Chapter 46: Owls Well That Ends Well
It was a couple of days since the crystal Spyro was testing had changed color and he was trying to figure out what was going on with it, how it changed color, and why it kept on sending him to the past every time it cracked. He was looking in the tomes he has to find the answer, looking into each and every tome that had information on crystals and magical objects and found nothing, so he then went to Yen Sid to ask about it, but he wasn't in his study at the time, not able to answer the call. Spyro wanted to get answers badly about what was going on, but had to set it aside as tonight was the night for a meteor shower, something that, according to Twilight, happens only once every one hundred years and there was no way he was going to miss out on this once in a life times spectacle. In the farm house, Spyro was packing a few snacks for tonight, even though Twilight was going to bring some snacks, he wanted to have a few of his own for tonight, so he packed a few apples and a few sweets for tonight, putting them into a picnic basket before heading out, the sun beginning to set as he reached the hill top where they agreed to meet for tonight, everyone already there and were excited.
"Howdy Spyro!" Applejack said. "Ya'll finally coming out of yer room, huh?"
"Hey, no way I was going to miss this." Spyro said as he approached. "Besides, I needed a break from those books. Not getting anywhere trying to figure out what that crystal is."
"Speaking of, from what Twilight told us, it only made ya an observer right?" Applejack asked.
"It was supposed to, yes." Spyro replied, setting the picnic basket down. "But it allowed me to interact with objects, not with ponies."
"Wait, objects?" Rarity asked. "Does that mean when the Sonic Rainboom happened, you smashed the rock?"
"I kinda did, yeah." Spyro replied. "And with Rainbow Dash, she had a lot of clouds in her path she was running into, so I made a trail for her to follow."
"Wait, you did what now?" Rainbow Dash asked, confused by what they were saying.
"And he helped make my first party spectacular!" Pinkie Pie said, coming out of no where. "I mean, he used his Keyblade to conjure some kind of tiny fireworks and made the whole this even better than I had imagined in my head!"
"Yeah and let's not forget the fact you broke the fourth wall again and saw me when I was meant to be invisible." Spyro added. "I think that Sonic Rainboom had something to do with that."
A while later, Twilight came up the side of the hill with Spike, who was pulling a wagon full of what looked like food, drinks, and a picnic blanket, which the baby dragon pulled out of the wagon and unfolded it, placing it on the ground and began unloading all the food and drinks they had brought with them, which Spyro also unpacked some for the goodies he brought, some apples, brownies, even some cookies of his own.
"Man, you are lucky to have a rad assistant like Spike Twilight." Rainbow Dash said, biting into an apple. "Wish I someone who'd do what I tell them."
"Oh, me, me, me!" Scootaloo said excitedly. "I'm willing to do whatever you said."
"Oh yeah, pipsqueak?" Rainbow Dash said. "How about taking out the trash?"
She then tossed the apple core down, which the young filly took eagerly and ran off to find a trash can while the girls came up to the blanket.
"Do we have Spike to thank for this amazing spread?" Rarity asked.
"Wish I can take all the credit." Spike replied. "Spyro brought some food of his own."
"And it looks great." Twilight said, looking to Spyro. "Have you had any luck with that crystal Spyro?"
"Nothing yet." He replied. "I checked about every tome on crystals and magical objects my library has, a got nothing. This might be the first of its kind."
Everyone started to compliment Spike for how good of a job he did in preparing everything and Rarity even gave the little drake a bow tie covered in gems, the little dragon was just eating up all the attention and compliments. A minute later, someone said the meteor shower was starting and everyone rushed forward to watch the meteor shower, watching as streaks of light shot across the night sky, captivated by the spectacle as it went on, even Spyro was in awe at the show, Scootaloo hopping up on his back to get a better look at the show as it went on. While they were watching, Spyro could feeling something through the Force, it felt like anxiety and fear, looking around until he could find the source of it, which it came from Spike as he seemed to be a bit anxious about something he did and was trying to hide it. After the show was over, everyone was around the picnic blanket enjoying the snacks that Spike and Spyro brought, Pinkie tapping her hoof on some of the remaining cookies to launch them into the air and eat them as they fell into her mouth, complimenting on how great they tasted.
Everyone was having a great time enjoying the food, but Spike walked up to Spyro and was nervous about it, sensing how nervous Spike was, Spyro turned to see what he needed.
"Spyro, can I talk to you for a minute?" Spike asked. "Alone?"
"Sure Spike, no problem." Spyro replied, walking with the young dragon away from their friends where they wouldn't hear them. "You seem a little anxious Spike. Is something wrong?"
"Yes, something is wrong." Spike replied, sitting down on the ground. "Before we came out here to watch the meteor shower, Twilight asked me to get an old book on astronomy. But when I was dusting it off, I sneezed and accidentally destroyed it, burning its pages to ash."
"Ah, and you're afraid that if you tell Twilight, she'd hate you." Spyro said, seeing Spike nod his head and look upset. He laid down next to the little dragon and rubbed his head, hoping to comfort him as he was very upset. "It is true that Twilight will be upset, but she would be even more disappointed in you if you don't tell her the truth about what had happened. That's the fastest way to loose a friend's trust."
"But, I don't want her to loose faith in me as her Number One assistant." Spike said, looking at him. "I don't want to loose her faith in me."
"Fears like that always make everyone try and hide the truth." Spyro said. "But eventually the truth will come out, no matter how much you try and hide it. And when it does, that is when she will loose faith in you. Just tell the truth and everything will be ok."
Spike looked at Spyro, wondering if what he says might be right, but before he could say anything, the little dragon yawned and closed his eyes, instantly falling asleep next to Spyro, leaning against him, Spyro just chuckled a bit and used his magic to pick the baby dragon up, putting him on his back as he got up and returned to his friends, who were all getting ready to go back home when they saw him carrying the little dragon on his back.
"Awe, poor little Spike." Rarity said.
"He must have worked himself to the bone." Twilight said.
"Yeah, good thing he didn't fall asleep in the punch bowl." Spyro said. "Cause otherwise the punch would have been 'Spiked.'"
Everyone laughed at the joke he made as they got everything packed up and when everything was packed and ready to go, Spyro walked with Twilight back to the Golden Oak Library while Spike was still on Spyro's back.
"Thanks again for bringing the brownies." Twilight said. "They were amazing."
"Not a problem Twilight." Spyro replied. "I couldn't let Spike bring all the food. Speaking of, I think Spike needs a little assistant of his own so he isn't over worked all the time."
"I think you might be right." Twilight replied, opening the door into the library and taking Spike off his back. "Well, good night Spyro."
"Good night Twilight." Spyro replied. "Guess I'll see you sometime tomorrow."
"Yeah, tomorrow." She replied. "Hey, maybe I can help you find out what that crystal is. You know, a fresh set of eyes to help find what you might have over looked."
"That's a great idea." Spyro replied. "I'll bring everything I have on magic crystals by after I finish my chores for tomorrow."
"Great, see you tomorrow." Twilight said, walking into the library.
Spyro then went back to Sweet Apple Acres and went directly to bed. The next morning, Spyro was up and ready to go, heading out and started to buck some of the apples off the trees and taking the buckets to the barn and after that, he then cleaned up around the house, doing some dusting and sweeping the floors before going back into his room and grabbing his bag and heading out to meet with Twilight at the Golden Oak Library. When he got there however, he saw that all his friends were there for some reason, but as he got closer, he could see that Twilight had a Owl on her back, dark brown on the wings and on the back, but a light brown for the rest of his body.
"Oh what a fantastic fluffalicious feathery little friend!" Pinkie said, excited to meet someone new. "I'm 'hooked!'"
Everyone laughed ay the joke Pinkie made, including Spyro as he got closer to the group.
"Good one Pinkie." Spyro said.
"Thanks Spyro." Pinkie replied. "Can't let you make all the jokes."
"Oh Twilight, he's just wonderful." Fluttershy said.
"He's just wonderful!" Spike said in a disgusted mockingly way. He saw they were looking at them and instantly changed his tune, smiling at the. "I mean, he is quite wonderful. He's quiet... the charmer!"
Spyro could sense Spike had some kind of disdain for the owl, sensing jealousy and hate towards the owl, which he knew he needed to address later with the young dragon.
"And Owlicious is such a star!" Rarity said, levitating a bow to the owl and putting it on him. "I just had to make this bow for him."
"Wait, Rarity, isn't that the same bow you made for Spike?" Spyro asked, sensing Spike was getting angry.
Right as he asked the question, everyone heard something slam above them, finding that the window Spike was in was closed, indicating Spike was the one who slammed it shut.
"What's he all saddle sore about?" Applejack asked.
"He's probably just jealous about Owlicious." Rainbow Dash suggested.
"Maybe he feels threatened by him." Fluttershy suggested. "Fearing you'd replace him with Owlicious."
"Replace Spike?" Twilight asked. "Fat chance. Spike knows he can't be replaced."
"I wouldn't be sure about that Twilight." Spyro replied. "I can sense his jealousy from out here. He does feel threatened that he'll be replaced."
"Come on Spyro, there's no way I'll replace him." Twilight said. "He knows how much he means to me. Now come inside, let's see what we can discover about that crystal."
The two of them left the group and went inside of the library just as Spike was coming down the stairs, mumbling to himself about the owl, but when he saw the owl on Twilights back, he glared at the owl right as Spyro was setting his bag down and pulling out his books. The two of them then began looking through the books to see if they can find anything in the books, which Twilight did ask Spike to find the book on magic crystals that she had in the library, but when he reached the book, Owlicious had already brought it for her, which infuriated Spike. She also asked for a book on the history of magical gemstones, which Owlicious also got from the stack of books Spike was using, making the poor dragon fall to the ground, covered in a pile of books. When he dug himself out, he was glaring daggers at the owl, Spyro sensing the drakes temper was reaching a boiling point.
After a couple of hours of searching, Twilight started writing down some of the crystals names that were similar to what Spyro had, but her quill snapped and instantly, Spike tried to look for another one in the library, but found nothing and went out to look for one. Twilight tried to call out to Spike that he didn't need to look for one, but he was already gone.
"What is with him today?" Twilight asked. "Is he really that scared that I'll replace him?"
"Trust me Twilight, jealousy is a very dangerous feeling." Spyro said, looking through the tomes. "It'll make anyone do crazy things for the ones they love or to make sure they stay up the top as number one."
They kept looking through the books while Spike was away, not having any luck finding the crystal and were about to give up looking and call it a night, but Owlicious flew over and a gust of wind went through the books, annoying Spyro as he was still reading the section the owl had just made him loose, but the next thing he saw changed everything.
"Twilight, I think we found it!" Spyro exclaimed, the lavender unicorn rushing over.
The illustration they saw was the crystal they have right now, the six colored crystal with the exact same cut and edging as what they have.
A Miracle Crystal
It is extremely rare and not very well known. Much like some of the belief some people have for miracles, this crystal has the power to grant a single miracle if there is enough positive energy in the world for it to charge up. How the crystal gets its power is a mystery, but what I do know is this, should it be charged up to it's full power, it will grant a single miracle to whoever's request is selfless and whose heart is filled with light. Other than that, not much else is known about the crystals power or how they are made.
"So it's a miracle?" Twilight asked.
"Seems so." Spyro replied. "Strange. First the glowing Aether Crystal I found with Rarity, and now this Miracle Crystal. Either I'm going to be all blinged out, or someone or something wants me to have these for some unknown event."
"Well, whatever the case, we now know what it is." Twilight said. "Hey, maybe you can give it to Scootaloo and give her the ability to fly! She'd like that."
"Yeah, I think so." Spyro said. "Her wings are under developed, so the miracle can heal them and allow her to fly."
As he said it, they heard the door open and Spike came wobbling it with a chicken feather, looking dirty and beat up, completely exhausted.
"Spike... to the... rescue." Spike said, falling to the floor as he held the feather.
"Oh, thanks Spike, but you really didn't need to do that." Twilight said, levitating a feather Owlicious gave to her. "I was trying to call out to you when you were looking for a quill. Owlicious gave me one of his feathers."
Spike got back up and looked very angry, his temper reaching its peak as he could sense it coming off of Spike, watching as the chicken feather erupted into flames, surprising Spyro.
"That's just great!" Spike said, walking to the stairs while trying not to yell. "Perfect! Sweet! I think I'll just finish up the rest of my chores! Or did Owlicious already do them?"
"Oh no, no." Twilight replied. "There is still quite a lot of chores to do. Maybe you should-"
"That's fine!" Spike said, jumping up on the stairs and sitting down. "Because I can just stay up all night and-"
He didn't get to finish his sentence as he ended up falling asleep onto the steps, lying down as he started to snore away, both Spyro and Twilight looking to each other in worry.
"Oh Spike." Twilight said, looking back to the baby dragon and then to Owlicious. "He'll come around to accepting you. He's usually a nice little guy."
"Yeah, very nice indeed." Spyro replied, wrapping his wing around Twilight. "Anyway, the night is still young. Maybe we can go out and look at the stars tonight, just the two of us."
"That would be lovely Spyro." Twilight said, the two hugging. "I just need to get my Astronomical Astronomers Almanac to all things Astronomy."
Spyro looked at Twilight with a dumbfounded look, completely lost at what she just said and then looked to the owl, trying to figure out what she was saying before looking back to her.
"You know somebody probably lost their mind when they first saw that in the script." Spyro said. "That was a full tongue twister you just said there."
The lavender mare giggled before the two of them walked out into the night, sitting down on the highest hill they could find and looking through her telescope to see some of the stars. They had also brought with them a picnic basket and were eating some fruits and sandwiches they had brought with them, having a great time as they shared stories about their past and laughing at all the silly things that had happened to them. In the end, the two were lying on the blanket together, watching the night sky as they leaned int each other, laying their heads down as they both drifted off to sleep together.
"Why that little...!" Twilight said, sounding absolutely furious, waking Spyro up. "He said someone had already checked this book out!"
"What happened!?" Spyro said, getting up immediately. "Did something happen? Are you ok?"
"I'm fine, but this isn't!" Twilight said, holding the book up. "This is the Astronomical Astronomers Almanac to all things Astronomy and it's destroyed! Spike said it was missing!"
"Oh boy." Spyro said, now realizing this was the book Spike told me he accidentally destroyed. "It's ok Twilight, I'm sure it was an accident. I can use the Aether and-"
"Don't bother Spyro." Twilight said, glaring at the library where Spike was. "I have a few words to say to the little liar."
She walked down from the hill towards the Golden Oak Library, leaving Spyro to pick everything up and run after her as she marched into the library. Still on the stair case, Spike was sleeping away, but she marched up to the steps where he was asleep, slamming the ruined book onto the step and waking him up.
"Spike, what is this?" She asked, trying not to shout at him, but in a stern, angry voice. "You said this book was missing, but Owlicious found it right where it was, but like this. Care to explain? How did it get this way?"
"Well, um..." Spike said, avoiding eye contact with Twilight while fiddling with his hands. "You see... I... I just didn't want to disappoint you and... have you ever seen a dragon sneeze?"
"I've seen a dragon lie!" Twilight exclaimed, disappointed in her assistant. "I'm very disappointed in you Spike. You should have come and told me the truth instead of lying."
She then turned around and walked out, leaving a very disappointed Spike alone on the stairs as Owlicious was on his rest stand. Spyro wanted to comfort the sad dragon, but he just went after Twilight so he could try and help her calm down.
"I know how you feel Twilight." Spyro said. "I too don't like liars. But he's still and thought you'd be mad at him if he told you the truth."
"Well I'm more disappointed in him for not coming to me and telling me what he did." Twilight said, still mad at Spike. "I mean, I know it was an accident, but lying to me that someone already checked it out, I can't forgive that."
The two of them walked around for a little while, Spyro taking her to the park to help her to calm down until Owlicious came by and landed on Twilight's back, the two of them enjoying their time together as they walked in the park and then to the river. He could still sense that Twilight was upset with Spike, but didn't want to push her to immediately forgiving him, deciding to just wrap his wing around her again and pull her in, the mare leaning her head onto his shoulder as he leaned his over her head as they watched the fish swim by, allowing peace and quiet to do it's thing. After a while, the two of them headed back so he could get his books back, but when they arrived, they saw the entire library was a complete mess, red footprints that lead up the stairs, feathers everywhere and what looked to be a toy mouse on the floor, but at the heart of it all, Spike was throwing feathers everywhere from a pillow he tore open, wearing what looked like a magicians cape and hat with a mustache to try and disguise himself, which he failed miserably at that. When he turned around, he saw the two of them standing at the front door of the library, taken off guard as he quickly rushed out and came back out of his disguise and cleaned his feet.
"That pooor little field mouse." Spike said, trying to sound convincing as he pointed to the toy mouse. "Torn to pieces. It must have been Owlicious! What a terrible, terrible bird. He must be punished!"
Spyro just facepalmed, not believing a word Spike said as he was just caught red handed trying to frame Owlicious after he made a mess of the place just to try and frame the owl.
"Spike, Owlicious was with us the whole time." Spyro said. "Not only that, but those foot steps are no where close to what an owls looks like, this red sauce smells too sweet to be real blood, smells more like ketchup, that toy mouse is no where close to looking like a field mouse, and those feathers are from the pillow you got rid of, not Owlicious's feathers."
"Honestly Spike, I don't know what is more upsetting to me." Twilight said. "That you deliberately tried to frame Owlicious for something he didn't do, or the fact that you thought this pathetic attempt to convince me would work." She then walked past Spike, picking up Spyro's books and putting them back in his bag, passing it to him. "Honestly Spike, your jealousy has gotten the best of you. I am truly disappointed in you. this is not the Spike I know and love. This not my Number one assistant."
With that, she walked out of the room, leaving Spyro and Spike alone in the room. Spike looked to Spyro for some support, but he just shook his head, also disappointed in Spike's behavior as he walked after Twilight, closing the door behind him as the two of them walked together.
"Honestly, the nerve of that dragon." Twilight said, furious with her assistant. "I can't believe he tried to trick me like that and tried to blame Owlicious for something he didn't even do."
"I have to agree with you Twi." Spyro said. "Spike believes Owlicious set him up to fall, but in reality, he set himself up to fail."
The two of them spent the day looking into stores to find a replacement book for the one Spike accidentally burned, not having much luck until they found the one they needed, getting it and started to return to to the Library, stopping at a few other stores and getting some things they needed from more quills and ink all the way to a few personal items for the Gala in a few weeks, the two of them letting the day go by as they walked through town. As night approached, Spyro and Twilight returned to the library, laughing and happy as they entered the library.
"Spike, we're back!" Twilight called out, setting some bags down, but noticed there wasn't an answer. "Spike? Spike are you here?"
"That's odd." Spyro said, looking around the room. "The place is clean, but I don't see Spike."
"Maybe he's in the bedroom thinking about what he's done?" Twilight suggested. "I'll go and check."
She then walked up the stairs as Owlicious got off her back and landed on the table in the middle of the room, hooting at him to come over, but Spyro just looked at some of the books, only paying attention to Owlicious when he hooted loudly and got his attention. He wondered what the owl wanted from him, but then noticed a piece of paper next to him, picking up the paper to see what was written, but what he read shocked him as his eyes widened as he kept reading, feeling his blood freeze.
"Spike!" Twilight screamed, running down the stairs and to Spyro. "Spyro, Spike isn't in the bedroom!"
"I know." Spyro said. "You might want to read this."
Twilight took the note from Spyro, wondering what he meant and read what was on it.
'Twilight,
I'm sorry if I disappointed you. You were right, I allowed my jealousy to get the better of me and now because of it, you don't love me anymore. So, I'm leaving and going somewhere else, far away where you won't see me again. Guess you now have a new number one assistant and I hope you guys the best of luck. Good bye forever.
Love,
Spike.'
"Oh Spike." She said, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Why would he think I don't love him anymore?"
"Because he thought you were replacing him." Spyro answered. "Thought you cared more about Owlicious than him."
"But that's not true." Twilight said, panic taking over as she started to take shallow breaths. "I love Spike with all my heart. He's like my little brother, you can't replace that. We need to find him."
"And we will." Spyro said, walking up and hugging her. "We will, I promise you that. Right now, we need to remain calm."
Owlicious then hooted, getting their attention and hopped down form the table, hopping a few feet before stopping, obviously finding something, so the two of them walked over to see what he found and saw a faint trail of ketchup leading out of the tree house. Spyro and Twilight immediately ran out and found the trail again, still very faint as it was still dark, but still enough for them to follow.
"Seems Spike didn't do a good job of cleaning his feet." Spyro said, giving them hope. "We can follow his trail all the way to him."
"Then let's go!" Twilight said, rushing forward.
Both she and Spike ran out of town, following the trail of ketchup that Spike was leaving behind, but the trail then started to fade, the puddles of red fading as it became harder and harder to track, stopping just as the trail got impossible to see. Before he could say a thing or look for another way to track him, Owlicious flew past him and flew forward, stopping to wait for them so he could lead them to Spike, remembering that Owls are nocturnal and could see in the darkness. As the owl flew forward, following the trail he can see as Spyro and Twilight ran after him, following him as he flew into the Everfree, following the trail as it went deeper and deeper into the forest.
"Why would Spike come into the Everfree forest in the first place?" Twilight asked, fearing the worst for her assistant. "Why would he come here?"
"Who cares about that." Spyro said. "Right now, we need to find him before something or someone else does."
"But, who would find him before we do?" Twilight asked, dreading his answer.
"Maleficent." Spyro replied, the color draining from Twilights face.
Deep in the forest, Spike was walking along the dirt road with a small bag on a stick, depressed and unhappy as he felt unloved by the one pony he felt like a sister to him. As he walked, he didn't notice that a Shadow was following him, but it didn't attack as it just followed him, keeping it's distance until it leapt into the nearby bushes, making them rustle and making Spike turn around to see what it was, finding nothing there, so he didn't think about it, but near the bushes, Maleficent was watching the little dragon with intrigue.
"What a curious thing." She said, Spike turning to face her. "A little dragon all alone in the forest? At this hour?"
"Do I know you?" Spike asked.
"You don't." She replied. "But you seem lost and unhappy."
"I am alone." Spike replied. "My friend, Twilight Sparkle, hates me. I'm cold, hungry, and very tired. I have no where to go. Could it get any worse?" A second later, it started to storm and then rain upon him, making him regret asking. "Me and my big mouth."
"Well, we can't let you catch cold now can we?" Maleficent asked. "There is a cave nearby that should shelter you for a while. I will send a few of my friends to come and get you later, bring you some food and find some more of your kind to come and take you away from this place."
"You mean it?" He asked. "Thanks. Now, which way is it?"
"Stay on this path and you'll find it in the side of a mountain." She replied. "You couldn't miss it if you wanted to."
"Awesome!" Spike said, running towards the mountain. "Thanks again."
Spike then ran in the direction that Maleficent put him in, smiling as he ran to the cave, but Maleficent herself just smiled to herself, walking back into the forest as multiple Shadows and Soldiers appeared out of voids, waiting to destroy the baby dragon at their mistresses orders. Back with Spyro and Twilight, they were rushing through the forest, Twilight running low on breath as they ran, but they kept going, following Owlicious through the forest until they heard something, distant, but he could hear it. Spyro skidded to a halt, Twilight stopping with him and catching her breath, but Spyro's ears were straight up, spinning around like a radar as he tried to pinpoint where it was coming from and to determine who it belonged to, closing his eyes as he listened, which strengthened his sense of sound and found him, distant, but still close enough. He listened closely to the voice and determined who it belonged to; Spike.
"He's close." Spyro said, opening his eyes. "He's in trouble!"
Before Twilight could ask anything, Spyro took off into the air, following Owlicious in the air while Twilight tried to follow them from the ground, keeping an eyes on them while they flew so they wouldn't escape her sight, but Spyro kept up with the owl as they both were flying as fast as they could, reaching a cave and went in, finding a massive green dragon in the cave with Spike, cornering him and was ready to barbecue him.
"Pyro Barrage!" Spyro shouted.
The dragon looked up after hearing him shout, who released multiple fireballs out of thin air, slamming him into his side and throwing him off, into a pile of crystals and grunting from the impact. Spike looked up and saw it was Spyro with Owlicious, flying around and using his powers to keep the dragon down, releasing a large cloud of ice that froze him and allowed Spike the chance to run out of the cave, finding Twilight there and waiting for him. As the dragon got up, he saw Spyro and lunged for him, but the hybrid was too quick, dodging his bite attack and then his tail swing, blocking it and grabbing him, swinging him around and smashing him into the wall, disorienting him and scaring him at the same time, wondering how a pony/dragon hybrid was strong enough to swing a fully grown dragon. Before he could do anything else, he heard Twilight scream and looked away for a second, distracting him long enough to allow the dragon to slap him with his tail into the ground and release a breath of fire into him, hoping to roast him, smiling when he thought he was done.
"Toasty." Spyro said.
He then surrounded himself in earth and an energy teacher shot out, attaching itself to the ceiling and swung himself towards the massive green dragon, smashing him in the heard and knocking him out cold. He then flew out and saw that Twilight was being swarmed by Shadows and Soldiers, all surrounding them as they kept closer, getting ready to attack, but he rushed forward, diving into the middle of the circle as he slammed into the ground, a wave of the Force expanding outward, pushing everything but Twilight and Spike away and turning them into smoke as many of slammed into trees, releasing pink hearts and turning into smoke. The two ponies then started to run away as more Shadows and Soldiers appeared in front of them, which Spyro called his Keyblade and leapt towards the Heartless, slashing them with a single strike, clearing the way to help them escape. They then managed to get out of the forest, thanks to Owlicious who guided them through the forest and without being harmed, the four of them going to a nearby tree where Twilight let Spike get off her back.
"Spike, we were so worried about you." Twilight said. "I was so worried about you! What were you thinking running away like that?"
"I thought you didn't need me anymore." Spike replied. "I thought you didn't love me anymore."
"Oh Spike, that isn't true." Twilight replied. "Sure, I was disappointed in you, but you're my number one assistant, and my friend. No matter what, you always will be. It's just I need some help with my studies at night. I cannot ask you to help me during the night, after all, you're a baby dragon and you need your sleep. Owlicious is an owl, they're nocturnal and can stay up during the night. I asked him to help me, not to replace you." She closed her eyes as a tear rolled down her face, opening them to see the joy in them. "No one can replace you. Even when you're being a jealous numb skull."
She rubbed Spikes head, which seemed to make Spike happy, which he then rushed forward and hugged Twilight and she hugged him back, the two happy that everyone was safe.
"I'm sorry Twilight." Spike said. "I shouldn't have been so jealous of Owlicious."
"And I'm sorry too, Spike." Twilight replied. "I should have been a bit more sensitive about your feelings and how you felt."
After which, Spike then walked up to the tree and looked up at Owlicious, smiling at him.
"And I'm sorry to you as well Owlicious." Spike said. "Now I know you weren't out to replace me, but wanted to help me. I shouldn't have been so jealous of you. Do you forgive me?"
The owl hooted, which sounded like 'who' and it was messing with Spike, the baby dragon confused about what to do, but the two ponies shrugged, laughing at the confusion from the baby dragon.
"Well isn't this positively revolting." Maleficent said, Spyro turning to look at her. "I half expected you to come out of that alive."
"Yeah, I get that a lot." Spyro said, moving in front of his friends. "And I'm guessing you sent those Heartless after Twilight and Spike?"
"Honestly, I only sent them after the dragon." Maleficent replied, Spike's skin crawling. "But the unicorn, her arrival was a surprise. A friend of the Prince of Light and Darkness. Her death would harm you more than any physical pain could."
"You know, Pete said something kind of similar when I first arrived." Spyro said, calling his Keyblade. "Didn't end so well for him. I think I gave him PTSD."
"That imbecile is too weak." She said. "And to remedy this, I have something stronger to take care of you."
A moment later, a massive metallic torso fell from the sky followed by a set of iron feet and gauntlets then a healed, the emblem of the Heartless in its chest.
"A Guard Armor?" Spyro asked, looking insulted. "Really? A Guard Armor? That's the best you got to face me? Seems you are desperate."
"SILENCE!" She shouted, firing a bolt of green lightning. It hit him in the chest and sent him flying into the tree, disorienting him and freaking Twilight out. "You will not dare mock me again. For I, The MIstress of all Evil, shall claim this world and all power!"
Spyro was a little sore, but did manage to get up, only to be slashed by the Guard Armor and thrown far away, leaving the pony and baby dragon defenseless. Twilight's mind was telling her to run, but her limbs were frozen to the ground, starring at the massive metal monster as it raised it's hand to deliver a fatal blow to her, preparing herself for her end.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Spike shouted.
A moment later, Twilight was surrounded by a golden dome of light, blocking the hit and staggering the armor, falling apart for a moment and confusing Maleficent as to what she was doing. A moment later, the same dome then surrounded Spike and then both shattered and revealed the lavender colored unicorn, but also a purple dragon with green spikes going across his back, flying to the sky as another purple dragon shot up, the two other ethereal forms circling the purple dragon as they collided, creating a single purple light that blinded Maleficent. When the light died down, she looked up and was shocked by what she saw, which was Spyro, but he was more dragon than hybrid with his forelegs being dragon legs, his mane was as long as Twilights, but this time it was gold in the center, pink on both sides of it, then purple, followed by green. On his jacket it was purple, but this time with a green flame pattern on it and the membrane between his wings was green instead of orange, standing up as he called his Keyblades, the one from Twilight in his right, but a new one in his left.
The stem of the blade and the teeth was a singular green fire with a gem in the center of the tip, the circular guard looked to be a dragon head with Spikes head in the center of the guard that connects it to the blade. The keychain looked to be a gemstone with two swirling flames surrounding it. A moment later, the Ultima blade appearing above him, his magic taking hold of its handle. When his eyes opened, it showed them to be tri-colored again with Royal Purple, Dark purple, and green as he took a battle stance, ready for the Guard Armor as it got back up.
"Well, I underestimated you." Maleficent said. "I thought these drives are only limited to your herd."
"There is no limit to what I can do." Spyro replied, his, Twilight Sparkles, and Spikes voice fused as one. "As long as they are my friends, anything is possible."
He then leapt forward, spreading his wings out as he flew towards the Guard Armor, which used it's gauntlets to hit him, but instead, they bounced off of a barrier he summoned and staggered the gauntlets, taking the chance and started to slash at the torso, doing some damage as the gauntlets started to move again, flying at him, but he dodged the attack and struck the first gauntlet, severely damaging it as is exploded into green healing orbs while the second turned around to avenge the first. However, when it got close, Spyro just moved to his left, dodging the attach while allowing the gauntlet to hit the torso instead, staggering the massive being as he dropped to the ground, which the feet started to stomp towards him, kicking and smashing, but he just wove through the feet, striking them and blocking the attacks to make stagger the boots. When the gauntlet got free from the torso, it flew down to punch him, but Spyro just deflected that attack and launched a massive fireball at the gauntlet, destroying it while reaching out with the Force and crushing the feet, and destroying its limbs.
Without it's limbs, most would think it would be helpless, but the torso instead started to spin quickly and shoot towards it's foe, but Spyro just leapt over the attacker and landed on the ground, slowing down time around him and he pointed Spike's Keyblade at the Torso, releasing green flames that went straight through the massive gap in it's chest, lighting the torso on fire as the flames started to damage it's weak point. After a moment, a massive pink heart appeared above it;s head as it floated away, the armor falling as it faded from existence, defeated. Maleficent was disappointed that her minion had failed, but knew the time would come when Spyro would fall, so without waiting for him to walk up to her, Maleficent opened a corridor to darkness and walked through, leaving Spyro behind as he separated back into three individual beings.
"Wow, so that's how it feels." Spike said, Spyro's eyes turning green. "I feel so powerful."
"Don't let that power go to your head Spike." Spyro said, his eyes turning royal purple. "When one becomes drunk with power, they will want more."
"Then why aren't you drunk with it?" Spike asked.
"Because I know my limits." Spyro replied. "The body does have its limits. If it can't take on anymore power, they either evolve and allow themselves to change, or they burn up and fade from existence. It all depends on how strong you are and how strong your heart is."
As he said it, the two of them defused, separating back to their regular forms, Spike feeling relief as he defused.
"That feels better." Spike said. "But there is one thing that's bothering me. How'd you guys find me in the first place?"
"It was your ketchup covered feet that lead us." Twilight replied, Spike looking at his feet. "Owlicious found them and we followed them all the way to the cave."
"Oh yeah, the ketchup." Spike said, chuckling a bit. "It looked pretty real though didn't it?"
"Not even close." Spyro replied, Spike laughing nervously. "Come on little guy, let's get you home. You had an eventful night tonight."
Spyro picked him up and the two ponies walked back to Ponyville, the little dragon yawning as he fell asleep on Spyro's back, snoring away as they walked. When they got back to the Golden Oak Library, Spyro took Spike up the stairs and to the bedroom while Spyro waited down stairs for a little bit before Twilight came down stairs, smiling.
"Spike's fast asleep." Twilight said. "I'd like to thank you again for helping to find Spike."
"Hey, if you want to thank someone, thank Owlicious." Spyro replied. "He's the one who lead us to Spike. All I did was mop the floor with some Heartless."
"Still, you helped out." Twilight said. "And I can't thank you enough."
Without warning, Twilight walked up and kissed Spyro, catching him off guard as the lavender unicorn was he one to kiss him on the lips, but didn't pull away, the two closing their eyes as they kissed, only stopping to smile at one another, going outside onto the outside porch and looking to the night sky again, enjoying the moment of peace and happiness.