//------------------------------// // Prologue Chapter: It Started With a Scream // Story: M̸y̶ ̸L̴i̶t̸t̶l̴e̶ C̵o̸r̷r̴u̶p̶t̶e̷d̸-P̵o̴n̴y̷ // by ScorchingFlamesInc //------------------------------// It started with a scream. A faint scream, but a scream that was enough to catch Spike's attention as he woke up. The clock was only a few minutes past midnight, but Spike could hear the streets of Ponyville being filled with chaos and activity. Screams again. It was much clearer now... these were screams of terror. Spike's mind was fuzzy, still recovering from the sudden disruptance of his sleep, but he was able to get out of bed quickly, the energy and rush to solve the problem coming in fast. He was right at the window, about to look out, when the doors to his room slammed open. It was Twilight Sparkle, and the concern and panic on her face only added to his own concerns that something was wrong, and it definitely wasn't a small problem. "Twilight, what-" "Spike! We have a problem!" she shrieked with urgency. "We need to alert the Princesses, and we need to go now!" Spike wanted to go, but not without looking outside. Curiosity was in control of his mind and all he wanted to do was see what exactly was going on. But Twilight made it clear that there was no time to waste... and she rushed over and grabbed Spike by the arm, quickly pulling him away from the window right as he heard the sound of flapping wings and a sinister hiss. Twilight flew down the halls of the castle fast, and with the directions she was taking, Spike knew her intent was to get to the library as soon as possible. Spike's own wings flapped, signaling to Twilight to let him go. She did, and he quickly steadied himself as he flew alongside her, quickly catching up. "Twilight!" Spike shouted. "What's going on?" "I-I don't know!" Twilight stuttered. "Whatever's happening, it... happened out of nowhere!" "What are you talking about?! What's happening?!" "It's hard to explain, but I can tell you what I can. Here's what I know-" They turned a corner and Twilight stopped immediately. Spike stopped a little ahead of her due to late reactions, but at the end of the hall he saw what exactly made Twilight stop. It was Starlight Glimmer. She was hidden in shadows, difficult to see, but he could see her. Twilight could too, but Spike didn't know what Twilight knew. "Starlight! Thank Celestia we found you! Something's happening and maybe you can he-" Twilight cut him off quick, quickly running up and putting her hoof in front of him to stop him. "Spike! Stay away from her!" "But why?" Twilight didn't answer because right then Starlight stepped into the light. What Spike saw made his heart beat fast. All over Starlight's body was what seemed to be a black slime-like mass, flashing and twitching multiple different spotted colors. Her eyes were nothing more than white spheres, staring at the both of them, and leaking the exact same black mass. Perhaps one of the most unsettling things was her mouth, which was open as a gaping, uncannily stretched, psychotic smile. It stretched to the point where her lips and cheeks were torn, which made it even worse. This wasn't the Starlight that they knew. With the way she stared and smiled, she seemed like nothing more than a mindless being. Mindless, yet sinister. Starlight started to move, her hooves, moving in ways they shouldn't. She started off slow, before picking up the pace. Twilight again grabbed Spike by the arm, and took another direction in the hall, this time putting him on her back.. But right when it seemed like they lost Starlight, one of the many doors burst open, and the black mass poured out, accompanied by Sunburst and Trixie Lulamoon, both of them covered with the mass, with white eyes and stretched smiles. Twilight took the original way, and this time she took some risky actions. She dashed right for Starlight, and quickly flew over her before she could do anything. Nearly at the library, she zig-zagged along the hall, ready to avoid whatever got in her way. Quite a few times, more familiar ponies sprung out into the hall, but Twilight dodged them as best as she could, usually flying above them, and flying below if whoever attacked flew. Throughout the whole chase, Spike felt himself getting dizzy, the different kind of fuzziness in his mind slowly taking over. After what felt like an endless chase, Twilight finally got to the library. She set Spike down and quickly slammed the doors, picking up and throwing tables to block it in an effort to keep others out. "Spike! Quick! Alert Princess Celestia and Princess Luna!" Twilight ordered in a panic. "Maybe we still have time!" Spike quickly got up and got a piece of parchment paper and a quill. "Yes Ma'am!" He got to writing while Twilight looked through the shelves, looking through books and throwing them aside. As she searched for answers, she told him what to write out loud. "Dear Princess Celestia, As I write to you, I hope that I am not too late. Something has happened. A new entity that we know nothing about has invaded Ponyville. Nothing much is known about it, but all I know is that it has the ability to corrupt anyone it touches into mindless beings. It's already taken some of my friends, and if I don't hurry, it may take more. If you get this in time, get to safety with Princess Luna as soon as you can, and round up anyone that's left and get them to safety too. Again, I hope you are safe, and that there is still time. If not... I don't even want to think about it. Yours Truly, Princess Twilight Sparkle." Spike finished the letter and sent it away in a quick breath of green flames. Twilight meanwhile continued trying to find whatever she could, but so far, she found nothing. "Let's see, there has to be something... anything... what are we dealing with? A new creature? Something foreign? Is it even from Equestria? Is it from somewhere beyond?! Oh I hope the others are okay! They have to be! No... no... no..." Twilight's panic grew, an increasing number of books being thrown every which way as the Alicorn got more and more frantic. "No! No! No!" "Twilight, calm down-" "I can't calm down Spike!" Twilight exclaimed, still looking through the shelves. "We don't know what this... thing, is! And whatever it is, it's corrupting everypony we know! If it gets to my closest friends, or anyone powerful like the Princesses, it's going to be impossible to defeat it! Equestria could be doomed!" "Oh, come on, you're Twilight Sparkle!" Spike assured. "You, me, our friends... all of us, have always gotten out of impossible situations before! Even if we do lose someone important, there will still be a chance if we still keep trying!" "Spike, listen... I don't want to sound pessimistic but...we don't know who's responsible and they all aren't just... wandering around. They're aggressive, they're fast, and they're intelligent. They could be anywhere!" "Twilight, I can agree with fast and aggressive... I saw that myself, but... intelligent? We don't know that!" "Oh, I know, Spike. I saw, outside, with my own eyes, with the few seconds that I had before coming to get you! Ponies getting corrupted, and then said corrupted ponies quickly finding others that were hiding! They'll know we're in here, which is why I'm working as fast as I can, and that the moment we find what we're looking for, we're getting out of-" Twilight was cut off. Right as she took a book out of the shelf, a black tentacle whipped out, knocking many more books over, and striking Twilight right in the eye. She fell to the ground, appearing unconscious. "TWILIGHT!" Spike quickly ran to Twilight's aid in hopes of helping her. Hesitantly, he extended his arm out to her, hoping that the worst hasn't happened.. "Twilight?..." Twilight's head shot up, the black mass completely filling her right eye, even pouring out. Her horn lit its usual magenta glow, as if it was ready to shoot. Spike was shoved out of the way with Twilight's own magic, with Twilight then aiming her horn at the window, making it glow, before shattering it. Spike got up, looking at Twilight with a mixture of fear and shock. "SPIKE! GET... O̵U̵T̵.̶.̸.̵ Ṋ̶͌Ó̷̫W̴̳̍.̷̮̐.̶͓̈.̷̹͘" she bellowed out, her voice distorting and twisting. "B̷̮̀Ḛ̷̏F̶́ͅO̵̮͗Ṟ̸͆E̴̖͐.̴̭̈́.̶̲̈́.̷̣͋I̵̻̊T̴͚͘'̷̹̓S̸̫̈ ̷̡̅T̴̹͊Ȯ̵̗Ô̸̦.̷̪͆.̴̢̚.̶͕̑ ̵̧̅" Spike took a step back, watching as Twilight's whole body snapped one way and then another, the sound of cracking bones as clear as day. Her head snapped down, her one normal eye rolling to the back of her head, going pure white. Her mouth opened into a massive gaping smile, a small hissing growl leaving her throat. Spike backed away even further, his heart beating with fear, distracting him from his limited time to escape. In three other places on the shelves, more books moved and fell, the sounds of them hitting the floor being drowned out by the increasing sound of a sinister hiss. Three different blobs of black mass crawled out, a fourth one pouring out of where Twilight was struck. Those four blobs immediately took the forms of four of Twilight's closest friends. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy all joined with the now-corrupted Twilight, their blank eyes continuing to stare at Spike as they stalked closer and closer, the hissing getting more aggressive. Spike wanted to leave. He had to. He didn't have much time. But something was stopping him... his own fear, shock, and the tiny tinge of hope he still had was what kept him from spreading his wings and flying. What were once Spike's friends, spoke, their torn extended lips unmoving, the words coming directly from their throats. "̶I̷t̵'̴s̷ ̶o̵k̸a̶y̶,̴ ̶S̵p̸i̷k̷e̵.̷ ̶Y̵o̷u̸ ̶a̸r̵e̴ ̵s̵a̶f̵e̶ ̶w̶i̴t̸h̷ ̶u̵s̷.̴"̴ Spike's legs felt like they were fused to the ground. His teeth dug deep into his lower lip. "̷Y̵o̷u̴ ̸b̵e̸l̷o̸n̸g̵ ̵w̷i̴t̶h̶ ̸u̶s̵,̶ ̶S̶p̵i̸k̵y̶-̶W̶i̸k̸y̴.̷.̶.̴"̴ His heart wanted to claw its way out of his chest. The beating got louder. "̶I̴t̸'̵s̵ ̸n̷o̵t̵ ̷c̴o̵o̴l̴ ̵t̸o̸ ̵l̸e̶a̶v̵e̴ ̴f̷r̸i̵e̴n̵d̵s̵ ̷b̸e̴h̷i̸n̵d̶.̵"̸ He didn't have much time to escape. A slamming sound was heard from the blocked doors. And any second now he wouldn't be able to get out from the window. "̴I̵t̵ ̸w̶o̷u̴l̴d̵n̶'̸t̵ ̵b̴e̵ ̸t̷h̵e̶ ̶s̵a̵m̴e̶ ̸w̸i̶t̶h̶o̸u̸t̸ ̵y̵o̵u̶.̶"̴ The black mass started to flood the room, creeping up closer to his feet with every second. White eyes started to open, which could only mean that more unfortunate victims were being summoned. "̶I̷ ̸n̶e̴e̸d̵ ̸y̸o̵u̸ ̵S̸p̸i̴k̶e̴.̷ ̴I̵ ̵a̸l̶w̸a̷y̵s̵ ̶n̷e̷e̴d̸e̵d̸ ̷y̷o̸u̶.̴.̴.̴"̶