ReadingBeta: Ok why do you think Spike is going to fuck his former friends? He isn't?
Act 5 The Betrayal
Deep within the Everfree Forest, the ever beautiful and majestic Princess Luna sat in the middle of a field of tall grass while her gaze was fixed on Spike. The moon, which was bright and full tonight, acted as a lantern not only for the alicorn and the dragon whom she had recently taken in as her apprentice, but for most of the other creatures that were wandering through the dangerous woods.
Deep in concentration, the young dragon remained silent as magic built up in his small body, and surrounded him in a lime-green aura.
"That's it young Spike," Luna cheered, "Concentrate and let the magic flow within your body." With the combination of his teacher's encouragement and his strong concentration, the aura around Spike only grew brighter. He extended his arm out toward a lone, dead log and encased it in an aura that matched his own. Sadly, as he tried to lift his arm, he found difficulty raising an object of such mass.
Suddenly, Spike succeeded in lifting the log off the ground, but it fell back down after only a few seconds. Nevertheless, Luna was impressed at how quickly her student caught on. She had only just started teaching Spike how to build up his magical power, so regardless of how long he managed to do it, she honestly didn't expect him to lift a log that was several times as heavy as he was.
"You surprised me, my dear student," she said, smiling at him. "I want you to keep in mind that any object you try to lift with your telepathy will have the same density and weight as it would outside of your hold. Once your mind is strong enough, you'll be able to move things much heavier than this branch."
As Luna instructed him to try and hold the log longer than before, Spike nodded and continued his training.
Back in Luna's chambers
The next morning, Spike woke up yawning in delight, but he soon felt a bit sad because he would have to go back with his so-called friends. Though the baby dragon wasn't completely glum since Starlight would be around to keep him company.
Rubbing his eyes, Spike got a good look at the room he was in. Even in the light of the sun, the room still appeared to be in the dead of night with the stars and the crescent moon showcasing the ceiling. He turned to see a vanity mirror with a makeup set, then he turned the other way to see a few bookshelves.
'This must be Luna's room,' He thought to himself as he got up from the bed. Coincidentally, as soon as Spike's feet hit the floor, the door opened, revealing a regal blue alicorn smiling warmly.
"Spike, my faithful student," Luna said in her beautiful voice, causing Spike to blush. "Let us go, breakfast is waiting." With that, she trotted off with the baby dragon riding on her back. They entered the dining room where the elements, the other princesses with Fancy Pants, Starlight, Sunburst, Thunderlane, Pokey, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and surprisingly Prince Blueblood were sitting at the table. Luna trotted over to her chair, gesturing for Spike to sit next to her, which he agreed.
The ponies and Spike began to eat their meals with plenty of conversation. Twilight told her brother, sister-in-law, and Celestia about a new spell she, Starlight, and Trixie have been practicing. This gave Cadance some ideas for when she and her husband got back to the Crystal Empire. Spike asked Luna where Discord was. She informed him that he was in the dragon empire with the new ruler, Dragon Lord Ember, mostly annoying her to no end.
Rarity was talking about the wonderful night she had to which Fluttershy and Pinkie, who giggled and felt their cheeks growing warm, remembering the fun they had last night with their dates. Spike felt a silent anger grow at the thought of Rarity choosing to date a noble class stallion instead of someone who loved her way longer. Applejack and Rainbow just listened as Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom tilted their heads, wondering what the adults were talking about. Fancy, Pokey, and Thunderlane were talking about how they met their marefriends.
Prince Blueblood on the other hoof, was thinking like a whining brat as he noticed Spike sitting next to Luna. 'Bah! It's bad enough that those six are here, spoiling a good meal, including that slut of a mare who's chatting with one of my best ponies. But to have that... that... THING sit with us as well, is just unacceptable. There's no way I'll allow that vile creature to eat here with royalty.' Blueblood's thoughts trailed off when the dragon received his plate of gem-covered salad.
"Aunty," the spoiled prince began while staring at Spike in hatred as he began eating. "That horrible thing does not deserve to sit at the table with the rest of us!" He snarled pointing his hoof at Spike. "A beast like him should be in the garden or eating off the floor!"
If looks could kill, Blueblood would definitely be dead. The prince was stared down by not one, but all of the ponies present in the room. However, Luna gave the snobbish unicorn the worst look, causing Blueblood to shiver, knowing the impending doom that was coming to him.
"Blueblood," Celestia began in a calm manner like usual, "How many times have I told you, never be rude to our guests? I'll have you know Luna told me about last night. You're lucky that I had to sleep that night, otherwise..." Her voice grew darker, which surprised everypony in the room other than Luna and Spike. "What my sister did would fail in comparison to what I will do if any harm comes to Spike." When the sun princess was done, fear was merely an understatement when it came to Blueblood. With some luck, he was able to hold his bladder.
The now broken prince trembled so much, that he could have phased though the chair. Celestia looked over at Spike, who was staring right back at her. She deeply regretted not sending a reply back her son's request. If it wasn't for her to attend this meeting with the representatives of Griffonstone, she would've had him stay, like old times.
Finally, Princess Celestia decided to change the conversation. "Luna," She began. "Twilight has informed me that you have taken Spike in as your personal student. Is this true?"
"Why yes, dear sister," She replied placing a wing around her apprentice, "Spike here is a rare breed of dragon that can perform magic, much like a unicorn. The only difference is that dragons are extremely proficient with the elements around them." As Luna finished her explanation, Spike hid under her wing to avoid the shocked glances of everypony in the room.
"Spike is that true, you can perform magic!?" Asked the now very excited young alicorn, to which Spike nodded. He didn't want anypony to know, especially Twilight because both he and Luna knew that she would only use his magic for tasks, like getting more than one book at a time, cleaning faster or cooking better, or doing the laundry.
"Young Princess Twilight Sparkle," The night princess said sternly, "Spike isn't ready to perform the tasks you might ask of him. Right now, he needs to focus on his studying." Spike looked up, happy his teacher saved him from even more slavery when they got back to the Friendship Castle.
"I understand," Twilight said respectfully. She was disappointed Spike couldn't use his magic for chores, but she dared not challenge Luna's authority.
"How will you be teaching Spike, Luna?" The sun princess asked while taking a sip from her cup of tea.
"Through his dreams, sister," Luna answered without turning her gaze from her student. She smiled as Spike nestled comfortably under her soft wing.
"I see," Celestia responded turning her attention back to her tea.
"And I would like to appoint Starlight to help him with his studies."Luna added. This caused the light purple unicorn to blush.
Twilight pouted but didn't protest. Even though she would like to teach him herself, this would be a great lesson for Starlight.
With that, breakfast continued without any more problems, except some stares from a few of the ponies, mostly from one cyan-coated mare.
After breakfast, the Mane six, plus Spike, two members of the Cutie Mark Crusaders Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle, Starlight Glimmer, Thunderlane, and Pokey, all boarded the train to Ponyville. Princess Luna told Spike to head into the Everfree Forest to seek information from Zecora about his kind when he got off. During the trainride, most of the ponies chattered, mostly joking about Blueblood almost wetting himself with fear and their after parties. Spike on the other hoof was asleep along with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, due to the sheer boredom and mental exhaustion from his tough training.
Back in Ponyville, the gang trotted, or in Spike case walked, off their train. Suddenly, the dragon's stomach growled, causing the gang to stop and look at him. They were confused, as they knew they all ate a good meal onboard. A meal that unfortunately didn't satisfy the dragon's hunger.
"Ya know, fer ah little guy, ya sure are hungry," Replied Applejack with her now sleeping sister on her back.
"Like I said, it's a dragon thing," Spike said annoyed. He didn't like repeating himself, since it just reminded him how these ponies don't listen to him. "Anyway, I'm going to see Zecora, I'll be back later." Spike ran from the train station, passing the ponies who were going on with their day. While a few waved at him, most spoke on why he was still living here as he ran toward the forest.
Spike knew where Zecora's hut was, since he memorized the safest path to take in the somewhat dangerous forest. Spike reached the hut and knocked on the door, but there was no response. This was weird, considering the zebra was expecting him. Spike tried knocking again, but there was still no answer. He was about to knock again when his stomach roared for food, causing him to clutch his belly in slight pain.
"I see a hungry dragon that I must feed, for I know the food you need," Spike heard a familiar voice said from behind.
Spike turned around and saw the mohawk manned zebra wearing her favorite brown robe. "Princess Luna told me you were hungry, and I agreed to train your tummy." Spike's stomach agreed with Zecora's words, causing her to giggle.
Zecora placed a hoof on Spike's shoulder. "Your new teacher told me what you want and asked me to teach you to hunt."
Spike nodded and followed the zebra shaman into the forest. He was overjoyed that the pain in his belly would finally come to an end.
Deep in the Everfree Forest
The inside of the Everfree Forest was as lively as ever. One could spot a few boars, deer, rabbits, and anything that tries to gather food before nightfall. A few timberwolves and manticores roamed around as well, looking for a quick bite to eat.
Spike saw a lone boar with its muzzle buried beneath the earth sniffed for its favorite meal, the truffle. The brown tusked pig noticed a bush swaying side-to-side. When the wild boar laid its gaze on the bush, it stopped. The boar was now on high alert, fearing that a predator may claim its life so they could live on.
They it stood for a couple of minutes waiting, watching, hoping that it was something else. After a few minutes of staring, the pig went back to its hunt, thinking it was just a rabbit or raccoon scurrying for food.
Spike slowly crawled out of his hiding spot within the bushes. He remained low and stealthy as he moved in for his first kill, his first meal as a carnivore. The boar was too busy to notice the young dragon. Zecora's advice repeated in the Spike's head, 'I have you warned, the first kill will leave you scorned.' Spike took each word into consideration, knowing he could be killed out here in the wild. 'You best keep a low head, otherwise, you'll end up dead."
Spike lowered his head more and raised his tail rose, like a cat about to pounce. 'A predator must learn to blend, otherwise the hunt may come to an end.' It was another lesson that he must cover his scent in order to catch his prey or hide from other predators.
The wild boar stopped sniffing and began making its way toward its next destination. Spike saw that as his the moment to strike. He pounced onto the boar and latched his claws around the its neck. Instinctively, the beast began to kick and buck, desperately trying get its predator off. The struggle eventually paid off as the pig bucked the dragon off. Spike landed on the ground, but quickly got up on all fours. His eyes glowed a green color, as he prepared to try again.
'Don't strike at your pray, for your chance might go away,' Zecora's words played. Spike knew he had to wait until the time was right to claim his prey's life. The boar charged, but Spike sidestepped it at the last second. The wild boar didn't have enough time to stop its charge, and ended up headbutting into a tree.
The pig shook its head from the impact, it was starting to get angry. 'You and your prey must not engage. Wait until it tires from its rage.' more of the zebra's advice repeated in Spike's head. The boar once again charged at the baby dragon and Spike to the chance to hop onto the pig. He quickly sank his claws into the pig's flesh, gripping it tightly so it wouldn't escape from his clutch. The flow of blood Spike felt was was intoxicating. The pig squealed in pain, trying desperately to get the small dragon off, unfortunately, Spike's tight grip made it too difficult.
Zecora had taught Spike not to make his prey suffer, as he was only doing this to survive. To put the wild boar out of its misery, Spike sank his fangs into its neck. The force of his jaw snapped the boar's spinal cord like a twig, thus ending its life.
The boar fell to the ground, motionless. Spike looked up and saw that Zecora had been watching. She wasn't scared, or even disgusted. The wise mare knew about the circle of life, and the rules that came with it. Why prey have to run from predators. It was the balance of the world.
Normally Spike would be disgusted with himself and pour the contents in his stomach to the ground, but nothing of the sort happened. Spike was in a whole another world, he had just killed a boar. The blood of the boar running on his claws and fangs felt both good and natural. Spike wanted more, and wasting no time, he began to feast on his kill.
Back at the Castle of Friendship
"Where could he be?" Asked a worried lavender mare. "It's getting late and he's nowhere to be found." Celestia had lowered the sun about an hour ago and Luna's moon now shined across the skies. Twilight began to stomp her hooves, worried that her assistant could be in danger or worst. She began to run toward the Everfree, but was stopped by a hoof.
"Relax, Twilight," Trixie said wrapping an arm around her marefriend, "I think that Spike will be fine. In fact, I think he'll be back before you know it."
This seemed to calm the panicked alicorn down, but right then and there, Spike came walking down the street. He had a few scratches and bruises on his arms, but other than that he looked fine. Twilight busted out crying in happiness as she ran over to Spike and wrapped her hooves around the dragon.
"Oh Spike, where have you been? We were all so worried about you." Twilight let him go and looked at his injured arms. "What happened?" Though Spike knew she was more concerned with him being healthy enough to do chores around the castle.
"Well..." Spike momentarily paused to think of a good excuse. "I went to see Zecora for something dragon-related, and I must've took a wrong turn." It wasn't the best lie, but the mares seemed to buy it. In truth, Spike was having a tough time hunting his prey. It wasn't easy, but he did manage to kill the said prey, and satisfy his hunger.
"I told you, Twilight," the showpony said with a smirk.
"I guess you're right." They hugged for another minute before going back inside.
For the past three weeks, Spike had been going into the forest every time his stomach rumbled after a pony meal. This occured twice a day, but Spike always waved his 'friends' off before he headed toward the Everfree.
The girls seemed a bit worried, but Twilight and Trixie explained to them that Spike was visiting Zecora for medical help for his stomach, so they just shrugged it off. That evening, Spike was running a little later than usual worry, Twilight asked Fluttershy to check to see if he was still over at Zecora's hut.
The timed mare was scared at first, but after remembering that Spike was still in the Everfree Forest, she ponied up and trotted into the woods. Within moments, the timid pegasus heard a deer cry before falling quiet. Fluttershy flapped her wings and rushed toward the sound. When she found the source of the cry, the sight almost made her scream.
Laying in a field was an unmoving baby deer, and a smaller creature sitting by its corpse. To her, it seemed to be praying, but a closer look revealed that the smaller creature was actually eating it. The timid pony took a step back, stepping on a twig. The sound caught the creature's attention, and its eyes widened in fear as they met Fluttershy's gaze.
"F-F-Fluttershy?" The creature spoke, and to Fluttershy its voice sounded very familiar.
"S-S-Spike?" the terrified pegasus asked while Spike stepped into the moonlight. Now visible, Fluttershy saw that Spike was covered in the blood of the deer he had just killed.
"Fluttershy, wait I can..." Spike's words were cut off as the timid mare let out a scream and ran away. She couldn't believe that Spike, the only dragon that supposedly wouldn't hurt even a fly, was out in the forest, killing defenseless animals. Tears fell from her eyes. She had to tell Twilight and the others what she saw. Fluttershy flew past Rainbow Dash, Applejack, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, all who looked confused and followed the shy pegasus.
Fluttershy banged on the door in the quickest way possible. When Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders came the door, it opened to reveal Twilight with a worried look. "Did you find him?"
"Y-Y-Yes...b-b-b-b-b-but... can I come in?" Twilight moved out the way to let her and the others in.
"Where is he?" Twilight asked then looked at the pegasus, who looked like she seen a ghost as tears began to fall from her eyes. "D-D-Don't tell me he's…"
"N-No Twilight... I-I found him. H-He was..." She swallowed a lump. "E-Eating a b-baby deer." Everypony in the room gasped, except for Rainbow, who just blurted out laughing.
"Y-yeah right! Spike would never do something like that." Rainbow said as she flapped her wings. "The little guy only eats gems and sweets, as if he has what it takes to eat a deer." Rainbow did had a point there. She, Twilight, and Rarity had followed Spike when he wanted to learn about dragons during the Dragon Migration. They remembered when those teen dragons wanted him to crush the defenseless phoenix egg and Spike refused.
Twilight put her hoof on her chin, "You've got a point Rainbow, but Princess Luna told him to seek information about dragons from Zecora. I wonder if she's teaching Spike something?"
"Yeah like what? He's way too small to hurt anypony... let alone wild animals," Rainbow commented, but she saw everypony gasp and Twilight pointed her hoof toward the door. Upon seeing what Twilight was pointing to, Rainbow's jaw dropped. There stood a blood soaked Spike next to Zecora. He looked quite hurt at the accusations.
"Pardon my interruption," The zebra shaman spoke, "But there is a matter we must attend. For there is a misconception that we must mend."
Twilight nodded. She and Rainbow after shutting her mouth went on ahead to gather the other bearers. Applejack meanwhile, took the three fillies back to the farm, where her brother, and grandmother could watch them. Now that they've earned their Cutie Marks, the fillies weren't as troublesome as before, but Applejack wanted to keep them away from Spike after what she saw.
"Spike, before the others come here, you should wash the blood my dear," Zecora advised. Spike nodded and headed upstairs to the bathroom so he could clean the blood. Fluttershy was too scared to look Spike in the eye. She didn't see him as the cute baby dragon she once knew. She only saw a monster.
After a good few minutes, the rest of the six bearers of harmony, plus Trixie and Starlight, all sat in a circle with Zecora in the middle. Spike peered from behind the zebra, still hesitant to look at the frightened mares around him. "Now that you all have gathered here, I shall try and make this perfectly clear. Spike, as you know, has many traits among his scales, some that would sicken even the toughest males. Some are very good, and some are very bad, others keep him alive, even if it's sad. What you all saw I'm sad to say, was a trait necessary to keep death away."
"Hold on," Applejack interrupted, trying to put together what Zecora was saying. "Are ya telling us that Spike needs to eat other animals in order to live?" To which Zecora nodded.
'Well duh!' Spike thought as he glared at the farm pony.
"There must be another way, I mean, not all dragons are carnivores," The white mare spoke, shocked from hearing this.
"True dragons may eat whatever they want, but at a certain age, they must go on the hunt."
"Just like the the raid during the migration," Twilight said as she put two and two together.
"Yes, newly winged princess, it was very much like that clash, when the other dragons found eggs for him to smash. For it was not only for fun and games they did try, but to learn to hunt in a packs without being shy." The zebra cleared her throat. "Now back to the matter at hoof, if you will, if he hadn't eaten flesh, many hearts would've stood still. For if not his life to be lost by the need, but his instinct to take rise, like greed." She didn't need to say more, the room was silent from the news that if he hadn't, not only might he have died, but he could've became a monster again, only with a need to eat rather than hoard.
"Unless there is another question, I think it is best to end this session. Not that I wish to retire, but I fear I left something over my fire." And with that, Zecora left the map room, leaving the eight mares gasping.
Prince Blueblood's chambers
"He did what?!" Asked a light pink mare who was snuggling against a white stallion. They were both was laying on a king sized bed, with golden silk sheets covering their tired bodies after their passionate night. Blueblood had recently dumped the blue mare he brought to the dance, under the account that she was too boring.
"He ate a deer today. Aunty Luna is insane, keeping that dangerous lizard around," Blueblood said wrapping his hoof around his partner. "She even had the nerve to take the little demon in as her student."
"That's awful! What if he gets out of control and goes on a major rampage!?"
"Don't worry my little love bud, I have a plan. He's in Canterlot with his master for the next two weeks. I'm sure a prince like me can pull a few strings." The two nastily chuckled before the prince spoke again. "Now, how about this handsome prince make a lovely mare his princess?" With that, Blueblood tossed the covers over both of their heads. Soon, giggles and moans could he heard throughout the room.
Canterlot throne room
Later on, Celestia was in the throne room reading the letter both she and Luna have received. To say she wasn't surprised was an understatement, she and her sister weren't surprised at all. In fact, they were hoping Dragon Lord Ember would've told Twilight that Spike will be at the age where he needs to eat meat before he ends up hurting somepony while rampaging.
"I always knew this day would come," Celestia spoke softly thinking of the repercussion that would befall her 'son' if other ponies find out.
"How do you think this will affect his relationships with the others sister?" Luna asked worried about her student's well being.
"I highly doubt they would look at him the same way for quite some time. Giving it some time, I hope they'll realize Spike is still the sweet dragon he's always been."
"I hope you're right about this Tia."
"Have I ever been wrong Lulu?"
Luna rolled her eyes. "Well, there was that time you let Discord track down Tirek. Then there was that time when you said and I quote 'I'm an immortal alicorn and don't need love.' Yet, you feel affection for Sombra, and never said a word about it before the crystal war incident. Then there was that time when you ate all of those sweets during that contest and got sick for the next few days."
Celestia blushed annoyed, "You've made your point Luna."
The midnight blue alicorn just giggled. "Anyway, I believe it's time for you to retire for the night."
The older white alicorn just nodded as she got up from her throne and trotted towards the doors. "Goodnight Lulu. And good luck on your student's dreams."
"Goodnight Tia." Luna waved her hoof, but raised a brow after hearing her comment. "Oh right, Spike's going to feel horrible tonight."
Celestia trotted down the hallways, enjoying the scent of the flowers Luna aligned the walls with to help the servants, and off duty guards sleep. On her way towards her own room, she spotted her nephew, Prince Blueblood, obviously waiting for somepony. Sadly, that somepony was her.
"Good evening aunty," The prince spoke with a smile on his face.
"What are you planning Blueblood?" The alicorn asked, knowing he was up to no good.
"I don't know what you mean." The answer was vague and unconvincing.
"You know what I mean," Celestia replied as she began to lose her patience.
"Well news does travel fast aunty. I heard that little lizard of a son of yours did what most ponies here would never do. Namely, eating other animals," The prince smirked. "Now what would Equestria think if they find out, huh?"
Celestia's eye began twitching, "Are you blackmailing me, one of the princesses of Equestria?" She asked. "Because I'm pretty sure that is considered treason."
"If you thought I was trouble before, aunty, imagine me and almost all of Equestria's nobility as your enemy. Surely, you don't want that. Because if you continue to entertain the idea of spreading harmony with other creatures, including that... thing you call a son, well... let's just see how long the alliance of the nobility will hold. Then there is the matter of your secret project involving the dragons. It would be a shame if Princess Twilight were to learn who her mentor truly is."
"You're right, that would be quite a shame," Celestia sighed as she lowered her head. "But it would also be a shame if the ex Dragon Lord Torch and Dragon Lord Ember hear wind as to who's the pony who put the sword in Inferno's heart. And if you don't know who Inferno is, that would be Ember's mother and Torch's mate." Her eyes turn to Blueblood. "So go ahead and tell Twilight and the other nobles about my son."
"You're willing to put Equestria at risk?"
"If you want to blackmail somepony, better do a bit more digging my dear nephew," Celestia said as she continued on her way to her chambers, leaving a stunned prince behind.
It had been almost two weeks since they left Ponyville to visit Twilight's parents while Spike visited his mother, who was happy to push her schedule to spend time with him. Even with the new settings, he continued his lessons with Luna every night, and he was getting good at controlling three of the four natural elements. But today, Spike and Twilight where at Pony Joe's for a small snack where Spike was enjoying a tasty donut when the royal guards trotted through the door.
"Spike the Dragon, by order of the princess, you are hereby under arrest," The captain announced in a harsh tone.
"Under what charge?" Twilight asked, blocking the guards from trying to apprehend the young dragon.
"First degree murder of the noble Esquire family, and attempted murder of Princess Flurry Heart five days ago," they answered approaching the dragon.
"W-WHAT?! I NEVER MURDERED ANYPONY, I SWEAR!" the dragon screamed. "Tell them Twi!" he begged.
Twilight shook her head. "He's telling the truth. He was in Canterlot castle with Princess Luna."
"Both the attack on Princess Flurry and the murder of the Esquire family took place approximately an hour our after Princess Celestia lowered the sun. Where were you at that time?" One of the unicorn guards asked.
"Like Twilight just said, I was with Princess Luna in the garden," Spike defended himself. The guards looked at each other before turning back to the dragon.
"I'm sorry Spike, but we're under orders," He said obviously not listening to the defenses. "Colts, take him!" He ordered as the unicorns' horns came to life. The sky blue aura covered the small dragon from head to toe, lifting him off the ground.
"TWILIGHT!" he screamed, that his last word before the guards trotted off to the castle. Twilight could only watch in horror as her little brother was arrested for something he obviously didn't do.
"DON'T WORRY SPIKE, THE GIRLS AND I WILL FREE YOU! I PROMISE!" She called out to her assistant to give him hope.
Canterlot royal court room
The little hope the little dragon had left has seemed to have changed into despair. He was being charged with first degree murder and regicide, which confused him greatly. He never harmed anyone from the royal family (since he's actually part of it) let alone his cousin, Flurry Heart, who he's so fond of.
Spike's arms were tied up tightly, making it almost impossible to move. His mouth was muzzled so he couldn't breathe fire. It was so demeaning, the small cage that he had been placed in made him look like a savage animal waiting to be put down. Within his cell, a few minutes seemed like an eternity.
Around him were seats in rows of three, with four doors on a circle pattern with four seats in the middle that was meant for royalty. Standing beside the cage was a light cream unicorn stallion with a lime green mane and tail, wearing a blue suit and tie. His cutie mark was a scale with a book on one end and nothing on the other.
Spike couldn't sleep to inform Luna on what happened, whenever he tried to close his eyes, the guards would jab his side to keep him awake. Hopefully, the moon princess would enter the room very soon and come to his defense.
Ponies began to enter into the courtroom. Most of them looked at Spike with contempt and disgust. The only exception were his friends, who looked quite confused and worried. Twilight has already told them what happened, and rushed to defend their friend. While they understood Spike was a carnivore and that he needed to eat meat to grow, him using his skills to kill ponies and try to assassinate Flurry Heart wasn't like him at all.
Suddenly, Luna appeared and looked at Spike's cage in fury. "What is the meaning of this?!" she asked with the others princesses entering beside her.
"Spike tried to murder my child," Cadance replied with a mixture of rage and sadness in her voice.
"Is this true, Spike?" Luna needed to hear it in Spike's own words, as she was well aware how close he was to Flurry Heart. She used her magic to undo the muzzle off so Spike could speak.
Once the muzzle was off the dragon replied, "No. You gotta believe me, I was with Luna when this happened."
"This lizard tells nothing but lies!" one stallion spoke, but quickly found it hard to breathe. Luna's horn glowed brightly, as her magical aura was tightly encased around the stallion's neck.
"ORDER!" Celestia yelled in her royal Canterlot voice. "Luna, let Pendulum go, now." Growling, Luna obeyed her sister and released the stallion.
"If you're innocent, how do you explain why your footprints and claw markings was at scene of the crime?" asked Pendulum after coughing a few times.
"I-I don't know, I don't even know the pony you're accusing me of attacking."
"Or maybe you can be at two places at once? Or could it be you learned how to stop time itself?"
Starlight spoke up, having heard enough of this. "Your highness, Spike only started his magical training with Luna a few weeks ago. What the prosecutor is trying to suggest is impossible for some er... dragon to perform in the short amount of time. Only proficient users of magic, like Twilight and myself, are capable of such feats."
Spike smiled, seeing Starlight defending him, giving him hope, even in this predicament.
"She's right," Twilight said, nodded her head.
"Plus, he only knows how to case base level elemental magic," Starlight added.
"If that's true Miss Glimmer," the stallion walked around the dragon's cage. "Then what if this dragon here accidentally made a clone of himself and not realized he did so." The stallion stopped and looked around, to find a few ponies whispering.
"Performing a cloning spell takes a lot of focus and energy to do which divide one magical output in half."
"I admit I do not have the knowledge to go in depth in magic like you, or the princesses. However, isn't it stated on paragraph one; section five on Cloning Magic 101 that cloning another living creature without following the correct methods may result in a split personality on the target intending for cloning?"
"Well, yes-"
"And didn't you perfect Starswirl's time magic to go back in time to stop Miss Rainbow Dash from getting her cutie mark?"
"Wait, how did you know-" but she was cut off again.
"Not only that, how long did it take you to learn the spell to remove ponies cutie marks?"
At this point, Starlight begin to shake. This pony somehow knew everything about her. She covered her eyes with her hoof. "A few minutes," she admitted.
"I rest my case," Pendulum smiled, knowing he had this case in the bag.
"Well, what else are you training that lizard to do, Aunty Luna, eat innocent ponies?" Blueblood smirked.
Luna wiped the grin off the snobbish prince's face as she began choking him with her magical grip. "IF YOU CALL HIM A LIZARD ONE MORE TIME-"
"Luna, enough!" Celestia demanded and Luna reluctantly released her nephew. "Blueblood, if you make another comment like that, I will hold you in contempt," Celestia warned before returning her attention to Starlight. "Starlight, do you have anything else to share?"
Starlight only shook her head, even though she knew for a fact that Spike could never have mastered those spells in such a short amount of time.
"For all we know, creatures like dragons learn differently!" Pendulum shouted. "And Canterlot libraries have a vast amount of books related to different types of magic. How are we to know he didn't secretly gain such spells without anypony knowing?"
"We don't have any records of any dragon learning high levels of magic in such a short amount of time. And if Spike is guilty, is there any evidence of his crimes? Or is this all purely speculation?" Twilight asked.
"The only dragons I know of that can perform high level spells are the dragons lords," Celestia began. "But that aside, IS there any evidence against the accused?"
"There is, your highness." The stallion's horn glowed. Several photos of a small dragon appear walking away from an ally, parts of it was covered in blood. And a few with the body of the dead pony with bite and claw marks on it body Along with a photo of a pink alicorn foal with a dark to like purple mane and tail with a blue streak. The photo showed claw markings around Flurry's neck, and sides of her body. The mother of the said alicorn glared into the dragon, causing him to whimper.
"It's possible to create fake photographs, you know!" Starlight shouted.
"Stop Starlight, it's no use. As much as I want it to be true, you've lost all your credibility, and this court will no longer take your words into consideration," Twilight said, causing Starlight's jaw to drop, hearing such words from her own teacher.
"As you can see here, that small dragon was seen here, walking out of the alley near the library. The next photo shows the marks, and Spike was the only dragon in the city at the time."
Luna couldn't believe her ears, how could these ponies make such accusations of a sweet dragon. As Starlight said, with the new technological advances and magical spells, fake photographs can be created.
"How can we be sure those are not fake? Despite Twilight's student losing credibility to this court, she has made a valid point. How can somepony take photos of the accused murdering without being sniffed out? Dragons are known to have a remarkable sense of smell." Luna asked.
"From what investigators have concluded, the scent of blood was strong enough to mask any other scent in the surrounding area." Pendulum explained.
"That's a lie!" Spike shouted. "I can smell perfectly when I'm out hunting!"
"So you abide in murdering the Esquire nobles?"
Spike clenched his tied claws, "I didn't say that!"
"You've said quite enough, Pendulum. Let me ask the questions," Luna said, managing to keep control of her temper.
"Spike, prior to the night you were incarcerated, when and where was the last time you ate?" Luna asked even though she knew her student was innocent.
"The castle dining hall with you, Celestia, Cadance, Twilight, Shining Armor, and Flurry Heart. I had a gem salad, with some shrimp. Then later, after my magical studying, I went with Twilight to Pony Joe's to have a light snack. That's when the guards came to arrest me." It was all clear like day in Spike's mind, to which Luna remembered, because she was there with him to go over magical telekinesis, to which Spike was getting the hang of.
"Since that's done with, what about Flurry Heart?" asked the calm pink princess. "Where were you if you didn't attack her?"
"I already told you, I was with Luna!" Spike shouted. This trial was getting ridiculous.
"Princesses, may I present a witness?" Pendulum pointed to Blueblood who was sitting next to Twilight.
The stallion's horn then glowed, forming a grey cloud. Closing his eyes, the prince focuses on the night where he 'encountered' Spike.
Blueblood was walking down the hall after having a hearty conversation with a delegate from Manehatten. He turned to the corner of the east wing of the castle and what he saw was horrifying: two crystal guards were lying in a puddle of their own blood. Wanting to be brave, the prince trotted over to the two corpses, and discovered that they had claw marks around their bodies, despite wearing armor. Walking into the wing, Blueblood nearly gagged, seeing the carnage. Body parts everywhere; maids on the floor with holes and organs scattered about, all leading into the room.
A room his 'cousin' was in. Fearing her safety, Blueblood rushed into the room, It wasn't clean, but he did see a small creature holding the young foal in his arms, with his lips closing in on her neck. "Stop!" the prince called out, causing the creature to stop. "Release her at once, demon!" the prince demanded, to which the monster growled. The white stallion used his magic to snatch the foal from the creature's arm and then sent a bolt at him, to which he reflected it and sent a magic bolt of his own. It wasn't very clear, but the creature appeared to be small, purple, and bipedal, with green spikes lined from the top of its head to the end of its tail.
The cloud disappeared with the dragon's jaw hitting the floor. "That's the biggest lie I ever heard or in this case, seen!" yelled Spike. "I love Flurry! I would never hurt her! Cadance, don't tell me you're actually believe this clown over the one who saved your kingdom twice?"
"Clown?! How dare you! I'll have you know I'm well-respected in Canterlot!" Blueblood snarled as he pointed his nose in the air like the snob he was.
"Well-respected? You're the most hated, reviled, and rudest pony in all of Equestria."
"ENOUGH! The both of you!" Celestia shouted, causing both Spike and Blueblood to stop arguing and turn their attention towards her. "Now if it's true, then please bring in Flurry Heart to see if SHE remembers the incident."
The doors behind Spike opened as Sunburst entered the room, pushing a crib with his magic. The unicorn didn't... couldn't believe that a hero of the Crystal Empire would try to take the life of the innocent foal.
Though Sunburst knew that Spike was learning magic, he found it impossible for a dragon, who was still learning the basics of magic, to perform anything he was accused of.
The unicorn picked up Flurry, who was happy to be in Sunburst's grasp, to watch the crowd of ponies went 'aww.' That was until her eyes laid on Spike.
Using her magic, the foal clung to her foalsitter tightly, as if holding on him for dear life. What's more, Flurry created a barrier to separate herself from the dragon, much to his surprise and shock.
She was shaking, and the princesses could tell that Spike somehow traumatized the foal.
"Didn't try to kill her, you say? I rest my case." Pendulum bows.
"Mares and genltecolts, now that we've heard the cases of both sides, the fate of Spike The Dragon will rest upon a group of his peers; the Elements of Harmony," Celestia stated, making Luna turn her head. "I believe Princess Twilight and her friends will make a true and just decision."
Delegation room
Inside a small room, which held a wooden, circular table with six seats, sat Twilight, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Fluttershy, all in deep thought. Even with the evidence presented to them, all scattered across the table, it was hard to imagine that their friend was a pony eating murderer.
"I don't know about him trying to kill Flurry Heart, since it was Blueblood who claimed to see him there..." Rarity started, breaking the ice. "But the ponies he killed-"
"Now hold on, Rarity." Applejack cut her off, "How do we know somepony ain't framin' him?"
"Well, as the prosecutor said, dragons learn differently,' so it would be possible for Spike to learn high levels of magic in a short amount of time." Twilight didn't want to believe it, but the words of Pendulum was still hot on the princess' mind.
"So y'all belive him more than Spike?"Applejack asked.
"What I'm saying is that maybe they something more to this?"
"Like what Twi?"
"I don't know Applejack." Twilight placed her hooves on her head, rubbing it. "This is all happening so fast." the young alicorn cried out. "He's... he's..."
"A m-monster..." Fluttershy spoke.
Twilight looked down at the photos. "Even if he's our friend... he's changed..."
"Ah guess yer right," Applejack replied.
"She's right, darling... I don't know what happen but Spike has changed in more ways than one," the ivory unicorn sighed. "He used to help me with a lot of stuff, but, lately, he's been trying to avoid me, like I have some kind of disease."
"Not only that, he has been glaring at us for some time now." Rainbow spoke, then look down. "Ahhh I don't know who he is any more!" The rainbow maned pegasus rub her head in confusion. "I me he's still the coolest dragon I know, but Twilight's right, he change."
"So we all believe that he's guilty on the murders?"
"Oh definitely darling, despite what Starlight had said." Rarity spoke in a claim tone.
"If it wasn't for what that Pendulum fellow said ah wouldn't believe the little fellow was innocent. guilty."
"I-I-I think h-he's g-guilty too..." Fluttershy stuttered.
"Face it, Pinkie, ever since Spike started to eat meat, he's became a completely different dragon," Rainbow replied.
"But... But Spike's our friend..." Pinkie sniffed. "Sure he eats meat, but he's done everything for us, like cook and clean and..."
Applejack placed a hoof around Pinkie. "Sorry, Pinkie, but what if Spike gobbled up Pumpkin and Pound Cake? Ah know it's hard, but we're all thinkin' about our families 'ere."
"So we're all in agreement?" Twilight asked, to which all the mares nodded.
"I... I guess so..." Pinkie said as her mane flattened, like it usually did when she was upset.
"Yes darling." Rarity raised her hoof.
"Same here." Rainbow Dash raised her hoof as well.
"Ah agree with ya Twi." Applejack also raised her hoof.
Fluttershy just nodded before she raised her hoof.
With that, the Mane Six got out of their seats and exited the delegation room, preparing themselves to tell the court of their decision.
Back in the court, the ponies were waiting patiently for the elements to return with their decision. Spike couldn't help feeling shaken up.
Everyone noticed the elements return to the court. "Princess Celestia we've reached our decision. We the jury find the offended guilty on all counts."
"D-D-Do you really believe this, Twilight?" Spike asked with tears filling his eyes, "After everything we've been through together, you girls actually believe these ridiculous accusations and consider me a threat?"
"The evidence is clear, Spike. It's hard to believe it, but you're guilty," Twilight answered.
"Sorry partner," Applejack spoke next, taking her hat off, "But ah don't feel comfortable with ya being on the farm, with ya being a predator and all." She then lowered her head out of shame that she had to be truthful with the poor dragon.
"Sorry Spike, but I don't think the Cakes would want you near their shop," Pinkie added with her mane still straight. "I'm sorry," she said, but she clearly didn't mean it.
"Um... I-I-I-I-I-I-I..." Fluttershy stuttered, while hiding her face behind her mane. "Think you're dangerous, Spike..." she finished in a quiet voice, but Spike was able to hear her.
"I'm sorry too, Spikey," Rarity said, "But I'll lose all my clientele if they knew I was friends with a murderous dragon." Typical, the fashionista was more concerned of her social status with some uptight nobles than the fate of the dragon who loved her.
"You brought this on yourself, Spike! This is your punishment for hunting and killing other ponies!" Rainbow spoke, glaring at him.
"B-b-b-but... I didn't murder anypony..." Spike's voice broke. He felt betrayed that the ones he called his friends and family were actually buying these lies.
"Don't waste your breath with those foolish mares, Spike. I know you're innocent." Luna's smile seemed to have calmed down the baby dragon.
"I want to believe you, Spike, I truly do, but with the evidence presented to us, I find it impossible to do so." Celestia closed her eyes and sighed. 'I really wish it wouldn't come to this' The white alicorn thought.
"Spike the Dragon..." Celestia began with a heartless look in her eyes.
"You have to believe me, mother! I haven't harmed anypony! Please don't send me away! Please! PLEASE!" Unfortunately, Spike's pleas fell on deaf ears.
"Normally, attacking a member of the royal family is considered treason, and is punishable by death, however, since you have served a great deal to Equestria, I won't execute you. Instead, for the crime you have committed, I hereby banish you from all of Equestria!" she declared. The heartless ponies of the crowd actually began cheering... cheering at this perversion of justice.
At this point, Spike opened the floodgates and cried. His worst fears have come true: he had just been banished from the country he hatched from; banished from the ponies he called his family and friends, all because society viewed him as a pony-eating monster. Luna was not only dumbfounded, but ashamed that she had a sister that would throw a baby dragon, who she called her son, out all alone into the wild, granted he now knew how to hide his presence, and learned how to survive out there.
"Please reconsider, mother!" Spike begged.
"Why should I?" Celestia asked coldly, causing the drake to drop his jaw. "I find it understandable for you to kill wild animals as a dragon needs to survive, but murdering fellow ponies is not acceptable. I have no obligation to help you, nor do I see any reason to raise you either." She pointed her hoof at him. "You are a danger to Equestria!"
Spike couldn't believe what he was hearing, his benevolent alicorn mother had never talked to him like this before. "But mother..."
"I have nothing more to say to you!"
Tears fell from Starlight's eyes. She couldn't believe that they would accuse Spike of doing such things.
"H-how could you, sister?" Luna began, breaking the cage and placing Spike upon her back. "How could you throw your own son out in the wild? If it wasn't for Spike, Sombra would still be alive, and we'd be in war with Crystal Empire. If it wasn't for Spike, dragons would have remained our enemies. Without Spike's support, Princess Twilight and the other bearers wouldn't have defeated Discord."
"Luna, you must understand, I had no choice," Celestia said trying to restrain her sister.
"That is a lie, sister!" Luna yelled at the pathetic excuse. "You simply chose to ignore the calls of your son and put the desires of those snobbish ponies ahead of his dire needs!"
Luna then turned to the Elements of Harmony. "And as for you, the saviors of Equestria, you have not only abused Spike, but have treated him like your personal pet. I'm embarrassed to have ever considered any of you my friends!"
"We haven't..." Twilight started, but was quickly cut off.
"SILENCE, BEARER OF MAGIC! THE REAL CRIMINALS HERE ARE YOU PONIES!"
"Aunty Luna, please don't! We can talk about this!" Cadance pleaded, but it was no use.
"SHUT UP, CADANCE!" Luna screamed causing the entire room to gasp. "Both you and Shining know damn well that Spike would never cinge a mane on Flurry's head, yet you believe that lying dribble of snot over Spike!" Luna's coat began to blacken, but she took no notice.
"For all I know, you ponies are just a miserable excuse for trash. I made a vow that I would stay by Spike's side, no matter what, and I intend to keep it. As co-ruler, and princess of Equestria, I hereby exile myself from Equestria."
"Princess Luna, you can't do this!" Twilight called. "Who will bring the nights?!"
Luna ignored the young alicorn as her horn began to glow. Her fur had turned to pure black, while her eyes changed to a pair of demonic slits. Her legs had grown longer, as did her wings. Lastly, her cutie mark morphed into a purple haze over a crescent moon. It was no longer Princess Luna, but Nightmare Moon, the demon that hides under foals' beds. Before anypony could even react to her transformation, the dark alicorn casted her spell, causing her and Spike to disappear.
