Courage Becomes Foolhardiness

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"Hey Mr. Monster, I like ya and all," Spike spoke to the beast strangling her with one of it's many tentacles, "but I don't roll that way."

She managed to wiggle her staff out from it's grasp and used her magic to spin it so swiftly that it became a pink blur. When she decided that the speed of the spinning to be adequate, she shouted out the magical words that that always got her out of jams like this, "Buaya Kecang Pukulan!"

As on cue, small balls of fiery light appeared in an octagonal position around the circumference of the spinning staff. Spike smirked as the balls fired from her staff, spiraling together towards the monster's face until they had become a beam of fiery light. When it collided with the beast's face, it created a magnificent explosion, causing the monster to release Spike from it's slimy tentacle and recoil, bringing it's appendage to cover it's ugly, three-eyed face.

As Spike landed, she giggled as she used her hoof to wipe some slime off of her white sailor's top, "Only one thing left to do now!" She pulled a musty tome out from under her far-too-short skirt as well as a small black card, and turned to a page that she had Twilight bookmark for her. With the open book in one hoof and the card in the other, she chanted, "Return to the guise in which you were meant to be! Crow Card!" She tossed the card to the ground and slammed the bottom of her pink staff down onto it, causing light to spume from the card and envelop the monster, swallowing and sealing it inside.

With a smile, Spike flashed a hoof across her amethyst pendant and initiated the transformation sequence. An aura of light surrounded her as her clothes and purple fur dissipated as well as her green mane and furry tail, all replaced by his familiar green spikes, and purple scales. The transformation sequence finished just after his hooves returned to claws and his tome and staff disappeared.

He chuckled and spoke in his familiar young boy's voice, "Man, I still can't ever get used to that. Now, what do we have here?" He picked up the black card of the monster he had sealed moments ago, "Well, well, George Tentaclooney, it's been fun. Hey, Twilight!" He called, "How many is that for us now?"

Twilight answered as she trotted over to Spike, "Thirty-six."

The baby dragon yawned and stretched his arms, "Wow. We've done a lot of monster capturing in a week."

The alicorn raised a worried eyebrow, "You do realize that there's still a hundred more monsters out there."

"Details." Spike waved, "Besides, I'm just happy that I can be useful to everypony."

Twilight chuckled, "That's not what you said week when Celestia gave you this job. You said you didn't want to have anything to do with it."

"Well, that was before I realized I could be a hero and protect the ponies I cared about most." He paused, "...Even if that means turning into a girl and wearing a skimpy, frilly skirt." He crossed his arms behind his back and began turning up some dirt with his foot, "Also, I'm not you; I don't get to do this kind of thing every other day."

Twilight placed a wing on his head and started rubbing as she softly smiled, "Okay, Spike. I just want to make sure your not burning yourself out. As a dragon of your age, you need to take time for some R&R every now and again."

"I hear ya Twi," he began to fiddle with the black pendant around his neck, now with only small traces of it's original amethyst hue, "It's just, Equestria needs me to stop these monsters, y'know?"

Twilight nodded, "Just don't overdo it, okay? I want to you to stay safe above all." She shifted a worried gaze to Spike's necklace and asked, "Wasn't that thing purple when you got it?"

The dragon turned it over a few times and examined it, "Yeah. Not sure what's wrong with-"

It interrupted him with it's familiar ear-splitting screech, signalling a nearby monster. The two covered their ears as Spike shouted, "GAH! I STILL hate that sound!"

Twilight shouted back, "Where is it?"

Straining to gaze into his pendant, he screamed back, "In Ponyville!"

With that, he flashed his claw across the gemstone and began transforming once again. His formed changed to that of a female alicorn as her familiar clothing wrapped around her body tightly, finishing off with a cute pair of boots on her rear hooves.

A black beam shot from gem and into Twilight. She sighed as she began shrinking, "Here we go again." When she reached about six inches tall and her horn had completely disappeared, the black beam stopped. "I'm still not happy about this." She shook her head and huffed, "You ready?"

"Mm-hm." Spike nodded as she unfurled her wings. Twilight flew into her mane and the magical mare took off for Ponyville.

* * *

It didn't long for them to touch down in front of Golden Oaks Library as a dreary, gray overcast hung over Ponyvile. Twilight was slightly relieved that there hadn't been a giant, hideous beast destroying their home. But, it brought another question to her mind: Where was the monster?

"...Hey, Spike?"

"I know. I'm confused too," she replied as she reached for her still-pulsating pendant, its blaring alarm having quieted down some time ago. After taking a few seconds to gaze into it, she tiredly concluded, "This way."

As she trudged along towards town hall, Twilight asked worriedly, "Spike, are you okay?"

"Just..." she replied, "...Just a little tired."

"If you need to stop and rest-"

"I can't, Twilight!" Spike shouted, "Who else is gonna stop this monster?" Twilight remained silent.

After walking along for only a few minutes, it seemed as is if everything seemed to dissipate from under them, replaced with sickeningly ornate flooring with tiny, chalk-drawn dragons scurrying about. The sky seemed to have changed to what seemed to be a roof of a church, painted on by a child. It felt like a nightmare.

"Well, this is new." Spike commented as she gazed at the new surroundings. A metal clanging sound immediately shifted her gaze to what she knew to be her target: A slim, bipedal creature--she guessed no taller than six feet tall--clad in golden, jagged armor, and a lion-like mask, squishing one of the miniature dragons under it's boot. It's right arm--not to either ponies' surprise-- was a tentacle, while the left was long and slim, probably only about three feet in length, with five small digits on the end of it. That arm wielded a spear whose steel head seemed to dance with lightning.

"Really?" Spike chuckled, "I beaten chumps a hundred times bigger than you! This'll be easy-peasy cider-squeazy!"

"Please be careful, Spike!" Twilight pleaded as she flew out of her grassy-green mane, so as to not be caught in the fray, "You haven't rested in days, and I don't feel too particularly easy about that spear... "

Spike rolled her tired, black-rimmed eyes and smirked as she levitated her staff with her magic, "Please, Twilight! This one only has one tentacle! It should be super simple to take down!"

She took off for the monster and began lobbing spells. Twilight sighed worriedly, "Oh, Spike..."

Then, a familiar, soft feminine voice spoke from behind her, "Hildegarde Ornstein... I've finally found you..."

Twilight turned and saw--greatly to her surprise--Fluttershy, wearing what seemed to be her Grand Galloping Gala outfit, with a vibrant rose-colored gem adorned in a necklace hanging around her neck as a white cat-like creature sat on her shoulder. She gasped, "Fluttershy? What are you doing here? It's dangerous!"

Fluttershy gasped herself and looked around for Twilight for a few moments, before honing her eyes in on her six-inch tall friend. "Twilight? What happened to you?"

"It's a long story," Twilight dismissed, "but you need to get out of here! It's not safe!"

"Why?" The cat-like creature asked with a piercing red gaze. Without even moving it's mouth, it continued, "Fluttershy can handle herself; she's a Magical Mare!"

"What?!?" Twilight was taken aback.

Fluttershy blushed and smiled, "I guess the secret's out on that one. At any rate, Twilight, meet Ichibey."

Ichibey hopped off of the pegasus' back and greeted, "Nice to meet you!"

Twilight's eyes grew wide a she flew to Ichibey's face, "OMIGOSH! You can talk? That is so fascinating! Albeit, a little creepy, but still-"

She was cut off by an an explosion of Spike's that slammed Hildegarde in the chest, then followed up with other bombastic magics. Ichibey gasped, "Fluttershy! That magical mare is using far too much magic! You have to help her!"

"Right!" Fluttershy unfurled her wings, ready to fly towards the monster.

Twilight flew to her friend's face and questioned, "Wait, what does he mean by, 'Spike's using far too much magic'?"

The pegasus froze. Her heart sank and her face showed it. She looked with pleading eyes at Twilight. "No... Twilight, please tell me Spike didn't make a contract! Please tell me that that is not him fighting that witch!"

Twilight raised a worried eyebrow, "Would that be a problem?"

Fluttershy cried as she lowered her head, "N-No..." She took a few steps towards Hildegarde and mumbled, "Spike... You idiot..."

Now Twilight was genuinely worried, "W-What's the matter? And what's a witch?"

As the pegusus' prepared for takeoff once again, she glanced back and Twilight and asked rather coldly, "Tell me Twilight... Was his wish worth it?"

"Wish? What do you mean by 'wish'?" Twilight asked, more confused now than she already was. But Fluttershy was already gone, speeding off to fight the witch.

"A witch is is the embodiment of all the grief of a certain pony. Only a magical mare can locate and fight them." Ichibey spoke, observing the battle between the magical mares and the witch. "Hildegarde Ornstein is a witch."

"Huh? What was that Ichibey?"

The cat creature turned to face Twilight with it's piercing eyes, "You were wondering what a witch was. That is what a witch is."

Twilight nodded, "O-Okay. The embodiment of a pony's grief. But, what's so important about this wish Fluttershy mentioned?"

Ichibey blandly replied, "In order for a pony to become a magical mare, they must create a contract with me in which I will grant them one miracle. It could be anything, from fame and fortune, to ruling a kingdom. I can grant them whatever they want, even what only could be achieved in their wildest dreams! In return, they must slay witches for me. It's a very fair trade, if I do say so myself."

The mini Twilight furrowed her brow and crossed her arms, "But Spike never made a contract you; I was standing right there when he made it, and you were no where to be seen."

"Oh, he most certainly did make a contract!" Ichibey challenged, "In fact, his wish was so powerful, that it bent the laws of nature around him as well, just so he could achieve it!"

The pony gasped, "Then, him changing into a girl and a pony... that was all his wish's doing? Ichibey, I have to know: What was his wish that was so strong?"

Ichibey returned his attention to the battle, "I do not know. All I know is that Spike the dragon made a contract to become a magical mare and is now fighting witches. That is all I need to know."

"But, something still doesn't add up!" Twilight held up both her hooves, "Princess Celestia sent us a letter saying that I was supposed to transform into a magical mare and fight monsters. Tell me, how can you possibly claim your wish theory as truth when we have physical evidence suggesting otherwise?"

Ichibey turned to Twilight and bluntly stated, "Your princess is a liar."

Twilight dropped her jaw in disgust. How could this... this... creature even suggest something like that about Princess Celestia? Twilight growled, "Ha. Ha. Really funny. I'll have you know that Princess Celestia is a benevolent princess and wouldn't outright lie without good reason to do so."

Ichibey shrugged as he gazed back to the battlefield, "My people do not understand your concept of 'humor'. To us, it's simply illogical."

Twilight sighed as she shifted her gaze to the battle as well. Only, she wished she hadn't, as she saw Spike struggling with Hildegarde's tentacle arm. Without skipping a beat, Hildegarde unraveled her tentacle from the magical mare and impaled her straight on through her abdomen with her lightning spear. Twilight's breath escaped her as she watched the spear rip through Spike's back, now stained with her blood. Spike's magical mare form faded as he slumped on the tip of the spear.

A glow appeared around Twilight as she returned to regular size and her horn return. She gagged, trying to force out a cry, "Sp-Sp-Sp-SPIIIIKKEEEEEEE!!!!!"

As Ornstein threw the baby dragon to the ground, she stood up, ready to join the fray. However, Ichibey jumped in front her, "No! Do not interfere!"

Tears blinded Twilight's eyes and her horn flared with her magic, "MOVE, ICHIBEY!" she screamed, "I have to save Spike!"

Ichibey just stared, "Do not interfere! He will be okay! That attack landed no where near his soul gem! He'll be just fine! We have to let Fluttershy finish this!"

"He was impaled with a spear! I have to do something!"

Ichibey shook his head, "It won't do anything! Spike is not the body that just received the fatal wound! Spike's essence is crystallized into the soul gem he wears around his neck. That wound didn't do a thing!"

Twilight was appalled at the many things that were morally wrong with that statement, but she didn't care. She just hoped Spike was alright like Ichibey claimed. She whimpered as her horn flickered out, "...Can't we do anything?"

Ichibey climbed on top of Twilight's shoulder and pointed, "Look! The battle's already finished!"

Twilight shifted a teary gaze to where the white creature pointed. In that moment, she witnessed Fluttershy flying at blinding speeds straight towards Hildegarde, smashing straight through the back of her head, breaking through to the other side. A deafening howl echoed as the witch and nightmarish cathedral dissipated, revealing the peaceful town of Ponyville once more.

Twilight sped off at once and crashed beside Spike, struggling to regulate her spastic breathing, "Spike? C-Can you hear me? P-Please, Spike..." Her tears started falling onto his face, "Please, wake up..."

Spike moaned as he barely opened his eyes, "That was one heck of a trip..."

Twilight broke into a chuckle, tears still streaming down her face. She brought Spike up into a hug, "Please don't scare me like that again, Spike." She tried to wipe away a tear and sniffed, "I don't know what I'd do without my number one assistant."

She let go and he fell into a sitting position. He replied as he weakly waved, "Please, Twilight. I had it in the bag all along."

As a few raindrops began to fall from the clouds above, Twilight chuckled some more, "Sure you did. Hey Fluttershy, thanks for-" she looked around for her butter-colored friend, but neither she or Ichibey were anywhere to be seen.

"Oh... Where did you go?" She shrugged it off and hoisted her assistant onto her back, "C'mon, Spike. It's time that you finally got that R&R we talked about." She softly smiled, "And no distractions! I won't allow it!"

"Um... Twilight?" Spike weakly asked, "Can I go see Rarity instead?"

The alicorn frowned, "You were just impaled with a spear, Spike! I don't think-."

"Please? I'm okay now!" the dragon begged, "I haven't been able to see her since before I got my powers, and I've been meaning to tell her about everything I've done. And I just figured that, since we're back in Ponyville and all...

Twilight sighed and smiled at him, "Alright, but under one condition."

"Anything!"

She continued, "If you run into any trouble at all, please don't fight it. Come get me! I can help, okay Spike?"

He smiled, "Gotcha!"

"Good." Twilight continued to smile as she lowered her head, "Now, go!"

He slid off of her neck and slowly made for Carousel Boutique. He waved, "Thanks, Twi! See ya later!"

Dedication Has No Reward

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Spike slowly trudged along streets of his hometown, devoid of all activity. He guessed that most the ponies had made for shelter so they wouldn't get caught in the oncoming storm. Before he knew it, he was standing in front of the decorative, indigo door of Carousel Boutique. He smiled as he tiredly rapped on the door, wondering how he'd tell Rarity about his powers. He mumbled as his mind mulled over potential options, "Heya, Rarity! Did I tell you that I have magical powers now? I'm a magical mare! No..." he rubbed his chin, "Too straightforward... And she might be all weirded out when I call myself a mare... How about 'Hey, Rarity? Wouldn't be cool to have magical powers?' No... that's not specific enough..."

He snapped his fingers, "I got it! I'll ask her what she thinks about the giant monsters I've been fighting! Then, I'll follow up by asking what she thinks about the pony stopping the monsters! She HAS to have heard of the giant, rampaging monster incidents! They're all over the news! It's foolproof!"

With his heart all aflutter, he began whistling a happy tune. It didn't matter that the rain began to pick up. His spirits were pretty high in that moment. However, he began to worry when no one answered the door. If Rarity was busy, her sister, Sweetie Belle, usually welcomed visitors. And, in the off chance that both were absent or otherwise unable to open the door, Rarity's very talented feline, Opalescence, greeted any guest. Rather irritably, but she still greeted them all the same.

However, none of these scenarios happened this time. Spike hesitantly reached for the door and called out, "Rarity? You home?" To his surprise, building was unlocked. He slowly opened the door, creaking every inch. "Rarity? Sweetie Belle? Opalescence?" He cautiously walked in and wiped his feet on the welcome mat, knowing how much Rarity absolutely disdained a messy floor.

What really caught Spike off guard was what he noticed next. The entire foyer was bare. Usually, rolls of cloth littered the place, with as many manikins to match. The various sewing and stitching tools normally lay strewn about the room were now nonexistant. Even all the curtains and other wall hangings had disappeared as well. It was as if Rarity had been meaning to move, and finally got around to packing everything away. In fact, the only furniture left worthy of note was the small, round table surrounded by mirrors that Rarity always used for modeling her dresses.

Spike's worry grew as he stepped further inside his friend's empty home, "Rarity? Where are you?"

"You won't find her here." A voice coldly commented behind him.

He turned and gasped, "Fluttershy?"

The yellow pegasus stood in the doorway to the building, shadows from her large mane covering her eyes. She started walking towards him and she asked without emotion, "What did you wish for?"

"What?" Spike asked, confused, "What do you mean by 'wish'?" he paused, "...Do you know where Rarity is? What happened to her house? Where are her things?"

She calmly replied, "In order to become a magical mare, one must create a contract. In return, the pony will get one miracle granted of their choosing. What was the miracle that you had granted?"

"You know about me being the magical mare fighting the monsters?" Fluttershy simply nodded. Spike shrugged, "I didn't really wish for anything, I guess. It all kinda just happened."

"Impossible," the pegasus callously rejected. "To become a Magical Mare, you MUST have a wish granted. It is the only way. Think: Even if you did not speak your wish aloud to anyone, what could you potentially have wished for the most in your heart?"

"I guess..." Spike tapped his chin, thinking back to when he made his contract, "I've always wanted to be useful to you guys and help save the day..." He gasped and snapped his fingers, "That was my wish! I wanted to be able to help, rather than just sit back and watch!"

Fluttershy paused, "Spike... You idiot..."

Spike recoiled, "Fluttershy, what are you talking abou-" He noticed tears streaming from the shadows covering Fluttershy's face. He reached a claw to lift her face and asked, "Fluttershy? What's the matter?"

Fluttershy finally met his eyes with her own large, turquoise irises, overflowing with sorrow, "I... I couldn't save her, Spike! She's gone and I couldn't do anything about it! I... I was such a coward..."

Spike raised his eyebrows, "What are you talking about?"

The pegasus lowered her head once again and sobbed, "Rarity... was a magical mare... She and I fought witches together... She trained me and showed me how to beat them. With the two of us, no witch stood a chance... But two weeks ago, that witch you and I fought together, Hildegarde Ornstein..."

Fluttershy couldn't continue as she full-on wept into her hooves. Spike's eyes grew wide as tears of his own began to form and a lump grew in his throat. He choked, "N-No... Fluttershy, Rarity didn't..." Fluttershy slowly nodded and sobbed. With his tears uncontrollably flowing now, he cried as he grasped her shoulders, "Rarity isn't dead! I don't believe it!"

When Fluttershy didn't reply and continued weeping, Spike reeled and fell to his rear, leaning back on his arms. His mind flew into a frenzy, thinking of all his wonderful memories he was able to share with his crush, and lamenting over the things that they would never be able to do together.

"Why didn't you save her?!" he screamed, rage and tears burning his eyes, "You were there! You could've done something!"

"I tried, Spike!" Fluttershy sobbed, "I tried to save her..."

Spike stood up, legs wobbling and voice shaky, "Isn't there some way we can bring her back? Ichibey grants miracles, right? Let's just ask Twilight to-"

"NO!" Fluttershy yelled through her own tears, "No... I... I promised Rarity that I wouldn't allow anyone else to make a magical mare contract..."

Spike fell back to his sitting position once again, staring at the foyer's ceiling, "...I-Is that it then? Rarity's just gone?"

Fluttershy nodded. She wiped away her tears and sniffed, "Don't you see now? That is the price we must pay for our wishes."

"We..." Spike sobbed, "We have to have a funeral..." His green, teary eyes pleaded, "We have have to find her body and give her a proper funeral! She can't leave this way!"

Fluttershy denied as she shook her head, "Do you remember when you got closer to Ornstein and your surroundings changed to that nightmarish setting?" he nodded. "That is what's known as a witch's Labyrinth. If a magical mare dies to a witch, her body stays inside. She's gone from this existence..." She choked, "Rarity will forever be a missing pony to the rest of the world; to her friends, a memory."

Spike just sat, frozen with grief, "How... did she die?"

Fluttershy lowered her head once again, "Protecting me. She told me to run as she held off the witch. I ran... I left her to die... I was so afraid..."

Spike's eyes were replaced by apathetic pools of toxic green, "...Is that how it happened, then?"

As she turned to leave, the pegasus coldly remarked, "That is the sin we carry as Magical Mares." The dragon fell silent. She muttered bitterly, "Being a Magical Mare is not a blessing; this is a curse."

Just as she was about to exit into the now-pouring rain, Spike asked unemotionally, "...What was your wish?"

She paused, glanced back to him and answered reluctantly, "I... I wished to be brave..." She resumed her exit and added dispassionately, "A lot of good that did me..."

Fluttershy closed the door behind her, leaving Spike alone in the dark, empty home.

* * *

"Oh..." Twilight sighed as she began categorizing her libraries books for the umpteenth time that night, "I hope Spike is okay..." She gazed out the window at the rain crashing heavily against her window. She was about to place the next book back on the shelf, when a round of deafening thunder startled her and caused her to drop it. "That's it," she decided as she placed the book on a nearby table, "I'm going to find him."

Her horn flared with magic and she cast a protective bubble spell to repel the weather conditions. She briskly trotted towards the door, but as she was about to exit, the door flung open on it's own, revealing Spike, drenched in rainwater. Twilight gasped, "Spike!" She wrapped a wing around him and pulled him inside. She chastised him, "You had me so worried! You could've gotten sick!" She threw on a small smile, "Even your magical mare powers can't protect you from an internal battle."

Spike replied bitterly, "You have no idea how true that statement is..."

"O...kay..." Twilight responded, confused. She wrapped a warm blanket around him, sat him down in a comfy chair and cooed softly, "Come now, sit down. I'll make you some hot chocolate."

As she turned towards the kitchen, Spike dispassionately moaned, "What's the point? We all just die in the end. It's inevitable."

The alicorn froze and turned back to her assistant. "Spike, is everything okay?" It was then that she had noticed that he had been crying, and his eyes no longer held the vibrant glimmer they once had. They were dim and lifeless. Worried, she walked over to him and asked, "Spike, what's wrong?"

He didn't even focus in on her, rather, just stared blankly at the far wall of the library, "Did I ever really help anyone?"

Twilight furrowed her brow, "Of course, Spike! Those monsters would've-"

He blandly interrupted, "You guys stop monsters like that all the time." He paused, "...What good are my powers if I can't even protect the ones I care about?"

"What are you talking about?" Twilight asked.

He slipped the pitch-black pendant off of his neck and examined it, "I guess that's just the way things are..."

Twilight gasped, "Spike! I thought that amulet was magically attached?"

He turned over the ebony stone and soberly replied, "There are a lot of things that I thought were truth... I see now that it was only a distortion of my hopes..." He closed his eyes, "Heh..."

"I was stupid. I was just so stupid."

The Fate of a Magical Mare

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"Spike!" Twilight cried, holding the lifeless body of the baby dragon in her front hooves, "Wake up! Please Spike! I need your help!" She lifted a fearful gaze to towering ancient drake, Velstadt, that appeared after Spike screamed and fell unconscious. She fired off a blast of magic from her horn, but it merely glanced off of the jet black scales of the dragon's abdomen. The great dragon gave a tremendous roar that shook the entirety of this new, horrific Carousel Boutique that appeared with it. She returned her attention to Spike, shaking his body once more, "Spike, please! You gotta wake up!"

A familiar voice calmly stated, "That's not Spike anymore."

Twilight turned behind her and saw Fluttershy and Ichibey approaching. Ichibey hopped off of Fluttershy's shoulder and passed a mini, crayon-drawn Rarity trotting about and giggling. He continued, "That is merely an empty vessel." he pointed at the ebony dragon, "That witch, Velstadt, is the one you once considered to be Spike."

"Your lying!" Twilight shouted.

Ichibey blankly stared, "Our people do not understand this concept of lying. That is the ultimate fate of Magical Mares: When they are overcome with grief, they turn into witches."

"That's not true!" Twilight shifted her gaze to Fluttershy, "Tell me that's not true!"

The pegasus did not answer, hiding behind her mane.

Twilight's teary eyes now burned with fiery anger towards her friend, "Why didn't you tell us?! We could've stopped this!"

Ichibey shook his head, "Impossible. No one can undo fate. This was meant to be from the moment he made his contract."

"BUT HE DIDN'T MAKE THE CONTRACT!" Twilight screamed, tears flowing, "It was made for him when he slipped on his necklace sent from Celestia! That's not fair!"

"It was plenty fair. We granted an impossible miracle, and, in turn, Spike forfeited his soul."

"Fluttershy!" the Alicorn cried, "Are you just going to let this happen?"

"I've already failed."

"What?" Twilight asked.

"Do you remember the witch, Hildegarde Ornstein?" Fluttershy unfurled her wings and callously replied, "That was Rarity. Just before she turned, she made me promise not to let anypony else make a magical mare contract with Ichibey. And I failed her..."

Twilight's eyes grew wide with shock as she remembered Ornstein's fate, "N-N-No... This can't..."

Fluttershy ignored her and took off for Velstadt. Twilight screamed as she levitated Ichibey with her magic, "YOU! You did this! You've killed two of my best friends!"

Ichibey replied as stared blankly into Twilight's eyes, "Yep. The plan worked to near perfection!"

Twilight's heart sank, "W-What plan?"

"You see," the cat creature started, "us Incubators can't survive without energy. But every energy source we have discovered all fall under the Law of Entropy, the Second Law of Thermodynamics. It grows cold and useless. All, except one that is. We have discovered the power of raw emotion is not restrained by the Law of Thermodynamics, and thus, it's power is undying. We also discovered that the soul of a young mare contains immeasurable amounts of hope and despair, both of which are the most powerful of emotions. We found a way to harness these energy sources not bounded by Entropy."

"And how does this involve Spike?!" Twilight cried, "Before this whole incident, he wasn't a mare at all, nor did he make a contract!"

"That's where it gets complicated." The Incubator continued, "You see, we cannot be everywhere at once, so your Princess agreed to help us experiment with a new Soul Gem prototype. Basically, if a pony has a strong enough wish in her heart, one that they're willing to fight and die for, the Gem will absorb her soul and automatically make her a Magical Mare! Like I told you when we met, Spike's wish was so powerful, it even bypassed the laws of Nature itself!"

Twilight growled, "There's no WAY Celestia would agree to something like that knowing what the stakes were!"

Ichibey blandly continued, "Oh, she didn't. All I had to do is tell her that it would be best for her kingdom. She was skeptic at first, but she'll do anything to keep her kingdom safe. When I explained the power of a Magical Mare to her, she couldn't refuse! She even wrote you that letter, meaning for you to accept that contract, and released apparitions of those giant monsters to seal the deal! Sadly, Spike simply got to the gem first."

"A-Apparitions?" Twilight stuttered, "Are you telling me Spike and I have only been fighting illusions this entire time? Spike's wish... was a lie?"

"To an extent." Ichibey answered, "Just as his sense of usefulness was a fantasy, so was the danger. But he truly believed he was fighting monsters and helping the good of Ponykind. Technically, he got his wish."

Shadows covered Twilight's eyes as she threw the Incubator to the ground, "...I see now that you are the only real monster here."

"No," Ichibey replied as he stood up, "I'm just trying to survive."

* * *

"Spike!" Fluttershy shouted as she quickly approached Velstadt, "I'm sorry this happened to you!" Small, curved daggers extended from her wrists, "Now, it is time to end your misery!"

The dragon roared and tried to bat the pegasus out of the air. With a quick lurch the right, Fluttershy twisted around to the beast's back, crossed her hooves and x-scissored Velstadt's left wing clean off. The dragon gave off a horrifying howl to the heavens as toxic, green flames spewed from from it's great black maw. The pegasus turned to make another round, brandishing her daggers. She impaled them deep into Velstadt's snout, her momentum forcing the dragon's head to recoil.

With another howl, Velstadt stole Fluttershy from it's nose with it's left claw and tossed her to the ground like a ragdoll. The mare plucked her face from the newly formed hole in ground. As three mini Rarities started bouncing around her, she frowned and wiped some dirt from her lip, "Hmph."

With three swift movements from her daggers, the Rarities' heads slid off of their crayon-like bodies and disappeared. Fluttershy returned her attention to Velstadt. She gasped as a stream of toxic flames flowed straight at her. She quickly launched into the air, the flames just narrowly singeing her long, pink tail. She glanced at it at sighed. Glaring at the dragon, she shouted, "It's over, Spike!"

With speed faster than a bullet, she shot straight towards Velstadt's chest, impaling her daggers and herself deep within the beast's heart. After viciously tearing up its insides with her blades, she ripped her way out through it's jaw and gently floated to the ground. The ebony dragon gave a grotesque, guttural scream as it's Labyrinth shook like an earthquake. One by one, all the Rarities had melted away, then followed by Velstadt, disintegrating to dust.

Fluttershy sighed as she retracted her daggers, "I'm sorry, Spike. I truly am."

* * *

Twilight cried as Velstadt disappeared, "SPIIIIKKEEEE!!!"

In her anger, she grabbed Ichibey with her front hooves and shouted, "BRING HIM BACK!" Blinded by tears and rage, she shook the Incubator violently, "Bring him back right now!"

"I cannot do that." Ichibey replied nonchalantly as Golden Oaks Library materialized around them once again. "Once a Magical Mare becomes a witch, there's no salvation for them."

The alicorn screamed and threw the demented cat against a chair.

"However," Ichibey offered as he recovered from the throw, "there is one thing that could still save Spike."

"What is it?" Twilight asked bitterly, "Tell me!"

"Well," the Incubator explained, "when a pony makes a Magical Mare contract with me, I grant them one miracle."

"I'll do it!" Twilight exclaimed, "I want to be a Magical Mare and I wish for Spike back!"

"Are you absolutely sure?" Ichibey asked, "Even after seeing the ultimate destiny of a Magical Mare?"

"Anything!" Twilight cried, "Anything to bring my friend back!"

"Okay." Ichibey shrugged, "Twilight Sparkle of Ponyville, I dub you Magical Ma-"

Like lightning from out of nowhere, Fluttershy swiftly lifted Ichibey up and snapped his neck on her back leg.

In that instant, Twilight's world crashed around her. Spike was gone. Forever. There was no way she could ever get him back now. She tried to utter words of anger towards her so-called friend, but her grief allowed none.

Fluttershy glared as she tossed Ichibey's body aside, "This is one price I will not allow you to pay, Twilight."

Twilight wordlessly stared as the pegasus slowly sauntered out the door and slammed it behind her. Tears streamed from her eyes as she was now truly alone.

* * *

"You do realize I have plenty of shadows to spare, right? You killing that one was rather pointless." Ichibey commented, "By the way, that was a clever ruse you used when you told Spike about Rarity's death! I almost believed you myself."

"It was bound to happen sooner or later, once he realized Rarity was dead." Fluttershy coldly remarked, "He was beyond saving when I discovered he was a Magical Mare, and I decided it better to deal with his witch while it was still weak."

"You're a cold mare, you know that?"

The pegasus sighed, "With courage comes brutality. That is the curse of my sin."

"You understand that you too shall become a witch eventually, right?"

Fluttershy gazed into her rose-colored Soul Gem, now tainted black. She withdrew the grief seed expunged from Velstadt and held it close to the jewel. The tainted blackness leaped from her gemstone to the seed, reverting the Soul Gem to it's original sparkling glow. She sighed, "Perhaps. We shall see."