//------------------------------//
// Chapter 10: Remember Who You Are 
// Story: Oh Spike We Hardly Knew Thee 
// by 5u0myn0n4 
//------------------------------//

Originally published on December 21, 2017





In the last Chapter, we saw to what extent Spike's absence was affecting Twilight Sparkle and friends. So what exactly was going on with Spike you ask? Twilight and friends may not know where he is, but you the reader are fortunate as to be able to see him every other chapter. Last time we saw Spike, he was still being held captive by a mysterious and villainous dragon tamer, whom is referred to as Henry. We saw how worried Twilight was, so how was Spike himself fairing at this time?





Spike was sitting alone in his room as he did. Most of the time he was sitting and waiting for things to happen.

"Oh Dear Celestia, I know you can't hear me but, I'm so lonely. I miss my friends so much. The nights are cold and lonely, it's as if even Princess Luna isn't able to find me using my dreams." he said.
"Oh Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, F-Fluttershy, R-Rarity. I never got to tell Rarity my secret feelings for her. I think she already knows, kind of. But... I never had to opportunity to really tell her how I really feel about her." Spike said.
"In fact, I don't think I've told any of my friends the fullest extent of my feelings."
"And Twilight... I... I miss Twilight, a lot." Spike said.

Just as Spike was feeling sad, he grabbed a gemstone and ate it. He'd been laying on a pile of gems the whole time.

"Mmm. Good thing I have these gems to help drown out all my sorrow. Heck, I can't even remember what I was so upset about a few moments ago." he said, quickly forgetting his woes.

"It's time for you next fight." Henry said walking into the room.
"You got it." Spike said. Yes you read that right, Spike actually said that. He didn't resist like he did before.

Spike had changed since we last saw him. Before, he was defiant, but now, he was starting to slip. Two chapters ago, when he won his first fight against Garble, he was awarded gems for winning. Since then, Spike had become hungry for gems, and the only way to get some more was to win more fights. Spike could not overcome his desire for gems, and so he gave in to Henry's commands.
Spike still wore a shock collar, but Henry rarely used it at this point, as Spike mostly listened to him anyway.

Henry brought Spike to the arena, where he battled other dragons. Spike was a formidable foe, completely mindless and only after gems to satisfy his greed. The Spike we knew was lost. Henry and his two henchponies, Jeff and Sawtooth watched from the sideline as Spike fought other dragons. 

"Wow, Spike's really on a roll now." Jeff commented.
"I never should'a doubted you boss. Leave it to ya to tame any dragon!" Sawtooth said.
"It was easy. The dragon may talk loud, but he was easy to crack. It was only a matter of time." Henry said.

Spike had basically become a fighting machine. The dragons that pounded him before, now barely stood a chance. One match he won using only the one two punch. Another match he showed his opponent dragon the power of fire breath. Each time Spike won, he was awarded gemstones, which served to feed his ever growing hunger for gems. He no longer thought about the immoral nature of fighting, he cared more about satisfying his thirst.

His mind was growing corrupted with greed.

It wasn't just Spike's mind that had changed, his physical appearance also changed. He appeared larger, taller, and more lizard-like. I think you're starting to see what's going on.

After each fight, Spike was put back in captivity, and was given gems for his efforts, which of course fueled his greed.

Henry had this to say after his latest fight.

"I knew you couldn't resist. You stood your ground longer than I expected, but with enough prodding, I knew you'd succumb to your dragon roots." he said.
Spike simply grumbled a bit as he ate his gems.
"Isn't it great to be powerful? This is only the beginning. I have big ambitions, and you're going to fulfill them." Henry said, observing how much Spike had grown in the past few days. Spike again didn't respond as he was more interested in his gems than Henry's words.
"Anyway, keep this up, and Equestria will be ours in no time." Henry said and exited the room, slamming the door behind him.





A few minutes later, Ember entered the room as she usually did, but unbeknownst to either her or Spike, this would be the last time they would meet like this. Ember had her hands behind her back, as if she was holding something...

*gasp* "Spike!" cried Ember. "Oh no. It's so much worse than I thought. This is happening faster than I could have anticipated. I'm too late aren't I?"

As mentioned, Spike appeared very dragon like, not like his usual baby dragon appearance anymore. He wallowed in his gems, greed had gotten the better of him. It started with one punch against Garble, and has only grown into something worse. Spike was about ten times his original size, walked on all fours, and didn't act like his old self. He could speak, but most of the time chose not to, and when he did, his speech was quite crude, and his tone all deep.

"What blue dragon lady doing in Spike's den?" Spike asked, except it didn't sound like Spike at all.

"This is exactly what Henry wants isn't it?" Ember said.
"Is it? You're his accomplice, you tell me." Spike was also getting sassier.
"I am not his accomplice!" Ember argued.
"Sure, that's why you're letting him torture your fellow dragons while you do nothing." Spike said.
"If you're so concerned about the other dragons, why are you allowing yourself to hurt them?!" Ember asked.
"Hey, gems come first." Spike said.
"Dang it Spike! This is exactly what I feared most. Henry's been using gems to turn you into... into a monster!" Ember said.
"Look, I do what that Henry guy says, and I get all these gems. So really, I don't see the downside." Spike said.
"I can't believe you'd say something like that!" Ember said.
"You're Spike the dragon, messenger and friend of the Princess of Friendship, Princess Twilight Sparkle!" she said.
"Twi-light...?" Spike said. Hearing her name seemed to have an effect on Spike.
"You can't ignore your past Spike. Think of your pony friends. Aren't they worried sick about you? What about Rarity? The pony you have a crush on. What about Fluttershy? Pinkie Pie? Applejack? Rainbow Dash? Twilight? Sparkle?" Ember said, hoping that mentioning Spike's friends would be enough to snap his mind back to normal.

Spike's eyes widened, things were looking up, but hope was lost when Spike shook his head.

"Are you gonna eat that gem?" Spike asked, sounding like an older dragon again.

"Didn't you listen to what I just said?!" Ember exclaimed.
"What you're saying sounds familiar-ish, but I really couldn't care enough to try to figure out why. Now why don't you walk back through that door you came in from, and just leave me alone!" Spike demanded.
There was a period of silence where Ember stood speechless.
"So... it is too late... we've lost you." Ember said chocked up.

Spike wasn't just missing, he was lost.

"So can I eat these gems or what?" Spike asked.
"You know what, I'm going to eat this gem, to discipline you! Maybe that'll knock you out of this." Ember said grabbing a gemstone.
Spike hissed. Ember gave back to gem to stop from making a loud noise.
"Fine, take it back, you little jackass." Ember said.
Spike snatched the gem away from Ember and devoured it.
"Okay, this is not good, this is not good at all." she panicked aloud.
"Why blue dragon still in Spike's den?" Spike was growing upset.
"Oh this is really not good." she said.

Ember had to figure out a why to snap Spike back to normal, or risk losing the old Spike forever. She could leave and think of a plan later, but by then it may have been too late. She had to think of something quick. And luckily for her, she had a something behind her back.





"Alright, I didn't want to do this, but you leave me no choice Spike!" Ember said.
"What is blue dragon on about now-" Spike's eyes lit up.

Ember pulled out the Bloodstone Scepter from behind her back, and held it to Spike's face.
"This is sort of a last resort, but it just might work." she thought out loud.
The scepter glowed. It mesmerized Spike, and froze him in place. It's the same scepter from the episode Gauntlet of Fire.
The same scepter that was the prize at the end of the gauntlet. The same scepter, that whoever holds it is Dragon Lord. But why was it here?

"Now listen to me Spike!" Ember said. "You are Spike the dragon. Don't remember what that means? Well take a look!"
Ember used the scepter to mess with Spike's head, and bring up past memories.

Spike's life flashed before him literally. He saw the moment, he emerged from his egg, actually more like the moment he burst out of his egg in a big magic explosion. His early days in Canterlot with Twilight. Moving to Ponyville and meeting his friends. The many hardships, but also the many touching moments.
We remember the past abstractly. You're not going to remember every word in this fanfiction, but what we take away are abstract feelings. Though small details were cloudy in Spike's partially corrupt mind, the abstract feeling of love he used to feel around his friends was breaking through.

"Remember who you are!" Ember's voice echoed within Spike's mind. "Spike the dragon, assistant to the Princess of Friendship, Princess Twilight Sparkle."

Finally, Spike's mind cleared and he finally snapped out of it.

"GAH! Ember is that you? Where am I?!" Spike yelled in his normal voice.
"It's me, Ember. But is that you Spike?" Ember asked.
"I don't know, I think I'm me, but I'm all... this." Spike said. "What happened to me?" he asked.
"You've been fighting other dragons to earn gems. Henry's been filling you with greed, and this is exactly what he wants." Ember explained.
"That's terrible. I can't believe I let myself lose control." Spike said.
"Me either, but Henry has a way of manipulating others." Ember said.
"Well what do we do now?" Spike asked.
"We're going to get out of here now! It's too dangerous around here, we gotta escape." Ember said.
"Right now? What about your plan?" Spike asked.
"Err, I haven't practiced it, but I've ran through the idea enough times, it should work." she said.
"That doesn't strike me as confident." Spike said.
"Well we don't have many other choices." Ember admitted.

"Anyway, how we gonna escape if I'm still big? Why am I still big anyway?" Spike was indeed still big. His mind returned to normal, but his body didn't. He even had a gem in his hand without realizing it.
"I don't know. It's as if the scepter only cured half the problem." Ember suggested. The scepter's effect was only partly effective, and actually seemed to be wearing off slowly. They needed a more permanent solution.
"Your mind is back to normal, but not your body. So we're halfway there. We cleared your mind, now we need to clear your heart completely." she said.

"So then how do we do that?" Spike asked.
"I'm not sure. Has this ever happened before?" Ember asked.
"It did once before." Spike answered. "This is just like that time in Ponyville where I got all super greedy and turned into a huge beast and broke a lot of things in Ponyville."
"Yes... yes that's it!" Ember came to a realization.
"This is exactly like that! Henry's been filling you with greed, so he could turn you into a vicious dragon, and use you as weapon to conquer Equestria!" Ember had figured out Henry's evil plan for sure.
"But I don't want to be used as a weapon of mass destruction used to conquer Equestria. I just want to be Spike! And I want to go home! With Twilight, and Rarity, and all my other friends back in Ponyville!" he cried.

He kicked gems out of his way to resist the greed.

"Think, what made you normal again the last time this happened?" Ember asked, hoping for a solution.
"Well, it'd gotten so bad to the point where I had kidnapped Rarity, and it was when I saw the jewel around her neck. That jewel, that I gave to her. She said it was given to her by a true friend, and hearing her say that, brought back fond memories, and reminded me that I I-... that I have strong feelings for Rarity." Spike explained.
"Hmm, alright then, so only a special gem was able to trigger that reaction. And without your friends here, simply thinking about them doesn't seem to be enough." Ember thought out loud.

"When you went on a rampage in Ponyville, only an act of love was able to bring you to normal, I guess that's why the scepter only cleared your mind, it isn't capable of filling you with love." Ember speculated. The scepter didn't quite work all the way, they needed something more... personal.

"Um, I have one idea, but... you probably won't like it." Ember said.
"Whatever it is, doesn't matter, we're desperate." Spike said.
"Well... what if we..." Ember blushed.
"Just say it Ember." Spike demanded.
"What if we... kissed?" Ember said under her breath.
Spike paused for a moment.
"Think about it, an intense emotional response was enough to revert you completely back to normal, so I don't see why it shouldn't work this time." Ember said.
Spike was still silent. He was processing what she was saying.
"You do have a crush on me right?" she asked.
"Uh..." Spike wasn't ready to answer.
"You don't have to answer that now. All that matters is that we make you... you know." she said.
"Alright, if you say so, let's do it." Spike said.

Ember and Spike got into position. Tall Spike had a different... feel from small Spike to say the least.

"Ember? This kiss is purely a means to an end right? It doesn't actually... mean anything?" Spike asked.
Ember paused to think about what to say.
"...This kiss is whatever you want it to be Spike. Whatever it takes. We'll discuss the technicalities later. " she replied.
I can't believe I'm actually about to do this. Ember thought in her mind.





The two puckered their lips and kissed. Gross. Or maybe you're into that kind of thing. Spike enjoyed it quite a bit, he felt very relaxed. The plan was working, his body began to shrink to normal size. Everything was going well, but then the worst thing imaginable happened.

*ZAP*

Spike's shock collar had suddenly activated and began zapping the two. Ember fell back in pain. Spike screamed in agony. Ember turned around and saw Henry and his two hench ponies Jeff and Sawtooth standing at the entrance.

"So this was your big plan? You know, if you wanted to make love to the dragon, you could have just asked." Henry said with snark.
"It's over Henry, you can consider our alliance over!" Ember said.
"You can't double cross me, because I just declared you an enemy. Not to mention, you've just undone all of our hard work." Henry said, observing Spike shrinking to normal size.
"Too bad! I'm busting Spike out of here. I'll be back with reinforcements, and we're going to free the other dragons!" Ember called out.
"Hmm, quite the tall order. You're not going anywhere traitor." Henry threatened.
"Ember? What's he talking about? What does he mean by 'traitor'? What is this alliance you speak of?" Spike asked.
"Nothing! He's talking about nothing!" Ember said.
"What's the matter Ember? Afraid to tell him the full story?" Henry asked.
"Shut up!" Ember exclaimed.
"Afraid to tell him that you're a failure? A failure who surrendered all of her dragons to me?" Henry said.
"What is he talking about Ember?!" Spike demanded answers.
"Nothing! He's lying!" Ember said.
"Am I? Or are you afraid of the truth? Afraid to admit that you've failed?! You failed your dragons." Henry inched forward with his weapons. The moment grew ever tense. Ember had to do something fast.

Without a moment to spare, Ember grabbed Spike, and breathed fire in Henry's way. It was enough distract him, and fly past him and escape the room.

"After them!" Henry yelled. He and Sawtooth ran after, but Jeff trailed slightly slower.
Nevertheless, a chase ensued.
Ember flew through the halls of the complex as fast she could, while carrying little Spike.

"Do you know the layout of these halls!?" Spike asked.
"Too well!" Ember answered.
"Where are we going!?" Spike asked.
"The exit!" Ember responded.
"What about the other dragons!?" Spike asked.
"We'll be back with reinforcements!" Ember answered.
"But we can't jus- *ZAP* GAAHH!" Spike's shock collar activated, Ember still managed to hold onto Spike. She was forced to endure the pain, or else drop Spike.
"Hang... on... Spike! We just need to get out of range!" Ember said in pain.
Spike's shock collar was on full blast, the pain was unbearable, and Ember couldn't get the collar off, no matter how hard she tried. The collar conformed to the diameter of Spike's neck.

As suddenly as it started, the shock collar stopped.

"It stopped!" Spike said.
"We must have gotten out of range of Henry's remote control!" Ember said. "I think the exit is just beyond this turn!" she exclaimed.
"So what exactly happened between you and Henry!?" Spike asked.
"I'll explain everything when we escape, right now we're in a hurry!" Ember said.

Unfortunately, Ember would not be explaining what happened to Spike, as fate had other plans.

"Where are we anyway? What lies beyond these walls!?" Spike asked.
"We're in the middle of-" Ember started to say, but she was unfortunately interrupted.
Henry appeared from behind the corner and slammed them both into the arena which just so happened to be right next to them. The arena was a pit, so they fell downward.

"I have to hand it to you Ember, I admire your efforts, but not enough to let this go unpunished." Henry said looking at them from above.

Jeff and Sawtooth jumped down, each carrying electric spears.

"I never trusted you, you know." Henry said as he jumped down into the pit. "I anticipated your rebellion from a mile away."

Ember did her best to fight off Henry's henchponies, but they didn't play fair. If it was just one opponent, Ember may have been able to take them on, but against two, it wasn't so easy. Ember breathed fire into Jeff, who was hesitant, but she was literally stabbed in the back by Sawtooth's electric spear, he was a lot more blunt. Ember was shocked and fell to the ground.

"Ember nooo!" Spike cried in horror, watching Ember collapse in pain.

Ember tried to get up, but Jeff and Sawtooth chained her up.

"You don't have to do this Jeff!" Ember said.
"I'm sorry Ember, but I have to. The boss' orders come first." Jeff whispered.
"It's not too late, you can-" Ember was interrupted.
"Quit your yappin' dragon! You're our prisoner now." Sawtooth said. He got out his chain and tied up Ember.

Henry walked up to Ember.

"I knew you'd try to pull a stunt like this, which is why I have a special punishment for you." Henry said, as he put a muzzle over Ember's mouth.
"No! Stop this! You can't do this!" Spike cried.
"You'll never get away with this Henry!" Ember cried.
"Oh, but I already have." he said.
"You can't hide forever, Twilight's going to find you eventually, and when she does, you're in for a world of hurt!" Ember exclaimed.
"...Heh, we'll see about that." Henry pulled a gem from his coat pocket, and tried to shove it in Spike's mouth.
"NO! I won't let you! Not again!" Spike pushed the gem away, against the force of Henry, desperately trying not to ingest the gem.
"Eat it!" Henry demanded.
"NO!" Spike resisted.
"Stop this now!" Ember called out trying to move, but she was tied up.

Henry struck Spike in the head, knocking him to the ground. While Spike was down, Henry shoved the gem into his mouth.

"Mmm, delicious." Spike's pupils dilated and appeared more lizard-like again.
"Spike no!" Ember cried, as that's all she could do as she watched greed fill Spike yet again.
"Quit yelling blue dragon." Spike said. It was too late. Greed had consumed his mind already again.

Henry dragged Spike to his room, while Jeff and Sawtooth dragged Ember towards a dark room in the compound.
"Spike! Don't succumb to greed again! Remember Henry's plan! You don't want to be a weapon! Don't forget who you are! Don't forget about Twilight! Spike! Spiiiiiiike!" Ember yelled, until a metal door slammed, and her voice cut off abruptly.





Things were looking very grim at this moment. The Spike we all know and love was lost under a cloud of greed. Henry had so far successfully used greed to control Spike. Ember's sacrifice was seemingly in vain. She had been captured, only to have Spike be controlled anyway. With all the other dragons in captivity, and with all the ponies unaware of Spike's location, had Henry won? Would his terrible plan to turn Spike into a giant dragon and conquer Equestria succeed?! What's going to happen to Ember now that she's captured?

Will Twilight ever find Spike? Finding Spike certainly won't be easy, there were hardly any clues as to his whereabouts. It's going to take some expert detective pony skills to find Spike. And who was the pony with the expert detective skills up to the task? Find out in Chapter 11.