Image imported from derpibooru 
Original Description:
 
Princess Luna has often visited Spike’s dreams. And she can see he’s a troubled dragon deep inside. He doesn’t really want to hurt anyone. Still … sometimes he he has fantasies about destroying the world – but without causing any permanent death or injury. In every dream he’s had about destroying Equestria (along with the Dragonlands), he has felt remorseful afterward. After reducing Equestria to burning rubble, all he really wants is to be loved and validated.
 
When Spike plays with his toys, he has sometimes shown similar behavior. He has his own little toy ponies – including toy versions of the Mane 6. He made them all by himself. Spike loves to hug his little toys, and brush and care for them. But sometimes he deliberately stomps on them or throws them. Every time he does this, he can’t help but get images of dead bodies. At that point, he comes to the aid of his toy victims, and he repairs them to make them feel good as new.
 
The Mane 6 have noticed some of this before. Usually, they think he’s just having good fun. But sometimes they have gotten slightly worried – because Spike can really get into character when pretending to be a ferocious monster.
 
This week, the Mane 6 were visiting Manehattan, enjoying a fancy vacation. While they were away, Spike was to maintain their homes – and help substitute for Twilight in carrying out her lists of royal duties. Spike was getting sick of being left behind. How could Twilight love him so much – yet make him feel like a second-class friend?
 
One night, Luna invited Spike to pull a massive Nightmare Night prank. Nightmare Night was one month ago to the date – but that would only make the prank more surprising! Spike was nervous about becoming a giant monster, but Luna assured him it would be just like dreaming. Everything would be magically restored – thanks to the magic of friendship!
 
The magic of friendship flows inside of Spike. And ever since he helped discover the Dragon Elements of Harmony, he has an Element that resonates with Rainbow Dash’s, His Element stands for Loyalty & Acceptance. With Luna’s aid, he can hijack the Mane 6’s Elements – turning their Elements against them!
 
Luna had Spike start with Ponyville. By now, many of the villagers were preparing for bed. Luna helped Spike grow to the size of a house.
 
At first, Spike was shy about breaking things and terrorizing his neighbors. But once he was convinced it was no worse than playing with toys, he let his bottled-up rage burst out. When he played with his toys, he could truly get into character. Now he was doing the same thing for real!
 
Spike started kicking through houses, kicking down walls and knocking off roofs. He started smashing things with his tailspade. Soon he was big enough to smash houses by jumping on them! By now, the whole town was screaming and panicking.
 
Spike broke into Sugarcube Corner and gobbled up all the treats – doing the same with the other eateries. Spike continued to grow. Finally, he was flattening houses and shops with his feet!
 
Unicorns and earth ponies ran as fast as they could. Some unicorns managed to teleport out of the scene. But many ponies couldn’t escape Spike’s feet. Those who couldn’t escape got flattened or buried in the remains of buildings. Still, there was no major injury – much like in some silly cartoons. Most pegasi managed to escape, but just barely.
 
Before Spike knew it, the entire town was right at his feet. He could now crush all the remains of Ponyville with just one stomp – along some of the nearby countryside! And he did!
 
Spike walked a few steps away. He looked back, amazed by his work. He could hardly believe that his own foot left such a big crater! And every step he was taking was making another great footprint! For a moment, he was a little unnerved. Then he started to laugh.
 
The whole time, Luna was flying above, watching over Spike like a fairy godmother. “Good work, my big dragon!” encouraged Luna. “Now let’s go to Canterlot – and cancel those royal duties!”
 
Spike gave a playful roar, letting out a great ball of fire. He marched toward Canterlot Mountain. As he walked, he crushed village after village around his path. Little ponies were left dazed and confused, but there was hardly any injury.
 
Now Spike was just a few steps away from Canterlot Mountain. For a moment, he lost sight of the mountain – it was as if it had disappeared! Spike paused and looked around. Then he looked down – and thought he saw the mountain far below.
 
Spike could hardly believe it. He could have sworn that he was flying high in the sky. But, no – he was really that big! Canterlot Mountain was now a big toy to him – barely reaching above his waist!
 
Spike’s waist was about 100 stories above the ground. He was about 400 stories tall – not including his head spikes. In other words, he was nearly a mile tall!
 
Spike got on his hands and knees. He looked toward the city of Canterlot. To his amazement, it could fit inside his hand!
 
Spike grabbed the little city. As he tore it off the mountain, it crumbled a little in his hands. As he held Canterlot in his hand, he looked down playfully as the citizens screamed and panicked. Many of the pegasi managed to fly off. But the earth ponies were trapped – along with most unicorns (most weren’t that great at teleporting or levitating long distances).
 
Spike paused for a minute, trying to take it all in. A short time ago, Canterlot felt like a great big city to him. Before he had wings, it was easy for him to get lost in the maze of streets. He used to be a lost little dragon. But now the fate of Canterlot was literally in his hands!
 
Spike started to squeeze the ground that Canterlot rested on. Slowly, the city started to crumble. Spike laughed a little menacingly.
 
“Now all of Equestria will bow to me!” declared Spike – “not that puny unicorn with wings! Today, I conquer Equestria! Tomorrow, I conquer the Dragonlands!” Spike made a playfully sinister laugh.
 
Lightning bolts came down, as if he were summoning the weather to give him a light show. Actually, it was Luna playing with some of the clouds. She was also smiling playfully, enjoying herself as much as Spike was.
 
Spike continued to squeeze Canterlot more and more. The ponies who couldn’t escape were now ducking and covering. Finally, all that was left was the crumbled-up remains in his fist … some of which were falling to the ground below.
 
“Good work, Spike!” encouraged Luna. “Now it’s time for some really big fun! Let’s go to the east coast!”
 
Spike placed the remains of Canterlot back on the ledge where the city used to sit. “That was so much fun – destroying the capital of your kingdom! If everything goes right, I’ll get to do it again!”
 
“For our first city,” said Luna – “let’s destroy Baltimare!”
 
“Let’s go!” exclaimed Spike. As he turned around, his tailspade smashed into Canterlot Mountain. The mountain collapsed, and the remains of Canterlot fell to the ground below.
 
As much as Spike loved stomping his way from place to place, it was getting a little boring. Stomping one town was about the same as stomping another. Moreover, Spike didn’t want the ponies in the big cities starting to evacuate before he could arrive. It was time to use his wings – and see how high a giant like him could fly!
 
Many miles above Equestria, it felt a little like being in space. From this high up, Spike could see the east coast – including Baltimare, Fillydelphia, and Manehattan. And the little ponies would not realize how big he truly was … until it was too late!
 
Within a few minutes, Spike was flying near Baltimare. He dropped down and landed softly on the ground. Well … it was a soft landing for him. Not so much for the outskirts of Baltimare. Already, Spike had left two more craters the shape of his feet.
 
Spike’s feet were about 80 stories long – destroying multiple blocks of houses with just one stomp. Spike strolled through the suburbs of Baltimare. The houses were like a big crunchy carpet – with some getting caught between his toes!
 
Hundreds of thousands of ponies were caught off guard. They screamed and panicked and tried to escape. Unfortunately, many were flattened by Spike’s feet. Again, there were no major injuries – it was like some silly cartoons.
 
Spike headed for downtown. The skyline of Baltimare was like a bunch of little toys. He could crush several 20-story buildings with one stomp. A 50-story building just barely reached his bottom. Within a minute, Spike was done leveling downtown Baltimare – except for the tallest few buildings, which he was saving for last.
 
Leaving downtown, Spike continued to stomp on the various urban areas and suburbs. As he did so, he started to grow again. Finally, he reached 1000 stories in height – about 2 miles tall (not including the head spikes)! Now 50-story buildings could barely reach his ankles. A 100-story building could hardly reach his knees!
 
After flattening most of the city and suburbs, Spike returned to what remained of downtown. With a menacing grin, Spike raised his foot above the remaining big skyscrapers.
 
With a menacing laugh, Spike said, “Your great little city is ground to dust – all for a few moments of fun! How pathetic.”
 
Spike’s foot crashed down on the big skyscrapers. The impact caused many surrounding buildings to collapse. With that last stomp, the heart of the city was well and truly destroyed.
 
“I’m amazed, Spike!” praised Luna. “I think you’ve only started to find your true powers! Now let’s destroy Fillydelphia!”
 
Jumping back into the sky, Spike hovered several miles above. He spotted Fillydelphia. In less than a minute, he landed in the suburbs of this big city. Fillydelphia was much bigger than Baltimare. But because of how much Spike had grown, it seemed like the same amount of area to him.
 
With one foot, Spike could crush many city blocks. Many houses collapsed simply from the impact – even from a thousand or 2000 feet away. Many houses got caught between his toes, crumbling like dirt. Some houses got destroyed simply from giant bits of flying debris.
 
For earth ponies who were anywhere near Spike’s path, there was no escape. If Spike’s feet didn’t get them, then the earthquakes and flying debris surely would. Most unicorns couldn’t teleport very far. Many pegasi did not have enough time to react – Spike’s feet were coming too fast, and many were right in his path!
 
Fillydelphia had more giant skyscrapers than Baltimare. But Spike was now so big that this downtown felt at least as pathetic as that of Baltimare. To him, the large concentration of tall buildings was like a diorama that Twilight might make for a school project. It was like a patch of crunchy grass.
 
Again, Spike saved the very biggest buildings for last. As he crushed thousands more houses and businesses, he grew yet again. Finally, he was 2000 stories tall – about 4 miles tall! He was so big – small skyscrapers could easily get caught between his toes!
 
The ground started to crumble under his feet. Entire city blocks got plowed up simply by his claws scratching the ground. The impacts of Spike’s stomps now sent lots of buildings flying, along with the ground they stood on! Many buildings within a few thousand feet crumbled simply from the earthquakes.
 
From his perspective, Spike could see Manehattan in the far distance. Now that he could cover miles of ground in a few steps, it was going to be a pleasant stroll walking on over.
 
Spike noticed the tallest building in the city. The upper part of that building contained one of the fanciest hotels … and he was not invited. For a while, Spike had forgotten about the Mane 6 – because he was so busy having fun with his newfound powers. Now it all came back to him – the reason he wanted to terrorize Equestria in the first place.
 
Spike was no longer smiling. Feeling like a lost little dragon in a pony world … feeling no place where he completely belonged … feeling that he was always a second-class friend, with very few exceptions – the bad memories were coming back like a tsunami. Feeling a great and terrible rage, he was ready to unleash his years of suppressed anger once and for all.
 
Spike let out another great roar – with an enormous ball of fire. This ball of fire burned up the clouds for miles around.
 
“I love you, my dear princess,” said Spike to himself. “But you need to know what it’s like to be small like me! Maybe then you’ll appreciate how much I care.”
 
Spike was stomping his way toward Manehattan. As his feet crashed down, the ground crumbled underneath. The impacts of his feet were causing great earthquakes – causing many buildings to crumble despite being thousands of feet away. This included some skyscrapers!
 
Again, even when Spike’s claws merely scratched the ground, entire city blocks got plowed up. The impacts of his stomps sent lots of buildings flying, along with the ground they stood on. As the ground crumbled, parts of it started cracking open. As some of the ground broke apart, some unfortunate buildings and ponies found themselves falling through.
 
Growling with rage, Spike destroyed neighborhood after neighborhood – town after town. Many of these places were destroyed with just one stomp – not just from being crushed by his foot but also from the impact itself. As Spike kept stomping, he kept growing again.
 
Before he knew it, he was over 4000 stories high – over 8 miles tall! Houses were like specks of dirt, crumbling between his toes and under the soles of his feet. His very toes were nearly 200 stories long – far bigger than any building! Great big skyscrapers were now like bits of gravel to him.
 
The Mane 6 were staying in a fancy hotel suite. It was near the top floor of the tallest building in Equestria. They were preparing for a fun night of partying. Just then, Rarity started to feel an earthquake. No one else could at first … but soon the others could hear the room vibrating. Things started to fall off the shelves.
 
The six girls looked outside. They were shocked by what they saw – they thought it must be a dream. Was Spike really as big as they thought?! And had he become a giant greedy monster once more?!
 
Twilight teleported her friends to the top of the great skyscraper containing the hotel. When the Mane 6 tried to account for everyone, they soon realized that two of the girls were missing – Pinkie Pie and Applejack! Where could they be!
 
In her panic, Pinkie Pie had rushed down the elevators and run out into the streets. Applejack was running after her, trying to catch her so that Twilight could help her to safety.
 
Spike was getting close to downtown. With every stomp, skyscrapers crumbled around him. As he crushed thousands of houses, businesses, and other buildings, he roared with great anger, and he blew great fireballs into the air.
 
As big buildings collapsed, they started to burst into flame, as electrical mains and gas lines broke. Some skyscrapers got caught between Spike’s toes. As they crumbled between his toes, massive pieces of debris started falling from thousands of feet above. It was like a hailstorm of mythical proportions!
 
Manehattan had multiple concentrations of skyscrapers. Officially, “downtown” referred to the most historical business center – popularly considered the most iconic part of the city. Just then, Spike got on his hands and knees (lots more buildings crunching as he did so). With one hand, he scooped up “Unicorn District”, one of the “outer downtowns”.
 
With a menacing smile, Spike looked down at Unicorn District. He said, “All these great big buildings you ponies are proud of … the fate of your city is literally in my hands! And with you in my hands, everypony can get a proper sense of scale – of how big I truly am!”
 
Spike stood back up and resumed his normal rampage. He returned to roaring with rage.
 
Out on the streets, ponies screamed, fearing for their precious lives. Pegasi flew off as fast as they could. Unicorns tried their best to teleport. Some earth ponies could run as fast as the fastest trains.
 
In the end, however, most ponies without wings seemed to be out of luck. Whether they were near Spike’s path or not, there seemed to be no escape from the destruction. If his feet didn’t fall on them, the collapsing buildings likely would – or the flying and falling debris. If they were within a few miles of him, it was probably too late to escape their apparent doom. Many pegasi were also trapped – especially since a slow stroll for Spike was like Rainbow Dash at some of her fastest speeds.
 
Indeed, Rainbow Dash was one of few who could keep up with a dragon walking at least a mile per second.
 
Ponies screamed, “Celestia help us!” Then some of them noticed Luna flying near Spike – with a big smile on her own face. Was this the work of Nightmare Moon?! Had Luna gone bad again?
 
Some ponies cried, “What have we done to deserve this?!”
 
“Please don’t hurt us!” some cried.
 
One cried, “Are we just worthless bugs … good for nothing but to be crushed for a dragon’s moment of pleasure?! Do our feelings not matter?”
 
All the Mane 6 were terrified by what they saw. It also made them sad. What happened to their kindhearted little dragon?
 
Twilight wasn’t afraid for herself so much as for Spike. She perceived that he must be hurting deep inside. She didn’t feel that Spike’s destruction was entirely his fault – surely there’s some dark magic possessing him, she thought.
 
All that Twilight wanted was for Spike to talk to her. She just wanted to make him happy and to make him feel loved. Little did she know that Spike loved her as deeply as ever. Little did she know that Luna had given him a safe way to destroy Equestria to his heart’s content. Little did she know that Spike was trying to overcome his anger – and to prove that his kindness is not a sign of weakness.
 
On the outside, the giant angry Spike seemed cruel and unforgiving. In reality, he just wanted some real sense of justice, so that it would be much easier to let the past be the past. He knew he would be far happier once he could forgive those who made him feel small.
 
To see Spike so angry was a real humbling moment for Rainbow Dash. She had to throw out her pride and ask some hard questions about who she really was. She didn’t care much if Spike had some terrible punishment for her. All she wanted now was for Spike to stop taking his anger out on ponies who’d had nothing to do with him.
 
Applejack was having similar feelings. She recalled at least one moment where she was cruel to Spike – the time she let him fall into an icy lake while he was sleeping. Now it seemed that the chickens had come home to roost … and that she had helped seal Equestria’s fate.
 
Like Twilight, Rarity and Fluttershy were thinking mainly about Spike. They weren’t scared as much as they were sad. They were more afraid for Spike than they were for anyone else. They really hoped that their sweet little dragon had not gone bad – that this was just some bad magic that was possessing him.
 
Pinkie Pie didn’t know if she should be afraid or amused. She really hoped that this was just one of Luna’s pranks – since it seemed that Luna was encouraging Spike.
 
With each footstep, most of the skyscrapers were starting to crumble before Spike could step on them. By the time Spike arrived downtown, most of it was already collapsing and starting to catch fire. The piece of city he was holding in his hand was almost completely in ruins by now … and it was starting to become a blazing fire.
 
The few skyscrapers that were mostly earthquake proof – they became more pieces of gravel to crumble between his toes. All the ponies were asking, what had they done to deserve this? Was Spike an angel of destruction – sent to judge Equestria for failing the magic of friendship? In a sense, it seemed as if Spike could do no wrong – that to call him evil would be like sayng that earthquakes and diseases are evil. He felt almost like a god, and that if he was truly displeased, then he had the right to what he thought was good.
 
Still … for the massive dragon to rain his anger on such a fragile city – buildings that could not withstand the smallest movements of his toes – buildings that could crumble all around him before he could stomp on them – to pour his wrath on creatures who were helpless specks of dust – to make their existence feel completely fragile and worthless … it just didn’t feel right. Didn’t these ponies have feelings as strong as Spike’s? Were their feelings any less than his? Why should he get to punish them just for existing?
 
Most of the ponies couldn’t even feel much anger. They just wanted the giant angry monster to love them. They wanted him to assure them that they were precious – precious objects that he should be proud to display. Could they prove to him that they were worth more than just dirt under his feet?
 
As Spike laid waste to downtown, he noticed that many of the ponies were starting to cry. It started to unnerve him ever so slightly. Then he noticed Twilight staring toward him, with her body warmly glowing. All the Mane 6 started to glow. Pinkie Pie and Applejack started to float off the ground, joining Twilight in the sky. The strange magic pulled the rest of the Mane 6 as well.
 
Twilight teleported her crown into the scene. With her horn, she offered it to Spike. “If you will only be the sweet dragon I once knew, I will welcome you as my Dragon Lord. And we will be your faithful subjects!”
 
“Everyone will love you,” assured Rarity, “and tell you how great you are! You’ll have all the friends you could ever want, to make you feel good inside!”
 
Spike started to feel a little warm. He started to glow ever so faintly.
 
Fluttershy said, “Sometimes I feel a lot like you, my Dragon Lord. I wish I had a safe way to destroy a few cities. Then when they see how much I actually care, they will see it as amazing grace!”
 
Spike started to smile a little. He glowed a little brighter.
 
Then he looked down toward the scared little ponies. Many of them finally accepted that there was no escape for them. They were on their knees, bowing to him. Many of them were crying.
 
Finally, Spike’s eyes started to get wet. Then he started to cry. He sat on the remains of the city, and wiped his tears with his hands.
 
“I’m sorry, everyone,” he said. “All I wanted was to be large and in charge, and to make everyone love me. I wanted you to fear me – but what I really wanted was for you to care about me – and stop making me feel left out. Twilight, how can you love me so much – yet leave me out of a lot of the things you do with the girls … and the rest of your family? Did you stop to think about how I feel?”
 
“We’re as sorry as we could ever be,” assured Twilight. “We just want this nightmare to be over – and for you to be our friend again.”
 
Shining her horn, Luna floated above the city. With her Canterlot voice, she assured the crowd: “Don’t worry, my little ponies. No creature has suffered much harm. I myself am responsible for what has happened tonight. And I assure you that everything will be back to normal by tomorrow morning. I was just pulling a big Nightmare Night prank – but it was a prank with a purpose.
 
“Our precious dragon Spike was feeling really troubled. And he wanted a safe way to let out his terrible anger. Now that he has brought all of you to your knees, I believe he’s ready to forgive you, if he feels you did anything wrong. Our dragon’s kindness is a precious thing. It is no sign of weakness – he really does see the value in all of you! I’m proud of my great dragon. He just wants you all to appreciate him, for who he really is!
 
Spike said, “If we took our prank too far, I hope you can forgive us, too. I don’t want to be angry anymore. I just want to be happy, and for everyone to make me feel special like you! I believe we have it in our hearts – if we really want it!”
 
As Spike’s heart kept warming up, he started to glow as brightly as the Mane 6. Spike’s own Element of Harmony now shined like theirs!
 
That night, Spike learned a valuable lesson himself. In taking his anger out on Equestria, he gained a greater appreciation for how much many of the ponies care about him. On one hand, he felt ashamed for tormenting them, even though he caused little physical harm. On the other hand, he felt he had to get it out of his system. His nighttime of world domination was about to come to an end. But now he was ready to be everyone’s precious little dragon again. Knowing that so many ponies want to show him their goodwill, he never wants to take it for granted again.
 
Maybe that was the real lesson Luna wanted him to learn?
 

 
Art by Rai-Kun. Colors slightly adjusted by me.