Chapter 14: Defeating the Dragon

Back at the base of the Mane-iac the Power Ponies were desperately trying to fight the monstrous dragon that used to be their friend Spike. The Mane-iac grinned evilly as her powerful servant fought against the six superpowered ponies without showing any mercy. The Power Ponies did not want to fight him but they knew that just like with their previous battles, this was unavoidable. If they wanted to get their friend back they would need to defeat him before they could have a chance at talking any sense into him.

Rainbow Dash used her lightning bolt charm to attack Spike with thunder. The dragon growled and smacked Rainbow Dash away with his massive claws. The rainbow maned pegasus spiraled down to the ground. She got back up and tried to fight again.

Pinkie Pie used her extremely fast speeds to confuse Spike. The dragon roared in anger as he tried to catch the pink pony. Pinkie Pie didn't let him get a chance to hurt her. Finally Spike smashed his fist on the ground causing Pinkie Pie to lose her balance and crash.

Applejack used her lasso to try and prevent Spike from using his claws. However the ferocious dragon quickly broke free of the cowgirl's weapon and he attacked her. Applejack hit the ground with a thud. The attack from Spike hurt her badly. She got back up and tried to think of a way to defeat the monster that had been her friend.

Fluttershy had been cowering in fear the entire time. The timid yellow pegasus did not want to fight Spike at all. She did not want to use her powers because she didn't want to hurt her friend. She watched as her friends were beaten by the rampaging dragon and she felt like there was nothing she could do to help.

Twilight Sparkle used her powers to do everything that she could. It hurt to have to fight the dragon that stood before her. Spike had been the closest thing to a friend that Twilight Sparkle had before she came to Ponyville. She had hatched him from the egg and from that day the purple dragon was closer to her than anypony that she ever met. The purple alicorn's attacks had very little effect on Spike. He roared in frustration as he struck back.

Rarity used her powers to try and trap Spike in a cage. However the furious dragon quickly broke free of his prison and roared. Rarity desperately tried to escape from his wrath. She couldn't keep Spike trapped no matter how hard she tried. Spike was too powerful for them to defeat.

The Power Ponies regrouped and tried to think of a plan.

"What are we gonna do?" Rainbow Dash demanded.

"We have ta win this." Applejack said while Pinkie Pie nodded in agreement.

"But we can't hurt him." Fluttershy said.

"What are we supposed to do?" Rarity asked.

Twilight Sparkle had no clue about how they could defeat this new monstrous version of Spike. The dragon seemed to be immune to every single attack that they threw at him. They glanced at the Mane-iac who was watching with a grin on her face. Her horn wasn't glowing so fighting her would not help matters since she wasn't casting any magic. The purple alicorn didn't have a plan in her head. It looked like everything was lost.

"We just have to keep trying." she said determinedly. "It's not going to be easy but we have to do this. We can't help Spike. He won't listen to us."

The other Power Ponies didn't know what to say. Could they have a chance at finding the good in Spike? Was there any good left in him or had the Mane-iac corrupted him to the point where he couldn't be saved? The group of six refused to believe that saving Spike was a lost cause. They would not give up on helping their friend find who he is.

Spike roared at the Power Ponies as they resumed the fight. No matter what attacks they used they couldn't even do a bit of harm towards Spike. The ferocious dragon was just too large and too powerful to be beaten. The group of six tried everything they could but all of their efforts were in vain.

"So the mighty Power Ponies have fallen." the Mane-iac said with an evil laugh. "It looks like this little dragon isn't worthless after all."

"Spike was never worthless." Twilight Sparkle exclaimed.

"Yeah he's always been there for us." Rainbow Dash agreed.

"He always helps his friends." Pinkie Pie insisted.

"Ya turned him inta this." Applejack growled.

"Spike is our friend." Fluttershy whispered.

"Some friend he is!" the Mane-iac replied. "Right now he's trying to destroy you for me. Is that what friends do here in Equestria? Quite different from Maretropolis."

The Power Ponies kept up their fight as they tried to talk some sense into the ferocious dragon that had been their friend for so long.

"Come on Spike snap out of it." Rainbow Dash yelled.

"We don't want ta hurt ya Spike." Applejack said.

"We wanna help you." Pinkie Pie exclaimed.

"We want the dragon that had been our friend." Rarity insisted.

"Spike please stop fighting." Fluttershy begged desperately.

"Please Spike!" Twilight Sparkle pleaded. "Is this how my number one assistant acts?"

Spike's eyes widened a bit at this statement. It seemed like Twilight Sparkle had finally broken through the armor of anger that surrounded the dragon. She was on the right track. She just needed to keep speaking to the heart of her friend. The friend that was buried deep below the angry dragon that faced them. The rest of the Power Ponies joined the purple alicorn as they desperately tried to get their friend back.

"Don't listen to them!" the Mane-iac shouted at the dragon. "You belong to me now!"

"Spike come on man!" Rainbow Dash shouted.

"This isn't you." Pinkie Pie pleaded.

"Ah thought our friend was better than this." Applejack said.

"Please Spike can we stop fighting?" Fluttershy asked. The timid yellow pegasus still hadn't used her super powers. She refused to use them against her friend.

"Spike please listen to us!" Rarity begged.

"Listen to your friends." Twilight Sparkle pleaded. "The Mane-iac isn't going to give you any power."

"How pathetic." the villainess said. "Friendship was always such a sickening thing. Why bother with friends when you can have servants?"

Fluttershy's eyes narrowed in anger at this statement.

"What did you say?" she asked quietly as she glared at the Mane-iac.

"Friendship is meaningless." the Mane-iac insisted. "Such a weak and pathetic thought."

"How dare you?" Fluttershy growled. Her eyes turned red and she began to grow in size. She may not have wanted to hurt Spike but the Mane-iac was definitely getting on her nerves. Fluttershy continued to grow as her costume ripped in places and the neckerchief and bracelets broke away. She had turned into a monstrous pony and she began to attack the Mane-iac who shrieked and ran from the furious pegasus. Fluttershy gave chase as the other ponies tried to talk to Spike.

The dragon quickly moved towards Fluttershy in an attempt to save the Mane-iac. However the other ponies weren't about to let him save the villainess. With a roar Spike ripped a tree from the ground and tossed it at the Power Ponies. The tree hit the group of six and pinned them all to the ground. The Mane-iac grinned at what she was seeing.

"Good work my servant." she said. "Now finish them and Equestria will be all mine!" The Mane-iac let out a laugh as Spike moved closer towards the six fallen ponies who couldn't move the tree off of themselves. Fluttershy had shrunk back down to her normal size and the six ponies were now completely defenseless.

"Finish them now!" the Mane-iac demanded.

The dragon was about to comply when he looked at the fallen Power Ponies. Memories started to form in the dragon's mind. Memories of good times that he had had with them. His eyes started to change back to their normal color. The Mane-iac was not pleased by this.

"What are you doing you useless dragon?" she shrieked. "Destroy them!"

Spike roared and his claw came crashing down. He crushed the Mane-iac's tower effortlessly much to her surprise. After this he lifted the tree off of the Power Ponies and placed it off to the side. Then the dragon's eyes changed back to their normal green color and he shrank back to his normal size. The dark purple scales of his body lightened while his underbelly and the scales on his head turned back from gold to green. The young dragon finally regained his usual size and shape. Spike was finally back to normal much to the relief of his friends. The six ponies got up and hugged the dragon.

"No!" the Mane-iac screamed.

Soon enough the group was joined by their other friends Gilda, Trixie, Angel, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were stunned when they saw that Spike was no longer a monster. They cheered for the return of their friend. All twelve of the friends were so busy rejoicing that they didn't notice the Mane-iac's horn glowing. All of a sudden a blast of magic shot from it and it hit Rainbow Dash in the chest. The light blue pegasus pony was sent high into the sky and then she began to fall back down. The Mane-iac laughed and teleported away. The others watched as Rainbow Dash's body fell into a small lake and sank to the bottom.