, Twilight willed herself to get back to the waking world, and immediately after returning to her body, stood up. Twilight then sprinted over to Spike’s prone form and hefted it from the ground, his head cradled in her forehooves. A quick spell confirmed that there was no pulse and no spark of life contained within the young drake’s still breast. There was only the unpleasant aroma of a creature whose death was absolute and who could not be saved from the void.

“No, no, no, no!” Twilight shouted. “I refuse to fail you again. You will not have him, do you hear me, death? You will not take my son from me!”

With a cry of wordless rage, Twilight began to cast the resurrection spell, her hooves glowing with an unearthly greenish blue light. Power the likes of which Twilight had rarely ever grasped suddenly poured through her veins and filled the dragon’s limp body. Yet even as Twilight used far more than the necessary magic, Spike’s soul had yet to hear her call.

Frost began to creep across the ground in strange, twisting patterns, and the air grew as still as Spike’s lifeless heart. These patterns continued to grow in complexity and size as power kept flowing into Spike at a steady rate. Yet as the seconds ticked by, Twilight could not feel even a single flickering remnant of the drake’s presence.

For a single horrifying moment, she considered giving up and abandoning Spike to the void. Only for that feeling to be buried so deep down in Twilight’s heart that it would never return again.

Fresh magic surged from Twilight’s body and into Spike, causing the small dragon to glow even brighter still. Twilight’s hooves began to burn, and her soul ached from the sheer expenditure of power, yet she did not give up. Even as she threw over half of the strength she had stolen from the elder dragon, Twilight continued to press on.

Ice solidified over nearly every surface, arcane symbols of power etching themselves across the walls, floor, and ceiling. Yet even with the entire room humming with every bit of magic that had been contained within the dragon, Spike had yet to rise. So with a grunt, Twilight dumped out nearly everything she had left, her desperation bordering on the brink of madness itself.

Only when her hooves began to grow numb, and her body started to become distant, did Twilight feel something happen. Unfortunately, her eyes were heavy, and her vision swam as she stared down at Spike’s limp form with renewed hope. His arms remained still, and his chest did not rise, yet Twilight felt a thin flicker of life burn down deep inside of him.

It did not feel exactly like Spike’s warm, gentle soul though, as this had within it a cold edge. Even still, Twilight could not deny that it was familiar, if changed, and she gently shook the drake in hopes of waking him.

“Spike,” she croaked weakly. “Speak to me.”

“Mom, I mean, Dusk. Is that you? Why is it so cold?” whispered Spike’s voice, though it did not come from his lips.

In fact, it didn't come from his body at all, and with growing horror Twilight looked up to find that the elder dragon’s eyes had opened. Twilight expected to see cold hatred and bitter resentment in those slitted orbs, yet she saw only confusion in those twin pools of emerald green. Confusion which morphed into panic when they gazed down on Spike’s still body.

“What am I doing down there? Where am I?” asked the dragon in an increasingly frantic tone of voice.

“Oh good,” Twilight murmured as she wobbled unsteadily. “You’re okay, Spike.”

“I don't feel okay,” Spike replied. “It feels like I’m… wait. Am I stuck inside that-” His voice shifted and emerged from his own mouth. “Evil guy’s--Woah. Why did the whole room spin like that?”

“Sleep now,” whispered Luna’s fragment, who now stood above them both. “Rest and gather your strength.”

Spike’s faintly glowing eyes closed, and a moment later a soft snore spilled from between his cold lips.

“Thanks, Luna,” Twilight muttered, her mouth barely able to form the words she wished to utter.

“I am not…” The shadow sighed. “Join him in dream land. You have done the impossible and deserve the chance to relax.”

“No, can't relax,” Twilight whispered, her eyelids opening and closing individually. “Must save Ponyville, friends… family.”

“I am afraid I must be firm with you, even if my life is now bound to your own,” murmured the fragment.

A gentle hoof touched the top of Twilight’s brow, and she fell forward, resting her head on Spike’s chest.

The fragment smiled faintly as she gazed down on the two. “Thank you, Spike, Twilight. For everything,” she whispered.

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